#Might post but I have to figure it out first

[the-nettle-knight]

I want to point out that the original post actually fundamentally misunderstands the original article. This was not a case of the archaeologists not recognising the artefact type and a leather worker identifying them, this was a case of the artefact being so unexpected in this context, that it was almost missed. Here is a direct quote from the article:

"The first three found were fragments less than a few centimeters long and might not have been recognized without experience working with later period bone tools. It is not something normally looked for in this time period."

The archaeological team almost missed them because these bone fragments were both tiny and unexpected as "[the] technology [was] previously associated only with modern humans". As in, Neanderthals had not been shown to have even been capable to make these artefacts before that point. I don't think people quite understand how big of a deal this is - this is about the equivalent of finding pottery in a modern human group about 20 000 years ago (they haven't but that's the level of *that shouldn't be there*)

This was identified *by the archaeologists working on the project* because they'd found them before. They fully knew what these artefacts were in the first place, they just didn't expect to find them there.

Then to prove it, they replicated the use-wear by buying a modern tool off the Internet and doing microscopic analysis. There was not a single modern leather worker mentioned in either the article linked or the actual paper put out. That is absolutely something that would have been acknowledged in both of the papers.

This paper was revolutionary in our understanding of Neanderthal crafting capabilities, recognisied by brilliant and diligent archaeologists and this entire narrative of incapable stuck up archaeologists is an insult to their work.

The women who recognised that the blades were being stored out of reach of children were also archaeologists. Janet Stephens' research is part of a legitimate branch of archaeological research called Experimental Archaeology. Experimental archaeology has been practiced academically/professionally since the 80s. I'm a hobbiest in a lot of historical crafts and have been the person that a colleague turned to when struggling to identify an artefact. We were able to figure out what it probably was because I knew what use-wear to look for and how to find parallels.

The narrative that archaeologists are opposed to interdisciplinary work is very frustrating as so many of us, including myself, are strong proponents for it. We are very happy to talk to any and all professionals who will talk to us and highly value modern parallels (sometimes a bit too much, actually)

Something I find incredibly cool is that they’ve found neandertal bone tools made from polished rib bones, and they couldn’t figure out what they were for for the life of them. 

Until, of course, they showed it to a traditional leatherworker and she took one look at it and said “Oh yeah sure that’s a leather burnisher, you use it to close the pores of leather and work oil into the hide to make it waterproof. Mine looks just the same.” 

“Wait you’re still using the exact same fucking thing 50,000 years later???”

“Well, yeah. We’ve tried other things. Metal scratches up and damages the hide. Wood splinters and wears out. Bone lasts forever and gives the best polish. There are new, cheaper plastic ones, but they crack and break after a couple years. A bone polisher is nearly indestructible, and only gets better with age. The more you use a bone polisher the better it works.”

It’s just. 

50,000 years. 50,000. And over that huge arc of time, we’ve been quietly using the exact same thing, unchanged, because we simply haven’t found anything better to do the job. 

[starlingpaw]

through starless sky to blackest ground

[checkeredflagggs]

Febuwhump Day 14: Becoming the Monster

pairings: gen

summary: a story about y/n, Redbull’s new second driver, told in non-sequential order

a/n: I love febuwhump and have participated before for other fandoms but this is a first for me — attempting to compete it via smau only. Hopefully I can write a complete story eventually and I will be posting it on its own masterlist in the correct order to read but it’ll be written based on the febuwhump prompt list! @febuwhump

a/n2: based on the 2024 year; sorry checo but you got replaced earlier!

a/n3: listen I like Lando but I needed a villian here

Masterlist | Taglist

y/n_gossip

liked by user, user, and 1,836,622 others

tagged: y/n_rb, landonorris

y/n_gossip: it seems like little Lando Norris might be thinking of a matador career — he keeps tempting the bulls! After a few close calls with Verstappen, Norris and L/N collided resulting in a DNF for our girl with some pretty harsh words coming from both of their radios afterwards.

view all comments

user1: this is what racing is!

↳user2: I know — I was on the edge of my seat…

user3: pretty harsh?? Girl sounded like she was gonna run him down on foot and take him out

↳user4: lol did you see the rb team after she got back to the garage?

↳user5: they literally just picked her up and moved her away from the reporters 😂😂

user6: oh the post race interviews are gonna slap

↳user7: I can’t wait!

user8: that’s so completely unfair! y/n was ahead at the apex — Lando should have given it away, not crashed into her

↳user9: seriously?? Where on earth did you get that information??

↳user8: uhh by watching the screen??

user10: oh shit….

↳user11: Lando’s post interview??

↳user10: how dare he say something like that???

f1gossip

liked by user, user, and 1,457,987 others

Transcript:

interviewer: and what are your thoughts on y/n and your collision today?

Lando: obviously not ideal. You know you never want to be in a collision- especially when it’s not your fault. Y/N…she should spend less time with Max, don’t need her becoming another monster, ya know…

f1gossip: what an interview! During his post race interview for Austria 2024, where he was forced to dnf after two different collisions with both Redbulls, Norris didn’t hold back his thoughts. During this brief moment, he talked about the close friendship between this year’s Redbull drivers — saying that y/n (a rookie) should take a step back from her more senior teammate because no one “[needed] her becoming another monster,”. He also went on to say that he was losing respect for Verstappen and the way he raced.

view all comments

user12: did he really just fucking say that?

↳user13: oh my god he did

↳user14: it’s even worse when you actually watch it because you can just barely see max next to him — when Norris said this, both max and the interviewer froze

↳user13: i mean i would too. That’s a really harsh thing to say about someone

user15: people want cunty f1 back again but can’t handle this little spat??

↳user16: cunty? Yes. Whatever this was? Absolutely not

user17: he’s just salty she’s better then him

↳user18: how do you figure that??

↳user17: she literally won her very first f1 race? He’s been racing for years and only just won his first this year

↳user18: it doesn’t count really. Everyone knows that redbull cheats

↳user17: oh my god just shut up

user20: i feel bad for y/n…it really wasn’t her fault nor did it affect lando too much but he’s (someone she’s said she looks up too before) putting her on blast with some pretty harsh words…

↳user21: she looks up to him??

↳user20: yeah! She’s said multiple times that she really admires how open he is talking about his mental health and that she really wanted to emulate him

↳user21: oh ouch…then today and that interview has got to hurt…

user22: anyone else interested in what she’s gonna do to retaliate?

↳user23: 🙋🏾‍♀️🙋🏾‍♀️

Private Messages, Max and y/n

Taglist

@anamiad00msday @suns3treading @daniskywalkersolo @awritingtree @justheretoreadthxxs @coral7161 @lost4lyrics @mastermindbaby @freyathehuntress @angelluv16 @nichmeddar @mxm47max @justaf1girl @a-beaverhausen @tallrock35 @elizamoe133 @imlonelydontsendhelp @jessica3478 @il0vereadingstuff @msimpala-67

[morganaawriterr]

˗ˏˋ ★ ˎˊ˗ Valentine's Day with Ni-ki;

Pairing; fem!reader X best friend!Ni-ki Synopsis; Just when you're about to leave the house to have a date with Heeseung, your best friend Ni-ki shows up at your door with a sweet confession to make; Genre; best friends to lovers; fluff; Words; 1k Warning; None is just cute asf lol; MASTERLIST;

A/N: I wanted to post something for valentine's day so bad but I don't really like this :( I hope you guys do! As usual likes and reblogs are appreciated, thank you so much <3 Happy Valentine to all the girlies and boys in a relationship, to us, singles... well... lets be delulu for a little.

“Ni-ki? What are you doing here?” you question, confused, as soon as you open your heavy front door. Your curious eyes scan your best friend’s face as you gently hold the door open.

“Don’t go…” Ki responds, his beautiful brown eyes locked on yours.

Today is Valentine’s Day, and you have a date with a nice guy named Heeseung, who happens to be one of Ni-ki’s friends. You haven’t talked to Heeseung much, but he showed interest in you, and you decided to give him a chance. He seemed hesitant at first, but then firmly assured you that he wanted to go out with you today, so you got all dolled up just for him.

“What are you talking about, Ki?” you ask, starting to feel irritated by his strange timing. Ni-ki stands tall in front of you, his hands hidden behind his back. You raise an eyebrow and try to peek behind him, but he catches you just in time and steps back to avoid it.

“I’m talking about your date with Heeseung,” Riki repeats, his hands starting to sweat. “Don’t go on that stupid date with him.”

The truth is, he’s been in love with you ever since he met you. Ni-ki realized he wanted you long ago, way before you met Heeseung, but only now, with Heeseung making a move on you, did he find the courage to confess. His heart ached at the thought of you kissing Heeseung after getting all pretty for him.

Riki tries to read your expression, his eyes scanning your perplexed face, then trailing down your figure. You’re wearing an adorable pink floral sundress that isn’t too tight but still hugs your body in all the right places. Your long chocolate-brown hair is carefully straightened, and you’re wearing his favorite perfume.

Feeling his intense gaze, you speak up. “Why would I do that, hm?”

Ni-ki knows you’re starting to get irritated—the stern look in your eyes gives it away easily.

“Because…” Ni-ki starts, but it feels like someone is squeezing his throat, making it hard to breathe. “Because I’m finally here,” he whispers, his eyes locked on yours, hoping you’ll understand what his half-words can’t fully express.

You feel your cheeks heat up, unable to hide your reaction to his words. You’ve liked Riki for as long as you can remember but never really understood your feelings until you started growing up. His cool persona and great fashion sense made him incredibly attractive. But after getting to know him even better, you fell harder. He was more than just cool and well-dressed. He was kind, well-mannered, and made you laugh until your cheeks hurt. And turns out that was the way to your heart.

You never told him how you felt because you never thought he would like you back. After all, he was popular and had many girls chasing after him. That’s why you agreed to go out with Heeseung. Maybe he could distract you from the one-sided love you had for your best friend.

“What are you talking about, Riki…” you whisper, your heart racing at the thought that he might actually like you back. Your eyes shift from his to the floor, too nervous to face him.

“Fuck, Y/N, I like you, okay? I always have. I’m sorry it took me so long to tell you,” Ni-ki finally confesses, his ears turning red and his hands trembling slightly as he reveals what he is holding behind his back.

You can’t hide the immense smile that grows on your lips at his words, and when you see the beautiful bouquet of red roses in his hands, you can’t hold back anymore. Happy tears fill your eyes as you reach forward, wrapping your arms around Ni-ki’s neck, your head tucked against him. Your best friend immediately pulls you close, his arms wrapped tightly around your waist, his heart finally calming down as he feels your familiar embrace.

“Does this mean you like me back?” he jokes when you pull away to look up at him, your big puppy eyes staring into his. Ni-ki’s hand cups your cheek, his thumb gently caressing your skin.

You smile brightly at him. “Of course I do, dumbass,” you giggle, completely lost in the new softness in Riki’s eyes. “Wait, but Heeseung doesn’t deserve this… I can’t just cancel on him,” you say, biting your lip as guilt creeps in.

“Don’t worry, just tell him you changed your mind. He knew this would happen…” Ni-ki explains with a mischievous smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Heeseung knew Ni-ki liked you, but Ni-ki denied it. Your best friend had assured Heeseung that you were single and that he didn’t like you, so Heeseung asked you out. Despite suspecting Riki’s feelings, Heeseung was genuinely interested in you and was surprised when you accepted his offer.

