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dialovers-translations · 4 years ago

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DIABOLIK LOVERS MORE, BLOOD Official Visual Fanbook Short Story: Sakamaki Reiji VS Mukami Ruki

Source: Diabolik Lovers More, Blood Official Visual Fanbook

Release date: 2013

Disclaimer: Both sides portray the same story, but from a different perspective. The first story is written from Reiji’s POV, while the second portrays the events from Ruki’s POV.

REIJI’S SIDE

ーー An eye for an eye. I honestly did not think I would ever let someone else’s words sway me.

On top of the same bed.

Two Vampires ganging up on one woman.

I have been completely captivated by this situation which at first glance would be nothing but laughable.

“Come on...You want more, do you not? Try begging for it. Go ahead...”

I whisper those words with the most gentle, sweetest tone imaginable, while stroking the top of her head as she lies there pinned down on top of the sheets. Her cheeks color red in embarrassment, as she looks up at me with watery eyes.

“Heh...You are rather kind. I thought you were more of a cruel man.”

“Hmph. I am different from you.”

While saying that, I press my lips against her own.

In reaction, she squints her eyes in pleasure.

For one, this current situation is the result of a trivial matter.

Yet right now, I find myself in this state.

I honestly have to laugh with it myself.

However, I figured this was a perfect opportunity to show that man...Mukami Ruki.

The fact that she has already completely devoted herself to me.

“Well then, where would you like it next...? Your shoulder? Or perhaps...A little further below?”

As I tease her with those words, she shakes her head from left to right.

As to be expected, Ruki responds by extending his hand towards her.

“I know, Livestock. ...Where you want it, that is...”

While speaking those words, Ruki gradually moves closer, gliding his fingertips across her lower back.

“You sly flox...”

Making no attempts to hide the frustration in my voice, I bury my face in her nape.

My fangs gently sink inside.

Her flesh is thoroughly soft, willingly accepting my sharp fangs.

Her sweet, rich blood gushes inside my mouth.

Each time, a gasp slips past her lips.

Ruki would suck blood from her lower back at the same time, as her body slides across the sheets.

“Nn...Haah...”

This blood truly is irresistable.

I cannot help but gasp in amazement.

I lap up the blood dribbling down from my fangs inside my mouth.

My body moves on its own, not wanting to let a single drop go to waste.

“Oi, Livestock...How does feel...to have two Vampires wrapped around your little finger like this?”

Ruki speaks with a delirious voice.

She is unable to muster a response, her body simply quivering instead.

I grab her trembling hand, and bring it towards my lips.

“How rather tactless of you to try and ask such a thing to her.”

“Heh...My bad. I didn’t enjoy the same upbringing as you guys did.”

Despite his mocking tone, Ruki keeps on moving closer, sliding towards her thigh.

“Hold it. That place is...”

“Have you ever heard of the saying ‘the early worm gets the bird’?”

Ruki speaks before spreading her legs.

While keeping her knee locked firmly in place, he brings his face closer as if trying to sneak a peek in between.

“Che...”

I involuntarily click my tongue before plunging my fangs inside her chest next.

If he wishes to challenge me to see whose fangs can bring her the most pleasure, then I will gladly take him on.

I am Karlheinz’ son. A descendent of the Vampire King.

I shall never lose to a man of vulgar, mannerless lineage.

ーー The End.

RUKI’S SIDE

ーー I never imagined he would take part in such foolish games. I can only assume he is very prideful himelf.

“Come on...You want more, do you not? Try begging for it. Go ahead...”

He whispers with a sing-sung voice after nibbling her throat.

While I always found him to be somewhat similar to that man in aura, I realize that he cannot fight back against the temptation of blood after all, as I start to peel off her clothes.

That being said, the only thing still left to remove was a single shirt covering her frame.

While grabbing onto the fabric, I try and taunt the other with my words.

“Heh...You are rather kind. I thought you were more of a cruel man.”

“Hmph. I am different from you.”

As he emphasizes the difference between us two, I take back everything I thought before.

These kind of childish games are right up his alley, I now believe.

“Well then, where would you like it next...? Your shoulder? Or perhaps...A little further below?”

That man - Reiji - gauges her reactions as he tickles the skin of her shoulder.

As I come to realize his intentions, I move my own body closer, bringing my face closer to her lower body which has been left completely unguarded.

Reiji is most likely a man who does everything by the book.

In that case, all I have to do is get in the way of that.

“I know, Livestock. ...Where you want it, that is...”

I get one step ahead of him and move my fingertips across that spot.

She flinches in response, trying to move away from my fingers.

I see. This spot must feel quite good.

While chuckling softly, I thrust my fangs right in.

“You sly fox...”

I can hear Reji’s irritated voice echo from above.

My lips curve into a smirk as I suck her blood.

If I can keep up momentum like this, victory will be mine.

However, this woman’s blood truly is special after all.

While it is obviously sweet, there is something more about it which just screams ‘blood’ at you.

If someone who was not even born a Vampire such as myself is able to sense that, then it must be even more noticeable to a pureblood.

“Nn...Haah...”

As a matter of fact, Reiji is currently gasping feverishly just from having a taste.

Of course, I am no exception either.

Heat slowly wells up inside my body. If I had to put it into words, I would say it is similar to the feeling of being drunk off strong liquor.

“Oi, Livestock...How does feel...to have two Vampires wrapped around your little finger like this?”

It may seem odd to call someone as special as herself ‘livestock’.

That being said, the woman going by that nickname fails to respond.

Seems like she has completely lost herself from the four fangs bringing her pleasure.

“How rather tactless of you to try and ask such a thing to her.”

While mocking me, Reiji places a kiss against the palm of her hand.

“Heh...My bad. I didn’t enjoy the same upbringing as you guys did.”

While chuckling, I part her legs in an attempt to make her feel even better.

She does not even try to stop her most risqué part from being fully exposed.

I wonder if she has truly given in?

“Hold it. That place is...”

Reiji stops me with a criticizing tone.

“Have you ever heard of the saying ‘the early worm gets the bird’?”

I do not even hesitate to take a peek in between her legs.

Drawn in by the subtle curve of her inner high, I bring my lips closer.

It must be beyond delicious to suck her blood from a spot as soft as a marshmallow.

While purring, I continue to lean in before ruthlessly plunging my fangs inside.

“Che...”

I can hear a shameless click of the tongue.

Seems like my plan worked like a charm.

I find power struggles to be utterly foolish.

However, it is important to face such challenges head-on every now and then.

Especially when you have two prideful men going neck at neck...No?

ーー The End.

#diabolik lovers #dialovers #reiji sakamaki #ruki mukami #diabolik lovers short story #diabolik lovers versus story #diabolik lovers more blood official visual fanbook #diabolik lovers translation

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sunnysviolin · 3 years ago

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Omotober Day Two- Faraway

You can also read it here on ao3

In a small town like Faraway, gossip is a ritual. The intricate ways of being nosey and knowing everything about your neighbors must be carefully taught to all new inhabitants.

“No matter what you do, someone always knew you would.” ― Ami McKay

“Country folk talked, that was all. Whether in the borderlands or the baronies, gossip was ever the chief sport.” ― Stephen King

Faraway is a town with only two thousand seven hundred and fourteen people. It just barely crosses the threshold of rural to suburban, and despite what the mayor promised with all of the new construction plans, the people of the town didn’t expect that there would be many more people coming anytime soon.

Faraway was perpetually sleepy, and when you combined that with how much it lived up to its name in being far from any city, most newcomers either left quickly or never stayed in the first place. Everything closed at nightfall, and the worst crime was high school ruffians who occasionally spraypainted a wall or smashed in a mailbox or two. The town was little, but the residents liked it that way. They liked not having to worry about locking their doors or watching their backs as they walked around. They liked being able to poke their heads into each others backyards and always being invited to every party and outing.

But Faraway did have one detraction. As with pretty much every small town, most of the residents were terrible gossips. Such was the fate of a place without much to do, neighbors found their entertainment in one another.

“Did you hear Perdita’s husband finally got sick of her and left? It was only a matter of time, she’s a complete alchie”

“Greg finally found out that Emily was cheating on him and now they’re getting divorced. It is going to be meeeeessy. They’re fighting over the house and the kids!”

But the biggest piece of gossip was what happened to Sharon.

Anyone who moved into the town learned the story quickly. Once the new neighbors had a chance to settle in, a group would come over with a plate of cookies or a casserole after church, and wait until they were offered a cup of coffee and a chat. It was the neighborly thing to do after all, and it was important that anyone coming into their world know what they were getting into. Once the coffee was poured and the trivial compliments about the layout of the house were given, then it would start.

First with some simple things- who was going behind whos back, which couple was doomed to get a divorce before too long. It was important to gauge here if this new neighbor would be one of them or not. If the new arrival seemed put off or uncomfortable, a few feelers would be put out. They might just be new to small town life and not aware of the importance of knowing all of this. If all attempts to chat were rebuffed, then the rest of the town knew that this person wouldn’t last long among them.

But sometimes a new neighbor showed potential, promise in their willingness to listen and participate. If that happened, then it was time to move onto the main story that plagued the town even four years after it had happened. No one ever meant to talk about it, but it was inevitable that it would be brought up. It wasn’t every day that one of the darlings of the town ended up dead after all.

“A tragedy, such a shame.”

“Hung herself! Poor thing,”

“The girl had been only fourteen- oh wait fifteen. Yes Mari had been fifteen.”

“No, she hadn’t left a note, but everyone could guess. Her parents were always such strange people, so strict and demanding of their children. It was inevitable that one of them would snap, but no one expected it to be Mari. She seemed so happy, so above it all.”

“She was in a relationship with Teresa’s boy. Not the one still here, of course, but the one who’s in college now, studying to be a doctor. All the way on the other side of the country if you can believe it!”

“It only got worse from there though. Sharon’s husband had left her afterwards, and she never told anyone why...He probably blamed her for it. Men can be that way, can’t they?”

“Now she goes around acting like nothing happened at all. It’s bizarre. If I lost my daughter you wouldn’t catch me acting like she never existed.”

“I hear she’s moving. Yes I’m sure, the manager over at Fix-Its told me that she asked him for a moving company reference,”

“I saw a For Sale sign in the front yard. It make sense though, I have no idea how she could have possibly lived in that house for the last four years, knowing what her child did there,”

“‘How could she live in that house’? What I want to know is how could she let her son stay in there day in day out! After what happened to him,”

“Oh, sorry honey, let us explain. So Sharon has, well had, two children. Mari, her daughter and Sunny, her son. I can’t for the life of me remember how old he is. High school age now I suppose...but no one has seen him in years,”

“ Years . We’re completely serious. Sharon does errands and goes to work in an office nearby as a secretary, and she shows up sometimes for a cup of coffee or the occasional church meeting, but no one has seen Sunny since his sister died. He’s the one that found her, and he completely lost his mind. He’s psychotic now,”

“Now that isn’t fair. That child went through something no person should ever have to, and at such a young age. It’s no wonder the boy has issues, but Sharon should have done something. At least forced him to keep going to school,”

“You can’t deny that the child is strange, Margaret. He was strange before he found his sister hanging from a tree. My Ethan was in classes with him, and he said he used to see Sunny staring out the window for the entire class period without blinking. Like he was possessed,”

“He was friends with Perdita’s girl, and we all know how that child turned out. She’s going to end up making license plates and eating gruel before she turns twenty, mark my words,”

“And what about what happened to the cat? You can’t deny that’s strange,”

“Oh that’s just a rumor. I don’t believe it,”

“Rumors, but no ones seen it since she died. Lacey swears that she saw a dead cat in their trash bin only a week after Mari’s funeral. Don’t look at me that way, I’m just saying. I certainly don’t have any plans to let my children near that house,”

“Even if you did, they wouldn’t let you in! Teresa’s boy goes there every afternoon, and no one ever answers the door. He’s such a sweetheart, you should introduce your kids to him. Kel’s always been a rather lonely boy for some reason, even though he’s such a nice child. He’s been practically distraught since his brother left for school, the one we told you is going to be a doctor?”

“Oh by the way, make sure you don’t say any of this to Teresa or her husband. She’s still very close with Sharon and views Sunny like one of her own. If only Kel had rubbed off a little more on him,”

“I’m just glad that Kel got out of that group of kids before it completely devolved. Teresa’s boys are far to good to be around children like Sunny and Aubrey,”

#omori #omotober #omori sunnys mom #omori sunnys dad #omori mari #omori sunny #omori aubrey #omori kel #omori hero #omori fic #omori faraway #faraway town #bitchy smalll town life is intricate

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lostbutterflyutau · 3 years ago

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Meet Lovella

(Since the reference sheets (credit to nnobodious) are now complete, I thought it was time to introduce my OC and the main character of my unpublished Titanic (1997) fic, “Back to Titanic.” (Because it’s a class project, I’m waiting to publish it until after my class workshops it.))

(From left to right: tea dress (April 14), dinner gown (April 13), afternoon dress (April 13), boarding outfit (April 10))

The daughter of Cordelia and the late Gerald Bennett-King, 17-year-old Lovella Lydia Bennett-King is everything a well-bred girl should be. At least, that’s the picture she presents to the world. All her life, her mother has instilled the importance of being a “good girl” into her, and the older she got, the further that lesson was reinforced. As time went on, she embraced the image her mother carefully crafted, if only to make certain parts of her life easier and avoid being scolded for trivial mistakes. But underneath the layers of obedience and politeness she’s forced to don every day, lives a fantastical imagination that yearns to break free from the private walls she keeps it hidden behind.

It’s a dream that’s all but shattered when her father dies in the spring of 1911, leaving her and her mother saddled with the debt owed to his business partner in manufacturing, Mr. Daniel Taylor. Luckily for Cordelia, the man is willing to compromise, but only in the form of having Lovella marry his son, Nathan.

Now, Lovella knew that her life was never fully her own, so she agrees to the arrangement. Not that there was much of a choice. Being the only child and daughter of a wealthy New York businessman, finding a decent match was always going to be the best way to secure the family’s future. It was something that she told herself she was content with and worked to assure, but, evening knowing that, the urge to break free and start some kind of trouble never quite left her mind.

Following the engagement, Lovella and her mother are whisked off to Europe for an extended holiday in early 1912 that ends with them boarding the newly christened “Ship of Dreams.” At first, it seems nothing new to Lovella and she doesn’t expect it to be any different from the voyage over to Europe. In fact, the first two days are largely the same as the entirety of the previous trip. But on the afternoon of April 12, 1912, when she’s seated at the same table as and subsequently connects with Rose Dewitt Bukater, things start to change. Rose’s rebellious nature intrigues her, as do the hard questions she asks in her attempts to gauge Lovella’s perception of their similar circumstances.

And, as the voyage continues and her friendship with Rose grows, Lovella’s eyes are slowly opened to the wider world around her as it begins to look like her time on the “Ship of Dreams” might be just the push she needs to start acting on her own dreams and desires, regardless of what her mother – and society – may think.

((Reference sheets by: nnobodious))

#titanic #titanic movie #titanic 1997 #original character #oc #fanfiction #my fanfiction #my fic #not my art #nnobodious #Rose needs a friend #and I'm a sucker for girl friendships

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shoichee · 4 years ago

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Hello and congrats on the 100 milestone! Can you do prompt #19 for Midorima? 😁

MAN OH MAN IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME BUT I’M FINALLY BACK, TSYM for being here since the beginning, i rlly rlly appreciate it <333 so HERES SOME FLUFF

Midorima x Reader

19. “I think I’m in love with you, and that scares the crap out of me”

Word Count: 3349

prompt list here

»»—————　☼　—————««

“Seriously, are you sure you’re not secretly related to Shin-chan?” Takao shoves another helping of rice into his mouth and you instantly frown at his messy eating habits.

“Takao, it doesn’t hurt to wipe the grains off your cheeks with napkins that the cafeteria always abundantly provides,” you say, not once taking your eyes off of the study guide you compiled for the class final. “And please don’t talk with your mouth open.” You can easily sense Takao groaning before slapping his eyes while leaning back in frustration, but you still carried on in skimming your notes instead.

“And that’s exactly why Shin-chan doesn’t know how to approach you,” he petulantly mumbles. You spared a glance above your packets, not catching his inaudible words.

“Pardon?”

“Never mind,” Takao sighs, settling to childishly stabbing the shrimp tempuras with his chopsticks and popping them into his mouth. “You werdn’t gert it.”

“What did I just say about your eating manners?” You roll your eyes, choosing to brush off his words as you continue to devote your attention to your papers. Takao simply opts to noisily munch on the rest of his lunch while being deep in thought, letting you study in some relative peace. He then gets up, tosses his trash away, and plops back down on his seat, and he props up his chin on his arm, watching you completely engrossed in your own world and figuring out how to exactly figure out his next best course of action.

