#i’ve already tweaked these since i made them lol

[purble-gaymer]

refs of my silly guys

edit: messed something up copying layers, saffron’s pronouns are she/they. additionally, things have shifted and donner now lives with birdie in whispy woods

[rewritingcanon]

for the ask ship game: drastoria, jeddy and romione

romione: i feel like i shouldnt even talk and let the books do the talking for me. the slowburn was ferocious. the relationship building ate every other hp couple up. with each installation the verse puts out that includes them in it they’re even more in love. it makes me want to rip my hair out that so much romione content is sidelined for other ships and only exist as a side pairing to other ships. ron is so clearly the only one who makes sense for hermione and vice versa hermione to ron. i have never seen a good argument from a romione anti about why they shouldn’t be together or how they would not work out realistically. i can chalk every argument up to classism, a critique of ron’s portrayal in the movies, or a misunderstanding of character flaws that are exacerbated by PUBERTY and the general emotional instability of an average teenager. you look me in the eye and tell me you have never tweaked out when you were teenager. you look me in the eye and tell me that having magic wouldnt make that worse. i’ve actually already made an essay-long post about romione so lets not even get me started on it LOL

drastoria: i’ve already screamed about my reasons here.

jeddy: jeddy is hard because teddy and james sirius are mostly fanon so it’s difficult to ascertain whether they would make sense or not based on personality. we basically know nothing about teddy’s personality and get a handful of lines from james in the cursed child. they seem both to have a rebellious side— james opting to disobey his parents to have a good laugh and the rita skeeter article written about teddy at the quidditch world cup final (which could have been complete slander knowing skeeter) but from what little we do know— teddy is very close with the potter family (lily basically calls him family), presumably since he was born or at least very young since they consider each other family. teddy is also six years older than james. going off that alone, if teddy was around when james was very young, or even when he was born, then no, jeddy doesn’t make sense. it would be a bit creepy, no? fanonly, i’m 50/50– i’ve read some pretty shit jeddy fics but it comes with the territory of liking scorbus so i have to suck it up 😭 but yeah, its a no from me.

[mareenavee]

Is there anything specific about your writing which you can pinpoint that you have improved upon since starting writing? Where have you seen the most "gains"? Is there anything in particular that you'd like to tweak? (I have been thinking about this a lot for myself personally, and I thought it would be an interesting question for you.)

Hello WINTER 🫂!! Ah this is such a fantastic question! Thank you for asking it. Let's talk about level ups below the cut!!! It'll be a long post with rambling, advice and snippets.

Without further ado...

What really is a Level Up and how do I notice one?

I have been seeing a lot of you guys really level up lately with your writing. The joy and effort is super, super apparent in our circle and I am seriously proud of you guys. I'm floored reading the work all ya'll are sharing for WIP (whenever.) It's interesting to me that I can so easily see the skill gains for others but it's much tougher for me to look at mine and SEE it. There's a bit of a perception about our own craft that it's not as "good as it should be" but it's really part of a cycle. (This post here can explain it with graphics.)

At a certain point we hit an overlap where we see/evaluate craft in ways we're still working on putting into practice which can skew our perspective of our own work until we catch up with ourselves. It's important to understand this, at least for me, because it's like...partially turning a page in a book. We're still processing what's been said, but we don't know the rest of the story yet :> And the only way to get the rest of it is to keep going, and finish turning the page.

As with art -- I love looking back on old work and noticing just how much things have changed and for the better, too. Part of learning how to level up is also learning to be gentle with ourselves, which is my next point.

Something that has helped me immensely and has been so invaluable in my journey is mindfulness and mindset shifts. Instead of using negative self-talk on myself, on my writing, on my craft -- I try to reframe it into statements like "I can change how I convey x, y or z if I try this." It is not an easy thing, and is a constant journey. But it does help the level ups. I speak from painstaking experience.

For specifics about my writing -- I'll begin from when I started writing World because I have been writing for ages at this point (I started when I was 7 years old after I first read The Hobbit lol).

Gains

I have seen immense improvement with my scenery descriptions and describing how characters feel about a space and events going on in them since the beginning of World. I have aphantasia so it's really almost impossible for me to visualize anything in my head regarding scenery especially. I tend to rely on sound for this, but imagery is important. Also when I began World, I was in full challenge mode and didn't have the time or confidence to look up the references I needed. I can compare draft versions here for example.

Old Chapter 9 - First version

She took his hand and led him down past the now-recovered Gildergreen, whose ethereal flowers still bloomed in the cold of Sun’s Dusk. They walked almost to the entrance of the city, right before Adrianne’s forge. Nyenna guided him up the stairs of a little house which had stood empty for as long as anyone could remember. Recently, the old, faded boards that had scarred its surface had been replaced. She pulled a fine chain from around her neck and revealed a brass key hanging on it. She unclasped her necklace and unlocked the door of the house.  Athis looked around in awe at the tiny, perfect cottage. There was not a speck of dust, and the fire had already been lit. New dishes lined shelves that had been made by hand. Candles scattered around the room glowed like miniature stars. The light shone off of their matching rings as they walked toward the back of their kitchen. “Welcome to Breezehome,” Nyenna said. “I’ve been working on this for weeks.” “You did all this yourself? For me?” Athis asked, still stunned. He ran his hands over the rough hewn table in the back of the room almost as if he couldn’t believe it was real. “For us,” Nyenna corrected. He turned and lifted her up in one motion, spinning her around in pure joy before setting her back down. They sat down together at the table, and he kissed her gently. “Our home,” Athis said, voice thick with emotion. “Our home,” Nyenna agreed. He pulled her into a tight embrace. They sat like that for some time, warm in each other’s arms.

New Version (Now Chapter 7)

She took his hand and led him down past the now-recovered Gildergreen, whose ethereal flowers still bloomed, even in the cold of Sun’s Dusk. They walked almost to the entrance of the city, right before Adrianne’s forge. Nyenna guided him up the stairs of a little house which had stood empty for as long as anyone could remember. Recently, the old, faded boards that had scarred its surface had been replaced. She pulled a fine chain from around her neck and revealed an old brass key hanging on it. She unclasped her necklace and unlocked the door of the house. She led Athis into the tiny, perfect cottage. There was not a speck of dust, and the fire had already been lit. New dishes lined shelves that had been made by hand. The kitchen area next to the hearth in the center of the main room was outfitted with second hand, well-loved pans Hulda had given her. Tundra cotton and lavender hung from the ceiling, drying alongside other bundles of herbs and braids of garlic. Candles scattered around the room glowed like miniature stars. The light reflected off of their matching rings as they walked toward the back of their kitchen. She fell even more in love, if it was possible, as she watched him look around in awe at all her hard work. All she had achieved for them. “Welcome to Breezehome,” Nyenna said quietly. “I’ve been working on this for weeks, between everything else.” “You did all this yourself? For me?” Athis asked, still stunned. He ran his hands over the rough hewn table in the back of the room almost as if he couldn’t believe it was real. Farkas had actually found that for her. She had repaired it herself. “For us ,” Nyenna corrected. He turned and lifted her up in one motion, spinning her around in pure joy before setting her back down. They sat down together at the table, and he kissed her gently. She giggled. “Our friends helped, too.” “This is really our home?” Athis asked, voice thick. He smiled, garnet eyes shining with held-back tears. “Our home,” Nyenna agreed. He pulled her into a tight embrace. They sat like that for some time, warm in each other’s arms. She pulled another fine chain out from beneath her dress. A brand new brass key she had Adrianne make for her hung from it. She handed it to Athis. He held onto it like it was the greatest treasure he’d ever seen before he slipped the chain over his head, links catching in his hair and tugging more strands loose from the braids. She knew he’d never thought he’d be able to have a place to call his own. It was why she had been working so much, and sleeping so little. To give him this, that they could share together. It was the least she could do. She wanted a home, too. It had been so long since she had felt this kind of safety, this kind of comfort. Normalcy, of any kind. He had given her that. Freely and with his whole heart. They had already started to build a beautiful life. It was more than what she had asked for. It was everything she could have imagined and more.

Changes

I think if I were to pick one thing I'd still like to push more it'd be the visual descriptions of things for sure as mentioned above. I do rely a lot on sound to convey a lot of what I'm experiencing in my mind while I'm writing. Sound has never been an issue for me to remember or to imagine. But balancing that with actual descriptions of what the character can see is still super important and I do try very hard to do this :D

Final Thoughts

Leveling up and improving at writing takes a lot of practice generally speaking, and the drive to want to do the thing. Life can get in the way of creativity sometimes, I speak from experience. So the biggest advice I can give is to normalize being proud of your journey. Each step, past, present and where you're trying to go in the future. Your words matter more than you realize, more than the numbers will have you believe, more than your own self-talk will try and convince you otherwise.

Level ups occur because you are doing something you love, acquiring good input (ie reading widely, and writing often and noticing what works about these stories and what doesn't and asking WHY) , and making a concerted effort to try your best. And your best can look like different things at different points. The next step after that is like I said above, be gentle with yourself, especially each of your past selves. Their work got you where you are today. And where you are today will become a past self that provided a foundation on which you level up your craft.

So be kind to yourself. Keep practicing. Be mindful. When you are inspired, don't forget to write it down. Save pieces of your work for later. Review your own writing with pride.

I know it's not the easiest to see in ourselves and our work, but all that we do, all that creativity -- it's absolutely worth it. The level ups will happen. It takes time. But you'll get there.

(And Winter specifically? GIRL. You are leveling up. You got this. I see you. (: )

[ablizmal]

musical head canon….

oh my god.

this is the BEST question anyone could have asked me about my self insert, holy SHIT. /positive

so my self insert (and also me irl) LOVES musicals. yes, not only is juliette a musical person, but she also LOVES musicals lmaooooo (one of their fav musicals is sweeney todd ❤️u❤️ it’s been one of her favorites ever since she was 11 hahajdksjdjs)

i think it’s the musicals that’s made them like this. y’know?? she just gets how you can break into song and preform at any given moment. (and that is what juliette does sometimes in the kira headquarters when the case is slow, yes. listen, death note is already stupid (affectionate) in some ways on its own, so my s/i just brings her own flavor of stupid (affectionate) to the table hsjdjaksjs)

IT’S SO SILLY because they have “juliette breaks” where (if the case is slow ofc) will stop what they’re doing and watch juliette perform whatever song they’re obsessed with atm. and since L’s rich af, she can make props, set up and time certain lightning, and juliette even has mirrors along one of the walls of their personal room so they can see themself as they practice performing.

(my selfship universe is VERY self indulgent and i want to be a raconteur more than anything. i even learned “the origin of love” on the ukulele and everything!!)

OH!!! speaking of ukulele, i do play it. it’s so fun and the chords are SO much easier to do versus on an acoustic guitar. but that being said, i’d LOVE to play an electric guitar, since the bridge’s height is more similar to a ukulele’s and the strings aren’t thick 🥰🥰🥰

but yeah, N E ways, juliette’s mainly into rock music :3 she loves alternative rock, especially the sound you can find in (primarily???) early 2000’s rock/pop punk rock songs. (which works so WELL since DEATH NOTE takes PLACE in the early 2000’s 🥹🥹🥹😭😭😭😭)

BUT they also like doo wop songs from the 50’s/60’s. actually, they like a handful of pop songs from the 50’s/60’s in general lol (glances at songs from L’s perspective in my personal lawliz playlist 👀👀👀).

with that being said, there is a specific niche of songs that juliette adores. i don’t know the exact term for it??? i’ve come across the word “cabaret” for it before, but the best i could describe it as is that they’re whimsical typa songs.

here’s a playlist of what these songs are to me UvU

i also like folk music, too!! i think i just like songs that feel so alive and feel like a story to me (lol, (points at juliette, who is myself) musical loving ass bitch /affectionate)

juliette just casually starts playing and singing a folk song in front of L one day, and L is filled with terror as a majority of the folk songs i know are about horrific things. it doesn’t help that she’s also smiling while playing the songs :)))

(they LIKE MUSIC, L!!! they love performing!!!!!!! they’re an entertainer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ( ノ˶•̀ O•́˶)ノ ´ˎ-)

juliette is just a very spirited person (✿ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)

at the end, i wanted get more into the tweaks i’ve done to juliette because i found it to make her captivating (well, even more captivating, let’s be real (⌐⸝⸝ᗜᴗᗜ)*ੈ ‧₊⟡ ˚ .), but this has already been so long… so! i’ll post about it eventually.

thank you so much for the ask, beloved mutual ros <333

[aspiringpolymath]

Mid Year Reading Check In

I compiled this at the end of June, so it's not up to the minute accurate, but a good indication of how my reading year has gone so far. I tweaked the questions a bit to suit my reading style. If anyone sees this and wants to answer them PLEASE tag me so I can see what you are reading!

Mid Year Book Check In Questions:

Did you set a reading challenge; if so, how’s it going? (AKA How many books have you read?)

Best book(s) you’ve read so far?

Best sequel or book in a series you've read so far?

New release you haven't read yet, but want to?

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year?

Biggest disappointment?

Biggest surprise?

Favorite new author? (Debut or new to you)

Newest favorite character (for whatever reason)?

Book that made you cry or saddest book you’ve read?

Book that made you happy?

Favorite review you've written this year? (Can be glowing or a takedown)

Favorite cover for a book you've read this year?

What books are your priority to read by the end of the year?

Answers:

According to GR, I’ve read 239 books (tho I prefer ‘title’ since some are pretty short. I read a mix of novels, novellas, shorts and manga/comics.) My GR goal is 365, so I’m ahead of schedule!

Bests

Manga - Restart After . . . duology by Cocomi

Graphic novel - Mamo by Sass Milledge (ff ya)

Non LGBTQ+ romance book - The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna (still casually queer)

Short book - Bisclavret by K.L. Noone

Standalone mm romance book (there are not a lot of these, lol) - We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian (I didn’t want it to be over, so I really took my time.)

3. Three way tie between The Missing Page by Cat Sebastian, Malibu by Emmy Sanders, and Out of the Wild Night by Marina Vivancos. Oh, and Muscle Cub by Slade James!

4. Loads, but I still haven’t read The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles and I really need to get on that.

5. I’m looking forward to the next volume of Our Not-So-Lonely Planet Travel Guide by Mone Sorai. Oh, and Gentle Chaos by Tyler Gaga (ghosthoney on IG and TikTok)

6. I was most recently disappointed by How To Say I Do by Tal Bauer - not hugely, just wasn’t what I was hoping for.

7. I was really pleasantly surprised by Show Me How to Trust by Ray Celar. I didn’t have high hopes after book 2, but this one really took the time it needed to with the characters. Not a perfect book, but really lovely.

8. I’ve read a couple of short things by her in the past, but this year Crystal Lacy has become a new go-to author.

9. Sal from The Demon’s Mate by Delaney Rain, and maybe Collin from Off-Ice Behavior by Hannah Henry.

10. Some I’ve already mentioned made me cry, but I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain by Will Walton made me cry no fewer than five times. It’s a weird prose poem YA book about grief and generational addiction, I thought it was so well done. A book that made me cry mostly happy tears was Keep Me by HJ Welch.

11. The audiobook of Heartbreak Boys by Simon James Green made me legitimately lol.

12. Well, the one that has gotten the most likes on GR is my 1 star of The Right Wrong Number by Katie Warren, but I did like my pithy review for So These Rude Grumpy Arrogant Jerks Fall In Love and It’s Gross by TJ Land. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5353619286

13. The Roger Crenshaw books by Taylor Titmouse have amazing covers, and illustrations inside, too.

Also, Haunt, Heart, Havoc by Freydís Moon has a super striking cover.

14. I’d like to get back to In Memoriam by Alice Winn. I started it, but there were holds and I knew it was going to get very sad. Oh, and this probably should have been listed above, but I also want to get to Something Wild and Wonderful by Anita Kelly soon.

