#cos sometimes they merge in to one

[minute-minute]

Another day, another new fanfic to read

[endawn]

the warden & co can find pax wandering along the road towards lothering and then being cornered by the bandits enforcing a toll. while he isn’t able to understand what they’re saying and they aren’t able to understand him as he’s speaking cyrodilic ( latin, basically ), he gathers rather quickly what they are trying to do. he’s the first to draw on them and initiates the fight when the leader places a hand on his breastplate to push him back . if they choose not to help, he’ll still defeat them but has to resort to using his magic to aid him. in his agitation and confusion, he’ll be on edge with the group after the battle. if they help him, he’ll be much more relaxed but it’s clear he’s rather….out of sorts. communication is strained at first because he doesn’t know the common language enough for conversation. however, the demon possessing him does. it slowly lends him it’s knowledge as pax is able to….coerce it into doing so. the crew can help him learn the language, as well.

[noxlotl]

Art style breakdown /tutorial(??)

Some friends asked so here we go : disclaimer im bad at explaining (so feel free to send an ask or smth)

Final art (long read so theres a timelapse at the end)

If its not for something important (commissions), i dont usually make a lineart for a drawing but just clean up the sketch , it wont be used anyway

I usually separate them by colors , mostly so i can Alpha lock them and not worry about coloring over parts

When coloring i use a soft airbrush to have gradients within the shading , so its not one solid color . How i shade is very blocky , lots of triangles lol (if im using CSP i love using the lasso fill tool ) but there are parts especially in the skin where I keep it smooth and blended, usually nose and cheek area . Using an asaro head is usually a good start to learning how to shade faces with planes in mind

Depends on the character, but I like adding shadows on the lashes/brows itself , make it look solid and 3d , it makes the eyes pop more imo

Using multiply layer to make the shadows darker for more contrast

At some point I’d merge everything together so i can just paint in one layer, easier to fix things with liquify too ; if im in CSP i keep the separate layers in one folder just in case i need em later but i cant really do that in Procreate cos of layer limits

This is the part where i make the shading more painterly .,To make the shading look sharper , i like adding lines on the edges .

The fun part : adding the ✨

This is the part where I add textures , either from texture images or with screentone/hatching brushes. This is also around the part where i add the character’s accessories and stuff like scars and freckles (its just easier to add smaller things near the end than having them accidentally painted over at the start)

Whenever I feel like the drawing looks too much of a similar shade / temperature , I use a gradient map+layer effects (masked) on parts to give it variety . Technically you can do this by just having a layer effect on and manually adding colors but gradient maps make me go “ooooh didnt think of that color there “

CSP also has a posterization filter that i like using when i feel like some part looks too smooth to me.

I sometimes add in sketchy lines , and seeing how cool it looks in Marvel Rivals art ive been adding it more lol

Artists that influenced me are : Nesskain, Toni Infante , Valorant’s 2d art(their main artist is Suke) ,Arcane , Spiderverse and the most recent one ive been obsessing over is Marvel Rivals ( its got everything i want my art to be when it grows older lmao )

[the-badger-mole]

Father of the Bride

Hakoda swallowed hard against a lump in his throat. He had imagined this day so many times since Katara's birth. The details were different, though. She wasn't marrying a proven warrior from among their people. That was fine. She had spent so much time traveling the world, expanding her horizons, creating her own paths. Hakoda didn't think there were one in a thousand men at home who could keep up with the woman his daughter had become, and he had resigned himself to the fact that she might not end up with a Southern Tribe man years ago.

But he hadn't considered that her marriage might take her so permanently from home. A foolish oversight on his part, he admitted. And at least she would have the means to visit her family a few times a year. Still, he felt a pang. Same one he felt when he left his children behind with Kanna to go fight a war too big for him. Now that pang was tempered with bittersweet happiness as he watched the final preparations being made on Katara's wedding gown-a stunning piece of art even to Hakoda's untrained eye. All silks and linens in shades of blue and silver that recalled the bridal outfits of her homeland. Furs and leathers would be too hot for the climate, but Katara wanted to tell everyone up front how she would bring her own culture to merge with her new people. Her groom-to-be not only supported this decision, but had come to Hakoda and Sokka to ask them how he, too, could incorporate the Southern Water Tribe into the wedding on his end. That had been a long night, with strong drinks and stronger emotions, but at the end of it, Hakoda had decided that despite his initial misgivings about the marriage, he couldn't have picked a better son-in-law than Zuko.

Fire Lord Zuko. Fire Lord Zuko was going to be his son-in-law. Sometimes the thought made Hakoda chuckle. Sometimes it sent a chill down his spine. Not that he was worried about Zuko himself, but Katara's proximity to his throne. The crown. She would be coronated the next night in a ceremony as lavish as the wedding. She would become the Fire Lady. Co-ruler of the country that had spent a hundred years ruining countless lives with a war over something as silly as imperialist pride. Hakoda didn't think they deserved his daughter. If Zuko had earned his trust and respect, the rest of the Fire Nation certainly haven't. Not the nobles, anyway. When he brought them up to Katara, she laughed, though it didn't reach her eyes, which were flint hard and grimly determined. She told him no matter where she went in the world, she would have to fight for any respect she got. At least here she would have Zuko fighting beside her. Hakoda wasn't sure he agreed that was a worthy trade off, but he knew better than to try to talk his daughter out of it.

The Fire Nation had already benefited from her presence. As a foreign advisor, she had fostered trade and exchange agreements between the Fire Nation and all of the Water Tribes, Omashu and Gaoling. As an ambassador, she'd helped negotiate reparation packages that have helped the parts of the world hit hardest by the war recover. As one of Zuko's most trusted counselors, she'd helped him work the Fire Nation's budget so the government could provide for education, health and services for returning soldiers. The same kinds of programs she'd helped Hakoda and Sokka build in the Southern Water Tribe. It suddenly struck Hakoda that she had been acting as Fire Lady for a long time. Before she and Zuko had even realized they were in love, maybe. Today and tomorrow would just make it official. Hakoda still didn't think the Fire Nation deserved a Katara, but any chance he had of talking her out of it had long since slipped by him. And he now he wasn't sure he would talk her out of it, even if he did have the chance.

The final touches were done. The maids stepped back in a flurry of excited chatter. Kanna stepped forward, moving stiffly in her old age, smiling up at her granddaughter through tears. She had had this moment with Kya years ago, and Kya should be standing in her place now. Kanna reached out and ran her fingertips over the necklace she had passed to her daughter, and her daughter had passed on to Katara. Kya was here, Kanna assured herself. And Kya would be here with Katara as she made these next steps, first as a wife, then as a queen, then someday as a mother and grandmother herself.

"She would be so proud," Kanna told Katara. The two women embraced. Then Katara stood up, head high and looking as regal as any queen in any nation ever had, and turned to Hakoda.

"Are you ready, Dad?" she asked. Hakoda shook his head.

"I was never going to be ready for this," he confessed. "But it doesn't matter. You are ready."

[lightwing-s]

𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐎 𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐈𝐂𝐄𝐑

pairing: dick grayson x fem! reader

summary: as an intern at the police department you should know how to separate work from personal life, but when officer dreamy comes after you, you can't help it but mix them together

rating: 18+ (MDNI)

word count: 6,2k warnings: unprotected sex, cum eating, handjob (f receiving), slight overstimulation, a lot of pinning for each other

a/n: i gave up proof reading halfway because i was sleepy, so it might be okay at first and then become messy. sorta base on my experience working at a police precinct earlier this year, but not faithful (at all) to reality.

reblogs and interactions are always appreciated ! ♡

⌜masterlist⌟ ⌜requests⌟

Jumping off the last step down the bus, you rush into the streets, swerving through the crowds, bumping against people, getting sworn at by some, and somehow managing your way through the busy mess that was Gotham’s early mornings.

The headphones glued to your ear were the only thing trying to distract you from all the chaos that was the start of your day, but as the shuffle merged bossa nova into 2000s punk rock, you felt your body react and jump into a faster pace on your way to work. Within each step, the Greek columns of the old imposing building of the Gotham City’s Police Department grew bigger in the horizon, letting you know your commute was close to its end.

Beep beep, your watch announced the start of your shift. Damn it, you were late again. Trying to speed up your steps, you felt your calves start to burn, but the building soon was right in front of you, a couple of steps separating you both.

“Good morning, Yn.” greeted one of the officers, as you passed by him in a rush, as you made your way up the large steps without somehow managing to trip as he was bound somewhere else, already deep into the rash routine of being a police officer at the country’s most dangerous city.

Bursting through the doors, you look around to see if your supervisor, officer McCaffrey, was anywhere near. He hated you and had been on your ass since you started arriving a bit later than you were supposed to, a move further away from the precinct ruining your commute times.

Not seeing his growing bald head anywhere around, you jump ahead and find your way to your desk, stacked with piles and piles of papers, old cases handed to you to be typed and launched into this new software funded by Mr. Bruce Wayne.

Interning at a police station wasn’t exactly a part of your meticulously drawn up plan to get into law school, as law enforcement was on the far bottom of your list of possible careers to choose for your future. However, from day one you were surprised by how much you enjoyed working at the department, by how much you enjoyed the people, both your co-workers and, weirdly, the criminals you got to meet on a daily basis. 

Sometimes it was too much, juggling school work and the internship, plus all the side hustles you had to take just to make it through college without starving to death. But it all had its good sides. Sometimes, some really good ones.

Placing your bag over the pile of cases, you were about to go around your desk and sit down on the rather uncomfortable chair to start typing those damned cases away, when the rough voice of the main antagonist of this current season of your life reached your ears. 

“Miss, Ys,” your supervisor called. Rolling your eyes, you forced yourself to remain still, a lot of effort put into not throwing your head back in defeat as you turned around to meet face of your tormentor for the first time that day. “Thought you started your program at…” he dragged himself out, looking at his clock. “Exactly fifteen minutes ago.”

“Hello, officer McCaffrey.” you forced out a smile while greeting him. “Well, I was here fifteen minutes ago, you must have missed me.”

You confidently tried to lie, hoping the time spent with suspected criminals had taught you something, but being sure your face must have told him the opposite of what you meant. “I’m pretty sure I looked all over for you.”

“Are you sure?” you feigned innocence when trying once more.

“Miss Yn, this is a serious institution and if you’re not going to cooperate by doing your job properly I’m sorry to inform you that…” 

“You won’t need it, Christian.” a deeper voice cut your supervisor off as he started to scold you again. The voice, a tone you could easily identify from how much you’d heard it and dreamed of it in the past few months. “I stopped Miss Yn outside for a talk. I did not think there would be any problem.”

Sounding much more confident in his lie than you did, you were sure you could’ve fallen for it if it wasn’t of you he was talking about.

“Officer Grayson, Miss Ys has got a job to finish, she doesn’t need to go around having conversations with what I imagine are busy policemen.” officer Tormentor replied, not even caring to turn around and face the other voice’s owner, disdain covering each and everyone of his words.

“We were just discussing a case, it’s not that big of a deal. Right, Yn?” Officer Grayson called you by your first name along with a wink, the remaining energy left from not rolling your eyes at officer McCaffrey earlier keeping you from melting at how sweet your name sounded coming out of his mouth. 

McCaffrey finally turned to face your white night in a white button-up, only his back in your line of view now as you were still paralyzed in your spot, the image of Officer Grayson trapping your attention from anything else in the precinct.

“Dick,” your supervisor continued, the name sounding off of him like an annoyance. ”You’re not supposed to share confidential information with the students.” He told him bitterly.

“Aren’t they here to learn about our job, Christian?” Officer Grayson replied, the same annoyance playing on his tongue, but at the same time full of an uplifting fun only Dick Grayson could master and that you were sure only annoyed Christian more.

Facing the sudden silence between you three, you noticed Officer Grayson’s eyebrow raising, challenging his fellow officer to complain about you one more time.

“Sure, but…”

“I was doing just that, making sure Yn’s internship actually brings some value to her future.” Grayson cut him once more. “No sensitive information was shared, just the look of an investigation through a detective’s eye. And even so, miss Yn is one of the most competent interns we’ve had in a while and I’m sure she would’ve been able to keep any information she might’ve gotten. I’m sure talking with actual officers is much more beneficial than typing old cases into a system.”

Silence overcame you three again, Grayson’s words having a certain impact on you. Your shoes, stained and in desperate need of a wash, suddenly became interesting as you lowered your face to hide the burning red on your cheeks. The insides of your lips were chewed on, stopping the smile from spreading on your face.

Finally looking up, your eyes briefly met Officer Grayson’s, but you moved away quickly, afraid of what they might’ve done to you. 

Officer McCaffrey opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, his mind certainly trying to muster a comeback to Grayson’s defense of you but clearly failing to do so. His eyes moved from you to his coworker, and you wondered what was going through his head.

Whatever it was, it would never live up to Officer Dick Grayson. He just never would.

“Very well,” McCaffrey finally spoke, turning to face you with a displeased expression. “Get on with your typing.”

Turning on his heel, McCaffrey walked away from the two of you, the hardness of his hips making his walk look funny and with the bald spot growing in his head the both of you let out a soft chuckle.

Resting your butt on the desk behind you, the need of formality gone with your supervisor, you took this time to eye up the man left with you. 

That man didn’t have a bad looking day, showing up like a greek god every single day at work. He wore his usual white button-up shirt, rolled up to his elbows and exposing his thick forearms, built effortlessly at the gym - you were sure -, and decorated with veins you secretly wanted to map with your fingertips. 

He wore gray pants today, a color he often varied with either dark blue, black or beige, but the latter, thankfully, becoming rarer with each passing day. It didn’t compliment him, making his look rather boring in your opinion, nor did it match well with any of his shoes, probably more expensive than anything you owned. 

