#I like try different brushes and approaches every so often haha

[baeglbites]

Shoko ❤️

(Got carried away with a warmup sketch lol)

[cherryfairytwist]

RickFic Ch1. Falling In

(Tags: Alcohol / harassment / substance use / 18+ Minors DNI)

—- HELLO —-

—- INITIATING DOWNLOAD SEQUENCE MEMORY CLUSTER #1  —-

—-PULLING UP EARLIEST ASSISTED MEMORY RECORDS —-

—- NARRATION SIMULATING NOW —-

 Astrid walked down the sidewalk listening to “Every Day Is Exactly The Same” by Nine Inch Nails in their earbuds while nearing the entrance of the school. Waking up with a hangover was something no one at school could tell that Astrid was dealing with most mornings. They’d simply shape shift to look completely rejuvenated even if they felt dead inside. You’d never be able to physically tell, but for some reason Summer and Morty could always tell when something was off those days. They seemed to be nicer, as if they knew and were worried. She figured it was because they were familiar with what alcoholics were like in the Smith family. Their mother and grand dad being pretty hard core raging alcoholics themselves. She had heard all about it from the kids throughout the time she had known them. She had been there for them on the occasional times both the siblings were having some kind of mental breakdown during the school day due to alcoholic family issues. That morning Morty had picked up some books she had dropped during a lesson. He smiled kind of worried at her and whispered as he picked them up handing them away to a fellow classmate, 

“H-hey Astrid are you doing o-okay?” 

Astrid smiled back and tried to play it cool, 

“Yeah Morty I’m okay. Just a little tired this morning.” 

He didn’t seem convinced but tried to take a different approach,

“You-you know.. Su-Summer and I sometimes meet up before lunch a-at her locker if you’d like to come h-hang out..I-I mean like Rick will probably show up and pull us out of s-school around then so like no pressure.. haha.” he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. 

“Okay Morty. Tell Summer I’ll give her back that eyeshadow she let me borrow a few days ago when I see you two.” Astrid replied casually knowing Morty’s nerves were getting the better of him. 

“Ha! O-okay cool!” He happily but awkwardly laughed and went to sit back down. 

The rest of class went on like normal, typical boring high school history class. On the way to the next class she popped an earbud in again and “Restless” by Unkle played. Suddenly they got stopped in the hall by one of the Seniors that was known for being quite the delinquent around school. His name was Harris Hailer. He wore black ripped skinny jeans with chains hanging from the belt and a black hoodie with random spray painted words on it. Harris was known for causing problems around school but never actually showed any signs of being a real threat, well… at least that’s how Astrid felt about him. He often would come around to bother her after class. 

“Well hey hey Astrid.” He looked down his nose at her from under his long black messy bangs. 

He looked to her side and spotted Morty slightly following behind her. 

“God this little kid is always following you around school like usual hu?” He grabbed Morty by the collar and held him slightly suspended an inch or two from the ground. 

“O-oh h-hey wait!” Morty squirmed and tried to pull away from him. 

“Weird to be talking about yourself in the third person today Harris, but whatever.” Astrid replied annoyed while snatching Morty effortlessly from Harris’s grip and setting him down. 

Morty awkwardly laughed at Astrid’s comment and quickly walked on ahead a few feet towards his class as to keep away from Harris but close enough to keep an eye on Astrid. 

“Wow holy shit- you’re strong Astrid… do you work out or something?” Harris replied trying to still lay it on thick while attempting to reach his hand out and play with her hair. 

 “I don’t have time for this Harris, go to class.” She quickly replied and brushed him away while walking towards Morty. 

“Oh come onnnnnnn Astrid! Don’t be like that, you’re so FINE though..” he mockingly moaned and quickly flipped up her skirt as he passed. 

 “H-hey quit it! L-leave her alone!” Morty whined from the other end of the hall. 

“Haha whatever loser. I’ll see YOU later.” Harris smirked and continued on to whatever class he had next. 

 Astrid and Morty continued on walking towards their classes. 

“I-I don’t know why y-you put up with him every day.” Morty said angrily. 

“I won’t let him get to me, he’s just an idiot anyway.” Astrid said through gritted teeth with a fake laugh. 

She knew she could have demolished Harris with the flick of her pinky if she wanted to but she needed to keep her cover on Earth. So she let it slide knowing he was just a meaningless pest in the grand scheme of things. 

 They parted ways as Astrid came to the classroom she needed to be in for that next class, 

“See ya later Morty. Have a good class.” she said as she entered through the room. 

 Morty thanked her and waved as he turned to go to a classroom a couple of doors down. 

 This history class was Summer’s. Every morning Summer would come up to the front of the room and make short talk with Astrid before class began. Summer always seemed happy to be around Astrid. She’d always updated her on the high school drama of the senior girls, their crushes and things they were up to that week during and after school. Astrid always found the info completely useless yet entertaining. She was just happy to humor Summer as she got ready for class and waited on the teacher. 

 “Heyyyy! Did Morty ask you to come hang out with us at my locker later?” She leaned on the front desk and arched her eyebrow. 

“ I mean, like it’s not just going to be me and Morty obviously. Like some of my other friends will be there too… if Morty is getting on your nerves lately or anything.” Summer quickly insisted before Astrid responded. 

“Oh no he’s sweet.” Astrid replied “I’ll definitely come hang out with you two later. Oh and here is your eyeshadow I borrowed.” She pulled the makeup out of her coat pocket and handed it to Summer. 

“Oh thanks! How’d you like it? Did you use it for a hot date?” She produced a cheeky grin while awaiting a response. 

“It’s pretty! But… I think it’s too warm a tone on me.” Astrid replied avoiding the subject of dating entirely. 

The main teacher walked into the classroom and announced class had started. 

 “Okay we’ll talk later!” Summer winked and returned to her desk. 

Astrid would never say it but she never really needed the makeup Summer lended her in the past. Being a shape shifter made those things unnecessary. But Summer was always so excited to share things with her or invite her to places. Astrid was starting to feel guilty for blowing her off so many times previously. Recalling all the times she spent at home alone trying on some kind of lipstick or eyeshadow Summer had lent her just to kill time. But who knows maybe it wouldn’t hurt to hang out with the Smith’s for real this time. Moping around until she got a new mission was getting old. She could try her hand at having normal healthy friendships… right? 

Ever since the incident it had become painfully obvious how different her life was compared to others around her. It was an isolating feeling. She didn’t know why she kept pushing them away but never having relationships outside of her working as an agent started to weigh on her mind. There had to be more to life than what she had been trained to do. But every passing day she could feel the ache of the co-dependency she developed for her Handler and the adrenaline rushes she had gotten from her many dangerous missions. 

Maybe this is why she gravitated towards the Smith siblings. They seemed to be more relatable than most the other humans on the planet. They had seen things. They had been THROUGH it. Hearing them talk about their grandpa reminded her of previous handlers she had in the past. This always caught her curiosity. Wondering if Rick Sanchez was anything like the rumors or what her Handler had said about him. But hearing about him from the kids gave her a new insight to the said grandiose reputation that followed their grandfather around. 

  Most of the school morning came and went in a blur. After the two classes with the Smith siblings she mostly went on auto pilot listening to one earbud hidden under her hair as the other classes dragged on. Soon the school bell rang out indicating it was time for lunch period. Astrid contemplated what she should do. Technically she had already returned the makeup to Summer… she could use that as an excuse to justify not meeting up with them. Like do they actually want to hang out with a teacher’s assistant? She didn’t even know what her real age was but she definitely looked and acted older than both of them. Still they actually seemed to still want to hang. Does that mean Summer saw her as like an older sister or something? She didn’t know but paced around the empty classroom now that everyone had left for Lunch. “Faceshopping” by SOPHIE blared through her ear bud. She wondered,

“What if we all end up getting close and then the Agency gives me a mission and I have to leave?” 

She paced.

“What if I end up getting the order to go after and assassinate Rick Sanchez? Their Grandfather….” 

She paced more. 

“What if the friendships end up getting weird or toxic like the ones I made at Cognito Inc.” 

She paced even more.

“What if something like the incident happens again….?” She shook her head and pressed her back against the wall and breathed. 

“Would they hate me if they found out who I really was? Would Rick try to eliminate me once he knew the proximity his grandkids had to me?”

She looked up at the ceiling. 

“They seem like tough kids though…. They’ve definitely been trained in some ways by their Grandfather right…?” She sighed.

“I mean I’m not actually hunting them… So I’m not technically hiding anything… if they ask I’ll tell them stuff… just not everything maybe.” 

She got up.

“I can at least try to be fucking normal.” 

She left the classroom and walked briskly down the hall towards the direction of Summer’s locker. 

 She had waisted a few minutes pacing so she picked up the pace. Turning the corner Astrid could see the siblings chatting at the locker as some of Summer’s friends turned and left towards the lunch room. 

“Hey guys, sorry I got caught up after class.” 

She called to them as the two turned to look at her with big smiles on their face. 

“H-hey Astrid-“ Morty cheerfully got cut off by his sister “Omg heeeeeeyyyyyy Astrid you actually showed!” 

“Sorry you guys I’m going to be better about that.” Astrid awkwardly laughed.

“No! I mean I’m joking like you don’t have to hang with us girl, I’m just glad you want to.” Summer said nonchalantly. “Let’s go grab lunch together.” 

“Haha- yeah! I’m starving” Morty said with a smile. 

Right as “Highway to Hell” by AC/DC played in Astrid’s ear, both the siblings turned and Summer grabbed Astrid’s arm to pull her along with them. Astrid looked down and noticed her shoe had come untied. 

“Hold on guys let me tie my shoe” she said as she crouched down. 

As she laced up, she heard a noise that she was able to identify as a type of portal. 

A voice loudly announced, “SUMMER. M-MORTY. N-NO *burp* TIME!! COME WITH ME!”

Astrid heard another portal noise and suddenly fell backwards through the floor. She looked up and saw her and the siblings were falling through a pastel purple sky of an unfamiliar planet onto hard dry orange soil. Seeing a portal hole close up above their heads made Astrid realize Summer’s hand was still on her arm. Astrid brushed herself off and looked up to see Rick Sanchez now on the ground standing with them. 

“Grandpa Rick you need to start waiting until after lunch before you try to pull us on one of your adventures!” Summer yelled back at him. 

While also brushing herself off, she looked down to see Astrid next to her on the ground. 

“Oh shit-“ she started to say before Morty also yelled out “Y-YEAH! RICK! I’m tired of this!! I’m Starving right now m-man!” 

“S-stop you’re bitching you fucking pansies! T-this is important- yuuuhhrrrgg*burp* you guys need to trust Grandpa! Y-you-your Grandpa will give you something better than lunch! I have countless inventions that can make you feel like you had WHOLE MEAL!! S-shrunk down FULL COURSE MEALS M-Morty!!” He raged on at them as the siblings stood up. 

 Astrid had only ever caught glimpses of Rick when he picked up the kids from school. She mostly ever just heard him yelling something of urgency before suddenly the Smith siblings were gone out of thin air. Or the occasional moment where she would happen to see him running through the school frantically with or looking for the kids while something insane chased after him. 

 “Fuck I’m so sorry Astrid!” Summer quickly said while Astrid helped her up. 

“I didn’t mean to actually drag you into this! This is so wack right..?” Her nervous rambling went on, “Are you going to freak out now and like hate us….? I know we are like on an alien planet and everything… we can take you back to school I promise-“ 

“W-who the FUCK is that?” Rick demandingly asked. 

Astrid looked Rick in the face as Morty asked if she was okay. She suddenly realized this was the first time she was meeting THE Rick Sanchez. Probably one of the most wanted men in the universe. Considered a terrorist amongst countless planets. Yet he stood here arguing with his two grandchildren in the dirt. 

 “I’m terribly sorry sir.” Astrid spoke and extended her hand towards Rick. “Nice to meet you. My name is Astrid I’m-“ 

Morty cut her off with “she-she’s our teacher’s assistant at school!” 

“Oh yes the-*uhrp* little fucking assistant friend you two never shut up about that keeps g-ghosting you.” He scoffed and rolled his eyes, 

“God will y-you two take a hint? She obviously doesn’t want to waist her time on you.” He said annoyed as he shot his portal gun off to the side in Astrid’s direction. 

His eyebrow raised as he noted she didn’t flinch the slightest bit in surprise of her surroundings.

“S-shut up Rick!” Morty yelled, “Astrid came to h-hang out with us! Maybe we wanted to bring her with us!” 

 “Wait yeah!” Summer agreed now also noticing Astrid wasn’t freaking out about the situation and seemed fine with it. 

“She’s really cool Grandpa. Give her a chance! We could all have fun on a mission together or something!” She said practically exploding with excitement to have a friend to share adventures with.

“Fuck no.” he barked abruptly. “I’m not d-dragging around another dumb fu-fucking little friend of yours. Think about the last couple of classmates you two g-*aahhhh*-gained the privilege of losing once they realized they couldn’t fucking HANDLE IT!”  He quickly took a swig from his flask and stomped over to Astrid. 

“N-nice meeting you but I’ll t-take it from here.” He shoved her backwards through the portal and back into the school hall. 

“See you later!!” Summer quickly said to Astrid as Morty whined in protest behind her. 

“Yeah see you later.” Rick sarcastically echoed as the portal snapped shut leaving her alone in the hallway. 

—- PART ONE COMPLETED —- 

—- SHUTTING DOWN —-

—- GOODBYE —- 

[legendaryoikawa]

haikyuu boys as part of the mafia + how he met you

note: i just thought of this while im washing the dishes HAHA. female reader insert. also happy birthday to the ultimate baby bokuto 🥺💖

warnings: nsfw, mention of violence, grammar issues because im dumb asf

bokuto kotaro 

decoy/manipulator

has a two persona that is best used especially when he is in the midst of a deal

even though he’s a decoy, it is enough to send a rival down to his knees and beg for his mercy

Because bokuto doesn’t show tiny bit of his mercy especially when his dominating side takes over him

Is a good manipulator. To the point that you would have constant nightmares with just the slip of his words.

Good with his hands. Quite aggressive. Yet he plays his cards elegantly like the man he is.

you met him in a luxurious casino. you were the attendant of his table and you could always note how fast his mood changes and it was scary. you carefully stacked the chips in front of him, feeling the heavy weight of his stern gaze. you saw from your peripheral how his hands slid down the edge of the mahogany. “play with me.”

you didn’t answere and continued on organizing the stacks for a new game as per bokuto’s request but he repeated those words again, “play with me. you. im talking to you.”

and you did. he lost. and that’s what made you terrified even more. he grew dejected and stormed out of the casino like a raging tsunami.

that didn’t made bokuto happy at all, so he made sure to find you so he could play with you once more. it didn’t caused him a sweat when he found out where your apartment complex is. and his words have shaken you when he laid the stacks of money on your table and said, “play with me. the loser gets to kiss the winner, if you’ll allow it of course.”

there’s something with his words that are like witchcraft spells. and you found yourself nodding, yes.

daichi sawamura - 

the kingpin. 

daichi is the leader of the mafia group: karasuno or better known as their alias ‘lethal crows’.

 daichi is born into the syndicate. so he doesn’t get caught up unlike amateur people in the black world. 

undergone strenuous training just to prove himself as the worthy kingpin. 

he often orders the assassination and criminal deals. 

he isn’t as ‘intimidating’ like how people expect kingpins to act, but daichi has his own way that makes people so afraid of him. if he wishes to kill on the spot, he kills. even if you’re something important, if you annoyed him to the edge, you’re six feet deep.

however, one flaw of daichi is that he prioritizes his members that he doesn’t oversees the barriers coming his way. 

you met him during this time when curiosity get the best of you. you entered this fancy yet abandoned building in hopes of scavenging something that was left by its past owners. however, no treasure came to your view, rather a drug deal with bunch of rogue looking guys.

“daichi?” you were so shocked to see your co-worker in an expensive designer coat sitting in this throne like chair with stack of bills piled in front of him. he isn’t the typical guy you were used to seeing: the goofy guy in the fryer with his greasy apron. 

you didn’t expect him to be so, different.

“who’s this?” tanaka rose up to his seat. cracking his knuckles while giving you a dangerous look. 

“let her enjoy her remaining life as a free citizen. after this..” he counted the bills and paused at look at you, “you’re coming with me.”

akaashi keiji 

weaponry/gadgets specialist

Quite reserved.

He is often hired to big projects but he would turn it down if it requires his apperance.

No matter how much his members push him to bite off the job he wouldn’t, not unless he works up in the roofs, alone.

Usually works in the shadows. Where his identity is hidden.

Ask him about any weapon, he’ll have an answer in a few.

give him a vague description of a bomb, he’ll have it ready, ticking, for you.

he met you when you walked into his first walked in his gang’s base, with your red stilettos clicking aggressively against the marbled tile. then comes the second meeting and the third till you’ve both made good acquaintances. you liked him. for both his smart mouth and big dick. if he wasn’t just too difficult to persevere.

but you could see that way his breath hitched the moment you walked in with your fitted versace dress. which made you cocky from head to toe.

he could note the way your lips tugs upward as you scan the whole interior of the place. you didn’t need it though as you know every curvature of the place. you were just that shit going around him so you could give him a good view of yourself that he refused indulge in.

you stopped midway to stare at him from head to toe then back to his pretty face. gaze fixated on his kissable lips. despite your urge to kiss him up, you decided to tease, “give me something bold.”

“pardon?”

“you heard me, akaashi.”

and he gave you a fancy handgun, a caliber. however that wasn’t your request. you pulled his shirt and whispered to his ears, “i said i want something bold. want me to spell it out for you? A-k-a-a-s-h-i”

and you walked away. just like that and things just became bold in your apartment complex.

oikawa tooru 

underboss/ loverboy

Smooth talker. Usually uses his pretty face as an advantage to get something off girls that swoon over him.

he is quite unpredictable as well.

he approached you out of nowhere in the met gala and you were forced to be in his own disposal. he isn’t really a headache to deal with. but you aren’t here to flirt around especially with pretty boys like him. there is something in him that is similar with a ticking bomb. so best is to admire guys like him at a distance.

however, oikawa is determined to chase over you. because you are like a diamond in a room full of charcoal.

he approached you immediately when you stopped by in the concession stand to nurse yourself a cocktail.

“fancy a dance, miss?”

you looked at him. oikawa tooru. beautiful as they say but you immediately walked away.

oikawa smirked to himself, “if you just don’thold a precious information. i wouldn’t chase over a doll like you.”

tendou satori 

head of intelligence

can predict the moves of the rivalry gang

so in result they end up getting butchered thanks to tendou’s half assed predictions.

guess monster

the boys entered the room with a agitated expression painting their faces.

tendou raised a brow and looked at the boy filling in their ammos. “what’s up boys?”

“we got played.”

tendou grinned. “oh, interesting. who pulled an ace card?”

“y/n of the yakuza.”

tendou made sure to track you down for meddling in his play.

kyoutani kentaro 

torture specialist

All the dirty work is assigned to him

But kyoutani is quite carefree with his job, to the point where oikawa needs to step in to clean after his mess.

he is really brutal when it comes to finishing a rat pack from a rivalry gang and he gives no mercy.

knows every possible way of killing

but he fancies using the bat since it can strengthen his arm strength and it’s practical.

loves the sound of metal clashing with hard skull with the splasing sound of fresh blood slightly staining his skin.

you were both childhood sweethearts. however, you were the only one pursuing him because he doesn’t want to commit anything to you. not until you found out about him and his crucial job out of accident and he was forced to confess to you, and it was the reason why he don’t want to accept your heart.

one time he went home and he couldn’t find any trace of you. panic coursed through his veins when he heard your cries over the line.

“fucking touch her and i will drench all of you in boiling acid.”

ushijima wakatoshi 

hand to hand combatant

people are usually afraid of him because of how he could flip people off easily without drenching a sweat

he has the capability to run a whole gang just by himself

but he would just rather go and fight fist first

and chill afterwards

both of you met when you were scouted as a new member and part of the group’s test is to have a hand to hand combant against wakatoshi.

you were mortified when he approached you. with his large built and driving aura.

“ready?” he asked lowly.

“no?”

he raised a brow, “i bet.”

and he let you win just so you would get accepted in the gang.

tanaka ryuunosuke

hand to hand combatant

really moody

aggressive and violent

could kill with just the use of his hands, alone. 

but he has his soft moments too but this happens when the moon turns blue.

you were tasked to be his sparring mate. and to be frank, you were really spooked and frightened that you won’t get out of the arena, working let alone, alive. 

and to see him up close, it was really, a deal. he’s tall, with a slim yet broad frame, and really is intimidating. he gave you a look and ruffled your hair. 

“i don’t hurt girls.”

that was the first time you saw him smile. rumors said he never did. 

sugawara koushi 

consigliere

smart shit. 

he’s usually responsible for the activities of the group.

master at hiding the illegal stuff away from prying eyes

and a genius at continuing the legal stuffs even though it’s just for a front

he is also the adviser of the kingpin, especially at plans and deals on heists and forgery

at some point, he is the official diplomat for Japan.

he met you when he is trying to study the floor plan on the central bank. he was in this beige tux, with his gray hair brush up to give justice to his whole other persona. 

you came up to him and offered him installation plans and bank deals perfect for a bachelor like him. 

he gave you a smile, “i will be meeting you soon.”

and he did. in a creepy dali mask and a red overalls. “i told you, i will be back.”

iwaizumi hajime 

sniper

he goes with codes to maintain his anonymity

he works like a black panther, often sleek yet deadly

even the police couldn’t catch up with his hideous crimes because he never leaves unwanted trails behind

kills in his own special way

one time, he made someone swallow a C-4 and stitched his neck leaving it looking so grotesque

and boom, red, bloody like a slaughter house

he once made his way onto one of oikawa’s fancy bar to unwind. however, things went distrupt when there was a sudden shootout. he was beyond amused at how petty the shooters were aiming down at him. it was full of chaos.

he ducked down to fill in his ammos but he could see a figure crouched down underneath the satin cloths drench haphazardly above the tall tables.

he yanked the cloth and saw you there, looking lost as fuck. “what the hell are you doing here?!”

your eyes widened at the sight of the handsome man looking down at you as if you’re some unknown species. “uhm— chilling?”

he repeated your words. “chilling? in a middle of a fucking shoot out?”

“yo. i was lost okay? i don’t know where the exit is”

he grabbed you and threw his arms over your head so you’re protected from the stray bullets ricocheting over the place. “you’re a fucking goner.”

—

i hope you guys like this 🥺💖💖

[theoi-crow]

Hi Nathan! I hope you’re well, and belated congrats on the apartment! I just wanted someone to kind of... brain dump? to, if you don’t mind. So, I started my path with Hellenic polytheism last year before the pandemic started, and since then it’s been very up and down and mostly non-existent to say the least. I know much of it is from a combination of depression and just not understanding what I’m doing or how to go about doing it. In turn it turned into guilt and shame for not doing more for the gods. So I just stopped.

I usually write down my prayers or thanks to them because it’s generally easier for me to write my thoughts down than speak them because I’m much more coherent, but I felt compelled to talk to them and to just apologize, and I felt like the one I felt most present (or at the forefront) was Persephone, who I know is often associated with working with the shadow self. Behind her I could feel Artemis (who I know was reaching out in Dec 2019 along with Apollo, though I was in denial), and Athena. I had primarily worked with Apollo and Hestia last year, so to suddenly have three goddesses there was like, “Oh, I have an audience...” lol And upon me taking to them (and feeling weird about it, as I usually do), I felt like they were all trying to say, “Don’t worry about it. Your depression is valid, and we have all the time in the world to work together.”

I want to do better, and I want to work with them, but that’s part of the problem is that I don’t *understand* the how of it, you know? I’ve read other people’s experiences and I’ve been doing research here and there when I’m able to, but I still feel kind of lost? It was often like this when I was Christian, too. I always had trouble praying and feeling like I was connecting to anything, but now that I can feel their energies and I *know* I’m being listened to, I want to do what I can to worship them. I’m just kind of stuck. Any advice would be lovely, but I mostly wanted to type this (novel) to just tell it to someone who would probably understand. Thanks for reading, and sorry it was so long haha

Hi,

I really don't mind you sending me long paragraphs so long as it's helping you gather your thoughts.

Gathering our thoughts is one of the most important things to do in Shadow work and sometimes it's hard to do it without having someone to talk to. I personally feel silly talking to myself and then I remember I could just talk to the gods so remember that you are not alone. The gods will listen.

It sounds like there's a bit of imposter syndrome happening:

perhaps you don't feel like you're doing enough or you're not being good enough to work with the gods. But these are internalized problems that stem from self-expectation. Perhaps you have expectations that are a lot bigger than what your body or mental energy can currently handle right now, especially with the depression. The gods want to be a part of your life but they also want you to live it as comfortably as you can.

I recommend taking a more relaxed approach that helps you go with the flow of your life and sprinkling your worship into it.

One that can help you live life but also incorporate the gods in it at the same time, like waking up and talking to Apollo while you're doing your morning routine, not because you're doing it for Apollo but because you were going to do your morning routine anyway but this time you're talking to Apollo while you're doing it. (Though dedicating your morning routine to a god, even just brushing your teeth, can be very helpful when depression hits).

Dedicating your morning routines to a god can help you feel like you're also working with the gods at the same time. Be sure to pay attention to intuitive nudges and other ways in which the gods talk to you. Dedicating your morning routines to a god is just an example of the many things that you could do to incorporate the gods into your life while still living your life and working with them at the same time.

A lot of times worshipers try to work their life around their worship but end up accidentally not following through with their worship because life takes over and gets in the way of the time they had originally set aside for their worship.

One of the reasons why I'm not a big fan of formality (and obsessing over needing to be in one's best behavior) is because it accidently makes us hide a lot of what we truly need help with, especially when the worshiper has depression.

We end up treating and seeing the gods like they are a work boss and you would never tell your boss very vulnerable and private things about yourself because they might end up costing you a promotion or you might get laid off. Yet these private things are essential for the god to know in order to help you.

