#hopefully it won't take another two months to finish that ;)

[figmentforms]

Part 247 of  “A Tale of Two Rulers” (Jan 24, 2024)

I managed to finish something!!! ᕙ(⊙ᴗ⊙')ᕗ

Thank yo all so much for your usual patience and kindness! Next update will be in about two months. Hopefully sooner.

I won't be able to go do conventions for a while since getting sick right now would be very very very bad timing with my medical situation, so I took on a big commission and a kickstarter to supplement my income a bit, so that will slow me down. If you happen to like Mothman or/or ita bags, you may like the upcoming KS. I will make a post when it's ready, but I promise I won't spam about it.

(Also, comic will be looking a little different like this from now on because my old set up broke and i had to switch to another one. ^_^')

★ Webtoon-  https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/a-tale-of-two-rulers/list?title_no=292453 ★ - I’m still building up this archive.

★Patreon- https://www.patreon.com/LorIllustration ★

★Store - www.etsy.com/shop/FigmentForms

for those that wonder how the medical stuff is going, I'll put that below the cut so anyone who doesn't want to see it can skip it easier:

Yay for not having cancer! A nice relief there! I'm now taking the various medications required to start my first embryo transfer. I'm really excited but also nervous. It will happen in just a few weeks and i'm really praying that the lil' guy lives and gets to be born. lol, now to enjoy the impossible task of trying to NOT be STRESSED as HARD AS I CAN.

[adventuringblind]

Flowers in your throat

Lando Norris x Reader x Oscar Piastri

Genre: Angst

Summary: the problems of unrequited love

Warnings: hanahaki disease, blood, coughing

Notes: idk what this is... Does anybody wanna spam my inbox with things to write over break? Logan is on the list, but I'm blanking on ideas for the boy T_T

Masterlist

Flowers. Beautiful things that each have their own meanings. One that even color plays into.

Beautiful amd deadly things, these Flowers. She can't even stomache the sight of them anymore. Not when they are the source of her current misery.

A misery she has yet to understand. Is one not enough for her? Will Lando hate her for loving more then just him? Is she really that greedy?

Her driving had suffered because of her lack of focus. She's coughing over the radio now and her engineer has started to notice. Her trainer even more so with how sick she looks.

She doesn't want Lando to find her like this. Maybe she doesn't even like Oscar and this is because of the loving looks and gentle touch he's been sharing with her boyfriend. Is she jealous? In a way yes, but she wants that from both of them. She coughs up another petal at the thought.

Hopefully Lando isn't awake. She'd been on the floor of the Hilton bathroom for at least an hour now. Her mind running through all her options. How she might be able to fix this.

Death is the easiest option in the long run. The surgery would hurt Lando as she would struggle with any kind of love afterwards. Oscar loving her back is another, but again, how would Lando react?

She'd yet to even open up to him about the idea of polyamoury. To scared from past encounters and getting hurt. Easier just to ignore anything else. The words of her last partner rings through her ears. 'It's either one or the other' but never both. How can she have such a love for two people to the point it's killing her?

The door creaks open. She panics and tries to hide from Lando's worried gaze. He still ends up on the floor with her.

"Please talk to me."

"I can't. You're going to leave me."

"Whatever this is, we'll figure it out, okay? But we can't even begin to work on it if I have no idea what's going on." And he's right. For as chaotic as he is, Lando has always wanted to work through things together.

"I'm not - well - before I start I should say I love you dearly with every fiber of my being."

"Is this a break up?"

"No!" She shouts a little to loudly and quickly. Lando looks a bit startled but calms we he sees just how panicked she is. "I don't want us to break up - I just know that you won't want me anymore."

The thoughts of Lando leaving her flood her mind. Having to watch him and Oscar be teammates while she watches from afar. Her body wracks with coughs again as another petal comes up, pretty but splatters in red.

"Is that-?"

"Hanahaki, unrequited love."

"But I do love you so then..." He takes a moments to process. "It's not me is it?"

"My parents always told me my heart was to big." She inhales shakily. "It's Oscar."

"Since when? How long do we have before-" He doesn't finish the sentence.

"A have a few months left maximum. I'm already two months in."

"Silverstone."

"I'd already been fond of him before that but watching the two of you smile together like that." Tears slip past her eyes as she tries to stop the burning in her chest. "I'm so sorry and I understand if you leave. It's not like you signed up for this."

"I'm not leaving you. I don't care who else you love as long as I'm here with you. Plus, it's Oscar, I'd be lying if I said I don't have any feelings for him." Lando Admits with a shrug.

"Really?"

"I know you love me, too much, probably. If this is what loving you means then I'll be here every damn step."

She throws herself into Lando's arms, curling into the warmth of his body. And for the first time on two months, she cries in relief.

~~~~~

On the other side of things, Oscar isn't fairing any better. The constant scratch of his throat has started in August. Over the summer break when he had to bare witness to Lando and his girlfriends pictures.

He couldn't tell who he was more jealous of, or if he was jealous at all. Both, he was jealous of both because he wants to be with both of them. It's illogical, he thinks, that he should want two partners so desperately. They are committed to each other, why would they want him as well?

Lando is once again on the podium his female counterpart part there to congratulate him. Eyes shining as they smile at each other. The itch in his throat is to much. It burns in his chest as his lungs try to fight for air.

He runs back to the garage after getting weighed. Just in time to collapse onto the floor of his driver's room. Petals fall from his lips. Beautiful and soaking in red fluid.

He's still struggling to breathe when his door flys open. Logan amd Liam swim in his vision and ears. They drag him off the floor and get him upright again.

They clean him op and sit with him until Kim comes to get him for debrief. The older male looks horribly concerned. Lando also looks at him with something he can't pinpoint while sitting through the meeting. It's enough to make his chest burn again just knowing Lando is even looking at him.

Logan and Liam come knocking at his door that night. They want answers and rightfully so. He tells them, coughing on the bathroom floor while doing so.

"Have you talked to them?"

"No, why would they want me Lo?"

Liam hands him more water and pratically forces him to drink it. "Have you seen the way they look at you?"

And no, he hasn't, only how people say he himself looks helplessly in love.

How would they look at him now? In disgust? Maybe pity?

Shame he may never find out.

~~~~~

Another hard race. Las Vegas had messed them all up in some way shape or form. She couldn't breathe knowing Lando had crashed to hard. She coughed an entire petal up during the yellow flags just thinking about how he must be feeling.

She's been coughing up whole flowers recently. Tonight was no exception. Lando, despite being on heavy painkillers, was desperately trying to help her through a few larger ones.

She was barely eating anymore. Couldn't breathe. Her teammate had even noticed the drastic change in her appearance. Max and Christian had both been on her case. Third seemed so far away now as Lando tries to get water down her throat.

"I don't want you to die."

"And I don't want to live without love."

Lando manages to pull himself off the floor to answer the door. Mumbling about how it's probably Jon making sure he's alright.

She can hear the familiar voices of Oscar and Logan through the thin walls.

Oscar sounds rough. She blames it on the long race he had. He'd looked so tired coming out of the car, hands running through his hair.

Her lungs burn again. It's more so this time. Her entire body is on fire. She can't even cough properly and wails as she has to pull out whatever is in her throat.

A stem. One with thorns.

Lando is frantically pleading with Oscar and Logan for something. Oscar is also coughing. Enough that is worsens her own.

She coughs again. Another stem feels like it's tearing her open from the inside. She wails at the stinging pain. Panic overcomes her as it seems to never end.

The door swings open. Lando and Logan drag in a coughing Oscar.

He's in the same boat as her. He's been suffering this whole time.

"Logan who is it?! Please, I need to know." Lando is begging now. The sight of what's happening can't be helping his nerves.

"It's you two, both of you I think. He didn't say exactly."

She tunes out anything else. It's them. He is feeling this because of them. She coughs up the rest of the stem and the burning starts to fade.

But then the exhaustion hits. She wants to tell Oscar everything. Enough so he doesn't have to cough up thorns like herself.

