#If I just add glow where stuff is glowing is that fine?

[somegrumpynerd]

I had such big ambitions about this comic being all coloured and shaded and fancy but now that I've coloured exactly one page I am rethinking that shading thing

[kinopio-writes]

Hi! Would you be willing to write something for Adam with a sensitive reader?

Everyone knows that he is loud-mouthed jerk, even reader, and she loves him regardless, but one day he crosses the line and says something particularly mean that makes her cry. Like REAL mean. To the point that he pauses because he did not think before speaking (or, well, less than usual lol)

I'm happy with whatever format you feel like using! Thank you!

A/N: I will be more than delighted to write that for you. But would you excuse me for a moment? AHHHHHHDISJDIOEOFJSKXJND—I’m sorry; I love this idea so much. Reading ‘Adam with a sensitive reader’ got me hooked instantly. But I’ll go over that in the headcanons, along with the general stuff. And I’ll add a oneshot at the end that plays the exact scenario of Adam taking it too far.

Holy sh!t. I made it so that the reader being sensitive is their greatest but also weakest point and it turned out pretty angsty. Has a bit of hurt/comfort, though. Did I go overboard? Maybe. That’s why it took so long. Sorry, anon.

Words: 2,328 (edited)

Warnings: Sex is mentioned (only a bit, surprisingly), Angst, Adam being Adam

———

Adam w/ a Sensitive!Reader

• ha, this man is also sensitive himself

• well, sensitive about himself

• he feels his own emotions strongly, so he’s not the caring, easily able to pick up on other’s feelings and empathize type of sensitive

• you, on the other hand, are on the opposite end of the spectrum compared to Adam

• so you experience other people’s emotions just as strongly as yours

• you easily know what makes someone tick

• you’re selfless

• you’re able to admit your mistakes and apologize

• you’re respectful and actively listen to people when they talk about themselves

• you don’t push people down to make yourself seem better

• you try to make everyone feel good and comfortable

• you’re everything he isn’t

• because you fit in Heaven perfectly

• you deserve to be there

• and Adam knows that he doesn’t belong (subconsciously at least)

• you’re able to draw people in just for being yourself

• and he’s envious of it

• so he demeans you and is snarky about everything you do, and every time people give you praise or affection, he tries to divert the attention to himself or just stares at you with utter hatred from afar

• although all of that is just when he hasn’t even had a conversation with you

• after a while of being around you, he’ll cling to you because you give him the reassurance and validation he oh-so craves (he acts as if he didn’t hate you before. What do you mean? You two were always buddy-buddy!)

• you acknowledge all of the things he puts his worth to

• heck, you hang out with him—you sometimes even initiate it—willingly, and you’re genuinely interested in everything he has to say

• but he‘ll only hang out with you where no one recognizes you (so you don’t get all the attention)

• terrible transition here, but he notices that you mimic people’s expressions often

• he definitely makes fun of you for it

• and also mocks you

• up until he realizes that you do the same thing to him, too

• which is fine and all, if only you didn’t do that when he’s upset

• well, you mimic him when he’s joyous as well, but he (already subconsciously) expects you to. I mean, why wouldn’t you? He’s fucking hilarious!

• so you copying his negative emotions just stands out more

• and he…doesn’t like it

• that’s only really what he doesn’t like about you

• and the fact that you hog all the attention

• and the fact that people see you as perfect…

• buuut what happens when he gets to see a new side of you that isn’t exactly upholding that image?

———

Your phone lit up from your bedside table, brightening your otherwise dark room along with the soft glow of your halo. You only moved your eyes to the light, not wanting your tears to spill and dampen your pillows.

You had an inkling as to who was texting you this late—if the fact that your phone lighting up several times in the span of 5 minutes had anything to say.

When the texts stopped pouring in after a few seconds, you heavily sighed, wings ruffling. You resisted the urge to rub your face as you went to grab your phone.

HEY (2:34) HEY (2:34) HEY (2:34) ARE YOU UP? (2:35) I’M BORED (2:35) GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE (2:36) IF YOU’RE UP (2:37) ARE YOU? (2:38) DID I TELL YOU THAT BITCH WITH THE HUGE TITS GOT FIRED TODAY? (2:39)

Figured. Of course, it was Adam. He was the only person you knew who’d be awake at this ungodly hour. And the only person you knew who’d disturb your peace if it meant curing anything that ailed him. Which was now about boredom, it seemed.

You read a few of his texts displayed on your lock screen before tapping one of the notifications and opening the app, scanning the rest of the unread messages.

Adam was going on about ‘that bitch with the huge tits’—her name was Tiffany, you were sure—and how she was rumored to have slept with an archangel to assume higher authority. He also went on to complain about how he didn’t have the chance to bed her anymore since she was basically deemed an outcast and that he couldn’t be seen with someone like her.

You frowned, not believing any of it, but you didn’t have time to think about it enough when he began typing again.

SO YOU’RE AWAKE (2:43)

You barely finished reading the new message when another one popped up.

DON’T IGNORE ME BITCH (2:43)

You frowned deeper, quick to type out a reply.

i’m not (2:43) i was just reading your texts (2:43) don’t worry (2:43) i’ll be there soon (2:44)

When he stopped typing, you placed your phone back on the nightstand, sitting up on your bed as you carefully wiped away your teary eyes. You hugged yourself for a moment, wings functioning as a cocoon while a hand tugged on your hair.

Today had been draining—both mentally and emotionally. Just like the day before, and the day before that. But you didn’t want to think about it, lest you start to cry some more and smear your face with tears this time. What mattered was that everyone was back on their feet again.

Since you didn’t bother changing into your sleepwear when you got home, you only checked your face in the mirror to see if your eyes were puffy or not. You then took in deep breaths, holding up your drooping wings before putting up a charming smile.

You couldn’t stay in the bathroom for long, quickly leaving to tread the path to Adam’s.

•••

“BOO!” Adam’s masked face suddenly peeked from the corner of his hallway, earning an indescribable scream from you as you jerked back. He burst out laughing, brows creased in confusion but also amusement. He couldn’t even make fun of you for getting scared. “What the—what the fuck was that scream?”

Recovering rather quickly as you blinked, you only smiled at him. You were expecting him to wait for you on his couch as his front door was left unlocked, but you weren’t complaining; his action took away any drowsiness you just had.

When Adam didn’t hear you laugh with him, his laughter subsided as he opened his eyes to look at your face. He raised his brows and placed the back of his hands on his hips. “What’s up with you?”

Shit. There was no way Adam was seeing through you.

“Nothing; I just love hearing you laugh.” You heard a tiny squeak in response. “Anyway, what did you make me come over for? Surely not just to scare me.” You moved past Adam and tightly crossed your arms, entering his spacious living room.

“Pshh, fuck no. You’re so easy to spook. Though that was a first. Didn’t know you could hit high notes, (Name).”

You didn’t know what to say to his…compliment? And sort of insult? Was it really either of them? Should you thank him? But in a sarcastic way? No, you weren’t known for being sarcastic, so he might think you were being genuine and look at you weirdly. And it would also seem highly egotistical.

Not as if Adam had much to say about that…

You tugged at your hair when you caught yourself with those thoughts. Shit, that’s so rude! You can’t think that! You shouldn’t think that!

You settled on an awkward chuckle, making yourself appear smaller as you averted your eyes to his TV space.

It was different, certainly. The modular couch pieces were rearranged into a pit sectional. And it looked as though he had chucked a bunch of pillows and one large blanket as an afterthought. It appeared messy, but at least it looked cozy.

“What’s this?”

“Hm? Oh, well, since you were taking your sweet ass time coming here, I thought to switch things up a bit.” You flinched when his head appeared right on your shoulder. “What’d ya think?”

“It looks super comfy.” Adam wore a goofy grin behind you as you walked closer to the area and noticed that he already prepared snacks on the low table. “Is this a way to say you wanna do a movie marathon?”

“You know it, baby.” He flew past you and landed on the sofa, patting the space beside him with a smile you just couldn’t reject.

•••

Heaven’s natural light beginning to peek through the open windows indicated that it was already dawn. Thank goodness you didn’t have work today.

You two—or rather, Adam—had settled on watching the film series, Die Hard. Every single one. You didn’t mind, but you didn’t understand why Adam invited you over if you two were just going to rewatch the film series for the eighth time.

He had also been pretty immersed in the large screen in front of him, so he hadn’t attempted to converse with you ever since the first movie started. In all honesty, he could have just watched them all by himself.

But you didn’t question it. This time was the same as the last seven, after all. You always concluded that maybe he just wanted someone to watch movies with, no talking necessary. Even if the no-talking part sounded a bit out of character.

Was it though? Because he did that quite often. For instance, he constantly brought you along to whatever mundane errands he had to do during the weekdays and never really talked with you unless he found something cool and pointed it out.

Although, the earlier times you tagged along with him on his errands, he kept yapping his mouth off about the ‘totally awesome’ things he does. He talked about music, his own albums, his band, women, sex, and himself as the first-ever man.

As time went on, however, the talking was replaced with silence. You wondered if he just ran out of things to say or if he found it unnecessary to talk anymore.

You also sometimes wondered what was going through his head when he thought you didn’t see him glancing at you while he was doing something he believed was boring.

The sound of Adam’s stomach rumbling broke you out of your train of thought.

You both looked at each other blankly as if either of you were to blame.

He blinked to break the eye contact between you. “(Name), I’m hungry.”

You snorted, facing ahead. “You ate all of our snacks before the first movie even finished.”

“Don’t blame me.” He hugged the pillow he held tighter. “I’m still fuckin’ hungry, though.”

You hummed as you reached for your pocket. “Do you want me to—oh. I…I forgot my phone.” You frowned. You never forget to bring your belongings.

Adam merely stared at you, unblinking.

You averted your eyes and held your legs tighter. “Uhm, We could get delivery if you want. Can you lend me your phone?”

“Oh, yeah, sure.” He casually tossed you the device before laying on his back and looking up at you. “I’m down for anything.”

His phone hit your knee before you could catch it, silently landing on the cushions. “Are you sure?” You picked it up, opened his unlocked phone, and stared at his basic home screen.

He didn’t really use his phone that often to know that it could be changed. He only really used it to fetch one-night stands or occasional dates, text, play music aloud, look at outdated memes, take random blurry photos, and right now, order delivery.

“Totally.” His crow’s feet displayed on his mask as he puffed out his cheeks.

“Because last time you said that, you didn’t like what I had to pick.”

“That’s because the 5 ʼn 2 is so fucking overrated!” he suddenly started to complain. Your wings ruffled. “Jeez, I swear, every fuckin’ time I take a chick out and ask her what her favorite eatery is, basic bitches always go, ‘Oh, bREaD & fIsH, ceRTAinLy’ or ‘bReAD & FiSh’S a cLAsSIC’” He used his hand as a puppet to imitate their words before waving it. “Like, helloooo? Can’t you see the joint that’s literally on the other side of the street’s a hundred times superior? It’s cheaper, too, unlike Bread & Fish. Overpriced ass. You get me, right—?”

“Then you pick!” Adam jumped at your volume, and your eyes widened upon noticing yourself. You quickly gave back his phone as you turned your face away from him, and he slowly took it with a weird look.

“Shit, chill, (Name). The fuck’s up your ass?” He kept his gaze on you before turning to his phone.

While he was serious about his opinions of your bland tastes, he didn’t think it was that personal. Your preferences were the same as everyone else and that was boring. He was just being honest. And you usually didn’t take the things he said that seriously.

“Adam, I’m sorry,” you spoke up after a moment of silence and ran a hand through your hair. “I didn’t mean to yell at you.”

“ʼs not a problem.” He was still a bit weirded out, but he was willing to shrug it off.

You insisted, however, “I mean it. I’m not mad at you.”

“Okay…?” he muttered when he saw a notification pop up from Lute. Her message consisted of how some of the exterminators got into a quarrel during roll call and the ones involved got injured in the process. She said she was going to discipline them.

Adam did not want to know what she meant by that and was most likely not going to stop by their place today.

“Really. I’m not. Sorry. It’s just that yesterday’s been…”

“Uh-huh…” At this point, Adam was not listening to anything you were saying. But when he still heard the static noise that was your words, he groaned. “Look, sweetie, I really don’t give a fuckin’ shit about your fuckin’ apology, ʼkay? I don’t fuckin’ care. Now what do you want?”

You saw Adam’s confused yet concerned expression after he looked up from his phone and immediately noticed that you were starting to cry. You instantly turned your face away as you carefully wiped your eyes.

“Sorry. Sorry. I’m not crying because of you.” You didn’t know if that was true. You didn’t know if you were crying because of his words or were crying because of everything else.

That was the first time he ever used a sweet petname for you in a long time. He only ever used that to demean or mock other people.

Shit. Stop thinking—you were going to cry more. But even after carefully wiping your eyes away, new tears kept flowing. You couldn’t stop. This was humiliating. You wanted to disappear. You didn’t want anyone to witness you in this state. It was mortifying.

“Shit.” Adam’s voice came out panicky as he held his hands out towards you, but he hesitated. Hesitated in what, he didn’t even know.

He…didn’t think you could cry.

Adam didn’t know what to do; this emotional shit wasn’t his thing. He couldn’t ask you to leave, he knew that much, but he didn’t want to leave himself. This was his place. Why should he leave?

So, he did the only thing he could do in this situation.

You suddenly felt something warm envelop you.

You didn’t look up, but you knew it was Adam. You could feel the texture of his robe on your hands and the side of your face. You could feel his hands on your shoulder blade, but you couldn’t quite feel his arms on you.

You stopped wiping your eyes for a moment.

No one had ever hugged you before when you were sad.

No one had ever let you be sad.

Adam heard you sob.

Fucking great. He made it worse. What the fuck was he supposed to do then?