“Will you be my Valentine?” Ni-ki asks, love practically dripping from his eyes, his smile so genuine and cheerful that it makes your heart skip a beat.

“Yes, Ni-ki.”

As the words leave your mouth, Riki steps closer to you, his addictive scent surrounding you. His cold fingers gently lift your chin as he leans in. Your hands reach for his black hair, fingers playing with the strands at the nape of his neck.

His lips feel hesitant at first when they meet yours. Knowing him well, you can tell he’s probably nervous about taking this big step, so you kiss him back confidently, trying to reassure him that you’re more than okay with this. Tilting your head slightly, you silently ask for permission to deepen the kiss, and he lets you take the lead. As your lips mold together perfectly, he relaxes, smiling softly against your mouth, overwhelmed by joy. Your tongues move slowly, savoring each other like you’ve always wished to.

Out of breath, you pull away, a warm blush painting your cheeks. When Riki opens his eyes, he finds you already staring at him, looking prettier than ever with your lips swollen and red from his kiss. Smiling, he gently takes your hand and leads you to his car, ready to drive you to your favorite restaurant and spend a perfect evening with you—just like you deserve.

Little did he know, this was already more than enough. All you really wanted on this Valentine’s Day was his warm lips on yours, finally claiming you as his.

Taglist: @grandlightcandy @seokseokjinkim @strxwbloody @enhasunghoonishot @contyynishimura @heewanrik @ranwonbin @leanderexists @lovelyyf @youngheejay @crimson-reaper576 @rikifever @mrsjjongstby @laurradoesloveu @babyboomysweetie @mintchocos-things @nxzz-skz @saphiranishimurashan @ikeupups @yangjungwonnie @xiiaobaoo @itsuen @laylasbunbunny @mellowgalaxystrawberry @firstclassjaylee @questionsdearreader @greeyjre @en-doll @riqomi @lovingvoidgoatee @mitmit01 @miuwonis @aureliaaaa555 @han-to-my-minho @heeweenie @vixensss @ro-diares @hoonvinx @immelissaaa @jiryunn @quilevyt @vrusha01 @kkamismom12 @skzenhalove @theothernads @moonpri @nicoleparadas @fightqueen @heesunghooney @starl0ver4 @jooniesbears-blog @k1arar3 @riri-lvs-food @kolawnk @mitmit01 @dummyf @tender-is-the-moon @dksfml @tobiosbbyghorl @loveydoveyez @beomieeeeeeeeeeees @hhyvsstuff @moondooll @enchantedtomeetyou

If you wanna be added or removed from the taglist just comment below!

[angstywaifu]

Black Dahlia - 35. Just Sex?

Summary: Fucking War Games.

Garrick Tavis x OC (Dahlia Aetos)

Black Dahlia Masterlist | Masterlist | Links

I can’t help but glare up at the dais. Fucking War Games. Leadership had strolled down the halls at an ungodly hour this morning, ringing bells, banging on doors, and calling for us all to dress and head to formation. Which for those who got sleep was fine. Myself on the other hand… the multiple rounds Garrick and I had gone for had left both of us with very little sleep. And by very little. I got none.

I wanted to burn the memory of me trying to scurry off Garrick, hastily dressing in my dress uniform before I’d rushed out the door only to run into Xaden who was about to knock on the door, as well as Bodhi who had been following him like a lost puppy. Bodhi who was now staring a head with a shit eating grin on his face.

”What’s up with you two? You look like you want to murder someone and Bodhi looks like you’ve given him the best gift he’s ever gotten.” Austin comments as she looks between the two of us.

”Oh because she did.” He joyfully adds as he smiles down at me. I roll my eyes, ignoring his comment.

“It’s nothing. I just didn’t sleep well.” I say dismissively, Austin looking at me like she doesn’t believe me but slowly nods.

”I hardly think Garrick is nothing.” Bodhi teases from besides me, Austin’s eyes snapping to him. I on the other hand turn and narrow my eyes at him, catching a pair of familiar hazel eyes as I do so. “Remind me where I found you this morning?”

Austin grasps my shoulder excitedly. “Holy shit, did it happen?”

”Oh it definitely did.” Liz says happily as she pokes her head around Austin.

”For fucks sake, yes. Now keep your voices down.” I hiss at them as I turn my attention back to the front where leadership and wing leaders are talking.

”So are you two like together?” Bodhi whispers to me as he leans closer.

I shove him away jokingly. “It was just sex.”

Bodhi looks shocked at my words, looking between me and where I know Garrick stands. I don’t dare meet Garrick’s eyes though. I know if I do I’ll want to drag him away at figure out what the fuck we were now. And maybe go another round or two. Two weeks ago he’d essentially broken my heart even though I’d never given it to him. Then he’d come and defended me against my father like I meant something to him. And then I’d thrown caution to the wind and kissed him. Let him consume me, and give into the tension that had been there for the better part of the year. Though the few words we had spoken indicated this was more than just sex. But how much more I wasn’t sure. ”

I don’t think it was just sex, for either of you.” Bodhi states as he turns his attention back to me. “I might have only known you a year Dahlia, but I’ve never seen you like this. Go tell him.”

I look over and see Garrick looking directly at me. His hazel eyes piercing into mine, as if trying to read my thoughts, see what’s going on inside my head. I should hate him. Should want nothing to do with him after everything that had happened in the last year. But I didn’t. I wanted that handsome asshole more than anything. I wanted to leap into the unknown and see where the hell it took me. See what this could be, even if it meant getting hurt again.

”We have War Games to win first.” I tell Bodhi as I turn my head to look at him. “Let’s see if we survive that first before diving into my questionable love life.” A/N: And don't worry, I'm not that cruel to leave you hanging for a week. Post War Games coming tomorrow.

@imtoanonymousforyou @simplyme-fornow @omalmal @lalaluch @wolfbc97 @leptitlu @fullmoon-94 @the-fandom-ness @fan-of-many-bands @awkardnerd @heeseungthel0ml @acourtofsmutandstarlight @fairchild06 @freyagallileaevans @pit-and-the-pen @hannraumari @elliot-rain @thestarseternaal @stupid-and-contagious01 @hyperfixation-train-station @lxnvmvrzx @thebreadisthetruevillian @red0202 @fangirling-galore @craftytrashprincess @taliyahvermillion @xadenswhore @fenixyrie @lagrandeourse @hellodarling1357 @iambored24601  @thegiftofacreativemind @fanfictionjunkie1112 @mysticalfuncollectorus

[aayakashii]

For seven days, I'll be posting Valentine's Day themed headcanons for each House in Tokyo Debunker!

All prompts come from this post here ♡

And dividers are from @saradika-graphics 🫶

Taglist: @wannaberecluse

Frostheim | Vagastrom | Jabberwock | Sinostra | Hotarubi | Obscuary | Mortkranken

Valentine’s Day in Vagastrom

Alan

how does he show affection?

Through his hands. He is always touching you somehow. If he's nearby, his hands will rest on the top of your head or on your shoulders. Alan's not that good at expressing himself through words, but the way he's constantly drawing impossibly closer to your body leaves no doubt in your mind – he craves you near.

does he like hugs? what are his hugs like?

He loves them, but will always be hesitant to give them first due to his insecurities. Alan absolutely melts, however, when you settle yourself on his chest and hug him tightly – fondness for you immediately warming his heart and allowing him to hold you just a bit closer. His hugs feel like safety; you found your rock and it will be your very own shelter forevermore.

is he good at flirting? how does he flirt?

He's quite aware that he's awful at flirting, which is why he doesn't even try. He does compliment you frequently – and meanwhile, his hand goes up to rub his neck in order to dispel the embarrassment, and his eyes are cast downwards. He would love to be able to look at you properly the next time he says you look pretty.

is he good at gift - giving or does he struggle to get it right?

He tries his best, but Alan probably doesn't even realize Valentine's Day is coming around until he overhears some students talking about the date. At that point, there's no time to go out anymore (it's already Valentine's Day after all). So he'll most definitely give you the safe options: chocolate and flowers. He'll try harder next year (he'll ask someone to put a reminder on his phone).

is he quick or slow to give his heart away?

He falls fast, but it takes him a long time to come to terms with it. Thoughts of being unworthy of you are too loud in his mind most of the time, and he pushes the need to be close to you deep into the corners of his consciousness. When it all boils over and he can't hide it behind his stoic façade anymore, he finally gives in to you and to his emotions, tired (but also relieved).

does he find ‘i love you’ easy or hard to say?

Extremely hard. He knows he feels it, that's for sure. But his whole life, he talked with his punches. The words feel weird in his tongue, and it frustrates him. He can only hope he's clearly conveying his feelings for you every time you hug each other. He hopes you feel it all, right there, in the pores of his skin. And you do.

does he get jealous in a relationship?

Not really. He trusts you, even though his confidence might falter and the self-deprecating thoughts might take hold for a moment. You're quick to know when to reassure him, so all the negative emotions dissipate as soon as you hold his hand again.

what is his ideal date?

Wherever you want to go with him. He doesn't have a secret spot, nor a safe place to show you. His garage doesn't feel proper, and the campus holds too many memories he would rather not think about during a date. Wherever you decide to go, it'll be fine with him, as long as you're there.

would he ask the big question or expect their partner to?

He doesn't expect anything, honestly. He's fine with just being together, but if you propose to him, he will obviously say yes (after a long, awkward moment of silence in which he was trying to get his bearings straight). If you want HIM to propose to you, you'll have to tell him and express your wishes.

how does he feel about valentine’s day?

Never really thought of it, doesn't really care about it, but he saw the way GA students were fretting about it, so he figured you might be into the date, like them. If you care, he cares. That's basically it.

does he get protective easily?

He's EXTREMELY protective. Acts like a guard dog – a menacing shadow that follows you around and glares at anyone that might try some funny business. Sometimes, you have to tell him to relax and just enjoy the stroll with you, but his doberman senses just won't turn off, ever.

does he believe in true love?

He never thought much of it. He knows he loves you, so it must be real. He wonders if he deserves such a delicate, sweet experience like being truly in love with you. And every day, you make sure he knows he does.

Leo

how does he show affection?

He would rather be caught dead than explicitly show you genuine affection. Instead, he'll be calling you annoying while draping his legs on your lap and laying his head on the crook of your neck. He expresses his true feelings every single time he clings onto you, never letting go as soon as you come around his vicinity.

does he like hugs? what are his hugs like?

He hugs you like it's second nature. He's unable to stand beside you and not hold you somehow, all while acting as if him clinging onto you like a koala is perfectly normal. If you try to hug him, however, he'll throw a hissy fit, much like a cat that doesn't want to be pet.

is he good at flirting? how does he flirt?

He's fantastic when it comes to flirting ironically with ANYONE. When it comes to flirting genuinely with you, however, he simply malfunctions – much to his dismay, his cheeks burn bright red, he stutters stupidly and Leo wishes a hole could open up in the ground and swallow him. He's great at getting what he wants from others; terrible at getting what he wants from you.

is he good at gift - giving or does he struggle to get it right?

He knows exactly what to give you. But he also thinks about how he could entertain his followers. He'll most likely film your reaction when he gives you the trendiest, most expensive Valentine's gift and relish on the compliments of his fans as they call him a great boyfriend. But don't worry. Once the camera is off, he hands you a smaller, more thoughtful gift. All while saying he just doesn't want you to whine about him not paying attention to you.

is he quick or slow to give his heart away?

