#his smile did me in OK i am now actually fond of this

[ruporas]

post-trimax vash meets stampede wolfwood

[ID: Black and white comic of Vash and Wolfwood of their Stampede versions. The comic starts with Wolfwood continuing off a conversation, saying “I didn’t mean t’say anythin’ bad to her. She just took it the wrong way. But anyway...” Wolfwood speaks with a hand gestured flippantly while Vash, who’s seated next to him, just listens. Vash thinks to himself, “Talks more about himself... Honest expressions... Immature, though he was pretty immature too.” He smiles and continues to think, “And yet...”

A panel of Vash’s eye directed now to the sky. He thinks, “Some things are bound to be the same with us...” He thinks of a memory, the version from Maximum of him and Wolfwood, back shown as they chatted underneath two moons, one moon with a hole through it. Vash continues, “Isn’t that right, W-“ His thoughts are interrupted by Wolfwood coming into a view, a close up his deadpan expression. Vash utters out “-olfwood..?” with a nervous expression. He starts to explain, “Um. Sorry if it seemed like I wasn’t listening, I was! So, let’s keep talking?”

Vash smiles and puts his hands together as he says, “okay?” Wolfwood glares at him with gritted teeth and Vash immediately remembers, “Right, he’s more short-tempered...” He continues to think, “Maybe Plan B works with him—“ before he’s grabbed by his coat collar aggressively and changes thoughts, “OK, never mind, brace for impact..!” But he’s surprised when he’s tugged instead, him and Wolfwood flops against the ground. Wolfwood puts an arm over Vash and says, “I don’t need to be entertained, blondie. If yer tired, we can go to sleep.”

Two close up panels of Wolfwood and Vash’s eyes looking at each other, Wolfwood taking off Vash’s glasses as he says, “Am I wrong?” Vash thinks to himself, “Actually... I was being genuine when I said I wanted to keep talking. I don’t feel tired at all. But, I think you know this body more than I do.”

Vash’s thoughts continue, “I can’t deny the me you’re fond of from being taken care of. And I could never deny your kindness. Even though...” Vash finally smiles and says, “You’re not wrong...” Wolfwood smiles back before tugging Vash closer and says, “Then, let’s sleep.” Vash asks, “Should we get a blanket?” Wolfwood asks, “Why?” before kissing Vash on the cheek, “I’ll keep you warm.” Vash puts his face into both his hands and flushes. Wolfwood smiles cheekily and asks, “What?” Vash responds, “I was caught off guard..” Wolfwood says, “You’ve said worse though.” Vash responds, “Did I...” The panel phases out and the dialogue returns to Vash’s thoughts. He thinks, “I want to stay a bit longer. Talk a bit longer.

You’re tired here too. The future is always going to be unfair to you. I want to protect you from it. I want to hold you close so you won’t go far.” The thoughts overlap the scene of Wolfwood now sleeping peacefully against Vash with an arm over him, Vash’s jacket draped against him as a blanket. Vash looks at him and a small thought bubble thinks, “He can fall asleep first...” His previous thoughts continue, “I know I can’t. I already had that chance.” A close up of Vash putting his hand over Wolfwood’s. He continues, “I wasn’t capable once, I can’t be sure I’d be capable a second time. And in a way...”

Vash’s thoughts continue with the back drop of the sky, Stampede’s sky of two moons without holes, “Some things are bound to be the same. But I know you’ll be loved again and again in a way I’d never know.” A split panel, one half contains the sleeping face of Wolfwood from Stampede, the other of Wolfwood from Trimax. In turn, the Vash lying down looking fondly at Wolfwood shifts to the post Trimax Vash while the other versions, Stampede and earlier Trimax, are faintly drawn next to him doing the same. Vash closes his eyes and finally drifts to sleep as the final text reads, “Goodnight, Wolfwood.”

[factual-fantasy]

TUNA I'VE FAILED YOU OH YOU DELICIOUS PIECE OF MY HEART HOW'VE YOU BEEN MY DEAREST PUREST LITTLE GUY??!??

Since the last post you made about him I've been wanting to ScReAM my love for him but I never had the time and the energy at the same time! D: until now >:]

BECAUSE WOULD YOU LOOK AT THIS?!

THE SMILE! THE FONDNESS! THE "I KNOW IM LOVED" THAT THIS DRAWING SCREAMS IS MAKING ME SO INSANE I LOVE SO MUCH HERE

Now, continuing to be an acceptable member of the Tuna Lover society.

TUNA YOU'RE THE ABSOLUTE BEST THING EVER.

Hold yourself because I have 0 self control when it comes to ramble about my specialist little guy and I'm afraid I wrote quite a lot.

Tuna looks like he is so tired. Look at him! His whole body language is screaming "I'm so tired but i dont really think sleep cluld help me". What did this rascal do that he's so tired? I wonder, but for some reason he looks more like being emotionally tired than anything. Poor bean! Did he had a rough week? A bad day? Is he feeling down? Maybe he's just tired for no specific reason, it happens sometimes. I wish I could cup him in my hands and pat his head softly as I rock him to sleep because he's so my baby :'[ <3

Ellie oh you heart of gold woman how lucky is the crew you're a part of it! Like seriously. She looked at this sad teen and said: not under my watch young boy. And went to cook his fauvorite rolls??!? She's so grannie coded I need her in my daily life you have no clue (oh no I got nostalgyc-). She's trying to hype him up and she's not just silently sliding the rolls under his hands. She's actually talking with him and something about physical contact. WAIT. IS THAT IT? IS TUNA SO VERY TOUCH STARVED THAT THIS IS HIS REACTION? OOOUGH MY HEART CANT HANDLE IT. I'll follow this train of thought later. (🚂)

Like. She's so gentle, so careful, so... She's really making sure she does all she can to lift up the spirits of that young man!

Because the way he's looking at her... the fondness.. the care and gratefulness????? Oh dear momma fish I'm dying. He's looking at her so sweetly! So gratefull! He's screaming "thanks for being a part of my life" without his mouth. He's screaming "I am so gratefull you love me" with his only one eye and I'm so down for it. I need more of them. They warm my fish heart so much... She's the grannie he never asked for bur always needed! Y'know? He's capable of looking at someone like that after all he's gone through and if that doesn't make me want to cry I don't know what does. Because that's just... OUGH I CANT WITH THEM HE HAS SUCH A TRAGYC BACKSTORY AND FEELS LIKE NO ONE LIKES HIM AND THEN THIS OLD LADY IS LIKE: YEAH, ILL BAKE HIM SONETHING SO HE CHEERS UP??!??! I NEED THEM HUGGING I NEED THEM BONDING I NEED THEM BEING A MEANACE TOGERHER BECAUSE OHMYGOD WHAT I WOULDNT GIVE TO SEE THIS TWO BEING LIKE THIS EVERYDAY.

A tiny part of me kinda wants to see one of them hurted really bad and the other protecting, but the other part of me is terrified of the mental implications it would have. Especially if it's ellie the one hurted. Oh no, no, let's end that thought there for my own sake 🫠

BECAUSE ELLIE IS JUST... SHE JUST BAKES HIM HIS FAUVORITR, I REPEAT, FAVOURITE THINGS WITHOUT HIM ASKING FOR IT.

Ok, returning with that train of thought (🚂)... I probably have alredy rambled about this before, but... When was the last time someone hold this guy gently? I mean, not even hold, but just... touch him without meaning harm? Or more precisely, when was the last time someone touched him with care? With fondness? With the intention to lift his spirit? To make him smile, at least a little tiny eety beety winesy bit?

She puts hers hand on his shoulder and he jumps, freezing with his mouth full of delicious food. It's her. Of course it's her, they were chatting alone in the kitchen, although it felt more a monologue as Ellie cooked than an actual conversation. He was too in his mind to really listen. The sudden contact was what made him blink with his only eye, staring at the caring old eyes of the lady at his right. It was nice. Warm and rough hands squeezed his arm softly, fully aware that she had startled him. She looked at him with a fond smile and placed the fresh rolls in front of him. "There, you better enjoy them boy!" She may or may not say. Thing is, his eye goes to the hot, delicious food, and then he realizes. The hand is still there. Gentle. Almost can't feel it. It's. Why? It's strange. It should hurt. But it didn't. Of course it made sense, but why? Of course it didn't! It was Ellie! And then the realization hits. All in a matter of seconds. Ellie would never lay a harming hand on him. And he felt... He felt.

"You can't eat literally with your eyes, you do know that, do you?" He forgot he was eating. He smiled. And seeing that smile made her smile too. After all, how couldn't she? That wasn't something she saw everyday! Much less in such a sincere way! He was just... smiling at her. Oh she felt so happy! "I'm glad you like those! If you want more just tell me!" Oh wasn't he in the verge of tears? Happy tears! Him! Oh. The realization hitted like a truck. (Or like a ship? What's the equivalent? Idk, like a punch of Louis if you please.) He was cared for. He was loved. There were hands in this world that weren't meant to harm him. He just smiled, fondness burning in his chest like a wildfire because how this woman can change a man via kindness/food.

What is so crazy is that maybe he's just staring lovingly at the lady that cares for him. Because he feels like he's a rock on the boots of the crew most of the time but he's good at what he does so they bare with him. Maybe he feels they don't want him around but... but this lady does. And isn't he gratefull for it? Isn't he so happy she's around? She touches his only arm in such a gentle way? The other won't feel kindness never again, did it ever felt it? Not punches, not grabs, no, just... placing her hand there. Like he isn't an animal with the rabbies but actually a just really fucked up little guy who is terrified of people because people gave him reasons to and barks and bites but is, at the end, very lonely and afraid because he pushed everyone away. Except for this lady. He tried. He bited and barked until he realized she doesn't care, that she alredy saw the scared guy he was and didn't cared. She didn't cared. She cared so much more than anyone that she didn't cared! She wasn't afraid! She wasn't going away! If anything, she sitted closer as time passed. And suddenly, a pet on the head. A so waited, so dreamed, so strange, so scary! Pat on the head. Gentle. Not like those who grabbed him to calm him down and only made him bark and bite with more energy. No. Gentle. It was new. It was nice. But he was afraid. Afraid. How long until she hits? He thinks. But she never hits. She brings him treats. Suspicious. But... not so... Why? It's just that he isn't used to see someone care. But she cares. And she doesn't goes away. And she doesn't turn her back. If anything, only to take the rolls out of the oven!

He doesn't thinks all that in the moment. He just wants. Oh. That felt nice. But was kinda unexpected. It's later at night that he thinks, if his three neurons decide to work. Mayne this is how his complex being feels but his tint neurons don't know how to think. He just loves and cares about the lovely woman that cares and loves back. I need more of them. They mean everything to me at this point factual I'm descending to madness.

AWROROOGOOGGHHHHGGGGG YOUR LOVE FOR TUNA FUELS MY SOULLL!!!! 😭😭THSNKYIUUUUU!!!😭😭💞💞💞💞

[tomsvouge]

Bad Idea Right?

Pairings: Ex!Joe burrow x Ex!Reader Warnings:Alcohol use, situationship, mentions of sex Summary- What happens when y/n gets a text message from someone in her past that her friends are not fond of? Her friends tell her not to go but it can’t be a bad idea…. right?

Who would have thought I would end the night with him, In his bed cuddled with him like we are together. Should I regret it? Probably. Do I regret it? Hell no! Have you seen this man he is literally a walking hercules and who am I to block an opportunity that I was given. Anyways, you may be asking, "y/n what the heck are you even talking about?". Well let's go back to earlier in the day where everything started.

