#i think i like the eyebrow scar i added tho

[milfloveer]

Hello! Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening! I’d like to know if you accept fanfic suggestions. If so, I’d love to request a fanfic of Lilia Calderu x Female Reader, where the reader is drawing, and Lilia approaches to take a look and asks if she can see the drawing. However, while flipping through some pages, Lilia ends up finding several drawings of herself. It would be similar to that scene from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, when Gwen picks up Miles’ sketchbook and sees several drawings of her. (I imagine Lilia��s reaction would be the cutest ever (˶˃ ᵕ ˂˶)).

Drawings of you

Pairing: Lilia Calderu x fem!reader

Prompt: (request)

Warnings: scars and history about them (reader has whip scars)

A/n: Hiiii!!! Thank you so much for the request!! Hope this is what you've asked for, please tell me what y'all think cause I think I've wandered a little 👉🏻👈🏻 Also I added some more plot hope it didn't ruin it tho.

As we finished the second trial, Alice's trial, and made sure Teen was alright we settled down and made a fire so we could rest for the night.

We sat by the fire and were currently sharing our battle scars, Lilia pointed out to her neck pulling her shirt aside making me shift on my seat "Check this out." we all reached a little closer to see better, my cheeks painted with a soft pink and then Jen asked what we were all thinking "What is that?" and Lilia, still showing it says "Vampire bite. Right before I knock out his other tooth." she says making all of us laugh.

Alice then turns to me "What about you, y/n? Do you have any battle scars?" she asks innocently, I couldn't hide my sudden face drop as my body tenses, my eyes fall to Rio cause she knows what my scars are about, her expression unreadable and then my eyes fall to Lilia's, her eyes curious about what I have to show and so I sigh "I do have them, yes. But they're really ugly and how I got them... Well, let's say it's not as funny as Lilia's." I say softly, preparing them to see my scars. I turn around, my back now facing them, and I lift my shirt, they gasp and an 'Oh gods' left Lilia's mouth.

When I turn around they all have a shocking and scared face, I look down at my intertwined hands as I could not bear their gazes directed at me "It all happened when I was in Salem, I was held captive by a powerful man... Not by power tho, but by money and other things, he was well known and respected by the people. So one day he found out I was a witch and how powerful I was, all because of a stupid mistake I've made." I said sighing in frustration memories of that haunting me "All those years he held me captive he made me do things for him, like cure people, read their fortune and if needed I would do some potions and cast some spells.... Curses even. If not or if I did it wrong he would whipp me over and over again until I had no skin left. It was that or burning in a stake." I tell as they all share a look "Dead almost caught me that time." I scoff taking a glance at Rio. Lilia shifts in her seat, her mouth opens to say something, but Agatha arrives and sits down next to Rio, so Lilia stays silent, but her eyes remain in my figure like she's trying to read me just like a book.

To take the tension out and to divert the attention from me I turn to Agatha "Agatha, do you have any battle scars?" I ask and she smirks pulling her sleeve up, Rio makes a snort knowing full well what she was going to show. Her scar is in the elbow "Knitting needle to the elbow." she says while showing it around as we all made a disgusted face "Ever heard of the daughters of liberty?" she asked and we all answered with 'no' while shaking our heads "Exactly." she says making all of us laugh.

And then, out of the blue, Rio says "I've got a scar." as Agatha quickly replies "No you don't." that makes me raise an eyebrow "Yes, I do." Rio reinforces taking a look at Agatha as she keeps explaining "A long time ago I loved someone. And I had to do something I did not wanna do... Even though it was my job. And it hurt them... She is my scar." she finishes and looks directly at Agatha, not even trying to hide who it was. Agatha then gets up saying she needs to stretch her legs and Rio follows her, leaving us four at the fire.

We all look at each other and shrug, I mean we all knew they had an history, it was clear as water, so we didn't bother. It's not like they're gonna tell us anyway.

I take a glance at the three witches "Y'all get some rest, I'll take the first watch." I tell them and they all nod, Jen and Alice got comfortable against the rock they were, Lilia did the same.

To pass time I conjured my sketchbook and pencil so I could draw something and by something I mean the elder wise witch sleeping a couple of feet in front of me. I couldn't take her out of my mind since the first day I saw her at Agatha's house, her curly hair, her curved nose, her soft looking lips, oh how I would love to kiss them, those dark irises I could drown in a matter of seconds, her angelic voice, the whole of her, I could not stop thinking about her and only her. And I couldn't stop drawing her since, my sketchbook was full of her images, profile, full body, different expressions, her hands, her necklace, I couldn't stop, I won't stop.

I now started to draw her sleeping figure, how her body was curled in as she lays on her side facing me, her hands next to her chest in a protective way. She was in a deep sleep as her now relaxed body only moved with her soft breathing. I lost myself in the lines drawing efficiently every detail of her, capturing her essence as she sleeps... But the pencil started to weigh too much and so did my eyelids, I didn't even realise when I fell asleep, sliding into a deep slumber myself.

The shaking of my body and a soft voice is what makes me aware of my sleeping state and so I jump awake "Whoa, calm down, darling, it's just me." Lilia whispers as the rest of the coven is still sleeping, I frown "What's wrong?" I ask confused, she smiles softly "Nothing, dear, I only wanted to put you in a more comfortable position as you were not looking rather comfortable in that one." she says chuckling lightly, she then looks next to me where my sketchbook fell and she reaches for it "Oh, No-" I say trying to stop her but she's quicker than me "I always wondered what you spend so much time drawing about." she says teasingly and opens the book "Oh-" she says as she flips through the pages.

My face turns red, red as a tomato, as a strawberry, as her lipstick "Lilia-" I breathe out, but she looks at me tenderly "These are amazing, darling. But why me?" she asks innocently and I am left with no words, mouth agape as staring embarrassed at her "Have you seen yourself?" I ask, my voice lower than a whisper. She chuckles and shakes her head "No need to be shy now, dear." and my only reaction is to hide my face behind my hands with embarrassment.

Lilia's soft hands grab mine and put them down, her face really close to mine "I really appreciate it." she says and I almost choke with the air on my throat as she leans in and gives me a tender kiss on my cheek. Well if I wasn't red before, now certainly I was, my heart was ready to jump out of my chest as my head was ready to explode "Now, try to rest, dear, I'll take the next watch." she says laughing softly as she backs up to her previous spot.

How am I gonna sleep after this?!

[naushtheaspiringauthor]

~Child Of The Storm~

Nikolai Lantsov x OC

Image by - @brokendreamtale2

Warnings- slight ptsd and mentions of scars

A/N- CHILD OF THE STORM IS BACK YALL. I am SO sorry for disappearing for like, three months life's been A LOT. There's only two three more chapters left until the fic's over. I cannot believe it's been more than a year. BUT there is something new coming up very soon (tho it would be a lot sooner IF I JUST FIGURE OUT HOW TO FIX THE DAMNED PLOT HOLE). Anyways, this chapter's a bit long so buckle in. And let me know if you'd like to be added or removed from the taglist!

Taglist- @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @sirisuorionblack @evelyndane @marauders-wife @el-de-phi

Ch-65 ~and it was either going to make her stronger than ever~

Anaya stopped at the doorway. She took a deep breath before entering the ballroom.

The place was a massive hall with shiny golden walls and chandeliers that covered almost the entire ceiling. It was where all of the royal events were hosted.

And tonight, for Nikolai’s coronation, Genya had done a great job of making even the hideous Grand Palace appear endearing. 

Even though Nikolai was supposed to be the centre of attention tonight, every head turned as Anaya went in. 

Even Nikolai himself had turned to look at her.

“Great” she thought, not quite fond of the gesture. She’d already been late because she’d spent the afternoon working when she should've been preparing for the event.

She walked forward, her gown brushing against the laces of her shoes, a smile on her face.

She saw Genya and Zoya standing in a far corner, gesturing to her to come to them.

“Councillor Nasrazeen,” A man spoke up, blocking her path. “It’s an honour to finally meet you” he smiled. Though his narrowed eyes and raised eyebrow expressed how he was much more irritated to meet her.

 “Duke Verensky” he introduced himself.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Duke Verensky” Anaya said, a smile plastered across her face.

“I have to say,” he began. “Ravka truly is changing its ways of working” He raised his brows. “Given how the Council is now being led by a Grisha woman”.

There it was.

When the news of Anaya’s position had reached the nobles, some had been intrigued as to why she’d become the Councillor. Others had simply refused to accept it. 

“Surely you’re aware of all the events that have happened in our country since last year,” Anaya said, her voice unwavering. “Ravka is certainly seeing changes it hadn’t ever seen before.” She tilted her head. “And perhaps it’s for the best.” 

But the Duke only narrowed his eyes further, “That we shall see” he gave a nod, walking away.

The coronation began shortly afterwards and lasted for a while. 

Anaya glanced at the clock. It’d only been an hour since she’d arrived, and yet it had felt like an eternity.

The prying eyes of the guests and their never ending questions made her want to walk out the door, but she had no other choice but to stay.

“Why exactly did King Nikolai choose you for a position that holds such great importance?” One of the guests asked.

“I believe you would have to ask his majesty himself about his decision” She offered as pleasantly as she could. 

“Still, if you had to think of a possible reason, what would you choose?” She pressed.

It’s probably because I don’t ask useless questions.

“It could be, as I’ve worked by his side during the civil war and because of my experience on foreign lands” She said. 

“Surely you would need more factors than that to be worthy of running a country” the woman said, smiling.

Why don’t you run it instead.

Anaya forced her lips into a smile, “Duchess, I-”

“I deeply apologise for interrupting you,” Genya appeared by her side. “But I’m afraid I’ll have to borrow Miss Nasrazeen for a moment” she smiled and dragged Anaya away by her arm.

“How do I thank you for this favour Genya” Anaya let out an exasperated sigh as she went to the corner where Zoya was.

“By actually dressing up on time” Genya grinned as she rolled a single amber eye.

“That woman is a menace,” Zoya added, handing Anaya a glass of champagne.

“That I figured out” Anaya rolled her eyes, taking the glass.

“I have to say,” Genya glimpsed at her dress. “You do look good in blue”.

“‘Immensely endearing’ is the term I’d use” Anaya flashed a grin. 

She lowered her voice“ I'm surprised how you managed to turn this hideous palace appealing ”

“What can I say” Genya straightened her shoulders. “I'm very talented”.

“Where is David by the way?” She asked

Genya rolled her eye, “He left as soon as the Coronation was over. He's very repulsive to social gatherings”.

“However do you deal with him” Zoya said, shaking her head.

There was a brief silence, filled by their similar thoughts.

“It's so hard,” Zoya sighed. “Pretending to be thrilled about all this, as if nothing happened”.

Anaya gave a single nod of her head. “That's what this all is” she lifted a shoulder. “Pretending to move on, getting used to the changes, acting along in the play”.

“Atleast Nikolai’s doing it a lot better than us,” Genya said, her gaze drifting over to where he was standing.

Anaya nodded in agreement. 

Even after all he'd endured, he'd managed to keep the act going, playing the parts he was expected to.

She had no idea how he did it all, when she could do nothing to shake the feeling of her scars creeping over her, reminding her of how they came to be.

Slithering like thorned vines over her arms, her back.

The evening stretched on and the nobles continued to pester Anaya with their inane questions.

And she had no choice but to offer them and answer.

…………………………………..

Anaya stood near one of the tables at a corner, a glass of champagne in her hand. It was getting immensely difficult to get through the event without it.

She then noticed two of the grisha students silently creeping out with a bottle of champagne hidden behind their backs.

“And where exactly do you two plan to be going?” Anaya said, appearing behind them.

The Fabrikator and the Heartrender turned around hastily, trembling in fear upon the sight of her.

“Nowhere…ma’am” The Boy began, refusing to meet her gaze

But the Heartrender cut him off, “I actually needed some fresh air so I told him to go outside” She offered.

Despite being shorter, Anaya seemed to be the one looking down at them.

“And I suppose you also need the champagne to enjoy the fresh air” She raised an eyebrow.

“We-” The girl began, but Anaya's sceptical gaze stopped her from further speaking.

Anaya looked at them for a moment, “What are your names?” She said, finally speaking.

“I- Nestor Verakov”, ma’am” The boy looked at his feet.

Anaya's gaze shifted to the girl.

“Nina Zenik” she said, managing to look up.

Anaya sighed, “Fine go, just don't let the General see you” she glanced at Zoya who was surrounded by a group of First Army officials.

They barely nodded before rushing out the door.

Anaya sighed and went back to her corner before another noble could drag her off.

She looked around, taking a sip from her second glass.

“Going very fast on the champagne are we?” She turned to see Nikolai with a smile on his face. “I will need my Councillor to be able to work tomorrow you know” He walked to her side.

Anaya sighed, “Yeah yeah”.

“You know,” He stood beside her. “Even though it’s supposed to be my day, you’re the one gathering all the attention” He flashed a grin.

Anaya rolled her eyes, “These people ask the most inane questions” She shook her head. “I get people asking how I plan on bringing developments to the country,” She waved her hand. “But how am I supposed to know what kind of woman the new king would be willing to marry?” She turned her hand.

He shook his head in disdain but he was smiling, “Ah, the nobles” He tilted his head briefly. “They tend to do that quite a lot, you’ll get used to it”.

“Perhaps you should tell them that the King’s looking for a seamstress who plays the eighteen string Khatur”.

