#mantis dance company

[disease]

THE WEDDING PSYCHIC TV for MANTIS DANCE CO. [MOUTH OF THE NIGHT, 1985]

[drarryspecificrecsdaily]

2024.06.05 ~ Draco L. Malfoy’s birthday

Complete fics posted on AO3 this day

1. Ballad of the Mantis by @tessacrowley [E, 27k]

►Officially, the codenames of those who work for the espionage branch of the DMLE are assigned randomly, but twice in a row, Draco Malfoy’s codenames have been insects—and not just any insects, but insects with cannibalistic tendencies. Perhaps it should be taken as a compliment. After all, who better to tear down a splinter cell of Death Eaters than one who eats their own?

2. Cocoa? by Drarrylxve [?, 4k]

►Harry is having some issues with a case, so Draco invites him over for some cocoa to take his mind off of it.

3. Overnight changes by GoodForNothingDayDreamer [E, 2k]

►Harry finds a fiesty ferret in the corridors of Hogwarts and brings it back to his room intending to hunt down who it belongs to the next day. But when he falls asleep to a ferret, and wakes up to a very naked Draco Malfoy. Well, sometimes plans have to change.

4. Peppers, Please by @rockingrobin69 [G, 1k]

►Some disasters are just asking to happen.

5. salt on my lips by @swimmin-all-the-time [T, 1k]

►Harry gets his sandwich after the war.

6. slow dancing in the dark by @medalsuzdal [T, 1k]

►Draco and Harry enjoy some time alone after a party.

---

Fest/Exchange

1. Draco Malfoy's New Guide to Old-Fashioned Dating by Anonymous [T, 52k]

►When Harry's job as an auror is threatened by his perceived negative attitude towards Death Eaters, he makes a desperate gamble with his boss to save it. Bring a Death Eater as his plus-one to the company holiday party. Unfortunately for him, there's only one person he can think of to ask... Meanwhile, in order to save his best friend Pansy Parkinson from a terrible social fate, Draco Malfoy makes a bet with Pansy's mother. He believes that old-fashioned, traditional courting methods are the best way to repel, not attract, a potential suitor. Now, if only he can find a wizard who has no clue about those methods... ★ Lights Camera Drarry 2024 | @lcdrarry

2. On the Other Side by Anonymous [E, 13k]

►It wasn’t supposed to mean anything, especially since Draco was engaged to Astoria. Then Harry discovered he was pregnant. ★ HD Mpreg 2024 | @harrydracompreg

[nahoney22]

Hello there! Can I please get number 6 with Cal Kestis? That prompt reminds me of the song “Shut Up and Dance” by Walk Two Moons.

Dance the Night Away 🌊

🫧 Pairing: Cal Kestis X Gender Neutral Reader

Prompts:

“Dance with me?”

Summary: With everything what’s happened, you and Cal deserve some time to relax. And what better way to spend it by having a little dance together?

warnings: Fluff, platonic relationship, female reader 😊

Authors note: I’ve not played the newest game yet nor have I played the first one in YEARS so steered away from that story as I don’t know anything about it yet! Enjoy @sleepycreativewriter sorry it’s short! ❤️

In the quiet hours of the night, amid the soft hum of the ship's engines, you found yourself lost in thought. Finding a place to lay low for a while where nobody seemed to know who any of you are, you stood by the viewport of the Mantis, gazing out at the twinkling stars that stretched endlessly before you.

It had been a long journey and the scars and achy bones that littered your body was proof of that. You sigh, rubbing the tiredness away from your eyes when a voice beside you makes you jump: “mind if I join you?”

You turned to Cal and shook your head. “Not at all. I could use the company.” Standing together in comfortable silence, the only sound is the faint whisper of the stars outside until Cal spoke up once more. “What’s on your mind?”

“Honestly? Not a lot. I’m just exhausted.” You admit, folding your arms over your chest as you give him a wry smile. “We’ve been doing a lot lately. It’s nice to just… chill. You know?”

“I don’t remember the last time I ever just relaxed.” Cal admits, a wave of realisation hitting him. “Perks of being hunted for exiting I guess.” He jokes with a small chuckle.

You rolled your eyes playfully and smiled lightly but Cal isn’t happy with your reaction. So quietly, he moved to the control panel, hit a few buttons and they stepped back. You didn’t question what he was doing until a soft melody began to play from the ship's speakers.

You turned to Cal, surprise flickering in your eyes. "Did you...?"

A smile adorned his features as he extended a hand, a silent invitation. "Shall we dance, madam?" he offered, a mock chivalry in his demeanor.

Your laughter bubbled, a fleeting moment of levity. You reciprocated with a playful curtsy. "Indeed, good Sir."

It was an unexpected invitation, but one that warmed your heart. Without hesitation, you took Cal's hand, feeling the familiar warmth of his touch. Together, you moved to the center of the ship, starting with some awkward swaying to the music's rhythm. “I can’t dance well.”

“That makes two of us,” Cal hums but soon, you both get the hang of it. Kind of.

He steps on your toes and yours on his, occasionally bumping into the walls and tables. “You’ve got two left feet, Cal!” You grin in amusement, earning a laugh in return.

For a moment, all worries and burdens were forgotten. Both of you had lost yourselves in the simple joy of music and movement. Cal's presence was a steady anchor, his hand firm yet gentle as he guided you through the steps.

“See? You’re a natural.” He compliments, giving you a quick twirl.

“I’m just trying to keep up.” You admit a little embarrassedly although the dance together was endearing.

With each spin, the weight of both of your responsibilities seemed to lift, replaced by a sense of joy and freedom. The music had changed tempo to a more upbeat rhythm, the two of you simply letting your hair down and dancing like nobody was watching.

Laughter rang out throughout the ship as you both reminisced about the past if a song reminded you of something that came on. You felt quite emotional because for once, there was peace. Cal was smiling, you were smiling, the others were sleeping peacefully. You truly felt happy.

Eventually, the music dwindled and so did both of your energies. As you sat together, catching your breath after the impromptu dance, you felt a sense of peace settle over you like a comforting blanket. Turning to Cal, a grateful smile tugs at the corners of your lips.

"Thanks, I really needed that," you admitted, voice soft with sincerity.

Cal returned the smile, his eyes warm with understanding. "Me too. It's nice to just be normal. Even if it's just by dancing."

Feeling a surge of affection, you leaned into Cal's side, accepting his silent invitation for a hug. His arm wrapped around your shoulders, offering comfort and support.

"It's a shame moments like this can't last forever," you whisper after a few moments, feeling a pang of sadness at the thought.

Cal nodded in solemn agreement, his gaze turning thoughtful. "I know. But, we all have each other. And sometimes, that's all that matters."

In that moment, as you sat together in the quiet embrace of the ship, surrounded by the gentle hum of the engines and the soft glow of the stars, you knew you had each other.

Masterlist

Tags: @littlefeatherr @kaitou2417 @eyecandyeoz @captxin-rex @jesseeka @theroguesully @ladykatakuri @arctrooper69 @padawancat97 @staycalmandhugaclone @ko-neko-san n @echos-girlfriend @fiveshelmet @dangraccoon @plushymiku-blog @pb-jellybeans @nunanuggets @sleepycreativewriter @erellenora @zippingstars87 @ezras-left-thumb @the-rain-on-kamino @lamiliani

[valentine-cafe]

˖⁺. meet me there, I'll give you your roses .𖹭 ݁

﹙ characters. ﹚ ─── our selection of decadent desserts ” 

. . . darling specials !! 🍰 : we highly advise that you read our wiki to understand some character lore 

꒰  verse 781  ꒱

tiramisu . . . . . . alessio arias

the unkillable mercenary ˖ male ˖  a punk goth immortal mercenary with a bad boy esque. flirty, charming and a cocky, chaotic bastard with a love for music and dance. an antihero taking down an evil anti-inhuman organisation with his reckless nature. 

strawberry shortcake . . . . . . rishen herrera

the hybrid hero ˖ genderfluid amab ˖ a mantis-moth-spider hybrid and stem genius university student. a nerd with a heart of gold a determination to protect the city. switches between red smart and preppy aesthetic.

mango pudding . . . . . . zhào talisen

the poetic naga reaper ˖ male ˖ a dark academia poet. a grim reaper and naga who is quiet and aloof in nature. a hero in alias and an english literature student with a love for threatre. a beautifully macabre soul with a tongue of poetries.

black forest cake . . . . . . rishima singhania

the head scientist ˖ female ˖ a genius in all fields of science and a woman of stoicism. her cold heart gives way to surprisingly motherly tendancies. monochromatic 1960's aesthetic. the leader of a hero organisation across the multiverse and a renowned sceintist in her city.

 

꒰  verse 209  ꒱

croissant . . . . . . jìngyí herrera

the snake monster mad doctor ˖ male ˖ a yandere mad doctor who experiments on non-humans. all prim and proper, ever charming and serene on the outside - but is in fact a calculating and manipulative man. a poet tongue that knows how to deceive and twist the narrative.

red velvet cheesecake . . . . . . rishen herrera

the hybrid mad scientist ˖ genderfluid amab ˖ a yandere ceo of a science and research company. effortless and charismatic. a man of cunning intelligence. classy red aesthetic and an indulgent individual that masks evil ethics and sadistic non-human experiments with deceptive charm. 

lemon meringue cheesecake . . . . . . zhào hǎitāo

the demon reaper mercenary ˖ trans male ˖ a cold and calculated member of the resistance against the . a grim reaper with a demon symbiotically bonded to him. intelligent and ruthless. he feeds off vengeance and vows to bring justice to this foresaken world. dark male aesthetic. 