My friends and I were talking about throwing a party and I couldn't be more excited. I needed something to get my mind off of him. Me and Joe are kinda rocky when it comes to a relationship. We broke up about two months ago. Usually when two people break up they dont talk to each other, buttttt me and Joe have been sneaking around for the past two weeks. No one knows about this, not my friends, not his friends just sneaking around like two teenagers. 

As we all sit on my couch we start talking about party details, y’know the time, who to invite the food, all that good boring stuff when out of nowhere melody says this.

“Well since we're talking about personal invites I don't think you should invite Joe y/n”- Melody 

“Why would I invite Joe? We're done. Over” I said lying through my teeth knowing that we were still hooking up.

“I'm just saying you seem to be tense each time you see him. Like that one time we were watching tv and his Bose ad came on. You looked like you saw a ghost.” She says laughing.

“I was Just shocked at his dance moves, I thought I taught him better when we took that dance class.” and that was true we did take a dance class but let's just say, Joeys not dancing for a while.

“I wasn't the worst i've seen but also not the best”- Kaylee says while  writing something down.

OK! Can we stop talking about my ex, kinda getting weird. 

“Ok but just know Joe Burrow is not allowed through these doors.” Melody says in a serious tone.

“Got it Not allowed through the doors.” I say looking at her. 

“I'll just let him in the backyard” I say in my head.

Getting ready for the party I put on my outfit and did my makeup. As I'm putting on my mascara I get a facetime. I look at the screen and immediately knew it was joe as his contact name is “LOSER NOT WORTH MENTIONING🩷” showed up. Reluctantly I picked up the phone.

“What?” I say in a aggravated tone 

“Well hello to you too” Joe says, rolling his eyes on the other side of the phone.

 “What are you doing?” he says, trying to change the vibe of the call.

Getting ready-i say in a sassy tone.

“For?”- Joe

���My party”-y/n

“And i didnt get an invite?” joe says with that cocky smile on his face 

“Didn't think you needed one considering we were not really together”- I say side eyeing him so hard you could feel it.

“Just because we're not together doesn't mean we cant be friends”- joe 

“If this is what you call just friends I would love to see what you do with people you hate.” i say laughing

“You know what i mean” - Joe

“Friends dont have sex nearly every night and talk to each other the way we do.”- y/n

“Well friends also don't hide things from each other” Joe says, placing the phone down so I could see him.

“I didn't invite you because you are not allowed to come, you are not exactly on my friend's good side right now.”- y/n

 My friend did not like Joeto much after the shit they had heard about him from endless phone calls to late night gossip sessions at the house. He didn't hurt me like cheat or anything. He is actually a nice guy but anyone who plays mind games and gaslights is a no no in my friend's book.

“Nothing new, I wasn't on their good side when we were together.”- Joe

“But since I can't come to you, how about you come to me?”- Joe 

“And why would I do that?” I genuinely asked because who was he to think I would leave my own party for him.

Because we can't get enough of each other no matter how hard we try we both know that we will all go back.

And Joe was right, no matter how hard I tried to move on, no one seemed to understand me like Joe does. He knows everything about me. He accepts me for who I am and vice versa. Still sad we didn't work out due to commitment and trust issues. I think when the time's right Joe and I will be perfect for eachother.

“Well I'll think about it.”- I say 

“Good, let me know when you decide.” - Joe

I was having the time of my life. My friends made sure I didn't even think about joe. So much that I forgot to even remind him if I was coming or not. 

In the middle of taking group shots I feel a vibrate coming from my hip.

LOSER NOT WORTH MENTIONING🩷- u still coming??

“Don't do it.”-Kaylee says, looking over my shoulder.

“Who said I was?”

“You didn't say that but the look on your face said otherwise.”

“Okay but would you pass up a chance to just go back to your ex for one night.” 

“One night more like two weeks but she didn't need to know that right now.”

“No I wouldn't, he cheated and I'll be damned if I go back to him just to disrespect myself again.”

“Well I won't if i will make you happy.”

“Good”

Okay sooo im going to his house. You guys may say I have little respect for myself but all the respect leaves my body when I see that man. You get in a room alone with Joe Burrow and see how long you last without being all over him. Plus, can't be that bad of an idea right?

With my luck the rain decided to pour harder and completely drench me. Rushing to my car I hopped in and started it. I quickly texted Joe back telling him I was on my way. Thankfully The drive from my house to joes is not that far at all. Getting out of the car rushing to get to the front door as the rain came down on me. When I kid you not to say this man is a QB he is not quick on his feet off the field. I literally took him forever to open the door. 

Walking in the house I'm immediately tackled into hugs and kisses . After a while pushing wavy from him I decided I needed to put my clothes somewhere because wet clothes just don't feel comfortable. 

Eventually me and Joe decided to chill on the couch and talk for a while. And lets just say after the talk and cuddles the door was locked to that bedroom and that's how we got to this morning 

I woke up to like a million texts from my friends asking me why I disappeared in the middle of the party and I just told them all that I didn't feel well and went up early to sleep. Looking over left I see Joe sleeping with his arms wrapped around me. Part of me felt bad for lying to my friends about going to sleep early but technically i did lie i said I was sleep I just didn't say where.

hey guys! I'm gonna try to start putting out more fics . I chose to do this as a fun hobby and I just don't want it to feel and chore or job but if you want to request fics you are welcome to do so 🩷

[quitealotofsodapop]

DBK is most certainly confused as hell! But the moment he hears Wukong is in Danger, he's all on storming the Celestial Palace against his former brother's, this time with permission from his in-laws! It's also during this situation the truth about his rampage 500 years ago becomes known to the Celestial Realm. Xiwangmu, who has figured out Uwkong was not pregnant on the Journey, has even more reason to respect DBK.

Prev.

DBK is all sorts of messed up when he gets revived, but he immediately softens when he hears a tiny excited "BABA!" at his hoof. Immediately the feared demon king drops to his knees to embrace his child, barely larger since he last saw him centuries ago. His wife is close behind, cupping her husband's face and peppering him with kisses as she sobs with joy.

Red Son and Iron Fan are the only people who matter to DBK in that moment.

Then he notices his in-laws. And what appears to be the Pilgrims? Why are they all here?

DBK: (*finally gets a good look at the room/construction site*) The Room: (*His wife's parents, her nephew, and her cousin are all watching him closely. A pair of dragons + their pup stay at a safe distance. Macaque is alive again and is struggling to keep the Staff upright. And a trio of Pilgrim-looking fellows look extremely out-of-place.*) DBK: "Uh... ok, I am completely at a loss for what is happening right now." Nezha: "The Brotherhood have taken over Heaven. Azure Lion has taken the Emperor's power for himself, and taken Sun Wukong as a hostage." DBK: "Those fools! But, why is Wukong unable to fight back against them?" Macaque: "He's very weak from delivering a stone egg." DBK: "HE DID WHAT!? After I nearly ripped heaven asunder to prevent him from doing so!" Tang, history nerding: "Wait - that was the reason for your rampage 500 years ago?! You were trying to stop Wukong from creating his Stone Egg?" DBK: "Of course! He approached me to act as a vigil for Flower Fruit Mountain while he buried himself. When I discovered that the process is more often-than-not fatal, I became adamant on distracting Wukong by any means necessary!" Nezha: "You were not successful, sadly. Me and Iron Fan kept watch for the last 5 centuries - though I was not given context on why. I now understand why that was. I nearly strangled Wukong when I learned what the purpose of his "meditation" was." DBK, surprised: "Truly?" Pigsy, gesturing to the Ao-Long's: "Yeah, it was only when a certain baby dragon got lost playing with your kid did anyone know about this." Mei, puts up hand proudly: "I dug up Uncie Wu!" (*DBK turns to PIF, his face uncertain*) DBK: "My love, is this all true?" PIF, nodding: "Yes dear. When I saw the reincarnations of Wukong's pilgrim brothers touch upon the island, I sensed that it was time to slowly reunite our family. I retrieved Red Son from Guanyin, and of course, you know how much trouble he can get into on a good day. Eventually, things got a little away from us when Macaque came back into our lives - you must see the recording of the Trial that happened because of that. And of course my parents eventually found out about their grandson from my involvement." Red Son, smiling proudly: "I set the Jade Emperor on fire!" Jade Emperor: "He did." Xiwangmu: (*hiding fond laughter behind her sleeves*) DBK, turns to face his in-laws: "In that case, I will accept any rapport offered to me in kind. My main priority is my family, and if Iron Fan wishes to include you in it - I would honour her choice." Sandy: "Guess, thats gonna include Mr Monkey King now too, huh?" DBK: "What?" Pigsy, getting frustrated: "We'll explain it later!"

So yeah, big brother Bull got some ears to shout off, and a few former-Brothers to interrogate.

Yellow Tusk actually breathes a sigh of relief to see DBK burst through the cloud layer into the Celestial Realm, furiously shouting "SUN WUKONG!" as he charges at the doors to the throne room. Finally a good distraction.

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Ok no let me explain you a thing.

I can't take it. I literally can't take this moment without making a sound somewhere in the back of my throat. It's the cutest thing ever and it's this frame here that makes it.

Look, I know this is Wan. I know Wan isn't really canon and this is the preschool episode so it's even less so. But there's something in here that is an absolutely canon thing Akutagawa does.

The scene starts off with Akutagawa's typical reverence and excitement that Dazai is sitting near him. Nothing particularly notable there. But then Dazai gets excited by what's going on and Akutagawa gives him this look and I just can't take it man.

Because that's a genuinely fond look. He's happy for him. He's happy Dazai is enjoying himself.

And that's not just a Wan thing. He says along those lines to Kyouka in one of my all-time favourite BSD scenes in general.

It just. I just have a lot of feelings about that. This is a guy who, we know from Heartless Cur and the beginning of Beast, has very little in the way of emotion - but when he does feel, it's rather all-encompassing, even overwhelmingly strong. Things like rage and desperation. It's raw survival instinct.

But then he has. This too.

Here's the thing. In the preschool chapter, silly as it is, Dazai is still fixated on suicide. He has the noose, just doesn't speak about it openly. So, it's probably quite rare that Dazai shows genuine enjoyment the way he did here - and that's worth that small smile.

In the main universe, Akutagawa remembers how Kyouka hated herself to the point of asking to be killed, then sees how fierce she is about defending her new life and self, and decides that he's glad for her.

It really means something to me that one of the very few relational emotions he allows himself to feel is happiness and pride on others' behalf.

It roots itself less in compassion or happiness itself and more in a sense of respect... but remember that Akutagawa hardly gives his respect easily. He gives his respect only to those he considers strong, and in nearly every battle, he finds himself disappointed. What he wants is kind of contradictory - he wants a worthy opponent, so someone who poses a strong challenge to him to prove his own worth as one who will never be weak again... and yet, when they lose against him, he's often disappointed they did not succeed or fight harder, and looks down on them.

Atsushi's motive, or what he initially thinks his motive is, is disappointing to him at first - Akutagawa believes he is trying to prove himself as worthy of living through someone else's acceptance and berates him for it. But that's... exactly what he has been doing. Later on, he continues to question Atsushi for his motives, in yet another of one of my favourite scenes.

He asks him over and over - "why?" And is not satisfied until Atsushi reveals that he's also looking to get rid of the shadow of the orphanage director that follows him like a haunting - that trauma? All that pain thrown in his face? He is fighting to overcome it. He is fighting via proof and change because Atsushi wants to live, and to not have to feel ashamed of that. And that's what it took for Akutagawa to trust him and respect him enough to transfer Rashoumon to him.

I think, on some level, Akutagawa is invested in seeing whether Atsushi will succeed in this. And I think, in spite of everything between them, he will be glad for him if he does.

