#i would go so far as to say i really dislike most of these drawings. but i did work on them. so i must post them

[colorful-horses]

misty

[saetoshi]

you’ve lost track of the times it’s rained during the past few weeks. the amount of trials held by the chief justice have gone up, just like the chances of rain.

it was upsetting the first time it happened—your notepad getting soaked right after you’d finished getting information for your steambird column. the second time was more annoying, drawing your personal tea party to a close and leaving you drenched (and with a few soggy biscuits).

it’s a force of habit now—the familiar weight of your umbrella having become soothing rather than a burden. it almost feels like muscle memory, having to open your umbrella to shield yourself from the downpour as soon as the skies turn gray.

the rain does nothing but put a damper on people’s mood. or, at least, that’s what your neighbor tells you. you don’t dislike it, though. you don’t think you can bring yourself to do so.

there’s a certain stillness that comes with the rain. it’s calming, almost—most people who’ve forgotten their umbrellas at home seek refuge under the overhangs of the buildings, so it’s easier to navigate the streets of fontaine when they’re not so crowded.

it’s nice, almost. it’d be better if you didn’t have to work. (you’d give anything to stay curled up in bed during days like these. but you don’t think you can give yourself that luxury. at least, not when you’ve got bills to pay).

the way to the opera epiclese is nice. the aquabus is emptier when it rains. and, somehow, the landscape seems prettier with the faint mist the rain leaves behind.

it’s a little bit more crowded near the fountain of lucine. a few children run around while holding their umbrellas, jumping on some puddles before running back to their parents.

you’ve grown familiar to seeing the sight. sometimes you think this might be the reason you don’t resent the rain like most of your neighbors do.

or maybe, it’s just the sight of neuvillette standing just a few steps away from the stairs to the opera epiclese, his hand outstretched as he lets the raindrops fall onto his glove.

“you’re going to catch a cold if you keep standing under the rain like that, neuvillette,” you say, lifting your arm a little to cover him with your umbrella. it’ll do nothing, really—not when he’s already soaked to the bone.

he turns his attention to you, the corners of his eyes softening when they meet yours. he gently takes the handle of your umbrella from your hand, mindful to keep you covered from the rain more than him.

“i suppose that would be the case, yes,” he replies, his eyes focused on yours. he turns his attention to the fountain, his jaw tensing for a moment before it relaxes.

you still notice the faint crease to his brows, the slight downturn of his lips. it’s almost imperceptible—but it’s still there.

you’re not sure what to call your relationship to him. you’re not quite friends, but you’re far past acquaintances. you’re close enough to have dropped the honorifics, but not close enough to consider yourself important to him. close enough to recognize the subtle shifts to his expressions, but not close enough to pry about them.

perhaps just naming it reporter and chief justice would be better. reporter who got lucky enough to get the chief justice to open up about the court trials and proceedings, maybe. (part of you would like to ascend to reporter who gets to ask the chief justice out for a cup of tea when the rain stops).

“how was the trial today?” you ask, reaching into your pouch to pull out your notepad and a pen. part of you wishes you could feel bad for missing it, but you’ve never been one for the spectacle of the courtroom. it’s inhumane, you’d argue—how people’s grievances and crimes are exposed for the whole nation to see as if it was nothing more than a play.

neuvillette adjusts his grip on the umbrella, his eyes focused on you. “difficult,” he says, his tone measured. he blinks, and for a moment you think you hear the rain fall a little harder before it turns into a drizzle. “the evidence procured by the attorneys was not as sufficient as they had originally thought.”

the light, hurried scratching of the pen against the paper fills the air, barely audible with the sounds of the raindrops pelting down on your umbrella. you glance away from your notes to look up at him. “that sounds messy,” you muse, pursing your lips.

“quite so,” he solemnly nods, his grip tightening around the handle to keep your umbrella from swaying with the wind. his lips press into a fine line, “it ended up being far more complicated than i had thought it would be.”

you nod, acknowledging his words as you write them down on your notepad. he inches infinitesimally closer to you—enough for you to notice when a droplet falls from his hair onto the ground, but still far away enough for you to not consider burdensome.

it almost makes you smile, how mindful he is. always a gentleman, you think. it fits him—not as chief justice, but as neuvillette. part of you wishes you could write that in a column, if only for the rest of fontaine to be privy of the surprising gentleness the chief justice possesses. but you don’t think you will. (it’s a piece of information you wish to selfishly keep for yourself).

he angles the umbrella, his eyes focused on the top of your head as you organize your notes. the sun faintly peeks through the clouds, letting the soft orange hues of the sunset shine through the drizzle. his eyes study your face while you’re unaware, the corners softening the longer he stares at you.

“what did lady furina think of the trial?” you ask, your eyes drifting from your notes to his face. the troubled expression he was sporting when you first saw him is gone, replaced by some sort of warmth you can’t describe.

“she found it less entertaining than the previous ones,” he says, his tone losing that firm edge to it. he adjusts his grip on the umbrella’s handle again, making sure to cover you properly even if the rain is starting to let up.

“what about the attorneys?” you continue, tapping the tip of your pen against the paper. “what was their reaction when they realized they weren’t properly prepared to defend their client?”

“i will get you the court records for the full description,” he says, his eyes flitting to the people around the fountain of lucine. his grip on the handle eases when he sees the others start to put their umbrellas away. still, he makes no move to do the same with yours—not until the light rain stops completely.

his eyes flicker back to yours, the corners of his lips quirking up into the hint of a smile, “but, it seemed like steam was coming out of their heads.” he pauses for a second, a faint pink dusting the tips of his ears. “those were lady furina’s words.”

they’re not. you’ve interviewed him for long enough to tell when he adds an observation of his own. (still, you’ve never pointed it out to him. it’d be a shame if he stopped giving them out if he knew you were aware of this habit).

you softly hum, smiling in amusement, the corners of your eyes crinkling, “you want me to include that on the column?”

“preferably not,” he clears his throat, returning to his stoic façade. still, he can’t help the way the corners of his lips quirk up again slightly. “let that be our secret.”

“alright,” you whisper, the amusement in your smile giving way to a slight fondness. “it’ll remain between the two of us.”

“i’d hate for our dear lady furina to be branded as a gossip,” you add, your eyes drifting to the sky. a soft hum leaves your lips, your hand peeking out from under the umbrella. a hint of a smile tugs at your lips when you realize it’s no longer raining.

“it would be most unfortunate,” he says, his tone soft as he watches you. he lowers the umbrella, giving two firm shakes—the way he’s seen you do it before—before closing it.

“i will get you the finalized court records by sunset tomorrow,” he says, holding the umbrella out to you. “would that work for you?”

you nod, placing your notepad and pen inside your pouch. your fingers brush against his gloved ones as you grab your umbrella, a small jolt of electricity shooting through your hand. “that’d be great.”

neuvillette’s eyes soften once again, a soft hum rumbling in his throat. “i will give them to you over dinner, then.”

you blink, the tips of your ears burning at the implication of his words. your heart races in your chest, your eyes meeting his. “dinner?”

“if that works for you, as well,” he says, softly clearing his throat. your heart skips a beat when you take notice of the faint flush to his cheeks.

you can’t help the smile that grows on your lips, a pleasant warmth filling your chest the longer you gaze at him. (he looks unfairly pretty with the sunset framing his face, you think).

“it works perfectly well for me,” you say, your voice hushed. your smile widens when you recognize the relief on his face, your heart fluttering in your chest.

perhaps, your relationship of reporter and chief justice is not such a bad label. (at least not when it means you’re the reporter who’s going to get dinner with the chief justice).

[https-furina]

“your order is complete!” this order is for @jingyuansbird:

“heyo heyo ✌🏾 congrats on 500! so, for my order, it'll be for alhaitham, size medium, with a cappuccino, soy milk, and foam please, and thank you!!!”

alhaitham x gn!reader | fluff, college!au + established relationship | 1.1k words notes. thank you so much !! i hope you enjoy your order (it should be mentioned that alhaitham despite being a previous main of mine is not one of my strong suits so i apologise if it's bad...) <3

thirsty? see our café menu before you order! | order receipts

with finals week drawing ever closer, it can sometimes feel like you're going insane with the repetitive revision and those god awful prep talks from your professors but adding onto that to make things worse, the most (seemingly) sane person in your circle really doesn't help the looming feeling of insanity. he seems to have no qualms with the endless academic revision thrown onto you for the sake of grades, his head always buried deep in a textbook that keeps him occupied whilst your friend circle do what they're best at… procrastinating.

"i'm really starting to think college isn't worth it," you mumble, highlighting another line in your notes - you're hoping the pretty colours will attract your attention more, "when am i ever going to use this in the 'real' world?"

your boyfriend makes an evidently amused noise from where he sits opposite you, his slim fingers working diligently at typing on his laptop; the one that you had snuck a cat meme sticker onto, much to his dismay but he is still yet to remove it. it is silent for a few moments save for the exceptionally fast clicking of laptop keys before your boyfriend presses the enter key, his turquoise eyes flickering up to meet your already staring gaze. you smile sheepishly and he rolls his eyes, a crack of a smile on the corners of his lips.

"we're almost finished and you're giving up now?" he mumbles back into the quiet of the library, almost filled to the brink with students and their numerous cups of coffee. you recognise that alhaitham has a point but all of this seems excessive when you glance around at all the dark circles under people's eyes, hair tied up in messy buns and stomachs full of leftover food because they're lacking time to cook. a frown adorns your face and alhaitham is quick to pick up on it, clearing his throat as he fixes his posture, sitting straight.

