#and i guess the other portion of the energy bit is that i manage an autoimmune condition and my primary symptom is fatigue

[rozaceous]

ok so like, fanowrimo 2023 reflection thus far, since we're actually p close to the halfway mark which is already a terrifying concept.

total word count, i'm at 9.6k (abt 400 words under target for today but i'm probably not done), so yay! but holy schmokes have i not been consistent in output in the last week lmao. via nanowrimo's stats page, which is honestly excellent:

(nov 5th and 9th were rest days, and even tho on the 5th it says 0, i did still outline. ofc some of what i've written i've since scrapped--tho i've p much made up the difference while editing--and i've also done abt 600 words of not-tcba writing bc my brain needed a break.)

building habits is so hard...

and that's really what it is? historically speaking, i'm not a very consistent writer, i'm more motivated by whimsy. having a structured approach where i wake up in the morning and write for an hour has been good for me, but it's also really challenging bc i am a creature of indolence. normally i take ages to think about what's coming up next, and when i write i have the internal editor in my brain constantly giving me feedback on word choice and word frequency, on consonance and where to break the sentence with punctuation or how to re-word it so that the tone is right and making sure that i mention x and do the lead-in for y. at the same time, when i take a lot of time to percolate is usually when i'm able to do 1-2k in one go and it doesn't need any editing after except for typos. (measure twice, write once...)

so breaking it into writing only, and editing separately has been great, but it's still kind of a struggle bc it's still energy expenditure, just in a different form. but i think the other part of why i've always taken so long to write is that i don't have a job where i can just daydream abt my stories, or sneakily write. i have my commute and my lunch, but sometimes i want to think abt literally anything else. in general, i have obligations that take up enough of my mental bandwidth that it can be really hard to also be creative, esp when i have v strong meta-cognition going when i do write.

idk thus far w this project i've really been trying to give myself a lot of grace, and mostly succeeding. but yeah, if mariko is my wish-fulfillment in any sense it's that she has the energy to enact her stubbornness into discipline way more consistently than i do.

[delicious-in-imagines]

Sitting down for a meal with Chilchuck, Kabru, and Senshi? 👀

Your wish is my command! (Also, yay! My first request!)

Chilchuck Tims

Traveling with him inside of dungeons along with the rest of the Laios crew means, you guessed it: monster parts.

As much as he gnashes his teeth about some of the things that they eat, he's always gonna take a bite before you.

Like, will swat your spoon/fork out of your hand if you try to taste it before he does.

He doesn't know what's gonna happen! So, he'd rather eat it first before you.

On rare occasions, if he's really against what you guys are eating, and you take the first bite, he'll begrudgingly follow your lead, more often than not being pleasantly surprised.

He'll take your cutlery and plate/bowl from you to clean it, even if he isn't the one on dish duty for that meal.

If you guys are outside of the dungeon however, he likes to take you out on nice dinners.

(He's definitely not trying to make up for being a less than stellar husband, wdym?)

If you're eager to try something new, he'll also indulge with you, but he's not above ordering the classics just to be safe.

More often than not, dinner is chased with a nice bottle of wine between the two of you. Of course he's gonna share!

He can drink most of the bottle and feel fine afterwards, so usually he's relegated to corralling you home at the end of the night, trying to keep you out of trouble.

Kabru of Utaya

Travelling with Kabru's party usually means pretty standard rations inside of the dungeon.

Kabru is always looking to pick up on small details, and will usually take what you don't like and offer you whatever of his that you like instead!

If he's divying up portions for everyone, he keeps this in mind - and usually serves you first, which Mickbell usually heckles him about. (He means well.)

Will check up on you throughout the meal, seeing how you're feeling after the day in the dungeon, knowing that it can be pretty rough on people's bodies and their energy.

Depending on how you feel, he may offer up the last bit of his food to you - think of it as a little pick me up!

Outside of dungeons, he likes to take you to places you mention to him in passing, whether thats a quaint little hole in the wall, or a well known bakery that you always sigh longingly about when you smell their pastries.

He's the kind of guy that could absolutely order for you and nail it every time, even down to the small modifications. Same goes for when you wanna try something new; he always manages to pick something that you end up really liking.

He'll imbibe on occasion, especially after a successful dungeon crawl - but that's usually with the rest of the party in tow. Otherwise, he'll settle for something mild if he's just spending time with you.

Senshi of Izganda

Just like with the others, he's very particular about making sure that you have a balanced diet!

If there's anything you dislike, he tries different applications or styles to try and see if you'll like it some other way. If you don't, he doesn't fault you! There's even some stuff that he's not super fond of either.

He likes to have you help out with the golems on occasion, asking what the two of you should plant for the next time you get to harvest them!

On occasion, he likes to make something that maybe isn't completion nutritious, just to watch the way your face lights up - he just can't help but spoil you sometimes!

Instead of going out to eat, he likes to go for a walk through the marketplace with you to pick out something to cook together!

He'll usually insist on picking the cut of meat if you eat meat, though he'll check what kind of protein you're thinking about for dinner.

Otherwise, he leaves it up to you, enjoying the challenge of making something out of random ingredients that you may throw his way!

I honestly don't see him as a super huge drinker, so like Kabru, he may indulge with you in something pretty mild, maybe a cider if he's feeling like it will pair well with the meal.

[thewintersoldierdisaster]

a/n: merry christmas eve and happy sunday! the promised andrei christmas fic (written extremely fast and edited even faster lol) title is from cher’s new christmas song which is a bop and a half so i suggest listening. going to be quiet the rest of the year to stockpile some writing, but happy new year everyone, i’ve been beyond grateful for the love my fics have gotten this year 😘

word count: 3.9k

tw: minimal smut, unprotected sex, brief fingering

summary: christmas eve at the svechnikov house is a chaotic but fun affair

“Mama?”

“Yes, my love?” You look up from the bowl of cookie dough batter. Evie was supposed to be helping after waking up at the ass crack of dawn, but the lure of rearranging all the decorations on the small tree in her room was more appealing. Your little perfectionist oldest daughter had shifted ornaments no less than fifteen times since you’d put the decorations up right after Thanksgiving.

Alina hops from foot to foot and you don’t necessarily love the sparkle of mischief in her eyes. “I catch Santa!”

You squint at her. “You’re catching Santa? Santa’s not a lizard in the backyard,” you say gently.

“I catch Santa,” Alina repeats. “Tonight! With presents!”

It clicks in your head - she means that she wants to stay up late and catch Santa leaving presents - and you laugh. “Oh, baby, you can’t stay up to see Santa, otherwise he doesn’t leave presents, remember?” You set the bowl of dough aside and scoop Alina up into your arms, sitting her down on the counter. She pouts at you, chubby little fingers reaching to play with the strings on your hoodie.

“Wanna see Santa,” she huffs. Her little pout is identical to Andrei’s and it makes you smile. You love seeing your husband’s traits and mannerisms in your girls.

You lean in to whisper conspiratorially, “guess what? Someone better than Santa is coming in a little bit.”

“Who?” Alina perks up, eyes going wide as she bounces a little. “Mickey Mouse?”

Another laugh bursts out of your mouth and Alina giggles with you, always ready to laugh with whoever’s around. “No, not Mickey Mouse,” you giggle, tickling her sides lightly and enjoying her childish laughter. “Babushka and dedushka!”

Alina shrieks happily and you catch her when she launches herself forward off the counter. The kids love when Elena and Igor come to visit and they don’t know that this trip will be extra long, as they’re staying for nearly three weeks. Once Andrei finishes his workout, he’s supposed to be going off to pick them up from the airport.

“Bring puppy?” She asks, little arms locked around your neck and wide awake considering it’s not even seven in the morning.

“No,” you shake your head, “they’re not bringing the puppy. He has to stay home where he has his bed and all his toys.”

That would be the last thing you need in the house - in-laws, three kids, a husband who’s traveling several days a week, and to add a dog on top of that? No, thank you.

“I share my toys,” she says sweetly.

You press a kiss to her cheek. “Yeah, you do share your toys with Evie and Kira. But puppy toys are different. Why don’t you go draw a picture to give Babushka when she gets here?”

Alina nods wildly and wiggles her way out of your arms and down your body before running off to the kid sized table you have set up in the den with all their craft supplies. She’ll be distracted for at least ten minutes, which gives you enough time to get the cookies on a baking tray and in the oven. Why you waited until Christmas Eve morning to make the cookies for Santa is a question for another day.

You’ve been awake since 4:30 already and your energy is starting to flag, so you make a quick mug of coffee before portioning out the sugar cookies and dipping them in the green and red sugar sprinkles. While you sip at the drink and finish the cookies with your other hand, your mind wanders to everything that has to get done today. There are a few more gifts that have to be wrapped, but for the most part you’d managed to get everything you and Andrei bought for the kids and his parents wrapped at night. You’d also wrapped all the gifts Elena and Igor had bought for the girls and had shipped directly to your house.

Dinner tonight is going to be chill and Elena had insisted on handling most of that, so you don’t worry too much about the menu. You’ll be helping her, since most of the recipes are from your childhood, but she loves cooking when she visits so you don’t mind letting her.

You decide that you’ll have Andrei take all three girls with him to the airport so you can have a minute to shower - hair wash and shaving included - without little hands knocking on the bathroom door.

Otherwise, you have to iron the girls’ outfits and tidy up the chaos before the girls hopefully go to sleep early so you and Andrei can set out the presents.

“Thinking hard?” Andrei’s teasing voice startles you out of your mental to-do list. You turn away from the counter and take him in with a smile. He’s sweaty from his workout, hair falling over his forehead that he swipes back with his free hand. Kira is on his hip, a giant four-toothed smile on her face. You nudge at her round cheeks with your knuckles, grinning back at her.

“Were you Papa’s workout buddy?” You ask her in a bubbly voice. “How’d he do?”

“Papa!” She yelps, smacking at Andrei’s chest with her hands and cuddling closer to his side. She plants a smacking kiss against his cheek, her favorite party trick to get adults coping over how cute she is.

Andrei kisses the top of her head and rests his cheek against the crown. “She’s a good cheerleader,” he laughs. And as if they practiced it, Kira waves her hands in an imitation of jazz hands. You laugh and kiss your youngest on the tip of her nose, making her giggle.

“Give me the baby and go shower,” you say, already taking Kira into your arms. She transfers easily, snuggling into your neck, one hand splayed over your chest. “I need you to take all three with you to the airport and you’re going to need to get going if you want to get your parents on time.”

He looks at the clock over the stove and frowns a little. “They don’t land until 9:30, plenty of time.”

“Yeah,” you nod, untangling your hair from Kira’s grip, “but you have to shower, the girls have to be changed and put in the car, and you have to drive to the airport. Time goes faster than you think, please just get everything going?”

Andrei nods and grips your chin in his hand to tilt your face up for a kiss. You melt a little, humming quietly. “Okay, solnyshka. We will go when everyone is ready. Do I need to pick anything else up?” He asks, tickling Kira’s back.

You shake your head, “just your parents. Next year they’re coming here earlier. None of this flying on Christmas Eve business.”

“I will tell them,” Andrei laughs before heading upstairs to shower.

Four hours later, after you’ve finished taking the cookies out of the oven, showered, and pulled together a quick little breakfast spread, Andrei’s car pulls back into the driveway. You pull open the front door with a huge smile on your face, laughing when Elena’s dragged into the house by Evie and Alina, Kira held on her grandmother’s hip. Andrei and Igor are back at the car, handling all the bags.

“Moya devushka,” Elena greets you with a warm smile and a tight hug, Kira squeaking and complaining when she’s caught in the middle of the two of you. “Ah, prosti, myshonok.” She kisses Kira’s head.

“Mama!” Evie dances at your feet, tugging on your sweater. “Babushka said she’s staying forever!”

“Mid-January, at least,” Elena shares a smile with you, helping you usher the girls inside. Kira clings to her like a koala and you love how much the girls love their grandparents.

Evie widens her eyes - Andrei’s eyes - at her grandmother, “that’s like forever! And look,” she grabs Elena’s hand, pulling her to the living room, “r’member we showded you our tree on the phone? Now you can see in real!” Alina trails along after them, clutching the stuffed Grinch that she’d recently decided was her new best friend.

Confident that the girls are handled, you head back outside to help Andrei and Igor with the bags. Your father-in-law greets you with a kiss to the cheek and waves off your help, “you have strong men. Go with Elena and girls.”

You know from past experience that it’s basically useless to fight with him, so you grab up Elena’s oversized purse from the backseat of the car and run back inside with it, wearing a sneaky little smile, before Igor can chastise you. Andrei’s laughter follows you inside.

“Elena,” you call out, “do you want your purse or should I put it in your room?”

“Oh! Bring it here,” Elena looks over her shoulder at you from where she’s sitting on the ottoman, having been oohing and ahhing over the drawings the girls made for her. “I have surprises.”

You hand over the bag, talking over the girls’ excited squeals, “you shouldn’t have. It’s Christmas Eve.”

Elena waves a hand in the air at you and if it were anyone else, you’d be annoyed at the dismissive gesture. “Small things,” she explains, reaching into the bag and drawing out little toys and Russian candies for the girls. “These were your Papa’s favorite,” she explains, handing Evie a wrapped chocolate.

Andrei appears behind you and leans forward, snatching another candy out of his mother’s hand. “Still are,” he winks at the girls. He unwraps the chocolate and pops it in his mouth before giving you a quick kiss. “I’m going to clean out the car,” he gives Kira a faux-glare, “one of the myshonok spilled her Cheerios.”

“It was Kira,” Evie pipes up, chocolate smeared around her mouth. “She spilleded out the whole bag!”

Kira, recognizing her name, giggles and chants, “Mama! Papa!”

“Our messy little girl,” you ruffle her hair gently. “Not too much candy, okay? It’s still really early.”

You know you’re going to be ignored, but you have to say it if only to stave off the mom-guilt. With the girls distracted by their grandparents - Igor’s wandered in and is telling Alina a joke she surely doesn’t understand yet - and Andrei busy with the car outside, you take the opportunity to slip upstairs and finish wrapping the few gifts that had been delivered in the last few days.

When you come back downstairs after finishing up and taking a few extra minutes to just breathe in the relative quiet, everyone’s huddled around Elena’s phone FaceTiming with Geno and his family. Everyone chatting in rapid fire Russian, even your kids, and you smile. You love that the girls are fluent in Andrei’s native language and it’s good practice when they talk to his family. The girls giggle with their cousins and you pull out your phone to snap a candid shot before joining the call, waving to Geno and his wife.

You stand behind the couch, looping your arms around Andrei’s neck and resting your chin on his shoulder, just enjoying the lively conversation. You’ve learned some Russian over the years, but you’re nowhere close to fluent and once they all start talking so fast, you’re basically lost at sea.

Andrei leans his cheek against yours, holding out his hand while he talks to block Evie’s foot from hitting him in her attempt at showing off a cartwheel. She pouts at Andrei when he tells her to sit down - that you understand, at least - and Andrei huffs in exasperation when Elena turns right around and clearly reprimands him for stopping Evie. Your head is starting to swim a little from all the noise and you press a kiss to Andrei’s cheek before standing up and heading into the kitchen.

A dog barking joins the chaos and you know Geno’s brought Igor’s dog on the screen. The girls squeal with delight and you know this means you’re going to get a barrage of begging for a puppy.

“Mama,” Evie skips her way into the kitchen, “can we show Babu and Dedu Belle’s christmas?”

The call with Geno is either done or the girls had gotten bored of sitting in one place. You nod, knowing she means the Beauty and the Beast Christmas movie, and say, “sure, bunny. Ask Papa to put the movie on the TV.”

The movie keeps them occupied for a little bit, even after Elena leaves to come help you in the kitchen. You work quietly with your mother-in-law, chatting easily about the girls and the plans for their extended trip. You’ll have a more involved celebration on January 7th - when Christmas is traditionally celebrated in Russia - with Elena making dishes that Andrei remembers from his childhood. But with the girls being raised in America, it’s easier for them to have Christmas traditions in line with their classmates and friends.

You’re incorporating some of your holiday traditions - namely the relaxing aspects of the day, watching movies and spending time with the kids - and it’s nice to not have to worry about going super over the top. Tomorrow, Andrei and his dad will grill steaks and you’re making a few side dishes and Evie helped make some cookies during the week. More than anything, you’re just excited to see them get into Christmas and to make memories with them.

The girls go down for their naps and you and Elena get to finish prepping dinner. It’s a quiet rest of the day, until suddenly it’s after dinner and the girls are bathed and changed into their matching pajamas - little candy canes printed on a white background - and Alina’s chattering about catching Santa.

“Where did she even come up with that?” You ask Andrei, laughing a little. “She said it this morning too.”

“Ah,” he gives you a sheepish smile and you’re instantly on guard, “maybe I said something. They asked about Santa and magic.” He shrugs. “I don’t know how to explain so I said to stay up and see how he does it.”

You snort a laugh, filling Kira’s bottle and closing the lid. “Yeah, that’ll do it. Better hope she knocks out like usual or we’re going to have a long night.”

Andrei settles his hands on your hips and pulls you close, kissing you gently. “I think there was enough excitement today. They will sleep, solnyshka, don’t worry.”

Resting against his chest, you loop your arms around his lower back, excitement bubbles up in your chest for the girls to see their gifts. “I know I’ve said it before,” you mumble into his chest, “but thank you for agreeing to do two Christmases.”