Anaya turned to him, “Why specifically the eighteen string?” She raised a brow. “Why not the twelve?”.

“I” He began. “am a cultured man Anaya” He spoke as dramatically as he could manage with the guests watching them. “The eight string is for uncultured fools, don’t you think?”

“I don’t know,” Anaya put her glass down. “I don’t have much interest in string instruments”.

He paused briefly then spoke, “I’d have to thank you for your advice” His voice was much lower and serious.  “Really helped me get through all this”.

Anaya looked at him and gave the barest shake of his head, “Well I’m not one to offer advice,” She met his gaze. “But I’m glad I could help” Her lips formed a small smile.

……………………………………………

The topic had come up the previous morning. Anaya had been in her study, working, when Zoya and Genya had shown up to have tea with her.

“Nikolai doesn’t seem very thrilled about it,” Zoya had pointed out.

Genya nodded, “He appears distressed” She lowered her voice. “After all he’s endured, I’m not sure if he wishes to be King all the same.”

“But he has to,” Zoya said.

Genya gave a distant nod, pondering upon something. “Anaya” She turned to her.

“Hmm?” Anaya looked away from her papers. 

“You should speak with him”.

Anaya furrowed her brows, “What why?”.

Genya picked up her teacup, “He needs someone to tell him that he doesn’t need to fret about being the King”.

Anaya looked at her with an utterly confused look, “Why me? Why can’t either of you speak with him?”. 

She glanced at Zoya. “Well not her, but why can’t you do it”

Zoya rolled her eyes.

“I don’t…really speak with him” Genya said, hesitation lingering in her voice. “Given all that has happened”.

Genya had been pardoned only because of Alina Starkov. So there still was some hesitation between her and Nikolai. And Anaya had the feeling he didn’t fully trust her yet.

“Plus, he does seem to listen to you,” Zoya added.

Anaya raised her brows.

“He does, actually,” Genya agreed.

So Anaya had spoken with him. 

Not the entire day. The only time she’d seen him was when she’d been walking down the hall with the Finance Minister. 

When she’d been walking back to the Little Palace at night, then she’d seen him. Standing near the lake, almost irrecognizable.

"Nervous about the big day?" Anaya asked as she walked towards him. 

He turned to her in utter curiosity. His gaze softened upon the sight of her, "Well yeah" he sighed. "It's quite weird".

 He looked up at the night sky, the gleaming stars. "Even though I've been preparing for this my entire life, it still seems very daunting". 

She stood next to him.

 "It is understandable" she met his gaze. "I mean it's not everyday you get to be the King" she tilted her head. "It can be quite strange, when the moment you've been waiting, preparing for so long, finally comes". Her voice was low, the breeze on a summer night, making the trees waver gently. 

"For a long while, it almost seems impossible".

 "Improbable, actually" Nikolai lifted a finger, a corner of his mouth turned up.

 "What?" She said, utterly perplexed.

 "Nothing is truly impossible, it's only ever improbable".

 She nodded briefly in amusement, "Well, alright".

The silence lingered in the air, gentle, comforting, a hand held in another.

“Is this what you wanted to do?” Nikolai spoke, turning towards her.

She furrowed her brows in confusion.

“To be the council leader,  run the country?” He amended.

She looked at him, startled by the question but soon, her gaze softened. “Well, I’ve been certain for a long while” she looked at her hands. “That I wish to help the people, work for their betterment”. 

“And if being the Councillor is my way to do it, then I’m content with this job.” She lifted a shoulder.

She turned to the sky, admiring the gleaming stars, the moon at the centre of it all, shining the brightest.

She could feel his gaze on her, lingering in the silence. She didn’t look at him, she didn’t believe she could.

“It’s not easy,” he finally spoke. “Pretending to be your best version, when you’re still picking up the pieces”.

“Isn’t that what we’re all doing?,” she said, finally turning towards him. “Pretending to be okay when we’re not?”.

He nodded, looking at the sky, appearing as if he’s reminiscing.

“You’ll make a great King,” Anaya’s voice wavered in the air. 

He met her gaze, his eyes gleaming in the moonlight. 

“Especially because you’ll have an immensely talented Councillor by your side” She lifted her grinning, a small grin playing on her lips.

He smiled, “That, I will”.

[sparkles-and-trash]

dabihawks a little au ~

Keigo is no stranger to the hospital.

Being a pro hero who sometimes act faster than he thinks, he gets himself into tricky situations more than he’d like to admit, so he ends up back in that sterile, white room more often than most.

He never stays long tho.

Actually, he usually leaves as soon as they let him, far sooner than they reccomend.

This was exactly the case that day, when Keigo was on his way back to his room to back after succesfully convincing the stafff to release him, still in his hospital gown with bandages on both his arms and head, when something caught his attention.

Someone was reading to the kids in one of the common areas, which in itself wasn’t unusual, but the voice certainly was.

Even though it was raspy and sort of fragile it still carried trough the halls with the conviction of a true storyteller, and Keigo simply couldn’t help himself from slowing down so he could get a proper peek at whoever the reader was.

The room was even more crowded than usual, kids of all ages sitting in a half circle, all eyes focused on the white haired man who was sitting cross legged on the floor in front of them.

The book he was reading for was a lot thicker than what Hawks would have expected, and from what he could see from there, he was animated and full of life when he read.

He was beautiful.

The snow white, fluffy hair of his head was a beautiful contrast to his electric blue eyes, and while parts of his face were covered in burn scars that didn’t make him any less beautiful the sligthest.

It just showed that he was a survivor, and that he was still full of life.

Just as Keigo had convinced himself to move along, the reader looked up, and for one, everlasting second, their eyes met.

Keigo was so mesmerized by the eyecontact that he somehow turned the wrong way, and slammed face first into the window he’d be peering trough.

Like a bird.

The bang was loud enoug to get almost all the kids to turn around and look towards the noise, and Keigo had never been more grateful for a doting nurse coming to his aid in his life.

A final peek trough the doors told him that the white haired man was doing his best to distract the children from the blushing hero in the hospital gown, but there was still a small smile on his face.

The stunt with the window revoked Keigo’s early discharge, as he couldn’t (or wouldn’t) tell the nurse why it happened, so now they suspected a concussion.

He surprisingly slept trough the night, dreaming about white hair and blue eyes, and when he woke up he was finally allowed to leave for real.

As he threw on a oversized hoodie and sweatpants he caught a look in the mirror and realized he had a big bruise where his forhead had met the window the day before.

Amazing.

Distracted, he ran a hand trough his hair and hoisted his bag over his shoulder as he left his room, and in the same step slammed into a moving mass.

Thanks to Keigo’s quick reflexes he was able to grab the person’s arms before the hit the ground, but the shock of looking into those damn blue eyes again was almost enough to drop the poor man again.

They both froze for a second, and then the beautiful stranger gave him a lazy smirk.

«In a hurry are we, Pretty Bird?»

Keigo squawked, but managed to gently pull the stranger to his feet again.

«I, heh, I wasn’t looking, I -» Keigo stammered as je felt heat rush to his cheeks.

The stranger chuckled.

«It’s alright, I’m still in one piece,» the stranger said lightly.

Keigo managed a small smile of his own, and finally felt like he had solid ground under his feet again.

He finally got a second to take in the man before him, and was surprised to see he had an IV stand with him.

«Oh, you’re… you know, you’re…» Keigo started saying, and the stranger raised an eyebrow.

«…not just here to read to sick kids?» he finished, and Keigo nodded.

«Or be stared at by strangers who then make a fool of themselves in front of said kids,» Keigo added, and the stranger laughed.

Of course he laughed like that.

So openly and beautifully.

«That too, I suppose,» the stranger said, and Keigo smiled, feeling the tension leave hos body a little.

«Well, I’m gonna be late for my appointment, so…» the stranger said as he gestured in the direction he was heading before Keigo nearly knocked him over.

«Oh, right!» Keigo nodded, and the stranger smiled again.

«Don’t worry, I’ve seen you around before Birdie, so I’m fairly sure I’ll see you again sooner rather than later,» the stranger added and Keigo blushed.

«Hopefully for something less embarrasing than flying into window,» Keigo chuckled, and the stranger grinned.

«Until then, Pretty Bird,» he said with a wink, before he dissapeared down the halm before Keigo had the chance to even ask his name.

Until next time, indeed.

[marcmorrigan]

finally delivering on the princess tutu headshots i promised... love these dysfunctional teens 🩰💖💕

LOTS of notes about headcanons/design choices under the cut! like. a lot. dont say i didnt warn you

starting with my specialest guy fakir:

i had a suuuper clear vision for fakir, and i couldnt be happier with how he turned out, he looks exactly how i imagine him! trying to translate his Bird-Shaped Hair into my style gave me SERIOUS homestuck flashbacks. my affinity for knights with Problems knows no bounds...

adding the hyperpigmentation around his eyes and his acne scars is what really solidified this for me-- i put those in and was like oh!!! there you are!!! my boy!!! and you can tell because i gave him acne scars + thick eyebrows that he IS my boy... there are very clear trends among my headcanons for my faves lol. big noses, thick eyebrows, skin imperfections, heavy eyebags, long dark hair... and fakir truly has it all 😤 he is so Ideal Character Design to me

i think fakir is actually pretty self-conscious about his appearance tho! we see characters like pike and lilie say hes handsome to ahiru, but i dont know how often he actually hears that? and im sure its hard not to compare himself to mytho, who is straight out of a fairy tale; being a regular teenager dealing with regular teen body stuff is hard enough without your roommate being a magically beautiful eternally youthful storybook hero. i think he probably internalises more that people see him as scary and angry, and that the girls who do have crushes on him always frame it in contrast to mytho, who is Good and Kind and Handsome, implying (or sometimes outright stating!) that fakir is Bad and Mean and... Well...

fakir is very sensitive but quiet about it, so i think its a very private point of self-consciousness. i think he puts a lot of semi-secret effort into his appearance; canonically he has a lot of very funny and clearly customised clothing, and he chooses to keep his hair long and in a very particular style (i have a whole breakdown in my mind of how he achieves that style and it involves a surprising amount of pins and an unsurprising fuckton of teasing. i think his hair is a little fried from heat damage!), and i think that probably extends to other things, too, like manicuring his eyebrows and doing a lot of very Teenage Skincare that doesnt actually help his acne much lol. i think he probably has a lot of self-injurious habits and BFRBs like skin picking and chewing, mostly at his acne and around his nails (both of which he hates, because he knows he shouldnt but does it anyway). i think if he does it enough that theres noticeable evidence it feels, like, world-ending for him, ESPECIALLY if anyone asks what happened lol. do not perceive him except in the very specific ways and contexts he approves of THANKS

on to the narratives favorite princess, mytho:

again, i had a pretty clear idea of the vibe i wanted mytho to have going into this-- i want him to have, like, extreme prince charming vibes, very Classically Handsome without necessarily being 'conventional.' i thought a lot about 'the happy prince' story while i was working on this, and really wanted him to look like a cross between how the prince statue looks in my head and a porcelain doll. and also a cross between jonny brown and brigitte bardot? lots of very direct influences for him lol. so! lots of gold tones, gemmy eye color, cute little tooth gap, quivering wide-eyed thousand-yard-stare doe eyes and big ol dolly anime lashes, which were the very last thing i added because i was NERVOUS about pulling those off lol. they turned out cute tho! ive only done a handful of pieces for this series and i can already tell princess tutu is gonna make me up my lash drawing game considerably, these kids all look like they blink and cause a hurricane from the gale force wind of their falsies

also wait i lied the very last thing i did was add his freckles/beauty marks because he needed that little extra oomph and those were It. i think he probably has some on his hands/wrists too 💕

i was a little unsure if my idea for his hair would translate with this flat-color approach but im pretty happy with it! its supposed to be afrotextured hair (somewhere between 3b and 4c i think? wide range of potential i knowww but im still kind of hammering out my headcanons okay, this is exploratory lol) thats been rolled and finger-styled into his little feather shapes. i think loose, chunky twists would be another fun way to interpret his hair and twists are one of my fave styles to draw do i might draw him like that at some point too...

i guess fakir is the one who styles his hair for him before mytho gets his heart back? i imagine fakir is pretty meticulous about maintaining mythos health and appearance, even at the worst stages of their relationship. i think itd be hard for fakir to frame the way he treats mytho as For Mythos Sake if he wasnt doing some level of actually beneficial care for him, so being really fastidious about things like mythos diet and sleep hygiene and hair care and such gives fakir an outlet for his 'you just have to do what i tell you' thing that helps him convince himself it really is helping, no really, hes doing this for mythos benefit and he just has to be strict with him because mytho doesnt UNDERSTAND he needs PROTECTING and fakir is the ONLY ONE who can do it so mytho HAS to let him because if he doesnt then why does fakir even EXIST, if he cant manage this then what is he good for, and--

yknow. the usual complexes. and their relationship is so complex!!! but also so simple, but like. in a good way. fakirs behavior is complicated but his motivation regarding mytho is SO straightforward which makes that downward spiral into harm really easy to map out... i wont go much into that in this post since this is about visual/appearance-related headcanons but just. augh. i love this show and i love these characters!!! and i hope its apparent in my work that i do love them so <3

im hoping to do a set of these for the girls next!!! i have some other stuff to finish first but hopefully... Soon... Some Birds...

