#and fruit from trees should be enjoyed by everyone because it is nature's gift

[dmitriene]

THOUGHTS ABOUT CAVEMAN SIMON AND VILLAGER READER.

synopsis: spring has come, and with it the time for sacrifices to someone, who lives far from people and scares everyone who pokes their noses into the forest, and what could be better than bribing the one you fear, so you were chosen as the one who will bear all the gifts deep into the forest.

cw: fluff, comfort, smut, possible dubcon, story set not in modern time and might be unrealistic, not based on real knowledge about cave people, possible ooc simon since he's a caveman, virgin reader, mentions of cannibalism (not in action), biting, licking, groping, simon is rough around the edges, pet names, cunnilingus with dubious consent, simon is inexperienced, male and female intimacy, many mentions of bare flesh, overstimulation, crying, aftercare, kinda kidnapping. pairing: caveman simon ghost riley x villager fem reader

author's note: this idea was born from an absolutely spontaneous conversation with @suimon, and i'm grateful to her, because without her encouragement i wouldn't decide to write such an interesting story, which is kind of new for me, but i still hope those who will read it enjoy, it's my first attempt on writing this kind of plot, that ended up being 4.5k words.

✎ 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵. 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴. 𝘢𝘰3. ˑ༄

long melted snow, allowing fresh green grass to break through the once dissipated white fluff of snow, bright flowers decorating endless meadows and forests surrounding the village exactly along the perimeter — all this brings with it spring, warm weather, fresh juicy fruits and vegetables, and after them the time for a sacrifices.

behind the forest clearing, where the trees become thicker and seem to be getting darker, lives one whose cave, the exact location of which not many people know, are afraid to approach, and you never heard the exact answer, the exact reason, but everyone was afraid of this place more than fire, but were justified by a man who was frightening to the point of trembling, as if they had seen a living ghost.

naturally, you had never seen him, and you treated his stories as if they were fairy tales — an attempt to intimidate the kids from going too far during walks, nothing more, or so it seemed to you, until you were chosen as the one who would go to him with the onset of spring with fertile gifts, an attempt to appease the so-called monster, which terrifies the entire village with its very existence, and you couldn’t understand why you should go to the one you’re afraid of, and also with gifts?

but one way or another, it was not in your authority to refuse the election of the head of the village and the people, so you were dressed up in the best dress from your meager wardrobe, the white fabric flowing to your feet seemed as soft as silk, an absolutely light linen, diluted a wreath woven from fresh, sickly sweet flowers, and in your hands a basket of the freshest fruits and vegetables, with a rope on your wrist, a thick plexus leading to the neck of a good, well-fed cow, the devil knows what he will do with the poor, as you would think, animal, but one way or another — your task is to give, even if you looked the most appetizing here.

walking through the forest is difficult, especially when, of all the attempts to navigate, you only have — “go straight ahead and stop when you see the cave„ and the only thing left to do is to listen, periodically stop when the cow bends down to nibble fresh grass, and then walk again until feeling of dull pain in the legs, due to the fact that making your way through trees and large branches with almost bare feet is uncomfortable, a little painful, and you have to pick up the white dress in your hands so as not to get it dirty, trying to maintain a festive look as possible, not drop the basket, and still get to this damned place.

more and more doubts creep into your head, maybe no one lives there at all, or does, but it’s just a wild animal, and villagers just couldn’t see it in the dark clearlier?

but it’s hard to believe that in the thicket, which every time becomes darker and denser, in which there are more and more bushes and broken branches, and somewhere where there are even tree trunks lying — someone really lives, and while thoughts are wandering around your head like a prodigal wind, and the path completely disappears under your feet, you finally reach the right place, meeting your eyes with a stone cave, assembled from stones in a stable structure, sprinkled with greenery, moss and tree trunks.

really someone’s abode, albeit open, and looking as if it could become your undoing.

even the poor animal seems to be enveloped in fear, the cow bursts into a loud moo, resting her hooves on the ground, and with all due respect, you cannot push such a weight behind you, but you will not let her escape, tying the poor thing by a rope and to a tree trunk nearby, allowing her to calm down a little, to be distracted by tufts of grass, while your gaze rushes forward into the darkness of the cave, and your legs tremble slightly.

— “well.. here i come, cave man, huh..„ slips from your lips encouragingly to your own self, although your voice trembles, but you cannot return to the village with the same full hands, and in any case, you will most likely be sent again after this, damn old people, so the only way is forward.

the branches crunch under your feet, it seems to you, until you notice glimpses of animal bones, and it’s as if you are tugging from the inside, your step immediately quickens, and you practically stumble, clutching the basket to your chest and swallowing nervously, saying in your mind over and over — “it doesn't belonged to someone, it doesn't belonged to someone„ but it didn’t get any easier, as if the deeper you went, the more terrible it became, there was only pitch darkness ahead, not planning to make way for you even for a second, so you walk, almost blindly, closing one eye and making your way with the other.

— “is.. is someone there? hello??„

your voice echoes against the stone walls, but it becomes clearer under your feet, and a little brighter ahead, so you continue to walk even despite the dead silence, step by meek step, getting out to the center of the cave, where the walls become wider, and your eyes get used to darkness, letting small details immediately scatter before your eyes — some kind of wooden cabinet, a small rectangular table with a single chair, and above it a shelf with plates, everything is just like in your own house in the village, however, the bed is not very similar to the usual one, full of skins, located quite low, and you hesitantly step deeper, saying

— “hey?.. i'm, uhm.. i mean no harm, hello? someone?„

your voice sounds a little quieter, patient, as you walk to the table and allow yourself to place that same basket on it, carefully adjusting it along with the vegetables and fruits mixed in it, before moving away, smiling at the more welcoming composition, besides, it decorated a small surrounding emptiness, you even forgot for a while that you were in a cave, you felt comfortable, until the moment you turned around, noticing a dark figure in the corner that turned around sharply, and you screamed uncontrollably.

a large, massive figure in the very corner of the cave turns to face you, demonstrating its immensity and body, hidden under only one piece of fabric, vaguely reminiscent of pants, but what catches you, or rather scares you, is the skull attached to his face, and the skull would be less frightening if it belonged to an animal, but the shape was human like, separated from the back and leaving only the front, somehow attached to a dark piece of fabric stretched over the man’s face, showing the world only his sunken, dark eyes.

simon overreacts to the sound, furrowing his brows and clenching his hands into fists that hang on either side of his wide hips, not liking it when someone barges in uninvited, especially like this, but watching you shake like a cornered rabbit , he softens, and at the same time resolutely begins to walk in your direction, without warning, which makes your heart jump right up to your throat and back into your chest when you calm a bit inside, but still take a couple of steps back from approaching figure.

— “uh, h-hi? i'm sorry, i must scared you.. i-i screamed pretty loud, yeah?„

you babble, the words fly out of your soft lips hastily and with an attempt to justify yourself, and he freezes, breathing somehow displeasedly through his nose and causing his bare chest to heave, but still, he grumbles somehow approvingly, tilting his head to the side, as if having mercy on you and giving the opportunity to justify yourself, and you don’t dare to miss it.

— “uh, i was sent from village, you know, not far from here! i brought you some fresh vegetables and fruits, and cow.. you know, that does moo„ the words come out in one breath, while you spin around, pointing first at the basket that suddenly appeared on his table, then towards the exit, talking about the cow, telling him about it as if you were talking to a child, as if mistaking him for a completely savage, and simon squeezes out a rough, dry laugh, crossing his burly arms over his wide, scarred chest, cutting off your explanations

— “i know what a cow is„

his voice is hoarse, tart like coffee beans on the tongue, and you stop, taking a deep breath.

simon has already realized that you are from that stupid village full of fools who take him for some terrible animal, but instead of the usual fear like in other people’s eyes, in yours he sees some doubt and sincere guilt, like in a child’s who was scolded by his parents, and this causes amusement in his gaze, a flutter in his light eyelashes

— “i'm, sorry.. it's just, the villagers acted like you are some kind of wild animal, and i.. i thought..„

the words get confused in your head and on your tongue, one way or another, you, even if not for long, believed to the words of the people living in the village, believed that he was less human than many, now trying to justify his honor and your words, standing under his gaze and trembling as if leaf in the wind, your legs shook as you squeezed them together, feeling his strange, ardent gaze where your plush thighs began behind the thin fabric, and goosebumps ran down your skin as his lips stretched into a wide, wild grin.

you stand before his eyes like a prettiest gift, a prey — you are shaking like a little rabbit, or a newborn doe, as if your legs are about to lose control of your weight and collapse on the stone floor, even though a carpet of someone’s skin lies under your feet, he wouldn’t want you to return back to the village in a deplorable state, or maybe you yourself were sent as a sacrifice?

he doesn't know, because you look incredibly attractive and alluring in that light outfit with just panties underneath, the silhouette of the fabric of which he can see on your hips before his gaze goes up to where your round, soft breasts are hiding under the finest cloth, and up to the strands of your hair, decorated with a wreath of fresh flowers, he knows it by the sweet smell and by the fact that he has already seen such in the forest, and simon has never tasted people, has not eaten human flesh — but looking at you, at the softness, at the sweetness, maybe he should give it a try?

— “i never tasted human flesh before„ words roll off his tongue in advance of rational thoughts, a rich baritone from the thin line of pale lips behind the fabric of the mask and the shape of the skull where he licks them like a predator.

and you are theprey, the one which trembles and whose eyes widen when you hear his unexpected speech, wild, causing the blood in your veins to freeze and your legs to obey the instinct of escape, and you take off from your place, turn around on the thin sole of your sandals and move your body towards the exit and impenetrable the darkness from which you came, which previously let you in — and will no longer let you go without the permission of its owner.

you can’t even hear simon’s steps behind you, because of how adrenaline is pumping in your ears and blood echoes like white noise in the background, as his figure wraps around yours like a shadow and pulls you, he clings to the light fabric with dirty fingers and squeezes with a heavy weight around your waist, first with his fingers, then with his hand, heavy bonds that drag you into the air and there’s no point in even twitching your legs, he immediately turns you around in his arms, places your soft flesh in his palms, relishing in the softness, warmth, fingers greedily kneading the soft, supple skin between his fingers on top of the now slightly stained fabric, pressing you into a cold stone wall as you close your eyes tightly.

your body is trembling, you’re waiting for the touch of someone else’s teeth on your body, a sharp flash of pain, surrendering to the clutches of creeping death in the guise of a person without resistance, having resigned yourself in advance, even on the threshold of this cave, even when the dark, densely trees swallowed you in the depths of the forest, but no pain comes, no sensation of rough, sharp teeth in the skin, just his hands that slide from your butt, where he shamelessly touched you, to your hips and thighs, tracing the skin and bones over your dress, forcing you to twitch, squeezing your legs together.

something inside you is twisting shamefully hotly, curling into a coil in your lower abdomen and setting all your nerve endings on fire, you still don’t look, your eyelashes and eyelids are trembling, and simon takes pleasure in your instinctive fear, akin to the animals he mercilessly catches in the depths of the forest, kneeling in front of you just as he once knelt in front of them, but you were distinguished from a dead animal by your vitality, sweet aroma, soft warm body which he wanted to taste until greedily accumulating saliva in his mouth.

— “pretty„

he growls low from his throat, causing you to flush with a flash of blush, your fingertips prickling nervously, it seems that he’s saying this from a sadistic point of view, not really to you, rather than to your body, to what he will eat, and you refuse to look at the eyes of your fear, even when rough, calloused hands run along your legs until he lays them on his broad shoulders, lifts up the dress that gets in the way, exposes the skin to your thighs and carelessly leaves them rumpled to dangle there, when his bare mouth pierces your skin and licks.

your eyes immediately widen following the hitching breath that flies through your parted lips, and you look at him, this beast, this man, standing in front of you on both knees, and even between your legs he seems immense, but strangely tender, when he licks and gently bites a path to your thighs along the soft flesh, pressing his nose into it, you see it’s slightly crooked form briefly, the black fabric falls to cover everything except his mouth, which greedily tastes you like no one has ever tasted.

his dark eyes meet yours fleetingly, yours are frightened, his are peaceful and satisfied, the corners of his lips rise forward and spread on his face, and you feel every movement of his lips on you in dangerous proximity as he crawls higher and higher, settling between supple thighs with his head, sticking his nose and mouth into a place that attracts him with sweetness and wetness, a small sticky spot on the thin fabric, into which he buries himself greedily, opening his mouth wide and licking the fat stripe along your panty clad pussy, burying his nose in your twitching clit and grinning at the reaction of your body, as well as at the quiet, ringing moan that arose from the depths of your throat.

the light, thin fabric gets wet from the amount of saliva in his mouth, mixing with the moisture that is released from your hot, bothered pussy, causing the gusset of your panties become almost transparent, as simon buries himself deeper, without asking, he just takes it, squeezing your thighs until there is a slight, uncomfortable pain burning on your skin, as your legs kick forward and attempt to squeeze together because of the new sensations that you don’t understand, didn’t experienced before, but he’s not going to let you escape just yet, but you squeak, a shushed, soft sound, which makes him soften nonetheless.

simon's gaze studies you through his light eyelashes, he sees the conflicting emotions on your face, how your chest is heaving, how moisture collects on your lash line, threatening to release and turn into tears, so his arms wrap around and squeeze your legs a little more carefully, stroking the soft skin with awkward, uncertain circular movements of his fingers, he hasn’t interacted with people for a long time, especially in the moments like these, when his face is buried between your thighs while he laps lightly against your panties.

fear slowly leaves your body along with rational thoughts, you lose your vigilance in the hands of a stranger, a person who shamelessly touches your private parts, but touches you so well, so carefully, igniting that warmth in the bottom of your belly more and more each time and allowing you to twitch, squirm as much as it possible while being held half in the air, thus only pushing your hips forward, towards his wet mouth, and shuddering with pleasure and new flashes when his nose nuzzles harder into your little clit, making your toes curl, and he growls.

— “so sweet„

comes out as a muffled growl, and you don’t know if he’s talking about you or your pussy, but he licks you more actively, making your folds stick to the absolutely wet fabric of your panties, while he slurps and sucks your folds and clit, his movements are messy, uncertain, he's been isolated from people and any contact with them with his own hands, but that doesn't stop him from having a taste, as his tongue runs between your folds and he continues to tease you with slow, exploring movements.

you make more and more unusual to yourself sounds, quiet moans, breathy mewls, wet squelches that he swallows whole as your hands find support on his head and you dig your fingers into his mask, as you grow more and more impatient in your movements, just in time when simon gets tired of this unnecessary, wet piece of fabric, a barrier to the sweetest fruit and nectar in his life, so he bares his teeth and clings to the waistband of your underwear, helping himself with his fingertips and tearing them away down your legs, exposing your fluttering, wet hole to his hungry eyes and mouth.

the mere sight leaves him swelling with hardness in his pants, and your gaze catches on the silhouette of his cock, leaning heavily against his meaty thigh and bulging against the thin fabric, one little sight had you swallowwing nervously before your eyes roll back from the sharp contact of his bare lips with your bare cunt, he swipes his thick tongue once, twice, licking your wet folds and slurping your juices as an endless source of quenching his thirst, he licks and licks until you begin to lose yourself in how long you've been in this position, where your folds and clit swell, and simon just presses himself unexpectedly deeper before suddenly diving in further.

a loud sigh and a whiny moan spread through the cave, his tongue curls at the tip, when he accidentally, but with pressure, pushes your folds apart and into your fluttering hole, his tongue flattens against your entrance, before licking and thrusting inside, into the warmth of your velvety walls that tighten around his muscle right there, and he growls with satisfaction, akin to a muffled purr, moving his head up and down, smearing his entire jaw and lips in your slick, surrendering fully to your softness and warmth.

every movement of his tongue inside leaves you trembling, your legs intuitively spread apart further along his broad shoulders, your hips find a natural rhythm and constantly buck forward with every lick of his fat tongue against your walls and his sucking on your clit, noticing what reaction it causes in you and trying to hear more of your absolutely innocent, wanton squeaks and moans, enjoying the knowledge that you act and feel this way because of his actions, so he presses his knees into the stone floor harder and leans forward further.

your stomach twists more and more, and you push his face away from you with sharp, broken whimpers, when his tongue touches your spongy spot again and again, your body seems to be engulfed in flames, your spine arches away from the wall, resting your entire weight on his face and curling over him, breathing loudly and shakily when the tip of his tongue thrust rapidly, abusing your sweet, spongy spot with his hungry, drooling mouth.

he only grunts as you lean your full weight on him, continuing his assault on your throbbing and clenching hole, alternating between grazing his tongue against your folds and clit, or thrusting his muscle deep inside your core in fast, albeit languid movements, just until your loud whimpers and hoarse mewls echo against his stone walls, and your stomach twists and turns as your body convulses in an unexpected feeling of sudden orgasm, cunt clenches and pulsates around his tongue, letting go of your sweet slick and milky cum for him to have, covering his chin and mouth in the huge amount of liquid that he actively drink and lap up, opening his mouth wide and licking you clean, drinking till the last drop.

simon doesn’t stop, as if not knowing the line, which he doesn’t really know, continuing to run his tongue against your slit and cling to your hole, as he sukles on your clit, your whole body is buzzing strangely, your head begins to ache from the endless pleasure and overstimulation that his actions and touches bring, making everything between your legs swell and tingle, you desperately claw his bare back with your hands, adding to the scarred canvas of his flesh, trying to push, resist, but he doesn’t care, right until a loud sob escapes your lips.

he reacts instantly, making something close to a questioning grumble before retreating slightly between your legs, licking his thin lips around the edges and all your fluids on your thighs, you hang on him like a sack of potatoes, trying to grab his back with your hands and at the same time not allowing him to move away from you normally, quietly, pitifully sobbing, which cause him to growl, and with a rough grip of his wide hands on your hips, unhook you from him.

simon holds you more carefully, more gently, his hands are still shamelessly squeezing and pawing your hips, going down to the swell of your plush ass, touching the skin and also pulling down your dress to cover you and provide you with the minimum comfort possible in your position, where your panties lie torn on the floor, and endless salty tears flow down your raw, cowered in slight blush cheeks, and he feels even more sympathy for you than all the times before, frowning his light eyebrows and pursing his lips.

— “don't cry..„

he mutters in frustration, carefully releasing one hand from under your butt to carefully wipe the wetness of tears from your cheeks, while you sniff your reddened nose, your head and body pulsating with a strange surge of fatigue, there's still an uncontrollable throb between your legs, and the very thought of this feeling makes you sad, as your eyelids gradually get heavier with a dissatisfied whine escaping from the depths of your throat.

— “shh„

simon whispers quietly, shamelessly moving his face closer to yours to lick your wet cheeks, making you frown and grimace, resting your hands weakly on his shoulders before he gently begins to rock you in his bulky arms and press you against his chest, changing your position so that he supports you under your knees and your back rests comfortably on his thick bicep, curling up, and you no longer care about everything that happens.

you were in a comfortable, floating state between sleep and consciousness, not struggling or scratching like most of the little preys he meet, allowing him to carry you carefully away from the far wall and to a place that vaguely resembled a human bed, full of soft animal skins and located closer to the floor, on which he lays you down and immediately wraps you in the warmth of various furs, fleetingly touching the top of your head while carefully stroking your hair, reaching to the already slightly tattered wreath with flowers and throwing it away somewhere, to which you don’t even react, on the contrary, you cuddle in response to his touch with your head and face.

this makes him chuckle hoarsely, a sound that makes your skin crawl, but he carefully lays you down more comfortably and strokes your warm cheek, going down to your shoulder and drawing the same awkward circles here with the tip of his finger until you are taken into deep sleep, first with your mind, then with your body, allowing your eyes to close and plunge into darkness in a place unfamiliar to you, going limp and burying your nose in fur that smells sharply of musk, something tartly foresty and reminiscent of him, plunging you even deeper and further in viscious sleep, following the rough whisper, that is contrasting with his careful, soft touches.

— “sleep well, my pretty sacrifice„

simon mumbles practically under his breath, his dark eyes following every flutter of your eyelashes and the sigh that slips from your parted lips, before making sure that you are in a deep sleep and getting himself up from his haunches, the movement is accompanied by a slight crunch of bones and a grumble from his lips, he looks around his own cave, a torn, damp cloth lying on the floor, a wreath with scattered petals and a basket with some sort of offerings on the table, which he will use later.

for now he rests his hands on his hips, licking his slightly dry lips and looking at the prominent weight between his legs, resting against the fabric of his pants and responding with warm, tingling arousal and slight drippling moisture, but he will take care of this later, for now, simon will collect all the unnecessary garbage from the floor and get it as far away as possible, and then take care of the cow you brought with you from the village, even if he doesn't prefer to use meat from someone else's hands, he can definitely let it pass now, because he will need to persuade you to stay with him, as soon as you wake up.

simon will not allow something like you to escape, he has denied himself contact and warmth for too long, and now, having touched the forbidden fruit, he knows one thing for sure — he will never let it go again and will not refuse it, so you are in his abode for a long time.

[diegowife]

Guts ( GOLDEN AGE ARC )

Guts As Your Boyfriend SCENARIO

No Warnings

A Bit Yandere ¿

Part 2 ( NOT CONNECTED ): Post-Eclipse

• First of all, his other comrades could gape in disbelief seeing someone like you, kindhearted and gentle, deserve a fierce man like Guts.

• In spite of his intimidating presence, it was difficult for them to accept that he could indeed be your boyfriend as all he does is brandish his sword and ruthlessly slaughter any human that crosses his path on the battlefield.

• PDA is something that Guts despises. Its presence, particularly in public, is something that he would certainly find quite awkward. Unsolicited neck kisses from you are also something that he strongly disapproves of.

• In private, his affectionate nature truly reveals itself. Displaying his profound fondness towards you in the presence of his comrades is not his preference. Nevertheless, it is essential for everyone to be aware that you are exclusively his alone.

• In the forests, the only setting where he feels comfortable showing affection towards you publicly (restricted to just the two of you), he doesn't hesitate to embrace your waist. Occasionally, he enjoys teasing you.

• He also adores clasping your waist and drawing them near.

• In the initial stages of the relationship, the only terms of endearment he utilizes for you exclusively consist of ‘Dumbass’ and ‘Jerk.’ This should come as no unexpected revelation.

• Upon reaching a state of comfort, he consistently addresses you with the customary term while incorporating either ‘Love’ or ‘Babe’ depending on his mood.

• Engaging in his physical touch involves allowing him to place his head on your lap while you delicately run your fingers through his hair. It is also experienced when both of you intimately intertwine your fingers.

• Seeking comfort from your touch is the sole method to alleviate his concerns, which consistently proves effective.

• Before embarking on the mission commanded by Griffith, he adored the gentle and tender quick kisses on your lips.

• “Take care, yeah? I will not be dead, I promise.”

• Other than that, he may display reckless behavior and may not even show concern for offering an apology.

• In every debate, he is swift to lay blame on you and incessantly strives to emerge victorious, even though he is often the one who started the argument.

• Despite his stubborn nature, he refrains from criticizing or belittling you when engaged in an argument. To illustrate this, he does not resort to using derogatory terms such as ‘dumb,’ ‘stupid,’ or ‘fool.’

• “Tch, y'know, I have reached my limit with the nonsense you constantly spew. Don't talk to me again and deal the problems with yourselves this time!”

• However, his words are not intended to be taken seriously; they are simply a dramatic expression because the next day, he would present you with a quantity of fruit collected from a tree and placed in a bucket as an earnest gesture of apology.