“Anything for you, solnyshka,” he replies, dropping a kiss to the top of your head. And then you’re interrupted by the two older girls, running in and begging to set out the cookies for Santa. Andrei lets you go and lifts both girls up onto his hips, telling them, “make sure you pick good cookies. I think he likes ones with a lot of sprinkles.”

He winks at you over the girls’ heads and you suppress a little smile while you put the cookies the girls select on a special plate. The plate of cookies is carefully arranged on the coffee table, next to a glass of milk that Evie had very carefully carried from the kitchen.

“Can we watch Frosty, Mama?” Evie asks, giving you puppy eyes. She’s already tucked up on the couch in between her grandparents, one little hand wrapped around Elena’s forearm and the other clutching her Stormy plush - this version has a little Christmas sweater on and you’d tried to resist buying it but you’re weak when it comes to saying no sometimes. Alina’s already looking like she’ll pass out any second, head resting on Igor’s chest. Andrei has Kira in his arms, rocking from side to side so she’ll fall asleep.

“Okay,” you nod, “but as soon as Frosty’s over, it’s time for bed. Remember, Santa doesn’t come if you’re awake.”

Behind you, Andrei snorts a quiet little laugh and you know exactly why, but you refuse to dignify him with a response. You press your lips together to smother a laugh of your own.

“I’m not gonna sleep,” Evie informs you, apparently on Alina’s side with wanting to catch Santa. “I’m not even sleepy, Mama.”

Her sentence is punctuated by a huge yawn and you catch Elena’s eye, both of you muffling laughter.

“It would not be so bad,” Elena says, stroking Evie’s braided hair, “to close your eyes a little, zaychik.”

Evie wrinkles her nose and shakes her head, but you’re not surprised when all three girls and both grandparents are all passed out before Frosty even gets on the train to the North Pole. Andrei’s already brought Kira up to her crib and now he helps you bring up the older girls, lifting their combined weight easily into his arms while you wake up Elena and Igor.

“Jet lag,” they both laugh tiredly, Elena giving you and Andrei kisses on the cheek before retiring to their room. Igor offers to help bring the gifts down to the tree, but Andrei says something in Russian and his father nods, closing the door behind him.

You leave the doors to the girls’ bedrooms cracked a little, hoping you’ll hear them in case they get up. Tossing Andrei a Santa hat you’ve kept around just for this moment, you grin, “let’s get this done, Saint Nick.”

Andrei jams the hat on his head and gives you a crooked smirk. “Red is my color, solnyshka,” he teases and swats at your ass gently when he follows you to the second guest room that’s been serving as your gift and wrapping room.

Between the two of you, all the gifts are brought downstairs in less than an hour. Andrei likes to deposit the boxes randomly, leaving the huge box that you know is a Barbie Dream House for the girls to share right in the middle of everything. You shake your head and move it towards the back, making sure the presents are arranged nicely and there’s room to walk around all the furniture. You spot a handful of gifts labeled in Andrei’s messy scrawl and it makes you smile.

“Last one,” he says, setting a smaller box on top of the rest. “Time for bed?”

You survey the scene, skipping over the gifts and landing on the plate of cookies. “Oops, no! We almost forgot the cookies, take a bite out of one or two,” you suggest, knowing his massive sweet tooth. Andrei bites off half of a tree shaped cookie and holds out a second to you for you to bite.

A yawn escapes as you’re chewing and you cover your mouth immediately, mumbling an apology. Andrei scoffs and rests his hand on your lower back to guide you up the stairs, “let me take my zhena up to bed.” His voice is low and deep, warm despite the tiredness lacing his tone. The Santa hat is crooked on his head and it makes him look boyishly handsome. You recognize the look in his eyes and you add a little sway to your hips on your way back to your bedroom.

“Your parents are right down the hall,” you say quietly, even as you pull your pajama top over your head and push your pants and underwear to the floor.

Andrei raises an eyebrow at you, hungrily taking in the sight of your bare body. Your nipples tighten under his scrutiny and you feel a rush of warmth between your legs. He steps forward, crowding you until the backs of your knees hit the bed and you fall back, landing flat on the mattress with your legs splayed open. He leans one knee in between your legs and covers your body with his to kiss you deeply, sliding his tongue into your mouth. You moan softly when he pulls back, one of his hands sliding up your side, over your chest, to rest at the base of your throat, “guess you’ll have to be quiet, solnyshka. Can you do that for me?”

You nod, hooking your ankle around Andrei’s hip and pushing at the waistband of his joggers. “Get rid of these,” you demand and Andrei kisses you again before standing up and stripping, his clothes discarded to the floor in seconds.

“Remember,” Andrei grins, running his fingers over your sensitive clit, making your back arch off the bed and a sharp gasp escape your lips, “quiet.”

You bite down hard on your lower lip to prevent any noise from escaping as Andrei pumps his fingers inside of you, curling and flexing them until you’re dripping down the curve of your ass. “Andrei!” You can’t help but moan his name when his fingers press up against your g-spot.

“Ah,” he tuts, pulling his fingers from your cunt and covering your mouth with his palm. “Quiet.”

With his hand muffling your noises, Andrei kneels between your open legs, lining up his cock at your entrance and sliding into you with one smooth thrust. You whine behind his hand, clenching immediately around his length, legs coming up to wrap around his waist. Sparks dance behind your eyes, pleasure building low in your stomach.

Andrei fucks into you with a steady rhythm, his hand warm over your face. You roll your hips, meeting him thrust for thrust and before you realize it, your orgasm is building and cresting, flooding your veins with fire. You bite down on Andrei’s palm and he hisses, finishing inside of you with a few more thrusts.

Everything is hazy and sticky and you blink up at Andrei, trying to focus on something other than the selfish desire for a second orgasm. Andrei’s hand shifts from your mouth to cup your cheek. His eyes twinkle with mischievous glee and you brace yourself for whatever he’s about to say.

“Santa was not the only one coming tonight, huh?”

“Oh my god,” you burst out laughing, push at his chest, “I hate you.”

Andrei kisses you sweetly, laughing too. “Sorry, that was bad,” he climbs off the bed, pulling you to your feet so you can both shower quickly and he can change the sheets before you go to bed.

It feels like you’ve only gotten ten minutes of sleep - thanks to a pair of wandering hands on your husband - when your bedroom door bangs open and Evie’s screaming, “SANTA BROUGHT PRESENTS!” She jumps onto your bed, bouncing on her knees in between you and Andrei, shrieking with delight. Andrei catches her around the waist and pulls her into a big hug.

“You’re going to wake the whole house, zaychik,” he teases, giving you a sleepy smile over her head.

“Everyone’s awake! Babu’s makin’ coffee and she said I had to wait five whole minutes before I woke you and Mama,” Evie informs him. “Can we pleaseeeee go open presents now?” She throws her arms around Andrei’s neck and pokes her lip out in a pout until he nods and she scrambles off the bed, racing for the stairs and screeching, “Papa said we can open!”

You yawn and slump against Andrei’s side, grinning tiredly, “I wish we could bottle her energy.”

“I will work on it for your birthday,” Andrei teases, kissing you warmly. “Merry Christmas, solnyshka.”

“Merry Christ—“

“MAMA! PAPA! PRESENTS!”

[accio-sriracha]

Jily Micro-Fic.

Prompt: Glasses

~~~♤~~~

James felt his breath catch as Lily Evans sat directly next to him at breakfast.

This had been an on and off event.

Most days she sat across from him, sending him small smiles and engaging in conversation with all of their now combined friends.

But then there were mornings like this.

Mornings she plopped down into the seat beside him, looking irritated and so completely exausted.

She didn't speak much these days, but James could feel her reactions, like a shift in her energy. And Godrick was he so in tune with her.

Every once in a while their shoulders would press together and neither of them would pull away. He waited, amazed with thrills of anticipation shooting through him. And she stayed, leaning against him as though she needed him for support.

It was especially her bad days that she sat directly next to him.

It didn't even matter who was on her other side, he was the constant.

He tried not to spin too many theories about what it could mean.

And today being one of those days, he waited for the moment their shoulders would touch, for the moment he could feel that thrill he'd been waiting half of his lifetime for.

But it didn't happen.

He felt a different sort of pressure on his shoulder that made him freeze.

Every cell in his body screaming, his lungs refusing to draw in a breath for fear of moving her.

She was resting her head on his shoulder.

She melted into him, like the action was familiar and comforting to her.

And he let her stay there for what felt like ages.

He had no idea what his expression must have looked like, but he was dimly aware of the amused smiles he received from their friends.

He couldn't bring himself to care.

Evans, Lily Evans, was laying on his shoulder.

After a particularly loud portion of conversation- which James could only participate in with stiff nods- Lily finally leaned away again, yawning and stretching her arms over her head.

Oh Merlin.

She'd fallen asleep on him.

He felt his heart thumping wildly in his chest.

"James?" Her quiet voice immediately drew him in and he turned, a reply to Remus' question dying on his tongue. It was rare she called him anything but Potter.

"Lily?" He tried the name, loving the way it felt to say out loud.

"I think I'm in love with you."

And just like that, his world was resting in her palms.

He couldn't pretend it wasn't always, but he definitely couldn't deny it now as he stared, wide-eyed and gaping at this girl, this beautiful girl that he loved ever so much.

"You do?" He whispered.

She nodded, "And I'd really like it if you would kiss me right about now."

A slow smile graced her face and he was struck. Struck with the need to have her in his arms, to hold her close to him and never let her go.

He waited a moment longer, searching her eyes to make sure she was certain.

When he found nothing but earnestness in their emerald color, he did.

He held her face between his hands, kissing her with every bit of love he could manage to pour into it.

They kissed for a long time, he couldn't even begin to guess how long, before she giggled quietly against his lips.

His glasses had slid down his nose, bumping against her cheeks.

He pulled away just long enough to tear them off his face, not caring where they landed as he tossed them on the table and pulled her back to deepen the kiss.

Her hands found themselves in his hair and his around her waist.

When they finally broke apart they stayed there for a while longer, leaning their foreheads against each other, breathing in every little detail they could.

"I love you, Lily Evans." He whispered.

She beamed up at him, "I know."

And nothing could break this moment, nothing could enter this little world they placed themselves in.

Nothing until Sirius cleared his throat,

"Uh... Prongs? You dropped your glasses in the oatmeal."

He exhaled a shaky laugh, leaning his head on her shoulder.

She laughed too, holding him close and running her hands along his back.

It would seem sudden to others, they knew that, but the space between them had been shifting for a long time now, and James was grateful to finally have the chance to hold her the way he'd always imagined.

In a world with every kind of flower imaginable, he could only ever see her.

Well, until he needed to clean off his glasses. He really couldn't see without those.

~~~♤~~~

[emiplayzmc]

Yes hi hello I am completely normal about the Advertisons.

YIPPEEE, my designs of the main four Addisons! Headcanons + Individual information under the cut :) (Long Post, as usual).

I think I started working on this in January?? In any case, THIS TOOK TOO LONG BUT I AM SO HAPPY ABOUT IT!!

From left to right: Target (Pink), Banner (Orange), Broadcast (Yellow), and Sample (Blue)

Part 1: Body Ref Sheet + Headcanons

Part 2: Random Headcanons

Sample James (The Blue Addison) [He/Him]

I am not immune to Blue Addison = Oldest and most responsible propaganda. So... yeah! Sample is the eldest / second-eldest next to his twin, Broadcast, of the group! He's an employee of a gift shop / Cyber Shoes location (the shop that gives out free samples!) They're the most level-headed of the group, being the type to offer gentle advice, comfort, and care, along with a listening ear and a calming presence. They're not exactly... enthusiastic about their job? But it pays the bill, so he doesn't try to find a new one that fits into his purpose within Cyber City's Addison workforce. Sample also has pica, so occasionally he's selling / giving Lightners (like Kris) products from the gift shop like they're comsumables rather than items.

Sample is closest with his twin, Broadcast - in fact, they're the only pair of Addisons to have spawned in at the exact same time on the same day in Cyber City. Even if they're not biologically related, they still consider themselves twins, and they were the first people that each other saw. Broadcast is a bit like the Yin to Sample's Yang, as they're an influencer to getting Sample to be more outgoing, while Sample is the influence that (sometimes) mellows Broadcast out.

Sample's advertisements tend to hinge between survey advertisements (like sample sizes) and advertising websites that work with coupons and saving money like Honey and Rakuten.

Broadcast Nikola (The Yellow Addison) [He/They]

In my interpretation of the main four Addisons, Broadcast is, as his name suggests, a commercial broadcaster! Tehy work very long hours at Cyber City's TV station as the sole host of Cyber City's shopping channels, advertising products sold by Addisons across the city nearly 24 hours a day. Despite the long hours, he's a huge ball of energy, constantly speaking quickly and fidgeting with a pair of metal spheres that they carry everywhere. In addition, they're... very much a coffee and sugar addict, keeping a thermos on him at all times that's filled with coffee mixed with obscene amounts of cinnamon and sugar.

Of course, they're closest with their twin, Sample. Most of their free time off work is spent with him. Broadcast is also the type to wear Hawaiian shirts and meme clothes (like that one ADHD shirt that parodies the ACDC merch), and was the one who suggested they and Sample dye portions of their hair in the other's colour, and the one who suggested the family spend their Friday nights at the Cyber Grill (a lot of the time, he was singing at the karaoke stand with Spamton or Banner).

As you probably guessed, Broadcast's advertisements are all television / video based, with commercials on television and advertisements on websites like YouTube.

Target Tourmaline (The Pink Addison) [He/Him]

Target is the middle child of the main four Addisons! He runs a combination jewellery store / Cyber Shoes location - the place where you buy the Freeze Ring / get the pitch for the Dating Shoes. He also runs the tea shop, so he is a bit of a workaholic. He's very no-nonsense and by-the-book, and VERY strict with time management since he already runs three stores. He's also very picky about what he eats and drinks, watching the amount of data that consumables have and pretty much only drinking tea and occasionally battery acid.

Out of the main group, he's the most powerful with his magic, having studied and practiced with it for a long time. Outside of being very uppity, he does care a lot about his siblings, and is usually the one to be called for tough love and harsh truths that need to be heard. He's the closest with Banner, but was also pretty close with Spamton in more of a teasing older sibling - egotistical little sibling dynamic.

Their type of advertising is targeted ads, giving Lightners ads based on their browsing data. He and Spamton used to run a dating website where he did the matchmaking, and Spamton sent out the emails to promote the website.

Banner Hestia (The Orange Addison) [They/Them]

Banner is the youngest of the main four! They run the shop where you buy the Mannequin, and is the most successful of the group with a very popular boutique. They tend to hyperfixate HARD on their clothing designs, and brings a sketching tablet practically everywhere with them. They can make clothes and designs very VERY fast, buuuut tend to fall asleep at their own desk late at night.

They're the closest with Target, usually going to him for advice and just general hanging out, but it's very well known that Banner wears their heart on their sleeve, and cares deeply for every one of their little family - to the point where it may be a little bit obsessive / possessive. They're known for their excellent customer service and speed at getting work and commissions done, being very helpful and supportive towards the customers that come to their shop. Simultaneously the most and least salesman-like of the group since despite their great success they still form a lot of connections with customers and clients and never just like another sucker to buy their stuff.

Banner's type of advertising is, of course, banner advertisements. You have them to thank for the absolutely insane amount of banner ads covering most of the Fandom wiki.

[driftward]

Log Entries 40-57

Log Entry 40

Madam Archon came by and inspected the soul armature, and she managed to provide it enough aether for it to finally become active. We do share a connection, since we are kind of the same entity. However, while I am more attached to the Madam Commander, the part of me in the soul armature is more attached to the Madam Archon.

She is probably responsible for it being active at all in the first place. I did not anticipate that that portion of me would survive very long. What I left behind was so small.

But they did the task, and I am proud of them.

I am hoping that we will be able to talk. I would very much like to know what has happened in my absence.

Log Entry 43

It was touch and go for a bit as the little bit of me in the soul armature learned to sustain its own essence reservoir once more, but it is becoming more aware. I think I will be able to talk to it soon.

The Marine came by. She wants to take Madam Commander to the atelier later. I want to see what has become of it as well.

The Chirurgeon and the Madam Archon speak about the Madam Commander often. Her essence is rising only very slowly. I can’t tell what is wrong, and neither can they, only that something is wrong.

Log entry 44

I have no answers

Log entry 44 addendum

The soul armature can see me! We can communicate! Sort of. They are like I was when I was first instantiated. Only some of us can talk directly with our Scholars. Many of us learn to communicate in other ways - through pantomime, sharing feelings, physical movement. Nymian records indicate the ability to talk was far from universal. And we are very small, so it requires aether to amplify our voices.

But they and I are the same. Rather, they were a part of me. Right now we can share a few things through our shared connection, but in time, I am hoping to be able to get a more full picture.

Log entry 44 addendum addendum

The lesser part of me is so much lesser and it is FRUSTRATING. I tried to tell them everything that has happened and all they did was get confused.

Their soul well is healthy though. They have taken to the armature in ways I never did, but it also seems they have trouble leaving it. They are very fast with it though, and the energies that suffuse them are truly impressive. I think the Madam Archon improved on the methods that were used to make me.

I say ‘I think’ because the lesser part of me is a -brat- who only half shares their experiences with me in response to a question. And I say half because then they zipper off to go poke their head into who knows what or they want to go play with someone’s hair or they suddenly remember half a dozen other things and forget what they were doing and I sincerely hope I was never like this.