[zkoh001]

All the ninjago kiddos! That I remembered, lol.

Also I'm not sure if Echo counts, but this is my art soooo... He does now

Fun fact, way before Dragons rising was an idea, I had a little theory/AU thingie, where the ninja got sent to another realm, where time passed differently. (How funny, it was way before SotFS...) So basically these kids formed a replacement ninja team to fight the evils treathening ninjago, discovering they themselves are elemental masters. And that's been in my brain, slowly adding all the new kiddos to it. Might make some art, and a post about that too, because I would love to draw them.

Here's my spitballing on these dummies and their designs.

The Darkleys kids!

The little shits. They would be the ones to have kidnapping as their first resolve.

- I kinda didn't know Sally existed, but I liked all the art, so she does now. Also, she loves pink, I love pink, we all love pink

- Brad is definitely the muscle of the group, with a big heart, but not the greatest mind. Also, he has a babyface, that's very hard to make look evil.

- His design kinda grew on me with time, but it still feels a bit lacking...

- There's this theory that Gene is Skylor's brother, and Chen's son, that I kinda absorbed into my brain and ran with it so yeah.

-Also, the hand thingie is not a glove, it helps hold his hand together after a nasty injury :)

- The bowlcut was uniform at Darkleys, but Gene was such a nightmare they just gave up with him.

- They have matching pins and earpieces. Cause of course they do. Also, dumbo boots uniform.

The Paperkids!

Antonia and Nelson are a given, and I just kinda added Unagami on there, since he waved at them once. Also, I think it would be cute if they were friends.

- I know he doesn't anymore, canonically, but I like to think he still wears his purple gi under the jumper. Who knows when someone will need the purple ninja?

- He has a scar from the injury he had when he met with the ninja. Also, am I the only one who tought something much worse was going on than a broken leg? Obviously a kid show can't have a terminally ill kid, but fsm that's still how I remembered it.

- Antonia! I loved drawing her hair. Also kinda like her badass big sis vibes.

- She has her hands out to make sure the two kids, but mainly Nelson, don't go missing somehow (happens more often than you think)

- Even if he can shapeshift, I like to tjink Unagami keeps his line-marks in whatever forms, since it's apart of his skin. He can hide them, but it takes effort, so he just doesn't bother.

- He can change his form generally, but you could still tell it's him by the lines, eyes, and hair

- He has a little nick in his eyebrow, and so does (did i guess) Jay. I just think that's a cute detail

The Forgotten ones...

Just called that cause I had to add them on a separate canvas after forgetting them. I forgot Skales Jr, shame on me, I tought Jake and Nelson were one character, and I was still debating Echo. But here they are!

- It was surprisingly not that hard to draw him, even tho I was very scared

- Since he has white on him, I was trying (and failing miserably) to replicate those partially albino reptiles. Also added some pink scales, since he is also Selma's son, who's pink.

- I don't know to this day why Echo was introduced only to be left behind.... Nevertheless he's a sweetheart

- I guess if you count Mr.E, but then he would be dead... Unless the kids fix him (lightbulb moment)

- Also, ahy is his head weirdly tiny? How did that happen?

- Jake. Goddamnit, how were you the hardest to draw? Somehow I couldn't get the head right...

- The giant pants is an idea that lived in my head. I like yo think he would be able to fix ancient artifacts with hairties, ductape, and sheer force of will.

- He might have a bowlcut, but cmon, are you telling me he wouldn't at least try to replicate whatever the hell Kai's hair was in the beginning?

I guess that's it folks, lemme know if any of you are interested in my weird Ninja kids au thingie!

[dumb-doll-lips]

honestly wishing I could help you get over your fear somehow, like getting a friction pad on the floor to help you keep your grip, railings to hold and a seat for when it gets too much

Thank you lots.

The having a shower bath combo thing def makes it worse. All those things plus space and like a bit more of a door than a curtain sounds nice. Like falling into a wall sounds better then a falling on a curtain and then falling past the curtain.

Or it’s solving the clumsiness. Any more major injury I’ve had is bc of me falling. And one time years ago I red something that most injuries in the house happen in the bathroom, or I at least remembered whatever I read like that lol, and so added to the fear. Oh ya know I actually think I have a bit of scar still by an eyebrow bc of hitting a ceramic toilet paper holder on the wall face first. That def has to be playing a part in this fear.

I’m gonna go do it soon tho. I’m so very brave. lol

[ouroboros-hideout]

WIP WEDNESDAY WHENEVER

I got tagged by @theviridianbunny thank youuu!

ART

The Kurt drawing I started a month ago is almost finished so I won't show that as a WIP again lol. But I settled on what I want to draw next already and I am way to hyped by the idea (Cyberpunk/Witcher crossover)

WRITING

I write quite a lot lately (or try to). Manly oc stuff because I managed to get obsessed with Alyona. Welp.

Her character introduction for my AU is halfway finished, but I am overthinking if it got a little to shippy (I didn't intendet that in the beginning but it just happened and I like it hehe). Maybe I make my shippy stuff into something extra and name it after the ship to keep the actual AU "cleaner" bc it's not that important for the plot. I don't know! I can't organzie my stuff!

Here's a preview of the introduction tho. For context: It's a backflash and around 2073, the business in Dtown starts to bloom and she comes for a visit to see what the Colonel came up with (try not to cringe by posting your writing but cringe anyway):

————————————————————

A woman got out of the helicopter after them. Relatively tall, slim, athletically muscular, her short black hair was tousled by the wind, the sides of her skull were shaved short. She wore simple, military-style clothing. Cargo pants, lace-up heavy boots, a tactical leather jacket. Everything was kept in black and dark olive tones. If you didn't know any better, you'd say she was from here and it would be easy for her to blend in with the masses in Dogtown. One detail that made her stand out, was a multitude of thin scars that ran from the lower left side of her face across her nose and up to her forehead. Judging by the degree of healing, it was a very old wound. At least on the outside.

She walked confidently past her people, holding a bottle of clear liquid with an elaborately designed label in her right hand. Probably high-proof alcohol from her home.

After a few steps, however, she stopped abruptly and pushed the aviator glasses she was wearing down a little to look over the rim in disbelief and with a raised eyebrow.

"You look old, Kurt," she said blatantly, examined the man in front of her from top to bottom and continued to walk slowly towards the him, then took her glasses off completely and put them in the inside pocket of her jacket.

"It hasn't been that long since we last saw each other, has it?"

Her English was remarkably good when compared to other representatives from this part of the world who were usually up for business in Dogtown. However, she was unable to mask the slight accents common to the Russian language.

Kurt ignored her little teasing and tried to be professional.

"I'm glad you're here too." He couldn't help but welcome her with a thin smile." And it should be about half a year. The last time was in Laos during the negotiations."

Both slowly came to a halt in front of each other. Jago had followed the Colonel discreetly and kept to the background.

"That was six months ago already. Seems like I did good on suppressing the memories about that terrible place“, she answered shaking her head in disbelief.

"How was the flight?" he added tersely.

"Ah," she made a dismissive hand gesture. "Alright. I am getting used to traveling.“ She showed him the bottle she brought with her. „Here's your favorite. Don't worry, I've got more in the helicopter."

Without further ado, she pressed it into Hansen's hand.

For all the people standing by who were not yet familiar with Alyona and her way of dealing with Kurt, this whole encounter must have seemed incredibly strange. They all only knew him as the undisputed authority figure and nobody, except at most his old brothers in arms, would dare to talk to him like that. And even there were limits.

Alyona finally looked with interest at the man standing behind the Colonel.

„And who is the cute little cat? I don't think we've met yet.“

Jago's features froze completely and he didn't think he had heard correctly.

"The cute little... EXCUSE ME?" he replied with audible outrage in his voice.

————————————————————

And I still NEED to write her fucking lore down. I think I got it togehter by now.

VP (new to the list)

Just started to activly making pics on my console and would like to come up with a little series in the future maybe.

Atm I try to make pics for a fun Discord Challenge where I have to show a single day in the live of my V. Since I am still obsessed with a certain disctrict I thought I make it a "Dogtown Days"- Edition. I struggle with the limited set of poses but I'll figure something out.

Yea think that's it for now. I still have so many ideas for a lot of different things but I have to restrain myself and finish some things first before I get lost in my WIP-Limbo.

[bluiex]

Hello, hello, hello! It's been a long time since I send a snippet from one of my WIPs, so, have something from my fake dating AU. Sorry if it stops abruptly, I'm not satisfied with the end of that scene.

They are so neurodivergent your honor <333

--

Someone knocked on the door, cutting off whatever he was going to say, dragging both their attention to the door. Cub cleared his throat, fist covering his mouth, when the two pair of eyes landed on him, glancing at the side.

“Cub!” Scar greeted. 

“Hello.”

“Well, c’min, don’t just stand there,” Scar gestured to him.

Cub opened and closed his mouth. “Um, right.”

He approached the desk just as Bdubs stood up and grabbed half the pile of paperwork. He let out a big sigh, turning his head to the both of them, lips pursed. 

“Just confirming,” he pointed at Cub and then Scar, struggling to hold the pile of paper in his arms, “this is completely platonic.”

Scar groaned, sensing his leg bouncing faster now. “Yes, Bdubs, this is platonic.”

It was silent for a moment, making Scar look up to his mayoral assistant. Bdubs frowned and huffed.

“Fine. Have a good evening.”

He slammed the door shut behind him, Scar cringing at the loud and sudden noise. He turned his gaze to Cub, who stood there, face neutral. He adjusted his glasses and sent a raised eyebrow in question. 

Scar chuckled nervously, itching to pet Jellie if only she was here, leg still bouncing. 

“Uh,” he started eloquently.

“Why did Bdubs ask that?” Cub’s position was still, only moved to face Scar. 

“Well,” Scar dragged in order to properly think about his next words. “You know how people often date or get married to look mature?”

At Cub’s silence, Scar took this as a “no ”. 

“HEP wants me to be in a relationship. A romantic one,” Scar frowned at the word, not even sure himself what that entailed. 

Cub looked at the door and back at Scar. “Bdubs is pushing you to be in such relationship,” he concluded.

Scar intertwined his fingers together, eyes glued at the paperwork in front of him. He wondered if he should admit to Cub what the press thought about the whole ordeal. Was it better to keep his friend in the shadows or for him to be mortified?

Scar glanced at his friend. Cub haven’t moved, and Scar realized since when did he hide things from Cub? Especially if it concerned him?

“Yeah. The press thinks we’re a couple, so every time they see me with anyone else than you, they often call me a cheater, which,” Scar winced, twirling a pen in his hand, “has tainted a bad image about me.”

Cub hummed, fidgeting with the edge of his dress shirt. 

“That’s quite unfortunate,” he murmured.

Scar groaned. “I know! ” He ran his fingers through his hair and picked the pen back. “I just don’t understand why people care about that.”

(Oop, it seems convex fans might've influenced me a lot. Accidentally made them the fake dating couple instead of my original, kinda why I don't really like what I wrote to end the scene. Just been struggling with a lot of writer's block, so, I'm just glad I manage to write this)

YEEEES MORE OF THE FAKING DATING AU

OOOO i love the change tho! of them being the fake dating couple! Esp with the added of the people thinking they are and ykno.. bad press and all. LOVE IT

[shadow0-1]

101 facts/ headcanons about Jackie babey

Readmore here cause idk how I can add it without breaking formatting but there's really 101 trust me on this

Afraid of bears. One too many close encounters from camping/hunting

Enjoys the occasional fishing trip. He’s okay at it

Isn't too fond of dogs (got bit as a kid)

Tries to foster cats whenever he can

Avid snowboarder. Could have gone pro

Wanted to be search and rescue growing up

Carries around a matchbook instead of a lighter

Can bake better than he cooks

Mountain man. Born and grew up in a ski town in the Rockies

Shit driver. Laswell banned him from driving

Got an ego during his EOD days and got humbled to the point of doubting his skills when he almost died

Doesn't drink coffee because he knows he'll be reliant on it

Has an older brother, Jaime (5 years)

Played a lot of baseball as a kid. Was his school's starring pitcher

Subsequently got benched for a season because he broke his arm skateboarding across a street

Would say he got the scar under his eye from shrapnel if asked (he didn't)

Was captured and got his face cut up

The notch on his ear is from shrapnel tho

Slammed face first into a tree branch while snowboarding as a teen and got a fun little eyebrow scar from it

Very cuddly. Physical touch is his love language

Runs warm

Definitely the guy that wears a tshirt and shorts when it’s freezing outside

Gets miserable and cranky when it's too hot

Enjoys jogging but usually doesn't wake up early enough to do it in the morning

Sleeps like shit. Turns out he's just gay and needs someone to cuddle with

He's a tease and loves being a little shit

Likes to respond with "that's classified" to mundane questions just to be annoying

Has capybara energy

Has beef with anyone who bends the rules for personal gain

Cracked a bunch of his ribs during an explosion

Prone to some real bad panic attacks where he'll feel like he's suffocating all over again

Doesn’t like wearing heavier armors anymore because they make him feel claustrophobic

Got his reaper tattoo after almost dying in said explosion

Was besties with a guy named Evan in his army EOD days (definitely didn't have a crush on him

Evan designed the other tattoo on his back (a fucked up looking door)