He gives his heart to you slowly, little piece by little piece. He doesn't like the vulnerability, nor how much trust is involved with handing you his heart. Therefore, it might take a while until he feels completely comfortable with the thought of being wholly yours.

does he find ‘i love you’ easy or hard to say?

He never says it, preferring just to think to himself. You've learned to hear the fondness that coats his voice whenever he's thinking that, though. The way his eyes are half-lidded, his smile is sincere, and how he calls you "silly" – which is probably the closest to a compliment that you'll get for a long time.

does he get jealous in a relationship?

He's painfully jealous of everyone and everything. If someone just touches you accidentally, he will go into a fit of jealous rage. Under all the layers of nonchalance and assertiveness, Leo is terribly insecure. He doesn't realize his rage stems from jealousy, nor does he know his jealousy comes from the fear of being left behind. He just lets that green little monster take over his body until you manage to calm him down, and he finally retracts his fangs.

what is his ideal date?

Surprisingly, he wouldn't mind turning off his phone for a little while to spend quality time with you. He would like somewhere calm and quiet, that wouldn't overwhelm his senses. An onsen in a small town isn't exactly the type of place you'd imagine Leo visiting, but if it's to spend time focusing on you, he would very much prefer that.

would he ask the big question or expect their partner to?

He wants to ask because he wants it to be pompous and glamorous. He wants to post the photos on his sns, obviously, but more than anything, he wants to keep the memory of every meaningful date for you two registered on as many photos as possible.

how does he feel about valentine’s day?

He never cared about it, but loved to pretend he's looking forward to it whenever he posts. His flings were never important enough to warrant celebrating Valentine's together, but with you, he's finally gonna know the true experience. You could say he's kinda looking forward to it for real now.

does he get protective easily?

Not really. Most times, he's the one playing damsel in distress. If push comes to shove, however, he'll change his inoffensive behavior in the blink of an eye.

does he believe in true love?

Leo is too much of a skeptical man to believe in things that come from fairytales. But he's open to changing his mind if you want to give it a shot.

Sho

how does he show affection?

He doesn't hesitate to hold you and say sweet words into your ear, but his most genuine way of showing affection is through food. Whenever he asks if you've already eaten, what do you want to eat, if you'd like to try his new recipe – these are all his very own ways of saying he cares deeply about you.

does he like hugs? what are his hugs like?

He loves them, wrapping his arms around your waist and lifting you up with every chance he gets. If you hug him first, he takes that as permission to just keep holding you wherever he goes, like you're just a little keychain. His hugs feel grounding and you can feel the comforting scent of bread and cake emanating from his clothes (even if he doesn't even work with pastries).

is he good at flirting? how does he flirt?

He's annoyingly good. It genuinely feels like he was born with this skill and he makes good use of it with you. He's all lazy smiles and half-lidded eyes whenever you pass by, kisses in empty rooms with promises of more and compliments that leave you fuzzy and floaty.

is he good at gift - giving or does he struggle to get it right?

He's great at gift giving, especially because he's very into making your gifts himself. He's a crafty man and don't people say that handmade gifts are more thoughtful? He'll make you a whole bouquet of paper flowers, carefully painted, that will never wither AND homemade chocolate. And you just know that chocolate is more delicious than any store-bought brand.

is he quick or slow to give his heart away?

He goes at a normal pace, but once he realizes he has feelings for you, he feels like a middle school kid with a crush. What do you mean he stutters and blushes whenever you're around? He's an adult, for fuck's sake. He confesses to you like he's ripping a band-aid off. He just wanted to get over it as quick and painlessly as possible, shoving his heart into your hands for you to do whatever you want – step on it, throw it away or keep it safe. He was more than relieved when you decided to give yours in return.

does he find ‘i love you’ easy or hard to say?

He's still embarrassed by it, so it's quite hard. He says it during meaningful moments, but it still comes out of his lips a bit too stilted. He loves you, he does, but he also has years of building an aloof persona on his back – it was his defense mechanism. It'll take a little while to destroy those walls.

does he get jealous in a relationship?

Not that much, he just gets mad at the audacity of some people to try and shoot their shot with you. He's quick to appear right by your side and hold you tight and close to him, just to let them know that you're with him.

what is his ideal date?

Sho loves to go to every type of festival with you. Spending time with you trying different foods, finding silly matching trinkets, and playing all sorts of rigged games – that's a perfect day in his book. And of course, the day has to end with you two cuddling after spending so much energy outside.

would he ask the big question or expect their partner to?

He doesn't have a preference, honestly. It doesn't matter who asks, if it's you or him, all that matters is that both of you will say yes and start a new chapter of your life together.

how does he feel about valentine’s day?

Before his food truck, he really didn't care. After his food truck, he just thought it was a great sale opportunity. After you, however, he began seeing it under a new light: a holiday to look forward to, a chance to make it a special day for the two of you.

does he get protective easily?

Very much so, but he's subtle about it. Like when he's jealous, he just stays nearby, ready to step in if anyone ends up being an actual threat.

does he believe in true love?

Sho used to think that these types of things are embarrassing, even a little childish, but when he looks at your figure whenever you're sleeping beside him, he can't help but believe in it a little bit.

[whitefoxfiction]

Okay! Headcanons (don't mind me being mildly tipsy lol)!

Who would build Lego with reader? Urahara? Kira? Hisagi?

Thanks for the request! This is my first time writing headcanons specifically in this format. This turned to be more like what would they do if they found you drinking and building with Legos. I included Ukitake and Grimmjow as a bonus. I hope you like it!

Reader has gotten their hands on both some quality booze and an interesting toy from the Wolrd of the Living. They have made the bold move to dump said Legos out, spread out the instructions, and attempt to build their new project while bordering on being drunk. How will their friend/ S.O. react??

SFW, Rated T for teen, allusions to smut, nothing actually explict, fluffy bits, drinking, swearing. gn!reader Kisuke Urahara, Shūhei HIsagi, Jūshirō Ukitake, Izuru Kira, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez

Kisuke Urahara

When Kisuke sees you all hunched over with your tongue poking out of your mouth in concentration, his first thought will be to wonder what the hell sort of contraption you are building at 11 pm. That becomes apparent within a matter of seconds as he silently watches you drink your booze from the bottle while you play with a children’s toy as he lurks in the doorway. With no one else there to see, the corners of his mouth will turn up into a little smile of genuine affection. He does briefly wonder why you have chosen his dining table for your drunken Lego building, however. Then, he decides it doesn’t matter.

Why doesn’t it matter? Because he knows you are drunk, oblivious to his presence, and the look of concentration on your face is too cute to ignore. And, how can he possibly resist the urge to scare the crap out of you like the troll he is? If your ‘drunk concentration face’ looks cute, then he’s sure that your flustered, ‘post-jump scare face’ will look downright sexy.

As the former head of the Onmitsukidō Detention Unit, it’s absolute child’s play for him to sneak up right behind you with you none the wiser, at least until he makes his presence known by leaning over your shoulder.

“Good evening, ______-ちゃん~!” He’ll give you The Grin. You know the one. It’s the grin that manages to be a perfect mix of a shit-eating smirk and a little smile of complete innocence. Your less inhibited state means it’s guaranteed to ruffle your feathers just as much as being startled does.

If he’s feeling generous, he might not even dodge the sloppy, startled swing you take at him. It’s not like you’ll really hurt him anyway, but he’ll hold his nose and pout about how mean you are to him before happily sitting down next to you on the tatami.

Kisuke will watch you struggle with the tiny pieces while looking over the directions. If it’s a set with moving parts, he’s already figured out 5 ways to improve the design without requiring a single extra piece before you realize he’s stolen the instructions. Then, he will commence pouring you more drinks and teasing you with “helpful advice” (while never actually helping) until you’re an irritated, plastered mess.

He’ll somehow still manage to charm you into abandoning your Lego project in favor of letting him carry you off to bed. His bed since you are obviously too drunk to go anywhere else.

This outcome is inevitable. He already had 20 contingincy plans to get you right where he wanted you before he even walked into the room.

Shūhei Hisagi

Shūhei‘s interest in your Lego building project will vary depending on what you are putting together. Star War Legos? Probably not. A giant Lego guitar or a Lego motorbike? Now you’ve caught his interest.

His interest in the quality of your alcohol, however, will be immediate, and he will be more than happy to partake as long as he is off duty (and it isn’t a deadline week for the Seireitei Bulletin).

If you’re just friends with Shūhei, he will likely hang out and happily drink your booze with you. (Don’t worry, he’ll return the favor, even though he’ll have to go into more debt with Urahara to get the good stuff.) This may or may not involve you being serenaded in some fashion before you both pass out.

If Shūhei is your s/o, he will not only drink your booze with you—and you probably invited him to, lets be honest—but he will also offer to help in some way or other. Perhaps it’s by holding what you’ve built still so it doesn’t run away from you when you try to snap on the next damnably tiny piece or by trying to decipher the instructions. Or, maybe he’ll just pour your drinks and offer to rub your shoulders while he watches you work.

He will certainly get up and make you both snacks. Shūhei is handy enough in the kitchen that whipping up a little something is no sweat, even if he’s already hammered. In fact, he’ll probably insist, bless his poor little cinnamon roll heart. (Think what you want about Matsumoto, but you can’t deny that she has the boy well-trained.)

As Shūhei‘s s/o you will definitely be getting serenaded once he’s good and toasted. The upside to being his s/o in this situation is that it is very easy to get him to stop without hurting his feelings. You just have to kiss him senseless and give him something else to occupy his hands.

And that is where your Lego building comes to a halt. If you haven’t finished the set by this point, that will be waiting until morning.

Jūshirō Ukitake

Jūshirō is always interested in whatever it is that you are doing. If he’s feeling well enough and not pressed with important deadlines, he will sit down beside you, tea in hand.

Of course, he’ll scold you a little when he realizes you are drunk, but it’s a very half-hearted sort of scolding. “______-chan! How much have you had to drink? It’s not good for you to drink so much, and all alone!” … “Shunsui came by earlier? Ah, well… I suppose that explains some things.” Under his breath, he will mutter something about having to “have a talk with Shunsui later.”

It doesn’t take much to distract him from his gentle lecture. You just have to smile at him sweetly, lean your head against his shoulder, and thank him for looking after you so well. He’ll clear his throat and take a drink of his tea to hide the color in his cheeks.

If you talk him through what you are trying to accomplish, Jūshirō’s inner child will come to the surface in no time. He’ll look over your shoulder at the directions, and if you haven’t done so already, he will offer to sort all the pieces by color for you.

Jūshirō gets this adorable, boyish grin on his face any time he has the good fortune to indugle in childish things, a grin that is often present when you buy him his favorite sweets. He will certainly enjoy his time with you, but if you have the bonsai tree legos, you should probably just focus on drinking because...

Jūshirō is going to steal your toy from you. He may or may not follow the instructions. “I’m sure they’ve printed this incorrectly. This branch should surely go here.” or “This would look so much better if we just trimmed it down by a couple of bricks. There! That’s lovely!” His bonsai pruning skills (or lack thereof) will be put to use. You just don’t have the heart to tell him no.

But, that’s ok because the best part of the whole experince is watching Jūshirō when he goes into ‘second childhood’ mode. It’s the cutest thing ever, and never fails to make your heart do little flips in your chest. The pleasantly warm and fuzzy feeling from the alcohol only adds to the attraction, and Jūshirō might well find you drapped over his shoulders like his Captain’s haori long before that Lego set is completely constructed.

