#cat paper cube

[ladyteelia]

The Radio Box calls to you... make the cube... 👀

[breadhalfburnt]

was it just common practice to start a business in school (specifically like, grade school)

[gallusrostromegalus]

hi i see that you have much smart dog experience. i may have accidentally purchased such a dog. she's only 10 weeks, and ive had her 1, and she's already outmatched every puzzle feeder i got or have made. to the point that she is morosely disappointed when her food comes in an actual food bowl. do you know where i can find like. "heres 100 enrichment toys you can make out of free trash so your dog stops eating fucking rocks for enrichment" lists. i only have so many paper towel tubes XD

Herschel now just disassembles puzzle feeders, so I've been focusing on "Toys that, even if he already knows how to operate them, will still take TIME for him to collect the treat from" to give him something to fuss with.

Herschel eats all his meals out of a Kong Wobbler, because he will otherwise eat so fast he will literally inhale and choke on his kibble and I do not need him developing pneumonia from aspiration. Even though it's a "Simple" toy it slows him down and he does have to think a bit to tip it in the most efficient manner possible. Kong's "Flipz", "Gyro" and "Rewards Wally" are also really good "dog needs to think/carefully manipulate the toy for food" toys that act as both mental stimulation and exercise and "give human a break for up to twelve minutes" toys.

I highly reccomend KONG as a brand- they're local to Denver and have an impeccable saftey record and all of the toys I have gotten from them have held up extremely well vs. the ravages of three entirely too smart and strong-jawed dogs at once.

Some more thoughts:

If she's not prone to shredding rubber, the kind of treat toys she has to chew are also good stimulation.

If you don't want to give her That Many treats, my vet said that dogs can have as many green beans as they want. Just make sure that the beans haven't had salt added to them- canned usually does, but frozen green beans usually don't, but always check the label.

You can make nearly any toy last longer, or make a cheap long-puzzle by freezing the treats so they take longer to eat AND provides hydration. Herschel's most favorite treat of all time is literally a wad of sliced green beans in a dixie cup, filled with water and frozen. Just peel off the cup and hand him the chunk of ice and he's good for up to half an hour and more chill afterwards.

You can also freeze lick mats

If your girl is like Charlie and doesn't like greenbeans, you can also try freezing paper cups of: Canned pumpkin, apple slices in water, putting some ice cubes in the bottom of the cup, a gob of peanut butter in the middle and then fill it with water to make a peanutbutter filled ice cube.

If your girl is REALLY like charlie who has figured out how to use labor negotiation and strike tactics for better treats: boiled chicken chunks frozen in some of the water you boiled them in.

Walkies are as much mental stimulation as they are physical exercise. Take her out and let her sniff to her heart's content.

Also Puppies in particular need like, SO MUCH exercise.

Let her participate in activities with you. Herschel and charlie sit in the kitchen and I narrate cooking dinner to them, which seems to interest them, even if I don't have spare veggie ends to give them. I also frequently bring them along in the car if I'm running errands when it's cold enough to do that, so they have something new to look at, and get to participate. I also am more likely to stop at a new park and give myself some exercise and mental stimulation.

Training her to do tasks is GREAT Smart Dog enrichment- esp if she's a herding or heeler, they LOVE being helpful. I taught the dogs they get a small treat if they come in from the yard without me having to go chase them down, which saved me a lot of hassle, and now I'm working on teaching herschel to pick things up off the floor for me if I drop them and alert for chickpeas, which my housemate is allergic to.

A lot of dogs like cat-type toys. Tie a stick or some fleece to some paracord and drag or flycast it around for her to chase/play tug with when she catches it. Toys that bounce unexpectedly were also a huge hit. or just wave the string around the cat and the corgi both like that.

If you live in farm country or know other people with pets, you can grab something with the scent of another animal on it and bring it home for her to smell. Charlie and Herschel spent the better part of three days investigating the wad of horse undercoat I brought home and put in the spare wobbler for them to smell.

[honey-pages]

Fluff Fics - Viktor x Reader - Kiss Me

Description -

This is Part 2 of my fluff mini series. Part 1 can be found here.

Viktor makes table toppings for an event.

0.4k words

F/M. Fluff.

The lab had been hard work today. Students had flocked from all over Piltover to see the talk prepared by a partner professor from a nearby institution. You and Viktor had been given the task of hosting his appearance- sweeping the lab, dragging up chairs and tables, and organising little snacks and sweet treats. Catering was neither of your passions but the event was important to the department and so you treated it with importance. You had made the hike up and down the stairs to spare Viktor the job. He instead sat at one of the catering tables, setting out glasses and putting together the spread of food.

“Is this a usual event?” You asked

“I haven’t been present at one in a very long time. I suppose with the upcoming hextech research, professors are drawn to hold their lectures here.” Viktor replied, folding the napkins into little cats.

You sit at the seat beside him at the large round table. His little cats were pristine, crisply folded and with moving tails.

“How did you learn to do that?”

“When I was a child, I used to make lots of things like these.”

Viktor grabs a square piece of paper this time and shields his work from you as he folds. He takes a pen from his pocket, marking up the paper.

“See this?” He presents the folded cube shaped paper. It is sitting between his four fingers, each digit in a different fold of the paper as he manipulates it to fold and unfold. There are numbers written on each corner. “Pick a number between one and four.”

“Three.” Viktor flips the corners three times, presenting you with eight choices.

“A number between one and eight?” He asks.

“Seven”

“Back then, we used to make these from paper scraps and have people choose options to tell them their future- or some joke message.” He smiles fondly.

He flips the inner paper seven times. He looks at the paper happily, tilting it to you, showing you the message it has landed on. ‘Kiss me’.

“Ah see, now you have to do what the paper says” He laughs, “I don’t make the rules, it’s all probabilities.”

You lean in and kiss him deeply. He drops the paper and it unfolds. All eight numbers say ‘Kiss me’.

[meliciousmel13]

̗̗̀̀➛ killer!billie headcannons

paring: killer!billie x bimbo!reader warnings: smut, obsessive behavior, face sitting, stalking? (kind of), billie kills someone here, grinding, i think thats it tell me if you find any more please!

wc: 1,487

SYNOPSIS: headcannons of killer!billie x bimbo!reader

taglist: @chrissv4mp, if your not a part of this list but want to be comment under my tag list post, which is on my masterlist.

an: i wrote this today 💀 IM ON MY PERIODDD and kind of horny ngl

at first, she didn’t think much of you. she thought you were just another co-worker at her boring office job that sometimes brought everyone coffee, like the angel you were.

until she saw her co-worker, oliver, flirt with you. she knew he was flirting with you because he was touching you. he was touching your shoulder, and touching your hair. and touching, and touching. he would stop fucking touching you.

she hated that it irritated her. hated the way you wore things that made people look, like that skimpy top you wore last week, everyone was looking.

the first time you talked to her, you smiled, gave her a tissue wrapped doughnut and black coffee with one sugar cube. said it was nice to meet her and that you were new here.

it’s either you knew her, or just guessed her coffee preference. but you were so thoughtful.

she unknowingly started to follow you to the empty parking lot and find you fumbling with your keys with papers stacked on one arm.

she imagined helping you, taking those papers from you and handing you her number, maybe you call her and invite her to diner or something, anything.

but she never did anything. only savored the way her hand brushes yours whenever you were handing her the breakfast she relied on.

sometimes she skips meals so she can talk to you.

she didn’t even have to ask. just subtly hint that she forgot her lunch at home—and, oh, whatever will she do?

“you can have some of mine.” you smiled softly, pushing half of your sandwich into her hands.

“oh, i can’t take your food. it’s fine, i can go a day without lunch.” billie said, shaking her head. knowing that you would deny her not eating.

“what? no. half already fills me up you can take it.”

“if you insist.” she smiled.

it wasn’t her fault she followed oliver home. it was his fault, for flirting with what was hers. you.

she imagined stabbing oliver in the neck. hiding the body, and comforting you when you run to her, talking about how awful it is for someone to stab such a nice person.

until she actually killed him.

billie prepared her rubber gloves, the sharpened knife and various things. she thought of her plan. would she just knock on his door and stab him? no. that was too dangerous. someone might see her.

so she decided to sneak in his backyard. he lived alone, with 2 cats and 2 woman constantly coming in and out. great, he was even a cheater. see? he deserved it.

and he even screamed like a pussy. wearing his stupid shark boxers and still had his work button up on.

the next day the police came to see the crime. one of the girls he was cheating on knocked on his door to find his dick severed and his throat slit.

and guess who you came to cry to? her. you cried over someone you barely knew.

“i can’t—” hic. “i can’t believe someone s—” hic.

“shh.” she rubbed your back, while you were crying into her shoulder, you were wearing a light pink skirt on and a pretty top that left nothing for the imagination, “maybe i can come over? bake everyone cookies?”

“mhmm,” you sniffle, wiping your tears and snot on her shirt, “m’ sorry bout' your shirt.” you breathe.

“it’s okay, you can make it up to me. give me two cookies instead of one.” billie said, smiling, hiding her satisfaction.

“i’ll give you four.” you giggle. angel.

so she came over. she walked into your house invited. and she didn’t even stalk you to find out where you live—she was being good.

you opened the door with smallest fucking shorts she’s ever seen, and a tiny pink top, with no bra. which means that your nipples were leaving a small print on the fabric.

she’s in heaven. the whole house was lathered in your perfume and natural scent. and the walls were decorated with paintings and little trinkets. she knew your house wouldn’t be boring, like olivers. she sat on your couch and it was so soft.

she thought of fucking you on it. how your moans would ricochet off the pretty walls and how her cock would pump in your pretty pussy. how you would be too afraid to touch her back in case your accidentally scratched at it and hurt her. you could never hurt her.

how she would convince you to sit on her lap, naked, and whine and whimper, begging her to just fuck you already, like you couldn’t wait any longer.

she imagined convincing you to sit on her face. how you’d be too cautious, afraid to break her nose or neck. you would still do it though, sitting on her pretty face that was filled with a satisfied smile.

she would have her head almost falling off the edge of your bed, offering you to just get off her face if it was too much, it would first start off slow, you hover over her face not even siting. holding and gripping her hands, how she would leave small kisses on your thighs before extending her tongue and tasting you.

you would ‘mhph’ at that, left breathless and feeling your knees go weak, she would take her other hand and guide you to fully sit, she would feel the weight of you on her mouth. how she would shove her long pink tongue into you.

you would moan, still holding her hand and gripping her hair, bucking your hips. actually riding her. how your pouty lips let out the prettiest noises. how would let go of her hand and hold her head with both your hands and squeeze her head between your thighs.

she didn’t do any of that, obviously. just helped you with making your cookies.

you were putting in the chocolate chips now, and billie was holding your waist and watching. in reality, she didn’t do shit to help. only preparing the ingredients and keeping you company.

“now we bake them forr, i think 20 minutes.” you said, pushing the tray into the oven and bending, to reveal your striped panties. she was behind you, could feel your ass pushing against her pelvis.

“your really good at baking.” she complemented.

“thank you.” you blush, and smile.

she realized you were an angel ages ago. but when you offered for her to sleep over? oh.

she entered your room and saw the mess, the thrown dirty underwear and your “work” clothes throw in the corner of the room.

your face was flushed and you apologized for the mess. billie didn’t mind though, even helped you clean, she always treated you well, your mom would love her.

you thought about billie meeting your parents, they would think she was the best person you’ve brought them to meet, since all your other boyfriends only wanted you for your body. their personality was horrible too, they all treated your mom awfully.

but billie would never, she’d probably help your mom in the kitchen when she’s preparing the dinner. and your dad would talk about how he needed a helping hand in his mechanic company. noticing how well she was with her hands.

you imagined how the sweat would roll off her forehead—and now that’s dangerous territory, let’s not think of that.

you let billie sleep in your bed, since you didn’t want her to sleep on the floor with a pillow. that would hurt her back.

you didn’t even think of why her knee was between your thighs, she didn’t mean to push herself behind you and do that

you woke up with billie’s knee between your thighs, she adjusted her position and unconsciously moved her knee upward, causing it to hit your pussy, and you sniffled a moan, putting a hand over her knee and grinding subtly.

you were dirty. even moved your shorts and panties to the side to feel the rough fabric of her sweatpants on your bare pussy, feeling her knee hitting your clit at the perfect angle. almost like she was awake.

you slid your hand under the pillow and gripped, digging your head into the pillow and sniffling your whines.

you felt billie shuffle, and stiffen.

“good morning, angel.” she whispered in your ear, putting your shorts and panties back to their designated spot, not before brushing your clit with her middle finger, “were you busy there? sorry, your whining woke me up.”

you apologized a million times, couldn’t stop thinking of her deep, raspy morning voice in your ears. and her knee.

billie left soon after. she didn’t leave empty handed though, she left your house with a box of chocolate chip cookies and two pairs of your dirty underwear stuffed in her pockets. and a little lip gloss stain on her cheek.

[whirlybirbs]

— BURNER CELL ; 2 ; DABI ; 荼毗

summary: after a week of silence, you finally text dabi. pairing: dabi / f!reader ; quirkless word count: 1.3k tag: humor, maladjusted dabi meets normal adult woman, flirting, canon-based world building, cancer mention, texting as a plot device, slight au, univeristy student!reader a/n: this stole all my concentration. siri play emo boy by ayesha erotica ← previous | the tag

It's the kind of week where, aside from class, human interaction isn't really on life's setlist. 

It's also the kind of week where you rediscover making a meal of raw cookie dough straight from the package. Your econ textbook might have a stranglehold on you, but you make enough time to scarf down a few globs between chapters — after all, who needs protein or fiber when you're sure this five-year master's program will kill you first?

Your head hurts.

You slump against the counter, refilling your water bottle. 

It's late now — and you can feel the quiet woes beginning to wane as you blink at the clock. By now, your friends are probably on their second or third drinks. You turned the invite down when they asked yesterday. Nuri tugged on your sweater sleeve and pouted the best pout she could manage, but you didn't budge. 

I've gotta finish this paper, I'm sorry, Nur'. 

You roll your jaw as you shut the faucet off, wandering to your freezer to wrangle some cubes from the tray. You bend it slowly, deep in thought. A few pop out, and you idly drop them into your water bottle with a twang. 

