#i wanna write some gt next maybe...

[nomstellations]

how about m1m1kyu? They’re cute and the z move is already right there

Getting a job at a year-round scare mansion was the best idea you ever had. The pay could be a lot better, but that's not why you and your buddy wanted the job. Truth be told, you both had a real passion for scaring people.

Your boss was pretty lax, not taking things as seriously with you two as they would with the other scarers. Just give them what they paid for and have fun, right? That gave you both some pretty novel ideas on what to do, and you both soon settled into a routine that worked best for you. The room you two were active in was an old and dusty girl's room, full of creepy dolls and worn out stuffed animals. You and your buddy were two particularly...large and lifelike dolls. Of course, you were just dolls...you wouldn't come to life and jump at anyone, right?

Yuuki really sold the part of a big old plush well. They laid limp and slumped against the wall, their worn stitched together clothes fit the theme perfectly. They kept their body covered and their face was hidden beneath their costume, so all people saw were the limp bunny ears and the creepy-but-cute stitched smile and button eyes. You both watched a small group of people make their way through, sizing them up for the perfect opportunity. One of them wasn't exactly a good sport- loudly complaining and chastising his groupmates for being wimps. You cast a glance to Yuuki when their backs were turned; knowing they'd understand what it meant.

When they tried to leave, the door wouldn't budge. That was your cue to jump into action! Slowly, you and Yuuki started to move. The bells on their costume jingled quietly, catching the group's attention. That big creepy bunny doll was moving, its empty button eyes seemingly staring them down from where it stood on the opposite wall. Then, it started to walk closer. Slow and meticulous, but with an unnatural gait that didn't seem quite human. And another doll was standing up- you were sitting up from where you rested on the dusty bed. "R-R-RUN!"

The group panicked, shaking at the door handle with everything they had while Yuuki only drew closer. You stayed where you were to watch it play out. "You guys are a bunch of pussies," sneered their colleague, "It's just a person in a shitty costume." Regardless of that, Yuuki continued to shamble forward. The door only opened at the very last second and let them all free, but when their cohort rolled his eyes and moved to leave too...it slammed on him. When he turned around, Yuuki was looming over him.

"Oooh, you got me. What're you gonna do now? These scare houses are so stupid, I swear...I should've never agreed-" Rip. One of the seams on the costume's mouth ripped. Then another, and another, until they all opened in an open, jagged smile. The man scoffed, unimpressed. "How frightening. Can I go now?" Yuuki grasped at him, both hands holding onto him firmly. Then from the inky black darkness of the inside of the costume's mouth, a clawed hand stretched forth and gripped him by the collar. "H-hey, wait, what's th-"

His head is yanked into their mouth, with his body already being yanked deeper. Their arms held him in place, leaving him to kick futilely at them while the fabric muffled his yells and protests. They lightly chomped at his body, swallowing him down with a practiced ease as you glimpsed shadowy hands reaching out from their mouth to help his descent. You had to give it to them- Yuuki was a pretty good hunter. Soon nothing was left of the spoilsport, now reduced to a struggling bulge pressing and kicking out against the fabric of their body. The stitches on their face fixed themselves as if they had never been torn open, but you could tell their smile was somehow more pleased. You flopped back down on the bed, watching them waddle over to their plush pile to hide and enjoy their meal.

The fear of people who think they're above this place is the most delicious. Hopefully you get one like that now that it's your turn to "scare" someone... This job was perfect for you both. You got paid to eat people!

[crybaby-bkg]

I finally get the urge to write a full fic and of COURSE I’m gonna be hella busy tomorrow 😔

[iishmael]

hiya, im sort of new here (ive finally started using tumblr properly after having an account for months) and i wanna start by saying what you do is amazing!! well done!!

i know its a bit of a stretch, but could you do something with stoffel vandoorne and mitch evans?? i feel like formula e is really undermined in fics cause the amount of angst you could write about a grid where a part of the grid are ex-f1 drivers...

even like 3 sentences would make me happy, so thanks <33

Welcome!! <3 I am surprised you found my blog since i'm more like the f1 senior ex-driver rehabilitation centre at this point but I hope you'll enjoy your stay (and I do have some brocedes content coming up! fittingly, for the senior rehab rip) I have not written stoffel in so long, the last time i wrote about him i headcanoned him as nando's and jenson's kid. the nostalgiaaaaa... this is very short, but i hope it'll make you smile! <3

Stoffel/Mitch Warnings: none

The raspy, choking sound was preceded by a bang.

"Are you kidding me?!"

"I told you. I told you that a McLaren would-"

"Oh, what the actual fuck! It's smoking too!"

"The McLaren and your driving style combined-"

"Stoffel, please, can you just-" Mitch grappeled with the latch of the door handle, the door of the GT smoothly sliding upwards even under his impatient jolting. "Please get out of the damned car!"

Even though Stoffel was still muttering under his breath - and all of that were Dutch curse words, Mitch was sure - he got out of the car and joined Mitch next to the hood.

"I told you we should've asked the car rental for something different. Maybe something more suitable to you. Like a Polo." Stoffel's smirk was wiped off his face when he inhaled some of the white smoke that kep wafting up from the engine.

Mitch snorted, suppressing a laugh against his will. "We have a serious problem here, can we maybe focus on that?"

He leaned forwards waving and fanning the smoke out of his face with quick movements of his hand, and squinted down to the engine. They had rented a car to get to their holiday destination - and now they stood on the side of the road somewhere in the middle of California, with an engine failure on their hands and the hot sun burning down on them. An inconspicous car would truly have been a better choice, Mitch thought to himself - obviously he was not about to annouce that to Stoffel.

Mitch sighed heavily, stepping back from the mess. Maybe that last donut and the little bit of speeding he'd put the car through had been too much? "I can't see anything with all the smoke," he announced, "and I don't want to stick my hand in there while it's still hot... Do you think we should-"

"Call roadside assisstance?" Stoffel snapped his phone shut with no concern for the bendy touchscreen, and pulled Mitch away from the gaping hood of the car. "Already done."

Mitch groaned and scrubbed his hand over his face. "I'm sorry. This is really not how I imagined our holidays to start..."

Stoffel had had another quip on the tip of his tongue, but when he saw that Mitch was starting to mope, he pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose. "Now, stop looking like that. We'll be rescued in no time!"

"Easy for you to say!" Mitch buried his face against Stoffel's neck and hugged him close. "I hate cars," he complained, voice muffled.

Stoffel laughed and started to pet his hair. "Hey, if anyone's allowed to shittalk McLaren, that's still me, baby."~

[spaghettificationstation]

you know what’s absurd? how many times, when i’m writing fanfic or the like, that i’ll cut down or even cut out parts that i might like, because I’d think, “oh, people won’t like this, it’s too (insert whatever here).” But then i’ll turn around and read a dozen fanfictions that don’t necessarily line up with how *i* like to perceive the character, or the world, or whatever, but I’ll still have a good time and will read through the fic and kudos and comment and all that?? (unless it’s something i rlly dont jive with, then I’ll just stop reading) like, why do i allow so much slack for what I read, but absolutely none for what I write??? its silly

[kayesfictioncharactershusbands]

Did I Mention (Theodore Nott X Reader

Summary: You didn't know when it started, or how it started. You just hate Theodore Nott. And same goes for him. But what if did I mention he also likes you? But one certain word made you slapped Theo because he was jealous. That you didn't know of.

Request: Hello! Can I request an angsty and fluffy enemies to lovers with Theo Nott and female ravenclaw reader? Thank you xx

House: Ravenclaw

Warning: angst and slight curse words, jealous Theo, body shaming, insecure reader but of course a fluffy ending.

Note: I'm such a sucker for this idea and the fact that I thought of the song from Descendants. Hope you guys would like this one!

_________________________

[ gif, not mine, and also, this is the only pic that I found about Theo.]

Your friends and his friends didn't know when it started. It just well started. You hate each other's guts. For some reason that even your friends can't explain. You are at the great hall, seating at the Ravenclaw table that is also near the Slytherin table.

You were about to drink your pumpkin juice when someone nudges your shoulder, in which the juice is now poured on your shirt. And your now wet.

"What the hell?" You curse and turned around and you saw Theodore Nott now laughing at what he had done. But you were not having it.

"Ops. My bad Y/L/N." He sarcastically said and gave you a sarcastic smile while you scowled, while one of your friends gave you a napkin to clean you up.

"Yeah your bad, as if it wasn't meant to happen, Nott. You're acting like a child." You told him while both of your friends gave a sigh.

"Me? Acting like a child? Pfft. You're the one who happens to be soaking wet. Because of the pumpkin juice Y/L/N. Plus you're also the one -" Theo was cut off by Pansy who was near him.

"Shut up Theo! It is early in the morning and the both of you can't fucking shut up!" Pansy scolded him and he just scowled at him.

Before Theo or Y/N would start anything each of their friends starts to distract them by talking to them. Then owls started appearing. you then received a letter from your parents. Both of your parents came from a well-known Ravenclaw. And they expect you to be just like them.

After they were eating, Y/N and her friends went to their next class with the Slytherins. When she was laughing with her friends but then stopped when she heard someone's words." Hey Y/L/N! Seems like you - " you then instantly cut Theo off.

"I'm what Nott? Seems like you can't find anything insulting to me. It's written on your face." Y/N sarcastically said and sat down with her friends. Theo was about to speak but was stopped because professor McGonagall started discussing.

You were writing your notes down when you felt someone tapping your shoulder. You then saw your fellow housemate Felix.

"Yes?" You smiled at him while asking him that question. He then gave you a piece of parchment.

"I wanna asks you on a date if it's OK with you Y/N?

- Felix xx

As you read that you giggled and nodded at him. He then silently whispered a happy yes. After classes, you told your friends about Felix asking you out.

"Oh, Merlin! That's amazing Y/N! Lexi said with excitement in her voice.

"I heard that he fancies you too, I heard it from the other Ravenclaw guys. Maybe you'll finally have a boyfriend!" Your other friend Ella said while squealing.

You giggled at your friend's words and also started to blush.

"Pfft someone fancying Y/L/N? Yeah right, no one would like someone like her." Theo said while smirking and you then roll your eyes.

But instead of sending an insult to him, you smirked and flipped your hair. "A kind of girl who just got asked out on a date, Nott. Unlike you, other boys actually - wait other men actually knows how to act around a lady." You sass and walked away with your friends.

He scoffs and rolled his eyes, and heard his friend's laughter.

"Ouch." Draco sarcastically said.

"That must really hurt." Blaise also adds and also laughs.

Shut up! Theo annoyingly told them. Little did they know though, he was pissed because you got asked out with someone. Yes, he fancies Y/N Y/L/N.

But he doesn't want to admit it to himself. He's that stubborn.

--

It's a Hogsmeade weekend and you are now waiting for Felix, you're supposed to meet at the great hall. Your friend is with you. You're wearing an off-shoulder blue dress since it was a bit hot, that fit your body perfectly. You're also bringing with you your own coat because it might be cold.

You are wearing simple make-up, and you curl your hair with the help of your friends. All in all, you look beautiful.

As you were talking with your friends, you again heard someone's voice. A voice that you don't want to listen to.

"What? You're actually going with that outfit? With that bloke? And that outfit makes you fat too, Y/L/N. It doesn't fit you at all." When you heard that words came out to Theo's words you instantly slapped him.

"The fuck?" Theo asks while holding his right cheek, but you didn't care. But he then notices a tear came down your face and left your friends.

You had been insecure with your body and always got those comments from your mother. Your friends made sure that you are beautiful, that you actually are not fat. That you have a beautiful body.

Some of your friends ran to you while Lexi and Elle gave him a look. " We know Slytherin's attitude is sometimes stupid. But the fact that you Nott body shamed my best friend just because you don't like her. You're an awful git!" Lexi said and left to follow you.

"We let it slide how you annoy her because it is just some little childish words, but those body-shaming words? That is below the belt. Think before you speak Theo, I know you like my best friend. But it seems like, you just want to make her more insecure of her body." At those words of Ella, he was left speechless.

Even his friends gave a look and Pansy being one of the girls that was also his and your friend gave him a glare.

"You bloody idiot! Y/N is insecure about her body! Merlin Theo, if you want to just annoy the hell out of her, don't insult her body. You're ridiculously in love with the girl but you don't admit it! Now, I think Y/N is crying and thanks to you, she might look down on herself, again!" Pansy snapped and left her friends.

Blaise pats Theo's shoulder, and he was now left speechless.

"I thought it was only Draco is the gt here, but I guess wrong," Blaise told him.

"Hey!" Draco shouted but Theo was now feeling guilty he didn't know these words were too much. He didn't know that those silly words - well insult hurt you.

Without saying a word to his friends, he ran and is trying to find you. He really feels like a git right now. A very stupid git. He is now finding where you are, then he saw you at the courtyard. You're crying, and your friends were with you.

"Y/N stop crying, don't believe anything that Nott says. Because he's not right. You're beautiful OK? Now, would you stop crying already?" Lexi told you while smiling.

Theo cleared his throat, and all of you looked at him. You wiped your tears and glared at him.

"What do you want Nott? You made me cancel my date with Felix. That's what you want right? Because you won, Theo. " You told him with anger in your voice that surely made him more guilty.

You stood up and were about to walk away with your friends but Theo caught up with you and held your wrist.

"Look, Y/N I didn't mean to say those words. I was being a git OK?" Theo told you he was still holding your wrist but you then removed it. You were still glaring at him.

"Yeah? Because I think that you did. You were always been mean to me, and I didn't even know why. So, please, stop bothering me. It's already enough that you made me feel like I'm not enough. " You told him and started to walk away from him.

"Y/N WAIT! Ju - just listen to me, please?" You motioned to your friends to go on and faced him.

"Go on then, talk." You told him with gritted teeth. You cross your arms and wait for him to say something.

"Well this is kind of stupid, but did I mention that I like you? That's why I had been teasing you, Y/N. I just got jealous that someone got the guts to ask you, OK? And those words that I just said I was not thinking straight. It just came out of my mouth. " He explained to you and that made your eyes wide.

You rolled your eyes at his words. " Nott, you are really stupid, huh? Those bullshit things that you just said right now? It really explains how you are. And the fact that is how you want a girl to notice you is beyond ridiculous." You told him.

He run his hands through his hair and get near you. "Well my love for you is ridiculous, Y/N. That it sometimes makes me a big git, and make the girl that I fancy cried. And that slap earlier, I think I deserved that." He said and rub his neck.

You chckle at his words.

"Yeah you do, Theo. And if you really want me to accept your sorry, work for it. And lastly, if you really like me, work for it to." When he heard that came out of your mouth he can't help but scream.

You shook your head and giggled at him. I mean hey, he's going to work on that attitude of his. Plus, you also fancy him. Just don't mention it to him just yet.

Because, he needs to work for it.

___________

I'm not confident with this one. So, I just hope you guys like this. Seriously, though I really hope you like this!

[flamingo-writes]

Yours/His— Wakatoshi x Reader

Summary: Despite being completely different people, you found comfort in each other’s company. And after a couple of years of friendship, it seemed only natural that the two of you fell in love with each other. Even though you weren't the “type” of girl Ushijima Wakatoshi liked. However, you were the first girl to ever make him feel like that. 

Posted: 08.14.2020

A/N: I intended this to be a short fluffy drabble...inspired by the song Shooting Star. But then, as I began writing, it all gt out of hand and I ended up writing 8K words...What’s more impressive is that I managed to write them in two days, so, that’s a new record for me. Happy late birthday to Wakatoshi, I guess. 

Word Count: 8.6 K

Warnings:  Smut, smutty smut. And curse words. 

If there was a word to describe you, it was: wild. It was incredibly amazing how someone as wild as you managed to be in a relationship with Ushijima Wakatoshi. To his friends seemed only obvious, while the rest of the school thought it was ironic. 

Ushijima Wakatoshi was known for being not very bright, and yet, the ace player in the volleyball team. He was stronger than most, he was disciplined enough to never skip practice, even disciplined enough to always hand in homework even though he wasn't the brightest student. He had a weird fascination with following the rules. And had his mind set on his goal. 

Along the way, he has had a few crushes here and there, but those girls never seemed to stick around for long. These girls followed the imposed image of the 'perfect wife' according to his mother. Gentle, polite, pretty, dedicated to their studies, and supportive. However, that last trait was always put to test, since Ushijima's obsession with Volleyball was usually what made his relationships end. He never truly loved a girl enough to stick with her for long.

At least, not before you. The two of you met thanks to Satori. And it didn't come as a surprise that you and Satori were best friends. You were both equally chaotic and clever. 

And boy, you were clever. Whereas you weren't precisely the gentlest, nor the politests, you sure were dedicated to your studies, and incredibly supportive.

Sure, you constantly came off as rude for addressing people by their first name right after meeting them, and you usually spoke your mind through sarcastic remarks, sometimes hurting people in the process. But god, Ushijima's friends admired your patience since you were always willing to help him with his homework and helped him study, since Ushijima seemed to struggle with complicated classes like vocab and calculus. 

You managed to effortlessly come up with ways to help him learn kanji, and with such easy explanations for calculus. Not only your patience, but your passion when it came to teaching, it didn't surprise anyone when you told them you wanted to be a teacher.

"You're very good at it" Walatoshi said once. 

Your constant presence around Wakatoshi, as well as him constantly relying on you for several things not only made your friendship grow slowly, but a sort of endearment took over you whenever it came to Wakatoshi. Whereas you were sarcastic and sometimes mean to others, you had a terribly obvious soft spot for him. Something even Wakatoshi could tell. 

This different treatment made him feel good, if he said so himself. He liked to be the only one who was immune to your wild mood swings and sometimes hurtful sarcasm. Even between your friends, your jokes sometimes got out of hand, but by this point your friends knew it was in your nature. 

The stoic, serious, and intimidating Ushijima Wakatoshi was the only one safe from the equally intimidating, laidback, explosive you. And soon, this gentle treatment not only got into his head, it slowly made its way to his heart. And after a year and a half of highschool, he admitted his feelings for you, not only to himself, but to Tendou. 

"Oh, shit, I knew this was gonna happen!" Satori laughed. "Oh boy, Semi is gonna be so pissed when he finds out!" Pulling his phone at once, texting Semi at the speed of light.

"Why is that?" Wakatoshi said, hearing the soft clicks Tendo's phone made as he texted. 

"I made a bet with him. He betted [Name]-chan was gonna fall in love first, I said it was going to be you. And for a moment, I thought he was gonna win" Tendo giggled mischievously, proud as if it had been his doing instead of fate.

"Semi betted that she was gonna develop feelings for me first?" Wakatoshi wasn't used to the feeling of his cheeks burning gently, and certainly, he wasn't aware of the fact that he was blushing, very much to Satori's amusement.

"Yes! And actually, she's not far from falling down that hill, so, now that I won my bet, I can help you steal her heart, tiger" Satori winked and hit Wakatoshi gently on the ribs with his skinny elbow.

"You think I need your help?" Wakatoshi asked, completely clueless.

"Well, normally, I'd say yes. But I'm pretty sure if you keep being yourself, she'll eventually be heads over hills for you"  Wakatoshi frowned at this, confused by what Satori meant.

"Why would she be heads over hills?" 

"Oh boy, this is why she finds you cute. It's figure speech, dude. It means she'll be madly in love with you" 

"So, I should just keep being me?" His eyebrows relaxed at this and sighed deeply, relieved.

"Yeah, if you wanna speed that process, ask her out or whatever…I hope Semi sees his phone soon" Satori chuckled sheepishly.

Ushijima never realized how easy it was to be your friend. You were always there whenever he needed a hand, whether if it was for school or if he was dealing with personal issues. To the point of learning basic volleyball skills and knowledge to help him train on the weekends. 

And just as you were always there for him, he always was for you. The thing about being as free spirited as you were, meant you'd have a lot of people chasing after your igniting freedom. And Wakatoshi was the perfect guy to scare off the guys who didn't have good intentions or those who wouldn't take no for an answer. Just like keeping you sane from the school work and pressure of keeping straight A's to keep your scholarship by distracting you, taking you out to play volleyball with him, sometimes he dragged you along his jogs around the streets, sometimes just to hang out in his dorm.

But then the fear washed over him like very few things in life. The fearless Shiratorizawa Monster, afraid of asking his best friend out on a date and possibly crossing the line. What if he ended up breaking your heart in the process? Or if he scared you away? What if things went perfectly fine, but given your nature, his mother and you didn't get along? 

He hated to admit it, but he was terribly attached to his family. And the idea of defying or starting any kind of family drama unsettled him. 

The idea of losing you terrified him even worse, though. And clung to the idea of staying your friend for years and years to come. Everything would be easier if you just stayed friends. Right?

He was afraid of flying too close to the sun. 

At least until he did, and found out his wings weren't made out of wax. Or maybe, he wasn't even flying close to the sun, instead he was chasing after a shooting star. 

His feelings for you got out of hand one night. One blissful night, in which he learned so much about himself as a man. And about you. By the end of the night, he knew that you were the perfect match for him, regardless of what everyone expected of him. By the end of the night, he was yours. and you were his.

The last party before graduating. Before he left Shiratorizawa and joined a professional volleyball team. And before you went to university and majored in history. 

The traditional Third Year Graduation Party took place not so far away from your place, and as expected, this party turned wilder than the one from the previous year, as the tradition dictated. 

Very much against his will, Wakatoshi was dragged to the party by Satori.  And for the first hour he was beyond uncomfortable trying to avoid the drunken people and their fuckery.

"Toshi, you keep disappearing!" You sang upon finding your friend for a fifth time within the same hour.

"I'm sorry, it's not on purpose" He said leaning closer to you so you could hear him among the chaos taking place in such a small house "This much noise and close space makes me uncomfortable" He said.

"C'mon, lets go outside" You said,  grabbing his arm and guiding him through the crowd "I could use some fresh air myself" You walked out the door,  towards the front yard and into the sidewalk away from the people gathered in the garden.

Wakatoshi noticed how your steps were slightly clumsier and your cheeks seemed to be rosier than usual. 

"Are you okay?" He asked, still not sure what was it about you that was different, but definitely noticing something was off. 

"I'm tipsy, and I'm having a good time" You said clinging to his arm as you sat down on the edge of the sidewalk and stared at the sky. "But if I keep drinking, I'll go from tipsy and fun to wasted and cringy, and we do not want that" 

"Oh" Wakatoshi murmured sitting next to you, his shoulder brushing yours.

