#i feel like i'm not really capturing all my thoughts on paper here but oh well. anyway. if i am even a little bit right

[nemesis-is-my-middle-name]

i was going to crack a joke about how the only thing on my lore wishlist for the dlc was that they would finally explain why the hell marika got impaled and crucified on the elden ring. and then it occurred to me that our one canon named boss so far is an archetypical erdtree traitor-styled demigod quite literally titled the impaler

[skippingstonez]

Can I request a sky or wild x reader where reader has a crush on them and Link is unaware. And the reader has a tendency to draw him, and somehow he finds the sketchbook and goes through it to see the numerous drawings of him. But he didn't know the reader even drew in the first place, I think it would be really cute

*starts writing this, intending to use Wild*

Sky: *over dramatically breaking down my door* Change it

Me: But-

Sky: *raising the master sword menacingly* Change. It.

Me: Yes sir!

A Sketchy Confession

(Sky x Reader)

Warnings: None, but Sky insisted it gets a little steamy at the end and who was I to tell him no <3

You bit your lip, chewing on it unconsciously. The pencil in your hand marking the paper repeatedly in an attempt to capture the landscape ahead of you. You huffed, erasing some of the lines before trying again. The tiny body of water rippled, disturbed by a leaf that had fallen from the tree above you from the warm summer air. You debated whether or not to add the newest addition. Having almost completed the drawing you had set out to do well over an hour ago. 

Soft footsteps approached, breaking your concentration in a need to know who had finally found you. 

Sky walked past the small fence of Wild’s house to where you were sat by the little pond beyond the stable. He was just wearing his white shirt and pants. The usual green tunic and chainmail likely left back inside the house. The blue detailing by his collar pulled out the blue of his eyes as they spotted you.

You closed the small notebook resting on your knees as he sat down beside you. Forcing your face to remain calm and relaxed as his knee bumped against yours.

“Nice hiding spot.” He chuckled, “I thought you'd gone with some of the others to check out the shops.”

“And give up the opportunity for some peace and quiet? No thanks, think I'll keep hiding here for a bit.”

Sky laughed, leaning on your shoulder. “Mind if I join you? Legend’s trying to help Wild organize his stuff and I'm not about to get caught in the crossfire.”

“Not at all. But if someone finds us I'm offering you as a sacrifice to their shenanigans."

Sky clutched his chest, dramatically gasping as if he was mortally wounded. “Ugh fiiiiiine, I guess that's fair.” He pulled out a small knife from his pocket and a block of wood a size bigger than his hand.

“What have you been up to out here anyway?” 

“Just keeping busy,” you answered, pushing the notebook to the side nervously. The only one in the chain that had seen the inside of it was Legend due to an unfortunate mix up which he still hung over your head. 

Wars, being really big on keeping notes and journaling, had given all of you little notebooks as a way to encourage you to do the same. Most of the chain quickly forgot about it in favor of their own preferred hobbies. Legend and Wild seemed to be the only others to use it frequently enough for you to notice which led to you and the grumpy Vet getting them mixed up one day. 

Journaling had never been your thing. Words were tricky enough in normal conversation let alone trying to express the thoughts running through your head at any given moment. Still, you felt bad not using the small gift which is how it ended up as a sketchbook rather than a journal. 

Drawing had kept you sane, especially so on the hard days. Sketching out the thoughts and feelings that overtook your mind. Unfortunately, after using it for sometime, it had seemed that there was a particular someone filling up most of those thoughts. So much so that the notebook was now full of sketches and quick doodles of the knight sat directly beside you.

Something which, after a rather charged chat with Legend about, you refused to let Sky, or anyone else in the chain know about. You'd rather get stabbed by a Lizalfos than die of embarrassment.

“What are you making?” You asked, redirecting the conversation away from the item tightly in your hand.

“Oh this?” He held up the piece of wood. “Not quite sure…any requests?”

You thought for a moment before answering. “Have you done that flying bug thing in your bag?”

“Oh you mean my beetle? That's a great idea! I'm gonna go grab it for reference. If I'm not back in 5 minutes just know,” He paused, throwing an arm around your shoulder. He pulled you close to him and you just knew your face was likely turning red. “It's probably Legend’s fault.”

You snorted, shoving him off as he got to his feet and made back towards the house. He turned back, shouting over his shoulder. “Wish me luck” He said with a small salute. You rolled your eyes but saluted back. The butterflies in your stomach fluttered around at the thought of spending time with him.

Alone.

You smacked your face lightly. You needed to get a grip on yourself before he came back. You grabbed the notebook, stuffing it deep down into the depths of your bag. 

__________

“Make sure you've got everything,” TIme’s voice rang out. “Once (Y/N) and Wars get back we’ll head out.”

Sky finished stuffing the last of his things back into his bag, clasping his sailcloth over his shoulders. He gave his surroundings a final scan, double checking that there wasn’t anything left behind by mistake. 

He got to his feet, stretching his arms over his head with a quick huff.

“Sky! Let's get going!” 

“Coming!” He strolled over to where Legend and Four were headed towards. A quip about Legend’s new hair color already poised on his lips. 

Something on the ground caught his eye, making him paused to take a closer look. It was a book. It's dark brown cover having nearly blended in with the bark of the tree.

He picked it up. The lack of title or name making it near impossible to distinguish whose it could be. 

“Sky come on!”

“Coming!”

He mused over the small book as they walked. Flipping through the dozens of drawings that covered its pages. 

The detail work was exquisite. Each line carefully crafted to enhance every feature within the confines of the picture. Sky didn't know much in the way of art, but the little he knew helped him understand just how much work had been poured into each one.

And there were a lot.

“Here I thought Wars was the narcissistic one.”

Sky nearly dropped the book as Hyrule appeared next to him.

“Clouds above Rule! You startled me.”

“Do I wanna know why you have a book full of drawings of yourself?”

Sky rolled his eyes, snapping it shut. “It's not mine. Don't suppose its yours is it?” 

Sky handed it over, letting Hyrule flip through some of the pages. “Nope, definitely not mine. Hey Vet!” Hyrule called out. 

Legend’s head snapped towards them from where he was by Four, pausing to let the two of them catch up before walking beside them. “Need something?”

Hyrule handed him the notebook, “Don’t suppose we can add drawing to your list of random talents could we?”

Legend opened it up curiously before slamming it shut again. His head swiveled to the back of the group before glaring at Hyrule. “Where the hell did you get this?”

Hyrule shot a finger towards Sky who immediately wished he had kept his mouth shut. Legend glared at him, waiting for a response.

“I-I found it as we were leaving this morning. I didn't know it was yours-”

“It's not.” He snapped.

“Wait if it's not yours then whose is it?”

Legend looked towards the back of the group again as if afraid of getting caught. Sky couldn’t help but try to follow his gaze only for Legend to slam the small book into his chest.

“Gee Sky, a book full of drawings of you. It's an absolute mystery as to who it could belong to.” His voice was overflowing with sarcasm that Sky was not appreciating. Sky crossed his arms, narrowing his gaze towards the Vet. Hyrule awkwardly looking between the two of them.

“I already told Hyrule, it's not mine.”

“Oh you have got to be kidding me.” Legend groaned, rubbing his temples. “Please tell me you aren’t that oblivious.”

“Excuse me! I am not oblivious! Now are you gonna tell me who it belongs to or not?”

“By the three… you seriously need me to spell it out for you Bird Brain? There isn’t a single person in this group you can think of that this might belong to?”

“Obviously not since I still have it! I don't recall anyone here talking about being able to draw so please, enlighten me.”

Legend grumbled, obviously frustrated about the current situation. “Try the girl back there that's painfully head over heels for you.”

Hyrule snorted, hands slamming over his mouth to keep in his laughter.

“(Y/N) doesn't draw.”

“Obviously, she does Sky. Or did you not look through the damn thing?”

“But…no. No, she would have told me!”

“You’ve got to be kidding me Sky. She's embarrassed. Did you really expect her to waltz up, show you the dozens of drawings she's done, of you no less, and actually admit she's the one that drew all of them? She might as well have just confessed her love while she was at it.”

Sky's mind went blank.

Was Legend really telling the truth? Had you drawn these and not told him? 

No. No you would have told him. Surely Legend was mistaken and it was someone else's. Maybe it was a shared notebook and that's why there were so many of just him?

Sky couldn't even convince himself that his reasonings were true. Deep down, he knew Legend had to be right. Even deeper, he wanted him to be right.

Because if the Vet was right, and you had drawn all of these. Then was the Vet also right about your feelings for him?

“You… you think she likes me?”

Legend tugged so tightly on his hair he was surprised it didn't rip out of the man's skull. 

“For fucks sake Sky! What do you think?”

“Buddy” Hyrule chimed in with a pat to his shoulder. “Come on, surely you suspected as much right? I mean she practically grows hearts in her eyes when you're around.”

Really? If that was true then how had he never noticed anything? 

“Alright let's stop here for now and take a break.” Wars announced, handing a few chores out before everyone could scatter.

Legend and Hyrule walked away, having been out on scouting the perimeter. Leaving Sky to think about their conversation. 

There was just no logical way that this was yours. He forged the Master Sword, defeated countless numbers of monsters, puzzles and a God for Hylia’s sake. Surely he would have noticed if his companion had a crush on him or at the very least had been drawing him for weeks on end.

“Uggghh where is it!?” Sky looked up, watching you practically dump out the entire contents of your bag. He got to his feet, making his way over to you quickly to try and help whatever problem had arisen.

“What's wrong?”

“I can't find my notebook! I swear I put it in here last night but I can't find it!”

Notebook?

Sky paled, shoving the notebook into his bag before you could see.

“Oh,” he said nervously. Why was he feeling so nervous all of a sudden? “Do you want help looking for it?” He offered. His mind yelling at him that the one he had just shoved in his bag was the same one you were looking for. That Legend had been right. That you were the one that had done those wonderful drawings.

Hylia, Legend was right.

“No!” You said a little too quickly. “No, it's fine. I'm sure I'll find it eventually..” You began shoving things back into your bag. Not caring about keeping anything organized. “But thanks, I appreciate the offer.”

You walked off, shoulders sagging slightly.

Sky's heart raced in his chest as the realization of it all slammed into him like a Loftwing at full speed.

You liked him. 

Goddess how had he not seen it until now? You, wonderful, beautiful you, liked him.

He walked to the edge of the small clearing, taking out the notebook again when no one was looking.

He flipped through its contents once more. Admiring all the work you had done. He knew he needed to give it back, and he would. 

But what was the harm in waiting a day or two?

Just until the perfect moment presented itself.

Then he'd give it back.

And hopefully more.

___________

“Sky? You over here?” 

“Here!” He could see you approach out of the corner of his eye. Placing the shirt he had been scrubbing at for the past few minutes on the rock beside him.

“Oh uhh sorry I can come back later!” You stammered. Hand raised to cover your eyes when you realized he was shirtless. 

Sky chuckled. “Come on (Y/N) we all know you’ve seen worse. I'm just trying to get some of the blood out from earlier.” He said, motioning to his pieces of clothing drying nearby. He waved you over, patting the ground next to him. 

You walked over sheepishly. Kneeling down with a respectable distance between you and the knight. “Want any help?”

“Nah that's okay. I got most of it out already. Buuuut~ I'm actually glad you're here!” He leaned over for his bag. Shuffling through before pulling out the small brown notebook. “I believe this belongs to you.”

He pushed it into your hands and your heart skipped a beat. You snatched it up, quickly flipping through the worn pages to confirm that this was indeed the one you had misplaced the other day.

“Sky this is…You found it! Oh my goodness thank you!” You hugged it tightly to your chest. Relieved to have your drawings returned to you. 

“Why didn’t you tell me you could draw?”

Your heart skipped again and this time you wondered if it was because it had finally cut its losses and simply stopped working. You didn’t dare meet his gaze. Keeping your eyes distinctly on the grass between you and him. You forced yourself to swallow, willing your voice to work.

“You...you looked through it?”

“Well…yeah?” Sky rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “Only because I didn’t know it was yours! I found it on the ground and I was just trying to see who it belonged to! But then I saw all the work you put into those drawing and they were just so beautifully detailed that I sorta just kept going and-”

“Hold up,” You interrupted, having no clue where to begin unpacking all of the information he had just spouted at you. You were mortified at the thought that he had seen all of those drawings you had done of him. Not to mention- wait had you heard him right? ”You like them? You don't think..ya know, that it's kinda weird?”

Sky cocked his head. His eyebrows raised in confusion as if you had just spoken an entirely different language. “Are you kidding!? (Y/N) those look amazing!”

Heat invaded your cheeks and you prayed that he wouldn’t call you out on the obvious red spreading over your face. He shifted closer, a hand coming to grab at the notebook which you clutched onto tighter. Sky tugged at it again, giving you an incredulous look. You pouted but let him take it back.

He flipped through a few pages before pointing to a sketch you had done back in Wild’s era. The small field of wildflowers that overlooked a small village on the coastline. “I mean seriously (Y/N) do you see these?”

He turned the page, pointing to a rough sketch of War’s scarf wrapped around his sword. “I never even realized that scarf of his had some of those embroideries on it!” He flipped through some more pages, pointing out drawings on each page. He eventually paused, placing the book face open on your lap.

The only drawing on the page was one of the man beside you. He was standing against a tree, his hand outstretched in front of him as a small red bird fluttered around his head.

Sky leaned over, hovering his head over your shoulder. “That one’s my favorite.” He whispered. A soft smile on his lips as he admired the drawing in your lap. 

You replied just as softly, “Mine too.” A finger traced over the soft lines of the bird. Recalling how you had sat there for over an hour to memorize every detail of the scene laid out before you. His hand covered yours, running his thumb over your knuckles.

“They’re amazing (Y/N).” You looked up, his face right by yours. The proximity alone making you blush furiously as his words stirred something in your chest. “You are amazing.”

His lips pressed against yours, taking you by surprise. 

You let your eyes slip close, moving your mouth against him. A feather-like touch brushing up the length of your arm. His hand coming to hold your face to his. Your fingers twitched towards him, only brave enough to rest just above his knees. You didn’t dare go any higher than that. The heat coming from him only serving as a reminder of the lack of clothing between your bodies.

A gasp escaped you as Sky pulled away. His mouth agape, chest rapidly rising and falling from the small pants that he let out. You pulled your eyes away from his slightly reddened lips, catching his eyes that stared back in disbelief. 