I just really love this aspect to his character, because while he searches for strength in violence and power and physical skill, it means on a deeper level, he actually sees joy and resistance in the face of despair as true strength that's worth acknowledging.

I want him so badly to accept that as true strength within himself in the main timeline.

I also love it because Beast confirms that Akutagawa would do anything for his sister and I am now free to imagine Gin telling her brother all the things she was learning and how she was slowly connecting to the Black Lizard and feeling overwhelming pride for her but not really expressing that but Gin knowing that's how he felt regardless, anyways that is all

Is this even coherent anymore? Oh well.

[elliewithcellie]

Graduation Jitters

summary: You and Steve celebrate passing your final class

wc: 0.6k

warnings/tags: gender neutral reader (but let me know if you notice otherwise), established relationship, mostly fluffy i think, characters are each at least 22 here, no y/n

*********

The digital clock may as well have been analog the way you felt the seconds tick away. Your heart kept in time. Steve took longer than usual to return home from work. Anticipation filled your feet, lifting you from your seated position, now pacing in the living room. There was no use distracting yourself with TV or a book. Your mind raced with the news of your day.

The doorknob shook, pulling your attention from your thoughts. The door opened revealing your boyfriend. His eyes met yours, and a smile lit his face.

“Hi, baby,” he said. He closed the door with his foot, an arm staying behind his back.

“I did it,” you said. “I passed! I’m actually graduating! I’m getting my degree!” You couldn’t contain your excitement, the energy expelling from the balls of your feet as you all but skipped toward him.

Steve put his arm out for a hug. You gladly accepted, nuzzling into his chest. “I’m so proud of you.” He spoke quietly as if his message was only for you to hear. “I knew you could do it. Which is why I got you these.” He pulled his hiding arm around and revealed a bouquet of flowers.

“Steve, you shouldn’t have!” Your voice wobbled, and tears welled up in your eyes. Your sudden burst of emotion surprised both of you. You laughed despite yourself. “Sorry, sorry.”

He set the flowers down and pulled you even closer, lifting your chin to look up at him. “What’s wrong, baby?”

“Nothing, nothing at all. I’m—I’m just so thankful that you’re here with me.”

“Of course, I’m here. You didn’t think I’d just ditch you after all this time, did you?” He chuckled and wiped your tears from your cheek.

“I guess not. It’s just that…so much has changed. Nothing is how it was when I started. It was so hard, Steve.”

“I know. Which is why I know how much this means to you. I know how hard you’ve worked, even if I haven’t been there for all of it. I’m here now, and I’m not going anywhere, ok? So, you better believe that I’ll be right there with your parents cheering you on when they call your name.”

You huffed out a breath you were holding in. “You’re pretty great, you know that?”

“I had a feeling,” he teased. His expression switched from smug to uneasy. “They do know about me, right? It’s one thing to introduce yourself to the parents, but for it to be a surprise—”

“Of course, they do!” you laughed. “You’ll do great. My mom will welcome you with open arms. My dad, well, he’ll do his best. I promise. Just don’t tell them that we live together because they don’t know that yet.” You winced at your own words, waiting for Steve’s response.

Steve’s face shifted to one of horror. “You’re joking, right? You didn’t think that would be necessary information?”

“They can piece it together when they get here.” You shrugged.

“What am I gonna do with you?” Steve asked, fondness painting his voice. He pulled you in for a kiss, feathery and light, but loving, nonetheless. “Oh, gosh, I almost forgot!”

“What is it?”

“Your other gift,” Steve smirked. “I’ll go set up your flowers. Go to my car in the backseat, and you’ll find a little treat.”

Your eyes widened as the smile beneath your nose grew. Without another word, you dashed out to his car. A “Congrats” cake sat in the backseat, and you smiled to yourself. You were so thankful to have such a thoughtful man in your life.

[spnhunter4life]

Familiar Chapter 3

Word Count: 3.3k

A/N: Here it is! The third and final chapter! It's a little bit of a shorter one, but I hope everyone will still enjoy it!

Part 1 Part 2

Masterlist

Dean was the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes. He was looking at me with what seemed to be a mixture of smugness and anticipation. He had a small, barely contained smile on his face, and his eyes were bright. I also detected a hint of fondness that softened his features. I looked at Sam next. His face was set in a careful mask of indifference. He may as well have been holding a sign that said, ‘I’m having a very strong emotion right now, but you’re not allowed to see it and you can’t know why.’ I knew trying to ask him questions would get me nowhere.

“Well? Did we figure out what happened?” I asked since no one else seemed inclined to speak.

“Yeah, we did,” Sam answered. “Dean will obviously have more information, but I’m fairly certain we’ve also solved the case we came to town for in the first place.”

I looked to Dean for confirmation.

“Yeah,” he said. “It was the same people. I’ll explain when we get back to the motel.”

“Ok,” I agreed and then turned to Annabelle. “Um. Thanks for your help, I guess?” I said. I was being sincere, but it felt weird to thank someone when you couldn’t actually remember what you were thanking them for. 

“How much do we owe you?” Sam asked.

“It’s on the house,” she smiled. “Call it the hunter’s discount.”

“Thank you,” Dean said. “We really appreciate it.”

Annabelle’s soft, friendly smile turned into a teasing smirk. 

“No problem. I know you got more than you bargained for, so I hope you take advantage of that information.”

“We will,” I said. “We were already after them anyway. Apparently. Solving two things in one makes our lives easier.”

Annabelle and Sam shared a look and Dean tried to hide a small smile.

“What? What am I missing?” I asked. Dean opened his mouth to answer, but Sam quickly interrupted him.

“Nothing. Let’s get back to the motel and Dean can fill us both in.” 

Weird.

“Ok,” I agreed. 

We said our goodbyes and then climbed into the car, heading back to the motel.

~~~~~

Sam’s POV

The drive was made in relative silence. Y/N tried to start a conversation a couple of times, but gave up when both attempts fell flat. I did feel bad. I’m sure she was dying to know what happened. I was practically on the edge of my seat wanting to know more, and I at least had enough visual details to have a fairly clear picture in my head.

But I could see the wheels in Dean’s head spinning, processing everything he’d seen. I couldn’t blame him. I’d promised Y/N I wouldn’t say anything so I’d never talked to him about it, but I knew how much he liked her. If I’d seen what Dean just saw in the head of the girl I loved, I’d probably take a while to process too.

Although, judging by the last comments Dean had made during the trance, he probably wasn’t so much processing as planning. Deciding the best way to use this information. Going over everything again and learning what he could about Y/N’s inner thoughts. Figuring out how he would approach the subject. 

He was the picture of confidence. He’d just found out the girl of his dreams was within his reach. There was no doubt about that. All that was left was actually doing something about it.

Back at the motel, we all walked into our room. I got as far as locking the door behind us when Y/N’s patience finally snapped.

“Can someone explain what’s going on now?” She asked.

“Yeah. We should talk,” Dean said.

Was he really going to start that conversation now?

“Dean, can I talk to you for a second?” I quickly interjected. He looked at me, confused by the urgency in my tone.

“Ok…” he agreed.

“Sorry, Y/N. We’ll be right back,” I promised.

I unlocked the door and we stepped back outside. When I turned around to face Dean, he was standing there expectantly with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Ok, what was that about?” He asked. 

“Listen Dean. I know that you two have been pining after each other for forever now and now that you know she feels the same you want to let her know. And believe me, I’ve been waiting for this to happen for a while too. I’m so excited for you and frankly, if you don’t say something to her soon, I will. But do you really think that’s a discussion to be having right now? Shouldn’t we track down that boy and the woman first?”

“How big of an idiot do you think I am?” He asked. “Obviously we’ll take care of the case first. You really think the first thing I was planning to say to her was that I saw about twenty different dreams she had of us kissing?”

“Well. Maybe not quite so bluntly, but-”

“Sam, I’ve been doing this a long time. I know that the job always comes first.”

He took the couple steps it took to reach the door and I stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey. I’m sorry,” I told him. “I wasn’t trying to imply that you don’t know what you’re doing or that you were more concerned with yourself than anyone else. I don’t know. I guess I just…” I trailed off, trying to find the right explanation. “Obviously we don’t have a lot to be happy or excited about. I guess I just figured, of course that’s what you would want to talk about. And I wouldn’t blame you. But I shouldn’t have assumed.”

“It’s fine, Sam. I get it. I probably would have assumed the same thing if the situations were reversed.” Then, probably deciding this was too much of a chick-flick moment, he turned to his patented devil-may-care, cocky attitude and smirked at me. “I didn’t know you felt that way about her.”

“What?” I asked, confused.

“You said if I didn’t tell her, you would. I didn’t know you were interested in her.”

“You know that’s not-”

“Sorry, Sam,” he teased. “Looks like the better brother won. The more handsome brother too.”

Ignoring my protests that he knew perfectly well what I meant, he opened the door and stepped back inside. Older brothers. Sometimes they really were the worst.

~~~~~

Y/N’s POV

I was absently wandering around the room, wondering what Sam’s interruption had been about, when the door opened and the boys walked back in.

“Everything alright?” I asked.

“Yeah. Everything’s fine,” Dean assured me. 

“Ok. Well, great! Do I get an explanation now, then? What happened to me and how does it connect to the vics from the article?”

“When you were walking past the alley of the music store, you overheard the witch who’s been killing people in the middle of another murder.” 

Dean explained what happened, Sam occasionally pitching in a visual detail that he thought might be helpful.

“Ok,” I said when they were finished. “So I guess the good news of this whole situation is it makes tracking down our killer significantly easier. We know what the mother and son look like and have a first name. That narrows things down a lot.”

“Yeah. That would be the good news,” Dean agreed. Sam turned away to hide a smile. “There is bad news though.”

“What?”

Dean sighed.

“I hate to say it because I know you liked him, but we have to consider the very real possibility that this is the piano guy’s family. The woman said it was stupid to be killing people right outside his father’s store.”

“You think he might be involved?” I asked, feeling a pit in my stomach at the idea. I’d spent very little time with the man, but Dean was right. I liked him. He was so friendly and passionate about his work. He was one of those people you just instantly liked.

“No. It was pretty clear that, whoever the father is, he’s unaware that his wife and son are witches. Or that magic is even real,” Dean said.

“Well… that’s good at least.” It made it better knowing I wouldn’t have to be killing the kind man. But the thought that it might very well be his family we were getting rid of… well somehow that almost seemed worse. He’d be left devastated and with no understanding of why.

“You don’t look like you feel any better about it,” Sam said. I sighed.

“It’s just… we’re going to be destroying this guy’s world. Is that really any better? Don’t get me wrong. They’re killing people and they have to go. I get that. I just feel bad for the guy. I mean it’s hard to feel good about saving lives when you know you’re ruining someone else’s in the process.”

“You can sit this one out if you want,” Dean offered.

“What? No, I can’t do that. I just need to focus more on the stopping a murderer side of things. I’ll be fine.”

“Hang on. Can we just- can we just talk about this a little more? I mean, are we really sure we should be killing anybody?” Sam asked. Dean gave him an incredulous look.

“He’s killed five people, Sam. He has to be stopped,” he answered.

“Yes, obviously he has to be stopped. I’m not arguing that. But does stopping him really have to mean killing him? It sounds like his mother has it under control. Maybe we just talk to him, warn him what would happen if it ever did happen again.”

“Under control? Killers don’t stop being killers just because their mommy yelled at them. And we know for sure he’s already killed at least one person after being told to stop. If he’s got that kind of temper and if that’s the way he handles his problems, there’s no way he’s not going to kill again,” Dean argued.

“Yes, but-”

“He tried to kill Y/N,” Dean snapped. “Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

Sam looked over to where I was quietly listening to them. His features softened a little and he sighed.

