#neck index Technique

[historyofguns]

The article "Top 3 Methods for Shooting with a Handheld Flashlight" by Hunt Fish Shoot discusses effective techniques for utilizing a handheld flashlight while shooting. Originally, firearms like the 1911 and earlier polymer-framed, striker-fired guns lacked rails for weapon lights, but many modern handguns feature accessory rails. For handguns without built-in lights, the article focuses on methods to use handheld lights effectively in low-light conditions. It highlights the Jawline or Temple Index, FBI Carry, and Harries Technique as the primary shooting techniques. Each method has its advantages; the Jawline or Temple Index offers easy scanning and direction of light, the FBI Carry has safety benefits by keeping the light away from the shooter's body, and the Harries Technique provides stabilization but carries some risks of self-flagging. Light discipline, not pointing the light unnecessarily, is emphasized as crucial in tactical situations. The author personally prefers the Jawline or Temple Index but encourages readers to try all methods to see what works best for their shooting style.

[bunny584]

OBSESSED: FUSHIGURO

A/N: OH. MY. GOD. Anon. I love you and hate you for this request. This was…hard. I told myself I wouldn’t publish it unless it was fucking perfect (you should see the scalpels I took to each goddamn sentence before this version).

SECOND: I will square up with Gege for writing the most enigmatic, LAYERED, complex, muddled character to exist. I wanted this to be Megumi. Through and through. His darkness, his light, his reservation, his crazy, all in one. And IDK. I think I did it? This one is purely to prove to myself that I can write for characters that are hard to write for (*cough* yuta im glaring at you *cough*)

THIRD: if you do read this (I get people feel things about aged up characters etc), I implore you to listen to this. Guys. I heard this at 0200 IN THE OR during a 6 hour case and the entire concept for this came to me. Meg is sophisticated and unruly, selfless and selfish, etc. So this has some NSFW but definitely probably more on the poetic, long ends of my works.

CW: Aged up characters (20+), college AU, fluffy/raunchy/dark romance-y because LOOK at him. He takes after Gojo AND Toji. Mature, 18+

“You like it when I’m rough.”

Megumi’s melody rings crystal clear.

Low.

Precise.

An F-14 Tomcat fighter jet, flying dark. Below enemy radar.

The piano keys float beneath his tone. His long, slender, deft fingers effortlessly execute the sheet music before him. It’s his GPS system, a personal flight map.

Little Beethoven, his advanced music theory professor calls him.

Truth is, Megumi is a prolific pianist and vocalist. He can tame any note, any melody, any harmony faster than any of his Shikigami.

Speaking of…

Megumi pulls off the piano and tortured love song in an instant. Just as the grade 3 curse creeps through the open door.

The part between his right long and ring fingers is automatic. His left hand grips the web space between his right thumb and index finger.

“Demon dog.” Megumi summons.

Low. Precise. Decisive.

“Eat it, boy.”

A small, approving smile tugs on the corners of his lips. Low level curses are the nothing more than chew toys to his divine dogs. With a tiny wave of his fingers, his technique buzzes inward.

Megumi’s eyes float to the ancient analog clock on the wall.

13:50

10 more minutes until you’ll meet him for your date.

No. Not date.

Study. 10 more minutes until you’re meeting him to study.

Your thought blooms within him like wildfire. It sets his normally cool, porcelain skin ablaze.

Megumi whips his body around to face the piano. To exorcise the feeling. The keyboard has always been his outlet. His life blood. Playing, singing, musing in and out of written songs is his catharsis.

Words don’t come easy. They never have. But lyrics do.

And when he gets to ride lyrics with his voice, his runs..?

The words he can never find on his own are suddenly out there. In the atmosphere. Coating empty rooms in a mist of his thoughts, his feelings.

No certain promise that the person the words are destined for will ever catch them. Or ever walk through the room and be kissed by the remnants of his musical trail. But Megumi has said (sung, played) them. And that’s enough.

“Sorry if I come across a type of way.”

“I’ve been trying to get out of my way…”

His fingers dive into the keys. Angrily. Earnestly.

“I know it doesn’t seem like I care, but you know I care—“

“Wow Meg, you sound incredible.”

You bring him to an abrupt stop. Your voice is maple syrup trailing down Megumi’s neck, leaving goosebumps in its candied wake.

Pitch fucking perfect.

A soft, ethereal C, gliding down Heaven’s staircase. You infuse sunlight into his name, whichever way you choose to say it.

And it’s hell. It’s cruel. To have as keen hearing as he does. To listen to you sing his name and have nothing else follow.

“Fushiguro.” Megumi shoots up from his seat, slinging his backpack over one shoulder.

“What?”

“Fushiguro.” He repeats, eyes briefly meeting yours before settling above your head. He’s at least a head and shoulders taller.

“Nobody calls me Meg.”

You throw your head back. Feather light crescendo in your laughter. It’s pretty. Tantalizing in the way chandeliers twinkle when they capture a beam of light.

His eyes dart down to catch the feminine column of your neck. Curving into your delicate collar bones. How are your lines so seamless?

So cinematic. Like he’s watching a figure skater land a triple axel. Or a prima ballerina en pointe. It’s not fathomable.

Gorgeous.

You are gorgeous.

“I call you Meg.” You retort with a smile that liquifies all of his joints.

You double your walking speed to keep pace with Megumi’s long strides. Both of you exit the sound engineering building. Heading straight for the campus library a couple blocks away.

“Who were you—oh,” Megumi’s glacial hand along the small of your back steals your voice away.

Your eyes and feet follow his gentle push, shifting you to the other side of him.

“Walking on the wrong side.” He mutters, monotone. Matter-of-fact. Obviously.

He’s a gentleman. Of course he is going to walk on the traffic facing edge of the sidewalk.

Of course he didn’t feel the electric currents wire through his fingers to clench — suffocate — his heart.

No, he didn’t hear that punched out, falsetto gasp when his hand cradled your perfectly tapered waist.

Or notice how well you fit into his hand. How light you are under his touch that had none of his real strength behind it.

You’re made of alluring lines. Intoxicating sounds.

What would it take to coax a pretty melody out of your pouty lips?

His fingers?

They’re long. And smart. Cold. Remarkably patient. You’d like them.

He could make you love them.

Crave them. Need, whimper, whine, and cry out for them.

“So who was it?” You tether him to reality.

“Who was what?” Megumi counters, leading you to a private study room.

“The way you were singing earlier.”

Hairs along the back of his neck stand at attention. Blood runs Siberian cold. Megumi’s gaze on you is subzero.

“It had to be for someone.” You lower down into a seat in slow motion.

The sweetheart neckline of your sundress is mean. Your supple mounds tilt and ripple with every micro movement. Megumi has forgotten why he’s glaring at you.