 

꒰  verse 1311  ꒱

​​​​​​egg tarts. . . . . . . jìngyí agresta

the naga mechanist.˖ male ˖ a cunning and ice cold mechanic. a naga and grim reaper who performs as an electric guitarist. deadly silent like a predator with a knack for torturing those that cross him in his workshop. if people see him as a villain for fighting back against discriminating humans then so be it. 

vada. . . . . . . . . . . rishen herrera

the femme fatale admiral ˖ genderfluid amab ˖ the leader of a special agent originisation. and assassin and spy. a man of great intelligence and seductive charm. effortless and femme fatale esque with a sharp tongue. a master strategist with a sense of justice. sassy, sarcastic and a natural leader. scary never wore a smile before him. 

churros. . . . . . . . . alessio agresta arias

the rockstar rebel leader ˖ male ˖ an arsonist and rebellion leader. a callous man with a sick sense of humour with the destructive power of kinetic energy manipulation. a punk rockstar when he is not causing explosions and stirring fear. flirty, humorous yet ready to do whatever it takes to avenge all fallen inhumans. 

ba bao fan . . . . . . . . . zhào hàoyú

the demon casino owner ˖ male ˖ a grim reaper possessed by a demon that feeds on lies. always ready for a good gamble at his casino. villainous yet charismatic. quite the possessive man who enjoys taking sadistic measures. dark male aesthetic with twisted grins and manipulation. 

 

꒰  verse 164  ꒱

key lime pie . . . . . emerald mania ( alessio agresta )

the master of magic ˖ male ˖ the first sorcerer who is considered a corrupt magic god. charming yet sadistic, he takes on the appearance of a demon and dwells in twisted forest. catching poor wanderers and experimenting on their souls. all magic originates from him and he intends to make people remember that. the gods fear his name and the very earth quakes in his presence.

rhubarb and strawberry crumble . . . copper resentment ( zhào talisen )

the snake deity of deceit ˖ male ˖ a siren-like monster that dwells in a large, cursed lake. considered a corrupt god with the power to destroy and reshape universes. a poettic tongue that spills lies and stirs chaos despite his divine and proper appearance. often said to lure beings into the water and challenge the gods. the gods fear his name and the very earth quakes in his presence.

 

꒰  verse 9948e  ꒱

milk tarts . . . . . . alessio agresta arias

the malefic sorcerer ˖ male ˖ a vintage goth sorcerer with a destructive amount of power. dry, sarcastic and chronically tired. a former rockstar who grieves the loss of his lover. now known as a cold-hearted spellcaster on a mission to bring the dead to life. 

lemon coconut tart . . . . . . zhào jìngyí

the wandering guarding reaper ˖ male ˖ joyously whimsy, a grim reaper who roams the afterlife after his early passing. always cracking a joke, poet in his own way and soft in nature - yet able to switch instantly on those that underestimate him. he ventures through the realms to aid in missions of the gods. soft aesthetic. 

tres leches cake . . . . . . rishen aryielus

the devil in angel's robes˖ genderfluid amab ˖ a charming and attractive angel of pure divinity. raised by the gods with seemingly a heart of gold. but a frightening presence and terror amount of sword skill despite his benevolent appearance. making most believe that he might indeed be a demon. 

passionfruit custard tart . . . . . . zhào hàoyŭ

the rebel reaper˖ male ˖ a dramatic and charismatic grim reaper with a knack for art. ever as flirty and adorned in a punk goth aesthetic with vintage twists. ever as flirtatious and sometimes chaotic. the heart of a rebel who fights to change the system of his world and the divine while he's at it. a vexer of the gods. 

almon jelly . . . . . . zhao yìzé

the mercenary reaper ˖ male ˖ an aloof grim reaper who delves into mercenary. taking out his anger in weaponry and kills. a caring soul who would rather remain cold as to not wear his heart on his sleeve more than he already has. cyberpunk aesthetic with a rebellious flair. 

mango pancakes . . . . . . zhào hǎitāo

the instigator reaper ˖ trans male ˖ an mortician who also delves into the black market as an informant. calm and collected yet ample times cunning. ready to strike down those that deserve. an instigator in nature. soft boy blue aesthetic.

red bean bun . . . . . . yuè mèng yáo

the grim reaper mother ˖ female ˖ a woman of great serenity and traditional in her culture's ways. known for her wisdom and peace - yet also the frightening presence that she brings in her wake. the leader of a grim reaper sanctuary and a mother protective of her kids.

bungeoppang . . . . . . . kyung seong-jin

the diurnal reaper detective ˖ male ˖ a supernatural detective with no filter. a grim reaper who is cold in nature. the heir of a renowned reaper family with a dark male aesthetic. often considered rude - yet dutiful. he has no restraint in his blunt tongue - yet has a warm heart for those he holds dear. 

revani . . . . . . . rasui

the fire elemental mercenary leader ˖ male ˖ a mercenary leader who is ever as regal and serene. cold on the exterior and strict in nature. a sometimes domineering fire elemental who tries to remain as callm and collected as possible. proper and formal in aesthetic. 

sakura pudding. . . . . . . shimada takara

the killer kitsune ˖ genderfluid ˖ a kitsune masking their nogitsune nature. chaotic and wild with a bite for thrill and danger. constantly seeking a way to keep themselves from boredom. he finds himself in rasui's mercenary syndicate to manage his violent tendencies. a mix of traditional and cyberpunk aesthetic. 

 

꒰  verse 9819  ꒱

​​​​​​​​​​​​caramel cheesecake . . . . . . . . alessio agresta arias 

the serial killer magician ˖ male ˖ the effortlessly charming leader of a crime specialist syndicate. a sort of robin hood and outlaw with a dark male aesthetic. serial killer of several politicians. cunning, witty and justice seeking. evading capture and playing games with the government council like the illuionist he is 

strawberry cupcake . . . . . . . . denara agyros

the darling sorceress heir ˖ female ˖ a lunar sorceress and heir to a renowned magic family. gothic in aesthetic and a lover of horror. yet soft and optimistic. a tender soul with a dark side. a kind nurse fighting off her jealous nature. burying into her love for thriller writing. 

red velvet cookies . . . . . . . . zhào xīyáng

the grim reaper mercenary boss ˖ male ˖ a collected and deadly quiet mercenary boss grim reaper. frightening with a taste for danger. a mix of oriental and refined white aesthetic. cold in nature and has ever the blunt tongue mixed with dry humour. he shakes hands with the devil to protect his city. 

 

꒰  verse 9948v  ꒱

kulfi. . . . . . . . rishen herrera

the mad cultist composer ˖ genderfluid amab ˖ a blank cultist with the ability to manipulate blood itself. a composer who writes with the very crimson he sheds. monotone with a dark sense of humour. cursed to glitch into phantom versions of his doppelgangers across the multiverse. a nercomancer with red esque.

mooncakes. . . . . . . . zhào hàoyŭ

the vengeful phantom ˖ male ˖ a phantom that haunts his world. sadistic and psychotic. careless with the souls he pulls from the afterlife to aid in his brutal massacres. possessive, obsessive and yandere in every way. with a morbid sense of humour and a smile etched on his face at all times. 

 

꒰  verse-less  ꒱

berry crumble . . . . . . . . jìngyí verseless

the demon alchemist ˖ male ˖ a demon with a frightful reputation. silent, sadistic and intelligent. best known for his alchemist shop in the dephs of hell. a dark oriental aesthetic with hints of modern. ever as graceful and beautifully macabre. loves to tempt his anger and remind others why he rose through hell's ranks.

kourabiethes . . . . . . . . valerius ariti

the hex demon lord ˖ male ˖ a serene demon lord who casts hexes through the multiverse. indifferent and ever ready to accept a deal so that he might play around with a mortal. regal and strewn in gold. divine to the point some consider him a god. refined and charming despite his brutal nature and vanity. 

cherry custard tart . . . . . . . . orion

the abyssal angel general ˖ male ˖ a silent and poetic angel who ranks as a general. known for his watchful eye over the abyss. cold in exterior and a strategic warrior. yet beyond caring with those he holds dear. a wise soul who can be a bit of a trickster at times.

[roo-bastmoon]

Suspicious Treatment of Jimin: What am I forgetting?

I have serious medication-induced brain fog so my memory is swiss cheese these days. I am trying to map out something so I can understand what is happening with our Jimin....

So far:

Hanteo deleted hundreds of thousands in sales; company did not comment.

YouTube froze and deleted millions of streams every day; company did not comment.

Jimin's Spotify profile was not properly listed. It still has no description or link to merch.

Jimin's works are not added to the company's playlist for days and sometimes weeks while other members' works and collabs are added immediately.

Spotify froze and filtered millions of his streams; company did not comment.

His title track was deliberately split, despite qualifying to count as one unit.

His in-ear devices failed to work during a live performance.

He was allowed only 9 days of promotion.

He was denied when he requested more than 2 music videos.

His historic Hot 100 #1 was not acknowledged by the company except for one single retweet the day-of.

He had no celebrations, no formal acknowledgement by company leadership of his achievement or of the resulting huge increase in stock prices.

Billboard changed their charting rules in Week 2; company did not comment until it was time for a different album to sell.

His albums did not ship to China and have not been restocked on WeVerse for weeks (whereas other artists' albums have).

His instagram was shadow banned. His videos on TikTok are also soft-blocked from being boosted.

All other members' YouTube focused views for Take Two auto-generate a preview photo; his does not (this must be deliberately selected not to generate an image). *Apparently they have fixed this issue after enough fans called it out on Twitter.

Some have observed that since Hybe took over, Jimin has been given fewer lines in group songs and less time dancing center as well.

A recent WeVerse article about Morgan Wallen downplayed both Yoongi's tour and Jimin's album as achieving "some partial success in breaking up [Wallen's] domination of the Hot 100."

Add to this the company "omitting" his bills four times, which lead to late payments on insurance premiums, which led to his apartment being "seized," which led to a smear campaign in the press the very same day his OST With You dropped... followed by his personal address and national identity number being doxxed online... and this honestly looks suspicious as hell.

What am I forgetting?

I'm not a manti but if I don't get reasonable explanations I'm gonna become one.

How can it look like anything other that deliberate sabotage so that one member does not outshine the rest?

How is this good business sense?

Jimin is a humble, hardworking team-player with no ambitions to go solo and leave his members. Why would anyone have it out for him?