"it's all we've done for weeks now, haitham," you pout, jutting your lower lip out. without realising, you'd just made your boyfriend keen in a matter of seconds, his eyes quick to look away before he's caught slacking, "can we go for a walk? anywhere but… here."

alhaitham can't deny that the pair of you had locked yourselves away in the library for far too long to the point where his limbs have gone stiff and he's sure his knees might sound like he's aged beyond his years when he stands up. this means - much to his disliking - that he also cannot deny you, his darling partner, this walk you're requesting.

"alright, fine," he groans, slamming his laptop shut before he turns his body to slip the piece of technology into his worn leather satchel. he doesn't miss the way your face he adores so much lights up almost instantly, your eyes twinkling and wide, "but you have to promise to finish this chapter tonight."

you don't even reply to him under the premise that it'd be unwise for you to make a promise you may not be able to keep, not that it would be your fault. your friend group had tendencies to rope you into unwise things, to say the least. it could be any of them; kaveh, nilou, cyno, dehya… you have the inability to say no unless alhaitham is there to beat you to it. you're thankful for his input when it keeps you on the right track throughout college.

with your fingers laced with alhaitham's own, the two of you begin to make your way out of the jail that is the campus library. the spring sun beams down a hug of warmth on sumeru during these months, slightly sticky with humidity. alhaitham is always less than pleased about the heat, more so when he has tasks to do that require him leaving his accommodation. to quote your boyfriend, this weather in his eyes is good for nothing at all but here you was, removing him from the safe confides of an air conditioned building that was nonetheless silent - that's his idea of perfection! he bites back saying his complaints out loud, only because it's you.

"do we have a destination to this walk?" alhaitham breaks the silence first, slightly out of character for your boyfriend and it shows when you glance over at him in mild surprise, your eyebrows raised. he scoffs, looking away. you take this moment to trail your eyes over the beloved features of your partner from his silver locks and the pair of white bluetooth headphones that hang around his neck at all times. he never parted from them, almost like how he never parted from you.

you shake your head when you realise you never answered him, clicking your tongue to your teeth as you admire the bustle of the college campus - usually a little too crowded for your own liking but today it seemed to be just perfect, at least it lacked to feel like a sweaty tin of sardines, "nowhere in particular."

alhaitham appears to nod out of the corner of your eyes, his own gaze falling to a patch of empty grass on the green in the middle of campus. he squeezes your hand to catch your attention, beginning to lead you silently as you weave through the aforementioned crowds you'd been mindlessly watching prior. you didn't question his sudden change in directions, knowing alhaitham there was always a possibility the man had gotten overwhelmed in the current situation. he settles onto the lush grass first, pulling you down at his side due to your joined hands which only earns him a yelp of shock and a glare.

"that was unnecessary." you comment stubbornly and a small noise comes from your boyfriend as he watches you finally settle down, resting your head on his shoulder with a sigh.

"this walk was unnecessary." he retorts, earning him a slap on his leg that curls his lips as he looks away, squinting to watch other students.

"it's good to get outside and feel the fresh air, haitham," you muse as your eyelashes flutter shut, relaxing as you feel alhaitham's thumb brushing over your knuckles subconsciously - this is just one of his many habits he does without realising but you most definitely notice every single one, "y'know… photosynthesis."

alhaitham scoffs, suddenly turning his attention back to you as he glances over your face while your eyes are shut. he takes in the way you styled your hair today and the minor details of your face you think nobody notices. seconds pass with no more words said before alhaitham leans to press his lips to you, catching you off guard as your eyes widen. pleased with your reaction, he pulls away with the faintest of a smug expression on his face as he dares to utter a response to your earlier comment, "love, we're not plants."

© https-furina 2023 | please do not copy, re-upload or translate my works on any form of media. heart banner by @/cafekitsune.

[luffyvace]

Obanai x chubby gn reader!!

This won third place in the poll so here you go<3 enjoy kny/obanai stans!! I actually like obanai very much he’s one of my favs from kny i just don’t talk abt him often

also just for the record let’s say this is a au where obanai and mitsuri are close friends :)

In this you’ll be a hashira as well

I don’t think Obanai is one to judge

especially when he wears bandages since people do

if anything he’s worrying about his looks

so in this case it’s not that he dislikes it, it’s just that he saw through your physical appearance and went for personality

and if you have a crappy one?

well then he doesn’t know what draws him to you but somethin’ does!

he tolerates no disrespect from anyone.

like we all know how sharp tongued he is- 😜

and just because he’s one of the “weaker” hashira’s doesn’t mean he’s not one!

he is DEFINITELY above average and CAN do damage

so somebody would be a FOOL to see you with him and decide to screw around and find out

as well as you!!

your strong too!

and they’d better have respect for you!

getting one tapped by two hashiras don’t sound very fun to me..

🤷‍♀️

but yeah if someone is like drunk off they’re end and tries to insult or harass you?!

obanai steps in before you can even do something yourself

depending on the level of what they said or did,

he either flames them so bad they can’t recover

or straight up punches them

maybe even beating them up

who’s going to stop him? The police? 😂

he calls it self defense

tbh it was like, that person was harassing you????

🤨

bro thought he was gon let that slide

this why you can’t pull up on everybody 🤦‍♀️

anyway if your feeling sad bc of what someone says

obanai gets you a gift to make you feel better

He’s really thoughtful and pays attention/remembers everything you tell him you like

which makes perfect gifts for situations like these

ngl this is like idk the year 1500?? IDK BUT ITS THE TAISHO ERA SO THIS WAS A WHILE AGO

which means beauty standards were 📈📈

but for obanai? You ARE his beauty standard 😍😍

everyone should strive to look like our majestic (name)!!

as far as the hashira’s opinions☝️

they don’t mind at all and are completely nonjudgmental

gyomei can’t see so when y’all described how you look it doesn’t necessarily make a difference 😅 although, again he doesn’t mind :)

mitsuri is literally the love hashira she adores you just as much as obanai does <3

shinobu is more mature than to make fun of someone over they’re appearance

now tokito will either

1) be rude at first (the hashira’s have to set him straight)

2) won’t care

3) likes you from jump so he doesn’t mind

sanemi would never judge a women like that (if you know what he did for mitsuri and shinobu and they’re uniforms yk what I mean)

Giyuu is completely unfazed

Rengoku loves you all the same

now uzui…….bc of his standards and 3 wives….it can either go one of two ways

1) him and obanai are now mortal enemies and he keeps you away from him

2) he thinks your THICC and FINE 💖 (dis one better fr)

Ngl it’s even worse if a demon insults you

bc now he gets to KILL them

He goin all out too

who are they to talk anyway demons be the most horrendous looking BEASTS-

fluff time~ 💕💗💖♥︎♡

obanai loves to cuddle!

he’s shy but once you get sometime into the relationship he likes gentle and intimate affections such as cuddling, hugging & hand holding

he holds you in his arms before falling asleep

and he makes sure you sleep first

If you have a nightmare he’s on it!

he’s got water, blankets, comfort food…what else you need??

on it! 🏃💨

That’s literally him

he’s always prioritizing your comfort and happiness in your relationship ★

Get this to the obanai stans, tumblr!! Go go go!!

;3 - Brook

[magoapple]

Opposites?

Seungmin x Neutral Reader

Word Count: 1.2k

Genre: kinda enemy to lovers fluff

Warnings: sassy seungmin but that's not a warning you know what you're getting into

Summary: Seungmin is sassy and looks like a puppy while you look sassy but are like a golden retriever. Do opposites attract or are you really opposites to begin with? And what happens when Seungmins sarcastic jokes go to far?

When the guys first met you, they were positive you and Seungmin would get along because you just had this sassy look to you. They soon figured out they were very wrong. You and Felix were actually the ones to get along the most. The two of you would joke non-stop, and the guys learned you were nothing more than a golden retriever. Han would often make jokes saying you and Seungmin were a perfect match because he looked like a puppy but was super sassy, and you were the complete opposite.

The members loved when you would visit because they felt like they could just be themselves around you. Seungmin, however, disliked when you would come over. You were always joking and laughing with the members, yet it seemed you could never tell when he was joking or not. You being over always made his head hurt because he was constantly rolling his eyes. Today when Felix invited you over, things were actually peaceful for once, but that all started to change.

You and Felix were playing UNO and the game was getting pretty intense. You had just laid down your third draw 2 card, leaving Felix to pick up 12 cards in total. “Oh my god Y/N why would you do this?!” You didn't even need a second to think before spitting out the your mom card. Seungmin took in a deep breath and quickly got up. “You know Y/N you want to hear a joke?”

You looked suspicious but nodded your head. “Um, sure why not.” Seungmin gave a disappointed look before speaking. “You know, I really like walks, especially when they're taken by the people who irritate me.” You were straight up confused. Until his words registered in your mind. “Oh… Do I annoy you, Seungie?”

Seungmin would often make these sarcastic jokes with the members all the time. Felix placed his hand on your shoulder and shook his head. “He's just being sassy Y/N he jokes like that with all us.”

“Oh Seungmin is that true, for a second I thought I really bothered you, if I did, I'd feel bad.” You gave him a gentle smile and Seungmin felt a little bad but brought himself back to the present. “Yeah joking… Why don't you guys play this somewhere else, I'm trying to relax.” Felix rolled his eyes and helped you pick up the cards before heading to his room with you. “Don't worry about him, he's just mister grumpy pants.”

“Are you sure? He did seem really upset, I just don't want to be rude. I am a guest here, after all.” Felix comforted you for a few minutes before you guys went back to playing your game. You two only played for another hour before watching a movie. Halfway through the film, Felix had fallen asleep and you sighed. That left you and Seungmin as the only two awake and in the dorm.

