#and the boys tried to say that they can't be clipped this short but the lady was ukrainian and didn't speak polish

[facesblind]

idk what is happening honestly so tired so eepy let boys run the errands with teddybeardog and i have some regrets ( tm )

[simpjaes]

hyung line reactions to you squirting for the first time?

hyung line + reacting to you squirting for the first time

☆ jay:

makes him lose control tbh after a short moment of realization. the type to take a second, moan at the view and/or feeling of it, and then go harder while talking you through it like "yeah? feel good baby?" and "that's it, let it go for me." definitely the type who always wanted to make his girl squirt but her never quite getting there until, well, you. would try every single time after the fact, praise you for it, almost beg you to do it again and again for him bc like, he's suuuuch a pleaser. once he gets it out of you once, he'll probably feel like a failure if he doesn't do it every time. after all, that's peak pleasure for you, right? he's got to give it to you every time, no matter how messy, how wet, how exhausted you tend to be after.

★ jake:

he tries to make it happen intentionally every time he fucks. always aiming right for it, pushing on all of the pressure points, almost not allowing you to hold it in even if you wanted to. literally, the first time he pulls it out of you is your first time getting fucked by him. he will stop what he's doing, leaving you a shaking mess just so he can lean down and rub his face in it, licking all of it up and moaning louder than you are. relishes in the way your legs shake through it, loooove being so messy with you, and will absolutely obsess over the fact that you did it for him. little comments of "can't believe you did that for me," and "you can give me another, right?" while again, intentionally overstimulating you to the point you have no choice. jake empties you every chance he gets before filling you up with his cum instead <3

☆ sunghoon:

doesn't really have to try and was a little taken aback when your entire body went limp and started to shake from the force of his fingers opening you up. honestly, he was just about to get his cock out and here you are, quivering with an open mouth, nearly drooling with those once bright eyes rolled into the back of your head. He'd feel the pressure inside of you force his fingers out, along with your hand limply trying to swat him away. Oh man, the way he'd rub and slap your clip through it, listening to the sounds of it splashing out of you and all over his sheets.......he'd be kissing all along your jaw and limp lips as you release, whispering little chuckles before shoving his fingers back in and letting out a little hum. "not done with you yet," he'd probably say, before literally sending you into a state of fucking levetation. def doesnt have any issues making it happen whenever he wants either. in fact, he enjoys that he can give it to you any time he wants.

★ heeseung:

the first time will not be the last. if you squirt for him, you're gonna do it another three times before he even considers you exhausted. definitely praises you for it while also degrading you and calling you gross and messy. he's not really shocked by it, per se, he's more just impressed. never lets your quivering pussy push his cock out either, almost always pushes through it and fucks you deeper, faster, all while rubbing your clit and holding his breath, like he's chasing your orgasm more than his own. lots and lots of splashing, so much mess, to the point you almost feel embarrassed after the first time. fortunately, heeseung loves it, you can tell by the way he'll slide out of you and make you take it down your throat all "how is the taste?" as if he's implying he expects you to squirt on his tongue next. woooo, boy, he's fr fucking straight through it and probably won't let you ever let you rest before you drench him first.

[whisperofwonder]

100% inspired by this art

Ushijima Wakatoshi x reader - 1.6k words

This was certainly the last thing you'd expected when you decided to take your nephew to see the Adlers for his birthday.

part 2 is here

Ushijima has gotten used to this over the years. The meet-and-greets with the fans are just another part of being a professional volleyball player. He appreciates the support, and while the hours spent signing autographs and interacting with fans of the team can become tedious, he knows they're all part of the reason he gets to be here.

On this particular afternoon, the event is held directly after a match. He tries not to let on just how much he's running on autopilot right now, signing one glossy photo after another and giving a polite greeting to every fan who approaches him. He's just thinking of going home afterwards, having a meal and going over some clips from the match before crawling into bed. He has an early workout scheduled for tomorrow.

He's drawn out of his thoughts by a tug on the hem of his shorts, and looks down to see a little boy wearing an oversized jersey with his number on it. A huge smile is growing on his face now that Ushijima has finally seen him. "Oh, hello," He says, crouching down. He's gotten used to the younger fans, too. He's learned that they're much less intimidated by him, so much larger up close, when he gets down to their level.

"I'm gonna be a spiker just like you!" The boy announces proudly. Ushijima isn't great with ages, but he would suppose he's around 5 or 6.

"Is that right?" Ushijima can't help but soften. "It's a lot of hard work, but it's a lot of fun, too."

"I know!" The boy is nodding enthusiastically. "Your spikes today were amazing! Can I have a picture?" He gestures to the stack of photos Ushijima has been signing. Ushijima is just about to nod and stand up to reach for his marker when a voice cuts in.

"Kaito? Kaito!" You rush up, resting a hand on the little boy's shoulder - Kaito. "I told you to wait just a minute," You scold him breathlessly, "You know better than to run off like that." The little boy is suddenly studying the toes of his shoes, but Ushijima looks up at you. Your expression is still a little frantic, but it's softening with relief now.

"I'm sorry," Ushijima says after a beat of silence.

"Oh, no, it's not your fault at all. Kaito just needs to learn to be patient, is all." You say, exasperated. "He's just too excited," You offer a smile, and Ushijima feels a strange small leap in his chest. He must still be a little wired from the match.

"Is this your son?" He asks conversationally, finally drawing to his feet as he reaches for a photo and marker.

You're looking up at him, now at his full height, a little wide-eyed. "No," You say quickly, "My nephew. He's a little obsessed with the Adlers, and I got him the tickets for today's match for his birthday." You pause, looking down at Kaito. "You're his favorite player. He was really excited to see you play."

"Ah," Ushijima scribbles his signature across the photo and hands it to the boy. "Well, thank you for your support, Kaito. And happy birthday."

Kaito looks down at the photo with stars in his eyes. You're smiling softly at him, and Ushijima catches himself watching your face. "What do you say, Kaito?" You finally prod.

"Thank you," He intones dutifully, too distracted by his prize to look away.

"Would you like one, too?" Ushijima directs at you, marker posed over another photo.

"Oh!" You pause, "I'm not really - but - sure," You say haltingly. "Sorry," You add with a soft, nervous chuckle.

"Of course," He says, a slight smile pulling at the corner of his lips as he signs the photo. As he hands it to you, your fingers brush his ever so slightly, and he inexplicably finds himself wishing he could draw this moment out a little longer.

"Wait a moment," He say abruptly. A look of surprise crosses your face, but you nod, reaching down to take Kaito's hand. After a quick trip back to the main table, he returns with a small envelope. "Here," He presents it to you, "I thought," He pauses, "I thought maybe you and Kaito might like to come back for the big match next month. It's tickets," He adds as you accept the envelope.

"Oh, thank you so much! You didn't have to do this." You clutch the envelope and his signed photo carefully. "You're very kind, Ushijima-san," You smile sweetly.

"Don't worry about it," He insists with a shake of his head. He briefly considers getting you and Kaito a whole season pass, if it will earn him another smile like that one.

You look down at Kaito. "Isn't that nice? Ushijima-san gave us tickets to come to another match! Now you really need to thank him." You glance back at Ushijima, and that strange feeling in his chest is back.

"Thank you!" Kaito throws his arms around Ushijima's legs before you can react.

"I'm so sorry," You tug Kaito back. "That might have been a little too much thanks," You say lightly, with an apologetic quirk of your lips.

"He's fine," He waves it off. "I hope you can make it." He really, really does.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

You're once again queueing for the Adlers' meet-and-greet. Kaito is excited to meet Ushijima again, and you really do need to thank him for the gift of the tickets. That's all it is, you tell yourself, despite your conversations with your sister.

After you'd rehashed the entire interaction, she'd insisted that he must have liked you. There was no other possible explanation in her mind. She's always been a little bit of a romantic, though. The problem with her logic is that he is a tall, handsome, professional athlete. You're just you.

She encouraged you to go talk to him again regardless. After all, he'd seemed so calm, down to earth, and earnest. You're just doing this for Kaito, though.

As you get closer to the players, you can't help but catch sight of him. He happens to glance in your direction, and the bright stadium lighting tricks you into seeing a shift in his expression. By the time you reach him, Kaito is practically vibrating.

"Hello, Kaito," He greets as you approach, crouching down to talk with him just like he had last time. You can't help thinking what a sweet gesture it is. You're a bit surprised he'd even remembered your nephew's name, what with all the fans he must meet, but Kaito is tickled by the special attention.

Finally, he draws to his feet. "I have a different picture this time," He tells Kaito, "Would you like another one?" Kaito nods quickly. A slight smile plays on his lips, and he reaches for a photo, finally meeting your eyes for the first time.

"Hello," He says again, more softly. "It's nice to see you again. I'm glad you could come."

"Oh, thank you," You feel your cheeks heating up - you're just as bad as Kaito. "It was a really exciting match. I don't follow volleyball much," You admit, "But I just might be turning into a fan."

"I'm glad to hear it," He says, completely focused on you now that Kaito is admiring his freshly signed and personalized photo. "I won't ask if you need another photo," He says with the quietest chuckle, and you duck your head, embarrassed. You think of the signed photo from last time, tucked in your nightstand drawer. Somehow, you find yourself opening it almost every night.

"But I do have another question for you," He says, gaze suddenly not meeting yours. "I'm sorry that it's so abrupt. I don't even know your name," He says, almost shyly, if that's a word you can even attribute to him.

You supply it, and he nods before repeating it, smile pulling at his lips. "I was wondering if you might like to go out sometime. For coffee. Or dinner." His gaze is piercing now, and you feel your lips part in surprise.

"Oh," Is all you can say at first, before your lips move on their own. "Yes. I - I'd like that."

"Good," He says, abruptly turning away, "Then I do have something for you." He hands it to you. "Let me know when you're free."

You look down at a scrap of paper with his name printed on it - not signed - followed by a phone number. "I will," You say softly, looking back up at him and trying to hold back the giddy smile growing on your face. You're surprised to find he's smiling too, wide and genuine.

Kaito is watching this play out with wide eyes, gaze traveling between the two of you. He tugs on your hand uncertainly. "Oh!" You suddenly remember exactly where you are. "I'm so sorry, I think we must be holding up the line." Ushijima doesn't look as though he cares.

"We really should get going," You continue. "But I'll talk to you soon, Ushijima-san," You promise boldly, lifting your hand in a wave.

"Talk to you soon," He echoes, returning the wave and keeping his gaze on you for just a beat before he turns back to the next person in line. Kaito is bursting with questions, but you won't be answering a single one until you get outside.

⁂ ⁂ ⁂

As time passes, Kaito begins to think he must be the luckiest boy ever. After all, no one else that he knows has had their favorite volleyball player in the world become their uncle.

[angelluvs19]

Hi👋 I know nobody is gonna see this but i just love the idea of Luke with a ditzy girlfriend so I decided to write it myself. I'm not great at writing but I still wanted to post this somewhere bc I kinda like how it turned out <3 (if anyone does see this plz don't judge, like I said I'm bad at writing)

Ever since he met her he knew the guys at camp would be all over her. She was so innocent and would fall under their spell in a heart beat. Which is why he needed to make sure that he got to her first. He told himself that it was because he wanted to protect her, that the other guys would only use her. But in reality, there was more to it than that and he knew it.

There was something about her that drew him in. Mabey it was the way she got so flustered when she first met him. The way she looked up at him with those pretty blue eyes of hers, her cheeks a bright shade of pink. And the fact she stuttered when he asked for her name, making him smile.

Or mabey it was the way she dressed. She always wore skirts, even if she was at a camp. Shed wear a short white skirt with the classic orange camp half blood shirt. She always has a bow in her hair. Whether it was to hold in her pig tails, or a small pink clip with a bow on it in her long wavy hair.

Whatever it was he knew that he needed her to be his, and Luke always gets what he wants. Only a week into camp, she was all over him. She'd always stayed right by his side during capture the flag, and by the gods if anyone tried to hurt her they'd spend the rest of the day in the infirmary.

Or whenever the camp was doing activities, even something simple as bracelet making, she's always insisting that he help her. Stating that she can't tie it or that she cant find the right beads and needs his help. He knows that it's just stupid excuses so that he could be around her, but who was he to deny his princess?

And when she'd come crying to him because  of something random that happened to her he always Comforts her, no matter how small it is. Most of the time it's Clarisse making fun of her because she did something wrong, or one of the boys making sexual jokes towards her. But sometimes it's something as simple as her breaking her favorite blush, or ruining her favorite top. But he still whispers sweet praises and promises in her ear as she cries into his chest. "shh it's okay sweetheart. I know it hurts, but everything is going to be alright" or "I'm here okay, I'll make sure to protect you. No one can ever hurt you when your with me"

And one night when she was sitting in his lap crying, he finally makes a small move. "Do you want me to make you feel better?" He asks, his voice soft, hiding the undertone of lust he felt for her. Even when she's crying she's so pretty. When she nods, his hand starts creeping up her thigh until he reaches the hem of her panties.