[wisteriasakana]

This month I've been focusing on Red Riding Hood and the Little Bad Wolf, especially since the demo is in the pipeline. And so...

Soe does devlog strikes back - The return of a completely random series of devlog.

As already mentioned, the first part of May was explosive to say the least. Apart from the RL and my computer going argh, I had the idea of editing my itch.io profile and... Maybe I put too many links, because for a few days it was kept in custody to probably verify I wasn't a bot or a spammer. *lol!* Now everything is fine and my account is beautiful - Empty, sure, but beautiful!

Talking about the game. To my great and pleasant surprise, I found more than one kind person willing to betatest the English version. I've already received some very useful feedback! There are some small tweaks to do before releasing the demo. For example, the menu.

This is the menu I planned to keep for the game. However, it was pointed out to me that the color is too bright and that the RPG Maker base menu, in a game without combat, is very dispersive. So I fixed it!

This is the new version of the menu. Straightforward and essential! (It’s mjshi’s Non-Combat Menu, if anyone is interested-)

Thinking back to the feedback, I realized that the very first part of the game might not give a very clear idea of where the story is going. Probably because I didn't plan to make a demo. I had already taken into account that the demo would be 75% walking simulator and 15% gameplay but, story-wise, the pacing had an impact that I hadn't anticipated. I'll have to be more careful, gaming writing is different from novel writing! (BTW, a funny (?) detail is that I think the full version of the game has a decent balance between dialogue and gameplay-)

And, speaking of the full version, as I already said in the last post, I finally found a (I hope) good idea for the last part before the endings. Keep it simple, simple things are often the most effective! I've already programmed it, I just have to... Yes, write the dialogue. BUT, I still went ahead with other cutscenes. I'm not quite completely just absolutely totally stuck with writing!

One thing that was holding me back a bit about this story is that I thought of it in 2016. I don't remember if I ever said it (If yes, whatever, let's dust off the origins!), but Red Riding Hood and the Little Bad Wolf started out in 2016 as a short story. I decided to rework it as an RPG Maker game because I wanted to develop something short. Well... Short I guess it's short, it's my timing that's curious. *Look at Candy Apple* However, that's a seven year old story now. I've changed, I write differently, now I would do it differently. Maybe that's what stopped me so- No, that's not true, because I thought of Candy Apple seven months ago and I procrastinate it too. *lol*

I'm not going to get stuck in an eternal loop of perfectionism. We grow, we change, if you are slow like me you have to accept that you will have to work on something created by your past self. Just don't fossilize! Besides, this is my first game, this poor fellow has to suffer all my gameplay and writing experiments in this new medium. I really hope I can get through this block and be able to give Red Riding Hood and the Little Bad Wolf the ending(s) it deserves and be able to show them to others as well.

Yes, okay, so when will the demo be out?

As already said, I won't give a precise date for the moment. I have yet to receive feedback from other betatesters, so answering times and any changes to be made must be taken into account. My idea is the first week of June but, I repeat, it's just an idea.

Happy MerMay, that has nothing to do with all of this but it's one of the virtual anniversaries that I love most, and good luck with your projects!

[meikodenji]

as BNHA has now ended, i want to go on here and just introduce my OCs and AU/HC ! i’ve had this oc and storyline since the sixth grade i think lol and i’ve been tweaking it over the years. so, here goes nothin !!

his name is Naoki Yasuda and he is the same age as Class A (and attends that same class).

he has three older siblings: Taiki (half-brother, the eldest), Yaeko (eldest sister), Kumiko (older sister). keep in mind that there are significant age gaps between the siblings (i even confused myself :,>)

their parents died when they were young, since Naoki was about 3 years old, Kumiko was 6, Yaeko was 9, and Taiki was 14. before their parents’ deaths, their family was in the working class—nowhere near the ballpark of the middle class. after the tragedy, the kids were left dirt poor and lived with their paternal grandmother who also ends up passing two years later due to her chronic illness. since before their grandmother’s passing, Taiki had already stepped up to look after his siblings and his grandma.

Taiki tried his best to get them around in legal ways, but it was difficult sometimes. so, he did resort to odd jobs and some theft. however, when he got older and matured, he was able to barely grasp his first ever legal job at the age of 15.

eventually, Yaeko also got a job when she was 14 (which is a couple years later). she was good friends with a girl and her family. so, they were able to get her a fake ID to lie about her being 15.

so now, the two older siblings would put together as much money as they could from their jobs and side hustles (theft & pawning, Taiki may have had a better job by 19, but money was still VERY tight, especially since he was withdrawed from school and didn’t have a high school diploma, Yaeko was then doing the theft without Taiki’s approval).

Kumiko and Naoki tried their best to contribute but Taiki and Yaeko wouldn’t let them because they didn’t want him to follow their not-so-great footsteps. they always made sure the younger ones didn’t go on an empty stomach, to have great hygiene, have clean clothes, and to be as content as possible.

they were really on their own though. no one ever held out a hand for them after the fake ID for Yaeko, but it didn’t really hurt their feelings. no, because it actually fueled something in the Yasuda siblings: to help others in any kind of way.

from the very beginning of their family’s tragedy, it gave Taiki the dream that many kids had always dreamed about: to become some kind of professional hero.

his siblings were very supportive.

time went on, Taiki was in the top 3 of the final points for the entrance exam at a hero school for those seeking a second chance (he was about 21 when he began his hero studies).

Naoki, from a very young age, watching his older brother being so selfless and the best influence, and then seeing Taiki reach for a wonderful title—which is something Taiki very much deserved—made the young boy want to become a hero as well.

part 2 ? let me know !

[alltheshadesofamber]

Wait, okay can you please tell me what the canon characterization of Jason is? I’m a new comics fan and it’s so hard to separate canon and fanon traits from the batfam sometimes and I’d appreciate any and all insight 🙏 I really want to write a batfam fic w/ Jason in it but have been too scared of accidentally mischaracterizing him to start lol

Thank you for asking this! I hope you don’t regret it! 😂 I’ve never really written meta before, I struggle with formatting essays, and it’s been a while since I’ve written anything really at all, so sorry if it doesn’t flow well! I basically just periodically added something to it whenever I thought of it. Sooo this ended up longer than I thought it would be! 😅

This is all my personal interpretations of Jason’s character, disjointed as it may be! I’ll also admit that characterization can be tweaked depending on what you want out of the story, and I am not immune to this! And when it comes to pre-Crisis and post-Crisis Robin!Jason, I’ll admit I do get a little turned about regarding what may or may not be canon anymore, because in my opinion it’s not really clear! I do my best to weave some stuff together to make some stuff make sense, but this really isn’t something I’m used to putting down on paper into words, and I’m sure some other people have done or could do better. Furthermore, I prefer to take post-New 52 stuff with a massive grain of salt, because the New 52 was just. Yikes! Honestly most Jason stuff even pre-New 52 is just inconsistent. If you’re a Jason fan you prooooobably already know that though! His characterization is a tangled mess! Why do I even like him? Answer: He makes my brain go brrrrrr. I did my best to wrangle my thoughts here.

None of this is consistent either. My thoughts on Jason change like. All the time. This isn’t even all of them. And like, I tried to stick mostly to canon, but I will admit even I am willing to bend on this stuff a bit to make relations a little smoother in my head sometimes.

Also people are complicated and composed of contradictions, and every character can be said to be an unreliable narrator of their own story! I think that’s something important to keep in mind when it comes to my interpretations, and I tried to have that come across. Without further ado, my collected Jason Todd ramblings:

Let me start by saying, I just think Jason’s fascinating. And cool! I like his potential for depth and his leather jackets and his righteous fury and his refusal to be ignored or forgotten and his determination and his sense of humor and his intelligence and his attitude and I just think he’s great.

Jason was a good kid! He was the best kid, actually. He had a rough life, but he never gave up and he made do with what he had. He was scrappy. He was funny! I feel like an important part of Jason’s original post-Crisis origin to mention is the fact that he made Batman laugh. That’s always stuck out as important to me, and I’ve always felt it should be important for defining Jason and Bruce’s relationship and Jason as Robin and Jason in general, and I’m disappointed it’s been left out of later reimaginings as far as I’m aware. Jason Todd is the kid who made Batman laugh! Not only that, he made Bruce Wayne laugh, on the anniversary of his parents’ deaths, in the very spot where they died in Crime Alley! Jason was a light in Bruce’s life. Jason made him laugh. He did that. And little 11/12 year old Jason, when faced with a Batman he had just stolen tires from and having been caught in the act, was fearless. He wasn’t cowed at all! He denied taking the tires to his face, then he hit the goddamn Batman with a tire iron and ran away daring Batman to catch him! “Try and catch me, you big boob!” He had gumption and spirit to spare! And on top of that, he had an unflagging desire to do good. Batman sent him to a school to get Jason off the streets and somewhere safe, and when it turned out the school was actually a front for criminal enterprises, what did Jason do? He could’ve walked away. It would’ve been understandable, he was just a kid. But no. Jason decided that he had a duty, a responsibility. So he tried to stop a museum heist. And that’s when Bruce took him in, post-Crisis. So what have we established about Jason so far? He’s funny, he’s daring, he’s cheeky! He’s got an unrelenting desire to do good and a sense of responsibility to do so that most fully grown people don’t have. And Jason was a great Robin. He was smart, eager to learn, eager to help people and so very earnest about it all. He was a sweetheart. He was kind and considerate, sensitive and so so empathetic. He had a bleeding heart and he wore it on his sleeve. And I don’t know why I’m saying “was,” not really, because he still is most, if not all, of those things, even if they don’t present in exactly the same way anymore, or aren’t as obvious.

He excelled at school and he cared about it, it was important to him. He wouldn’t stand for injustice, and he wouldn’t keep quiet about it. He was exceptionally bright, gave everything his all, and he was recognized and praised for it by Bruce and Alfred. Dick liked him too. As Robin, Jason was never discouraged or led to believe he wasn’t good enough by any external forces. Bruce was actually very vocal and communicative about how great he thought Jason was.

I also have a particular fondness for Robin!Jason’s adventures with the Titans. His talk with Donna showed him to be responsible, level-headed, humble, intuitive, and very insightful! He’s able to get to the heart of what Donna’s dealing with and give her solid advice, while at the same time reminding her that he’s just a kid and he’s still got a lot to learn and he knows it. He’s also able to deduce that Roy is hiding something, as well as what that something may be.

Bruce suspecting him of killing Garzonas, Sheila betraying him to the Joker, dying brutally and bloodily, coming back, digging his way out of his own grave, regaining awareness only to find out that the Joker was still alive, Batman had a new Robin… that he had died, that he’d loved them so much, put his faith and trust in his new family, and he’d been forgotten? Replaced? As though he meant nothing to them? That his death hadn’t changed anything? It broke Jason. It shattered him to pieces. But as previously established, Jason is nothing if not resilient. Irrepressible. An unstoppable force. He put in the time, the effort, the sweat and tears (and there were tears when he first broke. Jason’s first reaction to the news about the Joker and a new Robin was heartbreak. He was devastated. The anger came later. And it was a righteous kind of anger) and he remade himself. Jason melted down the broken pieces of who he was, honed his skills to mastery levels with a frightening dedication and speed, and through trials by fire, forged himself into a weapon on par with Batman.

He’s resilient, in all ways. He can take a beating, he can take pain, he can take disappointment and betrayal and failure, and every time he will rally and come back swinging. He’s determined and dedicated. He’s got an insane work ethic, and learning comes ridiculously easy to him. He doesn’t get daunted or intimidated, not really. He’s a survivor. He looks the worst of the worst in the face and he doesn’t back down.

Jason has never been afraid or hesitant to make his feelings clear, and he intrinsically knows his own worth. He’s never been shy to say when he feels he’s been mistreated. He doesn’t expect the best of others, not anymore, not really (but maybe there is some flickering flame of hope he can’t quite smother—) but he has self-respect and no doubts about it (maybe some fleeting thoughts of “was it my fault? Did Bruce ever really love me? Was I a bad Robin? Etc” but we all have those kinds of intrusive thoughts, don’t we?)

He’s confident, because he has the skills to back it up. He’s self-aware, to an extent; he knows his limits, knows what he can and can’t do, and he knows when it’s time to call it a day and retreat. But also if he’s going down he will not go down without a fight, and he will drag you down with him. He likes to cause problems on purpose, and he escalates; you hit him, he’ll hit back harder.

It’s established that there’s a bomb in his helmet. I think that says a lot. I don’t think he ever intended to survive his showdown with Bruce, but I also don’t think he wanted to die, not really. I think he might have seen it as inevitable though. Or maybe he didn’t want to live in a world where his dad didn’t kill his murderer. I don’t know. I’m not sure Jason knows either.

He’s snarky and quick-witted, razor-sharp and acerbic and irreverent. His wields his words just as skillfully as he does all the other weapons at his disposal. But also sometimes he’s just having fun and being annoying for the sake of it. He’s frighteningly intelligent, despite what more recent writers would like you to believe. He’s a great detective, and he has a wide range of skills and he’s mastered all of them. He’s an overachiever to the core. He’s hypercompetent. He puts his all into everything he does. He’s good at reading people, better than anyone thinks he is, which is possibly linked to that strong empathy I mentioned earlier. He does have a flare for the dramatic, and he is very very good at it. He’s got theatricality, he’s a master showman. He’s resourceful and clever.

Jason is immensely skilled! He spent a year going around the world, learning all the same skills Bruce learned, but with the training wheels off, so to speak. And he mastered each one in record time! He didn’t just become proficient, he mastered them! He surpassed his teachers! And it only took him at most a few weeks each time! He learns incredibly quickly and picking up skills and techniques comes naturally to him. Jason’s more than a match for Bruce on a strictly physical level. (Sometimes post-Flashpoint does have its cool moments, like that time Jason took out a bunch of heroes pursuing him, a group including Bruce and Damian, all while falling off a building, if I’m remembering that right) And when it comes to the mental level? Jason’s a master tactician and strategist. He’s outmaneuvered Batman multiple times over the years, even on the fly. He was two steps ahead of Bruce all of UtRH.

I don’t see Jason as especially reckless or impulsive, at least no more so than any of the other Bats. I think he processes things very quickly and is very adaptive. So it might seem as though he’s taking a major risk or acting without thinking, but in reality he’s thought through his options and his risks and decisions are carefully calculated.

He’s not afraid of the Joker. This is made clear in UtRH.

He’s completely in control of his own actions and he always has been. “Lazarus Pit Madness” isn’t a prolonged or recurrent phenomena, and his feelings and homicidal actions are all his own, for better or worse. I personally just dislike that bit of fanon very much. I feel it takes away his agency and turns his very real issues and feelings and dismisses them in favor of excusing his actions and absolving him of the blame. I get why people like it and latch on to it and use it, because it makes writing happier Batfam dynamics easier, gives an excuse to speed up reconciliation, and gets rid of any consequences for his actions, except of course angst and guilt when needed. But I just don’t like it. I think it reduces him as a character.

I don’t think he loses sleep over killing. At least not when he’s first reintroduced. But later characterizations may vary.

I honestly don’t know what I feel about Jason’s relationship with Alfred is or should or would be after Jason’s return. There’s not much canon to extrapolate from, if I remember correctly. I know that’s led to a lot of popular fanon being about them reconnecting and having a fairly smooth and accepting relationship, and I’ll accept that when it comes up in fic, but. I don’t know. I don’t really feel it. And the lack of canon to draw on in the wake of UtRH sort of works against that interpretation for me, and in my opinion lends more credence to the opposite. I also think that relationship (really all of Jason’s relationships) deserves more depth than that. I wouldn’t call myself a fan of fluff for fluff’s sake, I don’t like the idea that Jason turns mushy and compliant where Alfred’s concerned, or suddenly turns into some kind of a sheepish chastened schoolboy from his very presence, and I like when characters feelings and relationships aren’t too straightforward. Complex relationships are something I adore.

