#maybe I’ll color them later on and post it again | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

not-neverland06 · 10 months ago

Text

One More Spring

One-shot

Tagging: @dumblittlebunbun bc you’d commented on a previous slasher post

Bo Sinclair x fem!reader A/N: This was a strange little Drabble I came up with when I was experimenting with a different writing style. Summary: You only have one wish, to make it to one more spring in Ambrose. You know that the women don’t last long, used and tossed aside, you don’t have big hopes. Just one last prayer.

You could always tell what kind of day it would be by how the door closed. Maybe it was because you’d grown up with strict parents, but you could read a mood based off their footsteps.

For now, you felt comfortable and remained lounged on your crappy lawn chair, trying to get some sun back on your legs after winter. The screen door closed lightly behind Bo as his heavy boots made their way to you.

You didn’t bother lifting your sunglasses as you felt him hovering over you. “What’re you doing?” His voice was gruff and he sounded like he was panting.

“Trying to get some color back.”

You could hear him scoff and glanced to the side to see him stealing a swig from your beer. “Don’t have better things to be doing?”

“Like what?” You snarked, rolling over and huffing when his eyes immediately went to your ass. Probably a good thing you chose a skimpy pair of bottoms, he was always more agreeable when he was horny. “Playing housewife?”

He chuckled under his breath, kneeling down beside you and flicking your sunglasses up. “Yeah, maybe.”

You rolled your eyes and swatted his hands away. You propped your head up on your arms and glared at him. “I’ll put on an apron for you later, for now, buzz off.”

He shook his head and stood up. “Don’t know where all this attitude came from.” You yelped as his hand came down on your ass. He laughed loudly, walking away much too smug for your liking. “Better not be a damn thing under that apron later!” He shouted as he went back into the house.

You looked up to tell him off and finally caught a glimpse of his coveralls. Blood coated the bottom of his pants and you shrank back into your chair. You put your head back down on your arms, closing your eyes and ignoring the way your stomach twinged in anxiety.

As requested, you’d made dinner in an apron and nothing else. Bo had subsequently banished Vincent from the kitchen. You’d felt bad when you’d woken up in the morning, you hadn’t gotten a chance to slip him any food. You’d passed out pretty much the second Bo was done with you.

Your eyes darted to the bloody coveralls on your bathroom floor. You sighed, legs aching as you got off the bed. You collected his dirtied uniform and the laundry basket and made your way downstairs.

You got started on the laundry, kicking the old washing machine a few times to get it going. It had been on its last leg for a decade, it was a matter of months before it finally conked out. You threw the clothes in, fingers snagging on a lacy number at the bottom.

You frowned, tugging it out and holding it up to the light. You’d never seen this before. It certainly hadn’t come from your bag. “You like it?”

You jumped, whirling around with the shirt clutched to your chest. “Jesus, Bo, you scared me.”

He chuckled, face still slightly mussed from sleep. He was only in a white t-shirt and pajama pants, rare to see him in anything other than working clothes. “Snagged that off a tourist yesterday, thought you’d look good in it.”

I thought you would like it.

I know you’ve got a few shirts like that in your closet.

You always look pretty in this color, baby.

You’d heard it all a thousand different ways. The same sentence over and over and over again. You were haunted by the women of Ambrose. The ones who came before you, who’d tried and failed to play house with him. The ones who were yet to come.

And the woman who would inevitably replace you when you messed up for the final time.

Your nails dug into the lace, feeling it give beneath them as you smiled at Bo. “I love it, thank you.”

He hugged you, lips lingering against your forehead before he wandered off to start some coffee. You turned around, eyes going back to the shirt. You’d burn it if you could. Rip it apart and scream, instead you tossed it in the wash with the rest of your clothes. You let the lid slam shut, the noise jarring you out of your stupor.

You forced on a happy face and walked into the kitchen. Vincent was lingering near the entrance and you offered him a gentle smile. “Sorry about dinner,” you whispered as you passed him. He shook his head and took a seat at the table.

You grabbed the ingredients you needed, rustling through Bo’s ancient cookbook for the French toast recipe you’d found the other day. One day, you’d run out, you wouldn’t have any more delicacies to surprise them both with.

Bo would tire of the same repetitive food. The same face every morning. The same sounds and movements in the bedroom. You’d become used up, lose the new shine everyone loved on their toys.

You clenched the spatula in your hand, gritting your teeth as you cooked some eggs for the both of them. You brought it over to the table, scooping it onto their plates, Bo got the bigger serving. Bo always got what he wanted.

Your mind flashed to the garage, the straps there waiting for you. “Hey!”

You jumped, pan nearly dropping out of your hands as you stared at the dropped eggs on his lap. “Sorry, I’m sorry.” You rushed to the counter, grabbing a towel and kneeling down, frantically trying to get them off his pants.

A calloused hand landed on your head, you jumped and looked up at Bo. Your heart raced, expecting malice or a sneer that meant the last nail had fallen and your time was up. Instead he was smiling gently down at you, hand smoothing the hair from your face. “Just a spill, darlin’, get the bacon ‘fore it burns.”

You backed away instantly, taking the egg filled rag with you as you went back to the stove. You flipped the bacon, turning off the burner and risking a glance over your shoulder at Bo.

He was sipping his coffee peacefully, not a worry in the world. But you could see how tightly Vincent had his fork gripped, the way it shook slightly as he placed it back on his plate. Seems you weren’t the only one who’d thought your time was up.

When would it happen?

When spring returned and the birds started chirping their early morning song again?

You wouldn’t mind if that was when it ended. If you got to make it to another birthday, that would be even better. You’d like to experience another holiday, or Halloween. Perhaps that was too much to ask for.

You’d settle for just seeing the buds return to the trees in Ambrose once more. Pink blooming in the absence of death. That would be lovely.

Alright, you’ll take that.

Make it through one more spring and you can happily let go.

You could hear the women screaming as you walked down the stairs of the house. See glimpses of who they used to be. Hair clips you knew weren’t yours, underwear buried in the back of drawers that you’d never touched. Necklaces and jewelry that didn’t match yours.

You could hear their voices, disorienting and panicked as you hung the laundry on the line. Felt like the birds echoed their mourning cries in their melody.

You saw the red lines around your wrist as you pulled off the dry sheets. You tried not to look at them too much. Bo liked to touch them, rub his fingers along your wrist and admire them. He thought it brought you closer, linked you together somehow.

You hated looking at them. Hated the sight of the worn skin. All it reminded you of was the time below. Your pictures that were tacked above the others.

You heard a scream further away from the house, bloodcurdling and echoing through the air of Ambrose. It would never make it out. Never travel past the forest bordering the ghost town. You wondered if it was a product of your own fractured psyche or another masterpiece in the works.

Your question was answered when you sat on your knees in the bathroom that night, trying to scrub the crimson out of Bo’s coveralls.

You liked your time with Vincent. You like the candles he kept scattered around his studio, nails dug into them to help him keep time. He’d sit you down on the couch and would position you like a doll. You’d let him, mind going numb as you lost time for as long as he wanted to draw you.

You knew he liked you the most out of the other girls. You learned sign language for him, communicating with him when Bo got sick of both of you. He enjoyed your face the most. It wasn’t model perfect or the type of beauty people wrote songs about.

He liked the normalcy of it, the slightly blandness. He’d told you once, on a nice night, that it was your eyes that gave you life. Not the color of them, but the light behind them.

You wondered if he would draw you again when Bo snubbed them out.

You folded Bo’s clothes, tucking them neatly into his drawers and tossing the basket back into the hall. You moved towards the bed, straightening the sheets and tucking them in tight. You liked it tight, he hated it.

Your one act of rebellion.

It honestly wasn’t hard to fall into this role with Bo. You’d known if you’d wanted to survive the only chance you had was to make him happy. In a way it was peaceful here. It was quiet and you never had to worry about anything.

You cleaned the house, cooked the food, were the perfect housewife and he’d be content and so would you. He let you have your own time, surprising you with journals to write in. Or he’d dig through tourists bags and bring you back books he’d thought you’d like.

You didn’t get to go into the city with him, doubted you ever would, but you were okay with this.

You picked up his watch, opening up his night table’s drawer to tuck it away. Your eyes landed on a bright splash of red and your fingers froze from where they hovered above the handle. You glanced over your shoulder, heart thrumming.

You turned back towards the drawer and carefully slid the Polaroid out.

A picture, a woman with gorgeous red hair splayed along her pillow. She looked beautiful.

Or she would.

If it wasn’t for the gash across the neck, so deep it showed you the inside of her throat. Crimson dripped from the wound, pooling around her and onto the bed below her.

Your eyes darted to the bed to your left, hands wrinkling the pristinely kept picture. Without thinking your hand dove further into the drawer, probing, digging, searching for something.

You didn’t know what until you hissed, hand jerking back as blood blistered out of the gash on your finger. You placed the picture back, popping your finger into your mouth and licking up the metallic taste of your blood.

You used your other hand to wrap around the handle of the blade, tugging out the large kitchen knife and staring down at it blankly.

One more spring.

You put the knife back, straightening out his drawer and leaving the haunted bedroom to clean your wound.

You woke to the sound of birds chirping. To your left was the window, pink buds blooming across the branch of the tree across from the house. Above you was Bo, straddling your waist, a knife held tightly in his hand.

“Well,” you wrapped a hand around his, calmly pulling the knife down to your throat. You’d thought you’d be more upset. Fight, beg, plead for one last winter, or just another day. One last good day. But you were tired, you’d been slipping since summer. Bits and pieces of yourself floating along the wind, joining the cacophony of lost women. “Aren’t you going to do it?”

Bo stared down at you, his brows furrowed. The whites of his eyes were red and you knew he’s been struggling with this for a while. You weren’t sure how long he’d been sitting above you, but you knew it had been before you’d woken.

You were thankful, at least, that he had let you see the spring morning before he did this.

He yanked his hand out of yours, “Crazy bitch,” he muttered. He scoffed and shook his head, jumping off of you. Your head lolled to the left, you opened up the window, inhaling the fresh smell of new life.

You made it another winter and another spring. Your face was plastered along Vincent’s wall. Statues of you adorned Ambrose but you didn’t occupy a single one of them.

On the outside MISSING flyers with your face faded and fell from lamp posts. Your name was forgotten from the minds of those who’d been alive to mourn you. You became another statistic, another lost soul. An old news story that would be used in classrooms.

What happened to her?

Is she still alive?

Was she the first?

Will we ever know?

No. They wouldn’t. You were the girl on the paper trampled beneath frantic feet as they rushed to work. Tossed aside in the garbage when they were done with the morning paper. To the rest of them, you were forgotten.

To Ambrose, you were their muse. Inspiration behind their every move.

Every morning you’d wake up to a blade pressed against your throat. And every morning Bo would leap away from you and shake his head. He’d never do it, you knew that now, and it provided you with a careless freedom that freed you from the shackles you’d placed upon yourself.

You didn’t spread your legs and let him take what he wanted anymore. You didn’t submit under his temper, you fought back, raised your voice and threw glass bottles right back at him. You didn’t let him bend Vincent under his thumb or scream at him just because he could.

You pushed, every day, that invisible line that separated you from the other ghosts in town. Yet, somehow, you never breached it, only managed to extend it.

“I want to go with you.”

Bo froze, after a moment he fixed his cap and grabbed his keys from the tray. He didn’t look at you as he spoke, “Well, come on then.”

You followed him through the front door, hopping in the truck when he opened it up to you. The engine rumbled, vibrating the seat below you and his hand slid from the keys to your thigh. He squeezed, as if reminding himself you were there, he was really doing this.

You could hardly believe it yourself.

Bo rounded the bend from the gas station and you felt your heart racing. A hummingbird flitting through your chest, frantically trying to break from the cage of your ribs. He pulled through the old campground, the one you’d been on before your car had mysteriously broken down.

You couldn’t remember who it was you were with. What their names were.

You’re halfway certain one of them had been a lover. His name lost to the past.

Bo pulls onto the highway and you brace yourself. You’re not sure for what. Perhaps for him to change his mind, a blade buried in your gut. To start pouring blood down the front of your shirt. Or maybe the car will wreck, divine intervention deciding that neither of you get another day.

Nothing happens. Bo slams his hand against the truck’s stereo and rock crackles through the speakers. His hand returns to your thigh and he hums along to the music. After a moment you relax, rolling the window down and letting the breeze cool you down.

He makes it to the city, smaller than where you used to live, but a mammoth compared to Ambrose. You buy groceries, marveling over products you’d forgotten even existed. You finally manage to buy the tampons you like instead of getting lucky that another woman has them in her bag.

You harass him into letting you go to a secondhand store, buying a shirt for you. Yours and yours alone. It’s simple, long sleeved and white, nothing special, but it means everything to you. When you make it back to Ambrose, the familiar stifling air and aged walls, you bury the shirt in your dresser.

You’ll never wear it and never part with it. This shirt will never be anyone else’s but yours. You’ll never allow another woman to get her hands on it. Even when you’re gone you’ll protect it.

“What do you think?”

Bo shrugged, taking another swig of his beer as his eyes roved over the journal in his hand. You sat on the edge of your seat, eagerly watching him read. Perhaps a bit too eagerly, he sensed it, pouncing on the chance to make you vulnerable.

“You know I don’t read much, baby.”

You rolled your eyes and moved to sit next to him. “I’m aware, it’s real sad, Bo. Now,” you nudged his shoulder with your own. “What do you think?”

He chuckled, marking the page and tossing it on the coffee table. His legs spread and you took the invitation, slotting yourself in his lap and wrapping your arms around his shoulders. He grinned up at you, “It was good. Real fuckin’ good.”

You smiled, cheeks puffing out with the force of it. “Really?”

He nodded his head, “Mhm.” He leaned forward, taking you with him, and placed his beer on the table. You reached behind yourself, blindly readjusting it onto a coaster. He rolled his eyes, but you saw the fondness in them.

His hands moved down your back, squeezing your ass before they landed on your thighs. Rough calluses spread along smooth skin and goosebumps prickled under his touch. You don’t know why you let him read the strange disjointed novel you’d been writing.

Maybe because you knew no one would ever see it. Maybe you wanted some part of yourself permanently embedded into his brain. Either way, you enjoyed the way his face changed as he took it in. The expressions shifting with each new sentence.

“You got a fucked up little mind, you know that?”

You hummed, nodding your head and leaning forward to slot your lips against his own. It was his own fault you were like this. He’d bent you, broke you down, used you until you were a shadow of the woman who used to exist within your body.

Maybe he had won.

There was a part of you, a spirit, floating somewhere beneath his garage, that had once belonged to you.

You ground your hips down against his, biting down on his lip until copper flooded your mouth. He didn’t get angry, just gripped your hair and moved you both to the cushions. He groaned into your open mouth, pinning your body below his and manipulating you how he wanted.

Then again, maybe you’d ruined him too.

You shouldn’t be alive. You shouldn’t still have a throat to drag air down, but here you were. Shoving against him and forcing him to submit to your whims. You weren’t the only one who’d changed, and you both knew it.

#bo sinclair x reader #Slashers x reader #house of wax x reader #house of wax 2005 #Slasher x reader #slashers x y/n #Slashers x you #bo Sinclair x you #bo Sinclair x y/n

318 notes · View notes

smilesheartshugs · 2 months ago

Text

Follow up to this post:

Gold markings on the side of the shoulder are for grand and great grand parent child bonds and orange bonds on the outside of the arm are for aunt/ uncle niece nephew relationships. Cousins don’t have their own special denomination. They will usually have a sibling bond or an aunt bond.

If someone where to come back from the dead, they will need to touch their bonded ones again for the color to return

Ideas on how this au concept could play out in the batfam:

A young Tim pre batfam with a bad parent au:

Tim always wondered why he didn’t have a bond with his parents. He always assumes he didn’t hug them enough. It’s to bad they don’t like to hug him very much. They have no problem hugging each other, he has seen the bonds they have with each other.

Years later in a fancy gala Tim bumps into Dick who then becomes Tim’s first soul bond.

New parent Bruce:

Bruce finds a new bond he has in his sholder between the greyed bonds of his parents and the royal blue bond he has with Alfred (their bond is a tea cup). There’s only one child he’s held recently, Dick, his new ward. Bruce has watched as the young boys soul marks with his parents grey out. Bruce freaks out not wanting to replace Dick’s parents. It takes a while but the two figure out. Years later they have each other as a trust bond on the back. Dick and Bruce’s bond mark looks like a small bird. When Dick becomes Nightwing he chooses to use the same blue in his uniform as the blue with his bond with Bruce

Jason’s trip to Ethiopia:

Dick was looking at his wrist thinking of his new brother while out in the middle of space when suddenly their brilliant grass green bond starts to grey out. He has no way of contacting earth and has no way of finding out what happened.

Bruce refuses to look at his mark with Jason, Jason died in his arms he refuses to look at the bond to see proof that his son isn’t coming back.