"It was the vodka. I've drunk sake before, and normally don't get drunk this fast. But a single glass of vodka with juice and I'm already like this" You giggled pointing at your face.

"You want me to take you home?" He asked.

"Nah, I just got here" You sighed looking at your friend. "Unless, you want to get away from here" You said looking into your friend's eyes.

"How did you…"  His voice trailed off.

"Ushijima Walatoshi, I know you, and I can tell you would like to be somewhere else but here. C'mon, let's go home" 

"Didn't you want to stay?"

"I got what I wanted, I got tipsy with cheap foreign alcohol, and I wanted to have fun. I had both, and now, I'd like to have fun with you, Toshi-kun. And if you need to go somewhere else to have fun, then I'll gladly go wherever you go" You smiled, noticing how Wakatoshi smiled softly upon hearing you.

"Isn't your mom home?" He was worried that you might get in trouble for arriving home drunk, however, he forgot your mother was considerably younger than the average, and was a lot more open minded than most moms Wakatoshi knew. 

"She said she was gonna go drinking with her friends from the office, and she told me that as long as I didn't come back drunker than her, then it was all fine" 

"Oh" He purred "You think she'll get drunk?" 

"Of course! Not drunk enough for it to be a problem, but drunk enough to not mind if I get drunk" You giggled.

"You want to get drunk?" 

"No, not really. I'd like to stay tipsy for a few more hours, but I can do that with the sake my mum has at home" 

"Isn't she gonna mind?

"Gosh, stop worrying and let's go! It's gonna be fine, I promise!" 

With a single hop you stood up and offered Wakatoshi your hand to help him up. He chuckled, thinking how easy it was for you to be so carefree when he would be worrying about all the circumstances. He grabbed your hand, more as a courtesy, since he didn't have a single problem standing up, but still felt the urge to feel your small hand in his. 

Once he was standing on his feet, his gut twisted and tickled upon noticing how you didn't let go of his hand. The sweet anxiety drew a wider smile on his face as he walked next to you, still holding onto your hand.  He wondered if it was because you were drunk.

The party was barely a 20 minute walk from your house, so Wakatoshi didn't even have to ask where you were going, as he noticed how you took the way uphill, towards your place. 

The wind was chilly, but not enough for it to be a problem. Besides, you were walking, legs warming up as the street inclined slowly. Still holding your hand, every so often, he'd look at you, blessing his eyes and his heart with the gentle sight of the absentminded smile on your face as you hummed. 

He remembered the many times Semi asked you to sing a song with him and record it, but you always refused since you were shy and only sang when you felt comfortable and only around those you trusted the most. 

"[Name], c'mon, your voice is gorgeous!" Semi said one time he showed you a song he'd written, and Wakatoshi had been there in the dorm when it happened. 

Soon, you kept flattering him with subtle actions. Holding his hand, quietly walking uphill in the middle of the night, and now, the soft humming slowly evolving into singing. Your soft voice singing in a low voice, a song he couldn't name, but thought it was a cute song. 

He didn't say anything until you finished singing with a loud sigh. He looked at you dreamily as you looked at your house slowly appearing on the horizon. 

"That was beautiful" 

"Thank you, Toshi" You whispered, savouring his name on your lips. 

The hill was covered in small white houses, all of them looking pretty similar. In front of the stretching wall of houses, there was a lookout, decorated with a nice iron balcony, and one feet tall concrete cubes following the edge of the sidewalk to keep cars for parking near the edge. 

You walked towards the lookout, stopping before one of the concrete cubes and stepping on one of them. 

No longer feeling tipsy, you effortlessly hopped on top, letting go of Wakatoshi's hand in the process and balancing your arms. However, Wakatoshi wasn't sure if you still felt drunk, and instinctively stretched one of his arms to your waist, helping you balance.

"Easy there," He said.

"It's okay, I got this" you said, resting one of your hands on his shoulder. 

Now standing on the concrete cube, you were taller, shortening the height difference between you and your friend. Not used to this new height, you gazed around you. 

"Is this what it feels like being so tall?" You broke the silence as Wakatoshi looked away from the view and towards you. 

"Yeah, I guess" He chuckled softly, gazing at you. 

You locked stares with his olive eyes, thinking it only made sense how many girls fell for those sweet captivating orbs. Sure, he looked stoic most of the time, still his eyes were beautiful. Even more so when he was smiling, just like he was now. 

The sort of comfortable smile that appeared when he was around his close friends, having a good time, not thinking of responsibilities. It was a unique smile you adored so much. And right now, you had that smile to yourself alone. 

"How nice" You murred as your mind focused on his hand, still on your waist. Feeling the weight and the warmth burning through your skin. "Being this tall. Specially for a guy, tall guys are a blessing, I swear, there's something so stupidly attractive about a tall guy" 

"Well, yeah. But finding shoes of my size is kinda of a problem…" You giggled at his remark. "Trousers too" 

"Oh, I'm sorry. Japan isn't precisely tall-people friendly, is it?" You remarked.

"Yeah" Wakatoshi nodded.

"Toshi" 

"Hmm?" 

"Close your eyes" He looked at you and blinked a few times, confused, curious, before asking.

"Okay. What for?" 

"Listen to the city breathe" You closed your eyes and remained silent, trying to focus on the sweet hums of the city, the traces of the sounds that brought a city alive.

"Sometimes I don't understand what you say" He said bluntly, closing his eyes.

"Me neither. And that's okay" You giggled opening your eyes.

You stared at Ushijima savouring the gentle breeze hitting his face, as he listened closely to the sounds of the city. Not noticing you were staring at him with a stare that seemed to melt into a puddle of adoration. 

You leaned closer to him, kissing the corner of his mouth so delicately, Ushijima took a while to realize what had happened. And once he did, he opened his eyes and gazed at you, noticing the blush on your cheeks as your stare seemed to scan his face bit by bit.

"[Name]..." He whispered.

"Did you know" You cut him off with a soft voice "Satori and Semi had a bet going on?" 

"Ye-yeah…" He admitted.

"Those idiots won't tell me who won. Do you happen to know who did?" You raised an eyebrow, knowing he knew, but had your suspicions that he wouldn't tell you either.

"Yes" He said coldly.

"And?"

"I'm sorry, I'm not—" 

"Of course" You interrupted him once more "I should've known that you'd be on their side" You giggled. "Well, it doesn't matter now, does it?" 

"What do you mean?" 

"I know you like me. And I like you, too. A lot, actually. But always felt a bit scared of saying it" 

Wakatoshi stared at you, wondering where this whole honesty was coming from.  He knew alcohol had this effect in people, but right now you were moving a lot more coordinated and spoke eloquently as always.

"Are you still drunk?" 

"No, not really" You sighed "But, we're graduating next week, and, I promised myself I'd tell you before graduation" 

Something about you enchanted him so much. Your wild, untamed and spontaneous nature, sometimes rubbed off on him. Specially as time went by, he realized he was becoming less and less strict with himself, allowing himself to be spontaneous every once in a while, although, not as frequently as regular people his age were. 

But this time was different. As soon as he thought about it, he acted. He knew that the less he reasoned his thoughts, the easier it'd be to act.

He leaned closer, one of his hands reached your cheek and pulled you closer to him, as he crashed his lips with yours. His lips pressing gently against yours as a surprised hum escaped your lips before giving in to the kiss.

You kissed him back, locking lips and breathing in deeply. Wrapping your arms around his shoulders you pulled him closer, eager to feel his body next to yours. He mirrored your movements and squeezed you, snaking his arms around your waist. Very tightly. Such closeness allowed you to feel the rise and fall of his chest as you kissed over and over and over again. He felt the traces of cranberry juice in your breath, though he didn't give it much of a thought, he was far more busy savouring the kiss itself.

The both of you losing all sense of time and orientation. The both of you got lost in the moment, feeling the anxiety build up in your stomach as you remained kissing desperately, as if the world was about to end. 

The kiss that had been haunting him in his dreams finally happened, in a much better way than he ever imagined. Your hands moving across his back, as he felt your fingers brush his hair before you closed your grip on his hair, as your mouth fought for dominance. 

Your tight grip on his hair, along with your tongue teasingly brushing his lip, and your body pressed against his, it all played out like an orchestra. Building the tension, kissing you and holding you close, suddenly wasn't enough. His body urged him for more, in a feeling he knew all too well, but wasn't used to feeling. 

For someone who has had a few girlfriends here and there, none of them ever made him feel like this. For so long he thought love and intimacy weren't as big of a deal as everyone made it out to be. For so long he only thought of his girlfriends as companions, and never really felt the urge to kiss them, to touch them, to hold them close. 

This feeling was too new for him, it made him feel slightly awkward. But you seemed to fully give in and play along with his needy contact. 

You broke the kiss, panting breathless, resting your forehead against Wakatoshi's. 

"Lets go inside" you breathed. 

He nodded, as he wondered what would happen next. He wasn't stupid. He'd seen enough movies and series to know what would happen next. However, he was still so new to the whole thing. Not because he was a virgin, he wasn't. But because sex never appealed to him. The times he'd had sex with his ex girlfriends was mostly out of responsibility, not because he wanted nor felt the urges everyone said teenagers felt. 

However, now everything was different. His heart was racing fast, his mind was clouded, and he felt his blood burning his entire body, especially in awkward areas.

He obediently followed you, as you still clung to his hand. You made your way to your place. Your house was dark, though the dim streetlights filtered through the windows, making it easy to find your way across the blue and yellow halls and towards your bedroom. 

You stopped briefly in the kitchen, where you let go of Wakatoshi's hand and turned on the light. 

"Can I offer you something? Anything? Something to eat, something to drink?" You asked politely. 

"A glass of water would be nice" 

You  nodded and grabbed a couple of glasses and filled them with water silently, feeling slightly nervous at the thought of taking Wakatoshi to your bedroom. 

Not because it was the first time. In fact, he'd spent enough weekends at your place, as you helped him study for tests. Sometimes in a big group, sometimes just the two of you. He wasn't a stranger to your house, nor to your room, not even to your bed, since he'd constantly sit on your bed while studying, and even sometimes he'd fall asleep and nap. 

But this was completely different. Even kissing him felt slightly weird. Not in a bad way. In fact, you'd been fantasizing about that moment for a long while now. But, the idea of taking him to your room in this context made you anxious. Almost as if you were a virgin all over again. 

You handed him his glass and jerked your head, as if telling him to follow you through the stairs and towards your room. 

Wakatoshi definitely liked your room. He always felt at peace there. It was minimal, yet, everything about it screamed your name. It felt like a second home to him.

With barely any furniture. Just a single night stand, standing tall next to the mattress on the ground. Several piles of stacked books working as tables for random trinkets you've been collecting along the way. A small coffee table next to your bed which you used as a desk with a lot of stationary messily lying around. Despite spending the weekends in the Shiratorizawa dorms, your room smelled a lot of your perfume, and that was probably his favorite part of your room. A smell he resembled a lot to home. A smell he was so eager to get drunk of.

He followed you silently towards your room, as you walked inside, placing the glass on the coffee table. Wakatoshi replicated your movements. As you sat on the edge of the bed, you waited for Wakatoshi to do the same. And once he did, you nervously wrapped your arms around him, and brought him closer, kissing him once more. 

The same hunger as before lit up instantly, as the anxiety building up in his belly only made it all worse. He clung to you, desperately, as if he was about to lose you. 

A moan escaped your throat in the middle of the fiery kiss, prompted by his strong arms squeezing you against him. That moan made his back shiver, as he felt a rather familiar heat grow in his crotch. 

You leaned back, without breaking the kiss, and your arms still around his shoulders, you brought him along with you as you laid on the bed. Wakatoshi leaned closer, resting his weight on one of his forearms against the mattress, and using his free hand to cling to your waist.  

"[Name]" he purred in a gentle voice, breaking the kiss and looking into your eyes.

Swallowed by the darkness, your eyes shone with the reflection of the streetlight as you looked at him both devouring him with a tender stare. Inviting him to keep going. Only making his whole body get hotter and hotter. He wondered if your heart beated as fast as his, and if you were starting to feel as horny as he was. 

Horny, he thought. Just thinking about it made him feel weird. Dirty. He'd never really felt horny. And now he was not only feeling that way, but because of you. His best friend. He wasn't supposed to be feeling like this because of one of his friends, was it? He knew it was wrong. But kissing you felt so right. The dichotomy only made him feel more and more turned on. Maybe it was wrong to feel horny for one of your friends, but he'd been a good boy and followed the rules for as long as he can remember. Maybe, going bad from time to time wasn't so bad. He felt an urge to misbehave and be spontaneous. He felt an urge to take you and make you his. 

"Lay down" You said sitting up as he looked at you, puzzled.

"What?" 

"You heard me! lay down, big boy" You said playfully as Wakatoshi did as you told. 

You thought of crawling on top of him before it occurred to you to go to your mother's room and look for something in her drawers. You stood on your feet and looked at Toshi as his olive eyes seemed to shine in golden tones amongst the darkness painted with dim lights.

"Give me a minute, okay? I won't take long" you said shyly. 

"Where are you—" 

"Make yourself at home!" You said before rushing out of your room and into your mother's across the hall. 

Being a single mother, and having your only child attend a school with dorms sure gave you the liberty of bringing partners into your home without worrying that your child will break in, ruining the intimacy. And you thought it was great. How awkward must it be to arrive home and find your mother banging some dude? Besides, you knew where her condom stash was. 

You looked through her drawer and grabbed a few condoms for yourself before rushing back in the room. The anxiety building a knot in your throat as the condoms seemed to weight a lot more than they usually did. As you walked inside, you found Wakatoshi comfortably  lying on your bed, eyes closed, and breathing in deeply, getting drunk with your scent. 

The weep of the old wooden door caught his attention as he saw you walk inside, closing the door behind you. You approached the bed without saying anything. Kneeling, you put the condoms over the coffee table and took off your shirt without saying anything. 

Wakatoshi's heart skipped several beats, as he forgot to breathe upon seeing you. Your chest now exposed him, making him feel thirsty, as his eyes traveled up your belly and to your chest. Realising he'd been staring at your breast, still hidden under a bra, he looked up, meeting your stare. 

Speechless, his body paralysed briefly. And you began crawling on top of him. He felt his body begin shaking softly in anticipation, as his head felt lighter. He was nervous. He was excited, and delighted.

His hands found your waist and pulled you towards him, before trapping your lips in a breathless kiss. His digits were quick to travel across your back, feeling goosebumps surfacing your skin. Playing with the hook of your bra, and the delicate straps on your shoulders, he felt the urge to tear your clothes off at once, but at the same time, he wanted to taste the whole scene. 

The heat was getting out of hand, as he broke the kiss and pushed you aside gently so he could take his shirt off  before lying back on the mattress, and pulling you on top of him once more.

The blissful moment he felt your weight fall over his naked chest, all traces of anxiety and shy insecurity were gone. Now replaced with a needy urge he still felt ashamed of admitting. Caught in another hot wet kiss,  you noticed Ushijima struggling to unhook your bra. You giggled into his lips before helping him out and taking your bra off. 

He broke the kiss with a soft grunt. He sat up, as you followed him, sitting on his lap. He kissed your neck and your shoulders. You whimpered, whispering his name as he kissed and bit your skin like a hungry animal. 

His hands made their way to your breasts as he held them firmly, squeezing them, and feeling the satisfaction of stealing a loud moan from your lips.

"You like this?" He asked, genuinely curious, as you nodded breathlessly. 

"Don't stop, Toshi" you breathed as he kissed your jaw. "Toshi" 

 He growled, as your nipples puckered between his fingers, teasingly pulling and squeezing, as his name continued to echo the room between moans.

"I like hearing you call my name" He purred against the skin of your neck.

"Oh, you're in for a ride, babe. I'm just getting started" You chuckled. 

Hearing you call him that made his heart squeeze dearly. Babe. He never actually had his ex girlfriends call him anything but by his first name. God, his girlfriends were so unbearably polite, and his relationships were so short, they never got to stick around long enough to give him any sort of pet name. 

"You okay?" You asked upon noticing how he had been staring at you for a few seconds, as he tried to assimilate those feelings of passion and endearment consuming him. 

"Yeah" He purred "You're beautiful" 

"Gosh, are you always this sweet to your girlfriends?" You whimpered kissing the corner of his mouth.

"Just you," He said, closing his eyes, enjoying the trail of delicate kisses you left across his face. 

"Kiss me, Toshi" You murmured "I want you so bad, babe" 

His arms around you squeezed you once more, as he desperately kissed you once more.

"You've got me, darling" he whispered between kisses.

Wakatoshi swallowed your moans into the kiss, as his hands kept traveling up and down your body. Your warmth around him, your smell caressing him delicately, and your lips melting into his, with the purest of feelings melting all around you. 

He had never felt like this before. He had never felt so eager to feel someone against his burning skin. He never felt the desire to pleasure someone else for his own pleasure. This newfound passion burned so good, he could understand how people could easily become addicted to sex.

He broke the kiss, cupping your cheek in one of his big hands, as he kissed your cheeks, going down your jaw and neck. He stopped there and snuggled his face on the crook of your neck, and took a deep breath, feeling like the world was spinning too fast. He felt euphoric, ecstatic, marveled. 

"What is it?" You broke the silence, brushing his hair with your fingers.

"I'm enjoying this" He purred, squeezing you once more, as you kissed his head and hugged him back.

"You're adorable" You admitted.

"Thanks," He said, satisfied.

"Toshi?" You broke the hug, looking at him in the eye, and feeling your cheeks blush at the thought of what you were about to ask. This made you feel particularly silly, since you'd done this several times before, and you hadn't felt this shy in a long time.

"Yes, darling?" He said looking into your eyes.

"Let me do something for you" 

"What is it?" 

"Do you ever not ask questions?" Your voice suddenly was loud with amusement.

"I don't think so, no" He chuckled awkwardly. 

"Such a curious mind, are you not? How precious, how delicious" You sang.

"You're talking weirdly again, [Name]" He said amused by how dreamily you looked when you suddenly started talking like that.

"I'm not gonna apologise for spending my free time reading poetry and writing poetic prose" You snapped, idly playing with the button of his jeans.

"You should write a book" he said, noticing the way your fingers were moving, trying to delicately undo his jeans.

"Oh, I'm gonna. Just you wait" He felt nervous and hot as your fingers lingered in his crotch, as he felt his erection keep throbbing in anticipation.

"I've never asked you but, what do you write about?" He stuttered, trying to distract himself from the gentle touch of your hands against him.

"So many years of friendship and you've never asked. That is true. That's true for you and pretty much all of my friends, except for Semi. But because he writes too. Although, he writes music. I write about my life and the people in it" Using your speech to distract him and to calm your nerves, you finally brought yourself to undo his jeans, stealing a quick growl from Wakatoshi.

"Have you written something about me?" He asked, feeling his head turn feverish with desire, as your fingers dragged the zipper down, releasing his still clothed erection.

"If I had a coin for every single question that comes from your beautiful lips…" Following your words, your eyes locked on his swollen lips, as you bit yours, feeling your heart beat hard against your chest "Lay down, babe" 

"[Name], what are you—" 

"Relax, if you trust me, close your eyes" Your voice was once more as a soft seductive purr. And as Wakatoshi did as you told, his face blushed, burning aggressively. 

"I trust you with everything I've got" Your touch caressing his erection as you pulled down his underwear, enough for his dick to spring free. 

"God, you're big" You gasped breathless.

"Ah, [Name], you-you don't have to—" He began, and stopped, gasping, when he felt your lips gently lick and kiss the head.

"But I want this. I want you to enjoy the night" Your breath hit his sensitive skin, as his breath shook nervously.

"I've been enjoying this since the moment I saw you" He admitted, his face blushed and his eyes shut tight as he felt your mouth taking him in, slowly at first "Fuck, [Name]" 

You kept going, trying your best to slowly make your way down his length. Your jaw was beginning to feel numb, as you painfully bobbed your head. Motivated by the sweet obscene sounds Wakatoshi let out. Your name echoing every now and then. Looking up, you managed to gaze at Toshi, peeking through your lashes, as the image of his face flushed, consumed by lust, only added to the heat building between your legs. 

As you got used to the gagging, and his length, it became easier for you to keep going. Sometimes swallowing to tighten your grip around his dick, and making him grunt louder than ever. His hand played with your hair, as you kept going and going. His heart beating faster by the second as he began feeling his orgasm approaching. 

"[Name], stop" He gasped breathless "Come here, darling. I-Im close" He whined, however, you ignored him and sped up your pace "Ple-please, baby" He begged. 

He pushed his head back, rocking his hips, making his cock go deeper into your mouth. Hands gripping firmly to the bed sheets. His body shaking in ecstasy, as he felt closer and closer to his release. He came inside your mouth, as his warm cum tickled the back of your mouth as it shot down your throat. You swallowed, savoring his salty bitter release. The sound of his moans tickling your belly.

"Did you like it?" You coughed, your voice raspy.

"Ye-yeah" He gasped "You didn't listen to me, though" 

"Oh, I didn't have any intention of doing so" You admitted, smiling satisfied at him.

"I've never had anyone do that to me" He said, finally catching his breath, as the world regained its focus again and he saw your cheeky smile.

"Well" you shrugged "you had a thing for sweet and shy virgin girls, so, it shouldn't come as a surprise" 

"You aren't like that," He continued.

"Of course not" 

"Come here, it's my turn" His gaze suddenly turned darker, sending shivers down your spine as you did as he said.

He hooked an arm around your waist and swiftly threw you to the mattress as he got up on his knees and took off his jeans along with his underwear before leaning down and doing the same to you. 

His fingers lingered on the hem of your panties once he took off your jeans and proceeded to kiss your belly. His lips drawing soft patterns on your skin as his fingers played with the fabric of your panties as you gasped and gasped in anticipation. 

He began pulling down your panties, and felt his hit breath close to your sex as you bit your lip, wondering what did he have in mind. 

He kissed your folds before one of his fingers began exploring your slit, as his lips and tongue focused on your clit.

"[Name], you're so wet" he purred before kissing your clit once more.

"Yeah, well...that's your fault, pretty boy" you gasped as one of his fingers effortlessly slid inside you, stretching your walls. 

He moaned against your skin, upon feeling your warmth contract around his fingers, as a second digit made its way inside. 

"Toshi," you cried, running your hands through his hair as he looked up. His now lustful honey eyes looking at you like a predator gazing at its prey "Toshi, that feels so good" you said breathlessly before collapsing your head on the pillow. 