“Y’know what? Screw this, I’m not getting paid to be a wingman for two difficult people,” he dramatically sighs, purposely trying to get your attention, and it worked. “You might wanna start paying attention to poor Shin-chan before he over thinks himself to death.” Takao does an exaggerated shrug and a shake of his head to emphasize the “seriousness” of the situation. You merely frown.

“You never cease to amaze me with your convoluted words. If you want something from me, just spit it out already.” You reluctantly let down your papers to give him your undivided attention, and Takao leans closer, dropping his voice to a hush.

“Look, I know you see him in a different light from the others,” he whispers conspiringly. “And he does too.” He makes pointer-finger motions in front of him to represent “you” and “Midorima.”

“... This again?” You pinch your nose bridge and release a harsh sigh, but you nonetheless let Takao continue.

“Come on, would it really hurt to do a confession? For someone so blunt and straightforward, you’re really dragging this out for way too long.” Takao frowns at your deadpan expression but continues his little movements with his makeshift “finger puppets.” “Once you”—he takes his left index finger—“and Shin-chan”—he brings his right index closer to his left—“do the chu”— he brings his index fingers together to imply the situation—“I can finally be free from the clutches of Shi—”

“I already told you,” you smoothly interrupt, “that we don’t see each other that way. He’s been a reliable partner in class projects and a very helpful person to share notes with. I’m very certain it’s like that on his end with me too.”

“Why do you sound so disappointed when you say it like that?” Takao slowly grows a shit-eating (yet hopeful) smirk. You scowl at his implications. Takao amusedly notes that you’re way too similar to his best friend.

“There’s no chance that we’ll ever get to that stage… ever. Okay? Satisfied now?”

“So you are disappointed at the possible outcome,” Takao gleefully says, his face showing all signs of plans being concocted in his mind. You completely widen your eyes at your simple slip-up.

“I… it’s not a possible outcome, damn it,” you vehemently insist. “It’s a guarantee.”

“Puh-lease (y/n)-chan, how do you know unless you try it?”

“Alright Takao,” you dryly reply. “Why don’t you try staring directly at the sun first before confirming that you become blind from that?”

“That’s not the same!”

“Same logic,” you huff. “Look, you know Midorima-san more than anyone, and even you know how he thinks. He finds the concept of friends and teammates to be pretty unnecessary, and frankly I can empathize with him. If he finds camaraderie to be a hassle already, dating is already beyond off the table. It takes much more to be a genuine friend to him than your average person, and if I do, by chance, confess, I’d be throwing away everything that I built up with him like an idiot… just being like this with him is more than enough for me. Besides, a relationship isn’t important right now, not when class takes up most of the time.”

“Well, normally yes, but in this specific case, there’s an excep—”

“I already came clean with this,” you say, furrowing your brows. “So can you finally let me study for this class in peace? Obviously, it’s a given for you not to open your mouth to anyone else about this.” With that, you tune out any further noise and burrow yourself into your class materials, and Takao could only sigh as he tries to wrack his brain for another way to play wingman.

“... Seriously, they’re both so stubborn.”

———

“(y/n)-san.”

“Hm?”

You turn around from looking at the bulletin to the person who just addressed you. Midorima stares down at you quite seriously before he promptly clears his throat.

“You’re blocking the way, nanodayo.”

“Ah… I apologize,” you say, immediately stepping closer to the bulletin to clear up the hallway. You turn your face to appear fixated on the bulletin board, but still sensing Midorima staring at you, you reluctantly peek at him from your peripheral vision. “... Is there something else you need, Midorima-san?” Midorima looks at the bulletin board for a moment before he turns back to your face.

“Regarding the group project we were paired to do in chemistry,” he starts, “the teacher praised our work very highly and wants to know if he can use it as an example for future lectures. I’m here to hear your answer on his behalf.”

You mentally sigh from the secretive disappointment. Of course Midorima was here for straightforward business. Nothing more, nothing less. Still, Takao’s words begin flitting through your mind now… of all times.

“Of course he can use it,” you smile. “I think it’s an honor to have our project regarded so highly like that, especially since so much effort was put into it… although… I think you’re the reason why we received such a high score, Midorima-san.” You train your gaze on Midorima, trying to gauge his reaction from the compliment, but he gives no such sign away, not any that you were aware of as far as you were concerned.

“(y/n)-san, I believe your own efforts and work ethic shouldn’t be trivialized,” Midorima replies, briefly closing his eyes and adjusting his frames. “After all, you are the one who made this project a cohesive final product, one that is also comprehensible to other peers in our presentation.”

“Ah… well…” You were definitely thrown in for a loop, not expecting Midorima to compliment you back so openly, albeit probably not for the reasons you were hoping for. “... Thank you, Midorima.” In an attempt to curb your growing flusteredness, you opted to stare at the bulletin board again, pretending to be occupied in reading the pinned papers.

“... Right.” Midorima softly clears his throat. “I’ll be taking my leave back to the faculty office. It was good talking to you.”

He swiftly turns around and walks back in the direction he came from, and when you were certain that he was walking judging from his footsteps, you turn your head to stare at his back before averting your gaze.

You frown once he exits out of your sight as you ponder about his particular diction.

“It was good talking to you”? Had Midorima ever said that to anyone before? You sigh to yourself and pinch your nose bridge to chastise yourself. Takao was right; you might’ve fallen a little too hard for the reserved individual, but even still, a relationship isn’t something you wanted to actively chase after.

Amidst your dilemma, you were completely unaware that Takao watched the entire exchange, holding back his laughter from seeing you uncharacteristically look like an absolute love-stricken fool. He got too much of a kick out of seeing the both of you trying to flirt… and an even bigger kick when he saw Midorima turning around to briefly “discreetly” stare at you while you were having your inner monologue.

———

“Takao, I’m having none of your bullshit today.” Midorima simply scowls as he prepares to leave the main building to the gym. Takao merely tags along while taunting him in a sing-song voice.

“Come onnn,” Takao insists, slapping Midorima’s back a little too harshly. “You said it yourself didn’t you? Favorable outcomes come to those who prepare the most. Don’t lie, I know you’ve been planning to naturally bump into our (y/n)-chan in different scenarios. Like yesterday in the hall—”

“You knew?!” Midorima jumps out of his skin to shoot an accusatory look at him, but Takao merely struggles to hold back a snicker at his reaction.

“Shin-chan, how hard is it to say three specific little words to someone else?” Takao sends a frustrated look. “You’ve always gone the extra mile to prepare your lucky items, read the Oha Asa predictions, and do little rituals not just for yourself but also for (y/n)-chan too, yet you don’t want to do a simple thing like confessing?”

“A confession isn’t that simple,” he retorts. “It can alter my fate for potentially worse if I’m not prepared.”

“Jeez, only you can take this so seriously,” Takao sighs, which only earned him a withering look from Midorima’s end. “But then again, it’s nice that you see it as something serious… but when are you actually gonna do it?” His response was only silence, as if he didn’t really give much thought about it until it was brought up now.

“That’s none of your concern.”

“Oh come on, Shin-chan!”

“To be honest,” he says, stopping in place. “The horoscope says that Cancers would be rejected by signs like of (y/n)-san’s, much less be compatible. Predictions state that such relationships between the two would be troublesome.”

“Okay, Shin-chan,” Takao says, patting Midorima’s shoulder. “I know I constantly joke about this Oha Asa and this entire thing with (y/n)-chan, but”—he stops when he sees Midorima giving him another scathing look—“even if the horoscopes state it so, it’s like you said: favorable outcomes come to those who do the most. If you did everything you could, I see no reason to be scared. Plus, you have me to help you.”

“... It’s not that. Part of this is beyond what I can do to prepare. Whatever I do will not influence (y/n)-san’s answer, and that is something out of my control.”

“You know, you could just say that you’re nervous.”

“I am not.”

“Well, if you want me to be honest,” Takao says. “I think it’s because the two of you are so eerily similar that you find it hard to approach (y/n)-san. Like, when’s the last time you’ve met someone as serious and stiff as yo—I’m kidding, I’m kidding! Please don’t raise your fist at me!”

“That being said,” he continues, “Just talk to (y/n) like you’ve talked to everyone else. I mean you both always hit it off when you talk together in class.”

“I… suppose…”

“Trust me,” Takao grins, slightly elbowing Midorima’s ribs. “I’d like to think of myself as an accurate guy in ball-passing and in detecting social cues.”

———

You really tried to carry yourself normally.

You really did.

But a part of you is becoming hyper-aware of everything Midorima does, and being your normally collected self is suddenly becoming a lot more difficult. Studying at your own desk is nigh impossible with both Midorima’s words and Takao’s implications running through your mind. Even Midorima, who normally minds his own business, shoots you pensive looks here and there during class, and he approaches you during break after.

“... Your sign is at one of the lowest ranks in luck today… may that be the reason why you’re not being your usual self?” He studies as you pull yourself together.

“Erm… somewhere along the lines, yeah. Most likely woke up on the wrong side of the bed today,” you mumble, rubbing your neck to ease the nervousness.

“Is that so…” he says. He pulls out a small toy that was found in the local gachapon down the street. “Ahem… I hear that your lucky item is this today.” He holds it out in front of you, silently waiting for you to take it, and you gently pluck it out of his large hands.

“Well, what about you?” you inquire. “I’m sure you got this toy for a reason, like say… for your own good luck?”

“Well,” he coughs. “I have my own. I am always prepared for such occurrences should things go awry.”

“You’re always so prepared for everything,” you quietly laugh. “Not that it’s a bad thing, though. I do wish I was more like you in that regard.”

“W-Well, I think you have your own admirable traits to be proud of, er…” Midorima slowly turns red and contemplates backtracking on his words. “I-If you excuse me, I must get going for health committee duties, nanodayo.” He heaves his bag on his shoulder as you wave at him, and he lingers there, debating on something that you aren’t sure what it is. “Might you have time afterschool today?”

“Uh… not that I think of,” you reply. “Are you already looking ahead to the next partner assignment?”

“Actually, no… it won’t take much of your time, (y/n)-san. It’s something quick. Can we meet at the vending machines near the gym? I do have practice around that time, so I hope somewhere nearby could suffice for you too.”

“That’s fine with me, because… I feel like I need to tell you something too or I won’t be able to study at this rate, but if you have practice, shouldn’t you be focused on that more?”

“It’s fine. This one takes… a higher priority.” Midorima fixes his glasses and readjusts his grip on his shoulder bag as he ponders about your own words. “If this arrangement is fine with you, I will be seeing you after school.” You only nod as you wave goodbye at him again, and you exhale a long sigh of relief and nervousness once he leaves. You really wonder if telling Midorima that you had something important to tell him was a good move on your part, considering that you can’t backtrack your words on someone as stubborn as him. Takao may or may not have seen Midorima’s attempt in being forward and silently laughed himself to oblivion in the corner of the classroom.

———

“Were you waiting long, Midorima-san?” You briskly jog with your heavy bag to the destined location to see Midorima thumbing through his book before he looks up.

“You are as punctual as always.” He closes his book with a thud and places it in his bag on the bench before he stands up to face you. “Which is always appreciated considering it is not as common in others.”

“I just think it’s common courtesy.”

“Not quite, considering I asked you rather suddenly to meet me here,” he says. “You aren’t obligated to even agree in meeting me, yet here you are on time, just like with our past project sessions.”

“Well… you did say it was important enough that you put practice as a second priority, and I do want to tell you something too.”

“R-Right…”

An awkward silence dominates the exchange after Midorima clears his throat and goes silent as you patiently wait in agony. You eye at his troubled expression, wondering what sort of thing he was going to tell you that got him so worked up. At the same time, you grew slightly antsier, quietly tapping a foot or rubbing your neck, and you wonder if Midorima was actually waiting for you to say something first.

“I… I think I’m in love with you, and that scares the crap out of me.”

“I-I believe I may have developed feelings akin to attraction for you.”

“Uh…”

“Ahem…”

Both of you stare at each other in unadulterated surprise.

“... You… like me?” Midorima murmurs, his eyes still full blown in shock.

“L-Likewise,” you reply, opting to stare at Midorima’s bag on the bench instead. Another awkward silence ensues as both of you take in each other’s sudden words and Midorima clears his throat again.

“... Why are you afraid of liking me?” Midorima restores his composure, staring at your flustered state with furrowed brows, thinking that he somehow made you uncomfortable at some point throughout the year.

“Wait… no! That’s not what I meant!” you say, mildly shaking your head. “Uh, let me rephrase that…” Midorima silently watches you as you continue. “Well, you weren’t the person to have romance in your mind, let alone have feelings, let alone for me, and… my friendship with you is something that I treasure, and I don’t want to hinder you with such things that can make you uncomfortable in being around me. That was why I was afraid, although I’ve been in denial about it until recently.”

“I see.”

“And um, I thought that confessing to you would end the friendship we had.”

“... Likewise.” Midorima uses your word against you with an upward curl of his lip. It almost seems like he was teasing you. You grow redder at his response, but he continued. “I suppose the lucky item I gave you provided the most favorable outcome for the day.” You only nod as you processed everything that just happened in a few moments, and both of you went quiet again.

“...”

“So…”

“... I’m not sure what to do next,” Midorima frowns. “I wasn’t prepared for this particular situation, nanodayo.” You only smile at his own flusters.

“Well…” you say. “We could date, but I don’t think that’s important right now, considering that we still have to focus on school… I mean unless you want to, then we can try to make it work?”

“Ahem, while I do think these things are quite frivolous,” he says. “I suppose we can learn to balance our relationship with other aspects of our lives accordingly.”

“I would like that,” you smile, walking to approach closer to Midorima. “Could we… um, hold hands? If you’re not into that though, that’s okay.” He says nothing in response but his hand slowly reaches out for your own to gently clasp, and closes his eyes in bliss before he opens them to look at you.

“... I must go to practice soon. It’s almost time.”

“I see,” you mumble. “If that’s the case, I’ll be inside the library to cram in extra lectures.” You pull your hand away to separate, but he holds you tighter. “Midorima?”

“... I’ll walk you there, nanodayo.” He peers over your face to gauge any objections on your end, but when he finds none, he gently tugs you along as you both walk to the building next-door.

“I never knew you were into hand-holding.”

“N-Not really,” he quietly says, his ears turning red.

“Actually,” you say, bringing Midorima’s attention back to you in light of the topic change. “I need to thank Takao tomorrow… he’s the one who pushed me to confess.”

“Hmph,” he scoffs. “I do suppose that the idiot has some merits to his words.”

“I do now see what he means when he keeps insisting that we’re too alike in personality and preferences.”

“That just means we’re more compatible than what fate initially predicted, nanodayo.”

“You checked the horoscopes for relationship compatibility? Never would I have thought that such things occupied your mind, Midorima…”

“Urk—That’s…”

#knb x reader #knb #knb scenarios #knb fic #knb fics #midorima x reader #midorima shintarou #midorima shintaro #midorima shintarou x reader #knb fluff #100 followers #100 follower milestone

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spiderling-space · 4 years ago

Text

This started as a joke but I wanted to take it further and make a smut fic with a bit of crack at the beginning.

I was conflicted between going through the normal route and starting the regular fanfic to introduce my MC but introducing via smut is OP and it is something I’d do.

Featuring my MC… Natalie and the horny boy Malleus

Established relationship

Italics indicate thoughts and emphasis

Explicit content below the cut

“I bribed Grimm to leave us alone, he will be with Ace and Deuce and won’t be coming back to Ramshackle tonight and I asked the ghosts to give us some privacy.” The redhead beamed at Malleus, smiling widely, standing in her pajama shorts and top tank.

“I thought you wanted to watch just a movie. Why would you send your friends away, Child of Man?” Malleus questions Natalie’s motives. Is he dense or is he doing that to make me say it out loud?

Natalie tiptoed, closing the distance between them as she stroked his cheek. “I didn’t want anyone interrupting our date. And I don’t think calling me Child of Man would be good for the mood now… After all, it is a date.” She said cheekily before grabbing his hand and dragging him to the lounge. “Also, it isn’t one movie. There are 3… Uhm… short movies… Yeah… short movies.” She explained curtly before asking Malleus to sit as she connected her laptop to the TV. She couldn’t pass the opportunity to tease him considering the nature of the movies they were about to watch so she wiggled her butt when she was sure Malleus was looking at her way. She was disappointed when she didn’t see any reaction from him instead, he was sitting his back straight and focusing on the TV. Either way, this was no time to be focusing on trivial things, they had 3 interesting short movies to watch and she would be getting his attention at the end either way. “You can take notes while watching. In fact, I would recommend it.” She couldn’t contain the giggle that she tried to surpass whilst she was taking her position on the couch, laying on it and putting her feet on Malleus’ lap to flaunt her slender legs to him.

