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maleyanderecafe · 6 days

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i haven't seen any news here yet but have u seen the newest update for 14 days with you? ren in day 3 got me blushing and shiiiii 🤪 and his new hairstyles? gahdamn 😮‍💨

It's been a long time coming, but I played the update! I actually had to wait since at the time there was a 3.5 update coming out so I just waited until that came out before deciding to play the entire thing. Lots of new and changed things, the artwork is great as always.

Since in my original recommendation I already gave summary on the first day, I'm going to first note some changes for the first day before summarizing the second day.

In the first day, we can now change the length of Haruko's hair, which in turn changes Ren's hair as well. In addition, we get a conversation from our boss Conan who talks about repairing the library. Depending on options, we also meet up with two friends while walking home, Jay and Leon. As I'm aware, these are the major changes that happen in the first day.

During the second day, Ren accompanies Angel out on a date before the two run into Leon and Teo, Angel's ex (or fling). Teo and Ren get very bitter towards each other, showcasing that Teo is kind of a bad ex, still being rather possessive towards Angel while Leon tries to keep everyone's cool. Afterwards, Angel and Ren go eat out in a cafe (with an easter egg that Angel can actually like an goth look that they see a passerby with, a reference to Redacted's look). Angel and Ren decide to go to a store where a girl named Olivia starts flirting with Ren. Ren is clearly uncomfortable, but Angel sees this as a possibility that Ren might be interested in her, due to how they were treated by Teo in the past. As the two end their date, it starts to rain and Ren goes out to get an umbrella. After taking a long time, Angel starts to believe that Ren has ditched them and can choose to leave or stay. Either way, Ren comes back in the nick of time and offers them to either go to their place or Ren's (though in the end the two go to Ren's). Ren's place is very clean and modern, almost as if it was never really used, fitting considering Ren is a programmer. Ren insists on Angel staying (through glitchy text) and they can either decide to stay in their room or have a good time with Ren in his room.

The next day, Ren makes Angel some breakfast (and cute moments) before Angel heads out back to work. It seems that Elanor has some work to do and one of the shelves fell on her thus causing her to leave early (wonder who could have caused that). Elanor's sister, Kiara comes to visit and hang out as well. Teo comes in as well and immediately goes towards Elanor who gets smitten with him. Angel can decide to join in on Teo and Kiara's "date" to make sure nothing happens to her, but not before Conan pulls them aside to make sure they're safe (in general) because of the accident that Elanor had. If they do they end up all going to a bookstore where Angel finds Ren reading behind some shelves, but not before being interrupted by Moth who calls them and chats them up. Leon then also suggests having a double date at an aquarium the next day (this is also the same thing he asks if you decide to not join in on the date and instead go home). They briefly meet Olivia outside their apartment who asks what their relationship with Ren is before leaving. In the end they go home where they can invite someone over, go to their place or call them. With Elanor, Angel will air out their distaste for Teo and warns her to be careful, with Violet, the two discuss the date and Angel's feelings on it, with Conan, they chat a bit about the discussion, with Jae, they chat a bit before talking about the date, Angel talks to Leon about how worried they are about Teo and Elanor, Angel and Teo snidely talk about each other and Moth chat about the date as well, but all of them either send Angel home because of a phone call or the reception gets busted in some way or another. Ren also ends up coming over at the end of all of these, talking about the murder, the place that Angel is living at before watching a movie and possibly having more sexy times. There are also some easter eggs for certain people as well if you are so inclined.

First of all, I will say that the game really maintains the quality of visuals and coding as everything is as clean and as beautiful as when I first played it. Always something nice that's added. I like that you now have the option to change pronouns when you'd like and that you can change the message on your phone and see other character's messages as well. It's a good way to integrate the world inside of the game and it looks good. Each ending where Angel refuses to date Ren has of course Ren booting them back into the main menu and the addition of adding various glitchy effects that stack up as the game goes on depending on choice is a very nice thing as well. It makes me wonder about what consequences it may have in the future. Having to choose Ren's hair length via Haruka's hair length is fun too and changes the cgs as well which is kind of cool to see. There's more hints of Ren's interference, causing the bookshelf to fall on Elanor, causing any phone calls to be abruptly interrupted to to interference and causing any in person meetings to be interrupted by phone calls. One of the things that I didn't particularly like changed was the event that Olivia dies after her first encounter with Ren, while Angel is waiting for him to get the umbrella. It's shown only through the special screen with the character message stating that she's offline in a very eerie way, something that was a great way to show that Ren had done something to her without explicitly saying it. Of course, in this version, Olivia does not die and instead Angel seems her in the apartment. I can see why it was changed as Ren is shown to be more of a lighter yandere, but I really liked the way that it subtly showed Ren dealing with her in a previous version. Another thing that confused me was the call (video call?) that Angel has with Moth at the bookstore. After seeing Moth's sprite I legitimately thought that they were actually at the store for most of the conversation and I only was able to tell it was a call based on the text box itself. I think a better way to display this is if either Moth's sprite was a bit more transparent or it was changed to be placed in a box to indicate that it was call. The last thing is more of a bug, but if you have skipping on and you hold down the skip key while starting the game, you can actually play the entire game without seeing a single sprite, as you didn't answer the intro questions of name, streamer mode, etc. It also resets when you back to the do answer those questions. Probably can be fixed easily by preventing skipping at least until you actually get to the dialogue.

We get more backstory with Angel and their relationships, especially with Teo. We can see why they are a lot more reserved when it comes to their relationship with Ren, given that they were not treated well when it came to Teo and thus has lingering doubts on whether Angel actually loves them or not. It makes the Olivia and Ren interaction and going home early make more sense (though I am kind of surprised that Angel would want to even talk to Teo given that they probably aren't really on good terms. That and he's a jerk). Most of the conversations after the date talk about Teo as a person and how most of them want to believe that Teo is actually getting better as a person, which seems... weird, given that his behavior does not show otherwise. Personally, I think it's really weird that Angel would even approve Elanor and Teo going on dates in the first place, given that Teo seems to be a terrible person and is the kind that cheats very easily, where Elanor is the type that is more romantic. It is addressed after the various dates and you can actually tell Elanor in person, but I think it's very strange everyone wants these two to actually date given how very different their personalities are and Teo being kind of a huge jerk. I suppose its more like the fact that you can't control if they wanted to date, but I would have thought Angel would have warned Elenor about him considering what Angel and Teo's relationship was like.

Overall, I think the game is making good progression on where it is. Right now it's a little slow though, mostly focusing on dating lives and whatnot, but hopefully we can also get to the mysterious murders that are happening soon enough. Ren is still cute as always and it's fun that you can still tease him in his various scenes.

#yandere #male yandere #yandere boy #recommendations #14 days with you #14dwy #asks

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ingravinoveritas · 8 months

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martinsharmony replied to your post "UMMMM DOCTOR AGREEING WITH DONNA SAYING ISSAC…"

I've saved this post until I watched all 3 specials. HOLY SHIT FIRE I agree that it feels like a lighted path @ingravinoveritas. I feel like the whole thing was made for David. They chose HIM for a reason. Or maybe he chose IT? There couldn't be a more perfect person for this. It must have felt SO important, for a variety of reasons. The whole thing to me seemed to bring Dr Who into the present day. Very now. Very relevant. And just think how much it must mean to Wilf <3

@martinsharmony I have an Ask waiting in my inbox that will allow me to talk more about this, but in brief: There have been a lot of people in the fandom on Twitter attacking Michael--and by extension David--lately, and one thing that has incensed me beyond measure is seeing someone say David (and Georgia) never cared about queer rights until they had a LGBTQ+ child. While I can't confidently speak to Georgia's stance, I feel very strongly that that is definitely not at all the case with David. This is something I have felt for a long time now, but most especially since hearing him on that podcast last year: That having an LGBTQ+ child has made David significantly more vocal about queer rights, but it was far from what made him start caring about it in the first place.

Listening to that podcast now, in the context of the DW 60th anniversary specials--specials we knew nothing about at the time the podcast aired, but that David did know about--makes things even clearer. It's not about acknowledging that the Doctor is queer, or downplaying what happened in those specials because "the Doctor has always been queer." It's about this iteration of the Doctor being able to acknowledge it. It's about David, who played (arguably, as far as I'm aware) the most popular modern incarnation of the Doctor, openly being not straight on international television. Even if it was something as casual as saying Isaac Newton is hot, the entire point is that it was something he couldn't have said while playing Ten all those years ago.

It's also my understanding that other DW actors were approached for the specials but declined to take part (someone please correct me if I have that wrong, though), but as you said, it genuinely feels like the whole thing was made and meant for David. That in this particular time and cultural climate--which is, in some ways, more difficult and less safe to be queer in than 15 years ago--and after having played Crowley for two seasons of Good Omens, it was David who was tasked with bringing DW into a new era. It was David who Russell trusted to help the audience understand why it mattered, because he knew David already understood why.

Maybe David understood because he knew what it would mean to Wilf, or because he came to discover what it meant to himself--or both. The entire point is that something lead him to this lighted path, and now he knows it's there and that he has the choice to follow wherever it may lead. It's also that there are countless queer kids and teenagers who watched those 60th anniversary specials who are now going to feel safe being themselves because of David, just as watching Doctor Who as a child made him feel safe to be himself. And I can't think of anything more beautiful than that...

#martinsharmony #reply post #david tennant #soft scottish hipster gigolo #doctor who #doctor who 60th anniversary #tenth doctor #or Fourteen #also i think being Fourteen made David feel safe to be himself as an adult #in a different way than watching as a kid #but no less powerful #and we can see the change in him on the inside and outside #i just hope he is happy and safe and accepted for who he is #let people be who they are #bisexuality #thoughts #discourse

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yukidragon · 2 months

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You ever consider bringing back slasher couple Alice and Jack? I think about them a lot.

New hotels on the run, with a dead couple lying on the floor of their new room. Poisoned yogurts for rude customers at a new job. New fertilized forget-me-nots behind a picket fence with the bodies of a man who tried hitting on Alice.

That sort of thing.

I'm happy you enjoyed the Slasher AU so much! Those are some pretty fun and twisted ideas you have for it~! I haven't touched on this one for a while, but after listening to this really good Jeff the Killer rewrite by Pastra, I'm in a pulpy creepypasta killer kind of mood, so let's play a little, shall we?

Content Warnings: there will be talk of sex and violence like a good old classic 80's slasher film. I likely won't go too explicit on the gore, but maybe the spice if the mood takes me. This post is just an excuse to talk about two very twisted individuals being in love as they indulge in their darker desires.

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur @kurokrisps

As you might recall from my previous post on the topic, the tale of Alice and Jack in this universe is a twist on the classic slasher movie formula. Main character and "final girl" Alice winds up being corrupted to give in to her darker impulses by Jack, who has already fallen to his inner depravity after decades being trapped in hell.

The story ended with all of Jack's rivals and targets of revenge dead and LambsWork Productions burned to the ground. What's left now?

Why, help his sunshine finish getting her revenge while they hide from the authorities of course.

Yes, there were awful customers and co-workers ripe for the picking, as well as a shameless exploitive boss, but Alice has been bullied all her life. She has a list of people who she's wanted revenge on for a long time, and Jack has encouraged her to get that revenge no matter how long it takes.

This means that even people who long since forgot the kid they used to bully in kindergarten have a target on their backs.

And they deserve it, in Jack's not so humble opinion. Anyone who tries to hurt or steal his sunshine deserves to pay. Alice had to deal with the scars for so long, and he knows what it's like to suffer for years and years haunted by the memory of abusers who got off scot free.

As far as everyone is aware, Alice was among the many victims of the mysterious killer that swept through the area. Even her family believes that she's dead, but it's for the best. They're innocent. Alice stayed away from them after moving out because she was afraid of hurting them. It would be so easy to kill someone so defenseless as a family who loves and trusts her...

Jack nurtures his twisted justifications for these sadistic urges in Alice. It's deemed acceptable to slowly skin someone begging for their life if they were guilty of casual cruelty to either of them. It helps keep guilt at bay and warps their perception of reality.