You're staring at your phone. It's by your computer on the counter. 

...You never did text Dabi. 

You told yourself it was for the best — after all, you weren't looking for a catastrophic derailment of your life at the moment. Things are good. You're two semesters away from finishing University, your family's bakery back in Kyoto is doing well, and Dad's chemotherapy seems to be working. Things are good! It's almost fall, you've managed to stick to your monthly budget, and Mizu settled in happily to your new apartment. 

No four-day poop strike like the last time you moved.

The large tuxedo cat in question ambles through the kitchen — brushing against your leg and letting out a long, low mrrooow. 

Things are great! 

You shouldn't text Dabi.

But... even if you did, it's not like it'd be the end of the world, right?

Wait, could he figure out where you lived from your number...?

You could use one of those anonymous texting services. Then, it wouldn't even be your number. Just some fake string of digits that allow you to satiate the bizarre curiosity that's been swirling in your head for the last week. 

You're sure the novelty will wear off. 

He's probably not even going to respond. 

You're telling yourself this is stupid as you begin to set up an account with the service — the app boasts privacy, andunlimited calls and texts... You can't help but feel a little strange as you finalize your account. 

It's done.

You import his contact with two taps and stare at the blank screen. 

...Now what?

Are you really going to do this? I mean — he's a wanted criminal. He's a member of the League of Villains. If anyone ever found out you were in contact with him, you'd be toast. You'd have All Might kicking your door in and demanding to look through your phone and that mental image is enough to make you cringe. Say goodbye to your degree, goodbye toyour future as Sakura Flour's owner, and goodbye to freedom. You're sure the Safety Commission would place you on some watch list for the rest of your life, and frankly, your tweets are already questionable. You don't need more scrutiny. 

...So, there are two options. 

Delete his number and move on... or don't get caught. 

You shouldn't text Dabi.

...But, you do.

Truth be told, he isn't shocked to see that cute Nuri girl hanging on Giran's arm again. The Broker seems pretty into her — the guy even mentioned something about taking her to a nice dinner during the week as a congrats on passing some big test. Dabi can't blame him. She's cute. Looks good in red. Not his type, but he can appreciate it from time to time.

However, Dabi is a little shocked that you're not a part of the group cheering in Giran's VIP section. There's bottle service being ordered, laughter, dancing, and a gaggle of pretty, five college girls — and none of them are you. 

His lips twist into a scowl. 

He decides he's leaving; his piss-poor drink is tossed back, and he dumps a bill down for the bartender before tugging his hood up and sucking his teeth. 

He never liked this club anyway.

He's crossing the threshold of the back door, stepping into the damp and dark alley, when the phone in his back pocket buzzes. Someone's smoking a Marlboro by the dumpster. The familiar smell makes Dabi's fingers twitch. 

He's tryna quit.

He tugs the phone from his pocket, no longer bothered by the splintered glass screen. His battery is at 13%. This fuckin' thing barely holds a charge anymore. 

The number on the screen isn't one he knows.

Dabi's passcode is unnecessarily long. His phone clicks open as he narrows his eyes and shambles towards the opening in the alley. He doesn't know this number. He has everyone's cell memorized that he needs. Shigaraki, Toga, Spinner, Jin, Compress, even Giran. He doesn't keep contacts. Doesn't work when he's ditching phones all the time. He's got his noggin. That's good enough.

The text is one word:

hi.

Dabi's squinting at the text when another buzzes through. 

← 909.999.3399 ;  11:48pm sorry, this is bar girl

→ dabi ; 11:46pm thought u were never gonna txt me ur girlie nuri is here where r u

There's no way.

Your phone buzzes three times from its far place where it sits face down on the counter — you just walked away from it, hellbent on distracting yourself while you waited out the potential reply. You go rigid in your kitchen. 

Did he seriously text you back immediately?

You purse your lips, then slink towards the phone. It buzzes again.

→ dabi ; 11:47pm c'mon don't leave me hangin pretty

Your eyes are wide as you stare at the string of replies. He has read receipts turned on like the psychopath he is. 

You lean back against the counter, chewing your cuticle as you let out a ragged sigh. Nuri is with him? Or... No, they said they were going to that club you hate. 

← 909.999.3399 ;  11:4pam oh, are they at the bar?‎

Dabi's fingers move fast.

→ dabi ; 11:49pm nah in downtown club tropical or whatever the fuck it's called

You snort a little.

← 909.999.3399 ;  11:49pm i hate that place. their drinks suck.

Dabi has started making his way back to their hideout — back to the shit box apartments they're renting above Kurogiri's bar. He's slow, idly texting as he weaves through the crowds of nightlife in Kamino Ward. 

→ dabi ; 11:50pm a girl after my own heart where r u ur dodging my question u on a date or smthng????

He's insistent, you'll give him that. You cross your legs as you lean back against the laminate counter and chew the inside of your lip.

He's typing. It starts, then stops, then starts again. 

When you start typing, the bubble disappears. 

← 909.999.3399 ;  11:50pm nah, got a huge paper to finish uni student, remember? sorry to disappoint 

→ dabi ; 11:51pm ur missin out giran got bottle service  him and nuri looked cozy

← 909.999.3399 ;  11:51pm not shocked she thinks she can fix him

→ dabi ; 11:51pm ooooo love when that happens poor girl

Typing... 

Typing...

→ dabi ; 11:51pm u think u can fix me? :p

The emoji makes your face break into a smile — it's so... not what you expected. 

← 909.999.3399 ;  11:52pm nah i'm not stupid

→ dabi ; 11:52pm just busy.... really lame of u tbh coulda been fun

← 909.999.3399 ;  11:52pm wasting cash on mid drinks is the opposite of fun

→ dabi ; 11:52pm i meant seeing me

Oh, what the fuck.

Why does that text make your face feel hot? Why does that text make you feel like you're not texting the League of Villain's #1 Arsonist, but some cute boy from class? He's not a cute boy from class. He's a danger to society. 

You're glad you don't have the opportunity to reply. Your phone is buzzing in your hands, the haptic feedback lighting the neurons in your brain on fire.  

→ dabi ; 11:53pm gtg phone is gonna die have fun with ur paper u loser hope u get a good grade or whatever i'll txt u later

You shouldn't have texted Dabi.

But you did. 

[fubu18writes]

❧a sugar daddy always treats his sugar baby right

♢regular tags: sugar daddy!kokonoi, sugar baby!reader, f!reader, established relationship, a bit fluffy ♢mature tags: age gap (koko is in his mid-thirties, reader is in their early 20s), oral (fem receiving), a bit of cock worship if you squint, nipple play if you also squint, idk what it's called but reader puts koko's dick inbetween her breasts (i think it's a titjob or titfucking look idk about this), squirting ♢all characters are 18+ until stated otherwise

a/n: imma just say that... kokonoi can be gentle if he wanted to, okay?

After spending the day drinking vodka by the pool, you returned to your hotel room... only to discover that you were locked out. A cleaning lady eyed her suspiciously as you wander around the hall with only a bikini and a towel to cover your body.

And because you were a little bit angry at your boyfriend Kokonoi, you decided to stay in separate hotel rooms. Luckily... he was staring on the same floor as you.

You were hesitant once you made it to his room number, but you decided to throw your pride away and just knock on the door.

A few seconds pass by before you heard the door unlock, revealing Koko. "Baby, what happened?" He asks, looking at your shivering figure. You looked away, a bit embarrassed. "...I lost my room key." You managed to say.

He lets you in, and you examine the room a little. The room was dimly lit, and papers were neatly placed on the table. Koko handed you a bathrobe soon after. "I'll set up the coffee, okay?" He says as he heads off into the kitchen.

You put the bathrobe on and take a seat on one of the seats near the window. Koko came back with two cups and a kettle, and you were looking at the view. "Wow... your view is so much nicer than mine," You say. You hear Koko chuckle. "Well, you can come here at any time."

"I'm sorry about all of this," You apologize, referring to the fight you had a few days ago.

Koko shook his head. "No, don't apologize. It was my fault for not telling you anyway." He reassures.

There was a comfortable silence as he poured the coffee in the cups, admiring him as he does so. Long, white hair, cat-like eyes, a black polo shirt and khakis. While he may be snarky and cocky in public, to you, he was one of the sweetest persons you could ever ask for. Even if the age difference was a little jarring at first.

In other words, you found Kokonoi Hajime irresistable.

The both of you talked, laughed, and flirted for about an hour or so. By this time, you came out of the bathroom, all dried up. Koko was sipping some whiskey from his glass, and looked at you with a smile. "Your hair looks pretty like that, all curly." He says with a chuckle.

"Ah... no, I feel goofy with curly hair..." You say, your face turning red.

Koko let out another chuckle, rolling the ice cubes in his glass. "Not at all, really. And considering that we're not in the office..." His tone was definitely suggesting something, and you could feel it. "We can do whatever we want here..." He finishes, placing the glass down on the table before putting a hand on your thigh. At that, you leaned in and kissed him, the faint taste of whiskey still lingering on his lips.

The kiss was incredible. The bathrobe became untied as they traded tongues. She felt his grip on her thigh, his touch firm yet restrained. When you both pulled away from the kiss, you took his hand and led him to the couch. Koko was sitting, yet you were still standing up. Koko reclines, and you noticed the contour of his swelling dick in his pants. You leaned over, placing your hands on his upper thighs, allowing your breasts to dangle in front of his face.

"I just dried myself up, daddy," You say with a giggle. "You're going to make me all wet again..."

Koko let out a grin as you go down, carefully unbuttoning his pants. You pull them down, seeing his boxers and the head of his dick poking out of the bottom. You slowly climbed on top of Koko, wrapping your arms around his shoulders as you both kissed again.

Koko's hands stay firm on your ass as you grind on his hardened shaft. You were the first to pull away from the kiss, untying the strings of your bikini top, throwing it to the side to show your breasts and hardened nipples. "Look how my baby's turned on f'me..." Koko took her left one in his hand, and brought the pink nipple into his mouth.

You threw your head back in ecstasy. He lightly licked your nipple, and you could feel your bikini bottom becoming damp again. You clumsily pulled off his boxers, his dick springing up as you took it in your hand. His girth was impressive, and your hand looked small by comparison as you gently squeezed dick. You heard Koko groaning, giving you lustful eyes. "You like touching daddy's cock, baby?"

"I do..." You say with a shy whisper. "It's so big...~" You continue before kissing him again, crawling over to him on the other side of the couch. Koko took your ankles, jerking your hips close to him. You had curious anticipation in your eyes, and you let out a gasp when he tore away your bikini bottoms in one forceful tug. Koko saw your smile, your hair frizzy in the dim light before eyeing your pussy hungrily. He thumbed her glossed lips, taking her into his mouth as you grip onto his hair.

Koko could feel you squirming, and that only drove him to go deeper. The grip on his hair suddenly tightened as you moaned out, "Oh, fuck...~ daddy, do it more...~" and grinded on his face. Your ankles were shivering with pleasure, with Koko's hand on her inner thigh, and squeezed her breasts with the other. He pinched the edges of her nipple.

It was too much, all too much. You were close to cumming on his face before Koko came out for air, brushing his hair out of his face. The both of you were panting like animals from the sensation. You moved, turning yourself over and you felt the fabric of the couch on your nipples. You hoisted your ass in the air, despite your trembling legs. You turned to him, sounding out of breath as you asked, "Do you have a condom, daddy?"

Koko had one, of course... but he wasn't going to get it yet. "I wanna focus on my baby for a while longer, 'kay?" He asks her.

You weren't used to it. Or used to this for that matter. The farthest the both of you ever gone was just you sucking on his cock and him eating you out, but this? Nothing of the sort yet.

Maybe that was the advantage of being with an older man... he probably knew you were ready.

Without warning, Koko had licked your clit, sliding his fingers inside of her. Seeing you in this state made all the blood rush to his cock. He kept licking and playing until your toes curled, moaning out "Daddy, I-I'm gonna--!" and finally exploded into his mouth. You were out of breath, and all Koko could do was lick up every last drop of your cum. "Baby, you squirted all over...~" He says with a chuckle.

You were a bit embarrassed. "S-Sorry, daddy... it just felt too good..."

"You think you're ready for daddy's cock?" Koko asks as he leaves kisses on your neck. You only tilt your head to the side, managing out a whimper as he bites down on your sweet spot. "I think that's a yes."

Koko stood up, walking over to the bathroom and returned with a condom, his dick saluting her. He fixes the bathrobe, draping it on the couch. Koko applied the condom right in front of you. You could only clench against nothing, and you swore that you saw his cock twitch.

You held your breath, as she felt Koko gliding behind her. The couch began to creak, and you felt his tip just against your pussy before he slid the head inside of you. "T-Too big...~!" You moaned out, your legs shaking again as you gripped on the armrest. "Tell me if it hurts," He says earnestly as his fingers graze her hip.

Like a dream, their bodies move together in a timeless rhythm. You slowly eased his cock into you and rode him steadily. The soft glow of the lamp, their skin gleaming with sweat. "Fuuckkk...~" You moaned out. "D-Daddy...~ F-Fuck me deeper...~"

Koko slapped his hand on your ass, earning another moan from you. "Say that again, baby~"

"F-Fuck me deeper...~!" You moaned loudly.

The sound of their fucking echoed in the hotel room. You had to stabilize yourself, lowering your left leg until you felt the carpet on your bare foot. "Oh god, oh god...!" Your tits sway back and forth. "It feels s-so good, f-fuck me harder...~!"

You came a second time, with him inside as your spine cringed and curved. You let out a shout until your voice ran out. You saw Koko looming over you, and he takes off the condom with his left hand, jerking himself off.

You pressed your tits in between his cock, helping him. "Oh, fuck, baby..." He out a groan, his cock twitching as he released his essence all over. You felt his warm, white cum all generously all over your chest.

They basked in the afterglow of their sex, breathless. "Shit..." You say with a laugh. "I can't stop smiling..."

