#i might write one day

[brainjuicey]

sometimes I say something about the intricacies of the world for paragraphs and paragraphs, sometimes out loud for an hour straight, and at the end I realise I might just be searching for myself in it all. maybe we don't need the death of hyper-post-modern conservatism in favour of the death of patriarchy under gender bending extremes supported by mainstream erotica and whimsy, radical social reform with prison abolition and idyllic anarchism. like maybe I just need to get fucked by a really attractive man or woman who makes me feel like sexy big bad wolf with a heart of gold.

[pendragonsclotpole]

this is probably me just hitting peak insanity after scrolling on this website for too long but like

whoever had the brilliant idea of making the well-known old merlin character into a young man (younger than arthur, mind you, and upending the stereotypical mentorship role characteristic of the legend!) and basing the entire story on the bond (romantic! i will die on this hill) between merlin and arthur and THEN MAKING IT WORK was a genius

like imagine if 500 years from now when an ip like harry potter is public domain and ubiquitously known as a tale of magic, someone just straight up decides to rewrite the story by de-aging dumbledore and making him the same age as Harry and then writing an entire story based on their bond.

we’d all freaking look at them like they were crazy

[frenchphobe]

griddlehark modern pen pal au where they don’t know each other but are assigned as pen pals for those pen pal projects you get in middle school and it just turns into them sending each other hate mail and somehow they just keep going for several years, even though they dont rly have to

[damianbugs]

silly hc that could never happen but once when jason was 12 and a reporter made it close enough to him at a gala to ask "so, how did you get taken in by bruce wayne?" and because bruce deserves to suffer at least once a week, he shrugs and drops "well, batman found me and said bruce would look after me because they have a deal." the reporter is, rightfully, confused, and upon their kind of disbelieving look, jason adds on innocently "it's okay — batman still visits us on the weekends."

papers get published and gothamites — who had always assumed there was some sort of connection between bruce and batman — simply can not believe the two have dual custody over jason todd. batman gets him on the weekends!

rumours spread; exes? divorced? there is a significant increase in kidnapping attempts on bruce wayne, everyone asking the same thing. what exactly is their relationship, and does batman pay child support? does bruce wayne get robin on the weekends? (did batman babytrap bruce wayne??)

the rumours died out years later, not because of time, but because of gotham's fierce loyalty to the bat. jason todd dies and batman is on a warpath. as bruce wayne retracts from the public completely, batman is prowling the streets with reckless abandon. jason todd meant something to him — to them — it only feels right to let them grieve and move on.

+ years later, a leaked picture of bruce wayne hugging red hood after he saved him from a kidnapping reaches the public and a week later, rumours of batman and red hood working together despite their rocky history. the people can not believe bruce wayne is co-parenting half the vigilantes in gotham!

[try-set-me-on-fire]

Eddie drunkenly calls Buck from wine night, confesses some things. On ao3 here.

Eddie calls him at 11:34 pm, and it’s a Thursday, so that means a few things. It’s wine night, the biggest thing. It’s wine night, at Hen and Karen’s, and he knows those start around dinner time so Eddie’s got several hours of alcohol in him. It’s 11:34 pm and Buck got off work at 10:45, another thing, so it’s a toss up whether Eddie timed the call to when he was walking through the door (a feat possible after years of going back and forth between the station, the loft, and the Diaz house at all times of day and night) or if it’s just a drunken coincidence.

“Hello,” Buck answers the phone, dragging out the first half of the word, tossing his keys into the bowl on the counter.

“Buck,” Eddie says, voice bright and not very slurred, but he’s only said one word so far, and Buck sometimes secretly thinks he could probably say his name pretty steadily no matter the situation. Buck is pretty sure he could be all drunk or half dead and still be able to say Eddie just fine, anyway. “Hello. Are you home from, did you get home from work?”

Ah, so, somewhat drunk then. “Did indeed. You still at the Wilsons?”

“Did you, uh- was there fire?” Eddie sounds like he’s trying very hard to sound normal. Buck bites his lip against a snort.

“No fires. Just a half shift, remember. Pretty boring one, honestly.” I missed you probably isn’t fair to say, Buck covered the shift of his own volition, he could have been at wine night if he really wanted. But Donovan’s sister had a baby, what was he gonna do, not let the guy meet his niece? “Hope you had a better time.”

“Great time,” Eddie says, enthusiastic. “They had, uh, mini quiches.”

Buck grins at the empty room. “You’re a man who loves a mini quiche.”

A few seconds of whooshy silence where Buck assumes Eddie is nodding enthusiastically. “The- uh- they had the bacon kind. The kind, and with the- you know, there’s spinach? Can we go to Costco?”

“Sure,” Buck agrees, opening his admittedly pretty sparsely populated fridge. “Could use a grocery run.”

“And get the, get more quiches?”

Buck grabs a protein bar, smiling as fondly as he wants to with no one around to see him. “Yeah, Eds, we’ll get more quiches.”

“And you’ll take the spinach ones? And I get the good ones?”

Buck laughs. “The spinach ones are good. You can barely even taste the spinach, they’re just, like, warm and eggy.”

“Mmm,” Eddie says, doubtfully. “It’s not nice to lie, Buckley.”

“I’m not fucking lying,” Buck cackles. “Your spinach hatred is so unfair, what’d it ever do to you?”

“Taste bad,” Eddie says, adding a blegh sound for emphasis. “It’s like- like- it’s gross, I don’t believe you actually like it, actually. You just want to eat grown up food.”

Buck snorts. “Man, I hate to break it to you, we both turn 34 this year.”

“And I don’t feel like I have to prove that to anybody by eating nasty food,” Eddie says, nose definitely in the air. Buck shakes his head and takes a bite of the protein bar.

“Whatever, man. You just have to live with the fact that Chris is the one sneaking vegetables into your food.”

“You’re so mean. I’m not letting you have any of my actually good quiches.” Empty threat, they always end up sharing, both of them know it. “That’s not even what I called about. That’s not even-“ Eddie huffs so hard it sounds all crackly in Buck’s ear. “I called to tell you that I love you.”

Buck grins. Oh boy, affectionate drunk Eddie is here. He’d wondered just how much wine they’d got through and it seems like Eddie must be nearly a bottle in. “Aw, love you too, bud.”

“No,” Eddie says, and Buck can see the frown from here. “Buck. Listen. I’m in love with you.”

Oh. God. Oh god. “Uh-“ Buck says, stomach swooping all over the fucking place, “Uh- I don’t think this is a conversation we should be having while you’re-“

“Oh, fuck off, shut up. Shut up. It’s fine.”

“Eddie-”

“Buck,” Eddie says, in the annoyed voice he uses when Buck is trying to get him to eat yogurt with his fruit in the morning, or even a dastardly spinach quiche. “It’s fine. It’s fine. I knew you’d- why- stop it. Listen. I feel like this all the time. It’s stupid that I’ve never, like, I never just say this all the time. You’re, like-”

Eddie cuts himself off and Buck waits — sort of fearfully — for him to continue, but the silence keeps stretching on. Buck knows the other side effect of this level on the Eddie Diaz Drunkenness Scale is heightened distractibility, so he probably noticed a nice color or perhaps a bug. They spent a good twenty minutes hanging out with a grasshopper at Hen and Karen’s wedding towards the end of the night, because it was a lovely shade of green and a funny little guy. Oh god, Buck thinks again. I love this man. I love this man a ridiculous amount and we should absolutely wait to talk about it.

But: “You’re tall and you’re in my house,” Eddie says before Buck can do anything to stop him.

“I’m-” Buck glances around the loft. “Eds, I’m at my place.”

“What?” He sounds so indignant that Buck has to cover his mouth to hold a laugh in. “Why?”

“‘Cause I live here?”

“That’s stupid. You should live with me in my house.”

“Should I?” Buck asks, laugh escaping a little bit. “Also, wait, what does me being tall have to do with it?”

Eddie sighs, long and exasperated. “If you live with me you never have to go home and leave me because you’re already at my house. Your house. If you live with me you never have to go anywhere.”

“Never have to go anywhere?” Buck thinks he’s in shock, maybe, about all of this, but teasing Eddie is something that’s always easy to fall into. “I don’t have a job in this scenario?”

“Well you’d go to work. And other places. But you just come back to me all the time.”

“I’d like to come back to you all the time,” Buck says, choking a little on how simply it explains every ache in him. “Eddie-“

“And you’re tall because… it matters because you’re tall because…” Eddie’s voice is soft, his breathing is soft. Buck wonders where he is in Hen and Karen’s house. In a hallway, tucked away from everyone, the nice light from the stained glass lamp they have there warm on his face? On the back porch, out in the cool night air? Buck wants to tell him to come home, wants to make sure he’s warm. “I never had to look up at anybody before.”

“I’ve got like two inches on you,” Buck replies, but his voice is pretty quiet.

“It’s a big two inches,” Eddie says, just as soft. Then, also quiet but of an entirely different flavor, “That's- Sorry- that's what she said.”

“That's-” Buck snorts. “What-” and then giddy laughter bursts up out of him, baking soda and vinegar, foamy and ticklish. He cackles till he’s breathless, listening to Eddie’s responding chuckles over the line, and sinks down to the floor, back against the kitchen island. “You’re so fucking stupid.”

“I scored better on my certification exams than you.”

“That’s not even true!” Buck protests over Eddie’s continuing laughter. “Only in two categories!”

“Overall percentage was higher!” Eddie reminds him, as he does every time they have this argument.

“Well, I remember building construction and related hazards better than you and that’s written down on official paper somewhere.”

“Not fair,” Eddie says, as he always says. “You- you did- you built those. Unfair advantage.”

“I think you’re overselling the kind of experience I got in a few months working construction like a decade ago.”

“It wasn’t a decade when you took the tests,” Eddie points out. “Whatever. Nevermind. And I don’t want to sound like- you’re good at remembering things. You’re not stupid. I don’t want to sound like you are.”

Buck taps his boot against the sink counter in front of him. “I know. You’re not either.”

“I know,” Eddie says, soft again. “But your hands are big, and… you’ve got stubble sometimes, and…” he trails off into just breathing on the other end of the line for several long moments. “Buck,” Eddie whispers in sleepover voice. “Have you ever kissed a boy before?”

“Yeah,” Buck says, knowing Eddie knows this, but playing along anyway. “I have.”

“What's it like?”