You carefully walked into the living room and heard the soft sounds of voices playing on the TV. As you got closer, you saw Seungmin was on his phone and you smiled. He was actually adorable when not being a sassy pant. The moment was ruined as your foot stepped on a creaky board, sending his head snapping in your direction. “What are you doing?” You fiddled with your fingers before sitting on the couch. “Um, Felix is sleeping, and he's my ride so yeah.”

“Well, just get an Uber, I'm trying to enjoy my alone time.” You didn't say anything and just sat there. You knew how Seungmin was, but today it seemed like he wasn't joking. “Do I really bother you that much? So much that it's painful to just have me sit here, even if I was quiet?”

Seungmin rolled his eyes. “Well, you're not being quiet so… I don't know.” You huffed. “I'll never understand you, I try to be nice, and I understand you're the sarcastic one, but there are limits Seungmin limits.” You got up and grabbed your stuff, not even checking if you had everything. “When Felix wakes up, tell him I went home.”

Seungmin didn't bother nodding his head, he just went back to his phone. He did feel a little bad about how he worded his words. Then again, if you said you knew he was sarcastic, then you shouldn't have taken his words seriously. He sat for a few seconds before rubbing his hand across his face. “Ugh, why do I care.”

Seungmin was really questioning himself as he stood up and walked outside. He let out a thankful sigh when he saw you still standing by the bus stop. “Bus hasn't come by yet?” His force scared you and you jumped in place. “Geez next time announce your presence, you scared the living shit out of me!”

For the first time today, Seungmin smiled. “My bad, listen I apologize for earlier, I forgot you're not like the guys.”

“Well, what is that supposed to mean?” Seungmin sat down on the bench and ran his fingers through his hair. “I guess I just mean you're different, I didn't mean to make you think I was being serious.” You sat down next to him, looked his way. A blush spread across your face when his eyes met yours. “I just was convinced I was annoying you, and no one wants to be an annoyance to their crush.”

You dryly chuckled before realizing what you had said. There was no taking it back now because, sadly, life did not have a reset button. “You like me?”

“Uh, yeah, I really thought it was obvious.” Seungmin blinked. “I mean like why I'm like a sarcastic bag of sassy, and you're super adorable who gets hurt at my jokes.” You scoffed while hitting him with your shoulder. “Okay ouch, but I don't always get hurt, just here recently when I was catching feelings. I thought it was obvious and so when you kept making your jokes It seemed like you were being serious, and it hurt.”

Seungmin didn't mean to hurt you if he did. “Well, I'm sorry it seemed that way… Um, why don't we head inside and watch something, it's getting cold out here.” You nodded and agreed with him, as it was getting a bit chilly. “Yeah, I'd like that.”

As Seungmin got up, he held out his hand for you. This was like the first time he was being like a gentleman towards you. “Wow, Kim Seungmin, this is a new side to you.” He laughed, opening the dorm door for you as well. “What can I say, I'm secretly like the nicest person you'll meet?”

“Well, I'll be the judge of that if… You know you'd ever want to maybe spend time together just us not the other members.” Seungmin thought for a few seconds. “You know I might just enjoy that.” You both exchanged smiles and plopped on the couch, finishing the film Seungmin was watching. After a while Felix had woken up and walked into the living room.

He had to rub his eyes multiple times to see if what he was looking at was true. You were sleeping with your head on Seungmins shoulder, and Seungmin was fine with it. He was even laying his on top of yours. “Oh my God, what happened?" Seungmin gently shrugged his shoulders.

“We talked now shh Y/N is sleeping.” Felix was confused but also to tired to judge. After he left Seungmin rested his head back in yours and closed his eyes. He could definitely get used to this.

◄Tumblrs system works on reblogs so if you'd like to support my content please reblog but do NOT feel obligated to►

[altheasmeadow]

Cat Lover

WC: 852

Pairing: San x reader

Honestly, if San was ever asked who he saw in his life in 5 years time he’d say his family first, they support and loved him throughout his life and got him to where he is today, then he’d say his friends, he doubted they’d let him escape their chaos even if he wanted to, Wooyoung would track him down anywhere. Third? His lover, his compassionate lover who cares more about him than anyone had ever expressed, all of his likes and dislikes were engraved in their brain, along with all of his ticks and habits. 

His love for cats was almost always noted, dates to cat cafes, feeding strays, cat plushies. Honestly their shared adoration for the animals was what made him fall for them. Especially when two injured kittens were brought into their home and nursed back to health with the gentlest of touches, given the most love they had probably ever felt in their lives. And so their family grew, two became three, all of the kittens having a disability that shattered San’s heart, but it was repaired as the two humans showered their babies in all of the love. 

That wasn’t the point of this story though, coming home to an empty house had him spooked, not even the sound of the cat's claws pattering across the floor was heard. He pulled out his phone in a panic, dialling his partner’s number quickly. Only to panic further when the call went to voicemail.

It wasn’t on purpose, they hadn’t  heard the phone ring over the sound of the pounding hammer, so when they were getting ready to go home and saw the calls they immediately called him back in a flurry of panic, was he okay?

“Sannie, are you okay?” they said immediately as the call got answered.

“Where are you?”

“I was working on something, are you okay?”

“You took the cats with you to work?”

“No, it was a personal project.”

“What project?”

“Well that isn’t something I can tell you yet.”

“Why?”

“It’s a surprise Sannie.”

“For what?”

“Just for you, I’ll show you this weekend, okay? I’m almost done.”

–

And so they did, that Saturday, the lovers were in the car by 8 AM, driving an hour away to get to their destination. San had been quiet since the call, anxious really, so the atmosphere was a bit odd, his eyes glancing down at his lover's hands often, watching them clench around the steering wheel or armrest tightly, their nerves obviously eating them up as well. 

After the awkward hour long ride the two arrived at a house making San confused, why would his surprise be in a house? They turned off the ignition and turned to face San who was looking at them in confusion, “My uncle passed, and since I was his closest relative bsides his brother he left the property to me, along with some special guests to take care of. I’d like you to meet them.” was all they said before getting out of the car and walking up to the front door quickly, and as soon as he followed the two walked through the house and into the fenced in backyard, but that wasn’t what caught his attention of course, no it was the cozy shed that was once deteriorating  and decaying. It was rebuilt beautifully, the wood stained a golden brown and had multiple exit points far too small for a human.

“You did this?” San asked, confused, watching as his lover walked over to the human sized door and opened it, gesturing him to go in, and when he did? Man he swore he was in heaven. Cats were everywher cuddled up or playing with some toys.

“My uncle fed strays so much they came to stay, he couldn’t provide much but they all fell in love with the shed, despite it being rundown, so I slowly changed it, avoiding abrupt changes that may spook them off, I had someone come to feed them since I couldn’t leave often without drawing much attention, but these were his babies, most of them came from bad pasts, were super skittish the first few times they had met me but they came around fast, I brought our three here after making sure they were all healthy and flea free, and they all immediately fell for them too.” They explained softly, watching their boyfriend’s eyes wander the area slowly in awe.

“You made them a home and took care of them all alone? Babe, I would've helped.”

“I know but you had work and I wanted to do this for him.”

“Okay, that’s okay. So what’s the plan? We can’t drive an hour everyday to get here and feed them.”

“Well your job is only 30 minutes away, and mine can be transferred to online, I was thinking we could move in here, it would be cheaper than where we live now, and there’s more space.”

It didn’t take too much convincing San was more than okay with this life, and with his lover? He’d be insane to want anything else.

[haven-dark]

Idk what to do with this but it's gonna spontaneously combust if I just let it sit in my drive, so I guess I'm just gonna put it here for now?

A little scene(s) I whipped up after a discussion with some friends about the idea of middle-aged Stu and Billy moving into a picturesque suburban town and their neighbors slowly getting suspicious as people go missing.

---

The neighborhood’s newest resident easily has fifteen years on the most recent Mrs. Jones, but so does her husband, and Dennis doesn't have a smoothly sculpted jawline and lusciously thick head of dark hair. 

The moving truck is still mostly full when she comes by with her youngest stepson in tow. “Mason, leave the bugs alone,” she orders, taking his little arm firmly and dragging him away from a beached earthworm and towards the new neighbor's house. 

She fluffs her curls and double checks her lipstick in a car mirror before approaching the man from behind.

“I was wondering when the new family would arrive,” she says as a greeting. “The sign said sold for a little bit there.”

He glances at the lawn sign bearing the fake smile of the fake blonde who’d been responsible for selling the place. She’s one of those PTA bitches, but Cassidy is sure that she told them every charming story they could possibly want to hear about how great Arbor Village is. “Yeah, some stuff took longer than expected to sort out.” 

“Can we go home now?” Mason whines.

“It's not nice to interrupt grown-ups,” she reprimands. She looks to the man apologetically, but he seems unbothered. “Kids,” she chuckles. She bends to pick Mason up so she can sneak a look at the man's left hand. No ring. “Do you have any?”

“I've got these three.” He raps the knuckles of his right hand, which does sport a couple of rings, against the cab window. Three canine faces appear on cue, a small light one squished between the larger, darker two. 

She giggles at the reveal. “So no human children? How about a wife?” she ventures. 

“No wife,” he says. “And these three are more than enough.” His head is tilted toward the window, and she lets her eyeline drop to his lips as he talks. They look soft. 

He looks back to her more quickly than she’d expected and she’s sure that she’s been caught. She blushes slightly. He turns his full focus on her, looks her up and down. 