His badge and gun hang on his hips, held on the black belt made of the most sophisticated leather in the world, or so you’d bet. He seemed to take good care of himself, as not only his skin glistened like a glazed donut, but he exuded a strong woody smell, following him along to every room he entered.

However, the lack of a tie and the untidy hair signaled to you he might’ve been just as late as you were. And still, he looked majestic. The highlight of your long hours at the precinct.

“Hello, officer Grayson.” you greeted him shyly. You certainly should not have spent too much of your days simply just watching him go on about his work, but it was a habit you had created and that was hard not to do, his simple presence was enough to overwhelm you.

“Good morning, Yn. Haven’t had an easy morning, I see?” he raised his eyebrow at you this time, a playful smiling playing on his face. 

“You too, right?” slipped out of your mouth quicker than you’d wished, almost slapping your face out of sheer frustration.

His head bent to the side, a question forming on his eyes, eyebrows furrowed, but soon returning to the playful expression you were used to. “I see your detective skills have been improving.”

“I-I just noticed you’re not wearing a t-tie like you usually do and your hair seems messy, that’s all.” you said without pausing for air and his smile only seemed to grow.

“Relax, Yn,” he dragged out. “I just had to stay up till late last night. What’s your excuse?”

“Commuting has been hell. I just moved to a new apartment.” you told him, nodding for absolutely no reason. He didn’t seem pleased with your answer, eagerly waiting for you to continue. “At the Amusement Mile.”

“Amusement Mile?!” he exclaimed. “That’s basically on the other side of the city.”

Yep, you worded, or not. You were not sure.

“And really dangerous, Yn.” he sounded worried. “Make sure to not leave too late, okay?”

“I’ll try.” you replied, but he still didn’t seem pleased. “I promise?”

You were not sure what kind of tone this conversation had. You and Officer Grayson had always been friendly, as he always came by your desk to wish you a good day or night, to bring you coffee as he did with his coworkers, or to ask you about how classes were going and if the internship wasn’t getting in the way of your studies.

It all sounded friendly to you, as if he only saw you as a younger sister or something like that. Sadly to you, that seemed to be a reality. But today, the friendliness sounded less friendly, for some reason, or maybe they were just the voices of hope playing with your mind.

“Good, I’ll have to work now, and I think so do you. Having fun with typing?”

“It really could be worse.” You joked, bringing out a laugh from him, filling your ears and making your heart pump faster.

“Have a nice day, Yn.” 

“You too, officer.” you eagerly replied, watching as he too walked away from you.

Finally sitting down on your chair, you let out a huge sigh, Officer Dreamy, as you kindly nicknamed him to yourself, stuck in your head. You knew it was inappropriate to harvest a crush on a superior at work, but gosh was it hard to.

“And Yn?” his voice startled you. 

“Hmm” you managed to hum as you found his head poking out from behind a wall.

“Call me Dick.”

Lights went off one by one around you, as you still sat on your desk, files of cases long forgotten, while you typed in a class project you were due very soon. 

As life worked conspired to put you down, your laptop had given up on you, deciding that the smokey life was the way to go now and simply choosing not to work ever again. So, you had to stick around the precinct or the library till the wee hours of the night if you wanted to get any uni work done.

“Yn” a voice called you, starling you out of your seat. “Still here?”

Officer Grayson, looking as tired as you must have looked, made his way to your desk. In his hands, some papers you’d come to know were cases he took frequently to study at home.

“I have to finish an essay.” you informed, voice almost not making it out, as you had neglected your health and hadn’t gotten a single sip of water all day.

“What happened to your computer? I remember you bringing one before.”

“Decided to give out smoke signals, I guess.” you joked, managing to steal a smile from him. “It broke, and I’m too broke to fix it, so I have to stay here if I want to finish this essay tonight.”

Your eyes itched from the extensive exposure to the computer lights, your back also causing you discomfort. But you still had work to do, so there was no way you were leaving any time soon, and quickly you returned your attention to your essay ignoring, for once, your favorite male presence in the precinct as you didn’t want to miss the peak of energy and creativity you had gotten to.

As you typed unaware of his lingering presence, Officer Grayson stood by your desk for a while, watching as you swiftly typed word after word of your homework. “You aren’t going to stay here till too late, right?”

“I’m not sure.” you moaned, rubbing your eyes with the palm of your hands. “I really have to finish this but I’m not even close.”

Returning your gaze to him, you found his eyes and they bore into your, making your breath get caught up in your throat and your heart to skip a beat. You wanted to focus on your school work and go home, get some much needed sleep before starting your routine all over again, but Dick’s mere presence  pushed away all your academic thoughts.

It was like his body irradiated an energy, a gravity field, that pulled you in from wherever you were. That trapped your attention, leaving you breathless even though you hadn’t run, leaving your head heavy as the most painful headache, leaving you completely, deeply, under his spell.

As you focused on him, you noticed the bags forming under his eyes and his much messier hair, as if he had, and he did, spent hours running his fingers through it as an attempt to concentrate. His clothes were ruffled, and you swore his belt seemed to have been loosed at some point during the day. 

To you, he was like a painting at an art gallery. Exquisite, expensive, beautifully breathtaking… and forever unreachable.

On a scale from one to ten, you were minus forty in the levels of importance inside the department. Nobody really cared for the interns. They were nice and all, but they knew they wouldn’t last long, so why bother connecting, why bother giving them too much attention. And yet, officer Grayson would come over to you, every single day, saying his “his” and “goodbyes”, wishing you a good morning, a good night, a great weekend.

He was truly a being out of this world. A gentleman amongst mere humans, too kind, too sweet for this world, for this city. You often wondered how the hell did he, the son of a billionaire, end up working with the police, and the answered you always came up with was that he must have been the only truly good and altruistic person alive, opting to care for the people instead of being a pretentious heir like many others.

If he had looked over at your computer screen, he’d have found a soup of words that together made zero sense, as your mind couldn’t only write Dick Dick Dick Dick, in both meanings of the word.

“A-hem.” he coughed breaking your awkward stare competition. “I have to get going, Yn. Please don’t stay up too late, and message me when you get home.”

“I don’t have your number.” you mindlessly blurted out.

“I have yours,” he stated, catching you off guard. “I’ll text you. See you tomorrow?” he asked, seeming actually interested in a positive answer.

“Uh-huh.”

“See you, then. Goodbye, Miss Ys.”

“Goodbye, officer.”

It was past midnight when you eventually turned off your computer and headed out of the police department. Sleepiness weighs your body down, making each step a harder task than it should've been.

Saying your goodbyes to the officers working the night shift, many of those telling you to be careful as they feared the dangerous Gotham nights would turn you into one more of its victims, you made your way down the large set of steps, an activity much easier than climbing them in the morning.

As you step into the sidewalk you’re embraced by the darkness. The cold breeze hitting you, making you wrap your jacket tightly around your body, a shield from the freezing weather and the demons of the night. Your bag is glued to your hips and your eyes scanning the area for any strange movement.

You’re glad some of those police officers had been kind enough to teach you how to realize some signs before anything bad happens, applying it to your everyday life as you could never be sure of your surroundings in this city.

When you turned right on the first corner, a moving shadow had your neck hairs up and a shiver running up your spine. Your fight or flight instincts overcoming you as your steps grew faster and faster.

“Yn, wait!” you heard the shadow owner scream, your heart skipping a beat before your mind could make up the situation. It took you a while to figure out who the scream belonged to, the fear blinding your senses and preventing you from forming any type of judgment, but something in you clicked and upon turning around it everything was all made clear.

“Officer Grayson?” you questioned, confused by his appearance as he had gone home almost two hours earlier. He now wore a pair of dark gray or black sweatpants, the faint light hindering your perception, a black t-shirt and a thick overall to shield him from the cold. The tips of his hair dripped with a few droplets of water, and even in the darkness you could make up his red nose gifted by the freezing weather. 

He looked cozy, huggable, like a plushie pillow you hugged to go to bed. This look on him made your chest warm up and you swore you wouldn’t need a jacket soon.

“Why are you following me? Why are you here?”

“I’m sorry if I scared you, Yn. I thought it’d be better if I didn’t scream, but maybe I was wrong,” he apologized, rushing the words out of his mouth.

“I just didn’t expect to see you here.” you smiled, unable to hide the joy from seeing him again. Your smile made him feel less bad for scaring you, but his eyes still looked into yours like he apologized for it. 

“I didn’t get your text.” he said, his statement confusing you a little. “That you were going home?”

Oh, that! It was your turn to feel bad, your cheeks, if possible for him to see, painted red but not from the coldness.

“I was expecting your text and didn’t get it, so I showered and came here to see if you’d gone home and I found you still in your computer. I was waiting for you to come out.”

YOU WERE WAITING FOR ME?!, you wanted to scream, his words making your head spin, trying to work out the reason why they came out of his pretty lips. The idea of him waiting for god knows how long till you finished your essay making you dizzy.

“It didn’t feel right letting you go home alone at this hour.” he continued to explain, seemingly aware of the questions inside your head. “So I came back after taking a shower to pick you up.”

HE CAME BACK. HE WENT HOME. TOOK A SHOWER, A SHOWER HE PROBABLY, DEFINITELY, TOOK NAKED. AND CAME BACK TO PICK ME UP????

Oh lord, your head was truly spinning and you hoped you weren’t dizzy enough to end up falling and making a fool of yourself. No single sentence was merged in your mind, your lips blurting out whatever overcame them without any filter: “The subway isn’t empty.”

He chuckled at your silly response and reaching for his coat’s pocket, he picked up his car keys, shaking them in front of your eyes. “Are you declining a ride home? Thought you’d love to ride in a Porsche tonight.”

At the sound of “Porsche”, you let out an excited giggle. You always wanted to find out what car Dick drove, a man’s choice of vehicle being a way into understanding his lifestyle and tastes, and not only were you finding out now but you were also getting to ride in it with him.

“I think it’s an offer I can’t really let pass.”

Showing you the way to his car with his head, he let you walk past him, and when you did his hand met your waist as he guided you in its direction. 

It was like you entered into another reality when you crossed the Police Department’s doors, meeting an Officer Dick Grayson that you always dreamed of but never expected to become a reality.

The warm touch of his hand on the small of your back gave you shivers along with a sense of safety not even a room full of police officers had given you. It was different, somehow, in a way you found hard to explain, but that made your heart beat nervously, your breathing to get hectic and your stomach to take turns.

Soon, the silvery car was beside you and the man opened the passenger door for you with his free hand. You thanked him and slid inside the car, the warmed leather seats a comfortable welcome after hours spent on the painful cheap chair by your desk, and when he closed the door you took the few seconds until he was sat beside you to at least try to recollect yourself.

Richard John Grayson isn’t just giving you a ride, he came all the way from his home to do so. You didn’t know where he lives, but it couldn’t be too close. He went out of his way to do that for you, and what that meant frightened you a little.

The warmness of the seats couldn’t compare to what his touch had made you feel. As his hand slid off of your skin you let out a low moan you hoped he didn’t have the time to listen to, already missing the feeling he had given you.

It made you both afraid, nervous and excited, and you couldn’t help the smile from spreading on your lips, even when biting down on them or chewing the insides of your cheeks. You sat still, spine straight and hands resting on top of your bag laid up on your lap, while he calmly walked to the driver’s side, the opposite reflection of how he made you feel.

“Amusement Mile?” he looked at you for confirmation, the engine of the car warming up. Your eyes were glued to his every movement, admiring every single breath he took.

You simply shook your head to answer, biting on your bottom lip in contemplation.

“It’s gonna be a long ride, so make yourself comfortable.” he told you before continuing. “And I almost forgot…”

Reaching for something behind your seat, you felt his breath on your neck, sending more shiver up your spine, a recurring thing tonight. “I got you some soup. To warm up.”

“Wow. Thank you, officer.”

“Yn?” he called you and you hummed, letting him continue. “What did I tell you to call me?”

“I’m sorry.” you apologized, remembering the moment you’d shared earlier. “Thank you, Dick.”

“Perfect.” 

Turned just enough to face you, it was his time to bite on his lip, the sight sending your hormones to overdrive. 

The ride was mostly silent, as you both felt comfortable in just each other’s presence. You drank your soup and he drove carefully to not make it spill. He left his playlist on shuffle and you commented on a few surprising tunes.

“I didn’t take you for a reggaeton kind of guy.”

“Hey, I appreciate the sounds of many different cultures!”

 And faster than you had wished for, you two were parked by your front door.

“Thank you, offic… Dick, really. I would have taken at least double the time to arrive by subway, so I really cannot thank you enough for this, you really didn’t have to.”

“Nonsense, I’m always here to help, and I wouldn’t sleep well knowing you could be in danger.”

For the 1000th time tonight, your cheeks grew scarlet and you avoided Dick’s eyes. The yawn coming out of you the perfect getaway from the situation you didn’t not know how to handle.

“I better get going, or else I’m just gonna take a nap before having to go back to the precinct all over again.” you sent him a smile before opening the door, but before you stepped outside you felt his hand touch you again, this time reaching for you tight.

“If you want to, I can pick you up tomorrow morning.” his thumb lightly drew patterns in your jeans, and you could feel a hit of sweat on the palm of his hands and the spot on your tight grew humid.

“It would be asking for too much.”

“No it wouldn’t.” he didn’t wait for you to finish. “I’d love to.”

He had your full attention, his eyes trapping yours in a drunken haze. The air around you got thicker, warmer, too hot, as if the winter night was just a mere illusion outside the car. You had sat back in your seat, not sure if the door was open or closed because only him mattered now, only his eyes drifting from yours to your lips, only his tongue moistening his own, only the slow movement of his head getting closer to yours.

