#i'm still not sure about these colors but i didn't end up liking the lighter tones :P

[inogart]

Red string of fate

[sleepymarimo]

A TAMA...WHAT? - TOJI FUSHIGURO

"toji. if anything happens to my tamagotchi while i'm gone, i'm actually never talking to you again."

"...huh?"

: ̗̀➛ 1.2k cw: none! silly goofy fun, tamagotchi death :'(

the sorcerer killer isn't sure what to do with the small device in his hand, which looks a little too colorful for his liking. too flashy. when you'd called him a few hours ago to tell him you needed a favor, he didn't expect to be a damn babysitter to a pixelated pet for a whole week.

he would've declined, maybe suggest a "compromise", but you seemed a little too serious about your threat of not speaking to him ever again.

and, despite his best effort to maintain a nonchalant front, he knew that he wasn't going to take that risk.

you'd let him stay at your place, a nice perk, so now he lays back on your couch and fiddles with the buttons while watching the small pet eat or play or even work. how does this thing have more of a stable life than he does?

lips set into a focued pout, those big digits of his nearly crush the poor buttons into dust. "the hell do you want now?" he growls, having just set down the device to watch a boat race on t.v.

toji's never been intimidated by new jobs, by thinking outside the box, but at this moment he'd rather be taking on a horde of curses.

yet... he kind of gets the hang of it. maybe a little too much.

by day three of his tamagotchi journey, he feels pretty confident about taking care of the pet. pride surges through his veins when he checks all the stats and sees no issue, the tamagotchi thriving under his care.

he becomes a little too obsessed with the toy sometimes.

shiu, on a call with the assassin, finds himself having to pause when he swears he hears this constant beeping in the background.

"fushiguro-"

"just hold on," toji interrupts, the phone resting on the table while he works on the tamagotchi. "this thing is sick as shit. i gotta give it medicine."

the mediator isn't even sure what to say at that, a part of him wondering if his mind is playing tricks on him. "i thought you were just going to get her a new one. you're still keeping up with that thing?" shiu asks into the receiver, holding the phone between his shoulder and ear as he reaches for a cigarette and lighter.

another few beeps can be heard through the phone, then a relieved sigh. "fuck no. and m'not 'keeping up'," toji specifies, almost offended. "m'owning this piece of crap. it's easy work."

on the other end of the phone, shiu finds solace in a deep inhale of cigarette smoke. luckily, he's able to get toji on a pretty good gig with the promise of outstanding pay.

even during the meeting a couple days later, the sorcerer killer is brushing off high end clients as soon as he hears that damn beeping. "gimme a minute," he gruffly says, before mumbling in a more hushed tone. "s'fucking needy..."

raising one hand as if he's putting a simple pause on the conversation, he uses the other to click click click until he deems the virtual pet satisfied.

meanwhile, shiu is embarrassed as hell and makes an effort not to look the client in the eyes.

content enough, toji places the tamagotchi back in his pocket with a gentleness that he doesn't usually, if ever, displays. "a'right. so how much are ya paying again?"

...

by the time you arrive home a day later, exhausted from a flight and too many train rides, you're ready to be reunited with your virtual companion.

"okay toji," you call out, the door shutting behind you with a click. "where's mimitchi?"

you hear his heavy steps before you see him, his frame rather... rigid. "well hey to you too," he greets, stopping just before you and giving your form a quick once over. "and who the hell is mimitchi?"

sighing, you give him a proper hello before looking at him a little suspiciously. "that's the tamagotchi. mimitchi is her name," you explain, starting to tap your foot. where was it? "so...?"

his eyes momentarily widen, like he's genuinely surprised. "huh? it's a girl? and that's her name? what the hell..."

while it's a funny sight, you don't stop giving him that pointed look. your arms even cross, indicating that you really weren't in the mood.

toji scoffs at your little display, shrugging his shoulders. "i lost it," he replies. "must've fell out of my pocket or something..."

your heart drops. "you what? seriously? toji!" a pout settles on your lips, sincere disappointment written all over your features.

does he feel bad? yes, he does. with a sigh, he steps closer and wraps his arm around you, placing it on your lower back. he's shitty with words, but he knows how to ground you.

"look, sweetheart, i'll get you another one," he starts, his words making your heart feel a little more light. "tomorrow we can-"

breep! beep beep beep!

breep! beep beep beep!

while you freeze, toji's hand goes straight to his pocket. "shit, i thought it fucking silenced it."

jaw dropping, you look up at him as if he's just stabbed you in the back. hell, he might as well have!

"are you serious?" you chuff, not believing his audacity. your hand reaches for his pocket, but he's quick to pull out the tamagotchi and hold it out of your reach. "oh, you asshole! i can't believe you."

caught in the act, he allows himself to scowl just the smallest bit. "y'the one who left her," he points out, as if he has a say in how to be a present parent. "i'm just stepping up."

your offended gasp triggers a chuckle from him. reaching for the tamagotchi again, you whine when he moves it even further from you.

the back and forth lasts for a while, until a truce is made.

sitting on the couch, you hold the device and check up on mimitchi, who seems to actually be in pretty good condition. you're thoroughly impressed, even letting him know so.

"you're still a jerk for lying," you point out, sure that you weren't going to drop that anytime soon. he just shrugs, acknowledging his wrongs but not really apologizing, as per his usual style.

however, seeing that your beloved mimitchi is already retired and aging... you decide to let him have her. if he wanted the full tamagotchi experience, he was going to get it.

so, while he smugly pockets the toy once more, you just wait.

that moment comes a whole two days later, the day starting off just like any other. in your room, the morning light barely shining through your window, you wake in time to hear those dreaded sounds that no tamagotchi owner wants to hear.

beep...beep...beep...

then, you hear toji abruptly sitting up on the couch, pushing buttons left and right. "not a fucking chance..." he mumbles, surely not expecting a cute toy to have such an abrupt end.

you can only muffle your laughs as he stands, those heavy steps of his coming straight for your door to demand an explanation.

an: lol this idea came into my mind and i just had to get it out. hope you enjoyed bc i kinda laughed writing it:')

[atarathegreat]

BAKUGO NOW

Did you say: fantasy AU Bakugo smutt?

Dragon Prince Bakugo.

Bakugo wasn't opposed to an arranged marriage, per se. His mother and father were done with their exploring, and his mother was done berserking. Bakugo himself still hunted, but his mother and father were done with what they called 'young people activities'.

Besides, a marriage meant a celebration, and a celebration meant that everyone got to go wild. Drinking, sparring, dancing! It would all be so much fun for him and the others. It was like Bakugo could already smell the ale and feel the punches that he would be earning. It excited him to no end. Whoever was going to be his wife, as lucky as she was, would have to manage with him being as rowdy as he pleased. Maybe he would get lucky, too, and she would be a barbarian like him, just as rowdy.

"Bakugo, are you really going to wear that nasty pelt?" His mother, Mistuski, stood in the arch to his chambers, soon to be shared with a stranger, "You wear that dirty thing to go hunting and fishing and you want to wear it for a wedding celebration?"

Bakugo turned and glared at his mother, all while taking heavy steps toward the pile of clothes and pelts in the corner, "You want me to wear these overly fancy rags? Do I look like someone who wears green? I'm likely to be mistaken for a boar or a nightwalker!" He was wrong, of course, as he usually was, but his mother understood his anger. Her son didn't like fancy items or flashy jewelry. But his hunting pelt? Surely he had better sense than that. "Don't you want to make a dazzling first impression on your future wife?" Mitsuki smiled, holding up a nicer, cleaner pelt.

"I don't rightfully care. Our marriage is political at best, and a mothers move to get me married at worst." Bakugo plopped onto his bed.

Mitsuki was shocked. Not that he was wrong, her son was intelligent, but that he had openly said it without knowing what was leaving his lips. Sure, political was the best way to call it, bringing barbarians and the clerics together in, at least, a shaky alliance. But it would also be a lie to say that her and her husband hadn't also planned it so that her son would have a wife sooner, maybe even kids if he felt like being the bare minimum for a husband. Mitsuki sighed and sat next to her son, her awfully thick-headed son, "Can you just do as I ask you? Just this once, let this go smoothly?" She hated to beg her son to be clean, but she knew that there was a soft spot somewhere in him.

"If I do, will you get off my back about it?"

"I might."

To relent and let his mother have her way would bite him in the ass later, but he got up and switched the pelt out, securing a lighter wolf pelt at his hips, "Happy now?"

"Okay! Be ready by midday and don't get covered in blood, this needs to be a good impression for the girl and her family." Mitsuki clapped as she left, feeling triumphant.

Come midday, her victory was null. The poor girl's family had sent her alone. From Ethel to Kazar, the young lady had traveled in the back of a wagon with nothing but a simple dress. No jewels, no colors, not even a smile. Mitsuki watched as the girl stepped from her wagon, simple flat shoes hidden under the long fabric of her skirts. She was supposed to be a noble, but she looked like a little peasant child who begs for money.

"I thought clerics wore robes and traveled together?" Her husband, Masaru, watched the girl with pity, "She looks sad."

Her soft flat shoes were dirty and torn, like the bottom of her dress, and the rest of her was...grey. Her and her aura were dull and grey and defeated. As if she had nothing left.

"So much for that alliance, huh?" Bakugo scoffed, returning inside the castle to avoid the silent creature that would be his bride. She wasn't interesting enough to keep him around for anything, and he wouldn't subject himself to the nap she would give him. His mother, on the other hand, refused to let this be the ending or a fail. Mitsuki smiled and took the girls hands in her own, "Hello, sweetheart. How was your trip?"

"Long, Your Highness." The girl even sounded like a field mouse, how adorable, "Long and silent."

If anyone had paid attention for a fraction of a second, they would have seen that the wagon rode off as soon as her foot touched the ground. Sad. But Mitsuki was happy that the girl was in Kazar now, at least she would grow to have some semblance of a family that would travel with her. Mitsuki nodded, "Call me Mitsuki. What is your name, hun?"

"Y/n." She responded well enough, albeit timidly. Masaru suspected that Y/n was raised in one of the many families that viewed the woman as caretakers and mothers. A devastating fate when women were as strong as the men if given the chance to build muscle. There was no doubt that Bakugo would be upset by this girl not being strong or loud. "Where is your family?" He was curious, who was this girl and why was she alone?

"They sent me alone. Said that the alliance meant little to them so long as I was out of their sight." Y/n spoke without confidence, but as if she believed every word she said, "They wanted to thank you for taking this burden off their hands."

That struck Masaru in a visceral way. Her own family saw her as a burden? How awful. She was anything but, and she was cute, clearly had nice genes for a cleric.

"I wish to apologize. I... I know little. I cannot read or write; I hardly understand my own ways. I'm useless and lack the ability to bring anyone joy." It was so awful to hear the things she said about herself. Y/n was pretty, Mitsuki could already see the beautiful grandchildren she would gain from this girl and her son. Good genes and good genes bred better genes, in her mind. "But I am willing to learn, if there is anyone with the patience to deal with my stupidity. I can clean, but I've never been praised for the work." She was so upfront about what she thought was things they would turn her away for.