"You were incredible, baby." Koko kissed your forehead. "You held out and squirted all f'me...~"

[abardnamedreginald]

im a wolf-demon-salamander-grey treefrog-katydid-cricket-luna moth-klingon-trad vampire-cat-romulan-harry potter wizard-gnome-drow-orc-wood elf-high elf-werewolf-twilight vampire-chihuahua-android-bard-druid-sorcerer-d&d wizard-lotr wizard-mind flayer-kraken-owlbear-genetically modified human-andes mint-harry potter merperson-h20 mermaid-great white shark-raven named nevermore-amontillado-sewer clown-animatronic-ink person-reality bender-ringwraith-chicken-fairy-telescreen-multibear-manic pixie dream girl-d class-horcrux-dragon-unicorn-pegasus-among us crewmate-among us imposter-game master-sharpie king size marker-dwarf-dragonborn-toothbrush-rock-paper-scissors-lizard-vulcan-politician-god-phone guy-icebreakers ice cubes pineapple-a doctor not a miracle worker-troll-ent-poodle-rabbit-Bear.-orange zombie-purple zombie-green zombie-professor plum-col. mustard-in the library-with a knife-hoola dancer-fish-villager-pelecan-defense against the dark arts professer-mafia boss-peep rabbit-peep chicken-gymnast-hairbrush-philosopher-music freak-school teacher-kidnapper-police lieutenant-farmer-trash can-dumpster out back-turtle-tribble-my little pony-kratt brother-high diver-pearl diver, dive, dive, deeper-chef-fire-earth-water-wind-wasp-bee-hornet-yellowjacket-mud dabber-grasshopper-rattlesnake-armadillo-cowboy-flashlight-starfleet science officer-harlet-elephant-gater-muppet-emo-goth-preppy-teabag-loser-sucker-mouse-rat-a puppet-a pauper-a pirate-a poet-a pawn-and a king-father albert-the pope-a nun-pastor jeff-gambler-metalhead-death rocker-the grim reaper-angel-lighthouse-paw patrol dog-hobbit-starfish-sponge-crab-squid-shrimp-jellyfish-chipmunk-hammerhead shark-nurse shark-humpback whale-blue whale-orca-sexual harrassment panda-south park character-jakoffasaurus-scrabble board-ouija board-pillow-toilet paper-period pad-tampon-baby diaper-elderly diaper-martian-touch tone telephone-starfleet operations-starfleet command-kirk-spock-bones-sulu-chekov-uhura-scotty-yeoman rand-KHAN!!!-mudd-the uss enterprise-the uss reliant-botany bay-v'ger-valeris-saavik-sybok-surak-sarek-the abbreviation 'idk'-sheldon-leonard-penny-howard-raj-amy-bernadette-mary cooper-george sr-george jr-missy cooper-meemaw-tam-dr sturgis-dr linkletter-dr jack bright-dr clef-dr gears-dr kondraki-dr mann-dr iceberg-dr crow-dr rights-dr sherman-scp 049-scp 3008-scp 4231-scp 166-scp 682-scp 2521-scp 590-O5 6-bill cipher-stanley pines-stanford pines-dipper-mabel-wendy-soos-schmebulok-gideon-mcgucket-dipper goes to taco bell-sheriff blubs-deputy durland-tad strange-andy taylor-william afton-michael afton-elizabeth afton-crying child-henry emily-charlotte emily-dave miller-jack kennedy-dee kennedy-peter kennedy-steven stevenson-aragorn-sam-frodo-merry-pippin-boromir-legolas-gimli-gandalf-faramir-denethor-sauron-elrond-thranduil-harry-hermione-ron-voldemort-pettigrew.-moony-padfoot-prongs-snape-edward-bella-alice!!-carlisle-charlie-cthulhu-greg heffley-pennywise-bendy-sammy-norman-jack-alice (susie)-allison-henry stien-joey drew-bruenor battlehammer-raskolnikov-heather-heather-heather-veronica-jd-kurt-ram-martha-kurt cobain-david bowie-freddie mercury-hozier-mitski-lemon demon-jack stauber-tally hall-hamilton-burr-jefferson-madison-washington-phillip-angelica-eliza-peggy-king george iii-king henry viii-ben franklin-catherine of aragon-anne boleyn-jane seymour-anne of cleves-katherine howard-catherine parr-dracula-𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂-evan hansen-conner murphey-john adams-raymond barron-fred randall-jane doe-ocean-noel-mischa-constance-ricky-karnak-vergil-alternate-thatcher davis-ruth-dave-cesar-mark-adam-sarah-jonah-evelyn-gabriel-trump-biden-sunny-basil-kel-aubrey-hero-mari-vanessa (the mean girl that kinda likes u)-tux the linux penguin-perry the platypus hybrid princess...dont fw me

[kleefkruid]

I build the set-up for the kittens, complete with an entire new scratching post. (Yeah that’s the grid cubes from my market set-up lmao, no markets until December) Everything they’re using in their current spot need to be added still so I didn’t put much besides that, but I have an entire box full of old kitty toys and toilet paper rolls and some baby stuff to rotate once they figure out playing with toys

Kotelet surprisingly went on the scratching pole, she’s 100% a floor cat so this is rare for her. The hidey-hole of the scratching post has two holes and you’ll see on the right I also kept a hole in the grid cubes so she doesn’t feel trapped. Hope she’ll accept the move, we first have to go to the vet this afternoon so it’s not gonna be for today that’s excitement enough.

[pinkexpertnerdghost]

"Colored Glass and Paper Flowers"

Lynette x Female!Reader

[ General: sfw, fluff, slowburn, oneshot, Lynette being a cat, Lynette being sassy, paper flowers, tea party, soft scenarios, very light warning for drowning;it's mentioned once though, Lyney being a protective brother and a third wheel]

Word count: 8.9k

(I Followed through with my impulse. Lynette deserves as much love as her brother

“Like…this? I’m not really sure this looks right.” You muttered. In your hands was a twisted thin wire connected with paper and fabric. It spread out at the top like some torn dress. 

The girl across from you hummed as she glanced at your creation.

“ Try untying it and redoing the pattern, remember to keep towards the right.” She spoke smoothly, her dark viola eyes returning to her teacup in hand. 

Twirling the creation in your finger’s you noticed the little tied knot in the middle. You internally groaned. That would be a pain to undo. Bringing it closer to your eye, you attempted to scratch it loose. You heard the sound of clinking porcelain. 

You grumbled. “This would be alot easier if you helped me now.”

The woman blew onto the steaming cup, she smiled cooly. “ I am helping, I’m keeping your tea at a good temperature. You're welcome.” 

You deadpanned. Was she actually serious? 

“ Oh really? That’s very productive.” You said sarcastically, the fabric knot not coming any loose by your attempts. 

“Very, actually.” She said without batting an eye towards you. There was a slight hint of superiority in her words as the ghost of a smirk was present on her lips.

You sighed. There really was no point in arguing with her. “ Fine. Whatever you say.”

“You better not drink my cup while I’m not looking.” You quickly added.

Lynette looked up from her cup. “ Of course. Besides, there are more than enough sweets here to have.” 

You both sat at a table in the shade. On the table was a tea set; two cups, two plates, a sugar stray with cubes and a teapot. Along with it were two tin trays of pastries and sweets. In the center was a vase with a bouquet of flowers.

Faux flowers. 

Yes, they weren’t organic flowers that grew from the ground up. Instead, they were made by hand, out of thin malleable wire, paper, and fabrics. 

How did you come to help her?

A few days ago, 

you were impatiently waiting on the Aquabus. It had been delayed for Archons knows whatever reason. You had a heavy bag to carry with you, setting it down on a bench as you looked down the river to see if you would see the bus in sight.

You were a researcher of sorts. An aspiring engineer working on a big project that needed raw materials in order to create the substances and items you’d need. A handful of items needed to be found underwater. Between the necessary diving preparations and the luck that the items you desire will even be on the seafloor, it would take a very very long time.

The sooner you got there, the better.

“Attention! Attention! We thank you for your patience, but we are here to inform you that the Elynas Line will be delayed due to unseen circumstances.”

“WHY?!” 

“We are currently working to resolve the issue as fast as possible. Again, we thank you for your patience.”

You grumble loudly. The people around you turned their heads to look at you with both shock and slight distaste. 

“ Oh, I um.” You suddenly became very regretful of yelling out in your frustration. 

“ Sorry about that. River rage got the best of me, happens sometimes no?”

The people looking at you turned back to their own devices. Sighing, you went ahead and grabbed your big heavy suitcase. Inside it had your gear, nets, and a nifty invention you had made.

It was designed to detect any Geo elemental structures; which mainly included precious stones and minerals. It would make a clicking noise when it came in contact with something. It was a heavy piece of equipment due to its weight and complex build.

“No use going out now. Maybe I’ll just try again early tomorrow morning.” You said, initial frustration gone but replaced with dissatisfaction. 

As you were heading out of the station you heard some laughter. Curious as for what reason, you turned around and noticed two women giggling to themselves. When they noticed you they had quieted down and sent you a very obvious judgmental glare. 

You looked around and behind you, and there was no one around other than yourself.

‘Ah, so that's how it is.’

You didn’t dress well today, so to say. You didn’t think there was a good reason to do so. You were going out to get work done, so you didn’t need the uncomfortable cinching of a corset or layers of skirt that would very likely tear while you were out. 

You wore a simple and loose white blouse that was left slightly unbuttoned at the top, some comfortable gray pants, and your best hiking boots. Your hair was styled in a fast and secure way so it wouldn’t be a bother. It was comfortable and practical. 

Every young lady when going out to town would look their best, smell their best and act their best. But today you just wanted to get work done no matter what you took on with you. As rotten luck would have it, you didn’t have the chance to go to work. So the judging look of some people would be the awaited circumstance in this situation. 

No matter. 

Before you went on back to minding your business, you returned the nasty glare to the pair. Not bothering to look back for their reactions, you hoisted your heavy bag up and walked ahead. 

“It’s just one misfortune after another. I didn’t bring my mobile suitcase, the Aquabus gets delayed, and now this? By the Seven, I should’ve just become a blacksmith like Doris.” You rambled. Sometimes doing field work was just tiresome, sucking the determination and the initial adrenaline on a new project. 

It was moments like these that had you questioning your entire career choices.

Just as you were going to leave the station, you noticed something.

“Hmm?” You squint your eyes to see clearly. 

Or rather someone? She looked to be standing solitarily down by the sand. She was standing there, unmoving. She was facing the open waters. You tried to get a better look at what she was doing.

You noticed that she had long silver gray hair that was tied into a low tail. She also looked to have some giant turquoise ribbon tied into a bow below her head. Speaking of which you noticed something curious. Atop her head were two small pointed tuffs, and…

Was that a tail? 

You were slightly confused until you remembered something. You read about genetic correlation and the biology of the living. In the world, there were plenty of other species besides humans such as yokai in Inazuma, and humans born with a history of feline or canine characteristics. 

It surprised you initially, because you had only read about such topics and have never really seen a person with said traits. Shaking off your initial shock, you also noticed that she didn’t breathe much. Her shoulders stood as deathly still as her stance.

She stood completely still. 

You were almost inclined to believe that she might just be some super advanced and detailed garde to blend in with humans.

You began to feel slightly worried.

Was that person okay? Did she get lost?

Did she lose something in the water?

You looked down at your case. You had your gear with you. You were going to head home and make do with what you had. Which wasn’t much since the bus never arrived. You had time to kill.

You carefully walked over to the person. Maybe if you were lucky, she’d say “Oh woe is me, I’ve dropped something and it sunk to the bottom. Who can go down and get it?”

A little far fetched but something like that.

In reality, you just really wanted a valid excuse to still go diving to find something useful. 

Not wanting to spook her, you made yourself known first. “ Hey there, are you okay? You seem a little zoned so I just wanted to check if everything was alright.” 

No response. She didn’t even turn her head to acknowledge you. 

Stepping closer you stood next to her. Keeping a polite distance of course.

You took a sneaky glance at her face. She had short cut bangs sweeping over to her left, and the hair to her right was braided. She had pale porcelain like skin and had these very striking dark viola eyes. There was also a little star mark below her left eye. 

Her expression was lax.

You were re-considering if this person actually was an android of sorts. But you persisted.

“ Did you lose something in the water? I have my gear with me if you want me to go under and search.”

Still no response. 

Oh no, now you really were considering if this person was in fact an android. You coughed into your hand.

“ This might sound strange but, blink twice if you're not an android?”

You continued.“ This might be very rude if you're a person, and I’m sorry if you are. But I’m just very worried! Really, seeing a person alone just staring into space would raise some concern, right? That’s just human decency to check if everything is okay.” You rambled, trying to explain yourself. 

You turn to look at her. No verbal response.

Until…

“ Exiting standby mode.” Her voice was silky but quiet. It almost made you jump back as to how out of nowhere it was.

She finally turned her head towards you and blinked twice. There was a long silence that followed afterwards. 

“ Ah, alright I see.” You shook your head to rid yourself of initial embarrassment. Her gaze felt intense, almost nerve wracking. 

“ A- Are you okay then? I came over to check in, you seemed sorta zoned out into the ocean.”

She blinked once more. “ No, I was just thinking. The water level is rising and I was checking if it was the same as last time.” 

“ Huh.”  Now you were also staring into the ocean. “That makes sense.”

“ It reminds me, there used to be hills right? Before all of this, this used to be a grassy valley. I remember sort of.” You laughed. 

“I used to coop myself up in my room reading and messing around with my gramp’s clocks, I never went outside much. But I’m pretty sure there was green here instead of water. Albeit kinda swampy.”

The woman beside you hummed in acknowledgment. “ I used to play in this area when I was a little girl. Alongside my brother, we would race to see who’d get to the top of the hill first.” She said as she went back to staring at the ocean.

You crossed your arms. 

“ People believe that this has been happening due to the prophecy, right? Even back then, I heard the adult’s discussing it thinking I wasn’t in the room listening.” You hummed.

“Yes.” The girl said “ Soon, the nation and along with our memories will submit and sink beneath the waves of the water. That’s what the prophecy suggests.” 

You felt a small shiver go up your spine. You loved diving, exploring underneath the water. But drowning? That was horrifying to think about. Sometimes, you would find skeletal remains underwater. Usually, it was marine life that drowned and couldn’t reach the surface in time for air. 

Shaking off the memories, you turned to talking about something else.

“ It hasn’t been too bad. On the bright side, the water helps on warm days. I don’t really like the sun, it makes you feel gross and humid.” You glanced down at your shoes. The sand ahead of you was darker as it had been soaked by the stretching of waves.

