#i just wanted to draw her in a ridiculous frilly dress

[coochie-sniffer3000]

blue blue !!!!

[nyashykyunnie]

˗ˏˋ Zayne x Lemurian! Fem! Reader: Ebb Day ◛⑅·˚ ༘ ♡ ˎˊ˗

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚𝔻𝕠𝕔𝕥𝕠𝕣 ℤ𝕒𝕪𝕟𝕖˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

・┆✦ Entry : 040 ✦ ┆・

[ Reader is Related to Rafayel because I said so<3]

╰┈➤ ❝ [ My Ocean Belongs To You ] ¡! ❞

"Zayne, do you like art galleries?" "Yes. How come you're asking?" "My big brother is hosting an art gallery<33. Wanna come with me:0?" "When is it?" "Saturday in the afternoon!" "Sure."

And that was how Zayne found himself in this situation, while you sported a pretty little frilly long dress— He was simply wearing his typical black dress shirt and trousers. Of course, he was secretly staring at you the whole time, he's always been interested in you but never had once vocalized it nor has he ever openly made it obvious or even drop hints.

Besides, he had been a little stressed from work as of late. He had to deal with a lot of troublesome patients during the weekdays and there were too many close calls on his surgeries as of late so he badly needed to take his mind off of the hospital even just for a bit.

And you are his favourite kind of cure.

Zayne followed behind you as you pranced in your steps, guiding him to the location of the art gallery. it didn't take the both of you too long to arrive to the place.

Fine and extremely detailed canvases were attached to the walls, each one unique on their own.

Zayne wasn't much of a painter, he could only sketch since he had to draw a lot of anatomical diagrams back when he was still in medical school.

"Your brother is very skilled" Zayne says as his gaze landed on the different pieces.

"Right?" You beam, hopping in your steps even more happily as you admire your cousin's works. "He's always working hard on his paintings."

He follows behind you, admiring the image of you more than he does admiring the pretty paintings around the both of you.

"Ah, there he is!" You spring into happy little skips as you made your way towards a man with deep purple hair boredly leaning on the wall and fiddling with a pen in his fingers. "Oppa!"

"Geez, pipe down, I can hear you just fine" He says in a sarcastic but gentle voice as his bluish-pink eyes similar to yours land on you. "I thought you were joking when you said you'll visit"

"Oppa will be disappointed if I didn't" You grin, making him roll his eyes.

"Who is this?" His gaze falls on Zayne, pushing himself off of the wall.

"I'm Zayne" He introduces himself.

"Zayne..." The name rolls off of the painter's tongue, pondering as he tries to remember where he has heard it before. "Ah yes, you're my sister's doctor, right? She wont stop yapping about you I almost went deaf from it. I'm Rafayel"

"Oppa!" You protest, smacking his arm.

"Hey, ow!" Rafayel fake winces, a dramatic expression on his face as he gasped. "Guppy, that is not how you treat your older brother! Isn't family supposed to love eachother?"

"As if!" You stick your tongue out at Rafayel and Zayne stood awkwardly in between this little banter.

"Pfft," He scoffs, rubbing the spot you had hit. "Still as feisty as ever like a sea urchin."

"You're as round and ridiculous as a puffer fish" You bite back.

"...." Zayne felt like he really shouldn't be here at this moment.

"Anyway, I'm gonna go off there and greet Thomas" You say in a childish, high pitched voice as you point at a direction and storm off.

Zayne shook his head, wanting to follow you but found it rude if he left your brother all alone without a proper conversation. Besides, he could see you in his peripheral vision.

"I meant it though." Rafayel starts, humming as continued playing with the pen absentmindedly. "She speaks very highly of you like a little baby dolphin learning how to jump off of water for the first time."

"...I'm glad she thinks so, but I'm only doing my job as her doctor" Zayne answers, pushing his eyeglasses back.

"Isn't that what every doctor says?" Rafayel scoffs, crossing his arms as both men overlooked you who is happily chatting with Thomas and asking about some paintings. "My little sister is a handful, isn't she?"

"Well," Zayne hums, deciding to play along with Rafayel. "She often doesn't listen to her doctor's orders and is somehow scared of staying in the hospital at night believing ghosts might swallow her."

"...Did she actually say that?" Rafayel cocks up an eyebrow.

"She did." Zayne simply confirms while watching you prance back to them and tug at Rafayel's arm.

"Oppa, oppa, I want the pretty puzzle piece music box, get it for me!" You say childishly, pulling at Rafayel's hand.

"Hey, I'm not a wallet" Rafayel groans but allows himself to be dragged over to the gift store area.

Zayne followed you both, watching as the two of you bantered on and on. He could tell that Rafayel spoiled you a lot, watching as he keep saying sarcastic remarks and marine related insults while letting you pull him around.

"You're a grown woman now and a hunter, why exactly do you need a music box puzzle?" Rafayel rolls his eyes.

"Because it helps!" You reason out, shooting a hopeful look at Zayne. "Right doctor Zayne? Right?"

"Puzzle making and achieving to finish it can certainly boost dopamine production," Zayne replies, sighing as he realizes what you are using him for. "As for sleep, well, music boxes can certainly help lull you to sleep."

"Ugh, using your doctor card on me, really?" Rafayel groans, but pays for the puzzle piece anyway. "Now shoo, there's an ice cream store at the front. Your brother is buisy doing grown-up stuff so children should behave."

"I'm not a 2 year old!" You say as you hold the now packaged puzzle piece before storming off.

"...." Zayne was about to follow behind you until he heard Rafayel's voice again.

"Do you know about Lemuria? There's a secret rumour amongst their merpeople" he says, "Every year there's a day when the tide is low, and it flows in the opposite direction. It's on that day that Lemurians are at their weakest hence why they keep it a secret. Even the weakest humans can end them if they so please."

"Then how come you know of this?" Zayne inquires.

"Well, it's a fairy tale" Rafayel dismisses his question. "She's waiting for you"

Zayne nods his head politely before going towards your direction.

Throughout the whole time on the ice cream shop, he keeps thinking of what Rafayel said. And for some reason, he can;t take it off his mind.

Despite that, he chooses to just focus on the you who is busily munching on the ice cream he had bought for you earlier.

"Slow down, it's not going anywhere" He says, picking up a napkin and wiping the cream off of your cheek.

"But it's just so yummy!" You protest.

"I know," Zayne nods his head, "But still, eat a little more slowly.

"...Okay" You pout.

Zayne shakes his head, smiling faintly as he found the whole situation a little ridiculous. He could tell Rafayel thought that he spoils you too. After all, he's putting up with your childish antiques and scolds you as if you were a small child.

Overall, this litle... Outing turned out well since he met your older brother.

⋅ ˚ ₊ ‧ ଳ ‧ ₊ ˚ ⋅ ⋆ ౨ৎ ˚ ⟡ ˖ ࣪

For the past two weeks, Rafayel's words bothered Zayne over and over. It kept repeating in his mind and it even echoes in his ears whenever he woke up. It's a miracle he didn't have any surgeries these days and managed to keep a proffesional act despite it high bothering him.

To add to that, you havent texted or called him a single time.

Sure, you're not required to talk to him all the time but today seemed particularly different as it nagged him.

Zayne pinches the bridge of his nose, sighing in frustration as he finished up the last of his reports.

He then reached for his phone and instantly dialed your number.

Thankfully enough, you picked up.

"Hello?" You voice was horrible, making Zayne immediately alarmed.

"Are you alright? your voice is a little rough" He inquires, taking his doctor's coat off. and grabbing his keys.

"No... Fever"

"A fever?" He sighs, storming out the hallways and into the parking lot. "You're home, aren't you? Have you taken your temperature and drank medicine?"

"Cant..." You breathe heavily. "Too weak."

"Stay in bed." Zayne said as he hopped into his car and brought life to the engine. "I'll come."

He then dropped the phone call as he drived out of the hospital and towards your apartment.

Zayne knew deep inside it was probably just as a normal fever, but there's a surge of panic in him as he hurried over. The moment Zayne parked, he hurriedly went upstairs. He was irrational with the way his mind is overthinking things.

Surely it's just a fever.

A fever.

Zayne opened the door to your apartment and quietly locked it behind him then going to your bedroom where he found you curled up in your bed.

"I'm here" Zayne says with a gentle voice, his tone a little lower than usual as he gently pries off the blanket off of your face and placed a palm on your forehead.

"Ngh... Zayne" You whine a little.

"Ssh," He said, removing his palm and reaching for the bedside drawer and pulled out the thermometer.

Zayne took your temperature and cocked up an eyebrow at the results.

You're burning up and yet you have a normal temperature. He aimed it at himself and gave back a good result too, meaning it's not broken or playing tricks.

"???" Zayne looks at you, wanting an explanation.

"Water... Please." You whisper.

He rescinds in demanding an explanation, your voice isn't fake and neither is that glazed over look on your face.

"Stay here, don't pull the blanket over your head" Zayne said, getting up from his seat.

He was running a number of possible explanations on why you're feeling the way you do. Maybe it's stress induced, or something. Perhaps a better option now is not to ponder but take you to the hospital because it might be a dangerous situation.

He walks back into the bedroom and sat paused,

"...." Zayne places the glass down, crouching down towards you and observes the glittering blue things on your face.

'That wasn't there earlier' He thought, his forehead knitting as he reached to brush a finger on your cheek where the crystal like things glimmered.

The touch caused you to whimper a little and he pulled his hand back immediately.

"Every year there's a day when the tide is low, and it flows in the opposite direction. It's on that day that Lemurians are at their weakest hence why they keep it a secret. Even the weakest humans can end them if they so please."

Rafayel's words repeat in his mind.

"Zayne..." You mumble, curling over to him before trying to get up.

"Your face,..." He inquires, helping you sit up while another hand reached to place pillows against the headboard and laying you against it. "Lemuria?"

He hesitated at the question, watching your expression droop.

"...Sorry." You apologize.

"There's nothing to be sorry for" He said, reaching up to fix the blanket on your lap. "Are you feeling like this because of ebb day? The tides being low and the water flowing backwards?"

"..." You look up at him, alarmed. "How? Who? Y-you're not supposed to know those."

'Ah..' Zayne mentally curses at himself for being too brash on his approach.

"Your brother, Rafayel, he told me" He said, and felt relieved as you calm down.

"...That's funny" You mumbles. "He told me to never tell anyone and yet he told you. Big brother trusted you with a secret depsite just meeting."

Zayne didn't answer, wondering too why the painter would do that but froze as he felt you nuzzle his shoulder.

"..."

"You're not mad... Or weirded out?" You ask.

Zayne shakes his head, reaching up and gently stroked your head. "Why would I? Just because you're not... Human?"

"Yes?"

"I'm not" He shakes his head, gently pulling you over to his lap so he can hold you more properly and you can rest more comfortably on his shoulder. "There's no reason to. It just makes me a little concerned that maybe my treatment plans on you dont work or worst, it could be detrimental to you."

"We're the same as humans" you explains. "Just... Different in a lot of waya. I get hungry and get sick like humans. So it's fine."

"I see." He hums, stroking your head.

He almost wanted to nuzzle his nose on your head but stopped himself.

"You won't hurt me, right?" You ask, fidgeting. "Brother said that humans would abuse a creature's weakness once they find out."

"Never" He said, pausing in his ministrations on your strands. "I would never hurt the person I like. If anything, I wish to protect you"

He brings your hand up to his lips, and kisses the inside of your palm.

"I would never, ever hurt you." He shakes his head, those intense amber-green eyes. "Not now, not in the future, never in my lifetime nor in the next ones. No matter who or what you are, I will never hurt you"

꒰ A/N: I'm just so weak against Zayne pls sniffsniff. I love him sm I just want to hold this silly man. I wanna cuddle this precious man qwq!!! My precious Zayne TT. This man is fr one of my biggest comfort character. I can't wait for his birthday event in september. Also I'm srry if u cringe at the feesh insults its my kind of humor xDD!! ꒱

ʚ(੭´͈ ᐜ `͈)੭ .｡✧･ﾟ: ~♡ —! stories written by kyunnie; translations, reposts, plagiarism are strictly forbidden.

[aalissy]

Reverse Crush

Anddd here is today's second chapter :). I hope you like it! I am forever tormented by how little reverse crush we got in the show. I always want more haha. Lemme know what you think <3

AO3

Adrien sighed quietly, leaning on his fist as he craned his neck back to stare blatantly at Marinette. It was study hall so he could finally get away with just focusing on her. Not for the first time that day, though did he wish he sat behind her. That way, he’d be able to peek up at her periodically through the day rather than having to crane his head back awkwardly to look at her.

She looked adorable. Just like she did every day. Her tongue was stuck out of the side of her mouth as she concentrated on whatever it was she was drawing. 

Cute.

Clearing his throat, Adrien leaned forward, tapping her desk to get her attention. She looked up, her pretty blue eyes wide with shock. 

“What are you drawing, Marinette?” he asked, hopeful to hear her soft voice as she directed her attention to him alone.

Her surprise at his sudden question melted into a warm smile, and Adrien couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement.

"I was actually just sketching some of my ideas down for fashion. It helps for inspiration when I’m creating." Marinette replied.

Adrien leaned in a bit closer, intrigued by her creative process. "Can I see?" he asked eagerly, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.

Marinette hesitated for a brief moment before nodding. She turned her notebook towards Adrien, revealing a series of intricate designs that showcased her talent and unique style.

The first page held numerous sketches of her and her friends in beautiful gowns. They all looked amazing. When he looked at the next page, however, his mouth dried. It was him. Or, well, Chat Noir, in a few different designs from Marinette. 

Suddenly, Adrien was struck by the urge to commission her. He’d wear those designs every day. He bit it back, however. As much as he might want to, he couldn’t reveal his secret identity. Not even to someone as perfect as Marinette.

"These are beautiful, Marinette!" Adrien exclaimed, genuinely impressed. "You're so talented. I especially liked the way that you drew Chat Noir." He winked up at her.

An adorable red blush lit up her face at the compliment, and she smiled gratefully. He needed to figure out how to get her to do that more often. She looked so cute with a flush on her cheeks. "Thank you, Adrien. That means a lot coming from you, being the son of a famous designer and all."

Encouraged by her positive reaction, he couldn't resist teasing her playfully. "You know, if you ever need a model for your designs, I'd be happy to volunteer."

Marinette's eyes widened in surprise, and then she burst into giggles, her laughter like music to his ears. "Sure, Adrien. I'll keep that in mind. If ever I make one of these frilly dresses, I’ll make sure that you’re the first one I call." She winked.

His heart quickened at her reaction, feeling dizzy with giddiness.

Wink! She winked at him. How was he meant to mentally function after that?

Adrien’s grin must have looked completely ridiculous as he couldn’t stop it from stretching wide across his cheeks. “I’ll be looking forward to it,” he replied, his voice filled with genuine excitement.

As the bell signaling the end of study hall rang, Adrien reluctantly tore his gaze away from Marinette who was laughing softly at his words. He made a mental note to find a way to bring up the topic of her designs again soon, maybe during their next study hall. 

After all, she had winked and laughed at him! That had to mean something... right? He wracked his brain, trying to remember if he had ever seen Marinette wink at anyone else. He couldn’t think of any which was a very pleasant thought.

As he walked to his next class, Adrien couldn’t shake off the image of Marinette’s sketches, especially the ones featuring Chat Noir. It was both thrilling and nerve-wracking to see himself depicted in her designs, knowing that she had no idea of his secret identity.

Maybe... maybe he could sneak over to her room one night, just to commission one of those designs. After all, if Adrien was able to take a peek at her designs, he figured she’d certainly let Chat Noir, a superhero, see them as well. With that plan in mind, Adrien’s grin stayed on his face for the rest of the day.