This leads to more adorable blushing on Jūshirō’s part, which eventually leads to playtime that has nothing to do with Legos.

Izuru Kira

The serious and often gloomy Izuru doesn’t have much use for children’s toys from the World of the Living, but like his friend Hisagi-san, the alcohol will probably catch his attention, especially given what he has been dealing with the last few months.

If he isn’t on duty early the next morning and he’s not too covered up with paperwork, you can probably convince him to have a few rounds with you. If you have managed to gain his trust enough to be his s/o, then he will look back and forth between you, the bottle, you, the door, you…

If he has obligations the next day, he will feel guilty, but he will also trust you to understand and will try to excuse himself, promising to spend time with you as soon as he off duty, for dinner perhaps. “Ah, I’m so sorry ______-さん. Requisition reports are— Ah! _____, wh-what are you—?! W-wait! The door is wide o— Mmphf!!”

Izuru works far too hard, and you have no trouble taking it upon yourself to be sure that he doesn’t work himself into a bed at the 4th Division’s Coordinated Relief Station. It is criminally easy to get Izuru flustered, even without the aid of alcohol, so your drunken affections will have him ushering you back to whatever spot you’ve chosen for your building project in short order. Anything to get the door shut and make you stop trying to kiss him in plain view of the street.

Getting Izuru truly interested in the Legos might take some effort, but wheedling him into staying with you will be a fairly easy task. Suggesting that you will just have to drink the entire bottle so it doesn’t go to waste (which you might really do) should be enough to bring out his protective side. After all, he can’t have his s/o getting hurt because they got completely wasted and he left them unattended.

Izuru will tell himself that he’s only staying to make sure you don’t get yourself into any trouble since you are already too far gone to talk sense into. He’ll tell himself that, but let’s face it, if the saké is sitting in plain view, he’s gonna cave and have just one cup. Okay. Maaaybe two.

After his third or fourth cup, Izuru is sitting shoulder to shoulder with you helping you put together that Lego set. Izuru is, unfortunately, a bit of a lightweight compared to you when it comes to his alcohol tolerance, so he is almost as uncoordinated as you are by this point. It’s the perfect time to turn your current activity into a drinking game! Put a piece on wrong? Take a drink. Fail to get a piece taken on or off in three tries? Take a drink!

It turns out that Izuru is woefully bad at this game. He also gets over heated quite easily when he drinks. Somewhere between cups six and eight, he will start stripping out of his shihakushō. By the eight to ten cup mark, he is laid out on your floor in nothing but his fundoshi, his face flushed from the alcohol (and from your merciless teasing.) The Legos have been completely forgotten by this point.

You have hidden what’s left of the alcohol since you don’t want to end up holding his bangs back while he pukes (again.) You aren’t enough of a jerk to totally take advantage of Izuru when he’s this drunk. You’re even nice enough to help him stumble off to bed (your bed) for some drunken snuggles, and when he wakes up in morning with a horrible hangover, you’ll know just how to help him get rid of that awful headache.

Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez

As you squint at the instructions trying to make the words hold still, you’ll be rudely interrupted by a voice from behind. “Oi! The fuck is that?”

He’ll huff at you, arms crossed over his chest as you grin up at him and give a rambling explanation of what Legos are and why you wanted them and how fun it is even though you were just swearing because you can’t pry apart two tiny pieces you put together by mistake.

“Wait a damn… why’re you drunk? No, I’m not helping you, not until you tell me where you got the booze!” He’ll growl and grumble and threaten a few people—“Kurosaki get those for you? No? Ha! It musta been pervy hat! Yeah, well I’ll take care of that bastard as soon as I take care of you” He’ll leer at you in a totally lascivious way—then totally deny that he’s jealous after you manage to tell him it was Nel that brought things back for you.

He’ll scoff about ’stupid human toys’ to shift the focus away from being called out on his jealousy and adamantly refuse to help you. “Heh. No fuckin’ way. I don’t build shit, I break it!” Eventually he’ll give in to to your cleverly calculated pouting, carefully prying apart your misplaced Lego bricks. He will also confiscate your booze “for your own good dammit.”

Grimmjow may or may not drink said booze, depending on what it is and how much is left, but one thing is certain; you’re damn sure not getting any more.

If he’s particularly bored, he will be an absolute ass about making sure you can’t concentrate on those Legos for shit. If he didn’t drink your booze, he will probably taunt you with the bottle at some point, until you are in a hopeless game of keep-away-way where Grimmjow’s objective is getting you so riled up that you try to climb him like a tree to reach the bottle. (If he did drink the booze, he’ll steal the directions instead.)

This never ends with you getting back whatever he is holding hostage. It usually ends with you tossed over his shoulder and carried off to bed… if you make it that far.

He thinks he’s won, but this was actually your plan all along.

[cloversnstrawberries]

oc intro post ! ! young!serial killer grandpa & time traveler reader

masterlist | requests open !

warnings; Mentions of violence, murder, serial killings, Everett's superiority/god complex, misanthropy (hatred of the human race), manipulation, possessive behavior, mental instability, and there might be more that i forgot :( if i missed a major one, please let me know and i'll add it !!!

additional notes; i read "garden of the dead flowers" a while back (in which i totally did the daily pass thing. yeah. totally!), and i thought it had a lot of potential for a platonic yan,, i didn't like the ending much for other reasons, but i'm fixing it here. with my oc. as god intended, of course. of course, if you're familiar with the webcomic at all, this isn't really that similar; except for the very core basis ^^ this is the option that won the second poll :D

! ! introduction blurb & moodboard below the cut ! !

Everett has met a lot of people before, that's just how it is, being the son of a wealthy businessman and a socialite. He's met a lot of strange people as well, eccentric people that makes Everett need a double-take.

But none quite so strange as you, who simply... showed up in the back garden one day. You were disoriented, wearing odd clothes as you patted around your pockets for... something. A handkerchief, maybe?

Either way, you'd be an easy kill. He'd never seen you around before, perhaps a runaway then. Nobody would miss you, in that case. And If they did, then they'd have a difficult time tracing you all the way to Everett's backyard.

But something made that train of thought stop before it even fully departed. Something about you made him hesitate, and subsequently approach and offer you help. To pull you up, dazed as you were, and help you into the sitting room.

You continued to be quite out of it, and when he returned, tea in hand-- you took it without question. You hadn't said a word, not to him or otherwise. All you did was look around, face pinched like you trying to figure something out.

By the end of it, Everett isn't quite sure what made him take such a liking to you. When you opened up, you tripped over your words-- you sounded funny, regardless of that. Saying words and phrases he's never heard, but he didn't pay much mind to that.

Regardless of your little verbal stumbles, you ended up telling him that you 'don't know how you got here', which he assumed you meant the town in general, or maybe just his backyard specifically.

The first conversation he genuinely held with you, you would always give these nonsensical answers that provided no more knowledge than before. When he asked "Where are you from?" You'd respond with "Not here.", or how you got here-- you'd always pause, and try to think it over before finally settling on "...I don't know."

Amnestic, maybe? That's what he could make of it, anyways. Other than your dazed behavior, you showed no real signs of a concussion. He set you up in a guest room-- and he doesn't know what makes him do it. Even as you wake up the next morning, no longer so confused--

Usually, he wouldn't really like people like you. Those who treat him so casually, those who treat everybody like that; like they were everybody's pal. It irked Everett to no end before,

So why is it different when you do it? With your strange words, strange habits, and even stranger way of dress-- what's got him so interested in you?

What sets you apart of his usual fare--? He could go and argue that he helped you recover so he could add you to his roster of victims, because he's not one for kicking someone when their down...

But he couldn't even fool himself with that lie. Really, he doesn't know why or how you managed to worm your way into his good graces so quickly-- enough where he let you stay in his home for the time being.

He could be harboring a runaway, either from a family or maybe even if the law. That could put him in risk, if cops come looking for you-- find his home, found evidence of what he does in and around it.

Again, it's just something about you... It makes it impossible to even think of driving a knife straight through your heart. What would be easy for him with everyone else, was like fighting an uphill battle when it came to you.

Either way, he's not letting you go now. Not after week of getting to know you-- after getting you new clothes to help fit in, getting his parents to make the school take you as a student. Just so you didn't have to sit and rot in that big house all day, of course.

He won't let you outside the grounds. Maybe because he doesn't want his new friend taken, the only person that's been entirely immune to his constant need to hurt others-- either by yourself, or anyone who's looking for you.

But he doesn't tell you that. He says he just wants to make sure you're healthy and not about to keel over from an untreated brain injury and whatnot.

Everett has grown quite fond of you, even if you're a little strange.

Maybe it's because you're so strange, that you're exempt from his usually unforgiving drive to prey on others, and rip them limb from limb like they were bugs under a microscope.

[prettygirl-gabi]

My Heart Beats For You

Pairing: Jana El Alfy x Reader

Fandom: UConn’s women’s basketball

POV: First-person

Word Count: 1,400+

Summary: Your turn to do the planning

Valentine’s Day is supposed to be a day full of love, cute surprises, and quality time with your person.

But when your person is a D1 basketball player at UConn—who also happens to have a brutal practice schedule—it means adjusting expectations.

Jana and I had been dating for almost a year now, and this was our first Valentine’s Day together. I knew she wanted to do something special, but with practice running late and a game coming up, she hadn’t been able to plan much.

She had apologized at least five times over FaceTime last night.

“Habibti, I promise I’ll make it up to you,” she had said, her accent thick with sleep as she lay in bed, eyes barely open. “Next weekend, I’ll plan something perfect.”

I had laughed, shaking my head. “Babe, it’s fine. We can just spend time together.”

Jana had pouted. “But I want to do something special for you.”

She was adorable when she was frustrated, and I knew she was genuinely upset about it.

So, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

If Jana couldn’t plan something for Valentine’s Day, I would do it for her.

The plan was simple but thoughtful.

After checking her schedule, I realized she had a rare free evening after practice. So, I set up a small picnic in her dorm—candles (fake ones, because I wasn’t trying to get us kicked out), a blanket on the floor, her favorite takeout from the Mediterranean spot she loved, and a playlist of all the slow R&B songs we played when we cuddled.

I even got her a small gift—a silver chain with a basketball pendant, engraved with our initials on the back.

Now, all I had to do was wait.

By the time Jana finally walked through the door, she looked exhausted, her duffel bag slung over her shoulder, hair still damp from her post-practice shower.

The second she saw the setup, though, she froze.

Her eyes widened as she took in the candles, the food, the cozy setup on the floor.

“Y/N…” she breathed, dropping her bag.

I grinned. “Happy Valentine’s Day, habibti.”

She blinked a few times, as if making sure she wasn’t imagining it. “You did all this… for me?”

I laughed, standing up and walking over to her. “Of course, I did. You’ve been so stressed about not having time to plan anything, so I figured I’d handle it this year.”

Jana shook her head in disbelief, her arms wrapping tightly around my waist. “You’re amazing.”

I pressed a kiss to her cheek. “I know.”

She laughed, finally relaxing into my arms.

Once she changed into comfy clothes, we sat on the floor, eating and talking about our days.

“I swear, practice was a nightmare,” Jana groaned, taking a bite of her food. “Coach had us running full-court sprints for what felt like an hour straight.”

I winced. “That sounds awful.”

She nodded, rubbing her sore shoulders. “I was literally ready to collapse.”

I reached over, massaging her arm. “Poor baby.”

