#i'm still not GREAT at facial hair so... we'll see

[hazel2468]

Jace flats are done!!!! I notice that people don't seem to draw him with his scars... And if you know anything about me, my characters, and my writing, I really like scars as a visual thing and as a storytelling device.

[tbznewberry]

the boyz become human

Part 2

In a collaboration with Cyberlife, you've helped create 11 new androids to be used in the police force, but they seem to have a certain humanly soft spot for their creator.

Genre: yandere, sci-fi, futuristic, Detroit become human AU

Warnings: I'm not sure what to put to be honest, creepy behavior?

A/N: this was originally a chapter story that never got done, this is the first 3 chapters, I might post more chapters but we'll see

"Follow my hand, good job."

The nice lady in front of him holds up her fingers and he follows them with his eyes back and forth. She moves closer, picks up a small flashlight and shines in his eyes. He doesn't move. She smiles proudly and pulls back, looking at the other person in the laboratory. 

"This one has functional eyes", she says.

"Good, which one was that?" the human male says, looking at his clipboard in hand.

"The third one", she says. 

"God, I’ll never know who you mean! You should name them!”

“Me?”

“Yeah? They're your creations."

"Not really, I just planned how they were supposed to look, it was your people that built them.” She looks at the android in front of her. “Nevertheless, they don't need any. They aren't going to be household androids."

"But we have eleven of them, it'd be easier to get their names. I know everyone will mix them up calling them the first, the second and whatever." He points at the android in front of the woman. "Start with him. Was he the third?"

She nods and turns to the android, frowning. "I'll name him Younghoon." 

"Alright, and the others?"

She gives them all a name each, saying that she’s picking the first that comes to mind.

“You haven’t told me what they’ll be used for”, the woman says. “Why have I helped Cyberlife build them? I know that they’re meant for something special since you don’t use the normal models. You’re making brand new ones. If they’re not going to be household androids … then what are they going to do?”  

“They’ll be used by the police. We already have interrogation and detective androids, but these ones are different.” The man breaks out into a smile. “They can fight … they can manipulate … they can seduce, they’re quicker than any other android, they charge quickly, they have scanners to read humans feelings … and they’re perfect with children! They’ll be perfect in the police force. They’ll be amazing!”

The woman in front of Younghoon nods. He follows her motions with his eyes, studying her.

“That does sound amazing”, she says thoughtfully. “It explains a lot about why you needed them to be handsome. You can’t seduce a criminal with ugly androids, can you?”

The man chuckles. “No. You can’t. Thank you for being such a good designer.”

“Thank you for bringing my sketches to life …” She looks at the android sitting in front of her up and down with proud eyes, “... they’re remarkable.”

“We’re so happy you like them. Cyberlife will send you a check.”

“I know. I could use some money. How much for each android?”

“Around $250 000.”

“Oh shit.”

The man laughs again. Y/N lifts her eyebrows amusingly. 

“You don’t even know how much money you’ll get for the job?” he asks. “And still you took it?”

The woman smiles shyly. “Of course, this job would look great on my resume in the future. Who wouldn’t want to work for Cyberlife?”

The man smiles and shakes his head, walking over to the window. 

“Y/N”, the man says. “We should start the next test. It’s getting late and I think you need to go home soon.”

Y/N nods and stands up. 

“What’s the next test?” she asks. 

“Physical test”, the man says, looking through his list. “Strength, speed, reflexes and so on.”

Y/N looks at the androids. 

“Stand up”, she says. 

They all stand up at the same time and wait for their next instruction. They’re different heights with different hair colors and different facial features. But they all wear the same outfit — a gray suit with their serial number, a white shirt and some glowing parts. Y/N notices how Eric’s dark blue-gray hair is falling over his eyes and gently pushes it up again. She gives him a smile. 

"Thank you", he says.

Y/N looks at the man behind her in surprise.

"Who programmed him to say that?" she asks. "I thought they were only programmed to answer when you speak to them?"

"If you give them something or do something for them, they'll thank you", the man says.

"How polite."

She looks at Eric again, placing her hand on his cheek. He can feel her warmth. It’s not artificial, it’s not produced or charged — it’s human.

"It's almost scary how human they feel and look", she says. "If I didn't see the emotion indicator on his temple, I'd think he was a human in an android's suit. His skin is so soft."

"Yeah, we made them warm for the victims sake", the man says. "They're supposed to comfort victims in any situation and if they don't feel warm and human, it might make the situation worse." The main smirks slightly. "We've made sure their hugs are as comforting and welcoming as possible. We made this survey of what type of hugs are the best and gave them all the most voted ones. Smart, right?"

Y/N smiles mischievously. 

"You want to try it out, don't you?" the man asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe", she giggles. "I created them, I should get to test their abilities out."

"Then what are you waiting for? Just choose one."

Y/N looks at the row of androids, visibly thinking. She walks over to Jaehyun.

"Do I give him a command or …?" she asks.

"No, he knows that you want a hug, he can scan you. He'll choose what type of hug he'll give you."

"Right, sorry. They're so advanced I forget everything."

The android opens his arms and she walks right into the embrace. He closes his arms around her tightly. Her warmth is flowing from under her white shirt. 

"They have three different types of embraces", the man says. "Loving, comforting and protecting."

"What's the difference?"

"Well, a loving one is when there's nothing wrong. We call it 'the everyday hug'. Then there's the comforting feeling of a tighter but more sentimental hug for when the victims are crying or scared. And the last one, is the one he's doing right now … weirdly enough."

"The protective hold?"

"Yeah … it only occurs when the victim is in danger … but you're not. The protective embrace is a tight, firm hug that isn't supposed to be easy to get out of. If the victim is in danger, then it shouldn't be easy to get out of." The man looks through his papers. "Weird, we've tested it before with different men, women and children, they haven't given the protective hug to any of them."

Y/N taps the android on his arm. He looks down at her hand. It'd be so easy to break, so important to protect.

"Let me go", she says.

Jaehyun opens his arms and she leaves. The warmth lingers on his hands.

“Let’s start with the real test.”

Kevin follows Y/N with his eyes. She’s walking to the other side of the room to collect something. She picks up a red, little ball in her hand, bouncing it on the hard floor a couple of times. 

“Now throw it”, the man says. “At any of them.”

“What if I hurt them?” she wonders hesitantly. 

“They’re androids, they won’t feel it.”

“Well … what if I break them instead?”

“They’re equipped with quick reflexes, don’t worry.”

Y/N looks at the androids with a concerned gaze in her eyes. They can scan her, see how nervous she feels. It’s almost enough to make them ask how she’s feeling to see if she needs to be protected. She throws the ball at them. Chanhee catches it before it hits any of them. 

“Woah”, she gasps in shock. “Those are really quick reflexes.” 

Chanhee holds out the ball to her. She takes it gently and backs away to throw again. Sangyeon catches it this time and gives it back.

“I’m so scared to damage them”, the woman says, throwing an uncertain gaze in their direction. “They’re so advanced and so many people have been working on them. I’d feel horrible if I broke them.”

“You won’t”, the human male says. “They’re built for that.”

She throws the ball a few more times before moving onto the next test. Strength. The man places out boxing bags with a strength meter. One by one, they’re allowed to punch it, scoring higher than anyone has done before. 

“Shit, one blow to my head and it’ll fall off”, she whispers. “They can seriously hurt someone.”

“They can, but they won’t if it isn’t necessary”, the man says. “They’re more for protecting people than hurting them. Y/N, would you want to be the guinea pig for that?”

“For what?”

“I’ll slap your wrist and we’ll see how they react. If I’m correct, they’ll go into protection mode.”

The woman nods. The human male rolls up her sleeve on her left arm and hits her wrist fast and hard with two fingers. A ‘swoosh’ along with a ‘snitch’ echoes throughout the room. She whimpers and backs away. The first one to reach her is Haknyeon, pulling her back from the male in the room as the others form a barricade between her and the man. Haknyeon embraces her in that tight hug again. He hides her face down into his shoulder. 

“If I were to put up a fight now, they’d attack”, the man says. “But I won’t.”

Changmin turns around and lifts up Y/N’s arm in his hands to examine it. There’s nothing to see, but he can’t help but keep holding her arm.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

“Yes, yes, I’m okay”, she answers. “You can stop now. Everything is okay.”

The eleven androids listen, going back to their positions. All but one. 

“Haknyeon, you can let Y/N go now”, the man says. 

“She’s not safe yet”, Haknyeon answers.

“Yes, I’m safe”, Y/N says, tapping his arm. “You can let me go now.”

“You’re not safe.”

“Is this a malfunction?” 

The man frowns. “I’m not sure. What would you be in danger of?”

“You”, Haknyeon answers. 

“No, he’s not a threat”, Y/N reassures him. “I’m okay, he’s not dangerous, it was all a test. Haknyeon, please, let me go.”

The eleven androids scan her and grow cautious again. She’s afraid. They go into protective mode once more. 

“I don’t think you thought this through”, Y/N whispers, eyes on the male that caused this situation. 

“Guys, it’s okay, it was just a test.” 

She places her hand over Haknyeon’s. He looks down at her hand, feeling the warmth ooze from it. Should he let her go? He can detect her fear, but she promises that she’s alright. This kind of morality isn’t programmed for him. He senses fear, he can’t let her go until she’s not afraid anymore. 

“Well, since this isn’t working …”, she starts mumbling before trying to break free from Haknyeon’s arms. 

He doesn’t budge. Instead, his grip grows tighter. He can’t let her go. She’s in danger, she can’t leave his arms. 

“Fucking dammit!” she mutters, giving up. “What do I do?” 

“I’m not sure”, the man replies, looking through the papers. 

“Maybe you should leave the room? They see you as the threat.”

The man nods and leaves the room. The eleven androids relax. Instead of looking at the guy, they turn towards the woman, having their full attention to her. 

“You’re still scared”, Jacob says. 

“I’m not afraid of the man, he’s not a threat”, she says. 

“Then what are you scared of?” Kevin asks. 

“Well … you … kind of. Just please let me go now. Scan me. I’m not scared anymore.”

She’s right.

“Let her go”, Chanhee says. 

Haknyeon does. She hurries over to the door and lets her colleague in again. 

“I think i should go”, Y/N says, grabbing her beige coat. “I don’t want that to happen again. You should check with the ones programming them. That shouldn’t happen with a real victim.”

“You’ll be here for the presentation, right?” the man asks. “You should be the one introducing them to the police.”

“I think so”, she says. “I’ll go now. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Y/N. Get home safely and sleep well.”

She thanks him, wishes him the same and leaves. The androids follow her with their eyes until she’s left the laboratory. The man turns to the androids. 

“Well, I guess that means bedtime for you”, he says, clapping his hands once. “Let’s get you charged and ready for tomorrow.”

The androids sit down on their chairs as the man walks behind them, plugging the cords into the back of their necks. Sunwoo can feel how he gets shut off, eyes falling shut, everything turning black. The last thing he sees is a picture of the woman that created them. 

——♤——

She's nervous. They can tell … both from scanning her and her walking back and forth across the floor. She's wearing a white suit that enhances all of her features. The only thing separating them and the audience is a giant, red curtain. 

"Y/N", Juyeon says. "You're stressed."

"I know", she answers quickly. "I'm about to hold a speech in front of a thousand people! They're Cyberlife workers, cops, journalists … I can't do it."

"Yes, you can", Chanhee says, taking a step forward and hugging her in the comforting manner he’s been programmed with. He can feel that it’s not enough. "Look at me."

And she does. He holds his hands on her upper arms. Everything about her is so human. Everything from how her gaze falters, hands tremble and chest rises and falls. Neither Chanhee or the others do any of that.

"Breathe in and breathe out with me", he says, doing the technique he's programmed with.

She breathes along with him until he can't detect the same level of nervousness anymore. He lets her go.

"Everything we did in the laboratory last week will be presented live on the stage", Y/N says. "You'll have to show them what you showed me and my colleague. But you can do that, I'm sure. You’re programmed to perfection.” She clears her throat. “Do any of you feel that there's something wrong with your programming or if there are any parts that are loose?"

They answer negatively.

"Good", Y/N says, fixing Younghoon’s tie. “You’ll do better than me out there. I’m jealous … you can’t feel nervous.”

“No, we can’t”, Kevin says. 

Y/N fixes her hair, but it gets stuck on one of the buttons in the suit and her shaky fingers can’t untie it. 

“Can you help me?” she asks, looking at Sangyeon. “I can’t turn my head up if I’m stuck on the button.”

He takes a smooth step forward and starts untying her hair from the button. 

“Is that okay?” he asks as the hair is loose. 

“Yes, it’s okay, thank you”, Y/N answers with a smile. “Go back to the line now before the curtain is removed. Perfection, okay?”

“Yes, ma'am”, Kevin says. 

“Don’t move from your positions. Last week shouldn’t be repeated … not here. Whatever your scanners say … I’m alright, okay?”

“Okay”, the eleven men answer. 

The woman fixes their ties, hair and blazers before brushing off her own white clothes. The red curtains pull to the side and she freezes. Sunwoo’s scanner shows that her anxiety is rising. His instinct is to walk over to her and help her, but there’s an invisible wall that prevents him from doing that. An order. Don’t move from your positions. 

“Welcome!” Y/N smiles. “On the behalf of Cyberlife, I am proud to present the coming generations of androids!”

She walks to the side of the stage to show the eleven androids. A wave of applause roars throughout the auditorium. It’s maxed to its capacity. 

Y/N talks on and on about what special features the eleven androids have that separates them from the rest of the androids Cyberlife has produced. Curious and impressed eyes wander over the androids, looking at them up and down. They can detect some lust in the audience, some are doing more than admiring them.

One by one, they show their strength, speed and communication ability. The crowd cheers for them.

"Impressive, aren't they?" Y/N smiles. "They will be working undercover, hence why their faces aren't like the other androids Cyberlife given to the police force. Connor, for an example." Y/N looks at them up and down and all they can detect is sadness although she smiles. "They'll do just fine, I'm sure of it. Thank you for listening. They will be put into work before the month is over."

The crowd applause for the last time before the red curtain separate them again. Y/N breathes out shakily and removes the headset she's been using.

"You can move now", she says.

"Why are you sad?" Jaehyun asks. 

"I'm not sad, I- …" she interrupts herself. "I guess there's no need to lie to you. You can tell. Well, I'm just a little sad because this is probably the last time we'll see each other."

The LED rings on the androids temples flashes yellow. Why aren't they going to meet? What has happened? If she's sad, does that mean something bad will happen?

"Why?" Haknyeon asks.

"My job here is done", Y/N sighs. "You'll be given to the police next week or so … and then your real life starts." 

None of the androids answer. They're trying to process the newly given information. It doesn't make sense. She created them, she can't leave them now. From the moment they opened their eyes the first time she's been there.

"I guess I'm just a little sad my work is over", she says, shrugging. "But it's been nice to meet you. I'm sure you'll do great. I'll cheer you on."

"Will you visit?" Changmin asks. "We'd appreciate it."

"I don't think so. I don't want to grow attached to you. You have work to do and it wouldn't be appropriate. You're androids … you don't have feelings … I'd just hurt myself."

Being androids, they can't understand what she's meaning. Confused, they look at her.

"What do you mean?" Kevin asks. "We can't understand emotions."

"Well … what I mean is that you're programmed to seduce and I made you handsome. Even I would fall for you and that wouldn't be good for anyone. You'd seduce me without thinking and I'd be left hoping for something that'd never be able to happen. And even if that wouldn’t happen … I’d expect too much from you and get hurt."

"We understand", Chanhee says.

Silence. 

"I'll get going now", Y/N says and picks up her bag. "Good luck with everything. Wait,  before I go, can I ask you something, Jaehyun?"

"Of course", he answers.

"When you hugged me, you held the protective hold. My coworker said that none of you had ever done that to any of the participants that tried it out. Why?"

"They weren't in any danger", Jaehyun answers.

"I wasn't either. So why?"

Jaehyun looks into her eyes, scanning her. Confusion. 

"You're our creator", he answers. "We’ll always need to protect you."

[thevondoom62]

Boo! Did that scare ya? Well, it better have, because nobody knows fear better than Scarecrow! In recent years, I think Scarecrow has risen to become my second favorite Batfoe just after Bane. Big horror fan, ya see?

When this one first went up, I was split. It looked really good, but not my particular ideal for Dr. Crane. The thick straw hair, the visible facial features beneath the mask. All things that aren't my jam, buuuut I don't dislike them either. Still, for the price, I'd almost want something closer to my absolute preferences.

Yet, when the in-hand images started dropping, that attitude quickly shifted. The heads in particular looking much nicer. So, heck, when will I ever get a Scarecrow that looks this good again? Especially one that does everything else I'd want perfectly. He's got the hat, he's got the spindly build, and he's got those long, ghastly fingers.