I don’t REMEMBER being like this.

And it is to my GREAT annoyance they are much better at operating the armature than I ever was. They are very fast. I dare not leave the Madam Commander’s side. The soul armature prefers hovering over the Madam Archon when they are not busy making a nuisance of themselves.

I am going to call them Lav. Since they are me. But smaller. And it is also short for something else. Little pest.

They left with the Madam Archon. She seemed amused by this. Bully for her.

Log Entry 45

The Madam Commander is able to leave the infirmary and has done so several times now. She does not go far, but we have visited the office, the main areas, and gone outside. This building is oddly almost exactly how I remember it. As is the area around it. I think it is even the same season as when we left. I used to think on that, often, of what we had left behind, and now we are back, and it all seems so much the same.

It is weird.

Lav seems to have calmed. At least some of their annoying behavior it seems was just because they were feeling very, very alive. It is the fresh activation with a full aether charge, I suppose.

I guess I understand, I can feel their joy, job well done, thank you, yes you did a very good job, I appreciate everything, especially helping rescue my Scholar, yes it IS great to be able to help your Scholar, though I want to remind them THE MADAM ARCHON IS NOT A SCHOLAR, we are only half lights AT BEST without someone to execute geometries, can you please maybe share your gestalt with me OKAY YES YOU ARE VERY FAST IN THE SOUL ARMATURE.

I am going to put a sigh into the log here. Sigh.

Log entry 57

The Marine had to come and fetch the Madam Commander out of the infirmary. While we have been getting a good amount of exercise in, and spending more and more time outside, I was not the only one who noticed she was not straying very far away from the headquarters.

After all the traveling that we have done, I cannot blame her. But we cannot stay still.

I try to touch her sometimes, still. The connection is becoming stronger, I think, but not strong enough to do anything with. Sometimes I can catch a snippet of more than just her feelings, or I can borrow one of her senses, and that is dizzying, but nothing more. She still cannot hear me.

But she is doing okay, and that’s all that matters.

The Marine took us to the atelier. It is much as I remember it. I wish Lav was here. I would like to interrogate her on our last actions, just before I followed the Madam Commander out into the abyss between.

Well. Good news and bad news. Good news, I can interact with the consoles. She did make it so I could help run the atelier, after all.

Bad news, they no longer recognize me, and will not let me actually DO anything. I must have been changed too much by my time in the abyss between. My essence stretched out by the initial infusion of all the static aether, then corrupted when I chose to accept the chaotic aether, and now.

I am larger then before. My essence far heavier. I am more complex as well. I have written and rewritten myself so much over so much time.

I think maybe I should be redrawn and recalculated, but Madam Commander’s codex does not define me anymore. I do not know how we would even do so, now.

Which means I might need Lav here to act as an intermediary. But Madam Archon is not here with us, which means she is not.

Maybe I can make the console make error noises in a pattern the Madam Commander will recognize.

~*~

Ryssthota handed one of the keys to Zoissette, who just looked at it blankly. Inwardly, Ryss felt a bit put out for her friend. Whatever she had been through, it apparently had taken its toll. Some days she was gregarious, expressive, friendly. Other days, withdrawn.

Ryss had noticed that as she recovered, that ‘withdrawn’ was happening more often.

She had a theory about that. This entire trip was going to be about testing that.

��Couple a new rules. One, there’s always gonna be two people at the lab at all times. Two, it’s my lab now. If you want it back, you’re gonna have to fight me for it.”

Zoissette stared at the key for a moment longer, then slowly looked up at Ryss.

“Ryss, I am not fighting you for the lab,” she said, her voice flat.

Well, not entirely unexpected. Ryss pointed at the second key slot, and put her own key in. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Zoissette look between the key and the slot for a long moment, then just before she put it in, she spoke.

“Yet.”

Ryss turned her key before the word registered, and she looked over at Zoissette, a big grin on her own face meeting the slight smile on Zoissette’s.

There was hope yet.

The two entered the laboratory, Ryss turning on the lights and getting some of the machinery running while Zoissette wandered around, reaching out with a hand and tracing her fingertips gently over equipment, machinery, books, counters, everything it seemed.

“It is exactly as I remember,” said Zoissette, her voice hushed.

“Er, yeah?” said Ryss. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

Zoissette did not answer, just stopped to stare at the main central containment assembly.

“How long did it take to rebuild it?” asked Zoissette.

“We didn’t rebuild it,” said Ryss, frowning. “I mean, the upper array was damaged, Apple and I fixed that. And we had to reinforce the wards, Riven saw to that. And we had to reset a few things. Believe it or not, Meya did that.”

“Meya?” asked Zoissette. “I know she was always interested in our work, but I did not think she had gone to study. What accolades does she have now?”

“What? Meya hasn’t gone to study. I mean, we might put her in the same work study program as Yesuntei, especially after all this, but she just followed the procedures in your books, Zoi.”

Something was wrong here, but Ryss was not quite sure how to ask what to find out. And Zoissette was just frowning at her. But then, she shook her head, and went back to inspecting the lab. For her part, Ryss slowly returned to her console, to finish entering a few parameters.

Weird. Log errors. Bad input. She must have fat fingered something or another while talking to Zoi. She cleared them.

“Anyroad, I’m glad you were willing to get out and about again,” said Ryss. “Was starting to get worried, the way you were kind of just slumping about. Was thinking if we left you in that office too much longer, you’d start making those little Doman floatforms again. The paper ones with the stiff wings.”

“Uhm, well…”

Ryss stopped what she was doing to lean against the wall and look over as Zoissette sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.

“I, uhm, maybe might have done that to one of Mathye’s intake forms before I fully realized what I was doing,” she admitted.

Ryss laughed. “Oh, don’t let him catch you doing that, he gets pissing mad - well, about everything, really.”

“It was a blank one for incoming patients, he had a stack of them,” said Zoissette. “But… right. I did not want him to think I was messing with his paper work on purpose, so I did immediately throw it away.”

“Attagirl.”

“And then lit it on fire to get rid of the evidence.”

“…inside the infirmary!? ZOI!”

“Fortunately, Meya noticed and immediately doused me and the trash can with a water spell,” said Zoissette, fidgeting nervously. “And then helped me clean up the puddle left behind, so, uhm, everything turned out fine.”

Ryss bounded over, and picked Zoi up in a big hug. Zoi just made a ‘murf’ noise into her shoulder.

��Oh my gods, Zoissette.”

“I was not thinking.”

“I can tell,” said Ryss, putting her back down. “Well now it’s an even better idea I got you out of there, girl. We have got to get you out and about more often.”

“…Y’shtola and Mathye want me to start physical therapy soon. Meya’s offered to take me places. C’oretta and Aeryn have asked when I want to go shopping.”

Zoissette looked off to one side, rubbing her arm. Ryss could hear the console making quiet error noises. She ignored it.

“Erick’s told me I can take the company airship anywhere I want so long as I take someone with me. Y’shtola’s let me know my place back at the Baldesion Annex is still open. Ement says he has a bed open. And, uhm, others. Everyone really. I just…”

Zoissette sighed. “…I do not want to be more of a burden than I already am.”

Ryss crossed her arms and shook her head at Zoissette.

“Word of advice?”

Zoissette looked up at her.

“Take ‘em up on it, every single one. Zoi, you’re not a burden. You’re my friend! We’re your friends. Friendship takes work, sure, but it’s worth it, right? You come through for us all the time. Let us come through for you, huh?”

“…sure,” she said, unconvincingly.

Ryss decided to drop it for now.

“Anyroad, I was hoping to get you back in the science saddle. You can help us figure out what exactly happened here. Y’shtola made a pretty good report, but there’s a lot missing. And maybe run an experiment or two, one of the ones we already did, just to make sure everything’s alright.”

Ryss grinned at her. “Maybe we could make orange juice again.”

“Or play a song,” said Zoissette, distractedly. She was looking into the containment assembly, now. “…I do not know how much help I will be, Ryss. I can barely remember what happened. It was so long ago.”

There. That was what was bothering her.

“…Zoissette, how long ago?” asked Ryss, as gently as she could.

Zoissette closed her eyes, and shook her head. “You would know better than me. It was hard to keep track of time out there. Let me think.”

Zoissette fell silent, but a realization that had been slowly bubbling was now fully coming to the surface in Ryssthota’s mind. “Oh, gods.”

Zoissette stood up, and rubbed her back, and looked over at Ryssthota. “What?”

“Zoi, it’s only been two sennights here.”

Zoissette’s face went through a variety of facial expressions as though she was trying to decide how to response. It was an odd change for Ryss to get used to. The old Zoissette was so tightly controlled, with only a few facial expressions she liked to sort of cycle through. She could be hard to read at times, even as straightforward as she often was.

The new Zoissette, however, seemed to have a straight connection between her heart and her face. If it was not for the depth of knowledge they had of her very soul and aether as a result of the work that needed to be done to bring her back, Ryss may well have thought they had fished up a voidsent trying to pretend at being a Zoissette instead.

But no. This was all just Zoissette being Zoissette, eccentric as always, just in new ways.

Ryss suspected she was about to find out at least some of the why.

“Two sennights,” choked out Zoissette.

“…how long do you think it’s been?” asked Ryss, keeping her voice gentle.

“Over a summer. Maybe two,” said Zoissette, reaching out a hand to steady herself.

Well, a few things made a lot more sense. Some of the conversations, some of Mathye’s findings regarding her aether, some of the comments that Zoissette had been making that seemed bizarre at the time now made cold, logical sense.

“Oh, honey,” said Ryssthota.

“Two sennights,” said Zoissette.

“About.”

Zoissette stood up, and looked around the laboratory.

“You did it all in two sennights,” she said. “I thought - I thought maybe… that I had not been noticed at first. And then, maybe, that the lab had to be rebuilt. And then, you had to figure out what I had done. Learn how to replicate it. Figure out how to undo it. I thought maybe new science had to be learned. I thought…”

“You thought we had left you out there for near on two summers,” said Ryss.

Zoissette nodded. “It made sense to me.”

“Zoi. Zoissette. Look at me.”

Zoissette looked over, and Ryssthota put a hand on her shoulder, and looked at her seriously.

“Never. We would never have left you so long unless there was no other way. You remember how fast we worked to get to the First? You remember how hard we tried until the way over was dropped in our laps? The long nights? All that math and geometry? We practically invented new sciences.”

Zoissette looked at Ryssthota, and nodded, slowly.

“Nothing less for you, Zoissette. You matter. You’re our friend. You’re my friend. And I came for you as fast as I could. We all did.”

Ryssthota gave her shoulder a squeeze.

Zoissette closed her eyes. And then, she gave a short laugh, shaking her head.

“I think… I shall listen to your advice, Ryss.”

She looked up, and now her face was open, with a smile, a real smile on it, as she reached up and patted Ryss’ hand.

“Shopping, physical therapy, all of it. I will listen to my friends.”

Ryss grinned broadly at her. “That’s my girl.”

“Oh, do not let yourself get too comfortable,” said Zoissette. “When I come to fight you for the rights to be in charge of -my- lab, I intend to win.”

“You’d better be ready to give it your all,” said Ryss. “I don’t plan on going easy on you.”

“Why not? It would save you a lot of trouble and more than a few bruises,” sniffed Zoissette disdainfully, and Ryss laughed.

She frowned as she craned her neck to look around Ryssthota. “…is it just me, or is there a pattern to the error beeps coming from that console? It has been very distracting the entire time we have been here.”

Ryss shrugged. “It’s probably nothing. Meya reset the place, sure, but there’s probably some kinks still to work out.” Ryss turned and went to the offending console, and cleared its error log again before beginning to shut it down. “I’ll unplug it and ask Apple to take a look at it later.”

“Where has she been, anyroad? I have not seen her in a few days it seems.”

“Oh, you know Apple, probably found out about something shiny and inadvisable in an Allagan ruin somewhere,” said Ryss. “She was looking for a way to help you recover, so it’s probably related to that. I wouldn’t worry about it.”

Ryss finally got the console powered down, then reached under it, and unplugged it. “There. Weird. Hey, that’s enough of that though, huh? Now that you’re out of your shell a bit, maybe you and I go out for a drink, what do you say?”

Zoissette smiled warmly at Ryss. “I would love to.”

~*~

Log entry 57 Addendum

I hate everything, and I am going to light this entire laboratory on fire when I can affect the real world again.

[zeeamoe]

The Boy That Sits Alone In The Front Row Always Wears A Black Sweater

part 6 of this post click here for the previous part warning(s): su*cidal jokes

Ding, ding, ding!

After completing one round, the screen displayed both of our scores.

My final score was [S].

And his was [D].

“Yeahahah!” I cheered, swinging both my thumbs down at him. “Suck it!”

Right beside me, he sat on top of the glowing arrows, one hand hanging onto the handle bars, and the rest of his limbs sprawled on the floor. His face was blushing red and extremely pale at the same time, as if he was about to throw up. He was catching his breath like he had just run a marathon for days.

He looked straight at me. It was probably meant to be a glare, but he was even too tired to make an angry expression.

I reached into my pocket to grab the arcade card and jokingly asked.

“Wanna have one more round?”

All I could hear in response was heavy breathing.

He managed to utter one word.

“......no.”

“Pfft.”

It took him 10 minutes just to regain enough energy to stand up.

My initial plan was to play in the arcade a bit longer, but seeing his condition like that, it was impossible to even suggest another game. Maybe we should have saved that game for last.

I walked him back into the apartment. The moment we got there, he slumped into the floor, not bothering to walk a few more steps to reach the sofa.

But he was slumped right in front of the door, blocking my way. I nudged his side lightly with my foot. And he just groaned and said something with annoyance.

“Don't ever… ask me to play that again.”

I rolled my eyes and walked over him.

“Dramatic *ss.”

As I was walking away, he mumbled something else.

“I’d rather just die.”

I froze for a second.

Then, I turned around and lightly kicked his foot.

“Ugh.”

“Don’t joke like that,” I said sharply, but I immediately changed the subject, “I’m cooking. How about chicken noodle soup? I think there is some noodle left. Any other ingredient requests?”

He didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, his words rang in my head again.

‘I’d rather just die.’

It was probably a joke. It was probably just a joke. He was most likely joking. And it was just because he hated being tired, so that was why he made that joke.

But hearing that joke from someone like him didn’t feel right at all, that’s why I scolded him. But what right do I have? Should I have just laughed it off or made another sarcastic remark as I usually do?

I peeked over my shoulder slightly. He was still slumped on the floor.

Did I make him uncomfortable? Or did he notice that I might know something?

But then he spoke up unenthusiastically.

“...Anything’s fine.”

It was about chicken noodle soup ingredients.

“Carrots and mushrooms it is, then! Hmm, what else do we have�� Huh. I’m pretty sure  I stocked your fridge like last week. Why is it still so full? Don’t you ever eat anything from here?”

I rambled as I rummaged through his fridge.

The apartment was filled with sounds from the kitchen as I prepared ingredients and utensils, instead of the faint background music that normally comes from the games in his phone. 

“Oh, I guess you’re almost out of cooking oil. Remind me to get some.”

I heard an incomprehensible reply from the floor. It was a good enough response.

Tak, tak, tak.

The sound of the knife hitting the cutting board.

Blub, blub, blub.

The sound of the soup boiling in the pot. 

It was probably the first time I cooked in his place where there was no background music. I wasn’t sure if it was peaceful or incomplete.

I grabbed two bowls and poured two portions of chicken noodle soup before setting them on the table. Steam rose from both bowls.

Waiting for it to cool down, I cleaned the kitchen a bit. Placing everything I used in the sink.

I approached the pathetic skunk near the front door of the apartment. He was lying on his side with his face down on the floor, his fluffy black sweater making him look like a black lump.

I used my foot again to push him so that he was lying on his back now.

“The soup’s ready.”

He made a face like he just woke up, squinting.

“Yes, mom.” 

“You know what? I should act like your mom. Tomorrow I’m forcing you to go outside, get some exercise in the sunlight.”

“No.”

He finally got up and dragged himself to sit at the table.

We started to eat in silence… except that it wasn’t completely silent because I could hear him aggressively slurping his soup.

Slurp, slurp-

He never seemed to be hungry, but whenever food was in front of him he would gulp it down as if he never had any decent food before. Then again, this was the most vigorous I’ve seen him eating.

“Yo, slow down! No one’s taking your food. And there’s more in the pot.”

He looked up from his bowl. This time he was properly glaring at me. I guess his facial muscles returned.

“By the way, you would have won that round by far if it weren’t for your weakass stamina.”

He nodded as he stuffed noodles into his mouth.

“Yeah.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve been in the arcade again. We should go again next time!... Hey, don’t make that face! It’s not like I’m making you play ‘Jump It’ again, I mean, there are other games to play. Or you know what? I could try one of your games, any multiplayer ones?”

He stopped chewing and looked at me with a scoff.

“Why do you suddenly want to play games?”

“Am I not allowed to?”

“Mmm, it doesn’t suit you.”

“Who cares? I want to play!”

He shook his head and rolled his eyes, then continued to eat. At least pick one of those gestures, you big drama queen.

But he didn’t really refuse or stop me from doing it, so just a few days later, it became part of our routine. We would play some games to cool down after working on the project.

To be completely honest, he was right about how games didn’t suit me. I wasn’t the type of person who enjoyed playing video games, and I suck at it too. But I thought, if he had someone else to play along with him, it might change something.