“You sound too…pretty. It can’t be wasted on thin air.” You continue.

“She must be—“

“Let’s just get started, okay?” He sharply redirects the conversation.

And promptly shifts gear to low autopilot. He’ll speak when spoken to, answer questions intermittently. But his mind’s true coordinates are a galaxy away.

Megumi retreats to his shadow garden.

Watching you.

Drinking you in.

Savoring each detail on his tastebuds like dessert.

The pencil eraser leaves an indent on your bottom lip where you’ve been pressing too hard.

Megumi wants to roll your bottom lip under his teeth. Until it flushes rose and swells beneath his relentless pull.

His eyes fall to your bracelet, far too big for your dainty wrist.

He could hold both of your wrists in one hand above your head or behind your back for hours. Without breaking a sweat.

His other hand would take its time.

To stroke you. Pet you. Learn your sheet music. Then play your body like a harp until you’re a chorus of beautiful, soprano whimpers and moans. Begging and pleading so prettily, enticing him to give in.

But he won’t.

Not until you’re soft enough. A babbling, warm, ruined brook beneath his fingers.

Then he’ll take you, gorgeous.

Searing pain from his sharp swallow and nails digging into his thighs rip him down to the present.

Vision a little fuzzy. Head a revolving door of vulgar scenarios. A dull, demanding ache between his legs draws his eyes to his lap.

Fucking hell.

His jeans are uncomfortable. He’s stiff and needy. Not nearly enough strength in his pants to hold back his drunken arousal.

Not to the mention, the—

swarm of shadows growing at his feet?

Is his…innate domain materializing around him right now?

Megumi aggressively slices through the air at his hip level. Below the table, but you don’t miss his sudden stirring.

“Meg? You okay over—“

“Going to the bathroom.” He gruffs through a clenched jaw. Megumi places his forearm over his crotch before hurrying out of the room.

He can barely recognize the man in the mirror. Flushed to his ears. Volcanoes threatening eruption in his eyes. Api Biru. Pure, triple distilled, blue lava coursing through his veins.

Snap out of it, Fushiguro.

The splash of cold water does nothing for his internal heat. But his milky complexion returns to its effervescent state.

But then he turns a little too quickly to leave. And his painfully hard length drags along his fabric. It’s blinding.

A feeble moan tumbles out of his tight lips.

“Fuck.”

Megumi slams his eyes shut. He needs to readjust. But if he touches himself now, he might not be able to stop.

A slow, steadying breath fills his lungs.

“Just adjust, don’t…” His voice trails off. Icey fingers around his hot, angry base is enough to rip the carpet from beneath his feet.

“Oh, fuck.” Megumi mumbles through one quick pump up his shaft.

He shakes his head as if to tell himself enough. He rests his erection along his thigh before zipping up. Still painful, but tolerable.

A tornado obliterates any remaining resolve in Megumi’s mind on his walk back to you.

You are a dream.

Or a nightmare? A curse?

It doesn’t matter. He couldn’t care less.

Megumi would follow you. Deeper than the crypts of his 10 shadows. Into hell if it meant he could have you the way he wants you.

The way he craves you.

Because fuck the cost.

He’d pay anything.

You’re working on an elaborate concept diagram on the white board. On the tip of your toes. Lip curled under your teeth. And you are just irresistible.

So, he won’t resist.

“Meg! Took you a bit, you okay?”

Megumi is silent. Unblinking. Sauntering toward you.

“Megumi?”

You lower to the soles of your shoes. Neck craning to look at his face. Your eyes widen at his persistent silence. Rosy heat dusting your cheeks.

Pretty little doe, rooted in place by his wolfish glare.

Megumi takes the marker out of your hand and tosses it behind him in one swift motion.

“Hmm,” a tiny acknowledgment of his name. Just because it sounds so sweet rolling off your tongue.

Megumi corners you against the wall. Both of his hands casually in his pockets.

He watches you shift. Flicker your eyes in every direction. Fiddle with your thumbs.

His quiet.

His presence.

It flusters you. Well before he’s gotten the chance to run his hands along the lazy curve of your waist and hips.

“So…so blue.” You stammer. Your warm eyes metronome between his.

“They are.”

Megumi steps impossibly closer. His eyes drop to your chest. Dainty, nervous heaves. Up and down. Up and down.

“You are so,” you swallow thickly, dropping your gaze. “hard to read.”

Megumi snakes his large, graceful fingers into your nape. The temperature difference between your warmth and his cold startles you deeper into his grasp. Your head evanesces into his pull.

A beautiful, shocked gasp escapes you. Just as Megumi’s lips trace the shell of your ear.

“I want you.”

His breaths collide with yours, now. Heat welling deep in his groin. His cock thunders against his thigh.

“Can you read that?” Megumi rasps. Ensuring his voice vibrates down your spine.

A new sound tumbles from your lips. Like you choked on your last swallow. How pretty. You gurgling and gagging like that.

“W-want me? Megumi wh—“

“I.” Megumi nudges his thigh between your legs. His steel pipe erection digs into your dewy, hot core. He angles his leg slightly upward, inching you on the tip of your toes.

His prima ballerina, en pointe.

“Want you.” His lips ghost against yours. Free hand cups the flesh beneath your thigh. Pads of his fingers twitching to dig in.

The two of you drink in this lock-in-key fit. Megumi revels in you. Like this. At his complete mercy.

The prodigal son, born with more power than he knows what to do with.

Ten shadows. Ten Shikigami. It’s been centuries since the last head of his bloodline had power buzzing beneath his fingertips like him.

And somehow he’s never felt more powerful than this.

With you, heaven’s most precious angel, cradled in his arms. Drowning in sinful ecstasy. He brands this freeze frame into the most permanent part of his memory.

Then, he free falls off your cliff edge.

Megumi takes your lips with unfettered greed. Hunger woven into the way his tongue traces every corner of your delectable, soft mouth. His fingers push your head deeper into him. Sucking and nibbling on your warm muscle.

You shower him with airy, choppy little pants. Moans and whines so light they crescendo to fairy dust. You can’t keep up with his bruising kiss. His other hand palms your thigh, kneading little bruises into your silky smooth skin.

Marking what’s his.

“Oh my god.”

You breathe into his mouth when he lets you up for air. Megumi’s eyes dart down to the meeting point of your sex and his muscular thigh.

Did you really think he wouldn’t notice how you’re rutting your pretty little cunt against his leg like that?

Crimson high on your cheeks. You look away when he tries to catch your fucked out gaze.

“Don’t hide from me, gorgeous.” His hand traces up to your hips. You preen into his firm grip.

“Megumi.”