But when he went to unwrap his arms, he felt yours slip around his midsection, pulling him closer than before as he grunted from your firm hold.

So you wanted to be hugged? Alright. Whatever.

Adam slowly hugged you back after you muttered a ‘sorry’ and loosened your grip.

The next seconds were silent, so when he heard muffled words coming from you, he looked down. You also looked up moments later when he didn’t respond, realizing he must’ve not heard you.

Your gaze softened as you two held eye contact, and with teary eyes, you smiled. “Thank you, Adam.”

Something about his expression changed, but before you could stare any longer, you felt a hand behind your head push you back to his chest as the arm on your back held you tight.

“Yeah, whatever…”

[dragon-ascent]

Hope you don’t mind me rambling about an add-on to that idea of Zhongli’s luxury cave but like in the same vein of that imagine if in an AU where it’s ancient times (When Morax/Rex Lapis was worshipped as a god but way before Liyue Harbour was a thing) you somehow stumble upon that very cave, maybe you were trying to find shelter away from the cold, maybe you were being chased by monsters and just dived into the first hiding spot you saw, or maybe you just somehow got innocently lost and walked in, either way you’re now in this cave that is both gorgeous and somehow way ahead of its time and you’re blown away but also oh so very confused because “What the hell is all this stuff doing here???”. Oh also your dragon god REX FRIGGIN LAPIS is just in that cave and you have to face that too (most wild meet cute of all time lmao)

I don’t mind in the slightest! I’ll happily snowball this idea:

When you enter that cave, what throws you off is not just the sheer splendour of it, decorated with fine wares so eccentrically placed, but also the fact that there seem to be some kind of patterns along the walls. People around a fire, people working at the fields, people making use of the wheel for the first time…

“Do you like them?” a voice rumbles from the shadows, causing you to jump — and then nearly jump out of your skin entirely when you see that it’s Rex Lapis asking you the question, emerging from the darkness in all his draconic glory.

You immediately fall to your knees, scrambling for words. “My lord..! I didn’t mean to..!”

“Please rise.” He nudges you gently. “Forgive me if my sudden appearance has startled you.”

Gulping, you get to your feet quickly. “No, no. I…um, had gotten lost.” Fidgeting, you add, “Th-this is a beautiful cave.”

The god purrs in satisfaction. “Thank you. I have personally procured and arranged everything you see here, and those inscriptions on the walls are my doing as well.”

Before you know it, he’s taking you on a tour of the place, a story for each and every thing present within this cave. Honestly, it’s all in one ear and out the other for you – you’re more preoccupied with the thought that you’re in a secluded place with the god of your land.

“Ah, but I have gone on for far too long,” he finishes after what seems like an eternity, his gait a little more prideful after his stories. “I should be taking you home now.”

“You – you know where I live?”

“I have impeccable memory, little one. I remember where each and every human takes up residence.” He looks out the cave mouth, and you follow his gaze to the rising moon. “But it is quite late; I insist you spend the night here, and I shall have you home when dawn breaks.”

Who are you to refuse your god when he’s already placing you on his makeshift flower-woven bed? He uses his mouth to tuck you in, careful not to let his teeth hurt you. Then, he curls up around you. You look up at him, and he gives you a small nod, putting out the beautiful golden torches.

“Sleep. I shall watch over you.”

(He literally watches over you all night. Two glowing eyes just staring at you in the darkness like a figment of horror.)

[mvltisstuff]

Hey how are you? I hope all is well. I was wondering if you could do a request where everyone in the 118 fully forgets the readers birthday except for Buck and the reader is upset because she always makes to at least say happy birthday to someone when their birthday comes.Buck is also in love with the reader and after work he goes to her apartment to wish her happy birthday and confess his feelings. (They both are in love with each other) He ends up cheering up the reader and spends the night (if its not too much can you add smut with fluff afterwards)

I'm sorry this is so long and Thank you!

pity party - e.b **

summary: request :)

evan buckley x reader

gif from @evanbuckleydaily

a/n: warning for smut toward the end, but no where else! hope you enjoy bc birthdays are so special to me 🩶

even as a little girl, y/n loved her birthdays. waking up to the smell of sweet pancakes and seeing her friends made her ecstatic. birthdays usually get sadder by the year, as you inch closer and closer to being a senior, but y/n always took it as a celebration. why wouldn’t you celebrate your life? she’s been so happy since she came to la, and it’s a way to appreciate herself from all she’s dealt with.

the morning sun shone through her windows, leaving an orange color on her bedsheets. her work alarm yanked her out of her slumber. today, she was excited to wake up, maybe too excited. she did her hair as nice as she could and even put on a little bit of makeup for the day. she wanted to feel good on her birthday, so she let herself. yeah, she’s a firefighter, but a cute little up do was never the wrong way to go. normally, she just threw it in a ponytail, but today, she did a pretty low bun and added in a few braids. she grabbed her stuff, walking out the door with the bright smile on her face. it was plastered on there until she got to the station. everyone noticed that she was obscurely happy. not to say she wasn’t normally happy, but there was a glow to her that day.

she pranced into the locker rooms, passing hen and chimney on her way in. she pulled on her uniform and made her way out, starting to help organize the engines. “hey, y/n! what’s going on?” eddie says first. she gives him a nice smile before responding kindly. she’s a little taken aback at the lack of response from her birthday, but she moves on. it wasn’t until hen, chimney, and even her other coworkers didn’t say a thing.

maybe something was planned? a surprise? they could just be busy with work and home, too. they knew her birthday was coming up, and they knew when it was, so she was a bit thrown off. she didn’t want to be too selfish, though. the whole station doesn’t revolve on her terms. she mindlessly thought that they’d say something eventually, maybe they just had other things to worry about them.

y/n was on top of one of the trucks, rolling out and organizing the hoses on top. she didn’t have anyone else up there to help, but she was fine on her own. she did wish she had someone to talk to, especially on her birthday, but it was fine. suddenly, the back of the ladder shook a bit, revealing a thrilled buck who pranced to the top. “happy birthday, y/n!” he beamed, slipping over with his arms out as he embraced her.

“thanks, buck,” she says, returning the smile and graciousness he gave her.

“are you ok? you were so excited for today!”

“yeah! yeah, i’m fine! just thinking about today, that’s all.”

“well, i’m gonna make you have a good day, whether you like it or not.”

“ok, ok,” she curls her mouth back into a grin. “just don’t mention too much about it, i don’t want it to be too big of a deal.”

“i get it, totally,” he replies, starting to help her drag up the long hoses.

the alarm echoed through the whole station, and the team piled into the truck after putting on their gear. y/n sat on the end, staring out the window in slight disappointment about how her day was going. was she being childish? no, not at all, but her selflessness didn’t let her realize that.

“y/n, what’s got you looking all fancy all of a sudden?” chimney asks.

“hot date?” hen adds in. y/n continues to just look out the window, as buck gives his friends a confused look. she understands it now, they probably forgot or didn’t care enough. it hurt especially because they were her family. she came here to la, and she found her best friends who melted into more. they spent almost every day together, so she wanted a little more affection. but, there wasn’t anything she could do about it. she didn’t want to say anything because of tension, and they had enough work to do.

“just with myself,” y/n laughs, covering up her secretly hurt feelings.

“i think you look pretty, y/n!” buck says, shouting over the headphones he has in. she laughs at his volume, but he’s been treating her the best.

y/n was so in love with buck, and he was so in love with her. there’s no other way to put it. work would be a whole different experience without the other. they’re like two peas in a pod and are finishing each others sentences. when you think of silly phrases and metaphors for love, they are every single one.

“alright, lover boy,” chim teases before gazing out his own window.

“c’mon, guys, leave them alone,” bobby turns his head around to take some of the spotlight off y/n and buck. buck doesn’t think anything of it, somehow. he figures they already said something to her, so nothing came across as out of the ordinary to him.

they arrived to a scene, solving the calamity and issues that were sparked with the fire. it was quick, they do it every single day, so they were prepared and there were several hands on deck. multiple calls rolled in throughout the day between small intervals, and all of them passed without the two small words to y/n. none of them cared to ask, or really know anything. she had been painfully obviously distant that day, but everyone was just fooling around and talking about whatever, so they didn’t notice. the sun had finally set, and still, nothing. her day that was supposed to be great was pretty much over, and she felt like nothing happened. y/n didn’t expect too much, but she deserved more than what she got. at the end of the day, however, she still had buck. he was there the whole day by her side, making her crack smiles and break out in laughter, which was his favorite music. y/n decided to jump in the shower, wash off any extra negativity from the day off so she could let it all go. buck walked in the kitchen with everyone else.

“alright, y/n’s showering,” he begins. “bobby! where’d you put the cake and the candles?”

“buck, your birthdays a bit far away, don’t you think?”

“h-huh? no, it’s for…” buck starts to put the pieces together. there is no cake, decorations, or candles for her. they didn’t bother to remember or put the time in for someone who cares so deeply for them. “you guys remember, right?”

“remember?” eddie questions, confusion forming in the room at bucks upset.

“oh my god, that’s why she’s been acting different. it’s her birthday, you idiots! she’s been looking forward to this the whole month, and we don’t have anything for her!”

“shit, buck,” hen whispers. “it completely slipped my mind.”

“me too, i’ve been out with maddie a lot and i must’ve forgotten how soon it was,” chimney responded. buck looks around for any answers he can get, only to be confronted by looks of self pity and sulk.

“really? really,” buck argues. “have you guys completely lost it? chim, on your birthday she planned a whole party in her small apartment for you. bobby, for you, she spent hours with athena making sure it would be perfect. same with you, hen! eddie, she made sure all of us were there for you and had gifts for you to make you smile. she did all of this to make you guys feel loved. it’s one day a year, and she deserves it just as much as you all did.”

the team shared disheartened faces to each other, realizing what they’d done to y/n. she was without a doubt, the sweetest person at the station. she makes every single day a memorable one, especially the birthdays of her best friends. they tried to come up with reasonable answers as to why they didn’t remember, but none of them were justifiable. so, they waited for y/n to come out of the locker rooms, but she didn’t. her shift was ending, so she just went home. there wasn’t any time to plan anything, and she knew nothing was going on. buck can’t keep a secret if his life depended on it.

they sat there in nothing but silence until bucks phone vibrated in his back pocket. he saw y/n’s name lighten the screen, revealing a dispirited text from her.

“hey, just wanted to let you know that i already left, but i wanted to say thank you for everything today. this day would’ve sucked without you <3”

buck sighed after he read the last word, seeing the little heart at the end of it. “well, she already left, so,” buck gets up out of his seat, going to change into his own clothes. he already knows what he has to do, so he rushes over to the nearest bakery, the only one that’s open late at this time.

the owners are just about to close up, when buck runs in like a lunatic. “wait! hold on, please?”

“sir, we’re just about to close,” the woman says, walking outside the counter.

“i know, and i’ll give you a good tip, i swear. i need you to just write a name on his cake, please. you’d make a girls day, i’ll pay extra!”

“im sorry, but everything’s been put away for the night.”

buck groans, “fine, can i just buy these candles and this small thing of icing?” afterwards, buck sits in his car and under the happy birthday, scribbles in a messy y/n. it’s not perfect, but it doesn’t matter if it’ll make her happy.

when y/n arrives home, she immediately just goes to sit on her couch. she flips on the tv, whipping a blanket around her shoulders. she plays an old episode of the office, the one where it’s kelly’s birthday. it’s always one that makes her laugh, and why not just rub it more in her face that everyone forgot? she intently watched the episode, wallowing in let down. it was later than normal for her to be up, but she let it slide. it was almost the midnight, so she figured why not just stay up?

the harsh knocking on her door zoned her mind out of the show, standing up and opening the door slowly. her hair was still done, a little messy but still beautiful to buck. she made eye contact with the enchanting soul in front of her, smiling instantly at the sight of a little cake with candles that weren’t lit. “what are you doing here?”

“i’m not going to let you spend the rest of the night alone, not after the day you’ve had,” he steps inside the apartment, and she takes the cake from his hands.

“listen it’s fine, you didn’t have to do this.”

“you’re right, i didn’t, but i wanted to. there’s nothing i wanted more than to make you feel loved today. i don’t know what’s gotten into everyone, but you never deserve something like that. you’re my favorite person there, y/n, and i’d do-“

she cuts his frantic speech off by stepping in closer, connecting their lips for the first time. he’s a little surprised, but silently celebrating in his head. he leans in closer to her, placing his hands on her hips and pulling her into him. “thank you, buck.” she says, and he smiles against her lips.

“you know i love you, right?”

“good,” she smiles from ear to ear. “because i love you, too.”

**

buck doesn’t let himself hear another word from her before he presses his lips against hers again. whatever they had before was forgotten, because it had become more in a flash. he’s loved her for years, but he needed her to know now. he places his hands on the back of her thighs, picking her up and landing on the couch. he’s sitting between her legs, making out with y/n continuously until she pulls apart. she begins to undo her jean buttons, and he starts to take off her shirt. she does the same, gripping the seam and pulling it off to reveal his fit body. she’s seen it before, but in this moment, it sends waves of arousal to her core. buck starts rubbing her through her underwear as quiet moans are released from y/n. “buck,”

“yeah?”

“whatever you’re about to do, don’t stop.”

buck takes that as a sign to continue, letting her stand up to slide herself out of the rest of her garments, as he strips to his boxers. his eyes sprint up and down y/n’s body, admiring every single part of it before he grabs her by the hips and yanks her in. she laughs out as he starts to plant kisses to his her stomach, making his way up to her breasts, loving on each one.

he’s suddenly pushed back on the couch, y/n’s hands making contact with his shoulders. he’s leaned back against the couch, and y/n peels off his boxers, revealing his dick, hard for her. she starts to wrap her hand around it, pumping it up and down as he groans out. “oh, don’t do this to me, y/n.”