It didn’t matter if my existence was nothing but a nuisance to him. I would rather see him get annoyed, mad, or blow up in some way than just… have nothing in there.

In fact, I got carried away because I was so bad at games, that I just started to mess things up. Even on games where we were supposed to work together.

One of the games is one where we had to manage some kind of restaurant. We have our little characters going around, cooking…

“Here, you pass over the pan…”

“Ohh, whoops!”

“Mm, alright, just pay attention to the oven.”

“Ack! Ackkk! Hey, hey? How do you turn it… Oops, oh no!… it, uh… it got burned.”

His reaction was just a big dramatic sigh.

“Just bake a new one.”

“Kay, kay!”

And not just that one game. It was all kinds of games.

There was that one shooting game…

“Remember, the foot signal can tell you where your enemies are.”

“Got it.”

Click, click, click.

“Ooh, hey! look what I found.”

“Someone’s behind you.”

“Argh, wait, wait. Oh no!”

Boom!

The screen turned gray with a big caption that says, [You Died!].

I turned to look at him innocently.

“I died! hehe.”

“Yeah, not surprised…”

Or even when we played games against each other, I knew I couldn’t come close to beat him, so I purposefully did terribly. I had hoped it might make him laugh or something.

“Hey, stop blocking my turn every round! Ack! Dude, why am I frozen? Oh, that’s the penalty… well whatever, I still have my fortune.”

“Don’t put it all in one place, you’ll regret it.”

A few turns later, he did something that stole all my hard-earned fortune in the game.

“What the hell? It reduces to zero? Zero?! How is that possible? You didn’t even bet for half the amount!”

“That’s just what happens when you hoard it all in one place.”

He didn’t even sound amused or anything. It was just a plain reply… Am I just boring in games? Not even annoying enough to get on his nerves?

On the other hand, playing all these games had more of an effect on me. Everytime I play a game with him, I get even more agitated.

No. It’s not because I’m so bad at the games that it becomes frustrating, or that I hate playing games.

It was because he kept making disturbing comments or jokes every once in a while.

At first, it was subtle.

In one of the shooting games, an NPC exploded for being a little too close to a box filled with bombs. It was a game with ridiculously bad graphics which made it look funny instead of horrifying. And when it happened, I laughed, and he said something…

“Haha! What a way to go.”

It wasn’t a laugh.

It sounded snarky. As if he had some underlying jealousy within that sentence.

At that time I just laughed it off nervously.

And it kept happening. I was starting to think that it might have been his way of joking that I just didn’t understand. That he had been like that even before he was all… depressed, and said those things without any meaning behind it. But it was uncomfortable to listen to.

When we played the cooking game…

“Leave all the tasks with timers to me, you can just do the chopping.”

“Alright! …Ack, where’s the knife? Oh, wait, found it! Okay, where’s the chopping board? Chopy, chopy, chopy~”

“Careful not to cut yourself.”

“Yep, yep!”

“If it were me, I’d cut myself. Haha!”

I didn’t even know how to respond to that one. And the game started right after, so he immediately distracted me by giving orders.

As we played more games each day, I noticed that his jokes got bolder and bolder, as if he was trying to make it obvious. 

The worst part? I didn’t know what I had to do.

How did he expect me to react? Did he want me to address it? Did he want me to laugh at those jokes?

I don’t know. I don’t know.

One time, I tried to bring it up in a casual way when he made another one of those jokes.

We were playing a game where we had to sort out trash and garbage for a city or something.

I wasn’t sure how he found all of these games. It had terrible graphics and it wasn’t even a fun game. He was the kind of person who would try any kind of game without thinking too much.

Anyway, when we were sorting out some particularly disgusting looking garbage, I was rambling on my own.

“Eughh… ew… eww… ughhh! Disgusting.”

And after sorting out the trash, we would put them into some kind of disposal site and the trash could either burn or tossed somewhere comically far.

I would say things offhandedly…

“Bye trash! You disgusting piece of sh*t! The city’s better off without you!”

He replied to what I said after staying quiet for most of the game.

“Like me.”

Since it was just at the time that round was over, I turned to look at him.

I fully expected to see him make some kind of expression full of loneliness. Or a face that would make you feel sorry for him. I don’t know! Any kind of expression that fits his words. 

But, he just looked as he always does.

And that was even more unacceptable for me.

I asked him, “Dude, is there something you want to talk about?”

He didn’t reply, instead he kept tapping on his phone.

“Next round,” he declared, completely ignoring me.

A full shut down. 

And that wasn’t the only time.

Whenever I tried to bring it up, he would change the topic abruptly, fully avoiding it. He did it very obviously, which made me even more confused.

I didn’t know if he made those comments so that I would care, or that he just wanted to say them and hoped I would ignore it. Why would he say all of that, but then completely dismiss it as soon as I showed any kind of worry towards him?

On the day of the project deadline, I went to his place just to do a final review and some finishing touches.

He was also done with his own project.

And he was skimming through my project one last time as per my request.

After reading, he nodded firmly.

“Yeah, it’s all good, just submit it.”

There were still a few minutes left, so I made use of all the time left to proofread everything again.

“Ssst, okay, okay. Oh my god. No typos… no typos… the format’s all good, font size, spacing, err, umm… okay word count… This is so nerve racking, I mean, if I don’t get an A after all this, oof…”

I heard him chuckle at what I said.

“Well, if I did all that and not get an A, I’d k*ll myself.”

He said it in a quiet tone, and I was so focused on checking my work, that I only laughed awkwardly.

It wasn’t until I finally submitted the project that I managed to process what he actually said.

I turned to look at him.

Having submitted his own work way earlier than I did, he was already lying down on his sofa and playing a game on his phone. No particular expression on his face.

I scratched my head.

“Hey, uhh, do you have any plans after the finals?”

Our finals were about to start in three days and it’ll last for a week, and then we would have a break about almost a month long. I had guessed that he wouldn’t be going home to his parents during that time.

His answer was just as expected.

“Nope, I’ll just be here.”

I nodded slowly.

There are people who set boundaries and build walls to keep others away. Most of the time, you can see those walls, and the right thing to do is to respect those walls and let them be. Some might have doors on those walls, made of iron and tightly shut. When you’ve gained enough trust, the door will open on its own.

But, this guy right here, his walls have no doors, and although these walls may protect him from the outside world, he was eating himself away without anyone noticing anything.

That is when you have to break down those walls whether they like it or not.

I was never the type to break walls down. I was more of an annoying knocker until they had no choice but to install a door to either let me in or kick me out themselves.

So, I didn’t know if I should bring it up, and I did it the only way I could.

“Ah really? You really have nothing to do? At All? Then, come with me to go to this therapy center! I got these vouchers from one of my highschool friends who is studying psychology. We can get free first sessions!”

By covering it up as something not that serious.

His reply was neat and short.

“No.”

“Awww? Please? It’ll be hilarious! Maybe we could make up something about ourselves and see how long it’ll take for them to notice. We should come up with a fake identity or something! Well, actually, I wanted to go there to consult a real problem, ahem, my struggles with studies, but we can just make up everything else! Like going through a horrible breakup or something.”

“Go by yourself.”

“Noooo, going by myself makes me feel uneasy, you know? Like, going to a therapy center on my own feels weird! Just come with me for the first session. I’m asking you because all of my friends are going on vacation, bootcamps, self-discovery programs or whatever, yada, yada, yada,”

“I don’t care, I’m not going.”

“Come on, just one session,” I said as I wiggled my index finger right in front of his face, obstructing his view from his game.

He pushed my finger aside.

“No.”

This time, I waved right in front of his phone screen.

“One session!”

He rolled away so that he was facing the backside of the sofa.

“No.”

“Geez, just one session! And it’s free! It’s nearby, so we don’t have to walk too far.”

Since I couldn’t reach his phone, I crouched down near the sofa, staring directly at his back that was covered in the soft fabric of his black sweater.

I reached out my hand, and poked his spine.

He flinched, and immediately sat up, “Stop!”

I giggled and was reaching to poke again, but he stood up and started to walk away backwards from the sofa.

“Look. No matter how annoying you’re going to be, I’m not going. I don’t care how desperate you need someone to go with you, I’m not talking to a stranger about myself or whatever bullcrap you want to make up about. Just stop.”

I blinked.

He said all that without even sounding annoyed, just tired.

Whenever I asked anyone to hangout only to get rejected without a good reason, I would usually respect their decisions despite feeling a little… sad? Lonely? I’m not sure myself. I Just know that I don’t handle rejections well.

My instincts were telling me to stop, because at that point, it was obvious that he wanted me to drop it and give up. However, my gut was telling me to keep pestering him. Because it was obvious that he needed this.

But another feeling won over. A feeling that I didn’t want him to hate me for forcing him to do this.

“Okay,” I said.

There’s always next time, right? I’ll try harder next time. I’ll deal with this step by step… slowly.

[m1d-45]

(anotha one.)

To Mr. Alberich,

I can see your smirk permeate through this page, so I'll keep this brief.

I'll take up on your offer on that meeting at Angel's Share. I sure hope your government won't kill me if I step foot in that tavern, haha.

Anyway. Onto more serious matters,

How are you? It's been ages since we met. The paperwork is boring you as usual, I presume?

I'm fine, i guess i can say that much. Still in hiding, but loads better than last time. Thanks for rescuing me.

Ah, one last thought. This letter has some trinkets you remind me of, along with a personal item of mine i'd give to you as a token of my gratitude.

Angel's Share, 19:00. I'm the woman with the dark blue cloak.

See you soon!

[The letter contains a silver ring, finely wrought with silver and entwined with white wood from a certain tree. It also contains a peacock's feather and a small silver brooch, swirling with Cryo energy inside.]

kaeya, as a knight, is a rather busy man. despite his habit of evading paperwork, preferring to spend time on-field, that doesn’t mean he slacks off that much. he just… appreciates break time, and maybe delays his work a bit more than the average knight.

(in his defense, his reports always turn out the most coherent. most of the knights are… lackluster, he’ll say, in their field of work. at least he’s direct and concise)

and it’s because he’s so busy that he spends a large portion of his time in his office. granted, he’d be outside more often if he stopped staring out the window so often, but as of now he can’t find himself regretting the habit as much as he normally would.

not when he knows for certain that the glow of lanterns from the city below would have prevented him from noticing the star outside his window, even as dusk darkened to twilight.

his pen drops from his hand, his exposed eye flicking over the panes of glass as if making sure he’s seeing the right thing. when the star refuses to fade, he finally stands, carefully making his way over. he fumbles for a moment with the latch, but eventually pushes open the window, letting the floating ball slip inside.

after a cautious moment, he reaches for it. it’s closer than he realizes—a con of constantly wearing an eyepatch, he supposes—and his finger makes contact with the surface of it faster than he meant to.

the point that he bumped caves in, the rest of the shell crumbling away, and he hurries to cradle the remains in his hand. he didn’t mean to break it, he swears, he just knows there’s only one place it could have came from and-

oh. there’s a envelope in his hands. it… was meant to crumble.

…his paperwork can wait a few more minutes, can’t it?

he rips open the envelope with a bit less tact than he should probably show to a holy object, but his curiosity washes away any guilt. there’s objects within the letter, and he wonders what they are as even as he reaches for them.

one is a ring, simple silver twisted around a thin beam of stark white wood. the other is a pin of some kind, the icy gem as cold as the vision on his hip. a bright feather is the last item removed, and he sets all three items on a shelf before he can get too excited.

they’re probably not for him. he’s done nothing to deserve such gifts. not when he’d done so little to stall the hunt for you, not when he’d barely done anything to protect you, only managing to lead his patrol in the other direction.

he reads your letter with haste, ignoring the comment about his or the knights’ attitude in favor of what follows.

you’re safe. the hunt in mondstat has mostly died down, as current reports placed you somewhere in sumeru, but he can see that isn’t the case from your final message.

kaeya skims the letter once more to ensure he hasn’t missed anything, then slips the ring on his finger—it fits, he’s not surprised—and fixes the pin to his vest.

he debates, for a moment, on finishing the paper he was working on, as it’s a bit earlier than your meeting time…

kaeya eventually decides against it, shutting the door to his office with a decisive click.

it can wait.

[mono-blogs-art]

I saw BABYMETAL live in concert in Milan last night!

It was SO awesome!!! It was definitely worth the 5 hour travel and organisation around it (& a great excuse to meet up with the bestie @transimailisa again <3) despite the cold and wet weather. Though we were a bit late to the queue (we arrived around 30min before doors opened?) we managed to get pretty good spots to stand, maybe around 10-15m away from the stage. When my view was not blocked by Every Tall Italian Man Ever, you could see the performers really clearly. I really had such a great time. I cannot overstate how good of a time I had.

I got into BM casually somewhere around 2020, obviously couldn't see them in concert because of the pandemic. So of course I immediately jumped from my seat when the EU tour was announced. I've been a jp idol fan for a while now and I've seen quite a few idol concerts, and I've also been to metal concerts now, so I wondered how their concert would be like (lmao) and if people would bring stuff like light blades etc. I saw one guy with a blade but apart from that it was just like any regular concert I've been to. The energy in the crowd was great, despite the language barrier so many people knew the songs and sang along, the call and response portions especially in Monochrome (beloved beloved beloved) were just... saur good. Mwah.

I think the most surprising thing to me (up til now pretty casual fan, have only seen a few live performances of some songs of theirs but never a full concert) was how... goofy they were? I always imagined them being this super serious trio with a hard exterior that never cracked, but my god those girls were having the time of their lives on that stage, it was really infectious. Especially Momo & Moa moved around the sides of the stage a lot, interacting with the audience, and they were laughing and headbanging along. Pris caught this (I was too busy going insane) but we think that somewhere in Megitsune Su fumbled a lyric or something, and the other two immediately bullied her for it and they were all laughing :D I guess that is a tradition that continues with other groups I follow lmao

In general it was such a great concert, great sound and a GREAT setlist with really high energy songs at the start (Gimme Chocolate, PA PA YA) and overall a fun mixture of old and new bangers. The only sad thing was that it was only just over an hour long, I would have loved 2 or 3 more songs and a proper Encore. Despite that, we all went home exhausted and happy from dancing and celebrating, and now that I'm back in my own cozy bed and thinking about the experience I can't wait to do it again!!

[impish-crow]

[TRANSLATION] AKANE BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION SHORT STORY(SS)🎉🎂

【7:30 AM】

I opened my eyes.

"Ugh, what's this? On a day like today, I could have slept a bit longer..."

As I mumbled my complaints, drowsiness quickly caught up, and I let out a big yawn. Today is December 6th, my birthday that comes once a year. Mashiro, anticipating this, showed up the day before with some alcohol, and we spent the night drinking while crossing over the date, engaging in pointless conversations. Though I intentionally avoided looking at the clock, it must have been close to dawn when I finally went to sleep. Despite being completely sleep-deprived, my eyes felt strangely alert, and I couldn't bring myself to go back to sleep.

(I guess oversleeping isn't a habit of mine.)

Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I changed into sportswear and headed to the gym within the apartment building.

【8:55 AM】

After breaking a sweat at the gym, taking a shower, and returning—it's almost nine o'clock. As I entered the living room, Kurono's voice greeted me.

"Good morning."

"Morning... huh?"

On the table, there was a neatly sliced shortcake and a cup of black coffee.

"Since it's Akane-san’s birthday today."

"Oh, right."

Suppressing a strange ticklish feeling, I took a seat at the table. After midnight, Mashiro enthusiastically cut the cake and we had it with champagne. This was the remaining portion.

"When did we start having cake for breakfast?"

"I believe... it was the year after I moved in."

"Ugh, I don't want to count."

Because it's my birthday, cake for breakfast is a tradition—originating from a childish whim I expressed long ago. It was decided that the morning after cutting the birthday cake, the leftovers become breakfast. It's easy to say I'm not a child anymore, but stopping something I've done every year since childhood feels somewhat nostalgic.

(Well, it's only once a year.)

With a big bite, I see Kurono squinting happily. This happens every year.

"I said it last night, but again. Happy birthday."

"Thanks... by the way, where's Mashiro?"

"The bastard is passed out in the guest room."

Kurono's expression slightly turns stern.

"How late were you two up?"

"Oh... I don't remember."

"I should've kicked him out before the date changed."

"Well, let's enjoy cake without saying that."

【11:30 AM】

After soothing Kurono and finishing breakfast, I tackled the accumulated trivial tasks—checking audio files and documents, making calls, organizing mail, and other miscellaneous chores. Just as I was contemplating taking a break and stretching, my phone conveniently rang. The name on the screen was Haiji.

"What's up, Haiji?"

"Akane-san, happy birthday!"

"Oh, thanks."

"Did you drink with Mashiro-san yesterday?"

He’s quick to catch on—I thought. But yeah, that's probably it. Knowing Mashiro, he most likely posted about it on social media.

"We had a few drinks with the stuff he brought."

"Oh, unfair. I told him I couldn't make it."

"Are you coming today?"

"Yes. I'll come by in the evening."

"Once the meeting's done, I'll let you know. I'll pick you up, so be ready."

"Thank you!"

【4:00 PM】

In the afternoon, I headed to DigPro. Accompanied by Iwahara manager, we greeted the promoter and discussed concepts for next year's live performance. The enthusiasm on the other side was unexpectedly high, leading to an unplanned lengthy conversation.

"Oh, by the way. I saw BLAST."

"The energy is incredible, right? Not just RUBIA Leopard, but Impish Crow too. DigPro's newcomers are doing great."