It's possible there's prejudice and bigotry at play, but deep enough to span multiple departments and cut into the company's bottom line?

And yet how can it not be deliberate? How can any company be THIS incompetent for just ONE member?

And yet if we raise hell, we look like victimizing solos. Yet look at this laundry list!! And it just keeps happening. What can be done??

Can we not organize a quiet mass-email campaign? Can someone not write up a well-researched UCC article to share in English and Korean and keep tagging Hybe? Would it not be possible to comment respectfully about this in WeVerse?

Or would acknowledging it at all make it worse for Jimin?

I don't understand all the politics at play here.

I have no real idea what is happening but part of me is quietly terrified they have it out for him during contract negotiations for some reason.

What is BTS without all our beloved seven?

I'm genuinely very deeply upset.

[fanfoolishness]

If you're so inclined from that prompt list, Greez & Purrgils? or BD-1 & bacta?

Thank you! I hope you enjoy this for Greez & Purrgil!

in the still of an endless night

Greez struggles with grief and going it alone, but being there for family brings him back. Greez POV, Greez & Cal, a smidgen of Cal x Merrin, Jedi: Survivor spoilers. 1800 words, angst, grief, Mantis found family.

-

Greez knows he should try to get some sleep.

He's the pilot. He's got people relying on him. He owes it to them to stay rested, to make sure he's at the top of his game. Where would they be without him?

Instead he sits at his pilot's chair, hands cupping the controls loosely, autopilot on.  He watches hyperspace stream by, blue and white streaks dancing in the void, their interplay a mystery he knows he will never understand.  That’s okay.  It’s not for him to know.  All he has to do is navigate it, and he’s got that down.

The Mantis is quiet all around him.  Maybe Cal’s rubbing off on him, but for a moment Greez imagines he hears the sounds he used to, back when they were all together; Cal and Merrin joking together awkwardly on the sofa, Cere’s calming voice with occasional crazy good jabs, BD-1’s burbling cheer.  

He hears none of it now, of course.  BD-1’s plugged in and powered down for the trip.  Cal and Merrin are asleep, or at least, together.  He’s not stupid. Something’s finally going on with those two, and he should be happy about it, happy for them.  

He is.  He’s glad that Cal’s moving on from the Jedi code, that Merrin’s figured herself out, and that somehow, those two weird kids have found their way back to each other.  He’d long ago decided that when it inevitably happened, he’d razz them about it -- but just gently enough so that they knew he really was proud of them.  He’d always figured when it finally happened that it’d be a happy time for their funny little family.  A new chapter.  Something to celebrate, after all of their struggles.

But Cal and Merrin and BD aren’t the only ones on board. Cere’s here too with Master Cordova, both in burial shrouds.  Safe and sound, where nothing can hurt them again.  

And everything, everything is wrong.

Here in the quiet, the tears come.  He’d been trying to keep them back.  Trying to put on a brave face for Cal and Merrin.  He’s suddenly aware that he’s all they have left to look up to, and all his swagger and charm and charisma feel powerfully, powerfully hollow.

The streaming lines of hyperspace blur, waver, vanish entirely.  Greez weeps into all four hands, and for a while, everything fades away.

His breath eventually slows.  He only has so many tears at once, after all.  He wipes them from his face, feels his damp whiskers, lets out a long, deep sigh.

That’s when he sees them.

For a moment he isn’t sure of what he’s looking at.  The lines of hyperspace bend and sway.  At first he thinks it’s his bleary eyes, but the bend in the lines deepens, becomes a deep, ominous shadow.

Many shadows.

“Oh, kriff,” he breathes.  There’s only one thing the shadows can be, here in a hyperspace lane.  Purrgil.

Maybe he’s been lucky, but they’ve never haunted the Mantis before.  He’s heard the tales, the hyperspace collisions, wrecks never to be found.  He freezes.  What can he do?  If he tries to haul the ship out of hyperspace, they’ll wind up in who knows where, just as wrecked as if a purrgil tried to ram them.  All he can do is sit tight, and hope they’ll pass on by.

“What are they?” asks a hoarse voice from the shadowed cabin, and Greez nearly falls out of his chair.

“Dammit, Cal, don’t sneak up on me like that!” Greez hisses.  “Well, come on up, get a better view.  If we’re gonna die now, it’d be nice to have some company.”

Cal slides into the seat beside Greez.  The blue and white light of hyperspace plays over his face, revealing messy hair and swollen, puffy eyes.  Whatever rest he’s gotten on his own or with Merrin hasn’t been enough; kid’s still a wreck, and Greez doesn’t blame him.  

“Have you ever seen them before?” asks Cal.

“No, and I don’t wanna be seeing them now,” says Greez gruffly.  “They’re purrgil.  Some kind of space whale.  They have a nasty reputation for crashing into ships in hyperspace.”  He watches them float past, their tails somehow twinkling with the same glow as the infinite stars.  Funny, but they seem awfully gentle for beasts with their reputation.  “Huh.  I don’t think they mean to do it, really.  Maybe they ain’t that bright.”

“They’re not malicious,” says Cal.  “They just have somewhere to be, and they want to get there.  That’s all.”

“That a Jedi thing?  You can talk to them?” 

Cal shrugs.  “I don’t know.  Just a guess, from the way they’re moving.  I don’t think they’re interested in us at all.”  He laughs, but it’s a brittle, rueful sound.  “They might be the only thing in the galaxy we don’t have to run from.”

Greez takes a deep breath.  What would Cere say?  She was always good at talking Cal through those bitter waves that hit him, now and then.  She never let it get her down, just always acted like it was a lesson she could work through with him.  That was the teacher in her.  

She’d been so wise.

Greez watches the purrgil swim on by, massive ethereal things, slow and stately and yet impossibly fast.  Maybe Cere would have liked them.  Maybe she would have shared some Jedi lore about them.  They’ll never know now.

He’s got nothing, but he tries anyway.  “Cal… we’re gonna get through this,” says Greez.  “Not just the purrgil.  All of it.  Cere and Cordova and Bode, all of it.”

Cal nods, his mouth tight, looking off into the distant void.  

“How are you, kid?”

He shrugs, shoulders jerking.  “I -- I keep seeing it, Greez,” he whispers.  “Her death.”  He crosses his arms over his chest and hunkers down in his seat, screwing his eyes shut.  

Oh, oh.  Greez has seen this before, seen the kid sunken down on the floor, huddled to try and shut the memories out.  Before it was the memory of losing his old master.  Now it’s --

“Hey, hey.”  He takes a deep breath, tries to figure out what might help.  “I’m sorry, Cal.  I know this thing you got, with seeing these -- these echoes -- I know it’s hard.  If it seems like it’s just too much, you can tell old Greezy.  Maybe it won’t feel so bad if someone else shares it too, you know?”  

Cal’s shaking.  Greez slides out of his pilot’s chair, seizes the kid in a fierce squeeze of a hug.  “You hear me?”

Cal looks down at him, breathing hard.  “She nearly had him, Greez.  Darth Vader.  She fought like a hero.  Like the Jedi Master she was.”  He hangs his head.  “And at the end, she reached out to me.  I could feel her fading, through the Force -- and I kept hoping I was wrong, I was confused, maybe I was feeling something else --”  He hugs Greez back and lets out a long, shuddering breath.  “If I’d made it back in time, if I hadn’t gone after Bode --”

“Then maybe you’d both be dead,” says Greez sharply.  “You telling me you could take out Darth Vader?  If Merrin and I lost both of you, things would be even worse.”  He swallows.  “Cere was special.  But she wouldn’t have wanted you to get killed trying to save her.”

Cal nods, his eyes bright.  “I know.”  He glances up, gazing into hyperspace.  “... Do you hear that?”

“Hear what?”  Greez listens, but all he picks up are the normal Mantis sounds, and Cal’s rough breathing.  He looks curiously at the kid, then out the view field.  The purrgil have swum far ahead of them, now, their long, massive tails dancing in the starstreams.  They seem to be clustering together, drawing close to one another.  

“Hear what?” he asks again.

“It’s like singing,” Cal says, and he closes his eyes, falling deep into concentration.  “But it’s so… strange.  Beautiful, almost.”  For a moment, he looks like normal Cal again, the grief fading to the background.  It makes Greez’s chest hurt.

The reverie is brief, and Cal shakes his head, coming out of it.  “It was faint.  I wish I could have understood it.  All I could get was just a sense of… striving.”  He looks down at his hands.  “Maybe Cere could have understood them better.”

There’s a flash in white and blue, and the shadows are gone.  The purrgil have left them, vanishing to parts unknown.  Greez sighs in relief.

“Maybe,” says Greez.  “But you got something from them, and that’s not nothing, Cal.  Who knows?  Maybe you’re what kept us from turning into space trash.  If so, I appreciate it.”  

Cal gives him a tired smile.  Unlike the laugh from earlier, it reaches his eyes.

“Go get some rest,” Greez prods.  “Plenty of time to run yourself ragged later.”

“I’m fine --” Cal begins. 

Greez fixes him with a stern stare.  “I don’t know if you know this, kid, but Cere and I, we had a pact.  If we lost one of us… the other one was gonna do everything they could to keep you kids safe.  I may not be much of a fighter, but I can bug you to take care of yourself, and dank farrik, I’ll do it.”

“That’s -- no, I shouldn’t be surprised.  That sounds just like both of you.”  Cal gets to his feet.  “But you should get some rest, too.  Don’t think you’re the only one on this ship who can worry.  I know you’re hurting too.”  

“Well -- well -- fine,” Greez grumbles, touched.  “Okay.  The Mantis is on autopilot anyway.  I just… I needed some time, too.”

“I hear you.”  They walk towards the sleeping quarters, Cal heading for the engine room.  

“‘Night, Cal.  And say goodnight to Merrin for me,” says Greez casually.