God, what were you doing to him? This was so unlike him. He was usually so quiet, so polite, so squared, always playing by the rules with a weird fascination. But now, he was acting on pure instinct. Your smell, your warmth, the sound of your voice,  it all was driving him crazy. He was letting his most primitive judgment take over as he mindlessly pleasured you with his tongue and fingers making you reach your orgasm. 

"To-Toshi" You whined feeling the buildup of your climax, tightening your grip on his hair and arching your back, shaking uncontrollably as your sight blurred, the loudest of moans escaped your throat as everything began to burn in the most delicious of ways. 

Your walls squeezing his fingers, trapping him, as he bit your clit gently, making you moan even louder due to the overstimulation. 

He smiled proudly at himself, as you returned from your high. Glad that he'd made you cum so effortlessly, feeling so unbearably turned on by your needy cries. He pulled his fingers out of you, covered in slick and licked them clean before crawling on top of you. 

You were quick to wrap your arms around him and pull him close. Desperately kissing his lips in a passionate messy kiss. He could tell you were breathless, and completely undone underneath him, but still needy, clinging to him desperately as you wrap your legs around his hips and bring him closer. 

"[Name]" he gasps, feeling your wet folds rubbing and dripping all over his erection accidentally, thinking he might lose control any time and just take you raw. "Do you have—" 

"Coffee table" you breathe before he can even finish.

He moves quickly and swiftly off of you, grabbing one of the condoms and opening it hastily. 

"Wait, let me do this" you say with a lewd voice, as Wakatoshi gazes at you. Playfully you take the condom off his hands and gently run your fingers through his erection. The idea of taking all of him both excited and terrified you, and tried not to think much about it by slowly unfolding the condom along his length, your fingers lingering teasingly and tickling him as he growled lowly. 

"God, [Name], what're you doing to me?" He purred leaning down and kissing you feverishly as once more you wrapped your legs around his waist and he positioned himself. "Can I?" 

"Fuck yes. Yes, yes, please" you begged, as he pushed his shaft inside your folds, slowly, gently. 

He knew he was a big guy. Big enough to not being able to fully go inside without hurting his girlfriend in turn. So, he expected you to tell him when you'd had enough of his length. However, you didn't. The deeper he went, the more you clawed your nails to his biceps. 

"When you want me to stop, just say it" 

"No, I want all of you" You whined, making his erection throb inside you 

"Doesn't it hurt?"  He purred, his eyes looking into yours.

"It does, but it feels so good. Please don't stop, Toshi, keep going" You breathed "Please"  

He felt a shiver run down his back as he kept going. Your moans getting louder and your voice going a few notes higher, your face blushed, eyes shut. He was captivated by your look. You'd gone from enchanting and teasing siren to a completely submissive and shy doll. You gasped his name once he fully went inside, enjoying your warmth all along his dick. 

He pulled out slowly before thrusting back in at the same speed as before. Once you'd gotten used to his length, you were dripping wet with arousal and opened your eyes to meet his. 

"Toshi, faster" you whispered with the neediest of voices, tickling his gut.  

"Darling I—" 

"Babe, please. I'm gonna be fine" Hearing the sweet sound of your voice dripping with lust made it hard for him to disobey. 

And as he sped up, your moans did too. He was beginning to feel a loss of control, as his thrust not only sped up, but became stronger. Your moans, washed with pleasure, soon got mixed with painful wines. Upon hearing the first one, he stopped at once. 

"I-I'm sorry...are you—" He whispered. 

"Yeah. Keep going. Toshi, it feels so fucking good, I swear. Don't stop babe" You begged as he began moving once more, pounding you, just like before. Stretching you, hitting you in the right places, as your toes curled un pleasure. 

"Fuck, [Name]" Wakatoshi purred against your ear bwfore kissing your neck. "No girl has ever taken all of me before" 

"Cowards" You sighed, swallowing a moan "You know what that means?" 

Wakatoshi brushed his nose against yours and looked into your eyes, drowned in lust, with clear traces of affection melting together. 

"What?" 

"You're mine, and only mine" You cupped his face in your hands and brought him close to you. Kissing him in a rather sweet kiss, as he kept thrusting in and out.

"That's fine by me" He said between breaths before kissing you once more. As you moaned into his mouth, you swallowed his low grunts, both of your passions burning together. 

You broke the kiss, and locked.eyes with him as he pulled out ready to lush his length back in

"And I'm yours, Wakatoshi" You said, before a loud moan escaped your lips as Toshi filled you up, stronger than before. His heart squeezing, as he stole a breathless kiss from your lips. 

He whispered your name between kisses as his pace quickened. Your moans getting progressively louder and louder, as sweet nothings escaped his lips. Hypnotizing you, your hearts beating fast and synchronized. Your nails clawing on his skin, as he felt his orgasm build up once more. Giving in to the sound of your moans, and the arching of your back, it didn't take long for him to reach his second release. He came, burying his face in your neck as you gasped for air.

"Toshi, please. Don't stop. I'm close" 

"[Name]" He panted as he sped up, stronger and faster than before. Your arms around his shoulders squeezed, as your nails dug into his skin. His name escaping your lips in tasty moans as you felt your core burn. Just like before, your walls tightened. He groaned loudly, feeling how your core closed in around his erection, squeezing him deliciously as you rode your orgasm. He kissed your neck, as your back and neck arched. 

Your grip softened, as your body relaxed, breathing deeply, trying to catch your breath. Wakatoshi kissed you, tenderly, as you regained focus of the world. Still inside you, you tightened your legs around his hips to keep him from slipping out. You brushed his hair, melting your lips into his in a sweet gentle kiss. 

He wished to remain like this forever. Just the both of you, caught in an euphoric ecstasy. Vulnerable, and exposed, clinging to that moment with sleepy kisses and sweet nothings. He finally slipped out and lied in bed next to you.  Wrapping his arms around you, still wanting to feel every inch of your body against his. Agitated breaths filling the silence in the room, as fingers entwined mindlessly. Legs tangled. 

Wakatoshi had never felt this much bliss in this entire life. He could stay like this forever, holding you close to him. You stared into each other's eyes, understanding how each other felt, without the need for words. He wondered if this was what people called intimacy. He felt so incredibly vulnerable, however, he knew everything was going to be okay. He felt safe and comfortable with you, and wondered if you felt as vulnerable as him.

"[Name]" wakatoshi broke the silence "didn't that...hurt?" 

"It did, but it felt so good. Toshi, you have no idea how much I enjoyed that" You sighed, snuggling your face against his neck

"Oh, god. Good. I was worried I'd hurt you" He sighed.

"Did you?" 

"Huh?" He looked at you clueless, suddenly forgetting what you'd just said.

"Enjoy it?" You asked. 

"I've never had sex like that before" Ghb e murmured looking away from your eyes.

"Define that" you giggled.

"It was great. It was different to what I'm used to. I really enjoyed it" 

"What are you used to?" Wakatoshi remained pensative for several seconds, recalling the memories of the times he'd sex with his exes. 

"Shy, silent, a bit...robotic" 

"Damn, Toshi. Did you actually like any of the girls you fucked?" You snapped as Wakatoshi looked at you in the eye.

"You" he said bluntly, as you felt yourself blush wildly in a single second.

"Other than me, silly. But thank you"

"I-I...I think so. I dont know. I've never liked a girl as much as I like you, that much is true as well" 

"Terrible decision, really…" You chuckled.

"Are you kidding me? You're perfect, despite what everyone says about you. You're perfect for me, [Name]. I like you, and trust you, and really enjoy our company...” He muttered “I don’t feel awkward after having sex with you, and I enjoyed it at all. For once I had fun and didn't feel like a chore nor..."

"I feel bad for your exes, Toshi. But at the same time not. If they had a taste of this, I'm pretty sure they would've refused to let you go so easily. So, I'm glad I don't have to share this experience with anyone of them" 

"Does that mean you're not gonna let me go so easily?"

"I'm not letting you go, period. Unless you want to, of course. But if I wasn't going to let you go, as a friend. After this...I-I...you get my point"

He didn't. But he could tell you were feeling uncomfortable by how easily you became speechless. He wondered what had gone through your mind to make you go silent and shy in a second.

"You're far too precious to me to forget about you. You've always been."

"God, so that's why all of your little fans and your exes hated me. You always found the time to hang out with me even when you spent the entire day training prepping for Nationals, didn't you?" 

"Before tonight, I already knew I didn't want to lose you. After tonight, I'm sure I don’t want to kiss, nor hold any other girl who isn’t you" 

"Toshi, call me crazy, but that's not news, but…" 

"Yeah?" 

"I've liked you for almost two years now, and...That’s a lot, you know? I’ve never had feelings for someone for this long...and—" You stopped, feeling how your heart suddenly went crazy.

"What is it?"

"God, if this were happening to me, I'd definitely think if this was a big red flag, how much lower can I sink?" You giggled nervously before looking back into Wakatoshi's eyes "I think I'm in love with you" 

"I think…" Wakatoshi muttered as his brain quickly jumped and did the math, still processing what you'd told him "Tendo lost the bet" 

"What?"  You kept laughing awkwardly, trying to keep your panic under control.

"When I told Tendo I had feelings for you, he got all excited, saying he had won the bet…" Wakatoshi recalled. "But that was a year and a half ago. But I'm starting to think it was actually Semi who won the bet" 

"Oh...okay…" You blinked confused. "Are you gonna tell them?"

"Does it matter? [Name], I honestly do not care who's the rightful winner of that bet" 

Wkatoshi lifted your chin with his finger and leaned closer, sealing his lips with yours in a tender kiss.A kiss you wished had lasted a little longer. Such a sweet, delicate kiss, long enough to leave you breathless instantly, and short enough to leave you wanting more. The sort of kiss you wished to get every day from him. 

"I love you too, [Name]” He purred, his nose brushing against yours, as you savoured not only the aftertaste of his kiss, but savouring his words. 

You leaned closer, stealing a second hiss from him, as he, very obediently kissed you back. Wrapping your arms around him, you brought him closer, as he groaned softly into your lips, adjusting himself. Slowly, crawling on top of you once more, you wrapped our legs around his waist, and your arms around his back, desiring to feel his weight on top of you once more. He breathed your name between kisses, as his fingers mindlessly played with your hair, as both your lips kept dancing together, slowly, tenderly, passionately. 

The fear and the anxiety had been long gone. Now, the consuming and intrusive thoughts of how wrong it was to be kissing your best friend were now replaced by a comfortable sense of security, as your love confessions played in each other’s head. The heat kept increasing and increasing, just like the sound of our moans and grunts. It was much less awkward this second round, maybe was the lack of clothes, or maybe the fact that you already knew how the other felt. This newfound intimacy was everything Wakatoshi needed. He loved the feeling of reciprocity, as the same desperation to feel you closer, not only irradiated from him, but also from you. The physical closeness as well as the emotional closeness pulled you together like a tender hug. 

You wasted the night away learning more about each other on a physical level. What each other liked, what you didn't. Holding each other close, tasting each other, over and over again until the both of you were completely satisfied and exhausted. You soon fell asleep in each other's arms. 

Wakatoshi knew he didn't want to spend his nights with any other girl who wasn't you. He didn't want to kiss any other girl who wasn't you. And god, he felt like the luckiest man alive. By the end of the night, he was yours. and you were his.

[nonbinary-octopus]

Secret Shifter

A gift for @cutetinyartist ​for the @secret-shifters ​gt gift exchange!

CuteTinyArtist gave three prompts to work with, and I tried to use bits from all of them, but this is mostly prompt three.

Prompt 1: Pretty much anything involving handheld fluff! Giants holding tinies (whether it's for the first time or the billionth time) is always a great trope.

Prompt 2: A giant finding a tiny and being really excited about it- possibly with accidental fearplay as the giant doesn't realize how scared the tiny is!

Prompt 3: Size-Shifter accidentally revealing their powers to a close friend who doesn't know about it (and the friend finding it absolutely adorable/amazing- possibly even leading to a confession of love? Fluffy romance in G/T is something that I absolutely adore)

Wordcount: 3.1 K

Summary: Sam has a secret. A big secret. Or maybe it's a really little secret...