“Is this how humans watch a movie?” He asked curiously, “We do not have movies in the Valley of Thorns, television is not used. We have various plays in the theatres.”

“You can watch TV however you want and whatever position that’s comfortable.” She changed into a sitting position, planted a chaste kiss on his cheek before winking at him. “I doubt you have the type of movies that we are about to watch as plays.” She wondered if he was understanding the nature of what they were about to watch and even thought of informing him but she also wanted to see his reaction. “One little info before we watch… these aren’t 100 percent real but it gives some vague ideas.”

So she pressed the play, she already knew what was going to happen so she wasn’t paying much attention to the screen, instead, her green eyes were focusing on Malleus to see his reactions.

Malleus’ eyes widened at what he was seeing on the screen. “Oh dear… Did something happen?” Natalie feigned innocence, amused by his reaction.

She paused the video when Malleus looked with a bewildered expression. “What is this?”

Natalie kept her voice neutral, trying to contain the hilarity hidden. “It is called porn. To be precise, lesbian porn.”

It seemed like Malleus had no idea what she was talking about or why she would make them watch such a thing. “Do humans enjoy watching other humans having intimate time?”

Realizing that she couldn’t explain it from her position, she was once again sitting. She took his hand in hers, making eye contact while she explained her standpoint. “Actually, I prefer soft porn over hardcore one but the circumstances demanded this.” She cleared her throat. “Before we started dating or in your words courting, I asked you if you would be okay with premarital sex since you said this is the first time you are experiencing these feelings. You said you are okay with it and Lilia told you about the intimacy between partners. While I’m sure Lilia didn’t leave any stone unturned, seeing the action is better just hearing about it. Of course, hands-on is the best way of learning but that’s a topic for another time.” She kissed his knuckles, hoping that he would see it as a romantic gesture. “To be fair, I know that porn is unrealistic but I found these that focus on female pleasure. I spent hours to find the best 3 videos. I needed to bleach my eyes after seeing some stuff.” She shivered after recalling certain cursed videos.

“Bleaching your eyes would blind you.” I should teach him 21st-century slang.

Natalie chuckled, “It’s just an expression used when you see something that is disturbing.” At least I didn’t say cursed images… He could have taken that literally and go ‘who cursed you?!’. “Where was I?... Ah yeah, the pleasure part. It’s the part where I said you can take notes... So about that…” She grimaced, recalling that awful memory. “In short, the preparation time, or in other words foreplay, is an important part of sex. I don’t want our first time to be as disappointing, unsatisfactory and anti-climatic as my own first time.” She gave him a sheepish look, “I hope you understand. It is fine if you don’t want to watch it though, we can pick a PG13 movie or do another activity.”

Malleus had kept a stoic expression whilst Natalie was talking, which was making it hard for her to understand what he was thinking. She was wondering if she somehow ended up offending him until he finally spoke. “It is fine. As you said, one learns better when it is shown.”

Nat got back to her previous position and resumed the movie. The redhead had already watched the movies she picked so she wasn’t focusing on the screen, all of her attention was on Malleus and trying to gauge his reaction. Though there was none, no excited expression nor an absorbed one, he was just apathetic. Nat even accidentally brushed his crotch with her feet but didn’t feel any hardness. Is he really not interested in porn? Maybe he is sleeping with his eyes open… Or maybe he has experience in this, built up a tolerance against… He is quite old too though he didn’t say his real age…

“So what do you think?” Natalie asked after all 3 videos she picked ended. She closed all the tabs, cleared the browser history before shutting down her laptop. One can never be too careful.

Natalie withdrew one of her legs and placed it behind Malleus’ back, inching close enough for her chest to almost touch his arm. Malleus took a glance at her new position before answering her. “It was interesting.”

“How so?”

“I saw everything Lilia told me and more. You are right, seeing the action is better for learning.” Malleus turned his body in her direction, his hand found its way to her long locks, grazing them lightly, having a smug expression along the way. “But as you said, hands-on is the best way of learning.” He held her chin before closing the distance between their mouths, eyes closed as his lips started moving.

Natalie didn’t expect him to take action immediately but she wasn’t complaining. She wondered how far he would take it. Her hands were wandering on his chest, back and finally, she pulled him closer by his shirt's neck. It must have encouraged him since she heard him growl. She was proven right when he fully turned her way and slowly pressed her to the couch below. His hand started to explore her top gently under her tank top, starting from her belly and moving on to her chest, cupping one of her breasts.

Nat patted his cheek and pulled a little away from him, “I know in porn, it is comfortable to do it on the couch but in reality, it isn’t. So-”

Before she could finish, Malleus teleported them to her bedroom, on her bed. “Is this better? I can take us to my chambers as well.”

“No, no, this is fine.” She gave him a peck. “I just have 2 more requests from you.” Malleus nodded, signing her to go on before starting to kiss her neck. I need to focus on my demands and don’t let myself be distracted. “Hehe… Wait, wait...” His hair was tickling her neck as well, making her impossible to stop giggling, so she resorted to grasping his chin and tilting up, making him look at her. “Before we go any further, I need to see your nails.” He looked confused by her request so she added a quick explanation. “Nails can scratch and tear muscle down there which would bring me great pain and maybe go to the hospital as well, so…”

“I would never harm you, Natalie.” He showed her his nails which were perfectly trimmed. “What is your second request?”

“I need you to wash your hands. You know how much of a hygiene freak I am, I just can’t stand the thought of something dirty getting inside of me.” She hoped it wouldn’t kill the mood but the thought of germs on hands just gave her goosebumps. Malleus didn’t answer her, rather he kissed her forehead before teleporting to somewhere. She was dumbfounded momentarily but soon the sound of water running from her bathroom relaxed her. “Don’t forget the 20 seconds rule!” She yelled out the reminder.

The moment the water stopped running, Malleus appeared on top of her, startling her. “I believe we wasted enough time.” Nat nodded in agreement. She was so distracted by the feeling of his lips on hers that she didn’t realize Malleus vanished their clothing with his magic. “I shall take care of you now.”

Malleus started prepping kisses all over her neck and jaw while his hands traveled to her breasts. When his lips were inches apart from hers, Natalie ran her tongue over his lips slowly, leaning towards him and capturing his bottom lip, biting it lightly as to taunt him. Malleus craved to taste her lips once again, yet he couldn’t forestall his instincts from taking over, his hands found their way to her face, holding her delicately while gazing into her eyes. Since the minx was brave enough to tease him, he didn’t need to hold back. He clashed his lips against hers frantically, their teeth clicking together. Her tongue darted, brushing his fangs before exploring his mouth. He, soon, was swirling his tongue around hers, battling for domination. He was persistent and she was too stubborn to lose, so he resorted to distracting her. His hands left her face, moving back to her perky breasts.

Malleus’ hands were large enough to cover her each boob, rubbing them gently and his fingers were playing with her pink nipples every time he got a chance. It was too arousing for her as her moan was silenced by the kiss. Malleus took advantage of the opportunity to delve his tongue into her mouth, exploring it with his tongue.

Natalie was never someone to gave up on the fight, including the bedroom. Two can play the game. Malleus had told her that his horns were sensitive and she was about to find out how sensitive they were. She ranked her nails through his soft hair, moving towards where his horns were connected. Her fingers moved along them softly, she was stoking his horns up and down with her hands. Malleus growled loudly, ending the kiss when it became too much for him.

Natalie withdrew her hands from his horns, moving to hold his face between her hands. “Oh?” She purred, “Did something happen?” She asked with faux innocence while looking straight into his eyes.

Malleus had a smug smile on his face, “You are lucky I didn’t breath fire.” Nat wasn’t sure if he was joking or not but she didn’t have much time to think about it as Malleus attacked her neck with kisses once again. His kisses became harsher and quicker, covering all over her neck before he moved down to her chest. He captured her nipple with his mouth, sucking it whilst his tongue twirling around the areola while his hand was busy with her left breast. Nat arched her chest and moved her head to the side so his horns wouldn’t his her face all while biting back moans. The warmth and wetness of his tongue were becoming too hard to handle, finally, she moaned breathily.

Satisfied to hear her reaction, Malleus switched to her left nipple, sucking it as his tongue circled the areola while his hand was messaging the previous breast. Nat tilted her head to the other side for him to move freely. Her breathing became erratic as he worked on her breasts more and more. She jolted when Malleus grazed her breast with his fangs, making her pant ruggedly. She had never been together with someone with fangs and had no one with amazing they would feel against her skin and she was more than happy to experience it with Malleus. She could feel him smirking on her skin, his chuckle confirmed that.

Malleus was done toying with her chest, making eye contact with her as his fangs slowly grazed her skin from her chest to her groin. Natalie laughed shakily, she was a ticklish person and the way his fangs moved across her body was both tickling and arousing her. Finally, he reached his desired place, he placed his hands on her inner thighs and slowly spread them apart.

“Give me a sec,” Nat whispered, grabbing a small pillow and putting it under her butt to give a better angle to Malleus, winking at him. “Do continue please...”

His only response was kissing her inner thigh. He started from the knee, moving up to her cunt but just before reaching there, he switched to the other thigh, leaving Nat whining. He was kissing every inch until the same spot. She thought since he wouldn’t tease her anymore, oh how wrong she was. This time he was dragging his fangs along her inner thighs, making Nat bite her lips and tremble from the sensation.

After what seemed like an eternity, Malleus started to play with Nat’s wetness. He crawled over her, one hand staying between her legs while the other one was resting near her head, gazing at each other’s eyes. She leaned forward whilst pulling him towards her, giving him a lascivious kiss. He returned with pleasure as his finger entered her cunt, relishing the way she moaned into his mouth. His index finger explored her cunt was exploring her cunt, moving in a circular motion but he didn’t deem it enough. He added a second finger, making her gasp then began to scissor her as his thumb rubbed her clitoris, setting all of her nerves on fire.

The more minutes passed, the more it became hard for Natalie to restrain herself. She was moaning between the kisses, digging her fingers on Malleus’ shoulder as to get a grip on the reality. Feeling her orgasm coming, her breathing hitched as her vaginal muscles tightened around his fingers. “Malleus…” Her moans mixed with his name as she cummed.

She was coming down from her high, panting to catch her breath, a divine sight for Malleus, “Do not tell me you are already done, Natalie.” He was wearing a smug look on his face. Two can play the game.

“Why? Is this the best you can do?” Teasing and provoking people was her favorite pass time activity. It was all better when she was doing it to her boyfriend in the bedroom, adding some spice to sex.

His response was chuckling, not uttering any word, he trailed down kisses to her naval region. He slowly licked her slit, devouring her cum and sending shivers through her spine. He made eye contact with her before dipping his tongue into her vagina. Nat arched her back as she grabbed the sheet below. Malleus was moving his tongue in her cunt expertly as his nose was brushing her labia, his fingers were playing with her clit again. Her grip on the sheets was no longer enough, her hand found its way to his hair, raking and pulling the hair between his horns. Her actions just made him ravish her more, his tongue reaching as far as it could touching everywhere it could. Nat couldn’t help her hips but buck her hips against his mouth, his other hand moved to her belly to press her to the mattress as if he was the one in charge during sex.

Natalie wasn’t someone who would let Malleus get away with it. If he prevented her from bucking her hips, she would try to hold back another orgasm from surging, making him work on her more. Malleus must have sensed her defiance as he changed his method. He pulled his tongue back and stopped rubbing her clit, leaving Nat aching for her release. She whined and pouted at him for leaving her wanting - no needing for more.

Malleus wasn’t a cruel fae, at least towards Natalie, he wouldn’t leave her in this state. He just wanted to observe how she would look when she was desperate for him. He swatted away her hand which was going down her cunt to finish what he started, causing her to pout once more. He would finish what he started, he deemed enough time has passed so he quickly got between her thighs again, licking her cunt, his tongue flickering around her clitoris then delving his tongue into her cunt. Nat was already on the edge of her orgasm, now the stimulation was bringing her closer to her sweet release.

With one last tongue move of his, her toes curled and her muscles tightened again, not even realizing she was pulling his hair. As Natalie cummed, Malleus ate it all up. When he finally withdrew from her groin, he made sure Nat would see him lick his lips. “Divine.”

Natalie’s breathing was erratic, trying to collect herself, balancing herself on her elbows. Her green eyes were taking in him, noticing how hard his cock was. “I guess it is your turn now.” She finally spoke after cooling down.

Malleus lifted her chin to look directly into his eyes. “Tonight was for you.” He crawled on top of her as she laid down on her bed again. His hands slid down her body down to her knees, pulling them towards his waist. Natalie hooked her legs behind his back, going towards his upper body as much as she could. “You better have a condom or you will get me a morning-after pill or potion. We wouldn’t want any surprises, would we?” She noticed his eyebrows knitting together briefly when she said condom but that was a talk for another time.

I should also ask where he practiced that tongue and finger game too.

-------------

Safe sex is the best and it is more than just wearing a condom. It is about preserving your health during sex. BDSM is also safe sex if people take care of safe words. Prep time or foreplay is important for people with vaginas and nails can tear your skin and get an infection. Even without the whole corona situation, don’t put unhygienic stuff to your vagina. Lastly, you can’t learn sex from porn, it is highly unrealistic and they are to show the fantasy. Please research on safe sex before having sex.

#twisted wonderland #twst #malleus draconia #diasomnia #twst oc #twisted wonderland oc #twst mc #twisted wonderland mc #mc/yuu #My MC #Natalie Croft #malleus x oc #malleus x mc #malleus x yuu

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sithsecrets · 5 years ago

Text

Zealotry

I have a request! So I keep playing this song on repeat called “Only Got Eyes for Her” by Ezra Jordan and I keep picturing Kylo. So my thought is the reader and Kylo had a thing but they are no longer one. She’s still working on the ship and he has to see her all the time in passing. And he misses her and maybe it ends in fluff? Thank you for your amazing writings :))

---

Months after her fling with the Supreme Leader comes to an end, a First Order Commander finally gets the explanation she’s been craving.

---

2.6k words

Mentions: sex (not explicitly), discussion of pregnancy (no characters are actually pregnant), swearing, mild angst, a bit of self-deprecation, blatant canon divergence

---

“And how are things in the Outer Rim, Commander?”

The cadence of Kylo Ren’s voice is like a cup of ice water down your spine, and you pray that you do not start too noticeably as you turn to answer him. His gaze is keen when you meet his eyes, and you force yourself to hold Kylo’s stare, shaking off every thought and memory that flashes across the field of your mind as the two of you look at one another.

“Operations are running smoothly, Supreme Leader,” you respond, proud of yourself for not stammering or making a fool of yourself in front of the peers and superiors seated all around you at the meeting table. You can sense their deep interest in this interaction, can feel them gauging you and gauging Kylo, tracking the level of intimacy between the two of you. And though Kylo’s still staring you down, though you cannot help but remember a much softer version of his gaze, you do not let your mask slip.

Kylo is doing the same, or at least that’s what you think. “Excellent,” he says shortly, and finally, he quits boring into your soul.

You have no idea why he insists on doing things like this, why Kylo still tries to interact with you so directly. And in front of so many others! He must know what they think, he must know what they know. The two of you weren’t exactly flaunting the whole thing, but… you don’t get to sit at this table in front of Kylo Ren by being stupid.

When the meeting adjourns, you gather your things quickly, wanting nothing more than to get away from the other leaders and to get away from Kylo. In this moment, you can’t help but think that your whole fling with Kylo was nothing but a mistake. You should have had more forethought, you should have known that what the two of you had wouldn’t last. You clawed tooth and nail to be a Commander in the First Order, and then you risked everything— and for what? Sex? A little companionship? Was your bed really so cold that you had to climb under the Supreme Leader’s covers just to feel warm again? You could have had anyone, really— the Chancellor and a few of the other generals have been after you for years, but no, that wasn’t what you chose; you went straight to the top and entangled yourself with the most important man in the galaxy.

No one can say I’m not an overachiever, you think bitterly, weaving your way back to your quarters with your head down. The image of Kylo smiling at you softly in the dimness of his bedroom flits across your mind, and you dig your nails into your palm to stop the lump forming in your throat from getting any bigger.

What did you even gain from the whole thing, anyway? New anxieties and new regrets? You have always prided yourself on being a person who can take on anything and anyone, and now here you are, afraid to meet the eyes of your peers and superiors on the floor of the war room.