@depyotee designed the forest tat on his left arm

After his recruitment and deployment to Urzikstan for some Top Secret operation, he and Evan started tallying their defusals. Jackie got triangles on his right bicep and Evan got crosshairs

He stopped counting after he almost died (and Evan did die)

Has some gnarly survivors guilt and feels as if it was his fault

Gets nervous when people say they trust him (Evan’s last words to him were “don’t worry, I trust you”)

Alex tipped him off about some gas shipments he and Farah were tracking and Jackie eventually got tasked to assist Shadow Company in finding the rest of the shipments and to destroy them

Added some gunships and vtols by his tally tats a few months into his mission with Graves. Got them to mark new beginnings and new heights

Didn't go with a cover up because Evan wasn't able to get a proper burial. Needed/wanted something to remember him by

Mission lasted a couple years. They totally didn't pine for each other like a bunch of high schoolers

Graves offered him a permanent spot in Shadow after the mission was completed but Jackie declined

Graves calls him cowboy because he kept getting teased for saying "yee fuckin' haw"

Graves confiscated his cigs cause Jackie mentioned he wanted to quit smoking once

Shepherd thinks that him sitting a desk all day is a waste of manpower and his skills. He’s not exactly fond of Shepherd

His mom has a cat that he spoils

Out of all the Shadows, he gets along with Dipaolo the best (not counting Graves)

He tagged along with Laswell, Price and Gaz to Spain for recon by fire but stayed at the hotel or whatever cause Laswell said it was going to be all chill. It wasn’t and he blamed himself for not insisting to go along to help

Price wouldn’t let him join the rescue mission because because too emotional. Jackie responded rationally by punching his car. Later sat and sulked and called Graves to get his mind off wanting some cigs

Had a little Thing™ with Kamarov during the armistice

Fast learner, picked up a lot of tips and tricks while working intel for the armistice

Feels deeply indebted to both Laswell and Alex

Laswell trusts Jackie’s intuition even if he doesn't anymore

Likes collecting patches from different special forces groups and what not. Has a case for them in his apartment

Has a CIA issued apartment that he rarely spends any time in. It’s depressing and has almost no decorations because He’s Busy

Worked with the Los Vaqueros briefly in 2016/2017

Can play the guitar but it's been a few years so he might miss a chord or two

Has a 1965 mustang back home that his grandfather left for him. Plans on fixing it up when/if he retires

Knows a variety of mixed martial arts

Could probably outrun the 141 if he really tried

He has some bangin thighs

His handwriting is dogshit. Laswell's lucky he types anything important (Capable of writing neat and tidy but it takes significantly longer)

Got really into photography one winter. Mainly takes scenery pics

Shoplifted regularly as a kid (mainly sodas and candy bar kinda stuff) only got caught once

Has a sweet tooth but most things are too sweet for him now

He got a fat dumpy okay. A real dumptruck ass.

Modeling is not a part of my skill set yet and Jackie's head was made by editing the models and textures of existing characters

Enjoys a good carnival every once in a while. Can almost always win any of the games where you have to throw things (ring toss, balloon and darts, bucket toss etc)

Got his shit wrecked the first time he sparred with Graves. They have a little “no holding back” rule and Jackie almost broke Graves’ arm because he wouldn’t tap out once (it was a rough week)

First thought/impression he had of Graves was "no way this guy's a commander" (Graves’ first impression of Jackie was “wow he seems like a piece of shit”

His voice is kinda like Lee Pace's but a little deeper and more gravely

Has a fear of looking out a window at night and seeing something/someone staring back at him (contributes to his fear of bears)

Had a close encounter with a mountain lion once while on a hunting trip with his dad

Wasn't exactly the most well behaved kid. Left on kinda bad and tense terms but he'd made it up with his mother. Stays with her whenever he gets a vacation

Things are still a bit weird with his brother. Gets even weirder when Jaime becomes a CIA lawyer (they're chill now)

Left because his parents were divorcing and he couldn’t stand being in the house any longer. Doesn’t really talk to his father anymore. His mother doesn’t talk about it but Jackie knows it’s because his father started drinking

He will almost always speak his mind

Will go to events just for a free t shirt

Has commandeered plenty of shirts, jackets and sweats from Shadow Company. Graves pretends not to notice. He has more Shadow gear than CIA

His favorite color is blue

Teased Alex about Farah. Alex got his revenge soon after Jackie started working with Graves

Has a lot of anxiety when it comes to field work. Worked through a lot of it since his assignment with Shadow

Greatly appreciates Graves not pushing him to get on the field

Sort of became Shadow's demolitions expert during their assignment together

Honorary Shadow. Shadow-Actual was his call sign 😌

Eventually joined them on the field. Stuck mainly to minor roles at first until he got more comfortable. Would sometimes rig explosives

Al Qatala had been expecting them during one outing and had rigged the building they were in to blow. Jackie managed his first defusal in a decade with help and encouragement from Graves

Hates when people say he’s lucky. He was lucky to be at the top of his class during training, lucky to keep all his limbs intact, lucky he never got blown up yet, lucky he survived that blast

Didn’t start calling Graves by his first name until 3 months into the mission. Just felt weird

Regrets never telling Evan about his feelings. He wouldn’t make that same mistake with Graves

Teases Graves for putting the rook on one of the Shadow Company logos. Laswell taught Jackie how to play chess and Graves has never won against him because he's a sweaty tryhard

Got a reputation for being really calm and chill and he does his best to maintain that image even when he doesn't know what he's doing or what the best decision is

Has a scar on his right arm from climbing a barbed wire fence on a dare

Got arrested for trespassing once (definitely not related)

Laswell told him that he shouldn’t have to feel like he has to stick around because he still feels indebted to her. She encourages him to take Graves’ job offer if he really wants to

Promised Laswell’s wife that he’d kick her out of the office if she stays too late, keenly aware that he himself is a hypocrite and has stayed late just as many times as Laswell

Graves thinks it’s funny to call Jackie “rabbit/bunny”

Jackie and Graves help directly set up the game events because I said so

[rosemist50]

Some redesigns!!! Whoopie!!! These have been long overdue lol, I just haven't had time to do them until now :') The originals are on the left, and the new ones are on the right.

With Goldenflower, the first thing I wanted to be different was her shape, I wanted her to be more large and sturdy, more like her brother Lionheart. Her eyes are now green, to also match her brother (and Tawnypelt). I kept the ear spots and if you squint the markings by her eyes are supposed to be flower-esque.

Then Rootspring, I think I showed the design on my stories a few months back, it's pretty much the same as that one. I put the little eyebrow scar he gets from I think Ashfur, and also added black to the hair fringe. Got rid of the eye motif of the original but I think it's fine.

If I was redesigning Rootspring then I had to do Tree as well, I tried to keep him looking similar, just more fur and also eyebrows. Rootspring has his black markings from Violetshine, tho I do realize Tree could also have them from Moonlight... hm..

Thrushpelt needed a whole makeover I'm so sorry my boy 😭 I gave him more of a Windclan body shape bc his grandfather (Eaglestorm) is Windclan. The marking on his face is like a heart bc characterization and all and all I like this one a lot better which is all that matters 👍👍

And finally Sunbeam, I wanted to keep the same fur shape (short on cheeks and chest, mildly fluffy tail) and keep her tall. I've seen tortie Sunbeam designs with yellow and I thought they were super cute (which is kinda why the original has the yellowish stripes) but then I thought what if I made it with black to match her mother Berryheart and that's what I did. Kept the white tail the same, and changed up the rest of the markings a bit too. The little freckle is the lighter brown color, I know it's a little harder to tell when not directly against the darker.

All in all I really like how they all turned out. Like I said, I have been wanting to redesign these ones for a while now, I have only now finally found the time to do so. I seem to swing wildly back and forth between super saturated cats and more toned down ones haha

[notallwonder]

Alright. We are here. At the end(ish). CM 16x10 "Dead End".

Spoilers and whatever my addled brain wants to express under the cut. This may be a long one.

I don't know why this show makes me so happy despite its many deficiencies. tbh I think it's bc I am job hunting and this at least gives me a lil shot of dopamine or seratonin or whatever the fuck. Also Paget Brewster.

The things I want out of this season finale: Prentiss. I hope she gets to smile and smirk and not just be mad/sad/worried. I wanna see some good moments for Luke, though I'm less hopeful on that front. I want to see something good for Tara. What that could be...dunno. As for the rest - I don't think I even care that much? I suspect it will end in some sort of cliffhanger.

Okay, now that I have unwisely embarked on this journey in the wee hours of the night...

I wonder who will get to wear the Brown Jacket this episode?

oh boo the black & white flashbacks are still here...I hate that choice.

it's a pleasure to see Krystall again tho. I always liked her.

laying on the ol' "FBI behavioral analysis heroes stop real monsters" schtick real thick there guys. it's funny of me to get annoyed about this on this, the "FBI are real heroes" show. but I do.

good onya Dave, found the mood lighting. LOL at the oxygen meter. LMAO even MORE at Dave finding the wifi router.

it's still so stupid that Will is there lol

this is the first time I have truly hated Elias Voit. who would rather speak to Bailey when Emily Prentiss is right there on the phone? only a stupid little man apparently. although - Bailey would be way easier to manipulate so maybe not so stupid.

omg incredible forehead moment there. ma'am your eyebrows (what have i become)

love the implication that Dave just recites quotes to himself. kinda tracks

this situation with Bailey makes me go *grimace emoji*

has Bailey been a gold star lesbian this whole time?

t's so stupid that Will gets lines and Luke still gets shafted. I don't hate Will, but...really?

god now JJ says "wheels up"? sorry, hate it

WOW okay. So Gold Star is a secret program of some kind. And now we're talking "legal" and "extralegal" options with the AG. boy. whew. god why did I get attached to this fucking show.

though - AG slaying in that black suit/purple blouse situation.

"they would see through it, the BAU" - because the BAU are the good guys, not involved in (implied unethical?) secret shit? what the ever loving shit is this.

Adam Rodriguez just doing the most with his beautiful face and voice. thank you sir

bummer that I have to watch most of Joe Mantegna's acting from a weird vantage point and on a phone screen on a TV screen.

oh wait now we get a Badass Marine Rossi Montage

absolutely incredible, the bizarre combinations of ads I get when I watch this show. After Rossi's explosive moment, I just got served an ad about a disease that causes curvature of the erection due to scar tissue. what the fuck paramount plus

is it just me or did the audio get weird now that we're back in Emily's office

"politics" there that is again

Ghost of Krystall Past! Welcome to the shitshow! you look fabulous

"we were just getting started" I wish they did this echo thing with lines that actually were interesting

I do love Emily being constantly like "WHAT tHE Frickle FRACKLE" but I worry for her blood pressure. can she ride along. I want her in every scene, not just stuck at the BAU on Chicken Roaster time

Elias please tell your wife you want to wear the Moose dog collar and that's why you saved it. whoops missed opportunity babe

Emily. ma'am. you are beautiful, gorgeous, smokin'. etc.

what are you Bailey, a vampire

I mean...I am intrigued about what the fuck this is all about. they've got me on the hook. can they reel me in?

the implication here is that Voit has knowledge/dirt that they want kept secret. So he's a little bit in kind of a Snowden position?

OH SHIT BAILEY DEAD

WILL BEEN SHOT (saw that one coming, why else would he be there). dont worry he's fine guys. no stakes

YAS Tara. There's that steel. I missed that steel.

JJ and Sydney. Classic mom to mom interview, right?

LOL they're begging Sydney to help them find David Rossi, that annoying old dude that accosted her in the cereal aisle.

in my opinion this episode has a weird denouement energy. like...it didn't feel climactic even in the shootout scene. maybe on rewatch

it's really too bad that me and the CME showrunner(s) have such a disagreement on what parts of this show/world are worth expanding upon. the emotional beats/storyline with Elias and family are fine. They are kind of interesting even. More interesting to me than plenty of the 300 some previous unsubs. but...a simple 2 minutes scene of Emily Prentiss in her own home? I would dine on that for weeks, months, years. it's all about priorities. I get it. I've been thinking about that - about the fact that I have not been watching the same show they've been making. I mean...literally I have. But that's how art works in some sense. someone creates a thing, and I encounter that thing, engage with it. I bring whatever I bring to the encounter, and walk away having had an experience that the original creator *might* have intended in and might not, depending on how you define that. maybe we're ships passing in the night. i'm sure i'm not articulating this very well. it's almost 3 a.m. here.

good news for the Tyler dislikers out there

Rossi now that you're back at the BAU the first thing you better be doing is groveling at Emily Prentiss's feet and apologizing for your behavior sir.

oh, BIG HUG! *heart eyes*

oh my GOD I am just CACKLING WITH LAUGHTER. Emily Prentiss big embrace to Mr. JJ, Will Lamontagne Jr. INCREDIBLE. IN-CRED-IBLE!!!!!!! this kind of comedy is...I don't have words for it. it's like...a teeny tiny version of what I imagine that Supernatural Nov 5 Emotion was like. I witnessed but did not feel that feel. but this might be a related feel.

aw Bailey. you join the dead agents wall. aw Emily - big sigh. sweet sad face. couldn't love you more.

yesssss, I have collected yet another line spoken between JJ and Emily that is not case-related!! (I think I am up to 2? 3?). "your eulogy was beautiful". classic jemily right there!