[More of my writing]

~~~~~

It had been a perfect day. One of the odd days when Rose and Sam had had a day off in common, and they decided to spend it together. No plans, just hanging out and goofing around. They’d spent a large portion of the morning simply sitting together on Rose’s living room couch and watching cartoons, and now they were in her kitchen, doing their best to make lemonade from its base components.

Sam poured a small portion into his cup, taking a sip. He made a face.

“Still too sour?” Rose asked. Sam nodded.

“Put in like… twice as much sugar.” Sam put his cup down, picking up the sugar instead, and started pouring it into the pitcher. Rose stirred with their wooden spoon.

The falling sugar crystals were pretty. Sam got distracted watching them, and didn’t stop pouring until Rose said, “Uh, I think that’s probably plenty.”

Sam jolted, pulling the sugar away abruptly. “Oops.”

Rose laughed, still stirring. When the sugar had about dissolved, they asked, “Ready for another taste test?” Sam nodded, picking up his cup again. It still had some left in it from earlier, though, and he looked at the yellowish liquid for a few seconds. Then he shrugged a bit and tossed the whole thing into his mouth, trying to drink it all in one swallow.

It was… not a better way to get it down than just drinking it normally. When he’d finished his coughing fit, and Rose had finished laughing at him, they poured him another sample. Sam sipped it.

“Hm,” he said. He sipped it again.

“Well?”

“Well…” Sam considered, taking another sip. “It’s not too sour anymore?”

“Too sweet?” Rose guessed. Sam nodded.

“Very. You ever do that experiment as a kid where you grow sugar crystals? It’s like drinking that. A little flavor, but mostly just sugar water.”

“More lemons, then?”

“Maybe.” Sam ran his tongue across his teeth, which felt a bit grainy. “I don’t think the sugar all dissolved, actually. We should probably add more water.”

A little over an hour later, they finally had the ratios all right. They also had three pitchers full of lemonade.

“So…” Sam said. “Any idea how much of each ingredient we used?”

Rose laughed. “Not a clue.”

“Me neither.” Sam swirled what was left of his latest sample in the bottom of his cup. “Y’know… I think I’ve had enough lemonade for the day. Maybe even enough to last me for the rest of the year.”

“... same.”

“Put the rest in the fridge? Deal with it later?”

Rose nodded.

“So, what do you wanna do next?” Sam asked after they’d found lids for the pitchers and transferred them all to the fridge.

Rose shrugged. “More cartoons?”

“Yeah!”

During the theme song of their second episode, Sam felt a familiar prickle in the back of his brain. Oh no. Not now. Not here. Sam closed his eyes tightly, trying to will it away. It didn’t work. That never worked. The prickly sensation grew stronger. He had to get away, immediately.

“You okay?” Rose asked. Sam’s eyes shot open.

“Hm? Uh, yeah, I—” What excuse could he use? He didn’t want them to get worried, but at the same time, he couldn’t stay here. Sam fidgeted.

“Too much lemonade?” Rose guessed sympathetically.

“Yeah,” Sam breathed, relieved. “Yeah, too much, I gotta—”

Rose laughed, shoving his shoulder. “Go on, then. Get. You know where the bathroom is.”

“Thanks.” Sam shot to his feet, untangling himself from his blanket cocoon as quickly as he could. “Uh. Start without me. I’ve seen this one.” He ran from the room as fast as he could. This was okay. It would be okay. He could just lock himself in the bathroom until it was over, and Rose never needed to know. Yeah. Yeah, he could do this.

He made it halfway up the stairs before it hit.

Between one breath and the next, the prickles spread across his entire body, blurring his vision and disrupting his balance. Sam’s foot had been lifted for the next step, but the next step suddenly wasn’t there, and for a moment he was falling.

He landed flat on his face.

“Ow,” Sam said flatly into the carpet, and didn’t get up. The landing hadn’t actually hurt too much, but he still didn’t feel like moving yet. He lay there for several moments longer, waiting for the lingering tingles to fade and his bones to stop feeling like jello. It was always worse if he was moving when the shifts struck.

But he couldn’t lie there forever. When Sam felt like he could move without his vision spinning, he sat up, a little bit stiffly, then stood and brushed himself off. He was a little bit sore from faceplanting into the floor, but not so sore he thought it would leave a bruise.

And now there were the stairs to deal with. Normally, not a problem; they’re just stairs. Walk up, walk down. He’d been taking them three at a time just a minute ago. No biggie. But now? Yes biggie. Literally. Sam scowled up at the next step. At least these stairs were carpeted. He’d have handholds. But on the other hand, the top of each step had a lip that stuck out at least an inch or two, with an overhang underneath.

Maybe he should go down instead of up. Sam turned around, looking down the flight of stairs. It would certainly be easier; he could let gravity do most of the work. And sure, the drop was about twice his height, but he was surprisingly durable like this. He could probably jump down and it would still be more scary than painful or dangerous.

On the other hand, Rose thought he was in the bathroom, and the bathroom was upstairs, and it would be harder to pretend he’d actually been in the bathroom the whole time if he went down the stairs. Plus, if he shifted back without warning, Rose would be more likely to notice if they were on the same floor.

And staying put was definitely out of the question. There were worse places to be six inches tall, especially out in public, but just sitting on the stairs was still pretty bad. It was probably worse than out on a regular floor, actually, and not just because it was harder terrain to traverse. There was no clutter to hide behind, for one thing.

So up it was.

Sam nodded, lacing his fingers together and swinging his hands above his head to pop his knuckles and stretch his shoulders. Stepping up to the cliff face-like wall, Sam gripped one thick thread of the carpet at about shoulder height, and another over his head. He hauled himself upwards, trying to find purchase with his feet. There wasn’t really anything to stand on, but if he leaned back a bit, he could brace his feet against the wall so he wouldn’t have to rely entirely on his arm strength.

It helped that he didn’t weigh very much like this. Being small had a lot of disadvantages, but one thing it had going for it was the proportional strength. Sure, at this size Sam couldn’t open a jar or pick up even one of those pitchers of lemonade in the fridge, but he could lift his own body weight with surprising ease.

Getting over the lip of the step wasn’t as hard as he’d expected. Once he had climbed as high as he could, holding his arms in pull-up position so his hair brushed the underside of the overhang, Sam carefully shifted his weight onto one arm. With the other, he reached up and back, feeling across the ceiling until he found the forward edge. He made sure he had a good grip on a carpet strand, then let go with his first hand. As Sam swung back, he reached up and grabbed on beside his other hand.

Climbing was harder when he was dangling over open space, instead of having a solid wall in front of him to brace against. Sam hauled himself up, uselessly kicking at the air once or twice. His next reach gave him an anchor on the top of the step, and then he was squirming over the edge up onto it.

“There,” Sam said, puffing a bit. “One down…” He looked up, but from this angle, couldn’t see further than the next step, looming over him. “… several to go.”

This was going to take a while.

The step was three paces from front to back, and then Sam was climbing again. Getting over the overhang was a bit easier this time, since he’d had the practice of the first one, but he still had to stop for a breather after he’d dragged himself onto the top. After he had caught his breath, Sam started again.

As Sam was squirming over the overhang of his fourth step, things went from just tricky to downright bad.

“Oh! Hello there!”

Sam jerked in shock. He almost lost his grip and fell, but managed to grab onto another strand of carpet in time. For a few seconds, he dangled off the edge of the step, heart pounding. Then, slowly, he looked over his shoulder and up.

Yep, just as he’d feared… Rose had found him. She had an odd look on her face, a sort of frozen shock mixed with a wince.

“Sorry,” Rose said in a much softer voice. “I didn’t mean to startle you. Do you need some help?” They started leaning towards Sam, lifting their hand. Panic shot through Sam’s heart, and he started scrambling to get up and over the overhang again before they could reach him. Fear made him clumsy, and he had to grab at the carpet strands a few times before he had a good enough grip to pull himself up.

Surprisingly, he didn’t feel the grasping fingers of a human hand, even though Sam knew all too well that he stood no chance of winning any sort of race against a human at this size.

Once up on top of the step, Sam turned around, backing toward the next stair. To his surprise, Rose had pulled her hand back and was looking apologetic.

“Sorry,” she said again.

Sam shook himself. Why was he acting so scared? This was Rose. He knew Rose! They were an absolute sweetie, and they’d never hurt him, even if he was very small at the moment and his instincts were screaming at him to get away. Sheepishly, Sam lifted a hand in an awkward wave.

“Hi.”

Rose grinned a small grin. “Hi,” she echoed. “Sorry. I wasn’t thinking about how that would look from your end.”

Sam chuckled. “It’s okay. You meant well.”

“Good intentions don’t erase negative results,” Rose answered with a shrug. “You sure you’re alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Sam said, flapping a hand dismissively. “I mean, besides that you weren’t supposed to see me, but that’s probably on me anyway.”

Rose laughed. “Yeah, not exactly the best hiding place,” she teased.

“No,” Sam agreed, shaking his head and laughing as well.

“I could pretend I never saw you?” Rose offered.

Sam considered it for a second before shaking his head. “Naw, that wouldn’t work. You know you saw me, and I know you saw me, so all we’d be doing is not talking about it, and that could get awkward fast.”

Rose looked surprised. “You sure?”

“Yeah. Just don’t tell my parents, alright? Or, like. Other humans. This—” He gestured at the all of himself— “is kind of extremely, very much a secret.”

Rose grinned. “Deal.”

Sam grinned back, leaning casually against the carpeted wall behind him.

“So,” Rose said. “What’s your name? I’m Rose.”

Sam blinked. “Wait, what? What’s my name?”

“Yeah. Is that— is that not okay?” Rose looked uncertain, rubbing the back of her head. “Is that too much?”

“No, it’s— seriously, Rose?”

Rose gave him a distressed look, and Sam realized she was absolutely serious.

“Hey, hey, Rose, it’s okay,” Sam said, lifting both hands soothingly and stepping towards her. “I just, I thought you recognized me.”

“Nooo,” Rose said. “I’ve never met, I mean, you’re the first, um. I don’t know anyone your… height.”

“So you really don’t know who I am?”

Rose shook their head.

“Sam,” Sam said.

“Oh, does he know you?” Rose asked. “Are you friends?”

Sam laughed. “No, Rose, you’re as bad as Dr. Doofenshmirtz. I don’t know Sam, I am Sam.”

Rose squinted at him. “No you’re not.”

“What? Yes I am.”

“No, Sam’s much taller than you. I may not be great with faces in unfamiliar contexts, but I do know that much.”

Sam paused for a moment, trying to figure out where they’d talked past each other. “Rose,” he said slowly, “what secret did you think I was asking you to keep?”

“Borrowers exist?” Rose said hesitantly. “… why, what was it really?”

“I’m a sizeshifter.”

Rose processed that. “You’re a sizeshifter.”

“Yep.”

“So borrowers don’t exist?”

“Not to my knowledge, no. Sorry.”

Rose was quiet for a few seconds more. “So, what, you just decided climbing my staircase like a mountain would be more fun than hanging out and watching cartoons?”

“No.” Sam shook his head. “Not even a little bit.”

“Why, then? And if you’re really a sizeshifter and not a borrower, why not sizeshift back to normal and prove it? Is that the right way to say that?”

Sam nodded. “It is. I can’t do it on command.”

“You can’t?”

“I cannot.”

“So you can’t prove that you’re a sizeshifter?”

“Also no. At least, not at the moment.” Sam shrugged. “If you’re willing to wait an unspecified amount of time, I can prove it.”

Rose still looked doubtful. Sam wasn’t sure what else to tell her. Then he had an idea.

“One moment.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and quickly tapped out a text.

“Okay, I didn’t expect borrowers to have tiny tech” Rose admitted.

“Yeah, and I bet you wouldn’t expect a borrower to have your number, either.”

Rose’s hand went to their hip, and then they started patting their pockets and looking around. “I do not have my phone.”

Sam sighed and looked at the ceiling. “Of course not. Did you leave it in the kitchen?”

“Maybe.”

Sam rolled his eyes. “Okay, let’s go find it. Mind giving me a lift? It’s a bit of a commute for someone with short little legs like me.”

Rose gave him a startled look. “What, you mean, like carry you?”

“Well, yeah. How else?”

“I dunno, I just. I didn’t think you’d wanna… you sure?”

Sam nodded. “ Course. I trust you. Just don’t drop me.”

“Okay, well.” Rose started to reach for him, hesitated, and pulled her hand back again. “Have you, um. Have you done this before?”

“I have not.”

Rose nodded. “Right. Me neither.” They still looked hesitant to touch him.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to,” Sam said, moving toward the edge of the step. “I can walk; you might have to wait up a bit though. Or go on ahead.” He leaned over the edge a bit, gauging the distance to the step below. Yeah, that was at least twice his height. Sam shrugged a bit, took two steps back for a running start, and jumped off the stair. Rose yelped.

Sam landed in a pair of cupped palms after far less falling than suited the drop.

“What were you thinking!?” Rose exclaimed. “You can’t just jump off of things! What if you got hurt?”

Sam looked up at her. He had to look pretty much straight up now, since she had lunged forward and her face was now directly above him. Sam shrugged. “I don’t take fall damage?”

“Don’t take— And you didn’t think to mention that first?”

Sam shrugged again, this time using his entire arms in the gesture. “Sorry?”

Rose opened her mouth to say something else, paused with it open, then shook her head and shut it again. She stood up. “Yeah, I’m giving you a ride.”

Sam grinned. “Great!”

Rose rolled her eyes at him.

The trip to the kitchen didn’t take as long as it would have if Sam had walked, but it was longer than if he’d been tall enough to walk normally, because Rose carried him like they had water cupped in their palms and didn’t want to spill it.

When they reached the kitchen, Rose stood just inside the doorway, looking around for their phone. Sam spotted it first. “There!” he said, pointing.

Rose walked over to it, then hesitated, looking down at him again. Sam chuckled, patting her thumb and looking right back up at her. “You can put me down, or you can hold me with just one hand. I’m okay with either.”

Rose nodded, biting her lip in concentration, and shifted him ever-so-delicately into her left hand. With her right, she picked up her phone, unlocked it, and read the text Sam had sent.

“‘How is a borrower trying to impersonate me more believable than me actually being a sizeshifter?’” A beat. “Yeah, okay, I believe you, you’re you.”

Sam grinned. “Great! Would you mind deleting that text, by the way?”

“But it’s my only proof I’m not dreaming or something,” Rose protested.

Sam gestured at the all of himself again, with both hands this time. “Secret,” he reminded them. “What if someone stole your phone data?”

Rose raised an eyebrow. “Do you honestly think this is the weirdest text you’ve sent me? Or even the weirdest text with zero context around it?”

Sam considered that. “Okay, yeah, you’ve got me there,” he admitted.

“So I’m guessing photographic evidence is out?”

“Extremely.”

Rose nodded. “I can live with that. Though you are pretty cute like that.”

Sam laughed happily. “I like to think I’m always cute.”

“You are. But you’re particularly cute when you’re itty bitty.”

Sam grinned, scrunching his eyes up in happiness.

“Itty bitty little Sammy,” Rose continued, patting him gently on the head.

Sam laughed again. “You just like being taller than me for once.”

“I mean, that is nice. But also you are small and cute.”

Sam put the back of his hand under his chin and grinned. “Aww, thanks.”

“You’re welcome!” Rose poked him in the shoulder. “Hey, so. You were going up the stairs when I found you… did you ever make it to the bathroom?”

“No… but I didn’t actually need to go,” Sam said with a shrug. “I just needed an excuse to get out of the room before I shrank.”

“Hm. Okay. Wanna watch more cartoons?”

Sam perked up. “Yeah!”

[miloloveswrestling]

How to gif ~

(a very partial tutorial)

Hey everyone, I’m Milo, fandom contributor since 1887. It had been brought to my attention that some of you might want to learn how to do gifs so I’m here to share the knowledge. Of course it’s only how I do gifs, and it’s not the only way, probably not the simplest way but heh, it’s mine.

First of all: you need to choose the couple of seconds you want as a gif. Seriously, it’s half the work. Think about how your gif will loop, what the first image (and thumbnail) will be and most importantly: work with your platform of choice’s limitations. 1 gif at a time on twitter, 440×220 min, 10 gifs on tumblr, 500px wide, 5Mo, etc.

Material:

Giffing Tool: a powerful tool, free of use but if you have a couple bucks to spare, it’s Pay What You Want.  

Photoshop: The portable CS4 version by Majax31 exists. It’s old but it  does a tremendous job, also, it’s light, ready to use and easy to find.  It’s still not legal though. I happen to use Photoshop CS4.  

Let’s say you want to gif a close-up of some Pro Wrestling Noah boys like any other sane person. Well, excellent choice!

Pause your vid a couple of seconds before the right moment, open Giffing Tool. GT works as a way to record your screen.

New > Hold your click to select the zone

Play your vid, don’t move anything. It looks like nothing is happening but GT is recording. When the scene you want is finished, tap esc and GT will compile your gif, give it a bit of time. The closer you are from the actual size you want, the less time it will take.

In GT’s window, you select the length of your gif a bit better (1), click the size to avoid losing quality in an unwanted resize (2) and save it with the appropriate icon (3, shortcut is S). Step 2 is super important, you need the actual size to be the same as the size your gif will get out. If GT change the size, you will lose quality.

Saving with GT takes time, you can continue to use your computer normally while it does, be patient.

If you bought the full version of Giffing Tool, you can decide to resize your gif here and be done with it! But if you didn’t GT will add a banner you might want to cut with Photoshop or of course you might want to play with colors, size and decide on all the frames you want or don’t want, to the next level with you!

So yeah, now’s the time to edit your gif in photoshop! Hooray! After a lot of trials and error, I found some secrets to make this work. First open Photoshop then it goes like this:

File > Importation (down there) > Video frames to layers

I don’t know about the newer versions of Photoshop but you’ll need to write the name of your gif (with the extension) in the File Name to find it, it will not appear otherwise. Write it when you’re already in the right folder. By the way I remember now that you need Quicktime for this to work but it’s a pretty basic log so I guess this shouldn’t be a problem. Anyway, import it even if it does not appear (as long as you have the name of the file right, it will work): [Mark frame animation] must be checked in the next window and we’re good!

Now comes some work with Photoshop. Before you get started, you’ll need to get the animation window (Window > Animation). You only have to get it once, it stays in your setup for later uses. In that window you can check your gif frame by frame, delete duplicates (fair warning though, deleting too many duplicates will make your gif lighter but also will alter its rhythm, again, trials and errors, test everything!), decide on how fast you want your gif,

Another warning: what you change on the first image of your gif will apply to all the frames. If you wants to change only one, select the one and the layer associated with it. If you wanna change only the first, duplicate it (first icon in 2).

1/ You must use that tool to select the part of the image you’ll need. If you didn’t pay for Giffing Tool, you can use that tool to cut the banner they add. Once your image is selected, use Crop (here Recadrer). With Image Size (here Taille de l’image) you can resize your image depending of your platform’s limitations (on tumblr 500px wide).

2/ The animation window as I already said is super useful, you can delete, duplicate, move around frames.

3/ Don’t get there too fast but this is where you can edit colors and light. Experimentation is key here. Only one thing I can add: remember to select the first frame in the animation window if you want your edit on all frames. BUT put your edit on an empty layer on top of all the other layers in the layer window. If you know nothing about photoshop, a word on layers: here Layer/Calque 1 is hidden, you can make it visible by clicking the empty square next to the preview. If you do that then do the same on Layer 2, layer 2 will hide layer 1. The layer on top is always the one showing first. You can also erase some parts of a layer to show the one under it. Everything is possible in photoshop! Add a frame on the first layer so it shows on all the other layers! Add stickers! Most importantly: try things! fail! learn from it and do it again! If you have questions, I’ll answer them as best I can.

Last thing I’ll add is how to save your gif. You need to use Save for Web... in the file menu. You’ll get a preview, on the upper right corner, change the second setting as GIF.

1/ Check the format

2/ This is where you can check the size of your gif, super important depending on where you want to publish it.

3/ Save... You did it!!!!

It might sound complicated but it really isn’t that much, all the work you’ll do the first time will be useful forever, you’re learning a new skill but thankfully that skill is super easy to remember. And allows all sorts of awesome things! A whole new horizon is opening!

@kazuchikaokada​ 😌 i’m not sure you’re gonna learn much with all that ‘cause your gifs are already so nice?! it depends a lot on vid quality I guess but really you’re probably already doing all that? Maybe if you don’t use photoshop yet it could give you a whole new set of possibilities?! Anyway, sorry if this didn’t help, I hope it’s still useful for someone out there anyway!

[dragonofyang]

Let’s Voltron Ep 185 - Mitch Iverson Interview: Voltron Legendary Defender Comics Transcript

The following is a complete transcript for episode 185 of Let’s Voltron: the Official Voltron Podcast in which hosts Marc Morrell and Greg Tyler interview VLD writer Mitch Iverson about the comic books, posted July 11, 2019.

The full text is below the cut, or you can read it at https://www.teampurplelion.com/lets-voltron-ep-185-mitch-iverson-interview-voltron-legendary-defender-comics-transcript/

@voltronisruiningmylife @crystal-rebellion @leakinghate @felixazrael

[Intro music: VLD opening theme]

MM: Welcome Voltron fans! This is Marc Morrell, your host for Let’s Voltron, the Official Voltron Podcast. We have another exciting interview with somebody who created content for Voltron, and this time we’re talking about the comics. So, I gotta get my cohost on, Greg Tyler. Welcome, Greg!

GT: Marc, I’m so glad you didn’t call me your comic relief.

[laughter]

GT: That would’ve been a perfect end, but anyway, yes, um, welcome to all of our listeners and fellow Voltron fans. We’re gonna talk comic books in this podcast and, uh, yeah! It’s gonna be a lot of fun. As many of you know, Voltron: Legendary Defender had three five-issue volumes of a comic book, uh, made by LionForge Comics and we’re gonna talk with one of the people who was involved in every single issue.

MM: Awesome! Awesome, so let me get this straight: every single issue?

GT: I believe so.

MM: Yeah. All fifteen. He was.

GT: Yes, all fifteen.

MM: That’s right. So, what kinds of things do you think our listeners would want to know about the comics?

GT: I don’t know! Wha--what are your thoughts?

MM: I think, uh, one of the first things people always ask about is, ‘Are there any easter eggs?’ You know, like references to other types of things like sci-fi shows or fantasy or other types of things like that.

GT: Mm-hm.

MM: So I-I think that one has to be one of our questions.

GT: Sure, th-that’s a great question. I would say that if there’s one thing--now I-I--it’s not something we can ask our guest--but one thing I think tha-that somebody might ask is ‘are they any good’. And I know that sounds silly, but I’ve heard a lot of people just say, “Eh, I don’t wanna read those comics, those are dumb.” [laughter] But you know what? If you give them a try, they’re a lot of fun in their own right. The dialogue is very natural, the characters are saying and thinking and doing things that are very in-tune with the TV series. They are interesting side stories that, uh, fit between different episodes of the show, so they do have, uh, a-a place in the story arcs, and yet they’re not so confined by them that they can’t do their own thing. And the artwork looks great, and the stories are a lot of fun. So to answer that question, if anybody out there has that, in my humble opinion, yeah, they’re good! They’re a lot of fun. What do you think, Marc?

MM: I think it’s just fun to say things like “fripping bulgogian”.

GT: [laughter] Yes. There are some wonderful sci-fi-ish terms in the comics, just like in the show, and yeah, a lot of fun.

MM: And there’s some wild alien races that you’ve never seen before on the show, and it’s just amazing in how many different wild directions they go with the comics.

GT: Yes, I agree, it, uh, yeah. There’s some really good stuff in there.

MM: Yeah. So, we’d like to bring Mitch Iverson on.

GT: Absolutely.

MM: Alright. So here comes your next guest.

[Mechanical lion roar sound effect, which then turns into Voltron robot noises and the Voltron theme]

MM: Well, Greg, I would like to introduce a former writer of Voltron: Legendary Defender on Netflix, and of course the comics that we’re going to be talking about in this episode. He was also a writer on the up-and-coming Fast and Furious animated show, and he’s working on a top-secret project for Netflix.

GT: Ooh, top secret, sounds awesome!

MM: [laughter] Everybody welcome back to the podcast Mitch Iverson! Welcome, Mitch!

MI: Hello! Thank you for having me on!

GT: Hello, Mitch, welcome back to the podcast.

MI: I’m excited to be back.

GT: Well, we’re excited to have you on. We reread the Voltron: Legendary Defender comics, all three volumes, all fifteen issues, and are--we’re just really excited to talk with you about them.

MI: Awesome. I’m excited to talk to you guys about them.