I grew up in a Catholic household that was very dedicated to the idea of wearing your Sunday Best and behaving as properly as you could whenever you were in church. I would get pinched for slouching or sitting incorrectly. This instilled the idea that if I showed my depression to God (even outside of church) then I would be punished for it.

The gods have taught me that they really don't care how you worship them, or work with them so long as you are taking their advice in order to become the best version of yourself.

Different people do different things and different forms of worship work for different people.

If what you're currently doing isn't working for you, then I suggest being a bit more relaxed in how you approach the gods.

Allow the gods to inspire you in a more organic manner and let them enhance your life rather than forcing yourself to follow a strict schedule that might not be possible when depression hits.

Look at the way that you currently live your life and try to figure out which god would work for which section of your life.

For example when I do self care I talk to Aphrodite, when I work out I talk to both Hermes and Apollo, when I'm doing school work I usually talk to Apollo and Athena, and when I'm feeling scared and need a little bit of courage, I talk to Ares.

This helps me remember that I'm not alone in my life, especially on those terrible days when my depression keeps me from getting out of bed.

The gods care about you. No matter what you do or try as you figure out what will work best for you, they will be there for you, every step of the way.

I hope this helps!

[tiramisiyu]

【未定事件簿】 Tears of Themis: Xia Yan Personal Story 4-1 Translation

Translation Masterlist | Xia Yan Masterlist | Video

Chapter 4: 4-1 / 4-2 / 4-4 / 4-5 / 4-6 / 4-7 / 4-9 / 4-10 / 4-11 / 4-12 / 4-13 / 4-14 / 4-16

Xia Yan’s Home

Our interactions after I moved into Xia Yan’s house had a long-lost familiarity to them, but also… a strange unfamiliarity.

When I walked up to the washroom door, the door suddenly opened from inside – Xia Yan had just finished showering and was just in the middle of wiping off his hair when he pushed the door open.

Just like in the past, he didn’t try very hard to dry it off, such that the white T-shirt that he was wearing was slightly damp, clinging onto his firm body.

Xia Yan: Why are you up so early?

MC: Sphinx said that he was going to contact us about collaborating on the case, right? I was afraid that he’d come over really early…

Xia Yan: Don’t worry, he won’t.

MC: How do you know? Did he contact you alone?

Xia Yan: Oh, he didn’t. I’m just speculating.

Xia Yan: Sphinx has always preferred operating alone in the dark. Even if he needed to work with us right now, he still probably wouldn’t want to reveal his identity.

Xia Yan: Plus, even if he doesn’t mind that, right now isn’t a good time.

Xia Yan: The two of us just appeared in front of Meng Qishan. Even though I’ve already threatened him to not reveal any info on us to Oedipus…

Xia Yan: It’s always best to take every possibility in consideration. If Sphinx seeks us out right now, he just might send himself to Oedipus for nothing.

Xia Yan: If I were him, I’d also opt to work underground. We’re out in the open while he’s hidden, which is more beneficial for the investigation.

MC: Makes sense.

MC: Right, why did you shower so early?

Xia Yan: Uh… I just finished up my morning run, so I took a quick cold shower.

Xia Yan: Right, are you also going to wash your face?

Xia Yan: Wait a bit, I just noticed that there’s no more toothpaste. I’ll get you a new tube.

MC: No need, I brought some.

MC: If you also haven’t washed your face yet, we can just use my toothpaste.

I helped Xia Yan squeeze out the toothpaste. Then, we stood side-by-side in front of the mirror to wash up.

Because we had grown up, and because Xia Yan’s home washroom was comparatively smaller, Xia Yan and I kept bumping into each other.

The steam that hadn’t dispersed yet in the washroom filled the air with the scent of shower gel. This was just a typical scent, but because Xia Yan was beside me, it felt… somewhat different.

Right now, the past commonplace occurrence of us washing our faces and brushing our teeth together… made me feel somewhat nervous.

The mirror in front of us candidly revealed all my emotions with complete clarity. I shifted away my gaze as if in escape, not daring to look at the mirror again.

MC: Xia Yan, are you still using this brand of shampoo?

The items on the shelves, the shampoo, the shower gel… were still the brands we used at home, eight years ago.

Xia Yan: Yeah. I had to buy new daily necessities after getting back, but I’m no good at picking them out…

Xia Yan: So I chose them based on our old habits – easy and saves me from worrying, haha.

In all these years, he still hadn’t forgotten those little habits. I suddenly felt a little happy.

But Xia Yan’s and my mouth-rinsing cups were a pair in the past, while they were now two completely different ones.

MC: What about your mouth-rinsing cup?

Xia Yan: There’s no one who sells that cup model anymore.

The small happiness that had just surged in my heart suddenly turned into a bit of disappointment.

MC: Is that so…

MC: Uh… about that, Xia Yan…

Xia Yan: Huh? What?

MC: A few days ago, I saw a pair of mouth-rinsing cups that look really nice online, and your cup just happens to be kinda worn… how about we change them together?

Xia Yan: Sure.

--

Xia Yan’s Home, Second Floor

After washing my face with Xia Yan, Sphinx called us, describing his action plan.

Just as Xia Yan had said, Sphinx was planning to continue hiding his identity. We would work out in the open while he remained hidden as we investigated together.

Sphinx: That’s what our plan is.

Sphinx: For these few days, I’ll first confirm whether there are other victims that corrupt detectives are harassing, and deal with their issues.

Sphinx: After confirming that those corrupt detectives have to do with Oedipus, you two can use other methods to investigate while hidden.

Xia Yan: Okay. Then we’ll wait for you to contact us.

Sphinx: Alright, that’s all-

MC: Wait, Sphinx.

The moment before Sphinx hung up, I called out to him.

Sphinx: Does Miss Lawyer have any other questions to bring up?

MC: I have some questions regarding our approaches towards cooperation. Sphinx, I acknowledge the reasons why you do not want to reveal your true identity right now.

MC: But we’ve already started investigating with you. You should at least display your sincerity, should you not?

Sphinx: …

Sphinx: Then how do you want me to display my sincerity, Miss Lawyer?

MC: Return Xia Yan’s box.

I heard a faint chuckle on the other side of the call.

MC: (What’s so funny about that?)

Xia Yan: Sphinx.

Perhaps because the pressure in Xia Yan’s voice, Sphinx’s brazen laughter stopped.

But there was a still faint layer of mischief in his voice.

Sphinx: Of course. I will get in touch with same-city speed delivery right after. You’ll be able to get your box today.

Sphinx: But after receiving it, I’d like to trouble both of you to examine it carefully.

Sphinx: Though you can consider me as a rogue, the point of stealing the box was to develop a cooperative relationship with you…

Sphinx: Logically, I wouldn’t play any tricks on these little things, but the two of you should still personally, carefully confirm it all.

Sphinx: For example, what if something happens with the delivery company and they break the box… then won’t I end up getting a really unfair accusation?

MC: Don’t worry, we will carefully look over the delivery.

Sphinx: If you say so, Miss Lawyer, then I can be at peace.

Sphinx: Although, Detective Xia Yan, why aren’t you speaking? You’re the most important involved party here. You, of all people, have got to be there to look over the delivery.

After Sphinx mentioned his name, Xia Yan’s face twisted very visibly.

Xia Yan: I… will.

MC: (Why does Sphinx sound like he’s messing with him…)

MC: (He hasn’t put something weird in the box to prank us, has he?)

--

These doubts continued until that afternoon, when we received the delivery Sphinx had sent.

I looked at the delivery box with severe caution.

MC: Xia Yan, could Sphinx have messed with something in the delivery box?

MC: I felt like there was something suspicious about his tone in the call.

Xia Yan: That guy definitely isn’t acting out of the goodness of his heart.

MC: No surprises there, you also feel the same…

Xia Yan: Mhmm… I messaged him after, asking what his goal was, but he just deliberately rambled on without saying anything important.

Xia Yan: How about I open it myself first, then call you over to see after confirming that there’s nothing wrong with it?

MC: That won’t do. No matter what happens, we’ve got to face it all together.

MC: Plus, didn’t you say before that Sphinx is an alright person? I bet that, at most, he’s just pranking us somewhere.

Xia Yan: … But I want to rescind that evaluation on him now.

Xia Yan sighed, then opened the package.

That box with the Sherlock Holmes pipe printed on it was wrapped in layers of bubble wrap, looking like it hadn’t suffered any bumps on the way here.

MC: He sure did give it enough protection. Just based on that, I’m willing to forgive him even if there is a prank somewhere.

Xia Yan: Well, that’s something he should be doing.

Xia Yan scoffed and opened the wooden box. The inside was filled to the brim with various little items.

His biology competition gold medals, the models he made himself… as well as many familiar objects. And what was piled at the very top of everything was a ring.

A ring with very crude worksmanship. The ring had been wound from copper into a circular shape, and a laminated four-leaf clover was sitting on the top.

This was the first thing that Xia Yan had personally made for me.

MC: Isn’t this the ring you made for me during kindergarten?

When we were still in kindergarten, we “played house” often, that popular child’s game.

One time, we got too into the game and thought that the ring braided from dog’s tail grass didn’t look nice enough, so we secretly took mom’s ring.

And then… we were both reprimanded severely.

Back then, I didn’t know how valuable the ring was or what its special meaning was, so I really didn’t understand why mom was unhappy.

MC: Back then, dad explained that the ring was one that he gave to mom, so only mom could wear it.

MC: But in the end, you hollered—

Back then, Xia Yan had earnestly yelled “Then I’ll just give her a ring”…

MC: …!

Xia Yan: …

We were long past those times when children’s words held no weight.

MC: (Does Xia Yan… still remember what he said back then…)

I lowered my head in a fluster, rubbing the ring in embarrassment.

When we were little, Xia Yan accidentally made the clover ring too big, so we comforted each other, saying that it would be just right if I wore it after we grew up.

And right now… I couldn’t help attempting to fit the ring on my middle finger.

MC: It’s on. The size is perfect…

Xia Yan: Yeah… perfect.

Xia Yan repeated the words in a whisper, then stared quietly at the four-leaf clover ring.

I stroked the ring on my hand. Suddenly…

MC: Xia Yan…

Xia Yan: Huh? What’s the matter?

MC: It seems like I can’t take off the ring…

Xia Yan: Huh?

Xia Yan held up my hand, trying to shift the ring, but the ring didn’t move in the slightest.

His brow wrinkled as he snatched a small plier from the toolbox on the table.

MC: What are you doing!

Alarmed, I stared at Xia Yan.

Xia Yan: I’ve got to hurry and cut off the ring, or else your finger will end up swollen.

MC: I refuse!

Xia Yan: Don’t fuss, this is just a toy ring. Your finger’s more important.

As he spoke, Xia Yan had already grabbed my hand. I rushed to cover the ring with my other hand, resisting desperately.

MC: No way! You gave this ring to me, so it’s mine! I refuse to let you break it!

Xia Yan: Jeez, I’ll make you another one in the future, okay? Be good.

MC: The one in the future is for the future, but you can’t break this ring either!

We traded fast verbal shots without realizing anything. Only after coming back to my senses did I notice… something wasn’t quite right.

MC: !!!

Xia Yan: …

Xia Yan: Sit tight, I’ll find some lubricating oil to see if it’ll work.

--

Xia Yan soon brought the lubricating oil. He applied some to my middle finger first, then tried to rotate the ring gently, trying to push it off.

MC: Ugh…!

Xia Yan immediately stopped.

Xia Yan: It hurts?

Xia Yan: Looks like this really won’t work.

Xia Yan sighed helplessly, then took a small plier from the toolbox.

MC: You’re…

Xia Yan: Don’t worry, I’ll be really careful. I’ll do my best to not break the ring.

Xia Yan: Don’t fidget, I don’t want to hurt you by accident.

To make working on it easier, Xia Yan half-knelt in front of me, holding up the hand with the ring gently.

His actions right now lent a particular ambiguity to the scene all of a sudden.

MC: …!

Xia Yan: What’s the matter? Did I hurt you?

MC: No… keep going.

How exactly… does Xia Yan see me?

Bit by bit, each scene after my reunion flooded my mind.

MC: (Xia Yan’s always carefully held onto this ring for so long…)

MC: (To me… does Xia Yan also…?)

As soon as this thought popped into my head, my heart started to beat wildly.

Although, why didn’t Xia Yan make it clear with me?

⊳ Out of caution ⊳ Because I didn’t give a response

MC: (Speaking of which, there’s often a lot online about long-time friends who are too scared to confess.)

MC: (They were afraid that if the romance failed, they’d lose an important friend.)

MC: (Xia Yan… probably also wanted to be cautious, so he didn’t say anything.)

MC: (If I do a little something, would he… understand?)

  ⊳ Out of caution ⊳ Because I didn’t give a response

MC: (If I think about it carefully, I think I’ve done a lot of low-EQ stuff…)

MC: (It’s all my fault…)

MC: (I should be able to make changes in time right now… what should I do to get Xia Yan to understand my emotions?)

--

I was just in the middle of my messy thoughts when I heard Xia Yan’s light voice.

Xia Yan: Alright, it’s off!

Xia Yan: Great Lawyer, hurry and inspect it to see if it’s perfectly fine.

MC: Absolutely perfect! Great Detective Xia, you’re way too amazing!

MC: (Either way… since I’m living at Xia Yan’s house now, I’ve got lots of time to figure something out.)

Xia Yan: What’s the matter? You seem a little absentminded.

MC: Not at all, just wondering about what we should eat for breakfast.

Xia Yan: I know several decent breakfast restaurants. Let’s go, I’ll take you over to try them!

[iisuya-simps]

A Kings Coronation (Royal au – Otoya x Reader)

A/N: I've been trying to write this since his birthday celebration card came out

Klab please let me marry this man ~ I will give him my s o u l

God, I wish this were me...

Enjoy~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Word count: 2458

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The day of Otoya's 18th birthday. Today he would be crowned king and take over the kingdom. You woke up early and rode all morning from your country to see him. A few hours later you woke to the sun shining in your eyes, seeing how you slept most of the way.

It was crowded when you got there. Guards lined up at every corner. People came far and wide to witness the crowning of a new king. You had to push through the crowd to even get close to the main balcony when a hand touched your shoulder.

“There you are! I finally found you!” You feel someone's arms wrap around your waist. It was him. “Otoya!” You turn and give him a hug, he squeezes you back. “Thanks for coming.”

“How could I miss my best friend's 18th birthday/coronation??” “Haha, this place is totally packed, huh? Just getting over here to you was crazy.” “They're all here for you.” You give a warm smile.

“Congratulations, King Otoya Ittoki.” You curtsy. “Gosh... Hearing you say it all formal like is kinda embarrassing.” He scratches his head. “Well, I'll answer as the birthday king should.” Otoya puts his hands on his hips puffing out his chest. “You have my thanks, dear Y/N.” Then bows. “Maybe that wasn't so regal...” you both laugh.

“Well, today is about to kick into high gear so stick close to me, ok?” “I promise I won't leave your side.”

“Still, I'd find you even if you vanished into thin air. We'll have lots more time to talk if we stick together, plus everyone can know about us right?”

“Know about us?”

“Let's go!” You follow close behind him but find it challenging with all of the people. You hesitate to grab his hand but he takes yours first. You look up and see his bright smile and wink as he guides you through the crowds of people till he sneaks you inside.

“Hey, there's something I'd like to show you.” “Oh?” “Close your eyes.” “Otoya...” You whine. “Come on it's a surprise!”

“Fine.” You close your eyes and he takes your hand guiding you slowly down the hall.

“Don't peek, ok?” “I wouldn't dream of it.” You go down a few halls then Otoya puts his hands over your eyes. “It's just up ahead, so put your trust in me. Keep walking straight.”

Continuing down the corridor you approach some steps and a large door. “There's a small staircase so watch your step.”

“Shouldn't I be the one surprising you?” “Maybe. But it's not often we see each other. Just a few more steps and we're here!” He takes his hands away from your face. “Open your eyes!” Revealed to you is a grand balcony with a gorgeous view of the land. “Ta da!”

“Wow, Otoya!” “Are you surprised?” “This is amazing! I've never been here before.” “This is the prettiest spot in the whole castle, so I had to show you! There's even an awesome view of the ocean!”

You can see every corner of the courtyard. You walk up to the railing and lean forward taking in the sights, Otoya joins you from behind.

“Beautiful isn't it? Wonderful weather, and a beautiful princess.” You giggle. “And a charming prince, soon to be king.”

You both heard a commotion from below. “Uhh, it looks like everyone is looking for me. They won't check here right?” He scratches the back of his head. “Maybe we should go back.” “Nah, it'll only be a few minutes, no harm done. Besides look!” Otoya shuffles in a bag behind his back.

“I brought us some cake for us to eat together!” You cross your arms. “Otoya isn't that for the reception?” “Well yeah but I want to eat it with you now... And it's my birthday so anything goes!” You shake your head and laugh. “Alright then, let's dig in.” “Yay!”

He places the plate on the table to the left of the balcony. “After you, princess.” He pulls out a chair. “How kind of you your majesty.” Grabbing two forks from his bag he sits across from you unwrapping the cake. “Waah, this looks sooo good. Itadakimasu!” You both took a bite savouring the vanilla cake and fluffy buttercream frosting.

“Mmm, I knew it.” “Knew what?” “That this cake is way tastier being here with you than at the party.” “Uh-huh.” “What? You don't feel the same way?” He pouts. “Everything's better with you, Otoya.” “Really? I think so too... With you I mean!” You both gobble down the rest of your cake not saying a word but simply enjoying each other's company.

“Ahh, that hit the spot. Shall we go?” “You have cake on your face silly. You'll look like a fool if you go out like that.” “Hmm? Where is it?” He licks around his lips. “No on your cheek, here.” You laugh stepping closer to wipe the icing with your thumb from his cheek. Sticking it in your mouth you then clapping your hands together.

“That's better.” “T-thanks...” He blushes but quickly recovers. “Well, the party's just getting started.” You place your hands on his shoulders. “Let's make this the best day ever!”

You and Otoya go back down to greet the people outside in the crowd. Staying closely by his side he never let you out of his sight. “Otoya there you are! I swear you have no sense of time. The ceremony is about to begin!” The queen crosses her arms. “Already?” “Yes, now let's go.” “But Y/N...” “I'll be fine.” You smile. He takes both of your hands in his. “I'll come to find you after, ok?” “Alright, now go get your crown.” You wink.

The crowning ceremony was lovely. Otoya took the coronation oath and made a speech. Afterwards, everyone gathered in the main ballroom then the celebration really began. You were wandering around near the edge of the ballroom when you felt a hand pull you around the corner.

“Hey.” “Oh hi.” You smile and fix your eyes on his crown. “So what's next, king?” “Hehe, come with me.” You spend the rest of the day greeting more people, enjoying the food at the banquet and listening to the royal orchestra. When nightfall came Otoya leads you away from the dwindling crowds to his bedroom to retire for the night.

“Wow, that was a blast.” You jump on his bed and sink into the duvet. “We hung out all day huh?” “Yup seems like it.” “Time flies when I'm with you. Oh! And did you hear the band? They were all like bweeh daa daa doooo.” Otoya mimics a violin shaking his head around.

“Ah! My crown is gonna fall!” He juggles it between his hands leaning over and catching it before it hits you. “Gotcha. Whoa!” The carpet slipping from under him he fell on top of you anyway. “S-sorry y/n!” There was a moment you stared into each other's eyes. You blushed a bright red then laughed.

“Cmon... no laughing. I just let my guard down a bit...” he pouts. “You're just a clutz, Otoya.” You scoot off to the other side of the bed. “Am not! I always act like a king should...” “Uh huh. So what does it feel like to be a king anyway?” He places his hand on his chin and ponders.

“It's not much different than being a prince yet I don't think. Though I guess a big responsibility falls on my shoulders now that I am a king. I have a whole kingdom to look out for after all. And you.” “I can look after myself.” “But you don't have to.” Otoya twiddles his thumbs together.

“Anyway... Today is special! After all, you're here with me.” He raises a brow. “Hey, why are you so far away? Didn't you promise not to leave my side? Come sit by me. You're making me lonely...” He pouts again. “Promise you won't fall on me again?” “Not on purpose.” “Haha.” You move closer and the both of you talk about the day's events. Though the whole time, you couldn't help feel butterflies dance in your stomach.

“I had a great time today, Y/N.” “Me too.” “Everything was so wild during the day, but now all I hear is you.” His hand caressing your cheek. You gaze, getting lost in his eyes. “Those lips hold the voice I cherish most.” His thumb brushes over your bottom lip. Leaning forward his lips meet yours as they come together in a sweet kiss. You stay like that for a moment, then part. You turn away embarrassed. “Wait what's wrong? Don't turn away.” He giggles. “You left yourself open for that.” You laugh too.

“Look at me.” He turns your head and your eyes meet once more. “I'm sorry I guess I just wasn't expecting that...” He places both hands on the side of your face slowly pulling you into another kiss. “Were you expecting that?” “Hehe.” You wrap your arms around his neck and kiss him back. You melt into each other drawing out each kiss for as long as you could. “I don't know, were you expecting that?” You both laugh and he pulls you into his arms.

“Oh, Y/N...” He sighs. “I just want you all to myself.” “So selfish, your majesty.” “Hey, a king's orders are absolute you know. That being said, I order you to stay and talk all night to me.” “I guess I cant disobey direct orders.” “Hehe, no you can't.” You lay back and chat in his arms, steadily getting more sleepy you yawn.

“Will you stay with me tonight?” “I did arrange to stay for a few days.” “Really? He beams then suddenly gets nervous. “W-what is it?” You ask, both looking serious and sit up.

“Y/N, would you stay longer if I asked you to marry me?” Your eyes widened. “O-Otoya I-”

“I know it's sudden, I just can't wait. I want you to be mine.” “Are you sure? There are plenty of other princesses that are dying for your hand in marriage.” “Well of course there are other princesses, but you're the only one I have my eyes on. You're too special not to be my beloved.”

“Otoya...” A happy tear slides down your cheek but he wipes it away and holds your hands. “Hows about I ask you again tomorrow? More formally.” “Okay.”

You're unable to hold back the grin from your face. Marry Otoya? Being his friend is one thing but this is a dream come true.

“Oh! I almost forgot!” You get up and grab your purse shuffling around. “Close your eyes Otoya.” “Ok ok... You take the little box from your purse and open it to place a small wooden triangle in his hand. “You can open your eyes now.” He looks down at his hand to see a small triangular pick. “A pick?” He studies it. “For your guitar!”

“Wha-” reaching under the bed you pull out a brand new redwood guitar. “Wow! For me?! Are you sure?!” “Of course! Otoya takes the guitar running his fingers over the frets and strings. “Happy birthday Otoya.” He sets the guitar down by the nightstand beside him. “Thank you Y/N!” He tackles you to the bed holding you tight.

You spend the rest of the night giddily talking about your goals, dreams and aspirations for the future. Eventually falling asleep next to each other.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the morning you wake to a blushing Otoya combing his hand through your hair and your eyes flutter awake.

“Good morning, Y/N.” Otoya presses a kiss to your forehead. “Morning.” You yawn. “Did you sleep well?” “That was the best sleep I've had in a while.” Otoya beams. “Good, are you hungry? Would you like breakfast? I could have the cook bring us something.” “That sounds lovely.”

“I'll be right back!” Otoya rushes off to the kitchen and has a special breakfast made. He returns with the cook serving both of you a buffet.

“Otoya!! We cant eat all this!?!” "That's ok, there's plenty of variety so just pick what you want!” You share a large breakfast together in bed. Otoya insists on feeding you dessert, but after the feast you just had you couldn't possibly take another bite.

After a quick rest, Otoya leads you on a stroll through the garden. It's early spring and the flowers are just starting to bloom. You're walking along when you pull Otoya to a stop.

“Hibiscus!” You wander over to the colorful display of red, yellow, white and pink flowers. “Hibiscus is my favorite flower.” You hold back your hair and take in the sweet almost fruity fragrance. “Y/N.” Otoyas hand takes yours.

“We've known each other since we were kids. As the years have gone by I've realized how special you are to me as a friend and something more. I promise to love and protect you as I will my kingdom. With you by my side, I feel as if I can do anything. I will give you each and every one of these flowers and more.” Otoya kneels down in front of you.

“My heart belongs to you and only you.” You gasp as he opens the velvet box to reveal a dazzling yet subtle ring. “Say you'll be mine, forever and always.”

“Otoya...” You tear up once more. “Yes, of course I'll be yours!” He stood and took the ring out of the box placing it on your finger. You leap to hug him almost knocking him over in the process. This was better than you could ever imagine.

"Otoya, I love you." Your heart pounds as you pull back to look him in the eyes.

"I love you too, Y/N." You share a very heartfelt passionate kiss.

Otoya plucks a flower from one of the branches and tucks it in your hair.

“There, for my beautiful bride to be.” You plant a gentle kiss on his cheek and walk hand in hand back to the castle where you greet the queen.

You feel quite foolish when you realize that it was your parent's plan all along to get you two together, but it worked out so naturally you didn't care. You were getting married to the guy of your dreams, and that was a miracle within itself.

Your wedding was celebrated with your family and civilians from far and wide.

But with Otoya by your side, this truly was a dream come true.