When she questions what hes doing he just says something like "I'm helping you feel better. Isn't that what you want?" He asks, smiling at the small whimpers that leave her mouth as he rubs her clit through her pink panties. "See? It feels good doesn't it" he says, rubbing the sensitive bundle of nerves faster. Her soft moans and pleas only make him want her more.

And once he makes her cum once he just can't stop. He starts fingering her, most definitely taking her virginity. And when she complains about the pain, he just praises her softly. "I know baby, I know it hurts. You're doing such a good job princess. I promise it'll feel so good, even better than before". And he was right, soon she was moaning and whining while grinding her hips against his hand, only making him go faster. "That's it sweetheart, taking my fingers so well" 

And he doesn't stop until she on the verge of tears from the overstimulation. The second she catches her breath he lays her down on the bed, his hands immediately moving to unbutton his jeans to relieve his ranging hard on. "I know your tired baby, I'm only gonna take a minute okay?" He reassures you softly before sliding in, giving you time to adjust.

He knows that it hurts more than his fingers, and when you start crying from the pain he just kisses your cheek gently "hey, It's okay. I know it hurts darling. Just relax and let me take care of you okay? I'll protect you". He gives you extra time before moving in and out of you at a slow pace.

"Shh it's okay princess, it'll feel good soon" he says softly, thrusting a little faster. Soon she's squirming under him, begging to cum again. He fucks her a little faster, getting her closer to the edge. And when she finally does cum he talks her through it. "That's it baby, you look so pretty cumming on my cock. You're such a good girl for me. You're mine now aren't you? Gonna let me fuck you whenever I want?"

He moans out praises before he pulls out and moves to cum on her pretty face. He smiles when her tounge lolls out to lick the cum off of him, but when she comes back to reality she starts complaining about how he ruined her makeup.

He laughs softly at her reaction and cleans off her face with a towel before laying down beside her, pulling her into his arms. "I'm sorry I ruined your makeup, when I leave camp again I'll bring back all the makeup you want" he promises as he runs his fingers through her hair, loving the way she smiles up at him. Eventually after a few minutes of cuddles and praise, she closes her eyes and nuzzles into his chest. "Aww is my princess tired?" He teases softly. "Sleep baby, you deserve it" he kisses your forehead as she falls asleep in his arms. He had her in his grasp, and no one was going to take her away from him.

[stormblessed95]

Hi Stormblessed (dope name btw),

Don't know if this is the best place for this essay or the right time but I need to word-vomit this out, or I'm gonna be a JK-style spaced out zombie all day.

It's a truth universally acknowledged that a big part of the fandom tends to mis-characterize the members based on edits, fanfics and out-of-context clips. Something probably mostly to do with how social media platforms have been pushing for these short videos over the last few years. Why watch 300 hours of original content (some of which is behind a paywall) if you can get the gist of it (you think) from TikToks?

My particular point has to do with how that allows for the narrative (aka made up shit) especially around Jimin to grow. All of the members get that treatment, the maknaes worse due to their popularity, but due to how a big part of Army are also tkk shippers, Jimin is the one who's portrayal often skews more negative. The others' perceptions just are neutral or fantastical in a sense that they're more like badly written male leads. Don't get me wrong, solos throwing around bs is nothing singular to him but no one gets accused (said completely seriously btw) of sleeping his way into BTS or the release of his album.

After I saw this vitriol for the first time I had to actually sit down because wtf.

And then I started wondering why that is, and came to the conclusion that it is:

(Internalized) misogyny and sexism

Blatant homophobia

Jimin is the member the most obviously in tune of his femininity. He hasn't subscribed to gender norms for a decade at least, and once his hyper-masculine-esque persona from the debut days was dismissed, he ventured further. (That isn't to dismiss the growth they all have shown in that area.)

But antis, akgaes, Solos and shippers take that femininity and apply every stereotype and misogynistic idea to JM.

Traits they f.e. hate:

He is openly flirty with many people (members especially)

He is very physical, and touch is arguably one of his love languages and go-to way of comforting smn

He is pretty af and knows it

He's sensual and sexy and knows it

He's cute

He's sweet (aka a good fucking human)

But why does that make "them" hate him so much?

Because they have been taught that these traits in women (like themselves) are bad. What makes it worse, however, is that the men around JM all know these things to be true, acknowledge them as true and compliment him on them. In the case of JK (since this is about Jikook at the end of the day):

He loves flirty JM despite sometimes not knowing how to handle him (ehem the 'shameless convo'). He flirts back (fe the whole live where he was in bed begging for JM to come over)

Tkkers and such love pulling the "JK hates it" card. Which is nonsense, considering how he seeks JM's comfort when he's down (esp during concerts), actively cuddles JM (In The Soop) and never uses all his big muscles to shove JM but rather to just carry him around. Compare that to the jokingly disgusted face Yoongi pulls when Tae tries to hold his hand, and it becomes glaringly obvious that no one who says the members dislike touching each other has a leg to stand on. Calling it harassment goes so far beyond any line of sanity...

JK - like all of BTS - acknowledges that Jimin's beauty is simply out of this world. They are regularly stunned by his appearance

Just gonna point to JK's reaction to Filter, Blood Sweat & Tears, Black Swan, and Set Me Free pt 2 here. JK calls JM sexy so often it's hilarious

* inserts clip of absolutely WHIPPED JK after JM cutely punches him during that performance of Boy With Luv *. Also we know that "cute" his JK's type as he himself admitted.

Jimin has been Jungkook's comfort person for so long, and with such depth that he dedicated a whole trip and video to him. They care for each other so deeply that the only logical conclusion was to go to the military together.

Aka: he is all that they hate in the girls/women in their normal life so they can't do nothing but tear him down. They envy how comfortable he seems in his own skin, how easily he goes from sexy to cute, how loved he is by those around him. On top of that is how gay people are still perceived and treated by a lot of countries around the world. No matter what they say, being an army and shipping men doesn't make you automatically an ally and non-homophobic.

They treat Jimin like they would most likely treat the lgtbqia+ people in real life: something to be careful of, someone dishonest and slutty.

They conflate everything they hate about themselves and gay people and * boom * out come frankly terrifying tweets, fanfics and shit.

Contrast that with how these very same people fetishize the relationship between Tae and Jungkook - either viewing them like men who watch p_rn involving two women, or a self-insert with how little character they have - and that's the state of the army shipping community. They could be Barbie dolls getting smashed together and you wouldn't know the difference.

I'm not saying Jikookers are better in that, but the language they tend to use is incredibly different.

---

That was a lot.

To end on a sweet note: I saw a quote on Twitter "If you want to find out what someone fears losing, look at what they photograph."

And...well. that just screams Jikook

Hi! Thank you, I like my name too 🥰

And yeah, basically I agree. I think there is more to it as well, but that a lot of it could be boiled down to all this. And yeah, jikookers are just as guilty of this too, but not always in the same way. Sometimes in a way that is more fetishizing but is just as harmful. Take it from someone who has seen it all in my inbox from people who feel safe on anon 😂😂

Thanks for sharing! And your quote at the end is SOOOOO cute!

[13as07]

Elegant #2

(Shino Aburame Smut)

[Artwork is not mine! Credit to uttttate]

Requested by: Anonymous

Word Count: 3,948

Warnings and/or Pre-Notes:

Subby Boy Shino

Handjob

Bedroom Toys: Vibrator

Begging

Oral (Fe/male Receiving)

Orgasm Denial

Nick Names: Good Boy, Mutt

Creampie

Breeding Kink

———————————————————————

     I can hear the buzzing of Shino's kikaichus from the bathroom, their wings flapping in response to their master's anxiety. "Ladybug?" He calls again, his impatience shining through as I adjust my lingerie. "Are you done changing yet?"

     With tonight being a special night, I decided to buy something new for the celebration. It's a pure white babydoll dress, string panties underneath the see-through material, and a short veil clipped into my hair again. Not my style but it's in the spirit of the day. Besides, Shino is going to be so flustered, it's going to be so adorable. "Yes, Love," I call back, fixing the veil again before I open the bathroom door.

     I make my way into the bedroom, taking the time to model in the doorway. As predicted, Shino's cheeks shift from his usual paleness to a soft pink to a bright red. "You... I... um..." he stutters, the lack of his sunglasses giving away his jumping sights.

"Do you like it?" I ask softly, taking slow steps into the room. Shino is sitting on the edge of the bed, with nothing but his very strained boxers on, giving me the answer to my question. "I'm waiting for an answer," I push, using my leg to spread his legs apart before I settle on my knees between them. "Do you like my new set?" I ask slower this time, rubbing my hand over the tent in his pants, making sure my touches are feather-light.

Shino shakes his head quickly, eyes jumping from my face to the hand toying with him. "I can't hear your head shake, Love."

"Yes," he breathes out, voice airy as his chest pumps faster. "You look... very elegant," he mutters, leaning back on his hands with his head tilted back as well.

"Thank you, Love," I coo, toying with the waistband of his boxers. "What should we do with our night?" I teasingly ask, knowing it's difficult for Shino to use his words.

"What?" He almost whines, head flipping up to look at me. "Ladybug... we're..." he lets out a huff, eyes intense as he looks down at me.

"We're what?" I continue, tugging his boxers down enough to let his penis spring out. I let my fingertip slide over his tip, keeping my touch light as I toy with his slit. "What do you want me to do?"

Shino looks like he's going to burst as his mouth stumbles, unable to form a sentence let alone a single word for a moment. "Y... you can... you can't... Ladybug?"

"I don't know what you want, Shino. I can't read your mind, you need to tell me." Again, he stumbles incoherent mumbles falling from him but no words to be found. "Well, since you don't want to do anything, I'll just take care of myself," I say, cutting off his mutters, and placing a sloppy kiss on his tip before I climb to my feet.

"Ladybug," he whines, blinking repeatedly as he watches my movements.

"Shino," I hum, crawling onto the bed. I situate myself, head resting on our pillows as I stretch out. I tug the nightstand drawer open, feeling around for my toy. When I find it, I tug it out, situating it between my legs before I turn it on. I use my vibrator to toy with myself through my underwear, quickly amping myself up as I play.

     "Ladybug," he calls again, moving around the bed so he can hover over me. "Don't do that."

     "Why?" I mutter, shoving my panties out of the way so I can press my toy against myself.

     Shino huffs, his long fingers wrapping around the wrist buried between my thighs. His eyes jump from my face to peak between my legs. "Knock it off," he tries again, using his hold on me to shake my hand.

     "Why?" I ask again between soft moans, my orgasm slowly building up.

     "The reason... the reason..." he puffs his pink cheeks out, the words caught in his throat. "I want to... stop it," Shino whines again, tugging my hand - and the toy I'm holding - away from my pussy.

     "Shino," I complain, the orgasm that was about to bust lost because of my whiney husband. "I already told you, that if you aren't going to tell me what you want, I'm going to take care of myself."

     "I want to..." he mumbles, eyes everting the fake glare I'm sending him. 

      "You want to what?" Shino lets out a mumble low enough that I catch the gist of what he wants but not loud enough that I can make out his words. "I can't hear you," I tell him, using my free hand to grip his face, forcing him to look at me.

     "I want to make you finish," he repeats a little louder this time, eyes still avoiding mine.

     "Ya, Love?" I ask, running my thumb over his bottom lip. His head eagerly shakes in agreement, eyes set on mine now. "How do you want to do that?"

     "I just... I want to... please?" Shino stutters out, eyes back to bouncing around my body.

     "Please what? What do you want to do to me?"

     "I want... you should let me... you... Ladybug?" A smile tugs at the corners of my mouth as he struggles to form his words. I love seeing my oh-so-put-together partner fall apart over something as simple as asking to eat me out.

"What do you want, Love?" I ask again, dropping my hold on his face.

My fingers dip into my folds, coating them in my juices before I wrap them around Shino's dick. I slowly pump him, lathering his dick as my fingers slide up and down. "I want..." he starts again, his hold on my wrist tighter and his breath picking up again. "Please," he hisses out, eyes barring into mine again. "Just... please? Let me taste you, please?" He finally spills out, letting go of my wrist.

I let the toy tumble to the bed, bouncing both my hands up to cup Shino's face. "Of course, Love. Anything you want," I coo, littering kisses across the bridge of his nose.

He perks up at my approval, eagerly dipping down my body, settling his arms under my legs and his head between my thighs. Shino is a lover of action instead of words, and this is an action he's gotten quite good at over the years. And he knows it, even if he does like me reminding him.

Shino nuzzles my thigh for a while, his tongue occasionally sliding out to toy with me through my panties. "I want to taste you," he whines again, toying with the hems of underwear.

"I already told you yes," I mutter, letting my eyes flutter closed as I run my hand through his hair, my fingers focused on working his strands loose from the gel holding them down.