[quibbs126]

May I have a knight and princess cookie fan child :>

Alright, here you go, this is Dame Cookie

So full disclosure, I don’t know what gender Dame Cookie is. My three ideas are that Dame’s a guy that likes to wear dresses, non binary, or a trans woman. All I know is that Dame isn’t a cis woman. But for the sake of the thing, I’ll just stick with nonbinary

Edit: so I’ve finally decided that Dame is transfem, and will be editing the post as such, though I may forget some

So I was originally going to name her after shortcake, like Berry Shortcake, but then I remembered, both Princess and Knight are named after things, so why not do the same here? I chose Dame because it was the closest match I could find for a female knight. But she is still based on shortcake

Shortcake:

The design’s fine, but I swear, something about the proportions is off. Or the hair. Or maybe both. Also the sketch looks weird. Oh well. But yeah, my main references for her were Kouign Amann and Wildberry, as well as Princess for the dress. My whole idea was just “princess knight” for her. But what got me to finally draw her was me looking for references for my sketch dump and finding one of someone with a giant lance, and I basically went “I want that”. I gave her yellow hair just for the shortcake bit, and I changed it from Knight’s blonde just because I thought it looked a bit weird on her. And that it blended too much with the armor. I think I might have made the lance too small? It’s supposed to be really oversized. All in all, like I said, the design’s fine, but it’s not entirely what I was picturing in my head. Though then again, I think the picture in my head was that of a human character, so maybe that’s part of it

So anyways, Dame Cookie isn’t too complicated. She’s a fighter, but not as much of an adventurer. I imagine she likes to take part in a lot of tournaments. She’s also very friendly and easy to get along with. Oh, and another thing, Dame is pretty damn big. Like, she towers over their parents, and she’s also ridiculously strong, given she can throw their oversized lance at high speeds with ease. I imagine a scenario in which someone new in town hears of a young royal called Dame Cookie, and they imagine a dainty young girl, only to meet her in person (perhaps in a tournament) and find out Dame Cookie looks nothing like what they thought. But despite her fighting and physique, she also very much likes doing stuff like wearing fancy dresses and going to balls and such

Hmm, I wonder, would Dame have worked better as a darkknight fankid? I mean, mostly because of the large size and incredible strength probably fitting in better with Dark Choco’s family, and the fact that the colors work just as good with him too. Although at the same time, I doubt she’d wear frilly dresses or have her name be Dame Cookie…hm. Oh well, that’s not one of my requests yet, so who knows?

But yeah, that’s Dame Cookie. Hope you like her!

@amythecat2001 you were one of the people who asked

Edit: so the top was a redesign, mostly in the hair. The original is here

[inquisimer]

I'M COMING BACK FOR MORE with a poetry prompt for Cullen x Neria pls: "For stones, opening / is not easy / Staying closed is / less pain but / your anger finally / is more dangerous." (Margaret Atwood)