You wouldn’t remember the next few seconds even if described to you in the smallest details, you just remember meeting his lips halfway. At first, a hasty kiss, your lips barely moving but already igniting you with an electric feeling. His teeth pulled on your bottom lip, causing a moan to escape off of you.

His hand went to your neck and the kiss deepened, his tongue immediately sliding inside your mouth, playing with yours as your hands found his waist in search for balance, even though you remained at your seat.

“We shouldn’t be doing this.” you cut the kiss, your own mind betraying you with the words that flew out of your mouth. “But I really want to.”

“I don’t see why we shouldn't,” he said, connecting your lips once again. 

He sucked and nibbled at your lips, certainly leaving small bruises on it, but who were you to complain. All night, your anxiousness tried to get the best of you, but his kiss and his touch held you hostage in a passionate haze.

“It’s dangerous to be on the streets this late.” he told you between kisses.

“We can go upstairs.” you offered, wanting to extend the moment as much as you could.

“I wouldn’t wanna bother your roommate.”

“I don’t have a roommate.” you informed, eyes meeting his once more in search of confirmation.

Kissing where your neck met your ears, he whispered. “I’ll park the car.”

“You can leave it right here.” you moaned, desperately wanting to move things inside. He chuckled, pulled you in for another kiss and then quickly jumped out of the car. He followed you as you climbed the stairs to your floor, managing to control himself and stay far enough as to not throw you against the walls and fuck you right then and there, but the gentleman inside of him held him together and he anxiously watched you unlock your apartment door.

You threw your bag somewhere, and walked inside your home aimlessly. You didn’t bring many guys over, so you always struggled to figure out what to do at this point.

“Yn.” you heard Dick calling, spinning on your heels to meet him. 

Throwing his key on a table, he came over to you without wasting time, hands grabbing your face and smashing your lips together for a hotter, wetter, dirtier kiss.

His tongue sucked you yours as your hands traveled on his chiseled torso, sliding inside his shirt for the full experience. You scratch the skin with your nails and he quivered under your touch. “Fuck.” he let out, pushing you against the head of the sofa.

Wrapping your arms around his neck, you shortened the distance between your bodies even more and his hands moved down your body, from your back to your ass, to your tight where he grabbed and entangled them around his waist. He placed you on top of the sofa, magically not letting your lips grow apart.

You could feel the bulge on his pants hardening with each touch, so you lowered one hand to cup his member in it’s entirety, but not managing to get a hold of half of it. Shit. You tried to pull at his waistband, but he pushed your hand away. “I’m not wasting time.” he said, taking you off of your seat. “I need to be inside you.”

Shit, shit, shit, shit. The thought of his words becoming a reality soaking your panties more than they already were, as you had to grind on his clothed crotch to get the friction, the sensation you so desperately needed. You wanted him inside of you now, not a minute later.

“Your room?” he asked.

“First door to the right.” you said, gasping for air between his kisses.

With ease, he walked to your bedroom as if he knew you home by heart, and as if he didn’t carry a girl but just a stuffed toy. His only struggle came at the door handle, but reaching behind you you managed to open it up for him, a group effort for a group pleasure.

Dick let go of your legs, letting your feet hit the floor once again. His hands were quick to find the hem of your shirt, tugging at it before you broke the kiss to allow him to pull it over your head, your bra being ripped off your skin not much later. His shirt and sweatpants flew behind him too in just a few seconds, and he soon had you pinned on the bed, hands trapped by his on top of your head.

Dick had an urgency in him you’d never seen before, more used to his calm demeanor. He grunted on your ear as he sucked on your neck, leaving marks you knew you wouldn’t be able to hide at work, and he grinded his clothed dick on your bare pussy.

“You don’t know how much I’ve been wanting this.” he groaned, one hand grabbing tightly at your boob. “Some days beside you were pure torture.”

You couldn’t imagine an Officer Dreamy having dreams about you, just like you did with him, but from the sound of it, he had plenty. All you could do was moan out his name, his mouth doing magic on your neck as his hands finally reached where you needed him more.

Rubbing slowly at your clit, you tried humping it, wanting it faster, wanting release, but his movements remained slow, torturous. 

“D-dick.” you cried out his name, begging him to speed up his touch.

“Say it again, darling. Say it.” he requested. “Let my fucking name slip out of your dirty little mouth.”

“Dick. Dick, please!” you obeyed, little the silly little slut you were for him. If your friends or coworkers found out about this, they’d be very disapproving, they’d tell you it was wrong to fuck your superior, but fuck it, fuck him you will.

He moaned loudly in your ear and his movements gained speed. He rubbed at your clit harshly, making it bruise, but the pain only added to the growing sensation on your core. He lowered his head and his lip grabbed your nipple, and his sucks were enough to bring you to the edge.

“You came so hard for me, darling.”

Moving away from your skin, setting your hands free, he admired your cum glistening on his hands before bringing them to his mouth and licking it off his finger. “I knew you’d taste fucking delicious.”

This idea of him wanting to fuck you for so long did wonders to your ego and booted any confidence you still had. The man you so desperately wanted for so long had wanted you as desperately for just as long. Your heart beat so fast you were sure he could hear it, but you wanted him too, no secrets lying between you two anymore.

Without you noticing, his boxers were gone and his hard dick bounced on his crotch, the rosy tip, dripping with precum, staining his stomach. Lining up outside your entrance, rubbing his tip on your clit just to tease you a little more, his eyes met yours. They trapped you as they did inside the car, but now they didn’t stare at you with simple desire. It burned, it consumed him and needed to find a way to release it. And his way was you.

With no warning, he thrusted into you, his size ripping you open and you let out a scream as you prayed your neighbors were heavy sleepers. Dick, as soon as his member was fully within you, let out a guttural groan, the sexiest moan you’d ever heard come out of a man.

“F-fuck you’re so tight.” he moaned. “Just like I imagined.”

Lying on top of you, he met your lips, he wrapped your fingers in his and slid your hands to the top of your head again. His thrusts were fast, hard, reaching you deeper and deeper, taking out of you a scream louder than the other, only muffled by his mouth that refused to leave yours.

You wrapped your leg around his waist, wanting him to go deeper, if it was even possible, so consumed with lust that all logic melted out of your mind.

It wasn’t a fuck, it was love making, sensual and nearly animalistic love making, and the idea of it made the butterflies in your stomach go feral just as you were. If he loved you or not, even it was even something else more the pure lust, was a discussion for later, but he fucked you like no one else did, and you only hoped it was a sign he was not like the others. That he wasn’t just a single page in a large book.

The wet sound of your skins meeting each other filled the room, but only because your mouths were glued together, all sound not allowed to make it out.

“You’re taking me in so good, aren’t you Yn?”

“Yes, y-yes. You’re filling me so good.” you cried back.

“Are you gonna come on my dick, Yn? Are you gonna let me feel you coming?” he teased, nearly as desperate for your orgasm as you were.

“Yes.” you replied, louder than you’d wished. With a few more thrusts, you came all over his hard dick, your body shaking ferociously, reaching a high you’d never reached before. “Uuh, yes!” you screamed, as he continued to pump into you, his own orgasm imminent.

“I’m gonna come, Yn.” he announced, thrusting once more before taking his member out of your pussy and stroking it up and down with his hands. His milky load hit your belly, painting you in sin, as your tongue extended out for a little drip of it.

Exhausted, Dick threw himself on the bed beside you, both your breath audibly out of pace. Your body was covered in sweat, your bed sheet sticking to your back as you tried your best to recollect yourself.

“Officer McCaffrey would be so disappointed.” you joked, getting a loud laugh out of the man beside you. Crossing his arm over your waist, he pulled you closer to him, kissing the wet baby hairs at your temple.

“Wanna disappoint him again?” he asked, turning your face to meet your eyes, his new found favorite thing to look at.

“All night?” you asked in return.

“All fucking night.”

It was safe to say you were late for work again the next morning, and would be late a few more times, as Officer Dreamy would gladly keep you up for as long as you wished.

[scalefeathers]

Thinking once again about how Nobuo Uematsu and Masayoshi Soken are both completely amazing composers but in completely opposite directions let me explain

Disclaimer I am not a music theorist; most of music theory is black fucking magic to me. I barely know what a chord is and the circle of fifths makes me quake as though before an Elder God. I just really like both of their works and sometimes I have thoughts about things. Also this is all just my opinion, it's fine if you don't agree, etc.

So: Uematsu is first and foremost, in my opinion, an absolute master of melody. I believe it's what makes his work so iconic and makes so many of his pieces so instantly recognizable. The Final Fantasy theme, the chocobo theme, Dancing Mad, Vamo'alla Flamenco, fucking One-Winged Angel--Just from seeing those names, you've probably got one playing in your head already. You could start humming it right now. Maybe you are already.

And it makes perfect sense when you consider the era he was working in, because back in the 8-bit and 16-bit era, the melody was all you had. When you have such a tiny amount of storage space to work with, you can really play only one, maybe two notes at a time. You can't do anything that's layered, because you only have one layer to work with. I think that's why so much video game music from that era is so memorable and iconic. It's not just because you played so much Street Fighter II when you were a kid that the music is indelibly seared into your brain (though that probably doesn't hurt); it's also because Yoko Shimomura wrote really solid melodies that had nothing else competing for your aural attention (apart from the in-game sound effects, which are probably also seared into your memory). (Yoko Shimomura, btw, also composed the music for Final Fantasy XV, the entire Kingdom Hearts series, and like 50 other games over the past 40 years, another fucking icon).

But back to Uematsu: like I said, melodic genius. Even when his work is upscaled into full orchestral arrangements, that core melody is always front and center. And his affinity for melody makes even more sense when you consider that before he got into video game composing, he was writing commercial jingles. (Younger folks may not be aware, but there was a time when practically every product had to have its own theme song, and the best ones were short, snappy, and instantly memorable--and for that, again, you need a strong, simple melody. Ba da ba ba ba, I'm lovin' it.)

Compare: Soken. Soken only started at Square 12 years after Uematsu, which isn't that long in human terms (to me at least, cos I'm old), but it is a long fuckin' time in video game years. By the time he started composing for games, there was so much more you could do with game music in terms of layering, complexity, and sound, and you can tell from his work that he takes full advantage of that. His work is complex and dense, a rich layer cake of themes and motifs, all beautifully merging and weaving together, often to extraordinary effect.

And again, if you look at his pre-music career, it makes a lot of sense that he'd have that approach to music, because he first got into the games industry as a sound designer; I believe that he is the sound director for all the FFXIV expansions, as well as being the composer. So of course he'd be very aware of not just how a sound (or piece of music) works on its own, but of how it fits into the greater whole, and of how to layer and balance lots of different sounds to create something greater than the sum of its parts. And of course it makes sense that he'd bring that approach to his compositions as well.

As a consequence of this approach, though, his music often lacks the memorable melodies that characterize Uematsu's work. Like, I ground (grinded?) Dun Scaith a lot the last time it was on the Mogstone rotation, I know all the boss themes extremely well and can recognize each of them instantly. But if you asked me right now to hum one? I don't think I could. (This isn't a deficiency, to be clear; music doesn't need a prominent core melody in order to be good.)

And that's also not to say that all his music lacks iconic melodies. His vocal tracks, pretty much by definition, have to put a single melody front and center; and then on top of that (or rather, behind it), you have all that trademark Soken richness and depth. Which is probably also why his vocal tracks go so fucking hard.

I think that's also why, out of all the expansions, I like Heavensward's music the best. Most of Heavensward's score is written by Soken, but the main theme is Uematsu's, and you may notice it's basically a tasting menu of like 5 or 6 excellent, very recognizable melodies, one right after the other. And basically every piece on the Heavensward soundtrack incorporates one or more of these melodies. So it really does give you the best of both worlds, and gives the overall score a cohesion that I don't see as much with the other expansions.

TL;DR, Uematsu and Soken are both amazing composers with very different and complimentary styles that reflect their differing backgrounds and the different eras of games in which they have worked and I just think that's neat.

[laweema]

Your Joy Ang style drawings look amazing! Do you have any advice for mimicking it?

HOW TO JOY ANG STYLE

Hi there! Yes I have. I will advice everyone, who want co mimic Joy's style, firstly to watch her speedpaints on her youtube channel. ( https://www.youtube.com/@JoyAng ) And watch her other arts, at her site - http://joyang.ca/artwork/ You will need to analyze how she works.

Earlier I didn't get it right away because I didn't quite understand it, but now I know some things:

1. Joy Ang makes a rough sketch of the entire drawing, and then colors it

2. Joy Ang first draws the works with a line, sometimes even on paper

Added my Kinkajou without color to the block

3. Then she creates a base layer under the line

4. Then (not always, but as I understood in most cases) merges the fill and line layer into one and begins to work with color and shades, pipetting the colors from the sketch (I'm saving the layers with the line just in case something goes wrong) Use the "transparency lock" to stay within the bounds of the fill !!!

5. For dragons with lots of scales, like Kinkajou, personally, I first work with the color under the line and only then merge to make light on the scales, otherwise I will smear them all

6. Joy paints with STROKES, very very small strokes, which may make it a little difficult to work, but then the work will be more like Joy Take a closer look!

7. Joy often, but not every time, draws a very contrast line of light next to the contour in her work

8. Her line is not smooth! It's textured!

9. The backgrounds in her works are a great example of working with contrast. Almost all of Joy's backgrounds are very light, sometimes almost white against the background of the characters. This is in order to highlight the character and focus attention on them.

10. Very important! Joy sometimes neglects anatomy in order to create an eye-pleasing picture, here's an example - flowing lines in her drawings, yes, dragons do not have a pelvis, but their body turns very beautifully and smoothly twists. I would compare this to animation, where the characters also usually have smooth, pleasant features.