“fine,” she smirks, leaning her leg on the couch and swinging her other one over. bucks hands make his way up to her breasts, squeezing them gently before connecting his mouth to them again like a magnet. she painfully grinds against his erection, causing him to whine from the teasing. it’s not until she runs his tip down her slit, and pushes his tip into her that they moan simultaneously. she sinks down, taking his entire length in her pussy. “oh, fuck, baby.”

“my god, y/n,” he notices y/n trying to muffle her moans, biting on her lip as she bounces up and down on his dick. “hey, don’t try and be quiet, let me hear those pretty moans.”

she starts bringing herself up and down faster than before, letting herself cry out sharp moans at the warm feeling in her abdomen. bucks hands make contact with her tits again, fondling them and pinching her nipples as she continues to ride him. one of her hands is gripping his shoulder, the other sinks down to rub circles on her clit. buck starts to get that familiar feeling back before announcing, “y/n, i’m gonna fucking come.”

“i know, baby, me too,” she pants out, breathless from the repeated actions on his dick. “come for me, buck.”

buck frees a loud moan from his lips when pulling himself out of y/n, releasing all over her stomach as her legs twitch above him. her mouth gapes open as her fingers reach down to her stomach before placing two in her mouth. buck swears he’s died and gone to heaven at the sight of the sexiest woman he’s ever seen.

“got you speechless, huh?”

“h-holy shit, y/n,” buck stutters out. “that was fuckin’- oh my god.”

y/n giggles at his chaotic words, and she places her forehead against his chest, laughing. “thank you. for everything,” she remarks, picking her head up to look at him with her chin on his chest.

“i’d do anything for you. happy birthday.”

[red1culous]

Hurricane

The curtains were parted and the room dimly lit by the moonlight. She had just returned from a 3 week mission and in her hurry to be with you, neither of you paid too much attention to how the draperies were haphazardly closed. 

“You know,” you say through ragged breaths, “you should probably get some rest first.”

“You’re right. I should probably get some sleep.”

“Sex after the kind of mission you were on is rarely a good idea” you say as your fingers deftly continue working on the buttons of her shirt.

“Rarely,” she agrees with you just before crashing her lips to yours. She kisses you roughly as you hungrily thrust your tongue into her mouth.

That was last night. Or a few hours ago. This time you wake to tousled sheets and clothes strewn everywhere. Blinking the sleep from your eyes you focus on the figure laying beside you. Naked and in all her glory a smirk plays on your lips. 

She wouldn’t mind, would she. 

You lick the place where her neck meets her shoulder and bite down gently. She moans under you and you feel her hips tremble slightly. Smiling against her you smooth your tongue over her red skin and she hums her approval, the vibrations you feel sending a flood of delight right to your core. Her eyes are closed and she clutches the bedsheets between her fingers. 

“Good morning, my love” you say as one hand travels to grope at her chest. Her back arches in response and you feel her nipple pebble at the onslaught. She eases her eyes open to find yours fixed on hers, almost glowing with desire. 

“Mmm” she moans faintly before closing her eyes once again. 

You pull away from her halting all movement and resting your weight on one elbow. She moans again feeling herself winding up tighter and tighter, the tension mounting. 

“Are you ok?” you say avoiding her lips as she chases yours.

“I’m fine.” She lies pulling you by the chin to connect your lips. In truth she was battling a migraine. Not a bad one just a persistent throbbing that travelled from behind her eyes to the top of her temples. 

You pull away once more. 

“No you’re not” you say putting some distance between the two of you. She slings an arm over her eyes.

“You’re not ok. Tell me what’s wrong” you question moving some of your weight off of her and using whatever light what available to inspect her features. “Did I hurt you?”

“I have a migraine.” She mumbles. “I’m sorry.” She quickly adds.

“Babe don’t apologise.” You climb off her and go to fetch a glass of water and some Advil from the bathroom. “Please take this” you say climbing gently back onto the bed holding the medicine out to her. 

“I’ll take it as soon as the room stops spinning” she groans unmoving. 

“Right we’re never having sex again” you chuckle as you lean over her to place the glass of water and migraine pills on the bedside table. 

“Idiot” she snorts. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it” 

You hum in understanding. “What can I do to help?”

“Nothing” she answers quietly.

“Do you want me to draw the curtains closed tighter?” You ask shifting to move off the bed again. 

“No...” She stops you with a hand on your wrist. “Just stay there. The bed shaking isn’t helping much.”

“Ok. Sorry.” This time it’s you who apologises. You realise the awkward position you’re sitting in but you’re resolved to not move a muscle for her sake. 

Her hand finds yours and she blindly interlocks her fingers with yours.

“I just need some sleep and then we can have sex again.”

“Babe that’s not what I—“ you quickly say before she cuts you off with a soft chuckle.

Underneath the arm slung over her face you see the side of her lip curl up into a smile.

“Asshole.” You whisper. 

“Stay with me?” her voice is soft and almost inaudible.

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else” you answer giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.

-----

Add yourself to the taglist if you want to here.

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[dotmander]

How To Get Your Character Models Out Of A Game: Tips And Tricks For Bitches That Have Never Used Blender

(it's me, i'm bitches)

(also ignore how messy that lighting is it's 1am and i should have been asleep hours ago. he's there for proof of concept 💕)

a couple people (specifically @forsaken-constellation and @ratasum) asked for a tutorial on how to rip models out of the game. this is not that, but it is a compilation of resources i used to learn about ripping, blender, and 3d modeling in general. i desperately wanted a post like this to exist when i was trying to figure this out, so here we go! all the resources below are completely free, with the exception of a link to the patreon of the person that created ninjaripper.

disclaimers:

there are probably more efficient ways to do the things i am doing. i watched a tutorial to learn shortcuts and then skipped to character models. if you have tips to add, corrections to make, or other thoughts, please feel free to share! i'll link to your post here. ^^

i do not know if any of this will get your account banned. i've ripped several models, so i'm going to assume it's fine as long as you don't try to make money off of it. use your best judgment, be an adult, etc etc etc

last updated: june 30, 2024

PROGRAMS & WEBSITES

ninjaripper 1.7.1 - there's a newer version on the creator's patreon, presumably with support for newer versions of blender and fewer bugs, but i haven't tried that

blender 2.79 - the import addon that comes with ninjaripper 1.7.1 is outdated for the current version of blender (3.5 as of this post), so 2.79 is needed to combine the .RIP files into a .BLEND (blender) file

noesis - ninjaripper saves your textures as .DDS files, noesis lets you view them and export them as .PNGs

blender 3.5 (optional?) - i just like it better than 2.79. if you're completely new it might not matter to you. all of the tutorials linked later are for later versions, though.

mixamo (optional) - rigs your character for you and lets you put them in Situations (like my guy above.) there's a whole library of free animations and poses you can try!

TUTORIALS

how to use ninjaripper - most of what you need to know about actually ripping the files and using ninjaripper is covered here. do not skip this one.

how to use blender 3.5 - full disclosure i haven't finished this series because it's uhhhh many hours long. but if you are a complete newbie to blender, i do recommend at least the first few videos; you'll learn about shortcuts that will make your life easier, how to unfuck your model when it fucks itself for no reason, and different terms that will help you google things you don't know later on. possibly he even covers some of the things i'm about to link! anyway.

what's a uv map?

how to apply textures

how to apply bump maps (note: for our purposes, you wouldn't add a color ramp node, you would add an image node with your bump map, and attach it to the bump node as the person does in the video)

there should be stuff here about weight painting, cloth physics, emission maps (makes your sylvari glow), and other stuff, but um. i haven't figured those out <3  

TIPS

TURN UP YOUR GRAPHICS BEFORE YOU RIP - if you don't, you might end up missing certain textures/glows/etc. HOWEVER, you should turn animations down, because apparently high animation can make your meshes misplace themselves

rip from the character select screen, rather than an instance, because you will have 100 meshes to sort through instead of 1400. i am not exaggerating either of those numbers. if you are new to blender, please love yourself and start with character select.

your textures will be fucked up the first time you try to apply them. this is because the UV maps (the things that tell your textures where to go) of your models are flipped upside down in relation to the texture image. you can flip them back over manually, ooooor you can just flip the entire texture file in something like CSP or photoshop.

for some reason all eyes are red in the texture files. i have not figured out why. i recommend editing the .PNG to have the correct eye color before applying the texture.

that's all i can think of for now - if you have other questions, feel free to shoot them my way, although i can't promise i'll have a straight answer ^^;;

mixamo only works for humanoid characters with tight clothing (or without clothing at all). if you try to use it to rig a charr or asura, or someone with a skirt or big sleeves, you will most likely be disappointed.

2024 edit: sometimes parts of hair meshes just...disappear. i have no idea why. if you can figure it out please let me know LMAO

information from bookahlogy about character proportions, fixing normals, and other fun tips

[cozzzynook]

Something happens and Drift becomes Deadlock again. He's exploring the room he shares with Ratchet and notices what seems to be a third person either living there or visiting often. He can see stuff that's not his or Ratchets laying around. Also a lot of the photos he has are of him Ratchet and this other person.

Deadlock asks about it and Ratchet gets all flustered. They both had feelings for Rodimus but weren't sure if he felt the same way or if they both had feelings for Rodimus.

Deadlock pushes Ratchet to confess.

What Deadlock finds would probably be things like an abundance of fuel that has to be seasoned and cooked. Its an ingredient hab instead of a ready fuel hab. He knows he can’t cook worth slag and he knows Ratchet is too busy to cook daily like this.

So he figures there’s another bot living with them.

Even as Deadlock he wanted to conjunx Ratchet so he’s not surprised they’re conjunx and living together but what does surprise him is learning theres another thats always with them.

He feels like someone is missing when he wakes up and its just Ratchet with him.

When Ratchet tells him he’ll explain later and that he should rest, he keeps pushing it off until the two reach their hab and he sees the fuel. Sees things like art work he knows neither could create, along with lots of photos of a beautiful red mech with greats hips and a big chassis in photos with them.

He asks Ratchet about the mech and Ratchet’s response makes something tick in his spark and processor.

“He’s a really close friend of yours and he’s become a pretty close friend of mine too. His name is Rodimus,” Ratchet vaguely explains not looking Deadlock in the optics long enough for it to be the whole truth.

“And.”

“What do you mean and?”

“He’s more to us than that.”

He states it plainly, having no time for beating around the bush. He was already beaten up enough to need minor surgery on his internals he didn’t want to add anymore inconveniences, not even pertaining emotional matters.

“He’s just a friend,” Ratchet sighs looking in the kitchen for something to eat for the both of them. There’s three rows full of different fuels already made that just need to be heated up. Ratchet gives off the hint of a smile that reaches his optics and lights up his spark. Deadlock shifts a tad and sees the note attached to the fuel but can’t read it once its gripped in Ratchets servo as he pulls out fuel.

He raises an optic ridge at the doc who pointedly ignores his unspoken question.

Thats fine.

He could play this game.

Early morning comes and Deadlock wakes to the sound of pede steps that sound familiar but are foreign all the same and he curses getting knocked out by the slimy creature on the supposed desolate planet.

“Don’t even think about it kid, he’s still recharging so I can administer yer meds. Now hold still.”

That sounded interesting enough and he had nothing better to do. So with a quick set of motions Deadlock was quietly standing in the doorway to the living den where Ratchet was holding a syringe that was glowing dimly with deep bright tones at the end.

“You don’t have to do this Ratch, I’ve been doing this for millions of years,” the mech smiled trying not to move. The cmo raised his dermas to a slight snarl and the mech quieted.

Shifting his helm as he let Ratchet inject him directly next to his spark he sees Deadlock watching them from the doorway with a fearful expression.

He gives a soft smile to the cyber kitten like mech and waits until Ratchet takes the needle out to reassure him.

“Its just spark medicine, no biggie,” he softly relays, standing on his pedes to go over to the fridge and grab one of the few metals he left here.

He grabs a soft zinc stick with sweet silver bits littered on it and takes a bite. He closes the fridge and turns only to jump at the mech being so close to him.

Large servos rest on his hip plating and he feels his spark haze.

“Dri-Deadlock?”

“You smell like me and the doc.”

He doesn’t back away when he says it. In fact he gets closer, finials twitching in the renowned cyber cat fashion he used to be so known for. Rodimus could feel his claws slipping out as they gently rubbed his sensitive biolights and that was his cue to escape Deadlocks grasp.

“I think i’ll head out now, thanks for my shot Ratchet. I’ll be on the bridge if you need me,” he gave a nervous smile as he moved to leave but Deadlock didn’t let him.

“I feel a lie on your glossa,” the smirk on his face plates was far too handsome to be fair and Rodimus looked to Ratchet for help.

“I need to get back to my hab,” Rodimus tried again but Deadlock still didn’t budge.

“Ah ah ah,” the mech purred, engine rumbling his frame as he twirled an imaginary tail, “this is your hab. After all, the spark medicine in the wash racks belongs to you and you’re the only Rodimus I see.”

The way he purred the captains designation left Rodimus weak in the knees and he was feeling his modesty panels slipping. His valve was growing hot and he knew this was definitely not the time nor place for this, especially since he was not their conjunx or partner.

“I..I spend a lot of time here but this isn’t my hab,” Rodimus spook truthfully, “you guys are conjunx,” Rodimus finally acknowledged, “i’m just a really cool third wheel,” he half joked, half somber.

“Third wheel?”

Deadlock was in disbelief at that but Rodimus was serious and looking at the doc nod on agreement he scowled.

“So I’ve become a coward as an autobot?”

“Huh?”

“And you doc? Just giving up? Still rolling over and taking it?”

Ratchet scowled fiercely at that but Deadlock was right. He never said a word of his feelings and neither did Drift. Always too busy dancing around the truth to even admit it aloud to themselves and each other.