She hummed in approval. “Keep doing that, and I might propose right now.”

I smirked. “Oh? Is that all it takes?”

She grinned, leaning in closer. “That, and the fact that you’re literally the best girlfriend ever.”

I rolled my eyes but felt warmth spread through me. “I try.”

Jana’s gaze softened as she looked around the room again. “Seriously, Y/N. This is the best surprise ever. I don’t deserve you.”

I nudged her. “Don’t be ridiculous. You deserve everything and more.”

She exhaled, shaking her head. “How did I get so lucky?”

I smirked. “Must be my charm.”

Jana laughed, then suddenly perked up. “Wait. I actually have something for you, too.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

She got up, rushing over to her duffel bag. When she came back, she was holding a small, neatly wrapped box.

I blinked in surprise. “Jana… when did you—?”

“I’ve had this for weeks,” she admitted, rubbing the back of her neck. “I just didn’t plan anything big because I didn’t think I’d have time.”

I carefully unwrapped the box, revealing a delicate silver bracelet with a small charm in the shape of a heart. On the inside, there was an engraving:

“My heart beats for you.”

I stared at it, my throat tightening.

“Jana…”

She shifted nervously. “Do you like it?”

I didn’t answer. Instead, I lunged at her, wrapping my arms around her neck and kissing her deeply.

She made a surprised noise before melting into it, her hands finding my waist.

When we finally pulled back, I rested my forehead against hers, grinning. “I love it. And I love you.”

Jana smiled, her hands gently holding my face. “I love you too, habibti.”

---

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                 -Thank You For Reading!🩵🩶

                             -prettygirl-gabi🎀✨️

[captain-huggy-bear]

How does Jack ask you to be his valentine ?

Oh he's a sweetheart but also pretty conventional as well. I think he goes with your standard ideas of flowers, and chocolates, probably turning up at your door on the day itself because that's traditional and he just smirks and asks. The sort of lazy confidence in him that says he knows you're going to say yes, that it would be impossible for you to say no.

Totally happy to take requests/ideas/prompts at the moment in my ask box :) Writing Masterlist

It's still new, this thing you have with Jack, early days as it were. Not quite boyfriend and girlfriend yet, but not just two strangers who've been on a singular date either. Talking wasn't the right term and dating was maybe closer to it, figuring out whether this was going to be something long term or just a drop in the ocean. So you didn't really expect anything from him on Valentine's day, especially not when he'd said he had a game that night and wouldn't be able to take you out in the evening like he wanted to. You'd accepted that because at the end of the day you knew what you were getting into when you agreed to the very first date with him. Hockey meant things wouldn't always go as expected, not all events would be commemorated. It also wasn't a given considering the early nature of your relationship.

It's why you're not expecting it when your front door bell rings and you're certainly not expect to look through your peephole to see Jack Hughes standing on the other side in a suit and tie holding what might be the largest bouquet of pink roses you'd ever seen. So large that they'd block out his entire head and shoulders if he held them upright.

"Jack?" You open the door to him, feeling decidedly underdressed in your casual everyday clothes when compared with Jack and his suit. The black one that he's matched with a black tie like he's going to a formal event rather than standing in front of your house on the 14th February in the cold.

"Hey..." The smile he gives you is nearly a smirk, that confidence that first drew you to him, firmly in place. His hair has grown longer at the moment, nearly reaching his shoulders, tucked behind his ears.

"What are you doing here? I thought you'd be at the rink for morning skate...?"

"Already been, decided this was more important than my post practice nap." It makes you feel warm all over, the way he says that so easily, like it's a given that seeing you is more important than his routines and rituals, things you know hockey players hold dear to their hearts.

"Oh?"

"Here," He hands you the bouquet that takes up your entire arm space, larger than a toddler and smelling sweetly of rose. He'd picked the scented roses, ones that smell strongly too a little detail that you can't help but take note of. "I picked the pink ones, thought it'd be a little less cliché."

You can't help the soft smile you give him because it really is sweet and unexpected. More romantic than any of your past boyfriends had ever been and he's not even in a relationship with you yet.

"They're lovely, Jack...you really didn't have to..." You feel bad knowing you hadn't expected anything and so hadn't got anything for him.

"I wanted to. I can't exactly ask you to be my valentine without flowers now, can I, angel?" Your positive reception of the flowers has him relaxing further, a smile turning into a smirk, leaning closer to you, arm leaning against your door frame. The invasion of your personal space makes you nervous in the best sort of way, giddy.

"You want to be my valentine?" You can't actually remember the last time you were actually asked to be someone's valentine...it makes butterflies flutter about in your stomach.

"Sweetheart, who else would I ask?"

You shrug, pursing your lips as you look up at him from under your lashes, all of a sudden unsure and lacking confidence because neither of you ever said you were only seeing each other. That you were exclusive. While you certainly weren't seeing any other guys, it would make sense for someone like Jack, popular and famous, to have a whole roster of girls waiting on him. It wouldn't surprise you if he had other girls he was testing the waters with, figuring out who was the best fit.

He seems to sense that your thoughts have gone that way, or maybe he just has good timing.

"You're the only girl I'm seeing and the only one I want to see, angel...I've not gone on a date with anyone else since before our first one." He doesn't like that it's clearly shocking to you, the way you look up him like he's just given you the world. Jack thinks it should be obvious to you that he's all in, that he's completely taken with you and has been since the first date. He's only waiting to ask you to be his girlfriend because he knows you need a little more time, not because he's not ready or doesn't want to.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really. Why waste my time with anyone else? They wouldn't be you." It's simply really. You're perfect for him. You're kind, you're caring, pretty and smart. You're understanding of his schedule and his moods. You get along with Luke and you treat him like Jack, just Jack. Not Jack Hughes, hockey superstar. Why waste his time on girls who fawn and giggle over his title, his status but don't really like him for him?

"Jack..."

He diffuses some of the heavy tension with his next question, not wanting to make things too serious too fast, not wanting you to feel pressure to respond in kind, "You still haven't answered my question. Will you be my valentine?"

"Yes, I'll be your valentine." You smile up at him all giddy and sweet and he wants to kiss you all over your cheeks, lift you until you're giggling uncontrollably, but he controls himself. Jack has to remind himself you're not his girlfriend yet, he's trying to take this slow, easy for you, a love confession might be a bit much 3 months in.

"Good because we have a lunch date, so go get changed into something nice." Not that you don't look nice, you always look nice, but he knows you'll feel self conscious if he takes you into a nice restaurant in casual clothes while he's in a full suit and tie.

"A lunch date?"

"Well, I can't take you out for dinner because of the game, but I figured lunch would work?" Your hesitation has Jack questioning himself, starting to second guess if this was a good idea, maybe you already had plans, "Or...you don't have to, we can stay here or...or I can go?"

"No, no! Lunch sounds...it sounds perfect."

The smile you receive is enough. It's more than enough, you think you might just do anything to be on the receiving end of that smile.

[vidavalor]

The Worm

GO Finale spoilers below. Initial thoughts on the Clues in The Valentine's Day Teaser.

This is about the Peter Anderson Studio opening titles Clues for Valentine's Day posted by @fuckyeahgoodomens over here:

I have more thoughts but I want to talk about The Worm first because I think that's the one of the bigger things. If you look closely, it's not just a worm-- it's a worm wearing sunglasses in a black bowler hat. I think this is an art allusion that could get really interesting here, even before we take into account the different colors of the worm and why it's a worm...

First off, you can see the sunglasses, which automatically screams 'Crowley', but there's etymology here that is very relevant with the history of the word worm.

The word worm comes from the Old English wyrm, which also meant the following: a serpent, a snake, a dragon, a reptile. That word and ones directly related to it are all from a root that meant insect, off of it also relating to words meaning to turn or to bend. It's from this that we also get worm as a verb-- to worm being to slowly wiggle your way out of something... possibly that other idiom-- a can of worms, or a difficult problem.

[And on this language-loving show that is obsessed with containers and did visual puns like "to hell in a handbasket" with the antichrist in a picnic basket, don't discount idiomatic stuff like "opening up a can of worms." Especially since can of worms as figurative language for a tangled up, complicated problem comes from the can of worms that a fisherman would carry to catch fish, one of Good Omens' favorite things.]

Good Omens' insect thing is intentionally overlapping different insects. Beez can make flies but they're Lord Beelzebub. Angels are bees but so is Beez and so are plenty of humans, who are also ants. Crowley is both a spider and a murder hornet and Aziraphale is a [dust] mite and a bee and the point is that everyone is actually many different kinds of insects and everything else. Human, angels, demons-- doesn't matter. They're all insects because they're all people.

Ok, so let's talk about the art reference first and then the colors, and what this all maybe could possibly mean. First is that this is a story that features The Apple-- and the apple is also referenced in one of the opening credits frames that goes by prior to the worm-- and worms eat apples. Apples and worms go hand-in-hand and if you toss into this, as this teaser does, a reference to a bowler hat, like the worm is wearing? Then we're talking about allusions to some of the most famous surrealist paintings that exist-- those of Rene Magritte.

You are probably most familiar with The Son of Man, which is Magritte's self-portrait:

Norman Rockwell also painted a homage to this called Mr. Apple, in which a man's head is entirely replaced by an apple. Here we have also an emphasis on the eye, like in Good Omens, and the apple obscuring the face from view. The subject is also standing in front of a wall with the sea behind him.

Magritte made two companion paintings to The Son of Man, including the one I've always liked even more, entitled La Grand Guerre (The Great War). The real Great War of Good Omens has always actually been about blowing up your halo. Aziraphale might not have blown up his literal halo since The Great War back in the day in Heaven but his great war is within himself and the on-going process of more fully allowing himself to try to be free of the mental anguish from Heaven.

The Great War painting features the same seaside scenario but with a woman as the subject, no visible bit of eye, lilacs in lieu of the apple, and an umbrella... basically all of which are things related to Good Omens. Lilacs in Good Omens, chiefly used so far through our purple-eyed Gabriel, relate to change and revolution and the cyclical nature of those things by way of their heralding of spring in Pratchett's Discworld.

There is also Magritte's The Man in the Bowler Hat, in which the face is obscured by a dove, symbolizing peace, and it's not like this isn't a show with a great deal of bird-related figurative language happening here (not to mention the supernatural characters being semi-literal birds as well)...

Now, look at the worm's colors and accessories with relation to the characters in Good Omens. The worm is red, blue, pink, purple... and it is wearing a black hat and black sunglasses.

The black hat is Beez. The sunglasses are obviously Crowley, as is the red in the worm. The blue in the worm is Aziraphale. The purple in the worm is Gabriel. The four of them together are all represented by this one worm where the demons-- Crowley and Beez-- are the head of the worm. They are out in front, like the demons have been with being first to fall. Their angels, Aziraphale and Gabriel, are the body of the worm. Collectively, they're all the same creature and that creature is predominantly pink-- the color of love and romance and health.

Beez and Gabriel together are The Fly but the whole Ineffable Quartet together is The Worm.

The metaphorical worm-- our Ineffable Quartet of main characters-- eats the metaphorical apple... meaning: they all fall, just as people always do.

It's the worm eating the apple that leads to more apple trees and gardens, after all; it's all a cycle. Eve eating the apple in The Garden of Eden is known as The Fall of Man, even if none of us really think that Eve eating the apple was a bad thing. It was unjust judgement that triggered some consequences-- some positive, some negative-- but a fall always starts, as it will always end, with a garden and an apple-- with a feeling of being trapped and needing to move forward and with a temptation to try to do that.