Having had no specific plans of running into a charming older bachelor, she hadn’t selected her outfit for Mason’s park day very intentionally. Her workout pants are visibly faded and she’s pretty sure this jacket has that collection of stains speckled along the bottom, but she doesn’t want to check and draw attention to it. 

His gaze is intense. It feels a little like he’s peering into her, breaking her into her components with his dark eyes so he can review each piece. Despite starting to overheat as she stands in a patch of sun in her sweats, she feels a little naked. She doesn’t dislike it.

If he concludes his assessment with a negative impression of her, he gives no sign of it. He rubs his beard and gives her a warm smile before offering his ringed hand for her to shake. “I'm Billy.” His grip is almost gentle for the rugged look of him, though it's strong. She doesn’t want to take her hand back, so she lets it linger as long as she thinks she can get away with it.

“Cassidy Jones. Although,” she offers, “friends call me Sid.”

His eyebrows go up slightly. “Sid,” he repeats, and she wants to melt at the sound of it. She loves the way it drips off his tongue, almost musically. “That’s great. It suits you.”

She blushes again, pleasantly this time. “Well, thank you, Billy.” Mason’s been patting and grabbing at her to get her attention, though he’s miraculously stopped talking, like he was told. She irritably sets him back on the ground. “You know, by the time you get all of this unpacked it’s going to be far too late to start cooking, and you should really have a home cooked meal on your first day in town. If you’d like–”

“Who’s this, Babe?” A second man appears by Billy, wrapping an arm around him from behind and setting his chin on Billy’s shoulder. He’s at least as attractive as Billy, but the way his eyes scan over Cassidy makes her feel like she’s being not just undressed but completely skinned. 

Billy smirks downward, to himself, then looks over his shoulder. “Stu, this is our neighbor from across the street. Sid.”

There’s something unsettling in the grin Stu responds with. “Nice t’meet ya, Sid.”

She wants to retract the invitation to the nickname, but she can’t just ask one of them not to use it. “You too,” she says, because it’s just the thing to say. She lifts Mason back up, ready to exit the conversation. 

But Billy continues it. “She was just inviting us over for dinner tonight, so we can have a home cooked meal on our first night in town.” Shit. Yet another invitation she’d offered too early and can’t rescind. “Isn’t that nice?” He looks at her again, even though the question is clearly directed to his partner. His smile is so kind that she wonders for a second if she really wants to take it back, but she hopes that they’ll make a polite attempt at declining so she can use it as a window to renegotiate.

“Oh, that’s really generous,” Stu says. “Putting yourself out like that for a couple of strangers.”

She feels like Mason’s worm, wriggling here in the sun, so close to safety, but unable to get out of this alone. The sad irony is the only ones who can release her are the ones who put her here in the first place. And at least one of them seems set on watching her squirm.

Billy’s turned to look at Stu on his shoulder again. “It might be late by the time we finish unpacking…”

Cassidy tries to wedge herself back into the conversation at that moment, but Stu’s too quick to close off the opening. “Don’t do that. Look how uncomfortable she is. You’re being so rude to turn down a neighborly welcome.” He gives a broad smile and tells her, “We’d love to come.”

---

Stu watches Billy, standing in the street in front of the moving truck, through the half-shut kitchen blinds as he sets a stack of boxes on the otherwise empty counter. He can tell by the body language that he’s talking to someone, but it takes a second for her to swoop into his line of vision as she bends to pick up a small boy.

Some neighborhood mom here to chat him up. Of course. What is it with moms and Billy? They’re fucking magnetized to him anywhere he goes. Stu had been inside for all of a minute and she’d just materialized.

She’s cute, too, with a mess of dark curls and a set of curves that aren’t completely swallowed up by the track suit she’s wearing. Billy’s probably going to flirt back just so Stu can catch him doing it. He’s such a little shit.

Billy makes eye contact with him through both of the truck’s windows just as he steps out onto the front porch. “No wife,” he says to the woman, with a smirk at Stu. 

Fucking asshole. Predictable but still infuriating. 

As soon as he knows Stu’s seen him, he turns back to the woman, angling his body so Stu can watch in profile as he roughly rubs at his facial hair, a move women for some reason seem to find charming.

Stu fumes for a moment before charging over to make his entrance and mark his territory. 

“Who’s this, Babe?” He adds the pet name with a slight emphasis as he slips a possessive arm around Billy’s midsection. He sets his chin on Billy’s shoulder as if in an affectionate embrace, but he lets its point and his fingertips push just a little too hard into Billy to make sure he gets the message.

He plasters on a friendly smile as his eyes devour the woman in front of him, not hungrily but angrily. Maybe a little hungrily. She really is cute. A little young for his taste, but definitely something he could have been into a decade ago.

When his eyes return to hers, he can see that she’s recalculated the scenario and realized her mistake. That’s right, bitch, he broadcasts telepathically. This is mine.

Billy’s looking at the ground, silently laughing to himself. Stupid asshole’s gotten exactly what he wanted. He turns to look at Stu and the broadcast changes to, You’re gonna fucking pay for this later, you dick.

“Stu, this is our neighbor from across the street,” Billy introduces, the stupid smirk still tugging on the corner of his mouth. He pauses, just slightly, and adds an emphasis that probably only Stu can pick up on as he delivers the name. “Sid.”

He’s still pissed at Billy, but he can’t contain the grin that splits his face at the coincidence. He’d thought he was so funny picking a town called Arbor Village because of its parallel to their hometown. But to have the first neighbor they meet be called Sid? That was too good. He couldn’t have scripted it any better.

“Nice t’meet ya, Sid.” He eyes her again and, maybe he’s imagining it, but he can even see a certain resemblance to the Prescott women in her face. Especially when her eyes widen and brow furrows as he smiles down at her. She looks enticingly like a spooked deer.

She picks up her kid as she’s returning the greeting like she’s about to make a run for it. Billy gives a watch this grin sideways at him before showing off the trap he’d built while Stu was away.

“She was just inviting us over for dinner tonight.” Stu shares his grin. The sentence shackles the woman to the spot in front of them. “So we can have a  home cooked meal on our first night in town. Isn’t that nice?”

Sid’s no longer merely spooked. When he looks back to her, she’s a caged animal, looking across the street to freedom through invisible bars. She, seemingly unconsciously, takes a step backward. There’s a plea in her eyes for them to let her go, but to uninvite them would be so impolite.

And to expect your captors to be your saviors is just naive. He can’t resist rattling the cage a little.

“Oh, that’s really generous,” he joins in. There’s a hint of mocking in his tone. He can’t help it. He’s having too much fun. But he’s sure to add a little earnestness, too, like he’s genuinely touched by her offer. “Putting yourself out like that for a couple of strangers.” 

God, she’s starting to look genuinely scared now and it’s delicious. He could almost salivate as the line about them being strangers registers in her eyes. 

The kid’s wiggling in her arms and she really looks like she could sprint away if the unanswered invitation wasn’t holding her in place.

Does he really want to go to her house for dinner? Who knows? Who cares? But he really fucking wants to keep playing with his prey.

Billy turns his head back to Stu. “It might be late by the time we finish unpacking…”

Sid’s muscles relax. Stu’s smile wilts. Billy’s just unlocked the door, unbound her, and offered up an escape route.

Is he the one Billy’s been fucking with this whole time? He’s been dangling her in front of him just to let her go at the last second?

But when he looks over, there’s a command in Billy’s eyes. He’s lining up Stu’s shot and ordering him to take it. Giving her a little false hope just so Stu can bat it away. How’s he such a piece of shit and also the perfect man?

She opens her mouth to respond, to dash through the open cage door. He cuts her off.

“Don’t do that,” he pretends to reprimand Billy. “Look how uncomfortable she is.”

He suppresses his smile as he does exactly as he’s just instructed Billy. She’s uncomfortable and now also confused. She doesn’t know which direction he’s moving with this. She's praying that he's about to show her mercy. 

Her prayers are going to remain unanswered.

He takes just a little too long to continue speaking, to let her suffer an extra half a second before he pulls the trigger. “You’re being so rude to turn down a neighborly welcome.”

Billy’s snicker is silent, but Stu feels the vibration against his body. That, along with the despair in their target’s eyes, warms his bones with sweet satisfaction. 

Maybe he’ll actually be thanking Billy later instead of punishing him. 

The smile on his face is completely genuine when he answers. “We’d love to come.”

[mariekanker]

im sooo smart i couldnt find the blank template but i have now but its fine . classic deviantart meme font.