• The bestowal of gifts is not a preference for Guts; his offerings consist solely of flowers plucked from the garden or a handcrafted floral crown fashioned only during his leisure moments. Indeed, he does not possess an inclination towards bestowing presents.

• “Dumbass, at least I got a present for you. Why are you even complaining?....”

• In spite of everything, Guts inevitably starts feeling envious when witnessing your increasing intimacy with his allies, especially Griffith. Even though Griffith is Guts' closest companion and depends on him, Guts remains uncertain about allowing you to interact with him.

• Guts becomes aware that both genders exhibit great enthusiasm toward Griffith and regard him with reverence akin to that of a God. Guts has his reasons for discouraging you from spending too much time with Griffith; who can say if you'll end up becoming a devoted fan of Griffith in the future?

• One time, during your conversation with Griffith, Guts unexpectedly approached the two of you and forcefully pushed you aside.

• Noticing Guts becoming sullen and defensive is truly precious. Nevertheless, your genuine displeasure arises due to the fact that you exclusively perceive him as the only person with whom you can communicate.

• “Why the hell are you spending some time with that twink?!!? I'm literally right here!”

• Occasionally, Guts can exhibit rather confusing behavior sometimes. On one occasion, he may display intense passion towards you, while on the following day, he might become perplexed if you attempt to establish more comfortable with him, catching him off guard.

• “Whoa, whoa, what are you doing?” 

• “Why did you try to kiss me?!”

• Exist of having a partner or in a relationship seems to slip his mind, almost as if it disappears from his thoughts. It wouldn't be fair to hold him accountable for this oversight; perhaps it's a result of the immense fatigue he experiences while engaged on battlefields, hindering his ability to grasp his thoughts accurately.

• In addition, Guts held a deep concern for your well-being. Take, for example, how Judeau and Corkus extended an invitation for a shared wine drink. However, Guts swiftly confiscated the bottle, forcefully shattering it on the floor. 

• “Don't you ever dare to accept anything from what my comrades gave you.”

• He strongly advises against you engaging in any potentially dangerous activities without his knowledge. Ultimately, he fears the consequences that may arise, envisioning a situation where you end up succumbing to intoxication, mirroring the experience of his late father.

• “I don't want you to be as pitiful as my old man back in the days....”

• Guts observe his peculiar sense of pride when Y/n is unexpectedly praised for the noticeable growth of his muscles or when he emerges victorious from a duel. He dismissively chuckles, portraying himself as the utmost embodiment of strength, impressing his partner.

• Demonstrating his biceps and measuring himself against others is his preferred method of flaunting his strength, allowing him to observe your entertained response proudly.

• “Me? Strong? Nah, I ain't really that strong. But keep in mind, I'll be the last man standing on a battlefield!”

• When it comes to sharing food, Guts is highly possessive. He refuses to relinquish the final portion of food to anyone else.

• “Nope, get it yourselves....”

• In order to provoke him, the optimal method and most effective tactic is to approach his fellow companions, such as Pippin and Rickert, and engage in the act of food sharing.

• Upon witnessing Pippin and Rickert tenderly feeding you food as if you were a little girl, an intense surge of anger welled up inside him.

• With a firm approach, Guts would seize your wrist, voicing his frustration, “What on earth are you doing!?” It was as if he had conveniently forgotten his own unwillingness to share food with you.

• On the other hand, if he discovered you crying, he observed as you concealed your face within the depths of your knees. An expression of confusion caused his brows to elevate, prompting him to playfully poke your head multiple times.

• “The hell you cryin' for?”

• Regrettably, he failed to acknowledge that his actions simply exacerbated the situation. With a sense of agitation, he clumsily tousles his hair as he finds himself unfamiliar with the task of comforting others.

• Besides, he never had anyone comforting him, so he's obviously shit at it. 

• “Gahh... how do I deal with this...”

• When your head rises, instantly his gaze falls upon your face, where red and swollen eyes meet his sight. Observing you in such a state causes a momentary pause for him; a sense of tranquility overtakes him as he descends and bends down alongside you.

• Witnessing you in such a state inflicts upon him a sensation akin to a sharp blow to the chest. The brewing question in his mind is, what if the fault lies upon his shoulders?

• “Hey, now, I don't like seeing you this way. Tell me exactly what happens.”

• Instead of yelling at him to leave, he anticipates your outburst, yet you continue to sob incessantly.

• Having a lack of aptitude in offering advice, Guts excels in the art of listening. He remains attentive to every expression and release of emotions you convey. Not once did his attentive listening falter, ensuring that your words were never overlooked.

• He'll let you bury your face into his chest and enables you to cry your heart out.

• Therefore, with a heart full of warmth, he will greet you with his most radiant smile while gently patting your head.

• ”Crybaby. Smile; you're adorable when you smile more.”

• In the midst of slumber, Guts will unanticipatedly carry you in a bridal style, gently cradling you in his arms, to an undisclosed destination amidst the woodlands.

• The destination to which he will take you remains uncertain. This gentleman is inclined to lead you up the hills, near the river, or perhaps even closer to the summit of the mountain to instill feelings of fear within you.

• Occasionally, he would drop you off under the tree as you and he sat together, allowing both of you to marvel at the crescent moon illuminating the night sky.

• Throughout the night, a transformation would take place within him, causing him to adopt a gentle demeanor. This shift in behavior can be attributed to the absence of people and the serene night air that envelopes him.

• During cuddle sessions, Guts will softly press his lips against your jawline, all the while gently caressing your cheeks with his thumb. The warmth and comfort of his hugs are undeniable; whenever his tender touch graces your skin, you experience an overwhelming sensation of melting in his presence.

• Murmuring sweet words to you is his habit before dozing off to sleep.

• “Tch, you never fail to steal my heart..”

• “I feel so safe with you; it's embarrassing...”

Thank you so much reading !

[dinosaurtsukki]

haikyuu!! team christmas parties

a/n: this is a suuuuper late christmas-themed post because it was kinda crazy here but i hope you guys enjoy these headcanons of how christmas parties are like with the teams

karasuno: 

a very chaotic yet very festive christmas party

nishinoya and hinata especially are very excited for it you could tell by the way they hum christmas songs in the locker room

naturally sugawara suggests holding a christmas party in his house but the only one he sends invitations to is tsukishima because he's the likeliest one to back out

in fact, sugawara probably sends an invitation to tsukishima's house every single day and at this point both akiteru and his mom are anticipating 'kei's first christmas party with friends'

hinata was too excited that he was there at sugawara's house two hours early but they spent a lot of time decorating the entire place

yamaguchi was there just as early because he thought it would be polite and he even brought a box of chocolates for sugawara's family

all of them also decided to do a secret santa gift exchange to make things fun and so they wouldn't have to give everyone gifts

the only ones who gave everyone gifts though were asahi (HE MADE UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATERS FOR EVERYONE) and yachi who gave everyone some cookies that she baked

everyone mentally thanked kiyoko for getting yachi as assistant manager

ennoshita's secret santa was tanaka and because he knew that ennoshita has been wanting a starbuck's planner, he enlisted noya's help in getting one

did this mean they both chugged 12 starbucks drinks all by themselves in one day? yeah pretty much

when ennoshita got his gift everyone understood why tanaka and noya were extra hyper that day

kageyama also got tsukishima as his secret santa

tsukki actually tried to exchange with yamaguchi but daichi caught him and said that there were no exchanges

he was also planning to get kageyama a plastic tiara as a gift but daichi also caught him (is2g he's everywhere)

eventually tsukishima settled on giving kageyama a volleyball cause he couldn't go wrong with that

kageyama was actually really happy with the gift but kinda pissed that it came from tsukishima of all people so he was just kinda squinting at tsukishima wondering what to say

anyway they didn't fight that's a christmas miracle

yamaguchi got daichi's name for the secret santa and gifted him a coupon for a free spa visit

daichi has a new favorite child

jk yamaguchi has always been his favorite child

hinata actually got KIYOKO to give a gift too and he was anxious for an entire week worrying about what to give her

he ended up asking natsu for advice and then gifting kiyoko a cute little phone charm

she thought it was sweet and still keeps it to this day

seijoh:

oikawa already had a group chat for a christmas party when december started hanamaki and matsukawa spammed it with memes and santa emojis for the first two weeks

finally when they got around to planning, iwaizumi offered to hold the party at his house 

surprisingly, the earliest one there was kyoutani because ofc he's helping his senpai set up

imagine the both of them trimming the christmas tree i'm jlgkjalg 

kyoutani even brought his own christmas decorations (they're little dogs with santa hats on them) 

kindaichi and kunimi were next to come in and they brought a little gingerbread house that they made themselves

y'all oikawa came in last because of 'traffic' but iwaizumi's like 'bullshit, you live next door'

he was late because he was watching the doctor who christmas special 

matsukawa and hanamaki are of course in charge of all the party games that last throughout the night

they have a newspaper dance game and they intentionally paired up oikawa and kyoutani 

they were the first ones to lose the game because kyoutani wouldn't come a foot near oikawa and that's about how wide their newspaper was

iwaizumi and kindaichi easily won but kindaichi was flustered that iwaizumi carried him bridal-style

you can bet they also brought karaoke and yahaba surprised everyone with his rendition of 'all i want for christmas is you'

also matsukawa and hanamaki did a really good duet of 'baby it's cold outside'

oikawa wanted to make a speech about his friends being his family and them being his best christmas gift ever but hanamaki stopped him

oikawa ended up giving one anyway when the party ended up going on until much later and everyone cried

everyone except kyoutani who was wondering why everyone was crying until he realized that iwaizumi was going abroad for uni

shiratorizawa:

these guys are so close that they just had to have a christmas party together 

goshiki ofc volunteered his own house and was deadset on making it the best christmas ever for his senpais

except tendou may have told him that ushijima's favorite decorations were mistletoe so ofc goshiki hung mistletoe ever

the funny thing is ushijima DOES like mistletoe. he thinks its classy and simple but he doesn't know about the kissing thing

meanwhile shirabu and tendou are on the side wondering if they should tell either of them

semi lost some kind of bet (probs with shirabu and kawanishi) and now he has to dress up as santa claus for some reason

lmao angry santa semi i love it already

tendou made some handmade chocolate truffles and half of them are delicious but the other half have a piece of onion in the middle

but the delicious ones are like REALLY delicious so everyone plays this sort of russian roulette game with tendou's chocolate truffles

semi kept on getting the onion truffles until reon felt bad for him and gave him his chocolate truffle

it ended up becoming a christmas tradition

ushijima actually gave everyone a gift and it's matching knee pads

shirabu actually loves them except he doesn't want to wear them out so he never wears them

also he gets cold really easily so even though the christmas party is indoors, he's wearing a sweater and a coat and a quilt on top of that

he honestly looks so cozy that by the end of the night everyone is cuddled up next to shirabu

EXCEPT USHIJIMA ALSO INVITED COACH WASHIJO TO COME IN

ushijima: he's our coach and therefore a part of our team so of course i invited him

no one can argue with him there

coach washijo was surprisingly a nice guest but everyone was extra courteous around him

semi served him some hot tea and shirabu even gave his quilt

goshiki was hiding in his bathroom because he might get lectured on his serves

they didn't know what activities to do with coach washijo around so tendou suggested watching their volleyball games (yes, goshiki has them all on tape) and coach washijo was all like 'i watch you play all the time why would i want to do that now?'

eventually they settled on watching Polar Express and it was nice

nekoma:

their christmas party is also a costume party because kuroo said so all of them came in christmas-themed costumes

AND THEY WERE ALL GROUP COSTUMES

the third years roped in shibayama and they all dressed up as the characters from 'A Christmas Carol'

shibayama was christmas past, kai was christmas present, kuroo was christmas future, and yaku was scrooge

kuroo: it's perfect because you're short and mean

it's funny because they all end up capitalists

okay but tbh the second years plus lev also went all out for their costumes because they come in as HOME ALONE

i'm clearly biased when it comes to my favorite christmas movies

fukunaga and taketora are the two robbers, kenma's kevin, and lev comes in as the house

it's basically a cardboard cut-out of a house that he and alisa made

the first twenty minutes of their christmas party is basically just them arguing about which group had the better costume

eventually they decide to actually enjoy the party

they end up playing a lot of parlor games and even though kenma hates how loud everyone is, he's still determined to win all of them

i swear, he ended up pushing lev out of the way during musical chairs, also grabbing the chair before sitting on it

but then after that kenma decides to play games for the rest of the night except kuroo confiscated his game console (again)

you can bet yaku and fukunaga cooked the christmas dinner for everyone

kai takes a million pictures for the memories but he's really a perfectionist about it and go crazy whenever lev moves two millimeteres too far to the left

when the pictures are developed kuroo has them developed on matching t-shirts and forces everyone to wear them during practice matches

tsukishima: nice shirt

kuroo: why THANK you

kenma: thanks, i fucking hate it

inarizaki: 

ngl they're not SUPER into christmas but they're just mildly curious about the celebration

it's mostly the miya twins who initiate it as a way for all of them to have a get-together during the winter break

kita thinks it's a good idea and invites them all to his house

he's actually quite curious about christmas as a religious celebration so he reads up on it a lot and even starts to up his own nativity scene as decoration

he ends up asking his teammates if they want to bring anything to add to the nativity scene

suna brings his gundam figurines and atsumu has an acrylic standee of momo from twice

and now those are joseph and mary

aran and kita take one look at the nativity scene and go 'this doesn't look right' but atsumu looks so happy to have momo there that they just leave it be

osamu is in charge of food ofc but he can't make up his mind on what to cook so he ends up cooking a little bit of everything

ofc atsumu has to be the one to help him but he ends up tasting and eating a good portion while osamu's cooking

*insert fighting in the kitchen*

suna's just walking around taking pictures of everything and uploading them to his snapchat (which has a lot of followers)

"our chaotic team christmas party part 1 of ???"

aran and kita just want some chill time and drink hot chocolate while watching christmas specials

kita also hung up stockings for everyone and suna was expecting it to have candy but its full of fruit and healthy snacks

they still taste good though

suna’s also the first one to fall asleep right smack on kita’s couch 

atsumu’s just about to draw on his face with permanent marker but kita has a disappointed look so he stops instantly

in fact, ALL of them end up falling asleep in the middle of kita’s living room 

they look so cute aran is in the middle with each of the miya twins on his side. suna is sprawled all over the couch with his face buried in the cushions. kita is sleeping right next to the coffee table with his arms crossed over his chest

kita’s grandmother walks in on them in the living room and knows FOR SURE that she doesn’t have four grandchildren but she’s making them breakfast anyway 

***********************************************

taglist (still open to anyone who wants in!): @montys-chaos​ @miyumtwins​ @strawberriimilkshake​ @pocubo​ @sugawara-sweetheart @akaashisbabydoll @laure-chan​ @therainroguefanfiction​ @atetiffdoesart @stephdaninja @oikaw-ugh​ @charliefredb​ @dramaqueenweeb1469 @tremblinghearts @applepienation @doodleniella @haikyuu-my-love @waitforitillwritemywayout @kattykurr @tpwkatsumu

[fairestwriting]

title: a treasure hunt of sorts

word count: 2696

summary: Malleus had been gifting Ellis gems, recently, so many that they were piling up and he wouldn't know what to do with them even if he actually understood the meaning behind the gift. After some "careful consideration", he decides to give something back.

commissioned by @nymphgrotto​ , also available on ao3 here ! tysm for the commission, i hope you enjoy it!

my guidelines for commissions are here, in case anyone else is interested

Everything in the Ramshackle dorm building creaks, floorboards and doors and ceiling threatening to collapse in a way that Ellis somehow had just grown used to. Door shut behind him, he walks noisy steps towards the lounge, leaving the beautiful night outside, and placing a red gem the size of his palm on the coffee table.

Another one. The fifth one he’d gotten this week, and they were only halfway through it.

The gems gather on top of the surface like freshly picked fruits, full of color and life and almost glaring at him in their little shiny pile. He slides the blazer off, tossing it somewhere — Grim was asleep at this point, it’s fine if he wasn’t being the best influence — and lets himself collapse on the plush stuffing of the couch.

The gems were a gift from Malleus Draconia — A name that strikes fear into many students’ hearts, for reasons Ellis just couldn’t see. They had met by chance outside Ramshackle, Malleus was taking a nightly stroll and they just ended up chatting for a reason or another. He found out bits and pieces of information every time they saw each other. That he liked abandoned buildings and the night sky, that he was very knowledgeable about gargoyles and owned a tamagotchi, then his name that he had been refusing to actually tell. They hit it off and became friends. Malleus was a person Ellis liked to be around.

And a person he had an exponentially growing crush on, he admits, but just to himself for now. He sighs again, head in his hands. His crush, putting a different precious gem in his hand every night. It should have been a dream scenario, but he just doesn’t get it. The way Malleus does it is so unaffected, they couldn’t be heartfelt gifts at all. It looked like he was lending him money.

Maybe that’s what’s happening, he thinks tiredly, looking around the inside of the building. He had been cleaning up for most of the semester, it managed to look decent now, if only a little like somewhere a grandmother would live, but that was cozy in its own way. The outside was still screwed up, though, so maybe Malleus trying to help him with repairs? Ellis stares at the pile of gems, they stare back. With the amount all of them were worth, they were probably enough to cover all the costs needed to polish Ramshackle’s outside, so maybe…

...he really didn’t want his crush, a guy so lofty and admirable, to think he just couldn’t do something like that by himself, though. The very thought of it makes him uneasy.

He sighs. Maybe he should talk it out with someone, he was burning up his brain cells just thinking by himself like this. He scrolls through names in his contact list before stopping on Cater’s. Cater had mentioned talking to Malleus before, right? And he didn’t seem scared. Plus he may have been aware of Ellis’ crush, even half so — Though that’s sort of embarrassing, it’s not like he’d been trying to hide.

But it’s okay, the phone makes its dialing noise. “Hey, Cater?”

“Ellis! Hi hi.” Cater chimes from the other side of the line. Ellis could hear ruffling even through the phone, maybe he just moved around on his bed. “What’s up!”

“Malleus.” Ellis starts, leaning back against the couch. Thank god it was so comfy, right. “Has he ever brought you, um… gems and stuff? Like really expensive looking things?”

There’s silence.

“Uh, no?” Cater responds mid a confused laugh. “...why are you asking that? We don’t really talk.”

“I don’t know.” Ellis admits, shaking his head in defeat. “He’s been giving me gems all week and I don’t get it. I thought maybe you knew something since you’ve talked to him...once? That’s more than most people here, anyways.”

Cater hums, a short pause. “Well, I really can’t tell what that means.”

Another sigh, another feeling of defeat. Ellis sinks on the couch.

“Ugh. Do you think he feels bad about the state of the dorm or something? I like gifts as much as everyone else, but…” He sighs. “I just wanna know what’s going on in his head.”

“Y’know, they’re still gems, I don’t get why you’re complaining. And you’re so curious about him too.”

“I just wanna know.” He huffs, face feeling hot. “I feel bad I’m not giving him anything back, is all. Gifts are nice but this is too much.”

“Ehh, you wanna one up Malleus?” He asks, voice incredulous. Do I wanna do that? Ellis finds himself wondering. Is that what this is about?

“I mean, I might as well try, right.” He says. He thinks of it as a joke, but it might not really be one. Looking up to Malleus all the time felt… kind of lame, sometimes, Ellis wanted him to look up to him too. His heart feels heavy thinking about it — But he does.

“Okay, that’s just crazy.” Cater laughs from the other side of the line, mixing with the ruffling sound again.

“Yeah, yeah. Maybe.” He laughs back, but, again, he’s actually thinking about it. He can’t help but think about it. What if he actually impressed Malleus this time? He wonders how he’d look.

They say their goodbyes after more idle chatter and Ellis has his flushed cheeks on his hands, pulling his knees closer to his body. He’s tried doing something impressive before, though it usually just ends up going humorously wrong… but, but, maybe this time it’d work. He stares at the gems on the coffee table. These could be the clue he needed.

A wide-eyed Malleus comes to mind. If things went like that, maybe the messages he’d been wanting to send with all the casual affection would get through. Even if Malleus didn’t like him back — That was a scary thought, but he knew it wouldn’t ruin their friendship, Malleus wasn’t like anyone else — he’d been wanting to tell him in a way where he could actually understand, visualize how deep his feelings had been running. This seemed like the perfect chance.

He dreams of emeralds in a treasure room that night.

. . .

He knew that this, at least, was something Malleus would like — Ellis can’t help but giggle in excitement while he drags him around the woods, clutching at his hand, hearing the crunching of leaves under their shoes and the subtle howling of the wind.

“So, tonight,” He introduces, voice chimy and full of energy. Malleus is standing right behind him in his towering glory. His stare is mostly blank, but Ellis somewhat knows how to decode it, and he can see a glint of curiosity there. They stop in front of an assortment of rocks that made up something looking like a gate. “I was thinking we could go looking for gems in this little cave? I heard from some guys that it has a lot of interesting stuff inside!”

Some guys was a chain of information that started with Rook, who had been doing god knows what in the cave, but what mattered now is that Ellis would go there, and he would find something that would blow Malleus away.

“A cave,” Malleus repeats, blinking. His long hair sways with the wind, lime green glow emitted from his eyes — He did things to his heart, honestly, even just being there — as he looks at Ellis with amusement. “Is that… a common outing for your culture, Child of Man?”

“I mean, not really? But I like collecting things.” He says, a bit sheepish as they begin to walk inside. It’s dark, but that’s an issue easily solved by flicking his flashlight on. “And I thought you might like this.”

Malleus chuckles, and that does more to his heart than him just standing here. “I see,” He says, the amusement visible. Ellis can’t help the excited smile beginning to show up on his face. This was it. “I do think it could be interesting.”

“Yeah!” He chimes. Shining the light forwards, he inspects the path in front of them as they walk further away from the entrance — It was safe, right? A lot of people seemed to have been there, plus it wasn’t exactly hard to move inside, the ground wasn’t as rocky as the walls “I heard they have gems deeper inside? Uh, it might be a little creepy for a bit, though.”

Malleus hums. The glow of his eyes shows up more at every step they take towards the inner parts of the cave, shrouded in darkness. Looks magical, Ellis’ brain unhelpfully reminds him, majestic, beautiful.

(He needed to get that confession out already, and yet…)

“I’m not displeased with this place, though.” Malleus’ voice makes a light echo. “It reminds me of home in a way.”

“Home? Like in the Valley of Thorns?” He asks, wincing when he steps against what seemed to be a tree branch, cracking it into two. How do things like that end up here, anyway?

“It’s a very rocky scenery. Tall mountains and thorn bushes, dark almost all year long.” Malleus explains. “I remember seeing it through my room’s window.”

“You know, that’s kind of cool in a way, I’ve never been somewhere like that.” He comments, thumb resting over the flashlight’s switch. He feels fidgety trying to visualize the Valley of Thorns in his mind, then briefly entertaining the thought of actually being there, with him too… “Is the palace all dark too?”

“Darkness is associated with royalty, so naturally it is.” He speaks. There’s a hint of nostalgia in his voice, almost. It’s strangely warm thinking of a smaller Malleus walking around a big, imposing dark castle, and still making all those sweet childhood memories there. It’s a testament to Malleus himself, maybe. The contrast between the imposing exterior and the softer interior. “It's tall, built in black bricks a long time ago, surrounded by thorn bushes…”

“You should bring me there one day.” Ellis suggests. His voice comes out sweet, it always does — And he hopes Malleus can notice why, he wants him to. But he doesn’t expect it at this point.