Buck hums, closes his eyes. He thinks about the few guys he’d made out with but never followed home when he got to Los Angeles. Thinks about the room he’d crashed in with Connor in Peru, with it’s one mattress and both their clothes living in suitcases because they were too broke to buy any other furniture. He’s still got a t-shirt for a school he never went to, a few sizes too small. The way they hadn’t shared a room once they were in LA, the girls Connor started seeing. He thinks about John from the ranch who left town the next day. He thinks about high school, Len McGuinty under the bleachers in the summer before senior year, both of them giggling and half terrified and the way they’d pretended to barely know each other when school started back up. Hard jawlines and stubble and muscles and height. Having something, for however long you get to have it. Wanting something, very badly. He opens his eyes and it’s almost a surprise that he’s still in the loft. That he’s not at Eddie’s house. All the time in the world there wouldn’t be enough. “It’s good, Eddie. It feels good.”

“Buck,” Eddie breathes, shivery.

“I want to live in your home all the time, and never have to go anywhere,” Buck says, repeats. “I’ll kiss you, if you want.”

“Buck-”

“I’ll love you, if you want.” Eddie is still drunk, Buck tries to remind himself. But it might actually kill him not to say it out loud when Eddie had said he feels like this all the time. How could he not say he feels like this all the time, too? “I’ll love you back. I love you back. I’ll eat all the spinach quiches for you.”

“Buck,” Eddie says, and Buck doesn’t know what expression is on his face, doesn’t know what look is tied to this tone of voice. Is desperate to find out. Quiet down the line for a few moments. And then: “It’s late.”

Buck pulls his phone away from his ear for a second to check the time. Nearly midnight. “Yeah.” His hands feel clammy. It was too much. They should have waited to talk. Eddie wants out now, and that’s fine. Buck will —somehow, skin of his teeth — find a way to be fine with that.

But: “I want to go home,” Eddie says. “Buck. Come and take me home.”

“And then-”

“And then stay.”

“Okay,” Buck gets to his feet, tosses the half eaten bar in the trash. Eddie’s house has food. His home has things to eat.

“Okay,” Eddie says, confident now, everything decided, everything for sure. “I’ll see you soon.

“Minutes,” Buck says, grabbing his keys, half running to the door. “I’ll be there in minutes.”

“Minutes,” Eddie says back. And Buck can hear his smile.

[otome-dissection]

Idk man I just think that mizu/ena5 and its progression was really beautiful actually. I just think that the release of the ena5 song was also really beautiful and kind of the nail in the coffin for me and I haven't been able to get the event(s) out of my head all week and that I kind of want to talk about it, actually.

It's about being hurt so deeply and continuously that any kindness that could be offered to you manages to feel like a sin, that it makes you crumble and shatter but for all the wrong reasons, not because of the newfound safety, not out of relief, but something worse and more deeply ingrained in you than kindness ever was. It's about carefully measuring the distance at which you keep others away from yourself, to ensure that it never happens again ("To save yourself the trouble", if that makes it easier).

It's about realizing that the people you've been spending all this time with are drifting closer, that they just might bump up against the unsightly parts of yourself that you've tried to keep locked away, it's about turning around and sprinting at full speed and slamming the door shut and holding onto the handle behind you to stop it from turning, because you're as frightened of the possibility of another wound being inflicted on you as you are of the possibility that kinder, gentler hands will reach out and smooth over the exposed scar. It's about hating eyes that judge and silently condemn you as much as you hate eyes that simply see you and take all of you in without scrutiny, because no matter what they're looking and they're looking at you and they know that your hand's on that door handle and they know that you're hiding something because, as much as you try to keep it shut, they've seen through the crack that you foolishly left open.

(The prominence of eyes in Bake no Hana, specifically eyes looking and searching, and finally landing on you, the viewer, Mizuki, is so fucking. Visceral in my opinion. Every character in the MV stares at the viewer in a deadpan, almost judging way. Even though Mizuki knows deep down that niigo won't really hate them, won't judge them, she just can't stand their kindness either; any gaze directed at her is a loss, another prick in their skin. It screams "don't look at me" while making sure that you know, with horrific certainty, that they're looking for you, that you're being watched. You can't go outside, can't leave your room, because they're searching for you, and while that should be reassuring, to you it's anything but).

It's about not wanting to be dissected, whether it's with hands that want to pull your organs apart or stitch them back together because no matter what they're there, and they're getting frighteningly close to your heart. It's about blinding yourself and covering your eyes to it all because seeing means exposure and exposure means they're taking something from you and you can't do anything about it, much less take it all back, much less have a say in the matter. Everyone's just taking and taking and taking and you wish you could just be alone. You wish everyone would just disappear and you could live in a world all to yourself, for only yourself (but is that really what you want?).

It's about the way that, near the beginning of the Yoka ni Mitoreta MV, Mizuki and her loneliness is represented as a dark, splotchy stain in the shadows. No colors, no patterns, no way to clean it or wash it all away, just raw ugliness marring a blank canvas. It's about the way that Ena reaches out to it anyway, the way she startles when the glass shatters just when she finally starts reaching forward, the way that the rest of the MV/song represents her searching for and reaching only further out to Mizuki, even if the broken shards of glass will only cut her fingers, potentially leaving scars.

It's about how, in every way, subtly, directly, consciously, and subconsciously, Ena shows that she fucking cares.

It's about the way that Ena lets Mizuki have autonomy, despite the situation being so horribly out of their control. And it's such a delicate thing: If she really wants to, Mizuki can take the opportunity to just run away, keep running forever, repeat the cycle over and over, and maybe she'll just destroy herself with it again, but it can't be denied that it's something important to them, something she can't quite live without just yet, their means of survival. Mizuki's autonomy is their identity, it's her tailoring her own clothes and choosing her own ribbons and styling her own hair the way she does. Ena letting them have that is as much about trust as it is about understanding that Mizuki of all people should have this right, when control was something stripped from her throughout so much of her life. She couldn't control how she was born, how people look at her or why, can't control what they think of her; lacking control has only left Mizuki vulnerable to the cruelties of others, has only caused them to suffer, which is why it's so important that it's given to them now.

She had the control to make the choice to see niigo's welcoming love and run away instead of staying, and she has the control to make the choice now whether she wants to keep things the way they are or take a step forward to be at their side again. She has every right to have it, and I think the fact that Ena realizes and respects that, even if it's subconsciously, is really beautiful (there is an entire fucking Verse about this in the new song and just. God Look at this. It's so caring, unconditional, and for fucking What. I think there is something to be said about how much Ena is willing to put aside for Mizuki, and maybe deep down it isn't healthy, but for now I'm just kind of in awe)

It's about how insanely patient Ena has been this whole time. Mizuki says that she basically lied to Ena's face about telling her their secret, even after Ena said with such conviction that she would wait for Mizuki as long as it takes, and Ena is just kept waiting and waiting and worrying like this seemingly indefinitely. It's about how Mizuki danced around it, avoided it, kept the distance, straight up ran when she was finally pushed, but Ena still chased anyway when she saw that she couldn't wait anymore, kept chasing just enough to intervene and get a straight answer out of Mizuki when she really needed to, but still leaving her enough space to leave if that was truly what she wanted. It's about how relieved Ena is the moment that Mizuki finally says outright how much they want to be with her and niigo, how much she wants to try, how much more light Ena's voice sounds when she grabs her hand, relieved, the way that the relief she feels can be felt through the music, throughout the entirety of Yoka ni Mitoreta, the way that warm colors always follow her when she chases after Mizuki, just to hold onto her and stop her from running away completely.

It's about how that careful combination of Ena's directness, Ena's persistence, Ena's warmth, her patience, her bluntness about her feelings, the way she chases and holds on but not too tight and her regard for how unsafe and exposed Mizuki feels actually works and breaks it all down. It's about how she really did reach through to Mizuki, despite the thorns and broken glass shards and nearly-unfulfilled promises, the way that Mizuki did finally let her turn the door handle and step through to see what she'd been hiding all this time, the way that Mizuki's hand, limp, when Ena first grabs onto it, shifts to hold hers back as they cry in the face of Ena's gentleness.

Despite how harsh Mizu/Ena5, and even Ena herself as a character can be (or at least was in the very beginning of pjsk), everything is somehow gentle and warm in the end, blindingly so. And you know what, I think that's beautiful. And what's even more beautiful than that is how Mizuki allows themself to crumble and shatter under that kindness, that warm light, but this time, finally, out of relief.

On a final note, I just want to say that I also appreciate how all that didn't have to solve everything. The scars haven't disappeared, haven't gone away, and Mizuki knows that their desire to run hasn't gone away forever, and maybe it never truly will. But for now they've calmed it, at least a little. She's learning to allow herself to be seen, learning that when someone's fingertips brush over their scars the way Ena's did that it's only out of care, and that maybe taking in that care and allowing herself to feel kindness and safety is okay. They're safe, for now, somehow. They're learning. They're trying. And I think that's cool :)

[itsthatlake]

Ha! Look at you, so young and happy... where did they years go?

[shalomniscient]

every day, once a year, yelan takes a day off.

this is written directly into her contract with the tianquan. there are no exceptions, no special arrangements. on this singular day, yelan does not belong to the qixing; on this singular day, her leash and collar are abandoned, and she has free reign to do as she pleases.

what does she do? well, prepare for your anniversary, of course.

she hops out of bed, cleans up, tugs her jacket on and then slips out the door with the clink of her jade bracelet. it’s a clear day, and yelan tilts her head to the sky briefly, letting the golden sunrays warm her face almost like an embrace. you were never really a morning person, but the sun on your skin always suited you. she’d have to drag you out of bed to see it, but it was always well worth your grumbling in the end when you finally cave and offer her a smile which she would then steal with a kiss.

“ugh, yelan—“ you giggled, your hands on her chest gently pushing her back. your bracelet was cool against her skin, and the matching one on her own wrist hummed. she nosed along your jaw, pressing more and more kisses until she reached your neck. playfulness turned into something a little more heated, and her blood sang at the sigh she pulled from your lips. emerald eyes flicked up to you, teasing, challenging, and you managed a wry huff before tangling your fingers in her hair and tugging her back to properly kiss her again. it stung, beautifully, but yelan grinned all the way."

she shakes herself out of the memory, and steps into the busy street. liyue’s morning scene has always been crowded, and she blends into the throng with practiced ease. she follows the flow of the crowd down the wharf until she reaches the shop she’s looking for—a florist, tucked snugly between two other stores on the higher levels of the shopping district.

the owner, a midde-aged woman, looks up from tending to her orchids to smile at her. her eyes crease with familiarity at the sight of yelan as the spy steps into her store, fingers brushing the petals of a few flowers. the woman rounds the counter, and rummages in the storage for a few moments.