“Don’t stop, pretty girl.” He forcefully moves your hips in more dramatic, languid, deep rolls against his thigh. He’s not paying any mind to the pool of his precum soaking through his pants.

You bury your head in his neck. Fingernails digging pretty crescent moons into his back. You take over the pace. Undulating against him. Shameless. In complete heat.

“You feel s-so…so good.” Your lips smear against his dampened neck. Megumi responds by circling your puffy, slick bud with his fingers.

And fuck. The slurred, broken whimper that rings in his ears.

The way you hump him even more sloppily.

He could finish from that alone.

Your hand flies to your mouth. Empty huffs spilling. Whines ascending in pitch. You are close.

“Such pretty sounds, baby.”

“Megumi…meg..I-“

“Let it out.” He grips the back of your neck. Feeling dangerously close to his own nirvana. Drunk off your precious melody.

“Sing for me.”

“F-fuck, GOD.”

You bite down on his neck. Waves of pleasure crashing into you like hurricane winds. He grips your waist steady. Feeling every involuntary twitch and jerk of your doll-like frame.

Blessing or curse?

He doesn’t know.

But he will follow you to the end of his lifetime and the next.

“God, Fushiguro. That was…” The lusty haze from your peak settles around you. The once shattered world, slowly pieces itself back together.

“No.” Megumi pulls you out of his neck. Dropping his lips to yours, so he can breathe the air directly from your lungs.

“Meg. You call me Meg.”

[rileyslibrary]

Penny for your thoughts

Synopsis: You’ve recently been transferred to a UK base and struggle with British currency. Your lieutenant is mortified—and rightfully so.

Relationship: Simon “Ghost” Riley x GN!Reader

Word Count: 1,286 (approx. 5-6 mins reading time)

Notes:

I thought it was funny when I wrote it, okay? It’s a crackfic. There’s some teasing and playful banter in there, but I can’t label it as fluff.

Warnings: Profanity. Lots of it.

More A/N at the end.

———————————————————————

You’ve been trying to escape the lieutenant’s grip for the past two hours.

The upcoming mission requires close combat skills, he said. You’ll need to infiltrate a facility with minimum weapons and immobilise—but not kill—the targets for interrogation.

You admitted to him that you hadn’t practised in a long time and your combat skills were a little rusty. But Ghost assured you this wouldn’t be a problem and offered a refresher course in ground fighting and submission techniques.

You never imagined this would be an issue when you agreed to it. On the contrary, your lieutenant was an expert in combat, and training with him could be considered a masterclass.

Looking at it now, with your cheek pressed against the floor and your body twisted like a nautical knot, you wish you could take it back.

The mats have become your second skin. Ghost relentlessly pins you to the ground and immobilises your limbs while explaining the mechanics behind each hold. Sometimes you wonder why he gets into so much detail since you can’t hear shit and are practically knocked out.

Yet, he doesn’t give up on you. He advises you to feel the weight shift, urging you to exploit the slightest openings, encouraging you to break free. Whenever he sees you’re struggling or senses you’re uncertain, he taps your hand or leg, giving you clues to help you.

He immobilises you once more, but he pats your back this time.

“Alright,” he says, standing up, “that’s enough for today.”

He walks to the bench, picks up his towel, and pats his neck. You roll on your back and spread your arms.

“I feel like a pretzel.” You whisper.

“Yup,” he confirms, “that’s Jiu-Jitsu for ya.”

Drenched in sweat, you push yourself off the ground and slowly walk to your bag. You extract your towel and begin rummaging through your wallet to find spare coins for a water bottle. You manage to find one pound, but unfortunately, you fall short.

“Lt.?” You call out.

He turns halfway to give you his attention while tugging the velcro straps from his gloves.

“Do you have fifty pennises?”

He stops midway and lets go of the velcro strap. It can wait. His eyes have formed two thin lines, and his eyebrows almost touch each other.

“Do I have fifty what, soldier?”

“I need fifty pennises.” You reply, this time louder, “Do you have fifty pennises?”

His eyes have changed. They’re not squinting anymore. They are bulging. He frantically looks left and right, bringing his index finger to his mouth.

“Shhhh!” He whispers and runs towards you, waving his other hand in front of your face. “Shut your mouth!”

He closes the distance between you and looks behind him.

“What is wrong with you?” He whispers.

You raise your eyebrows and blink rapidly.

“No,” you reply, “what is wrong with you?”

He lets out a sigh and looks at his surroundings once again. He scratches the side of his chin and clasps his hands in prayer.

“Tell me exactly what you want,” he requests more calmly this time, almost begging you, “Make a sentence out of it.”

“I’m thirsty.” You explain.

“Obviously.”

He’s starting to get on your nerves. You open your palm and raise it to his eye level.

“Look,” you order and point at the coin, “I have one pound.”

“I can see that.” He replies and puts his hand on yours, pushing it down so he can look at you.

“The vending machine needs one pound and a half.”

“Say it.” He commands and swallows hard, “The vending machine needs one pound and fifty...”

You clench your jaw and look at him dead in the eyes.

“Pennises.”

He lets out a snort and clasps his hand at the bridge of his nose. He turns his back to you and takes a few steps away. His shoulders move up and down.

“Ah, soldier,” he replies, still looking the other way. “that’s a lot of pennises.”

You run a hand through your hair and sigh.

“I know my pronunciation is probably wrong,” you state and shut your eyes, “but I need them.”

“Don’t say that,” he says between gasps, “you don’t need that many.”

With your eyes still closed, you start babbling about how wrong he is and how you wish you had a million of them so you could escape this hellhole and retire on an island. He squats to the ground and covers his masked face with his hands.

He sounds like he’s whimpering. You might have assumed he was sobbing if you hadn’t known the cause of his stance. But you knew why he was half crying, half laughing. It sounded hideous. It was hideous. You just can’t remember the word.

What’s it called, what’s it called...

You open your eyes. Ghost is walking towards you, wiping away tears from his eyes. He retrieves a fist of coins from his pocket and, muttering something under his breath, chooses two. He pinches a silver hexagonal-shaped coin with his fingers and shows it to you.

“This,” he says, “is fifty pence, or 50p.”

“Pence or p.” You repeat.

“That’s right.” He confirms and pinches a smaller coin with his other hand. “Now, this little one is a penny. Fifty of these are called fifty pennies.”

“Pennies,” you echo and slap your thighs, “See? Was it that hard to explain?”

“Oh yes,” he replies and nods slowly, “yes, it was that fucking hard.”

You lift your palm. “Can I have the big one?” You ask.

“Say it first.” He commands you.

You roll your eyes. “Can I have the 50p, Lt.?”

“Of course, you may have the 50p.” He says and places the coin in your hand, “What you absolutely may not have is fifty….” He stops and lets a repressed chuckle out.