“Dipping for a nice cool swim is one of the best feelings. Diving has also slowly become more and more popular because of the abundance of water around.” You smiled. It was terrifying to think that the city might one day soon become a submerged underwater city. But until then, everything was fine and manageable. You didn’t need to think about the future when there were more important things to do in the now.

The girl’s eyes slightly widened, before resting back to a neutral expression. “That is a nice thought. I don’t care much for sunny days either. I prefer rainier weather.”

You nodded in agreement.

The sound of the waves rolling in was hypnotic, and the sun bounced off the water making the horizon a gleaming star. You couldn’t hear the gossip of the town people anymore. 

Your frustration felt back at the station and the gossiping women seemed to have melted away. You felt at peace.You liked this, maybe she had the right idea of just sitting here and thinking. 

 “We’ve been here standing and sharing past memories like we know each other. But, I never got your name.” you asked, raising a brow. 

The woman once again looked slightly surprised. “ Oh, right. Not many people really care about knowing about me.”

You were about to say something until she continued.

“Which is perfectly fine by me. I prefer to be by myself. I’m not exactly a people person, unlike someone else.” She said, her voice monotone until the latter statement. You caught on how there was a slight smidgen of emotion there.

“ But since you asked, my name is Lynette.” She said, raising a hand to her chest.

“ Nice to be your acquaintance, I’m [Name].” You smiled as you introduced yourself. 

Lynette nodded. Her dark purple eyes quickly scanned your person, she narrowed them slightly on your bag. 

“ Ah, this?” You asked, shaking your hand that held your case. “ I was going to go on a little expedition on the next island over, but the aquabus got delayed.” 

Lynette said nothing, but her gaze went back to your face.

“ You asked if I had dropped something in the water right? That you would dive in to search.” She asked.

You nodded. “ Yep. As you can guess, I was on my way to go diving. I need some material for my work and also, because I like exploring underwater. It really is a whole other world beneath the mirror surface.” You exclaimed happily. You then remembered what happened a short while ago, immediately crushing your small moment of happiness.

“Which is why I’m in a bit of a sad mood since my trip was suddenly canceled.” You sighed dejectedly. You look back onto the open water. It’s not like you couldn’t go and try the next day, but you were really looking forward to spending the day in the water.

Lynette stayed quiet for a few minutes. Staring out to the water, like you. 

“...”

“...”

It was quiet for a long moment. 

“ What do you usually find when diving?” She suddenly asked. Once again, you were almost spooked as to how sudden her voice just came in.

“ The normal stuff being shells, crabs, fish and sometimes lost items that sank to the bottom . But on rare occasions, I find useful minerals like iron, copper, and unpolished gems.” You said.

“Granted, I use a bit of help with my equipment. I mostly use my Scan Stretcher.”

Lynette’s head tilted to the side, her ears swayed along.

“ Scan Stretcher ? ”

“Ah, the equipment I made. It locates Geo elemental concentrations . When in the range of something, it will beep quickly.” You exclaimed with some excitement. “The name could use some workshop. But it saves flipping over stones and disrupting the ecosystem.” 

“I see.” She said while nodding her head.

You look back to the water. But for a moment, something glared in your eye causing you to blink rapidly. Locating where the light came from you noticed something in the shallow. 

Not wanting to get water in your boots- nor your socks -you kicked off your boots. Lynette had turned to you, eyes observing your every move.

Once you were done, you rolled up your pants to your knees and went out into the water.

“ Saw something out here!” You yelled back at Lynette who just stared confused. 

Bending down, you sift through the sand. The water was clear and blue as it rippled along with your movement. There was some seaweed, shells, and some tube fish that sunk into the sand as your hand hovered above them.

Aha! Found it. 

Picking it up, you raced back to Lynette. The water splashing as you kicked through. 

“Here it is! I saw something just a moment ago.” In your hand was a little crystal. It was a smooth piece of what you assumed was smoothed glass. It had a soft side, but behind it was a jaded clean cut that gleamed when the sun hit. 

Lynette leaned over to look at the shiny crystal. Her eyes grew with interest as it twinkled and shined as you moved it around to shake off the water.

“ Sea glass is very pretty, right? It’s so shiny and colorful it almost makes you want to eat it.” You said happily.

Lynette broke out of her shiny trance and looked at you utterly confused and maybe concerned.

“ Eat it? I’d assume there would be health issues if you were to eat glass.” She said flatley.

“ W-well, they look like hard candies and dessert toppers! If you squint they do.” You defended. 

Lynette shook her head as she glanced back down at your hand. She said nothing as the shine seemed to bounce from her widened dark viola eyes. It made them more enchanting in a way.

“I guess you're right. They do sort of resemble sweets” She said as her mouth curtly frowned. 

You nodded triumphantly, as she agreed with you. 

“ I think I saw some more back there. You can join me if you’d like.” You politely offered. Lynette looked to you, and then out to the water. 

“ No thank you. It would be bothersome if I got my outfit wet. However,” She walked over to your case and stood next to it. 

“ I’ll watch over your things from here, alright? ” 

You nodded. “ Thank you. You didn’t need to do that.” You smiled thankfully. “ I’ll probably pick out a handful of glass and quartz. I won’t take long, promise!” You said quickly before jogging back into the water. 

“ Entering Idle mode.” She spoke, although she kept her eyes on you the whole time. She saw you bend down, and kneel into the water sometimes;not caring if your pants got wet. She saw you have this focused expression. Periodically she noticed how your eyes would gleam and your face lit up if you’d likely found something. 

Lynette noticed that keeping on her poker face was slightly difficult this time. Only slightly of course. 

When you were finally done, you came back to the shore, your hands cupped together.

“ See, told you I wouldn’t take long!” You giggled in pride. 

“ Exiting idle mode.” She spoke, her lax expression falling into a more natural one.

“ I think I have a pouch in my case. Lemme see.” You neared your case and Lynette stood aside. Pushing the case down onto the sand, you placed your glass pieces down onto a little pile.

In your case in a small side pocket you had a small wooden board, a bottle with a perfume nib, and rolled up pouches. Getting out the board and spray, you cleaned the sand off the glass. Once that was done, you quickly placed the pile into a pouch. Not before swiping two pieces of glass. 

“ Here. Since you couldn’t go out to find some, I brought you these two to keep.” You extended a hand to her. “I noticed how you kept staring earlier at that piece, so I’d figured you’d like to take some home.”

In your hand were two oval shaped glasses. Their surfaces were smooth and soft to the touch. There were two colors; a seafoam green and a transparent one with purple and indigo streaks running horizontally. 

Lynette eyed the two glasses in your hand. She extended her hand and picked off each one. She brought them closer to her face and raised them up so that the sun shined through them. She finally looked back at you. 

“Thank you. You didn’t need to bring me anything, but the gesture is appreciated.” 

You shook your head. “ I wanted to. Partly, to make up for it earlier. I assumed you were an android. Again, I’m sorry.” You averted your eyes out of embarrassment of ever assuming that.

“It’s fine. You wouldn’t be the first to assume.” She replied immediately.

“Also, for disrupting your alone time. I didn’t know until you started talking to me. It’s really peaceful here. I can see why you chose to space out. It’s a nice place to meditate.” You continued. 

Lynette said nothing but stared ahead into your eyes.

“ I’ll probably take my leave now. If not to work, then to change my clothes.” You kicked a foot, motioning to the soaked pants. “ I might catch a cold if I stay any longer by the shore.” 

“ I’ll get going now, goodbye. It was nice talking to you.” You said, as you quickly put your shoes back on and picked up your suitcase. As you left Lynette had not stopped looking at you, until you disappeared from view. 

She stood back and faced the water again. She rolled around the two glasses in her hand. 

She notices the soft shine that would bounce off them, the smokey turquoise that was the color of one piece. The purple and indigo stripes on the other looked like ribbons tying together around the crystalline stone. She began to think of the encounter she had with you. 

She was suddenly in the mood for some deserts. 

She took one quick glance at water, before turning on her heel back towards the city. For some strange reason, she felt like biting the precious stones. Until reason came back to her making her scoff at the thought. 

You saw her more often as you would sometimes leave your place for food or materials from nearby shops. She would be out and about, sometimes you spotted her on a table with a tin of sweets next to her, sometimes she’d look to be zoning again. 

You regularly say hello to her given the chance. Sometimes she’d return the gesture, other times she only spared you a quick glance. You later found out that she was a Magician’s assistant. A very famed one in the city in fact. You internal facepalmed yourself when you saw the silver haired girl on some promotional performance poster.

You should’ve recognized her sooner, but you don’t exactly have time to go to see Trials or any other theatrical performances. You’d usually catch small snippets of gossip during your weekly commutes. You were either too busy tinkering at home with some machines or underwater.

Slowly, she started to talk more. You noticed that she really wasn’t a people person, not that she was exactly shy, but she was just very kept to herself. 

On some days, you'd catch her sitting in a cafe by herself. Usually cooling down a piping hot tea cup. You would sit by her and just talk. She didn’t protest to your company,  although at the beginning it was mostly one sided.

“Hey, how are you?”

“...” She looked at you briefly, it was a soft and casual glance. 

“I’ll take that as fine. Anyways, what tea are you trying this time?”

She stirred her spoon in the cup. “Chamomile.”

“ That’s one of my favorites. Although, sometimes I go overboard with the sugar. Only sometimes.”

“...” She gave you a look. A silently judging look.

“ Really! I try to remember to go easy on that now.” You shrunk a little in your seat given her gaze. 

She was quiet for a few seconds before glancing back down at her cup. “Good.” 

You sometimes would go through the trouble of passing by the same cafe once and a while. Soon enough, you found two teacups on the table. Slowly she started to converse more, granted it was simple short phrases to get the conversation moving.

“ When I was extracting some copper, I got pinched by a crab. A shell fell onto my hand and then a pincer came out.”

“ Go on.”

“ It’s hard to yell underwater! The sound just stays confined in your helmet, it’s really weird. But I managed to shimmy the crab off and get the copper. He left a little red mark on my hand though.” 

“ Wow, really?”

“ Yeah. It wasn’t too bad though, it just caught me off guard. I really thought it was an empty shell.”

“ I see.” Although it was very faint, you were certain you heard the small suppressed hiccup of a giggle. 

Pretty soon, afternoon teas were usual. Although it was never voiced, you realized that Lynette had begun to notice your appearance quicker each week. Walking from a distance, she’d turn her head and make eye contact with you before you sat down. 

The usual little meeting once or twice a week has led you to the situation you are in now. 

This time the table was fuller; there were two teacups out, a tray of small desserts, a small pile of colored paper and fabric, another pile of thin wire, and a blue vase.

“ This is different…Did you decide to take work outside?” You asked. 

“ Sort of.” She said as she just narrowed her eyes at the supplies. “ It’s part of something planned for tomorrow. I just got stuck with making them.”

You nodded, you sat down across from. “ I see. What is it? If you don’t mind sharing.”

“ Flowers.” She immediately answered.

“ Oh, the vase makes sense now. How many exactly?”

“Two arrangements.” 

Your eyes traveled over to the bunch of fabric. Next to it were three flowers. Your hand traveled over to one, as you lifted it closer to you. Its ‘petal’s’ were carefully folded pieces of paper, its stem felt incredibly soft and smooth, and its bud was a tough feeling material. You brought it closer to your face; it smelled like nothing. 

“ You already made a few?” You look up to Lynette. 

“ Yes. But I am taking a tea break now.” She calmly said as she reached over for the teapot. 

“I take it that you want me to help you out then?” You ask with a small teasing smile. Lynette was a closed off person, so it was odd of her to work on personal matters on an outside table.

Lynette said nothing, but her ears did slightly twitch upward before relaxing. 

“ If you don't mind.” 

You leaned forward and grabbed some wire and a handful of fabric. “You’re lucky I don’t have anywhere else I need to be today. I’ll help you.”

You furrowed your eyebrows as you grimaced.

“But,”

Lynette looked up, perplexed.

“Could you maybe, teach me how to do this?” You managed to ask.

Lynette stared at you in disbelief. 

“ I thought you were an inventor. I would assume this would be a sitch for you.” She asked, genuinely confused. 

Your face became slightly warmer and your lips turned squeezed into a line. “ I know my way around machinery, but not this sort of thing. If you were to ask me to make a mechanical rotating bouquet that sprays perfume, I could do that.” You hummed thinking about it.

Lynette thought for a moment. A hand came up to her mouth. Her shoulders shook slightly and her fair face became a little rosier. “ You remind me of my little brother. He’s also good with machines, but anything else he’s a bit shy.” 

You felt your pout morph into a small grin. Try as you did, you couldn’t suppress it. You hadn’t seen Lynette be so expressive in the past time you’d known her. But her smile was contagious, it made her face almost glow. 

“ I’m serious, this isn’t the same thing I’m used to!” You defended. 

Lynette had calmed down and had a resting smile. “ I can show you. Just pay close attention so I won’t repeat myself.” 

Lynette had scooted her chair closer into the table, and had set her teacup at a nice distance. She leaned forward and took some materials of her own.

She made a flower in a slow paced manner. Short direct instructions followed each movement of her hand. 

“ Here. You messed up this crease.” She set down her flower as she leaned over to you. She got really close to your face, and her hands gently took hold of your wire. Her hand gently put firmly gripped on your’s to stop you. You became slightly nervous, holding in a breath. 

“Watch carefully, alright?” She spoke, her voice a lot clearer and louder due to how close she was. You had always known she had a soothing voice, but at the moment it sounded ethereal. 

Ethereal? You felt the corners of your face get hot.  

You watched as she flattened out an edge and tucked it into a fold, but your mind became slightly dazed. Your eyes were glued to the paper flower but you felt your chest feel tight. 

“There, you should be able to make a few by yourself now.” She leaned back into her seat. You looked back up at her face. She still had a smile on, but her beautiful purple eyes gleamed encouragingly. 

It was odd. She had always had a look in her eyes;a faraway look, almost glassy. But as you looked at her, they felt warmer. You knew that she was always pretty, but at this moment she looked absolutely radiant. 