You both let out a breathy laugh, turning your face away into his shoulder. His lips pressed into your hair as you both sat there for a moment. 

You pulled away, unable to hide the stupidly large grin on your face. You closed the notebook that had stayed put on your lap. Holding it protectively to your chest. 

“Thank you Sky”

His mouth curved into a small smirk, “It was just a kiss (Y/N). No need to thank me.”

You hit his shoulder, rolling your eyes as he snickered. “Not that bird brain.” You stuck your tongue out at him for good measure and nodded towards the notebook. “For this.”

Sky’s face softened for just a moment. That smile that you had fallen in love with making a short appearance before morphing into an expression you had never seen grace the Skyloftian’s face. 

“Ya know (Y/N),” His arm snuck around to rest behind you. Supporting his weight as he leaned back in. “Seeing as you're quite the artist, maybe you should draw me.”

You snorted, “How much of that notebook did you actually look through? Because I'm pretty sure I have already.” You tapped him on the nose. Leaning away, only for him to follow after you.

“Mmm~ I'm aware.” He purred, glancing down at your lips that you chewed on nervously. “And you did such a good job too.” He snatched the notebook from your hand, tossing it lightly to the side.

“Hey!” You tried to grab it and he caught your hand. Lifting it up so he could place a light kiss to the inside of your wrist.

“You could draw me like this if you’d like.” Another kiss on your wrist as he looked up to your eyes. Your heart thumped wildly in your chest. Breath catching in your throat as the tip of his tongue flicked over where his lips had just been.

“Sky-”

“Would you like that?” His hand pressed against your back. Pushing you closer to him till you were sat on his lap. You braced your hands against his shoulders. Fingers brushing along his collar bone that had him shuddering beneath you.

“Is there something else you'd like as well?”

“I…I want..”

“Tell me what you want.” His voice was breathy by your neck. The smallest trace of his lips grazing over the sensitive skin that made you shiver. His hands gripping onto your hips. Your mind already imagining the small circles of his thumbs pressed against another part of your body.

“Sky please..” you whimpered shamelessly.  You slid your hands across his chest, letting your nails drag lightly across the expanse of skin. His chest rumbled, chuckling while his mouth traveled just below your jawline.

“Please what?” He teased, pulling a small moan from your lips as he kissed right below your ear. 

“Use your words baby bird” He whispered into your skin.

“Kiss me. Please.”

His lips slammed onto yours, yanking you forward till you were pressed flat against him. Your hands tangled in his hair, giving a short tug that had him groan into your mouth. When you did it again he shot forward, your back hitting the damp grass with him hovering over you. His forearms trapping you in place as he slid his tongue over your bottom lip. 

*Ah-hem*

You both froze at the sound of Time clearing his throat. Both glancing up to see the man standing a few paces away. His arms crossed over his chest with his signature scowl of disapproval.

“I suppose it's a good thing I didnt send Wind to come collect the two of you. Now,” his face lightened ever so slightly as you both quickly sat up. “If you two lovebirds would keep it together, the rest of us would like to get moving soon.”

“Yes sir..”

“Sorry Time..”

Time just stared as you both scrambled to your feet. His face lightened into a softer, more contemplative smile as he twisted the ring around his finger.

Sky quickly grabbed his bag, throwing on a spare shirt while you grabbed the two still drying nearby, along with your notebook. Time walked off, muttering something about his wife being right that you didn't quite catch.

Sky's whole face had turned pink, adamantly avoiding your eyes. You stepped closer, holding onto his arm as you reached up and kissed his cheek.

“Just so you know,” you said. Beginning to follow after Time. “I’ll definitely be taking you up on that offer.” You winked as Sky's face turned the color of his Loftwing. Standing there dumbfounded for a moment before rushing to catch up to you.

His hand rested on the small of your back, letting you lean into his side as you walked back.

“Maybe we wait till the next inn though.”

[sugar--brown]

The mechanisms were Jon's college band AU

You see this AU crossover between The Mechanisms and The Magnus archives? Yeah, I like that one.

But I prefer the two groups being only linked by Jon. So, Nicholas is not Toy Soldier, Basira/Georgie is not Ashes, etc... I just like to think Jon has the coolest friend group/family to hang out outside of work and no one except Rosie knows about the mechs.

I want to try writting a chatfic too, so here it is. It's just the first chapter but I'm so anxious that I can't continue for now...

- Monday, 06:02 - The crew of the starship Aurora

Jonny d’Ville: sent a photo

[The Magnus Institute stands tall over the photographer; they had to bend backward a bit to capture the top of the building. The grey sky of this early September morning makes a great background for the golden dome, which overlooks the institute]

Jonny d’Ville: I am here.

Ashes O’Reilly: didn’t you work here for 4 years now?

Gunpowder Tim: yeah you sound like a little kid telling his family that he arrived safe

Raphaella la Cognizi: are we ur family jon? its so sweet

Toy Soldier: Awww (づ￣ ³￣)づ

Jonny d’Ville: Shut up! You are the ones who insisted that I send you news more often.

Nastya Rasputina: Just say you are nervous about your new job and that you try to buy time by talking to us.

Nastya Rasputina: Iris whishes you good luck.

Jonny d’Ville: Are you together right now?

Nastya Rasputina: Yes Jon, at 6am we are not at work yet. Only you do that.

Ashes O’Reilly: wait hang on why are you awake Tim?

Ashes O’Reilly: I thought you were doing the night shift

Gunpowder Tim: Don’t worry big sib Alex, I go right to bed after giving some support to our first mate ;)

Jonny d’Ville: It is captain for you.

Gunpowder Tim: FIRST MATE

Nastya Rasputina: FIRST MATE

Ashes O’Reilly: FIRST MATE

Toy Soldier: FIRST MATE

Raphaella la Cognizi: FIRST MATE

Marius von Raum: FIRST MATE

Drumbot Brian: FIRST MATE

Ivy Alexandria: FIRST MATE

Jonny d’Ville: Oh! Now you are all here!

Toy Soldier: Take it as us wishing you good luck (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

Jonny d’Ville: Fine. I do not have time for that anyway, I am already late.

Nastya Rasputina: You are certainly NOT.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- - 09:32 -

Jonny d’Ville: Does anyone know how to find and catch a dog without any property damages?

Gunpowder Tim: �� what?

Raphaella la Cognizi: do u have some dog food with u?

Jonny d’Ville: Of course not!

Nastya Rasputina: Context.

Jonny d’Ville: Yes, right.

Jonny d’Ville: Elias (my boss) decided to assigned a third assistant to the archives. He’s sloppy, slow, clumsy and had let a dog in. It had been thirty minutes that we all try to catch it.

Gunpowder Tim: Aren’t you supposed to work in some kind of archives, J?

Jonny d’Ville: I do.

Raphaella la Cognizi: i want to meet ur new assistant

Raphaella la Cognizi: i like dog send a picture!

Jonny d’Ville: Yes, thank you Raphaella, I will. But, I really need to find the beast before it makes serious damages or my boss learns about it.

Gunpowder Tim: You didn’t see where it went?

Jonny d’Ville: Sadly, no. It went straight into the depth of the archives.

Nastya Rasputina: I can feel your anxiety through my phone. Deep breath, it’s not the end of the world.

Jonny d’Ville: It could be the end of my career.

Nastya Rasputina: No.

Gunpowder Tim: Send us a picture Jonny-boy, maybe we could help!

Jonny d’Ville: sent a photo

[The photo is a bit blurry and dark, but it’s possible to see shelves full of files and papers, boxes on the ground and a few old office furniture scattered around. On the floor, a muddy trail is barely noticeable.]

Raphaella la Cognizi: paw prints!!!!

Gunpowder Tim: Follow the mud Jonny!

Nastya Rasputina: Just treat the dog like a very active cat and bring it back outside, its owner should search it.

Jonny d’Ville: Thank you, everyone, I think I hear it now.

Raphaella la Cognizi: No prob!

Gunpowder Tim: You got this!

Nastya Rasputina: Don’t freak out and don’t overthink it. It’s just a job like any other.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- - 10:23 - The crew of the starship Aurora

Toy Soldier: Did I just miss Jon chasing a dog in his workplace?! ｡･ﾟﾟ*(>д<)*ﾟﾟ･｡

Raphaella la Cognizi: he promised to send a picture

Toy Soldier: (❤ω❤)

Jonny d’Ville: sent a photo

[It’s a closeup of the spaniel sniffing at the camera. The pavement of the sideroad is visible just like the wagging tail of the dog]

Raphaella la Cognizi: doggie! thanks jonny u made my day! pet it for me!

Toy Soldier: ฅ V•ᴥ•Vฅ!!! <3

Jonny d’Ville: My nerves are officially fried.

Toy Soldier: More than the time you asked Georgie out?

Jonny d’Ville: shut up!

Raphaella la Cognizi: come on j! it can happen to anyone no need to stress

Jonny d’Ville: I don’t need a surprise new coworker who mess things up first thing in the morning.

Raphaella la Cognizi: sounds like good story!

Toy Soldier: Yes! Tell us!

Jonny d’Ville: It’s nothing. Just Elias not warning me that I will have a third assistant. And the said assistant let a dog in the archives when he arrived. He looks clumsy, dumb, and useless.

Jonny d’Ville: I swear! He tried to buy me with a cup of tea! How disgustingly sweet is that? And he wears the most hideous and soft looking jumpers I have ever seen!

Jonny d’Ville: Disgusting.

Jonny d’Ville: Why is no one saying anything anymore?

Raphaella la Cognizi: nothing nothing

Toy Soldier: Just go back to work! ρ(- ω -、)ヾ(￣ω��; )

Jonny d’Ville: Right. Yes. Better to get back. Have a nice day.

Raphaella la Cognizi: luv u!

Toy Soldier: (⌒ω⌒)ﾉ

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- - 12:11 - Tim to Jules

Tim: Marius

Tim: Marius my good man

Tim: Marius our real psychologist

Tim: Marius our ship doctor

Tim: Jules! It’s important come on!

Jules: Can’t I have one lunch break in peace?

Tim: Not when Jonny is dropping bombs like that in the group chat!

Jules: Let me check

Jules: Oh my

Tim: Soooooo?

Jules: yeah, the new assistant caught his attention.

Tim: just like with Jun!

Jules: like with Jun?

Tim: we never told you this story?

Jules: I know they were best friends over their mutual love of gothic, tragic, and angsty storytelling and that Jun taught him queerness but I’m not sure how it applies here

Tim: we didn’t tell you! Oh this is great! Let me tell you what happened before Jun and Jonny became Dr Carmilla and Jonny d’Ville.

Tim: well technically Jun had had already her persona but you see my point

Tim: alright so Jonny was this weird, emo, kid in first year of college. He was a mess really, worst than when you met him.

Tim: Jun was a Japanese student here in London to study for a year before going back to Japan and welcome London’s students. Exchange program yada yada yada…

Jules: I know that, you know?

Tim: shhhhhh… let me tell the story

Tim: so! When Jun started to be better than him in their literature class, Jonny was mad! I wasn’t even his friend but I could see it, the two of them spent all their breaks bickering. Jonny in his soft, shy, but angry voice and Jun in her broken English mixed with Japanese.

Jules: Wait hang on

Jules: They weren’t friends because they were good at the same things?

Jules: I thought that Jonny always treated Carmilla like some kind of idol, having a little crush on her and all.

Tim: they did after exchanging notebooks by accident! Jonny loved Carmilla’s songs so much and Carmilla loved his stories so much that they finally talked normally and became friends

Tim: and yes Jonny had very strong feelings for Carmilla from the start, but he’s just terrible at expressing it

Tim: like a kid bothering another one because they don’t know how to keep their attention on them

Tim: but I doubt it was romantic

Jules: Wait wait wait

Jules: are you implying that this new assistant Jonny just met is his new crush?

Tim: that’s what I’m asking you!

Jules: well… it’s true that Jonny has troubles to express himself…

Tim: mh mh!

Jules: but it could also be because he’s very stressed from having being promoted to head archivist and having to deal with someone new when he requested his colleagues.

Tim: yeah, “colleagues”

Jules: We both know what he means ;)

Jules: My diagnostic: we can keep an eye on it

Tim: Yesssssss

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- - 17:01 - Archives team baby!

Timothy had created the group Archives team baby!

Timothy had added Sasha

Timothy had added Martin

Timothy changed Sasha’s name for Hacker

Timothy changed Thimothy’s name for Inspector Tim

Inspector Tim changed Martin’s name for New Guy

Inspector Tim: Here we go! All done!

Hacker: Well that was quick, one minute after the workday is done. Impressive.

Inspector Tim: What can I say? I am a man of many talents! ;p

Hacker: Can’t deny that.

Hacker: But if allow me…

Hacker changed Hacker’s name for Sasha

Inspector Tim: Hey! I didn’t allow you!

Sasha: It would be easier for Martin to remember our name if we keep them written on this chat.

Inspector Tim: But he needs to know the dynamic too :(

New Guy: I don’t mind either way… whatever you prefer

Inspector Tim: Don’t be shy! We are all friends here!

Sasha changed New Guy’s name for Martin

Inspector Tim: :( :( :(

Sasha: Let’s keep it simple for now.

Inspector Tim: Alright alright but I keep Inspector Tim because I’m wonderful

Inspector Tim: So! Let’s play 20 questions!

Sasha: I thought you wanted to do it at a pub

Inspector Tim: This is the sober version, so we can compare ;)

Inspector Tim: Here’s the rules! Sasha and I know each other so we will team up. We will ask a question, you answer, and you ask a question, and we answer. 10 questions by team! Got it?

Martin: I think…

Sasha: Play without me, I’m entering the no signal part of the tube.

Inspector Tim: aw :(

Inspector Tim: Well I start then! What do you think of Jon?

Inspector Tim: Martin?

Inspector Tim: I see you typing for three minutes straight now, I’m getting worried

Inspector Tim: No pressure! You can refuse to answer.

Martin: Sorry!

Martin: It’s hard to find the right words…

Inspector Tim: Relax!

Inspector Tim: I won’t tell him ;p

Martin: I guess he’s alright… he seems professional and hardworking, I’m glad to work with him

Inspector Tim: That sounds like more a job interview but fair enough! Don’t hesitate to come see us if you have troubles, he can be a bit…

Sasha: special.

Inspector Tim: Yeah! That! But he’s nice

Inspector Tim: Deep deep deep down

Inspector Tim: (glad to have you back sash’)

Sasha: Your turn, Martin

Martin: What is your favourite band/song/music?