She passes out before she can.

~~~~~

Oscar wakes up in bed. One that definitely isn't his own. He tries to sit up, but his body is depleted still. Noticeably, his lungs feel lighter then they have in months. The ache in his chest has lessened, but his love for the two is still there. If this isn't the work of a surgery then-

He sits up frantically, searching for something. Someone, more like. A hand on his shoulder pushes him back down.

"Relax, we're still here." It's Lando and his partner is on the other side of Oscar. She's dead asleep and rightfully so after what he witnessed her cough up.

"Where's Logan?"

"Asleep on the couch. He didn't want to leave you."

"And you - do you and her - are we?" His words are broken. He can't think properly.

"Caught feeling a while ago, mate. Her before I realized myself. She loves hard, enough to cough up flowers, apparently." Lando crawls into the space between Oscar and the female. Oscar, in his sleepy haze, latches onto Lando. He feels better being apart of whatever cuddle pile this is.

He falls back to sleep so easily. Only to be woken up later by a few frantic coughs. Lando is immediately trying to get the female out of bed and to the sink. She claims she's fine and it's confirmed by the lack of petals.

"It's from what the thorns did." Her voice sounds wrecked. Oscar tries to get up to help only to be pushed back again by Logan. Curse his exhaustion.

The American gets everyone water. Oscar is grateful for it as it soothes his still sore throat.

"So does this mean you three are going to be together then?" Logan raises an eyebrow.

"If either of them say no after this, I'm throwing hands. After the hell they've put me through I will force them to cuddle if need be."

[imagines-by-cleo]

Alright I’ll be adding another one to your numerous kaz requests😅can we get one where a female assassin (not Quiet lol) attempts to murder mgsv!Kaz and despite the hate he falls in love with her? I just thought the idea of Kaz having an ex assassin lover might be interesting.

and like everyone is saying…please take your time and don’t rush. Love your blog xoxo

~I'm back~ and omg I can't believe it took me until the new year to finish this. I've been writing this one bit by bit for the last couple months and I liked this prompt so much I'm almost sad to finish it. Thank you friend for thinking of this! Maybe I'll do a part two after I finish the rest of the requests and the few of my own I have in the works that should hopefully be out soon.

CW: SMUT, kinda dubcon, bondage, nipple play, teasing, fingering, orgasm denial, switch!Kaz, rough sex, unprotected sex, hair pulling

You gasped as another bucket full of freezing water was dumped over you, making you shudder and strain against the chains that held your arms above your head. Ready to shout another insult at the overdressed bastard that had been interrogating you until the swish of the sliding door echoed across the room and a stranger stepped in.

His presence held weight and his silence added to that, while you held your breath the only sound was the clanking of his cane on the metal floor slowly coming closer and closer.

"I tried everything, but unless you want me to seriously hurt her she's not gonna budge." The cowboy spoke, sounding just a little too excited as he hinted for permission to really get to work.

"That's not necessary." Kaz replied, sounding just the slightest bit defensive. "Let me talk to her. Alone."

"I don't think that's a good idea..."

"I don't care what you think." Kaz snapped back.

With a shrug the other man walked out of the room and you were left alone with your former target. If he wanted you dead it's likely he would have just killed you already, it was more possible that he wanted answers, secrets that you were in no position to be giving away. There was still a chance that you could save this mission from failure but if you cracked and gave away any information you would be dodging assassins better than yourself for the rest of your life.

He came closer in no hurry at all, clanking of his crutch hitting the metal floor echoed through the silent room like a doom drum. As he stood between you and the only light in the room he made a rather intimidating silhouette, towering over you in complete silence. Though you knew that his calm collected nature was just a ruse to put you in suspense you couldn't help but feel a little defeated as it was working.

"Let's start at the beginning." He said before starting his interrogation. "How did you get in?"

"Wouldn't you like to to know soldier boy?" You quipped, earning the smallest hint of a growl that he made quick work of silencing before he continued.

"Who do you work for?" He asked.

"You have a lot of enemies. Kaz." You teased, staring him down. "Just pick one to blame it on for now, it won't matter in the end."

"This doesn't have to be difficult." He stated, more reasonably than anyone who was almost murdered had a right to sound.

"Oh you haven't even seen difficult yet." You challenged, sounding more like a bratty child than a deadly assassin.

He quickly raised his hand, thinking he was going to hit you you flinched, not expecting to find him only reaching for the top button of your fatigues. It really did catch you off guard when he started to pop open each button slowly, one after the other until your whole front was undone and chest ready to be exposed by the slightest pull of the fabric.

Though the clothes still covered all that they were supposed to, the chilly wet fabric clinging tightly to your skin left little to the imagination. The sunglasses covering his eyes made it hard to tell where Kaz was looking yet you could still feel yourself shrinking under his gaze and fought your restraints with the urge to cover yourself.

Raising his hand to his mouth and biting down on the fingertip of his glove he pulled it off with his teeth then spit it onto the floor. He touched his bare hand to your neck, feeling how your breath was starting to quicken and more so when you knew he noticed, then pressing his thumb lightly over your windpipe he felt it stop. You found yourself wondering, doubting and then fearing again if a one handed man could even strangle you. Something in his firm grasp told you that he was ready to, and threatened, no, promised that he would.

His fingers moved, tracing your collar bone then stopping on the center of your chest, feeling your racing heartbeat for just a moment before slowly pulling one side of your shirt open. The touch of his hand on your skin felt both foreign and warm against your cold skin, even when he started to cup your uncovered breast it was difficult to reject.

"What are you doing?" You asked with an all too telling shake in your voice, receiving no answer from the man touching you.

You wanted to kick him away, spit at him maybe, call him a pervert or something worse, but the way he touched you was so meticulous and not at all a rushed taking of an opportunity. His touch was deliberate yet gentle, and the bitter scowl still stuck on his face told you that this wasn't for his enjoyment.

The cold water had already made your nipples stand out leaving them much easier to touch, he circled one with his thumb lightly toying with it and making you shudder. You did your best not to show a reaction and began to bite your lip in fear of making a noise as he continued to squeeze and massage the soft flesh in his grasp.

Soon his fingers started to wander lower, until they had reached a point that made you assess whether you should reject his touch or open up to it you found your body had already answered for you as your legs parted without any resistance. Truth be told there were certainly more horrible people to be captured by, even when you were looking at his file and saw the messy blonde hair and the mysterious shades you thought it would be a shame to kill him.

His fingers ran slowly up and down your slit, only brushing your clit with every other languid stroke. You could feel yourself getting wetter and eventually hear it too when you started to soak his fingers and make it easier for them to glide over your folds. When you rolled your hips forward to grind against his palm only finding he suddenly pulled his hand away, now you knew what his goal was.

"That's a dirty trick." You huffed, rubbing your thighs together though it was no substitute for his touch.

"Talk." He demanded, returning just one finger to rub little circles around your clit without ever really touching it.

"I can't." You growled in frustration. "They have other assassins ready to kill anyone that cracks."

His fingers moved down to circle your entrance, making you more and more desperate with each stroke. The satisfied look on his face as you got visibly closer to breaking was your only motivation to stay quiet. He leaned in close enough that you could feel his breath on your skin, the ghost of a touch of his lips on your ear seemed to hit every nerve in your body as he whispered.

"Are you sure you're so worried about that?" He asked, challenging the last bit of strength you had left.

One finger pressed in slowly, enough that you could savor the slight stretch which you couldn't tell whether it came from the thickness of the digit or how hard you had been clenching around it. Sliding in as deep as possible before curling, you moaned out loud as the feeling in the core grew more intense and demanded relief.

Kaz leaned in close until his lips where just ghosting over your own, you wanted to lean forward to kiss him but he was just out of reach. Still he lingered, tasting every breath growing deeper and faster while his fingers pumped in time. Just as you were sure you could cum all over his fingers he pulled his hand away.

"No, no, no, please!" You whimpered, trying to get his touch back before your release was lost.

"Tell me." He reiterated much to your frustration.

"It's XOF, okay? They sent me to kill you." You finally broke down and admitted not even caring about the consequences.

"What else do you know about them?" He continued.

"They don't tell me that much, probably in case I got captured, but they have more people they're gonna send if I don't come back."

"In that case we're gonna have to tighten up security around here..." His attention drifted off as he started to mentally plan.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you're a damn tease?" You jeered.

That seemed to be the only thing that broke his scowl as he let out a short laugh, he even seemed to stay amused as he turned and walked away. "Well if those assassins are only as skilled as you I guess we have nothing to worry about."

"Hey, where are you going?" You asked though you received no answer

Totally unbothered as he kept walking and not the slightest bit guilty for leaving you so desperately untouched as he entered the code and stepped out the door.

"Kaz, you can't leave me like this." You shouted after him shamelessly bargaining. "It's gotta be against the Geneva convention or something."

As as the door shut behind him and your begging shouts had turned into frustrated curses as you strained against your bonds. The room was left deadly silent making the sound of your pounding heart echo louder through your neglected body and you found yourself wishing that someone would have mercy and dump another bucket of cold water on you.

~

Ever since that day you had been working exclusively for the diamond dogs under the direct orders of Kazuhira Miller. Doing odd missions and assassinations that Big Boss was too busy to take care of, your most difficult mission so far was convincing everyone that you were no longer a threat, but for the most part you left that up to Kaz. Your loyalty lied only with him and for the worst reason, every day that you worked you counted yourself lucky that that no one else knew the truth or what your goals really were; although every once in a while you would get a knowing glance from that cowboy you met earlier.

Soon enough you had earned enough trust to have the privilege of a room of your own, it was hardly an upgrade from your cold cell but it at least had a proper bed, the only real problem was how empty it felt. The nights there were unbearable alone and you constantly found yourself tossing and turning with an insatiable need burning through your body. Your own touch was hardly enough to satisfy, even when you pretended your fingers were his while tracing all the places he had touched before.

One night you couldn't take it anymore, frustrated with the growing wetness between your thighs you ventured out to go find the relief you had been craving for far too long. Without even bothering to put on more than the t-shirt you slept in and a thin pair of panties you snuck out through the halls avoiding detection much like you would on a real mission.

Security had increased since you first infiltrated the base, but luckily for you not in the places it mattered. The routes patrol took were the same and the direction cameras were pointed never changed either, both faults practically inviting you into Kaz's quarters.

He wasn't a very sound sleeper, just like the first time you saw him he was tossing and turning in a fight with his own dreams before he even woke to notice an intruder. Quietly and carefully you crept onto his bed watching him twitch and mumble for a moment before you crawled over and straddled him, pushing the sweat dampened hair back from his forehead you noticed his breathing start to steady as his eyes fluttered open.