Prentiss cogs still turning

LOL calling Bailey a "comrade-in-arms" sorry it's just funny that this is supposed to have real emotional weight. I get it that it has weight for the team; but the audience...we barely knew ye Doug Noodle.

not lost on me that we're winding down on the "couples" here. Pen & Luke; Will & JJ; Tara & Emily lol

JJ's line to Will "I have a confession to make...I liked it a lot better when I didn't have to see you in the line of fire." Wow, groundbreaking confession there. I mean...we already know this. Not only is that, like, a very normal sentiment regarding someone you love, but also remember Hit/Run? I do really enjoy JJ insulting her husband. "yeah, well next time don't get shot [idiot]" I like that as part of their dynamic. it feels authentic to JJ in some way. she does that sarcastic thing.

GOD I wanted SO HARD to see Voit's shoes, which I assume were government issued dirty orange Crocs

y'all, so help me, I liked this season. I like that it's given me more raw material to work with, I guess. I LOVE that it gave me silver fox Prentiss. The ham-handedness and bad writing and pacing issues and all of that are clear weaknesses that are also pretty clear carry overs from the original run. No shock or surprise there, and I am (too) forgiving, especially because they have genuinely tried to do something new-ish. Did they succeed? I mean. yeah. Did they succeed *well*? Not really.

As for the ending...they set themselves up for the new season, enough intrigue to get me to keep watching (I would have anyway because i somewhat embarrassingly have ONE priority). It feels like some secret spy shit, which I can only hope means *something* in terms of call backs to Emily's secret spy shit days (it won't since this isn't the Emily Prentiss show, which I will always be sad about).

I cannot bring myself to be mad about various choices like Garcia's characterization, the JJ and Emily situation such as it isn't, even Rebecca. I think the door is still open for Rebecca to be part of the story moving forward. The Garcia character assassination is...well it is jarring and still feels oddly simplistic to me, though I think they are aiming for complexity. I am still waiting on some real consequences / real accountability for her and I'm not sure I'll ever be satisfied in that arena. She admitted in the finale that she fell back into old patterns, and Luke joked that if people didn't do that they'd be out of a job, with the hilarious implication that PG's bad relationship habits are comparable to...serial killer shit. Adam Rodriguez stays giving a really enjoyable performance as a man who loves this woman honestly more than seems wise - he is getting his heart stepped on but won't abandon her. And I don't know that he's necessarily pining, so much as he is committed to being her friend despite her carelessness. I am mad that Luke didn't get much of anything of his own this season.

I hope the folks creating CME take some time to do a critical post-mortem. I hope they're not just patting themselves on the back. I generally appreciate what they're trying to do, but I want them to figure out how to do it better.

[snailfen]

alr SICK

first ever sketches of ruffian and ruffles- before i didnt draw arti with fluff and id drone or riv with extra fins. when i redrew these in mspaint i added those to differentiate them from how i drew them normally (at the time), became attached to artis wide head, and grumpy face and thats when i started drawing her like that all the time.

ruffles had a side bow, but i figured that i wanted to use that for..... someone else. but considering i felt moon would do bows for ruffles, i had to keep the bow aspect SOMEhow. so thats why ruffles has a seashell with a tied bow in the back now!

post-"the meeting"! not much here just getting used to their squishy faces. fun fact i gave riv their freckles on impulse while making that comic. i wish i didn't,

/j kinda!!! i love em, i hate drawing them, i make it so complicated!

since peaches has been introduced, i can show these sketches i did for reference pages. id intended for other sluggies to be introduced, and ive been a huge fan of artihunter since kelocitta drew them together (the hornet bias is strong. thanks hornet hollow knight for inspiring the red lesbians....) so i wanted them to be here too.

peaches design is my favorite, so im gonna talk about it so MUCH

i wanted peaches to look scrappy, and experienced. i always used to draw hunter with a chewed off ear, but it was never easy to draw so i had a bite taken OUT of her ear instead. hunter is typically stylized with sharper ears in her splash/cutscene art so i gave her that, and made them longer too. speaking of cutscene art, she has 2 consistent scars that i can think of as well- her eye obviously, and the "x" scar on her right thigh. so i added those! her scarf makes her look like a farm dog almost, which i really liked.

then, my favorite design choices- i saw someone describe hunter as an "angry messenger pidgeon", and since shes usually represented with an angry face that mental image really never left me. so i gave her those endearing little eyebrows and THEN i kiiiinda gave her thos fat sausage arms on accident and thats when i fell in LOVE. Like, just look at her!!!!! shes so cute!!!! the little hair spikes sticking up on her head was the icing on top to her absolutely perfect design.

I became obsessed with her design really, and so thats how my ruff&ruff designs became my official designs outside of the au. except for monk, survivor and saint cough cough they'll look different in ruff&ruff

this was my first concept sketch for peaches before i drew the reference sketch. theres that chewed off ear i used to draw!

idk what these are but theyre funny. pov theyre going to slip and slide towards you

bored. who wants ruffian and ruffles concept sketches

[birbfeeder2artisticboogaloo]

even MOAR yby doodles~

am probably too late for yebaiweek but.......actually every week should be yebaiweek. sorry i dont make the rules.

just a couple silly lil doodles of ye baiyi and rong changqing growing up together. we got a nose boop. we got cloud watching. we got running away from the consequences of their actions. and mourning taishifu when he passes away ;A;

in my head canon, ye baiyi is heart-broken, bc taishifu was the first person to ever care for him. after he's gone, yby is completely devoted to rcq, whom he addresses exclusively as 'changqing-ah', bc that's what taishifu called him. and yby does whatever taishifu does. even after taishifu is gone.

(that's why he let zhou zishu and wen kexing go. bc it's what rong changqing would have done. bc it's what taishifu would have done. if they're both gone......then ye baiyi will act in their place. it's what they would have wanted ;A;)

[babyboibucky]

The Match - Part 5

Pairing: CEO!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: You find yourself in the middle of a predicament.

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings: SMUT as always, sort of public sex??? Unprotected sexy times, emotional damage lmao

A/N: Buckle up, babies!!! You’re in for a rollercoaster ride for this chapter ajckjasncjak I apologize in advance and please don’t hate me

AND BTW if you guys haven’t seen, I found the perfect playlist for this series lmao I saw the title and I was like HOLD UP this is perfect https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3Eg5ZH6wMq4iocF5fWSesb?si=aff157a6198a4446

The Match Masterlist || MAIN MASTERLIST

Still awake, baby?

Fuck.

You screamed into your pillow upon reading Bucky’s text. It was quarter to midnight and you couldn’t sleep, especially not after Bucky told you that he wanted to make the relationship official.

It’d only been three months and you felt like he was moving too fast. And when he promised that he would find a way to snatch your heart the old-fashioned way? You wanted to explode because obviously, he already did.

But you weren’t going to say that to someone who already had a huge ego (and cock, too).

You composed yourself and typed in your reply, throwing your phone to your side after sending it.

Yeah. Why are you still up tho?

Not even a minute later and your phone began to ring. You sat up on your bed and squeezed your pillow, hating how Bucky had such an effect on you. Jesus, what are you, a high school student?!

You stared at his name on your screen before swiping and accepting the call.

“What’s up?” You answered as calmly as you could.

Bucky’s low chuckle sounded so fucking sexy that you had to bite your lower lip to prevent a moan from escaping.

“Still working. Can’t concentrate though, I keep remembering how you looked like with my cock in your mouth.”

You exhaled through your nose, “Jesus, you’re insatiable.” You said.

“Only for you, baby. You know that.” He said and your heart did a little somersault inside your chest.

“Don’t stay up too late, you have an early meeting tomorrow, right?” You asked, trying to change the topic because if you didn’t, you were sure how things would go.

Bucky let out another chuckle, “Yeah, yeah. I’ll just finish signing some papers and then I’m off to bed.”

You hummed and laid back down on the bed. It was completely silent but it wasn’t awkward. You heard the shuffling of paper on Bucky’s end, followed by the squeaking of a chair.

“You still there?” Bucky asked.

“Mhmm, you done?” You asked back.

“A few more papers left, baby. Can you wait ‘til I finish?”

There was something about talking to Bucky on the phone like this, so casual and so...mundane. It felt natural and comfortable, to think that this was the first phone conversation you had with him. He only sent you texts previously so this was new, but you had to admit, you loved it.

Bucky heard you yawning and let out a soft laugh. He sounded sleepy too when he spoke, “Almost done.” He reassured.

“Let’s have dinner tomorrow.” He added.

“Yeah, okay. As long as it’s not in the same restaurant we went to after my promotion.” You groaned at the memory.

Bucky snorted, “We’re banned there, babe. Even if I wanted to go back there, they wouldn’t allow it.” He said.

“No shit, Sherlock. We got caught in their bathroom, of course they’ll ban us.” You huffed out.

“I was looking forward to dessert, you know.” You pouted.

“I got my dessert though.” You could hear Bucky’s smug smirk through the phone.

“Are you done?” Bucky whispered into your ear as he placed an arm on the back of the booth.

You shivered at his voice and nodded, grabbing your champagne and drinking it in one go.

“I promised you something, didn’t I? That I’ll give you something right before dessert? Meet me in the bathroom in five. Again, don’t be late.”

And with that, Bucky slid out of the booth and adjusted his suit before leaving for the bathroom. You clutched your heart and waved at the waiter who passed by, requesting for a refill and downing it before following Bucky.

You adjusted the black dress that Bucky bought you, you were surprised at how perfect the fit was. The lovely dress though, made you uncomfortable because of its length and the fact that Bucky still had your panties with him was making you feel even more conscious.

You were immediately pulled into the men’s bathroom as soon as you got there. Bucky tugged you into one of the cubicles and wasted no time to bend you over, lifting your skirt up to squeeze your ass.

“I knew I picked the right dress, you look good enough to eat.” Bucky grunted as he unbuckled his belt.

You moaned and pressed your palms against the door, pushing out your ass towards Bucky until you felt him line his tip up to your entrance. In one swift move, Bucky bottomed out and didn’t give you enough time to adjust.

It was fast and violent, the way Bucky fucked you inside that stall. Both of you were too caught up in the pleasure to even hear the commotion happening outside.

“Not gonna last long, Bucky...” you whimpered, feeling your legs tremble.

You’d been on edge the entire time, having been denied your orgasm earlier. And Bucky kept on squeezing your thigh teasingly during dinner, palm always inching higher until it settled close to your bare mound.

Of course, you wouldn’t last long!

“I know, baby.” Bucky said, sucking the skin on your exposed shoulder as he continued to fuck you from behind.

Once done with the sex escapade, the both of you were welcomed by the restaurant’s manager with a disapproving (and scarred) look on his face.

You blushed at the memory, “Let’s not do that again, please?” You said.

Bucky laughed, “Fine, fine. But dinner tomorrow, okay?”

You yawned at the same time you hummed, “Just dinner.”

“Wholesome dinner.” He confirmed. “Alright, I’m done with work. Sleep now, baby.” He cooed and you nodded even though Bucky couldn’t see you.

You heard footsteps and then the sound of the door closing shut.

“Good night, baby.”

“Hmm, good night, Bucky.”

-

To say you were giddy the next day was an understatement. You were on cloud nine after having a phone conversation with Bucky last night. You even greeted Janet the snitch a very good morning when you shared the elevator with her.

You entered your floor and offered everyone a smile, but you also noticed that they seemed to be preoccupied talking to each other.

“What’s up?” You asked Martha and the other girls who were huddled together.

“Haven’t you heard?” She asked. “Sophia shared an elevator ride with Mister Barnes earlier. He called a flower shop, asked for their most expensive bouquet and then went on to make dinner reservations at an elite restaurant!”

You paled at the discovery and cleared your throat, “And that’s a big deal because?”

Martha snickered, “Girl, we’re talking about James Barnes here, a rich and eligible bachelor. It is a big deal. And ugh, I wonder who the lucky lady is! What I’d do to be her.” Martha dreamily said.

“Do you think it’s an employee here? Fuck, I’d be so envious if that girl happens to be working here!” Sophia added.

“Is that even allowed? Sounds pretty scandalous to me.” Kate chimed in.

“Oh my god. Remember the pantry incident that Janet reported? What if that was Mister Barnes and his girl? Damn, that’s juicy. It’d be horrifying if they get caught.” Kate added.

Your head felt light-headed at all the information that was going on. Hearing their conversations felt like a bucket of iced water was being poured on you. It was like a moment of a major realization.

Shit, what has gotten into you, getting all tangled up in this mess? Damn you, Tinder!

Even if Bucky agreed to take things slow, you realized that it wouldn’t really help. If news got out that you were dating the CEO of your company, you’d still receive some backlash for it.

Maybe making it official wasn’t the right thing to do. At least, not yet.

“Ladies, gossip time is over.” You announced and tried to stay calm. “And speaking of Barnes, I need to submit a report.”

-

You nervously knocked on Bucky’s door, hoping that he was back from his early morning meeting. You could hear him talking inside and thought that maybe he was busy.

“Come in.” He called before you could even turn around.

Slowly, you opened the door and slipped inside his office. Bucky was on his chair, talking to someone over the phone. When he saw that it was you, he quickly put his phone on mute and smiled.

“Yes, baby? What do you need?” He asked softly.

Goddammit! Bucky was surely getting used to that pet name. Initially, he’d only call you that in the throes of pleasure. But somehow, Bucky began to use it so casually that it made you nervous. What if he slipped and called you that during a meeting, in front of everyone?