Inspector Tim: A safe choice but a very interesting one, very smart…

Sasha: Since I know Tim is busy googling the exact song he wants you to judge him on, I will answer first.

Inspector Tim: *thumb up*

Sasha: I like songs which tell stories, no matter the gender, I’m not a fan of generic lyrics.

Sasha: @ Inspector Tim your turn

Inspector Tim: Already?!

Inspector Tim: You lost your flamboyant speech

Inspector Tim: The archives fed on it

Sasha: Stop being dramatic and answer the question

Inspector Tim: Kay kay

Inspector Tim: It’s I kissed a girl of Katy Perry

Inspector Tim: The perfect mix of queerness for me

Sasha: Tim is pan, for context. So a song celebrating lesbian loved by a queer man is a good definition of him.

Martin: That’s great!

Martin: I mean no

Martin: Yes!

Martin: I just want to say that it’s great that you are comfortable with it

Martin: Not like you couldn’t be!

Inspector Tim: Relax Martin, I get it

Inspector Tim: And thank you!

Sasha: Really, Martin, we just want to integrate you in the group, so no stress.

Martin: Thank you

Martin: It really means a lot

[darlingshane]

Afternoon Delight

Pairing: Michael Berzatto x F!Reader

Summary: You and Michael are just two good friends with a lot of chemistry that have sex on occasion, and today is one of those days he shows up at your apartment to benefit from that mutual agreement.

Content/Warnings: 18+, Explicit, Smut, Oral Sex (f. receiving), Friends with Benefits, Fluff, Crack, Pet Names.

Word Count: 1,4k

— You can read below or at AO3.

“Your boyfriend is here!” your roommate announces, knocking on the bathroom door as you step out of the shower.

“Boyfriend?” with a scoff, you wrap a towel around your soaked body before opening the door to see who she's referring to.

Poking your head out the hallway, you find Michael standing in the middle of the living room.

It strikes you as odd to see him this early and that your roommate called him your boyfriend, cause you and Michael are not currently dating, or ever will be, — but who knows, stranger things have happened. Right now, your relationship boils down simply to two good friends that have sex on occasion, with no bullshit or feelings in the mix. By keeping this uncomplicated, you avoid the upheaval of pain and regret you've felt in the past with other guys you've dated. This situation has been a good solution to ditch all those problems.

However, Michael's been coming and going so often that some people might view that as dating. It’s true, you two are really cute together, and have explosive chemistry that could blow up the roof. You would be lying if you said that you hadn’t thought about asking for more a couple of times, but for now this is all you need.

You and your roommate are not exactly best friends, or have known each other for long. So, you’ve never considered it important to explain the nature of the mutually beneficial relationship you have with Michael, and you’re not going to start today.

“Hi, welcome back!” his smile beams from across the room.

“Hey, what are you doing here so early?” you beckon him, and he follows you into your room.

“I thought you said to come pick you up at 3.”

“I didn't. I'm pretty sure I said 8. When have we ever hung out at 3? Nobody ever ha–” you’re cut off when Michael fishes his phone out of his pocket and shows your message on screen up to you to realize that you indeed typed 3 instead of 8. “Oh… I was jet-lagged when I wrote that. My bad, but I'm glad you're here anyway.”

“Yeah? You've missed me?” He tucks his phone back into his pocket.

“I haven't missed you missed you. But I've missed this face,” you hold his chin tightly in your fingers, leaning in to smooch his cheek.

Unable to fight a smile, his lips curve up beautifully as you let go of his face.

“How was your trip, sweetheart?” Michael takes a seat at the foot of your messy bed while you move to search through your opened, unpacked suitcase.

“Long. I hate flying. Here, I got this for you,” you toss a light-weighted, wrapped present at him.

“A gift for me?” He catches it in the air, tears the paper to find a novelty apron that has printed – kiss the cook – on the fabric with an arrow pointing down. “This is probably the worst gift I’ve ever gotten.”

“You’re welcome,” you say with a mocking shrug.

“C’mere, baby, I have a gift for you too.”

“You do? I didn’t see you bringing anything.”

“It’s right here,” his pointer finger taps on his lips twice, “you have to come get it, girl.”

Grinning, you sit on his lap sideways. As one of his arms curls around your waist to keep you secured, his opposite hand frames your jaw, guiding your face to capture your mouth. He offers three small kisses, and then he nibbles at your lower lip, sucks it lightly into his mouth and releases it, just how you always like it.

“That’s all you got?” you purr against the corner of his mouth.

“You’re always so greedy, sweetheart. You think you deserve more in exchange for that crappy apron?”

“Yeah, I fucking do. It's the thought that counts.”

“That so?” Scoffing, he presses a kiss on your neck before picking you up and settling you down on the mattress without breaking a sweat. Locking eyes with you, he hovers over your body as one of his hands untucks the corner of the towel that was keeping it in place over your breasts, and spreads the fabric to the side to uncover your body.

With a low hum, he presses another wet kiss on your lips before having his tongue trailing down your torso. He leaves a wet trail from your neck, across the valley of your breasts, over your stomach, around your navel. The tip of his tongue viciously stirs your arousal before reaching the crux between your legs.

“Hi, sweet thing, I’ve missed you so much,” he plants a few kisses all over your vulva when he reaches that spot.

“Are you talking to me or my pussy?” you prop yourself on your elbows as he stares up at you.

“Hm, both. But mostly your pussy. Is that okay?”

“Sure. She’s missed you too. Have at it,” you laugh softly and place your head back down as he buries his face between your thighs.

His eager tongue traces every fold and inch of your cunt, collecting your juices at his passing. You ball the sheets in your fists as he slowly, but surely, makes your whole body buzz with excitement in a few licks. Your nipples harden and your head spins as the plane of his tongue flattens against your folds.

“Hmm,” you pull your knees further apart, close your eyes, and slide your fingers in his hair. “Be gentle. Walls are paper thin, baby.”

“Let her hear you,” he laughs against your pussy before letting the tip of his tongue lap around your clit.

His arms curl around your thighs, as one of his hands massages your mound, the other marks its fingers at the curve of your hip.

The pressure of his tongue is absolutely delicious. It keeps teasing around your clit for a long moment before having his lips wrap around that sweet spot. Up until that point, it’s easy to keep your moans buried in your throat. When he starts sucking and licking and grunting oh so fiercely around your sensitive skin, devouring you like a wild animal that has been fasting for days, he forces those drawn groans past your lips.

Your taste, the wanton sounds that he earns out of you, and the way your body writhes is the cause for his cock to bulge out his jeans. It aches for a good fuck, and he can only press himself against the mattress to gain some friction. His tongue has great determination to make you come before shoving his dick inside you. It’s all Michael thinks about, just burying himself in your slicked walls and filling you with his cum. It fuels his unwavering passion.

Out of the blue, you get momentarily distracted when music starts blasting through the walls, and you bring your hands to cover your heated face, realizing your roommate is definitely hearing you. As embarrassing as it is, you use that as an opportunity to just let go and focus on how good it feels to have him between your legs.

After a moment, you place your hands back down, knotting your fingers back in his hair and pulling as hard as you can, unable to control yourself as he brings you closer and closer to the brink.

It doesn’t take him long to make you meet that sweet undoing that elevates you to a higher plane. He’s always had that ability. But today is special because one – you haven’t seen the other for two weeks; the longest you've gone without benefiting from the other. And two – the unexpected surprise of him showing up earlier gives you that extra edge of excitement that has your legs trembling with practice eased in this afternoon delight.

When all your muscles seize up, and you can’t stop squirming and cursing his name, he takes it up a notch until you come undone. As your mind swirls in that bubble of pure bliss, he stops altogether, but keeps his mouth close to press soft kisses against your sensitive skin while your breathing catches.

You let go of his hair and let your arms fall to the sides, watching a blurry vision of Michael crawling over your limp, tired body.

“How was that, sweetheart?”

“That was beautiful. You’re beautiful. Everything your tongue does is beautiful,” you reiterate with a dopey smile, cause you can’t come up with a different word at this moment.

Staring adorably at you, he caresses your sweaty face as you regain enough strength to lift your hand and swipe his lips with your thumb to clean your juices lingering all over his mouth. “You think you got more for me, baby?”

“For you? Always.”

[asegunda]

Special Invention

PJO

Pairing: Platonic! Leo Valdez x Deaf! GN! Reader

Summary: Leo meets someone special, in lots of ways. Warnings: Too much fluff, remember I warned you.

Notes: I did one of those trop generators HAHAHA and it got 'disableid' so I thought of this! Hope you like it. ❤️

Another shiny day at Camp Half-Blood, not that Leo knew that it was shiny since he was working on some 'awesome' new machine, not even barely eating. But this wasn't unusual, Piper already passed in the cabin 9 cabin and bunker some 10 times today.

The only time he takes his eyes out of the work is when one of the Athena kids calls him and tells that Chiron wants to talk with him.He wonders what could it be...he and the rest of his cabin didn't bomb or put fire this week in anything...still, but they still didn't!

As he enters the room, Chiron is in his 'wheel chair mode', Leo always loved how tat machine was, his mimd starts to wander around until he hears a cough sound, he looks at Chiron again.

"You can sit Leo." Chiron smiles at him and points at the chair, he sits and messes with his fingers."So...I'm guessing you want to know why you're here." Chiron starts. Duh, Leo thinks but doesn't say anything just says a yes."So I don't know if you heard about the last mission here at camp."

He continues and Leo tries to remember but it just comes in a blank.

"Well, by that reaction I guess you don't..." Chiron nods to himself and sighs. "Well, it was a mission to rescue a new demigod and...it didn't go very well, the demigod was on a school trip to an airplane museum..."

"Wow, that sounds cool!" Leo smiles."Well, yeah it is cool, but remember when I said that the mission didn't fo very well?" He tells.Leo didn't even remember but he nods."Well, a monster apeared and...the demigod-" Chiron says and is interrupted."Is dead?" Leo asks but feels dumb the moment he says seeing the look on Chiron face."No. Thank the Gods for that." He says. "But...the fight with the monster damaged a lot of plains and well with the gasoline and the coal-" He is interrupted again."It exploded right?" Leo says, more an affirmation than a question. "Yes, unfortunately yes." Chiron sighs. "And the demigod we rescued, Y/N, became...deaf by the explosion." Chiron says looking at the papers at his table."Yeah, you were right it's not cool anymore." Leo sighs. "And why am I here?" "I would like for you and the Hephestus cabin to try to build a machine to make atleast the situation better. And while it isn't ready, try to think of a way to help Y/N communicate that isn't an notebook, we don't want no one uncomfortable, even more when something so unfortunate occurred."Leo nods. "I see. We are going to try our best!" He smiles and Chiron smiles too. "Thank you Leo, really."

Leo nods again and gets out of the place."Well, more work to do..." He sighs and goes to tell the news to the rest of the cabin.

1.

The first time he meets Y/N it's in the infirmary, almost all of the beds are full because it was Saturday, wich means that yesterday it was the Capture the Flag.

Leo sighs trying to find the known blonde, as he sees he goes to him."Hey Will!" He smiles to the Apollo child.

He looks at Leo, and the first thing Leo notices it's that he is pale, really pale, but he still smiles at Leo.

"Leo! What brings you here?" He asks.

"Hmm, a kind of mission if you get me." He winks, but Will just looks at him with a confused face and Leo explains it that he talked to Chiron about the new kid.

"Oh Y/N! Poor kid..really, so suddenly...well we can't do nothing can we? Just give our best support.." He sighs.

"Well actually that is why I am here, Chiron wants my cabin to build a machine to help." He smiles."That is great, come I'm gonna show you where Y/N is." He starts walking towards a more quiet corner where you can see a figure looking at the window watching other campers play volleyball.

"Hope it works." Will gives him a thumbs up and goes help an Hermes kid at another bed.

He walks to the bed and sits in a chair across the bed.

You jump in suprise as you see him."What do you want?" You say and point at a 'Big Hero 6' notebook at the drawer.

Leo takes it and the pen. 'Chiron sent me'. He gives it to you and you read it, as you finish you look at him.

"And?" You ask. You give him the notebook again. Now he writes all the talk he had with Chiron, as you read it you look at him again.

"Would you do that for me?" You ask again.Leo nods and you smile at him.

"Well...what are you going to teach me while that machine isn't ready?" You tell him and Leo smile fades, he didn't thought about it and didn't even learn nothing to help you. He tries to think of something fast, he doesn't want you to think he is a loser. He then remembers his mother but he puts that idea aside.

You start looking at him confused and he gives up.

He takes the 'Big Hero 6' and writes something, he sighs.

"Morse code? You know it?" You sound really excited, not that you could hear your own entusiasm.

Leo nods and you smile.

He writes again: 'How about we start now?' He smiles at you and you do too.

2.

The machine still isn't ready...months later, but Leo knows it will be awesome and you will love it, he gets up of his work chair and gets out of bunker 9.

He goes to the strawberry field when he sees you. He sits by your side and you smile at him.'Prepared for our class?' He says and you nod.

You go with him to the infirmary, because it looks like it's the only quiet place outside the empty cabins.

Will smiles as he sees you both.

This was already your 15th class, not that you were counting of course.You two continue like this and at the end of the day Leo gives you a candy.

'It's from Will's cup for the patients but I don't think he needs it.' He says in morse code and he winks at you.

"Thanks." You say both loudly and in morse code and you eat the sweet.

3.

The machine is finaly ready! Leo thinks, you are going to love it.He goes to you and says that he wants you to see something.

You think if it is the machine and you are starting to get excited. As you enter cabin 9 with him you just can think of two things: the machine and the dirty mess that the cabin is. You ignore the second and look at Leo, as he makes a drum sound, you can't hear it but he tells you later that it was supposed to be drums.He takes out of his back a machine kind of looking like headphones you look at it and Leo makes morse code: 'Try it!'You smile and put it in your head. At first nothing happens but after you can hear Leo say: 1, 2 and 3 does it work?"It works!" You hug him and he smiles at you."Pffft. I knew it would work." He says smirking, didnt you know that he tried to give up 3 times, all of them he didn't because it was you who needed them.You smirk at him too."Leo." You start.

"Yes?" He asks.

"You sound weird." You say and Leo remembers that you never heard his voice before, it looks like he knew you for his whole life but it was just some months.

"You're not getting a swett today." He says nodding in disaproval.

"Leo!" You pout and he smiles.