Bad for anatomy, but great for stylysation!

11. And I think it should be said that her work is full of color, so don't limit yourself to "white and black" by painting light and shadow.

So.. That's it! You will need practice to completely repeat the style, try to study Joy Ang's work yourself, and make some small drawings first to get used to the style, good luck!

[hyuneskkami]

✮⋆˙ 𝐅𝐋𝐘 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇. 𝐈

⤷ hq boys x any!reader . . . pt. 1

masterlist

part 1 part 2

⊹ ࣪ ˖ fandom | haikyū!!

✧˖°. includes | nishinoya yū x reader headcannons, study date, noya being adorable, cutesy fluff, like one dialogue related to math but if that’s triggering then you can skip /j (im so funny)

⊹ ࣪ ˖ key | y/n: your name

✧˖°. in which | noya and reader have a cute study date bc reader helps him study in the form of a ‘study date’ so he can get good enough grades to go for their next vb comp

⊹ ࣪ ˖ a/n | hdksjdksks literally my favourite hq blorbo!!! I can’t wait to write more of these hcs <3 it’s a pretty short post but I might keep adding on?

“there is literally no logic in this!”

you have lots of energy left to educate noya about how math works.

“just remember it: differentiation of sin x is cos x, but the integration of sin x is negative cos x. simple!”

“oho, simple, my ass,” he rolls his eyes, ever the drama queen.

the volleyball team found out from daichi and suga that unless they all pass every one of their subjects (especially hinaga, kageyama, tanaka and noya), they couldn’t participate in the next match

desperately, noya begs you to help him out because he’s currently the trashiest at only one subject: math; which, believe it or not, is your strong suit

he’s delirious by the time you’re done with him on day 1, and refuses to continue studying it unless there’s something in it for him too (except the very necessary match he had to play in)

“how about… a kiss for every question you get right?”

and since then, he began understanding every formula and question, just to receive as many kisses as you could spare for him

tutoring sessions turn into study dates as the days merge together

dusk morphs into dawn when you study at his house sometimes, and he ends up falling asleep on the table

looking up to find him softly snoring, with his hair falling onto his closed eyes, you smile at him

he’d been working so hard the past month <3

you reach out to ruffle his hair slowly and pat his head lightly, making sure not to wake him from his peaceful state

“thanks… y/n,” he whispers, still asleep.

your heart melts, and you were glad he wasn’t awake; if he was, you knew he’d tease you about the massive redness creeping up your neck

✰ hq taglist | @puffoz @serendipitous-girl @iheartgirlzn

kozumesphone © 2024 | don’t repost my works onto other platforms, or edit and post them even on tumblr, without asking me first • don’t steal my works, steal my heart instead • reblogs and comments are more than appreciated !

[dhddmods]

Plural/System Guide!

Hello! We wanted to share a quick plural guide for anyone that is confused about plurality.

(This guide mentions dissociation quite a few times, so you may also want to check out our dissociation guide. We also recommend you read our alterhuman guide, to understand experiences that non-humans & introjects within systems may have.)

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Plurality/Systems is an umbrella term for anybody that has more than one person/entity controlling a singular body. Each member can have their own name, pronouns/titles, sex, gender, appearance, race/species, orientation, etc. Anyone that isn't plural is a Singlet.

Being in-control of the shared-body is known as Fronting. Fronting can be optional or forced by the brain. Co-fronting is when multiple people are fronting at the same time. If a fronter/co-fronter cannot retreat, it is known as being Frontstuck. When a system is swapping who is fronting, it is known as Switching.

System members are called sysmates, headmates, alters, parts, or facets. Every system has their own preference of what to call their members. In some cases, sysmates are temporary, and may go inactive/fade over time, or exit through a gateway (more on that later.)

Sysmates can have individual memories, or they may share all their memories as a collective. They may or may not get the choice of what to share. If a certain memory is not accessible to all of the system, it is known as having Amnesia Barriers.

An Innerworld/Headspace is a dreamscape that many systems have, where members can live and interact when they are not in charge of the shared-body. They could have one set appearance (ie; a planet, a spaceship, a house, etc), or they could shift/change, either randomly, following a schedule, or at the will of sysmates (either specific sysmates or all sysmates.) The opposite of the innerworld (the physical space that the shared-body interacts with) is known as the Outerworld/Meat Space.

Many innerworlds have fronting rooms, which are areas that sysmates go in order to watch what is happening in the outerworld.

Not all systems have a innerworld. They may simply go into a "coma" when they are not fronting, or may "float" in an empty void. Innerworlds could be any size.

Some systems have NPCs (people who are incapable of fronting & engaging in shared memories). NPCs can be simple (repeating lines, repeating tasks, limited behaviors, etc) or complex (capable of new dialogue, capable of coming up with new tasks, a variety of behavior, etc). For complex NPCs, the only way to tell them apart from sysmates is by the fact that they have no special abilities (like fronting, sharing memories, or set-roles.)

Fragments are sysmates that are not fully developed. They are sort of in-between simple NPCs and sysmates. They have some system capabilities, but are not fully autonomous, and often to not have a full grasp over their personal identity.

Sometimes NPCs and fragments develop into full-sysmates.

Fusing/Merging/Integration describes when two or more sysmates merge together, either temporarily or permanently. If it is a temporary fuse, it is known as Blending. Their physical appearances may combine, or they may take on only one of the sysmates appearances, or a whole new appearance unrelated to either of their previous ones. Their identities may be merged as well, or they may be autonomous within their innerworld body; a system within a system.

Subsystems are systems within systems. They might be a result of fusion, or they may have formed as subsystems from the start, or developed their own sysmates unrelated to fusing.

Some systems have groups that live separately within the headspace (usually on different layers of a headspace). These are known as Side Systems. There may be a Main System (which consists of the people with the most control over the shared-body), or the system may be made up fully of side systems that have equal control over the shared-body.

Here are a few terms for sysmates:

Little/Syskid: A sysmate who is a child, typically under the age of 13. Middle/Systeen: A sysmate who is a teenager, typically 13-17, however sometimes 18-19 is included. Big/Biggin/Sysadult: A sysmate who is an adult, typically 18+. Ageless: A sysmate with no age. They might look like a kid, teen, or child, or they may have an ambiguous appearance. Age-Slider: A sysmate whose age is fluid/fluctuating. How frequently their age changes depends on the individual. Lost Adult/Disadult: A sysmate that is physically an adult, but mentally a child or teenager. Claudia/Paradult: A sysmate that is physically a child, but mentally an adult. Exomemories: Memories that did not occur within the shared body or innerworld; memories from a life outside of the system. This can apply to introjects & walk-ins. Exotrauma: Trauma that did not occur to the shared body or within the innerworld; trauma from exomemories. This can apply to introjects & walk-ins. Introject/Introtive: A sysmate who has a specific "source." For example, a sysmate who forms with the appearance and/or experiences of a fictional character or family member. They may or may not share the personal identity (name, gender, etc) of their source, and may have exomemories/exotrauma of their source. Fictives are introjects with fictional sources, and Factives are introjects with real-life sources. Core(s): The first/original sysmate(s) to exist within the system. Gateway System: A system with a gateway (either physical or metaphorical) that leads to other spaces, such as other layers of the innerworld, or into a different universe. This gateway may be a one-way walk (as in once someone enters, they cannot leave; or vice-versa) or it may be free range both directions. If a new sysmate enters a system through a gateway, they are known as Walk-Ins. Median System: A system where sysmates are not as distinct from one another, and are "blurred" or are simply "different versions" of one main identity.

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Origins

Next up, system origins.

Adaptive System: A system that was formed in order to cope with something. This includes traumagenic, stressgenic, isolgenic, neurogenic, and physiogenic systems. Traumagenic: A system that was formed due to trauma. Stressgenic: A system that was formed due to stress. Isolgenic: A system that was formed due to loneliness or social isolation. Depending on how strongly the loneliness affected the person, it may also count as traumagenic. Neurogenic: A system that was formed due to pre-existing neurodivergence. For example, an autistic person who developed sysmates of characters from their special interest. Another example would be a person with substance abuse disorder who developed a sysmate to help them overcome their addiction. Physiogenic: A system that was formed due to physical disability. This is typically related to stress (stressgenic) or trauma (traumagenic) that either the disability itself caused, or ableism caused. Endogenic: A system that was not formed due to trauma; a system that is not traumagenic. This includes adaptive systems that are not trauma-related, created systems, protogenic systems, spontagenic systems, & unknown systems. Created System: A system that was willingly created. This includes willogenic, tulpagenic, spirigenic, & metagenic systems. Willogenic: A system that was willed into existence for non-adaptive reasons. They may refer to themselves as Willomancers, and might call their sysmates Willomates. If this creation was done subconsciously/unintentionally, it is known as being Catharigenic. If this was done through meditation, self-induced dissociation, and prolonged attempts at summoning, it is known as Tulpamancy. A Tulplagenic system might refer to their sysmates as Tulpas. Spirigenic: A system that was created through spiritual methods, typically connected to religious practices. Metagenic: A system that was created through metaphysical/spiritual methods, unrelated to religious practices/beliefs. Protogenic: A system that has existed since birth, or has existed for as long as the brain can remember. Spontagenic: A system that spontaneously appeared, with no identifiable cause. Unknown System/Quoigenic: A system that formed from unknown/uncertain causes. This includes cryptogenic & congenic systems. Cryptogenic: A system that does not know their origin. This is not the same as a spontagenic system, as spontagenic systems are certain that their system has no cause, meanwhile cryptogenic systems are uncertain of their origins, and may have amnesia or confusion relating to their origins. Congenic: A system with a complicated origin. Their origin may be so complicated that they are incapable of labeling it further, or finding a suitable category. Multigenic/Mixed-Origin: A system that has multiple causes, or a system that has different causes for different sysmates. For example, a system where some sysmates were formed from trauma (traumagenic), meanwhile others were willed into existence (willogenic.)

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Roles

Now, lets dive into system roles. System roles are jobs/duties assigned to sysmates, typically pre-assigned by the brain as the sysmates are forming into existence (however for some people, roles are chosen after formation.) Roles might shift/change over time, or a person may have multiple different roles. Not every system has roles, however a majority of systems do.

There are hundreds of possible roles a system may have, far too many to list, so instead we shall be going over the most common ones:

Caretaker: A sysmate who formed to tend to somebody. They may have a parental/grandparental, older-sibling, or mentor relationship with whoever they formed to tend to. Protector: A sysmate who formed to protect someone/something. They could be protecting their sysmates, the shared-body, the shared-body's relatives, friends/partners, or even physical objects. Holder: A sysmate who formed to deal with a specific thing, for the sake of the rest of the system. For example, a Trauma-Holder is a sysmate who holds a large portion of the traumatic memories/symptoms, so that the rest of the sysmates don't have to deal with it. A Symptom-Holder is a sysmate who holds a large portion of neurodivergent or disability symptoms. Their holding may be voluntary (in which case, they could be classified as a protector), or the brain may be forcing them to hold these things. Manager: A sysmate who makes sure that everybody is fulfilling their duties, and that things are being maintained. Persecutor: A sysmate who causes harm (intentional or otherwise) to someone/something. This is often a misguided protector or manager who is intending to help through harmful methods (such as alcoholism, self-harm of the shared-body, intense criticism, physical punishment of other sysmates, etc). It could also describe a sysmate who is a trauma-holder or symptom-holder, and lashes out as a result of stress, guilt, shame, etc. Alternatively, an abusive sysmate (for example, an introject of an abuser) can also be labelled a persecutor. Gatekeeper: A sysmate in a gateway system that keeps watch over who enters or exits through the gateway. Architect: A sysmate that has the ability to create/edit/destroy the appearance/structure of the innerworld. Beastmaster: A sysmate that has the ability to create/edit/destroy and/or control non-sentient beings (simple NPCs, animals, plantlife, etc) within the innerworld. Host/Outernaut: A sysmate who is in-charge of the shared-body, and fronts most often. Some systems have multiple hosts. Co-Host/Perinaut: A sysmate who takes over when the host(s) are unavailable, or who otherwise helps out the host.

Disordered Plurality (DID & OSDD)

Plurality is neurodivergent in nature, however it is not inherently a disorder. Disordered plurality describes people whose plurality is linked to a disorder of some kind. This includes most traumagenic systems and many neurogenic systems, however there are also a few dissociative disorders that overlap with plurality as well.

Dissociative Identity Disorder/DID (formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder/MPD) describes plurality where the system has distinct sysmates (possibly fragments as well), dissociative episodes, sysmates often (or always) dissociate between switches, and sysmates have amnesia barriers between them. This often (but not always) leads to sysmates being unaware of each others existence, and having difficulty with communication. Access to the innerworld is frequently also limited. Dissociation and amnesia can be worked-out through therapy or communication, however it is usually quite difficult.

OSDD-1/Otherwise Specified Dissociative Disorder Type 1 describes plurality where the system experiences dissociative episodes, however it doesn't quite fit the DID diagnosis.

OSDD-1a is where dissociative episodes occur, however unlike DID, there are not distinct sysmates. Instead, the system is median, or made up completely of fragments. Sysmates are "blurry" and similar to one another, but amnesia barriers still exist despite that.

OSDD-1b is where dissociative episodes occur, possibly even dissociation between switches, however amnesia barriers do not exist. Trauma may still cause general system-wide amnesia, but not amnesia that is seperated between sysmates.