With Alice's knowledge of modern technology and how things have changed, and Jack silver tongue capable of manipulating most people, the pair are difficult for authorities or anyone else trying to stop them to track.

Of course, after the final battle with Shaun at LambsWork, Alice needed to take time to heal from her injuries... or perhaps a little bit more than that.

In classic horror movie twist, the monster survived at the end. Jack had managed a ritual to bring himself back... and imagine how much worse he would be mentally if he had to bring back Alice as well.

Shaun was fighting for his life after all. It came down to him or Alice, who he was sure was the killer. Kill or be killed, and if Jack didn't manage to save her in time...

I'm reminded of the now sadly removed trailer for the game where Shaun is losing it, saying what he's doing feels wrong. Imagine if he got enough evidence to suspect Alice of being the killer, and caught hints of something dangerous and supernatural around her. Imagine his paranoia and fear ramping up to the point that he's scared of her, convinced that she's possessed by some great evil.

Imagine how much it would hurt Alice if this happened before she had fallen under the sway of Jack's temptations.

Being betrayed by a friend certainly could push anyone over the edge....

Then again, being stalked by an ex-boyfriend or a customer can also be enough of a tipping point to commit violence. It'd just be especially personal to have Shaun "betray" her after all he did for her when Ian betrayed her by cheating on her. Who can Alice even really trust?

Why, Jack, of course~! He certainly proves it by using the same ritual that allowed to come back to life to bring her back as well. Fortunately this ritual goes a lot better than the one Alice performs in the Bad End AU. She gets to come back whole and healthy with a new lease on life.

Everyone believes Alice is dead, there were even witnesses who saw her broken lifeless body.

Man... imagine if Shaun actually did somehow survive the incident at LambsWork and how much trauma he would have from killing Alice, as well as all the deaths that happened around him. It'd be worse if he realized that Jack was influencing her and was the true serial killer only after he had been forced to act. Who would ever believe him that a ghost was the true killer? There were witnesses who saw Alice already dead while the killings were still happening. She was just another innocent victim...

Though, really, if Shaun did manage to kill Alice, Jack wouldn't have let him live. Jack would've lost his ever loving mind seeing his sunshine, dead and lifeless, her beautiful warm life snuffed out before his eyes.

Of course, Shaun could have somehow managed to escape. Jack wouldn't be thinking clearly in that situation, which would make him sloppy, leaving openings for Shaun to exploit and believe he managed to somehow defeat Jack.

Gosh, there are so many possibilities with this AU, so many twists in the slasher horror movie formula to take.

If Shaun did survive that awful night, he'd be struggling with major PTSD, terrified that Jack will return to finish the job.

Of course, if Shaun survived, that just means that after Jack brings his sunshine back to life, they'll both be plotting ways to get sufficient revenge on Shaun.

Alice would have the supernatural slasher powers now too, similar to Jack - undead and dangerous. She would have an axe to grind, being betrayed by her best friend who murdered her.

Jack, ever sensitive to his sunshine's needs, would of course help her burning desire for revenge. He would certainly have plenty of ideas on how to prolong Shaun's suffering to appropriately punish him for murdering Alice.

So the sequel movie could either be Shaun having to deal with people around him getting killed and taunts from supernatural slashers, or just a romp of a road trip with Jack and Alice going around to settle old scores. It all depends if Shaun survives the first movie or not. Poor guy is in for an awful time either way.

Since I'm starting to feel bad for picking on Shaun for just trying to make it out alive, let's switch over to other slasher targets the twisted couple go after.

I loved the fertilizer idea, but since Alice is the one with more experience gardening, I think she's the one more likely to come up with that idea. She can use the bodies of people who hit on Jack. There'll be plenty of those to keep her flowers healthy forever. Jack is such a handsome man after all, and so many people lust after him now that he has a living body again.

Jack kind of finds it kind of cute that Alice gets so crazy jealous over him. She's so silly thinking anyone could steal him away from her. As if that could ever happen. He always makes sure to reassure her with sweet words and lovemaking after she's vented her frustration on her perceived rival.

I imagine Jack would also find it pretty sexy. Nothing turns a psycho on like watching his lover torture someone for the sake of keeping him all to herself~

Jack understands how Alice feels of course. He goes crazy when someone sets their sights on her. She doesn't even notice when someone flirts with her most of the time, but he still hates it. Mentally destroying the culprit before killing them in creative ways is cathartic for him. It's also a way he can show Alice just how much he loves her~!

If Alice did die, Jack's overprotectiveness would crank up a lot. He failed to protect her, his irreplaceable sunshine. It was fortunate that he could bring her back, just like he brought himself back, but he was forced to see her body, lifeless, broken. He was forced to live with the fear that she was gone for good.

Jack is a lot more possessive and handsy with Alice in public after that. He'll carry her around a lot more often, feeling secure having his sunshine in his arms. He takes the lead with their kills, making sure that he's the one taking the risks instead of her, so that nothing can happen to her ever again.

Of course, Alice doesn't like Jack risking himself recklessly. She wants them both to be together forever~

To the people around them, Jack is an incredibly clingy boyfriend. One minute the new neighbors are talking with Alice, the next Jack is wrapped around her from behind, whining that he missed her as he nuzzles his face into her hair. Even though he was just moving boxes into the house only a literal minute ago.

Alice laughs fondly at Jack's antics before squeaking in surprise as he picks her up into his arms. She admonishes him, but without any real weight to it, and tries to wrap up the conversation, flustered. Jack is fine chatting with the new neighbors like this though.

Why, yes, they are crazy for each other, and are very happy together. Thanks for noticing~!

The pair seem so wholesome and sweet, almost sickeningly sappy. Jack is so silly and such a sucker for Alice that even his size, build, and tattoos aren't enough to make people feel intimidated by him for long. He's so gosh darn friendly, and Alice is so cute and easily flustered.

They are sappy even in private too... even in less than wholesome circumstances.

I got this image of the pair in a room, maybe in their home maybe elsewhere. After having finished a long, busy night, the two are in the bathroom getting cleaned up. Alice sits on the counter, carefully shaving the stubble from Jack's face as he savors the attention. They have a sweet and silly conversation, but annoying noises from the other room keep interrupting them.

Halfway through the shave, Alice snaps the razorblade free and throws it into the other room, resulting in a muffled scream. She feigns as though it was an accident, that she merely "slipped" because all the noise from their guest distracted her. Jack chuckles and remarks they probably shouldn't keep their guest waiting anymore.

However, as Jack turns to go take care of things, Alice catches him by the chin and gently turns him back to her, cooing that they can wait until she's done taking care of him. Jack just melts at her insistence to take care of him and cheerfully tells their guest that they're just going to have to be patient a bit longer~!

Alice adds too that she has plenty of fresh razor blades to get the job done, a subtle threat of what will happen if the noises continue. With that she goes back to finishing the shave with a fresh razor blade and making Jack feel so loved and understood.

Overall, the vibe of these two would be like a more twisted Gomez and Morticia. They're as sweet on each other as they are in Sunshine in Hell, but only to each other. With everyone else the kindness is fake, and they've lost the ability to care about the suffering of anyone but each other.

Slasher Alice and Jack don't target at random, but their criteria for targets does involve a lot of disproportionate retribution. The neighbors are safe as long as they remain friendly... but not too friendly.

Alice and Jack are not just slashers, they're also very, very yandere for each other. Woe be it to anyone who tries to separate them.

Really, it's fitting that Jeff the killer would fuel this ramble considering this sort of slasher couple self-indulgence would fit right into the creepypasta OC craze. This AU is basically all about a couple of fucked up killers finding joy in taking brutal, bloody revenge. Victims are not people but toys to play with until they break. It's very creepypasta OC-coded.

#Sunny Day Jack #Something's Wrong With Sunny Day Jack #SunnyDayJack #sdj #swwsdj #Headcanon Ramblings #Ask #Slasher AU

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kafus · 4 months

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i really need to talk about why Gestalt is the perfect song to kick off Kaf's new era a little bit or i'm going to explode

talking about this requires some background knowledge and i'm aware most people who are going to read this probably don't know that much about Kaf so i'll talk about her history a little bit - Gestalt is Kaf's first solo release in a whole year. this is a considerably long time for her, and it's because the person who had been writing her songs for/with her for her entire career, Kanzaki Iori, left Kamitsubaki Studio early last year due to personal complications with himself as an artist (he is still on very good terms with Kaf and the rest of Kamitsubaki's staff!!)

additionally, Kaf's music with Kanzaki had always primarily been centered on various bittersweet and painful themes, but especially the pain of growing up/becoming an adult. this was especially pertinent because Kaf started Being Kaf when she was 14 years old, so she was singing from a place of genuine teenage angst. as she began to inch closer to adulthood and then became an adult herself, however, the feeling of her music shifted from singing about a far-off adult future, to an incredibly immediate one, with songs like her final song with Kanzaki, Kaikou, but especially Kyoukankaku which also came out during those last few months of Kanzaki being around. (i will spare you a whole ramble about these songs, you just have to take my word on the thematics up to this point lol. feel free to look into it further if you like)

so, Kanzaki leaving left Kaf in a bit of a limbo state for a while since so much of her musical identity was built off of her work with him and the topics they explored. she would need to form a new musical identity and figure out where to go from Kanzaki leaving... she spent about a year releasing her last songs with him as well as pumping out covers and collaboration songs with other musicians. but now, finally, she's back to releasing her own work! Gestalt was actually debuted at her KAIKA concert back in January, but only now has the studio release and full music video come out.

Gestalt is representational of her finally entering her new era after this big transitional period. even the official english description for Gestalt says:

KAF embarks on the next stage of her journey.

and oh boy does she!!!

Gestalt looks and feels like a super fun dance song in both the song itself and the MV. the description also says:

Over a year since KAF's last solo release, "Gestalt" is a 'killer dance tune' for the modern age.

and they're right. it is a killer dance tune. this shit slaps. but there's more to it than that.

it's immediately apparent when looking at the lyrics that there's more going on here - take this bit from the official english translation of the first verse for example:

From emotions to configurations When they start to break down I lose all understanding In so many ways Ahh I can't breathe Celebrating suffocation I can't take this

doesn't sound very fun or happy right? sounds chaotic. kaf is suffocating. she is losing her shit. but then it's followed up with:

Drop the beat! This disruptive Unnatural Forbidden gathering "Don't come here" "Don't look there" This is where it all starts to get good It's greedy Warped and twisted But hold me tight It's so hard to get it right, this losing game Seems like working together is the only way

to me, this is Kaf inviting the audience to dance with her amidst the chaos that she and all of us are suffocating in. the "unnatural and forbidden gathering" part is referring to how her and all of us are outcasts of society, how us trying to dance and experience joy while suffocating is looked at strangely. but the only way to survive in "this losing game" (of adult life) is to Work Together! be together!! dance together!!

that idea of being together in spite of suffering is the core message of the entire song, which is even brought out by its title, Gestalt. Gestaltism is essentially the idea that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, that the whole is worth more than the individual components. both the title and the lyrics of the song emphasize togetherness and dancing as a whole.

this is already a much more optimistic take on those themes of Adulthood Hard and Life Is Pain, portrayed in a much peppier way than Kaf is generally used to. it's familiar, it feels like Kaf, but there's a new spin on it now! it really feels like Kaf is debuting her new era with explosive energy. it's very much "i lived bitch" to me - she's an adult now like she always dreaded being but despite it all she's dancing within the chaos and you should join her for that in this new era!!

but it actually goes deeper than that, because Kaf's MVs have always been made thoughtfully and usually pertain to the meaning of the song, and this one is no different. the animation also ties back into this transition and meaning.