Later you get the candy after some more pounting and Leo tells you that the machine has a secret sticker, you wonder what it is and he shows you.

It is a 'Big Hero 6' sticker, like the image from your notebook, you chuckle and he does too.

[gyuluttony]

gonna do something somewhat out there and out of nowhere. i just finished kinktober on my like... main wg account so i've missed doing kpop wg so i'm coming back with... zb1 SDFJSDF gunwook been attacking me lately so he's going to be the one feeling it now.

All-in

This is a feederism fic and features weight gain and unintentional weight gain. Don't like, don't read.

There was a dreamy sort of sigh that left the table in the library and it took one paper flying to cause the source of it to make an annoyed expression. "Yah! Kim Gyuvin!" The warm tone of Gunwook sounded a little more frustrated than usual as his friend held his finger in front of his lips, to shush him.

"You can't be too loud in the library, Gunwook~" The teasing tone almost made him jump over the table to show him who could be louder of the two before he felt the pointed gazes of the students around them and buried his head in his textbook, muttering curses towards his friend who barely had enough mercy to add quietly, "Just because Matthew hyung is here doesn't mean you should neglect your work."

His long crush on the older friend of theirs was something that was practically known by everyone in their friend group. And something that he couldn't help but get embarrassed about everytime someone pointed it out. He wasn't that subtle about it... and it wasn't aided by the fact that Matthew tended to treat him nicer than his heart knew how to react with.

"Gyuvin, I swear if you don't stop talking about it when he's this close by, I-" The words that left Gunwook were growing more threatening by the moment before he heard a loud exclamation. "Oh, Gyuvinnie and Gunwookie!" It was always nice that Matthew didn't seem to care about the negative glances for the loud volume but he only belated realized, offering a small apology and a sweet smile that no one could stay mad at as he approached.

"O-oh, hyung! Good to see you." Gunwook was severely underprepared for the way that Matthew sat next to him and leaned on his shoulder while Gyuvin tried not to laugh.

"H-hi, hyung." Gyuvin imitated his stammer which got a death glare shot in his direction before Matthew spoke again, "I didn't know you guys were studying here... but I brought some snacks for Taerae since he said that he wanted some." Gunwook tried his best not to visibly deflate at the thought before the snacks were placed in front of him.

"Huh? What are you doing, hyung?" Matthew stuck his tongue out as he added, "No one said he needed to get them all. I bought a lot so you can just have the extra instead. I know how much you love to eat." There was a pat on his head from the older man and Gunwook did his best to not beam before opening the box. Gyuvin rolled his eyes from across the table, texting someone about what he was witnessing in front of him.

While he dug into the snacks and made conversation with Matthew there were some things that came to mind. Taerae was a little bit on the heavier side. Not fat but chunky was a good way to describe him. It only made his dimples and smiles cuter and nicer to hug, something that Matthew was incredibly fond of. He had believed that Matthew was someone who had a crush on Taerae for a very long time... so maybe that was what he was missing.

Gunwook was a good gym buddy for Matthew... but what if he wanted something that was a little bit softer. Was that the best way to capture his attention? With a renewed vigor, Gunwook ate the snacks that Matthew had brought even faster, surprising both of his company. "Hyung, do you have any more?"

Gyuvin wasn't unaware to the way that Matthew's face seemed to warm up as he stammered for a response for a moment before furiously texting Ricky. They had made a bet on when something would happen between them after all but he couldn't really afford it to happen now... he was going to lose the bet.

"All I have is the stuff for Taerae... how about..." Matthew bit his lip with a smile that he was failing to hide. "I bring these to him and we can head out for something to eat?" Gunwook's eyes brightened before Matthew nearly stumbled out to get the treats to Taerae. Gunwook began to pack his notes while Gyuvin looked at him, "Seriously?"

"You told me to stop staring... so I'm doing something about it." Considering how smart Gunwook is, it should have occurred to him that Matthew practically sprinted back to him so that they could head out to get food while Gyuvin was trying to ease up Ricky on the bet so he wouldn't owe him too much.

-

As he jumped in his dorm room, Gunwook felt his face burn, feeling the way that the flab jiggled, trying to squeeze every possible extra inch of himself into the pants that no longer fit into his frame. It was almost like a dam was broken that day.

He had stopped going to the gym as much with Matthew but he was seeing him just as much, if not more. They were always getting food since Matthew excused it as wanting to treat his dongsaeng. But, Gunwook didn't realize that not working out combined with Matthew's constant treats would have results this fast.

He'd already let out this pair of pants twice since upsizing and now, his belly was sticking out from his body, proud and bloated with fat. Or food considering that Matthew treated him most meals in a day. It was always nice when he insisted on Gunwook trying something new and he loved it.

It's not like the weight was solely tied to his prominent belly but it settled in his thighs and glutes which wasn't really aiding the pants situation. They clung tightly to the plump thighs as well as didn't even make halfway up his ass as he tried hopping into them again, hearing a faint tear of fabric and how much the fat on his body jiggled at the motion.

While looking at himself in the mirror, Gunwook's hand absentmindedly rubbed his belly as he felt his face flush. Matthew had been a lot more touchy with him recently. Either holding his love handles or even sneaking squeezes on his belly which always made him think he was on the right track to getting his attention. After all, him blowing up was for him as well.

But, there was an enjoyment he was getting out of it as well. Feeling the way that his body expanded, burst out of belts sometimes and even was starting to get stuck in booths at the restaurants they frequented... there was a bliss in this... he just wanted to do it properly with Matthew at his side and just like his appetite, it was insatiable. He was no longer content with just being friends.

There was a knock on his dorm door. They had already made plans to go out again and while he wasn't ready in the slightest, he knew that his outfit (or lack of since he didn't fit in the button down that couldn't even close or his pants) would get the answer he wanted.

Opening the door, he heard Matthew's voice. "Gunwookie~ Are... you..." The happy voice trailed off before he looked down at the gut that was staring straight at him as he swallowed dryly. "I'm up here, hyung." Matthew's gaze needed to be torn away from the plump mass before Gunwook smiled. "Wanna order in?"

The feeling of Matthew's muscular body crashing into him and jostling his belly enough that the buttons he managed to get closed break told him everything that he needed. He had went all-in and got the pay out that he wanted... and soon, he was sure that he'd need to upsize again anyways now that his boyfriend was showing him just how much he appreciated that excess on his body.

[jadetheblade4]

Are They Stupid?

A Dog Man Fanfic by Swirly Twirly

☆☆☆

Summary: Petey escapes Cat Jail, but the local guard that checks up on him is the one on his tail!! Will the shennanigans ever cease... (Takes place somewhere before A Tale Of Two Kitties) (Not a ship thing sorry weirdos but this gal wants to write for the silly of it ^_^)

☆☆☆

Part 1:

It was yet another normal day at Cat Jail, Collardale. The guard was doing his normal everyday rounds, albeit with a positive demeanor. He had been having a great day so far, thinking that nothing much could ruin it. He went to Petey's cell with a skip in his step.

"Gooooooood morning, Petey!" proclaimed the Guard, banging onto the cold metal bars of the cell. Petey, startled by this sudden noise, lifted his head up from his piles of papers and blueprints of escape. His face contorted into an annoyed glance once he saw who it was, his ears turned downward in disinterest.

"Aaaaaand goodbye to you, Guard..." Petey retorts, waving him off and continuing to work on his plans.

The guard chuckled. "Aw, cheer up, buddy! Big Jim and a bunch of other cats are planning on taking a sewing class today. You should join them!"

"Don't call me buddy! Besides, why would I want to be with any of those nut jobs? They're all stupid goofballs that don't have anything better to do with their life!" Petey took great offense in that chuckle, even slightly hissing his words to subconciously tell him to back off.

The guard tilts his head slightly, frowning a bit. "Then...what are you doing with your time?" he questioned, leaning onto the bars of Petey's cell. 

Petey's sneer immediately dissapears the moment he realizes how suspicious he looks. "I- um...Well..." he stutters, trying to find something to pass off as an excuse. Suddenly, his ears perk up, a quick idea passing through his genius mind.

He picked up a piece of paper that was a shopping list of some sort but for evil machinery. The contents didn't matter, though. He turned it over and quickly doodled a crude-looking drawing of the guard and himself holding hands, trying to make it as nice as possible with his ratty artstyle.

"Well, for your information... I'm...drawing a picture!! Of us!! Hanging out or whatever, just come see it!" proclaimed the orange cat, waving the drawing above his head.

The guard's face lights up in glee. "Really, Petey? You drew a picture for me??" he squealed in excitement. He never would've thought that Petey would do something nice for him for a change!

Petey nods convincingly. "Uh huh, just open the cell door and come inside to see it!!"

Unlocking the door to petey's cell, the guard steps inside gleefully. "What does it look like? Oh, I hope you capture my likeness onto it!!"

"Yeah, yeah, here ya go, I made it with care and whatnot, blah blah blah sappy stuff..." Petey shoves the drawing onto the guard, who happily accepted it.  The guard's eyes go wide as he scans the picture. A huge grin spreads across his face. "Aw, Petey, I love it!!! It looks so nice!!! C'mere you!!" He goes over to him and pulls him into a tight and loving hug.

"Oof!" Petey's breath slips out of him as he's trapped in the guard's iron grip. "Ok, man, hands off the merchandise!!" He squirms, trying to get away, but the guy has no plans of letting him go at the moment.

"This is the most thoughtful gift i have ever recieved in my whole entire life!!!! the guard proclaimed, continuing to cuddle him more. He comically spins him around and even kisses his cheek a couple of times, the gift really meaning a lot to him somehow.

"EUGH!! Alright ALRIGHT I GET IT I'm such a great pal now GET OFF!!!" Petey wriggled around his grasp until he popped off. He let out a "hmph!" as he tidied himself up from his sudden invasion of privacy. The guard jumped off to the side, a bit hurt by Petey's sudden cold nature. The orange cat notices his sudden deflate and feels a certain pull in his heart. "I mean, uh, no problem... figured I'd repay you for dealing with my, uh, schemes and stuff..." Petey stuttered, shifting his feet.

The guard's face lights back up again as he looks back at the picture. "Aww, it's nothing, Petey!! Just doing my duty!!" he said. Petey let out a smile, strangely happy about his half-assed drawing. He then shakes his head and tries to focus on the task at hand.

"I was thinking about hanging it up over there on the right side corner of my cell, can ya be a dear and put it there for me?" he bats his eyes innocently and points to said corner. The guard happily agreed. "Of course, dear pal!" He gives him one final hug and rushes to the wall to hang it up.

With a devious smile on his face, he tiptoes out of the cell. "Heheh, what a doofus..." the cat giggled. A few moments later, he escapes from the jail once more. "Ahh, finally! I can get back to doing what i usually do..." He walks back to his lab and breathes a sigh of relief. "The life...OF CRIME!!! HAW HAW HAW!!!!" he announces. The large building echoed his words, alerting the butler from the staircase.

"Heya Petey! Been a while since I've seen you around!!" he quickly steps down and joins him as Petey parades around his home. "Breaking out this time was a bit difficult," Petey went on, "but now things can finally get back on tra-"

A tv at the corner of the supposed room they're in suddenly announces its lovely presence by blaring breaking news from its LD screen. Petey and Butler turn their attention to the tv. It shows none other than Sarah Hatoff,  greatest reporter, in front of the very Cat Jail Petey just escaped from moments ago.

"BREAKING NEWS, FELLOW CITIZENS OF COLLARDALE!!!" Sarah declared. "We are currently receiving reports of a runaway warden of sorts from the Cat Jail looking for a certain fiendish feline...PETEY!!!" A mugshot of his face is shown on the screen right next to a goofy-looking photo of the guard, to which Petey frowns upon. "He informs us that if we see the cat anywhere to report to him...and...only him." Sarah scratched her head in confusion. "Huh. Guess the police aren't needed. This is Sarah Hatoff, signing out."

The butler turned to Petey. "Huh, I guess you don't need to, after all!" he said with a dumbass smile on his face. Petey grimaces and pinches the middle of his forehead in frustration. "AAUGH....Why is there always SOMETHING to ruin the mood..." he groaned, marching up the steps to the lab's roof with the butler following right behind. 

Up above, Petey and the butler scan their surroundings. The day-to-day hustle and bustle of the city rings out from below, showing no sign of anything unusual. The butler tilts his head. "Nobody here yet..." he muttered.

The orange cat crossed his shoulders and shook his head. "...Hmph! What am I even worried about anyways?!?" He laughed at how absurd he was acting at the moment to save face as he started walking back towards the stairs. "This lab is one of the most discrete and perfectly hidden buildings in all of the city of Collardale! It'll take a while before-"

A loud buzz-like sound suddenly calls out and the pair jumped in suprise. Petey rushed back and leaned over the roof once more to see a tiny guard waiting patiently at the door, pressing the goddamn buzzer.

"HOW DID HE FIND MY LAB!?!" Petey screamed. He quickly covered his mouth and dragged Butler down to the ground before Guard could see up above. He grabbed his butler by the shirt and whispered, "How did he find my lab?!?!?!"

The butler shrugged. "Gee, Petey, I don't have a clue how the guy could think of coming here."

"Hmm...strange." Petey let him go and scratched his head. He peered over the roof to look at his big fat-ass "PETEY'S SECRET LAB" sign. "Oh, by the way, I think you need to change a few of the lightbulbs on my lab's sign this weekend. A few of them are starting to fade out."

The butler rolled his eyes and sighed. "I'll buy lightbulbs later this evening, I guess..." he muttered again, peering over and looking at the sign with him.

Petey raised his eyebrow. "Also, quit muttering and mumbling so much, it's starting to irritate me >:( ."

The guard pressed the buzzer again. His hand contained a small piece of paper. "Helloooo?"  he called out. "I'm an authority from the local Cat Jail! Is anyone home?" He looked up at the tall building, to which Petey noticed just in time and ducked. Unfortunately, the butler ducked a bit too late, therefore leading the guard to only catch sight of him and not Petey.

"Oh, hey there! I just wanted to ask a couple of questions, if ya don't mind!!" he shouted from below to up above. The butler pops out again and gives a thumbs up, then goes down again.

Petey facepalms himself and groans annoyingly. He then faces the butler, who smiled sheepishly.

"You better not tell him im here. In fact, make him regret coming here in the first place!! I don't wanna be involved with the guy any further!!" he yelled, grudgingly going downstairs.