The peace didn't last long however, when he woke up enough to realize there was someone else in the room his expression changed to pure rage. His hand flew to your throat squeezing tight even after he recognized you almost as if you were the nightmare he had been fighting with. Only gently setting a hand on his arm while trying not to give in to your instinct to fight back, eventually his grip relaxed though he didn't let go of your neck.

"Trying to kill me again?" He questioned, baring his teeth.

"No." You answered simply, a blush crept onto you face along with a hint of a nervous smile.

Kaz was about to say something else, most likely a follow up question until he felt the answer in your fingertips creeping along the waistband of his boxers. He was stunned at the boldness of your touch, giving you the opportunity to grab his wrist and pin it to his side.

"You never told me how you got in here." He confidantly remarked, as if he was still in control.

"The same way I got in last time." You answered proudly. "And you didn't even bother to lock the door this time."

Noticing the hint of a smirk on his face you could almost assume that he knew, even as you felt him strain in your grasp but never really fight against it made you think this vulnerability was just an act or more likely a trap. Suspicious as his behavior was you couldn't help but take the opportunity before you, hooking your finger on his boxers waistband and slowly pulling them down.

With a few light strokes you soon felt his cock stiffen up in your grasp then once it was nice and hard you gripped tighter and pumped a little faster. Watching his chest rise and fall as his breathing grew deeper you were hoping to get something like a whimper or maybe you could even get him beg and look as pathetic as you must have when he was teasing you.

The idea swirled in your head as you softened your grip and slowed down until you were only giving him short lazy strokes. Kaz let out a deep frustrated groan, while it wasn't what you were hoping for it was a start. He opened his eyes to see you staring down at him with sadistic intentions then gave you a defiant smile while shaking his head.

Pouting at his reaction you became even more determined to get him to crack, with only your thumb and your forefinger you continued to work his shaft until you could practically hear him grinding his teeth. He had almost wiggled his wrist out of your grasp but you kept a firm hold on him.

After deciding you had enough of teasing him you let go and moved up to hover your hips just above his, though he tried to hide it his twitching and squirming gave him away. Your mouth watered at the sight of Kaz held down panting with his swollen leaking cock out and proud just waiting for you to touch it while the growing ache between your own legs was getting too much to ignore

Too impatient to even take them completely off you simpliy slid your panties to the side before straddling him and lowering down, taking a minute roll your hips and drag his tip across your slit and feel it twitch while you soaked his cock. He let out the most delicious gasp when you slammed down on him and took the entire length with little resistance, for a moment you stayed there just savoring the feeling that was so much better than you had imagined in the long lonely nights.

The small victory wasn't yours to enjoy for very long, you held still long enough to feel him writhe impatiently and try to raise his hips in protest, you kept your resolve and only lifted slowly off of him then lowered back down taking just one inch at a time. Kaz groweld at first, then he sighed, then he whined. It was just like how you were when he left literally hanging in that cold cell, maybe even worse. The idea of that revenge made you dizzy with the promise of relief like you had been wanting, and you found yourself feeling just merciful enough to use him to get it.

Squeezing around him and making him moan without any hint of shame, his wrist went limp in your grasp and he relaxed and allowed you to continue your sweet torture. It did feel like a victory to render him as helpless as he was beneath you, even the idea of it made you wetter than you thought possible and the sight of it made you shudder. In that moment you needed release more than you needed revenge, the bitterness you felt toward him slipped further away every time you sunk down on his cock.

Your hips were moving on their own at that point, it was hard to tell who was getting more pleasure out of it all you knew was that you were getting so close to that sweet relief you had needed since he first touched you. Reminded of that night you had the idea of bringing his hand up to your chest, having him touch you like only he could.

As soon as you released his wrist his hand flew to your thigh grabbing tight and using it as leverage to throw you off onto your back, already stunned at being tossed off like that you never expected him to flip you again before climbing over and using his weight to keep you pinned down with a hand on the back of your neck.

"Fuck! Not again." You groaned, feeling your release slipping away.

His fingers twisted into your hair while he pushed your face into the pillow, the way he held you down made nearly impossible to even shift your weight let alone break free. Although his still hard cock rubbing against you from behind curbed your want to escape.

He laughed as you tried to wiggle yourself out to no avail. "I expect better from my best assassin, I should teach you a lesson."

Fighting his grasp just enough to turn your head for a moment to ask while sliding your panties down and coyly grinding against him. "Would you call this a lesson, or maybe a punishment?"

"A mission, now shut up and take it." He answered bluntly before forcing your head back into the pillow.

The first thrust buried his entire length deeper than it had gone before, without even realizing it you were whimpering helplessly while he pulled out to the tip and repeated the action again. Over and over the cycle continued of him leaving you nearly empty just to plunge in even deeper and quicker.

It was almost too much but you were so afraid of him stopping and not letting you finish that you spread your legs farther and took even more. Your cheeks grew red in pure embarrassment as you lost all control over the noises coming from your mouth, more so when Kaz pulled your head back by the hair and forced you to cry out in the open.

"C'mon, let everyone know who you're loyal to now." He demanded, twisting your hair and earning another scream.

He was so cruel, but honestly that was what you wanted, the violence, the insults, the brutal manhandling, all of it. Ever since that day you were wishing he would just pound you like this, all the while giving you that blood chilling scowl.

That feeling of reaching your peak came creeping up through your body again, and with it a fear that you would be denied release. You arched your back and bucked your hips in rhythm with his trying to take in as much of him as you possibly could while fully expecting him to chastise you for being so desperate.

"Don't... Don't make me beg for it again." You panted out, lifting up and pressing your back to his chest.

He snorted at your request. "You're so lucky I'm bored of teasing you."

Having him so close while you came made the sensation so much more intense, feeling his breathing get deeper while he pounded even harder and pulled your hair even tighter. He tugged your head to the side so he could put his mouth on your neck and practically taste every moan that flowed out, his lips felt scorching on your already burning skin consuming you completely in a wildfire of passion.

Kaz pulled out and turned you over while your legs were still twitching, before he could even push back in you caught a glance through the glaze in your eyes and saw the first spurts of cum dripping out of his cock. He shut his eyes and bared his teeth while he continued to roll his hips forward, letting out long low groan and gripping your thigh tight. The feeling of him twitching inside while he while he filled you up was just too much for your sore overstretched hole, but the lingering need to keep him close kept you from telling him to stop and instead making you wrap your legs around his waist.

Spent, exhausted and finally finished he dropped down, his face only a few inches away from your own. Your breath mixed and your eyes locked in a moment of honest exposure, the bitterness and tension being released finally allowed the two of you to really see each other for a brief moment.

He didn't hold back at all, touching and kissing you wildly wherever he pleased while you were still shivering and giving you all the contact you had been begging for all this time. While you were a little taken aback by his treatment you readily accepted and even returned the affection where you could.

"Do you know how bad I wanted to do this while you were all tied up in there?" He revealed through heavy breaths.

Even his affection was violent. Kisses from a man who forgot any other way to be intimate could nearly drown you in wave after brutal wave, but you wouldn't just survive without returning in kind. Not simply allowing Kaz to take over your body, you savagely took his as well. Becoming nothing more than a tangled mess of tongues and teeth, hands grabbing and pulling desparately whether they landed on hair or skin.

In one of the rare instances when your lips had to part for oxygen you took the opportunity to say. "Kaz. Don't take this the wrong way but, I'm so glad I came to kill you."

"There's no right way for you to take this but, I'm glad you're bad at your job." He replied with a grin.

With the slightest urge to prove him wrong right there you laughed and kissed him again. For the rest of the night it continued like that, with the two of you sharing banter while holding each other close. The end of the agonizingly tense relationship you previously had sparked the begining of something that would be a challenge to explain if anyone on base found out. If they found out.

[explicitred]

Noises

June 19, Post 15 of the "30 Days Fanfic Event"

Alhaitham x Male Reader

“I hope my roommate won't be hammering away on another one of his projects in the dead of night... Actually, I'd prefer if he wasn't home at all. I really don't want to wear my soundproof earpieces to bed.”

synopsis: In which Alhaitham can’t sleep from the sounds of Kaveh’s architect duties, and needs you♡

Hammering noises echoed throughout the house, harsh sounds reaching Alhaitham’s room. 

Alhaitham’s immediately opened after a particularly loud noise. The scribe’s eyes trailed to your hand, the one that he held in the middle of between you both. You laid on your back, eyes closed with a peaceful expression. Alhaitham was on his side, so that he could hold your hand, yet the space between you two put a small distance. 

A stoic and intimidating man to the Akademiya and the public, yet he was shy for you since he wasn’t used to physical contact or initiating affection. Whatever you did, heat would rush to his cheeks. Alhaitham would reread the same sentence of the paragraph in his book multiple times without stopping as he subtly stiffened, his breathing quickly becoming uneven.

The hammering only grew louder and louder, leading to Alhaitham deciding to close the gap between the both of you on the bed. The scribe didn’t want to start wearing his soundproof earpieces to sleep, but he was seriously considering it. The better and more preferable option was to dig his face into your chest or neck to hopefully sleep peacefully and not hear the irking noises in your warm and comfortable embrace.

Alhaitham’s heart hammered in his chest, his body pressed against and on top of you. Surely, you could hear, how loud his heart was beating. Suddenly, he felt as if he couldn’t hear Kaveh’s hammering anymore. Alhaitham’s eyes slowly closed, as your fingers ran through his hair.

The hammering only grew louder, yet Alhaitham slept peacefully in your embrace without any interruptions.

Huh, he was going to have to do this again.

I might digitally draw the scene I was thinking of to give a better visual of when they were holding hands and sleeping in the future

Dont get your hopes up though, and if i do draw it its gonna be bad lmao

(it takes me like 5 hours to complete a drawing, and i draw traditionally :c)

Its been 2 months and i still havent finished this one drawing of a character i like… aku im sorry😅

i also drew alhaitham but its still not finished yet after 2 months too lol

[paintedstories]

Apocalypse

♥ song of the story OWN MY MIND -maneskin

gif from @yonglixx ⚠: mentions of zombies: mentions of blood and death; mentions of Felix killing zombies; mentions of his family being dead(I'm sorry 🙏 its for the plot); mentions of readers family being dead(sorry again) ⚠: can be considered a fluff story if you don't mind the theme ⚠: Survivor Lee Felix x Survivor fem reader (she/her) ⚠: In this AU skz doesn't exist, meaning, that Felix doesn't know any of the members.