“the usual, i take it?” she asks, and yelan nods, leaning against the counter and tapping her fingers over the grainy wood. the shop hasn’t changed much, if at all, since she last came here with you.

you leaned down by a bouquet of white chrysanthemums, lips curving upward into a smile as you breathed in the soft, floral scent. yelan looked curiously over your shoulder, a hand casually resting on your hip. she asked if it was your favorite flower—you nodded, your other hand rising to just as casually cup her face from over your shoulder. “they’re quite pretty, aren’t they?” you hummed, and yelan took a moment to ponder the question. in the end, she said they were nowhere near as pretty as you, and took the light smack you delivered to her shoulder with an easy laugh.

the florist clears her throat, coaxing her out of the memory. yelan recieves the bouquet—white chrysanthemums—with a smile, settling it in the crook of her arm. the woman’s expression is measured, but there’s a slight waver to her tone when she speaks. if yelan really had to name it, it sounds close to… pity.

“yelan—“ she begins, but she only flashes the woman a signature grin, before slipping out the door as quickly as she came. she has other things to get, after all, and the clock is always ticking.

(or maybe her clock stopped ticking a long time ago and all this is just extra. maybe it cracked when the rocks fell and the earth buried—)

she dissolves back into the crowd as she heads to her next destination: wanmin restaurant. she can smell the chili in the air as she makes her way down the street again, a sharpness only wanmin seems to be able to make. when she gets there, xiangling is boisterously calling out orders while her father toils away in the kitchen, with guoba tirelessly maintaining the roaring fire for his wok. when she sees her, xiangling’s grin only widens, and she waves her over enthusiastically.

“miss yelan! welcome, welcome,” the young chef says cheerily. “here for another batch of dried chillies?”

yelan chuckles, shaking her head. “no, not this time. i’m here for a few rice buns. with a sweet filling, preferably.”

“ooh,” xiangling coos, nodding. “are you planning to go on an expedition? rice buns are both portable and satiating.”

“you could say that,” yelan says vaguely. the little chef is right, in a way, since she’ll have to hike a little to get to your spot—but really, it’s because rice buns have always been a comfort food of sorts for you.

“how can you not like them?” you asked defensively as you trudged along with her behind the group. there was a slight smear of filling on the corner of your lip, and your expression scrunched up a little more as she wiped it off. her jade bracelet was cool against your heated cheeks. yelan only shook her head, teasingly remarking that spice was a much greater wake-up call than sweets. you huffed at that, taking another bite of your rice bun. “not all of us are masochists, lan’er,” you grumbled, and yelan laughed softly. her nimble fingers encircled your wrist, tugging you closer so she could take a quick bite of your bun. it was sweet, sweeter than she’d like, but maybe that was because you were there. and somehow, that made it good.

yelan pulls herself out of yet another memory when xiangling deposits the bag of warm rice buns into her hands. they’re freshly steamed, and the scent of warm buns fill her senses. she thanks the chef, and disappears much the same way she came before the young lady can get even so much as a word in. in the back of her mind, she can almost hear you chastise her for it.

(she always hears you in the back of her mind. if not, where else—)

there’s only one thing left on her list, and it’s incense. it’s late in the morning now, so the crowds have thinned out—and without her cover, yelan takes to back alleys and rooftops instead. she sighs, relieved almost, as she slips into the shimmering, reflective cover of hydro, darting like a minnow between buildings like rocks, barely a blur in the eyes of anyone nearby. the secrecy isn’t strictly necessary for what she’s doing now, but she’s been so used to being unseen that being in the open feels… unsafe.

it doesn’t take her that long to reach wangsheng funeral parlor. the young lady running the parlor isn’t in today—instead, it’s her ‘assistant’, the elegant man shrouded in such thick mystery that neither her nor ningguang has been able to pierce. he greets her with a solemn expression, no doubt because director hu has told him the reason for her visit. “incense?” he asks again anyway to confirm, his voice low and soft. yelan nods absently, her nose stinging slightly from the intense scent permeating the parlor.

she watches as the man disappears into the back of the parlor for a moment, before he reappears with a delicately wrapped packet of incense sticks. she slides a pouch of mora his way, which he takes wordlessly. she tucks the packet into her little pocket dimension, then turns on her heel to leave. just as she exits the door, he calls out to her.

“safe travels.”

she doesn’t deign him with a response.

her feet take her out and away from the city, down the familiar path to the bleeding wound in the earth—the chasm. the land goes from valleys to large, curling momuments of rock, carved by the force of a falling star. she feels that familiar tug in her chest, the voice that calls to her, that tells her to forsake the surface as her ancestor once did. she listened to it, once. and—

“go,” you whispered, pushing her away. half of you was buried under rock, and she could only see one of your eyes; the other was forced shut by the blood that trickled down your face. yelan nearly screamed herself hoarse, but you grabbed her face and kissed her. it tasted like salt, and her heart lurched at the wrongness. your kisses had always been sweet. you slipped your bracelet onto her wrist, then pushed her again, and then the earth heaved and groaned, and it was the last she ever saw of you—

she turns her head and rips herself out of the memory and the temptation; she has other, more important places to be today. she has other days to chase down her demons. she skirts the side of the chasm, slowly ascending to the top. she passes by the memorial to the millelith, and leaves a rice bun and a few sticks of incense as an offering. they too, deserve to be remembered after all.

(she wonders if anyone else comes out here to remember them. she wonders who will come when she’s gone for—)

it takes her a while, but eventually, she reaches the highest point in the chasm. the sun has traveled across the sky by this point, the afternoon heat mellowing out into a slightly cooler evening warmth. the sky is alive with shades of gold when she finally stops, drawing to a halt right before a smooth stone, standing upright from the earth like a silent vigil. she kneels before it, producing three sticks on incense and inserting them into the censer before the stone and lighting them. she sets a rice bun on the plate by the stone, and saves one for herself. the bouquet of white chrysanthemums, she lays on top of the stone.

yelan takes a bite of her rice bun, letting the sweetness settle on her tongue, as the floral scent mixes with the incense, filling her lungs and settling on her shoulders. she tilts her head to the sun, and the warmth feels almost like an embrace. and when she closes her eyes, the wind in her hair feels almost like a caress. when she opens them again, she lets them rest on the stone—the headstone, and she offers it a smile.

sitting on the edge of the cliff, your legs swinging, you smiled at her, nearly blindingly bright like the golden hour. your pinkies were twined together, your shoulders flush with hers. there was a bouquet of white chrysanthemums on your lap, and just a few crumbs on the corner of your lips. your voice carried in the wind when you spoke.

“happy anniversary, yelan.”

“happy anniversary, sweetheart,” she whispers. the wind carries her voice as well, and she hopes you hear it, wherever you are now. one day, she’ll join you, but for now she takes another bite of her rice bun and breathes in the scent of incense and chrysanthemums.

[v-poreons]

OCposting..... This is Coven :3 she's a witch who specializes in luck magic! I need to post her so I can yap about her more, she's rotating in my brain at top speed

(Also her bf belongs to @oodliedoodlies hiiii hiiiiiiii hi hi hi)

[becca-e-barnes]

The need that I have for early morning, tender sex with Dbf!bucky that gets a little frantic and really passionate 😵‍💫

Especially if you tend to drift apart in your sleep. It feels so much nicer to curl up against him again the next morning, stealing some of his heat and enjoying the way that he smells so familiar to you now.

You can't help but feel a softness in your chest when he sleepily pulls you closer, placing a gentle kiss on the top of your head with his eyes still closed. If nothing else, you feel incredibly safe with your bare chest pressed to his and your limbs tangled together comfortably.

The sunlight has just managed to creep through a gap in between the curtains, illuminating the few grey hairs peppered across your partner's hairline and you swear he's never looked more beautiful.

He's more awake than he'd lead you to believe though. His eyes are barely even open before he's tilting your chin up, making it easier to capture your lips with his.

"Good morning." He mumbles in his deep morning voice when his lips part from yours.

"Hi." You can't help but smile, wiggling your body against the bulge in his underwear. "It's a great morning."

He can't help but roll his eyes at your enthusiasm.

"Didn't I take good enough care of you last night? You still want more." He pretends he's insulted but secretly, he's pretty damn pleased. You want him; plain and simple. You don't dress it up or play it off. Don't we all want to be wanted?

"See, that's the problem. You were too good to me last night. And now. I'm all worked up." You slip kisses to his neck and shoulders in between your sentences, hoping that it really drives your point home.

"You're a handful." Bucky teases, tilting your chin up once more, letting his lips collide with yours before allowing his tongue to do the same. It feels like his hands are all over your body at once, teasing and rubbing and gripping you, getting you even more worked up.

It's not long before he's got your leg hooked up over him and he's slipping his cock into you. The glide is that much easier given that he finished inside you just a few hours ago and the thought of that alone makes you even wetter.

Bucky's low groan as he slides into you is addictive. He's clearly still sensitive but it feels too good for either of you to stop now.

"Such a good girl. You take me so damn well." He's babbling already, eyes rolling back as he presses as deep inside you as possible, giving you a chance to take a breath before he starts to work your body in a way that no one else has ever managed.

[hangryshawn]

charmed + disarmed

[bisexualriza]

greed!Riza au shitty concept art dump

the fma03 au in which after the death of his beloved wife lieutenant, Mustang performs human transmutation to revive her, failing and losing his eye. what he didn't expect was for her to actually come back—but... it isn't her. or is it?

[zoldsick]

- Something Lost, Something Gained -

collab w @nanpecan

⚔︎ summary | zoro x f!reader - After two years of training and hardship, you and the rest of the strawhats reunite at Sabaody. What should have been a happy reunion between friends turns sour between you and Zoro after some unresolved tension threatens the dynamic of your friendship. How can you get things back to how they were before?

⚔︎ tags | smut, masturbation, pining, jealousy, nobody knocks before entering, nsfw, MDNI

⚔︎ wordcount | ~7.2k

⚔︎ Read on AO3

⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎

Two years had changed everything. 

Zoro was the first to arrive at the Sabaody Archipelago. Perona had eyed Zoro as he anxiously sharpened his swords the whole trek there. She smiled to herself, she knew he was becoming more excited the closer he got to the meeting point in Sabaody. The closer to his goal he got, the more antsy he became.

Zoro knew Luffy’s decision had been for the best, and because of it he was able to hone his skills well beyond what they had been two years prior. His fingers itched for an opportunity to show off his new skills, to show the crew how much he had been training. He couldn't help but wonder how you had fared during your two years. There was no doubt in his mind you had gotten stronger as well.