Stars, you are pathetic. It’s an unkind thought and you know it, but you don’t care. You should have known better, you should have restrained yourself. When Kylo took you on that trip to that beautiful, isolated, tropical planet and told you that he thought you were more stunning than any star in the galaxy, you should have shaken him off and politely declined his advances. But no— you just had to let him kiss you, you just had to open your big, stupid mouth and tell him that you dreamed of him at night, that you thought that there was no one more handsome than him in existence. And then of course, you had to fuck him, had to make yourself vulnerable, had to show Kylo the rawest parts of your heart. Never mind that he did the same for you, never mind that he whispered to you about his childhood and his teenage years and all of the horrible things that Snoke did to him when Kylo was his apprentice. In the end, though, it was all for naught, because Kylo distanced himself from you anyway, and then he stopped seeing you altogether, just like that. That’s the one thing that drives you insane— Kylo never offered you an explanation for is behavior.

You hate him for it.

Two stormtroopers cut you off in a corridor, and you almost tell them to get the fuck out of your way right then and there.

“What?” you ask, and you think that you’re doing a good job of making it clear that you do not wish to be bothered over something trivial right now.

“The Supreme Leader wishes to speak with you in his quarters, Commander,” replies one of the troopers, and he and the other man look at you expectantly from behind the tinting of their helmets. The fact that this is one of the few orders that you cannot ignore makes you grit your teeth in utter frustration.

“Fine,” you spit, and the two stormtroopers are rather quiet as they begin leading you to Kylo’s rooms.

---

The stormtroopers abandon you in front of Kylo in his sitting room, exiting quickly when Kylo dismissed them. You stand in front of the Supreme Leader obediently, though you’re sure that your expression betrays your true feelings about being summoned here.

The scowl on your face only deepens as you start to truly take in the sight of Kylo as he is now, you can feel it. He’s wearing his casual clothes— no gloves, no heavy boots, none of that constricting pleated garb that he’s so often dressed in— and you hate yourself for still admiring his appearance. Kylo stares at you staring at him for a few seconds, brown eyes unusually guarded as he regards you, and you wonder idly if Kylo knows how handsome he is. Sure, he’s told you many times that he doesn’t think he’s anything to gawk at, but he must know what this does to you, seeing him dressed in all of these soft, loose garments. It’s exactly the kind of thing he wore when the two of you went to bed together, and the site of these very clothes has you remembering all the times you pulled them off of Kylo’s body.

“You called for me, Supreme Leader?” you ask, rather curt.

Kylo shifts in his chair, shakes his head just the slightest bit. “You know you don’t have to call me that,” he says, “not in here.”

You don’t respond to that, not even when Kylo softens his gaze as he says it. “I am very tired, and I wish to go to bed. What do you want?”

“I want to talk to you,” Kylo tells you, almost exasperated. There’s a pause, and then, “Will you please sit down?”

“That’s funny,” you say bitterly, “you didn’t want to talk to me much a few months ago.”

“Darling, I can—”

You cut Kylo off, voice hard and low around the lump in your throat. “Don’t call me that,” you say, and it takes everything in you not to let your tears fall.

Kylo sighs and scrubs his hand over his face, moving to sit up. “I know you’re upset with me,” he states. “I don’t blame you. I don’t blame you at all. You have to let me explain, though, please.”

And even though that’s all you’ve been craving since Kylo blew you off, you nonetheless feel enraged. How dare Kylo call you to his rooms after all this time and come at you as if he can make this all better with a simple excuse and a little groveling? Has he no idea what he’s done to you? How he’s hurt you?

“You don’t have to explain shit to me, Kylo Ren, because I know what happened here. You wanted me, and then you didn’t. You can have anyone, and you know that, so you took me on for a while and then threw me away when you got bored.”

You’re actually crying now, that angry sort of crying that makes your chest burn, and you hate yourself even more for it. Turning on your heel, you begin storming out of Kylo’s quarters, unable to look at the rooms and the furniture you remember so fondly any longer. Kylo chases after you, catches your arm.

“That’s not it at all,” he says quickly, pleadingly. You jerk out of his grip, incensed.

“Then fucking tell me what is was, Kylo, because I do not play this shit,” you hiss, and the venom in your voice is enough to make Kylo take a step back, “because I am not some fucking whore you can take to bed and cast aside, but that is how you treated me anyway, and you better have a good fucking reason for it.”

Kylo looks at you for a moment, nervous, and then says, “I was scared.”

You cannot help yourself. You laugh in Kylo’s face, and it is a bitter, resentful, jaded laugh. “You have got to be fucking kidding me,” you say to Kylo. “You, Kylo fucking Ren, were scared?”

Kylo looks genuinely hurt for the briefest of moments, and you almost feel bad about that. Almost.

“I was scared that harm would come to you,” Kylo elaborates, and you can’t help but scoff.

“Well, congratulations, Kylo,” you say sarcastically, “I am obviously totally fine!” You throw your arms up, gesturing to the tears on your face, and Kylo shakes his head.

“You don’t understand,” he begins, and what Kylo goes on to say next is almost too insane to believe.

He speaks of dark, desolate planets lit entirely by lightning, of busted out temples and plans for a war fleet of an unspeakable magnitude. Kylo spins a good yarn, describing in great detail how he and the Knights of Ren had to dismantle the war machinations of the “Final Order” almost singlehandedly. He calls members of this Final Order zealots as he talks about slaughtering them all, calls them crazy people with plans of resurrecting Emperor Palpatine— or at least a version of him.

“They said it was my destiny,” Kylo tells you, and you’re much more reasonable now that your anger has morphed into complete and utter bewilderment. “They say that this is what Palpatine has been wanting from the beginning or something ridiculous like that. They say that he designed this for me and that every Sith Lord in my line has been his creation.”

“Was… was any of that real?” you ask, and you cannot help but regard Kylo in a different light now. You’ve always admired his dedication and commitment to the Order, but the notion that his very existence was all part of a master plan gives you chills.

“No,” Kylo says, and he sounds just as confused and upset as you are as he speaks. “It was all complete and utter shit. The Sith wayfinder that lead me to Exegol was very real and very much their creation, but everything else… I couldn’t find a shred of evidence that proved any of their story to be true. It was crazy, how they were living, working underground and drawing plan after plan for something they could never possibly build. Sith loyalists are always a bit… much, but this was… dangerous.”

Kylo steps towards you, and you don’t shake him off when he touches your arm this time.

“But it took me a long time to confirm that they were zealots and nothing more,” Kylo tells you, “and in the meantime, I didn’t want you to be in danger. I didn’t know what these people were capable of, and when it came to you, I didn’t want to find out.”

“They couldn’t have possibly known about me,” you say, but the anger you once felt is fleeting at best now. “We never told anyone about us, not ever.”

Kylo shakes his head. “I know that, but…” Kylo trails off for a moment, and it strikes you then that he looks almost ill. “When I spoke to their leader in the beginning, before I realized what was going on, he kept insisting that it was time I had a child. He said that my line needed to continue on, that me producing an heir was all part of this master plan of theirs, and that it needed to happen soon. I didn’t think they could get to you, and none of them ever hinted at knowing about my involvement with you, but I just…”

There is hesitation, but you urge Kylo on. “What?”

“I was afraid that they would tamper with your contraceptives to further their agenda. That’s why I quit seeing you. That’s why I quit inviting you here.”

Your first thought is to tell Kylo that he was being paranoid, but even now, you can see that the concern on his face over the whole thing is very real. Whoever these Sith devotees were, they unsettled Kylo severely as he dealt with them. You’ve never seen him so shaken and disturbed by a group of people before in all of the time that you’ve known him.

Kylo must take your lack of speech for disbelief in his story, because he presses on. “I wanted to keep you safe. I couldn’t bear the thought of them manipulating you and your body in such a fashion.”

“Would me falling pregnant with your child really have been so terrible?” You’re mostly joking as you say this to Kylo, and a small smile plays on your lips as he flushes and cuts his eyes to the side.

“Yes, if it happened essentially against your will,” Kylo replies. You can tell that he’s choosing his words carefully so that he does not offend you, and that makes your smile broaden. (You always did have a little sadistic streak when it came to watching Kylo squirm.)

“I’ve missed you,” you say to Kylo, and his expression softens as you take a step towards him.

“I’ve missed you, too,” Kylo affirms, “desperately.” He smiles down at you, or at least it’s a smile by Kylo’s standards, and you think you see just a bit of hope glinting in his eyes.

“I’m happy to come back to you, darling.” Kylo’s hair is soft in your fingers as you brush a few strands back from his face, and you cannot help but admit that you’ve missed touching him so intimately. But just when Kylo begins to relish in the feel of your caress, just when he’s almost purring for you, you withdraw your hand, moving instead grip his chin firmly in your hand. “But I want to make something clear— I will not be cast aside again, not even for my own safety.”

Kylo attempts to speak, but you cut him off easily, forcing him to look you firmly in the eyes. “If something like what happened with those fanatics ever occurs again, Kylo, I want to know. I am not someone who needs to be shielded, darling. Let me instead be of service to you. Let me help you.”

You release your grip on Kylo’s face, and he straightens his back, staring down at you as he does so. He is impressed, he’s making no moves to hide that fact, and the smirk that ghosts over his mouth is one indicative of a particular brand of hunger.

“Never again will I underestimate you,” Kylo vows. “That was my mistake.”

“I can forgive you,” you say easily, reaching up to cup his cheek once again. But you’re only half joking as you add, “Just this once.”

#kylo ren #kylo ren x reader #kylo ren imagine #star wars #star wars imagine #my writing

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hey-you-do-your-best · 4 years ago

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Top 5 Tips in Finding Wall Mirrors

Wall mirrors are important in almost every home if not every area in your house. There is an interesting series of stylish, sophisticated wall surface mirrors anywhere you see. In a variety of size, colours as well as styles which provides you the versatility to choose a mirror that not just suits your individual preference however will additionally blend effortlessly right into your house. More at: https://www.mirroredfurniturelab.com

A wall surface mirror is an ageless look and one that will enhance your home whilst staying beautiful for many years. Declaration pieces make striking centrepieces in living areas, while extra minimalist alternatives will slot right into your existing interior conveniently. The right mirror on your wall surface can provide the whole area a new life. Here are the Top 5 Tips in Choosing Wall

Mirrors

1. What are the different kinds of mirrors? Wall surface mirrors include a touch of deluxe and sophistication to practically any kind of area in your house. Attractive wall surface mirrors are mirrors with attractive structures providing a trendy option to conventional mirrors. Mirrors do many features. Make use of one to augment, define, or highlight what is currently present in your space, or area it where it reflects a preferred sight. You can likewise make use of a mirror to open an area or to include some light. The three most important things you should look at as well as take into consideration when picking mirrors are shape, size, colour and design.

2. Shape As you may have already realised, shape plays a vital duty in specifying any room. While square and rectangular choices are typically the most common, you can discover wall mirrors in a variety of forms. It can produce a mood, highlight what is currently there or provide an illusion of something else.

An angular form such as a square or rectangular shape will help provide an orderly restrained appearance. A long horizontal shape will certainly offer to accentuate width, as it assists sweep your eye along a long line. A high upright form will promote elevation as it makes your eye travel up. A square or rectangular mirror provides the most conventional look, but choosing a mirror in an unusual form can bring attention to a wall surface even if the mirror is tiny or does not have an attractive framework. For a basic but striking appearance, opt for a circular or oblong wall mirror..

Utilize a spherical or rounded frame for a softer or maybe even wayward appearance, depending on the style of its frame. Fashionable triangle as well as diamond-shaped mirrors can include a quirky touch to an area. If you want to make a large design declaration, nonetheless, select a vibrant starburst-shaped mirror that makes sure to attract the eye. You can even create a form by organising numerous mirrors with each other just the way you would certainly with photos or framed art.

3. Dimension The very first decision to make when you're picking a wall surface mirror is exactly how huge it needs to be. The size of the mirror ought to be affected by a couple of elements. Size does matters since the dimension of your mirror can affect the influence you wish to create. The selection of dimension must also be based on whether you desire the mirror to be a centrepiece, an accent, or just work as the history.

A single small mirror on a huge wall will certainly look lost and trivial. Pick a dimension that is appropriate for the wall you have actually picked. If you desire your mirror to be a focal point in your room, ensure it is big sufficient to stick out, but likewise specify it by selecting a framework that makes it even more recognisable. If you want your mirror to become part of the background, you must choose one that is extra big to ensure that its feature then ends up being to make your room appear larger. Do not offer it a frame that draws attention to itself.

Smaller sized mirrors can be used as accents, capturing light below, mirroring a fascinating things there. They can likewise be utilised in teams. If you do intend to use smaller mirrors in groups, remember that with each other are acting to create a much larger shape as well as these might serve as a centrepiece in the room. You need to ask on your own, where am I hanging it?.

What dimension is the wall space? The size of the wall surface that you're placing it on as well as exactly how large an impact you want the mirror to make in your room. If you're hanging the mirror on a huge wall in your living room, dining-room or bed room and you want to make a strong statement, select an extra-large mirror, gauging between 25 and 31 inches on each side. If you're making use of the mirror as an accent on a little wall surface near your entryway, you might need one as little as 10 inches on each side. Action your wall surface so you recognise just how much area you have to collaborate with and also figure out how much of it you want the mirror to load.

4. Style Some wall surface mirrors don't have frames due to the fact that it's their size or shape that provides a solid visibility in your room. Your mirrors can reflect the style you already have in your room, but you can additionally develop terrific effect by selecting a style that is unforeseen and therefore functions as an accent. While the sizes and shape of a mirror issue, the framework plays an also greater function in establishing style.

When you're shopping for a mirror, nevertheless, you can also go with a design with a structure that packs a decorative punch all its own. Choose a straightforward wood, steel or plastic structure for a streamlined, structured appearance. An even more structure with simple lines or uncommon products is typically more suitable for an informal or contemporary interior. For an extra formal, significant look, look for a mirror with an ornate, gilded framework to act as a strong focal point for your space. An elaborate, carved or gilt structure is typically best used in a much more traditional or ethnic culture-inspired setup however can be made use of for comparison in a much more modern-day one. Whimsical frameworks and distressed looks function well for a country appearance, and even in an eclectic area. You can likewise locate wall mirrors with mosaic-style frameworks that feature little bits of ceramic tile for a fun, eye-catching appearance.

5. Colour If you pick a mirror with an attractive frame, pick a choice in a colour that collaborates with the rest of the area's style. A fundamental black, white or wood tone structure can collaborate with essentially any kind of embellishing plan. Gilded metals like gold or silver add a posh look that fits formal or modern decor well. If you're picking a wall surface mirror with a coloured frame, think about just how the structure's colour bets your wall surface shade as well as goal to develop a contrast that draws attention to the mirror. You can just choose a structure in a colour that's much darker or lighter than the wall, or opt for a coloured framework with a different undertone than the wall surface color to create a natural comparison.

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elitespacefreak · 5 years ago

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I saw the post about your inbox being open and was wondering if perhaps you could throw some headcanons around of Zim and a reader who has overbearing parents. Would he call them out? Or would he just sort of stand by because it’s not his place?

Uh oh my god yes Zim x Reader is my lifeblood let’s fucking do this sorry in advance for the length lmao

Okay first of all, these are going to follow more of my fanon type Zim but I’ll try and give him some more canon flair if you will. So he will abso-fucking-lutely call them out.

However, he’ll try other things first, because he’s learned that having tact keeps the attention away from him. There will be a definitive progression, as follows;

He will casually play along with a light hearted laugh: “Yes sir we’ll be back by 7.” “We can hang out right here at the kitchen table if that makes you more comfortable.” “Uh huh yeah hand holding and above shoulder hugs only.” “Yes this is my totally legit 100% real and not forged ID card and social for your entirely necessary background check.”

He’d spend a respectable amount of time gauging your reactions to your parents’ incessant protective attitudes. Until he got the idea that their behavior bothered you he’d probably just grit his teeth. But the moment you show the slightest annoyance (“I dunno, I just... it’s a little much I guess, every time you drop me off they always ask me if we kissed and it’s just really weird.”) he’s all about being up front.

The going-along-with-it turns into making-side-comments real quick, and the more he sees your parents’ behavior as being unnecessary and controlling rather than actually caring, he sort of takes it upon himself to care for you instead. I mean he’s Zim he can do anything better than any human can.

So any little thing your parents do for you he anticipates, and then does it first. And always in front of them, so they can see that he is more than capable of making sure you’re treated exactly how they want. But he’s about as passive aggressive about it as he can get away with.

This weird competition goes on for a short while before both you and him get frustrated. You’re tired of feeling suffocated by your parents and your boyfriend, and he’s tired of feeling like he has to constantly prove himself. But he’s louder and more provocative than you are, so he gets to your parents before you get to him.

It’s over something really trivial, but the look of annoyance and disdain from both of your parents just sets him off. “Okay look I don’t know why you both seem to insist that I’m somehow a bad influence or not worthy or whatever. But this is insane! I have given you exactly zero reason to hate me or distrust me or believe with any reasonable doubt that I’m such a problem. I get the over protective attitude, you wanna know why? Because I feel the exact same thing. I’m just not suffocating about it!!” And then he promptly takes you somewhere away from them so he can be angry in peace.