[slashingdisneypasta]

I can't believe I'm actualy going to ask for this but, I wanna know Slender brothers reactions when one of the other creeps (or even the other brothers) tease him for his crush on the reader who happens to walks by at moment and hear everything? If you write for them and want to write this of course

Here you go! I hope you like it! Sooooooorrrry its taken so long ): 

~~~

Splenderman:

·         Splender cares not for ‘teasing’? Pft. What are you talking about! He’s a centuries old eldritch being who basically feeds off of the happiness around and inside him- you don’t think he’d have learnt not to be bothered by most words by now? (I say ‘most’, because words said by his brothers that ring with truth still, of course, hurt and push him to change and improve).

·         But, Slender is still irritating when he’s persistent. And Slender is always persistent. Stubborn bastard. Especially when he has a goal in mind- which is to get you and Splender out of his home because you’ve both been here for 3 months non-stop, beating around the bush with each other and not just coming out with your feelings and Slender is going to get you out of his house even if it means playing cupid *Disgust audible on ‘cupid’*.

·         Splender is aware of this ulterior motive to Slender trying to get him to confess… its just not enough. Splender never confesses feelings first to mortals, although he really wants to. He wants you to come to your own conclusions first because he doesn’t like the power imbalance involved in him taking the reins in a romantic relationship between you, a mortal, and him, an omnipotent immortal being. (Side note: He will absolutely never, ever, in a million years read your mind, either. Absolutely not)

·         They’re in one of the many hallways in the mansion and you’re walking through the kitchen on your way to the living room which will lead to this particular hallways, when everything goes to hell (Or heaven, depending on how you feel XD). “I can’t, Slender.”

·         Quickly, out loud and out right, Slender says. “You’ll never know how bleeding irritating your sense of morality is to me Splender.”

·         “Hm, what?” Splender hadn’t quite heard what he said because he had to quickly catch a book that had slipped off his pile, as he was busy carrying some books down the hallway (Towards the Livingroom doorway) to the archive room down the hall as his little brother badgered him.

·         “I said I hate your moral compass.”

·         “Ah, what’s new?”

·         Slender, for a moment, stops talking. Doesn’t have a quip ready yet then, Splender thinks. Must be thinking of a new angle to persuade me with.

·         Really he’s sensed your approach to the living room door, just as they are, and is waiting for the appropriate moment to be am evil little shit. “Ah, mind blip. What were we talking about again?”

·         Splender reads the cover of the book he saved from the floor absentmindedly. “My ‘Complete idiocy in staying in your home, that I helped to build in the first place, as I wait for lovely Y/N to confess to me so I can confess back and not force her into a relationship with our power imbalance, which is bothering you, King of The World Slenderman, for but a couple months of your immortal life’? I think that’s how you put it- I mean, I could have added some things but- “

·         “Oh, good afternoon Y/N. Finally. You’re here.” Slender greets you, standing now in the living room doorway as they stand, like, 2 feet from it. Definitely not far enough away that you didn’t hear all that. “You heard. That’s wonderful. Bye, then. I expect you both out by the morning- if I do see you then, you’re on your own for breakfast you squatters.”

·         Then Slender disappears and you and Splender are left standing shocked in the hallway.

·         “Umm… “Splender wonders what he could say, being cautious as he slowly lowers the books from his face. “Dear, we should talk.”

·         You grin. “Come on, hand me some of those books and we’ll talk while we put them away.”

Offenderman:

·         Look, Offender can handle teasing. All the Slender’s can (Except for Slender, haha), but Offender especially doesn’t mind it because he has total confidence in how, uh, disturbing he is and his ability to scare people off. Especially, he thought prior to this day, little scrawny oven fried teenagers.

·         But apparently, he had overestimated his capability with this particular pest.

·         Offender had come to Slender mansion today to rest up because no place is quite as uneventful and as such, good for rehabilitation as his brothers home (And also, you’re here so that’s obviously a factor) is, but Jeff had been catching him every time they were anywhere near each other with a quip or a chortle about his obvious feelings for you.

·         I mean, of course they were obvious (To everyone but you, clearly). He flirts with you heavily, and yet has never made a proper, serious -unwarranted, - advance towards your person. He always saves a seat for you if he knows you’ll be around, and he’s been around the mansion far more often then he used to be. So, yeah, it was obvious. Offender wasn’t trying to hide it- in fact he wanted you to know. But somehow you hadn’t picked up on the hints?

·         Jeff had, though. And, also, everyone else who has visited the mansion at any time that you and Offender are there as well. But Jeff is the only one posing a problem at the moment.

·         He just thought it was so funny, that Offender had found a person he actually liked, and who caused him to hesitate about hurting (The first time he met you, and he intended to hurt you he hesitated. And that is how he realised he had a crush), and Jeff would just not let that slide.

·         Offender had brushed him off and snapped back at him in his casual, yet very very threatening style enough today.

·         So now Jeff had to be really dealt with.

·         “Look, ugly child, in my experience a boy only spends this much energy on someone if he likes them. So, unless you want to prove your worthiness to me in a more private setting- I’d give it a rest!”

·         And that moment, in which Offender has cornered a Jeff The Killer who is now reconsidering his actions today in the shadow of the Sexual Offenderman, is the one you walk into.

·         Jeff and Offender spot you at the same time and as Offender’s wondering how he can twist this into him not actually threatening to rape Jeff, Jeff’s panicked pea brain goes a completely different direction to what his cunning (Yes, I promise you, when he isn’t panicked because a Slender Brother is hovering over him, he can in fact be smart) ass would have done in another position, and points to Offender and exclaims- “He’s in love with you!”

·         Offender stops- Well, actually, thank you Jeff, that’s actually helpful. You might actually hear it, now. But he is still frustrated by the boy so he turns away from him and just growls, “You’re excused, thank you for your service Jeff.” *And in Jeff’s head: And wish on your lucky star that I don’t visit you when you’re sleeping tonight. You’ll learn it’s not so funny to badger an eldritch monster. *

·         (Don’t worry, he doesn’t plan to visit Jeff at all. His focus is on you now)

·         Jeff BOOKS IT, anyway. Cuz he doesn’t know that!  

·         Now that it’s just you two, and he has sufficiently scared Jeff shitless, Offender brightens again. “Y/N!~ I think it’s a good idea that we have a sit down together and talk about this, yeah?”

·         *Cue Offender manipulating you through acting like a nice, level headed guy who just wants ya’ll to have tea together, into sitting with him and so he can charm you, now that he knows you actually understand his feelings*

Trenderman:

·         Zalgo is bored. And when Zalgo is bored, the Slender brothers end up getting bothered. It’s usually Splender or Slender (Mostly Slender) and almost never Trender, but Zalgo is happy to work with this.

·         There are two reasons Zalgo never gets to annoy Trender. 1. Trender is usually very levelheaded, and as such, is the least fun to play with. Zalgo can ordinarily, never find a good angle. And reason 2 is a result of the first reason: Being that he never has anything going on that can be picked on.

·         But… now, Zalgo knows about a little crush that Trender has! And as such, he can finally finish his collection of annoying the Slender Brothers. So yay for Zalgo!

·         Not so yay for Trender.

·         “Zalgo, I’m really busy, so let’s get straight to the point. We’ve never had any sort of relationship, so, and take this with the most sensitivity- why are you here??”

·         “Ooh, so authoritive and formal. Just like Slender- tell me, Slender’s older brother, why haven’t we had a relationship?”  

·         “Can I pay you to leave?”

·         “Oh right! You would rather Y/N think you’re hot. I wouldn’t worry, I’m sure they do. Don’t worry, you have Slender’s formality, Offender’s shoulders and Splender’s approachability, “Chef kiss. “Perfection!”

·         Trender’s mouth rips open and he forces a natural growl out. He hates being compared to his brothers. He is not a cocktail of his brothers; he is nothing more and nothing less then himself.  “You deeply offend me. You’re whole being does.”

·         “That’s what I go for!”

·         “Anyway- “

·         “Anyway,” Zalgo mimicks Trender here, getting a deep sigh from Trender in response. Chuckling, Zalgo, straightens himself and speaks again in his normal voice. “So you do like Y/N, right? I’m not way off?”

·         Trender, mid wiping down his face halts, then turns to look at Zalgo. “Wait- That was the point of this conversation!?”

·         “Yeah! Wasn’t that clear?”

·         “No!” Trender exclaims, outraged. He thought Zalgo was just mindlessly antagonising him- that sure is what it felt like!

·         “Well, haha, mate. You were way off, then!”

·         “Agh, YES! I like Y/N! Wouldja go, now?”

·         “Certainly!” And, with one last giggle, he does. Walking down the hall to Slender’s office. He sends finger guns and winks to someone hidden in one of the rooms he passes. “Oh hey Y/N, see ya later! I’m sure you have lots to talk with Trender about!”

·         “Uh… yeah… “ You, left standing in the doorway to your room as you were about to leave it and go get something to eat when Trender yelled at Zalgo that he liked you, turn down the hall to a very still, very surprised Trender. You raise your eyebrows.

·         “Oh… of course.” Trender drops his arms to his sides and zips his mouth shut again.

Slenderman:

·         “Toby… “Slender says the words slowly, nearly whining in frustration as he just wishes his proxy would leave him alone about you. Alas, Slender had made a mistake and given Toby the duties that revolve around being close to their boss all day, like a moron, and now he was stuck with him.

·         And it’s not like Toby is teasing his boss. No! He’s but… questioning him.

·         Interrogating him.

·         But in the friendliest way possible!... Which just so happens to annoy Slender even more.

·         “So, you don’t like them?? Yes? No? Maybe? ‘Its Complicated’? Do they scare you? Do you know anything about them? Have you told your brothers? I mean, I wouldn’t. You might though, they are you brothers and you trust them, right? RiGHt? Uh well… on second thoughts, maybe you don’t. You’re a lil bit of a locked shell you know boss? You should confide in someone more! You’d feel way more chill. I confide in Masky or Clocky! Masky only with gross things like this mole I have on my butt- He hates it. I also talk to Hoodie! But I feel like he tells everything to Masky, he’s a bit untrustworthy. A bit off, I dunno. Scares me- OH maybe that person that you can confide in, sir, can be Y/N!”  

·         “Toby!”

·         “Yes boss?!”

·         “Calm yourself!”

·         “Yes boss!!”

·         “I need to stop hiring rando’s off the street… “Slender mutters to himself, continuing down the hallways even grumpier than usual. “Next time I need to pick up an accountant or a lawyer or something… Absolutely no more waffle crazy arsonists. “

·         “What was that sir?”

·         “I was just pondering where I should bury you after I get your replacement trained.”

·         “Ah, right sir! I always liked that bit of earth down by the lake- not too cold, not too warm, no bears nearby… “

·         Slender groans, turning and entering into the living room and going for the kitchen. He needs a cup of tea desperately.

·         “Toby, new rule. No more talking about my ALLEGED feelings for Y/N, got it? Punishment is death.”

·         “I wont need to sir.”

·         Immediate suspicion fills Slender’s chest. Toby… wont… need to talk about it? Why? “Why is that, Toby?”

·         “She’s sitting on the couch, sir.”

·         Slender has never whipped around so fast. But once he has, he definitely feels the need to do it faster, again, and run off somewhere but he restrains himself.

·         There you are, bundled in a blanket on the couch like a caterpillar sitting up the remote and some of your fingers peaking out from the face hole (The struggle of turning on the TV when you’re bundled up in the blanket, aghh). Your eyes are wide, as anyone’s would be after hearing the Slenderman hint that he has feelings for you.

·         It’s a very awkward moment. You, a caterpillar, Slender, a mute, and Toby looking between the two of you expectantly waiting for something to happen.

·         … Before Slender teleports away without a word.

[nightskyhoseok]

Autopilot - Jimin (M)

Summary: You’ve always had a thing for your friend Jimin, and that comes with fantasies - ones you’d never dare tell another soul. So when you’re all caught up in Dark Souls and your friend Chihye starts asking you about him, your mind turns to autopilot and your secrets are revealed to more than one...

Genre: Smut

Warnings: dirty talk and mild body worshiping

Word Count: 2.8K

Link to the YouTube video for this one-shot!

•·.··.·• •·.··.·•

A curse slipped out past your lips as the familiar sound of your character’s death thrummed through your speakers, filling your ears with the morbid tune, the words “YOU DIED” appearing on your TV screen. You dropped your controller on the bed and slipped your hands into your hair, frustrated with yourself as the game began to load your respawn ever so slowly. A snicker from beside you drew your attention away and you couldn’t help but stare at your friend as she laughed at your embarrassing attempt to take on the boss known as Kalameet. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Chihye teased, rolling her eyes at you as she sat up. “It’s not my fault you suck.”

“Thanks, Chihye. That makes me feel much better,” You said sarcastically, glancing back at the TV to see that you had already respawned. You quickly grabbed your controller and readied yourself to take on the boss again, even though a lingering voice in the back of your head screamed “give up!” 

“Hey, maybe this time actually do some damage,” Chihye said and laid back down, grabbing her phone to scroll through her timeline again, like she always did. You reached around to grab one of your pillows and smacked her in the face with it, but by the time she got up to yell at you, you were already engrossed back in your game, blocking out all external distractions. “Pussy.”

“Eat my ass,” You snapped back at her. “I’ll have you know this is the hardest boss and he hits fucking hard, so be a little more understanding, okay?”

“Fine.” Chihye groaned loudly and rolled onto her side, watching you make your way down the ladder to approach the black dragon. You honed in onto the dragon, drawing your weapon to make a swift approach. It swiped its claws at your character, but your reflexes allowed you to press down on the buttons of your controller, letting you roll out of the way in time to avoid its attack. A sudden buzz on the blanket beside you caught your attention just for a split second, but you were able to regain your focus, dodging a deadly attack just in time. 

Chihye scrambled to sit up and picked up your phone, looking at the notification on the screen. From the corner of your eye, you could see a deathly smirk overtaking her face. She laughed to herself and held your phone closer to her face. You always wondered how she still had perfect vision even though she stared at her phone screen all day. Then again, you weren’t that different with your video games.

“Jimin texted you. He says he’ll be here in five minutes,” Chihye read aloud. “Ooh, let’s see what little old Y/N has been talking about with her boyfriend.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” You said automatically, still focused on the game. You jumped slightly as the dragon flew into the air and let down a devastating breath attack, taking down half of your health within seconds.

“Well, you still like him.”

“I don’t, Chihye,” You lied through your teeth.

“Seriously? Who calls their friend at 2 in the morning and stays on the phone with them for almost four hours? You don’t even do that with me! It’s a sign!”

“Yes, it’s a sign that you’re delusional,” You snorted, earning a groan from your roommate. 

“No, you’re delusional. It’s obvious you like him,” Chihye insisted, slipping your phone into your lap. With one hand, you grabbed your phone and set it aside on the bedside table, all the while still playing your game with your other hand. Chihye noticed and whistled, brushing off your shoulder. “Look at you.” You smiled and glanced over at her before returning to the screen. “Anyways, don’t try and run away from this. You like him. It’s obvious.”

“And how is it obvious?” One more strike had finally brought the black dragon to half its health, and you couldn’t help but smile to yourself at your accomplishment. You looked to Chihye, expecting her to congratulate you on getting this far, but she stayed in her own little fantasy world.

“One, you always talk about him. Two, you are always talking him. Three, when you’re not with me, you’re with him. Four, I just know.”

“I just know,” You repeated in a mocking tone, wincing when Chihye slapped the side of your arm.

“Hey! Don’t make fun of me. I know a lot more about relationships than you do, missy.”

“Of course you do, you’ve been with like 12 guys this year alone.”

“And you’ve been with…” You turned to glare at her, but she gave you a shit-eating grin, one that you couldn’t fight because you knew it was true. You simply huffed in defeat and twisted your head back to the TV. “Exactly. A grand total of one.”

A moment of silence took over the room, the only sound being the game’s soundtrack and sound effects playing through your speakers. You shifted uncomfortably, your mind wandering to Jimin. God, you really did like him. Hell, maybe you even loved him. But you had no chance. Jimin was probably the most beautiful man you’ve ever met. With those looks, you wouldn’t be surprised if he’d been with every person at your university. You considered yourself lucky to even be able to be called his friend.

“Even if I did like him, I’d have no chance,” You said suddenly, startling Chihye slightly. She tilted her head and pouted, then leaned back into the pillows at the head of your bed. A small frown decorated your lips, but you pushed your feelings aside and focused on your game again. 

“How long have you two been friends again?” Chihye asked.

“Since freshman year,” You answered in a monotonous tone, your brain automatically turning to autopilot as you were engrossed in the game completely. 

“And you met-”

“In my Programming course. We got paired for a project.”

“So almost two years. And you never, not once, felt anything for him?” Chihye continued, pushing for more answers.

“I mean, yeah I liked him for a while, but it just kind of went away on its own,” You explained, cutting yourself off with a curse as you took a particularly hard hit from the boss.

“Did you ever want to kiss him?”

“Have you seen his lips?” You smiled to yourself, thinking about his beautiful pink, plump lips. It’s all you could focus on when he was talking, and you’d often have to snap yourself out of your trance before he got the chance to notice you staring.

“Have you ever wanted to sleep with him?”

“I think everyone does.”

“You still wanna fuck him?”

“Yeah, sure, why not?” You hummed, smiling as the health bar of the boss dropped to less than a quarter of its fullness. 

“Have you ever had a wet dream of him?” Chihye asked, a small smirk painting her lips as she watched you answer without even thinking.

“Yeah, a couple,” You admitted.

“You ever touch yourself thinking of him?”

“Of course.”

“Did you ever- oh shit.”

Chihye stared towards the door, and it took her a few seconds to process what she was seeing before tapping on your shoulder. You pushed her hand off, but cheered out a silent “yes!” as the dragon boss fell to the ground, the triumphant music playing in the background as the words “VICTORY ACHIEVED” popped up. You set your controller down and turned to Chihye, who looked like she had just seen a ghost. 

“What?” You questioned. She lifted her hand and pointed her finger to the doorway, and as you turned your head to see what she was pointing at, a familiar face filled your view. Your heart dropped at the sight of Jimin standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame as he stared at you. Something was different in his eyes. You froze for a moment, thinking back to what you were saying before. You quickly clasped your hand over your mouth and stared at Chihye, who was just shaking her head in disappointment. “How long has he been there?”

“Long enough,” Jimin said in a low tone. Chihye hurried to stand up and grab her bag, rushing to put on her sandals. 

“Where are you-” 

“Oh, look at the time! I’m totally late for my class,” Chihye laughed.

“But, Chi, it’s Sunday, we don’t have any-”

“Haha, I would love to stay and chat but I’ve gotta go. Bye!” Chihye rushed out of the room, stopping behind Jimin to give you a wide smile and a thumbs up before running off. You groaned and buried your face in your palms, listening to Jimin walking closer. The bed sank down slightly, indicating he had sat beside you.

“You beat Kalameet?” Jimin asked, picking up your controller. You snapped your hands away from your face, embarrassed of the blush that was spreading across your cheeks at a quick rate. 

“U-Um yeah,” You said nervously. “Just beat him.”

“Good job. He’s a tough one.” Jimin smiled as he handed you the controller. You reached over to take the controller, jumping slightly when his skin touched yours, undoubtedly burning from the embarrassment. “I still have to beat him.”

“I guess it just takes practice.” 

Jimin suddenly leaned over and ran his fingers over the controller, tight in your grip, and pressed down on the home button, exiting out of the game. You slowly turned to him to see a smirk on his face, eyebrows quirked up in curiosity.

“I have a question,” Jimin asked, drawing out his words as if to the beat of your heart. You drew your mouth into a straight line, unsure of what to say. Jimin gripped the controller, still in your hands, and led it down to the edge of the bed, making you set it down on the comforter. His fingers ran up your arm and under your chin, lifting it up slightly as he tilted his head, giving you a lustful look. “Do you still want to fuck me?”

You nearly ran out of the room at that point, but something switched off inside of you, feeling his fingers against you, his eyes boring into yours, his breath hot and heavy against your skin. You looked down at his lips, and it seemed that was all Jimin needed to answer his question as he smashed his lips against yours, grasping the sides of your face to pull you closer.

His tongue slipped into your mouth and danced with yours after he explored all corners of your mouth. He scooted closer and tilted his head, allowing further access to those lips that you had desired for so long. He slightly moaned into the kiss, the sound shooting straight down to your core as you took a deep breath in, trying to keep your composure. 

Your eyes slowly closed, enjoying the sensation of Jimin’s teeth lightly grazing over your bottom lip. When you looked at him, his eyes grew darker with lust, and his hands tightened on your waist as he moved his lips down to your neck, sucking at the sensitive skin. You winced and gripped at his hair, pulling slightly, earning a groan from him.

“You have no idea what you do to me, Y/N,” Jimin moaned against your skin. His hands moved to your shoulders and pressed down, pushing your back onto the mattress as he climbed over you, his eyes darkening even further. “You have no idea how many times I’ve thought of you. Thought of this perfect body. So beautiful.”

Jimin moved back slightly to raise your shirt and bunch it up underneath your breasts, then placed a wet, open mouthed kiss to your stomach. You jolted from the sudden touch, feeling Jimin smirk against your skin. 

“So sensitive.” Jimin straddled your waist and leaned over you, his hair falling onto your forehead as his breath hit your lips. “Do you want me?”

“Fucking yes,” You said, rising up to connect your lips with his. He smiled into the kiss and brushed your hair back with his hand, then pulled away and slipped his hands past your pajama pants and panties, swiping his fingers over your already drenched slit. 

“Damn, you're dripping and I’ve barely even touched you. Do I get you that excited?” 

You nodded weakly as he pushed two fingers into your core, stretching you out. You gripped the back of his neck, nails digging into his skin as he pumped his fingers into you, scissoring them to loosen you up. It had been so long since you’ve had someone touch you properly, let alone touch you at all. 

“So warm and tight. I can’t wait to pound this cute little pussy.”

You whined at his words, desperate for more than just his fingers. 

“Jimin, no more teasing. I need you now. I need to feel you,” You whispered in between pants.

“You sure you can fit all of me? It might hurt,” He laughed.

“Shut up you cocky bastard and just get naked already.”

Jimin laughed at your sudden need, but he followed your wishes and stood up, stripping off his clothes until he was completely naked.

Your eyes stayed glued to his length as he climbed back over you and tugged your pajamas and panties down in one swift movement. He threw them somewhere else in the room and kissed your lips briefly before speaking.

“Condoms?” He asked, quirking up an eyebrow.

“Bottom drawer,” You said. Jimin leaned over and reached into the bottom drawer, pulling out a silver packet. He opened it with his teeth and rolled the condom onto his length, slowly stroking himself before positioning himself between your legs. He hoisted your thighs over his shoulders and slowly pushed himself into you, earning a sinful moan from the both of you as he settled into your heat. 

“Oh fuck,” Jimin moaned, gripping the bedsheets as he twitched inside you, already feeling himself unravel from the feeling of your pussy alone. You caught your bottom lip between your teeth as he pulled back, then pushed back in slowly. “Goddamn, you feel amazing.”

“You too,” You tried to say calmly but it came about as more of a loud moan than anything. He smirked and began to pick up a steady pace, fucking into you while his gaze locked on you. His mouth hung open as his hips moved faster, slapping against the skin of your thighs. You could feel your walls gripping him, pulling him in further, like you never wanted to let go of him.

“You want this cock so much, don’t you?” Jimin smirked, leaning down to ghost his lips over yours. You cried out from the new angle as his cock hit a spot deep inside you that had you trembling from the sensation. “You feel so fucking good, baby. So fucking good. You were made for me. Your pussy was made for my cock.”

“Oh my god, Jimin. More,” You moaned, your nails dragging down his back as he continued his movements, your wetness sliding down his length with every thrust. He let one of your legs go and slid his hand down to your clit, rubbing circles into the sensitive nub. You nearly screamed from the stimulation, but you held through it, and stared deep into Jimin’s eyes as he fucked into you steadily. 

“Don’t stop looking at me.”

“Fuck, Jimin, please. I’m so close. Please.“

“Cum, baby. Cum for me.”

With those words, he simultaneously pinched your clit and hit your g-spot, sending you into a whirlwind of passion as you reached your high, screaming out Jimin’s name and profanities of all kinds. A flash of white took over your vision for a second, but you were able to ground yourself again in time to watch Jimin slow his thrusts, grunting out your name as he spilled into the condom, twitching inside your aching walls. 

You laid there, trying to catch your breath while Jimin carefully pulled out of you, tearing off the condom before throwing it away and joining you on the bed. He pulled you up to the head of the bed and covered you with a thin sheet, slipping in beside you, his hand gently petting your hair.

“You did so good,” Jimin said. 

“Mmm,” You hummed in response, too tired to form any coherent sentences. 

“You okay?”

You nodded, smiling at his kindness. It was one of the many things you loved about this man, and you were glad it was still here.

Jimin moved closer and wrapped his arms around you, pulling your head into his chest as he traced circles on your lower back, placing a kiss to your forehead.

“Rest, now. I’ll be right here with you.”

You smiled to yourself as you drifted off to sleep, Jimin staying beside you the entire time.

•·.··.·• •·.··.·•

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[whitewolfandthefox]

Hey! Would you mind doing Jaskier x reader kinda based off scenario 4? Like, the reader and Jaskier are in an adventure when they're suddenly ambushed, so the reader, no weapon on hand, throws herself between Jaskier and the killing blow? And then sheepishly admits shes loved him enough to die for him for a while now (Up to you if you want fluffy or angsty haha)

Scenario 4: Confessional kiss before battle (didn’t quite follow this!)

Summary: You had been travelling with Jaskier and Geralt for some time now. At some point, you weren’t sure when, you had fallen hopelessly in love with the bard, but he didn’t return your feelings. You had to make a decision, you just weren’t sure what it was yet. 

Words: 4.4k

Warnings: major character injury, angst, whole lotta angst, but I swear it turns fluffy!

A/N. So apparently the people have spoken and y’all have chosen fluff (not that I expected anything different after that last chapter). But knowing me, I couldn’t get away with no angst, so we’ve got a little bit that turns into fluff. Enjoy!

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It’s Only Ever Been You (Jaskier x Reader)

It was supposed to be the day you were finally free of him. You had talked to Geralt, he had known about your feelings for a while after you had gotten drunk one night and poured your heart out to him. Ever since, he had been trying to leave you and Jaskier alone as much as possible, but the oblivious idiot that he was, the bard hadn’t picked up on what you were trying to do. It broke your heart every time he went to bed with another woman, you would mope around until Geralt finally took it upon himself to distract you.