When you’d first joined the Strawhats, you and Zoro immediately clicked. The two of you worked seamlessly together as you advanced through the Grand Line towards Luffy’s dream. You drank, you sparred, and you laughed together as if you were two sides of the same coin. But the way the two of you fought alongside each other was what truly connected you. Zoro’s swordsmanship was harsh and powerful, he cut down enemy after enemy with his offensive techniques. You, on the other hand, specialized in defense and used your opponent’s own strength against them. Your styles complemented each other perfectly and anytime you fought together it was a deadly pairing, a true sight to behold. 

However, what was supposed to be a joyous reunion quickly turned into a game of cat and mouse as the crew narrowly made it off Seabody. 

You’d admit that you were disappointed to learn that Zoro had been first only to wander off out of boredom. Typical, you thought. If he had just waited a little longer he would have seen you arrive second and the two of you might have had some time to talk. You were so excited to tell him all about your two years of training. Your mind often wandered to the rest of the crew. You wondered where they were and how they were growing. 

You took a moment to reflect on your dismay for not being able to speak with Zoro. Why did it bother you so much? Was it because you wanted to tell him that he had often occupied your thoughts over the last couple years? That when you were at your lowest, the only thing that had gotten you through was the thought of making him proud to fight alongside you? You shook the thoughts from your head. What did you even hope to gain from confessing this to him? 

For as long as you’d known him,  Zoro only had one goal, one ambition, and it was to become the World’s Greatest Swordsman. His loyalty to Luffy knew no bounds as he had no doubt that their captain would lead them to their dreams. So, you pushed back your selfish desires. You both trained hard for the better of the crew, so expecting anything more would be foolish. 

There was no denying that the two of you had gotten exponentially stronger. With a small slash of his sword Zoro could now take out dozens of enemies, and your deflection and offensive fighting had become second nature, easily beating opponents ten times your size. 

Unfortunately, there was no time to celebrate your new strengths before a glaring issue arose during your first fight together on Fishman Island. The two of you had never been so out of sync. 

How did two years change both of you so drastically? 

You both cursed out loud, frustrated as you ebbed and flowed to completely different rhythms. You would reach out to strike an enemy, only to almost be impaled by Zoro’s blade. Zoro would prepare to strike, only to be thrown off balance by an enemy body that you flung in his direction. Luffy laughed as he watched the two of you struggle, which only added to your irritation. 

By the time the battle was over you were disheartened to say the least. Zoro couldn’t even look at you, and you couldn’t find the words to say to him either. Should you apologize? You didn’t think you had done anything wrong, he had been in your way too. The more you thought about it the more annoyed you became. Your mind raced in circles about the ridiculous situation. You came back to reality as you heard a voice calling out to you - Sanji. 

You relaxed your furrowed brows and the unconscious frown on your face faded away. The curly-browed chef sauntered towards you with a glass delicately balanced on a tray. “Oh Y/N-love, please enjoy this dessert I’ve made for you. I’ve poured all my love into it. Only the best for my fighting beauty.” 

You looked up to see a colorful, intricately decorated cup of chocolate mousse. You instantly lit up. Sanji knew it was one of your favorite desserts. You quickly scooped a spoonful into your mouth and closed your eyes as you savored the rich flavor. “Sanji, you don’t know how much I missed your cooking.” You took another bite and smiled widely, looking up at him. “If I wasn’t in such bliss I would get up and kiss you, I really would.”

Sanji turned to you with hearts in his eyes and shot backward as streams of blood rocketed out of his nose. You heard Chopper yell out, “He’s relapsed again! Y/N you can’t do that, he’s in recovery!” 

You laughed as you watched Chopper fret over the lovestruck man. You always got a kick out of teasing him. Your eyes flickered up to the kitchen door and you watched Zoro push it open, exiting with a dramatic thunk. 

… 

Zoro walked out in a worse mood than before. He knew he had messed up during that battle, both of you had made mistakes. He had almost hurt you on numerous occasions and that had completely thrown him off his game. He went over to the ship railing and stared out. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. 

He had been avoiding you, he didn’t know what else to do. Ever since he saw you again he knew he needed to keep his distance.

 You had come back different. Your hair was different, your clothes were different, your body was different, and you were shitload stronger. But your voice? It was exactly the same. God…he hadn’t realized how much he had missed the sound of your voice. And your eyes? He had to look away every time you turned in his direction, he couldn’t stand it. Beautiful. He had always known this. He knew he didn’t know a lot about beauty and pretty things, but there was no denying it anymore. You were beautiful to him.  

He gripped the railing in frustration. What was he thinking? You’d looked so angry sitting there at the kitchen table. Your eyebrows pressed together and the corners of your mouth pointing down in a scowl. You had been thinking about how useless he had been, he was sure of it. He needed to clear his head, he needed to work out. 

…

Robin was out on the deck of the Thousand Sunny enjoying a new book about ancient tribal societies. She sipped peacefully from a cup of tea and looked out into the horizon. She didn’t think she would ever get tired of the sunsets on the Sunny. Her eyes wandered slightly over to where a green head of hair had been huffing and puffing and aggressively lifting weights for the past two hours. She sighed. 

She had been watching you and Zoro these last couple of weeks and figured out the source of the tension immediately. It really wouldn’t be good for the crew to have some of their best fighters distracted and clumsy, she told herself. They were in the New World now and all members needed to be at their best. She stared back at her book as a plan formed in her mind. It was for the good of the crew, it really was. 

…

Zoro got up from his spot near the mast and stomped past Robin at her table. “How long do you intend to pout over Y/N?” she asked, not looking up from her book. 

Zoro stopped and stared at her, “What are you saying?” 

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed. I’ve got eyes everywhere after all.” She looked up at Zoro as he tried to keep a straight face. “Just go talk to her. She’s in the women’s bunks right now, she just finished showering. It's a good time to have a private conversation. Just go clear the air. Trust me.” 

Zoro just grunted in reply and kept walking past her. Suddenly a hand popped up as he reached the top of the stairs, pointing a slender finger towards the left. “It's that way dear,”  Robin said. He grumbled. 

Zoro turned to his left and slowly walked towards the door of the women’s bunks before halting in the middle of the hallway. What was he going to say? You had seemed so aggravated before, how was he supposed to fix this? As he hesitated, he thought of how the two of you used to be. He was so desperate to get back to that. These feelings needed to stop here, you were in a pirate crew and you both need to remember that. He snapped his head up and marched toward your door.

Zoro was full of determination now. He was going to clear the air like Robin said. He wasn’t sure what he was going to say, but he was sure he would figure it out. Anything was better than where he was now. He wanted to make it work. He wanted to make it up to you. 

Zoro gripped the door handle and burst into the room without thinking or knocking, thunderously declaring, “Y/N! LET’S GO BACK TO THE WAY WE USED TO--!” 

You were naked.

 His eye dropped down to look at the red pair of panties you had on. 

Okay, not completely naked. 

You stared at him in shock as his eye wandered up your body, finally meeting yours. 

“GET OUT!!!” you shrieked, breaking the silence. You grabbed the towel out of your hair in an attempt to cover yourself up. “OUT! NOW! ZORO! OUT!!!”

He turned on his heels and moved forward at lightning speed, running straight into the door frame with a crash you thought might have shaken the whole ship. He readjusted and flew out of the room, back out to the deck where he saw Robin, still sitting there with a book in hand. 

She looked up from her book lazily and her eyes went straight to the red welt across his face. “How did it go?” she asked with an amused smile. 

“Yes,” Zoro said, hands on his knees while he panted, still stunned about everything that had just happened. So much for getting back to normal.

Robin stared at the poor man as he walked off towards his room. 

…

You stood in the room, frozen. The initial shock of Zoro walking in on you had passed, but you still couldn't process it. You stared at the open door, unmoving, and struggling to breath. You felt your whole body get warm as you thought about Zoro’s eye moving up your body. You shook your head to free yourself from the memory and hurried to dress yourself.

If Zoro had been avoidant before, he was like a ghost now. For the rest of the day you swore you could feel Zoro’s intense gaze on you, but the second you looked up he was nowhere to be found. It was maddening. 

You tried to ignore the green menace and go about your day as normal. You sat in the kitchen and helped Nami grind some ink and helped Chopper organize some herbs, but your mind was elsewhere. You sat with the others who plugged away as you half-heartedly joined in.  

You kept replaying the scene over and over in your head. He had looked like he wanted the earth to swallow him whole. But there was something else. You contemplated the gleam you saw in his eye. It was familiar to you, he looked like that when he was in battle, when he faced a real challenge. When he placed his precious Wado Ichimonji in his mouth and finally challenged a worthy adversary. 

It was hunger.

You felt the blood rise to your face and reached for the sweet drink Sanji and left you. As you chugged down your drink an image danced at the corner of your mind. Zoro, mad with hunger, but instead of his sword, your underwear was in between his teeth.

You choked. Coughing loudly, you sprayed your drink across the table. You winced as you tried to catch your breath and rid yourself of the tantalizing image you conjured up. You felt Chopper’s tiny hoove smack your back rapidly as he tried to help you. 

“Y/N! Be careful!” Nami exclaimed, snatching away her notes as you coughed near them. 

You put your hand up to signal you were okay. Robin smiled from her seat at other corner of the kitchen. 

“Sanji! Get her some water!” Chopper exclaimed as he continued to beat your back. 

“It’s alright, I’m okay,” you said, clearing your throat. 

“But you’re still bright red!” he cried. “Breathe! Breathe through your nose!” you laughed and gladly accepted the water Sanji offered you. 

“Are you alright, Y/N-love?” Sanji asked. 

“Yes,” you tried to collect yourself and play it off. “I’m afraid the flavors of the tea you’ve brewed for me were a shock to my system!” You joked to help get the attention off of you. “The depth of the flavor! The notes of bergamot!” you exclaimed, your voice still gruff. 

You watched Sanji spin around in circles around the room, “All for you my beautiful Y/N-love!”

“Do you have to egg him on, Y/N?” Nami asked with a bored expression as she watched the cook rejoice. 

“I can’t help it, I missed him. I really did.” You smiled at her. “You have to admit he’s good at what he does every once and a while. I’m just making up for lost time.” 

Nami shook her head with a smile. You heard the kitchen door open with a loud thud and a flash of green hair exit. Had Zoro been in the kitchen the whole time? You had been too engrossed in your thoughts to notice. You looked down at your now empty glass and grimaced. Why was this so complicated? You backed out of your chair and excused yourself to get some air. 

…

The night breeze gently blew through your hair as you leaned over the banister to look out onto the Sunny. 