niri niri niri happy dadwc!! some WEWH Neria/Cullen for this week uwu

for @dadrunkwriting

wc: 776

~~~

Neria’s bare feet whispered across the tile of the Winter Palace, the soft pad of her footwraps contrasting sharply with the click of heels. No one was looking at her and yet she felt the weight of more than a dozen gazes prickling the back of her neck as she made yet another circuit about the ballroom.

At her elbow, Josephine fluttered with anxious pleasure. It was certainly something to see the ambassador in her element, even as she nagged and pleaded in murmurs hidden behind smiles. She was on about the Dowager now, and the precise correct moment for Neria to approach her, but as they rounded the banister near Lady Mantillilon, something else entirely caught Neria’s attention.

Cullen, absolutely dashing in his dark uniform and fur-lined half-cape, but increasingly uncomfortable as he edged away from the flock of frilly skirts who pressed into his space. His back hit the wall and a spike of anger pinned Neria’s ears flat against her head.

Orlais was a country of masks, of secrets and intrigue. They’d drilled this into her back at Skyhold, that nothing forthright or blatant would gain traction at the Winter Palace. It was only that knowledge that kept her lips from pulling back to bare her teeth in a snarl.

“Mind your dress, Inquisitor,” Josephine murmured, melting into the shadows with a furrowed brow as Neria stalked forward.

These vultures were not mages, but the force of Neria’s anger was palpable and it thinned the Veil enough to set them on edge. Their fans fluttered faster and their titters pitched higher as they pretended not to notice the Inquisitor’s approach.

Cullen had noticed, though, and he was too Fereldan to try and pretend otherwise. He undoubtedly felt the Fade warping to her anger, even without fresh lyrium in his veins, and his frantic eyes found purchase on her fearsome visage.

She was dressed as a taunt, a reminder, a threat. Leaves and vines in various metals twisted up her bodice in an unmistakably elven design and her skirts were but constructs of the Fade, energy from the Rifts and beyond the Veil, bent to swoop and flutter as she walked. She wore a half-cape of her own, a blood-red reminder of her allegiance with a decorative pauldron—dragon bone bent to powerful runes and Dalish imagery—capping her shoulder

She wanted to draw a fist of stone across the Veil and pummel these imbeciles to pieces. Wanted to pull the dagger from the small of her back and slash their ridiculous outfits to shreds, slice the foolish masks from their pathetic faces. But she felt the stares from her ambassador and spymaster, just paces away, and knew she could not, for the night was not yet through and to lose their access here would be to lose the world.

Instead she pushed her fury outward like a shield and the force of it pressed the foolish lords and ladies away from her commander. She walked across their absence, chin jutted out, and clasped her hands behind her back.

“Commander, if you would?” She inclined her head toward the balcony.

“As you say, Inquisitor.” His relief was a bit more obvious than Sister Nightingale might have liked, but preferable to, say, drawing his sword on any of the Orlesians. With a fierce glare to discourage any of his hazers from following, they passed out into the cool night air.

They were barely free of the ballroom when Cullen’s hand unclenched from the pommel at his hip and found the hair at the nape of his neck.

“I—thank you,” he said, sagging ever so slightly. “I am sorry to have pulled you from your more important duties.”

Neria turned on one bare heel and held her hands out for him to take, if he wished. He did so and she laced their fingers together, pressing gentle kisses across his knuckles.

“You did not pull me anywhere,” she told him. “I chose to walk away.”

She gestured toward the palace with their joined hands. “I cannot burn it down without condemning the world we’re trying to save. But I can—and will—let it smolder, because you are far more important than any secrets I could glean, any favors I could earn.”

She looked out across the gardens, suddenly conscious of how serious his gaze on her had grown. Mindful of her dress, her hair, Cullen tugged her to his side and brushed a kiss across the shaved skin behind her ear.

“I can endure.”

“I know you can,” Neria said. “But you already are—so many things. This does not have to be another.”

[watermelonsugacry]

hello love !!

so i was on pinterest when i see this and this AND it got me thinking:

what would be the eras of 1dbandmate!yn ???

ily babe. take care xx

...so I made some moodboards (and ariana grande is not a face claim, I just draw a lot of inspo from her outfits)

Fetus YN

Louis was her childhood best friend

Was previously in a rock band in high school

Their management really just stuck her in dresses and mini skirts bc they wanted to keep her image of a "good girl" given the way she's in a band with 5 other boys

Just kind of in awe that she's pursuing something she loves

Frat Era

Got her pair of jeans back

Her 'rebellious' side came out, just more of her personally began to show through honestly

Went back to song writing & her interest for producing sparked

Was featured in Little Mix's song Move

Just living the rockstar life at 19

Princess Era (phh)

Oversized, comfy clothing

She found a new sense of respect for cuddling (Harry's fault)

Began to break the glass ceiling in the recording studio with learning/showcasing her producing skills

Wrote a LOT of secret love songs and began to sell them to other artists

LHH Era

Traded in her frilly skirts for leather ones

Started to stray away from the 'good girl' image more and more

Her and Harry spend a ridiculous amount of time together (partying, at each other's house, song writing, etc.)

Wrote kiwi

Only Angel Era (Dunkirk)

Embracing her once 'forced' girly side and combining it with her current style

The start of her on and off relationship with Harry

Her first solo tour

Grammy nominee and winner

My Future Era (Fine Line Era)

She's LIVING for a pair of trousers and an oversized blazer

The two are still trying to figure out what their relationship is & right when they did it, it was exposed

Quarantine era

Developed her producing skills even further -> producer of the year bebe

i'll add a 'harry's house' era soon!

(p.s. it warms my heart whenever yall send me stuff that reminds you of 1dbandmember!yn 😭 💚)

taglist:

@wobblymug @be-with-me-so-happily @ashtongivesmebutterflies @kiwiskiwiskiwi @darlingdesire @obsesseddd @hopefulwastelandcreation @cacapeepee @breezie-b00 @harrysfolkloreore @theekyliepage @sunshinemoonsposts @nervousspiderling @tbslonelyhes

[horseboneologist]

You know sometimes... you do the most self-indulgent shit in the world? You know sometimes - you go "oh it's time for drawing practice" and then spend WAY TOO MUCH TIME drawing characters from the magnus archives in your own ridiculous wardrobe? Anyways if anyone reblogs this please tag it as nsfw cuz looking at this should get you fired.

Time to stop spending so much ✨money✨ on 🌟clothes🌟

Description below the cut:

A series of digital drawings of characters from the magnus archives. I'll just describe them straight out.

1- a title page reading "A Magnus Archives Fashion Show" in goofy 70's font. Subtitles read "Bored? Try drawing a ton of fictional characters in your own clothes!" "Like way too many!" "A totally normal and healthy way to spend your time!"

2- Martin wearing a silvery dress with a long slit up the thigh. He's also wearing a fan-shaped blue stone necklace, a blue ring, blue nail polish, and brown roman-style sandals. The text behind him just reads MARTIN in giant text with a little tiny "I love you sir" next to it.

3- Jon kneeling on the ground looking extremely sexy and extremely sleepy. He's wearing a black t-shirt with the words "highly emotional" in vaporwave colors. Above that he's wearing a black button-up with purple & blue chevrons across it. He's wearing acid-washed cutoff jean shorts and knee-high pink sparkly boots. He has neon green nail polish. The text next to him reads "oh no he's so very sleepy" and "<- just got pushed to the floor by basira"

4- Jon wearing a sequined cow-print baseball cap, a cream-colored western shirt with tassels across the chest, pink pants, and white & brown cow-spotted boots. He's holding a white hexagonal purse with a blue eye on the front. His text reads "Yes honey you're PRECIOUS"

5- Sasha wearing a billowy white pirate shirt with a corset. The corset has Bosch's 'Garden of Earthly Delights' on the plates. She's also wearing white pants with a pattern of small rainbow zebras, and purple ballet shoes. The text next to her reads "Sasha you're so much better than these fools I'm so sorry they did you so dirty"

6- Basira and daisy standing together. Basira is wearing a black jumpsuit with a velvet top that has tassels along the chest, which is attached to silky wide-leg pants that have large pockets with tassels along the rim. She's wearing black high-heels and white cat-eye sunglasses with blue lenses. Daisy is wearing a red jumpsuit with an open back, red triangular sunglasses, and a ruby ring. The text between them reads "on their way to a 'buff wlw' key party"

7- Georgie wearing a purple frilly dress with a green frog pattern and an orange scrunchie. Her text reads "I just want her to be proud of me (pleading face)"

8- Melanie wearing a pink silky bomber jacket over a green sheer shirt. She's also wearing black leggings with a pattern of white leopards, black doc martens, and carries a purse in the shape of a black bucket with champagne and fake ice coming out of the top. Her text reads "My only feedback for Melanie: could have been meaner <3"

9- Gerry wearing a long-sleeve green velvet shirt with the shoulders cut out, showing his tattoos. He's also wearing black velvet leggings and draping a black velvet robe down around his elbows. He's also got shiny gold doc martens. The text for him reads "ALL VELVET ALL THE TIME"

10- Michael wearing neon blue leggings with a pattern of bright red, green, and yellow. He's also wearing a blurple robe with red & green flowers, and a velvet shirt with a cheetah print & rose pattern. He has neon green toenail polish and neon yellow fingernail polish. He also has a bright blue iridescent backpack. His text reads "Please take me into your hallways mr spiral."

11- Helen wearing a t-shirt with a bird on the back that says "I am a LIE" as well as gym shorts with a wtnv quote: "I don't know who I am and I don't understand the concept of time and how it relates to me." The text next to her reads "Fearpocalypse's #1 wingwoman!"

12- Tim wearing a pink velvet baseball cap, a t-shirt with color blocks of teal, pink, and yellow, and baggy pink jeans. He's also wearing black & floral carpet slippers. The text next to him reads "OMW to murder some clowns <3 <3"

13- Oliver wearing a green velvet blazer with matching 3/4 length pants. He's got a white shirt underneath, as well as black dress shoes with zebra fake fur on the tops. His text reads "Oliver you never did anything wrong & I love you"

14- Jon wearing a bright green velvet jumpsuit with huge flaring sleeves. On the sleeves are basic stylized eyes with yellowish sclera and red irises. His text reads "Come at me bro" and "NOT amused"

15- Elias looks like he's fallen down into a corner and his limbs are all akimbo. He's wearing a cow-print shirt under a lilac jacket, which has a white & black pattern of little snakes. His pants are the same color of lilac and have a pattern of purple crying eyes. His shoes are silver and reflective like disco balls. The text next to him reads "a NORMAL pose for a NORMAL man"

16- Elias standing in T-pose but also squatting with his knees out to the side. He's wearing a black velvet mini-dress, which also has huge flaring sleeves. On the sleeves are basic stylized eyes with white, veiny sclera and teal irises. He's wearing high heels with eyeballs skewered on the stillettos. The text next to him reads "laying an egg."

17- Simon Fairchild wearing a white & blue hawaiian shirt, a baggy black jacket with a pattern of purple flowers on it, and hugely baggy purple hammer pants. He's also wearing orangey iridescent round sunglasses. The text next to him says "This is the face of a man who has fucked the sky.... and will do so again."

18- Peter Lukas wearing blue & white flower-patterned booty shorts, blue short cowboy boots, and a white t-shirt that says "of course I cum fast, I've got fish to catch!!" with a picture of a bass on it. The text next to him reads "...what are you looking at"

19- Elias wearing a pink & multicolor eyeball-patterned robe, pink velvet shorts, and a white t-shirt with some Tom of Finland art on it (look up 'hot and heavy'). The text next to him reads "Lord forgive me for I have sinned" and "fuckboy"

20- Elias again, almost naked but wearing a leather full-body harness that has little tiny patches of fur tufting off of his nipples, as well as a big puffy patch of fur as a merkin. He's making direct eye contact with you, dear reader. He has a pair of condoms under his hand and the text next to him reads "I got a Magnus condom for my monster dong" and "fuck MAN" (and "psst this is the only outfit I don't own")

Hey I'm really sorry

[hlizr50]

Unveiled

Spoilers for From Blood and Ash

Poppy is unveiled to her new guard. Alternate POV.

Read on AO3

Everything had gone according to plan.

Well, that wasn’t entirely true. But the end goal had been accomplished.

Swift booted footsteps echoed down the hall as Casteel and his “commander” made their way to the Duke’s office. Jansen had been explaining how the meeting would proceed; the Maiden would be escorted in, Duke Teerman would explain the need for a new guard with the Rite coming so soon, some prattle about why they chose Hawke Flynn to be that guard, the Maiden’s unveiling, and the fealty oath…

He would see her. Finally. No ridiculous veil, no mask. He would see the puzzle complete, how the eyes as green as spring, the full pink lips, the soft creamy skin all fit together. He was sure she would be beautiful, if what he had seen and touched and tasted were any indication. He had a goal in mind, to be sure. But she had intrigued him. He wanted to see and know more of her.

And he always got what he wanted.

“Hawke. Are you listening?”

He turned his amber gaze on Jansen. “I’m sorry?”

“Do you remember the oath?”

“Of course,” Casteel rolled his eyes before reciting. “’With my sword and my life, I vow to keep you safe Maiden, the Chosen. From this moment to the last moment, I am yours.’ Quite melodramatic if you ask me.”

“Keep your voice down,” the commander growled softly. “You are a dedicated guard of Solis swearing fealty to the future of the kingdom, in case you’ve forgotten.”

Casteel sneered. “I haven’t forgotten. And it would do you well to remember who is leading who, Commander.”

“Of course. My apologies.”

The prince knew that Commander Jansen was on a very precarious ledge. Being a Descenter in the heart of Masadonia was dangerous in the best of times. In a position of power, Jansen could pull a lot of strings and make a lot of things happen. But he had a hand in a number of plots, and if just one person was found out or turned against him… his own demise would be the least of the consequences. It could be catastrophic to the schemes they had put in motion years ago and set back the resurrection of Atlantia for literal decades.

The arrived before a heavy wooden door flanked by two of the Duke’s personal guard. Jansen greeted them by name and Casteel gave each a nod. Then they pulled the door out, opening up the room to the pair. This was the beginning of the end.

So it hadn’t gone completely to plan. The prince knew he needed to get close to the Maiden, so he could steal her away right from under the thumb of the Ascended. That had meant an opening needed to come available for one of her personal guards – it wouldn’t do to just work in the castle. Jericho had been tasked with taking out her guard during her almost-daily evening walks.

And he had done it.

But then he’d tried to go ahead and take the Maiden, and that had gotten him into trouble. He hadn’t known she would be armed and dangerous, and when you cross a wolven with pointy things it’s bound to get a little messy.

And Jericho wasn’t known for being calm, cool and collected on a good day.

The Maiden had gotten in a few good strikes, but she had received quite the blow as well. He’d seen the angry swelling around her mouth and jaw at Rylan’s funeral. He only imagined the bruising extended far under the veil, over her cheek and temple.

That was unacceptable.

He hadn’t enjoyed cutting off Jericho’s hand. But he would not allow Penellaphe to be hurt. And to teach a lesson you had to be firm. Unyielding. Deadly, if warranted, and definitely a bit unhinged. Just to keep everyone vigilant.

“Commander Jansen,” Dorian Teerman greeted them. “And you must be Flynn.”

“Your Grace.” Casteel bowed to the Duke, something it almost physically hurt him to do. But he was playing a part, and he could spend more time later creating enticing scenarios in which he destroyed Teerman in any number of ways. “I have summoned the Maiden. She and her guard should be here shortly.”

The Duke hadn’t bothered to introduce his wife, Duchess Jacinda Teerman. Casteel wondered if he even acknowledged her existence much of the time. He didn’t know much about Duke Teerman, but he seemed self-absorbed, self-righteous, and cruel, which was not much different than any of the Ascended he had encountered. Their unyielding refusal to “petition the Gods” so the Tulis family could keep their third son, when their first two had already died so young, was only further proof of their evil. Of course, those first two hadn’t been lost to a “blood disease”, but to the Ascended’s bloodlust – they had been fed upon until there was nothing left. And yet the Duke and Duchess would only insist on taking the third as well. Had it been one of them who had bled those poor children dry? It made his stomach twist to stand with Jansen, making small talk with the pale blonde Duchess as they waited for the meeting to start.

It wasn’t long before the door swung open again. And there she was.

This was how he had expected to meet the Maiden. Veiled, so he could only see her lips and chin. Hair pulled back so it was not visible beneath the veil, either. That was a shame. Her hair had unlocked something in him that night at the Red Pearl. It had been so unexpected. And then there was the ridiculous, frilly, white lace and pleats of a dress that covered everything from her neck to her wrists to her ankles. Surely a garment such as that was an affront to the Gods, sleeping though they were. This was the Maiden, pure and docile and silent. It was a stark contrast to the woman who had snuck into his room not so long ago. In a brothel, no less.

“Please. Close the door Vikter,” the Duke nodded as he sat behind the black painted desk. Casteel looked toward the older guard with the sandy blond hair as he pulled the doors closed. He knew more about Vikter than he should for his supposed station, but what was most important was his closeness with the Maiden. Penellaphe. He would need to be thorough in his dedication to win over the seasoned soldier.

“Thank you.” Teerman nodded. “Please, sit, Penellaphe.”

He watched the Maiden as she lowered herself to the bench. Gods he hated that dress. It was such a pity to hide the curves that he knew were underneath. It was an effort to keep himself from smirking. If only those in this chamber knew what she had been up to.

“I hope you’re feeling well, Penellaphe,” the Duchess spoke, a sickeningly sweet voice that felt practiced and false. The veiled Maiden nodded. “I’m relieved to hear that. I was worried that attending the city council so soon after your attack would be too much.” Casteel had watched the Maiden through the entirety of the meeting, trying to decipher anything from the full lips and curve of jaw that he and the rest of the world were allowed to see. Had he seen her skin flush while the Tulis family begged for their son’s life? What had she been thinking as her keepers were tearing yet another family apart?

“What happened in the garden is why we’re all here.” The Duke’s voice was cold. “With the death of… what was his name? The guard?” It made the prince angrier than it should, that this beast could not even be bothered to know the name of the man who had given his life to protect their precious Maiden.

“Rylan Kiel, your Grace,” Vikter answered.

“Ah yes, Ryan. With Ryan’s death you are down one guard… Again. Two guards lost in one year. I hope this isn’t becoming a habit.” What that a joke? Was he trying to imply that this girl could have stopped it? Casteel had to contain a sneer. The guards would continue to fall, if it meant getting his brother back and burning Solis to the ground. Nobody would stop him – not the Maiden, not the Teermans, not Vikter, not the Blood Queen herself. “Anyway, with the upcoming Rite, and as you draw closer to your Ascension, Vikter cannot be expected to be the only one keeping a close watch on you. We need to replace Ryan, which - as I’m sure you realize now - explains why Commander Jansen and guard Flynn are here. Guard Flynn will take Ryan’s place effective immediately.”

“I’m sure this is surprising, as he is new to our city and quite young for a member of the Royal Guard. There are several Rise guards in line to be promoted, and bringing on Hawke is no slight to them. But the Commander has assured us that Hawke is better suited to this task.”

And so the diatribe began about why he was just so good at what he did that he was the next natural choice. Fresh eyes to see new threats. An impeccable record on the Rise and experience beyond it, which would naturally come in handy if the Queen summoned the Maiden earlier than anticipated for her Ascension. It could happen. Teerman Castle had been compromised more than once in the last week. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Queen Ileana determined that they were no longer capable of keeping the Maiden safe here in Masadonia.

If only they knew.

