#I'm doing a cute space bear now but i think my next one will be a grouchy middle aged Falklands Island Wolf.....

[somelazyassartist]

I've only just gotten to furring my Ursa Major fursuit head and I have already become so enamored with the creative process of making them that I have already started thinking of my next fursuit

[deadtired-highkeyenergetic]

Hi! Can I ask for prompt 12?

Yo sorry for the long wait, here it is! Thank you for requesting!

Prompt list is here

Summary: Astarion gets drunk enough to finally sit down and do more than just flirt with you (by that I mean he talks to you)

Getting drunk was never on Astarion's agenda, yet here he was, giddy from the combination of wine and bear's blood he'd just inhaled while you continued to sip from your cup, watching amused as he stumbles towards you.

"Ah, just the person I wanted to see. It's been far too long, darling, since we last talked."

"It's been half an hour."

"Still, darling. Far too long." He seats himself beside you rather unsteadily, gripping your arm. You can smell the wine on his breath as he leans in, fangs peeking out. Swallowing when he comes way too close, you gently try to push him away but he refuses to budge, instead burying his face into your neck and inhaling your scent.

"Astarion," you say warily. "You're drunk."

"Am I now, darling?" He laughs, trailing his fingers along your arm. "I don't think so."

"Astarion, I'm not going to —"

"Not going to?" He smiles, an index finger along your chin. His other hand moves towards the laces on his shirt, clumsily undoing them.

"I'm not going to take advantage of you." You firmly pull his shirt back up, covering the collarbone he just undressed. You push your cup away and rise from your seat, leading him away by the arm. All the while, he giggles, lavishing you with words of temptation but you ignore him, nudging him into his tent.

"Oh, here?" He grins, lying on the bedroll you gave him some time ago. He rests on his elbows, looking up at you and wiggles his eyebrows. You sit next to him, much to his surprise and he turns to face you, still propping himself up by the elbow. More honeyed words rest on the tip of his tongue but you never give him a chance to say them.

"No, not here." You shake your head, and he gets even more confused. Why then did you bring him to his tent, away from prying eyes? What did you want from him that required the both of you coming to his tent? Maybe his charms weren't working on you well enough, maybe you were just testing him, seeing how good he was at flirting. Well, he was about to show you just how good he was at this.

"The gods were showing off when they made you, darling, because you're the very definition of perfection." He purrs, leaning in closer until your lips are but mere inches apart and you pull back violently, pushing him backwards. He lets out a yelp as his back hits the floor and your eyes widen.

"I'm so sorry Astarion! I didn't mean to push you that hard!" There's panic in your voice, why? It won't be the first time his bedside partner has been rough with him, in fact he's quite used to it. He just needs to picture an empty space, pretend like he's floating and all the pain will fade away into a dull throb. He won't complain about the roughness, as long as you're happy he's happy…he thinks.

"Didn't know you liked it rough, my dear. You don't seem like the type, but I suppose appearances can be quite deceiving." He continues to upkeep the fake smile, but a small fear has started to grip him. In his drunken state, he's far less concerned about what happens tonight since he'll likely forget all about it the next morning but he'd rather not suffer too badly.

"I — I said I'm sorry! I don't — I'm not going to sleep with you alright? You're drunk and clearly not in the right state of mind, doing anything that requires consent would only be taking advantage of you." You desperately shake your head, shifting further away from him. "I only brought you here so that you'd be safe."

You look away, curling up into a ball and Astarion knows you're embarrassed. It's a habit of yours, one of the many he's noticed over the course of your journey together and in all honesty, he finds it cute. You remain curled in a ball even after you've finished being embarrassed and it then hits — you really don't want to sleep with him. All this while, you've remained on one side of the bedroll, never once entering his personal space. He's the one who has been going into your personal space, even though he too would rather not sleep with you if possible.

His mind hazy, he lies there, staring up at the ceiling of the tent in confusion. Most of his clients liked it when he was drunk, it meant he was more pliable, didn't resist as much, and they were free to do whatever they wanted to him. You, you were different. You wanted his consent before you did anything, wanted to know his opinion if the little incident with Araj was any indication. This was new to Astarion, at least he thinks it's new. Centuries of torture would erase all memories of the time before said torture, and memories of those centuries of torture are mostly a blur.

The wine has loosened his tongue tonight, and he dares to ask questions he would never have otherwise.

"Why do you keep me around?"

You look up, blinking. His gaze remains fixed on you through the silence, searching desperately for an answer.

"For your company, of course."

"Why me? Why not Karlach, or Wyll, or Shadowheart? They have so much more to offer, even Lae'zel. Why not them? The only thing I can offer…is something you won't even take from me." He whispers the last part. Fear gnaws away at him, the need to understand you wholly so that he can avoid your wrath tearing him apart, and his confusion isn't helping in the slightest. Whenever he was confused about Cazador's actions, it never bode well for him, and he was afraid the same would happen with you.

"Because they're not you. None of them have the sass that you have, none of them are as fun to be around as you are, none of them…are well…like you at all." You shrug, smiling softly at him. "I like spending time with you, whether it's talking or just sitting in silence. I enjoy your company, really I do, and we don't need to sleep with each other to spend time together."

"You…do?"

"Mmhm." You nod. He stares at you blankly, his mind struggling to find deception in your words but it comes up empty. You mean it, you mean everything you say. You aren't lying to him, not that you've ever done so. The edges of his vision blur and something wet trails down his cheek, causing him to quickly turn away before you catch sight of it.

"Do you want me to stay?" Your voice is soft, gentle, and full of concern.

"Please." He chokes. "I…enjoy your company as well."

"That's a relief," you chuckle. "Maybe we should…keep each other company more often."

"That sounds…nice."

"It's a deal then. Rest well, I'll be here when you wake up."

"Thank you."

[little-miss-dilf-lover]

Listen, i have way more Peter Quill ideas if you’ll allow me-

Can we get one where the reader is super horny for Peter but she doesn’t really want to say anything because they keep getting interrupted by the other guardians (like Mantis, Rocket or Groot needing something) and it happens multiple times until the reader just pushes Peter aside and they start making out. 😂

It can be full smut or just end wherever you want it I’m not picky…but i wouldn’t turn down smut👀 it can also be gender neutral i don’t care, thanks Love! 💖

~Bear🐻

hii again sweetheart!! of course, send them in at anytime:) love love it, I was nice I wrote smut🤭 thank you for requesting, hope you like it💌

storage room rendezvous

Peter Quill x f reader

wc || 1.3k

warnings || 18+ only sexually explicit content minors dni

masterlist + rules

taglist

Being confined to the Bowie during long-haul missions often meant there wasn't much space or privacy, never having the luxury of a moment's silence without getting interrupted by one of the other guardians. You and Peter had recently started dating, so the amount of need you had for him was unbearable. You wanted him all the time.    

Rocket had to do an emergency landing on some random planet, twenty-something jump points away from Knowhere so he could tinker. So that left you and the rest of the crew stranded on the ship until the issue resolved. 

Waltzing your way over to the front of the ship, hands cutely laced together as you joined Quill in the captain seat, sitting across his lap. "Whatcha doing?" you question, making yourself comfortable. 

"Taking my seat before Rocket gets back," he chuckles, placing his hand on your thigh, adjusting you as he pulls you closer. "He ain't gonna like it," grinning at the thought. "What's up?" he asks, kissing your shoulder.

"Bored," you say slowly, your tone speckled with suggestion. 

"Bored, huh?" he repeats, his tone matching yours. "What'd ya wanna do?" he asks, already knowing what you're thinking, waiting for you to admit it.

"I did have one idea..." you hint, lightly trailing down his chest. "Oh, god!" you jump, lowering your face to the nape of Peter's neck. "Don't do that."

"What?" Quill questions, his eyes concerned as he follows your initial gaze. "God, Drax. How long you been there?" 

"Since we landed," Drax responds matter-of-factly, pulling a rustly bag from his pocket.

"That was an hour ago." You chime in, poking your head up to look at him. 

Shrugging simply. "Yeah... Zarg-Nut?" He offers, shaking the bag between you both.

Quill extends his hand over the back of the seat, cupping his palm towards Drax. "What?" he chuckles at your displeased expression, shoving a handful of the dried snack into his mouth. "I'm hungry."

"You are unbelievable," you playfully scoff, avoiding his green eyes. 

"Hi, guys." The soft voice of Mantis appears next to Drax. "Oh, can I have one?" She asks, nodding to the bag in his hand.

"They're all gone," Drax replies before pouring the contents into his mouth.

"I am Groot."

"Okay!" you say finally, clapping your hands together once. You loosen from Peter's grip as you stand up, lacing your hand into his as you lead him away from the group. "Come with me."

"Where we going?" Quill questions, following after you, his hand gripped into yours.

"Shut up," you whisper, leading him through the corridors as you search for a suitable storage room.

"You want me, don't ya?" he smugly asks, briskly walking to catch up with your long strides.

Poking your head through door gaps. "Yeah, now shut-up,"

He playfully chuckles, his tone full of assurance. "Knew it," snickering.

"Here's one," you mouth, dragging Peter into the empty room, forcefully shutting the door behind him.

You immediately attach your lips to his, ravenous and starved, desperately tugging at his t-shirt. He separates, his head hung low as he assesses your eyes. "Whoa, whoa, whoa... ain't even locked the door." He smirks, reaching behind to twist the lock. 

Quill loved when you needed him, loved seeing you desperate. He loved when you were verbal, telling him what you wanted, but not right now. He wanted the control and leadership he craved. 

He lightly trails his hand up your throat, grazing higher before cupping around your jaw, grasping the side of your face to bring you in. He instantly clashes his hungry mouth with yours, rolling and licking over your soft lips while his other hand travels behind your head to pull you closer. The need grows more urgent as his hands roam you, loosening the grip on your jaw to travel down to your throat. He holds it as he controls and deepens the kiss, pushing you back up and against the wall.

"What do you want?" he breathlessly asks against your lips, a wry grin looming. 

"You," you shakily reply, snaking your hands around his back, gripping the hem of his tee. 

"Yeah?" he softy whispers, entertaining you.

He slips his hand under your ass, cupping over the cheeks as he manhandles you, eagerly kneading the doughy flesh between his fingers. 

Sliding his palms up, they rest and clasp around your waist, kissing you in desperation as he squeezes you, grinding his clothed groin into yours.

He picks you up, holding you under your thighs as he walks you over to the stacked storage containers in the corner, placing you down atop them. His fingers snake into your waistband, immediately palming over your wet pussy, teasing your clit as his spare hand slides into his waistband. Lightly gripping his hardened cock and pulling himself out of his pants, firmly stroking up the length. 

You eagerly squirm out of your pants, letting them slide down your thighs and hang around your boots, draping from your ankles as you wrap your knees around his hips, bringing him closer. He yanks down his pants and boxers before sliding his tip through your folds, collecting your arousal around his shaft. "Fuck," he mutters at the contact, momentarily throwing his neck back.

He spits in his palm, rubbing the saliva over his veins to lube himself up as he adjusts you, bringing your hips forward. He pushes his head through your folds, slipping through the slick flesh as you both watch in anticipation. Needy whimpers fill the dingy room.

Gripping at his base, he eases into you. Slowly sliding his tip in as he attaches his mouth to yours, catching and muffling your initial moan. His hands graze up your back, holding you close as he sinks further into you, melting around his every inch. You bury your face in the crook of his neck, whining and mumbling against his warm skin as you adjust to his girth, clutching at his biceps. "Oh, God," muttering, his eyes screwing shut.

He kisses the side of your neck, lightly nibbling and suckling the skin as he slides in and out of you, moulding around him as he fucks into you. Completely filling you with every hasty wind of his hips, rolling into you as he chases after the high.

He grows desperate and demanding as he pushes into you. Massaging inside you, rubbing over your g-spot with the upper side of his cock, fucking into the areas you needed. He finally attaches his lips to yours, swallowing your open moans and whimpers as he groans into your mouth. Slipping in his tongue every once in a while.

You felt the overwhelming build of the high consume you, aimlessly whining against his lips as you felt yourself get closer. You convulse around him, sucking him in further in with every jolt. 

"Can I come in you?" he shakily asks, resting his forehead against yours. "Please- fuck," he mutters, closing his eyes like he's holding himself off. 

You eagerly nod, wrapping your legs tighter around him, crossing your ankles as you keep him glued to you. Desperately clawing at his back as you let go. Quill pulsates for the final time before spilling his load deep into you, senselessly whimpering in one another's mouth as you both reach your long-awaited release. The room full of hot shaky moans.

He gingerly drags himself from you, watching the connecting strings of his cum as he pulls out. He bends to the floor, pulling up his pants before doing the same with yours, holding your hand as he helps you down from the containers. Keeping you balanced, chuckling at your stumbly footing. 

"I'll uh... I'll, um," you stutter, momentarily closing your eyes as you think of the words. "I'll join you out there in a few minutes... don't make it obvious," you grin, reaching up to kiss him tenderly, playfully slapping his ass as he turns away.

Turning around with a faux displeased expression, head cocking. "I'll tell 'em," he warns with a raised brow and boyish smirk. "Don't think I won't..." teasing you. 

Grinning with raised hands as if to symbolise your innocence. "I'll see you in two minutes... Quial."

[writinginatree]

John Wick x reader - Baba Yaga's Cure for Period Cramps

Summary: Just a fluffy little comfort fic because period cramps are the worst

Afab!reader but no pronouns mentioned

"John?"

"Hm?"

"You would kill for me, right?"

Now John, sitting on the couch next to you, looked up from the book he'd been reading. He nodded, the expression on his face much too serious for your liking.

Before he could really start worrying and ask why you'd need someone dead, you whined, "Can you kill me then?"

"No." He glared at you. You knew he didn't like when you joked about things like that, but sometimes you just couldn't help yourself. "Why would you want that?"

"I'm on my period and it hurts. I'm pretty sure death is the only cure."

John's gaze softened. "Well, I'm afraid Baba Yaga has the entire next week off."

You started grumbling, but he continued, "I can offer you a hot water bottle and a massage instead of death though."

"Mhh, alright. But I want my cherry-bear, not a hot water bottle," you said, referring to a cherry pit pillow with a teddy bear shaped case you had, that could be warmed in the oven or microwave. "And if that doesn't help Baba Yaga will have to find the time to kill me after all."

John only shook his head at your dramatics and got up to heat up your bear.

While you waited for him to come back you moved around on the couch, trying to find a position the pain was more bearable in. Finally you gave up and stayed curled up with your legs pulled close to your chest and the side of your face squished against the seat.

John smiled when he came back into the room and saw you like that.

"What are you smiling about? Do you like seeing me suffer?"