Now that I have him, I'm a fan. The articulation is great, the torso especially getting a TON of forward range that's perfect for creeping poses. The legs feel kinda limited, but perfectly workable The sculpt is also rad, all the detail work is really something else. Those heads are much nicer in-person. Although, they don't really reflect Jim Lee's art in Hush, for how little he appeared. In most ways, I'm alright with that. The proportions of his face in the art wouldn't translate well and the nose was a weird call. Still, I definitely would have liked if the facial features were heavily shadowed like what was seen in the book if nothing else.

I'm very happy with this Scarecrow, he's a great figure of a cool villain. I do find myself wishing he had more accessories, though. Three heads and four pairs of hands is awfully sparse for a figure this expensive. Even if he had some grip hands so you could source a pitchfork or scythe from a different figure. I guess there isn't much to be done going off of the source, but c'mon. That's hardly an excuse, they could have spiced things up a little.

Still, this is the best Scarecrow figure we'll likely ever see. MAFEX and Mezco are really the only two sources for good DC figures in this scale so I guess it's what I gotta put up with.

[katieskarlette]

Reactions to spoilery cutscenes

Curiosity got the better of me, and I watched all the cutscenes that WoWhead posted from 11.0.

Spoilers and rambling below.

[Disclaimer: These are just my poorly-organized thoughts after watching cutscenes online without much context. Take them with a grain of salt.]

First, the prematurely-gray elephant in the room: Khadgar. I really enjoyed him as a character and I will miss him. Was it a fitting sendoff for such a huge lore figure? Not in my opinion. It was basically copying Rhonin's death (although at least this was in game and not in a novel). And Atiesh got broken, too. As a mage main, that made me cringe, and the destruction of my home city didn't feel good, either. The visual effects of it blowing up in a void explosion were impressive, at least.

Moving on... From what I've seen, I like what they're doing with Moira and her son, and their dynamic with Magni. Talk about a redemption arc, going from the Worst Father of the Year to doting grand'da. Aww. I'm not sorry to see the diamond shell go away. It was stingy of Azeroth not to give him any armor to keep, though. Harumph.

As for the new short folk...I love their blue gryphons, but otherwise they're not my cup o' tea, aesthetically, and I feel like the mechanical motif should stay with the gnomes and mechagnomes. Also, dwarves without Scottish accents seem so wrong. I know that's a ridiculous thing to say because why the hell did that get to be a thing anyway, but it's what we're used to. (Incidentally, exposure to WoW dwarves helped me do a killer Scottish accent when I want to. My best friend does a great Irish accent, so sometimes we'll greet each other in our respective fake accents. Maybe you have to be there, but it amuses us.)

ANYWAY...

Warcraft has always had a vaguely cartoony style. In the last several years the quality of the character models has improved noticeably. I feel like Blizzard is struggling to find a happy medium wherein it still has that signature Warcraft vibe while taking advantage of the improved graphics. Which is a long winded way to say that I find Anduin's detailed eyelashes and the M.C. Escheresque intricacies of Alleria's hair distracting. Anduin's facial structure, stubble, and the under layer of his hair look somewhat realistic, but the top layer of his hair and his vividly blue eyes look like they're from a different universe.

Speaking of Alleria, I don't understand the need to completely redesign her character. Funky winged eyeliner and an asymmetric cape, a totally different color palette, her hair all over the place...it's like she's a completely different character. Sure, a real person can have a major makeover and that's totally fine, but when you're dealing with a fictional character who has a distinct "look" to them, you should have a very, very good reason to throw away the familiarity/recognition you've already established. I felt a little bit that way when Jaina got her makeover for BFA, but since she's by far the most prominent human woman in the franchise it was easier to adjust. We have how many rail-thin high/blood/void elven women now? A lot. They could have done some cool, subtle things with slowly changing her Legion-era outfit to be more void-themed over time, but I suppose that would require extra modeling work that would deprive the playerbase of a raid tier...

I have no idea who Aelric Leid is, but I'd know Jim Pirri's voice anywhere. I'm glad he's still around the franchise after Nathanos was sent off to live happily ever after in a quiet corner of Ardenweald with his true love after she rescued him from the maw and you can pry that headcanon from my cold, not-undead hands killed off.

So we have a Wrynn not climbing about the fleeing ship with his allies but instead jumping down to fight the thing trying to destroy said ship, even knowing it will probably lead to his death. GEE, WHERE HAVE I SEEN THAT BEFORE?! Okay, I have to admit that did give me some feels. There's a fine line between poignant, thematically significant callbacks and gratuitously echoing past imagery while screaming, "Look! It's the thing! You remember the thing, right? Here it is again! Isn't that cool?" I'm looking at you, tons of Arthas parallels they pushed on Anduin in BFA and Shadowlands. Ahem. So yeah, I see what you did there, Blizzard, and I don't hate it. Let me conjure you a mana cookie.

Ansurek looked SO much cooler before her void power-up. She looks creepy af with all those red eyes and the stuff on her head, yet she's got a normal human mouth and a cutesy nose. WTF? Come on, let the creepy spider queen be monstrous! Trust me, people will still want to fuck her. Source: I've been on the internet.

"With our renewed strength, our kingdom shall be reborn." Zzzzzzz... Huh? Wha'? Oh. I'm sorry, I could have sworn I've heard this schtick about 874 times already.

Is Alleria really stupid enough to think she can kill (the equivalent of?) an Old God with an arrow? There's no way a shapeshifting being of the void could possibly put up an illusion or teleport away at the last second! /facepalm (Although soon after she was able to gut-punch Xal'atath to make her back up, so maybe it wasn't such a dumb strategy... I dunno. I'm just judging a bunch of short cutscenes out of context.)

A Windrunner sister gripping her bow so tightly we hear the leather squeak. Never seen that before, either.

I do like Xal'atath so far. She's got the sultry voice of Azshara, the (over)confidence of Lich King Arthas, and the creepy wrongness of her Old God pals. Voice aside, she's not as sexualized as a lot of her predecessors in the franchise, which is a relief. (I love Azshara to bits but she must have used massive amounts of double-sided tape and/or powerful magic to keep her boobs in that dress back in her pre-naga days.)

So yeah. I watched the in-game cinematics. There was some good, some bad, and some stuff I like to clown on but wasn't actually that awful. I can't say that it made me reconsider my decision not to play the expansion, but I'm glad I know a little bit more about what's going on.

Now, since they so rudely destroyed Dalaran, I'll have to picture my mage curling up in the library in Stormwind Keep, instead. Because that's what I imagine she does when I'm not playing the game. ;)

[ro-botany]

Bonus Content & Bloopers for the fake marlear screencaps

(I love behind the scenes stuff ok can you really blame me)

Ripping animations to help with some basic expression work was..... it was an adventure.

The first image above is an attempt to blend Marth's "surprise" and "smile" faces together but I uh...... Hit the wrong setting in the dropdown. I nearly died from laughing too hard pff.

The Alears there are what happens when you import the characters face rigs with different settings (still screaming at myself for that one) and then try to use a facial expression from one of them on the other one of them. That was supposed to be an :0 face.

The FEH players among you may have recognized the setting of that piece as the scenery for S supports in FEH! Figured if I'm setting the scene in Askr anyway I may as well go for the cheekiest spot. :P

While it probably would've looked great if I'd modelled all that out, after the effort that went into getting the character models looking good I really just did Not have it in me to do that, so this scenery is... A complete and utter lie made of layered image planes.

This was part of why I opted to crank the depth of field so much in the final piece. Helps hide that everything aside from the guys themselves are crusty PNGs. :P It does a half-decent job of looking like a 3D scene even in motion though, so long as you don't rotate the camera TOO far.

I REALLY liked how these close shots of Marth and Alear for the first pose turned out, but in the end I didn't think they fit with the other two poses. There was a timeline where I modified the expressions a bit and made fake dialogue boxes where they're talking about how surprised and happy they are they can actually touch each other in Askr, but I didn't feel confident enough to write in their voices for that.. So in the final shots that story just gets to be implied in their poses and expressions instead.

For the hug shot, I feel it is important to reveal that Alear's head is clipping halfway into Marth's shoulder and armour there. It's fine though. Animate for the camera, professionals always say! If it isn't gonna be viewed from every angle it doesn't have to look good from every angle. :P

Engage renders their characters' eyelashes and eyebrows ABOVE their hair, no matter what, in order to help the readability of facial expressions. I wanted to stay true to that look, so I had to render their eyebrows and eyelashes separately and then combine them in post. Enjoy eyelash-free Marth and Alear. :P

You can also see some areas there where I had to manually fix some shading and outlines in post, too. Blender has a bug with rigging right now that was affecting the face shading in odd ways, so I painted over that; and the inverse hull method I've been using for most of the outlines is very much imperfect and needed touching up in some areas, lips especially.

Since these character rigs were.......... We'll say not intended for use in Blender, they were fairly tedious to get posed right. No rotation or location constraints. These were joint-only rigs with no connections between bones so you couldn't use the auto-IK feature to, say move the whole arm at once. (Which made hand posing the WORST THING EVER AAAA EVERY FINGER JOINT MOVES INDIVIDUALLY why did i pick TWO poses where hands were a critical component)

Part of my process ended up being doing rough sketches of what the final shots were going to be first, so I could keep in my head what sort of poses and expressions and camera angles I was going for. And by rough I mean ROUGH. I kept laughing looking at these little egg head guys for reference as I worked.

Engage's models also come with some "extraneous" bones; "piv" bones that I can't figure out what they do, spots where weapons and shields can snap to, "vol" bones for changing the thickness of specific body parts as defined in the big XML file of character proportions buried in the game. Unfortunately these bones overlap the actual posing joints in many cases, so until you get fed up enough to find and hide them all, you'll try to move the character around and end up doing shit like this by accident

(Me too Marth, idk what the hell his skeleton is doing either)

And as you may have noticed - no particle effects in these behind the scenes shots so far! That's because I both A) couldn't for the life of me figure out how to do that smoke effect, and B) couldn't render a particle system with anywhere NEAR the number of objects I would need to get a similar look to the game. So, I drew those in post! Shoutouts to the random sparkle and smoke brushes in my collection, you're the real ones.

[byanyan]

CHARACTER SHEET

FULL NAME. yeong-hwan byun / 변영환 NICKNAME. byan, ya ya, kid, xevi/voxevi ALIASES. n/a PRONOUNS. they/them SIZE. 5'10 AGE. 17 ZODIAC. cancer SPOKEN LANGUAGES. english (fluent, primary), korean (fluent, secondary), japanese (beginner to intermediate, inconsistently learning)

𝐏𝐇𝐘𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐒 ―

HAIR. black, just shy of shoulder-length. usually pulled back in a half ponytail. (literally this. no i'm still not over it) FACIAL HAIR. none. it makes them extremely dysphoric. EYES. dark brown SKIN TONE. warm beige BODY TYPE. ecto-mesomorph — lean but with some decent muscle. VOICE. average in pitch, leaning a little high. loud and brash. they curse heavily, use a lot of contractions, and drop syllables from some longer words — basically, they tend to pronounce words in the easiest way rather than the correct way (ie. they'll always say prob'ly instead of probably). DOMINANT HAND. right POSTURE. decent, though they have a tendency to slouch when they sit. SCARS. far more than someone their age should have, so we'll stick with the most significant ones: a great deal of messy scarring across their knuckles from all assortment of violence, and many marks from knives and broken glass all over their arms. a decently-sized burn on their left shoulder. a large, long scar running from the lower part of the right side of their ribcage on their back, around to their side where it stops just above their hip. a stab wound on their left thigh. BIRTHMARKS. none MOST NOTABLE FEATURES. large, deceptively innocent-looking eyes. big crooked grin. numerous very visible tattoos and scars, most noticeably across their hands and arms.

𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐃 ―

PLACE OF BIRTH. verse dependent (i am indecisive) HOMETOWN. see above SIBLINGS. none that they know of, but there could be some out there. PARENTS. unknown. all they know of their biological mother is that her last name is byun. their biological father is a complete mystery. they had a set of adoptive parents for their first four years of life, and since then have gone through many caretakers and foster parents.

𝐀𝐃𝐔𝐋𝐓 𝐋𝐈𝐅𝐄 ―

OCCUPATION. high school student CURRENT RESIDENCE. verse dependent. usually in a group home for kids in the foster care system in some large city, but their actual home changes fairly often. CLOSE FRIENDS. few and far between. these friends vary across verses and in their closeness. FINANCIAL STATUS. poor. they have minimal financial support through group homes/foster care and otherwise steal to support themself. DRIVER'S LICENSE. nope, and they shouldn't be trusted with one. CRIMINAL RECORD. theft, robbery, burglary, breaking and entering, trespassing, vandalism, arson, assault, manslaughter, resisting arrest, lying to law enforcement, purchase of a controlled substance, sale of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, underage drinking, underage drug use, public intoxication, document forgery. VICES. alcohol and drugs, smoking, violence, constant lying, reckless self-endangerment, shoplifting and pickpocketing.

𝐒𝐄𝐗 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 ―

SEXUAL ORIENTATION. pansexual. no real preference on gender; they're more attracted to how one chooses to express themself than what their gender is. PREFERRED EMOTIONAL ROLE. emotions? ew. (they don't know) PREFERRED SEXUAL ROLE. n/a TURN OFFS. n/a TURN ON'S. n/a LOVE LANGUAGE. gift giving & receiving RELATIONSHIP TENDENCIES. skittish. they tend to run the moment they realize how close they've let themself get to someone, and good luck getting them to come back. also very inexperienced and not particularly open. struggles with physical touch. fairly selfish.

𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐄𝐎𝐔𝐒 ―

CHARACTER'S THEME TUNE. boxer by stra.y kids is still my go-to, though it somehow only just recently struck me that bt.s' fire is also incredibly well-suited. HOBBIES TO PASS THE TIME. outfit design, stick and poke tattooing, knife tricks, parkour/freerunning, pickpocketing, shoplifting, substance use, picking fights. LEFT OR RIGHT BRAINED. right SELF-CONFIDENCE LEVEL. high. too high. they need to be knocked down a few pegs.

tagged by:ㅤ@ohshadow thank you! ♡ tagging:ㅤyou if you are also a freak who loves filling out character sheets

[elvisabutler]

whole lotta woman needs a whole lot more

summary: austin's always been good with his mouth. austin normally is clean shaven. bikeriders means no shaving. you reap the benefits. fandom: austin butler rating: m pairing: austin butler x female plus sized reader ( you can read it in a non-plus sized way, but i specifically intended for it to be plus sized ) word count: 2087 warnings: facesitting. minor implications of sub austin. reader and austin mildly being simps for each other. semi-inexperienced reader in the realm of female oral? oh! also oral ( f receiving ). austin's facial hair because bikeriders is designed to make us all feral. author's note: welcome to day 26 of kinktober, facesitting with austin butler. this is late as all hell and took me longer than i intended but i do quite enjoy this piece. ideally i'm going to have more pieces out this weekend, possibly being able to finish off kinktober ( or kinkvember i guess now? ) but we'll see.

You have always been a little iffy on facial hair. Sometimes some men will pull it off beautifully, others just- well it looks like a sad collection of peach fuzz. As it turns out, Austin is someone who doesn't necessarily prefer growing out his facial hair so it's never been something you've had to necessarily worry about thinking about the particulars. Even when he did, it was more of a shadow of true facial hair or facial hair for a part. It was something easily dealt with.

Your friends though, your friends swore that you wouldn't have lived until Austin grew out his facial hair properly and ate you out. They knew that you and Austin- after a great deal of trial and error discovered a way to indulge in oral that made you feel comfortable with it. Austin had told you that it didn't necessarily matter how he got off- if he got off when he was eating you out because in his mind, that act was about pleasuring you versus pleasuring himself. So your comfort with the act was the only thing that truly mattered. It's why he had led you slowly into it, first on a couch, then at the edge a chair and a countertop and finally the edge of the bed and the bed itself. You've never tried to just ride his face in the bed but- you know why. You both know why even if you won't put it into words and Austin respects you enough not to push.

Still you figure everyone is being a bit silly about the whole thing when it comes to facial hair and oral. It couldn't be that different and even if it was, it was likely more uncomfortable than anything else, after all, beard burn on your face was bad, you couldn't imagine it on your vagina and on your thighs.

Austin had warned you that he might look a little different during your last phone call with him, a short affair that had him shouting that he was coming hold on to someone in the background and you wishing not for the first time lately that Austin had used FaceTime to call you even though he had said the reason he didn't is because one of you was always doing something that required you to not have the camera on anyway. So you had prepared yourself for at best a bit of fuzz on his face. Perhaps his hair was getting long enough that it was inching toward the long hair you kind of missed. Maybe his muscles had gotten a little larger, you figured, all the better to lift you up and keep you in his arms for longer. What greeted you in your kitchen when you came home from grocery shopping was genuinely nothing you could have even imagined.