You hated how Bucky was becoming soft and gentle around you, well, except maybe when he was in a certain mood. It was confusing the hell out of you. But you also enjoyed being the only one to witness his soft side.

Was his offer to make things official because he truly liked you or was the fucking that good to make him want to commit all of a sudden?

“I uhh, I think I’ll just come back later if you’re busy.” You stammered.

Bucky held up a finger and then unmuted his phone, “Hey, something important came up. I’ll call you again later.” He said and quickly ended the call before turning to you.

“You know I’m never too busy for you.” He said, his eyes the softest you’d ever seen.

There goes your heart.

“I think...” you trailed, not sure how you were going to say it.

Bucky raised his eyebrows at you, urging for you to continue. You heaved out a deep sigh. Your hands balled into fists at your side as you walked closer to his desk.

“Can we raincheck on the dinner tonight?” You asked.

Bucky frowned, “Why?”

You shrugged, “No reason.”

“Lie to me one more time and I’ll have you on my lap for some spanking.”

How the hell does Bucky do that? Become all sweet and soft and then rough and dominating all of a sudden?!

You squeezed your thighs together because the image of Bucky’s hand landing on your ass was doing things to you. You willed yourself not to give in, you came here for a reason.

“There are rumors about you. Someone heard you making dinner reservations and now everyone’s talking about it. I just...” you paused to check Bucky’s reaction but as usual, you couldn’t read his face.

“Maybe making this official isn’t...the right thing to do.”

Bucky pushed himself up from the chair slowly and stalked towards you. Was he mad? Fuck, you hoped he wasn’t. When he reached you, his hand came up to brush your cheek with his knuckles.

“What do you want then?” He asked.

Shit, you never actually thought about it. What do you want? Keep things casual between you and Bucky? Completely stop whatever it was that was going on between the two of you?

“I don’t know.” You shrugged.

“I like you.” Bucky stated and stepped back. “You’re intelligent and you don’t take shit from anyone, myself included. When you said you wanted to take things slow, I agreed to it. Hence, the flowers and dinner. Now that I’m giving it to you, you still don’t want it.”

Bucky’s livid. He was composed but the way his jaw tensed as he spoke was enough proof that he was mad, really mad. It’s his calm demeanor despite being angry that somehow scared you. The calm before the storm. What the storm was going to be? You didn’t know and honestly, you weren’t sure whether it was something that you even want to find out.

Maybe you were being confusing or indecisive but only because things happened too quickly for you to even properly process it. To think that you addressed your concerns last night, you actually that Bucky understood where your feelings were stemming from. However, it seemed to have gone over his head.

“Bucky, I don’t think you’re getting my point here.” You explained, tucking your hair behind your ear.

“If you heard what your employees have been saying about you and your...girl, you’d understand.” You said and placed your hands on your hips.

Bucky made a face, “Then make me understand. What did you hear?” he asked.

“We already talked about this last night! They’d think that the promotion was given to me because we fucked! That’s going to taint my image for the rest of my life.” You huffed out.

Bucky rubbed his face with his hand as he paced back and forth, “They’re idiots if they think of that. What do you want me to do? Give a detailed presentation why I decided to promote you? Go through your evaluation one by one? He sarcastically said.

“Oh my god, Bucky. You really don’t get it, do you?” You let out a humorless laugh.

He shrugged, “You’re confusing the hell out of me. Just tell me what the hell you want to happen.”

“Maybe I just want keep things professional.” You blurted out in the spur of the moment.

You didn’t mean it. You so didn’t mean it. Fuck. You word vomitted and now you were going to regret it.

Something in Bucky ticked, you saw it. He approached you until he was towering over your frame. It was intimidating to say the least, the way Bucky stared down at you with a blank expression on his face.

“What if I don’t want to?” Bucky asked, his eyes looking down at your lips for a quick second before moving back up to your eyes.

“I wasn’t asking for your permission.” you retorted and you’re not sure why.

Bucky exhaled through his nose and this time, you could read his face. He was fuming.

“I told you, you’re mine.” He said through gritted teeth.

The tension in the air was thick. The close proximity was making you dizzy, Bucky was so close that his scent was invading your senses. His jaw was clenched tightly as he looked down at you with piercing eyes and you were so tempted to just grab his face and kiss him and tell him that you liked him too.

But of course, your pride just had to be in the way.

“You don’t own me, Bucky. I am my own person.”

Another word vomit. You were Bucky’s the moment he laid his hands on you and you liked it.

Bucky inhaled and shrugged, loosening up before taking a step back. “So you want to keep it professional, huh?”

No.

“Yes.”

Bucky nodded, “You’re lying. I know you are. But okay then, professional it is. Let’s see how long you can keep lying to yourself.”

You watched Bucky walk back to his desk, sitting down on his chair with his arms crossed over his wide chest. His face was void of any emotion all of a sudden, he didn’t even look angry anymore and you hated how you couldn’t seem to figure him out.

“Anything else you’d like to discuss?” he asked, the professional tone of his voice sending chills down your spine, but not in a good way.

You slightly nodded, placing a folder on top of his desk before backing away. “It’s this month’s report.”

“Okay. You’re dismissed.” He casually said, grabbing the folder and skimming through your report as if you weren’t standing right in front of him.

You felt a pang of pain hit you right in the heart when he looked up at you questioningly, as if he was wondering why the fuck you still haven’t left his office. At that moment, you wanted to take back all the things you said and just give in to your damn feelings.

But would you really let your career nosedive just to be with Bucky? You weren’t sure if you were ready for that.

You straightened up and maintained a calm demeanor, “That’s all. Thanks, Bucky.”

“That’s Mister Barnes for you.”

-

Everything Bucky Tag List:

@ddowii @jessou893 @stealapizzamyheart @bagelofthelord @mxnt @dontputyourfckingdrinkonmytable @jeeperky @ohladymacbeth @wildflowergubler @supraveng @twinerd14 @buckysmar @bakugouswh0r3 @sweetcoldharmony @wintersfilm @charminivy @amelia-song-pond @iamvalentinaconstanza @mcubqrnes @i’m-squished @tcc-gizmachine @sipsteacasually @prettyintopeerpressure @weloveyasmin @est19xxshit @bloodhon3yx @dressed-in-prada @lizette50 @thatfangirl42 @sunflowerbunny2 @unmagically @okiegirl24 @sugarpunch-princess @enlyume @vvipgotbb @slimeyderp @lyoongx @just-deka @nobody-will @jaziona92 @elisebuitron @dpaccione @suvikamahes98blr @buckybarneshairpullingkink @earthtonav @x-judyjude-x @nani-kenobi @just-here-to-escape-from-reality @belladonnabarnes @iloveangstposts @weenersoldierr @asemistablehundredyearoldman @reidbuck @lizzarooni @girlfriday007 @bonkywobble @lost-in-the-stars03 @its-yasbxtch @whoth3hellisbucky​

The Match Special Tags:

@marvelslag​ @weird-mumbling​ @propertyofpoeandbucky​ @lostinthoughtsandfeelings​ @mostly-marvel-musings​ @squishybabies​ @megzdoodle​ @little-baby-vixen​ @annathesillyfriend​ @xhollycowx​ @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog​ @5-seconds-of-mendes​ @gogolucky13​ @countonthesun​ @iloveshawnieboi​ @learisa​ @borikenlove​​ @scarlet-natasha89​

[sondepoch]

HC: MC is more flexible than them!

Perfection is certain. Perfection is solid. Perfection is the body of a demon or an angel, where there is no room (or need) for bones to crack and muscles to stretch. You and Solomon, though? You’re human. Not so “perfect” when compared to the other inhabitants of at RAD—but that just makes it all the more interesting when they finally see the way the human body can crack and bend

Word Count: 5.5k

SFW + mild descriptions of cracking body parts

Characters: All brothers + All Undateables + Luke

MASTERLIST

Lucifer

Instant panic mode

Man just learned that it’s possible for humans to break bones, so when he hears you casually crack your knuckles, he instantly assumes that all your fingers are broken

Finds it even more terrifying when you lean your head back and crack your neck 

Honestly, the look of sheer horror on his face would be terrifying if you didn’t find it so funny

Is actually super confused when he realizes that you’re 100% fine but will not lower himself to actually asking you about it. That is not the Lucifer way, and so this man instead decides to secretly binge Satan’s collection of human anatomy instead

But uh, he gets scarily into it

Seriously, you’re starting to get concerned when it’s been nearly two full weeks of Lucifer ignoring you to bury his nose in a book, eyebrows furrowing every goddamn time he finishes one, and still has no clue what that cracking sound is 

It’s only when you casually do it at the dinner table and Asmo cringes, complaining about how weird it is that humans get pockets of gas inside certain joints and they actually have to crack it out, to which all his brothers nod their head and cringe when you do it again, that he understands what it is

Has never been more relieved

He isn’t as disturbed by the sound as he was before, so it’s not as fun to tease him with it - but you can count on the fact that if you ever crack anything in his presence, he will pause whatever he’s doing to study you for a moment and make sure your face isn’t contorted in pain or anything

After all, he needs to be completely certain that you haven’t broken a bone

But someone help this man when he realizes how much more flexible humans are compared to demons

The first time you do a backbend in front of him, he actually flinches

Man can’t help but imagine himself in those poses - and no matter how sexy you look when you’re winking at him and stretching your body like it’s glue, his bones would have to be shattered to bits for him to do the same

Quietly asks you not to stretch yourself into such positions in his presence

On the bright side, you can shut him up in the middle of any lecture by “casually” stretching your arms back until the demon is so disturbed that he stops in the middle of his sentence and asks you to leave as soon as possible

All in all, not a big fan - but he can tolerate your antics (if only to save face)

But if you ever show him videos (or even pictures) of a contortionist, he may actually be scarred for the rest of his almost-eternal life

Mammon

Man really needs to learn how to knock

He barges into your room without warning, as usual, only to see you all but straddling the ground, legs spread wide apart as you lean to one side and touch your right toe

It’s the most basic human stretch there is - but it’s terrifying to Mammon

You don’t even get the chance to say hi to him before he’s lifted you onto your feet, pulling you up from under your arms, desperately asking why you weren’t screaming for help 

Cannot process the fact that you were actually in that position willingly, much less the notion that it felt remotely good

Of course, you respond to his obvious aversion by showing him all the other ways your body can bend, flopping onto your bed and bending your body into a perfect bridge position

Mammon’s screeches when he sees the arch your back makes

It lowkey gives him nightmares the next night

Also becomes very touchy after he sees you move your body around so comfortably

In his eyes, you’re now the equivalent of a giant teddy bear - and really, what are the differences, now? He uses you for cuddles and hugs, can seemingly bend your body in any way and you’ll bounce back, and your skin is so soft compared to the hardness of his own body

Man actually grows used to your body after a while, holding a strange fascination for the way you can move

Begins to think that it’s cool when you show him how you can crack your knuckles and such

Absolutely makes use of the fact that some of his other brothers hate the sound, casually walking up to them with you by his side and asking them (while you crack your knuckles) to forgive his debts

Works 90% of the time

The 10% when it doesn’t work, though, he gets into trouble

In his free time, though, he actually likes lying with you and trying to figure what other body parts you can crack

Courtesy of Mammon, you learn that you can crack your hip if you stretch at a certain angle

(Bonus:) He one day tries to stretch his body the way you stretch yours and does a basic hamstring stretch on the ground, trying to touch his toes, but the exertion is too much for his inflexible body and he sort of locks a joint, so he’s left on the floor for nearly half an hour until you find him in his room and help him out of it

(Bonus bonus:) After his trauma from the above incident, he immediately goes back to assuming that you’re in great pain every time he sees you do a particularly difficult stretch and instantly lifts your body out of the position, no matter how you protest and say that you’re fine

Leviathan

"What a normie”

That’s the only reaction you get when you crack your knuckles in front of him, eager to see what he’ll do after realizing how much it disturbs his other brothers

Needless to say, you’re disappointed by his utter nonchalance

But that’s only because you have no clue what happens to Levi when he runs to his room and closes his door, jumping into his bathtub with a shook expression on his face

“Oh my god!” He squeals. “iT wAs LiKE iN tHe aNImES”

Nah, fr tho

Man has seen more than enough human-world shows which feature characters cracking their knuckles before getting down to work, so he’s pretty familiar with the concept

Like many things in anime, he was only 60% sure that it was real

But you actually did it

And it was in real life

Man is practically fanboying over a perfectly normal phenomenon

While you’re sitting in the living room, thinking that he was utterly unfazed by it :(

But when the two of you have a whole year to spend together under the same roof, it’s honestly inevitable that the truth comes out

“You like it?” You ask, pure confusion settling over your faces. After all, he’s the first of the brothers to not be utterly horrified by your little habit

“N-no!” Levi shouts, hiding his face. “I mean, maybe...just a little...sort of...but not in the normie way!”

Boi is too cute for his own good

Of course, you humor him and proceed to crack every single joint you can think of, sending a wink Levi’s way 

It would be so easy to tease him, wouldn’t it? To mess with him and call him strange, to compare to his brothers and remind him that you’re not an anime character - and that anime is, in fact, based on humans, so it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that humans could crack their knuckles the way he’s seen online

But, he’s too precious. And too cute. And he’s too adorable, staring at you with that utterly captivated expression, so you can’t help but humor him again, asking if he wants to see some of the other differences between humans and demons

And when you show him how you can bend your body, man is shook all over again

He 100% thought that the absurd stretches (like a split? how preposterous) were merely fabrications of animation - flourishes added in by animators to make the visuals more interesting

But seeing you move like that? And when you show him the other stuff?