^ these screencaps are from Gestalt (2024) and Just Forget About It (2019) respectively. both music videos were directed by Kawasaki Kenji, who worked on most of Kaf's older music videos and was the person who defined her visual style for a good portion of her career. older Kaf MVs almost always had some element of Kaf existing in real life environments, like some sort of alien girl wandering the streets of Tokyo. she was often put into very mundane locations with a good amount of wide shots, creating this ethereal feeling.

well, Kenji implements those themes into Gestalt for sure... a lot of the MV feels like an older Kaf MV. but there's a couple MAJOR differences...

instead of just idling around and looking wistful like in her older videos, she is DANCING!! and the usual typography in her videos is extremely stylized and much more colorful than usual, plus the environments are decorated with a ton of colorful and overlapping shapes breaking up the relatively mundane and even melancholic looking environment (for the record, "gestalt" is also a type of visual design involving closed shapes, so the typography and shape language here also ties into the title of the song lol).

essentially what they've done here is draw back on the Kaf everyone knows and loves but gone hey, now it's colorful and explosive and high energy! this is new, too!! which is exactly what the song is trying to do as well! familiar themes but portrayed in a completely new light

and as one last aside, it is also worth mentioning real quick that Kaf's current outfit for the year or so, Raichou, was debuted at her concert in January where this song was also debuted, and while not specific to Gestalt, her character designer PALOW really made sure to change how Kaf looks a lot more than usual this time for her new era. Kaf has a new main look every year or so and those outfits can define entire eras for her, and usually they're darker and heavier on the blue, but Raichou is nearly devoid of any blue and has a very different feel. they even changed her hair to be cut flat, something she hasn't done before.

anyways TLDR; my takeaway from Gestalt is i'm dancing with Kaf in this new era amidst the world being on fire so hard. joy and whimsy in the face of suffering bitch‼️get ready because Kaf is going to keep making banger music in new ways the likes of which we have never seen!!! this song is literally a perfect transitional song drawing on Kaf of old and bringing her into the new. absolutely genius. Piedpiper has done it again. thank you Jazzin'park for your service

#kaf #kamitsubaki studio #kamitsubaki #kiki was here #kiki.txt #long post

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pomplalamoose · 9 months

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Dating DILF Luke: a relationship's development

🐞modern day AU🐞

A/N: Happy new year, lovely people🩵 this was supposed to be a normal dating headcanons post but apparently I'm unable to do these when it comes to Dilf!Luke, so please take whatever this is instead👉🏻👈🏻

cw: slight mentions of smut but nothing explicit

a very small taglist: @the1sunshine1girl

• a kiss can say more than a thousand words

• it can be a revelation

• it can change everything or nothing at all

• it's possible that a kiss can set something in motion

• and in your case it does, although very slowly

• after so much time of desperate yearning it brings the consoling knowledge that, yes, Luke does, to some extent, return your feelings

• this is what you wished for, dreamed of and imagined in detail during countless nights, and yet the discovery hits you unexpectedly

• it fills you with joy but a sense of reluctance as well, one that you can't quite make sense of

• it's truly remarkable how such a quiet, short moment can leave one feeling completely unprepared and maybe even a little bit scared

• because what to expect?

• how to move forward?

• should you be the one to take the next step or would he prefer to do so?

• are you dating now?

• most importantly: does he even want a committed relationship?

• or are you nothing more to him than a fleeting fancy?

• a nice distraction from his still evident grieve?

• your head feels like it's about to burst with all the unanswered questions getting worse by the minute

• Luke, on the other hand, is elated

• he feels like he's floating, walking on clouds wherever he goes, no matter that already several days have passed since he first kissed you

• unable to think of another way to describe his constant state, he finds himself feeling very much like a horny teenage boy whenever you're around him

• suddenly growing hard several times a day, he's repeatedly forced to leave situations to take care of it, the reasons ranging from seeing you in a bikini to the way you play with your hair

• not to mention the time he had to watch you devotedly licking ice cream off your fingers or when you called him Mr. Skywalker in jest

• if you were able to take a look inside his head you wouldn't think to question his feelings or motivations to be with you for even a second

• he knows what he wants; has known for a long time, even though it took him quite a while to admit it to himself

• regardlessly he's struggling as well; at first his troubles may seem similar to yours but quickly take a rather dark turn

• insecurities about his person have always been there, smoldering at the back of his mind but never was he so aware of them as he is now

• Luke wants to give you the world and more but knows he has some serious issues to work through before he can consider taking things further with you, which, unconsciously or not, puts him under immense pressure

• it's overwhelming and he's at a loss for where to start

• there is so much he feels he needs to fix in order to ever be good enough for you, to be what he feels you deserve

• additionally, turning his gaze inward in order to confront and let go of what no longer serves him, will take time

• lots of time

• time he could instead be spending with you

• he absolutely hates it, sometimes even going so far as to hate his own want to be reasonable

• but how could you be happy with someone in his current state?

• and just why does this have to be so complicated when it could be so simple

• your feelings towards him are genuine and so are his, so why not simply...act on them?

• that is just the point, though

• he can't, shouldn't, if he wishes for your happiness

• a healthy relationship, romantic as well as sexual, is built on mutual trust and communication about what's important to both parts

• you are and hopefully will agree to be a part of this just as much as he is

• so of course you should have the possibility to voice your thoughts, to share with him your expectations

• he can't just swoop in and declare you his when maybe that's not what you're comfortable with

• for god's sake, he doesn't even know any details about your dating life!

• there's so much he could accidentally do wrong

• so many ways in which he could accidentally hurt you

• there's no way he wants to risk this

• so shoving down his desperate need to be with you, he reigns himself back in, silently vowing to take things on at your pace

• from experience he knows he tends to come off strong, too strong for even some of his past partners liking, his love and lust easily overwhelming

• thus, afraid to smother you, to scare you away, he's set on giving you space, as much as you could ever need, to let your relationship evolve naturally

• and he does, he really tries his best, but feels horribly guilty at the same time

• it feels like he's lying to you, like he's pretending to be someone he's not

• because while objectively he knows he's doing the right thing, the reasonable thing, it's not what every last cell of his being screams at him to do instead

• from the very beginning he has had to reign himself back in and apart from a few slip ups always managed to, yes, but now it has become a nearly impossible task

• constantly, and as it seems, without a single break, he is wrangling with his possessiveness

• it tears him apart how much he wants you basically glued to his side while at the same being afraid to be too much

• but surely that way nothing could ever hurt or happen to you, right?

• that way he could make sure of it!

• he'd do everything for you, you wouldn't have to leave the house ever again

• and never would the same horribly fate of his late wife befall you as well

• yes, he'd take such good care of you, provide anything you could ever need

• food, money, a safe and comfortable home...

• then, every day late in the afternoon he'd return from work to lovely you waiting for him

• you'd share a romantic dinner together, with joy he'd listen to you telling him about your day

• and later that night, he'd make passionate love to you until you peacefully fall asleep in his arms

• indulging in those selfish fantasies excites him more than he ultimately would've believed possible

• what started as a way to calm himself, soon escaped his grip to turn into even more fuel for his already escalating explicit thoughts

• and to think you know nothing of it, probably remaining strong in your belief about sharing a rather innocent connection, unaware of the dreams visiting him at night...

• it ashames and turns him on equally

• he, to no avail, wants to put a stop to it

• and yet it's nearly become what some would call an addiction, an obsession, to imagine your shining innocence in stark contrast to himself, sick with lust

• you'd give yourself to him, he knows, and he'd corrupt you, ruin you, deriving his pleasure from it

• from the way he'd make you fulfill every one of his little fantasies he's had since the day he laid his eyes on you

• usually it's at this point that he snaps out of his spiraling thoughts in terror and forces himself to take a cold shower

• everything to avoid having to face the truth

• to avoid the sad fact that, what he wants the most is to simply care for someone and to be needed in return

• from an outside perspective nobody is able to tell what's going on inside of him as he, more unintentionally than not, appears to be a man nothing but smitten, though maybe a little bit withdrawn

• his efforts to make sure you're well and comfortable are just as attentive as the polite compliments he pays you from time to time

• nothing betrays his struggles and when he pulls away it seems to be more out of shyness, a byproduct of his gentle advances towards you

• he remains a mystery

• you can't say you mind awfully much, not when it's what he has always been and especially not now that your feelings are being returned

• instead you revel in his thoughtful approaches and bath in the glow of his recognition

• a fleeting contact of soft skin here

• a smile shared in secret

• his broad hand on your lower back when he passes by

• a careful tug to your braid

• or his fingers under your chin to get your attention

• and even though a slight nervousness on your part stays, it's overshadowed by the sheer admiration you have for him

• if only Luke knew

• his heart would beat easier if only he were able to take a look inside your head and see how much you adore him

#luke skywalker #luke skywalker x reader #luke skywalker x you #luke skywalker smut #luke star wars #dilf luke #dilf luke skywalker #star wars x reader #star wars x you #star wars fanfiction #star wars #star wars a new hope #star wars empire strikes back #star wars return of the jedi #fanfic #star wars modern au

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blackbatcass · 4 months

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I really really wanna know more about Donna Troyyy, so far I love her so much but I don't wanna be the type of person who claims they love a character then can't name 5 things about them. I wanna do her justice and really understand her character and purpose. I also don't wanna read something that completely mischaracterizes her because I'm aware that there's a LOT of that these days. I was hoping you could give me some recommendations to read after my tests?

Thank you so much if you do, and have a wonderful day! <3

I think I can help with that! Luckily donna's characterization is pretty solid & consistent in any comic up to around 2006. i would be wary of more modern interpretations of her but for most of her older appearances you don't really have to worry about bad writing.

The number 1 rec for donna is always New Teen Titans, that's where pretty much the majority of her appearances and character development take place in the 80s and 90s. The whole series is very long though so if you want more specific recommendations that focus on her I would definitely read ntt vol 1 #38, vol 2 #7-9, #18-21, #47, and #50-55. Issues 18-21 especially are probably my number one rec for donna if you're interested in seeing her flaws and struggles; those four issues took place when the titans were kind of falling apart, donna had to step up and call the shots, and it's a really neat insight into her character that i don't think gets quite as much attention as arcs like her origin stories. You'll probably honestly get a good feel for her if you pick any couple of arcs from NTT and read them through.

Wonder Woman (1987) #126-136 is a very important arc that reiterates donna's borderline horror dimension-bending origin weirdness. Titans '99 is a must-read for her, and jumping off that the Return of Donna Troy miniseries is like... Thee donna comic of all time so i would definitely recommend that. In between ntt and titans 99 she was in things like green lantern and darkstars but honestly the biggest things for her character you have to know from that time are that she and terry got divorced, she was dating kyle rayner, terry tried to take custody away from her, and terry & robbie died in a car accident.

There are way more detailed and comprehensive rec lists you can find in my donna tag if you're interested- I left out arcs like total chaos which are narratively very important for her but i don't think are quite as good a showcase for her as a character- but I think if you just want to get a feel for her character these are a good place to start. if you want like a primer on some of her major character traits i can definitely provide that lol:

donna is an incredibly emotionally intelligent and kind person who is a very good listener and always ready to help, which is why she's pretty much the #1 trusted person every single titan goes to when they need to vent. unfortunately being the appointed Fixer of All Problems Mom Friend when you're like barely an adult gets pretty overwhelming and is a very unfair weight to put a person; you can see this start to grate on her in titans 99 especially. something I like about donna is how open and honest she is with people about her struggles. most characters in the superhero genre would rather die than admit they need help and will never ever talk about their problems without being forced to, but donna isn't like that. if you ask her what's wrong she's going to be honest and tell you what's bothering her. she struggles a LOT with trying to appear 'perfect' in everyone else's eyes, and is really motivated by seeming to have it all together even when she doesn't. this is fueled a lot by her not being born an amazon and not knowing where she came from; the fact that for a lot of ntt she doesn't know her own history really gets under her skin. donna's identity issues are a HUGE part of her character especially later on as retcons and reboots get folded into her story. her past doesn't make sense. she has like nine competing backstories. she's one of the only people to remember the world pre-crisis on infinite earths and has literally been been forced out of existence and remade through pure memories, not to mention all the times dark angel forced her to live different lives until she reached rock bottom as a punishment for diana lol. in one origin she literally is not a real person and was just a mirror twin of diana. the main tagline associated with her is 'who is donna troy?' lol. which i think is fascinating and a very fucked up existence.

Anyway! I can talk about my girl all day. I hope this was at least a little bit helpful!