(Because if there’s one thing about Malleus’ he’s learned, it’s that genius or not, everything just flew right over his head, and flirting with him was a battle you lost before you even started fighting.)

“Perhaps that wouldn’t be a bad idea at all.” Malleus says mid a chuckle, and his heart flutters. Oh to have a tour around Malleus’ hometown. Maybe there wasn’t much more to see at the place than thorn bushes, but Ellis thought about it insistently anyways. The things that made it unique, and the things about it that Malleus carried over. It’s insistent curiosity and his equally insistent crushing.

He glances forward as he smiles, recalling what he’d been told about the cave. They should be getting to the part with the cool rocks (Cater’s words, not his, maybe not even Cater’s either, since he got that from Ace who got it from someone else… you know how it is) now, Ellis is excited. He’s read up a little bit on gems before doing this. Surely Malleus would be caught off guard by that too, if he was interested in them, then they could choose one to bring home, and it’d be like jewelry shopping, kind of, maybe…

But jewelry stores don’t have swarms of bats in it, and caves do — And in they come, screechy noises and motion blur, and Ellis wasn’t thinking about the presence of bats at all, so he completely flips out, jumping in shock with a yelp and dropping the flashlight.

Dropping himself, actually, tripping on a damned rock and almost falling on top of Malleus as he hears the crack of his light falling, rolling somewhere he couldn’t see.

“Careful, Child of Man—”

Ellis blinks, looking around to try and find that light, but it’s nowhere to be seen — Not that he could see anything, the place was shrouded in darkness now — and his breath quickens with panic, damn it this wasn’t what…

“The flashlight?” Ellis asks, voice frantic. “Damn it, I can’t see it, I…”

Malleus’ eyes are still glowing green.

“I’m guessing you can’t see in the dark?”

“No?” He sputters. What, now he could see in the dark too? Malleus’ abilities are usually interesting to hear about, but now… “Ugh, the flashlight…”

“It’s not anywhere near us.” He informs unhelpfully. “Fallen from a drop. Perhaps I should guide us back.”

He sighs, heavy and tired. Great, there went his plans, everything down the drain again. Usually he could just laugh something like this off, but…

Maybe he had higher hopes for tonight.

“Yeah, I guess.” Ellis mumbles. “Sorry, in the end we couldn’t really do anything cool.”

“We still have time for a stroll near the woods, don’t we?” He can’t see Malleus’ face, exactly, just the outline of his eyes dotting the black dye, but with the way they move he guesses he may have tilted his head. “And I’ve actually enjoyed visiting this cave, short as our outing was.”

“...yeah, b-but I wanted to impress you.” His face feels hot, mostly with shame, the stutter comes with the blurting out of the words. He hates being upset like this, and yet— “You’re always the one doing cool things, disappearing in thin air and leaving fireflies behind, bringing me all that stuff… I wanted to do it too, I guess, especially with you bringing me all those gems for reasons I still don’t know why. I wanted you to… l-like me more, I guess, because I really like you.”

Too many words. He feels his core burn, but they’d been spinning around in his mind for so long now, at some point it was meant to come out. At least, even if Malleus hated that, he wouldn’t…

“Child of Man,” He speaks, voice clear and blank after a pause. There it comes, Ellis thinks dejectedly, though he doesn’t know exactly what bad thing he’s expecting. “Ellis.”

But that’s his name. His agape mouth closes. Was it that bad? One might worry his heartbeat would start echoing into the empty cave.

“...I believe there may have been a misunderstanding here.”

He shakes his head, heart twisting. “N-No, it’s okay, I get that you don’t…”

“Are you not aware of dragon courting traditions?”

Ellis feels his heart both drop the ground and soar at the same time.

“...the gifting of gems. I’d been trying to tell you about… how I feel, I suppose, for a while.” He says, and his voice sounds different. Quieter. Guilty? Ellis can’t put his finger on what it is exactly, but he wonders if Malleus is blushing.

And the image of it in his mind makes him want to look away, even as he can’t.

“There’s been a misunderstanding after all.” Malleus sighs. Yeah, his voice is different. Airy, light, something to it that has Ellis’ face burning. “If you’ve been thinking you could make me like you any more than I already do.”

It feels like an impossible dream to have something like this happen, in this damn cave of all places too, but the smile makes its way into his lips and doesn’t leave, lopsided or not. The laughter starts bubbling up. And on his first snicker, he has Malleus’ confusion too.

“Are you laughing at my confession?” He asks when the snickers turn into a full on laugh, one that has him wiping tears off his eyes with his sleeves.

“G-God, no way, I’m just laughing ‘cause we’re both so stupid…” Ellis shakes his head. Who would have known, huh. “C’mon, let’s get out of here. Then we can go for that walk you wanted. I think it’d be nice.”

“As you wish, then.” He replies, and Ellis feels his hand on his, warmth spreading across him. It’s really a dream— “Would that mean we are… dating, now?”

Oh to see the great Malleus asking him all these dorky questions. “Maybe. Let’s get out of here first.”

The light from the entrance shines back onto them soon.

[wordsbeyondimagination]

Christmas Lego Date

Hey, Hope you all are safe.

I wanted to say that I don't feel any confidence in my writing, and the situation here is also not very good. Everyday we are living like owing time. If you all can suggest any genre or any changes to the themes, then please feel to ask. I will surely reply because writing is something that I love the most.

Take care.

Mama Suh always wanted to see her grandchildren, and play with them but to her disappointment, her son never got time to date, anybody. So, she had to take things in her hand.

She set up a date for Johnny in Chicago when he was home for Christmas. The first date went through knowing each other’s name, interests, and work. And that was like a total clash when an introvert meets an extrovert. He was the one that set up the atmosphere and made you comfortable around him. That was the only thing that made you look forward to your second date with him. He had planned a date at a fancy restaurant but changed it at the last moment and asked you to visit his home.

Johnny had already planned the whole evening. He had brought a Christmas tree and lots of lights and mistletoe. He had prepared the dinner himself. And prepared gifts for you. Well prepared and was only waiting for the doorbell to ring.

He was overwhelmed when he heard the bell ring.

“Good Evening, Y/n, did you have any problem finding my house?”

“No, it’s such a good location, why would there be any problem.”

“I had brought fruits for Uncle and Auntie.” His parents were not in the house that’s why he chose to invite you or else Mama Suh would have asked you about the date of marriage.

“Yeah, I will say her when she comes back.” He took the basket from your hand and escorted you to the couch.

His house had a warm feeling. It sharply contrasted the snow falling outside. Your string was getting stronger with him. With his personality, he was like a fireplace to you. You were always considered cold because of your introverted personality but he understood you. He always made efforts to make you comfortable around him.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Hmm…”, he said arranging the table.

“Why did you choose your house for our date?” Johnny smiled at you. He admired your innocence and curiosity.

“I planned to take you out but Mom said that she is going out with Dad, so, I invited you here, and also I thought a house would’ve different feeling. Don’t you like it?” He asked with fake concern that panicked you.

“No, no, no, it’s not like that. I like quiet places. I like your house very much. It’s warm just like you,” you mumbled the last three words but he heard that and pretended like he didn’t hear anything to make you comfortable around him. It was rare to have someone have feelings from the first blind date but you two were just fools in love.

You noticed the Christmas tree and decorative laying behind the couch.

“Have you tried this?” You asked pointing to the tree.

“Yeah, I wanted to surprise Mom and Dad but I have no idea.” He said scratching the back of his neck.

“Will you help me? You can come up with ideas.”

“Yeah, sure.”

“Okay, let’s do that after dinner.”

The dinner was full of laughter. He narrated the 10th-floor stories. Some deadly, some comedic, and some horrific. You almost choked once because of his stories, he hurried to your side with water and patted your back. It was that moment when you realized that you need him in your life, for a lifetime. Both of you settled and again he started with all his stories, his stories didn’t end and your laughter didn’t stop. It was a moment that was going to be memorable for both of you till death.

After dinner, you both settled on the floor for decorating. Although Johnny insisted on sitting on the couch, still you said that it wouldn’t have any feeling of a family. It gave him hope.

“I saw your designs on your Instagram page, how do you get so many ideas?”

“They just come. I don’t do anything for them to come.”

“We also have a bunch of kids in NCT who design, you would love to meet them. You would love to meet them all. We have everyone younger than me except one and trust me even though he is the eldest but he is like a baby. I hope I can take you there.” You just smiled at his words but never replied to anything so he didn’t ask you anymore but little did you that he was asking you to come with him. You couldn’t even ay him that you watched every NCT video at least 10 times to know more about him and you memorized everybody’s name.

You two sat decorating the Christmas Tree, and he was helping you and also narrating the stories when he decorated trees with his groupmates. Unaware of time, you two enjoying your date, a date that you wanted.

“Y/n, I have something for you.” You looked at him and he ran to his room and came out with two folded sweaters for him. When you unfolded it, you saw that it had your initials on it and Johnny had also his initials.

“Wow, I like it. Thanks.” He smiled.

“Well, I also have something else for you.” He again ran inside and came with a wrapped box.

“What’s this?”

“You will know when you open it. Come on open it.” He became excited and started to jump and seal clap and for the first time, anybody’s excitation excited you. You started to unwrap it.

“Hogwarts Castle Lego set! Thank you very much. But how do you know that I am a Potterhead?”

“Oh. I saw your Instagram and you had many drawings of Harry Potter, so…”

“Thank you. I love this.”

Only this! not me! Johnny thought.

“Johnny, it’s getting late, I think I should go. We will meet next time.” He never wanted you to go. You were the one he wanted the most and always treasure you and protect you. He wanted you to stay by his side.

“Okay.” He stood up and went with you to the door but as soon as he opened the door, a chilly gust of wind blew and it was a snowstorm.

“Looks like a blizzard!” You were just about to go inside when he grabbed your wrist.

“Y/n, we are under the mistletoe!” You looked up and indeed a mistletoe was hanging and you both under it.

“When did you hang this?”

“When you were busy decorating Christmas tree.” He said with a shy smile. Yeah, you should’ve known that it's his idea.

“Y/n, I think we should kiss.” He placed his lips on yours. Even though the chilly winds and the snow were cold but you felt warmth under his touch. It was love. When you separated, his eyes were full of feelings for you. A home for you.

“I think I have to stay here. The snow won’t allow me to go.”

“Hmm.” Even nature was on his side.

He closed the door.

“Y/n, I want to ask you something.” You looked at him. He was serious.

“Yeah.”

“Would you…would you like to come with me to Korea and stay by my side? You can carry freelancing there.” You smiled at his confession. That is not only what you wanted but that was what you needed. You were crazy for him, and you needed him.

“Yeah. I would love to.” Johnny was overwhelmed with your response, he hugged you at once. But something came between you two ‘Lego’.

“Johnny, do you want to try this with me.” He nodded.

“Wingadium Leviosa ”

“Expelliarmus”

And you two were in a sleepless night, sitting near the fireplace and joining the Hogwarts castle and casting spells on each other treasuring the memories with your kiss and hugs that you shared.

[astringofmadhousefloozies]

Birthday Sequence

Three friends have their birthday in a month of each other, and the parties get progressively more interesting. Content warnings for coarse language, offscreen sexuality, underage drinking and the consequences thereof.

As always, check my Twisted Wonderland Fanfiction tag for more, let me know if you enjoyed reading, and if you want to chat or ask a question, my askbox is open.

~*~*~*~

"You look great."

Idia made a whine you were certain they could hear in Savannahclaw and put his face in his hands. "Why did no one tell me about the birthday event?"

"I dunno, because we'd all assumed you'd seen everyone else put on the prissy little birthday boy suit and dance around like an idiot while I did an interview, and realized you weren't exempt."

"But why didn't you make Crowley skip me?" He looked ready to cry, so you you got up on tiptoes to kiss his nose and dry his tears, which simply had the opposite effect.

"Because maybe I wanted to see you dressed up pretty for a change?"

He just groaned. "Wasn't the festival enough?"

"Never enough; not with you. I'll make sure me and Ortho are your bodyguards, okay? Now, get out there and pretend they're all in their underwear. I got a present on the table for you. And..."

"And?"

"If you're truly overwhelmed, I'll bring you back here to hide, and get you out of the monkey suit myself."

It took him three seconds to turn a truly absurd shade of pink, and flee out the door of his room. The only thing scarier than a crowd where you're the center of attention is a lover who's relentless in voicing her attraction, if you're a neurotic dweeb with a molten core of self-hatred.

~*~*~*~

He'd relaxed somewhat as the presents went on. After checking with each person if they'd rather he open it now or in private (shuddering every time someone said now, in fear of bad reactions), he'd so far wound up with a super mega deluxe vinyl release of the Moirai's most recent album (despite not owning a record player, but it came with the digital album and lots of feelers so he still liked it very much), piles of sweets, and wouldn't have to pay for the subscriptions on most of his game for at least two years. And, he still had a pile to go through.

"Who's this one?"

"That's me. Go ahead."

He lifted the lid off the box, and took out a little creature, a sofubi toy of transluscent grey plastic painted with pearly stripes and shiny green eyes. "I've never seen this Nyarochi before." He turned it this way and that, a small smile on his lips. "Where'd you get this?"

"I got it blank at that second hand shop you showed me."

"... Blank." You could see the gears turning.

"Why do you think I asked to borrow your airbrush?"

Turning, turning... there we go. "You did this?"

"Yeah, dude. One of a kind, just for you."

He looked back and forth between you and the toy, smile growing. Once finally settled on you, he lit up - literally; his hair let out a bright, sparking burst that left spots in your eyes. You think he might have said thank you, you were too busy reeling from the sweetness of his expression, all directed at you, and little Nyarochi was tucked in his jacket pocket until he finally left for his room, you in tow.

~*~*~*~

"Hey Sam."

"Hey, Yuu. What can I get for you this fine day?"

"I got a list. I'm making something for Lilia. Did you know he's a new year's baby?"

"I did!" Sam scanned the list, only to set it down and raise an eyebrow at you. "I have much of this, and can order almost all the rest. You do know I'm not allowed to sell alcohol to a minor."

"It ain't for me, though. Do you know where I can get it?"

He shuffled around in a drawer before sliding a card across the table. "In Stock Now! The solution to your problem."

It was your turn to raise an eyebrow. "Sam. Does Crowley know you're selling fake IDs?" Your turned it over. "Really, really good fake IDs?"

"Crowley lets me do what I want, because I might stop doing what he wants."

You laughed. "Gross. Alright, I don't know the price, but can I get a discount if I help you stock a few weekends?"

"I'll do layaway just for you, if you come in next week."

~*~*~*~

"Yuu!" Lilia leapt at you, and you swung him around in a hug. "It's so great to have you here! Where's my loot?"

"I got to finish it, let me go a minute."

He did, and watched with interest as you set up from your cooler. You ran a lime around the rim of a glass, and crust it with red salt before filling it with ice.

"Yuuuuuuu. My little darling. You know I'm too young to drink."

"No you're not, dude. it's an open secret, like what happens in that shed behind the gym stays there and you don't get admitted to NRC if you're completely heterosexual." You added the mix to the glass, before tossing in a celery stick and sliding it over to him.

He barked out a laugh and took the glass. "That's true all right." He sipped at it and smiled. "What is it?"

"At home they call it a Caesar. I made up a shitton and I'm leaving you with the recipe, which you have to follow. I figure you liked your tomato juice, so..."

"It is just my taste. Thank you." You'd only blinked, and he'd already finished it and slid the glass back. "More, please."

~*~*~*~

You'd learned two things tonight, of which you'd only dimly suspected one. The first was that Lilia could probably drink the entire school under the table, staff and ghosts included. The second, far more interesting thing, was that when tipsy, Lil talked about his past, and in his past, he truly redefined the meaning of "absolute slut".

Looking like a particularly cute teenybopper had not stopped him from fucking his way through most of the Court of Thorns, and a great deal of the places he'd visited, in ways both inventive and more than occasionally disturbing. You really, really ought to stop him; poor Mal was standing out on the balcony with his fingers in his ears, singing very loudly to drown out the noise, but you were too busy taking notes. Kalim was listening to his fellow Light Music Club member in awe, and Cater had been recording for the past forty five minutes, though you were pretty sure if he uploaded any of this his Magicam account would get permabanned for pornographic content.

"And that's when his sister - fabulous woman, cunt like a ripe fig and she'd start giggling every time you..." he stopped and swirled his empty glass. "Where'd my drink go?"

"You drank it all, dear. There's none left."

"Aww. Why'd I have to share it all." He set his glass down and plucked the half-full one from in front of Silver's sleeping form. "Hey, did I ever tell you what I got up to with his," nodding out towards Malleus,"his grandmother?"

You never found out, as Mal simply bodied him clean across the room before any more could be said.

~*~*~*~

"Vil."

"What."

"Can I borrow your lab equipment?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Why."

"I wanna make perfume."

He brightened. "Finally decided to stop smelling like a haunted house?"

"Vil, I actually pay real money for perfume that smells like a haunted house. I have multiple. Sometimes I layer them, to mix with the natural scent of the haunted house I already live in. And it's not for me, though if this works I might try to make stuff for myself."

He wrinkled his nose at you, somehow not creasing his makeup. "Why should I help you?"

You thought about it, and then shrugged. "Well. Why not?"

"... I hate that I can't argue with that. Come on."

~*~*~*~

You have no idea if the party was sedate because of the relatively few people outside of Diasomnia, or because everyone was scared of potential etiquette breaches. You could not complain either way; parties wore on you as they went on and Idia hadn't tried to leave in fear. Either way, Mal was starting to go from blandly cheerful host to fretful.

"What if there is too much cake? I don't wan't to have to finish it."

"You don't have to, dude. Cake's for sharing."

"When I was young, I was the only person at my party who wasn't a servant. So I would end up eating the entire cake by myself, every time." He stared off into the middle distance. "I don't really like cake."

"That's the single saddest thing I have ever heard in my entire life, holy shit dude."

"Why have a cake then, if you don't like it?" Idia was halfway through his piece. Third piece, actually. You envied his capacity to eat what seemed like his weight in buttercreme and not get nauseous, even if you worried for his pancreas.

"Tradition," Mal said, as if he was explaining the most obvious thing in the world.

"You should have done an ice cream cake, then. You actually like that."

"That is an option?" He paused, eyes full of wonder. "What else can be ice cream?"

You cut in before Malleus could continue down a road of ice-cream-everything. "You know, if you're that worried about leftovers, why not send a wrapped slice with the thank you cards for the gifts? Gets rid of it all so you won't be compelled to eat it ‘til you're sick."

Mal instantly grabbed you. "You are a brilliant, amazing, genius of a person. I'm glad you're my Son of Man and I like you very much."

Idia gave the tinest of coughs, looking towards the poison-coloured flames in the fireplace.

"You are mine too. I like the special case for my Dragon-Kun very much."

"Thought you would." He smiled down at his plate.

"Oh, shit, yeah. Here's mine." You brought the bag out from behind your seat and handed it over; Mal shredding it in his excitement.

"... What is this?" the box inside revealed a set of five amber bottles with screw-on tops.

"Your own special perfume blend. Rose petals from the Heartslabyul garden, blackberries, and the fruit of a blackthorn tree." You leaned back in your seat and struggled not to laugh at your own hideous pun. "I call it Feeling Thorny."

Good thing the box was well padded, because he dropped it in his laughter. Idia, bless his heart, wound up choking on some of the cake and needed an entire glass of water to stop coughing.

"I got the goods!" Lilia and Sebek had returned, the latter glowering at you over the top of a dusty crate as though he'd assumed you'd simply eat his precious prince alive the second his back was turned.

"What's the goods, Lil."

"Well, he's got friends he made here for this party, so I figured I'd crack something open from my stash." He pried the top of the crate with his bare hands, which would have made you need to sit down if you hadn't been already. "Saving this for a special occasion."

"Lilia, there's no need to bring that out for us."

"Nonsense! You deserve it! And this party's too damned slow. A little wine will be just the thing, and this is very light stuff, you'll all be fine."

You doubted that, but still accepted the glass of liquid gold when offered. It smelled sweet and floral, and to your pleasant surprise, did not taste like fermented misery when sipped.

Wait a minute.

"Lil, if I drink the fairy wine, I don't have to go live in the Valley of Thorns forever, do I?"

Malleus, seizing opportunity, sad "Yes" at the same time Lilia said "No" and Lil elbowed Mal in the ribs for it. "I'm not invoking any of our more traditional rules of hospitality. If I must," he said, elbowing Mal again before he could try to weave anything, "Let this be in return for being such wonderful friends to both me and my boy."

"I'll accept it." You sipped more as Silver wandered over and leaned over Idia for a glass himself. Idia simply drained his own to try and distract himself from the proximity of him before the anxiety kicked into high gear. Maybe it would vanish entirely if you got him profoundly drunk, you thought to yourself, but that wasn't something you wanted to try. He had enough issues without his deciding alcoholism was the solution to his problems.

Time to settle down and enjoy the evening. The wine didn't feel like anything, so what could possibly happen?

~*~*~*~

You woke up with a pounding head, your party clothes in disarray, and new and interesting pains. You examined yourself and your surroundings, and let things come back naturally.

Lilia, being very generous with his bottles, to the point of not letting a glass go empty at any point. Malleus sitting with his legs crossed and head in his hands, gazing warmly and not without hunger at a both very animated and disheveled Idia as he talked. You getting up to leave, and sitting right back down because your legs didn't work, so you'd simply...

Simply wound up here in Mal's bed, instead of home. With both of your boys.

The evidence wasn't the best. No telltale soreness, but you had a number of new and interesting bite marks, including one very high on your inner thigh with the dentition clearly showing fangs. Your underwear was in place, even if the tule of your pannier was shredded, so you didn't think you'd done anything more than very heavy petting. And to tell the truth? The idea of having done anything more didn't bother you - truly, there weren't other people you'd rather have done it with - but the idea that you had? And you couldn't recall all the fun details? Agonizing.

You leaned over, holding your head, to brush the hair off of Mal's face. He looked at ease, and had managed to slot himself into his weird pillows, so at least he wouldn't wake up with a crick in his neck.. You checked your boyfriend, clinging to Mal's far side like a lanky blue limpet. On his collarbone, at the spot where you preferred to leave your own marks, was a bite similar to the one on your leg. You had to turn away at the sight; the images it brought to your mind left your flushed and dizzy with want despite your pain. How fun, to learn new and interesting things about yourself.

Idia stirred and sat up. He looked to you, to Mal, to you again. His face had no expression beyond starting to turn rapidly grey and sweaty.

You pointed. "That door."

He nodded once before stumbling off to bed and through the bathroom door, to puke away his hangover.

Alright, next step. You poked at your sleeping friend. "Mal. You alive?"

He opened both eyes, bloodshot with a hair-thin pupil, and started making a noise akin to a base boosted tea kettle up 'til you placed a pillow over his head to shut him up. Fortunately, it worked immediately, he lay where he was like an idiot until adjusting it so the pillow merely blocked the top of his face.

"Yuu. How are you feeling?"

You thought about it. "Like I got run through a laundry press. You?"

He smacked his lips and ran his tongue over his teeth. "My mouth has grown fur."

"Wonderful."

"Light hurts."

"Par for the course."

"I'm not sure what else yet. Where is Shroud?"

Another bout of heaving from Malleus's bathroom answered that thoroughly.

Mal pouted. "Poor thing. He didn't even have that much."

"We all had enough. I'm still remembering bits and pieces."