“What about the mother? She didn’t technically do anything.”

“She covered it up. As far as I’m concerned, that’s just as bad as if she’d killed them herself.”

“Alright, fine. They’ve both gotta go,” Sam relented. “I guess we should go track them down then.”

It only took about twenty minutes of asking around to track down the two witches. To my immense relief, they turned out not to be the family of the music store owner. The boy’s father owned the store next door, the one right next to the alley.

It was easy enough to lure them out. I simply walked into the store, asking after a boy named Thomas. I explained that I was having some trouble remembering events from yesterday, but that I was certain I remembered him being there. As expected, both the boy and his mother followed me out to the alley, right into firing range of the waiting hunter brothers.

~~~~~

A couple days later I found myself alone with Dean. He had parked the car on the side of an old, rarely traveled backroad. We had a great view of a small pond, ducks floating lazily across the water, and miles of endless grass and flowers. This is something we did on occasion. When the weather was nice and the view was good, sometimes it was nice to just stop, take a moment to breathe in the fresh air and relax.

I was currently sitting on the hood of the car. Dean walked around the front, a beer in each hand. He gave one to me and then hopped up to sit beside me. 

“What was all that about?” I asked him. As soon as Dean pulled over, Sam had told us he wanted to go for a walk and stretch his legs. Sam wanting to exercise wasn’t unusual. But at this time? This was usually a kind of bonding time for all of us. A way for us all to unwind together.

“All what?” Dean questioned.

“With Sam. Going for a walk. That was weird. Actually, you’ve both been acting weird the past couple of days. What’s going on?”

“I haven’t been acting weird,” he denied. I gave him a disapproving look and he chuckled. “Alright, fine. I’ve been different, I’ll give you that. And maybe to you it seems weird, but it’s actually pretty typical behavior on my part. You’re just not used to me acting that way with you.”

“What do you mean?” I asked. He sighed.

“There’s something I’ve been wanting to talk to you about. About when you were in that trance. I’ve just been waiting for the right moment,” he said. 

My stomach dropped. What had he seen? It could be any number of things – private things – that I didn’t want him, or anyone else to see. This is why nobody should be allowed to dig around other people’s heads. And since I was blissfully unable to remember anything, I was content to pretend it never happened and assume nothing private had been found. This seemed to contradict that assumption though.

“Ok…” I said warily.

“Don’t worry. It’s nothing bad,” he assured me, noting my discomfort. “I obviously got a really detailed, unfiltered view of things in your head. Private things that you maybe wouldn’t have wanted me to know, but that you couldn’t exactly hide from me when I was seeing everything you were,” he started. I didn’t like the sound of that. I took a sip of my beer.

“So I want to even the playing field a little. Tell you a few private things that I never intended for you to know.” He took a sip of his own beer before continuing. “Did you know that I couldn’t believe my luck when you came up to me that day we started hunting together? I thought you were easily one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen, and here I was with the perfect excuse to spend time with you. 

“Truth is, I would have tried to take you home that night if circumstances had been different. But then we just clicked so well, I knew it would be foolish of me to ruin things between us by hitting on you. It was a much smarter move for me to ask you to stay with me. I needed a hunting partner, you were on your own, and I can’t deny that I couldn’t stand the thought of letting you go and maybe never seeing you again.

“I always intended to ask you out eventually, once things were more stable between us and I was sure it wouldn’t mess things up. But as time went on, it seemed better to just let that idea go. I wasn’t getting any hints of particular interest from you, and by then our friendship was too important to me to risk losing.” 

He paused to take another sip of his beer.

“I don’t understand why you’re telling me this,” I said. But I thought I did know why. If he was evening the playing field as he said, then why choose this particular topic to share with me? He could’ve given me any number of private thoughts. If he was telling me this now, I could only assume he’d seen something of my feelings for him and wanted to let me know it was reciprocated. I was beyond giddy at his revelation, of course. But I was also a little scared to know what exactly he’d seen in my head.

“I’m telling you this,” he said with a self-satisfied smile, “because I witnessed enough of your dreams about the two of us together to assume that the feeling must be mutual.”

I doubted I’d ever blushed so hard in my entire life.

“Could you be a little more specific about what you saw?” I asked, taking a big gulp of my beer.

He shrugged and looked out towards the pond.

“A little bit of us out on dates. A little bit of us dancing. A little bit of us curled up together in bed.” He turned to me and smiled. “And a lot of this.”

He reached over, cupping my cheek in his hand and leaning in to kiss me. I responded to his kiss immediately, embarrassment fading away. If this was the result I got from showing him my dreams, I’d show them to him ten times over.

It came as no surprise that he was a good kisser. But that didn’t mean I was prepared for just how good he was. This is what I’d been missing for the past three years? I’d been even more deprived than I realized. 

Then something occurred to me. I broke away from Dean’s intoxicating kiss.

“Son of a bitch,” I mumbled. “This is why Sam left? Oh, I can’t believe he saw all of that,” I groaned. “No wonder he’s been so weird!”

“Are you really thinking about my brother right now?” Dean complained.

“No,” I denied. It wasn’t exactly a lie. It’s not like I’d been thinking about Sam while we were kissing. It was just one of those intrusive thoughts that forced its way into the front of my mind, giving me no option of ignoring it.

“Sorry,” I apologized anyway. “I mean, it’s not like he didn’t know. But there’s a difference between knowing and seeing. Damn. I mean, you seeing is one thing. But Sam…”

“Wait, what do you mean, ‘it’s not like he didn’t know’?”

“He knew I liked you. He’s known for a couple of months. Wouldn’t leave me alone about it, actually,” I told him.

“Well why did you tell Sam that you liked me, but not me?”

“I didn’t tell him! He just found out.” 

Dean looked at me expectantly. I sighed. This was a story I really didn’t want to tell him. It would only piss him off. I wanted to enjoy our moment.

“I’ll tell you some other time,” I promised.

“Why not now?” He asked.

“Would you rather talk about Sam, or enjoy being alone together?”

“Hmm. Tough choice.”

I shoved his shoulder and he laughed, putting an arm around me and pulling me close. We sat quietly for a few minutes, enjoying the view and the feeling of being so close.

I looked up at Dean, just admiring his stupidly perfect face. Now I was allowed to look and appreciate in a way I never could before. He took another sip of his beer before turning to meet my gaze. He leaned in and connected our lips again.

After a few minutes of this, Dean grabbed my beer, setting it and his own on the ground out of the way. He pulled me with him as he scooted back further on the hood of the Impala and leaned against the windshield so he was in a half seated, half laying position. I turned onto my side so I could reach his mouth easier. 

This wasn’t the most comfortable position though – not to mention we didn’t exactly know when Sam would be back and I felt like he’d seen enough of my personal life regarding Dean as it was – so I broke the kiss and instead curled up into his side. He immediately put his arm back around me.

I let out a content sigh.

“I could get used to this,” I told him. I could easily picture the smile on his face when he answered.

“As good as you dreamed it would be?” He teased. I smiled into his chest.

“Better.”

Tags (let me know if you want to be added or removed) @123passwort @buckybarnes-1917 @chicken-nuggs-and-cozy-hugs @globetrotter28

Tags for Familiar: @applepie2479 @lacilou

[ya-zz]

I absolutely love your works! ‘‘Twas wondering if you could do a Rama piece on his approach to seeing his partners SH scars?? Or something similar anyway!! The way you write him is so good, like he’s a lot more caring! Soft Rama is a good Rama!

OMG HELLO HI THANK YOU!!! ;u;

I won't lie, I've been thinking about something similar to this ask for awhile but never really got around to actually doing it, so here we go!

Ramattra x Reader (gen)

Wordcount: - 976

He hadn’t seen you all day again, and normally he wouldn’t mind, but it had been nearly a week since he had last seen you, and a part of him was growing concerned with each passing day. 

Of course, everyone had their own lives and were free to do what they wanted, but to not see your face around for nearly a week troubled him. There was nothing said before you vanished, and nobody else on base seemed to notice either, only when Ramattra asked around for you, did the others realise you were missing.

Although he disliked many humans, he had grown fond of you, and being around you warmed his circuitry more than any other being, which only pained him more when you were absent.

-

Another day passed and suddenly you were there, talking as if you hadn't been missing for a week. Nothing had changed with you, your smile was the same, your bubbly laugh never changed and nobody else seemed to realise what you were hiding.

Ramattra clocked on almost instantly. While the others didn't realise, he saw the slight shift in your tone, the hesitant movements with your body. He wanted to pull you to the side and ask if things were ok, but he knew that would only draw attention to him and you, so he waited.

The conversation seemed to drag on far more than what Ramattra would've liked, but when you spoke up saying you had something to do and that you had to leave, he saw his chance.

"I will walk with you." He said, voice low, almost comforting as he stood by your side.

You look up at him, a gentle smile on your face as you start walking. "Thank you."

He waited until you both left the room, out of earshot from the others. "You were gone for some time. Is everything ok?"

"Everything's fine."

Ramattra noticed the change in tone instantly, a slight worry washing over him.

"I am here if you need to talk. I know I may not be the best of omnics to talk to, but my offer is there." He cocked his head to the side as he spoke, following behind you.

"I appreciate that." You pull out your key card for your room, the movement pushing your sleeve up, revealing fresh cuts.

As you tap the card against the system, the door unlocks. Ramattra notices your arm, placing a gentle hand on your shoulder.

"What happened?"

"What?" You turn and look at him.

"Your arm."

"Oh."

"Oh?"

"It's nothing."

"It does not look like nothing." He squeezed your shoulder, hoping to reassure you. "There is no judgement."

"It's-"

"[y/n]." His tone shifted to something more stern.

You step back, shaking his hand off from your shoulder as you stepped into your room.

"Are you hurting yourself?" He followed you inside. He watched as you moved around room, avoiding him and his question.

"[y/n]. Answer me."

"I don't owe you an answer." You kept your distance from him.

"Do you not trust me?"

"That's not what I said."

"Talk to me." He took a step forward.

"I'm fine."

"You are clearly not fine." He closed the distance and wrapped his arms around your body, embracing you tightly.

You tried to pull away, but he was far stronger than you. Eventually, after a few seconds of struggling, you give in, letting him hold you.

"Talk to me." He repeated, his hand slowly moves up and down your back. "Do not say it is nothing, when it is everything otherwise."

Your body relaxes against him, and he feels this, a silent sigh escaping him.

"I don't want to talk about it right now..." You say, cheek pressed against his chest as your arms slowly move up to hold him.

"Then, at least let me care for your wounds." His tone was gentle as he spoke. "Please."

You nod against him, pulling back.

"Sit." He commanded as he went into the bathroom to grab the first aid kit.

You sat on the edge of the bed, arms itching.

Ramattra returned a few seconds later and knelt down in front of you. His hands gently rolled your sleeves up, his head tilting to the side as he grabbed some antiseptic wipes.

You remained silent, not looking at him. He was gentle with you, a starking contrast to his usual demeanour around everyone else.

There was a slight sting as he wiped the cuts from dried blood. He noticed the older scars underneath, tilting his head back up to look at you.

"This has been happening for awhile?" His voice was low as he began wrapping your arm with a bandage.

"Yeah..." You look back at him, a sadness in your eyes. "Way before I joined."

"I am sorry."

His words took you by surprise before you smiled gently at him, shaking your head. "Don't be."