GT: So what have you been up to in Voltron circles since? We heard that--that there were rumors of a fourth volume, and then that--that fell through or something? Can you tell us anything about that?

MI: We had talked about doing it, but you know, the license… there was something going on with that, and uh, DreamWorks decided, “You know what, let’s just let Voltron: Legendary Defender be what it was.” I think everyone creatively felt like, yeah it’s a--it’s a told story. You know, now that it’s over, going back is just kind of like trying to fill in between lines that don’t necessarily need to be filled in. Like, it is--it’s an awesome story, it’s done.

GT: That’s fair. That’s fair.

MI: I will say, if I were allowed to write Monsters and Mana comics [laughter] forever, I would.

[laughter]

MM: That would be cool.

MI: But I don’t know that those would, uh, would warrant the sales. [laughter]

MM: You also have a history with Dungeons and Dragons, can you tell us about anything you’ve done recently with Dungeons and Dragons?

MI: I’ve played it. [laughter]

MM: Alright.

MI: Yeah, I have a group of friends that meet once a month, uh, every month, on a Saturday. We get together at about noon and we play until about 10 p.m. There’s usually some wine, maybe a little scotch every now and then. It’s really fun, definitely snacks that are really unhealthy for you, lots of laughs.

MM: Nice.

MI: Lots of good storytelling. It’s a, it’s a great group.

GT: I think that’s the best part of roleplaying games, isn’t it? It’s the friendship.

MI: Oh, I thought you were going to say snacks.

[laughter]

GT: Oh, okay.

MI: I mean I would agree.

GT: And the wine.

MM: You can’t have a guy like Hunk as your caterer at every Dungeons and Dragons night, right?

MI: No, you can��t.

[laughter]

MM: So you would love to do Monsters and Mana comics.

MI: I’m being semi-serious. I mean I just love that episode so much and I had so much fun with it, but you know, it did--a lot of its magic was that it was just kind of a one-time adventure, but, uh, I do truly just love that kind of, like, whimsical fantasy element. I thought that was a lot of fun.

MM: Well, the funny thing is that the “Monsters and Mana” episode was one of the few episodes that tied in with the comics.

MI: Right. Yeah.

MM: Because they mentioned the Yalexian pearl.

MI: Right, yeah.

MM: Mm-hm.

MI: You’re, uh, you pay attention.

GT: Yeah! There were a lot of terms that, uh, were expanded upon in the comics, that one being probably the most prominent, but uh, one thing that surprised me a bit in the comics, we had an issue that was told from Lance’s perspective where he is a D&D kind of, sort of sorcery hero. And he rescues the princess, there’s a dragon, the dragon is the princess--spoilers--and, and it’s just--it’s really cool, but one thing that-that kind of surprised me after “Monsters and Mana” is in that episode, Lance acts like he wants nothing to do with th-the game at first, and in the comic world he’s thinking in those terms. So is Lance a closet nerd?

MI: I think he is, and the thi--well, just to--just to make a quick joke, usually you say “spoilers” first, not-not after. [laughter]

GT: Well, yeah, I spoiled the spoiler.

[laughter]

MI: Oh, I’m just messin’ around. But Lance, I mean the reason he’s trying to act like he doesn’t like fantasy is because he wants to seem cool in front of Allura, and then she’s like, “This sounds fun!” and he’s like, “Oh, okay.”

GT: [laughter] Oh, yeah, that’s cool.

MI: And I mean, you know, he’s always playing that video game and he’s got, like, a--a, you know, at the end, he sticks around to play another game. So...

GT: Oh yeah. Yeah, he does.

MM: In that comic, it says, th-the narrator says, “With Lance’s unerring nose for adventure-finding and quest-detection, the lions quickly reached the most likely spot on the planet Krell for a princess rescue.” And of course they chose a picture of a tall tower.

MI: Mm-hm.

MM: Of course, that’s the perfect place for a princess rescue.

GT: Sure!

MM: This particular princess was a little unusual of sorts, wasn’t it?

MI: Yes.

GT: Yeah, I think I already spoiled that, unfortunately.

[laughter]

MI: Whiffed on that one, huh, little button. Yeah, that was, you know in the first two iss--first two books, and then I wrote them together, we broke all the stories together, but we each took a different issue. We were both a lead on a different issue, and that was an issue he took the lead on and I didn’t know that he was gonna do all that Lance narrating stuff, that was totally him, and I remember reading it and laughing and like, “You are a genius, sir.”

[laughter]

MI: I was like, “Wow, man, he--he is awesome.”

GT: Yeah, I-I think what I really like about--one of the things I really like about the comics is that they, you know--Voltron at its core tends to be sort of an action/adventure sort of property, you know, with sci-fi/fantasy elements and all that, but one thing that I really liked is that a lot of the comics were, you know, had unique twists that made them not just, you know, fighting. There were puzzles to solve, there was “Wow, you know, this thing isn’t really a monster. It’s not trying to… It’s just--it’s just hungry, let’s feed it.” Um, you know, there were all these, these twists that make it not just “giant robot punches the crap out of a giant monster”, you know? And at the same, Voltron has formed in almost every single comic which is also cool, so--

MI: Awesome, yeah.

GT: --so was that a conscious effort on your part and Tim’s part for the first two volumes, to shake things up a bit and make them a little different from the show?

MI: Absolutely. And the--and the thing is, though o-our belief in that is-is you watch a show and a giant robot beats the crap out of a giant monster, that’s awesome. But in a comic book, it might not be as fulfilling we thought. We thought, “You know, this is a little more cerebral” because, like, you’re not gonna get to actually see the-the, all the in-between moments, you know. You can get key images of the fighting, but we thought, like, this needs to ha--we need to, like--we need to, like, make this its own kind of fun thing. Not that it isn’t the show, I thought there were lots of awesome elements like that, but you know, the other thing is in the show, it’s--into its--this is me giving a--I just love this about the show--i-it was so… plotty and it wasn’t like “every episode is fighting a monster”, but then--but, like, Tim and I, we love monster-fighting, so we were like, ”How do we get as much of that in without it feeling like every issue is just solved by punching” like you said. So, we put a lot of thought into ways of making that try and be the case.

GT: Well, I love that juxtaposition where the robot is around all the time, I mean in all, like I think thirteen out of fifteen issues--I counted--and I just kept thinking, “Wow, this is so cool, how many times does this happen?” And so you have that, and yes you have the very awesome-looking variety of giant creatures which is really cool, I mean as an old school fan the more the merrier, and yet it’s not repetitive, it’s not formulaic, it’s not just punch, kick, sword, et cetera. There is still a lot of humans, humanities and problem-solving a-and there are enough plot twists to keep it more than robot-on-creature repetitiveness, and so I really enjoyed that juxtaposition.

MI: I think, by the way, if DreamWorks ever makes another Voltron show, they should make it Voltron: Punch, Kick, Sword, Etc.

MM: Ooh.

[laughter]

GT: You heard it here, listeners.

[laughter]

MM: Alright, so going back to what you were saying, Greg, then sometimes those monsters are somebody’s mother or somebody’s baby.

GT: Mm-hm!

MM: And sometimes Voltron ends up getting into a fight with a monster they probably shouldn’t have.

GT: Yeah.

MI: Yeah.

GT: And that’s also cool. And like, at the end of the very first issu--er was it… yeah, the very first issue, I think--they went to planet Krell and uh, defeated this monster and then these little creatures come out and say, “You’ve killed our guardian”. [laughs]

MM: Yeah.

GT: “Huh?!”

MM: “Huh?”

GT: Yeah.

MI: Hm-hm. [laughs]

GT: Yeah, i-it’s just neat. I-I like the-the juxtaposition there. I-I’m using the word “juxtaposition” it’s a new drinking game, everyone. [laughs] But on the subject of the planet Krell, I’m an old-school sci-fi fan as well and Forbidden Planet is one of my favorite films. Was Krell a deliberate tip of the hat to that film or was it just happenstance?

MI: We--please don’t pitchfork me--I have never seen that movie.

GT: No problem.

MI: Now, Tim may have and that may have been, like, a deliberate nod toward that from him.

GT: Okay.

MI: I don’t-I don’t know, though. Sorry. That may not have been satisfying

GT: Yeah, no problem. That’s perfectly satisfying. It’s the right answer. It’s your answer, so [laughs].

MM: So was there anything specifically that you used as a reference in any of these three volumes?

MI: I’m sure there was, it was just so hard to remember. You know, like, I know that we definitely had a section where every--for every issue we would either go out and ha--or for every arc we’d either go out and have drinks or go get, like, go for, like, a meeting session and we would just, like, talk for, like, a long time about, like, you know, sci-fi things we loved or fantasy things we loved. You know, the other thing we have on that, in there, that is--I should mention that I think is just so great--is, like, many elements that we used were things that we had ideas for the show that it was just like, “You know, we’re never gonna get to fit it in there ‘cuz it’s just not gonna, like, fit with all the stuff going on”. So, you know, like, Josh, May, all the writers who contributed on Voltron, we would always have these powwows and we would talk about, like, different elements that could be in the show, and there would be, like, notecards on the wall that would be, like, “planet cracks open--monster”, that was just, like, a notecard sitting on the wall forever. And it was like, “when are we gonna use that?” And it’s like, “I don’t know if we’re ever gonna get around to using that,” so, like, there was all these ideas that had been kind of, you know, in the aether that we then just say, “Hey, you know, we’re never gonna use these for the show, maybe we put ‘em in the comic book.”

MM: Right.

GT: Yeah, I love that idea where the planet was basically an egg. It was cool.

MI: I think that was Josh Hamilton’s idea.

GT: Oh, neat.

MI: He gets no credit and no money, mua-ha-ha-ha.

[laughter]

GT: Your evil plan worked again. [laughs]

MI: No, we asked him. We asked, “Can we take that card down and put it in the comic?” and he was like, “Yeah!” [laughs]

MM: And one of the cool things is in-in the comics, Pidge actually gets to say “Form Voltron”.

MI: Yeah!

MM: And that doesn’t happen in the show.

MI: Does it never happen in the show?

MM: I’d never heard Pidge say, “Form Voltron”.

MI: Oh, wow.

GT: I’ll take your word for it, but yeah, that does sound like something that would not have been said very often. But yeah, very cool.

MI: Now I’m trying to think does anyone that ever say it besides Keith and Shiro, and Allura? Does Lance ever say it, or Hunk?

MM: I don’t think Lance or Hunk have ever done it.

GT: Ooh. Listeners, if you remember any of these things, and we’re not remembering, please let us know.

[laughter]

MM: But that first volume of comics was actually made into motion comics, too.

MI: Yeah! Wasn’t that cool?

MM: That was awesome.

GT: Yeah, how did that--how did that happen? How did you guys find out about that? Were you involved in-in planning that, or was that surpris--a surprise to you guys?

MI: It was a semi-surprise. We were told they were gonna do it, a--uh, you know, later on, and the way we were kind of told was they put on the recording schedule, like, “Oh, we’re gonna get the actors from the show to come in an-and do that.” So it was like, “Oh, cool, that’s really exciting. Like, that’ll be fun.”

GT: Yeah.

MI: And I thought those things turned out really cool.

MM: Yeah, so cool.

GT: Yeah, it gave it a whole different dimension, didn’t it?

MM: Yes.

MI: Yeah.

MM: It was so cool in fact, that many people had asked are we gonna do this with the other volumes as well?

MI: Yeah, that would’ve been fun. There was always, like, um, strategies, and, like, a lot of the stuff we did on the side was to help promote the show, you know?

GT: Yeah.

MM: Mm-hm.

MI: And, you know, enrich brand experience. And so it-it’s not a hundred percent correct, but, you know, like, in a way the--probably shouldn’t say this ‘cuz it’s gonna come out wrong--but, it’s like the comic books were almost like, in a way, like, a form of advertising and engagement. But the--

GT: Well, sure.

MI: --I know that’s not a perfect analogy because it’s, like, you know, people pay for those, but then with the motion comics that was another way to, like, keep fans engaged, you know, because we’re not always going to have new Voltron content coming out, so it was a way to be like, “Yeah, remember? Don’t forget about us, and don’t forget that, like, the show’s gonna come back in a few months.” And so by the time all that stuff had gotten done, I think the show was probably rounding a corner and, you know, like, it wouldn’t have made sense to do that, t-to invest that money, to give away basically a product that was just gonna be advertisement for a show that was, that was, you know, ending.

GT: Yeah, that makes sense.

MI: If that makes any sense.

GT: Yeah that makes perfect sense. Yeah, absolutely.

MI: DreamWorks is very smart, and they did a really awesome job, I thought, you know, getting the word out to the fans and helping us, like, helping us find ways to engage in cool, different, unique ways, so, that was like, you know, that was like a surprise. It was an awesome surprise.

GT: Yeah, it was great. A-and there have been Voltron motion comics in the past. Several years ago, I-I’m trying to remember the publisher now, but there were two different animated comics there--that were adaptations from prior, um, Voltron iterations. Not from a show directly, but kind of a-a more serious bend on the original show.

MM: You’re talking about Devil’s Due Publishing, right?

GT: I think so, yeah.

MM: The Revelations comic?

GT: I think so, there were a couple different, uh, motion comics that came out, and I must tell you, I had a really hard time getting through them when I finally got around to watching them in the last few years. And it’s nothing about the comic, it’s just that the adaptation didn’t have the same quality in terms of dynamic motion. It was much more static. The music was more stock-sounding rather than using the composers from the show, or any show, I mean just felt stock, et cetera. And so the Legendary Defender stuff was a definite cut above what had been made before, and I really think it kind of breathed a different sense of life into the comic story a-and was very exciting in its own way.

MI: Th-thank you, that’s really cool. I mean, you know, when you get, like, Rhys Darby or Jeremy Shada or Bex, er, they’re--you know, Josh, like, they’re all amazing, it’s like--to have them lend themselves to that, it’s just like--it definitely elevates it, too, you know. That was so great.

MM: Yeah, and Pidge in volume one where she establishes that she has this dossier that she’s been building, assessing the strengths and vulnerabilities of her fellow Paladins, that was a really interesting character moment for her.

MI: Yeah, and, uh, I will say--okay, you were looking for things where I got inspiration from. Hopefully I don’t get in trouble for admitting this, but to me, I’ve always thought of Pidge as kind of the “World’s Greatest Detective”, she’s kind of--

MM: Like Batman!

MI: --like a Sherlock Holmes or like Batman, yes. And uh, and Batman, I think at some point, had a dossier on the Justice League, and that was, like, a storyline.

MM: Oh, yeah.

MI: And so, I was like, “You know, that’s just--that rings true.” Like, that’s something that Pidge would do, you know? So… I don’t wanna say “ripped off”, but homaged. [laughs]

GT: Yeah, a-and that’s cool. I really enjoyed it. And then in a later volume--was it volume three? They’re starting to blend together over just two evenings--there was the plot where she wanted to turn o--that was in volume three!--turn off the shield in the SPRAWL, the Galra shield, and she had her memories temporarily wiped. So that was another interesting twist on something you wouldn’t expect. Someone who was as intelligent as she is and the world’s greatest detective, having to figure out not only what to do, who her allies are, but uh, you know, all this while not even knowing who the heck she is.

MI: I had that idea, and I thought it was a really, really cool idea, and then I was terrified about how to pull that off. I was like… it’s… and I hope I did, I still am like, am like, “Is anyone going to understand what’s happening?” Like, “Is this cool?”

MM: Why is she saying “who am I?”

[laughter]

MI: And I was like, “Oh, this could be very… I hope it works!” And so… I’m glad to hear you liked it. That means a lot.

GT: Yeah, it was uber fun. And it also touched on, uh, something she said back in season 1 where Allura is trying to get Pidge to tell her, uh, the secret that Pidge is really a girl, and instead, you know, she says, “I like peanuts, don’t like peanut butter” or whatever that was, and then she says, “I sweat a lot.” [laughs] And in this issue, she sweats off half of her clues that she had written on her arms.

[laughter]

MM: Yep.

MI: Ey, you remembered! Cool! Yeah!

GT: Yeah! You guys did a great job with the continuity. Now obviously, having worked on the show, it was, you know, still fresh on the brain there, but, uh, to work in those references and the character dialogue i-is so spot-on, too. I could hear the actors, you know, reading the dialogue for every single one of the issues, it was really neat.

MM: So did you ever think what it would be like if maybe the show had a longer run, you know, than the two and a half years it was on, and that you would’ve been able to actually take one of these comic issues that you had written, and adapt it back into an episode into the show if you still had those things rolling together like they were?

MI: Yeah, totally. Anytime you get to see stuff be, like, read by actors is fun. [laughs]

MM: Yeah. So you’re taking what was done with the motion comics and you’re taking it to the next level and you’re not only adding motion and voice and sound and all that kind of stuff to it, but the actual animation.

MI: Yeah, that’d be cool.

GT: It would. And so I gotta ask in the, uh, in volume two whose idea was it for Alfor to be a nud? [laughs]

MI: Oh man, that had to be Tim.

[laughter]

GT: Where he takes the, uh, shaman or the healer of the--and I don’t know how to pronounce this word--Davdibal, Davdibaw?

MM: It looks like “Davdabhau”.

GT: Yeah.

MI: I’m gonna go with “Davdabhau”.

GT: Alright.

MI: [laughs]

GT: But the--he takes, you know, he goes into this lab, specimen lab, where Alfor had been keeping all these things he’d gathered over the-the years, and he, uh, I just love how he just calls Alfor basically a nerd, which is hilarious. I mean, Alfor, especially later, you see him as this gallant warrior, the original Paladin, and nah, he’s a nerd.

[laughter]

MM: That was when he picked up the Nomo virus, right?

GT: Uh, yes, yes.

MM: So, another thing that kinda tied into the show, you know, Coran had developed the slipperies on the show. But in the comic he develops the Nomo virus, and it actually ends up saving them in the end.

MI: Uh-huh. [laughs]

GT: Well, the slipperies had, too, right?

MM: Yeah.

MI: Y-yeah.

MM: Yeah.

MI: Yeah, he was getting around.

GT: Yeah.

MI: Moving at an incredible pace.

GT: [laughs] And he lubed up the, uh, teludav lenses or whatever. [laughs]

MI: Yeah.

GT: Yeah, that was funny.

MI: We, uh, loved that slipperies so much, which was a Josh Hamilton episode, I believe, and that was just so funny. We wanted to, you know, sort of repeat that kind of--that kind of tone again.

GT: Yeah, and I-I gotta ask. In volume three, we see some of the Coalition ships, um, and we see on one of them Matt Holt and Captain Olia, and then there’s this Unilu who we see throughout the TV show. Uh, I think it’s a female Unilu, she seemingly only has one eye, a bandana or a heads--like an orange colo-colored, sort of head wrapping--and eventually in the show we see her as a bridge crew member on the Atlas. Does that character have a name? Does anybody behind the scenes have a name for that character? I always thought that that there was a very interesting look. I was very curious about that character.

MI: I know the character does, um, I’m struggling to remember the name, though. Oh man. I would have to look that up for you. I’m sure there’s a name, and I’m sure we had one, but I’d have to look through, you know. One thing that happens--alright, so I don’t work for, uh, DreamWorks anymore, and when I left, I had a DreamWorks email address and like a DreamWorks, uh, like, storage thing, and that’s where all of the scripts I wrote were, and now I’m always like, “Oh, well, let’s look that up and see where that was!” and it’s like, “Oh, I don’t have this anymore.” [laughs]

GT: Oh, bummer!

MI: I’m sure if I were to go, I’m sure someone there would be nice enough to go through with me and find them again and… but it would definitely be troubling.

GT: Yeah.

MI: And it’s on the tip of my tongue, I know there’s a name.

GT: Yeah, I was just curious. I-I-I remember, uh, Lauren Montgomery’s been very kind enough to answer some of the-some of those kind of questions. It’s just--it helps build out that universe just a little more. So, just something I just noticed in one of the panels, and I thought, “Oh, I love that character, even though I know nothing about her.”

MI: Yeah, Lauren would know for sure, I believe L--that was, like, one of Lauren’s favorites. I could be wrong--

GT: Oh, okay.

MI: --you know, the other thing is, it’s been, like, two or three years since I worked on Voltron, so it’s like, you know, the memories get a little hazy over time.

GT: Oh yeah. And so how would you compare your creative freedom in writing one of these comics versus an episode? I mean, were the comics--because they have to be kind of sandwiched between episodes--were they more constrained as a result or were they less constrained because they didn’t necessarily have to fit the overall story arc of the show? How would you compare and contrast that?

MI: We--it-it’s funny, because that constraint of fitting inside of, like, continuity, it’s very similar to when you write an episode to the show anyway because we have it so plotted out it’s like, you know, you know your beginning, you know your end, the whole team works on what it--what the journey’s gonna be like to get between those spots. So that’s, like, that’s kinda similar. Uh, I would actually say there are very, very comparable in terms of the process because, you know, we still had to have a lot of people sign off on it, it was a lot of, like, there’s a lot of collaboration. I had, uh, you know, Tim and I worked on it together, just like on the show, and we even had Josh, I believe, read versions of things. And, uh, it just--it-it felt very seamless as a transition. Now I will say that writing comic books was something Tim and I had never done, so in terms of, like, the formatting and thinking visually, that was totally different and I c--and it was, and it was very challenging. Like, when I write a script, I can see it in my head clearly and if I know what I’m going for, it kinda just flows out a lot of times. Sometimes it doesn’t, sometimes it’s very difficult, but it’s like, you know, I hear Pidge’s voice and so I can, like, you know, Tab, P, Enter, line, Enter, move on. Like I know how to, like, just, like-like, fly through a script. But with, uh--and then, you know read it and rewrite it a bunch of times, et cetera. But with the comic, it’s like, so hard to think, like, “Okay, a photo needs to describe everything, and I have to describe it all in detail, and, like, and then--” It was just so--such a different mental muscle that I had to get used to. And I will say, like, honestly, like, when I went back and read the comics, like, Tim and I, when we read the first comic and we were very proud of them, and Lion Forge was so awesome to work with and so helpful. But even after all of that I was still like, “You know, there’s a few things that if I-if I’d really known how this was gonna look, might have written it differently so it might’ve been a little clearer” you know? Or, like, a visual joke could’ve planted, because it was a totally new process to me.

GT: Yeah.

MI: I mean, I still feel very much like a novice in that regard.

GT: Yeah, you were talking about having to describe things visually, with individual panels and all that. Whose-whose idea--since it was introduced in volume one but followed up in volume three, whose idea was it to depict Pidge’s computer-like thought processes as sort of, like, a-a command prompt on the-on the panel?

MI: Yeah, I think that was actually me because I read Tim’s, uh, Lance issue, and I thought and I thought that was so awesome, and I was like, “Oh I’m ripping him off.”

[laughter]

MI: And I was like, “Oh, if Lance is gonna look like that,” hers has to look kinda… it has to be Pidge and I was thinking, you know, Pidge is sort of, like, a techie, and whenever I think “techie” I immediately go to The Matrix, so I ripped off Tim and The Matrix.

MM: And when you have your characters wearing specific outfits, like in the second volume Pilgrimage, Coran gets to go back and wear that, uh, fancy cape outfit--

MI: [laughs] Yeah he does.

MM: --that he wore when he was trying to get to ride Red Lion. So, do you say in the script that he has to be wearing that outfit?

MI: I believe we did call that one out specifically.

MM: Okay.

MI: Honestly, the comic books, one of the things that, you know, when you write a script you can kind of be a little more evocative sometimes. It depends on the situation, it’s always different. But overall you can be a little more, like, you don’t have to fill in all the blanks on things. But with a comic book, they prefer you do. You wanna know, like, the blocking, you wanna know, like, you know, where people are situated. You can-inside the script you can put, like, comp art that you wanna use so the artist has some, like, help because they’re basically gonna go draw--I mean, it--that same thing happens in animation in a way, somebody draws a picture of it. But in animation, there’s like, a whole team, like, you know, and meetings, and there are storyboard artists before it even gets animated. It’s all in motion. But like, with a comic, it is like, you are handing a script off to someone that you might not ever get to talk to, and then they have to, like, read it, and get a pretty clear idea, so the more detail you give the better. And as a very lazy person, that was hard for me.

[laughter]

MM: So you didn’t get to really collaborate with digital art chefs on this?

MI: Not really. I mean, I never got to talk to any of the artists. I mean, I’ve met some people who’ve worked on the comics at cons, just it’s like, you know, and it’s always awesome to see them, it’s like “Yay! You did such an awesome job!” and they’re like, “Aw, thanks!” It’s like, yeah--but yeah, it’s like--they’re always sweet moments, but in terms of the actual collaboration, it was more like we turned in a script and then one day we got to see the comic. Which is, you know, that’s how it is. I know, I mean there’s more to it than that, I’m making it seem… [laughs]