panting could be heard from the girl hidden in a long ago abandoned house.

"ahh, shit-" she breathed under her breath, exhausted from running, punching, and killing all day. She started searching carefully throughout the house, carefully to not make too much noise, walking and finding things that might be helpful. After putting all the things she found in the middle of the room, things such as cans of fruits and food, screwdrivers, knives, soap, and ladies' necessities, she decided to choose what she exactly needed and go on a run outside, maybe find some abandoned shops or hopefully a pharmacy, as she was in a new city.

while walking she stumbled across an alley and decided to go in it to rest, as she did not see or hear any of those horrifyingly disgusting creatures she sat down close to one of the big metal trash bins, fortunately for her, it did not smell that bad, as it has had not been used for at least 5 months. while she carefully opened one of the food cans she found, she suddenly heard something, or rather someone walking. Scared she rapidly put the can down and got up with her knife to kill who was coming next.

"hey- woah, woah, mate slow down, I'm peaceful!" he whisper shouted while putting his hands up making her put the knife down and look at him with a serious face. "I'm warning you if you try stealing from me, I won't hesitate to murder you," she said sternly while sitting down and starting to eat from the can. But he continued staying on guard next to her. "what are you doing?" she looked at him weirdly but he doesn't say anything, only smiles and sits next to her, after approximately 2 minutes the hands him the other half of the can that she didn't finish intentionally. "eat" she said not looking at him. "woh thanks!" he exclaimed and smiled brightly "didn't eat something non expired in ages haha" her face fell after hearing that. How, how, what happened here. she thought while slowly peeking to look at his shadowed dirty face. poor guy was all she could muster in her thoughts. "want more?" she looked at him while handing him another can, now with a different type of food. " no, no, I can't, it would be too much! I don't have anything in return!" he said while shaking his hands showing that he meant it. "No, really take it, I have more, found a house, 30 minutes away, very quiet no monsters, and it has a lot of food. maybe you would want to come with me, you know, two is better than one," she said while scratching her back of the neck.

"Really?- are you joking with me? because if not I'm coming!" he smiled while sitting up and holding his hand to her. As she took it, first time making skin-to-skin contact with the stranger she felt a spark in her heart and worms in her stomach, no she felt butterflies, she shacked her head gently and started to walk a little bit in front of him to lead the way.

On their way to the house, they chatted and found out that his name was Lee Felix, an Australian. They encountered 3 zombies too but decided to just run off, as it was night time and they wouldn't be seen.

Arrived at the house she shows him around, and he helps her to patch the broken windows and unnecessary rooms.

While searching for a good room Felix found a basement, the basement of the said house, deciding to investigate right then, as it was night and the zombies were mostly asleep and easier to kill. Big luck for them was that inside was only one, a guy, the owner of the house they declared. After y/n killed it and Felix helped by dragging it outside the house in front of the yard and throwing it on the fence, as protection from other fellow zombies, because if they smelled the blood of the said zombie on the fence they would pass the house and not get in even if heard any sounds from inside. Of course, it would smell bad but good thing that the smell didn't get too close to the house.

After rearranging the whole basement, meaning, getting all the things in the living room, then putting on a big bed for two inside the room, of course, cleaning it very well. They might have been in the apocalypse but to be clean still helps. good thing the basement was as big as the house, large enough to put some of the kitchen and bedroom furniture down, creating a little house, sadly inside the basement was only the installation for water, not the toilet too, so the bathroom remained inside the house. Not too big of a problem as the house looked like it never been touched by the filthy hands of those zombies.

"few, we're finally done!" Felix said happily while slumping on the bed."ey get your dirty butt off the bed, you need to change and shower....." she realized that the water from the bathroom didn't work anymore, only the one in the basement, the reason being that the installation was made so that water will work even without electricity, but that only in the basement. " haha shit, we got to wash with cold water" she sighed as she plopped next to the bed resting her back on the bed leg next to a now floor sitting Felix. "haha jokes on you, not washing with cold water" he laughed "then sleep on the floor"

hey, hey, hey! my cherry's hope you liked this story if you want part two ✌ tell me master list 📃 feel free to request your deepest desires!

[dayseedrawz2]

Okay, yall asked for it, so here's the Showtime fic!

Some aspects are inspired by a different fic by @sm-baby (also just tagging because you said you want more stuff like this, so ur welcome)

I might split this into parts tho but it depends on if I have the energy to finish it all right now or not

Without further ado, here it is:

☆Settings for two☆

It's been about a month since Pomni arrived in the digital circus. And it's safe to say she hasn't been doing any better than she was the first day... The others have sometimes found her staring off into space, scribbles replacing her eyes. But the one thing that made her cope was plotting and searching for an exit. Witch didn't seem likely... until one day she found what she thought might be the answer she was looking for...

It was early in the morning. She was wandering around the circus grounds aimlessly since she couldn't sleep. When she saw what appeared to be another random door. Presumably leading to some wacky room like all the others. But still she decided to take a closer look. Upon walking closer, she was able to read the heading of the sign on the door:

*Settings room*

She thought to herself:

"This must be it! I have been looking in all the wrong places! Surely, this will have some sort of way to exit!"

She went inside and was greeted by a wall of interactive screens

Graphics <

Difficulty

F.P.S.

Max. Players

She thought for a moment... then she thought of the perfect plan!

Graphics

Difficulty

F.P.S.

Max. Players <<

[Select Max. Amount of players]

- 6 +

"Ok, if I'm right, then if I set the amount lower, I should be kicked out!"

[Select Max. Amount of Players]

-1

- 5 +

One click, and that was it. Now all she had to do was wait...

She quietly sneaked out of the room. She had nothing else to do. Well- at least until Caine woke up everyone else for today's adventure. Boy, was she not looking forward to it...

With nothing else on her mind but the chance of leaving, she continued to pace around the circus halls. So much so that she had lost track of time... Pomni had been walking around for who knows how long, when she was caught off guard by a familiar, cheery, obnoxious voice:

"GOOOOOOOOOD MORNING, POMNI!"

"Gah! Caine!?"

Of course, she thought. The best person to be around when she was disoriented...

"THAT'S ME ALRIGHT! Say, what're you doing up so early? The others usually aren't out of their rooms until the lights come on..."

"I- uhhh couldn't sleep. It's been hard to do so since I've been here..."

"Is that so? Why haven't you been able to, my dear?"

It was odd to her that he would even consider asking. She still hardly trusts him. She hesitantly answered:

"Well... I'm not exactly sure if there's one answer to that. This place can be so bright and loud sometimes. It's so- overwhelming on top of the fact that we are all stuck here..."

"I see... Well, enough waiting around for me! I'm going to go wake up the others! I'll meet you at center stage! See ya later, Pomni!"

"I- okay-"

She was still a bit shocked by the encounter they had. Hopefully, she won't have to deal with this place any longer.

Until then, may as well mentally prepare for the next adventure...

Ok, well, I guess this concludes part 1! Stay tuned for the next!

(Gee, this was alot-)

[galvanizedfriend]

YOKAN!!!!! I MISS YOU!!!!! CAN I GET ANY OF YOUR FIC UPDATE BEFORE END OF THIS MONTH!!!! I MISS READING KLAROLINE THROUGH YOUR WORDS!!!!!🥹🥹😭😭😭😭

SORRY for the above spam dear 😔 have really bad days for really long time so missing KLAROLINE and Your fics a bit more these days 🥲

I know you are SUPER BUSY so its okay, whenever you find time to write something or anything, even a small one short from you would do wonders to my days🫰😭💕

Lots of love and motivation to you ❤️🫂🥰

Hope you get the required time to write something 😉🫶

(P.S - Sorry this message is not to disturb you, don't take it the wrong way😭😭 THIS is some motivation from your lovely, stupid fan 🤧)

I owe everyone an explanation 😔

I never meant to take so long to update the story, I genuinely thought I could have another chapter finished in less than a month, but I underestimated how much work I'd have around this time and clearly overestimated my ability to juggle everything.

My work is related to the Olympics, so you can imagine how busy a time this has been. The entire year has been pretty insane in preparation, but the last two months or so especially, and it hasn't even started yet.

I have done some writing, but tbh I have been working so much that I don't think anything I wrote is even salvageable. It probably won't survive a thorough editing, so I might have to start over. And I probably have less than 20% of the chapter completed anyway. And that's just The Wolf, the other WIPS haven't even been opened in months.

In times like this I end up having to choose whether to write or sleep or work or go outside for a couple of hours and see the light of day or go to the gym and in this context writing has sadly been the last thing on my priorities list. :( Not because I don't want to write, but because I simply don't have enough hours on my day.

I'm heading out to Paris this weekend and I won't be back until the Olympics are over, so I'm very sorry but it will be a minute before I have any updates :( I wish I had been able to churn out at least half a chapter, but I struggled a lot with inspiration on the little time I had to write. I remember my original plan was to have six chapters out by now lol What was I smoking?

Sp I'm very, very sorry to you and everyone who has been waiting for updates and sending me messages asking about next chapters. 😔 I really tried, guys, but sometimes things do be this way. Hopefully it will be easier after August.

[uroboros-if]

A few things

Hi guys! Just wanted to drop by and say a few things 💕

One, I will no longer be using Wix for Uroboros, and instead will be using WordPress. This change will happen once I finish Chapter 2 to keep myself focused on priorities with the IF.

Two, I've been writing a lot of personal pieces and projects unrelated to Uroboros, but I've written a lot this past month!

A part of me is sad not to be writing on Uroboros, but I've decided to work on my writing discipline to write a couple thousand words everyday instead of worrying about editing. I hope to translate this skill to the development of Uroboros! November will be Uroboros-free for the time being, however.

I've also done this to not lose steam with Uroboros. A certain mental quirk I have is being dictated by my fixations, varying in length and intensity. While I still love Uroboros dearly as one of my first serious projects, I do not want to lose my excitement for it, and that means writing other personal pieces. ❤️

I've learned quite a bit about myself along the way. For some reason, Uroboros is taking extremely slow for me to write relatively; I used to churn out 2k words a day for any other story. Uroboros is a big departure from that, and even writing 300 words takes the soul from my body.

Another struggle I have is getting past the prologue and Chapter 1 in any story I write. With some excellent advice, I've realized it's because I'm hyperfocused on the plot itself. Plot is the building blocks, the foundation, but story is the tale of the characters themselves, and how they carry the readers through the dullest parts of the novel.

I truly needed a breather from stressing out about Uroboros' progress and its finer details. Stepping away from it has given me clarity and perspective, and I have also began to long to return to it. Distance makes the heart grow fonder!

I will most likely be posting the side project I've been working on, under a different name. It's completely and utterly different from Uroboros, and it targets a much different audience, hence why I want to keep my personas separate. I won't say what it is, however!! :)

It'll be a much, much quicker write than Uroboros, but my magnum opus will always be Uroboros, and I will not waste inspiration on anything else if I had it; it's mainly for days I cannot bring myself to be inspired, which are quite many. 🥺