Despite all your attempts, you found yourself thinking back to Zoro and the look on his face. Were you right about what you saw? Was it hunger? Or somehow worse, desire? Your stomach felt warm and your throat felt tight. You put your head in your hands. There was no way. He didn’t think like that, all he thought about was his swords. You were reading too much into it. 

Let’s go back to the way we used to. His words replayed in your head. So, he had noticed something had changed between the two of you. You wondered just how much he had noticed. 

You sighed, growing increasingly frustrated you ran a hand through your hair. Why were you so caught up on this? You were being childish. A pirate ship was no place for romance. You needed to clear this whole thing up. 

The kitchen door opened again as Robin walked out. You quickly straightened up and turned towards her, throwing on a half-hearted smile. 

She stared at you for a beat before smiling back. “Penny for your thoughts?” 

You looked at Robin and hung your head in defeat. “I really am easy to read, huh.” 

“I don’t know what you mean,” she said in her usual sly tone. You were quiet as she leaned over the banister next to you. “I heard some commotion from our bunks earlier in the day, did Zoro get lost again?” 

“It was nothing,” you answered too quickly, “I just chewed him out for not knocking.” 

“Oh really?” you knew your face was red so you didn’t look at her. “I did see him shortly before that. He seemed very determined to do something. I wonder what it was.” Robin eyed you curiously. 

“He always looks like that. When he’s not sleeping, that is.” 

“True,” she said. You both went silent for a bit. You looked down below as movement caught your eye and you saw Franky messing with the helm of the ship. “Two years really makes the heart grow fonder. I’ve missed you all.” You turned to look at her. Her eyes were locked in on Franky. You followed her gaze to him and saw a hand sprout from the nearby beam. It reached out to gently caress his cheek. 

Franky leaned into the touch and once Robin’s hand disappeared he turned back to look at the both of you and laughed. Then, he dramatically struck a heart pose with his massive arms and yelled out, “MY SUUUUPPPERRR LOVELY GAL!” 

Your mouth fell open and you looked back at Robin in shock, “Since when?” 

Robin kept her gaze on the blue haired man, smiling fondly. “Back at Water 7,” Your jaw dropped. “It’s rare to meet people that make you feel like your most authentic self. Meeting Luffy and the rest of the crew, I’ve never felt like I’ve belonged until now. But, I’ve also never felt as seen by anyone else until I met him.” Her eyes never left the goofy cyborg. “We may be pirates, but we’re owed our own pleasures here and there, are we not?” 

Franky continued his barrage of various poses for Robin as she looked on with amusement. You watched the two in awe. You had no idea they had such affection for one another, but somehow it made perfect sense. As you observed the pair, Robin’s words echoed in your head. So, a relationship like this is possible, huh? You cursed yourself and swiftly dismissed the thought. There was no point in getting your hopes up. 

“Y/N-love! Robin-chwan! Dinner’s ready!” Sanji announced as he burst through the kitchen door. “Franky! Get your ass in here you greasy oaf!” He went back inside. 

“You should go tell Zoro dinner is ready,” Robin said, stepping back from the bannister. You unfortunately couldn’t see her devilish grin as she headed into the kitchen. 

You took a couple seconds to collect your thoughts. Finally, after taking a deep exaggerated breath, you turned on your heels and headed for the men’s bunks. 

… 

Zoro grumbled to himself as he stomped back to the men’s bunks. He had been hiding in the back corner of the kitchen as he sulked and nursed a bottle of liquor. Overhearing you praise that dumbass cook sent him storming out of the kitchen. He knew he acted like an impulsive child, but seeing the way your face softened as you complimented Sanji had been the last straw. You had never said a word about Zoro’s skills. You never spoke about how much you missed him. He knew he had been fucking up with you ever since you reunited. He fucked up in fights and now he had fucked up the chance to talk to you. He was losing his edge. 

Discarding his shirt, he threw himself onto his small bed and covered his face with his arms. He willed himself to calm down and get a grip. He needed to sleep. He was no good on this ship if he kept behaving like this. However, rest did not come. 

Despite his conviction, his mind wandered back to you. Back to the moment he had walked in on you. He played it over and over again in his mind. You had been so shocked, so embarrassed, but he couldn’t help himself. You had looked so…soft. 

He closed his eyes as he tried to recall every detail. He thought of the red underwear that hugged your hips. He thought of the shape of your lip as your mouth fell open in shock. He thought of the deep blush that crawled across your scarred skin down to your shoulders. He thought of the shape of your breasts and the color of your perky nipples, cold and wet from your shower. He thought of the smooth curves of your body and your calloused hands desperately trying to cover yourself. He thought of the smell of your shampoo that filled the room with your aroma and made him feel drunk. He still felt drunk. 

An all too familiar sensation settled in his core. He opened his eyes and frowned as he looked down at his pants. Damn it. 

Zoro ignored the guilt he felt as he pulled back the hem of his pants and reached down to touch himself to the image of you. 

… 

You approached the men’s barracks and stood in front of the door. You reached for the handle and put your hand on the twisting the knob, preparing to burst through. When suddenly, you heard something. It was faint, a sort of mumbling. You pressed your ear against the door. 

“Fuck-” You froze. “Fuck, just like that. Please…” 

You were too shocked to move. Zoro’s voice rang out again as you stood by. “S-Stupid Cook, fuck- Stupid curly-brow.” Your mouth fell open, dumbfounded. Was he talking about Sanji? “Thinks h’s so great. Good at what‘e does?” His words were slurred as he grunted. “I’m good too, I’m so good. I’ll show you-Y/N-fuck.” he moaned “I’ll show you just how good I am.”  

Your whole body pressed against the door. Did he say my name?

… 

Zoro was hot. 

His breath hitched as he spat into his palm and regripped to thrust himself into his fist. You were everywhere. His mind was filled with you. You were the cause of all his frustrations. This was all your fault. 

He struggled with the blankets around him and threw them to the ground in exasperation. Zoro crawled to the edge of the bed, never stopping his hand from moving up and down his cock. This wasn’t enough. He scuffled to his feet, still pumping himself with one hand. He used his other hand to grip the side of his bed to keep himself steady. This position wasn’t helping either. He was even more restless. He still wanted more. He wanted you. 

“Y/N.” Zoro moaned out your name, unable to keep his words to himself. His hips were twitching and his hand that gripped the post begged to be holding something else. 

… 

Carefully, you clicked open the door and slipped inside the dark room. Zoro’s back was facing you and he was too much in his own world to notice your presence. You watched as the muscles across his bare back flexed and spasmed as he vigorously stroked himself.

“God, please. Please, Y/N.” Zoro spoke in a whimper. His voice was even more clear than it had been before. You forced your breathing to stay steady as you watched Pirate Hunter Zoro beg for you. Your cheeks burned at the sight before you. Your fingertips twitched and deep inside your core felt tingly and ticklish. 

It seemed that you both were nearing the last of your patience. Zoro’s breathing quickened and his pace became more erratic. You could tell he was getting close. 

We can’t have that now, can we? 

You slammed the door closed behind you and watched with excitement as Zoro’s back straightened and he snapped to face you, and what a sight it was. Zoro looked at you with a mixture of confusion and lust, his face was flush and he struggled to hide his obvious erection with a blanket from the intruder. “What the hell! Don’t you assholes ever knock?!” he spat out. But when his eyes finally adjusted to the dark and Zoro recognized who was standing in front of him, his expression turned to shock and embarrassment. 

You smiled. Everything made sense now. 

Zoro began to move to cover himself more adequately, but you stopped him, raising a hand, “No, please,” you stared as your other hand reached behind you to secure the latch on the door. “Don’t let me distract you, Zoro.” 

The way you whispered his name sent chills down Zoro’s spine. “Y-Y/N- I - this isn’t - I didn’t mean-” 

“Keep going.” Zoro looked at you in shock. You continued, “You were calling my name, weren’t you? I’m here now, so keep going.” 

There was a slight hesitation in Zoro, his eyes searched yours for some kind of explanation. But with the very subject of his indecent thoughts standing in front of him, egging him on, he knew he couldn’t stop here. 

Zoro leaned back against his bunk and without breaking eye contact, moved his blanket to expose himself to you. His thick and lengthy cock twitched with excitement and ached to be touched. You walked forward and let your eyes trail along his body, you wanted him.. But you had to be patient for this. You took a seat on the adjacent bunk facing Zoro. The pressure between you was crushing and both of you were losing grip on your long held restraint. 

“Go on,” You instructed the man in front of you. 

As if he was released from a spell, his hand moved automatically, gripping his stiff cock in his hand. Closing his eye, he teased his tip slightly before shoving himself into his palm with a satisfying thrust. Zoro couldn’t stop the guttural moan that escaped his mouth. He opened his eye to see your reaction and nearly moaned a second time. 

Your face was completely flushed with desire as you gawked at Zoro, taking in every inch of his toned body and throbbing cock. Your mouth was watering at the sight. You weren’t sure you had ever wanted someone this much. Your whole body was tingling and becoming sensitive. 

You wanted to feel good too. You began tracing your fingers along your neck, shuddering at the sensation. You grazed the hem of your shirt and in one quick motion you yanked it over your head, exposing yourself and your bra. 

Zoro, high with his own arousal, immediately took a step forward upon seeing you uncovered before him. But before he got any closer, a hard shove from you sent him flying back to his original spot. He looked at you with annoyance and confusion. 

“I don’t remember saying you could stop, swordsman,” you said with a sly smile. He stared daggers at you. “Keep going, and watch closely.” 

You slid your fingers in your mouth, tasting the lingering salty flavor from Zoro's sweaty body after you had shoved him. You ran your tongue along your fingertips, never breaking eye contact with him. Zoro’s breathing hitched as he gaped at you, his pace quickened and he began using his other hand to tease his balls. You smirked at his reaction, slipping your other hand underneath your bra and gripping your breast. You were getting lost in your own self pleasure. 

Satisfied with your prep, you removed your hand from your mouth, slick with your own saliva, and pulled back your skirt to reveal your red underwear. The same pair from before. Zoro caught a glimpse of the wet stain at the center of your panties and bit his lip. You looked back up at Zoro to see his yearning eyes drilling a hole through you. You circled your fingertips around the fabric at your center, effectively teasing both you and Zoro. 

“Zoro,” your voice caught him by surprise, he looked up to meet your lustful gaze, “do you touch yourself while thinking of me often?” 

Zoro clenched his jaw, then he smirked. You were such a tease, but two could play this game, “Do you think you’re that special?”

“Hmm,” you hummed, playfully turning the ends of your lips downward. His eyebrows furrowed as he was brought back to that moment in the kitchen and how upset you had appeared. He grunted as he pumped himself rougher, his frustration rising. 