MM: Uh-huh.

MI: But it-but it is, like, you know, we didn’t get to, uh, to talk or-or communicate really directly with the artists.

MM: Okay.

MI: Which is, you know, that’s-that’s not unheard of and-and, um, you know, in writing, you know, oftentimes you write a script and it’s just, like, you know, you get to go watch it on TV and see what happened with everyone else someday.

MM: I was gonna say, that happens with some other professionals, like sometimes the voice actors, they do their thing, and if they didn’t have to do an ADR session on something, they wouldn’t know what was going on, and they find out something happens to their character through--for the first time watching it when everybody else watches it.

MI: Mm-hm. And crea-creating a TV show is such a collaborative effort, and it has got so many moving pieces, and it-so, you know, there can be something that’s changed in boards, changed in, like, so many different aspects of the show where even in ADR it’s like, it’s still shot the same but the dialogue has changed, and that dialogue changes the tenor of everything. And so those moments, like, like the show is always an evolving process, and, like, luckily on Voltron, like, you know, like, I felt like every-every step of the process just got better and better. It was such a great team to be a part of.

MM: So I gotta ask you, uh, we had mentioned at the top when we introduced you that you had done some work with Fast and the Furious and you have left that since then and you’re now working on a top-secret project for Netflix. Has your position changed at all?

MI: I have, um, I have gotten a title bump from that. That’s one of the reasons I, uh, de-decided to-to take a new job, um, and so yeah. [laughs]

GT: Well, good for you. Congratulations! That’s great.

MM: Yes, congratulations on your promotion!

MI: Thank you, thank you. It was fun working on Fast, that was a great scene, and, uh, that show is gonna be so awesome. [laughs]

MM: And that comes out soon, right?

MI: No, I don’t know if I’m allowed to say what the release date is or not. I don’t even know if I know the release date for sure, I ha-ha-I have something in my head, but I could be wrong about it. I know a teaser recently was released and, uh, it’s like, woo yeah.

MM: Right. Yeah, that was a pretty cool teaser.

MI: Mm-hm. I don’t know if you guys know this, but Tim is, uh, the showrunner of that.

MM: Yes! Yes he is.

GT: Very cool.

MI: Yeah.

MM: We do know that. [laughs] So, if you had had the chance on this Voltron story that you had written, you know, in volume three--Absolution, right?

MI: Mm-hm.

MM: At the end, Allura basically says that, you know, the universe is safer because the information Lotor provided us, “It seems we might be able to trust him. It’s time to use even more of his information and finally put an end to the Galra Empire.”

MI: Mm-hm.

MM: So, if you had had a chance to go to a next issue right after that, do you think it would’ve been something related to something that was going on in the show? Or a totally different storyline after that?

MI: Well, my thinking was the next thing that happens after. Maybe not the very very next thing, but when they go to that Glara facility in the next episode of the show.

GT: That’s where they were flying around in those tunnels underneath the…

MI: Yeah, with the lava.

GT: Yeah, I know which one you’re talking about.

MI: “The Prisoner”. Yes. So, my plan was maybe there were a few extra missions that would’ve happened, but the next episode that that would link up with would be “The Prisoner” and when they’re on that mission to go in the Galra facility, that’s information from Lotor that they’re using again.

MM: Right, right. That was the first thing that they learned that they could trust him, because it worked out exactly the way he said it would.

MI: Mm-hm.

GT: That was really nice. I think that that one tied in most directly with the plot probably of all three of the volumes, because we see something that actually motivates Allura to have a change of heart.

MI: Yeah. I hope it worked.

GT: Yeah! It totally did. I think the comics a-are so fun in adding some side stories to the overarching plot without, uh, taking anything away from it. I think the-the generally standalone approach with the tips of the hat to what’s going on in the main plot are-are a really nice compromise between, you know, ignoring what’s going on, of course, with the show, which would’ve been kind of hard to do, and uh, getting way too deeply connected to it so that someone who had only read the comic wouldn’t know what was going on, right?

MI: Aw, thanks. I can’t remember if the-if we pulled it off as well--er, one of the intentions we had in the second comic was, um, the second volume comics, was that the castleship is, uh, damaged. So that’s, like, the next episode was going to be, uh, “Green the Cube”, which starts with them out there trying to fix things on it. And so--

GT: Ooh.

MM: Oh, yeah.

MI: --the idea was the castleship in the-the midst of all that action. That’s why they were out there repairing it when the-the uh--the spore with the hidden information arrives.

MM: Cool.

GT: Very nice, love it.

MM: And I-I did notice that there was an ongoing theme with the aliens in the comics. They were very animal-like.

MI: Yeah! We’re always looking for, like, inspiration in nature and stuff like that. One thing we did on the, uh, on the show, or one thing that I did on the show that I always liked, was I had these, like, D&D monster manuals in my office from all the different var--uh--versions of Dungeons and Dragons. And I would just, like, pull them out when I was kind of, like, bored or thinking about things, and I would just look at weird monsters in there and think, like, you know, “What if this monster were in space? What would that look like?” And, you know, it didn’t always evolve from that, but sometimes that could start the, like, a conversation where maybe it was like, we would come to, like, a cool new unique monster from that.

MM: That is pretty cool.

GT: Yeah. Marc had mentioned that one of the giant creatures that, uh, that was encountered was a baby. A gigantic, gravity-producing baby with a much larger mother. And it--was that inspired by anything in particular, or was that just… awesomeness? [laughs]

MI: There might’ve been one, but I just don’t remember. I do think that--you know, one of the things that me and Tim talked about many times was, like, just ‘cuz we have this, like, scale where we think things are big to us but if you’re a big thing, they might not seem that big to other big things, you know, and that was something we always wanted to play with. We always, like, thought that was a fun concept. And another thing that I always just like--was thinking about was, like, you know, the Paladins, you know, if you’re a human being, a hundred years is a very, very long time, but if you’re a creature that lives for a thousand years, that’s not as long to you. You’re a creature that lives for a million years, a hundred years is like a blink of an eye, you know?

GT: Oh, yeah.

MI: Zarkon, like, he’s been conquering for ten thousand years or whatever, you know, it’s like--so somebody who’s been around for a million years, that’s like, “Yeah, that new kid on the block, Zarkon.” [laughs]

GT: Yeah, that’s a good point, a-and I think Kythylian Mu from volume one--that character that Coran had known and pretended as though Coran owed all that gambling debt to--he had been around for thousands of years, too, which was really cool.

MI: Right. Yeah.

MM: There’s not a good chance of running into somebody that you owe a debt to ten thousand years later where they can actually add the interest to your debt.

MI: No, that would be very, very expensive.

MM: So now you owe him a Yalexian pearl.

MI: Yeah, and he’s gonna get it.

GT: So one of my favorite creatures that you guys came up with was, uh, Gantomor, the ancient Davdabhau--I’m trying to get that pronunciation--who protected the sacred grounds and was-and challenged Keith in the, uh, training deck of the Castle of Lions, and then challenged Voltron, and then challenged Coran’s sneeze.

[laughter]

GT: And the-the idea that this creature could transform itself to match its opponent was a really cool thing, was-was that inspired by anything in particular, or was it j-just… where did this come from?

MI: I don’t remember. I think that that was based on just weird conversations Tim and I would have about, you know, like, uh, the idea of like, what would be, like, a fun thing to fight? And it’s, you know, that’s kind of like a, I feel like a fantasy or sci-fi trope of, like, you know, there’s the thing that can match your power, so, like, having to beat the thing that can beat you. I think we even kind of have that, well, sort of, to a degree, in the ep-in the issue where Pidge has to fight her friends, you know, and it’s always like, “How do you beat these scenarios?” So we would try and lock ourselves creatively into a corner and then try and figure out if there was any way we could solve it.

GT: Yeah, that’s really cool.

MM: Plus that scene, okay, y-you have to suspend yo-your thoughts about, you know, can people survive in space for a little while because Coran comes flying in on a kotka, right? One of these huge things with wings and he--[laughs]--he’s wearing that uniform that we had mentioned earlier, but it’s definitely not a space suit, per se, and of course he’s got this virus that he-he needs to, like, sneeze on-on this monster in order to expose him to the virus.

MI: Mm-hm.

MM: So, we’re sort of like, “Okay, Coran’s going through space with no-no spacesuit on, okay. I’m okay with that.”

MI: He’s also, you know, he’s an Altean. They’re pretty strong creatures.

MM: Yeah. [laughs]

GT: I was about to ask you that. Is-is his ability to breathe, sneeze, and talk in the vacuum of space an ability that’s unique to Coran or or is this something that a-all Alteans have?

MI: I am not--I don’t have high enough rank to answer that question.

[laughter]

MI: I mean, I-I think that there’s a little bit of maybe just, you know, whimsical magic happening there.

[laughter]

GT: There’s nothing wrong with that. I was just asking. [laughs]

MI: Tardigrades can move in space. The little water bears, you know what I’m talking about?

MM: Yeah.

MI: The inspirations for the, uh, “Ark of Taujeer”.

MM: The Taujeerians!

MI: Yeah, uh, the tardigrades.

MM: Cool.

MI: The water bears. I don’t know if you’ve ever looked at those things, but th-they’re really weird-looking, but they can live in space.

GT: Yeah. And uh, yeah, the Alteans are great explorers, Allura said so herself, so, uh, talking in space in undoubtedly a very, very uni-unique gift to have.

MI: I don’t know if we’ve ever talked about this before, but one thing that I always thought was funny that is, um, early in the show they fight that, uh, training droid.

GT: Yeah.

MI: And Allura says, “This is fit for an Altean child!”

GT: Oh, yeah.

MI: “This is fit for an Altean child.” And it seems like she’s making a dig at them, but then you find out later she’s super strong. [laughs] And it’s like, “Oh! Maybe that was set for an Altean child.”

GT: Yeah, that’s a good point.

MM: That is a good point. Maybe she wasn’t digging them at the time.

[laughter]

MI: Well, maybe digging them, but digging them with facts.

MM: Yeah. GT: Yeah. Facts that they would not yet know, yeah.

MM: Back then we were questioning as to whether or not Allura was actually controlling that-that droid at the time,

MI: Oh, interesting.

MM: Yeah.

GT: The way they staged that where the droid just collapses and Allura is right behind it, it does-it does sort of, at first glance, y-you kind of think, “Hm, yeah. Was she manipulating that thing or did she just happen to be standing there?” [laughs]

MM: We kind of thought she was the one fighting them, almost.

MI: Maybe she was.

[laughter]

MM:I loved it when they went out in the lions for the first time a-and she-she’s, like, throwing all the Castle at them, you know, like, all th-the weapons that the Castle can-can shoot. She’s firing them.

MI: She’s being so positive.

[laughter]

GT: S-so now that you have, uh, working with Tim and then of course working solo, fifteen comic books under your belt, have you thought any more about writing comics for any other property or maybe going independent? What-what are your thoughts about that medium?

MI: I would love to write more comics some day, and I-and I really want to, but right now I’m a little busy and I’m a little stretched thin. And I also, it just has to be the right one, but I would love to do it again. It’s a really fun experience, especially, like, you know, the company Lion Forge was so great and they were so great to work with, everyone over there is so nice. It’s a really positive company and so, like, maybe if-if I could find something with them someday tha-that that could be really fun, but, you know.

MM: Did you hear about their merger with Oni Press?

MI: Oh! No, I didn’t.

MM: Yeah.

MI: When did that happen?

MM: That was just recently.

MI: Oh.

MM: Apparently they had been either acquired or merged with Oni Press.

MI: Huh. Cool.

MM: Yeah.

MI: Well, I hope, that just makes them even more powerful and awesome.

MM: Yeah.

GT: [laughs] These comics, re-reading them was just a blast. I remember enjoying each of the volumes as they came out and, uh, it was just a lot of fun to revisit them. One--when I first read the first two volumes, I did them through, you know, print, but when volume three came out, I tried at first to buy an e-comic, that was my first ever experience with that, and I don’t know that I--maybe I’m too old-school--but I really, I went ahead and bought the print versions later a-and re-read them that way. Are you into e-comics at all, or do you prefer paper, or… what are your thoughts on all that?

MI: I go back and forth. I-I don’t know if you did the guided comic experience, but if you have an iPad and you do the guided comic experience where, like, it moves between panels and it’s curated really well--

MM: Yeah.

MI: --that can be such an awesome way to experience a comic. Like, I use Comixology, I love it, and I have don-I have done that before, but there’s just nothing that beats going into a comic book shop, talking with the guy that works there, having the paper comic, going home, reading it. I said guy, it could be, you know, any--girl as well, I know for a long time I used to go to Meltdown Comics. There was a really sweet lady that worked there tha-that gave just awesome recommendations. She recommended the comic book Two to me, which I loved, then you go home, you read it, you come back and you’re like, “Thank you for the recommendation”. And it’s just, you know, it’s such a great experience, like, I, I-I don’t know, I could never completely give that up. But, that being said, as I said, there can be some really fun motion comics to read, too.

MM: Yeah, I have a subscription to the DC Universe and they have a comic reader in that that you can watch on TV.

GT: Really?

MM: Oh, yeah. It’s great, and it’s, like, the guided comic, like you said, it goes from panel to panel. You can do it either way, you can do the guided or you can do the regular where you see the whole page at a time.

GT: That’s amazing.

MM: Yeah.

MI: That is awesome. I didn’t know about that.

MM: And they’ve got the whole library of, like, twenty thousand DC comics that are in there.

MI: Wow.

GT: Huh.

MI: Wow. You know, I, at first, was so hesitant to use digital comics, and I was like, “You know, I’m old-school” and I had tried that guided comic experience, and for whatever reason, whatever comic I use, I didn’t really like it as much. I was like, “No, no, no, you should have the page,” you know? And then later on I had a friend tell me, like, “No, no, there are some really cool ones out there,” and I was like, “Okay,” and he recommended one to me--now I can’t even remember--but I went through and did it again and was like, “Oh, oh! This is awesome! Okay.”

MM: Yeah.

GT: That’s cool.

MM: That’s pretty cool.

GT: I wonder if it depends on--I mean, di-di--I wonder if they have to manually stage each of those comics, it’s guided so that it guides you appropriately, you know? In other words, is there a human being involved in taking a comic that’s completed and making that experience the best that it can be, or is it something they can fully automate? In which case, you know, one person might do a better job giving you that guided experience versus another, you know?

MM: Yeah.

MI: There has to be a human being that does it, you know, because it moves so oftentimes it moves from, like, like face to face with speech bubble to other face. And sometimes it, like, you know, i-into a-and then, like, of--it lets the panel build sometimes in certain ways, and sometimes it gives you the whole panel because it, like, you want all this information at once and you don’t want to overmove the, the i-image around, you know. A-and then sometimes, like, you want that splash page when that comic tends to be, like, “Woah!” you know? Like, it’s--there’s no way to-I think that could happen without someone, like, being involved in that.

MM: Right, and then sometimes there’s a lot of information in that speech bubble that takes a while to read, and then other times it’s just, like, one word, and sometimes th-that word is like a shout or something like that and it’s written in big letters and you wanna emphasize it by bringing it into the panel real quick.

MI: Yeah.

MM: You know, or something like that.

MI: It’s funny, it’s not--it’s just so interesting to me how there’s always so many people involved in creative endeavors, like, you know, if you wanna--when you’re watching a TV show, the amount of people that were involved in that, that worked so hard on that, it’s truly impressive to me. I mean that’s one of the reasons why at the end there’s all those credits, you know?

MM: Mm-hm.

MI: But similarly in comic, you know, there’s artists that work on it, there’s inkers, there’s colorists, sometimes that’s all the same person, sometimes not, you know, there’s letterers, there’s, like, it’s--and then, you know, for even to the level of, like, there’s probably somebody that helps curate that motion comic experience. It’s very cool, I think, to, you know. There’s a-there’s a--as a writer, there’s always a part of me that thinks, like, “You know, one of these days I’m gonna write a novel and it’ll be just, like, my thing, it’ll be my book.” And it’s like, yeah. Sometimes I think, yeah, that does sound really fun, but also, like, it’s really fun to work with other people. It’s really fun to see sometimes, like, you have an idea and it might come out different than you expected, but it be even better. It might have been plussed by someone else, you know?

GT: That’s a great point.

MM: The whole is better than the sum of the parts.

MI: Yes. Which, I mean is, I think, apropo when talking about Voltron.

GT: No doubt.

MM: Yes.

[laughter]

MM: We are always stronger together.

MI: Right.

MM: So, one thing I wanted to do before you leave, Mitch, is I wanted to thank you for all these years where you’ve been signing comics for us, an-and you and Tim and everything, and then providing these signed comics for prizes as, you know, for our listeners of the podcast, so I wanna-I wanna thank you for doing all that over the last few years.

MI: Oh, it’s been my pleasure. I should be thanking you. Thank you for all the support, you’re such a great person, you’re such a great fan. Both of you, I-I--it means a lot to me that you guys, you know, uh, like this stuff, you know. We work really hard on it, so when somebody appreciates it that means the world to me.

MM: Oh, yeah. It’s not hard to appreciate it all because you did such a good job.

MI: Aw.

GT: Absolutely.

MI: Keep going.

[laughter]

GT: Well, as soon as we learn about this top-secret project, a-and enjoy that and enjoy Fast and the Furious when it comes out, we will have more to say. Even more to say than we already have. [laughs]

MM: Right.

MI: Yay!

GT: [laughs]

MM: So, we will be watching your career with much interest.

MI: Thank you.

GT: Alright, Emperor Palpatine.

[laughter]

MM: We also look forward to the day when Monsters and Mana has its own comics line.

[laughter]

MI: You know, I-I’m not sure that’ll happen, but maybe, you know, as time goes on, I’ll find the time to do fanfiction for it or something. As long as DreamWorks doesn’t sue me. [laughs]

MM: Okay.

GT: Until then, keep the faith, right?

MI: Right. I can’t believe I got to do that episode at all, that was such a pleasure. So, you know, l-let’s focus on the good we have. [laughs]

MM: That’s right.

GT: That’s right.

MM: That’s right. Can--I can’t believe they paid me to do something that was so fun.

MI: I’m--that’s how I felt, I mean, I was like, every day, finish my stuff, then I got to sneak in little things that were, like, names of people that I play D&D with, their characters, and like, little inside jokes from, you know, people I played D&D with for ten years, so that was, like, tha--I mean, pretty much from the second I was told I got to write a D&D episode until now, whenever I think about it I have just a big smile. I’m really, really grateful for that.

MM: Nice.

GT: Yeah, so cool.

MM: Awesome. So thank you very much once again for joining us on Let’s Voltron, the Official Voltron Podcast.

MI: Thank you.

[mechanical lion roar]

[outro music: VLD theme]

MM: Well, I have to tell ya, I talked to Mitch Iverson so many times in the past few years, but i-it felt a little bit bittersweet this time, I think. Knowing that we might not get a chance to talk to him again without another Voltron thing.

GT: Yeah? I mean, I think the same is true for a lot of the guests that we’ve had on i-in recent months. You know, Voltron: Legendary Defender is done. I mean, it’s-it’s not dead as long as we remember it and enjoy it, continue to watch it, and share the stuff that we like with our friends and family and all that good stuff. It lives on just as the original show and other iterations have. But yeah, it is a little bittersweet, isn’t it?

MM: Yeah, but I mean there were so many great episodes in there, and of course we talked a lot about “Monsters and Mana” because it was one of Mitch’s favorites to write. You know, that’d be like “Space Mall”--

GT: “Crystal Venom”.

MM: --”Crystal Venom”, “Reunion”--

GT: “The Legend Begins.”

MM: Right. All these great episodes that we loved from the show and everything, they each had a writer and Mitch’s favorite was “Monsters and Mana” and I know there’s a lot of fans out there who had said, you know, we could just do a Monsters and Mana, like, type of show and we would love to see that.

GT: Yeah, a-and you know, people were saying the same thing about the Blade of Marmora, maybe some spinoff novels or tie-in novels or whatever. Yeah, I mean there’s so much richness and variety in the Voltron: Legendary Defender universe that yeah, I mean there’s so much potential. But, uh, I guess at this point a lot of that’s up in the hands of fans to maybe pick up with their own fanfiction and if they haven’t already written a lot of that crazy stuff.

MM: “I wanna be a Paladin again.”

GT: Ah, there you go. Yeah. A-and I recall y-you’re kind of fond of the Black Lion, right?

MM: Yeah. Yeah. Always bet on Black.

GT: Ye-yeah, I’ve always been fond of the Yellow fellow, as, uh, Hunk called it in Voltron Force. Yeah. Old Yellow. [laughs]

MM: I thought that was pretty funny that, uh, there was actually a line from the comic where Hunk mentions the fact that, “I-I don’t want to tell everybody out loud, but I may have wet myself,” and Lance says, “Well, you do fly the Yellow Lion.”

GT: [laughs] Yes, I do love that.

[laughter]

MM: And it reminded me of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. “I’m so scared I soiled my armor!”

GT: [laughs] Yeah, I remember.

MM: And then later on, “I soiled my armor again!”

GT: [laughs]

MM: Yeah.

GT: Yeah. Interestingly, Lance in the comic, and, uh, of course, none of the characters in “Monsters and Mana”, none of them encountered the knights who say Ni!

[laguther]

MM: No. No. Hunk, though, he had a couple of the Davdabhau that had wanted to marry him.

GT: Yeah, he was a popular guy for a while there.

MM: And at one point, he actually says to them, “Well, I don’t think I can marry either one of you, and it’s mostly because, well, number one you haven’t met my mom. An-and there is this rock girl.”

GT: That was really interesting, wasn’t it? That he actually flat-out says it.

MM: Yeah. That was great.

GT: Yep. [sighs] I so love Hunk, I truly do. And apparently he had a pappy at some point named Herschel.

MM: That’s right! I was wondering where Herschel came from and I was thinking to myself, the only Herschel I can think of, there was a character from The Walking Dead that was named Herschel.

GT: Yes, I remember there--isn’t there an astronomer named Herschel, too?

MM: Yeah. I was trying to wonder where Herschel came from, but, I guess we could’ve asked Mitch, huh?

GT: Yeah, where the writers came up with it. Of course in the fiction, Hunk says it was, uh, one of his pappies from the past. A apparently departed pappy, but yeah! Yeah, there are so many more questions we could have asked Mitch, but there’s only so many, uh, only so many minutes we can do these podcasts and, uh, you know, maybe, maybe some things are best left as mysteries.

MM: Well, you know, we do have to give a proper review to these comics, right?

GT: Yeah, that’s true.

MM: So, why don’t we get together in our next episode and talk about these comics a little bit more in detail?

GT: Yeah. We’re gonna dive into all of them, aren’t we?

MM: Yeah, we are.

GT: Yeah. For our listeners who aren’t into the comics, don’t worry, there won’t be fifteen podcasts, one per comic. There won’t be three, one per volume. We’re gonna-we’re gonna cram ‘em all into one, and, uh, it’s going to be a lot of fun. Uh, you know, th-the comics are definitely worth checking out. I know that, uh, there’s some who, you know, who kind of dismissed them outright, but, uh, I hope that, uh, people will give them a look now. They really are fun. You can get them as e-comics on favorite places like Comixology, or you can still find them at, uh, favorite online vendors, or maybe even in some local comic shops.

MM: And you may still even find them on the Voltron store, or Amazon, or many other places that have comic books.

GT: Yep. Yep, yep, comics are fun, and so are the, uh, these Voltron ones, as well.

MM: So, we think we set it up really good with the Mitch interview.

GT: Yeah.

MM: So, thank you Mitch Iverson for joining us on Let’s Voltron, the Official Voltron Podcast, and we’ll get right into the comics next week.

GT: Alright.

MM: We wanna thank you all for joining us on Let’s Voltron. Don’t forget to visit us on Twitter at @LetsVoltron. We’re also on Instagram at @letsvoltron. We are also on YouTube, the Let’s Voltron YouTube channel. And we also have a Let’s Voltron store on TeePublic. We’re also on Facebook. We also have a skill on Alexa where you can just say, “Alexa, open Let’s Voltron,” and you get a cute little quote that is, uh, one of up to a hundred quotes that are possible that you will get.

GT: Awesome, awesome.