And then you sit him down and explain that as much as you love him he had also started to get a little overbearing. Yes, your parents were a little much, and yes he was totally in the right to feel like he was being treated unfairly because they didn’t understand boundaries when it came to parenting you. But if you were going to make things work, this situation was going to have to be handled a little bit more delicately.

One afternoon, unbeknownst to you, Zim stops by to visit your parents, and sits them down for a nice, long, and sincere apology. He explains to them how important you are to him, that he understands where they’re coming from, but at some point you’re going to need space to be your own person. He admits that he was just as guilty as being way overprotective and didn’t handle the situation well at all. Also no you had nothing to do with this apology and had no idea he was even there. He tries not to drag it out (apologizing is not his favorite thing) but he wants to be thorough.

Whether or not your parents let up afterwards is really of no concern to him. If they do, great! If not, he doesn’t care. He’s bound and determined to make sure you are treated how you want to be treated, not how your parents want you to be treated.

Oh and he kisses you so hard because he knows it’ll make your parents mad even though he knows you won’t tell them.

#invader zim #zim #reader insert #zim x reader #headcanons #asks #ask #anon #personal headcanons #I HOPE YOU LIKE THEM!!!

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sunevial · 5 years ago

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Red Roses

So this a super belated Valentine’s present to @hewhowalksbehind.

Yes, I know it’s March.

Anyways, hope you guys enjoy some wholesome Followers fic.

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A blink of the eye, and Lieutenant appeared in a back corner of Witch’s apothecary, taking perhaps a higher measure of caution than usual. She had informed him of something rather urgent, though insisted that he not simply jump to her immediate location. Such was not particularly unusual, given the delicate nature of her spell and ritual work, but it was still something to investigate. Thus, he would humor the once mortal.

“Witch?” he called, stepping into the shop proper, wings tucked behind his back as to not knock over a wide array of bottles and magical reagents.

“Happy Valentines, Lieutenant!”

The void denizen blinked, suddenly met with a rose in his shell’s immediate line of sight. He slowly plucked the flower between his fingers, a handful of eyes flaring out around the two of them to gain a better understanding of the current situation. She held a rather large bouquet of dark red roses, each with a long stem devoid of thorns, with the entire ensemble encased in a clear plastic and wrapped with a bow. From initial observations, there seemed to be no enchantments attached to any portion of the flower in his hand, nor on any of the other flowers in the bouquet. For all intensive purposes, this was simply a rose someone had cut from a bush.

“Witch, for what purpose have you given me the reproductive organs of a plant?” he asked, eyes shifting to what little of her face remained visible behind the bouquet.

She giggled, smiling wide as she lowered the flowers from her face. “Oh, right, that’s a human holiday you probably haven’t seen as much compared to things like Christmas or New Years.”

“I still do not understand celebrating the birth of a god in the wrong month with over commercialization and a fat man, nor why mortals choose to celebrate the arbitrary revolution of their planet around a burning mass of hydrogen and helium,” he said, furrowing the eyebrows on his shell.

“I think it had to do with converting pagans to Christianity by co-opting raucous winter festivals for Christmas, and I think New Years was originally meant to celebrate winter turning to spring,” she replied with a shrug. “I’m sure Bookkeeper has something on that.”

“Returning to the matter of this Valentine's holiday,” he said, giving a motion with his free hand and pausing to give the other time to formulate a response.

“Again, blame the Christians for this one, but St. Valentine's Day is meant to celebrate love,” she said with a small giggle. “It’s usually a romantic holiday where couples exchange letters or gifts or flowers, but some people use it to give presents to everyone they care about. Red roses are pretty traditional gifts, so I decided on that.”

Lieutenant let a smirk slide across his face. “So you are not using this to display romantic affection towards me?”

In no time at all, Witch’s face turned as red as the roses in her hands. “I’m giving you a rose because I’m giving everyone a rose, and I wanted you to get the first since you’re our leader,” she said, her tone laced with a mixture of embarrassment and anger, if his gauge on her emotions was correct.

“Of course, it would be improper of me to insinuate otherwise,” he replied with the same smirk. It was difficult to articulate exactly why he continued to tease the turned mortal into flustered embarrassment, but evoking such reactions did bring him a certain sense of contentment. Priestess described it as a feeling of ‘enjoyment’, highlighting alongside it the importance of him developing more complex feelings as time went on. Love was one of those feelings that was still beyond his understanding, but it was always useful to learn the symbology behind gestures such as these. “Then, my thanks to you Witch, though I am uncertain what I am supposed to do with this rose from this point forward.”

She gave a shrug, plopping back onto her stool and setting the bouquet off to the side. “Put it in a vase until it wilts, press and dry it if you want to keep it, use it in a spell, turn it into something that breaks the minds of unsuspecting mortals, up to you at this point.”

He gave a curt nod, turning the rose over in his hands. “And presumably you intend to do the same for the rest of our fellows?”

“Almost everyone,” she replied, hopping back down and rummaging behind the counter. Hardly a moment passed before she emerged, using her legs and back to push a large rose bush into view. As to be expected, the roses were in full bloom and reminiscent of the void’s scarlet threads. “I got a flower for pretty much everyone in our group, a couple of extras for some other friends and customers, got one for my little Gale of course, but I got Priestess a rose bush since I’m pretty sure she’d disembowel me if I got her cut flowers.”

“A wise decision knowing her feelings on the natural world.” With a blink, he vanished from his stance near the counter and appeared on her left, offering a hand. “I assume such a bush is too heavy for someone of your size?”

“Yeah, yeah just a little bit,” she said with frustration written on her face, taking the hand. In one fluid motion, she hopped back up and placed her hands onto her hips. “Actually, if it’s not too much trouble, can you get it to her?”

Giving Witch the courtesy of finishing her sentence, Lieutenant flicked a single finger, weaving the fabric of the void until it bent to his will and the rose bush began floating of its own volition. Tucking the rose into a small pocket of his shirt for the meantime, it was hardly a matter of consequence to rest the admittedly large flower pot in his hands. He sent a single floating eye towards the counter, momentarily making it visible for the alchemist. “Such a thing is no problem, Witch.”

“Thanks Lieutenant,” she said with a smile, picking up the rest of her roses and making her way to one of her many doors. “Tell Priestess I’ll be around for tea later.”

With a single nod as a thank you, he closed the eye and vanished from the apothecary, reappearing just seconds later in a distant portion of Priestess’s garden. It was a garden that only a former nature goddess could cultivate, with masses of brambles and vines interwoven with flowers in full bloom. Edible plants rested next to deadly poisons, dandelions and wildflowers growing in a vast meadow, for in a garden such as this there was nothing that could truly be considered a weed. It was a refuge, a small domain she could call her own, the first small pocket of the void the two of them had carved out of the vast nothing and shaped into Something Else.

“Lieutenant…dearest, what in the world are you holding?”

Priestess stood not far off, the plants underfoot turning away from her footsteps as she walked ever closer. Her eyes were shut tight as always, but for a creature as old and as powerful as her, sight was the least of her powerful senses. She was dressed finer than expected, a black ensemble with gold and red embroidered flowers down the skirt. Her footsteps paused just before they were within a wing’s reach, her face placid and deceptively gentle, as she presumably waited for an answer.

In a reverse of his earlier actions, he let the rose bush float to an unoccupied patch of dirt near his feet. “A gift from the Witch per her observation of the mortal holiday of St. Valentine’s Day.”

Her mouth set into a line for just a moment, before she sighed and shook her head, setting one hand to her temple. “Ah, yes, of course, what else could this be?” she said, walking over and kneeling to inspect a blossom. “At least the kit was smart enough to get me something alive as opposed to those chemical filled cut abominations that shame the Rosa line.”

“She said as much at her shop, and wished for you to know that she will be arriving for tea after delivering such gifts to our fellows,” Lieutenant said, deciding that deferring to Priestess would be the best course of action for the time being.

“Yes, yes, I have a pot boiling as we speak, I was actually going to gather mint and some fresh oranges until you showed up with this thing.” One hand snaked around a particular flower as her eyes opened into slits, head bobbing back and forth in a slow rhythm. “It is in fact healthy and not too terribly damaged by transport, but it does need to be in the soil sooner rather than later. Could you be a dear and help dig a hole for this little one? Poor thing’s roots are practically crying for help.”

Wordlessly, Lieutenant shaped his dagger into a gardening shovel and set to work alongside Priestess, slowly overturning the dirt bit by bit. Of course, the two of them could have easily completed such a task in a manner of moments; such a thing was a trivial manner that hardly took more than a thought. However, he knew Priestess found some joy in planting things slowly and methodically, taking her time and never rushing if circumstances allowed. Perhaps it was an excuse to keep him longer, but he knew she enjoyed his company, so there was little to complain about.

“I assume Witch told you the intent of Valentine’s Day?” she asked, carefully lifting the bush from its pot and breaking up the roots.

He nodded, taking a step back as she delicately set the bush into the ground. “Typically a romantic holiday, though some celebrate it for all those they care for. My understanding is that her gifts are meant to be part of the latter.”

“That is correct, and red roses are used as the traditional gift because they represent love, beauty, and perfection, though they can also speak to courage and respect as well,” Priestess replied, beginning to pack the dirt into the newly dug hole. “Typically, if a gentleman wishes to show his love for a young woman, he will present her with a bouquet of twelve roses, symbolizing his desire for the woman to choose him and return his affections.”

A curt nod as he once again knelt down, aiding the former goddess at her task. “Are all mortal courtship rituals so elaborate in nature?”

She chuckled, scooping the last of the dirt around the base before dusting off her hands. “Dearest, that is perhaps one of the simplest methods of winning someone’s heart that has existed in centuries, second only to a more popular form of dating that involves using an online chatting program to say ‘you up’?”

“What does a message such as that convey?” he asked, furrowing his eyebrow in confusion.

“Goodness, I keep forgetting that we still have not found a way for you to safely use computers, oh how to explain the intricacies of online dating, ” Priestess said with a sigh, rising to her feet and wiping the dirt from her skirt. She offered her arm, elbow pointed his way and hand turned to face the ground. “Come, dearest, we will walk and talk, I still do need to get my tea ingredients.”

With a slight smile, he gently took her arm and started down the path, listening to her rants of the perils of online dating and how it apparently was not the same to meeting someone in a dimly lit bar off the side of the road. Before long, her head came to rest against his arm, her grip firm as the two of them wandered amongst the orange light and large trees.

Perhaps he could keep her company for a while longer.

#commission #my writing #the followers

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thegizka · 5 years ago

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Swift as Wind, Soft as Shadow

Chapter 1 Part II: Promise

With planning for the chunin exam well underway, the joint proctors try to work out exactly what their goals are.

Written for ShikaTema Week 2019 Day 1: Chunin Exam.

Note: I do not own any aspects of Naruto.

Read it on Ao3.

Two weeks after they signed the contract, Temari arrived alone in the Leaf. They had decided the first step to planning was touring each location to determine how much work would need to be done to prepare for the exams. In a few weeks, it would be Shikamaru’s turn to make the journey to the Sand. It would mean several days of travel. He was not looking forward to it.

He met Temari at the front gate so he could escort her to meet the Hokage and show her to the ambassadors’ lodgings. Normally whoever was on gate duty would take care of it, but Lady Tsunade and his father had stressed the importance of building a good relationship with the Sand, stopping just short of ordering him be her personal escort while she was in the village. It was a drag.

He was a little surprised when she arrived alone. It wasn’t uncommon for foreign messengers to travel by themselves, but he had noticed at their last meeting how on edge and mistrustful she had been. The situation in the Sand was likely more unstable than those in the Hokage’s office thought.

“Hi,” he greeted simply.

“What a warm reception,” she smirked. He just shrugged.

“The Hokage figured you might like some company on the way to her office.”

“And she picked you?” Temari snorted. “Was everyone else busy?”

He just rolled his eyes, already turning toward the big building tucked beneath the cliff from which the faces of the past Hokage watched over the Land of Fire. Temari fell into step beside him.

“I trust your trip wasn’t too much trouble.”

“Nothing I couldn’t handle.”

He glanced at her, trying to tell whether she had run into any trouble, but her features were carefully set. He did note that there were extra snarls in her pigtails, and her shoes were dustier than usual, but he didn’t know her well enough to determine whether these were indicators of trouble or simply the wear of travel. Either way, she was carefully scanning every face and building they passed as though looking for hidden enemies. He wondered if there was a tactful way to tell her that she could relax.

“How’s your friend doing?” she asked suddenly. “I never asked.”

“Which friend?”

“The one who was in the operating room all night after that mess of a mission the last time I was here.”

“That was years ago.”

And years later, the memory still smarted. Fresh after the invasion of the village and his promotion to chunin, Shikamaru’s first mission had ended in disaster. Tasked with tracking down his classmate Sasuke and bringing him back to the village, he had made some poor judgments and nearly gotten his friends killed. If Temari and her brothers hadn’t arrived to help, they probably would have died. Sasuke disappeared, Chouji nearly didn’t make it, and he had cried in front of his father. Every memory associated with the event made him ashamed.

Temari, of course, was unaware of this. Or maybe she had known that bringing up the past would bother him a bit. He couldn’t read her very well.

“Chouji’s doing fine. Everyone is.”

“And did you ever find Sasuke?”

He glanced at her sharply. Did she know something about Sasuke? For a topic of small talk, this one was awfully loaded. Villages didn’t like discussing their rogue ninja unless they posed a serious threat. Sasuke so far had simply disappeared, though he was likely with Orochimaru, the rogue sanin who had manipulated the Sand into invading the Leaf during the last chunin exam. Shikamaru suspected whatever news they eventually got about Sasuke wouldn’t be good.

“No,” he answered bluntly. She looked at him for a moment, trying to gauge the meaning of what he wasn’t saying.

“Hm,” she concluded. She didn’t ask any more questions.

Their check-in with the Hokage was courteous but brief. The piles of papers on Tsunade’s desk were higher than normal, and she seemed a bit preoccupied. Shikamaru wondered if this was all a show for Temari’s benefit or there was actually something brewing in the village.

After leaving the Hokage’s office, he showed his guest to her room so she could drop off her pack and freshen up. The ambassadors’ lodging was a small building off of the Hokage’s office shielded on one side by the cliff and on the other by a low wall. Temari’s room was on the ground floor, and Shikamaru had taken a room down the hall so he could be on hand if she needed anything. Staying in the ambassadors’ lodging for a few days was a drag, but his parents had insisted he stay close to the Sand kunoichi.

While Temari took some time to get settled, Shikamaru ordered lunch and looked over some paperwork of his own. He was proofreading Chouji’s report from a recent mission--his friend always left a few grammatical errors and never included enough detail--when Temari joined him in the common room.

“So what now?” she asked, standing over him with a hand on her hip.

“Now we eat,” he announced, sliding the report into a folder away from prying eyes. He’d drop it off at the Akimichis’ later.

Rather than sit down at the table, he led her back outside and around the building to an outside door which granted access to the roof via a set of stairs.

“Is this really necessary?” she huffed as they climbed.

“It’s quieter up here,” he replied, stepping carefully onto the slightly sloped roof. “It’s easier to talk.”

“We have things to talk about?”

“Uh, yeah. Last I checked we’re proctoring the next chunin exam.”

“You’re proactively focusing on work? I thought you were allergic to any sort of exertion.”

“Ha ha,” he laughed sarcastically as he settled onto the roof. Temari took a moment to scan their surroundings before sitting beside him. She was still guarded, though he noted that she had left her battle fan in her room. “Here.”

She wrinkled her nose slightly when he handed her a takeout box, but she didn’t complain. His mother would give him a lecture if she found out he gave the representative from the Sand takeout as her first meal in the Leaf, but he was much too lazy to cook anything and didn’t care to waste time at a crowded restaurant. Plus he highly doubted diplomatic relations between their villages would fall apart over a simple meal. Temari didn’t strike him as that trivial.

Shikamaru let his thoughts drift as they ate, free and lazy like the clouds floating above them. He loved meal times because they usually signified a break from having to think about work. He wasn’t expected to do anything or go anywhere. He could be carefree for an hour or so.

Unless, of course, the company he was keeping was troublesome.

“So talk,” Temari said, disrupting the relaxed flow of his thoughts. He had hoped she’d wait at least until they had finished their food. He should have known better.

“About what?” he stalled. She let out a frustrated snort.

“About the chunin exam! That’s why we’re up here on the roof and not somewhere more comfortable, right?”

He sighed. He’d really been hoping for a few moments to relax.

“So?” she prompted.

“The written exam’s first, right?”

“Yeah,” she growled. He was almost amused by how frustrated he was making her.