"Hey baby." His voice sounds tired-exhausted even- but his eyes light up as he takes you in, taking note of the sundress you have on and wondering if you knew he'd show up and see you in it, see you lighting up his whole world. God, he had missed you.

Your eyes take in the way Austin's worrying his lower lip between his teeth and as a consequence your eyes also take in his facial hair. You had never seen him with this much, it's a whole goatee and beard combination that has your breath catching in your throat. You mange to squeak out a word in response. "Hi."

Austin's brow quirks up as he tilts head at your strange response. He's been gone this long and shows up looking this different and your response is just a single "hi"? That didn't make sense at all and so he looks at you, eyes trailing from your feet all the way up to your face. He stops at your chest for a moment, seeing how you seem to be taking slow measured breaths that you only take when you're turned on and wanting to hide the fact. When his eyes settle on your face he notices how your eyes are a little lidded and if he got close enough he's pretty sure he could see that your pupils are likely blown. Oh, so that was the problem. He could take that, he could enjoy that.

"Hi." He grins back at you, walking closer to you, pushing you against the counter and using his body to bracket yours against it. "Missed me?"

You bite your lip, breathing in through your nose like that will help the overwhelming desire you feel forming in the pit of your stomach. Austin's still looking at you with a glint in his eyes that has you very quickly realizing that you're going to need to answer him because he wil not let it go if you don't. Not trusting your voice, you nod.

His grin- the charming grin you're used to that's made you fall to your knees before morphs into a smirk as he bends his head down to kiss your neck, making sure his facial hair brushes against you. It's softer than you thought it would be and yet at the same time you can feel the burn of it, feel how it drags along your sensitive neck. Your breathing quickens.

"You missed me a lot, didn't you? You like the new look?" He murmurs against your neck, kissing a line up to your jaw where he just lazily mouths at it.

Your next breath is shaky as if it's trying and failing to contain every desire just looking at Austin's face is inspiring in you. It takes a moment but you finally are able to speak. "I do? Surprisingly? It's a good look on you."

The words come out in a rush and Austin chuckles lowly, his hand drifting down to between your legs, ruching up your dress until he can feel your underwear covered cunt. His fingers dance on the edge of the fabric. "You do?" He moves the underwear to the side just a bit before allowing a single finger of his to enter you. A hiss escapes your lips.

"I do." You choke out, your hips rolling just a bit. "Austin?"

"Hm?" He hums, allowing his finger to leisurely play with your folds, to trace them just slightly while smiling softly at you.

"If you don't pick me up and take me to bed, I think I may die in this kitchen. Or murder you, I don't know which." You spit out in a rush before biting at your lips and feeling a hint of shame at how quickly you said it. That shame is quickly overcome when you see just how delighted Austin is looking at you after you say it and how quickly- and easily- he lifts you up to carry you to the bed.

It's a flurry of thrown clothes and while you had planned on getting on the bed first, somehow Austin had beaten you and was staring at you with a look of dangerous intent on his face. You gaze at him with a frown before he speaks.

"i want you to sit on my face, baby." He says bluntly, his spit covered hand stroking his already hard cock, smearing precum and spit on the head. You shake your head before he holds up his hand. "No, I- please, baby, let me do it. Let me feel you fully on my face like that, no half in and half out sort of thing."

"Aus-" You start before you see his face. His stupid face pouting and looking more angelic than he has any right to look when his cock is in his hand.

"Please." He begs with one simple word and you find yourself sighing and moving to position yourself. Austin for his part shimmies down the bed enough to make it comfortable for both of you. Your thighs bracket his head, and you find yourself holding your body up too scared to actually sit as you look down at Austin.

"Austin- you- we- I don't want to-" You start and stop your sentence a million times. You're not self conscious about your weight, far from it, you've embraced it as a part of you, a part you know Austin adores. But you also know the realities of things, know that there's more to you than some girls and that can be a problem if you're going to be on top of someone. "We can just do it the normal way."

Austin's eyes tear themselves away from your practically dripping cunt with a low growl as he looks up at your face. "Stop worrying that you're going to suffocate me and sit on my face, babe."

"What if you need-" The question dies on your lips as Austin grabs at your thighs, his fingers digging in just a way that has you gasping.

"I'll tap these gorgeous thighs of yours and you'll get up. Babe. Darling- It's fine. I want to do this, I need to do this for you." Austin tone inches toward pleading as he grips your thighs tight enough that you know there's likely to be some bruising and you find you don't mind. You take a shaky breath as you lower yourself slowly, feeling at first the scratch of his facial hair, feeling it tickle your skin lightly but then you feel Austin's very familiar tongue and you find yourself sinking down lower, reveling in how Austin groans against your cunt, his tongue starting to move in the way that's familiar to you. It feels as if he's deeper- or if he's more involved. His nose brushes against your clit as he licks at you like a starving man, trying to savor every last bit of your arousal. His facial hair does not- burn as everyone seems to describe, instead providing a tickle- an added sensation as you focus on letting yourself go. In normal circumstances you wouldn't grind on Austin's face, finding it to be a little strange when he's got you hanging off the edge of the bed or the counter or wherever but now in this moment, you can't help the way your hips start to grind against Austin's mouth. He growls, his teeth nipping at your clit earning a sharp inhale and a choked off whimper from your lips. The quicker you feel his mouth move the more you're spurred on to grind, to chase the high your boyfriend is bringing you. You haven't felt him tap your thigh so you think you're safe- you marvel at why you ever stopped Austin from doing this before.

Maybe you were just waiting for the right time, maybe you were just waiting for this particular time when his face isn't clean shaven, when it's not just stubbled, no he's got actual facial hair you can play with, you can rub your hand and your cunt against. Your hands move down to his hair, finding purchase there as you feel his tongue sliding against you in just the right way and you feel yourself falling. Your orgasms normally take enough to build up to that you can sense them before they come but this hits you like a truck, barreling through your body and causing you to groan so low you swear you reach another register of your voice. Austin's tongue still is flicking against your twitching cunt, stimulating you in a way that is inching toward being too much so you force your legs to try and work, pulling Austin's hands off your thighs and moving off of his face.

You can see your fluids glistening against his beard, turning the shade of blonde just a bit darker in a way it only does when his hair is wet. It makes you feel a little- well, feral, to be honest something about the image pinging a territorial beast inside you that has you wanting to see that over and over before he has to shave it off. The thoughts you find yourself indulging in while looking at him are cut short but Austin's tiny laugh as he shifts and pulls you on top of him, a low sound coming from his chest.

"We'll talk more about that look I see on your face later. Think you can ride me a second time, baby?"

You grin and pull him in for a kiss, tasting yourself on his lips and smelling yourself in his facial hair. "And a third if you're lucky, Mr. Butler."

[spaghett-onaplate]

!!YOUNG ROYALS SEASON 2 SPOILERS!! (from the screencaps specifically) warning: extremely long-winded post

Okay, so, many thoughts. First of all, HOLY SHIT! Second of all, I'd like to preface this by saying that I'm sure plenty of much more talented Young Royals blogs will do better analyses on the pictures, but here's my half-drunk-on-giddiness take on them.

First, this lovely pic of Sara, Felice and the gang. I love Felice's hair oh my GODD!! I was hoping for some natural curls in season 2 but I fear the drastic hair changes in both Felice and Wilhelm possibly hint at a massive time skip. Apart from that, Fredericka and Stella are off to the side, looking almost dejected. This could be interpreted as them being jealous of Sara's newfound closeness with Felice but honestly, I doubt it. In Season 1, the catty girl group trope was stomped on so I can't imagine they'd take that route in Season 2, at least not as anything more than a minor plot point. That aside, this could mean Sara is now boarding at the school, but not necessarily. It is hard to see the time of day in this photo, it could be morning or afternoon.

Now, Wilhelm and Simon. Wille's hair looks great - I expected it to but I was still nervous I'd miss the flippy bangs. I'm sure I will but we'll see ahah. So this looks like Wilhelm is getting the personal entourage again. See that badge on his blazer, and the badges of the people behind him? I wonder if that means they are in a position of leadership - e.g. rowing captain, prefect, etc. And if Simon is lined up along with the captains, does that mean he now has a position such as that? Also, I think that might be Felice's (straightened) hair just off behind Simon.

Now onto the most obvious part of the photo - Wilhelm's expression. Very intense. I love the way Edvin portrays his characters' emotions, he does a great job. Now Wille has his mouth pressed in a line, and he's staring very obviously at Simon. If this is their first day back, it means they haven't seen each other in ages, and they've both had time to think things through.

Next, this screencap of Wilhelm and his parents. A different dining room to last time, and standing above them is who I assume to be the chef. Is that snow I see through the window? This is probably the Christmas dinner at the palace, as I imagine that will be an important scene. Such a shot would not be possible with another person at the table... it's the first Christmas without Erik :(

Wilhelm doesn't look happy, but that's understandable. Kristina is looking at him, and the king is (once again) a wallflower. I wonder if we'll learn more about his character? Who knows.

Next, Simon and Wilhelm together again. I'll start with the background. A few returning characters, a few new ones (unless my facial memory is just that bad, lol.) The classroom is unfamiliar as far as I remember, potentially for history judging by the pinned-up portraits on the wall in the back.

Simon is reading, Wilhelm is neglecting his work to stare at him - as such is a recurring theme. It's hard to read their expressions. Are they smiling slightly? At what point in the season does this scene take place? Towards the start could mean they are sitting together in an attempt to maintain a friendship. Towards the end could mean Wilhelm has decided to follow his heart, rather than the monarchy.

Aside from that - new wardrobes! Very interesting. Simon's seems to stay quite similar, Wilhelm's jumper is rather new. The cut seems kind of fancy, but bear in mind I know nothing about clothes. Henry is wearing a surprisingly bright and casual outfit in front of them, with a graphic on the hoodie, which was previously unseen from most of the Hillerska elite. Someone analysed the clothing in all of Season 1 (please tag their blog if you remember who!) and they paraphrased RWRB in that "graphic prints make a statement." Now I'm probably over-analysing the shit out of this but that could possibly hint to a friendship with Simon - they have grounds to interact, after all.

Next, this scene. I was immediately reminded of the choir scenes, and I think it quite likely that they are in the audience listening to a song. It could also be a speech of some sort. I'm going to assume this is toward the start if it is the choir. Wilhelm is looking at Simon with a rather sad yet veiled expression. I think Henry is sitting next to him - you can see the gingerish hair just behind August. This might not mean anything as Wilhelm sits next to a few of the other boys in Season 1 with no further friendship.

And August is in front of him, looking horrendously smug/happy. I hope someone takes it upon themselves to knock him down a peg in Season 2. I'm not going to speculate why he's so cheery - he's August, after all.

Now, the rowing team around Wilhelm. Matching uniforms, potentially meaning there is a rowing competition that they enter. The boys are all encouraging him. Please correct me if I'm wrong (once again, terrible facial memory) but it seems that the boys behind them are Walter and Vincent, plus a new character (?). I have nothing to back this up on but if there's going to be a Love Triangle in Season 2, I think it's going to be with HIM.

Now, my favourite part of this picture - Simon's hand's on Wille. A casual one on his hip from the front, but if you look in the mirror you can see his other hand is on his back. Is Simon using this as an excuse to touch Wille, or are they together(-ish) and comfortable being intimate in front of the rowing team? And apart from that, there is a boy hunched over by the door behind August in a maroon top, a colour we frequently see on August.

Now, the Bjarstad trio. Simon is looking understandably dejected. He's wearing the same clothes that appear in Season 1, so I would wager this is toward the start, after school. Ayub and Rosh are clearly concerned for him - the conversation probably has to do with his relationship with Wille. They've already had the talk about the sextape. Now, Simon's backpack indicates he came home from school. He potentially saw Wilhelm for the first time in ages, and now they need to console him about it.

I was reminded of the woodsy place outside Hillerska at first, but I am fairly sure this takes place in Bjarstad. It would make sense, plus there's a telephone pole and (Linda's?) car vaguely visible through the trees.

Felice and Wilhelm friendship? Let's fucking GOOOOOO! Wille needs someone now that he's lost Erik, August and Simon (seriously, almost the entirety of Season 1 is Wilhelm taking a fat L. give the poor boy a rest in Season 2 please), and Felice is the perfect person for it. I'm fairly sure they're in Wille's room. Also, I am living for the casual clothing (Felice is in a Hillerska hoodie!) and Nikita's natural hair, omg.

I can see the parallel to that shot of Simon on his bed alone and I can already smell the edits. As for when this takes place in the series, I can't guess. Possibly toward the start, if Wille needs consoling about the situation in general. Either way, I'm excited to see their friendship in Season 2.

And last but not least, this shot between Sara and August. Sara is wearing the same purple coat as in the first image and has the same pink bag (you can justtt see it in the first pic behind her left elbow). Sara's expression seems to be inquisitive, pleading or disbelieving. August is looking down at her with what looks like a sneer. The clipboard is what I assume the Hillerska boarding application, and the lake behind them tells me this must take place at the school.

So, I hope you enjoyed my over-the-top analysis of these pictures. I can't wait to hear all of your opinions! I can't wait to be completely wrong about all of this, but hopefully I'll get some stuff right. I can't wait to see all of your analyses, and I am SO excited for Season 2. Now I'll give my fingers a rest from this rapid typing (it's so loud and has been going on for about an hour straight. I have 90 new things on my dashboard, wish me luck.)

[themochiverse]

Wanna Play? | 01

Banner credits go to the amazing ➳ @introgfx (tysm!)

➤ BTS: Series

⪧ Wanna Play? ✎✘🗡 (BTS!au, yandere!au, best friends to enemies!au, game!au?) Taehyung x fem!Reader (feat. BTS)

➳Word Count: 3.6k+

➳Chapter Summary: You've been best friends with Taehyung for a long time. Your relationship is pretty good with him, but your delusional brain seems to cause big problems ahead of you.

➳Implied Warnings: Swearing, slight manipulation, mentions of stalker-ish behaviour and consensual-kissing? Angsty Tae! OC is naive :p

A/N: Hey! I'm so sorry this took forever, I was a little busy, a lot of changes happened in this chapter and I wasn't sure if it was good enough or not. I tested positive for covid unfortunately :( so writing is the only thing that's mostly keeping me occupied. I would love feedback and comments, I hope you enjoy~

Chapters | Prologue | 01 | 02

Taglist: @minshookie29 @6tslovr @proflyndo @pinkcherrybombs @xanslii @papijiminfeed @justanotherstarlightmonger @kittykatfey @princess-sunshyn @jinniesjoon94 @trashlord-007

"Boom! And that's how you win the Ultra Zombie Shoot Out!" You yell, as you finally shoot the last horrendous looking zombie, the fake blood splattering. You clap your hands in delight. Tickets were whirling out of the machine as you got the high score in the game. You were currently in an arcade with your best friend, Taehyung. Whom you glance at, was on his phone, the screen lighting up his facial features.

You roll your eyes, as you start poking his shoulder.

"Taehyung."

"Taehyung."

"Yeah?" He replies.

"What are you doing?" You ask.

"Tsk, what does it look like I'm doing Y/N?" You can hear a hint of annoyance coming from him. Clearly, you were pissed at his attitude, and you weren't going to let him get away with it like he always does. So you put your hands on your hips, before talking to him.

"Tae, you know I only invited you to come to the arcade with me, so we can hang out." You tell him.

Taehyung examines you, identifying your mood, the change of behaviour, your body expression, and how you looked extremely beautiful with oversized clothes. He was staring at you for a while until you interrupted him by clearing your throat.

"So, can we play one more game? Please, Tae? I promise I'll make it up to you." To make him agree with you, you pout, enlarging your eyes, your hands on your face.

How could he say 'no' to that face? Finally, he turns his phone off and gives his boxy smile.

"Sure, we'll play just one game, and after that, you're buying me some Whiskey."

"Deal!" You accept the offer. You walk past him, trying to pick out a game before you feel a hand grab you. You look back and see Taehyung gazing at your lips before looking back at you.

"Oh." You mumble as you give a quick peck on his soft lips. Taehyung gives a soft smile as you both walk off to play another game.

"That was not fair!" You currently were strolling down the streets, mad at the fact that you lost the last game at the arcade.

"It was fair, you weren't just good enough Y/n," Taehyung explains to you. You gasp, he just insulted you for not playing well.

"Excuse me, I did do well, you on the other hand kept asking me which buttons to press for throwing a fucking bomb."

"Still, I did better." He shrugs.

"Well, it wasn't my fault for getting distracted by you." You indicate the word 'you' on Taehyung a little harshly.

"Me? What did I do to distract you?" Curiosity hit Taehyung the very moment you mentioned that sentence.