I could conceivably see Jason getting along with Tim and Damian, but like. I don’t know how they’d get there. I guess I don’t have to ponder that, because DC canon has said they’re already there somehow, but still. I’m not super against it, I’d just like to understand more. I’m not against the idea of a more amiable (to a degree) Batfamily in principle, but in practice I think it’s just not really delivering what I want. Too many characters at once means everyone tends to get simplified in group scenes to a quip or a jab, and I’m tired of Jason being reduced to a joke or insult about him dying or having daddy issues or being some kind of meathead. It’s aggravating. (He’s also not the only one this happens to in this situation, and I absolutely am upset by how the others get reduced too, both in canon and fanon, Jason’s just the one I’m talking about right now)

Talia did not manipulate Jason. She didn’t brainwash him, she didn’t goad him into hating or trying to kill Bruce or the others, she didn’t treat him badly, or intend to use him as a weapon against Bruce, or anything like that. Her original plan was to nurse Jason back to health and return him to Bruce. When that didn’t work, she put him in the Lazarus Pit to heal him because she feared for his safety. Jason didn’t even show any signs of Lazarus Pit Madness afterwards, by the way. She informed him of the Joker’s continued existence and the new Robin, yes. So what? He needed to know. Returning Jason to Bruce was still the plan. But Jason’s the one who threw the wrench in that plan. Jason didn’t want to go home. Jason wanted revenge. He wanted to kill Bruce. Talia did not want Jason to kill Bruce. She set up all his training to stall him, in hopes that he would change his mind. She kept watch over him, and she cared about him and for him. She was worried that he might have lost his ability to feel emotions or become a psychopath as a result of everything he’d been through, and when he showed that he was still capable emotions and hadn’t completely lost his sense of morality or empathy, she was relieved.

Jason is very attached to Gotham, just like Bruce. It’s his city, too.

Jason is willing to work with others when it suits him, and when he commits to doing so longterm he’s actually a very good team player. He doesn’t seem to have delusions of grandeur or aspirations of usurpation when it comes to leadership, and he’s not opposed to listening to people who have his respect. And if you aren’t on his bad side then he can be surprisingly cordial and polite. Though perhaps that’s not too surprising; he was a sweet kid, after all.

I wholeheartedly believe that Jason is at his core a good person. The bones are good, the foundation is good; it’s everything else that’s not doing so great. I don’t know if I’d say he’s lost, because I think in a way he’s where he wanted to be; he’s chosen a bad path, and he did so deliberately. Jason has always tried to the right thing, the things that need doing; it’s just that his idea of what the right thing is and what needs to be done has changed.

Jason has also been shown to have a massive well of forgiveness, though I feel that’s mostly post-New 52 canon, where full reconciliation with the other Bats is a thing, so he’d have to be forgiving by necessity. I’m not even going to get in to post-New 52 stuff I think, I find most of it very disjointed and in large part emotionally unsatisfying. There is pre-New 52 pre-death precedent for Jason being astoundingly forgiving though, to an almost saint-like degree; he forgives Sheila for leading him to the Joker and tries to save her life by untying her, and he even tries to shield her from the bomb. Which means a case for the later stuff being in-character could be made. So there is that.

Before Jason died he was also a huge believer in second chances. Sometimes even a bigger proponent of them than Bruce. This is a little hard to reconcile with his later actions, but it’s the truth.

Jason Todd went to Heaven when he died, we learn that in Green Arrow: Quiver.

I’ve seen a lot of comics that have someone, usually Bruce or Jason I think, say something about how they believe (or know, as if it was obvious) that if Bruce hadn’t taken Jason in, Jason would’ve grown up to be a criminal. Let me make this clear: I do not believe that for a second. Jason’s sense of right and wrong was always strong, and his moral convictions were steadfast. He stole as a kid to survive, but when presented with the option of letting something bad happen to someone else when he had the power to stop it, even if it wasn’t much power, even as a kid Jason never took the easy way out. He did what he knew was right.

Jason wants to be seen, but he also wants to be understood. That’s how I interpret his encounters with Dick in the Blood Brothers arc (yuck) and Mia Dearden in Green Arrow. And while I’d prefer to ignore it as a whole, he does make sort of similar overtures to Dick again and Tim in Battle for the Cowl, though I highly doubt he sincerely thought there was any chance at all that they’d accept in that case.

He’s incredibly loyal and devoted to those he loves, and expects that same level of loyalty in return. He sees failing to live up to those standards as a personal betrayal of Bruce’s; and after his return he takes betrayal (pre-New 52) very seriously. If you don’t reciprocate, then in his mind obviously everything else was a lie. If Bruce didn’t kill the Joker for killing Jason, did Bruce ever really love him at all? But he also knows for a fact that Bruce did love him. It’s complicated!

He knows Bruce loves him; but Bruce doesn’t love him the way he wants to be loved, or in a way that he interprets as true or able to be trusted, at least not anymore. It isn’t enough. Jason loves Bruce as much as he hates him.

Jason characterization is tricky! His skills, his strengths, and his smarts are all immutable across continuities and interpretations in my opinion, but the more undefinable things, like his feelings? I will admit, there’s more leeway to be had there. Also I’ve contradicted myself a bit sometimes, I think. Sorry about that! Sorry about all of this, really. I probably repeated myself a lot. In fact I’ve probably already apologized for repeating myself a lot. I don’t have the patience to check or edit this extensively. I did my best! I hope this helps! And thank you for asking me in the first place! Even though this is a mess, I did enjoy doing it!

[babyboibucky]

Project V

Pairing: College!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: You ask Bucky a favor of a lifetime.

Word Count: 4,233

Warnings: SMUT hehehe

A/N: This was supposed to be short but I enjoyed writing their banter wayyyy too much. And oh, this isn’t a friend to lovers trope lol and I have no plans for a second part to this. It is what is is for these two ;)

Edit: Will be doing ficlets for this AU every once in a while! Check out the first one linked below!

Project V Masterlist || MAIN MASTERLIST

“You want me to what?”

Your best friend, Bucky choked on his own spit upon hearing your question. His eyes were as wide as saucers as he stared at you in disbelief, you didn’t even know his eyes could get that big.

The sun was high up in the sky, it was barely noon and the two of you were simply walking into the campus when you asked him such favor. Bucky almost wondered whether you were drunk to even think of that.

“You want me to what?” Bucky repeated when you didn’t say anything, his elbow nudging your side as the two of you continued to walk along the pavement.

Letting out a sigh, you shrugged and repeated your favor with utter nonchalance.

“I want you to take my v-card. You know, my virginity?” You said, annoyed that he couldn’t seem to comprehend your simple request.

Bucky stopped in his tracks and tugged your shirt, pulling you back when you didn’t stop walking. His face was the epitome of confusion with his forehead creased, brows furrowed and lips open agape.

“Is there no other way for you to say that without making me cringe?” He asked.

Rolling your eyes, you groaned. “What did you want me to say? ‘Bucky, deflower me with your magic stick’?” You said sarcastically.

Bucky gagged at your words and shuddered. “But why? Why the fuck would you even consider that?” He asked. He simply couldn’t understand why.

You continued walking ahead and slowed down your pace until Bucky decided to catch up. “We’re graduating from college in less than a year and I’ve heard you boast about your bedroom skills. I don’t wanna leave college without getting fucked, Bucky. And since I’m still single and probably will be for the next few months, I put two and two and voila!”

Bucky snickered, “You gotta be kidding me.” He said.

“Why? Scared that I might find out that your dick ain’t working well?” You teased, narrowing your eyes at Bucky.

He snorted, “Umm excuse me, this dick is the best dick that you’ll ever have. I just don’t want to ruin other guys for you.” He boasted, shrugging his shoulders.

“Then do me the favor.” You said, as a matter-of-factly.

Bucky turned to you with a smirk, the kind that made any girl on the receiving end, bend down on their knees for him. You were going to admit it, that look made your insides churn. In a good way.

“Oh, I’ll do you alright. When do you want it to happen?” He finally asked.

You stopped walking again and fist pumped in victory. “Friday night. At your dorm. And please, don’t make it weird with romantic gestures. I just wanna get fucked real good.”

“Well, if that’s the case then it’s a deal. Let’s shake on it to make it official.” Bucky said.

The two of you did your signature high-five to seal the deal.

-

You knocked on Bucky’s room and let out a sigh when it took him quite a while to open it. Although it was going to be your first time, you weren’t really nervous about it. Besides, you trusted Bucky and if there’s any guy you won’t regret having sex with, it would be him.

There were a few noises from inside that made you roll your eyes. The door finally opened, revealing a flustered Bucky with an awkward smile plastered on his face.

“The fuck took you so long?” You huffed out and stepped inside, surprised at how neat his dorm looked like.

His roommate Steve had always been organized but seeing Bucky’s side of the room all neat? It was a sigh to behold. You looked at your best friend with a stoic look, “Why’d you clean?”

Bucky closed the door and locked it, running his fingers through his hair as he shrugged. “I just wanted to.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Fine, I cleaned. I didn’t want you to think I’m disgusting.” he reasoned out.

You stared at him pointedly, “I don’t care about that shit, I’m just here to get fucked. Besides, I’m used to your mess. I said don’t make it weird, jesus.”

Bucky groaned, “You asking me to fuck you is weird in its entirety. How can I not make things weird?!” He complained.

You sat on his bed and unzipped your jacket, revealing a bottle of tequila hidden beneath. “This is how we make things not weird.”

Two shots later and Bucky was finally loosening up to the idea of being the one to take your virginity. He prepared for this to be honest, forced asked Steve to stay over at Peggy’s for the weekend and worked out immediately right after formalizing the deal.

“Do we have rules?” He asked.

“We’ll stay best friends after this. No weird feelings or whatever.” You told him to which he nodded in agreement.

“And just please do your best to make my first time good.” You whined.

Bucky craned his neck and stretched out his arms, “Alright, okay. I got this.” He said. “You ready?” He asked you.

You inhaled and let out a long breath, “Yeah, okay let’s do this.”

Bucky started by leaning in, placing a hand on your neck as he did so. You were ready for a kiss but he immediately stopped before you could even close your eyes.

“Do you know how—“

“I’ve made out with guys, Bucky. Jesus christ, I’m not that inexperienced.” You explained before looking at Bucky expectantly, urging him to continue.

“Should we drink again?” he proposed, obviously still feeling awkward.

“Fuck no, I don’t wanna do this drunk. I want to remember my first time, idiot. Can you just...” you groaned. “Just kiss me?” you asked, well, more like commanded.

Bucky apologized before deciding to just go for it. Snaking his hand back to your neck, he leaned in and kisses your lips. He started off slow and gentle, trying to get a feel of how you liked to be kissed. Bucky was definitely weirded out for kissing you, his best friend that he had known since first grade. Surprisingly, you were good at kissing, like really really good and this spurred Bucky to level up by taking your lower lip in between his teeth.

A small whine escaped your parted lips, allowing Bucky to slide his tongue into your mouth. You let out another whimper when you felt his tongue on yours, your hands falling onto Bucky’s thighs for leverage.

Just as when the kiss was starting to get heated, Bucky pulled away slightly before gazing down at your chest.

“Can I touch your boob?” He asked breathlessly.

And there goes the momentum.

“Oh my god, Bucky. You sound like a fucking virgin. And that’s coming from me, an actual virgin.” You said with disappointment.

“I’m sorry! It’s just... it’s not that I find you unattractive. You’re my best friend and I just don’t want to disrespect you!” He reasoned out.

As much as you wanted to get annoyed, you found Bucky really sweet for considering that. But good god, you’ve been wanting to get fucked and respect was the last thing on your mind right now.

“By all means, Bucky...please disrespect me and fuck me because my pussy’s been wet since this morning and I’m about to explode if you still don’t do anything.” You said exasperatedly.

Your vulgar words were all that Bucky needed because as soon you were done complaining, he wasted no time to grab your face to kiss you. This time, it was all teeth and tongue and you weren’t complaining. This was the kind of performance that you were expecting from Bucky and finally he was giving it to you.

One of his hands moved to cradle your head while his other slide down to your waist, moving you to straddle his lap as he sat on his bed. You let out a soft squeal when you felt the tent in his pants rub against your crotch, causing you to grab onto Bucky’s wide shoulders.

“Fuck, you’re already hard.” You panted against Bucky’s lips.

“Yeah well, I just realized you aren’t wearing a bra.” He responded before fisting the hem of your shirt, bunching it up until you lifted your arms up so he could remove it.

Bucky wasted no time to bend forward, taking a nipple into his mouth making you moan out loud.

“Hoooly fuck, Bucky. That feels so good.” You pant, pushing your breasts forward as you thread your fingers into Bucky’s hair.

Your body trembled from pleasure as Bucky continued to lap at your breast, his hand coming up to palm the other before tweaking your nipple in between his thumb and index finger. Unknowingly, you started rutting your hips against Bucky’s crotch, seeking friction to relieve the growing throb in your core.

Bucky lifted you up off from him and laid you down on his bed as he left kisses from your neck down to the valley of your breasts until he reached your stomach. He unzipped your shorts and pulled it down together with your soaked underwear, groaning at the sight of your glistening pussy.

“Fuuuccckkk...” he rasped out, nipping the insides of your thighs as he pressed them down with his palms, opening you up to him.

“Have you ever been eaten out?” He asked, nudging his nose onto the skin of your bikini line.

You swallowed hard and shook your head, chest heaving as you anticipated for Bucky’s next move. “No.” You answered breathily and threw an arm over your eyes.

“Hold tight.” It was the last thing your brain was able to comprehend because Bucky immediately licked your entrance up until he reached your clit, circling it with the tip of his tongue making your toes curl.

“Ohhhh my god...” you moaned, your back involuntarily arching from the bed.

You felt Bucky’s lips curl into a smirk against your sensitive folds, almost wanting to smack his head for his cockiness. But then again, this was the reason why you wanted your first time to be with him. You’ve heard your friends share stories about how their first time went and majority ended up being either a huge let down or downright scary. You didn’t want your first time story to be like theirs so it was only right for you to ask Bucky a favor of a lifetime.

And so far, you weren’t regretting it one bit. Well, save maybe for what could happen afterwards. Whether this would affect your friendship with Bucky but right now, all you could focus on was how his tongue was skillfully fucking your cunt.

Your eyes popped open when you felt a finger prod at your entrance, your hand quickly grabbing Bucky’s wrist to stop him from further pushing a finger in.

“Wait, I’ve never been fingered.” You admitted, bringing your body up and leaning back against your elbows.

Bucky looked up at you and the scene was straight out of those female POV porn you’ve watched. His hair was sticking up in different directions, face in between your legs and his lips glistening with your juices. Your eyes almost rolled back into your head at the sight.

“You mean you never tried fingering yourself?” He asked, turning his head to press an open-mouthed kiss onto your thigh.

You shook your head, “I tried but it kinda hurts?” You told him meekly.

Bucky grinned before crawling up your body until his face was inches away from yours. He pressed a soft kiss on your lips. “Lay back.” He said, voice rough and low, leaving goosebumps in your wake.

Following Bucky’s order, you lay down on his bed and relax as he positioned himself on his side. He began kissing your ear, sucking your lobe as his hand went down to your pussy, spreading your lips open.

“Just relax, okay? Can’t fuck you with my cock just yet, gotta make sure you can take it.” He whispered into your ear.

Bucky started rubbing your pussy, spreading your wetness around before slowly pushing a finger in. You winced in pain, grabbing Bucky’s wrist to slow him down.

“You can take it, just relax.” He coaxed and you nodded, turning your head to kiss him.

Bucky returned the kiss, helping take your mind off of the way he was pushing in his finger until he was knuckle-deep into your pussy. There was a slight sting but bearable enough for you to let him continue with his movements. You felt his finger slide out and then back in with ease, the pain slowly transforming into a different kind of pleasure as he went on. Next thing you know, your hips were already moving to meet Bucky’s finger.