The butler shifted uneasily in place. "Uh, sure, Petey... I'll see what I can do, I guess..." he mumbled once more as he followed the grumpy cat.

[chemdisaster]

cat dad au fic! in which kitten comforts scar. few things you need to know for context - "the isaacs" is a silly name scar gave to the heroes who would bully him, kitten uses a bunch of neos, of which i'm using xit/xitself in this fic, and for a few years when scar first found kitten he was under a lot of stress with work and they both had a bad time. that is all

"I like this one." 

Scar hums as Kitten hands him another picture. In this one, the two of them are dressed up as Hotguy, both laughing as a tiny Kitten points a fake arrow at his chest. Touching his finger to the cascading reds and oranges, he inhales the smell of memories and watches the echoes flash by. 

"I have captured you, Hotguy! Give up if you know what's good for you!" 

"No! Never! You won't catch the tail end of my whiskers, Catguy!"

"Not if I use my special bow! You're dead, Hotguy! I will capture you and I'll—"

As joy rings out in the silent air of reminiscence, a smile warmed with time spreads on his face.

"Yeah. I like this one, too."

Carefully setting the photograph aside, Scar moves on to the next one. With Ari out this afternoon, he and Kitten spontaneously decided to clear out some old boxes—and the nostalgia is hitting like nothing else. 

Surrounded by various papers and bundles and scraps, they sit side by side on the floor of his room and exchange quiet comments as they pass around mementos of years past. The atmosphere is peaceful, hushed, and looking from the tiny kitten on the photographs to the grown up cat next to him, Scar can't help but marvel at how long it's been. 

He never thought he'd get here. 

Stifling a laugh into his palm over the picture of small Kitten with a rubber fish and a beard of foam, Scar adds it to the growing collection. Shifting his weight from one leg to the other, he looks over at Kitten—

And his heart skips a beat. 

Centred in Kitten's padded hands is an assortment of crumpled papers, familiar as anything Scar wouldn't like to recall. Delicately smoothed out and held together with years old tape, the grid pattern has faded away, but he doesn't need to see the scribbles to immediately recognise them and everything that came with.

 

Art of Kitten that xit was never meant to see jumping at him from the frayed scraps, Scar asks, "Are those...?"

"Hm?" Kitten makes a noise that's more cat than anything. "Oh, these? Yeah, you—you drew them for me, didn't you? I remember I kept finding them in your bag."

"Yeah, I remember you kept going through my things like a nosy feline," Scar jokingly gripes. His grin thins at the edges, "I—I do remember these, yeah."

Drawing on patrols, sketch after sketch to block out the mocking, the insults—getting the drawings ripped from him and torn into tiny pieces right in front of his eyes. Sinking to his knees and cradling the pieces in his hands, tears littering the floor.

He kept them as a reminder of his failures. He never thought they would ever become anything more.

"Why were they torn?" Kitten asks after a while of Scar silently staring at his lap. "Did you not like them?"

Scar doesn't reply. Kitten knows about the mistreatment his old team would put him through, but somehow it still feels shameful, even after all these years, to acknowledge that it happened. That he let it happen, and let it go on for as long as it did because he was too weak to stand up for himself. 

Too bad to realise how that weakness was impacting the people around him.

"Scar."

"I did like them," he says suddenly, vehemence splitting from his tongue. "I liked them so much. It's just, I would always draw on missions and I'd get distracted and, well," Scar shrugs, smiling like it's all right past the bitter lump in his throat, "the Isaacs didn't like that."

"Oh."

He doesn't know why it means so much to him. They're only drawings. Stupid doodles of Kitten to chase away the self-loathing that never really left. They're not even good. And yet here he is, decades past and still getting emotional over things that don't matter. It doesn't matter.

He doesn't matter.

"I thought you were the one who tore them," Kitten blurts out. "I thought you didn't like them, and that's why you tore them. I," he breaks off, his tail curls around his legs. 

"Back when I was a kid, I thought it was because you didn't like me."

Guilt grips Scar's chest. All those years ago, when Kitten would curl up in front of a closed door—the drawings were an attempt at something good. To show him how much he appreciated him when words wouldn't come. And he ruined that, and now he's ruined what was meant to be a simple cozy afternoon.

He ruins everything, he's always known. Somehow it still hurts.

 

.

.

.

.

.

Kitten is worried about Scar.

Has been for a while now, and the torn drawings are only the start of it.

The few years during which little bits of tape would stick to his claws were hard on them both, and even years later xit can't stop the cold dark grey of abandonment from creeping up when xit thinks of that awful time. Staying up late waiting for Scar to come home, only to fall asleep and wake the next day to an empty flat—it was soul-sucking.

But he healed. He's not there anymore. Lately, he's not so sure about Scar.

A good few minutes pass before xit decides to speak up.

"It was really hard for you back then, wasn't it?"

Focus sinking into nowhere, Scar jerks as he breaks out of his daze. 

"Huh, what?" 

"Those first few years. When it was just you and me. Taking care of a child while working the way you did at the time can't have been easy," Kitten probes. He doesn't expect anything but the deflection he's come to know, and he wishes Scar would be honest with him. 

He wishes Scar would be honest with himself. 

"Well, I mean—there were some rough patches, yeah," his friend stammers out. "But—"

"You would cry yourself to sleep."

Scar's head shoots up, the dark bags under his eyes never seemed more prominent.

"I heard. Every time."

He looks down, "I'm sorry."

"No, don't apologise," Kitten says quickly. "Just...we keep talking about what it was like for me, yeah? But we never talk about what it was like for you."    

Abruptly, Scar gets up and walks over to the bed, sitting down, rocking back and forth as he pulls his sleeves over his fingers. 

"It's—it doesn't matter. I'm okay now."

Kitten follows, clambering up next to him and peering past the curtain of brown hair at the face hidden beneath. 

"I'm not sure you are."

Scar's expression crumples for a split second.

"Don't worry about me, Kitten," he says. "I'll—it's not your job to look after me."

Kitten scoots closer, xits tail lays itself over his back. Scar doesn't speak and xit doesn't either; words are difficult and xit's content to sit here staring at the old wallpaper, making out dirty kitchens and wine-stained floors in the peeling vinyl. Stillness can hold all the sentences within its grasp, he's learned—he'll never ask for more than what the quiet can give him.

Outside, damning clouds begin to gather as a shuddering inhale stumbles its way out of Scar's lungs.

"Sometimes it felt like it was all for nothing."

The confession breaks the silence, but does not break the gentle swishing motions of Kitten's tail against his spine. 

"It was just—so difficult," he continues, letters spilling out of his mouth like an avalanche of wretched revelations. "Nothing was working. I spread myself thin every day and I still just constantly felt like I was doing it for nothing. And I'm—I'm sorry."

Scar's hands thrust upwards, he trips over another inhale. 

"I tried so hard to do what was best for you and I just ended up hurting you—every time. And I just," he bends his head, swipes at his eyes, "maybe I'm not meant to be good. Maybe it would be better if I just...wasn't."

His features twist, eyebrows inching higher on his forehead; he looks devastated, wrought with grief for what could have been, what he should have been and everything he never was. Decades of regret play in the creases of his skin as he tugs on his hair, blinking rapidly in the way he always does—the way that always fails. 

Kitten was never one for words, but in this moment he thinks that maybe what he struggles to give is what Scar needs. He needs to exist, and touch not meant to hurt can only do so much.

Stillness can hold all the sentences within its grasp, but phantom promises won't stitch up an age-old wound.

"Scar, you did—so much for me," xit says, and Scar's back jumps in a tremor. "For so many people. I wouldn't be here if you weren't."

Eyes squeezed shut, the other emits a low noise, "I hurt you." 

"You talked to me and gave me drawings and found me a therapist. You did more to help than anyone else ever could."

Scar shakes his head, shakes it like Kitten's words are incomprehensible, impossible to believe, and maybe they are. Leaning forward, trembling hands lifting to press to his chin, he curls in on himself, shoulders hunching like a plea—a plea for Kitten to stop saying things that he can't, won't let himself believe are real.

Kitten does not relent. 

"Look, I know you have this fear in you that you'll hurt anyone you rely on but that's not true. You deserve support, that's what we're here for."

"No, I—these are my own struggles, and I—I can deal with it—" 

Scar's voice bounces up like marbles off the wooden floor; the tears he's desperately wiping off his cheeks render his assurances anything but genuine. Clouds descending in the streams of his despair, he's never looked more damaged.

"You took care of me for so long," Kitten says softly, reaching out for a man who won't let himself accept that love never had to be earned. "Let yourself be taken care of, too."

As his friend continues to shake his head in denial, he thinks of a rainy evening, a door left ajar, a room filled with muffled sobs—and he thinks of two friends, both hurt by the world, both having found healing within each other. 

"I like your ears. Remember?"

Scar slumps, defeated. Loud, uncontrollable weeping tears through him like a wildfire and Kitten pulls him close, rubbing a clawed hand over his back, muttering, "Relax. You don't have to be strong all the time."

Raking his claws over quivering vertebrae, listening to choked cries get suppressed against his rumbling chest, he leans back against the blankets and pulls Scar with him, carding thin fingers through long brown strands as his friend settles, trembling, atop his body. Scar's hands are freezing cold, the wire under his feet looms ever farther down below— 

And Kitten knows in this moment that all that he needs is for someone to make sense of him. And xit knows that, finally, xit understands.

And when Scar drapes himself over xit in an instinctual, unguarded yearning to be near, xit drops xits head into the crook of his neck and doesn't look up and begs that this moment would never end. Kitten's heart may not shine, but he would give all the gold in his possession to mend the cracks of Scar's tainted soul.

And as he drifts to a doze with his friend in his arms, he thinks back to the torn drawings—taped together, hidden away as something to be treasured. And xit thinks, maybe broken doesn't have to be forever. 

Under Kitten's hold, for the first time in years, Scar starts to believe that maybe everything he did wasn't for nothing.

[givemea-dam-break]

because of her (locklyle)

a/n: i promise part 2 for that funny feeling is coming out soon by @portlandrowismyhome inspired this and i needed to get it out of my system before i imploded. hope you enjoy my loves <3

warnings: big sad - LISTEN THIS TIME GUYS, spoilers for the end of the hollow boy taglist: @neewtmas @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @waitingforthesunrise @aayeroace @introvertedbookwormsstuff @toburnmykruge

Lucy Carlyle was in dire need of a new pen.

She'd nicked this one from the Fittes furnaces during a source drop-off a month or two ago after the last one ran out, but already it was at its unfortunate end. She scribbled and scribbled but nothing would come out except pathetic little scratches of faded black ink.

Angrily, she tossed the pen away, narrowly missing her overflowing bin. She really needed to take that out soon.

"What's got you in a toss?"

She scowled. "None of your business."

The skull in her silverglass jar remained stuck to the bottom, but the glowing spectral green light formed a horrific face with bulging, curious eyes. She couldn't be fussed with Skull today, and, really, she should've closed the latch on the top of his jar, but it felt like she was rooted to her bed, and he was too far away to just twist it shut.

"Of course it is! We're Skull and Co, remember? Skull and Lucy!"

"We're not anything," she insisted.

"Still hung up on Lockwood, then. Nothing's changed. But why would you still be so sad about him when I'm right here, offering you the best company you could ever hope for?"

"I'm not hung up on Lockwood," Lucy said.

But she was.

She missed Portland Row with every fibre of her being and she longed to go back, but she couldn't. Not after last November, after what the Fetch had told her. She couldn't risk Lockwood's life simply because she missed him.

And, oh, how she missed him.

She looked down at the notebook in her lap, at the scrawling handwriting littering so many of the pages. Every page held something she wanted to tell him, words that would never leave the lined paper and cross into the world of spoken words. She wrote of the things she would so excitedly tell him and George after running errands, or something funny she found in the newspaper. Now... well, she didn't live with them anymore. There was only a mouldy old skull and Lucy, now.

The first entry had been the worst. It had been the morning after one of her first cases as an independent agent, hired for a job by Rotwell's, and she'd been heading out to grab some food. On her way, she'd bought the latest newspaper to give her something to do instead of wallowing in her sadness, because sometimes they had those little crossword puzzles in them. And right there, front and centre was the stupidest picture of Quill Kipps she had ever seen! He was captured mid-sentence, mouth wide open and eyes squinting, his hip jutting out to the side and looking like an idiot. She had rushed home as quickly as she could after getting her food, excited to show Lockwood the picture she knew he would find hilarious and -

He wasn't there. He never would be. For this was her flat, not 35 Portland Row, and there was Skull leering at her.

Holly would've picked up a newspaper on her way to Portland Row, Lucy realised, and she would be the one to show Lockwood.

It left a horrible bitterness in her mouth, and she couldn't shut her front door quick enough. But, all day, the thought ran amock through her head. She needed to write it down, get it out.

And so she did. For months. The notebook was almost full of her ramblings and little newspaper clippings. Sometimes, she cut up the magazines she would accidentally buy for him, sticking in a segment with the kind of gossip he would find particularly interesting and writing her little notes at the side. Other times, she'd read them before ripping them apart in a fit of rage mixed with regret. The worst ones were the ones with his face in them, but she never ripped those. Ever.

She often wondered if he did the same for her. If there were things he saw that reminded him of her, things so profound that he had to write them down to simply get it out of his mind for a moment. It was unlikely. After how things had ended, what with him storming off and leaving her at that café, and her early morning disappearance while they all slept, she couldn't imagine he would think of her often. If anything, it was entirely likely that he was forgetting about her. The recent newspapers were an indication of that.

The pain was worth it, or so she tried to convince herself. No amount of missing Portland Row or its inhabitants was worth his life.

"Ha! That's a sour face if I've ever seen one."

She turned angrily to look at Skull. "What are you jabbering on about now, you horrid thing?"

Skull's face morphed into something grotesque. "Horrid thing, eh? And here I was thinking we were finally getting along."

"You're a skull!" she cried.

"And you're a pathetic, lovesick girl who can't keep her flat clean for the life of her!"

"Oh, if you weren't a ghost I would strangle you."

"You could damn well try. You and I are the same, you forget! Both lonely, both with only one person to truly understand us. You're alone; you need me."

And though she hated to admit it, she did. What would she do without Skull's incessant jibes? It would give her far too much time to dwell on her decision, and she was already doing enough of that.

She looked down at today's entry, fingers skimming over the shape of his name as if it were his face. Each loop a curve of his cheek or chin, every line the shape of his nose. Saw a rapier in the corner bit with agency equipment, it looked like something Lockwood would buy. All fancy and bejewelled. Pretentious prick.