“Sure,” Cal says, then stops and draws himself up straight, looking startled.  “Wait -- how did you know--”

“You two’ve been making eyes at each other for years, Cal.  Cere and I had a bet on, even with the Jedi code and all.  It was a whole thing.  Don’t worry about it,” he says, waving a hand.  “I’m  glad for you two.  This family could use a little extra happiness, right about now.”

Cal just smiles at him.  His face is still drawn and grief-lined, but there’s a glimmer of real warmth there that’s heartening to see.  “Thanks, Greez.”

“Don’t think this means you’re not getting teased,” Greez warns.  “It just doesn’t feel appropriate right now, under the circumstances.  But we figure this thing out -- see it through -- well, just be prepared, is all I’m saying.”

“You think Merrin’ll stand for that?”

“Well, no, she’ll probably turn me into a toad.  It’ll be worth it, though.”

“Toads it is, then, I’ll make sure to tell her.”

“Now wait a minute --”

“See you when we get there.”  Cal’s chuckle cuts off as he walks down the hallway back to his quarters, and Greez heads to his own bunk, pondering his potential future as a toad.  He climbs in and lays back against the pillow, letting his eyes close.

The night feels a little easier now.  They’ve managed not to get exploded by a purrgil, that’s gotta count for something.  With their luck lately, he’ll take it as a win.

The grief of losing Cere -- and Cordova, the Anchorites, the Archive -- still waits for him, here in the dark.  This isn’t his first run-in with grief, and he knows it’s something he’ll carry with him always, just as he carries Granny Pyloon with him.  But one of the funny things about grief is that you can’t feel the worst in your life every minute, and right now, thinking of his talk with Cal, he feels a little better.

“I’ll do what I can for them, Cere,” Greez says quietly.  “You can count on me.”

[manyblinkinglights]

Hihi!! As a quadruped creature enthusiast, I've been enraptured by your AnyTaur base since the moment I saw your horse any% video and dug into your newer techniques from there. I've finally become literate enough in Blender and Unity to effectively utilize it, to my greatest jubilation! The sheer amount of adaptability in the setup is just indescribably cool.

I was wondering if I could get your input regarding how one might go about handling a character whose forelimbs are unconventional even by quad standards: they're in a kind of N shape, kind of like a praying mantis' big front claws. See also: as pictured (finished art in image 1 from Limbus Company by indie studio Project Moon)

The hind legs are simple enough, just being analogous to most any other digitigrade quadruped creature, and are therefore handled beautifully by the basic anytaur rig! I've not attempted anything with the forelimbs yet, however, as i feel myself to be a bit unequipped to go forth with such.

If you have no immediate advice and/or you'd not prefer to dedicate time to such a pursuit, I completely understand! I'm more than willing to experiment on my own should the need arise. I merely wish to reach out to you as well, just in case you have any great tips on-hand, considering you're the one who was able to assemble this sorcery in the first place.

Best wishes, and thank you once again for your invaluable tool! 🫶🫶

Just the regular anytaur rig will still work I think??? Just start from the shoulder (you have to have a shoulder) and work your way down. Your forelimbs still have a mammalian-bauplan number of bones, they’re just held quite contracted. Unity’s constraints are way more permissive than you’d think for this purpose, they’re really great for this because of how mammalian leg chains only rotate at the hip/shoulder and then the ankle/wrist.

Because your forelimb is so contracted, you’ll just have to trial and error the best constraint weights. I recommend the shoulder be constrained 1.0 to start with, and then the forepaw and forebeans also 1.0, and the ones in between all at 0.5. See what happens with that. The usual way of calibrating, chairpose and the script, may not work as well on this leg… forepaw pickup should calibrate fine though. or, uh, not.

But seriously, it should more or less work. If that doesn’t work, try 0.3 at the shoulder, then 1.0, then 0.7, then 1.0 or maybe 0.4 for the forepaws and 1.0 for the forebeans…

Basically, just try a few different patterns, including everything set to 1.0. You might not get very accurate foot placement but you should be able to get some sort of acceptable skitter. I think if you start it dancing in Play mode you can change the constraint weights while it dances?? If not that, you can also try making the left and right sides different, to compare how different approaches work.

[gamerkitten]

Team Alpha

Since deciding that all my Vs exist in the same universe, I realized that means my corpos are coworkers .

Cue me putting together the headcanon that the three of them all form a team that report directly to Jenkins, his most trusted agents. The only ones he would trust enough to ask them to kill his boss.

And so Team Alpha was born!

Jenaè Valentine

You know her, you love her; Arthur Jenkin's silk gloved right hand. As a blue blooded corpo, she can dance this dance without missing a single step and her stealth based combat skillset lends itself well to infiltration and sabotage.

She's called in when a case needs a precise and gentle hand or, subtle blade in the shadows.

Naveen Varma

Naveen is a scholarship kid from Arasaka Academy, born and raised in Heywood; specifically the Glen. His parents own a restaurant and are very proud of his success, as if they gave him any choice.

Hot tempered but charismatic,Naveen is the enforcer of the group and the bridge between the corporation and the streets.

Valarie Tanaka

Valarie is a product of the brutal infighting in the Tyger Claws and a childhood within a corporate orphanage. She's not much of a people person, tolerating the company of her team and other netrunners but she has little patience for anyone else.

Her domain is the net, hunting runners stupid enough to try and breach Arasaka's subnet. If she has to attend to a threat in person, she's just as deadly with her mantis blades as she is with her quickhacks.

Each of them have their own small teams that report to them, Carter, unfortunately, was one of Jenae's.

[themculibrary]

Amusement Parks Masterlist

Anything Goes (And Usually Does) (ao3) - tisfan bucky/tony E, 2k

Summary: A night at the fair, anything and everything goes...

A Whole New World (ao3) - Icylightning pepper/tony T, 18k

Summary: For last six months Tony and Pepper were looking for a child to adopt but luck wasn't on their side. Until one day, Tony receives a letter from five year old Peter Parker.

Best Ride In Town (ao3) - ChasingMuses bucky/zemo E, 13k

Summary: Bucky's pretty sure there's not much better than a disheveled, slightly desperate Zemo. He's not wrong but he's going to have to make up the public embarrassment that the Baron suffers. Thankfully, he's up to the task.

Candy Floss (ao3) - Captain_Loki clint/natasha G, 1k

Summary: The Avengers go on a team building trip to an amusement park

Disney World (ao3) - Kenzie_Marvel G, 9k

Summary: Natasha and Tony takes Yelena and Peter to Disney World, cute chaos ensues. :)

ferris wheels (engine failure) (ao3) - MAVEfm G, 1k

Summary: He can't stand Coney Island or the way his whole body feels like it's caught in a current, or the way Mantis is looking at him.

For A Smile (ao3) - FujurPreux steve/tony T, 9k

Summary: Tony's scientific quest to make Steve smile goes to interesting places when he tasks a new AI to help him with the logistics.

Honey Honey Rock the Boat (ao3) - HisaHiru steve/bucky T, 5k

Summary: A date at the amusement park, Steve and Bucky being lovey dovey... What could go wrong? Nothing. Except Tony (and friends) decided it was time for them to step in and play detective. Sam wanted to go home already.

(I Can't Let This Go) I'm On My Way (ao3) - kototyph steve/bucky T, 4k

Summary: “Do you, uh… d’you want to go in?” he asks. Jeez, he’s nervous. He doesn’t think he’s been this nervous since 1940 and asking Mary Margaret to come dancing, standing out on her stoop with all her brothers and sisters watching and Bucky egging him on from under the stairs. She’d turned him down in front of God and country and even slammed the door in his face.

Steve really, really hopes Bucky’s not about to slam the door in his face.

It's 3am and We Must Be Lonely (ao3) - monicawoe steve/bucky T, 2k

Summary: Steve and Bucky go on a motorcycle ride to Coney Island in the middle of the night. The amusement parks are closed but that doesn't keep them from having some much-needed fun.

Ride (ao3) - Azure_Waves bucky/darcy E, 2k

Summary: When Darcy's car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, she's happy James is with her. It would be okay if the amusement park they'd broken down in front of wasn't closed (and creepy!), but hey, she has good company at least.

Rollercoaster (ao3) - AmethystSong steve/tony T, 7k

Summary: Thor prompts the Avengers into going to an amusement park, comedy, chaos, and romance occur in that order.

Superheroes (ao3) - enigma731 G, 11k

Summary: Clint has more than a few concerns about Tony's new Avengers themepark. Trouble is, no one wants to hear them from the focus group's "least marketable Avenger." Looks like he'll just have to investigate for himself. As usual.

the closest thing (ao3) - daisylincs G, 6k

Summary: A mission with Coulson and May takes an unexpected turn when Daisy finds out that a) they tricked her into taking a day off and going to an amusement park, and b) everybody at said amusement park seems to think they're a family.

The Person on the Other End of the Line (ao3) - imgoingtocrash G, 3k

Summary: Flash gives in to an immature impulse that leaves Peter injured enough that they call his emergency contact, Tony.

[stormblessed95]

Hey Stormie...have you ever talked about this...and Where can I get it🥺

Hi! I swear I've 100% talked about this before. But I can't remember or find it. I think in a reblog from someone else. Lol but WHATEVER let's do it again!

This comes from the 190706 We Love BTS 2019: "BBQ Party in Las Vegas" You can find it here with English subs too, filmed for hulu

This was filmed though right after they won Billboards that year, so on 190502 is the date its really from!

The screengrab you have is from barely a minute in during the psychology test portion of the conversation! Lol they all had to pick the animal they would feed first at the zoo, and that would signify what you valued the most. So they all picked an animal. Jimin, the monkey (same), and the yoonjinkook the panther and taenamseok the rabbit.