“Gonna add in another one, okay?” He breathed into your lips before biting your lower lip.

“Ow, ow, ow!” You cried out and slapped Bucky’s hand away from your pussy when he tried to insert another finger without even slowing down.

“The fuck, Bucky! Slow down, sweet jesus...” you snapped, frowning when Bucky responded with a chuckle.

“Sorry! I’m losing my patience here, I want to finger fuck you so bad.” He admitted, whispering another apology against your lips.

You relaxed and let Bucky rub your pussy again, gathering your wetness and pushing a finger in. A few more pumps and he carefully inserted another finger, swallowing the whimpers coming out of your mouth.

You stiffened a bit, biting your lip as you tried to ignore the stretch that you were feeling. “You good?” Bucky asked, waiting for you to nod before fully pushing his fingers in.

His movements were slow and careful then, helping you adjust to the stretch of having two of his fingers pump in and out of your pussy. Soon enough, you were moaning against Bucky’s lips as he increased the pace of his fingers. You could hear how wet you were and you never really thought it was possible for you to be this soaked. All the times you touched yourself, you got pretty wet...but not this wet. When Bucky said that he fingered like a god, you laughed at his face but now, fuck. He really wasn’t lying about it.

“Fuck, so tight. Can’t wait to slide my cock into your pussy.” He grunted and moved on top of you, pulling his fingers out making you whine.

He sucked his fingers while maintaining eye contact, making you blush timidly at the lewdness of his action. But god, you were so right for giving Bucky the honor of fucking you because his fingers alone brought you so much pleasure. What more if he actually started to fuck you?

“Gotta fuck you now. I’m so hard I feel like I’m about to bust a nut anytime now.” Bucky said, sitting up to remove his shirt, followed by his jeans.

He was in the process of unzipping his jeans when he suddenly stopped and looked at you, sprawled on the bed looking utterly fucked when he hasn’t even been inside you yet.

“Will you still suck my dick after I make you cum?” He asked hopefully.

You laughed out loud at his question, “You look so worried right now.” You teased. “But yes, fine. I’ll suck your cock later.” You reassured before sitting up to help him remove his pants.

Bucky then slid his boxers off, revealing his cock that you may or may not have seen in the past. It was an accident though and you didn’t meant to barge into his dorm while he was dressing up. You gotta admit, your best friend was blessed with a huge dick. And now said dick, will be the first one to enter your virgin pussy.

“Like what you see?” Bucky teased when he caught you staring as he put on a condom.

You smirked, “Actually I do.”

Bucky licked his lips as he laid on top of you, supporting his weight using his forearms as he positioned himself in between your legs. You kept your eyes on him the entire time, nodding and lifting your head up a bit to press a chaste kiss on his lips.

“Okay, I think I’m ready.” You whispered.

Bucky nodded too and nuzzled his face into your neck, “You sure?” He asked again.

You hummed, “Good luck and don’t fuck it up.”

Bucky lifted his head and looked at you incredulously, “Did you just...”

“Quote RuPaul before having sex for the first time? Yeah, I did.” You quickly answered.

Bucky scrutinized you, “You planned that didn’t you?”

You made a face, “Maybe.” You said, before the both of you broke into huge smiles.

Bucky laughed before kissing you again, “I fucking knew it.” He said before his face turned serious. “Ready?” he asked.

You nodded your head again, taking in deep breath as Bucky reached down to rub his cock against your pussy, making you whine. Kissing you again, Bucky lined up his cock to your entrance, slowly pushing in until you gasped out in pain.

“You wanna keep going?” He asked worriedly, seeing your frown.

You closed your eyes and nodded, “Yeah. Just...just do it slowly.” You said.

Your hands went to grip Bucky’s back, nails digging into his skin as he pushed and pushed, until he was balls deep inside you. The pain wasn’t that bad, but it did feel like you were being torn apart. The veins in Bucky’s neck started to bulge out from the way he was holding himself back.

“Fuck, you’re so tight. Squeezing me so good, I think I’m gonna cum if I move.” He grunted, nosing the skin beneath your ear.

“Please don’t make this embarrassing for both of us.” You said. “You can move now.” You added.

Bucky slid all the way out, leaving the tip inside of you before pushing back in slowly. You let out a moan, both from pain and pleasure. His thrusts started off slow, helping you adjust to his girth and gauging your reaction.

One particular high-pitched moan gave it away. It was at that moment that the pain turned into nothing but pleasure and a few more languid thrusts later, you were chanting Bucky’s name and begging for him to go faster.

You felt so full and you simply couldn’t explain how good it felt getting fucked like this. Bucky kept on whispering praises into your ear, spurring you on as he thrusted in and out of you. The bed started to creak, the headboard hitting the wall as Bucky quickened the pace of his thrusts. You wrapped your legs around his waist, moaning his name as you felt your abdomen tighten. You could feel it coming, an impending orgasm that you’ve only been imagining. Not even your fingers rubbing your clit made you feel this way, like there was electricity running through your veins.

“Bucky, fuck...I think...” you panted, hands sliding down to grab his ass, pulling him further to you.

“Can feel it, can feel you pulsating around my cock.” Bucky panted.

Your body stilled, toes curling and vision blurring when Bucky thrusted into you at a certain angle. Just like that, you let go and moaned out loud as Bucky continued to fuck an orgasm out of you. Biting onto his shoulder, you rode out the remaining waves of your climax before laying your head back onto the pillow, watching Bucky as he followed after you, spilling his seed into the condom after a few more thrusts.

“Holy fucking shit...” he breathed out, letting his body fall onto yours.

There was a moment of silence as the both of you recovered, your pants echoing in the room. Bucky was the first to move, sliding his softening cock out of you and sitting up as he removed the condom. He went into his bathroom and disposed of it before walking back to the bed with a wet wash cloth in his hand.

“Are you still going to suck my dick?” Bucky broke the silence as he casually cleaned you up.

You lifted your head up, “Are you still hard?”

Bucky shrugged, “I can be if you want me to be.”

“I’ll do it tomorrow.” you simply responded.

“So, how did I do?” Bucky asked, continuing to clean you up in between your legs.

You bled a bit, but not to the point of staining his sheets thank god. When you didn’t respond, Bucky worried that you might have regretted this but instead, he found you grinning up at the ceiling like an idiot.

“The fuck you looking like that?” He asked, unable to hold back the smile tugging at his lips.

You laughed and closed your legs, wincing a bit at the soreness but quickly recovering. “I can’t believe we just had sex.” You said.

Bucky set aside the towel and laid back next to you, “I certainly hope I did not fuck that up.” He said.

You turned to your side and smiled at Bucky, “You didn’t. Thanks, Buck.”

There didn’t seem to be any tension nor awkwardness between the both of you after. It was pretty normal actually. After taking a bath, you both decided to order pizza for late dinner. More conversations took place until you both fell asleep on the same bed.

-

A series of knocks stirred you and Bucky awake. He was spooning you when you woke up, his arm wrapped around your waist while his face was pressed on the back of your neck. You thought you were dreaming but the knocks continued and a familiar chorus of voices made you and Bucky sit up in panic.

“James, honey? It’s your mom. Open up!”

You and Bucky looked at each other, “Why the fuck is your mom here?!” You whispered and frantically searched for your clothes.

You slept in one of Bucky’s shirts and a pair of panties and for some reason, you couldn’t find your clothes from last night. Bucky frantically ran around the dorm, grabbing your bag and throwing it under Steve’s bed.

“I don’t know why she’s here! She didn’t text me!” He whispered, checking his phone for any unread messages.

“James, come on now. We want to visit Y/N too so we can all have breakfast together.”

You knew that voice all too well, it was your mom’s! Bucky’s eyes widened when he heard you mom’s voice. He just took away her daughter’s virginity last night, how the hell was he going to look at her in the eyes after that?

Bucky grabbed your arm and pushed you into the bathroom, warning you to stay quiet. You were about to protest but Bucky quickly slammed the door shut. Pressing an ear against it, you listened as Bucky hurried over to the front door, opening it.

“Mom!” You heard him say before greeting your mom.

“Sweetie, did you just wake up? You look like a mess.” His mom said.

“What are you guys doing here?” Bucky asked nervously.

There were a few movements that were too near the bathroom, you almost readied yourself for a grand reveal. Fortunately, Bucky seemed to have blocked the bathroom and tried to distract his mom.

“Well, we thought of surprising you and Y/N. We missed you both. Go get dressed so we can pick her up from her dorm.” You heard your mom say.

“Ohhh I uhh...why don’t you both head out first and I can go pick her up? We’ll just meet you both somewhere.” Bucky suggested.

“Oh sweetie, I wanted to surprise my daughter at her dorm.” Your mom said.

Fuck. You were so fucked. Your mom’s gonna find out that you’re no longer a virgin and that it was Bucky who took it. The same guy she entrusted you to upon moving out for college.

“Oh don’t worry, I won’t tell her we’ll be meeting you. She’s uhh...I think she might have slept over at a friend’s actually. To do a project. So she might not be at her dorm. I’ll just pick her up.” Bucky quickly explained.

Sleepover at a friend’s? That wasn’t entirely a lie. The project? Well, the task of giving up your v-card could be considered a project. So no, Bucky wasn’t lying to your mom at all.

Silence. A few more shuffling and movements here and there. You heard the front door creak. Finally.

“Oh alright, James. We’ll go ahead. Meet us at the new breakfast place two blocks away from the university, okay?” His mom said.

You heaved out a sigh of relief.

“Yeah, yeah. We’ll be there.” Bucky said and from the sounds of it, he seemed to be pushing both your moms out of his room.

“Make sure to pick Y/N up. I know she tends to skip out on our breakfast dates. Make sure that she’ll come, James.” Your mom warned.

True enough, you tended to bail out on your mom’s breakfast dates. Not because you don’t miss her, but because it was too early! You’ve turned her down a couple of times now so you knew what she meant. But Bucky, god. He just had to make everything into a double entendre.

And without shame, he looked into your mom’s eyes and offered her a charming grin as if he wasn’t balls deep inside her virgin daughter last night.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she does. I’ll make her come.”

-

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[prof-peach]

Ooc question

I personally have a hard time on settling down on ocs, and it can take me a long time to get truly happy with a character and their details. Can you tell me about you process on creating Peach? I'd love to hear about it, especially with her recent buffy development lol.

Cards on the table, there’s an unhealthy demand from fandoms and such for some artists to not flex their style, change up old OCs, and not explore ideas that may make an already fun character all the better! There is no need to change, but at the same time, there’s no need for them to stay the same! You as a human can go out, get a haircut and dye, change up the outfit, walk different, act different, so why can’t OCs? I think there’s an organic growth in characters we create, that comes when you spend enough time with or working on them.

It’s been probably like 2-3 years since peach was presented here? Maybe more idk my timeframe is awful. But in that time I’ve played the part of this woman who started life like me. She was because I wanted to see something within the fandom that wasn’t really present. What started as a mild-self insert, took on a life of her own. Each story I wrote, each bit of text or silly sketch, it pulled more and more of who she really was to the front, for all to see. She is now not all that much like me at all, (I WISH I was that buff, oh my god)

I think the more believable characters have had time poured into them, they’ve been given those months, years, more, to feel out the character. We change, we change all the time, hell, even simple designs like Ash from the Pokemon anime, it’s changed, it’s not the same it was in 1994/5 or whatever it was when it started, those designers must have thrown his characters sheets around for MOOOOOONTHS to get that just right. And yet with each new region he gets a little overhaul, a tweak in the design.

Art is hard y’all, but don’t feel bad because you keep changing stuff. Seeing an issue with your work, seeing the flaws and adding in changes is part of the process, it means you’ve grown! If you’re advanced enough to see an issue with what you made, and go to change it, that’s you advancing. It’s not a step back it’s a step forward, I cannot stress this enough.

You’re a creator, and you hold the power to your OCs and world building, so if you want to change it up, then you have to do it! We have a gift, to make and build things from nothing, makes my head spin thinking I, a modern human, can put pen to paper and create, just like the cavemen before me, and the future generations after.

Keep things fresh, trust your gut, never get complacent, change is good, change is growth.

[kaiowut99]

GX 79->80 Original Preview Clip: Enter Despairland (FINAL)

After 84 years... it’s finally done 😤

As mentioned in this post, I’ve spent most of the past month-and-a-half (in between work and other things) on editing this preview clip shown at the end of episode 79′s original TV airing in 2006 for ep. 80 (the Alice in Despairland episode, which turns out different from what this clip would have you believe) to remove the Sponsor text in the middle of the screen to make it textless for use in my finalized subbed episode. (I wanted to remove the “Today’s Best Card Just After This!” side bars as well, but given the low quality of the original clip in the panning shot of Alice at the window and how her hair blends into the night sky behind her, I felt it’d have been too hard to pull off.) I wanted to preserve this for my subs rather than creating a new preview clip, since it’s an interesting look at how the concept for episode 80 was seemingly changed within weeks of 79′s production (I’m a bit surprised it aired without this preview clip being changed lol).

And with the editing all done, I wanted to throw up this quick comparison video with a breakdown under the cut here--this video first shows the original clip as aired on TV (with my subs there for the sponsor bit), then my edit retaining the side bars but blanking the middle (for use with the Japanese DVDRip I’ll be releasing), and then my edit with solid-blue bars overlaid on the originals so I could slap my English “Just After This!” text on (for use with the hardsub).  Enjoy your Alice nightmare 

And a huge thanks to @popflythesky for their help in making this happen 🙌🏽--more on that below.

The last WIP post I made breaks down the process for each scene, save the one where Misawa turns after noticing Alice by the window and the close-up as she smiles.  For the former, a huge thanks to @popflythesky for volunteering to clean up the 21 movement frames comprising the scene and saving me a fair bit of editing time (look out for a shoutout in 79′s hardsub’s ending credits 😄); after they sent over the edited frames last week, I applied a few tweaks to blend them into the footage, and I also blanked a frame myself that I noticed I forgot to send over lol [at about three frames for each frame of movement, that was 64 frames altogether edited].  I worked on the Alice closeup while I waited for those edits, getting the text off of Alice’s hair and face through 14 movement frames before then working it into the footage; once I noticed that some of her hair movement looped, it helped me keep it looking more consistent.

But yep, glad to finally have this done, haha.  Now, I just need to prep the preview for ep. 79 in ep. 78 (which I thought I’d already done), then work the animation fixes I worked on for 78 and 79 into those episodes--once that’s done, I’ll be able to finally get started on finalizing my subs for 77-79, and we can start working our way out of this Domino/Mizuchi mini-arc!

[writing-in-april]

Cinematic Coincidences

Spencer Reid x Gender Neutral Reader

(Spencer’s POV)- listen I just love his POV lol

Summary: Spencer can’t bring himself to go on another date that’s been set up for him- so he stands his date up. Spence seemingly can’t catch a break and runs into the date he stood up.

A/N: Hey heyyy- here’s my seventh fic for my 30 fics in 30 days for April!! This one was requested by @andiebeaword (I added a reference for your love of hallmark movies in this hehe)- this is the original request- I tweaked the characters involved just a small bit lol I accidentally end up defaulting to using the people on the dream team lol- im going to start working in later characters in the show into some stuff in upcoming works (I’m also rewatching the later seasons so that’ll help get me inspired) Im always looking for feedback on my fics or really to talk about anything with my followers so feel free to drop into my inbox- here!! Thanks for reading- y’all have been so sweet 🥰 and hope y’all enjoy!!

Warnings: Insecure Spencer, Getting stood up for on a date, Morgan and Garcia (just the team in general) not really understanding Spencer fully, one tiny sexual innuendo- I think that’s it nothing too bad this time around

Main Masterlist Word Count: 2.4K

This was not what I wanted to be doing today. Garcia had once again inquired about my love life- along with Morgan of course, wanting to find out about all the juicy details. I didn’t know why they continued to ask when it was obvious that my love life was about as exciting as watching paint dry.