Anyway, that was quite a ramble. I will hopefully see you guys soon!! 🥺💕💕 In commemoration of this mini update, I will break my rule and write a little for Uroboros today. 💕

[willowfolksong]

argumentative, antithetical dream boy

(inspired by the song Hits different, by Taylor Swift)

Atsumu Miya x Reader

Atsumu enters the Onigiri Miya restaurant with a bounce on his step and a smile on his face. A smile that he knows, will make anyone in his close proximity melt like chocolate candies in the sun. He knows, of course he knows. But just to make sure, he lowers his sunglasses, looks straight into the eyes of a girl sitting on a table to his right, and winks.

She blushes. The guy she's with fumes.

Mission accomplished.

He can tackle the main quest just fine.

"Who wears sunglasses inside?" Osamu shoots at him as soon as he sees him "Take them off, you idiot"

Not a good start. And certainly not the welcoming Atsumu was expecting, but he won't let this minor inconvenience stop him.

"Did you hear what I just said?" Osamu tries again, while he finishes wiping his hands on a towel. "Oi, Atsumu!"

His only answer is a scorching glare from his older brother as he reaches the back of the restaurant, finally coming to stand in front of the bar where you, working with your back to him, are busy rearranging the bottles.

Hopefully, you didn't heard his brother's quips either, and he can still make a nice entrance for himself.

"Hi, Atsumu. I'm busy today, so I can't talk much"

Or not.

Still without turning around, you wave your hand at him in greeting and keep moving bottles to one side to another. Atsumu leans down against the bar and taps his fingers on the recently polished wood. He thinks it's oak, but he's not really sure. You aren't either. He remembers that time he asked you and you laughed and told him you weren't a tree expert.

Laughter.

That's right. He can catch your attention by making you laugh.

"Oh come on. Can't you spare like, five minutes?" he pouts, his head coming to rest on one of his hands "Is a bottle of whiskey really better to look at than me?"

That makes you pause. And you don't quite laugh, but you're smiling when you finally turn around and face him, and that's a small victory he will take with his arms wide open.

"What kind of drink are you going to want today?"

"Ouch, straight to business, huh?"

"Well" you say, and this time you do laugh. An airy laugh that he remembers very well from that time you were underneath him in bed, and he tickled you and you...

He clears his throat and pushes that train of thought aside, because you're still talking, because he's in public, and because his jeans are very tight.

"... so yeah, it's kind of my work" you finish, and he's vaguely aware that you basically just told him that he should order something, and so he does, and watches intently as you get to work in whatever his mouth decided it was a good choice of beverage, while his brain was busy conjuring images of you in his bed.

"How's the night goin'?"

"Not so bad"

"But you just said ..."

"I'm busy because we had a new shipment today, so I have to rearrange everything around" you explain, shaking your head while you turn the blender on "But this is an onigiri restaurant. Almost no one comes for the bar" then you pause, waiting for the blender to finish before continuing "Well, except for you that is"

"I don't come for the bar, I come for you"

"Are you saying my drinks are shitty, by any chance?"

Ah, your good old friend, deflection. Atsumu knows her quite well.

You finish everything and hand him what appears to be a Margarita, and the look of surprise on his face only makes you laugh more than before, and offer him a complimentary umbrella. He wants to reach for your hand but instead he takes a sip of the cold, fruity liquid, mindful of not poking himself in the eye in front of the girl he's been trying to date for two months.

For two entire months.

"I have to go to the back now and bring another box of supplies, so I guess I'll see you later?"

"You and me, Saturday"

Honestly at this point, he has tried to ask you out so many times that he doesn't even know how to phrase the invitation anymore. And right on cue, you once again roll your eyes at him and shake your head, pieces of your hair falling messily against your neck in a way that seriously puts Atsumu to the test.

"You know the answer to that"

"Yes?"

"No" you deadpan "Atsumu, I'm not going to go out with you"

"But can you please tell me why?" he gets desperate easily, and that's also pretty common. He's been desperate since day one, imagine now that it's been two months of this sweet, sweet torture. "We had great, amazing sex" he says, and waits for your response. When you just stare at him, he feels one of his eyebrows begin to twitch "Right?"

You bite your lip and it's so ridiculously unfair that Atsumu feels that he could scream, throw his baseball cap to the ground and stomp on it, even fight that smug Kageyama if the bastard was around. It's unfair, because he should be the one doing the biting.

He's fine if you do it too, of course. He will let you do anything to him.

"Yes, the sex was great Atsumu"

"Both times"

"It should have been just one night"

"But it was two and both of them were great"

"Yes, they were"

He grunts, straightening his back and pushing back his sunglasses over the bridge of his nose, Margarita long forgotten on the table.

"Then why do you keep saying no? Why are we havin' this conversation when we could be doin' somethin' much more fun like, I don't know, makingl' some good use of the employees only area?"

You sigh, and you look mildly annoyed and kind of tired, but your pink cheeks and you lip still between your lips gives Atsumu enough confidence to try and reach for your arm over the counter.

He grasps the same damn space that you've been putting between the two of you since the last time you were in his bedroom.

"I'm not going to go out with you, Atsumu" you tell him quietly "And there's more to dating than sex, by the way"

"Look, that's not ..."

"Also" you add, quickly turning back to your usual cheery, kind of snarky self and pointing at his face "You really shouldn't be wearing sunglasses indoor"

"That's exactly what I told him before he came to bother you" Osamu's voice says from behind him, and Atsumu can't just turn around and scowl at his brother, because he's busy watching you disappear through the back door, taking with you all his hopes for the night.

...

To be fair, it's not like anyone can blame Atsumu for not knowing what to do. He has never played the role of the heartbroken, unable to move on lover before. And he has a cementery of ghosted lovers to prove his claim. What is he meant to do when the tables turn on him?

A warning would have been nice.

"But I did warn you" Kita reminds him, a couple of days after the first time you two sleep together. Atsumu's complaining about something Kiyoomi said, something that made him so mad because it actually reminded him of you (and he has this epiphany while talking with his former Capitan over the phone about how yes, he hasn't stopped thinking about you at all), and then all just goes down hill from there.

"What do you mean you warned me? No you didn't!"

"Yes, I did" Kita remains unfazed under the damn of emotions Atsumu seems to have become "I told you not to sleep with one of your brother's employees"

"That's not a fuckin' warnin'. That's a challenge!" Atsumu stands up from the sofa to frantically pace around the living room, and settles for glaring at the wall, since Kita is on the other side of the country "A warnin' would have been: Hey! Don't mess around with this girl or she's gonna trap you forever"

"That's..." Kita pauses, and Atsumu can hear him standing up as well "Actually the most romantic thing I've ever heard you say"

...

It was supposed to be just one night. You were cute and funny and he was slightly annoyed at the fact that you didn't immediately gushed about his volleyball career when you two first met, wich only served to fuel his interest on you.

It was supposed to be just one single night of fun, because you had casually bumped into each other in a bar and hey, you were even cuter when you were away from the bar and all those liquor bottles.

It was supposed to be just one night... but then it was two, and now Atsumu's sitting at the back of that same bar, completely mistified by how you dance and laugh and say something to a guy that's too close to you.

He takes an aggresive sip of his beer.

"Are you okay?" Hinata yells at him, trying to make himself heard over the music. When Atsumu doesn't even acknowledges him, the Spiker turns to Adrian for help. "Is he okay?"

Atsumu ignores the exchange, wich gets interrumpted by something Kiyoomi says but it's impossible to hear due to the music and his mask, tightly secured over his lips. But Atsumu doesn't cares. He instead slides closer to the edge of his seat, grabbing onto his beer bottle for dear life.

"Wait, you're spying her?" Hinata yells again, and Atsumu finally looks at him "That's why we're here?"

"Who are you even talkin' about?"

"You'd have to be stupid to not know. Everyone can see that you've been obsessively fixated on the same person since we arrived" Kiyoomi says, even tho Atsumu can only catch some words "Anyway, I'm leaving"

Kiyoomi stands and so does the rest of the group, Atsumu included. But in his case, to move straight to the dance floor and not to the nearest exit. He's vaguely aware of Bokuto telling him something, but he's too busy trying to avoid bumping into other people as he makes a beeline towards you.

You look less surprised than what you should.

"Hey! Are you following me?" you ask, smiling at him. The mascara on your right eye is a bit smudged and your hair is a mess but he still thinks you look so gorgeous he could cry.

Or maybe he's already crying, because you stop dancing and give him a worried look.

"Are you okay?"

"Not really, no"

"Hey love, is this guy bothering you?" the guy you were dancing with suddenly asks, and Atsumu would swell with pride at the simple fact that not only he's taller but also much more handsome, but standing up and practically running to the dance floor has only served to suddenly and painstakingly remind him that he's had twelve beers, so he only manages to feel a slight twinge of drunken happiness.

"We've talked about this, Kai" you say, and he's so grateful for the fact that you to take a step towards him, away from this Kai, that he could, once again, start weeping for real this time. He can faintly hear his brother's voice in the back of his head, telling someone else that Atsumu's actually a very big, blonde crybaby "Don't call me love, or any of that. It makes me uncomfortable"

"Yeah, Kai" Atsumu adds, thinking he's shaking his head to clear his thoughts, when in reality he's moving his entire body, and spilling the beer he dragged with him all over "Don't fuckin' call her that"

"Or what?"

There's a split of a second in wich Atsumu thinks this random guy is actually going to fight him, and he gets into what he feels is an adequate fight stance, never mind the frantic voice of Hinata coming from somewhere behind him, or the fact that his PR team tends to become an actual nightmare every time he does something that can remotely compromise his brand.

Fuck it all. It's been two months and if he has to fight a guy to defend your honor and get you to look at him (actually look at him, like you did that night where he kissed every inch of your body), then so be it.

But then the guy called Kai takes one big step towards him, then a smaller one, and then his face changes from angry to surprised and then to childish glee.

"Oh my god, dude!" he yells, making Atsumu blink out of his stupor "You're Atsumu Miya! From the MSBY Black Jackals!"

"What?" Atsumu asks, and then someone is tugging him from behind, and he sees you moving out of the corner of his eye and tries to reach you, but only manages to grab your jacket, spilling the rest of his beer on the fabric as well.

"I think I'm in love with you, you know?" he slurs, and your eyes widen in surprise. He's not sure if it's because of his confession, or because of the drink all over your jacket, so he tries to salvage the situation by letting go of your clothes and smiling a little "It's alright. I have a lot of money, I can send it to clean for you"

"Here! Sign here!" his newfound fan insists, pulling up his shirt to reveal an MSBY Jackals t-shirt "Oh man. This is amazing! I'm such a big fan! I don't go anywhere without my MSBY Black Jackals t-shirt!"

But it's not like Atsumu would have signed anything anyway. Even if he hadn't passed out at that exact same moment.

...

"You threw up on him" Hinata is explaining to him as he enters his brother's restaurant, sunglasses off this time "Twice. And then you also threw up on the taxi we put you on. The driver called us from your phone and told us. We had to pay him"

"I'll pay you all back" Atsumu says, lingering by the door. He soon has to make some space for a couple to come inside, and so he ends up standing on one side, nervously scanning the room "It's not that big of a deal anyway. This things just happen"