#ask #donna troy #sorry this is so long i got carried away<3 #OH i didn't really touch on this but donna's search for family is also sooo important to her character.#like ntt 38 is so good bc she's so desperate to find her parents and in the end realizes she has soooo many people who love her.#yes dorothey hinckley is her mom and yes she found the evans but the amazons and the titans are her family too. she is so loved.#so family is very important to donna which makes it all the more gut wrenching when all the shit goes down with terry and she #ultimately loses her child.#rough.#anyway people should talk about donna & the evans more their relationship is so special 2 me

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sometipsygnostalgic · 3 days

Text

We've been watching star wars, lots of it.

The other day we were discussing music. How the original trilogy is full of bombastic, magnificient tracks, and the prequels have these smashing epics, but the sequels have opted for more ambience, and there are only two leitmotifs to speak of, one only nine notes long (Kylo Ren).

See, I'm not alien to the creation of leitmotif without a whole song to go with it. This is how Marvel's been doing it for a little while now (since they were annihilated by a youtuber 8 years ago for their bad music apparently).

It's also how She-ra does it. This seems to be the compromise between the "in the background" scoring modern directors ask for and the "in your face" scoring musicians want to perform.

But here are a few differences even in that (rather bland) category of music:

She-ra is constantly taking advantage of its leitmotifs. That 11 note She-ra motif? You are damn aware when it's in your face, and it always shows up when She-ra is doing something magic.

Entrapta's theme is 7 to 14 notes long and it plays a lot, whenever she's doing something, whenever Hordak is thinking of her. Can be silly, loud, or very quiet depending on the mood of the scene.

Catra has a theme for when she's being evil. It is in fact She-ra's theme played in a different key. It sounds completely different so it's not obvious, which is brilliant in my opinion.

Hordak and Horde Prime... don't have a theme, but they have a specific chord that plays when they're on screen. Effective if forgettable.

Best Friend Squad has a theme. I associate it with Glimmer because it's very sparkly and used in action scenes. It repeats enough that I'd recognise it if I heard it.

And finally that complete banger of an opening, and all those whole, complete soundtracks you get in the end credits of some episodes (such as Light Hope). Those pieces of music in particular are memorable despite not being leitmotifs (mostly).

The star wars themes, you have Rey's theme which to be fair is great, and Kylo Ren's theme which only exists as 7 evil notes. You don't get all those themes from OT and Prequels which went so hard. You get a score which sounds like Star Wars Music, but none of the tracks stand out whatsoever. And none of the other characters seem to have any memorable music, none of the scenes, the intro music is the same as it's ever been. The trailer music was always remixed stuff from the Original Trilogy, never anything new.

I wonder what happened. It's possible Disney rejected any better compositions from Williams. It's possible that he was phoning it in at this point because he was called back into star wars yet again. It's possible the source material was not all that inspiring? Who knows. But while the sequels have John Williams and a bunch of OT musical references, they don't seem to have a Star Wars score.

#star wars #she ra

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plscallmeeren · 10 months

Text

W H E R E ?

Draco Malfoy x Reader

Request: yes @JulzLovDraco4Eva

Summary: it's year 7 (so everyone's of age remember that) and muggle-born (y/n) is caught at Malfoy Manor and given to Draco so that he can get answers out of her concerning Harry's whereabouts....... Yeah well guess how he gets them huh

Warnings: !!Rape!! while (y/n) does enjoy the experience there is no given consent - do not read if this could make you uncomfortable; breeding fetish; unprotected piv; bondage; spanking; anal; toys; biting; swearing; not proof-read at ALL (fun fact I've never had so many warnings before)

Word Count: 1.6K+

Lucius Malfoy gave his son a hard look, patting him on the shoulder briskly. "I expect you'll employ every method necessary to find Potter's whereabouts?"

"Yes, father." Draco wasn't looking at him, but instead at the fierce-looking girl bound by her wrists, discarded at the foot of his door.

"Any methods, understand?"

"Yes," the boy replied sharply, finally turning to meet his father's glare. "Go on. I'm sure you have better things to do. I'll get the information."

Lucius nodded curtly, striding off down the dark corridors of his manor.

Draco looked back at you, taking notice of the loose black dress that fell in waves around your body. Your waist was outlined by a modern corset with the lace at the front. You snarled at him, terrified, but he had hurt your pride by making torturing you sound so easy.

He gripped you by the nape of your neck, practically throwing you inside his room and closing the door behind him. He cast Muffliato, Silencio and every other spell he could think of before focusing his undivided attention on you. The other Death Eaters delighted in hearing victims' screams half the time, but he refused to give them the satisfaction. Your screams belonged to him, and him only.

"We've come a long way, haven't we, Malfoy? I remember Potions with you. You were a damn good partner, but I should have tipped one of those acidic draughts on you when I had the fucking chance-"

He delivered a harsh slap across your face, silencing you. It didn't hurt that much, but it was a fair warning of how helpless you were in this situation.

"I remember those classes, too. I remember imagining you in my bed and me fucking you until you cried. But don't worry," his lips twisted in a wicked smirk, "I have much more interesting fantasies now."

He edged closer, and you watched with wide eyes as he hoisted you up and laid you down on his king-sized bed. A luxurious bed. A luxury that might teach you pain.

"Fuck me, (y/n). Take my cock. Or are you scared?" He sounded mocking, but you wouldn't have it.

"No, honey, I just have a decent amount of self-respect," you chided, craning your neck to look him in the eye from where you lay on those velvety covers.

"Take me. I won't take no for an answer," he growled. You shook your head. "I want you. I need you. And I need you to tell me where Potter is."

"No," you spat, encompassing all of his apparent needs. You didn't care. You couldn't. He was horrible. Why would you? Right?

"Tough luck," he grimaced, and in one swift motion he had ripped the thin fabric of your dress, tugging it off your body on either side of your corset.

You bit your tongue trying to keep quiet as he dragged you to the edge of the bed, undoing the knot at the top of the corset and yanking on the strings brutally. You felt like you couldn't breathe. You were almost entirely bare and there wasn't enough oxygen in your brain and you felt slightly dizzy and something must have been very wrong because suddenly in this light he looked beautiful...

"There, that's better. You're thinking too much," he purred, tying a new knot so that it remained unbearably tight around your tummy. "Now... you still going to put up a fight?"

You didn't reply.

"Answer me, slut," he snapped, lightly slapping your pussy through the fabric of your panties. You became painfully aware that he could pull those off, too - that you would have to succumb to whatever he wanted.

"Malfoy...," you murmured, and apparently that was enough.

He dragged your black panties down your legs, followed by the bra cupping your weight. You were entirely naked apart from the corset. Your wrists were tied by spell and your wand couldn't reach you here. His handsome image swum before your eyes.

Draco flipped you over, pulling your ass up towards the ceiling. Your elbows dug into the covers as his hands man-handled your buttocks roughly, coming down in a merciless spank once. You flinched, but he didn't seem to care.

"You won't be talking back to me from now on, I expect?" he threatened casually, throwing in another spark on your ass.

"No," you whimpered, subconsciously leaning into his touch.

"Good. And you won't be complaining or resisting?"

Just as you were about to answer, he slid halfway into your ass with only his own pre-cum as lubricant. You moaned accidentally at the pleasurable pain.

"Not answering me again? What good is that? Where's Potter? Where?" He spanked you again.

"N-No, I'll behave, but I won't tell you, I can't-"

He pushed himself further in, the pain now overwhelming the enjoyable quality. Nevertheless, he waited a moment, not torturing you beyond repair, giving you time to adjust. Maybe he wasn't entirely cruel? No, what were you thinking? He was fucking you against your will, not taking no for an answer, looking at you with some sort or adoration...

You forgot what your train of thoughts had been up until that point, simply staring as best you could considering your body faced away from him.

"C'mon, slut. Tell me," he ordered, pinching your clit with two fine fingers. You gasped, but didn't answer his question.

You didn't know if he forgot to ask, or if he gave up, or if he simply didn't care, but he wouldn't ask again.

Suddenly he was pushing two fingers into your virgin cunt like a chanting prayer - in and out and curling and winding. It felt so good. Tight and claustrophobic, but impossibly good.

Just as you were beginning to fully appreciate the way his digits pressed against the same wall that met his cock on the other side, he pulled out - all of it - and walked away. He left you whining and thrashing on his duvet, reluctantly wishing he would return. Somehow, you managed to roll over.

You couldn't believe it. You wanted him to fuck you. You needed him to fuck you. Hell, it hurt, but every part of you was screaming for him to consume, to ravage, to... to...

He did return.

He returned holding three common pegs, as if they had been picked straight off of the washing line or handed to him by house-elves.

Draco silently attached one to both of your nipples, grinning wickedly as you groaned in immediate pain. It hurt. You felt fuzzy from lack of oxygen, but you knew it hurt.

Finally he clamped one onto your clit, making you writhe. He didn't take it off. Instead, he leaned over you, whispering in your ear. It made you feel warm and funny inside. "(Y/n), I'm going to mark you, and it will be much worse than my Dark Mark or a scar reading 'muggle' or anything else... because not only will it be permanent, but it will bring shame upon you, and everyone will know you enjoyed a Death Eater fucking you."

The words didn't make sense, but in your shape, you could hardly tell.

He bit into the flesh of your shoulder harshly, fuelled by your ongoing moans as he moved from your breasts to your throat and back again. You looked a mess - tears streaming, leftover rips of fabric, the colourful marks and bites of a wild man.

It felt so good.

Before you knew it his entire fist was in your pulsating cunt, thrusting from within and hurting and hurting more but feeling incredibly good and full.

Still, you wanted him.

"Push my fist out of your pussy, darling," he whispered. So you did. You pushed with all the muscles of your abdomen until his hand dislodged from your cunt, along with a burst of ecstasy by the name of orgasm.

"Good girl," he reassured you, watching the mix of blood and cum on his bed. "Good girl. Now it's my turn."

He quickly undid his belt, discarding it somewhere in the room before pulling down his pants. His cock was bigger than you had expected - but then again, you didn't have much experience in these sorts of things and you weren't thinking right.

Just as he slipped into you - no coverage - he pulled off the two pegs on your nipples, causing an explosion of agony to rip through your body as he began pounding into you.

"D-Draco," you managed, watching his bare cock slam into your ripe cunt.

"Yes, (y/n)?"

You changed you mind, or rather, you forgot what you were going to say. Instead, you told him: "I want you."

Unlike what you had expected, he reacted with gentleness, slowing his pace, moving in curved, cleaner motions. "I want you, too. I'm glad you see it now."

"Draco?" you prompted, regaining your breath as you enjoyed less sore but still ecstatic sensations.

"Mhm?"

"Harry, Ron and Hermione were at Grimmauld place last I heard."

He bummed again, but didn't reply. He hadn't been craving that information. That wasn't why he did this. "I'm coming," he grunted, then stayed in your pussy until his own juices were leaking from your folds.

You panted, shifting your body above your magical bounds to get more comfortable.

You didn't want anything but him, either. But what a crazed way to find out.

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strwbmei · 3 months

Text

Matchup Event

Matchup for: @demonlordlawliet

Matchups: Silver Wolf, Rita, Keqing

Contains: marking, biting, nipple play (Silver Wolf)

A/N: I love Silver Wolf so much! Writing for her is so fun

Ask: Hi Mei, this is the guy who usually asked how are you. Yeah feels a bit weird doing this unanonymous. I got some free time so i decided to participate in this. It can be any scenario or hcs whatever be easier for you (sfw and nsfw)

My personality: I'm usually quite and distant but i can be friendly and welcoming. I have my sly side sometime to time since i usually i'm a very reserved person. Like this account for example, i keep this hidden. Sometimes i have a bit of trust issues since i'm afraid of being betrayed. I do enjoy watching anime and occassionally playing games, i have times were i want to be alone so that i can reflect on things. I have this bad a habit of not being able to relax when i have soo much work and i can be a bit obsessive towards said work until i finished it. Sometimes i can be a bit impatient over work but i procrastanated a little to relax and calm down since i'm aware if my limits. I'm inexperienced in romantic things or relantionships in general, since i'm not really interested in having a partner yet. But if the right person comes along i'm willing to try it. I personally don't mind trying new things and i tried to be open minded since i enjoying learning new things and understanding other people's perspective. I'm currently on my fourth year of college trying to finish my social work degree as i find social work a fascinanted and insteresting since it studies social science.