If only they knew that his sense of hearing and smell made him aware of an enemy’s presence long before the enemy knew he was there. If only they knew how much he had to dumb himself down to appear to be a mortal man, counting seconds so he wouldn’t move too fast or relaxing his muscles so he wouldn’t seem too strong. If only they knew that their Commander was a Descenter himself and was planting Prince Casteel himself – the Dark One – into the role of Royal Guard Hawke Flynn. If only they knew that today they were delivering the Maiden into the hands of the most dangerous creature in their nightmares.

“The Descenters and the Dark One are not the only things to fear out there, as you know,” the Duchess had been speaking. Gods they were making it terribly difficult not to laugh. They were so ignorant. The pale blonde Ascended turned to Casteel now. “As a member of the Maiden’s personal royal guard, it is likely that a situation may occur where you will see her unveiled. It can be distracting seeing someone’s face for the first time, especially a Chosen, and that could interfere with your ability to protect her. That is why the Gods allow this breach.”

“Commander Jansen, if you will please step outside,” the Duke gestured toward the door and Jansen took his leave. Casteel stood alone, now, looking toward the veiled young woman now standing before him. Oh, had he been looking forward to this.

“You are about to bear witness to what only a select few have seen: an unveiled Maiden. Penellaphe, please reveal yourself.”

She was too still, and Casteel could tell that her breathing was shallow. What could she be thinking? He was sure that part of her was anxious that she’d be found out.

“Penellaphe. We do not have all day,” the Duke cut out and his wife tried to soothe him.

“Give her a moment, Dorian. You know why she hesitates. We have time.”

Why did she hesitate? Of course, she was concerned about being recognized, but he couldn’t imagine the Duchess would know that. And why did the Duke have that glib smile plastered on his face? Casteel returned his gaze to Penellaphe as her lady’s maid assisted with the chains on the headdress before it fell from her head.

Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were dark as her gaze remained pinned on the Duke. He could only see the right side of her face as she glared at Teerman and from the corner of his eye he could see the Duke’s expression fall into icy stone. Then she took a breath and turned to face Casteel, lifting her chin slightly.

Gods. She was stunning.

Those lips, her jaw, those eyes as green as Atlantian spring. He was ready for those things, had seen them that night at the Red Pearl. He’d known even then that she was beautiful, and now with her stony gaze it was only confirmed. And then there were the scars. Two scars tracked down from her temple, one over her cheek and toward her nose and one down through her eyebrow. Where had those come from? Who or what had done that to her? He gazed at her, taking in every detail of her face before meeting her eyes. Those eyes. They were dark and stormy, betraying the lack of emotion on her face. It was as if she were steeling herself, although he didn’t know what against.

“She’s truly unique, isn’t she?” She flinched as the Duke spoke again. “Half of her face is a masterpiece, the other half a nightmare.”

That bastard. Her arms tremored slightly, and Casteel realized what she had been hardening herself to feel. He knew that this moment, where he could make Penellaphe feel small, was why the Duke had that slimy smile upon his face. Appearance was a fickle thing, and beauty and perfection were highly touted by the Ascended. The Maiden, chosen but scarred, was being raised and educated under the thumb of a man who likely took every opportunity he could to tell her what a shame it was that her face could never be pleasing to any of them. She was a pawn, a possession to them. But he saw her here, just as he had seen her in the Red Pearl. She was a person, with feelings and desires and insecurities. She was Penellaphe.

He made an oath to himself that he would only treat her as such.

“Both halves are as beautiful as the whole,” he stepped forward then, wishing he could see the Duke’s face when he said it. Her sharp intake of breath made him want to smile for her. She hadn’t been expecting that, and that was the nightmare – that she was not aware how truly lovely she was.

He gave a shallow bow and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. “With my sword and with my life, I vow to keep you safe, Penellaphe. From this moment until the last moment I am yours.” Bowing to Duke Teerman had been torturous, but bowing before her was almost natural. So was swearing his fealty to her. The ease with which he did so kindled something inside of him. He had come here to play a part and set into motion the resurgence of Atlantia, and that was exactly what he was doing. But those emerald eyes, lush red lips, and two pink scars were already threatening to unravel him.

And he wasn’t so sure that he was going to fight it.

[cobaltusami]

Tropical Vacation pt 8

Well, this isn't the fic I was planning to release next, but oh well-- I was feeling It.

Hey hi hello dolls! It's been a long ass time since I've updated this series, and unfortunately there aren't many tickles in this part, but there Is a ton of fluff! either the next part or the part after will be chock full of tickles! (Or both)

I hope It's alright!

Characters In this part: All of DR1 girls excluding Junko and Mukuro, All of the DR2 girls. Lee!Chihiro

Word count: 3429

All previous parts, as well as my other fics, can be found here!: Masterlist

Hina kicked at the sand absentmindedly as she gazed longingly out at the water. “Man, I really missed seeing the ocean but…” She crossed her arms and made a face. “What good Is it If I can’t swim in it!? I’m like a fish, If I don’t swim In water I’ll die!!”

Sakura smiled amusedly at her best friend. She can be so dramatic sometimes… “Hina, they said It was safe to swim In…”

“Yeah but Monokuma didn’t give me any of my swimsuits…” She mumbled dejectedly, kicking a rock into the water.

Yeah, they didn’t exactly get the chance to pack their stuff or even ask Monokuma for specific things from their rooms. Aside from the morning announcements he hasn’t even shown up-- not that anyone besides Byakuya was complaining.

“Ugh!! That’s It!” Hina ripped off her red jacket and tossed it to Sakura. “Hold my jacket, I’m going In!”

The Martial artist fumbled the piece of clothing, caught off guard by the swimmers sudden outburst. She quickly grabbed the brunette’s arm to stop her. “W-Wait! Instead of doing that… Why don’t we just go find the store and see If it carries swimsuits?” She suggested.

As usual Sakura was the voice of reason amongst the chaotic gays.

Hina paused, thinking it over. “Okay… That sounds good In theory, But what if they don’t carry them?”

“Then I’m sure they’ll carry donuts… we’ll get some to cheer you up then ask Usami if she knows where the swimsuits are.”

Aoi giggled as she took her jacket back from the tall girl and tied it around her waist. “I like the way you think!” She grinned. “Let’s go!”

“Alright, Let’s just ask Nekomaru where the store Is.”

They both looked to Neko, who had stuck around to keep an eye on Mondo.

“No need! I can show you where it is if you want.” Mahiru volunteered, suddenly behind the two.

Hina squeaked as they both quickly turned to face the Photographer.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you both.” The red head apologized with a sympathetic smile.

“Geez Mahiru!” Hina giggled, placing her hand over her still racing heart. “You got me good!”

“Are you sure? We don’t want to trouble you.”

Mahiru nodded with a smile. “I’m sure. Actually, I was coming to find you two. Apparently Usami has something to tell us girls...”

The two tensed. It’s not a motive, Is it?

“What do you think It is?” Hina asked as she started walking with Sakura and Mahiru.

“I’m honestly not sure. Normally she gathers all of us, not just the girls.” Mahiru responded.

As they crossed over the bridge to the second island, the girls of both classes came into view. Even Toko, surprisingly.

“Hey Toko!” Hina waved her hand at the writer. “Glad to see you out of your room!” she smiled as she turned to face her.

“W-Where Ha-Have you two b-b-been?!”

“We were checking out the beach.” Aoi answered. “Sorry, did we worry you?”

“D-Don’t b-be ridiculous! Why w-w-would I worry a-about you m-m-meatheads?!” she blushed.

Hina smiled and wrapped her arms around the awkward girl’s shoulders in a hug. “Aww, You WERE worried about us!”

“S-Shut up!” Toko blushed even more, batting the brunette away.

Soon enough, Usami appeared out of nowhere. Much like they were used to Monokuma doing. “Love love! Hello everyone!” She greeted the group cheerfully. “I hope you are all getting along okay!”

“We’re doing fine, Usami.” Chiaki smiled, patting Chihiro on the shoulder. She had brought them along and wanted to include them In on whatever Usami had planned.

“I’m glad to hear that.” Usami replied. “As some of you may know, I no longer have my magic stick…”

“Magic stick?” Sakura repeated quietly, confused.

“It’s a long story.” Mahiru whispered back.

“But It appears that Monokuma must have one of his own. Because there’s some new buildings on this island!” Usami explained, surprised. “One of such buildings, Is a women’s clothing boutique. Which is why I asked you all here.”

Sonia’s face brightened. “Really?? Wow! That Is wonderful!”

“I thought I should tell you all first before I told the boys.” Usami giggled. “I thought It might be a nice chance to bond with the other class’s girls.”

“And enby.” Chiaki and Mahiru both said at the same time. Chihiro smiled at the two girls In response.

“Right! I’m sorry, I’ll remember that for next time!” Usami apologized. “Anyway! There’s also a spa on the Island! So enjoy yourselves!”

She disappeared from sight, leaving the group to talk amongst themselves.

“This has to be a trick of some kind.” Kyoko said thoughtfully. “A motive, Maybe?”

“Yeah, I am not trusting It either.” Peko agreed.

“It’s gotta be a motive, It’s been too peaceful!” Hina chimed in.

“What If Monokuma put ‘Saw’ movie level traps in the clothing?” Ibuki theorized. “And the moment we put on the clothes-- SQUISH! BLEH! Off with our heads!”

Mahiru cringed at the gory sounds Ibuki tried to make, sighing softly. “I doubt he would have time to do that. But It’s definitely suspicious…”

“And why only things for girls?” Akane thought aloud. “It seems like a trap.”

“I think we should check It out regardless.” Celeste smiled. “I think a spa trip sounds lovely, perhaps even worth the risk.”

“I GOT IT!” Hina yelled in realization, all attention now on her. “WHAT IF MONOKUMA PUT SHARKS IN THE SPA?!”

“This again…? H-Hina I doubt there Is enough water for sharks in the spa.” Sakura sighed. She loved this girl, but sometimes she could be a bit… out there.

“She might actually be onto something.” Kyoko surprisingly agreed with her wild theory after a moment of thinking.

“H-H-How wo-would that e-even be possible?” Toko stammered in disbelief.

“Maybe not specifically sharks, but that would be the least suspecting place to put something dangerous.” The detective calmly theorized. “It may be too dangerous to check out without more muscle power.”

“Why do we need more muscle power? Sakura, Peko an’ I can handle it!” Akane grinned.

“No offense to you three, but there is strength in numbers.” Kyoko responded, to which Sakura and Peko nodded in agreement. “But there are less places to hide dangerous traps In a boutique, So I think we should be okay to check that out.”

“And then we get the boys to go with us to the spa?” Peko asked for clarification.

“Yes. I think that would be wise.”

So with the group in agreement (except for Toko, who immediately went back to her room), the girls and enby headed to the boutique to investigate.

After some time looking around for clues or traps, they were shocked to find it was literally just a normal clothing store… or so It seemed.

“That’s strange.” Kyoko said, surprised as she inspected a piece of clothing.

“What? Did you find something?” Chiaki asked, yawning as she approached the detective.

“It’s… just clothes.”

“You mean, These are actually safe?” Sayaka asked curiously, poking her head around the corner to look at the two girls.

“It appears so… I’d still check before you try anything on but--”

She was already back around the corner with Ibuki. “Oh my gosh, Ibuki! With some leggings this would look so cute on you!”

Sonia giggled. “I agree!”

Ibuki looked at the frilly mini dress held up against her body in pure disgust. “Eugh! Ibuki doesn’t do this style anymore, It makes Ibuki feel restricted.”

“Okay, maybe not this dress then…” Sayaka put it back and looked around for another one. “We should match for our concert though.”

While the three looked through the costume dresses, Chihiro was on the other side of the store looking at all the cute casual dresses. They felt a little self conscious looking at them.

“Hi, Chihiro.” Mahiru greeted, approaching the small programmer with her girlfriend in tow. “Are you alright?”

Chihiro jumped in surprise, immediately letting go of the dress they were looking at. “O-Oh! Hi Mahiru… Hiyoko.” They greeted the two girls shyly.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you!” Mahiru apologized with a small smile. “I was just coming over to look for a new sun dress.”

Chihiro nodded, absentmindedly going back to looking at the dress they found as Mahiru began shuffling the articles of clothing on the rack.

The red head stole a few glances over at Chihiro, noticing their hesitancy. “Are you okay?”

Hiyoko tilted her head curiously as she too looked up from the dresses.

“Y-Yeah, I’m fine! S-Sorry… am I distracting you?”

The two ultimates exchanged glances before looking back at the small enby. “Of course not… I’m just concerned about you.”

“O-Oh… there’s no reason to be concerned, I’m okay… really.” Chihiro put on the best smile they could, but Mahiru, who constantly photographed smiling people, immediately knew it was forced.

Hiyoko’s eyes scanned the clothing rack in front of Chihiro until she noticed a disturbed article of clothing, she walked over and plucked it from the rack. “This Is a cute dress.” She commented, drawing both Mahiru and Chihiro’s attention.

Hiyoko looked at the Programmer and smiled. “You should try It on.”

Mahiru had to do a double take, had someone replaced her fiery imp of a girlfriend with someone sweet???

Chihiro blushed brightly. “Um… I-I could never pull that off…”

“Sure you could.” Mahiru smiled, following Hiyoko’s lead.

“I-I don’t know…”

“Chihiro!” Sonia bounced over brightly. “You would look adorable in that!”

“Maybe If we found a sweater to go with it you’d feel better.” Chiaki smiled.

“Ooh! And some accessories!” Sayaka joined in.

Chihiro had a bad feeling about this…

“R-Really girls, I-Its okay! I was heading over to look at skirts anyways!” They tried backing away, but the girls weren’t letting them off the hook that easily.

Meanwhile, Hina found the swimsuits much to her excitement. They were pretty cute too! Some of them were plain, others had skirts to them, pretty patterns, bikinis, one pieces… you name it, they had it.

Hina picked up a red tropical flower patterned bikini with a skirt. “Check this out Sakura, It’s so cute! And It’s my size!” she squealed happily.

The martial artist stopped what she was doing and looked over at her best friend with an amused smile. “It looks nice.”

After another moment of searching she produced a similar bikini and showed It to Sakura again.

“That kind of looks like the last one.”

“Mhm! Except It’s white with red and pink flowers! What do you think?”

“It’s… pretty?”

“Good, Because It’s your size.” Hina grinned impishly.

Sakura paused. “Hina… I don’t do bikinis.”

“Why not?”

Sakura immediately got flashbacks. She recalled when she had first started gaining muscle and went to the beach with her friends, she had gotten stared at and made fun of. She was made so uncomfortable that she just went home.

“...Reasons.”

Hina pouted. She knew that was code for something serious. “Fine, I don’t want you to be uncomfortable… I’ll keep looking.”

“Thank you for respecting my--”

They were interrupted by Chihiro shrieking, they looked at each other in alarm and bolted in the direction of the sound. Upon rounding the corner they found Chihiro wrapped up in Sayaka’s arms while Chiaki and Mahiru tickled them.

Sakura sighed in relief upon seeing it was just something harmless.

Hina grinned. “You good Chihiro?” She couldn’t help but tease them.

“Hehehehelp mehehe!” They squealed as Chiaki squeezed their sides.

“Why are you all ganging up on Chihiro?” Sakura asked, feeling some pity for the smol programming bean.

“Why not?” Hina retorted. “Chihiro’s too cute not to tickle!”

“Hinahaha you’re not hehehelping!” They blushed even more.

“Oh sorry~ I’ll help you now.” Hina smiled innocently, approaching the trapped enby. The swimmer fluttered her fingers against their belly, drawing even more squeals of laughter. “There, do you feel helped now?” she giggled.

“Hahahahahaha! That’s nohohohot whahahat I meheheheant!” They whined.

“Chihiro started crying because they did not feel they could pull off this dress.” Sonia explained gently, holding the dress up. “So the others are trying to cheer them up.”

Sakura frowned. She understood where Chihiro was coming from, but literally Chihiro would look so fucking cute in that dress. It was a white ruffle sundress with a light yellow ribbon sash.

It was bewildering that Chihiro didn’t think they could pull it off…

Sakura scanned around until her eyes fell on a light yellow sweater with short sleeves, she picked it up and walked back over to the giggling programmer.

The girls stopped tickling and looked at the piece of clothing in the tall girl's hands. Chihiro slid to the floor in a heap of lingering giggles and soft gasps.

The white haired girl sat down next to them. “Chihiro, I understand how you feel. You feel like everyone Is going to be staring at you and judging you.”

They nodded meekly, staring at the floor.

“And maybe people have done that to you before…” She paused as Chihiro nodded again. “But you’re among your friends here, and we aren’t judging you In the slightest.”

“Yeah, Sakura’s right.” Chiaki agreed, sitting down too. The other girls followed suit. “We would never judge you.”

“We all have things we are self conscious about, Chihiro.” Sonia smiled kindly at the enby. “I am self conscious about my skin.”

“R-Really…? But you’re so pretty…” Chihiro looked at her.

“Thank you, but so are you.” Sonia pinched Chihiro’s cheek gently. “I burn in the sunlight, The kids I went to school with used to call me ‘Princess lobster’. So I try to avoid exposing myself to the sun.”

Chihiro blushed at the compliment and looked back down.

“I’m super self conscious about my weight.” Hina spoke up next. “I’m always weighing myself. I used to get teased for how many sweets I eat, my friends told me I was going to end up alone because no one would be able to look at me.”

“Hina, You’re gorgeous. You don’t have to worry about your weight!” Chihiro frowned.

“I used to get made fun of because I had braces when I was younger.” Sayaka shared. “They said I’d never be a singer because the metal in my braces would mess with the recording equipment.”

“Do I even need to say what I’m self conscious about?” Hiyoko sulked, folding her arms across her chest. “I’m short.”

Mahiru put her hand on Hiyoko’s shoulder. “You’ll hit a growth spurt someday.” She teased. “People called me a boy growing up.”

“I-I-I’ve al-always been s-s-s-super c-c-clumsy. People h-h-have always ma-made fun o-of me for It.” Mikan said softly.

“Of course they have, You’re a walking pile of pig barf!” Hiyoko snapped.

“Aah! I’m sorry!” Mikan cried.

Mahiru shoved her hand over Hiyoko’s mouth and pulled her into her lap to keep her contained. She sighed. Welp, so much for her being kind…

“People I went to school with used to accuse me of stuffing my bra, and constantly harassed me because of my home life.” Akane said quietly.

“I was feared, I was told I had monster eyes. Most kids avoided me.” Peko chimed In.

Kyoko looked down at her gloved hands then back up at Chihiro. “I think my insecurity should be obvious…”

“I got made fun of for loving video games. And I’ve got some pudge.” Chiaki poked her stomach.

After a moment of silence the girls looked at Sakura, who gave a hesitant sigh. “Do I need to say It?”

“Yes.” All except for Chihiro said in unison.

Sakura sighed again. “I get called ogre. People call me a freak or abomination. When I started bulking up, people told me that I looked better before and I lost a lot of friends because they were embarrassed to be seen with me.”

“Remind me to smack Hiro and Hifumi when I see them next.” Hina said quietly.

“Hiro doesn’t mean any harm by It.” she waved her off.

Hearing their friends being open about their insecurities made them feel a little better about opening up.

“Um…” Chihiro kept staring at the floor. “Kids I went to school with knew me when I Identified as a boy… and the first day I went to school in a dress, I got beat up and made fun of. Since then, I’ve been afraid to wear dresses… N-Not that skirts are much different… I’m just kind of traumatized by them.”

“Chihiro, You are adorable and beautiful.” Hina smiled warmly.

“Trust me, If anyone comes near you to beat you up or make fun of you… they’ll have a lot of people to get through first.” Chiaki added.

“You are one of a kind, don’t let people like that ruin something for you.” Sakura said gently.

Hina side eyed her, receiving a quiet; ‘shut up’ In response.

Chihiro sniffled, wiping their eyes. “Th-Thanks guys…”

“If you don’t want to try on the dress, We respect your comfort zone. You don’t have to if you don’t want to.” Mahiru put a hand on their shoulder reassuringly.

They looked at the dress In Sonia’s lap, then back up at the girls. “No… I… I want to try It on.”

“Are you sure?” Sonia asked.

They nodded, more sure this time. “You’re right. I need to learn not to take things to heart so much. Everyone has something they don’t like about themselves, even the people who picked on you.”

“That’s exactly right.” Kyoko nodded with a faint smile.

Chihiro took the dress from Sonia and stood up, they were about to head to the dressing room but they were stopped by Sakura, who handed them the matching sweater she found for the dress.