“Whats going on?”

“Whats going on, flame princess, is that doc here and the valve sucker I’ve become are too scared to admit wanting you.”

“Say what?”

Rodimus had a dumbstruck look on his face plates that made Deadlock cock an optic ridge.

“Insecurity does not fit you princess.”

“Don’t call me princess,” Rodimus frowned.

“I’m callin it like I see it princess,” Deadlocks smirk was cut throat but Ratchet wasn’t letting him keep it for long.

“Oh really? So, since you’re callin it like ya see it, why not tell Rodimus here how much you really want him. If I’m remembering correctly we never said it but we sure did let our em fields.”

Deadlock grimaced at that and Rodimus was holding onto Deadlock like a lifeline until Ratchet came up to him and traced his cheek plating with a digit.

“We..we like ya kid, a lot, actually. We have for, we have for a long long time now.”

Ratchets optics were the softest he’d ever seen them.

He’s only ever looked at Drift with those optics but now, now he looked at Rodimus with those same optics and Rodimus couldn’t help but look back. Tears on the verge of dropping and spark on the brink of halting from shock.

“Before the war ended, when you came to check on us during our days on Cybertron and when we joined the Lost light. We’ve..we’ve loved you for a long time…”

“Even..even after..”

“Through everything,” Ratchet rested him helm agsinst Rodimus’s, leaving room for one more, “through everything,” he laid bare.

Claws retracted from his hips but the servos did not.

“We’re doing this now Ratty?”

“Drift!”

Rodimus hugged the both of them tightly making them smile.

He shifted to look at the both of them when Drift held his cheek in the palm of his servo, gazing into him trying to find his aura.

Rodimus let him have it.

And what he saw left Drift in tears.

“I didn’t think I could have you,” Rodimus mumbled, “so I was happy to have this. For as long as I could. Just being with you, that would be enough for me. But you…you both really?”

“I wish I’d been completely myself when we said it. But yeah Roddy. We love you. All of you.”

Resting their helms together didn’t feel hard.

It felt normal.

Like a thousand lifetimes had gone by with this exact moment happening on repeat. It warmed something within Rodimus spark and he slipped into them.

Em fields becoming one, all three stood in each others arms.

Drift couldn’t help but thank the other half of himself.

He doesn’t think they’d be here without him.

-

Idk how this turned out but I tried.

[blarefordaglare]

a fic where nobody dies :000

@kikker-oma embrace the deviousness

Let. Them. Eat. Dirt.

In which wild loses his inventory and takes revenge.

Wild is a petty man, but then again he had a right to do this, as the captain should have been proud of him for burning down the forest. Controlled fires are a thing, you know? 

But seems the old main didn’t like it, and managed to rope in all the boring ones into the plan. 

“Legend, have you seen my fire rod?”

Silence. 

“Legend?”

“I think it will do well in my inventory where it’s organized.”

“Come on! Don’t make me get… someone to kill you again!”

…

“fAthEr tImE, where are my bomb arrows?”

“Twi, where did you put my flame blade?”

“Captain, where is my barbarian armor?” 

The answer was always the same.

They took his most prized possessions, only one thing could be done. Justice must be served. Revenge, even, as it is a dish. Best. Served cold by Hyrule.

“Rulie, come heather.” The champion called out, “You shall cook with me today.” 

“See! I knew my cooking wasn’t that bad!” The traveler smiled, perfect. He doesn’t know the suffering he will help me inflict on the evil people who think they can take away my stuff. 

“Just throw in about two jars of Goron Spice and these vegetables I cut. Plus a cup of…” Wild took a jar of mud, “Special water.” 

“Are you sure? Those two peppers look very small.”

“We’re making soup.” 

“Oh alright then!” Hyrule immediately through the ingredients into the pot, and started cooking until the peppers were nice and charred and the “soup” had a faint ominous red glow.

“Perfect, thanks.” Wild smirked, “GUYS, DINNER!” 

…

“This is too spicy!” Legend complained, “Can you make something else?”

Wild took his ladle, scooped it in dirt, and placed it in a bowl. “Here.” 

“Why is there mud in this? Champ, this doesn’t seem right.” Time muttered under his breath, “We still have those oats right? I’ll have that.”

Wild took the box of oats, and added some pebbles for added “crunch”. “Here.” 

“It is lacking vegetables. Wild, can you please add some more?” Oh, how sweet Sky was. He will get the good soup. 

“Here you go Sky, I saved some soup in my slate when we visited Skyloft.” 

“I don’t understand why you guys have so many complaints, soup tastes fine to me.” Hyrule rolled his eyes.

“Does this man HAVE tastebuds?”

“Probably not.”

“Coronavirus?” Four smirked.

“That’s it. Seems like none of you guys like me and ‘Rule’s hard work cooking.” Wild snatched the bowls, “Dinner is on the floor today.”

“But we’re starving for real food!” Wind cried.

“Let. Them. Eat. Dirt.” 

[zeestarfishalien]

My Graveyard Song Ch. 14

(Totally got distracted and forgot to post this to tumblr. It's been up on ao3 for a few days now)

[Masterpost]

Jason looked at the two empty bowls and one empty plate of food Danny had polished off and promptly decides to take him to Rosa Lee’s Diner. They always serve extra large portions of food that stands up to even Alfred’s high standards.

As he urges Spooky into one of the jackets left by his siblings, he shoots a text off to Cass.

[BCC plz 4 Spooky u wel 2 IOU 1 🏠🍝 ur chc]

By the time Cass gets there, Danny is starting on his third plate. Mind you, she got here in under half an hour and Danny is not in fact a speedster, but at the rate Danny is going, Bruce is certainly going to think someone fed a speedster.

Jason is really not sure where all this food is going. By all rights, his spooky friend should be on the verge of exploding from eating more than his body weight in food.

Even the waitstaff are watching this little meta-looking kid down pounds and pounds of food.

Cass passes Jason an unmarked black credit card and sits next to him in order to better watch Danny scarf down his waffles.

Five minutes later when their waiter swings by, Jason orders a platter of beignets and Danny orders Rosa Lee’s own personal special, a breakfast that comes with four slices of ham, a mountain of cheesy scrambled eggs, two pancakes, four breakfast sausage links, two biscuits, and an apple turnover.

At this point, the waiter doesn’t even blink, just asks if he’d like anything to add or substitute.

He asks for 3 extra pancakes.

By the time he's halfway through his stack of pancakes -the last thing left of his Rosa Lee Special- it dawns on Jason, that maybe Danny shouldn't be eating this much when he hasn't eaten regular human food in a long time.

But then again, what does he know? The world is a great big mysterious place and you cannot treat every humanoid looking being by the limitations of humans.

Danny is watching him now, an openly curious look on his face. There's a question in the air between them, even Cass picks up on it.

Carefully slow, Danny sets down his fork and finishes chewing the bite in his mouth.

"You're worried," he croaks, tapping his index finger on the table to emphasize his words.

He pauses, distracted, and looks down at his hand, repeating the motion of tapping his finger on the table while studying it closely. Jason almost breaks into laughter when Danny’s head tilts in an oddly animal like fashion.

If he needed any other proof that Spooky the dog is Danny the spirit sitting before him, this would do it.

His glowing eyes flick back up to Jason.

"Amused," he rasps out barely above a whisper. There's still that unspoken question in the air.

It finally clicks. The emotions Danny is naming are Jason’s. The question he wants to know is 'why'.

"I wasn't sure if you could get sick from overeating. Humans need to ease back into eating normal amounts but you're not human so I don't know what standard to hold you to."

Danny nods absently, his finger tap tap tapping away on the table.

"Hard to say," he says finally. His voice still sounds like gravel, not unlike Cass' own voice.

"Ecto fills in gaps. A temporary fix. Rebuilding with the right stuff now." He gestures vaguely to the empty plates stacked on their table. "Ecto is fast. I'm probably fine."

"Sorry," Jason half mumbles. "I just worry."

All movement from Danny freezes, like someone pressed pause on the TV. His eyes go wide in realization and alarm.

"Jazz..."

Jason blinks and then it hits him with the speed and force of a freight train.

"Oh shit! Jazz!" He scrambles for his phone. "Do you remember anything else about her that might help?!"

~•~

Bill would like everyone to know that he works very hard to be a good hench person.

He's not dumb. Now he may not be book smart like half the big baddies in Gotham, but he's not dumb.

He would have died long ago if that were the case. He's worked for the Red Hood for a couple years now —it's one of the best decisions he's ever made; the guy knows how to treat his hench people. What more can Bill say?— and he's avoided asking questions just like with all his hench jobs before this.

But he'd really like to ask one now that he's stuck watching years worth of security footage...

What even constitutes suspicious activity in a cemetery?

Now most people would automatically say, graverobbing, but Big Red is a Gotham native. In Gotham, no one is buried with their valuables, not unless your grave is in a super secret spot. Gothamites can smell money and anytime there's a possibility of it, people will dig up the grave in question.

Hell, the cops don't even stop for it anymore, they just keep on rollin' even if it's happening right before their eyes.

Point is, graverobbing can't be the suspicious behavior he's supposed to look for, but Bill really isn't sure what exactly does quantify as suspicious behavior to Big Red.

Everything here has been run of the mill, graverobbing, teen/young adult vandalism, or drug deals.

Yes, he considers goth teens/young adults having sex in a cemetery as vandalism too. Vandalism on his eyes, if nothing else.

He hits pause on a big white van and rubs his eyes tiredly. Perhaps it's time to call it a night. He's losing focus, getting caught up in his own thoughts.

His hand hovers over the mouse about to drag it over to close out of the program when his brain catches up to what his eyes are seeing.

The van, big, white, armored...

Now that IS unusual. Black or gray vans are the favored colors in Gotham and anyone, who knows anything about Gotham, knows that you NEVER armor up a suspicious color and type of vehicle. Not if you don't want the cops and vigilantes breaking down your door.

He can just make out two people in bright colors inside the van. They're grainy but not grainy enough for Bill to doubt the color of their outfits.

It's too bright for any regular gothamite. The only people in this city who dress like that are the big shot villains and their cronies.

The two disappear into the cemetery, out of sight of the camera with tools in hand. He scans forward a few hours (less time than he expected honestly) and slows back to normal speed just in time to watch them unload what seems to be some sort of coffin, except it's metal with glowing lines and patterns on it.

He pauses the video again and with elbows resting upon the desk he presses clasped hands against his mouth to muffle his sigh.

Well, if that doesn't constitute suspicious activity then Bill will hand in a letter of resignation and go flip burgers.

Well...time to let the boss know.

Yall thought I made up the part where Bill the Henchman comes in, but I definitely, absolutely had this planned from the beginning. [Lying]

Okay, gonna be honest, I may have had a plan for Bill, but it either was lost in the shuffle or there never actually was a plan for scenes with Bill. Considering I can only sometimes keep my dream memories from mixing with my awake memories, any hope of recovering any potential memories is nigh on impossible.

HOWEVER

I can always make new plans. AND I HAVE! So yes, we have Bill now and I'm going to pretend like this was planned all along.

Oh yeah! So Jason’s text at the beginning says: Black credit card please, for Spooky. You are welcome too. I owe you one homemade meal, your choice.

Also can you imagine being a vigilante? Bc you have at least 10 very important things you have to juggle on just an average Tuesday. This is not including sudden family disasters like a family member getting trapped in a burning building and having to go save them, plus more wild revelations about your funky supernatural roomie. So like, cut a guy some slack, I know I'd be floundering some days. Attempting to prioritize must really be a bitch some days. Just...oof...

[loz-furbies]

Breath of the Wild / Age of Calamity / Tears of the Kingdom Zelda, part 1/2

The final Zelda (so far) of this character review series is the most developed of them all, and probably has more character content to her in just one game than any of the others, and she has three to boot! With full voice acting (I'm JP voice only), a huge and personal role in the story, diary entries, notable relationships to multiple characters and being discussed by many NPCs there is a lot to talk about, but I'm mostly going off of memory and rewatching the cutscenes since it would be too much work to research every mention of her in all three games.

Design

(Ancient dress Zelda model from here)

Not going to copypaste my thoughts on her BotW look since this is long enough already.

It is a pity that Zelda didn't get a full redesign for TotK, but I'll take what I can get. The bob is really cute! And unusual among the Zeldas too, and I guess a nice way to represent that she has moved to the commoner lifestyle.

As for the ancient dress, it looks perfectly fine on its own, but since I value it when the designs have their own unique identity, I wish it wasn't so similar to her white dress from BotW. Maybe there is some connection, like Sonia used to be a priest so maybe the dress design survived through millennia as a prayer dress or whatever, but since that's not actually in the game, I'm not giving credit for that.

The bulkier and sort of unrefined jewelry does a good job making the outfit look ancient, but it's still fancy enough that I can believe it to belong to the royal family. That decorative accessory on the front of the dress is really cool looking and a nice and consistent detail among all the ancient clothes, but man is it a pain to draw. Finally I really like the big earrings and the tear makeup is a great little detail.

When I first saw the Light dragon in the final Zelda memory I thought it looked kind of doofy, with its bright colours, clumpy eyelashes, bulging eyes and borzoi nose, but it has since grown on me. I once read that some Pokemon designer said in an interview or such that if a Pokemon design looks too cool, they add something uncool to it to make it more memorable, and I think it's a pretty good design philosophy. There have been several LoZ designs that have shocked me at first, but eventually I get used to them and they will look just right. They could have given the dragons a more cool or elegant look, but that would have also risked making them more generic. Also the eyes give a good impression about Zelda's state that nobody is home there.

Character

This iteration of Zelda is easily the most fleshed out of them all, since we get to see so much of her relationships, character development, emotional reactions to plot events, and also stuff she does outside the immediate plot.