DID and OSDD-1 forms from trauma (typically childhood trauma, however older people can develop DID/OSDD-1 as well.) DID/OSDD-1 might cause the plurality, or the plurality may be pre-existing, and the dissociative disorder comes from trauma experienced later. (For example, a protogenic system that had trauma later in life and developed DID, turning them into a multigenic system.)

[tifa-simp]

Sephiroth has always had a grudge against Tifa.

Some ppl say that Sephiroth sudden changes his target to Tifa in Rebirth is weird and I say they just have selective memory cos that mf has been after Tifa's ass since Remake. It's just more direct in Rebirth.

So, Sephiroth can control 3 things: the black whispers, the black robed men and his Jenova monsters, occasionally Cloud too. And sometimes Sephiroth appears as a clone or an illusion to get things done himself.

Now let's take a look at Remake.

At the beginning of Remake, Tifa takes care of a robed man named Marco with the number 49 on his left arm. Later, in Shinra HQ, we're shown that he's Jenova Dreamweaver, which is said by Aerith to be the source of everything. Tifa was living next door to something that dangerous for god knows how long.

The morning before the mission, a swamp of whispers appear in Sector 7 and attack Avalanche. We know their purpose is to hurt Jessie so Cloud will replace her. But before that, the whispers attack Tifa, separate her from Cloud. This move seems pretty unnecessary because if they want to, the whispers can push Jessie down the stair without having to do this to Tifa. So I assume the devs put it there for some foreshadowing purposes.

Ah yeah, have I mentioned this?

Later, at Destiny crossroad, the gang has to fight Whisper Harbinger. Cloud, Barret, RedXIII fight Whisper Viridi and Croceo , while Tifa and Aerith fight Whisper Rubrum. As the boys finish their fight and on their way to help the girls, Tifa's distracted by a vision of future and can't react to Rubrum's attacks. Fortunately, Cloud saves her on time.

Now, some fun facts about these Whisper monsters, they're supposed to represent the Remnants of Sephiroth. And Rubrum takes after Kadaj.

But it isn't the only one that has something special for Tifa.

So 2 out of 3 Whisper monsters have an attack specifically aim at Tifa.

In short, in Remake, we have a robed man close to Tifa, black whispers harm Tifa for no reason, illusion of Sephiroth kills Tifa, Whispers monsters direct hit at Tifa.

Now onto Rebirth!

Open with a bang, the Nibelheim accident, where Sephiroth gives Tifa her the scar on her chest.

In Kalm, after the flashback, Tifa asks Cloud for a private talk. This is where Sephiroth starts gaslighting Cloud that Tifa is Jenova

After Junon, they sneak on a ship to Costa Del Sol, there's a breakout of monsters and robed men. The robed men have developed the ability to merge with monster and each other to become more powerful. This is all according to Hojo's plan. Tifa and Cloud have to fight a chimera between robed man and Hojo's monster. When the fight almost ends, the Necrotic Entity collapse in front of Tifa. Before it can harm her, Cloud delivers the finishing blow.

Now it's just me but this looks kinda similar to Rubrum fight. The gang then have to fight Emergent and look, another attack aims at Tifa in cutscene just like Rubrum.

This is the second time Sephiroth appears and "warns" Cloud about Tifa, also when he drops the line "That she can become those you hate. Those you fear. Those you love. And they call her Jenova." (btw in JP, there's only fear and love, no hate)

In Corel, Tifa asks the gang to visit doctor Sheiran-the one saved her from Sephiroth's slash. Once again, Sephiroth appears to warn Cloud in the clinic.

In Gongaga, where Sephiroth's scheme unveils, he's planned a meticulous plan to isolate Cloud, who's extremely weak under influence of Mako, and Tifa, who's in danger, from the rest of the gang. Out of desperation, Cloud gives in his anger and lets Sephiroth take over his body and kill all the Shinra troops sadistically, to the point Tifa has to shout at him to stop. Now this where Sephiroth's grudge is most apparent.

Firstly, we have Cloud fully believes Tifa to be Jenova, forces her to show him her scar and repeats Sephiroth's words on the cruise: "Those we hate, those we love, those we fear- Jenova could be anyone to fool her prey." Pay attention to how he switches love-fear compared to Sephiroth's fear-love. Also looks at this Devil-Angel on shoulder implication, chef kiss.

Secondly, we have a 1:1 recreation of Sephiroth's attempted murder on Tifa with Cloud as the executioner this time.

Thirdly, after the WEAPON saved Tifa, black whispers attack the WEAPON that holds Tifa and Sephiroth manifests in his real body to attack her but misses, or maybe he misses on purpose.

And finally, when she gasps for air, he mocks her that her words won't reach Cloud.

Like damn, this mf is an expert at tormenting Tifa. This has to be the most effort he's put in throughout 2 games that I've seen. Black whispers, illusion, real self, he pulls all the stops for Gongaga, ok?

BUT HE'S STILL NOT DONE!

After the temple collapses and Cloud goes full on puppet mode, obeys Sephiroth's order to give him the black material, Tifa shoves Cloud and tries to wake him up. This mf Sephiroth mocks her AGAIN and commands black whispers to hold Tifa back from reaching for Cloud, which look similar to the black whisper attack in sector 7 in Remake .

In conclusion, in Rebirth, we have real Sephiroth attacks Tifa twice, forces her to show her traumatic scar twice, makes Cloud accuse Tifa of being Jenova twice, makes Cloud to recreate the exact way he permanent scared Tifa, mocks her connection with Cloud twice, his monsters attack Tifa twice, black whispers attack Tifa twice.

This is personal for Sephiroth. With Cloud, he toys with him in flirtatious way. With Aerith, he just dismisses her words, kinda quarrels with her over the Planet true wish.

But with Tifa? Straight action. He always maxes out his resource when it comes to fuck with Tifa: black whispers, robed men, whispers monster, robed man monster, Jenova monster, his illusion, his clone, his real body, Cloud, EVERYTHING. If he has it, he'll use it against Tifa one way or another. I feel like whatever he has for Tifa is pretty nasty compared to Cloud. At least with Cloud, we know that Sephiroth wants to convince him to join his side. We have no idea what's his intention with Tifa to mess her up this much beside for the sake of torture her. Whatever it might be, one thing for sure is that Tifa has an incredible mental fortitude that can survive all of this and more. She'll only grow stronger and tougher in part 3, makes it even harder for Sephiroth to knock her down.

[canonically47]

As a way of saying goodbye to DC, what are your headcanons for where everyone ends up after All Stars?--review anon

ooooo such a cute question!!!!!! tysm for this

yul ends up being cancelled on his socials and he has to start working a regular job, he becomes miserable being yelled at and harassed by customers like he deserves yippee!

riya is also cancelled following the events of DCAS - seriously she CANNOT gain a following after this and she cannot find roles, realistically speaking - but she manages to sustain herself with her prize money for now. however, she does begin job hunting. it goes horrible for her, her digital footprint is too massive to ignore.

ashley continues living her quiet life on the farm with will, occasionally meeting up with lill & nick, as well as with jake, ally, lake and other contestants of DCAS! she even eventually reaches out to season 1 contestants left out, and organizes a get-together for the season 1 cast with everyone :)

ally, hunter & tess all eventually get together after a lot of denial and pining, and co-manage their channels. they become more and more popular, regularly attend cons, & overall just lead the awesome lives they deserve. tess also becomes popular for her art!

lake eventually gets into a qpr & goes to university to study psychology. she keeps in contact with aiden, james and friends she's made on DCAS. she goes on to live with rosa-maria after university, and the two will organize, years later down the line, a meet-up for the cast of season 2, even being kind enough as to invite yul and riya, although neither show up.

miriam gets to enjoy retirement by travelling around the world, sometimes even tagging along with friends, even with the group of james, aiden, lake and rosa-maria. why not :3

james & aiden continue travelling the world together, growing their following on social media, and eventually aiden pursues a career in theatre and earns a lot of success! i mean have you HEARD his VA sing. my god, can he sing.

ellie & gabby lead a happy life with ellie as an artist and gabby carries them with her income by becoming an environmental scientist !!

fiore moves in with alec, alec adopts fiore, and the two unlearn their bad habits together; alec, his bad parenting, and fiore, being this evil gremlin child. she still has her outbursts, but alec stops feeding into this idea that she is a monster or a mistake and pushes her to grow. the two also meet up with some other contestants, and eventually befriend rosa-maria, so she helps a lot with parenting tips :)

grett becomes a gym trainer & fitness influencer and uses her social media platform to encourage and lift up others. my queen

jake and tom begin dating and they talk a lottttttt of things out... and eventually tomjajakeden becomes a thing & they all move in together and it's awesome. tom and aiden aren't dating but the rest of them all are and it's kinda funny actually. tom also realizes he's aroflux and that explains a lot about how his identity has impacted his love life. they're unstoppable

also tom quits his job as a cop and becomes a firefighter instead. and gets an autism diagnosis. also jake gets a BPD diagnosis. and aiden gets a shit ton of piercings. and tom gets fatter. and james also gets a shit ton of piercings. and they're all happy together and they have movie nights and game nights and they love each other a lot

the cast generally meets a lot, the casts even merge at one point despite some of them never having been on DCAS. it's so funny how some of these guys meet. deadass alec and fiore go camping one night only to find they've come at the same camping site as kai and maggy. another time gabellie runs into dan at a bookstore. and so forth. they eventually get a super large groupchat and it's hilarious. they all meet sometimes and they have to book a huge venue it's so funny

also gabgrellie becomes real too why not. i love gabgrellie. grett moves in with them and they're all super cool and awesome and in love

maybe i should write some of these hmmm

[sweet7simple]

... can we get a happy follow-up to the dratchrod prompt where rodimus is trying to be what drift and ratchet want?

The thing is , Ratchet and Drift aren't stupid. Ratchet knows how to read a bot and Drift knows how to read auras.

(Ratchet points threateningly at Drift. "Slag. I'm calling slag."

"I can see auras," Drift insists.

"No, you can pick up emotional frequencies from whatever bot you're facing."

"Yes, that is what I said," Drift says with a serene smile. He ducks when Ratchet shakes his servo at him.)

But they also know Rodimus. They can't just go up to him and say, "Hey, you're hurting and we don't want you to hurt," because that isn't going to solve anything. It will be true, but Rodimus won't believe it. If they say, "We're here for you and we want you to be happy with us," then Rodimus will just smile and nod and say, "I know." He will be lying. He's just willing to be their pity lay if it means he gets to stay. He'll leave eventually, somehow disappearing on this ship of 200 sparks. When he deigns to be near them again, he'll treat them like distant friends. Maybe even close friends - but not lovers, not ever again.

Ratchet and Drift aren't taking those chances, so they're going to just keep sneakily chipping away at Rodimus's fears until the cycle comes where Rodimus stays with them.

It's hard work, but they're used to it and Rodimus is worth it.

They make mistakes. They're not perfect and neither is Rodimus. Sometimes Ratchet loses his temper and sometimes it's Drift and sometimes Rodimus pretends he doesn't care about why their mad right before he wanders off and no one sees him for a long time. They know Rodimus gets scared about making them mad. They're working on it.

Ratchet hates it, but he even tried out meditation. Whatever helps, right? Whatever makes Rodimus stops acting like every argument will be their last.

And Rodimus might give the best gifts and go out of his way for acts of service and quality time, but Ratchet and Drift aren't being lazy about it either!

It takes a lot of concentration to figure out what Rodimus actually loves when it comes to interfacing (wireplay, spark merging, sexual, just making out sloppy-style in a utility closet while they're on-shift, you name it) because he genuinely appears to enjoy everything they do as long as they're together. Rodimus gets uneasy when they praise him for how good he is while they're in the berth, so they steer away from that and talk about how beautiful he is (which is true and also makes Rodimus preen) and how much they want him (that gets some honest, desperate keens from their co-captain). Rodimus actually enjoys just laying there and making them do all the work, which they find wildly endearing. It just takes awhile to get Rodimus to that point since he's of the erroneous belief that he has to work hard for their affection.

He doesn't. They already love him. Despite their shared past - because of their shared past - because of Overlord and Pharma and the DJD and everything before and after - they already know who they are dealing with and they want him just as he is, just as the mech he has grown into before he started acting like venting too hard in their direction might chase them off.

They love him and he's worth it and they are oh-so slowly getting through to him.

They invite him over to their hab suite as often as possible. Sometimes, they break into his hab suite (having a medical emergency override door code can be good for a lot of things) and crawl into his berth - whether he's already there or they're waiting for him to arrive. Rodimus always gets this astounded, vulnerable look on his face when he realizes that they're willing to come to him instead of always making him come to them.

They make sure to sneak into his hab suite more often, hoarding soft tarps and thick gel cushions.

They make sure every off-shift together doesn't always include interfacing because they don't want Rodimus to believe that's all they want him for. They cuddle too, which makes Rodimus go molten and fuzzy in sweet way.

Drift shows an interest in Rodimus's art and goes racing with him down on the tracks because he wants Rodimus to know that his hobbies are important. Ratchet won't race with them, but he'll officiate when he can and he'll lie about who wins the race just to grin at them while they bicker over who's really first place.

Ratchet trades assignments, patients, and non-essential equipment with the other medics and Perceptor (surprisingly not Brainstorm, but unsurprisingly because Perceptor stocks up for Brainstorm) for sweets because Rodimus goes feral over mercury melts and oil sticks and bolt candies.

Drift is taking the crystals Rodimus finds the prettiest from his collection and braiding them into a chainlink jewelry drape meant to hang from Rodimus's spoiler.

Ratchet is proving he trusts Rodimus by talking about his chronic pain and joint locks with him, even the parts he doesn't like to talk about (and he doesn't really like to talk about any of it).