He reached towards you and grabbed your arm, squeezing. "You are... you..." As much as he struggled for the words, the anxiety in his voice made the meaning clear enough.

"I'm not upset over any of it. I just hate that I don't recall it clearly yet." You extracted your arm from his grasp, and slid off the bed. "I'm gonna get water from the hall bathroom. You want any?"

He smacked his lips again, and smiled, wider than you'd ever seen him do before, specks of blood still crusted in the grooves of his teeth. "I can still taste you on my tongue. I never want it to fade."

"Hhhhhholy shit you need water. Bye." You left to try and hide the wobbling in your legs that wasn't from the hangover.

~*~*~*~

"You."

You stopped, and stared. It took an entire four seconds to realize that the large, half-dressed green bean glaring at you from the doorway was Sebek before he styled his hair in the morning. "You mean like, my name, or just me in general?"

He pointed a finger, hissing out his words. "You finally did it! You evil little minx."

"I didn't, actually, or at least not what you think."

He kept going, trying to keep his voice down. "You've seduced Lord Malleus! And now you're going to try and steal the crown."

What in the actual fuck. And he wasn't done yet. "You cruel temptress! Leading him on just so that you could become a queen our people would detest! My poor lord, at the whims of some-"

"Hey, you jealous there, Zig? You mad you aren't serving him all ways? If you want his dick so bad-"

"Shhhhhhhhh!" He looked over his shoulder, back inside, before glaring back at you. "I couldn't do that in good conscience! Lord Malleus deserves someone who holds only him in their heart. He's not my whole heart, so I wouldn't try. You, you have damn near everyone here wrapped around your fingers! And it's still not enough for you!"

"Sebek! He is my friend. And I give zero fucks about the whole throne thing, just so you know. Why would I want to be a queen? That shit sounds exhausting. And he isn't going to ascend until my great grandkids are in the dirt, so, yanno, shit planning if I tried."

Sebek was trying to think of a rebuttal when a pair of hands squeezed him from behind. "Stop yelling. I'm going to brush my teeth." Silver let go and circled around, dragging his hand along Sebek's waist as he did. "Be ready when I'm back." With that, he walked past you with his small smirk to the bathroom you'd just exited, wearing nothing but one of Sebek's shirts.

You watched the hemline skirting the back of his thighs with entirely too much interest before looking back at Sebek. "God damn, dude."

"Say anything else and I will throw you out the window."

~*~*~*~

Mal had traded his bed for sitting on the floor, braced against the wall by the bathroom. He'd managed to close the drapes against the garish light of morning, and the sounds from beyond the wall had changed from sickness to a running shower as you gave Mal a cup. "Drink up, asshole."

"How am I an asshole?"

"Because it's your birthday we all got drunk at."

"Please blame Lilia for that. Fairy wine is not something humans should start the evening with." He sipped the water and grimaced.

"Taste bad?"

"I forgot I didn't want to put anything else in my mouth after you."

"Mal, no. There won't be a repeat, even if I don't really regret it."

He looked at you with heart about to break. "Why not?"

"It's not fair to either of you! I love you dearly, but I'm not in love with you. I'm in love with him." You sighed. Even as more of last night came back, you realized you may have broken the whole thing beyond repair. "And how would you like it if you saw me running around with someone else? Don't say you wouldn't be jealous. You've got a five mile streak of it."

Mal was silent, before saying very quietly, "I don't mind so much after having him too."

"Yeah, well." You put your head in your hands. "You're sure he didn't jump out the window to hide in his room forever after that?"

Mal knocked againt the door, wincing at the noise. "Idia? You are present? You're alive in there?"

A few moments before that shaky reply of "I'm not sure, check in five minutes."

Mal smiled. "That's promising, is it not?"

"You know I can hear you out there, right?"

"I didn't."

"I can." More silence. "Also, the window doesn't open."

You quirked your mouth. "Is the shower helping? I might need a turn."

"Some."

"Do you want to talk about last night?"

More silence, before a small, "Not yet," as the shower shut off. "Can I borrow a robe? My clothes are wet."

"Go ahead, Idia."

He exited in a cloud of steam and purple-black terrycloth, and simply laid down on the floor, gripping it as if he would fly off.

"Still bad?"

He noded, cheek pressed against the floor. Fresh from the water, his hair was low enough that you could make out the actual hair on his head, each glowing like the finest fiber optic thread.

"Well. I don't think any of us are going to class today. So stay as long as you need to."

"Thank god, I don't want to try those damned stairs until my head's on right." You thought to yourself for a moment. "Is Ortho okay?"

Idia actually managed a smile. "I told him I was thinking of staying over and trying to activate event flags."

It took you a moment to understand the implications of that. "Noooo. This was not your idea."

"Mal wasn't. But. Ummmmm." He held up a hand and wiggled it. "He was there?"

"Your boyfriend is interestingly pliable when someone puts their mouth on him. A trait you both share, actually."

You felt ready to burst into flames. This could not be happening. "So who's idea was you getting under my skirts, Mal? That bruise is going to last weeks."

"Yours, actually. You wouldn't let go of my horns until you were satisfied."

The memory of that, and more, hit you like a transport truck, and you simply laid down and refused to say anything until Lilia burst in, disgustingly chipper and with a platter of burnt toast to chew on until the worst of the hangover was gone.

[extremelyblackandwhite]

the unseen one - 30

Pairing: Hades!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Warnings: none

A/N: i’ve been foreshadowing this ending since like mid fic and i’m proud for not giving up on this ending which i almost did but thankfully i did (yay plot consistency). i’m rly emotional about finishing another fanfic, it’s been such a joyful ride and i wanna thank everyone who commented and liked/reblogged my work for these past months, you guys are fantastic. enjoy xx 

A kaleidoscope. A kaleidoscope was the first thing that broke through the darkness in various shades of pink, white, and grey. The images were blurry and the colours vibrant as it spun through the darkness, soon enough becoming the only thing occupying what once was a sea of darkness. The once silence that wrapped itself around like a tight hug gave way to the sound of stream water, sounds of nature and spring slightly blooming in her ear drums. What once was nothing was blooming and alive. 

A warm feeling settled over her chest and in a harsh move she opened her eyes, raising her chest and gasping up for air. The first sight was bloom, the perfect utopia of what spring sounded like in every song and every fairytale with various different flowers and tones of various colours. She looked down at her hands, noticing how warm they were, almost too warm and as she was about to snap her head back, petals started falling onto her palms. 

She should be scared, but she somehow wasn’t and as if it had been a taught movement, her hands moved up to her hair, feeling more white petals falling on her palms and legs. Y/N looked around, not understanding where she was standing or where she was for that matter. She was surrounded by a blooming environment, blooming so slowly yet so fast she could see the flower buttons open. 

Slowly but surely her senses started to recover to her, noticing the cold marbled stone she was sat on and the warm sun hit her skin. Bucky. Was Bucky alright? Where was Bucky? Her mind couldn’t wrap itself around her last memory of Bucky’s terrified face. Was he okay? Where was he? She was removed of her line of thinking by a shattering sound. Y/N immediately turned her head towards the sound seeing Hecate mouth wide open as if she had seen something fantastic.

     - Where’s Bucky? - her voice came rather raspy but the goddess of witchcraft was still standing there wondering if Gaia was playing tricks on her. Dead mortals don’t come back to life. Dear gods, dead mortals who gain the hatred of half the pantheon don’t come back to to life as part of the pantheon itself. - Where’s Bucky?!

She questioned again, turning around and placing her bare feet on the grass patch yet unlike normal, the grass did not turn dark green, instead blooming from her steps as if she herself controlled nature. Hecate stopped her by putting herself in front of Y/N. She knew better not to annoy a newly born goddess specially because she didn’t seem to know what she was and therefore had little to no grip with what she could do.

    - I’ll get someone to get him, you need to sit down. - she motioned for Y/N to sit down as carefully as someone handling a bomb. Hecate quickly send a equally confused nymph to go grab the incredibly depressed god of the Underworld.

Y/N sat down against the bark of a cherry blossom, looking at Hecate who had a very confused yet careful look in her eyes. The goddess of witchcraft sat next to Y/N as more petals started to fall on her hands. She had forgotten how it was to be next to a very nervous goddess of spring.

    - Where are these coming from? - Y/N threw the bunch of petals onto the ground, noticing they kept falling onto her hands.

    - They’re coming from you. You need to stop stressing or they’ll keep showing up. No harsh emotions, just breathe. 

    - Why are you talking to me as if I were going into labor? - more petals fell off making her huff, throwing another bunch on the ground. - What’s going on? 

    - In the easiest ways of putting it in ... I would say you’re ... well, the goddess of Spring. - she pointed out at the once dead grooves which were now blooming like the rest of the Elysium. Damn, it was better than the rest of the Elysium with his beautiful tall blossom and fruit trees with a substantial amount of flower bushes and other grass weeds. 

   - The goddess of Spring no longer exists, Bucky told me so. - she replied, very overprotective over the answer she had gotten from her beloved. Like an expression of her huffing, more flower petals fell over on top of her hands. 

   - Goddesses doesn’t cease to exist, specially a goddess responsible for a whole season. They are ... chosen if they cease to exist. The titans seem to have chosen ... well ... I guess you. 

   - That is not funny. - she got up from her sitting position, once again smoothing over the petals that had stuck to the fabric of her gown. Hecate surely was not her biggest fan but she knew what she was and she definitely was not a goddess. At least she didn’t felt like one. How did goddesses even feel? Did they fell any different from mortals? She was about to question Hecate about that fact when two nymphs entered the grooves pulling a very unwilling God of the Underworld with them.

Y/N turned to face him, the first thing calling her attention was the stubble turned beard and the dark bags under his now very wide awake blue eyes almost as if he wasn’t expecting her to be there. Y/N rushed over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, burying her nose in the space between his neck and neck. Bucky stood still wondering if he was dreaming again or if he had finally managed to overdose himself with ambrosia but no, she was there, she was there with her arms wrapped around him and flowers blooming from the top of her head and dropping onto him. His eyes settled on Hecate who had the same surprised eyes yet slightly less than him. 

Y/N pushed back, noticing something wrong in Bucky’s aura but he was still staring at her. He caressed her jaw with his knuckles, thumb caressing the soft part of her cheek. Noticing its warmth and her soft smile he didn’t know if he wanted to raise her up or kiss her. He settled on kissing her, noticing the newly added honey like taste to her lips and more flowers falling onto their hands.

   - I’m not sure if I adore this. - she caressed his beard, making him chuckle as he kissed her again. - Stop, when was the last time you slept?

   - Long enough, this might be some hallucination of you.

   - No, I’m here. 

>>>>>

The Underworld was a mess and that was something that came rather lightly from Y/N’s point of view as it normally used to be constantly messy full of dead souls and unruly nymphs. However, today, it seemed like everything had broke loose and every single god, goddess, demigods, oracles and every single thing that could be considered mythical and gone down to the underworld for her coronation. Was she happy about it? No. Was James happy about it? Also no. They’d rather be in their secluded little spot of the underworld without anyone around. However, protocol demanded the new goddess of Spring to have a public coronation if she became Queen of the Underworld. Besides, Y/N was a bit way too cheerful to see those who had wanted that spot see her gain the crown to the Underworld. 

      - I’m going to catch you, sunflower. - Bucky chuckled lowly as he briefly saw the grass she had stepped on bloom with white roses. He heard her giggling in the distance and then it stopped, rendering him alone and somewhat lost and because he wasn’t used to the newly found sunlight, the fresh air and fauna that surrounded him in the Groves, he asked for help from one of the nymphs who were taking care of the flora.

An annoyed nymph turned to be face to face with her King, pointed towards a direction. He was aware that this was supposed to be a fair game, something fun that his beloved had come up with in the moment bored of coronation preparations, but he would rather be done with it quickly so that they could enjoy each other’s companies and bring her back to a very pissed and very stressed Hecate.

He walked and walked, listening always for the river that the undead and nymphs had spoken up and asking ever so often for directions for other servants. They would whisper a “Over there” and point or a “Go North”, and Bucky would believe their words because they had been nothing but loyal to him. In fact, much more loyal to them than others had ever been to him - he found that, in the afterlife, people - or what was left of them - were much calmer and kinder than those who were still alive. 

Soon enough, he found his beautiful Y/N humming by the river. Her delicate feet were dangling and lightly touching the water that ran on the stream and her eyes were shut, head moving to the rhythm of the chirping birds and a small smile played on her lips. Quietly, he inched closer to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her to him and burying his face in her hair; it smelled of everything good about spring, from freshness to wild flowers and ripe fruit. 

She giggled and kicked her legs up in the air, clearly enjoying the attention she was receiving but also no liking that her little game had come to an end which meant she had to return to the very much annoying job of preparing for the ceremony.

     - Seems like I found you. - the God of the Underworld grinned against her hair, setting her on the ground but holding onto her hips, admiring her figure; her newly found position led to her being constantly adorned with luxurious fabrics, veils with beautiful patterns and so many jewels, mostly gifts from Demeter from all people, but somehow it was when she wore something as simple as a white dress enveloping her form and golden sandals that he found her the most mesmerising. The simplicity and purity that he had fallen so hard for that he moved heaven and earth to have, regardless of what everyone else said, regardless of how lowly they found Gaia to have named a mortal Goddess of Spring. She was always a goddess in his eyes but the actual title did suit her better than anyone else. - Did you have fun escaping your responsibilities?

    - Would have been funner if you didn’t cheat, Bucky. - she raised her eyebrows at the man and crossed her arms, knowing fully well he had. How else would he know his way through the newly found Groves if he barely entered them. Sighing, she kissed his lips lightly and then grabbed his hand to take him to the nearest shade. - I’m sure Hecate sent you after me. 

     - Yes, she says you’re being quite impossible but personally, I was hoping we could have some personal fun. - he smirked, pressing a kiss to the shell of her ear, then to her neck and collarbone, making her shiver and push him to the side lightly. - Such a harsh no. 

     - I don’t need my nymphs to see that. - she blushed and fidgeted with her hands and wedding ring, sitting down and resting her back against the bark of a tree. The God of the Underworld chuckled and sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her waist. - But I can be swayed if you cancel the whole ordeal.

     - You know I can’t. - he kissed her shoulder. - They’re already very upset over your decision of giving the souls of the Elysium their memories. 

     - They are much more happy and you can’t deny it. - she pointed out. Y/N had technically been a ruling consort ever since she got wedded to Bucky in a very small ceremony where no one but them were included. As such, Y/N had put forward a motion to give the Elysium’s residents their mortal memories back, something that of course had been passed as she was fiercely backed by Demeter who could put the fear in any god by just looking at them. It had made the residents much happier and Bucky much happier considering he could now speak to his friends, family, and most importantly Steve. She on the other hand had managed to reunite with her parents and introduce them to Bucky which managed to be their version of normality. This had however created a stir with Zeus who was still very much upset a mortal was now a goddess he could no longer order around. - This is ridiculous, why do they need to see it?

     - It’ll just be for a few hours. Besides, I wanna see you become my Queen. 

     - Okay. - she shrugged. - Only because I love you.

     - I know. - he smiled, lovingly. - I just hope you don’t change your mind, we’re sort of in this forever. 

     - What does Steve say? Til the end of the line?

    - Til the end of the line, sunflower. 

THE END

tag list: @philogrobizedvee​​​​​​  @keithseabrook27​​​​​ @inlovewith3​​​​19 @nwbstan​ @romanoffs-heart

[tenderlyrenjun]

[spring and winter]

Your favorite time, or one of, to stare at Renjun is when nature falls by his sides (him below you is a comparably pretty sight). He just has this magnetism about himself, even without his compulsion ability, though you assume that it does nothing but aid the mysticism. And the very first time when you met him, peach blossoms began flowering into his hair. Your Mom held a springtime viewing party to watch the petals’ initial bloom on the first day, but you missed it. Since then, you have continued missing the first bloom of spring - which is saying something, considering that a few millennia have passed.

“Hurry, Handong!” you shout over your shoulder, carelessly adding an honorific after your older sister’s name as an after thought. You brush past a handmaiden carrying soul, and she spills a few drops on your tunic and sash, clutching the clattering tray tightly above her abdomen. The gravel you cut through spins under your feet, causing you to stumble, briefly, into the wet cement being assembled for the Third Consort’s new spa house. You regain footing and fix your ties, acting as if nothing happened, then look for your sister. She is still catching up. “We’ll miss it!” 

This path is meant to be a shortcut into the east garden, crossing through the courtyard rather than walking along the smooth concrete pathways, yet Handong almost takes an equal (re: slow) amount of time. You stop running to see why she takes so long, shaking your arms to a halt. And your chest almost heaves breathlessly when you see her: she is barely adjusting the beads on her hairpins. 

“Why are you going through there?” Handong scolds, shaking her head. A pearl falls out of place, making you roll your eyes. You cross back to the cement and grab her hand, dragging her through the loose stone paths. Your half-brother returned earlier this week with new shoes from his expeditions in the South - shoes that are suitable for play and running around, yet Handong seems to insist on her straw slippers, which easily get pebbles stuck between the blades. Both of you ignore each other’s complaints and she ultimately complies with the way you sweep her into the viewing party, guests stopping to stare at your wrinkled states.

Handong tries to calm your robes before hers, but you dive under a tree branch to catch a peach bud before it falls on the ground. The winds are strong today, you notice, cautiously turning over one of the damaged leaves. It is late in the afternoon, according to the skies, yet the temperature reverts back to winter and you shiver, when another breeze brushes through your hair. You have not cut it since your last birthday ceremony, which is another reason why Handong keeps trailing after you, constantly fixing your image, especially around the nobles.

A gong goes off in the far corner, and you spin around to hear it better, already knowing that your Mother is going to make an announcement about the impending blooming - it will start in seconds, so the speech will be brief. You hear something about good fortune and prosperity, but everything washes away when you drop the peach bud. Its frosted cover was too much to hold, so you let it melt through your fingers. Unfortunately, it rolls down the small hill that the trees are built upon, bouncing into the son of your father’s associate. He looks down, dubiously turning his head, scanning a quarter circle to his left. You are torn over whether to want to see his full face; his eyes, or at least the one you can see, are perfectly shaped, like a phoenix’s, his lashes curtained over the pretty brown irises. And his nose is gorgeous too, charming and strong. The temptation to see him shrouds Handong, and you slowly step away from her, captivated by this mysterious stranger. Sure, you know that your father often has ministers, princes, officials, high ranking people stay at the estate, their families too, occasionally, but you never entertain them like one of your older siblings. Now, you wish you did, or at least, you wish that you talked to your sisters more so that you know who he is. The stranger picks up your peach bud with his robe’s sleeve - smart - and turns it over with his fingers. He touches the frosted leaves first then cracks it open a little bit more. You giggle when someone at the front screams at the tree, broadcasting its bloom, because he jumps, crossing his hand over his heart. His smaller friend, slightly younger, laughs at him too, making the ambience less formal than you felt.

You reach him just as everyone turns around. He is mid-laugh, throwing back his head into the newest breeze. And that is when Nature picks up - the sun overshadowing the skies with a soft orange hue, the winds rough housing amidst relaxed petals. One lands on his shoulder, then immediately falls to the ground as he casts his eyes on top of the tree, craning his neck taller than his own height. You follow his gaze circling over the horizon of headpieces and robes until finding the opened flowers and pinkening fruits. 

“Wow,” he breathes. His next statements is so awe-stricken that you look at him again, visibly curious as to what he has to say. He meets your eye, blinking slowly, and you match his speed, not wanting to miss his beat. “It’s beautiful.” You’re beautiful.

“Yes,” you agree, and bow your head slightly, more timidly than you had been earlier, suddenly conforming to traditional respects. You peek above, through your lashes, feeling a few petals join your aquamarines. He holds out his hand, waving the formalities, and you stand straighter, making no moves to point at the main event. “It is.” You are, too.

Renjun holds up the fallen bud, within his fingers, looking from it to you, lingering more on your face. “Is this yours?” You nod slowly, anticipatorily. He grabs your wrist gently, bringing your palm Heavens-facing, between your bodies. You unravel the nervous fist, and he places the flower back in your hand. “Don’t lose it.”

“I won’t,” you swear impulsively.

“Don’t lose it,” he repeats, curling your hand into another cage for the seed, like reburying it for a new spring. “Or I will have to bring you a new one.”

“Your presence sounds like a gift. What do I get for keeping this safe?”

“Must all things need gain?”

You tilt your head to the side, your smile incapable of settling down. “Only when it is enjoyed.”

“And my presence is enjoyed?” he asks, eyebrows raised. His companion stares between the two of you, amused but rolling his eyes. You neglect it though, completely forgetting about any other person, behaving as if your father handpicked you to entertain this guest. “Is my presence enjoyed?” he repeats, hearing nothing (but seeing everything). You nod your head, hesitantly, only becoming more enthusiastic after his tension increases. “Well, then, I will have to bring you more peaches.”

Renjun’s favorite time to look at you occurred after that moment in the spring, but it precedes yours by one season: winter. He no longer sees the first snowfall of the year, barely catching the reflection in your eye, if he is lucky, when you extend your hands to catch raining snowflakes. However, unlike you, he actively tries to view the first snowfall, purposefully sitting on a porch or stairs, always with the same small cup warmed by tea. The original time that he missed the precipitation, he had just returned from the matchmaker’s manor with your half-brother. He strained a small kettle of tea, then went to sit outside, at a small table set up by a servant. 

Renjun stirs a small lemon slice as he reclines into a wooden chair. He hovers a hand above the metal fire pit, spreading warmth through his fingers before transferring it into a blanket that he lays across his lap. During his stay at your family’s main estate, over the last year, he has seen snow exclusively fall during the winter. And although the previous season does not indicate its next’s behavior, he fell into a routine that loves the outdoors.

You enjoy it too, he reminisces fondly, a smile on his face as he recalls this morning when you met him at the Western Bridge just to hear the whistling of a monal. It was a good way - the best way - to begin his morning, laughing when you (poorly) tried to recreate the songs. Your siblings are far better musicians than you, yet he always prefers to hear your voice; it does not matter whether you speak or sing, everything he feels so deeply for.

As he finishes a cup, wondering why the sky has still not given him his request, you run through the gates adjacent from his room, exhaling boisterously and inhaling shakily, to keep laughing with your sisters. Renjun relinquishes his cup to the cold, leaving it on the table to go see all the noise you make.

“Shh, shh,” Handong giggles. It is a rare sight to see your older sister break the rules with you; he figures that she must be drunk but her cheeks are not twinged by alcohol, nor does she sway so easily in the air. Although, the mask of night is worn on all your faces, and Renjun desperately wishes to see yours.

You swing a picnic basket by your side, one of your sisters mirroring you on the side of your interlocked arms. He feels a bit deviant, creepy. His position makes it look like he hides behind a tree, spying on you lot, and he does not do much to alleviate that assumption, crouching smaller and closer as you begin to speak:

“Ah, Mother should have a viewing party for the snowfall tomorrow morning. It would be fun to run, fun to play -”

“In the cold?” Feifei scoffs, draping herself behind Handong’s robes.

“It would be pretty to see the snow in the morning light,” Xiaoyun comments beside you, giving an argument that you nod at your sister.