Fandom: Any fandom you see fit (Genshin, Honkai, Hi3rd, Reverse 1999) I don't have any particular en mind as long as they are women since i'm straight

Silver Wolf

╰┈➤ SFW ;

: ̗̀➛ You're both interested in mostly the same things and have similar views towards the world, which is how you were able to get her to come out of her shell a little bit. It's hard to find someone to talk to games about in the Stellaron Hunters, after all.

: ̗̀➛ Silver Wolf finally feels like there's someone who can understand her! She really likes talking to you, and it shows. Everyone else can see how her eyes light up when she talks to you, and its certainly not because of the game she was rambling about. Kafka teases her about it sometimes, but she brushes it off. The two of you are just bros... right?

: ̗̀➛ You realize that you're actually pretty compatible, and Silver Wolf is the one to suggest that you just try things out. There's nothing to lose after all. You may have made a few moves in the past, but you're both inexperienced with romance so Silver Wolf just thinks of them as something that friends usually do from where you're from.

: ̗̀➛ She's the more relaxed one out of you two, so she balances your impatience with work. As she says, "you'll cross that bridge when you get there." Just indulge Silver Wolf with a few hours of gaming together—it's her way of trying to take your mind off of things. Plus, you get to spend quality time together which is always fun.

: ̗̀➛ Silver Wolf would be very curious about the place you came from, mostly the culture. What do the people there usually eat for breakfast? Are there any romantic traditions you want to try/follow? Things like that. She wants you to feel like you're at home when you're with her. Of course, if you don't want her to pry, she'll respect your wishes.

: ̗̀➛ Silver Wolf is very awkward when expressing affection so you'll have to be patient with her. For example, when she wants to spend time with you, she'll kind of just... hang around you and wait for you to ask her. Like a cat too prideful to ask for its owner's attention. She thinks having you with her can make anything and everything a lot less boring.

It's the weekend. You can hear the sound of light rain tapping against the windows, simulated by the courtesy of modern technology. You're sat on a couch. Your body sinks into the cushions perfectly, as if you were sitting on a fluffy cloud.

The monitor in front of you is playing a show you've been wanting to start for a long time now. The struggles from the past week seem to melt away as you enjoy the pleasant ambiance. This is truly the life. Everything is perfect in this particular moment.

Well, other than the fact that you can hear your girlfriend grumbling about a game and how her teammates are feeding the enemy team.

She's made your lap into a makeshift pillow without saying a word, her legs hanging off the arm of the couch as she chews on bubblegum.

"Wolfie," You call to her, earning a disapproving glare from the smaller woman as the bubblegum pops. Seems "Wolfie" isn't very fond of that nickname.

"...Do you want to watch with me?" You ask. She grunts in faux annoyance before setting her game down.

╰┈➤ NSFW ;

"As long as you don't call me "Wolfie" again."

: ̗̀➛ Silver Wolf loves it when you compliment her during sex, but like with most other things, she'll never show it. She has a stronger reaction when you call her cute, though, since she tries to deny it.

: ̗̀➛ She's the type to hide into the pillow as much as she can—she doesn't want you to see what kind of faces she's making, and it helps her muffle her whimpers and moans.

: ̗̀➛ Her back arch is crazy. Silver Wolf is surprisingly flexible for someone who does (mostly) nothing but sit in front of a computer screen all day.

: ̗̀➛ Also, her stomach area is particularly sensitive. Run your fingers over it, especially around the area where it's bulging from your cock, and she'll be clenching around you like crazy.

: ̗̀➛ Silver Wolf might leave marks on you in the heat of the moment, but she much prefers if you leave some on her instead. She'll grumble about it the morning after and pretend to be annoyed, though.

"Mmh... Just give me a moment," Silver Wolf says through deep breaths, her voice coming out whinier than she intended.

Could you blame her? It's hard to keep focus when she's on your lap, your fingers lightly twisting her nipples. "Don't mind me. Keep on playing."

Silver Wolf swears that she'll kill you if she ends up losing this match. You aren't usually so needy, but it didn't help that she spent more time in front of a screen than with you.

This wouldn't be a problem—it'd probably be a good opportunity for you to spend time together under normal circumstances. Except it's a single player game.

Silver Wolf's noises get more frequent and frustrated, before she finally lets out a grunt. You look over at the screen and see the word 'DEFEAT' written in a bold red.

"Oh." You didn't think that she'd lose. You were going a bit easy on her, in fact. A hint of guilt seeps into your heart when Silver Wolf looks back at you, cheeks flushed as she pouts.

You quickly apologize, offering to get her a glass of water or anything to make amends. You didn't expect what Silver Wolf said next, though.

"Hmph, if you really want to make it up to me... You can begin by finishing what you started."

Rita Rossweise

╰┈➤ SFW ;

: ̗̀➛ As you and many other people see it, you and Rita couldn't be more different. As Rita sees it, others just think of her too highly. Well, only because that was what she intended. Her elegance isn't innate, it's a technique. Its basic requirement is the restraint of emotions and everything about herself that she deems unnecessary.

: ̗̀➛ The feelings she had for you were complicated. She chose to call it envy. To Rita, you're the most perfect imperfection. A contradiction among contradictions that she couldn't help but become drawn to. She envies how free and true to yourself you seem to be all the time.

: ̗̀➛ When you start to get to know her, you realize that there's much more to her than what meets the eye. More to her than what she allows to meet the eye. You hated her practiced, almost permanent smile that reminded you of pleasantries and small talk. You wanted to see her genuinely smile.

: ̗̀➛It became your mission for a while, but it was... surprisingly easy. It doesn't take much to make Rita Rossweise smile. You realize its just that barely anyone cared to truly know her. It's a shame how much people are missing out. After all, there's no doubt Rita is the most beautiful when she's happy.

: ̗̀➛ Working for her is like 2nd nature—it helps her to relax. Rita knows that isn't the case for most people, though. As such, she helps you as much as she can and makes sure you're balancing your health and career/studies. She also tries to look for ways to make it more "fun" for you so that you don't stress yourself out as much.

: ̗̀➛ Rita is the best at giving massages! Her hands are magic. She should be charging for them, honestly, with how good they are. Somehow, Rita already knows which spots ache the most and just how to fix it even without you telling her. Once she's done, you'll feel that your body is lighter than it ever was before.

Rita muses, setting a cup of coffee along with a tray of snacks on your table. The familiar, comforting scent of your most favorite blend of coffee wafts through the air.

"Don't you think it's time for you to take a break, dear?"

Rita had memorized the way you liked your coffee like the back of her hand. "Thank you, Rita, but I'll finish the rest of this first." You give her the warmest smile you can manage before turning to face what you had been working on.

Rita sighs, a rare instance of her letting her emotions slip. "Love," She takes the pile of papers on your desk, straightening the stack out before placing them back.

"overworking yourself like this will only hinder your performance." Rita says, fully aware that you've probably had this same exact conversation multiple times before.

It's amazing how stubborn the both of you can be. You're determined to finish your work, and Rita is just as determined to get you to take a break for once.

However, the vixen has a fatal trick up her sleeve; one that has a 100% chance of working on you.

She gently places her hand atop yours, pressing a chaste kiss on your cheek before calling your name in the softest voice you've heard her use. "If you don't want to rest, would you at least join me in getting a breath of fresh air?"

Well... what's the harm, right?

╰┈➤ NSFW ;

: ̗̀➛ She's a very teasing power bottom most of the time. That said, Rita isn't the type to order you around. She's more keen on giving you hints/urging you towards a direction that'll have the both of you feeling good.

: ̗̀➛ Rita's moans are very pretty. They aren't the loudest, and she doesn't make much sound often, but they're breathy and drawn out.

: ̗̀➛ Rita is very adventurous when it comes to kinks. Of course, she'll only do it if you're also comfortable, but she'll never say no to something without at least trying it first.

: ̗̀➛ She's the type to wrap herself up in ribbons and give herself to you on special occasions such as Christmas Eve, your birthday, anniversaries, and Valentine's.

: ̗̀➛ The morning after, she'll be super cuddly and affectionate towards you. Of course, it's mainly because Rita loves you, but she also wants to leave the scent of her perfume all over you because she doesn't like sharing what's hers.

Sex with Rita feels... oddly prospective.

Or at least, that's what you realize when she's on your lap, kissing you languidly as you both work to remove the other's clothes.

Of course, you don't mean it in a negative way. You love Rita. You can't ask for more when she's been nothing but the perfect partner to you.

You think this because of how... prepared Rita always is for you. Her clothes are easy to remove, a condom in her pocket, and a pair of lacey lingerie hugging her figure beneath her everyday attire.

You push her gently onto the bed. Her hair is splayed beautifully on the sheets, as always. God, Rita looks ethereal. You'd ravish her and savor her taste for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if you could.

"Well? It's rude to keep a woman waiting." She teases.

Still, with the way her signature grin never falters, you can't help but wonder if it was really you in control all this time.

Keqing

╰┈➤ SFW ;

: ̗̀➛ You two did NOT have a positive first impression of each other. Mostly because you reminded Keqing of herself, and as a result, she ended up holding you to a higher standard. You thought she was bossy and hated you for no reason.

: ̗̀➛ It's only when you're forced to work together to organize this year's Lantern Rite that you see how much she cares for Liyue. Around the same time, Keqing also realizes how she's just pushing her expectations of herself onto you for stupid reasons and starts treating you better.

: ̗̀➛ By the end of everything, you're just so confused because like ??? why is she suddenly being so nice to you??? Not that you're complaining of course, but you definitely aren't used to it. You're more worried if anything. Did an adeptus curse her or something?

: ̗̀➛ Alas, after a few months of her being consistent, you don't think much of it anymore. Keqing realizes that you're actually a pretty chill guy and acknowledges her faults. She apologizes for letting her personal issues affect her job, too. Eventually, you gather the courage to ask her out and she accepts with her face as red as a tomato.

: ̗̀➛ You're both pretty bad at work life balance, but Keqing is way worse. You wonder how she's been surviving this long when the amount of jobs she's finished in the span of a few months is probably more than the amount of proper meals she's had in her whole life.

: ̗̀➛ You're both really into coffee, so trying out new blends together is your way of bonding. Maybe you'll even try brewing your own, if your free time allows it. Aside from the coffee itself, Keqing is also very fascinated by its history and the different methods people use to brew it. She thinks of it as an art, almost.

It's a beautiful day, and one more special than others.

You're going on a date with your girlfriend, Keqing. Some might say that it's not anything special with how long you've been together, but they have no idea how hard it is to arrange a date with your schedules.

The sun is shining perfectly bright, the air is cool, and the sky is the bluest you've seen it. Even nature agrees that Keqing needs to take a break and relax for once.

Judging by how enthusiastic and excited she's been about everything so far, you think you've been doing a good job with helping her unwind.

"Look, it's that new cafe!" Keqing remarks joyfully. She had been the one to help the owner take care of some contracts regarding the property, but this time, she's here as a customer.

Seeing the warm ambience and classy traditional decorations fill Keqing with a sense of pride. She helped in making the cafe a reality, after all. "Do you want to have lunch here?"

"Hm, but cafes are better during the early hours... Plus, there's also the issue of the supply chain of..." She mumbles, calculating as ever. That won't do, she's supposed to be relaxing.

You reach out and squeeze her cheeks lightly. You remember ruffling her hair once in a similar situation, and Keqing looked like she was ready to burn you alive for ruining what she spent half an hour to style..

"Don't overthink it too much," you say with a smile before Keqing can complain about your sudden gesture. "We can always go to that seafood place. How do golden shrimp balls sound? My treat."

╰┈➤ NSFW ;

: ̗̀➛ Keqing will NEVER bring up the topic of sex. Of course, if you ask her, she'll talk big about how she's "made some people cum within a few minutes," but she isn't fooling anyone.

: ̗̀➛ It's clear that Keqing is a virgin. Not because others don't find her attractive, (it's quite the opposite actually,) but because they're too intimidated to approach her. A few of them tried to make a move, but Keqing either completely misread their intentions or shut them down immediately.