[IMAGE ID: The fandom opinion meme, a template where you draw characters that correspond to the prompt, this one being themed around One Piece. The first one is for "favorite character" where Franky, Robin, and Usopp have been drawn. They're all close together with Franky in the back and Usopp doing a thumbs up. For "liked by everyone but me" is Sabo, whose burn scar is drawn more exaggerated. For "didn't like at first" is Orochi, who's head is tilted down a bit and is looking up, annoyed. For "would like to know more about" are Crocodile, Pudding, Kiwi, and Mozu. There's text above them reading "honestly I would love to know more about the franky family in general." For "least favorite character" is Orlumbus, who is annoyed and looking to the side. For "like the design, dislike the character" is Zeo, glaring at the viewer. Text next to him reads "unfunny as fuck but the most badass design in the goddamn shit." For "like the character, dislike the design" is a very small drawing of Usopp, as if he's standing far away. Text above him reads: "God I hate the donut lip thing." For "similar personality" are Pudding and Usopp. Pudding is grabbing Usopp's shoulders from behind and looking at him with her three big eyes and says "I can erase all scary memories." and Usopp responds: "Oh shit, fr?". He seems pretty okay with this ordeal. For "fav ship" The Going Merry is drawn in the foreground, with an expressive figurehead. She looks very excited and has a 1st place medal around her neck. And then in the background Franky and Robin are seen making out. For "least fav ship" are Buggy and Crocodile. Crocodile is blowing smoke on Buggy's face and Buggy keels over and hacks. For "would befriend IRL" is Kokoro, lazily looking at the viewer and holding a bottle of booze. Text beside her reads "would be chill as fuck". For "would not befriend IRL" is Sanji, who is laying tied up on railroad tracks while a train looms in the distance. Befriend is also spelled incorrectly, reading "befrined". /END ID]

explaining my self under the cut (EGGHEAD SPOILERS INCLUDED)

Favorite character: Franky, Robin and Usopp. Franky is my favorite but Robin and Usopp are the best characters. For Franky it's mostly that I like weird guys in hawaiin shirts and I also like inventor/engineer characters and he's both which is not fair to my psyche. And a lot of the shit he makes is so silly all those extra vehicles in the sunny all have to be cartoon animal themed and that's so cute. Silly guy making his silly machines, aww aww. I like Robin because she's a little weird a little offputting. Wish they went way further with that but I still enjoy that element of her character. And that she's the designated smart one but not in a killjoy way, and it's so sweet seeing her find happiness over time. I like that Usopp is the straight man or everyman type guy of the crew, and how most times the thing he chooses to do is the most "yeah i would have done that in this situation". I like that at no point he suddenly overnight becomes some brave boy and is a shounen anime badass now, but instead he's anxious about everything but pulls through regardless. He could have quit back in water 7 but he didn't !! New world scary as hell but he's still here having not given up or died !! There's something i really appreciate about having a character who isn't a badass or anything like that succeed too because its harder for him. And I lovee a good usopp fight, his fighting style is so fun and the usopp vs perona fight is one of my favorite of the whole series. I think it's fun that he was able to work around his fear of close combat by getting experimental. And of course the whole thing with how they make a point in Enies that Usopp doesn't have to be insanely capable and competant to have value and have his friends love him and i think that's nice. Everybody's valued on the crew even if their unique skills are more "niche" or whatever. :] .

Liked by everyone but me: Sabo. I think I would have liked him a lot more if he wasn't introduced immediately after Ace died as Luffy's secret brother he also has (anime adaptation is way worse for this because they can't even hide that Sabo didn't die !! It's so obvious !!) I know they have a whole passing the torch thing going on and the fire fruit thing is very cute but i feel it kind of takes away from the impact of ace dying to give luffy a different fire brother yknow ? either way though, he has the personality of a slice of white bread like i really dont find him endearing at all, all i get out of him is he's kind of fun to draw i like pulling a brightheart warrior cats fan design on him. as far as i can tell most OP fandom people generally like him i never see sabo slander LOL but that's just me

Didn't like at first: Orochi. Choosing him more out of what I felt was appropriate given some characters i.e. franky are clearly supposed to start off on a bad note then be likable later. Orochi never gets redeemed or even becomes particularly silly and charming in the ways many other villains do. Him being an over the top piece of shit who was also scared of everything then had beef with Kaido just appealed to me idk lol plus all the stuff with how he's doing all this out of some kind of paranoia/trauma response and like yeah fuck sure i'll take that some kind of a reason over nothing at all. he's a little like arlong if arlong was like really really lame. i think it's funny he fake dies like twice + his actual(?) death scene is honestly pretty badass that was a good ass scene. one of my more favorite villains tbh and he pleasantly surprised me because i really assumed he was just going to be another comically evil annoying lame guy in a different coat of paint. think again it's annoying lame guy but a little better.

Would like to know more about: Crocodile, Pudding, Kiwi, and Mozu. Honestly there's like 27 characters I could put here. Crocodile stands out to me because of the implied trans thing mostly but regardless, I am curious about his relationship with Robin and his run in with Whitebeard and the thing with going out of his way to stick his neck out for Luffy in Marineford. <- that was probably just Crocodile being grateful luffy busted him out of impel down and not wanting to say it, but i like to think there's some kind of "luffy reminds crocodile of himself when he was younger" type deal because yea croc wanted to be pirate king before whitebeard shat all over him, yeah? yeah i wanna know this guy's deal. and yeah what were the circumstances of him and Iva's initial meeting? Out of everyone I chose he's probably the mostly likely to get some kind of detailed backstory and such. I assume Pudding is probably going to be very relevant eventually what with the opening of the third eye or whatever the fuck. Excited as the prospect of more Pudding, really hope we do not get another hancock situation where her entire character devolves into being really obsessed with a guy. Low expectations for this one I just hope she gets things to do that uh . don't suck lol. i really like her a lot. I think I kind of already explained Kiwi & Mozu yeah, in general more of anything on Franky Family would be nice. I know they're not important like Croc + Pudding but I hope they at least get some silly mini story shit. Filler ep where Franky reminisces on franky family . i will take antyhing.

Least favorite character: Orlumbus. don't like the columbus cameo. that's it, this one isn't deep, the fact he's a character at all is just dumb to me. i do rank him lower than villains or intentionally annoying charatcers because at least characters like Spamdam you're clearly supposed to want him dead so he's doing his job as a character.

Like the design, dislike the character: Zeo. Wasn't huge on the new fishman pirates in general. Would have to reread Fishman Island to elaborate better. Zeo's design is badass though.

Like the character, dislike the design: Usopp. Looks like a caricature

Same personality: Usopp and Pudding. Only 2 I could think of that have made me think yeah, they're just like me for real on a regular basis.

Favorite ship: Going Merry. I love that the Merry is just the silly little boat that could held together by duck tape and how comically smaller she is compared to marine ships, really bringing together this idea that the straw hats are just some scrappy weirdos who have no business being alive this long- Oh. Oh that kind of ship. Okay. Frobin is like the most . Sounds like a pairing that would actually happen, makes sense for how I understand these characters to be, etc. I'm not in the camp of believing they're end game or canonically secretly in love, you just don't have to like . Conveniently forget things about either character to force it into making some kind of sense. More importantly though, I think it's fun how they're counterparts to each other. Robin is history/nature themed, Franky is futuristic/technology themed, but both are connected through the pluton thing. They're both "keys to the ancient weapon" but instead of being destructive evil characters they're more interested in building the other up. Something like that. And it's a weird girl + silly guy dynamic and I like these kinds of "met you in the worst situation but we made it out together and are now both enjoying ourselves" relationships. If I was spamdam bringing robin and franky together for my evil scheme only for them to not only both escape but end up on the same crew and become very close I would have to quit my job out of embarrassment.

Least favorite ship:Crocodile x Buggy.I don't care for most hate love type dynamics anyways but particularly don't enjoy this one because seeing Buggy in this toxic yaoi with my boss type situation doesn't appeal to me at all. (Obviously not the worst OP pairing in the world, just as far as pairings I actually see with my eyes every now and again I don't really care for this one)

Would befriend irl: Kokoro. I just like her. I would listen to her talk for a long time about whatever the hell.

Would not befriend irl: Sanji. I mean like more than half of all OP characters are people i would not stand but I have a dunking on Sanji quota to achieve.

[ask-the-rag-dolly]

First of all sooo excited for your blog! The one thing I don't like about digital circus is the complete and utter lack of Ragtha love! Lol

I know you said you prefer platonic relationships, and for my girl Ragatha, I think if her and Jax were secretly besties, it would add so much more to each other. Cause it means Jax does have a vulnerable side, and Ragtha has an unlikely ally perhasp willing to push things a little far for her.

Also just a personal headcannon since Ragthas been there the longest maybe she's actively helped some of the main cast figure out to cope and hold on to their sanity, because she did say their was still time to "fix" Kafmo. So that's implies someone can be brought back if their not completely constructed yet. I think there's so much potential in her doing that for Jax because their different morals and personality seems like the most interesting dynamic to me. Plus, gotta love that angst.

// yeah same ! ragatha quickly became my favorite - for several reasons that will be too long for this post - and it really saddens me that she's already getting pushed aside ...

like don't get me wrong , she gets more attention than gangle and zooble ( who are also characters i'm fond of that i wish gets the same level of analysis as jax and kinger ) , but there's so much to pick apart and analyze with ragatha that someone has to take the mantle ^^

besides uurgh i may love jesterdoll but ragatha has so much potential for interesting dynamics , not just pomni ! like her being very compliant towards caine , how she might've helped zooble considering they were the newest before pomni , the history she might've had with kinger , how she's the most suitable to comfort gangle , and just !! her entire thing with jax !!

like i can see why they can be an interesting dynamic - they're like two sides of the same coin in a way ( both are secretly terrified out of their minds and hides it by either servicing people or pushing them away . do you see my vision ) . i personally see them as begrudging siblings - really dislike each other but most likely won't be able to live without the other

( also a part of that may not be fueled by how ragatha's heavily inspired by raggedy ann and that jax's voice is a raggedy andy impersonation ... )

i will admit it's a bit too early to draw a conclusion on what's going on between them though since gooseworx keeps reiterating that no one likes jax and that he's an irredeemable asshole - but i know their dynamic won't just be pure , mutual hate . i personally love the thought of them being the only one who truly understands the other despite the vitriol lol

also ! i've always thought of ragatha as the group meditator in a way ! in my head , she's the glue that helps hold the group together - i don't think the current cast will survive even a single hour without the only person who isn't panicky and/or irresponsible . i won't be surprised if she actually saved someone from near-abstraction !

though i don't think it's a role that's doing her any big favors . do you think anyone ever asks how she's doing ? (: //

[lady-margaret]

bridgerton season 3 part 1 opinion (as someone who has read all the books + is kathony biased so be warned)

after sitting and stewing on what i just watched for a few hours

i’d like to start this off by saying that due to my disappointment of the writing from the last season, i was way more gracious with this one. kate and anthony were great because of simone and jonathan; i’m not sure the writers had much to do with that.

anyway, what i’m saying is that i already knew not to expect the writers to be faithful to the source material (romancing mr. bridgerton), so i was able to enjoy myself more. additionally, polin’s book isn’t exactly a favorite of mine anyway, so there wasn’t a lot to be too disappointed with in my case.

what i liked:

penelope’s wardrobe; they hyped up the “transformation” so much and i’m glad it did not disappoint.

colin’s hot 😌

eloise’ wardrobe; someone pointed out that it had a lot of philip references, so yay 😀 (it has me worried that it’ll be her story next though, we need ben first)

eloise interacting with the other ladies of the ton was really cute and refreshing; she’s learning that despite them having different interests than her, they are still people of great value. the difference is eloise was raised in a loving and supportive family, unlike most of the others.

sibling’s g&h’s personalities coming through more (they are anthony’s children, truly).

featherington sisters as comic relief.