“I figured we’d hold it at the school, same as last time.”

“I hope you’re not planning on making it the exact same as last time. Several candidates will be repeating the exam.”

“I know,” he sighed, rubbing his neck. “We have to create a whole new test. It’s such a drag.”

“Have you come up with anything yet?”

“I have a few ideas.” He picked through his food for a chunk of chicken, chewing slowly.

“Care to share?” Temari prompted when he didn’t continue. With a sigh, he set aside his food container and laid back on the roof tiles.

“I want to divide up the members of each team and test how they work together when they have limited communication. I just don’t know how yet.”

“You want to split up the teams but still expect them to communicate. Doesn’t that make it impossible?”

“Not necessarily. I just want to limit the advantage of certain jutsus. Like with our test, visual and intelligence-oriented jutsus had an advantage.”

“But wouldn’t that be unavoidable even if we split up teams? They can just copy from some of their competitors.”

“Not if the entire focus of the exam is to test teamwork within each three-person squad.”

“I don’t really see the point of that. We don’t pass teams in the chunin exams; we pass individual shinobi.”

“But a lot of shinobi work involves cooperating in a team,” Shikamaru explained. “You have to know who to trust and how to work together to complete a mission.”

“Those are largely circumstantial decisions,” she countered. “Shinobi get reassigned to different squads all the time. It doesn’t matter who the other members on the team are as long as each does her job. That’s how we complete missions.”

“Somewhere along the line you have to decide to trust the other people on your team to do their jobs, and if something goes wrong, you need to depend on each other to adapt and fix it. No shinobi is totally independent.”

He watched as she mulled over his words, eyebrows pulled down over her teal eyes. He wondered if she was arguing because she honestly believed teamwork wasn’t that important to a shinobi, or perhaps it was a reaction from not being able to trust people in the Sand. He wondered if there was really a difference between the two.

“Even our own exam started with a whole team pass or fail on that last question,” he reminded her.

“That was just to thin the field more quickly,” she declared dismissively.

“But you had to know what your teammates would do.”

She turned her sharp eyes on him. They were cruel and intelligent. Her look made him realize how little he actually knew her.

“Knowing what someone will do and trusting them have nothing to do with each other.”

-----

Shikamaru was miserable, and Temari would be lying if she didn’t acknowledge that it amused her. He tried to hide it to prevent any offence to his hosts, but it was a common enough reaction from emissaries to the Sand that she saw right through him.

She had found the rest of her trip to the Leaf boring. The school was exactly as she remembered it from her own exam. Shikamaru talked about sealing off the classrooms to make the test more difficult, but she didn’t really care about those details. She didn’t understand why he was so preoccupied with the candidates’ relationships with their teammates, but if that’s how he wanted to run the written exam, then so be it. In her eyes, the important part of the exam would start with the second round in the Land of Wind.

Originally she had been opposed to Gaara’s plan to use the exams as a way to lure out and take down his enemies. It was risky not only because it meant using the Kazekage as bait, but it could also endanger relations with the other nations if their genin got caught in the conflict. But Temari was also really tired of sleeping with one eye open, and Gaara was limited by his opposition and couldn’t effectively guide the Sand toward his dream of a better future. They were stuck unless they could eliminate his enemies.

The real problem with the plan had been inviting the Leaf to co-host the exam. They couldn’t have obtained the council’s approval without a partnership from another village, and it threw off any suspicions that they were using the exam to target their internal opposition. Temari could only hope their plans wouldn’t backfire and make things worse.

She was nervous about having Shikamaru in the Sand. She’d seen how he observed everything and knew he was drawing conclusions which he would no doubt communicate to the Hokage. It would be tricky keeping the plan secret from him, especially as he was more talkative now than he had been in the Leaf. He seemed eager to know the details of every part of the second round.

“The Demon Desert, huh?” He was leaning over a map spread across a table, scratching his hair where some sand was irritating his scalp. “Isn’t the entire desert demonic?”

“For whiny crybabies like you,” she teased, trying to keep the mood light to mask the heaviness of her thoughts. “The Demon Desert is more unpredictable than the rest. There are hidden quarries, fields of quicksand, and sandstorms that appear out of nowhere. With limited natural resources, it’ll definitely challenge the genins’ endurance.”

“Sounds dangerous.”

“No more dangerous than the Forest of Death.”

“What safety measures will you have in place?”

“Safety measures?” She shrugged. “I wasn’t planning on any.”

“But what if someone gets hurt or trapped somewhere? Will there be medical-nin on standby?”

“As I recall, there weren’t any adults waiting to swoop in and help us during our exam.”

“And look how that turned out,” he responded, eyes narrowed.

She didn’t like the implication. She and her brothers had a lot of blood on their hands, including some from those exams. She was pretty sure adult intervention wouldn’t have stood much chance against Gaara.

“They won’t have anyone keeping an eye on them when they’re off on missions. If we really want to test who has what it takes to be a chunin, we can’t hold their hands.”

“It’s not holding their hands if we’re keeping them alive so they have the chance to try again next time,” he argued. “The purpose of these exams is to build up our villages’ next generation of shinobi, not lose half of them.”

“Death is part of a shinobi’s life. Better to get them used to it sooner rather than later.” She said it with more emotion than she intended, the words getting caught in her tightening throat. Unpleasant memories were resurfacing. That made her angry. She wasn’t supposed to lose control and get emotional. Emotions revealed too much, and she didn’t want Shikamaru to know the details of her past.

“It doesn’t have to be that way,” he said firmly. She was sure he had noticed her control slip momentarily, but it seemed he wasn’t going to mention it. She wasn’t sure whether that was a relief or not.

“We don’t have to run the exams like they have in the past,” he continued. “Nothing changes if we keep doing everything the same way.”

She couldn’t tell him it was precisely because she wanted things to change that they couldn’t increase supervision of the exam. Gaara’s enemies needed the chance to slip in and try something in order to get caught. The chaos of the second round had always been an opportunity to pursue secondary intentions, like the Sand and Sound’s maneuvers to invade the Leaf during the last exams. They might be risking the lives of their genin, but doing so would allow Gaara’s dreams for the future to start coming true. It was a necessary risk.

“If they can’t survive by themselves, they shouldn’t take the exam,” she declared. “If you have other questions, they can wait until tomorrow. I have some meetings to get to.”

“Temari, wait,” he called, clearly dissatisfied with her answer, but she said nothing and walked away.

-----

Shikamaru awoke to the sound of someone knocking on his door. That is, his reflexes awoke, pulling his body out of bed and reaching for his ninja tools. His mind took a few moments longer to shake off the sleep.

“Shikamaru,” Temari hissed from the other side of the door. That nearly made him relax, but the way she had refused to finish their argument earlier that day told him she was hiding something big. It was also the middle of the night. The desert darkness pressed heavily against his window. Nothing good ever happened in the middle of the night. Warily he cracked open his door and found Temari’s sharp, teal eyes in the dark hallway.

“Grab your things,” she ordered. “We need to go. Now.”

“What’s happening?” he demanded.

“Don’t waste time with questions. Move!”

She looked earnest. Her clothes seemed to have been thrown on in a rush, and her hair was unbound. A sliver of worry sliced her expression. He decided to trust her.

A minute later they were gliding down the hallway to meet up with Gaara and two Sand shinobi waiting for them. The Kazekage was fully dressed and had his gourd slung across his back. Shikamaru wondered if he had slept at all tonight.

“Do you need me to stay?” Temari asked, but her little brother shook his head.

“Kankuro will take care of things here. Let’s go.”

Shikamaru wanted to ask where and why, but they were already moving, and the sense of urgency was so great he thought it prudent to simply follow. They raced down stairs and along hallways, taking so many turns he didn’t bother trying to keep track of their path. Then suddenly they were out in the open, far away from the Kazekage’s residence and the ambassadors’ quarters. There must be secret tunnels under the city.

They stole through the empty streets, the eternal wind swirling dust around their feet. They seemed to be heading for the massive wall that protected the village, but their route curved away from the narrow opening through which he had entered the Sand. Instead, they ducked into a house and down into more tunnels. After more twists, turns, and stairs, they emerged into a large room. White ceiling lights illuminated a few tables and chairs. A long, narrow window revealed they had climbed partway up the hulking wall into a network of secret rooms.

He waited with Gaara while Temari and the others checked the rooms further in. After giving the all clear, the two Sand shinobi disappeared back into the tunnels to guard the way to the Kazekage. With their departure, Gaara and Temari relaxed slightly. They chose a table towards the center of the room, leaning their weapons nearby and settling down to wait.

Shikamaru hesitated to join them, studying them for a moment. Gaara had his elbows propped up on the table, lips pressed against his clasped hands as he contemplated his sister. Temari was holding her hair back from her forehead and returning her brother’s earnest gaze. They seemed to be communicating together, but Shikamaru couldn’t read all of their thoughts.

“It was an assassination attempt, wasn’t it?”

“Yes,” Gaara confirmed, not bothering to dance around the subject for the sake of saving face. He turned to meet Shikamaru’s eyes.

“This isn’t the first time,” the Leaf shinobi surmised. His thoughts raced back to all recent interactions with the Sand, reworking interpretations under this new revelation. He had suspected assassination threats existed, but repeated attempts were something else entirely. No wonder Temari was always watching her back.

She had closed her eyes and was taking deep breaths. He felt sorry for her. All of the work she’d gone through to hide the true state of the Sand’s internal affairs was unravelling in this room.

“The chunin exams,” Shikamaru said, his eyebrows drawn low over his eyes as he thought. “You’re using them to draw out your opposition to stop them.”

He saw Temari deflate further and knew he was correct before Gaara nodded.

“I apologize for keeping you in the dark,” the Kazekage said. “The fewer people who know, the less likely our plans are to be ruined. It was a risk I thought worth taking.”

On one level, it made sense, but such deception could destroy the alliance between their villages. It not only endangered the participating genin, but proctors were also at risk. Based on the fact that they’d taken him with them as they evaded the assassins, Shikamaru was a potential target. An ambassador dying in another village would definitely strain relations between allies and undermine a leader’s authority.

“I understand that you’ll have to report this to the Hokage,” Gaara acknowledged. “I won’t ask you to withhold anything, but I would appreciate your discretion. And if possible, I would like to continue with the exams, if only to allow our genin the chance to prove themselves.”

“Understood,” Shikamaru replied, but he couldn’t make any promises before speaking with Lady Tsunade.

“Thank you,” Gaara said, closing his eyes and returning to his waiting position.

With a sigh, Shikamaru slid into a chair. He let his head hang back so he was looking at the rough rock ceiling. It was too late to have to sort through this mess. How would he tell Lady Tsunade their allies were willingly endangering shinobi from other villages because they themselves were threatened? He believed Gaara meant well, but did that excuse the lies? He didn’t think the Hokage would destroy their alliance over this, but the elders might not react as favorably.

“Shikamaru.”

He sat up. Temari had slid into the seat across from him. He noticed the slight shadows under her teal eyes.

“Gaara’s the Kazekage. He won’t ask the ambassador from another village for help. Nor does he think he needs to. He has too much faith in people.”

“But you don’t.” He finished the thought for her. They sat there for a moment looking at each other. The slight desperation in her eyes made him a little uncomfortable, but he was also somewhat relieved. It was the most honest look she had given him.

Maybe he was too tired and not thinking straight. Maybe his brain was trying to process too many things right now. Maybe he was too shocked by how vulnerable she looked. It unnerved him.

“I won’t tell the Hokage unless I give you a head’s up first,” he promised. “I’d rather give the Kazekage a chance to talk with her himself first.”

He wondered if this might count as betraying the village. He had promised to report to Lady Tsunade. Withholding information that might endanger Leaf shinobi was a punishable offense. But he hadn’t promised not to tell. If the situation worsened, he would reveal everything to the Hokage. That meant he’d have to keep a close eye on the situation, which was going to be a real drag.

The look of relief on Temari’s face, though, probably made it worth it.

“Thank you,” she whispered, reaching across the table to squeeze his arm briefly. Then she left to join Gaara and Kankuro, who had just arrived looking disheveled and angry. Shikamaru’s eyes lingered on Temari for a moment before he returned to staring at the ceiling.

What a troublesome woman .

#shikatemaweek2019 #shikatema #gizka #my words #naruto #nara shikamaru #temari #kaze queen #gaara #kankuro #sand siblings #chunin exams #sorry it's late fam

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thattennisgirl · 6 years ago

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Loki x Reader, Valentine’s Day Oneshot

Hi guys! I know I haven't written anything in months (lol), but a combination of Valentines Day and a bad cold have inspired me to do a Loki x Reader fic for Valentines Day. Sorry I waited until the end of Valentine’s Day to write this oopsie.

I found this prompt from here that inspired my writing, the direct quote will not be used. The prompt is "Did your date seriously stand you up on Valentine’s Day fuck that noise will you be MY Valentine?"

This is set as a post Thor-Ragnarok Marvel AU, where Infinity War does not occur (still not over it). Essentially, Loki works with the Avengers as part of a contract for the Asgardians to settle in Norway.

Summary: Librarian reader knows Loki, and finds a date to try and ignore their growing affections for Loki. Reader has a Valentine’s Day date, but it goes terribly wrong as the reader’s date does not show up. However, just as the reader is about to get up and leave, Loki comes to the rescue.

Warnings: Angst, Self-loathing

Word Count: 1,603

The importance of such trivial Midgardian holidays was odd to Loki, and certainly not something he was adjusted to. This Valentine’s Day was no exception. Why commit a single day to lovers, or courtship? Why not show devotion every single day? Loki did not understand why humans were so obsessed with the holiday, or why Tony seemed to become increasingly worried about the holiday, even taking the time to put as a reminder on his calendar as to not forget. Even his oaf of a brother Thor was taking strides to prepare for the holiday for his beloved Jane.

Instead, Loki preferred the quiet silence of the downtown library he frequented in New York. It was one place where he was at peace and often undisturbed. However, the more and more he visited, he found himself increasingly interested in one of the Midgardians who worked in the library, Y/N. She was one of the few to show Loki kindness in helping him with finding books, and even providing recommendations. This was different from many librarians who often glared at him, for his army of aliens had come close to destroying the library.

However, it seemed even Valentines Day impacted the mood of the regularly quiet library. You were excited, in such a happy mood that it seemed nothing could possibly wipe the big smile off your face. You had a date, tonight, at a nice restaurant just outside the city. You had been looking for a boyfriend for a while, it had especially been difficult since the raven-haired God showed up to your workplace and increasingly frequented there. Loki, the one who initially came to destroy New York City, was now hiding in its libraries. You liked him, way too much, it was impossible, a God like him could never possibly like someone as simple as you. However, you couldn’t help but be drawn to the way his green eyes flickered in interest and a hint of a smile appeared on his lips when mentioning a Shakespearean book to him.

So to try and combat the longing you felt for the God, (or the way your heart fluttered every time he came near) and his beautiful accent, you decided you would find a date, on Valentines Day. You were sick of being alone in the big city and believed that there had to be someone who could fill the void in your heart. So, you found a date on an online app and were scheduled to meet Robert, tonight. You smiled at your coworkers, excited at the prospect of meeting someone new, however, your inner voice chastised you, You will never meet anyone else like him.

Loki observed quietly from the library watching you from afar, you did seem excited. He was secretly disappointed that he was not the one to cause you such happiness. While there were many libraries scattered around New York, he found himself visiting this one more often with the hope of seeing your bright gaze. He was attracted to you, the same attraction he had admonished Thor for was now an endless torture of his own.

Loki watched as you left your shift early, your coworkers wishing you luck as you walked out the door. Loki let a disappointed sigh leave his lips at realizing he still yet had to acquire the confidence to approach you, it seemed another had. Perhaps this holiday was troublesome after all.

--------------------------

You smiled as you walked out the door to the library and headed home to change into your favorite black dress and black heels. Wearing a simple silver necklace, you headed out into the streets of New York City. It was always like a dream every time you walked into the busy city, you could hardly believe you were there. As you walked into the restaurant you had agreed to meet Robert at, you were seated at a small table by the window. You had reserved the table, of course, knowing that the restaurant would be busy on Valentines Day.

Five minutes ticked by and you checked your phone to see if you had a message from Robert, nothing. You nervously looked around the restaurant to see if there was anyone entering or looking around. Instead, you were disappointed to find that there were many couples scattered around the restaurant. You sent a quick text to Robert, Where are you?

15 minutes later, and nothing from Robert. You were beginning to get pitying glances from the staff and decided that if Robert did not arrive in the next 5 minutes, you would have to leave rather than face further embarrassment of eating alone. On Valentines Day.