You began learning swordwork, impromptu lessons that had started as an attempt to distract you on Geralt’s part had quickly turned into daily sessions, working on your strength and your technique. Although you weren’t nearly as good as Geralt, you had gotten to the point where you could hold your own and Geralt started trusting you to help him on easier hunts. Geralt had even bought you your own sword so you would have one that was made to your specifications. You were thrilled at this, of course, but crestfallen that Jaskier seemed to lose even more interest in talking to you once you started. You tried telling him about how the lessons went at the end of the day, but he would just brush you off and go find someone else to talk to after his set.

Geralt would try to comfort you but it was no use. Jaskier wouldn’t even talk to you at this point, he would just send you glares from across the room. You were distraught, you had no idea what you had done to deserve this treatment. That night saw you and Geralt sat at a table in the back of the inn while Jaskier performed for the crowd. You were crushed, the bard hadn’t said a word to you all day. Geralt had supplied you with a steady stream of ale that evening, getting you progressively more drunk as the evening progressed.

“I think I need to leave, Geralt.” The man you were addressing looked at you with sad eyes. “I can’t stay here, it hurts too much.” You wouldn’t look up at him, tears dripping down your face as you stared into your mug. It was true, you couldn’t stay. Being ignored by the man you loved and watching him fall into a different bed every night was too much. You didn’t know how much longer you could survive this.

A hand rested on top of yours, causing you to glance up. “Are you sure? I can always knock some sense into the idiot,” Geralt rumbled, sending a sharp glance Jaskier’s way. The bard was oblivious, playing to the inn, enjoying himself the whole while, completely ignorant to the raging torrent of emotion that was you.

Geralt’s remark drew a short laugh from you, which quickly turned into a sob. Your chest squeezed as the bard grinned brightly at his captive audience. You shook your head. “I fear there is nothing to be done. I will travel with you to the next town, finish the contract we took, but after that I will depart. Maybe I can sell my services as a guard.” You squeezed Geralt’s hand. “Thank you, my darling Witcher, for everything you have done for me.”

Geralt grunted, again making you laugh tearfully. You knew he wouldn’t reply, he was still uncomfortable with showing what he was feeling, although he had become more open with you. Standing, you sent one more gland in Jaskier’s direction before gathering your gear off of the bench from where you had set it. “I am going to bed, Geralt, I hope you have a peaceful rest of your night.”

You smiled softly as his brusque nod, accompanied by a quiet “good night,” turning towards the stairs and making your way to your room. You missed Jaskier’s eyes following you across the room as you disappeared down the hallway. Reaching your room, you quickly stripped, washing yourself before you retired to your bed, falling asleep with tears drying on your cheeks.

Your dreams were disturbed that night, tossing and turning, seeing Jaskier and Geralt struck down as you slept. You remember crying out at one point before feeling a soft hand brushing your cheek as lips pressed against your forehead, the presence soothing you. You quieted after that, content in the feeling of security that wrapped around you, brought by the presence in the room. 

You woke early the next morning to see Jaskier still asleep in the other bed and Geralt missing from the room. You dressed quietly before venturing downstairs, seeking out the other man in your party. You found him at a table, a plate of food in front of him. As you sat next to him, the innkeep appeared with another plate, which he set down in front of you. Startled, you thanked him before turning to Geralt who’s lips had quirked upwards. You scoffed and nudged him gently. “I can pay for my own food, thank you very much.”

Geralt didn’t acknowledge you, continuing to eat in silence. You shook your head at him, before focusing on your own food. Geralt had started on his second plate by the time you finished your first, just in time to see Jaskier stumble down the stairs. Mask falling into place, you stood as you gathered your plate. “If you will excuse me, I’m going to go pack my gear.”

You headed for the bar with your dishes, avoiding the bard’s path as he approached Geralt’s table before making your way back to your room. You could hear Jaskier’s voice behind you, “What’s her problem this morning?”

You stopped, hand against your chest as his question pierced your chest, heart clenching at the dismissive tone Jaskier had used. A tear leaked out of your eye as you forced yourself to your room, falling to your knees as you suppressed a sob. You crumpled in on yourself, a flood of emotion finally releasing after you had held it back for such a long time. You quieted after a while, wiping your tears as you heard footsteps coming down the hall.

You kept your back to the door, sorting the things in your room into two piles: a pile for you and a second pile for Geralt and Jaskier. The door opened behind you, the footsteps coming into the room before stopping. It was Jaskier, you wouldn’t have heard Geralt, he made sure to tread lightly, a fact you still couldn’t reconcile with the hulk of a man.

“What are you doing?” The question was shrill, as if Jaskier couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Keeping your back to him, you responded. “I’m sorting our things, you and Geralt will go into one bag and my stuff into another.”

Jaskier approached you. “But why? We’ve never sorted our clothes before, everything’s just always gone in together. If you separate them we will have to bring two bags up, Y/N, not just one. You really should just put everything into the same bag.”

His footsteps came closer, hand appearing in your vision as he reached for one of your shirts to put in with his and Geralt’s things. You snatched the shirt back, stuffing it into your own bag. “I’m leaving Jask, that’s why I’m sorting my clothes! After Geralt and I finish this contract, I’m going off on my own!” You turned to look at the bard, frozen with a look of disbelief on his face.

“You’re - you’re leaving? Just like that?” Jaskier seemed stunned.

“Yes, I’m leaving. I talked to Geralt, and I’m leaving to find my own job. This just isn’t going to work.”

At your words, his face shuttered. “Okay.”

You stood, facing him. “Okay? Just okay? That’s all you have to say?”

“What do you want me to say, Y/N? You’ve obviously made up your mind. Besides, it’ll be one less person to feed. Good luck finding a new job.” With that, Jaskier turned and walked to the door, shutting it hard behind him.

As the door shut, your heart shattered, knees collapsing beneath you as you fell, sobs ripping their way out of you, tears cascading down your face. You curled into a ball on the floor as you gasped for breath, desperate for anything to stop the pain that you were feeling in that moment. That’s where Geralt found you, lying on the floor, curled up with a blanket that Jaskier often slept with when you camped outside. He came to sit by your head, stroking your hair as you sobbed, pulling you into his lap as he leaned you against his chest. 

“Shh,” he murmured, “Just let it out.” He rocked you gently, shushing you as you cried yourself out again. Silently, you pushed against him in a silent ask to be released, going back to sorting your things when he did. Geralt helped you, the two of you content in the silence. Once finished, you gave him a soft, sad smile in thanks. Geralt nodded, understanding your wordless gratitude before leading you to saddle the horses.

Your bay mare knickered when she saw you, bringing a gentle smile to your face. You saddled the horses and secured your belongings in silence, sneaking an extra apple to Roach when Geralt wasn’t looking. You mounted as Jaskier appeared, leading your horse out of the stables as Geralt and Jaskier held a quiet conversation. You refused to look at the smaller man, staying on your horse when you normally would walk alongside her in order to attempt to converse with the bard. 

The three of you travelled in an uncomfortable silence, not even Jaskier daring to break the quiet with a song or a poem. It was agonizing. You longed to hear the bard’s sweet voice raised in song, breaking the heavy silence that had settled over you. Even the horses were somber, picking up on their masters’ moods.

You left Jaskier with the horses as you and Geralt went to deal with the monster. You pretended it didn’t hurt when Jaskier wished Geralt luck, but didn’t say anything to you. You ignored the look you received from the Witcher at that, leading the way into the forest as you buried your feelings deep within you.

The hunt was a disaster. The two of you had missed the creature’s partner as you had approached its lair, resulting in you being grabbed and flug against the side of the brick house. You had watched, stunned, as the second creature had leapt onto Geralt’s back, opening a gash in his armour before you had forced yourself up, slashing to force the creature off. The pair of you killed the monsters but didn’t come out unscathed. Geralt’s shoulder was bruised but healing quickly and you had received a laceration down your dominant arm, forcing you to use your weaker sword hand to finish the fight. 

Back at the horses Geralt had quickly bound your arm, settling it in a sling until the skin set. Jaskier had stayed slumped against a tree, studiously ignoring the both of you as he glared at the ground. Making your way back to the main path, your group of three turned towards the next town to collect your payment, the head of one of the creatures in a sack attached to your horse. Jaskier hadn’t looked you in the eyes yet. 

As you rode, you could feel your arm itching, but you brushed it off. The sooner you could collect the coin for the monster, the sooner you could leave all of this behind. You rode behind Geralt, pausing when you saw him stiffen in his saddle. 

“Geralt?” you called, loosening your sword in its sheath as you saw the man in front of you do the same. Jaskier doddled up behind the two of you, oblivious to the tension in the air. Geralt nudged Roach to back up until he was side by side with you. In a low voice, he told you, “I can hear and smell men in the bushes just ahead of us. If my guess is right, they are waiting to claim the monster head so they can collect the coin.”

You shifted, tightening your armour and checking the bandage on your arm once more. “What do you want to do? Make a run for it? I don’t know that the horses will be fast enough if I have to carry Jask.”

“You’re not carrying me, I can walk.” Jaskier protested from behind the two of you.

“Shut up, Jaskier,” Geralt interrupted without looking back. You tuned out Jaskier’s words as he spluttered behind you, focusing instead on trying to catch a glimpse of the men waiting for you. As he spoke, the trees rustled and a band of men stepped forward, clothed in shabby armour with old weapons. “Not a very intimidating group, are they?” Geralt rumbled.

Your lips quirked at that, but you were more focused on studying the group, trying to decide the best plan of attack. Your thoughts were interrupted as one of the men stepped forward, brandishing his sword at you. You hid a smile as he almost dropped his weapon, grip slipping as he tried to intimidate your small group. Jaskier squeaked and stepped behind your horses while you nudged yours forward a step in response. “Witcher,” the man called. “Just give us yer prize and we’ll let yer group on their way, no trouble.”

Geralt didn’t respond, face remaining blank,, the men shifting on their feet at the drawn out silence. As the man who had spoken originally opened his mouth to say something else, Geralt finally spoke.

“And if I don’t want to?”

“Don’t want ta what?” The man appeared confused. You could hear Jaskier sigh behind it as he muttered under his breath. Geralt nudged Roach forward a few steps, your own horse following instinctively, Jaskier scrambling to keep up.

“What if I don’t want to give you my prize?” As he said this, Geralt’s hand drifted up to the hilt of his sword as you placed your own hand on the hilt at your hip. The men behind him shifted, muttering amongst themselves as the Witcher slowly drew his sword.

The man in front blanched, clearly having not considered the possibility that the Witcher wouldn’t just hand over his prize. They must have assumed that their larger numbers would have kept the man from fighting back. You watched as the surprise, disbelief, and many other emotions that flew across the man’s face slowly turned to anger and determination.

“Well, if ya won’t jus’ giv’ it to us, I guesses we has ta just take it then!” With that, he thrust his sword into the air with a cry before charging at your group with his sword held in two hands above his head, the rest of the men following behind. You swung down from your horse, turning her and sending her away with a sharp hand gesture, Roach following quickly behind her. You drew your sword, turning to face the approaching men as Geralt shoved Jaskier behind him, shouting at the bard to get to safety.

You swung your sword to meet the first blow, the man’s face turning to shock as the woman he thought would be an easy target met him with strength behind her sword. You quickly shoved him back, pulling your sword across your body to thrust towards his chest, catching him in the middle before leaning and kicking him away, turning to catch the next weapon swinging down at you. A shock went through your arm, travelling all the way up to your shoulder. The itching feeling had started burning, a low, dull throb that grated at your concentration. You switched your sword to your non-dominant hand as you engaged the man who had just attacked you.

A feral grin appeared on your face as the man yelled and rushed you, hoping to overcome you with brute strength. You sidestepped his headlong rush, slashing across his back as he passed you, the man falling to the ground with a cry. You quickly engaged and incapacitated a third man, pausing to survey the scene. Geralt was holding his own, toying with the two men attacking him surrounded by the bodies of the other two men he had taken down.

You spun as you heard Jaskier scream, the smile dropping from your face as you took in the sight of the bard backing towards you as another man stalked towards him, sword held loose in his grip. You didn’t even think, your body moving before your mind finished processing what was happening. You shoved Jaskier out of the way, desperately bringing your sword up to knock the blow away.

You made contact with the man’s weapon, but not fast enough, the point plunging into your shoulder, a cry forced from your lips at the wave of pain. You stepped back, head thrown back in a silent cry as the blade slid out of your skin before your own blade came back up, catching the man unawares as you opened a long laceration on his upper arm. He frantically backpedaled, wildly swinging at you as he went. You knocked his sword away, distantly hearing Jaskier cry your name as you advanced on the bandit. As he thrust at you, you knocked his sword down, stepping on the blade as it went past you, forcing the man to bend as you brought your sword up before bringing the hilt down as hard as you could on his head. The man instantly collapsed the ground, leaving you to stagger away.

You dropped your sword as your hand went numb, the burning travelling up your shoulder into your chest. You grasped at your chest, gasping for breath as you felt your legs give out beneath you. As you fell, you felt your body caught, arms pulling you into a lap, Jaskier’s face appearing above you. As the world started to spin, you smiled up at him, trying to reach up to touch his face before frowning at the tears on his face. He was talking, you could hear his mouth moving but no words coming out. You blinked as he shook you, sound suddenly reaching you.

“-idiotic, stupid thing to do, why would you get in the way? Why would you do that, you reckless girl. I won’t be able to live with myself if you die, you can’t die, I can’t lose you.” He looked so sad, you wanted to say something to cheer him up, to make him know that this was okay. 

Again, you tried to brush the tears from his face, your hand falling back to your body as you tried to lift it. Jaskier grasped your wrist, lifting your fingers to his mouth as he pressed a kiss against them. You smiled softly, head lolling to rest against his chest, Geralt appearing on your other side.

“What happened?” he demanded, falling to his knees next to you. 

“I don’t know,” Jaskier cried. “She pushed me out of the way and got stabbed in the shoulder but kept going. She wasn’t doing anything when she collapsed, and she hasn’t said anything! Geralt, I don’t know what to do!”

The Witcher acknowledged this with a terse nod, reaching for the wrist Jaskier wasn’t holding to check your pulse. You cried out as he pulled your arm towards him, the burning increasing at the action. Geralt and Jaskier shared a glance over your head before he was reaching for his dagger to slice your bandages and shirt away. You heard an intake of breath as the fabric fell away, struggling to turn your head to look. You caught a glimpse of it before Jaskier caught your head and pressed it back against his chest as a sob tore its way out of your lips. 

Your arm was red, the wound swollen with black lines running up to your shoulder and under your shirt. Jaskier held you as your body shook, Geralt inspecting your arm. He looked at the bard, somber expression on his face. “The monster must have been venomous, we need to get her to a healer.”

You sighed as you closed your eyes, mumbling against Jaskier’s shirt. “I’m sorry.”

He looked down at you, brow furrowed with worry. “For what, you have nothing to be sorry for. You just need to stay awake, can you do that for me Y/N?”

You nodded tiredly as he tapped your face, opening your eyes at his silent request. “I got blood on your shirt.”

Jaskier barked out a hysterical laugh, “That’s the least of my worries right now.” His face fell as your head lolled over to look at Geralt. The larger man looked up from where he was rebandaging your arm after applying a healing salve, nodding at your unspoken request. “You need to stay awake, please.” Jaskier’s voice was pleading with you as you almost lost yourself to the haze.

Turning your head back, you lifted your eyes to his face, taking in the features that you loved, trying to memorize them once more before you gave in to the darkness. A small smile graced your face, eyes drifting shut as you breathed out the three words you had longed to tell him. 

“I love you.”

The last thing you saw before the world went black was Jaskier’s frantic face, his lips moving in a desperate plea for you to stay awake as your eyes closed and your head fell to the side as you fell into the darkness.

**~*~*~*~**

You groaned as you came to awareness, whole body sore when you tried to move. You rolled your head to the side, opening your eyes before immediately closing them against the bright light. You heard movement next to you.

“Y/N? Oh thank god, Y/N! You’re awake!” It was Jaskier’s voice, the bed dipping as he sat down next to you, taking your uninjured hand. “C’mon darling, open your eyes for me.”

You cracked your eyes, seeing the bard next to you, face drawn and dark circles under his eyes. You tried to speak, coughing at the dryness in your throat, Jaskier frantically reaching for the cup next to your bed. He helped you sit up, propping some pillows behind you as he helped you take a sip. Once your thirst was quenched, you tried again. “What happened?”

Jaskier’s face grew grave. “You don’t remember?” As you shook your head, he drew a hand down his face. “You were injured, the monster you fought was toxic, and when the bandits tried to ambush us, your accelerated heart rate forced the venom through your system faster and you collapsed.”

You winced as the memories came back, jogged by Jaskier’s words. You remembered the burning pain, as well as what you said to the bard before you passed out. The man in question was watching your face closely, looking for something in particular. He seemed to find it, grinning as he sat back on the bed.

“You do remember, then.” You flushed at his words, fingers pulling at the blanket, refusing to meet his eyes. You felt a gentle hand under your chin, guiding your face to look at his. A soft expression was on his face, a smile tugging at his lips. “I do as well, if that’s any consolation.”

You gaped at him. “You do as in you remember or you do as in you-” you cut yourself off, to afraid to finish your sentence as you once again glanced away. His fingers once again found your chin, gently tugging you back to face him as he leaned in. You breath hitched at the proximity between you two, your eyes frantically searching his face as he searched yours.

Seeming to find what he was looking for, he closed the distance, gently pressing his lips against yours. You startled, eyes widening before they shut as you kissed him back, reaching with your uninjured arm to hold his bicep. The kiss was sweet and gentle, just long enough to leave you breathless, tired as you still were. Jaskier smirked at you, clearly pleased with your reaction. You swatted at him.

“But, I don’t understand, all of those women? They meant, nothing?” you hesitated, flicking short glances at his face. His expression went tight before he sighed, face falling. 

“It was only ever you. I was trying to distract myself,” he glanced up at you, eyes sad. “I saw you spending all of your time with Geralt, and I thought that maybe, you two had…” he trailed off as he saw the smile appearing on your face. “What? This isn’t funny!”

You giggled at his offended expression before rushing to explain as he pretended to withdraw his hand. “Geralt started teaching me as a way to cheer me up, he knew that I… loved… you, and wanted to distract me when you would leave. Eventually it turned into real lessons once I discovered I was fairly good at it.”

You waited as a small smile grew on his face before he started chuckling, you following along as it turned into a full blown laugh, Jaskier hunching over on the bed as his laughter shook his body. He finally recovered, wiping his tears away as you watched him with a soft smile. “All this time and we couldn’t see it. I was trying to flirt with you since we met, but you always seemed to show no interest.”

You gaped at him as he grinned, “I thought you just did that with everyone! I didn’t know it wasn’t in jest!”

Chuckling again, he stood and nudged you, helping you shuffle over to the other side of the bed you were laying in, climbing in after you. You snuggled under his arm as he pulled you in close, tucking your head under his chin, careful not to jostle your injured arm and shoulder. He pressed a kiss against your head, nosing your hair as he murmured. “I love you too.”

You stilled at that, looking up at him with shining eyes. He leaned down, gently pressing a kiss against your lips before pulling you back to him. “Sleep, my love. We have all the time in the world.”

You nestled in further, content in his warm embrace and the knowledge that he loved you. Your eyes slowly closed as Jaskier started humming a sweet tune above you, lulling you into a comfortable sleep, safe in his arms.

**~*~*~*~**

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[bnha-mha-imagines]

I’m Back In Time To Fulfill My Promise

ITS APRIL FIRST AND YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS

Mineta x Reader

Words: 2028

Warnings: This is Mineta so… hah. Maybe hints at spice/horror for some of you lolol

A/N: YALL REALLY THOUGHT I FORGOT ABOUT THIS AHAHA NOPEEEE! It’s April 1st darlings SOOO MY QUARANTINE-HIATUS OFFICIALLY ENDS WITH THIS LOL

ALSO

How in god’s name did i manage to get over 2000 words with this i’m c r y i n g haha if you read this, at least make it to the end lololol

Jirou looked at you with furrowed eyebrows, leaning back as she tried and failed to hide her wincing expression. “Are you serious (Y/n)?” she asked after a moment, as if she needed to pause and actually make sure what she heard was correct. “Like… this is a joke, right?”

Your friend’s reaction only worsened your shame, and you bury your face into your hands. “Jirou don’t look at me like that, at least try to pretend like you’re not judging me right now!” At your words your friend sighed, and you look up in time to see her lean back into the bean bag chair. 

“Sorry,” she said, tone growing more serious. “It’s just hard to believe that out of everyone you would like...him.” You sneak your hands under your thighs so that you sit on them, uneasy now that you’ve confessed to Jirou your feelings toward a certain someone. “You’re just… way out of his league, you know? Like how did he even… how did you even fall for that?” 

You groaned in embarrassment, becoming growingly flustered at her words. She was confused by the whole scenario, you knew that. After all, so were you. How could you possibly fall for his over the top advances? His terrible pick up lines? His inappropriate and filthy remarks? It was a poor choice, you knew, but you couldn’t help your feelings. It was out of your control. 

“I don’t know,” you sigh loudly, unable to bring yourself to meet her eyes. “I know he’s gross and he flirts with everyone but… I don’t know.” You sigh again, unable to find the words. You throw yourself face first into your pillow as Jirou goes quiet. 

After a moment of silence she speaks again. “I mean… if this is what you want, I’m sure he’d be over the moon with even a ‘hello’ from you.” You turn your face so one of your eyes could peak at her. She had an expression on as if it physically pained her to say those words. “But just so you know I think you can do much better. Like… Kaminari for example! He’s also an idiot, but he’s better than Mineta.” 

You felt your face bloom at the name, unable to hear your dirty little secret crush formed into actual words. “Agh! Don’t say his name!” you wailed, throwing yourself into the pillow again.

Jirou threw her hands up exasperated. “How can you say you like him if you can’t even stand his name?!” You ignored her complaints, practically rolling in the bed.

“I don’t know!” you cried, equally frustrated with yourself. “Like, I hate that I like him! My feelings are all conflicted and I like him but I hate that I do!” Your words came out rushed and Jirou groaned at them, dragging her hands down the sides of her face slowly.

After she took a breath, she tried a new approach. “Alright,” she said. “Let’s stop trying to label how you feel and start trying to figure out what you want. Do you want…” Jirou paused as if she was going to gag. “Do you want to date him?”

You quieted, unsure what answer was the right one. “I don’t know,” you settled on. “Maybe? But I’m not sure if dating Mineta will actually be dating. Like… can he even settle on one girl? Would he even change his habits?”

Jirou shrugged, face strained to stay neutral for you. “I don’t know. That’s going to be a gamble for you. You’ll never know unless you actually go through with it, but seriously consider if that’s something you even want to do.” 

You looked at Jirou, for the first time letting her see the fear in your eyes. “Jirou I’m… I’m just worried about the social consequences about doing this. Like… What if people look down on me? He’s not exactly a classy or well-regarded guy. What if people start to think that way about me?” 

Jirou’s expression softened. “(Y/n), people aren’t going to stop liking you. Pity you maybe, or be confused… really, really, confused… but everyone in our class adores you. If you stay as sweet and kind as you are, that won’t change.” She crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing again. “If anything, everyone’s going to get very protective of you!” 

You look up at Jirou once more, giving her the biggest puppy eyes you could muster. “Aww, Jirou…” you say, touched. “You would kick his ass for me?” Jirou scoffed, smirking as she leaned forward to throw a blanket over your head.

“I’d do that on any normal day. If this is what you want, I’ll support you… but yeah, if he does anything to hurt you I’m gonna rip his balls off.” 

You raised an eyebrow at her. “Which ones?” She didn’t answer. 

The next day came much too fast. After talking with Jirou, you had decided that you were going to accept your feelings without any worry about what other people would say. You couldn’t explain why, but you liked him. You liked Mineta. And you weren’t going to let yourself be ashamed of that any longer. No… you were going to make your move.

You sat through Aizawa’s class with a stiff posture, forcing yourself to look confident. In reality, your thoughts were in complete turmoil. Mineta’s assigned seat was directly on your left, and sitting in close proximity to him had you completely shaken. From the corner of your eye you could see him sneaking peeks at your chest. It wasn’t as if this was a rare occurrence, but there was something about you knowing that in half an hour you would be confessing that made it nerve-wracking. 

After thirty excruciatingly long minutes, Aizawa released you all for lunch. You waited in your seat, taking your time to put away your things. With careful eyes, you watched as Mineta exited the classroom. There was no backing out this time. 

Zipping up your bag, you began to make your way down to the lunchroom. Many of your classmates were already sitting togethers at their usual tables. You saw Jirou make eye contact with you from across the room. You couldn’t read her expression, but you knew it had to be something of a mix between encouraging and pitying. 

Taking a deep breath, your eyes scanned the open room before landing on Mineta’s table. Much to your dismay, he was sitting next to Kamiari. They often got lunch together, Kaminari switching off every other day between eating with him and eating with his other friends. This was going to make things a lot more awkward for you. You had hoped that you could confess in private but… fate apparently had different plans.

The sight of the two of them was nearly enough to make you back out, but as you half turned to sit somewhere else you froze. You couldn’t run forever. Screw it. 

Turning back towards the table, you took determined strides across the lunchroom. Setting your lunch bag on the table top, you startled both of the boys out of their conversation. No one else ever sat here when this duo was together… well, never a girl at least.

Both of their eyes were wide with surprise as you cleared your throat. “Is this seat taken?” Your question hung in the air for a moment, your eyes completely focused on Mineta. He seemed to squirm under your gaze, simply nodding his head quickly and making room for you to sit. 

Kaminari was the first to break the silence as you sat down. “(Y/n)! What a surprise to see you here. Decided to switch things up and sit with us cool guys?” His tone was joking and he winked at you, but you didn’t give him any of the attention he wanted. You didn’t come to chit chat with him.

“Not as casual as that,” you spoke, turning to look at the purple boy next to you. His face was completely scarlet at the sight of a girl--you--sitting so close to him out of your own volition. “I really just wanted to sit next to you, Mineta.” Your words were bold, you knew that, but hopefully they didn’t sound as tasteless aloud as they did in your head. 