And for these answers it was said that if you picked monkey, you valued your friendships and relationships in your life the most. Of which Jimin fully agreed that was something he highly valued and so he would say was accurate. JK chiming in with a "oh. Be my friend!" cuteness

The panther signified life partner as what you valued the most in your life. Which JK also agreed with and Jimin went "OH JKKK" and they reached across to briefly clasp hands as JK looked at Jimin and asked "who could be my life partner?" 👀👀👀

The rest of the group all shouted BTS as the answer, while Jimin, JK and Jin all shouted ARMY as their life partner. Lol 💜

The rabbit meant family was most valued to you. Which got those 3 lots of affectionate hugs and them saying that BTS was their family! Lol to which JK said that BTS fit all 3 answers. They are friends, partners and family. 🥰

Jimin agreeing of course, giving an affectionate JKKKK again and reaching over for a fist bump. And then they moved on to the next topic. Lmao all that within the first 3 minutes 🤣

Their Answers to other questions as well.... only those jikook answered for now.

Current Obsession:

Jimin: listening to music while he falls asleep

JK: practicing English

What would you take to a deserted island:

Jimin: a flint

JK: muscles (lol)

An unforgettable memory with the member sitting next to them:

Jin to Jimin: during trainee days they would always go to the gym and then the internet Cafe together

Jimin to Tae: how they would go out often together while in Japan and would go out at night without the company knowing to buy snd eat Lots of lunch boxes and have a beer and go for walks while in Japan. L

Tae to JK: during trainee days they went to a bathhouse together that doesn't exist anymore had a rice drink and watched the snow

JK to Suga: Suga teaching JK about the Irish Bomb and going drinking with him and getting drunk that day. Lol (jimin and jhope requested to go drinking for an Irish bomb with suga next)

If you had a week long vacation, what would you do?

Jimin: Said he would want to travel, that it doesn't matter where or with who, but he would want to go places (JK saying "travel boy!" Lol)

JK: Rest for a day, box for a day, study English for a day, study video making for a day, study photography for a day, study drawing for a day and box some more lol

(Sounds a lot like how they spent their 2019 vacations later that year 🥰 all of their answers did.)

Favorite thing in your room?

Jimin: The framed thing hanging up with all the birthday notes from his members and a duck chair that was gifted to him by a friend (and Jhope decorated)

JK: his Bluetooth speaker (jimin laughed so hard he almost fell over at this answer lol)

Which country or city you haven't been to yet would you like to visit?

Jimin: To Northern Europe to see the Aurora lights (other suggestions were given too lol)

JK: said he wanted to go to Northern Europe too and also somewhere to see the White Night

Using the following words (BBQ, bath, DNA, Rice scoop, dance, abs, praying mantis) come up with a message of love:

Jimin: Ah, everyone. Your love has been stored in my heart one rice scoop at a time, and now that love has become very big. I love you guys

JK: Everyone, My love comes from my abs. So I shall work hard to always strengthen my abs. (LOL Jimin dying laughing from the previous statements and now JKs. Chiming in with a "so if you lose your abs, do you lose your love too?" "I wont lose my abs until I die!" Jimins "ohhh we shall see. You will work on your abs while thinking of ARMY" 🤣🤣 )

We then spent the next few minutes watching them eat and Tae leading the maknae line in a "it's tasty" harmony lol they gave their closing statements. Including JK saying the most memorable part was everyones energy. Jimin saying that he laughed so much today it hurt. Lol and Jimin also teasing Tae in his ending mentions alluding back to his message of love and baths. Lol Jimin saying they made good memories today because of Tae, JK agreeing saying "yes, you were cool." My vminkook 🥰

Probably more than you asked for, but my masterlist will be happy with this on it! Lol hope it helped! 💜💜💜

[kyberphilosopher]

Eunoia

The Mantis crew decides to take a well deserved break.  Word Count: 2422

Warning(s): straight fluff, short Requested: yep This can be read for a female, male, non binary, or any other reader.

Eunoia is the shortest English word containing all five main vowel graphemes. It comes from the Greek word εὔνοια, meaning "well mind" or "beautiful thinking”. It is also a rarely used medical term referring to a state of normal mental health. In rhetoric, eunoia is the goodwill a speaker cultivates between himself and his audience, a condition of receptivity. In book eight of Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle uses the term to refer to the kind and benevolent feelings of goodwill a spouse has which form the basis for the ethical foundation of human life.

* ✭ ˚ ･ﾟ ✧ *･ﾟ * ✭˚･ﾟ ✧* ･  *

Cal is actually not as observant as people think he is. You know because you’ve been leaning against his doorway, watching him, for about two minutes now and he hasn’t noticed a thing. 

Maybe if you were in his position you’d be the same. That seems about right. He’s hunched over his desk with the lamp on bright, tinkering with something that you can only assume is for BD-1. He’s probably lost in thought. Maybe he’s dreaming of better days. Or maybe he’s just trying to figure out which wires and bolts connect to which. There’s no way to be certain from your position. He’s the mechanic, you are not. 

So why have you been watching the redhead from his doorway for three minutes now? A simple answer. He is your friend, and you enjoy his company. Even when he’s not giving you attention, completely unaware to your presence in moments like this one, lost in his own world, it’s his warmth that really counts. Cal is such a relaxing bout of fresh air compared to everything else in the galaxy, in your life. It’s like being at a great party, but whether you enjoy it or not, stepping outside and tasting the air and the smell of something wonderful. Even if you had a day full of talking to people and had become burned out, talking to Cal would have been no problem at all. Maybe in a way that makes him your favorite person. 

Yeah, maybe. 

BD-1 jumps onto Cal’s desk. His head looks at the boys hands, cocking about as if observing. Then he meets your gaze, only to find a smile. One index finger raises to your lips, prompting the little droid to stay quiet about this, before you turn away and head towards the main part of the ship. 

“Where’s Cal?” Greez gruffs upon seeing you. He’s shaking spice onto a steaming brown plate, which puts a pep in your step. Greez’s cooking always makes life better. 

“In his room,” you answer. You turn from the doorway to the counter, where something hot does cause stringy, swirly puffs of air to waft upwards from a large metal container. With your back to Greez, you pull a plate for yourself and begin hulling it full of food. Some sort of rice or grain?  

“Hmph, that reminds me,” the Latero begins mid-chew. “Me and Cere was talking about taking a vacation.”

“Vacation?” you scrunch your eyebrows and put the lid back on the container. “Where to?”

“The beach maybe?”

You scoff as you turn around and lean on the counter. One hand holds the plate while the other uses your index finger to prod at the mush. It smells alluring. The individual pieces of it stick to your skin. They burn and sting, but it’s so small it doesn’t bring much of a reaction. “I don’t know a lot of beaches.”

“Well, ya know,” Greez shrugs. “Just a thought.”

* ✭ ˚ ･ﾟ ✧ *･ﾟ * ✭˚･ﾟ ✧* ･  *

It was more than just a thought. Six days later, the Mantis touches down on Scarif. But first there’s the issue of landing. 

“Watch that tree,” you point, leaning over Cal’s shoulder as he co-pilots beside Greez. A second later, the ship gives a great rock and the palm tree crunches beneath it. “You weren’t watching the tree.”

“Sorry,” Cal offers sheepishly. 

“What?” Greez says. He’s the one in main control of the ship. He’d never let Cal take over the whole thing. “What he do?”

“Ran over a tree,” you snort. 

“Cal!” Cere scolds, turning around in her chair. 

“I said I was sorry!” Cal defends. 

“I’m telling the wookies what you did,” you whisper.

“Don’t,” Cal whispers back, though it’s still desperate. 

The Mantis parks itself in a field of tropical emerald on the cuff of a beach. The sand is white, the waves cyan and royal blue and sloshing. There’s several beaches on the planet. All of which are very beautiful. Would be a true shame if anything were to ever happen to Scarif. It’s so different compared to so many other planets in the galaxy- not occupied by Imperial forces or scumbags. 

Greez waves everybody off. Cere exits first. Cal is ahead of you, but he steps to the side and rather gentlemanly insists, “You first.”

You hum and move past him. The Scarif air hits your face with a warm breeze. It smells of salt and water and some kind of flower. The horizon goes orange and pink and salmon with the setting sun. It is... serene. It nearly knocks you off your feet. It takes his voice to realize Cal is beside you at the bottom of the ramp. 

“Woah,” he offers simply, in as much awe as yourself. 

“Woah,” you repeat in agreement. It’s still for a second. “Come on. Let’s join them. Or else I’ll have to cast a Jedi mind trick on you.” Your fingers wiggle up and down by Cal’s face for dramatic effect. 

Cal rolls his eyes. “Shut up,” he utters with a push on your elbow, urging you forward into the sand. 

Okay, so maybe you like Cal more than just a friend. But who can blame you? Things had been feeling different between you two lately. You’d always gotten along pretty smoothly. You made up for skills that Cal seemed to lack himself, and his abilities- human and nonhuman- never ceased to amaze you. He was a friend. And then, when you tended to the stab wound he’d gotten from Vader, there was a moment where you held each others eyes. After that, the joking became more constant. The little touches on the shoulders and elbows and forehead taps happened more often. And you started watching him from his doorway sometimes and... and at some point you just caught feelings. 

Cal Kestis seemed to feel the same, but who could really say? No use poking that bear right now. 

The sand is soft, even beneath your boots. Cere stands in front of the water, just breathing in the air. The light breeze makes her vest ripple. It’s tempting to just join her. 

“Gotta say,” you hear a familiar voice say from your left and below. “We picked a nice place.”

“Maybe we should stay a while,” you joke, though you secretly hope for it, to Greez. 

“Yeah,” Greez rolls his eyes. “Until this moron gets us into trouble again!”

Cal perks up. “What did I do?”

“Anybody who can lift things with their mind is gonna attract some attention, kid. You just brought it on us.”

“So true,” you jump on with a smirk to Cal. 

“Alright,” Cal turns away towards the beach. You position yourself so you’re closer to him, and Greez takes the opportunity to waddle away further ahead to waves.

“Sorry for bursting your bubble, Cal,” you continue with a smug grin. “Maybe in the next life, don’t be born with force powers? Just a suggestion.”

“You think you’re so funny,” Cal tells you, though he’s smiling too. His pale green eyes spare a glance at you, thick lashes dancing on his boyish face. 

Your knees bend until you collapse on your bottom in the sand. It’s so soft, it doesn’t even resist your weight. It makes way for you easily, like a blanket. “I do.”