"Sakusa says that you're dead to him"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever" he sees his brother coming out of the kitchen and clears his throat, debating if talking to him first, but then quickly deciding that it's better if he just stops being such a coward and goes straight to where he knows you are "I'll talk to Omi later"

"He doesn't wants to talk to you"

... Except that you're not there. The bar is empty and the blender is not even where you always put it. He leans over the counter and doesn't see any glasses, and all the bottles on the wall seem to be half empty, and there's not enough of them to give a proper service.

Osamu arrives by his side at the same time that dread starts to slowly consume him.

"She doesn't work here anymore, so you can just stop pesterin' me around here"

"What?"

"Are you deaf? I said she doesn't work here anymore"

Atsumu whips around in a flash to glare at his brother, standing by his side, and very much unimpressed by his reaction.

"Why? What happened?"

Osamu shrugs. He takes a quick look at the bar and then at the towel in his hands "She found another job. It's goin' to be hard without her, not gonna lie. She was very good. And responsable"

"She was the damn best!" Atsumu yells, and after getting a couple of surprised looks, switches to aggresive whispering "Why did you let her go?"

"What did you even wanted me to do? Tell her that she had to stay to keep dealin' with my dumb brother?"

Atsumu feels as if he's letting all the air he has in his body go with the sigh he gives after his brother's question. He's tired and hangover and worst of all, very much kind of in love with a woman he slept with two times. Two months ago.

He racks his brain for answers as his brother turns around to leave him to his missery. The easy answer to his feelings could be the sex, but it's been two months and you haven't been together again.

And somehow, that would be totally fine, if he could at least spent more time with you.

Because you're funny, and you crack the best jokes when you're busy polishing glasses that don't really need to be polished. And you're pretty, and your eyes shine in a way that does serious stuffs to the way he perceives the world.

You're also hot, of course, and he would snicker to himself if the wet smack of his brother's towel against his face wouldn't have him spluttering.

"The hell was that for?" he asks, confused, and now smelling like a wet rice ball.

"Do you want her number?"

...

He would have liked to rehears something, but his life is a chaotic mess since you're around, and he might as well start to deal with that fact. So when you (miraculously) agree to meet and actually invite him to your house, he's so excited and nervous at the same time that he starts talking as soon as you open the door, and doesn't stops even when you move to let him pass and he doesn't bulges, rooted to his place and focused on his unrehearsed apology.

"And I wasn't followin' you! I've just bein' goin' to that bar every weekend for a while now. We met there, so I've been goin' to drink and hang with the guys"

"Because we met there?" you ask, expression unreadable, and Atsumu has to use every amount of strength he has inside him to resist the urge to slam his head against the open door.

"Yes but also because it's a nice bar. I wasn't goin' there only because it's the place where we..." he tries to sigh and take some air at the same time, so he only manages to get himself in a coughing fit "Look" he speaks again, now teary eyed and with a sore throat "I'm really sorry, alright? I'll get out of your hair and just leave you alone. I just... well... you don't have to quit your job"

At that you laugh, and you start small but suddenly you're laughing out loud and Atsumu thinks that you would probably bent down holding your stomach and cackling like a mad woman if you hadn't caught sight of his horrified and confused look.

"I didn't quit Onigiri's Miya because of you, Atsumu" you say once you're calmer, but still having to wipe some wetness around your eyes "I've been saving money to open my own coffee shop for a while, and now I can finally do it. I want to be a barista, not a bartender"

Oh.

Oh well, that's nice. At least he didn't drive you out of your own job. That's a half win.

"That's... great for you"

"It's not a millionaire contract that would allow me to clean my jacket of any spilled drink" you teasingly add, wiggling your eyebrows in a way that shouldn't be considered as sexy as Atsumu actually thinks it looks "But it's a start. A small place of my own. A place where I can chase my own dream. Your brother started small as well, and look at him now"

"You know, I actually love coffee" Atsumu says, immediately forgetting his previous words "I drink coffee a lot. I could be like, your first client"

"Oh, really? I thought you were going to get out of my hair"

"Yeah... well..."

You laugh again, and the way you stand up on your tiptoes and leave a kiss on his cheek feels almost surreal.

Because it's been two months of poorly disguised and one sided longing.

Or at least that's what Atsumu thought.

"I wasn't going to date you while working for your brother, you idiot" you tell him, playfully smacking him on the chest "It's bad enough that I slept with you"

"Twice" he feels the need to add, just to say something that makes him feel like this is actually happening, and it's not just his still intoxicated brain playing tricks on him.

"Yeah, twice"

"So you were just..." he starts, has to stop to process everything right and then speak again, a mix of emotions (and beer from the night before) making him a bit light headed "Did you actually liked me back all this time and didn't said anythin'?"

"I'm a professional" you say, trying to look serious, but completely failing "And you also have kind of a reputation. I had to make sure..."

"Who told you that?"

"Osamu" you admit, and take a step back as he takes one forward, finally moving away from the door "And the magazines. Everyone knows you're a heartbreaker"

"Oh, yeah? Well..." Atsumu licks his lips, pausing for a moment to quickly locate what he thinks is the open door to your bedroom. He can carry you there no problem. Then he closes the entrance door with his left foot "I'm gonna show you exactly what I am"

The answer is yours. But you made him wait two months. Maybe this time, he will be the one holding himself back.

(He tells you the next morning)

This work belongs to my Midnights: Sleepless stories 🕰️ collection, a series of reader insert fics based on the album Midnight, by Taylor Swift, with characters from Haikyuu, Tokyo Revengers and Blue Lock. ✨

You can still send an ask if there's any character you would like to see in any particular song ✨

Next one on the collection - are we falling like snow on the beach?

[sensei-venus]

Just a Pup- (1/?)

Alpha!Daniel/Alpha!Amanda/Omega!Reader/Alpha!Johnny featuring Twins! Sam & Robby and Baby!Miguel

(Unedited) (Mentions of Infant Starvation, Child Abandonment, Breastfeeding, Protective Omega Reader)

Reader sighed as she finished packing up leftovers from dinner. She pressed the phone closer to her ear as she finished closing and locking a plastic container.

“I'm sorry Honey, the meeting is running over longer ger then I thought. We should have been done almost ten minutes ago but these guys just won't stop with bring up new policies. And apparently Daniel approved a whole new line of cars we are suppose to start selling on the floor and we have to go over a whole folder on how to sell them?” Amanda's voice was both annoyed and questioning on the other line. She sounded exhausted, her voice on edge and wavering.

Reader hummed as she set a few containers into the open fridge. She quickly shut it after placing the last few containers inside. Turing around she placed the phone into her hand and leaned into the kitchen island. She herself felt tired from a long day of taking care of the new twins. At three months old they where still up and about, people claimed they would just sleep all the time but the twins where nothing like that. They where balls of constant sunshine, and poop. Lots and lots of poop.

“It’s ok babe, me and the twins are fine here. I made dinner and it’s in the fridge for when you guys get home later. I’ll wait up for you, Johnny said he should be home in the next two hours, hopefully.”

“Extra training?”

“Paper work for new students and apparently one of the sinks at the dojo is messed up, he had to get into the plumbing apparently. He said it’s fine, just needed to stay a bit longer to fix it for tomorrow’s classes.”

There was another sigh on the other end of the phone which made Reader bit her lower lip.

“I don’t like the fact we are making you stay home all alone with the twin’s. It just doesn’t feel right, you should have one of your alphas there with you to help. We don’t want to run you ragged with taking care of the twins by yourself during the day.”

Reader smiled and she could feel her face getting flushed.

“I’m fine and so are the twin’s, I like taking care of them. Being by myself can be a bit lonely but at the end of the day I know you guy’s are coming home to me and that’s all I need. Plus, you guys get days off to spend at home with us, your not pushing me to take care of them alone. Don’t think like that.”

The phone was silent for a moment.

“I love you, I know Daniel and Johnny do too…” it sounded like she wanted to say more. That there was more going though her head, but she held back.

“I love you too, tell Daniel I love him. I’ll see you when you get home later.”

The two mates said their goodbye’s before hanging up. Reader looked at her phone for a moment before placing it back into her pocket and heading out of the kitchen. She tried her best to be quiet as she walked around the house. Her foot steps where light as she walked though the empty halls of the house and towards the twin’s nursery.

She quickly and quietly opened the door a crack and peered into the nursery. The twins had gone back to sleep not even a hour ago after a feeding and she hoped they would be down for a little while longer.

Walking into the room she glanced into the crib. Sam was out cold, her little chest rising and falling with every small breath. Robby fidgeted as he tried to fight sleep. His hand curing and reaching out for Sam’s. Since they where born Robby had a issue with being alone, mostly involving Sam. He cried constantly if he didn’t have her by his side or if he wasn’t in reaching distant of his twin. The doctors said that it was a pretty common occurrence in twins, it was a form of anxiety.

The two baby’s had shared a womb together for over nine months, holding each other, touching, having skin to skin contact. Then being pushed out into a scary new place, out into the world where they where no longer cramped together was to be expected very scary for them. Sam seemed to take it with ease while Robby did not.

Robby’s little hand curled around Sam’s before he finally stopped moving and fell fully asleep.



Reader smiled before making sure the baby monitor was on and leaving the room again. She quietly shut the door behind her before retreating into the living room. The idea of going straight to the bedroom to lay down and rest before her mates got home from work. It died down at the idea of belly flopping on the tight leather couch in the dim lit living room. The cool material against her skin was nice, she let her eyes flutter close. The quiet living room was peaceful to say the least. With the pups asleep she could have some alone time to rest.

It was pure heaven for about twenty minutes until a sharp knock shook the front door.

Readers eyes snapped open at the loud knock’s, the sharp sound echoed around the house. She secretly prayed the pups wouldn’t hear it and wake up. She slowly got up from the couch and wondered over to the front door. The knocking stopped by the time she got to the door, she flipped on the outside light which lit up a good portion of the front porch and a bit of the front yard.

She pulled her phone out for a moment to check the time and to see if any of her lovers had texted her. There where no new messages and it was late. None of her mates ever knocked, it was their home after all so it wasn’t one of them knocking.

She looked out of the doors peep hole and found no one standing there. She slowly opened the front door and poked her head outside. Looking around she found no one in sight. She puffed out her cheek in annoyance, of course she would be the one to end up experience a “door-bell-dasher” in the middle of the night. She huffed before shaking her head and ducking back inside.

The sound of rustling and gargling stopped her in her track’s.

She looked back out and still found nothing but the sound of shifting and gargling continued. Finally she looked down, she gasped at what she found.

In a poorly wrapped yellow blanket, a small baby laid on her doorstep. Small hickies come from the baby’s quivering lips, signing the poor thing was about to start crying out. Little tan and pink hands poked out from the blanket and reached out, swinging and clenching for something or someone to hold onto. Reader quickly picked up the bundle and held it close. Little hands reached for her shirt and gripped it like it was a life line.