If she closed her eyes, she could imagine he was there with her. She could hear his laugh at something George had said, feel his very presence so strongly it was as if he was really there next to her, reading the entries in the notebook. He'd be correcting the grammar mistakes in his annoyingly pretty handwriting.

You've gone soft, he'd say. Where are the insults? You used to mock me.

No, she thought. No, she thought the world of him. He may have a far-too-high opinion of himself. He may be reckless and infuriating and so damned secretive, but, god, he was so much more than that. He was the boy who gave her a home, who would make her tea in the morning and hand her a plate of biscuits when she was in a bad mood. He was the first person she felt truly appreciated by for something other than her Talents. Lucy would give him everything if he so much as asked for it.

But she couldn't go home.

That was the one thing she could never give him. Her. Because she would be the thing that killed him, the reason for his recklessness. She couldn't live with herself if he died for her.

"Oh, stop moping! You've got things to do!"

Lucy was sick of Skull. She flung the notebook aside and stormed over to the kitchen counter, which was all but five steps away, and twisted the latch at the top of the silverglass jar. Skull was still speaking, more angrily now, and she could imagine the obscene things he was saying to her, but she didn't care. She needed the quiet.

She could do this. She could live on her own, making her own money. She'd be able to forget about Lockwood and his warm, bronze-and-copper eyes; Lockwood and his charming smile that sent butterflies down into her stomach; Lockwood and his affirmations and brief touches and...

"Shut up!" she told herself.

If he were here, Lockwood would tell her to cheer up, to not think about things too hard. He'd make her a brew, hand her the Digestives, and give her complete control of the TV remote, much to George's dismay. He'd flash that wonderful grin of his, tell her that she was Lucy Carlyle and had nothing to worry about, not as long as they were together. They were a team after all.

Were.

Because they never would be again.

Because of her.

Because of Lucy.

[theoddcatlady]

I'm Addicted to Eating Bugs

I suppose it started small, like all addictions do. I was in the first grade, having some corner time because I threw a crayon at Brandon's head. He totally deserved it but that's another story for another day.

Anyway, I was facing the brick wall, imagining horrible fates for this jerk of a classmate when I heard a quiet buzzing. I looked by my feet to see an old cobweb, spider long gone but the dusty threads still managing to capture a fly. It wiggling and squirmed and if I hadn't interfered it probably would have gotten loose and carried on with its life. But before I realized it I had plucked the fly free and placed it in my mouth.

It buzzed furiously and it took all my willpower not to giggle, it was really ticklish. If I laughed, I'd end up opening my mouth and away it would go. I prodded at it with my tongue, feeling its wings flap uselessly against my cheek before I ended its life between my molars.

I swallowed and felt a lot better about things. Who cared about stupid Brandon anyway?

To be fair, kids eat stupid shit all the time. Glue, crayons, paper, I used to know a kid who ate sand and thought he was really stupid. Then again, I was only in the sandbox to hunt down ladybugs, so maybe I didn't have room to judge. But all those kids left their weird eating habits behind. I didn't. Instead, my habit grew.

At recess I'd spend all my time hunting bugs. I'd bring along a lil bug box and my teacher would just assume I'd want to study the insect world and let me be.

The easiest to find were worms on a day it had just rained. Those lil buggers were everywhere on the paving stones. Unfortunately they also had the least amount of payout. Worms taste like dirt. I mean, who's surprised though? Caterpillars were a lot better, so squishy but still slow enough for me to catch. Crickets and grasshoppers were a real pain in the neck. I had to learn to be patient and wait for the right moment to strike. If I didn't wait for the right moment, I would end up clapping my hands down on nothing at all.

But oh man, were they worth the effort. I didn't like putting them in my mouth alive so much, they kicked too much, but they had so much flavor and crunch. If I managed to find a grasshopper while hunting, I would consider myself one lucky kiddo.

I was never officially caught eating bugs until a few years later. I knew I had to keep my secret quiet. But when I was in fourth grade my class got a pet lizard named Lizzy. I know, really creative on names here, but we were kids so give us a break. But Lizzy needed to eat crickets a few times a week. I felt almost validated watching her munch down on them. But I also felt jealous. She could eat crickets whenever she wanted. I wished I could do that.

One winter day I decided to steal some of Lizzy's crickets. During recess I'd gone back to the classroom to get something from my desk when I realized I was all alone. This was my only chance to indulge. I crept up to the lizard cage, where the small cricket container was placed beside it. I opened up the top, snaked a handful of crickets, and threw those little buggers right in my mouth.

I had just closed my eyes when I heard someone gasp. I turned and saw Gabrielle, her jaw dropped as she stared at me. I'm pretty sure a cricket leg was poking out of my mouth too.

And of course, Gabrielle being a teacher's pet, she ran off screaming ‘Keith is eating Lizzy's crickets!’

I swallowed, feeling a lump form in my chest. My secret was out.

I managed to play it off as a joke, a one time thing. I was just curious as to why Lizzy liked eating crickets so much. I think Mr. Martinez found it hilarious. He ended up bringing roasted crickets to class next week, taking this moment to teach us how other cultures enjoyed eating all kinds of bugs and prepping them in unique ways.

I never felt more sick in my life. Although being salted and cooked did bring out the flavor, I ended up barfing it up later. It just. Wasn't the same. They were barely even bugs anymore. It was just like eating potato chips or almonds. There was no thrill of the hunt. None of that excitement as they squirm in your mouth. The joy when you bite down, taking out a leg or maybe slicing them right down the abdomen.

I did try to stop after that. I really did. I didn't want to get picked on anymore and maybe it was a little weird that I kept eating bugs.

But here's the real problem. If I don't sate my appetite on bugs, I start craving… bigger things.

The whole glass was horrified to come in one morning to find Lizzy had disappeared, the lid tipped off the cage and our class pet nowhere to be seen. Much to my amusement, fingers were pointed at Gabrielle, as she was the one who fed Lizzy the day before. She swore up and down that she fastened the cage lid on tight, but it didn't matter. We tore that room apart and Lizzy was just gone.

I participated in the search, although I had no reason to. I knew exactly where Lizzy was. In my belly.

I didn't know why I had gone back to class that day, I just knew I needed to. I was alone, me and that lizard. I felt like I was on autopilot as I opened the cage and plucked Lizzy out by the tail. I dangled her over my mouth before I snapped her head clean off. Blood dripped in my mouth, a new feeling I had never gotten before with bugs. It felt so damn good.

When the high wore off though I felt so guilty I nearly threw her back up. I didn't, because that would really be a waste, I just got out of there. That night at dinner I didn't eat a damn thing, I claimed I had a tummy ache and that wasn't a lie. But I knew the cause wasn't that 24 hour flu bug going around.

So yeah. I realized quickly that maybe there are worse things than eating bugs. Winters were always the hardest, I had to make due with ants in the kitchen and daddy long legs in the basement. To my credit, I've only ‘snapped’ once since then, it was Christmas vacation at grandma's house and I just hadn't had the time to hunt. That poor cat. Everyone just assumed a wild animal had gotten to poor Fluffy, meanwhile I was trying to discreetly pick long white fur out from in between my teeth.

It's gotten simultaneously harder and easier as an adult. Harder as I need to eat a lot more bugs to keep the cravings at bay, easier as now I can just go to the pet store and clean out their supply of feeder crickets and mealworms. The cashier there thinks I'm cute and usually gives me a discount. She keeps asking to meet my geckos and I have to keep making excuses as to why she can't.

If the cravings get bad, I hit up another pet store and buy a few mice, maybe a hamster or a gerbil too if it sounds good. I eat those suckers while binge watching Netflix, sucking on the long tails and reducing their skulls to paste. It has worked for me so far. I don't have a girlfriend, but I have a decent social life. I think it's probably for the best I don't have a family. I don't want to snap one day around a small child, I’d never forgive myself.

But I'm a good uncle to my sister's kids. I send them gifts and always tell them cool bug facts, which they love to hear, especially the younger one, Ellie.

However… I think I caught Ellie with her hand in the proverbial cookie jar last week. The cookie jar in this case was a spider's web, and a fly wing poking out of her lips.

She said she was just curious as to why spiders ate flies, but I'm gonna be keeping an eye on her.

[lisutarid-a]

[Gakuen K] Totsuka Tatara Route Translation

GOOD ENDING

Even after graduation

LIST OF CHAPTERS

[Translation under the cut]

Kamamoto: Yata-san, I'm glad you somehow managed to move up…

Yata: Don't say "somehow"! I just took it seriously, that's why.

Saya: I wonder if we'll be able to see Yata-kun's seriousness in the third year?

Yata: That is…

Kamamoto: We will see it, right?

Yata: Y-Yeah, I'll show you! Don't be scared, you two!

Saya: Fufu, he ran away.

Kamamoto: Waaah. I am so glad that I was able to celebrate the closing ceremony with Yata-san.

Saya: Kamamoto-kun really has a soft spot for Yata-kun, doesn't he?

Kamamoto: Because, you know. If he became my kohai, I wouldn't know how to address him, right?

Kamamoto: I still respect him and would like to continue to call him "Yata-san". But it would look strange from the outside.

Saya: It sure would… Uhm, I'm glad we were all able to move up.

Totsuka: Oi-i. Come here, everyone!

Saya: Totsuka-senpai.

Totsuka: It's long awaited closing ceremony of the school year, right? So come on, everyone, smile. I'll capture it on camera.

Yata: Totsuka-san, that kind of thing should be done at the graduation ceremony.

Totsuka: Well-well, it doesn't matter. You see, I couldn't graduate for some reasons.

Totsuka: Okay, Yata. A few words about the joy of moving on!

Yata: A- A few words!? Let's see…If it were in my hands, there'd be no such thing as a test-

Totsuka: Wow, that's going to be a long comment. Can you please keep it to two seconds? I'm running out of time.

Yata: Ha!? It was…"Easy win"!

Totsuka: Thank you. Next one is Kamamoto!

Kamamoto: I can't think of anything. I'm hungry, so let's have lunch.

Totsuka: Uhm, a bit later. Last but not least…you!

Saya: Me!?

Totsuka: That's right. Since you're the last performer, make it straightforward.

Saya: It's, em…

Saya: I will do my best next year!

Totsuka: Ahaha. That's ordinary. It's so like you.

Saya: …I'm really glad that senpai is back.

Totsuka: Fufu. How many times I've heard that, I wonder.

Saya: I'll say it over and over again. Because I'm really happy.

Saya: I was a little prepared for that. I thought I would never see you again. Because I hadn't heard from you at all.

Totsuka: …Uhm.

Saya: That's why I'm so happy. I absolutely hated the thought of that being left behind.

Totsuka: That?

Saya: These are senpai's belongings that were left in the classroom. Anna-sensei asked me to take care of them.

Totsuka: Oh, is that so. I see, no wonder I can't find them.

Totsuka: By the way. Do you know where my diploma is?

Saya: Yeah, I have it too.

Totsuka: What a reli-ief. I heard that a diploma is a very important thing.

Totsuka: Worst case scenario, I won't be able to enter the university. That's strange, even though it's just a piece of paper.

Saya: University…You'll enter the university without any problems.

Totsuka: Thanks to you. I wonder if I can somehow manage to get the money I need for tuition.

Totsuka: I have to study hard for that, so I don't think I would be able to visit the club room as often as Kusanagi-san.

Totsuka: I want to spend time with you, but there will be days when I won't be able to do it. I might make you feel lonely.

Saya: …It's all right, nothing to worry about.

Saya: As long as you don't lose contact with me suddenly or disappear for a long time, I'm fine with that.

Totsuka: I'm really sorry about that…But it's nice to hear you say so.

Totsuka: I'm like this, but I look forward to being around you even after graduation.

[Prev: Extra][Next: Normal ending]

[dia-souls]

Diabolik lovers Angel and Devil Story [ Chapter 06 ]

Chapter 06 : What is love

Hearts that are far apart can only be reunited with love. This bond becomes eternal. Because its name is love. Love, the name that can light up a dark heart and turn a devil into an angel. But the angel who can save him is far from him. She sees his love and feels it. She wants to save him, but the devil avoids her because he has accepted a dark fate.

The world that exists in the world full of love and affection of an angel is even more beautiful than a rainbow. The beautiful angel wants to give this beauty to the devil. A beautiful world that can pull the devil out of the heart of his history once and for all and give him a new life.

Every day the angel sings her lullaby under the silver moonlight. With the hope that one day it will reach the sky and touch the blue heart of the sky. The beautiful moonlight becomes brighter every day, listening to the heavenly angel's lullaby. And the devil who hides in the dark every day to hear this lullaby.

_Yui is walking in the school corridor. She holds her bag tightly and thinks about Ruki in her imagination.

Yui: (My meetings with Riko-san might be dangerous. What if Ruki-kun finds out? Something bad might happen, but still...)

_Yui was happy to meet Riko. Very happy. She didn't want to leave this happiness and be alone again. She liked to talk to Riko. At least Riko listened to her words.

Yui: (I like talking to him. Unlike Ruki-kun, Riko-san listens to me and respects my thoughts.)

*Ding dong*

Upon hearing the school bell, all students go to their classes. Yui walks slowly to her class.

Yui: (No matter how hard I try, but my heart always thinks of Ruki-kun. I don't know why? What is the reason for this feeling?)

Teacher: Dear students, open your books.

Yui: (If I want to know the reason for this feeling, I must first know Ruki-kun)

The teacher starts his lesson. But Yui is not paying attention to the class. She thinks about the boy who captured her whole mind. What is the reason for this strange feeling? Why is she trying to know a devil better? Why is she trying to save a devil from the dark world? The devil who captured her and stole the color of freedom from her.

*TIMESKIP*

*Ding dong*

Teacher: Have a nice day.

_All the students leave the class. Yui slowly leaves the classroom in the crowd of students and goes to the library. When she opens the library door, she realizes that the library is empty and there are no students there.

Yui: There is no one here. Scary and quiet. At least no one bothers me here and I can study in peace.

_Yui goes to the study table and sits on the chair.

Yui: I wish Riko-san was here too.

_Yui continues to read her book.

*Tick ​​tock* *tick tock*

Yui: (If one day I am free, I will fly to reach the top......)

_Yui is reading a book when a warm hand touches her shoulder and Yui gets a little scared.

Yui: Kyah?!