You press your lips together and bite your cheek to not respond to his teasing. But you can’t.

“…pennises, I presume?” You sneer.

“Yeah, no.” He says and vigorously shakes his head, “You don’t want that.”

You wince and rub the back of your neck. Ghost tries to comfort you, telling you it’s ok and you shouldn’t feel bad, but he doesn’t believe it himself. He’s smiling beneath that mask; you can tell by how the grimace alters his voice. You thank him for the coin and walk to the vending machine.

“Soldier,” he calls out, “how many times have you said that word since you came to the UK?”

You tilt your head and try to recall.

“I can’t remember.” You conclude.

“You can’t remember if you ever said it, or there were so many occasions that you can’t count them?” He asks with a trembling voice.

“No, Lt.,” you reply, defeated, “I don’t remember asking another person for that.”

He looks relieved. He lets out a long exhale and rubs his masked face with his palms.

“I never thought I’d ever say this,” he says, “but I’m glad I was the first one.”

———————————————————————

A/N: I wrote this in March, along with this story (yes, they’re very similar). Although I liked the idea and thought it was funny, I initially discarded it because it felt stupid, and chose to post the other one (not like the other one is pure genius). It remains as such, but as I said, it’s a crackfic. I’m not researching how to improve human welfare.

[zeestie]

ʚïɞ ⋆｡ how I use psych k to reprogram my mind ｡⋆ ʚïɞ

hi everyone! today I am gonna talk about psych k - a combination of techniques I have been using to change any limiting beliefs I had and reprogram my subconscious to know it is limitless.

table of contents:

1. what is psych k & why/how it works

2. techniques to use

3. steps to follow in every psych session

｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡

chapter 1: what is psych k & why/how it works

so psych k is a collection of methods used to reprogram the subconscious mind through releasing old patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving, it basically uses specific protocols to get you back to the super learning state you had as a child.

I find it quite great to use for changing beliefs around myself, my life, and my manifestations, also these techniques help you assess how strong (or real) a belief feels to you, which we will talk about later.

these techniques might take time to master as you get to know your body, but really you don't really need to be a pro to do them well. the practice is mostly about getting better at self-assessing your beliefs.

so why exactly does psych k work?

basically, as children until the age of 7, our brains engaged in a full-time mode of super learning. that meant that it was absorbing all kinds of beliefs, ideas, knowledge at such a fast pace, almost like our brain is made out of sponge. this meant that whatever environment we were put in affected our subconscious mind, directly rewiring new beliefs.

now where does psych k fall in all of this?

through psych k techniques, you are able to go back to the super learning mode of the brain we had as children, which in turn allows you to edit your subconscious beliefs directly w/o the conscious mind interfering. instead of going the long way with regular affirmations, you speed up the process with psych k!

｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡

chapter 2: techniques to use

🫧 part 1: questioning/testing techniques

these techniques are used to test the strength of a belief or ask the subconscious mind 'questions' (in the form of affirmative statements, not actual questions).

so let's say I wanna test how strongly I believe, 'I am worthy of happiness,' if I truly believed it, I will get a strong response (depending on the technique used, more on that below) and if I don't believe it, I will receive a weak response. so basically, if you wanna receive insight to how your subconscious mind feels about certain statements, remember this point: strong response = yes and weak response = no.

now let's talk about some methods that you can use for testing, seeking permission, and asking the sub mind:

🦋 technique 1.1: arm lever test

this is my go to technique for testing a belief. you can find videos that demonstrated it in the sources at the end of the post, but here I will explain the steps of using it:

1. stand up, keep your face straight (don't lower your neck), keep your eyes open, and look down by lowering your gaze only

2. hold your arm out: extend one arm straight out in front of you. hold it a little upward

3. test with the other hand: use your other hand to gently press on the extended arm, kinda on the middle/wrist area

4. test statements: bring into your awareness a belief like 'I am worthy of happiness.' if the sub mind thinks the statement is true, your arm should stay strong and resist being pushed down (strong response), but if the statement is false, your arm would weaken and easily be pushed down (weak response).

🦋 technique 1.2: finger o-ring test

(never tried it but ig it is a more descrete and an easier way compared to the arm lever test, so if you decide to try it, lmk how it went!)

1. form a ring or O shape by touching the tips of your thumb and index finder together on one hand

2. test the ring: with the other hand, use your thumb and index finger to gently try to pull apart the O shape while saying specifc statements or affirmations. a strong response is the ring not breaking, a weak response is the ring formation breaking apart.

🫧 part 2: new belief integration techniques

now we will talk about the bulk of the work: reprogramming your subconscious mind. I will start with talking about the main technique I have seen being used and then some other techniques I have heard about, but I haven't really tested, now let's begin!

🦋 technique 2.1: the whole-brain posture (the "balance" position)

1. sit comfortably on a chair with your feet flat on the ground.

2. cross your legs and arms over each other:

there are 4 combinations in which u could do that: right ankle over left, right wrist over left / right ankle over left, left wrist over right / left ankle over right, right wrist over left / left ankle over right, left wrist over right.

the way you choose to do it is important since a side of your body holds the belief you wanna change over the other, I usually don't bother knowing which side is weaker (aka needs more reprogramming) & instead I do all of the 4 combination for like 5 minutes each (or until I feel that my mind has accepted the affirmations).

anywho, once you have decided which combination you will use for the next 5 minutes, extend your arms in front of you then interlock your fingers and bring your hands up toward your chest.

3. close your eyes, take in deep breaths to calm yourself down, and focus on affirming or visualising the belief you want to integrate for as long as you need (like I said, I usually do 5 mins).

4. once you're done, uncross your limbs and reposition.

5. save the new belief by placing your fingertips together in front of you (forming a pyramid shape) for a few seconds (if the sub mind is a computer, think of this as a safe command!)

6. if you wanna, rinse and repeat for all combinations.

🦋 other techniques:

2.2: cross-crawl exercise: stand up and march in place, lifting your knees high. as you lift your left knee, touch it with your right hand. then lift your right knee and touch it with your left hand. (this promotes integration of the two sides of the mind). continue for a minute or two, focusing on the positive belief or intention you want to integrate.

2.3: energy yawns: place your fingertips on your cheekbones and gently massage while yawning deeply. this relaxes the brain and enhances focus.

2.4: lazy 8s: trace a large figure 8 in front of you with your hand, moving from left to right. this exercise helps integrate both hemispheres and improve coordination.

｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡

chapter 3: steps to follow in every psych session

next we are going to talk about some sort of procedure I have come up with for whenever I am doing a self-administered psych k session. you don't have to follow it exactly, but I hope it provides w the guidance you need to start immediately!