Quiet for a moment, you rewind back to the time in the arcade. Taehyung’s dark brown hair, curled so adorably, the light cream hoodie he wore with baggy pants just really suited him. His facial features were looking sharp and beautiful. The straight nose, his bright smooth skin and his small parted lips really made you wonder of how such beauty existed.

You took a moment to reply with something.

"I don't know! You just look awfully great today. I mean you looked so cute playing the game, I just lost focus..." You mutter the last sentence quietly but Taehyung sure heard it.

You feel Taehyung wrap his arms around you, pressing a tender kiss on your forehead.

"I'm joking, you know? You're probably one of the best competitive players in this world, Y/n. And you know that too." Your cheeks blush a little from the comment.

"Now, let's go get some Whiskey, and remember you're paying!" Taehyung playfully yells as he starts running to the nearest club in front of you guys.

"Hey! Wait up, I gotta know if the Whiskey is expensive or not." You run after him, giggling that you had found such a perfect best friend.

"That is your fifth glass Y/n," Taehyung sighs. For the past thirty minutes, you told yourself that you wouldn't drink, not until Taehyung teased you about it.

"So? I'm just really, really thirsty tonight." You slur, your head on the bar counter.

"Oh my god, don't tell me I need to carry you home tonight." Taehyung groans in annoyance.

"I did a lot today, Tae." You sip the remaining Whiskey left in your glass.

"Another one please." You tell the bartender.

"Y/n, I'm pretty sure that's enough, you were drunk from your third glass."

"Did I tell you, that you look extremely handsome today?" You point your finger towards Taehyung's chest. Taehyung sort of widens his eyes.

"Why did your hair have to be curly Taehyung? Why are you so good-looking?" You declare in a state of drunkenness.

"Alright, we're going now," Taehyung states, grasping your arm and pulling you out of your seat.

"But, Tae." You whine.

"Taehyung?" A different voice is heard this time. Taehyung releases you when his eyes are on someone else.

"Jungkook?" Taehyung replies. Your eyes trail to where Taehyung is looking at. In front of you, both was another man, slightly taller than Taehyung, though he didn't have curly hair as he did. Instead, this man had a nice cut to his, his arm was covered in ravishing tattoos, silver loops on both of his ears and a lip piercing perfectly chipped to the corner of his small lips.

"I never knew you had a girlfriend," Jungkook announces.

Girlfriend? Oh, this guy took the wrong impression.

"We're not together."

"We're together."

You and Taehyung both gape at each other in shock. Jungkook follows your movement and smirks.

"Friends, I guess?" He rhetorically asks.

"Best friends," you reassure him.

"Good, I thought it was the 'Friends with Benefits' thing." He quotes. You widen your eyes, quickly replying.

"I doubt so that will ever happen, I mean we're best friends, we just cuddle and kiss, there's nothing bad in that." You let that out in a rush, realising after three seconds of what you had said.

You cover your mouth with your hand and mumble.

"Shit, I wasn't supposed to say all of that was I?"

Jungkook just stares at you in amusement, before he glances back at your best friend.

“She’s pretty, will you-“ He gets cut off by Taehyung harshly.

“No.”

“Why? You’ve certainly got luck in your side.” Jungkook continues.

“I said no,” Taehyung replied sternly.

“The hyungs won’t be happy to hear about this…” Jungkook says in a quiet voice.

“Get your own.” Taehyung grits his teeth.

“She’s mine.” He adds.

You were literally confused about what they were talking about. You just only remember being at the arcade and magically ending up here, stuck between two men arguing whatever bullshit they were saying.

“Fine, but, everyone has got their eyes set on the prize.” Jungkook ends, you watch him disappear within the crowd.

You rest your head on a very pissed Taehyung, slurring out more sentences that would probably embarrass you in the future.

“Why do you guys speak in riddles?”

The atmosphere in the car was not very welcoming at all. It was freezing and you had no idea why Taehyung didn’t turn on the heater during the trip home. You could tell Taehyung wasn’t in the mood at all, his knuckles were white the whole time when he was driving, his steering wheel would probably need a new change.

The car abruptly stopped, making your body jerk out of your seat for a little. The silence was definitely heard in the air when you got out of the car.

You look at Taehyung who wasn’t paying attention to you at all.

“Drive safely.” You tell him.

“Be safe and call me if you need anything.” He replies before whirring off into the night.

Weird, why does he always sound like an overprotective boyfriend?

You shrug off the thought as you enter your house. That was until more questions stirred in your head.

When Jungkook mentioned the word ‘girlfriend’ it reminded you of the number of times when you thought kissing your best friend was wrong. You met Taehyung a couple of months ago, it started with bumping to each other in a café, spilling your coffee all over him.

After a hundred times of saying sorry, he instead bought you a coffee, arguing about how he should have watched where he was going. Then things started to progress slowly. You guys coincidentally kept bumping into each other at different places, just casually talking to not make the conversation awkward.

Taehyung made the first move, asking for your phone number. It really seemed like those cliché ‘love at first sight’ types but it wasn’t.

He wanted to become best friends.

You guys were so sweet and caring for each other, that you didn’t realise the day Taehyung told you to kiss him.

He convinced you it was normal for best friends to do that, it showed love and affection, like as if it was holding a rope, where neither of you can tug it, so at the end it will never snap.

Unless… one of you pull it, so the rope is loose to whoever’s freedom.

Was light pecks or kisses alright?

Is that why Jungkook asked if you were Taehyung’s girlfriend? You didn’t kiss in front of him, maybe you two just looked really great together.

It felt wrong to do so, but it made you feel special and loved. And you wanted that so badly. It was a craving desire, you and Taehyung were so close, you both had so many things in common and so far there weren’t any huge arguments that would disrupt the relationship.

You had a real friend. A friend that you would probably cherish for the rest of your life. But, was kissing a friend alright?

You could always trust Taehyung, right?

You ignore the thought and go to your room, instantly lying on the fluffy bed. You fiddle with your fingers for a while, the silence killing you slowly. You could hear crickets chirping and just the rough wind, swishing away so hard you could hear the branches of trees hitting against each other.

Your bedroom window was slightly ajar, the moonlight glowing your face up.

Wait, why was the window open? You remember it was closed with the curtains covering it-

You immediately sat up, flicking the lights on, only to be greeted by a guest who made you jump.

"What the fuck?"

"Hello, Y/n." Under the nose of you was Jungkook. You surprisingly remember him. How the hell did he get in your room?

"What are you doing here?" You question out of fright and curiosity.

"Mm," he simply says, sitting on one of your armchairs, legs sprawled apart.

You barely know this guy and a disturbing feeling knotted inside your stomach.

"Listen-"

"Do you want to play a game, Y/n?" He queries.

"If it's with you, then... no." You respond arms crossed over your chest. Right now, you really hoped this deranged fucker would go away. How does he have the audacity to sneak into your house and ask you to play a game?

"Are you sure? It's a really fun game." He stretches, those doe eyes piercing through your soul.

"Like I said, no." You scoff, getting annoyed. Jungkook, on the other hand, scanned your features- if you played this game, you had no idea how happy Jungkook would be.

"Everybody likes games, and I know you do too... but, have you ever played a game that earns you money?"

"Money or not, I'm not interested." You say the word slow and hard for Jungkook to hear.

"You're going to regret it, Taehyung's in it." Your head quirks up to the mention of Taehyung's name. Taehyung? Playing a game? And he didn't tell you?

Jungkook watches you, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Money or not," he mocks the first couple of words you say "though, wouldn't it be much more fun if you were playing with your so-called, 'best friend'?"

"The price of friendship is dealt more than the price of $35 million." He continues. Thirty-five million? What insane game was this?

"W-what game is it?" You catechize.

"Oh baby, it's not just one game, it's multiple. That's how the money adds up." He clicks his tongue, smirking. The name he just used made you cringe, what gave him the right to say that?.

Realising your quiet response, Jungkook scrutinises you. He noticed how close you and Taehyung were. It infuriated him that his own Hyung didn't tell him about you. You were gorgeous, an angel sent from heaven, someone to keep forever. Jungkook and his other Hyung's would share all the time, and to his surprise, Taehyung didn't mention anything. He never mentioned you.

Well now, he was going to make things a whole lot better.

Jungkook lets out a light chuckle, "But, don't you want to know what this is?" Between his two fingers was a small type of card. Golden, in fact, your eyes examining and reading the small, capitalised letters printed on it.

"Wanna Play?" You breathe out, "Is that the name of the game?"

"Yeah, it is." Jungkook retorts, playing with the card, you watch him flip it over and over again.

"All the details come from the card." He tells you, tapping the card twice with one of his fingers.

"You choose, whether you want to play or not." He says casually, placing the card on your bedside table while standing up. He reaches to your window, slightly leaning against the wall as he views your movement.

He eyes you holding the card, you contemplating it. Jungkook was ready to leave until something popped up in his mind.

"Oh, and Y/n..." He catches your attention as you glance at him "don't tell Taehyung, or there will be consequences." He didn't hesitate to tell you this, after all, it was simply just Taehyung's fault. You somehow managed to realise how many octaves his voice dropped down. It almost sounded like a warning and that made you tense. You drop the card on your bed, a strange question occurring to your mind.

"Wait, Jungkook... how do you know my name?" But as you look up ahead, he was no longer there, only the curtains swaying and a creaking window.

The next day, you were walking back and forth, wondering about the current situation you were in. Jungkook's warning got you alarmed- telling Taehyung will result in consequences. That's what he said, yet, you always tell Taehyung everything. Or mostly anything. How could you not tell him about this?

You wrote down the number on a notepad just in case.

Taehyung is playing this game, so shouldn't I be allowed to as well? You question yourself multiple times.

Why didn't he tell me?

How does Jungkook even know my name? Did he get it from Taehyung? They looked pretty close at the bar-

Your thoughts were interrupted by a ring, coming from your phone. You checked who it was and it was no other than your best friend.

"Hello?"

"Y/n, I've been knocking on your door for like a whole complete minute now, where are you?" Taehyung was knocking on your door, and you didn't hear him at all. Gosh, you were so in trance with your thoughts.

"I'm sorry, I'm coming right now." You hang up, running to open the door, greeted by a smiling Taehyung. You eye him up and down for a quick second. He wore a black leather jacket, with dark blue jeans. His hair looked extra spectacular today, and his lips were shining. Something about him right now, just made him look sexy. He licks his lips, gazing at you.

"Well? Aren't you ready for the day?" He asks.

"Huh, what day?" You were still occupied in your own thoughts.

"Friday? The day where we do whatever shit we want? Eating at your favourite café?" He rhetorically asks, expecting you to answer.

You peek behind him, glancing at the sky. It was dark and grey, gloomy and unsettling. It gave you an eerie vibe, and it was much different today. You didn't want to go, you just knew today wasn't the right day, and at this very moment, you didn't want to see Taehyung.

"U-uhm, is it fine if we.. you know don't go? I just don't feel well, so like-"

"That's fine, we can just hang out here." Taehyung cuts you off, ready to go further in your house.

Your hands land on Taehyung's shoulder, slightly pushing him back.

"No, it's alright, you should go, I don't want you to be sick because of me." You tell him, hoping it would convince him.

But of course, it didn't.

Taehyung snorts, removing your hand from his shoulder.

"Y/n, since when have I never taken care of you?" You froze, the card, now curled up in your fist was gripped even tighter. What Taehyung said, somehow made you feel nervous.

It was true though, Taehyung was always there for you. He was everywhere. You're at a mall and he would be there too or you're at a park and you would see him on a park bench, far from you. The point was, he always takes care of you, like as if he was a doctor and you were his close patient. Just always treating you, especially silently afar.

It sometimes made you wonder that Taehyung wasn’t just ordinary, he was just different. He was just as smart as you were, and you could tell that from the start. Though, you were much more naïve and so easy to grasp, especially to Taehyung.

The day he met you, he knew that this was a destined relationship. He had to make sure you were his, nobody else's. He wanted you only for himself, he didn't want to share like his Hyungs did.

Taehyung watched as your body tensed, muscles frozen and your eyes lost. He might have hit a nerve. Proceeding to calm you down, Taehyung puts his hand on your shoulder, your eyes finally making contact with his.

“Oh, uh, sorry.” You mutter, tucking a strand of hair. However, Taehyung notices your clenched fist, hands grabbing yours to see what you were gripping so hard.

He pulled out the card easily, your sweaty hands giving in and not helping at all. You gaze at him as he widens his eyes.

“Where did you get this?” He asks a little too loudly. When you don’t answer him, his hands grip onto your shoulders, tight. “Y/N, I said, where did you get this?” He repeats, anger glimmering in his eyes. You have never seen him this mad before, and it frightened you. The way those eyes narrowed and how it glinted with dark flames concerned you, especially because of the tightening grip he had on you.

“Y/N!” He says harshly, shaking you slightly. Terrified of his current behaviour you take a different turn this time.

“I got this today morning.” Lie

“From where?”

“I found it near the trash cans.” Lie

“Did you get it from anyone? Or found anyone who put it there?”

“No.” Lie

Taehyung searched your eyes but you made sure your tone was confident enough. He brings his face close to yours, just inches apart.

“You aren’t lying to me, are you?” He whispers very lowly, his hot breath fanning your face, making you shiver.

“I’m not.” You say again confidently. Taehyung was still in the same position for a couple of seconds before pulling away.

“You won’t be needing this,” he crumples the card in his large hands, ripping it seconds afterwards. You watch the tiny pieces floating in mid-air, slowly descending to the floor, just like how you would see visible snowflakes falling during your childhood.

“You should have never have gotten it in the first place!” Taehyung exclaims, kicking the wall so hard that it made you wince.

"What's so bad about it?" You barely let out a whisper. Taehyung heard, he turned around, querying you more. "You didn't call them, right?"

As if your body had let you down, you shook and broke yourself down. Crystal clear drops of tears were sliding down your cheek from the corner of your eyes.

"No! No, I didn't Taehyung, I didn't call them." Taehyung's demeanour changed within a second. He cupped your cheeks, wiping the tears away. Hugging you in a sense of comfort.

"Shh, look I'm sorry, please don't cry, I didn't mean it that way, I didn't mean for this to happen." He tells you, slowly pulling away.

"I wanted you to be safe." He mutters, lowering down to your level “I hope you get that.” He concludes. You nod your head, a small smile appearing on your face.

Ding

Ding

Ding

You could hear the text notifications coming from Taehyung’s phone. He takes it out and glances at the screen giving you a quick look as well.

“Sorry, I have to take this,” he strolls outside. You stand and wait patiently, rocking from side to side. It was a habit of yours, especially when you were curious.

You suddenly hear Taehyung swear, his hand gripping onto his hair. He comes back in quickly telling you he has to go.

As he leaves, you watch him, making sure he fully left. Once you’ve checked, you rush back to your room, finding the notepad.

If Taehyung was going to be mad at you for getting a mysterious card, nearly scaring the hell out of you and left so quickly, then lord sure does know that he’s hiding something. And you were going to find out about it.

You grab your phone from your bed, the notepad on your lap, the number visible in black ink. Whatever safety shit he was talking about he should have told you what it was, what made him so frantic that he jumped at you, questioning you as if you were a suspect of murder.

What was so bad about the card? It was a game, you were told it’s a game. And if Taehyung’s in it, he shouldn’t be lying to you at all. If he was in the game and he didn’t tell you… well that’s a little ruthless, isn’t it? Especially as his best friend.

Dialling the numbers, you bring your phone to your ear, the ringing continuing for three seconds before it got answered. You gulped, hoping the tantrum that Taehyung did was something meaningful.

“Hello?”

[adobe-outdesign]

Have you give your thoughts on the impidim line?

I gotta say, this line is probably one of my favorites from Gen 8. First, it's really nice to have a fairy type with really old school fae inspiration (it's not the only line that does this, but definitely the most obvious and successful). And secondly, I love some goblins, and these guys are delightfully skeezy. An Impidimp can and will break into your house solely to push all your furniture two inches to the right, and that is delightful.

In terms of design, Impidimp has a perfect expression, and the bat-shaped face markings really help its facial features pop. I also like the small upturned nose with the single nostril, as according to the 'dex they breathe in negative energy from people as a food source. I always think it's cool when Pokemon have unconventional, well thought-out food sources, and having that be reflected in the design is great.

The only thing about Impidimp (and Morgrem, but we'll get to that) is that it's one of those Pokemon that i can't help but feel I'd like better if it was rendered in Gen 1's more detailed style. I don't mind the newer style or anything, but when a Pokemon breaks down into perfect shapes like this it's a bit harder to see it as a living thing. Just a less perfectly circular head and defined knees probably would've done it, but that might also just be a personal thing.