And this behavior persisted into the celebrations. Y/n isolating herself in the corners, in the shadows, avoiding the others who wished to get to know her and welcome her to the clan and village. It was upsetting.

Bakugo found her after a hefty search (a search of ten minutes where he wasn't actually looking but happened to glance at her a few times before finally approaching). "What's wrong? Do you not realize how grateful you should be for this?" Bakugo came on strong, he was aware of that, but who hid during their own wedding celebrations? She seemed to be brushing it all aside and acting as if this was what she deserved. "Apologies. I'm not supposed to interact with anyone." Y/n was a mumbling mess, never speaking louder than she thought she needed to. It pissed Bakugo off to no end. "Whatever. If you don't want to be down here, then go to bed. You'll bring the mood down." He returned to the sparring corner of the big room, joining in with the fights.

Y/n, with a lot of difficulty, managed to find the bedchambers where she would be sleeping. It was Bakugo's room, of course, she knew that, but now she would also occupy the space. It was a messy space, a man's space. How was she supposed to feel at home in this strange place, with strange people, and an even stranger lifestyle? She was used to the women being small, quiet, never drawing attention to themselves. The women here in Kazar, they didn't seem to care about the consequences of having the attention. Aside from that, the women were muscley and brawn. They even knew how to read.

She crawled into the windowsill and looked up at the stars. For a brief moment she foolishly thought about whether her family was missing her. It was a dumb thought, one she wiped away quickly.

Meanwhile, Bakugo was sparring and drinking, thoughts of his new bond gone as he drowned his liver in ale and whatever foods had been made. His concerns were with winning the matches he was in. Zero thoughts of the girl up in his window. When he did finally stumble his way up to his chambers, Y/n was there immediately. Her gentle hands held cold cloths to his alcohol warmed cheeks. "What the hell are you doing to me, woman?" Bakugo grabbed her wrists to keep her hands on his face. The way she stared at him, wide eyes that reminded him of a frightened doe staring at a hunter as she waited for him to make a move.

"You're too damn quiet." Bakugo moved his face closer to hers, wanting to see what type of reaction he could pull out of her. Y/n seemed like a stoic girl and Bakugo wanted to see her lose her temper, to see her make any face except that doe eyed stare. So, he kept moving closer, until his lips touched hers and he'd never felt something so soft. He would blame the ale later.

Her body was rigid, yet loose, as Bakugo held her cheeks to keep her from moving away from him. Her tongue tasted of fruits, wild berries and water from a stream. It was addicting for the man, even if he was just some drunken barbarian at the moment.

Something about her softness was drawing him in. The way she moved how he wanted her to and the careful way she touched him, like he was as fragile as she was. It was different, in a good way.

"You have a choice in this." He mumbled, unable to make himself pull his lips away from hers, "Just because I am your husband does not mean you have to do everything I wish."

And she still didn't reject him or his advances. It was almost like she leaned into them, put more pressure in her gentle touches and soft caresses. The pelt around his hips hit the wall before the floor as he tossed it, not really giving a damn about where it went as long as it was off of him. "You're cute, I'll give you that." Bakugo mumbled as he walked her backwards towards the bed, bunching the skirts of her dress in his hands, "I wonder if the rest of you is as soft as your hands..."

"I'm not worth your physical affections." Y/n fell back easily onto the bed, never pushing Bakugo away. A loud laugh exploded in his chest at her words, "You're worth it if I find you worth it. You clearly aren't smart enough to gauge that."

Soft was an understatement. Plush and soft, Bakugo couldn't keep himself from squeezing every inch of her skin. "Soft as a hawk sprite chick. You ever felt one of them?" Bakugo nuzzled against her collar bone, "I'll catch one on my next hunting trip so you can."

This girl, this woman that Bakugo has been married to, what type of life had she led? Why was she so subservient to him? She didn't even fight him as he undressed her. He was a stranger to her, and she just... let him do as he pleased. Would she even make noise if he didn't ask her to?

Bakugo bit at her neck, smiling to himself at the involuntary gasp that he had pulled from her. He had caused a sound, though it was soft, to leave her without asking. "You're softer than the women here, you know that? It's nice, but I want you to talk more. Fuck, scream at anything if you want." Bakugo shuffled his pants down his legs and laughed at the way she avoided eye contact. It was apparent that she would be someone he'd have to have a small amount of control over, but that was the fun with some of these things. Bakugo leaned over her and grabbed her chin, "I want to see these pretty eyes on me."

Without a second of warning or even courtesy of being careful, Bakugo snatched her to the edge of the bed and snuggled his cock deep within her hold. She was soft, and it felt like she was trying to pull him deeper. "There you go, just keep squeezing." Bakugo pulled back a little to look at the connection he had forged, "Stretched fuckin' wide, you know that?"

She was cute when she whimpered, her unscathed hands gripping at Bakugo's rougher skin was nearly driving him absolutely crazy. This stranger, this quiet woman that Bakugo was so, so sure he would hate, had managed to make herself the center of Bakugo's, albeit drunken, world. There was nothing to stop him from leaving his teeth marks across her skin, and she looked a lot better with his markings. He had to think for a moment about how wonderful it would be to see her running to him after a hunting trip, how excited she would be to see him return was something he was hoping to see one day.

The pleasure was getting him too lost in his mind, making him think that maybe being married wasn't so bad, that maybe it wasn't just a political marriage. He didn't even see that he was hurting her, but she didn't sound like she was in pain. Blood started to stain the pelt blanket below her, causing a slight bit of concern. "Are you okay?" He didn't stop, she was too comfortable, but he also wouldn't make the mistake of thinking her body was as tough as a barbarian womans. "Stings a little, but it's okay~" Every word sounded like it was laced with euphoria. Maybe she had never felt such a thing, never had sex. Perhaps her body was as strong as a barbarian womans, she just hadn't ever used it.

"Hold on to me if you need to, I'll take care of you." Bakugo mumbled, putting more of his teeth marks across her neck.

[pockwashereart]

Flaming Gavle Goat Ornament Tutorial

You Will Need:

Craft felt in light brown or 'straw' color of choice, red, yellow and orange

Red ribbon in 2 widths

Thread- I used red and yellow; brown, orange or white would give different effects

scissors

Needle for hand sewing

pins or quilter's clips

polyfill stuffing or fabric scraps

a poking implement

a lighter or Fray check glue

paper and pencil

patience / approx 2 hours to waste making a meme for the holidays

To start, I drew a rectangle approx 3.25 in wide by 4 in high and sketched out a geometric goat shape. You could go a bit larger, but if you go much smaller it will be difficult to stuff. Remember that the sewing and stuffing will eat up some of your edges.

Cut out your goat template and trace it on your light brown felt. I used chalk, marker may work depending on how neatly you cut.

(I'll add a nice vectored template to this tutorial later, but I'll have to fight with the scanner first. )

Cut 2 of your goat. It doesn't matter if they're not exactly the same, as you can fudge the edges a little when you sew. If your felt has a front and back you can tell apart, you'll need to pick a "right" side of the fabric and mirror one of the goat base pieces.

I cut my ribbon decorations in advance, wrapping it around the stacked bases to check the length - remember you'll be stuffing this later so you may need to add a tiny bit more to accomodate.

Out of the wider ribbon, you'll need one for each leg, one for the tummy and one for the bridle. The thin ribbon will be to hang the ornament with and to wrap the horns- I did not pre-measure the horn wrapping because I wasn't sure how long it would need to be. Finish the cut edges of the ribbon as you like- I used a lighter to heat seal them but fray check or white glue will work. Glue will be more difficult to sew through.

Start sewing the goat bases together. I used red thread and a basic whip stitch, but you could get a couple different effects by using white or brown thread, or by sewing a blanket stitch.

Here's where I made life difficult for myself- stop when you get to the legs and wrap the ribbon in place, tucking the ends in between the layers. This secures them and hides the edges but is fiddly to pin and sew. You can also wait until you have sewn most of the way around and tack or glue the ribbons on top if you're less fussy about the ends showing.

Continue sewing around the legs and body, catching the ribbons in your stitches and repeating for the bridle ribbon. Stop at the base of the horns so you have room to stuff.

I'm working with modern plastic materials, so sadly (or not) this goat isn't terribly flammable, just meltable. If you want to be eco friendly you can stuff him with scrap fabrics. I'm using polyfill.

Use a chopstick, paintbrush handle or empty mechanical pencil to poke your stuffing into place. Smaller lumps of fluff are better and more maneuverable.

For firmer limbs stuff chopped up bits of your felt into the legs and head and follow it up with the polyfill.

My original plan for the removable flame was to do clever things with magnets, so if you want to give that a try this would be the point to toss one in before you close up the body. I was on a roll and didn't remember until I was working on the horns. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Remember you still need to put the tummy ribbon on and curse your clumsy giant fingers!! Getting everything situated and laying nicely may take a couple attempts. Once you've stabbed yourself with the pins a couple times, sew up the inner curve from the base of the horns on the neck to where the horns meet up again on the butt.

Be careful of where your thread tail goes and the direction of your stitches, it's easy to accidentally loop around the whole body or catch the horns.

There should still be a bitty opening at the base of the horns and at the butt (giggle here), if you flattened your stuffing during the last step and need to poke a teensy bit more in.

Tie your length of hanging ribbon into a loop and set aside.

This is another step where my need to hide the edges made life stupid and fiddly. Tuck the edge of a length of the thin ribbon between the layers on the bottom of the horns and wrap it around, and tack in place with a couple stitches. Loop it a couple of times until you get to the point you want to hang the ornament: I chose dead center, you may want him at a jaunty angle.

Fiddle with bendy felt, slippery ribbon and pins until your hanging ribbon's knot is sandwiched between the 2 layers of the horns and continue wrapping with the loose long piece, securing with pins or clips as needed and hopefully not making a big tangled mess of ribbon.

When you get to the end wrap it around a couple times and cut off any extra length, seal your ribbon and pin or clip into place.

Sew along remaining curves of the horn, making sure not to yank the hanging ribbon out of place and to catch the wrapping ribbon as you go. Accept there's no good way to tuck in this !$@!%%^$ slippery 1/8th BS ribbon and tack the butt end down with a few extra stitches.

Alternately, tack the hanging ribbon in place between the layers, sew the edges and then wrap and secure the horn ribbon with stitches or glue at either end. You could also skip sewing the edges of the horns together before wrapping them, but it will be more sturdy and secure with them sewn.

The fun part! fold some paper in half and draw your flames on the fold. Mine were a little over 2 in tall, and they should be a little smaller than the back of your goat at the base in order to fit in place. Cut out your fire and use it as a template for your felt.

The base layer will need to be on cut on the fold but the rest can be separate. Use as many or as few layers and colors as you like, it doesn't have to match exactly on both sides. You'll be folding this up so that you have 2 decorative sides facing out and a plain inside, so you'll be making two mirrored flames while it's still flat: one pointing up and one pointing down. Sew or glue the layers together.