MARRIED KATHONY CRUMBS 💕💕💕 they carried episode 1 for me.

FRANCESCA 💕💕💕 gorgeous introvert representation.

FRANNY AND JOHN 💕💕💕 (i am both ready and NOT ready to get hurt 🥹)

book references (yay! the bare minimum!)

lord debling’s dope.

i actually do like that they gave cressida a legitimate reason to want to win the competition money to unmask LW in the second part.

the music choices haven’t disappointed yet!!!!!

colin’s line for the season is def the “well are you gonna marry me or not?” line HEHEHEHEHE i ALMOST screamed as loud as i did when john entered when he said that line to pen.

as an army, plus points for dynamite 🤭 i didn’t expect to like the orchestral version and didn’t see the vision of where they would even insert it, but i actually liveddd for it.

what i don’t really have strong feelings about:

mondrich plot; alice is beautiful but the addition of their family storyline didn’t make much of a lasting impact.

the queen; she was very meh so far.

the featherington storyline: the sisters are funny, but their whole situation mixed with the humor leads me not to take it very seriously.

violet x lady danbury’s brother: 🤷‍♀️ i don’t see it.

the “lady danbury’s brother” storyline in general is very forgettable.

what i disliked:

i think nicola and luke could use more chemistry; they fall short compared to daphne&simon and kathony (HEAVY ON KATHONY THIS IS WHY THEY REMOVED THEM FROM THE REST OF THE EPISODES SIGH)

they kinda mischaracterized colin (he spent the last two seasons being selfish and putting himself above everyone else violet, what the hell are you talking about “you never place yourself over others” 🤨)

the lack of ben time?? did he go back to the academy after taking over for anthony briefly??? what did he do besides dodging debutantes all season????

they glossed over benedict running the estate so quickly; this could have been an opportunity to draw out his storyline, especially since he mentioned that he liked having a purpose: WRITERS???? DO SOMETHING WITH THAT!

i also didn’t really care for the ben x tilly arnold plot; unless sophie’s actually a maid of her’s or something, i don’t see her point in the show besides just be another one of ben’s ever changing girl of the season.

im sorry but eloise would never SHOULD NEVER have befriended her (ex?) best friend’s bully, no matter what the circumstances. that is NOT eloise.

honestly, them revealing whistledown in the first season is really screwing with the writing; in this regard, i wish they stayed more faithful to the book and how colin finds out about LW. it all just seems so messy at this point.

so s3 starts when kathony end their honeymoon… how long was this honeymoon? math isn’t mathing cuz it couldn’t have been more than a week given that kate isn’t obviously pregnant yet in the first ep.

i know that colin and pen are longtime friends, but from how they’ve interacted with each other in the past seasons, it’s a bit harder to believe that they were close CLOSE friends; close friends to the extent of helping the other find a spouse through “lessons”? i don’t see it. that’s why i was a bit ??? when i first found out about the plot they were going with for the season (in the book, colin really just starts following her around cuz she was being sus)

i hate that they had to come up with an excuse to get rid of kathony for the rest of the episodes; i get that they’ve been running their separate households alone for most of their lives and want a break but… i don’t think they would abandon their responsibilities for an “extended honeymoon”. knowing them, running the estate isn’t gonna stop them from being wh0res!! they help each other out with the estate and are still sickeningly in love and have time for each other (in the books). i was also really hoping to see kate taking over the viscountess role. i swore they would have done something like that after that cute/awkward moment when they both respond to “lady bridgerton” in episode 1.

i get that it’s established that penelope’s one goal for the season is to get a husband, but as i know her character, she would NEVER get into races (?) or run just so she can talk to a suitor before anyone else does 😭 okay but it was funny.

i am kinda sad that they couldn’t have just let a mean character or a villain character be the villain character; yea sure, i did say that i liked that cressida had a legitimate and well thought out motive for wanting the LW reward money but, idk i could’ve lived without her storyline.

one of the BIGGEST THINGS for me is that i do not think they should have released so many clips/snippets of the show days or weeks before it came out. i understand like 1 clip, but i skipped SO MANY SCENES because i have watched them at least 5 times already on tiktok or twitter.

the two part season idea is dumb.

i’m scared for how messy part 2 will be (in terms of both writing and just how stressed i will be with the revealing of LW plot HUHU poor pen) but i’m still looking forward to it 😇😇😇 and despite all the things i didn’t like, i did still enjoy it. if i do rewatch it or not is still to be decided; s1 & s2 have such high rewatch value.

franny and john were TRULY a standout though. i cannot even begin to describe how loud i screamed when he finally said his name out loud 😭💕

verdict: the writing is getting messier, get jonathan bailey in that writer’s room ASAP

[thr-333]

hi! so i have some questions about your Triple Divorced AU! (excuse me it's so long fgsdjk)

you mentioned that each boy (outside of Mikey) has a fave parent, but do the parents have fave kid(s)? i suspect Draxum likes Raph the most since he actually managed to convince him to get into training?? but outside of that i have no idea!

also with which parent they spend the most time? or which house they consider their "main" home?? if even they have something like that

also! in your recent drawing of baby leo (very cute btw i want to pinch his cheeks!) he seems to be actually excited to show off to draxum, but you mentioned that currently he doesn't really like him, which made me think- how did the relationship between parents and kids change from early childhood to "today"??

oh and how's the relationship between each parent? like i get they hate each other's guts, but are there specific types of hate? (i can suspect splinter vs BM arguments are mostly verbal while splinter vs draxum is physical fighting?) (also a silly question but- was/is there ever something… (hate)romantic between draxum and splinter at some points? or is that a big NAH??)

I LOVE long asks!

Yes the parents have favorite kids. Other than Splinter who is a proud proprietor of I don’t have favourites. Or does he just not know any of his children well enough to pick, who’s to say(:

Draxums favourite isn’t actually Raph it’s Mikey. Purely because his mystic abilities are so advanced. It’s sort of rooted in a pride of ‘I made this I’m awesome’ or wanting your kids to be talented and successful. It’s ironic because Mikey is the least likely to go for his kill all of humanity bullshit. He wouldn’t align himself with a plan like that. Usually when Draxum brings it up Mikey goes into dr feelings mode and talks about the deep rooted issues of why Draxum hates humans which the yokai does not care for. But he’s deluding himself that one day he will get Mikey to change(even if it’s far more likely to be the other way around)

Big mamas favourite is Leo. She likes the other boys they’re easy to manipulate in their own ways. But she likes Leo because he doesn’t fall for all that. They can have a relationship on more even footing. Oh he annoys the hell out of her but that’s because he is also the most like her. It’s almost like a mentorship/rivalry. Big mama never considered having an heir before but baby blue might just fit the bill.

It’s a fairly even split between where they spend time(Mikey tires to keep it that way) but it depends. Sometimes Splinter gets job offers as Lou Jitsu so he isn’t around to take the boys back. Draxum likes to upgrade his security in between kid nappings as does big mama so those tend to be the gaps where they get to spend more time with Splinter. Typically it would take longer for either parent to steal them off big mama because of her security personal. But she has a nasty habit of using them as bartering chips so they don’t tend to stay as long as they could. Suffice to say these kids have no stability in their lives.

They don’t really think of one place as home. Home usually means ‘where we’re sleeping tonight’ they are just as likely to call home one of the houses they grew up in or a side of the road motel(something I’ve done so I don’t actually know if I’m explaining that feeling well cause that’s just how it is)

Yes! Baby Leo is adorable! I can’t wait to show the rest of their baby designs(I need to do a character like up once all the main people have been introduced). The comic I made that panel for explains it a bit but I haven’t posted it yet so I’ll explain.

When the kids were younger Draxum did try to train them as soldiers but got pulled up by the social workers and had to tone it down. Leo who craved his ‘Draxys’ approval was slighted by this and developed an instant hatred— no but really Leo’s dislike for Draxum was something that built up over years. Being ignored being used and overall just missing out on things that parents probably should be doing. He got a lot more of that from splinter and since splinter didn’t like Draxum Leo adopted the attitude. A sort of us against him mentality.

That’s happened for a lot of the kids. Growing disillusioned by their parents. Being forced to pick sides over time. Each of them could be their own ask so if your curious about a certain relationship ask. That way I’m not just rambling about something people don’t care about!