I gave my normal response to these types of inquiries, brushing them off without sounding too hurtful. Unfortunately Garcia would not be satiated by my response, apparently she was now fed up with my dull love life and felt like she needed to be personally involved. Garcia was very near and dear to me, just like Morgan, but I couldn’t deny that this grated my nerves.

“We’ll make you a dating profile too! Maybe you’ll find someone cute to date- or maybe get some?!” Garcia was chipper as usual, with her eyebrows wiggling at her suggestion that I should have a one night stand. All that I felt from her words was dread.

The dangers of online dating swirled in my mind and I tried to protest, it came out more like a stammer though. Morgan then patted me on the back and piped up, giving his own opinion, “Yeah- I think it’ll be good for you, pretty boy.”

Again I wanted to protest, beginning to stammer out another reason why I didn’t think it was a good idea. I sighed heavily when I was cut off again, by Morgan and Garcia already planning on what pictures they were going to upload of me. At least I knew that they had my best interests at heart, they wanted me to be happy with someone- or get some like Garcia had mentioned earlier. Still, it didn’t change the fact that there was no way I’d ever want to go willingly on a date with someone I had met on the internet.

—-

My thoughts had not changed since Morgan and Garcia had set up the dating profile for me. There hadn’t been any person I had been on a date with that had successfully been able to keep me interested beyond a few conversations.

“No luck with the online dating?” Morgan had teased when I had walked in with my head held low. This endeavor was just making me realize how picky and undesirable I was. Why couldn’t I just find someone pretty and be happy with it?

Morgan’s face twisted from a smile into a frown when I didn’t answer him, making my way silently to my desk.

For the rest of the day the team tiptoed around me, sensing my sadness. There was part of me that was angry at them for thinking that I couldn’t handle a few bad dates. But, they were right. I couldn’t handle the sting of rejection or the disappointment of a date that didn’t live up to my expectations.

Emily always seemed to know how to cheer me up, so I did attempt some small conversation in the break room while we were both getting our coffee. She never gave me any pity like the others who just flashed me sad looks, unwilling to make any effort to help- or like Garcia and Morgan, they helped in the wrong way even if their intentions were pure.

Her solution to my problem did make my ears perk up a bit, “Hey- I saw that you’ve been down and that it’s been about the online dating Morgan and Garcia made you get into.” I nodded my head in confirmation then gesturing for her to continue while I poured copious amounts of sugar into my drink. Emily opted for mostly cream instead of sugar, stirring her coffee a little, then continuing her thought,”I wondered how you would feel about being set up on a blind date. It’s someone I know so maybe that would make you feel better about going on it? Instead of having to deal with technology that I know you despise.”

Emily had a way of seeing exactly how I was feeling and not just spitting out facts without solutions like the others. Her solution made me nervous of course, there would probably never be a date that I wouldn’t be nervous for. However, this option made me feel a little bit more hopeful about my prospects in the dating pool. It was someone that she knew and trusted enough to suggest them as a potential match for a coworker. Emily didn’t trust easy, I could trust her judgment on this despite my nerves.

I gulped down a large sip of my overly sweetened coffee, collecting my thoughts before then answering, “Alright- I’ll go.”

—

The date that I was supposed to go on was at a quaint cafe near work. Emily had even made the effort to make sure that I had been there before so I might be more comfortable.

At first I had been extremely excited for the date, even going so far as to pick out my outfit. I would have worn my purple button up, that was the one I got the most compliments in. Emily had told me some stuff that my date was interested in so I made sure to brush up on my knowledge by reading about the topics. I had even called back to the restaurant menu in my mind, preparing myself by picking out what I wanted beforehand. On one of my dates set up through the dating app I had stumbled on my choice for food, making the person unnecessarily snappy. I had to cover all my bases to minimize potential awkwardness on my part.

Self doubt began to creep in after I had gotten fully dressed. I had gotten ready way too early in anticipation for the date, now sitting on my couch tapping my foot impatiently. I looked at my watch that sat over my long sleeves watching the clock tick closer and closed to when I was supposed to leave.

Biting my lip in worry, my mind couldn’t help but wander over into my self doubts. I couldn’t help but ask myself why anyone would want to date someone as tall and lanky as me- or why would someone want to go on a date with someone that couldn’t keep their mouth shut about random topics that no one cared about.

My self doubt swallowed any confidence that I had begun to build up in preparation for the date. I knew Emily would be furious with me tomorrow when I went into work, I didn’t want her to find out through her friend though. Deciding to get it over with I pulled out the phone I never used and texted her, telling her that I wasn’t coming. I told her to give my regrets to my date, who at this point was probably waiting patiently for me at the cafe. Sighing in defeat I then retreated into my bedroom again, crawling under my covers.

——

Emily hadn’t been furious with me- well that was a lie, at first she had stomped up to me the next morning to chew me out. She became more disappointed than anything when she found out my reasonings. She hadn’t mentioned anything about how the person I was supposed to be going on the blind date with felt. Not that I really wanted to hear about it, it would only make me feel worse. All I got from her was a small remark mumbled under her breath, “Idiots- the both of you…”

For the next few weeks I tried in vain to push thoughts of my failed blind date out of my head. I had avoided going in the general direction of the cafe. Luckily I took the metro everyday to work otherwise I’d have to drive by it every day, and I already hated driving.

I was at the bookstore for used booksjust around the corner from the cafe that was supposed to hold my date a few weeks ago. This was the closest I dared to go near it in a while. Since then I hadn’t been able to go there anymore, even though I loved the coffee there. Immense guilt had wormed its way into my brain when I had tried to order something there a week ago. All I had done was stammer at the cashier before bolting out of there, just another addition on the list of embarrassing things that I’ve done in my life.

I was flipping through an old edition of pride and prejudice out of boredom, there hadn’t been anything interesting stocked on the shelves since I had last been here. Then a voice piped up through the air that had a bit of dust flying through it,

“Excuse me, sir- if you’re still looking at that book would you mind if I looked at the ones on the shelf behind you?”

It took me a second before I realized the person was talking to me. I then removed my eyes from the book to blink up at them a few times, then registering what they had said to me and moved out of the way.

Their eyes were still glued to mine, the bookshelf behind me that they had wanted to look at forgotten. An awkward chuckle was all we both could seem to manage as we looked each other up and down. Emily had shown me a picture on her phone of my date so I would have been able to spot them at the restaurant. My cheeks flushed hard once I realized who was standing before me. There was no doubt who this was, the date I had stood up the night before.

Silence then fell between us and not the pleasant kind, it was most definitely awkward. I couldn’t imagine how they must have been feeling after I hadn’t shown up last night. They probably had sat

“Um- hi…” They spoke hesitantly, wringing their fingers in trepidation. My jaw opened and closed a few times, trying to come up with anything to say.

“Hi!” Was all I could manage to squeak out, plus a small wave in their direction.

They wrung their fingers a few more times, seemingly trying to come up with a response. I was surprised they hadn’t hit me with one of the books near them out of anger. It would be a normal response to being stood up for a date, the trepidation and silence just served to unnerve me further. Eventually they spoke again, saving me from anymore awkward silence which in my opinion was worse than awkward conversation, “Um- sorry for um, standing you up uh- a few weeks ago.”

That made my eyes bug out of my head- they had done the exact same thing as I had? Insecurity soon swept in, trying to tell me exactly why they had not shown up without hearing their side of the story. I looked down at the book I was holding, reading a few words for a moment of reprieve. Taking a deep breath I asked quietly, not admitting to my own faults yet, “W-why did you um- not go? If you don’t mind me asking…”

A deep sigh was what I got at first, one that obviously had a lot of stress in it. They then did provide me with an explanation, despite their obvious embarrassment, Well- It had nothing to do with you- a simple explanation would be saying it was my insecurity’s fault.”

Not that I would ever want anyone to feel insecure, but I would admit that them saying that did make my own stress melt away. They had not gone for almost the exact same reasons that me. I decided to be upfront, giving them my own reasoning- though I wasn’t even sure they realized that I hadn’t gone as well. “I don’t know if Emily told you, but I um- stood you up as well. It wasn’t because of anything bad! It was really for the same reason as you.”

They then broke out into giggles after they had processed my words for a second, which were much more relaxed than the awkward ones from before. I didn’t blame them, it was a pretty funny coincidence that we’d both stand each other up only to run into each other not knowing what we had done.

“I feel like we’re in one of those cheesy Hallmark movies right now…” Their comparison only confused me, I had no clue what they were talking about.

“What’s a Hallmark movie?” More giggles came from them at my questioning, though for once I didn’t feel like I was being laughed at. I felt like they were laughing at the whole situation, not at me specifically like so many people had often done. Also, I couldn’t help but admit to myself that their giggle was very cute.

Once their giggles had subsided a little they asked me something that almost no one would ask the person that had stood them up, “Maybe I could tell you over a coffee? If you want to of course- Emily told me about how much sugar you like in it.”

My interest was peaked, making me further regret having stood them up in the first place. Though I tried to push that thought out of the way considering we had both done the same thing. It was time to let that go so I could go on a date with them finally. Seeing them in person and being able to glimpse part of their personality made me want to know more.

“Alright- sure.” I set down the book I had been passively reading, now completely disinterested in it. There was something far more interesting in front of me now compared to a classic book I had read over ten times.

We both walked around the corner, to the cafe that we had originally had our date scheduled at. Conversation flowed easily between us, showing me that Emily had been totally right to set us up initially. Her words now made sense to me, we were both a couple of idiots.

We then got our coffee, which had been much smoother of a transaction compared to the last time I had been here. I took note of how much sugar and cream they liked, just in case we were going to do this again. Sitting down at the closest booth I then asked, “So tell me about Hallmark movies?”

Ask Me Anything

—-

Tag lists (Message me if you want to be added):

All works: @shotarosleftpinky @oreogutz @90spumkin @kyra-morningstar @s1utformgg @takeyourleap-of-faith 😡😡😡

All MGG characters: @muffin-cup @willowrose99

Spencer Reid/CM: @calm-and-doctor @destiny-tsukino @safertokiss @slutforthegubes @onlyhereforthefanfics @jareauswifey

[petri808]

#15 for itafushi pleaseeee

“Hi, I’ve been subtle at hinting that I want your attention all day and you haven’t noticed once and now I’m pissed.” —Okay this one I needed to tweak slightly to fit lol.

Megumi plopped down on Yuuji’s bed and shook it to wake the sleeping man. “Hey, wanna join me for a morning work out?”

Yuuji peeked with one eye, “I’m still tired, think I’ll sleep in today.”

“Oh—” Megumi got up, “alright, catch you later.”

“Mmm,” the man simply replied as he fell back to sleep.

It’d been driving Megumi crazy these past few weeks. Ever since things had calmed down and slowly returned to normal, the pair rarely did anything together anymore. Problems with curses had died down considerably with both Sukuna and Kamo nullified, so calls for their assistance and missions were fewer and farther between. Frankly, Megumi wasn’t used to a world like this one anymore, and all the free time it gave them left him— bored… or something else.

When he returned from exercising and taking a shower, Megumi walked through the common area towel drying his hair to find Yuuji sitting on a couch scrolling on his phone.

“You’re up finally. Wanna get lunch?” He asked his friend.

Yuuji looked up from his phone. “Hey Megumi. Sorry, I already ate.” He smiled. “How was the workout?”

“Oh, okay. It was fine, just trying to hone a technique.”

“That’s good.”

Megumi casually wrapped the towel around his neck. “By the way, I got the latest Shonen Weekly, if wanna read it.”

“Maybe later. I’m catching up on some news about the reconstruction.”

Megumi could feel his eye twitch. “Well, it’s on my desk if you’re interested.” He turned to leave, then stopped. “What’s your dinner plans?”

“Mmm, haven’t decided yet.”

“If you’d like, we can go grab some together.”

“Cool,” Yuuji smiled. “I’ll check back with you this afternoon then.”

“Yeah, sure…”

Argh! Megumi chucked the wet towel at his bed in annoyance. Is Yuuji just being lazy?! Also, since when does he care about the news?! In the entire time he’d known the guy, he couldn’t remember the man caring about such normal things. Food and fun, Yuuji’s the carefree type, and something like watching the news was not his thing! It was frustrating! “Baka!” Why is he getting so upset over something so small? ‘Calm down idiot! You’re reading too much into nothing!’

Megumi decided a nap might help to calm his nerves. So, he laid down in bed and crashed for a bit, but when he woke up, he didn’t feel any better. He let out an exasperated exhale and dragged himself out of bed. It really felt like Yuuji was avoiding him, did the man suspect something? Megumi was usually good at hiding his true emotions, but this was new territory and maybe he was failing at it miserably. So— yes, he had a crush on Yuuji, but he wasn’t ready to come right out and say anything. He just wanted to hang out, was that a crime, because he’d come to enjoy having the man around. Yuuji was such a breath of fresh air in his otherwise closeted world— it was a nice, albeit scary feeling.

He left his room to search for Yuuji, but at first couldn’t find the guy. The man wasn’t in his room, the common areas, the training yard, and Gojo hadn’t seen him in an hour. After giving up, Megumi returned to his room where he was an hour later when he heard his friends laugh coming down the hallway. He dropped what he was doing and went out to intercept, only to find Yuuji walking with Nobara. No matter. Megumi acknowledged her, then asked Yuuji again about dinner.

“We just got back from eating,” Yuuji gestured towards Nobara. “You were napping, so we didn’t want to wake you.”

Seriously?! Megumi clenched his jaw to stop himself from snapping. Oh, he wanted to, but not with Nobara there. “I’ll just grab something myself then.” He simply stated and walked away leaving the pair behind. It wasn’t exactly out of the norm for him to be curt with them, so he assumed they’d be oblivious to his true reaction.

In reality, he wanted to scream. Obliviousness should be Yuuji’s middle name! Okay, fine, the guy had a valid reason not to wake him up. He had been working out and was possibly tired. But had Yuuji actually tried to check on him? Megumi wanted to doubt it. What reason did the man have to do so? All such thoughts were rambling through his head as he made his way out of the front door, that he didn’t hear someone running after him.

“Megumi, wait!”

It wasn’t until he’d reached the entrance of the school, that Megumi finally heard and stopped when he heard his name being called. He turned around around and found Yuuji sprinting towards him.

“What?!” He questioned the man. “I said I’ll get my own dinner.”

“I know,” Yuuji rubbed the back of his neck nervously, “but that movie you were waiting for came out today. Wanna go?”

“Oh, now you wanna talk to me?!” Megumi finally snapped.

“Wow! Why are you so mad?!” Yuuji questioned. “Is it about dinner? I’m sorry, next time I’ll wake you up if you felt left out.”

“Of course, I’m mad! I’ve been subtly hinting that I wanted your attention all day and you haven’t noticed once, so now I’m pissed.”

“I didn’t mean to—”

“Whatever,” Megumi waved a hand angrily and turned to leave. He just needed to get out of there and calm himself before he continued snapping at his crush.

“Wait!” Yuuji grabbed Megumi’s shoulder. “I said I’m sorry! Why are you acting like this?!”

Megumi whipped around furious. “Why have you been avoiding me?!” He retorted.

“I’m not avoiding you…”

“Yes, you are. You’ve been avoiding me for weeks now, always making excuses when I ask you out.” Megumi froze at his own words. Shit! Did he just say that out loud?! Based on the blush that bloomed on Yuuji’s face, yes he had. Someone take him out of his misery please! “Forget it.” Megumi sighed and tried to leave again, but Yuuji grabbed his wrist this time to stop him.

“Don’t leave,” Yuuji’s voice was low and trembling. “I wasn’t exactly avoiding you, at least not for the reasons you probably think.”

Megumi’s eyebrow raised. “Yeah? And what’s that?”

“Because being around you makes me nervous,” Yuuji admitted, the blush deepening on his face. “I feel a little weird being alone with you, and I don’t know how to handle it.”