In a rare moment of not being formally dressed in butler attire, Alfred watches his gold bond with Jason in hopes his grandson comes him. He could do nothing but watch as the bond greys out like some many other bonds he’s had before.

Duke:

Every day Duke looks at the soul bond he has with his parents, still a vibrant sky blue color even after so long being affected by the joker venom. At least he’ll always have prof they’re alive, right?

Maybe I’ll have more ideas later

New post!

54 notes · View notes

a-concert-just-for-me · 2 months ago

Text

Okay in response to this post I’m going to “Erm Ackshully 🤓☝️” y’all’s arguments (but really, this is for shits and giggles and I find y’all’s ideas and this conversation so interesting!!!)

(And logically, yes, I know the show wants you to believe that Hunter’s just immediately scarred/has no pain because they likely didn’t want to fit a healing arc into their limited storytelling time. I get it. I do. I’m just making the argument why it would be easy to argue that they are actually open wounds/why I feel like if they were going to do this arc, they should have considered giving a fraction of the proper weight to to the horrifying consequences of such a severe injury.)

Okay so without further ado! We have Hunter pre-Belos. When we look at him, his original scar is on the left side (his right cheek, but I’ll use left for our argument from now on for simplicity’s sake)

Next, we have Belos leaving Hunter’s body. Notice how the big goop scar on the left side overtakes the original left side scar.

In addition, the small scar on the right is shown to be caused by Belos’s goop.

Therefore, I think it’s safe to say from this double evidence that the scar on the right isn’t just an animation error of his original scar being on the wrong side.

Keep this in mind for later!

Next, here’s Hunter after Belos leaves his body. Note the size, color, and shape of his scars here:

“Calaiti,” you might say to my argument, “Flapjack healed him! That’s why his scars aren’t open wounds and/or why they don’t cause him pain!”

OBJECTION! Evidence:

Remember when I said to remember that one photo? Here’s where that comes into play. Hunter’s scars before and after Flap reviving him have been shown several times to be the same size, shape, and color. Absolutely nothing changes!!! They look the same before and after consistently!!!

Also, notice how Flap’s magic only ‘heals’ the left side of his face and neck. The small scar on the right doesn’t light up at all. Then, the left side scars STILL match the ‘unhealed’ wound on the right after Flap dies!!! Shouldn’t there be a visual difference between the healed and unhealed wounds, then?

I’ll admit, this whole section of the episode has a bunch of animation mistakes. See an example below, where the animators forgot the scars on Hunter’s ears during this scene. Therefore, you could use the argument that the animators just forgot to draw the right side lighting up during the revival sequence if you feel so inclined. Sure!!!