“ Yeah, I..I think I got it.” You managed to speak up. “Thanks for showing me the ropes, I should be fine.” You quickly glanced back at your paper flower. 

You had to distract your brain, there’s no way you’d tell her what you thought of her. That would make your tea times awkward or maybe she didn’t see you like you saw her. You didn’t want to ruin this odd but nice friendship you had with her. 

Lynette nodded. “ Good. An extended break is in order for me then.”

You snapped back up to her. You grumbled. slightly jealous that she gets to sit back. “At least make me a cup okay? This is gonna take a while after all.”

Lynette nodded, “ That’s why there are two cups on the table.” After some time - way past Lynette’s self proclaimed extra break time - you became slightly frustrated. 

“This would go a lot faster if you helped me right about now.”

 “ I am helping, I’m keeping your tea at a good temperature. You're welcome.” 

“ Oh really? That’s very productive.” You said sarcastically, the fabric knot not coming any loose by your attempts. 

“Very, actually.” She said without batting an eye towards you. There was a slight hint of superiority in her words as the ghost of a smirk was present on her lips.

You sighed. There really was no point in arguing with her. “ Fine. Whatever you say.”

“You better not drink my cup while I’m not looking.” You quickly added.

Lynette looked up from her cup. “ Of course. Besides, there are more than enough sweets here to have.” 

After some time, many snacks, tea and mishaps, the bouquets were finally finished!

The vase bloomed along the top with various colors and shapes, all sorts of paper flowers flew in all directions. The vase would probably weigh triple its initial weight. Most of the material’s were almost gone, save for three wires and scraps. 

“ That took a while but it’s done! It looks so pretty too!” You leaned a bit back to admire the arrangement from a distance.

Lynette mirrored your motion. “ I have to agree.”

Most of the sweet snacks were gone and the teapot was out of tea. You had found that making flower’s was oddly relaxing. After the many little mishaps, you had figured out the way of flower making. And it only took about four misshapen paper flowers. 

“ It’s already getting late, I should get going.” You stood up from your chair. “ Do you need help carrying it out?”

Lynette shook her head. “ It’s fine. I’ll manage.”

“ Alright, I’ll see you next week then?” You had asked as you picked up your tea cup and plate.

You heard no response. You were about to leave when you felt your wrist be held. You look back and see Lynette standing up next to you. 

“ Yes, but before you go I..” She paused and cleared her throat. “ If you want, I can reserve you a seat for the show.”

Your eyes slightly widened. But you quickly recovered and nodded your head. “ Sure! I can make it.”

Lynette exhaled and nodded in agreement. “ Great then.” She took out a playing card from her sleeve, and had a concentrated expression fixed on it. 

She waved it around in her hand for a few moments and covered it with her other. When she opened her hand, instead of the card was a red ticket decorated with golden stars around the edge.

“Ta-da, here you go. Keep it with you until tomorrow evening.” She extended her hand to you with the ticket. You plucked it out of her grasp and blinked rapidly processing what just happened. 

 “What? How did you do that?!” You asked very confused. 

Lynette chuckled quietly, she brought a finger up to her lips. “ A magician never tells their secret, that rule also extends to the assistant.” 

You pouted, but thought about what you saw. Her slight of the hand was impressive, so if you’d have to assume it was just a quick motion too brief to notice. Then again, it was still impressive. 

You read the content of the ticket, you saw the location that it would be at the local theater of the Court. 

“ I’ll see you tomorrow then, I’m excited to see your show!” You looked back at her with a bright smile. Lynette’s purple eyes stayed trained on you, not saying a word for a moment. 

She then shook her head. “ I’m excited too, surprisingly. I just thought it would be nice since I’ve never seen your face in the crowd. Not once.” 

You rubbed your wrist as you chuckled nervously. “ I’m just not one who goes out to watch a trial or concert. I mainly work, read, sleep and travel out for business purposes.”

“ I would assume you’d be quite popular. You're intelligent, resourceful and not to mention easy on the eyes.” She hummed.

You coughed into your hand, still having a nervous smile on you “ That’s nice of you to say, but either way thank you for the reservation! You didn’t need to do this, I could've gone out and bought the ticket myself if you had just told me too!” You talked a bit faster than usual.

The silver haired girl shook her head. “ It’s fine, I wanted to do this.”

You left after saying your goodbyes. 

Lynette felt odd. She had talked a lot more than she usually did. Normally, after today, she would be socially drained. 

But she strangely didn’t feel too tired. As she bunched up the fabrics, her mind raced and analyzed what had happened. 

She concluded that although she did feel drained, it wasn’t as major as she would’ve assumed. If it had been up to her normal standards, today’s exchange would’ve been a grand total of a 35% decrease in her social battery. But it only felt like she had lost 6%.

She recalled how comfortable she felt around you. Which struck her as more odd. Normally the people she would feel the most at peace with were a select few; the closest being her brother, ‘Father’ and her little brother. But with you, she felt safe and comfortable. Or so she concluded.  

She paid close attention to you. She had deduced you weren’t a person who possessed any sort of threat or harm within the first three days of knowing you.

She found you slightly clumsy and a bit reckless at times, but you were smart. Smart enough to construct and operate machinery and technology with expertise. Something that she lacked, her and machines were… never a good combination to put it simply. 

She found your stories amusing, they were unlike what most girls gossiped and talked about. She found out that although you were outward and expressive, you kept your life private and to yourself. 

You were an oddity to her. But a nice oddity to be with. 

Before you left to see the show, you thought about what you would wear. You only had a few select good clothing. You put a nice looking outfit together; a (f/c) above the knee skirt with (dark/pastel) stockings, a long sleeve button up, and a matching (f/c) coat. You went light with the accessories, a silky scarf tied around your neck and (dark/pastel) gloves. 

You debated whether or not to wear some perfume. But you remembered something, Lynette didn’t exactly like strong smells. You remembered how she would slightly flinch whenever a person with a strong smelling perfume passed by the table. 

You wanted to talk to her after the show, and if you did you wouldn’t want to overwhelm her with strong smelling perfume. So instead, you opted for some drops of the soft smelling perfume on your wrist. Its smell was a lot calmer than the more popular spritzing bottles among ladies. It mellowed out after getting rubbed in. 

You had made something, the day you got home from making paper flowers. 

With the learned knowledge in how to make them, you made a little gift for Lynette. Performer’s would be given flowers, praise and Mora after a performance right? So with some sea glass you had left to spare, you made a flower brooch.The brooch was the size of your palm. 

The center of the flower was a polished glass which was as blue as the inside of an underwater cave. Bending the wire, you made green fabric leaves around the bottom of the petals. The color of the flower itself was a rose gold, the petals alternating from the rose and golden brown. 

You carefully placed your little trinket in your small handbag. 

You sat in your cushy seat as you looked around. The theater was very decadent, a lot of thought went into the architecture of the interior. The large red curtains on the stage made a satisfying humming sound as they were pulled back by some pulley system. 

And the show commenced. 

Each trick after another left you on the edge of your seat. You never exactly expressed your excitement verbally, but you were laser focused in on how each trick was pulled off. The magician Lyney has a strong charisma. It was the exact opposite of what Lynette was, if it wasn’t for their similar appearances you wouldn’t think they would be related. When Lynette was brought in onto the stage, you clapped. It is only natural to support someone you like.

Perhaps that’s why she held onto your gaze the most. The rest of the audience were more focused on Lyney, as the assistant was mostly quiet and overlooked. 

She looked around the audience and spotted you. You couldn’t exactly see from your seat, but her lips twitched up into a barely noticeable smile. Lyney kept up with his performer’s face, but he was slightly shocked to see a trace of emotion on his sister’s face. She was usually poker faced when on stage, he thought. What could’ve possibly enabled her to smile slightly on stage?  

The show carried on, and you were impressed at how nonchalant Lynette was while her energetic brother wow’d the audience. They did make a good duo however, it was complimentary and worked well to keep the people transfixed on the magic show. 

Once the show had ended, you stood up and clapped. You began to understand why the town’s people liked performances. It was a momentary window into fantasy, a way to detach yourself from the reality of logic and truth. 

The two bowed on stage as Lyney exclaimed with great pride the end of the show. 

As everyone was making their way to the exit, you scooted about to congratulate Lynette and her brother. You managed to spot them talking around the stairs. Lynette almost immediately noticed you as she glanced past her brother. This caused her brother to hum curiously as he turned around to see.

“Ah, why if it isn’t one of our dear audience members! What brings you here mademoiselle?” Lyney smiled brightly at you.

“ Hello [Name], I’m glad you made it. So, how was the show?” Lynette asked. This caused Lyney to momentarily widen his eyes in shock, as he whipped his head back around to look at his sister.

“ It was wonderful! I can see why people hype up performances. You did great by the way! If it were me, I don’t think I could pull off a poker face like you on stage.” You smiled nervously.

Lynette smiled and hummed. “ I’ve been doing this for a while with my brother here. You get used to it after some time.” 

Lyney slowly looked back and forth between you and his sister. 

“I’m right here y’know! Ouch,my feelings.” Lyney 'cried’ at his sister. Lynette rolled her eyes and looked back at you with a ‘see what I mean’ kinda look. You snickered but discreetly hid it with a cough. This caused Lyney to turn his attention back to you. 

“ I see you are well acquainted with my sister Lynette. May I presume a friend of hers?” Lyney asked, with a kind smile on his face. 

“Er, I’d say we are.” You said nervously in front of Lynette’s brother. 

Lynette came up to stand next to him. “ This is her, the one I told you about. The girl I spend drinking tea with.” She clarified. 

Lyney placed a hand under his chin and glanced at your face. His gaze didn’t feel as carefree as it was, it felt like he was analyzing you. His eyes narrowed slightly, and you suddenly felt cold. Like a whiplash it went away the moment you felt it, he put his hands on his hips. 

“Any friend of my sister’s is a friend of mine! [Name], was it?” He extended a hand for you to shake. Politely you nodded and went in the shake.

He gripped your hand and shook it enthusiastically, although it did feel a little tighter than most shakes should. Maybe he just had a good grip. 

“ Nice to meet you too.” You said, as you forced a small smile. Lynette watched this all unfold with a worrying glance at her brother and a pity one for you. He finally let go of your hand, although he still had a grin plastered on his face. It felt oddly forced. 

“ But moving on, I actually came to give you something.” You look back at Lynette, trying to recover from meeting her weird brother. 

Lynette’s ears folded upward in surprise as her eyes widened slightly. You found it quite cute, her little expressions that sometimes shined through her resting poker face. 

“ Remember when we made flower’s yesterday? Well,” You opened your handbag and dug through its purse until you found it. “Ta-da! I took my newly learned skill and made this.”

You showed her the flower brooch you made and Lynette eyed it down with great interest. You swore her eyes were like saucers. She stepped a little closer. 

“ I had some sea glass spared in a drawer and made do with the leftover wire from last time. I smelted the pin on the back side and used some thinly pressed copper for some petals.” You excitedly explained the process. Lynette all the while admired the brooch in your palms. Some of her silver hair fell forward, and you had the urge to tuck it back. But refrained as one, you didn’t know how she would feel about it and two her brother was behind you. 

“Wow, you did all that? I must say [Name], this is beautiful.” Lynette hummed, a serene smile dressed her lips.

You felt your chest feel flutter and warm at her compliment. “ Y-yep! I made it for you! It isn’t odd to give friends flower’s especially after a performance, right? So here, for you.” 

You felt a small pang, friend wasn’t the right word to describe her to you. 

You’ve had some friends before, but you never felt anything like this before with them. 

You remembered how when the spotlight was shining down on her on stage, it felt like you momentarily forgot to breathe. She was as beautiful as the many flower’s you made last evening and as elegant as decadence. It wasn’t often, but sometimes she’d make jokes that would leave you both surprised and slightly flustered. Even when she said nothing at all, she could calmly listen to you rant about some diving mishap or your current projects. She once and a while told you about her siblings. She cared deeply about her family, willing to sit down and listen to them whenever they needed it. You came to learn that she had a big heart despite her outer concealment to her emotions.

She was a beautiful person, both inside and out. It sometimes hurt you when she said that not a lot of people care about her as she is just the assistant. Beneath the title of assistant, lied a wonderful person you wished the world saw as you did her. 

Lynette took the brooch from your hand and brought it close to her. Her fingers tapped the metal petals and admired the shimmer of the dark blue glass. 

“ Thank you, you must’ve worked hard on it. I’ll keep it close to me.” She hummed, her eyes still glued on the gift. 

Lyney looked from a distance with an unreadable expression. He scooted close to the two of you and took a small glance at the gift. He was slightly impressed, he would see the amount of care and precision it went into putting this elegant flora together. 

“My my, I must say [Name], you are a talented young lady.” Liney said in awe. 

“ Of course she is, I've told you about it. She’s an inventor and diver, like Freminet.” Lynette said as she looked momentarily at her brother. 

Lyney nodded rapidly and placed a finger to his chin.

“ Yep, like she said. It’s nothing to flaunt about though, most people from here know their way around the cogs and grease.” You said with a shy expression. 

“But that’s all I came here for. Once again, you did amazing Lynette. Thank you for inviting me to see the show.” You smiled gratefully at her. 

Lynette stared at you, her dark purple eyes magnified slightly. She nodded and a little smile made its way to her face. “ Thank you for your kind words, [Name]. Feel free to come to the next show if you have the chance too.” Her voice sounded light, and warm. 

“Sure, yeah! I’ll do that!” You agreed almost immediately. 

You waved Lynette and Lyney goodbye. Lyney enthusiastically waved you good bye while Lynette just smiled and kept her eyes on you as you left. She still held the brooch by her side. 

“So, are you going to tell me why you seem particularly happy today?” Lyney asked curiously. “Does it have something to do with the mademoiselle inventor, perhaps?”  He tilted his head, his smooth voice teasing. 

“I’m leaving now.” Lynette flatly said, as she spun on her heel and rushed back to the stage.

Lyney watched in amusement as his sister fled. He sighed however, and that smile turned into a small frown.

 He loved his sister, and he was worried. Could he entrust you with the heart of his sister, which has been guarded as much -if not- more than his own? You didn’t seem like a bad person. All he could do is be there for her and make sure you wouldn’t bring her any harm.

You came to every show you could. Each show you brought her a paper flower you had made beforehand. 