Loki happened to be walking down the streets of New York, finding another reason to stay away from the Avengers facility just a little longer. However, he paused in his walking when he glanced through a window to see you sitting there. You looked beautiful, he realized as he felt his heart flutter at seeing you, the black dress fit your figure nicely, however as he glanced at your face, he saw the worry, concern, and anxiety there.

Loki was unsure of what to do, should he go to her, risk the conflict if her supposed date was there? Loki contemplated for a few moments before deciding the risk would be worth it. If anything, he wanted to talk to you.

You were desperately trying to hide the tears you felt at the corner of your eyes at the obvious rejection. I was so stupid and naive, how could anyone possibly like me? You thought to yourself as you readied yourself to leave after paying the bill for your glass of wine. Looking for some change for a tip, when you noticed a shadow of a person standing in front of you.

Thinking it was the manager about to give another one of those pitying looks, you began to apologize, “I am so sorry, I don’t know what happened. He was supposed to be here but--” You paused when you looked up to see a familiar raven-haired God, “Loki?” You couldn’t believe he was here, he looked incredibly handsome, wearing a completely black suit. His dark hair was in waves that fell to his shoulder, his green eyes smoldering. Was it natural for him to look that handsome? Did he have a date he was here with? You hoped not.

Loki’s initial excitement at seeing you morphed into what you could only identify as concern. “You are crying.”

You blinked at him and quickly wiped away at the tears as you turned away. “Yes, well, I thought I had a date but obviously I did not.”

Loki felt anger at the realization of the statement, who would dare to stand up such a sweet little Midgardian on a holiday like Valentine’s Day? They were fools, whoever it was, and Loki would not waste the opportunity. “Be my valentine.” Loki managed to utter the odd words, although rather than asking it as a question, he found himself insisting on the statement. Anything to make a smile appear once more on your face.

“Loki.” You paused, “You don’t have to, I know you must pity me.” You began to argue as you grabbed your things.

“No, I want to.” Loki stated assertively, “I am here purely out of my own desire for you.”

You gaped at him in surprise, he could not possibly mean?

Loki rolled his eyes, “Why are you so surprised?”

“I’m a human.” You argued.

“Yes, I have already made that observation.” Loki retorted sarcastically.

Flabbergasted, you sat back down and stared at him as Loki sat down in the chair across from you. Loki, in a rare moment of public affection gently grabbed your hand and held it in his own, stroking the back of your hand in a soothing motion.

“What Midgardian delicacies do you recommend?” Loki asked sincerely, “My brother Thor keeps going on about some pastry called Poptarts.”

--------------------------

It turned out that the date went much better than expected, and despite your beginning disappointment, Loki had found a way to save the day. “I know its very corny, but you are my hero.” You smiled up at Loki as the two of you walked down the street, his arm wrapped lightly around your side in a show of genuine affection. Loki turned to look at you and realized that there were some benefits of learning to be more of a reformed hero, even if it was not inherently in his nature. Or perhaps he was just as foolish as his brother, as he found himself willing to do anything to gain your affections.

“Yes, well like all good books, I think the hero should be fairly rewarded,” Loki smirked as he glanced back down at you to gauge your reaction. Would you turn away?

“You do make a good point.” Your smile grew even bigger as you balanced on your toes to give him a brief kiss on the cheek. Loki, at first was surprised at such a forward expression of affection. “Thank you, Loki.”

Loki felt a grin tug at his lips revealing a charming smile. Taking you by surprise he leaned down to steal a kiss from your lips, pulling away before you had time to reciprocate. “I dare say this Midgardian Holiday might just be growing on me.”

You snorted at him but your cheeks flushed as his green gaze eyed you affectionately. You gently pulled him along with you downtown. “If you think this is good, just wait until you learn about April Fools Day.”

--------------------------

Well guys this is it. Pretty sure I wrote it while on a fever, so I apologize if it is complete garbage. Love all of you, have a Happy Valentines Day (or Anti-Valentines Day, that’s cool too). 😊

#fluff #valentines day #loki x reader #loki fanfic #reader fanfiction #Loki Laufeyson #loki #loki (marvel)#loki x you

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shoichee · 4 years ago

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KNB OC

Name: Shirobi Arisu

School: Touou Academy

Zodiac: Pisces

Note: I gave it an attempt to draw her portraits in the Production I.G artstyle! Excuse the lazy anatomy and messy sketch lines, er... hope they don’t distract you too bad? Also EXTREMELY long profile, hence the cut! This is a 300-follower special, but perhaps I’ll do something with Shirobi in the future! (Shirobi is her surname, Arisu is her first name)

Appearances

Personality

she is very much described to be “fox-like” in demeanor, slipping in and out of conversations naturally and with ease, being able to show different aspects and sides of her to different types of people

her default persona in encountering new people is a noble, unassuming/demure one in order to gauge how they interact with her before adjusting accordingly // you can see what that looks like here

a very innate actress, but the most cynical description of her would be “two-faced,” though it’s important to note that her personas are not so drastic that they seem like different people (like Akashi’s situation); perhaps if someone was keenly observing her for a while, they would notice

she does subtle shifts in aspects of her personality’s repertoire because of: 1.) becoming more compatible with people, and thus, having the most efficient conversations without having “annoying, unnecessary” conflicts with them, and 2.) studying people in different social settings is interesting to her

as a result of her jumping around and exploring different sides of her to different people daily, she does wind up suffering from mini identity crises and mental exhaustion very frequently

after a whole dismantle of her *mostly harmless* mind schemes (particularly by a close friend or two later on), her “true self” would be a deflective “tsundere-like” character, since her visceral reaction is for her to always slip into a convenient persona for the situation rather than being initially honest with herself and the people around her, and without the security of a “persona,” she gets flustered and embarrassed very *very* easily

hobbies in her free time include either being alone to sleep and not worrying about how to present herself or reading various works of (non)fiction (of many genres)/psychology to study people and how they tick (bonus: became a recent internet junkie after finding greater convenience in just finding articles and blogs instantly with a simple click)

irony: she finds talking to people inconvenient and tiring but she finds it intriguing to study them in all aspects of behavioral, cultural, and social means (so she kind of has to talk with people)

certified ambivert

if she does approach to someone, it’s almost never for the reasons of “making friends;” if there is no intellectual gain nor tangible benefit from talking, then she won’t bother partaking in it

because of her recent upbringing, while she may not show it, she despises arguments and fights, so when situations escalate, she will attempt to either smoothly divert the subject elsewhere and/or trivialize the matter to a degree; if all else fails, she will simply disengage from the conversation (essentially avoiding confrontation) // note: see “background” section for context

Teiko-era Personality

pleasant and friendly, albeit shy

perfect example of a polite goody two-shoes and teachers’ pet but still respected among her classmates for her genuine cordiality

very reserved individual but at this time was slowly breaking out of her shell to try to befriend her classmates to distract her mind from thinking about her home life

post-divorce/3rd year of Teiko: see “background” section for context

*while still maintaining her amiable grace, she slowly detached herself from her acquaintances and classmates, keeping to herself a lot more while critically studying them increasingly as months went by; she began to talk with others only when it was a necessity

*(occurred during her 1st year of Touou) a few months after she graduated from Teiko, she stopped going to the gym after school to observe the first string’s practices and only went to their games for Kōzō’s sake (especially when he fell ill) // her observant skills quickly picked up, even from their games alone, that the Teiko team’s dynamics have completely changed (which she relates this revelation back to Kōzō in the hospital)

*her current personality will hit full force once she enters high school after graduating from Teiko

“Last Game” Personality

reverted mostly back to her genuine, cordial self, but is still very spontaneous in showing different aspects of her personality in different situations, although most who know her can see right through her now (unless she really wanted to fool them, she probably could)

attempts to be more honest with herself and with others, especially in trying to unpack years of compartmentalization starting from her Teiko years

if she’s caught off guard, she will definitely become a flustered tsundere type of person

a happier person now that she’s made friends to rely on (•̀ᴗ•́)و (e.g. Momoi and Sakurai)

Background/Family

her multifaceted personality stemmed from her home life, where her parents became increasingly volatile and erratic when interacting with each other before they finally divorced her 2nd year of middle school

she constantly observed how her parents would initially act romantic on some days, but on many other days, they’d either tiptoe carefully around each other during conversations or they’d immediately fight

*rather than focusing on the discord of her home, she’d observe how they’d interact with each other in every situation and how despite being the two same individuals, they both act differently with each other every time they meet, thus feeding her intrigue on how individuals act in various social settings and cues

her parents would later on (shortly before divorcing) only meet up for motives of financial discussions, decisions on who she would live with for the week, etc. and they would no longer spend time together out of sentiment and love

*this imprinted into her belief that conversations that bring mutual benefit/reward are much better than other casual interactions, since she sees that they don’t provoke the unnecessary conflict/fights like other interactions do (e.g. seeing her parents fight when they talk about anything else)

Kōzō Shirogane (her great uncle, Teiko’s ex-coach) and Eiji Shirogane (a distant relative, Rakuzan’s current coach) are both from her father’s side of the family, hence she attended Teiko on behalf of Kōzō’s request in exchange for him paying for all of her school’s expenses (he wanted to spend more time with his great niece before he fell completely ill)

she and Kōzō would often be on the upper floor to observe practices together, and she would be immersed in studying how players would interact with each other on and off of courts; he was the one that got her into watching sports games (basketball in particular)

she graduated from Teiko a year before the GoMs did but would frequently visit their practices after school with Kōzō (until he fell ill)

she took after her mother’s surname after the divorce

Kōzō Shirogane fell ill shortly after her parents’ divorce

after graduating from middle school, she lives alone in an apartment under Shirogane’s name

she is not close with her parents but goes to visit each of them separately once in a while when Kōzō makes her go see them

she sees Kōzō as more of the father figure and cares deeply for him, and as for Eiji, she respects and admires him, but she isn’t close with him

ever since Kōzō fell ill, she would visit him in the hospital biweekly and update him on highlights from critical games from middle school and later on, inter-high and winter cup

Headcanons

she is the opposite of Kuroko in which she has a huge presence; it could be because of her hair color, hair pins, the many ways she carries herself throughout the day, or all of the above

why does she wear tons of hairpins? we don’t know, but she thinks they look nice and keeps the unruly hair out (for convenience)

sports games are fun for her to watch up close IRL because she can detect/study the mental games and simulations sparking across different players without having to talk to other people at all // televised games are useless because they cut a lot footage and cameras jump around too much for her to discern anything cohesive on the players

(if she ever got to speak with them) the most interesting people for her to converse with and study would be Midorima (because of his oha asa’s obsessions), Imayoshi, Hanamiya, Akashi, Teppei, Mitobe (she can actually understand him), and Momoi (when she doesn’t fawn over Kuroko)

no one knows what to genuinely get her for her birthday, let alone knowing her actual birthday; the closest thing they know is her zodiac sign

*throughout her deduced “birthday month,” different people will approach her with different gifts with what they thought she was interested in (because of her different personas she exhibited with each person): porn mags, antiques, shopping coupons, snacks, comic gags, etc.

*she keeps her birthday on the down low to prevent any chances of people being suspicious of her character when they try to throw a party for her and realizing she has these drastic “hobbies” and “interests” with each person // plus she doesn’t see a point of having a party because she knows how these familiar acquaintances would act in this particular situation

*she’s a fan of attending other people’s parties to observe them without being in the spotlight for once

she could be considered as part of the “uncrowned” generation considering her cognitive/mental skills and deduction (and she’s the same year as them)

*she and riko could be rivals as 2nd years in that sense, along with Momoi when she becomes a 1st year

Role/Skill

if she ever joined a sports club, her critical role would be monitoring and improving cognitive (mental) acuity especially in the following brain functions of: information processing, memory storage, attention, and situational judgement (and how they all respond and handle high pressure), since she’s so keen on studying people and how they act in different situations

she would also study opponents’ levels of acuity especially during huge pressure and high stakes

she will note environmental factors as well as lifestyles on every player; home players would get the according lists of tasks to work on to improve their acuity (which may include diet changes, mental exercises, adjusted sleep schedules, etc.) on their own and get tested on set dates

*will also initially ask home players to do a quick self-survey on possible genetic factors that would affect cognitive performance as well as any prescription/drug history

during club hours, she shows a very professional, polite side that purposefully distances herself from the rest of the team, and she is initially solely there to do her job and get compensations from the coach (until eventually she stays because she actually cares for the team)

Interactions

Kuroko: (Teiko + present)

polite with each other, although both will joke with each other in such a way that others can’t really tell if a joke just passed between them or if they’re being serious

she shifts her personality to be slightly more deadpan and delivers more dry humor when she’s around Kuroko

bonus: she addresses him with the nickname “Kurokuro” with the deadpan delivery, and others don’t know whether to laugh or be concerned

she doesn’t jump from his sudden appearances; while she doesn’t detect where he pops up most of the time, when he does, she just shrugs it off casually or does the dry “ahh i’m scared” or “wahhh you scared me” with surrendering hand motions whenever people around her get a genuine jumpscare from him

Kise: (Teiko + present)

with him she becomes more expressive and mildly snickers at their jokes together

the moment his fans come though, she’ll ditch him no questions asked; their constant interrogations and verbal grillings + fangirling are inconvenient to deal with // she’ll observe their behaviors from afar and take note on fan culture though, so she wouldn’t ditch him per say

she finds the fact that Kise can switch between a serious, determined persona and a flamboyant, energetic one so quickly really intriguing to witness every single time

Kise turns to her for mundane advice because “she’s just smart,” but she finds it really annoying and often gives him vague (but still valid) answers to shoo him away

Midorima: (Teiko + present)

she talks to him the most, mostly because his oha asa obsessions and meticulous rituals and schedules are ridiculously fascinating

she takes on a more serious persona (which is easy since she’s a pretty serious-like person to begin with) and subtly challenges Midorima, poking and prodding with very well-veiled questions to uncover the bottom of his obsessions

she does study up a bit of astrology and arcana books because of Midorima // one day he caught her with an astrology book on hand, and he immediately assumed she was into horoscopes as well, to which she did not deny a thing and let him convinced himself that she was (she’s gotta do what she’s gotta do)

after that ordeal, he gave her lucky items for her sign sometimes back in the Teiko days

just two smart brains having casual conversations about school

in the present day, if Takao was there, her persona switches to the one similar to what she’d use with Kise, and both would make snide remarks about Midorima

Midorima is slightly confused in seeing a subtly different side to her but he figured it was just Takao’s antics

Aomine: (Teiko + present)

when it was the days of “Puremine,” she was a supportive character, being slightly more blunt and more outspoken

she was extremely observant of his talent, and she was one of the first people to notice that he was going to bloom in talent before anyone else while also knowing its consequences // she subtly dropped hints for Aomine to slow down his pace in practicing, playing, etc. and to take a step back from basketball, but the blue-haired boy was an idiot so he didn’t pick them up one bit ((AKASHI DID THOUGH, UH))

with current Aomine, she’s presenting a more indifferent persona while further pushing a blunter side of herself when interacting with Aomine

like Imayoshi, she’s picked up on his dilemma and inner turmoil very quickly, but she wasn’t like Momoi who was actively trying to help him // she wasn’t enthusiastic in exerting effort when she knew that what he really needed to have his conflicts resolved was a definitive showdown on the courts

she doesn’t understand the appeal of porn mags at all, but feigns interest in them especially around Aomine (when they attend Touou Academy) to figure out why are people at her age so enthralled by them; Aomine definitely thinks she’s into them and gets her mags of half naked people for her and he’s extremely smug about it (“because we’re bros together” // “you’re welcome,” as he slaps her back way too hard)

she doesn’t really hang out with Aomine in Touou, maybe sometimes after school when she finds him up in the rooftop skipping practice when she’s in the mood to study how he ticks and annoy him for certain reactions to either prove/debunk her predictions

Momoi (Teiko + present)

she takes on a “girlier” and “cutesy” personality to be more compatible with Momoi to get along with her common interests

doesn’t really hang out with Momoi during the Teiko days unless Momoi approached her first with either data analyses, questions, or pleas to come with her to either: go shopping, drag Aomine, follow around Kuroko, etc.