BotW Zelda's dread over the impending doom and the self esteem issues that rise from it are a large part of the story. There are other Zeldas who also worry about the Plot, but in BotW Zelda's case it's incredibly personal since her failure to do her crucial job in preventing the disaster is at the core of the story. According to Rhoam's diary, she had already internalised her duty at the age of six (and this caused her to not show any weakness even at her mother's funeral), and from there she spent her life trying and failing to awaken her powers. This lifelong crushing sense of responsibility and guilt and the failure to live up to her demanding father's expectations give BotW Zelda a very melancholic vibe that constantly pops up through the game. Though I must say that in the memory where the champions perform their little ceremony and Zelda gives a long speech to Link, her voice acting gets really awkward when it sounds like she's about to start crying with every word.

Once she finds her inner strength, Zelda gets her badass moments as well. I especially like the grand finale of BotW where she, glowing with power, calmly stands before Calamity Ganon's pig form and doesn't even flinch when he charges at her. And in the TotK flashback cutscenes she can apparently be taken to a battle against Ganondorf as a part of Rauru's sage posse.

I called out Skyward Sword Zelda for being a bit too much of an ideal girlfriend, so I'm really glad that the memory where BotW Zelda lashes out at Link exists. It works to prevent her from being just a pure maiden who is victimised by unfair outside circumstances. Or I mean that does happen to her, but letting her display some negative traits (like frustration and jealousy) that she's personally responsible for as well makes her feel more like an actual person and not just a perfect victim.

Even if BotW Zelda's heavy burden is a huge part of her character, luckily that's not all there is to her. And not just because being multifaceted of course makes her more interesting, but also I find it a lot more realistic that not every moment of her life had been constant suffering.

One of her most charming and notable traits is her nerdy scientist side. It certainly sets her apart from the other Zeldas, and also gives her something else to do than just worry about the plot and be a princess. The memory where she geeks over a frog and goes on such a ramble over its scientific properties that she forgets basic social norms is such a great piece of characterisation, and it's cute how her enthusiasm returns in TotK where she's excited over Zonai discoveries, and is also into Mineru's constructs. According to AoC, studying was also apparently something she did with her late mother as a child.

Her research notes also detail how together with Purah and Robbie they discovered various things about the ancient Sheikah tech, but I do think it's a little disappointing how we don't get much anything concrete about Zelda's contributions specifically. There's a lot about her being interested in the Sheikah technology and how she apparently was a part of research group, but all actual discoveries are attributed to different characters or left vague, so as a result she comes across more like an enthusiastic hobbyist who in the end doesn't actually get anywhere. I would have liked it if for example Purah's diary had a line of how Zelda's efforts helped them understand the Guardians better or something like that, but now you have to imagine her contributions yourself. The closest we get is how in AoC she gives one Sheikah artefact to Rhoam, which ends up saving his life, but it's not quite what I'm looking for since Zelda didn't know what the item would do, so it feels more like luck. But even if the execution didn't quite land, I'm glad that AoC took the time to give some kind of resolution to the Rhoam-forbids-Zelda-from-Studying aspect and has to admit that he was wrong. And regardless the Sheikah tech works well to give Zelda her unique identity, and it's also nice how two of her weapons in AoC are based on it.

BotW Zelda also has a playful side, like for example she runs up to play with a dog she just saw, or jokes with Urbosa about how they both had to act all formal in front of an audience despite being long time friends. She is also a very proactive character; thanks to the "find the memories" gameplay, we see her travel all across Hyrule instead of just sitting at her castle, she's the one to handle all business with the Divine Beast pilots (and since they're all high ranking individuals among their people, this makes Zelda pretty politically active as well), and BotW ends with her wanting to work on rebuilding Hyrule.

Zelda being active continues in TotK, where there's a lot of little snippets how she has founded a school, installed memorial monuments, managed survey teams, worked on gardens, and so on. And of course she also immediately volunteered for investigating the Gloom situation at the start of TotK as well, and from the stone tablets we can read how she also got into fiddling with Constructs and fashion in the ancient Hyrule. Obviously it would have been nice to actually see all of this instead of just reading or hearing it second hand, but I understand that not everything can get a fancy cutscene, so it's at least nice that this was included in the game at least in some fashion.

I touched on it in the part about her nerdy side, but let's also bring specific attention to the fact that BotW Zelda also has a delightfully weird and chaotic side to her. She tries to feed a frog to Link, and the TotK stone tablets tell about how she would ride Mineru's construct despite the protests of the chamberlain. And while the recipe she cooks in AoC is a legit BotW recipe, the way the scene is depicted clearly makes her come across as eccentric in her cooking.

AoC also casts her in a leadership role once her powers finally awaken and she becomes more confident. Honestly I prefer the insecure nerd Zelda over the charismatic leader because I don't think she quite has enough credibility to pull off rousing speeches to masses at this point of the story, but I guess it does make sense for the kind of story they're telling

Her powers are pretty inconsistent between games, BotW is obviously all about awakening her sacred sealing power, and the game ends with her saying that she used all that up. And then TotK reveals she had two different powers all along; Sonia's time power comes out of nowhere and Rauru's light power overlaps with her BotW ability a lot. But I can live with a discrepancy like this since I like the story of TotK.

Since I brought up how it's nice that Skyward Sword is implied to have a knitting hobby, I suppose it should be mentioned that BotW Zelda made the Champion's blue clothes and accessories. Though here it feels a lot less important and even a bit tacked on, since BotW Zelda already has so much going on that is more important and meaningful to her character. But I guess crafting clothes is princessy enough of a subject that Rhoam approves of spending time on it instead of prayer practice and even brags about it. A different little detail that I like more than this clothing thing is that we get to learn Zelda's favourite food (fruitcake).

In Japanese Zelda uses polite language, but no honorifics. I'm no Japanese expert, but to me this comes across as keeping a polite distance from everyone, while also implying status ("I'm a princess so I don't need to use a honorific for you"). Also in the beginning of AoC, Link (who at this point is just a random knight to Zelda) kneels in front of her and she doesn't even acknowledge him, so it appears she's pretty used to her standing. The stone tablets in TotK also describe her having an undeniable air of nobility.

[theseeingfawn]

Summary:

Azriel and Elain confront the implications of their choice and set boundaries.

Chapter 5 | Read on AO3

Azriel

“How’s Mayberry?” asks Devlon as I walk, fully clothed down Main Street. He’s not thrilled that I’ve chosen to settle in Hewn Hills temporarily. I can’t tell if he is genuinely concerned for the town folk or if he just likes to nettle me. To be perfectly honest, the town, while charming, is not ideal for the lifestyle I typically lead. There are no nightclubs, shooting ranges, twenty-four hour gyms or quick access to an airport. There’s not much for me to do. “Things are fine. Maybe a tad boring.” 

I officially moved into the townhouse and for obvious reasons, I don’t want my mail delivered to Rhys and Feyre’s home. The last thing I need is Feyre snooping through my stuff. Which brings me to why I am currently walking down the street at 10 am on a Sunday subjecting myself to the staring of suspicious townies. A PO box is the safest way to make sure my private matters stay private. 

I wave at a gawking lady as she walks into a diner. She blushes and quickly waves back. “Maybe you can pick up a new hobby, you’ve been working non-stop since we met. I don’t want you to start getting sloppy.” I growl into my phone. “I don’t need a hobby.” I hear Devlon chuckle before he adds, “a girlfriend then, you need to blow off some steam.”

“That’s not…” as if on cue I see Elain across the street. She’s walking down the sidewalk beaming and waving at every person passing her. They all seem equally as thrilled to see her and I practically hear them cooing over her from where I’m standing. She’s wearing a pair of cut off denim shorts that show off her lean legs and a pink tank top. Her wavy hair is unbound and blowing in the wind. It’s like she’s moving in slow motion but she’s not, I’m just going insane apparently. Her expression is one of utter happiness. Her skin is glowing, no doubt from hours spent outside toiling in her garden. She’s so deliciously sweet. It’s exactly the distraction I need from my boredom. 

She stops outside the hardware store and chats with an older man. He says something that makes her laugh. The sight of her smile is enough to make my heart clench. “Hello! Rosehall!? Are you still there?” Devlon practically shouts at me. “Sorry, I lost service for a second, you know how these small towns are.” I clear my throat since I can’t seem to clear my head. “Listen, I called because there was a report of suspicious activity at Amarantha’s last night. I'm going to need you to go into the bar and make yourself acquainted… if you know what I mean.” I watch as Elain heads into the market. “Look Devlon, I have to go, just email the details and I’ll take care of it.” I hang up before he can reply. 

Elain

I reach for a box of cocoa pebbles when I hear a soft masculine voice behind me say “Hello.” I nearly jump out of my skin at the man’s sudden appearance until I see a scarred hand pull a box of the protein cereal into his waiting basket. 

“What are you doing here?” I ask suspiciously mainly because I wasn’t expecting him and I am slightly mortified that I basically begged him to date me last night. It may also have something to do with the fact that I typically need ten good minutes to mentally prepare for interacting with him. You know, to keep my wayward mind from descending into the gutter and what not. 

“I believe it’s called shopping.” I frown down at his poor choice in cereal. Choosing to ignore the dry humor in his voice. How can he eat that cereal? Oh my gods, I bet he eats boiled chicken and rice for dinner. That simply won’t do. I pull his cereal out and replace it with cocoa pebbles. The man deserves to live a little after all. 

“Shouldn't you be out scaring the town folk?” Unimpressed, he grabs the box protein cereal and places it in my basket, “You need strength Elain Archeron if you’re going to be my girlfriend.” I gasp a little. Of course he wouldn’t let me forget. “You came all this way to make sure I eat enough protein?” 

“All the way from the townhouse? Yes.”I notice a hint of a smail at the corner of his deliciously full lips. I realize I’ve got no defense against this man. I may need my strength after all. 

I turn toward him, allowing myself to take a moment and appreciate him. How can someone so large and intimidating have the most beautiful face? His hazel eyes sparkling with mischief. His clothes, well he is sort of dressed for combat which is amusing and sexy at the same time. I see the edges of black ink peeking out from beneath his collar and I have the sudden urge to trace it with my tongue. He is mine now, surely I can lick him. Get a grip Elain, what kind of deranged thought was that? Pauline is literally twenty feet away. 

The reminder we are in public and the fact that he called me his girlfriend has me turning in the other direction. The last thing I need is to do something regrettable like climb him on aisle four.

He follows quickly, “Are you on a lunch break?” 

“No, I have the day off. I actually plan to visit Nesta. I usually pop into the store and get her a few things. She’s too proud to admit she needs help so I pretend that I bought too much food for myself.”

Oh gods, why did I tell him that? Nesta would kill me if she knew I was talking about her behind her back. Feyre would probably be disappointed I was still offering her help. The last thing I need is to start another round of fighting between my sisters. I feel a headache forming just thinking about it. I pinch my forehead, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have told you that. Feyre might kill her if she knew I was helping out.” Azriel gives me a sympathetic look before asking, “How is Nesta?”

“You saw her yesterday, she is… the same.” He nods, “But you know her best, how is she really ?” I let out a long exhale. Nesta hasn’t been the same since our father died, perhaps even before that. Our father was once a successful business man but got caught up in some gambling scheme involving the mob. He had to declare bankruptcy after they took every dime we had. And if that wasn’t enough they busted his knee caps as a reminder not to wrong the boss again. He had been lucky really, they could have done so much worse. 

After that, I became a full time caregiver. Feyre was forced to drop out of high school to help make ends meet. Nesta hated father for our downfall and refused to help, Feyre thinks it was out of spite but deep down it was more than just that, Nesta was broken-hearted. When he was killed two years ago, Nesta shut down entirely. She began drinking and doing the gods knew what with any man she could find. I stop in front of the toothpaste section and take a steadying breath. 

“She won’t face what’s happened. I’ve tried to get her to go to therapy but she shoots the idea down every time. Most people think she’s cold and harsh but deep down Nesta loves more fiercely and deeply than anyone I know. She just doesn’t know how to forgive herself. I used to be able to get through to her but lately, she won’t even let me in.”

Azriel places a hand on my shoulder, “That sounds really tough,” his voice gentle and kind. He leans closer to me, like he wants to comfort me more but isn’t sure how. I look up at him and the tenderness in his eyes does nothing to help the tears that begin to well in mine. I turn away before they can spill. I grab a tube of toothpaste and throw it in my basket, “It’ll be alright. She just needs time, I have to believe that she’ll find her happy ending.” I say willing myself to smile. Being upset doesn’t help her. It doesn’t bring our father back. It doesn’t undo the years of poverty or fix our strained relationship. It’s better to cling to hope no matter how fleeting it may be instead of giving in to despair. 

Azriel grabs a tube of denture paste and throws it into my basket. My somber mood instantly lifted as my tears give way to a small smile. I reach for the tube and place it into his, “silly you, you missed your basket.” He begins to object before I quickly add, “forgetfulness is common with old age.” I walk to the next aisle as he stands there stunned. Unfortunately for me Pauline is there stocking the shelf just around the corner and I freeze when I see her. Azriel nearly bumps into me but catches himself quickly. 

He smiles at Pauline, “Hi there, do you know where Elain can find the intimate care section?” I choke on a breath as I look back at him and glare. How he is able to look impassive at all times astounds me. Pauline glowers at him but gestures for us to follow. All the while my cheeks are burning hot with embarrassment. Pauline vaguely gestures to the aisle on the left and goes back to her work, not before she gives Azriel a look that would melt bark off a tree. “She likes me,” he says confidently. I laugh and steer us down the aisle, fully aware that Pauline is likely mentally sharpening her pitchfork. “You know, you're not doing yourself any favors by taunting Pauline.” 

We pass the intimate care section and I toss a package of heavy duty overnight pads into his basket. I try not to snicker at the look on his face. With a self satisfied smile I round the corner and Azriel meets me half way down the aisle, no pads to be seen in his basket. How the hell did he do that? 