MM: And of course you can listen to our podcast on many different places like Google Play, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, also Podbean, Stitcher, and of course on Alexa. You can also say, “Alexa, play Let’s Voltron, the Official Voltron Podcast,” and you can listen to it right on Alexa.

GT: Or, of course, go to letsvoltron.com

MM: That’s our favorite place. Letsvoltron.com

GT: Yeah, I can remember that one. [laughs]

MM: Because that’s how you get to all of our other things, like we just mentioned.

GT: That’s right. We are all over the place.

MM: So, thank you for joining us once again, and we’ll see you all next time on--

Both: Let’s Voltron!

[outro piano music]

[ishades]

writing preview for that gt redux. this is just the rough draft

Chichi gently dabbed at Goku’s sticky cheek with her handkerchief, her own face beet red.

“Chichi you don't have to do that.” Goku protested, small hand batting at her arm with as much force as a butterfly’s wings.

Several other patrons were staring at the display.

“I don't wanna hear it. Now hush.”

She could hear their whispers, dropping down on her head like anvils.

“That poor grandma… her grandson’s so messy.”

“Aww, she mustn't get out often. She's dressed so nicely. Is that really her best?”

Chichi felt even more self-conscious under their heavy scrutiny.

Goku finally pulled away from her grooming the moment her focus lapsed.

He strolled over to the table that had just been talking about them, hands behind his head.

“Hey, you guys wanna repeat what you just said about my bride?”

His posture remained casual buy his dark brown eyes were hard.

“Goku sa-”

“Bride? Dear I think you don’t understand what you’re saying. That woman is your grandma, right?”

“I’ve long since learned what bride means.” Goku paused. “You’ll apologize won’t you?”

Neither man nor woman made a move to respond.

The pressure in the room shifts, heavier as he brings his hand down in a chop. The table the couple are dining at splinters into a million pieces.

And then the pressure lightens, just ever so slightly.

“I think you’d ought to maybe reconsider yer options here.”

Chichi’s gone pale behind her tiny husband.

“S-s-sorry!”

“We’re so sorry, miss!” they scramble to get up and make a mad dash for the door.

“And by the way! I’m forty seven!” he calls out to the frightened couple before the door to the restaurant swings shut.

“G-Goku sa…” Chichi trails off.

Goku turns around to her, flashing her a grin. His teeth are just as sharp as they’d always been. More fang than tooth. She feels like a little girl all over again.

He steps up to her and takes her hands into his smaller ones.

He peers up at her, curiously.

“I’m not a little kid, Chichi. I’m yer man, despite how I may look.”

“Oh, Goku sa… I-”

He floats up to be eye level with her, smile softening.

“And as yer man, nobody gets to bad mouth you.”

The tears she’d kept dammed up inside of her fell freely now.

“But… but Goku sa, I’ve grown old. How can you say that?” Her shoulders shook with her sobs as she tried to pull extract herself from him. 

Goku held firm, though not ungentle.

He raises a hand to unclip Chichi’s hair. Thick, wavy black hair tumbles to her shoulders. Tacky in some places from the holding and texture spray she’d used. She’d curled her hair carefully overnight the day before.

Goku absentmindedly pockets the ornate hair piece. 

Fat tears roll down her cheeks, smearing her mascara. Her pink lipstick smudged on one side, a little of it decorating her soft cheek.

Her thick eyelashes clump together, thin eyebrows drawn together in distress.

He places a hand on her cheek and thumbs away the lipstick there, and then moves away to brush her tears and mascara away.

There’s lines to her forehead that weren’t there when they first met let alone first married. Crows eyes at the edges of her dark, dark brown eyes. 

There’s faint lines, just noticeable enough if you squint. From too many years spent frowning.

Goku’s heart hurts.

Just how much of his wife had he missed over the years? So many years spent apart at random intervals made each minute change stand out like a red flag. 

Age had started to take Chichi into its arms while he kept finding ways to evade it.

She by no means looked old but next to him… she looked so much older. He hadn’t progressed physically past his mid twenties in years. He could’ve passed as her son before Pilaf had made his wish.

“Goku sa?” her voice comes out tremulous and small.

Goku cups her cheek, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“Yer beautiful, Chichi.”

[mvssmallow]

CWAC: Chapter 29 Part I (temporary re-upload)

Cloudy With A Chance

Chapter 29 Part I: …of airplanes.

Masterlist

Day 0

“You what?”

“I need to go to Japan.”

He stares at Hanbin’s back, waiting waiting waiting for the next reaction with a racing heartbeat in his throat.

“It’s three days till Christmas.”

“I know.” He says with a tired sigh. “They want to meet a producer over there. It’s the last time he’s free before he goes on hiatus with his family for a month. They want to get a lock on him before I start on the album.”

Hanbin stops cleaning his desk and turns around to face him. “When do you leave?”

“Now. Today.” He says, even more exhausted at the thought of having to pack for the airport. “Jin booked our flights already. The cars coming over in half an hour.”

Hanbin nods then and half shrugs. “Yeah okay.”

He’s a little taken aback, unsure what he was expecting but some part of him thought (hoped) that his absence would be more upsetting. He didn’t want to make them sad and miserable but there are times where he just craves some kind of evidence that he’s important in Hanbin’s life.

“So you’re okay with this right?”

“Yeah, of course. It’s your job now.” Hanbin moves past him to open their drawers and rummage for the passports kept there. “Which backpack do you want to take with you?”

He feels oddly blindsided by everything that’s happened this afternoon. The sudden phone call. The impromptu flight. Hanbin’s blasé response. His internal dissatisfaction.

“Jiwon? Which one?”

“Um, the blue one.”

A blue camo print backpack is thrown on the bed and his passport is tucked into the front pocket. He watches as their wardrobe doors slide open and Hanbin pauses to survey all the pre-ironed t-shirts just hanging there.

“Do you want me to help you pack?”

No, I want you to miss me when I leave.

He can’t say that out loud so instead, he settles for: “Yeah, if you’re not doing anything.”

Hanbin scoffs. “What else would I be doing right now?”

They pack with quiet efficiency. Well, he watches Hanbin pack with quiet efficiency, the tense stillness only punctuated by Hanbin’s short questions and his own single word answers. It makes him want to yell really loudly or say something stupid.

But the hour’s almost up. The car will be here soon.

“Wait a minute.” He’s checking the contents of the backpack with a frown, pushing phone chargers and socks out of the way but still not finding the thing he wants. “Where’s your Snoopy t-shirt?”

Hanbin looks at him with confusion. “Snoopy? That shirt is so old. Don’t you want one of your newer-”

“No.” He shakes his head, suddenly pissed off for some reason. “I need that one.”

It comes out harsher than he wanted it to but if picking a fight is the only way he’s going to get Hanbin to react then he’ll play dirty for once.

But Hanbin just goes and looks for the damm t-shirt without saying anything. It drives him insane and he can’t really remember a time he was this frustrated about Hanbin’s selective mutism.

“Here.” A soft and greying t-shirt is held out towards him. “Are you going to wear it out? It’s so old. It’s seriously getting holes in the sleeves.”

He takes it and tucks safely into his backpack. “No. I’m not going to wear it out. I just want to take it with me.”

“Okay.” Hanbin says slowly, eyes suddenly piercing into the side of his face like they always do when they’re trying to read his mind.

The phone in his his pocket starts buzzing and ringing then. Great timing as always. The car is downstairs to pick him up.

“I gotta go.”

Hanbin walks him to the front door and watches him put on his jacket and tie up his shoelaces.

“So umm, I guess I’ll see you when I get back?” He says, prepared and resigned to leave with just a brief kiss. Who knows how affectionate Hanbin is feeling right now.

“Message me when you land? And when you go to sleep.” Hanbin instructs, his voice shaky and watery for a split second. “And when you’re packing again too, so you don’t forget anything.”

He cracks the first smile of the day. “Yeah, I’ll just message you everything okay?”

“Yeah. Okay.”

Then he sees it; the slumped shoulders, the downcast eyes that never meet his and the subtle frown pulling at the corners of Hanbin’s mouth. He can feel fingers playing with the straps of his backpack, even though there’s nothing to fix or adjust.

Well, finally.

“Come here.” He says softly, pulling at Hanbin’s t-shirt and relieved when there’s no resistance at all. Just a sigh.

He’s going to write a song about this one day. He knows it. This exact feeling whenever he pulls Hanbin’s slightly smaller body into his, the initial thrill of butterflies followed by the deep warm ache that comes from something so good, so unbelievable, so comforting, so his.

“Gonna miss me?” He asks. Fuck subtlety, he needs to hear the words sometimes.

There’s a nod against his chest that makes him want to laugh. Typical Hanbin.

“Say it baby. I wanna hear it.”

“Jiwon….” Hanbin whines.

“Baby..” He echoes with another laugh. “You’re gonna make me late if you don’t say it. I’m not leaving till you do.”

There’s more protesting and he can feel the outlines of Hanbin’s face as it tries to bury itself further into his chest. “Illmissyou.”

“What was that?”

Hanbin looks up at him then, all big doe eyes, long eyeslashes and static in his hair. “I’ll miss you.”

“You better.” He says with a relieved grin.

They don’t kiss for half as long as he wanted them to but it’s long enough for the phone to buzz in his pocket again.

“Ahh shit. I really have to go.”

Hanbin’s clinging onto him now, he can feel the slight panic and desperation in the way those fingers dig into his arm. He wonders if it’s wrong to want Hanbin to be like this all the time. It probably makes him a sadist or something but truthfully, nobody has ever needed him before and it’d be nice if that happened at least once in his life.

“Okay, well. I’ll message you when-”

“-I love you.”

It is so quiet against his own voice but he still hears it loud and clear.

Does he stop breathing? For a second? Or a minute. One of those. He’s not sure which one. The backpack is dropped to the ground and he holds that beautifully nervous face in his hands for so long that his phone buzzes in his pocket for a third time and he has the fleeting though that his Beatbox team should just go to Japan without him.

“Fuck, Hanbin.” He says in hushed disbelief. “Why did you have to say it right now? Worst timing ever. Shit, how am I supposed to leave?”

There’s the most sheepish of shrugs that makes Hanbin look even smaller. Maybe small enough to fit into his backpack.

“I really need to go but fuck, I’m gonna miss you so much. You have no idea. I haven’t even left and I miss you already. Wanna come with me? Please come with me?”

Hanbin laughs at his dramatics before leaning up to kiss him in that infuriatingly slow and sweet way that satisfies every empty part of his soul.

“Mmmmlove you.” He murmurs against those soft lips.

“I know.” Hanbin says with a smile before pushing him away gently. “Go to work. I’ll be here when you get back.”

He doesn’t bother hiding his sigh as he picks up his backpack. Every step outside their apartment door is harder than the one before it. He looks at Hanbin leaning against the doorframe in that old disneyland t-shirt, his hair is a mess, cheek flushed and there’s some kind of wistful bittersweet look on his face.

He loves him more than he loves his entire life.

It’s a crazy thought that he’d only read about or seen in movies, believing for all these years that they were unrealistic, impossible and overdramatic….until now.

“Don’t do anything stupid!” He shouts from down the corridor.

“Can’t anyway. My stupid is going to Japan!” Hanbin shouts back.

****

It’s weird.

Too many years spent on a diet of Linklater movies, Murakami books and songs about longing has got him expecting something that never comes. He expected to feel some big gaping hole when Jiwon left for the airport but he doesn’t.

Of course he misses him. He misses him a lot.

But that hollow melancholy that he felt when they broke up isn’t there. Which is good he supposes, he doesn’t want that feeling back. Ever.

It doesn’t really feel like Jiwon went anywhere though. He’s been gone for barely 20 minutes before the first of the texts come. It makes him smile like an idiot.

[did we pack snoopy?xj]

[Yeah we did. He’s in there. Don’t worry. hx]

He thought it’d end there until Jiwon lands in Japan but there’s another buzz of his phone after a few minutes.

[did we pack my passport?]

[YES omg]

[did we pack the killr bees]

[Yes. We packed everything you wanted. Stop asking me. Lol.]

[im bored.]

[Its been like 20 minutes.]

[Yeah I kno. Then we have to wt at the airprt]

[Your life is so hard. Poor baby.]

[Haha am I your baby now?]

[Idk, I have to check with my boyfriend]

[Wts he like]

[Better than you]

[wll thats rude]

[Talk to me when you have a record deal]

[its ok, gt my own bf. hes not as good as u tho]

[You can’t even pretend in texts?]

[haha nope. Can’t pretend like ur not the best]

[You need to get out more]

[nah, got u now. im nevr leavng]

It’s just a few words, full of typos, but it still makes his stomach drop.

[But what should we do about my boyfriend?]

[idk get a biggr bed haha]

[JIWON]

[WHAT]

[!!!]

[im kiddin! you gotta be crazy if u think im gonna share you]

[hey we’re here, hve to go. talk later.]

[love you baby xj]

[Have a safe flight. Love you too.xhx]

The smile doesn’t leave his face. Not for the entire time he makes dinner for himself. It’s only when he sits down at their table that he feels it, the hollow emptiness of the chair next to him, the off-balanced quietness of the apartment, the way there’s only one plate on the table. He looks at his phone but the screen is still black. He can’t even send a message, Jiwon would be in the middle of his flight.

The rest of the night isn’t much better. Even when he knows Jiwon has landed, there’s no texts. Maybe he was just busy.

He cleans up alone. Showers alone. Gets into an empty bed alone. And there’s still no message.

[Hey I’m going to bed now. Hope you’re okay over there. xh]

He doesn’t really sleep though. He can hear the traffic outside his window and it was always weirdly comforting to him, something to do with the mundaness of life continuing on regardless of how bad his day is. But it’s not working tonight, maybe it was only comforting listening to that sound when he had Jiwon’s warm body next to him.  

It’s 1:30am when his dark room lights up from a text on his phone.

[are u still awake]

[Yeah?]

He expects another text marathon but Jiwon ends up calling.

“Hi baby.” Jiwon’s voice sounds rough, exhausted and muffled, like half of his face is against a pillow. “You okay to talk?”

“Yeah.” He’s not sure why it makes him sad that Jiwon has to even ask.

“Sorry I didn’t message or call. Jin got pissed that I was on the phone so much and just took it. He wanted to pack all this stuff into our schedule before Christmas. We just got back from this dinner with a bunch of Japanese rappers. I’m never drinking again.”

He laughs to cover up his paranoia. “Yeah? Did you have a good time?”

Jiwon groans in pain. “I think there should be an age limit on alcohol.”

“There is.”

“It should be like, 30.”

He laughs for real this time. “What happened? Did you do something stupid?”

“No!”

“Didn’t dislocate any jaws today?”

“No, I did not.” Jiwon says bitterly. “We just did a few shots. I’m gonna be so hungover tomorrow and that’s when we’re meeting Doc.”

His ears perk up at that and a shiver runs down his spine. “Who?”

“Doc McKinney. That’s the producer they want to get for my album. Which isn’t even half written by the way, I don’t get why they’re-”

“Wait. Doc McKinney? The american producer?”

“Yeah? You know him?”

“YES.”

“Tablo met him at some company event last month. Thank god he can speak English. They think it’ll be good promo to have a big shot producer on my album but why the hell would he want to work with a no name?” Jiwon laughs then. “Imagine what’s going on in his head. From the Weeknd to me. What a joke.”

“It’s not a joke.” He says firmly. “You’re good on your own but if you got him on your debut Jiwon….that would be crazy.”

“Yeah I know. I’m not gonna put much into it though. We got Tablo, that’s enough.”

Out of the two of them, he doesn’t know how he ended up being the more ambitious one when all the talent was with Jiwon.

“Still try though, right? You never know where it’ll go. It’s always good to make some contacts in the music business. He might be handy when you get into the US market.”

Jiwon snorts down the phone line. “US market? Are you tripping? I’m not even in the Korean market.”

“You should aim high.” He says, smiling at the dark ceiling. “You have the talent and personality for it.”

“I love talking to you. My ego grows like three sizes bigger every time.”

“Good.”

“Hey you know what else grows three sizes bigger?”

He groans at Jiwon’s lame line. “Seriously? That’s how you’re going to change the topic?”

“Yep. That’s how I’m gonna do it.” Jiwon says, words getting more and more slurred. “What are you wearing?”

“Wait. Do you have your own room?”

There’s a bark of laughter down the line. “Yeah, I do. I’m not that much of freak Hanbin. I’m not you.”

He goes red, even though nobody can see him. “I have never done it in a room full of other people! What are you talking about?!”

“I mean, you like it when you think you might get caught.”

He stays silent, trying to think of an answer that doesn’t self-sabotage or reveal any of his other kinks.

“Am I right?” Jiwon asks with a chuckle. “I am, aren’t I? You are so loud. Remember that time in the carpark? I get so hard whenever I think about it.”

Of course he remembers that night. He remembers it so vividly that he can still smell the sweat on Jiwon’s skin, the hunger in his eyes and the way he always comes with that deep growl.

“Baby? You still there?”

His hand was already wandering down between his legs. “Yeah, I’m still here. I’m just….”

“…thinking about it?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. What are you wearing?”

“Puppy pyjamas?”

Jiwon groans. “Why do you have to be so fucking cute at a time like this?!”

“You asked! What are you wearing?”

“Snoopy.”

He laughs. “Well, why do you have to be so fucking cute too?”

“Snoopy smells like you.”

His hand stops in its track. His stomach does that nervous flip again.

“Jiwon….”

“Yeah yeah, I know. I’m supposed to be nasty and talk about how much I want to fuck you right now. But here I am telling you that I took your stupid t-shirt to Japan just so I can pretend I’m sleeping with you. Fuck!” Jiwon laughs at his own ridiculousness. “I can’t even do phone sex right.”

He waits until his breathing sounds normal again. “I….really want to fly over there. Like, right now.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Miss me?”

“Yeah, I really do. It sucks being in this bed without you.”

“Well, it sucks being in another country without you. God, how lame are we? It hasn’t even been 24 hours.” Jiwon says in exhaustion before yawning. “My body is so confused right now.”

“What do you mean?”

“It doesn’t know if it’s awake or asleep. I’m half hard but half not. I really need to come but I’m too tired. And I miss you, so I’m sad, but I’m talking to you right now, so I’m kinda not.”

“You’re a mess.” He says with a chuckle, wanting to reach through the phone line to pull Jiwon into their bed. “What you need is sleep. Big day tomorrow.”

“I can’t sleep though! My dick is waiting for me to do something.”

“Well, what do you want me to do about it?”

“I don’t know? Do it with me?”

He kicks his blankets off and throws the puppy pyjamas on the ground. He knew this was coming. “Take your pants off. And Snoopy too.”

“….Okay.”

He waits for the rustling on the other end to stop before talking again.

“I want to hear you touching yourself. Can you do that? I want to hear all those noises you make.”

“Fuck…..you sound so hot talking like this.” Jiwon says. “I’m so hard right now.”

“Good. What are you thinking about?”

“What your mouth feels like. I wish it was here with me.”

“Just my mouth?” He laughs. ‘What would you do with the rest of me?”

There’s a soft muffled sound, like Jiwon was rolling over in bed. “Mmm, no. I wanna hear what you wanna do.”

He’s stroking himself with a faster rhythm now and as much as the words always make him cringe, he’s so turned on and out of his mind that it’s like someone else just took over.

“I kind of…..want you to fuck me backstage after one of your shows.”

There’s a deep moan through the phone’s static. “Keep going, babe.”

“Sometimes I watch you on stage and you’re so sweaty and aggressive. I always wanted to pull you behind the curtains and lick all that sweat off you.”

“Mmmhmm. Then what?”

“Then you’d push me on the ground and I’d complain that my knees hurt. But you wouldn’t care. You’d hold my jaw and make me open my mouth just so you can fuck into it until I’m gagging and begging you to stop.”

“Keep going keep going….I’m so close…”

His hand is so wet now and he can hear Jiwon’s erratic breathing through the phone.

“I wouldn’t want you to stop though. I want it to hurt. I want to taste you when you cum in my mouth and when you’re done, I want you to fuck me and fill me up so much that it drips down my legs…”

There’s a strained ‘fuck!’ through the phone line followed by that familiar raspy growl and whispers of his name. His own head is full of flashbacks of that night in the carpark, he remembers Jiwon’s eyes as he pushed in, so deep and slow that the stretch made him want to scream. It was an overwhelming mix of desperation, aggression and possession. It’s that memory that makes him close his eyes now and cum all over his hand with a drawn out moan.

There’s a few seconds of silence where all he can hear is their breathing but suddenly Jiwon starts laughing.

“What?!”

“Nothing nothing. I was just thinking of how much trouble you’re gonna be in when I come home.”

He smiles in the darkness, sweaty and aching everywhere. How the hell are they going to handle three days apart?

Soundtrack: July - Kris

[arc852]

A Different Kind of Perspective Change

 I will gladly write all the Sanders Sides Gt without any human sacrifices...although I will take the 20, thank you. Also there is more SS Gt coming soon, since quite a bit of people wanted more of it. Which I’m not complaining about at all, again I will happily write all the SS Gt!

 I’m not sure what AU this is in, but prepare for some angst!

Warning: Panic and slight crushing

 Virgil’s breaths came out sporadically as he ran under the nightstand. He let himself lean against the back wall, catching his breath. He hated this, he hated this so much. This wasn’t how things should be, he knew that deep down, but on the surface it didn’t register.

 A loud thud, coming from right outside his hiding spot, shook him to almost falling. Thankfully he caught himself, but in the end it didn’t matter. Before he could even react properly, a large hand was already wrapping around his skinny frame. He struggled as he was taken out into the light, but the grip around him didn’t budge. He didn’t even have his arms. Only his shoulders and up were free and that didn’t do much for him.

 “What have I told you about running away?” A voice boomed above him and Virgil looked up and into Roman’s eyes. He was being given a glare, one that sent shivers through Virgil’s spine at the intensity. He froze in terror, heart beating so hard that he was sure Roman could feel it through his fingers.

 “Poor thing. Always so scared.” Roman spoke, voice almost too gentle as he used a finger from his other hand to place under Virgil’s chin. “You don’t have to be. I take very good care of my pets, as long as they listen of course.” Roman let his finger fall away and Virgil gave out a shuddering breath he didn’t realize he had been holding.

 “I-I’m sorry.” Roman hummed and reached out his finger again, Virgil flinched as it made contact with his head. He stayed tense as the finger started to pet him.

 “I know, but you still need to be punished.” Virgil’s eyes widened.

 “No, no please I promise I won’t do it again, please!” Virgil yelled, pleading with the human, but Roman simply ignored him. He sat down on the bed and looked at Virgil with pity as he tried to squirm free. His struggles got faster once he realized the grip was tightening around him.

 “Stop! Please, Roman, you’re going to-!” His words cut off as the hand squeezed him even tighter. It was getting harder and harder to breath.

 “I’m not going to kill you, don’t worry. Just take your punishment and maybe next time you’ll think twice before you disobey.” Roman answered, voice gentle as if trying to calm him, like that was even possible. Black spot started to fill Virgil’s vision, the pain coursing through his body almost unbearable at this point. The only thing he could be thankful for was that, at least at the moment, he hadn’t felt anything snap.

 Still, after only a few more moments, the pain became too much and Virgil’s world went dark.

***

 Virgil gasped, eyes flying open as he sat up. His hand went to his chest and he looked around panicked, wondering where he was. His sleepy mind slowly realized that he was in bed, not being crushed, and human sized. It had all been a terrible dream.

 Virgil started to calm down, doing his breathing exercises and grounding himself in reality. It was all just a dream, but why had he had it? It was the first time his brain had given him anything like that. Where he was small and Roman was big. Besides, even if they were switched, Roman would never act like that.

 Virgil looked over and saw Roman still asleep on the nightstand next to his bed. His eyes glanced towards the time, seeing that it was pretty early in the morning. Even still, Virgil had the sudden need to check up on his friend.

 He reached both hands over and carefully scooped the borrower up. Roman shifted and Virgil could tell he was already waking up from just being moved.

 “Roman?” Virgil spoke softly, poking his small friend in the side. Roman groaned, but it was too late. He was already awake. Roman lifted himself up in Virgil’s hands and took a minute to take in his surroundings. He sent a questioning glance up to Virgil.

 “Is there a reason you woke me up in the middle of the night Virgil and the Beanstalk?” Roman asked, yawning. Virgil glanced to the side, before his eyes fully met Roman’s.

 “You know you’re not a pet to me, right?” Virgil blurted out. He was suddenly self conscious of if Roman indeed thought that or not, all thanks to his nightmare. He needed to be sure that Roman knew that Virgil would never hurt him or treat him like anything less.

 The question woke Roman the rest of the way up and his eyes widened, not prepared for something like that at this time of morning. He sputtered slightly, until he was able to find the right words.

 “Of course not! Virgil, what brought this up?” Roman asked, suddenly concerned about the human. Virgil hummed and looked away, lowering his hands slightly.

 “Nothing, I just...had a nightmare, is all.” Virgil mumbled. Roman blinked and sighed.