Also, as a minor nitpick, I don't really think the hair is needed. It makes just as much sense for it to start off bald as it having a small amount of hair, and it doesn't really add much (though it being shaped like a bat's wing is fun at least).

I think Morgrem's my favorite out of this line. If Impidimp is mischievous than Morgrem is a fucker, and I love it. This definitely looks like something that would literally and metaphorically stab you in the back. While Impidimp doesn't look as slimy and Grimmsnarl looks more feral, Morgrem has the ideal gremlin energy.

It also has cool pikestaff-esc prehensile hair, which leads into its evolution. It's also a nod to redcaps, a kind of English goblin--both fits with the fae theme but also the region, and shows how much research went into this line.

As much as I like it there are a few weird things anatomy-wise that really bug me still. The arms seem like they're supposed to be skinny considering how Grimmsnarl works, but they also have defined muscles. Which is it? If they're skinny, don't have them cinch in at the elbows like that. I'm not sure what that random divet on the chest is, and it's also weird how noodly the legs are compard to how defined the arms are. And I know that's stuff most people might not notice, but it's what ultimately holds this A-tier line back from being an S-tier for me.

The only other thing is the colors. It's split half pink and half green to transition between its evos, but there's no reason for the color change within the design, and it's too jarring to work as markings. I'll get into this more with Grimmsnarl, but I think the entire line could've gotten away with being all-pink, and then you wouldn't need the green to begin with. But as a whole, this is a solid middle-evo that both transitions well and is unique, which is really all I ask of my middle-evos.

First, I should probably acknowledge that some Jewish folks have said this design is somewhat antisemitic due the combo of green skin, long nose, and curly dark hair. I'm not Jewish so I can't offer much insight there, but it is unfortunate. It kind of goes back to what I said earlier about keeping the line entirely pink, as then you'd at least be avoiding one of the questionable attributes. It's not Jynx levels of unfortunate and I highly doubt it was intentional, but still.

Anyway, while I may prefer Morgrem for its Fucker(TM) energy, Grimmsnarl is a great final evo. The way the prehensile hair forms fake muscles over the body is really cool, as is the more orc-like appearance. The fake muscles fix the anatomy problems I was having earlier, and even the colors are better balanced here. I'm also a fan of those funky outside-facing teeth.

The only single thing that I don't care for is those two green stripes on the torso. i can't place why, but they don't sit right with me. I think it might just be that it's a weird place to show the hair parting. I feel like the hands should've been exposed like the feet are and then the torso should be covered rather than the other way around.

The g-max form does what it needs to, basically filling everything in with more hair. I like how this emphasizes the pink diamond on the chest and the way the hair goes back up behind the head is also cool. However, I'm not huge on the legs; they're a bit too long, and end up making it a bit more humanoid than I really care for. It's good for what it is though.

So overall, this is a great line of terrible little goblins. I just wish the anatomy was a bit less funky and the colors were more unified/less antisemitic, but at the end of the day I'd definitely let these guys break into my house and move my furniture two inches to the right.

[sanghyukstattoos]

SF9's reaction: first time over at theirs, accidentally leak

Warnings: mentions of blood, medicine (tablets)

A/N: None of the images in the collage are mine, refer to here for more; For more SF9, read here, for iKON, read here and for optional bias writings, read here

Safe and happy reading everyone!

Youngbin:

Partly anxious, partly thinks he knows what to do

He has a vague idea of what he should do, it presents itself to his decisions in the form of a solution but he isn't sure, is it what he is supposed to do? Suppose you have been asleep when he found out about your period, he will softly climb back into bed and wake you up. He'll hold you as and when you wake up and he finds it important to cuddle you all day long, even when he suggests that you watch something to distract yourself. He'll try to engage you in doing something like cooking as well but when he see that it doesn't work, he'll tell you that it's okay and pull you to the sofa where the two of you will spend the time either watching the tv or not but in each other's arms. You may go on a walk because he insists on getting fresh air and it's reliving, to feel the wind breeze through your hair, away from the growing stuffiness of staying indoors all day long.

Inseong:

''Oh, she must be in pain, what do I do?''

He may wake up because of your whimpers and heated body (you feel warm to the touch, much more than usual) so he wakes you up, giving you a detailed report of the blood stains and your probably high body temperature. He's freaking out which is cute before you sigh. The previous evening you felt your pms but when would it actually come? That was your question. Nevertheless, he leaves you to freshen up and takes the sheets for cleaning. He has some tricks up his sleeve; he knows that to do. When you come out, maybe hug him from the pain, his heart will squeeze like a towel filled with water, he'll press kisses on your face and give you gently words of support, ''You're doing so well. You want to lay down? I'll lay down with you, come.'' as he tugs you along. If you feel more active, he'll try his best to cook, as in, he'll give in his ultimate best. Extra effort so that you can eat food at home rather than from outside, it will taste good in the end because he would have followed the recipe and it's measurements to the t. Shining eyes should be following your movements when you taste his food, anxiously waiting for your response. Should you feed him, he'll melt, like a marshmallow. He loves you that much.

Jaeyoon:

Jaeyoon's a sweet heart

He'll ask you, ''Are you cramping?''. His voice is soft, almost down to a whisper. It draws you closer to him. You nod, pout whilst holding your lower tummy. You feel uncomfortable standing because of the pain, he knows it and draws you into his arms, holding you steady on your feet. He gives you little kisses on the cheek, teasing out giggles from you. He'll cook for you, maybe pancakes or avocado with fried eggs on toasted bread, whatever you want + as long as he is capable of making it, he may even surprise you! When you are eating, he'll give you company, his chin will rest in the palms of his hand and he'll give you this look where his eyes shine and the pads of his fingers drum on his cheek. He'll melt if you feed him, into a puddle his true form has been summoned. He'll make you smile, partly because of his cheeky jokes but also partly because of his own smile, lit cheeks that resemble a baking bun. He'll tell you not to apologise for the stained sheets, kissing your concern away. He'll join heads with you and figure out to do with it. The rest of the day, he'll spend it with you by taking you into his arms. Be prepared, fluff! passionate-driven! domestic husband! Jaeyoon is out to cuddle you!

Dawon I Lee Sanghyuk:

🥺🥺

He may wake up to your groans of pain, too disorientated at first to comprehend that you may be pms-ing so he'll go back to sleep. When he wakes up later on, the first thing he may say is, ''Shit.'', biting his lip but not yet thinking of a solution. He'll first check up on you, to see if you are still asleep or not. If you are, he'll let you you be and sit back with his mouth agape, wondering how this could happen. This may go on for some moments. He doesn't have even half the heart to wake up but if he has to, he will. When you curl up into a foetal ball, his heart will break. After you refresh, he'll rush to sort out a hot bag for you and maybe some tea and cuddle with you on the sofa till you begin to feel hungry (he may wait for when you are ready to make breakfast!). It's because he loves eating and so he'll love to see his significant other too. He knows that you enjoy what you are eating and that makes him happy, so he'll wait!

Rowoon I Kim Seokwoo:

Luxurious level Rowoon 💸💸💸

You may already be up when he wakes up. ''Oh!?!?'' is his voice when he looks at the lil' crime scene you left. You didn't stress about it okay maybe a little but decided to deal with it when he woke up. O-O is his facial expression. He can't believe his eyes. He's scared, he may never be able to un-see it again, ever. To bad for him, slightly better for you. You are already refreshed and not feeling to great, drained even before the day has begun but he's not asking anything, only how you are feeling. You settle in the seat beside him, pressing a kiss to his cheek, he greets you with a kiss back, discussing about your plans for the day. ''About the sheets'', ''It's okay'' he says, noticing your apologetic face, ''We'll throw them out'', ''Okay~ they are your sheets'' you laugh. Otherwise, if he wants to make love to you, your period may briefly hinder his thoughts but not by much, especially if you agree. He undress you in the shower and kiss you all over, to relieve the soreness of your body and fill you up. He would be okay to cock warm, to sit there with you on his lap and talk to you, giggle and laugh with you, occasionally cutting you off by giving you love-bites and sucking your nipples, nipping the area around them, if you find yourself comfortable with cock warming.

Zuho I Baek Juho:

Home-man Ju, never-leaving-his-cats Ju

But for you, it'll happen. You may have not brought pads or tampons with you because your schedule is hay-wire. If no and you have some then problem solved but if not, he'll leave you with a hot bag and run to the nearest store to buy you some pads. He'll hurry, knowing that you are in pain so he'll even say to his cats before he goes, ''Be good and take care of y/n for me okay?''. You have half a mind to chuckle at this adorable behaviour. In his pyjamas and slippers, he'll walk out, coming back with pads/tampons and food! Food! What's not there to love about this man? He'll bring your favourite snacks, putting them on a plate while you freshen up. If you borrow his clothes, you'll take his breath away. He'll put something on to watch or go out, like an amusement park or food stalls or wherever you would love to go. He wants you to feel better.

Yoo Taeyang:

Shocked or master level response

The first would be more appropriate for this man no? But I can't also help but think that he would see you in pain and move quickly. Without thinking of a plan or immediate solution, he would try to use what he has, a resourceful character is my point. He may rummage through the kitchen and medicine cabinets, standing there for two to three minutes, pondering over what he could use. He is quick to find a heat bag and warm it up, perhaps a wet towel that he thinks he will come back to and tablets for your pain. No doubt that his once blurry eyes and tired mind have disappeared to the back, your peacefulness of mind and sleep becomes his first priority. He takes you to the toilet and while you hazily strip off your clothes, he warms up the water and fills the tub with it. While you soak, cleaning yourself up, he lets you be, giving you the space you need to take a while and gather your peace of mind. There's a lot he would do for you. In the morning, he would cook for you and take you out. Later in the afternoon, you'll fall asleep together and in the evening, if you both are in the mood, he'll be willing to try and ease your cramps with releases. He's someone to be grateful for.

Hwiyoung I Kim Youngkyun:

Shy, to the bone

You knock on his door, ''Kyun?'', ''hm? You okay?'', he is curious. ''Yea, I'm going to the store and coming back.'', ''It's pitch black outside, I'll come with you.'', ''okay'', it's dangerous outside, anyone could be there. Just left the complex, he asks, ''What do you need?'', ''Tampons'', ''oh.'', he's flustered now. The tips of his ears turn pink and his cheeks- he can't resist them from going upwards. After scratching the tip of his ear, he asks, ''Does it hurt?'', ''hm, I can feel it, it's hurts a little but later it may hurt a lot.'', ''As in, unbearably?'', ''Yea and I think that I may have already leaked.''. ''Shit'' he murmurs, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, ''If you want, you could go home and I could get them?'', he asks, in all seriousness. He doesn't contemplate that he's never done this before but he could, for you. ''It's okay, I think I can make it. Plus, you won't know what to get.'', ''Call me, ''Are you sure about this?'', ''Absolutely, I'll drop you off and then I'll pick them up, do you want something to eat?''. The endeavours make you smile, now you are at the front of his house, ''Anything is okay with me.'' to which he chuckles. He knows what you want, ''So some snacks?'', in a teasing manner. He moves closer to you. It's a pause from the outside world, cupping your face entirely in his hands, he kisses your cheek. You softly gasp, slipping into his grasp when he lets go. You could smell his shampoo and the way he lingered, he's already telling you, ''Go up, I'll come to you.'' having you shake you head and tell him, ''thank you.''. As he begins to walk, he resists turning back and pulling you into a kiss driven by heat-blinding passion.

I guarantee that the kiss doesn't happen for sometime but when it does, you end up making soft love under the covers. He starts with mapping out kisses along your body + he loves how you touch him when he kisses you.

Chani:

Loving and admirable

When he sees you in pain, he hurts too, expressed as a pout or frown, tugging your hand and asking if you are okay. He wants to make your pain go away. He may be doing some work on his laptop, he'll hold you in his arms with your head on his chest and you softly snoring away. It'll make him smile, after all you were woken up so early in the morning by your cramps, waking him up to a few hours later to find that you made breakfast. It depends on who wakes up, one or the other makes breakfast after a long competition of seeing who can sleep the longest. He feels grateful and he tells you that, before saying that you shouldn't have when you felt this much pain and that he was okay with eating outside food. You have to smile and place a finger to his mouth to prevent his nagging from chewing your ears off and give him a little kiss and then immediately pull him for cuddles. Complain about how you are in pain and he will melt like a lolly on a hot summer day and instantly cuddle you, hovering over your figure that he placed on the sofa and tease you, maybe by feeling your waist to your neck to a small make-out session. It'll be automatic for him to compliment you and shower you with love, easily embracing you and kissing you to tell you that he loves you.

[crazycookies73307]

A/n:

It's only my second time writing so pls don't judge too harshly ☹️

And Suna is OOC btw,but let's be honest, only writers with writing experience actually write characters who are actually in character.

I've made it gender neutral but pls tell me if there are any gender specific pronouns for the reader.

Warnings: None! Just pure fluff with a dash of crack. Some swear words (like d*mn and sh*t), a mention of the reader being the manager of the team, and one hair dye prank mentioned, if that's relevant

Where playing a horror game in the month of Halloween was not a great idea

Suna X Gender Neutral! reader

"Please?"

"No."

"For me?"

"............I told you, no."

"Why though?"

"Because it's plain stupid."

Suna's signature smirk eased into a slight pout, starting to poke your cheeks "Come on, Y/n, it's just a game. And it's gonna be fun!!"

"I don't care."

He sighed, this had been going on for a while now, and it didn't seem like they were going to budge. He had been badgering you to play Ouija board with him, but so far, it was turning out to be fruitless.

Since Halloween was just around the corner it just seemed like an appropriate game to play, not mentioning the absolutely wonderful plan he'd come up with without his partner's knowledge, but unfortunately for him, you were just as stubborn as he was when it came to something you didn't want to do. And as much as he loved your stubborn streak, so similar to his own, it really didn't help when it came to situations like these.

He continued poking your cheeks, alternating between your left and right sides, with a softened expression, continuing to brainstorm ideas on how he was going to convince you to play the game with him.

.

While an untrained eye couldn't tell the difference between his facial expressions, you definitely could. You could see the slight pout tugging at his lips, you could see a sparkle in his eyes at the mention of playing the damn game, the same sparkle he always has whenever he's going to pull some stupid shit at or with the Miya twins, which was exactly why you refused to play with him. You had seen too much of that look to be not wary of it.

The last time you'd seen that look was around two weeks back when he and Osamu thought it would be funny to fill Atsumu's normal bleach with an obnoxious pink dye during one of their training camps, which you had been made to attend as the manager of the Inarizaki VBC. You had to hold yourself back from wincing as you remembered the screech Atsumu had gave out.

Biting back a smile, you remembered how you had had to help Atsumu bleach his hair properly since no-one in the team could face Atsumu without dying from laughter, and the only two sane people, Kita and Ojiro, were busy scolding Suna and Osamu, and as soon as he came after his share of the scolding, Suna ended up being jealous.

Atsumu had teasingly asked Suna whether he was worried that you would leave him for a far better looking guy aka Atsumu, to which Suna had replied that the only way you would leave him for Atsumu was if you were planning on doing charity work for desperate pieces of trash.

.

"Have you changed your mind yet?"

"Rin, I told you I'm not going to play the stupid game, and I still stick with that."

Suna groaned, now he had no choice, he'd have to bring in the big guns.

You frowned, that look, the look that made him look like the devil himself, never ended well for anyone other than Suna himself.

He stuck his lower lip out in an obvious and cute pout, hugged one of the cushions to his chest and looked up at you with his best puppy eyes.

You nearly cried at the cuteness, if he'd looked like the devil incarnate earlier, now he looked like the cutest angel ever. They could nearly see the imaginary sparkles in his eyes.

It was obvious to the both of you that you'd break soon.

He knew exactly what he was doing. And for the first time in yout life, you couldn't decide between killing someone or pinching their cheeks.

" FINE, we'll play the stupid game."

"Yay!"

.

Few minutes later

.

"DID THAT COIN JUST MOVE?"

"DON'T ASK ME, IT WAS YOUR DAMN IDEA TO PLAY THIS STUPID GAME!!"

"WAIT, MURDER? WHY IS IT SPELLING OUT MURDER?"

"IT'S JUST A GAME, HE SAID. IT'LL BE FUN, HE SAID."

"HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW A PSYCHOPATHIC SPIRIT WOULD SHOW UP IN HERE?"

"THAT'S KINDA THE POINT OF THE GAME, GENIUS!"

" THIS IS NOT GOING HOW I THOUGHT IT WOULD GO."

"WHAT?"

............

" I'm burning the board."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Burn in hell you cursed board."

(PS: Suna planned on pranking the reader btw)

[wanderinginksplot]

Warriors in Red Armor

Next | Masterlist

Chapter One

Hound I

"So, are we going to 79's tonight?" Hound asked. He had meant to be subtle about it, but the question burst out of him the moment his well-worn boots crossed the threshold of the small break space allotted to members of the Coruscant Guard.