You pouted and glared up at him, only half joking, but when he sat on the floor beside the couch and placed a kiss on the tip of your nose you couldn't stop the smile tugging on the corner of your mouth.

"It's not my fault you're so cute when you're suffering," John defended himself.

"And here I was thinking I'm always cute."

"Oh, you are. You're just even cuter than usual right now."

You sighed. "Unfortunately being cute doesn't help against period cramps. And it doesn't encourage the painkillers I took to work better either."

You took cherry-bear from John and shoved him under yourself.

"The painkillers don't help at all?"

"Nh-nh. The first two days it's always so bad they don't really do anything," you explained.

"Why did you never say that before?"

"I don't know. I guess it just didn't seem important? And it's not like my period is like our usual main topic of conversation or anything."

John chuckled. "No, I guess it's not. But if you're in pain that is important, so from now on you let me know if something hurts, okay?"

"Okay."

"Maybe we can get you stronger painkillers."

"Like the ones you take when you get yourself shot or stabbed all the time?" you asked with a small grin.

"Mhmm. It's worth a try. And now, tell me where it hurts the most so I can kiss it better."

Your smile widened. "That's your solution? Kissing it better?"

"Yeah."

"God, you're adorable. The world's deadliest killer, trying to make my cramps go away with kisses."

John hung his head so his hair fell in front of his face, but it couldn't quite hide the blush spreading over his skin.

You sat up, sacrificing the halfway comfortable position you'd found so you could bring your face right in front of John's. "C'mere, sweetheart. You promised me kisses."

John smiled and leant in to close the small space between your lips with a gentle kiss.

"Anything else I can do to help you feel better?" he asked after you parted.

You laid back down and John put his hand on your lower back. That was where it hurt the most, other than your stomach, and whether John was aware of it or not, the comforting warmth of his hand gave you an idea.

"Hmm, could you just lay on top of me?"

"I'm gonna crush you," John protested.

"No you won't! Promise. I think it'd help. You'd be like a warm weighted blanket and help with the pain in my back while cherry-bear warms my tummy."

"Alright, but if I'm too heavy—"

"You aren't."

John moved on top of you, but his hesitation and worry about being too heavy for you was obvious in the way he held himself up on his arms to keep most of his weight off of you.

"Come on, John, just lie down. I promise you won't crush me!"

"Okay, okay. But don't say I didn't warn you."

Finally he fully laid down on you, and you let out a content sigh. "See? You're not crushing me."

"No, I guess I'm not. But this can't be comfortable for you."

"Are you kidding? I've never been more comfortable in my life!"

John chuckled, the vibrations of the sound spreading from his chest into your body. "You're weird."

You tried to shrug, but that wasn't possible with John on top of you. Instead you turned your head to pout at him over your shoulder, saying, "But in a good way, right?"

"Mhhm. Of course." John leant in and kissed you, then he asked, "Is the pain getting any better yet?"

"Not really. But I think some more kisses might help."

John was more than happy to oblige.

[xreaderstoryideas]

Let me show you my love

A/N: ok , it's been 3 days and that scenario keep ruing in my mind I have to write it , sorry if it's not that good it's the first time I write something like that 😅

Warnings: 18+, f!reader, fluff to soft smut (smut in betweenthe lemon cut), newly established relationships, lucifer is touch starve, I won't change my mind that man definitely whimpers 👀

Not proof read

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

You were both sitting in his larger than king-size bed, just talking, and the conversation drifted to how some people show their love language.

" - so our brain can sometimes overload our feelings off cuteness and love , so it turns its into aggressiveness. But since we love it, we don't wanna hurt it." You were explaining to lucifer what cuteness aggression was all about. " So lately, if you saw me fidget, or sigh , it not that I don't wanna be around you." You couldn't look him in the eyes while confessing why you've been a bit 'weird' lately. He's been so good to you, and you didn't want him to think that you couldn't stand him.

" it's just i-i ..... really love you , and ...... I don't want to overwhelmed you "

Lucifer was sitting at your side facing you, listening to your every word. He had noticed how you have been acting different when he was around, fearing you where not happy with him, he finally gathered his courage and asked you about it before going to bed.

When he was about to say something, a movement caught his eyes. You were taping your finger on the back of your other hand , exactly like every other time he noticed. He took his time and looked more closely at you, and he realized, "she's doing right now"

Your eyes lift up when you heard him move, how you found him surprised you a bit. He was now completely facing you, arms open as if inviting you in a hug, " love~ I see your restraining yourself right now, I'm not as fragile as I may look. if that's how you show your love, I'll be honored to receive it"

For a moment, you didn't know what to say. " r-really? You don't mind ......"

He chuckled, shaking his head. " Not at all, now, come here"

You smiled, accepting his hug. Lucifer let out a yelp of surprise when you dragged on your side of the bed , holding him like you would a teddy bear. " Don't blame me for what's coming next."

He didn't have the time to register that he was now laying down on you that you began to pepper his face with kisses. One of your hands, holding the back of his head, while the other was running down his back, in between the indented of where his wings retract. Your touch was so soft and loving that he couldn't help but feel a chills spread all over him, how long since he felt something like that, he couldn't remember.

" I kinda expected his back to be sensitive, but seeing him melt so fast is so adorable," you couldn't help but smile as you still kiss every inch of his face that you could.

Taking a pause in you assault , you hold his head with your hand, founding that lucifer was now putty in your hands, eyes haft-lid starring into space, it was truly adorable, he was truly adorable.

" ~ my darling love , could you please show me your horns, I wanna love every aspect of you~ " you sweetly asked before kissing his lips.

Even though your eyes were close, you could feel lucifer shifting in his full demon form, red horns sprouting on his head, tree pair of wings unfolding from his back, and his tail now lazily swishing around.

Separating from lucifer's lips, you took your time to admire the beautiful fallen angel. You couldn't imagine a more handsome being, and he was yours.

Letting his head rest on your breast, you begin to kiss his horn, starting where it sprouts from his head. Nearing the top of his horn, you continue by kissing the head of his snake halo, before going to his other horn, taking care of minding the flame between them.

At this point, lucifer's wings were all around you. One of your hands was still playing in his hair while the other rested on his back in between his wings and tail. " Are you feeling alright, lucifer?"

Lucifer lifted his eyes to meet yours, only to be faced with so much love and adoration. " Better than ever, y/n , my queen"

🍋----------------------------------------------------🍋

Your hand slowly drifts down his back, meeting the base of his tail, letting out a small moan, lucifer couldn't have help to be riddled up by your show of affection. Feeling the bulge on the inside of your thigh, you felt the need to help your lover with his predicament. All while caressing his tail, you whisper into his ear, " How would you like me to satisfy you , ~my king~"

Feeling himself getting harder at your seductive tone, lucifer wasn't able to stop the whimper that escaped his panting lips. " i-i need ....... you m-my love......."

Gliding your free hand in the sensitive feathers of one of his wings." I'm gonna need you to be more specific, darling~" lucifer buck and let out a loud moan at your action, his briefs becoming painfully tight. " hng.... please, I neeeeed to f-ahhh-feel you around me ..."

Deciding you had teased him enough, you smiled and kissed him, your hands helping lucifer undress the little clothes you both had. The moment your underwear was tossed to the side, lucifer's hand found itself at your heat , thumbs pressing circles on your clit and fingers pumping in and out.

You gasped, giving him the opportunity to let his forked tongue claim your mouth, swallowing every mewl your throat could conjure. His free hand intertwined with your own, finding purchase to balance him.

Feeling that you were worked up enough for him, lucifer drew back his hand. Letting out a whine at the lost his fingers, you try to follow his lips only to see lucifer lick his fingers clean. " mmhhhnnn, my queen , you taste so sweet nothing can compare "

Lucifer lined himself and slowly sheath completely, making both of you moan. " lu-lucifer, ...f-feel so gooood , my angel ...... mine"

When he started to move, beginning with slow thrust, you noticed that his tail was loosely warped around one of your leg, his wings flapped sporadically but still draped the two of you securely. You grip a handful of hair at the back of lucifer head and pull, giving you access to his neck and eliciting a guttural moan out of him. Begging him to move faster, you lather every part of him that you could reach in bites and hickeys, physically marking a claim on the king of hell.

" y/n ... I'm close.. s-sooclose" with his hand that was not interlocked with yours lucifer reached in between the two of you, easily finding you bundle of nerves. Expertly pouting pressure on it, you loudly found the tight knot quickly unraveling, rapidly panting the only thing coming out of your mouth was lucifer's name.

The moment the knot snapped, you could only scream lucifer's name as your walls constricted around him, almost making him finish at the sensation. Lucifer's thrust were getting sloppy, getting closer to his own release, " lucifer, it's ok .... cum for me darling ~" you felt him speed up chasing his high.

You kissed and swallowed his scream as he twitched and spilled inside you. Regaining both of your breath, lucifer's horns and tail receded and his wings retracted.

🍋----------------------------------------------------🍋

Pulling out and laying at your side, lucifer nuzzle himself in the crook of your neck." I love you, my queen, more than anything "

" I love you too, my king, more than anything"

" we should get up and take a bath luci"

"But I don't wanna get up, I'm good right here" he only but nuzzle himself more in your breasts, his arm snaking around you, locking you in place.

"..................... you can bring a couple rubber ducks in the bath if-" you didn't had the time to finish your sentence, lucifer had bolted to the attached bathroom saying it would be ready in less than 5 minutes. You could only lay there chuckling at his excitement.

A/N: fuck 😵‍💫 it took me more than 5h that write all of that. I sometimes had the pause because I was either embarrassed to write a part of I had the think how to phrase it 🙃 😅. Hope you guys like it 😁

[gregor-samsa-said-i-could]

Humans are terrifying

Recently (like today, a couple hours ago) I came across this whole "humans are weird" and "humans are space orcs" trend and I have been furiously reading every post I come across. The subject, besides enormously entertaining, feels like a collective sociology debate or something where we describe, using aliens as some sort of audience, the most diverse aspects of human nature. Like some metaphor we're using just to enjoy what we like about ourselves as species.

And, honestly, most of these post are wholesome, cute or even funny but for some reason I feel drown towards the ones that explore the darkest and more gruesome aspects of human, as species. Now bear with me because English isn't my first language but hear me out:

Humans as apex predators. Aggressive humans. The liars, the vicious, the wreckless... It probably goes on and on, since I know for sure I have only touched the tip of the iceberg in my reading.

So, what I'm trying to say it's that sure, it's cute to get along with other species and ride their ships and impress them with our special talents and "properties". But what if we didn't?

What if aliens were afraid of us? What if protocols aren't such a thing after some centuries and there were all kinds of roge, pirate-like, human vessels and colonies around? What if we murder, hunted, ate, assaulted and cheated?

Imagine the horror in the souls of the soft, pacific aliens who are accustomed to their ancient ways of sharing, caring, and respecting, when they suddenly find themselves dealing with a new species that is as unpredictable as it is dangerous. Picture humans hunting a specific kind of alien because their meat is said to taste like some sort of addictive delicacy or because they have horns or nails made out of certain material that sells extremely well in the black market? Imagine humans flirting their way into power only to betray those who entrusted them with everything. I'm pretty sure apex predators can do that and more. The actors. The ones who can laugh at a Roomba with a knife taped to it as if it isn't something a little disturbing to begin with.

They can do horrors. They live in horror.

And aliens pray every day to not find those humans.

Because they all look alike. When and alien meets them they all smile and pat each other. They all ask questions out of juvenile curiosity and offer what they have, no matter how little. But they all can also have scars and sinful grins. They all can stab you in the back. And if you happen to meet the ones who will, you know is gonna be hard to scape. Because humans are some sort of fucking Land Rover-like beasts, specially on their adrenaline fueled moments. How can you avoid becoming the next barbeque? I don't know.

What about serial killers? Sociopaths? Psychopaths? There are a whole lot of new species to mess with. Imagine a narcissist gaslighting the hell out of some naive alien who wouldn’t understand why and how they are being mistreated, yet remains infatuated nonetheless. Dead bodies appearing on the ship in gruesome ways, as if someone were playing with their anatomy, portraying the dead aliens as some sort of spectacle, as if they were trying to say: "Look at what I did, this horrible, horrible thing". Aliens wouldn't understand, nor would they be ready to deal with the absolute disdain humans can sometimes have for life itself.

Even suicide...

I don't know why I find it interesting to think about these kinds of aspects. I'm not precisely enjoying it, but I just find it interesting. It's just some sci-fi headcanon, but still... Humans have so many shades, so much dark in their light. I don't feel the fantasy is complete if I don't consider that as well.

[islands-0f-violence]

Kimetsu no... Isekai?

Chapter 2 [BACK] | [NEXT]

Not even falling asleep yet, there’s a commotion across the hall. I sigh heavily before sitting up and thinking. What are they doing now, come on, think of the plot… Zenitsu’s sudden war cry struck me.

Nezuko!

I scrambled out of the futon, almost tripping on my way to the door. I open the door and go to step out and stop. If they wanted me to meet Nezuko, they’d come to ask, right? I think it’d be pretty weird running up to their door and demanding to know what’s happening in there. The door barely made a sound as I slid it shut, choosing to stay inside my room. Honestly, there’s no reason for me to meet her. It’s not like I'm indefinitely here, so what difference would it make if Tanjiro told me about his sister or not?

I crawled back into the futon, getting comfortable again. It’ll happen eventually, I just have to give the story some time and try not to rush it. The story… I frown thinking about the current plot. I don’t know if I can bear seeing any favorites get slaughtered.

Bundling up in the blanket, I rolled over and shut my eyes tight. I tried to blank my mind out as empty as possible before falling asleep. I can’t stand sleeping on those thoughts now this is a reality.

( ˘▽˘)っ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ

I jolted awake to the knocking at my door. Sitting up, I responded as one normally would. “Mom- Give me just a few moments-” And now processing the scene around me, I remembered my current situation. I felt my cheeks heat up at the instant response I had to whoever was knocking. There was slight laughter from the other side.

“It’s Tanjiro! I was just checking on you since you had slept in for a while.” The boy sounded nervous. I sighed and got up, neatening the futon I slept in up a bit.

Upon opening the door, Tanjiro was indeed standing there. “I’m awake, not dead. I promise. I mean, for now.”

Tanjiro gave a nervous chuckle. I frowned, realizing maybe that shouldn’t have been said. “Glad to see that! I wanted to know if you would like to join me and the others? There’s someone I’d like you to meet if that’s alright.” Nezuko! The grin that popped on my face was immediately wiped off, leaving Tanjiro confused. Thankfully, he never questioned it.