With my reversed approval, Shino tugs my panties off, shoving them off the bed before he buries his head between my legs again. He goes right to work, tongue eagerly licking at my clit. Soft noises spill from me as I'm toyed with, an occasional hiss spilling out when he probes my hole with the tip of my tongue.

"Ladybug," he whines, lifting his head a bit and ruining my orgasm for the second time today. "You're not watching."

"Sorry, Love," I mutter, fluttering my eyes open and shooting them downward. Once our eyes meet, Shino lowers his head again, eyes still stuck on mine as he sucks on my clit.

"Shino," I moan, trying to keep my hands gentle in his hair. He hums in acknowledgment, eyes flickering down to watch himself before jumping back up. He shifts, pressing himself against me more before his tongue shoves its way into my pussy. "Shino!" I hiss, locking my knees against his head, my orgasm spilling over from him sliding his tongue against my walls.

He stays put for a moment, lapping me up. Shino moves slowly, enjoying every drop of my juices he can before he pulls away from my cunt again. "Ladybug?"

"Hmm?" I hum, my hands being pulled up as he shifts. My eyes are half-lidded, trying to calm myself down but keeping my focus on Shino so he doesn't whine again.

"Did I do good?" He mutters, fingertips dipping under my outfit to toy with my hidden-away skin. One of his kikaichus spills over, crawling over my skin before Shino shoos it away. "Ladybug?"

"Yes, you did good."

"How good?"

"Really good, Love," I mutter, sitting up now that I've calmed down. Shino shifts onto his knees to make up for the change in my position, eyes eagerly eating at me as I move around. "Go back to how you were originally sitting," I order, sliding off the bed to position myself on my knees again.

Like the submissive boy he is, Shino shifts down the bed, sitting on the edge like he was when I first entered the room. I move forward, situated between his knees again. I tug his boxers down the rest of the way, leaving them on the floor. "Ladybug?"

"Shino?" I ask back, dipping my fingers into my pussy to use myself as lube again.

"Look at me," he whines again, tilting my head up. "Stop looking away."

"As you wish, Love," I murmur, wrapping my hand around his dick again. I do as he wants, keeping my eyes on his as I slide my hand up and down him. Shino's breath picks up, chest pumping as his neglected dick gets attention once again.

When my wrist starts to tire out, I switch my actions. I shift my head down, placing small licks across Shino's tip, making sure to move painfully slow over his slit. "Ladybug...you're... you're teasing," he huffs out, balling up our bedding in his fists.

"You poor thing," I mock, giving into his whines once again. I wrap my lips around his tip, sucking on it as I slide my fingertips over the rest of him.

Hissed breaths spill from him, trying to keep his noises silent. His hands jump from the bedding to mess with my veil. My focus shifts as I sink more of him into my mouth, rolling my tongue as I suck on him. Shino is a thin almost frail-looking man in every way but the size of his dick.

I let my spit spill out, running down what of him I can't take down my throat. I also switch my hands so I can continue jerking him off. "Ladybug... Look at me. You're not looking at me," he complains with rushed breaths, softly tugging on the veil caught in his grasp.

I mumble a sorry, the sound coming out as babble because my mouth is still wrapped around his dick. Shino is a very giving partner but he's a very needy partner too. Sometimes it feels like he takes forever to cum and it's not unusual for him not to finish once or twice a week because I just can't handle him any longer.

It doesn't take long for my jaw to start aching, the threat of it locking - again - knocking at the door. "I'm sorry, Love," I mutter, tugging him out of my mouth.

"It's alright," he mutters between huffy breaths, toying with the ends of my veil. "Can I... can we..." His cheeks puff out, getting tinted pink again.

"Can we what?" I ask, crawling into his lap. I position us, burying him between my folds as I grind against him. Both our breaths get jagged, Shino's tip rubbing against my clit. "What... what do you... want to do, Love?"

     Shino whines, clinging to my hips as I grind against him. "Ladybug... you're teasing... you shouldn't... can you... Ladybug?"

     "Can I what?" I ask, shifting so his tip teases my hole, popping just the head in before I lift myself off him to repeat the cycle.

     His hands squeeze my hips, more whines and babbles spilling from him. "Can you... you... please?"

     "Please what?" I ask, tipping his chin up so I can crash my lips against his. "What do you want me to do?" I press a kiss against Shino between each word, only making him whine more.

"Fuck me, please," he whispers, tongue almost hanging out of his mouth.

"As you wish, Love," I whisper back, slowly sliding his penis into me.

Shino stretches me out, almost painfully so. I swear no matter how many times I'm filled by this man, I'll never get used to him bottoming out in me. His hands crawl up my body, jumping up to cup my face. He shifts my head, forcing our eyes to connect. "Stop looking away from me," He almost cries, pouting as his breath picks up again.

"You're so needy aren't you?" I ask, shifting myself upward. I keep my movements slow as I shift up and down Shino's dick, giving myself time to adjust.

Shino's head shakes quickly, hands falling back down to my hips. "You're... you... faster?"

"Give me a second, Love," I mutter, sinking myself back down as I wrap my arms around his neck. "I need to adjust still."

"Help? I... can help?" He stumbles out, his hand tumbling from my face down to press his fingers against my clit.

"Yes, you can help," I giggle, decorating the side of his face with kisses. Again, Shino nods his head repeatedly, fingertips rubbing circles against my clit. "Good boy," I coo, shifting myself upward again before I clash back down. "Who's a good boy?"

"Me?" Shino mumbles, his nose running across my cheek. His nose bumps against mine before his lips crash against me.

"Yes, you," I agree when we pull apart, picking up my pace as I bounce on Shino's dick. It doesn't take long for a second orgasm to build up, the mix of my bouncing and his nimble fingers working it up. "My good boy," I coo again, hands jumping cling to his head as I come undone. "My good, good boy."

"I'm your good boy. I'm a good boy," he mutters, flipping us over. I'm pushed into the mattress, Shino pinning me to it as he continues to thrust into me. "Say it again. Please? Say it again," he mutters, hands crawling up my body in search of mine.

"You're my good boy," I repeat, lacing my fingers with his.

A pitched whine spills from him, his thrusts almost painful from his needy pace. "I'm a good boy, I'm your good boy, good boy," Shino says on repeat, rutting into me almost desperately, his ring digging into my fingers as he clings to my hand.

"Shino, my love," I call, my hips and pussy aching from our position. "You need to slow down or let me change positions."

"Yes ma'am," he mutters, pulling out before flipping me onto my stomach. Shino's dick dips back into me, his pace slower but thrusts still hard. "Look at me," he whines for the hundredth time, playing with the ends of my hair.

"My love," I mutter, moving myself onto all fours before I arch my back, tilting my head so I can look at him. "You're a needy boy."

"No," he whimpers, the hand not holding his weight slipping under my outfit to run over the curve of my spine. "I just... I like when... Ladybug."

"My good boy?"

Shino lets out another whine, his thrusts picking up more. His hand dips down, clinging to my waist to pull me backward. "You're... you are my wife..." he starts mumbling, his pace loses its rhythm. "So I don't... I can... inside you? Please?"

"Sure, Love."

He moves around, hips still working his dick in and out of me, both his hands digging into my sides under my lingerie. Shino is crushing into me now that he's not holding himself up, making my limbs give out. I'm pressed into the mattress, my needy husband still rutting into me, desperately trying to cum before my body gives out. "My wife... my wife... mine," he mutters, still thrusting into me, pace growing faster the longer he takes to finish.

"Yes, Shino. I'm your wife. Let's take a break though, okay?" I ask, knowing it'll leave him even more desperate but also knowing if we don't take a break my pussy is going to ache from overuse. It's a hard balance between wanting to listen to my body and wanting to let him finish.

———————————

Shino's arms are wrapped around me, his whines spilling into my ear as he rubs his boner against my ass. "Wake up," he whines, tightening his hold around my stomach. "Please?"

"I'm awake," I murmur, rolling over in his hold so I can look at him. "You're needy tonight," I tease, resting my hand under his chin and running my thumb over his lips. "Does me being your wife get you that worked up?"

"Yes ma'am," he mutters, hands falling to my hips so he can position me on the tent in his boxers. Shino pants as he continues dry humping me, his breaths heavy and right in my ear as he gets himself off.

"Look at you, what a needy boy," I mock, sliding my hand between us so I can press against his boner. Another whine spills from him, hands tighter on my hips. "You're so desperate for my pussy you're humping me like a mutt."

"N... no," he whimpers, thrusting against my fingers.

"Oh, so you don't want sex then?" I ask, a smile tugging at my mouth as I pull my hand away from him.

"No!" He yelps, gripping my wrist and pulling my hand back down. "Please?" Shino asks, resting my hand on his erection again, pushing my touch against himself.

"Please what? What do you want, Love?" I ask, snaking my hand under his waistband so I can brush my fingertips over his dick.

"I want... to... to cum, please?"

"Oh ya? Is that what you want?" I tease, gripping his dick long enough to pull him out of his boxers before I go back to my feathery touches. Shino shakes his head like crazy. "Who's my good boy?" I ask, pulling my touch away before shoving my fingers into his mouth. "Love," I coo, enjoying the look of desperation on his face. "If you won't answer me I can't let you cum."

Shino babbles around my fingers, whining even more when I press down on his tongue. "I can't quite hear you, Love. Try again." More inaudible words and whines spill from him as he shifts back to grinding against me, his dick rubbing between my thighs as he whimpers. "Try one more time," I coo, tugging my fingers out of his mouth and wrapping them around his penis.

"I'm your good boy. Me. I'm a good boy," he rushes out between moans, his nails digging into my hips as I grip his dick.

I hum an approval, moving my hand faster as I shift forward. I nibble on Shino's neck, decorating his delicate skin with small bruises. "Who's my pretty husband?"

"Me," he whispers, clinging to my wrist, holding it still so he can use it to fuck himself. "I'm your pretty husband. It's me, I'm your husband," he whimpers, pressing crescents into my skin. "In you," he whispers, tugging my hand off of him.

"What do you want, Love?"

"In you. I want... inside... please? My wife... in my wife... cum, please?" Shino babbles, rolling on top of me, clinging to my wrists again. "Please?" He whines again, eyes glossed over and desperate as he looks down at me.

"I'm not prepped. You know I can't take you un-prepped."

Shino lets out a huff, crawling down my body and shoving his tongue against my clit. His tongue is hopelessly sliding through me, rolling back and forth to push my juices to flow and successfully pushing noises out from between my lips. "Now?" He asks after a few moments, lips and chin coated in my juices as he decorates my legs with desperate kisses.

"Yes, now, Love," I coo, rubbing my mess off his face. Shino shoves himself into me, moving slowly but roughly as he slides further and further in. His hands crawl up and down my sides, occasionally squeezing as he picks up his pace right where he left off. "My Love, you need to slow down a bit, or else I won't last long."

"No, no, no, no!" He whimpers, burying his head into my neck as he moves faster. "Please, no." Shino's whines are muffled by the sloppy kisses he's pressing into my neck. My warning has made him even more distressed, his pace is so fast I'm surprised he's not giving one of us a rug burn. 

     "Calm down, Love," I coo, one hand rubbing through his hair as my other one crawls around the bed in search of my forgotten toy. My fingertips slide across the material of it, wrapping around the vibrator before I tug it towards us.

     "I... I... no," he whines, wrapping his arms around me as I shift around. "Please, no. Just... just stay. I'll... I'll fix it after. Please? Stay put."

     I let out a soft giggle as I bend upward, turning the vibrator on low before resting it against his inner thigh. "Wh... what are... you doing?" Shino mutters, gently nibbling on my neck.

     "Helping you finish, Love," I hum, slowly inching the toy closer to his dick.

     I test it on the underside of his penis, resting it for a beat or two before pulling it away. "Hey," he breathes out, a hand shooting down to position the toy back in place. "That... that's... please?" Shino whines, nails digging into my wrist again.

     "As you wish, Love, but I need to shift positions. I'm starting to hurt."

     Shino babbles to himself, taking the vibrator from me before tugging me down the bed. He pulls out long enough to press my knee up, wrapping an arm around it to keep it in place. His other arm is hurried between us, holding the vibrator to the bottom of his dick again.

     His thrusts are as swallow as his breath, eyes fluttering like crazy as he stares down at me. "My wife," Shino mutters, his dick starting to twitch in me. "I'm... I'm... in my... wife... my wife," he continues to babble, letting the toy fall to the ground as he bottoms out in me.

     Shino pushes himself into me, resting against my spread-apart body, thrusting two or three times before he finally finishes. "My wife. Wife. Mine. My lady... Ladybug," he chatters, more babbles spill from him just as fast as his cum. It might be a lot of work to make my husband finish but it's so worth it. When he does finish, it's always enough to overflow my cunt.

     "I... I love... you," he mutters, continuing to thrust into me.

     "What are you doing, Love? You need to rest," I tell him, trying to squirm away from him.

     "I'm... I'm pushing my... my... into you. You're... you are my wife. You... you get my... my baby. You will have my baby," he huffs out, wrapping his other arm under my free leg, pushing me upward so he can thrust deeper.