As break spaces went, the one designated for the Coruscant Guard's clone troopers was an embarrassment. Some determined being had managed to cram a table and a handful of chairs inside, but it was a tight fit. If more than a few fully armored troopers went inside at the same time, none of them would get back out without removing some armor to clear the traffic jam. The lights flickered, the faucet leaked, the floor was always sticky, and the stuffy air held a hint of the chemicals that had been stored there years ago. Since then, the previous break space had been renovated into an office for one of the few nat-born commanding officers and this one had been created for the clone troopers.

Still, the smell of caf was stronger than the smell of chemicals most days and the light from a nearby advertisement screen lit the room so brightly that the flickering lights didn't give any of the troopers a migraine anymore. Hound always was a man who liked to see the glass as half-full. Maybe even a little more than half, if that glass was sitting under the dripping faucet.

Thire snorted at Hound's question, leaning back in his chair until gravity threatened to topple him. "Well, boys? Hound wants to know if we're going to 79's this lovely Friday evening. What do we think?"

Thorn glanced around the room, looking unamused by his brother's antics. "We think I'm the only other one here, di'kut."

"Exactly!" Thire said in triumph, obviously determined to ignore his fellow commander. "It's the weekend! Why wouldn't we go to 79's?"

"Because you've finally realized that it's a glorified zoo?" Thorn snapped, tone venomous. "79's is where civvies go to stare at clone troopers so they can feel like they're being daring. In reality, they're being irritating."

Having spoken his piece, Thorn tossed back the last of his cup of caf, always consumed as dark as his mood. Hound shuddered at the thought. Corrie Guard caf was brewed at the approximate concentration of speeder fuel and could eat through duracrete. Only a trooper who hated himself would drink it black.

Thorn always drank it black.

"So you don't want to go?" Hound asked again, sounding heartbroken.

"No, I'll go," Thorn told him. "Zoo or not, 79's still has the cheapest booze on Coruscant that doesn't use poison as a mixer."

"Well, that's the most excited I've heard Thorn get about anything for a week, at least," Thire smirked. "Commander Fox, you want in on this?"

The Head Commander of the Coruscant Guard, having just stepped into the break room to fill his mug with caf, shook his head. "No, I'm on duty tonight. The Clone Rights group has been cleared to march and the Chancellor wants an extra Guard presence. Stone will be stuck here as well, monitoring any new arrivals."

"Ugh," Hound said, summarizing everyone else's point of view. "Well, we'll be thinking of you both, Commander."

Fox lowered the datapad in his hand to shoot a look in Hound's direction. "Sergeant, don't you have that ARF PR stunt tomorrow at 0800?"

Hound shrugged. "Yeah, but I can do both."

"Make sure you don't miss it," Fox ordered sternly. "The last thing I need is to have to report to the Chancellor that you missed a chance to give the GAR a boost in civil opinion."

Hound saluted and Fox turned his attention to the other break room occupants. "Thorn, if you let your stubble get any longer, it'll be considered a beard and subject to facial hair regulations. Thire, sit on the chair like a normal being, would you?"

Thorn nodded and Thire grinned as he let the chair's legs slam onto the floor. Fox rolled his eyes at their antics, refilled his cup of caf, and left the break area. Hound idly wondered how many of the gray hairs appearing at the Head Commander's temples were due to the commanding officer team. Still, the Chancellor had let Fox choose his own team of COs, so there was no one to blame but himself.

"Meet at 2100?" Thire asked. "That's prime time for 79's and there'll be plenty of talent. I'll go ahead and apologize, vode. When you look this good, you automatically get your pick of the females."

Thire brushed a hand back across his hair - meticulously trimmed to maintain the subtle horizontal lines shaved into the otherwise regulation cut - and grinned at the other two. Hound and Thire rolled their eyes, but agreed anyway.

---

Kai I

"Hey, do you guys want to go to 79's tonight?" Kai asked, perched on the desk she was supposed to be sitting behind. She was always restless and neither of the other women blamed her for the odd choice of seat - even though it made inter-desk communication a bit of a pain.

Arkularia - who, for the sake of Kai's sanity, allowed the others to call her 'Ark' - was the first to respond. "79's? The clone bar?"

"Do you want to drink, dance, or find a one-night stand?" Ransom asked from behind her expansive tech setup. "Because there are better places for any of those. Closer, too."

"No, I want to go to 79's," Kai said, kicking up her chin. "And as for what I want… I want all of them. All three options, please and thank you."

"Did you just try to order a night out? Like from a menu?" Ransom asked. From the tone of her voice, Kai had managed to earn a rare smile from her boss. Of course, that was only a guess since Ransom didn't emerge from her den so Kai could verify the expression.

"No… but can you imagine how much easier that would be?" Kai asked in her own defense.

"It would take some of the fun out of it, I think," Ark said slowly.

Kai chucked a wad of flimsi at her friend and co-worker's head, cheering to herself as it connected and bounced off of Ark's white-blonde hair. "I know that, Ark! C'mon guys, do you want to come to 79's with me or not?"

"I'm out," Ransom said immediately, shutting down the projector option on her desk. She was still illuminated by the ambient light from the schematics on her datapad. The cybernetic implants in Ransom's arm gleamed in the blue glow as she dragged a hand over her shaved head. "I have to work late if we have any hope of finishing our next job on time."

"Ark?" Kai asked, not too proud to sound like she was begging.

Ark sighed, pale eyes hopeless in the face of Kai's wheedling. "Fine, I'll go along."

"Yes!"

"Ransom, are you sure you can't come, too?" Ark asked, her voice a bit desperate.

"I really do have to stay and work on this," Ransom apologized, gesturing at her assortment of datapads. "My condolences."

"We're going to a club, not facing a firing squad!" Kai admonished. "Besides, I just want to find someone fun."

"Like that last guy?" Ark asked, squinting a bit as she applied her prodigious memory to her own question. "What was his name?"

"Not sure," Kai admitted. "But he was so much fun! Great tattoos."

"So you are looking for a hookup! I knew it," Ransom crowed.

Ark frowned. "Why a clone trooper? They're never on-planet for long before they have to leave."

"Exactly," Kai said with a wink. "Love 'em and leave 'em."

"Didn't the last one stick around for a while? I thought I remembered seeing him more than a few times…" Ark pondered.

"Hardcase! His name was Hardcase," Ransom remembered. "He came by every day of his leave."

"Strange name," Ark commented.

"Strange guy," Ransom said with a shrug.

"But he was hot," Kai countered, folding a piece of flimsi to look like a tooka. At least it did in her imagination. "And so much fun. I need another someone like him."

"What happened to him?" Ark asked curiously.

Kai would have blushed if she had any shame - too bad for Coruscant that she didn't. Instead, she pouted. "He moved on with a Zeltron who works at GAR headquarters. That's the best place to meet troopers, but they don't give access to civilians unless they have official business."

"Hardcase didn't seem like the type to ghost you out of nowhere," Ransom mused.

"I… may have freaked out about him asking me to be his girlfriend," Kai admitted. "I don't want anything serious, you know? Besides, I'm the one who introduced him to the new girl. She's a sweetheart. He adores her and she's the same about him. Can't be too upset with that."

Ark and Ransom exchanged loaded glances, but Kai had no interest in a therapy session. "Right! So, Ransom, you're still out?"

"I have no interest in coming along and I have work to do here."

"Well, that was almost nice," Kai congratulated. "Ark, it's you and me. When should we go?"

Ark shrugged. "Why don't we just stop there on the way home from work?"

"Are you kidding?" Kai asked, aghast at the idea. "We aren't exactly wearing Senatorial dress, but we're still too professional for a club! No, we need to go home, change, and meet there. How long do you need?"

"I don't know… half an hour?"

"How long do you need to find an outfit that makes sense in a club setting?" Kai rephrased her question.

"Two hours," Ark corrected herself, sounding sheepish.

"That's more like it," Kai said, satisfied. Her look turned wicked as she said, "Now, let's talk about makeup…"

"Are you sure you don't need any help here, Ransom?" Ark asked their boss, her eyes widening with hidden significance.

"No, it's too late!" Kai denied. "Meet me at my apartment and I'll help you. Let's say eight."

Ark glanced back at Ransom, who gave a sympathetic shrug. Ark sighed. "Fine, eight."

---

A/N - Hello, and welcome to yet another Clone Wars-based story! I can't leave these poor guys alone. They deserve so much more than they got! So, you may have noticed that some of the characters are a bit different from the way they are normally portrayed in fan fiction. The first fic I read with the Coruscant Guard had Thire as a happy joking guy and Thorn as a serious doom-and-gloom trooper. I'm coming to realize that is not typical for fanon interpretations, but those characterizations are embedded in my mind. I hope you didn't find this too jarring!

I'm experimenting with a new Game of Thrones-style POV tracking format. Hopefully that will keep things from getting too confusing as we bounce back and forth across eight different POVs! I apologize for the short length of this chapter, but it's just a simple introduction of (most of) the characters.

[settersprouts]

꒦ ikanaide : chapter three ! ꒦

病欠

. . : iwaizumi gets sick and doesn't tell oikawa. oikawa notices he's not at school and skips practice for the first time to take care of him.

or, iwaizumi doesn't like to take medicine and oikawa can cook.

sniffles. coughs. that's all that could be heard through the iwaizumi household at five am, the time hajime iwaizumi was supposed to be getting ready for school. hanako iwaizumi sighed, not ready to deal with a sick hajime. reluctantly making his way out of the bed he shared with aiya, he got a bucket, a couple of rags, and starting the trek to his son's room.

``hey-`` hanako started, but was interrupted by a coughing fit. ``hajime. how you feeling?``

his son smiled up at him grimly, wiping at the snot in his nose. ``like shit.``

``language.``

``sorry.``

hanako let out another sigh, wringing one of the rags out and placing the damp cloth on his forehead. ``symptoms?``

``cough, sneezing, my nose is runny- and my throat hurts,`` iwaizumi managed, his voice dry and scratchy.

``that bad, huh?`` hanako set the bucket down on the floor, pulling out his phone and thumbing at his screen. ``i'll text your coach and teachers to let them know you can't make it.``

iwaizumi nodded, letting out a small groan. his eyes suddenly flung wide open, and he sat up abruptly, scaring hanako a little. ``don't tell oikawa! he's going to try and skip school to take care of me, i'm sure.``

hanako chuckled, giving his son a little thumbs up and pushing him back down. ``i got it. i'll just let him figure it out himself.``

his son sighed in relief, letting his entire body relax. ``thanks, old man.``

``i'm not old. want some oatmeal?``

``that'd be great. thank you.``

a smile pulled at hanako's lips. ``alright, coming right up, kiddo.`` he made his way out of iwaizumi's room, leaving the door open so air could filter through.

``don't make it sweet! i hate it sweet!``

``i know that!``

hanako made his way into the kitchen, almost running into his wife. ``whoa- oh, good morning, love.``

``morning, hanako.`` aiya yawned, her face contorting into an expression of confusion. ``where's hajime? he should be getting his breakfast ready by now.``

``the kid's sick,`` hanako replied, kissing his wife on the cheek. ``i'm getting him some oatmeal for breakfast.``

aiya nodded, opening a drawer and pulling out a thermometer. she handed it to her husband. ``make sure to take his temperature, too. i want to know if i need to have a doctor over.``

hanako deadpanned, letting out a gruff laugh. ``babe, that's a meat thermometer.``

``oh, is it?`` she smiled apologetically, putting it back and switching it with the other thermometer. ``here, take this, then.``

he reached out to grab at the cool metal, letting it sit in his breast pocket as he got iwaizumi's oatmeal ready. ``can you go get him some cough medicine, or something for his throat? hajime says it's sore.``

his wife nodded, and padded over to the fridge, reaching above it to open the medicine cabinet. she sorted through bottles and bottles of over-the-counter medicine, before finally reaching the cough and sore-throat remedies. pouring a little bit into a plastic cup, aiya put the bottle back and closed the cabinet, placing the cup onto the tray with her son's water glass and oatmeal on it. ``there. have you called hajime's school, yet?``

hanako nodded. ``mhm. already done. hajime doesn't want oikawa-kun to know he's sick yet, so don't tell his mother. knowing her, she'll spill the beans somehow.``

aiya let out a soft laugh, covering her mouth as she did so. ``i understand. he'll probably want to skip school and tend to hajime all day.``

``that boy is something else.``

⚝──⭒─⭑─⭒──⚝

oikawa tapped his foot impatiently, standing at the intersection where he and iwaizumi usually meet up. they were supposed to get there early so oikawa could grab something from the convenience store- it was his nephew's birthday, after all, and he wanted to buy some red velvet cake mix.

he let out a sigh, pulling out his phone to check the messages he had with the ace.

› Messages with : Iwaizumi, Hajime

[Sent:To Oikawa, Toorū] go to sleep already, you idiot

[Sent:To Oikawa, Toorū] i know you're up watching volleyball matches

[Sent:To Oikawa, Toorū] it's late, get some rest or i'll hit you

¹¹⁻³⁹ ᴾᴹ

[Sent:From Oikawa, Toorū] yeah, yeah, got it iwa-chan ಠ_ಠ

[Sent:From Oikawa, Toorū] you don't have to be so rude, you know

[Sent:From Oikawa, Toorū] and why r u so obsessed w hitting me ?

¹¹⁻⁴⁰ ᴾᴹ

[Sent:To Oikawa, Toorū] goodnight

¹¹⁻⁴⁰ ᴾᴹ

[Sent:From Oikawa, Toorū] goodnight, iwa-chan :D

¹¹⁻⁴¹ ᴾᴹ

[Sent:From Oikawa, Toorū] morning, iwa (*ﾟｰﾟ)ゞ

⁰⁵⁻³⁰ ᴬᴹ

[Sent:From Oikawa, Toorū] where r u 人´∀｀) i'm @ the intersection

⁰⁶⁻⁰⁴ ᴬᴹ

[Sent:From Oikawa, Toorū] iwa we're gonna be late i need to go to the store φ(。。*)

⁰⁶⁻⁰⁵ ᴬᴹ

[Sent:From Oikawa, Toorū] iwa-chan i'm leaving you >:p

⁰⁶⁻⁰⁷ ᴬᴹ

[Sent:From Oikawa, Toorū] im gonna kill you when i see you

⁰⁶⁻¹³ ᴬᴹ

despite what the messages ensued, he still hadn't left without iwaizumi. he let out another sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. he really had to leave, but he didn't want the ace to be mad once he figured out oikawa had went on without him. oikawa inhaled through his nose, and out through his mouth. pushing aside the fear of a very angry iwaizumi showing up to first period with homicide on his mind.

the sun was rising and starting to shine brightly, slightly blinding oikawa as he glanced at the star. if iwaizumi were here, he would've already been geeking out about it to him, trying to annoy the vice. he wasn't really that obsessed with space and extraterrestrial life, oikawa just liked to annoy his best friends.

``hey, oikawa!`` the setter turned at his name being called, and was instantly greeted with someone running straight into him. arms wrapped around his torso in what he thought was a hug, but couldn't be sure, since all the wind was knocked out of him in the process. familiar tufts of pink-brown hair tickled his nose, and his lips pulled into a small, genuine smile. he wrapped his arms around the attacker's torso, too, breathing in the scent he considered a second home.

``hey, makki. morning.`` oikawa smiled, pulling away to see his friend's beaming face.

hanamaki linked arms with oikawa, pulling him along. ``c'mon, we're going to be late for class!``

oikawa looked down at his phone, checking the time. 06:19 AM, it read. ``makki, it's only six twenty. we have plenty of time.``

``but..`` makki groaned, making a big show of rolling his head back and exposing his neck to the sky. whether or not that was an impression of oikawa on one of his days, oikawa may never know. ``we can be early for once.``

``class doesn't start until seven thirty.`` oikawa sang, pulling away from makki's grip and dragging him along. ``plus, i gotta get something from the store for takeru's birthday.``

his companion made an 'o' shape with his mouth, succumbing to oikawa's charms and letting himself be lead to the nearest store. ``nice. what are you getting?``

``cake mix. red velvet.``

``red velvet? holy shit, can i come to the party?`` hanamaki gasped, giving his friend his full attention now. oikawa laughed, and nodded.