You break out of her grip, dropping the basked on the freshly dewy grass to spin around outside, picking up your robes so that your feet can roam freely. Your arms stick out, as if expecting to catch snow. Seeing nothing fall, you tilt your head back to your amused sisters. “What? It’s fun! I’m excited for winter. Winter means the solstice; solstice means a break from studying; a break from studying means festivals; festivals mean -”

“That you get to spend time with a certain chancellor's son?” Handon interrupts. Your face tightens as your sisters ‘ooh’ and giggle knowingly, and Renjun wonders if he shall hear more or speak at this - surely, by now you must know where his room is located; you spend enough time walking around the compound with him to know it. But you never budge, just enduring the teasing as your sisters get closer, shaking your shoulders into reality. He hopes that you know he likes you too, likes you more and more everyday in fact.

“I heard that he went to the matchmaker’s house this afternoon.”

You push Handong’s shoulder, as a stop it gesture, though the half-embarrassed smile on your face says that this is all in jest, that you might appreciate the validation, even if it comes from your sister, not him.

Renjun takes a step forward, beyond the tree, intending to make himself known, but one of your sisters interrupt him. 

“Look!” 

Her voice is neither malicious nor suspicious, so he keeps his eyes focused on you, subconsciously walking backward when you spin around to look at her. Anything Renjun might have said or thought gets choked by his brain, tongue twisting so tightly that he drops his jaw. He watches your hair twirl with you, the top catching a crown of snow. Wow. Perhaps, if the matchmaker grants his proposal, his first gift to you will be a real crown. Renjun thinks this may be a dream, because he can almost hear a fleet of flutes accompany your excited laughter as you run into the circle formed by your sisters.

Renjun smiles widely, quietly tapping a couple times on the tree. His eyes capture the second layer of snow on the ground, then dare to glance at you one last time before retiring to his room. You catch him, in that moment, when he leans suavely on his arm for support, just staring, fondly. He waves a little bit and you do too, raising your hand slightly until he retires, walking backwards to burn this instant in his memory. You break the gaze first, Handong excitedly whispering something that Renjun cannot hear. He stays a second longer, trying to hear what has you screeching with giggles. You are loud, but he hopes to keep you that way, intending to make you as equally happy for as long as you will let him.

[psychedelic-ink]

A/N: Welcome to the last entry for the event everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed the event because I sure did enjoy writing for it <3

This is a gift for my dearest friend @lunna-star-8​ ! She requested a fic about her OC Luna and Law, the Heart pirates decides to visit the strawhats on Christmas, I hope you enjoy and merry early Christmas ^^

also if you want to learn more about Luna here’s her masterlist

Genre: Romance/fluff

Word Count: 1066 k 

Prompt: Mistletoe

Luna expected his brother to go all out on decorations, but as she walked towards the main deck the thought that Luffy truly had lost all self control downed on her. Her eyes widened as she looked up, there was a huge ass three in the middle of the deck, there were colorful bulbs everywhere and a very very big bright star on the top of it all. She heard Luffy’s laughter and soon enough the rubber man jumped down and landed next to her. 

“Do you like it?” he asked with a wide grin. 

“Even if I do I’m pretty sure Nami’s not going to like it,” tearing her eyes away from the ridiculously tall tree her eyes scanned the rest of the sunny. There were colorful decorations at every corner, candy canes, fairy lights, tinsels...everything. “How did you even convince her to lend you the money?”

Luffy averted his eyes and looked down, Luna raised an eyebrow at his brother's sudden silence. He wiped his hands on his shirt and his straw hat covered his eyes. 

“I told her I wanted to make it special for you,” he took in a sharp breath and lifted his head up, locking his eyes with Luna’s. “It’s...our first Christmas without Ace.” 

Luna’s eyes widened as she certainly didn’t expect to hear his brother say that. It was true, this would be the first Christmas where there would be no mail from her older brother, no small gifts, no surprise visit...nothing. Her heart felt as it stopped and her bottom lip trembled, she felt Luffy’s arm around her shoulder. Luffy pulled her sister into a warm embrace, Luna felt herself calming down as Luffy’s comforting scent reached her nose. She sighed and pulled away with a soft smile. 

“Thank you Luffy, everything is just amazing.” 

Night fell, the smell of delicious cooking filled the air as the tree lit up the dark atmosphere. It seemed like everyone was happy, even Sanji and Zoro had stopped fighting, it was truly a miraculous day. Luna had her head on top of Luffy’s shoulder as the crew stared at the tree and chatted along, that is until multiple people started boarding the ship. Luna raised an eyebrow as she lifted her head, momentarily she locked her gaze onto Nami. The navigator smiled and got up. 

“That must be them.” she said, with a cheeky grin.

“Who?” Luffy asked, tilting his head to the side. Nami sighed. 

“We talked about this Luffy, don’t you remember me telling you that the Heart Pirates are coming…” 

“Yes.” 

“You’re unbelievable.” Nami rolled her eyes. 

Luna’s heart started to race, heart pirates? Did that mean Law was boarding their ship this second? 

And as if it was faith the whole heart pirate crew appeared before them, before Luna could search for Law the two crews basically crashed into each other, mingling, offering drinks to each other and chatting. Luna felt dizzy as she was stuck in the middle of a human storm, her heart was beating madly in her chest as her eyes frantically searched for the person she wanted to see. When the search started to bore her she was contemplating using her devil fruit,turn into a tiger and just sniff the captain of the heart pirates out. But before she could put her plan into motion Luna felt a tug on her sleeve and she was swiftly pulled away from the crowd. 

When she noticed who it was a grin similar to her brothers spread across her lips. 

“Law!” she exclaimed. “You’re actually here!”

Law rolled his eyes but Luna could see the faint smile on his lips, he crossed his arms. 

“Yeah Bepo dragged me here, apparently your navigator talked him into it.” 

Luna let out a nervous laughter and nervously scratched the back of her head. 

“Yeah that sounds like her, I’m glad though.” 

“I guess I am too.” 

With a smile Luna jumped up and wrapped her arms around Law’s neck, startled, Law’s arms came around her waist. Luna nuzzled his neck, his warm skin feeling nice in contrast to her cold face. Law hummed happily as he buried his face in her hair, they both stayed like that for a while, embracing each other, listening to the happy laughter of both crews having fun from afar. 

Both of their cheeks were red as they looked at eachother, feeling slightly embarrassed by her sudden emotional outburst, the one to avert their eyes first is Luna. She heard him chuckle but decided not to retaliate. 

“I brought you something,” Law said suddenly, taking her by surprise. He dug into his pocket and pulled out a bit of, what she recognized as, mistletoe. “Do you know what this is?”

Luna raised an eyebrow, a cheeky smile forming on her face. Did he really think that she wouldn’t know what mistletoe was? 

Apparently that was the case because he started explaining it to her. 

“You see there’s this tradition, people think it originated from Norse Mythology  and the story of it goes like this when the god Odin’s son Baldur was prophesied to die, his mother Frigg, the goddess of love, went to all the animals and plants of the natural world to secure an oath that they would not harm him. But Frigg neglected to consult with the unassuming mistletoe, so the scheming god Loki made an arrow from the plant and saw that it was used to kill the otherwise invincible Baldur. The gods were able to resurrect Baldur from the dead. Delighted, Frigg then declared mistletoe a symbol of love and vowed to plant a kiss on all those who passed beneath it.” Law explained without even stopping for air. 

Luna looked at him dumbfounded. 

“Did you really...bring mistletoe just to tell me about mythology?”

“Um...no.” 

Nervously Law lifted his arm up in the air, playfully shaking the mistletoe over both of their heads. With a smile, Luna shook her head and lifted her up on her toes, softly she placed her lips on top of his. Their lips moved against each other, it was a sweet and tender kiss. Luna’s heart was out of control as they both parted away, breathless and red. 

“I should thank Bepo and Nami later.” she said with a grin. 

Hand in hand they both went towards the crowd. 

[linae-isle]

ACNH Guide by an AC Newbie

Planning / Decorating Your Island

you might see a lot not to worry about placement of houses or buildings because you can change it later. while this is true, moving things is expensive and takes a LOT of time. so at least try to space them in a way that isn’t too cluttered (a good rule of thumb is don’t stick everything behind/right next to resident services unless you want it to be there a WHILE

getting a 5 star island doesn’t require placing random objects everywhere. i got mine by accident just by creating little hang out areas and cute spots for fun. so take your time and build your island the way you want!

it is easy to get overwhelmed looking at all the aesthetic island posts online which makes it harder to focus on what YOU want. a good starting place is to pick a general feel for your island. are you wanting more of a natural, spread out feel? a modern, urban getaway? a super tropical paradise? a fandom-based escape? keeping a general idea in mind can help when decorating.

Harvesting Materials / Getting Items

when harvesting materials, dig three holes behind you when hitting rocks to get 6-8 materials in stead of three. you can shake trees indefinitely for branches.

every day you can harvest 3 bundles of wood from each tree, up to 9 materials from each rock, find one DIY bottle on the beach, 4 fossils, and shake 1-2 items from trees.

when shaking trees for items or branches, always stand directly in front of the tree with a net equipped. if a wasp nest falls out, your villager will automatically face it with a look of terror. click a and you should catch them with no stings ^u^

additionally, you can always get extra materials going on nook miles tours. you also have the chance to shake out an extra item on the island from trees without fruit.

be careful shooting down balloons over flowers/highly decorate areas. if there is no open square (with no flowers, furniture, etc) for the present to land on, it will glitch and disappear. 

you can always buy new items/clothing from nook’s cranny and able sisters. nook’s cranny closes at 10 p.m. and able sisters closes at 9 p.m.

if you want duplicates of items you’ve already had, order up to 5 of them using the terminal in customer services.

***specific note, you have to register songs for radios, cassette players, etc. i honestly thought this meant finding a way to transfer real songs but NOPE. there are adorable K.K. tracks you can buy each day from the terminal under nook shopping. it’s always at the bottom for special items.

Villagers

there are 8 personalities for villagers. 

females: normal, sisterly, snooty, and peppy

males: lazy, cranky, smug, and jock

everyone starts with a combination of sisterly and jock.

when you eventually get to search for villagers, feel free to be a little picky. find ones you vibe with. i didn’t realize that there are over 400 potential friends out there when i first started looking.

it fun to see how different personalities interact, so i do recommend giving all of them a try. but find your own balance that fits you. love the jocks? get 7! want all normals? do it! can’t stand peps? it’s ok!

don’t ask nook to sell plots of land UNLESS you have the nook miles to get plenty of tickets to fill them. otherwise, the house will automatically be sold to a random villager the next day. (or, if you like to have fate pick for you, go wild and sell as many as you want!)

coaxing a villager to move out doesn’t have to be cruel. i honestly can’t smack my little animal friends with nets and the posts calling them ugly or trapping them in cages or fences makes me sad. just don’t talk to them often and they’ll decide to go when they’re ready. 

alternatively, you can get villagers to leave via amiibo or camper. my understanding is with amiibos you can pick who you want to leave. with campers, they pick a random villager to go talk to. if you wanted a different animal to move out, press the home button on your switch, then close the game by clicking x. you might lose a bit of saved time, but should be able to speak with the camper again to try for a different villager. 

Being a Good Friend

want your villager to know how much you love them? talk to them every day.

after a few days, you will unlock the option to give them a gift. i love giving mine clothing. note, for the most part villagers cannot wear pants, socks, or shoes. so i wouldn’t recommend them as gifts, though your villagers will still appreciate the thought

send letters. in the airport there is a letter kiosk. you can send a note to your villagers with a gift each day. 

DIYS

at first, you can get large amounts of DIYs by attending nook’s workshops and buying DIY packs at nook’s cranny. soon, there will be no more packs to buy, in which case you can get new DIYs the following ways

bottled messages wash up on the beach once each day

shooting down balloons

Several villagers each day will be using their DIY bench at home. speak to them to receive the recipe for what they are making

when visiting mystery islands, bottled messages can wash up on shore. it doesn’t happen every time

Making Money

catching bugs and fish can bring in lots of bells! however, some are worth way more than others. looking up a guide for prices isn’t a bad idea, but it’s your call!

ALSO! there are npcs called flick and cj who buy bugs and fish respectively at higher rates. if you have the storage or don’t mind a mountain of tanks and cages, you can save your critters for these visitors. just keep in mind it might be a while between visits.

hunting and fishing not your thing? try being a DIY guru. gather materials and go crazy. build a ton of stuff and sell it to the nooklings for profit

blathers already has the fossils you dug up today? sell the duplicate fossils for a nice payday. 

play the stalk market to try and make bank! every sunday daisy mae visits til 12 p.m. to sell turnips. buy as many as you can and sell them when the prices go up. note, you do risk losing money as prices won’t always be in your favor. additionally, if you keep the turnips til the next sunday they will rot.

Having Fun

do it your way. really. that’s the advice. you might prefer to spend all day harvesting and fishing. that’s so cool. you might prefer to build endless projects and redecorate every day. completely valid. maybe you just wanna chill with your animal friends and aren’t in any hurry to decorate. that’s an amazing plan!

that said, here are some things to do if you aren’t sure where to start.

place a radio next to the plaza. enjoy listening to your villagers sing.

follow a villager throughout the day to catch them napping, chasing bugs, snacking, and otherwise being adorable

look at the nook miles+ tasks for the day and complete them all

look at your DIY catalog and build an area based on what you have. parks, restaurants, cafes, and item stalls tend to be easiest at the beginning and you can always change it later if it no longer fits

visit your museum exhibits and really take your time. it is a very soothing place

try your hand at designing your own outfit using a custom design

if you have nintendo online, visit a friend’s island and play hide and seek, buried treasure, or have a fashion show!

If any other players have advice to add, please reblog or reply so I can edit and add to the list! Thanks for reading!

[ill-skillsgard]

The Countdown - Henry Deaver x Mistress

Warning: 18+ mentions of sex/cheating/mature themes **This part contains anal sex**. Please read at your own discretion.

Note: Merry Crisis, my loves! I know a bunch of you have been waiting for this part and I’m sorry it took so long for me to write. I’m glad you’re still into our not-so-good Christian boy because I love writing him and I adore the prompts you send in. Let me know what you think with a comment and/or a reblog! Happy holidays and I hope you all have a safe new year! Much love and kisses!

Read more Henry x Mistress imagines here > Masterpost

She pulled the stem off a cocktail cherry nestled between matching lips. Watching her from afar, covered in glitter, wearing a paper crown and licking the sugar off the rim of a glass was all the excitement he needed in one evening. But the night was only picking up. One hour remained until midnight, and Henry’s buzzing head flooded with emotions. He turned down another round so he would be of sound mind to celebrate the ball drop with her in crisp, clear memory. 

 First, he thought about Christmas.

 It had been a special one. Christmas was the holiday Henry loved the most. He liked to decorate, enjoy seasonal candy cane drinks, work parties, gift shopping, gift wrapping, and watching all the classic holiday films. It did not surprise her that Henry had a fondness for Christmas pageantry. 

 He told her about the traditions in his family; how nobody could go near the tree until they had their yearly pancake breakfast with hot chocolate and the old animated Christmas movies playing in the background. Then they would sit around in a circle after electing one family member to be “Santa.” Santa would pick the gifts from under the tree and pass them out in a steady, rotating order, so everyone had their moments to open and revel in the glory of receiving a magic eight ball or cabbage patch doll or a Lite-Brite. Then they cleaned up before dinner. Henry explained how he would sneak away from chores to play with his new toys and have them taken away until after dinner.

 It didn’t surprise her when Henry planned out an elaborate Christmas that started with pancakes. She woke up to the sound of Christmas music playing all over the condo and the warm, cinnamon and chocolate waft of batter frying in a buttered pan.

 “I like mine with chocolate chips and bananas, but we have strawberries, blueberries, and I bought some—” Henry looked at the package. “English cream? The kind they give you at brunch places.”

 “Surprise me,” she said, standing on her toes to kiss his jaw.

 “I can do apple. I can do caramel!” He pointed a greasy spatula at her, and she froze in place.

 “Whatever you’re making now smells great.”

 “Okay, okay. I got you covered. Coffee?”

 “Please.”

 She hopped up on the barstool and watched him cooking with an apron on over a basic grey t-shirt and navy blue boxers. Once in a while, when Henry had his back turned, she would stare at his backside and bare legs.

 “You should cook naked for me,” she giggled.

 “What?” He chuckled. “No way. I’ll get burnt! Grease will fly at me.”

 “But, it’s Christmas.”

 “Not a reason to have my nipples burnt off.”

 “Your cute little apron will cover them. You’ll be fine.”

 “Forget about it. Today is a wholesome day. We will spend it rejoicing in the season’s magic.”

 “Fine... Guess I have to return the gift I got for you then,” she leered in Henry’s direction.

 His skin warmed, and he wasn’t sure if it was from the stove or because of the way she stared at him. “Wholesome. Day. Wholesome. We are not spending it having sex all day long. There’s a lot to do.”

 “Maybe I’ll give it to you after you’re all Christmas'd out.”

 Henry pretended to ignore her and served up a massive plate of pancakes with hot coffee and a side of fruit. She ate her breakfast while Henry made his own, stealing glances at him and trading smiles. After they ate, Henry sat her down next to the tree, and they exchanged a few gifts.

 Her eyes lit up every time she opened a present, and by the time she finished, his cheeks were buzzing with kisses, his hand squeezed many times in excitement. 

 “I hope you like everything,” he said.

 “Like? I love it all. Everything. You’re so thoughtful, baby. I love you.”

 The best part was not receiving gifts, though he was grateful for all she had given him, it was hearing her words of appreciation. It was seeing the joy on her face and getting kissed every time she was pleased, which was often that day.

 She held the last gift behind her back, skeptical about handing it over until he promised he wouldn’t be angry.

 “Why would I be upset about a gift from you?” He asked.

 “You said today was wholesome.”

 Henry squirmed in his seat, smothering a grin as he stared into his coffee mug. “Well, I can make an exception... As long as it doesn’t encroach on our plans for the day.”

 “Oh, no. It won’t. It’s for a later time,” she snickered.

 “All right, beautiful. What is it?”

 She held a red envelope in her hand, thrusting it toward him so he would take it. The paper had no markings, but he eyed it cautiously while she sat down on the adjacent sofa to watch him read its contents.

 “Gift certificate redeemable for any sex act of your choice. Please fill in the blank and submit at your leisure. I love you,” Henry read the paper, his cheeks turning pink as he stared up at her. “Of course, this would be one of your gifts.”

 “Anything you want,” she hinted at the fine print, eyebrows wiggling.

 “Yeah,” he chuckled. “I got that. Thank you, baby. I’m not sure what I would use this for since you already take care of me so well.”

 She straightened her back, and a seriousness took over her face. “You can use it for anything. Surprise blowjob at work, BDSM, a roleplay, I can play with your ass again—”

 “H’okay, why don’t we turn up this music and get to cleaning up? We have some ice skating to do!” Henry interrupted her, but she settled back into the sofa with a satisfied smirk.

 Their first Christmas together rejuvenated his love for the holiday. She didn’t complain about anything he bought her or ask if he had gift receipts. He didn’t want to think about Mary, but his girlfriend’s appreciation and gratefulness made him recall a time when his thoughtfulness was overlooked or ignored.

 The coming days were a mix of get-togethers and late mornings. They were on vacation until the first week of January, and they spent every waking moment of it unabashedly together.

 Second, he thought about how beautiful and approachable she was. 

 People seemed to flock to her, and strangers felt comfort in her presence. It was amazing to watch. She engaged with others so seamlessly, and he wished he had her natural flair for socialization. He always had a knack for talking to people, but she possessed all the capabilities of a well-travelled, well-spoken individual. And clients loved her, just as he knew they would.

 Henry perched on a barstool, sipping an Old Fashioned when he saw a man approach her. The way he leaned in and scooped her into a hug told him they already knew each other. He was a tall, lanky fellow wearing a black denim jacket, slicked-back hair, and bawdy rings on several fingers. When he turned, his side profile caught the low light and made Henry tilt his head.

 The man talking to his girlfriend was at a height with him and had eyes wide as silver dollars. He laughed with her, leaving a quarter-foot of space between them, which was appropriate, as the bar jammed up with party-goers, but something didn’t sit right in Henry’s gut. He leaned into her, and she smiled as he said something close to her ear. When he pulled away, he spread his long arms open for a second hug. This one lasted a long time, and he rocked her back and forth and lifted her off the floor. When he set her back down, those arms didn’t stray far from her waist. 

 Henry’s drink disappeared fast, and he requested a top-up as he observed the man talking her ear off. She looked up at him with a familiar sparkle in her eye. The voices and music all whirred into a low thrum of noise as Henry watched him lift her hand to his lips. He kissed her knuckles, eyebrows high on his forehead, and she looked away, blush cresting her cheeks.

 She took her hand back, said something that caused him to give an exaggerated nod, then pointed across the bar. They both looked at Henry. Seeing the man head-on made Henry’s stomach twist. He was handsome as they come, and Henry couldn’t piece together why he had kissed his girl’s hand so fervently.

 The music and noise picked up speed as the two of them approached Henry’s seat.

 “Henry! I want you to meet my friend. This is Axel!” She projected her voice over the clamour. “Axel, this is my boyfriend, Henry.”

 Axel shot his hand out, and Henry shook it as he would meeting any new person, but he was wary. “Nice to meet you.”

 “Likewise. Hey, you must have seriously good taste if you landed this one,” Axel jabbed his thumb in her direction. She hit his arm, and he shrugged. “What? It’s true!”

 “Oh, shush,” she dismissed.

 “How do you know each other?” Henry asked.

 They both spoke, laughed, nudged each other and tried to allow the other to talk before she shook her head and took over. “Axel and I used to date awhile back.”

 There it was. Henry knew something was extra touchy about their dynamic. Axel had been inside her, shared her bed, existed in the light of her love at one point. Not one to resent something out of his control, Henry smiled and brushed it off without a hiccough, but inside, he was praying for Axel to wrap up their visitation.

 It grew worse when she excused herself to go to the restroom and left Axel in front of him, grinning like an idiot. “Whatcha drinkin’ there, champ?” Axel pointed at the glass.

 “Whiskey,” Henry raised his cup.

 “My kind of man. Hey, she says you know everything there is about business. Let me run something by ya.”

 Henry listened to Axel rattle off some dodgy business plan he had supposedly been incubating for years, but could only wonder what she had ever seen in a guy like him. He was loud, a touch arrogant and reeked of cigarettes and stale beer. He wondered if this was the ex that had instilled her skewed ideas of sex. All he could remember was how appalled he was when she told him one of her ex-boyfriends used her for a long time. Henry hoped it wasn’t the man shouting in his ear.

 The hour ticked away and Henry consumed more Old Fashioned cocktails than he intended. For a reason unbeknownst to him, Axel took a liking to him and didn’t leave his side unless it was to step outside for a cigarette, but he found Henry as soon as he returned.

 “Yeah, she’s a wild one, eh?”

 “What?” Henry called over the building din of drunken bustle.

 Axel nudged his head toward her. She was dancing to the live band, too busy to attend him or her ex-boyfriend. It pleased Henry to see her happy, carefree and uninterested in anything but letting loose and having a good time.

 “Our little firecracker over there.” Axel swung a brown bottle toward the stage where she danced.

 Henry chuckled only to stifle the yearning to scoff in Axel’s smug face.

 “I mean, she’s yours now, so I’m sure you’re aware of how crazy she is,” said Axel.

 “Are you sure you’re talking about the right girl? She’s not crazy.”

 “Crazy in bed, I mean. I have fond memories of her. Such a little nympho, eh?”

 Henry’s lips pressed together in a slight frown. He wished Axel would leave for another cigarette or disappear altogether. The tattooed man smothered Henry's good mood, so he turned his back and ordered another drink, ignoring the inappropriate comments. Sweetened whiskey warmed his stomach and spread upward, leaving his shoulders and neck prickly, settling in his cheeks as a red tint. 