     "Is that what you want, Love? To give your wife your baby?" Shino's breath is sharp and jagged as he shakes his head, desperation coating his face as he whines from the sensitivity of his dick. Well, I guess I know how we're going to spend our honeymoon.

———————————————————————

[affluent-havoc]

More children! Sakura: She was definitely the hardest design for me to do but my gosh was it rewarding as hell. I wanted to ensure she looked strong but also cute and all. Thus, I gave her a little flower broach/pin of some sorts on her chest and a little red butterfly clip. Who knows. Maybe it's a gift that she got. Also, I did try with the muscles. I am not the best at those but I tried! Also contemplated giving her pants so she could fight better but opted for the skirt so she still has some ties to her original design. Will def draw her in a full gi sometime though. Might also give her a design with bandages on her arms too. Chihiro: I used a bit of one of Chihiro's beta designs as a base since it was giving some cute energy. Gave Chihiro some headphones too since the outfit wasn't giving the programmer energy. Not that Chihiro's base outfit gives programmer. Still though, wanted to get some of that in there. Also, I have no idea why but I'm looking at little Chihiro now and imagining them making a ton of cool as hell games on Scratch. Not cus they can't use other programs but that they're just that good. Aoi: Was both easy and hard to do for her. Her base outfit already works well for an itty bitty version and I wanted to ensure that I wasn't just drawing the characters but shrunk down. Thus, I gave Aoi longer hair. The hair at the top didn't change though since it's iconic and adds to her silhouette more. No clue how I'd reinvent that. For the colors, I will be real. I kinda just picked whatever to make it look similar but not the same as her original counter part. Thus, hoodie on the waist! Made her shoes similar though cus I felt they fit with that sorta energy of a little girl who's just throwing on some clothes before running off to do some stuff and practice her swimming. Added the acne too cus preteen. Mondo: This little biker boy. Yeah. I had the same issues I had with Aoi which was that his base design was already pretty good material for a younger revamp. However, I needed to give him more stuff to work with. Thus, purple leather coat with the sleaves ripped off! He did not do it for fashion. He probably says that he got into a really gnarly fight when he just got a bit too rowdy with a giant ass dog or something. I also gave him like, one of those twigs or like, a toothpick in his mouth. Cus why not. It looked cool and gave him more. His hair stayed the same too cus he could have gotten tips and tricks how to style it from his older brother, Daiya. Like, Mondo is kinda mirroring him in a sense cus of how much he admires him. Finally, once again with the middle schooler acne. Kiyotaka: I feel Taka has that energy of his younger selves looking like shrunk down versions of his older self. He just has that vibe to him. Thus, I just did some small adjustments for him. Have him a little star on him cus he just gives MAJOR energy of that one kid who excelled and always got like "the star of the day" or something like that. Gave him little boy shorts too cus why not! They look cute! And yes. I gave Taka the Spongebob socks. He does not know that they are the socks of the Sponge. Also, the boots stayed cus why not! Maybe he also wants to look taller cus maybe's a bit on he shorter size. Who knows! I don't! One last thing is that I gave Taka like a missing tooth/tooth gap in his bottom row. I just felt it really added to the whole design. Hope the designs are good here too! As I mentioned on Aoi's section, wanted to ensure that they weren't just a carbon copy of themselves since no one is once they get older. So, yeah. This means I will give them all some horrible fashion choses too or just stuff they could look back on and be like "ew! so tacky". Think that'd be pretty fun!

[the-sky-queen]

Does your After Today AU have any designs for their real counterparts? 👀👉👈

I DIDN'T HAVE DESIGNS BUT I SAW THIS AND DIDN'T WANNA LEAVE YOU HANGING SO I SKETCHED THEM OUT AS FAST AS I COULD!!! They are very rough sketches though, so apologies if they don't look the best. (Also ran out of room for Silver and Blaze, so I'll just explain what I'm thinking for them.)

Starting with Sonic, we've got our pretty standard Nicky look with slightly different bangs, though no glasses for this boy. But I think the hoodie is still red. Also, I made his quills much shorter than Hero!Sonic's quills. This boy isn't fighting evil every day, he has no reason to make sure he can cut through solid metal with his hair. XD

For Tails, I changed his bangs because I can't draw his canon bangs for the life of me. (Or Amy's for that matter.) I was thinking for his shirt that he's wearing some kind of baseball jersey. We can let this kid play sports, as a treat. :D The number two is obviously a reference to his two tails, which yes, I let him keep! I figured since it's a mutation, it would probably still happen in the real world. The only difference is he can't fly with them. I also gave Tails glasses because yes.

With Knuckles, I tried my best to make him tall and bulky, since he's a football player. So basically, the Boom Knuckles look except not quite that exaggerated. Gave him a scar that he probably got during practice one day, but mostly because I really like giving characters scars. XD And then he's got a skull t-shirt and some shorts because he's a tough sports guy.

For Amy, I debated hard on what expression she should be making, and I ultimately decided on an indifferent pose because of character arc thingies I have in mind for her. :3 Changed her bangs, changed her hair a bit, and gave her a long sleeve shirt with a heart. She's a cheerleader with some cutesy clothes, not much else to say. (Also she's looking at her phone if you couldn't tell.)

Rouge was pretty fun because I LOVE putting her in outfits. Gave her bangs because I'm a Rouge bangs truther. She's wearing what I hope are some stylish popular girl type clothes complete with way too many bracelets on each wrist. (pretend she's wearing more than she is) And then some high heels to top it off! Also let her pierce her ears twice because why not.

Shadow's wearing a hoodie like Sonic, but his has some patterns! I think his hoodie would be dark gray with those stripes being red. He doesn't have red stripes on his quills since he isn't the Ultimate Lifeform, though I think he can keep his red eyes. Also gave him some emo bangs for fun.

Moving on to describing the ones I didn't get to draw! For Silver, I think he's wearing all white clothes. I'm kinda picturing a jacket with some puffy white fur around the hood kinda like the jacket I drew here. Also, I think he's wearing sunglasses, like he's too cool for this world. XD

And then for Blaze, she's a foreign exchange student and I'm thinking she's from Japan. So, I think it would be really cool and pretty if she wore a kimono! Maybe she's got her hair up in a bun with a pretty accessory/clip of some kind to keep it tidy.

Anyway, yeah! Those are my basic thoughts for everyone's designs! :D Hope you like em!

[curseofthebloodcountess]

When I was a child, we would drive to Laredo to spend weekends and holidays with my grandparents. My grandmother had a beautiful garden. She had a fig tree and two orange trees in the front. In the back, a veritable jungle grew in meticulously planted pathways, leaving just enough space for lawn games, plastic pink flamingos, and my swing set. The porch was a humid paradise, shrouded with see-through plastic tarps to keep out rain. She had bird feeders and hummingbird feeders and she would get so angry when we played too roughly too close to her flowers. When old age forced her and my grandfather to sell the house, the plants came with them to San Antonio, but the second garden lacked the first's finesse. It was dominated by crepe myrtles that came with the house and a pedestal and trellis that featured a statue of the Virgin Mary. A bad thunderstorm blew through and knocked the Virgin Mary to the ground, severing her sculpted head. My grandmother put her severed head up, and proudly displayed her in the front lawn, which always felt like a testament to her unshakable faith and a warning to the neighbors that a crazy woman lived there. It was a little sad, too, but I don't want to be sad about it. Instead, I want to think about how she would yell at my father, her son-in-law, for mowing the grass too short after my grandfather died, but privately, she would tell us how glad she was that my father was a "sweet boy" who would come over to help. She couldn't care for her garden much by then, but we all tried to help.

The plants came from all over - Home Depot, the grocery store, a neighbor's yard... And often, out of state and out of the country. The number of times I sat in the back of my grandparents' Crown Victoria with illegal produce and plant cuttings, crossing the border from Mexico to Texas was a non-zero number. I didn't know until I was much older that it wasn't normal to hide your oranges from border patrol, much in the same way that I didn't know until I was much older that my grandmother had also hidden the Mexico trips from my mother for twenty years.

She could make anything grow. I don't know how she did it. She would see a plant she liked the look of on a walk and she would take the finest clipping of it, so small the owner would never notice, and within a month, she'd have a bigger, better version of that plant in her yard. When my mom was growing up, she had a lot filled with fruits and vegetables to keep the household fed. Her kids would tend to it but if they didn't do it just right, she had no patience for them. I think after decades of growing food - of working the fields, of subsistence farming - she relished having a pleasure garden, full of nothing but flowers.

She passed when I was in high school. She was a fierce, difficult woman, who was as tough and sweet as fruit leather. She loved me and I love her. I can't bring myself to say "loved". I love her still.

So I gave her garden to my arcane trickster rogue, Gisele Domencyzk, who cultivates plants from every corner of the Dark Domains just to make her baby sister smile. She has smuggled bouquets from Borca. She has grown daffodils from Dementlieu. She's brought all her plants to sunless Barovia, using magic items and spell scrolls to keep the garden alive. And, yes, she has the severed head of Ezra the Blind of the Mists displayed proudly amidst it all. Why shouldn't she?

I don't know that my grandmother would understand or appreciate my little tribute to her. I just know that it matters to me that my rogue, who has worked and grown in impossible circumstances and thrived in her own way makes me feel that much closer to someone I loved and lost a long time ago. I know it's silly, but I think of her sister, Ophelia, and I remember the taste of scrambled eggs made with the creamiest half-n-half for breakfast and the feeling of cold tile under my feet and wicker furniture I never liked biting into my skin. I think of being loved unconditionally and being the product of women's choices (hers, my mother's later) to make a better life out of nothing.. I think of how a 5-foot-nothing old lady was more than happy to lie to officers of the law to bring the sweetest oranges home to the people she loved.

And I feel loved all over again, getting to take a piece of her forward to tell stories with my friends.

[rainintheevening]

West - Part II

Time moves slow

It's been a year, it's been forever, it's been a day, he feels as if he could walk down to the station right this moment and Peter would be there waiting on the platform to say goodbye. He closes his eyes, and sees Peter smiling at him, feels the hands on his shoulders and the warm kiss on his forehead. And then it blurs, he can't remember the last thing Peter said to him, he can't remember if they hugged or shook hands last, he'd told Peter he loved him, hadn't he?

When half of your heart has yet to come home

He hears the whistle of a train through the open classroom window, and it comes back like a flash, Peter leaning out of the carriage to wave, and something snapping, Ed's heart tearing out of his chest, words spilling out in a wild cry, carrying over the sound of wheels turning and steam hissing and steel track shifting. "I love you! I love you, Pete! Please! Don't forget! Don't die! I love you!"

He had run after the train, run to the edge of the platform, where he was forced to stop, but his heart hadn't, and he'd listened for a long time till he was sure he could hear nothing more.

Every minute's adding up

I miss you, Ed. It's like losing a limb, I've found. I can do without you, but nothing is the same and everything's harder. Remember Acamus—how he complained for years afterward, always grumbling about needing another hand?

And leaving a mark on us

There are scars on the back of Ed’s hand, where one of the falcons had grabbed him, and they weren't there a year ago, Peter hasn't seen those, and how many scars does Peter have now? How many places where the skin had mended imperfectly? How many marks Edmund does not know the origin of?

He wonders sometimes.

I can't get you out of my mind

They aren't on the list Mother gave him, but he buys carrots at the green grocers, the short fat ones Peter likes, and doesn't remember till he's halfway home.

I can't get you out of my mind

"Hullo, Ed," calls Benjy from down the street. "How's tricks?"

"Oh, Peter's alright," Ed says, swinging around with a smile, squinting in the sun. "Getting sent to Palastine for a bit; says that should be interesting."

I can't get you out of my mind

He has a whole book of maps of Palestine and the Middle East from Professor Kirke— maps from the time of Abraham, to the conquest of Joshua, to the time of Jesus—and he writes: Tell us all about Jerusalem, if you get there.

I solemnly swear

I'm not going to tell you to remember anything this time, brother. Just know that I feel your pain, and grieve Hans's death as deeply as you. He was a faithful friend to you, and I was always grateful to know he had your back. I'm here, at home, sitting at our desk, and there's a summer thunderstorm banging around outside, though the rain on the roof sounds nice. I'm safe, I promise.

I swear that I'll never try

"Is Peter still over there?" Colin asks when they meet on the platform in a crowd of school boys, and there's a weight, a weariness in Edmund's clipped reply: "Yes. Why?"

The younger boy hesitates, before: "Well, I rather wish he'd come back so you'd be happy again."

We'll be just fine

He aces his School Cert, he's sure, though he won't know until the end of term what his marks actually were. But Master Walsh looks very pleased the day after, and tells him, "Keeping up the family name, I dare say."

Ed glows inside as he goes down to supper.