I face the impressive display of baked goods and he stands shoulder to shoulder with me. I know I shouldn’t be buying baked goods from here because I own my own bakery but I can’t resist the smells. I cut my eyes to him and fight a smile as I see he is doing the same. And then he turns toward me, “you know I’ve been thinking about last night.”

Shock whips through me as I drop a package of eclairs. Using my bewilderment to his advantage, Azriel slyly slips a bottle of stool softener into my basket and strolls away. 

Horror, curiosity and unease all tangle inside of me. I spent most of the morning pretending last night didn’t happen. I don’t want to know what he’s been thinking about.

Well that’s not true. A part of me wants nothing more than to know what he’s thinking. Sure it wasn’t exactly comforting to know I got drunk and begged him to be my boyfriend. But there was  that moment where he brushed my fingers with his. Then there was the way he held me in his arms and comforted me. The way he nearly fell over himself when I touched his chest. 

I can’t help it, I have to know so I chase after him, “What have you been thinking?” My heart is racing, my palms are sweaty and I’m pretty sure Pauline is watching us through the security cameras.

“I've been thinking about how you asked me to be your boyfriend ,” I can see the arrogant smirk starting to form on his face. He is enjoying this, taunting me. “I’ve been thinking about how we should sit down and discuss what we want out of this… arrangement.” I bite the inside of my cheek so I don’t smile. I love the sound of we .

I suddenly feel the prying eyes of the other shoppers. He didn’t yell it out or anything but I don’t trust these people to not eavesdrop on us. The last thing I need is the town crier sharing that Azriel and I are dating. Are we dating?  I lean in closer, “As I recall you told me you would be my boyfriend after I found an alternative.” Azriel steps into my space to avoid a passerby, his hard chest now pressing into my side. “As I recall you begged me to date you. I believe the word please was involved.” His eyes lock onto my lips as he adds seductively “I do love it when you beg.”

Mother save me. I avoid making eye contact because if I look into those eyes I would surely melt into a puddle on the floor. How dare he talk to me that way! Like… like… I’ve always wanted him to. 

His hand sweeps under my chin. Oh right, he’s still here. My attempt to imagine him away didn’t work. Our eyes meet and the air whooshes out of my lungs. The thread that ties me to him pulls me closer until our baskets are tangled together. He leans down and whispers, “You liked it too, didn’t you?” My heart thumps in my chest at the wild glint in his eyes. “Like what?” I ask innocently. He tuts before leaning down to whisper in my ear, “begging for me.” My whole body responds to him. Goosebumps break out all over my skin. My heart is pounding. My panties are quite literally soaked. 

“How would you know that?” No one in the world would suspect me of liking such a thing. No one would even dare say such filthy things to me. Now I feel like Azriel has unlocked a deep dark secret about me. A quiver of need rumbles through me at the thought. 

His eyes return to mine, his rough fingers holding me captive. “Because contrary to what everyone else seems to think about you, I can see that wicked spark behind those innocent doe eyes, Elain. I know there’s a secret side to you”  His eyes drop back to my lips, and I’m ready to beg him again. Desire pulses through the air around us - thick and heady- making it impossible to think clearly. 

“But it’s our secret, isn't it Azriel?’ He practically purrs as I say his name. “This thing between us, we can’t let them know.” His body stiffens next to mine, “Why can’t they know?” He doesn’t have to ask who they are, he already knows. 

“They just… they can’t.” I take a step away. “If they find out they will be full of opinions. They’ll make suggestions or worse try to intervene and I don’t want that. Do you want that?” He shakes his head no. I feel his hand rub my arm comfortingly. I can hear Feyre now, asking me a million questions or telling Lucien in the hopes that he can somehow stop it. I can see the town passing around a petition banning Azriel from dating me. I hear Nesta’s mocking me for not being enough. I’ll end up caving and doing what they want to avoid hurting their feelings or creating problems. I look up and nearly flinch at the intensity of Azriel’s gaze. “I just want something for myself - is that so bad?” 

“I don’t think it’s wrong Elain but I’m not necessarily the best judge on what’s good. I lead a pretty selfish life… Besides isn’t the whole point of this,” he waves a hand between us, “to be bad.” He gives me a devil may care smile that would make James Deen look like a kitten. 

I swallow, “I don’t think you're selfish Azriel.” His eyes soften a little. “Elain I don’t want you to get the wrong ideas about me. I’m not a good guy.” I want to protest. How can he say that about himself? He’s going to date me out of… out of… oh gods, is it pity? I force the thought away. I opt to just quietly nod instead. 

He steps away but I don’t miss the moment his thumb glides over my hand before he releases it. “I’ll sneak into your place tonight around eight? We can talk about how this will work between us.” I barely notice as he slides something into my basket. I’m too panicked thinking about Azriel in my place. “Wait, why do you need to sneak in?”

He shrugs one shoulder before saying, “When you’re being bad you need to be sneaky. Besides, the people in this town have eyes everywhere. We will have to be careful.” He sits his basket down and doesn’t glance back as he heads toward the door. I look down and his basket is empty. Did he come in here just to talk to me?

At the checkout counter, I set my basket down and start to pull items out for Pauline to scan. And it’s too late when I realize I’m holding a box of magnum xl condoms. Oh gods, that’s what he slipped into my basket. I look up to see Pauline’s scowling face. I blurt out, “You know how Nesta is.” Pauline narrows her eyes at me like she doesn’t know whether she believes me or not but she isn’t pleased either way. Great, a new topic of conversation for the knitting circle. 

“You stay away from that man, Elain. He’s a ruffian and not the kind of man you need in your life.”

I turn toward the window and catch a glimpse of Azriel smiling as he walks away. Clearly he is pleased with himself, the sneaky devil. 

I realize then that there is truth in what Pauline said. He isn’t good for me. Too bad he’s exactly the man I want.  

Azriel

I hear a shriek and the sound of a panicking Elain tripping over something. I pull myself through her window and watch amused as she crawls over a fallen kitchen chair. “My goodness Azriel, you scared me!” I give her a flat look, “I told you I was sneaking in.” She stands and blows a fallen curl off her face. “Remind me why I agreed to that?” I walk closer and lift the chair off the floor, “because we’re being sneaky. Are you alright?'' I sit the chair down and give her a once over to make sure she isn’t injured. I try and fail to stop my eyes from lingering on all the places they shouldn’t. She gives me a sidelong glance and the corner of her lips teases a smile. “Yes, I’m quite alright.” I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. If she were to get injured because of me I would never forgive myself. 

She gestures for me to take a seat at her small kitchen table. I sit down slightly charmed by what I see. There is a cute floral teapot, little cakes, tea sandwiches, pastries and my favorite cookies. I didn't think she remembered . As I sit down, she starts to serve me. It feels nice to be tended to. Like there is someone who wants to care for me. The whole situation feels like a picture perfect domestic scene. I imagine myself becoming used to this kind of care and attention. I chide myself for such wistful thoughts. She pours me a cup of tea, remembering that I prefer one sugar and no cream.

I take a moment to look over her place as she fusses over me. It's a charming little second floor apartment with a large arched window overlooking the street. There is a wide variety of potted plants lining the window’s bench seat. A small kitchenette is tucked along the back wall with open shelves filled with delicate cups and plates. She has a small seating area with a white slipcovered couch and a well loved wooden coffee table. There are a few bookshelves lining the wall with a scattering of nicknacks. A TV sits on a low lying console table with more plants surrounding it. Off to the side I see a small bathroom with a pedestal sink. In the very back is her bedroom. It’s dark without a light on but I can make out a lush bed. I turn back to my tea before I think too long about her in that bed. 

I take a long sip and revel in the comfortable silence that sits between us. Most people don’t like that I prefer the quiet to strained small talk or the general bloviating others indulge in. Something about her soothes me. Her gentle manners and soft spirit lulls me into a state of calm I can so rarely achieve on my own and certainly not with others. The constant hum of dark whisperings that plague my mind are quieted by her lightness. It’s why I crave her presence more than anyone else's. Why I’m sometimes overcome by the need to seek her out even though I know I shouldn’t.

Which brings me to why I’m here. Elain literally asked me to corrupt her. It was like having my deepest darkest fantasy brought to life. I spent last night dreaming of all the ways we could be bad together. How I wanted to devour every inch of that supple body until she couldn't wash away the smell of me. I need clarity on her expectations so that I can reign mine in. 

Damn that dream.

I take a deep breath and interrupt the silence, “I think we should lay out some ground rules before we start dating.” She looks at me a little hesitant and then nods again. She is being shy which is adorable. I wonder what happened to the confident Elain who practically shoved me against the wall. I look her over as if to search out the answer. She’s changed out of her jean shorts and tank top. Now she’s wearing a lilac sundress, the style she typically favors. The ones that make me drool like a love sick puppy. Her long thick hair is braided back with a few unruly curls framing her perfect neck. She clearly put in effort toward her appearance. Did she do that for me? 

Gods she looks delicious. I just want to take a bite. 

I take a deep breath. I absolutely cannot go there. It’s one thing to date her for a few weeks. It’s another to have her completely. I clear my throat and try to remind myself of why I’m here. “You told me you want me to be your boyfriend to prove that you’re interesting. To break out of the box you're in. You also said you wanted to be… bad . I need you to elaborate on what your expectations are and how you want this to go.” She gives me a small smile, before biting her plump pink lower lip. I watch her completely enraptured, I want to pull that lip between my teeth. 

“When I'm with you I feel different.” My cold heart flutters a little, “different how?” She lets out a nervous breath, “you make me feel bold. Like I could do anything. That I can be myself” She shakes her head nervously and smiles, “you don't see me the way the others do.” I nod. I know what she means, she’s coddled and often overlooked by those with louder personalities. The town is also bizarrely interested in her personal life. She continues on, “So, when I asked you to be my boyfriend, I thought you could help me discover the parts of myself I've hidden away, either because I haven't been allowed to or I've been too scared to try.” 

I want nothing more than to draw her out of her shell. I’ve always suspected there was more to her than meets the eye. When she thinks no one is watching, Elain does the most fascinating things. She observes and understands more than people realize. She is always the first to know a secret. Well besides me . There was the time we lost Cassian after a night of drinking and Elain found him hiding in a closet quietly singing Abba to himself. All of us howled with laughter and teased him relentlessly. But to Elain it was old news, as if this was a regular occurance for her to rescue him. Cassian would have stayed mad at her if he could have managed it. But, it is impossible to be mad at Elain. She is the only one who can get Nesta to listen. She is charming and can convince anyone to do anything. It’s like magic. Just her smile could bring Rhys to heel and he is notoriously stubborn. 

“I also think I need practice dating. As much as I want to blame the worst date ever on Lucien, I'm certain I played a role as well. There is also…” She quiets and is wringing her hands in her lap. She seems sad and at a loss of words. “Also what, Elain?” I ask gently. 

“Graysen. He was so willing to end things with me. It felt like maybe the situation with Lucien was just an excuse to be rid of me.” 

“What happened with Graysen?” She sighs and nervously twists a loose lock of hair with her finger, “He was jealous of Lucien, he had just won the election. Feyre was bragging about him every chance she got. Nesta was also making snide remarks… she never liked him. Anyway, all the chatter made him suspicious that Lucien and I were having an affair. Jurian and his drunk rambling didn't help. So, when he saw Lucien walk me home from a town meeting late one night he ended it.” 

I take a calming breath, what is it with the men of this town that made them act like utter jackasses. “You think he just used that situation as an excuse?” She nods, “if he really loved me he would have at least heard me out or fought for what we had. It’s like he had one foot out the door.”

She lets out a shaky breath, “I think I need lessons in not giving a shit.” I laugh. How can she think she’s not interesting, she’s the only one who can make me laugh like this. 

She taps her pointer finger against her chin, “I think my recent date proved I'm a little rusty when it comes to dating. There were a lot of awkward silences with Lucien.” She gasps suddenly and buries her head in her hands and muffles a scream. I laugh again, “that bad, huh?” Without lifting her face she replies, “I don't think I asked him a single question. I mean I know about him and I just accepted there was nothing else to learn. Man, I am such an asshole.” I smile, “see you are already on your way to being bad.” She smiles and throws a cookie at me. I'd do anything to see that smile, “so we have lessons in not giving a shit and dating.” She nods. 

I take a minute to consider how best to phrase my next question. “And you don’t want people to know we are dating?” She thinks about it for a moment before she says, “I'm so tired of everyone in my business. People think they are entitled to every aspect of my life.” 

It would also solve a few problems for me. For starters, there is Rhys and then there is my job. It would be too risky to publicly date Elain. If word got out, it could put her in danger. I have to be careful. This isn’t just some romantic comedy plot, it’s her safety that matters most. “I agree and I think it would be safer if we keep it just between us.” She narrows her eyes, “Safer?” I nod, “my job can be dangerous and I don’t want to put you at risk.” 

Her eyes widen in shock, “Risk?” I nod again. She asks carefully, “Azriel, what is your job exactly?” The sound of my name on her lips always undoes me. Normally I’d tell her anything she wants to hear but not this. A part of me knows I can’t have it both ways. I can’t date her and keep secrets. It's not fair but I’ve never been a good guy and right now I’m too selfish. I won’t outright lie to her but I won’t put her in unnecessary danger either.

“I do bad things, Elain. Bad things done extremely well.” I watch as her cheeks turn a perfect shade of rosy pink. I think I’ve rendered her speechless. I’m going to enjoy this. I ask, “anything else?” She studies me for a second and says, “you forgot that you're not allowed to fall in love with me.” I lean back in my chair and cross my arms, “uh huh, sure. Won't be a problem.” She mimics my posture, leaning back and crossing her arms as she asks, “what about you Mr. Naked, do you have any rules or expectations?” Damn that nickname. 