``yeah. i was planning on inviting you and mattsun anyways.`` he replied, scratching the back of his neck. ``iwa-chan gets a free pass, since my mom knows him.``

makki gasped in mock offense, holding his free hand to his heart. ``she knows me too! how come i don't get a free pass? does she not like me?``

oikawa shrugged. ``well, you're kind of.. how can i say this. um-`` he laughed nervously, ``-too energetic, for her taste?``

``this is atrocious. i even did her dishes for her, once.``

``key word, once.`` oikawa retorted, eyeing the store up ahead. ``oh hey, look, there's sakanoshita. think we'll find cake mix there?``

hanamaki shrugged.  ``probably. doesn't karasuno's coach work there?``

oikawa nodded. ``hopefully tobio-chan didn't stop by on his way to school. i think i might throw up if i see him.``

``how immature.``

the two of them made their way into the small store, muttering a little "pardon the intrusion!" to the staff, who turned out to be a short, older woman, not karasuno's coach. they both let out a sigh of relief- anything could've happened if it was ukai who was sitting in the little swivel chair behind the counter. possibly just them having to endure the shameless torments from the latter, but who knows.

oikawa and hanamaki glanced at the small signs labeling the aisles, quickly finding the one they were looking for and walked down to the middle, where all the cake mixes lay. the captain sifted through the red velvet mixes while the other eyed the brownie batter with starry eyes. oikawa skimmed the backs of four boxes he settled on, tossing them all into the little basket he had picked up as soon as they walked in. turning to his partner, he couldn't help but let the wide smile overcome his facial features. hanamaki was practically drooling at the pictures of the brownies on the boxes.

he padded over to the wing-spiker and picked up a box, tossing it into the basket as well and waltzed out of the aisle- hanamaki at his heels. ``whoa, are you seriously buying that for me?``

oikawa shook his head. ``for me. to make for you when you come over later.`` he stuck out his tongue at his partner, smiling at the laugh he was able to get out of him.

``sure, whatever you say.``

the captain turned to the lady at the desk, reading the nametag on her shirt. hana sakanoshita. ah. so she was the owner. sakanoshita smiled at him, taking the bag out of his hands and scanning the barcodes on the backs of the boxes. ``find everything okay, honey?``

``yep, great, thank you! could we also get two packs of that strawberry gum?`` he pointed, putting on one of his award-winning smiles. she seemed to melt at this and nodded, quickly bagging up his stuff and handing his credit card back.

``you have a good day, boys.`` she said, waving at them as they exited. the two smiled and waved back, turning towards aoba johsai and resuming their trek.

hanamaki checked his phone, letting out a sharp whistle. ``nice. we didn't take as long as i expected- we have fifteen minutes 'till first period.``

oikawa grinned. ``told you so.``

``yeah, yeah. oh- by the way, where's iwaizumi?`` hanamaki looked around as if he were looking for the teen, turning back to oikawa once he figured out he really wasn't there with them. ``he walks with you, right?``

the latter shrugged, pulling out his own gum pack and popping a strip into his mouth. ``dunno. he didn't show at the intersection where we meet up, so i just went along without him. he didn't answer any of my texts, either.``

``huh.`` hanamaki said, putting his index finger and thumb on his chin in a thinking pose. ``that's weird. maybe he overslept?``

``doubt it. the man sleeps with his phone on so loud, he'll wake up immediately as soon as he hears one of my texts. plus, he has like, fifty alarms back-to-back to wake him up.`` oikawa replied, shutting down makki's theory so fast, he didn't even see it coming.

makki sighed. ``ah. i see.`` he shook his head as to clear his mind of any stray thoughts, and extended his hand. ``i want some gum. hand it over, peasant.``

``yes, my lord.`` oikawa said jokingly, gracefully whipping out the pack of strawberry gum and placing it in his hands. he folded makki's fingers around it, never breaking eye contact with his teammate. ``here it is. do what you wish with it.``

the two snickered at their antics, slinging their arms around one another. ``we're so going to be late.``

``yeah, probably.``

⚝──⭒─⭑─⭒──⚝

``oh, yeah, we're so sorry ms. sato. we got stuck in traffic- there was an accident over by my house.`` makki sighed dramatically, shaking his head slightly. ``we would've gotten a late pass, but we didn't think we were going to be so late.``

ms. sato shook her head quickly, smiling at the teen. ``it's okay, hanamaki-kun. just try not to let this happen too much, okay?``

hanamaki nodded. ``yes, ma'am.`` oikawa mentally facepalmed at his antics, and the two walked to the back to sit down in their seats, next to matsukawa, who was struggling to keep a laugh in.

``jesus,`` matsukawa breathed, ``the amount of bullshit in that was immaculate.``

``right?`` he and hanamaki fistbumped, grinning widely like the idiots they were.

oikawa sighed, turning his head slightly to talk to iwaizumi, then stopping himself before he could say anything. iwaizumi's desk stood empty next to his own. the captain frowned, checking his phone for any recent texts from the ace. nothing popped up.

makki slung an arm over oikawa, concern lining his features. ``hey, what's up?``

``he still isn't here.`` he pointed to iwaizumi's desk, the frown growing by the minute. ``and he's not answering. makki, i'm worried.``

a head full of black, unruly hair obscured the view he had of his phone. matsukawa laughed, stepping back. ``so he didn't tell you guys?`` when hanamaki and oikawa looked at him with confused expressions, he chuckled, and continued. ``guys, he's sick. coach was talking about it with ms. sato this morning. if you got here earlier you would've known.``

the captain facepalmed. ``of course, that makes sense. why couldn't he have told me though?``

``dunno.`` mattsun ignored the small pout resting on his captain's lips, shoving at his shoulder a bit. ``lighten up. he probably didn't want you to skip school and take care of him.``

oikawa let out a puff of air. ``yeah, okay. you're probably right.`` he was about to continue but ms. sato had started class, and a comfortable silence fell upon them as they gave the woman their full attention. makki and mattsun glanced at oikawa, worry clearly etched on their faces. perhaps they shouldn't have told him what happened with his best friend.

``oikawa,`` ms. sato supplied, stalking over to his desk and setting two thick packets on the hard wood. ``here's iwaizumi-kun's work. i trust you'll be able to get this to him?``

the latter sighed, looking up towards his sensei with the fakest smile he could muster. ``yes, sato-san, i'll give this to him as soon as i see him.``

ms. sato smiled, patting the boy's head and walking back to the front of the class. ``alright, so, has anyone written down the notes on the board?``

oikawa glanced at the chalkboard, internally groaning as he noticed it was completely filled with notes. where the hell did she find the time to write all that?

he let out the fifth-hundredth sigh that day, picking up his pencil and getting to work. iwaizumi totally owed him.

⚝──⭒─⭑─⭒──⚝

``you want to, what?`` coach irihata stared at his pupil, shock painting his features. oikawa stood before him, fumbling with his practice clothes, a faint blush plastered over his cheeks and nose. ``you want to skip practice?``

``yes.`` oikawa nodded. ``it's only for today, so i can go home and take care of iwa-chan. he has a lot of work to catch up on,`` he added, holding up the many papers he had collected from his professors in each class, since his and iwaizumi's timestables were identical.

irihata stared at him some more, then shook his head quickly, smiling at him. ``alright. i don't see why not.``

oikawa brightened, clearly glad by the news. ``thank you so much! i promise i'll make it up to you!`` he chimed, switching his volleyball shoes for a pair of regular sneakers. ``all your meals this week, on me!``

``you don't have to- and he's out the door.`` irihata sighed, glancing at the now agape gym door. the warm afternoon breeze rushed in, leaving an unpleasant, humid feeling. mizoguchi came up behind him, watching oikawa sprint off into the distance. ``that boy is something else, isn't he?``

``definitely.`` mizoguchi laughed, walking forward to close the doors. ``iwaizumi's lucky to have a good friend like him.``

the older coach nodded. ``we're all glad to know him.``

dammit, someone's talking about me, oikawa thought, as he sneezed for the seventh time since leaving aoba johsai. he rubbed his nose, pissed off at the irritation of his sensitive organ. his legs already burned- he had sprinted all the way to the intersection, and was now leaning on a streetlamp, catching his breath. he probably should've put on his knee brace if he knew he was going to exert a little energy on running home, but he was in a rush.

pulling out his phone, he quickly navigated to his email, frowning at the lack of messages from his dear friend hajime iwaizumi. he hadn't read the texts either, so he probably was really exhausted. slipping the device back into his pocket, he started the rest of his trek home, popping another strip of gum into his mouth.

the grocery bag swinging on his arm contained all the contents oikawa thought iwaizumi would need : some cough and cold medicine, a couple of boxes of tissues, a mask for himself, disposable rags, and a heating pad. the materials cost him about ¥800 each, which wasn't that expensive.

finally, after what had seemed like forever, the captain had arrived at iwaizumi's house. there were no cars in the driveway, which meant his parents weren't home. what were they thinking, leaving poor iwa-chan alone while he's sick? oikawa frowned at this. what a silly idea.

he flipped up the doormat, grabbing the key that was strategically placed underneath and unlocked the door. pushing it open, he let out a little ``yahoo~ anyone home?`` to let iwaizumi know he was there. he wasn't expecting a reaction, so seeing iwaizumi come downstairs to greet him kind of scared him out of his wits a little bit.

``jesus! iwa-chan, can't you warn a dude first?`` oikawa panted, placing a hand over his heart. the ace deadpanned, walking over and snatching the bags out of his hands.

``what the hell do you think you're doing here? i'm sick, go home.`` he retorted, his eyebrows furrowing so much, they looked like they were attached to his eyes. he sifted through the bag, pausing once he realized what the plastic bag contained. ``what is this?``

oikawa rolled his eyes, taking the bag back and setting its' contents on the kitchen counter. ``it's for you. you're sick, so i decided to skip practice to come here and take care of you, and to reteach everything that you missed today.`` he replied nonchalantly, shoving iwaizumi towards the direction of his bedroom. ``go back to bed, i'll cook you some lunch, since i'm sure you didn't eat yet.``

iwaizumi didn't reply, because (a) he was right. and (b) he was shocked that the toorū oikawa skipped volleyball practice for him.

``anyways,`` oikawa said, opening his fridge and scanning its' contents. ``how do you feel about egg?``

``i can eat it. i don't feel nauseous or anything,`` iwa replied, sitting on one of the stools at the kitchen counter. ``and wait- you're going to cook?``

the setter turned around, tying an apron around his waist. ``yeah?``

iwaizumi blinked, shaking his head and leaning down on his forearms. ``nothing. continue. don't burn down my kitchen.``

oikawa grinned, having just been granted permission to make his best friend's food. ``alright! on it, iwa-chan!``

``shut up and start cooking.``

⚝──⭒─⭑─⭒──⚝

``you have to take it, iwa-chan!``

``NO! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME!`` iwaizumi jumped onto his couch, holding a fork towards oikawa like a weapon. ``GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME.``

oikawa let out yet another sigh. ``jeez, if i knew you were going to be this bratty about taking your medicine, i wouldn't have came.`` he took another dangerous step towards iwaizumi, holding out a glass of water and a small cup of liquid cough medicine. ``iwa-chan, if you don't take this, you'll never get better.``

``so? that thing's disgusting.`` iwaizumi fake-retched, the look of disgust on his face almost believable. he should've taken the drama course at school.

another step. ``you seem to have forgotten that i have a kid nephew, who i always got to take his medicine, no matter how big of a tantrum he threw about it.`` another step. ``you're acting like a toddler. just take your medicine and get better.``

``assikawa, if you so as much take one more goddamn step towards me, i'll kill you.`` iwaizumi growled, clenching the fork tighter. of course he wouldn't kill him, he'd just said that to frighten him. somehow, oikawa didn't seemed phased, and took another step.

``hajime iwaizumi. if you don't come down off that couch and take your medicine right now, so help me god, i will bring my mother here and she will be furious when she realizes how much of a tantrum you're putting up right now.`` the setter mused, shaking the glass of water like he was calling him towards him, like a dog. iwaizumi gulped. the aura surrounding oikawa was downright terrifying. his eyes seemed almost lifeless, and it scared the wits out of him. ``on the count of three. if you haven't taken the medicine by then, i'm calling her. one.``

iwaizumi flinched, backing up slightly. could he make it out the front door without oikawa catching him? probably not. his legs were longer, so he'd cover more ground easily.

``two.``

how bad would the punishment be if he just didn't take the medicine? it's not like oikawa would actually call his mother, he wouldn't do that. right?

``three-``

``okay!`` iwaizumi jumped off the couch, grabbing the medicine and pouring it down his throat. he made a face of disgust, snatching the glass of water out of his hand and gulping that down too. he shuddered, trying to force himself to keep the atrocious liquid down. ``there. happy?``

``very.`` oikawa grinned, patting iwaizumi's head. ``good job.``

the ace burned with pride at the praise, letting oikawa's nimble fingers tread through his hair. ``thanks for coming over.``

``of course.`` his friend replied, giving the shorter a warm hug. ``don't mention it. i'll skip practice for you every time.``

``you better not.``

oikawa smiled. ``no promises.``

─── sick day.

chapter 4 !

[corie-the-writer]

Ignite Prologue

Summary: Kelly Severide & Chloe Voight had started a friends with benefits arrangement, what happens when they finally express their true feelings for each other and it seems like fate is trying to keep them apart? Will they continue to ignite each other or will the flame fizzle out?

The way his large warm hands felt against the flesh of her skin had her head swimming, the way his sweaty chest brushed against hers as he thrusted in and out of her had her clawing gently into his wrists. The way his hands would wrap around her wrists at either side of her head, his hot breath blowing against her skin as she reached her climax, his thrusts deepening to match her own orgasm.

"Kelly..." The dark haired woman breathed out, her head falling back further as another climax approached quickly. 

"Shit Chloe..." Lieutenant Kelly Severide moaned as his thrusts quickened into the dark haired woman, his hands gripping her small delicate hands as he found his release quicker than he had planned, spilling himself inside of her as his mouth found hers, taking her breath away yet again. 

Kelly Severide had found an arrangement with Chloe Voight almost six months ago. He had been friends with the young detective for almost ten years, and there had always been a sexual attraction between the two. For the longest time, both of them had resisted the magnetic pull between them. That was until one night after a few too many rounds at Molly's. Chloe had been dancing in the bar with Kim and Hailey, when a man had began to dance against Chloe. Kelly had been watching from his seat at the table a few feet away, and he had a sudden sense of jealousy run through his being at the sight of a man touching the long dark haired woman. He had finished off his beer, and made his way across the room, pulling the woman against him, glaring at the man who immediately tried to protest. Chloe had giggled into Kelly's chest, and the night was history. 

Since they were both coming out of toxic relationships, Kelly had  led Chloe back to his place, which was not uncommon for them to have sleep overs after drinking. The only thing that had changed was that night, Kelly had gotten the courage to kiss the woman, and before either of them realized what was happening, they ended up in bed together for the first time. 

For the first time after a one night stand, Kelly didn't find it awkward the next morning. He had woken up to make coffee, bringing Chloe a cup of coffee while he went back into the kitchen to make breakfast for them both. Once Kelly had made the breakfast, he had taken both his and Chloe's plate back into the bedroom, ate in silence, and then once they were done, they had fallen back asleep for about two hours. That was the day that Kelly had decided to ask Chloe to become his friends with benefits, no strings attached. That was nearly six months ago, and things have drastically changed. Kelly has developed feelings for the woman, and he wasn't sure what to do about it. 

"Jesus..." Chloe breathed out as Kelly fell beside her on the large bed, causing Kelly to chuckle lightly, glancing to the woman to see her olive cheeks now rosy, her skin glistening with sweat, her heart nearly beating out of her chest, coming down from the sexual high. 

Kelly had put a hand on his chest, trying to calm down his heart beating and took the time to appreciate Chloe's facial features. Her swollen lips, her bright green eyes a little lighter, the relaxed look sketched across her olive skin, her dark brown hair scattered across the pillow under her head. He couldn't deny just how beautiful she truly was, with or without make-up. 

The firefighter had confided in his best friend Matt Casey about his true feelings for the woman, not entirely sure how to go about the conversation he needed to have with her, to see where she stood. 

"I'm starving..." Kelly noticed that his stomach was getting ready to growl, then glanced to the clock to see that it was going on ten thirty at night, "That Mexican restaurant is still open, want me to go pick up food for us?" Kelly questioned watching as Chloe fluttered her eyes open with a sleepy smile. 

"You know I'm not going to deny any food after great sex." Chloe chuckled when Kelly smiled from ear to ear, "Want me to call to place the order?" Chloe questioned and watched as the man gave a nod, knowing that the restaurant didn't take long to whip up food, watching as Kelly got out of the bed in all his glory to grab his boxers and jeans. 

"Yeah, can you get me the usual?" Kelly questioned buttoning his jeans and heading out of the room to head to the bathroom. 

Chloe had made the call, ordering what Kelly had usually gotten, and then what she had wanted to eat for the evening. Moving to the edge of the bed, Chloe spotted her panties and Kelly's flannel shirt, so she had grabbed the underwear to put on, and then slipped on the blue flannel and buttoned it up, then rolled up the sleeves. Tilting her head over, Chloe gathered all of her hair and piled it on the top of her head and secured it with an elastic band. 