: ̗̀➛ Not to say that she isn't familiar with the concept of sex, though. Keqing isn't a kid anymore, but her knowledge only extends to what-goes-where and using protection. She does have some experience masturbating, but it's more of a way to de-stress rather than to pleasure herself.

: ̗̀➛ Overall, Keqing would be very shy and tsundere when it comes to the real thing, but she trusts you dearly and knows that she'll be in safe hands.

: ̗̀➛ She'll definitely become more daring and bratty as time goes on though, but don't take it personally. She's only rcting that way because she's become way more comfortable with you.

"Keqing," you call out, power walking to reach the woman in front of you. She won't even wait for you to catch up. Today marks the third day of Keqing ignoring you, even though you have no idea why.

She eats with you, but she gets up and leaves as soon as she's done with her food. She sleeps in the same bed, but she couldn't have felt more distant. To be frank, it's driving you insane how Keqing acts as if you're invisible.

But you know that you're her weakness. If there's one person in Teyvat that she'll listen to, it's you. You can feel Keqing's body heating up as you hug her from behind, telling her just how much you've been missing her. You plan on expressing that through your actions as well.

A few well chosen words and lingering touches, and Keqing is on your bed again. This time, though, she's actually talking to you as your tongue works to eat her out. Ironic.

"I'm sorry-" she gasps as the wet muscle dives even deeper into her folds. "I didn't mean to- ah!" You continue to lap at her fervently, prying her thighs apart as she instinctively tries to close them.

"I felt jealous, and I shouldn't have- nh..." Keqing moans, hand tugging gently on your scalp. "Shouldn't have blamed you for it..." She admits, voice trailing off from shame.

"You're the most beautiful and kind woman in Teyvat. How could I want someone else?" You detach yourself from her dripping cunt, and just before Keqing can complain, you flip her over and make her face the mirror.

"Eyes on me. I'll show you just how much I love you."

#strwb event #genshin impact #honkai impact #honkai star rail #rita rossweise #keqing #silver wolf

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spicerackofblorbos · 7 months

Text

Chapter 3: January

☾ Pairings ➼ Levi Ackerman x fem!mute!Reader (she/her pronouns), set in a modern semi-fictional world

☾ Summary ➼ Due to childhood trauma, you find yourself an adult without the ability to speak. After years of working on it, you have found ways to live without a voice. Now here in your late 20s, you are 5 months in getting used to a new town. On a fateful day in late November, you and your adopted sister visit a local bookstore-café, unaware of the friendships about to blossom. Throughout the months, one friendship in particular develops into something more.

☾ Content/Warnings ➼ fluff, slowburn, oblivious feelings, angst, mention of minor character deaths, trauma, illness, adoption, mentions of fire, disabilities, alcohol use, very light nsfw mentions, references to child abuse (to be continued as writing is ongoing)

☾ Author's note ➼ Hey guys! I'm so proud of myself for getting this out before the end of January hehe. I hope you enjoy!

☾ Word Count ➼ ~7.5k

January, you thought, had to be one of the most depressing months out of the twelve. It’s cold, dreary, and full of post-holiday blues. The gloom that came with those blues was only intensified by the immediate and prominent holiday of “Remembrance Day”, a cultural holiday created to celebrate and mourn those who have long passed.

‘I don’t know why we can’t just stay home and celebrate privately like we usually do. It might be crowded.’ You sign outwardly to your sister as she drives, making sure to go slow so she can see through intermittent glances. You stare out ahead as the snowy landscape zooms past. The late afternoon sun glints off the fresh snow, blinding you as the light refracts off the crystals.

When you were younger, this annual holiday was something you used to ignore. Even at a young age, you were aware of the situation you were forced into. You lost everything and then were thrust right into the foster care system, tossed in with families who didn’t want you. You had to do it all alone and because of that, you never learned how to grieve properly. It wasn’t until Hange’s family, your family, took you in that you were taught how to deal with your past and the residual effects that came with it.

Hange tuts at you as they turn a sharp corner.

“Hey, you’re the one who said you’d be okay with it this year. And besides, maybe this town is full of early morning mourners. The temple could be all ours.” They speculate aloud, wiggling their eyebrows at you. It just prompts a signature eyeroll, and you stare back out the window. The residential homes turn into office buildings as the two of you make it closer to the designated temple in town. It’s not much longer until they turn down a gravel road, pebbles and snow crunching under the heavy wheels.

Busy is an understatement. Due to the small nature of the town, only one temple exists, and it sits in the middle of the local cemetery. When your sister pulls into a dirt parking lot, you notice the multitude of cars already vacant of people who are milling around the grounds. A bubble of anxiety threatens to rise in you, but you swallow it down. You and Hange step out of the car and are met with a brisk wind; It makes all the air in your lungs escape from shock. When you take deep breaths to calm your heart down, puffs of hot steam billow out from your mouth. Hange locks the car behind them and turns to you with their hand out.

“Well, c’mon, my little berry. Those votives aren’t going to light themselves.”

You take her hand without hesitation and you both set forth up the hill. You are at a loss for words because of how stunning your surroundings are. Leafless trees remain stoic and strong under a layer of snow. They pepper around the ample lot, giving off shadows of tree branches everywhere. Up a dirt path rests a sizable temple with a dark blue exterior and a wrapping porch around the building that offer various access points to the inside. On the edges of the dirt path lie smaller stone paths leading to rows and columns of personal gravesites for the residents of Jinae. The winter sun beams down between fluffy clouds, warming up the air as the day goes on. It was melancholic in a way that fit the day of Remembrance perfectly.

Fortunately for you, most of the crowd was at their family stones, so the trek up to the temple took little to no time at all. This is where the designated altar is set for those who wish to pay their respects but had no tombstone to do so at. It’s the first time since your teen years that you've prayed outside of your home. When the Zoë’s took you in, they explained many of the traditions to you that you were in the dark about due to your lackluster upbringing. Remembrance Day was one of those and on paper it sounded great, until they took you out to the temple the following January and you had flipped out from the candles. You were a little better about it nowadays, but you requested shrines at home with electronic votives from then on.

After stepping through the open doorway, you note only a handful of people lingering at the altar, lighting green candles and bowing their heads in prayer. You avert your gaze quickly from the bright flames, looking anywhere else. It was relatively quiet, bar for a few whispers here and there. You and Hange step in line behind an older couple, who are now turning towards you to leave. Tears streak down their faces as they head in the direction of the doors behind you. You bow to them in respect, as they do to you in return. The two of you step up onto the ledge and Hange takes the match sticks from the table. She gingerly holds out a stick for you to take as she regards you carefully.

“Did you want to try it this year?” They grab your hand with theirs, looking into your eyes closely.

You take a deep breath and raise your hand as if to take it, but it falters. Something sears in the back of your mind. Letting your hand flop to the side, you shake your head and sigh heavily. She just gives you a soft smile and squeezes your hand in reassurance.

“That’s okay, Love. I’ll take care of it for you. Just close your eyes and think of them.”

So, you do and reminisce about your lost family. There were so many memories you were still unable to recover from all those years ago. So, you opt to think of your parents' soft smiles and gentle hugs. Of an older brother that you think had a mischievous grin. You focus on the overall warmth you associated with them, feeling that warmth curl into your toes. You hear your sister strike the match and then she blows it out just as quickly. You were never saddened by these thoughts, even in your younger years. Hange often wondered if this was due to a detachment of your own making. You open your eyes after a moment and flinch back from the sight of the votive right in front you, flames flickering.

“Let’s get going.” Hange hadn’t let go of your hand this whole time and she uses that to pull you away quickly out of the side door. Even though it’s cold, you feel miles better outside and you let loose a breath as if you had held it in the whole time. You wonder when you’ll be able to withstand being so close to fire again; you think maybe you never will. A sudden flash of black hair whipping around the corner of the temple catches your eye and you whip your head around to stare at the now empty space.

“Is something wrong?” Hange squeezes your hand again, and you turn back to look at them to shake your head ‘no’. Some part of you hope it was him. You haven’t seen Levi since the whole debacle at the gala last month. He never made any attempt to reach out to you. Truthfully, you didn’t expect that from him anyways, but it irritated you to no end at the time. Your sister had pushed you to go to the café at least once to just say ‘hi’ because they could see how much it bothered you, however you refused to budge.

“Then let’s go sight-seeing. I want to see how the people of Jinae celebrate their loved ones before heading out.” The two of you head back down the hill, the cold wind biting at your nose. At some point, Hange turns down a nearly empty path. The stones ahead were covered with a wide assortment of flowers in various colors. People had also put offerings of their loved one's favorite foods out at the base of the stones. It makes you smile at how loved these people are even past their time.

Hange leads you around for half an hour, taking in the sights of the different offerings and gifts laid about. She points and grins as she mumbles things to you, but you’re not really paying her ramblings any mind. You find that nodding in response was enough to get them to turn back around and jaunt off somewhere else. Another fifteen minutes later, and their rumbling stomach is so loud you can’t help but laugh. You now realize why she’s staring so heavily at a plate of cold dumplings left on a headstone. You reach for her shirt and tug on it to get her attention.

“What’s up?” They twirl around on you with worry.

‘Want to go get some dinner?’

“We probably should, shouldn’t we. Sorry, I’ve just been so engrossed in all of these displays!” She points to one right next to you. It’s littered with quite a few child’s drawings taped to the stone. A plate of cookies sat at the base of it with a steaming cup of coffee right next to it. The family must have just been here. When you look back up to meet Hange’s gaze, she’s staring at something behind you with an amused expression.

You turn to see what she’s gawking at, and you spot a familiar raven-haired man. He’s standing next to a not-so-familiar messy blonde-haired man around the same age that is currently kneeling on the ground as he places a plate of something on the stone in front of him. The one standing darts his eyes in your direction and there’s no mistaking it; It’s Levi. Panicking, you whirl your head back around to face Hange and she’s smirking. You attempt to step forward to pass your sister, but she just grips your arm firmly and starts tugging you in Levi’s direction.

Oh no, oh no, oh no.

You try your best to wiggle out of the grip but it’s of no use, she’s latched on to you. After a few more futile attempts, you give up with a huge huff. You don’t even turn around, you just let them drag you along.

“Levi, what a pleasant surprise!” Hange yells out to him as they close the distance, you still in tow.

When they stop abruptly, you almost bump into them. You avert your gaze as far away as possible and turn around slowly. A family of four passes by in silence on the path next to you, a little girl with pigtails flings around a stuffed rabbit as she trots along.

“Tch, I don’t see how this is a surprise, Four-Eyes. The whole town is practically here.” You hear Levi’s gruff voice respond back. It makes your stomach flutter with anxiety, but you’re not sure if it’s a good or bad kind of anxiety. There’s a ringing silence that follows after, but you can’t be brought to look up. That is, until someone clears their throat.

“Uh, hi! I’m Furlan, Levi’s friend! It’s nice to meet you...?” He trails off. The voice is boyish and playful, and very different from the man next to him. You glance up to the source and the dirty-blonde haired man is looking between your sister and you with gray eyes. Not as deep and metallic as Levi’s though, they were much softer and lighter.

“Hi! I’m Hange Zoë, and this is my sister!” She lets go of you to throw her arms around you as she squishes your face with hers. You feel warmth creep through your whole body from embarrassment and it makes you want to run away. “She’s hearing but she’s mute and speaks through sign language mainly. I’ll translate for you for the sake of brevity, though. Unless you already know it?” Your sister releases you to meet Furlan’s outstretched hand with hers and shakes it vigorously. The man laughs, and it’s a light airy sound.

“I don't unfortunately. But it’s nice to meet you both!” He waves to you with a wide grin, and you give a small wave back. Furlan continues, “I see you know Levi.” You chance a look at Levi and he’s staring straight at you. Your eyes shoot back to his friend.

“Well, ‘know’ is an understatement. He’s not very forthcoming about his life unlike his roommate. Uh, Erwin and I became close after a very unfortunate relationship mishap.” Your sister chuckles at her dark joke.