BUT to that, I’ll propose this thought: If the animators wanted to show that Flap was actually healing the scars, wouldn’t it be visually more telling to have the scars be darker and/or bigger before Flapjack reviving him, and lighter and/or smaller after, to show there was some kind of resulting change there? Just because they lit up during the revival sequence doesn’t necessarily mean that was Flap healing him. Visually, again, they look exactly the same consistently before and after Flap ‘heals’ them.

~~~

Moving on to the argument of why Hunter doesn’t have any pain after all this, sure, maybe Hunter was running off adrenaline and the pain hits him later. I suppose that’s fair! Doesn’t mean I like it!!! Doesn’t mean I think he shouldn’t have received medical attention even though he said he was okay!!! If we have time for a whole Hexside arc, I think even if he was in shock (which would likely come with a whole host of medical issues which he is not shown to have imo! (Look up ‘burn shock’)), they should have at LEAST insisted on checking him over instead of taking his word that he’s okay!!! He would have been pissed about it lol but idc, show them sitting his ass down and having a healer look at him to show as writers, you’re treating this life-changing injury with the seriousness it deserves.

And if they didn’t feel like doing it before the Belos fight, I would have even accepted them making time to acknowledge the physical and psychological trauma of TTT somewhere else in the last episode. The most we get is Hunter looking sadly at Willow reuniting with her parents before Darius comes along and starts talking to him. It feels like a huge missed opportunity to skip over any negative consequences or closure for Hunter. We just skip to him being healed and happy with no further lines in the show, and that’s a shame to me!

Anyway, thank you for coming to my TED Talk on me defending my goofy headcanon thesis and why I (seriously) think this whole scene should have been handled with a bit more care and consideration to realistic consequences of such an injury.

(This is still my favorite episode though 🤭)

#the owl house #toh #sorry if this is all over the place I have trouble putting my thoughts in order #I’m aware this is like two separate arguments in one post but I wanted to put all my thoughts in one place #please don’t come for my throat for this is just for fun okay I’m not dying on this hill #also I really liked the idea of necrosis that’s also a super cool headcanon y’all had!#guys help I’ve become a toh critical blog #jkjk I adore this show. nobody else is allowed to criticize it but me 🙅‍♀️ /j #oh plus I forgot to mention I know they wouldn’t have ACTUALLY shown open wounds on the show but they could have at least implied it #with color changes or something like I mentioned

46 notes · View notes

dailyhatsune · 10 months ago

Note

hi! not exactly a request but i do wanna ask, whats your process when you're rendering more paint like art? (if that makes sense, English isnt my first language so apologies hdskhsjdbd) i really love how you use the colors and im curious how you do it :0

i’ve been meaning to answer this one for a while so here’s how i painted miku in today’s post (put under the read more because yeah prepare for a long post

i’d also like to preface this by saying that i never follow a set way of doing things, so in terms of what my personal process is like, these are only broad strokes of what i do! sometimes i’ll combine or skip parts entirely, depending on how i feel. also, this is not a tutorial, just how i do things, so please don’t treat it like one :’D this will read like the ‘how to draw an owl’ picture if you do

first, like every artist, i sketch. more specifically, i’m getting an idea of what i want to paint later on. this could be how a scene is set up or in this case, how a character is posed. here i’m not concerned about details or getting everything perfectly, i’m only planning how the thing will be composed. maybe a lot of canvas size changing, or adjusting what miku’s doing (note how busted miku’s right hand looks from all the transforming!) however, i still have to be concerned with how clear the sketch will be to future me, because the sketch won’t be any good if i can’t read what miku’s doing

after that, i lay down a flat gray under the sketch, mainly focusing on giving miku a clear silhouette. this is also a good time to make adjustments to the composition on the fly if i suddenly feel like something can be improved upon, like shortening miku’s left arm from the sketch!

after painting a flat silhouette, i start shading in grayscale, focusing only on lighting. i usually do it in two passes, one for the lightest and darkest tones i’ll use (not black and white) and then a second for midtones to blend them better with the base gray but i forgot to screenshot the result of the first pass 🗿 nevertheless, here is where i can start adding some amount of details. i’m not including any extra accessories yet, just focusing on the base design of the outfit and the character herself (for anyone wanting to draw characters from That Gacha Game, this is how i personally make the process more bearable for myself.) i still use the dark gray to separate where certain details (like the facial features and fingers) begin and end, mainly to make colouring more bearable later.

now here’s where i get the Good Colours. it’s a cheat lol. i put a gradient map layer over the grayscale painting so that there’s a little bit of color to start. some gradient maps can be applied as is, some need the layer settings adjusted to make it look good. this one, for example, is a (free) gradient map set from the csp assets store that needs you to set the layer opacity to 20% and to set the blending mode to color to achieve this result. in general, i tend to pick which gradient map i want to use based on vibes, or basically whether i want the work to be warmer or cooler, colour-wise. but this does do quite a bit of lifting for the colors in my stuff.

and then, finally, i add the colours. i add flat base colours in an overlay layer. at this stage, i’ve made the character silhouette clear enough that i don’t need to refer to the sketch anymore for what miku looks like. also, the gradient map layer does its magic by making the shading a bit more vibrant than it would’ve been without it. after that i paint over with a new layer to add details like the lace.

and then i put some extra shading on top. basically this is where the ‘better lighting’ happens. again, this isn’t a tutorial, so i’m not here to say what each part of the lighting is, but i’ve labeled which layers do which job. in other works where the lighting within a scene is more defined (from a window, from a small crack in the walls, etc) the glow dodge layer may be more opaque and sharper, but since this isn’t a work with that, the lighting was applied using an airbrush. the linear burn layer is also there to make the whole thing darker so the glow dodge doesn’t end up oversaturating miku. i also usually match the lights to the vibe i want, and use a complementary color for the shadows. so here you can see i have warm colors on the glow dodge layer, but light purple on both the linear burn and multiply layer.

and that’s it for the character—here’s a gif showing how each layer adds to miku! (sorry it’s so toasty)

as for the background, depending on the complexity, it may go through a similar process, or if i can settle with flat image backgrounds, i just go for that. it’s ok to use external image materials. i didn’t have a background in mind for this miku in specific, so i got some default csp materials and threw together something

and that’s about a rough overview of what my process for more finished works looks like! again, art is a fluid process so i never specifically stick to certain steps all the time, and you shouldn’t either. i can probably answer why i’d pick this colour over another in one particular work, but it’s something that kinda has to be learned on a grander scale. i think everyone can already feel what colors work with what atmosphere or what setting, even if they can’t immediately explain why. colors and composition do take some level of experimentation to find what works best!

#hatsune miku #vocaloid #piapro studio #doodle #ask #partypoizzon

126 notes · View notes

burntheedges-updates · 1 year ago

Text

over again, chapter 1

This is my updates-only blog! Follow me at @burntheedges

Joel Miller x f!reader

summary: you fell in love with Joel Miller in Austin, Texas, in 2001, but you thought you lost him and your whole family in 2003 when the world turned upside down. now it's 2024, and you find the surprise of your life waiting for you in Jackson, Wyoming. or, five times you and Joel fell deeper in love, on both sides of the apocalypse (and one time you did something about it)18+ minors DNI chapter tags/warnings: fluff, flirting, light angst, cursing, no use of y/n, no description of reader (see note below), smallish age difference (reader is 26, Joel is 32/almost 33 when they meet in 2000) (small for this fandom, anyway) (the smut comes later, y'all, we're just getting started here) a/n: Well, here we go! This is part 1. This fic is completely finished. It’s a 5+1 and for some of the 5 parts I’ll post them together (on Sundays) and for some I’ll post them separately (on Sundays and Wednesdays) just due to length. Obviously I'm posting this one early (lol). I’ll tell you whatever the schedule is for the different parts. I've paid a lot of attention to the reader's description in this fic. I've avoided skin color, hair type, body shape/size descriptions, and even clothing (except for one or two spots where you are specifically wearing jeans and boots). You are vaguely shorter than Joel. He does not run his fingers through your hair, and you feel the blood rush to your face or your face heat, but you don't turn red or pink. Please tell me if you notice anything I missed - I want this to be as inclusive as possible. word count: 1724 (for this part) series main post & chapter list | series playlist (w/ plot-related mix) ao3 | chapter 2

Chapter 1: Meet Cute

Jackson, Early Winter, 2023

You’ve been heading northwest from somewhere in Kansas, thinking you’ve never bothered going out this way, even Before, so why not? It’s been months since you saw another person. You’re not even sure the last time you spoke out loud.

You blame the lengthy isolation for how easily they get the jump on you.

It's just after dawn when you're rudely awakened - at first, you’re not sure why, but a second kick to your hip sends you scrambling to sit up in your sleeping bag, which is tangled around your legs. Looking around as you struggle, you realize you’re surrounded by people on foot and on horseback. Every single one of them is pointing a gun at you. You glance to the side and realize your backpack along with anything possibly useful inside of it has been kicked away from you. The woman who kicked you has a steely look in her eye that reminds you, in your half awake state, of the last boss you had Before.

“State your business.” As she speaks you notice the two men closest to her start to fan out a bit, but you don’t dare look away from her.

“I’m just passing through, I’ve been looking for a good place to spend the winter.”

Or, that’s what you would have said, if not for the voice from your past shouting your name in shock just as you open your mouth. “No goddamn way, is that really you?”

You think you must be hallucinating, because everyone you knew Before is dead, but then Tommy fucking Miller pushes his way in front of the woman who spoke. For a moment you can’t do more than stare at each other — him with his gun hanging limply in his right hand, you with your legs still tangled in your godforsaken sleeping bag. Then you launch into motion and start to kick it away as you find your voice. It comes out shaky. Or maybe you’re shaking all over.

“Tommy? But — you’re alive? Where the hell have you been? Wait, are Joel and—“

Tommy cuts you off as he pulls you to your feet and into a tight hug. “Holy shit, we thought you were dead. Holy fucking shit.”

“We? Tommy wait, are they—“

Tommy pulls back, keeping hold of your shoulders as he looks you in the eye. He’s grinning, his eyes wandering all over your face. “He’s alive, sunshine. Or he was when he came through here about a month ago. We’re expecting them back in the spring.”

You can feel your heart racing and your whole body feels hot and tingly. You’re overwhelmed. You didn’t think you could still feel hope like this. It’s terrifying, but you have to know. “He’s- Them? They’re both alive? Sarah?”

You know the answer before he even says anything. Tommy’s face falls, his eyes drop from yours, and you feel it like a sucker punch, as bad as it was the first time around. Your knees give out even though this is what you’ve known, or tried to convince yourself must be true, for 20 years. Tommy falls gently with you to the ground.

Your baby girl. “Oh god, Sarah. And Joel, he must have been—“

“Yeah, sunshine. He thought he lost you both. It wasn’t… well. It wasn’t good.”

You’re starting to feel numb. You have no idea what your face is doing right now, but judging by Tommy’s, it isn’t pretty. 10 minutes ago you were alone in the apocalypse, and suddenly you’re face-to-face with your almost-brother-in-law and you know, without a doubt, that your fiancé hasn’t been dead this whole time. Is this shock? It’s been 20 years since you felt a shock like this. Since you felt anything like this.

“Tommy, I… I need to sit down.”

“Well, you are sitting down, sunshine. But get up, gather your stuff. You can come to town with us. Stay as long as you’d like.” You nod, unsteady, and Tommy guides you carefully towards what must be his horse.

The day passes in a daze. You think you might actually be hallucinating, or still back in your sleeping bag, dreaming, because a whole, functional town? A commune, and a house they’re just going to let you have as your own? A real community? With your only remaining family, miraculously alive? It’s impossible. You float through the rest of the day and find yourself sitting on a bed in a house with indoor plumbing that somehow belongs to you, having just eaten real food in the company of the family you thought you lost 20 years ago.

You give up and go to sleep. (What else are you going to do?)

...

As you settle into life in Jackson, the knowledge that you might see Joel — your Joel, any day now — never leaves your thoughts. It’s like a drum beat at the back of your mind that only repeats his name, marking time every hour of every day. You don’t know how you’ll prepare yourself for it. How could you? You haven’t seen him in 20 years. Anything could be different. You can so easily picture him with a daughter, but it’s Sarah in your mind, not Ellie, who Tommy has told you a bit about. Every time you open those old wounds that you’ve done your best to bury it hurts like the first time. Would he still want you? Still know you? Do you still know him? Would Ellie like you? You can’t imagine not knowing Joel, or Joel not knowing you, but it’s been 20 years and people change. You’ve changed, after all. Some days you barely recognize yourself.

You express these fears to Tommy once, but he only laughs and says his brother may be stupid but he’s not stupid enough not to want you. It’s reassuring and rude, so, exactly like Tommy. At least some things never change.

The day Joel Miller walks back into Jackson you happen to be standing on the road near the gates, talking to Tommy, and you swear he spots you in less than 5 seconds. It’s like you can’t help but look to each other first, even when you don’t know the other is alive, even when you haven’t seen each other in 20 years. You’d know the shape of him anywhere and your eyes have never stopped looking for it, never stopped catching on a set of shoulders, a cocked hip, a tilted head, only to be disappointed when it faded like a mirage. When the person in front of you didn’t fit the hole he left behind. It hurt every time. Maybe it’s been the same for him.

Joel looks like he’s seen a ghost, and you have no idea what expression is on your face, but the moment you lock eyes all you see is the moment you first met, almost 24 years ago, like a film negative laid on top of what’s really in front of you. He’s older, of course, but so are you, and he’s still the most handsome man you’ve ever seen.

He steps towards you and whispers your name like a prayer.

Joel fucking Miller.

Austin, Summer 2000

It was a Saturday morning in late summer, so not yet the hottest part of the day, but not comfortable, either. Your belongings were steadily moving from the truck to your new rental house under your somewhat careful supervision when movement from the house next door caught your eye. You looked up just as one of the guys from the moving company almost dropped your nightstand off the back of the truck, distracting you from the sight of a young girl, maybe about 10, rocketing out of the house next door and down her front steps. She was wearing a bright green soccer uniform.

By the time your nightstand had been righted and you looked back towards your neighbors’ house, she’d made her way to the bushes between your driveways, standing on her tiptoes and taking in all of the commotion. She met your eye and grinned. You grinned back as she called, “Hi, new neighbor!”

You walked over, stopping on the other side of the bush to introduce yourself. “Hi there, neighbor.”

It didn’t seem possible, but she grinned even wider. “I’m Sarah, that’s my dad.”

You looked up, realizing there was a man coming down their steps towards the two of you — the most attractive man you’d ever seen in your life. He was tall, with broad shoulders and the look of a man who spent a lot of time in the sun, tan lines peeking out of his shirt sleeves. His brown curls were a bit messy and his shoulders and strong arms drew your eye like a magnet. You caught yourself giving him a quick once over and felt your face start to warm, embarrassed, but when you met his eyes again you caught him doing the same to you. You realized you were both caught and you smiled, introducing yourself.

“Nice to meet you, darlin’. Joel Miller, and I think you’ve met Sarah.” You felt your face turn hot at the endearment but you knew he probably didn’t mean anything by it. Southern hospitality and all. “Welcome to the neighborhood.”

You’d opened your mouth to respond when you were rudely interrupted by a crashing noise from the moving truck behind you, and you whirled around to see a box on its side on the ground that definitely should not have been. You glanced back at your neighbors as you excused yourself. “It’s great to meet you! Sorry, I need to see what that was.”

They shooed you along before you could even finish your sentence, reassuring you that they understood. “Let me know if anything broke, darlin,’ I’m pretty handy, could probably fix it. It’d be my pleasure.” He smiled at you a bit, just on one side, edging towards a smirk, and you did your best not to stare at his mouth. “Deal,” you agreed, grinning. Both you and Joel seemed unable to draw your eyes away from each other. You were stuck, pinned in place under his gaze until Sarah tugged on his arm and dragged him towards their truck. “Dad, we’re gonna be late!”

The view from the back was just as nice as the front.

...

a/n: ch 2 is up!

taglist: @morgaussy

#joel miller x reader #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller fic #joel miller x you #joel miller fanfiction #tlou fanfiction #tlou fic #pedro pascal #pedro pascal fic #x reader

325 notes · View notes

age-of-greta · 6 months ago

Text

The Sun

The Sun presents a feeling of optimism and fulfillment. It represents the dawn which follows the darkest of nights.

Author’s note: wow hi!!! It’s been a minute! Life has been busy, but I have been thinking of this fic for a while. This one is entirely spontaneous and will have no posting schedule. Just as soon and I can get it written it will be out. I hope you guys enjoy :)

Pairing: Josh x reader and Jake x reader

Warnings: cursing, angst, adult themes, alcoholic consumption, smoking

Word count: 10.1 k

PART 1:

“I can’t fucking stand you! Matter of fact, I hate you!” You scream, your voice raw with emotion.

He lets out a laugh. “Yeah, right back at you Sugar.”

You’re boiling inside. Filled with rage, sadness, and anger. You can’t decide which emotion is the most prominent at the moment. You blink away the hot tears that have formed in your eyes. You feel the sting of them rolling down your cheeks.

“I’m fucking done. We are done. It’s over.” You say, with still a hint of anger, but at least you weren’t screaming this time.

He stares at you for a moment. Blank expression, impossible to read. You think maybe for 0.1 seconds you see a hint of sorrow in his eyes, but with him that would be impossible.

Eventually he scoffs at you. “Fine by me.”

He stays for a few moments with his eyes lingering on you.

“Get the fuck out!” You shout, while tears spill down your face.

Then he’s out the door as fast as it started. Leaving you there in a puddle of your own tears and rage.

Nothing had ever made you feel this way before. You were unsure how you would ever feel normal again. But there was one thing that you were entirely sure of- you fucking hated Jake Kiszka.

Teal is so tacky. It’s one of the tackiest colors to exist, you had decided. That's what you were doing at this very moment staring at a teal handbag that you would like to set on fire. It was sitting on a bar next to an equally tacky girl. You realized how insane you felt, but you needed to do something to distract your mind from the truth. Tonight was your third date with a guy named Aiden. He was fine, there was nothing wrong with him. He was attractive, ambitious, successful, and nice. But a part of you knew you were already so bored with him. You never knew how to pick a good guy. Which is why you tried your best to give Aiden a fair shake. Nonetheless, here you were sitting at a booth only thinking of a teal purse. You had decided to meet for drinks after work. You wore a hot pink blazer with a white tank turtleneck and a matching hot pink skirt, that might have been a little too short for work. You wore white tall boots, with gold jewelry. Your hair was done in loose curls and you had on a full face of makeup. This wasn’t your normal attire to work, but you knew you had a date tonight. Out of the corner of your eye you see Aiden pop in. You breathe in and prepare yourself. He’s in a nice gray suit. He always looks nice.

“Hey! So sorry I’m late. Traffic was awful.” Aiden says, reaching down to hug you.

You hug him back. “Oh no you’re fine! I just got here myself. How was your day?”

He smiles at you. “It was great actually. I had a really big pitch that I think went well for me. But I’m happier now that I’m here with you. How was your day?”

You make sure to smile at that, even if it did make you cringe a little. “Well that’s great. My day was good. Rather mundane I suppose, but work feels like that everyday.”

He chuckles. “You’re right about that. Ready for some drinks? A martini right?”

You nod your head. “Yes please.”

“Great. I’ll be right back. You look beautiful by the way.” He says with a smile before he heads over to the bar.

You take a moment to breathe in a little. Aiden was so nice. You had already decided that you would go on another date with him when he would inevitably ask later. You picked at your nails while you waited for your date and drink. You eyed the door constantly, that wasn’t a good sign. It was somewhat stuffy inside, but maybe that was in your head. You were just finding something to complain about. You had been like that for a while. Anytime a man would show interest you bounced. The truth is you were looking for someone to set your soul on fire. You craved a love so deep, that even the ocean would be jealous.

Instead you got guys like Aiden. Again, nothing wrong with him. But he didn’t ignite you. You knew who was to blame, but you hated to even think of him. So you chose to do this same routine over and over. Dating- then never speaking again. It’s not like you necessarily needed a man in your life, you were perfectly content with your life as is. But you wanted excitement again. Maybe if you gave Aiden a chance he could be that for you. Though you doubted it. You continued to eye the door. It wasn’t really busy, but every now and then someone would walk in. Mostly people in suits off to commence nefarious activities, then wake up and do it all again tomorrow. That life never spoke to you, but here you were smack dab in the middle of it. Funny how life works.

You fiddled around with your nails some more, damn you needed to get them done. You glanced up and thought your eyes were playing tricks on you.

Hair.

Then he spoke.

Immediately you felt chills run down your spine. There’s a voice you hadn’t heard in years. There’s no way. You creep your head around the corner and see four very familiar faces. Your blood runs cold and your face becomes incredibly pale. Holy shit.

You whip your head back into your booth trying to stay out of their line of sight. What were they doing here? Why were they here? What?