He spoke out as he tied the bandage around your arm. "My offer still stands. Talk to me when you are ready." Ramattra gently rubbed his thumb across your hand.

"Thank you..." You smile at him again before looking at his sloppy attempt in wrapping the bandage. A small laugh escaped your throat.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing... Thank you... For caring about me..." You bring your free hand up to his cheek, gently caressing the purple metal.

"Anytime." Ramattra leaned into the touch, a warmth spreading through his chassis.

The worry still lingered inside of him as he looked at you from under his face plate, his eyes glowing a soft yellow as the lights on his forehead flickered. He wanted nothing more than to see you happy and it pained him deeply to see you hurt. His hand never left yours as his thumb rubbed over the softness of your skin.

"I will always be here."

[silentmoths]

The Meow

Just a funny little drabble based off a convo I had w some of my lovely moots about habitually meowing at significant others to get them to do what you want/ summon them.

Zhongli x Reader

Sfw, fluff, just kinda domestic as hell 800 words, not proofread

Zhongli is a man of elegance, of grace and splendour. He holds himself to a high degree, and the rest of Liyue has acknowledged that.

And then, there was you.

“Mrrrrrrow”

The consultant looks up from his book, eyebrow raised. What on earth?

“Mmmmmmmmrrrrrow!” 

His brows furrow as he sits up from his spot lounging on the couch, the strange meowing coming from the direction of your shared bedroom.

“MMMmrmrmrmrmrrrrrow!” 

Ok, why on earth were you meowing? 

Placing his book upon the coffee table, he rises from his place and floats down the corridor, poking his head into the bedroom, half expecting to find you meowing at some feline at the window, but there was no such creature; there was just you, still clad in nothing but a light sleep top and panties, staring at him with wide eyes and an even wider smile.

“Yes darling? Why on earth are you meowing?” He inquires, feeling his heart soften just slightly at the way you giggle and roll onto your back, reaching your arms out at him and making the titular ‘grabby hand’ motion that signalled you wanted affection. Something he happily obliges, perching on the end of the bed and leaning down to press a kiss to your nose. “This does not answer my question, if you wanted me, you need only call my name, little love.”

“I know, but I didn’t wanna, so I meowed instead, it worked!”

Zhongli sighs, shaking his head with a soft chuckle “I suppose it did, but you are not a cat darling, as feline as you may seem at times.”

–

“Mrow! Meeeeeooooow! Mrrrrrow!” 

“What are you hungry for, darling?” 

He watches as you giggle, eyes crinkling at the corners as you attempt to hide your smile behind your hand.

“Oh? And what is so amusing to you, darling?” He asks as he peeks over the top of the fridge door.

“You’re getting used to it.” You point out “the meowing.”

“I most certainly am not.” he scoffs, shutting the door and placing the ingredients for lunch on the counter.

“Then how did you know I was hungry?”

This makes him stop as he reaches for the knife. 

Surely it was just timing, nothing more…he was not used to the tonal shift of your funny little calls, absolutely not.

“It is nearing lunch time, it was simply an observation.” he huffs, which only makes her giggle again.

“Sure it is, Li, sure it is.” you tease, trotting up to him and pushing yourself up onto the tips of your toes to press a kiss to his cheek. 

“Perhaps I should get you an actual cat to meow at then.” He mutters under his breath, a mistake.

“Can we? Can we can we can weeeee?” You squeal, all but bouncing around him like an excited child. Zhongli swallows hard, what a mistake, suggesting a pet… 

“Maybe one day, love, but not right now.” He does his best to let you down gently, and hates the way you wither at the denial, the sad tilt of your eyebrows and especially the pouting face, all wide eyes and jutted lip that made him want to throw down the celery he was slicing and carry you off to the shelter that instant, but this apartment had a strict no-pets policy, and he would not break that, no matter how insistent you were that you could definitely sneak a cat into the building. 

“Mrrrrrm…” with a single, sad chirp, he watches as you slink back off into the bedroom.

It’s only temporary, he knows this, he knows some good food and a long cuddle will set your wilting mood straight once more.

–

He has not been trained to respond to the meow, he absolutely has not.

“Mrooooooow!!”

Zhongli sighs, looking up from his paperwork with a fond smile, there, peeking into his office from the doorway, you are, staring at him with big eyes and a small, shy smile.

“Have I been cooped up in my office too long?” He asks, you nod “And you want attention?” 

Another nod has him chuckle and stand, moving around his desk and scooping you up into his arms on his way out, revelling in the small giggle the action receives.

“Why do you keep meowing anyway, darling?” He finds himself asking as he flops down onto the couch and pulls you close, letting your limbs tangle with his, your cheek resting against his chest.

“S’fun…and it works, doesn't it?” you murmur “You know when I’m hungry, when I’m sad, when I want attention, and I don’t have to say anything.” 

Well…damn. You were right, in the time you’d been meowing at him, he had come to learn exactly what every little vocalisation meant, the subtle differences in tone and volume that could tell him everything he needed to know without an actual word ever needing to be said.

“You have trained me…” he mutters, staring up at the ceiling with a furrowed brow. “I cannot believe you have trained me to respond to…meowing.” 

From your spot on his chest, you chuckle, shuffling up just a little to kiss at his chin. “You love it.”

“hm…It? Not so much. You however? Yes, very much so.”

Taglist: @stygianoir @meimeimeirin @ainescribe @dustofthedailylife @theheartshaker @rjssierjrie

[myshiptrashcan]

Jalim Ghost town au

just me trying to understand and sort of flesh out the idea

Zain is dead, a ghost.

Jason gets shot a d dies for approximately 7 minutes.

Zain doesn't like Jason, but he can see him. Jason isn't fond of him either. But he won't go away.

Says he needs help. But Jason doesn't give him the time of day and tries to go about his business.

Eventually he gets to him.

"WHAT?!"

"It's my Baba."

In which Zain tells him how when he died his father lost the light in his eyes, lost his passion for life. He was his everything.

"So how'd you die?"

"Quickly." Was Zain's short answer.

"Alright, you're lucky I got a soft spot for kids."

"I'm Not a KID!" Jason only gave him raised brows.

"What do you want me to do about it? Your father, I mean."

And Zain sits down beside him.

"I don't know.... I just want him to be happy. That's all I wanted. I can't help him. All I can do is watch as he dies more and more each day."

Jason was tempted to throw an arm around the kid, comfort him in some way, but then again he'd just go right through him.

"I'll see what I can do but no promises ok?" And Zain lit up.

The next day.

"Alright kid. Where does he live? What's he look like?"

"Badra-Mandali! His name is Salim."

"Othman I'm assuming."

"Yes! He's your height, maybe a little taller. Black hair, dark brown eyes, a soft lovable face, pinchable cheeks, perfect hugger."

"Alright alright kid, I'm not gonna go around and start pinching cheeks and hugging every man I see."

"Not every man, just my Father. "

"He grows pumpkins..... He's let them die since then."

"should I ask around?"

"Wait what am I doing I can just show you. Follow me."

Jason watched as Zain comfortably walked out in front of him. Jason shifting his gaze to each person he passed.

"we're here."

"Now...what?"

"Knock I guess."

"And tell him what, that his dead son wants him to get a life?"

"Figure something out." Zain hissed.

So opens the door Salim looking tired and grey somehow.

Well, here goes nothing.

"Hey, I'm Jason." He starts awkwardly while Salim just gives him an odd look.

"I'm new."

"You just moved in?"

"Yeah." Jason answered lamely.

"You just moved in?"

"Uh, yes? What's the deal?"

"You're an American soldier."

"Marines. Is that a problem?" Jason started to puff up.

"Actually honorably discharged, took a bullet a few months back and I just haven't been the same." Christ! Why did i say that?

There was a silence for a moment.

"Come in, Jason."

"You like coffee?" Salim said already filling the water, and Jason saw Zain sit down at the table.

"Yes please, and thank you. I'll be honest I was a bit nervous to introduce myself."

"And why is that?" Salim hadn't looked over at Jason but Zain did with narrowed eyes.

"I didn't bring a pie."

And to everyones surprise Salim laughed.

Coffees now in hand they drank quietly, Salim looking only fairly less miserable.

"Well I thank ye kindly for the hospitality." Jason stepped out side, putting on an exaggerated cowboy accent. Thumbs in his belt before tipping his hat to Salim.

"I am sorry for not being a very sociable host, I haven't been feeling well." Salim leaned against the door and Jason's smile dropped.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Jason said with a rasp of emotion in his voice, knowing full well what Salim was talking about. The kid was standing right behind him.

"Although it may not have seemed like it, I did enjoy your company. Perhaps sometime soon you can bring over that pie and we can drink coffee again, neighbor."

"Right. Well thank you again, hope you feel better soon. Goodnight."

"It's barely past noon, Jason."

"Uh, yeah, well it'll be night at some point today." And Salim chuckled again at Jason.

"Goodnight then, cowboy."

"Fuck!" Jason cursed when he walked away enough.

"To which part?" Zain said beside him.

"I told him I live here."

"So I heard, tell me which one Is yours?" Zain mocked trying to find Jason's house.

"That's not funny. What am I gonna do?"

"You could you know."

"Could what?"

"Live here, there are plenty of free houses. That one right there looks good."

"Yeah right, Im Not about to go house hunting with some kid."

"It's only a few houses down from Baba's, you'd be close enough to keep an eye on him."

"It's a No, kid. Drop it."

"I'm worried about him."

"Yeah I've heard." Jason scoffed.

"I think he's trying to kill himself. " and that stopped Jason in his tracks.

"What do you mean?"

"The only time he doesn't have that lifeless look in his eyes is when he sees something that could end it..... Jason, I don't want to watch him do that." And there where tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Fuck. Come here kid." He opened his arms and Zain rushed into and through them.

"Shit! Sorry, forgot." Jason grunted after sneezing.

"I hate this. I hate being dead. It's not fair! He doesn't deserve this!" Zain screamed.

"And what about you?"

"This isn't about me, it's about my Baba. So are you going to help him or what?!" There was fire in Zain's eyes.

"Yeah Kid. I'm going to help your Father. You said this one was good?" Jason pointed walking over to the empty house.

"How are you going to pay for it?" Zain sniffed, collecting himself.

"I got a fair bit of cash after my discharge, I can afford it."

So Jason moves in the next day after settling on a price with he seller, he doesn't have much but two boxes to move, and a cot.

"Hey man are you sure about this?"

"It's a bit late now, Nick. Already bought the place." Jason huffed struggling with one of the boxes before Nick took it from him.

"Thanks."

"Are you going to be ok by yourself I mean?"

"I ain't by myself." And Nick tilted his head in question.

Shit! Right, Nick can't see him.

"I've always got you don't I?"

"Always, semper Fi."

"Semper Fi.... Plus I met one of my new neighbors yesterday, nice guy."

"I'll leave yo to then. I gotta get back to camp." Nick threw a thumb over his shoulder.

"I get you. Go on then. And thanks for the help moving. "

"Lucky me you don't own a couch."

They waved and Jason turned back to his new home with a chuckle in his lips.

"That your friend?"

"What's it to ya?"

"He seems nice, I like him."

"So it's just me you don't like?" Jason piped only half serious.

"Is this really all your stuff?" Zain asked looking at the small pile of things by the door.

"Everything I own here. Guess since I'll be staying awhile might as well build it up some." He said rummaging through a box.

"You don't have any food or cooking supplies." Zain mentioned walking around.

"I've got a few days of food right here, should be enough until I get something for the kitchen."

"Like a pie?" Zain smirked at him.

"I'll have you know my mom and her mom and I'm assuming her mom before that all cooked our famous Kolchek Pie for friends and neighbors." Jason pointed a finger at the ghost.

"Famous how?"

"Locally, but I'll have you know that pie has won blue ribbons at every fair it's entered, even made the front page on the paper." Jason lifted his chin to him.

"Slow news day."

"Oh fuck off!"

"So are you going to make it for my father?"

"What?"

"The pie, are you going to make it for him like you said you would?" Zain rolled his eyes.

Jason only glared at the boy before putting his few belongings away.

That night there was a knock at his door.

"Zain, who is it?" Jason whispered out.

"I don't know, open the door a find out yourself." Zain snarked for all the teenager he was.