Cal joins you in the sand quickly enough. You’re both face to face, the wind in your hair and the water at your side. It crashes every few seconds, but it’s peaceful. Some kind of bird flies overhead, and butterflies are in the forested area behind you. The light of the sunset illuminates Cal’s hair more than usual. The brightest points of his eyes are highlighted. 

“He loves you,” you offer. 

“You think so?”

“I am one hundred percent certain... Just don’t touch the ship.”

Cal raises his hands as if surrendering. “Understood. Hands off.”

You turn your head to the water. Greez and Cere are standing ahead, most likely having a conversation of their own. The tide carries so much of the stress your shoulders hold away from you. Everything with the holocron, the empire- it was ridiculous what living in hiding could do to a person. It’s hard to imagine how Cal did it for so long. How painful that must’ve been for him. How painful it is to imagine him in pain. 

“How’s your stomach?” you decide to ask at last. 

Cal tilts his head for a second. “Better.”

“Perfect?” you raise your knees to your chest and rest your arms on them. 

Just then, a little whirring noise pulls both of your attentions away. BD-1 bounds down the ramp of the ship, twirling around in observance as if excited. “Hey, BD,” Cal greets. “I know, buddy. I know.” The droid places itself in Cal’s lap, still looking around at the change in scenery. 

“We’ve never been able to do this before,” you tell him. “I mean, I wasn’t here for the whole adventure. But I was here after and before and... and just... we’ve never done this.”

Cal is quiet. “I haven’t either.”

You look at him. 

“Taken a break. I guess time on Bracca was the closest thing.”

You smile softly. “I’m sure it was really nice.”

Cal rolls his eyes along with his head, though the corner of his chapped pink lips turn upwards. “As nice as it could be with the Empire.”

“That’s pretty nice.”

Cal and you huff a humorous puff of air in unison. 

“What were you doing before the Mantis?” Cal suddenly asked. 

“Oh,” you roll your eyes and wave your hand. “Not important. Don’t even worry about it.”

“Come on!” Cal shifts. 

“I’m serious!” you defend. “It’s boring stuff. You wouldn’t want to hear about it. Not as interesting as the force.”

“Well anything related to you is interesting,” Cal says casually, one of his palms lifting in the air for effect as he shifts again. 

Well that makes your face feel hot. Anything related to you is interesting. How often do people get to hear that? And how casually it comes out of Cal’s mouth, the shrug of his shoulders that you tie so easily to him, that’s how you know it’s honest. Not only have you heard something intimate that not many people will in their whole lives, but it was also heartfelt. 

“Yeah,” you mutter, though it sounds distant and far away as you watch Cal’s eyes. He doesn’t seem to mind. Then you snap back to reality. “This is gonna be good.”

Cal watches you pop to life, standing up entirely and running towards the water. BD-1 perks up as well to watch you just in time to see your much bigger form nearly knock the Latero over. And, much to Cal’s surprise, the little droid jumps from his lap and bounds after you. The red head decides he’s next to follow. 

“BD-1,” he rasps, also nearly pushing Greez to the ground. “Don’t touch the water!”

But it’s too late. However, nothing happens. BD-1 stands in the shallow waves, unelectrocuted and unbroken. He doesn’t spark a bit, only cocking his head in wonder at his friend. 

“Think fast!” a voice calls. 

A splash of warm and salty water slaps against Cal’s face. He cringes, turning his shoulders away on impact with a little gasp that makes his throat burn. “Hey!”

Another splash. 

Cal turns to you. You’re standing with your hands on either side of yourself, open and matching your smug and proud face. Your boots are still on, which can’t be comfortable given that they’re now submerged in water. BD-1 is on the back of your shoulders- something Cal thought was only between him and the droid. Apparently not. 

“What’s wrong, Cal? Can’t handle the current?”

Cal stills himself. Then he bends down himself and flicks water upwards. 

“Hey! No!”

He does it once more. 

“No!”

So you too repeat your original actions and begin forcing salty liquid up into the air in Cal’s direction as well. BD-1 grips onto your collar for stability while you both go to town, careful to not open your mouths too wide and taste the saltiness. 

“Be careful you two!” Cere calls from the shore. Neither Cal nor yourself heed her words, continuing on in disrupting the tide. 

“They’re fine,” Greez assures with the wave of one of his many arms. 

“Are you sure about that?” Cere responds with a hand on her hip as she watches you tackle the Jedi to the sandy terrain below the shallow water. 

“Completely fine.”

You push both of Cal’s shoulders down jokingly, careful not to subdue his head under the water. He cranes his neck to keep it above the waves. Through his soft lashes, Cal can just see your smiling, evil intentioned face with BD-1 on your shoulder gazing at him. 

Honestly, it feels just how it did last week- the last time you had watched Cal in his room. Gazing at him, admiring him. Just now you get to touch him, relax with him, splash water at him, even. You wish you could capture this moment if not forever, then for a while, and Cal wishes the same. 

* ✭ ˚ ･ﾟ ✧ *･ﾟ * ✭˚･ﾟ ✧* ･  *

Sorry it’s short. Idk if it’s my best work certainly but I haven’t written for Cal or Star Wars in a while. But I didn’t kill the reader in this fic or have someone sick or in danger! So it might be my first ever straight fluff? I don’t know. But what a good character to do it with. I’m glad to give Cal a break. And i hope the requester enjoys. 

[disease]

yet another addition. 丰

[urimaginespimp]

Last Kiss (This Love pt 6)

Bucky x reader (elemental witch)

Set on Endgame.

Note: This one is a rollercoaster of emotions

previous part

--------

Fear was creeping up within you as you stared at Thanos’ army approaching definitely outnumbering you and the rest of the team. Nevertheless, you were ready to fight in honor of Nat. The wound in your heart from losing her is too fresh.

But before you knew it, a golden ring, followed by another one after another started appearing behind you, and you were too struck to move when one by one, everyone who disappeared five years ago started walking out.

And then you see him, weapon in hand, ready to finish the fight.

The fear within you was long gone, and was suddenly replaced with hope.

--------

Everybody was working together in the fight. You were holding your own pretty well, just killing any one of Thanos’ army near you or overwhelmingly attacking anyone else on your side. You paused for a second to catch your breath when a voice spoke behind you.

“Can’t you look ugly for once, doll? I mean we’re in a middle of a fight and you still look like an angel.” You turned and faced a panting Bucky. He was still holding a weapon, dirt and dried blood on him, but he was giving you a small grin.

Your eyes welled in tears as you take him in. Hell, you don’t know what to say...

“I-”

But before you could finish embarrassing yourself before the man you’ve been waiting on for five years, he closed the space between you and captured you in a kiss.

His lips were softer than you’ve imagined them to be, but before you could even comprehend what was going on, he broke away.

“Buck-” you whispered.

“Just wanted to do that in case I turn to dust again.” he whispered with a shit-eating grin, before turning back to fighting.

You chuckled, shaking your head to not get too distracted from that welcomed rude interruption and went back to fighting.

---------

Nat and Tony. Two of the first Midgardians you’ve met, and now you swore to hold in your heart forever.

It was just a little while after the funeral when you decided to sit with Tony’s daughter Morgan, and Happy.

“You’re Y/N.” She gazed up to you with wonder behind her eyes.

“Yeah, I was your dad’s friend.” you smiled, looking down next to you where she sat. You didn’t know Tony talked about any of you to her.

“He said you would be the best one to build forts with and that he didn’t like your boyfriend.” She tilted her head to the side, reminding you of Tony’s mannerisms.

“I uh... don’t have a boyfriend.” you coughed awkwardly.

“That’s ok, I’m not allowed to have one too.” she gave you a toothy grin. Happy and you exchanged looks.

“Is it Jesus with the robot arm? I saw him staring at you.” She asked you with no hesitation, prompting Happy to stand before you two.

“Yeah, that’s enough. Wanna get that cheeseburger now?” He offered his hand to her, which she took happily and said a quick bye to you.

You made a mental note to pay them a visit someday. Standing up from the seat, you walked down and stopped by the lake when Steve approached you, now in his suit.

“I saw the punk finally kissed you.” He smiled at you.

“We haven’t really talked about it yet. A funeral is hardly the best setting for it.” you shrugged.

“I hope that was the end of you being dumbasses around each other.” he nudged your shoulder, chuckling.

“I don’t know, Steve. I quiet enjoy making you want to pull out that golden hair of yours.” You smirked at him.

“Take care of each other, okay?” He faced you now, making you turn his way as well in confusion.

You were about to ask him why he was talking like he was leaving for good when it clicked. He smiled at you when he saw the realization dawn on you.

“Take care of us yourself, coward.” You smirked, but your eyes were also tearing up. Steve was leaving too.

“I just lifted your father’s hammer.” he feigned offense, and took a step closer to you, taking you in his free arm. “I love you, kid. Despite how much you like making my old heart uncomfortable sometimes.” you felt him kiss the top of your head.

“Again, I called you ‘daddy’ once and it was out of a dare.” you weakly punched his chest. “I love you too, old man. No matter how boring your war stories are.”

Breaking away from him, you wiped the stray tear on your cheek. “Go get that dance.” you smiled genuinely at him, which he returned.

“What, no last snarky remark to remember you by?” he teased, making you roll your eyes at him.

“Don’t break a hip doing so.”

“There we go.”

--------

“Are you sure you wanna stay?” Thor asked you for the third time.

“I don’t like space that much.” you smiled at him. He decided that he was gonna join Quill and the rest of the group. “And with the amount of people who just missed 5 years, I wanna help them get back on their feet.”

“And the old man?”

“Father, I’m older than him.” you reminded. He still couldn’t accept it when Mantis pointed out to him that you have sexual love for the man with the lomg hair and metal arm. He was acting like a protective father.

“If he hurts you, you tell me.”

“Do you have a phone now? A computer?”

“No, what for?” He laughed at you.

“You’ll hear from me through Rocket.” you promised. “You guys take care of yourselves, ok?” and he assured you with a nod.