“Sure, that seems fine. I wasn’t sure anyone else would be joining us.” I follow behind him just across the hall. He opens his door and the other two are sitting around Tanjiro’s box. Tanjiro walks over to the box, pulling it away. I continued to stand there like a thirsty idiot, staring at Inosuke’s shirtless form. He seemed oblivious to the attention so that worked for me.

“Uh, (Y/N)?” I snap my head over to Tanjiro, humming in response. “I’m sorry, you seemed spaced out. I wanted you to meet my sister.” He opened the box and a small Nezuko popped out, careful as they had the door to the outside open. Ignoring Inosuke now, I squealed and flung myself in front of her. I reached out, but she backed away a bit causing me to retract my hands. I can’t forget she’s a person!

“Oh my, she’s so cute.” I gush, Zenitsu sitting beside me now nodding along.

“Isn’t she?! I couldn’t believe Tanjiro was carrying a girl this cute around with him this entire time!” Zenitsu fangirled.

“Tanj-” I turn to speak to him before a crow interrupts from Tanjiro’s lap.

“It is north! Northeast! To the north-northeast! Your next mission is in the north-northeast! Mt. Natagumo is your next stop! Leave now!” The boys’ faces were twisted with exasperation.

“I guess that’s what we’re doing next.” He shooed the bird away, getting up to get ready. Just vibing, I was watching him until he went to open his kimono. Oh-ho, OK, Tanjiro, I definitely don’t mind-

Ah, this is their room. I don’t think he would be doing this if-

“O-Oh, (Y/N)? If you don’t mind, we need to change real quick.” Tanjiro looked over and our eyes met, his face flushing slightly and I was caught red-handed. I got up with no complaints.

“D-Definitely, I’ll have to go and get ready to leave as well.” He looked like he wanted to say something, but before I could ask, Zenitsu spoke up.

“(Y/N)-san~ I’ll accompany you so that you’re not lonely!” I turned to see Nezuko back in her box and Zenitsu bouncing toward me. So, that’s why he’s after me now. How cruel to treat me as a replacement for Nezuko. He’s not even trying to hide it.

I held out my arm to stop him from tackling me. “No, thanks, I can do this myself.” I walked out and shut the door behind me before he could jump out after me. I entered my own room just moments after and changed into something familiar. I don’t have slayer uniforms as they do, and I’d feel weird just wearing what the nice lady had provided around. I looked over my outfit that I came in here and it appeared to be cleaner than what I had left it. How long did I sleep? Wait, if they’re leaving now, that means they got clearance from the doctor about their broken ribs.

How long was I asleep?

Damn, it!

I shake my head, I can’t think about this right now. Changing, I quickly tidy up the room. Since she was so nice to let me stay here, I might as well make it easy for her to clean up after me. I made sure everything was in order before I left the room and walked down the hall. The other three were already ready, standing around the entryway to the house.

“Finally! You’re slow!” Inosuke points dramatically at me. I scowl at him.

“Oh, shut it.” That seems to rile him up even more, which causes Tanjiro and Zenitsu to sigh.

“Let’s just go- No fighting!” Tanjiro exclaimed, grabbing my wrist to pull me with him. Antsy to leave much? Zenitsu’s whines could be heard as he followed us out and Inosuke continued to grumble but didn’t object. Soon, we stood at the gate, the old lady seeing us off. Once again, we had to hold Inosuke back due to a misunderstanding, but once that was settled, we were on our way. I could almost bounce up and down right now. I don’t know why, but nothing but excitement is what I feel right now. Should I really be this happy heading to Mt. Natagumo? I don’t think so, but the sudden realization that I’m isekai-ing is giving me an unbelievable high right now.

Zenitsu gives me a puzzled look. “I know you’re new here, but should you really be that excited about a mission?” This guy read me like a book. Actually, he probably heard it, rather than read it. I try to calm down. It’s not like I can say, ‘Sorry, the thought of traveling with some of my favorite characters is exhilarating.’

“Excited for a mission?” I echo. “Considering you guys are slaying demons, I suppose I shouldn’t. But this is the first time I’ll see them, so maybe I’m just anxious?” That’s a lie, I know he’s got to hear that damn lie. Tanjiro probably even smelled how fake that lie was, but neither spoke against it.

“Anxious is the right mood to be in,” Zenitsu mumbled.

From the corner of my eye, I could tell Tanjiro was eyeing me. It felt like he wanted to say something, but wasn’t. I ignored the feeling and kept going forward. Inosuke’s current rant about the competition on the mountain is helping suppress it.

( ˘▽˘)っ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ

After several hours, the sun is finally setting. The conversation died down a little and the sound of our feet scuffing the dirt below us was the only thing exchanged. Not even minutes later, the sun was gone and the dark overtook us. I was so focused on getting to our next destination that I didn’t notice Zenitsu halted.

“G-Guys! I think we should stop here!” We paused and turned around, facing the yellow form on the ground. Was he shaking? I guess he really is terrified.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, blinking. I know what’s wrong, I just want to hear him say it. Ah, that was a little sadistic, huh?

“I-I’m nervous!” He began sweating profusely.

“The way he’s sitting is weird. I don’t like it.” Inosuke spoke up, pointing out the way Zenitsu cowered behind his own knees.

“WHO ARE YOU TO SAY WHO IS WEIRD?” Zenitsu shouted, astounded at the hypocrisy Inosuke spews. “There’s no way you guys don’t feel it- Don’t get these vibes?!” He points up at the mountain behind us, therefore causing us to look up at it. We stared for a moment before Tanjiro spoke up.

“Even so, we can’t just ignore it.” He looked back at the mountain, staring a bit longer.

“I told you he was weird!” Inosuke exclaimed, pointing at Zenitsu. They began to bicker again.

“God, you guys are going to give me a headache.” I rubbed my forehead. Zenitsu squealed again.

“There’s no way you’re not scared of that mountain, huh?!” Oh, now he’s attacking me? I think about the mountain and what events should transpire. Oh, yes!

“Nope.” I snap and smile at him. No one good dies and that’s all that matters. Well, I guess I can’t say anything about myself at this time, but at the thought of eventually meeting the Hashira, I wasn’t going to complain yet. “I think we’ll be fine.” He began to bawl at these words. I suppose they solidified his need to ascend Mt. Natagumo.

“Do you guys… smell that?” Tanjiro’s sudden words grabbed our attention.

“Smell? I don’t smell anything.” I say, just barely getting the words out of my mouth before Tanjiro runs off, causing Inosuke to follow.

“Oh, come on! Don’t leave us!” Zenitsu hauled himself off the ground in a pitiful fashion. I watched his show at getting up before I shook myself and ran to catch up to the other two, effectively leaving Zenitsu behind. “Not you too!” He wailed behind me.

Before long, the body of another slayer came into visage. He collapsed on the ground, his sword out to the side, as if he barely made it down. Tanjiro begins to walk up to him to check on his state.

“Pl-Please, help me! Don’t let me die here!” Upon hearing our footsteps, he looked up, tears instantly welling in his eyes. The absolutely pitiful display of this slayer in front of me made my knees a little weak. Not scared of coming here, huh? I can’t help but feel real about this situation. I step forward, reaching out.

“W-We have to-” I go to tell them about the spider strings attached to the boy, but before the words are out of my mouth, he is flung up. His sword is discarded in his panic about being pulled back into the forest.

“No-! They were on me too!” His wails died down as whatever fate he was to endure was met. I wince, just imagining the crunch of him flinging into the ground that hard. Or worse, getting impaled through a branch. We stared after him for a bit, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tanjiro shiver. He must’ve caught a whiff of the big boy of the forest here.

Ugh, spiders.

“I’m going in.” Tanjiro’s face hardens, I can tell he’s trying to gather his resolve. Inosuke shoulders his way in front of Tanjiro.

“Stay behind me like a cowering animal. I’ll go in first. This is making me hungry.” The last part was said on a guttural growl, which I’m not gonna lie, made me feel some ways. Inosuke began to run ahead and Tanjiro hesitated after him. Tanjiro and my eyes met for a brief second before he continued to run after the boar. Was he going to ask me to stay behind? I looked at Zenitsu, who was screaming about Inosuke being a showoff and nodded once. I suppose he thinks Zenitsu and I can chill out here while they head into the forest. I grin. I won’t sit tight like at the mansion this time.

I pick up the discarded sword the slayer had left. I doubt he’ll need it anymore, unfortunately. “What are you doing?!” Zenitsu almost screams. I turn slowly to look at him and just blink, not responding. He’s doing exaggerated hand signals and making weird noises to try to get an answer out of me. In return, I finally let out a smile. His face goes from concerned to confused back to concerned so fast I don’t know if I should laugh. I salute him, turn away, and begin to run off, leaving him screaming. “(Y/N)! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”

I keep running, ignoring the man yelling behind me. Eventually, I can’t hear him anymore and the trees are surrounding me. The countless spiders and webs around were hard to miss, and I began to pick my way further gingerly to avoid any of them. I keep walking, but no matter how far I go, I don’t see any signs of Tanjiro or Inosuke. I didn’t think they’d be that far ahead. I should’ve gone with them as soon as they left and not fuck with Zenitsu’s mentality. I walk around for what seems like only seconds before rustling out to my side got my attention. I looked over, gripping the sword in my hands tightly.

The bushes I’m facing are shaking now, something making its way toward me. After a moment, a body emerges and a weak slayer walks up to me. I let my guard down for a moment. He’s muttering something and I walk closer to try to listen to him. “Wh-What?”

“...kill me… Please…” He sounded so tired, but he continued to limp forward. Was he limping before? I narrowed my eyes at the man before I readied my sword again, getting ready to swing. Eyeing his back carefully, I swung out over it, feeling some resistance as threads were severed. The slayer before I collapsed, groaning as he hit the ground below him. “No… use. They’ll get me… again.” His breathing is getting more labored and when I tried to roll him onto his back, he yelped out in pain. I stopped immediately, not wanting to cause any more harm than good.

“I-I’m sorry- I just thought it’d be easier to breathe-” He cut me off.

“Leave. Get out.” Through lidded eyes, he looked up at me and pleaded. “You’re… no slayer. If I can’t live… you can’t…” Coughs racked his body and blood spewed from his lips. Swallowing, I shook my head.

“I can’t leave. Not yet.” He looked defeated at that moment, the energy that he once had draining. Before I knew it, his eyes were shut and his torso was no longer expanding. I froze and looked at the body in front of me. “H-Hello…?” I spoke and then held my breath, trying to look for any signs of life.

Nothing.

I exhaled, collapsing myself to take in the situation. Did I really just witness someone’s end of life? Slapping myself, I stood and turned away. There’s no way I can let this get to me, especially since it doesn’t compare to what he went through. I began to walk away when heavy thumps and more rustling happened again. Not another.

I turned and saw the body of the slayer I just witnessed die rise again. My blood turned cold at the sight. I should’ve expected this, but seeing it happen disturbed me on a different level. Maybe I should’ve stayed with Zenitsu. Facing the marionette's body before me, I held my sword out in defense again. The head of the body cocked itself to the side like it was observing me. Oh no, please don’t do that I might cry. Swinging my blade towards it again, aiming for the threads, the body actually dodges this time and swings back. I yelp, rolling backward awkwardly to get away from it. Standing, I get ready to face it again when I notice the body was joined with other slayers. Some were dead, and some were alive.

I’m not going to get out of this easily.

Instead of facing them with my limited ability to fight, I turn and begin to run. I rip through webs and small spiders, squishing them when I found them on myself. God, I hope there’s none of those webs attached to me. Considering I haven’t been swung around like a doll yet is probably a good sign. After a few moments, I finally break through to a clearing. “Yes-!” And a sword swings itself my way. “No-!”

I jerk myself back as the blade barely misses me and land on my ass. “Stop!” I finally focus on what’s in front of me, and it’s not entirely a nice situation. I had just run in on Inosike and Tanjiro going off against a group of puppet slayers. Tanjiro had managed to pull Inosuke back before his sword made contact with me. “Can’t you see that’s (Y/N)?!” He scolded.

Inosuke just scoffed. “All I know is we were being attacked.”

“And you- What are you doing here?! I thought I asked you to stay outside the forest?!” Tanjiro pointed at me.

“What?! All you did was look at me! You never once asked me to!” Which is true, he’s been sus the entire way here!

“I- Ugh, well you should’ve known what I meant!” Is this really happening? Is the Kamado Tanjiro trying to gaslight me? I actually laughed before I could stop myself.

Standing, I dusted off my ass. “Nope, we’re not doing this. I can’t read your mind.” His face turned red and he huffed. Wow, he’s gotta be mad if he’s this defiant this early in the series. Before I could open my mouth and say anything further, Inosuke reached forward and yanked me behind him, tossing me toward Tanjiro. I grunted as I came in contact with Tanjiro, him steading both of us. I regained my sense of balance and turned towards Inosuke, ready to tell him off when I saw him run headfirst into a puppet. I swallowed the curse words I was about to say, suddenly feeling grateful.

The force with which he hit them sent them flying, getting tangled around branches. “That’s it-” Tanjiro pulled away from me, running towards another puppet, pulling off such an attack that forced them into the same position. “All we have to do is tangle them up! Then they can’t move. Maybe we can save them this way.” He and Inosuke began to run at others.

Oh shit, can I even do that? I’m not too positive. Speaking of which, in front of me now stood a puppet, she was trembling but kept swinging her sword to the pulls of her strings. Her face contorted with a newfound pain each time she was forced to move. Gritting my teeth, I readied my sword. Someone has got to put her out of her misery, whether she dies or is hanging by a tree. No matter what I choose to do, she’ll end up dead. Turning my sword to where the butt of the handle was facing out, I charged at her as fast as I could. I pushed the hilt into her sternum, pushing harder to force her into the air.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough force to wrap her around the large branches like how the other two were doing it. But, it did get her caught, just barely hanging in such a way that her body couldn’t be utilized in such a macabre manner anymore. I turned to the boys beside me, smiling in triumph at my small victory. They had already shoved several more bodies into the branches by the time I had gotten my one up. Taking a few breaths, Tanjiro met my gaze for a moment to assess whether I was clear over here. He managed to let out a half smile at me in response to my small accomplishment. Looking around once more, I realized the current situation wasn’t about to be as nice as it seemed. I let my expression falter to panic before I could mask my realization.

Realizing himself, Tanjiro turned and looked upwards at the twisted scene of bodies hanging. Inosuke barely made it to the next guy in front of him to flip into the trees when he stopped, too. The three of us were forever haunted by the sickening crunch each neck gave as the demoness controlling them finished them off. I bit my lower lip, frustrated with how Rui must’ve just gotten cross with his ‘mother.’