I used a hidden stitch about a third of the way up from the bottom on the inside of the flame to pinch the sides together and pull it up into a V shape. This can be tucked up into the gap between the body and the horns and will hold itself in place pretty well if you have thick felt.

For more security/ shaping you could sew a loop of craft wire or an opened paperclip to the back side of the flame, or as previously mentioned do clever things with magnets.

Hang him on the tree with or without flames and enjoy!

Options for enjoying your handcrafted goat:

Pin the Flame on the Goat: Hide goat ornament on tree and give your participant (s) the flame (s), first to put them together wins.

Art Imitates Goat: Keep the flames to the side until/ if the real goat burns, and then apply to ornament. Celebrate with hot cocoa or warm winter drink of choice.

Voodoo Goat: Real Gavlebocken hasn't burned yet? Summon the flames by setting your ornament on felt fire! Celebrate with hot cocoa or warm winter drink of choice.

[milkweedman]

Replacement hat completed. I knit this out of a skein I spun last year. Most of the fiber is a southdown/hampshire blend I bought at a fiber fest last year. It was a large batt that I spun on supported spindles, picking the colors to create stripes as best as I could. The bits of orange/lighter brown is some unknown roving I dyed with onion skin and added in. Most of the time I'm knitting with handspun where I also prepped the fiber; there is a clear downgrade in yarn quality here lol. Makes me feel better about how long fiber prep takes--its worth it.

The body is a 2 row repeat that I'm sure is some kind of common rib but I don't know the name. Cast on a multiple of 3. Round 1: knit all. Round 2: knit 2 purl 1, repeat to end. Repeat rounds 1 and 2.

I tried several different crown designs for this and disliked all of them, but I'm happy with what I ended up with--I divided the stitches into 3 sections and did CDD at the end of each needle, every other row. Right near the end (after adding the colorful yarn) I did k2tog at the start of each needle as well bc I was really running out of yarn.

The colorful yarn is some scrap I found and used on a whim, but I think it works well. It's some of my really early hand blended and dyed yarn (the blue is the one color I didn't dye).

I also got a little fancier with the icord (switched colors every other row--looks awesome !) And the tassel has colored segments rather than being random, which I also really like. It won't really be seen as the headrest of my powerchair would be in the way but oh well. I can still show it off.

Lastly, I sewed a smooth river stone onto the very end of the crown to help weight it, as it's a slouchy hat but knit quite rigidly, so it needs something to hold it down. Works well. It was brought to my attention that this could result in worse head injury if I hit my head right where the rock is (I think that would be quite a feat given where it sits on my head) which doesn't bother me at all but should be factored in if you want to do something similar. Maybe I will sew a felt pad there to help cushion ? That would probably be wise.

Anyway, yay, new hat !! I really loved my old hat which fell out of my bag on the way home from work a couple months ago, but I love this new hat too. Hopefully I won't lose it for a while.

[painting-warhammer]

Solitaire in the style of Vriska Serket (Homestuck)

Just in time for 4/13! Commentary under cut.

The Lessons Learned

#1: Learn As Much As You Can Before Letting Your Mini Anywhere Near A Brush

As first figures go, this was honestly not as bad as it could have been, but I am an outlier. (and the second figure would be much worse.) Since the proverbial canvas was so expensive, it was a lot of "measure twice, cut once."

This was the main thing I used, and save for the face looking like chewed-up bubblegum, it came out relatively okay for a first try. Overall, this guy's a legend and this would be far from the only video of his I would reference.

#2: It's Okay To Be Inspired

What really hooked me on Warhammer in general is that you can paint things in your style. This is appealing at first, but if you're not an artist, you're going to be exposed quickly in the worst way possible, and that's by the color wheel theory. If you don't understand contrast and coomplements, all the technique in the world won't save your figure from looking like an eyesore.

This is where "established" characters that you are mimicking end up being your saving grace. If canon material is your bag, that works: You certainly won't lack as far as exact guides then! But in my opinion, you learn a bit more by improvising and trying to make something similar to an established character. Chances are they're popular because they have an appealing color scheme. As it happens, Vriska's various blue motifs really complement her orange, which is something I never realized way back when.

Also, reinterpretation was inevitable. I had initially considered freehanding the sun symbol on her lapel, but when everything was smaller than my pinkie, I just settled for making her jewels yellow. The real masterstroke was taking the Harlequin's Kiss weapon and recoloring it as the Warhammer (oh hey) of Vrillyhoo.

I just took the general colors and used Spiritstone Red on the rounded bits, and made something analogous to it. It's still the neatest part, imo.

#3: The Best Way To Start

For every color, I had a swatch. I had one base color, which I then doused in a shade, and then added one layer paint as the main color and one shade lighter for highlights.

#4: How To Make A Shiny Figure

There's a special paint called Ardcoat that puts a glossy texture on, but something that's a little more muted that gives a shine is... shade paint! I didn't shake the paint pot enough and created a fun glossy texture that you can see on her knee. (I learned how I accidentally did this by asking at my local Warhammer shop, lol)

#5: Don't Be Afraid To Make Mistakes

I'm sure there's more than just this wrong with this figure, but the Solitaire is supposed to be leaping off that little rock there. There were glyphs where I was able to put in a glowing line of Baharroth Blue that was watery enough that it filled in the little gaps on its own. It looked fantastic once...

Unfortunately, I overfilled my brush and it sloughed over into the other creases and ruined the whole effect. I also slopped Mordant Earth onto the stones and made it too ugly.

But that's just it. As much prep work as I was going in with, there was always going to be a mistake, and on a personal psychic level it feels bad when you make it. It ruins a whole day of painting lol. And you can't really stop those emotions, but you should at least try.

#6: You're Not Married To Your Army

It's inevitable that getting your first figure leads you to think about a whole army of them, but I had this distaste in my mouth when I thought about making more than one Vriska. For one, I didn't like any of the other Harlequins or Aeldari, or more importantly, I couldn't think of fun color schemes for them. The thought came to mind to make the ships similar to the Batterwitch/Condesce, but they were too similar color-wise (and even in the symbology!) where it just felt redundant. I get a special kick out of making something different from the boxart, because that's the point in my opinion.

I coped for a while: Green stuff or 3D print horns for the other figures to make them trolls? Suck it up and just use Vriska's color scheme for the others? In the end, I just gave up and called this a practice run. This is still my favorite figure. I'm just happy the first one turned out so nicely, relatively speaking, so I don't really have a lump of paint surrounding what was once a figure like a lot of first-time painters.

But no worries. Because I'd definitely fuck up the next one. 😅 That's for a new post.

[queenofthursday6599-blog]

You know what I find like intensely bewildering about the FOP fandom.

Is the fact that somehow it's still a debate among people about whether the kids in the Channel Chasers flash forward, Tammy and Tommy, are Timmy's kids with Trixie or Tootie.

Like they're very obviously supposed to be Tootie's kids.

Even when I saw Channel Chasers' ending as a literal kid, I instantly clocked the fact that Tootie was the mom and not Trixie, because neither kid looks anything like Trixie, and both have stuff inherited from Tootie.

So I'm putting this debate to bed right now.

The girl looks essentially like a mix of Tootie and Timmy's design (with long-ish hair that's down), while the boy is just Timmy with black hair and Tootie's nose and skin tone.

[What Tootie's skin tone was at the time Channel Chasers came out.

The show runners change the saturation of the show like 3 or 4 times over the years, and outright change some character's skin tones at some points.

Wanda for example also originally had lighter pinker skin in the earlier seasons, but it was changed to the same tanner/more orange toned skin as Timmy and Cosmo's.

Tootie however retained the lighter pinker skin, it's just that as they upped the saturation, her skin turned more pink.]

The Twins:

Tootie:

Timmy:

"But Trixie has black hair and blue eyes too, and the girl is wearing a headband just like Trixie's, so Trixie could still be the mom"-

Trixie is asian. Trixie is asian. Trixie. Is. Asian.

We can see Tommy's eyes, and we can tell he didn't inherit Trixie's eye shape, even though that would be perfect for making him not look like Timmy with his hair dyed black.

Not to mention neither has Trixie's nose. Or her height. Neither are rocking a turtle neck sweater, or boots.

Neither have Trixie's straight across bangs, the girl doesn't have Trixie's winged little eyelash, she has the same tri-prong eyelashes as Tootie.

Not to mention the girl twin's styling. She wears a plaid skirt and glasses just like Tootie's.

Sure she's got a pink headband instead of high pigtails like Tootie, but you know what other female character wears a pink headband?

Both Timantha and Timeena (only showed up in the comics, and is also a fairy), Timmy literally as a girl, wear pink headbands:

"What about the fact that Tootie has braces and Tammy doesn't?"

Tammy doesn't have any kind of tooth division at all, not even one showing where her top and bottom teeth separate in a lot of her scenes.

Even if the kids aren't a total one to one match with Tootie, they still look far far more like Tootie's kids than they do Trixie's.

Like even if the mom of Tammy and Tommy are someday confirmed to officially not be Tootie (which I doubt they'll ever do), I still wouldn't believe it's Trixie over just someone who looks pretty similar to Tootie and has a lot of the same features as Tootie.

As I've gotten older I've just become convinced that the people who honestly believe that Tommy and Tammy's mom is Trixie have just always been hardcore Timmy/Trixie shippers, and just didn't want to believe Timmy ended up with Tootie.

Which is fair. I don't want Timmy marrying into Vicky's family, or to Tootie at all. Girl has no boundaries, and is part of the worst possible family situation to marry into.

Considering A New Wish shows that Vicky hasn't changed at all in 20 years.

Also I know the show runners say that they have some traits of Trixie also thrown in to the kids to make it ambiguous who their mom is, but like where?

They don't have her eye shape, her eye color (they don't have Tootie or Timmy's eye colors either), her eyes being wide set (compared to Timmy and a lot of other characters), her nose, her height, her bangs, her eye lashes, her fashion sense, her straight hair.

They have literally nothing from Trixie, on either of the kid's designs.

Other than the fact that the girl wears pink and white, and a headband. But that's also just the color pallet of Tootie & Timmy combined (or just Timantha's), and all of Timmy's girl versions also wear some kind of headband.

They 100% designed Tommy and Tammy to be Timmy & Tootie's kids, and then decided that the mother was "intended to be ambiguous" when Timmy/Trixie shippers decided to head canon Trixie as the mom because we never see the mom or have her name dropped.

Because shipping drama fuels fandom interaction, which fuels ratings, and they didn't want to alienate the Timmy/Trixie part of the fandom by confirming Timmy/Tootie was endgame.

Though they tossed the idea of it being ambiguous who Timmy ends up with out the window in the live action trilogy and just made Tootie the end game of that canon.

So yeah, I've always thought Tootie was Tammy and Tommy's mom, but here's all my proof and reasoning.