Reader looked around one more time in a hurry before bringing the pup inside with her and shutting the door. She hurried to the kitchen in hopes the kitchen light would be better then the porch light.

Sitting on one of the island chairs she opened the blanket more, fully revealing the little pup inside. And they where little, maybe just as little as Robby was when he was born, but this pup wasn’t a newborn. This pup already had their umbilical cord off and their little stump was gone, they where at least a month or so old. She checked the shotty diaper which was full and barely even fit, the pup was a little boy. His skin was a light caramel tone that almost reminded her of Daniel’s. Even being little he had a mop of dark black curls on his head.

The dirty dipper was one thing but what made her stomach turn was the sight of his little tummy. She could see the dips of his little ribs and his belly held no baby fat what so ever. Not even a bit of push.

She remembered the pack of diapers in the back of the twins closet. They where to small for the twins and she just didn’t have the pull to return them, maybe just maybe this was why.

She carefully held the small baby as she wadded to the twins room once again. She secretly wished they might be borderline awake, just enough so that she could pick them up and place them in their travel bassinet. She was in luck as both twins where slightly awake, eyes open and both of them moving around slightly.

Their little legs kicking around. She was able to get both of them into the bassinet without making them fuss or cry out, they just blinked and gargled at her. He grabbed the pack of diapers from the closet and quickly changed the new pup. He didn’t put up a fight.

She quietly rolled the bassinet from the room and down the hall, into the living room. Reader placed it next to the big recliner in the living room. The idea to thank Johnny into talking them into getting the soft recliner for the living room was scratched into her mind. She grabbed a blanket from off the couch and threw it over her and the pup as she cuddled into the soft recliner. Relaxing into it.

She took the time to study the pup up close. Feeling tears bubble at her eyes as she sniffed him. The tears where hot in her eyes, he smelled like nothing, he smelled like a pup but nothing else. There was no omega or alpha, not even a trace of a light beta scent was on him. He should have smelled of someone at this age.

No one held him.

No one scented him.

No one was LOVING him.

That made Readers hormones sky rocket. Her heart broke at the idea that no one could cuddle or scent this little baby. He was so tiny and defenseless, he should be covered in a scent of love, of care and tenderness. But he was blank.

Pressing him to her neck she cuddle him, rubbing her scent gland all over him in a attempt to sooth him and cover him in her own omega scent. He let out a small yawl before trying to rub himself against her, the nature instinct to rub his little body into her for protection. The pure instinct to be covered in a mothers scent. He went still after a few minutes.

Then he whimpered painfully.

Then a loud cry left his lips, tears spilling down his cheeks.

Reader felt they way his belly tightened and drew up in pure need of food.

No thought passed her mind as she lifted her shirt completely off and unlaced her lactation bra flap. She was quick to guide him to her breast, but he didn’t latch right away. She wondered if it was do to hunger pain or if he just didn’t understand how to feed. She cooed down at him, rubbing his back as she tried to help him. Before long he finally latched onto her nipple and started to feed. He suckled slowly almost trying to relish in the new supply of milk. His hands gripped at the skin of her breast as if she was going to move away.

She didn’t know how long they sat like that. The sound of Sam and Robby’s soft breathing and the soft grunts and sucking sounds from the pup was relaxing. Reader was slack in the chair as the pup fed. Her thumb circled on his back, her eyes half lidded.

It was peaceful.

Her eyes only fully opened when the soft click of the door being unlocked and opened followed by the sound of loud food steps and clanking of heels filled the entry way. All three of the pups where still peaceful. The twins curled up in the bassinet, the pup on her chest still softly suckling milk.

Readers chest was warm and content for once.

“What is this?”

“Who's pup is that and why are you breastfeeding it?”

“Why are you in my recliner?”

This was going to be a nightmare to explain.

[darkanddirtyknb]

Important Notice

I want to give a warm hello to all of my beautiful like-minded freaks, creeps, and horny little toads. We have had quite the journey together. It's hard to believe I started my blog and Patreon so long ago. Sometimes it's painful to reflect on because I was in a much better place when I started my blog. But we learn to live with the hand we receive in life, and that's what I'm doing. Which brings me to the reason I'm posting this today. This has been a long time coming, and I suppose I've been putting it off because I haven't wanted to admit it to myself. I've been in such a period of stasis. But I kept trying to convince myself that I could return to how I used to be—putting out content like the wind, writing commissions, having deep discussions and long conversations with my supporters, and so on. But the truth is, I just can't do it anymore. My body has taken a toll on me, and my fire has burned out. My physical health (and sometimes mental) has taken its course, and this is the path I have no choice but to follow. However, despite the war I'm waging with my body, there is good news. I won my disability claim. I'm not making much, but it's enough that I can support myself monetarily. So, I will be closing my Patreon. I'll also no longer be writing commissions for the foreseeable future. I've been delaying this part of my announcement because I hate letting people down. My Patreon aside, I made a lot of promises to people that I couldn't keep. For that, I'm sorry. I never accepted any money for work I didn't start, so I owe no one anything in a monetary way. But I will be letting people down, and that truly bothers me. If you were in line for a story, I give you my sincerest apologies from the bottom of my heart. If you feel like I let you down in any way, I'm sorry for that too. That said, to be fair, I didn't know this was going to happen to me. I hold no control over the turns my health takes, and if I could change it, I would. I will still post from time to time. I'm not giving up on writing. But what once took me one to two days now takes me weeks, sometimes months to finish. I will still be around, and I will still engage with my followers. I'm not disappearing. My health may have won this round, but I won't let it take me down. I've come too far to give up what I love. I actually have a very detailed story in the works, and come hell or high water, I will finish it. I want to thank everyone who has stuck by my side. To everyone who has supported me, shared talks with me, read my works, liked my stories, and left comments—thank you. These things have helped me through some of my darkest hours. As for my Patrons, hopefully, by closing my account this month, you'll be able to have some extra money after the holidays. I want to give a special thank you to you. You kept me afloat by helping me pay for necessities like my medication, food, gas for medical appointments, and more. Without you, I truly don't know how I would have reached this point in my life. I hope there are no hard feelings. I'm doing what I need to for myself, but also, what I feel is best. If I get a second wind, I might write those stories still jotted down on my whiteboard. You never know. Lastly, I want to share another piece of good news. My parents surprised me with a new friend. I will post pictures of her below. Her name is Luna. (Not after Luna Lovegood, but our Lord and Savior, The Moon.) She has certainly kept me on my toes, and I'm not sure she's been the best thing when it comes to my disabilities, considering I can barely keep up with her. But I'm in love, and I know that ultimately, she'll be well worth the hassle—which she most definitely is right now. She's a right pain in the ass. I'm pretty sure she's a quarter Gremlin, a quarter Audrey 2, and two-quarters Piranha. I'm sending all my love to everyone. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season. If you have any questions or just want to shoot me a message please don't hesitate. Please take care of yourselves. It's dangerous business out there. Much love, Kai

[runabout-river]

Thoughts on Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 230 (spoilers)

This chapter was harder to understand than previous ones and that was probably because the translation I read was a little shoddy. I might have to make a follow up post on Sunday when the official translation comes out.

But from what I did understand is that Sukuna, that prick, is using Megumi's soul as a punching bag in this fight to let Mahoraga adapt to techniques without him taking damage. In this case it was the sure-hit of Unlimited Void. This probably only works on UV as well.

Theory: to be still able to finish the summon of Mahoraga after getting hit by UV, Sukuna disengaged his brain from Megumi's. Normally this would pose the risk of MegumI gaining back control of his body but not in this specific circumstance because the disengagement meant that Megumi's mind would be hit by UV, meaning even if he had been able to take back control in that moment, Gojo's own attack made him unable to do that.

Sukuna is really a royal bastard who leaves no room open for attack and Gojo was understandably distraught at realising that he hurt Megumi directly.

On Megumi: first, he has his shoes back. Second, he's still at the bottom of the abyss of evil in the same position as last month after Tsumiki's death. His eyes are also looking quite dead BUT despite all of that Gege still made sure to draw the reflection of light on him. Megumi is not in total darkness and at some point in the future we'll see what that means.

There is also Gojo's 6-Eyes look at Sukuna with Mahoraga in the background. We see two white circles in front of him, one higher than the other. These are CE centres most likely, drawn to represent the soul. They're two because there are two different CE signatures, Sukuna's and Megumi's. The higher circle, Sukuna's, has a piece of the lower circle attached to it.

We can interpret this in different ways. Literally, as in Megumi's CE and cursed technique being used by Sukuna right now with Mahoraga standing directly behind Suku. Or figuratively, with Megumi's soul being shattered.

Yuta had compared a burnt-out technique with an overheated engine. The engine was technically fine, there was nothing to repair because nothing was broken, it was just too hot to be used in the next few minutes. So what did Gojo do? He broke the hot engine and repaired it afterwards. Then et voila, a freshly made brain engine ready to use!

Sukuna's Domain breaking soothed my soul after the taunt he levelled at Gojo and did Megumi so dirty. But I did hope that Megumi had an active role breaking it. In the future, hopefully.

This is an awesome panel and even Sukuna's side eyes are bleeding. My problem here is again that I'm confused about the step by step happenings of the fight that led up to this. I might've avoided this problem if my Japanese wasn't as shitty as it is but instead of improving it during my limited free time, I rather write fanfic about Toji getting fucked in the ass by Benimaru Shinmon from Fire Force.

Teacher Gojo finally gets to shine after being dissed left and right the last few chapters. The Tokyo students are watching and we'll definitely see the things these behemoths are doing in this fight used by the good guys in the future. I won't be hearing about any asspulls when that happens!

Sukuna's grin is also extremely menacing.

We get the next round starting with another fist fight and Yorozu's words are back in Sukuna's head. Why? What do those words mean to Sukuna? Why is he thinking about them again? There are multiple interpretations and theories we can go with.

E.g. love for Sukuna could mean the love of fighting and the love to strive towards greatness. This is in contrast to Gojo who we only ever heard talk about romantic love (I'm not a stsg shipper but I am a stsg truther).

The loneliness is about being so strong that no one else can stand beside you. Why this phrase reappears here again might be because Sukuna is standing right now in front of someone who is on his level and Sukuna very much knows that without pulling every ability and trick up his sleeve he won't win.

Still, Sukuna didn't show much emotion in this fight even now, he straight up showed more personality in his fight against Yorozu than here

My theory is that Sukuna, unlike Gojo, started his life at the bottom of the food chain as a hungry child at the edge of starvation who resorted to cannibalism to survive. Sukuna showed a great disdain for lowlife who didn't stay in their lane and I think that's a projection of his own life and his achievements that no one else is ever going to accomplish.