I was hoping she would ask. After last night, I spent most of today thinking about all the pitfalls… If I should keep things close to the chest. How much of myself am I willing to share? Elain has a way of lowering my guard without me realizing it and worse still, I don't think she’s trying to. It's just the natural effect she had on me. My biggest fear is the same one I had with Mor, that I will develop feelings and she won't reciprocate. In the back of my mind, I know that’s not an issue with Elain. But that’s somehow even more terrifying. I’m not sure I’m prepared for that. I’ve never settled down with anyone. I’ve never had the sort of intimacy a relationship requires. I don’t know if I can give her what she needs. Elain said I wasn't allowed to fall in love with her. That is exactly what I did with Mor but I’ve learned my lesson. I won't be sticking around Hewn Hills after this mission which is my safety net. The only thing that could possibly unravel me is if I got a taste of her. She is too sweet, too big of a temptation. Since I returned, I've lost count of how many times I initiated contact with Elain. If I start, really start, I won't be able to stop. I would ruin her completely. 

I take a steadying breath before I say, “My only rule is that we keep this PG.” Her brows furrowed in confusion, “PG?” I smile at her sinless thoughts, “I mean, no fucking.” I watch as my words land, her cheeks flush and spread down to her perky little chest, disappearing behind the top of her dress. Her eyes flare as she stutters, “I didn't… I wasn't… Azriel, that's not what I…” I smile at her desperate attempt to form a sentence. “I know that's not what you intended Elain but you said I wasn't allowed to fall in love with you. My rule makes sure you won't fall in love with me.” 

Her cute little jaw drops, “Excuse me?!” I shrug, “I am aware of the effect I have on women, if we sleep together you'll become… attached.” She snorts as if the idea is ridiculous. But, I know better. We have always shared a quiet understanding. A longing perhaps, a mutual desire that is palpable anytime our eyes meet. The jolt of electricity that passes between us every time our fingers graze. The way I can't resist her like I'm a moth and she's the flame. 

I stay quiet, letting my eyes slowly roam over her body. I marvel at her flawless skin. The curve of her body, those long lean legs crossed demurely. I watch the way her chest rises and falls, in sync with my own breath. The way her throat bobs as I silently drink in the way her body reacts to mine. So responsive. I give her the full weight of my attention. Just for her, only for her . I can see little goosebumps start to rise on her arms despite the flush of her skin. I cock my head to the side as her wet little tongue licks her lips. When my eyes finally meet hers they are heavy and full of heat. I give her a knowing smirk, “do we have a deal?” All she can manage is a small nod. 

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

I leave Elains the way I came in, out the back window. I pause for a moment in her garden and catch my breath. I go over every detail of her in my mind. I feel delirious. I’ve made this rule for myself, for my own sake but I’ve never been good at following the rules. A part of me knows I made it just for the thrill of breaking it. I enjoy torturing myself like that. There would be pleasure, beauty even, in the exquisite pain of denying myself of her… for now. 

[peachycrime]

Locorro, with crumbs of SLK

@spicymiilk @be-the-glenn-to-my-maggie

I think Spiders been in love for a long time, but made a vow to himself to never say anything, he’d rather die than jeopardize everything over his ‘stupid’ feelings

Lo’ak fell in love with Spiders smile, the one he makes when he’s surrounded by the things he loves, the sweet and kind one he passes to Kiri and Tuk, the one full of pride he flashes at Neteyam and the one full of groundbreaking love he sends towards Lo’ak, the one he thinks Lo’ak hasn’t noticed

Spider fell in love with Lo’ak’s eyes, cuz man does that boy have pretty eyes. He fell in love with their sage green color, the way the glowed like jewels in the dark, the way he stares and gives his undivided attention, the way he looks at him, eyes half-lidded full of love, the kind that he ignores out of feelings of self hatred

They’re little nerds together, very protective of each other too, you think you can talk down on the other in each others presence? have you lost it?

They go hunting together, ALL the time, it’s something they’re both good at and they love to brag back to the others about their latest catch

I imagine Spider scaring the shit out of Lo’ak and Kiri with his wiggly front tooth on some random morning. All of Kiri’s Tsakarem training kicked in she was ready to extract that thing. Spider and Lo’ak starting screaming and panic while she tried to get him to sit still. Admits the chaos Lo’ak head-butted Spider dead in the mouth and the tooth fell out.

It took a full hour for Spider to convince them that it was natural and that he was completely fine

Our boys definitely have a secret spot behind a waterfall, it’s a small bioluminescent cave and they have a bunch of stuff stashed there

They don’t really talk about each others insecurities to each other, Lo’ak feels like Spider has it worse and thinks his problems aren’t important. Spider just thinks he himself is unimportant and doesn’t wanna burden Lo’ak

I think that this is something they move past as they get older, they’re both so emotionally sensitive to eachother that they kind of have to learn to communicate.

They pull pranks together, all. the. time. The only people they don’t prank are the elders(mo’at) and Neytiri. Everyone else?? free game. They usually do it to get revenge on bullies or just to poke fun at others

Lo’ak is an amazing story teller, since Spider wasn’t generally allowed to be around during family nights and other such events, he’d make sure pay special attention on story nights so he could later on, retell them to Spider on nights whn Jake and Neytiri went on dates

I just imagine a little Spider, missing one of his front teeth, looking at Lo’ak with stars in his eyes while Lo’ak tells him about his dad meeting Neytiri for the first time

One time, the kids got in trouble and Spider wasn’t allowed to the village for a week, a week where there happened to be a festival celebrating the new season and the kids felt bad because Spider couldn’t come. What do they do? They steal some food, juice and costumes and make a plan. A plan to reenact the festival but with just them (Nete, Lo’ak, Kiri, Tuk and Spider) as a surprise

So imagine the kids in their own corner of the forest, Tuk and Kiri dancing around in their best outfits and costumes on. Neteyam hitting those drums while Spider and Lo’ak just goofing around while singing their favorite clan songs in a mini choir. Core memory.

They make eachothers hair accessories. idc i don’t make the rules🤷🏿‍♀️

Kiri braids both of their hair (no dreads/locs for spider in this one)

They have a secret meeting spot behind a waterfall, they have a bunch of stuff in there actually, extra masks, hunting tools, 2 sleeping mats, a flash light and lots of paints/pigments. They’ve been painting the inside of the cave since they were 10, they add a little something each time they go. It’s a promise to eachother that even when the other is gone, one of them will have something to go back to. And when they’ve both left Eywa’eveng? Then that cave will be a way to immortalize their memories together, and their ever lasting connection.

Lo’ak told Payakan about Spider

In a fit of anger after finding out that Spider saved Quaritch, he told him that he should’ve never came back for him. That’s one of the two things Lo’ak regrets ever saying. The other one was telling Neteyam that he wasn’t his brother.

Spider was hysterical, like genuinely sobbing for Lo’ak to stop and listen to him, he needs to make sure that Lo’ak understands that it wasn’t betrayal. That he would pick them over that monster over and over again, and the he did choose them over him.

Lo’ak comes around, it doesn’t take as much as you would expect but he’s just so tired? He’s exhausted, all the running, losing Neteyam, the weight of everything is just too much. He needs his Spider by his side, but he doesn’t know what to do. So he goes to our beloved Kiri.

Kiri, that sweet sweet girl, she was the first one to know of course, after all, he’s her monkey boy. She’d already heard everything from Spider so she isn’t shocked when Lo’ak comes to her, she understands how he feels and just offers her twin the comfort he needs. She also puts things into perspective and tells her about the ‘son for a son’ moment

They reconcile, they’re weak, but the love is strong, after all, freaks stick together?

I’m all out

[crinosg]

Okay so here are some more Disney Mirrorverse characters

Anger they didn't really change at all. They just made him slightly volcanic. He also has a sword (not pictured here).

Baloo basically looks like he walked out of a weird Furry version of Mad Max.

Baymax looks weird, it looks like they tried to integrate his power armor into his design. Not really a fan.

OH HI BEAST SOMEONE HAS BEEN TAKING LEVELS IN PALADIN HUH?

I like how they didn't really change Buzz's design. They just gave him a bigger gun.

Man if looks could kill Donald would already be in prison. I do like they made the effort to distinguish him from the KH version. The energy anchor is a nice touch too.

OKAY WHY IS DORY EVEN FUCKING HERE? Spare her the horrors of war I implore you!

I like this, its similar to her normal outfit, but clearly designed for combat with more maneuverability.

THIS IS THE MONADO'S POWER! I mean, EVE already has combat abilities, does she really need the flipper swords?

Again reminds me of Elsa's design. Its the same dress as the canon version, just designed for more maneuverability. And with big stupid WOW shoulderpads too. Also I guess she's just lobbing the poison apples at people now.

Yeah, remember Frank Wolff? Dwayne the Rock Johnson's character from the hit Disney Movie Jungle Cruise? Yeah no I don't either. Look, the movie had came out, they needed to promote it. Have Dwayne The Rock Johnson with a Swamp Thing arm.

This one is alright, feels like if they were making the edgy Pre MCU Frozone movie this is what he would look like.

Alright real big fan of this one. This looks like the Genie like a thousand years post Aladdin where he's become a powerful Genie lord and rules over his own kingdom and stuff. Just love the design here.

I like this. Pretty simplistic design.

Not gonna lie I could imagine canon Hades wearing this.

I think this is largely just a recolor of his canon costume. *checks* Not even a recolor, its basically just the same outfit.

Honestly never even seen Onward so I could not comment. It looks fine though, he looks like a DnD character.

So they took Judy Hopps and gave her a Zero Suit. I can dig it.

Again, this is something I could see Maleficent wearing.

So the question is how do they change up Maui for Mirrorverse? Answer, just make his tattoos glow. Its a cool effect to be sure.

this one is pretty good. No complaints.

I HAVE SEVERAL QUESTIONS. Why is Mike in power armor? Why is here here at all?

Pretty cute design, but I get the feeling Minnie isn't fully aware she's about to be going to war.

This is a nice design, its simple, and it builds subtly off Moana's normal look.

Why are his hands glowing? What does that add?

OH GOD THEY PUT OLAF IN A LITTLE CAPE I CAN'T. Why is he even here? Olaf cannot face the horrors of war. He looks so determined too like that face says "I'm about to kick some ass today!"

Okay the jacket is a bit much, but I am kind of digging the roulette wheel shield and the dice flail.

Again have note seen Raya, but this seems alright. Probably should make time for some of these newer Disney films, especially since I want to show support during the whole DeSantis....thing.

Really like this one, especially the sewing needle weapons.

Goddamn Scar, cut back on the vaping man! What the actual fuck with this one?

Okay I'm out of space for pictures in this one so gonna continue this in a part 2.

[hufflepuff-16]

hey I was wondering if you could do a harry x fem!reader oneshot where reader is kinda insecure and she’s comparing herself to other girls and that kind of stuff and harry notices that something is wrong and he comforts her and in the end they’re super fluffy yk cuddles kisses everything. I think it’d be cute but do it only if you’re comfortable <3

Bad Comparisons and Lovely Kisses *)o)))

Harry Potter x gn! Reader (*σ´ｪ｀)σ

Summary: Reader is insecure as other girls are making fun of them, claiming they are undeserving of Harry's love. Causing the reader to compare themselves to them, luckily they have the best boyfriend in the world to dispel those worries.

A/n: I am sincerely sorry this took so long to make, but here it is, I did make the reader gn! But it truly has no effect on the plot. Hope you like it, I tried my best not to make it too typical, as I have seen this prompt before!

My Masterlist

Harry and you have gone out to lunch for a date, but you here a bunch of girls making fun of you.

"Hi Harry," you say, trying to give a convincing smile.

He sits down next to you. "Hey, what's troubling you?" he asks, smiling down at you and noticing your frown, concerned. "Everything alright?"

No, I'm fine. Promise!" You say quickly.

"...you sure?" he asks, raising an eyebrow in slight scepticism. "You don't seem very fine to me."

"Yup," you say plastering on a fake smile.

"Oh, if you say so," he says half disbelieving, but also not wanting to push you if you don't want to be pushed. "In that case, drink up!" and he pulls his flagon closer to him, sipping some butterbeer. "Cheers, darling," he says with a grin, lifting his mug towards you.

You clink your mugs together and take a large sip.

Harry had gone to the bathroom when some girls out loud were making fun of the way you looked, saying how you didn't deserve to be with someone as famous as Harry.

"So.. Harry, can I ask you something?"

Seeing that you want to ask him something, he nods, his expression softening and he reaches for your hand.

"What's up?" he asks, giving you a reassuring smile.

"What...what made you want to date me?" You asked embarrassed slightly.

"Well...I think you're wonderful," he says with a slight shyness in his voice. "You're so kind and sweet and caring, and I feel like the luckiest guy in the world when I'm with you."

"I care about you so much, and I'd do anything for you. You make me want to be a better man," he says with a grin. His gaze meets yours, and he blushes slightly before he adds in a whisper, "And you're also so incredibly good-looking."

"Am I?," you say doubtfully.

"Yes, definitely," he answers with a reassuring smile. "I know it sounds cheesy, but when you walk into a room, you light it up. You have a glow about you. That's just incredible. How anyone couldn't think that you're beautiful is beyond me."

"Ok...." You say there is a light blush on your face that Harry finds beautiful.

He chuckles and shakes his head, not believing that you need reassurance. But he gives you a big, comforting hug, wanting to make you feel better.

"...I think you're perfect in every way," he says sincerely. "And I'm so lucky that you're mine."

"You deserve someone better than me, Harry," you mutter under your breath.

"I don't think there is someone better than you," he says as calmly and seriously as you can be when tipsy on butterbeer, smiling at you and putting his flagon down. His hand strokes yours. "You're the most wonderful person in the world, and I wouldn't trade anything about you. You're perfect the way you are."