 “I will not pry on what the nightmare entailed, but please know that you do not treat me in anyway like a pet. In fact…” Roman smiled softly. “I have never felt more equal with a human.” Virgil returned the smile at Roman’s reassurance.

 “That’s...good. I’m glad. Sorry for waking you up.” Roman chuckled.

 “It’s alright, I’m always here to talk with. No matter what time of day it is.” Virgil looked at Roman fondly, wondering how on earth he had managed to find such an amazing friend. Even if their first meetings hadn’t been the smoothest. It had all worked out to where they are now.

 “Thanks Princey.” Virgil glanced at the time again. “You wanna go back to sleep?” Virgil asked and Roman thought for a moment.

 “Actually, how about we put on a little movie. Don’t know why, but I’m not ready to go back to sleep yet.” Virgil chuckled, holding Roman close as he got out of bed to start setting up the movie.

 “I was just thinking the same thing.”

[polyxreader]

Trunks x Female!Reader x Android 17

So this is gonna be the first part of two request about Trunks x Female Reader x Android 17

Firstly, I need to say that I'm gonna be writing these request on our normal universe 7 timeline (Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super timelines). Obviously, this is going to be far from the current DBS plot, because Trunks must grow (and suppose that 17, being the super-android human that he is, ages slowly, so it would just be in the perfect time). 

And of course, this is an AU: There is no Mai, there is no C17 wife. Fine? Fine.

Okay. For this point I must say that there are probabilities while writing Trunks, I take some traits of the Dragon Ball GT Trunks. I'm sorry if you do not like this series or that version of the character. Personally, it seems to me like a possibility that shows one Trunks that lives in a real world where there are no battles anymore. The reason, why some nuances of that version of Trunks could interfere in my writing, is mainly because it is a Trunks that I read and wrote for many years. Even if I want to get away, that's the personality that for so many years (before DBS) I conceived. So I hope it's not so bad.

Okay! And the last point to clarify is that the reader in this story will be human (you have not indicated me otherwise).

But if you want to order something else, do not hesitate to send it! And if what you wanted was this scenario to be in the mirai timeline, do not hesitate to tell me and I'll do that version (it will be quite interesting and angsty)

Trunks X Female!Reader X Android 17

PART 1

Request:

  ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤

Let’s go! 

❤ You met Trunks at the Capsule Corp. You were doing an internship in your main career interest ;) and you were also very interested in ecology and all the problems that the earth was facing.

❤ So when your mainly project (relationated with your career and with your ecology passion) (to which you had dedicated your soul) resulted very successful, your reward was the opportunity (and responsibility) to present it to the Capsule Corp CEO: Trunks Brief.

  ❤ Was it an instant crush? Maybe, If you wanna call it like that.

❤ But the truth was that Trunks was simply amazed by your genuinity and by the passion that you show in every detail of your work. You had the spark of life! And Trunks was someone with such a vitality that was being represed by his current enviroment and by his lack of sense.

❤ Trunks not only realized that you were not like the majority of the girls who were chasing his money; He also realized that he was heartly happy when he was with you: his smile became truly bright, and the ache in his chest (sometimes caused by a blood that needed to fight, but that no longer did; and other times caused by the darkness of a future that although it no longer existed, it still weighed) diminished, being replaced by a conforting warmth.

❤ For your part, you realized that you could notice a change in Trunks. Every day that you spent together working on your project, he felt better: more alive. And that was something that you just wanted to treasure forever: the happiness of Trunks.

❤ By the time both of you realized, the feeling was already mutual: both of you were already in love. Each of you only wanted the protection and the happiness of the other.

❤ Trunks and you started a relationship. And you were more than welcome to the family of the Z warriors.

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

❤ On your second year of relationship, you were working on an environment project, and searching for an adequate ecosystem. That's when Goten (of course being Trunks' girlfriend meant that you became the new female bestfriend of Goten) suggested you to work on the island that he and Trunks protected years ago.

❤ Was it the best or the worst idea ever? Probably THE BEST.

❤ Being only a scientist (one of the best, in fact, because Bulma being Bulma adopted you as her apprentice first and as her second daughter later) you unexpectedly met with the protector of the island.

❤ (An Android with unlimited energy?!?!? what the hell, Goten!?!? Can't you just remember a detail like this?!?!?)

❤ But of course said Android was not (anymore) a killer, he was just working and protecting the island! Moreover, you recognized him as Android 18's brother!

❤ He offered himself to help you with your work... that was more like a kind of silent threat: little scientist, I do not care if you come from the Capsule Corp, you will not do what you want on this island while I stay alive.

❤ Holy shit! His presence was just overwhelming. And even though you wanted to just call Trunks at that time, there was something fascinating about him that made you stay and follow his silent commands.

❤ By the end of the day, the Android had realized that you not only did not intend to harm  the island or the nature, but that you were in fact a very noble human being.

❤ You spent the next weeks working on the island accompanied by 17.

❤ And he discovered two things. One: the island had twice as much life if you were in it! And two: He, who had managed to understand compassion and pain by projecting those feelings into nature and animals, could not help but feeling something similar for the first time for a human being.

❤ The android had believed in the past that humanity was something he could play with. But now, he could not help but feel that your humanity, that your kindness and that your fragility were something that should be protected. And that he would protect.

❤ On your part: You had met Trunks and you were in a relationship with him. Trunks was the man you loved. And precisely because of that, it was that you knew there was a moment in his life, when Trunks's eyes were lifeless.

If there was something that made your heart ache, it was precisely the fact that the eyes of Android 17 had much less life than those of Trunks had had in their worst moments.

❤ You knew there could be something that hurt 17. And although you did not understand why, you knew that it hurt you and that if it were for you, you would do anything to avoid that pain.

❤ It was precisely on one of those days of research on the island that Trunks went to pick you up! (Normally you spent the night together, but after work)

❤ That was the moment when both men met again.

❤ "He looks good." Trunks thought.

❤ "Is that TRUNKS?!"  The Android thought.

❤ After that moment and with the constant visits of your boyfriend to your work, Android 17 (feeling a special affection for you and a nascent attraction for Trunks) could not help but know that although Trunks did not bother him precisely, he just did not want to lose the attention you gave him.

❤ And picking up that playful and rebellious personality so of him, but that sometimes he left aside by the calm that gave him the natural environment in which he worked, he began to challenge Trunks!

❤ Trunks took your eyes off for a while: he would take advantage to get close to you a little!

❤ Trunks returned his sight to you: he would take advantage to approach the double to you!

❤ Flirting and compliments? He was neither as refined Trunks nor as presumptuous as his sister, but for you (and for fucking Trunks) he could become a gentleman.

❤ Sweet nicknames related to your ecology studies: YEP (only because of you)!

Kitten, beautiful bird, little fish, baby lion, tigress.

❤ The nicknames become sweeter (or hotter) if Trunks was closer: DEFINITIVELY.

❤ But most important of all: The three of you know that there was something playful and not threatening in all that? YES!

❤ The android enjoyed teasing Trunks. (And if with that he could made you laugh, he enjoyed it twice!)

❤ On the other hand, Trunks sometimes felt a tick in the eye when that happened. But there was something so absurd in all that flirting, that he could not help but felt fun and fake a false annoyance.

❤ And you: well, you had not smiled or laughed so much in years! Both the foolish flirtation and the even more foolish fights between that pair made you feel alive.

❤ The three of you surrounded by nature; smiling and... living.

❤ The two of them knowing that they could (both for their dumb game and for real interest) fight and not have to hold back. Both were worthy rivals for each other.

❤ You almost died of a heart attack the first time you saw a fight between a saiyan and an android with unlimited energy.

But immediately you thought that it was the most fascinating thing you had ever saw. With that vision your legs failed you and you stayed reclined in the softness of the sand, with your eyes bright and your lips wet. With something intense vibrating strongly in your chest.

❤ Trunks and 17 fought with a force that had been repressed for many years. And the moment they saw you ... oh god.

You were the most dazzling beauty that both had ever seen.

And best of all: the sublime expression you had had been caused by both. Together.

❤ That night, 17 could not but think selfishly that he no longer wanted a life without the two of you.

❤ And you and Trunks, could not help but feel (for the first time in many years) incomplete.

Under the moonlight, while you and your boyfriend made love, you both understood what was missing.

❤ And although there was very little left for your investigation on the island to end, neither you nor Trunks were going to let go of the person who made both of you happy.

That person was not going to let you go either.

*To be continued*

[fantasytigeress]

Bra/Bulla?

I don’t know much about Bra as a character, so this one is going to make me think!:Send me a character, and I’ll list: (I’ve got several to get through, but I’m still up for more if you guys wanna send them)

Favorite thing about them: I know we see next to nothing about her at the end of DBZ or in GT, and she seems a bit distant compared to the rest of the group. But I like that!! It really looked like she was going to just be Bulma 2.0, but this gives her room to be her own character and not just Capsule Corp’s bratty teenage princess. I’m sure this was mostly because she was underdeveloped as a character, and this wasn’t what they had in mind when writing her, but it works! At least for me. :)

Least favorite thing about them: Her red outfit in GT, I have to say

Favorite line:  “Chi-Chi must be really brave!” This was short-lived, but I love that she has at least some kind of admiration for Chi-Chi? Aunt Chi-Chi would be so sweet, I love the idea! T.T

BrOTP: She doesn’t really seem to be close with anyone on screen, but I like to think her and Pan are good friends! It’d be great if her and her mother had a close relationship, too.

OTP: Pan and Bra are adorable, I love them, but I don’t ship them until they’re older than they were in GT

nOTP: Bra and Goten, I think. I just can’t get into it, but if you like it that’s awesome!

Random headcanon: She doesn’t follow Vegeta in being a fighter, nor does she follow Bulma in being a scientist. Instead when she grows up, she goes off and does her own thing. Maybe started off trying to be an actress, and got into fashion designing along the way? 

Unpopular opinion: I wish she would have had Vegeta’s hair??

Song i associate with them: Hmmm I can’t think of one in particular right now, but I think she’d listen to a lot of Demi Lavato?

Favorite picture of them: Bulma 2.0! And I remember those ball-ended hair ties from when I was younger, my knuckles are mentally scarred from them XD

[ec-sanderssides]

The sides watching old kids shows: Morality absolutely loving it and singing along to every cheesy song, Logan pointing out every mistake/stupid question the characters ask, Princey making a list of every quest he NEEDS to go on (based on what the TV characters do) and Anxiety wanting to turn the TV off the whole time

Okay, so sorry this took so long. I didn’t actually watch that much TV as a kid, (my parents weren’t a fan), so this took some more time for me to write, and I’m still not sure I did your awesome prompt justice. I hope you like it anyway though!

“Why are we doing this again?” Anxiety’s voice rang out in the common room, filled with mild irritation.

“Because” Morality replied cheerfully, “Isn’t it fun to relive the fun times of your childhood? Watching these shows brings back all kinds of memories.”

Morality had dragged the rest of the sides into the common room, for what he felt was a well deserved break. They had all been working hard lately, and what better way to relax, than to watch all the TV shows they loved as kids?

“Why would I want to relive childhood?” Anxiety complained, “Middle school was a nightmare, I’d much rather forget it. And anything we watched in elementary is bound to be boring and childish.”

“While that was a rather emotionally charged statement,” Logic cut in, “Anxiety does have somewhat of a point. While we did enjoy these shows previously, that was when we were at a less sophisticated level of thinking. I can’t imagine we’d find them to be very stimulating now.”

“You’re missing the point,” Morality said, determined to get the others on board. “We don’t need to be stimulated or anything like that. Tonight’s all about relaxing, not having to think too hard, and just feel like a kid again.”

“Well I think this sounds like a great idea” Prince boomed out. “Those year were the best. It was a time of imagination and adventure. I remember entering Daydream Mode almost every day. Why did we ever stop living like that?”

“Mostly because you kept doing it when Thomas had homework, and if you’d kept it up, he would have failed math.” Anxiety pointed out. He had flopped down on the couch, apparently resigned to the binge-watching.

“Yes, that was extremely irritating,” Logic agreed. “But regardless of your past habits, I suppose it is logical to take some time to rest. We don’t want to burn out after all. What are we watching first?”

That last question was directed at Morality. He shrugged.

“I don’t really know,“ he explained. “I just manipulated the mindscape enough that the TV will show us shows from when we were younger, but I left it up to chance which ones will come up. It’s more fun that way.”

“And if we hate the show?” Anxiety asked.

“Well, then we just change the channel, silly.” Morality grinned and sat down on the couch between Logic and Anxiety. “Now let’s start.”

The first show was PowerPuff Girls much to Prince’s excitement.  

“I loved this show,” he proclaimed. “It gave me some great ideas for quests. Perhaps I should revisit some of them? Oh, and of course, Blossom just reminds me so much myself.”

“Who do you think the rest of us would be?” Morality asked intrigued.

“Well Doom and Gloom over there is obviously Buttercup,” Prince stated confidently.

“Do not involve me in this,” Anxiety said flatly.

Prince continued on as if Anxiety hadn’t said anything. “And for your Morality, you seem like the Bubbles type.”

“I love Bubbles!” Morality grinned. “But wait, who would Logic be?”

Prince and Morality looked over to study Logic, who only raised an eyebrow at them.

“He can be the Professor,” Prince decided. “They’re both brainy, scientist types.”

“I wouldn’t really consider the Profess much of a scientist.” Logic said dryly. “After all the entire premise of the show is based on his poor lab safety skills. Well, that and a ridiculous nursery rhyme about what constitutes human beings. I can assure you that what humans are really made of is-“

“Stop.” Prince commanded. “We don’t need to hear it, just watch the show.”

Logic frowned at that, so Morality hastily cut in. “It’s not that it isn’t interesting,” he insisted, “It’s just that the point of this was not to think. So maybe just sit back and enjoy it, silliness and all, ok?”

Logic sighed, but then nodded, sinking back into the couch cushion. They watched a few more episodes of PowerPuff Girls before Morality decided to change the channel. He wanted to revisit as many shows as possible, and he’d only be able to keep the other on the couches for so long. Anxiety was already asking when he could leave.

“Seriously,” he said, from where he had now draped himself over the back of the couch. “I’ve watched TV with you now. I’ve relived childhood. Can I go now?”

“Aww, just give it a few more shows, kiddo?” Morality begged, looking at Anxiety plaintively.

Anxiety gave a long-suffering sigh. “Fine,” he muttered.

Morality beamed at him, and changed the channel. It turned to.. the Teletubbies?

Prince was staring at the TV in mild horror, Logic with confusion, and Anxiety fell off the couch.

“NO!” Anxiety said, “I’m not doing this, no. Turn it off. Turn it off!”

“It, ah, it can’t be that bad,” Morality said weakly.

“No, I think it can be,” Prince said, “This is one show we don’t need to rewatch.”

“They do seem much more disconcerting now then they did when we were children,” Logic added.

“Exaclty,” Anxiety said, having emerged from behind the couch to snatch the remote from  Morality’s hand. “This time, I’m changing the channel, maybe we’ll get something good this time.”

Batman: The Animated Series flickered to life on TV.

“There,” Anxiety said, settling back on the couch. “Finally something decent.”

“Not a bad choice, Hot Topic,” Prince said thoughtfully. “For once we have similar taste. While it’s not Disney, there’s nothing like a good superhero story. And I’m not surprised that you like Batman. The two of you go well together, all dark and brooding.”

“Just shut up and watch the show,” Anxiety grumbled, tugging his hood up and over his face, his cheeks slightly red.

Just as Batman made a particularly daring leap, Logic spoke up again.

“You know there’s no way he would be able to do that,” he said. “The physics alone make it impossible.”

“It’s superheroes,” Anxiety replied, “As a general rule, they tend to throw physics out the window.”

“Well, yes, but normally that’s due to various improbable superpowers. But Batman is supposed to be entirely human. As such, he should be adhering to the laws of physics.”

“You know I bet I could do that,” Prince cut in, staring at the TV thoughtfully.

Logic looked at him in askance. “Haven’t you been listening to anything I’ve been saying. The physics alone make it-“

“No, no” Anxiety cut him off. “Let him do this, I want to see Epic Fail fall on his face.”

“Oh, really, you think so? Well, I will certainly show you,” Prince said, rising from seat.

“How about we just finish watching the show, kiddos,” Morality said, knowing all too well what would happen if he let them continue. “And, Roman, if you really want to, maybe after you can try out some Batman moves. So long as you have some safety precautions, like mattresses, maybe some pillow armor.”

“Fine,” Anxiety and Prince muttered, both sitting back down on the couch. They continued to watch a few more episodes, but Morality could see that Prince was getting antsy, and on the verge of leaping into Daydream Mode.

Eager to prevent any death-defying stunts, Morality decided to change the channel before Batman gave him any more ideas.

“Pokemon!” he squealed in delight. “You guys it’s Pokemon!”

“Yes, we can see that,” Logic deadpanned, but Morality could tell he was pleased by the small smile tugging on his lips.

As the theme song began, Morality prepared himself. “I wanna be the very best, like no one ever was,” he sang out, motioning for the others to join in.

Prince was quick to jump at the opportunity, joining him on the very next line.

“To catch them is my real test, to train them is my cause.”

Morality was all but bouncing now as he and Prince harmonized. Next him Anxiety was rolling his eye, and Logic only looked bemused, but Morality was quick to nudge them, begging them to sing along with his eyes.

Logan shook his head in exasperation, but still came in on the line, “Each Pokemon to understand the power that’s inside.” His voice was a little more halting and unsure than the other sides, but he didn’t stop singing.

Now Anxiety was the only one still silent, with the other three now staring at him expectantly. He stared resolutely at a wall, refusing to get drawn in, but he understated the determination of the others. Prince leapt off his seat, standing directly in front of Anxiety, impossible to ignore, as he leaned in, getting right in Anxiety’s face. Morality was now shaking Anxiety’s shoulder, and even Logic had leaned over to stare at him pointedly.

In the face of such an assault, Anxiety’s resolve cracked. Sounding extremely put upon, he sang, “Oh, you’re my best friend, in a world we must defend.”

The sides kept singing, their voices weaving in and out of each other as they sang the song from their childhood. And despite any initial reservations, they all seemed happy to do so. Even Anxiety had stopped looking so grumpy, and had a small smirk on his face.

As the last “Pokemon!” rang out through the common room, Morality could feel himself grinning widely. He knew this would be a great idea!

Bonus:

“You know, Anxiety, despite being an emo nightmare, your voice really isn’t that bad. Not as magnificent as mine, of course, but I really should gt you to sing more often. It may help improve that dark demeanor of yours.”

A pillow flew out and smacked Prince in the face.

“Shut it!”

[bittykimmy13]

Wasted (GT)

This is prompt from the 100 (GT) Themes Challenge. Feel free to send a number/word from the list for me to write about, and a specific character to go along with it, if you like! 

Here are the other prompts that I’ve filled for the challenge!

“Doesn’t he have, like, parents or something?” Ziana called up, pushing roughly on Nick’s thumb to demand his attention.

“Out of town,” he answered distractedly, holding her close to his chest and looking around to make sure there was no unwanted eyes wandering the sidewalk of the apartment complex.

She was not in a pocket mood that night. Hell, she was barely in human-contact mood at all, but after hearing why Nick was heading to Jeff’s apartment in the middle of the night, she couldn’t resist going to see for herself. It would be a gratifying after Jeff accidentally made her loopy on pain meds all those weeks ago.

Bracing herself as Nick climbed the stairs to Jeff’s door, she hummed thoughtfully. “How did he even get back to his place? Aren’t you usually his ride?”

“Friend of ours dropped him off.”

“And now you gotta babysit him?”

He sighed heavily. “Listen, Ziana. Maybe you should’ve stayed behind. He can be a little… a lot, when he’s had too much to drink. I’m just staying to make sure he doesn’t go out and do anything stupid. Hopefully he’ll be out cold within the hour.”

“Are you kidding me?” she scoffed, waving his concern off. “I’m not missing this.”

“If you say so.” Shifting her to one hand (and earning a kick on his index finger for the lack of warning), he knocked on Jeff’s front door.

Seconds later, someone fumbled on the other side of the door until the lock sprang open and Jeff appeared at the threshold. Upon seeing who had come to visit, his face lit up and he threw an arm out to embrace him.

“Nick! I was just about to head out. C'mon.”

Nick put a stop to Jeff’s half-hug, holding Ziana safely out of the drunken affection zone. “Let’s not. How ‘bout we head inside and just chill, huh?”

Jeff dropped his arm and pouted like a kid who couldn’t go to the carnival. “You’re no fun. I mean, it’s like you can sense when someone wants to have a good time so you can come over and stop it. Nick-killjoy-senses tingling.”

If Nick was offended by the statement, he didn’t show it. “Or, maybe Seth called me and said he didn’t feel right about you being alone. He also says you probably won’t be ready for another college party until you’ve graduated college.”

Rolling his eyes, Jeff stepped back from the door and ushered Nick inside. “Seth just didn’t wanna help me get into that nightclub. He’s a VIP at that one, you know. What’s it called again? Applebee’s?”

“That’s the one,” Nick said matter-of-factly, putting his free hand on Jeff’s shoulder and steering him to the living room. “Now take a seat and have the courtesy to pass out before 2 AM. I’ve got the morning shift, you know.”

“Oh hey, Ziana’s here too!” Jeff beamed, and Ziana almost felt bad that she’d come to laugh at his expense. Almost. The moment was ruined when his hand charged sloppily in her direction, likely to pull her into a hug.

“If you’re going to touch me, at least tell me which finger you prefer me breaking,” she warned, and he backed off. “I’d say you’re here too, but that doesn’t seem to be completely true.”

All it took was a firm one-handed push from Nick to make Jeff plop down on one end of the couch. He shrugged at Ziana, resting his arm on the back of the couch and laying his head down.

“Aw, don’t let Nick’s drama lies fool you–I’m all here.”

“Your breath smells like the back alley of a bar,” Nick told him, letting Ziana down on the coffee table.

She wrinkled her nose, having traveled through the back alleys of several bars while exploring the area around the cafe. If Nick was right, she was grateful for the gap of distance between her on the table and Jeff on the couch.

“What’s that got to do with anything?” Jeff grumbled.

Nick didn’t bother arguing, stepping away. “You should drink some water. Wait here.”

“I’ll tackle him if he tries to escape,” Ziana called helpfully.

Chuckling uneasily, Nick walked off quickly, as if he feared that might be a possibility. Once he disappeared into the kitchen, Ziana looked up at Jeff, a grin on her face.

“So, any embarrassing stories about Nick you won’t feel guilty about telling me?”

“Huh?” Jeff lifted his head groggily from his arm. “Stories?”

A part of her wanted to be a little more cautious around a drunk giant, but she stepped up to the edge of the coffee table, trying to keep his attention. “Yeah, stuff that you wouldn’t tell me if you weren’t totally hammered. Come on, Jeff, please?”

He gave a hearty laugh that tapered off sleepily. “Oh, hell yes. This one time at a pancake house after junior prom… there was this girl… and Nick–” Yawning, he dropped his head back to his arm. “Syrup everywhere…”

“Jeff!” she exclaimed, wishing she’d brought her gear, or at least a few hex nuts to assault him with. “Wake up! Tell me!”

Telltale footsteps rattled the ground as Nick hurried over, a glass of water in hand. He looked at Ziana, worry brewing in his big green eyes. “What’s wrong?”

She threw her hands up in exasperation. “He fell asleep!”

“Great,” Nick sighed, dropping down on the couch next to him.

“Wake him up!”

Nick looked at her like she was crazy. “Um, no? We’ll stick around a little longer, make sure he’s really out. Then we’re heading back.”

She huffed and crossed her arms. “You really are no fun.”