Just then Aiden returns and hands you your martini. He frowns at you when he sees your face. “Hey, is everything okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

You blink a few times and nod your head. “I’m um- I’m fine.”

He sits back down across from you and takes your hand. “Are you sure?”

Just then that voice rings from right behind you. Now it’s closer.

“Oh shit. Well hey Sugar.”

You turn around and Jake is standing over you with a shit eating grin plastered on his face. You’re absolutely shocked and horrified. You try to speak but nothing comes out.

“I thought I heard your voice.” He flicks his eyes over to Aiden and extends his hand. “Hi. Jake Kiszka.”

Aiden gives him a strange look, but eventually extends his hand and says “Aiden.”

Finally you are able to muster up the courage to speak. “Jake.” You say calmly. “What are you doing here?”

He smirks at you. “I could ask you the same thing, Sugar. We were out scouting bars. We just moved here and I’ve got to say, you were the last person I was expecting to see tonight.”

You furrowed your brows while your voice goes up an octave higher. “What? You just moved here? Like from Michigan?”

Then the rest of them make their way over. You see Sam, Danny, and your old friend Josh.

Aiden clears his throat, clearly sensing your tension. “How do you guys know each other?”

Jake flicks his eyes to you and gives a wide smile. “Old friends.”

Aiden huffs a little at that. “Okay. Well looks like you have some catching up to do, with your old friends. I’ll call you tomorrow? I’d love to plan something if you’re free Saturday.”

You look back over at Aiden and nod your head.

He excuses himself and slides out of the booth.

“Bye Aiden! Lovely meeting you!” Jake yells out.

Jackass.

The other three are now approaching the table.

“Holy shit!” Sam exclaims when he sees you.

“Oh, hi Sam.”

Then you’re standing up and Sam hugs you, then Danny’s hugging you. Then you see Josh.

“Hi.” He says, standing there with his arms around his back. “Long time no see.”

You are unsure of what to say to that. “Hi Josh.”

“So, can we join you or what?” Jake asks.

You let out a breath and then motion your hand for them to all sit in your booth.

Jake scoots in right next to you. Immediately you feel the need to down your whole martini so you do.

“Whew. Damn Sugar. You okay?” Jake asks, nudging you.

You nod. “Yeah. Just wasn’t expecting such a-“ You pause. “Reunion.”

Josh smiles at you. “I can tell. Well don’t fret if it’s unpleasant for you. It’s just temporary. We are here with a new label working on an album. They decided to rent a house out to us for the next few months.”

You feel bad all of a sudden. You loved Josh. You and he had been friends for years. That was until you started dating Jake. You see, you and Josh had been friends after meeting in a coffee shop in Detroit. You had grown close with all of them, but Josh was your best friend. You two were practically inseparable. You pretty much did everything together. Then, one night you and Jake hooked up and the rest was history. It was hard on Josh. But you were too enamored by Jake to quit. You both had fallen fast and hard. Taking things way too fast, but it felt euphoric. Jake was like a drug. The highs were so high. But the lows were so low. You and Jake were only together for around 10 months. It was a toxic and crazy relationship. The only thing you and Jake were ever good at was sex. To this day no one made you come as hard as he had. But Jake acted like a selfish child. You two spent more time arguing than anything else. When you had broken up you had cut off all contact with all of them. You couldn’t bear it any longer. Josh had tried to reach out to you, but you ignored it. You wanted to forget Jake had ever existed- and that meant cutting off all people who reminded you of him. Then, you had moved to Nashville and gone on with life. You hadn’t seen or spoken to any of them since the break up.

“No it’s not that it’s unpleasant at all. Just unexpected. I never pegged you guys to settle down in… Nashville.” You said, trying to give a convincing smile.

Jake chimes in. “Settle down? We aren’t necessarily doing that. It’s temporary. I fear domesticity.”

You scoff. “Yep. I know.”

Jake laughs at you. “Good one.”

Josh changes the subject. “So what are you up to these days?”

You shift your gaze to Josh. “Well nothing as exciting as you guys. I work at a marketing firm and I have a Beta fish.”

Josh smiles at you. “That does sound exciting. Marketing huh? I can totally see it.”

You nod. “Congratulations to you all by the way on your success.”

“Thank you! We’ve been trying. It’s been a while since the garage band days.” Sam says.

“Yeah. It seems as if we’ve all grown up.” You say, still trying to push back negative feelings.

“Sam, Josh, you guys wanna go get drinks?” Danny asks, obviously trying to give you and Jake a moment to speak.

They both agree and follow Danny to the bar.

“I’ll take a whiskey on the rocks!” Jake yells to them and Sam gives him a thumbs up.

Then it’s just you two alone again. You turn around to face Jake. He’s still wearing that same smirk.

“You know Sugar, I’m digging the pink. You look good.”

You try not to let those words affect you. “Thanks.” You reply flatly.

“So, Aiden?” Jake asks.

You take a sip of the other martini on the table. “What about him?”

Jake hums. “Doesn’t really scream to me your type.”

“Oh yeah? Well what is my type?” You poke.

“Me.” Jake says and grins ear to ear.

You swig the martini again. “Funny.”

“C’mon Sugar. Lighten up. We’re just two old friends catching up.”

You pinch your face up and look at him. “Oh is that what we are?”

Jake smirks at you. “Okay well you know- ex lovers, future lovers. It’s all the same.”

You roll your eyes at him. He was always so full of charm which drove you crazy.

The other three returned with drinks in hand.

“So what are we getting up to tonight? It feels just like old times now.” Sam says with a bright smile.

You start to shut that down. “Count me out unfortunately. I have to work in the morning.”

It gets a little quiet.

“Well what are you doing this weekend?” Josh asks.

“I have pilates, but other than that I guess I’m free.” You reply.

“Does Aiden know that?” Jake teases.

You roll your eyes again.

“We have a show we’re doing this weekend. Would love if you could come and see us play after all this time.” Josh adds.

You pause for a minute, contemplating your options. But you didn’t want to seem so abrasive to Josh, you really did feel bad for ghosting him the way that you did. “Yeah, that sounds fun. I’ll be there.”

Josh smiles at you. “Great.”

“We can have a pass up front for you. Then I guess maybe uh Jake could text you the details?” Sam says cautiously.

Jake chuckles. “I’m blocked.”

Sam falls quiet, fearing maybe he had stirred something up between the two of you.

You try to lighten the situation. “Oh yeah? How do you know that?”

Jake shrugged. “I’ve reached out here and there. It’s never gone through.”

Yikes.

You clear your throat. “Josh? Do you still have my number? If not I can text you.”

“I’ve still got it.” Josh says lightly.

You half smile. “Great. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to slip out of here. It was truly great seeing you guys.”

“Care if I walk you out?” Josh asks.

You weren’t really expecting that.

“Oh yeah sure.” You reply.

You smile and nod everyone else off and Jake has that same smirk on his face.

“See ya soon Sugar.” Jake says, eyeing you up and down.

“Jake.” Is all you say with a nod.

Then you and Josh are walking out of the bar. It’s definitely awkward and there’s so much to be said, but you’re so unsure where to start.

“I’m just right here.” You say motioning over towards your car. “Thank you for walking me.”

Josh gives you a small smile. “So if I text you are you actually going to respond?”

Ouch.

“Josh I-“ You start.

He holds his hand up to you. “I’m only teasing. I know it was a weird situation.”

There was the sweet and understanding Josh he had always been. “It was. But there was still no excuse for me to do what I did to you.”

Josh shakes his head. “Consider it water under the bridge.”

You give a small sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

“I’ll see you Saturday?” Josh questions.

You nod. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

Josh smiles. “Good.”

“Hug?” You say extending your arms out.

Josh obliged and stepped in and hugged you. It felt like comfort. You smiled into his shirt. When you both let each other go. Josh was reciprocating that smile.

“I’m glad I ran into you tonight. Get home safe.”

“Me too. Bye Josh.”

“Bye.”

Then he stood outside and watched you pull out, waving you off.

Your head was running a million miles an hour. What just happened? You felt like you wanted to vomit, half bile, half rainbows. All you knew was that now you had to prepare for a Saturday with your ex-boyfriend, old best friend, and their band.

Saturday had rolled around quicker than you had anticipated. You huffed as you threw your pilates bag into your car. In a way you were ready to work out all of the anxiousness and frustration you felt. Your pilates studio wasn’t too far from your townhouse. It was in an upscale little plaza next to a smoothie shop, which you would definitely be taking advantage of after. Once you arrived you checked into your class and rolled out your mat. You took a few deep breaths and adjusted your attire. You wore a rather loud pair of green leggings that fit you like tights, and a white sports bra top. You unlaced your white sneakers, letting your bare feet hit the mat. You felt grounded, drained of negative energy. Pilates was always an outlet for your stress, better that than alcohol.

After an intense session you felt reborn. You rolled up your mat and hit the locker room, splashing cold water on your face. You took your hair down and watched it cascade down your shoulders, it had gotten so long. You dried your face with a clean towel and wiped the sweat from your hairline. You rolled on some deodorant and you were vibrating with excitement at the thought of the peanut butter banana protein smoothie you were about to inhale. After dropping off your items in your car you walked with some pep in your step to the entrance of the smoothie cafe only to be met with confusion.

Jake?

He saw you through the door as soon as you saw him, his face lighting up with a smile as he got up to meet you at the door.

“Hey Sug. What a pleasant surprise.” He greeted, as you stepped in.

“Are you stalking me?” You ask, half serious.

He lets out a chuckle. “You wish. No, Josh and I are here meeting with our social media manager. She wanted smoothies, but I’ve got to say I was hoping this pilates studio next door was the one you frequented.”

You glance around him and see Josh at the table giving you a wave while a blonde girl scrolled through a laptop.

“So why this smoothie place? Did you search for one closest to a pilates studio?” You ask in an accusatory tone.

“You overestimate me Sug. This was just the closest one to our house.” He replies coolly.

“Closest?” You ask with pinched brows.

“Yeah. Our house is somewhat secluded I guess. It’s a few miles behind that block of townhomes.”

“Motherfucker.” You whisper.

Jake looks at you strangely. “What?”

”Nothing.” You say dismissively.

He cracks that annoyingly perfect smile at you. “Don’t tell me you live close to there?”

You glance up at him, always finding it hard to lie to him “I do.”

”Well I’ll be damned. What does fate have in store for us Sug?” He asks through a smirk.

You scoff at him. He was ridiculous.

“Let me at least buy you a smoothie and you can come join us.” Jake offers.

You make a face at him. “I don’t need you to buy my smoothie Jake.”

He cracks a smile at you and places his hand on your lower back ushering you towards the ordering station. “I know you don’t need me to. But I want to. Y’know good karma and all.”

You scoff. “It would take a lot more than a smoothie to give you good karma.”

He lets out a small laugh. “You’re right.”

You two order and stand by the counter while you’re waiting on all of the smoothies. He had ordered one for him, Josh, and the laptop girl too.

You try to tune Jake out but you can feel his eyes burning into you.

“What?” You ask, looking over at him.

“Ah nothing. I thought pink was your color, but it might be green.” He suggests with a smirk, while nodding his head towards your tight green leggings that are practically painted on you.

You roll your eyes but feel your face flushing red. Thankfully, they call your order number up and you grab your smoothie and Josh’s while Jake waits for whatever else he ordered. You walk towards the booth and are greeted with a smiley Josh. You decide to slide in next to him, the blonde girl barely looks up from her computer.

“Ah I thought that was you. I didn’t know you would be joining us this morning?” Josh questions, almost as if he would believe that you and Jake had planned this.

You lightly laughed at that notion. “Yeah me either. My pilates studio is next door. I come here religiously for these protein shakes.”

“Pilates and protein? What happened to my beer and mac & cheese girl?” He teases with a bright smile.

You huff a laugh, but before you can respond Jake comes buzzing over to the table. “Here ya go Dev.” Jake says, sliding over to the blonde girl who was so wrapped up in her computer. However, that’s not the case anymore.

She flashes a smile to Jake. “Oh thank you Jake.” She says, her voice thick with sweetness.

Oh she likes him. You can tell by the way her eyes light up when she sees him. You get it, you really do. But why is it bothering you?

Josh clears his throat. “Okay, well maybe proper introductions are in order here? Devan this is y/n. We all go way back.”

Jake snickers at that. “Yeah, way back.”

You flick a brief look of judgment at Jake, but you notice your heart rate quicken.

“Yes… and this is Devan, she is our newly hired social media coordinator. She’s brilliant. I figured you two might have some common ground with your marketing career?” Josh offers.

Devan meets your eyes. She’s pretty. Moderately short dirty blonde hair with platinum highlights, blue eyes lined perfectly with black eyeliner and encased in black rimmed large eye glasses. You weren’t sure if they were for seeing or fashion, but they looked great on her. She was trendy in a business casual way. Very much a Nashville girl.

You flashed her a smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Devan.”

She offers you a tight lipped smile before averting her eyes back to her computer. “Mhm likewise.”

Oh. You would completely understand her demeanor had she behaved like this the whole time. Work is work. However, she lit up like a Christmas tree for Jake. So you were led to believe that you and her would not be making each other friendship bracelets anytime soon.

“Jake, can you tell me what you think of this filter?” Devan asks in that sickeningly sweet voice again.

Jake glances up at you slightly with a grin and scoots closer to Devan. He brushes his hand with hers as he scrolls on the mousepad and you see her cheeks dust with pink. “Oh wow. Devan this is beautiful. We really are so lucky to have hired you.” He says nudging her shoulder. “Josh, look at this.”

Jake spins the computer around and you glance at the photo. It’s a fucking black and white picture with grain. You now know Jake is trying to put on an act since you’re here.

Josh purses his lips. “Yeah… absolutely. Looks great.”

He has always been so kind.

Your attention is diverted when your phone starts to vibrate on the table.

Aiden Rodgers flashes upon your screen and Jake sees it before you do.

“Sorry guys. I’m going to get out of here and take this call.” You look over directly to Josh. “I’ll see you later?”

Josh gives you a polite smile. “Yeah of course.”

You grab your phone that’s still lighting up the table and glance up at Jake before shuffling out of the booth.

“See you tonight. Do feel free to bring Aiden, Sug.” Jake says with a sly smile.

You make a face at him. Why did he always manage to get under your skin? As you walked off you took a deep breath and answered your phone.

Lunch with Aiden went perfectly well. You had fibbed a little and said that you had a family thing come up for the evening, so Aiden offered lunch. He took you to a cute little patio restaurant where you indulged in a salmon and goat cheese salad with a lemon blueberry mojito. He was funny and charming. But you couldn’t help but let your mind drift elsewhere while he was speaking. You sent Aiden off with a hug and a promise to call him soon. Now you sat in your living room nursing a wine cooler contemplating what you would even wear tonight. What is the attire for attending your rockstar ex-boyfriend’s concert? Part of you wanted to bail on the whole night and not even go, but you couldn’t do that to Josh. Despite all of the shit with Jake, Josh was always there for you. It was about time you showed some reciprocation after all this time.

You groaned and peeled yourself off of your couch. There was a laundry list of things that needed to be done before tonight and you had better get started. Your phone buzzed whilst you were in the middle of an everything shower. When you climbed out you check it immediately to see a text from Josh:

After party tonight at our house. Would love for you to come and you’re more than welcome to stay. Pack a swimsuit!

You felt a swirl of emotions hit you. You missed them and you knew going would be fun. But were you ready to be around Jake for longer than 10 minutes? You dried off and tried to do anything but contemplate how the night might play out. Once you had completed all of your skincare, you threw your hair up to dry in a turban towel and picked through your closet. You fingered through your dresses, business casual blouses, and blazers. Nothing spoke to you. Then, it hit you.

Black.

Jake had said he loved you in pink and green, but you still remember the way he trembled when you wore black. You tried to reason with yourself that the sole reason you were choosing your outfit was not based on him, but you were drawing blanks.

Once you applied sultry makeup and put bouncing curls in your hair you were ready to get dressed. You picked up your lingerie-esk black see through cami adorned with lace. It was entirely sheer except for the front. You decided to pair it with a longer silk black skirt with a high slit and black strappy heels. Once, you were dressed, you accessorized and sprayed yourself with a perfume that made you smell like a walking dessert. You might have taken a liquid shot of courage before you got into your Uber to head to the venue.

There was a line of fans outside and you smiled to yourself knowing that their dream was coming to fruition. You clicked your heels on the pavement up towards the box office, carrying your small duffle bag and gave them your name. You were given a lanyard and entrance to the side door where a rather muscular man led you down empty hallways. He smiled and attempted to strike a flirty conversation with you while taking your bag to carry it, but you were already bored of him as he droned on about how important he was. Finally you had made it to a lounge area where you saw Danny rummaging through the fridge with Sam hot on his heels. You laughed to yourself at a memory that had come to mind seeing the scene before you. Josh had always called them tweedle dee and tweedle dumb in the most endearing way. Where there was one the other surely would be in tow.

“Y/n! Hey! You look hot!” Sam yelled, rather loudly as soon as he noticed your presence.

“I believe this is where I leave you ma’am.” Muscles said, sitting your bag down on a chair. “If you require my assistance later or need help getting to your seat, here’s my number.”

You politely accepted his small slip of paper and tried to pretend like you didn’t see his wink.

“You made it!” Josh stated enthusiastically heading your way.

You wrapped him in a warm embrace. “I’m done dodging you.”

He smiled at those words. “Promise?”

”Pinky.” You said, extending your finger out towards him.

This was something you and Josh had done in the past. The most serious of vows, your pinky promises.

You saw his heart swell at your action, happy to have his best friend back. That was short lived when you felt a cloud come into the room. You could sense his eyes on you.

“Want a drink?” Josh asked, nodding towards the small wet bar.

“Just a vodka soda please.”

As one twin left you, another approached. Jake didn’t say a word as he took you in with his eyes. Scanning you up and down no doubtably undressing you with his eyes. You tried not to let that affect you.

”Jake.”

He nodded towards you. “Sugar. You look… just wow. Takes me back to a different time.”

Your face slightly reddens at his admission. You expected more of a sleazy conversation from Jake rather than an unintentional trip down memory lane.

The mood shifts entirely when Josh comes back with a vodka soda and two limes.

“You remembered.” You say to Josh with a smile, gesturing towards the extra lime.

“Of course. How could I forget?” He replies with a grin.

Jake clears his throat. “Well glad you could make it. We have a hell of a show tonight and I assume you’ll be at our house later of course for the party?”

You give a quick glance to Josh, who is looking at you hopefully. “Yep. I’ll be there.”

Jake flashes you a mischievous grin. “Excellent. Enjoy yourself tonight Sug.” Then he heads off to converse with one of his technicians.

“Rather brooding isn’t he?” Josh jabs.

You snicker at that. “I’ll say.”

Josh turns towards you and places a hand on your back. “I’m glad you’re here. I’ve missed you.”

A wave of guilt mixed with sentimentality rushes through your veins. You loved Josh. No matter what happened with Jake, he was still that beautiful shining beacon of light for you. It was then you had decided to focus on him rather than concern yourself with whatever Jake may do. “I missed you too Josh, so much.”

“Alright everyone! Openers are about to go on. I need you all dressed and ready to shoot some social media content in ten!”

You glance across the room and see Devan with an iPad in hand. She was wearing a similar stylish business casual outfit like she had previously worn. When she finally looked up from her screen she noticed you immediately and gave a harsh face. It was brief, but you had caught it.

“Devan can we push this back a little? Y/n just got here and I’d like to show her around.” Josh asks.

Devan makes a face a Josh before tapping furiously on her tablet. “Eh sorry no can do Josh. The best I could do is an additional fifteen minutes but that will cut into Danny’s tik tok later. Besides, we need to make sure we are staying somewhat confidential with our filming so that nothing gets leaked.”

You felt a pit form in your stomach. She didn’t want you around and you were intruding on their work.

“Uh Devan she’s basically family.” Sam chimes in. “She wouldn’t dare leak anything.”

“No, it’s fine!” You try to say as nonchalant as possible. “I wanted to catch some of the opening act anyway. You guys go and get dressed and do your thing.”

Josh gives you a sad look, but eventually nods on.

“I’ll call that security guard to come fetch you. Oh! Jake! I need your feedback on something.” Devan says, hurrying over towards Jake who looks at you with raised brows.

“One sec Dev. Gonna walk y/n to her seat.” He says, shuffling past her.

He walks up to you with a pleased smile and sticks his arm out. “Shall we?”

You give him a pointed look and huff before grabbing his arm. “Break a leg.” You say to Josh with a smile.

He gives you a half hearted smile back and nods. You wondered why his mood had seemed to change, but Jake’s voice quickly snapped you out of your thoughts.

“Excited?”

You hum. “I supposed. Eager to see how much you’ve all changed.”

Jake chews on his cheeks before he speaks. “I guess we all have… changed quite a bit. Grew up a little.”

You laugh. “Oh, have you? That seems far-fetched for some of you.”

He huffs a laugh back. “You’re talking about Sam right?”

“Oh most definitely.” You snicker, but can’t hide the smile that creeps out. “You didn’t have to walk me, you know. I can manage.”

“And leave that meathead to try and sweep you off your feet? No way Sugar, I’m the only one who can do that. Besides, these halls can be empty. No one around. Private really.” He retorts with a shit eating grin.

There he is. You roll your eyes. “Oh Jake, you really always have been ever so charming.”

“You flatter me. But in all honesty it can be difficult to navigate around backstage. When we first started playing at bigger venues I would get lost just trying to find somewhere to smoke a fucking cigarette.”

“Cigarettes? That’s a nasty little habit.” You say with faux disapproval.

He turns towards you and sets his eyes on yours. “Quite. Sometimes the things that can hurt you the most are what you want more than anything. You crave it.”

You feel your heartbeat quicken at that statement. Your chest starts to blaze with an indescribable feeling, but before you can respond you’re interrupted.

“VIP guest? I’ll usher her over to side stage.” A crew member says approaching you and Jake.

Jake clears his throat and nods at the man. “Yep, thank you.”