It was like being punched in the face. Megumi’s eyes went wide and mouth hung open in shock, too dumbfounded to respond.

“See,” Yuuji continued after seeing his friends response. “This is why I just chose to stay away, because it’s weird, right?”

Megumi cleared his drying throat. “You keep saying weird, but do you mean what I think you’re trying to say?” He questioned with hopefulness in his tone.

“Maybe? I don’t know if you know what I’m thinking.”

Megumi snorted. Oblivious. “Why do you think I kept trying to get your attention?”

Yuuji shrugged and resumed scratching his head nervously. “I don’t know. Bored?”

“Why’d I pick you,” Megumi mumbled to himself. “No, that’s not why.”

“Then what, because I don’t want you to be mad at me.”

“Because I like you, idiot!”

You could count the seconds ticking by as the revelation finally clicked in Yuuji’s brain. His eyes went wide along with the surprised smile on his face. “Really!” He breathed out an exhale. “Wow! I’ve been nervous for nothing!”

Megumi ran a hand down his face. “That makes two of us.” They were both idiots. “Look, I’m hungry… but if you wanna watch the movie after, you can come with me.”

“Hell yeah!” Yuuji pumped a fist in the air. “Our first date! This’ll be fun!”

Could someone explain to Megumi why his heart chose this guy again?!

[tonyglowheart]

Stitch marker variety has probably improved since *checks date* whoof 2006 when this blogger made this post, and since.... idk probably around 2012, 2014? when I was looking for stitch markers and wasn’t happy with the plastic ones available commercially lol, but I think this really is still my favorite way to make stitch markers: (link to blog page here)

Basically the idea is you take a paperclip and tweak it to make it more convenient to use as a stitch marker. Supposedly the naked metal ones are fine, and I’ve used them before in the past, but I find I highly prefer the coated ones now. Yes, the naked ones tend to be a bit thinner than the coated ones, but really you can bend the inside part smaller than the tutorial has, and it’ll slip into smaller gauge stitches just fine. The plain metal ones tend to react to the oils in your hand, I find, and don’t seem to hold up as well in the long run. I have a couple plain silvery metal ones from years ago that I just don’t use anymore, especially since I made a bunch new coated paperclip ones recently lol. (The gold ones might be fine? I’m not sure if they’re made of a different type of metal or if they’re coated with a different metal or what. But the plain silvery paperclips, I’d recommend against.)

I really like this type of stitch marker bc you can customize them for larger or smaller needle sizes since paperclips are fairly bendable, they’re really easy to access (Dollar Tree has 250-packs of coated silver and colored paper clips, Daiso has these metallic-colored coated ones, you could probably even use those novelty-shape paperclips if they’re not too big? so many possibilities!), and they’re an easy to way to either have color-coded stitch markers, or just fun colors to have. They’re also a good weight, without being too heavy like some of the stitch markers with charms on the ends are. And also they’re removable! You can easily slip them either onto any stitch, or even onto a knitting needle if you want to add in a marker there. They’re low-profile enough to be easy to store too, they’re fairly stackable even with the inside loop bent out. Plus, they’re easy to make if you need more, and low stakes if you lose or misplace any. 

The only thing I’d consider replacing them with are those bulb safety pins, and those are a bit less substantial than paperclips are; plus I’d be a bit concerned about the pin head being too sharp, which may be a problem if you’re trying to add a stitch marker to an already-worked stitch.

These are just very versatile, easy to make and easy to access, and quite fun if you can get your hands on some patterned paperclips like the OP has. 10/10 highly recommend.

(more on how I specifically bend my clips below for anyone curious)

I’ve managed to get the inner part even thinner than she has by unbending it first at one of the inside bends of the inner U, and then rebending it back down at the remaining bend point, and this is just by hand. If you have a set of jewelry-making tools (I have this mini set from Michaels I bought ages ago) then you can get it even slimmer still by clamping it with the pliers, though depending on how you unbend and rebend it, that might not even be necessary. I’m usually a bit lazy about how I unbend and rebend, but I was paying more attention this time and got it quite low profile.

So first, unbend the center loop at one of the bend points. I usually pick the loop that’s closer to the outside loop/farther down the inside loop, since I don’t want the inside part to be too long, but I also pick through my paperclips and don’t use the ones where the inside end is longer than the outside end. The green one I picture below for comparison is one I wouldn’t use for a stitch marker, I’d just use it as a paperclip.

It should look like this:

(I bend the middle part out to make it easier to access/work with. paperclips are so bendable that really you can do whatever with them to make them easier to work with, tho be aware that if you unbend the outside bends, you gotta be a bit careful bending them back or they may want to bend more at one pivot point vs another. You can rebend it around something, like the end of a pencil, to help it have a smoother curve)

^ the blue arrow points to the part I unbent

and then I put my thumbnail at the inner bend, and bend the end back down:

This is actually me being slightly more careful about how I bend it lmao, so I got a slimmer result.

My first attempt which I redid for the sake of explanation, and which is probably more average to what I tend to do, looks like this:

the difference being that it bent back a little at the old bend, which made the loop a bit bigger. You can remedy this with some jewelry tools, or as I show above, you can in fact make it smaller by hand.

Here’s a regular paperclip for comparison of your final inner loop:

(the green is sliiightly smaller than the purple one, but you get the idea)

I then do futuregirl’s 5th step now, where I put my nail at the very base of the end of the inside loop and bend the inner loop out:

I also tuck the end in bit so it’s “on top” of the bend now.

And then I kind of zhuzh the ends and sides back into place so the outside ring is vaguely paperclip shaped and lying flat again, like futuregirl’s 4th step:

And here is the finished thing next to the green paperclip:

if you want the bottom loop to be bigger to fit around larger knitting needle sizes, I’ve unbent and rebent them bigger before. I recommend doing it around a rounded thing, like a pen or pencil, since otherwise it doesn’t really want to bend evenly.

This blue one, for example, I unbent and re-bent around the end of a pen (where the pen tapers down to the point). This blue one did start its life at the same size as the purple one. The top of the loop you can see is a bit uneven, that’s where I bent it by hand. The bottom is much more rounded and even. Also, it doesn’t look it bc the purple’s inner loop sticks out more, but the blue one’s inner loop is also a bit bigger and less carefully done lol. Like I said, I find that even at this size, they slip into stitches fine; though if you wanted it slimmer still, you can get a much closer crimp with some pliers.

And there you have it! Paperclip stitch markers. 

[redrobbingabank]

Prison Break

Tw: lots of violence, blood

The white pastry box in her hands was heavy with the weight of the pie. Niki walked down the prime path the way she always did, smiling softly, sweater sleeves covering her hands. It had been a long time since she truly felt the way. She wasn’t sure when it had become a disguise, but it had, and everyone believed it without batting an eye. Beneath it, rage burned, hot but controlled. Always controlled. Her best weapon, she knew, was how she was perceived. Patience would pay off. Nothing but pain was coming for the people who’d locked her friend away.

She found Sam outside the museum. He leaned against the pillar, turning an unlit cigarette over and over in his fingers. He glanced up at her footsteps, then pushed himself off the pillar and pocketed the cigarette.

Niki smiled brightly. “Sam! I was just looking for you.” She hurried up the steps and under the awning outside the museum. The light rain a few feet away droned on. 

“Hey, Niki.” Sam sounded tired. He looked it, too. Purple bags under his eyes were made starker by the unhealthy pallor of his face. “How are you?”

“I’m good. Are you okay?” she asked, arranging her features into a concerned look. “You look exhausted.”

Sam blinked a few times. “Yeah, I’m good. Just all the stuff that’s happened around the prison. Tommy, you know?”

No mention of Techno. Nothing about the lies, about how he and Quackity had pulled him away from his damn birthday party to lure him in. Niki nodded understandingly. “I’m sure it’ll all work out in the end,” she said. Then she held out the box. “I made you a pie. Felt like you might need a pick me up on guard duty so often.”

A small smile appeared on Sam’s face. “Thanks, Niki. I really appreciate that.” He took the box, opening it to find a pumpkin pie and cutlery taped to the side. “Pumpkin! My favorite.”

“I was hoping I remembered right.” Niki smiled again. There was a chance it wouldn’t work, she knew. That Sam would set it aside for later. But he had a parentlike streak. Niki had seen it in his interactions with Tommy. So she tweaked her gaze, made it subtly more hopeful and excited. Sam noticed, and freed the fork from the side of the box. He relaxed a little at the first bite of the comfort food and immediately ate more. “It’s good?” Niki asked sweetly.

Sam nodded. “It’s amazing. Thank you, Niki, really. I needed this.” He swallowed another bite, and two things that would oppose each other happened. First, his eyes widened with panic. Then they began turning glassy. “What…” his knees buckled, and he slowly slid down the pillar before falling sideways. 

It had worked. Niki and Jack had been playing around for a while. Mixing potions together, testing the effects. They’d found a combination Jack had named Aurora’s Poison. Weakness, slowness, the scantest drop of harming, and a ground up petal from a wither rose. Death without stillness.

Sam’s face had taken on a bluish tinge, but his chest still moved up and down. His eyes were half open. “Niki… ” he mumbled, “help.”

Finally, the facade could fall. Niki’s smile turned into a cold smirk. She squatted beside him, strands of pink hair falling into her face. “Oh, Sam.” His lighter had fallen from his pocket. She picked it up and sparked it, studying the flame before looking back at him. “You don’t deserve my help.”

There was the faintest glimmer of realization in his eyes before they closed for good. “Sweet dreams, Warden. The Syndicate sends its regards,” Niki murmured. She stood. Let Quackity try to wake him. He was a living corpse.

She stepped back into the rain, her boots the only sound on the prime path as she returned to the underground bunker Techno had left in his instructions. Phil and Ranboo were already inside and suited up. There were two more pairs of netherite armor on stands against the back wall. One was for her. The second was for Techno.

“How’d it go?” Phil asked. 

“Perfectly,” she replied, tying the straps of the chestplate. Phil’s armor had two bumps on the back, designed specifically to accommodate his wings. He had his sword in hand, shield leaning against his wall. A crossbow and quiver were slung across his back, and Techno’s sword hung from his belt. “Didn’t know what hit him.”

Ranboo looked the calmest Niki had ever seen him. Normally, he fidgeted constantly. Now, his hands were still, aside from the way they drifted to his axe handle. His face was set determinedly, and his crown hung from his armor stand, swapped out for a helmet. He’d been the one to get them the armor. It shone with the best enchantment the server could offer. Niki had known he was rich, but she hadn’t realized exactly how much he’d been sitting on. Her jaw had nearly dropped when, before they set out, he passed a totem to each of them.

“Need help?” he asked, taking half a step towards her when she started struggling with her gauntlets.

“I’ve got it.” Ranboo returned to the wall. He began tracing the blade of his axe lightly with his finger.

When she’d finally gotten all her armor in place, Niki crossed to the rack of weapons. She seized her bow and a quiver of harming arrows, slinging them across her back. She and Phil were the contingency plans if they were somehow pursued. Finally, she picked up her own axe. Its enchantments hummed, sending thrills up her arm. “Ready.”

“Ranboo?” Phil asked. The teenager nodded. “Alright, then.” He flicked the lever by the door. The sound of breaking glass filled the air as potion bottles broke. Niki felt the difference immediately, her bones strengthening with the magic. “Let’s go.”

-

Phil had known anger before. His life had been too long not to. There had been a time, before Techno, before Wilbur, that he let it consume him. Then Techno had arrived, and it was like impulse control had been installed. They were still formidable, of course, but Phil didn’t seek war anymore. 

He knew grief, too. He knew the way it moved, the way it played with you until you wanted to sink beneath its waves and drown. It had consumed him after Wil’s death. He could hardly bring himself to clean his sword before he fell into a stupor in front of the fireplace. It had been Techno, again, who pulled him out of it. Who’d given him a new sword and convinced him to play war games until the sight of blood didn’t send him vomiting to the bathroom. There would be no Techno to pull him out if this went wrong. Phil might as well be dead too. 

Ranboo and Niki followed him out of the bunker. The streets were empty as they silently made their way to the prison. 

They didn’t bother to ring the bell. The three of them stood in the portal until reality straightened itself out. Phil had Techno’s will clutched in his hand. The bundle of papers had been empty, at first, until a few days ago. Writing had begun appearing, in Dream’s messy, spiked scrawl. Sam was a fool, Phil thought. He couldn’t take away Techno’s knowledge of spells.

He strode to the corner of the little room they were in. A loose tile was there, easily unnoticeable if you weren’t looking for it. Phil lifted it and threw it to the side. There was a loud crack when it hit the wall. He flipped the lever beneath it. “Thirty seconds before it resets,” he said, returning to the portal. Niki and Ranboo followed suit, and the prison constructed itself around them.

It was all so darkly decorated. Alright, edgelord, Phil thought sarcastically. They bypassed the waver on its lectern and the lockers to the side. Phil flicked the levers according to the code Techno had written. A door opened, and they took the tunnel  Sam used into the next room. 

Their way through the prison was marked by similar proceedings, and Phil’s mind was left to go on autopilot. 

Techno knew it was a trap. He’d told him so a week ago, standing in the snow outside their houses. The moment he was out of sight, Phil had opened the will. He’d thought the message of the empty papers was clear: do what you want, lol. 

So he’d gone to the stasis chambers and waited by the levers. Three days, he gave himself. Then he’d hit the lever, and Techno would be home safe. 

Then it was four days, and Phil wasn’t sure why he’d waited longer. The pearls were a safety blanket. Using them would make things better. Unless what they revealed made it worse.

Then, on the fifth day, he’d woken up to a scratchy, crinkly noise from the will. Scrambling out of bed, he’d turned the pages over, and found the ink still wet. And what had Techno written, first thing? 

PHIL, DON’T USE THE PEARLS. I NEED THE VIEWS FROM A COOL ESCAPE.

 The dramatic little shit. But Techno had lain out his plan, and like always, it was smart. Phil had gathered the Syndicate, and they’d been ready. 

A hint of nerves appeared in Ranboo’s eyes when they passed the iron door into the main cell area. Phil understood it. When they’d hung out, Ranboo told him how it was the point of no return, in a way. They all remembered what happened to Tommy. But Ranboo had three lives, Phil assured himself, and hoped the teen remembered too. He’d be fine. So would Niki. And Techno.

They travelled through the respawn checkpoints and extra rooms until they were in front of the lava wall. Ranboo glanced at the bed. “Should we set our spawn here?”

Phil shrugged. “I wouldn’t want to be spawn-trapped in here, but if you want to, go ahead.” Ranboo looked at the ground. Remorse tugged at Phil. “Sorry. Just a joke,” he said. Ranboo nodded.

Waiting for the lava to come down would take too long. Phil threw a few potions of fire resistance down on them and flipped the lever so the bridge would be safe when they returned. Then, with Ranboo and Niki standing on the bridge, he flipped the lever. He ran and leapt onto the bridge with the help of the jump boost pots from earlier. 

The flames surrounded them in orange light. They couldn’t see each other. The lava tickled, almost, drying them off from the rain outside.

They came out the other side with a few blocks between them and the cell. Phil blinked a few times, readjusting to the low light, and froze. He hadn’t expected to be greeted by what was there.

-

Ranboo worried. It was in his nature. So of course, when he’d heard the plan, he took precautions for failure. 

Tubbo was back in Snowchester with Jack by his request. They were in the control room, with a nuke armed and ready to hit the prison. Michael would be there too. Ranboo had made Tubbo promise not to let him out of his sight. Ranboo had never been more grateful for his husband’s habit of not asking questions.

His comms had been burning a hole in his pocket the whole way here. One message and it would all go up. 

Now, though, he forgot all about the nukes as the bridge came to a stop at the cell block. Anger took its place. “Quackity,” he said in a near growl, “what are you doing.” 

The scene before them looked like a horror movie. Blood, dry and fresh, coated the floor of the cell. Dream –– Dream –– was curled in the corner, shaking. Quackity stood in the middle of the room with a sword in his hand, grinning. And Techno. 