“Damn it! That damn thing went and killed them all!” Inosuke exclaimed, caught off guard by the sudden action. To say my stomach didn’t turn would be a lie, but it was hard to mourn when I knew it was coming. Unless we had killed the mother sooner, there was no way to save them. I was dallying about and I could’ve warned them.

Gripping my sword in self-loathing, I watched as Tanjiro approached the dead slayer slumped on the ground. He seemed to study the body for a moment, most likely trying to get a whiff of the demoness that was controlling them. After a moment, he stood.

“Let’s go.”

“No argument here.”

“Aye,” I responded.

Tanjiro breathes in before he begins to run in a chosen direction. Inosuke and I follow without complaint. Well, I have a few complaints but that’s mostly about my unhealthiness. God, I can barely keep up with running with these guys. Over my panting, I heard Tanjiro call out Inosuke’s name. He responded with a low growl. “I’ll hack his head off.” Blinking hard, I focused my vision through the dark to see what they were talking about.

Inosuke jumps and goes to land an attack on the puppet and I run into Tanjiro’s back, distracted from trying to see the monster ahead. “S-Sorry-” I push out, but Tanjiro is focused on the headless being in front of us.

“It’s got no head!” Inosuke was equally as shocked as Tanjiro, it seemed.

Shaking himself out of it, he lined up his sword with the beast. “Listen! Slice from that point in its neck and follow through all the way to its opposite hip. It’s a lot of mass, but I’m sure we can- Wait!” He explains, and once Inosuke charges ahead he’s demanding him to stop. “Don’t go alone!”

He attempts to attack it and fails. In the middle of another charge, a spider begins to wrap its threads around his limbs. “H-Huh?! I can’t move!” The monster is now dashing towards him, ready to slice through his torso.

Tanjiro and I rushed forward to help, I went behind Inosuke and cut the threads while Tanjiro stood in front and blocked the attack. I supported Inosuke’s weight as he fell back onto his feet.

“Are you OK?” I asked, looking up at him.

Like in the anime, Inosuke seems to look at the two of us with an emotion I can’t describe. If I absolutely needed to, I’d say it was embarrassment maybe? Oh, well.

“Inosuke, (Y/N). This is a tough opponent, but I’m sure if we work together we can definitely defeat him!” Tanjiro gave us his words of encouragement.

Inosuke’s morale increased 5+!

“STOP! You’re making me feel even giddier than before!” He definitely was embarrassed. I snickered. “This thing’s in my way!”

Tanjiro turned and knelt just a few feet in front of us. “Go! Jump!” The boar seemed to get the idea as he charged forward and used the box on Tanjiro’s back as a step to expunge himself into the air. Once there, he took out the monster’s arm. Tanjiro threw his leg weight backward, balancing on his head. Upon trying to swing, he begins to fall backward. I quickly jump forwards, sliding on my knees to make it in time and supporting him, keeping him up right-or should I say, upside down? I watched from my front-row seat as Tanjiro readied himself for his fourth form. Swinging, he took out the monster’s legs in a quick swipe. “Now, Inosuke!”

Not missing a beat, Inosuke came down, slashing his serrated blades exactly as Tanjiro had instructed earlier. I watched with wide eyes as he finished the monster off, slicing through like butter. The being was no more.

“You did it!” Tanjiro cheered.

“Hell yeah!” I chimed in, happy I didn’t die from a stray sword coming my way. The boar just stared, contemplating something in response. On cue, he began to charge towards Tanjiro, scooping him up and flinging him with nothing but raw, brute force into the air. I watched him fly, flailing until he caught a whiff of the demoness.

“Whew, I gotta say, that’s an 8.5/10.”

“Huh?” The boar beside me questioned, confused.

I sighed. “Don’t worry about it, I didn’t expect you to understand in the first place.” He snorted in response. I eyed his form, looking over the gashes littering his body from the fight against the puppets. “Here, let me do something about that.” I grab at the bottom of my shirt, ripping from the bottom of the seem to grab a few pieces of cloth. By the time I had grabbed what I thought I needed, I was left with a crop top. I can’t be picky about what I wear right now, I suppose.

Eying the cloth in my hands suspiciously, Inosuke took a few steps back. “Take care of what?!” What does he think, I’m a mob boss?

“Your wounds, dipshit.” I grabbed his arm, pulling him closer before he could get too far for me to reach him and catch up. He fought back, but once I got the first cloth wrapped around the gash in his arm, he stopped and let me continue. I hummed lightly while wrapping him to pass the time. I might as well get this out of the way, I’m sure Tanjiro would be concerned with this as soon as he gets back, and that’ll be less for him to do. I finished up his other arm and moved down to his torso. He flinched slightly every time I grazed the skin of his chest or back when I was tying the cloth around him, but no complaints other than that. “Perfect, I hope that helps you a bit.”

He didn’t say anything, just looked over my work in response. Feeling smug with how there were no complaints about my work, I kept an eye out for Tanjiro in the direction he was thrown. Inosuke jerking me around to face him ruined that for me. “What are you doing? Did I miss something? Ahh-!” I squeal as he grabs at the new bottom of my shirt, tearing more off. Stuttering, I tried to get him to stop. “I-Inosuke, stop- You’re going to take all of the shirt! I still want to be covered up.” I could feel my face heating up but was unable to prevent him from getting an extra few inches of cloth off my shirt. Looking down at my torso, I began to fret at how little cloth was left. At least it could be considered a shirt still.

I felt a firm hand grip my leg, causing me to look down at Inosuke kneeling before me. Before I could question him further, he began to wrap it around my calf. Bending to look, there were some minor scratches on my leg from where I had tripped earlier. It was nothing fatal and could've been done without the wrap. “There. I can do this too!” He stood, finished with his sloppy tie job. He stood there with his hands on his waist, admiring his own job.

I laughed. “Well, thank you.” Watching his form, his breathing was ragged. He’s exhausted from all of this and I’m not surprised. I haven’t done even half of what they’re doing and I feel like I can sleep for weeks. The sound of footsteps grabbed our attention, and we looked over to see Tanjiro walking up to us.

“Did you finish the demon?!” Inosuke pointed dramatically, demanding an answer.

“Yes! Of course, I did.” He looked over at Inosuke as I did, except he seemed more relaxed seeing the bandages.

“Are you doing OK, Tanjiro?” I ask, tilting my head. I know Inosuke won’t ask, so I feel like I should. “How’re your injuries?” I begin to reach out and pat his arms and torso down.

His face bloomed red as he tried to stop me. “No, I’m good. My injuries aren’t that bad. I promise.” He held my wrists now, stopping me from giving him a pat down.

“Mm, OK, I’m just making sure.” I went to pull my arms away, and he held me tighter. “Tanjiro?”

“I think, now that we have this time, you should go back down the mountain. Inosuke, you should go with her. With your injuries, you don’t need to be here and you can also make sure she gets down-” I jerk my hands out of his grasp.

“No, thank you, let’s go, Inosuke. I’m having fun.” We both dash off away from Tanjiro, giggling as he ran exasperatedly after us. I stopped at the edge of a river. “Oo, look there are stepping stones!” I point at a path crossing the river.

Inosuke makes a b-line for the path, jumping around on the rocks. While he was fucking around, Tanjiro ran out of the brush into the river clearing with us.

“There was no excuse to run like that!” He puffed his cheeks out. I turned away and poked at the river water below me.

“Sorry, I couldn’t let you coerce me and Inosuke into leaving. I had to leave before your sweet words were processed by this.” I tap my head, still not looking at him. Before I could say anything else, movement caught my eye. I snapped my gaze up and looked across the river where a pair of pale eyes met mine. “Tanjiro, Inosuke, demon.” I said calmly, not leaving her gaze.

Inosuke cries out, drawing his swords and rushing at the spider girl across the river, hopping from stone to stone with precision.

“Now, father!” She called out, giving the signal to–I never thought I’d have to describe this–a large, buff spider man. And no, not Spiderman as the marvel character. Like, this was a large buff man with the face of a spider. And yes, in real life this is absolutely terrifying to face. I’m glad to say that I’ve never had the monster fucking urge for this character.

“Who are you calling father?!” Inosuke questioned and soon went quiet as he popped up.

“Ohh, man. This guy seems messy.” I hold my sword up. Tanjiro glances over at me.

“You’re not holding that right.” I shot him a look saying ‘not the time.’ He shivered and nodded, choosing life today.

Inosuke’s body being forced back as the man landed in front of him snapped us out of our conversation. I watched as the spider girl from before watched the scene for a few moments before sliding into the trees.

“Don’t you come near my family!” The demon lunged at Inosuke again, causing him to jump backward. Inosuke had barely jumped out of distance, so taking this chance at the demon’s miscalculation, Tanjiro quickly struck down at his arm, failing to sever it despite the force behind his blow.

I glanced past them where the girl had slipped away and saw that the stone path was clear once again. I looked back at their fight and decided it wasn’t going to stay clear for long. “I’m going after the girl-” And without waiting for a response, I ran ahead, almost slipping on the wet stones.

I run forwards, searching. It’s been so long, a half an hour maybe? I’m not too sure where she is. Tanjiro only finds her and her brother because he’s literally thrown over there. “Fuck, of course, I would choose to do something nearly impossible for me. It’s not like I can smell where the Kizuki is.” I slow my pace, trying not to stray obscenely far from where Tanjiro and Inosuke are fighting.

However, I feel like if I don’t press forward, I’ll never find the spider demons. God, just thinking about it makes me think about how lucky I am. I have zero sword knowledge and I’m surviving–barely–here on Mt. Natagumo with slayers!

I took a few breaths and forced a smile. I can make it through this. So, I’ll keep going forward-

And there was no longer any ground underneath me.

In the midst of my self-encouragement, I lost focus on the landscape around me. The ground suddenly turned into a slick slope, falling out beneath me and causing me to yelp and tumble down. After several long seconds of rolling down a hill, I finally hit flat land–and a tree.

“Oof,” I grunt, catching the wind that was knocked out of me from hitting the tree so hard. I sat there for a few minutes, inhaling slowly to avoid the sharp pains in my ribcage for now. They seem to subside and I haul myself to my feet, continuing forward since I can’t climb the slope safely. I finally walked up a path. I’m so thankful because I was getting tired of the random tree roots I’d trip over. At least now I can see where I’m stepping. The tree just ahead is where I’m about to lean against to catch my breath. My ribs are killing me.

I take only a few more steps forward when I hear screaming. It’s getting louder as if it’s coming straight at me. I look around, trying to pinpoint the source when Tanjiro comes flipping in, landing an attack on the tree I was about to rest against. I stare at him, seeing my life flash before my eyes for the first time since waking up in this world.

“Whew, I stuck the landing…” He’s out of breath, shocked that he survived such a fall. Taking a deep breath, he snaps his head towards me. “(Y/N)? You made it all the way out here?!” He scrambled up, looking me over.

I nodded. “I fell most of the way, so don’t praise me yet.” I gave a dry laugh and pointed out my side. The area around my ribs is starting to bruise and with the lack of shirt because of Inosuke, it’s easy to see. He frowned and reached out, fingers trailing across my injury softly.

I swallowed at the action and went to say something when an intense scream was heard. It was feminine and there was no way it was not Rui torturing his sister. I crouched down, pulling Tanjiro with me and walking forward several feet until we got to a clearing.

Just in front of us was the spider sister, kneeling in front of Rui. Obvious blood dripped and pooled from her face. As much as I wanted to avert my gaze, I needed to watch this interaction.

“You two. What are you looking at? This isn’t a play.” We stiffened up at his call out.

“If you didn’t want anyone to watch, why do it in a public space?” I questioned.

Tanjiro looked over at me exasperatedly and then back at the spider boy. “This is… wrong! Why are you hurting her? Aren’t you on the same side?”

“‘Same side’? You don’t know anything about us. She is family, and what happens in the family stays in the family. We’re connected by a powerful bond.” I couldn’t help but laugh at this.

“‘Whatever happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas'.” I mocked. This received glares from all around the room, so I coughed and shut my mouth.

“Shut it, marechi.” He glared over at me. Marechi? Jesus, fuck, there’s no way they set this to hard mode and made me a marechi upon dumping me in this world. I’m lucky this is our first encounter with a demon! “If you two insist on interfering, I’ll carve you up.” Rui held up the web in his hands threateningly.

Tanjiro shook his head. “No… This isn’t a bond of familial ties. All I smell is fear and hatred here. This isn’t a sisterly bond you share, it’s a bond out of force and submission. Nothing like that is having a true family. It’s fake, just a forgery.” Looking over at the girl on the ground, she began to cry. The absolute truth of Tanjiro’s words getting under her skin.

“What,” Rui demanded, his facade breaking and anger consuming his face. “You… You little…” He glared at us.

Looking over his shoulder, movement caught my gaze. A male slayer was making his way toward Rui with his sword drawn. I brought my hands up and tried to get his attention, drawing lines at my neck to hit at he’s gonna die if he continues with what he was doing.

“Now, it’s my time to shine… I will take down this demon…!” The boy ignored every warning. “This one looks manageable and will leave my pocket full!”

“Hold on, you don’t want to do that-” Tanjiro called out, also trying to stop him.

I could hear it before I saw it happen. The subtle squelch as threads made their way through his entire body. I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, not wanting to see the chunks of meat that were falling to the ground. Thud, thud, thud… The sound was sickening, but I forced my eyes open since it was over with.

“Now, what did you just say?” Tanjiro faced Rui defensively. “I said, what did you just say?” The seething look Rui had did not fail to keep me in my spot, frozen. He still kept quiet, thinking about this situation must really have his gears going. Rui became more and more impatient with each second that passed. “Well? Explain it to me at once!”

Tanjiro’s face hardened. “Of course! I would be glad to. What you have is NOT a family bond. It’s nothing!” This only confirmed the demon's hatred in front of us more.

“Yeah, you heard him, you’re nothing but a bitch that forces people to be your family because you’re unlikeable.” Not completely true, but I figured since I’m here I might as well throw some gasoline on the fire.

The look I received from Tanjiro was well worth the massive cut I took to the leg for saying that though. “Erk-” I knelt now, pressing a hand over the fast-bleeding wound. “Worth.”

“You two… I’m not going to kill you in a single strike. However, if you take what you just said, I’ll give you a merciful death.”

“No thank you!”

“I refuse! Not on your life!” I smirked and Tanjiro readied himself for the fight. From behind Rui, I could see the sister gaping at us. Well, probably more at Tanjiro. He is defending her right to a stable family bond more so than I am. I’m just here for the show, to be honest, and these two demons are irredeemable.

They stare off for a moment before Rui finally weaves his webs to attack. “Watch out” Tanjiro shoves me away, and I roll with the inertia that gave me. However, that didn’t spare me as in seconds webs are tangled around my wrists and ankles. They tighten and blood begins to well at the threads. I let go of the sword I held, vocalizing my discomfort.