The enby gave her a smile before taking the article of clothing and retreating to the closed room with a new pep in their step.

A few minutes passed by, and something had occurred to Mahiru. “Wait a minute, Ibuki? You never said what you were made fun of for.”

Ibuki looked up at the red head, previously she had been drawing shapes on the floor with her finger waiting for Chihiro to come out. “Oh, Ibuki didn’t?”

“No, You didn’t.” Chiaki confirmed, eyeing the musician.

“Welllll…” Ibuki looked away sheepishly.

“Were you not bullied?” Sonia asked.

“N-No. Ibuki was bullied.” She sighed. “Ibuki was made fun of for the way she talks In the third person. Also the way she dressed.”

“I think It’s… endearing.” Sayaka smiled.

“Ibuki didn’t mention It because Ibuki didn’t want to be reassured or complimented.” She smiled shyly, tapping her index fingers together. “Ibuki doesn’t know how to take compliments…”

“I understand that.” Sakura responded.

Hina, again, side eyed her best friend. “I will hype you up and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

“Nothing huh?” She didn’t even bother looking at Hina, she blindly squeezed at the swimmer’s side, making her squeak and giggle as she twitched away.

“Come to think of it…” Kyoko hummed, glancing over at Celeste. “You didn’t say anything either.”

“That Is because there Is nothing I was made fun of for.” Celeste smiled, closing her eyes as she did.

Hmm… doubtful.

Chiaki looked at the wall clock. “Chihiro’s been In there a while… I think someone should go check on them.”

Before anyone else could volunteer, surprisingly, Hiyoko was on her feet. “I’ll do it.” with that she disappeared into the back room as well.

Mahiru blinked in surprise. “Should I go with her?”

No one got the chance to answer before Hiyoko came back out, Chihiro In tow.

The Traditional dancer stepped aside so the girls could see Chihiro, they were absolutely radiating happiness. “S-Sorry, I kind of froze up… How do I look?”

“Ohmigosh, Chi you look so cute!!” Hina squealed.

“That dress looks like It was made for you, You look so pretty!” Sonia beamed, stars practically in her eyes.

The Programmer giggled and twirled around in the dress happily.

The other girls quickly got over their surprise and flooded Chihiro with compliments. (even Kyoko and Celeste complimented them, shockingly.)

The rest of the boutique visit hit different for the group, they felt a lot lighter and closer than before.

Sayaka and Ibuki had decided to just coordinate colors, that way they could both wear something they wanted to wear.

Hina and Sakura found a few swimsuits they liked.

Chihiro got a bunch of different dresses and had a mini fashion show with Hiyoko, Mahiru, and Chiaki.

Right then.

Time to go find the boys and check out the spa...

[lizacstuff]

Edser / SCK asks Ep 30 and 31 Fragman

Asks below the cut. 

Anonymous said: Thoughts on the second trailer for epi 31

My thoughts on the fragman are complicated. Here’s the thing, this show is my happy place and I want my-- and everyone else who reads what I have to say-- experience to be positive. 

So I’m going to say this once and then not dwell. (This means don’t send me a bunch of negative, venting asks, I won’t answer them) I don’t like the direction they’ve taken. I was fine with amnesia, I was great with him falling in love with her from scratch, and I was a-okay with it happening very slowly, even with lots of obstacles and pain. However, involving Selin, and some rando dude who is apparently secretly in love with Eda for years, at such a heightened level... is making it very difficult to enjoy. What they’ve had to do to numerous characters to make the Selin thing make sense is ridiculous. It’s maddening to watch her manipulate and brainwash a man with a traumatic brain injury and NO ONE recognizes it as such. It’s hard to watch such a brilliant man not be able to see through her even a little. It’s hard to enjoy anything with that going on in the background.  

So with that being said, watching the last two episodes felt a little like getting kicked in the face with a Selin shaped foot. Frankly, this fragman made me feel like we’re going to get kicked in the face a third time. While the spoilers say something is coming for her, there is really no hint in the fragmans that she’s going to get comeuppance in this episode, or even start to. (Poor Bige, good thing she’s not a Hollywood actress because I’m not sure I would ever be willing to watch her in anything again, my reaction to her as Selin is now that visceral). 

HOWEVER, the only reason I watch this show is for Serkan and Eda and to watch Hande and Kerem bring their magic together. That’s it, that’s my happy place. So while the last two episodes were hard to watch-- with the undercurrent of Selin’s crazy behavior not being recognized as such-- both episodes offered up some really great scenes of them together (though it needs to be more, much more) and that’s what I’m going to focus on. So on the BRIGHT side I do think we’re going to get some amazing and even romantic moments between Eda and Serkan in 31. 

It seems certain that the scenes on the boat when they’re alone will give us some really nice moments. The fragman makes it look very fraught and emotional, but hopefully the scenes are long and they get a chance to really talk and connect and there are lighter moments.  We know from the live, that they shot at Eda’s house, and it looks from the fragman there is a scene with them outside. That should be reminiscent of many scenes of old when he would pick her up or drop her off, and I’m hopeful they will do that justice. Then of course jealous Serkan sniffing around Deniz’s cafe will hopefully lighten things up around this joint. 

So... I’m gonna be excited for any and all scenes with Eda and Serkan that don’t also have the human praying mantis along for the ride, and for the rest... I guess I better place an order at the liquor store and stock up on human brain bleach (what do we think? Everclear?) until we can get rid of the barnacle on the ass of this show. 

Anonymous said: Do you want eda to end up with the flower ring or do you think she should get a new one? I’ve been thinking about this ever since the last engagement and now that she’s taken it off again, I’m like hmm, should they just start anew? I would of course want her engagement ring to have meaning but I wonder if they might be able to come up with something else.

We are on the EXACT same wavelength. Simpatico, my friend.  I thought the same thing when Eda asked him to marry her. Like.... hmmm... maybe this ring has the wrong kind of history to start your life together with? And look CURSED!  

So now I really think it might be best to go with a new one. Surely they can come up with something that has meaning and is not just some giant solitaire diamond, but also symbolizes a new and fresh start.  Maybe that’s what the necklace is about, retiring that ring, but still keeping it as a keepsake of how they met and fell in love?

Anonymous said: Having Serkan turn Eda’s engagement ring into a necklace that he gives her on the yacht is an interesting way for the show to go. On the one hand it means he is thinking about her and feels bad/starting to fall for her but on the other hand kind of rude too. I do not see her accepting it to be honest. She gave it back because he got engaged to Selin and they are still engaged. Seems like this next episode will be full of interesting surprises like that.

Yeah, I’m not sure what she will do. I could see it going either way to be honest.  Either she wants to hold onto it because of all it’s meant to them, or she tells him she doesn’t want that reminder of him. 

I do hope you’re right that the episode will have some more surprises... let me amend that... I hope you’re right and the episode will have some more GOOD surprises. I need Serkan to realize that the pull he feels towards Eda, regardless if he’s still hella confused and isn’t ready for anything, is reason enough to rethink his engagement to Selin. Or hell I’ll even take Serkan starting to be suspicious, or starting to see through her act. Throw us a bone, show!  This 1 step forward, 2 steps back thing they’ve started is not a recipe for success. 

Anonymous said: Am I the only one hoping that Eda says no thanks to that necklace from Serkan? I guess we are supposed to think it is sweet but it came off more like “yeah I am not giving it back to you as an engagement ring but don’t want you to lose the memories.” I need her saying “that ring meant a lot to me because the man I loved gave it to me but you are marrying someone else/do not remember me and that ring means nothing now”. Not here for the show having Eda getting excited over the scraps given to her while Serkan continues with his engagement.

If they actually had her say those words to him I would cheer.  If Eda can step around her pride and be that nakedly honest with him, it would be a very good thing indeed. 

Switching gears to last episode:

Anonymous said: i totally agree with your thoughts on ceren and eda.. like i hope they don't ruin their friendship (and i dont think they will, i think this will just be a tough period in their friendship) but at the same time, i don't really care either??? ceren and eda have butted heads before over her and ferit's relationship and honestly while her friends are great support for her, they are allowed to show conflict there as well without everyone yelling about "ruining the character"

Yes, this. It’s okay for friends to have conflicts. It also doesn’t mean all “girl power” is gone if they do have conflicts.  I’m just sad that it’s happening at a time when Eda needs friends and Fifi already left. 

And like you say, I don’t care that much. I’m here for Eda and Serkan... oh and Serkan and Eda, and that’s it (oh and Sirius, he can stay). So I’m not really invested in any other relationship, friendships or dynamics. 

Anonymous said:  I laughed at how they actually had Selin put the ring on her own finger. and I don’t think it even crossed her mind that he should’ve done it, she was too desperate to get it on! As much as I hated this “engagement”, the writers are clearly showing that he’s not very interested so I’m fine with it 😂 I was also waiting to see if they were going to spend the night together in the cabin, but then Selin came in with her suitcase and they left early? Lol

BWAH, I loved that they left early! Writers have gone out of their way to show us they don’t spend the night together. THANK YOU SHOW. One small thing they’ve done right. And to your point they’ve also gone out of their way to show how uninterested Serkan is in all of it. Unlike Selin, we’ve all seen how Serkan Bolat behaves when he’s in love and getting engaged and getting ready to be married. The difference could not be more stark. Too bad that the only two characters who don’t know how he behaves when he’s in love are Serkan and the ass barnacle.

Anonymous said: Ngl I want gag a little with Serkan giving Selin more breadcrumbs (key word lol) than before. But 1 of many things I enjoy is that Serkan has yet to try to buy Eda's shares. He expressed interest in doing so when Selin then Efe had those shares. He did suggest her moving into her grandma's old office but gave up quickly. So Serkan's cool with a stranger, who's possibly inexperienced and supposedly manipulative, being a partner in his company and taking up residence in his office? Hmmm

I loved that we got such a quick change from Robot Bolat’s you-won’t-own-these-shares-for-long attitude to you-can’t-go-on-vacation-you’re-needed-here attitude!  One of the best subtle moments from the last episode. I want more of them interacting professionally and him seeing her in action. I also want her to tell him how much she learned from him. I think that might be something he’d be interested to know. 

Speaking of, you know what I want? With his hand tremor, I hope we get a scene where he’s trying to draw something and it’s not coming out like he wants and he’s getting frustrated and she goes over there and puts her hand over his (like he’s done for her so many times) and helps him get the drawing done. 

Anonymous said: Eda was really ready to move on and forget serkan just in 2 days? He came back and lost his memory it wasn't his fault anyway but I understand that the situation with selin must be difficult for her. I just want Eda to keep fighting for him despite what he may say or do (his decisions and actions are influenced by selin so...) I don't want her to lose hope just when he is just starting to open up to her. In my opinion eda should give serkan some time.

Well... I think putting on that frilly yellow dress and forcing him into a corner with her “engagement” has nothing to do with moving on or forgetting him. That was all for him. That’s her way of fighting for him. She knows what it takes to get him to act. He needs to be in a corner and about to lose her. .  

But also I take your point. I hope that Eda’s natural pride and very understandable hurt doesn’t get in the way as Serkan starts to open up to her and gravitate to her and make moves in her direction. 

As for her talk of moving on last episode, it was premature, but Eda has said similar things many times before, her pride talking, but she never means it. She always fights for him. 

Anonymous said: There's a moment in the episode Serkan tells Engin that he love seline and that really pissed me off, because we've never heard Serkan say that before. He only lost one year of his memory and we already knew that he never loved selin so I wonder why he would say that now?

I’ve actually already answer an ask about this, but since then, I saw on twitter that some Turkish speakers confirmed that Serkan used the past tense. “I remember the woman I used to love, and that woman is Selin.”

But also, what I said right after the episode still holds. Serkan Bolat didn’t even know what love was until he met Eda Yildiz. He didn’t really believe in it, no matter what justifications he’s using now. When Serkan and Selin were together, Serkan probably though that boring milquetoast arrangement was what people meant when they talked about love. It wasn’t until he met Eda that he realized he’d never been in love.  

I predict he’s going to have the same realization one more time in the not so distant future.

Anonymous said: I am so glad you aren’t liking Deniz either! I thought I was the only one. I can’t really pin point what it is about him but there is something off. He is definitely an opportunist and is pushing Eda too hard to forget Serkan. Which totally pisses me off. Move over dude, Serkan is and always will be the love of her life. Their friends truly suck. Melo is the only smart one and good friend who is telling Eda to fight for their love. I’ll give Ferit some credit too as he is throwing some digs in at Selin as well. Everyone else is cancelled in my eyes. Do you think that maybe Selin knows Deniz and could be working with him against Serkan? I am not entirely sure but I feel like there is something more there based on the looks they shared when they met as if they knew each other before.

Oh interesting! I don’t know how that could have been arranged from the start, so I don’t think they know each other from before, but at this point I’m not putting anything past either to start working together to keep Edser apart. 

And yes, Melo is really the only non-Edser character I don’t want to slap upside the head. Ferit is better that most, but could still try harder. Oh Seyfi. He hasn’t given me reason to want to slap him upside the head either. 

As for Deniz, I’m already done with him. 

Anonymous said: Near the beginning of the series, I do remember seeing some people shipping Ferit and Melo when she started working for Selin. 😂They haven't really interacted much since but I'm also down

Let’s do this thing. What is their ship name?  Felo? Merit? Cuties?

[smol-and-grumpy]

Sky Full Of Stars - CH07

Sequel to Something Just Like This

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

Summary: He’s Dean Winchester, ex mobster boss, still a little cocky, less ruthless and not at all short tempered anymore. Instead, he thinks he’s hilarious (she doesn’t agree, though). They both try to live a quiet life. And Dean hopes, very hard, that his former life won’t come knocking at their door.

Warnings: Really, really fluffy but also there’s angst and a little NSFW

WC: 2957

A/N: The only joy I had today was editing this. So here you go, have two chapters in one day. Happy Friday!

SERIES MASTERLIST

It’s mid-September. The leaves are starting to change their colors, some of them already falling down. Little brown and yellow dots, a stark contrast to the green grass. Dean loves it. Loves when the season changes, loves how he can even smell the air change around him, loves how the leaves crunches underneath his boots. 

He’s in his study. It overlooks the backyard, because it’s the room below their bedroom. Y/N’s right above him, she most likely sees the same thing when she looks out of the window into their backyard. They’re lucky with the weather, too, today.

She probably does look out right now. If she does, she’ll see the people mingling, sees the flower arch, sees the little white chairs in front of it. She’ll see Bobby who’s dressed to the nines, nervously reciting his speech. The old man looks different without his cap and plaid shirt. 

What she doesn’t see, though, is some people hiding behind the big trees on the outskirts of their property. What she doesn’t see is that there are always cars outside their gate. Cars and people who always have an eye on them. 

Gabe set up his company and employed the best of people like Dean asked him to. It seems like everyone knows about it, because almost everyone’s involved, but Dean’s still been too much of a coward to tell her. He knows that he has to one day but not today. To be fair, he also never found the right time to tell her before because she was so preoccupied with organizing a wedding and Dean really didn’t see the point in interfering with her organizing. Didn’t see the point to scare her with it so she would maybe blow the whole thing off. He’ll tell her when the right time comes. He knows he has to.

“Hey,” Cas knocks and opens the door, pulling Dean back from his thoughts.

“Hey Cas,” Dean greets his long time friend. 

Cas walks in, closing the door behind him, and walks over to where Dean’s standing by the window, “How are you?”

Dean snorts, “I’m sweating,” It’s true, he’s sweating bullets and hates the feeling, “You know, I thought the birth of Ella was the only time that I’ll feel like this but no, today is right at the top.” Dean takes a breath, braces his hands on the window sill and looks down, “It’s crazy isn’t it? I wanted this. I wanted everything, I got everything and now I’m about to fucking chicken out.”

“Hey,” Cas hushes, places a hand on Dean’s shoulder, “You’ve got this. I mean, I went through it, you can either. You fucking wimp!”

Dean chuckles at that and then there’s a knock before they both look back to see Sam slipping in. 

Sam looks at both of them, an amused look on his face, “Hey, you’re still here, I thought you’d run for the hills.”

“Well, he’s about to,” Cas grins, “Got here on time to keep him from doing it.”

“I might have something for ya,” Sam wriggles with his eyebrows and produces a flask from his suit jacket. 

“Yes, please,” Dean sighs, takes it and unscrews the flask to take a long swig from it. He squints at the burn and shakes his head as he lets the liquor warm his throat. 

 *

 Dean’s standing in front of the flower arch, Cas and Sam were standing there with him. He looks into the faces of the guest, sees them all smiling back at him, some nodding. There aren’t many, two handfuls at best. 

Y/N told him that she wouldn’t want something big and he agreed. He didn’t want to marry her and make a lavish party out of it. He would have married her in Vegas with the attendance of Elvis, if that’s what she would have wanted. He didn’t actually really care as long as it was him and her. Didn’t care as long as she still wants to. 

He never thought that he’d be so nervous though, never thought that he’d be the one who almost chickens out of something he wanted in the first place. 

Linda’s sitting in the first row, balancing Ella on her lap. And she still frowns at Dean, that woman probably will never get used to him. 

They were doing everything themselves today and every guest takes part in the wedding as they have brought food or baked a cake, Sam offered to be the DJ and Dean’s still not really okay with that. 

It’s crazy how Dean has money to rent out the best location with the best of catering but all Y/N wants is something small in their backyard. Looking at it, Dean’s very happy with her choice. All the people that truly matter to him are here and that’s really the most important thing. 

“You okay, son?” Bobby asks as they are standing next to each other. 

Bobby has gotten ordained so he can perform the little ceremony. He offered it and at first Ash wanted to do it but honestly, if Dean has to choose between Ash or Bobby, the choice is clear. Who knows where Ash would have taken this.

“Okay, here we go,” Ash announces and all the eyes shoot to the back.

Everything and everyone went silent, even the babies who were crying. Or maybe they still did but Dean’s heart is pounding so hard, all he hears is his own heartbeat. He feels hot all of a sudden, and there’s the cold sweat again beading on his forehead. 

He sees her, one hand hooks into Gabe’s arm, the other one holding a small bouquet of flowers. There’s a flower crown on her head. She’s wearing a dress in cream, frilly and lacy. She went out dress shopping last week, and wanted to wait until the last moment because she was sure she would lose some weight and Dean doesn’t even know if she lost the weight she wanted because all he knows is that she looks goddamn beautiful.

And Dean doesn’t want to be that guy, he really didn’t. He doesn’t want to cry as soon as he sees the bride but yet, here he is, grinning like an idiot and swallowing down the tears that built up as soon as he saw her. 

Y/N looks like a waking dream. Something he has anticipated for so long without even knowing it because the good dreams normally got chased away to make room for his nightmares.

Sam squeezes Dean’s shoulder and leans to whisper, “She looks beautiful.”

Dean agrees.

She really does. The prettiest little thing he did ever see. 