Ranboo’s friend was standing by the back wall. His cape was torn. He was bleeding, too, but Ranboo couldn’t tell from where. He did, however, see the way Techno was just barely leaning against the wall behind him. His heart clenched.

“Oh, hey guys,” Techno said. Despite everything, his voice still came out strong and unbothered. “Nice timing.”

“Hey, guys.” Quackity flipped the sword in his grip so the point was against the ground, then leaned on the hilt. “Surprise seeing you here.” His easy grin didn’t reach his eye. 

Ranboo vaguely remembered a day in old L’Manburg. He and Quackity had shared a pot of coffee and talked about Ranboo’s thoughts on people versus sides. He’d felt like Quackity understood. He’d thought he’d befriended someone who wouldn’t betray him. “Quackity,” he repeated, lifting his axe, “what are you doing.” 

Behind him, Niki and Phil were moving. He didn’t pay attention to their movements, just trusting them to be ready.

“Ranboo,” Quackity said. “I get you’re probably mad. I saw you at Techno’s party, you two are friends. So first, I’m sorry you had to see this.” I bet you are, Ranboo thought. “Second, I’m only doing it because Techno’s a threat. I can’t let him be out in the world, causing problems.” 

“You. Are. Torturing. Him,” Ranboo said. “Both of them!” 

“Eh, Dream’s had it worse,” Techno shrugged.

“Shut up,” Quackity snapped. Ranboo’s temper snapped.

Of all the people in the room, Quackity probably hadn’t expected Ranboo to make the first move. It took him two steps to reach him, three more to shove him back against the wall. He held his axe to Quackity’s throat. “Who’s next on your list, huh?” he snarled. “Who’s the next ‘threat’ you’re gonna take out?”

Quackity’s eyes flashed. “Well, I hadn’t been thinking on it much,” he grinned, “but Tubbo and that outpost aren’t exactly making me feel comfortable.”

A furious scream built in Ranboo’s throat. He drew back his axe, to do what he didn’t know ––

“Ranboo?” It was Dream, looking up at him. For a moment, Ranboo was thrown into chaos. He couldn’t tell if it was really Dream, or all in his head. A small blade pierced the chink in his armor. He stumbled back, blinking, and the time it took for him to rip the cork from a Regen pot and pour it over the spot was all Quackity needed to ruin his advantage. 

He launched himself at Ranboo. Phil intercepted him, netherite screaming as their swords collided. Niki was by Techno, offering him Healing and Regen while he leaned more heavily on the wall.

The moment the prickling in his gut subsided, Ranboo threw himself into the fight. Phil was quickly left out, which he seemed alright with. From the corner of his eye Ranboo saw him kneeling by Techno as well. 

He hadn’t expected the fight to be so short, for his part. Anger fueled him, and something else. The Enderwalk, rising up in his unsteady mental state and giving him strength he didn’t know he had.

Cuts opened on Quackity’s limbs. His laughter turned to panting in the confined space. “This all you’ve got?” he yelled, out of breath. He tripped, stumbled, and fell against the wall near the lava. 

Ranboo stood over him, axe in hand and red with blood. The natural course from here was to end it, right? Kill Quackity, kick him into lava? But the day in L’Manberg wouldn’t leave his head.

“You can’t do it, can you?” Quackity said. Somehow he managed to look relaxed, leaning against the obsidian as blood soaked his clothes. “I remember being that weak. It was awful. Really, Ranboo, don’t mess with me. The house always wins. You don’t want to start this.”

“Oh, shut up.” Ranboo swung his axe, and the handle collided with Quackity’s head. He slumped against the wall, eyes closed. Blood trickled from beneath his hair, but his chest still rose and fell. Ranboo left him there and returned to his friends.

Niki and Phil had taken care of most of Techno’s injuries, though he had his arms around their shoulders. “I can walk by myself, guys, seriously,” he said, but was immediately cut off by the two of them saying “bullshit” in unison. “Well, one of you needs to get Dream,” he said.

They paused. “Dream?” Niki asked incredulously. 

“Yeah. Look at him, Quackity’s been giving him hell.” He glanced at Ranboo. “But hey, Syndicate rules, remember? You guys don’t have to do anything you don’t wanna. You can go ahead on the bridge and send it back to us.”

Ranboo and Niki shared a glance. They had both been citizens of L’Manberg. They had both been victims of Dream in some way. Ranboo knew Phil had helped destroy L’Manberg like it was a business deal, but he would agree with Techno. They wouldn’t follow Dream, but they’d help him. And as pathetic as the man looked in the corner of the cell, Ranboo couldn’t bring himself to do the same.

He looked Techno in the eye. “This doesn’t change my loyalty to the Syndicate. I just can’t justify helping Dream. I’ll still stand with you in other matters.”

“Got it.” Techno grinned. “Just don’t trap us in here again.”

Ranboo returned the smile, stepping onto the bridge. Niki followed him. “Sorry, Techno,” she said. “But I agree with Ranboo. He’s done too much to hurt me.”

Techno nodded. Niki knocked an arrow and shot it across the now empty pit. It hit the button on the other side, and the bridge began moving. When they reached the other side, Niki removed it from the button before hitting it once more.

“You can go ahead,” Ranboo said. “I’ll bring them back.”

Niki smiled at him. “Thanks. You fought well, Ranboo. See you at the next meeting.” She disappeared back into Sam’s tunnels, which Phil had left open.

Ranboo waited until Phil and Techno were safely on the bridge, Dream draped between them, to press the button one final time. Before it had reached full speed, he was traversing the tunnels himself, moving back towards Snowchester and his family. Quackity would find a way out of the prison, he knew. Tubbo and he would need to be ready.

[yungidreamer]

Day One

I’m not really back but I needed a distraction today so I wrote a little oneshot something. I’m posting this unedited so sorry for any typos or mistakes.

Summary: Yunho has fallen in love with his best friend and a Valentine’s Day together goes from angst to passion with a single heartfelt question.

Wordcount: 5.7k

Content warnings: angsty miscommunications, a little bit of strong language, communication that borders on consent porn (lol), making out, dry humping, protected penetrative sex (M,F). Happy ending.

“Oh hey,” Yunho greeted as he poked his head out through his front door. “You made it! Come on inside. I’m just finishing a few things up.”

“Am I too early?” Her eyes flicked to her watch to check how early she was. “I can always go buy some snacks and come back or something?”

“No, no, no, no,” he rushed to assure her, putting his large hand on her shoulder. “I’ve got all that covered. Come in, come in.” With a nod she stepped in through the door and into the apartment. Slipping off her shoes in the small well near the doorway, she made her way into the very familiar apartment. Two years of friendship meant she had spent hours and hours here studying, eating, and just hanging out. It was familiar and comfortable, almost a second home. He came to her place too, of course, it just depended on the day. It didn’t really matter, neither of them cared. It was all about whatever worked for both of them.

Today it was his place and almost an ordinary day. Almost.

“Why don’t you take a seat,” Yunho gestured at the old fluffy couch that sat across from the television in the living room. “You want a drink?”

“Uh maybe some tea?” She said as she flopped onto the couch. “It’s really cold out there.”

“Yeah, the weather has really been something, hasn’t it?” He chuckled as he walked into the kitchen, raising his voice as he walked to make sure she could still hear him. “I probably should have been a gentleman and come to you, especially given the day.”

“Since when has that been a thing between us?” She laughed.

“Hey,” he protested as he flipped the switch on the kettle. “I’m always a gentleman.”

“You’re a good guy and you’re a friend,” she admitted. “But it's never been like that between us.” Even if I wanted it to be, she finished in her head.

“Well no,” he shifted uncomfortably on his feet in the doorway. “But what kind of friend makes you trudge across town in the snow just for a movie and to hang out.”

“What, did you want to cancel it?” She questioned, a twinge of pain tweaking in her chest.

“And leave you with nothing to do on valentines day?” Yunho scoffed. “No, I should have come to you.”

“How is that better?” She rolled her eyes and looked away towards the TV to start flipping through Netflix to find the movie they were going to watch.

“Then I’d be the one out there trudging through the snow getting cold,” he pouted slightly at her before heading to the freshly boiled kettle. “It’s the gentlemanly thing to do.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she shrugged, speaking loudly enough for him to hear her over the slosh of the water into the mug. “I’m just as capable of making the trip as you are.”

“Can’t you ever just let me do the nice thing for you just because?” He huffed tiredly as he strode out with the steaming mug in hand.

“I mean yeah,” she shrugged and took it from him, not meeting his eyes. “But we aren’t like that. I can come to you just as easily as you can come to me. You don’t have to coddle me or something.”

“Sometimes it's just nice to be nice, bub,” he said over his shoulder as he went back to the kitchen to finish throwing the snacks into something. With a sigh he pulled out the two large bowls they always used for snacks and grabbed the large bag of chips from the counter. Why does she always have to make it so hard for me to do nice things for her, he asked himself. Every single time he tried to do something sweet, to show her that maybe he could be something more than just a friend, she did this. She became as prickly as a hedgehog and half the time wouldn’t even look at him. It was maddening.

This is probably it, he told himself, you’re friends and that’s it, just accept it. He sighed and gathered the snacks into his hands and headed back to the living room. There she was, sitting there, feet curled cutely under her as she held the warm mug with both hands, alternating between blowing on it and taking loud sips of the still hot drink. She was so...cute, it gave him a little flutter of butterflies in his gut that he had to mentally brush away as he set the bowls and platter down on the coffee table.

“So is this still what you want to watch?” She asked, the classic romcom pulled up on the screen.

“Well, seems right, what with what day it is and all,” he shrugged.

“Valentines Day,” she nodded. “As long as you’re sure.”

“What, you don’t?” He turned to face her, trying to read her reaction. “We don’t have to.”

“No it should be fun,” she put up a hand and waved away his offer. “You just aren’t a romance sort of guy. I don’t want you to watch something you don’t want to just because...I don’t know, because you think I want to or because of TrAdItIoN.”

She gave the last word a dramatic tone to emphasize it properly in the context.

“You say tradition like it’s a bad thing.” Yunho scoffed.

“Yeah, I mean usually it's why people do things they don’t really want to do, but they feel like they are supposed to,” she leaned her head back against the cushions behind her as she looked over at the tall boy beside her.

“Sometimes,” he admitted. “But sometimes things become traditions because they are nice to do.”

“And romcoms on Valentine's Day is nice to do,” she smiled up at him with an understanding laugh.

“Yeah it is,” Yunho grinned back. “So let’s get on with tradition.” She gave him a nod and let him start the movie as she grabbed a couple of chips and settled her head lightly on his shoulder, where it often sat as they watched movies together. Yunho set the remote on the arm of the couch and lifted the arm she was leaning against, moving it to wrap around her shoulder and pull her against him and guiding her head to rest on his chest. She relaxed against him and let out a little sigh as the movie started. Yunho fixed his eyes on the TV, purposefully concentrating on the movie rather than the warm, soft curves of the woman tucked into his side.

She jerked awake, her head having lost it’s careful perch on his chest when she went slightly limp in her sleep. Cracking open her eyes, she lifted her head and started to straighten up, pushing the heel of her palm down to push herself back up. Yunho made a grunt beside her and it was in that moment that she noticed just where her hand had landed and what it was pressed against. That warm, thick lump under her palm was a very happy Yunho separated from her touch by a mere layer of jean fabric.

“Shit,” she cursed, jerking back as if it had suddenly grown as hot as a cast iron pan that had been sitting on a stove at full heat. Yunho’s hand that had not been resting on her waist as she rested against him, clenched against his thigh and he turned his eyes to the kitchen as he felt her pull away.

“Sorry… sorry… I didn’t… sorry…” she kept muttering as she scurried to stand up.

“It’s okay,” Yunho rushed to assure her. “You didn’t… you just fell asleep.”

“I think… maybe I should just go home for today,” she turned towards the door, rubbing her hot, pink cheeks. “I’m clearly really tired today. Maybe I’m getting sick or something…”

“Do you feel sick?” He stepped forward and reached out to try and test her forehead.

“I am feeling a little nauseous right now,” she admitted, dodging his touch.

Pausing, he looked at her as she knelt down and reached for her shoes. “Am I that gross?” He asked quietly, unable to keep the small pang of hurt from coloring his tone.

“What?” She froze, turning to blink up at him with owlish eyes.

“You accidentally touched me for two seconds and it makes you feel sick,” he rubbed the back of his neck and clenched his jaw in frustration. “How am I supposed to take that?”

“I didn’t-- it’s not that,” she sighed, letting herself fall into a slump and dropping the shoe she had been about to put on. “I’m embarrassed, okay?”

“You didn’t do anything you need to be embarrassed about,” he objected. “I like that you do that sometimes.”

“Do… do what?” She froze looking up at him.

“Fall asleep on me,” Yunho dug his socked toes into the carpet as he muttered his reply, barely loud enough to be heard. “I like that you feel comfortable with me; that you relax.”

“You didn’t invite me over for a nap,” she shook her head and grimaced at the memory of the part she wasn’t even willing to acknowledge out loud.

“I invited you over to spend some time with you,” he shrugged, hiding his hands in his pockets. “If you spend a little of that time napping next to me… I don’t mind. You’re still here with me.”

“That’s sweet,” she offered, reaching for her shoe again. “I just think… maybe another day would be better.”

“Please don’t go,” Yunho managed to squeeze out. “I’ve been looking forward to this all week. I’ve missed hanging out.”

“What if…” She sighed. “How about we meet for coffee or something tomorrow?” Something out of both of their places seemed safe enough, she silently settled on. They needed a reset in general. Things had been awkward lately and she was sure that if she wasn’t careful, she was one step away from doing something stupid that would really ruin everything between them.

“If you want,” he gave a little shrug, heart sinking in his chest.

“Or we can just take a little break instead,” she offered, finally managing to sink her heel into her boot. “I know things have been weird lately, so maybe that would just be for the best.”

“What did I do wrong,” he finally forced himself to ask. A big part of him didn’t want to ask; didn’t want to know. But she was slipping away already. If she went through the door today, he was almost positive it would be awhile before he saw her again.

“Nothing,” she shook her head, determinedly stuffing her other foot into her second shoe. “You didn’t do anything.” She grumbled, double knotting the lace of her shoe. “But you know that things have been a little weird as well as I do and I would rather take a few weeks apart than have things get to the point where we… aren’t friends at all.”

“Weeks?” He breathed in disbelief. “No, that’s it. Just stop.” Reaching down, he pulled her to stand facing him. “Talk to me. Tell me what I did. It must have been something. Please just give me a chance to fix it.”

“You didn’t do anything,” she shook her head, lowering her gaze.

“Please tell me,” he implored, a tightness in his chest holding his breath captive. Bringing his hands to her face, he held it facing his own, his eyes searching for some clue as to why she was slipping away. “Let me fix it.”

“You…” she started, feeling the prickle of tears filling her eyes. He looked so sad, but what was she supposed to say? She loved him so much, the very last thing she wanted to do was hurt him, but wasn’t a little pain now better than a goodbye? They were friends. Just friends. It had to be enough because she couldn’t imagine things without him. It was more important than that aching want he caused in her whenever she saw him and more important than whatever might have been.

“Let me…” He breathed, letting his gaze fall to her lips. For both of them, the moment froze, time stopped and stretched like an ocean of possibilities, a thousand chances with a thousand rewards and consequences down each path.

“Yunho,” his name fell from her lips, breaking the spell like it had been as inconsequential as the filament of a spider’s web.

“Can’t you just love me back?” He whispered, holding her cheeks, running the pads of his thumbs over her cheekbones.

“I love you so much more than you know,” she admitted, bringing her hands to cover the backs of his.

“Then don’t go,” he drew closer. “Stay with me.”

“For the movie?” She ventured, half joking, half wanting to pull away again, back to the comfortable pretending space where she didn’t really have to risk her heart or their friendship.