"An old mech like me was lucky enough to catch the optic of one smoking hot speedster," he admits with notes of humor, pride, and some small amount of surprise at his own luck. "Now I have you and Drift. It's a good time to be alive."

He makes sure to repeat this many times in some form or another - just how incredible it is that he gets to have Rodimus and Drift. How they're so beautiful and fit and he's falling to pieces. How he doesn't know why they keep him around, but he won't complain about their taste in old, decrepit mecha.

"Ratchet, I don't know how to tell you this, but you're literally so sexy that I get revved up just thinking about sitting on your thigh. You're built fragging thick. Thicker than the wheels on a monster truck, okay? And, besides. You're not as replaceable as you make yourself sound. You're so important to me. To us. I need you to see that."

Ratchet smiles because that's pretty much what he and Drift are trying to teach him. "Huh, I guess you're right," he says. "The three of us are our best when we're together." Rodimus sputters because he somehow feels targeted and he's not sure why. "So we're just going to have to stick together in this dimension and every other dimension we wander through. Thanks for listening to me, kid. I feel better."

"Um, you're welcome?"

It's a work in progress, but there is progress. Rodimus still sometimes chooses to stay in his own hab suite without them during their off-shift and sometimes he stares at them like they're about to flip him off and walk away, but he's slowly reverting back to the mech they fell in love with. He's letting himself make mistakes and own them instead of acting like he's about to get broken up with. He's getting pushy in the berth (which is actually adorable and very arousing) and whining at them to wash and polish his spoiler in the wash racks and he's with them more off-shifts than not.

There's this one time when they're about to slip into recharge and Rodimus says quietly, so quietly like he hopes they won't hear him, "I want to stay."

Ratchet pulls Rodimus closer and Drift nuzzles under his spoiler from behind.

"That's what we've been trying to tell you, kid," Ratchet murmurs. "You don't have to go. We're not going anywhere either. We're all staying."

"All of us," Drift adds, squeezing Rodimus's waist. "That includes you. Be home with us, Roddy. Just be home with us."

It isn't easy, but they're making progress.

At some point in the future, Rodimus will believe them. He believes them both a little bit more each cycle.

[only-lonely-stars]

you should know I'm a liar (chapter 2 - come back, be here)

[chapter 1] // [chapter 2 - you are here!] - (FFN) (AO3)

Summary:

After the Merge, Lloyd is alone. Ninjago has moved on, and it doesn't need the Ninja anymore. As he's slowly rotting away, Lloyd meets someone he has a bit too much history with: someone who owes him more than a couple answers.

Co-authored by @dragon-gem!

Chapter 1 was inspired by this beautiful piece of artwork, drawn by @diamonddogs-terrarium! Go back and read chapter 1 first, or this one won't make any sense.

Mind-numbing routine was not the way of the ninja, but it was Lloyd’s way. Seeing as he was Ninjago’s last ninja, it wasn’t like anyone would care. Living out the same day, every day, was good enough for him.

He wondered sometimes if it would be okay to quit, just this once. To stop trying, stop training. But the last time he’d left the ninja life, he was dragged back into it, kicking and screaming– and then had to go on the run for months. Was that any better than his current life?

Ninjago didn’t need him anymore…

The bitterness of it all made him angry sometimes, but his anger echoed around an empty Monastery. He couldn’t find his family, his uncle’s scrolls were useless! The ‘coalescence’ he’d talked about was just another word for the Merge, and Lloyd could barely read the ancient language anyway– if there was some nuance, it was lost to him.

So he didn’t go out. He let the path of insanity take him down the same empty roads, and in vain, he tried to inject some interest into his silent world. His most recent attempt at staving off going crazy was learning to cook, since Zane had never succeeded in teaching him more than how to flip a pancake.

Zane. He missed his brothers. It was too quiet without them.

But the silence wasn’t just a lack of sound, and Lloyd knew the silences of the Monastery well. Before the Merge, silence meant a threat– either a villain they were out fighting, or a prank about to be played. Silence came back at night, when his family slept deeply and battled frequent nightmares. Silence still reigned when Zane was up making breakfast, the rest of the team slowly dragging themselves out of bed to face a new day.

The silence Lloyd heard in this post-Merge world had sounded empty at first. It was a lonely sort of quiet, but it had a song of its own. Wind blew, tree branches brushed the walls, a stray bird chirped. Sometimes it was even beautiful. It seemed to stretch on forever.

A few weeks after Harumi left him, the silence was broken.

Lloyd was standing in the kitchen when it happened, quietly cooking himself some lunch, when he heard the gates creaking. At first he thought it was the wind, but it was accompanied by the unlocked latches turning and coming open. They squeaked.

Lloyd didn’t lock the gates anymore. Nobody came up to the Monastery anymore.

Warily, he set down his cooking chopsticks and turned off the burner.

Good thing this Merlopian chili sauce is pre-made… He almost snorted at his own humorless joke.

He reached for his sword, propped against the kitchen counter, and crept toward the window.

Someone’s footsteps echoed off the courtyard floor, announcing the intruder. The walls were built to convey sound to the Monastery doors just for this purpose, so they would know when someone arrived.

Amplification had always annoyed Zane, who spent so much of his time in the kitchen and was subjected to the noise of their brothers fighting outside. He’d complained sometimes of having his audio interface overwhelmed by sound, even though he could be as loud as the rest of them. To Lloyd, it seemed slightly hypocritical.

Lloyd’s heart twinged, and he pushed the memory away.

Focus.

Only one window was not covered by a blanket right now– he’d had a migraine three days ago and hadn’t removed the blankets afterward. He peered through the corner.

A woman in a hooded jacket and backpack was walking up to the door, not bothering to be stealthy. For a second, his hopes soared. Nya?

But this woman walked with a familiar gait, pride in her steps, as if her arrival demanded attention.

His pulse rate spiked. I’m crazy. It’s not her.

She got to the door and stopped. After a second, she reached up and tugged off her hood.

Long white hair and pink-flecked green eyes greeted him.

“Lloyd?” Harumi called out hesitantly. “Are you here?”

Lloyd was frozen in place as she looked around. He barely turned the lights on these days– half of them barely worked now. If she looked in the window and didn’t see him, she wouldn’t think he was home.

She looked in.

Lloyd pressed himself against the wall.

Don’t move…

He didn’t let himself contemplate why he didn’t want her to see him, or talk to him, or bring up her last visit to the Monastery.

How she’d kissed him, and then soundly rejected him, and embarrassed him more than anyone had in years…

She drew back from the window, and he let a good minute pass before he peeked through to see her.

She was sitting on the steps, her bag at her side, back to the door. Waiting. Doing nothing, just… sitting.

He scoffed in disbelief. She’s that motivated to talk to me? Why?

But she didn’t answer, because she didn’t know he was there. She rummaged in her back, pulled out a granola bar, and began to snack on it. Her foot was tapping against the ground. As he watched, she leaned against her backpack like it was a cushion. Lloyd watched as she finished the bar– only a few bites, she was probably hungry from the long walk up the mountain– and stashed the wrapper in her bag.

She waited.

Enough is enough. It was better to face her like a man. Lloyd reached for his sword, previously propped against the table, and felt a little more confident.

He glanced around the kitchen once, just to make sure the stove was off and nothing would happen if he stepped out.

It was all fine. Quiet, like usual, but not silent anymore.

Before he could lose his nerve, Lloyd willed himself to open the door.

Harumi whipped around like a startled animal. A second later, her face lit up. “Oh! I– I had no idea you were home.”

Lloyd’s heart pounded a little harder, not unlike just moments before, but he ignored it. “...I was making lunch.”

“Oh.” She stood up slowly, brushing herself off. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your meal.”

“It’s fine.”

They watched each other, at a stalemate. Lloyd kept his mouth closed, waiting for Harumi to talk first.

“I guess… I wanted to talk to you about… last time.” He grimaced, and Harumi immediately continued talking. “Just talking, that’s all! I just wanted to tell you something.”

Lloyd raised one eyebrow. “Are you going to attack me?”

“No. Not with weapons or words.” She crossed her heart. “I promise.”

He looked her over, trying to figure her out, but… nothing. She seemed genuine, though he didn’t trust her promises.

The standoff dragged on and on, until finally he let the stupid, expected words fall out of his mouth. “Do you want to come in?”

Harumi had the decency to look surprised, and she nodded. “Sure.”

Lloyd nodded back, and he stepped aside to let her in. The pleasant aroma of the kitchen wafted out, and Harumi sniffed, her eyes watering. “What's that smell?”

“Lunch. I was just making some Merlopian chili rice.”

Her eyes lit up. “Merlopian chili is amazing!”

Lloyd shrugged as walked inside, back to his usual spot by the stove. “You can have some, if you want. I made a lot.”

“Sure.” Harumi entered the kitchen, sliding into the nearest chair at his empty table. She drew a knife from her hip sheath and set it on the table.

He glanced at it and raised one eyebrow. “No weapons at the table. House rule.”

Harumi rolled her eyes. “Really?”

“Really. Has been for years.”

“Fine.” She set it on the floor instead. “Better?”

“Yes.” He turned his back on her and went back to his cooking. Harumi's eyes were heavy on his back, but he tried to ignore how she was certainly watching him. She was waiting for an opening.

Will she try to make a fool out of me again? The question was all he could think about as he combined the sauce with rice and vegetables he'd cooked earlier. She already rejected trying to fix things. What could be worse, short of killing me?

Traitorously, he hoped. What if she wanted to make amends, or even… no, she wouldn’t.

With two bowls of chili and pairs of chopsticks in hand, he faced his enemy head-on.

She accepted a bowl and took a deep breath, savoring the smell. “I didn't know you were a cook, Lloyd.”

“There's a lot of things you don't know about me.”

“So I'm learning.” She took the chopsticks and scooped up a bite. “Adventurous eating must be one of your new hobbies.”

Lloyd didn't comment on it. Instead, he sat across from her and took a bite of his own food.

He didn’t mention how, ever since Zane had disappeared with the rest of his family, he didn’t even want to look at most familiar ingredients. Cole’s favorite meat, duck with plum sauce; Jay’s spicy seasonings; Kai’s teriyaki everything. They were painful to think about, too.

Easier to make a pot of rice and dress it up in a million new ways and pretend he wanted to try new foods. Even though some of the new vegetables and spices from other realms tasted like feet.

“I just like rice dishes. They’re easy.”

“Ease is best sometimes.” She stirred hers around, releasing a cloud of steam. “How have you been?”

Lloyd shrugged. It would just be embarrassing for him to admit the truth, since he’d cried multiple times over their last encounter, and even now he was still feeling miserable about it. “The same as usual, I guess. You?”

She took a bite of her food, smiling afterward. “I’ve been alright. This is really good.”

“Thanks.”

Their conversation stalled into silence and eating, but Harumi filled the quiet eventually. “I’ve been thinking a lot, Lloyd.”

He nodded weakly, not sure what she was hinting at. “Me too.”

Harumi sighed. “I’ve been wandering around since we last saw each other. Traveling more, I guess. I visited the Wyldness, and it get really quiet out there. I was trying to stay focused on all the amazing things out there post-Merge, but I kept getting distracted by thinking about you. So I came back.”

Lloyd watched her, more than a small measure of suspicion coloring his thoughts. “If you’re going to reject me again, there’s no need. I got the memo.”

“No!” Harumi burst out, setting down her chopsticks. “I just– I was thinking about you, and how you’re alone here. The Monastery is beautiful, but it’s empty, and– I realized I treated you horribly last time I saw you. I’m… sorry.”

He felt like every strand of his hair was on end. “Sorry?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry. For running off, and… refusing to believe you. I’ve always felt like my past is my future, and that I’d be angry forever, but I don’t want to live like that. I want to be different.”

Different. He focused on keeping his breathing steady, but Lloyd felt entirely unsteady now– and suspicious. “You decided you want a fresh start, too?”

“Maybe.” She moved to the chair next to him, food forgotten. “Lloyd, I know I left. If you don’t want to give this a shot anymore, I could hardly blame you. But if you do… I want to try that fresh start with you. I’m sick of being alone.”

Lloyd stayed still, afraid of embarrassing himself again– he was always embarrassed, and Harumi brought out the worst in him. “You want to be friends?”

Harumi chuckled, folding her hands on her lap nervously. “Something like that.”

“You're serious?”

“Completely serious. I want you to have a reason to trust me, not just because you have a good feeling about it.” Harumi met his eyes. “It’s just us here. I… I want this. I’m going to mess up, and I’m sure we’re going to fight sometimes, but I want to give it a try. I want to give us a shot.”

Now he really felt his heart jump, skipping a beat.

Us.

Friends.

She’s not here to fight with me.

Lloyd swallowed, hard enough to make his throat hurt, but it didn't stop the rush of wild thoughts that came to mind. Thoughts of hope, a chance, a future.

What did he have to lose? An empty life, alone? He was fine with losing that. He already hurt. It wouldn’t make a difference if she hurt him again. But if she was serious…

“Okay. Let's do it.”

She smiled brightly. “Really? You mean it?”

“Why not? I was the one who asked you.”

“Well– I don’t know. I thought you’d have changed your mind.” Harumi had the decency to blush. “I… forget that you’re softer than I am.”

“Yeah. Soft.” Lloyd grimaced and turned back to his food. “That’s not always a bad thing, Harumi.”

In the silence, Lloyd took a bite of his food. It was getting cold. How long have we been sitting here? It feels like an eternity.

“I don’t actually think you’re soft, Lloyd. Just… more compassionate than most people are able to be. That’s not always a bad thing.”

Harumi reached out a hand, and Lloyd watched as she set it on his arm. “Rumi, you must not know how compassion works. There's plenty to go around.”