“(Y/N)!” Tanjiro calls out, watching as I’m hoisted up and hanging from a tree.

“Don’t bother with her or I’ll have her in finer slices than the slayer from earlier.” Once again, he attacked, this time at Tanjiro. He managed to dodge and create some distance between the two.

I swallowed around the thread that appeared around my neck. “Don’t worry about me Tanjiro, just focus on fighting.” Giving a slight nod, he got back into battle stance and charged at Rui.

“Water breathing, first form, water surface slash!” He brought the breath-powered sword down onto the thread before him, attempting to slice him. I wince at the sharp sound of metal breaking and Tanjiro stares wide-eyed at the now-halved sword in front of him and barely dodges the thread. He managed to survive it, but now a large cut adorned his cute face.

I watched helplessly as he struggled to get up, having trouble accepting his sword's break. His panting is audible and it’s taking everything he has to dodge all the threads Rui is throwing his way. I doubt that box with Nezuko is making anything better on him. Damn, I should’ve convinced him to let me hold her earlier. At least then he could use everything to fight instead of protect and carry her plus some.

“Are you really not going to take what you said back?” The demon asked. It’s like he expected us to beg for our lives on our knees in front of him. That’s the kind of complacency that gets you killed, people. He stands there for a moment, giving Tanjiro time to consider. After a few moments, he readies his web again. “I see, you still won’t. I’ll end this now, then.” Spreading his hands, he beckons a collection of webs above Tanjiro, closing in on him at a worrying speed.

I felt my heart racing, and I pulled against the webbing that bound me. “T-Tanjiro!” I pulled and pulled, but the webs only caused more blood to flow.

And then I blinked and Nezuko was there. I had nearly forgotten she entered this fight as well. Her muffled grunt was easily heard as she took the hit for Tanjiro. Blood splatters across the ground in front of them, mockingly in a web pattern.

“Nezuko!” Tanjiro instantly panics and picks her up, hauling her away to the sidelines. Unfortunately, they weren’t in my sight any longer and my only entertainment was the look that painted Rui’s face after witnessing that.

“That girl, she came from the box… and protected him? But I’m sure she’s one of us?” His sister observed, confused as to why a demon was fighting for a human. Glancing over at Rui, his body was overcome with convulsion. He was shaking in what looked like fear, but knowing what I do now, this satisfies me to watch him consider the situation.

“Th-That girl… Is she your sister?” He brings a shaky hand up, pointing at Nezuko. I can hear faint whimpering, and I can only assume that’s her in pain. God, why did Tanjiro have to pick such a hard place to see if it was just going to be in Rui’s line of sight anyways?

“So what if she is?!” I hear from Tanjiro. There’s a franticness in his voice I can’t place. He must be concerned about Nezuko’s injuries…

“She’s been turned into a demon… And despite that, she’s stayed with you. She even protected you! That… That is a genuine bond.” This demon is on Cloud 9, watching the way the two siblings interact. “I will have that.”

The sister looked at him with great concern. “Rui! What are you thinking? I’m your elder sister! You can’t abandon me-” She begins to plead her case, but is cut off abruptly by Rui’s threads. He swung back once and suddenly she was in 3, no 4? pieces. I swallow roughly, watching the grotesque situation. This girl is nearly as brainwashed as her ‘mother’ was. I hate that she’s got to stick to his side in order to live. “Pl-Please… don’t do this, forgive me.” Tears welled on her severed head.

He looked at her and contemplated for a few moments before responding. “Fine, if you wish to be forgiven, go kill the remainder of the humans wandering the mountainside.” Her body made its way pitifully to her head before picking it up.

“Y-Yes, brother.” She turned and began to jog away, not even bothering to reattach her head.

“You know it’s a lie. He’s just going to continue this abuse and it’ll be like you’re never forgiven.” I watched as she hesitated in her steps again before continuing, ignoring the words I said. The thread around my throat tightened and I gasped at the sudden pain. Rui never said anything, just kept his gaze on Tanjiro and Nezuko.

“(Y/N)!” Tanjiro called out, concerned about the sudden action.

“You, come out and talk to me. Just the two of us.” Rui coaxed, ignoring his exclamation. There was another silent moment and the demon took this time to continue. “What just transpired here had made me feel something I can’t explain. Such a feeling here,” he placed his hand over his chest. “And it was your family bond that caused such. You’re facing death now, and it’s inevitable. I want to give you a way out. And it involves your sister. I would like you to give her to me.” “You’re mad. That’s unnegotiable.”

Rui continued. “As of today, she is no longer your little sister and is instead mine. And for that, you get to keep your life.”

“You don’t think I’d ever agree to that, do you? Nezuko is a person, not a thing! She has her own desires and feelings like everyone else! There would be no bond with you, just a facade!”

“Oh, but there will be a bond. A bond I shall instill with terror and force. There will be no doubt she will be the perfect little sister.”

“Using fear is not the way! And until you understand that, you’ll never be satisfied!” Tanjiro bit back.

“Would you mind stopping shouting? It’s clear we don’t agree.”

Tanjiro enters my field of vision again, having discarded the box. “There’s no way I’m letting you take Nezuko!”

The demon in front of him just laughed. “Fine, let’s see how you fair against one of the 12 Kizuki.” He lifted the hair covering his left eye, revealing a number. Now, I don’t speak Japanese, but I know that it says lower 5. “In a family, everyone has a role. The parents must protect the children, the elder children must protect the younger ones, and so forth. All of this at the risk of their own lives, of course. And you play a role in it as well: to give me your sister.”

Tanjiro just stared, trying to figure out a way to kill the demon and keep everyone safe. Rui was not a fan of the effort that was being placed into defeating him.

“That look… You’re plotting, aren’t you? You should’ve just taken the deal.” Weaving quickly, he jerked Nezuko out of the place Tanjiro had placed her to rest. She was clearly shocked and could hardly move from his grasp. Tanjiro glared at the demon that held his sister against his hip now. Tanjiro began to dash towards them and Nezuko took this chance to slice at Rui’s face. In mere seconds, I watched as he pulled her above them with ease, holding her with the webbing I was cast in.

Noticing her disappearance, Tanjiro stopped after avoiding his attack. “Above you!” I shouted, but it was too late and his extended, broken sword was drenched with her blood. He looked up, eyes widening at the sight of his sister suspended in the air, trapped in the web.

“She’s been bad, so I’ll definitely have to punish her. Perhaps bleed for a while. And if that doesn’t fix her, she can stay there until the sun appears.” Rui announced his plans, further getting under Tanjiro’s skin.

“I won’t allow it!” He went after the demon again, trying to land a hit. I could only watch as he was slapped around, cut further with the web, and tossed to the side like trash. The demon seemed to enjoy playing around with him.

“Here, go ahead and cut my head off. Well, go ahead and try.” Tanjiro cautiously approached him before swinging with all of his might, the broken blade meeting Rui’s neck. Unfortunately, it didn’t sever it. “What a shame. My body is so much more durable than yours ever could be. You never had a chance against me.” I watched as he kneed Tanjiro, launching him away.

Nezuko couldn’t bear watching the battle continue and began to struggle in the webs. “No, Nezuko! Stay still!” I yelled, pleading with her to stop resisting. My words were futile as Rui tightened his hold on her, causing her to scream out in pain.

“Nezuko!”

“That must have been the first smart thing out of your mouth today.” He looked at me and I swallowed. The threads suddenly tightened around me and it took everything not to scream out as Nezuko had. He seemed to take a deep breath in, relishing the newfound blood loss. “Oh, how I can’t wait to devour you. It makes fighting this battle much more worth it. And if my new sister is obedient, she can have a taste, of course.” I spit at him, it not going anywhere near him since he was so far away. “Just be lucky I want to eat you fresh, human.”

This little banter gave Tanjiro enough time to prepare for his next move. Without warning, he leaped forward. “Water breathing, 10th form! Constant flux!” He began to cut through the threads with ease, making his way closer to Rui. The demon sensed this sudden change and decided to step up a bit.

“Ignorant fool, did you really think those threads were at max strength?” Suddenly, the webbing began to turn red and it got easier to see. Tanjiro seemed to falter for a moment before his form completely changed. I watched with wide eyes as the threads disintegrated. Rui’s movements became more and more panicked the closer Tanjiro cut. Finding a weak spot, he immediately went to take out Tanjiro, using the threads around him to stop him-

And everything went up in flames. My gaze was immediately brought to Nezuko who had reached out. She had used her own blood to set off the explosion and- yes! Tanjiro was able to land a hit on his neck!

“N-No!” Rui screamed. “This isn’t supposed to happen, the marechi-” He reached out towards me, pulling his fingers forward to jerk me over to him, and to my surprise, I stayed put. His head was sliced clean off of his shoulders. He and I stared at each other as his head flew across the clearing, the disbelief clear in his eyes.

“Haha! That’s what you get, bitch!” I cheer, happy to finally be free. Well, not for too long. I forgot how high I was. Once the threads melted away, I was left to fall from God knows how high up. I land on the side with the injured ribs and choke for a moment on the pain. Fuck. Me.

“Nezuko! (Y/N)! I won…” Tanjiro sat there and appreciated himself. I smiled and picked myself off the ground, limping towards him. Whew, that gash in my leg is not doing too well.

The victory is short-lived though. “You thought you could win that easily? Oh, I’m going to make you and your sister's lives a short, living hell.” Rui was up and walking towards us again. Or actually, does it look like he’s coming towards me? Nah, I wasn’t the one who cut his head off. “I’m going to absolutely destroy you. And I’m going to start with the marechi there. I’m going to eat your own friend in front of you and then use that power I gain from her to torture the two of you.” He laughed maniacally, attaching more threads to me.

I quickly look around for a weapon and see none, but it’s too late as I’m getting dragged toward the demon. “W-Wait, you won’t like me! I don’t taste good!” I was now in his grasp, one of his hands in my hair pulling my head back and the other around my arm, keeping it adhered to my side.

He licked his lips, now attaching his head. “Oh, but from experience, marechi blood tastes sweeter than the finest fruit.” I shut my eyes tight, not wanting to look as he opened his mouth and began to bite down.

There was pressure, and then there wasn’t. I opened my eyes to find the demon nowhere near me, and instead, another figure stood above me. Blinking, I tried to comprehend what just happened. “I’ll take it from here.” He barely spared me a glance, but I didn’t need to see his face to know this was Giyuu Tomioka. I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding and slumped to my knees. I think this was the closest to death I’ve ever been.

From our spots on the ground, we watched as Giyuu faced off with Rui. My body felt shaky and weak. Crashing from adrenaline is not fun. From the corner of my eye, I saw Tanjiro slowly make his way over to Nezuko’s body.

Back to the battle, Giyuu had used a technique to destroy the threads that were in his way. The 10th, no, 11th form of water breathing. Within moments, Giyuu was behind the demon, and his head was severed once again. Except for this time, there was no way back. The battle was over. I watched as the body stumbled over to Tanjiro, collapsing beside him. In consolidation, Tanjiro reached out and placed a comforting hand on its back. Nothing was said, but I’m sure there was no need for words.

Giyuu chose this moment to disrespect people, so he walked up on what remained of the demon and looked down at Tanjiro. “It was a demon. There was no need for remorse. It had spent centuries tormenting and slaughtering people.”

Tanjiro gripped the clothing that remained. “I will never hesitate to bring my blade down on a demon that threatens humanity. That being said, I will also not disrespect their memories as you see… They were once human like me too. I don’t see demons as horrible, terrifying creatures, but more so tragic and helpless ones. They can’t help that they’re demons, and it’s sad they lose so much by becoming one.” I took this time during his explanation to make my way up and behind Giyuu. Without gaining his attention, as quickly as I could in my injured state, I hit the back of his knees, causing his weight to collapse. Before he could fall on Tanjiro, I shoved him from the side to redirect his fall.

“That's what you get for disrespecting people.” I looked down at him with a disapproving glare.

He didn’t respond, just stared back in utter shock. He looked over to the side and within a second I was back on the ground and he was over Tanjiro and Nezuko’s bodies, his blade drawn to deflect the blade of his partner who finally showed up.

I watched as the butterfly girl gracefully flipped to a stop before turning and facing us with a serene smile on her face. “Now why would you get in my way? And I thought you could never get along with demons, at least that is what you had just told me earlier. This kind of thing is why no one likes you, Tomioka.” She narrowed her eyes, her smile never leaving her face. “Now then, would you please move, Giyuu?”

“I don’t… I don’t think I’m that disliked.” He stated seriously. There was a pause where everyone had a look of shock as they processed what he said.

“Oh, my… I didn’t realize that would bother you so much. I do apologize. Especially since this is the first you’re hearing about it.” Not gonna lie, seeing this happen in front of me is hilarious. Tanjiro gave an inquisitive look towards Giyuu, but he didn’t comment on it. “Oh, boy there. That’s a demon that you’re protecting, I’m going to need you to move so you don’t get hurt.” Shinobu explained.

Tanjiro sat up, hugging Nezuko close to his chest. “No, you don’t understand! Well, you’re right about the demon part, she’s different! Nezuko is my sister! She’s my little sister…” He gripped her tight.

Shinobu’s facade broke just a bit, revealing pity. “Oh you poor thing, I’ll use a gentle toxin to kill her, don’t worry.” Her smile was back and sickeningly sweet.

“Can you guys move?” Giyuu questioned without his eyes leaving Shinobu.

It takes him a moment, but Tanjiro answers. “Y-Yes, thank you!” He scoops Nezuko up and runs off with her.

“I’mma catch a ride with them if know what I mean,” I say, chuckling nervously before I sprint off after them. It’s hard to keep up with this leg, but I can just make them out ahead of me. I’ll keep following as long as I can. I glanced back behind me to check for followers and saw nothing, easing my pace for the sake of my leg.

There’s suddenly a commotion from ahead of me and it’s hard to make out what they’re saying over my breathing. I break into a clearing with Kanao on the scene, sitting on top of Tanjiro. He’s unconscious and it looks like he just told her to run for it.

I give a salute to the girl, also breaking her poker face to display shock at the sight of me. Yeah, to be fair, if I were to see a half-naked girl covered in blood salute me and run off, I would also be confused. Sprinting ahead, I almost catch up to Nezuko when Kanao dashes in front of me, swinging out and attempting to slice her head off. I shriek before realizing she shrunk to avoid the sword. I took a deep breath and pushed forward. Kanao was getting fed up with chasing her and decided to try to end it all. Lunging forward, she almost made it to Nezuko before I tackled the little demon out of her way. I shielded her body and the slayer attempted to shove me off of her so she could get to the neck.