Yes each of the parents have their own brand of hate. Splinter and big mama are bitter exes slash can’t get over each other. Draxum had such a big fat crush of Lou Jitsu it wasn’t even subtle. In this au he has been low key pining for years. Unfortunately some people express their love by breaking into your house and mildly traumatizing your kids. It’s very much the “I hate Splinter” while hanging up pictures of him meme(I would draw that it I wasn’t writing this during my lunch break)

Splinter has no idea how he feels but big mama does. The two are SO petty about it. It’s that love triangle rivalry except I’m not trying to pass it off as cute. These two need to grow up and check their standards.

[kalinara]

Oh for fuck's sake. Please don't tell me "warning" discourse is coming back.

Look guys, I don't fucking care if you decide to use warnings or not. If you're an author who chooses not to use warnings, I may or may not read your fic, depending on my mood at any given time, but that's not a value judgment.

But can you not be a pretentious asshole about it?

"Books and movies don't have warnings!"

Really? Movies don't have warnings? What do you think that big "R" is on the advertisement there (if you're American, anyway, but as far as I know, most other countries use rating systems.) It might not be an explicit, spell-it-all out warning, but you're generally not going to see a graphic rape scene in a fucking PG movie.

Books? Generally no. Though there are exceptions. And many bloggers or goodreads reviewers will happily warn for readers who are concerned. That said, you can draw some conclusions based on genre, publisher and imprint. A romance reader generally knows where to find the really hard shit. You're not generally going to find a lot of strap ons or ball gags in Harlequin.

"Warnings didn't exist/weren't common practice before AO3!"

That's a fucking lie. I started reading fanfic on the internet in 1997, when I was young enough that I had to lie about my age to get onto the good mailing lists. And you know why they were the good mailing lists? Because they had explicit stuff. Because they had passwords to the best archives.

And those archives generally did have warnings! At least for the really big shit. Rape? Torture? The phrase "non-con" existed long before fanfiction.net, let alone AO3 was a twinkling in anyone's eye.

Because here's the thing, it's common courtesy. Fandom is a community experience. Isn't that what everyone always says when the topic of negative reviews come up? We can't make the author feel bad! Traumatizing a reader though with something that they don't know to avoid though, that's perfectly fine.

What AO3 DID invent, as far as I know, is the brilliant "Author chooses not to warn" tag. That's a great idea. It means that a concerned reader can go through the no warnings needed tag with reasonable confidence that they won't be hit with the most common triggering subjects. And if they go into a "chooses not to warn" fic, then that's their risk to take.

(Personally, I've never read a "choose not to warn" fic and thought "god, I'm so glad the author didn't spoil this rape scene in the warnings, losing the element of surprise would have ruined the story!" but that's just me. There might well be one out there, and even if not, it's the author's call.)

I don't really have a point to this rant. I just really dislike people who decide to raise their lack of consideration for others into some sort of intellectual high ground while touting blatant misinformation to support it. I also never get tired of ranting about fandom hypocrisy, so there we go.

TLDR: do what you want, but don't be a self-congratulatory dick about it.

[warrior-cats-rewritten]

I'm not trying to be rude, but I feel like you're going way too far to punish Brambleclaw. Thistleclaw, the child groomer, doesn't receive this treatment. I don't understand the point of bringing him back if you're going to portray him as the most evil cat in history. Brambleclaw is buried outside, while most of the evil cats are buried within the clan's territory, which seems very extreme. If you hate him so much, don't include him in a rewrite. It will feel just like what you hate the Erins for, "forcing too much on Brambleclaw." If you dislike a character, don't focus on them. Like Jesus Christ, my friend wasn't wrong, you have a hate boner for this cat. I mean no offense, but it's weird, dude. Real weird.

Why is it that the minute I post bramble facing consequences for actions I get bramblestans in my inbox assuming I hate him? I think what's weird is very clearly trawling the tag to look for posts like mine so you can write an essay. What you should be doing is drawing him with green eyes, it looks good.

Cause if you knew this project, you would know that Thistleclaw isn't a child goomer anymore, technically. He is Ivypaw's Dark Forest mentor (which... is grooming people but not THAT way), as Hawkfrost has a proper arc now and... Doesn't die in Sunset.

I will say one thing though, I did actually forget one thing to mention that you caught! He isn't on Thunderclan's MAIN territory. I mean... what do you call a border that shifts ALL the time? It's the Thunder-Shadow Niagara Falls.

It's where Tawnypelt is going to be buried! Under a pine tree. (It's also close to a lungwort patch Rowanstar is the protector of, territories NEED landmarks)

Also.... I don't truly hate him hate him! Sure, he sucks but he isn't real. And as a character? Dude, he's FUN. He's a self fulfilling Prophecy, he has good moments, in WCR, he is still a POV during TNP and is buddies with Cinderpelt. He's canonically a giant PUFFBALL of an animal and I've never been against adding your own pets to Xenofiction! I am also the biggest advocate for the Give Brambleclaw Green Contacts Organization. I'm giving him more moments with his family, and while those relationships get REALLY strained, it's a story. He wouldn't be interesting if he was a cardboard cutout of a cat. I think he's interesting in a way that is both intriguing and frustrating.

He's messy.

He loves his daughter Dandeliontuft, but she's the spitting image of his mother who died right after swearing to never speak to him again, and Dandy is nearly mute... It's hard to think about. Abusers are not unfathomable monsters with no redeeming qualities. He still cried when he thought Lionpaw was buried alive.

He does show up to Starclan, but when he sees the smoldering scorched earth, it's a clear message. He wasn't welcome, and he will not be staying. It's not like the actual literal groomer Stormtail, who got poisoned repeatedly, had all of his relationships ruined, and chased out of Starclan every night by a living and dead Goosefeather until his spirit eroded due to his refusal to move on. Tom got eaten alive and his spirit consumed by One Eye.

He's a ghost now. He's gonna have a long, long time to reflect on what he's done. How badly he did hurt others. He's been around too long, and his generation needs to be done away with. I think he'll find peace wandering the land, being a cat ghost.

He's not an evil cat, he's just stubborn. Stuck in the way he was taught to be by the Clans.

[cephalopod-celabrator]

Which major Greek gods I think you least want to get on the bad side of:

They will be rated on a scale of 1 to 10 based on how easily provoked they are, how effective they are at getting revenge, and how likely they are to take your loved ones as casualties. 0 means you're fine, 10 means that you are in fact fucked

Zeus: 8/10 Now Zeus is one of the most easily provoked, because in order for him to endanger your life all you need to do is be attractive or be near someone attractive. If he dislikes you he'll kill you and if he likes you his wife will kill you. Neither of them are known for being precise with their wrath, so you're family, especially any child had with Zeus, are going to be in for it too. The only reason he's not higher is because he might, might, protect you from Hera and he doesn't really have the attention span or precision to make sure that he finishes the job if he tries to kill you Poseidon: 8/10 The lord of the ocean is lest lustful than his lil bro, a low bar, but he's still pretty easy to provoke. He's also not very good at making sure the job gets done, but he is probably the most indiscriminate with his wrath. He'll endanger your friends, your family, everyone near you, and/or your city if he feels like it. Hades: 5/10 Now Hades is pretty hard to piss off, all things considered. Don't go out of your way to defy him, his wife, or the natural order of death and you'll be fine. The only reason he's not at like a 2 is because if you do cross him or his wife Persephone, you are so spectacularly fucked. He might not do anything to you in life but once you shuffle off that mortal coil oh boy. Enjoy being physically and psychologically tortured for literal eternity. Hestia: 0/10 Okay, you have to try like crazy hard to piss of Hestia. It takes monumental stupidity and even if you do, probably the worse she'll do is refuse to ever bless you again. But you should still be ashamed of yourself. Hera: 6.5/10 She has more self-control than her husband and if you're careful you can avoid breaking any of her rules, but if you catch his eye then I'm sorry. Your family will likely be in danger if you draw her ire, and you don't have great chances of survival but it's not impossible. Demeter: 5/10 As far as gods go she's one of the more laid back ones, except when it comes to her daughter. I mean, mess with her nymphs or what have you and your ass is dead, but you'd have to be pretty stupid to draw her attention. The only reason she's not lower is that she causes starvation and hypothermia through the winter she brings each year, but there's not much you can do about that. Athena: 6.5/10 It depends on the interpretation of her but she usually won't smite people unless they directly challenge her or whatnot, but she's still got a bit of a temper on her. And it should be self-explanatory as to why making an enemy of the goddess of strategy and war is not a good idea Hermes: 2/10 I honestly can't think of any myths about the wrath of Hermes, but he still seems like a guy who can be dangerous if you end up on the wrong side of him Ares: 5/10 You'd think the god of carnage and war would be higher, but you're main concern with him is if you end up on the battlefield with him or if you directly aggress against him or those close to him. Dionysus: 6/10 I'd say he falls about middle of the road when it comes to the touchiness of gods, but I really wouldn't recommend pissing off the god of madness. I was going to give him a lower score then remembered the herd of murderous maniac women who follow him, so. Aphrodite: 8/10 Aphrodite is probably the easiest god to piss off because she will take anything as an insult and might randomly decide that you need to die so your partner can get with someone else or something. She's sloppy about her work too, which both means that you have relatively good chances of escaping her wrath and that everyone around you is likely to get caught up in it Hephaestus: 2/10 I mean, he mostly targets his anger at other gods who have wronged him, but I could see a mortal ending up as collateral of some scheme of his. Mostly the dude wants to be left alone

Apollo: 10/10 Yeah, this dude has one of the highest bodycounts of any Olympian, both in terms of murders and hook-ups. And quite a few combinations of both. He's almost hornier than Zeus and less likely to discrimenate between men and women, but his lovers have a slightly higher survival rate. He's pretty easy to piss off and when you do get on his bad side, you're unlikely to find a proportionate response. He will unleash plague, disaster, and/or a rain of arrows on anyone who he doesn't like the vibe of. Artemis: 9.5/10 Now you could argue that Apollo and her should switch ratings, but I think the twins are probably the deadliest gods out there. Artemis is also quite easy to piss off and if you don't give the proper offerings or disrespect her, she will show you that the bow isn't decorative or maybe send wild animals to rip you apart. You'll be lucky if she stops at you though, because your kids or really anyone in the same country as you are a potential casualty. I would say out of all the gods, Artemis is the least likely to fail to kill someone she's decided needs to be six feet under. She doesn't miss. And if you hit on her, you've basically just signed your own death warrant.