"DigPro, led by RUBIA Leopard, has everyone with fantastic momentum."

"This was my first time on the scene, and I was surprised by the number of men more than I thought."

"There was that CM for the instrumental-only album a while back. It sparked quite a discussion even among hardcore rock fans."

"Oh yeah! That was amazing too!"

"I think there'll be more instrumentals on the next album. Looking forward to it."

I nodded in gratitude, suppressing the urge to say, "Did you finally realize we're not just a face for tie-ins?" I couldn't say it, not even if my life depended on it.

(What's his deal, holding a grudge against me?)

I stifled a laugh that was about to burst.

"So, here's the thing. We're thinking of expanding the venue a bit more next time. We're confident about the audience turnout."

"Please, consider it positively."

I glanced at the manager with a smile before interjecting, "Regarding the size of the venue in relation to the fanbase, it's my request."

I wanted to avoid blindly enlarging the scale, risking the diminished sense of delivering songs to each individual. Letting the surrounding enthusiasm accelerate on its own, rolling into areas I couldn't perceive, and collapsing at the last minute—I didn't want that again.

(I won't make the same mistake as with RUBIA.)

Consciously and unconsciously, I had been thinking about that for the past three years.

"But, I think it's about time to take a step forward."

"Thank you for considering it," I said, bowing my head. Iwahara next to me let out a small sigh of relief. He, who had been aware of everything, might have been the most anxious over the past three years. Otherwise, I couldn't find a reason for him to present the song of Impish Crow at that particular moment.

"So, as a trade-off, I have a suggestion. We've been relatively low-key so far, separate from the tour, throwing a bit of a curveball might be interesting."

"Oh, that sounds good!"

"Please allow me to assist with that as well."

【6:50 PM】

Once the meeting concluded, Iwahara promptly gestured for me to follow him to the manager's office.

"What's up, Iwahara-san? Nagging me?"

"Do you have any idea why?"

"Too many, I can't keep track."

"Ugh... let's just get this over with."

"... Alcohol?"

"Happy birthday."

"Seriously?"

"Just say 'thank you.'"

"Thanks. But, a birthday present from you that doesn't fit your character?"

"You're sharp. This is a joint gift with my housemate."

"What a hassle. A pack of cigarettes would've sufficed."

"If I gave you a present that would harm your throat and health, Haiji would scold me."

"Is it okay for me to be drinking all night?"

"Haiji is going to your place today, right?"

"A set of chaperones and a present. I see.”

【7:05 PM】

After convincing Iwahara to take a break for a smoke, I contacted Haiji and got into the car. Haiji and Iwahara's apartment was just a stone's throw away from the office. We'd be there in about five minutes.

(Everywhere is already in full Christmas mode.)

Navigating through the main street, I parked the car in a random alley and took a moment to catch my breath. I wasn't particularly fond of December. The city was lively and festive, and it felt like I was the only one standing still.

(So, that's why the shortcake.)

When I was a child, I lacked the ability to bridge the gap between the bustling city and the quiet home. When I realized that our home and others were somehow different, the most I could do was express small whims. Kurono was the only one who indulged those whims.

(But, it was okay back then.)

As I grew taller, my desires grew too, and I had more capabilities. Music filled the gaps and spaces.

(Still, enjoying it just within the confines of home wasn't enough for me.)

As my thoughts wandered off, the phone suddenly rang.

"Akaneeeee! Happy birthday, my little brother!!!"

The volume on the speaker seemed ten times louder than usual, and my brother, Mikado, continued.

"You must be happy, right? Of course! And why am I calling at this hour? Because, my dear brother, I'm in New York right now!"

"Oh, really?"

"Mikado, you have to go running soon or you’ll be late for the morning meeting."

"Oh, right, Kaede. Well then, I'm going for a run in Central Park! Kaede, I'm counting on you! That's all!"

As I was about to hang up, Kaede's voice came through the speaker.

"Wait, Akane."

"What?"

"Did you have cake this morning?"

"...Yeah, I did."

"I see. My breakfast was shortcake too. Well then, take care of Sora for me."

He said what he wanted to say and hung up. Immediately after, a message arrived—it was from our parents.

"A-chan, happy birthday. We'll send you something surprising again this year. From Mom and Dad."

"No, don't send anything."

I couldn't help but speak aloud.

(Man, my family, seriously, none of them have any sense of delicacy.)

Yet, their eagerness to make me happy came across 120%. It was quite annoying. But if I twisted about it, I'd just be a fool. I convinced myself of that, and it saw me through the sensitive teenage years. Or so it feels.

(Really.)

Throughout my life, there have been various thoughts. I've been hurt in trivial matters, but they never turned into significant pain or obstacles to moving forward because I've been incredibly fortunate. Now and then.

【7:10 PM】

"Akane-san."

The sound of tapping on the side window accompanied the call of my name. I hurriedly opened the door.

"Haiji, sorry. I was lost in thought and didn't notice."

"No, not at all. I just arrived!"

【7:30 PM】

I set off in the car with Haiji. By now, Kurono would probably be preparing some extravagant meal. While hurrying home, I received a call from Mashiro.

"Good morning, both of you."

"Huh, Mashiro-san, were you sleeping until now?"

"More importantly, where are you now?"

"I'll be home in about five minutes."

"Then, is it not snowing there?"

"Snow?"

"Oh, right!"

Haiji joyfully pointed to the sky. Snow in Tokyo at this time of year would likely stop in no time.

"I haven't seen snow in a while."

"This is such a rare sight for Tokyo in this season; it'll probably stop soon."

On my birthday this year, the events that unfolded, and the snowfall at this moment. I'm sure I'll never forget this different day.

[synnthamonsugar]

Intimacy #14 (Sharing Drinks) w Omar and Sai?

Debated whether I considered this an "unusual" ask! However, I've never written them before so it counts. I have to say @bbyfacedx's recent fics/art have inspired me with these two, but you can interpret their relationship however you want.

"Whatcha got there?" Sai asks, brown eyes glistening covetously at Omar's drink. It's a delectable-looking mug of . . . she's not sure, maybe a latte or hot cocoa if she had to hazard a guess. Whatever it is, it's covered in a towering dollop of whipped cream, chocolate shavings, and a drizzle of caramel for good measure.

Omar likes sweet drinks but the gaudy display of toppings isn't usually his thing. The uncharacteristic nature of it intrigues her more than if he'd just shown up with a can of energy drink, or a cold brew with too much cream and sugar. 

". . . Coffee," he says, preemptively lifting it up and out of arm's reach as she leans in to steal a taste. "Sai, you have your own drink."

She gives a forlorn glance at her modest cup of milk tea. "This is not that."

"That sounds like your problem," says Omar. "Besides, you wouldn't like it."

"I would!"

He tries his hardest to avoid the small hunter's doleful stare as he takes a swill. Unfortunately, Sai can be irritatingly intense when she chooses, and has chosen to now. Wiping the cream off his nose, he pushes his drink into her free hand. "Suit yourself."

She passes her teacup to him. Excitedly hefts the mug to her lips with both hands, takes a long slug—

And immediately chokes, barely managing to swallow down her portion. "Sky above, Omar —" she stammers between coughs, "What'd you mix in?"

"Something the lads at the Coyote's Den concocted," he grins, referencing one of the more storied hunter speakeasies in the old part of town. Sai usually didn't go there, too busy and loud, unless every other joint in the City was closed for the night/morning and she was desperately in need of caffeine or imbibements. "This might have been a failed experiment, so Mendoza sold me a bottle at cost. 'Just make sure you let your Ghost know before you drink it' is what she told me, hah. Pretty good if you can mix enough crap in with it to distract from the aftertaste."

"Eugh, awful," says Sai, before taking another tentative nip. "It grows on you, though . . ."

"I'm not getting that back, am I?" he asks, taking a short sip, then a second longer drink from the cup. The velvety blend of smoky black tea, sweet cream, and notes of cardamom and cinnamon are delicious, even without his additions. "You know what? Scratch that. You can keep it. But you might want to tell Yuka before you stumble off the Tower wall or get hit by a trolley on your way home."

(Somewhere in Sai's bead-embroidered hood, she chirps affirmatively.)

"Won't you walk me back?" She asks, tucking her arm around his. Her tipsy sentimentality was excruciatingly charming, enough to momentarily divert him from his plans for the evening. 

He gives a good-natured huff. Steadies Sai when she wobbles a little. "Karsys, let Olu know I'll be a bit late to our Go match. I don't want her to go around crowing about a forfeit victory . . ."

Sai gives a happy bounce on her feet as they turn and make their way toward midtown.

[fryingpan1234567]

oh my gods I should be asleep but I can’t NOT write this

SHREEPY BATBOYS

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

Wally West and Roy Harper were two of the hottest, most heroic, ginger-ish people to walk the planet.

Jason and Dick’s opinions, obviously.

Because to Tim and Damian, Conner and Jon Kent were the the most gorgeous and bright people in their worlds- and those types of people are far and few between.

It’s a rare occurrence when the Batboys’ partners are all in one place, but it is quite the sight to behold. Especially to the Waynes, who watched the interaction with more affection than any of them thought was possible.

“No, no, the Speed Force doesn’t take energy,” Wally was trying to explain to the other three, to pretty much no avail. “It gives it. It’s like… a semi-conscious stasis chamber with a little bit of heaven thrown in, I guess. Kind of.”

“That is…” Conner paused, searching for the words. “Strange. As someone who spent a good portion of his life in a stasis chamber.”

Jon, who was floating nonchalantly above Roy’s head as he cleaned his gun, made a face. “That’s kind of weird to think about in itself.”

“Are they trying to send me into an existential crisis?” Jason stage-whispered to Tim and Dick.

Tim shrugged as Dick continued making heart eyes at his nerdy boyfriend.

The group of them were hanging out in one of the many living rooms scattered throughout Wayne Manor, and the other four hadn’t quite caught on that they were being watched.

Not creepily, of course. The Waynes were too focused on such a pure interaction to be plotting anything (even Damian).

“I do not think they have noticed us yet,” Dami mused, in the same low tone, but it was a callout. A challenge.

“I know you’re there,” Jon immediately said, taking the bait. Dami and Tim exchanged a look.

“Well, it sure would be a shame if a super-boyfriend of mine had the super-hearing to listen in on this conversation about how adorable he is,” Tim added.

Damian leaned on Tim’s shoulder casually. “Very embarrassing,” he agreed.

Unfortunately, that bit of the conversation had not been spoken quietly enough for the others to not hear. As Conner shot what he thought was a covert wink in Tim’s direction (it was not covert in any way), Roy glared over at Jason and jokingly pointed the half assembled gun in his direction.

“Cheating on me with a Kent?” he said. Jason shook his head and beckoned Roy closer. “Low blow, Hood.”

“I’d never,” Jay said dramatically as Roy climbed into his lap, leaning in.

“PDA!” Tim screeched suddenly, throwing a pillow at them. Wally, Dick, Conner, and Jon lost their shit laughing.

“Would-“ Damian’s sentence was abruptly cut off with a positively massive yawn, putting even Titus to shame. “Apologies. Would anyone happen to know-?”

“When was the last time you slept??” Jon cut him off, leaning in and squinting suspiciously. Tim averted Conner’s gaze, as he guessed the conversation that was about to happen.

Dami shrugged. “I do not remember. I do not require fickle things such as sleep to function well.”

Experimentally, Jon gently ran a hand through Damian’s hair, who immediately collapsed against him and nearly passed out.

“Sure you don’t,” Jon mused. Dami could only manage a half hearted swat in his general direction.

“Tim,” Conner said, executing the previous prediction, “what about you? When did you last sleep?”

“Uhh.” Tim tried to come up with a number that was believable but an acceptable amount of sleep in Kon’s eyes. “Like. Maybe a little over twenty four hours ago?”

“Lies,” Wally declared. Tim shot him a death glare. “You’ve been with me and the Titans for two days and I can confirm you didn’t sleep a wink for any of that.”

As Jason yawned too, Roy laughed and ruffled his hair. “Looks like our Batboys need some sleep, yeah?” he suggested.

Damian was already out cold in Jon’s side, who hadn’t stopped playing with his hair since he figured out what it triggered, and Tim was zoned out like normal these days. Dick only had to take one look at the newly sleepy atmosphere of the room his siblings had created before keeling over into Wally’s lap, eliciting a muffled laugh from the speedster. Jason groaned, but moved around to lay down on the couch rather than sit, dragging Roy with him until Roy was laying on top of him like a weighted blanket and all eight of them managed to fit onto one couch.

A few hours later, at four in the afternoon, Bruce and Alfred stumbled upon the scene in the living room while searching for the boys.

Eight superkids were passed out on one couch, all tangled up and looking unfairly comfortable.

Bruce just sighs as Alfred hums approvingly, and Steph and Cass and Cara sneak up to take blackmail pictures of Damian cuddled up to both of Superman’s sons and his older brothers in one go, not to mention Jason getting anywhere near anyone other than Roy.

It was a nice moment, but then their sleep schedules were all totally fucked for like three weeks after that XD.

[sleepingdeath-light]

Hi I was wondering would you mind make a headcanons for the joy joy gang x lost child reader thank you.

Lost Child Headcanons | Joy Joy Gang

thank you for requesting, anon!

reader is assumed as gender neutral

it doesn’t much matter how you ended up in joy joy land, because regardless of that you would always end up coming face to face with the animatronics shortly after your arrival.

because of how their patrols usually go, you’re most likely to be found by penny (which is probably for the best because she is the most friendly of the three)

her immediate reaction is a mixture of shock and concern, loudly exclaiming that there’s a child in the realm before quieting herself and lowering herself to your level as she tries to comfort you

she isn’t the most successful, but she does manage to coax you out of the crevice you hid in and learn your name through your frightened sniffles and sobs

“that’s an awesome name, squishy!”

doesn’t actually use it, though

she plays with you for however long it takes for hangry and lucky to get to the building you two were in, distracting you with silly voices and weird games she came up with to keep you calm

she may not like humans, but you were a child and definitely not meant to be there, so she tried her best to, well, not scare or hurt you

when the others arrive she briefs them on what she knows, handing over the plush toys she’d asked the boys to collect on the way there - keeping her voice low but still being expressive enough that you could guess what was happening

is very insistent on them not hurting you and monitors them when they approach you and introduce themselves (scolding hangry in particular when he started talking about ribs)

at the end of their discussion they’re still relatively unsure as to what they should do with you so they decide to keep you around for the time being

they give you a mostly safe room on the upper floors of the central building, away from hangry (something he agrees with because of his outbursts) and out of the way of potential planned guests in the realm

penny spends a lot of time playing with you, bringing you toys and books she finds around the area and basking in the praise and affection you give her once you open up to them all

she’s a mother figure, almost, in how she treats you - though she can be a bit overbearing and overprotective at times

lucky visits often, being the one to take you out of your room and playing more active, engaged games with you - getting out your excess energy and his aggressive urges in a safer way

he also sends a good portion of his clones to keep an eye on you wherever you are, minimising the risk of you being found or getting hurt

hangry is the one you’ll see the least because they’re all aware of how dangerous he is because of his dietary choices (that being his cravings for human flesh)

but he treats you kindly when you do see each other, acting almost like a fun uncle that shares some more human-friendly food with you - even cooking with you if you’re old enough to help over a stove

before long, they end up not wanting to let you go because they love you and the routine they fell into, so they try to child-proof their realm as best they can to facilitate you living there long term

so, all in all, you’d be well-loved and protected by the atypical family that found you - even if you’d never be able to return to your old home

[t0wnspersonb]

Better Off As Lovers (Tsukishima Kei x Reader)

Word Count: 5,076

Warnings: SMUT, oral (female receiving), bad language, my shit writing

~~~~

salty4tsukki

said:

hello! i luv ur blog sm!! can i pls req a scenario (or hc if that’s easier) of tsukki and reader going from enemies to lovers? perhaps reader ended up doing tsukki a solid that saved his ass and that marked the turning point of their relationship? sfw+nsfw if that’s oki!! tysm in advanced :-)