Throwing your arms around him, you promised to take care of New Asgard, and to stay out of trouble. Your father sealed his departure with a kiss on your temple and a promise to visit you when he can.

--------

You were now walking around the property, exchanging greetings and goodbyes to the people who were still there while looking for Bucky, when you finally see him walking around aimlessly. And as if sensing your eyes on him, he looked your way.

You tried to give him a smile, and you were confused when he didn’t return it, just nodded at you and walked the other way.

You decided to follow him. Catching up, you were now only a few steps away from him when you called him.

“Buck are you okay?” you asked him, concern lacing your voice.

Stopping on his tracks, he turned around to face you with a serious expression.

“Steve left.” He stated looking at you with a frown etched on his forehead.

You nodded as a reply. You couldn’t begin to think how he was feeling.

“You know, it seems that everyone else already knows which path to take next except me. All I’ve been doing is jumping from one fight to another.” He started to rant.

“Wakanda-”

“Y/N I was hiding in Wakanda. I need... I want to start finding myself now that I’m recovered. And let's face it. You need it too. We can’t keep living in a sanctuary. And I just think I can’t start fresh when I’m around people who would remind me even the tiniest of my parts as the winter soldier.” you were still trying to wrap your head around what he was saying when he spoke again.

“I’m sorry for kissing you. I wasn’t thinking straight.” he looked anywhere but you, but his face was contoured with certainty.

“Buck what are you saying?” deep down you knew. You just didn’t want to believe it.

“I’m saying I’m letting you go, Y/N.” He said, his eyes finally meeting yours. “Take care of yourself.” he finished, and turned away again, starting to walk away.

“Bucky I...” You wanted to tell him. To just let it finally out, but now something in you, maybe a little anger, stopped you from making any more of a fool of yourself.

But it didn't go unheard by the super soldier as he turned to look at you one last time.

“I know, Y/N. And I’m sorry but I can’t... I can’t love you the way you'd hope me to. You’ll see that I’m right someday, and you’ll thank me for it.” He gave you one last sad attemot of a smile, before finally leaving you, glued to where you were standing, unable to fathom what just happened while simultaneously feeling a part of you just... break.

--------

(set a little into TFATWS finally)

WARNING: Mention of assault. Look out for *(start) and ** (end)

Six months. It’s been six months since you’ve last seen him. And every day it was getting harder to keep yourself from finally admitting to yourself that you’re mad at him.

True to your promise to Thor, you were taking care of the people of Asgard, using some of the wealth him left you with to send some of the younger ones to school, and with the help of Pepper, even buy some shares of some companies. To say the New Asgard was doing well would be an understatement. The people were merely taking up jobs out of interest.

Val as usual, saw through you. She told you it was okay to be mad – that it was a stepping point to start moving on.

“Come on Y/N. The dude kissed you and changed his mind just like that. I would’ve broken his nose if I were you.” She told you one night after catching you looking at a photo of him given to you by Steve. “You can’t tell me you’re not holding even just a tiny grudge.”

“Okay, if it makes you feel any better, I am holding a little resentment.” you shrugged at her, making her reply ‘good enough’.

You just didn’t think it was going to end that way for you both. And now you were wishing you’ve taken those 5 years as an opportunity to rid of any romantic feelings you had for him. Maybe then it wouldn’t have hurt at all when he left.

You tried to ask Sam a number of times if he had any idea how he was doing, but he’d say that Bucky kept ignoring his texts.

For a few weeks every night, you’d been wearing one of the only shirts he owned back in Wakanda. And before you sleep, you think of the image you’ve engraved in your mind – him sleeping peacefully next to you in Wakanda, just after a nightmare.  Then you’ll wake up the next morning hoping he’d have a good day, and that maybe something would remind him of you and make him wish he’d stayed. And It went that way over and over, until one distinct night.

*

There was knocking on your door late at night, waking you up from your sleep. Opening the door, you were met with three of the women you know, holding up a younger one who was crying and shaking in shock.

They explained that she’d been close to getting assaulted after a night of partying and losing sight of her friends. Thankfully the three women found her and were able to pry the man away. But what was worse was that this wasn’t the first time something like that happened.

**

Save the world once or twice, there would still be shitty people. That was what you realized that night.

So maybe he was right. You realized that what the Avengers taught you about Midgard didn’t cover much of the shitty things that happen frequently to innocent people.

And that was when you decided to replace nights off wallowing in self-pity, with going out at night, staying in clubs or hanging out in its bathrooms, just making sure everybody was safe. And soon enough, crime rate at night in your area reduced significantly.

Maybe if you divert your attention to literally anything else besides the man, you’d actually get over him.

All was well until one morning as you were kicking off the heels and taking of your dress from the night before to finally get some sleep, the tv you had on flashed something that caught your attention.

A stranger holding Steve’s Shield was being called the new Captain America.

What the actual fuck?

--------

@eternalharry @iheartsebandchris @lizzarooni @the-ayo-lit @tanyaherondale @knowyourworth-sellyoursoul

[thoughts-on-bangtan]

Hi! I hope you’ll answer this question bc it bothers me quite a lot.. https://www.quora.com/What-does-it-mean-now-that-BTS-are-partial-owners-of-Big-Hit-Entertainment do you think it is true what the second person (Christine Herman) said? After reading this, i started to wonder…what if BTS does really have only profit in mind while doing new projects these days? Maybe they don’t really care anymore about creative and meaningful lyrics and sound? With Butter and PTD…all this generic music sung in English. Of course they say “we wanted to make fans feel good”, “butter and ptd represent who we are” and all these things fans want to hear but.. do you really think it’s true? moreover, don’t get me wrong, i don’t find product placement in their reality shows as something terrible, i believe this is a normal thing, however, nowadays the members really film ads and do marketing a lot. so yeah, for some reason i began to question their integrity dhsjjss i hope you will understand from where my concerns come from and won’t find this ask stupid sjdjjdjd

After reading that persons answer I can immediately tell you that I basically don't agree with an overwhelming majority of what she said (even more so since a lot of it just makes her sound like a manti that hates the company and basically would want them to make music for free or something). Generally I don’t agree with most of the opinions this person holds, and also Quora really isn’t a good source for info or good opinions, most of it is written by mantis, haters, and toxic shippers with an agenda so most ARMY will tell you to stay as far away from that website as possible.

Anyway, her focus in that answer was on money, since BTS are shareholders (and how that’s a conflict of interest despite other artists doing the exact thing but no one really cares or ever thinks about it), but what she failed to consider and note was that Big Hit Music, so BTS' label, isn't part of HYBE in the sense that shareholding has no baring on it since BHM is private. So while BTS profit off of HYBE doing well, and have a small percentage of a voice as shareholders, that has nothing to do with BHM in the classical sense, even if BHM's earnings reflect well on HYBE numbers and the shareholder money. 

BHM was made private to ensure their artistry would remain untouched, that was the whole point of that.

Even if they weren't HYBE shareholders, take Namjoon as example. He has more than 170 KOMCA credits, is among the top 3 Korean artists with the most credits and is also the youngest of them all. It is said that his earnings from that alone can sustain his family for 3 generations over. Look at Hobi and Chicken Noodle Soup, that song was a hit and he paid the original creator of that song 2 million dollars upfront and earned a lot back due to how successful it was. Same goes for Hope World which, again, was and is still immensely successful. Look at Yoongi and his work both as prod. SUGA, featuring artist SUGA, and as Agust D, as well as the credits he holds for his work on BTS songs (giving him as well a total of over 100 KOMCA credits, just like Hobi). Bangtan have worked and continue to work extremely hard for their music, put their heart and souls into it, and it shows even if their style changed as they grew older and more mature.

Yes, money is a major motivator, but looking at the above paragraph, do you really peg the members as these corrupt money hungry sellouts with no music related integrity? Who would need to sign major deals and would throw away their passion to just release empty shells of music for the sole reason of money? Am I naive enough to believe that they don't care about money? Of course not, we live in a capitalist society and even if BTS wouldn't care about money anymore at this point, HYBE very much does, and yet still I can't find it in me to agree with any of what was said in that answer that person wrote.

More below the cut:

And that point about how Hyundai cars were sold out because of BTS, isn't that the point why literally any company ever hires celebrities to advertise and endorse their product? And sure, again, I'm certain they earned a lot on these deals, they aren't the first or last or only ones in the history of ever to do so. Besides, look at JK and what he's done for small companies, or Tae who wore a brooch made my a small creator at the airport which catapulted that creator into the eyes of millions of ARMYs enough so that they could move to a proper studio and earn money with their work. Or the modern hanboks JK wore which led to the brand being able to move into actual stores in malls because of their sudden new popularity and demand. Or him wearing a bracelet that helps whales with a percentage of the money from the sales of said bracelet. And for all of that JK and Tae didn't earn any money at all. JK himself said that he's more conscious of the brand he wears now because he wants to help smaller businesses in these trying times, not because they pay him to do so (especially since they would never be able to afford that), but because he's aware of the influence he has and how he can use it to help others. Sound very much like a capitalistic villain, right?

As for the product placement bit, have you been on YouTube recently? Have you noticed that many, if not most, YouTube videos by “bigger” creators (and by that I mean even people who are around the 100k subscriber mark) begin with them thanking whoever sponsored that particular video and give you a scripted minute to two minute long ad before getting into the actual topic of the video? And In The SOOP featuring Chilsung Cider, FILA clothes and the random mention of how good Samsung phones are isn’t much different from it, though really, if you’re not someone interested in fashion much, would you really notice or care that they wore FILA? It’s just...clothes? If it weren’t a BTS related show, would you even notice it much? And it’s not even like they mentioned those brands every five minutes or anything, just a few times, which sure sounded a bit out of place at times, but personally I thought it was easy to look past. That’s just how things work nowadays and it’s odd for people to behave like somehow BTS are the first and only ones to use product placements despite literally every movie and show doing it in subtle and less so manners.