Every end of something-- every fall-- is really the beginning of something else. People fall in different ways all the time. They go up, they go down-- it's just part of living.

So, I just said our characters? They all fall. There's only one of them left who hasn't had the supernatural, Heaven/Hell version of a fall-- Aziraphale. Technically, the whole story is his fall. We've been watching it all along but if we're saying the collapse that leads to the new beginnings of our ending that still has to happen is Aziraphale's big fall, that's the story-- and the worm is proof of the happy ending.

Right before the worm appeared in the teaser, the pink hearts fell as rain from the sky. The very same things that are Clues in the opening credits of S2 that the romantic, vavoomy rain that Crowley's been going on about is related to Crowley and Aziraphale and their history via those healthy pink hearts falling in the opening credits as rain drops over the two of them on the roof of the bookshop are also symbolizing that Aziraphale's fall, as we saw at the end of S2, is because he long ago fell in a different way-- in love with Crowley-- and the need for them to be safe and be able to be together is what finally led to Aziraphale's fall. That's what we were watching in The Final 15 and I'd bet him falling in the Heaven/Hell sense could be what kicks off The Finale.

The scenes in the teaser prior to the worm also echo that because we have a lot of scenes of Crowley and Aziraphale walking the Earth together and then we have the shot of Jimbriel-- animated Jimbriel!!! 😍. He is as he was in 2.01's The Arrival, plus his wings being visible. He's naked and carrying the moving box, representing the start of S2. He's in the dark with nothing around him-- Jim's memory loss and his semi-fall that we saw in S2. We are shown him, then the falling hearts representing Aziraphale's fall, then the worm. That's the story-- Jim represents S2 that led to the falling hearts ending and that's what the story is working on in The Finale. The worm is the happy ending.

By the end of the story, our main characters are those who have wormed their way out of difficult situations to be able to live freely. They are, as we already know they are, just like the rest of the humans, even if they're immortal.

They're just people who eat literal and metaphorical apples.

[xxbrightshadowxx]

I may not be able to draw but I can write. Your idea has been circling my brain since I saw it. I’m assuming this is based off your switch au. For anyone not in the loop, this Drabble is based off of op’s Arcane Switch au where Jinx goes to jail and Vi is taken under Silco’s wing. They have a great fic of the concept on Ao3 titled: base violence necessary {Arcane AU} by the name hunnydew. They have more about this au on their TikTok: itsdigichiaki. Go check it out they post cool stuff about arcane and the au. This might be bad but whatever. without a further a due, let’s begin!

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*

Starting a revolution was—hard. To say the least. Those who were under the chem-barons The undercity was riled up. First Silco, the one who most would argue had the most power was dead and now half the Council was dead.

And it was all thanks to Jinx.

Sort of. It was very complicated. Regardless, with her at the firelight’s side it was easier to recruit others to their cause. This meant the amount living at the base grew significantly in numbers. They nearly tripled in amount of residents in the span of almost two months.

It wasn’t always easy at times. With such a quick change to the dynamic it meant supplies ran out quick and Ekko became responsible for more and more people. Not all of them got along, members of old chem gangs fought over past conflict and issues. Finding a middle ground that everyone agreed with was an issue in itself.

The one thing he was glad for was not being alone in this. He had Scar, Vi, surprisingly enough Sevika(if you had told him that months ago he would’ve had laughed), and Jinx.

Speaking of which—

His eyes darted down to the grass area. He leaned over the rail of the treehouse. The teen was with Isha, the little girl fascinated with the older girl’s tattoos. Jinx didn’t spend a lot of time at the firelight base. She preferred to spend time at a hangout near the mining ventilations. Honestly, who could blame her? Half of the residents looked up to her. They praised her and looked to her for guidance. She was the figure of rebellion in the eyes of Piltover. Dangerous, deadly. For Zaun, she was a sign of hope.

For Ekko she was something more.

The boy coughed, bringing his arm to his mouth. Not that he’d ever tell her that. Oh, no, no, no. Many things could kill him. A raid, an accident on his hoverboard, heck even from a mis-step leading him to fall to his death would be less mortifying than her finding out. Death from embarrassment is not how he wanted to go out. He wouldn’t tell her. Not now. Maybe when their top goal wasn’t surviving first.

Still, it didn’t mean he couldn’t look. He leaned over and slumped his arm over the rail, his chin resting against his knuckles. She had changed as did he, over the years. No longer did the soft and innocent glint in her blue eyes shone as bright as day. Pink, sharp eyes with bags or exhaustion rested on her face. She had gone through a lot. Powder was not the same girl he fell for. But Jinx was still a sight for sore eyes in Ekko’s heart.

The girl turned, her eyes landing on where Ekko was standing—emphasis on was. The white haired boy bolted to the side out of her sight, praying that she didn’t see him run like a doofus. He waited for a while before peeking his head over. Jinx was back to talking to Isha, attention away from him.

Oh thank, Jana.

Ekko relaxed before he began to make his way down the ladder. He had work to do and he should start on it before he did get caught for staring. He made his way down a shortcut he knew to another section of his base, weaving through the shadows—

“We promise to treat her right. We swear!”

Ekko paused in his steps and turned. Leaning against a shady section of the tree was Vi, Silco’s old right-hand woman(besides Sevika) and Jinx’s sister. She had her arms crossed over her muscular chest as she looked down at a small group of firelights. There were about eight of them, all guys and shorter than Vi. They looked familiar. The red-head blinked at them before saying, “Excuse me?”

“We are asking for your permission to ask Jinx out,” the one in front, the leader, replied in a meek voice.

‘What,��� Ekko thought as he stood there dumbly. He looked at the group and instantly recognized them. Out of all of Jinx’s admirers there was a small group that took the term admiration a little too far. To be more specific, they were enamored by her, singing praise and compliments about the teenager constantly. Yes, it was well, weird. Jinx wasn’t a fan of them but that didn’t discourage them from being her biggest fans. Or at least that’s what Ekkl thought.

“No, I heard you the first time. I’m asking why?” Vi deadpanned as she narrowed her gaze at them.

The group took a step back, eyes shifting from one to the other. The leader took a step forward and replied, refusing to look at her. “Well, we just wanted to make sure we didn’t upset you if she said yes to one of us. Since you’re her older sister and all.”

“Uh-huh,” Vi nodded her head slowly. Might also have to do with the fact that under Silco Vi was sort of a ticking time bomb. Pissing her off, especially in regards to her sister was like signing your death sentence. “And you think she’d say yes to any of you?”

Ekko held back a chuckle. Vi spoke her mind often to those she wasn’t close to. Her dry response resulted in the group wincing but the boys still refused to give up. In fact, her doubt just seemed to make them more determined.

Huh. That struck a chord with Ekko. He knew there were people who had a crush on Jinx.(who wouldn’t?) But what really bugged him was they actually had the courage to shoot their shot. Most of them barely knew Jinx, at least not the real her. They didn’t know her pain, her life, or how wonderful she truly was. They just knew the figure that blew up the council.

Vi looked at all of them, eyes landing on each of them—before she grinned. She spoke again, “Okay, I will give my blessing to date me sister if…” the group all hung on her words, ready for any challenge she’d throw at them. “You tell me her real name.”

The group went still and silence was their answer but another boy in the back asked, “Jinx isn’t her real name?”

“Nope,” Vi shrugged, enjoying as they squirmed in front of her. “Come on, you all want to date her. One of you has got to know her actual name.”

She was having way too much fun with this. Making them feel uncomfortable. One of the boys muttered something before he walked away and soon the group dispersed, leaving the woman alone.

Vi hummed satisfied. She leaned her head against the oak before saying, “I know you are there, Ekko.”

Welp. Looks like his cover has been blown. The teen walked forward to stand beside Vi. He looked at her. “How long have you know I’ve been there?”

Vi chuckled before lightly elbowing him in the side. “Can’t hide from me, little man.” She looked forward to where the group of boys had scattered. “Those guys are going to lose their minds trying to figure out her actual name. Bet you’re happy about that.”

Ekkp began to nod before stopping and glaring at Vi. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

Vi snorted letting her arms fall to her sides. “Whatever. Take your sweet time. Just don’t wait forever. I think you two will both die from it if you do.”

Ekko looked away to prevent letting her know how embarrassed she was making him. “Let’s head back to the open. Just in case Powder gets in trouble.”

Vi tilted her head. “Powder huh?”

Ekko huffed, his heart hammering in his chest. “Yeah. Powder.”

Headcanon that I'm too lazy to draw :

When Jinx is in her revolution arc, she develops a group of young, die-hard admirers. They go to VI to ask for permission to ask her out, and VI says she'll grant it if they know what her 'actual' name is. Unfortunately for them, none of them know her by anything other than Jinx.

Except for THE BOY SAVIOUR RAAAAAH

He doesn't ask because he's a bashful yearning idiot, though.

[runecatwrites]

Hello! Your LU analyses are delightful to read, thanks for sharing them! I had a fun question for consideration, if that's okay! Previously, we've examined and gushed over the Links' bonds with each other and who gets along best with who. We know that each of them are brothers and would die for each other. But I was curious: What's your take on which Links get along the *least*? E.g. If you were to list out each of the nine, which Links don't tend to click as well with each, and why? (At least at this point we're at in the comics.) Love to hear your insights about that if you're up for it! :D

Oooooh! Thank you for the ask, this is a really fun thing to think about! Here are my takes…

Sky: Time

Four: Wild

Time: Legend

Legend: Sky

Hyrule: Wild

Wind: Wild

Twilight: Warriors

Warriors: Wild

Wild: Warriors

Explanations under the cut!

Disclaimer: I do not hate Wild! In fact, he’s probably my favorite Link. Wild is a compelling character and I love him very much. Read the whole post for elaboration on him.

Second disclaimer: I truly don’t think that any of the members of the chain strongly dislike any other members (even though they may have spats from time to time). Just because one person might not get along with another as well as they do with everyone else, that doesn’t mean they hate that person.

And now for the explanations!

Sky: this guy is so sweet that it’s hard to see him not getting along with someone. The obvious answer here would be Legend, but as we’ve seen, Sky doesn’t seem to mind Lege’s “bullying” at all and actually seems to think it’s kind of endearing. I bet he’s used to that kind of behavior from Groose and therefore easily looks past it. No, as weird as it may sound on the surface, I think the person Sky would have the most trouble getting along with would actually be Time. I don’t think he’d have a hard time getting along with him in a professional sense (they work and fight well together) but rather in a personal sense. Sky and Time have very different histories with the Master Sword and with the whole “call of the hero” experience. Whereas Sky has a very close and positive relationship with Fi and willingly went on his adventure to save his beloved, Time got thrown into his first adventure, yanked around, and aged up pretty much without his consent. Lacking the perspective to understand this, I think Sky might be offended by Time’s complicated feelings towards Fi.

Four: this guy holds practically everyone in the group at arm’s length, so this one’s difficult too. But based on what we’ve seen in LU, I’m going with Wild. These two have clashed several times, most notably over Wild’s supposed impulsiveness. I think the underlying cause is that their brains work so differently at a fundamental level. Wild is a black-and-white thinker, while Four has a much more colorful (heh) mindscape. He views the world around him as a complex one that should be met with open-mindedness, and strives to understand it using his critical thinking skills. Even while merged, his colors probably play into this way of thinking. Wild, on the other hand, has a very narrow worldview and becomes distressed - sometimes even angry - when something doesn’t fit into it. Four sometimes seems to get frustrated by that rigid thinking of Wild’s.