“Did that make you upset?” he said, his voice dripping with irritation. “I’m not that pervy cook, it takes more than a little teasing to win me over.” 

You smiled, amused by his evasive responses, “Well then, should I give you some inspiration?”  

Zoro’s cocky smile faded as you pulled the fabric of your panties to the side, exposing your wet cunt. You looked back up at him one last time before finally giving yourself some relief. You closed your eyes and began caressing your clit, gasping from the contact. You were feeling more sensitive than usual as Zoro’s unwavering eye watched your every move. You moved your fingers lower, and circled around your entrance, lathering your fingers with your own juices. Finally, you inserted two fingers, and your body relaxed from the pleasure. As you worked yourself, you widened your legs and reached your other hand down to massage your swollen bud. You bit your lip, but failed to hold back your aroused voice. 

Zoro was mesmerized as you fingered yourself in front of him. He couldn’t believe this was real. It took every fiber of his being to control himself and not launch himself at you. His chest felt tight. He wasn’t used to feeling tied down or powerless. In all honesty, it was a turn on seeing you take charge. However, his composure was wearing thinner and thinner as he watched your fingers pump in and out of our glistening pussy. 

“You look like you’re having a good time over there too, huh?” Zoro was testing his luck, he knew he was just about over the edge himself, “How often do you think about my cock when you fuck yourself like that?” 

You were too far gone to keep playing this game. Your pace quickened on your swollen clit with one hand, and the other continued to curl inside yourself. You huffed out in exasperation, “Zoro - I want you to come. Come for me.” 

“You witch - ugh!” The pressure inside Zoro burst. His face turned up towards the ceiling while his hand maintained his rhythm as his body spasmed with pleasure and his warm cum spewed out. He fucked himself against his hand through his orgasm, spreading his fluids across his still stiff member. Zoro was left breathing heavily, still drunk on his orgasm, unable to properly comprehend what exactly happened. 

Zoro’s head rolled down as he caught his breath, and his eyes finally came back up to you. Your eyes were closed tight as you also struggled to regain composure. It took Zoro a moment to realize - while he was riding off his own high - you had also reached your climax. 

You came. And he didn’t see it.

Unaware of Zoro’s disappointment, you chuckled as your world still spun around you, “Who knew you’d be the type to listen well?” You pulled your panties back over your leaking cunt, wiping your fingers on your skirt, “We’ll talk more about…” You hesitated, “whatever this was, later. Sanji says it’s time for dinner, so we’d better-”

Zoro stood, grabbed your wrist and forced you to stand. In one swift movement Zoro flipped you around, pulled your skirt to the floor, and pressed his chest hard against your back, pinning you tightly against the wall. With his knee he spread your legs apart. Your head spun from his touch. Before you had a chance to react, you could feel the sensation of something foreign slide its way between your legs. Your eyes peered down and you could make out the tip of Zoro’s cock, bright red and still covered in his own cum, rubbing against your wet underwear. 

“We’re not done here. I think it’s your turn to listen,” Zoro slurred in your ear, “and show me how well you can take it.”

His arms wrapped around your chest and stomach, effectively trapping your back against his chest. You had always been impressed by Zoro’s intimidating size and strength, but even more so since your reunion. As the muscles he had trained for two years pressed hard against your back, you couldn’t help but moan. His mouth was level with your ears and you could hear his uneven panting. Your clit was begging for attention, so you attempted to roll your hips around Zoro’s dick to create even the smallest bit of friction, but Zoro held you back. 

“You’re acting pretty needy.”

“D-Don’t be an asshole.”

“I think I’m being pretty fair,” he smirked, enjoying watching you squirm against him. 

Zoro took a step back, creating some space and your heart ached at the loss of his touch. Thankfully, the lack of touch was short lived and you gasped as Zoro pulled your panties to the side. He then handled his own dick to brush roughly against your clit before stopping right at your entrance. Zoro grabbed your hands and slammed them flat against the wall above your head 

“Now, fuck me,” Zoro growled, “Show me how you like it.”

Your heart skipped several beats before you made a move. With your own slick combined with Zoro’s cum covered cock, there was enough lubrication to easily slip the tip inside yourself. Your hips shook as you pushed your ass backwards, forcing his cock to sink further inside you. You caught your breath as you were filled with his overwhelming length, sensations of pleasure and pain mixing with each other. You knew you weren’t taking all of him, but it was all you could manage. You hesitantly fucked yourself on his cock, moving slowly as you felt yourself being torn apart. Slower than Zoro had the patience for. 

“What happened to your confidence? There’s still a long way to go.” Zoro mocked you in a strained voice. 

“Give me a break,” you squirmed under him, unwilling to stop the rhythm you had achieved, you were feeling good, “Seems to me you- ah- have it easy right now.” 

Zoro frowned at your words. Easy? He was using every ounce of his self control not to immediately come inside you. Watching your flushed back shiver underneath him as you bounced shyly in front of him was enough to make him pass out. Zoro was brought back to reality when he saw your legs begin to shake and your pace become more desperate. Right before you could reach your second climax, Zoro stepped back. 

You whined as your legs nearly gave out from the loss of his supporting hands on yours. “What was that for! I- I was so close!” You cried out in frustration. 

Zoro turned you around to face him, bringing  himself down to your eye level and slurred, “I wan’a see yer face.” His pupils were wide from arousal, and his words sent goosebumps down your spine. He looked like a wild animal. 

Zoro grabbed you by the back of your neck and crashed his lips onto yours. As much as you wanted to savor your first kiss together, it was definitely not a romantic one. The kiss was forceful and messy, his tongue found its way inside your mouth overpowering you from the inside. He moaned and hummed as he kissed you and the vibrations tickled your lips. His hands trailed everywhere along your body, tracing your neck all the way down your back, harshly gripping your ass. You struggled to appease his assertive nature, but eventually allowed yourself to be swayed by his pace. Your hands gripped his shoulders and you stood high on your toes for better access to his lips. Finally, Zoro bit down on your bottom lip, lightly tugging on it as he pulled away. 

His eyes trailed down your body, stopping at your bra. With one quick movement, your bra was torn from your body and laying in pieces on the ground. You hardly had time to be angry about your ruined clothes before Zoro shoved you down onto his cramped bunk. 

Zoro was on top of you in an instant, trailing kisses and nibbles down your neck and to your freshly exposed chest. He shoved his hand down your panties as he sloppily sucked and bit your hard nipples. You flinched back from the electric current that ran down your spine as his fingers slid against your folds. Zoro struggled underneath the fabric and finally hissed out in frustration, gripping the hem and beginning to rip away at the seams.

“Hey, wait-wait-wait! Don’t rip those, they’re my favorite pair.” You pouted. 

He looked at you, jaw clenched, “Fine,” he relented. He seized your legs and propelled your hips upward with one arm and pried your underwear down with the other. 

With your clothes out of the way he leaned back and spat on his hand and immediately plunged his fingers inside you. His face bent down again to your chest and stomach and he began leaving marks across your body. Simultaneously, Zoro pumped and curled his fingers at an excruciating pace, his fingers were far thicker than your own and it stretched your walls out in the best way. It felt incredible, but you wanted more. Wanted all of him. You wanted him to fuck you. 

“Enough- Zoro it’s enough. Please, just fuck me already.” You begged him. 

Zoro raised his head to examine your flushed face. You were sweating and stared back at him with lustful eyes.

Zoro wanted to be patient. He wanted to make you writhe beneath him as he continued to take charge as revenge from before. He wanted to do all those things, but with one look at you he lost his motivation. Zoro hastily shimmied himself out of his pants and cast them aside. Then he sat up between your legs and aligned his throbbing cock with your entrance. 

You clutched the sheets behind you and squirmed as Zoro gripped your hips tight, forcing himself deeper inside your soaking tight pussy. Zoro’s patience was long gone, and in one fell swoop he bottomed out, shoving his entire length into you. 

It was to be expected, but it quickly became clear to you that Zoro was not a gentle lover. But whatever lack of tenderness he showed through his brutish movements, was made up for in his gaze. Desperate and burning, he wanted all of you. 

You placed a hand on his chest and you could barely register what was going on around you. His size was overwhelming, rubbing and stretching every fiber of your being from your deepest core. Zoro only gave you a few seconds to adjust to his size before he pulled himself out and slammed back inside you. He watched as your face contorted with agony and lust as he continued to pound into you ruthlessly. Zoro grabbed your hand away from his chest and entangled his fingers with your own. He lifted your hand up to his mouth and ran his tongue down the back of your hand and to the tips of your fingers. 

You were getting dizzy. “Slow- ugh- down. You’re- ah! Too fast!”

“You’re shameless,” Zoro smirked. “You have’ta take responsibility for your teasing” he said showing off his teeth before leaning down and shutting you up with a sloppy kiss. He ran his tongue along your jaw, and left hickies across your neck. You moved your own hands and legs to capture him and bring him impossibly close. You needed to feel every inch of the man before you. 

Zoro felt intoxicated. Your soft body underneath his fingertips, your saliva mixing in with his own, the sweet smell of your sweat, and the way you clenched him tightly. He couldn't get enough. You were better than any liquor. 

Zoro untangled himself from your limbs and brazenly lifted one of your legs onto his shoulder. You watched greedily as he straddled your other leg and reinserted himself. The new angle reached a spot inside you that sent a shock throughout your body. Your back arched and your hands clawed at his thick thighs. Zoro reveled in the sting of your nails and reached one hand to knead your clit and with the other he held your leg tight against his chest. He let his tongue run a trail along your calf, finally stopping to sink his teeth into your muscle. You cried out, and Zoro's eyes lit up in arousal at the noise.

 You were getting close. Every touch, grind, and thrust was working its way through your body building tension in your core. Zoro watched you closely as you pinched your own nipples and your hips bucked upward to meet him halfway. He saw your eyebrows pinch together tightly as you whimpered, “Pleasepleaseplease-” the coil burned hotter and hotter.

“That’s it, let me see you come. I want to see you come for me.”

With a final gasp you reached your climax. The world around you shattered and your whole body shook as the immense pleasure overtook you. 

Zoro took in every second, every twitch and shake as he fucked you through your orgasm. As the overstimulation racked your body Zoro also reached his peak. With a few final rough thrusts, he moaned as he released inside you at the deepest point. His cock twitched as it spilled his warm cum, filling you completely. You clutched at his body pulling him onto you as you both rode out your highs. He wrapped his arms around your waist and you entangled your fingers in his hair as your thighs gripped him.  