Riko: Oh, I'm sorry, Yui-san. Did I scare you? I didn't want to scare you. Sorry.

Yui: Oh, it's you. No, it's okay, I was just thinking about something.

_Riko sits on the chair next to Yui.

Riko: What were you thinking about?

Yui: Well, honestly, it doesn't matter.

Riko: Are you okay, Yui-san? I feel that you seem a little upset. If you have a problem, you can tell me. I can help you .

Yui: No, you can't help me with this problem. But don't worry. I will be fine, I just need some time.

Riko: I understand.

Yui: ......... (I hope he is not upset.)

Riko: Really, Yui-san. I brought a new poem. This is one of my favorite poems from Namika-San's book. I'm sure you haven't read this one. So I really like to read this poem for you.

Yui: Of course. I really like to hear this poem.

Riko: I will read it to you now.

_Riko took out a piece of paper from his bag and started reading the text on it.

*Flip*

Riko:

My heart belongs to you, my beautiful beloved.

Please open your eyes so that I am not alone in this darkness.

Hold my hand so I can feel your warmth.

Talk to me so that I can feel your presence by my side.

Although we are far from each other, my heart is with you.

Whenever I think of you, my heart beats faster.

I smile whenever I think of you with a beautiful dream.

I want to be with you.

I have many reasons, but I will summarize it in three words.

I love you .

Love is the only word that can express all my feelings in one word.

Although it is difficult. But I love you.

Yui: ......

Riko: It's beautiful. Isn't it ?

Yui: Yes. it is so beautiful. (I want to be with you. I have many reasons, but I will summarize it in three words. I love you...)

Riko: Yui-san?

Yui: Riko-san. Can I ask you a question?

Riko: Sure. What question do you want to ask?

Yui: What is love?

Riko: ........!

Yui: I apologize. I think I asked a stupid question. It's really embarrassing. Sorry if I...

Riko: No, no. This is not a stupid question at all. I just wondered why you suddenly asked this question? Maybe it has something to do with the poem I read?

Yui: Maybe. But do you think love is true?

Riko: What do you think?

Yui: I... honestly... I don't know. I like to believe that love is real, but what if it's just a childish thought?

Riko: Fufu......

Yui: ......! Riko-san, what are you laughing at?

Riko: I'm sorry. I didn't want to laugh. But you are very cute. The words you say are very sweet and lovely.

Yui: Oh, thank you.

Riko: I'm sure love is true. Honestly, I feel that if there was no love in the world, people could not live. Right ?

Yui: What makes you so sure?

Riko: Well, because I experienced it myself.

Yui: Really?

Riko: Yes. I have a very good family who love me in every way. The love of my family shows me that love and affection is real and exists.

Yui: Family love?

Riko: Yes, that's right. Well, love is not always the same. Right? We can see love everywhere. There is always love in the heart of a parent. Siblings always love each other. Close friends support each other with their love for each other. And a lover can give his beautiful love to his beloved.

Yui: Oh..... (Hearing these words gives me a lot of hope. But even with these beautiful words, I can say that it's not true for everyone. For example, I didn't see any love between the Sakamaki brothers, but I can say absolutely about the Mukamis. It's the other way around. But my father.......)

Riko: How are you, Yui-san? Is there someone you love from the bottom of your heart?

Yui: Well, I don't have a big family. Actually, I lived with my father in the church. My father was strict, but I always love him.

Riko: You lived? So who do you live with now?

Yui: .......! Well..... I...... (I don't want to lie and hide anything anymore). I now live with four brothers named Mukami brothers.

Riko: What happened to your father?

Yui: He is on a mission. But he will return soon and I will return to him.

Riko: Do ​​you mind if I know more about the Mukami brothers? Are they related to you?

Yui: Well, not really. I have no relationship with them. In fact, the church sent me there. And I must obey the orders of my father and the church even if it is not according to my desire and I don't like it.

Riko: Do ​​you feel uncomfortable with those boys?

Yui: Oh...! No, no, I didn't mean that at all...... Honestly....... Honestly, I just......

*Ding dong* *ding dong*

Yui: Oh, that was the sound of the bell (thank God). I have to go faster.

_Yui hurriedly puts her things in her bag and runs to the library door.

Riko: I'll see you tomorrow, Yui-san.

Yui: Okay, sure. Bye.

*TIMESKIP*

Mukami and Yui brothers are eating around the table.

Kou: Hey, Yuma, that's mine.

Yuma: Shut up. Ya finished all the food. This one is mine.

Kou: Huh? You are so mean. At least respect your older brother.

Yuma: Hehehe... It's not bad if ya share the food fairly with the others.

Ruki: You two stop it right now. Do not forget to be polite when eating.

Yui: (They really act like kids sometimes. Fufu it is so cute. It kind of feels like a real family)

Kou: Hey, M-Neko-chan. Can you help me with something today?

Yui: Of course Kou-kun. I will help you no matter what.

Yuma: Oi Kou. She promised to help me in the garden. Don't try to steal my assistant.

Kou: Haha assistant? When did you become so close to M-Neko-chan?

Yuma: It has nothing to do with ya.

Yui: Calm down. I will help both of you. I can do both.

Azusa: Eve. Can you..... help me..... with something too?

Yui: Of course. (Oh my God. I have a long day ahead of me.)

*TIMESKIP*

_Yui tiredly goes to her room. As soon as she enters the room, she goes to her bed and lies down on it.

Yui: Pwah..... It was a very difficult day. I worked almost all day. I could not read my poetry book today.

Yui: (I helped Kou-kun choose clothes, Yuma-kun with gardening, and Azusa-kun with cleaning his knives. I'm very tired today. I feel sleepy while it's still early at night.)

*knock knock*

Yui: .....! Yes?

_Ruki enters Yui's room.

Yui: Oh Ruki-kun, did you have anything to do with me?

Ruki: Were you asleep? I can't believe it's still early in the night. Are you so tired?

Yui: Well, to be honest, I worked a lot today, that's why I feel tired.

Ruki: Hmmm... I see.

Yui: Is something wrong, Ruki-kun?

Ruki: I wanted to ask you to help me in cooking, but apparently you can't do it.

Yui: ......! (Cooking with Ruki-kun!)

Ruki: Well, then I will go.

Yui: No, no, Ruki-kun. Wait.

_Yui quickly gets up from her bed and goes to Ruki.

Yui: I want to help you cook.

Ruki: Are you sure? You said you are very tired.

Yui: No, I really want to help you. I am not that much tired.

Ruki: Hmph.....So come with me.

_Ruki and Yui leave the room together and head towards the kitchen.

Yui: (This is a very good opportunity. I can get close to Ruki-kun in this way.)

_Ruki and Yui enter the kitchen together.

Ruki: Well, first of all, go wash your hands. Then put on the apron that is there so that we can start our work.

Yui: Okay, sure.

_Yui follows Ruki's orders one after another and they start cooking.

*TIMESKIP*

Yui: Well, Ruki-kun. What do you think?

_Ruki eats the soup that Yui has prepared.

*Sluuurp*

Ruki: Hmmmmm...... Well, actually not bad for someone like you.

Yui: Fufu, thank you, I'm glad you liked it.

Ruki: Let's continue.

Yui: Of course.

_While Yui and Ruki are cooking together in the kitchen. Mukami brothers talk about them.

Kou: No guys. Do you think Ruki's behavior has not changed at all?

Azusa: Yes, he has...... become much..... kinder since he decided....... to spend more..... time with...... Eve.

Yuma: Yes, I understand.

Kou: Fufu seems like our older brother is entrusting his heart to someone else.

Azusa: But didn't Ruki say...... that our duty..... is only to...... wake Adam up? We cannot...... become..... Adam. So this...... is not a mistake?

Yuma: Who cares, as long as he is fine, let him enjoy this happiness. In any case, we rarely see Ruki smiling. But today he really smiled.

Kou: Did Ruki smile?

Yuma: Yes. When I was working with her in the garden, Ruki was watching us and I saw Ruki smiling at her and looking at her with a kind look.

Azusa: Ruki seems..... to be getting...... attached to Eve. I never...... thought Ruki..... would wake up to...... hear her voice.

Kou: What? What are you talking about?

Azusa: I heard a..... beautiful voice..... at night. The sound...... of a..... lullaby. It was like..... the voice of...... goddesses. Then I realized...... that it was....... Eve's voice. One day, when..... I woke up with....... Eve's voice, I realized...... that Ruki..... was standing..... behind Eve's room..... and listening...... to her lullaby.

Kou: Oh my God. It's like Ruki-kun is really attracted to M-Neko-chan.

Yuma: Hey, be careful not to say these words in front of Ruki.

Azusa: Why? Yuma, I'm sure...... even Ruki himself...... doesn't know..... about his feelings..... for Eve. We have..... to help him...... to understand...... how much he...... loves her.

Yuma: That's exactly why I'm saying it. If we say these things to him, he will only get angry. Instead, we should try to bring these two closer together. In this way, Ruki also realizes his true feelings.

Kou: I agree. Let's make a good plan for them.

Azusa: Fufu, this seems...... very exciting. I really like to see..... both Eve..... and Ruki happy.

*TIMESKIP*

_Ruki and Yui finished their cooking and are preparing the dinner table.

Yui: Wow. It is finally ready. It looks very good.

Ruki: Yes, I think it is very good. It took a long time for the food to be prepared. Thanks to your distraction. But anyway, the result seems to be good. Well, thank you.

Yui: .....!

Ruki: You helped me a lot. Not just me You helped us all today, so thank you.

Yui: You're welcome. I am glad that I helped you.

Ruki: But this is not enough.

_Ruki approaches Yui and bends his face towards Yui.

Ruki: As your master, I would like to give you a wonderful reward for what you have done.

_Ruki holds Yui's waist with his hand and starts kissing Yui's lips.

*smooch smooch*

Yui: ........! (Did he kiss me? I can't believe it.)

Ruki: Haha. What happened? Were you surprised? Your face is red. It's so weird that I kiss you. Well, if you're always a good girl, I'll reward you more.

*smooch smooch*

Ruki: You were a good girl today. So you deserve this reward.

*smooch*

Ruki: Mmmm...

Yui: Mmmm..... Ruki-kun?

Ruki: Shhh... you don't need to say anything. Just be calm and give yourself to me. I will give you a unique experience.

Yui: ......

Ruki: Well done, good girl.

*smooch*

Ruki: Yui. Please always stay like this.

Ruki continues to kiss Yui, creating a sweet and romantic experience for the blonde girl. Yui closes her eyes and happily enjoys this gift. As if they gave her the best gift in the world. Yui can't help but smile softly.

monologue

Please always stay like this.

He whispers these words in my ear.

His embrace is warm.

His kisses are sweet.

I want to always stay like that. As he said.

<– [ Chapter 05 ] [ Chapter 07 ] –>

[carinelian]

02272024 | notes on writing

These days, it's getting harder to separate hobbies from means of living. On most days, I can tell whether I'm doing something as a means of living, something for survival, or something as simple as a human being.

On most days, I also delude myself that it's all a matter of compartmentalization. Like choosing which clothes to wear for the day. Except the world is burning, all my clothes are worn down and made for a time long past, and even if I went out butt-naked, there's no way I'm coming out of it unscathed. That's what writing feels like for me, as of late. Or living, in general.

Maybe someday I can flesh out a timely piece on late-stage capitalism, how creative work is reduced to content, the essence of separating fiction and reality, and all the ways they influence each other without being mistaken as one and the same. We're living through an ongoing health and climate crisis, multiple genocides, and rotting from the inside out thanks to decades of exploitation and systemic ills. Global fuckening to the highest, most damning scale. I wish this is fiction. The context behind that thought terrifies me.

I wish I can save the serious writing for when it really, really counts, but as it stands, tomorrow isn't promised. Never was.

That's what spurred me on, to write this little note. I think I'll be writing more. I have my WIPs, I have my vague little scenarios in my head that will probably haunt me until they get their well-deserved 100K novel, and these occasional trains of thought that derail and create their own train tracks in my mind. There's also the shitstorm that's going on in real life, real time. There's no neat shelf for me to separate the things I care about and things I don't, because it affects us all.

To write online, without capturing all the possible nuances of whatever the fuck it is you're writing about, is an invitation to be flayed alive. For this reason, I shied away from writing about things that matter to me -- much like this one -- because shutting up means no trouble. No room for mistake. After all, what's there to criticize?

But then I realized, well, it's a sad way for a writer to live (at least for me), knowing that writing has been long ingrained in my life. It's a hobby. It's a means of living (hopefully *side-eyes publishers*), and it's a means of survival, with the way it calms me down and is an outlet for my anxieties. It's a way of life, it's not all of me, but it's a HUGE part of me.

Where was I going with this? Oh yeah. Fiction and real-world issues overlap. They bleed into what I write, regardless of whether or not I permit it, and I look for fiction -- hope for fiction -- in the face of staggering, depressing, and bleak reality. Perhaps the intersection here is where fiction is supposed to inspire you to take meaningful action in real life. And real life finds its way to fiction, one way or another, in the little bits and pieces of us writers that we leave in our stories. I'm so chronically online that I could think of a thousand ways critics can gut this paragraph like a fish and come up with the worst meanings.

But then again, maybe the people who need some comfort will find it, too. Maybe people will add into it, I learn something new, and we ALL learn something new. If you're having complicated feelings about writing, questioning what the fuck is it to you, trying to deal with that maddening shelf -- well, here I am. Write whatever the fuck you want to write. Write loudly, unapologetically, meaningfully, purposefully. May your words add a little bit of hope. And if doesn't, may it free you, may it release you, may it provide some relief. Or if you're out there to disturb, then do it. Put your horrors and your fears into paper. Trap them with ink. Slap them with periods and put a name on whatever haunts you.

Write, for fuck's sake. And this is a reminder to myself, in the most literal sense.