Harumi laughed. “Maybe so, but not everyone is willing to give it. Like I said, it’s not a bad thing.”

“It doesn't need to be bad.” On impulse, Lloyd reached out and covered her hand with his. “I need you to be honest. Do you really want to try again? Even though it'll hurt?”

She was still, and she looked earnest. “I’ve been through a lot of painful things in my life, Lloyd. For a shot at this, it’s worth it.”

She seemed like she believed what she was saying, but was it true?

Lloyd was too jaded for his own good. He doubted Harumi, he always did. It was how they orbited each other: lies, half-truths, poorly-expressed desires that weren’t ever properly met. Every time he’d made progress with her, it had been ruined. What was so special about this time? What had changed?

He nodded at her bowl, which was probably already cooled, sitting where she’d left it across from him. “Don’t let your food get cold. The sauce isn’t as good if you microwave it.”

Harumi sighed, but she did as he told her, dragging the bowl over the tabletop to her new seat. It made an awful scraping noise, and she followed it with the rough scratching of chopsticks against earthenware. Lloyd ignored it, finishing his bowl, and set his pair of chopsticks on top. I need to do the dishes…

He let the quiet sit, and eventually Harumi did finish her food. She copied him, placing her chopsticks on top, and turned to face him again.

“All right, Green Ninja. If we’re going to talk about ‘fresh starts’ all the time, then I want to know what yours is going to be.”

Lloyd frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“What are you going to do? You need to do something. Why not change things up, quit the whole ninja gig and get a new job?”

Her question was close to his thoughts from that very morning, and he instinctively resisted. “Why? I like being a ninja.”

“You said it yourself: Ninjago doesn’t need the Ninja anymore.”

“So?”

“So you have to do something else!” She rolled her eyes. “What’s not clicking? Are you dumb?”

“Rude!” Lloyd scoffed. “Look, just because being a ninja was my destiny doesn’t mean I don’t love it. Just because people think I was forced into it doesn’t make them right. I’m a ninja first, and I’ll always be a ninja.”

“Oh, fine. Then if you weren’t a ninja, what would you do?”

He racked his brain, coming up… empty. Come to think of it, he’d had absolutely zero other jobs. The only thing he had experience with was Wu’s school, all those years ago. I do have the title of Sensei…

“Maybe a teacher?”

Harumi snorted so loudly she started coughing. “A teacher!?”

He stared at her with a slack jaw, offended. “Yeah, maybe! What’s so wrong with that?”

“I just—“ Harumi laughed, shaking her head. “I keep envisioning you like one of my tutors when I lived in the palace! You met Hutchins, but trust me. It is not a great look.”

“Hey, it’s not their fault their student didn’t want to be a princess,” he shot back. “Teaching is a noble profession!”

“I’m not saying it isn’t! I just can’t imagine it for you!”

“I didn’t ask you to imagine it. Besides, I doubt you have any better ideas. If it’s not leadership or comically dramatic villainy, you don’t do much of anything!” He took a moment to gauge her reaction– suitably offended, but not horribly, so he laid it on thicker. “I really don’t think your villainous volleyball team is going to pan out now.”

Harumi laughed at him, the sound tinkling pleasantly against his ears– a hint of what they’d had before. “Yeah, you put too many people in jail last time to get that off the ground. It’s sad! I thought we had real potential.”

“Who would you even play against?” He gestured between them with his chopsticks.  “We’re not duking it out next time with a volleyball.”

Harumi smiled. “Oh no, I liked the staves much better. Hurts more, maybe draws some blood.”

Her words reminded Lloyd of how menacing she could be, but he found himself laughing, like it was a joke. “Of course.”

“You see my vision! With a ball you just have to use it as a projectile. With the staves you can really—“ she mimed hitting him over the head— “get a good smack in.”

“Yeah, it’s almost like they’re weapons.” He pushed his chair back and stood, grabbing his bowl. “You sure enjoyed bashing me into the ground last time.”

Harumi shrugged, finishing her bowl and standing up too. “What can I say? It’s fun! Healthy communication is boring, knocking the wind out of people is a lot more entertaining.”

He shot her a flat look over his shoulder. “Is that what we’re calling it? ‘Knocking the wind out of people?’”

“I mean, I could call it absolutely destroying you and winning two out of our three fights, if you’d prefer.”

Lloyd snickered. “I was going to call it ‘emotional constipation.’”

“Hey, my emotions are perfectly regulated! I just used to like… trying to murder people sometimes.”

“Uh-huh.” On impulse again, Lloyd reached out and tapped her cheek with two fingers. “Perfectly regulated. Sure.”

Harumi laughed, her cheeks tinted red. “I think we should turn the spotlight back on you and your issues now.”

“Nah, I’m good.” He stole her dishes and put them all together in the sink. “If we're talking about issues, then we probably should talk about whatever happened last time you were here.”

“Us sparring? There's not much to talk about there.”

“You know what I mean.” Lloyd set the dishes in the sink, then began to package up the leftovers. The words fell out of his mouth without him planning them. “Pinning me down on the ground. You kissed me, and then you rejected me. Pretty mixed signals there.”

A glance over his shoulder revealed that she was blushing. Lloyd felt his pulse pounding in his head. Was this train of thought a mistake? Was it even worth trying to communicate with Harumi about this, to get some catharsis? They were trying to start over…

Harumi seemed oblivious to his internal war. “I was… getting my revenge for you knocking me over?”

“Yeah, no, I fell hard. Even if I smacked you around a bit, that’s not how I’d react.” He shrugged. “But if that’s all it was…”

“Come on, what do you want me to say?” She rolled her eyes. “‘Yes, Lloyd, I pinned you down because I wanted to kiss you but I didn’t want you attacking me for doing it.’ There, happy?”

Lloyd paused, his hands shaking a little. “...Is that actually the truth?”

“… Maybe. This is me trying to get better at not lying to you, remember?”

Lloyd smiled at that. “Hey, you’re the one who told me not to trust you. It was worth asking.” He set down the food, not trusting himself not to make a mess. He didn’t want to be tied up with it, either. “Why? You left immediately, it didn’t seem like you…”

Wanted me. He couldn’t say it. Not with the pain the thought caused him, the way he wanted to cringe in embarrassment.

Harumi sighed, leaning against the counter and crossing her arms. “It’s not like it’s the first time. Though… that time I kissed you in the Oni Temple shouldn’t really count.”

Lloyd frowned, watching her closely. “So? What does that have to do with it?”

She avoided looking at him, instead staring at the floor. Her discomfort was obvious. “I got my feelings involved. I wanted to kiss you, just once. I thought that, since I was already ruining everything, I might as well get it over with.”

Her fingers were twitching. Lloyd watched, not sure he was quite breathing. She’d said it so casually, but… her hands. That was the tell.

She’s lying about something.

Lloyd’s heart sank. “That’s a little backwards. You know that?”

She laughed miserably. “I would argue that we’re both doing things backwards.”

Lloyd turned his back on her, the words weighing on his shoulders heavily. The food wasn’t put away yet, so he finished the task and took the containers back to the fridge. Harumi stayed silent the whole time, despite the building tension.

I guess I have to break the ice now, he thought bitterly, and spoke the thoughts he’d been wrestling with for the last several weeks. ���So you did like me, but you liked the idea of killing me more? You could’ve given up on all of that– we could have actually had something real.”

“It’s not that simple, Lloyd.”

“It sounds simple to me.” He shut the fridge door with a heavy slam! “None of this hurt would’ve ever happened.”

She was silent– a strange, heavy silence, and the worst quiet he’d ever heard in that tiny kitchen.

Say something!

He opened his mouth, but when he looked at her, he closed it again.

She was staring at the floor, fidgeting, and clearly upset– no, actually just sad. She glanced at him, then looked in the other direction.

“Lloyd, I hated you.” She sounded like she was being strangled by the words. “I hated your guts, and then you– you were so nice! I didn’t want to give up. I couldn’t have backed out even if I wanted to. What did you expect, that I could undo starting a gang, stealing magical artifacts, and setting fire to my home? You ruined all my plans.”

She shook her head, stopping him from speaking. “So. Was it real? I don’t know. You were always there, and I kept adjusting my plans! By the time we reached the Temple, I had convinced myself that I didn’t just want you dead. I wanted you to suffer because I was miserable! And maybe I still am.”

Miserable.

It was obvious. She looked like a shred of her former self, curled in on herself in shame. She’d lost everything.

Lloyd hated how he couldn’t be angry when his enemy looked so sad– not even his enemy now, but what else was he supposed to call her? What was this relationship between them? He wasn’t sure it was friendship, either.

He sighed. “We’re pretty similar, you know that? Neither of us ever know how to quit, even when we should.”

The resulting smile from Harumi was short-lived, barely lasting a moment. “None of that even matters anymore, Lloyd.”

“I know. I just… don’t know what does.”

“What matters is that those feelings were real. And– and they still are, they’re just a little different.”

“Feelings don’t fix this, Rumi. Feelings don’t heal anything.”

“I know that. I’m trying to tell you that I’m not the same person I was all those years ago!”

He nodded slowly, parsing her words. “...Who are you now?”

Quiet stretched between them, watching them just as they watched each other. Lloyd felt like he was being stared down by some wild beast, ready to tear him apart– either that, or someone who cared entirely too much about how he felt. He didn’t even know for himself. All he wanted to know was whether Harumi was willing to try.

“I don’t know. I want to find out.”

The hammer fell.

Lloyd looked away, not knowing what to say. He wasn’t even sure he wanted to talk. His throat was dry and scratchy, and already he’d talked more than he normally did in several days. Between all the conversation about feelings, their history, kissing each other– it was just too much.

“Anyways, let me help you clean up.” Harumi pushed off the counter. “It’s only fair.”

He nodded slowly, but he was all too aware that there wasn’t much to clean. His focus was on her, and how she was stepping closer.

Harumi, who had freely admitted that she wanted to kiss him.

He didn’t want to know why those words made him jealous, or angry, or tingly. He didn’t want to examine why they made him want to do anything.

She was watching his every movement. “Is everything okay?”

“...Yeah. Just thinking.”

“About anything in particular?”

He swallowed, not sure he could trust himself not to do something stupid if he looked at her. “Plenty of things.”

Normally, he’d wash the dishes immediately after lunch, just to have something to do. They didn’t feel that important at the moment.

The weight of her stare seeming to become heavier with every moment.

“You’re just… acting strangely. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Harumi, I’m…” Stupid. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Are you sure?” Harumi stepped closer now, and for once, the movement didn’t scare him. She was just within arm’s reach.

Did he want her to come closer to him? What was wrong with him? She’d just admitted to hating him when they’d first met! She’d kissed him and then rejected him completely!

There are several things wrong with me, Lloyd decided. It must be the family history of stupidity around women. I want this over with.

He turned to face her, locking eyes. She seemed a little taken aback– in hindsight, maybe he was glaring at her. “Harumi, I have a question for you.”

“What is it…?”

“Do you actually want to rebuild? With me, specifically, not just because it’s convenient?”

She smiled a little– no tossing her hair, no fidgeting hands, just pure honesty. “Lloyd, I said I did. With you. No one else.”

“You actually want to try… whatever is going on between us?”

“Yes.” She looked a little uncomfortable. “Why are you asking? I thought I was being pretty clear about that.”

“Because if you’re going to be clear about how you feel, then so am I.” Lloyd reached out and touched her face.

Harumi didn’t shy away, but she looked entirely confused. “What are you doing? Why are you touching me?”

“I know you don’t actually mind.” He cupped her cheek, his nerve wavering. “So… screw it.”

Lloyd leaned in and kissed her cheek– barely a peck, but she breathed in sharply. When he pulled back, she was staring at him with the widest eyes he’d ever seen. “What was that?”

“That was me trusting you. I don’t want to live with regrets.”

“I don’t understand. You don’t have a reason to trust me.”

“I know. You don’t either, but that’s how trust works.”

She blinked, entirely a deer in the headlights. “I think I’m going crazy. You still want to date me? Last time I saw you, I rejected you! I broke your heart multiple times. You’re being stupid!”

Lloyd laughed. It was all he could do. “We’ve established this already.”

“This is a terrible idea.”

“I’m not hearing a ‘no.’” He smiled at her, and got the faintest smile in reply. “I know you want to run away, Harumi, but I’m not going to let you run this time. Don’t run from me.”

“I’m only going to hurt you, Lloyd. I don’t know how to do any better.” Her eyes glistened, hinting at unshed tears.

“You’ll figure it out. Stay with me.”

It took courage, and a little stupidity, but Lloyd embraced her. Harumi’s arms came up around him a moment later, barely holding on. He held on tighter.

“Stay.”

She huffed– maybe laughter, maybe indignance or anger– and buried her face in his shoulder. “As what? Your pet project?”

“As my friend.”

“We can’t ever be normal friends.”

“I don’t care. Call it whatever you want.” He squeezed her, holding on as long as she let him.

They stood like that, an unlikely pair, for what felt like a very long time. Lloyd didn’t let go until he felt her move, and even then, he didn’t pull away completely. Harumi was blinking rapidly, and she turned her face away.

He averted his eyes as she swiped at a few tears. Lloyd didn’t know how to handle crying girls, and he wasn’t going to learn today. Not while she felt wounded.

She sniffed. “Can we make the ‘friends’ a little more flexible than usual?”

“How so?”

She huffed again, a weak laugh. “As in, I still want to kiss you. I know that’s idiotic.”

“Hey. Don’t call my friend an idiot.” He smiled at her. “Especially if you want me to keep being nice to you.”

She rolled her eyes, but seemed a little happier. “Please, you can't help it. You're always nice to me.”

“Unfortunately.”