“Ah! I thought I recognized your name! Erwin mentions you in passing a lot. And, well, that’s Levi for you. I had a hard time getting to know him when we first met.”

“You idiots know I’m here, right? And that’s because you were trying to beat me up, asshole.” Levi’s terse tone cuts in, shooting daggers at his friend. Furlan just laughs again, loudly, and raises his hands in defense. Hange nudges you gently with her elbow and you glare at her, but the look in her eyes makes you nervous.

Winking at you, she grabs her phone and yells, “Oh jeez, hold on a second. Someone from the lab is calling, it must be about last night's reports.” and starts to walk away. You hold on to her hand for dear life with your mouth wide open in protest, but she pulls away with a flourish. “I’ll just be a moment!” And then she’s gone.

You stare down at your empty hand and then back up to the two men in front of you, pressing your lips into a thin line as you clench your jaw. ‘Fuck.’ you think to yourself. Tapping your foot impatiently, you also fold your arms across your chest. You keep your gaze averted from them, but you still feel Levi’s stare aimed directly at you. Finally, Furlan clears his throat again.

“Did you two kill each other’s cats or something? Jeez.” Levi clicks his tongue at the same time as you roll your eyes.

“Sure, if that’s what you want to think.” Levi retorts dryly. A heavy huff escapes your mouth as you fiddle with your jacket sleeve, foot tapping even faster. Another silence. Furlan examines your face closely and looks back at Levi in thought. If you were looking at him, you would have noticed a lightbulb go off in his head.

“Wait wait wait! Is this the girl you were talking about a while back?” That makes your eyes fly to Furlan’s and you can’t keep the shock from filling your face. He talked about me?

Without even waiting for an answer, he states, “So I heard you like colors.” You feel a blush start to seep up into your cheeks and you look away again, shrugging. Levi kicks Furlan in the shins and he doesn’t even react in pain.

“Wow, it’s super nice to meet you then. This guy would not stop talking about you aft-” Levi kicks Furlan in his other shin and it must have hurt this time because he winces.

“Furlan, shut up.” Levi scolds.

“Is that an order?” Furlan smirks as he leans down to rub the now sore spot.

You’re not even listening to their bickering; your mind was going a million miles a minute. Levi had talked about you to other people. Were they good or bad things? And why did he have to mention your issues with picking a favorite color? You chide yourself for being willingly open about such silly things with Levi after just meeting him. You reach for your phone so you can say something but then are cut off by Hange coming up from behind you noisily.

“Sorry about that! What are we talking about?” Hange rests her chin on your shoulder and stares at the two friends.

“It’s nothing, we were just about to go.” Levi replies coolly as he starts to turn away to leave. He must still be mad at you, you think. Irritation itches at your skull again, but something in your heart aches.

“Wait! ‘We’? Where’s Erwin? It’s weird to see you without him, Levi.”

“Oh, he’s currently back at their apartment cooking dinner for us. He came out to show his respects early this morning.” Furlan cuts in before Levi can say anything.

“Sounds great, we’re in.” You stare at your sister in horror before shoving your hands in their face.

‘No, we’re not!’

“Oh uh, I don’t know if Erwin...” Furlan trails off as Hange just chuckles and waves her hand dismissively. Then she pulls out her phone to check something before shoving it right back into her coat pocket.

“Erwin doesn’t mind, he said so.”

‘We are not going!’ You’re practically flinging your hands at her face, but she just gives you her puppy-dog stare.

“But I’m so hungry! And he’s fine with it. Plus, a homecooked meal! It’s so much better than fast food!” Hange whines.

‘I know what you’re doing, and it’s not going to work.’ Her face pouts even more, which you didn’t think was even possible. ‘You’re the worst. Fine!’ You stick your tongue out at her as you stomp your foot for good measure and her whole face lights up in response.

“Well, I’m not fine with it.” Levi shoots back, eyes narrowed at the two of you.

“Oh, c’mon Levi. Miche’s already going and Erwin said it’s fine. The more the merrier.” Furlan grabs Levi’s arm to keep him from leaving. Your sister whips her head to stare at Furlan in surprise.

“Miche’s going?! What the hell, and Erwin didn’t even invite me!?” She yells.

“Tch, fine, do whatever you want. I don’t care. Furlan, we have one more stop, let’s go.” Levi stomps off in the opposite direction, leaving the atmosphere 10 degrees colder.

“We’ll meet you there. We have one more grave to look at but then we’ll be on our way.” Furlan nods to the two of you and gives you a warm smile before darting off after Levi. You exhale a big breath and round on Hange, not even sure what to say. There’s a mischievous glimmer to her eye and you regret leaving the house at all.

When Levi and Furlan are out of earshot, Furlan knocks his shoulders in Levi’s and smirks.

“Isabel would have liked her, don’t you think?”

Levi says nothing back, but he can’t help but agree. It’s been 10 years, but his chest still tightens at the thought of Isabel. He pulls out the bag that had sat tucked into his jacket pocket, holding the slice of vanilla cake he made for his fallen friend.

Erwin and Levi’s apartment is immaculate. Years of cleaning after Hange had given you the confidence to say you were a tidy person. But after seeing their apartment, you felt like an amateur at best. Even the air felt fresh, albeit it was filled with the smells of cooking dishes. Light tones filled the whole room, broken by the occasional pop of color. There was plenty of white as well, so you know Levi had a lot to say when it came to decorating the place.

“Wow Erwin, your place is so clean!” Hange mutters as she pads around the whole living room. Erwin and his friend Miche were both in the kitchen working over separate pots. Miche was a very strange man, much stranger than Levi for sure. The second you stepped into the apartment, he took a huge whiff of you and grunted. Hange and Erwin chuckled and reassured you that it was normal, but you were still freaked out. If Miche had a problem with your smell, he didn’t say so.

“You can thank Levi for that, mostly. He likes to clean.” Erwin calls out. You knew that of course, thinking back to that fateful night at the bar.

You decided to make yourself at home, curling up at the end of their 3-person couch. Pinks and oranges begin to filter into the room as the sun starts to set. You stare out of their balcony door that overlooks part of the downtown area. They were so close to their café, and you wonder if they had chosen the café location just because of that.

“I can’t believe you didn’t invite me tonight, Erwin!” Hange whines as she leans over the island to see what Erwin was working on. He swats at her to back up and she does so with her glasses fogged up from the steam.

“I already told you. I invited you a couple weeks ago, but it seems to me you weren’t listening to me then. I think you were going off about some lab report that frustrated you.”

“Oh yeah. Okay that’s totally fair and on me. You should have reminded me at least!”

Miche comes over to you with a small plate of some raw vegetables for you to snack on. You take it while smiling at him gratefully, and he just nods before heading back into the kitchen. He had already known you weren’t verbal before you walked in the door, you guess Erwin had told him. Apparently Miche and Erwin were friends for a long time before Levi came into the picture. Just by watching them in the kitchen, you can tell that they worked very well together without having to say a word.

After gingerly placing your empty plate down on the coffee table in front of you, you stand, stretching your limbs with a big yawn. If you sat for any longer on that soft sofa, you figured you might fall asleep. So, you shuffle your way towards the kitchen, making sure to pick up your plate as you do. Miche takes it from you without saying a word and you wonder if he had a hard time speaking growing up or if it was a conscious decision not to say much. Regardless, you sign a quick thanks then turn to Erwin, who was in the process of mincing some sort of herb.

‘Where is your bathroom?’

“Down the hall, it’s the door at the very end.” He slaps Hange’s hand as she’s reaching for a dinner roll over the counter. You smack her in the head on your way past and she just blows a raspberry at you.

You take your time going down the hallway because your eyes are distracted by various photographs framed on the walls. There weren’t any family photos of either of the two, but plenty of random friends throughout the years. There were a couple of Erwin when he was younger, maybe in grade school, with a few friends hanging around him. You think you spot a young Miche with him in one of the photos.

That must mean they’ve been good friends for more than 15 or so years. There’s another picture frame of Erwin and Levi in graduation gowns holding up diplomas, college you think. Erwin has a huge grin showing off his pearly whites and his arm is propped up, leaning on a short-statured Levi. Levi’s not even looking at the camera, electing to look off to the side with a scowl stuck to his face. That checks out, you think to yourself.

You look closely at the one at the very end of the hallway and you notice it’s another photo of Levi. It’s a picture of him and two other people, Furlan being one of them. They’re all pretty young looking in this, but the girl in the middle who had her arms wrapped around the other two looked even younger. She has the brightest, widest green eyes you’ve ever seen. Her red hair is choppy and pulled into low pigtails and a large grin plasters her face. Furlan’s to her left, and he’s looking over to the other two contentedly. Levi is on her right and he’s looking away like he always does, but an actual small smile seemed to pull at the corners of his lips. You also note that this was before whatever accident fell upon him as his scars were missing. They look very happy.

“That’s our friend, Isabel.” Someone mutters softly next to you. You squeak as you jump back, punching into the space where the voice came from. Something catches your fist before it makes an impact. Turning, you see it’s Furlan, holding up your fist in his hand. Panicking, you pull your arm back out of his grip and step back. He stifles a laugh.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I just needed to use the bathroom but saw you standing here staring at the wall.” Furlan rubs the back of his neck and glances up at the picture, a wistful smile appearing on his face. Wording a voiceless apology with your lips, you back up into the wall so he can scoot past you to the bathroom. He thanks you before slipping into the room and clicking the door behind him. You take a deep breath and head back to the kitchen, your trip to the bathroom forgotten.

When you emerge from the hallway, the sounds of clinking glasses and heavy plates can be heard from the dining room. Not really sure where to sit, you go to stand by the table as Erwin and Hange set it. Miche comes over to place a bowl of the dinner rolls that your sister was eyeballing earlier, and he points to one of the chairs against the wall for you. Again, he seemingly knew what you were thinking. At this point, you’re convinced that he knows how to read minds.

You plop yourself down as your sister does the same next to you. She starts pouring wine into the glasses around the table, save for your own; she hands you a soda can and you bump her shoulder with a smile. Furlan comes back from the bathroom just as Erwin and Miche take their seats. Steaming plates of delicious foods consisting of a spiced chicken dish, baked asparagus, smashed potatoes, and sweet carrots lay around just waiting to be served.

‘You really know how to serve a feast.’ You sign to Erwin with a wide smile.

“Well, it’s not all just me. Miche makes a great sous chef.” He jokes.

“Hey, where’d the grump run off to?” Hange inquires as they take a sip of their white wine.

“The grump is right here, tch.” a voice cuts in.

Glancing up, you see Levi drying his head with a towel as he makes his way to the table, water droplets falling from his hair down onto the gray long sleeve he had on. After folding the wet towel and placing it on a table behind the couch, he pulls the chair out across from you and sits down with a small huff. You both lock eyes for a second before looking away.

“What are we waiting for? I’m dying over here!” Hange starts plating up without waiting for a response. She starts to help you too, but you just grab the serving utensils from her hands and huff at her. She playfully slaps your arm but starts digging in. Erwin had thrown on some background music before sitting down, so soft jazz reverberated off the walls mixing in with the bustle of plates being filled.

“So, Hange, what do you do?” Furlan pipes up after a few minutes, tearing a roll up with his fingers.

“I work at Titan Labs, head researcher and what not. I’m working on ways to create zombies!” She cackles and takes another spoonful of her potatoes. The look on Furlan’s face was priceless and he stared at Levi and Erwin for confirmation.

“They’re just kidding, Furlan. They work with curing viruses, at least that’s what I’m told. Hange you can’t just go around saying stuff like that.” Erwin scolds and Hange just grins.

“Oh uh. Okay. I guess that’s a little better.”

‘My sister can be a little overzealous and crazy sometimes.’ You sign to Furlan and Hange just grabs her heart dramatically.

“Pft, I’m not that crazy.” That's all she says before diving back into her chicken, paying the rest of you no mind.

“There’s nothing wrong with crazy. Just try not to get us killed, okay?” He laughs a little and winks at you. Feeling your face flush, you let your eyes roam over to Levi’s. His gaze flickers to yours briefly, but he just takes a swig of his wine and peers out the window. The evening sky was clear, and the stars had started to come out.