 “Yep, we had some good times. Threesomes and shit. God, she loved that kinda stuff. And the ass on her... You’re in good hands, my man. Very good hands.” Axel elbowed Henry in the ribs. "Hey, she let you throw it in the backdoor yet?"

 With his tipping point breached, Henry whirled around, brows creased, mouth set in a severe line. “Are you fucking kidding me? On what planet do you believe it’s appropriate to talk about my girlfriend like that?”

 Axel raised his palms, chuckling. All the beer in his bloodstream lubricated his eye socket, making one murky green eye drift while the other stayed affixed to Henry. “Easy there, hombre! I meant nothing by it. I just figured since we’re Eskimo brothers—”

 “Don’t! I don’t want to get into a fight tonight. I came here to have a good time with my girlfriend, not to listen to some drunk fuck talk about her like she’s a piece of meat!”

 The fuzz of guitars and raspy singing encased Henry and Axel inside a private bubble of contempt. Nobody could hear what Henry was yelling or understand why Axel’s brow crinkled as he plucked the half-smoked cigarette from behind his ear to flip into his mouth. Nobody but her.

 By the time she weaved through the crowd, Henry had taken off toward the washrooms.

 “What’s wrong with him?” She asked Axel.

 The tall man shrugged, eyes narrowing at the girl he used to know intimately well. “He freaked out and left. I dunno. Guy has a stick up his ass.”

 She scowled at him and smacked his bicep. “Axel! Why do you always have to stir shit up?”

 He plucked the unlit cigarette from his lips, pieces of charred tobacco falling to the floor like brown confetti. “I didn’t do shit, all right? Whatever. This place is full of fuckin’ zipped, prissy-ass losers. Can’t believe you’ve been spending all your time with a fuckin’ suit.”

 “Shut up, Axel,” she shook her head and headed toward the restrooms to find her boyfriend.

 Henry locked himself in the washroom, went to the mirror and stared at his reflection. The thoughts whirling in his head floated on a sea of whiskey, deceptive and rising steadily. He didn’t want to think about her with anyone else, least not the dead-beat with the throat tattoos. What Axel told him soured in his stomach, tainting his entire perception of their relationship. 

 How could she be happy in the long run if he wasn’t adventurous and paled at the thought of asking her for something as insignificant as a blowjob? He bet Axel had no qualms demanding sex, and she would have obeyed, too. He abhorred the notion and spat into the sink before pulling out his wallet to find the coupon she gave to him on Christmas.

 His eyes coasted over the printed lettering, blurring in the wake of excess alcohol consumption. He shook his head, took a capped pen out of his pocket, popped it and scrawled along the dotted line. His eyes bulged when he glanced at his watch and saw the shorthand coming dangerously close to midnight. He had less than two minutes to find her.

 A loud banging on the bathroom door irked him even more, and he threw it open to glare at the next drunken fool waiting impatiently for their turn. He breezed by the line of bar patrons, catching shoulders with somebody but not turning to apologize.

 He found her in the middle of the bar. Axel was nowhere in sight, and that let out the tension from his shoulders. 

 “There you are!” She exclaimed. “What’s the matter? Did Axel say something to upset you?”

 “No!” He lied. “I mean, yes. But who cares. Here, I have something for you.”

 Henry placed the piece of paper in her hand, and she looked down at it, realizing what it was the moment she saw the print. She read the single word he scratched along the line and looked up with wide, sparkling eyes. She leered at him and stuck the piece of paper in her back pocket.

 “Are you sure?”

 “Yes, I’m positive.”

 “Why?”

 “Because! I want to. I want to have fun together. I don’t want you to think I’m boring or... Or...”

 “Or what?”

 “A prude?”

 She stood on her toes and kissed Henry’s cheek, pulling him in so she could rest her head on his shoulder. “You’re not a prude, and you’re far from boring, Henry. You’re the most interesting man I’ve ever met, and I love you!”

 The crowded bar grew tighter as the seconds ticked away. People off the streets scrambled indoors to be a part of any countdown nearby. The band stopped playing, and the frontman went to the microphone to lead the countdown.

 Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven!

 “I love you, too! I want you to know you’re the best thing that's ever happened to me. From the moment I saw you at the hotel... God, I loved you!”

 She beamed at him, arms around his neck while he poured his feelings on her. He was drunk, she could tell, but honest. 

 Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One!

 “Happy New Year!”

 Pops of confetti and glitter flew, raining down on the people hugging and kissing as the clock struck midnight. She kissed him deeply, and he kissed her back deeper than that.

 Then January 3rd came so soon, it almost felt like no time had passed at all.

 She was ready for him, though that was the bottom rung of his worries. Henry knew she would be willing; it was himself he had to worry about.

 He spent most of the day troubling over losing his nerve. If he changed his mind at the last minute, he'd let her down and make her realize he wasn’t as wild as her ex-boyfriends, nowhere close to how brash Axel was, incapable of taking charge the way she liked.

 She reminded him of the time he had taken her in his office and how much it turned her on when he made her call him Daddy. 

 Pretend like we’re in your office again. You’re the boss. You can have it any way you like, baby, you’re in charge.

 She emerged from the closet wearing a flimsy ensemble, and his breath hitched. It was red, lacy and strappy all over, breasts barely hidden under a thin layer of crimson. Henry’s eyes travelled up the straps holding stockings up and froze when he saw that her panties were missing one vital part—a crotch. When she turned and bent over, it left nothing to imagine.

 “What do you think, Mr. Deaver? Do you like it?”

 Henry felt a stirring in his belly. It melted and dripped down, taking all of his blood with it. “Baby... Christ, you look amazing. Come here. Come to me now.”

 She strutted closer to the bed, heels clicking on the floor until she reached the carpet. He beckoned for her, and she crawled onto the edge, slithering her way between his parted legs to receive a long, languid kiss. Henry’s hands went off their own flight path. His brain turned off, devoid of blood and clouded with arousal. She was wrapped up for him like a present, and he was eager to open her up.

 Perched on his lap, she swirled her hips in circles until she was sure he was fully erect. Then she kept rocking until he stayed her with his hands on her hips. The lace was soft beneath his fingers, but it was her skin he wanted to touch.

 “I’m so ready for you to fuck me, sir. I’ve been so naughty.”

 “Yeah? You don’t look like a bad girl, though,” Henry answered, swallowing the excess saliva under his tongue.

 “Oh, but I am. And I’ll prove it to you.”

 Henry laid back as she swung her leg over, turning around, so her back was to him. She arched her spine and flashed him a glimpse of the open panties. He ran his fingers over the material, admiring the way it looked on her smooth skin. 

 Underneath, she was wet enough to leave a blot on the front of his boxers where she ground against him. Henry pressed his head back into the pillows, moaning from the pressure on his cock. 

 “Mm, I believe you. Only bad girls with those dirty, dirty thoughts make that kind of a mess. And I’ve barely touched you.”

 She looked over her shoulder and smiled down at him. “I can’t help it, sir. All I’ve been able to think about is your cock. I need it so bad.”

 He let two fingers travel up her slit and moaned when he saw how much shine he collected along the way. His moistened fingertips met his tongue, and a gentle moan made both of them shiver.

 “God, I love the taste of that pussy. But, that’s not what I want,” he whispered, feeling the heat rising to the surface of his skin.

 “What would you like, sir? I’ll give you anything you want.”

 “You know what I want, princess. I want that ass. I want to feel that tight little hole swallowing my cock.”

 Impressed by his tone of confidence, she gave him a measured little gasp. He smirked and squeezed her cheeks with both hands, prying them apart and purring at the sight of it. His cock twitched hard enough that she felt it. Lust grew until he shimmied his boxers off and waited for her to sit down on his lap again.

 “S’that okay, honey? You like a nice big cock in your ass?”

 She nodded with fervour.

 “Is it because you’re a bad girl? Are you a dirty fucking slut that likes having her asshole fucked?”

 With another nod, she circled her hips against his once more. “Yes, sir. I want it. All I want is to please you.”

 Henry knew there was preparation done out of sight. She was ready for him. All he had to do was take her. The contracted entrance beckoned him, and his balls tightened over how snug it looked, but there was still a thin barrier preventing him from taking charge. He traced it, revelled in her moans, even pressed the first half-inch of his finger inside, but he couldn’t throw her down and fuck her no matter how much she assured him she could handle it. So he went slow.

 “Please, please, sir,” she whined. “I know you want it.”

 “Yeah, baby girl, I do. I want it. But you’re just so tight and delicate. I don’t want to hurt you.”

 Puckered skin stretched over the tip only a bit before he pulled back. She stayed propped on her knees, hands parting her cheeks so he could see every little part of her. He tried again but met with resistance. As his chest inflated, he closed his eyes and eased in until they popped back open.

 “Jesus fucking Christ on the motherfucking cross, baby. Holy shit,” Henry droned. “That is so goddamn fucking tight. I can’t believe how fucking tight that is.”

 Air drew in sharply through his teeth, and he closed his eyes again, stars exploding even with veiled vision. The surrounding tension was powerful as a five of his own grips and warm enough to spread throughout his body. She rocked forward and back once, and Henry clutched the sheets.

 “No, no, no, fuck. That’s too fucking tight. Jesus, baby, I’m gonna fucking come way too soon.”

 “Shh,” she soothed him. “You’re fine, you’re fine. I know it feels so good, but you can handle it.”

 As much as he wanted to believe she was right, that he could hold back and handle the immense pressure squeezing his cock, she was wrong. The moment she lifted and dropped her hips, and he saw his shaft disappear inside of her, a frenzy of nerves crackled in his groin, contracting his balls and tensing every muscle in his body. If it weren’t for the blood thrumming in his cock, she would have thought he passed out.

 Henry sat up, stilled her hips and tried to distract himself by kissing her shoulders.

 “Good God, baby. I’ve never felt anything so tight in my life. I swear to god that little hole will make me come any second.”

 “Yeah?” Her voice tinted with a challenge. “Gonna come already? That big, fat cock can’t handle it?”

 “Come. Come on,” Henry lifted her as though she weighed nothing, scooting them both to the edge of the bed so they faced the mirror.

 Henry instructed her to stay still on his lap while she played with herself. Any amount of friction sent him careening into a tumult of ecstasy, so she could not bounce, grind or pulse on him until she made herself come. 

 The image was pure bliss to him. Mounted on his cock, stockinged legs spread wide, her hand at her pussy rubbing and spreading her wetness around, he enjoyed the view from the back. And every once in a while, Henry thrust his hips up, and she would let out the most endearing squeak of pleasure.

 “Come on, play with that clit. Play with that gorgeous little pussy and show me how you make yourself come, bad girl. Do it for me.” His hot breath at her neck felt more like a cascade of water flowing down her body, carrying her out into a sea of pleasure.

 There were men before Henry, but none so concerned for her arousal, none as attentive to her desires. She wished he would realize it wasn’t about the kink-play or his ability to throw her down and snatch the control whenever he wanted. It was the way he held her and whispered soft encouragement against her skin. It was the time he took to soak up all the warmth he could until she was ready.

 “Tell me when you’re gonna come. I want to come with you. We’ll come at the same time, hm? S’that okay? Can Daddy come inside that sweet ass?”

 “Yes, please,” she breathed.

 “Good. Look at me when you come. I want to see your face.”

 She reached for his hand and replaced her fingers with his. “You make me come.”

 Henry planted his feet on the floor, kept two fingers pressed firmly against her swollen clit and bucked his hips up with shallow strokes. He nodded his head, kissing her when she craned her neck and fell against his chest.

 “That spot right there? Is that what you like, baby girl? Tell me what feels good, baby. Tell me how you like me to play with your pussy.”

 “Just like that,” she gasped. “Mm, just like that, sir.”

 “Yeah? You gonna come for me? ‘Cause I’m about to. Oh, fuck. Yes... I’m going to bust so fucking hard in that ass. God, you make me so fucking hard, baby.”

 Her lashes fluttered as two long fingers worked her until she was dripping. The sticky fluid dribbled down, down, until he felt it on the ridge of his cock. His snapped up faster than before, thigh muscles clenching, teeth grinding together while she whispered in his ear she was approaching the end.

 “Mm, I love it when you fuck my ass, Daddy. I want your cum.”

 “Yeah, you want it? You want all that hot fucking cum?”

 “Mm-hmm, yes!”

 His fingers flickered back and forth until she bit her lip and squealed. The sound of her orgasm pushed him to the edge, and he stiffened until it became too much to bear. They both groaned, gasped and fought for air, wrapped tightly in their rapturous climaxes until their muscles gave out. Henry held her against his chest and slipped out of her after the pulses weakened. He hauled her into the centre of the bed, where they laid until they caught their breath and settled under a blissful haze.

 “That was unbelievable.”

 She giggled and flipped onto her stomach, kissing his jaw and cheek. “You’re unbelievable.”

 “If I weren’t so sure I’m dead, I’d fight you on that one. But I’m fairly certain I’ve gone to heaven.”

 “Heaven, huh? I don’t think they do those kinds of things in heaven," she giggled.

 “Probably not.”

 She nuzzled into his neck, soothed by his natural scent while encased in his arms. “I’m proud of you.”

 He chuckled, sighed and ran his hand through his damp hair. “I’m proud of myself, too. I thought for sure I’d bust instantly.”

 “You came close.”

 “Thank you for... For letting me do that.”

 “I’m happy to be your first,” she whispered.

 “I love you, baby.”

 “I love you, too, my sweet, innocent little Christian boy.”

[dizzidoom]

So, I’ve been a little obsessed with animal crossing lately. Who hasn’t, lol. But it got me thinking on how the bey characters would play the game. So here’s a stupid list I made. Enjoy~

Takao/Tyson is time skipping so he can get Drago. He’s also arguing with other bladers who do have him and refusing to give him up. Inviting everyone to his island constantly. He abuses the emote wheel. Max hordes the ugly villagers because he loves them and feels bad that people throw them away. His island is very brightly coloured and full of flowers. Rei/Ray’s island is a perfect zen garden. He traded a cat with Kai for Bianca and spoils her. He just needs to find Rolf and he’ll be perfectly happy. Kai’s island is just cats. He may or may not have actually paid real money to get Raymond. He won’t confirm or deny this rumour. Kenny has it all optimised. He has spreadsheets, island maps, the whole lot. He researched well before the game came out and has barely put it down. He’s even made a website to track turnip prices and such. Daichi is slow with the game. Taking his time, enjoying the relaxing nature of it... for like 15 minutes. Then he gets bored and does something else. He also has a Drago, much to Takao’s utter annoyance (and no. He won’t give the villager up) Hiromi/Hilary’s island is almost perfect. Just a little more landscaping by here, little more flowers there. Wait, no. Flowers would be best over here, that house should be down there. No. No, perhaps over here... Hitoshi/Hiro has no idea what the hype is all about but gets excited when he finds fossils. The owl is his favourite character and when he’s invited to people’s islands he goes to their museum first to see what they have. Yuriy/Tala with his village of wolves. Pristine island where everything has its place. Do not question his choices. Boris/Bryan has a messy island and weird blood splatters all over the place. His animals are barely talked too. He only opens his game up when Yuriy tells him to check his turnip prices for him lol Ivan/Ian likes to ruin other people’s island. He’s been banned from Yuriy’s after the axe incident. Sergei/Spencer doesn’t understand what’s going on but the music is nice and relaxing. He still has only one room in his house but he’s getting there slowly.

Rai/Lee gets a little frustrated with the whole ‘take it slow’ aspect of the game. It’s a little too slow at times for him (no-ones told him about time skipping yet). He also doesn’t like any of the lion villagers and wishes they looked as cool as the tiger ones lol Kiki/Kevin. Monkey island basically. He managed to horde as many monkeys and apes as he could because he has a brand he needs to keep up with. Sometimes joins Ivan in trashing people’s island. Stopped when he received a death threat from Yuriy. Mao/Mariah has the other cat island but there are a tiger or lion in the mix. She’s trying to make it look like her home village too. Getting close. Gao/Gary barely plays it. Mostly only when Mao prompts him to visit her island, or if Kiki makes him play. Micheal is a tarantula/scorpion hunting pro. He gears no hissing bug scuttling after him and has yet to be bitten. He also won’t admit it but the duck villagers are his favourite. (And yes, he has apollo. How could he not?) Emily helps Kenny out with his turnip database website. She also loves the alligator villagers and takes any people don’t want. And yes, she refuses to give up Drago to Takao and refuses to listen to the argument that Drago is a dragon, not an alligator. He’s classed as one online and that's good enough for her. Eddy has several scorpion statues around his island. He’s also tried to make the tallest island but found he can only build so high... So it’s a little difficult to get around his island for newcomers. Steve as you can guess, he’s got quite a few bull villagers. He also loves any jock villagers because they remind him of friends from his football team. And also, maybe a little like the All-Stars at times. Rick doesn’t care but it’s the easiest way to get in touch with Max right now. He refuses to let people visit his island coz it’s a mess, yet is too lazy to actually play the game and make it presentable. Ralf/Robert’s village is incredibly tidy. Like, a little too tidy. Trees are all in order. Flowers cornered off behind fences. The villager houses are all in neat rows. Untrustworthy friends are not allowed to visit lest they ruin his work. Johnny doesn’t give a shit but he really, really loves the bug lizard. So he only plays at night to hunt the tarantulas and scorpions so when Flick visits he can make the lizard super happy. He admits this to no-one. Oliver’s Island is a rose paradise. His little villager is dressed up like a chef most of the time. He also really enjoys the design feature. He finds the limitations a little exciting so can spend hours crafting masterpieces in-game. Giancarlo/Enrique likes to show off for his girlfriends and gift them too many bells and nookmile tickets. He does this to Oliver too, of course. He runs around with the mini crown on his head and loves to emote too much in Johnny’s face. Mariam wants shark villagers but understands it can’t happen. A girl can hope though. Instead, she just has them in tanks around her island and refuses to sell any she fishes up. Ozuma doesn’t care too much for the game. He likes the relaxing nature of it but the way the villager's talk can get on his nerves after an hour. Joseph’s villager has big creepy eyes and he likes to try and sneak on other peoples islands when they least expect it and stalk them. Dunga has an island full of ugly apes and he loves it. He traded for them fairly easily, obviously. Reluctantly gave Kai a cat villager for one too. Salima is really into making her house perfect. Each room has a theme and she’s been on twitter for hours chatting to others and visiting them to share DIY recipes or buy from their shop. Kane is oddly lucky at travelling to the rare mystery islands. Most of his bells are from the bell island if he’s honest. Jim charges a lot of bells or nookmile tickets to visit his island and sell turnips. He’s made more money doing that than actually selling his own turnips. Goki is a little too generous at times and always likes to help out other people. As a result, he’s not really managed to upgrade much on his island yet, but he’s getting there. Zeo doesn’t want to talk about Ribbot and Sprocket, and no you can’t have them, they like his island very much thank you. Queen and King cheat together. They go to people’s islands and scam them. Offering items for bells but quickly taking both when the items are dropped. Many of the other bladers now refuse to let them visit. Raul likes the horse villagers best but has only got one. He’s forever on the lookout for them. He is also afraid of the tarantula’s and is constantly being bitten by them. Julia is far more interested in making interesting clothes. She’s made nearly everything she’s owns so her in-game villager can match her all the time.  Mathilda is constantly catching the butterflies. She can’t get the hang of fishing but her insectopedia thingie is full for all the bugs she can get. She adores the Able sisters. Claude spends all his money buying stupid clothes for his villagers to wear. After seeing Giancarlo’s crown though he plans to buy one for each villager. If only he had the savings... Miguel’s island is like a beach resort. He also takes a lot of in-game selfies or stupid screencaps and posts them on twitter. Aaron loves fishing a lot. Like, a lot a lot. He has a room full of each fish he can get so Mathilda can take them one day to fill up her museum since she’s so crap at fishing.  Garland doesn’t care too much about the game. He plays a little each day, does the daily chores he needs to do and then stops. He does love to visit people and interact though. Will spend hours island hopping. Went to Yuriy’s island once and spent ten minutes getting smacked in the face with a net. He never went back. He hopes it was therapeutic for the Russian though. Ming-Ming owns nearly all the clothes. She has her team send screenshots every day of what is in their clothes shops so she can buy anything she doesn’t own yet. She may, or may not be a little obsessed with the animals singing too. Brooklyn refuses to weed and refuses to cut trees. He’ll hit them for wood, but if a tree grows it stays there forever. As you can imagine, it’s like a forest and hard to navigate. Except for Brooklyn. He knows his way. Mystel’s island is full of fruit. Like, it’s just fruit trees because he wants to always have some to give to visitors. There are also many rivers because who doesn’t like using the pole all the time? Moses/Crusher plays with his sister. He’s also currently being guilt-tripped by Takao to give up a Drago. But Drago really likes his island so how can he send the alligator away?

[matthewschueller]

The 16 Best Things to Do in Portland Oregon - From a Local

Why Visit Portland Oregon? Advice From a Local.

Portland Oregon is a quirky, eclectic mix of crazy personalities and stunning natural beauty. Every time we fly back into Portland, we’re stunned by the view of Mount Hood overlooking the emerald green forests surrounding the city. There’s no place like it, and it continues to surprise us. The city is filled to the brim with evergreens, top-tier restaurants, green spaces, bike lanes, and unique neighborhoods. Just an hour from the coast or the mountains, the options for hiking and outdoor activities are limitless.

Besides the fact that Portland is basically a city within a giant forest, it has an interesting way about structuring its neighborhoods. Throughout the sprawl of the city, there are tons of neighborhood centers, each with its own unique personality and feel. What we love most about Portland is its irreducible attitude about not giving-a-shit about what anyone thinks about it. Portland is super weird, and it’s proud of that fact. From Voodoo Doughnuts, Powell’s City of Books (the world’s largest bookstore), to Darcelle’s (our personal favorite), anything here is accepted and loved as is!

Above that, Portland is an incredibly gay friendly city. Many have asked where the gay district Is in Portland, but really, we think the whole city is kind of gay. It’s awesome, and we feel totally 100% free and comfortable no matter what part of the city we’re in. Skip down to the 16th list-item below to see a bit more about the LGBTQ+ community in Portland.

It’s no surprise that Portland has become a popular destination for people from all over, and we’ve had many friends and family members ask, “What should we do in Portland? What should we see in Portland? Where should we eat in Portland!?" Well, we are here to answer all of that HERE!

Here are The 16 Best Things to Do in Portland Oregon

1. Get Lost in Powell’s City of Books

Powell’s City of Books is an iconic destination in Portland. The bookstore is 4 stories tall and takes up an entire city block. It holds more books for sale than any other bookstore on earth. It’s enormous, and you can actually get lost in there (I have)! On the top level, there’s an isolated room full of first edition and signed books, including original print copies from series like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. It’s amazing.

2. Eat as Many Donuts in Portland as Possible

We’ve all heard of Voodoo Doughnuts, and while this is a staple of Portland’s quirky eccentric attitude, these aren’t the best donuts in the city. Don’t get me wrong, we love Voodoo, but there are a couple Portland donut shops that have risen up above the rest over the last decade.

Pip’s Doughnuts

For something a little more classic, head to Pip’s Original Doughnuts and Chai. Known for having some of the most delectable chai in the greater Portland area, Pip’s offers donut holes topped with classic and seasonal custards and cremes. Whether you come in the winter for a rich Banana Custard and Salted Nutella doughnut or a little closer to spring to enjoy their Meyer Lemon Pear Butter doughnut, you will always be able to pair them with a perfect chai or matcha.