Which as someone who did ship Timmy/Trixie as a kid, you could imagine that seeing Timmy's future kids look like Tootie and my main ship for the show wasn't endgame was kind of upsetting.

I could ramble on about the reasons why Tommy and Tammy are obviously Tootie's kids and not Trixie's for a whole lot longer. And the fact that they show up on Trixie's family tree on the wiki but not Tootie's, even though it's canonically supposed to be unconfirmed either way, irks me to no end.

But I'm going to cap this post right here. Maybe I'll bust out my punnet squares, and show why I think Tommy and Tammy being Trixie's is genetically impossible, some other time but I've thought about this too much today. But that day isn't today.

[nerdierholler]

It's done! Attempt number two at book making is complete! It's still just Ethan's Wayhaven Book 1 run. I did a big overhaul of the typeset compared to the first one, which I was trying to make small to minimize the page count. This came out about 130 pages longer and the text seems to breathe much better now. I also added a couple of basic graphics, a moon in the chapter headings and little moons as section headings. I used variegated red embroidery thread for sewing the signatures for just a pop of ominous color between the pages. It is a game about vampires after all.

Working with paper instead of cloth for the cover was a mixed bag. It looks gorgeous in a way I couldn't do with cloth but it was harder to get just right and I'm not sure it will hold up the best long term. But as a second attempt, that's ok. I tried new things and learned new things this one which was the goal and overall I think it's a more attractive finished product, or at least more visually interesting.

The breakdown on mistakes is under the cut. It's mostly for my benefit so I can remember later but please learn from my learning if you would like!

First off here's a comparison of my first and second attempts.

The paper I used for the first wasn't exactly 8.5x11 as noted before and I think it was even narrower than I realized before I tried to trim the pages. It is a significantly shorter book! Also the typeset differences. I'm really happy with how the new one came out.

Mistakes and improvement for the future.

Paper, Paper, Paper - I didn't even attempt to use interesting paper for this, just regular printer paper. Not needing to worry about trimming was so nice. I bought 9x12 sketch paper thinking it would fit in my printer, it did not, and I wasn't going to trim every single page to size so I have that now in my crafting pile. Maybe I'll make some blank journals with it. I do like the slightly off white color and heavier weight of the paper I used the first time and if I put in a fancy paper order I'll take that into consideration.

Paper: Part 2 - I want the scrapbook paper I have to be heavier and the cardstock to be lighter. Once I put glue on the paper it was so hard to work with because it wanted to wrinkle but also felt like it might tear if I tried to smooth it too much or reposition it. I ended up backing the piece on the front cover with a piece of printer paper and that seemed to help.

Mull - I've been using cheesecloth. I didn't starch it last time so I tried that this time but also saw something about putting glue over the whole piece of mull first then attaching it instead of holding it over the spine and dabbing/brushing glue on top. Bad choice. The mull is a mess and it isn't flat on spine, it was weird and stiff and there's slight gaps in between signatures as a result. I couldn't rip it off though so it is what it is. Won't be doing that again in the future though. Minus the mull issue I was really happy with the textblock though.

Endpapers - Again fighting the thinner craft paper. I should have sewn these on but I didn't. However I couldn't add them later because of the mull issue once I realized that so they are fully glued to the first page for added strength instead of being tipped on. Making them then and sewing them on takes more time but might be the better route to go in the future.

Gluing - I feeling like have terrible gluing technique. Things feel too wet but then if I use less or add some water for easier brushing on it doesn't stick as well. I think this is just a practice thing but considering how much gluing there is, it is a little frustrating.

Labels - Tried that for the first time with paper. Not sure how I feel about it . I think it looks alright but mostly it was about the paper quality and durability. Story of this build.

The Casing In - It was not great.

The back is alright but I really messed up the front cover. I think I pushed it too far back into the hinge so the cover doesn't quite close all of the way and is why there's such a large fore edge wrap space. I also think I made my spine piece slightly too narrow so that didn't help either. Ah well. Warping could also be from needing to glue the extra backing paper to the cover paper first and it's just too much glue pull in one area with nothing to balance it.

She's done though and once again I'm carrying over lots good knowledge for the next one. If I saw it sitting on someone else's shelf and they told me they made it I would be super impressed so I should give myself that credit as well.

[yuesya]

AAAAAA TWIN AU!! Geto being dragged along onto the trauma rollercoaster that is Satoru’s life as always, lmao. Since the pair can share techniques, though with difficulty, does Satoru eventually become known as even more of a terrifying prodigy for inexplicably having two cursed techniques? Or does Shiki ever manifest outside of Satoru to help out in dire times (Toji) or just to indulge some sadistic urges and everyone’s like ‘there’s two of them now?!’

"Good work, everyone!"

Satoru rolls his shoulders and stretches out his arms as they're finally, finally back on school grounds and within the protective barriers. The past few days spent protecting the Star Plasma Vessel have been long and eventful. If it weren't for the pressing need to prioritize defending Amanai from the relentless assassins and mercenaries aiming for her, he'd really like to have a nice long talk with whoever it was that decided it was a great idea to kill an innocent girl for no other fault than existing.

It's a bit of a touchy point, for Satoru. For obvious reasons.

... He still hasn't made up his mind on if he wants to hunt them down after the mission is concluded. There's no doubt that Shiki would be happily game for it, the bloodthirsty little thing, but Suguru might have a few choice words to say about it all.

Whatever, he'll decide on it later.

Satoru sighs, finally closing his eyes and letting his Limitless technique drop. His innate technique is a taxing one to use even on a good day, and keeping it running 24-7 is tiring, even with Shiki's help. Shiki tries, but unfortunately the formulas are difficult to maintain for her on her own, which means that Satoru still needs to be the one operating the technique. It's a relief that he'll finally be able to take a break now, before-

His cursed energy ripples, and Satoru startles when his Limitless barrier is suddenly yanked back up, most decidedly not of his own volition.

Shiki-?

His eyes widen. Another mercenary? When did he get behind him, and how had he never noticed?

Shiki snarls in his ears, a viciously hateful sound towards the man who'd almost ran them through with a sword, her voice unheard to everyone but Satoru. It's the work of seconds to throw their unexpected assailant away from them with Limitless; Suguru provides assistance by summoning one of his cursed spirits to attack the man the moment they are a good distance away. The worm-spirit swallows the man in a single gulp, but Satoru doubts that will trap him for long.

"Satoru! Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." That was a close one. Thanks, lil' sis. "Don't worry about it, Suguru. He didn't even scratch me."

The man -a Zenin sorcerer? No, not a sorcerer, he had no cursed energy- emerges from the belly of Suguru's cursed spirit in a spectacular spray of off-color gore and viscera, holding a cursed tool that he most certainly hadn't held in his hands just a moment ago.

"Hmm," the man says. "I was sure that you'd disengaged your cursed technique... guess I've gotten rusty."

Disengaged-? So he'd been waiting to ambush them?

Satoru bares his teeth sharply, "Amanai's bounty was lifted already, idiot."

The man smirks, "Yeah, because I was the one who took it down, hotshot."

He was the one who'd put up that timed bounty in the first place? The one that had ensured they were attacked nonstop by opportunistic curse users the past few days?

What an asshole.

"When fighting people like you without any weak spots, you need to have ups and downs and give them the illusion of achievable goals," the man hefts his heavy cursed blade against his shoulder as if it's no lighter than a feather. "If I hadn't set that timed limit on the bounty, you wouldn't have deactivated your technique until the very end... well, not that that worked out, in the end. But you're slipping, aren't you? You didn't even notice me until right before I was about to gut you."

It hadn't been Satoru who'd noticed the man, but Shiki. Even now, standing right in front of him, he was invisible to Satoru's Six Eyes -there was only the cursed energy from his cursed tool and that strange cursed spirit coiled about his body, but apart from that... this man had zero cursed energy. Some strange form of Heavenly Restriction?

Well, that didn't matter.

Satoru closes his eyes.

When he opens them again, everything in the world is covered in cracked red lines -including the would-be murderer who'd nearly gotten the drop on him.

"Me, slipping?" Satoru grins provocatively. "In your dreams."

[laugtherhyena]

I don't know what LINUJ was thinking when he chose to make Yoruko's upperclassman and Minako two separate characters but personally I don't really mind it? Mostly cause when I see background characters that don't officially appear beyond a few mentions, I go, "A character that barely has a skeleton of a personality that I can mold to my whims?! WOOO!!" and then proceed to squeeze them like a stress ball. I don't think about Amane (the upperclassman) a lot, especially in comparison to Kojiro, but I think it'd be fun to explore her character as I do have a project idea with her as part of the cast but it's kinda on the backburner of my brain cause I'm trying not to make too many projects at once cause I'm already struggling to juggle a bunch of other stuff at the same time. That being said, on the topic of Amane's pink hair, I actually think it's dyed?? Not sure cause I only just got passed the second bad end with my friend in Chapter 6 so we haven't seen the context of Yoruko's CG where she's in her fantasy, so take this with a grain of salt, but for some reason the wiki labels the CG as Yoruko talking to Minako??? And the woman shown has her hair having faded pink tips, revealing that her roots are actually brown. Ngl, the idea that Minako (still) dyes her hair to the color she has today is really funny but I think that's just the wiki editors messing up on whos who. Sometimes wikis aren't the most reliable source of information when you want to quickly review something without replaying the game and stuff, and I think it makes more sense that in Yoruko's fantasy, she'd be reunited with who she believes is her upperclassman, even if she cares about Minako. And if we take her appearance in the fantasy as truth from what little we can see of her, that means that both Amane and Yoruko dyed their hair for their hostess job (although Yoruko did it to mimic Amane specifically), lmao.

But yeah, I think the sequel cast having connections to the characters of the previous game is a really neat tie-in, even if it's not very strong and it's interesting to explore their connections with each other in fanon. My headcanon with Setsuka and Teruya being sibling figures to each other could be interesting since they actually reunite through their work, and probably spent a lot of time catching up and getting to know each other again. Which makes it hurt even more when Setsuka goes missing. Like, Teruya probably freaked out when he realized he hasn't heard from Setsuka in a long time and tried to push for an investigation to search for her which Kinjo put a stop to due to his own plans with Syobai. Poor guy was probably torn between disobeying orders to find Setsuka since he didn't want to lose another important person in his life or falling in line to Kinjo due to his loyalty to him. But if Kinjo were to suggest that she might've been kidnapped for the killing game, possibly to "fill in space," Teruya probably chose to fall in line since stopping Mikado's killing game would probably be the closest way to save Setsuka, even if he wanted to do more. And we all know how that worked out...

On a much lighter note, in a Non-Despair AU where Setsuka and Kojiro cross paths again after many years, I like to think that they reignite their friendship since I see Kojiro being more upset over Setsuka ghosting him (and Teruya) for years without an explanation than the fact that she cheated and got herself banned in billiards, which probably caused some controversy with his sponsorship for her. Hell, he probably thought she was dead or something with how long he didn't hear from her. That's kinda what happens when you go into hiding instead of confronting the consequences of your actions, Setsuka. But once they get pass the initial awkwardness, Setsuka and Kojiro becomes best buds again. They also become drinking buddies with Teruya (as an adult) chaperoning them, much to his (affectionate) annoyance.