🦋 step 0: preperations

it is important for you to be in a relaxed, meditative state for the work to be even more effective so here are some extra stuff you can do before starting the session:

1. stay hydrated + keep some water beside you

2. sit in a quiet room all alone

3. use noise-cancelling earphones for more quietness

4. listen to some type of colour noise at all times to stay relaxed + focus inward instead of outward

5. keep some journal with you (or use the notes app) to record, reflect, and take any notes

🦋 step 1: establish the protocol

before starting anything I want you to have an idea of what exactly you wanna get out of this session, so sit down & write down the methodology for this session based on this chapter. so basically, you specify each of the following steps I will discuss in this chapter cos psych k has many approaches

you can also identify your why for carrying out this session and what affirmations/visualisations/etc. you will be using.

write that all down on a piece of paper or an online document, so you could refer back to whenever you need to remember the next step

🦋 step 2: prepare your mind and body

now you need to relax your body and mind, stop overthinking and stay present, for that I recommend breath work, I personally use the wim hof technique!

after you're done regulating your breathing, and with it your mind and body, take a moment to state your intention to connect with your subconscious mind, elevate any symptoms, and change beliefs using X affirmation (or any other technique), you can say this outloud or just in your mind.

🦋 step 2.5: identify what you want to work on

step 2 is built on the assumption that you already know what you wanna program, but if you don't you can use this stage before stage 2. here are some suggestions for how to pick a belief:

1. order beliefs and work on ones that are the most foundational, ones affecting multiple areas of life or your self concept

2. choose a belief that is urgent, that is it is causing you major stress in your life and it is what you mostly think of

3. layer your beliefs. what I mean is you can start with a general belief, such as 'I am capable.' and as you do more sessions, add more details to it, for example 'I am capable of succeeding in my career.'

4. google general limiting beliefs people have. you can even google specfic ones like 'limiting beliefs around love' and see which one resonates

5. journal, sometimes a quick journaling session can immediatly tell u what immediate obstacle there is in your thinking, which will give you a great idea of what belief you need to change

🦋 step 3: use a testing (permission) technique to identify where your beliefs are at, then test and establish baseline responses

like I said, psych k helps you understand how much you believe a belief, refer back to chapter 2 for some testing/permission techniques to use, but basically you will decide what technique you wanna use (I usually go for the arm lever test)

next, you will use the technique to establish what is a weak response for you and what is a strong one. you can use commands, such as 'be strong' & 'be weak,' or basic statements like 'my name is [false name]' & 'my name is [true name]' to understand what a true & false response feels like

🦋 step 4: ask question regarding the belief to test it & maybe revise intentions

so now that you know what a strong belief verses a weak one shows up in your body, it is time to ask some questions! basically you are gonna say your limiting belief (just like you'd say an affirmation and in present tense) and then test to see how strong (real) it seems + you will do the same for your affirmation to measure its strength

you can ask follow up Qs in the form of much specific statements to understand how your body truly feels about it. based on your findings, you can set new intentions if you think there's a better belief to work on rn.

🦋 step 4.5: ask for permission to change the belief using a testing/permission technique

for this you can use the same technique you used in the step before to test the belief. you basically set your intentions using something along the lines of, 'I request permission from my subconscious and superconscious mind to proceed with this belief change.' you can get more specific or change the wording to your liking

the reason this is step 4.5 is because I don't see it always being used, though I think it is good practice to ask for permission before trying to do something that might be too traumatic to do at this stage.

basically, a strong response = yes & a weak respone = no

if you get a no, you might wanna reflect (through your journal) on why this happened and how can you change that, maybe this is not the belief to change for today or maybe you gotta approach it from a different angle.

you can continue to test your sub mind through different statements and asking for permission, when you're satistified with the results you may continue!

🦋 step 5: choose a belief integration technique to integrate using the balance position

now for the bulk of the work! you're gonna decide on what technique you're gonna use to reprogram and what supplementary techniques you will use (affirmations, visualisations, aff tapes, etc.),

like I said before, I typically use the whole-brain posture. and ofc, once you're done you will just save it as discussed, and then repeat it if you wanna

🦋 step 6: test the belief again

repeat step 4 & use a testing technique (like the lever test) to identify how your beliefs have changed

🦋 step 7: solidify your belief over time

give yourself a couple of weeks or a month and then, retest the belief again using a testing technique (after relaxing and getting into a meditative state of course).

then you can try to anchor them through visualising. another good way to solidify them is to set goals and actionable steps for yourself to challenge the old belief

& ofc pay attention to how you feel and if it feels like you need another session, go for it!

｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡

andddd that's all!! thank you sm for reading and good luck reminding yourself that you are limitless! these techniques on the newer side for me so let me know your experiences and thoughts on the topic cos I am always open to learning more about it <3

p.s: here are my main source that I reccomend watching as a beginner + if you wanna see live demonstration of the techniques:

https://youtu.be/xr7mZmIhBSg?si=fWyigeSDc9oPsdqn

https://youtu.be/qhDH_a3MHKo?si=XfGV8Mg5lIHAUSH8

｡⋆｡˚ ʚïɞ ˚｡⋆｡

[fanaticsnail]

Waltz

Song Reference: Indila - Love Story (English Lyrics)

Word Count: 4,400+

Masterlist here, Dance Series synopsis here.

Themes: hurt/comfort, dancing, cuddling, pining, angst

“One, two, three, one, two, three- Ouch Luffy, that was my foot!” your voice echoed above deck, a slow tune reverberating from a large mouth of the gramophone trumpet with a tri-fold beat.

“Square your shoulders,” Nami ordered, her voice commanding with a small amount of humourous disinterest at the display, “raise up your elbow.”

You two had been at this for little under an hour, listening to the same song on the gramophone repetitively as you attempted to teach Luffy some classic ballroom steps.

“Why don’t you give it a go, Nami?” you sighed while breaking your arms away from their current position; reclaiming your left hand from within Luffy’s right, and your right hand from his shoulder. Although it was not proper dance etiquette for a woman to lead this style of dance with a male partner, you thought it would be a wise choice; considering he had never danced this style before.

“Absolutely not,” she half-chuckled, reclining her back against the wooden steps leading to the navigator’s position.

Zoro was laying down on a wooden pew, resting his eyes with his swords laying perpendicular to him on the floor. Usopp stood against the wooden wall of the ship, his eyes full of humour at your prior methodological dance technique with your Captain.

Holding a large, steaming plate balanced atop his hands; Sanji emerged from within the kitchens; declaring: “time for a break, come and get it.” His smile as he presented the food was contagious, proud of his dish and so eager to present it to his crew.

Luffy immediately perked up and sprinted to the outdoor dining table, plonking himself at the head and awaiting the food to be placed down in front of him. Sighing again, you shook your head and went to stifle the machine by releasing the needle-point from the record.