"It's ordered. He said it would be about fifteen minutes." Chloe commented climbing back into the bed as Kelly walked into the bedroom. 

"Okay, I'll be back." Kelly moved to grab his gray firehouse t-shirt and slipped on his shoes, "Try to not fall asleep before I get back. I won't be responsible if I eat all of your food." Kelly teased causing Chloe to playfully gasp. 

"You wouldn't..." Chloe held a hand to her heart playfully causing Kelly to chuckle lightly as he grabbed his wallet and shoved it in his back pocket. 

Chloe watched as Kelly winked at her as he looked back at her as he walked out of the bedroom, and Chloe found herself sinking into the large mattress and cover. Leaning back against the headboard, the woman had decided to grab her phone and noticed an unknown number had sent her a text message. Furrowing her eyebrows, Chloe had decided to ignore the text as she laid back in the bed and closing her eyes. Hearing the front door to her apartment slam shut, Chloe's eyes popped open. 

"Kelly?" Chloe had called out, her heart beating wildly in her chest. Listening quietly for a moment, not hearing the firefighter's voice. 

Quietly moving out of the bed, Chloe grabbed her gun from the night stand and tip toed to the bedroom door that was closed, and went to reach for the door knob, realizing how hot the handle was and winced. 

"What the..." Chloe used the sleeve of the flannel to open the door and gasped seeing her entire living room filled with fire and smoke, and quickly shut the door, "Oh god, oh god..." Chloe started to freak out as she ran to the bedroom window trying to figure out how to fit through the small window. She knew that there was no way that she could fit through the small gap, and she always knew that the windows were extremely durable and couldn't not be broke easily, a request from her father when she moved into the apartment, for her safety. 

Chloe noticed that the flames were starting to come through her bedroom door, and quickly reached for her cell phone on the bed, immediately calling 911, and once the dispatcher had informed her the firetrucks were on the way, Chloe had called Kelly. 

Kelly answered the phone while Chloe had started to cough, "Th..there's a fire..." Chloe coughed out, "I can't...I can't get out Kell..." 

"Just hang on, okay? I'm almost there..." Kelly instructed, "Get something to cover your mouth baby, and try to breathe." Kelly added. 

Chloe ran to the window, sticking her head out the window and looking around the apartment building to see that the top floor was smoking. She had tried using the fresh air to catch her breathe, but she had started feeling light headed. 

"Baby?" Kelly spoke into the phone as the device dropped to the floor, and before Chloe could catch herself, her knees buckled, legs giving out, and she had fell to the floor. 

Kelly whipped around the street corner of Chloe's apartment to see Firehouse 51 piling out of their trucks, with the entire Intelligence Unit following suit in their vehicles. Kelly barely put his car into park before jumping out and rushing to the scene. 

"Severide..." Chief Boden stopped Kelly from approaching. 

"Chief, Chloe's window is indestructible. She's trapped in there." Kelly stated, his heart beating fast in his chest and looked to Capp and rushed towards him, "Give me your gear..." Kelly nearly pleaded and the man immediately started to undress his gear and started handing over the pieces to Kelly, "If that window gets opened now, the entire room will be engulfed." Kelly stated as he hooked up his oxygen tank, and rushed towards the front door to the apartment complex. 

Kelly felt a hand on his shoulder, seeing his best friend Matt Casey, "We'll get her." Matt promised, and then directed everyone else to search the rest of the building, before following Severide through the front door. 

The lieutenant's heart was hammering in his chest as he saw the hallway engulfed in flames and smoke. This entire scenario had scared him to the bone, knowing that Chloe was trapped in her bedroom. He had some how went into auto pilot, kicking in the apartment door with Matt right beside him. The two men seemed to move in synch as Kelly went straight for Chloe's bedroom, and quickly kicked in the door. 

Kelly's bright blue eyes spotted the dark haired woman laying unconscious on the floor in his flannel. Kelly quickly grabbed the blanket on the edge of the bed and moved quickly to cover Chloe with the blanket and lifted her with ease in into his arms.

"Hang on for me baby..." Kelly whispered to the woman, holding her close to him, to make sure that she was secure from the flames surrounding them. Matt stood in front of them, guiding them out of the bedroom, back into the living room, and into the complex apartment. The flames had grown bigger, and Kelly knew that he needed to get her unprotected body out of harms way.  

"We're gonna have to make a break for it." Matt spoke to Kelly, accessing the damage around them growing quick. 

Kelly gave his friend a nod, holding Chloe closer to him while Matt positioned himself in front of them to try to protect her skin from the flames. Kelly and Matt quickly moved in sync out of the apartment, as Kelly made his way to the pavement of the road, he had laid Chloe down, uncovering her from the blanket and noticed that she wasn't breathing. 

"Chloe..." Kelly began to panic, "No, no..." Kelly quickly began to do CPR, "Brett!?" Kelly shouted out, tears building in his eyes. 

"CHLOE!?" Hank Voight's voice was loud as he approached, Kelly continued to do CPR as Brett and Emily quickly approached with a stretcher. 

"Come on baby, don't do this to me..." Kelly didn't realize that tears started to pour down his face as Matt pulled him back to allow Emily and Sylvie to work on her. 

"What the hell happened?!" Hank Voight shouted into Kelly's face, "What happened?!" 

"I uh...I don't know. I went to get food and then she called me saying that her apartment was on fire and she was trapped." Kelly couldn't tear his eyes away from the woman who claimed his heart, watching as the two co-workers were preforming CPR. Kelly felt like his legs were going to give out, and was sure that if Matt had taken his hand off of his shoulder, he would have fell to the ground right then. 

Kelly watched in shock as Chloe was about to get shocked but gasped for air, her body shooting to sit up, and gasping for air. 

"Oh god..." Kelly rushed to Chloe, his arms wrapping around her, her small hands trembling against his arm as Brett checked her over further, with Hank Voight standing on near the foot of the stretcher. 

"You need to go to med to get some oxygen and be observed for the night." Brett spoke gently after her brief exam. 

"Chloe, what the hell happened?" Hank questioned his daughter. 

"I don't...I don't know..." Chloe spoke hoarsely, "Kelly left to get food, I noticed I had a text message from some unknown number, I didn't bother checking it. I laid down and heard the sound of the apartment door slam shut. I thought it was Kelly, and when I didn't get an answer, I grabbed my gun, went to the bedroom door realized that the living room was on fire." Chloe explained, "I called 911, and then I called Kelly, and then I woke up out here." Hank Voight looked to his daughter, noticing how Kelly Severide was examining the burn marks on her hand gently, "Have you noticed anyone following you?" Hank questioned to the dark haired woman, causing her to look up to her father with furrowed eyes. 

"No, not that I have noticed." Chloe coughed, "Why?" Chloe questioned. 

"Do you think someone did this to get to Chloe?" Kelly questioned. 

"Guys, can we continue this conversation at Med?" Brett questioned. 

The two men nodded their heads, "Hey Casey, can you drive my car to the hospital, I want to ride with Chloe..." Kelly stopped his best friend, and watched as he nodded his head, "Thank you." Kelly spoke with gratitude. 

Kelly helped Brett push the stretcher into the back of the bus and climbed in and sat down next to Chloe and made sure to be out of Brett's way as Emily got into the front to drive to Chicago Med.

[justrandomselfships]

Little steps- my self insert Fic (S/I POV) with a bunch of silly illustrations! Oh did I mention that this involves Kaeya? Well he's the main focus here even though Lisa is mentioned shit ton of times! Might write something for her focus too someday.

I finished it ages ago but I was afraid to post it- I'm not anymore and also✨ it's my birthday ✨

~~

Ever since I joined the knights I decided to write in a diary, it helped me keep track of time. Lisa told me that it can help me in various ways, like for example remembering names of the other knights, or checking my personal progress. Now that I think about it, it was long since I checked my old entries. Nothing interesting happened today anyway so I might as well read some. I don't really remember anything that was going on when I started so I suppose I could refresh my memory.

Today Lisa wanted to introduce me to someone- she probably wanted to help me by looking for training partner for me, however I had to refuse. You probably remember why was that, I got scared of meeting someone new again. I couldn't get that mess on her shoulders when she has so much to do as it is! And there was no way I'd meet them alone it'd be too akward for both of us!

I remember the exact moment I tried to come up with an excuse for future me... It kinda made me giggle how stupid I am sometimes, but let's look at something else...

I've never felt as lonely as I do now, I don’t even know why. I don’t miss anyone nor I ever craved any interactions... But to make that feeling go away I thought about talking to Amber but when I left the house she was talking to Noelle and I got scared to approach them... Instead I decided to sketch something and stay inside for the rest of the day.

I immediately looked at my sketchbook, I don't even have to look inside, I was drawing what's outside my window like always. Maybe I'll find some better memory if I keep looking?

During my patrol I got a bit lost... It was scary... But I wasn't alone, an Adventurer found me... However he got lost too. It was a bit unlucky day since I picked the wrong maps, we also got attacked a few times by monsters. I kinda feel bad for him since he tried his best to cheer me up but I stayed silent. It should've been other way around a knight shouldn't le

Bennett! How could I forget his name when I was writing this? He was such a sweetheart I obviously had to mess it up and make him feel uncomfortable... But I did make up for it! Maybe I'll finally read something positive? I somehow can't remember how exactly that went... Or if I was daydreaming about apologizing?

I decided to bake something for Bennett as thank you and apology for acting so cold towards him. But I had no idea on how to find him... Or what to say... So after thinking for few minutes I decided to talk to Katherine and ask her to give it to him. After "talking" to her I locked myself in my room out of embarrassment, I messed up again. I just said "Bennett" placed my pastries and left. Now I probably won't be able to face her for at LEAST two months.

I cringe at the memory... Gosh now this will keep me up at night for sure... I finally forgot about it and now it'll haunt me.

Wait a second... Did I really not made any progress at all!? I was trying so hard to socialize with others and get out more but I seem to still not be able to do it right. No, it's impossible. I'm good friends with Lisa! So I definitely made any progress... Or is she just so easy to talk to? Time to take a final look at something recent for a change...

Capitan Kaeya Alberich wanted to talk to me outside work... It might not sound like a big deal but somehow I just froze... I wasn't able to respond properly and he probably guessed what I was going to say, not that he ever can't do that... I might be too predictable. Either way I feel bad, my behavior was really disrespectful and I knew better than that to just ignore someone like him. I still have much to learn and I'll need to properly apologize for staying silent.

I only ever failed... There is no mistaking it. Great way to note down progress huh? Too bad there is none.

Think, what do I need to do to finally do better? I am the problem for sure but what do I really need to change? Maybe I should just start observing how others act... After all I never bothered to do that. It might help in one way or another...

Obviously there's only one place where there is a lot of people and I won't look like a total creep if I'll just listen in the conversations and look at random people... It's no other than the tavern. I'm scared to go there alone... But I don't have to!

Lisa would be willing to go right?... Then again I rely on her a bit too much and going out like this could be an opportunity to break the ice with someone else...

Jean is always busy, Amber will be way too distracting and we might end up somewhere else, Eula is too scary, Venti... I don't even know why I'm considering him.

Maybe that offer from capitan Kaeya still stands? It's from bearly 2 weeks ago so maybe if I get lucky and he happens to still be interested, I can actually go...

What am I even thinking!? I didn't even apologize for the last time... But being around so many drunk people is terrifying... However I can't bet on the fact that he won't drink too much... On the other hand he seems to handle people and I'll definitely learn something.

Screw it. It might be scary but I need to do it. Tomorrow I'll ask him! That's for sure! He's the most respectable and trustworthy person who isn't always busy and will not distract me.

~⏳

I'm scared to do it but I have to! I need to... Did I really say that I'm gonna do it today? Or should I just pretend that I never thought of it. He's probably busy today. Yup definitely that no need to feel stressed.

I haven't seen him back at the headquarters nor did I see him around town when I was coming back from my patrol- that's a good sign. It's still pretty early but I don't think that I'll see him today... What a relief!

Before I left the headquarters after finishing some paperwork I hear a voice that belongs to a beautiful librarian I am lucky to be able to call a friend.

"Hey there cutie, are you okay?"

"Just a little bit nervous that's all, nothing new haha"

"Do you need me to pass a message again?"

"No need! It's something I need to say myself..."

"I see..."

"But if you happen to see capitan Kaeya it would be nice if you could tell him that I was looking for him" out of habit I grab my hair and begin to play with it. Lisa's warm soothing voice blessed my ears as she said "No worries darling, I'll let him know" before she left and giggled to herself...

Wait... Oh no.

Why did I say anything!? Is she that magical that I can't say anything but what's on my mind.

If she happens to meet him my request will be unavoidable! Even if I tried thinking of something else Kaeya will know that I'm lying. I can't avoid him either... Can't waste his precious time...

How do I even ask him!? Do I need to change from my work clothes before I go? What should I do...

I didn't realize that I started walking in circles before someone approached me.

"Heather?"

I turn around and see the man I was thinking about all day. Dammit... I have to say it. I can't think of an excuse and staying silent is now unacceptable.

"Oh-uhm... Greetings Capitan Kaeya"

"Lisa informed me that you were looking for me"

"Oh right!... That... Haha..."

"I don't want to rush you, however I do have some business to attend to"

"I'm so sorry! I mean- since you're busy then my silly request is irrelevant"

"Come now, I believe that I should be the judge of that" his smug look made it ever so slightly more challenging to say anything.

"I just... Ugh..." I took a deep breath "Look as you know I was trying to loosen up recently and well I realized that I wasn't making any progress at all. So I remembered that one time you asked me to go to the tavern with you and I refused... I mean ignored you, which I am VERY sorry about but now I think that it was a mistake and today I wanted to ask you to accompany me but since you're busy let's just forget about everything" I felt relieved getting that off my chest.

"I don't think that will do, in fact I was heading towards the tavern so if you really want to I suppose you can join me" Oh right... I forgot about him gathering some information there from time to time. So it might work after all! He won't pay too much attention to me and I could investigate without tons of distractions.

"Let's get going then capitan" I say before he smiles softly in response "Wait do you want to get going now or-"

"Yes" he cut me off, which was fair and I'm glad he did it before I said something dumb.

We're almost there. Before we get closer I suddenly stop.

"That reminds me!" I realized I spoke out loud, as he looked at my direction my confidence dropped dead "I've never actually tried any alcohol so would you be so kind to recommend something for me? I figured that since I'm already getting out of my comfort zone might as well try something new" I said under my breath but he definitely understood what I meant judging by his facial expression and well... response.

"Absolutely" my heart skipped a beat. I desperately tried to start a conversation topic... But choosing alcohol might be something I'll regret...

Kaeya started listing few drinks I could enjoy his words were poetic as he described the beverages, however the names of the drinks went over my head. It wasn't that bad but I just felt stupid over how clueless I was. He definitely knew what he was talking about and I'm more than interested in hearing more. The more he talks the less likely I am to say something I'll regret.

"Obviously since I don't know how much you can handle I won't be forcing you to try too much too soon" he paused "Your father probably wouldn't be happy either if you returned drunk" he said teasingly. It invited me to respond less seriously.

"Oh no! This means that we'll have to do it again, how awful"

"We didn't enter yet so you can feel free to leave now before you regret spending time with me of all people" his voice was now suddenly much more hostile... Did I mess it up!?

He laughed softly "I'm sorry did I go too far? While I don't want to force you to do anything, I won't lie... I'm a bit curious to learn something new about you tonight"

We were still outside standing right in front of the entrance to the tavern if not for chatting we could hear from the inside there would be total silence.

"I'm sorry for being quiet again! It's just that you caught me off guard haha" I look away "There isn't much to know about me so I feel like I'll only disappoint you"

"I'm not so sure about that part"

"Wait... Did my father tell you anything about me!?"

"Look let's just get inside, We'll discuss it later"

Nervously I followed him yet again. The atmosphere was warm and I could see different kinds of people all over the place. We sit down.

"So did he tell you anything?" I ask immediately.

"Relax, he didn't" he seemed amused by my desperation to know. It's understandable... And I'm probably overreacting anyway. I collect my thoughts "I'm sorry"

"What are you sorry for?"

"I'm just making this into some big deal for no reason. Maybe the reason is the huge amount of respect I have for you that makes me freak out"

"I see, well I don't see the reason to be so formal now. We aren't working after all" his soft smile was enough for me to calm down.

"Thank you" Maybe it was all I needed to hear, after that everything went smoothly.

I start feeling proud of myself... Maybe I can change after all? Either way it only shows that I have to write it down! And once I was back home I did just that.

Today I had enough courage to take a step in right direction! I went to a tavern with capitan Kaeya. It was fun and for the first time in years I wasn't that scared. It wasn't totally perfect but it was definitely worth it.