He looks a little worried; he doesn't like seeing you this way. It is so unlike you. "Listen..." he starts, "do you want to talk about it? Whatever got you this down today."

"Ok...can we go back to our dorm," you say, not meeting his gaze.

"Of course," he says, looking a little relieved and getting up to help you out of your chair. "Come on," he says softly, "my room or yours? Or we can go to the common room? Whatever you'd like, whatever makes you feel best."

"Yours please," you say quietly.

He takes your hand and leads the way to his dorms, walking slowly and letting you hold his hand. Once there, he leads you in, making space on his bed and pulling you in beside him, wrapping his arms around you, protecting you. "Here we are," he says in a soft voice, his hand moving through your hair, his thumb caressing your cheek. "Are you alright? Are you feeling any better?"

"Not... really," you reply quietly.

He kisses your forehead and gives you a reassuring squeeze.

"Is there anything I can do to help you? You don't need to keep it all in, you know." He lifts your chin gently with his fingers, so that you are looking him in the eye. "I can listen, I can hold you, I care."

His gaze is deep and caring. He's got nothing but you on his mind. "Just let me know how I can help you...please."

Harry was the best boyfriend a person could ever ask for, you sigh and told him your troubles.

"There was these girls making fun of me when you went to the bathroom, saying how I didn't deserve you, and.... I think their right!" tears begin to form in your eyes,

"compared to them, I'm terrible!" You say letting out a sob.

Anger flushes through Harry. His face darkens slightly, and he looks furious. But he knows it's not his job to punish these girls, but to be there for you. He caresses your cheeks and pulls you into a tight hug.

"Shhh...shhhh...it's okay," he says softly. He looks at you, trying to fight back his emotion. No tears are allowed! So he just hugs you harder and whispers, "they are wrong." But he can't help his heart racing, still angry at the girls for causing you pain.

"Sorry Harry, I don't want to get you angry, I just have always been like this, comparing myself to others," you reply affectionately, wiping the tears on your face.

He whispers back, "Don't compare yourself to anyone but yourself." He pulls you in even tighter, your bodies pressed closely together in a hug. "To me, you're everything I want and need. I'm so damn lucky to be your boyfriend."

"Do you know what, sweetheart? I bet that if I tell you how much I like you - all of you - I could name a hundred things at least. But if you'd prefer to believe in what some stupid girls say...well, that's your choice." He smiles but still angry on the inside.

You give him a smile and press your lips against his.

A small, sneaky smile escapes, and he pulls you even closer, their lips meeting. Your eyes meet, and his eyes are clear and bright with desire, as he pulls you down on top of him.

"Better?" He breathes, smiling down at you, his lips brushing yours.

You giggle. "Better!"

"Good." He leans in and kisses you again, more passionately this time, his mouth pressing against yours. His hands explore the curves of your back.

"I love you so much," he whispers. His fingers gently brush against your soft cheek and he smiles, knowing you belong to him.

The End

[glitchinginthegarden]

NOVICE VP TIPS FROM A NOVICE VP-ER

So, I had a couple people mention wanting to know about my set up for that one netrunner Vaye shot, and I figured why not just throw some stuff together for that?

I'm still learning a toooooon about shooting VP. There's so much I still don't know, and I'm definitely still a novice here. This is just stuff that's worked for me so far but if it could help someone else getting started in VP, then I want to share.

Putting it all below a cut because this is kinda long and I included screenies, as well as a list of links to mods and stuff I use.

📸I should preface that framing and composition are the best tools for taking VP, just like real world photography. Looking at movies, fashion shoots, etc for inspo/pointers is an invaluable asset. You can take amazing shots using vanilla tools alone. Also, I've seen other folks mention it in tips/tutorials, tightening your field-of-view/FOV is key.

Lighting is the second thing. Lighting techniques vary depending on what you want to achieve. In this case, I wanted nice two-toned rim lighting with a brighter (white) edge to make the character stand out from the background. For me, I'm pulling from the same pool of knowledge I use to render light in art. In general, if you're using two-tone light, images tend to benefit from contrasting/complimentary tones. Warm/cool, etc. I went with turquoise and purple here to compliment V's suit and hair and make the warm notes pop.

I'm not gonna throw down a ton of screenshots (still, there's quite a few), and recreating this was impossible, but I this is basically how I set up the lights:

Using CharLi, spawn a favela, lower intensity + range (so I'm not staring at the sun), disable object meshes.

2. Fiddle with radius and rotation until it's ballpark where I want it, then tweak the color.

3. Duplicate this light, set it back to white, fiddle with position again to get white rim light.

4. Spawn a new favela and do the same process for the other side with my secondary color (pictured before I turned meshes off).

5. Lather, rinse, repeat for a secondary white rim light (I don't have that light selected in the menu here, but you can see it's active). Sometimes it's helpful to fiddle with the lights' X/Y/Z positions and scale lower in the menu as well.

6. I spawned another light for a little bit of wash lighting here because why not?

7. And then I fine tune light positions, frame my shot, and snip snap. I'm not going into ReShade or hotsampling because I'm still learning the ins and outs of those and that's a lot of personal preference stuff too.

IN-GAME STUFF:

📍Location: Regina's

🔓AMM and Photo Mode Unlocker

💡CharLi lighting - this shot used 4 or 5 "favela" lights in varying colors

📸ReShade filters

🛠️IGCS/Otis camera tools (only for slight pose tweaking on this one, I did not use the injectable camera)

👌Tight FOV (idk if that counts as an "effect" but it's a big asset)

I did not hotsample that shot but I wish I had ( ˘︹˘ )

POST-PROCESSING:

🖌️Clip Studio Paint, it's what I've got

🎚️Levels tweaking (full RGB, not by singular color)

📚Overlay copy + Add (glow) copy @ about 30%/15% respectively

⚙️Effect rendering on Overlay and Add layers (chromatic aberration, noise)

MODS:

Netrunner Suit

Netrunner Port

Tac Gear

Cyberdeck

[randxmthxughts]

Neteyam x Ta'unui ! Female! Y/N (water clan that was attacked by Quaritch) fic bits

upd: full fic is posted

I am currently writing a long ass fic but because I'm impatient, I want to share a few spicy bits with you. I will be posting the full fic in the upcoming few days, so lmk if you want to be added to the taglist.

For the context, the reader is the younger sister of Tsahik at the Ta'unui clan. It's the clan that the Quaritch attacks looking for Jake. In the movies, thanks to Spider, they avoid casualties, but in this fic, everything happens way more brutally: many Na'vi get killed, and basically the whole village burns down. Y/N escapes before she gets killed, and seeks refuge at the Awa’atlu village, where the Sully's happened to be.

Knowing that the only reason sky demons attacked her village was Jake Sully, Y/N develops hatred towards him. She thinks he's a coward for hiding and causing so much damage to the innocent clans.

Now, at Awa’atlu, she starts to develop relationships with the Sully kids before she finds out that their father is the Jake Sully. Things get complicated, because her and Neteyam truly start seeing each other as enemies. Of course, there's lots of drama bc he protects his father, blah blah, you get it. But hatred is a form of love, and well, I'm a sucker for enemies to lovers, so

Tropes: enemies to lovers, friends to lovers

___

___

“What do you want?” you ask, squinting to make out his features. His eyes and freckles glow in the dark and you notice the slightest flatter of his ears. Like he’s excited.

“It’s Neteyam,” he gestures. 

“I know,” you’re annoyed. You know who he is, does he think you can’t see him?

“Oh,” it surprises him? “Right, I just didn’t want to scare you, so I…”

“Shouldn’t you be checking on your brother anyway?”

“Technically, I can’t do anything except wait. When it gets suspiciously long, then I follow him,” he smirks like it’s the funniest thing.

___

“Sorry if we woke you up,” he scratches his head, “I was going to check on you anyway, just not at this hour.”

“Why would you check on me?” you frown.

“I thought you might like someone to talk to you, about moving and stuff.”

“I talk to Tsireya, I’m fine.”

“I know, she’s nice,” Neteyam crouches down, to bring himself on your eye level. He sighs, slightly embarrassed, “But she thought it would be a good idea for me to talk to you.”

“Why?”

“I get what you’re going through.”

This frustrates you. You and he had nothing in common. You were forced out of your home; you had given up everything without a choice. How can he relate to you? He has his family. You have no one.

“Just because we’re both outlanders doesn’t mean that you have to pretend to be like me, Neteyam. We’re not the same,” it comes out more aggressive than you intended. You notice his ears lower, along with his gaze, “I don’t need a forest boy teaching me the way of water. You’re not my savior.”

Neteyam’s face gets quickly covered with guilt. It’s like you hit a cord with your last words. He didn’t mean to offend you.

“Not trying to be a savior, just a friend,” he mumbles, standing up.

___

“What do they want? The islands?” Ao'nung asks.

“They’re looking for him, they think that he’s hiding in another clan,” you answer, noticing how everyone’s ears perk up.

“Who are you talking about? Who’s he?” Lo’ak suddenly gets suspicious.

“Jake Sully,” you reply, “I’m not sure what he did to them, but they were set on killing him. And killing anyone who’s protecting him,” you add with anger in your voice.

You’re met with a dead silence, like they know something they’re not telling you. The foresters hang their heads, and you notice as Tsireya touches Lo’ak's hand. 

“Wait, so they’re looking for your dad?” Roxto turns to Kiri, “They’re looking for you.”

“Your dad?” you turn to Kiri, “Is he your dad?”

Kiri nods, almost ashamed. You feel your throat hurting, as realization washes over you.

“It’s your dad!” you feel anger building up. You stand up, “They set my village on fire because of him! They thought we were hiding him but he was here all this time!”

“Y/N, it’s not anyone’s fault but the demons’,” Tsireya stands up too, trying to calm you down, “He wanted to keep his family safe, he doesn’t want war.”

“My father has done nothing wrong,” Neteyam stands up as well, his tone now serious.

“He should be facing them by himself, not putting other clans at risk!” you throw your hands in the air in frustration.

___

“That’s unfair, I’m not losing my dad,” he growls.

“I lost my home!”

The two of you hiss at each other, and as you struggle to free your arms, he flips you over. Your back hits the sand with a painful ache but it gives you enough room to kick him with your leg. Right in the stomach. Neteyam winces in pain, but pins you down, this time paying special attention to have your knees locked together.

“Skxawng,” you growl. 

___

“Why aren’t you angry at me?” you turn to Lo'ak.

“Why aren’t you?” he asks in return, “You’re angry at Neteyam but not at me.”

You pause. You’re not really sure why Lo’ak joining you didn’t affect you, as much as Neteyam’s presence did. Maybe it’s because Lo’ak seemed guilty earlier. He didn’t stand up for his dad, so there must be something both of you can agree on.

“I don’t like when people pretend to care. Because once something threatens their peace, they really show how they don’t give a shit about you.”

“Neteyam doesn’t pretend about caring,” Lo’ak disagrees, “Sure, he pretends all the time but not when it comes to caring. He cares.”

“Not about me anyway,” you scoff. 

Lo’ak falls silent. You got him there.

___

Distracted, you fall a little behind the group, and find yourself next to Neteyam. He was not a bad swimmer, but he was definitely slow compared to you. 

You watch him. It’s almost entertaining how greedily he admires the surroundings, oblivious to your presence. His yellow eyes seem almost golden in this light, and you can’t help but smile.

When his eyes meet yours, you feel tightness in your throat, and your smile falls. Why is he staring? What is he thinking? 

___

“Dad?” Neteyam’s voice grabs both of your attention. He leans against the entrance of the marui, looking between the two of you.

“I’ll be right there,” Jake says, standing up, “Do you want to join, Y/N?”

You nod in appreciation and follow him into the room. You exchange another look with Neteyam but this time he looks troubled. Like he’s trying to figure out what the hell you and his father were talking about.

___

Bang. All of a sudden someone throws you off your feet, your back hitting the ground, and you see a familiar face hang above you. So close, you can feel his braids touching your skin. Neteyam. You growl.

“What the hell?” you slap his chest angrily, but he won’t budge. His arms are by your both sides, knee rests between your thighs, restricting your movement.

“This is a familiar pose,” he smirks, and you roll your eyes at him, “Why aren’t you asleep?”

“I was trying to clear my head. Why aren’t you?”

“I’m guarding,” he smiles.

“You’re a guardian?” you snort.

Neteyam shakes his head amused, swaying his braids over your skin.

___

His fingers start tickling your stomach and your neck. You squirm underneath him, trying to get away.

“Neteyam, stop!” you squeak through your giggling.

“Then say you’re sorry!” he pauses for a second, to give you a chance to save yourself.

“Why would I lie?” your voice catches in your throat, as he continues tickling you, “I’m sorry! I give up!”

“Sorry for what?”

“Sorry for not telling you sooner!”

“And who am I?”

You feel out of breath, smiling like a fool. You know exactly what he wants to hear.

“The mighty warrior,” you let out with a giggle. His face immediately lightens up.

“Smart girl,” he lowers his face towards you, nuzzling your forehead. 

“You called me stupid two seconds ago,” you try to protest but he shuts you up with a gentle kiss.

In this moment, when his lips touch yours, and his hand cups your cheek, as you play with his braids, it’s impossible to remember why you hated him so much. Your grandmother used to say that hate is a form of love. 

___

Okaaay, I hope I did not just spoiled the whole fic with these bits lol, and I hope that you'd be interested in reading the whole thing, once I post it.

I'm finally writing the fluffy scenes, and I'm swaying my feet and giggling and shi, at how cute it's going to be. What you think about these bits? Do they make sense to you pulled out of context?

Again, lmk if you want to be added to the taglist. I will be posting the whole fic in a few days, and it's going to be extra long, extra angsty and fluffy