When he open the door it was Salim standing in the lamp light.

"Salim?"

"Oh, Jason."

"What are you doing here?"

"I made us something to eat, for dinner, to celebrate your new home!" Salim held out a pot he was holding with one kitchen glove and a rag.

"I don't have any silverware, or bowls." Jason said blankly.

"Ah, I could bring some for you to borrow..... Can I come in?"

"Shit, yes, sorry, come in." Jason stepped aside and held the door open for Salim.

"I'll be right back, my friend." Salim said after putting the pot down.

"Your dad, he a good cook?" jason eyed the pot.

"The best." Zain wanted to growl

"I'll take your word for it then."

Salim came back with his arms full.

"Two cups, two forks, two spoons, bowls, plates. I trust they'll be well cared for?"

"On my honor." Jason held a hand over his heart and a hand in the air.

"That a Marine thing?"

"Sort of, it's more a me thing though."

"On your honor then." Salim eyed, before setting up the table.

"I gotta tell ya Salim, this is a lot better than the meal I had planned." Jason said happily as he ate.

"Which was?"

"Let me see " he leaned over to grab a flat box.

"This says chili Mac, and I've got a dry cracker."

"You were really going to eat that?"

"It's all I got for now. Then there you come like and Angel sent from heaven with your hands full of this delicious stew." Jason chirped giving a grin and a friendly wink.

"It's made from the last of my pumpkin harvest." Salim seemed to look through his spoon.

"Best damn pumpkin I've ever had, and that's sayin something."

"Why's that?"

"Not sure If you could tell, but I grew up in a small town of house wives and farmers. Too much time and too much food."

"I never would have guessed!" Salim laughed.

"It's true! And we had fairs a plenty! Nobody wanted their blue ribbons like us Kolcheks, and nobody had as many either!"

Notes:

(Jason's own father had hung himself when he was a teen, he never knew why, never thought that his father was unhappy. That's why when Zain said he was worried about Salim it changed his mind about helping. Jason was the one to find his father, he doesn't want the same thing to happen to Zain, he's just a kid after all.

Also Jason accidentally breaks Salim's plate and he is freaking out about it. He shows up at Salim's door, shoulders sagging and he's low. The broken plate on his bloody hands. He's sobbing about being sorry he broke it, it was an accident, if he could fix it or buy him ten knew plates. Salim at this point doesn't care and is worried about Jason's bleeding hands. Pulls him inside and asks what happened. Jason says he was washing them when his side starting hurting sending him to the floor in pain, out of breath and being unable to see for a moment. When the pain lessened the plate was broken at his hand were all cut up.

Jason is also worried he'll see the ghost of the girl he and Nicky shot, about how the next time a situation like that happened he hesitated, the part of camp slayer was bombed and more showed up to shoot. People died and Jason got shot. He didn't make the right call twice now both times lives were lost needlessly, this is something he tells Salim far later into the story. Jason doesn't sleep well at all.

Eventually Zain shares why he thinks he may have deserved to die, how he was a bad son. How his father gave him everything, loved him more than anything, was proud and caring and how Zain still managed to fuck things up. How he would steal. He's not sure why he does it and that it could cause real problems for him and his father if he's caught. How for some reason he wanted to be as far away from his father as he could, just because he would get into arguments over him stealing. He didn't mean it. Zain cries when telling this to Jason. He misses being alive, being with his father.

Not sure how Zain died though.

Salim gets better and Jason is falling HARD for Salim. And it scares him. Something happens, Jason is pushing Salim away, you know, some angst, zain isn't happy about that.

Angst happens Jason dies, he's saved, he bakes a pie once recovered and knocks on Salim's door with it in hand.

"Howdy, Neighbor. I baked you a pie." )

Anyway that's what I got so far for the idea. I finally got to watch Ghost Town again, so. Yeah.

[thecrowslullaby]

Snow + Roman ❄️

This got longer than planned. Enjoy :D (hopefully)

Roman Aidel harbored a great secret that he would take to his (early, if the weather keeped up) grave.

He detested snow.

Sure. The white powder that covered the earth in its chilly blanket sounded poetic, even pretty in theory. The prospect of spending an evening with a potential future husband by the window, staring into the evening with a mug of chocolate in each of their hands, sharing jokes and kisses sounded nothing short of magical. But actually having to go outside into the dreadful weather? Not so much.

His shoes would get soaked, his hands would get cold, his torso would swing back and forth between the state of dreadful chill and overheating, as Roman never quite grasped how to bundle up properly. It was safe to say if he never had to touch snow again, he wouldn't complain.

God. He really sounded like one of these villains from the Christmas movies his mother was so fond of. Remus would never let him live it down if he knew.

Then again it sounded almost preferable to being left with the task of clearing their driveway alone as Remus had friends over and promised to take over the house cleaning duty onto himself once the two left, clearly thinking it to be a fair trade.

He almost wished Remus did it out of malice, at least that way he would have anger to keep him warm.

"Hey, you looked cold."

Roman snapped his head upwards, locking eyes with one of Remus' friends, who he may or may not have been harboring a crush on for the better part of a year.

"I am."

"Good." The man said as he handed Roman a steaming mug, before his face flushed red. "I don't mean good as in you're cold. I mean good as in I have chocolate. For you. That you might want. Because you're- yeah, I'll shut up now."

"I, thank you." He responded sincerely as he took the mug, hoping Virgil wouldn't notice his face had gotten significantly redder since he joined him.

"Sure." Virgil said, making no indication he planned to move and simply continued to stare at Roman.

He sneaked a glance towards the window under the guise of taking a sip. Sure enough Remus and Janus sat there glued to glass, a shit eating grin on both their faces. As soon as they noticed him staring they started making kissing faces at him. Roman nearly dropped his mug.

Desperate not to have Virgil see the clown show Janus and Remus were up to, he quickly swallowed the rest of the liquid down, ignoring the way it burned his throat on the way down.

"Thanks." He said, practically slamming the now empty mug into Virgil's chest. "It warmed me up."

With the way his cheeks were burning, he was sure he sounded rather believable. And yet Virgil lingered, watching him with that weird expression Roman wasn't quite sure how to decipher. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something. It was Riman who finally broke the silence.

"Go inside." Roman said. "You'll catch a cold." And before he could think better of it he added. "Unless you want to have someone bringing you hot chocolate to bed."

Virgil chuckled.

"I wouldn't mind."

"Me neither." Roman smiled.

They let silence fill the space between them before Virgil's face had suddenly gone red.

"Well i umm... don't get cold, ok?" He said, gesturing wildly as he looked anywhere but at Roman. "I'll um... i'll be inside." He announced, promptly turned on his heel and almost sprinted towards the house. Roman heard Remus' cackle for a split second before slammed the door shut, leaving him alone in the snow.

And well... maybe Roman didn't mind that as much anymore.

[cocosnows]

A Lone Sword

This is an AU that explores a different outcome on the incident at the twins’ house, as well as insights on Vergil’s attachment to the Yamato and overall a new perspective on their brotherhood.

NOTES: It is super self-indulgent and might be out of character/I got the DMC lore wrong. English is not my first language and I have no experience in writing, so excuse me if it’s poorly written.

Thank you for reading! ^^

———————————————————————

Chapter 1

“Life had always been this way… and it will always be” — a young Vergil pondered as he walked around his house. He had always thought Dante was a spoiled brat. Even as twins, he felt Dante always did whatever he wanted whenever he said so; and the worst part was that his Mother always gave him the right.

The silver haired boys were both 12 years at the time. And they didn’t seem to get along too well, as they both seemed to differ in energy levels and preferred activities. But somehow, Dante, seemed to always win the arguments whenever they fought (which was very often, by the way). This bothered Vergil greatly, as he felt it unfair.

“When am I ever going to get MY time…”, Vergil pondered.

“It’s always do what Dante wants… but why can’t I do whatever ~I~ want once in a while”

As the child thought this, an idea popped up in his mind. He thought it would be a good idea to watch over the books of the local library as he usually did, to keep those stressful thoughts away; and have that desired alone time after a long day of dealing with Dante’s carefree whims.

When Vergil arrived to the library, the shopkeeper was actually joyous to see him. It seemed that the child’s visits came more and more often as time passed— and the librarian loved his enthusiasm and curiosity towards the books, which was rare amongst the children of that small city.

The child couldn’t stop looking at that one specific book: a collection of poems written by William Blake. The librarian felt some sort of deep compassion and understanding for the child, and turning to him in a gentle voice he said:

“Do you like that book…?”

The child turned to see the man and nodded with a worried expression. The man smiled, and told him:

“It’s ok… you can have it. It’s all yours”

The child’s face lit up.

“Really?! Thank you so much!”

The child picked up a pen and drew his initial on the cover of the book, much to the librarians’ surprise. After he finished drawing, he told the librarian:

“My twin brother… he’s always grabbing my stuff… so I have to make sure this is mine”.

The librarian let out a soft chuckle as he witnessed the innocence and spontaneity of the child.

Vergil thanked the shop owner and took off to his home. The librarian watched over him as he walked away with a fond expression.

—

After some time, Vergil arrived home. He was greeted by his twin brother’s usual high energy, which rarely ever matched his own. Today, he was carrying the wooden swords they use to play with. Vergil’s face instantly turned serious.

As soon as Dante opened his mouth, Vergil already had an answer:

“No, Dante. Not now. I want to read right now, so don’t disturb me”.

Dante frowned and told him:

“You didn’t even hear what I had to say!”,

to which the other child answered:

“I don’t care Dante! Just leave me alone!”.

Dante dropped the wooden swords in an instant and threw a slap to Vergil’s face. After this, they just kept on throwing punches to each other in a very common scene for that family… just until Eva arrived.

“Children! Oh my… what did I tell you about fighting? Look at you, you’re bleeding!”, said Eva to the boys.

The twins, having all sorts of bruises on their faces, stood up in a jolt as soon as they saw her.

“He did it! He started it!”, Vergil exclaimed, pointing at Dante.

“He didn’t even listen to me, mom! He was so rude!”, Dante answered.

The woman just sighed in distress, as she has dealt with these same quarrels countless times, and said:

“Vergil, please don’t ignore your brother—”

Just as she was about to continue, Vergil let out a loud groan.

“It is ALWAYS my fault and never HIS, I am SO DONE”, Vergil exclaimed as he ran away from his family and into the house’s garden.

“VERGIL!” Eva exclaimed, but the child refused to listen.

Dante looked over to the floor and saw the book that Vergil had brought. He picked it up and kept it. His mother decided to leave Vergil alone for the time being, so he had time to unwind. She escorted Dante back inside, while thoroughly scolding him for his aggressiveness and behavior.

Vergil walked over to a little playground and sat down on one of the benches.

“It’s always the same��� he gets his way and I’m the one at fault. I can’t stand it.”

Vergil groaned.

“I wanted to read that book so bad and now he completely spoiled my mood.”

The child crossed his arms and pondered for a short while.

“It’s all Dante’s fault as always…”

Just as he was thinking this, he felt a dangerous presence behind him. In just a second, he had a swarm of demons wanting to kill him behind his back.

He swiftly dodged the demons’ attacks, but as he ran towards his home he found a grim scenario that made him froze: his home was burning in a pillar of flames. The moment he stopped in his tracks to watch the horrible scene, the demons took the opportunity and attacked him.

They pierced his body countless times with their long, slim swords. His chest, arms, legs, hands… all pierced by the demons’ weapons.

“It hurts… it hurts… it… HURTS…!”

The child was silent, but under his painful expression lied a yearn for help.

“Someone… anyone… please… help me”