We'll be just fine

Rags and Tarek are fast friends now, and I can see she'll be in a good hands whenever I leave. She sleeps with him, on his mat under my cot. I've tried to make him sleep with the cook, since he is on kitchen duty, but he refuses, and I won't let him be chained or locked up. He's such a good kid otherwise, nobody really minds. When he's not on KP, he follows me everywhere, like a shadow. Tarek, though. It means 'morning star'.

We'll be just fine

Took Rose out for a gallop all the way up to the tor. Sun was out and made it warm, and with a few late heather blooming, the moor was quite beautiful. Took a lunch and a hymn book; went over my tenor parts and the solo for choir. Sounds boring when I write it out like that, but I know you like to hear that sort of thing.

I know that we will

He does not cry on the second Christmas without Peter. He stands in church with his arm around Lucy, and they sing loud and clear and triumphant, Then tolled the bells, more loud and deep / God is not dead, nor doth He sleep. He laughs at Susan's stories from the hospital over Christmas dinner, and listens to Eustace breathing across the room as they fall asleep.

Somewhere out there on a dusty military base, Peter is falling asleep in his cot, and thinking of home.

We'll be just fine

The lines march across the maps, week in, week out. Pushing further and further toward and into Germany. He marks with a pencil and a steady hand. Places the one pin with the little lion head flag squarely in Belgium.

A sense of excitement builds in the boys who cluster round that wall of the Sixth Form common room, an air of hope, a taste of victory.

We'll be just fine

He kneels by his bed, letter cupped in his hands, and his lips move but no sound comes, as his heart reaches for the aching one that bleeds through in ink. Peter marches head on into the maw of the dragon, and Edmund can only beg the Lion of Judah to go ahead of him.

It's a matter of time

The chapel bells ring wild and clamorous, and the courtyard is flooded with boys doing their best to imitate them. In the middle of the unrestrained celebration, Edmund Pevensie pauses, stands still, looks up to search the May sky. He smiles, tired and worn and battlescarred, recalling victory cheers of years past, the rattle of swords on shields and the cheerful yowls of the big cats. He remembers the longing to ride home again. He remembers standing above Cair Paravel's gate, and seeing the white unicorn spring forward into a gallop.

He gets tackled into the dirt by Colin and Fred and Pat, and then he's laughing with the rest of them.

Till our compass stands still

He stands on the platform, hands in his pockets, quite still, hat pulled low in the summer drizzle. But his eyes keep moving, scanning, searching, face after face, skipping from one to another, and finding no satisfaction. Until... just dismounting the first carriage, tall, clean shaven, officer's uniform, hat in his hand, rain in his golden-brown hair, blue eyes all weary and laughing that lock onto Edmund's, go wide with startled light.

They are magnets, drawn together through the crowd, and he knows Peter is shouting, but Ed has no breath as he is wrapped in his brother's embrace, crushed against the broad chest of his king, his captain, his best friend in all the wide worlds. He clings to Peter, and weeps for a long time.

Till our compass stands still

The maps are forgotten in the dark, and he traces no lines, measures no distance, for the great heart beats against his spine, and the warm breath brushes the back of his neck, and they will sleep safe together tonight. He is here, and Peter is here.

They are home.

[townofcadence]

"Echoes of the past" 👀 Artair?

Echoes of the Past

This One is Pretty Dark Horror so Heed the Tags Please!

Artair's eyes flicker open with an aching languor. Consciousness drips through him at a pace bordering leisure, drawing him through his dreamlike stupor with coaxing hands. It is only when he remembers those last moments that he snaps further awake; a maw of sharp teeth dripping with his own blood biting down, severing fat, meat, and bone alike. He tries to jerk upwards, but something keeps him pinned.

The room is dark as pitch. He can't see much, save for a few vials of something gold glimmering on a nearby table. There is an amber glow like the barest lick of candlelight, and where it flits, he can see the silhouette of a lantern.

A glance to the right has him making out the outline of a thick leather strap, tightly coiled around his arm. He tries to move but his neck is strapped as well, and the same resistance binds his legs and hips. His leg is still there. His toes can move, and his ankle too despite the restraints. He can feel the half-eaten fabric of his converse, a brush of cold air through the holes.

His brain shorts on whether to be relieved or not, when he's left the frying pan for the fire. A rolling tray sits beside the table he is on. He can see a selection of medical tools and equipment. There are a few bottles of colorful liquids as well. He is... on some kind of table.

A hard, metal operating table.

The haze is continuing to lift, and that is when the pain creeps in. It starts at the edges and he nearly doesn't notice, but the more awake he is, the more it courses through him like a second heartbeat. His chest hurts. He focuses. He looks.

It’s– a moment of pain that feels almost unreal as he shifts his gaze. It shouldn’t be real. It’s like last time but the edges are sliced clean. It’s not jagged, not stone. It Hurts all the same. And he only grows more aware of it, the longer he stares. His vision blurs with gold and green and he seizes in silence. Every muscle twitches and petrifies, until he’s locked in his body like a tomb.

He squeezes his eyes shut, but it’s too late. He knows. He knows. From sternum to navel and with a line that curves just beneath it, he is open.

His head keeps spinning, and a numbing cold creeps over his flesh. He isn’t sure he’s breathing. But he has to be, with his pulse thundering in his ears like it is. He makes a choked sound, mouth opening and closing, but all it feels like he can do it exhale. What had to be inhaling was a paltry shift that felt like this woman-- this Dawn, bringing a knife down into him. Even with closed eyes, his vision goes white.

Fight it. Fight it— he doesn’t even know how. He keeps trying to finish the mantra but the words are lost to pain, dissolving to nothing. He feels pulled apart like cotton candy, and nothing comes into focus long, the longer he exists like this. He is threadbare.

Why is he awake. Why is he awake. Please stop please please stop please please it hurts please–.

His skin burns, still damaged from the monster, from the acid rain. He's silent, mouth open but empty of sound. He isn’t even sure what he’d say, but his body paralyzes on him, and nothing can come out. Blood chokes his throat. Sparks dance over his skin, and he feels a pulsing vibration. He feels drifty and sick. He hurts until it doesn’t hurt because he can’t feel anything else but agony and he's numb. The empty moment makes him so sure he gave out. Then he’s forced to inhale and it cycles again. He can’t– how is he awake? How is he alive? Stop please just let him sleep.

“There you are, Artair. Did you sleep well?“ Dawn smiles at him; her eyes settle on him like an interesting object, her saccharine smile stretching too far on her face, but not meeting her eyes. She tilts her head. He thinks about how many photos he'd found in her study, the newspaper clipping about the storm, and his life laid out in Polaroids. “You’ve done wonderfully, boy.”

He wants to be strong. He wants to spit in her fucking face. He wants to bite her or say something cutting or make her think he doesn’t care. He wants to be strong. To be brave, to be able to tuck it all in a neat little box and show his mettle, his determination and how indomitable he can be.

But he can’t. He can’t . He feels his tears running in streaks down his cheeks. He feels blood paint his lips with a cough that leaves him convulsing– which only means more movement. and that means more agony, excruciating and building up to something until he’s sure he's going to explode.

A sob escapes him, nails digging into the metal of the operating table. He pants through his mouth to stay breathing. His heart beat drowns out almost everything but her voice, and the singing and stinging of her scalpel. She is peeling him back further, slitting her way through muscle. He spasms.

“Are you awake now? I thought you’d like to talk to me at some point. Now you can. So speak.””

A shallow breath cuts through his lungs. He forces his eyes open. They shade the world in gold and green. His vision blurs until he blinks away more tears. But he does, again and again in rapid blinks, so he can see her face. He wants to memorize it. He needs to, so he can make sure they find her later. If he makes it.

Words… his lips move soundless. He coughs more. He’s pale, clammy, shaking. Sweat beads along his brow. Her hand comes near his face again and he flinches. His body protests like he’d thrown himself into a bed of spikes, but he didn’t care. He didn’t want her to touch him.

“W—” He chokes. The word stays lodged in his throat until a few swallows loosen it again. “…Why.”

"Why?” She repeats, and a gloved hand comes to her cheek, fingers folding over her mouth. She laughs behind them, warm and tickled. the nitrile leaves a speckle of blood on her cheek. “Because you aren’t what you say you are. My curiosity has been piqued. As has someone I work for! But I thought I would see what I could glean before he whisks you away. All great researchers need to do their part and explore the unknown. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Artair- blinks. He could barely think, barely comprehend the words, let alone understanding what the hell she could even be possibly talking about. He let out a soft whimper. “I-I—” He felt an urge to cough, to throw up, and his voice died out. He didn’t— he was just human. He just— his magic was haywire! That wasn’t— he didn’t understand. He didn’t understand.

Dawn leaves him there. She returns with a pack, one he recognizes. He had been carrying it through her house, and it is filled with everything he'd grabbed. She opens the bag and roots through it.

It’s hard to think right now. But he doesn’t understand. She holds up each item from his bag for him to see. Some of them he thought he’d lost, but it seems she retrieved them too, from the bullpen. He sees his knives, all the books he’d taken, the gauze and cream and bandages, the photos. She’s showing him everything.

His brain is saturated with suffering to a point of silence. He– can’t think. Can’t understand. He wants to. He stares at her with pained eyes, brain banging against the walls of his head in an effort to work and understand. His gaze follows each item to the metallic table next to him. His arms and legs shift. It’s painful and the straps are too tight to move.

With the last of his items showcased and set on the table, she places the bag aside. Artair watches her work, fraying thoughts piecing together what she intends. She hums as she moves, slender fingers unfurling a wrapped plastic toolkit. Inside he sees– more surgery and medical tools. It makes his heart beat faster. He feels his mouth go dry. Her fingers curve over each tool, as if she’s exploring them again, leaving the barest of marks against their chrome finish. She continues to hum, before it dies away.

Her heels click as she circles him, plucking the scissors from their place. He feels her fingers caress his hair, carding through it. They tighten into a fist and and pull the strands of his hair taut. He groans as it's pulled, pained at the movement, at the way it burns at his scalp. His heart bounds, thundering against his ribs. She comes closer to his face.

Snip.

He hears the edges cut through the strands, and then she retreats to open a case. The lock is deposited within, somewhere he cannot see.

Click click click. She rounds back into his vision. His scalp aches where she pulled, but compared to everything else, it’s nothing. But it sets him on edge. She’s humming again. Her smile has never left, and she pets his head as if to soothe him like a doting mother. "Now be a good young man and hold still."

She makes his skin crawl. His head turns away from her hand. But the smile stays on her face, and he can see it in his peripheries as she rakes her gaze over him. The bindings on his arm creaks, but even the tug cuts through him until he tastes acid burning in his throat. Each breath is a labor, a testament to his grit, his need for survival.

She leaves his face for his hand, stroking at the tendons where they just show on the skin. Down his leg she goes, until she reaches his shoes.

Her hands move methodically. They’re surgeon’s hands, doing everything with this meticulous care. His toes flex as she grips his converse, and undoes their lace. She pulls them back a loop at a time, until it’s open enough for it to be slipped off. He watches each tug where her nails reflect the overhead light, listening to the coarse brush of fabric, as each lace slid further loose. She cupped the back of the shoe, pulling it free. He could see the holes in the rubber now, when she held it up, still humming. Next came the sock, equally damaged. He feels cold air and it soothes just as much as it twists his insides like he’d applied a corkscrew to his lungs.

He can see the glint of silver, and he– complies, with her earlier command. He hears his heart in his ears as her fingers hover almost– uncharacteristically careless, over a toe, so the blades of the scissors rested open on either side. His heart found its way to his mouth.

He felt the edge dragging along his skin. The scissors snipped, and he could almost cry, scream, as all he lost was a nail. A whimper left him.

“Don’t worry dear. We’re not done yet.” She crooned, patted his ankle. Her hand continued up his leg and he wanted to ignite every molecule of himself with lightning like he had these scant handfuls of times, just so he could stop her from fucking touching him.

His shoulders tensed instead. His eyes looked for the door.

He shouldn’t expect it anymore. He shouldn’t. But he could just– imagine. Imagine Elias and Eevie and Prince breaking through, rushing to his side. Imagine them touching his face, pressing their head into his and telling him he’d be okay, he’d be okay, they wouldn’t let her go any further. He was safe.

But her hand continued up his side, curving to touch his forearm, where it wasn’t restrained. They didn’t come. They wouldn’t. He…

He was alone.

And a worse, sickening thought sunk talons in his brain, making him twist further into knots: he hoped his friends who might be looking didn’t find him. He didn’t want them– anyone– to find this place.

Artair tries to shift, away from her as she nears him again. his parted chest reminds him why that is a fool's endeavor with another seize of his body. He screws up with a thready breath.

Her voice bounces in a sing-song. "Don't worry about falling asleep on me, dearie. You won't until I want you to."”

Artair’s eyes flick blearily back to her. It took a moment for the words to register, but when they do, he feels…cold. Cold at the limbs, at the tips of his fingers. He— he didn’t know what that meant. But if he focused, if he really tried, there was a faint buzz, a steady if fractional thrum of magic through the cool metal on his back. There was a spell in place.