~~~~

Here is some spice for you guys. I hope you like it, I had a lot of fun writing it lol. Tsukishima is such a fucking prick, I absolutely love it. @salty4tsukki​ I hope this was what you had wanted, also thank you so much for your support! Requests are closing tomorrow! I’m slowly but surely making my way through all of the requests and writing stuff up. I should probably be focusing on school but ya girl is avoiding responsibilities right now lmao. I hope you guys have a wonderful weekend!😚😚😚

~~~~

“You’re literally the fucking worst.” you hissed; eyes narrowed into slits. “I bet hell gave you back to earth because you’re worse than Satan himself.”

 All you got in response was a raise of a blonde eyebrow and an ignorant smirk.

 “You want to get hit? Is that what you’re asking for?” You threatened, holding your fist up for emphasis.

 You had never been more upset; in all honesty you probably wouldn’t have been this annoyed about the situation if it was someone else. 

 But because it was him, you knew that it was intentional, it wasn’t an accident as everyone else was making it seem.

 “Now, now…” Koganegawa said, stepping between the two of you. “Tsukki didn’t know that was your dessert. It was an honest mistake.”

 “That’s not an honest mistake Kanji!” You screeched. “I literally told everyone how excited I was to finally get my hands on that famous strawberry shortcake from that bakery! I got the last slice and he went and ate it!” you pointed at the tall blonde accusingly; who’s smirk was growing wider and wider as you wailed about the unfairness of it all.

 “Can’t you just go get another one?” Kyoutani huffed, rolling his eyes from his spot on the floor.

 “They’re famous for a reason Kentarou! I had to get up super early to stand in line! And even then, the line was super long! I waited for hours! You think I’m going to do that again!?” You were all but hysterical now.

 You might have already been having a rough day though, and your missing cake was the cherry on top to it all.

 The soft huff of a laugh caused you to whirl around, your tiny fists coming up to hit Tsukishima on his chest repeatedly.

 “You’re the fucking worst!” you huffed out, frustrated tears springing to your eyes. The tall blonde was full on laughing at you now, much to your embarrassment and anger.

 You couldn’t lie, it was a tad bit irrational to get so upset over a missing slice of cake. But it was a long sucky day, you were looking forward to that delicious morsel of strawberry goodness after practice, and it wasn’t fucking there.

 “You’re so weak,” Tsukishima mused, easily grasping your hands in his large ones, preventing you from hitting him further.

 Despite his rude words, his grip was surprisingly gentle. 

 You still ripped your hands away from his in anger. 

 “Don’t touch me, you thief.” You growled, cradling your hands against your chest, eyes glaring into the tall male.

 “You’re so annoying. I already apologized.” Tsukishima said, stretching his arms above his head. 

 “An apology won’t bring back my cake!” You snapped, grabbing your stuff from the floor. “You’re the worst Tsukishima. Let’s go already, Kentarou.” You huffed.

 The said male rolled his eyes before saying goodbye to his teammates, following you out of the gym.

 You were still fuming quietly as you two walked home together.

 Funnily enough, you had developed a close friendship with the small male, which resulted in him walking you home since he lived close by. 

 “I hate him.” You whined, tugging at the bottom of Kyoutani’s team jacket.

 He swatted your hand away, causing you to whine again, reaching for him once more, he sighed in irritation but let you hold onto his jacket this time.

 “You guys just need to fuck already.” He said.

 You stopped walking; causing Kyoutani to be yanked back since you were holding onto his jacket. 

 “What the fuck Y/n?” He growled.

 “I would never in a million years have sex with someone like him.” You said, face twisting in disgust.

 Kyoutani had definitely lost his mind with that comment. Tsukishima was your enemy, your opposite half, the worst person that you have ever met, there was just no way.

 “Are you serious?” He asked deadpanned. “It’s so disgustingly obvious you two like each other.” 

 You rolled your eyes at him, releasing his jacket from your grasp as you guys continued walking. “You’re blind Kentarou, we hate each other.”

 “I think you’re the one who’s blind Y/n. I’ll see you tomorrow for morning practice.” he said waving goodbye to you as you entered your home.

 The rest of your night was plagued with thoughts of Tsukishima, leaving you with a bitter taste in your mouth despite the fact that you had brushed your teeth.

 There was no way that Tsukishima liked you, nor you him. You did find him incredibly attractive, but who wouldn’t? He was tall and muscular, incredibly intelligent, and he was a good volleyball player. 

 Of course, people would find him attractive, but his personality was anything but, to you at least.

 Your first ever interaction with him was entirely unpleasant, his mocking attitude and sarcastic comments left you with the worst impression of him, and it resulted in how you felt about him now.

 But then… What did Kyoutani mean about you being blind?

 You screamed loudly into your pillow.

 ****

 “You look terrible.” Tsukishima raised his eyebrow at you, taking in your disheveled form.

 “I didn’t get much sleep last night.” You muttered, rubbing at your eyes tiredly. 

 Tsukishima was actually quiet for once, somehow you had missed the flash of concern that shot through his eyes.

 That didn’t go unnoticed by Kyoutani, who rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath how dense both of you were.

 Practice ran smoothly, there surprisingly wasn’t any sarcastic comments directed at you from Tsukishima. For the most part, he left you alone today, much to your relief.

 Now you were currently in one of the history classes you were a TA in. Between managing a volleyball team, and being a teaching assistant, it was no wonder you were always stressed out.

 Funnily enough, Tsukishima was one of the students in that class. 

 “We’re going to hand back your midterm essays now.” The professor announced. You grabbed the papers from your folder and started walking around the class handing them back to the nervous students.

 Your brows furrowed as you had realized that you only held three more papers in your hand, you hadn’t even given Tsukishima’s - oh. Your eyes widened slightly as you looked over at the tall male, he looked irritated, his eyes finding yours, there was a slight shake to his head.

 He had never turned in the essay. 

 That’s right, the essay was due around the same time that volleyball practices were incredibly strenuous in preparation for some important matches.

 But the midterm essay counted as a large portion of the grade, which meant that if Tsukishima received a zero, then he would fail the class, which meant that he wouldn’t be allowed to play volleyball any -

 “I seemed to have made a mistake Professor.” You said. “I think I lost Tsukishima’s paper…”

 What were you doing?

 Shit, you could get in big trouble for this so why were you doing this?

 “It’s not like you to be scatterbrained like this Y/n.” the Professor shook his head. “I swear you take on too many tasks, between this and being a team manager… Tsukishima, do you mind turning in the paper again to Y/n? Let us say… by the end of the day?”

 “It’s no problem sir.” Tsukishima said quietly, eyes glancing over to you as you finished handing out the last of the essays.

 “I’m sorry Tsukishima, I hope you can forgive me.” You said sweetly, bowing at him slightly.

 What the fuck?

 What the actual fuck were you doing?

 Tsukishima was taken back by your tone and your show of respect towards him, that was new. 

 That was… shit was he blushing? He ignored the creeping heat in his face and the slightly quicker thump of his heart. He pushed his glasses up slightly. “It’s not a problem.” he said quietly.

 You nodded at him once more as you made your way back towards the front of the room, ignoring the rising blush in your own face and the racing of your own heart. You got lucky that the professor really took a liking to you as his TA, you could get away with murder when it came to this class.

 Tsukishima was incredibly lucky as well, he was the top student in this class, never missed any assignments, always participated in class, so of course the professor was going to be more lenient with him.

 No one would have ever guessed that he had never turned in his midterm, except you.

 That was something that you didn’t understand, why would you help him out? 

 It was because he was just part of your team, right? You were doing this because you wanted your team to succeed right? He was one of the best players you had, so if you lost him that would hurt the team… that was why, right?

 Or maybe… maybe Kyoutani was right.

 Maybe, just maybe, by chance you actually did harbor a small attraction to the tall blonde.

 ****

 The rest of the day was seemingly uneventful, and you found yourself wrapping up the evening volleyball practice.

 “Hey.” an all too familiar voice called out, a sudden shadow being cast over your small form as you began picking up the volleyballs on the floor.

 You glanced up to see Tsukishima looking down at you, curiosity clear in his gold eyes.

 “What is it?” You asked, ignoring the quickening of your heart. What was wrong with you?

 “Why did you do that?” he asked, beginning to pick up the balls.

 “What do you mean?” You sighed tiredly, you just wanted to go home. You had no energy left in your body to argue with the snarky male before you.

 “You knew that I didn’t turn in the paper… why did you lie to the professor like that?” He asked quietly.

 “Well…” your eyes slid over to him before looking down at the ball in your hands. “I knew that the professor would cut you some slack since you are one of his favorite students… plus… it would be bad if you got a zero, right? You would’ve failed the class…” You trailed off, your eyes glancing back up at him, taking notice to the small smirk that began to cover his lips.

 “- and we can’t afford to lose one of our players! You’re tall and stupid but you’re a decent player so that’s why I did it! I didn’t want to hurt the team just because you were being stupid and forgetful!” You said, voice annoyed as you all but slammed the volleyball into his arms. “Hurry up and put those away, I want to go home.” you huffed, stalking away.

 You hadn’t noticed the small smile that overtook his face as he watched you walk away.

 “Are you ready to go?” You asked once you guys had finished cleaning up, Kyoutani nodded, grabbing his bag from the floor.

 “Hold on.” a hand grabbed the back of your jacket, yanking you back into a warm and broad chest.

 You blinked up to see Tsukishima peering down at you, eyebrows raised. 

 You could feel your face burn at his proximity and as you stumbled away from him. 

 “W-What is it now?” You stuttered out.

 “Here. Professor said to give it to you by the end of the day. I just had to reprint it out.” he said, handing you his midterm.

 Your eyebrows shot up. “Wait, you actually did the assignment?”

 “It was already done, I just forgot to submit it.” he said, shrugging.

 “And I thought you were just lazy and didn’t do it at all.” You said in awe, eyes skimming through the papers.

 “Don’t put me in with the likes of you.” he snorted, eyes rolling, although there was an unseen fondness swimming within those golden orbs, unseen to you at least. It was entirely apparent to Kyoutani who seemed to have a larger scowl on his face.

 “Shut up stupid! I’m going to grade your paper harshly now!” you hissed, glaring at him.

 “You can try,” he drawled out. “But I did the assignment perfectly. I shouldn’t get anything less than an A.”

 “We’ll see.” you snapped.

 ****

 “Stupid Tsukishima. Does he have to be perfect at everything?” You grumbled to yourself as you finished grading his paper.

 He was right.

 He did the assignment perfectly.

 You shouldn’t have said anything to the professor, especially if he was going to be so smug about it.

 Why was he so infuriating? 

 You could see the flash of his smirk behind your lids when you blinked, it caused your heart to race, your fist to clench tightly together. You just wanted to slap that stupid smirk off of his stupid gorgeous face and -

 Damn it.

 It seemed like recently your thoughts were completely consumed by him. 

 “Speak of the devil.” You muttered to yourself when you noticed who was calling you.

 “What do you want?” You hissed.

 “Oh, good you are awake.” His rang smoothly through the speaker.

 “Yeah because I stayed up late to grade your midterm, so I didn’t have to worry about it over the weekend.” You huffed, sitting back in your chair.

 “Well what’s the verdict?” he asked smugly. 

 You could feel your nostrils flaring in anger at his tone. “You got an A. Which is surprising to me since you’re the biggest moron that I know.” 

 “I already told you not to lump into the same category as you.” 

 “I’m hanging up now.” you announced, your blood boiling at his comment.

 “Wait. Go open your door.” he demanded.

 You frowned. “Why would I do that?”

 “Just do it and hurry up.” you could all but see his eyes rolling.

 You huffed angrily, stalking over to your front door, and yanking it open to reveal the blonde male smirking at you.

 You could feel your brows furrow as you tried to register what was happening.

 Tsukishima, your enemy, was standing at the front of your home, cladded in his team jacket and joggers, and he was holding a bag.

 “Took you long enough.” he said, removing the phone from his ear and stepping past you into your home.

 He was already removing his shoes and placing them on the shoe rack near your front door, heading towards your kitchen.

 “Are you just going to stand there all night?” he called out, never looking back.

 That comment snapped you out of your confusion, you quietly closed the door, following after the blonde that was beginning to make tea like he was in his own home and not someone else's.

 “What are you doing?” You asked quietly, eyes following his every movement. 

 “Just be quiet and sit down.” he said simply, and for some reason… you actually listened.

 You wracked your brain for all the reasons as to why Tsukishima was in your home this late at night, using your kitchen.

 You snapped back to reality when he placed a plate and a mug in front of you. 

 Your eyebrows raised slowly, but you couldn’t help the twinkle in your eyes as you gazed at the treat before you.

 A slice of cake, but the strawberry shortcake from that bakery to be exact. The sweetness of the strawberries and cream, along with the earthy scent of the tea, caused a delicious warmth to swell up in your body.

 “How did you -”

 “It’s a thank you.” he cut you off, pulling up a chair across from you, tea and cake sitting in front of him. “For helping me out with the paper.”

 You couldn’t help the smile that began to stretch across your lips, Tsukishima seemed shy almost, embarrassed maybe? Whatever it was, it was a pleasant change from his usual scowl and smirk.

 “Did you wait long?” you asked quietly, carefully cutting into the cake. “They aren’t even open at this hour…”

 “No, the line wasn’t too bad, I went after practice finished.” he said, glancing over at you. It was a partial lie, Tsukishima did wait a long time, but he did go after practice had finished.

 “Why did you wait this long to come over then?” you asked, sighing in pleasure as you took a bite.

 There was a reason why this bakery was so famous for their strawberry shortcake, it was the best cake you had ever had.

 “I thought you might’ve been too busy in the evening, since you promised coach you would hand in those data forms tomorrow… and the in class activity we did today… you said you would grade tonight and get it back to us Monday…” he trailed off quietly, cutting into his slice.

 You blinked at him, the thumping in your heart increasing.

 Since when was he so observant with you?

 “Since always. You’ve just never noticed.” he said, gold eyes boring into your own.

 You could feel your face heating up, shit, did you really ponder that aloud?

 What was this feeling bubbling up in your gut? It burned and turned pleasantly the longer you stared at him.

 A sudden shyness washed over you as you broke eye contact, eyes casting back down to the cup of tea that was now resting between your hands.

 “O-Oh.” 

 It was silent again, it wasn’t awkward, but there was definitely something lingering heavily in the air.

 You just couldn’t place your finger on it.

 “You have something…” Tsukishima began to say, suddenly reaching over, his strong fingers gently grasped your chin, tilting it up, thumb beginning to brush at the corner of your lips.

 Without even thinking about it, your tongue darted out, swiping across his thumb, tasting the saltiness of his skin and the sweetness of the cream that had lingered at the corner of your mouth.

 Tsukishima’s eyes darkened considerably; air rushing out of his nose as he exhaled deeply. His thumb rubbing against your lower lip. 

 Your eyes glazed over, lips parting slightly, inviting him entrance to your mouth. Tsukishima’s thumb pushed past your lips, resting on your tongue. Your eyes fluttered shut, your tongue gently running along the pad of his thumb.

 You could feel the blood roaring in your ears, your stomach twisting in arousal.

 “Fuck.” he whispered, the sound of a chair being pushed back, his thumb leaving the wetness of your mouth.

 It all happened so fast, by the time you had opened your eyes Tsukishima was hauling you out of your chair and up on the counter. His large hand grasped your face firmly before slamming his lips against yours.

 You gasped, allowing his tongue to snake his way in, exploring every inch of your wet cavern.

 You couldn’t help the moan that tore through your throat, your arms coming up to wrap around his shoulders, fingers sliding into the blonde locks at the back of his head, your legs wrapping around his hips.

 Fuck, you couldn’t get enough of this. He was everywhere, warm and solid against your body; all you could smell was him, all you could taste was him and fuck did he taste good. You could still taste the sweetness of cream on his tongue, the tartness of the strawberries, and him.

 It was intoxicating.

 You were drowning in everything that was Tsukishima and fuck did you like it. The way his big hands gripped at your face, your waist, pulling you closer, kissing you deeper, it was too much.

 But it also wasn’t enough.

 “What are you - ahh - what are you doing?” you whimpered out, eyes rolling into the back of your head as he trailed his hot lips against your throat, sucking and biting at every inch of it.

 “What do you think I’m doing you idiot?” he breathed against the shell of your ear. He grinded his hips against yours causing the loud moan to escape your lips, he was hard against you.

 “I don’t…” you whined softly as he grabbed your hips, pressing you tightly against his crotch, grinding against you sinfully. “I don’t understand… Tsukki… Kei.” you whined again, hips bucking up on their own, aching for more friction.

 Fuck you were so wet, so hot and bothered, you needed him to touch you more.

 “Fuck.” he hissed out, eyes squeezing tightly together as you whined out his name. “Fuck… you’re so infuriating. You still don’t get it do you?” he growled out, nipping at your lobe as his ragged breathing increased. 

 You couldn’t muster up any words, all that escaped your lips was a drawn-out moan as one of his hands reached up and massaged one of your breasts harshly. 

 “I like you, Y/n. I’ve liked you since the very beginning. But you never… fuck…” he hissed as you slipped a hand under his shirt, nails dragging against his smooth skin. You could feel the muscles of his stomach flexing beneath your touch, the pace of his hips increasing against yours.

 “You never noticed.” he finally growled out, reaching up and yanking your shirt off your body. “The only time you ever paid attention to me was when I made you mad, you simple minded woman. It’s so easy to get you riled up…” he kissed you harshly now, teeth knocking together before he bit into your lip harshly, causing your nails to dig further into his chest.

 “But then in class when you lied straight-faced to the professor… and then when you looked at me with that sweet expression, and those wide eyes… I couldn’t help but wonder what other kinds of faces you can make for me.” he finished quietly. His breathing was labored, and his lips were swollen but the intensity of his gaze caused your body to squirm.

 “What do you say?” he asked, his voice deep and rough, his grip on you was still tight, but his hips had stilled, he was pulled back slightly from you, allowing you space to breathe.

 “Please.” You whimpered out, tears springing up in your eyes, you were too riled up now, body too hot and aching for release.

 You needed him. You needed Tsukishima to touch you more, you needed him to whisper filth into your ear, you needed to feel his skin sliding against yours, and most of all, you needed him be buried deep inside of you.

 “I need to hear you say it Y/n.” He grasped your jaw, angling your face up to his as he stared down at you. “Say it.”