“That’s better,” Zoro sighed in slight relief as he moved to bring himself to the table, “if I had to listen to that song one more time, I would’ve thrown myself overboard.”

“Agreed,” you uttered, dragging your right hand over your head and soothing your brows with your thumb and index finger. You shook your shoulders, followed by your hands as you brought them down. Clicking out your neck and swinging your arms out to break away from your rut, you turned to smile warmly at your crew as they began to eat the food Sanji had prepared for them.

Before you made to take a step over, you began to roll out your ankles, starting at your left foot before raising your other.

“Remind me again why none of you know how to dance?” you chuckled to yourself while stretching, “it’s an important skill, especially as a negotiation aid for the upper class.”

Nami rolled her eyes before reaching for a small slice of bread to accompany the seafood Sanji had so dutifully prepared for the past few hours. Luffy was too preoccupied by bringing as much food into his mouth to pay heed to your words. Usopp laughed at your expression while Zoro continued to remain unamused as he reluctantly released a sigh of enjoyment as he tasted the seafood.

Sanji’s eyes darkened a little at your comment, pausing his next action of ladling some of the tomato stock braised mussels into a bowl. His hair shrouded his expression from the view of his crew as you walked over to the troop. You noticed the tension resonating around Sanji, prompting you to reach your hand up to soothe gently over his shoulders.

“Are you ok, Chef?” you asked him softly, turning your face away from the others to single out Sanji in front of the others. He tilted his head back to pull the hair away from his eyes and put a forced smile on his face as he nodded at you, continuing his ladling.

Reaching out the freshly filled bowl, he gestured for you to take it from his hands and into your own; uttering: “for you, love.”

You furrowed your brows and flickered your eyes to search his eyes for reason for his earlier apprehension, prompting him to sigh before a true smile appeared; his eyes softening under your inspection. Taking the bowl from his hands, you made to move your hand over to the outdoor chair to remove it from its position against the table. Before you had the opportunity, the chair had been moved outwards by the blonde chef to make way for you to sit atop the stool.

“A gentleman as always, Sanji,” you cooed at your crewmate, accepting his gesture and sitting down at the table.

“Only for you,” he smiled before looking to Nami, “and you, of course, Nami.”

Nami again rolled her eyes for seemingly the hundredth time in the span of an hour, this time the object of her displeasure being the chef instead of you. You giggled at her reaction before turning your attention to the retreating form of Sanji as he made to make a plate for himself from the range of seafood he had prepared.

You took the time to study him; from the way his arms moved beneath his half-rolled shirt sleeves to the way he expertly maneuvered his body around the table to retrieve his desired dish. You narrowed your eyes at him, furrowing your brows in deep thought.

Trailing him the entire duration he selected different samples of food onto his plate, your gaze held firm until he took a seat at the end of the table; directly next to you. He smiled at you, before noticing you hadn’t touched your plate and his head tilted to the side.

“You don’t like seafood?” he asked, nodding his head to the dish in front of you. You pushed the bowl of mussels to the side for a moment and leaned towards him; your elbows falling to the wooden counter top as your right hand cradled your chin within its palm.

“You dance, don’t you?” you narrowed your eyes further, accusing him with your knowing gaze while completely disregarding his prior question regarding your meal. His eyes widened a little before a broad smile fell over his face.

“Are you asking me to dance?” he taunted as he leant in a little towards you, quirking an eyebrow upwards at the suggestion. You softened your hard gaze slightly, a smirk pulling at your lips as you continued to lean towards him; releasing your chin from your hand and leaning fully into him. You traced your gaze over his shoulders and chest, noting the way he held himself in perfect posture.

“How many styles can you do?” you questioned him, bringing your face closer to his own while your eyes widened in complete joy. He chuckled and leaned himself closer to you, spooning some of the jus from the mussel dish between his lips; prompting your gaze to flitter down to watch his mouth claim the spoon. A small piece of metal flickered slightly in the light beneath his tongue as he trapped the object between his lips, removing the spoon; now empty from the stock.

A small blush rose to your cheeks as he playfully quirked his brow upwards at catching you studying his lips.

Although nothing untoward had happened between you both, you could always find yourself returning Sanji’s flirtations specifically because you found it fun to do so. It had been difficult to find entertainment as you flittered from port to port; the only joy you truly found aboard is the splashes from the wildlife below the ocean, the subtle shift in waves clapping against the stern, or interacting with your crew mates.

Sanji has always been a curiosity to you; the disclosure of his tragic past while stranded on a rock with Red-Leg Zeff had peaked your interest in him. You continued to study his features, noticing his charming smile remaining on you as you did so.

“I’ll tell you what,” he said, nodding his chin back down towards the dish you cast aside, “you finish that first, then I’ll waltz with you.”

Your eyes widened in glee, keeping your eyes on Sanji’s as he laughed at you, “that’s what you were doing, right? Waltzing?”

You nodded profusely, retracting from your prior position and resting your back against the chair as you placed the bowl in front of you once again. Sanji chuckled and brought his spoon back into his bowl and fished out the shell of a mussel.

“One condition, though,” he smirked, raising the shellfish to his lips and placing the small piece within them. You watched him in anticipation of his conditions, eyes again trailing to his lips as you watched him flick his tongue over the shell and retrieve the meat before casting aside the empty shell.

“And what might that be, Sanji?” you asked him, breath hitching slightly as you said his name.

 He chuckled as he swallowed the meat, tilting his head backwards to shift his hair from shrouding his eyes; “I get to pick the music.”

You smiled as you reached your hand out as an indication to seal your accord with a shake. He looked down at your outstretched right hand before reaching his own out to clasp your fingers within his own, turning your palm towards the floor as he gently raised your knuckles to brush against his lips.

“We have a bargain,” he whispered against your knuckles with a playful grin, releasing your hand to return back towards your meal. A warm blush rose itself to your chest, prompting you to quickly stifle it with a shake of your head.

Trying as you might to stifle your hastiness to finish the meal in front of you as quickly as possible, your thoughts became overwhelmed with anticipation at the prospect of classically dancing with someone who knew how: not someone you had to actively teach to do so. A quiet moan released itself at the flavour of the meal Sanji prepared, prompting him to bring his gaze back to you; a small blush creeping up his neck and cheeks at your reaction to the meal with a sense of pride at the fact he was the one brought that sound from your lips.

Luffy continued to wholeheartedly consume the majority of the contents atop the table, leaving a trail of: husks of corn, discarded shells from the shellfish and completely drained jus from the pot Sanji had prepared the products in. You shook your head at a story Usopp was relaying, lips pulling to the side in amusement at the utter nonsensical nature of the tall tale as laughter resounded throughout the crew.