He shouldn’t be awake. She wanted him to be.

Her gloved hands find a scalpel and let it glide along his shoulder to his bicep. He stays as still as he can, with a tremble he can't control, so it does not cut. Of course, it does not matter.

It starts as a threaded hiss through clenched teeth, as she slivers slices into flesh, tracing a perfect square. His blood is back to red-gold, glittering and stark against his pale skin as it beads and seeps from her blade's precise strokes. She seemed to measure, giving him a breath.

He screams, when the scalpel plunges further, parting dermal tissues, cutting through fat and capillaries and spilling more blood, now in a steady flow. His back arches and his voice goes out, fracturing and breaking before falling to silence as she digs and keeps digging. His chest feels like it’s tearing. The blade sings with a burn. It’s cold metal and hot viscera and his knees jerk.

His arm does too, and it sends her slightly off course. She clicks her tongue and cuts a little more away from him, makes the sample a little bigger, a perfect square.

He feels like he’s frothing at the mouth. His body wants to move, make it stop, but every twitch is worse, makes him feel like he’s so so very alive and dying at the same time. He’s aware of it, aware he could die here, aware of how she could snip and pull and tear until he’s just a collection of samples on the table in her lab. It was– visceral. It pierces through him, the realization puncturing him like stone through his gut. He could die here. He could die, she could kill him he could die–

He can’t hear her. His heartbeat is too loud. The only thing louder is the wet sound of his blood pouring into a basin beneath him, and the slick plop of his own flesh, dropping into the metal case. Is he breathing still–? It’s all white noise in his ears and his head is starting to spin.

But the magic means he can’t sleep. He can’t stop this. He can’t move. He’s helpless.

"Open your mouth, sweetheart. Keep it wide now."

He can hardly process her sugar-laced voice, but at the sound of it, his eyes flick to her. She’s smiling that smile that makes him want to rip off the rest of his skin. She’s smiling and she has a small, metal bar in her hand. She’s smiling and her eyes are sharp and cold and it makes her look more like what he feels when he sees her. He tries to edge away, turn his face, shake his head no. A hand finds the strap that curls over his neck and she yanks. It keeps him further still, belting him into place. He chokes and she meets it with a hum.

It’s such a soft one. A casual one. She might be reading an article about some new discovery in science. She might be studying a rock she’d found while hiking. She brushes at his face and he snaps at her, brain blank and limbs only not shaking from how still he’s held.

She tuts at him, like a mother scolding a child, or an owner at their dog. The metal bar is pressed against his lips. He forces them to stay closed.

She holds his nose until he’s forced to gasp for air, and wedges it in. It locks behind his teeth, jammed against his tongue and unyielding to any pushes. His chest is rising fast, breaths leaving the room spinning. The metal beneath him is getting warm.

He hears the clack of metal. He hears it and he knows what’s coming but he can hardly parse it. He can’t breathe. Saliva pools on either side of his lips, running down each cheek. His breath comes shallow, ragged, as he sees the tool in her gloved hands, feels the metal slide against his teeth as it enters his mouth. He feels tension on one of his incisors.

Tensing doesn’t help. It doesn’t help he can’t stop it he can’t stop it he’s cut open he’s injured he’s bleeding he can’t do anything he can’t fucking do anything—

He wails as it gives way, feeling flesh rip. His back arches again, curving excruciatingly upwards until he’s sure he’ll snap in half. He’s seeing stars, and static bursts along his skin. Gold fills his mouth, paints his lips.

She seems unperturbed. The metal below him warms further as he sparks. They light up her face and she’s still smiling. “Good boy.” He sees the fang in her pliers and hears the click of his tooth in the box. He gurgles and coughs, and his whole face is painted in blood, where tears don’t track it already. He can’t breathe, he can’t breathe.

But he won’t fall asleep.

She doesn’t want him to.

[msfcatlover]

OH BOY, GUESS WHO GOT CARRIED AWAY AGAIN!

Fuck it, I'm posting this one to AO3. It's self-contained and I'm proud of it.

For the record, ASL is Cass's primary (not body language) language in this. She uses her voice for emphasis, or for when people don't understand her signs and she wants to make sure they understand her (as long as it's cooperating. Words are hard sometimes.)

(Also, some sounds are just fun to say, but that's neither here nor there.)

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

Dick doesn’t meet Cassandra Wayne until he’s been living with her for almost a year. He thought he did, because he’d seen so many different sides of Cass (lounging around the house in workout clothes, silent & terrifying by his side as Batman, the harsh teacher & the gentle sister, telling deadpan jokes that usually make Dick double-take before he nearly falls over laughing,) but he never met Bruce Wayne’s Daughter, Cassandra Wayne until the first time his school called her.

Fighting, of course. Because children are cruel, and Dick refuses to just lay down & take it. It’s worse now that Bruce is dead. Before, Dick was just Bruce’s latest acquisition in a long line of assorted foster children, and everyone knew he was there to stay. Now… Dick heard Duke arguing with his service worker to keep Dick at the manor, trying to convince her that Dick shouldn’t be moved to a different placement during such a traumatic time, that the manor & the people in it were still all vetted as a safe place for Dick, even if someone else needed to file for guardianship. Dick’s pretty sure the only reason he’s still sleeping in his own bed is the kind of publicity the Waynes could bring down if someone tried to take Dick away.

(The other kids know it too. Just like they know Bruce’s kids never asked to be saddled with Dick. Just like they know Dick is new, and difficult, and doesn’t belong. They’re happy to tell Dick about it, no matter how many times he shuts them up with his fists.)

Normally, it would be Duke who answered the call, since he’s the one most likely to be awake at any point during the day. Duke will walk in, all casual power & disarming snark, charm the secretaries, dance circles around the other parents, get Dick’s punishment lowered, and then take Dick out for ice cream. Sometimes it will be Damian, who comes in like an ice storm, fury painted across every line of his form, and who will spend at least 10min locked in the principal’s office yelling at people. After, Damian bundles Dick off to the car, and then just sits there with his forehead pressed against the wheel for a minute before even looking over. “Don’t repeat any of what I said in there, okay?” And Dick will agree, and then they’ll go to the park.

That’s what Dick’s expecting: one of his new "brothers," come to talk to the adults and get Dick out of trouble. He did not expect Miss Cassandra Wayne, in all her glory.

She opens the door like she’s disgusted she even has to touch it, pushing it away the second she can so that a soft open turns into a sudden bang. Her hair is slicked back from her face, product taming the usual messy fly-aways, giving a severity to her expression Dick’s never seen before. She’s wearing a suit with a tight pencil skirt that makes her normally loping stride into something short & clipped, amplified even more by a pair of silver stiletto heels so narrow you could probably stab someone with them. Dark lipstick draws attention to the annoyed press of her mouth, diamonds glitter at her ears & throat, and her eyeliner is sharp enough to kill a man. Dick hasn't seen her wear makeup since the funeral. He can't remember seeing her wear jewelry at all.

She doesn’t look at the principal. She walks right past them, past the parents & other children, to Dick in the far corner. Cassandra Wayne crouches down in front of him, her face softening. She lifts one hand to Dick’s cheek, wiping away a tear that isn’t there and brushing her thumb over an already blossoming bruise. With her other hand, she signs to Dick, asking if he’s okay.

Dick’s hands are shaking. If he lifts one to tell her he’s fine, everyone will see it. He nods stiffly instead.

Cassandra’s eyes narrow. “Who started it?” she asks Dick, still without opening her mouth.

What’s Dick supposed to say? He’s the one who threw the first punch. They deserved it. The things they said… Dick doesn’t know how to make people be better, but he can make them regret being shit. And it’s a lot harder to pronounce slurs with a split lip or bitten tongue.

Cass reads him. The shame in Dick’s shoulders, the still-simmering anger in his clenched fists & jaw, the fear in his small swallow & the way he won’t meet her eyes. When one of the others asks if they can get on with it, she sees Dick’s flinch and the way he fights not to curl in on himself, to not give them the satisfaction of seeing his misery.

“What did they say?” Cassandra asks Dick. He wouldn’t repeat it, even if he knew the signs.

“Some of us have work—“ one of the parents says, and Cassandra’s hand swings back, snapping shut in a “No” that you don’t have to know a single sign to understand; so fast & so sharp, it looks more like a closing mouth. (The parent does, in fact, shut his mouth.)

Cassandra brings her hand back around. “What do you need?”

Maybe Dick is going to cry. “I’m so tired,” he tells her, the hand movements tiny like a whisper, but his whole body sagging into the emotion. “I want to go home.”

Cassandra Wayne nods once and stands. She looks at the principal like he’s something she'll have to scrape off her shoe, and she's not looking forward to the experience.

“I don’t see what’s so complicated,” Cassandra Wayne says, voicing her words for the first time. “We have reported this bullying problem before. Many times. Too many times. My child should not be in this office twice a week because you—“ she points at the principal, “—can’t enforce your own rules.”

Several jaws drop around the room. (Dick's is very nearly one of them.)

“Mr. Grayson—“ the principal starts.

“Doesn’t mock his classmates for their grief or call their family slurs,” Cassandra Wayne cuts him off. “Anyone who can’t manage to enforce that basic level of dignity doesn’t deserve to be called a ‘teacher.’” Her eyes flick to the side, sizing up the other adults in the room. “Or ‘parent.’”

“My daughter has a black eye—“

“Richard has a fractured cheekbone. And a history of being verbally assaulted by the students at this school.” Cassandra Wayne tilts her head slightly. “If you want to make this a legal battle, go ahead. You won’t win.”

Spluttering. The parents appear to have forgotten English. Or any other language.

The principal stands. “There’s no need to bring lawyers into this. But we cannot have a violent child at this school.”

“Then you don’t.”

“What?”

Cassandra Wayne lifts her chin, somehow staring down her nose at a group of people who are all taller than her. “You don’t. Richard is no longer your concern. Focus on your bullying problem.” She holds out one hand towards Dick without looking. He scrambles out of his chair to grab on. “Other schools will be happy to have him as a student.”

“You can’t just—“

“I can.”

Cassandra Wayne turns her back on the principal and leads Dick out the door, parting the parents before her. Dick has to half-jog to keep up with her the whole way out of the building. Despite her speed, Cassandra never once tugs or pulls on Dick, and he’s gone faster for longer in training & patrol; by the time they reach the limo, Dick’s not even winded.

Cassandra Wayne opens the door for Dick, then follows him inside.

Cass half-flops onto the seat beside Dick, slamming the door behind her. “Bullshit!” she signs, blowing a raspberry at the same time. Dick giggles. Cass smiles at him. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” Dick says, hand & voice at the same time. She knows already, but she still relaxes at the words.

“We should’ve pulled you out weeks ago. Those idiots!” Dick giggles again as Cass’s hand goes from gesturing at the school to thumping against her forehead.

“Probably,” Dick agrees with her. He kicks his feet. “Can you actually pull me out, though? Don’t you need Duke for that?”

“Duke will agree with me if he knows what’s good for him.” Cass huffs. “Anyway, we both signed the papers. You’re mine as much as his.” She looks very pleased with herself.

Warmth bubbles up inside Dick’s chest. “Oh. That’s good. I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble.”

Cass laughs. “We’re Waynes.” She finger-spells the name for emphasis.

Something about that, the casual inclusion, the ease with which she throws her name to him, cuts deep. Dick must show something, because suddenly Cass is turned towards him, facing Dick full-on so he can see her serious face. She speaks & signs at the same time, her voice slow & clear, hands measured & precise.

“Those people—" (She signs idiots again.) "—don't know our family. No one does. You're one of us, whether you take the name or not.”

Cass takes Dick’s hands in hers. “You’re my brother,” she says softly, earnest truth radiating from every part of her body. “We care about you.”

It’s a lot.

It’s too much.

Dick’s chest is doing something painful, Dick’s eyes are burning, and Dick can’t stop the tears from spilling out down his cheeks. Dick’s voice is stuck in his throat, his hands curl into inexpressive fists to uselessly wipe the tears away. He doesn’t know what to say—

Cass wraps her arms around Dick and pulls him onto her lap. She strokes his hair and shushes his sobs, ignoring the tears & snot ruining her best business suit.

(Cass isn’t quite sure if she’s said the right thing—tears can be good or bad, and Dick’s feeling so much right now—until she catches Alfred’s eye in the rear view mirror. He’s a little misty-eyed himself, and giving her the proudest smile she’s seen in years. Cass smiles back, then turns her attention back to Dick. It’s nice to know she’s on the right path.)

[leoncillo]

A little risque but SFW, GN reader, Black reader, Zohakuten best fashionista

You notice the boys have been a bit listless so you decide to take them out. But individually. It must be tiring always being part of a group, right?

Itadakimasu! *Hides face in hands and runs away*

Karaku

"Babeee, it's still day time. And we had a long mission last night. Le'me sleep" said Karaku covering his face with the blanket as you tried to rouse him awake.

"I know, I know. But our date is tonight and I need you to take this pill before then."