He watches her walk down the non-existent aisle, because two rows can’t be counted as an aisle in his opinion, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is how she looks at him when she sees him, how there’s a small smile tugging at the corner of her mouth, and she bites down on her bottom lip. She’s nervous, he can see that. Well, he knows exactly how she feels. 

Gabe lets go of her and she stands next to Dean now, looking up.

“You look lovely,” He mumbles, had trouble finding the right words.

“Well, you look hot,” She grins, and Dean almost has to laugh out loud. 

“I’m not allowed to kiss you yet, am I?” Dean whispers again, is already halfway to do it but then he stops himself. 

Before she could answer him, Bobby takes the lead. 

They didn’t exchange vows, neither did they exchange rings. They both have one and that’s more than enough. They’ve talked about the vows thoroughly, and they both agree that they didn’t need anyone to know their feelings or promises for each other. It’s something between the both of them.

“You may now kiss the bride, son.” Bobby announces with a big smile on his face. 

“Jesus,” Dean rolls his eyes with a sigh, “Fucking finally,” 

Everyone laughs, including Y/N and he weaves his arm around her waist, pulls her closer. She locks her arms around his neck, and Dean looks down, sees her smiling back at him. “Hi Mrs. Winchester,”

“Hello Mr. Winchester,” She winks and laughs, “Now please kiss me, I’m dying here.”

“Always so bossy,” Dean chuckles, and he finally bends down, kisses her. The tense in his body’s gone.

The people around them were cheering but Dean tunes that out, doesn’t hear it. All he hears is his heart that still thumbs ridiculously fast. Dean breaks the kiss after a while, even though he didn’t want to but he guesses that they need to carry on with the day. He pecks her lips once more, though, for good measure and whispers to her, “You’ve had whiskey,”

She grins mischievously, “You too.” 

Dean snorts, “Not gonna lie, almost chickened out.”

“Me too,” She says and nuzzles her face into the crook of his neck as they both laugh. 

“Why didn’t you tell me, we could have eloped, have taken Ella and drove.” 

“I didn’t spend so much time planning it to be running away from it.” She looks up at him. 

He shrugs, “Fair point,” Before he takes her hand, and together they walk to their terrace where all of the people were already waiting, having made room for them and left them some privacy after the ceremony. 

 *

 Y/N draws a bath while Dean’s feeding Ella. The little girl’s on formula now and it actually makes things so much easier. Dean can now get up and take care of Ella and let Y/N sleep. They’re more relaxed since the change, and Y/N’s more content either. She’s had trouble with nursing for the first two months where she didn’t produce enough milk and there was a lot of crying. When they introduced Ella to weaning, they also introduced her to formula. It was the best decision, really and Dean thought that they should have made the choice sooner. They could have spared Y/N from a lot of heartache.

Dean felt helpless during that time, and Y/N felt like a failure, they were both miserable for a long time until she came to him and gestures with her hand before she started to babble, “Screw all the perfect moms, I’m not perfect and that’s okay. My body can’t give her what she needs but that doesn’t mean that I’m not a good mom.” 

And he couldn’t agree more with that. Had to talk her into it either because she told him that he should back her up on her decision and honestly, Dean agrees with whatever she wants because she knows her own body better than he does when it comes to breastfeeding. He can’t imagine going through all the hardships of it in the first place. The whole process was draining from the start with raw bloody nipples and leaking and painful breasts. Apparently breastfeeding is not for everyone, and if someone can’t do it, doesn’t really mean that they are a failure or a bad mom because of it. 

After the feeding, Y/N takes Ella from Dean and he kisses his girl good night. Dean takes off his clothes, and gets into the tub, leans his head back and closes his eyes.

He’s almost drifting off when Y/N pokes her head in, “Hey,”

She’s smiling at him, still wearing one of his plaid shirts, even if she doesn’t have to nurse Ella anymore. Dean doesn’t complain, he loves the look on her. 

“Is there room for me?” She unbuttons her shirt and takes it off, lets it pool around her ankle before she hooks her fingers through the waistband of her panties, slides them down too. 

“There’s always room for you,” Dean says in a low voice and she comes over stands naked next to the tub and the sight makes his heart beat just a little faster. 

He’s hard too, can not get hard when he sees her, a thing he both loves and hates at the same time. 

She gets in, sits on his lap and rests her head on his shoulder. Dean hugs her in the water, trails his fingertips along her body and she wiggles in his laps, feels his hard cock too. 

Her face is a little flush and the way she grinds down on him, Dean knows that she’s aroused. Apparently, he does the same thing to her like she does to him, she told him once. 

Dean kisses along her shoulder, noses behind her ear. 

“Are we supposed to consummate our marriage now?” She asks.

He chuckles before kissing the sensitive place at the back of her ear. “We don’t have to do anything, and honestly, I’m beat, even if my body doesn’t show it.”

“Oh, thank god,” She sighs, “I’m exhausted either.”

They both have to laugh, and she turns her head back, kissing him. It’s all gentle and soft before it starts to grow heavier. 

“Baby, you shouldn’t start anything you can’t finish.” Dean warns her, because even if he’s beat, the way she kisses him pushes at all his right buttons. 

“‘M sorry,” She says and turns back, but she can’t stop grinding down on him. 

“Baby,” 

“I know,” She lets out a frustrated sigh, “Like, I’m really tired but what if you just put it in, I just want to feel you inside.”

Dean’s eyebrow climbs up his forehead, “You sure?” 

She turns her head back to him, her bottom lip between her teeth and there’s a smile. “Please?”

“You know that I can never say no to you, right? I think you’re misusing your power over me.”

Snorting out a laugh, she kisses the tip of his nose before she lifts her ass up a little to position his dick at her entrance. Slowly she sits down and Dean has to hold in his breath at how fucking good it felt.

But she was true to her words, because she doesn’t move, leans her head back to rest against his shoulder. Dean should mind though, he hates to be teased like this. It’s perfect as it is, though, and strangely, he doesn’t even want more.

He trails his knuckles along her arms, “How are you feeling?”

“Good, just really tired.” 

“Me too. Who would have thought that getting married would be so exhausting, huh?”

“Yeah,” She agrees and Dean places a kiss on her temple. 

Dean leaves his lips on her temple, mumbles into the kiss, “Okay, I think I’m ready to say my vows, you wanna hear it?” 

Y/N looks back and up to him, smiling at him warmly, “Of course,”

“Okay,” Dean clears his throat, and he feels his heart picking up speed again, “You looked so beautiful to me today, but you should know that you always look beautiful to me, and you will always look beautiful. Even when you just wake up and according to you, you look like a truck ran you over. But that’s not true. That’s not what I see when I see you. You’ll look beautiful no matter what, and not only today. Tomorrow too, and the next day, and the day after the next,”

“You’re making me blush,” She says, and turns in his lap enough to be able to bury her face into the crook of his neck.

“Good,” Dean chuckles, before he goes on, “You know that I’ll always be here, right? Always going to be here along the way. I’ll stay beside you, and I’m always here if you need someone to talk, if you need someone to cuddle, even if you need someone to let your frustrations out on. And I vow to stay. Not only because I don’t have anywhere else to go but also because this is it for me. You are it. You’re my home. This is what I always wanted and I didn’t even realize it. If someone would ask to close my eyes and picture happiness, all I see is you and there’s Ella, Truffles too, if he behaves, and Bubbles can go get lost.”

“Hey!” She swats one hand against his chest, splashing water into his face. 

“That cat hates me.”

“No it doesn’t.” She’s laughing now and it’s good, Dean thinks. The laughter doesn’t make him tear up as much as he wants to. 

“Can I tell you something?” She says then and Dean nods, not without kissing the top of her head. 

“Anything,”

“I know that I’m not always easy, I might not always be what you want me to be,”

Dean opens his mouth to protest because she’s basically everything he wants her to be but she hushes him with a glare.

“Okay, I might not always be the best of what I want myself to be. I have doubts, I have insecurities,” Dean nods at that, because she always set such high standards for herself, it sometimes drives him nuts. 

“And I might not always agree with you all the time because I’m stubborn,” 

Dean snorts out a “Yeah,” And she rolls her eyes at that. 

“Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that I might not be perfect, but I vow that I’ll always love you. I love you not only for what you are but also for what you make me, and that is the best possible I can be, and as much as you’re keeping me, Dean? I’m keeping you. You won’t get rid of me that easily Mr. Winchester,” She chuckles and looks up, kissing his scruff.

“Not that I want to, Mrs. Winchester,” Dean mumbles, and leans down to nose at her cheek, kisses her and she kisses him back, smiles against his lips. 

CH08

[mahou-furbies]

Magical Girl Raising Project Limited - character design ranking

Captain Grace

An alright pirate design with enough little details that keep it from being forgettable (I especially like the anchor buckle on her belt, and the earrings and hooks on her hair). The spikes on the coat are what stands out most to me; makes me think of a Mario enemy or something. However I’m not sure how much of a Magical Girl design it is. Like pirates and frills already go together, so the well tested formula (put a miniskirt and frills on it and it’s a magical girl look!) doesn’t really do much. Maybe it’d be better if she had some cutesy detail in there somewhere? Also is that an tail again or what, or some kind of blunt hook? What is it with these unnecessary tails in Magipro designs. 6/10. 

Funny Trick

I’ve always liked Funny Trick’s look, and it’s probably because of the pleasant colour palette, unique eyes and two-tone hair (I’m easy to please with two-tone hair). The nail polish and colourful glitter on her fur are also good little details. But apart from that I guess this is only barely strange enough to be any kind of “magical” look rather than just an anime stage magician, but at least that’s pretty close to magical girls already. Also is that a frigging tail again?? At least it goes well with the hair I guess... 8/10.

Kuru-Kuru Hime

It’s a cute design, but when I think of a ribbon magical girl I somehow expected more ribbons? Like this feels like an the higher end of an average magical girl amount of ribbons? Or maybe it’s totally over the top and my perspective is just skewed since I love ribbons and want them everywhere. Either way I like her outfit from neck down, but I’m not that into the headgear, the combo of the bonnet thingy and the weird crown just sitting on top if it looks strange to me. Nice hair tho even if it could use more ribbons. 6/10.

Weddin

I absolutely love Weddin’s design. The muted and light colour palette is very appealing to me, and the dark chains break up the mostly monochrome design so it doesn’t look dull and faded and also give the otherwise super frilly appearance quite a lot of edge. There’s repeating elements (braids in her hair and veil, the same kind of flowers everywhere, flower yellow also appearing in her eye makeup) so it doesn’t get too complicated, and all of them go well with the wedding theme too. The flame... is a bit of an odd touch and I’d rather associate it with a birthday party or Christmas than a Wedding but I guess you can have candles at weddings too, and I don’t find it too distracting.

I’m not a huge fan of the lingerie like look though, but at least visible garters go with the wedding theme and she’s so covered in veils and frills that it doesn’t look so bad. Also the back train looks kind of lazy. But overall still one of my favourite Magipro designs. 10/10.

Rain Pow

A tail again! However this time I actually like it, since she has that rainbow hoop behind her it looks good to stick something through it, and at least it somewhat resembles her twintails. 

As for the rest of the design, it has zero frills and ribbons and looks more like some kind of scifi spacesuit than a typical magical girl design, but somehow I still really like it. I think the weird heart hair is just enough to pull it into magical girl territory for me so my impressions are more on the “an unique take on an mg look” rather than “not mg enough” side. Then all the rings keep the look consistent (I absolutely love the rainbow halo) and the suit itself looks alright enough. I also find it interesting how muted the suit colours are for a rainbow magical girl and even the rainbow is pretty pastel, but I figure this is a better choice than all the expected seven colours in all their eye-strainy glory. 9/10.

Postarie

Please put on some pants, that is a shirt and not a dress.

Not too interested in this one, but I find it a commendable effort on making a design on the idea of “postal delivery girl”. Still lots of repeating elements so that’s a plus, especially the back epaulette is such an absurd idea but somehow it works and its wings and the wing hairstyle add the required fantasy touch. Bonus points for the cute birds. 7/10.

Tepsekemei

An inoffensive genie design but I struggle to really have emotions towards it. Butt flower is silly and I have no idea what the things hanging from it are, but at least they’re consistent with her head decoration. Don’t care for the shoulder spikes in an otherwise soft looking design. Huge earrings and multicoloured nails are a nice touch. 6/10.

7753

Also one of my favourite Magipro looks. It feels like the design philosophy here was “gakuran jacket and some frills, and then some hearts. And more hearts! More! Even more!” and I think it’s a great way to go with when designing a magical girl. Using just hearts everywhere makes the outfit cohesive, but since they’re all implemented in different ways it doesn’t get boring. I especially like the little hearts on her hands and under the eye, and the one in her pocket.

Two-tone hair in twintails is also one of the best design elements out there and the hairstyle is quite memorable (and also manages to incorporate the heart motif) and I’m always a fan of caps too. The green eyes and the little bit of green nail polish which you unfortunately can’t see here go well with the otherwise reddish look. Maybe the hair looks a bit too clunky (I only just realised it appears to be tied in a hoop behind her) but I won’t let it bother me. 10/10.

Mana

A solid witch design, I especially love the dimensional cape and hat. I also like the huge collar with the lace detail, but I’m not sure if it works with the hat brim. Not a big fan of the hair, I think it clutters the design. The snake leg accessory feels weird and a bit out of place but I do appreciate the asymmetry and also having something dark to break up the otherwise plain bottom part of the design.. 7/10.

Gekokujou Hana

I tend not to be a huge fan of kimono-based clothes, but this one is an exception I guess. The great colours must play a part in it, and the bottom part is fun. Then the dangly decorations add the correct amount of strangeness so it’s not just a bunny girl in a mini kimono Also, another tail, but this time it’s almost a requirement and I love how ridiculously huge it is (and also repeats elsewhere in her outfit). But really I can’t think of anything to dislike about this, must be the colours and the tail. 10/10.

Archfiend Pam

I believe this is the record on how little clothing you can wear in this franchise... At least she has the personality to pull that off. But that is not a top! At least it’s something new...? The wings fit the description in the story, but I don’t think these blank rectangles look very aesthetically pleasing. I like the tail best, the fur edge makes it a lot more interesting than just the usual demon tail. I don’t know, if the theme is a sexy demon girl this design definitely accomplishes it in a unique way, but also I don’t care for this fanservicey designs. Also not a fan of the hair. 4/10.

Pythie Frederica

Before drawing her for the chibi series I thought she had some kind of a helmet but upon closer inspection of course it’s a veil. But what are the horns? 

Upon closer inspection this one is also very fanservicey, in that her “dress” is actually see-through and the only thing covering the critical areas look like thin belt-thingies. At least she doesn’t look like she’s ten... But a major issue I have is the bottom part of her outfit, like how is it supposed to work? Is it one big piece of cloth, or multiple thin ones? What is the “fire” behind her? Is the dark part her hair, or the clothing, and is it supposed to be black or just shading? I do like the stars; otherwise the design gives a more mature “sexy” air, but the little stars everywhere adds a cute element. The colour palette is pleasing, but as much as I like multicoloured hair it doesn’t grant points this time, because the wiggly stray strands look very out of place here and the colour change makes them even more noticeable. 2/10.

Tot Pop

This one really isn’t my aesthetic, I very much prefer the cutesy style and there isn’t really anything ‘magical girl’ about this design. And it doesn’t really evoke the supposed image of ‘pop star’ to me either, like if you remove the guitar I’d think her theme was a prisoner or halloween. Though I don’t really know what a ‘pop star’ should look like anyway, like can’t they wear anything they want, I know Lady Gaga had a meat dress or something. But as of this design, I don’t think there’s anything specifically wrong with it, the colours are pleasing, the details are consistent and it’s not bland or boring either, but it just doesn’t do much for me because of the theme. I like the blood-stained hair and the spiky hair accessory, the long hanging part makes for a nice silhouette. Meanwhile the skulls on her shoulders feel somewhat tacked on, and in general I don’t care for piercings in anywhere else than ears. 5/10.

Pukin

And it’s a tail again. What is it with the stupid tacked on tails on every other design in this franchise? Sometimes it’s not so badly out of place, like if you have an youthful cutesy design, a fluffy animal tail can still add to the cute effect even if it’s otherwise out of place. But Pukin is supposed to be this dangerous and majestic authority figure and a cutesy tail very much doesn’t fit that image. And while we’re on the topic of animal features, the story describes that she has a feather decoration in her hair, but the way it’s drawn as a tiny feather jutting directly up in the middle of her head gives me more the impression of a character whose theme is a baby bird rather than a fantasy prince.

Now that we’ve dealt with the tail let’s get the biggest issue out of the way: I’m aware that there was a time in history when people used to wear these kind of giant ruffled collars but I really don’t care if there’s some kind of history based reasoning. It looks like your head is on a plate and it’s something I can’t ignore. I don’t feel even clowns can pull that off. There is no way getting around this.

When I first read Limited I thought Pukin’s appearance was an absolute mess and an instant 1/10, but upon closer inspection there is stuff I like about it too. She has a good colour palette, great shoes and gloves, and as a friend of multicoloured hair I welcome the yellow hair tips. The big heavy cape balances the small top and pants, and I really like the fur. Earrings go well with the pants too. The theme is a bit confused, or at least I don’t know of any fairy tales about pumpkin prince, but it’s not like I would complain about pineapple or cauliflower princess so that’s not really a problem. 3/10.

Sonia Bean

And we end Limited with yet another excellent design. I like how this manages to look kind of tattered and messy without actually being gross and dirty with the patchwork dress, dustball-like thingies, newspaper clippings and asymmetry. Even her hair looks disheveled. The headgear gives the design an old-fashioned vibe which suits her well since she’s so old. The light palette, soft design elements and ribbons give the look a cute feel, but at the same time she feels suspiciously pale, and the manic expression screams danger, like you can’t reason with this girl. She’s like a ghost of a Victorian era child who wants to play with you but you know you definitely should not follow her.

The design only works if I don’t think too much about it though, like dust is gross and newspaper paper is crinkly and not soft at all, but since we’re magical girls here I can ignore that and enjoy the image the clothing evokes. 10/10.

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

Limited average: 6,9.

[rangikuxmatsumoto]

– halloween shenanigans

“Oh come on, you guys are no fun,” Rangiku bemoaned, a slight pout forming on her lips as arms crossed defiantly across her chest. Yes, she was pouting and yes, it actually was working. A soft sigh escaped Izuru as he threw a knowing glance towards Shuuhei. Matsumoto’s pouting was easily going to work to sway his decision; Izuru could already see it having the desired effect as Shuuhei scrambled to appease the blonde.

“Ah, I mean if you really want to, I don’t see why we can’t…” Shuuhei stammered.

“Isn’t it a little….cliché?” Izuru questioned his tone level as his gaze shifted between the other two. Rangiku had already accepted Shuuhei’s reluctant acceptance to her proposal, which meant that most likely no matter how much Izuru protested he’d be forced to tag along.