Both boys practically went bugged eyed, sharing a disbelieving glance with each other. Kaminari got quieter, partly because you shot him down and partly because your statement about Mineta completely threw him. Mineta took a sip of his grape juice as if it would help him in this situation. His eyes brows were furrowed and you swear you saw him sweat a little. 

“W-Well lucky me,” he recovered once he had quickly drained his drink. “It’s not every day that the hottest babe in class chooses our table…” His words had you cringing and swooning at the same time. 

“Keep talking like that and maybe you’ll get to see a whole lot more of me,” you replied, forcing yourself to be strong. You heard metal clatter on the table as Kaminari dropped his spoon mid-bite. You ignored it, trying to keep the color from your cheeks.

“H-H-How much more of you?” Mineta practically drooled, his eyes starting to trail over you as he got more excited. For once a girl was responding back to his awful advances, and it was like a dream. There was no way this was real.

“Well,” you said breathily, feeling more confident at the sight of how much your words were affecting him. “Maybe we can discuss that over dinner. Tonight?” Kaminari was suffocating as he watched this scene unfold, his lungs forgetting how to breathe. 

At this point Mineta’s nose was starting to leak a tiny blot of blood. His hands were shaking slightly as he shifted closer to you, as if any movement would scare you off. You held your breath as you felt him crawl into your lap, his legs wrapping over your own. His giant purple balls brushed against your cheek, which was quickly blooming pink. 

You felt his cold fingers tease at where your shirt met your pants, sliding under to barely touch your skin. “That sounds good to me.” His trembling hand rode up higher as he continued to speak. You loved the way they felt. “Then maybe we could go to my room and--”

“ALRIGHT!” Kaminari bellowed, slamming his hands on the table as he shot up from the table, face horrorstuck. Mineta whipped his head sharply at the suddenness of it, watching as his friend quickly retreated to another table. When Mineta turned his head back to you, he was startled to see that your face had changed into Aizawa’s. 

“W-What?” he squeaked, leaning away as Aizawa’s gaze burned into him. 

“Mineta,” your voice came out of Aizawa, whose lap Mineta was still shamelessly planted on. 

“(Y/n) what is--”

“Mineta,” your voice was now Aizawa’s voice, matching the tired scraggly face that glared at him. 

Mineta shook his head. No no, not like this, it couldn’t end like this when he was finally so so close! “Mineta!”

Mineta started as he felt a painful pressure smack on the back of his head. He threw his head up, gasping and looking around wildly. His gaze quickly looked in every direction before it turned upward, freezing as it came face to face with Aizawa. Only now, Aizawa no longer had your gorgeous body, and Mineta was no longer sitting on your lap but in his own desk chair. 

“Just because I sleep in class does not give you the excuse to do the same,” Aizawa’s voice grumbled, not particularly pleased. Mineta turned his gaze away from Aizawa as the teacher walked back to the front of the classroom. 

He couldn’t help but look to his right to stare at you longfully. He was already beginning to mourn the thought of never getting to see how his dream about you would have ended. He must have been staring too long, for you glanced at him and offered a timid, uncomfortable smile as if that would make him stop. Ahh… back to reality.

[jackbabewang]

Prompt of the Day

Person A and Person B trying to hide their relationship. However, it turns out everyone knows they’re dating.

first off- how you and Jaehyun got together i’ll leave that to your imagination, whether you’re childhood friends or church buddies, but in the case where it wasn’t publicly known to anyone else

it was during high school where you two started dating and need not to say both were very shy about it since it was your firsts

though how convenient you guys were in the same class, it was kind of an agreement to keep your relationship hidden- not that either of you were embarrassed about it. you just didn’t want to welcome unwanted attention and concerns

thus, there were secret glances left and right; little notes snuck in your locker with Jaehyun telling you how great you looked each day and all the cheesy stuff that made you fell for him harder; often you would find titbits and your favourite banana milk slipped inside your drawer; water bottle filled when you didn’t have the time to or forgotten to; the most obvious act was when he actually paired with you on your science project, but thankfully it went unnoticed by your classmates

once you were so blessed for everything he’d done for you that you were bursting to scream in everyone’s faces that the man is your boyfriend

in conclusion, you never felt alone

on the other hand- the least you could do was attending every basketball games he’d be playing. be it a friendly match or interscholastic tournaments. your friends would be weirded out at first when you invited them to the bleachers. then they kind of took it as you having a crush on one of the players. i meant- who didn’t? it’s part of high school

Jaehyun being the jock he was, he’d received chocolates, flowers and letters on valentines days, even multiple love calls on ordinary days. not gonna lie you were jealous and annoyed sometimes which ended up with your little tantrums and him convincing you otherwise. but he was no difference, he’d constantly mention the two boxes of chocolates and handwritten letters that you received and running names in his head to figure out your potential admirers. probably planning to intimidate them or brainwashing them you’re actually a badass to fall for

at times when you and Jaehyun had a fight, he’d space out often and sometimes popped out questions about girls with his fellow friends. of course, they thought he was shooting his shot so they never hesitated to guide him and eventually he was able to woo you back. however they started getting suspicious when Jaehyun would glance up the bleachers with every shot he made into the hoop as if he was searching for someone in the crowd, or him rejecting their invitations to hit the parties and pushing away girls that made advances on him

once your friend even caught the two of you lingering behind the cafeteria after school hours and all you could mutter was, “we’re discussing about our science project.. haha..” in your panic mode. but she wasn’t persuaded, “i thought we’ve already submitted it.” nonetheless you were able to brush her off with some other excuse which sounded “convincing”

both your circle of friends each began to gossip about the possibilities like, “guys, do you find her acting weird these days?” “do you think there’s something going on between the girl and Jaehyun?” and someone just confessed that the other day they saw Jaehyun waiting for you outside the campus ground and basically you held hands oh so sweetly. then another day where someone saw you and Jaehyun together at a café, somewhere you weren’t acting like normal friends at all. by piecing everything they’d witnessed it made sense to them that you and Jaehyun were actually in a relationship. but the investigation didn’t end just yet, they decided to observe a little more to confirm their speculations

one day you had a girls’ night with your friends and they bombarded you immediately, “are you seeing someone?” “do we know him?” “is he from the basketball team?” and the straightforward ones just cut the act and went straight to the point, “you’re dating with Jaehyun, aren’t you?” “how long have you guys been together?”

and just like that, everyone in your class knew about your relationship with Jaehyun; vice versa his basketball team. since then Jaehyun wasn’t shy to approach you, receiving blessings and many ooh’s as he did so. you’re basically the ‘couple goals’ that everyone talked about. 

Jaehyun’s admirers count decreased, meanwhile yours went from the only two to zero. 

[arthurjdrake]

When: A few nights before POTW events. Where: YM&O Summary: It’s definitely not a date night but it’s definitely a date night. With: @cryxmercy

[TEXT]: Hey! You alright?

[TEXT]: This is going to sound weird but… Um. Are you free tomorrow maybe?

[TEXT]: I’ve got a voucher for an all you can eat buffet with a +1. Thought maybe, you know, if you were interested… we could go get food?

[TEXT]: Just don’t ask me where the voucher is for.

{text} Hey. Yeah, I’m fine. Why? Are you alright?

{text} Am I free? I mean yeah. Of course.

{text} Wait. Are you asking me ou- Is this a d- Are you sur- You had me at ‘all you can eat.’ What time?

[TEXT]: All good, great actually. Sun’s out and I went on a walk which was nice. Fresh air, you know?

[TEXT]: You are? Oh! That’s good cool awesome great.

[TEXT]: Best way to get you to anything - free food. :P Uh, say 7 ish? I’ll pick you up.

{text} Fresh air does do a lotta good. You should come running with me sometime. See if you can still keep up in your old age.

{text} Yep. I literally have nothing going on.

{text} Free food and pets. Animals I mean. Not like- petting. FuK. Anyway. Yes. 7 is good.

[TEXT]: Subject myself to willing torture? You sound like Nadia. But maybe. I’d need convincing though.

[TEXT]: Alright, cool.

[TEXT]: Haha, funny. Well, I’m not sure the trio would want to be brought along. But okay, 7 it is. See you. :)

{text} I’m good at torture. Convincing? You mean it’s not enough for me to say there’s no way you can still outrun me?

{text} :P

{text} No, but I'll go to a place if there’s an animal there I can pet. Especially cows. See you then.

[TEXT] .... you’re right. That’s motivation enough. I’ll CRUSH you.

[ User knows he definitely won’t crush her, in fact knows this is a truly terrible idea ]

[ User also doesn’t respond because no cows, not in this yard or any other yard ]

If he was being honest, Arthur wasn’t sure this was a good idea. He’d had the voucher for several weeks, tucked under a miniature statue in the entrance hallway and the little strip of paper taunted him every time he walked in through the door. Perhaps it was some weird irony, to get a voucher to that place out of any that happened to be in town… But sometimes you had to face your fears. There was also the niggling worry that not using it would anger some silent higher power and another thing might just come to try and kill him all over again.

Not to mention the fact he’d finally had the floorboards replaced, it wasn’t something he really wanted to test. Plus, why couldn’t he take Mercy out for food? Though it didn’t explain the nervous roll his stomach seemed to be doing; flipping over itself as the time grew nearer to departing. It took a little while but eventually after trying several options he settled for a blue check shirt; cuffs folded neatly over his elbows leaving the tattoos that ran the length of his arms exposed. Light tan trousers, brown boots and a smart fedora to accompany the look. The hat being a necessary addition to most of his wardrobes of late considering the haphazard needle-like pin feathers that had started to grow in. A frustrating trait he had to find creative ways of hiding less he wanted to out himself rather publicly.

After he was happy with everything, Arthur grabbed the voucher, his wallet and the keys for his Bentley which after he locked up rolled smoothly onto the road towards his destination.

{text} Bring it, old man.

(User will get her cow one day. Just you wait.)

Mercy put her phone down and then realized she hadn’t asked him what the dress code was. Though he had said ‘buffet,’ which meant it was probably not overly fancy? Did she just… wear what she normally wore? Which looking down at what she had on - ripped jeans and a faded t-shirt that said Woodstock ‘69 - she decided that she should probably wear something a bit… better. Maybe jeans without holes? A dress?? Did she own a dress? But then if she didn’t dress like she normally did it might be weird if it wasn’t- No. Of course it wasn’t. It was just food. They’d gotten food before.

Mercy sighed and scrubbed her hands through her hair. She’d just… have a look in her closet and see what looked decent. After she brushed her hair. And showered. And… should she shave her legs?? No. Why would she? It was- No. Nope. Nonono. With that sort of thought pushed firmly down into the ‘not relevant’ part of her brain, Mercy got up and headed upstairs.

A bit later, she’d ‘thrown on’ the one dress she happened to own that looked… well, it didn’t look half bad actually. It was a light blue color, soft and slightly fitted at the waist, and came to about mid-calf. She threw on a pair of sandals - not thinking about the fact that she had given in and shaved her legs - and brushed her hair out into something manageable. Not that it would stay that way, but she’d tried. Grabbing her bag when Arthur texted to say he was there, Mercy gave Loki a pat, locked up and headed to the car. And it was a very nice car indeed. So much so that she forgot about being slightly uncertain of her choice of clothes, and grinned at him as she approached.

“So how drunk do you need to be to let me drive home later? On a scale of 1-10?”

With the Bentley idling, Arthur climbed out and waited by the passenger side after sending off a text to let Mercy know he was here. Though he wasn’t at all prepared for the person that stepped out of the apartment building, or how his eyes drifted appreciatively over her figure. His mouth gaped a fraction though he caught himself before it became too obvious, and he wet his lips as his stomach flipped again seemingly intent on tying itself in knots.

But, of course, Mercy knew exactly what to say to get him back on track and he huffed with mild indignation over the idea of her driving his car. “That’s not going to happen Mer, you know that.” He reached blindly behind him fumbling for the door handle but eventually popped the door and pulled it open for her. “You look beautiful by the way…”

The fact she’d put so much effort in made him question whether it was even fair going to the place the voucher entailed… But if anyone could survive mime central, well, it was her.

Mercy felt only a bit awkward as she made her way towards Arthur and his fancy ride. She didn’t see the way his expression faltered, or the way he looked her over, though she knew he was looking. She was right there after all. It’s not like he could help it. He looked quite nice himself, Mercy noticed when she finally looked up. It didn’t take her long to notice the ink on his arms either. How had she not noticed that before now? Though Arthur did tend to wear long sleeves more often than not.

His indignation only earned him a smirk as she waited on him to open the door. “Alright.” Maybe not today, but one day she’d convince him to let her drive. She was quite good at it, if she did say so herself. But just as she’d rerouted his train of thought in mentioning the car, he returned the favor when he told her she looked beautiful. Though hers was more a thought derailing than a rerouting.

She felt her cheeks tinge pink, and a slightly nervous huff of laughter made it’s way past the heartbeat in her throat. “Oh… thank you. I just… it was clean…” It was pretty clear to anyone that wasn’t blind that she’d not simply picked the dress because it was clean, but Mercy cleared her throat, and said nothing else about it as she willed her blush to go away. “You look rather nice yourself,” she redirected as he got in. “These are lovely.” She gave one of his tattoos a soft trace with her finger. She had several of her own, as well as a few other marks she hadn’t chosen. But nothing like what Arthur had.

“So… where’re we going?”

It had been a long time since he’d seen Mercy get done up for anything. A very long time indeed, and for a moment he was struck dumb by the sight of her walking towards him. Enough that words failed and his rather rational mind misfired several times before he even found the right words - and even they felt underwhelming after they left his mouth. Though the blush that rose in her features perhaps suggested otherwise.

“Well, better clean than… not,” he grinned around the joking tone, his hands rubbing together mildly simply to give him something to do to quell the nerves. As she got in, Arthur closed the door and circled back around to the drivers seat, sliding in and buckling up. “Ah-- thanks, I got that one after I went home… to-- well, our home, not that it’s there anymore but you know...” it was his turn to laugh a touch nervously the gentle touch to his arm enough to turn his smile bashful.

“Uh… Well, funny you should ask,” he started unsure how to break this news ultimately deciding that ripping the band-aid off was likely the best choice. “Uh, well, I came second in that dumb pie competition… And for that I… well, I got an all you can eat at the mime restaurant… Which I’m honestly not sure if it’s a joke or…” His eyes cut sideways, nervously - uncertain as to what her reaction might be, “I wasn’t sure if there were… consequences to not using stuff… And I didn’t want to… chance it, but I also thought it’d be… That it would be nice for us to catch up and just-- Be normal for… A bit.” He faded off, internally cringing at what he’d just tried and failed to explain.

Wow, so smooth.

“Might have some… white cat hairs on it, but… well. Yeah.” She picked at a non-existent hair. “Yeah?” She looked at the tattoo again. “When was that?” Mercy hadn’t been back in… gods. Decades. Maybe even centuries. The thought that it was so different now - the place where they were born no longer there - made her quite suddenly homesick. Though Arthur’s laughter was enough to quell it quickly enough. “I’d like to go back someday. Even if it’s not the same.” Some things were always there. The sea. The stars. The mountains. It would be nice to see them again in her homeland, even if it was more than a thousand years since she’d first stood and looked at them as a girl.

Mercy’s thoughts came back to the here and now as Arthur seemed to be slightly unsure how to explain where they were going. Her eyebrows rose a bit. Then a bit more. And a bit more. She took a moment to process it, nodding slowly and finally just deciding that this place was as good as any. In fact, it was perfect. Because fuck mimes. “You won fair and square, and bad jokes aside, going in there is just a good, old-fashioned fuck you to those clownfuckers.” To hear he wanted the two of them catch up and just… be normal for a bit… that eased some of her mime-centric ire. Quite a bit of it actually.

Her expression returned to the slightly bashful smile from a moment before, and she gave his arm a playful nudge. “What’re we waiting for then? Unless… you know… you’ve changed your mind about letting me drive…”

“Well, still it-- it looks real nice, you look real nice… Not often I get to see you all done up considering” it seemed that whenever they did see each other these days something always ended up going sideways and even when things went right there had always been something else overshadowing it. So, even if it was at this blasted mime restaurant, he was determined to make this a good night. “Uh, maybe twenty years back? I… needed to do some soul searching I guess.” Things had been confusing back then, coming to terms with his memories amongst other things.

“Is it? I didn’t… really think of it in that way but I guess,” he wasn’t sure but Mercy seemed way more gung-ho about the idea than he’d actually thought she would be. He wasn’t sure whether that meant this was a good idea or a truly truly bad one. “I’d rather go to the Artesian or somewhere but… Maybe next time?”

The nudge was enough for him to make up his mind, “alright, alright, I don’t have a death wish quite yet yet.” He huffed, putting the car into gear and pulling out onto the road.

“Thanks,” she said again, without the disclaimer this time. Though her blush flared slightly. “I um… I don’t… remember the last time I put on something that wasn’t jeans.” It wasn’t as if she ever went anywhere (on her own or by invitation) that meant she got to dress nice. She didn’t… date. Or whatever it was called these days. Hell, there were apps now for that sort of thing. It was… a bit daunting. Not that this was… that. Or anything. But the point remained that Mercy wasn’t at the top of most people’s list when it came to going out.

Mercy hummed quietly as his answer, glancing at him as they pulled out. Twenty years ago she was… in New York. A world away from where Arthur had been. And again, that brought on a feeling of homesickness she hadn’t felt in a long time. “And did you find anything?” she asked softly, though she was quite serious. Because she should’ve been there. To answer his questions. To fill in the gaps. To help it all make some sort of… sense.

She couldn’t help the ire that rose up at the thought of what had happened earlier in the month. She didn’t wish to cause any trouble, but Mercy was of a mind that if Arthur thought he should go, regardless of the reason, then they would go. And damn anyone who tried to start trouble. They deserved a normal evening. Arthur especially. At the mention of a next time, Mercy was a tiny bit surprised, but she couldn’t help but smile. “Maybe so.”

A genuine bit of laughter worked it’s way past Mercy’s smile. “I’m a very good driver I’ll have you know. I’ve never once gotten a traffic ticket.” The fact that the cops hadn’t been able to either catch or find her during or after the fact was irrelevant.

“Well, if you get the chance you should do it more often… It suits you,” Arthur paused before adding hastily, “not that your usual look doesn’t suit you-- It does, suit you that is, you look good anyways just-- You look really nice and that’s… new, uuuuh” he trailed off awkwardly, feeling a general heat creep up his neck in embarrassment. Maybe he should just… stop talking. New was good, just as old was good as well.

Perhaps it was nerves getting the better of him, but Arthur wasn’t lying when he said he wanted to spend more time with her. Wanted to learn about the things that had happened in those years. What had she done? Where has she been? What had life brought about for her, all things he hoped to learn more about tonight and going forward into the future. Because if they stood any chance of truly rebuilding what they had, they needed to work on reinforcing the foundations.

“Mm, in another life and definitely not with my 150k car thanks,” he laughed regardless as they drove, the journey not being very long before they were pulling up outside the dreaded mime restaurant. Once parked, he grabbed the voucher from the dashboard and circled around to open her door. It wasn’t necessary, and he knew well enough she could get her own door but in the moment it felt like the right and polite thing to do.

Mercy’s eyebrow raised again as Arthur started down a very slippery (but completely unintentional) path that - had she been someone else - might’ve gotten him in a fair bit of trouble. But she wasn’t someone else, and she knew what he meant. Even if she couldn’t keep a grin from spreading across her face. “Maybe I will then,” she said casually, before turning to look out the window in order to give him a reprieve from being watched as the blush crept up his neck. Mercy found it adorable, just like the rambling, but she wasn’t quite sure he would appreciate the sentiment. Not now at least. So she kept it to herself.

Truth be told, she was nervous too. She missed him. Though that was no one’s fault but her own. And she wanted to spend more time with him without it being too much all at once. Even if they somehow seemed to end up together more often than not, without any real thought or effort behind it. They’d talked a bit about the past, but not all that much considering how many years stretched between the last time they’d been together and now. So there were many things they didn’t know about one another. Mercy knew a little bit more than Arthur did. She always kept tabs on him. Or tried to. Where he was, how he was doing. If he had a family or people that cared for him. It was hard sometimes though. And there were stretches of time where she wouldn’t check in, if only because she knew if she saw him again there would be no way she’d be able to leave again.

Like now. There was no way she could ever leave again. Not now. Not ever.

So Mercy would do whatever was needed to build back what they once had. And that included teasing him whenever possible. “Fine,” she sighed dramatically. “Suit yourself. But I’m tellin’ you, you’re missin’ out. I can do this amazing thing where you drift sideways for like… a quarter-mile…”

The ride over was uneventful, and Mercy gave the restaurant a glare through the windshield before Arthur opened her door. “Thanks.” She glanced up at the exterior of the building again, then glanced at Arthur. She looped her arm through his. “You still good?”

Perhaps if this did become a regular occurrence, whether it was going out to dinner or anything else that most might consider normal things would finally begin to fall into place. He hadn’t forgotten the conversation and revelation that had been made after the wraith attack, in fact, the thought remained acutely present whenever he let his mind wander to it. They hadn’t discussed it further, and Arthur was admittedly hesitant to broach it until he’d made up his own mind. There was also the issue that he still wasn’t entirely confident in his own thoughts and feelings surrounding the revelation. Was his forgiveness of her past actions based on his own true acceptance and coming to terms with finally having the truth or was it also influenced by sympathy of what she’d been though? Did it justify what had happened or was that simply his own natural inclination towards preferentiating the emotional and physical well-being of those he cared for over his own needs and wishes? It was a myriad of complex and counterintuitive thoughts that he didn’t quite know what to make head nor tail of.

So rather than rushing in and saying something either of them might come to regret, he kept his thoughts and feelings to himself for the time being. A part of him hoped that simply spending time together would help answer those lingering questions and doubts. But such thoughts were quieted by her attempt in convincing him to let her drive. “You say that as if it’s going to make me more inclined to let you - when it does precisely the opposite.”

Eventually they arrived, and Arthur glanced up at the hellish looking sign above the door. Wondering not for the first time if this was a very, very bad idea. Mercy hooked her arm in his and he fortified his nerves, “yeah, all good.” With that they walked inside to the restaurant that was devoid of any talk the only sound being the clink of cutlery and crackly jingle of French accordion over speakers he couldn’t pinpoint the location of. A silent man with brown hair slicked with some grease and oily white face-paint stood by the reception and Arthur held out the voucher. “I um--- Won this, apparently it’s supposed to… Well, apparently it means we can have dinner here…” Was this what you were supposed to do? He had no idea.

The man’s smile grew eerily brighter, as he mimed a clap, skipped on the spot before sweeping into a bow that seemed to indicate wonderful, right this way.

Oh boy, they were in for a night.

Mercy had known when she told Arthur the truth of the last 200 years that things wouldn’t simply… be like they once were. She wasn’t stupid. Or naive. Just because her feelings had never changed didn’t mean that his hadn’t. Especially considering Arthur had had several lifetimes between now and then. Even if Mercy hadn’t. Even if every day was just one day further away from the past. From that part of her life where she’d been happiest. It was hard, even now, to simply… forget. Even though there had been times she wished she could. Those had been bad times, when she’d been lonely enough and hated herself enough to wish away the good memories along with the bad.

But that was then. Now Mercy was glad she hadn’t gotten that wish. Because she didn’t want to forget. The good as well as the bad that had followed. The mistakes she’d made. The promises she’d broken. The hurt she’d caused. If she didn’t remember then she couldn’t change. If she couldn’t change, then history was doomed to repeat itself, wasn’t it? And Mercy had always believed that her fate was her own. There was no preset ending. No story that was already written. So while there was still a long road ahead, Mercy was hopeful that with time things would all work out.

So she didn’t push to talk about things that weren’t ready to be talked about. They would come, as all things did, when they were ready. For now, Mercy was happy to be with Arthur, regardless of the… circumstances. Or more so the locale. It was… horrifying wasn’t the word. But no matter. “Fortune favors the brave,” she told him when he said he was ready, giving his arm a pat as they made their way into the mouth of the monster mime.

Mercy narrowed her eyes at the man that led them to their table, but kept quiet as he mimed over the list of available items from the buffett, and then the wine list. She tipped an eyebrow at Arthur once the man had gone, but surprisingly - other than the eerie quiet of the place - the evening proved to be uneventful. Well… that is until they found themselves inexplicably out on the sidewalk - both very, very winedrunk - and being mimed at not to come back. Ever.

“Well, that’s jus’... fuckin’ rude…” Mercy said, giving the mime her own gesture while still speaking loudly and in Danish. Which was what had gotten her and Arthur kicked out in the first place. “Your mother… your mother was a hamster!” She tried to sound threatening, but could only snort with laughter as she held onto Arthur’s arm.

Strangely enough the door slammed shut silently, but the look on the mime’s face was enough to make Arthur snort - compounded by Mercy’s own antics. “Ohmyodin nooo--” he tried to grab her hand but missed and almost lost his balance needing to grab onto a wall to steady himself “don’t-- Don’t anter- antanger-- don’t do that.” Despite the chastisement there was a ridiculously stupid grin on his face that suggested he wanted her to do anything but.

He couldn’t stifle the snicker that escaped him at her exclamation, most of the time in the restaurant had been spent chatting and catching up over far too much wine and despite his reservations he’d had a thoroughly enjoyable night. Their raucous and banterous relationship from centuries seemed to settle back over them both so easily, like a well-worn jacket you could slip back into without thought.

Arthur pushed off the wall, steering them in a very haphazard walk back through town. “I can’t believe… You told him he… looked like a carnie reject that-- that had crawled outthe grave.” He shook his head, “you know mirrors don’t lie… and luckily- luckily for him they don’t laugh either didyousee-- DId you see his face paint? Whodoesthat?”