You both lay there in each other's embrace, sweaty and panting. 

As you both calmed down and the reality of what you had just done, dozens of your conflicting emotions began swirling in your heads. Relief. Desire. Exhilaration. Panic. 

You both knew that everything had changed. But as you lay next to one another, feeling each other’s heartbeat and breath, you couldn’t help but smile. It was obvious that the two of you would not be returning to normal, but somehow, you were both ok with that. 

…

The Strawhat crew was in a great mood as they ate their dinner around the table. Luffy and Brook sang cheerfully in-between bites of Sanji’s incredible dish. The rest of the crew chowed down on their meal smiling at their captain's antics. 

Suddenly, Nami looked around perplexed. “Where's Y/N and Zoro? Luffy’s gonna eat their portions if they don't hurry.”

Robin hummed as she chewed her last bite, and shared a knowing look with Franky, who stifled a laugh. “Y/N and Zoro were sparring in the crows nest. They were finally getting back in sync so it's better we don't bother them. I'll be sure to save their portions.” Robin smiled innocently. 

⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎⚔︎

⚔︎ authors note | everyone follow @nanpecan, this wouldn't have been written without her, she slayed the first half, frobin insert, and final edit. and thank her for bullying me to actually finish writing my parts. all i want is to write silly little situations of my fav troupes so we shoved a couple in here lol. hope y'all have fun

[somegrumpynerd]

Okay hear me out

Nightmare asking Killer if there's anything he wants and Killer says he wants to go see Color in the omega timeline. He hasn't seen him in a while and he misses his friend, but Nightmare takes this to mean he wants to leave and stay with Color permanently.

He agrees, because even though it makes him deeply sad to lose one of his men, he needs to let Killer go and live with other mortals and be happy. Killer texts Color and goes to pack a bag and Nightmare opens a portal and takes him to the omega timeline. They meet Color and he's looking very suspicious of Nightmare while Killer runs up all excited and off they go.

And Nightmare goes back to the castle. He spends the rest of the day in a weird daze, feeling kind of empty. When the others inevitably ask where Killer is, he hesitates and tells them he's in the omega timeline and doesn't elaborate further.

Eventually he shuts himself in his office for the night and just sits at his desk, staring into space. He's glad Killer's happy, of course, but it still hurts that he's gone. What is he going to tell the others when they start asking again, after it's been too long to be a simple visit? Will they all want to leave? They probably all have places to be, maybe he should let them go, would that be better for everyone? If Killer, who was always so eager and happy to be here, wanted nothing more than to get out, what does that mean for the rest of them?

This is the beginning of the end, isn't it? He'll have to let them all go, and then he'll be alone. Just like when he and Dream were kids and Dream would go off with his own friends. Except he can talk to Dream now, can't he? Maybe he should ask him about this. If nothing else maybe Dream would agree to visit him, once they're all gone.

But before he can pick up his phone and call his brother, it starts buzzing and it's Killer like "Okay I'm ready to come home now c:"

[sallow-gaunt]

Headcanon

Sebastian is a good student. He’s bright, he’s charming, and it’s no wonder his teachers think he’s capable because his parents were both professors so it would make sense that he’s grown up well-read and educated.

But then Anne gets cursed before the end of their fourth year and stops attending Hogwarts - as his fourth year draws to a close, his grades begin to slip because he’s not paying attention in class, he starts breaking curfew because he’s staying up after hours to research cures, all he can think about is how to help his sister and it negatively impacts his studies. He puts on a facade in class, but his smiles are fake, and when he thinks no one is looking, he turns sullen. The only friend he spends much time with anymore is Ominis, and while their friendship is admirable, it’s a far cry from the boy who used to banter with everyone, the boy who always had something to say. The professors try to be understanding given his circumstances, but they’re all undeniably worried about him.

At the beginning of fifth year, this behaviour continues - but there’s something different, if only slightly. Hecat notices it first in the first DADA lesson of the year when he duels the new fifth year; despite the fact he loses this duel, she notices the way he grins at the new student, his boyish face bright in a way it hasn’t been since his sister was cursed. It’s nice to see him smile again, she thinks.

The next to notice it is Professor Weasley, when she comes to fetch him from detention with a “special task”; he looks surprised but relieved to be out of detention, and listens as she explains that she wants him to take the new fifth year to Hogsmeade for supplies. She doesn’t miss the way he beams ear to ear upon hearing that the fifth year asked for him specifically when encouraged to go with a friend, and as he goes to meet them in the entrance hall, there’s a sudden bounce to his step. It makes her smile to herself, pleased that he seems genuinely happy.

It doesn’t take long for all of the faculty to notice it, and it becomes a hot topic of conversation among them. Garlick insists that she keeps seeing him and the new fifth year laughing together on their way to Herbology, even on days they don’t work together; Sharp notes that while Sebastian still works with Ominis, he’s often seen at the potion station of the new student, the two of them talking in low teasing tones that suggest a friendly banter. Ronen disclosed that while the new student often chooses to sit with Natty or Poppy for Charms, he’s caught them and Sebastian looking at each other from across the classroom; everyone has a good chuckle when even Fig remarks that he’s often seen Sebastian waiting outside of his classroom when the new student leaves, as if the Slytherin boy has been waiting to see them. Many of the other teachers also recall seeing the two in each other’s presence around the school constantly, sharing sweets and talking.

They all agree that the presence of the new fifth year student is the cause of Sebastian’s uplifted mood, there’s no other explanation quite frankly. He’s not completely the same as he was before - he is still breaking curfew, still not focusing completely on his work, still seems sullen on most days - but when he’s around the new student, he’s definitely happier and more like his old self.

[eyrieofsynapses]

why Aurora's art is genius

It's break for me, and I've been meaning to sit down and read the Aurora webcomic (https://comicaurora.com/, @comicaurora on Tumblr) for quite a bit. So I did that over the last few days.

And… y'know. I can't actually say "I should've read this earlier," because otherwise I would've been up at 2:30-3am when I had responsibilities in the morning and I couldn't have properly enjoyed it, but. Holy shit guys THIS COMIC.

I intended to just do a generalized "hello this is all the things I love about this story," and I wrote a paragraph or two about art style. …and then another. And another. And I realized I needed to actually reference things so I would stop being too vague. I was reading the comic on my tablet or phone, because I wanted to stay curled up in my chair, but I type at a big monitor and so I saw more details… aaaaaand it turned into its own giant-ass post.

SO. Enjoy a few thousand words of me nerding out about this insanely cool art style and how fucking gorgeous this comic is? (There are screenshots, I promise it isn't just a wall of text.) In my defense, I just spent two semesters in graphic design classes focusing on the Adobe Suite, so… I get to be a nerd about pretty things…???

All positive feedback btw! No downers here. <3

---

I cannot emphasize enough how much I love the beautiful, simple stylistic method of drawing characters and figures. It is absolutely stunning and effortless and utterly graceful—it is so hard to capture the sheer beauty and fluidity of the human form in such a fashion. Even a simple outline of a character feels dynamic! It's gorgeous!

Though I do have a love-hate relationship with this, because my artistic side looks at that lovely simplicity, goes "I CAN DO THAT!" and then I sit down and go to the paper and realize that no, in fact, I cannot do that yet, because that simplicity is born of a hell of a lot of practice and understanding of bodies and actually is really hard to do. It's a very developed style that only looks simple because the artist knows what they're doing. The human body is hard to pull off, and this comic does so beautifully and makes it look effortless.

Also: line weight line weight line weight. It's especially important in simplified shapes and figures like this, and hoo boy is it used excellently. It's especially apparent the newer the pages get—I love watching that improvement over time—but with simpler figures and lines, you get nice light lines to emphasize both smaller details, like in the draping of clothing and the curls of hair—which, hello, yes—and thicker lines to emphasize bigger and more important details and silhouettes. It's the sort of thing that's essential to most illustrations, but I wanted to make a note of it because it's so vital to this art style.

THE USE OF LAYER BLENDING MODES OH MY GODS. (...uhhh, apologies to the people who don't know what that means, it's a digital art program thing? This article explains it for beginners.)

Bear with me, I just finished my second Photoshop course, I spent months and months working on projects with this shit so I see the genius use of Screen and/or its siblings (of which there are many—if I say "Screen" here, assume I mean the entire umbrella of Screen blending modes and possibly Overlay) and go nuts, but seriously it's so clever and also fucking gorgeous:

Firstly: the use of screened-on sound effect words over an action? A "CRACK" written over a branch and then put on Screen in glowy green so that it's subtle enough that it doesn't disrupt the visual flow, but still sticks out enough to make itself heard? Little "scritches" that are transparent where they're laid on without outlines to emphasize the sound without disrupting the underlying image? FUCK YES. I haven't seen this done literally anywhere else—granted, I haven't read a massive amount of comics, but I've read enough—and it is so clever and I adore it. Examples:

Secondly: The beautiful lighting effects. The curling leaves, all the magic, the various glowing eyes, the fog, the way it's all so vividly colored but doesn't burn your eyeballs out—a balance that's way harder to achieve than you'd think—and the soft glows around them, eeeee it's so pretty so pretty SO PRETTY. Not sure if some of these are Outer/Inner Glow/Shadow layer effects or if it's entirely hand-drawn, but major kudos either way; I can see the beautiful use of blending modes and I SALUTE YOUR GENIUS.

I keep looking at some of this stuff and go "is that a layer effect or is it done by hand?" Because you can make some similar things with the Satin layer effect in Photoshop (I don't know if other programs have this? I'm gonna have to find out since I won't have access to PS for much longer ;-;) that resembles some of the swirly inner bits on some of the lit effects, but I'm not sure if it is that or not. Or you could mask over textures? There's... many ways to do it.

If done by hand: oh my gods the patience, how. If done with layer effects: really clever work that knows how to stop said effects from looking wonky, because ugh those things get temperamental. If done with a layer of texture that's been masked over: very, very good masking work. No matter the method, pretty shimmers and swirly bits inside the bigger pretty swirls!

Next: The way color contrast is used! I will never be over the glowy green-on-black Primordial Life vibes when Alinua gets dropped into that… unconscious space?? with Life, for example, and the sharp contrast of vines and crack and branches and leaves against pitch black is just visually stunning. The way the roots sink into the ground and the three-dimensional sensation of it is particularly badass here:

Friggin. How does this imply depth like that. HOW. IT'S SO FREAKING COOL.