[speakyskelly-1999]

omg look a time away from that moment

so i'll talk about sailor moon now

have i collected my thoughts. no

do i have coherent thoughts about it, no

shall i try to write a reasonably length review about it, maybe

and so with out further ado

sailor moon

so the only way i can conceve to like split this up is by characters and then do like a plot review at the end maybe. please note i didn't re read what i'd already put cos i can;t be asked so sorry if i repeat myself or contradict myslef (tbf the latter would be due to finishing the show). also this will have spoilers sorry

okay so

ugasi

based character. really feels her age. she's like such an ally. her development across the first season is just great. her crying, a feature i thought would be really annoying, was actually balanced really well. HER REACTION TO SEEING HER FRIENDS DIE FUCKING HELL. like i teared up and it broke my other friend. i didn't care as much for the endymion bit cos i'm here for the female friendships and not so much the relationship but saying that it was really well done. the fact that she was able to put everything on the line for the rest of humanity giving even given i still consider her to be a pretty selfish magical girl protagonist up until that point was amazing. i think that it for now moving on

Ami

i like her booksexual nature why did she need a boyfriend? okay but in all seriousness dispite being a more arcityple character than usagi she's still done really well. it's weird cos on paper i would normally describe her as a bit boring but she's surprisingly well rounded. and as much as i would have liked her to stay more ace coded, giving her the guy she likes and also being the only one in a 'proper' relationship at the end of the show, it did stuff to distinguish her from the others a bit more at the fact that she it a lot more sensible about her crush but that only extending so far. also giving her someone outside the group to care for rased the stakes at the end for her character

rei

man she's great. first it's helerious that she just has powers outside the hole sailor solider stuff. and it's kinda tragic how she just has to take the high road when it comes to usagi and mamoru. like it fucking sucks that the guy she really likes is just destined to end up with your friend who also likes him and just having no say in it. evidently hurting just as mush as usagi when he's captured but just not allowed to show it. her relationship with usagi is so good cos all they really do is belittle each other but then to be the last one left with usagi and taking out two (i think it was 2) of the enemies for her at the end. like her death was the most tragic. i was not expecting to like her as much as i did

makoto

'omg she has the name name as two different persona characters' was my first thought becasue it's never far from my brain at any given moment. asides from that i really like her. she's on the more simpler ends of the scale in terms of character and isn't used as much as i'd like her to be. but when she is the highlight it's great. the fact that she keeps falling for boys left right and centre is annoying that also the fact that they all remind her of the senior who broke her heart ins't great, like girl let it go. the fact that her death is the first one kinda sucks to me but also was the right things to do. overall she's just used surprisingly little considereing the number of episodes shes around for.

minako

oh man for the short amount of time you spend with her shes great. you can tell that she was originally a protagonist in her own comic before being booted over to sailor moon. her plot line about her time in london was fucking great character work. i love the fact that she does feel like shes been doing this for a while and thus feels a little bit like usagi's older sister when it comes to helping her out with stuff. i don't have much to say about her simply cos she wasn;t in many episodes but i deffo understand why she's one of my friends favorites (alone with rei) honestly they might be mine too.

mamoru

he's fine. look as a character he's pretty cool. the fact that he is slightly useless for a lot of the show, almost helping them out more when he's evil, is helerious. i think its cute that they're destinged to be together, however, this is not what i'm here for when i watch a magical girl. i don't expect the girl to get the guy. i think it was very well done and i don't want it to happen any other way. but he does cut into the sapphicness of season one.

luna

based home girl. put up with usagi. i love her. i don't have much more to say other than i really like her

artimis

he exists

jadeite

middest villian. i remeber his name and thats about all i care to remember. i like him for than artimis. not much more. and thats simply because i don't like artimis while i have little feelings towards jadeite

nephrite

started off boring but ended up being really interesting. his plotline with naru is quite wholesome (if you take it to be completely platonic love from him which is what i'm taking) he made more of an impact than his predocessor

zoisite

man just wanted to impress his boyfriend. love this guy

kunzite

man just wanted to be sent to where his boyfriend was when he died. loved his banter with Endymion. i hope he's with zoisite in the afterlife

queen beryl

she both does a lot and not a lot my feeling are pretty nutral. i do like how she was obsessed/loved endymion and was just but hurt he didn't like her back. that one off episode in the hot spring, she wasn't the only one in love with endymion.

queen metalia

if you can even call her a character. more just a manifestation of evil. gave queen beryl a cool power up that lasted all of 5 minuets

naru

fuck me man she goes through all that to end up with umino. like he's not a bad guy but yea.

usagi's family

her dad isn't really relevent bar the hot spring episode. i like usagi's relationship with her mum and brother it's nice.

[menagerie-of-monsters]

Find the Word Tag

Thanks @lynnedwardswrites for the tag! I'll leave an open tag for peeps since I'm feeling particularly lazy today~

My words were: combination, employer, error, mom, intention

Your words can be: photo, pain, edge, mark, noise

Snippets below the cut!

Combination

From The Changeling and the Dragon, which is Book 2 in Echoes of the Void, slated for publication July 2023. This scene is from Qavan's POV, and naudin is a shameless copy of buck euchre.

"So you… count?" Sersha asked Esva. The dragon nodded vigorously while I leaned forward on my knees. "All the different ways you can get points! If you miss some, we can take them as forfeits, which means you have to do something silly we tell you afterwards." "I have to do what you tell me already," Sersha said, with what sounded like great amusement. "So that does not seem like much of a forfeit." "Since Sersha doesn't know how to play yet, let's only count forfeits, yes?" I said, smiling at Esva. "We want her to actually enjoy naudin." "A kindness, surely," Sersha murmured, as she examined the sheet of paper that held the various card combinations and their scores.

Employer

I don't have this one - too modern of a word, I suppose... I had to dig deep to even find a near-match. This pulled from Sacrificed to the Goddess, the first in my draft reverse harem monster romance. Who knows when this'll ever see the light of day!!

He squeezed my hands. "Will you write to me? My battalion leaves in a week for the Eighth Sword, and I want to hear all about your adventures while I'm on the next tour. Well," he added, looking thoughtful. "Perhaps not all of them. Spare your father from the details of your bedroom, please." Laughter burst out of me, startled into flight from the joy heating my chest. "I won't give you any sordid details," I assured him, an irrepressible smile starting to spread across my face. "But could I… I mean, would you like to meet Arellath? My--my lover." "That handsome daemon hetaira you've had by your side this past month?" I nodded, feeling shy. I'd never been in a position to introduce a man to my father before, and Arellath was everything he would have frowned on before: non-human, promiscuous, and without honorable employment. I'd always agreed with such assessments, wanting children, loyalty, and security, but my life was so much different now. The things I needed from a partner had changed the moment the imperial haruspex had chosen me as the Incarnation.

Error

Legitimately couldn't find this one :(

Mom

I used "mom" in Captured by the Fae Beast but that's published, so here's another near-miss from the sequel coming out in April, In the Claws of the Raven Prince.

"I haven't made a study of it, but I know it happens from time to time. All the soulmate pairings I know of are fae and fae, though, save for you, and I really only know one pair personally. They're in a harmonized familial relationship, mother and daughter." Ulahana gave me another very sharp smile. "Given the circumstances, I doubt that's where you'll land." That made me laugh out loud, enough that I got a couple glances in our direction. "Oh?" I asked, trying and failing to sound innocently curious. "You don't think the Chimera wants me to be his Momma?" Ulahana snickered, her eyes dancing with amusement. "He's young, but I suspect it's in the way of a young buck and not a fawn," she said. "His actions in the past few years have been quite… aggressive. Nobody thought much of the youngest Raven Prince until he turned himself into a chimera, built the Furies, and started turning the tide of the war." I choked on my whiskey, sputtering at that. "The Raven Prince?!"

Intention

A fun one, from The Serpent's Bride, the first half of a duology I'm dabbling at. I love Talazen.

My serpent husband barked out a harsh laugh. "Do you honestly think I eat breakfast?" "If you have any intention of claiming your position, you'll pretend to it," I said, eyeing him. "Even if you swallow waterbuck whole before sleeping for days, people are inclined to cling to the familiar. The less strange you behave, the easier it will be." Talazen moved again, sudden and as swift as a striking viper. Before I could so much as jerk away, he loomed over me, gripping me by the chin and staring down into my face with all the anger of the night before twisting his face again, his void-black eyes fierce. "Do you think I care about easy, princssessss?" he said, hissing so much on the last word that I could barely make it out. His breath smelled oddly of spices, like the desert breeze sweeping through the markets. "I never intended to become a prince."

[akehoshimystar]

Riku SSR

Walking through the city dyed in the color of Christmas Eve

Part 1

Ito: (What a beautiful illumination..... Seeing things like this reminds me that Christmas is near.)

(Hmm? Isn’t that…?)

Riku: Ito….. What a happy coincidence to meet you in a place like this.

Ito: Good evening, Riku-san.

Taking pictures? Did you get a good shot?

Riku: Just like always, I guess.

On the screen of the phone he handed me, a slightly blurred image of the illuminations on the trees was shown.

Ito: Wow, so elaborate. It looks more magical in the picture than it does in the view of the naked eyes.

Riku: Haha, thank you.

But I still want it to be even better. It's not easy at all to get the balance right.

Ito: (Riku-san seems to be having fun. He must really love taking pictures.)

Then, instead of the whole picture, why not just focus on one spot?

Riku: Ah, I see.

With that, the center will be captured clearly. I'll try it right away.

Hmm, here’s the result.

Ito: Ah…..

The center of the screen was a sturdy branch of a street tree. The composition overall had faint light surrounding the branch, making it even more beautiful than before.

Riku: Not too shabby, isn’t it? It's all thanks to your advice.

Ito: It’s not like I did much. But I'm glad I was able to help you

Riku: There you go again, miss humble. If you don't mind, can I send you this photo as a commemorative for today?

Ito: Thank you. Please do so.

Riku-san smiled and danced his finger on his phone before turning to me with a satisfied look.

Riku: So, where are you going?

Ito: I’m on my way to the shopping mall up ahead.

I finished work early today, so I thought I'd take a look at the daily necessities.

Riku: Another coincidence, huh.

Ito: Riku-san too?

Riku: Yeah. I was on my way to do a little shopping.

It must be fate that we met here, care to join me?

Ito: Of course.

Riku: I'm glad to hear that. It would be a waste to walk on this road alone.

Well then, let's go.

Ito: Yes.

Thus, we started walking to the shopping mall.

Part 2

A little while later, we arrived at a general store in a shopping mall.

Riku: Is this your destination?

Ito: Yes. What about you?

Riku: I also need to buy a few things here.

It’s not like there's any particular store I want to go to, so this place should suffice.

Ito: The timing was perfect then.

Riku: I guess you’re going to look at daily necessities.

There are probably things you want to see on your own, so let’s go do our own thing. And we will meet up again later.

Ito: Yes.

(Perhaps Riku-san was being considerate of me.)

As I was putting what I needed in my basket and enjoying looking at various miscellaneous goods. A beautiful aroma candle suddenly came into view. The pure white candle tester in the crystal container gave off a nice smell just by holding it.

Ito: (It's nice. But it's not like it's a necessity.)

(...I'll give up for today and think about it a bit more at home.)

Though I was feeling a bit reluctant, I gently put the candle back on the shelf and walked to the opposite corner.

Riku: Ito.

Ito: Oh, Riku-san. Have you finished shopping?

Riku: Yeah. Since I'll have a work meet-up soon, I got a Christmas present for the other party.

I know their preferences, so it didn't take long to choose.

Ito: (I expect nothing less from him.)

Riku: The hardest part here might be the wrapping paper. There are so many different types this season that it's hard to pick one.

Ito, if it were you, which one would you choose?

Ito: Me? Let’s see...

I looked at the sample wrapping papers in front of the cash register.

Ito: All the wrappings are lovely, but...

I think the one with a golden Christmas tree pattern on a white background is wonderful and has a special seasonal feel to it.

Riku: I'll use this as reference for the future.

Ito: This is just my opinion, so it can only serve as reference.

Riku: I know.

So, have you found anything you want to buy?

Ito: Yes. I've got everything I wanted...

There's a line at the register. I need to get going now.

Riku: Okay. I'll wait outside the store then.

After paying the bill and leaving the store, I spotted Riku-san sitting on a bench a short distance away.

Ito: Sorry to keep you waiting.

Riku: Don't worry, it’s not that long. More importantly, here.

Ito: Oh….

Riku: A cafe au lait I bought at the cafe in front of me.

It's cold outside, so drink this while go home. Also, it's getting late, so I'll walk you back.

Ito: Thank you very much. I don't know where to start repaying your kindness at all.....

Riku: Don't worry about it. I just want to talk to you a bit more.

Ito: Sure.

(Riku-san is really a textbook definition of a smart guy.)

Part 3

A few days later, Christmas day. In the midst of a busy cafe business, it's finally my turn for a break.

Ito: (It's hectic… As one could expect from Christmas...)

Riku: Good work. It was a great success, huh?

Ito: Riku-san? Good work.

Do you need something here?

Riku: Let me put this away for a bit.

Riku-san showed me a big paper bag he was holding behind his back.

Riku: To all my hard-working friends, Christmas presents from Santa.

I mean, don’t you think I look like one now?

As he laughed, Riku-san spread out the contents of a large paper bag. One after another, wrapped presents of all sizes were placed on the table.

Ito: That’s a lot...

Riku: Yeah. I bought a lot of things so that they can choose what they like and have fun doing it.… like, you know, a gift exchange party.

Since I have work after this, I thought I'd leave a note or something.

But now that you’re here, would you mind passing on my message to them?

Ito: Of course.

Riku: Okay, you’ve earned yourself a privilege.

Ito: Eh?

Riku: It's a thank you for telling them in my stead. Don't be shy, pick the one you like.

Ito: Really...?

Riku: Don't worry, everyone will exchange it as they like anyway after you choose.

Ito: ...If that's the case, I'll take you up on your offer.

I timidly looked at the presents lined up. And found a wrapping paper that looked familiar, after being drawn to it, I picked it up.

Ito: (A golden Christmas tree on a white background...)

May I take this one?

Riku: Of course, feel free to open it.

Ito: Yes.

At his urging, I unwrapped the package carefully so as not to tear it. Something familiar appeared from the inside….. A pure white aroma candle.

Ito: (Is this...?)

Riku: Jackpot?

Ito: So you noticed?

Riku: Who knows? I guess it's better to say nothing.

Ito: (When did he buy it anyway? ….No, more importantly….)

Thank you. I'm really happy.

Riku: That's good. If you're pleased with it, it's worth all the effort.

I'm pretty confident about the other presents too. I know everyone's preferences like a back of my hand.

Ito: (Riku-san looks pretty happy...)

Riku: Oh, it's time. I'll excuse myself now. Good luck with your work.

Ito: Yes, thank you very much.

Being alone in the room, I turned my attention back to the presents on the desk. I couldn’t be more certain they're all things that everyone liked. When I thought of Riku-san’s kindness that resembled that of Santa, my heart gradually warmed itself up.