"What does it do?" he asked, lowering the blanket enough to see his narrowed, suspicious eyes.

"Lady Tamayo said it'll let you have human food for a day without getting sick. But you have to take it hours in advance."

In seconds, Karaku took the pill from your hands, tossed it down his throat, and went back to sleeping. "Okay. Good morning. Bye!" he shouted, smacking your ass to get you to leave the room.

You thought about slamming the door on your way out, but didn't wanna hear Sekido's mouth. "I swear these men get more rude every day" you pouted, "but this is going perfectly", your pout melted into a malicious grin.

Somewhere out there Hantengu's main body shivered in unbridled fear.

"Now what to wear? Maybe Zohakuten has an idea." I can't believe that child has that good of a fashion sense. Granted he's like 1000 years old, but still.

The night came quicker than you expected. For this date, you needed to wear something that wasn't too complicated and constricting. You decided on a dark green pantsuit and black open toed espadrille heels. You kept your hair simple with a loose braid down your back and a matching green headband.

You waited at the door with the other three brothers wondering what was keeping Karaku. Zohakuten must've had his work cut out for him.

You were proven wrong when Karaku appeared at the top of the stairs and struck a Jojo pose.

Or he's just a goddamn diva!

You had to admit he looked good though. He had on a short sleeve green and white pinstriped silk button up (top buttons unbuttoned of course), slouchy black pants, and crisp, white canvas shoes. His unruly hair was contained, but wavy and voluminous and swept away from his face. An ear cuff with a leaf shaped charm and emerald stone in the center was clipped to his right ear and a silver ring on each ring finger.

"Well aren't you fancy tonight?" you grinned as he arrogantly made his way down the stairs.

"I gotta keep up with you, don't I?" he said as he grabbed your hand, kissed it, and winked.

Oh he's good.

"You're so dramatic! Don't fuck up and embarrass them!" said Sekido.

"Make sure you're a gentleman the whole time" said Aizetsu.

"Ooh what's that shiny thing on your ear? Can I have one for my date?!" said Urogi.

"Yeah yeah yeah! I know what I'm doing! Let's go, y/n" he said rushing you outside before his brothers had anything else to say.

He seemed eager as you pulled up to the hotel. The lights were blinding. There was a huge fountain in front with backlights of various colors, a statue of a naked goddess, a digital marcee showcasing some of the specials and deals on rooms, and even a valet service.

"It's a hotel AND restaurant? So after we eat we don't even have to leave to go fu-"

"Aht! The point of today is to show you that there are different ways to feel pleasure than just sex. Like food."

The inside of the building was even more spectacular than the outside. A river of water filled with koi snaked through the floors of the rooms, small bridges were placed for patrons to step over it when necessary. There was a live band and traditional Japanese dancers.

"Wow this place is awesome! I hope the food lives up to everything else. I didn't eat all day just for this!" said Karaku as the two of you were led to your private area.

"I really hope you like at least some of it", you said suddenly feeling nervous, "It's been forever since you've gotten to experience human food...well I guess you never have, huh?"

"Hey, that is right! We only manifested after the main body became a demon. Hm. I never thought about it before" said Karaku looking around excitedly, "How do we order?"

You jumped at the question. "O-Oh I ordered ahead of time so that way it wouldn't be a long wait before we got to eat. I should go check on all of that. You just stay here and get comfortable, baby" you said before you zoomed off through the door.

After 15 minutes, you still hadn't returned. Karaku was about to go check on you before a dinner bell was rung and a long cart covered in a black cloth was rolled to your booth. The tray was oddly human shaped. He wondered why he had to take that pill if they were just gonna serve him human anyway, but he just shrugged it off and went to take a sip of water. Food was food.

"I would like to present you with our signature special", said the waiter before he quickly removed the cloth only to reveal your naked body. Your more private parts covered by small trays of food and dips. The waiter promptly bowed and left the room with a straight face as if he was numb to it all by now.

Karaku choked on the water and had a small coughing fit, nearly falling out of his chair.

"Uh. Hi. Bone apple teeth" you said when he finally got a hold of himself.

He clasped his hands together in front of his face and took a deep inhale and exhale before gesturing at the scene before him. He opened his mouth to speak only to close it again. You could practically hear the dial up internet beeping in his head.

"Oh no. I broke him" you said to yourself.

Unfortunately for you, he recovered quickly and broke into a huge grin.

"Aww babe. You're treating me to dinner?" he said rubbing his hands together, "and even the plate....is edible" he continued as he looked you directly in the eyes and licked his lips.

You gulped. You knew he meant metaphorically, but you also realized HAD he wanted to eat you literally, you practically just seasoned yourself. Congratulations. Millions of years of human evolution for these exact reasons and you serve yourself to an apex predator on a silver platter.

Aw shit.

"Now what should I try first? None of these look familiar" he looked over his options excitedly.

"Maybe start with a piece of sashimi?" you gestured towards the slices of fish near your sternum. "I like them with soy sauce"

You watched his eyes light up as he practically whimpered at the combination. "Ooh that's good. The texture is a bit weird, though. What's this?"

He went to bring the maki roll dipped in soy sauce to his mouth, but a drop of it landed on the middle of your chest. You shuddered as it started to drip towards your collarbone.

"Oh jeez. Maybe I should ask for more napkiiiiiins!" you yelped as he quickly licked a line from the drop all the way up to your ear.

"Nah I think we're good here. Don't you?" he asked, pupils blown wide and the "upper four" getting harder to read.

After quite a bit of food, Karaku finally put his chopsticks down and stretched in his chair. You were thankfully NOT eaten, but you were gonna have to have a talk about the bite marks on your thighs and shoulders that he "accidentally" made.

"Wow, I couldn't eat another bite. This was fun, y/n! Next time can we try pizza? I've always wondered what it tastes like."

A waiter came in to offer you a robe to change into before heading to your room. "So will we be skipping dessert tonight or shall I bring the dessert menu?" asked the waiter.

"I think we're goo-ahhh" you tried to say before Karaku threw you over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"I'm just gonna take my dessert to go. Where's our room?"

"What? I thought you said you were full!"

"Babe, there's always room for dessert."

You couldn't walk straight for 3 days after.

[legendofmorons]

Could i request a oneshot with spooky? The short head cannon/list post made me fall in love with them!!!

Like it could be just the post but in oneshot or spooky somehow manadging to hurt yiga a monster or dark link badly, aka protecting the chain + reader ^-^

-a shy annon

You sure can! I am always happy to write anything to do with the boys or cats, so getting to do both is a huge plus!

Spooky: the loveable panther (Spooky, Chain)

Paring: Spooky & Chain & Reader

Rating: G

Summary: When you fall asleep on first watch, Spooky picks up some slack and takes out a Yiga Blademaster

Warnings: cannon typical violence

Other: If I missed anything, please let me know.

-------

You had a bad feeling all week, something thing has been watching you. Everyone's knows it. Even Spooky knows. They aren't going more than a mile away from you in any direction.

Wild has set up the cooking pot to make dinner while the others all go over suppliers or handle mild injuries.

You and Wind are told to go to town and get more bombs, arrows, and some extra fabric. Which is fine.

Spooky follows you, because why wouldn't they? You're their person, the really like wind, and also the group is more protected than just you and Wind.

Their tail lashes side to side as they walk between you and the tree line. Eyes scanning as they move.

Besides, having Spooky with you makes merchants give you a better price. You and Legend think it's because they're scared that you'll have them attacked otherwise.

Wind flits from stall to stall, occasionally swiping paperclips when he can, something about causing as much chaos without damage as he can.

You're just glad it's paper clips this time instead of the fiasco that he caused last time. You can't handle him swiping that many cucoos ever again. Fifty is too many to hide inside an inn room.

When he isn't swiping paperclips, Wind is petting Spooky and cooing sweet things at the overly large cat.

You stop at the general store, knowing they'll probably have most of what you want.

You gather what you came for, paying a very reasonable price before you pat Spooky's head as thanks for helping.

Wind leads you all back to camp, flitting from side to side of the road as he tries to get a better look at the birds in the trees.

The walk is long but not the worst.

Dinner is ready when you get home, and Wild immediately slips Spooky a good chunk of raw deer.

"Hey, Spooks. Did you have fun?" Wild asks as he pets behind their ears.

Spooky just leans their entire weight into the attention, acting like an oversized housecat more than anything.

"Yeah? Did you keep Wind and (Y/n) outta trouble?"

Spooky gives a yawn at the question.

You move away from the champion and settle onto a log, bowl of stew in hand as the others talk around you.

Spooky comes to lay by your feet, falling asleep quickly. The panther snores like a housecat- just at a deeper pitch.

"Hey, (Y/n)," Time says as he sits opposite of you, "Did you get everything?"

"We did. Wind caused the typical trouble."

Time shakes his head with a soft upturn to his lips. He never really dissuades Wind, usually helping him silently from the sidelines.

"Of course. "

"We got really good deals today, Spooky was super helpful." You say, a little petty and loving to take every opportunity to point out how awesome Spooky is.

Becuase certain people were against bringing Spooky along. Those people have shut up. Becuase Spooky is a good kitty who hunts for you all.

Your eyes land back on the sleeping panther pinning you in place with their arms and head.

"That's good." Time says with a smile, entirely too fond of you and Wind and Spooky going to be a chaotic trio.

"We should probably get to bed early, the last week has been draining for all of us." You say, "I'll take first watch."

"You for have to -" Time tries to argue, ever the adult.

"Spooky is on my feet. I can't get up. Please just let me take the first watch."

"Okay." Time says while trying not to laugh at you.

It's comical really, letting the creature use your feet as a pillow. The way their head almost completely rests on both your feet.

Wind comes and sits down next to you, slipping Spooky a hunk of meat in greeting. You tried telling him and Wild both that they don't have to slip treats to Spooky all the time.

The two had only given offended looks and held eye contact while doing it again.

The others talk for a while as you zone out, letting your brain rest before you take watch. You probability need to grab a scratching post or something for Spooky...

Do giant cats like scratching posts?

You watch the fire as sleep creeps up on you.

The fireflies light up around you as you try to stay awake.

The panther purring on your feet does not help. Becuase everyone knows that a purring cat is a tranquilizer for most people.

Spooky wakes you with a yowl as they launch at a large figure. Their teeth truly terrifying as they bite the enemy's arm.

"Oh son of a -" your curse is cut off by Spooky's snarl as they dig in harder with their teeth.

You rush to grab your sword and watch as the enemy throws Spooky into a tree.

A truly unforgivable choice.

"Hey! That's my cat, you asshole!" You call loudly, as you charge with a sword.

You get knocked aside without effort as they block you.

You land next to Warriors with a thump and a groan, smacking his nose with your sprawling arm.

"What's going on?" Warriors demands as he starts to reach for his sword.

"Blademaster!" You shriek as you push up onto a damaged ankle.

Spooky launches at the enemy again just to get knocked aside.

You watch enraged as the others start waking up and grabbing weapons. This bastard hurt your cat and woke up the boys!

Wind charges forward as he is blinded bh rages, "That's my friend, you ass hat!"

The blade master throws Wind aside, too. And the groan the young teen lets out is more than concerning. Causing Warriors to rush to the boy.

Hyruld follows the captain's lead, hands already giving off blue light.

You charge at the figure only to be knocked to the ground by Spooky using your back as a place to vault off of.

Spooky jumps off your back and towards the blademasger, mauling him so viciously and quickly he can’t even fight.

He dies with a gurgle as Spooky rips his throat out before dropping it with nothing but disdain at your feet.

You smile softly, kneeling on an upset leg to praise and pet your cat.

"Good job baby." You coo, scratching their ear, "You're so good!"

You feel so loved, Spooky saved you!

Becuase everyone knows murdering enemies is the best love language.

[pikorizzes]

Hello~! ＼(^_^)／

So today! I'll show my Lenmiku/Mikulen One-shot that i wrote </3! Hope yall enjoy it...!

Let me do some introduction plspls Lenku, highschool + valentine's day oneshot?!?!?! :

Kagamine Len: A boy who's around of 170 cm (5'7), has very spiky and soft blonde hair. 2nd year student. Younger twin. Cold-blooded Tsundere. 16 y.o

Kagamine Rin: A girl who's around of 165 cm (5'5) has a short blonde hair, shorter hair than len's hair. Also wears hair clips. 2nd year student. Older twin. Hot-headed Tsundere. 16 y.o

Utatane-Senpai (Utatane Piko): A boy who's around of 175 cm (5'9) has longer white-grayish hair. Has mis-matched eyes, 3rd year student. Kuudere. 17 y.o

Hatsune Miku: A girl who's around of 172 cm (5'8), known with her popularity and Piko being her guardian. Deredere. 17 y.o

From oldest to youngest:

MIKU

PIKO

RIN

LEN

It was a rainy day at school, the person looked at the rain. It was heavy, sighing. While looking at the bad weather, the person would fix hair. After all, he wanted to be a good-looking but cold guy in front of her.. His beautiful bluetonic eyes, turned to his classmates. He saw his older twin sister, Rin talking with a senpai. Utatane-senpai, He tried to overhear their conversation.