Blue Star Donuts

Blue Star crafts its donut creations out of a brioche base from scratch and pair that with fresh fruits, herbs and spices, even liqueurs. Whether your in the mood for something fresh like their Meyer Lemon and Key Lime curd creation, something rich like the Chocolate Almond Ganache, or a classic Old Fashioned (of which there are three varieties), Blue Star has a myriad of flavors that stem from the surrounding area to tantalize your tastebuds.

3. Shop on Nob Hill’s 23rd Avenue

Perched on the North West side of downtown, 23rd Avenue holds some of the best cafes and restaurants of the city. Stroll down 23rd Ave. and grab a coffee at Barista, browse unique gifts at Paper Source, check out the view on Restoration Hardware’s rooftop or find your favorite crystals at the small pop-in shops along the way. 23rd Ave is a beautiful neighborhood full of ornate victorian homes. Walking around the area is a treat, and this is a prime area for good shopping. One of our favorite places to grab a pick-me-up is Tea Chai Te. We love sitting out on their outdoor balcony overlooking 23rd Ave.

4. Have a Scoop at Salt & Straw

Their first storefront opened on 23rd Ave. and now Salt & Straw is pretty well known throughout the West Coast. With intense and crazy flavors, Salt & Straw typically boasts a line out the door and around the corner. Try their famous Sea Salt and Caramel Ribbon, Honey Lavender, Pear & Blue Cheese, or seasonal varieties like Bone Marrow & Smoked Cherries or vegan Coconut Milk with Cashew Brittle & Pandan! Everyone is welcome and encouraged to try as many flavor samples as they’d like while standing in line. Try them all!

5. Enjoy the View at Pittock Mansion

Pittock Mansion is a famously beautiful mansion overlooking downtown Portland from Forest Park. You can catch one of the best views of Mt. Hood from there, and in the Spring, the rhododendrons around the mansion are kind of magical. It’s one of the must-see places to anyone visiting! Pittock Mansion is best to visit on sunny days in the Spring, but is perfect for photography all year around.

6. Sip Lots and Lots of Coffee

This one is without saying. Portland has great coffee. Obviously, you have to try Stumptown. Their coldbrew is unbelievable—like nectar-of-the-gods-good. It’s chocked full of caffeine, so sip slowly! Check out their iconic location in the Portland Ace Hotel downtown. The lobby of the Ace Hotel is an iconic photo spot and an even better place for people watching. Other favorite coffee shops include Ristretto Roasters, Never Coffee, Heart Coffee, Barista and Good Coffee; just to name a few.

7. Find Some Peace at the Japanese Gardens

In the hills over downtown, the Japanese Gardens holds acres of rhododendron, blossoming trees and small ponds surrounded by bamboo. It’s a peaceful place to spend the day just far enough away from downtown. With views of Mount Hood, the famous Japanese Gardens attracts tourists from all around the world.

8. Stroll Down Mississippi Ave.

Mississippi Ave. is lined with some of the best restaurants and bars of the city. It’s really active any night during any part of the year, and is always bound to bring a good time. It also has a ton of cute trendy shops and cafes. Hanging out there is one of our favorite things to do on any given weekend! The food cart pod on Mississippi Ave. has cheap and tasty options including Matt’s BBQ and Little Conejo Food Cart. Our favorite spot to grab a bite on Mississippi is ¿Por Qué No?. This hugely popular taquería serves some of the best tacos and guacamole we’ve ever had. Food isn’t the only thing that has us coming back to this neighborhood, the bars are the best. Our favorites include Prost! for beer, Interurban for cocktails, and Psychic Bar for one of the most interesting witchy atmosphere’s we’ve experienced!

9. Eat at the Food Trucks

Portland’s street food culture also has made a name for itself. In the summer, you’ll see everyone out biking down to the food carts to grab Koi Fusion, Chicken and Guns, or Nong's Khao Man Gai. There are so many food trucks in Portland, we could do a whole blog just on which ones to try… and there are a lot we can recommend. Our advice, try as many as possible during your visit. The food culture here is just as good in the streets as it is in the sheets... or restaurants, oops.

10. Explore the Alberta Arts District

Few spots are more classically Portland than Alberta Avenue. The arts district is filled to the brim with Portland grunge. Graffiti stained walls, independent and bustling coffee shops, food carts and enough weed to get the entire state high. You can find yourself wanting to stick around Alberta Ave. for a while. Head to this neighborhood to admire the graffiti art, go bar hopping, or try any one of the incredible restaurants. We recommend Pok Pok, Pine State Biscuits, Proud Mary’s and Bamboo Sushi to start!

11. Hike in the Colombia River Gorge and See Multnomah Falls

The Columbia River Gorge is home to some of Oregon’s most iconic natural wonders. Located just a 30 minutes drive from downtown, Multnomah Falls is the most popular natural tourist attractions in the state. The historic falls plummet from the foothills leading up to Mount Hood and is perfectly framed by the iconic stone bridge located just in front. It’s a very short walk from the parking lot to the falls, but for those looking for a hike, there is plenty of trail beyond the falls. The Colombia River Gorge is full of adventurous trails that will lead you up paths to find countless waterfalls and epic views of the gorge.

Here are a few of our favorite hikes and views:

Hike in Oneonta Gorge —

Oneonta Gorge is itself a scenic canyon located in the Columbia River Gorge. The U.S. Forest Service has designated it as a botanical area because of the unique aquatic and woodland plants that grow there. There are four major waterfalls on the Oneonta Creek as it runs through the gorge. Middle Oneonta Falls can be seen clearly from a footpath and is very often mistaken for the upper or lower falls. The lower gorge has been preserved as a natural habitat, so there is no boardwalk or footpath through it as such. Thus, Lower Oneonta Falls can only be seen by walking upstream from the creek's outlet. Getting to the lower falls can require wading through water that, in some places, can be chest-deep, depending on the season and the relative amount of snow-melt. Bring your waders if you want to see the iconic lower falls!

Hike to Latourell Falls —

Latourell Falls is one of the easiest waterfalls to access while still having breathtaking height and power. Access from Portland takes you first to the Bridal Veil exit off of I-84E and then a quick double-back toward the city along the Historic Columbia River Highway. Park your car at the small lot and walk about 0.5 miles down the trail until you reach the falls. There is a 2.4 mile hiking loop if you want to enjoy the scenery around the area even more, see the falls from above and hit a second viewpoint at the Upper Latourell Falls.

Hike to Angel’s Rest —

One of the closest hike’s to the Portland metro area with rewarding views of the Columbia River Gorge. This is a moderately paced hike with clear paths, good elevation gain and is an easy day trip from the city. Due to its proximity this can be a slightly busy trail but is very peaceful at the early morning hours. If you want to secure your parking spot and have a climb with little disturbances definitely arrive before 9am.

Take Pictures at Vista House —

Vista House was built in 1917 on one of the most beautiful scenic points along the Historic Columbia River Highway. Prior to the construction of I-84, this building was intended as a place of respite and relaxation for those traveling along the highway. There is still an espresso bar with snacks during hours of operation, but the main reason to stop here are the breathtaking views in all directions.

12. Take a Day Trip to Cannon Beach — Haystack Rock

On one side of Portland you have the mountains, but on the other side is the beach! An hour and a half West from downtown Portland is Cannon Beach. Perhaps just as a popular as the falls, every traveler must plan a day to check out the Oregon Coast. You’ll find impressively wide beaches with powerful waves, along with striking cliffs and rock structures jutting from the water, like the famous Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach. Spend the day walking down the beach, sitting in the sun, and exploring the tide pools around the rocks. Pelican Brewing Co. at the edge of the beach is our favorite spot to hang out, grab a couple beers and watch the sun set over the historic Haystack Rock. We try to make it out to Cannon Beach at least a few times a year, we love it!

13. Drink All the Beers

Arguably, one of the best parts about visiting Portland is the sheer number and variety of breweries throughout the city. Honestly, you can make an entire trip centered around trying the beers here. We are regulars at 10 Barrel Brewing Co.’s rooftop bar in the Pearl District. We also love enjoying a local tap at Departures Lounge on the rooftop of The Nines Luxury Hotel downtown. Departures also has amazing sushi if you’re looking for a bite to eat! You’ll find us enjoying a local IPA but if hops aren’t your flavor try the local blondes, ale or stout! We have them all! Other great breweries to checkout are Deschutes Portland Brewery, Migration Brewing, Breakside Brewery, Rogue Brewery, Occidental Brewing, Baerlic Brewing, Ecliptic Brewing and many more!

14. Go Wine Tasting in the Willamette Valley

For every brewery in Portland there’s another winery outside the city waiting to help get your drink on. The Willamette Valley outside of Portland is known for its world class Pinot Noir. And really, the wineries are not far from Portland’s City Center. If you’d prefer to stay in the city, there are plenty of tasting rooms like Boedecker Cellars and Cerulean Wine. Our favorite wineries to visit just outside the city are Hawks View Winery, Domaine Drouhin, Brooks Vineyards, and Stoller Family Estate. Wander down to Willamette Valley Vineyards just an hour south of Portland for some of the best Pinot Noir the West has to offer. All of the above wineries have shipping available for those who’d like to bring some bottles home without the hassle of getting them through the airport.

15. Bar Hop around Portland and Drink the Night Away!

As a warmup, we’ve mentioned all the breweries and wineries to try around Portland. We’ve also mentioned some of our favorite bars along Mississippi Ave and the Alberta Arts District. Here are a few of our all-time favorite bars and shows around the city.

Scandal’s

This is our favorite gay bar to hang at. It’s a pretty relaxed bar, no fluff. It’s comfortable, not intimidating, and an easy place to grab a drink and relax. I love this place because of how welcoming it is, and the drinks are honestly super cheap!

Blow Pony

This is a hugely popular queer event held once a month in Portland. It is a riot, and things get crazy. For those up for a party, it’s worth coming to Portland just for this! Wear as little as you’d like!

Darcelle’s XV

Darcelle has a history with the city. As the oldest practicing drag queen, Darcelle and her girls throw a comedy show four nights a week that will leave you on the floor. We went here for our bachelor party and had one of the best nights of our lives. They are so sweet, take no shit, and will give you a show you’ll never forget. 

16. Celebrate Pride in Portland

We love walking down Harvey Milk Street downtown, popping into Scandal’s for a bit and having a drink with friends. Portland is a big city, but still feels kind of small. The community here is super personal and extremely friendly. I remember my first time at Portland Pride and how I essentially just felt an overwhelming sensation of belonging. It’s tight knit, and people really look out for each other. The gay bars are scattered throughout the city, so it isn’t dominated to just one section of town. The free-spirited, anything-goes mentality is something I’ve only also seen in places like The Castro or the West Village. There are two gay beaches, one at Sauvie Island and another at Rooster Rock, in the Columbia River Gorge. There are also a ton of community and sports groups like the Portland Frontrunners, who I run with every Tuesday and Saturday.

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[fabelyn]

It has only now come to my knowledge that Dom Quixote, a book written in 1605, has an arc where a bunch of dudes get together to whine about this beautiful lady who is nice to everyone but never likes them back, and how her lack of loving them is to blame for the sorrow and this one dude’s death...at which point said lady comes in and gives a long speech telling them that no, she doesnt owe them anything just because they fell for her. 

I was unaware of this and, so that others also unaware may enjoy this over 400 year old calling out of male entitlement, here is her speech in full, which is so long I’m putting part behind a read more (apologies for lack of formating and stuff ,this was taken from a pdf):

“I come not, Ambrosia for any of the purposes thou hast named,” replied Mar-cela, “but to defend myself and to prove how unreasonable are all those who blame me for their sorrow and for Chrysostom’s death; and therefore I ask all of you that are here to give me your attention, for will not take much time or many words to bring the truth home to persons of sense. Heaven has made me, so you say, beautiful, and so much so that in spite of yourselves my beauty leads you to love me; and for the love you show me you say, and even urge, that I am bound to love you. By that natural understanding which God has given me I know that everything beautiful attracts love, but I cannot see how, by reason of being loved,that which is loved for its beauty is bound to love that which loves it; 

besides, it may happen that the lover of that which is beautiful may be ugly, and ugliness being detestable, it is very absurd to say, ”I love thee because thou art beautiful,thou must love me though I be ugly." But supposing the beauty equal on bothsides, it does not follow that the inclinations must be therefore alike, for it is notevery beauty that excites love, some but pleasing the eye without winning the af-fection; and if every sort of beauty excited love and won the heart, the will wouldwander vaguely to and fro unable to make choice of any; for as there is an infinityof beautiful objects there must be an infinity of inclinations, and true love, I haveheard it said, is indivisible, and must be voluntary and not compelled. If this beso, as I believe it to be, why do you desire me to bend my will by force, for noother reason but that you say you love me? Nay- tell me- had Heaven made me ugly, as it has made me beautiful, could I with justice complain of you for not loving me? Moreover, you must remember that the beauty I possess was no choice ofmine, for, be it what it may, Heaven of its bounty gave it me without my asking orchoosing it; and as the viper, though it kills with it, does not deserve to be blamedfor the poison it carries, as it is a gift of nature, neither do I deserve reproach forbeing beautiful; for beauty in a modest woman is like fire at a distance or a sharpsword; the one does not burn, the other does not cut, those who do not come toonear. Honour and virtue are the ornaments of the mind, without which the body,though it be so, has no right to pass for beautiful; but if modesty is one of the vir-tues that specially lend a grace and charm to mind and body, why should she who is loved for her beauty part with it to gratify one who for his pleasure alonestrives with all his might and energy to rob her of it? I was born free, and that Imight live in freedom I chose the solitude of the fields; in the trees of the moun-tains I find society, the clear waters of the brooks are my mirrors, and to the treesand waters I make known my thoughts and charms. I am a fire afar off, a swordlaid aside. Those whom I have inspired with love by letting them see me, I haveby words undeceived, and if their longings live on hope- and I have given none toChrysostom or to any other- it cannot justly be said that the death of any is my do-ing, for it was rather his own obstinacy than my cruelty that killed him; and if itbe made a charge against me that his wishes were honourable, and that therefore Iwas bound to yield to them, I answer that when on this very spot where now hisgrave is made he declared to me his purity of purpose, I told him that mine was tolive in perpetual solitude, and that the earth alone should enjoy the fruits of my re-tirement and the spoils of my beauty; and if, after this open avowal, he chose topersist against hope and steer against the wind, what wonder is it that he shouldsink in the depths of his infatuation? If I had encouraged him, I should be false; ifI had gratified him, I should have acted against my own better resolution and pur-pose. He was persistent in spite of warning, he despaired without being hated. Be-think you now if it be reasonable that his suffering should be laid to my charge.Let him who has been deceived complain, let him give way to despair whose en-couraged hopes have proved vain, let him flatter himself whom I shall entice, lethim boast whom I shall receive; but let not him call me cruel or homicide towhom I make no promise, upon whom I practise no deception, whom I neither en-tice nor receive. It has not been so far the will of Heaven that I should love byfate, and to expect me to love by choice is idle. Let this general declaration servefor each of my suitors on his own account, and let it be understood from this timeforth that if anyone dies for me it is not of jealousy or misery he dies, for she wholoves no one can give no cause for jealousy to any, and candour is not to be con-founded with scorn. Let him who calls me wild beast and basilisk, leave me aloneas something noxious and evil; let him who calls me ungrateful, withhold his serv-ice; who calls me wayward, seek not my acquaintance; who calls me cruel, pur-sue me not; for this wild beast, this basilisk, this ungrateful, cruel, wayward beinghas no kind of desire to seek, serve, know, or follow them. If Chrysostom’s impa-tience and violent passion killed him, why should my modest behaviour and cir-cumspection be blamed? If I preserve my purity in the society of the trees, whyshould he who would have me preserve it among men, seek to rob me of it? Ihave, as you know, wealth of my own, and I covet not that of others; my taste isfor freedom, and I have no relish for constraint; I neither love nor hate anyone; Ido not deceive this one or court that, or trifle with one or play with another. Themodest converse of the shepherd girls of these hamlets and the care of my goatsare my recreations; my desires are bounded by these mountains, and if they everwander hence it is to contemplate the beauty of the heavens, steps by which thesoul travels to its primeval abode." With these words, and not waiting to hear a reply, she turned and passed intothe thickest part of a wood that was hard by, leaving all who were there lost in ad-miration as much of her good sense as of her beauty

[mountphoenixrp]

We have a new citizen in Mount Phoenix:

                             Sun Wukong, the God of Mayhem and Mischief,                                           whose origins stem from Ancient China.                                               He is now a martial arts instructor.

FC NAME/GROUP: jackson wang ( wang kayee ) or got7 GOD NAME: sun wukong PANTHEON: chinese OCCUPATION: martial arts instructor HEIGHT: 174 cm ( 5'9" ) WEIGHT: 63 kg ( 140 lbs ) DEFINING FEATURES:

HAIR: black (it was gold before but he made it black to match his daughter’s) EYES: a bright golden. it was originally brown until he got stuck in a cauldron for 49 days. is also sensitive to smoke. NOTABLE FEATURES: a monkey tail always was present and ready to act as a third hand. very useful. STYLE: anything and everything fancy and trendy. liked to look rich and luxurious. however in home he’s so casual with boxer shorts and baggy shirts.

PERSONALITY:

MBTI: ENTP- A extroverted: 92% intuitive: 60% thinking: 54% prospecting: 56% assertive: 78% HOGWART’S HOUSE: slytherin POSITIVE: adaptable; charismatic; social; daring NEUTRAL: cunning; proud; genuine NEGATIVE: mischievous; stubborn; childish; erratic the monkey king was a proud one, a child at heart. despite his improvement of the years, at the core he was a troublemaker who wanted to be under the spotlight. however he was charming and bright, always willing to talk with others and connecting with them. an adventurer much too sly and playful, but an ally worthy to have. although unpredictable and stubborn at times, he did try his best and put his all no matter what ( even if it’ll lead him to crash and burn ).

HISTORY:

act i.

he was not normal, not even with his birth. born from a magic stone, an egg that took form of the species around him, the thing known as monkeys. in this mountain where he had no family, nothing to turn back to, the stone monkey attempted to fit in with everyone else. eating, breathing, living like everyone else. he was not like everyone else that had to take time to grow, instead matching to the adults as soon as he was born. what a strange one, ran through the other animals’ minds. but they took in the odd monkey and he in turn tried to learn from them all. to be like the others, to live, to do something. for this creature merely wanted to live, wished to find purpose, find a reason for why he existed. that’s why, when the chance came, the stone monkey dared to be more. went through the waterfall to be known as the monkey king, became a leader to the other monkeys, stole a treasure from the dragon king to make himself stronger, defeat the four dragons anyway, became a powerful and well known demon king that was praised and had followers in awe of his prowess. he never felt more alive than in that moment, loved and a subject of awe among his peers. the stone monkey was no more, and he now tried to be the amazing and loved king, the one in the spotlight. and when death came knocking at his doorstep, he defied it with all his might. erased his name from the book of life and death to achieve immortality, and when he thought of his people, those that will one day disappear and he’d lose all that he loved about his position—the monkey took all of heir names out of it too. for this being was not like others, he had no purpose. that’s why he turned to others, that’s why he strove to be more, to reach the top. for then there, everyone would seek for him. and he’d finally be doing something right, instead of nothing at all and meandering about like a lost wanderer. he wasn’t going to be a waste in this vast world, he was going to be so much more.

act ii.

the thing about being more was that it came with defying the laws put down upon lesser beings such as he. and as such, he was reported to the jade emperor by those he slighted. let it be known that he was more easily fooled at this time, and one much more optimistic. he only thought of this as an opportunity to be better. a mere child in mind thinking he was going to be gifted to be better because he did a job well done didn’t he? and truly, despite all his deeds, this monkey was but a child. one who was never taught properly of how the world worked, of how people acted, how his actions may be perceived. he was just trying to find his worth, in this world too big for his small body. that’s why, when he was put down as a mere lookout for the stables and to take care of the horses—he was hurt. he was a hurt little one, and he wondered what he did wrong. but then he started to think, did he mean nothing to them? there’s a fear gripping at his heart, and he hated how he felt like he just lost his worth to these new people he did not know, and before he knew it, he was seeking for attention. he lets loose all the horses and so began the start of the havoc in heaven. he didn’t want to be nothing. “i’m the great sage, heaven’s equal and you better treat me as such!” a childish declaration, but one which had to work out well enough for heaven to recognize his title. and he thought, yeah, this was it. he was going to be well loved, and he was going to be under the spotlight again! he was going to be someone of worth! then he found out, that wasn’t the case. not really. another lie, another fake to make him seem great but realizing that no, that’s not really the case. because there was a great banquet for the great figures in heaven and he wasn’t invited at all. sad little monkey, within the peach garden that he thought was a grand area to give to him, but it wasn’t. no, instead, he stood alone and felt like he was just thrown away. why? i didn’t do anything wrong. i just wanted—, such thoughts ran rampant in his mind. but no one was there to listen. and once more, the spiral down to negativity pushed the monkey again. and this time, against these deities and beings, he took all he could to give him immortality ( because he’s just one monkey, one against all these mean, mean people ). then he began his rebellion. heaven needed a wake up call. they need to realize that he’s more than what they thought he was. they should know his worth! and that was all that fueled this monkey king to fight. army of heaven’s 100,000 celestial warriors, 28 constellations, four heavenly kings, and even nezha—it did not matter. in that moment, he surpassed them all, for even if he was a child, combat seemed to be such a naturally in born talent of his. tricking them all, defeating them, proving his worth. but even so, he was one mere being. powerful, but alone. and he loathed how in the end he didn’t come out at top. instead, he was captured. in the end, he failed. and he screamed out at them all, cursing them and hateful. and he was terrified, because oh, he was so small against the swarm and he just wanted approval. he just wanted to be loved. am i truly worth nothing? he’s thrown into laozi’s eight-way trigram crucible, and in that moment he wondered what fool called heaven a holy place.

act iii.

49 days, that’s the record he bore for being stuck in the forsaken place. curled up in the corner, he transformed out of his monkey form to something much smaller in fear. flinching away from the flames, eyes burning from the smoke. immortality was what kept him alive, and he wondered why he was so horribly tortured. no one heard his cries to the raging fires and ceramic walls, and after a few days he had nothing left to sob out. when the cauldron finally opened, he jumped out. he jumped and ran away. he continued to hate them, and yet deep down he sought for their approval ( because how else was he to find his worth? ). which led to the next event. meeting buddha, bigger and stronger than him, he didn’t want to seem meek and weak next to the other. bringing out the mask of bravado, he accepted the bet made by buddha and attempted to win the game. he was going to reach heaven and not be caught by the higher being, he was going to prove himself! for if he won this, would he not be finally put at the top? however, it seemed that nothing ever went his way. for as he thought he succeeded in defeating the buddha, showing off loudly of his great victory, it turned out he had been already trapped. the palm of buddha turning into a mountain and locking him inside. again, he was put into isolation. this time, the space was bigger and at least there was no fire, but god was he alone. there were only plantations and insects, these were all he could see. the monkey was put all alone and he tried to count how many days it has been. with each day, he found himself fearing how the world would be when he returned. would anyone remember him? would people care? would his people even care? in this time of isolation, the monkey tried to make life exciting to ignore such worries. building his own luxurious tree house, making all sorts of traps for fun, playgrounds that he could enjoy in. he loved the flowers and fruits especially, colorful things to break the monotony of earthly colors. and sometimes, for a moment, things were fun. until he turned around, cheer on his face to call out for a friend to try things out with him. but then he remembered, he had nobody. was this his fate? he sometimes wondered. was he really meant to not have a purpose? he loathed to think. was he never meant to be loved? the worst of it all entered his mind. and he curled up in the center, digging his finger down on the ground to carve the symbol of another day. and maybe if he ducked hi head and let it stay above his knees, no one would see or feel the tears dropping from his eyes.

act iv.