It's crazy to me how he just made this random ass character instead of making Minako herself be the upperclassmen, like that would have led to a much stronger connection between Yoruko and the first killing game's class than Minako just so happening to be the boss at the bar her and Amane worked at.

Slight tangent here but, seriously, Amane Kaira? Two letters away from Akane Taira? I know Linuj has a track record of having characters with similar names in the another series, but this ridiculous. How were we seriously meant to believe this was a real person? Because for the longest time i just assumed that "Amane Kaira" was the fake ID Minako used when she worked at the bar with Yoruko since she mentioned both of them had it because they were minors back then.

As for the wiki, i believe it really is just flat out wrong when it says that's Yoruko talking to Minako (which generated this whole misconception) because those CGs were first uploaded there just a little after Ch6 came out so we didn't had everything properly translated back then and it just never got fixed + just from the little we see of this girl you can tell she's not meant to be Minako

In addition, the hair color of the girl in the Cg is a soft pink whereas Minako's is a pink closer to a purple-ish (violet-ish, whatever you wanna call it) tone + from both of her sprite galleries Minako's hair really doesn't seem to be dyed when you compare it to characters we know have dyed hair in the series (Emma has visible brown streaks in her blonde hair and Hajime's is really really light at the top for some reason)

And if this isn't enough, Linuj straight up adresses her as her own person in Yoruko's character sheet (translation by ToastCat333)

So yeah, Amane, the totally real person who is not Minako Tomori! As much as this stuff annoys me, I can't say I'm not a fan of picking minor characters and making up ocs out of them, I'm curious to see what you'll make up of this character.

[guppygiggles]

Like Real People Do, Part 5! ♡ (Casper x Avery)

☁️ Summary: Avery is curious about tickling, which he's never experienced. Casper can hardly contain himself. Both are a bit nervous -- can they find a way to break the ice?

☁️ Warnings: Ler!Casper, Lee!Avery, VERY SUGGESTIVE, LOTS OF TEASING, SUPER SUPER GAY, NO MINORS!

☁️ Author's Note: This is probably the most self-indulgent thing I've ever shared with Tumblr, and if you can believe it, I didn't even go as far as I wanted to, and I am planning on continuing this scene ahh-

This is a series now!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5 *you are here

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

If you just got here and want to know more about my characters, you can read my comic starting right here!

“So… how do you want me?”

We were standing at the foot of my neatly made, queen-sized bed. Avery was so tall that day, I wondered if his feet would hang off the end; it was going to be close. Biting my lip, I was helpless but to imagine him lying on his back, arms over his head as I straddled his waist, his boisterous laughter filling the room. How did I want him? How did I not? 

I turned to look at him, still dressed in his cold-weather day clothes. He hadn't even taken off his sweater, yet. 

“Well, you won't be very comfortable wearing that outfit. You might… get a bit warm. Did you bring anything to sleep in?”

“Warm, huh? You must have big plans for me,” he quipped, catching me off guard, and then added with a giggle before I could respond, “just playing; I’ll go change.”

As clothing shuffled on the other side of the bathroom door, I was grateful for the hum of my AC unit to cushion the silence. Just listening felt intrusive, but my apartment was so small, there was no way to give him more privacy. Leaning against the wall of my bedroom, I looked down at my socked toes flexing against the carpet. I’d never seen Avery's bare feet before. I'd never seen most parts of his body; in the few months I'd known him, he'd never worn anything more revealing than his standard short sleeve button-up and slacks, even in the summer. Sheepishly, I wondered what his belly looked like; I bet it was as soft as the rest of him, maybe even softer. I wondered if I'd be able to see the mysterious storm inside of him more clearly on a bigger canvas. I imagined his ribs, his sides, his underarms… how ticklish was each spot? Was he squirmy? Squeaky? Was he the type to hold his giggles in until he couldn't stand it anymore…? 

I whimpered, fidgeting impatiently as I tried to resist the urge to imagine him further; I was beginning to sweat, and we hadn't even started yet. Graciously, I did not have to wait long – hearing the bathroom door open, I peeked around the corner. 

Avery emerged wearing a sky-blue tank top and matching plaid flannel pants. Like some Victorian-era aristocrat spying an uncovered ankle for the first time, I blushed at the sight of his smooth, white shoulders and biceps. His skin had the appearance of marble, albeit with a slight translucency; like thick smoke trapped in a bottle, I could barely make out the billowing, swirling texture beneath.

“Ah… I stole these clothes. It was before we met,” said Avery, bashfully.

I took a moment to gather myself. “Oh, th-that’s okay. Walmart has enough money, you know? And, that blue looks very nice on you.” 

A much lighter shade of blue colored his pallid cheeks. “Oh, thank you! You told me before that you liked when I wore this color, so… I thought you might like it.”

A brief silence passed between us.

“So, dewdrop… do you want me to just lay down?” 

The tension was palpable. I was desperate to break the ice. 

“Sure, just get comfortable. And, geez… don't be so tense!” I paused, exhaling a held breath, and appreciating the irony that I was also very tense. I summoned my strength to say the next few words out loud: “T-tickling is supposed to be fun, you know? You're not nervous, are you? It's just me… little pipsqueak Casper,” I reassured him, offering a shy smile. “I'm not gonna torture you, okay? We'll go slow.” 

Avery smiled back, but I was still sensing a bit of trepidation. “Ah… I guess I am a little nervous. I mean, I'm excited, too! I just know this is important to you, and… I'm worried I won't… meet your expectations.” He trailed off, growing quiet at the end as he looked away from me. 

Avery's expression crushed me like a piece of hard candy. I closed the gap between us, placing my hands on his bare shoulders. 

“You worry so much about disappointing me, and yet you never have, not one time. Avery, there is no way you could react that would change how I feel about you. Even if it turns out that you hate being tickled. Hell, I'm… I'm grateful you're even willing to try this with me,” I comforted, gently stroking my thumb along his skin. “If you don't like it, nothing will change. We'll just get some ice cream, watch another movie and cuddle until it's time for bed. Okay?” 

He smiled at me, then; a real smile, and he seemed to relax a bit, too. “Thanks, dewdrop.” 

“Anytime, cutie. Now go get comfortable, and we'll see if this pipsqueak can give you a giggle or two.” 

+++ 

I inhaled deeply as a stream of cool vapor filled the room. Keeping a humidifier in my apartment was a necessity when Avery was around, especially during the dryer months. He liked when I used scented oil, too; today it was lavender, but I could still detect the scents of old books and wet stone on Avery's skin as he laid beside me. I sat at his hip on the bed, legs folded pretzel-style as I placed my hands on his tummy, over his shirt. 

“I’m just gonna rub a bit first, okay?” I didn't want to catch him off guard – I'd never touched Avery like this before. Sure, I'd rubbed his back or arms occasionally while cuddling, but I'd never intentionally touched a “classic tickle spot” with intent, the way I was about to. 

“Ah, okay…” He relaxed a bit, sinking into the bed as my hands rubbed his belly, over his shirt. Through the thin fabric, his skin was cool and soft against my palms. I felt a slight vibration as he hummed; he seemed to be enjoying it. As I caressed near where his belly button would be, Avery’s face scrunched a bit, and he shifted slightly against the bed. 

“Holy shit, already?” I thought. My heart was going crazy. 

“What's wrong?” I asked, the faintest lilt in my voice. 

“I, ah, felt something… different…“ He said, a little breathlessly. I watched his blush deepen, soft blue spreading across his face. 

“Hehe, if this is already making you squirm, you're probably super ticklish,” I said, and then grew a bit bolder, “you ready to try a real tickle, now?”

It seemed he mustered a bit of confidence, himself, because his response caught me off guard:

“Do your worst, dewdrop.” His eyes were teasing; even a bit challenging. Where did this come from?! 

Despite my furious blush, I did all I could do: respond in kind. 

“Oh, my worst? Alright, you asked for it, Nimbus!” 

With that, my fingers went from flat to clawed, and I began to wiggle them into Avery's soft tummy. It was far from my worst; I knew he didn't even understand what he’d asked for, and I didn't want to overwhelm him. Nonetheless, his response validated my suspicions. 

Avery's back arched off the bed, his fingers splaying out as his hands rested at his sides. His cheeks puffed up as his face scrunched even more, and I could see him fighting a smile that threatened to break into a laugh at any second. His blush was so vibrant now, his glasses were fogging up. Noticeably absent, though, was any effort to stop me. 

My god.

Something awoke inside me, and I let it take control. 

“What's wrong, cupcake~? I thought you wanted my worst, and this is still far from it. Doesn't look like you're handling it too well, are you? Are you just a little ticklish here? Why don't you tell me~?” My words were saturated with teasing. Though I wasn't inexperienced with tickling, I'd had very few opportunities to be the tickler in the past, and that side of me clearly ached to come alive. Despite practically trembling with nervous energy, there was no reasoning with the demon; it was hungry, and Avery was the first meal it’d had in years. 

“I- kehehe… I c- ahahaha!” He tried to respond, his words both laced with and interrupted by laughter at each attempt. My fingers jumped around to different spots on his belly – scribbling below his navel, gently pinching his sides, wiggling all ten into his softness at the center, never letting him adjust to the sensation. It was immediately clear just how uncontrollable his giggles were; Avery laughed as though he didn't expect to, and was being ambushed by just how ticklish he was. 

“Awwww, who knew clouds were this ticklish? C'mon, I know you've got a big laugh in there… let's hear it, hm? Do I need to try a different spot, maybe?” I taunted, moving my hands up to his chest, my digits now formed into wide claws as I gently dug my fingertips into his ribs. 

“PFFFff hehehehahaha!” He cried, and for the first time, he moved his hands. I was expecting him to grab my wrists – instead, he used them to cover his now wildly-flushed face. My heart melted. How was he this cute?! 

“Aww, don't hide from me! I want to see you laughing up a storm!” I joked, unable to resist giggling along with him; his unrestrained laughter was infectious. It seemed my weather-related wordplay had quite the effect on Avery as well, as his laughter spiked significantly.

“Don't sahahahahay THAHAHhahahat!” he whined through his cackling, hands still firmly covering his blushing face. He squirmed beneath my fingers, which still randomly and playfully spidered along his ribcage. Considering his laughter was practically bouncing off the walls, he stayed remarkably still as I tickled him; I wondered if it was because he enjoyed it? 

“Hehehe, aww, what's wrong? Was the weather teasing a little too close to home? Listen, being this ticklish is snow laughing matter,” I continued to taunt, twisting the knife as my fingers switched to dancing up and down his plush, unguarded sides. Avery roared with laughter. 

“AHAHAHhahah! STAHAHAHAP!” He begged, and I instantly stilled my fingertips. Still hiding his face, Avery's chest heaved as he caught his breath, exhales fluttering with soft giggles. I tenderly stroked the curves of his head, and as I did, I felt a curious tingle in my fingers – then, I noticed for the first time that tiny sparks of electricity were shooting off from his skin. 