"Oi-!" Rin pouted at the boy, "Where are you going?!" Rin pulled Utatane-Senpai's ear. Causing the white haired boy gasp,

"Today is V-Valentine's day....You silly..!" Rin replied, "So what---?" Utatane-senpai replied, sighing. Causing Rin to explode within her head.

"Idiot!" Rin slapped the boy, a bit of frustrated, "I....I made chocolate... Based on cats....Ughhh!!!" Rin crossed her arms, "You are really not-so caring cold boy, aren't you?" Rin laughed and tried to mess Piko's hair.

As he watched them indifferently, he thought of her giving him a chocolate box. Though he knew that it was impossible... After all, he was popular with some girls but his popularity can't really beat on her's....Yes, it was Miku. Hatsune Miku. Len had a huge interest in her, not just because of her looks or anything, her personality was the thing he was mesmerized of....

Past.... January 23rd

"Nee, Len-?" Miku said his name, the water-green haired girl smiled with a blush at her face, giggling. Len would sigh, acting very strict and robotic around the girl. Though in reality...His heart was pumping the blood heavily.

"What you want, Hatsune?" Len sighed, keeping his cool status to Miku,

"Just call me as Miku! Not Hastune y'know? Darn it...Len, we are childhood friends remember?" Miku replied. Their beautiful eyes came cross. Miku giggled more and put a random sticker to his face saying 'I love bananas'

"W...What have you done-?" Len asked, there was a small water puddle. He'd see the sticker, looking a bit indifferent to his face. Then he'd turn to Miku, Miku would laugh and say:

"Wwwhaat~?" She said playfully, "Didn't the Mr. I'm very cool guy like his sticker?" Miku looked at him, slightly narrowing her eyes...She smiled at him with showing her teeth. She'd bit her nail which she looked very attractive. Len sighed,

"Ffffineee..." He'd groan, "I really love the sticker you put on my face...It looks so cool Mickey-chan.... I would wear it everyday." Len sounded like he wasn't even that interested in her. He also groaned while saying the sentence. However, the girl didn't care what image that he gave to her. She'd hug his arm while giggling.

"Waaaa~!!! You really love it!!!! I know that expression of yours!!!" Miku giggled, blushing so badly yet her cheeks also got tired of smiling too much...

"H-Hey! Stop this for instant!!" Len yelled at Miku, blushing a bit...Though he didn't want to show Miku...

Now, February 14rd..

Len felt awful for not really showing his true side to Miku, as he thought of her. He placed his hands to the desk, making them into a fist. He was trying to think.... What could he do...? He knew that Valentine's day was supposed to have girls giving chocolate to guys. Len somehow had an idea....! He decided to mess with his bento with Rins in order to give the best 'Valentine Day' suprise to the girl. Then he messed with his twin's backpack....He found the cute pink bento box of Rin's. He saw the cutely designed octopus shaped sausages, eggs with bored faces and some onigiri to balance...He smirked and opened his own box as well, he saw Sashimi, Tamago with narutomaki... He sighed, no wonder why his mother didn't make cute meals for him but to Rin. No matter what it is, Len decided to combine all the bento with Rin's. As if he was creating a new bento. He emptified Rin's bento... Putting all the food to his. Before he closed his sister's lunchbox. He put a note , saying sorry...

As he was trying to put Rin's Bentobox. He dropped it, catching his sister's attention.

"Len-?" Rin looked at him. And saw the bento box of hers. His completely full with food. And she even saw her food on his bento. Rin had a face of disbelief and anger. Len was slightly scared because we all know that how Rin can be angry.... Rin started to walk towards him. Len quickly closed the bento and quickly rushed from table to table.

"YOU ARE SO DEAD, LITTLE BROTHER-!!" Rin replied and started to throw books at him.

"S-SORRY---" Len hesitated and kept running, then with all of his speed . He disappeared from the class 2-C. Rin was about to chase him...But Piko stopped her, showing the note at Rin's bento.

"Here, look at this one. Please." Piko replied to the girl and handed the note...

Dear, My sister Rin

Today is Valentine's Day. You know that...Well, I saw you giving a box of chocolate for Utatane-senpai. I felt my heart sank...You know whom I have a huge, deep crush on....Miku-san. Well, might be shocking. But i indeed love her and see her as the one....Even though how I treat her awfully...I feel a huge connection with her. Sometimes, because of her reckless actions towards me . I want to throw my head to the wall. I love her not just because of her famous but her personality and her beauty that shines my not even shining sun...I'm so sorry for emptifiying your bento...Today seems so crucial for me...Because I'm about to ask Miku out...So please, don't be mad at me...I want to impress Miku like how you did impress Utatane-senpai...And for tomorrow...I'll do anything that you want. Dressing me as a woman or even make your dreams come true...

Your dearest younger twin brother, Len

Rin looked at Piko, smirking. "Did you hear that...~?" She giggled, she had some ideas...

"Hm-?"

"LEN WILL BE MY SLAVE FOR TOMORROW AHGAGAHAGAHA-" Rin said and rolled herself to the ground. Laughing. Piko sighed and rolled his eyes.

"He should stop calling me as 'Utatane-senpai' , I already gave him the permission of calling me as 'Piko-san' " Piko sighed again and touched a piece of hair at his head. Rin realized that Piko wasn't even giving an attention towards her.

"Oi, do you even listen to me-?"

"Huh?"

"Len will be my slave tomorrow! I can't wait to dress you and him as gi-"

"Thanks to the roll that you showed. I saw your panties' color...It's striped orange..."

"YOU PERVER-"

Now with Len, after losing a track of Rin chasing him. He panted. He was tired of running as his breath was cutting down and down. The boy sighed and sat to the ground. Then he saw Miku with a random boy... He felt awful despite the fact that he didn't really show with his face expression. He would hear the conversation.

"He-Hello Mi-Miku!" The random boy said, blushing with the gut he has. Len's eyes widen as he heard more.

"Hello Yakeru-san~!" Miku replied to the boy. Smiling as usual. Miku somehow had an ability to make people blush.

"M-Miku....!" The boy named Yakeru knelt down, giving his hand to Miku. "W-Will you marry with me?!"

As Len heard this, he wanted to get up and punch that guy but he knew that he didn't want to enter to the detention classes so he kept himself cool and whatsoever... Miku laughed at Yakeru's confession.

"S-Sorry for laughing really!" Miku giggled and looked at that boy, "But we are at highschool...You dummy! We can't get married or something...!"

"PLEASE MIKU JUST GRAB MY HAND AND-" Then Miku akwardly laughed as another girl dragged Yakeru. It seems that it must have been Yakeru's girlfriend...

Wow...He did really cheat on her...." Miku thought and she slightly turned her head and saw Len...Which she was actually belonging for.... "LeeeeEEEENNn~!!!" Miku yelled to the boy. And she started to run so that she could sit next to him. Len gasped and hid the bento box... As Miku approached to him, she slowly kneel down and smiled:

"Why are sitting at the ground, Len-kun?" Miku asked, Len looked at her. Again indifferently. "Well... I...I like sitting at the ground and watch the clouds form some new shapes like this feather shaped cloud." Len pointed to the cloud, Miku was amazed because it really looked like a feather...Miku looked at Len,

"You're really amazing....! Len!" Miku replied sat next to him. Len looked at her. Smiling in front of her for the first time, Miku looked at him and screamed. Len was shocked.

"Oh my god! You actually smiled-!" Miku said wanting to hug him. Though her actions were prevented by Len as he didn't want the girl to touch him. "Shut this instantly!!!"

After the huge conflict that happened with Miku and Len. Miku realized what today is...

"Today's Valentine's day...Huh," Miku replied, tucking a part of her hair to her ear. Len nod and sighed, Miku smiled at him softly.

"Soo.... Did you give any chocolate to girls? Len," Miku replied and Len poked her nose with his right hand.

"Idiot. Valentine's day is supposed to have girls giving chocolate or other stuff t-to guys." Len sighed, slightly sounding a bit of angry. But Miku patted his head.

"But that doesn't mean that man can't give presents to their beloved!" Miku giggled, "Well. I didn't really buy a chocolate to the guy i really love...Because....Uhm." Miku hid her face with her hair. Blushing.

"I don't think he will be satisfied..I have a belief that he will be more satisfied if I just kissed him..." Miku giggled and looked at him, kinda looking hurt.

"Eh? Len-?"

"Y...Yeah?" Len hesitated, looking at her.

"You seem...Hurt." Miku stopped hiding her face with her beautiful hair. The girl was scared and worried for him, she touched his cheek. Causing Len to heat up.

"H-Hey... I'm fine...!" Len replied, softly taking Miku's hand from his cheek and he handed the bento box to her. Blushing, "Y...You probably forgot eating s-something...W...Well! This is uhm...My valentine's day gift...F...For..." Len shivered and looked at her deeply, "For you!"

Len opened the bento box of his. It was full of his and Rin's food. Miku was shocked, "W...Well.. Wh...What do you think...?" Len asked to to the girl. Miku hugged him and kissed his cheek.

"Thank y..You. Len," The girl replied. Smiling and took the bento box. Grabbing the bambu chopsticks. Miku grabbed a Sashimi and looked at the boy.

"Wh-Why are you letting me to take the first bite..."

Len asked , hesitating. Miku sighed:

"Len. You are the guy that I belong for...I like you, I love you. Seeing this bento..." Miku looked at the bento. "Makes me happy. No matter what effort you put in this meal. I would always want to the maker's first bite."

Len blushed and was touched by her words and he gladly took the Sashimi to his mouth. After chewing. He gulped.

"Miku....I-I love you too...I know that this may not be the perfect gift for a popular girl like you but i-"

Miku shut him down with her hand and the way she looked at him was promising.

"For me, anything that has been made by you might be the perfect gift for me...Len-kun..."

And with that...Miku enjoyed her food and kissed the boy afterwards...

I HOPE YALL LOVED IT <333

[bird-inacage]

Ah I LOVE your posts, thank you so much for writing them!

I wanted to ask your opinion of that scene in the trailer, where Ray and Sand seem to be in a class (at 1:40 in the trailer) and Ray says something like 'now that you stepped into my life, I won't let you walk away' I find Sand's expression interesting!

I am guessing it's gonna be after Sand has distanced himself (I am also guessing it's after their fights in the trailer) but I wanted to read your opinion!

Thank you either way and again, I love your insights a lot ^^

Hello Anon!

Thank you so much for your lovely and generous message, and taking the time to read my posts❤️

I assume you're referring to this scene? Ooh, now this did jump out to me when I first watched the trailer too because it seems to mark a turning point. A turning point where Ray is potentially ready to pursue Sand back.

My assumption would be the same as yours. This likely takes place after a massive argument or confrontation. After which Sand has finally decided to give up on trying to get answers from Ray. Based on the fieriness of those fights, Ray is very hard to reason with once he gets that angry. Not only do the arguments blow up in Sand's face, but Ray often seems to be the one storming off, leaving him hanging and none the wiser.

Now I imagine that at this point, Sand is tired. The poor man has tried to be patient. He's probably given Ray chances to explain himself. And when all else failed, he decided to directly confront him (which was probably a last ditch attempt to get something out of him). None of which seem to have yielded any results. My prediction is that the only remaining thing for Sand to do is to break contact. For his own sanity. Probably tries to keep his head low and avoid Ray in the meantime (which then results in Ray hunting him down and confronting him at university instead).

It's difficult to read Sand's expression from such a short clip, but he's clearly conflicted. The last time he saw Ray was probably the fight. I'm sure he's hurt and staying away has been difficult. He probably misses him. And all of a sudden - here he is, and he's got Sand backed into a corner.

What I mostly see in his expression is a mixture of frustration, disbelief and a hint of relief. Frustration and disbelief because Ray has the audacity to act in this manner after Sand has tried to reason with him. The irony in that as soon as Sand pulls back, Ray comes knocking. But there's also the slightest hint of relief, because the mere fact that Ray has come looking for him validates that Ray does have feelings for him, despite anything he might have said previously.

Sand jokes in Episode 3 that he's been Ray's driver, his drinking buddy, his shrink, his chef, his friend with benefits (and probably more to come that we haven't seen yet). Ultimately, Sand has become someone who takes care of Ray.

If Sand just stopped, Ray would panic. So it doesn't surprise me that Ray would be all: 'you don't get to just stop. You don't get to just walk away. You're too important to me now. You can't just abandon me.' Which is typical brat behaviour. He doesn't say 'I will convince you to stay', he says 'I won't let you walk away', which means Sand doesn't get any choice in this matter. It's more an attempt to emphasise his conviction rather than actual intent to inhibit Sand's free will.

But boy oh boy is there so much to dig into with this show, and I'm glad you're enjoying all the deep diving as I am. Sorry for waffling on!

---birdie