Mercy had had an exceedingly good time once they had gotten over their initial reservations about the restaurant itself. Perhaps they’d drank a bit too much, but it was hardly the first time. Well, maybe in this lifetime, but certainly not altogether. Regardless, it had been all too easy to let old habits settle back over them. For Mercy, it was a welcome feeling. As was the light-hearted laughter that flowed so easily once they’d softened the edges of their uncertainties with rather a large amount of wine.

Arthur’s half-hearted chastising made her grin, though as the door shut ever so pointedly - yet silently - on them, Mercy waved the restaurant off and turned to her staggering friend. “Least when… when we painted our faces… was for a reason. Intami… entera… intimo… to look scary…” she said with a stifled giggle. She took Arthur’s arm as he tilted sideways, though their height difference made it almost comical to watch. “Easy there… you might…” She giggled as she steered them back towards the sidewalk. “... you might topple over… like a big ol’ tree just…” Her hand made a falling motion. “Boom. I’d have to… drag you home…”

“Right! Yes! The scary- most scary, so more scary than those…” he made a face as they wandered down the street “onion lickers… So French. Why are there so many onion lickers here?” As they walked in a very side-to-side line Arthur pointed to his car “weeeeeeell, you could. Or there’s… the sport vroom vroom. Buuut-- you” he sing-songed while booping her nose “are too drunksy to drive.”

And so the car was left by the side of the road, left to be collected when the furious hangover of tonight’s activities had subsided.

His thoughts returned once more, circling back in strange logic “I’m not scary… never…” he hiccuped raising a hand to his mouth and snorting “never have been… You’re… so scary, the scariest. But not… not with me.”

“The scariest…” Mercy agreed. As far as the French population of the town went, Mercy merely shrugged. “C’est la vie?” Though she wasn’t able to keep a straight face and ended up laughing at her own humor. “Ohhh… the car… Ohh, I’d like to drive… can I?” But they were already moving past, to which Mercy pouted. She waved at the car, and tried to wave Arthur’s hand away as he booped her nose. “Don’t touch… my nose… tickles...” She wrinkled it as it did just that, and then scrubbed her face against his arm to fix the itch he’d caused. “‘S’better…”

Mercy inclined her head to look up at him as he declared their status in regards to scariness. She blinked slowly before the effort of looking up became too much, and her head dipped to lean against his arm again. “I’ve never ever scared you?” she asked, quite sincerely despite her current state. “That’s… tha’sgood.” She nodded for moment. “But you’re wrong about… about the other bit.” A finger poked his arm. “You… are very scary-” That same finger turned to poke at herself. “- to me.” She huffed. “The scariest.” It didn’t occur to Mercy that Arthur might ask why he frightened her so much. It also didn’t occur to her that she might just answer him.

“You’re terrible,” he chuffed, giving her a little bump not that he let go of her arm so it only served to stagger them again. “Noooo, you…” he hiccupped again, words faltering “are drunksy, not safe.” Though they were already passing it and onto more interesting things. Like trying to boop her nose again, his hand unsteadily waving in the air “almost---almost…” he booped it again “ha! Got it!”

They walked again for a little bit, the weight of Mercy’s head comforting where she rested it against his arm. “Me? No. Never ever. And I knooow you’re not meant to say never ever but – never ever!” It was his turn to give her a bit of a look, mildly disbelieving. “No I’m not.. Look at me.” He made a face, blew a raspberry and wandered on. “Why am I scary?” he couldn’t help but wonder not that he might truly appreciate the scope of the question or an answer if it came.

“You’re just as… as me as drunk I am. Wait…” Mercy frowned. “Drunk as I am… there.” She snorted. “That’s better.” Watching his hand twirl it’s way towards her nose again, Mercy snapped her teeth at his finger when it got close, but only managed to bite her tongue. “Oww…” she groused, flapping a hand at him half-heartedly as she dissolved into more drunken laughter.

She glanced up at him, pushing a flyaway strand of her hair back from her eyes. “I see you…” Her expression turned slightly softer. “I always see you…” She leaned her head back against his arm, but this time she let her hand slip into his too. “Sometimes I wonder if- if you see me too.” It was perhaps a bit deeper a statement than Mercy intended, but it was said nonetheless.

Mercy seemed to think for a moment before she answered his follow up question. “Because you’re- you. You’re… my person. And… losin’ you… ‘s’the only thing I’ve… ever been ‘fraid of. Hm.”

A snicker escaped him after she snapped her teeth and he poked her nose, it was cute, hearing her laugh. Truly laugh, how long had it been since he’d had the pleasure of hearing that sound? Too long. Far too long. Even as she moved to take his hand, the warm wrap of his palm intertwining his fingers with her own.

“I know… M’very tall,” it wasn’t hard not to see him; the depth of her remark lost on him at present. “I can,” he answered as he swung their hands gently, but paused before amending “well-- I can… Can with glasses… Hard without.”

The latter answer caused him to tilt his head, “well, if I’m your person… does that make you my person? ‘Cause, I don’t wanna lose you… Didn’t like it then. Don’t want it. Nope. Not ‘gain. Nopenopenope!”

“The tallest…” Mercy smiled fondly, humming in contentment as their fingers twined together. It felt good… safe… not at all awkward or hesitant. It felt like old memories and happiness, and Mercy held on just a bit tighter as they walked. She laughed a bit, glancing up at him again. “But I like your glasses… they’re nice on your face. Which is… also nice. It’s a nice face… a real nice Arthur -face.”

A very thoughtful look came over her at his question. “I wanna be your person… if I’m not already. Can I be? Yours?” Mercy squeezed his hand, looking at him with an almost pleading expression. “I don’t… I don’t wanna be anyone else’s. Ever. And I promise you won’t… you won’t lose me ever. Never ever. I promise.” She hugged his arm tightly, and even pressed a kiss to his sleeve. “I promise…” They teetered a bit around the corner at the end of the street, Mercy nearly stepping off the curb before they got straightened out. But she never let go of his hand.

“And you… are very short.” He smiled aside at her as she settled against his arm, it was a nice feeling comforting and familiar. Reminding him of times when they had hung out in trees in the lazy afternoon sun when hunting game and fallen asleep there until the next morning. “S’cute.” He blinked from behind the lenses, a little touch of red colouring his features. “Arthur -face. That’s me. Mister Arthur-face.”

“My person?” he asked, “I don’t… Hm, I’ve never had a person before…” there were a few moments of silence as he mulled over the idea. “You promise?” the words echoed around in his head but ultimately Arthur nodded slow before the action grew more definite “yes. I promise and you promise. Double prom-promises. Super special.”

“Woooah!” he called out as she teetered precariously to the edge of the curb, grabbing her hand tight and pulling her back “don’t! Floor is lava!” to which he suddenly darted away from her in search of… something to get up on.

“Oi… s’not nice to… point out my short- shortcomings…” Her laughter took over when she realized the irony of the statement. She was quite short though. At least compared to Arthur. When he said her stature was cute, Mercy glanced up at him, trying not to grin but failing. “Is it? I always thought it… it made me seem less… hm… threatening…” she giggled. “It’s just the right face… if anyone else had your face that would be… weird.”

“Mmm, you know… your person. Just… that person who’s… yours.” She nodded to herself, the logic of her statement currently making a great deal of sense. “I promise…” Mercy answered as sagely as she currently could. Then he promised back… and Mercy smiled, squeezing his arm. “We’re each others’ peoples… persons… person?” She would’ve hugged him if she hadn’t teetered towards the curb… only to be snatched back just in time.

“Oop!” Laughter bubbled up again, and she grabbed his arm to steady herself as the world spun just a bit. “What? Lav-Ohhh… oh no… lava?” Her expression turned genuinely concerned. “Arthur it can’t be… lava… there’s nothing to climb- oi! Where’re you going?!” Mercy blinked once, snorted with laughter, and took off - in a mostly straight line - after him.

“They’re very short-short shortcomings,” he countered with a playful smile playing on his features. “Mhm,” Arthur nodded sagely feeling it explained itself well enough. “You’re jus’- jus’ a tiny ball of rage. Pint sized ball of chaaaaaos and rage… S’cute.”

“Each other’s person’s person.” Arthur nodded his grin growing widely but further talk was forgotten as the more pressing issue became the floor is lava.

“High bench!” he called back in a fit of laughter as he ran down the street. They had been passing a park and Arthur had seen exactly where his safe haven would be. The issue was, he tried to clamber over the waist-height fence to get in and in his current state got half-way over before he lost his balance keeling ass over teakettle into the grass. “Oof.”

“I have to be… ‘cause I’m short… no one’s…” She giggled. “No one’s scared of… short people…” It was a very untrue statement, but in the context of their conversation - and her winedrunk brain - it made perfect sense to Mercy. As did Arthur’s summation of being each other’s peoples. Persons. Person. She knew what he meant.

But then he was running away, and Mercy forgot about anything other than beating him to that bench. “No fair! Head start…” She almost bounced off the fence as he was clambering over, the railing stopping her with an ‘oof’ of her own that dissolved into more laughter as Arthur toppled onto the ground. Mercy threw a leg over the top rail, gripping it precariously with both hands before she managed her other leg - dress be damned - and dropped to the ground on the other side. She tilted sideways a bit as she straightened, but managed not to join on Arthur in the grass. Instead, she stepped over him before he could grab at her, and climbed victoriously onto the bench.

“Victory… is mine,” she cackled, slightly out of breath. “And you sir… are on fire…” she told Arthur, blowing a strand of hair out of her face.

Apparently he was more drunk than he believed himself to be, and the resulting crash on the other side of the fence gave proof to that. But with no real damage done, he snickered and as Mercy tried to step over him he tried (and failed) to snag her ankle to tug her down to the ground with him.

“No fair! That’s--” he inhaled as another bout of hiccups overcame him “that’s my bench.” He glowered at her from the floor though it looked more like a sad pout than anything truly meaningful. “So anta- antgag-- meany. Short- short meany bench stealer you.”

He let out a long puff of air, arms going above his head as he stretched out on the ground. “M’not… wait… is lava fire? I’ve… I’ve never tested that one.” Folding his arms behind his head, he let his gaze wander from Mercy on the bench to the dark skies overhead. Noticing the sparkle of stars studding the black canvas of night. “Huh... pretty.”

“No… it’s mine… you…” she grinned, “fell into the lava. S’mine…” She did a rather clumsy spin on said bench, and nearly toppled off backwards for her efforts. When she’d righted herself, Arthur was looking up at the sky. Mercy looked too. “‘S’fire, yeah,” she murmured. “Sort of.” The softly twinkling stars overhead had pulled her attention though, or more precisely the sudden wave of nostalgia she felt looking up at them. Especially with Arthur right there on the grass.

So without much forethought, Mercy joined him. She flopped down heavily on her back, close enough to jostle him a bit, and threw one arm under her own head, beneath her mass of riotous hair. “Beautiful,” she agreed with a small, contented sigh. She was quiet for a bit after that, just enjoying the relative peace of the moment, and wondering why they hadn’t done this before now. Arthur was very, very warm next to her, and she couldn’t help but slide a bit closer to him as the coolness of the grass seeped through the fabric of her dress.

He raised his hand waving his middle finger in her general direction as she spun on the bench before the hand fell back to the ground and folded under his head. “Well… can’t die in fire so ha, not dead.” Surprisingly the floor was rather comfortable and Arthur stretched out as he lay there stifling a yawn that sudden overtook him from a combination of the drink and length of the day.

Still, as Mercy dropped down beside him he smiled. “Come t’save me?” he asked tilting his head to look aside at her as they lay there under the blinking stars. It was rather a good night for it all in all considering how much you could see. “It is.” There was a period of silence that followed, reminiscing on how they used to do this as children. “Remember when we’d… sneaky sneak out… Watch the aurora?”

Mercy grinned a bit more mischievously than usual as he waved his middle finger at her. “Promise? And ‘course not. You’re a fiery… firebird. Birb. Firebirb.” She hopped down beside him after that, turning her head a bit as he glanced at her. Her bright laughter sobered just a bit, but not to anything bad. Just… softer. “Always…” Her eyes searched his face for a moment, until Mercy found her cheeks felt quite warm.

They both turned back to the stars after that, Mercy thinking on how much she’d missed this. Despite the muzziness of her head at the moment, nothing could dampen the feelings that slowly wove their way back to the surface. The silence was comfortable, but also weighted with all the years that lay behind them. The good ones, and the not so good. But Mercy could only smile as he mentioned their childhood. So long ago now, but still so fondly remembered. “I do…” Her eyes moved over the stars as they blinked slowly at the pair of them. “Never got caught… not once…”

There was another small moment of silence before Mercy asked, “Do you miss it?” She tracked the shape of a constellation with her finger. “‘Cause I do…” It was unclear what ‘it’ was, and Mercy didn’t elaborate.

“Huh?” a confused expression passed across his features not entirely seeming to recognise the connotation his gesture might’ve implied. “M’super firebirb. See?” he grabbed his hat and spun it at her as she got off the bench and moved closer; the act revealing the beginnings of bright orange feathers haphazardly making themselves evident against the contrast of his dark hair. “Super feather!”

It was nice, just to stay here in this space together and Arthur stretched out and settled, before he started to whistle a tune that seemed to only exist in his own head. The notes floated in the air, a quiet scale of music in the dark night. “Not once…”

“All the time,” he admitted quietly, a wistful look crossing his features.

The thought had already slipped away, replaced by the need to try and catch the hat he flung at her. She missed, and it landed somewhere nearby in the grass. But she didn’t miss the brightness of the feathers against Arthur’s dark hair. “Ohhh, lookit…” Mercy crooned over them. “Firebirb fluff…” She gave them a small stroke with her fingers. “Wish I had feathers…” she murmured before turning to watch the stars.

Arthur’s whistling was nice. Soothing. Mercy would’ve hummed along, but she didn’t know the tune. So she just closed her eyes and listened. The world was so loud now. So full of noise and motion. It was hard to find the calm, quiet places anymore. Let alone places that brought some sort of… peace.

But this place did. Or well… the moment did. The place was somewhat irrelevant in this case. Wherever Mercy found herself, as long as Arthur was there too, she found a kind of quiet - a peaceful calm - that she’d never found anywhere else. When he answered her question, Mercy opened her eyes and slowly turned onto her side to look at him. She propped her head in her hand, her own expression turning wistful. “Do you ever... wish we could go back? To bein’ farmers?” A soft, crooked smile pulled at the edge of her mouth as she reached up to touch the newly-grown, flame-colored feathers again. “I think I might like it… one day…”

“Can have mine, they’re itchy” he groused raising a hand to rub at the feathers where they poked out randomly. Arthur made a face as he found one particular spot that was specifically annoying and scratched at it for a few moments.

Tunes were something that came quite easily to him, he might not be able to carry them with his voice but he could whistle most things with near perfection if he’d heard them a few times. When Mercy propped herself up, his head lolled vaguely in her direction to look at her. “Sometimes, was more simple back then,” he made no effort to move as she stroked the feathers again knowing it was a rather common habit for her in general. She’d always liked them more than he had.

“Well, you can be my farmer. But no cows.”

“But if I pull them it’ll hurt…” She knew the feathers irritated him to no end, and she had always offered to help him pluck them in the past, once they were in fully and wouldn’t bleed like a stuck pig. Speaking of: “Don’t scratch, silly…” She swatted at his hand. “-they’ll bleed.” Mercy shook her head, but kept at the feathers, lazily tracing the soft edges and watching them ripple beneath her fingertip. “All I got…s’magic wings that aren’t ev’n real…”

“Simple’s’good…” She glanced at him. “Simple’s… not hard… ‘s’th’opposite of hard…” Mercy grinned a bit, happily amused by her own words. And Arthur’s. Though her expression softened as she continued to pet his feathers. “I wish everythin’ was that simple again…”

“I know, but they itch,” even talking about it made him want to scratch them, but when he did and Mercy slapped his hand he pouted. “They itch.” As if he hadn’t already told her that, but he willfully pulled his hand back with a small huff. “Least you got them. Don’t even have wings.”

“Maybe… Maybe one day it will be.” Who could say for sure, but until then they would make the best of it. Tilting his head, Arthur looked back to the stars his mind drifting to what it would be like to fly again, even in a plane. To soar above the clouds and simply… be. But that wasn’t going to happen, and it was a sad thought to dwell on for too long.

So, Arthur shifted rolling onto his side and slowly clambering to his feet offering his hands out for Mercy to take so he could help her up.

“Should rub somethin’ on ‘em then… stop the itchin’.” Mercy had no idea what that might be, but surely it was better than bleeding all over himself. “But that’s-” She gave her own huff. “‘S’not the point… point is… they’re not… real. They’re jus’... magic. Fuckin’... smoke an’ mirrors. Like the Fates are makin’ fun o’ me… or remindin’ me of...” She frowned a bit and trailed off. She’d always hated the idea of Fate and Destiny and… all that garbage. The idea that her life wasn’t her own just… pissed Mercy off. And the added fact that the wings were a constant reminder of the worst day of her life didn’t help either.

Mercy hummed as her own thoughts drifted back to happier things. “Maybe… simple’s nice.” This was simple, just watching the stars with Arthur. Talking about… whatever crossed their minds. It was nice. But nothing could last forever, and when Arthur rose and offered his hands to help her up, Mercy took them and was pulled a bit unsteadily to her feet. She kept hold of them, laughing as she stumbled towards him. “I think… I think you’re… drunker than I thought I am…”

“Still wings,” so they still counted for something at least but he understood where her frustration came from, they’d shared in that for as long as he could remember. Perhaps even longer. “Don’t think so,” he patted her arm gently as though this would make any kind of difference but in his mind it was better to try than not.

Grabbing her hands he pulled her up and he beamed as he caught her. Laughing as he held her steady, “wooooah careful!” Gathering up the wayward hat, it wasn’t long before they were ambling once more through town until they eventually came to Mercy’s street. “Almost hoooome!”

“I guess,” she groused. It wouldn’t change anything no matter how much either of them lamented the lack of real wings. But that didn’t stop either of them from doing more pouting over it now and then. His patting was appreciated - but still… fuck fate… - and she gave him a sheepish smile before they climbed to their feet.

“You saved me,” she laughed. “My tall… very tall… savior…” As if to accentuate the point, she tilted her head waaay back and grinned a bit (a lot actually) drunkenly at him, before giving him a soft pat on the chest. They started walking soon after, and Mercy swung their hands lazily as they turned onto her street. She blinked a few times before realizing they were actually almost back to her place. “Oohhhh… yeah… guess so…” She wasn’t quite ready for the evening to be over, but it had to end sometime. Though she might’ve walked a little bit slower after that.

Eventually they ambled lazily to a stop at her door, Mercy chewing her lip a bit nervously. “You wanna… maybe… come in?” she shrugged, wiggling her fingers where they were still entwined lazily with his. “You know… so you don’t… I don’ know… get run over by a train or… somethin’...” A short huff came after that as she blushed because Shut Up Mercy.

“M’not the one that did the saving,” the murmured statement was spoken softer than anything else he’d spoken tonight. It was strange to think about the countless times she’d pulled him from the brink over the years, sometimes it left him wondering how he might ever compare. How he might ever do that for her. But he didn’t quite know how to elaborate on that sentiment.

The invitation was surprising, not something he’d anticipated. Though his mind was always on seeing her safe, and he’d only thought to the point of seeing her home safe. “Oh-” he looked surprised by the invitation though it was clouded by a momentary look of confusion. “There a train here?” If there was he hadn’t seen it. “But um. Can do? Do you want me to?”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that…” she said, her own tone a bit softer as well. He’d saved her just recently, after all. When she was being drained of her lifeforce by the wraith. But saving someone wasn’t always about slaying a monster or patching their physical wounds. Sometimes it was far deeper than that. But at the moment, Mercy didn’t have the capacity to express such a thing. If she were sober, perhaps she could have made it more clear. Or perhaps words would’ve failed her then too.

Perhaps if she’d been sober, she also wouldn’t have asked him in. Or maybe she would have. The world would never know. As it was, she didn’t like the idea of him wandering home all alone in the dark, drunk as he was. She also wasn’t ready to let him go just yet either…

Her look turned confused for a moment as he asked about… trains. “What? Oh. OH. Yeahh… no. I mean… I think? Maybe? Somewhere?” Mercy looked about as if this train might appear nearby, but looked back to Arthur with her own slightly surprised expression as he… sort of… said yes. “Yeah? I mean…” she huffed. “Yeah… ‘course I want you to come...” Mercy blinked, and a blush slowly moved over her cheeks. “... come in. I want you… to come in. Inside. The apartment. With me… yes.”

Now might’ve been the precise moment he usually would drop some thoroughly insightful remark, but wit seemed inclined to take a backseat right now. As it stood, he didn’t have anything insightful to say and Arthur swayed on the spot leaning himself against the wall for support.

“No? But what about the train?” he looked once more to the street as if half expecting a train to appear there. But when none came he looked mildly disappointed, “hey, remember… remember the ori- orien- express? That was fun.”

Her surprise was met with a curious slightly playful grin, he pointed a finger at her. “Oooh, rude,” his tone was childish in nature and amusement. “Yes? Okay.” And that was all it took to get his agreement, he squeezed her hand that he had yet to let go of and pull her towards the door. “The graaaaand tour please!” Unfortunately, on the other side of the door Arthur stopped dead in his tracks his eyes narrowing. “What’s that?” he asked of the brilliant white fluffball perched on the back of the sofa.

“The train? What train?” Mercy had completely lost the plot where the train was concerned, and looked past Arthur with concern. Her expression brightened as he mentioned that particular train, however. “Yeah… that was…” She snorted. “... a time.” But it turned to a frown again right after, and her eyes went slightly crossed as she looked at his finger. “Rude? What’s rude? Oop!” She was tugged along inside, and closed the door with her foot before tossing her bag and her keys haphazardly on a nearby table. “Not much to tour it’s… only a couple o’ rooms..” Though she nearly ran right into him as he stopped just inside the doorway (still holding her hand).

Mercy peered around him at the object of his sudden interest. “Oh… mmm. That’s… Loki. ‘S’my cat. He can’t hear you real well.” She spun her fingers by her ear. “He’s mostly deaf. But look…” Mercy wiggled her fingers at the cat, which was staring at Arthur quite intently. So intently that he ignored Mercy’s attempts to coax him over. “Fine, meanie-butt.” She tugged Arthur on inside, stopping by the staircase that led to the upper floor, which was just her bedroom and ensuite, and a small closet.

“Living room, kitchen-” She pointed to the smaller room just off the one they were standing in. The living room was mostly full of books, records, plants, and pictures - there was also a large, comfy-looking sofa set, a coffee table, a soft rug, and above the unused fireplace there was a TV - along with other haphazard bits and bobs of what Mercy had collected over her six years in town. It was organized, eclectic chaos.

She pointed upstairs. “... bedroom, bathroom… blood-stained landing… you know… the usual…”

“The choochoo train!” he sighed in dramatically put-upon fashion. “No murders on that train.” But they were moving after that as Arthur tugged her inside. “It’s your rooms though!” as though this made it more important, and it did in his mind. A chance to learn about her life here in town.

Yet any questions were paused when he eyed the white furball perched on the back of the sofa locked in a stare-down. Arthur’s eyes narrowed, inherently wary considering Cats had a weird thing for trying to chase or otherwise harass him. Probably the bird thing, but it made him naturally wary. However, the eye-contact was broken as Mercy tugged him further in and he reluctantly left his stare-off.

“Do you not clean?” he asked poking through a couple of her shelves but finding nothing of interest wandered over to the comfy-looking sofa and flopping down onto it not noticing his little furry follower.

“Not that time at least,” Mercy snorted as she was tugged along.

“My rooms are full of books and… stuff. And Cat.” She glanced between Arthur and Loki, trying not to laugh even harder as the white cat tilted his head to better observe the newcomer. But for the moment, he stayed where he was. Until Mercy and Arthur moved on. Then he hopped down and strolled along behind them.

“‘Course I clean… you think I want dust-bunnies?” she huffed, scrubbing her hands through her hair and picking out an errant bit of grass that had hitched a ride. “Bloods hard to get up… and ‘m not replacin’ those boards… think I might just move anyways…” Hair situated, she plopped down on the couch with him and propped her now bare feet on the coffee table. A moment later, a white floof leapt silently onto that same table, and once again observed Arthur curiously.

“Loki…” Mercy rubbed the cat with her foot. “Lokiiiiii… no....” The cat merely rubbed against Mercy’s foot while continuing to stare at Arthur. “‘S’not a birb… not for you…”

“Yes, I can see the cat” he sent the feline a silent look of judgement one it felt like the cat returned from across the way. But it was forgotten soon enough, until he flopped down on the sofa and he eyed the cat as it hopped up on the table.

“No, but…” he pointed vaguely to the knick-knacks and other items strewn about the room with no apparent order, a fact that bothered him greatly “looks like someone came through here with a- a tornado or something.” He tilted his head at her mention of moving. “Where to?” he asked hoping it didn’t sound too inquisitive though there was a minor look of concern “you’re staying in town right?” He didn’t want her moving away, not after they had just found one another.

Arthur glanced at the cat, “why s’it staring at me? M’not cat-- M’not cat nibbles.”

“It’s organized chaos… I know where… where everythin’ is…” She gave her own vague wave and then turned to look at him. His look made her smile softly. “Course I’m stayin’. Wouldn’t go anywhere else…” There was no way she was leaving, not now. Not unless Arthur left too. Which he’d just gotten here, hadn’t he? Not so long ago. She let her head tip to his shoulder as they both turned to look at the cat. “I just wanna… be someplace else. Someplace tha’s… not here… someplace that… mm…” She frowned slightly. “... someplace that lets me sleep…” It was an odd statement without any context, though Mercy seemed to drift just a bit after that.

She pulled herself back as Arthur asked about Loki. “Hm? Oh… s’fine. He’s jus’ wonderin’ what you are…” Mercy rubbed the cat with her foot again. “And whether he likes you…” She cut a glance up at Arthur’s expression. “You’re way too big to be nommed… by him at least…”

“Right,” he eyed the general mess around him seeming unconvinced by her statement of somehow knowing where everything was.

“Okay, good, ‘cause you shouldn’t go anywhere. I’d be sad.” Arthur mulled over her words, before a solution that worked rather well came to mind “could come stay with me? Big house. Lots of room, you could have your own room… and a bed! A big bed, big comfy soft bed!” he pointed at the cat as well, “could have its own room as well.”

“Why?” he questioned of the cat wondering what he was, his eyes narrowed suspiciously “does he like me? I can’t tell,” he jostled her arm before waving at the cat again “how d’you know?”

Mercy just hummed at Arthur’s disbelief. It was true. She could find anything that was in here, though some things might take her a bit.

“I don’t want you to be sad… ever.” She curled her hand around his arm, much as she had when they were walking earlier, and let her eyes fall closed. When he spoke up again, Mercy tilted her head to look at him. Her expression was… surprised. “Really? You’d want me to stay with you? Like… in your house? Your new house? Like I would… live there? Like a… cohabi-... corre-... like a roommate?” Mercy grinned, finding the idea quite agreeable. “Don’t tease me with your… fluffy beds...‘Cause I’ve just got a stupid… stupid mattress on the floor right now. ‘S’fine… but ‘s’not fluffy. You’re for real?” she asked again. “You don’t jus’... feel sorry for me an’ my teeny tiny apartment?” She was mostly teasing, but while the majority of her thoughts had screamed a resounding yes, a few lingered behind, wondering what the catch was.