Momoi addresses to her as “senpai” or “chan”

(during Teiko and present) asks her questions about her “love life” with Kuroko in a way that makes Momoi think she’s someone who believes in romance and lovey dovey things (she’s quite neutral about it IRL)

when Momoi finds out they both ended up at Touou, Momoi pounces on her every chance they get and drags her around because “we’re best friends!” // she goes along with it just to see how things turn out

she ends up being Momoi’s listening ear as she rants about Aomine’s awful habits or her worries about the team

Momoi begs and pleads her to join the team and assist them in some way; she outright refused, but Momoi is also intelligent in which she comes up with new offers everyday to try to convince her

she finally agrees when Momoi asked the coach to pay her a weekly salary (poor guy, but then again he’s rich) for her work and take Momoi’s word that the addition of her would be nothing but beneficial for the team’s success

because they're both on the same team together, they both spend even more time together to do analyses on both their own team members and other schools’ players

attends Touou’s games and only watches from first row seats in the audience in order to conduct naturalistic observations on both teams; she will never be on the benches unless it’s the semi-finals onwards

Murasakibara: (Teiko + present)

there isn’t much to study on this guy; he’s as straightforward as a single-file line

she either acts more of a casual childlike persona (by calling him “Muramura” or “Sakisaki-san”) or exhibits more of a stern, serious side (e.g. the persona used with Midorima) depending on the situation/context

she definitely bribes him with snacks and food to do convenient favors (in addition to using childish nicknames), or she throws the snacks far, gives them to someone else, eats them in front of him, etc. to elicit reactions from the man-child

she knows it’s better for her own good to NOT purposely provoke the scary side of Murasakibara, but when that side does come out for other reasons, it’s showtime for her; she’s going to be observing him with hidden glee

she doesn’t talk with him after graduating from Teiko; the next time she’ll see him is during the winter cup, particularly with yosen vs. seirin // it’s another movie marathon for her just watching every players and how they interact with each other (a LITERAL showdown between Teppei and Murasakibara.... Kagami and Himuro.... Himuro and Murasakibara—yeah it’s a field day)

Akashi: (Teiko + present)

she and ore-Akashi get along swell; she is at her surface self the most when conversing with him, not having a need to adjust herself that much from her initial “polite” persona

lots of theoretical talks and hypotheses in studying people and the world; they both respect each other very much

boku-Akashi is a different story; she starts avoiding him tactfully after his other side awakens

the saying “it takes one to know one” is especially true in this case: Akashi is very much aware of her two-facedness, and she is uncomfortable at the fact of him knowing such an innermost secret about herself

at the same time, she knows about where his “other side” “disappeared” to, whereas no one else hadn’t had a clue

both know about each other’s gimmicks and personalities, and throughout the rest of their years at Teiko, it’s a bunch of mind games and careful maneuverings around each other

Akashi finds it thrilling because it’s reminiscent of shogi

she finds this stressful because what the hell please leave me alone i’m trying to avoid you

after she got over her initial anxiety of this newfound revelation of new Akashi, she carefully treads this game and takes the advantage to study how this new side of Akashi ticks

he DEFINITELY caught what she was trying to do with Aomine in dropping hints; in response, he used his role as captain to push Aomine to try harder in games

she DEFINITELY caught what he was trying to do in pushing Aomine in “motivating” him; problem was, she wasn’t going to sacrifice her effort, wellbeing, and life to go against Akashi

after graduating from Teiko, when she still used to observe their practices and games, she was still very much uneasy and tried to downplay her presence to avoid Akashi’s scrutiny (sadly, her presence is too significant) // she really wished she was a Kuroko

she was able to breathe easier once she finds out later that they’re both going to different high schools; she continues to watch more of Rakuzan’s games after finding out that’s where Akashi ended up attending to figure his dynamics with his team + basketball and then predict his current mannerisms off the courts

when ore-Akashi comes back, she’s suspicious at first, but after confirming his character in person, she’s relieved that the “old him” was back (but slightly disappointed that his other self is gone // she kind of found that side of him more interesting to observe)

he still knows how many personas she has under her disposal, but he isn’t going to snitch any time soon

GoMs together: (Teiko + present)

to not give away the fact that she shows different sides to everyone, when everyone gathers/is nearby, she (at least attempts to) becomes a wallflower to observe everyone and act appropriately in the situation if she’s ever addressed to in the group; her name will always come up in some shape or form so she’s prepared to present a neutral persona without throwing people off

since the GoMs all attend different schools, it’s easier for her to socially maneuver around, however she is still cautious when near crowds (before/after games) and groups of people (such as Touou’s team) because they tend to call her over (but she’ll smoothly pretend she didn’t hear/was preoccupied and she’ll slip away)

Haizaki: (Teiko + present)

dear god, she hoped not to ever directly interact with him

he was a morbidly interesting person to observe, from far away // she’s trying to comprehend how this one middle schooler is already so immoral and violent

he’s definitely tried to hit on her, but she smoothly slipped away before he did anything else

it was a never-ending game of weasel and snake; he fancied her because she was someone who was mysterious and “hard to get,” but she’s always slipping away because he was extremely annoying to converse with and she definitely doesn’t want to end up in a fist fight with this guy

this constant chasing was significantly quashed after Akashi ordered him to quit the team (who’s to say that Akashi hadn’t also noticed that Haizaki was trying to harass her? respect women juice)

Haizaki noticed her outside the stadium before his match with kaijo a year later; she was outside ready to enter in before he blocked her way, but after a lot of sugar coating and sidestepping to try to diffuse the situation (she fooled him by feigning interest in him using a slightly more flirtatious, sly persona), she escaped from his grasp once again // it agitated him and that’s why he continued to prowl around outside before he chanced upon Alex and Himuro

Imayoshi: (present)

this guy is an Akashi; he picked up on her multifaceted personality frighteningly fast

except that instead of being wary and observant of her like Akashi would, this guy openly makes passive-aggressive remarks referring to her personality; no one except her would understand his real intentions behind those comments (they inwardly scare and piss her off)

he also had the upperclassman advantages to openly talk to her very casually and harp on her (on the other hand, Akashi was a year younger than her), so he very much does every thing to get under her skin and rile her up

she employs a more sarcastic persona to match up with Imayoshi, but that just makes him more determine to break her facades; in the end, to keep her cool, she just settled for a default polite persona while still shooting occasional flippant responses at him

TLDR; this guy has the same hobby as she does in getting reactions out of people to study them, except Imayoshi is an actual psychic in deciphering people out; perhaps he’s even better at these things than her

Momoi unintentionally helps her out by always telling Imayoshi to “stop bothering her so much,” and all he does is a mock-surrender, replying cheerfully that it was all in good fun

he definitely makes her job harder by trying to be a smartass when she gives him instructions and lists in how to improve his mental acuity; she quickly shuts his attempts down, and he always calls her an “absolute killjoy”

while she knows it’s beneficial to observe an individual who has a similar hobby like herself to see and compare the similarities/differences, Imayoshi makes it really difficult because his keen senses plus her huge presence makes him able to pick her out most of the time

*she’s only able to safely observe him when he’s on the courts

*other times, she dutifully avoids him unless when she’s doing her job

are they friends? it’s hard to say; they act like they’re familiar with each other but it’s a love-hate relationship // she respects his intuition but she frowns on his personality (it’s the fact that he acts like he knows everything and she knows he also puts up a few “nice guy” facades of his own)

he’s probably the first guy to actually break through her personas completely and get her to snap and yell at him unabashedly one evening when they were walking to a nearby convenience store because he was tagging along (Momoi was with Aomine at the time)

*at that moment, she probably also gave Imayoshi a shock for his life for the first time outside of the games

*she coughed and went back to her polite persona like nothing happened and that just made him so much more amused

they’re frenemies and rivals, trying to outdo the other in poking each other mentally and out-acting the other

Sakurai: (present)

first impressions of this kid: she pities him a lot

sometimes, she says various things to see if he‘ll apologize just to see which trigger words get him in a sweat to say “sorry”

she’ll either be a *gentler* polite person or take on a more stern/serious side (used with Midorima and sometimes Murasakibara); the latter would be used to try to toughen the poor guy up mentally

increasing Sakurai’s cognitive acuity would be the most difficult considering the fact that (combined with Momoi’s data) there’s a direct relationship between his physical and mental stamina; if he’s extremely exhausted, his mental sharpness declines dramatically along with it

he’s not considered the sharpest tool in the shed, and his naiveté tends to show when he asks innocent questions about her and her life, and one day, this guy accidentally hit the nail on the head when he asked about her family out of curiosity, which was her touchiest subject

*she did have a moment of shock and took some time to recollect herself and deflect the subject elsewhere, but Sakurai picked her hesitance up as a sign of offense and spewed a plethora of apologies (to which she had to calm the boy down)

*from that point on, although still curious, he became a lot more observant and cautious of how she acts around other people (at first he was watching so he can learn how to not offend her and overstep his boundaries)

as time progresses (especially after their loss at the winter cup), and the more Sakurai just asks her about many things, she does loosen up around him; he does eventually bring up the topic of family (not necessarily hers, but his own) to try to encourage her to talk about her own

Sakurai would be the type of person to be uncharacteristically determined and blunt in particular situations with people whom he considers his friends: here, he would confront her and asked if she was alright and if things were going okay at home

*out of curiosity in where he got that confidence boost and respect for him being mentally stronger, she does open up slowly one topic/talk at a time spread out for the next few weeks

both of their different curiosities for each other would lead to them being close friends ´･ᴗ･` (she makes him a more self-assured person and he gives her time to be her true self [or at least develop one], and other than annoying her with his occasional sorry’s, he doesn’t overwhelm her with his presence)

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dipulb3 · 4 years ago

Text

The 2021 BMW M4 is always down to clown

New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/the-2021-bmw-m4-is-always-down-to-clown/

The 2021 BMW M4 is always down to clown

First impressions matter, so, let’s look at the nose a little later.

Andrew Krok/Roadshow

Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Yes, the 2021 BMW M4 carries some unique styling notes that generate buzz on both sides of the aisle. But by laser-focusing on something so trivial, you might gloss over an important point: The M4 is really, really, really good. Better than BMW‘s bread-and-butter sports coupe has been in years, in fact, no matter what they call it.

Punchy inline-6 power

Brilliant handling

Excellent manual transmission

Don’t Like

Tire noise

Weird optional bucket seats

Acquired-taste styling

Driving is the point

The 2021 BMW M4 is an absolute hoot to drive, full stop. It’s an aperitif that washes away the mediocre taste left in my mouth by its predecessor, which featured a frustrating ride quality and an engine note that wouldn’t have cleared the first round of American Idol. That’s all been ironed over and replaced with a car that only ever left me wanting to drive it more.

Under the hood, the base M4’s 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-6 delivers 473 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque, routed to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual transmission. While there’s a little bit of acoustic electro-trickery piped through the speakers, the straight-six sounds great, especially at higher revs. And there’ll be plenty of opportunity to take in that noise, because with peak torque arriving (and staying put) between 2,650 and 6,130 rpm, it’s easy to become addicted to plunging my right foot into the firewall. The M4 just goes and goes and goes, and it’ll keep going well beyond the upper bounds of the speed limit, signs passing by in a blur. Need to stop? Drop $8,150 on BMW’s carbon ceramic brakes and you’ll get predictable, strong stops on the regular.

BMW has one of, if not the best manual transmission on the market inside the M4. This slick six-speed evokes the feelings of the Bimmer manuals of yore, its slightly rubbery movement between well-placed gates feeling not much different than it did way back when in the E46 M3. The clutch has a well-defined pickup point, making footwork a breeze, and its standard rev-matching system generates pitch-perfect downshifts if you’re not the king of heel-toe.

Like other modern BMWs, the 2021 M4 has a litany of vehicle settings that can be adjusted individually or bundled together by way of the two bright red M buttons atop the steering wheel. Hit the Setup button on the center console and the screen fills with customizable options, letting me tailor the throttle, steering, suspension and braking. The standard mode for each is still plenty engaging, but if you’re a sucker for tight throttle or brake response, the options are available. Throwing everything into Sport eliminates whatever smidge of body roll ever existed in the first place, although I’d recommend leaving Sport Plus for the track or only the most perfect pieces of asphalt. Drop $900 on the M Drive Professional upgrade, and you are given multiple traction control modes that can let you get a little drifty before reining things in.

For as sharp as the M4 is when the going gets twisty, it’s impressively compliant in daily use. Southeast Michigan’s roads are… not ideal for sports cars, let’s say, yet the M4 is never shaken out of sorts. Bumps are dispatched with just a bit of jostling to the cabin, and even the harsher divots never result in a suspension thunk. With the M4 in its softest settings, it’s a perfectly adequate vehicle for commuting, errands and all the little daily-life stuff in-between — so long as you don’t mind the noise from its wide Michelin Pilot 4S summer tires.

Is it efficient? Not really. The EPA slaps the 2021 M4 with a rating of 16 mpg city and 23 mpg highway. In my experience, city mileage is about there, but staying out of the boost and keeping the overall speed appropriate (since there’s only six forward gears) can push the highway economy closer to 25 or 26, if not a smidge above that.

BMW’s interior design language isn’t my favorite at the moment, but everything is sufficiently sensibly laid out, and build quality is top-notch.

Andrew Krok/Roadshow

Shut up about the sun! Shut up about the sun!

Most conversations about the latest iteration of M4 will always go back to one thing: That cursed nose. Frankly, I don’t mind it all that much. Maybe that has to do with how it looks on my Portimao Blue tester, the dark grille devoid of chrome feeling way less flashy than on other 4 Series variants. Maybe it’s because, once you see the bumper bar crossing the divide, your eyes can visually separate the grilles into upper and lower components. Maybe I just don’t care that much. Is it my preferred design? Goodness, no. But is it some affront before man and God? Hardly.

The rest of the M4, inside and out, looks pretty solid. Its long, low silhouette is basically a miniaturized 8 Series at this point, with most of the aggressive bits reserved for the front and rear bumpers. The tailpipes may look proportional to the rest of the body in pictures, but in real life, I can assure you that they look like cannons hanging out of a galleon.

Yep.

Andrew Krok/Roadshow

Inside, the general layout is pretty much bone standard 4 Series, with an inoffensive dashboard layout that, in M4 guise, is wrapped in some seriously smooth leather. For $950, you can shellack about half the surfaces with carbon fiber, but I feel like that trend is pretty played out already. What isn’t overdone, though, is the absolutely batshit blue-and-yellow color combination playing out across the seats and door panels. While it wouldn’t be my first choice, I appreciate the ability to rock some expressive colors that aren’t derivatives of the usual blacks, whites and tans.

And then there’s the seats themselves. These $3,800 M carbon bucket seats are immensely supportive, with high bolstering for torsos and thighs. That said, they’ll be a tough sell for folks who aren’t skinny minis, since they are tight. There’s also the manner of the large protrusion toward the front of the seat cushion; I’m sure there’s some reason for that in motorsport, but in daily use, it feels unnatural and largely just annoying.

These optional bucket seats are supportive as heck, but that little bump on the bottom gets weird after a while.

Andrew Krok/Roadshow

iDrive still good, maybe not great

BMW’s iDrive hasn’t undergone any major revisions recently, so what’s here in the 2021 M4 is the same ol’ bit of telematics that we Roadshow editors have been using for the last couple years. I wouldn’t take it over Mercedes’ MBUX, but in a vacuum it’s more than sufficient, with plenty of responsiveness and a home screen that does a great job of delivering all the right info with minimal distraction. Don’t want to use the touchscreen? No worries, friend, because there’s a dial on the center console. USB charging comes by way of a USB-A port by the cup holders and a USB-C port under the armrest. Wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and embedded navigation are all standard. The M4 also has a digital gauge display that is basically the same one you get on nearly every other BMW these days, and it’s fine.

Unlike many other dedicated performance cars, BMW still equips the M4 with plenty of active and passive standard safety features. No matter the spec, your M4 will roll off the factory line with parking sensors, forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, lane-departure warning and automatic high beams. None of the systems are very intrusive, and the settings menu lets me dial them back a little further if needed, so most of the time I can’t even tell they’re there. Best of all, you don’t need to shell out additional simoleons for any of it; it’s all standard from the get-go.

iDrive is fine, so long as you never bother to fiddle with gesture control.

Andrew Krok/Roadshow

Down to brass tacks

It should come as no surprise that the 2021 BMW M4 is expensive, but man, this expensive? The starting price of $72,795 (including $995 for destination) is innocuous enough, but my tester gloms on the options. The paint is $550, the wild interior is another $2,550, the wheels are $1,300 and the bucket seats ask for another $3,800. The upgraded brakes yeet another $8,150 out of your wallet, and if you’re feeling particularly spendy, you can drop $2,500 on the M Driver’s Package that does nothing but bump the speed limiter and offer a one-day class at a local BMW Performance Center. In case your eyes have glossed over at the sight of all these addons, I’ll do the final math for you: This BMW costs $93,795. Lord have mercy. And this isn’t even the freaking Competition variant!

Yet, at the same time, the BMW M4 possesses so much character for a performance coupe that it’s hard to even look at anything else. Competitors like the Mercedes-AMG C63 and Audi RS5 are a little long in the tooth and due for replacements, while the Alfa Romeo Giulia QV is only available as a sedan, and it’s a little harsh for daily use. That puts the M4 in quite the sweet spot, offering incredible performance without forgetting that day-to-day life shouldn’t be a punishment. You’ll get used to the front end, I promise.

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