A huge point here is also color language and use! Everybody has their own particular shade, generally matching their eyes, magic, and personality, and I adore how this is used to make it clear who's talking or who's doing an action. That was especially apparent to me with Dainix and Falst in the caves—their colors are both fairly warm, but quite distinct, and I love how this clarifies who's doing what in panels with a lot of action from both of them. There is a particular bit that stuck out to me, so I dug up the panels (see this page and the following one https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-20-30/):

(Gods it looks even prettier now that I put it against a plain background. Also, appreciation to Falst for managing a bridal-carry midair, damn.)

The way that their colors MERGE here! And the immense attention to detail in doing so—Dainix is higher up than Falst is in the first panel, so Dainix's orange fades into Falst's orange at the base. The next panel has gold up top and orange on bottom; we can't really tell in that panel where each of them are, but that's carried over to the next panel—

—where we now see that Falst's position is raised above Dainix's due to the way he's carrying him. (Points for continuity!) And, of course, we see the little "huffs" flowing from orange to yellow over their heads (where Dainix's head is higher than Falst's) to merge the sound of their breathing, which is absurdly clever because it emphasizes to the viewer how we hear two sets of huffing overlaying each other, not one. Absolutely brilliant.

(A few other notes of appreciation to that panel: beautiful glows around them, the sparks, the jagged silhouette of the spider legs, the lovely colors that have no right to make the area around a spider corpse that pretty, the excellent texturing on the cave walls plus perspective, the way Falst's movements imply Dainix's hefty weight, the natural posing of the characters, their on-point expressions that convey exactly how fuckin terrifying everything is right now, the slight glows to their eyes, and also they're just handsome boys <3)

Next up: Rain!!!! So well done! It's subtle enough that it never ever disrupts the impact of the focal point, but evident enough you can tell! And more importantly: THE MIST OFF THE CHARACTERS. Rain does this irl, it has that little vapor that comes off you and makes that little misty effect that plays with lighting, it's so cool-looking and here it's used to such pretty effect!

One of the panel captions says something about it blurring out all the injuries on the characters but like THAT AIN'T TOO BIG OF A PROBLEM when it gets across the environmental vibes, and also that'd be how it would look in real life too so like… outside viewer's angle is the same as the characters', mostly? my point is: that's the environment!!! that's the vibes, that's the feel! It gets it across and it does so in the most pretty way possible!

And another thing re: rain, the use of it to establish perspective, particularly in panels like this—

—where we can tell we're looking down at Tynan due to the perspective on the rain and where it's pointing. Excellent. (Also, kudos for looking down and emphasizing how Tynan's losing his advantage—lovely use of visual storytelling.)

Additionally, the misting here:

We see it most heavily in the leftmost panel, where it's quite foggy as you would expect in a rainstorm, especially in an environment with a lot of heat, but it's also lightly powdered on in the following two panels and tends to follow light sources, which makes complete sense given how light bounces off particles in the air.

A major point of strength in these too is a thorough understanding of lighting, like rim lighting, the various hues and shades, and an intricate understanding of how light bounces off surfaces even when they're in shadow (we'll see a faint glow in spots where characters are half in shadow, but that's how it would work in real life, because of how light bounces around).

Bringing some of these points together: the fluidity of the lines in magic, and the way simple glowing lines are used to emphasize motion and the magic itself, is deeply clever. I'm basically pulling at random from panels and there's definitely even better examples, but here's one (see this page https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-16-33/):

First panel, listed in numbers because these build on each other:

The tension of the lines in Tess's magic here. This works on a couple levels: first, the way she's holding her fists, as if she's pulling a rope taut.

The way there's one primary line, emphasizing the rope feeling, accompanied by smaller ones.

The additional lines starbursting around her hands, to indicate the energy crackling in her hands and how she's doing a good bit more than just holding it. (That combined with the fists suggests some tension to the magic, too.) Also the variations in brightness, a feature you'll find in actual lightning. :D Additional kudos for how the lightning sparks and breaks off the metal of the sword.

A handful of miscellaneous notes on the second panel:

The reflection of the flames in Erin's typically dark blue eyes (which bears a remarkable resemblance to Dainix, incidentally—almost a thematic sort of parallel given Erin's using the same magic Dainix specializes in?)

The flowing of fabric in the wind and associated variation in the lineart

The way Erin's tattoos interact with the fire he's pulling to his hand

The way the rain overlays some of the fainter areas of fire (attention! to! detail! hell yeah!)

I could go on. I won't because this is a lot of writing already.

Third panel gets paragraphs, not bullets:

Erin's giant-ass "FWOOM" of fire there, and the way the outline of the word is puffy-edged and gradated to feel almost three-dimensional, plus once again using Screen or a variation on it so that the stars show up in the background. All this against that stunning plume of fire, which ripples and sparks so gorgeously, and the ending "om" of the onomatopoeia is emphasized incredibly brightly against that, adding to the punch of it and making the plume feel even brighter.

Also, once again, rain helping establish perspective, especially in how it's very angular in the left side of the panel and then slowly becomes more like a point to the right to indicate it's falling directly down on the viewer. Add in the bright, beautiful glow effects, fainter but no less important black lines beneath them to emphasize the sky and smoke and the like, and the stunningly beautiful lighting and gradated glows surrounding Erin plus the lightning jagging up at him from below, and you get one hell of an impactful panel right there. (And there is definitely more in there I could break down, this is just a lot already.)

And in general: The colors in this? Incredible. The blues and purples and oranges and golds compliment so well, and it's all so rich.

Like, seriously, just throughout the whole comic, the use of gradients, blending modes, color balance and hues, all the things, all the things, it makes for the most beautiful effects and glows and such a rich environment. There's a very distinct style to this comic in its simplified backgrounds (which I recognize are done partly because it's way easier and also backgrounds are so time-consuming dear gods but lemme say this) and vivid, smoothly drawn characters; the simplicity lets them come to the front and gives room for those beautiful, richly saturated focal points, letting the stylized designs of the magic and characters shine. The use of distinct silhouettes is insanely good. Honestly, complex backgrounds might run the risk of making everything too visually busy in this case. It's just, augh, so GORGEOUS.

Another bit, take a look at this page (https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-15-28/):

It's not quite as evident here as it is in the next page, but this one does some other fun things so I'm grabbing it. Points:

Once again, using different colors to represent different character actions. The "WHAM" of Kendal hitting the ground is caused by Dainix's force, so it's orange (and kudos for doubling the word over to add a shake effect). But we see blue layered underneath, which could be an environmental choice, but might also be because it's Kendal, whose color is blue.

And speaking off, take a look at the right-most panel on top, where Kendal grabs the spear: his motion is, again, illustrated in bright blue, versus the atmospheric screened-on orange lines that point toward him around the whole panel (I'm sure these have a name, I think they might be more of a manga thing though and the only experience I have in manga is reading a bit of Fullmetal Alchemist). Those lines emphasize the weight of the spear being shoved at him, and their color tells us Dainix is responsible for it.

One of my all-time favorite effects in this comic is the way cracks manifest across Dainix's body to represent when he starts to lose control; it is utterly gorgeous and wonderfully thematic. These are more evident in the page before and after this one, but you get a decent idea here. I love the way they glow softly, the way the fire juuuust flickers through at the start and then becomes more evident over time, and the cracks feel so realistic, like his skin is made of pottery. Additional points for how fire begins to creep into his hair.

A small detail that's generally consistent across the comic, but which I want to make note of here because you can see it pretty well: Kendal's eyes glow about the same as the jewel in his sword, mirroring his connection to said sword and calling back to how the jewel became Vash's eye temporarily and thus was once Kendal's eye. You can always see this connection (though there might be some spots where this also changes in a symbolic manner; I went through it quickly on the first time around, so I'll pay more attention when I inevitably reread this), where Kendal's always got that little shine of blue in his eyes the same as the jewel. It's a beautiful visual parallel that encourages the reader to subconsciously link them together, especially since the lines used to illustrate character movements typically mirror their eye color. It's an extension of Kendal.

Did I mention how ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL the colors in this are?

Also, the mythological/legend-type scenes are illustrated in familiar style often used for that type of story, a simple and heavily symbolic two-dimensional cave-painting-like look. They are absolutely beautiful on many levels, employing simple, lovely gradients, slightly rougher and thicker lineart that is nonetheless smoothly beautiful, and working with clear silhouettes (a major strength of this art style, but also a strength in the comic overall). But in particular, I wanted to call attention to a particular thing (see this page https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-12-4/):

The flowing symbolic lineart surrounding each character. This is actually quite consistent across characters—see also Life's typical lines and how they curl:

What's particularly interesting here is how these symbols are often similar, but not the same. Vash's lines are always smooth, clean curls, often playing off each other and echoing one another like ripples in a pond. You'd think they'd look too similar to Life's—but they don't. Life's curl like vines, and they remain connected; where one curve might echo another but exist entirely detached from each other in Vash's, Life's lines still remain wound together, because vines are continuous and don't float around. :P

Tahraim's are less continuous, often breaking up with significantly smaller bits and pieces floating around like—of course—sparks, and come to sharper points. These are also constants: we see the vines repeated over and over in Alinua's dreams of Life, and the echoing ripples of Vash are consistent wherever we encounter him. Kendal's dream of the ghost citizens of the city of Vash in the last few chapters is filled with these rippling, echoing patterns, to beautiful effect (https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-20-14/):

They ripple and spiral, often in long, sinuous curves, with smooth elegance. It reminds me a great deal of images of space and sine waves and the like. This establishes a definite feel to these different characters and their magic. And the thing is, that's not something that had to be done—the colors are good at emphasizing who's who. But it was done, and it adds a whole other dimension to the story. Whenever you're in a deity's domain, you know whose it is no matter the color.

Regarding that shape language, I wanted to make another note, too—Vash is sometimes described as chaotic and doing what he likes, which is interesting to me, because smooth, elegant curves and the color blue aren't generally associated with chaos. So while Vash might behave like that on the surface, I'm guessing he's got a lot more going on underneath; he's probably much more intentional in his actions than you'd think at a glance, and he is certainly quite caring with his city. The other thing is that this suits Kendal perfectly. He's a paragon character; he is kind, virtuous, and self-sacrificing, and often we see him aiming to calm others and keep them safe. Blue is such a good color for him. There is… probably more to this, but I'm not deep enough in yet to say.

And here's the thing: I'm only scratching the surface. There is so much more here I'm not covering (color palettes! outfits! character design! environment! the deities! so much more!) and a lot more I can't cover, because I don't have the experience; this is me as a hobbyist artist who happened to take a couple design classes because I wanted to. The art style to this comic is so clever and creative and beautiful, though, I just had to go off about it. <3

...brownie points for getting all the way down here? Have a cookie.