The image of his mother and brother appeared inside his mind…

But no one came to his aid.

And the demons were ruthless in his endeavor, as they pierced his body until they left him unconscious.

After some time, the child woke up. His body ached and everything burned. But even so, he stood up and was determined to walk towards his home. His mind was fuzzy and the tears rolled uncontrollably down his face, but something made him go towards the house- towards his family.

As he walked, he felt some of his wounds closing and healing due to his demonic lineage, which made him able to survive such ruthless and deadly attacks. This allowed him to move a little more freely with each step.

However, the moment he picked up his pace, a second horde of demons approached him. But this time, something unexpected happened: the legendary sword Yamato appeared right before his eyes as if summoned by his desperate cries for help. He picked it up from the ground and wobblily started fending off the attacking monsters.

The boy was panting and grasping for air, but he kept walking towards his burning home, holding the Yamato close and using it to help him walk. His clothes were all ragged: he was left shirtless and covered in his own blood.

As he got closer to his house, he thought of his mother, his brother, the demons… the emotions were overflowing and he couldn’t stop crying. He thought to himself as he sobbed uncontrollably:

“I’m alone… no one is here anymore… Dante and mom… they must’ve fled… they’re… gone… … maybe mom didn’t even—”

Just as he was thinking, he heard a distant sound that made him stop in his tracks. It was a voice… a faint voice. The child’s expression changed from helpless to worried, and he turned desperate to find the source of the sound.

He walked even closer to the house and heard the faint voice again:

“Ver…gil!”

The voice was followed by several coughs.

The child’s eyes turned very big as he let out a big gasp. He exclaimed his brother’s name, hoping for an answer. He ran towards the main entrance of the house, but as soon as he was about to enter, the door busted open.

A sobbing, coughing child came out of the door, extremely agitated.

“VERGIL!”, the child exclaimed as soon as he saw his twin brother, and ran directly into him for a hug.

Vergil was suddenly petrified.

He looked behind his brother, and caught a glimpse of the grotesque scene that occurred inside his home. Dante noticed and immediately ran to close the door, sobbing profusely.

“N-no, Vergil… *hic* y-you can’t see! *hic*”, he exclaimed as he blocked the door with his body.

Vergil, with a somber expression, and tears rolling down his face, asked his brother:

“Dante… what… what happened?”

Dante started sobbing even harder. It was hard for him to catch his breath, as he inhaled a great amount of smoke. He gathered a little bit of air and, just when he was about to speak, a demon peeked behind his brother.

Dante peeled his eyes as he screamed his brother’s name.

“VERGIL!”

The child’s reflexes activated instantly, drawing out the Yamato and fending off the demons in a whim. Vergil turned to Dante again and exclaimed:

“It’s not safe here, Dante. We have to go, NOW!”

Vergil’s expression turned serious and determined, but Dante was still inconsolable. Vergil grabbed Dante by the arm and dragged him out of the house.

“With the Yamato…”, Vergil thought, “no demon… no… nothing can hurt us”.

And thus, the silver-haired children ran away from the burnt house that was once their home… with no destination and nothing more than their own company and a lone sword.

CHAPTER 2

[selenacosmic]

Romance in the office.

Chapter 15 - becoming closer.

Well… this was awkward.

If I could, i would dig a hole and hide myself right now. I have heard of people complaining about meeting their bosses outside of their office, but to be with your boss in their home? Guess I am the lucky one.

To be completely honest, my problem isn’t that he is my boss, I believe I have gotten close to him enough to the point where I don’t really feel awkward around him. My problem is that I fell asleep and he had to carry me on our way back. I can’t imagine just how inconvenient it must have been for him to lend me his room. He even prepared something for me to drink…

I felt very awkward when I woke up, but I can’t say I am feeling that way now, shingen has done a lot already to make me feel comfortable. Besides, this is the perfect opportunity for us to know a bit more about each other. He had guided me from his room to his living room, I took the chance to glance around his apartment. His bedroom was quite large, it surprised me this was one of the apartments in the same building I live in. What caught my attention was the fact that his bed was huge, that could be considered a queen’s size bed. The duvet was very comfortable too, I can’t help but feel ashamed about what went through my mind while laying on his bed.

Anyone he brought home must have loved laying in that bed.

I know I did, I almost slept again if I hadn’t noticed I wasn’t in my room. Ok, brain, enough thinking about his bed. I distract myself by looking around the hallway, despite being a big apartment, it was actually very simple yet comfortable.

“I apologize if the place is a bit messy, I am still decorating everything.” His voice was as sweet as ever, making me pay attention to him.

“Oh, you don’t have to apologize! I actually really liked what you did with the place.” I wasn’t just saying that out of politeness, his apartment was already very nice. Despite being my first time visiting him, I already feel cozy.

My words seem to have brought a smile to his face, he moved the cushions on the couch to make a comfortable seat before offering it to me. “You truly are sweet, my angel. Though I am serious about the decorations.” Once I was sitting on the couch, he made himself comfortable beside me.

“If that’s the case, why not ask Yoshimoto to help you? I am sure he knows his cousin’s taste very well.” In fact, they might have some taste in common, Yoshimoto would make this place resemble Shingen a lot.

“While that’s true, I would rather take my time making the furniture, then I will ask him for help with the rest of the decorations.” That caught my attention, did he just say he makes furniture?

“Excuse me for asking, but did you make every furniture in this apartment?”

“Most of it, yes. Only a few things were gifts, like this couch and the bed. But the rest of what you saw was all my work.” As if I couldn’t be more impressed with this man… the furniture I have seen so far was beautifully crafted.

“You truly are a talented man. I am guessing art runs in the family?” Yoshimoto and shingen were obviously different in many ways, but there were also many similarities that reminded me that they were cousins.

For example, their experience in romance, how they sweet talk others, their passion for art… though the last one seems to be more intense with Yoshimoto.

“Thank you, receiving compliments from a goddess motivates me to make more.” He shot me one of those smiles that I used to see as insufferable, though recently it has become a smile I feel fondness of. “In other words, if you ever want me to make something for you, I will be more than glad to.”

“That’s a tempting offer, can you hold onto that request? When I think of something, I will immediately tell you what I want.” I wonder what it is that I should chose, I don’t have have a furniture that I need in my apartment, perhaps something more decorative…

“Hmm… can I make another offer?” He crossed his arms, shifting his gaze away from me as he became lost in thought, it was almost like he couldn’t truly wait for me to think. “How about I surprise you? From my last visit to your apartment, I think I know what would suit you.”

“Oh, so you want to surprise me? Well.. that’s definitely better than making me decide.” I put my hand on my chin, pretending to be thinking hard about his offer. “Alright, I will let you impress me.”

“My muse has expectations from me, then I should go beyond them.” With that, he threw a wink my way. That gesture became so silly to me by now that I could only laugh at him.

Shingen really was both easy and difficult to talk to, that was something i could clearly see. From what i have observed so far from working with him, he is the one who decides if it would be a chill conversation or an unnerving one. In other words, he is the one who takes the lead. And right now? He really knows how to lower my guard and make me relax while being in his presence. If this had happened during my first week of working for him, this situation would have been very awkward.

“As I have asked, I was hoping I could learn more about you. Truth be told, I feel quite bad about making you go through all of this.” He was still guilty about that? But I was the one who accepted it… this was one of the things that frustrated me about him and I don’t know why.

“You shouldn’t feel guilty, didn’t I say I wanted to help you? If I can do more, I will.” To be honest, I also didn’t understand why I wanted to help so badly. It’s just that… something about him frustrated me, made me want to assist him and take some of that burden off his shoulders. “But I do agree that this is the perfect opportunity for us to talk.”

“Yet again you remind me that you are my angel.” He shifted on the couch to become more comfortable, smiling softly as he closed his eyes. “I remember that you said you used to be in an orphanage. If this isn’t uncomfortable to ask, how long were you in there?”

Ah, I never truly stopped to talk about this with anyone ever since… well, she is in the past now. I should control my emotions if I ever end up mentioning her.

“I was there since my first memories, I have no idea who my real family is, what they are like.. or why I ended up in that orphanage.” Some might think I suffered while being there, but that wasn’t true. While I did have my own issues regarding who my real family was, and the financial problems that the orphanage went through, I did make good friends there. “I would say I had a pretty normal childhood, lacking a few things that other kids with families had, but nothing big.”

“It’s good to know you didn’t go through anything bad while staying there. Children should be able to be spoiled and enjoy their childhood.” There was a sad tone to his voice, it made me wonder what was he thinking about while saying that. “But you didn’t spend all your life there, what happened?” He changed the subject and opened his eyes to look at me.

“Someone adopted me, obviously.” Someone very precious at that, I wish I had been more open with her at that start when I was adopted. “She was… someone with a very noble heart. She couldn’t have children so she adopted one.”

“You speak of her with a lot of affection. If you don’t mind me asking, how was your guardian?” How was she…? Guess I did end up talking more about her than i should.

“She was always smiling, acting silly for an adult her age. Sometimes I wondered why she was that playful.” I can still remember how I was back then. I didn’t trust her to keep me as her daughter, so I acted coldly. I wonder if that was because I was an edgy teenager. Despite that, she still treated me warmly, almost like I was still a toddler. “She had a bad luck with dates.” I chuckled as I remembered the nights she would come back frustrated at her dates, always complaining how ‘they didn’t know how to treat a lady’.

“Is that so? You seem to find her bad luck amusing.” He was chuckling with me now, i felt like my tongue was getting more loose while speaking with him. “What was her name?”

“… Eden, her name was Eden. She looked nothing like me, so to many it was obvious that I was adopted.” Though she never cared about what others thought, I was her daughter and that was final.

“… perhaps I am becoming too bold, but what happened?” I could see that he was hesitant about asking, and I was sure I wouldn’t be able to say much.

“An accident. She didn’t… leave, but sometimes I wonder if what happened to her was more cruel than..” I preferred to not finish my sentence, lowering my head to not think about it. Come on, you should be over by now.

I felt something warm on my cheek, only now did I notice that were a few stubborn tears rolling down my cheeks. Shingen moved closer while wiping them for me.

“Let’s talk about something else, hm? I asked you more than I should, and I apologize for being selfish. Why not ask about me?” His voice was warm, very comforting in the mood I was in. I nodded and quickly wiped my face and shook my head, it was better to focus on him now.

“If you really don’t mind… can I ask how your childhood was like? I remember you saying that you couldn’t really enjoy things like amusement parks.” It was on our date, I remember him mentioning this briefly. I am still curious as to what he meant by that.

“Well, for one, I believe we are quite similar in that regard. Back then… my name was Harunobu.”

To be continued…

[new-dawn-au]

Am I going to make Apis and Saki canon? Hell yeah, they're too cute not to! Don't blame me, blame the little demon pulling my heart to make this happen X3

Bold = texting

"Italics with quotation marks = thinking"

This was not good.

It was supposed to be a normal day, but of course, something had to go wrong. The thunder was too loud, too near, too…. Familiar. And Apis was not a fan.