“Are you okay? I didn't mean to overwhelm you,” I said, afraid for a moment that I had gone too far. 

I watched as he lowered his hands and looked at me. He was beaming; the edges of his flushed face practically glowed with humming electricity. 

“That was so much fun! I can see why you like it so much.” His huge grin revealed a row of delicate, round teeth.

“I am so glad you liked it! Gosh, Avery, you are so ticklish. In fact, I bet you're ticklish everywhere.” 

“Ooh, can we find out?”

I stared at him. I had never said it out loud, but in that moment, I was sure I couldn't possibly love him more. 

“Oh, don't worry – the night is young, and I've got lots more weather puns I can't wait to try on you.” 

[selya711-twiste]

bought some sparkles and finally thought of a request i wanted to send in here, could u write male yuu and rollo lighting some kiddy fireworks together?? specifically kiddy fireworks. like those sparklers and mini fountains... thank ye kindly

Rollo Flamme x reader Yuu sneaks out of campus during the winter break to come to visit Noble Bell College again, weeks after the symposium.

hi I'm back for like 5 minutes just to accomplish this request since it's now 2023 ... I'll get back to the regular reqs as soon as this is done i just sorta wanna rush seasonal ones a bit more before the season expires ahahahaaa. ;w; dont ask me when this happens in episode 4's timeline... call it the rollo timeline...... its not the first time twst has made you question when anything is happening...

The streets of the City of Flowers remain colorful despite the thick blankets of snow that weren't there before when Yuu was here last Halloween. He holds his bag close to himself while walking downtown, looking for a certain address...

Yuu left Grim to Ramshackle and the ghosts while hoping that the winter feast Crowley had prepared for his dorm would be enough to keep him entertained.

"Are you sure you want to go by yourself?" The headmaster asked him just before he left. The Dark Mirror was prepared just for this small trip during the break. Yuu explained to Crowley that he had become close with a student from Noble Bell College during the event and he wanted to see him again. Eventually, Crowley let him go after finding out it was the student council president himself.

Yuu would surely be in good hands.

༺ ❃ ༻

Yuu places his things down as Rollo still stands nearby. What could he possibly want to show him in the middle of winter? He stares at the small items Yuu is taking out of his bag. Some are store-brought, and the rest are locally made from some stalls in the city itself.

They're small fireworks. It reminds him of the festival where the two of them first met.

"I should've known," Rollo calmly sighs and gives the other a small smile. He adjusts the scarf around his neck as his voice returns Yuu's attention to him.

"Did you think I would come here for something else?" He hands him a sparkler and wonders if Rollo was going to accept it. Fortunately, he does take it from Yuu's hand. "This city is your domain, after all."

"You should know more than anyone else how the Night Raven students may possibly still feel about me. Look at you, you didn't even bring anyone with you," he laughs lowly. Yuu doesn't attempt to argue further since he wasn't wrong. The boys back at NRC would never think of wanting to see him again, and they would have stopped Yuu from leaving.

"Can we spend time together without worrying about anyone else?"

"You're right… Pardon me," he brings his hand to his face to cover his lips with his scarf. Yuu thinks to himself that this was the winter edition of his handkerchief habit.

When they exchanged numbers last fall, Yuu was surprised he had a Magicam account at all, even if Rollo says he doesn't use it often. He thought they would be exchanging letters as soon as the symposium came to an end. Instead, they've been secretly chatting from time to time. If the others knew, they would most definitely call Rollo a red flag, so Yuu never spoke of him to others.

Rollo observes the object in his hand, a stick that has yet to be lit with regular fire. One can perform tricks with their magic wand to display the same type of light that comes out of a sparkler, but this one is readily available to anyone, mage or not. Even someone like Yuu can come to engage with such a beautiful display without endangering himself in Rollo's eyes.

Yuu places a hand in his coat pocket to fetch his lighter but thinks of asking Rollo a small question. "All it needs is a small spark, so maybe it'd be faster if you lit these up for us instead," Yuu smiles innocently. It takes Rollo out of his head, being asked to cast magic like this…

"Or not, I was just kidding," he fishes the lighter out of his hand anyway when Rollo takes it from him.

"I would, for you, but I also figured this would be nicer," he flicks it open and lights the tip of their sparklers one at a time. Yuu wonders what Rollo meant by that because it could go two ways.

Maybe he meant it would be nice for them to not use any magic at all so Yuu wouldn't feel alienated like he does in NRC, even if his schoolmates didn't intend to make him feel left out. On the other hand, it's more likely that Rollo meant that it would be a good chance for Yuu to be away from people who show off magic carelessly. Yuu doesn't know how much he's developed since.

Either way, he felt nice about the temporary feeling of being with someone normal to him. It was like he was back in his world where he was just a regular person spending New Year like he would with his friends and family back home.

Their sparklers light up and flicker right in front of them, the gold flashes standing out against the backdrop of snow. Rollo holds his sparkler still when Yuu waves his around as if he were drawing in the air.

Rollo smiles to himself and decides to mimic his movements, but he isn't as vigorous as Yuu. He's calm and composed and preferred to move his sparkler like a conductor compared to his companion. "It feels nice being with you again," Yuu smiles while drawing an infinity symbol with his sparkler.

Soon enough their fireworks go out, but to Rollo, Yuu was much brighter and more delightful to look at than their sparklers combined. "Do you have more, by any chance?" He asks as if his bag isn't wide open next to them with more kiddy fireworks.

"I got a mini fountain."

Rollo assists Yuu in helping set it up even if he said otherwise. "I'm the one who planned to meet up with you for this, and I'm fine doing it on my own, Rollo."

"You went through the trouble of traveling here all the way from your campus just to light some fireworks with me, this is one of the ways I can repay you," he answers and lights up the wick. The two of them wordlessly step back as the mini-fountain's sparks grow bigger and bigger. It's brighter than the handheld fireworks just a few minutes ago and it bursts into a tower of yellows, reds, greens, and blues. It's loud from where they're standing, but noises such as these are expected in the season.

Rollo repeats Yuu's words in his head. He hasn't expressed how much he looked forward to seeing him again as well. Academic activities tend to become heavier as winter comes until it was time for a break, and here they finally found time for one another.

Once upon a time, he spent the end of his year with someone like this as well. They had all these small and handheld fireworks and safely played with fire like they were casting magic while wishing their new years resolutions would come true.

The time one spends with others is fleeting, and moments last as long as these fireworks. Gone in a few seconds, but a beautiful explosion of colors that one can look back on with the same joy they felt in that instance.

"What are your plans for this year, Yuu?" Rollo clasps his hands together as soon as the mini-fountain slowly dies down to a more bearable volume than when it was at its peak. He looks to his side where Yuu was standing.

"Survive. How about you?"

It was such a blunt answer, and Rollo pities him after seeing the expression he made saying this.

"Well, I intend to... make it up to those I've wronged in the past, perhaps self-reflect on certain things..." How could he sound so sure yet unsure at the same time? Yuu thinks to himself this. Either way, he knows fully what Rollo meant and he admires how much he wants to change for the better. Letting go of baggage is expected on New Year, after all.

"If I'm still alive by term break, I'm thinking of coming over to visit you again to see your progress," he smiles while placing a hand over his.

"Why do you speak like you have a foot in the grave? This must be their doing. Maybe you shouldn't return to Nigh Raven College."

"Rollo!"

[jedi-lothwolf]

Soultember Prompt 5: Color one from 2018 list

Fandom: The Dragon Prince

Summary: People are colorblind until you see your soulmate for the first time. Amaya never expected to be looking at her enemy as the world lit up around her.

    The breach had never looked so beautiful. It had always been a place of death and fear but right now it was lit up by color. It stunned Amaya for a moment, the color that erupted from the lava.

    The moment of admiration quickly faded to dread. Why here? Why now? Why, her? The general looked back to her opponent, a skilled Sunfire elf. She looked just as surprised.

    Then the elf drew her sword. It was colorful, the blade being different shades of, green? No yellow. It looked lively in the same way that Sairi had told her.

    Amaya drew her sword. She looked at it, curious to see how it changed. Nope still gray. Something seemed wrong about fighting the women you're destined to love.

    Even if they were soulmates they were enemies first. They attached each other but both soldiers couldn't help but get distracted. The bright colors that surrounded them, the overwhelming feeling of the world looking so different. 

    The colors were the only destination. There was something alluring about the elf. Every part of Amaya felt that this was wrong. It felt traitorous to feel that way.  

    When their fight ended Janai wandered around, taking in the sights of the world.

    Amaya wasn't going to tell anyone. But when she arrived at the base and saw Gren she couldn't help but smile. He looked good in color. His hair was definitely not what she had been expecting. It was like a lighter version of the lava.

    'What are you so smiley about?' Gren signed.

    'Just happy to see you' she replied.

    Gren smiled. That was sweet.

    Amaya's smile slowly faded. She didn't want to lie. Gren was her closest friend, she should tell him. He was unwavering in his optimism, he'd find the positive.

    Then she looked at him. She had to come to terms with it first. She couldn't tell Gren, at least not yet.

    For the next few days Amaya wondered about the elven stranger. She was a good fighter, strong, beautiful, and dangerous.

    When night fell that day, the general rode up to the breach. She knew it wasn't a good idea but, she had to know. When she got off her horse, she went to where the two had met.

    And she wasn't the only one there. The elf sat near the edge of the path. She looked gorgeous. It pained Amaya, finding beauty in Xadia. She hated it, she hated her self for it.

    Then the elf stood. Amaya waved. The soldier looked at her, "what are you doing here?" She asked.

    'Looking for you' she signed.

    "What?"

    Grabbing a piece of paper, a feather, and an ink well, Amaya questers to the ground. Unsure the elf walked over and sat down. Then the human did.

    Amaya grabbed the feather gently and wrote, 'Im deaf.'

    The elf looked at her and reached her hand out for the pen. She took it and dipped it in the ink. 'Okay'.

    Amaya took it back. 'So, you're my soulmate?'

    'And you're mine?'

    They looked at each other.

    "This alone is treason." The elf sighed.

    'It is' Amaya wrote. 'What's your name?'

    The elf grabbed the feather carefully, 'Janai.'

    'Im Amaya.'

    "Amaya" Janai said. It sounded right, saying her name. She hated it in the best way she could.

    Maybe this would be okay. Everything had to be okay. Fate wouldn't be so cruel as to connect them only to have it be impossible to love each other right?

    'Do you like color?' Amaya wrote.

    The two's hands touched as they exchanged the feather. 'I do, do you?'

    'I do. Got a favorite?'

    "I'm not sure what it's called but-' then she pointed to a color on her armor.

    'Yellow?'

    "How do you know?"

    'My sister used to tell what the colors looked like. She said it was bright and lively; the color of the sun.' 

    'Oh, you have a sister?'