“No! You won’t get Nezuko!” I hugged her tighter to my chest, trying to cover her completely from Kanao’s orders.

And like an angel sent from above, a crow began to chant from above us. “I have a message from headquarters! Tanjiro, Nezuko, and (Y/N) are to be captured and brought back to headquarters!” He began to repeat the message, even including descriptions of us. I sigh and roll over, Nezuko peeking out and observing the situation. I’m way too tired to complain about me needing to go.

“If you couldn’t tell, this is Nezuko.”

“... I can.”

[pbandjesse]

Today was a pretty good day. It felt long. I have a bit of a head ache right now and I am really hoping for some sleep. Though a shower and some Tylenol helped.

I was able to stay in our bed all night last night. I have gone back and forth about that. I sort of miss my evenings on the couch. I liked having that quiet time. I may consider still going down there sometimes. Which is what I did last night. Around 11, when James and Sylvia were truly asleep, I went downstairs to get a bottle. I put away the dishes. I cleaned the counters. I checked the doors. It was good. And when I went back upstairs I went to sleep until Sylvia fussed at 1 and I gave her her bottle then.

James would take her downstairs at 3. I am going to suggest that they let her sleep until she fusses and try and get some more rest. But it's a process for sure. Baby steps.

After James took baby downstairs Sweetp would join me in bed. And he licked my face!! Weirdo. It made me laugh but I was like dude I am trying to sleep!!

I hope it means he's warming up to me again. Slowly but surely I think.

When I woke up this morning I was in an okay mood. I made the bed and got dressed. I found. Sweetp had been sick over night so I spent some time cleaning up after him before joining James downstairs.

I had a biscuit for breakfast while I worked at my studio desk. I made an example for this weekend and chatted with Celia. She would be coming over after a lunch date she was having. I wasn't sure if she was still coming over because I didn't realize it was a coworker. Well someone who also works at the aquarium so she could still bounce over here after. Excellent.

James and me would both be doing our own things. But eventually James would come sit on the ground with Sylvia and painted their nails. Not the babies. We don't have the baby safe nail polish yet. But I was glad James was taking some time for themself.

I would finish what I was doing and laid on the couch for a while. And soon James was getting ready to go to the museum for a meeting. And I would have some time alone with baby.

Sylvia was mostly asleep all day. So I would just carry her around the house in her bouncer to different rooms.

I put together some outfits for her. And some for me. It's supposed to be warmer this next week so I wanted to account for that. Plus Easter. Mom sent us some really precious spring color pieces. I think she will wear this yellow dress on Sunday. She will be very cute.

I would eventually bring her back downstairs so I could get some planning ready for the music festival this weekend. I'm doing a smaller display table for my for sale items. I wanted to make a plan for that. Went through all my stuff to make sure I have what I wanted to bring. I am very very aware of the space we will have in the car and I'm only slightly worried about it all fitting. So wanted to get as much of my stuff in the box as possible and I think I did a good job. Though I have to make some decisions when it comes to my new stickers. I need to make a new display for them. We'll see if they will be ready for this weekend or maybe they will premiere at the monkton music festival instead.

Celia would come while I was doing that. She gave me some feedback and cut some birth certificates for my bears. And once everything was packed away she helped me cut out the front oysters. Or at least change the ones I already did to look more oyster like. She suggested cutting one side to be straighter and honestly that small change made a world of difference. And I am very happy with it.

We would continue to hang out, moving to the kitchen so I could make more bottles. I fed Sylvia and changed her. Celia got Sylvia to smile and that was so sweet. I missed the full smile on camera but it was still great. And I was just enjoying the company.

Soon though James was home. And after they changed Celia would head out so that me and James could take a little drive. Sylvia did decide to come with us. And we drove over to Mt Washington to get James's bike from the store.

It was a nice drive. A beautiful day, though to windy for me to want to be outside. The sunshine was nice and I'm glad we went. Though I didn't want to go anywhere else. I was ready to go home and have dinner.

When we got back here I would mostly just hold baby. She had been awake for a few hours but was getting sleepy again. James heated up my leftover pasta for dinner. And we spent the evening on the couch.

Eventually we decided to start a new show. Yellow jackets just wasn't it. So we canceled Netflix and got Hulu instead to watch The Handmaid's Tale. I read the book in highschool and I just never got around to watching the show. But now that it's having its last season it felt like a good time as any.

The first two episodes have been great so far. I remember enough about the book to be making connections but not enough to be annoyed about changes. I have appreciated how they use the main character's length of hair to tell you time has passed. And the sets and wardrobe are just so unsettling. I am enjoying it. Though I do not like that Hulu has commercials. I'm trying to not let that drive me nuts.

After the second episode we called it for the night. I took my shower. James got Sylvia ready for bed. And that's where we are now. I'm going to try to drink some water and wind down. I don't think tonight is a night I want to spend on the living room. But we'll see where the evening takes me.

Sleep well everyone. Be safe. Until tomorrow.

[agerefics]

Ensemble Stars AgeRe (Part 2)

“I'll be back to PIck her up in A few hours.”

Tsumugi rolled his eyes and shook his head subtly as Natsume left. But there was a small smile on his face.

“Producer-san.”

I turned quickly to face Tsumugi.

“Y-yes?”

His smile became bigger, and more sweet.

“I think I should hear your side of the story.”

“Ah! We’re not getting married!” I blurted.

My voice was higher pitched than usual and my words came out much louder than I intended.

“Hahaha! I knew that much. Hmhm~ Hey. You're shaking Miss Producer. Are you cold?”

I was slipping into little space faster than I could control. Without realizing, my tired body started shaking and I had brought my hands up to my lips. Despite not knowing Tsumugi very well, I always felt so safe around him. He's very gentle and he takes everything as it comes. Tsumugi Aoba would be calm and casual if a giant tsunami were about to hit the building.

“Mmnn…nah…”

Even though I trusted him, the panic of being found out and sleep deprivation clouded my self control. I got so emotional I couldn't think. Standing started to feel difficult.

“Producer?”

Tsumugi got up from his place at the sewing machine and rushed over to me as I clumsily attempted to sit on the floor in my long pencil skirt. My eyes could barely stay open as I felt Tsumugi kneel next to me. The sudden panicked feeling in the room started to set me off.

“Producer! What's wrong?”

My shaking became much worse and I burst into tears.

“I j-just wanna go ta sleep!” I sobbed.

All I heard from Tsumugi was a little noise that sounded like something in between a gasp and a sigh. Then I felt his arms behind my back and under my legs as he pulled me onto his lap.

“Natsume was serious then… although. If he knew you were doing this poorly I would hope he'd bring you home right away. Hmmm… I should bring you home. But I think he'd have a nasty fit if he couldn't personally check on you.”

After a few minutes in Tsumugi’s lap I had finally stopped crying.

“Do you want to put on something more comfortable? You might not expect it, but we actually have some cute pajamas in here.”

Tsumugi gently removed me from himself and got up. Soon he came back with an adorable, oversized bear mascot onesie. My emotions were under control again. But my sleep deprivation refused to let me escape from my regression.

“Ah! Ah!”

I held out my hands to the beige bear pajamas. When the clothing wasn't immediately brought to me, I decided I'd try to come to it myself. Standing up was always a little more difficult in little space but now in a long tight skirt it was impossible.

“Hmmm I should make sure to never become too sleep deprived.” Tsumugi made a mental note to himself.

The clothes were finally brought up to me just as I had managed to pull my skirt all the way up to my thighs.

“*Gasp!* Miss Producer!”

I ignored the shocked response and took the pajamas from Tsumugi’s hands. Looking back, I'm disappointed I didn't get to fully experience one of the few times Tsumugi Aoba was truly surprised by something.

“I-I’ll go. Just call me back when-”

But taking off my clothes was too difficult and frustrating. Even pulling my skirt up was exhausting with my weak body. The thin layer of sweat covering me only made every action more uncomfortable and frustrating.

“Mmmmnnn!”

Tears filled my eyes again as I looked up at Tsumugi pleadingly.

“I-I… Oh. Please Miss Producer. It would be so indecent of me to… oh please don't cry. Ah! Oh don't do that! Okay fine. I'll help.”

Tsumugi sat down and gently helped me out of my tight office clothes. He had a bit of trouble trying to do it while also keeping his eyes averted but somehow he managed. Once everything was in place, I found that the clothes were comfortable and soft. I squealed happily as I gripped the long sleeves in my fists.

“You're very cute when you're tired, Miss Producer. You can still talk right? Do you feel a little better now?”

“Uh huh! Tank youu!”

“Hmhm~ Is this some adorable accent I've never heard? How strange… I guess it does sound a bit similar to Kagehira’s accent.”

Tsumugi stood and reached down for me to grab his hand.

“Come with me. I'll take you somewhere you can nap, okay?”

Without hesitation, I took his hand and let him lead.

[smol-potato-blogs]

Hi everyone , welcome back to my blog ! ♡ :)

Today i'd like to share with you all some of my pet peeves. These are just some things that I find very annoying or truly disgusting or just can't even bear the sight of.

Top 5 of My Biggest Pet Peeves

1. Body odor/Poor hygiene - Guyssss it's really not that hard to be clean. No one wants to smell like a dumpster and you certainly don't want others fleeing from you in the opposite direction. I, myself do not like having to use public transport with smelly persons on it. It's not rocket science to be hygienic. Doing simple things or making small changes in your daily routine can really make a difference. Listen, trust me on this. Step one would be taking a proper bath, thoroughly cleansing your upper (pls do not forget the armpits!) and lower body can really do wonders.

Everyone should try their best to take a shower atleast once or twice a day. After drying your body with the towel please make sure to put on deodorant. This applies to both males and females. Everything else can come after like body lotion and cologne/perfume/body mist. Applying deodorant is the most essential.

The next and final step I'd like to make mention of is brushing those teeth. No one wants to see food stuck in your teeth when having a convo. Everyone should be brushing their teeth atleast twice daily (use floss as well). And using a mouthwash because no one wants to have bad breath. It is so very crucial to maintain good personal hygiene and oral health. Don't be stinky !

2. Spitting - People who spit on the side of the road or pavement while walking or driving in their cars. THAT IS NOT "CUTE" AT ALL nor is it "COOL" to do so. It is completely unsanitary and frankly, disgusting. Just be clean pls ! And do not do those yucky things.

3. Coughing/sneezing without covering the mouth - Bro, why? Instead of coughing up a storm and sneezing in someone's face or behind them or even trying to use your elbow to cover your mouth. Please just use a face mask. Why aren't people masking up anymore? There are still flus and viruses going around. Stop spreading germs and infecting other people. Please have some consideration !

4. Street Harrassment - Being catcalled by random men. This one really ticks me off. My dudes, please stop with the whistling, sexual comments and the honking of your car horn. I am simply not interested and I'm pretty sure that I speak on behalf of a lot of women when I say that we do not like or appreciate that. It is extremely uncomfortable and very annoying. It is absolutely disgusting and outright disrespectful. You need to stop being a pervert/predator. Learn a better way on how to "pick up a female" or just don't bother at all and move on with your life.

5. Stopping suddenly in the middle of the sidewalk/Slow walkers - Uh, why? Especially when it's like busy with commuters trying to get to their destinations. Are you like lost? Confused? Had an epiphany? What is happening in your brain?? To randomly stop in the middle of the sidewalk or sometimes stopping to just call someone or send a text message. If you must do that then you can do so on the side. Get to the side and allow persons to pass. Same goes for the slow walkers. Keep or move to the side to allow persons in a hurry to pass.

These are just a few of my pet peeves for now and I'm sure that I have a lot more that I can share lol. Sometimes these small annoyances can really drive us up a wall but it is good to have a platform or space where we can share these things and connect with one another. Anyway, I think this post is long enough already. Please feel free to share some of your pet peeves with me and tell me what really bugs you and gets under your skin. I would love to know all the things ! ~

Til' next time ~

xo

♡♡♡♡

[bronx-bomber87]

We're off to episode 3 another fantastic one for our fav couple. Let's get started shall we?

2x03 The Bet

Tim and Lucy are getting ready to head out when she asks how his night was. Seems like an innocent enough question by her. So Tim is honest. Lucy's response is sassy to say the least. Being as comfortable as possible in its delivery. Tim isn't too happy with her reply. Let me say this, Lucy is the ONLY person Tim would ever allow to talk to him like this LOL No way in hell he would indulge anyone else to even broach the subject. But then no one else would have the guts to like Lucy either. She is always the exception for him.

Once again Lucy is doing it for his own good. To shake him out of his routine. Help him move on. Everything this woman ever does is in his best interest. Tim’s deep breath in the first gif when she starts up is so funny. Like he is bracing himself for whatever Lucy barrage is headed his way. He knows she is going to say something he doesn't want to hear LOL She tries to broach the subject lightly but is instantly shot down. Now he isn't mad so much as annoyed which is progress believe it or not haha

Lucy clams up pretty quickly after he mentions jogging behind the shop all day. Her face is hilarious. Lucy has learned to take her foot off the gas when need be. She opened the door a crack to this convo and shut it quickly. It’s like she pokes the bear gauges his reaction then strategizes for a bit on how to better approach him later. She is no where near done meddling in this matter.

We rejoin them at the station booking a couple of sex workers. This is where Lucy decides to bring this subject up once again. The lack of personal space in this scene is primo. Personal space? Never heard of her.... I love it so much. My goodness they are awfully close to one another in this scene hehe She sees this as her window and is right back at it. Lucy is saying she thinks she can help him. He looks at her like she’s insane. But he allows her to continue. Almost bemused at her confidence to set him up properly. It becomes a point of pride for Lucy. The more he seems to doubt her the more she wants to prove him wrong. What else is new? Haha

This quickly goes from setting him up to a work flirt. I mean look at those two above. They're not subtle in the least...All their work flirts stem from challenging one another. This whole situation goes from helping Tim go out on a date to a competition. Because well it’s them LOL They’re both so damn competitive...That’s literally what this entire thing boils down to. Both of them digging in their heels and not relenting. Thinking they're right and the other is in the wrong.

Tim has grown a lot I keep saying but it’s true and I'm just so proud of him. Last season Tim wouldn’t have allowed Lucy anywhere near his personal/love life. Let alone make a bet about it with her. They’re both SO cocky and confident they’re going to win as well. They decide on the the winner's spoils. For Tim he gets 50 push ups after each call. Lucy gets the short sleeves she was robbed of.