Then he turns away and heads in the opposite direction without looking back at you. You felt your brain spinning as you blinked to come back to reality. You were taken to your seat where you were surprisingly close to the stage. You weren’t necessarily in seats, but had a foldout chair side stage on the floor. Your mind drifted to what they might play and if Jake played with as much passion as he used to. When you two had dated you were mesmerized watching him play. His dedication, his intensity, the way his body swayed around that guitar, the facial expressions, the sweat, his…hands. Stop. You couldn’t think that way. That time was over. You have moved on. You were over Jake. Right? You hated him. Didn’t you? You massaged your temples and requested a drink from a crew member. When it arrived you nursed the burning liquid in attempt to suppress whatever in the hell your psyche was feeling. You tried to concentrate on the openers, but before you knew it their set was over and you were left thinking what the next setlist might be. Since you went no contact, you did not go out of your way to search for them or their music. You only know the early days. The early days. Would they play it? Your song? They used to play it all the time. A catchy song written drunkenly by Jake and Josh one night when they were younger, but you were the driven force behind its publication. They played it all the time. It was a great jam song, but no one knew Jake had dedicated it to you. Anxiousness swirled in your stomach as you anticipated the mere minutes before they would take to the stage. You had to admit there was quite a turn out. They had fans and not just casual ones either. A part of you felt proud while another solem that you had missed the build up to this moment.

The lights dimmed and cheering ensued. Then you heard those familiar chords billow through the speaker. It couldn’t be. Your song? They started with your song? Josh’s wailing fills the venue and Jake’s fingers move at lightning speed to match his twin. Highway Tune. Your song.

So sweet. So fine. So nice. Oh my.

Jake used to jokingly say this to you all the time. Your body betrayed you as you swayed to that ever so familiar sound, the build up to the catchiest little riff that has haunted you for years. For a moment Jake’s eyes meet yours and a bright smile appears on his face followed by a wink. He knew what he was doing. The song comes to a close and you hold your breath in anticipation to see if they do it. Danny beats the skin off of his drums, Sam plucks wildly at his bass, Jake strums and struts, you see Josh take a breath and then look at you before the close out.

Sugarrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

You were reeling after the last two hours of whatever that was. A rush of conflicting emotions assaults all of your senses as you make your way backstage. Starting off with your song and then you heard a song that made a pit form in your stomach. You’re The One. Was that about you? Timeline wise it would make sense. You wouldn’t dare ask in fear of being embarrassed if it wasn’t about you. But you had a gut feeling that it was.

All of a sudden they all rush back into the green room high off adrenaline.

“So, what did you think?” Danny asks, grabbing a towel to wipe the sweat from his chest.

“You guys were phenomenal. Seriously, I was blown away.”

Danny smiles, clearly pleased with your answer while Sam pulls you into his side for a hug.

“Feels so nostalgic in here huh?”

You let out a small laugh. “Sure does Sammy.”

“Nostalgia for sure Sug.” Jake says, pressing a freshly poured glass of some dark liquid to his lips. His eyes are intense as they study you, trying to see if there’s any falter behind you.

You breath out when you see Josh and take the opportunity to get you out of this weird eye contact that you have with Jake. “Josh! Oh my god, your voice! You were absolutely amazing. So grown up now.”

He smiles sweetly at you. “You’re too kind. It’s been a work in progress for a while.”

“I can tell. I always knew you were talented but I just- wow.”

He blushes slightly at that.

“Yeah yeah enough of the love fest. Can we please go home and start drinking?” Sam says in a faux annoyed tone while sending you a wink.

“Don’t have to ask me twice. Wanna ride with me Sug?” Jake asks looking towards you with raised eyebrows

You swallow thickly at that. “I’ll hang back with Josh. Gotta find my bags anyway.”

“Suit yourself.”

“Josh!” You say in a fit of giggles as he matches your laughs.

“What? It’s true! He absolutely looked like he was snorting steroids.”

You and Josh had left the venue and were headed back to the house. You thought you would be anxious, but neither you nor Josh had shut up or quit laughing. It all felt so natural, just like it once did.

“We’re just around this corner here.” He says, whipping his jeep to the left.

“Josh.” You start. “I have a confession.”

He raises his eyebrows at you. “Yeah?”

“See those trees back there? Just to the right of that little park?”

He quints and nods.

“I live back there.”

His mouth falls open. “No shit?”

You laugh and nod. “I’m so serious! I live in one of those townhomes. That’s why I was so weirded out when I ran into you guys at the smoothie cafe.”

Josh grins and taps the steering wheel. “Hell. Small world. Who would have thought?”

“It’s the universe bringing us back together Joshy.” You say playfully giving his arm a light tap.

His grin turns into a full on smile at that. “I’ll hold you to that.”

When you arrived Josh grabbed your bag and ushered you inside. The house was quite big, definitely bigger than your townhome. There was loud music blasting inside and a slew of bodies which didn’t look familiar to you.

“Wanna take this to my room?” Josh yells over the music.

You nod and grab his hand as he leads you up the stairs.

“Shit it’s loud down there. I’m going to fix that when we get back there. I don’t wear earpieces to protect my ears on stage only to have it ruined at a shitty house party.” Josh says, as he shuts his door.

His room is so very Josh. There’s a white plush king bed in the center, perfectly made. A John Denver poster hangs on a blank wall with a few plants scattered around. But your favorite feature is a small reading nook that Josh has made out of his relatively small windowsill.

“Josh, this is so cute.” You say, running your fingers through his books. You two had always been avid readers and you were delighted to see his new found fame hadn’t changed him.

He gives you a bashful grin. “I guess. I just need a space that’s just for me. Somewhere to escape from the normal insanity that is my life.”

You shrug at him. “Understandable. The reason I chose the townhome I’m in is solely because of a clawfoot tub in my bathroom. I will sit in that thing for hours after a long day at work.”

“You still stay in there long enough to be a mermaid?”

You nod and smile. Josh use to always call you a mermaid because of your extensive baths.

“Ready to head down? I’ve got to kill this music before we get the damn cops called on us.”

You agree and follow him down the stairs. He introduces you to a few dozen people who you couldn’t possibly remember before taking two tequila shots. He throws you a seltzers and a leaves you with a promise to return as soon as he gets the music turned down. You sip on your drink as you can feel the two shots of tequila already working it’s way into your system. You took the time to walk around the house and explore. Careful to avoid any unwanted interactions. You finally found yourself in a small corner of the living room observing some vinyl that was hanging. It seems their collection had almost doubled since you last saw it.

You weren’t alone for long when you felt his presence near you. It was magnetic the way you two had always gravitated towards one another and you knew he was fighting that pull just as much as you had.

“Enjoying yourself Sugar?” Jake asks, leaning in closer than necessary so you can hear him. Immediately you can smell the booze on him. Was he trying to drink away the feelings he felt just like you were?

“Having a splendid time Jacob. Thank you.” You reply, cordially.

He laughs and presses his back up to the wall, observing the party with you. “Why do I always find you in a corner by yourself? You should be out there mingling and mixing.” He teases.

You scoff. “We all aren’t social butterflies like you I suppose.”

Jake turns back and leans in closer to you. “Don’t play coy with me Sug. Don’t forget, I know you. You are very personable. Dare I say charming even?”

You take this opportunity to poke back at him. “Charming? I think I use my charm a little bit differently than you.”

He clicks his tongue and brings his glass up to his lips. “Whatever do you mean?”

“I use my charm simply in a way that any human would; for the purpose of social interaction. Right? You use your charm to try and get panties to drop. So why are you lecturing me? You need to get out there and mix and mingle instead of standing in this corner.”

Jake studies you as you speak and takes a step even closer. He stares directly in your eyes, his slightly red and half-lidded. “Fair, but there’s only one person here that I want to try that charm out with.”

You tried not to flinch at his words, but that hit you like a bullet train. “Yeah?”

He leaned down, bracing himself on the wall. “Yeah.” He whispers into your neck. His hot breath fanning on a sweet spot that caused goosebumps to form everywhere. “And I can only get to her in this corner. Unless of course she would like to accompany me upstairs? We could do a lot of mixing and mingling up there.”

Fuck.

You feel a rush in your chest as Jake’s eyes bounce from your eyes to your lips.

Oh but his lips.

Slightly wet from nursing his drink, but so perfectly plump and pink. You tried to remember how they felt when they used to graze every inch of your skin. That thought alone sent shivers down your spine. You felt frozen in time as your heart was thudding. Maybe it was the alcohol in your system or maybe it was the burning sensation of lust coursing through your veins, but you were going to kiss him. No you were going to fuck him. You didn’t care, all of your inhibitions had long flown out the window. You stared back at him intently and fluttered your eyes tilting your head forward. He leaned in slowly and parted his lips. You followed suit. His nose brushed yours and electricity shot down your spine. This was it.

“Jake!”

Damnit.

You both spun around to see Josh heading your way. Jake huffed a few curse words under his breath as you instinctively took a step back.

Josh makes his way over to you and runs his fingers through his hair. “Thank god I found you. That redhead is looking for you. She’s been following me around for the last few minutes. Something about plans you had?”

Redhead?

Your stomach sinks slightly at that and you feel embarrassed that it did. Of course he has little flings or hell even multiple girlfriends.

Jake cocks his head at his twin and narrows his eyes at him. Almost like he cannot believe what he just said. There’s a long pause of silence between the two of them, neither breaking eye contact from the other.

Finally, Jake lets out a huff and glances back at you before walking off.

You were now beyond grateful that Josh cockblocked you.

“Such a sour puss. You ready to go swimming?” Josh asks you with a grin.

You match his. “Absolutely.”

You stared at yourself in the mirror feeling a little self conscious as you took in your body in the black bikini. Jake hadn’t seen your body in a while. Not since you had become more womanly and of course the months of pilates classes. You knew you looked attractive, sure but you still had those voices inside your head criticizing every imperfection. You massaged your temples to get out of your own head and threw on a large Nirvana t-shirt with some leather flip flops before leaving Josh’s bathroom.

“Ready?” He asked you, sitting patiently in his windowsill. “I got us towels.”

You let out a small laugh. “Thank you. Yes, let's go.”

You and Josh descend the stairs and head outside. There’s a decent amount of people there. You don’t scan around looking for Jake, instead keeping your eyes on Josh as he plops your towels down on a chair. He’s wearing light orange swim trunks that match his tan perfectly. It’s just now that you realize how fit he looks. He has really filled out since you last saw him.

You take off your t-shirt and slide off your flip flops, placing them all on the chair. When you glance up your eyes meet Jake’s. He’s staring at you, mouth slightly agape. He’s in the pool, with a fair skinned girl with red hair laughing and straddling him. Her arms are on his shoulders and instantly jealousy creeps down your spine. Why were you jealous? You couldn’t say, but you were. You peeled your eyes away from Jake and headed towards Josh, who was at the cooler fetching you drinks.

“Hot tub?” You ask him walking up behind him.

“Oh yeah sure-“ He turns around and his eyes scan your body. He’s not being nonchalant about it and when he catches himself his face dusts red and he clears his throat. “Yeah hot tub it is.”

You and Josh pad your way to the hot tub, opposite to where Jake and the red head were. You see Sam sitting in there animatedly speaking to Danny. You giggle because you can tell he’s intoxicated.

“Wow wow wow!” Sam whistles wildly at you two approaching. “Josh, you look incredible!”

Josh laughs at his brothers antics while taking your hand to help you climb into the hot tub. The warm water goes from slightly uncomfortable to pleasant the more you sink down in it. You crack your watermelon tequila seltzer and cheers with Josh as you get settled, opting to share a jet together.

“Sammy boy, how much have you had to drink tonight?” Josh pokes.

He throws his hand up at you two. “I lost count. I’m just trying to celebrate! Enjoy the lovely night with lovely people!”

Danny groaned at the end of that sentence and handed Sam a bottle of water. “Drink this.”

“Ah! The gang’s all back together. Where’s Jake? I’m surprised he peeled himself away from you.” Sam giggles. “He was eye fucking you all night on that stage.”

It got quiet.

“He’s in the pool.” Danny offers, bluntly.

Sam cranes his head around to look for his older brother. “Oh. Shit. Is that one Holly or Katie?”

“Holly.” Josh interjects. “Katie is the other one.”

Other one.

Sam sucks in his cheeks and turns towards you. “Sorry. I know that might be awkward for you. It’s nothing serious.”

You let out a laugh. “It’s okay Sam. It doesn't bother me.” You lie. “That was a long time ago.”

“Sam, no one was thinking that. You’re the one making things weird.” Danny says through a laugh.

Sam lets out a breath. “Pshhhhhh. Nope. Come on we all remember how they used to-“

“Sam!” Josh snaps, somewhat abruptly. “Let it be. Can we not traumatize her again?”

You play it off. “It’s fine I promise. But tell me about this house? It’s insane! You guys are living here for how long?”

Josh faces you. “It is. I’m very grateful they gave us such a big place to write this album. We used to go in the smallest cabins in the woods and hold up for weeks. But I think we should be here for at least a good six to nine months.”

You swallow at that. How would you be around them or him for that long? “Wow. Sounds like you guys will be busy then.”

Danny rolls his eyes. “We would be if we could stay on topic.”

You smile at that. “Not much has changed, has it?”

Sam sips his water. “Not even a little bit.”

Eventually the party had died down and the crowd began to disperse. Danny and Sam were on cleanup duty while you and Josh both quickly took a rinse shower and put dry clothes back on. You were done first, so you decided to head back down wearing gray sweat shorts with a white cropped tank. Your hair was slightly damp and had curled up significantly.

“Need any help?” You ask Sam as you see him throwing cups on a trash bag.

“That would be great.” He offers with a big smile.

You get to work and grab a bottle of cleaning solution with paper towels and being spraying and wiping down the sticky surfaces, while Sam finishes picking up trash and begins to sweep.

“You’re too sweet, you know that? I’ve always thought so.”

You giggle at his drunk confessional. “Thank you Sammy. So are you.”

He shrugs. “I guess. I’m sorry if I made you upset earlier. I’m just glad to see that you don’t have an achy Jakey heart.”

You can’t help but laugh at that one. “It’s okay, really. I’m a big girl.”

Sam grins at you. “I know you are. But for what it’s worth, he hasn’t really been the same since- you know. Despite how he acts it really fucked him up. He never said a word to indicate it, but we could all tell. I’m sure you heard that song tonight. He would absolutely kill me for saying all of this to you right now, but I feel like you should know it. If for nothing but closure. Fuck, I know I’m drunk and I’m oversharing here.”

You feel like the wind has been sucked out of you. A pool of emotions you absolutely cannot identify swirl in you. Does Jake have feelings for you? After all this time? That song? Were you right?

You’re interrupted abruptly by Josh climbing down the stairs. “Sammy, why do you have our guest working?”

Sam clears his throat, trying to drop all of the conversation that had just occurred between you two. “She volunteered because she is kind. Unlike a certain diva I know.”

“Please. Jake and I have the next clean up- that was the agreement.”

Sam rolls his eyes. “Yeah yeah. Help me take this trash out.”

Josh gives you a head nod as he grabs two bags of trash and walks with Sam towards the door.

Then you’re left in your own thoughts, absentmindedly putting away things that you have no idea where they go.

“So who are you?”

You whip your head around to see redhead approaching you. She’s still in her neon pink bikini tracking pools of water on the floors Sam had just cleaned.

You try not to narrow your eyes at her as you tell her your name. “Old friend of theirs.”

She takes in what you say. “Hm, old friend? I don’t think I’ve ever heard them talk about you.”

You’re a bit taken back by her nastiness. “And you are?”

“Holly.” She says with a smile. “Jake’s good friend. Thank you for helping clean up and all, but the party’s over. I think we’ll get it from here.”

Okay now you narrow your eyes at her. She doesn’t know you and you have a good inkling she doesn’t know how much of good friends you and Jake used to be. “Appreciate your tip and all, but I’m staying here tonight.”

She makes a face at you. “What are you taking the couch or something?”

“No.” Josh’s voice peaks from behind you. “Not that’s it’s any of your concern, but she’s staying with me.”

She drops a considerable amount of attitude with Josh in the room. “Oh! No, yeah I just didn’t know.”

She heads back outside as Josh scoffs. “Don’t worry about her.”

You flash him a smile. “What? She seems so friendly.”

He nudges your shoulder. “You have no idea.”

You and Josh had decided to go outside to make sure everything else was done before you had retired to bed. You found Jake sitting in a chair with redhead practically on top of him. His eyes found yours when you stepped outside, but you looked away quickly and refused to look back.

“Is Sam making a fucking fire?” Josh asks through a laugh.

Danny walks by and places his hand on Josh’s shoulder. “Indeed he is. Something about old times sake and a card game?”

A smile spreads across your face. “Rummy? That’s what we used to all play when we were high out of our minds.”

“Bingo!” Sam yells from a distance. “And you’re in luck baby because look what I have!” He holds up a sandwich bag full of joints.

You shake your head and smile at Josh. “Oh my god.”

He throws his arm around you. “Are you up for this?”

You think about it for a second. Contemplating being around Jake and redhead even longer. You didn’t want to be a buzzkill though, so you bit your lip and nodded your head.

You all eventually gathered around the table. You seated yourself next to Josh and Sam, trying to steer away from Jake. It was to no use when he sat down directly in front of you. His eyes bore into yours, but again you wouldn’t look at him.

“Wanna shuffle Sug?” Jake asks you, attempting to hand the cards in your direction.

You can see redhead squish her face up at the pet name.

“Sure.” You take the cards and begin to shuffle them around before dealing.

Sam lights up and starts to pass the joints around. You collect your cards and take a joint from Josh, watching him take a drag. You bring the joint to your lips and take a small hit, not wanting to do too much for the night. The smoke fills your lungs and you feel that light sensation rush to your head. You close your eyes and exhale, deciding to take another puff before passing it back to Sam. It’s not long until all of you are red eyed and smiley. The first few games were won by you and Danny, then the cards got tossed to the side stories began to flow. At this point the cotton mouth began to set it.

“Gonna go grab a bottle of water. Want one?” You turn to Josh.

He gives you a smile. “Please.”

You head towards the house and go to the bathroom first, relieving your bladder. You wash your hands and stare at the mirror, trying to fix the slight black smudge under your eyes. You were tired and ready to call it a night. Once you headed back into the kitchen you were startled by a body standing there.

“Fuck! Jake, you scared me.”

He laughs. “Sorry Sugar. Just wanted to come and check on you.”

“I’m fine.”

“You are.” His voice was like velvet. He was always somehow more attractive when he was stoned.

“Careful Jake. Don’t want your friend out there to hear.” You say nonchalantly, grabbing two bottles of water.

Jake gives you a devilish grin and steps closer. Backing you up into the countertops. “Oh come on now Sugar. Just say the words and she’s gone.”

You look up at him, studying that beautiful face. “I’m good actually.”

You shimmy out from underneath him heading back outside to Josh. You let out a deep breath before returning to the group.

“Thanks love.” Josh says, taking the bottle from you.

Jake returns to the group not uttering a word.

“I’m tired.” You announce to Josh.

“Yeah me too.” Redhead states. “Jake can we go to bed babe?”

You glance up at him. He looks at you with raised eyebrows, almost asking you. You avoid his glance and he mutters a “yeah” towards her. It sort of felt like a stab to your gut, but you wouldn’t give it any attention.

“Good night guys!” Redhead yells, toting Jake’s arm all the way inside.

You and Josh helped put the fire out before heading back inside.

“What a damn day.” Josh jokes, handing you toothpaste to put on your toothbrush.

You huff a laugh. “Tell me about it. Also I’m freezing, why is it so cold in here?”

“Daniel insists we keep the house at a crisp 68. Michigan blood isn’t used to this Tennessee heat.”

You snicker. “You would all boil if you came to my place.”

“You’ve adapted well I see.”

You shrug. “I’ve always preferred to be closer to The Sun I guess. Makes me happy.”

Josh smiles at you. “I know what you mean.”

You both brush your teeth side by side. A part of it felt so domestic, like it was something that you two had done every night forever. You chalk it off to being high and climb into bed with your once best friend.

You snuggled down into his plush sheets and both crack a few jokes before drifting off to sleep. Somehow, Josh’s arm found it’s way wrapped around you. You were no longer freezing; you were now warm.

Both inside and out.

***

Thank you for reading :)

73 notes · View notes

faef43 · 2 years ago

Text

PLS LOOK THE REBLOGGED POST I MADE OF THIS POST TO CONTINUE MY TIPS

HERE ARE SOME TIPS PLUS STORES TO AVOID

ALWAYS ADDING MORE SO CHECK BACK

I’ve been lifting for awhile and have collected some good tips and tricks on how to not get caught or be put in a system

-CAMERAS/MAIN TIPS-

I mainly lift small things like makeup, jewelry, small skincare, rings, pins, if it’s a good day maybe small lotions, but lifting clothes tips are coming soon!! (fixing spelling/grammar errors <3)