He could feel tears building up in his eyes and his own grip on reality or any sense quickly slipping away as he tried to find somewhere to hide from it all.

He had stupidly forgotten his house keys, and Adonis was working that day so he couldn't unlock the door for him, leaving him in a bad situation of having to wait for hours to go home. And it sucked.

But just as he was about to break down, he heard a voice he had grown fond of over the past few months. "Apis? Are you okay?" Saki asked her friend, visibly worried about him.

Apis looked to his friend and tried to muster a smile but miserably failed, letting tears fall as he clung onto her.

"Please… don't let them hurt me again. I can't go back, I can't, they'll hurt me, I just know it. I'm dead if they find me, please don't make me go back… help me, please." He mumbled through his tears, he couldn't control himself when he was like this. He felt embarrassed, embarrassed that he was breaking down like this and having a breakdown in front of someone he considered a good friend.

Surprisingly to him, Saki had not pushed him away, instead pulling him closer and taking him to her house. Despite her knowing little to nothing about what he was talking about, she still comfored him. "It's okay, I won't let them take you. You'll be safe here."

By the time they had both entered her room, Apis had fainted from panic, leading Saki to lend him her bed and pull the covers over him whilst she went to get something for the both of them to eat and drink.

Nobody was home today so it left her to watch over her friend without interruptions. Suddenly, his phone received a message.

Adonis: That thunder is really loud isn't it? Hope you're ok❤️

Yikes, it was going to be complicated to explain that Apis wasn't actually seeing this message and that he had passed out. But Saki did it in the best way she knew how to.

Apis: this is Saki Tachibana, a friend of Apis from school! He's at mine rn bc he got scared by the thunder and he's sleeping thru it srry do you want me to wake him up? :)

Adonis: no, it's fine. It's nice to know that he has many good friends now. Or maybe you're more than friends🤨? Jkjk

Wait, what?

Was Apis's dad trying to suggest that they were… dating?! Saki had never even considered dating him! However..

She did find him very kind and cute. And it was so fun messing with his hair, it was always so soft and he always reacted so cutely when she accidentally touched his neck when playing with his hair with his little giggle and nose scrunch followed by his insistence that he was most definitely not ticklish on his neck despite him obviously being so. And his face was attractive as well, she had thought of kissing him before…. Wait, kissing?!

Okay, so she might like him, but there was no way that he felt the same!

Apis: omfg no💀 were not dating but Im flattered that you think I cud end up with sum1 like him XD

Adonis: uh huh, sure thing lol. If he isn't up or still at yours by half 4 then give me your address and I'll come for him.

Apis: will do.

A few hours later, Apis stirred awake and looked around before seeing Saki and realising what just happened. "Ah, Saki! I'm sorry for falling asleep in your bed, it won't happen again!" "Haha! It's fine, you were scared and you needed it, I don't mind." Saki smiled, handing him a rice ball.

"I assumed that you'd be hungry when you woke up so I made some rice balls for you, do you like it?" Apis took a bite and smiled back at her, blushing slightly. "Mmhmm! It's really nice, thank you."

There was that look again, that smile and those rosy cheeks. And those eyes… it made Saki truly realise her feelings for him.

She loved him, she actually loved someone again. She didn't even think she could love like this after her last relationship, but here she was, basking in Apis's presence, loving his existence, loving being around him.

Nope, she had to stop herself there. She was supposed to be looking after him, she could crush over him another time! "Hey, are you thirsty? I have some apple juice downstairs that I can go get if you want." Apis nodded and followed her to the kitchen, holding her hand to keep his balance stable

Saki could just feel herself overheating, his hands were strangely soft in comparison to her rough ones up, they felt like heavenly buttercream to her and she adored it.

But all of a sudden, she heard whimpering coming from him as he pulled his hand back, covering his white eye. "It must be that scar again! But how can I help him?" Saki thought, coming to a reckless conclusion.

She held his wrists gently so as to not hurt him, leant near his face and placed a gentle kiss on his white eye and scar, gaining a squeak from him. "E-Eh?! Saki, what are you doing?.."

"Oh shit! I am so sorry, I didn't know what to do and I thought that if I kissed it then the pain would go away! That was really stupid, I'm so sorry again." Saki apologised profusely before Apis interrupted. "You don't have to apologise! I… um.. actually kind of liked it.. it made me feel safe, and warm and fuzzy inside and I don't know why.. is there something wrong with me?"

Saki widened her eyes, could he feel the same thing towards her as she did to him? She had to test it.. "Hey, is it okay if I try something? You can stop if you feel weird or uncomfortable."

Apis nodded his head. Granted, he didn't know what was going to happen, but he put all of his faith and trust in Saki.

She leant near his face again, kissing his lips as she closed her eyes. She was taken by positive surprise when she felt Apis kiss back slightly, so he did feel the same way! His lips were just as soft as the rest of him, it was clear that they had been bitten out of anxiety and overall stress,but it wasn't unpleasant, it was kind.

Apis pulled away to catch his breath, his cheeks now a bright red. "I.. enjoyed that… a lot. I think that I… love you."

Saki smiled wide, her cheeks the same as his as she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him I to a hug. "I love you too, Apis."

IT'S DONE AND NOW I'M GONNA BURRY MY HEAD IN FLUFF OVERLOAD, GOOD BYE

[skelingtonsderek]

(From Willow) For "Remembrance.":

They’re pressed in close, hands still clasped from their efforts to raise Boyd from the grass. His other hand, he slides from Raylan’s hip to the small of his back, presses in just enough to encourage Raylan just a little closer, leaves a small kiss against the frown Raylan makes sometimes when he forgets to smile. 

“There a story to that face of yours?” Boyd asks, voice as gentle as his lips as he lays another kiss, this time on the scrape across Raylan’s cheek. There’s a shadow under his eye Boyd knows will develop into a beautiful purple to match the ruddy mauve his already swelling lip will be by tomorrow. 

Raylan releases his hand from Boyd’s, runs those anxious spider legs he has for hands along Boyd’s sides, just this side of tickling. There’s a knowledge there, when he looks at Boyd, a shimmering depth that Boyd wishes to plunge into with the ardent yearning of a man at the shore of an expansive lake on the hottest day of the year, hot eyes fixed on just exactly what he wishes to quench the thirst in his flesh upon. 

Raylan hums, taking his hat off and settling it gently on top of Boyd’s head. 

“Oh, you know me, Boyd,” Raylan responds, smile breaking out all lopsided and goofy and brighter than the sun above on his face. “I don’t play well with others.” 

Willow!!! You have great taste in picks, too. Y’all are killing me. Deceased. Dead. I am really quite fond of Remembrance. As a story. I promise I don’t say that about all of them just all the ones I like (all of them) Don't think I didn't notice this one was also a Hat Scene...

So this is like a couple things all at once because I can’t not multitask when I’m having fun but anyway there’s this ending to Remembrance. here to talk about. Boyd is unearthed here, now no longer feeling like he’s in his grave and dead. His mind finally allowing himself to believe that he���s alive and he’s alive because Raylan reached into perdition and— argjygfns;OIEHK sorry was briefly possessed by the Supernatural fandom there. It’s like this. Their experiences together, their shared agonies and griefs and joys have brought them closer. Boyd has returned to himself but different. He came back wrong but that has made them all the more close to each other because of it. A sort of hope in what they might grow to be together and a faith that they Will. “There a story to that face of yours?” Is a line taken directly form the script for the show that Boyd asks Raylan at one point when they meet. Used here to show for Boyd’s curiosity about Raylan continuing even with his memories back, he wants to know more and more and more. Bookended by another line taken from the show. I think “I don’t play well with others” is said by Boyd in the show though. I can’t find the scene again. I wish I could. But. OK. I have to admit it. This is a confession. Confession time here. I was also referencing someone else’s fic but only a little tiny bit because there was a scene from it that gave me the idea in a sort of roundabout way so I wanted to pay homage to that as well but was too shy to like just out and out say it. In Take Care of You by norgbelulah there’s this scene where they get in to a bit of a shootout and Boyd goes in to shock and I thought that was quite dramatic and interesting and then I thought well what if he really did go mad tho so I took that thought and ran with it. “You know me” is one of the things Boyd and Raylan say to each other in that story. I don’t know if it’s actually a Thing in Set Fire to This House but my head said it was and just… quietly altered my brain to include that as a term of endearment.

ETA: also because it's affirmation. Boyd really Does know Raylan and has the whole time and would all over again given the chance to learn him a third time lololololol

[heart-of-the-party]

Ok I can finally post my Thoughts about everything that happened ;w;

Under the cut cuz these posts are long af:

- The steps of faith made me incredibly emotional for obvious reasons. But the actual trial was kinda hilarious because I was dead for most of it lmao. I think both our healers were actual sprouts so they had a tough time with the heals (I saw a few others go down and stay down for a while lol)

- Anyway back to the end of the steps of faith. Estinien calling me aibou still makes me feel things (even if he’s desperately asking for death). I am started to grow incredibly fond of alphinaud now, something that struck me as we pulled out nidhogg’s eyes together.

- WHEN YSAYLE’S HAND ENTERED THE FRAME I SQUEALED!

- I was happy enough seeing her but then Haurchie appeared too and I was so close to crying again. I miss them so much., I wish there was a spot for ysayle too where I could visit and tell her what’s going on.

I love you two so much, you don’t eve know ueueueue. Haurchie’s face always makes me feel so incredibly bittersweet, I love him so so so much.

This was pretty cool. I hope nidhogg finds peace.

- Also hey your idea of “destroying” the eyes is to chuck them into the abyss??? WHAT?? Isn’t there a more reliable way??

- Aymeric and Estinien are pretty gay. Understandable. They’re both very hot.

- I CAN SENSE ESTINIEN FACE REVEAL!!! >;3c

- ngl when that cutscene started and alphinaud was crying I honestly though estinien was dead. I was ready to angrily type to my friend for not telling me HE also will die on me. But then he spoke...

- HE’S SO PRETTY WTF, LOOK I HAD ALREADY SEEN HIM IN FANART AND I KNEW HE WAS PRETTY BUT IT HITS DIFFERENT IN-GAME

- ALSO HE SMILES SO MUCH WTF????? MY HEART WAS NOT READY.

SIR WHY ARE YOU SO CUTE???? I love his slightly upward pointing ears...

- At this point I have to say that while I was already thirsty for him, seeing his pretty face has made me many times thirstier. I think it’s the contrast between his grumpy personality and his handsome face with the luscious locks (it looks so impractical but thank you for growing out your hair estinien. Though imo he’d still look hot even his hair was short)

DRAGON GRANDPA SEEING HIS SON HOME IS SO CUTE!! 

- wowowowow dinner date with aymeric???? GASP

- he looks so cute in his casual outfit (easier to draw too)

- ofc it has to be interrupted.

- ALISAIE!!!!!

-SHE!!! IS SO CUTE!!!! thankfully not a tsundere  (i was very worried about this)

THANK YOU TATARU!!! HER SHOES ARE TERRIBLE!

WAIT THESE AREN’T MUCH BETTER. WTF IS GOING ON AT THE SOLES?? ice-skater alisaie???

- I was about to make the “i’ve known gu bu only for a day...” meme WHEN SOMETHING REALLY DID HAPPEN TO HIM!!!! I AM SO MAD AAAAAAAAAAAAA

-This scene made me emotional (do not look at me hanging out alone in vc, I forgot to leave when the others left)

- URIANGER LOOKING UP AT THE STARS AS HE TALKS ABOUT MOENBRYDA ;;A;; her name means the moon’s bride, right? urianger..... i feel you ;;A;;

- The warriors of darkness feel so found family, I don’t really wanna fight them u_u

-URIANGER FACE+MOTIVATION REVEAL

he’s so dramatic lmao, also wtf when he smiled i started to feel things again. these elezen will be the death of me i swear

- Okay look I was not the biggest fan of minfilia, I thought she was kinda just there.. but this scene really made me emotional ;;;A;;;;

I will miss her :< And that scene with F’lhaminn made me gasp out loud. ;;;A;;;;

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Gonna continue in another post cuz this feels pretty long already xD