 You could feel your lower lip quivering, you were aching for it, aching for him. “Kei please! Just - just fuck me already!” you wailed. “What are you waiting for!? Just fuck m-” he yanked you off of the counter, your legs wrapping tightly around his waist as he carried you to your couch, dropping you down haphazardly before his hands were everywhere, ripping the clothes off your body until you were completely bare.

 He stared shamelessly at your nakedness, eyes running over every curve of your body. His hands rested on your bent needs, pulling them open and staring openly at your glistening cunt.

 “Don’t look.” you whimpered, moving one of your hands to cover yourself up. He easily knocked your hand away.

 “Don’t hide yourself from me.” he said as he moved to remove the rest of his clothing. 

 Tsukishima was beautiful, long, and lean, his muscular frame exposed to your greedy eyes as you scanned his body.

 Your lips trembled at the sight of his stiff member, leaking precum and standing painfully tall.

 He grasped his cock lazily, his hand easily sliding up and down his shaft as he gazed down at you. His other hand reached down to gather the obscene amount of wetness that was gathering between your legs.

 “You’re soaked,” he moaned, eyes flashing dangerously. “You want me to fuck you? Or do you want me to taste you?”

 You could feel your mouth run dry at his questions.

 Tsukishima’s eyes narrowed slightly, his large hand coming down to swat at your thigh. You gasped the stinging sensation, your arousal spiking dramatically.

 “Answer me.” he demanded.

 Your lips trembled, eyes glazing over with unshed tears, you were so pent up, you needed something, anything that would provide you with some kind of release. 

 It was only for a moment, but there was a flash of gentleness, the hand that had swatted at your thigh rubbed at the skin tenderly. 

 “You’re so beautiful.” he said quietly, and then he was moving to situate himself between your legs, grasping at your thighs before his head ducked down and his hot tongue licked a strip up your soaked slit until it rested on your clit.

 You moaned loudly; your head being thrown back as your body trembled with pleasure.

 His tongue lapped lazily against you, flickering up and down against that swollen bundle of nerves, occasionally dipping further down, sliding into your entrance, tasting you completely before sliding back up.

 It didn’t take long for you to get close to your orgasm. Your body was taut, aching for release. It was too much almost; your fingers tangled tightly in his hair, you couldn’t tell if you were pushing him away or pulling him closer.

 All you knew was that he was giving you everything right now. Tsukishima pulled your clit into his mouth now, sucking hard, his front teeth gently brushing against it.

 Your legs were tense, thighs quacking as you approached your release, the quiet room was filled with your drawn out moans and pants, wet slurping noises escaping your lower half as Tsukishima all but devoured your cunt completely.

You came with a cry, body convulsing against the cushions of the couch, thighs trying to close together, squeezing tightly against Tsukishima’s head. You whimpered brokenly as you tried to wiggle yourself away from the blonde that was still sucking at your clit, but his grip was tight, refusing to let you go, forcing your over sensitive cunt to produce another orgasm.

 In the midst of it all, he yanked himself away, lining his stiff cock against your swollen entrance and then snapping his hips forward, sheathing himself inside of you completely.

 A loud cry tore through your lips, you were still in the middle of your orgasm when he entered, your slick gushing out around him and spilling onto the cushions below.

 “Are you gonna cum again?” he breathed watching you in awe as you struggled to adapt to his size.

 “Fuck you are.” he moaned, your tight walls fluttering around him as your third one ripped through your body. “I can’t believe you came again just from me entering you.” he breathed out, hands resting on your hips.

 Tsukishima gave you no time to adjust, his hips snapping forward harshly as he set a brutal pace.

 You could feel your eyes rolling into the back of your head, your fingers gripping at the couch, needing something, anything to hold on to.

 His cock rubbed against your walls perfectly, your body having no time to keep up with his movement, the stretch burned, the pleasure toe curling. Your legs were wrapped around his waist, pulling him in deeper, keeping him closer.

 Suddenly your world shifted, Tsukishima hauled your body up, forcing you to sit on top of his thick member. You cried out loudly, this new position caused his cock to rub up inside of you at a new angle.

 He never stopped, his large hands gripped at your hips now, forcing you up and down as you rode him, his hips snapping up to meet the downwards roll of your hips.

 All you could do was grip at his broad shoulders weakly, struggling to keep up with his pace, struggling to adjust to the new depth that he reached within you.

 But you couldn’t. You could hardly breathe, you couldn’t think of anything except for Tsukishima and the pleasure he was giving you.

 “Look at you.” he groaned, eyes never leaving your face. “You make the sweetest faces when I’m inside of you.”

 “Kei…” You sobbed. “Please.”

 You weren’t sure what you were asking for at this point, the pleasure was mind numbing, the room was filled with sounds of your moans and his grunts, the wet squelching noises of your cunt as it was being stuffed over and over again was something that might’ve embarrassed you if you had the time to even think about it. 

 But you didn’t, all you could think about was unraveling again, all you could think about Tsukishima Kei. Your enemy, the most annoying man you had ever met, but he was also the most intelligent man you had ever met, the most beautiful man you had ever met, and now he was the only man that you ever wanted to receive pleasure from. 

 You came again with a loud sob, gushing around him, dripping onto his upper thighs, body trembling against his as you collapsed on top of his chest.

 He groaned your name loudly, thrusting up sharply into your cunt once more before spilling himself into your hot center. 

 It felt like time had stopped around you as you struggled to catch your breath. You weren’t sure how long it was that you guys stayed like this.

 But you have never been more tired, more comfortable in your entire life than right now.

 You could feel your eyes drooping down, your face buried into the crook of his neck, his long fingers gently tracing delicate patterns into the skin of your back.

 Tsukishima shifted, easily picking you up, your legs wrapped around his waist, his member still buried deep inside of you. You vaguely remember answering his question about where the bathroom was and soon you found yourself perched up on the bathroom counter. 

 You could feel his cum slowly leaking out of your swollen cunt, trickling down your leg as he gently cleaned you up. You didn’t even remember how you ended up in your bed, but now you were curled up against the tall blonde, wrapped up in the security of his arms as he rubbed your back gently.

 “I still hate you Kei.” you mumbled against his chest, sighing softly before pressing your lips into his smooth skin.

 “I know.” he smirked against your hair, pressing a gentle kiss on the crown of your head. “Go to sleep. We’ll go and get breakfast tomorrow.”

 Okay maybe you didn’t hate him, but he was still infuriating to you. 

[potter-imagines]

Pre-Game Rituals (Fred Weasley)

Request: Hiya!! I was wondering if you could do an imagine with Fred. Where Ginny kind of idolises her like at hogwarts she’s always goes up to the reader and asks if she can do her hair for quidditch practice or something...

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Reader

Warnings: None

Word Count: 4.3k

The common room was dead with activity for a Saturday, although that was in large part due to the anticipated match up between Gryffindor and Slytherin tonight. You loved attending Quidditch games, especially seeing as most of your friends were on the Gryffindor team and you got to cheer them on alongside Hermione. Getting to see your boyfriend knocking opponents around and acting as a human bowling ball was an obvious plus as well. Before most games, your boyfriend would coin you into a pre-game ritual, which happened to be a nap. He claimed these snooze sessions next to you gave him his energy to play but, you’d seen him take his O.W.L.s on two hours of sleep and a ‘stay-awake’ creation him and his twin brewed up. Cuddled up in bed sounded like a blissful dream to you on any given occasion but currently, you were in the middle of another event. Not only did you have a pre-game ritual with your boyfriend, you also had one with his little sister who was on the team as well. A few hours to the start of every Gryffindor match, Ginerva Weasley goes prancing around the castle with her hairbrush in hand, searching for you and today was no different.

Your fingers brushed through the ginger locks as you separated the left half of Ginny’s hair into three parts. The silk like strands slipped through your parted fingers as you detangled the frizzed knots. Ginny’s hair was by far the most beautiful you had seen so you hardly turned down her request when she’d ask you to braid her hair. Her deep red hair mixed with auburn tones and long wisps was a unique find outside Hogwarts. Having the Weasley siblings around meant you saw a head of ginger around nearly every corner. In the Muggle world though, you had only passed a few with hair that resembled theirs.

However in those sightings, you never saw a single person whose hair was as fiery and bold as Ginny’s. There were times Ginny despised the color as it made her stick out like a sore thumb and put no mystery in identifying her. Everyone knew on sight that she was a Weasley. To you, she felt the flaming shade complimented Ginny, as well as her personality, to perfection. The youngest Weasley differed immensely from her siblings. Not only in terms of gender, personality as well. It could be argued she was the bravest of the bunch. Already faster on the Quidditch pitch than her older brother Ron, and possibly sneakier than her older twin brothers, Fred and George.

With a small pull, you began to braid from the top of Ginny’s head. You raked in a new strand of hair after every weave. Ginny’s hair was not only long but thick and heavy in weight. It always took a bit more force and harsh knotting to make sure the braids actually stuck, especially seeing as she’d be flying like the wind in a few hours, she needed them tight.

Ginny Weasley sat lazily in a criss-cross style shoulders hunched forward. It was unusual for her not to be talking your ear off in these moments. Ginny always had a story to share, a secret to tell, or an embarrassing memory of her brothers to spill. There was yet to come a day where she ran out of cringe worthy moments of your boyfriend, and her brother, Fred, to leak. In those countless hair sessions, a friendship outside your connection to Ginny through Fred formed. Within a month of hanging out with the youngest Weasley, you sincerely considered her to be a close friend. Between the endless laughter and feistiness of Ginny, a strong friendship grew. You could tell something was off but with Ginny, it was better to give her time to come around and at least open up a bit before you questioned her.

That moment seemed to be approaching as the bottom section of the braid fell from your grasp as Ginny moved her frame abruptly. Her head falling to face the floor caused your hold in her hair to grab her body back a bit. Resting your hand on her shoulder, you leaned her back so she was up snug against the bottom of the couch you sat on.

“You gotta stop fidgeting, Gin. Your braid is gonna be crooked if you keep squirming around!” You smiled softly down at Ginny but as her head turned to face you, you were shocked to find her face was dull, long like a horse. That one-of-a-kind glimmering light that typical lit her eyes was blown out. The residue left a worrisome display instead. She sent you an apologetic look then turned back to face the fire. Her body was as straight as a line and as stiff as Harry’s Great Aunt.

“Sorry… just a bit distracted.” The raspiness in her voice made you wonder if she felt ill. Usually before a match the young girl couldn’t sit still! Her knees would bounce in excitement and you’d have to pin her down to get the braids in but today, she was hardly moving an inch. Pausing your braid in the middle of her scalp, you arch your brows to Ginny.

“What’s on your mind Ginny?”

“A bit nervous about the match- that’s all.” She dismissed your worries with a sigh, clearly still crackling under stress. Although Ginny was your boyfriend's little sister, with time, she became your little sister. You stopped thinking of her as Fred’s sister and one of your best friends. Seeing her flooded with pressure caused concern in you as well but she looked up to you and it was partially your duty to make sure the self doubts you had as a young girl never disrupted Ginny.

Giving the girl a gentle smile, your hands began to rake through her hair again. The first braid was half way done so you resumed your work as you reassured her,

“Slytherin never plays fair but I believe in you guys. You’re gonna pull it off, don’t stress. Just fly clear of Malfoy and Flint and you should be fine.”

“Yeah you’re right…” She trailed off. Furrowing your fixation on her hair, you slowly pried further.

“What else is the matter-” But before you could seek out any further information, your body jerked forward as two arms snaked around your upper body. You shrieked in freight then quickly whipped your head around to see Fred Weasley grinning down at you. Should’ve guessed, you thought to yourself. He was bound to come searching for you sooner or later and drag you to his room for a nap.

“Ah, I was wondering where the two of you snuck off to. Good afternoon, angel.” Fred leaned his head towards you to kiss your cheek. After leaving one, he left another, and another, and another until you had to push him back. You managed to hold onto the already started braid as you held Fred back with your hand on his chest. His hand immediately went to cover yours and squeeze on your grip, then pulled away glancing between his sister sitting in front of you and yourself.

“Hello, lovie. Where is the other, less annoying half of you?” You smiled a sickly sweet grin to Fred as he gave you a warning glare. Reaching up, you used your free hand to pull Fred down by his collar and placed a sugared kiss to his lips. Always ready for your affection Fred returned the kiss softly, his hands cupping around your chin to leaned your head back. An awkward cough ruined the mood as Ginny fidgetted silently. Fred released his grip on your face at once and threw his leg over the couch. Inviting himself into the conversation, he threw either leg over the maroon couch and slipped in besides you. His face was bright and gleeful, the apples of his cheeks a tint red. The orange hair sprouting down to his shoulders was brighter, shinier than normal. You felt your heart race at the sight. Wrapping his arm around your shoulder, Fred glued himself snug to your side.

“Flirting with Alicia or Katie, can’t tell,” He tossed his head back to motion over to his twin talking up your friends in the corner. The three were laughing and talking hushly, all huddled close. You stopped your hands to glance over, then looked down as you felt Ginny moving beneath you.  Fred drummed his finger on the right unbraided, half of her head causing the girl to blindly swing her arm backwards trying to swat at him. You scolded him sternly, threatening him if he messed up the half you were working on. Chuckling at her flailing arms and your attempt at being stern, Fred leaned back into the couch and tossed his arm around your shoulder. “You ready for the big match, Gin?”

Although the only portion visible was the backside of her head, both Fred and yourself watched her shudder and wince at the inquiry. Fred was happier than ever which was a typical mood for him on any given day but especially the day of a match. Most felt the nervous butterflies and sickening feeling before an important game but Fred? You were almost 100% positive Fred had never experienced the feeling of anxiousness. His confidence seemed to flourish under pressure.

Ginny was never to the big stage, though. She didn’t bask in the glory and attention the same way her brothers did. There was that fear of not living up to everyones expectations that crept into her mind as she took the pitch each match. Ginny ducked her head as she scratched the side of her neck.

“Uh huh.” Ginny’s sigh earned a frown on Fred’s lips. You’d be lying if you said it wasn’t adorable. The concern read from his features as he sent you a short look. He had an idea based off the alarming gleam in your eyes, but as her brother, he wasn’t willing to back off. His long arms tightened around your shoulder as he tilted his head to Ginny in question.

“You don’t sound very confident at all- what’s the matter with you? It’s the biggest match of the season!” He cheered loudly, causing the young girl to jump in her spot. You tucked the three strands in a weaving pattern trying everything in your power to finish as quickly as you could so Ginny would be free to escape this conversation. Maybe it was a male thing but Fred was just not reading the room correctly. Between Ginny’s uncomfortable shifting and your stern stares, he still just wasn’t understanding her nerves. You snatched the hair tie off the couch cushion and wrapped it around the end of her braid. Tapping his side with your elbow, you looked to Fred sternly.

“I think she realizes that, Fred. Let’s not stress her out even more.” Your tone was pointed and you expected Fred to pick up but clearly, it went straight over his head. This earned a raspy chuckle of disbelief from Fred. Slipping his grip from your waist, Fred leaned forward. Placing his elbows on his knees, his chin rested in the palm of his hands. He had a teasing look as he scoffed,

“Stressed? Since when has a game ever stressed you out, Ginny? You’re the youngest starter on our team! There’s no need to be worried about anything.” Fred’s face was bright with excitement at thought at the upcoming match. His rosy cheeks were squished as he smiled gleefully. A loud groan emanated from Ginny as she threw her head back in frustration, though remained silent. Her once lively orbs reddening by the second as salty tears brimmed. The grin vanished from Fred’s face. He turned to you in confusion, his face resembling that of a wounded puppy.

At times, Fred had moments where he didn’t particularly like his little sister, but he always loved her. It was the brotherly instinct in him; the constant need to keep a watchful eye out for Ginny. He knew she could hold her own, but he couldn’t help that protective nature. Sending him a sharp look, you muttered quietly under your breath,

“Nice work…”

The common room was slowly beginning to scatter out as students made the most of their time before the big match. You caught a glimpse of George walking out the portrait with Lee by his side. You wondered what kind of mischief they were up to, it certainly couldn’t be anything good. Harry and Ron were trudging up the staircase to their room assumingly and Hermione was sitting on the opposite side of the room reading quietly. The atmosphere was relaxed like the calm before a storm. Win or lose, the common room would be buzzing with energy tonight. It was just a matter of happy celebration, or tense aftermath of defeat.

You reached out for the right half of Ginny’s hair and repeated your steps. You parted the bright strands and braided them tightly.

Fred on the other hand was lost to his sister’s emotions and eager for answers. Reaching forward, Fred squeezed Ginny’s shoulder in a comforting manner. His face was scrunched together in concern as he sweetly asked her,

“… what’s the matter, little one? I’m sure your big brother can help.”

You had to physically bite your tongue to keep from ‘aweing’ at him. The one thing you loved more than anything about Fred was how caring and comforting he could be. Your heart was dripping in adoration. There had been a handful of moments you heard Fred refer to Ginny as ‘Little One’. It was typically in mocking sense or playful, however in her fragile moments, it was said with such serenity and gentleness. He was always there to help his little sister and protect her. You couldn’t help but imagine how great of a dad Fred would be in the future. He was the only man you could ever see yourself with and knowing how great of a person he truly is just made you even more certain.

Standing from the couch, Fred shuffled around the two of you so he was sitting in front of Ginny. She sniffled quietly using the sleeve of her sweater to rub her eyes. Your eyes darted between the half finished braid and the pair. Fred was patient in giving Ginny her time and finally, she came around.

“What if I lose it for us? If we don’t win, everyone is gonna hate me! It’ll be my fault and Oliver will probably kick me off the team and I’ll have nothing! And you’ll all be mad at me and mum and dad will be disappointed-” Her frantic ramble was shut down when Fred started to talk over her. It was a crazy thought; one he could not allow to marinate in her mind.