“You hear that, Loki? A room… to yourself…” Mercy laughed. “All covered in… glorious white hair…” She made a thoughtful face. “He hasn’t attacked your face yet… must like you-Oh.” The cat in question hopped silently to the arm of the sofa, padded around the back of it and proceeded to give Arthur a cursory sniff before deciding his… feathers… required grooming.

“M’not sad now,” he answered candidly leaning into the touch comfortably in a way he hadn’t felt in years. Was Arthur thinking through what he was saying? Partly. Really, he just felt bad that Mercy wasn’t happy here and hoped that maybe he could find a way to help make her happy. If it meant sharing a home then why not? It wasn’t as if he was lacking the space.

“Noooo in my shed,” he deadpanned before breaking out in a grin and nudging her “joooking! Jokes! ‘Course. Come be my room-house- house person.” He blinked, not quite sure what to make of her bed situation “no no, you need a bed. Big- big super big fluffy bed with lots of pillows. Like- like” he rooted around before pulling out one of the throw pillows but his train of thought diverted “hey! I have this one!” It had turned up in his lounge several weeks ago, not that he could remember where it had come from at all.

“Wha- ah!” he braced as the cat leapt over making a face as it started grooming his feathers. “Ugh cat slobber,” he groused.

“Good… ‘s’always good when you’re not sad.” Mercy idly stroked his arm with her fingers, tracing the tattoos inked into his skin. Most of hers were old, the colors faded with time. She’d have to get them reinked eventually if she didn’t want them to fade completely. Arthur’s seemed brand new in comparison.

Her concentration was broken when he jostled her, and she laughed, giving him a small shove in return. “Is it a nice shed?” Mercy grinned at him, though it softened a bit as he reiterated the offer. The rational part of Mercy’s brain was asking itself if she wanted to put herself in a situation that might be too much too soon. Considering they were finally starting to regain a bit of their old equilibrium. But the rest of her brain, the part that was giddy and happy and all for the idea of being roomies with Her Person told the other half to be quiet. “I’d like that…” she told Arthur.

Before she could say anything else, he was on about the bed situation and showing her one of her own pillows. Who’s twin just happened to have wound up at his house. For reasons. “Do you really? Tha’s… weird. ‘S’real weird…”

Loki decided to make his presence known at that point, and Mercy covered her mouth to stifle her laughter as Arthur’s feathers were subsequently put into order by the feline. “Loki! Don’t bother him… shoo…” She gave the cat a scratch and a gentle push to move him away from Arthur. Loki blinked at her and narrowed his eyes, but finally moved away to lie nearby. “Sorry,” Mercy told him, smoothing the cat-licked feathers with her fingers.

Her touch was always comforting, it was nice to simply have someone there that appreciated you and was happy to share that it was certainly something he didn’t want to give up and plus, it was enjoyable he thought muzzily as he sank into the cushions of the sofa.

“The nicest,” he laughed, the sound soft by comparison to his earlier more rambunctious mood that had been tempered and softened by the familiarity of Mercy’s presence. The balance she always seemed to bring to his mind and perhaps his soul if such things existed. “Alright…” and just like that it was sorted for the time being.

The cat sauntered off and Arthur eyed it suspiciously giving the cat a judging look before his attention returned back to the pillow issue.

“Weird,” he agreed as he held the pillow up before he tossed it down on the sofa and collapsed sideways tucking his hands underneath it pillowing his head ontop. “S’comfy though. Hm… soft,” he murmured closing his eyes as he settled nuzzling against the fuzzy material that to his rather inebriated brain felt very, very nice.

Mercy had always been affectionate, at least where Arthur was concerned. Not so much in this lifetime - tonight notwithstanding - since they were still slowly finding their footing, but in the past she’d always found a reason to be touching him, even if it was something as simple as resting her foot against his beneath a table. It was as much a comfort to Mercy as it was Arthur. And it was easy to sink back into that comfort. Into the inevitable balance that seemed to be at the forefront of their centuries-long relationship. It was a good place to be.

“Your everythin’... ‘s’always the nicest…” she hummed, giving his arm a soft squeeze. A softer sound followed the settling of the roommate situation, and her thoughts drifted slightly after that. To where, Mercy wouldn’t remember in a moment, but somewhere good. Somewhere familiar and safe. Somewhere where the two of them could just... be. It was a good place.

She blinked as Arthur tipped to the side, snuggling her throw pillow sleepily. “Here… don’t wanna get cold…” Mercy pulled a throw off the back of the couch and did her best to put it over Arthur’s long-limbed form. “‘S’better,” she said to herself when she was satisfied with the blanket arrangement, which was haphazard at best. As for her sleeping arrangements, she wasn’t going to make upstairs, so she simply pulled a bit of the blanket around herself, and laid her head on whatever part of Arthur was closest.

“Hm, flirt” he joked cracking an eye tiredly to look at her “shed’s yours.” Considering how much time she liked to spend in the garden anyway it was practically her domain anyways. But this was nice. Sinking into the warm familiarity of memories long since past, the heat of a log fire warding off the winter chill as they huddled under furs waiting for whatever stew or meat to be served up before going to bed warm and full. Their families present, and laughing over the crackle of the longhouse hearth.

“M’never cold,” but she haphazardly tossed a blanket over him and Arthur couldn’t seem to find the effort to protest as he settled as comfortably as he could on the sofa. He felt Mercy settle as well, pulling the blanket up under his chin as he drifted sleepily towards a familiar snow-laden path that led towards the depths of the forest, a comforted smile on his lips as consciousness slipped away.

[gencat21]

Unexpected • Lee Taeyong (1)

(I did not give the boyfriend a name, not worth it haha.)

Autumn is just beautiful, watching the trees turn orange and how the floor was often full of their leaves was the most pretty and annoying thing for you. You love the cold breeze hitting your face, love the taste of coffee on your tongue, and love walking peacefully with your boyfriend talking about how your day has gone before going to the next class in half an hour. "I may be getting a good job as a music teacher. My piano teacher has been recommending me to a lot of people and after winning that competition last summer I've been getting a lot of emails. Also, a company contacted me, and they are interested in the songs I've written." You explain with enthusiasm, while he observed you with that smile of his.

"My little future Beethoven. Everybody wants you. But not as much as I do." He gets closer to kiss your forehead sweetly, but your thoughts are somewhere else, keeping you to react to his sweetness.

"There's even an offer abroad. Can you believe that?"

His smile turn softly to a straight line while he looks at you in disbelief. He wanted to smile for you, but he can't fake a smile. "Are you really considering that one?"

"It's on the states, but it's the best offer I've ever gotten."

"You really are, wow." He steps backward and laughs ironically. "I mean so little to you that you take that decision without even consulting it with me?" And your mouth fells open at how mad he was getting by the second. You were expecting to see him happy for you, after all it was an offer that you couldn't turn down.

"You don't have to get mad about this," you say sweetly so he would calm down, but he was looking somewhere else with a frown, which was starting to make you mad as well. "I have time to think about until graduation but I won't be turning that one down just because you want me to."

"How can you be so selfish?" And with that your sweet side disappear in the thin air. He was really saying that to you as if he wasn't thinking about his own words and you think it's useless to talk to him right now because he was getting madder.

"I have classes right now."

"Your class starts in 25 minutes."

"Well, I left a piano in the dance room, and the teacher needs it." That's wasn't a lie. So you take your leave trying to brush your boyfriend off your mind, but you were still thinking about the conversation you just had. "Calling me selfish when he was being selfish too, who does he even think he is? He's not my father, is the freaking crazy." You ramble while walking obviously mad to the practice room hating the fact that you left it there this morning. Why did you agree to play piano on the ballet presentation one week away? Yes, it was going to make everything more beautiful, but now you had more things to do.

You find Ten on the way and stop ranting to approach him without saying anything. You hold his wrist and continue walking, deciding by yourself that he was going to help you to move the keyboard from one side of campus to the other. "Why are you so mad today? Are you going to kill me?" He asks with that smile you loved and hated, he smiles way too much. A beautiful smile like that should be totally illegal.

"I hate men,"

"Are you becoming lesbian now?"

"No, women judge way too much. I hate them as well." You end up saying and laugh because of the conversation.

"Where are you taking me? Our class is the other way."

"Just help me move the keyboard, I will pay you back with fruit."

"But I hate fruits,"

"I know,"

"If you give me fruits I will throw it at you. But I'll accept tea." You like him as a friend. You've always wondered why you both weren't actually closer since he was a sweet and nice person to be around. But you had two different lives, so you just were glad that you both had a lot of classes in common, and that was enough for you. He made classes shorter by sitting with you, and you were thankful. Shortly, you both arrive at the building, and from that distance, you could hear the loud music playing in the dance room. The closer you got, the louder it was. The door was partially open, so you carefully approach the door to spy on whoever was dancing inside.

Inside the dance, room was a guy moving his body to the rhythm of the music. You never had the talent to dance that upbeat kind of music, leaving classical music as your cup of tea, but doesn't change the fact that you wish you could dance the way he can. Ten behind you peeks for a second as well and then taps your shoulder to get your attention. "Y/n, we need to go." Reminding you that your walk back was not short. Sadness covers your eyes since you wanted to see the end of the choreography, even if it was only the guy's back you were seeing. but you know he's right. Your eyes travel to Ten, who just shrugs at you. Suddenly the music stops.

His familiar face was turned to your direction, glancing at you with nothing more than a frown. "Who gave you the right to spy me?" His voice sends shivers down your spine because of how pissed he was of being spied.

"I wasn't," you step inside and your index finger points to your piano in a corner, his eyes follow your finger and then he looks again at you.

"Take it quick and leave, you're wasting my time." You avoid his gaze since it was a little intimidating sometimes. You've been used to seeing that guy for... As long as you can remember. For some strange reason, your paths are the same. Same high school, and weirdly, same art school. But you've never heard his voice until now, you've never had the chance to have a conversation, and you never wanted to. He's always had the bad boy aura, and you wanted nothing to do with it. He's always been the pretty bad boy that you made sure not to cross paths with, even though it was impossible

You know he never noticed you before, and hat even when he was a bad boy you had nothing to worry about because your social life was completely different. Until now that his scary gaze was following you around the room, watching your every move and that makes you uneasy. For a reason, they named him the scary pretty guy back on your school days. "Are you going to be here all day?" Ten asks Taeyong casually, you forgot they were friends for a moment there, but it was luck to you, since for that reason he stopped looking at you.

"Almost, we'll be waiting for you. Jaehyun and Johnny are on their way here right now, Mark went out a couple minutes ago."

"I have piano classes right now and then I will be free," he picks up your keyboard while you silently take the stand and make your way out of the room, glad that Ten distracted Taeyong. "See you in two hours." You hear him say, followed by him leaving the room behind you. You felt you could finally breathe, surprised that as soon as he stare at you, your breathing stop. He was breathtakingly handsome, but that was not the reason why you felt like that. Was the bad boy aura he has. "He just hates people seeing his choreographies when is not finished." Ten explain to you due to the silence that you hold.

"I don't care," you don't.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

8:23 pm says your phone when a text message pops up. You gasp in shock, realizing that you had been there longer than expected. It was normal for you to lose track of time when you were composing, but this time the hours really went by quicker than expected. You parted ways with Ten at five when your class ended, by staying in the piano classroom and played until the message from your boyfriend brought you back to reality. You slowly pick up your stuff, throwing your phone inside your bag not wanting to even read his text. But as soon as you step out of the building, your phone starts to vibrate, letting you know you had a call.

Annoyed, you look for your phone on your bag to see him calling you. "Yes?"

"I'm in the parking lot, let me take you home." His normal sweet voice appears on the other side, you roll your eyes in response as if he could see you. You just stayed silent on the entrance looking at your feet. "Or at least let's talk. I can't stand the fact of falling asleep while being mad at each other." Not standing the silence anymore. "Please."

"Sure, see you in a bit." The walk to the parking lot was the shortest walk you've ever had on the campus, you did not want to talk about anything right now because you were starting to see the real him. The not very supportive one, the one that may hold you back on a future. That may be the real one, and you were not ready to actually meet him. But you have to. His figure is against his car in the parking lot where there were only two cars, his and another way a few lots to the right. His eyes were on you the whole walk to his car, and you dont know what to feel about it. "Look, I thought about it,"

"Are you staying?"

" I—” you stop talking realizing you were about to raise your voice after that, and take a deep breath. "I will not make that decision right now, but I want you to be on my side and understand me instead of being against me. This is my future we're talking about in here.” you express your feeling, glad that he was listening to you in silence. " Do you understand?"

"But you can have a nice future, what is the matter with staying here?" He does not understand

"I do not know what I will do," you argue. "I just want you to be on my side not matter what decision I make."

"You will stay here with me." He says, as it was so easy, but the way he says it just bothered you. The demanding tone gets on your nerves.

"Stop saying it like that, you don't get to choose what I will do. This is my life."

"Oh, I see. You want to break up with me and fuck every single dude you see, like you went to fuck that guy instead of actually going to class?"

"What are you ta—"

"You thought I didn't see you leaving me alone to go for a guy? And you were still here when is not usual for you to be here? I went to your apartment and your roommate told me you were here. What were you doing?" Your expression shifts to one of disbelief and hurt.

"I can't believe you think I would do something like that to you," saying it was harder than thinking about it. A single tear rolls down your cheek, one that you quickly swipe away. "If you think like that, we have to break up. I'm leaving, and do not fucking call me ever again." You spit, then turn around to walk away containing the tears from falling. You do not want to cry near than man to show how weak you were. Obviously, you are weaker than he is.

You just feel the pain on your wrist and how harshly you are turned around to face him, "That hurts!" You whine, not being able to avoid the look he has. You've never seen his so mad, before, even less looking at you. The feeling of not being able to do anything was frustrating as he held your other wrist too. "Let me go, what are you doing?"

"So I'm right? How many guys have you fucked?"

"Let me fucking go!"

"You forgot you were only mine?"

"Fuck you!" You do not know where the strength to say to that man that had you under his control came out from, neither how by instinct your knee fly between his legs and make him let you go without wanting. Your breathing is audible, and you tell yourself to run away but you could not move at all. In shock, you stare at how he falls on the floor and stays there for a minute. Why could you not move? Why you have to stay there when you could run away and disappear somewhere he could not find you? Why do you wait until he stands up again and without thinking slaps your face so hard you fall on the floor? By then, Isn't it too late? Where did the strong Y/n escape to? He walks again to you, so you look for something around you that you could hit him with, but there's nothing. You close your eyes hard, waiting for whatever he is going to do to you, until the sound of a strong punch makes an appearance, and then you see from the corner of your eye how the man ready to hit you is on the floor holding his face with closed eyes. "Taeyong?" You ask yourself, seeing the familiar clothes you saw in the practice room earlier on the day.

You thought you had seen the scariest look on him, but that was not true. Now you could see what he really looks like when he is mad. Meanwhile, he's punching your now ex-boyfriend like his life depended on it. It was not the fact that he was hitting the man you can't say you don't love anymore, but the fact that you hated violence. Throwing punches in a reckless way like a person body was the easiest thing to hurt. "S—stop!" You voice comes out, but you know there was no way that with the sound of punches he heard you. You crawl to where they are and grab Taeyong's hand so he would stop.

He does and stands up so quickly that you barely could see him running to his car, grabbing something and coming out again. Your ex stands up, and follows him until you see him stop abruptly. That clicking sound just sends panic all over your body. "Do not fucking touch her ever again."

"Man, put that down," he says, giving a few steps backward.

"Taeyong, stop that!"

"I will make sure you don't fucking touch her from now on, if you look at her, if you get near her, even if you fucking think of her I will make sure is the last time you ever do." He spits the words out with some much hatred in his voice that you even lost yours. Your mouth moves like it screaming but you can't hear yourself.

From there, you start seeing how everything goes down on slow motion. How you lose sight of what was going on for a second while Ten sees your state and hugs you. Your tears rolling down in desperation wanting everything to just stop. You see how Jaehyun, Johnny, and Mark appear in the scene trying to calm Taeyong, while your ex gets in his car and leaves without even looking at you once. Mark slowly takes the gun, that God knows why he has it on his car, while Johnny holds Taeyong and says things you can't hear nor see, you just glare over Ten's shoulder and let all the tears come out. Your arms hug him when you see that nothing bad really happened besides the bastard having a black eye and bruises on his face. "It's alright," your sense of hearing lets you hear Ten murmuring it to you while your big sobs become little.

Your eyes go to the man that stares at your crying self on the floor. That anger and hatred disappeared out of the blue, now there was an expression that you could not recognize as he took a few slow steps. Your hands softly push Ten away from you, and as a mechanism of defense you back away. "Do not touch me!" You demand at the man that wanted to get near you and check if you were fine. Taeyong just wanted to ignore your words and get near, but your tears and your shaking hand made him stand still.

"I can explain,"

"Y—you don't need to explain anything to me, I don't want to know," you stand up with a great amount of effort since your legs were shaking the same way your whole body was. You forget about your bag, you just wanted to lock yourself on your apartment and forget it all happened. As if it was possible. You knew all the boys you've crossed paths a few times before where looking at your weak figure trying to walk away, and it was the most heartbreaking thing they have seen. Taeyong notices your bag on the floor, but before he could pick it up Ten does. "You've done enough, I will give it to her and take her home."

Mark gets closer to him before the others and places a hand on his shoulder when your figure besides Ten's disappears from their sight. "Let's go,"

Taeyong takes his hand off of his shoulder softly. "Please don't touch me," calmly says before starting to walk to his car.

(Any mistakes I didn't see, please let me know so I can change it. Thank you!)

[nadziejastar]

Isa-- A quiet and cool-headed youth. Though he does come out of his shell when talking to his best friend Lea, toward others he is distant and untalkative.

Oh, I absolutely think he was. A quiet boy who is always alone, has no friends, and doesn’t smile much? Of course Lea would be drawn to him. Given their personalities, I can definitely picture Lea viewing Isa as a stray puppy at first and being the one to approach him. And after that, Isa started following him around like a lost puppy. Then they became best friends.

“You have your own mission, Roxas,” Saïx told him before Xion could answer.

“I can’t trade with Xigbar or something?”

“What an extraordinarily childish notion. Do you need Axel to walk you everywhere now?”

And I think Saïx had quite the inferiority complex over his past. It’s definitely hinted that the icing on the cake started with Lea and Isa long before it involved Roxas and Xion. Roxas was acting like a zombie following Axel mindlessly, then he surprised Axel by acting more alert. And Xion was mindlessly following Roxas around, then she spoke normally and saved him by using the Keyblade. This surprised him so he took her out as a reward.

Xigbar, standing and watching their exchange with his arms folded, opened his mouth. “You’ve been working really well lately haven’t you, Poppet.”

“…Thank you,” Xion replied in a small voice.

“Thank you? Why do you have to say thanks?

“Well, you were praising me, weren’t you? Was I wrong?”

“Haha… Yeah, I guess you could see it like that.” He pressed his hand to his mouth and snickered.

“Did I say something funny?”

“No, no. You’re fine.”

Xion looked up at Xigbar, anxiously. Beside them, Saïx didn’t show any notable reaction. He just watched.

Xion insisted on tagging along on the day she collapsed again. She was more interested in spending time with her friends and getting ice cream later. She passed out and Axel blamed himself because he was supposed to look out for her.

Long ago—I remember, I didn’t hate fighting. Saïx flung his claymore at Roxas.

And so, Saïx remembered things from a long long time ago.

It might have been the same for Isa. He might have liked fighting, but only with Lea. 

“So, Saïx, what am I doing to—? Oh, boy. Awfully early for such a bad mood, don’t you think?” Saïx had whirled to face him with a rather pronounced scowl.

“…Nobodies do not have ‘moods’ to be ruined,” he said at length.

“Well, sure, technically…”

“It’s just that the failure was functioning better than expected until recently.”

I think Isa was probably careless one day and Lea got hurt while protecting him. Axel was angry remembering that. And Saïx has a complex about being a useless failure.

If I’m trying to get away from Saïx—from the organization itself—what am I doing here? The truth struck home—Nobodies had no place where they belonged.

“Now what do I do…?” he muttered, his face still upturned to the distant moon. A heart. Maybe the answer was closer than he thought. Suddenly he felt something brush his leg.

“Wh—whoa!” Axel jumped. It was a big yellow dog.

This scene from the manga takes place on Day 117 ~Secrets~. This is the day Axel was asked to work with Xion and observe her, then she talked about her memories. In the novel, it was hinted that Axel remembered praising Isa while he was praising Xion. Presumably that’s where the icing on the cake tradition started. In the manga, they referenced Axel’s memories of the past in a different way. Pluto showed up. 

“Hey, what’re you doing here?”

The dog looked up at him, tail wagging wildly.

“Are you all alone?” As if in reply, the dog made a single tiny bark.

“Look, I don’t have time to play.” Axel gave it a pat on the head and began walking away between the buildings.

Xion really liked him and wanted to bring him home. Axel was annoyed that she was getting too attached to him, because Saïx would never allow her to keep him. Although Isa might have seemed like the “cold” one and Lea the “nice” one during the scene with Ventus, I doubt that was the whole truth.

“Hey, don’t follow me, okay?” He turned and shook a warning finger in front of the dog’s nose. It barked again. The animal almost seemed to understand him.

“Get off me already!” Axel shouted as he tried to stand, but this left him open to a slobbery attack from the front. 

“Ugh! Quit it…!” Eventually Axel noticed Kairi watching this exchange with mild astonishment and finally shoved Pluto away. Sand covered his black cloak, red hair, and face.

It was probably framed that way on purpose so that when we saw Isa’s real personality, it would have been more of a twist. The manga characterization is often more humorous and not meant to be canon per se. But that doesn’t mean it’s arbitrary or that it isn’t meant to be true to the characters in some way. 

“Look, I gotta go.” Axel opened up a dark rift in space and plunged into the blackness. The dog tilted its head again and plopped down in front of the closing portal as if to wait for him. 

And Saïx actually DOES let Xion keep Pluto because Isa was fond of dogs. Sure, Saïx letting Xion have a pet is out of character. But the purpose of the scene with Pluto was to tell you something important about Isa and what type of person he was compared to Saïx.

All of it disgusted him. Saïx looked up at the skyscrapers, tracking Axel’s presence. 

He remembered what the witch Naminé had said. Axel seemed lonely. The man himself had denied it, but she was absolutely right. Axel was lonely. He’d lost Roxas. Lonely. Didn’t that mean he had a heart? How had he gained one? Why only him?

Axel was amazed and happy that Saïx still had some memories from the good old days. The manga probably didn’t mention that Isa liked dogs for no reason. Anyways, Axel’s happiness didn’t last. Saïx brushed him off and told him that he had to go back to Castle Oblivion soon, then went back to being his usual cold self.

Saïx’s searching gaze fell on a yellow dog, and he paused. The dog turned to him with a full-throated bark. He scowled, crinkling the scarred skin between his eyebrows, and lifted his hand to open a Corridor of Darkness behind the dog. If something was in his way, he would just get rid of it. 

The next day is the vacation and Saïx told Axel that he was getting too attached to Roxas and Xion. It’s very similar to the way Axel told Xion that she was getting too attached to the stray doggy. When Axel reacted sarcastically, Saïx told Axel that he changed. Axel looked sad, and almost like he was smirking at the irony.

“She doesn’t need you anymore.” Saïx smiled, but the expression didn’t reach his eyes. That was the world’s most obvious lie, Sora thought.

Axel said Saïx had changed and looked up at the heart-shaped moon. The scene is also made to look just like the scene where Sora confronted Saïx after Kairi escaped with Pluto. Saïx said she didn’t need him anymore. This made me think: they created the situation with Pluto to emphasize that when Saïx and Axel said the other had changed, it was specifically referring to getting attached. What Saïx said about Axel was probably very true, especially after he became a Nobody. But it was probably not limited to him as Nobody, either.

The two of them seemed to be enjoying themselves. Ven was just a tad jealous. “Already?” Ven asked, a little lonely.

He turned around. “I’ll see ya when I see ya. After all, we’re friends now. Get it memorized.”

“Okay, Lea.” Ven nodded with a smile. He hadn’t thought he would make friends here of all places.

If you think about it, who is more likely to become easily attached to others? A sociable extrovert who interacts with every person they meet? Or a quiet introvert who only opens up with one person? Definitely the introvert. Lea was very warm and quick to help other people, but he probably didn’t get attached to the stray puppies he picked up very often. He was probably just happy creating memories with new people (or animals). He seemed satisfied to play with Ventus for a few minutes, then move on. He’d see him whenever. Ven was the one who didn’t want him to leave, because he was lonely without Terra and Aqua. Then their situations became reversed.

“Sora and Riku are best friends.” Axel’s eyes crinkled as he remembered his own best friend—the only friend he’d ever had, in fact.

“If your best friend goes away, you’re sad, and if you get to be with them, you’re happy,” Naminé added. “Isn’t that how it is, Axel?”

“…That’s about the size of it.” Axel nodded and sat down on the remaining empty sofa, staring at the sea-salt ice cream he held.

Axel was very friendly, but he was also cool and detached. Roxas laughed at him when he they’d never be apart as long as they remembered each other. And in the manga, he was embarrassed when Roxas called him his “best friend” out loud. But over time, he became desperately lonely and needy. It was a core aspect of his character. No one was called “lonely” more times than Axel. And he became VERY attached and clingy with Roxas and Xion, which was unusual behavior for him. 

“What?” The irritated furrow between his brows deepened.

“You seemed lonely,” Naminé repeated, raising her eyes.

“Lonely? Me, a Nobody, lonely? That doesn’t even make sense!”

And I just loved how in the KH2 novel, Axel was simultaneously trying to avoid both Pluto AND Saïx, who always showed up at exact the same time. It was like escaping the two of them was...the same thing, in a way. Not only Saïx’s stalking, either. Axel’s stalking of Kairi was parallel to Pluto’s stalking of Kairi, too. When Axel was trying to see Roxas again, he was acting like an abandoned stray puppy. Ironically, Axel was so clingy with Roxas because he felt abandoned by Isa. He missed how emotionally attached Isa was to him and was very desperate for his affections once more. Then he transferred that neediness onto Roxas. But as a human, it probably wasn’t Lea who got overly attached.