Tim agrees and says she has to pay if he does this. Lucy doesn’t even care and hastily agrees to this. Just wants so badly to be in short sleeves. These two are ridiculous fools and I love them for it. Also the way Lucy looks at him after they make their bet above is so cute. Little smitten kitten this one. As I've said before as transparent as glass. She is so adorable in how she looks at him. If he looked next to him he would see the heart eyes being lodged his way. Also lets pay back attention to the lack of space. *sigh* I just love them so much.

Tim does what he does best. Getting under Lucy’s skin as much as possible. In a way only he knows how. Since Lucy is paying he’s taking Rachel to most expensive restaurant possible. He's such a shit haha I adore him though. The work flirt continues. We haven’t had one in a bit this definitely constitutes as one. Tim going on about the expensive food and wine. You can see the irritation all over her face. Eric and Melissa are masters at conveying so much with a look. Right now she wants to shove him off that chair.

Lucy is trying to turn it back in her favor. Saying how romantic it is. That he wouldn't have chosen that if he wanted his date to fail. Their banter is unrivaled. I enjoy their verbal sparring so much. Tim is ever so cocky of course. He thinks he has this in the bag. That Lucy is destined to stay in long sleeves till her probation is up. Well if he has anything to do with it she will.

He is more excited at the prospect of Lucy doing those push-ups and winning this bet than the date itself. Oh Timothy. His damn cute smile in that last gif though above. Lord help me. I swear he only smiles that way with her. Amazing the amount of chemistry these two have without even touching. Testament to how good it is.

I don’t know what’s funnier. The fact that Lucy is casing his date or that she dragged Jackson along for it LMAO Kills me. ‘Mama needs to get into short sleeves’ I’m dying haha Also Jackson telling her how weird this is. I loved their friendship so much. Down to do and help each other with whatever.

Tim crashing and burning on this date is too funny. He needs an ice breaker. What does he do to rectify the situation? Brings up his work wife. Yes baby, that’ll fix the current train wreck you have going on. Smh. He does look damn good though. Feast for the eyes and all that. I will say I did like Rachel. She was the perfect person to get him back into the dating world. A Lucy 2.0 you could say. Because she challenges him and calls him on his crap too. I mean look at that second gif. Got him to go from saying Chen to Lucy with a pointed look.

I like Rachel for what she represented for him. Showing him he could have a functional relationship post Isabel. I think she was very important in shaping Tim into who he becomes in that regard. I hope this doesn’t sound as mean as it may come off. Rachel was a means to an end for Chenford. A good one but one none the less. Serious enough to show Tim he was capable of that again but not enough that he would leave LA for it.(But that’s much farther in the future for s2.) I will say I do love what Rachel does for him in the long run. I didn’t hate their scenes by any means. They had their purpose. I.e. Lucy who will eventually win this bet as we will see later on.

Lucy and Jackson continue to watch the date. It looks like Tim is flailing and Rachel is off put. Tim admits the bet he has with Lucy. That he wants to win. Rachel flirts and says being with her isn't a win? Then they start to click a bit. Tim says he can help Rachel with her civil standbys. She asks what he’d like in return? Tim being Tim knows Lucy is watching. Has Rachel slap him in the face and leave. Lucy is crushed and convinced she will be in long sleeves the rest of her probationary period haha

Oh Lucy you know why you care if Tim dates LOL Just last episode you recorded an old ass book for this man. But it is far too early for you to understand the true meaning of those actions just yet. She cares so much and is so empathetic. She will do things to her own detriment. Like this date haha Jackson’s reply is the best though. ‘You just want everyone to be happy. That’s a good quality’ He was such a good friend. ❤️

I love that Lucy couldn’t stand the idea of Rachel thinking badly of Tim. So she made sure early the next morning to visit her and rectify that. Almost like she couldn't move on with her day until she did this. That even if they didn’t work out romantically, she had to come and defend Tim to her. Lucy has seen his good side more than anyone else. To her there is no one better to defend his name than her. So that’s exactly what she did. Gah I love it. She’s so loyal.

Lucy looks down and sees a pair of boots. Then Tim does his glorious entrance. A shot we all love let's be honest. He's all wet from the shower and in a low hanging towel. Phew lord. Lucy looks a little thirsty at first. Then she turns her brain back on. (I can’t blame her girl I'm thirsty from seeing him too ahaha) Lucy confidently looks him in the eye and says ‘Short sleeves’ then takes off with a glorious smile and stride out of Rachel's place and back to her car.