Time: now this is an interesting one. Time is the oldest of the group and regarded as one of the most if not the most mature. Legend on the other hand, while not the youngest, is still an immature kid. Now there’s some nuance there and there are a lot of factors that feed into that immaturity (like the fact that he’s dealt with a lot of trauma and hasn’t had a parental figure since he was like 10) but the point still stands. In recent updates especially, we see that Time appears to have a short temper when it comes to Legend’s behavior. Why? Well if you look past the obvious reasoning of the group being in a dangerous situation and Legend’s antics being ill-suited for that, personally I think that Legend is a lot like Time was in his younger days. You know how sometimes parents say “my kid got their attitude from me and now I’ve gotta argue with a younger version of myself every day!” That’s exactly what’s going on here. Time was an absolute menace as a kid and teenager, and now he’s being faced with the exact same energy and has a hard time dealing with it.

Legend: as explained above, Legend has a bit of a reputation for immaturity and an attitude to go with it. Sky, on the other hand, is the one of the most easygoing, self-assured, approachable people you’ll ever meet. Legend is used to eliciting strong and/or definitive reactions by his behavior. People get angry with him (Time), match his energy (Warriors), or redirect him/calm him down (Hyrule). But Sky? Sky just… doesn’t seem to have much of a reaction at all. He might respond with some light teasing or a halfhearted protest, but nothing beyond that. That confuses Legend, and that confusion leads to anger. No matter what he does, he can’t get a good read on Sky, and that’s very frustrating for Legend.

Hyrule: I think this is going to surprise a lot of people, because Hyrule and Wild are often depicted as twin chaos gremlins by the fandom. But if you actually go through the LU canon (both main story and bonus material), you’ll see that these two actually rarely interact with each other, and on one of those rare occasions, they argue to the point of blows and have to be broken up. Much later, Wild describes Hyrule as “stubborn”, albeit in a positive way. Now, this is where I think the fandom seeing these two as twin chaos gremlins does bear some merit: the two are so alike in many aspects of their personality, notably their stubbornness, that they struggle to get along. A similar situation as with Time and Legend, but in this situation, they’re about the same age and with the same level of maturity. Hyrule and Wild even think the same way, too. During the battle with the Iron Knuckle, Hyrule wanted to rush right in and attack the big guy head on too, but was held back by Legend. Among his companions, though, Hyrule is reputably non-confrontational, which makes the fact that he got in a fight with Wild surprising. Wild is more used to getting into disagreements, so I think that fight would have affected Hyrule emotionally a lot more than Wild.

Wind: I had the hardest time with this little guy. Despite being the youngest, he’s surprisingly emotionally stable and mature, and he gets along with everyone! Literally the only reason I chose Wild is because Wind has snapped at him a few times, examples being for treating him like a kid and for not following his advice for how to take on the Iron Knuckle. That’s literally it. Wind is a perfect ray of sunshine.

Twilight: our rancher is gregarious and gets along with everyone pretty well, but he’s not shy about calling out things that tick him off about others. He rebukes Legend for his immaturity, challenges Time on his overbearing nature, and tries his darnedest to instill some self-restraint in Wild. He’s also very protective, though, especially of Wild. He’s well aware that Wild often has difficulties getting along with others (more on that later), but since he knows Wild better than all the others, he understands why Wild has those difficulties. And right now especially, he very obviously thinks that Warriors is being way too hard on Wild. This is a tricky situation. These Links are all notoriously bad at communication, and with extremely different backgrounds, Twilight and Warriors have even more of a disadvantage. Twilight doesn’t understand Wars’ motives in this situation and thinks he’s being unfair, when in reality Wars is just trying really hard to understand Wild better (explained in my analyses). Despite that, Twi and Wars are still good friends; they were just rubbing shoulders and bantering at each other a few parts ago after all. Twilight just isn’t afraid to openly disagree with one of his friends.

Warriors: yeah, if you’re familiar with my analyses (here and here) you know it’s Wild! I won’t rehash it in this post since I’ve pretty much said everything I can think of on Wars’ point of view in the situation lol

Wild: and conversely, Wild is having a really hard time with Wars specifically right now. That situation is outlined in my previous analyses too. But for this post, I wanted to elaborate more on Wild. Although all of his fellow Links obviously love and accept him, the poor guy has drawn the ire of practically every member of the chain at some point in time. In fact, personally I think that if not for his close bond with Twilight, Wild would have an extremely hard time getting along with the group as a whole. That doesn’t mean he’s a bad person. No, he’s a character with a very unique and compelling past, and that past makes it very difficult for him to successfully engage in teamwork. He’s also dealing with amnesia, imposter syndrome, and an inferiority complex, all of which take a huge toll on his mental health. When your mental health isn’t so great, you often have a short fuse and it can also be hard to maintain healthy relationships. Trust me, I know - I’ve been on medication for depression for 15 years. It’s a real struggle. In spite of this, we have seen significant character growth from Wild recently. He’s begun acknowledging his difficulties and owning up to his transgressions, which shows that he really does want to make things work with everyone. He feels bad for clashing with people and wants to do better, but unfortunately he appears to have very low confidence in himself. His current mindset seems to be “I’m trying really hard not to mess things up, but I’m probably just going to mess it all up anyway.” The thing that matters, though, is that he is trying. Ah, I love Wild so much. My precious blorbo. If he can rid himself of that crippling self-doubt, he can make even bigger strides in improving his relationship with everyone!

[lenallu]

For a moment, I thought it was you.

Based on the text messages Zayne sends when you haven't opened the app in a long time. ❅ tags: angst, hurt/comfort ❅ word count: 2.4k ❅ synopsis: You go missing on the job. Zayne struggles with the thought that you might never come back. ❅ a/n: my first fic post!!!! I'm currently writing a part two, so let me know if you like this :)

"I saw a hunter wearing their uniform at the airport during my last trip. For a moment, I thought it was you."

His phone chimes when his message delivers. It takes him a while to look away, and he feels silly for it. It's been this long, and yet he has failed miserably to snuff out the habit of hoping you'll reply. He shoves his phone into his pocket, the weight of it tugging his jacket when it hits the bottom of his deep, wrapper filled pockets. Candy wrappers he pulled from your hands as you raved about the flavor, so he could throw them away for you later. 

You had been missing for just over three weeks when he put that jacket on again, and something totally irrational in the back of his head begged him to leave them in there. He shook his head. When did garbage become precious? You'll be back. His pockets will fill with the crinkled paper when you amble by each other's sides once again, soon. 

He decides to leave them in there anyway. He picks lint off the shoulder, lingering on the garment before pushing it back into his closet, near the back. He tries not to think much of that choice, and does his best to ignore the things his mind is trying to suggest.

He hears people talking on the street later that day, parroting rumors about a failed mission and 11 or 12 casualties, hunters. A team of them, sent out to do who knows what. You didn't tell him much about it before you left. You were legally barred from sharing details with civilians. It was standard safety protocol. He understood at the time, but now he wishes you could have given him something. Anything to figure out where you had gone, so he could go and get you himself.

A shrill meow sounds out near his feet, and yanks him out of his thoughts. He had stopped by a table of jewelry set up outside of a shop you used to stare at every time you passed by with him on your walks through town, but had lent all his focus to absorbing information from conversations that floated by. Scraping the world around him for any indication of you.

He stares at the cat, and recognizes her from the countless times you had reached down to pet her. You’d even started to carry loose treats in your pockets just for her.

He turns a ring from the table in his fingers, tracing over the small, sparkling embedded stones before setting it down. When you get back, he’ll remind you to check your clothes for cat treats before you wash them.

At work, none of his pens seem to stay put in his pocket. They're too busy whirling around his fingers, occupying his hands even when he isn't writing anything. He can't explain the fidgeting to himself or to his colleagues questioning gazes. He was a stable surgeon. A steady person. He started actively reminding himself of that, repeating it like a wish, as if it had stopped being true at some point.

🜺

A month and a half has passed. He sits tensely at his dining table, chin cradled in the space between his thumb and forefinger. The house is quiet like it always is when you aren’t there, but it bothers him more now. It unsettles him to think it might be like this forever, and he pleads with himself for the hundredth time not to go there in his head.

He started watching the news more often, almost religiously. The second he gets home and his keys rattle onto the counter, the tv is on. If the association releases any kind of statement, he doesn't want to miss it. 

A fatigued sigh blows from his nose after about an hour of menial news reports, and he's just about to get up to cook something when the newscaster's voice cuts out. 'Breaking news' flashes across the screen.

"We can't make any definitive statements, but we believe we were able to recover data of the last signals their watches sent out before everything went dark. Again, the location of this mission was incredibly remote and difficult to navigate, so this doesn't guarantee we will find them. That is all in terms of developments. It has taken a long time to regain access to our systems and grab those signals."

His eyes are wide, and all he can think about is storming your building and demanding information. He knows it doesn't work like that. He still considers it. He had hoped when an update finally came, he'd be sprinting through the door to his car to pick you up. The ghost of that hope lingers in his legs, and he doesn't know what to do with the residual energy. He feels utterly helpless.

🜺

Your body wakes before you, searing pain striking through your limbs. Your eyelids feel glued together as you struggle to open them, but once you do, all you see is white. Fear kickstarts the rest of your functions, and you start to regain sensation. Quick and panicked breaths scratch their way out of your throat as your eyes dart around. You become aware that you are encrusted in icy crystals, sunken about two feet into some snowy expanse. Moving proves difficult, but you manage. Snow slides off your form and you stumble and trudge forward with hardly any mental recognition that you are actually moving. Things are fuzzy. You're not sure you're even really alive.

You're not all there, if there at all, but you feel a tinge of what you loosely recognize as rage floating in you somewhere in response to the snow that never seems to end. That anger blooms in your chest as you plow through what seems like miles of pure white, and your body feels like it's stinging all over. It's all you have. 

This all just feels like an infinite dream. Maybe this was death. A cruel one, and maybe it came with a sentence. A punishment. Doomed to push through miles of numbing, freezing cold, thinking it'll end eventually, but it never does. All with half a mind, which is enough to feel the pain in your heart, but not enough to remember how to cry or scream or shout or plead. Condemned to carry a heavy sorrow that you don't even know how to put down.

Please let it end soon. You can't put the words together in your mind, but you feel them. You feel them for a while, until you don't anymore. You are none the wiser as your body collapses in a more shallow clearing.

🜺

Zayne doesn't even know how to describe what he just saw. Vocabulary wasn't an issue. He was well versed in nearly every medical term he encountered in the stacks upon stacks of textbooks and learning materials he revised in undergrad and beyond. 

It was you, but it wasn't. Your skin was nearly a shade of grey he couldn't even fathom on a living human being. That thought sunk something in him as soon as it passed through his mind. He stood there paralyzed as you were rushed past him, the team of doctors wheeling you shouting up a storm of vitals and medications. All of which, for the first time in Zayne's life, were incomprehensible. He couldn't make out a single thing they were saying, and not because it was unclear. He couldn't think at all. He didn't realize he wasn't breathing until Yvonne stood up from the reception desk to lightly lay her hand on his shoulder. A turbulent breath suddenly thrusted out of him like water through a broken dam, and he ignored Yvonne's voice calling out to him as his body carried him down the hall as fast as it possibly could.