As he watched Ven go on his way, Isa commented to Lea in a frosty tone, “What is it with you and picking up stray puppies?”

Lea just shrugged. “I want everybody I meet to remember me. Inside people’s memories, I can live forever.”

“I know I won’t forget you. Believe me, I try all the time,” Isa replied with a bit of humor in his tone.

It was probably Isa. That’s probably why he kept his distance from most people. I bet this was a pretty important aspect of their characters. Saïx was always utterly cold and detached towards everyone. But deep down, Isa was nothing but an abandoned puppy. He was being sarcastic in BBS. But in KH2, that was exactly what was going on. He wanted nothing more than to forget Axel and tried ALL the time. But he couldn’t. And that was probably the main reason they included so many more Pluto scenes. The real stray puppies were Isa AND Lea.

Axel had seen Pluto jump fearlessly into a portal to the Corridors of Darkness. And Kairi had done the same. This was no time to hesitate, then.

He gave Pluto a good hug and pressed his cheek against his fur. “Okay, let’s go.” Pluto woofed in reply. Axel got to his feet and headed deeper into the bowels of the castle.

After reading the novels and the manga, I think Isa might have been talking literally about an incident with stray puppies. It would have been funny if the dogs were actually Disney characters like Lady and the Tramp. Isa was the one who wanted to keep them, but then they got adopted. Ironically Lea was the one who was chiding him for becoming too attached. And that’s why he sounded annoyed with Lea picking up another stray puppy.

[bleakvictory115-blog]

Chapter 1, Haerdon

"You have us lost Kurt," Ecendar said, but Kurt refused to believe it. "No, no, I paid 10 pieces for these directions, I refuse to believe that inn-keep gave us directions of falsehood for that much." he says hitting the paper with directions with the back of his hand. "What even makes you say that anyway?" Ecendar uses his keen Elven senses to spot similarities in the land. "How many people did you see in that inn? Because I saw 7 and 3 of them were staff. They weren't exactly rolling in business. Also," Ecendar points to a nearby tree to his right, "that tree has a curved line etched into the first branch on its left. We've been here before." Kurt, saddened by the loss of yet more coin says "Ah, great. That's more money gone. So where now?" To which Ecendar replied, "You see that crack in the hillside over there, where it seems like the world is trying to make another cave? It's an exit of a Dwarven hovel. They're like glorified ants, I say. Burrowing their way through the earth, making their own world under us all. Personally I'd rather not deal with another Dwarf if I can help it but we're lost. May as well see if there's a dwarf around it." The pair traveled to the hill side which looked almost of a miniature quarry and smelled of sulfur, sweat and smelting ore. An explosion sounded underneath a rather large rock and smoke began to rise from its edges. The sound of a roaring fire and coughing could be heard underneath of it. A Dwarf surfaced from beneath the rock along with much thicker, darker smoke. The Dwarf was coughing violently and didn't notice Kurt and Ecendar. When he had finished coughing and brushed what seemed to be coal dust off his mining outfit he finally noticed them. "Oh, I'm sorry, is it a bad time to've surfaced? You folk gonna build a town here too, right o'er our hole?" said the Dwarf in his hearty accent. "That's somewhat why were here-" Kurt was interrupted by the Dwarf who almost entered a battle stance upon hearing those words "Then you'll hav-ta take it from us by force, cause we've lived here for centuries and we ain't about-ta go now." Ecendar clarified with annoyance in his voice, "You've got it wrong Dwarf, we're not here to plant the seeds of a town. We need directions to Haerdon, the next town over, do you know the way?" The Dwarf replied "Ah, sorry, can't be too cautious nowadays, can we? The name's Torque! My people an-I have rarely the need to come up during the day when all you people are about, didn't know if we were missing word of a new town! Haha!" Ecendar, being an elf and irritated by Dwarves slight lack of intellect and abundant surplus of cockiness, responds with "Well, maybe if you stuck your head out of your caves you'd learn a few things." To this Torque strikes back with "We like to keep to ourselves. Unlike you elven folk who go poking their nose in everything, all in the name of knowledge. Why can't you keep to your trees every few era or so?" In bitter irritation Ecendar says "I keep telling you people, we do not live in trees! We-" He is interrupted by Kurt. "Enough! Torque, Ecendar, both of you stop it, you can argue later. For now, we need directions. The name's Kurt. Torque, can you help us or not?" Looking only at Kurt, Torque says "Eh, I can help you, but your Elven friend here, Ecendar, he's too stubborn for my help. Come, I'll show you the way. You can buy me a meal and some ale for my troubles, eh! Haha!" Torque slapped his hands against his belly as he laughed, walking in the direction of Haerdon with Ecendar and Kurt not far behind.

As they neared a forest on their way to Haerdon, Torque said "Y'know, you were headed in the right direction, you just didn't go far enou-" He was interrupted by a sketchy looking man, walking out of the forest. Accompanied by 7 other men and women. "About time ya showed up, we want to get paid and leave!" the man said. "What do you mean?" Kurt responded. "Your directions, from the inn-keep, he's given those to many a traveler. Very few have made it. These are dangerous roads, you know. Enough talk, let's get this done." the man said. Him and his goons pulled their swords and axes out - it was an ambush. Ecendar used his bow to take down 2 of the ambushers before they got close enough to swing, while Kurt pulled out his sword and shield and Torque pulled out his rather heavy looking axe and hammer. Kurt blocked one male ambusher's attack with his shield, immediately slamming the shield into the man and piercing a female ambusher through the chest. His sword scraping across h!

ers before she died. He then sliced down onto the other attackers helm, stopping the man in his tracks. He stumbled backwards before crumbling to the ground. Meanwhile, Torque swung his hammer (which was in his left hand) at a man to the right. Cracking it across his head while he had his sword swinging down. Torque then spun back around, hitting another man in the chest with his axe. He then charged and jumped on the back of another man. He dug his axe into the man's back and began swinging wildly with his hammer. The leader of the group hadn't joined in the fight. Scared for his life of what he just saw, he ran into the woods. Ecendar drew another arrow and steadied his bow, but before he could release it the man was picked up. A woman walked up to him with her hand open, pointed at his neck. By simply turning her hand, she turned him to face her. The man began screaming before she closed her fist and his head exploded. She then turned and faced Kurt, Ecendar, and Torque.

The woman began to walk toward them, "I wouldn't shoot that bow if I were you," she said. "Believe me, it'll be the last arrow it launches." Ecendar lowers the bow, "Just so you know, I had him." he says. "I know, and I tracked these thieves for some time before you cut them down. I guess it makes us even." The woman introduced herself, "You don't seem to pose a threat to me... Name's Scarlett." Ecendar introduced himself as well as the others "I'm Ecendar, this is Kurt and the dwarf," Torque was now standing half behind Ecendar, "is Torque." Scarlett replied "Ah, seems like a harty crew. Where are you headed?" Kurt jumped in, "Before we go any further, you just blew that guy's head up with magic. Why should we trust you?" Scarlett assured him, "If I wanted you dead then what want would I have of talking to you? Besides, you saved me a moment of trouble. You did most of my dirty work and I still get paid at Haerdon for stopping them." Kurt spoke again, "Fair enough. Haerdon, you know the way?"  Scarlett agreed, then Torque pulled Kurt aside and said "Firstly, I don't much agree with going with her. I don't much like magic, too unstable. Secondly, I guess you have a way to Haerdon. Won't need me anymore." Kurt responded with "You joking? How often do you get out of your caves? It'd be good to go to Haerdon with us. Also, I still owe you that meal and ale!" Torque smiled, "You know, of the humans I've come across most have been too foolish and rude for me to deal with. But you, you're different. I'd be happy to travel with ya, if only for the ale! Harhar!" Kurt says "Good to hear!" and the Two rejoin the group headed for Haerdon.

"Know that some of the people of Haerdon cannot be trusted," Scarlett said, "there are peddlers and theives that choose to hide away under guise of honest men." Kurt replies "Ah, we've not to worry about them, we have you to help us." Scarlett says "do not rely upon me to get you out of everything. Once I arrive I'm collecting my payment."

The group finally arrives at Haerdon, a town proud of its name and foundings. Scarlett immediately departs for her payment without a word, while Ecendar says he's going to "look around" which usually means that he's making sure no one is watching them. The town is bustling with a surprising large group of people for the size of the town. Kurt and Torque make their way to the nearest inn, one called Tankard's Keep, while Kurt is more on point with having lost money from an innkeep last time. They go up to the innkeep who says "Welcome, looking for rest, drink or food?" Before Kurt can answer, Torque says "What's the largest, strongest ale ya 'ave?" The innkeep replys with a drink called "StoneScale." "I'll take that 'n sum beef, thank ya sir." Kurt places some coin on the bar as payment. Torque looks at Kurt while the innkeep goes for the meal, "And thank you too sir." Kurt simply smiles and nods before asking "So, what all do you think we'll find in Haerdon? I mean food and drink is all well and good but what else could be he-" just then Scarlett more or less busts through the door with Ecendar guarding the outside.

She approaches the duo now looking at her. "I don't mean to alarm you but we have an issue." she says calmly leaning on the bar in between them staring at the wood. "Apparently someone from that group was the son of a powerful family here, and my payment came from someone claiming to be from the Brand Guild. You know, the ones that brand your chest when they have a bounty on you about a week before they kill you? Yeah, not a friendly bunch. My payer informed me that information travels faster than we, as the family is looking for us." The innkeep starts to walk back from the kitchen with Torques meal "Long story short we have to leave, now."

"But me meal!" complained Torque. "Put it in this bag and your mead in this waterskin! We'll meet you outside!" Kurt slammed a small bag and waterskin on the table before rushing to the door where Scarlett and Ecendar were. Torque stuffed and poured quickly while fumbling his short rotund figure to the door. The group moves fast but still inconspicuous enough to make it to the edge of town, passing beggars and market folk before being stopped by a guard holding a piece of parchment. "Hold, have you seen this one before?" The parchment is a wanted poster with a drawing of an amalgamation of them all. Long hair on one side while short on the other, a short figure with pointed ears and Kurt's nose.

"That is one odd fellow isn't it..? Can't say I have, sorry." said Kurt. Ah, well, keep an eye out if you will. Haerdon stands." the guard plants his fist on his chest as a 'good day' gesture before leaving. The group leaves Haerdon almost as quickly as they arrived, and while Torque stuff's food in his mouth and Ecendar reprimands him for it, Scarlett says "Good job back there with the guard, you spoke fast and calm. Gave him no reason to doubt us." Kurt replied with "What I lack in farm skills I make up for in people skills. So, how's it feel to be a labeled a amalgamation and a bandit in the same day and town?" Scarlett said "I've been labeled a bandit many times, the amalgamation is the first. Good thing is that whoever saw us in the woods earlier was very bad and describing who we were." Kurt said "Yeah, I'd rather not try that again." Kurt notices the sun going down. "Bad news is that there's no town nearby we can bed down at, so we'll have to make do nearby. That, there." Kurt points to a nearby treeline. "Just in the treeline will give us cover from most things, I suggest there." The group clear a small area in the treeline and get some rest for the night.

(I know this 'chapter' has been a large one but to those who have made it this far, I thank you. I will try to keep chapters coming once a week. Follow for more of the story, there's plenty more to come.)

[artinterviewmagazine]

Conversation With Taj Bourgeois On Selling Their Paintings Online For A Living

Marius Larsson: So first of all how long have you been selling paintings? About 2 years now? Taj Bourgeois: Yeah I quit my job driving taxi in December so a little over 2 years. I had a week where I made negative $70 and that was that. I had to do something different. ML: What made you think you could make it as an artist, and how did you initially get started? TB: I didn’t think I could make it lol, but also felt like it might be my last chance to give it my all. If I didn’t at least try once in my life I was concerned I’d feel like a hypocrite if I were to tell my daughter to follow her dreams. Pretty much I just posted on Facebook “Would anyone like to commission a painting?”. I got five responses, one of which was for $600. Honestly I don’t know if I would’ve felt the drive to commit if it weren’t for that, but also my strategy was and has been basically to just make paintings everyday, so people would see I was taking it seriously and in turn take me seriously. ML: And had you been painting much prior? TB: I had made like 7 or 8 paintings in the months leading up to it, so people were aware what I was getting into and I guess displaying some level of skill. Prior to that I hadn’t really painted since around the time my daughter was born in 2012. ML: What kinds of things did you start off painting? TB: In 2012 or in the months before doing it full time? ML: Tell me about 2012, why you took a break for 4 years and then what got you back into it in 2016. TB: When I found out I was going to be a father I had been in college for just a couple semesters taking random art classes. I was just there for the school loans... ya know.. didn’t want to get a job. Anyway I was in a painting class, and it was pretty much my first time painting. I watched the Basquiat documentary “The Radiant Child”, and it made me think about painting in a very different way. A few months after my daughter was born and I won a couple awards for paintings I did for the college’s annual art show. Then I enrolled at the Pacific Northwest College of Art for the Fall semester, but by that point I was learning about hundreds of artist’s on my own time, and was becoming inspired to try all kinds of things other than painting. I felt I did so well that semester that I decided college wasn’t going to be a good use of time or money, so I dropped out and just followed my train of thought for the next 4 years which led back to painting. ML: How did it lead back to painting? TB: I had been driving taxi for a year and a half, and during that time I felt more and more disconnected from any of my previous modes of art making. I was pretty much sitting in the cab making memes and digital collages. Toward the end the collages I was doing started to become more refined, and I started thinking about the merits of painting the imagery I was putting together. The first thing I painted after all that time was an image of flaming goose which was a meme that had been going around. I decided to painted it very large. It was just something I thought would help test the waters again, and also something I figured I’d like to have on my wall. Of course painting a giant meme is going to get a good response online, so I did a couple more, and then painted some scenes from photos, and then from my imagination. Tried to paint the collages I had made but didn’t quite feel right to try to change their medium. ML: Ok so you had a few commissions and then what? You’d post your paintings for sale and people just kept buying them? TB: Yeah although the first 6 months were pretty rough. In April I only made $500, so I was cutting it close, but I was still in the mindset that most artists have, which is like their art has some mysterious value to it and should be expensive, but then I realized it would make more sense if I took it more seriously as a job and charge by the hour, so I started painting more small funny stuff. Like for me it made more sense to sell a bunch of little humorous $50 pieces than cross my fingers on a $300 piece cause it would take me the same amount of time to do 6 of the $50 ones. It wasn’t until around 6 months that I made my first piece that multiple people wanted, and so what I did was make it multiple times, and that’s when things started to pick up. ML: And what was that piece? TB: It was spider man on the floor of an art museum looking up at a painting of a goofy fish with a human face, and spider man is saying in a thought bubble “That Painting Looks The Way I Feel!” It was originally from an old comic and spider man had been looking at some kind of parody Picasso portrait, but you know with memes pieces get replaced, and the mood changes. The fish’s face was a better mood than the Picasso probably.

ML: How many paintings had you made by that point? TB: Around 70, but had sold maybe 20 ML: What materials were you using? TB: During the taxi days I was in the store (Fred Meyer) and saw this canvas that house painters just lay on the floor to catch the paint drips, and I was like damn 4x15ft for $13? I should get some in case I feel up to making some big paintings someday, but I have always been such a frugal person that it wasn’t until I saw the apple barrel brand paints that I was like damn ok lemme just buy a couple of every color and see if I’m into this. I also bought a gallon of white house paint to “gesso” the canvas. I still use this method on big pieces, and can always stretch later, but lately have been buying a lot of canvas already prepped and stretched. ML: So do you only sell through Facebook and Instagram? TB: Yes oddly enough that’s like 95% of sales. A few every now and then from irl shows where I live here in Portland (Oregon).

ML: I want to go back to something for a second. You mentioned you started painting in 2012, but then you won a couple awards a few months later. How old were you. How did you excel so quickly considering you said you hadn’t painted prior and what were those painting? TB: I was 24. I think painting is one of those mediums where “ability” is far more subjective than most things. You can view enough of it without trying it yourself to the point that when you do try you’ll already have a grasp of it. I have been interested in painting my whole life, so picking up the brush I already had thousands of hours of experience just thinking about it ya know, so like with that show at the college I knew I wanted to make something big and bold. So I cut myself a 4x7ft canvas and ended up making this multi-colored deer looking straight ahead with sort of hypnotic gaze. That was a people’s choice award, and the other got me a scholarship offer, but for that one I basically had just copied Twombly lol.

ML: How would you describe your style today? TB: Hmm I try not to, cause I try all kinds of stuff. I feel my technical skill level is mediocre but maybe my creative level is high? Different people are going to appreciate different things, and I’ve always been more interested in what the painting depicts over how it’s made. I mean skill aside I think most paintings are pretty umm I want to say “derivative” haha are people still using that word in serious? I’m having fun though, staying curious, and I think that comes across. What’s the point of describing my “style” anyway?

ML: I’m curious about how you view your own work. TB: I view my own work with my own eyes lol. I view my art like a loving father or maybe more like an observer, a bird watcher? No, ok I think I understand this question now. My approach to painting is often like a mix of writing, drawing, and making memes. Often I have the idea and it doesn’t really matter how I get there unless the technique is the content itself as with a lot of abstract art. Like, I will entirely base a painting on a sentence describing the image itself with little concern about how i will make it. Like “a shuriken stuck in the back of a smiling man”, so I’ll paint some sky, a fence, some grass, blue jeans, man has no shirt, shuriken, blood, he’s holding a beer, he’s smiling alright i did it… nice. That’s one way I view my work as a route to an image. I used to do this all the time before painting. I have an art book from 2015 where I used this method a lot like I’d write down ideas, and then go out and make them happen. Some elements of the end result were arbitrary although I always tried to have good composition and quality documentation. I didn’t think of myself as a photographer though I certainly was and was good at that aspect too, but it was more the means to document my performance, sculpture, installation… sentence made real. I also view a good portion of my paintings as elaborate pages ripped from children’s books that don’t exist (yet) and they’re filled with weird cute characters I never really had any intention to keep making in the first place, but I’m still doing it for some reason maybe because I like the idea of an overarching narrative, but mostly I think cause they give me a deep nostalgia for illustrations in picture books I saw as a kid or like panels from graphic novels.

ML: That answer is all over the place! I guess that’s what i get for asking such a broad question, but there’s a lot to work with there. Tell me about being a Father. You said it was kind of the catalyst to start making art. How do you think it’s affected your work? TB: Naturally it changed everything. Before my daughter was born I was just so much more aloof, timid, uncertain about making anything. I’d spend so many days just floating around “hanging out” drinking, smoking etc. Maybe I’d draw a little, write a little, play some music, but always felt like I was just killing time waiting for something to happen, and then it did. Suddenly I felt obligated to be at home most of the time, ya know, like a good dad. Other than that I was still in school making the most of it for the short time being. So for that first year I was either home with her or at school. I was just making stuff every day all the time, and it became an insatiable habit especially once I started sharing it online. Yeah honestly I felt the pressure was on. Like I had waited too long to pursue my passions so I had to make up for lost time. I’ve been addicted to making and sharing things everyday ever since. As for my daughter’s influence, yeah I love watching her grow and the things she makes inspire me as well. I’m a bit of a romantic when it comes to modern art and its mythos. I still vibe off what picasso said about how it took him his whole life to paint like a child, so I feel really grateful to work with her. I have literally thousands of her drawings stacked all over the place. She’ll sit down and do fifty drawings in an hour so I’ve gotten a white board lol. Also like I mentioned before it was kind of insane of me to quit my job to become a painter, like I have a kid, rent, bills, a car, and I’m just going to suddenly start painting happy devils to pay for all that? Well, yeah it felt like my last chance to make my dreams a reality. I just wanted to be able to say I did my best and tried to make it work, for myself, and to be a role model in that sense as well. So far so good.

ML: There seems be a big disparity between artists who make a living off their work and artists who don’t, and what I mean is that when you think of an artist making a living off their work you usually think either they have gallery representation, some kind of branding, or business making the same kinds of things again and again, and yet you seem to have been able to find some middle ground and do all of those things without a business, a degree, or a gallery. What’s it been like overall/how is it going? TB: I still got my foodstamp card haha, but to be honest things are better than ever. I don’t know I just keep at it every day. My belief has been that if I just keep making stuff the right people will notice. I’ve never submitted my work anywhere or asked for opportunities. I let them come to me. I just want to make the art not deal with the other stuff. If a big gallery wants to make money off me they most certainly will but for now I’ve just been doing small independent spaces, and cafe’s which bring in a little extra money but pretty much all my sales are online where I talk to every single person directly.  The most surprising thing has been how many people are interested given that I have less than 5,000 followers/friends. To me that’s a pretty good sign that as my reach grows so will opportunities and I’ve been going hard these past two years. I think I’m just going to be making bigger, better things as more people become interested. I don’t know any artists doing it this way or any way really. I’m not sure Portland is the place to make it happen, but god bless the internet! Getting a college degree makes no sense whatsoever except for becoming a teacher, and I think we know how that’s playing out these days, so I’m just grateful to be doing what I’m doing even though teaching would be pretty cool. Technically you don’t need a degree to teach you just need people who want to learn.

ML: One thing that seems to have helped you gain momentum is the price of your pieces. I don’t think I’ve ever followed an artist pricing their work so low that wasn’t just really kitschy stencil art or something. I see some of your pieces for $600 that I’d see in a gallery for $6,000 no doubt, but then I see a great deal of $50 pieces. What made you decide to price your work this way? Has it changed over time? TB: Yeah and it’s always the “artists” that comment on the prices being too low which is ironic cause usually all you ever hear from the average person is mocking how ridiculously high the price of art is generally. Basically I think other artist’s scoff because they’re projecting their insecurity regarding the real value of art, and maybe a little envious they can’t let go of their own pieces as though the abstract painting they made in a few hours should be worth thousands when they could be making a dozen similar pieces in a single day.  But um yeah I pretty much think of my stuff as like $30-$50 an hour and really like  that’s fucking amazing for a job. Yeah idk I have worked some shitty jobs, and it doesn’t make sense thinking that my work should be above what a person like myself can afford in the first place. When I first started though I still had the mysterious art value notion and was pricing things around $200 that I’d price $70 now, and didn’t sell much at first. It wasn’t until I started doing smaller pieces and gauging my time that I started selling a lot more and trying a lot of different things. It’s not like i’m making art specifically about making money but I can understand why people are so interested in this aspect. I don’t think it’s very common huh. When I first started I tried to justify it as a performance piece called “The Painter” haha. I used to title all sorts of things in my mind as a means to cope with the daunting reality of the situation “Working Construction”, 2014. Even during some of the lowest points I think it helped me maintain the peculiar sense of an artist identity I didn’t want to let go of even if I was letting go of everything else like “Burning All My Journals & Paintings″, 2015

ML: Haha what is that last one about? TB: Around the time I stopped living with my wife and moved into my own place I decided to not bring much along with me. I think the title is self-explanatory. ML: I’m wondering if you could talk about any reoccurring themes or characters in a lot of your paintings like the blob fish or spicy boys. TB: Ya know I think most everything just comes to me on a whim and if it works out or holds my interest I’ll keep playing with it. I guess blob fish and spicy boys are like representative of the comedy/tragedy masks or something. I think I’ve simplified a lot of themes in my paintings just so I can keep the flow going. I’m looking forward to spending more time and space on pieces in the future and elaborate on certain things I’ve wanted to express but didn’t know how to put into words. ML: How so? TB: Well, for example. Sometimes I will paint something I’ve seen in my mind, like, dreamed or hallucinated, but not often because a lot of the time I feel I can’t do it justice even though a lot of my stuff is very much informed by these things that I don’t exactly control. It’s like I take video stills from the internet except they’re from my mind, and the screenshot is something I only had to opportunity to view briefly, but even with a split second hallucination I will think about it for weeks and often will just paint its most basic components. Anyway I’m gearing toward eventually elaborating on the more complex ones because lately I have had some visions that have come to the forefront of my interest. Hopefully will get to them after a few more pet portrait commissions haha. ML: What do you mean by hallucinations? Is your inspiration mainly inspired by dreams or do you mean drugs as well? TB: Most things I just write down as interesting ideas to play with, but I guess I don’t want to get too much into talking about drugs. However there have some recent experiences I’ve had with substances like dmt and the things I saw during that I have been thinking about ever since. So right now I’m just trying to get to the end of commissions and then give my attention to some new projects. Have a show in March. Don’t know what I’ll do for it, but certainly no shortage of ideas.

ML: Where do you see yourself going or where would you like to go, and any other thoughts on painting/selling/art in general? TB: I want to go to the top haha. Well in most ways things are better than ever, and I’m incredibly grateful and I can certainly tolerate having things going at this pace at least another year, but would like to make more serious/invested work that I’m really proud of, get some more money and attention and access to better time/space/materials. At this point though even if I had to get a day job I feel I’m completely committed to doing this work. It’s pretty much how I gauge my self-worth for better or worse. Just hope I can find my groove within the process and better understand myself, inspire others, and I wish I had something more insightful to say, but at the moment I’m a bit preoccupied hustling and just having fun with this upcoming show. Thank yaaaa.