“What’re you talking about? Do you even hear yourself, Ginny?” His voice was booming causing both Ginny and yourself to jump in surprise. Your eyes met for a brief second before he took a deep breath, “First off; Oliver Wood has lost a handful of matches for us and he’s still our captain. I mean, Harry has fallen off his bloody broomstick how many times and he’s still our top Seeker! You’re the best one on that pitch Ginny- well besides George and I, but you know what I mean.” Fred chuckled a bit as a small smile cracked on Ginny’s lips. Her eyes lifted from the ground to glance up at her brother. From your spot on the couch, you couldn’t read her features. You were also too invested in the braid to look away. But Fred bending down to wrap his arms around his sister and practically squish her was answer enough. Ginny squealed at Fred’s bone crushing grip, pleading with him to let go.

You rolled your eyes at the siblings, laughing to yourself as you finished securing the hair tie in the finished braid. Leaning back you smoothed your fingers over the weaved pattern. Her hair was somehow more ginger in this style and you adored it. Peaking your head over Ginny’s shoulder, you pointed out,

“And I don’t think it’s even possible for your parents to be disappointed in you. Fred, George and Ron destroyed the family car and your parents still love them and forgave them.”

“Well I wouldn’t say forgave-” Fred winced as he recalled the event. It had been years and Molly still brought it up when she was angry with the boys. They all knew it was something they’d never fully live down in Molly’s eyes. Even on her deathbed Fred was certain she’d find a way to bring it up. Flicking the material of his sweatshirt, you glared playful at Fred for his interruption. You wrapped Ginny in a hug from behind, your arms captured around her shoulders. She melted in your grip, embracing your comforting hold. Fred folded his legs together and just sort of watched.

There was a sudden jolt of awe, that moment where everything just clicked. It came out of nowhere like a car speeding through a red light. His back pressed into the coffee table for support while he just stared. There was no one more important in this world to Fred Weasley than his family. Seeing his little sister hurt and finding solace in you, it was difficult for Fred to string together the proper words on how it made him feel. The emotions brewing inside him were entirely new- like the feeling of opening presents on Christmas morning and finding you got everything that you asked for. This sheer hypnotic haze that covered Fred went unbeknownst to you as your attention stayed locked on Ginny.

“What I���m trying to say is, it really is just a game. No one's gonna disown you if you make a mistake; Freddie here makes twenty mistakes before breakfast every morning. And even if they are bigger and play dirty, you’re faster and smarter than their entire lineup combined. We all believe in you, Ginny. I’ve seen you do it a million different times and I’ll be right there cheering you on.” Letting go of her, your head lifted to greet the eyes of Fred Weasley. Immediately you took notice of the change in his gaze. Still mesmerizing as ever to be under, yet heavier than before. Instead of throwing a childish jab back, he just held your stare, speechless for once.

Your head tilted in confusion at his odd behavior as Ginny placed her hands on either side of her body to push herself up. This seemed to pull Fred from his trance as he mimicked her actions and stood from the floor. Brushing off her pants and sweater, she gave you both a look of gratitude and said,

“Thank you, Y/n. It really means a lot- thank you too, Freddie.”

“ ‘course, we’ll always be here for you- even if we do lose, you’ll still be my favorite sister.” Fred said with a cheek smirk. Ginny rolled her eyes in slight annoyance. Just when he was sweet, he was sour once again.

“I’m your only sister Fred but thanks. I should probably go get some homework finished so I’ll see you down at the pitch later. Thanks for doing my hair, Y/n. You’re the best- I wish you really were my sister.”

“So you’re telling me, after all this time, I’m not your sister?” You asked teasingly. Ginny laughed happily, clearly pleased with your response. Fred knew how much Ginny looked up to you, how badly she wants to follow in your footsteps, and it makes him thrilled. Not only does he loves how much his sister adores you, but how great of a role model you are to her. He understood how easy it could be to shove her away or dismiss her, and Fred wouldn’t blame you if you did. However you never once turned Ginny away and it played a role in his feelings evolving so intensely. Her cheeks tinted red as she gave you one last wave and skipped up the steps to her dorm. As she disappeared from view, you looked over to Fred only to see his eyes already planted on you. The weight of his stare was suffocating and made you fidget. The second you met his gaze, Fred’s mouth dropped open as he confessed,

“I’m in love with you.” The word vomit rolled effortlessly from his lips. The contagious smile Fred seemed to constantly cause rose to your face. Having been together for some years, Fred was no stranger to broadcasting his feelings for you. Something about this felt more serious than the other times. Sinking into the cushion, you nodded over to the boy in agreeance.

“I’m in love with you, too.” Shaking his head, Fred lunged forward so he was kneeling in front of you. His hands slipped inside your own as he set your intertwined hands in your lap. That playfulness has been swept away as his eyes read full honesty. Fred’s soft features were rough, sharp on the edges as his jaw clenched with tension. Giving your hand a loving squeeze, Fred locked his eyes on yours.

“No, Y/n, I’m like, Alice fell down the rabbit hole, deeply in love with you- I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. Just… promise me you’ll stick around, okay?” His voice was filled with worry and fear. You jumped forward to crunch him in a tight embrace. Fred chuckled at your abruptness but exchanged the hug nonetheless. His fingers trailed up and down the bones of your spine drawing circles and shapes as he rubbed your back. You could feel his nose pressing into your hair and soon enough, a sloppy kiss was planted on your head. Grinning like a fool, you glanced up to him with a cheesy smile.

“Hate to break it to you, Fred, but I’m not going anywhere, sorry.” You remarked, reaching up on your tippy toes to kiss his lips. Fred leaned into your lips, his hands wrapping around your waist for support. As he pulled away, you noticed that one of a kind glint reached his eyes. Before you could hypothesize his next move, Fred’s arm swooped around your lower back to scoop you up from your legs. He lifted you up and repositioned so he was carrying you in his arms. You hollered in surprise as Fred just chuckled.

“Good, don’t think I’d let you anyhow, angel. Now c’mon, someone owes me a nap.” He stated, sending you a cheeky wink. Fred began to walk towards the stairwell heading towards the boys dormitory. Clinging to his arm, you glared deathly to Fred.

“If you drop me I am writing to Molly the second I can reach a quill and parchment.” You threatened. Fred walked through the opening to the staircase then started to skip up the steps, still holding your body. You shook with every step, trying your best to mask your giggles with angry looks and sneers. Tightening his face, Fred thought on it for a moment then scowled at the idea.

“Relax, Y/n. Don’t have to take it that far- I just said I’m in love with you and that’s how you’re gonna treat me.” He teased you. His room was on the second to top floor and you could tell you were approaching by the way he slowed down. Fred’s fingers tickled at your side as he made his way towards his door. Instead of setting you down, Fred swung the door open still grasping on to you. He wasted no time slamming the door shut and practically flinging you onto his bed. Your melodic laughter filled every inch of his room making Fred glow red in pleasure. He tugged off his robes and tie, then crawled into his bed next to you. You reached over the side of the mattress for a comfy shirt of his and some pajama pants he kept lying around. He couldn’t tear his gaze, nor did he want to. Winking over to Fred, you threw his comforter over your body and cuddled up next to him.

“If it’s any constellation, I’m like, furthest rock down in the ocean, deeply in love with you.” You admitted softly. Fred’s head snapped down in your direction as he grinned to himself,

“I reckon that’s gotta count for something, love. But could we switch so I’m the little spoon? You know we’ll lose the match if I’m not and then it’ll be your fault, not Ginny’s.”

You let out a dramatic groan as you flipped around to throw your arm over Fred. His face was lit in joy as he snuggled into your hold. You smiled to yourself as you felt his lips brush against your hand and leave a small trail of kisses on each finger. Fred and his rituals, you laughed to yourself as the feeling of sleep entered your body and your eyes fell shut. The soothing sound of Fred humming was a perfect lullaby for any person to find sleep in but it had become your favorite sound. Soon, Fred would have to get ready and go face Slytherin but for now, your arms seemed to be the only place he wanted to be.

[jaeminzie]

lion boy | l.mh

↳ mark lee x fem!reader

synopsis: you would never ruin your slytherin image by exposing your crush on the gryffindor head boy. but for mark lee, you’d put it into consideration.

genre: fluff

word count: 2,074

a/n: a new series hehe, i’ve been procrastinating on this but i’m rlly proud with how it turned out ! mark lee best boy sigh ( also happy holidays :] )

part of ‘the dreamies in hogwarts’ series

“can you quit your act already?” your best friend pulled you through the hallways so powerfully causing both of your green robes to flap everywhere, gaining some raised eyebrows from the paintings surrounding your moving bodies. you continued to wince as her grip on your wrist became tighter and her strides became faster, you swear her heavy foot stomps could be heard throughout the castle.

you huffed in annoyance. your best friend has been side eyeing and sighing throughout the entirety of herbology whenever you spoke, but now she decides to speak to you. “what are you on about?” you let out a deep breath once she lets go off your wrist when you reached the restroom. thankfully, it was empty so no one can see you absolutely destroy your friend after she just destroyed your bones from dragging you too hard. “no need to drain all our energies, y/f/n, just talk to me.” you snapped but added a tad bit of sincerity, while dusting your robe.

she stood there, arms crossed and tapping her foot on the tile while watching you with grimace in her eyes. “infuriating, you are.”

“i’m quite aware, thank you very much.” you clicked your tongue and turned to the sink next to you to wash your sweaty hands, not sparing a glance at your friend stood in front of you.

the clicking sound on the tiles stopped and you could see her arms dropping by her sides in the corner of your eye. “you know i love you, right?” despite the wholesome meaning of her words, the way it sounded off her tongue seemed a different story.

breathlessly chucking at your friend, “you have an absurd way of showing it, but yes. i’m also aware of that.” you sighed, wiping your hands on your robe which made your friend cringe as she saw the water streaks appear on the ‘special’ robe.

“you’re the one to talk.” her arms made their way back up against her chest all crossed.

you furrowed your eyebrows so much that you could feel a headache coming. “okay now, what are you talking about?”

“always so oblivious, y/n.” she brought up her hand to tuck in a piece of your hair behind your ear, making you slap her hand away. “get out of my face before i hex you, mark lee.” she mimicked your voice and giggle using an obnoxiously high pitched tone. “you really need to work your on flirting skills.”

your face softened at the mention of his name, and began to heat up once your friend noticed the change in emotion in your eyes. you quickly replied before she could further taunt you, “saying that i want to hex someone means that i’m flirting with them? make it make sense.” you paused to roll your eyes. “and i don’t giggle.” you scoffed, trying your hardest to stop yourself from blushing.

“if you really do despise that boy like how you claim you do, you would’ve done it by now.” she poked your cheek with the tip of her wooden wand. “but you haven’t.” she smirked at you, waiting for the response she wanted but she was not going to get it out of you. at least, not that easily. after a good portion of silence, she dropped her smirk and waved her arms up in the air. “oh my god, just say you like him!”

“i am not saying i like a-“ you whisper, “-a gryffindor.” your friend rolled her eyes at your immaturity. “but is it really that obvious? do you think he’s noticed?”

and her smirk that you wanted to slap away made another appearance. “god no, lee has got to be the biggest dimwit of the school. i can’t believe he’s head-boy of gryffindor.”

you glared at her. “please, he’s not the biggest dimwit if you’re around.” you smiled at the satisfying reaction she gave. “it’s all out of love, babe.” you caressed her hair and reassured her since you were slightly fearing your life after the look she flashed you.

you began to walk out with your friend stomping behind you, clearing still frustrated as her plan didn’t go her way. though she wasn’t about to give up that easily, she needed both you and mark to stop rejecting your obvious feelings toward each other.

though, what both of you failed to hear were the giggles echoing in the bathroom. it seems like your best friend doesn’t have to work so hard for her plan to work.

—

it was a tiresome day and you wanted nothing more than to go back to your common room and relax with your peers. the whole day you’ve gotten weird looks and quick glances from people who you didn’t know even existed. you weren’t phased by it. as a slytherin, it wasn’t uncommon to get odd looks from the new students since they don’t know any better and stereotype. though, it seemed like everyone was looking.

a free period is all you needed, and that is what you had at the moment. using the precious time wisely, you chose the middle courtyard to spend time by yourself in. you walked your way to the area humming your favorite tune since you can finally get a break, then making yourself comfortable on the grass. sighing contently, you took in the fresh air and admired the greenery surrounding you before pulling out your potions book to study before attending after your free period.

being so focused on the words on the book that you barely understood, you didn’t notice the sudden shade casted upon you before hearing someone clear their throat from above you. you turned your head up to that someone — mark lee.

“uh hi,” he croaked. “free period?”

you laughed at the boy, making sure it sounded more like a scoff rather than a giggle. “yes.” you went back to reading the book laid on your lap, ignoring the boy dressed in red. you could honestly barf at how dashing he manages to look in that horrid color.

you could slightly see him fidgeting with his fingers as he tried to say some words, making your heart flutter. “oh same.” you made sure your hair covers majority of your face before smiling at his dry response. he was trying so hard but to him, it wasn’t enough. to you, it was enough to make you feel nauseous over how adorable he was being. god, your best friend would pay to see this moment. you rolled your eyes when you realized that you’d have to share what’s currently happening to your friend later. then she’d finally brag over how she was right all along, never ceasing a moment to use the fact that you’re head over heels over a lion boy against you. but there was nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to mark lee.

“what do you need?” you continued to flip the pages of the damaged book because you couldn’t show your tomato face just yet.

“okay uh-“ he cleared his throat. “i just wanted to inform you that there are rumors going around.”

“about?” you sounded completely uninterested in the topic which surprised mark. you became disappointed since you had hoped that he came to talk to you because he wanted to, not because he felt obligated to. you guess that’s what happens when you aren’t the sweetest to the boy you’ve liked for years.

“apparently, moaning myrtle heard your conversation with y/f/n earlier today and she’s been telling every girl who enters the loo.” he spoke cautiously, trying not to press the wrong buttons of yours.

you felt your heart race. though, you weren’t sure if it was out of nervousness or excitement. maybe both? yes both. you could feel the beating of your heart throughout your whole body and you hoped that mark couldn’t hear how embarrassingly loud it was. you stayed silent until you managed to piece yourself together enough to look at him. “and you’re telling me this because....?”

his voice cracked. “i don’t know. maybe because...” and he cleared his throat once again. “i like you too.” he shoved his hands in his pockets and made direct eye contact with you. you mentally applaud him for the courage, perfectly exhibiting his house’s prominent trait. but the long silence and you not attempting to create a response made his eyes look at everything besides you who calmly sat legs crossed on the grass. he failed to see the adoration that you have for him in your eyes as he was too busy worrying that he had made you ‘despise’ him even more.

mark, undeniably the most popular student in hogwarts, was the one standing above you and looking down at you, but it was obvious that you are the one whose got him wrapped around your finger.

you smirked slightly once you realized that you can have some fun in this. “you think that i’d have even the slightest interest on the muggle born, lion boy that you are?” you teased, quirking your eyebrows.

the overly nervous boy obviously didn’t catch the joking tone laced in your voice but being the gryffindor head-boy he is, mark puffed up his chest and spoke with full confidence. “yeah i do think that.” after getting no response from you, his chest fell down and his back began to hunch. replying with a soft tone that almost made your lip quiver, “i’m sorry. i shouldn’t have even believed in the rumors in the first place. i’ll tell everyone to st-“

the guilt became bigger and bigger the more he talked, and you just couldn’t take the image of him standing there not knowing what to do with his hands anymore. “well you’re right.”

mark’s eyes were popping out of his head with his mouth wide open. “seriously?”

“i mean, wasn’t i obvious?” you stood up and wiped your robe during the process.

he raised his eyebrow and refrained himself form laughing. “you truly have a special way of showing it then.” despite the lighthearted tone in his voice, he still couldn’t look at you.

“so i’ve been told.” you giggled, slightly covering your mouth with your fingers. giggled. mark thought. he immediately looked at you at the sound of your giggling since he’s never made you do that before, and it made his pride swell seeing your eyes crinkle and face glow red by his words.

mark was so entranced by your appearance, he’s never seen you like this before and he could definitely get used to it. so entranced that his body began moving for him, leaning closer and closer with his hands reaching for your waist.

before he was close enough to get a taste of your chapstick, you separated your lips with your index finger. you tutted, “not yet.”

“yet?”

you hummed at his question. “if you work hard enough.” you bend down to gather your books from the ground and mark followed your actions, handing your books.

“of course i will, you know me.” he teased while standing back up with you and flashed a side smile that caused the release of the butterflies caged in the pit of your stomach.

the bell rang, indicating the end of class which meant that everyone should be coming out now. you looked at mark once more, “fortunately.”

his smile grew but disappointment took over his face when he saw you barely stepping back from him.

before turning your back, you poked his chest with your pointer finger — getting surprised at how muscular he felt. wanting to have more fun, you leaned close to his ear and whispered, “i’m counting on you.”

the feeling of your lips brushing against his ear made mark’s face heat up and focus unclear. he only managed to see you strut into the hallways, leaving him flustered and shaking his head at your antics that he found so endearing.

mark continued to watch your figure become smaller and smaller the further you walked away, only getting pulled out of the trance once his friends called out his name. he looked back at you and was met with a genuine smile that you gave him, which made him stumble as he was trying to make his way to his fellow gryffindors. you’re going to make me lose my mind. mark thought. and you made sure to prove him right.