    Amaya nodded sadly. She grabbed the pen and dipped it into the ink. 'She's dead.'

    "Oh, I'm so sorry."

    Amaya didn't say anything.

    Janai grabbed the pen softly, 'What's your favorite color?'

    She pointed at the color of her armor, 'blue.'

    "How did she describe blue?"

    'The color of the sky and of the ocean but also sadness.'

    Janai tried to look at the sky but clouds blocked her way. They stayed over the breach, making the area darker than the rest of the land around it.

    'If you want we can take a walk? I can tell you what color some things are. If I'm right anyway.'

    Janai looked unsure, "to do that we'd need to leave the breach."

    'Then I'll follow you'

    "Are you sure?"

    Amaya nodded. She stood up and extended her hand out for Janai.

    Janai led the way. It was the first time in nine years that Amaya had been in Xadia. It felt different being there just to talk instead of going to kill.

    Deep down she knew this wouldn't be the last time she'd be in Xadia to see Janai and the more she thought about it, the more she was okay with it. Fate would have brought them together for a reason and maybe that reason was simply to love each other.

[lesbiangummybearmafia]

The Gilded Age, 02x05 Close Enough to Touch, my thoughts...

Omg I'm so happy for Aunt Ada! It was brilliant she didn't allow her fears to stop her marring the Reverend Forte. Their so sweet together. I understand that Aunt Agnes had to marry that man she did and as result had a horrible marriage but I'm glad the Reverend Forte pointed out to her that it was for her own selfish reasons she didn't want Ada to marry him and not because she was trying to protect Ada. I'm also glad Aunt Agnes got her head out of her butt and went to the wedding! Because no matter what she said under the grumpy exterior I want to believe she actually happy for her little sister. Now I want them to find a man for Aunt Agnes, wouldn't that be amazing to see!

Ok I completely annoyed by the whole Peggy and her boss thing. How played out, over done, so predictable and well just lazy is that?! Why can't they make her character smarter than that. Be all like oh hell no fool, you're married. Yes we had a scary fucking moment back there but no we don't need to be kissing or anything else. Because it makes Peggy's character come off as less than she is, less intelligent, less brilliant. It does such a deserves to her character!

But Bertha's staff was so not on our watch mf! I freakin love them. Especially Church making sure the Duke didn't end up with a lap full of hot soup. And Watson for catching on to what was going on in the first place! Bertha needs to give them and Mrs. Bruce a rise!

Oh I loved, loved watching Turner's plan at revenge go up in smoke. Omg Mrs. Fish comments perfectly just hitting Turner's last nerve lmfao!! God their making me truly hate her.

Bertha's dinner party gown was so beautiful. I do like seeing all the lighter colors this season and flower prints. I thought Bertha was rather cute when she kept checking to make sure everything for the dinner was perfect and all her staff kept reassuring her. I would like to see more moments like that where she's well cute. When Gladys tried to walk further down the talk, Bertha all come back here you lol. I so knew one of the main reason Bertha wanted to meet the Duke was because of Gladys. If she gets her way Gladys is going become a Duchess. It was great Bertha and George are not longer fighting omg. I didn't realize how heavy that made the show until the episode. Even with the events with Peggy unfortunately the episode still feel lighter.

Oscar and Maude Beaton are very sweet together but I don't want to see Maude get hurt. If Oscar actually loves her, perhaps like one loves a very dear friend or a best friend than maybe it's alright but if not. He definitely needs to stop acting like any kind of goldigger though! I just really want him to have honest feelings for Maude is all.

Marian if she doesn't want to be with Dashiell Montgomery ok. But her doing cringie face everytime he said something in that direction is getting old and annoying. Could she please grow the same spine for herself she seems to have for everyone else.

It's so awesome they put in about Emily Warren Roebling the first female engineer. That whole thing Larry finds out is completely ture part of history. I really appreciate the show added. It's important that our women's history finally be included.

[cirilla-fiona-riannon]

Kicho's Main Story Chapter 5 Part 2

These translations are not intended as a replacement for the game. Please support cybird by buying their stories. JP SPOILERS under the cut. Expect mistakes.

Kicho: "It's true that everything you need in life is given to you here."

Kicho: "But that's not the same as this. As long as I'm here, I'll give you a payment based on my standards."

Kicho: "That's why, if you want anything, just say it."

Kicho pointed his finger at a shop with a curtain in front of it.

Kicho: "For example, this shop sells cosmetic products."

Kicho: "It's probably nothing compared to what you have in the future, but this one offers high-quality products."

Kicho: "There are also books, figurines, hairpins, and most other things you could find on this street."

Mai: "Oh, nice! It's like the shopping mall of the Sengoku period."

(I don't know what I want, but I'd like to see everything.)

Mai: "Then can I start with that one first?"

Kicho: "Sure."

And so, with bouncy steps, I went to a couple of shops with him, after which we went into an eatery for a break.

Kicho: "Well, have you decided yet?"

Mai: "No."

Kicho: "To think that after all those shops we've been to, you didn't find anything you wanted."

Mai: "Sorry. They're all pretty, but I don't think I need them."

(Nothing really comes to mind when people say I can have anything.)

(Unless there's something I want, I'll just enjoy looking at different things and be happy with it.)

Kicho: "Well, it's okay. Take your time and choose."

Mai: "But the time一"

Kicho: "You're already aware that there's no more work after this, as you're sharing the schedule with me."

Kicho: “In the first place, I’m the one who brought this up. I’m not gonna rush you.”

Mai: “Thank you. Then I’ll take your word for it and think about it for a little longer.”

Kicho: “Yeah.”

Kicho: “More importantly, we’re gonna eat now. You can at least decide what you want to eat.”

Mai: “Okay! Leave that to me!”

As prompted, I looked up at the paper on the wall.

(Wow, the soba noodles look delicious. The grilled skewers look yummy too.)

(No, the stew is not easy to ignore, either. I’m pretty sure it’s well-seasoned.)

Mai: “I’m so torn.”

Kicho: “I just heard your lively reply earlier.”

Mai: “Because look at this shop’s menu!”

Mai: “It's unfair to put all this delicious-looking food together.”

Kicho: “.............”

Mai: “Sorry! I’m really indecisive when it comes to these things.”

Mai: “Alright! I’m just gonna do an eeny, meeny, miny, moe on this.”

Kicho: “Pfft.”

Mai: “Kicho!?”

He suddenly burst out laughing, making me widen my eyes.

Kicho: “The popular food in this restaurant is the skewers you see written there.”

Kicho: “We can order that for today and ask for a different one the next time we're here.”

Mai: “Sure, thanks for the suggestion.”

(Even though it wasn’t the first time I’d seen it, it still surprised me.)

(His smile is bad for my heart.)

We then finished our meal and went back out into the street.

Mai: "It was really good. I can see why that one is popular."

Kicho: "I see. You like it."

Kicho: "Then, let's continue shopping. Tell me if there's anything you want to see."

Mai: "Okay, thank you."

(That being said, what else would I like to see?)

(I feel like I've seen more than enough stuff already.)

Mai: "Ah!"

I spotted something at the end of the street and walked up to it as if I was being drawn in.

Mai: "Hey, look at all these fabrics. The colors are so beautiful."

Mai: "Um, can I go inside the shop?"

Kicho: "Yeah, do whatever you want."

I quickly entered the shop and looked at the fabrics one by one.

(This elegant one has a soft milky white color. And the pattern is rhododendron?)

(This indigo is also pretty. If the obi is a lighter color, I'm sure一)

Slowly, the cloths took on the shape of a kimono, with an obi wrapped around it.

(Yup, nice. A lovely combination.)

Kicho: "You're very passionate about this."

Mai: "Sorry, I got caught up in my own world."

Kicho: "I knew this shop was for you. Your reaction is different from the other shops we visited."

Kicho: "Here, look at this."

Mai: "Wait! Is that a velvet?"

Kicho: "Yeah. This shop also sells fabrics from other countries."

Kicho: "I'm sure they have more. Tell me what you like."

Mai: "What?"

Kicho: "It's my reward for you."

Kicho: "You can make whatever clothes you want out of whatever you choose."

Kicho: "You'll also need a set of needles. If we backtrack down the road, I'm sure we'll find a shop that sells them."

Kicho: "Let's get them later, okay?"

Mai: "Okay!"

(I'm so happy! I can make clothes again.)

Kicho called the shopkeeper, who explained and helped me choose some fabrics, then we bought a set of needles.

On our way home, he looked ahead and glanced at me.

Kicho: "Is there anything else missing?"

Mai: "No, it's more than enough. Thank you very much."

(It's supposed to be a reward for my work, but is it really okay to get this much?)

(He's done a lot for me, so I'll give him a gift in return.)

(Now that it's decided, I need to think about what kind of clothes to make.)

When I was at Azuchi Castle, Hideyoshi got me to help as a seamstress, but because I didn't have much experience sewing kimonos, I had to assist everyone else.

Thinking that I could make it myself, I began to get more and more ideas in my head.

(As I thought, a kimono would be a safe bet. I'll make it in light and calm tones that are typical of him.)

(Oh, but we have a lot of business meetings, so maybe a foreign outfit?)

Kicho: "Mai, come here."

Mai: "Eh? Why一"

Mai: "Waah!?"

Just as his arm went around my shoulder and pulled me close, a rushing person walked past right next to me.

(I didn't notice him at all.)

Mai: "Sorry, thanks."

Kicho: "Good grief, it's okay to get carried away, but keep your eyes on the road."

(Oh…)

As if to criticize my actions, Kicho tightened his arms around me, and I could feel the strength and warmth of his arms, making my heart beat faster.

Kicho: "If you fall and injure your hand, you won't be able to make clothes."

Mai: "You're right. I'll be careful."

Mai: "Sorry."

(I've been out of sorts ever since I saw the fabrics. I really have to be careful.)

I moved away from him, reflecting on the situation, when...

Motonari: "Heh, looks like you guys are getting along pretty well."

Mai: "Motonari!"

Kicho: "Why are you here?"

Motonari: "I have some business with you, but am I interrupting?"

Motonari: "I didn't expect to see you guys so close to each other in broad daylight."

Motonari: "I heard that you keep her around to monitor her, but I guess this is your aim."

Kicho: "I wouldn't keep a suspicious person in the trading post for such stupid reasons."

Motonari: "Hey, hey, don't answer so seriously. I was just joking."

Motonari: "You don't have to take this countryside girl seriously. With that face, you can get any woman you want."

(Hm? Countryside?)

(So he didn't tell him I came from the future.)

Kicho only shook his head without losing his cool expression.

Kicho: "I don't need it. I have no interest in love."

Kicho: "What happened earlier was only necessary to prevent an accident."

Mai: "That's right. He just saved me!"

Motonari: "Heh."

Motonari smirked and glanced at me, his red eyes teasing me.

Motonari: "You're not convincing anyone with that face."

Mai: "What face?"

Kicho: "Don't worry about it, Mai. He just wants to get some satisfaction out of you."