First of all, wear a mask and if you can style your hair in a way you usually don’t or use a beanie, bucket hat, baseball cap, never a sun hat way too suspicious. Ex. for hair: braids, space buns, slicked back, etc. I wouldn’t suggest lifting if you have brightly colored hair unless you want to go as far as to wear a realistic enough looking natural wig. Never wear sunglasses with a mask or a hat on, very suspicious, they will catch on. While finding blind spots never just turn around to face the wall and start stuffing your pockets and bag(s), instead stand at a 3/4 angle and be slick, I suggest lifting things while walking through a crowed isle, section, or doing it while walking, this one usually works if you have something small you can make it look like you’re adjusting your sleeves. ALWAYS GRAB 2 OF THE ITEM U WANT 2 LIFT, make the second one less apparent you have it, but if you take two and always keep one apparently in your hand, the cameras will be fooled. You have to have some sort of fingernails to scratch off price tags/barcodes/stickers, trust me when lifting you don’t want those on there. Take them off, rip them up and stuff it in your pocket or stuff somewhere non apparent, never throw them on the ground, super obvious. Don’t wear all baggy clothing, it’s really suspicious, always do the half half trick, half of your outfit baggy, half tight. Ex. Really tight shirt, hella baggy pants, really baggy hoodie, tight ass jeans or leggings. That way they won’t suspect you. If doing the baggy hoodie, always wear a secure sports bra underneath if u wear bras, great for slipping stuff into when pretending to adjust your bra, make sure your double of the product you want to lift is visible. By all means do not steal from target, they have high trained LP, workers that dress up as normal shoppers that they send to areas where they seek suspicion to spy on you, they keep you in a data base and share info/pics of you with other targets, cameras are nearly always monitored, store security is present, they let you walk out with things but eventually will confront you. The decision to call the police has already been made, target is a scary place, if you are gonna lift do only a 3-6 dollar thing, only once. Their employees count clothes for dressing rooms often times, pretty scary place stay safe. Some cameras are smoke detectors/speakers,boxes on the ceiling ect. Usually they’ll have some sort of light that’s always on, they look a little chunky or too far away from the ceiling. Claire’s has a ton of these so be carful, but their earrings don’t have any censors on them so they’re a great store for beginners. Interact with this post and I’ll add more too this blog♡ . -CLOTHING TIPS- If a clothing store does not have fitting rooms, don’t even try, they’ll immediately catch on+security cameras are your number one snitch. You’re gonna want to pay attention to if store employees suspect you. Ex. Fixing up areas that you’re at or around u, constant asking if you’re finding everything ok, maybe they’ll offer a store basket or bag, asking if you need anything in specific, any constant attention really. If they are leave the store, come back like a week later and try again. Your gonna wanna bring a hook with you to remove ink tags/clothing alarms while in fitting room, keep it down and try to pick a fitting room away from others to avoid suspicion. Some stores have employees stand in empty stalls next to you and listen so be aware and careful. If there are price tags try stuffing them behind the mirror or on in the landings on the floor, they’re sometimes rubber, don’t leave shit on the floor, if they already suspect u, they’ll check the fitting room when you come out. As for the alarms/ink tags, put them in ur pocket and discreetly shove them in another piece of clothing, remember to ALWAYS CHECK POCKETS ON CLOTHING.im abt to max out, look at repost of this from me 4more

ALWAYS CHECK POCKETS/COMPARTMENTS ON CLOTHING. Other lifters could have stuffed clothing alarms or price tags in there, be safe and check before trying to lift. No as where to conceal these clothing items, if you have the baggy hoody, (I suggest wearing a baggy shirt underneath too, always wear that sports bra if u wear bras{binders can also work it’s just hella uncomfy I’ve tried it})put 1-3 tops on under ur baggy T then put ur hoodie back on. Make sure they don’t count items b4 going into changing rooms. If they do, try taking a hoodie on some sort of hanger, taking it off the hanger, putting 1-2 shirts on the hanger, then put the hoodie/zip up back on. Great for lifting, if they confront you say you didn’t know and you were just tossing things in the cart, get out of there fast afterwards. It’s suspicious if you come in with a ton of clothes then don’t buy anything, sometimes you gotta buy some to win some. (Ex. I’m wearing 3 shirts under my og shirt which would add up to about 35 bucks, I buy a cheap tank top for 15, they don’t suspect me and I get freebies)

1K notes · View notes

m4ndysk4nkovich · 5 months ago

Note

Do you have any Debbie + Ian headcanons? Pre-canon or otherwise

eek!! yes i have many… and a lot of them are pre-canon because i’m a sucker for pre-canon

i’ve written about this before (and never published it lol), but i could see one of ian’s first memories being around debbie’s birth or her actual birth. frank said something about most of his kids being born in the gallagher house, and i believe debbie was born on the same table she gave birth to franny on. ian was really excited to be a brother because of lip’s influence, and when he held debbie for the first time, he kept calling her “my baby” and getting defensive when anyone tried to take her away (which was reasonable considering he was only four and couldn’t really hold her properly without help). when they got older, maybe five and nine, they would play together with the barbie lip took from the 99¢ store and ian’s g.i. joe, debbie was very bossy and kept interjecting whenever ian tried to do anything because she had a specific plan.

whenever frank would come home wasted or monica would be having another episode, ian would grab debbie (like he does in 2x08 and 11x07) and comfort her. he would convince himself that, yet again, he was following in lip’s footsteps and helping debbie, but a part of him knew he too wanted that comfort because he didn’t often get it.

debbie has painted ian’s nails… on several occasions. when they were kids and debbie would do it, ian would insist she picks a color that wouldn’t be noticeable and would pick it off his nails before school the next day. when ian got older and debbie would do it, he didn’t really care what she did and would keep it on (even if he ended up biting it off later). maybe as an emt sue would tease him, but he’d just brush it off. franny ends up painting his, too.

around two, maybe more, times, debbie would come with ian to the milkovich house. ian would go over to study with mandy (and sneak into mickey’s room to “go to the bathroom”), and debbie would talk with mandy. she felt really cool doing this, and on the walk home debbie would excitedly tell ian about how awesome she thinks mandy is. this is around season two

while working at the kash and grab in the summer, debbie (and sometimes carl) would walk there from the public pool and debbie would convince ian to give her money for some candy or a drink. ian always intended on doing so, but he would pretend to put up a fight to irritate her.

anytime ian (or any of her siblings) was sick or hurt and needed to stay in bed, debbie would sneak into his room and talk to him like he has terminal cancer and weeks to live. ian always found it sweet, even if he would playfully roll his eyes and tell her to get out.

when debbie was pregnant, she would send ian photos of her baby bump. she wouldn’t often get more than a “❤️”, but she appreciated it considering she felt so alone, but always knew she’d have her brother.

because season ten confirmed debbie’s a stoner as an adult (twice, lol) i can imagine her smoking on the porch with ian like she did with sandy. he’d talk about mickey, she’d talk about franny, they’d laugh about their other siblings.

i can’t really think of anything else but if anyone’s seeing this and wants more headcanons i’ll happily post them, my blog’s kinda dead now (which is totally my own fault lol)

#shameless #ian gallagher #debbie gallagher #headcanons #shameless headcanon #ian and debbie #shameless us

44 notes · View notes

kamii-2 · 14 days ago

Note

sarah strong fluff based after uconn won there first game

warning(s): none (i think)

genre: fluff

pairing(s): sarah strong x reader

==================================

when sarah walked in the door you ran to her and hugged her, “i’m so proud of you and your team.” you said as you hug her as tight as possible. “thank you so much, i wish you could’ve came.” she smiled while giving you a few kissed on your forehead. you didn’t go to her game because you had to work and had tons of homework to finish but at work you watched the game on the tv and when you were supposed to be doing homework, you were just watching the game. “yea, i’ll come next time.” you told her while pulling away.

a few minutes after sarah had got home and put all of her stuff away, she got in the shower and ready for bed. after her shower you both laid in bed and watched movies until the next day. you had planned to actually do something else for the teams first win but it was too late at night to do it so you planned on doing it the next day. you watched 3 movies before you both got tired and went to bed for the night.

you woke up before sarah and went to the store. last night before you went to bed you ordered a cake that says, “congratulations on the win guys 😛” with a bunch of pictures of the team and you planned on inviting the whole team over for a mimi celebration, eating the cake, maybe going live, and just overall having a good time. after you got the cake you bought a cool and a bag of ice and put the ice in the cooler, setting the cake in the color and hiding it in your car so sarah wouldn’t find it.

before you went back home you got coffee for you and sarah, trying to hide the fact that you were out for about an hour. when you got home sarah was sleep asleep so you woke her up as it was 10:21 and she told you to wake her up before 11, not wanting to sleep the whole day away. “sarah, baby wake up,” you said as you shook her awake, “i got you a iced coffee.” you told her as you shook her again, after a few more seconds of shaking her she woke up, “bro.” she said as she rolled over, “the ice in your coffee is gonna melt.” you told her as you shook her again. the moment you said that she got up snd went to the kitchen to find it.

“sarah i have a surprise for you and your whole team.” you told her as she drank her drink. she smiled at you, setting the drink down, “what is it?” she asked. “text them and tell them to come over and i��ll give you guys the surprise when they’re all here.” you answered. right after you said that, she texted them.

about an hour later, the whole team had showed up and were sitting in your bling room waiting for the surprise. “i know it’s not much but i hope you guys like it.” you said and you walked inside with the cooler, setting it on the coffee table and taking the cake box out. you moved the cooler off the table and opened the cake box. “oh my God.” ice said while looking at the cake, immediately taking a picture of the cake to post later. “this is so cute oh my lorddddd.” aubrey said with a big smile on her face. the rest of the night was filled with lots of laughter, playing games, and making tiktoks.

==================================

i hope you guys enjoyed and i hope you have a good day/night, love you 💋💋

#uconn wbb #uconn huskies #uconn women’s basketball #sarah strong #wlw #wlw post #fluff #fanfic #kamii-2

24 notes · View notes

iikisa · 9 months ago

Text

part 1

so. this is part one of a red dragon!krs fic ive been building up… this first chapter doesnt really have much much interesting scenes as of right now, and I’d love love love the input from everyone on how to continue, ideas for characters, and if theres anything i should consider changing!! that doesnt mean that i’ll be changing everything according to commenters, but i’d value all opinions to help build this plot 🥲

I’ve already finished around 3 similar length chapters and recently got stuck, so think of these posts as drafts and final revisions will probably go officially on AO3. thanks everyone 🤪

———

Oh, Pitiful Dragon (1)

Ever since his birth, the child longed for death. If it could take away his pain and grant his freedom, he’d trade anything he had so scarce of already. And on a particularly horrible day— the day that terrible man decided he would rip out his heart and use it for evil— the little child met a god.

The God of Death.

He thought it was ironic, seeing how soon his own demise was due soon. But this God didn’t come to reap his death, rather it came to propose a deal.

And the red dragon would accept any deal to be free of this pitiful life.

Kim Roksoo awoke suddenly from his slumber. His vision was black and only began to adjust to his blurred version after continuous blinking. Why was it so dark? And how had he fallen asleep? He was just finishing Volume 5 of The Birth of a Hero series and now— wait, are those chains?!

His eyes blew open and his vision was finally adjusted to the pitch darkness that surrounded him. He tried to stand but winced when pain spiked all across his body. Only then did he realize just how badly injured he was. Why was he so weak? Had someone kidnapped and beat him to a pulp?! He was completely blinded by the inexplicable pain that he hadn’t realized something much more important. No— wait, pain is important! It’s definitely concerning! But… why was his whole body covered in crimson scales?

‘Oh geez, well isn’t this new.’

Shortly after he had that thought he passed out from exhaustion and shock.

When Kim Roksoo woke again, he was practically being strangled. He quickly gasped for air and focused in on his current situation. He was being held up tightly by a metal collar on his (very, very sore) neck by some strange man in front of him. His hair was a long, spiky mess of blond and didn’t look very well-maintained. But his eyes… they were bloodshot red and had a crazed glint to them.

‘Crazy bastard…!’

Roksoo’s breathing was beginning to strain more and more, and suddenly he felt something prick beneath his scales painfully. He looked down and saw a clear tube running from his body all the way through an open passageway not so far from him. His blood began flowing through it.

‘Blood— They’re.. taking my blood?’

His thoughts were becoming even more incoherent by the second but after securing the clear tube into the little red dragon, the crazed man dropped him to the floor.

“You’re blood is so pure and vibrant, it’s so beautiful.. just like the color of your scales! It will definitely aid our liege and his cause. Haha!”

All Roksoo could think of was how crazy this lunatic was. He was still heavily panting, because honestly when was he not at this point, but thankfully he hadn’t passed out again. Instead, he glared with all his being towards the crazy bastard standing above him. Unfortunately, it only seemed to excite the lunatic even more.

“Maybe I really should visit you more. That look in your eyes gives me chills!”

Mumbling to himself, the psycho soon left the room through the very passage his blood was being drawn towards, and Roksoo was left alone; unprotected and cold. He hated feeling this way. These people didn’t seem to want him alive for so long, considering his “luxury” treatment. He was going to miserably die at their hands sooner or later. And he was too weak to do anything about it.

His eyes suddenly flashed with memories— no, records— of his fight with the second unranked monster to plague Korea. Lee Soohyuk and Choi Jungsoo… he had let them die. It was his fault and he knew it. It was something he’d regret for the rest of his life. But… they had told him to keep living. To keep living for them. He couldn’t die. It didn’t matter how he got into this situation. He’d rather crawl in shit than die this pathetically. He’d survive his new predicament— this new life that’s been granted to him. He’d survive.

He’d definitely survive to smack these bastards in the back one day.

Roksoo had spent weeks in that dark hell. His blood continued to flow from his body to somewhere unknown, he was paid violent visits by that lunatic, and he got weaker and weaker because of it. But his will didn’t waver for a second. Whenever someone came in to check on him, he’d mark it in his mind every time. Soon enough, he learned their patterns and found openings. He finally had a plan to escape this hell, no matter how many holes there were.. it was a chance.

With his limited information, there was only so far he could get, but somewhere deep inside him, he knew he’d manage. So, he followed his instincts. The minute his opening came, he used all the strength he had gathered and focused.

‘Concentrate. Concentrate on that feeling you’ve been accumulating, Roksoo!’

Suddenly, Roksoo felt as if he’d achieved some sort of enlightenment like the ones described in murim stories. He felt an overwhelming warmth spread throughout his body and a rush of adrenaline pumped through his veins exponentially. This power… He didn’t know where it had suddenly manifested from, but he was sure now. He could get out of here using it. His mind and body began working beyond their limits, and eventually everything around him felt like it was moving at a snails pace.

‘Instant..?’

His second ability from his past life, Instant. Time would seize and he could move freely for a short while. With a heavy cost on his body of course.

‘But this… it’s similar to instant, but it’s not completely it. I think— No, I can definitely handle this much better than what I’ve been able to before in Korea.’

His new body must’ve integrated Instant into another power. And this new power was about to help him escape. A small smirk graced his torn and bloodied face. Perfect.

Shackles that were tying his limbs down shattered beneath the little dragon’s feet in the blink of an eye, and in a literal instant he was darting across the passage with his slashed and scarred limbs.

‘Keep going. I have to keep going and get out of here!’

He was sprinting through the corridors, and if anybody had looked his way all they would’ve seen was a long, red blur. A bright light was beginning to seep in between the cracks in the ceiling of the dark man-made cave he was confined in.

‘Screw the consequences, we’re blasting through!’

With incredible speed, Roksoo was right beneath the seeping cracks of light and expanded his unused wings for the first time. His wingspan barely fit within the wide corridor as he spread them out and up, blasting off from his spot on the ground and flying like a rocket towards the ceiling. He was making it out.

Just as he impacted and the dust and debris had shot up everywhere, he spotted a few individuals standing far off in the sunlight. The most notable was a red haired main of fairly tall stature completely frozen in place by Roksoo’s sudden escapade. He wore a strange white mask over his upper face, his eyes a bright red with hints of brown. The person looked far to similar to Roksoo. His prominent crimson red and his own piercing reddish-brown eyes. They would’ve looked entirely the same if it weren’t for Roksoo’s current form.

He only locked eyes with the man for a split second, and continued shooting up into the sky. He began to hear shouts and alarms blaring within his vicinity. He had been encaged in a mountain with a large encampment stealthily surrounding it. He’d remember this exact spot.

Massive fireballs and arrows began piercing the sky in an attempt to bring Roksoo down, but he clumsily maneuvered around each and just barely grazed a few on his crimson scales. Suddenly, a blinding white spear had crossed his vision. And before he knew it, another had pierced right through his wing, tearing it open a considerable amount. Roksoo stifled the cry of pain that threatened escaping his lips, and instead gritted his teeth and continued to fly towards any kind of safety. Anything other than here will be safe, he just needs to lose these bastards first. The adrenaline rush he had originally received numbed all the pain in his body, but he knew that wouldn’t last with his current levels. He had to make use of every last bit of this power that he had in him.

He flew over an ocean and kept flying as far away as he could. Eventually he reached the mainland. The forest underneath him was dark and vast, a perfect hiding spot. He glides over the tree-line and with his remaining strength he just barely managed a suitable landing right by a flowing river. His landing was a little on the rough side and he was still so sore, but… he had finally made it out. He was successful. Now, he could truly live a slacker life! Wait— he still needs to get back at the bastards who had tortured him in the first place. Ah.. he also needs to secure enough funds for his slacker life as well.

Sigh.

Roksoo had much to do before he got to live a peaceful life.

‘But first, let’s just lay here a little while longer…’

Roksoo succumbed to his exhaustion and pain, entering a deep slumber.

———

THANKS FOR READING to the end !! please let me know ur input, things i could change, add, etc, i lack a lot in this field and value ur feedback ! 😋

147 notes · View notes

skyward-floored · 11 months ago

Text

I think I’m coming down with a cold again and possibly have a fever but I’m here to scream about the update some more anyway! (and analyze a bit but mostly scream). Dawn part 7 here we go!

(All images belong to @linkeduniverse <3)

First off I have to say this was my favorite panel I think, it’s so pretty. The faint glow! The colors! The cape over his shoulder! Amazing. This truly was Sky’s update, I loved every bit of focus he got. Jojo fed us well :D

So it looks like I was wrong about Sky reading everyone’s mail. He just immediately took off after the mailman instead (and spent all morning chasing him ha!),

Side note but I love the npc guy. He’s simple but still Zelda-y. the character design in this comic is just👌

Looks like the mailman has a list of who he’s supposed to deliver to, or at least that’s my guess. It could be a map maybe, but that probably wouldn’t do much good since he’s time traveling?? How does he do it. Don’t question the magic of the postman I guess.

*green hill zone music intensifies*

Shoutout to Sky’s face here, I make the same expression when I’m trying to chase after my nephew and stop him from eating crayons

This looks like a postcard no joke, I'd frame this and put it on my wall. Plus the way the trees were done in the background is really neat, there’s something just really pleasing about this panel. Also the return of Sky: Just Standing There

They’re all bein silly <3

...except for Four. Because I think him and Warriors both realize that Sky isn’t just telling them what he was doing all morning— he’s got something important to say, something they all actually need to know.

(Downfall duo laughing together I love them)

Also I agree with everyone saying Warriors is close to snapping— they’ve all had a pretty stressful 24 hours, but Warriors has been breaking up arguments and repeatedly checking on everyone while they’re struggling, and... I don’t think he’s had a break. Take a nap bud, please?

SKY TALKING TO FI MY BELOVED he's hoping there’s enough of her aware to help him dowse hhhhh. And then he’s so sad she didn’t seem to hear him waahhh 😭

It doesn’t look to me like she truly helped much, but maybe Fi gave just enough of a nudge for Sky to find the postman’s footprints? Even in her sleep? She is glowing just a bit there... Interesting to think about.

It’s confirmed that the postman uses the portals! And that the Shadow is alive and kicking! Uh-oh! (Also does anyone else think this one seems more... firey? Then the last one? Maybe it's just me).

And the chopped-off darknut head is still there too.... and I’ll bet you twenty rupees somebody is going to kick it when the Links go through the portal later. (My guess is Wild but I’d put my money on Legend or Wind too).

I’m also really curious where that portal leads... My guess is either Twilight’s Hyrule or Sky’s, based on what hints we’ve been getting, but I really don’t know. It’ll be fun to see!

*Wind rapidly thinking of at least three conspiracy theories*: SUS

Also an amazing expression from him I’m laughing so hard, he really said 3:<

Tag yourself I’m Four

Also Sky just chugging away at the stamina potion, poor guy XD he must be beat from all that running around, I hope he has some more time to sit before the Links get moving.

(And I mentioned this in another post, but Legend looks so alarmed at this information, as does Wild... it’s not going to be pretty when they cross paths with the Shadow again, that’s for sure)

I love when Time breaks out the dramatic language... makes me remember that this guy is going to be the Hero’s Shade someday (who’s speech is 99% dramatic things).

Now the Links just have to decide what to do next... will they stay another day at the inn for Twilight’s sake, or get moving right away? Is Four going to confront Twilight about the dark magic he uses to turn into Wolfie?

So many questions... but in the meantime I will gladly continue to reread this amazing update, I really loved this one :D

#linkeduniverse #linked universe #linked universe analysis #lu sky #and a bunch of other guys I don't feel like taggig #update spoilers #rambles from the floor

144 notes · View notes

blizzardfluffykpop · 4 months ago

Text

My Darling

Summary: A mean clothing boutique shopkeeper. And Kevin who soothes all your insecurities by proving to you what you mean to him.

Oneshot

Hurt/Comfort, Smut, Non-idol au, Fluff?, Friends to Lovers au

If you are a minor, please do not read/engage with this post. This is an 18+ work.

Warnings: Oral (r! receiving), Cum eating, Slight hair pulling (m! receiving), Protected Sex, Hand holding during sex, Slight body worship, Praise?, Marking (m! & r! receiving), Some aftercare, Use of pet names: Sweetheart & Darling. Very important: Reader is androgynous in clothing & and doesn’t wear makeup, and has body hair, and is a bit self-conscious about both (nothing Kevin can’t soothe ofc). *And if I missed any pls lmk!*

TW: A shopkeeper makes meanish comments about how the reader dresses and doesn’t shave. Leading to slightly self-conscious thoughts.

Word Count: 3,840

Kevin X Androgynous! Afab! Reader