“What’s cliché?” Renji chimed as he found three of his companions in huddled discussions in the corner of the fukutaichous’ meeting room.

“Nothing,” Rangiku shot, throwing a slightly glare toward Kira before turning her attention towards the red head, “I want to go out on Halloween but someone wants to be a party pooper.” Knowing that she could shift the tide heavily in her favor, her arm coiled around Shuuhei’s before looping the other around Renji’s, drawing the two males in close with a slight tug. “What do you say Renji? Want to come with Shuuhei and me to the World of the Living for a little Halloween mischief?”

“Uh….” Taken aback by Rangiku practically strong arming him into the planning, Renji felt he had little choice in the matter. “I mean, I guess…”

“So you’re coming,” Rangiku firmly decided for Renji, on his behalf.

“I’m not being a party pooper Matsumoto-san,” Izuru lightly protested but now with the decision three against one, he knew better than to press the issue. “…Fine, I’ll come too.”

A chorus of excited squeals erupted from the blonde female as she gave the two boys still wrapped up in her hold a little squeeze before releasing them to wrap an arm around Izuru’s form in a quick hug. “You guys won’t regret it; we’re going to have so much fun!” Rangiku announced as she bounced between the three of them, “Saturday, let’s say 8 PM, sound good?” Like they had any choice in the matter at this point, they nodded reluctantly, sealing their fate. With the plan in place, Rangiku tossed them a glance over her shoulder and offered a small wave, “8 PM, don’t be late.”

“What did we just agree to?” Renji questioned, still trying to figure out the whirlwind planning session he had accidently involved himself in.

“Uh, I guess we’re going out on Halloween,” Shuuhei responded, casually fantasizing over just how scandalous Rangiku’s Halloween costume might be.

“You just agreed to pay for Matsumoto’s drinks all night you know that don’t you,” Izuru chimed in, arms crossed as he realized Renji and Shuuhei were going to be absolutely useless.

As the week wound closer to Saturday and to Halloween night, Shuuhei, Renji and Izuru came to realize the predicament that they had found themselves in – Rangiku was highly invested in this, casually dropping hints very opportunity she got about the night they were going to have. It was Thursday night, the three of them out for drinks, when their conversation shifted to the looming weekend festivities.

“Wait, are you guys dressing up?” Renji questioned, the notion of Halloween costumes still a difficult concept for him to wrap his head around.

“I mean, Rangiku said she was…” Shuuhei chimed in as he refilled his glass, throwing a glance from Renji to Izuru, “You were planning on dressing up right Izuru?”

“…I’m still not happy about going…” Izuru sullenly replied as he downed a drink.

“Come on, you don’t want Rangiku to call you a party pooper again do you?” Shuuhei was trying his best to get the other two more on board with this adventure, figuring it might win him some brownie points with Rangiku.

“Okay so then what are you dressing up as?” Renji questioned his companions, pointing a drunken finger in their direction.

“Something cool,” Shuuhei chimed, trying to sound cool but only coming off cheesy in the process.

“Something easy,” Izuru groaned as he slumped forward, head to the table in a drunken state.

‘These two aren’t any help,’ Renji thought to himself, knowing that he’d have to go to Matsumoto for help.

The next morning Renji made his way to the Tenth; with the impending evening out only a day away he knew he’d find Rangiku in a good mood. Unfortunately, she wasn’t in her office but her taichou was. Renji was ready to turn tail and run knowing that Hitsugaya probably wouldn’t be pleased to hear about their plans but he wasn’t quick enough to get out of the sight of the young captain.

“Matsumoto isn’t here,” the ever present bite to his tone gave Renji the idea that Rangiku was supposed to be in the office, and the pile of undone paperwork was even more of a dead giveaway. The young captain pinched a note between his fingers, Rangiku’s elegant script fluttered across the paper but from where he stood he couldn’t make out what she had scribbled down as an excuse, “She had an errand to run – and since Kira and Hisagi have also stopped by over the past week, I assume the four of you are up to something.”

“Uh…” How was it that Renji was constantly finding himself put on the spot, “We’re just celebrating Halloween tomorrow…” Had he said too much? Based on the piercing glare he was receiving he might have.

“I figured,” Hitsugaya offered as a groaned escaped him, leaning back against his chair he let go of the note, “And what you’ve come to try and get out of going?”

“No,” Though the thought had crossed his mind a handful of times over the week, “Uh, I don’t have a costume yet and I was going to ask Rangiku’s opinion.”

“Do something clever,” It was the only advice Toshiro would offer, returning to the paperwork in front of him, “Or funny, she’ll appreciate that.”

Renji had been looking more for an actual costume idea, these vague notions as to what to look for in a costume weren’t helping him much. All he had gotten so far was cool, easy, clever, or funny – none of which helped and with Rangiku nowhere to be found at the moment he would be forced to figure this out on his own.

As the clock ticked closed to Saturday at eight, Rangiku put the finishing touches on her costume before sprinting off to meet the boys. For once, she was actually on time, unfortunately two of her companions for the evening were early. Her stride slowed to a stop as she took in the sight before her. Shuuhei was clad nearly head to toe in leather, leather pants, belt, vest – clearly he was going for the ‘biker’ look and Izuru, oh sweet Izuru, he really had gone with something easy, well something that made him look easy, a nurses’ costume.

“What the hell are you two wearing?” Rangiku questioned, slipping between them to get a closer look at the front of their two outfits.

“Halloween costumes,” they replied in unison, as if there was any question.

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” Shuuhei was the first up for judgement, Rangiku’s pale blue gaze narrowed as she turned her attention directly on him. Under her gaze, suddenly Shuuhei began to sweat, maybe his costume choice was completely wrong, Rangiku looked absolutely stunning in her witch’s costume, the low cut front, and the short frilly skirt – oh god he could feel the nosebleed coming on.

“Well, what even are you? A biker? You look like you belong at a gay bar with that outfit; all you’re missing is the leather ass-less chaps.” The bare chest, the short little croptop like leather jacket, god – the sailor style biker cap that he was now squeamishly clutching in his hands. She should have dictated their costume choices – allowing them free will in the matter clearly had been a terrible idea.

“—At least I’m not wearing a girl’s costume,” somehow Shuuhei had managed to squeak out a retort to Rangiku ripping apart his Halloween costume, trying as best he could to shift the judgment and ridicule to the other member of their party.

“It’s not a girl’s costume!” Izuru practically snapped, though there was a faint blush on his pale cheeks.

“It’s a girl’s costume. Your skirt is nearly shorter than mine and your heels are actually higher than mine,” Rangiku turned her wrath on the other blond, “But you had that in your closet already didn’t you?”

“…Maybe.”

A groan escaped Rangiku as she pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, whatever – it was Halloween, no one was going to judge, no one was going to care – honestly, they’d probably get more attention because of how those two were dressed. “Where’s Renji?”

“He said for us to go ahead and he’d meet us, something about his costume…” Izuru chimed, tugging lightly at the hem of the sexy nurses’ costume.

“Fine, tell him where to meet us.”

Rangiku was going to need a drink or ten in order to get through the night with these two and whatever crazy costume Renji ended up showing up in. If he showed up at all, the night was early yet but as an hour or so passed by with no sign of the red head, Shuuhei and Izuru started to wonder if he had somehow managed to pull off ditching this evening out. Though, they were actually having fun, and Rangiku was enjoying herself with all the attention being paid to her and the drinks being bought for her. So when the door to the bar opened and another patron began to shove their way in, their obnoxiously large inflatable costume bumping into people left and right – the three didn’t think anything of it, until they noticed just who and what it was.

First it was Rangiku, drink poised at her lips as she caught sight of the inflatable green crown of leaves that nearly towered over the other patrons of the bar, stalking through the packed party. Her gaze lowered, catching sight of a crimson mane that was far too unique to one person, but it was the scowl on Renji’s features that made her nearly choke on her drink from the laughter that threatened. She couldn’t even get the words out before Shuuhei was in stitches at her side, having followed her vision to level on Renji.

“A pineapple!” That was all Rangiku managed, half buckled over in laughter, and clutching Shuuhei’s arm for support as the two, semi-intoxicated individuals laughed their asses off at their friend’s unfortunate choice of attire for the costume.

“Yeah, yeah, a fuckin’ laugh riot. Urahara said it was all he could get on short notice!” He snapped, trying as he might to cross his arms against the large yellow inflatable costume that consumed his entire torso.  

“You went to Urahara for a Halloween costume?” It was Izuru who at the moment was still managing to keep his composure at his friend’s costume choice, even if he could feel a slight tug at the corner of his lips threatening to give way that fact that he too found Renji’s predicament amusing. “You know he did that to mess with you, right?”

Renji, the realization dawning on him that perhaps he had been taken for a sucker by the mysterious shopkeeper, hadn’t been thrilled already and now he wasn’t happy at all.

Having managed to regain some of their composure, even if a bubble of laughter threatened to consume Rangiku the minute her gaze shifted back towards Renji, Shuuhei and Rangiku tried their best to console the red head. “No, no, it’s perfect,” she managed, waving a hand in front of her face to dry the tears that formed from laughing so hard. “You look great, it really suits you Renji.”

“…Shut up.”

[thegodshavehorns]

A Study in Maltheism

Atheos: Greek. Meaning “Rejecting the gods, rejected by the gods, godforsaken.” From which we derive the modern “atheist.”

“This world could not have been the work of all-loving beings, but that of devils, who had brought creatures into existence in order to delight in the sight of their sufferings.”

- Freddie Mercury, probably

Your name is Rose Lalonde, and you are the most-hated student to ever blight the halls of Our Lady Who Is Without Mother or Father Academy for Girls—or Our Lady Without, for a title that’s less of a mouthful. Those less well-read in theology are sometimes confused by the school's name, since the Book of the Zodiac teaches that all the gods are motherless and fatherless. However, the Seer of Mind, patron goddess of the Academy, is considered an orphan in a more ecclesiastically profound way than the others, although you're not sure why. Regardless, you can safely say that you spend the majority of your time at this prestigious institution in the engaging study of just what it is that you have to do before the administration has no choice but to expel you.

As of yet all of your efforts have been fruitless. Your blasted mother is far too influential of a figure for anyone here at the school to want to cross her. She is an alumnus of the school herself, an orphan girl who went on to take her higher education at the Canon Order of She Who Measures, and now she is a high-ranking admin for SkaiaNet Laboratories, which everybody knows—but nobody says—carries out research for the gods.

She is, for all intents and purposes, untouchable, and she has made it clear on other occasions that she intends for you to finish out your education here no matter what you do. Even if you should manage to burn the whole campus down, you would no doubt spend the rest of your childhood in some solitary schoolfeeding cell but you would still get your education. This came much to the disappointment of the principal, who once slipped you a box of matches during a parent-teacher conference when your mother caught the action and told you both that it would do no good.

You and the principal don't exactly like each other, but common goals have a way of making allies out of the blackest enemies. Not that you’re actually black for her, of course. Even if you were so... affected by the gods, you’re sure that you wouldn’t be directing caliginous feelings in her direction. Or anyone’s, really. You think that you'd deny yourself a kismesis just to spite the gods.

That kind of attitude is exactly why you’re in detention, of course. You wrote an admittedly scathing essay, well-constructed and thoroughly-argued, that couldn’t have been more scandalous had you named it Ninety-Five Proofs that the Teachers Are Engaging in Lewd Acts with the Students, with Details of Their Exact Activities and nailed the pages to somebody’s door.

Actually, now that you think about it, that doesn’t sound half-bad for Round Two, and you get out your pen and paper to begin drafting an outline when there is a crackle over the intercom. You ignore it, more interested in your burgeoning next project—you’ll have to make some adaptations to account for the switched sexes, but you think that you’ll be able to draw on some material from your last creative piece, The Circle of the Sword, whose sleaziness was matched only by its blasphemousness. It was about an all-boys school, and one for wizards, but you can fix those details. It helps that you were inspired by some of your peers at Our Lady Without to begin with.

Your thoughts are interrupted when you hear your name through the speaker, spoken in a uncharacteristically tight and anxious tone, and look up.

"-TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE. I REPEAT, MISS LALONDE, DO NOT KEEP HIM WAITING."

...Odd. You haven't done anything new that is worth calling you to the principal's office. And who is  'him?' Still, hope springs eternal, in this case hope of being expelled, so you sigh and pack your things up to go to visit the principal. You know the way there by heart.

The principal's door at the end of the well-trodden corridor is ornate and heavy, but it swings open while you are still several feet away, revealing Principal Garland, her forehead shiny with perspiration and her eyes looking half-crazed. "Finally, you're here. Come in, Lalonde." The principal reaches out for you, and lips curl into a fearful smile as she looks over her shoulder. "She's here, my Prince."

Prince? Curious, you peer around Principal Garland to see who it could possibly be, and your bookbag drops from your hands.

You are so, so dead.

You haven’t seen a god before in person, only a recording of a speech by the Mage at one of your mother's work functions, but you still don’t need to think about it to realize who’s standing in front of you. Despite your best efforts, the school’s theology lessons and your mother’s own drunken rants and recollections have sunk deep into your mind, and his names and titles start spilling into your awareness almost by reflex. Standing there, casually leaning against Principal Garland's desk, is The Stormcrow, He Who is the Evening and the Morning, The Aquatic, The White, Thrice-Formed Eridan Ampora.

And though your lizard brain wants to vault out the window and run for the hills, you manage to stay calm. You compose your face. You quiet your mind, as you learned to do in morning meditation. If you mess this up you won’t get a second chance. There’s a reason they call this one The Wrathful.

You stand there, bookbag at your feet, and keep your voice as steady as you can. “Hello, Prince of Hope. To what do I owe this honor?”

He scoffs in your face. “Don’t give me that bullshit, Rose Lalonde. That’s not you at all.”

He's not wearing his god-hood. You know from your mother that most of them hate that kind of formal and ritual attire. Instead he is dressed in the most ridiculous and ostentatious get-up that your eyes have ever suffered to behold. You know for a fact that he doesn’t need those glasses, much less a slightly-cracked set, and his yellow-and-white scarf is almost longer than he is. Emblazoned on his frilly purple shirt is the Aspect of three sets of stylized, curling wings, the symbol of his divinity.

You feel the blood drain out of your face, because you just noticed what he’s holding. It's a stapled sheaf of paper, and it has your name, signed in your distinctive loops, across the top.

Principal Garland drags you into the room, your mind reeling and your every instinct screaming to run, not to go closer. How did he get your essay? Did...did the school send it to him? Why, why would they—

"Lisa," he says, and it takes you a moment to realize he's addressing the principal. "You can go, now."

Principal Garland gapes at him, mouth flopping open like a fish. "I, this is... Yes, sir." She bows stiffly, then straightens and leaves, but before she shuts the door behind her she spares you a single look of pity.

You are now trapped in the principal's office with one of the most feared of the gods.

“I read your paper,” he says. "I liked it. Every last word.” And then he flips through the pages and begins to read from one of them. “As was well-said by John K. Roth, ‘Everythin' hinges on the proposition that the gods possess—but fail to use well enough—the power to intervene decisively at any moment to make history’s course less wasteful. Thus, in spite and because of their sovereignty, these gods are everlastingly guilty and the degrees run from gross negligence to mass murder.”

He smiles, teeth sharp, and you want to run away. Maybe...maybe if you throw something, if you distract him, you might be able to get past him, away from him and the school both. Run away, change your name, never think too hard when the gods are present in your mind… They’re not omniscient. You could do it.

But all your plans fall apart and you can only stare in horror as he continues to read, at first pacing back and forth, then walking behind Principal Garland's desk and sitting in her chair. “The gods, those Supreme Fascists, as Paul Erdos called them, are nothin' more than despots and liars. They are powerful, but Euthyphro demonstrated that power alone does not a god make. They made the universe, but like a clockwork device it now runs on its own, and by their own admission it would continue to function without their interference. They are landlords who charge too much rent, they are authors who don’t know that they should step back and let their work speak for itself. They are not inherently good, as anyone can realize after thirty seconds of meditation on the Dark Carnivale, and they are not worth worshippin'.”

Shit. The gods don’t make a habit of killing heretics, but…sometimes there are deaths. Sometimes they make exceptions to their unspoken rule.

You swallow, and glance around the room again for anything you could use as a weapon or distraction. Certificates of scholarly excellence? The landline phone? A lamp? At least you have the desk between you and him, but—

“Breathe,” he says, but you barely register the sounds. “I said to fuckin' breathe,” he says again, and your frantic thoughts are swept aside by violet. You’ve never heard the Tinge before, but you understand it now, how deeply it cuts to your core. The purple in his words is like nothing you have ever experienced, and all of a sudden you could not deny, even if you wanted to, that what is talking to you possesses a wholly different nature than your own. You take a deep, shuddering breath. “There you go. Much better, Rose. Your mother raised you wwell.”

You are such a mess. You would have liked to have at least died with dignity, but no. You sit down in one of the upholstered chairs reserved for prospective parents and turn away, hyperventilating.

“You seem to be missin' the part where I said that I liked this.”

“You are as c-capable of sarcasm as the rest of us,” you reply.

“You’re thinkin' a' Sollux. I guess I can dally in it once in a while too, but I don’t deal in lies.

You know that. I particularly liked the part where you deconstructed Richard Dawkins, by the way. Sometimes I wish we could pick our theologians, but we try not to interfere that much.”

“Then what d-do you want with me?”

“I want to take you under my thrice-formed wings,” Eridan says, opening his arms and gesturing grandly. “You’re a very special girl, Rose. I don’t make a big deal out of it, but people like you are my soldiers. There’s more to this game than you know, but you and I, our job is the same— we tell the gods when they’re fuckin' up.”

“So… I’m not going to die?” You're special? And not only is he not going to punish you for your heresy, but he's going to reward you? It seems too good to be true.

He smiles and shakes his head, steepling his fingers. “I’ll bet you’re tired a' this school. Am I right?” You nod vigorously, and he continues. “I can teach you more than these schoolmarms ever dreamed of, if you want.”

Ah, there's the catch. “You want me to be a disciple. Like my mother.”

“Consider it a partnership, more. Even the scientists and the teachers, they look up to me.” He stands and leans forward over the desk, suddenly taller than seems natural. He looks you square in the eyes, pink meeting purple. “But I want somebody to look at me. Keep me honest, as I do for the other gods. I’ll teach you everythin' I know, just as fast as you can take it in, and in return you promise to speak your mind about it all.”

Eridan looks away, and you blink. You hadn’t realized how hypnotic his gaze had been until he was no longer fixing you with it. You close your eyes and breathe, the deep violet afterimage still dancing behind your eyelids.

When you look back up, he's at the door. “Just consider it,” he says, and then he leaves you to your thoughts.

[im-a-goner-foryou]