Mai: "What look is he saying?"

I put my hands on my cheeks and found them faintly hot.

(Am I blushing?)

Kicho: "More importantly, Motonari, if you need me, let's talk at the trading post."

Kicho: "It's probably about that thing. Also, I have something to tell you."

Motonari: "Yeah."

Mai: "Um, what's this all about?"

Motonari: "Oi, oi, are you ignoring my advice again? I told you it's better not to step in too much."

Motonari: "The fact that you're watching him so intently that it looks like you're his lover from the outside means you're not worth trusting."

(-----!)

Motonari: "If you don't want to wear a collar, you'd better behave yourself."

Kicho: "Mai, I'll have those items delivered later. Stay in your room when we return to the trading post."

Mai: "Understood."

With Motonari's words stuck in my heart, the three of us walked down the road, the setting sun shimmering in the distance.

(Kicho still doesn't trust me.)

(I knew that, but it still hurts when it's put into words.)

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Sasuke: "You're really here."

Sasuke: "I finally found you. Mai."

The day after Kicho and I went into town一

Mai: "I'm finally done checking and organizing these documents!"

After stretching, I put together the bundle of papers.

(I didn't take a break, so I finished early. I think it's already past lunchtime.)

(I don't have anything to do after this, so maybe I can help someone else with something.)

(Oh, but first一)

I got up from the chair and picked up the perfume I wear every day.

(I don't know what's gonna happen, but I've got to look presentable, just in case.)

As I left the room and went down the hallway, I saw, as expected, a guard standing near the entrance.

(Someone's here.)

(As expected. He's so shrewd.)

------------Flashback------------

Kicho: "Mai. I'm going out with Motonari today. You stay here, okay?"

Mai: "Are you sure you don't want me to accompany you?"

Kicho: "Yeah, my men are there. You can freely move around here, but don't go outside."

Kicho: "I'll be back by nightfall."

---------Flashback Ends---------

(Going out with Motonari, huh? They are probably just going to resume their talk yesterday.)

(He doesn't want anyone to hear it, but that's exactly what I want to know.)

(Also, it's not like I can inform someone even if I know.)

Mai: "Alright, time to help with some cleaning."

I was about to turn back down the hallway to get a rag when一

Male voice: "Excuse me, I have a delivery for you."

(It looks like someone's here.)

(I feel like I know this voice.)

Kicho's subordinate opened the door, and the owner of the voice entered, carrying a large package.

Sasuke: "Hi. Sarutobi delivery at your service."

Sasuke: "These are the items you ordered yesterday, miss."

(Sasuke!?)

Mai: "Long time no see! I almost called your name there."

Sasuke: "Yeah, thank God you kept your mouth shut."

Sasuke: "If they found out that you and I knew each other, we wouldn't be able to talk like this."

Mai: "Yes. It's really nice to talk to you."

Mai: "I think the last time we saw each other was when we had tea at Azuchi. What have you been up to since then?"

Sasuke: "My employer told me to return."

Sasuke: "It would probably distract you, so I didn't tell you."

Sasuke: "I told you about Kenshin Uesugi, remember? I'm a ninja under him."

(This means that Sasuke and I are enemies in the eyes of others.)

(That's why he didn't tell me the details.)

Sasuke: "But when I returned to the castle, I found that the turbulent world was in serious trouble again, so this time, I came undercover to the border instead of Azuchi."

Mai: "I see. Then we're the same."

Sasuke: "Are you here as a spy too?"

Mai: "Yeah. Actually..."

When I briefly told him how I came here and my current situation, Sasuke was surprised but kept his usual expression.

Sasuke: "So that's what happened. That must've been tough."

Sasuke: "So, one of the people you were with in town yesterday is Kicho?"

Mai: "The one with the black hair is Kicho. Wait, you saw us yesterday?"

Sasuke: "Yeah, I saw you guys are pretty close."

Mai: "What? Oh!"

(Maybe he saw us from the time when Kicho hugged me?)

I felt my cheeks burning as Sasuke tilted his head at me.

Sasuke: "How do you feel about him?"

Mai: "Well..."

Mai: "I guess he's someone I don't want to become my enemy."

Mai: "I went undercover because I thought he was a bad guy, so I didn't really understand him during our time together."

Mai: "Of course, I'm a pacifist. That's why it's been difficult."

Sasuke: "I think I kind of know the feeling."

Sasuke: "People usually don't consider their enemies human beings."

Mai: "Yes."

Mai: "Anyway, I don't have any special feelings for him."

Sasuke: "Really?"

Mai: "Huh?"

Sasuke: "Sorry, I'm not trying to interfere with your feelings, but I just thought that if something were to happen, you, the spy, would suffer."

Sasuke: "And as your friend, I can't overlook that."

Mai: "Sasuke..."

The seriousness of his eyes showed that he wasn't lying.

(He's saying this because he's worried about me. He's really a good friend, but一)

Mai: “Don’t worry. No matter what happens, I won’t bend my beliefs.”

Mai: “I know it’s not easy to live in this turbulent world, and all lives are important.”

Mai: “That’s why I want to make a path where even one of those lives can be saved by my justice.”

Sasuke: “I see. That’s a relief.”

Sasuke: “Then, as your friend, I’ll help you.”

Mai: “Are you sure? That'll help a lot.”

Mai: “Oh, but I can’t run away from here.”

Sasuke: “No problem. You’re here with Mitsuhide, right?”

Mai: “Yes, I haven’t seen him for a while, so I don’t know if he’s still in Sakai.”

Sasuke: “Don’t worry, I’ll look for him. I stayed in Azuchi for a while, so I know his face.”

Sasuke: “If I can contact him safely, I’ll report to him for you.”

Mai: “Eh? Is that okay? You’re Kenshin’s一”

Sasuke: “Yeah. I’m a Nokizaru ninja, but remember, I'm also your friend and a pacifist."

Mai: “Okay. Then I’ll share the information with you.”

(His being here probably means that Kenshin and Shingen are also wary of Kicho.)

(Also, I don’t think getting this information around will affect the Oda army.)

While sorting everything in my head, I told Sasuke that Motonari Mouri was still alive, the number of weapons, and his goal of continuing the turbulent world.

Sasuke: "Continuing the turbulent world?"

Mai: "Keep this a secret, but Kicho also experienced time slipping like us."

Sasuke: "There's someone other than us!?"

Mai: "He was originally from this period, but apparently, he saw the future through a wormhole and came back."

Sasuke: "I see. So you mean to say that he decided to continue living here even after seeing the unification of Japan."

Sasuke: "What the hell happened to him? Or maybe he got affected by the distortions."

Mai: "Distortion?"

Sasuke: " I believe the Kicho in history was a woman."

Sasuke: "She was the daughter of Dosan Saito, the Lord of Mino, and was also known as Princess Nohime."

Mai: "So, this Kicho who is here now is..."

Sasuke: "I don't know all the details, but I guess he was affected by the distortion of history."

Previous Part╏Masterlist╏Next Part

[grimdragon13]

Angel

My take on what Crowley would say to whom he used to be

The windshield wipers moved lazily in their futile struggle against the raindrops. It was light, not unusual by London standards, but it still made it difficult to see the road clearly.

At least it was empty. That time of night, the time of year and the weather, were not appropriate for someone to be driving, let alone in such a hurry.

As if he wanted to escape from something.

"Would you be so kind as to slow down?"

The soft voice tingled on Crowley's nerves. As if this was the first time he'd heard it, even though they'd been on the road for several hours now, under that black cloud that seemed to perpetuate the rain no matter how hard he tried to drive away.

"At least you could answer me. I know very well that you can hear me".

Of course he could. Why else would he be so anxious?

"I'm not going to slow down, if that's what you want, and I'm not going to stop," he finally replied.

The angel, instead of taking offense at the dismissive and rude attitude, smiled. Crowley rolled his eyes under his glasses, so that the other couldn't notice, before turning up the volume on the radio. Not even Freddie's familiar and beloved voice managed to calm the demon's nervousness, and at this point he doubted there was even a chance, because all he could think about was the presence beside him.

On top of that, he kept looking at him, as if he had something very interesting to show him.

"Are you going to tell me where we are going?" asked that co-pilot of his, cheerfully.

"I already told you".

He was beginning to think that he was simply asking questions because he wanted to hear him talk. To his surprise, there was a prolonged silence as Mercury finished Somebody to love and started Love of my life, at least until Crowley turned off the radio. He didn't need to hear that song again. He'd spent years trying to fade the bitter memory of his goodbye, and just when he thought he was a little better, he'd come across this. He certainly didn't need it, he thought, for he had enough of his own problems without carrying one more.

Although, if he thought about it, that was also a problem of his own.

"Why did you take the music away? I was really liking it. What did you say it was called? Do you have any more?"

Questions and more questions. Crowley gave a sigh.

"You don't listen to music".

"But I liked that one. Besides, it's natural for me to like it, isn't it? After all, you heard it for the first time at some point, too. What's your favorite?"

Crowley didn't answer. He was too busy, pretending to pay attention to the miles of wet asphalt that lay before them, endless and dangerously tedious.

"Crowley, tell me," his annoyed co-driver insisted, after several minutes.

"What?" he growled.

"What happened?"

Crowley's brow furrowed.

"What are you talking about?" He wanted to know, though he was sure he would regret it.

"You. What happened to you?"

"What kind of stupid question is that? What the fuck do you think happened to me? Well, I fell, isn't it obvious? I'm a demon, you idiot".

The edge of his words didn't seem to have any effect.

"Yeah, but, that wasn't all, was it? I mean, how did you go from this," he said, pointing to himself and then to the other, "to that?"

And, for the first time in all those hours they'd been on the road together, Crowley turned to look at the angel. Creator of galaxies and stars, in charge of designing and crafting nebulae, of giving galaxies names. The freckles on his face were a clear symbol of his sacred work. Like an artist getting dirty with paint, a couple of particles of stardust had remained on his face, taking the shape of those pretty clear spots. His own had disappeared with his fall. That, and the clear honey-colored eyes, full of hope.

That was where the similarities ended, for even the red of her hair was lighter than his, less intense.

Crowley had planned to tell him everything. To explain to him how it was that he had fallen and how it was that he had ended up looking so deplorable in those last years. That had been his plan all along, because he thought maybe he could warn him, and spare himself so much grief.

Maybe he could save him, save himself, and in that way he could stop all the pain that came from that instant.

He could even, he thought, spare himself the grief that came from falling in love with Aziraphale.

He could start over. He could remain a naive angel, happy in his ignorance, and continue with the work he loved so much.

"Has anyone ever told you that you ask too many questions?", he finally spoke.

The angel cocked his head to one side and then shook his head.

Crowley gave a sigh. He returned his gaze to the road, an exact copy of the rest they had left behind, lonely as it should be at that time of night. The rain was still as heavy as it had been for long hours.

The demon snapped his fingers and the radio played again. This time, strangely, Tchaikovsky's classical music filled the air.

"Well, keep asking them".