Requested

Again, if you are a minor, please do not read/engage with this post. This is an 18+ work.

------

You start getting dressed to go out when Kevin calls you up, asking, “Hey, you wanna hang out today?” You look at the clock, “I’d love to, but I have plans to go clothes shopping right now.” He hums, “Okay. How does five sound?” You grin, your heart thumping at the thought of seeing him later, “Sounds good, I’ll see you then.” He sweetly says, “See ya.” You grin as you realize you could get something new to wear on your date. You shake your head at yourself and tell your heart to quiet down. He just wanted to hang out with you as a friend. It definitely wasn’t a date, nor was your outing for him, but it didn’t mean you could get something for the occasion as well.

You go to a few shops, buying a few things here and there before you end up at a local boutique. You head in, and the shopkeeper sweetly greeted you. You look around, picking out a motorcycle jacket, a few pairs of jeans, and two shirts. The jacket paired well with all the jeans you tried on, including the jeans you had worn there. But it was the two shirts that you were having issues with. The first one was too shapely. And it gave you an ick, so you took it off before trying on the yellow shirt. It was definitely your cut, but you weren’t sure if the color muted your skin tone. So, you ask the boutique owner for a second opinion. You spin around in front of her after asking her about the color to show her how it looks, and she says, “Honey, that?” You nod, and she shakes her head, “You’ll never get a partner if you keep dressing the way you do. Don’t you want something that’s flattering and shows off your natural curves?” You blink at her. All you had wanted was a color opinion.

You give her a tight-lipped smile as you express to her, “I dress in a way that makes me happy…” The shopkeeper shakes her head, “Up to you, really.” As she walks back to her register, she tsks, “What’s with this new generation and not shaving…” You quickly get out of the clothes you were trying on and put your clothes back on. You didn’t want them anymore. You just wanted to go home. You put the clothes on the return rack and tell her tersely, “Thanks.” As if she didn’t say what she had in the changing rooms, she cheerily says, “Stop by again~.” You leave the store empty-handed, and it takes everything in you to make it out to your car without crying. They were tiny remarks, but they hurt so bad. Maybe she was right…

You barely made it home, wiping your eyes at every traffic light you stopped at. When you finally parked, you rushed to your apartment, throwing your bags of clothes at the front door and yourself onto the couch as you wallowed. It wasn’t often your insecurities bothered you because you were confident in your skin. But her remarks cut like a remark. You couldn’t be with someone like Kevin. You didn’t dress flatteringly; it made you uncomfortable. You didn’t wear makeup, you didn’t shave, you didn’t do anything that was expected of you by society. And you didn’t want to, and it never mattered before because how you looked and dressed made you happy. But what if those things did actually matter? What if Kevin wouldn’t want to date you because of that? You cry harder into your couch cushion, trying to calm yourself.

An hour later, a knock comes on your front door. And you wipe your eyes before checking the peephole to see Kevin standing there. You gulp, remembering he asked to hang out later today. You try to wipe away any remnants of tears left on your face. So, it wouldn't look like you’ve been crying for the past few hours. You open the door with the best smile you can muster, and he smiles at you, “Hey, (Y/n)-” Before he pauses as he searches your eyes, “You look like you’ve been crying. You okay, sweetheart?” You let him in as you shake your head, looking down at the ground, “I just… I had a really bad day…” He hums and asks you to talk about it. You sigh “It’s over something small…” He shakes his head, “Even if it’s small doesn’t mean it can’t hurt you.” You bite your lip, “I um… well, I went to a boutique earlier.” He nods as you both sit down on the couch. “Yeah, I remember you telling me you were going shopping.” You give him a curt nod, “I did get a few things at other stores. But, uh, I asked the shopkeeper to come over because I couldn’t decide if this one yellow shirt complimented me or not...”

He puts his hand over yours that’s starting to shake, and you sigh, “She uh… She said that um…” He rubs his thumb over your hand, waiting for you to continue. “She told me that I’ll never get a partner… if I keep dressing the unflattering way I do.” He gasps, “She said that!?” You nod, unable to hold back a sniffle, “It’s just um… it’s something I’ve always worried about. I mean, usually, I'm confident in my style and self. But her saying that… It hit a sore spot.” He shakes his head, “But, sweetheart, she’s wrong. You’ll get a partner no matter what you wear-” You shake your head as you squeeze his hand, “But Kevin,... she’s right, I don’t dress in a way others could possibly like... No one would ever want to date me.” He shakes his head at you, “No, she isn’t. Because if she was right, I wouldn’t find you endlessly attractive and want to date you, huh?” He presses his lips together as he realizes what he said, “This is not how I wanted this to go…” You blink at him in disbelief, “You do?” He nods, “You’re so attractive to me.” You ask him wearily, “You don’t care about how I dress?” He squeezes your hand, bringing you closer, “No, rather, I enjoy it, and god, your outfits make you look hot. And I enjoy how you don’t conform to stupid patriarchal standards.” You look into his eyes, searching for any sign of a lie, “Seriously?” He nods, “I mean it. You look so cool. And you being confident in your style makes you even hotter.” You shake your head, “I... I don’t believe you. You mean you’ve liked me back all this time?” And he asks, “Do you want me to prove it to you?” You blink at him but give him a small nod, “I need words, darling.” You whisper, “Please.”

He brings you into his hold, removing his hand from yours to cup your cheeks. He smiles as he looks at you, “Has anyone ever told you that your eyes are beautiful?” You whisper, “No…” And he tells you, “They’re the prettiest ones I’ve ever seen.” You blush, and he finally brings you in for a kiss. His lips meld with yours as he pulls you onto his lap. He breaks apart to tell you, “I know this outfit makes you look undeniably hot, but I can’t wait to see what you look like without it on.” You blush as you pull him in for another kiss, threading your fingers through his hair. He runs his tongue along your lips, asking for permission, and you grant him it. His tongue explores your mouth as he runs his hands over your shirt. You let out a soft moan as you pull on his hair, making him let out a soft grunt.

He pulls back to just kiss your lips, his eyes searching yours. As he gets his hand under your shirt, you shake your head, pulling away from him, and he immediately moves his hands away, “I’m sorry, was I moving too fast?” You shake your head, “That’s… That’s not it.” He waits for you to continue, “What is it?” “I- I… I didn’t- I don’t shave… and she also made a comment about that.” And he smiles before he gives you a shrug, “A little body hair never hurt anyone.” And you shake your head, closing your eyes, “But Kevin…” He tsks at you, “You could be bigfoot, bald, green with yellow polka dots, and I’d still find you attractive. I promise you; nothing is going to scare me away. So may I please see what you look like without your shirt on?” You ask, looking him in the eyes, “Pinky promise?” He tells you, “I’d swear on a stack of ten bibles for you, but yes, I pinky promise.” He links his pinky with yours, and you sigh, “Okay.” His hands creep under your shirt, gently rolling it up before he takes it off. You see his grin grow as he looks over you, “You’re so fine, darling.” You blush at him and whisper a small thanks before he pulls you into another kiss. You find your hands wandering to the end of his shirt and slightly lift it up to run your hands over his stomach. He cheekily flexes his abs as you do. And you giggle into the kiss.

He peels off his shirt and lifts you up into his arms with ease, “Why don’t we take this somewhere nicer?” He takes you to your bedroom and lays you gently on the comforter. He reaches over and finds the switch for the bedside lamp. And when it turns on, he grins as he looks over you. “You look divine.” You blush, and he leans over you to capture your lips in his. He trails his kisses down your jaw and along your neck, leaving little marks as he does. You move your hand, and when he pauses in between hickeys. You pull his face to yours and bring him in for another kiss. You make out for a few minutes before you both pull away breathlessly. And he sighs, “Fuck, I can’t get enough of your lips.” He brings you in for another kiss, and when you pull away this time, he trails kisses down your chest, teasingly nipping at your skin as he makes his way further down.

He kisses all along your stomach, and then he stops. And you look at him in confusion, and he says, “Before I get too far ahead of myself, are you sure you want to go further?” You sigh, “Please, Kevin.” He grabs your hand and places a gentle kiss on it before pulling off your pants and adjusting to be in front of you. He smiles, kissing along your stomach before he kisses you over your panties a few times. He hooks his fingers under them and pulls them off. You gasp as your self-conscious brain catches up to you as you try to hide yourself from him. Kevin raises his eyebrow at you and asks, “And what do you think you’re doing, darling?” You blink at him, and he says, “I want to see every inch of you. Don’t you dare hide.” You nod, and he smiles as he pushes your hands away and your legs back open. He smiles as he kisses up your thighs. As he grows closer, he sucks on your thigh, nipping at it to give you a hickey. As you gasp, he says, “Your little reminder until next time~”

He swipes his fingers over your entrance and grins, “All for me?” You blush, giving him a small nod as he licks his fingers clean. He lets out a little hum before sinking further into the mattress to place a kiss on your clit. He grins as you let out a whimper and licks a stripe along your folds. He hears you rustling the comforter and looks up to see your hands desperately seeking purchase in your comforter. He reaches his hand up to hold yours before diving in and lapping at your entrance. Making you squeeze his hand tightly as he shoves his face further in. His nose brushes your clit as he closes his eyes in contentment. He groans, “God, you taste so good, darling…” sending vibrations up your spine. You whimper as he continues to figure out what exactly made you twitch. Licking at your entrance before sucking on your clit and back again. Your moans grow louder as he finally finds his rhythm, his tongue running figure eights over your entrance as his nose bumps against your clit. Your moans are like music to his ears, especially when your legs start shaking against his head. You hold his hand tightly as you start squirming, and his other arm comes to hold you down as he eats you out like a starved man.

Not being able to close your legs, with your free hand, you seek out the next best thing. You grip his hair, causing him to groan against you as you nearly scream from the pleasure, “Kev-Kevin!” He hums, and it sends more vibrations up your spine, and you let out a louder moan. “I’m gonna-” and before you can even finish your sentence, you do. And Kevin hums again as he laps up your juices. His nose bumps into your overstimulated clit as he does, making you cry out. When he finally pulls away and sits up on his knees, you let out a sigh of relief. Your hands separate for a moment so your mind can finally catch up to your brain. And when you look up at him, you see his chin covered in your juices. He wipes his chin off with the back of his hand and licks it off. He leans over you, “I know I’ve already said it, but you taste so good…” He puts his finger under your chin, pulling you to look at him, “Is all this just for me, darling?” You nod in a stupor, “Just for you…” He smirks, “Good.” before capturing your lips in a kiss. You taste yourself on his tongue when he slips it into your mouth.

When he moves back, he reaches back into his pants pocket, pulls out his wallet, and grabs a condom from it. He puts his wallet in his pant pocket before he asks again, “You sure you want to go all the way with me tonight? Because if not, I can always rub one out-” “Kevin, please just fuck me.” His smile slowly turns into a smirk, “You asked for it, darling~” In one swift motion, he pulls off his pants and briefs before slipping the condom over his cock and lining up with your entrance, “Tell me how you feel, okay?” He slips in slowly, and you let out a little gasp, “So- so good, Kev…” He smiles as he grabs your hand again, and your other hand grips the comforter beneath you. You squeeze his hand as he bottoms out, and you both let out a groan. He grunts, “When you’re ready…” He places gentle kisses along your collarbone as he waits for you. You squeeze his hand and tell him he can move.

He starts out slow, slowly thrusting in and out of you as he starts to work you both into a pace. You whine, “Fa-faster…” You squeeze his hand as his pace picks up, and he squeezes it back before resting his weight on his other forearm. He captures your lips in another kiss and happily swallows your moans as he increases his pace. He pulls away to whisper, “You’re so beautiful, darling.” He gives you another gentle kiss, and you grip your comforter tighter as he starts thrusting even faster. You lean your head up, and he moves his upper body down so you can place kisses on his collarbone. He lets out soft groans as you suck and nip at it to make it nice and red before pulling away. As he thrusts faster, you place a few more kisses up the column of his neck and leave a hickey next to his adam's apple. When you pull back, he’s looking down at you with a small smile on his lips as he starts moving faster, “W-what?” He smiles, pausing to whisper, “I just wanted to kiss you.” He captures your lips in his as he picks the pace back up, and it leaves you moaning in his mouth.

When his lips leave yours, he shifts his weight to his knees, running his hand up your stomach and to your chin, “You look so hot.” He kisses you again before moving his hand back down and slipping it between you two to rub circles into your clit. You gasp, squeezing his hand tighter and the blankets harder. “Kev-Kevin?” “You close, darling?” You nod as you gasp, and he murmurs to you, “Then cum for me.” Two thrusts later, as if you were under his spell, you come undone. He groans, “Fuck…” He buries his head into your neck as he reaches his own orgasm. He thrusts a few more times, and you whine a bit from the overstimulation, and he stops, breathing heavily as you both try to catch your breath. When you finally can see things other than stars, he pulls out and kisses your forehead, “I’ll be right back, sweetheart.” He gets up from the bed, pulls off his condom, throws it away, and heads to your bathroom. He returns with a damp rag and cleans you up before tossing it into the hamper and lying beside you. He wraps you up in his arms, peppering kisses over your face, making you giggle. “I know this backward to ask now… But can I ask you to be mine?” You smile at him and kiss his nose, “Only if you’re mine in return.” He grins, “Of course, my darling.” He kisses you before pulling the blanket over the two of you. You cuddle into his chest, letting his steady heartbeat put you to sleep.

When you wake up in the morning, you find Kevin’s arm wrapped loosely around your waist, keeping you close to him. You look back to see him starting to blink awake. And he smiles at you. His voice is gravely as he says, “You even look hot with a messy bedhead, huh?” You blush and shake your head at him, and he turns you over. You ask, “When did you fall for me?” He smiles, “Five days after the day I met you. But you were so out of my league at the time.” You blink at him, “What do you mean?” He laughs, “You were so cool. You didn't care about what others thought and dressed to impress yourself. And I thought that was so hot.” You laugh, and before you can interject, he says, “Knowing you do care behind that tough exterior. I promise to remind you all the time.” You shove your head into his chest, “Kevin...” You hear him laugh before he asks, “Now, it’s only fair if you tell me.” You look up at him, “I was listening to you talk about something you were passionate about a month after getting to know you. And that was it for me.” He hums, “What was it about?” You grin, “Beyoncé.” He laughs, “Good to know my nerdy fanboy talk turns you on.” You lightly smack his chest at that, “Shut up.” He places a kiss on your forehead before curling around you. You stay like that for a few minutes before he asks, “Would you like to go back to that boutique? I know there were some things you wanted.” You sigh as you look down at your blanket, “I mean, I do… But…” He nods, “Is it because of what she said?” You nod, and he kisses your nose, “Well, now, we get to prove her wrong. And you can try on that top, and I’ll give you my honest color opinion.” You look into his eyes as you ask, “Really?” He nods, “Of course.” You grin, “Okay, let’s get dressed.”

He offers you his hand when you get out, and you happily take it in yours. When you get close to the door, he looks at you as if to ask you if you are okay with this. You nod. You really did want that motorcycle jacket. The shopkeeper greets you in the same cheery voice, like nails on a chalkboard. You find the jeans, jacket, and shirt you had tried on before. And Kevin grins, “Oh, that jacket is so cool.” You smile, “I love how it looks.” He smiles, and you lead him over to the changing rooms. He lets go of your hand and stands guard outside the changing room. You show him how the jacket looks, and he grins, “Yeah, that’s sexy.” You laugh, and he smiles as he waits for you to try on your shirt. You look over it and still can’t tell if the color looks good on you. And your brain starts replaying what she said to you. Before it can shake you, you quickly move the curtain back. You catch Kevin glaring at the shop owner and giggle before you say, “What do you think?” He smiles, “That yellow looks beautiful on you, darling. It makes your skin glow.” You blush, “Really?” He grins and kisses your nose, “You should get it, and I think it’ll pair with the jacket well, too.” You grin at him. That’s all you wanted to hear. You try the jacket with it and find he’s right before changing back.

You head to the counter, hand in hand, squeezing his hand for reassurance as you draw closer to the shopkeeper. He whispers, “It’s okay, sweetheart, I’m here.” She rings your stuff up, and you see her look at your interlocked hands. And he squeezes your hand, grounding you. She tells you the total. And before you can pull out your wallet. Kevin says, “I’m paying for my partner’s clothes.” Her eyebrows raise at him as she scoffs, “Okay.” She hands you your bag and tells you both to have a nice day with a gruff tone. He pulls you in for a kiss right in front of the door, and you hear her gasp. He pulls away and opens the door, and both of you snicker at her attitude when you leave the store. And you tell him, “You didn’t have to pay…” He shrugs, “I wanted to.” You shake your head at him, “But Kevin-” He opens your door, “Plus, wasn’t it fun to prove her wrong?” You smirk, “It kind of was…” He smiles and squeezes your hand, “Then that’s what matters most.” You shake your head, and once he’s in, he asks, “What do you say to being wined and dined, darling?” You grin as you both buckle in, “Oh hell yeah.”

37 notes · View notes

shunin-gumis · 4 months ago

Text

Designs of Happiness - Track A10

L4mps Main Story Translation

Title: Interstellar Marriage

Characters: Muneuji, Ushio, Nagi, Netaro, Akuta

Summary: The party is in full swing after the toast. Netaro finally arrives and hands out some colorful buns, however…

Thank you jes @arcanecrayonn and Sou @/716chr for helping me tackle Chihiro's lines! Thank you Jelly @/jellyfish_apple and Aurora @/azurecrystalz for checking over my Akuta and Kuguri lines too!

Behemoth of a chapter, hope you guys enjoy!

Location: HAMA House - Dining room

Momiji: (I’m worried about Kafka, he’s been sharing a drink with the ward mayors one after the other… There's a lot of alcohol in his system now. I remember he could barely hold his liquor when we celebrated his 20th birthday…)

Kafka: *yawn* There you are Chief~ Carry me~

Momiji: Huh!? I take my eyes off of you for a second and you’ve already gotten yourself this drunk?

Yukikaze: He must have been very excited to see the company finally coming together. Shall I carry him instead?

Momiji: Ah… Thank you, but I should probably get Sakujiro-san to handle him.

Momiji: (What happened in Kobe couldn’t be helped, but he’d probably sulk if he found out Yuki-nii carried him again.)

Yukikaze: Oh, but I just saw him leaving with Liguang, Kinari and Yodaka to play mahjong.

Momiji: Really, mahjong now?

Kafka: I don’t wanna~ I’m not sleeping till Netaro gets here! We’re gonna take over the world together~

Momiji: (After interviewing Netaro on Daniel’s recommendation, the two of them really hit it off.)

Momiji: (It’s nice to find a colleague you can get along with on a personal level huh, Kafka?)

Chihiro: Aww, Chii was thinkin’ of snappin’ some cute selfies with Chiefy, but looks like she’s totally busy with Prez right now~ Oh well, maybe later then.

Tao: Yeah. …? Wait, do you hear that?

Chihiro: Huh?

??: ….meat buns~ get high on our meat buns~ made fresh everyday~

Netaro: So delicious they’d drive you mad! Would you like to dig into one?

Laika: Bun!

Chihiro: OH-EM-GEE!! These buns are, like, super duper dazzably adorbs☆ And your robopet is SO slaying that gyaru fit! Chii’s totally obsessed~♪

Tao: Oh, are you Yowa-san, from the meat bun cafe? They did say you’d be coming in late.

Netaro: Indeed, you are correct! I am Netaro Yowa, soon-to-be 18th ward mayor! I was a teensy bit delayed as I was specially preparing these new flavored meat buns, exclusively for this party!

Chihiro: Chii’s name’s Chihiro! And this is Taotao! These mystery buns look mega delish and poppin‘~♪

Netaro: These ones over here are the “Peculiar Interstellar Marriage☆Natto-Curry Meat Buns,” and on this side are the “Bon Voyage of Laughter☆Cheesy-Shroom Meat Buns!”

Laika: Nattou~♪ Nanana~ Pipipi~

Chihiro:No way! Burstin’ into song like that, seriously, that’s just shooo freakin’ KYUTE ☆ Taro-ppu, can Chii like, snap some selfies with you two? Lemme post them on dazzle too, pretty pleaaase~

Netaro: Why of course, Chii~!

Tao: Crazy how they’re already on a nickname-basis…

Chihiro: Hey cutie, d’you have fingers~? C’mon, make a heart-sign with Chii~

Tao: Don’t mind me enjoying one of these buns while you have your photoshoot. Let’s see… I think I’ll go with the cheesy mushroom bun.

Chihiro: Then Chii’s gonna go with this totes rad lookin’ natto curry bun~ Nom-nom time~♪

Tao and Chihiro: *munch*

Netaro and Laika: …..

Tao: Mmm…mph? Pft— Haha, hahahahahaha!! W-what’s going on, I can't stop laughing!

Chihiro: Huh!? Taotao…!?

Tao: Hahahahaahahha—!

Chihiro: Waitwaitwait! Chii’s, like, got zero idea what’s goin’ on rn, but isn’t a Taotao mega ultra LOL moment like this is equivalent to rollin’ a SSR!? Gotta record this ASAP!!

Tao: Oh man– My stomach hurts…!

Laika: Nattou, Giovanni, piroppu~

Chihiro: Gosh, he’s sooo cute, rollin’ on the floor like that ☆ Ugh, my maternal instincts are just overflowing right now! What is this feeling!? I’ve never felt this way before! I literally can’t stop snappin’ pics~♪

Toi: I-It’s Chii-sama…! I’m walking on the same ground as Chii-sama… Breathing in the same air…!

Toi: Ahh… I need to express my gratitude for this miracle with a prayer! Thank you for letting me be born in the same generation as my favorite idol!

Mashiro: Chii-sama is, without a doubt, one of the highest lifeforms to grace this planet!

Sonia: Oh wow~ So Chii-shama is one of the ‘chosen ones’? I shee, I shee!

Chouun: …I believe that all life is equal, but I shall refrain from commenting further.

Momiji: Oh, Netaro-kun is finally here. Kafka’s already asleep though.

Kuguri: Enjoying yourself, cica*?

Ten: We came over ‘cuz we didn’t get to toast together yet. Cheers to finding all the members~

Momiji: Thank you, both of you. Cheers!

Momiji: (It’s inevitable that new bonds would be formed as more people moved into the dorms but… I have to say, Ten-kun and Kuguri-san are an odd pair, I wonder when they got so friendly with each other?)

Ten: Oh yeah, I saw Shuumai barking his head off when that meat bun guy showed up earlier.

Kuguri: Fufu, perhaps it's some wild instinct at play… Are you sure you should be letting something like that in here?

Momiji: Like ‘that’… Are you talking about Netaro-kun? Sure, he’s a little odd but, I don’t really think he’s dangerous.

Momiji: (According to Toi-kun’s reading, Netaro-kun is someone we need to lead us to his brother. I made a promise to help him, and I plan to see it through.)