Pretty soon, with all the paper flowers Lynette had kept receiving from you, she could make a bouquet.  

Outside the limelight of the stage, you continued to have your little tea parties with her. 

After a particular show, as you tried to find her to give her a new paper flower, something zoomed around. It was a black cloak outline with teal.

“Surprise!” You heard a familiar voice exclaim. You quickly turn around and something comes crashing into you.

OOMF! 

You dropped your flower in surprise but quickly wrapped your arms around her. You craned your body back as the suddenness of the momentum.

You laughed slightly scared but also out of happiness. Her silver hair tickled your face.

“Hey! What was that for? I thought you didn’t like physical contact?” You asked in between your giggles. Early on, you had noticed her aversion to any sort of hug. You hadn’t questioned it but respected her boundaries. It didn’t sway you and you still had continued to talk to her as much as you could. 

Lynette shook her head. “ I just wanted to surprise you this time, that's all. And I knew you wouldn’t expect this.” 

You were slightly surprised but understood. “Then with your permission, could I surprise you for three seconds?”

Lynette, still in your arms, turned her head over curiously as she gave you a small nod.

You smiled happily. Her weight was almost nothing to you, you were used to carrying around heavy equipment. 

Using your force, you lifted her slightly off the ground, and spun her around. You counted the seconds in your head.

One

She gripped your arm in slight surprise as she leaned back to look at your face. Her skirt and tail had swung behind her as did your dress spun around your torso. 

Two

Lynette figuring out what was going on, let a smile spread along her face. Her silver hair swiped against her face as the light breeze from the spin enveloped the two of you. She leaned her face closer to you, and you could hear her giggle under her breath. Her eyes crinkled slightly as the joy was evident in her face. 

Three

As you promised, you came to a slow stop and set her down. She still had a grip on both your arms, and her face was a more relaxed smile. There was a small pigment of rose on her face. 

“Ah! I dropped my flower, hold on.” You knelt down to pick it back up. 

You presented the flower to her, it was a paper rose that had paper pink petals and the ends were powdered lightly with a golden powder. The center had curled wires with tiny bits of smooth pale yellow glass.

“Here.” You extended it to her as she plucked it out of your hand. You smiled nervously, “How many flowers have I given you now? Surely well over three bouquets worth.”

“Five actually.” She held your paper flower close to her and her smile was teasing. 

“If you would let me, I’d make a thousand more paper flowers for you.” 

Lynette’s eye’s widen and her slightly rosey face became a shade darker. Her expression didn’t budge however, making her redder face more noticeable.

“ That’s a nice thought.” She said quietly. 

You realized what you said, and immediately mirrored her flustered expression. 

“ Ehem, I should go now. I just remembered I forgot my helmet at home! I was going to go diving after the show.” 

You robotically tried to flee, until something grabbed your wrist. Quickly turning you around with a surprising amount of force, you faced the silver haired girl again.

In almost the same amount of time, you felt a little nudge by your face. It took you time to process but a tiny pair of cool soft lips were on your cheek. 

Lynette leaned back with a lax expression, but her face was now a pale pink color. “ I’d keep each flower you’d make me close to my heart, alright?” 

Your face was blanked with shock as your hand came up to your face to touch your cheek. 

“ Alright.” You had almost whispered, your mind still buffering to realize what happened. You felt your face’s temperature rise by the passing seconds “Tea time as always?” 

Lynette nodded. “ Yeah.” 

“I’ll see you then.” You managed to say, turning to leave. 

Lynette watched as you left, the paper Rainbow Rose held close to her chest. Once you were out of sight, she let out a held breath.

That wasn’t bad. It wasn’t bad at all. 

She felt her energy had risen a good 75% after that. She headed backstage with a small smile on her face, internally proud of herself. 

“So, mademoiselle inventor eh?” Her brother’s voice suddenly broke through the silence. Lynette turned to Lyney with narrowed eyes. 

“ I approve, don’t worry.” Lyney cooly said, the playing deck in his hands danced as he practiced. “ I bet she’ll get along great with Freminet too, make him come out of his shell.”

“ I can see that.” Lynette said, fidgeting with the paper rose’s petals. 

“ If she stomps on your heart, however, I’ll have to make her disappear for my next act!” Lyney said joyously, completely masking the ominous threat with a light hearted voice.

Lynette once again sent him a sharp look. “ Don’t you dare.”

End.

A/N: I love both of them, but this goes out to all the Lynette enjoyer girlies! Also, there isn't much fic about her so here, one for contribution :D

[dubious-cats]

Hello there; this is now the new main blog for my former one, @dubiouscats, since Tumblr decided to log me off, and now I can’t get back into it no matter what I do, so I live here now

As you can tell, I like to draw

Pronouns: She/her

Female

Aroace

Stuff I like:

Murder Drones

AURORA (Singer)

The Amazing Digital Circus

Lackadaisy

Sky: Children of the Light

Internecion Cube

Cliffside

ENA

Hatsune Miku

Fundamental Paper Education

Hellaween

Warrior Cats

Wings of Fire

FNAF (Five Nights at Freddy's)

The Owl House

HTTYD (How to Train Your Dragon)

The Amazing World of Gumball

Kung Fu Panda

Ramshackle

Farfetched (or far-fetched, forgor how the word is)

Christine

Venom

Pressure

(I keep getting Hollow Knight stuff on my page, and I have been interested in it.)

[I'm sure I'm missing a few stuff. I'll add on if I have forgotten something.]

[stinkypeanutbutter]

img silly sbg art class headcanons for the folks !!!

Guess who’s first .

Ben , obvi . Who did you think ??? Aiden ?? Loser / j

BENNY BOY :

Actually enjoys art class the most out of his other classes

Usually turns things in on time , but forgets the little things though like those stupid papers that tell you to copy and draw a nose 3 times

likes using charcoal pencils !! It’s his favorite out of everything , but he dislikes how messy it gets because the charcoal always covers his hands and arms .

not the best at painting , but he’s well known of his complimentary colors and what looks good with what .

Usually listens to music while he’s drawing if Taylor is busy or gone from class . He likes taking instrumental recommendations from Ashlyn .

Takes a drawing class , obvi , along with Taylor because he didn’t really want to be alone . Plus , She’s a nice buddy to have !!

TAYLOR !! :

Takes a drawing class with Ben as said before !! Whenever they have to pick partners , they go for each other the most .

she’s not the BEST at drawing honestly , but she takes it so she can study in machinery , like drawing and mapping out designs .

She likes using those kids markers , whatever their called . She prefers using the marker FIRST then going over it with pencil to really pop out the design . Digital art also works out for her , it’s one of her favorites because there’s so many options ( sometimes )

uses google for inspo or to copy certain parts down cause Pinterest is blocked on the computers and drawing gears is hard to do ( real 😿 )

Draws little cats on her work when she’s bored or smiley faces on Bens work just cause she’s silly ( trademarked smiley — Aiden / j )

Doesn’t have photography , but she does join Logan after school to help out with certain camera functions or just take photos of eachother for her memory book ( she has one , cannot tell me otherwise )

Also uses highlighters just cause . I mean they’re fun so why not . Her and Aiden share a bunch of random stickers that he got on like eBay for customization 😼

A ;) DEN !!! :

I swear I won’t repeat the same “ Aiden is totally good at art “ headcanon but …….. 😅😅

Went into painting just so he can have fun with the colors and , sigh … he’s good at mixing them . ( he’s not allowed too , but he makes it work out . Sometimes )

RARELY gets things done in time , like he’ll be doing anything other then drawing in class , yet somehow turn it in . Well , after a few weeks past the due date .

becahse of that , no one really knows what he draws but the teacher is impressed so 🤷

I like to imagine he has one other hidden room in his house , filled with unfinished paintings , sketches , projects , puzzles , yadda . He hasn’t really shown anyone where it is , or let’s anyone inside but has let Ben check it out a few times cause he’s special 🫶

Always does his projects in his room . Why ? Cause it’s bigger , more room to work , duh . Also , so he can BLAST music because music just gives him ideas of what he can work on ( projection go hard 🤟🤟🤟 )

he doesn’t really care what he uses , but he hates charcoal , opposed to Ben . It gets everywhere ( in a bad way ) , it’s dull , he hates having to blend it with those stupid paper things because they sound and feel gross , yadda yadda yadda . Butttt he LOVES markers and crayons . Colored pencils work if he’s feeling slightly unmotivated .

uses giant AF canvas’s cause more room to work plus more detail . He loves detailing the most random stuff because it all had to blend correctly , right ? 😼☝️

likes pottery , but he doesn’t like the feeling of it drying on his hands . It’s gross and crusty . Plus he got in trouble once for throwing some of it around the class lol

Totally draws on his arms with sharpie ( ashlyn tells him no cause poisoning or something but pshhhh what does she know ? He’ll still doodle on his pants ) .

Probably does Rubix cube art when he’s feeling extra silly . Also glues and sticks whatever he can find onto what he’s working on for pizazz . But he doesn’t really like anything he’s made so 😿

also the reason why he has so many unfinished projects is because woopsy doo ADHD . It’s always “ oh I should work on this one “ but then there’s “ but this once looks funner to do “ but oh then there’s a “ which one would take me less time to do ? “ and “ if I do this first will I have time to do the other one ? “ and either ends up doing nothing or multitasking .

ASH TRAY !!! :

Takes painting with Aiden because she really didn’t want to go alone .

thought about pottery once , tried it , hated the feeling of it getting under her nails and it kept drying up and she had to wash her hands constantly and it kept getting in her hair and it was a bad experience . ( more projection )

painting really isn’t her favorite , but she likes the look of the colors mixing and it’s kinda like dancing to her , with the long , sometimes constant movements and new variations . Look it just puts her in a slight trance .

doesn’t do well with creativity coming into play , but she managed to find a way with turning art into dance , like referencing other dancers online and copying their moments onto a canvas to make it dramatic or something .

Prefers prismacolor pencils over most things , sometimes joins Taylor and Logan after school to try out photography .

Sometimes she and Aiden would share headphones and put on a shared playlist or a podcast on spotify . They always bicker about it though because ashlyn skips through songs often and Aiden can’t sit on a podcast unless it’s playing somewhere background ( still working on this one cause would that work ? Sharing headphones and listening to stuff or would that be too loud cause I’m not sure )

for once please can she see what Aiden has done like he’s always on his phone or playing with another puzzle from his backpack how do they fit in there anyway just Plsplslpsopls he has a good grade in this class how he’s so confusing sometimes double U - tea - eph

TIE - LER !! :

Joined because he already does baseball why not choose something to maybe help him relax

Bad choice , does not relax him ( most of the time ) , can’t understand color theory ( same ) , ended up getting put into the same class with Aiden ( remember when Aiden threw pottery ? Yeah . . Also ashlyn is there that’s cool but still )

He still likes hanging with Aiden , he just won’t admit it and it gets harder and harder too when he keeps writing and drawing on his work ( and him too 😡😡 )

Pretty fond of water coloring , it’s one of the few things that he enjoys doing in his pass time . . . But he’s not that good at keeping the water to a minimum so it ends up dripping everywhere .

He’s not that good at art either , but he’s pretty good at poses , specifically ones he can remember like the “ batter up ! “ stance in baseball or his signature “ crosses my arms and stares at you begrudgingly “ . He’s REALLY good at that one .

He teaches Ben Guitar , Ben teaches him easier ways to draw . Not a babyish style , but just a simplified way to do something without putting too much thought into it .

he and Taylor team up in art projects , but not in class , at home . Ash and Aiden usually partner up in class , and since he and Taylor have seperate classes there , who’s to say they can’t help eachother else where ? Twin telepathy ! ( I think , idk )

Just finishes quick and turns it in . He gave effort , and that’s good enough . If he really wants to try and ‘ finish ‘ finish it , he will . Trust .

DIALOG(an)UE !! :

Literally the only one in the group who really takes pottery ( he’s lonely someone help him )

dw Barron isnt there . He got kicked out for throwing clay at people ( mostly Logan )

Actually really likes taking pottery , it’s fun !!

He makes pots for the plants back home 💪😋

pretty good at using the utensils , one of the only people the teacher can trust to use them correctly

the pottery wheel isn’t his favorite favorite because sometimes it spins to fast and clay gets splattered everywhere , but it’s better then starting from scratch , and turns out really nice when he gets into the zone or something

made mugs for his grandparents !! ( and the gang , which they all used theirs for many different things . They love it )

not that good at coming up with particular designs , so he usually asks for help . Doesn’t matter who , he’s open to everyone’s ideas 😋☝️☝️

takes a littttllleee while to turn things in on time but he’s a good student so the teacher doesn’t mind

IM DONE !!! I DID IT !!! Praise me .

WHAT SHOULD I DO NEXT ?? HIT THAT LIKE AND SURBSCRIBE BUTTON

[mrfancyfoot]

Plots & Prosody: Prompts

Raphael x Evie (f!OC)

.

- A Gift of Heart-

"To a devil, gifting the heart of your enemy (for free, no less!) is practically a confession of love.

Evie contemplates getting a spray bottle to spritz her murderous cat of a devil friend."

Happy Halloween! This prompt is slightly thematic for the holiday (in a, uh, horror kind of way - sort of. More along the lines of Addams Family kind of "horror"). 😈

Did not quite succeed in getting both prompts out for October, but I should have my Kinktober prompt out very soon (and unlike this one, I have spent far more time on it than two sleep deprived nights). :)

.

Rating: M / NSFW-ish

Word Count: ~1.2k

Timeline: Plots & Prosody, Part II - Canon

Tags: POV Evie; She/Her Pronouns; Raphael Referenced; Housemate Astarion; (Dark) Humor; ...Fluff?; Dark Romance; Evie is a Bit Socially/Romantically Naive; Some Mutual Pining; Devil Courtship; The Devil is Smitten; Raphael probably off strutting around like a tom cat so proud of himself

Warnings: Gore (Dismembered Body Parts...As Gifts); Referenced Murder; Implied Eating of one such part (Astarion); Evie has found herself a surprising degree of okay with most of this

Main Fic (Rated E/Varied): AO3 + Tumblr | Master List (contains related prompts)

[Quick Context: After being isekai'd by the nautiloid, Evie spends most of Plots & Prosody Part I (Game Events) “befriending the devil,” yet denying him her soul.  Once things settle after game events, Evie goes about her new life kick-starting her business and re-inventing modern-day things. She remains oblivious to Raphael's attempts at courting her and chalks many of his more questionable behaviors up to cultural differences.]