Babysitter! Peter / Married dad! Tony au, as per an anon's request several months overdue because I'm a piece of shit. Let me know if anyone's interested in a continuation!

It's only the first day of his new job, and already Peter's having second thoughts about the whole thing.

It's not like Harley's a problem child, or anything like that. On the contrary, the bubbly three-year-old has to be the sweetest boy Peter's had the chance of babysitting, something he's incredibly grateful for-- he shudders to think about Mrs Stark's reaction upon finding out her son broke a million-dollar house ornament while under Peter's care-- no, the issue was that the Stark residence is the most opulent estate Peter's ever seen, luxurious enough to make the glossy pictures in those modish home design magazines look frumpy in comparison. To say that Peter had been surprised to walk into the fully marbled, high ceiling, lavish parlour was an understatement; his knees actually wobbled, and he would have sunk down onto one of the many couches if they weren't clearly designer and made of pristine white leather.

Glancing down at the address on his phone screen in a panic, he entertained for the first time the idea that maybe this was all a huge mistake. "Uhm, Mrs--"

"It's just Pepper, I don't really do the whole 'Mrs Stark' thing. What is it?" Pepper interrupted, sounding more than a little tired; still, she certainly made a picture perfect image against the backdrop of the pristine mansion standing tall in a gorgeous sapphire blue dress, the boy resting on her cocked hip gazing at Peter curiously with his huge brown eyes while tugging on strands of his mother's blond hair.

"Miss Pepper," Peter immediately rushed to correct himself, feeling the tips of his ears burn at the mild eye roll this garners him. "I was just-- Uh." Wondering if this is just one big screw up, because there's no way a family this affluent will pick a mere high schooler off a babysitting website rather than a professional caretaker. "Hoping to go over the whole arrangement again, just to be sure?" he finished lamely.

"Oh. It's fairly simple, I thought I was clear enough on the phone earlier." Frowning down at her wristwatch as though thinking about the other more productive errands she'd rather be doing than talk to some daft teenager, Pepper sighed, "you'll look after Harley five days a week, provide the basic babysitting service, drop him off and pick him up from daycare; I'll text you all of the info you need about his feeding schedule and nap times later. Tony comes home every day around eight-- of course, if he'll just take more time off work we wouldn't have to deal with hiring a caretaker in the first place," the last sentence venomous under her breath.

Peter had blinked nervously, unsure how or if he's supposed to respond but before he could decide, an armful of toddler is thrusted upon him. Gathering up her purse, Pepper then instructed primly, "well, I'm going to be busy tonight, so if you have any questions just message Tony."

And just like that she turnt and left with a flick of her ponytail, heels clicking sharply against the across the sparkling linoleum-- and before Peter could point out that he didn't have her husband's number.

Mind still reeling from this turn of events, it was only Harley's vigorous squirming in his arms that snapped him out of his daze. Looking down a little helplessly at the wiggling boy he mused, "so, Harles. You like cupcakes?"

............

...Which turnt out to be another one of Peter's bad ideas, as evident by the sticky situation- literally- he's now in, vanilla icing smeared all over the beautiful marble countertops along with flour and powdered sugar and god knows what else; Peter nearly tripping over his own feet in his haste to tidy the kitchen up to its once spotless state-- which was not an easy feat (who knew a single three year old could cause this extent of damage in those very few seconds Peter had taken his eyes off him to go preheat the oven?)

He was just bending over the island table to scrub at a particularly stubborn stain when he hears the distinct clearing of a throat right behind him, and the high pitched shriek that slips past his lips is something he'll vehemently deny later on.

"Woah there," a voice speaks up, unmistakably male from the deep intonation of his words. "Did I scare you? I'm sorry," the man adds, and for some absurd reason Peter feels liquid heat pool in his belly at just that silky low baritone alone, tinged slightly with amusement--

It's only then does the teen finally register the compromising position he's currently in, standing on his tiptoes and leaning over the counter so his ass is arched high in the air... right in front of his employer.

This first day is not turning out in his favour.

Feeling himself blush to the tips of his ears, Peter scrambles to stand upright once more, whirling around while holding his breath in anticipation of the annoyed expression he'll surely be greeted with-- but what he didn't expect to see is a devilishly handsome man, dressed in a three-button suit that fits so perfectly snug around those broad shoulders and firm chest it should be illegal; and for the second time in just a few hours Peter actually feels himself go weak at the knees once more, because holy shit this fine specimen of a man was not in his job description when he very well should be; if he had known how fucking hot Harley's dad is he would have brought his inhaler, or something.

"Hey, you okay?" the man- Tony, a dazed part of Peter's mind helpfully supplies- asks, chocolate dark eyes examining him in a way that leaves him in serious danger of swooning. "You look a little pale... Peter, isn't it?" The boy only nods dumbly in affirmation, but Tony smiles warmly. "I'm Harley's father. Nice to meet you."

Brain finally catching up, Peter blurts, "I know," before realising just how bad that sounds and backpedalling quickly. "Wait-- no, I just meant I already knew-- that you're Harley's dad, I mean... Uh, Mrs Stark told me earlier... I-I'm Peter by the way, shit you already knew that," he babbles, cheeks flushing hotter with every squeaky word that leaves his mouth until he's sure that he's a cherry red by the time Tony raises a hand to stop him.

"Okay, okay! Slow down there, kiddo," he chuckles, and fuck even his laugh sounds so incredibly sexy it's unfair, Peter's just a teenaged boy with daddy issues; he doesn't stand a chance. "Give your old man here some time to catch up, will ya?"

"Sorry," Peter instinctively says, or squeaks, more like; tucking his chin into his chest his shoulders fold forward in mortification, painfully aware of how ridiculous he must seem to the older man. Get it together, Parker. You're being pathetic.

His mental beration abruptly cuts off, however, as Tony begins to shrug off his suit jacket, dress shirt underneath stretching thin over his biceps as he drapes it over the back of a chair and holy shit, holy shit the urge to just reach out and trace over those defined muscles with his fingers is so overwhelming Peter has to grab at the edge of the countertop. "You don't mind, do you? I've had a long day at work is all," Tony says apologetically.

Nope. He does not mind at all, not one bit. "It-- it's okay, Mr Stark."

That earns him another warm smile, hardened lines across the man's face deepening along with the crinkling at the edges of his eyes. "Oh, you're sweet." --Peter actually feels his legs threaten to buckle underneath him at that-- then Tony's eyes drag almost lazily over his body, and his lips curve into a roguish grin as he adds, "...and that cute little apron you've got on there certainly helps your image."

Fuck. Oh, god, until then he'd forgotten the apron he had found and hastily thrown on earlier-- and not just any apron, but a frilly soft pink one complete with a lacy hem-- not unlike the ones housewives donned back in the nineties or something. Peter actually buries his face in his hands with a groan then, so overcome with humiliation. "I'm sorry, I just found it in one of the drawers..."

"It's alright, Pep never uses it anyways," Tony says dismissively, his next words pitching lower into one of a drawl that makes Peter shiver. "...Plus it looks much better on you, sweetheart."

Peter peeks out shyly from behind his fingers then, only to gasp; for the look on Tony's face that greets him can only be described as hungry, dark with unmistakable lust and something else he can't quite decipher but leaves him breathless for more-- the combination of both that gaze pinned heavy on him and the use of that pet name is enough to draw something akin to a keening whine from the back of his throat that he quickly tries to smoother into a cough. "Really?" he mumbles, hiding his pleased flush as best as he can.

Tony grins knowingly. "Oh, for sure. I've never seen anyone look prettier in an apron than you, sweetheart," he purrs, closing up whatever remaining distance between them in two confident strides; Peter gasps, automatically backing up until his back hits the edge of the island table, the older man effectively pinning him there. Staring up into darkening eyes through fluttering lashes, Peter draws his bottom lip in between his teeth- nervous habit- and hopes that Tony won't catch the wild thudding of his hear against his ribcage at their close proximity; the man's expensive cologne fills his senses, makes his head spin with pure want and has him subconsciously licking at his lips.

Tony's next words come out more gravelly and deeper than before. "You've got a little bit of icing on your face," he grunts, and before Peter has the chance to respond he's reaching forward to swipe at his flushed skin with a calloused thumb. Breath hitching at the tender touch, Peter sways on his feet as the huge palm cradles his cheek for a split second-- then just like that it's over and Tony's stepping back, the loss of him enough to make the younger teen whimper pitifully.

"All clean now," Tony mutters, sounding decidedly more strained than a few moments ago; Peter's no better with his raggedly falling breaths, and the tent rapidly forming at the front of his skinny jeans-- maybe wearing the apron's not such a bad decision, after all.

"Thanks, Mr Stark," he squeaks, and he swears the older man's eyes darkened at that; gaze darting away from the intensity of that stare, Peter focuses instead on the clock hanging on the kitchen wall. Pepper should be home soon--

Shit. A fresh wave of guilt crashes over Peter for the first time that night at the thought of Pepper-- Tony's wife. How could he be so stupid? Mr Stark's a married man, for Christ's sake-- not to mention a father as well, to a child Peter's supposed to be looking after. He's here to babysit, not be swept off his feet by a rich older man, as appealing as the second option sounds.

And yet-- the way Mr Stark had looked at him earlier, gaze almost predatory as he crowded him in...

Shaking his head as though that would get rid of his thoughts, Peter hurriedly unties the apron and stammers, "I, uh, I should go--"

"Wait. You don't have my number, do you?" Tony frowns, grabbing his forearm lightly to stop him from reaching for his backpack. When Peter shakes his head no, the man reaches into the breast pocket of his discarded suit to pull out a business card. "Here. Just in case... you know," he shrugs. "You have questions about Harley, or whatever."

"Yeah, about-- Harley," Peter echoes, taking the card; their fingers brush against each other as he does so, and he can't help but shiver at the contact; he thinks he catches a small grin out of the corner of his eye. "It was nice meeting you, Mr Stark."

And there's another one of those smiles; Peter feels his stomach flutter again. Stupid. "Pleasure's all mine. I'll see you soon, Parker," Tony says smoothly, shooting him a quick wink as he releases his hold. Peter practically flies out of the front door on trembling legs-- taking care not to crash into any glass ornaments on the way, of course.

This new turn of events definitely add another compliation to his job, that's for sure; and yet Peter walks home that day with his heart hammering in his chest, cheeks still tinged pink... and with a giddy smile on his lips.

[wolfie-dragon-rider]

Bursts of Light, Day 19: In Formal Wear

Another one with the kids! This one takes place when Thora is 12, and Clay is 10. Hiccup and Astrid are in their early thirties.

Also, thank you very much for the reviews and comments! They help a lot in getting me to write this!

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

"But Mooooooooom! I don't like this dress! It's so itchy and frilly!" Thora shouted, and Hiccup involuntarily smiled. His little girl was so much like her mother.

Still, she would have to wear the dress for a few hours. It was expected for such an occasion. Hiccup had often wished he could see his family, and although he knew that he never would, that didn't mean he didn't want as many other people as possible to see how amazing they were. Even people dozens or hundreds of years from now.

"Come on, Thora. It's just for today. Don't you want to look pretty?" he asked, kneeling to get little Nadder, Quickclaw, screeched and flapped his wings, flying right past Hiccup's face to land on Thora's shoulder where he often perched. Honestly the dragon was getting too big and heavy for it, but Thora insisted she could still carry him.

"What's wrong with my normal clothes? They're comfy! Who cares about looking pretty if I can't breathe in this?!" she said loudly, and Astrid sighed, her knees hitting the floor with a soft thud.

"Oh, it's not that bad. It's a very roomy dress. Look, I get how you feel. I don't like long dresses or frilly stuff either. But when people hundreds of years from now look at our portrait, do you really want them to see you covered in mud and in torn clothes? You still look strong in this outfit. Even more so, I'd say. Look, the bare sleeves show off your muscled arms!" Astrid laughed.

"I don't look strong despite this fancy outfit. And I have to have big puffy pants to hide my cast. At least when people look at you they see someone who can stand on their own," Claybones muttered from his nearby chair. Hiccup frowned as he turned towards his son. The boy had just turned 10, and was getting moodier and moodier. At least he wasn't complaining too much about today's activities.

"Yeah, but you're not the future chief. People won't care about how you look," Thora shot back, and Astrid sighed. Clay's dragon, a Woolly Howl hatchling called Thinker, growled from his spot on the young boy's lap. Quickclaw screeched back, leading to Hiccup quickly jumping in between.

"That's enough, both of you. None of us are perfect, and the goal isn't to look perfect. The goal is to simply record the people we are right now," he said, hoping to defuse an argument before it started.

Thora and Clay had been very hostile towards each other lately. Hiccup suspected Thora was taking out the stress she got from puberty and the pressure of being the heir on her little brother who didn't have as many responsibilities, while Clay was hurting from an increasingly broken body. They hadn't really talked about it openly yet, but it was becoming clear that the dozens of fractures over the years were weakening his limbs. His legs were misshapen from all those splints and hastily set bones, and could bear less weight even when the fractures were healed. He was completely unable to run by now, and would often use a crutch while walking.

It was only late at night that he whispered about his fears with Astrid, talking about when his boy would have to use a wheelchair permanently.

Hiccup wondered if Clay knew about it. It was almost scary how perceptive and smart the quiet boy was. Unlike his father, however, he applied his intellect to observing people, learning secrets and mannerisms, figuring out their hopes and fears just by looking at them. So it was difficult to hide their worry from him.

Thora was the opposite, always rushing headlong into any situation without bothering to wait and observe. She'd take charge, assuming she knew what was best for everyone, but always somewhat aware of the village's eye on her.

"I still hate this dress," Thora muttered, and Clay scoffed but didn't respond otherwise. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"That'll be Grandma Kirsten. And look, kids, I hate my dress too. And I'm sure your father isn't a big fan of his outfit either. That armor is heavy!" Astrid said, standing up again and walking to the front door.

"She's right. Look, sometimes we have to do things we don't like in the moment, but that'll pay off for the rest of your lives. I never had a portrait like this with my parents. Just the one traditional coming-of-age one with my dad. Because of that painting, and I might add that the process of making it was very painful and involved a fight with Alvin the Treacherous, you two can see what your grandfather looked like. And what I looked like as a kid. But you'll never be able to see your grandma Valka again, because there is no portrait of her," Hiccup said as Astrid opened the door for her mother.

"So if you want to show your kids, or even your grandkids one day, what we looked like and where you came from, I'd suggest you stop complaining and get ready for the painter. He came all the way from London, you know," Hiccup's tone was harsher than he normally used with his children, but he didn't want them to miss the opportunities he never had.

"Exactly. There's no portrait of your Grandpa Tolfdir either. Nor of me, that's why I'm here today. And I know your father doesn't like to talk about it, but keep in mind that he will never be able to see this portrait, just like he can't see the portrait he made with Stoick. He knows better than anyone how important being able to see other people is. So you might want to think about that," Kirsten added, pushing a silk tunic in his hands.

Both the children went quiet at that. Knowing Kirsten would watch them, Hiccup went to the bedroom with Astrid to change.

"I'm sorry they're being difficult," Astrid said, and he sighed, taking off his regular shirt to put on the fine tunic.

"No, they're just… growing up. It's not easy being that age. But at least they're getting more opportunities and chances than we did. Even if they don't always understand why," he said as Astrid put his chestplate on him and latched the straps around his arms.

"You're always so understanding. I love them always with all my heart, but some days I don't… like them very much, you know? But then they smile and play and talk and I instantly forgive them," she whispered.

"And that's why we're doing this. So those smiles will be immortalized forever," he said, putting on his ridiculous silver vambraces.

"Exactly. So let's get back there before they start another fight," Astrid chuckled, fiddling with his armor for a bit before leaving the room again. Hiccup smiled, following.

"And so the prince and princess of France stood together as the evil warlord approached!" Kirsten was in the middle of a story when there was another knock on the door.

"Ah, that'll be the painter. Get ready everyone! Dragons as well!" Hiccup said, walking to the door and letting the man in. "Welcome, Master Frost. I hope we'll all fit on the canvas!"

Mr. Frost hesitated for a moment, but then Toothless and Stormfly pushed him inside in their eagerness to join the family. A yelp escaped the man, though at least he didn't run. Better than some dignitaries Hiccup had met.

"Uhhhm, let's see how we'll do this. Alright, boy, girl, you at the front. Chief Haddock, behind the girl please, and the Lady Astrid behind the boy's chair. Ah, Lady Kirsten, it's so good to see you again! You will be joining the picture as well? Next to Astrid would work best, probably," the painter said, fussing over them when they moved into position. Hiccup's hands on Thora's shoulders, Astrid's axe visible next to the chair, Claybones sitting up a little straighter.

"And finally the dragons! This is Toothless, right? He can go next to the chief, and this beautiful Nadder can join the equally beautiful lady. And of course, these little dragons shall join the children. That one on the boy's lap, that'll make him blend in well with the cloth, but still be noticable for the keen observer! Oh, and the little nadder curled around the young lady's neck? Ah yes, very fierce! The yellow hide works well with this red cloth! Now, just hold still!"

Hiccup did his best to keep smiling despite his daughter's dragon's claws gripping his hands. Just a minute in and he could already tell Thora was getting anxious, so he tried to squeeze her shoulders reassuringly.

Toothless crooned at one point, rubbing his face against Hiccup's side and earning himself a light scolding from the painter, but mostly the dragons and people were all on their best behavior.

"How does it look?" Hiccup asked Mr. Frost when they stopped for a break, stepping around the canvas he couldn't see.

"Oh, you have a lovely family, sir. Though I could tell the girl was getting… annoyed. Hence the break. But my sketches are all done, and now I can start the base layer of paint. After that I can finish it on my own, so you won't have to pose anymore," he said, and Hiccup nodded. Faint shouts came in through the window from where Thora was running around the house with Quickclaw.

"What kinds of paint do you use? This red is richer than anything I've managed to mix," Clay asked, the click of his clutches accompanying every step.

Hiccup stepped back a bit to let his son talk to the painter. Clay had been discovering a talent for art over the last few years, and he would often spend entire days drawing and painting. Hiccup just wished he could see what it was. His son always became defensive when he asked, so he decided not to push too much.

"You okay?" Astrid softly asked, sitting down next to him and grabbing his hand.

"Yeah, just… thinking about how happy I am we got to do this today. And how lucky I am with the family I have," he whispered with a smile.

"We are. Even if I sometimes want to scream in frustration at them," Astrid chuckled. As they spoke, Thora ran back inside, and Clay wrote down everything the painter explained about his process. Hiccup could almost picture in his head what the scene looked like. It stung that he would never see the ones he loved so much, but this portrait was close enough.

Even if they had to wear these awful outfits for it.