~~~

Akuta: Mph, everythin’ looks SO super tasty I can’t stop stuffing myself!

Akuta: I’m gonna eat a lifetime’s wortha food here and now! Nobody get in my way, got it!?

Ushio: Ugh, how many “seconds” is that already? I can barely stomach watching you let yourself go.

Kiroku: But… Kurama… that’s your third plate… of yakisoba… too…

Ushio: So? That has nothing to do with what I just said.

Kiroku: There’s… no need to… feel ashamed… It’s delicious… after all….

Ushio: Who said I was embarrassed?

Muneuji: Hm… I’m still famished. I should go get seconds as well.

Nanaki: I’m coming with you, I need more of this pizza— Hm?

Tao: Phew, it’s finally stopped… I laughed so hard I really thought I’d need stitches…

Chihiro: Wha-wha-whaaa? Why’re there like, a gazillion pics of Tao in my gallery? Weeeird, it’s like I got some kinda motherly instinct takin’ over me….

Netaro: Ahaha! I may have added just a teensy bit of a secret ingredient~ Right? Laika~

Laika: Shwatch*.

Nanaki: Huh, that’s…!?

~~~(flashback)

Netaro: “Euclidean Deconstruction - Instant Undressing Pen.” A lovely invention, if I do say so myself~

Netaro: You see, human clothing can be so… ugh. They’re too restrictive!

Kiroku: …Where did… he…come from…?

Nanaki: No, before that, who the heck is he? How’d he get all the way here? The door’s behind us…

Akuta: Hold up, where’s the egg?

~~~(end flashback)

Nanaki: Ah…!

Muneuji: What’s wrong? You’re shaking like a leaf.

Nanaki: I-It’s that guy from before…!

Muneuji: ?

Muneuji: —...!

Akuta: Aw yeah, I can feel the calories already!

Muneuji: Everyone, I need your attention.

Kiroku: ?

Muneuji: The strange individual we encountered on top of the school roof after our HosLive, is here right now. The intelligence operative who took the egg with him.

Ushio: Wha!? No way…

Nanaki: No matter which way you look at him, it’s the same guy. Can’t forget someone who looks like… that.

Akuta: …F’real? Don’t remember the dude.

Ushio: Yeah, didn’t expect much from someone with your brain cells, Idiotake. But… Why's he here? It doesn’t make sense.

Ushio: Is he the 18th ward mayor? The one they said would come in late.

Muneuji: Most likely. He must be Netaro Yowa-san.

Nanaki: What was it again… He was from a secret operation called… Ponzu or something—

Akuta: Yorozu!

Ushio: So you remember that.

Kiroku: The… egg is… with him…!

Ushio: What?

Kiroku: Over… there…

Laika: Pipipi. Jijiji. Bween.

Nanaki: That’s… not the egg, right? Looks like a regular pet robot to me.

Ushio: I agree with Panda.

Kiroku: No… That’s… definitely…

Muneuji: You were indeed the one who had the strongest bond with the egg. I believe in Kinugawa’s intuition.

Nanaki: Putting the egg aside, you think it’s okay for us to be near that guy?

Ushio: Who knows… He seems dangerous. We should probably keep our distance from him, unless you want to get caught up in explosions or have your clothes stripped off or something…

Akuta: Hey so, did we meet on the school roof back in summer?

Netaro: Hm?

Ushio: What is he— Why the hell would he just march up to the guy and ask him that!?

Akuta: Well y’see, my friends over there think we’ve met before so—

Akuta: Right, guys!?

Ushio: Pretend you don’t know him…

Nanaki: …Wait, Muneuji!?

Muneuji: Pardon me. I am the 8th ward mayor, Muneuji Kaguya. Would you perchance remember me?

Netaro: Uji, your eyes are most beautiful indeed. I can’t help but feel I’ve seen them somewhere long ago—

Muneuji: …..

Netaro: But, I cannot pinpoint the memory. How about we hold our greetings now instead?

Muneuji: …..

Akuta: In that case, heyo, nice to meetcha! Je m’appelle Akuta, superhero at your service!

Ushio: Muu-chan, let’s go! You, too!

Muneuji: …I understand now. It’s because he is a member of the Yorozu.

Muneuji: Precisely because they are intelligence operatives, they blend in with society by pretending to be civilians. He must not be able to reveal his identity as he did on the roof.

Ushio: Muu-chan, what are you mumbling about?

Nanaki: So, he’s saying that he doesn’t remember us, right?

Muneuji: Indeed. If that is how he wishes to spin this tale, then we must act accordingly. We should not hinder his mission.

Kiroku: …..

Ushio: Right, let’s leave it at that.

Nanaki: Hmm… Well, okay, I guess.

Akuta: ‘Kay~ Then I don’t care either~ Let’s get back to digging into some good grub!

Muneuji: …..

~~~

Nagi: *deep sigh*

Sonia: Are you ok, Nagi-shan?

Nagi: Yeah…

Sonia: I guess you’re shtill worried…

Nagi: Yeah. At this rate… something bad is bound to happen.

Nagi: It might be better to just go back to the shop and hand out flowers…

Sonia: But… It’s really cold outside at this time of night…

Nagi: It’s better that way.

Sonia: …..

Nagi: Yeah. This is for the best… Let’s go back.

Sonia: Nagi-sha–

Momiji: Oh, Nagi-kun, what are you doing all the way here?

Nagi: …urk. Um, I…

Sonia: Y-You shee, we got a last-minute order just now…!

Nagi: That’s right. It was very sudden.

Sonia: Y-Yesh, even though we closed the store temporarily just to come to the party, geez!

Momiji: I see… got it. We’re bringing out the cake, so come back soon!

Nagi: O-Okay, thank you. Then…

Momiji: Take care!

Nagi: Urk…!

If player character is female: Momiji: Huh, w-why are you suddenly clutching at your chest!?

If player character is male: Kaede: Why’re you suddenly clutching at your chest!?

Nagi: It’s nothing, um… I’ll be off, then…!

Sonia: Are you okay!? Nagi-shan!

Nagi: I’m okay… for now.

Nagi: But, my happiness is overflowing… This is real bad. I need to balance it…

Nagi: …Let’s go, Sonia. Handing out flowers in the freezing cold should help water down this feeling.

Sonia: Okay!

Notes:

A very minor difference between Kaede and Momiji's response to Nagi, being that Momiji is more prone to stuttering when surprised, but I thought it would be good to point out for anyone interested.

Swatch is an exclamation that Ultraman uses.

Cica is how Kuguri refers to the Chief. It means kitten.

<- Previous | Next ->

Masterlist

26 notes · View notes