The answer by that person you sent also mentioned the Hyundai song for their car IONIQ and, unsurprisingly, that person wrote it off as just some commercial jingle but I’d actually disagree with that. Not to sound like a Hyundai and Samsung stan, which I am neither of, but I actually think those two knew best how to utilize the artist they have spent millions on signing a deal with. Hyundai didn’t just write them off as pretty faces with a millions strong fan army behind them and that’s it, they remembered that they are musicians so they gave them a song and made a whole music video for it as well. And say what you will, it is a good song. Then, just a few days ago, Samsung stepped up their game and we were given Over The Horizon Prod by SUGA of BTS. For those who aren’t Samsung users, Over The Horizon is their signature ringtone and basically their company sound, and over the years different artists were asked to make their own version of it. And this time they reached out to Yoongi and asked if he’d like to do it as well. It’s kind of a big deal. Sure, Butter is used in one of their commercials much the way Dynamite was last year, but that’s beside the point. Would that person make the same claim about Imagine Dragons whose song Believer is also part of the ads for the new Samsung phones? I have my doubts.

Furthermore, and I don't want this to come across as mean toward you but, I think it is uncalled for to question their artistic integrity based on a total of 3 (three) English songs when last year alone we received 50+ songs, most of which were in Korean, among them the entirety of BE which was, according to the members, the album they were most involved in ever when it comes to both music and everything around it.

You can dislike their English songs, that’s more than fine, they have a very extensive discography you can listen to instead, but questioning their integrity based on them doing something that most, if not every, artist on their level does (as in sign ad deals with brands etc) is a bit much if you ask me. Does that mean indie artists whose songs get picked up for commercials (or for Netflix shows or movies) and thus it catapults them into the mainstream are also just money hungry people with no integrity and ones who don’t care about their music? Or is that, again, just a standard Bangtan is held to (as in that their integrity is questioned based on everything, even the most trivial/normal things) that only applies to them and no one else?

In the recent Weverse Magazine article about how Permission to Dance came to be there is a lot of talk about not only that song but also Butter and Dynamite, among the things being discussed and talked about they mentioned how the original lyrics for Butter were much more materialistic but that the members didn't like that so they asked for that to be changed. Likewise the original lyrics for Permission to Dance, as you'd expect from the penmanship of Ed Sheeran, were much more romantic, almost proposal like, which wasn't what the members wanted either so it was, again, adjusted in a way that would fit what they, as well as the A&R team, wanted. While you may not like these songs, they still had a say in them to a certain degree, could say yes or no and ask for adjustments. Why else would PTD take eight months?

While they might outsource their English songs, their main focus, so their Korean (as well as Japanese) discography is still centered around them, their lyrics, their songs, their sound. Of course you’ll also find outside producers and some lyricists on those as well, because that’s how music works these days, as in collaboratively, that doesn’t change anything at large. Their integrity is still very much there, their hearts are still in it, what other reason would any of them have to say that they want to continue for a long time, for Yoongi to say they want to figure out how to make their career last as long as possible, for JK to say that he wants to sing forever?

Admin 2 also wanted me to add that in their opinion, to a certain degree (though not fully of course), their English songs are like a way to laugh at and expose how shallow the English-centric music industry is. As in, while they made music in Korean with deep and meaningful lyrics, the US industry didn’t care but once they switched to easy to listen to sound with easy to understand English lyrics, they suddenly paid attention, are played on the radio, and even received a Grammy nomination which they wouldn’t have gotten for a Korean song ( A1: regardless how much Black Swan or Spring Day really would’ve deserved it...). 

[valentine-cafe]

Hallo! May I order a…croissant and red velvet cake, please? { this is my first official order !! ٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶ }

{ GN! Reader }

Just thinking about coming home, basically drenched in sweat from a long day of dance rehearsal. Picking up dancing— especially musical theater dancing has been intense, plus you feel bad for coming back home late.

You close the door behind you, dropping your dance bag and letting out a sigh of relief.

You find your two lovers sitting on the couch just talking and enjoying each other’s company. You walk behind the couch and join their conversation when one asks, “How’d it go? Learn anything new?” And you start suddenly rambling about how you are learning a song from the musical Chicago, and how exited you are but a lot embarrassed because some on the moves are a tiny bit sensual!

“It’s a tiny bit embarrassing, I’m not used to dancing that way…but I’ll manage!” You say, leaning more on the couch

“How about you demonstrate for us, hm?” Rishen would tease.

⊹ ۪ ࣪ ᥫ᭡ verse 209 jìngyí & rishen ⊹ ۪ ࣪

. ˚◞꒰ 🍰 mad scientist x gn!reader, mad doctor x gn!reader, spider monster x gn!reader, moth monster x gn!reader, mantis x gn!reader, snake monster x gn!reader, yanderes x gn!reader, villains x gn!reader, cw: suggestive ꒱

꒰ we are so excited to take your first official order! hope to see you around more!<3 ꒱

your face flushes. but the way that jìngyí arches his brows in amusement and rishen snickers - tells you that they certainly wouldn’t mind a demonstration.

you half wish to back out. half wish to follow through to stab rishen’s tease on his tongue and make his mouth run dry. yet you stand still, contemplating.

the latter wins.

“well who better to practice on than my boyfriends?”

your muse leaves an exchange of small comments from them. your bag is dumped to the floor and you strut on in front of the sofa.

your nerves nearly get the better of you when jìngyí leans back with a small grin and a tilt of his head. a low whistle leaving his lips. this, joined with rishen folding his arms with a little curl to his red lipstick made you just a bit more shy. yet ever as determined.

you trot over to the gramophone and pluck the needle onto a selected vinyl. you tap your foot to the melody that fills the room before you step back in front of the two.

with a deep breath, you tune your body to the music and then begin. softly recounting the dance moves you’d learnt in rehearsal and trying your utmost hardest to perform them to their fullest. the watchful eyes of your boyfriends certainly makes a good incentive.

you caught their gaze at one point. at a particular move that you clearly saw made rishen’s jaw tick. made jìngyí reposition himself. and deciding that it is your turn to tease, maintained that eye contact with them until the end of the dance.

as the music drowns out into another song and you are left panting. you’d suddenly feel a pair of cold hands running up your sides. you yelp - having barely even noticed that jìngyí relieved himself from the sofa to instead find position behind you.

“my, you certainly are a sight.”

his muse to your ear makes you flush. yet the warmth from another at your front makes you whine.

it only brings a chuckle from rishen’s red lips, who gives a small pinch at your hip. “certainly a sight indeed. . . although, I grow tired of this living room.”

he exchanges a glance with his husband. you can already see their shared grin.

a squeeze to your hip. a kiss to your neck.

“what say you?”

[thosebrookfieldgirls]

The Ramshackle Girls Nickname Meanings -- Floyd Edition

Here is the breakdown of the meaning of all the girls Nicknames from Floyd. I posted this in the story but since it’s in the authors notes and those sometimes get buried I decided to post them on the blog too. For those who don’t know I am a firm believer in Floyd picking nicknames for people that not only fit with appearance but also personality 

Valentina AKA Black Molly or Molly: Black Molly’s are a freshwater aquarium fish and are normally peaceful as community fish. They can get aggressive if overwhelmed or stressed much like Val does when everything starts getting to her or people start hurting her friends (and Deuce), but generally they are happy to just school. Much like Valentina is content spending time with her ‘school’ of the dorm or Ace and Deuce. 

Kristina AKA Cichlid: Cichlid are aquarium fish that are notorious for not getting along with other fish. They are extremely aggressive and volatile making them hard to keep outside of a school of their own kind. Much like Kristina tends to only get along with the guys in Savanaclaw and sometimes her dorm (Depending on who in the dorm you’re talking about hehe) 

Anne Marie AKA Shrimp or Shrimpy: This is the cannon nickname for MC and was given to her because she was the main focus of Octavinelle. It is also why I made her the shortest of the girls. Shrimp are also a popular prey for Morey Eel’s like the twins hence why Floyd gives this nickname to MC on top of them being skittish around the twins and were going to be falling prey to Azul’s predatory contracts. 

Judith AKA Manta Ray or Manty: Manta Ray’s are also called Devil Fish due to their horn-like front and large menacing appearance and often get mistaken for being in the sting ray family despite lacking a poisonous barb. Despite their appearance though, they are harmless and highly curious creatures. Scientists even believe they are intelligent enough to be self-aware and have been known to ask divers for help removing fish hooks and other debris from their bodies, staying still while the divers work. In other words, Floyd sees right through Judith’s ice queen act and knowns she’s all bark and no bite, just a happy sea flap flap that look scarier than she is and is smarter than everyone giver her credit for on top of being extremely curious like running off in the middle of the Atlantica Memorial Museum where no one could find her. 

Kimberlee AKA Whale Shark: Whale Sharks are large and docile animals that, despite their name being shark, only eat plankton. They are gentle giants and kind of clumsy when in aquarium settings. Much like Kimberlee tends to be a little clumsy herself despite her dancing background since she’s still learning to move properly in her more tall and willowy body. She also tends to look a little scary at times due to her size and more masculine appearance but is actually just a sweetheart. 

Eva AKA Flounder: Flounders are known for being muted colors to blend in with the seafloor where they camouflage to catch prey and avoid predators. They also tend to bury themselves in the sand in the process--this pointing out Eva’s more withdrawn nature and habit to run to her room whenever they have company especially new company. She also tends to hide herself like Flounders do not just like that but with clothing as well. It’s also a nod to Flounder from the little mermaid and his more cry baby and cowardly behavior like Eva tends to be the one to go “hold on wait... that sounds like a bad idea lets not” 

Fiona AKA Platy: Platy are not schooling fish, but despite this tend to be very peaceful and sociable fish-- much like Fiona tends to be rather sociable person despite not sticking to any one particular group. They are also extremely popular among aquarium hobbyists like Fiona is pretty popular with the guys at the school (Even if she doesn’t notice they are trying to be more then friends and the rest of the girls face palm watching her turn a date offer into a group hang out pfft they like they room to talk)