As the family meal came to a close; Sanji began stacking plates and bowls within themselves to ensure ease in carrying them from above deck to the kitchens.

“Leave it, love,” you said to him, gesturing your right hand out to halt his actions, “you go get your music and I’ll wash up.”

He looked down at your hand before turning back to meet your gaze with a warm smile. You stood to your feet and reached out both arms to claim the dishes from within them, continuing to clear up after the lunch mess on the table and bringing it to the kitchen.

As you washed the dishes in warm, soapy water; sounds of the gramophone began to echo throughout the room, drawing your attention towards it. Shaking the bubbles from your fists as you released the plug from its socket, you wiped your hands on a tea towel to dry them before scuttling above deck.

It was there where you were welcomed with a sight of Sanji re-fastening the navy and white sleeve above his left elbow with his right hand before trailing the hand to his neck and loosening his necktie. He rolled his neck and shook the nervousness away from his hands in a swift motion while rolling out his ankles to limber himself in preparation to dance.

He turned to look at you as you approached, a smile quickly forming on his lips in acknowledgement. You noticed Nami was sitting down at the navigators post as she peered down at the deck to watch your interaction with intermediate interest. Zoro brought himself back to recline beside his swords on the large, wooden pew from earlier while Usopp manned the gramophone. Luffy plopped himself onto the floor beside Zoro, clapping his left hand over his stomach in satisfaction at his former meal while looking at your approach to Sanji with a broad smile.

“Are you ready, Mademoiselle?” Sanji asked you, bowing and extending his hand out for you to take. You smiled at him and quirked your head coyly at the side before reaching your hand out to clasp his.

“Are we thinking Viennese,” he asked you with a grin, drawing you into him and placing your left hand upwards onto his right shoulder, “or true classical?”

Your heart began racing within your chest as you processed his words, noting his stance as he reached for your right hand with his left and held your grasp.

Before you could halt the words, they slipped right out from between your lips in adoration.

“Oh, Sanji,” you gasped in a breathy sigh, “I think I’m in love with you. You have no idea.”

“The feelings mutual, Dear,” he smiled down at you, his eyes slightly closed and his nose scrunched in teasing, “now, which style?”

You could barely comprehend what he was saying to you before Usopp began cranking the handle to play the music on the gramophone. Your ear quirked up at the music choice, your brows furrowing before a wide smile appeared on your face.

“Classical, I think,” you cooed at him, eyes half lidded with a playful smile, “it’ll give Luffy something to easily understand and follow later.”

He nodded his head and you watched him begin counting behind his eyes, nodding slightly to the counts.

He sighed a long breath as he began to spin with you, using his feet to effortlessly sweep you over the deck in time to the music. A giggle of delight withdrew itself from your lips in delight as he continued to spin with you, leading you throughout the deck in a circular motion.

Closing your eyes, you focussed on the words; the language foreign to you but the emotion depicted was more than enough to move you with it. You felt him release your left shoulder and twinge his wrist to direct you in a spin before reclaiming your shoulder and drawing himself closer to you. You sighed in contentment at the fluidity of his action, noting he began to relax himself into the music and trail you on deck with ease.

Zoro peaked at you through his semi-closed right eye before shaking his head and reclosing his eyes with a smirk upon his lips. Nami leant forward on her chair, watching your fluidity in movements with more interest than she cared to truly show. Usopp and Luffy cheered at your movements, particularly the spins that Sanji made appear easy and effortless in beat.

The two of you paid them no mind as you stepped inward and outward of each other, gazing into each other’s eyes with contentment in your actions.

It felt as if you two were the only ones existing in the small world you had created for yourselves, counting ‘one-two-three’ in your minds with smiles and sighs falling between the both of you. Your breaths became one as your hearts began to beat within the same frequency; resonation to the music within your souls echoing in unison.

He released your left shoulder a second time; choosing to bring your right arm in front of your face. He held your hand above your head, with his face almost touching your own with its close proximity. He then released you fully into an outward spin, stepping swiftly behind you to collect your back against his torso while linking his left hand against your right. He spun you again to meet with him and reassumed the classical position to continue leading you through the waltz.

He brought himself closer to you and held you against him; slowing his motion to a small sway while in your arms. He released your shoulder and hand from his grip and allowed them to fall against your hips as he continued to sway, hanging his forehead against your left shoulder as you brought your arms up to lace around his neck.

The embrace felt organic and natural, you held tightly within his arms as the music continued to crescendo. Although your movements were minimal, the music continued to build upwards; prompting Sanji to release his forehead from within its current position and reclaim your waist and arm once more; this time opting for a Viennese hold; keeping his face away from your gaze and leading you with greater strides.

You kept up with his movement, allowing him to lead you throughout the movement and keeping your own face away from his. He brought you in closer to him before thrusting your body away from his in a twirl; your body deciding to complete three swift twirls away from him before you felt his arms hold firm to your hips once again. You reached your left hand upwards, caressing the left side of his face and neck as you faced away from him.

He captured your right wrist with his hand and pulled it out to the side to lay horizontally with his own before swaying the arm down; movement as fluid as the waves crashing against the wooden hull of the ship you were sailing against.

As the song began to teeter off, he turned you to face him again; your feet moving in sway with your hips as he held you against him. He released the small of your back from his grasp, feather-light touches of his fingertips against your back. He twirled you outwards one last time, releasing you fully from his grip as you came to a graceful halt facing towards him as the music teetered off to conclude your dance together.

You curtseyed low to him, him bowing to you in return before rising back up to bring his gaze to meet you. You raised your head, your eyes remaining half-lidded and slightly glazed over; barely out of breath from the prior exertion. Your heart continued to hammer in your chest as you reminisced the tenderness of his touches and subtlety in queuing you with his turns and strides.

“That was-,” you began to say to Sanji, having your words cut off by your captain loudly hollering a booming and gleeful cheer.

“-That was amazing!” He cried in glee, rising to his feet and capturing Usopp’s shoulders within his own as he embraced his torso beside himself, “I have to learn how to do that!”

Sanji placed his hands in his pant pockets and shyly smiled to the floor, his hair again falling over his eyes to shroud his irises from your view. You giggled at your captain, walking over to meet Sanji and bringing him into a warm embrace; soothing your arms over his shoulders and rubbing small circles into his skin.

He retracted his hands from his pockets and laced them around your back, pulling you closer into him as you felt him sigh against you.

“Thank you, Sanji,” you whispered into his ear before pressing a chaste kiss against his cheek. You brought your lips away from your crewmen’s cheek and scrunched your nose at him in teasing.

He mimicked your expression, almost overdoing the nose-scrunch to mock you. You playfully tapped your right hand against his left shoulder to chastise his teasing before lacing it around his neck once more.