He caught up, and grimaced at the sight of you. He catches bits and pieces of what the doctors are saying as you are rushed into a room and CPR protocols begin. At some point, a catheter is placed and they begin pumping you with warmed intravenous fluids. The door swings closed as a doctor rushes past, and the only thing that stops him from crashing through that door is Yvonne finding him again. He only looks at her for half a second before he's staring through the tiny window in the door. He wants to say something, but stands there in silence.

"She has a pulse." Yvonne addresses the worry she can see written all over him. She stares into the window with him, and her next words feel strange when they eventually come out. "They're doing everything they can." 

She's offered this line to countless anxious families, but never did she think a time would come where she'd be saying it to him. Greyson comes along at some point, having heard of the situation, and lightly gestures for Zayne to sit down. 

"She's gonna come around, Dr. Zayne. She’s in good hands. You know you're not in a state to do anything right now, anyways, or you wouldn't still be standing out here instead of in there. Come on." He says gently. "She'll come around."

Two hours pass, and he's beating himself up the whole time. He should be in there, saving you. He's studied all his life to do just that, and when the time came, he couldn't. Fear got in the way. He loved you so much it paralyzed him. When he looked at you today, grief crashed into him like he had lost you right there in that hall. He felt like a giant hole had been blown in his chest. He starts to sink in that powerless feeling. You’re here, and yet he still feels like he did when the news came on that night in his home.

Your hypothermia was severe enough that invasive procedures were required. Tubes were put in through your esophagus, which connect to an external heat exchange unit. Zayne clicks through your intake form, and through several tabs on the procedure they were currently putting you through. As he sifts through the information, there's a growing tightness in his chest and throat. It pulls tighter, and he tries to ignore the way his eyes are burning. Grief continues to brew inside him, venting out of his chest with periodical sighs as he scrolls, brows knitted. He doesn’t know what he’ll do if you don’t make it.

A knock sounds at the door of his office. It’s Greyson. He offers a tight lipped smile.

“She’s stable. The docs are done and her room is empty.” He hardly has time to finish his sentence before Zayne is up and moving. He hurriedly marches out into the hall and straight for you. All the energy built up over the last 2 months propelled him forward, but dissipated as soon as he got to your door. He’s not prepared when he does see you.

Your skin isn’t quite as ashen anymore. Color is returning to you, but you are clearly emaciated. His mind races with all the possibilities of the kind of trouble you might have been in, and it shakes him deeply. He stands at the foot of your bed for a while, idling. Almost in complete disbelief that he is seeing you again, and not in a body bag with a certificate of death being handed to him.

He pulls a chair up to your bedside. You’re covered in a few layers of thick blankets. He hesitates to touch you, but he reaches under the warm layers, feeling for your hand anyway. Out of pure need. He has to know it’s really you. 

He grazes something cold. His fingers find your hand, wrapping around it and squeezing lightly to warm you up.

He studies your sunken features as his heart starts to settle in his chest for the first time in months. The steady beeping from the monitor is music to his ears, lulling him into comfort as he settles into the chair, still holding onto you. You don't look well, but you're alive. That's all he needs. He falls asleep as he sits there for a few hours, the sky rolling into darkness outside. 

🜺

Your eyelids open with much less difficulty this time. Met with the sterile white of the hospital room, you panic briefly before realizing where you were. Your mind is still foggy as you blink lazily, comforted by the sheer warmth that envelops you. 

A soft noise comes from somewhere to your right, and the muscles in your neck ache as you turn your head to follow it.

Zayne. Slumped in his chair, head leaning toward one shoulder as soft breaths blow locks of hair from his face. Sunlight from the window falls over him, blanketing his features in warmth, and he’s the purest picture of paradise you’ve seen in a long time. The sight of him seems to activate some kind of primal instinct towards warmth, and adrenaline starts to pump into your blood. You long to hold him and ensure that this isn’t a dream, but you feel overcome with weakness, and you can hardly manage squeezing his thumb. 

He doesn't wake. You huff, body going slack after a wholehearted, but futile attempt to move. You stare at the ceiling and breathe deeply, begging for only just enough strength. You turn your head to him again, and determination washes over you. You pull your hand free from his grasp, mustering up all the strength you have plus what you don't, and feebly tumbling out of bed onto his chair and him.

He startles and instinctually tries to catch you, his sleepy, bleary eyes becoming focused on you and expanding once he realizes it’s you, and your skin beneath his fingers. His expression breaks into so many things at once: sorrow, pain, relief and others you aren't even allowed to finish distinguishing before he pulls you into a suffocatingly tight embrace. The sight of the whirling storm in his eyes, maybe even just his eyes alone, were enough to choke you up. You let out an incredulous laugh as he squeezes you, and tears collect in your eyes. It’s the warmest you’ve felt in months.

You wrap your arms around his head, settling your cheek in his soft hair when you start to feel him shudder. Guilt crashes into him, for not being able to do more. He should have stormed into the Hunter's Association, he should have gone out and looked for you night and day, across states and countries. He should have taken care of you when you got wheeled in. He should have, he should have. 

Excruciating recollections of what happened to you on that mission start to creep into your mind as his warmth begins to thaw you from the inside, so you squeeze your eyes shut, and hold him tighter.

[cyanide-latte]

TIME FOR MORE OC LORE I GUESS?

I had a weird dream last night that was apparently about Professor Cerulean (so ofc he's been on the brain all morning.)

The first half of the dream was sad and semi-intense, in that he was moving through a nightmare sequence of people he cared about all withering and dying before his eyes, including a potential past romance? Eventually he woke up from the nightmare in a cold sweat, panting and needing to make tea or coffee as a means of grounding himself.

From that portion of the dream, I've definitely learned that he's panromantic, though I think he might be somewhere on the ace spectrum as well? And technically agender in the sense he just...doesn't care about gender applying to him. He's quite comfortable with he/him pronouns but doesn't think of himself as actually having a gender. He's definitely had a past romance he's cut short due to lifespan issues, and I think the answer to his heritage is that he thought his mother was fully human and his father fae, but it turns out his mother is half-fae. So he's like. Quarter-human. Which means his aging and lifespan are kinda fucky. (He is definitely also very reluctant to get attached to anyone in any capacity as a result.) He'd probably appreciate Marcille from Dungeon Meshi, honestly.

But then the dream shifted to comedy.

Because as he was sitting down, preparing to drink his beverage, there was a knock at his door.

He goes over, opens it, and @tixdixl 's Vex and Xiáng and @ramshacklerumble 's Cusi are all standing there. He goes "no" and shuts the door. Immediately reopens it, scowls, shuts it and reopens it to go, "I'm busy, go away." Shuts it, reopens it, scowls. Shuts, reopens, says "you shouldn't even have been able to FIND this doorway," shuts it again, rapidly reopens and shuts it several times, and finally asks in that proper Blue Caterpillar enunciation "Why, are you, still, here."

At which point Cusi shoved past him and they all went into his house.

Which tells me that somehow his entire fucking house is enchanted so that its side door will randomly open and connect to a door in NRC (usually a closet or something,) so he doesn't have to travel himself to go between NRC and home. And that technically nobody but him should be able to figure out what door his house will connect to. Feels like a Howl's Moving Castle reference crossed with a Through the Looking-Glass Red Queen reference, re: "all the ways here belong to me".

Anyway, that's it, that's the ramble, that's the post.

Taglist: @elenauaurs @inmateofthemind @ramshacklerumble @tixdixl @winterweary

@distant-velleity @rainesol @thehollowwriter @theleechyskrunkly @twst-migraine

@jovieinramshackle @the-trinket-witch @treydia (DM me if you'd like to be added or removed from the taglist for my TWST OCs stuff)

[kitsuneheart]

"On the Courtship of Hedgehogs" chapter 2 notes

Read chapter 2 here!

*****

Do not take this to mean you should view friendships as a "first step" to a relationship. 

Jules and Bernie say fuck your Friendzone bullshit.

*****

many hedgehogs—your authors included—begin flirting months or years before they pair up

There’s this adorable moment in Archie Sonic #76 when Jules recognizes Bernie as “that girl I used to debate against in school,” and I had to reference it here.

*****

Her clients chose the store, and she picked up a little extra shopping on the way.

Not mentioned in the story yet, but there is not a single matching plate or piece of silverware at Rouge and Shadow’s place. It’s all stolen, one piece at a time, just to ruin someone’s perfect place settings.

*****

Amy's eyes flicked to the book, then back to Rouge. "Eh, I watched the movies. Good homo-romantic pining, but no payoff."

Nerdy readers might have figured out that what Rouge stole was a signed first edition of “The Fellowship of the Ring.” A full signed LOTR trilogy was sold at auction in 2015 for £287,700. Rouge stole just one for the giggles.

*****

"Now, let's not assume it's because he's focused on Shadow," Rouge reassured, ripping the cork from her already-open bottle and taking a direct swig from the Chateau Lafite before slamming it back down. 

Depending on which vintage Rouge stole, this bottle of wine could be worth around $230,000.

*****

Bless that girl for bringing book five of the Solarian Chronicles, it was the one Rouge had been missing from her own reader. 

The Solarian Chronicles are a reference to the 2006 Sonic game.

*****

"He called me a porcupine!" Sonic pushed up to his knees, gesturing down his body. "Do I look like a porcupine to you!?"

A human called me a POSSUM. I am NOT a POSSUM!

*****

A shiver went up the blue hedgehog's back, skin bunching, fur and quills rippling under Shadow's touch.

Ever seen videos of what a hairless cat’s back does when you tough it? That’s what’s happening to Sonic.

*****

Ask Rouge to give you brushies or something.

The author wishes to suggest the opposite. 

That said....

*****

"Well," Shadow mused, flicking a twig into the distance, "if you've been noticing my backside, then you admit you're falling behind."

Sonic chuffed. "Or maybe I'm just there for the view."

This was one of those moments when the characters decided to just have their own little conversation in my head, and I was just frantically writing down what they said.

*****

And Stone, stand-up guy that he was (indebted to Sonic and his family's testimony after the whole metal knockoff thing as he was),

In my idea for the Metal Sonic story, Stone joins the team after he looks at some remains of Metal Sonic and recognizes parts inspired by Robotnik’s work, but clearly just ripping it off. Stone is Not Pleased at the abuse of Ivo’s legacy, and manages to do enough to solve the problem that GUN allows him to go back to the Mean Bean, but under a very strict Mobian-enforced house arrest. Stone would certainly betray the trust placed in him if he discovered some method of bringing the Doctor back, but, as of yet, that hasn’t happened.

*****

That was the same look they shared before Maddie restricted the three semi-animal kids to the property, back during the rabies scare three years ago. 

I spend more time than is healthy wondering how Maddie handles the Mobians’ medical care. Earth foxes can be given a rabies vaccine, but would it be safe to give Tails? Could post-exposure prophylaxis stop the spread of the sickness in the kids? Can Mobians even GET rabies? For this disease, she would definitely play it safe.

*****

I’ll become a real sexpert!

Travis insists he’s a “sexpert,” but if there’s a degree on his wall, I haven’t seen it.

*****

Wow, did Mobians go to Heaven?

All Dog Mobians do.

*****

"Bark bark!" Ozzy replied. <You cut off my balls! Personally!>

Like...she probably did. It’s a routine procedure. There’s no ethical standard for vets that says they can’t treat their own animals, unlike human doctors and their families. She probably tossed her puppy’s puppies right in the garbage.