Part of my devil courtship series.

❤️ Thanks for reading! :3 ❤️

Being friends with a devil was very akin to being friends with a particularly mischievous, deadly cat.  A cat that sometimes left little unsettling gifts in the middle of her dining room table to show its fondness.

It was mid-morning when she woke and readied enough to drag herself downstairs for breakfast.  The glint of shiny, gaudy wrapping paper had been quick to catch her eye.  The ribboned cube was about the size of a hat box and she recognised who it was from upon sight for Raphael had a set of preferences and this was far from being the first.  Crimson paper, gold ribbon, occasionally switched up when he was feeling extra pretentious with gold paper and crimson ribbon or with a navy accent.

As his cherished, self-appointed best, and only, friend - though he was certainly putting effort into getting her to agree to the forever ‘forever’ part - the word that came to mind for this behavior was ‘lavish.’  Raphael had begun to lavish her with gifts.

Exotic spices, rare books, furs with magical properties, trinkets from his travels, fine clothing, expensive jewelry.

Which wasn’t at all what she had expected several months ago.  Her goal with ‘befriending the devil’ had started out as purely self-preservation as a means to stay on his good side if he was as adamant about getting her soul as he claimed.  Perhaps they’d occasionally have tea and trade book recommendations, catch a play at the theatre...  Actually succeeding was not something she had foreseen.

But though she insisted that he didn’t have to gift her anything, let alone such finery, he insisted that he did.  His friend had a place of high honor in his life that deserved it.  And to show that he could - protecting and spoiling her these ways was another display of his power and status.

Those were the innocuous gifts, at least comparatively - she wasn’t sure she wanted to know where they all may have come from.  The gifted body parts were…less so.

A behavior that she was still parsing.  Being friends with a powerful devil meant having to make some concessions and strive to understand their culture.

She supposed it was how he showed he cared.

At least he wasn’t yet leaving her half dead things to tell her that her own skills needed honing.

Evie thumbed the bow of the pretty, sleek ribbon and slipped the tiny card out from under it.  The back was signed with a simple, scripted initial R.  It carried his distinctive, warm scent that she took in fondly.

He never wanted there to be any question as to who the gifts came from.

“Ooo, another present, I see.  Isn’t that the second this tenday?”  Having come from his own room, Astarion sidled up beside her and gleefully peered over her shoulder.  “Now, what do you suppose is hidden within this one?  More jewelry to match?  A nice set of ears?  Oh, I know!  A stunning pair of earrings still attached to the lobes.  Do hurry up, I’m dying of anticipation!”  He giggled to himself.  Earlier this week was an enchanted bracelet.  Not attached to anything.

His question was somewhat rhetorical given his heightened sense of smell, so he would at least know if it was ‘organic’ or not.

“Hmm.”  She lifted the box and gave it a gentle shake.  “It has an odd weight.  Bit more oomph to it than I would have thought.  So…I’mma say some unlucky soul has been relinquished of…something.”

Guessing the contents had become somewhat of a game between them.  

Evie pulled at the ribbon and flipped the top off the box.

She leaned over the box and squinted, her head tilting.

A heart.

Lovingly nestled within tissue paper splattered with still-wet blood.

Astarion bent closer and she heard him inhale deeply.  “Oh, my.  A bit engorged but it does look delicious, darling.”  He stepped aside and scanned her, asking, “Did something happen?  I cannot wait to find out which poor sap crossed you the wrong way to deserve this.”  As though he didn’t also contemplate the same thing.  There was once a time that he bemoaned Raphael ‘beating’ him to dealing with certain problems.  It was a cute little rivalry between her bloodthirsty gremlins.

She would like to say that it bothered her, but trying to keep her workers safe was such an immense burden with how troubled and unsafe the Gate was, especially at night and especially in the Lower City.  Thugs, sharks, drunkards…dandy nobles able to bribe guards and magistrates to get their way.  She could fend for herself, but many of her women and younger employees couldn’t.  With her hired security only able to do so much above water if the proper authorities refused to act, it was little skin off her nose for the lowest of scum to find their way to the Hells.

“No, nothing comes to mind for this one.”  She sighed, a wry smile pulling at her lips.  “You can have it if you don’t drool on me, Asta.  Please put it on ice if you don’t plan to do anything with it right now, though.”

He snagged the box with an eager, ‘Don’t mind if I do.’ and walked off, disappearing down the hall.

She’d have to dispose of it anyhow so having a vampire housemate made that easy.

Hopefully the authorities wouldn’t come pounding on their door after finding a body - if there even was one - but she feared if Raphael kept threatening and picking off her enemies and those who had done her wrong, someone out there was bound to make the connection back to her as a common denominator.

A drunken fishmonger had mysteriously lost some fingers after inappropriately grabbing her and finding himself thrown into the bay.

A set of eyeballs from a disgustingly lustful trio of gangsters thinking they’d cornered her in an alley near her warehouse.  She had dealt with them, as well, but apparently Raphael felt more needed to be done.

The tongue of who had once been her daily catcaller on her way to work.

Occasionally, Raphael felt the need to posture and share the origins of such offerings, though often it was a few days or even weeks until they learned who the bits came from.

Raphael had once shared the deplorable things a visiting noble had said of her to him while at a gala.  Decorative beads had been made from his bones and Raphael was having them sewn into a dress for her to wear to an upcoming event in the Hells.

He, of course, would never dirty his own hands within the Material Plane, but he had plenty of agents and those in his debt to carry out his orders.

As this one had not been handed to her, it was more likely that they’d be hearing of the potential cause and prior owner at some point from the news or street gossip mill.

As amusing as it was to imagine spraying the devil with water in the same way one would attempt to alter the behaviors of a cat, she doubted it would be so simple.  But, thinking like a devil, maybe she would have more luck getting him to cease the morbid gifts from the angle of conveying that she felt insulted by the assumption that she could not or was not handling these things properly herself.

Her stomach rumbled and she decided to think on it more after breakfast. She palmed the tiny gift card and made her way to the kitchen.

[strang3lov3]

Questions tag game!! Ty for the tag @covetyou !! ♡

Do you make your bed? Not very well. I straighten everything out but my barbarian of a fiance sleeps like a tornado so there's really no use in making it actually nice. I also leave most blankets untucked because my cat Jojo loves to sleep under the covers all day so I like to make sure he won't get stuck anywhere, has an easy way in and out. You get it.

Favorite number? 69 obviously. The best number.

What's your job? Full-time student, and later I'll be a teacher!

If you could go back to school, would you? I'm in school, so...I guess I'll just say I don't plan on doing more than getting my bachelor's. And I wouldn't go back to high school ever.

Can you parallel park? Fffffffuck no. Nope. I managed to do it for my driver's test when I was 16, and I haven't done it since. I also can't back into a parking spot.

Do you think aliens are real? Of course. My father in law once said something to me about how he really had a lot of respect for Dave Grohl until he learned he believes in UFOs and I think that's so funny. Also, he's a self-proclaimed music nerd but claims that punk has never been political. He said he misses when Green Day only wrote songs about jerking off instead of politics....Idk. I think he might be the one on another fucking planet LMAO

Can you drive a manual car? I can, actually!! I drove a stick-shift 2008 Honda Civic for two years! The clutch had to be replaced within five months of me driving that car 😬 My fiance says he shudders to think of what I did to that car lol.

What's your guilty pleasure? None!! I'm pretty shameless about everything I find enjoyable and I just don't feel guilt for liking what I like.

Tattoos? 14 now. I'm trying to prioritize getting filler on my arms so my tattoos look nice and connected on my wedding day. I also plan to get a crawling panther and cheetah on my back soon, and cover up my linework tats I got when I was 18.

Favorite color? Light blue.

Do you like puzzles? Depends on the puzzle. I fuck with a jigsaw puzzle but most other puzzles I really fucking hate. Like a Rubik's Cube and those weird metal puzzles make me feel stupid lol.

Any phobias? Mhmmmmm. Three. They're all pretty debilitating because they're all so unavoidable. And also, people can be pretty like, not understanding about these things and they make me feel silly and dramatic. But the nature of phobias is that they're irrational and can't always be helped. I wouldn't choose to be this afraid of things if I had any say in the matter, but I don't so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Emetephobia (fear of vomiting) - Last year, every time I went out to eat for about nine months, I'd wake up in the middle of the night and vomit. These experiences have traumatized me on some level so anytime my stomach feels weird - be it hunger, anxiety, pain, etc. I freak out and panic and cry for hours. Like this kinda happens 1-2 times every week.

Blood Injury Injection (BII) phobia - Pretty much what it sounds like. I do not like to see blood, my own or anyone else's (though period blood is different to me and doesn't make me squeamish). I can't look at injuries no matter how small - like that paper cut scene in Everything Everywhere really bothered me and I had to shut off the movie. Injections really freak me out too and I will avoid having my blood drawn at all costs. I know I have a lot of tattoos but I also have them separated in my mind. It's just a different animal to me.

Entomophobia (fear of bugs) - I can't do it. All bugs, big or small, scare the bejesus out of me. I won't sleep in my bedroom if I find a bug in there. Once, I opened up my jar of peanut butter and found it full of ants which was one of the most disturbing things I've ever experienced in real life. Most of my nightmares are all bug related too. Like centipedes in my hair is a common one

Favorite childhood sport? I was a gymnast and a diver. I didn't like team sports so gymnastics was great for me! At 11 I developed Osgood-Schlatter disease which causes severe pain in the knees which kinda sucks when you're a gymnast and you rely on your knees for a lot. So I quit gymnastics to dive instead, which was great because I could flip and still have fun. But after fucking up a dive, I became really scared of the sport and that was it for me. From then on, I focused on art instead of sports.

Do you talk to yourself? Nope. I talk endlessly to others though.

Full pressure tags - @cum-a-calla @mssalo-main @fungal-rot @ghostlovesbaguettes @ovaryacted

@guiltyasdave @kappasbbgirl @senselessviolets @baronessvonglitter @mountainsandmayhem

[thunderworks]

JSAB Gift Exchange

Further information below the cut. Sign up here!

Making artwork for other people like a "secret santa," but not expressly holiday themed. Mass art trade, if you will!

Rules

Must have a reference of how you draw JSAB character(s) or your OCs. Doesn’t need to be a turnaround, just a colored fullbody is fine! (Or, if you don't have a character, fill out this form instead.)

You are welcome to submit a non-JSAB OC if you feel they fit the general aesthetic. (Ex, geometric looking creatures from object shows.)

No sexual content, period. All ages event. Blood & other darker themes are ok if your assignment is comfortable with that, since these are present in the base game.

No bigotry

All skill levels & mediums are welcome. Please be kind to each other. Unkindness can bar you from entering future events.

It’s preferred to keep your assignment a secret, so your art is a surprise for them!

Timeline

September 30 form opens for 3 weeks

October 19 form closes

October 26 assignments are sent out via Tumblr message

November 16 reminders are sent, progress check-in

November 30 final art is due

Please let Thunder (host) know if you need to drop off the event for any reason, preferably minimum 2 weeks before due date. She will try to make up art for any drops. 

This is Thunder’s second year hosting an art gift exchange. The first was a general one on ToyHouse with 20 participants. She has been doing freelance commissions & coordinating other online events for 5+ years. 

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Optional art theme: cozy, family time, bountiful harvest (Relating to the fall season, not specific holidays like Thanksgiving.)

Thunder does not have the time/energy to maintain a discord server for this event, sorry. But I’m more than happy to talk 1:1, or if you have a small server of JSAB friends I’d love to join!

Image descriptions of your gifts are not required to participate, but they are highly encouraged. Here is a video and short article about how to make them. Message me for help if you need it. Basically they explain the content & context of your drawing. Make a good ID, and that piece of fandom is now accessible to screen reader users!

For comics & other complex interactions, I typically write a short fiction piece of the event / core content, not an exact image description. 

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Comic Transcript:

“Hello..? Heli, are you sure this thing’s, uh..?”

“If the light’s blinking that means it’s on.”

There is a series of watercolored drawings. Cube tilts her head to the side, looking concerned.

“AAH! Sorry, hello there!”

She stands straight upright, holding out a piece of paper to look over. She looks it over with wide eyes. 

“I come bearing news of a gift exchange! Two, actually, well, possibly two, depending on.. Ehm…”

She leans forward to re-read her notes, squinting in concentration, cat ears tilting back. Cyan points at the spot she’s looking for. 

“Ah!! Ok, so. It says here that you fill out the Google form with your.. characters? Or how you draw us? And then you’ll be contacted on October 26th to draw for someone else.”

Cyan beeps, pointing at a spot further down the paper. 

“Oh!! Sorry, not just drawings, you can also write or sew. Or make music, ooh! Is that like, writing a battle theme for someone?”

She looks over to Cyan excitedly, ears sticking up with alert. He just shrugs. She turns back to the camera. 

“Ok, well, ah, have fun!!”

Cube waves goodbye to the camera.

[soulgazingwithbucky]

Details (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Maybe you and Bucky just weren't meant to be. Alpine (dis)respectfully disagrees.

Based on a prompt from this generator: "Y/N and Bucky break up, but they have a pet and neither of them want to give it up. Then they spend a few days each with the pet separately. But it kinda helps them get together again."

Warnings: mentions of food & alcohol

Word count: 3.1k

A/N: Writing this fic taught me that the Venn diagram of romantic flowers and things toxic to cats is a circle. I wrote this listening to Trust by Brent Faiyaz radio on Spotify, so I have no choice but to share it for any other hip hop/R&B fans <3 If you find yourself enjoying this, feel free to check out my other works here <3

You were the sun up above, he was fallen snow.

You were the beauty of flower petals, he was the strength of tree roots.

You were a song belted out loud, he was comfortable silence.

It took you a while to fall in love with Bucky Barnes. But,

as they say,

good things come to those who wait.