500 years, 182500 days, and too many hours to count later—he was given freedom. Well, not really freedom. he was allowed to roam on earth after he successfully escorted some monk on his pilgrimage. protect monk and keep him safe, and then he’s out scott-free. sure, he also had a dumb headband on him to give him headache for days, but at least he had three chances to defy it. that was the basic idea really. and before he knew it, he got lumped in with a monk that got a stick up his ass, a womanizing and gluttonous pig, a boring ogre, and then later on in life some quiet ass horse. it was a very strange combination indeed, one that the king thinks could easily fail anytime soon—but he was stubborn and when he put his mind to it, he always aimed for the best results. he hated the monk when he used the stupid mantra to mess with his head, hated the pig for his stupidity and foolish actions, hated the ogre for being so serious, hated how the horse refused to return to normal and remained silent. yet at the same time, xuanzang became the one person he learned to respect and love dearly, bajie became the fun friend he loved to mess with, wujing was always someone he could rely on, and yulong was the trusty and silent stead. from a ragtag group butting heads, to brothers that he could trust. xuanzang in particular, despite their stark differences, was someone he came to care for beyond than anyone in the world. even with all the troubles and how xuanzang always seemed to be taken away, he and the others always brought him back in the end. and even if there were arguments, many nearly breaking them up, they bounced back and together continued their adventure. the journey to the west was one of adventures beyond the norm, but he thought that this was truly a tale to tell the world when it was all over. sometimes he fancied them becoming a popular tale in the future, joked about it really. xuanzang told him that such a tale was not really necessary, bajie was all in for it at the prospect of fame and the girls and money he could obtain from it, wujing didn’t really seek for such fame but it was an interesting topic nonetheless. the primate already knew he was going to definitely publish it in the future. this was his lifestyle for fourteen years, and even if it’s such a small number of years too his actual age—it had been one of the greatest there was. and through it, he found out more about him, people, and individuals. he understood then, of heaven’s punishment on him. he understood why the world once labeled him a pest. he understood it all thanks to these people and his adventures. xuanzang especially broke through all the farce he put up, came to understand him beyond anyone else, and in turn the troublemaker was the same with the monk. he thought that, strangely enough, after so much suffering this was where he truly belonged. however, as stated before, this journey lasted fourteen years. in the end, the pilgrimage was successful. bajie was gifted, wujing became an arhat, and surprisingly he was granted buddhahood alongside xuanzang. but xuanzang requested to stay as human for as long as his mortal life could offer, whilst he took it without problem ( because at the core of it all, he still wanted to be something and took every opportunity to be as such ).   and just like that, the group disbanded. misfits and a religious one all going on their own ways. surprisingly, he found himself suggesting a yearly meet up of sort to catch up on each other too. none of them minded this, and he thought he caught xuanzang having a proud smile. in the end, despite reaching buddhahood, he tried to check on the monkeys he left and how their lives have been. when he returned back to open arms and them crying out of relief and joy seeing him fine and well, worries of the past washed away. a weight lifted off of his shoulders, and he thought perhaps this was all he needed.

act v.

the world became duller without the others with him and facing constant adventures. perhaps that’s why he’d frequently go around causing bits of mischief here and there to amuse himself. the monkeys were a nice pack to return to as well, but he found himself without much to do. what was he if not playing the rebellious troublemaker? what was he, if not playing the protector of the monk? what was he in the end? even after reaching buddhahood, he questioned himself. he flaunted the title around, but somewhere in him he wondered why he even received it. sometimes he wanted to talk about it to xuanzang, but he hated to be anything but the facade he showed. because that vision was cooler, much more than this wanderer still lost within himself. speaking of xuanzang, today he’s meeting up with the guy. he knew wujing and bajie met the monk earlier on, but it seemed they were making sure he and xuanzang have one last fina talk. if he heard bajie talk about a secret forbidden love between them, he thought of transforming himself to a beautiful woman to embarrass the pig. still, it was definitely better for them to be alone for this last talk. it’s been years of course, and whilst the disciples have a limitless life ( with only him assured to just never die ), xuanzang did request to keep his mortality for the time being. and once the monk truly became a buddha, they really had no doubts that even their yearly meet ups wouldn’t be complete. the former demon should be as busy, but he never really followed the normal rules. that’s why unlike most others, he wandered and he did whatever. after all, he’s not like the standard deity. not based off of a concept needed by people or praised by them, or of the life cycle such as death. no, he was of mischief and trickery, a combatant to boot. but xuanzang would be more, that was the unanimous thought they had. that’s why, calmly so, he’d meet up xuanzang one last time as what he originally was. a mortal man, much more benevolent than any holy being he knew ( the one who understood him, the one who forgave him, the one who helped the lost child that no one ever did ). sitting by the old man, now wrinkly but bald as ever, he couldn’t help but find it peaceful. the leaves and grass sway lightly against the wind, cups of tea being nursed in their hands. the primate sat silently for once, basking in the tranquility of their current setting. then, for once, xuanzang was the one who opened his mouth first. “i’m glad we met. i think that’s one of the best things to happen to me.” he froze, eyes flickering to the aged monk. “even if you were someone i disagreed with in many ways, even when we were so different, you were the one i learned most from. you were the one that made me realize the many things that made a person them.” a pause, a shared look, and a pleasant smile on the elderly man. here’s a pang on his heart, and a realization that he’ll not see it in a long time. finally, the monk continued and the troublemaker continued to silently listen for once. “you were also my protector, and there were many things we did not see eye-to-eye but i grew to understand your views as you did with mine. and as time passed, we just knew how to go about things. and…” a softened gaze, weak and old hand raising up to his shoulder, then firmly “you never had to be anything but yourself, that was enough. you were enough, and you never needed to try so hard to be someone or something else. and you are truly amazing as you are. even when it was rough, and i know you’ve hurt so much, you tried your best. i know i will be off soon, but i have no doubts that you would leave a mark on this world. and that you will be loved and cared for. more importantly, there is no one you have to prove, because i can tell you that you’ve always been an individual with a great heart.” the monkey king was speechless, wide eyed at the monk’s words. he also hated how he felt choked up, how the urge to cry was present ( and how he hated to cry in front of others ), how xuanzang just always knew what to say. and moreover, it seemed that he always knew what the primate would say if he had found his voice. for the monk lets go, calmly shut his eyes as he faced front and still held onto his cup of tea. even without the heightened sense of hearing, he could tell that xuanzang had passed. peaceful as ever, and satisfied to have said all he wanted to say. looking down at the cup of tea, though, he could not say everything he wanted to say. instead, noting how the beverage of the other was unfinished, he choked out “idiot, you always nagged at me when i didn’t finish my stuff. you should have finished your’s.” i wished you could have stayed longer.

act vi.

the world moves on, and so did he. he lived on with his immortal life, admiring the world as it changed beyond his comprehension. humans were odd things, and through them he liked to find more about the world. that’s how his life became one full of activities. meeting up with his fellow immortal monkeys, meeting up with the journey to the west gang, meeting with the other deities once in a blue moon whenever it was important to even drag him into it, pranking some poor souls, and sometimes playing a normal human to closely watch the world. although being human was a task since he always had to hide away his dastardly tail, he did manage to get some magical items and the sort to cover the tail if he needed to do so. and plus, he thought that he made a mighty fine looking one. meeting people, getting to know them, sometimes helping around, it was a wonderful time. it was always funny to make enemies, then see them in the underworld and loudly announce all their horrible deeds even if the god knew it all already. still, the priceless looks were always worth it. and if he liked someone enough, he could put his two cents in about them. he liked to play different roles, mostly anything exciting. whatever that seemed fun at the moment. a pirate, a warrior, a shaman, whatever really. when more roles came to exist, he tried them out with great gusto. never stagnant, always trying out new things as long as it caught his interest. that was the life he lived. he would meet people, become friends, family, enemies, and more. a social soul, one that loved to shine among them all. the world spun and spun, never stopping and always warping. in turn, he got to take another step and learn to adapt. always flowing along, for what else was there really to do? he got no proper domain to look over, and he thought that this really was a life more suitable for him. he thought he may be a celebrity one too many times, but he couldn’t help it. in the end, he was someone who strove to be  a star. a being under the spotlight. for perhaps, that was all the motivation he needed for himself, the purpose he sought for. one which he’s more than happy to comply.

act vii.

the cycle repeated, and finally he met her. it’s not that he didn’t get into flings or dates and all, he’s done it several times. but in that time, his role was a circus performer, a stuntman wowing people. although, before he was a short-lived actor that was a scene-stealer on a tv show prior to that as well ( and he rather liked the face he donned, which was why kept it instead of throwing away the identity like usual ). but during a time where in he was in china and taking a break, he went to florist’s shop to look around. for even at that point in his life, the flowers were still one of his most favorite things in the world. there, he met the florist. a plain woman she was, one to be easily overlooked. in fact, the reason he stayed longer was because she noticed him as the actor she had admired. then they talked about flowers and things just sort of clicked. falling together so perfectly like puzzle pieces meant to form together a beautiful image. then he started to come over more and more. even when he was busy, he got her number just so he could video call her whenever. he got to know her more, and found out about her family. in all honesty, her sister was a lot more beautiful than her, but he didn’t even bat an eye at the woman. instead, he’s always been more charmed by the florist with as much love for flowers as he did. he realized that the florist girl was the odd one out in her family, not as famous or gorgeous. but he didn’t really care, instead showering her in praises and love. always sweet and kind, always trying his best. for she made him feel grounded, normal, and despite all that he preached about being a star—he wanted to be someone that was approved. and the little florist gave him that love and acceptance. her family was kind, and his special vision didn’t see them as bad. and he thought, that perhaps he finally found someone he was meant to be with. then one night led to another, he became a father, and now he’s ready to propose to the woman he loved. it all seemed perfect, until she requested to hold off the proposal. shaky eyes and a tired smile. he didn’t like the sight, and there’s a sinking feeling but—he smiled and let her have it. nine months, the sinking feeling never fade. instead wariness grew, and in turn he tried harder. he wanted to make her happy, didn’t mind it when she got emotional and cried for him to go away. it’s only then that he realized, perhaps, somewhere along this beautiful romance story he had been blinded. when the child was born, when the infant cried, he found himself knowing that he’d love the baby to the very end. yet, as he looked up to the mother’s eyes, somehow he knew this was a symbol of the end. when his lover was allowed to leave, and they could finally talk it out in the confines of his home she finally blurted it all out. she apologized for being cruel, for being weak, but this was a life she could not have. young girl that had been oppressed, one that was always talked down by others outside family. the plain girl that was fated to a plain life. and then he came to her life and everything seemed so wonderful but— the people, they still talk. still said things behind their backs, such venomous words only raising in volume when he wasn’t physically around. and the feeling he was hiding something, something so important but never telling her anything ( his divinity, the deity he actually was, how he was not even a mere man ). the mistrust that builds, the negative monsters forming in her mind, and finally… “i’m sorry. i really can’t do this anymore. i think you deserve better than me. including her. because for having such thoughts i…i really don’t deserve any of this.” perhaps this florist girl he loved really didn’t. after all, if such a mindset was enough for her to give it all up…the disguised man could only accept it ( because even then, he was a man in love who could not say no to her ). taking the child, his only request was that they named her together. “meihua.” they agreed, the beautiful flower that deserved the world. it made him wonder if he had left any other children behind without really realizing it. wondered if their mothers felt as empty as he was watching the woman’s back as she left. maybe he could make it right for them when he meets them once more but for now… looking at the little girl in his arms, he could only smile kindly. for now, he’ll at least make things right for what was left of the love story that ended tragically. as he looked out of the window, he realized it was raining. was xuanzang crying for him? he couldn’t help but wonder. but it’s okay, he’s not alone at least. he now had a family of his own blood to take care of for once. and he’s going to help her down the right path.

act viii.

he had been in mount phoenix at times. may it be pranking some others or to just chill out. its been a really long time since he returned there, though—about fifty years or so. but with so many ways people could be a danger to his precious child, he found himself trying to bring her to a safe haven she’d fit in more. that’s how the deity that’s also known as the victorious fighting buddha found himself becoming a ( struggling ) single father. one who thanked for the creation of internet as he could easily search all that he needed to know to take care of the baby and her following years. fatherhood was an exhausting experience, but he couldn’t say he regretted doing such a thing. not when it assured the best conditions for his daughter. he also had given up on his circus profession by the drop of the hat as soon as he knew he couldn’t really move about so freely. not if he was going to stay in mount phoenix until who knew how long. instead, the god opted to open up a whole dojo to teach anyone willing to learn the martial arts. he’s been here for five years, and now he’s trying to learn how to deal with his baby going to school. moreover, he wondered how many boys he had to fight because he swore if anyone tried to mess with her he was going to give them the pranking of a lifetime ( and if their bones get broken….well, that was a nice bonus ).

POWERS:

PRIMATE PHYSIOLOGY was his original form really, a monkey who’s got enhanced condition and very useful feet and tail. his tail still popped out even in human form and he’d use it a lot because it was useful. most noteworthy was his speed and strength, though ( travelling 21,675 km in one somersault and carrying around a staff weighing 7960 kg with ease ).

SUPERNATURAL COMBAT was one of the things he was well known for. defeating most of heaven’s forces, several other enemies, and more—his combat surpassed many levels and he loved to flaunt it.

IMMORTALITY definitely common in deities but this god just won't die. decapitation, rip his heart out, and you can name it all but he survived from it all. perhaps making himself immortal five times over was overkill but at least he obtained the role of useful meat shield.

72 EARTHLY TRANSFORMATION or shapeshifting, but generally he could shapeshift perfectly to anything under the 72 earthly transformations ( mostly other living beings ). however, anything outside of it would always have his tail pop out.

CLONING by plucking out a strand of his hair, he could clone himself. he could also shapeshift those clones into anything he wanted in the process.

CLOUD FLIGHT simply as it said on the tin, he could use clouds as a mode of transportation to fly around on.

MAGIC his magic consisted of being able to command wind, part water, conjure protective circles against demons, and freezing humans, deities and demons alike.

RUYI JINGU BANG his well known weapon that many knew to be in his possession. this magical staff was capable of changing sizes, multiply, and fight according to his whims. he considered it one of his most trusted ally.

GOLDEN-GAZE FIERY-EYES was his special eye condition that was gained through being stuck in a burning cauldron for 49 days. it allowed him to recognize evil in exchange for heightened sensitivity to smoke.

STRENGTHS:

a one-man army who was enough to bring great havoc in heaven in attempts to lock him up. this was someone to proceed with caution.

he just didn’t die. it was simple as that.

he’ll know if you’re evil in a heartbeat, and when you’re recognized as one he would put up the walls and be on a lookout.

an extremely versatile fighter who could use strategies well, was very good in combat in general, play with stealth, and had an arsenal of powers to use.

WEAKNESSES:

his transformation was not full on perfect. sometimes his tail popped out. and even if he was using one of the 72 earthly transformations, if emotional enough the tail might pop out.

smoke was very bad for his eyes.

a very proud one more often than not, you might be able to use his hubris to your advantage ( for even if he mellowed out, pride was still his sin ).

despite having quite the arsenal of magic spells, he much more relied on his combat skills and staff. due to the neglect on his magic, most things he could do with it weren’t that strong. even the freezing spells were on a very short time limit depending on how strong the enemies were.

[kylie-gets-fit]

New Zealand

Five years ago, I had the chance of a lifetime that opened up a door to many more chances of a lifetime - interning at Disney. One of those chances was meeting my friend, Nola, a Tongan girl from New Zealand. We connected so well while in the states and I promised her one day I would go visit her in her country to experience her culture - well I keep my promises and it took your girl 5 years but I visited her! There were things I will never get to experience again, and sights I’d never get to see again. Let me tell you, it was a once in a lifetime experience - even if I get to go back.

I flew from Los Angeles to New Zealand on Fiji Airways, with a layover in Fiji. Apparently this is moreso of a budget airline for people in Oceania, but I was impressed. My first flight wasn’t the best as I was in a center seat and had an old man not only with his elbow in my seat, but also his foot under the seat in front of mine where my feet should be! After that rough 11 hour journey though, I had window seats for all remaining flights and the flights were so much better! There was music and movies available on the plane (I didn’t know this okay?) and the Fijian people were so nice.Even in the Fiji airport they all greeted me with “Bula!” which is their way of greeting people, much like the Hawaiian “Aloha”. While in that airport I met quite a few people from New Zealand and they were so nice and very helpful. My second flight was to New Zealand where I went through customs for the first time in my life. I don’t know why I was so nervous but it was pretty much a breeze. Just declare anything you have and go through the process.

I’ll discuss the food there since it was the first thing I noticed after leaving the airport - I felt like I hadn’t left America. McDonald’s, Wendy’s, KFC, Carl’s Jr., and soon to be Taco Bell everywhere! My struggle was finding gluten free meals - fries were a huge part of my diet! Nola’s family threw a barbecue and I was thinking since they are islanders there would be a roasted pig and lots of tropical fruit....burgers, wings, sausages, potato salad, and rolls! Their ice cream is so delicious though! I tried kiwi ice cream and it’s way better than it sounds. Their strawberry ice cream also has real strawberries.

One thing I didn’t mind there was how accessible the beach was. We went to three different beaches while I was there and each one was magical in it’s own way. The first beach we visited was Piha Beach and that was my favorite. Let me tell you, I will never see a place more magical. Our drive to the beach was long, and while everyone else was saying, “are we there yet?” I didn’t mind because the drive was gorgeous! There were so many trees and so much green and I don’t see that at home ever!

Once we got there, we parked the most beautiful, green forest and had a walk ahead. I couldn’t believe my eyes at how gorgeous this place was, and I hadn’t even seen half of it yet! Once we got to walking, not only did we get to enjoy the green view, but also a stream that I assumed led to the ocean. I wanted to get a photo in the water with the green in the background so I asked Nola to take a photo. The sand was black and the water was warm! Once we got to the beach, I knew I needed to take in every moment and every little bit that my eyes could see. The green grass and trees behind me, the black sand below me, the heavenly sky above me, and the powerful ocean in front of me. I will never see something that magical ever again and I will never forget!

There were many differences in New Zealand I picked up on that I wish we utilized here in the states. Without getting into politics, guns are outlawed there. I can tell you I always think about the chance of being caught up in a mass shooting in the States. While it is possible for someone to buy a gun black market there, I did not once feel worried while there. People don’t make big scenes there when they don’t get their way. And the most eye opening thing of all was how they take care of one another. We were in a drive thru and there was a man on the side begging for money. Her family began scrambling for coins and together we probably gave him about $5-8. We also went to a restaurant that had a cooler in the front with food in it. When we first walked in I assumed the food was for sale, but as we walked out I saw a sign that read “Free Food for People in Need, One Box Per Person Please”. I wish we had more of that here.

And of course, the reason I went there - to meet Nola’s family and learn about her culture, both Tongan and New Zealand. There were a couple things that I didn’t particularly agree with - like how women are required to keep their legs covered above the knee, but for the most part I saw the beauty in their culture.

They are very emotional people, and I wish that is something the American culture had. What first woke me up to this was visiting the cemetery (yep, we did that). Her family had recently lost her grandmother and unexpectedly, her cousin was violently killed. Instead of staying quiet, these people express what they are feeling - a lot. They talked about it so much, it would normally make me feel uncomfortable. But I realized something. They aren’t having meltdowns, they aren’t crying behind closed doors; wow, this is what it looks like to grieve death in a healthy way. We went to the cemetery after church on Sunday to visit them. How do they visit their deceased loved ones? They keep lawn chairs at their graves, pop down on a seat, and talk to them. About life, about everything. They even introduced me to them. You may think this is strange, but I found it beautiful. They weren’t the only people doing this either. There were people all around of all cultures in New Zealand doing this.

The Tongans are very formal in everything they do. They all get dressed up for church. I was lent a “kiekie”, somewhat like a woven grass skirt, to wear over my dresses for the week.For New Year’s I thought they had found a “kofu” or dress that happened to fit me, but it turned out that Nola’s aunt thought it would fit and said I could have it if it fit! We brought in 2019 in church. Church was spoken in Tongan, so I am not sure what they were saying. Once we left church, we went to Nola’s grandfather’s house where her whole family met to honor him. Everyone crammed into his small living room. At least it looked small with about 30 of us in there! Her grandfather, weak and brittle, started the discussion, getting very emotional. Then they all were speaking in Tongan taking turns to talk. Some were crying, some were laughing. I had no idea what was going on but just enjoying the fact that I got to witness this. The Nola’s sister Tina turned to me and said “would you like to say something?”. I was caught completely off guard. I can’t speak Tongan and had no clue what they were discussing. They all told me I could say anything I wanted regarding the new year. I improved some statement about how I was grateful for them allowing me to attend their family events and being able to bring in the new year learning about their culture. Then her grandfather spoke up. I could tell he was putting in all of his energy to look my way and speak, and he spoke English to me. He told me that he was glad to meet me and hopes to see me again. I fought tears. I had just met this man 10 minutes ago and I’m a no-one in this room of a family, yet he took the time to make me feel not only welcomed, but special.

Not only did I get to experience the Tongan culture, but I gained a family. Not only did I meet the relatives Nola lived with, but I met her extended family as well, as they are all very close. I met cousins on both sides of her family and bonded greatly! They are all funny and had great senses of humor. I asked what the term for white girl was and they told me it was “palagni” and that became my nickname. One night we were playing a game Nola’s sister Lote knew of called Psych, which is basically like Cards Against Humanity except you all get to create and vote for the answers and the subject is one of the players. Naturally they all were roasting each other and it was hilarious. But then they began roasting me. I didn’t even realize they knew me well enough to have anything on me! I said “Wow you guys don’t hold back!” and Tina said, “Yep, welcome to the family!” and we all laughed. At that moment I really did feel accepted and that I was a part of the family. Families aren’t always cordial, sometimes they insult each other, and I got to be included in that as well.

The goodbyes were also very formal. The night before I left, the entire family came into the living room for a family prayer. Her father said his prayer in Tongan and Nola explained that he said he was thankful that I was able to come and they could meet me and prayed for a safe trip back home. Everyone said something about my visit. He also said he was sorry if their home wasn’t nice but it was all they had. Let me tell you what they presented me with. They had a 3 bedroom home and Nola’s sisters were also there for summer break. That means there were 6 of them. THEY GAVE ME MY OWN ROOM. These people were so humble yet so grateful for what they had.Thank goodness I had written out a Thank You card and gotten them a basket of chocolates or I probably would have looked silly with how formal they made this. I really felt loved in this moment. They gave me a Tongan mat as a parting gift and I will treasure it forever. Tina said when people ask me about it I can say it’s from my Tongan side. It was a joke, but she somewhat mean it as well. I came to see Nola and learn about her culture, and I gained a family. Her parents wanted to take a family photo and luckily the instagrammer in the room brought her tripod! The next morning when I was leaving, her mother said her goodbyes and began crying. I met her a week ago. It was incredible how much I bonded with this family. SO MUCH LOVE.