Congratulations. Boi is officially convinced that humans are more interesting that anime can ever be.

Satan

One of the few demons who was already familiar with the fact that humans are ridiculously flexible and can crack nearly everything in their body 

He was actually the one to approach you about it

“Stretch for me, human.”

Or well, the same thing but in less blunt words

Actually invites you to have tea with him where he first broaches the subject, confirming that you'll be fully comfortable with everything he wants to study

Lmao man really arranges to have a safe word in case he pushes you too far

Once you’ve agreed to letting him study how the human body can bend and crack, the two of you set a time and meet up in his room (and yes, he does clear his books out of the way to make room for you)

And so the stretching begins

It actually feels quite awkward at first with Satan showing you pictures from human world yoga books and asking you to mimic them, taking notes in a book on everything 

Gets really excited when he realizes that your flexibility is a function of how often you stretch, and once he realizes that you’re able to go a little farther each day, he becomes lowkey obsessed with finding out whether there's a limit or not

Boi may or may not secretly try to stretch in his own room in case demons are just naturally less flexible and need to stretch regularly to become like humans

Also almost breaks his arm attempting that, so he never tries it again

The whole ordeal fits itself into your routine after long enough: after school, you go to Satan’s room and do yoga while he jots down notes on how your body moves, and after everything is done the two of you have tea

Satan never touches you while you’re stretching for fear that he’ll physically push you into something uncomfortable, but when you explain that certain positions are easier to hold if someone helps, he’ll definitely try to be a helping hand

He starts out really tentatively, hesitant that he’ll be too strong and will push you to the floor or something, but he’s pleasantly surprised to find that humans are more resilient than he’d initially thought

After his notebook is filled with notes and he’s suitably convinced that all his questions are sated, he’ll express his gratitude and tell you that you don’t need to continue 

But if you tell him that you’ve been enjoying your time together, man will 100% clear that space in his room permanently, so that you can spend time there together while Satan asks you calming questions about your day and you stretch the tension of the day out of your muscles

Asmodeus

Jelly boi

Nah but fr

Man couldn’t care less about your ability to crack your knuckles and neck - if anything, he finds the habit to be irritating

But boi is jealous when he sees how easily you can bend your body and stretch into positions that even he can’t

Obviously, his mind is in the gutter when he’s thinking about the way your body can bend - but he’s equally furious of the fact that human skin is so much softer than demon skin

Like, yes. Most demons have near-perfect skin because of its taut texture - and yes, that gives them the illusion of perfection

But human skin, blemished as it is, is like a teddy bear next to a rock when compared to demon skin

And obviously Asmo’s skin is softer than everyone else’s (this man is NOT skimping out when it comes to his skincare routine), but it infuriates him that his skin isn’t as soft as yours 

Of course, man bounces back quicker than anyone else (as expected)

He grows content with the texture of his own skin the moment he realizes how easily penetrable human skin is - namely when he’s doing homework with you and he sees your skin get sliced open by paper, of all things (man nearly chokes when he learns that this is a regular occurrence for humans)

But he never quite loses his fixation for the human body

It’s highkey the reason why he likes touching you so much - your skin is softer than some Devildom blankets! If he could fall asleep with your arms wrapped around him every night, he absolutely would

But he won’t genuinely request that of you unless you explicitly offer, so he’ll settle for simply hugging you at every opportunity

Ofc, the moment he grows content with the texture of his skin, he’s jealous of your flexibility all over again, so it’s kind of nuts

You eventually have to sit him down and tell him all the downfalls of being able to bend yourself into awkward positions (ex: getting stuck in said position or causing a cramp) for him to finally be content with his own body once more

The moment he’s back to normal, all the usual flirtatious jokes come back and he’s offering to let you show him the ways your body can bend

You deny instantly

But if he ever takes you to a club and has the opportunity to dance with you, do a body roll

Man will get on his knees if that’s what it takes to have you do it again

And then he’ll whisk you off to his room, stubbornly ignoring his brother’s protests, declaring that he needs to “reeducate” himself in the art of dance, and that you’re going to be his teacher

And hey - give him a private show while you’re at it ;)

Beelzebub

The first time you crack your knuckles in front of him, he’s eating

Man doesn’t really register it, just assumes that he bit something crunchy 

The second time you do it, it’s in his and Belphie’s room - and Belphie is taking a nap

Man gets a little suspicious, because the sound definitely came from your end, but he dismisses it and decides that the sound must have been a hitch in Belphie’s breathing

But the third time, the two of you are alone

And Beel’s protective instincts come rushing to the surface when he realizes that you really are the one making that sound

“Are you dying?”

First question, no matter what. Man has heard of medical conditions that cause bones to become brittle and crumbly, so he needs to know

Then again, he won’t really believe you when you tell him the truth

“You can...crack stuff at will?”

beelisconfuzzled.exe 

You have to show him methodically, portion by portion, which of your body parts you can crack

He isn’t disturbed by the sound (he’s eaten things which sound much worse, he can assure you) but man is intrigued

(”But how?” He’ll inevitably ask, struggling to yank his own knuckles off in an attempt to crack them and get that feeling of satisfaction you kept talking about)

All in all,he has a decent reaction - probably one of the only people who won’t overreact about the information

But then the fateful day comes

And he cracks your back

It happens while he’s giving you a big bear hug, proud of you after you came running to tell him about a good grade you got in Devildom Literature - and he places his palm on your back in just the right area, pressing down as he hugs you

And pop

Man is so mortified, he almost drops you

You, on the other hand, cannot be more pleased with this development

“Again! Again!” You shout, trying to get him to repeat the action - but while Beel loves hugging you, cracking your back is something he’s not willing to risk

“It’s okay when you do it, because you know how much your back can take” is his biggest argument. "But I don't."

And unfortunately, calling him a chicken won’t work when you try to convince him otherwise :(

What will work, however, is convincing Beel that this can be a sort of strength training - because he needs to have full control of his body to do it right

He’ll agree to do it once (mainly because you’ve been begging for so long)

But, obviously, “once” means as many times as you want, from there on out ;)

Belphegor

It’s one of the few times where Belphie isn’t in tune with his brother

And he hates it

He doesn’t understand how Beel isn't disturbed by the sound - every time you crack your knuckles, it sends a shudder straight down Belphie’s spine

And it’s not the ick factor taking place. It’s just that Belphie can’t help that his mind wanders to darker places whenever you do something like that, the sound abruptly reminding him of his time in the Celestial War and all the awful things he heard there

Like others, the sound reminds him of how weak you really are

And so, if you ever crack your knuckles around him, expect him to leave instantly

He’s the one brother who will never learn to tolerate it - not when he can remove himself from the situation so easily

And honestly, it’s kind of amazing how sharp his ears are

Is he taking a nap on your lap? If you think you can subtly crack anything without his eyes shooting open, you’re wrong

Is he preparing dinner with you in the kitchen? Nope, the sound of boiling water will not cover the sound of your body stretching too far, and Belphie will shoot you a glare before swiftly exiting the room

Is he simply doing homework with you in the RAD library? You’d think that the sound of chatter from the table next to you would hide the noise you make when you subtly lean back to crack your back, but Belphie is gathering his things mere seconds later, huffing and muttering under his breath

So yeah

Not a fan

On the other hand, he loves how accommodating your body is in terms of how flexibly you are

It brings him great joy, honestly, to just watch you flop your arms around aimlessly because humans’ movements are so fluid, so smooth, so unhindered by the rigid joints of demons

And, obviously, your flexibility makes for better naps

He likes to sleep next to you with his arms wrapped around your waist while you latch onto him in whatever position you deem comfortable

Without a doubt, the position you find is something that would be wholly impossible for a demon (how are you bending your legs that much?!) and it sometimes scares him to realize the full extents of your flexibility (can all humans twist their arms like that, or is it just you?) but he loves that you use your body’s oddities to pull him closer

And he’ll never deny you a comfortable nap if you’re willing to cuddle so readily

Never

Unless you crack your knuckles, that is

Solomon

Life is war and cracking body parts is your only weapon

Aka nonstop competitions between you and our resident wizard boy, both of you cracking body parts back and forth until one of you either fails or runs out of things to crack

Knuckles? Come on, are you even trying? Give him something less basic

Back? Oh yeah. Both sides, too - and the loud ones

Hips? You didn’t think it was possible, but Solomon will look you in the eye and hit one side of his hip, the movement a prelude to an instant CRACK which rings out oh-so-gloriously from the other end

Ribs? You realized you could crack them once and never stopped - you’re actually the one to teach Solomon how to do this

Neck? Always the finisher. So loud, and so satisfying

Neither the House of Lamentation nor Purgatory Hall ever wants to have the two of you over at the same time, because the residents know that you and Solomon will have these competitions. And they absolutely hate it.

So what do you do?

Go to the library and disturb the demons there, of course

It actually becomes a pretty sick form of payback to all the annoying demons that look down on the two of you for being humans, because they always cringe so hard when you guys do this

The two of you have deduced that the sound of knuckles cracking is the demon equivalent to the sound of nails on a chalkboard

And you fucking run wild with it

No one wants to piss either of you off, because you’ll both glare at the demon in question and proceed to crack every body part known to mankind (like seriously - it’s reached the point where you guys can crack your TOES, and if that isn’t absolutely amazing, then you don’t know what is)

It actually highkey annoys the demons in your classes, because you guys always crack everything right before an exam and while it helps you focus better, it effectively ruins their concentration

Ofc you guys don’t really care so they can suck it

But uh

Okay so the demons at RAD may or may not get fed up of you both one day and petition for Diavolo to instate a “No cracking body parts” rule in school

So yeah your primary source of entertainment sort of disappears after that point

But no worries, you and Solomon head to the downtown shopping districts instead and become the BEST hagglers in town

“Hey, can we get these shirts on a discount? Huh? You don’t do discounts? 

*Aggressively cracks everything until the demon just wants them out of the store*

“How about now BICH?”

Simeon

You’re actually not the one to introduce Simeon to the idea of humans being able to crack their body parts at will

No, it’s Solomon who steals that pleasure from you

But will Simeon ever let the sorcerer know just how much it unnerves him? Absolutely not. So what does our beloved angel do?

Why, there’s only one option

Come running straight to you.

Man is disturbed. Honestly, disturbed is phrasing it lightly. If he were in his angel form, you’d be able to see how his feathers ruffle and flutter at the very thought of that sound

Needless to say, he hates it

(You 100% consider cracking your knuckles in front of him, just to tease him, but you decide against it)

See, Simeon is an angel. And that means 99% of the time, he’s surrounded by other holy spirits, all of which have bodies molded to perfection that simply cannot crack the way yours can. Whereas demons are forced into human interaction a little more (oft when they're summoned), Simeon really isn’t used your fragility, no matter how much he tries to remind himself of it

So yeah

He hates it

On the other hand - man loves how flexible humans are

The first time you flop down onto your bed, assuming a position that would be impossible for any demon or angel to take but is deemed “comfortable” by you, Simeon is enraptured

It’s not sexual, he just thinks it’s really amazing that you have so much control over your body when he can hardly do a standing glute stretch without breaking a limb

It’s almost funny, his fixation

Actually no - it’s not almost funny. It is wholly and completely hilarious, and you will not stop leading him further down this rabbit hole

When you send this man picture of an contortionist, he’s utterly mesmerized

Show him human ballet, and he will not stop watching it

So yeah

He appreciates parts of the human body, hates others - but as long as you never crack your muscles in front of him, he’s down

Also - after you’ve thoroughly interested him in the art of being a human, he may just write about it in his next book. If you read the next set of chronicles detailed by Christopher Peugeot, you already know who the “feisty but good-hearted human who can bend themselves into a pretzel” is based on

(Bonus: Do a body roll in front of him and he might faint - man knew the human body could but like that? You might just have corrupted an angel)

Luke

“So...cool...!”

Boi loves it

He cheers you on like a champ, laughing merrily as you crack your knuckles into oblivion, scaring away the other residents in Purgatory Hall

And no matter how many times Simeon warns him not to urge you on (”The human already has no sense of self-preservation, and you don’t need to help that along,” he said), Luke can’t help but watch with excited eyes as you show him how different the human body is

He’s almost like Levi with his ardent admiration, and he honestly finds nothing disturbing about the sound of you cracking knuckles

Just finds it cool

It actually serves as a catalyst for his relationship with Solomon, because Luke will 100% go up to him and ask him whether he can crack his body like you, and obviously, the man will laugh and prove that centuries of knowledge have made him better than the average human - even in this area

But yeah

You can really see his inner child come out

(Though don’t say that last part out loud - he’ll ignore you for three days in an attempt to be “mature” before you convince him to accept your apology)

But really - he may be the only person who can not only tolerate the quirks of your body, but openly endorses all of them

On the downside, though, he’ll also try to crack his knuckles...which won’t bode too well, given that his body was built to perfection by God

Boi almost rips his finger off

Simeon proceeds to instate a no-cracking-knuckles rule within Purgatory Hall to discourage any further attempts from Luke

But you know what he didn’t ban?

Backflips.