Harumi leaned into his arms again, this time putting her arms up around his neck. Lloyd let her do it, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

It was… nice.

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “What's your angle? I know you want something.”

She smiled, in the way he'd learned meant she was planning something. “I don't want anything.”

“Liar.”

“Ugh, fine. You're no fun.” She lifted her head, and without bothering to ask, kissed his cheek.

Lloyd smiled. It was just so nice. She was being nice to him.

Maybe, for a few minutes, he could let himself believe that everything between them was normal, and deal with the pain later.

Just for a few minutes.

Harumi spoke quietly in his ear. “Lloyd?”

“Yeah?”

“I want you to kiss me.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Is that why we can't be friends? Maybe we should take it slow. Make sure you actually want this.”

Harumi huffed, leaning her head on his shoulder again. “That’s a bit rude, isn’t it? I know what I want.”

He snickered at her. “I'm just making sure. You don't need to be offended.”

“And if I am? What then?”

“Then I guess you can deal with it.”

“Oh, the good old ‘suck it up, buttercup?’” She grinned, and for the hundredth time, he hoped she couldn’t tell how his pulse jumped at her nearness. “Why don't you just kiss me now, and we can regret it later?”

Lloyd reached up and touched her face. “Sure. What's one more regret added to the pile?”

She watched him expectantly, so… he leaned in, and let her guide him.

They met in a sweet moment, tinged with anticipation. Harumi sighed quietly, adjusting her arms around his neck. Her lips were soft against his.

Lloyd ignored the all-too-familiar warning bells that were ringing in the back of his mind. Her touch was surprisingly gentle, despite his fumbling from inexperience– she seemed to know what to do.

Jealousy reared its head.

How did she learn to kiss someone like this? Did she kiss someone else? Who was he?!

Harumi did something to make him weak at the knees, and he pushed the thoughts away.

To distract himself, Lloyd tried to deepen the kiss instead, tightening his hold around her waist. She smiled, letting him do it, and teased at his hair with her fingers. Her nails scratched pleasantly against his scalp.

Does she even know what she's doing to me? He wondered absently, barely able to think.

He'd been so lonely. This had to be the opposite: Harumi filling his senses, enjoyable and worth wanting.

He didn't know how they both seemed to know that it was time to end it, but slowly they drew apart. Lloyd felt like he could hear Harumi’s pulse– ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

Her breath kissed his face, and she was smiling. Her green eyes sparkled, and he felt a nameless surge of affection for her.

She ran her hands through his hair. “...I don't think I'll regret that, Lloyd.”

His name! He felt so much affection for her, unlike anything he’d felt about her before. For a minute he couldn't think, just watching how Harumi moved, her eyes wandering all over his face. Her flushed cheeks and smiling eyes were so… different. Younger, more lively. More playful.

Less lonely, just like him.

He smiled at her. “I don't think you regret anything.”

“I regret everything.” She hesitated, but continued speaking. “I… don't want to be the same person anymore. This time, I’m going to do it right.”

I have to ask.

“Why?”

Harumi looked down at his chest, long white lashes falling over her cheeks, hiding any tears that might fall. “Because I want that fresh start. I want it with you.”

“And you're getting it, Rumi.”

“...You're sure?”

Lloyd smiled, even though she couldn't see it. He smiled for himself, and for a future he was just barely beginning to envision. “Yeah. I'm sure.”

“...I'll never understand you.”

He laughed and embraced her again, holding tightly as Harumi gave up her struggle and let him.

There was no use explaining what she would learn soon either way, so Lloyd simply basked in the moment, stupidly hoping for a better future with her in it.

Since Harumi came back into his life, Lloyd had wondered about the truth, what was real, what was not. For the first time, he let himself consider something better, like he’d always wanted to. Even if it might hurt to build it.

Hope was evergreen, never too distant to reach…

Lloyd wondered just what might happen if he let himself embrace an unknowable future, and the joy it might bring. A future that might even include Harumi at his side.

[lookingfts]

One of my favorite stories of yours is a place to rest, amongst a multitude of yours that are really just fantastic reads.

How are those two doing today?

Thank you! I can’t believe I wrote that fic almost two years ago. Here’s a little glimpse into them now.

--

She always knew when Anthony had something on his mind. When he was tangled up in an issue at work, or one of his siblings was involved in drama (constantly), or his mum was going through a rough patch. That little dimple would pop in his forehead, his brows furrowed in concentration, his lips pressed together in a thin line.

“Everything okay?” Kate asked, running her hands through his thick hair. Anthony looked up, pressing his laptop closed, and flashed that warm smile that seemed exclusive to her.

Stretching out his hands, he tugged Kate into his lap, and she went willingly, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Yeah. I’m okay. Just thinking.” Drawing little circles on her hip, Anthony took a breath. “I’m glad you’re here, actually. There’s something I need to run by you.”

“Okay.” Even before they’d gotten married and officially merged their lives together, Anthony had sought her opinion on personal and business matters alike. He trusted her to tell him the truth, and even when they disagreed – sometimes passionately – they always managed to find a way forward.

“I’ve been thinking about this for a while,” Anthony said, deliberately as though he was searching for the right words. “And I want to buy Journey’s End from your mum when she’s ready to retire.”

The words soaked in slowly, and Kate blinked at him. “What?”

“I talked to Mary about it last weekend. She was thrilled. But I want you to be on board too.” His hand tightened on her hip, his expression so earnest that her heart skipped a beat. “I want it to stay in your family. Our family. Besides, it has sentimental value to me, too. It’s where I fell in love with my wife, you know.”

Kate laughed thickly, remembering the sad girl who hid behind her responsibilities to avoid living. Until a smug, rude viscount happened upon her corner of the world and turned everything upside down.

She didn’t even feel like the same person anymore. Maybe no one had it all, but Kate thought she was pretty close. A challenging but fulfilling career, a strong marriage, a solid relationship with her family. And even more incredible things on the way.

“We’ll hire people we trust to run it,” Anthony said quickly, mistaking her silence for hesitation. “We can be involved as much or as little as you want. Maybe one day our kids will want to be involved.” His hand rested on her stomach, only the smallest curve visible. None of their friends knew yet, and she could tell it was killing Anthony not to shout it from the rooftops. “It wasn’t your dream to run it. And I’m selfishly glad about that. But we could still keep your father’s legacy alive.”

Tears welled in her eyes, beading on her lashes. Kate had never faced a harder decision than walking away from the thing her father had worked so hard for. Accepting that following in his footsteps wasn’t the only way to honor his memory, especially if it was holding her back from what she was really meant to do.

But Anthony was offering her the chance to do both. To live her life in London, with him, while ensuring that her father’s dream wouldn’t fall into the hands of someone else. Someone who would never understand what it meant, would never see all the sweat and tears and love that lived within its walls.

There weren’t many men who would have known how important her father’s legacy was, but Anthony did. He knew better than anyone how badly Kate wanted to do right by him, even after he was gone. Especially after he was gone, and could only live on through her and Mary and Edwina. And, in six months or so, through their child.

“Are you sure?” she asked, tears spilling onto her cheeks now, and Anthony’s face softened as he brushed them away.

“Of course. I’ve already run the numbers on it. Plus, Mary could retire when she wants and not have to feel guilty. She’ll have the money to live off and know that it won’t just get torn down and turned into ugly flats.”

Taking her hand in both of his, Kate pressed a kiss to his knuckles, feeling almost incapable of containing the affection swelling inside her. “It’s perfect. Thank you.”

“You’re happy?”

“So happy.”

“Good.” He kissed her, soft and tender, and she knew he felt the same. “I’m dying for chai, want some?”

She chuckled, brushing her nose against his. “Definitely.”

[holythighsandthelegendoftities]

If you are a manager, you can collect and reorganize all K-pop girl groups to create your own girl group. You will live in their dorms and they will be your sluts and sex slaves who will fulfill your sexual fantasies and make their dorms your harem. At the same time, your girl group must have all the positions to be complete as a girl group (leader, vocalist, rapper, dancer, visual, center, maknae). One member can hold multiple positions. There is no limit to the number of members in your girl group. However, since it is a group, there must be at least two members. If the number of members you want is greater than the number of positions, you can add a specific position (such as increasing the number of vocalists to two), and the member corresponding to the position does not have to be excellent at that position. If you like group A and don't need anyone else, you can just choose the members of group A as they are, or if you like group A but also like group B, you can merge them, or if you like group A but also like member b of group B, you can add only member b, or if you only like some members of group A, you can exclude the rest, or you can choose one from each group, it's all up to you. Create your own harem girl group and tell me about your daily routine with them.

Been a while since someone asked!

I'll go simple and just put all my ultimate bias in one group. (Spoiler.... A lot of SM idols)

I will not use the main, lead, sub position because it'll make it hard to think.

Leader + Vocal: Kim Taeyeon

Mainly because she's the leader of leaders and how can I not put her in the main vocal position too? She's a good cock sucker and thinks of it as throat training, She will be the one to lead her members to practice as my slut.

Dancer: Karina

No debate needed, she's my favorite dancer in K-pop right now. I know there are a lot of other good dancers or someone that's a better dancer than Karina, but I prefer her style of dancing. The best Cock warmer and she is the submissive acting like dom one that love being manhandled and put on embarrassing sex position.

Rapper: Son Chaeyoung

I need my little petite woman who loves arts and knows how to rap. I chose her because once again, I prefer her rapping over some idols. (Actually I like baemon Asa but I forgot if she's ua or not? I'm too lazy to search up) and her love for art is the reason why she loves getting her face painted with cum and her body with slut tattoos.

Vocal (2): Winter

Along with her mommy Taeyeon and Karina. Winter's vocals are also one of my favorites, her tone and the way she sounds is just good to my ears, she's my subby little puppy that needs love and a lot of creampie, she will ask for cuddle but with my cock inside her pumping.

Face of the group + Rapper: Irene

Do I need to say more? I'm obsessed with her and I can't even think of how much I love her so so so so much. She's my queen, my princess and subby mommy. She's kinda like the Co-leader along with Taeyeon. Daily rough but wholesome sex.

Dancer + Vocal: Ahn Yujin

No specific reason I just love her. Her body and her slutty face always makes me hard, I love her armpit the most when she's dancing and sweating.

And lastly Maknae, I have a lot of choices for maknae but I will go with

Eunchae and Haerin

I need the lion cub and kitty combo for the maknae duo that will serve me both their pussy when I call them.

Our daily routine is pretty much like how idols usually do, training and stuff but I will sometimes interrupt them. Like when they practice dancing, they have to be naked, when they go live I sometimes fuck them secretly (That's why Karina and Winter sometimes going live without turning the camera on), Before every stage all of them have to get their throat filled with cum.

For individual days every second week in a month:

Taeyeon: Sunday

Irene: Monday

Chaeyoung: Friday

Karina: Saturday

Winter: Thursday

Yujin: Wednesday

Eunchae and Haerin: Tuesday

[noideabutsims]

Donut Co. Rugtastic Reset - True Colors Edition BOOK version has 14 Swatches BOOKSHELF version has 42 Swatches All of our CC can be found by typing " Donut " into the search bar! Images in game -  You can find bonus images on our tumblr > HERE Most of my images have my reshade on - it changes the color minimally, so white may look a little off in photos, but in game it will look white/normal!! <3! You can size them up and down using the bracket keys. [ ] <- these ones.  I personally, use the tool mod to size my items up and down, and specifically with these if you are wanting them to be "perfectly sized" i would recommend you grab the tool mod by twistedmexi! If you would like to use it in build-buy mode, you'll need BBB! The Bordered version and the non bordered version are separate, or you can grab the merged file. If you download all 3, you'll have double copies - and they will conflict. Please choose merged or unmerged - not both. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Name: Donut Co. Rugtastic Reset - True Colors Edition (With or Without Border) Buy Mode Description: Donut Co. gets it: sometimes the loudest statement is the one whispered with a wink. That's why we created a new collection of discreetly fabulous rugs! These designs are all about hidden meanings and subtle nods to the community – think rainbow geometrics woven in with everyday patterns, playful winks hidden within floral arrangements, and inclusive symbols disguised as everyday motifs. Imagine your Sim teens decorating their rooms with these rugs, creating a personal sanctuary where they feel safe to express themselves, even if it's just a secret smile at a knowing design. Donut Co. believes everyone deserves a space to be themselves, whether they're ready to shout it from the rooftops or simply let a hidden rainbow brighten their day. Let these rugs be a symbol of love, a quiet celebration of individuality, and a reminder that you're part of a vibrant, inclusive community, even if it takes a second look to see it. (Works best if you use the bracket keys "[" + "]" to size up and down, or my personal preference of the tool mod!) Will be releasing more content soon! stay tuned! ❤️ (NOT affiliated with EA or Maxis in any way! We just make CC! ) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DOWNLOAD: Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/102634866?pr=true Curseforge: https://legacy.curseforge.com/sims4/build-buy/donut-co-rugtastic-reset-true-colors-edition Google Drive - MERGED BOOKS: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KjVl_-Ohzr5QJswMwJJsEKhyRvF5hzwj/view?usp=sharing No Border Books: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iTTalF5WkPrwyy5gbE3zNkAVk4EsmrxX/view?usp=sharing With Border Books: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xxmi7-5G6aGNaorpC0u2rqXHxxxyNkwF/view?usp=sharing MERGED BOOKSHELVES: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rpFTFcaYenUgdWxYB_YNORbUUjXonvQ0/view?usp=sharing No Border Bookshelves: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tSUnDaG-xG4AEtlX8n1u0W2c-cp8n8Yj/view?usp=sharing With Border Bookshelves: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xk-zgQWdUIMpbwWJQuWnhbkCrmoEShAf/view?usp=sharing @alwaysfreecc