[yuikomorii]

I can agree with Yui wanting to be a normal teenage girl. While I like the badish endings where she girlbosses everyone in having powers or whatever the like, it just doesn’t personally vibe with how I see Yui. I agree that all she wants is a normal life and I also fully support the DF ending with Ruki. That shit made me cry ;w;

I’m not sure if it was answered or not but what is your least favorite ending involving Yui? My least favorite is her going bonkers in the Manservant ending for Kanato’s HDB route. It’s bizarre and while I like disturbing endings within the franchise, that always rubs me the wrong way. I also dislike the Brute ending for Ayato’s route I think with that…infamous CG of her hallucinating? Ugh. Brutal ;;;;;

// I understand what you're saying. I have nothing against girlboss characters, who truly are usually like that, but Yui is always a sweet and cheerful girl who would never hurt anyone unless they tell her to do so or if she gets completely broken.

Kanato’s HDB Manservant ending does not sit well with me either. I mean, the person who slaughtered the Sakamakis wasn't the actual Yui anymore because her sadistic tendencies were caused by having Cordelia's heart, which also influenced the S choices, so she basically became a psycho there. I also find it difficult to believe that such powerful vampires would be this easy to defeat. Not to mention that they have far more abilities and are extremely difficult to end off. It's one of those impossible endings, like Ruki's MB brute one. Despite the blood, I really like the cg. Why couldn't it be under normal conditions? Her position is literally adorable, with her arms placed like that… geez, she could have looked so cute. The wasted potential. (T ^ T)

I honestly wasn’t very impacted by Ayato’s DF brute ending. I doubt it was a hallucination, but rather Carla shapeshifting into Ayato, and while that may sound horrifying (it is), I found other endings far more disturbing. ;w;

But the ending which made me the most uncomfortable was ✨Ayato's MB brute one✨. I dislike so much when characters in otome games start cheating; it's truly disgusting on so many levels, and I see no point in it. In the HDB endings, I understood her crazy actions, but there's a whole different story in MB. She literally cheated on Ayato because he stopped drinking her blood to keep her safe, but she started missing the pleasure, so she used Ruki for that, while imagining Ayato?? I understand teenage hormones, and I know she gets horny for Ayato the most, but ugh come on, I can't believe Rejet really thought making her a whore would be a good idea— To make matters worse, she cheated on him with his RIVAL. It's also weird how this is the only cg where Yui has sex with a Diaboy. I know she looks dead here, but she wasn't; she was actually very happy, and she even began laughing as he was screwing her and drinking her blood. Even in Satoi’s initial drawing she’s smiling… aaah so unsettling! ( ͒˃̩̩⌂˂̩̩ ͒)

[ejzah]

Can you please write a fanfic about Kensi and the Team spotting Deeks supposedly on a date and confront him, only to realize they just screwed up an LAPD undercover op and gets Deeks in big time. Obliviously can it be set back when it was still with the LAPD and before he and Kensi got together.

A/N: Hi anon, I’ve written similar stories to this before, but never with them completely ruining his cover. Sorry for the delay!

***

Critical Error

“Oh my god, I shouldn’t have eaten that last chicken wing,” Kensi groaned, rubbing her stomach as she exited a bar with Sam and Callen. It was a new place they decided to try since one of their usuals was closed for repairs and the other had no empty tables.

“Yeah, it was definitely that and not the five fried mozzarella sticks and nachos you had before the wings,” Callen commented wryly. Kensi paused long enough to glare at him.

They walked slowly, casually continuing a conversation from the bar. Sam and Michelle were trying to plan a birthday party for her mom. It was proving difficult since she never wanted presents and disliked most people’s cooking outside her own.

“Maybe you can gift her a mini vacation instead,” Kensi suggested.

“And hear all about how rude the staff was and the quality of food? No thanks.”

“Well, if she doesn’t want anything, maybe just don’t do anything. Like with Hetty,” Callen said, and Sam made an unimpressed sound.

“That’s less helpful than your suggestion that I buy her tickets to an amusement park.”

“Hey, it’s like you don’t want our advice,” Callen told him facetiously.

Kensi grinned, imagining which inventive suggestions Deeks would have if he’d joined them. At least one would probably involve an offer for a deal on a strip club. Courtesy of his many friends in the business.

“Hey, isn’t Deeks supposed to be on some big undercover assignment?” Sam asked, drawing Kensi out of her musings. She stopped alongside him, realizing they’d reached the slightly finer dining section of the street.

“Yeah, it involves a mob-like gang,” she answered. “He said LAPD spent a couple months putting the operation into place. Why?”

“Well, his important undercover work looks a whole lot like a date.” Sam nodded to a small cafe with outdoor seating off the side of the main structure. There were several people around the handful of tables, at the far corner, were Deeks and a blonde haired woman.

“He told me he’d be busy for weeks,” Kensi murmured, almost to herself. Lies aside, she couldn’t quite articulate why it bothered her so much. Maybe it was the fact that Deeks had apparently brushed them—her—off for some unknown woman.

“Well, let’s go say hello,” Callen suggested.

“What? No, let’s just leave,” Kensi protested. She knew Deeks dated, but didn’t need to see direct evidence of that fact.

“Oh, I bet his lady friend would love to hear a few stories about him.” Callen shared a mischievous grin with Sam and she rolled her eyes, following after them.

As they approached, she could see Deeks talking animatedly, his hands gesticulating in relation to whatever he said, body inclined towards his date. His mouth split with the wide grin usually only saw when he found something particularly funny.

Kensi saw the exact moment he noticed them; his posture straightened, and he shook his head ever so slightly. Sam and Callen either didn’t pick up on it, or more likely, didn’t care.

“Hey Deeks, imagine finding you here,” Callen explained loudly, stopping next to Deeks’ table. This close, she could see the dismayed resignation in Deeks’ eyes.

“We thought you were busy with work?” Sam added.

The woman turned in her seat, glancing between each of them and Deeks in curiosity. By the time she drifted back to him, he’d shifted from resignation back to an easygoing smile, though there was still a slight tightened around his eyes.

He really didn’t want them there, Kensi realized.

“Jason, who is this? And why are they calling you Deeks?”

“They’re just some old friends,” Deeks assured her. “Deeks was a nickname in college.”

“Oh, well, I’m Connie,” she said a friendly enough smile. “It’s nice to meet you. Jason’s been pretty reticent about his friends.” She gave him a fondly annoyed look.

“Maybe that’s because he’s afraid of what we’ll share,” Kensi joked, but with enough edge that it made Connie frown just a little. Deeks tilted her head, giving her a pleading look, which she decided to ignore.

“I’m sure it’s all good,” Connie decided, rallying nicely. “She reached across the table to squeeze Deeks’ hand. “He’s such a sweetheart.”

“His stripper friends do love him,” Kensi continued. She flashed Deeks a goading smile.”

“Strippers.” Connie’s smile faltered.

“Oh yes, Onyx, Amber, what were the other names Deeks?”

“Fern, could I speak with you for a moment?” Deeks requested abruptly. He stood up, stopping to take a very uncertain and concerned Connie’s hand. “I’ll be right back. Don’t eat all the breadsticks without me.”

He didn’t give Connie a chance to object. “Do not say anything else,” Deeks muttered to Callen and Sam as he passed. After a moment, Kensi followed, only stopping when he reached the back of the next restaurant’s parking lot.

“What the hell are you doing?” Deeks hissed, a blazing anger in his eyes that Kensi had rarely ever seen. It made her take a step back.

“Well, I—”

“Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?”

“Oh, please do not act like you have the moral high ground here,” Kensi threw back, crossing her arms over her chest. “You blew us off for a date and now you’re embarrassed you got caught.” Even as she said it, it didn’t sound right, but she couldn’t come up with a better explanation.

Closing his eyes, Deeks pinched the bridge of his nose. He groaned quietly. “Kensi. I’m on assignment right now and you pretty much just obliterated my cover. Do you have any idea how long this took to set up. To find an in to the family?”

“She’s part of your undercover operation?”

He nodded once. “Yep.”

“Why didn’t you say anything? Why did you lie?” Kensi asked, trying to reason through her growing guilt and horror.

“Because it’s supposed to be confidential,” he explained softly. He shook his head again, disappointment in his eyes. “And because I thought you’d trust me when I said I had work.”

“Deeks, I am so, so sorry. If there’s anything—”

“No forget it. I’m going to see if I can salvage this night with Connie. Maybe I can convince her you guys were drunk and have a horrible sense of humor.” He waved her off with a heavy sigh.

“And if you can’t?” Kensi asked, already knowing the likely answer.

“Then LAPD will probably scrap the operation,” he answered dully. He started to walk off, but she grabbed her arm.

“Deeks, is there anything I can do?” she finally got out. “I feel horrible.”

He paused, then answered, “Go home.”

She watched him walk back across the lot, resisting the absurd urge to cry.

***

A/N: So there may be some slight OOC going on here. I was trying to make it different enough from my other stories like this. Hopefully it’s alright.

Thanks for the prompt!