The rest of the meal was filled with mindless chatter that you observed happily. Erwin and Miche had roped Hange into some sort of debate, so them translating for you was a little difficult. Luckily, Furlan understood and was fine being the only one talking as Levi just ate in silence. You listen intently but your mind wandered to Levi occasionally, wondering what he was thinking as he delicately cut into his food. Furlan got to a point where he picked up on asking you yes or no questions for the sake of the language barrier and lack of interpreter. It was hard not to smile at his warmth, and you’re open to all of his questions easily. The flush on your face does not disappear the whole meal.

With stuffed bellies and sleepy minds, everyone decides to leave the table and move into the living room to wind down. All except for Furlan, who had said he had an early shift the next morning and needed to leave before he ended up staying all night. Hange, Erwin, and Miche were murmuring together with intermittent laughs about something random. Levi just sat in a chair in the corner of the room scrolling on his phone and not paying any attention to his surroundings. That left you to juggle between staring at the TV and checking your phone every once in a while.

A couple moments later, there’s a scratch of a chair against the floor as Levi gets up from his spot. He slips out of the balcony door with a blast of cold air before closing it shut behind him. You can see his puffs of hot air as he stands, leaning against the rail with his back to you.

As you’re staring, you feel someone tap your shoulder and when you turn to see the source of it, you’re surprised to find its Erwin. Crystal blue eyes stare back at you and then they flicker over to where Levi stood. He says nothing else and sits back down in his spot like nothing happened. Hange gives you a supportive wink and goes back to her conversation with the two men.

Ugh.

You stand up and pull on your jacket that you had slung over the backside of the couch hours ago. Zipping it up, you take a deep breath before sliding the door open and forcing yourself into the cold. Levi does nothing to acknowledge you, he just stands stoically looking up at the stars. You tighten your jacket around you and stand awkwardly behind him, shifting from one foot to the other as you consider what to say.

As you feel the winter air nipping at your skin, you exhale softly and pull your phone out to type out a message. It takes you a few minutes of typing and deleting repeatedly, but Levi says and does nothing as he waits, hearing the clicks of the letters coming out of the speakers.

‘I’m sorry. For exploding on you last month. I threw my anger at you when really, I was angry at myself. It wasn’t nice or warranted and I apologize.’ You shuffle up next to him and hand him your phone carefully. He takes it from your cold hands, his own brushing against yours and they’re surprisingly warm. You see his eyes slide over the words, face bright from the phone light in contrast with the dark night.

He rolls his silver eyes and just scoffs. He doesn’t say anything, and you fidget with your phone. When it was clear he had nothing to say, you fight the urge to turn around and leave. You glance behind you and see Erwin and Miche doing a bad job pretending not to stare at you and Levi. Hange, on the other hand, gives you a big smile and a thumbs up. You swallow hard and type out another message.

‘Are you mad at me still?’

“Still?” He stares up at you in confusion then slight guilt. “I- look, I was never mad at you. It’s just...” He runs his fingers through his hair to push it back, and you spot a few piercings climbing up his ear that you didn’t notice before. They glint off the full moon which sits high in the sky. He takes a deep breath and looks away from you.

“Okay, I was a little mad at first. But I’m clearly not anymore.” He mumbles.

‘Clearly.’

“I know I can come off rude and cold but it’s just... Shit!” He grips the rail so hard that his knuckles turn white. “I’m not mad at you, and I haven’t been for a couple weeks. I just- I felt awkward after the whole thing and I didn’t know how to talk to you. Plus, you know, I thought you were mad at me. So. You have nothing to apologize for. And, here,” he grabs your phone that you loosely held and starts moving around apps, pressing random buttons as he goes.

Then he hands it back to you with a side eye, opting to stare back out to the moon as he spoke. “I don’t want to throw your phone off the balcony so from here on out, just directly text me and I’ll respond.”

When you look down at your phone, your mouth opens slightly in awe. Your phone screen displays a newly made contact page for “Levi Ackerman”. So formal, you think. Clicking the message icon, you type out a little text to him with shaky hands. You’re not sure if it’s from the excitement or the cold.

'Hi'

You hear his phone ‘ping’ and he pulls it out of his back pocket.

“We’re great with words, aren’t we.” he says with a smile playing on his lips.

‘I’m glad you’re not mad at me. I’m still sorry for last month though.’

“It’s fine, but thanks anyways.”

Like a breath of fresh air, a comfortable silence falls on the two of you. You lean forward against the rail and stare down to the ground. Levi and Erwin’s apartment rests on the third floor so there was quite a drop. The yellow glow of streetlights reflected off the snow that was piled on the sides of the road. You shiver as a gust of wind blows through your hair, so you pull your hood up for extra warmth. Against your better judgement, you shoot him another text with something that’s been itching at you all night.

‘Who’s Isabel?’ You watch him carefully.

When he eyes the text, the small upturn to his lips disappears and he freezes for a moment. His hand grips his phone a little tighter as he sighs heavily. Exhausted. The circles under his eyes seemingly darker. He hangs his head down, giving you another side-eye between his raven locks as he starts speaking in almost a whisper.

“She was one of my best friends. Well, Furlan and I’s. We all, uh, grew up together.” Levi swallows hard.

‘What happened?’

His body tenses up once more and you worry for a moment that he might get defensive, but he just grips the rail tightly in both hands again.

“I used to ride motorcycles. I suppose you wouldn’t know that.” You shake your head at him, and he just purses his lips. “Yeah... well. Isabel had this annoying habit of wanting to go everywhere with us but she wouldn’t get her own license so she would ride on the back of Furlan and I’s bikes...” He shifts uncomfortably and leans forward over the rail, looking down at the ground.

“Well one day, my uh, relative, was having complications at the hospital in town and I needed to get there fast. And of course, she wanted to tag along. I didn’t have time to fight with her, so I let her on with me. But...” You reach out to try and touch his arm in reassurance, but Levi jumps at the close proximity, and you pull back quickly. Mouthing a ‘sorry’, you shove your hands in your pockets.

“You’re... fine. It’s fine.” He pushes off from the rail and folds his arms across his chest and stands up straight. “It was raining that day, and I was being careless. I was so caught up in where I was going, I didn’t take the time to be cautious of my surroundings. I don’t remember much but we ended up skidding off the road. I woke up in the hospital with this,” Levi raises the hand that was missing his index and middle finger and then he points to his scars. “And no Isabel.”

You have no words. Even if you weren’t mute, you wouldn’t know what to say to him. You notice in the time that you’ve known him, you haven’t seen him ride before, nor have you even seen a bike in his vicinity. So that alone was a surprise. But another thought scratched at you. Something about his demeanor right now screamed guilt. Did he still blame himself for Isabel’s death?

“I went to go celebrate her today with Furlan. She always had a thing for sweets.” He mumbles, looking a little more relaxed. He has a faraway look in his eyes.

‘What was she like?’ His eyes shift to yours, now soft.

“You remind me a lot of her, actually. Stubborn. Happy.” Levi huffs, but you could have sworn it was a little laugh.

‘You’re pretty stubborn yourself, you know.’ He just rolls his eyes again at you but says nothing else. ‘I think it’s great that you’re celebrating her life. She sounds wonderful. Thank you for sharing that with me.’ You offer him a slight smile and his lips twitch at you in return. He puts one of his hands in his pocket, making sure to keep his phone out with the other as he spoke.

“Who were you and Hange celebrating today? I saw you two at the temple earlier.”

‘Are you creeping on us or something?’ You smirk at him teasingly and his already rosy cheeks turn a darker shade.

“Tch, no. I just passed by, is all.”

‘It’s okay Levi, I get it. We’re that fascinating lol. She was there for her grandparents.’ You fidget with your phone in between numb fingers. It was really starting to get cold, and you weren’t sure how much longer you’d be able to stay out on the patio. But you didn’t want to leave just yet.

“So, you’re not celebrating anyone today?” His innocent question makes you pause. It was your turn to look away, staring at the twinkling stars above. You suddenly feel small, like the universe was too big for you. Biting your bottom lip, you start to type away.

‘Yeah, I have. I lost my parents and brother when I was around six or so. I don’t remember much but there was a big fire, and I was the only survivor. I am not a big fan of fire now.’ Silence ensues for a few minutes as Levi digests what you texted him. Your hands mindlessly trace the scars that trailed up your left arm from that disastrous night.

“I’m really sorry to hear about that.” He says, finally.

‘Oh, it’s fine now. It was so long ago. Hange’s family took me in after 8 years in the foster system, and now I’m stuck with her.’ You give him a meek grin and point behind you. He’s watching your face carefully.

“I’m sure there are worse families to be stuck with.” Levi jokes quietly.

You have no idea, you think to yourself. The thought of the households you lived in prior to the Zoë’s makes you cringe a bit. Memories of being left behind, small cupboard-like rooms, and physically abusive foster parents swirl through your brain. You close your eyes tightly to try and push them away. You feel something warm holding your fidgeting hands still. Opening your eyes to see what it is, you’re met with Levi’s pale hands cupping yours into his own.

“It’s been a very hard day for us, huh?” You don’t want to tell Levi that it’s not your family’s passing that’s upsetting you right now. You figure if it came up later, you would tell him then. You nod once, meeting his silver eyes with earnest. He releases his grip abruptly, your hand freezing from where he had left it. Another comfortable silence falls on the two of you and it warms you from the inside out. Knowing that he wasn’t actually mad at you filled you with immense relief and you were glad that the confrontation was over. Or so you thought.

“So Furlan huh?” He playfully chides. You stare at him, incredulous.

“What? He just seemed really into you. Do you feel the same?” There was a look in his eyes that confused you. You feel your face heat as you tap away at your phone screen.

‘He was just being nice. I don’t know what you mean. There’s no way he could be interested in me.’ You watch his face anxiously, not certain why he was bringing up such a topic. You didn’t really feel comfortable talking about other boys with him just yet, whether it be because you still barely knew Levi or something else you couldn’t quite describe.

“Tch, you don’t know.” He cocks an eyebrow at you but says nothing else. You just shake your head at him, at a loss for words of what to say next.

Suddenly, there’s a knock at the sliding door and peeking through is a Hange with a wide grin.

“Are you ready to go home, my little berry?” Their muffled voice penetrates through the glass pane. You give them a thumbs up and a small smile. They give you a thumbs up in return then spin around to Erwin and Miche who are now standing up, going back into a conversation. You glance back at Levi and find his dark eyes gazing at you. The moonlight hit his entire figure at an angle that made him look almost... otherworldly.

A couple hours later, you’re lying on your side in your bed with fluffy sheets surrounding you. The clock reads late but you can’t sleep due to the giddiness from the buzzing of your phone. You stare at a message notification sent by one Levi Ackerman, and a smile playing on your lips.

Thanks for confiding in me. I don’t mind learning more about you, if you want.

You had received the message a good 5 minutes ago, but you weren’t sure how to respond. For starters, you were extremely shocked to see that he was still awake at such an absurd time. But then again, so were you. You start typing but then delete it right after, going back and forth until finally you give up and just voice what you wanted to say.

Sufficient with your response, you lock your phone and place it on the bedside table. You stare hard at the table, willing for something to come your way but nothing does. Maybe he fell asleep, you wonder. After a few minutes, you start to drift off with the thoughts of a curt man with silver, glowing eyes.

Levi can’t help but chuckle at the three dots in the corner of his phone as you start typing but then change your mind. It had taken him forever to find what he wanted to say to you, but he never imagined your response to something seemingly so simple now could take you so long. In truth, he was surprised to see you open the message so quickly and at such a late time. Perhaps you struggled to sleep as well.

As he waited, he couldn’t help but wonder what to make of you. There was something so intriguing about you that he just couldn’t quite reach, and honestly it confused him even more. Something else bothered him as well as he recalled the haunted look in your eye after talking about your history. Were you holding something back?

Finally, his phone pings and he scolds himself for how swift he was to pick it up. A simple message brings butterflies to his stomach and unknits his tight eyebrows. Whatever it was that you had kept to yourself, he figures it didn’t matter. He would make it his goal to try and get to know you better.

Ask away, I’m here for you. Goodnight, Levi.

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