It doesn’t matter if you can or you can’t do them - Luke will happen to see a video of a human doing one (ahem, Solomon showed him it in an attempt to stir up trouble), and now he’s begging you to do the same thing in real life

Which doesn’t work out too well, given that backflips are hard

And you may not be successful 100% of the time

And obviously, Simeon eventually finds out that the two of you have moved onto a new fixation, and so he instate the no-backflips-in-Purgatory-Hall rule

But you know what he didn’t ban? 

Cartwheels.

And so it continues on and on, indefinitely because the only way to cease your and Luke’s shenanigans would be to ban humans in Purgatory Hall, and Solomon is thankfully preventing him from doing that

Barbatos

Hates it, hates it, hates it

More than any of the brothers, more than any of the angels - this man loathes every oddity of the human body that makes it different from a demon’s

But not for the reasons you’d expect

See, it’s not the sound that bothers Barbatos

No, he’s heard the screams of the damned before. You cracking a few measly knuckles hardly makes him flinch as he pours your tea

But what Barbatos does hate is the fact that he doesn’t know what it means

Every single time you crack a knuckle in his presence, it doesn’t matter if the prince himself is speaking, because Barbatos’s eyes will fly straight to you

And yes - you guessed it:

Barbatos can’t tell the difference between the sound of you cracking your knuckles and the sound of you breaking a bone.

And for that reason, he hates it

It’s hardly his fault - he doesn’t even know if there is a difference between the two sounds. But this butler has no faith in you and no faith in humanity as a whole, so every time you crack your knuckles, it sends a rush of worry straight to his stomach, and the demon has to watch you for a solid ten seconds to make sure that you haven’t actually hurt yourself

Poor man

He’s the kind of guy to take everything in stride, so he'll probably never tell you how much he hates it when you crack your knuckles (and honestly, what would he say? “Hi, can you please stop cracking your knuckles because I care about you and it makes me concerned for your health???” No, that’s not going to work. And he doesn't know what will work, so he suffers in silence)

Seeing you stretch is even worse

It can be a casual stretch, simply pulling your arms above your head just slightly beyond what would be physically possible for a normal demon, but it sends a chill to Barbatos’s heart, and he’s worried all over again

See, when you crack your knuckles, at least it’s over. But when you stretch? Sometimes you hold your position for a minute, if not more - and Barbatos simply can’t turn away because he’s terrified that he will, and you’ll somehow hurt yourself

So yeah

No rest for this butler, not as long as you’re going around with that weak body of yours and are cracking and stretching your way into oblivion

On the bright side, it means that he’s almost always watching over you when you visit, an added layer of protection 

The only difference is that while the others are focused on protecting you from other demons, Barbatos is preoccupied with making sure you don’t hurt yourself

Diavolo

Timing is everything

And indeed, you just happen to be in the midst of cracking your knuckles and neck the moment you’re transported to the Devildom, every single one of the most powerful demons in the land staring at you in horror as your body pops some more

"Oh no,” Diavolo whispers, frowning as he looks at Barbatos. “We got a defective human :(”

Nevermind the insult you feel at his words (who does this strange, unfairly-attractive redhead think he is, calling you “defective???” He might be correct in his judgement, but he had no right to voice his thoughts!), you are shook

Definitely not the best first impression for either of you to make

Of course, Lucifer is quick to pick things up with his explanation of what this place is and who he is, and the whole situation is mostly forgotten as you come to realize that you’re standing in front of a literal prince

But the past has a way of resurfacing

And obviously, several months later, you crack your knuckles once more in the presence of the demon lord

The immediate wince on his face is more than enough for you to read his mind

“You’re thinking I’m defective again, aren’t you?”

“YOU REMEMBER THAT?!”

Poor bby

He’s honestly such a brilliant ruler, but when it comes to maneuvering the minds of humans, it’s just not his strong suit

Anyway, the two of you have a long talk (aka you rant and Diavolo listens) where you explain to him that cracking knuckles is a normal phenomenon, and that - look, you can even crack other parts of your body

And the prince is fascinated

He knew humans were built differently than demons, but he’d simply assumed that your body was just as perfect as his, and that yours could simply handle less extreme conditions

Clearly, though, that wasn’t the case

Man decides that, as the ruler of hell and the man spearheading efforts to unite the three realms, it is his moral obligation to learn about the other ways humans differ from demons

And so the shenanigans begin

It’s honestly time-consuming, but Lucifer doesn’t mind because if you’re with Diavolo, you’re out of trouble, and Barbatos doesn’t mind because if Diavolo’s with you, then he’s out of trouble

All in all, it becomes the prelude to a LOT of time spent together, and a LOT of differences between demons and humans come to light. 

Aka various iterations of “What do you mean, humans can’t bite through steel?”

[chibiwritesstuff]

Hello im Ray ! Ive never really tried to request so sorry if i did smt wrong- id like to request for Rook and maybe Vil ( separate ) where they find out that the reader is struggling with yk,, dark thoughts ? It dosent have to be necessarily about s.h tho , i would rlly need some comfort right now :') also i would prefer the reader to be g.n but anything works ! If you dont want to write about this feel free to ignore my message , have a great day/night !

Welcome! I'm honored you decided to request me. I might have gone a little obscure on some of the dark thoughts as I easily sink into that kind of mindset but I also apologize if some moments are too specific and I might have self-projected midway. If it wasn't your taste then please accept my sincerest apologies. I always write in g/n to include everyone :)

Also, @dexpairs-blog I added Lilia's part in here as it was raining here and it did set the mood for writing these (the hot chocolate helped as well to stay in good vibes while writing). I hope you both like it.

There's also Genshin impact reference slipped in Vil's.

Warnings: depressive mood, parental issues, survivor’s guilt?, angst with comfort, implied friend of Kazuha from GI in Vil’s part.

Now, let's enter this twisted wonderland~

Survivor's Guilt

It happened while you were watching Vil and his fellow actors working. You are more than aware it was just for a movie, it's all just an act but a sick side of your mind can't help but whisper the dark thoughts that filled your thoughts the entire shoot. How you merely stood instead of defending your friend, that all you did is a moment of distraction and not even enough time for him to safely get to the harbor as the guards pursue him. Should you call yourself lucky for escaping your land by complete accident or a disgrace for having escaped without any problem while others even risked their own lives doing so. The last time you two managed to talk, he merely thanked you for buying him some time without putting yourself in harm's way. How he’s still your friend despite everything.

Do you truly deserve such thanks from him? He, whom you could have saved and provided a safer way to reach the harbor towards his freedom? You can help but wonder what your life could have been had you still lived in your world and how perhaps even without breaking her rules…

“Death is still my end no matter what, isn't it?” You whispered to yourself. “Be it by her blade or by my culpability. Lest should I pass, would the winds carry my words of regrets to my dear friend?”

“What are you musing about now?” Vil asked, with you now recognizing they are taking a break. “I never knew you can be quite poetic albeit still rough on the edges.”

You merely left a mirthful chuckle as you glanced at your maple charm bracelet. “Merely lost in thought of my old home. The mood is quite blue, a few reveries of the past are foreseeable.”

“And the overdramatic part about death?” He raised his eyebrow yet you can see in his eyes a hint of concern.

“Let’s say that you are the side character of this movie you are currently filming.”

“Excuse me?!”

“Let me finish.” You held up your hand, unintentionally showing a few scars that are close to fading. “Let’s say that it's you, you have a choice of lifting your blade and buy your friend some time to help him escape or to merely distract them as to not get yourself in death’s lane but only buy them a few seconds and they still reached the main character who is your dear friend. Which one would you choose?”

“Is the movie affecting you that much?” He sighed, thinking it was merely you getting into the zone of the story as you always do when reading. “Logically speaking, knowing the main character knows how to fight, I’ll pick the second option. It guarantees I’m safe and they can escape as well.”

“But what if they didn’t?”

“The script is written for them to escape –” He stopped his speech as he noticed you caressing the said bracelet and the fading scars on your wrist.

“What if because of that one single moment you hesitated to do more to help, it could have cost him his life?” You gripped and dug your nails into your skin out of the guilt once again creeping inside of you. “And then, there’s you who just get magically transported elsewhere and safe from her eye’s gaze. That even at the moment you two reunited, all they say is thank you for saving them even though you knew you could have done more.”

“Believe me, I would rather know that my friend is still alive after protecting me than learn that they died because of it.” You gazed into his eyes and knew right away that he understood where you’re coming from. His hands gently moved yours away to prevent actual wounds to form and placed loving kisses on them, along with your scars. “Whatever dark thoughts starting to form in your mind, ignore them and move past them. When you see your friend once more, I’ll prove you that he’d be more than happy to know you’re alive than dead.”

“Mayhaps…” The dark thoughts are now gone but for now, they’re quiet.

Depression

You didn’t even know what triggered it. All you know is that you’re aimlessly walking in the middle of a heavy downpour heading nowhere in mind. The occasional hurried cheerful banter of other students seeking immediate shelter only served to damper your mood further. Had it not been for a coincidental moment that Rook was admiring the rain, you most likely will still kept walking all day. He’ll briskly take in his room to dry you off while gently asking why are you in the rain.

“I don’t know.”

“Did someone hurt you?”

“I don’t know.”

No matter what question he throws you, the only answer you seem to be capable of giving at the moment is your tears and the repeated mantras of “I don’t know”. He sees the beauty in everything even in your sadness. The beauty of tragedy, as painful as it is, still sparkles at the most trying times yet at this moment, he wanted nothing more than remind you how much you matter to him as he envelops you in his strong arms. He wanted to protect you from the demons you face in your mind no matter what he must do.

“It was so cold I just want to close my eyes and never open them again. To just let the cold consume me and finally get some rest without returning to the waking world…” You heard him gasped but you encircled your arms around him. “But then out of nowhere, I felt a little spark of warmth.”

“Really?” His voice turned a little hopeful. You are so precious to him and seeing you in this dark place in your mind makes him feel like he failed to hunt all your demons away.

“Mhm, a tiny warmth… that slowly enveloped me and made me open my eyes.” You pulled back and let a small smile, not bright and cheerful but enough to say that you’re feeling better. “Thank you for being there, Rook. I don’t know where I will be at now if it wasn’t for you.”

“I know my speech always contains a lot of flowery compliments but I want you to know that I truly see your worth.” He’ll plant a kiss on your forehead as he rubs your back to let out all the tears you’ve been holding back. “So, cry. Cry the pain away like the sky does and once it's out of your system…”

You two both looked out on the window as the sun once again emerges as the gray clouds parted.

“You can shine even brighter than yesterday.”

Parental Issues

You used to love the cloudy days, the cuddles your parents would give to you when you were young, the mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows as you slowly lull yourself into sleep. Yet as you grew up so did the amount of expectation, they projected on you. It was also on a dark, cloudy day that your parents said words that forever etched in your mind.

We gave you everything can't you at least repay us by doing better than your cousins?!

You’re embarrassing us from the family with your sorry excuse of grades! I told you a B+ isn’t enough!

I don’t care if that’s what you want to do! I want you to be a nurse and that’s final!

I wished I had your cousin instead of you.

We’re so disappointed in you.

Now, cloudy days remind you of those lost times and the false love that your young self naively clung to. It doesn’t help that once in a while, you’ll see the other students show familial affection to one another and long to feel that once more. However, as the sky darkens, you can't help but justify what your parents have instilled in you.

“Maybe, I really wasn’t good enough to earn their love?” You can't help but mutter to yourself as you let out a defeated sigh.

“And who dared say that to you, young one?”

You turned your gaze to the Diasomnia vice dorm leader and let out a wistful smile. “Ah, just memories of my younger days.”

“A madol for your thoughts?” He sat beside you as he fixed his gaze on you.

“Say, Lilia…” You hesitated as you feel like you’re defying your parents despite being away from them. “Am I a disappointment? Was I not good enough? Is it wrong of me to dream of something else than what my parents desire?”

Before you knew it, you’re telling him your entire life story. He didn’t interrupt and let you finish your story. It pains him to see in your eyes how desperately you want to cry yet no tears fell. Your breath was knocked out of you as he envelops you in his arms. As you were about to ask what’s wrong, you feel him shaking and began sobbing in your stead. You can’t help but panic thinking you’ve done something wrong yet he merely peppered your head with gentle kisses.

“How could you think of such a thing!” His tears flowed as he pulled back and held your cheeks. “Oh, young one, had I known this I would have taken you from your parents the moment you were born.”

“W-what do you mean?”

“You were never a disappointment, you are more than good enough, you are free to dream to be whatever you want to be. That’s the beauty of being alive and yet…” He once again embraced you as if shielding you from the horrors of the world. “These are the lies you were fed instead of giving you all the love and care you deserve.”

“L-Lilia…” You can feel your eyes water yet they still didn’t fall, or rather, they refused to fall even you wanted to out of instinct. To cry is to be weak and pathetic as your parents had said. “C-can you pat my head? Can you tell me I did a good job? Can you tell me you’re proud of me?”

“Of course!” And pat your head he did, singing you praises and acknowledgment that you had dreamt to hear from your own parents for so long. “I know you long to return to your world but it pains me to know you’ll go back in a home with no love for you. If I may be so bold, would you like to be part of my family? I’ll tell you your true worth and acknowledge your achievements, we’ll love you just as a true family would.”

And at last, the gloomy sky that is your eyes finally started to rain.