Sukuna always seemed like he didn't see much in Gojo most likely because he saw him as nothing but an upstart who won the ability lottery and nothing more but that might be changing with these last few panels. Gojo fights with more intelligence and skill than just with his abilities alone.

[starsandsteelandbrokenglass]

December 2024 Reading Wrap Up

Last wrap-up post for the year! I'll do one for 2024 as a whole hopefully soon (and maybe a Christmas gifts pic?), but I still wanna do a monthly recap. It's been a pretty busy month (@ninja-muse, I saw the tag post, I appreciate the tag so much, I simply...did not get there). I travel home for the holidays so it's been end-of-the-semester work while trying to cram in as much time with family and friends as possible. This month I read 8 books and almost 3,000 pages--not a bad finish! Here they are:

The Tiger's Daughter (Their Bright Ascendancy #1) by K. Arsenault Rivera- 4.25/5 stars; this was a lot of fun and I especially enjoyed the worldbuilding, as well as the relationship between our two main characters--I look forward to the sequel!

The London Séance Society by Sarah Penner- 2/5; neat premise, but in contrast to The Tiger's Daughter, I did not buy into the relationship between the main characters at all and I do think fundamentally there was no reason for the plot to happen the way it did

Memorial: An Excavation of the Iliad by Alice Oswald- 5/5 stars; oof. brief but poignant reminder of how much death there is in the Iliad and gives the same care Homer does to the lives of the fallen

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin- 5/5 stars; a reread of my favorite childhood murder mystery, which I still find holds up excellently for me

My Salty Mary (The Marys #3) by Jodi Meadows, Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand- 3.75/5 stars; these books are silly, but fun! pirates, mermaids, and some standard YA romance

A Fate Inked in Blood (Saga of the Unfated #1) by Danielle L. Jensen- 3/5 stars; this was a "romantasy" situation which is really not my vibe, nor are Vikings, but tbh I think this does what it set out to do and checks all the boxes of the genre

A Letter to the Luminous Deep (The Sunken Archive #1) by Sylvie Cathrall- 4/5 stars; this was so charming and while I was a little taken aback by the direction it ended up taking, I definitely want to read the sequel

Castle of the Cursed by Romina Garber- 1/5 stars; maybe this is on me for picking up another romantasy but this was so much worse despite being marketed as Gothic which I do like. I could actually say a lot about this (HOW DOES ESTELA LEARN SPANISH SO FAST????) but I won't do it here

So 2024 did not technically end on a high note reading wise, but that's okay! My favorite book this month was The Tiger's Daughter, and I hope the sequel is just as good!

Currently Reading: The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl (The Extraordinary Adventures of the Athena Club #3) by Theodora Goss and Nightmare Movies: Horror on Screen Since the 1960s by Kim Newman (do not ask)

[benkyoutobentou]

31 Days of Productivity Reading: Day nineteen

Before: I forgot to mention this yesterday, but I’m finally under a thousand words left to review on jpdb!

And because I won't let you forget my goals, one more time.

Finish No. 6 volume 3

Read 憎らしい彼

Read 独り舞

Read at least ten volumes of manga (3/10)

Read at least an hour per day

After: I've had quite the chill day so far, which has mostly involved sitting around and watching a bit of tv. With how busy I’ve been lately, I’m almost surprised that it took me this long to need a day of just doing nothing. I don’t think that’s good or bad, I think it just is.

I've started ３月のライオン volume five and man I do love this series. This volume started out with 人間将棋 which instantly made it onto my list of things I need to see before I die (yes, it's a real thing!). And then they immediately started discussing みつ豆 and あんみつ the next chapter? I've been on the hunt for あんみつ for months and finally resigned myself to just having to make it myself. There's only one place that I can find in my city that sells it, but it's super far away and I never just end up in that area. I think I started my あんみつ hunt around fall, so I've been waiting for months for summer to come around so that I can have the best possible fruit for it. Another food I would've loved to have had in Japan, but I went in the dead of winter, so it wouldn't have made much sense...

OH! I'm so glad I remembered! I'll have to make a trip to the Japanese grocery store this weekend, because it's officially 花見 season and I have to make dango! I made tri-colored dango for the first time last year, took photos of the process, planned out a post about it, and then never got around to actually making said post. Whether or not the post will happen this year, I absolutely want the dango to happen. And you know what's right next to the Japanese grocery store? The Japanese used bookstore! I'm getting excited, why is it only Tuesday?

And so, today I did a whole lot of much needed nothing and only ended up reading for an hour and two minutes. Yes, I did have that much to say about one hour and two chapters' worth of reading. That was forty pages and my average reading speed was 1.55 minutes per page. ３月のライオン has way more text per page than most manga I've encountered and also includes articles about shougi throughout each volume (this one was about 人間将棋！), so it naturally takes me quite a bit longer to read than other series. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it tomorrow, but that's not the only thing I have planned, so we'll have to see.

[velvet-cupcake-games]

Made Marion Development Log, May 2023

Robinpalooza 2023

Hey everyone!  I'm writing from the midst of Robinpalooza 2023 as I embark on a big writing sprint to finish the route ASAP.  Currently the route is over halfway scripted at 34,280 words. The next three weeks will be nothing but writing (and hopefully some coding) for me as I buckle down to get 'er done.

That means our Robin beta should begin in mid-late June. I may put up the first two chapters for beta before the rest of the route, which gives everyone a bit less to go through at a time if you're interested in providing direct feedback.

Beyond everything always taking longer than I hoped it would, a reason Robin's beta is a bit delayed from the original May estimate is because I looked over all our sprites during the Enhanced Demo process and decided that Robin didn't quite have the same SQ (Sexy Quotient) as the rest of the cast. So his sprite (and only his sprite) is getting one final makeover.

Robin's new sprite isn't massively different from the old one, but the lines on his face have been smoothed and his base feel is closer to "romantic hero with a hint of a trickster to him" than "comedic lead." That's more accurate to his characterization in his route (and no shade to Arrapso here, because the darn man purposefully acts the fool until you get to know him better in his route, which wasn't available to her when she designed the sprite).  So we'll need to wait for his new expressions to be complete before I can start coding the first half of his route.  It'll be worth it!

As a reminder, backers needed to pledge specifically for beta access in order to receive it (it was an add-on). You can check your Backerkit profile to see if you have beta access (message me with your backer email if you need another link to your Backerkit info). Unlike the Enhanced Demo beta, future betas will be available either on itch.io or Steam. I will send beta backers a code based on their favored platform.

Altered Sherwood Common Scene

We had a cut-in graphic that wasn't quite ready in time for the Enhanced Demo launch, but is now in our development code. It probably won't land in the demo because I've fully split off that code base from the in-development game, so I posted a video of the updated scene as it will appear in the final game. Except without that typo where I didn't capitalize Layton's name once. That's been fixed already.

I recommend watching directly on Youtube for the best quality, though of course the quality is even better in the actual game!

That's what we have for this month. And now it's writing go time!

[howdy-folks-its-showtime]

It's Showtime! - September 2024 Devlog

Howdy! Cobalt here, this month was a very busy month for me irl. I've been working on stuff like an Ebay I run with my mom, cleaning up our side yard and generally trying to give our house a deep clean since we want to be able to babysit kids for a source of income. That and a lot of driving practice since hopefully soon, I'll be taking my test. So I haven't been focused on game development, however I did get a ton done!

I've both added quite a few important scripts and cleaned up a few existing ones, to try and keep this simple here's a list:

Changed up how the ProgressManager keeps track of which character you are playing as. Mostly so that it can more accurately detect who you should be playing as currently, but also so I can customize freely the possible options of who you're playing as. With this new system it's very easy to add which points in the current level and/or chapter your character is changing.

ProgressManager script is no longer responsible for placing the right items in your inventory according to who you are playing as, that has been moved to be the function of the PauseManager.

Made a script for checking where the player is looking, I can change how close or far it detects the players gaze as well, which is gonna be super helpful for various things. There is another script called VisionManager that turns that one on and off, to make sure it's not running when not necessary.

Made a script for playing audio upon being interacted with and one for playing audio upon being looked at. These have been added to a few objects already and so Henry now has a few placeholder voice lines implemented in the game. With this I also added a function to the ProgressManager to keep track of which voice lines have been played and to make sure the same voice line isn't activated twice.

Tapes are now almost fully implemented programming wise. Upon picking one up, it plays the tape, shows you the name and description and the audioclip is stored in your tape menu. You can't play them from the menu yet and there's a few other things I'd love to implement, but for now I'm very happy to say they're working well.

I've rewritten how both objects that do something upon being interacted with and objects that do something upon being seen work. This method has removed the need for two scripts that made everything more complicated than it had to be and now if I want to add the ability to be interacted with, all I need is to add a word to it's inherited methods and a line of code saying what it does when it's interacted with/in sight. This makes the code much more readable and more simple.

Made the ProgressManager easier to access across different scripts due to how often it has to be accessed. Once again this makes the code more simple and easy to read.

simple door function for closing and opening a door, the animations are acting strangely but currently it is nothing more than a big placeholder rectangle so it works for now.

There's now an AudioManager script that makes sure voice lines and tapes won't play at the same time, it just makes all the objects that would normally play audio pause to let the current audio clip finish. So no overlapping voice lines or Henry speaking over the tapes.

Not a lot here to note honestly, just more drafts of important dialogue to put together and more progress on getting chapter 1 fully written. I've been focused on 3D art and programming way more than writing this month. I'm sure I'll get back to it next month.

A lot of the basic more generic 3D assets are being made currently, here's how a few of them for the first floor are looking;

And here's some for the Music Department.

2D Wise mostly just more Character Designs have been done, hence why most of these assets aren't textured. But soon the studio should be looking a lot more swell and full of props.

Made a really exciting development in terms of figuring out character rigging. Got in contact with someone who has a really swell system for 2D facial animation and if we can work together to figure it out, I'm sure soon I'll have some of the major characters first models done. I've told them a lot of features that would help me if they could figure them out and what I'd like the rig to be capable of and they said they are fairly sure it should be possible and they'd look into it. They have been very kind and helpful for this entire project and I would love if any of you gave them support on their YT Channel and the videos showing off this awesome rig. If they could make a general rig for this sort of thing I'm sure it'd be super helpful to so so many people who make stylized characters in Blender for games. https://youtu.be/0hcZfr4f5cA?si=gb6VYNXi7G12a5iI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_knSIhLEGlw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2rMoFWwYTc

For now, that's all, lots of exciting stuff going on! See you guys next month!