“Forget the movie,” he gave a watery chuckle. “Stay for me.”

“Okay,” she nodded after a second, no longer able to keep herself from leaning towards his tempting cupid's bow lips. Meeting in the middle, their lips touched and exhilaration and relief flooded both of them at the contact. He started moving backwards, wanting to take both of them away from the threat the door represented just behind her.

“Wait,” she panted, pulling back just a shade to get it out.

“What?” He asked, barely giving her space, moving his lips over to the corner of her mouth.

“Shoes,” she breathed, her fingers tightening on his wrists.

“Oh,” he nodded, dropping to his knees in front of her and immediately moving to pull them off without even bothering to untie them. He finally managed to pull them off, throwing them behind her before pulling her into his arms to take her back to the couch where all this had started, this time kissing her like a drowning man sucking in breath as he breaks the surface of water. Months of want and need flowed forth like a flood finally having broken through the last levy that had held it back.

When the front of the couch finally brushed the back of his thighs, he let himself fall backwards into the soft cushions, bringing her with him, her knees hooked around his hips. His hands moved to grip her hips, coaxing her to grind against his wanting body. She moaned against his lips, her hands moving to brush along his shoulders and neck. He filled her senses completely, from the salty sweetness of his lips, to the scent of his warm skin, to the huff and moan of his breath tickling her ears. He was heaven. He was that thing her whole being had been itching for, for months.

“Mmm,” he moaned, letting his tongue flick over her bottom lip. “Tell me that you want this, too. I need to know it's not just me.”

“It’s not just you,” she assured him, returning the motion and brushing the tip of her nose against his. “I’ve wanted this so long.”

“Why… why didn’t you say something?” He queried, letting his fingers move into the waistband of her pants. “We could have… we could have done this so long ago.”

“I thought it was just me,” she explained. “I didn’t want to ruin things between us. I’d rather have friend Yunho than nothing at all.”

“You won’t get rid of me that easily,” he laughed. “Even if I hadn’t spent the better part of the last year thinking of you every time I…” he couldn’t bring himself to finish the admission, a pink blush blooming on the tips of his ears and his cheeks. “I wouldn’t have let it come between us.”

“Why didn’t you say something then?” She turned the question around on him.

“Because everytime I tried to get a little closer to you, you bristled and ran away from me,” he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “How was I supposed to read that?”

“I’m sorry,” she leaned into him pressing a line of kisses along the side of his neck.

“Apology accepted,” he cleared his throat, leaning back to allow her better access. With one hand between her shoulder blades and the other tucked into the waistband of her jeans, he pressed her against him. “Just don’t stop.”

She let out an eager hmmm and gave the flesh just below his ear a gentle suck. Goosebumps prickled over his arms and he felt himself pulse with want. It was euphoric, his every fantasy coming true and everything was moving both too fast and too slow for his taste.

“There are too many clothes,” he grumbled, feeling her lips tease along the line of his collar. “I want to touch you.”

“I guess we could…” she paused, leaning her temple against his shoulder. “Do you want to move into your room?”

“Really?” He asked, pulling her up so he could look into her eyes.

“I mean the couch is okay too,” she was quick to nod.

“No I mean,” he pursed his lips and shifted a little under her. “We can just do this. I don’t want to rush anything.”

“I’m not promising that we’ll do everything tonight,” she began carefully. “But, if you want to, I think I’d like to see where this goes somewhere a little more comfortable.”

“Give me, like, five minutes,” he told her, sliding her off his lap and into the cushion beside him. “I just want to clean up a little.”

“Sure,” she nodded. “Maybe I can just go to the bathroom and wash my face and stuff while you pick up.”

“Yeah, sure,” he agreed happily, taking her by the hand as he stood up. Dropping her off in front of the bathroom door he walked over to the linen closet and pulled out a new set of sheets, then headed for his bedroom. If this was going to happen, he told himself, it was going to happen in clean sheets. Quickly stripping the bed, he threw the new sheets on the bed and picked up the few socks and little bits of whatever that happened to have been left on the floor over the past couple of days. Throwing away the trash, he gathered the old sheets and the laundry, taking it out to the washer, deciding he could start it later, but certainly had better things to do at the moment.

Since the bathroom door was still closed, he decided he had enough time to do just a few little things to set the mood. Candles, where did I leave those things, he wondered in his head as he poked his head into the living room and then into the hall closet. Ah-ha, he thought victoriously as he laid eyes on the little box of candles and glass holders. Grabbing them, he made his way back to his bedroom and put the little votives on every surface far enough away from something flammable he had.

Just as he lit the last candle, he heard the click of the bathroom door opening. He tossed the lighter into the nearest drawer and nervously tried to brush the wrinkles out of the front of his shirt. The gesture was more soothing than it was effective, but was cute to see nonetheless when she poked her head around the frame of the door to see him.

“Hi,” she said nervously. “Are you done?”

“Yeah,” Yunho nodded, straightening up. “Do you… do you still want to move in here?”

“Yeah,” she replied with a smile. “It looks nice.”

“Thanks,” he replied automatically more than anything else. “So… ummm…”

“Let’s start by getting a little more comfortable,” she suggested, taking a few steps into the room.

“Right, yes,” he nodded vigorously, coming to meet her. When they were standing just a few inches apart, she reached out, putting her hands on his forearms comfortingly.

“Do you mind if I help you out of these?” She asked as her fingers moved to the button on his jeans.

“Please,” Yunho had been feeling the pressure of the tight fabric against his erection for what felt like forever and would be glad to be free of it. His hands moved to help guide the jeans off his hips as she undid the button and slid the zipper down. He leaned down to kiss her as he stepped out of the stiff fabric as it slumped around his ankles. Her hands went to the fastenings of her own jeans, kicking them off as he nuzzled and licked at her lips.

“What about this next?” She suggested, tugging at his shirt gently. Without answering he pulled back and pulled it off over his head as quickly as he could manage, leaving him in his socks and boxers.

“What about yours?” He asked, a hopeful look in his eyes as his hand brushed over her sleeve.

“Yeah,” she brought her hands over her head, allowing him to pull it off and toss it on top of her jeans off to the side.

“Bed?” He asked, wrapping his arms around her hips and lifting her against his chest. She nodded and brought her lips to his as he took the couple of steps to the mattress. Letting her down gently, he let her crawl backwards to the head of the bed and stretch out with her head on the pillows before crawling after her. As he drew near, looming over her with his much larger body, she opened her thighs to allow him to lay in the cradle they created.

“Hey,” she chuckled, bringing her arms to wrap around his neck as he laid himself over her.

“Hi,” he replied with a shy laugh. “We still good?”

“Uh-huh,” she nodded, brushing his bangs off his forehead. “Can I ask you something?”

“Hmmm?” His puppyish eyes looked into hers intently.

“Did you change the sheets?” she giggled, looking up into his overly serious expression.

“Yes,” he admitted.

“Mmm, I thought so,” she nodded. “They don’t smell like you.”

“Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?” He questioned, holding himself up on his forearms to keep most of his weight off her.

“Both… neither?” She said indecisively. “Just come a little closer to me.” He leaned closer, bringing his lips to her as he allowed more of his weight to press into her. Letting out a contented sigh, she deepened the kiss as she let her hands wander over the broad expanse of his bare back.

Yunho let himself get lost in the soft sensations of her lips and her hands as he pressed himself close. She felt as good and as comforting as he had dreamed she would on all those lonely nights. His tongue slipped in past her lips and past her teeth to tangle with her own, dancing together in a mutual sweep of pleasurable sensation.

Time passed unobserved as they lazily explored each other, mouth to mouth, hands gently flitting over the skin they could find. When he finally pulled back, he rolled slightly off her, laying his head on the pillow beside hers. He nuzzled into her cheek, his eyes closing as he just took in her scent mixed with the freshness of the clean sheets.

“Do you want to stop for tonight?” She asked, running her hand over his arm where it curved around her waist.

“We can if you’d like,” he offered. “I just wanted to hold you for a while.”

“I actually,” she started to speak and he could actually feel the heat of her blush rise against his lips as he kissed her cheek. “I’m feeling a little needy. We don’t have to go all the way but I kind of want a little something more.”

“Okay,” he nodded, pulling himself up onto one elbow. “What do you need?”

“I kind of… I just need a little friction,” she explained, her face aflame as she did. “Maybe you can just lay back and I’ll take care of it… with you, if that’s okay?”

“Yeah, show me what you like,” he nodded, eagerly shifting to lay on his back. Sitting up, she moved to straddle his hips, putting a knee to either side. Leaning forward, she propped herself up with a hand just above each of his shoulders. Unable to bring herself to look into his eyes at the moment, she closed her eyes and let her head droop slightly forward as she shifted her hips, looking for the right angle to get the friction she sought. Drawing in a deep breath through her nose, she tentatively slid herself along the ridge of his erection.

Yunho watched her face as she started to move, tantalized by the blissfully seeking expression on her face combined with the sensation of her grinding against him. He watched as her movements became more fluid and more sure, listening as her breathing became faster then hitched now and again as she hit something more pleasurable on her body. She was beautiful and tempting as she used his body to find some relief to the tension that knitted her brow.

“Does it feel good?” He asked, his hands helping her hips to press more harshly against him.

“Yeah,” she panted. “So good.”

“Is it better with me?” He questioned, wanting to know he was playing some part in that look on her face.

“So much better,” she agreed. “You make me feel so good.”

“Are you going to come all over me?” He prompted, bringing one hand up to her stomach to feel the muscles clench and quiver.

“Oh god, yes I think so,” she nodded, speeding up her grinding.

“Can you look in my eyes when you do, love,” he pressed, hearing that uneven puff that said she was getting close. Her movements faltered slightly, but she swallowed and managed to finally meet his gaze. Her eyes were hooded and hazy, and her pupils wide from a mix of the dim light of the candles and the pleasure coursing in her veins.

“So pretty,” he praised huskily. “Come for me, yeah?”

“Uh- uh-huh,” she nodded, her arms quivering and threatening to give out. With just a few more moves, she came apart over him. Her jaw went slack and her eyes squeezed shut as her body went rigid for a few seconds before a shiver worked its way through her body starting at her shoulders and reverberating down to her toes.

Weakness suffused her and her arms finally gave out. Collapsed against his chest, she huddled against him as she caught her breath. He murmured sweet nothings to her, soothing her with his voice as his hands stroked against her slightly tacky back. Want made his skin hurt but he savored this moment knowing it was a sort of first he would never have again. It was a fulfilment of a fantasy that had haunted him for months and part of him was afraid to poke at it, afraid it would burst like a bubble.

“Thank you,” she sighed, taking a deep breath that turned into a yawn.

“Are you up for a little more?” He tested, rubbing his chin gently against the top of her head. “I can take a few minutes to myself if you aren’t.”

“I can take a little more,” she nodded against his chest. “But I’m not feeling terribly coordinated at the moment.”

“It’s okay,” he chuffed, rolling them both over so that he was once again on top of her. “I think I can do the work this time.” Depositing her gently on the bed, he pulled back to look down at her nestled comfortably in his bed. She looked just right there, like she belonged there beside him. “Do you mind if I take the rest of the clothes off?”

“That’s fine,” she nodded. With a sigh, she propped herself up and reached behind her back to unhook her bra so he could remove it as he slid his boxers off and tossed them somewhere off the bed. Doing the same with her bra, he sat up on his heels and hooked his fingers in the band of her panties, pulling them gently down her legs and off. He knelt between her legs and looked down at her as she relaxed into the pile of pillows again. Her eyes skimmed over his face and down his body in that moment, taking in his strong, lean body.

“Oh my,” she breathed when her eyes finally lowered to his erection.

“What?” He asked as he moved to cover himself, slightly self conscious at the reaction.

“You’re just… big,” she replied after a second’s pause.

“I guess,” he admitted, blushing. “Is that okay?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, reaching out in her desire to reassure him.

“Just one second,” he held up a finger then leaned over to open the drawer in his bedside table. After a little digging, he pulled out a small foil wrapper and tore it open.

“I’m on birth control,” she mentioned. “But better safe than sorry, right.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, rolling the latex down his length before reaching back into the drawer, this time pulling out a tube of clear lube. Taking a little on his fingers, he spread it between her already slick nether lips, just to be sure, before getting a little that he used on his latex covered length. Wiping his hand clean on a tissue, he finally lay down between her thighs, lining himself up with her core.

“You still want me?” He asked, running his hand up her side as he smiled down at her.

“Yes,” she nodded, wrapping her arms around his ribs as she relaxed beneath him.

“You’ve…” He paused, hips poised to thrust when it occurred to him to ask.

“Yeah, I’ve done this before,” she assured him, hugging his hips with her thighs, coaxing him to enter her.

“If it’s not good,” he said, slowly working himself into her body. “Just say something, promise?”

“I will,” she agreed. With each gentle thrust he went a little deeper, sinking himself into her moist heat inch by inch. Her body stretched satisfyingly around him, hugging his length with a sweet tension.

“Mmm, oh god,” he breathed as he reached the end of her body. “You’re okay?”

“Yeah, keep going,” she urged, her fingers gripping his shoulders as she moved impatiently. “You feel so good.”

He nodded and buried his head in the pillows near her head, letting his eyes close as he enjoyed the sensation of sliding in and out of her tight body. His body arched and curved against her as he found a slow and steady rhythm that had pleasure thrumming through him. It was even better than every late night fantasy that had flitted through his mind as he had imagined being with her. The only thing that would scratch that tickle of sexual frustration that had haunted him for months.

“Yunho,” she breathed his name against his collarbone, her lips ghosting over his skin as she spoke his name. He whispered hers back over and over, like a quiet mantra in the quiet of the room, otherwise filled with the creak of the bed and the rustle of the sheets amid the rhythmic pants of their breathing.

“Tell me I make you feel good,” he groaned, leaning close to feel her nipples abrade his chest as he moved against her.

“You feel like heaven,” she swore breathlessly.

“Mmmm,” he shuttered and his hips stuttered against her. “I’m not gonna last long. Can you come again? I want to feel you come around me.”

“Yeah,” she nodded, moving one hand to touch herself between them.

“Okay,” he closed his eyes and tried to think about something else, even as he felt himself getting close to that precipice. He couldn’t help but get drawn in by the feel of her hand moving against herself between them and he prayed she was as close as he was.

“Can you tell me I’m beautiful?” She asked shyly, her breath coming faster again.

“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured against her temple. “So fucking beautiful I can barely breath when I look at you.” She let out a muffled little groan and he felt the first flutter of her body around him. He let out a long string of praise for her as he thrust into her, her hand trembling as she chased that pleasure again. He moaned out praise for every inch of her and every feature, exhaustively listing every freckle, dimple, and curve he loved about her until he felt her body burst with pleasure, pulsingly gripping his length and driving him over the edge and robbed him of speech as he spilled himself inside her.

In the moments that followed they both slowly fell back to earth, coming back to themselves, limbs entwined in the dim, quiet room. With a quick apology he rolled his weight off her, pulling her along with him so that she was curled against his side as they caught their breath.

Slipping the condom off, he cleaned himself up with a tissue and tossed both into the nearby trash before turning to give the woman beside him an assessing look.

“Do you want to go clean up a little before we go to sleep?” He asked, running a finger gently over her arm.

“In another minute,” she gave a single, tired nod.

“Okay,” he agreed, rubbing her skin to warm in as the sweat they had developed cooled it. After a few beats he broke the silence with another question, “Ummm, does this count as our day one?”

“Yeah,” she laughed. “Valentine’s Day, huh? I guess that will make it easy to remember, won’t it?”

“I’m not sure I’d say that was the memorable part,” he teased back. “Thank you for being mine.”

“Thank you for loving me back,” she said, craning up to press a kiss to his lips. “Happy day one.”

“I can’t wait to spend the rest of my days with you,” he grinned, wrapping her tightly in his arms and breathing her in as he held her close.

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