You were big picture, he was details. You were looking too broadly; he slipped between the cracks. You crept into every corner of his brain until it was an overfilled balloon. Oh, how he had pined until you finally saw him as he saw you. It was torture, those few months before you took his hands in yours, leaning in for that first kiss that ignited every nerve in his body.

The more time you spent with him, the more certain you felt about his psychic abilities. He knew you so well, like he was reading your thoughts. Or seeing the future. Was it an effect of the serum? But he indulged you in his secret: he just paid a painful amount of attention.

When you scratched your throat, he would get you a glass of water. Always three ice cubes.

When you shifted in your seat, he would take your leg and message it, pressing firm circles into the back of your calves.

When your eyebrows scrunched and made that little crease in between, he would kiss it. When he pulled away, it was gone.

He was details.

You mused that he should reserve that expertise for saving the world. He left a flutter of kisses on your knuckles, telling each finger that he would have no better use of his skills than to keep you happy.

You were grander than life. He was sure that if you had been the one alive for a century, you would have lived each year to its fullest. He looked up to you, his idol, his inspiration.

The sound of tape unraveling broke you out of your stupor.

Loud, screeching, sudden.

A fitting call back to reality.

Bending at the knee, Bucky gingerly placed the box in front of you. You knew he could’ve lifted and dropped it with just his pinky finger; it would’ve been the equivalent of you dropping a sheet of paper.

But he was always so considerate of you. Your feelings.

Your reactions.

You.

“I think that’s the last one,” he told you. A lie. He knew it was the last one.

“Thank you,” you said, staring at the box, rotating it to find the cutout handles.

CLOTHES, he had scribbled on every side in thick sharpie, the writing comically large. He was thinking of you, in your new home, surrounded by replicas of the same brown cardboard box. He wanted to make it as easy as possible for you.

It, the situation he had put you both in.

You were larger than life. But he had made you feel smaller than an atom. Like a child's once overused coat that now collected dust in the back of a dark closet.

Your name, so tender on his gruff tongue, drew you out of your thoughts.

You kept your face stony. You didn’t dare think what it had betrayed when you dove into the recesses of your mind.

“Sorry,” you spoke.

“Don’t be,” he murmured. Stay, he thought.

You stood, rummaging in your pocket. Well, his pocket. His sweatpants. You acted like you forgot they were his; he acted like he forgot, too. At least some part of him would still be with you.

A silver key emerged in your outstretched hand. His finger twitched. You noticed that.

He taught you to.

Then he reached out, closing the space between the two of you. His fingers curled over yours, ridding the key from sight.

“Keep it,” he said.

“What?” you said.

“Shared custody,” was his attempt to lighten the mood. As if on cue, Alpine rounded the corner.

you summoned, dad? she seemed to say, grazing the doorway as she made her way over.

Be strong, you had demanded earlier, pointing at yourself accusingly in the rearview mirror. Do not give in. Don’t let him see you falter.

But this beautiful, aggravating, wonderful cat was your whole world (surpassing Bucky, you made sure to tell him regularly), and you felt the tears well up. You thought you had finally run out. What an awful time to find you were wrong.

“Are you sure?”

“Never been more sure,” he said firmly. “I-”

The syllable lingered in the air. He had to be strong, for you. It was the least he could do. He brought this on himself, and he had to see it through. He had no idea how to balance the whole hero thing and being in love thing. He had never done it before. What an awful way to find out he did everything wrong.

He would never forget the day the straw broke the camel’s back. He had told you he needed to reschedule your Saturday date, not knowing the day you had planned out. But Wakanda had requested his and Sam’s presence at a UN meeting; you both knew they seldom called in favors from him. Your lip quivered in failed restraint until you abruptly stood up, nearly toppling over the takeout containers on your lap. Everything poured out of you in that moment, loud and endless and angry. Bucky had shut down, staring straight ahead with hardened eyes until you grabbed your things and left.

He was details. He was a quick pick-me-up after a hard day at work. He was a quiet back rub during a feel-good movie. He was a gentle reminder about that one errand you could never seem to remember.

He wasn't big picture. He wasn't a step back to see the writing on the wall. He wasn't the pieces coming together. He wasn't the painful realization of you weren't happy. Not until it was too late, anyway.

“I'll walk you to your car,” he offered. He hesitated before picking up a few boxes. Don’t be stupid, James. Don’t hope for her to change her mind. “Get the door, doll? Sorry. Could you...get the door, please?”

You managed to nod, though you felt as if every bone in your body had merged into one. You opened the door and watched him walk away with your life in a few measly boxes.

“Get the door, doll?” he had said, dragging in several bags of groceries. You harped on him for having a total of three items in his refrigerator, and stopped your movie night to go to the grocery store at 10pm. The clerks were not happy with you.

“Get the door, doll?” he had said, gingerly holding Alpine in her carrier. He did let you hold one thing that time- Alpine’s medication. You both loved her too much to let Bucky carry anything else but her, especially after the scare she had put you both through.

“Get the door, doll?” he had said, muffled over the armfuls of flowers, chocolates, and balloons. Your last Valentine’s together, though neither of you knew it would carry that title. You had laughed at the ridiculous sight of wine bottles tucked into his back pockets.

“I'm sorry,” he said after loading the last of the boxes into your car. He left enough space in the middle seat for you to still use your rearview mirror.

“Don’t,” you whispered. You had had enough of empty apologies. So do something about it. So end it if you wanted to focus on work. So ask Sam to enlist the help of literally any other superhero. Dr. Banner could get it done in, like, five seconds, you once huffed.

“But I am.”

You knew he was. And that made everything worse. The deadly Avenger with the unstoppable arm, capable of defeating Outriders and Flag Smashers. But to you, just your sweet and gentle Bucky. Your sweet, gentle Bucky, who revealed a side to you that no one else got to see. The hero of incredible strength, who held you like you were the lightest of feathers.

You knew that this was as new a world to him as it was to you. You had many a mirror pep talk reminding yourself of this. But you couldn’t help that empty feeling. You became a longing glance at other couples, kissing and hugging and laughing, while you sat in the empty booth. Another last-minute mission for your mighty hero meant another drink for you, liquid in your cup deterring the glistening in your eyes. You became a forced smile, an ongoing habit at work parties and social gatherings, dismissing everyone’s questions about why the hero wasn’t by your side. You became nostalgia, looking at old videos of Bucky on your phone, because you could count on the memories of the man more than the man himself.

“Goodbye, Bucky,” you said, speaking to your car door handle. You hadn’t met each other’s eyes once this entire time. You were kind of glad. You just knew one look would leave you gasping for air, lungs suddenly rid of breath and replaced with a whirlpool of ocean blue, the gray and cobalt turning your intestines into a loop.

You didn’t stay to hear his response. You got in your car, turned on the engine, and reversed out of the parking lot.

Don’t look back

Don’t look back

Don’t- Oh, for god’s sake. Of course you looked back.

There he was, still and staring. You knew he wouldn’t leave that spot until your car was completely out of sight. Making sure you were safe.

The next few weeks were filled with lots of ice cream, cheap wine, shitty movie nights, social media algorithms feeding you breakup posts, loud bars with too many people, your friends and family checking in, more tears (fuck, they never run out), takeout delivered to your doorstep, maybe an impulse buy or two…

When you were in distress, Alpine would always sit on your lap until your uneven breaths were in line with her quiet purrs. You would stroke her fur and mutter a thank you while you kissed the top of her head. She would eventually be irked by your flurry of kisses and promptly leave, knowing you were okay.

And so you found yourself turning onto an all-too-familiar street, pulling into an all-too-familiar lot, walking up to an all-too-familiar door.

Whatever trance you were in broke as soon as you felt the jagged edge of the key in your hand. You came to your senses long enough to reluctantly send Bucky a text, asking if you could pay your favorite girl a visit.

His response was almost immediate, shining brightly on your phone screen.

Open invite.

You sighed gratefully, though his response didn't indicate whether he would be in attendance. You pressed your ear to the door, and were greeted with silence. Carefully, you entered your former home.

It smelled like amber, like pine, like leather. Like Bucky. It was overpowering, threatening to shut off all your senses until-

Your heart melted as you spotted Alpine, summoned by the sound of the door. You hadn’t even let yourself into the space, instead falling to your knees and spreading your arms right there by the door. She came to you, stepping on your thighs and pulling herself up to your chest. You embraced her, and your tears fell.

You and Alpine stayed like that for a while, until she wriggled out of your grasp and disappeared.

that's enough, she seemed to say. dust yourself off.

You retrieved a few treats from the cupboard, leaving it for her on her favorite spot on the coffee table.

Your rendezvous continued every week. You seemed to have found the magical window of time where Bucky Barnes was never in his apartment. A weekly debrief with Sam, you guessed by the sticky notes on the fridge. You time, Alpine time.

At first, you stayed in front of the door, not daring to leave the space occupied by the doormat. Alpine would come to you, until she wouldn’t.

She coaxed you to the kitchen first, pawing at where Bucky kept her food. You gave her a little extra in her bowl, knowing that Bucky had already fed her. He was religious about it.

If she could roll her eyes, she would. 

i’ll indulge you this time, she seemed to say, nibbling while you sat on the ground and petted her.

Next was the living room. She walked across the cushions, inviting you.

i haven’t got all day, she seemed to say.

You sat next to her, feeling the familiar sink of the cushion beneath you. Though you sat uncomfortably, your spine stick straight and your bum right on the edge of the couch.

You left her treats every time, in the same spot. You didn’t notice how the bag seemed to magically refill every time.

On your next visit, Alpine napped peacefully on the glass coffee table, right next to a thin vase of flowers.

You flinched. He had decorated. For someone else? But as you stepped in, you recognized the blush pink hue of camellias.

Alpine’s eyes slowly opened until she registered your presence. She walked around the vase, tail adding a dramatic flourish. Totally unnecessary, as the plant stood out enough in Bucky’s horrifically monochrome home.

dad said they were your favorite, she seemed to say.

A week later, Alpine purred in your lap as you leaned back on the soft couch, even daring to turn on the television. You were greeted by an array of music videos lining the search history. All the songs you told him to listen to, but thought he never did.

“This one is the best,” you told Alpine, gesturing to the most recent video played. She looked up at you.

dad’s only played it a million times, she seemed to say as she lengthened her body into a stretch.

“Huh,” you said on your next visit. A single magnet sat on the fridge door, a cartoon bear operating a gondola. A souvenir Bucky picked up after a conference in Italy. Also known as, your old message to Bucky when he came home in the dead of night from assignments. It meant, food inside. eat, please, then come to bed. i love you. He would sit his aching body, massaging a bruise or picking at Sam's shoddy gauze work, and enjoy the meal you prepared.

It must have been a fluke, but you found yourself pulling open the fridge door. A nearly empty fridge, save for a styrofoam container perched on the middle rack.

You sat at the kitchen table, enjoying your comfort meal from the Thai restaurant you could never stop praising, while Alpine watched you lazily.

“Tell him thank you,” you told her sheepishly. “I guess.”

i’ll think about it, she seemed to say as she yawned and walked away.

Every time you visited, there was a small gesture to make your stay just a little more comfortable. Your favorite tub of ice cream. Your favorite candle. Your favorite author's new book. This was Bucky's love. It was quiet. It was subtle. It crept up on you, like the smile you didn’t know you were wearing. He was details.

You filled up his fridge, a colorful combination of fruit, vegetables, and snacks. You brought in bags full of throw pillows and blankets, arranging it carefully in his home. The muted colors looked blinding in contrast with the monochrome pieces Bucky preferred.

And this was your love. It was the big-ass elephant in the room, if the elephant also yelled, "Hello! I'm here!" It was a clown car, pouring out in impossible amounts. It demanded to be seen, it demanded to be heard.

“Big it is,” Bucky said, feeling the cool air of the fridge, staring at the arrangement of food that threatened to spill over.

Alpine had the honor of watching you both. There was a lot she seemed to say.

You hummed, turning the key until you heard the lock free itself.

Balloons grazed the ceiling, shaped in cheesy hearts and shining proudly in metallic pink and red. Bouquets of forget-me-nots and roses, asters and camellias greeted you from the tables and countertops. You heard the familiar rhythm of your favorite song filling the air.

Alpine stood in the middle of it all, mewing happily and swiping at one of the many balloon strings.

Bucky stepped out from the doorway that led to his bedroom, just barely. You could make out the blue shirt that stretched over his chest, the wrinkles in his pants, the nervous twitch of his jaw.

"No debrief?" you said hesitantly, stopping short at the door.

"Cancelled. I had something that took precedence.

“Alpine insisted on the decor. I told her it was too much,” he said sheepishly, still gauging your reactions, gesturing towards his pet that paid both of you absolutely no mind.

You stared at him in disbelief, still not sure he was really there, in front of you, but you couldn't help but laugh.

“I worked on a schedule,” he said quickly, “with Sam. We called Clint, we got his advice.”

“Uh-huh,” you said absentmindedly, dropping your bag on a chair.

“Even Scott had some advice, but a lot of it depended on being on house arrest…”

“Sure,” you said, fingers grazing over rose petals.

“All this to say, I'm sorry. And I know you hate hearing it, and I know I don’t deserve it, but if you were-”

“Bucky?” you interrupted, taking one last step to close the gap between you two. In his anxious state, he hadn’t realized you were making your way over to him. Your fingers reached out, the prickle of his stubble tickling your fingertips. He sighed into your touch as you traced the chain of his dog tags, setting off the familiar jingle of metal.

“Yes?” he breathed, barely audible. His arms stayed at his side, heavy as anvils, the desire to trace your curves overwhelming but wondering if he was deserving.

“Say what you need to say,” you murmured, “quickly.” You wrapped your arms around his neck; he lowered his head until your foreheads rested against each other. His hazy blue eyes rested underneath furrowed brows, tense with regret.

“I'll do it right this time.” He spoke to your lips, and you watched as his eyes dipped low, masking the blue behind a curtain of eyelashes. “For you. For us.”

“I'm just here for the cat, Barnes,” you responded with a smile, pressing your lips to his.

He chuckled, feeling sensation return to his arms. He cupped his hands underneath your thighs and lifted. You yelped as you wrapped your legs around his torso and your hands gripped the back of his shirt.

Alpine paused her playdate with a curling ribbon just long enough to watch you two disappear into the bedroom.

my job here is done, she seemed to say.