Tim is so mad he’s lost this bet he doesn’t even care Lucy is seeing him in a towel. Or the fact that he’s there cause he spent the night with her friend. He’s more annoyed she won the bet LOL Classic. He thought he was going to have his cake and eat it too. Sorry Tim that’s a hard no haha This ep was one big work flirt for them both and I loved it.

~~~~~

Side notes- Meh didn’t really have much. Was cool to have couple Castle peeps on the show Seamus and Jon retuning. And Wopez was cute with his mom and stuff but nothing major. Jackson' SL with Smitty was really good tragic but good.

Forgot to thank everyone last review my apologies. Always so very thankful to those that like/comment (I adore comments)/ reblog and such you all are the best. :)

[tetsunabouquet]

Basic Instinct Chapter 15

A/N: At this point, I'm expecting you all know any warnings that might follow and that you're well-prepared! The rescue mission is about to commence~ Masterpost

Akashi had carefully packed a backpack he was given for a school trip once. It came in handy now, that's for sure. He went over the things he had packed: A few clothing items so he wouldn't show up completely empty handed in simply his PJs at his grandmother's doorstep. His toothbrush. His phone, it had all his account informations and unlike his laptop didn't take a humongous amount of space. His wallet- even if his father were to block his bank account, he'd still need things like his ID. The stuffed lion his mother had gotten him went too. He didn't really sleep with it anymore, but he couldn't bear to leave it behind, not when it reminded him so strongly of his mother, and happy childhood days. The ones he was allowed to have, at least. He didn't knew what was going to happen to his school life, but he packed his notebook just in case his grandma found a way for him to continue attending Rakuzan. A few more important trinkets that were gifted to him by his loved ones, a bracelet of his mother's that he had held onto, a funny Christmas sweater given by Kotaro, a tiny bronzen Emperor's pinguin- one of Midorima's old lucky items that he'd given Akashi, cute socks that Reo bought for him after he tore a hole in one of his socks practicing with him on the streets and the scarf you had lend him once that he refused to give back to you because it smelt just like your soft, pretty hair. He even used the shoelaces of his basketball-shoes to tie them to his backpack, something Aomine would often do. 'I can't believe I criticized Aomine for this, only to do it myself two years later. I suppose that idiot has the occasional functionable plan.' Hell certainly must have frozen over, for Akashi to give Aomine a compliment over his thinking. He faked going to bed, though he made sure to sneak one of his jackets into his room. When it was time, he quickly put on his shoes and he shrugged his jacket on as he went over his backpack one final time. This was it. He was fleeing from his childhood home, leaving the familiar building he knew for as long as he could remember, behind. And depending on his father, he might never come back. Never would he see Yukimaru again, or walk through the garden remembering the flowerbeds his mother had loved best. Never would he see his father sitting at the same table again. The memories of his father made Akashi pick up the backpack with a pained, heartbroken scowl on his face. 'I cannot believe I have to flee my own home, from my own parent, in order to be happy. Why can't he just let me be happy?' He blinked and prepared for tears to fill his eyes once more, but they wouldn't come. There was pressure, but nothing would come out. He had already cried all of his tears, and now there was only this horrible feeling at his eyes. Like trying to vomit on an empty stomach, where nothing would come out. He did had a massive headache though. He had almost forgotten, one could get a headache from crying too much. He hadn't cried that hard since his mother died. He went across the stairs in a daze, and met up with Fujioka, Umemiya and Yuuki. The group went silently to Masaomi's Lotus, and with utmost precision, Umemiya put Akashi's backpack in the trunk, and Akashi caught glimpses of the servants' belongings. Akashi felt a pang with guilt, but all three of them smiled at him with such warmth that he knew, they were doing so because they cared and that he'd have nothing to apologize for. It touched him so deeply, that he wished he could still cry, because he didn't knew how to express his gratitude enough. But he couldn't make a scene and alert everyone. He sat silently at the back of the car, Umemiya seated himself at the driver's seat, and Yuuki sat next to him on the passenger's seat. Fujioka sat next to him, and almost immediately put his hand on Akashi's shoulder, rubbing him with kindness. Akashi couldn't stop himself from leaning against his butler, needing the comfort. His butler held him as the car began to drive, and he sobbed with no tears into the man's shirt.

When they arrived at the Kaneshiro place, it was still very early in the morning. They had agreed to unceremoniously sleep in the car, and restore some energy before they would present themselves to Akashi's grandmother. Akashi did not object to the idea, as the three servants in front of him were as trustworthy as his friends and cared for him more then his own father. Yuuki immediately fell asleep, slumping in the passenger's seat with utter exhaustion. Umemiya made sure her head was supported by a soft traveller's pillow, before he nodded off himself. Fujioka was the last of the servants to fall asleep, and he had never stopped rubbing Akashi's back before sleep finally took over him. But Akashi couldn't sleep, he wanted to let you know what was happening. And as he quietly went through the trunk, through his backpack, he felt at peace with his decision. He grabbed his phone, and his stomach dropped as he saw a small chain of texts, from you.

-Sei, I don't now where to start! My mom's completely beyond any reason! Though I bet your dad is too.

Sometimes I genuinely wonder if she gets off on my tears.

I'm tired of parents just having kids to fullfill their own needs and duties. We need them, not the other way around. Sometimes, I wonder if she ever actually sees me for who I really am, instead of an image she build her wishes and delusions around.

She always lets me fix her mess, be the responsible one and when I was to just be myself and be young, she gets angry because thanks to her BPD she sees me as an extension of herself, not as an individual human being. She drags me around like her ragdoll because she wants to do fun stuff and have a companion on her days off, she decides what I wear because my outfit choices are 'stupid'.

Before puberty, she wouldn't even allow me to decide my own haircut, as she'd always cut it in this stupid bob that she thinks looks cute on kids and that's how she always wore her hair as a kid. When I always wanted to grow out my hair like Rapunzel but for as long as I can remember my mom has been jealous for having beautiful hair.

I bet your father has a hair dresser unleashed upon you to ensure you don't get edgy haircuts that can be used as a joke by the other elite kids, he seems as controlling as my own alright.

Anyways I hope you're okay. I wish at least one of us was. I love you, no matter how this ends, know that. XXX Y/N-

Akashi gritted his teeth, and with a deep breath, he closed his eyes. 'I knew her mother would be livid too.

God, tell me how do I save her too?'

[doberbutts]

Oh it's a year later but I've seen my sister's kids a few times last year and have an update.

Update one: boy am I bad at math and also remembering ages. My niece was born just *before* covid, not during.

I hadn't seen them since *just after* covid- it has been so long I wasn't sure if they'd remember me, and with HRT I look much different now.

In September I attended a family event in which the kids were present and they came running to me and gave me a big bear hug each. Again, that is fairly out of character for them both. They followed me around at the event and asked me many questions about the dogs and also asked if they could play with the dogs. When we sat down to eat they both briefly chose to scramble into my lap before deciding sitting in their own chairs was more comfortable. After dinner they asked to play with me- as many games as they could think of. Throwing a ball back and forth, "tennis" with a birdie and a couple toy rackets, chasing the dogs, dolls vs action figures, and more.

Notably, they did *not* interact with other extended family members, including the ones they live closer to and they see more often.

Tantrums were at an all time low because they were given many options for good behavior and then promptly rewarded for making good choices.

I'm not saying her kids are perfect, because they aren't. But I am saying that even years later it's such a visible difference. I gave them each a toy. They both- according to my sister- refused to let their toys out of their sight or even out of their hands for the next three weeks. My niece tried to sneak off with my chihuahua. My nephew told me as he sat on my lap that when he's an adult he wants to have a doberman just like my dog. Fenris licked all over his head and face and he laughed in delight and kept calling him back over to do it again. My niece has not stopped telling her mother that the only thing she wants for her birthday is a cute little white dog like Tater.

They see my aunt every day because she lives locally and helps take care of them. In fairness, yes, her personality is A Lot (so are theirs, they're just kids and don't understand that). But they remained at minimum 10 feet away from her and well out of her reach the entire event. My aunt means well- she has a big heart that is overflowing with affection and all she wants to do is pour love on "her babies". As a long time recipient of this love, it is also the way *I* show affection... and it is very grabby and very suffocating and the kids just aren't into it. I don't know that I've always liked her crushing hugs that just touch the "too tight kinda hurts" zone. I think I probably liked them less when I was a child myself. Being snagged into one as you're walking by isn't an uncommon occurance, and these kids aren't the world's biggest fans of physical affection they can see coming let alone that takes them by surprise.

I posted a few weeks ago when my would-be rapist died, killed by someone witnessing him attack yet another victim. Thankfully he never got far enough in the process to have done more than set off alarm bells- but it does make me wonder. All the times my consent was never even considered as a kid, and how reluctant I was to speak up when yet another adult was touching me in a way that made me uncomfortable and sort of miserable and kinda hurt. I wonder if 14 year old me would have kept my mouth shut for as long as I did, or if the first time his hand wandered from between my shoulder blades to something much lower I would have found the courage to say that I didn't like that.

What made me talk to my parents about it was when he was appearing in my bedroom without knocking, just staring at me as he caught me changing clothes after I got home from school. More than once. That, I knew, wasn't normal.

But I wonder if I would have known his hand drifting past my waist, his insistence on hugging me and pulling me into his lap, his constant need to hover in my personal space and keep his hands on me at all times, also wasn't normal. I wonder if I had been taught "it doesn't matter who they are, if you're uncomfortable you can tell them to stop and they should listen and if they don't they're a bad person and you should get away from them because they might hurt you".

I was a spanked child. I was forced to eat things that hurt my stomach and made me vomit. I would say I didn't like something and then be tricked into doing it anyway. I was shamed for refusing touch, and shamed for offering it. I had no control over anything I did until after I moved several states and chose homelessness over staying at my parents' house.

And I wonder if, had I had someone who advocated for me like I did for my niece, or if I had witnessed it like my nephew watching the exchange, if things could have been different. If my "almost" would have instead been "nipped in the bud and never occurred again".

I see a lot of posts saying "teach boys about consent".

While that is true, a lot of parents will do that and fail to see how their own actions are the problem.

If you've spanked him, he's less likely to understand consent.

If you've forced him to sit on Santa's lap, he's less likely to understand consent.

If you've forced him to give hugs and kisses to family members, he's less likely to understand consent.

If you've grabbed him in order to force him to sit still, he's less likely to understand consent.

If you've labeled him as "too sensitive" for not wanting to be touched, he's less likely to understand consent.

If you've assumed he's okay with something because he technically allowed it even though he felt pressured, he's less likely to understand consent.

If you're only going to criticize his actions but not your own, it won't work.

[woodenela]

My Time at Sandrock - Beginnings and characters

I warned y'all, here's my experience so far:

First up, kind of disappointed by the character creator. Coily hair is missing once more, the only hairstyle to choose (for women at least) is Bantu knots. I guess the space buns could count but all the hairstyles are done with straight, slick hair....

I do love the story so far though and the voice actors are really charming! I was a bit taken aback by everyone greeting me with a thick texan accent, there's "Howdy, pardner and y'all" all around me lmao. I should've seen that coming with the "Wild West" theme of the game but it surprised me :'D

The characters are a mixed bag. At first I was really miffed with how...nothing-burger everyone seemed to be. Not a single person really stood out to me as interesting. I waited a bit to get to know them better and now I really can't say who I love more, haha.

Pen sure is like a strange lizzard in a tank to me. Observing him is fascinating 😂 That guy is so bonkers, I can't wait to see what he gets up to next. I also really love that in one event he let it shine through that there is something very not right about his psyche/childhood. We love a fucked up man ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Grace turned out to be such a sweetheart! I usually don't like blonde romancable characters in these type of games, don't know why. Her design didn't stand out to me either so at first I just ignored her. She's really fun though, poor soul couldn't cook a fried egg if her life depended on it :')

Unsuur has worked his way up my favorites list SO fast. There is not a single thought behind those eyeballs and I can appreciate that. What a lad. The event where you literally watch paint dry together had me in stitches. The bitch went right back to bed after too! Iconic.

The only one who I'm a bit sour about is Pablo. There is something really weird going on with his voice acting: In his introduction and some of his greeting lines he has a regular voice but in most other dialogue he has this really high one? You can tell the VA struggled to get that high, you can hear the breathiness and strain on his voice. Which makes it SO confusing as to why they went that way??? Because he's gay? Is he only allowed to have a "gay voice"? His other lines are fine, there's the usual power in his voice you'd expect from somebody speaking in their ideal register. So weird. I dig his design though, finally somebody with piercings!

I'm honestly a bit sad about the other women though, at least the romancable ones: Amirah is just too pretty, way out of my league. Elsie just feels like a kid to me, the event where she explicitely tells the player that she's a legal adult already felt a bit weird ngl >_>

Mi-an gives me nothing so far, personality wise, as does Catori. Heidi is cute but I think the texan-drawl is just a turn off for me - all the other people I'd consider for romance don't have that accent: Grace, Unsuur and Qi. I need my love interests at least a little pathetic ok TAT

Speaking of Qi, first thing I thought was "oh you Trafalgar Law looking motherfucker (it's the hair)", turns out he's nerd too! Of course he is lmao! I really don't like his voice, just personal opinion. Also, his VA sometimes falls out of the Qi voice? Some lines just sound so different that I can't help but think those were probably recorded the first, while his VA was still unsure.

I was thinking about going after Owen at first, but that man has such a crush on Amirah, no thanks, I'm not gonna be a part of that. He is sadly the only romanceable character with a beard though ;_; please more beards....

ZEKE! He is NOT smoochable??! Grave mistake, Pathea. Let me smooch the big bear man! When someone in town mentioned how he is still not married, I shouted "I volunteer as a tribute" out load, looking like an absolute idiot! WHAT DO YOU MEAN WITH I CANNOT MARRY THE SILVERFOX???

Ernest is too much of a rich boy for me. He is pathetic meow meow material but so far the whiny rich guy stick outweighs the wet-cat vibes for me - pass.

Burgess is adorable, I just wanna be his best friend and pick flowers, man. What a little sunshine. I laughed so hard at his "the D....for dance ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)" line.

Not much to say about Fang , Arvio or Justice, they're fine. I do enjoy Justice being tired and over it™️. He does look very handsome too, maybe I'll have to befriend him more?

Why Miguel and Venti are romancable is beyond me. They are such strong "NPC you hardly ever even see" people that I'm a bit confused over why you can marry them at all.

That's it so far, I will talk about other NPCs a bit more in other posts :) Who did you like right off the bat?

[casspurrjoybell-24]

My Mate - Chapter 20 - Part 1

*Warning Adult Content*

Flinching as the buzzing needle made contact with his skin, I gripped his hand tightly, wincing as if his pain was my own.

I couldn't help but to glare at the man directing the gun.

Robert chuckled, gaining my attention.

"It's okay, it'll be over soon," I assured him, returning to glare at the tattooist hurting my Mate.

"Tory, do you see how many tattoos I have? I think I'm use to getting them by now. It doesn't even hurt."

I pouted, still not trusting the male with the tattoo gun.

Robert was just too prideful to admit that it hurt.

It's okay though, I'm holding onto his hand.

We were suppose to be making arrangements for our ceremony with our moms but Robert wanted to come get a tattoo and I found it hard being away from him.

Even if he was annoying most of the time.

"Are you getting one next?" the tattooist asked.

I sputtered, missing the teasing smirk on his face.

"Of course not."

I wasn't going to admit that I was scared of the pain... and my mom.

"I'm here for emotional support."

The two older males laughed.

Ignoring them, I wondered how long this will take.

I have a dream ceremony to plan in a very short amount of time.

It has to be perfect, I can't accept anything less.

Getting up from beside Robert, I paced around the small room and looked over the pictures of tattoos on the wall.

Over the week, Robert and I have spent every moment we could together... getting to know each other as more than my brother's annoying best friend and his best friends little brother.

There was a lot to learn, especially when we haven't really been around each other in five years.

Robert remembers me as a tiny thirteen year old and I remember him as the pack bad boy always getting up to no good.

It was around that time he found out I was gay.

He was the first to, even though it wasn't much of a surprise to anyone.

At the time my bedroom was right beside Calvin's and Robert had been over like he usually was.

I spent most of my time alone and had thought my brother and Robert had gone downstairs.

To say the least, it was embarrassing to have my brother's best friend walk in on me kissing a picture in my yearbook.

That was also how he figured out I had a crush on Jasper.

I couldn't have made it anymore obvious with the big red heart I'd drawn around his picture.

He kept my secret though, even if he teased me about it.

It wasn't long after that when I accidentally came out in front of my parents, telling Mom I would never get a boyfriend with my new haircut.

They didn't even say anything, like they already knew.

I sat back down beside Robert, grabbing his hand again.

Whatever he was getting wasn't big.

There wasn't much blank space anywhere on his arms.

"Alright," the tattooist said, wiping ink off Robert's arm with a paper towel.

Leaning over curiously, I observed the tattoo in shock.

"Really, Robert?" I huffed.

"We wasted precious time so you could get Pooh-Bear tattooed on you?"

Glaring at the Alpha male, his smirk only further annoyed me.

"What? It's what I wanted."

I smacked the back of his head, standing up and walking out of the building.

I forgot to get the keys from him, so I had to stand beside the car and pout.

It wasn't long before he came out, still smirking and plastic wrapped around his wrist.

As if taunting me, he spun the car keys around his finger and took his time walking to the car.

My eye twitched from the contained anger.

"Wipe that frown off your cute face," Robby said, finally getting to the car.

My face warmed from being called cute, momentarily forgetting why I was upset.

He unlocked the doors and I got into the car.

I guess I was a little mean.

He can get what he wants, even if his choices are stupid and immature.

Leaning over, I kissed his cheek quickly before buckling up.

Robert chuckled and started up the car.

On the ride to the pack house, I was basically bouncing with excitement.

I have so many ideas for my ceremony.

I've been day dreaming about it since I was ten.

It's going to be huge, just like I always wanted.

Everyone in the pack will be expected to be there because Robert will be their Alpha.

When we pulled up, I didn't even wait for Robby to turn the car off.

I grabbed my backpack from the backseat and ran inside.

Following Mom's scent, I found her in a sitting room with the Luna.

I squealed excitedly and sat down on the couch across from them.

Mom looked at me weirdly.

We waited for Robby before I pulled out the thick scrapbook from my backpack.

"Oh my," Luna said.

I smiled, handing it over to her.

I've been adding things to it for years.

It's my dream ceremony.

"What the hell?" Robby said from beside me.

"You're insane if you think that's all going to be put together in a week."

"But..."

"Robby, it looks like your suit will be a soft pink," Luna said, flipping through my book.

"Bullshit," he scoffed.

"Language," Luna warned, glancing at him shortly.

"This is my mating ceremony, I only get one," I argued.

"We were thinking something small that could be arranged quickly," Luna said.

"Yeah, I say we just go to the courthouse," Robby stated.

"My pup's not having a ceremony without a high priestess," Mom spoke up, eyeing the Alpha male.

She was still upset with him for feeling me up in front of half the pack.

He wasn't making it any better.

"That's understandable," Luna said to mom.

"We just don't have the time for anything big. Robert's inauguration will be the week after."

"But this is my mating ceremony," I said lowly.

I didn't want to have to rush through my own ceremony.

"It can still be lovely. A small affair in the back yard," Luna said, sitting my book on the coffee table.

She wasn't even going to continue looking through it?

"We can go shopping tomorrow for a few things."

"We can still do the courthouse thing, with a high priestess," Robert said, the last bit directed to my Mom.

"I though everyone had to come to the future Alpha's ceremony."

Crossing my arms, my eyes narrowed slightly.

"There's no point calling everyone here if they're going to have to come all over again the next week."

I didn't say anything and instead sat back against the couch.

The Luna and Mom talked some, making plans for my ceremony.

When they left, I grabbed my book overflowing with ideas and things I wanted.

"It's just a Mating ceremony," Robert said, as if it was some insignificant thing.

"Yeah, well, you're inauguration is nothing important either," I snapped.

"My Dad will be passing on the Alpha title to me. That's way more important than a fucking ceremony where we say a few words before running off to fuck."

I jumped up, throwing my book at him and storming out of the room.

"Torin, get your little ass back here."

"Screw you, Robert Killian."

[oopsallturtles]

Awww, thank you so much @bagels-and-cream-cheese333 and @soaptastesfunny!!

Okay, so one of the things I'm trying to be better about is leaving comments on things because it means so much when it happens to me, so I'm going to treat this like a big collection of ao3 comments towards the users I've found to be supremely amazing in my time exploring tumblr:

@somerandomdudelmao - your cass apocalypse series is half the reason I got a tumblr account in the first place. Your art and story have made me feel just about EVERY emotion, and inspired me to want to work on my own art and stories about this best little turtle family <3

@wickcipher - you have NO idea how excited I get when I see an update to your portaljacked comic!! The art is so cute and the way you write the brothers is spot on.

@grey-viridian - your rottmnt art is brain-tingling perfect, I LOVE IT SO MUCH

@remedyturtles - your rottmnt fics MAKE ME FEEL THINGS. You have an amazing talent for making these characters so real. I don't make fanart, but the little kid with a death wish pushed me over the edge to finally decide I wanted to learn to draw so that I can make a worthy attempt - KEEP WRITING FOREVER PLEASE

@dandylovesturtles - your rottmnt fics are SO GOOD -- AND I HAVEN’T EVEN READ THE BIG BOY i may be invisible fic YET. But I KNOW it’s going to be amazing if your other ones are any indication (not to mention the fanart and snippets I've read). It’s next on my reading list and I don’t know if my heart can take it IM SO EXCITED

@bobtheacorn - you’re the first ao3 author I subbed to because I have read all your rottmnt fics and LOVED THEM. Which says a lot since I normally don’t read anything with pairings in the rottmnt fandom, but I took a chance and, congrats, you’ve won me over with leosagi with your sky that i sleep under series <3

@bagels-and-cream-cheese333 - I absolutely love how involved and encouraging you are in this fandom. You helped make me (and i know SO many others) feel so welcomed! I now also think of you every time I pass by the bagels in the grocery store XD

@tonystarkwasrobbed, @the-city-kitty , @carrots-bear, @asheronangel - you guys were some of the very first people to interact with my posts and soon became names that I recognized and got excited to see! You’re all so fun, kind, and welcoming and helped me feel like I could do more than just lurk silently in the background in this fandom space lol

@trilobitepunch - your art is what I aspire towards. It is SO gorgeous and instantly recognizable as yours, I ADORE it so much

@heretherebeturtles-comic - my first thoughts at seeing this comic art: THERE'S NO WAY THIS IS FAN MADE, IT’S TOO SHOW ACCURATELY PERFECT. The amount of work and care you must have put into this is AMAZING! I will never get over it and I’m looking forward to the next update!

@thursdaysyme - your art. YOUR ART! It’s SO cool. One of the rare few whose style I can identify as yours with just a glance. I love your comic panels and your sense of humor with those brothers is so great lol

@soaptastesfunny - FRIEND!! I’ve been having so much fun chatting and exchanging story ideas with you! I love seeing your art and I’m so excited to see what you’ll be drawing, writing, and creating next!!

@banana-jar-studio - your art is mindblowing. It’s SO GOOD and has such a super fun energy to it, I want to plaster my walls with your art

@intotheelliwoods - i’m so happy the tmnt au competition introduced me to your 2 arms left comic! Your art is so freaking adorable and expressive, i love it so much!!

@novastar-creations - thank you so much for making that rise art challenge! Even if I only managed to complete a few of the prompts, that was the most fun i’d had making art in quite a while! I love seeing your comments as well as your drawings, and I legit still laugh when I think of that one you drew of Leo eating pancakes for pancake day.

@howl-182 - This is very specific, and I don’t know how you do it, but your art made me actively enjoy the human versions of rise turtles. I’m typically just neutral about human redraws, but every time I see yours, it makes me stop and be like THAT’S THEM! You capture their essence perfectly and I am impressed every time.

@resha04 - You commented on my fic and you were SO incredibly kind and thoughtful and just the most epic hype-man that your name is forever burned in my mind (hope that’s not weird haha). I feel like every time I see a post from you, you’re lifting up people’s works with a love of creativity that’s just so lovely and you remind me all the time that my words do matter and that I need to share with people the good things I see in them and their works (hence this post, actually!)

@snowbriar - I love this mission you’re heading on Project Rise Revised!! In sifting through all those lost pieces and stringing things together on that red stringed plot board, I can see the passion and excitement you have for this and i’m so glad that you invited me to be a part of it, even in just a small way! Everyone working on this is super cool and it’s these types of what-if passions that got me into writing in fandoms in the first place.

I know there’s dozens of others whose creative/genius/hilarious posts I’ve seen floating around that I LOVE, and I’d tag you all if I could, but it takes me forever to learn usernames to specific works lol. But I look forward to growing my hoard of likes thanks to you all! Keep writing/drawing/posting! You are amazing!

hey, did you know that the world is a better place because of your creations and art and writing, no matter how niche or how many people see it