“Where did you learn to dance like that?” you uttered, floating your gaze between each of his eyes, “you made me feel like a princess.”

You giggled at your own comment, halting as you witnessed his playfulness flee completely from his face.

“I’m sorry, Sanji,” you quickly corrected yourself, bringing your right hand to rest against his left cheek, “it wasn’t meant as an insult. You just dance like a royal, is all.”

Your words of praise and reassurance continued to fall from your lips, which in turn continued to unintentionally darken Sanji’s gaze as he turned away from you. He reluctantly pulled himself from your playful embrace, a small smile toying at the side of his lips as he again nodded his head to you.

“I’m sorry-,” you began to say, your words being halted by the blonde chef in front of you.

“-Any time you wish to dance,” he smiled, bowing his head to the floor, “all you need to do is ask, and I’ll twirl you to your hearts content, Mademoiselle.”

He rose from his bow and turned away from you, swiftly walking toward the kitchen and away from the crew above deck without another word. Your jaw began to slack, your mouth slightly ajar as you followed his retreating form with your eyes.

“Was it-,” you started, turning to the captain and shaking your head with furrowed brows, “-was it something I said?”

Luffy shrugged with his arms out to the side, with a quick: “beats me?”

You hummed, creasing your brows further and turning back toward the kitchen. You huffed out a quick breath, hardening your resolve and trailing after him toward the kitchen.

Once there, you noticed Sanji hunched over the sink; his hands resting either side of the countertop and his face fully turned from you. His shoulders seemed to be shaking slightly as his knuckles turned white in his firm grip. His breathing was rapid and intense in emotion, seemingly panicked and weighed down with an aura of anxiety.

“-Sanji?” you cautiously whispered in your approach, holding out your hands defensively.

His body stiffened at your addressal, his right hand reaching up from the counter to cover his lips; stifling a sound being released from it. You continued your approach of him, cautious and slow in your movements to not stifle him.

“Honey, are you okay?” you asked him, reaching your hand up to his shoulders. Hesitating slightly before your brought your hand upon his back and creasing your brows in thought, you decisively pressed on; bringing your hand to rest against his shoulders.

“I’m sorry,” you said to him once more, not truly understanding where this emotion he was experiencing originated from; but wanting to support and reaffirm him never the less.

You watched his breathing continue in its rapidity, prompting you to ask: “would you prefer to be alone-.”

“-Please stay,” his words hurriedly expelled themselves from his throat before his mind could truly keep up with them. You brought your body beside his, your eyes being drawn to his frantic expression.

You immediately drew him into you, pulling his shoulders against your own and soothing him with your actions and a verbal: “shushing” sound. He wrapped his arms around your waist once again and buried his eyes into your neck, allowing him to fully express his pent up emotion as he began sobbing into your neck.

Wordlessly, you held him to you as you both sunk to the ground beside the sink and countertop; you holding him against you and rubbing a horizontal stripe back and forth between his shoulder blades.

His sobs began to teeter off as a sigh was released from his lungs against your shoulder. You brought your hands up to lace them within his blonde locks, massaging his scalp while cradling him against you. He inhaled a shaken breath before releasing it slowly, pressing a small kiss against your shoulder while steadying himself.

Bringing his face away from your shoulder, he rubbed his eyes with the back of his right forearm to clear it from any remanence of the prior release of emotion.

“I’m sorry, love,” he chuckled, releasing his eyes from his forearm and meeting his eyes with your own, “I’m not really sure what came over me.”

He brought a false smile against his lips, more so to encourage positivity and reassurance to himself rather than to you. You brought your left hand to rest against his cheek, prompting him to lean his face into your touch and close his eyes against it.

“Sanji,” you whispered softly, bringing his attention back to you through reopening his eyes, “I’m sorry. Whatever darkness that brought this on, I’m truly sorry.”

“No apology necessary, love,” he chuckled, leaning his lips into your palm and pressing a small kiss into it, “it’s not your burden to bare.”

You watched as his face became sorrowful, a smile continuing to tug at his lips as he shut his eyes once more into your touch.

“This was meant to be a fun exercise,” you chuckled darkly, bringing his gaze back to you.

He released you from his embrace and grasped your left wrist that was holding his cheek within his right, turning your hand over in his grasp to press his lips against your knuckles.

“It was, love,” he reassured you with a small chuckle, “I just got in my own head, is all.”

Your expression softened only slightly under his confession, noting there was only a half-truth within you discerning his words. It was only then you truly noted your proximity with the chef: your legs both splayed out against each other, arms entangled within your bodies to hold you closely together.

As that knowledge eclipsed your thoughts, a deep and fiery blush crept up your chest, your cheeks and tips of your ears. Your breath caught in your throat, alerting Sanji to your current predicament: his face immediately mimicking your own. Although you both became slightly embarrassed at your current position, neither of you made to flee from the arms of one another.

“I-I,” Sanji began falling over his words, not really making much sense within his own mind to relay any clear intentions to you. His stuttering prompted you to begin an uncomfortable giggle; bringing a small smile to Sanji as he began a laugh of his own. Both of your chests began to chortle, as a rich and contagious laugher fell between you both; as you continued to hold to one another.

Both of you began to teeter away from your laughter as you drew your body in to lace around Sanji’s neck once more, bringing him to you in an embrace on the kitchen floor. He returned your actions, again lacing his arms around your waist and nuzzling his chin into your neck; inhaling and exhaling in comfort and relief.

“Thank you again,” you uttered into his hair as you turned slightly into him, “for the dance, I mean.”

“Any time,” he repeated into your neck, pressing his lips against your sensitive skin, “my dancing skills are at your beck and call.”

[callmerhynner]

“You can’t expect to break into someone’s home and think they’ll be okay with it, Muzan.” ||

synopsis: After meeting Muzan Kibutsuji through a series of dreams he had, he searched for you. When he finally found you, he’s become adamant on you staying his. You’re a bit more deadpan about the lovesick fool you found yourself with.

tags: fluff, slice of life(?), Muzan breaks into your home, thats about it

⇱ᱬ⇲

Your insomnia has been killing you, finding that laying on your own nestling bed has grown uncomfortable each try you commit to falling asleep. You try different techniques or sleeping positions but still nothing. You fear that new pillows are needed with how much you try to squeeze them until you fall asleep. So, giving up, you put on a robe and head out to your kitchen to grab yourself a cup of tea and go out to your engawa to stargaze.

That was the plan, anyway, but a silhouette of man sitting on one of your dining room chairs ruined them. You halt your steps, fight or flight starting to engage. The silhouette was of a man with short hair and broad shoulders, accessories of a hat and a long coat. His back was facing you but the small shuffle of his body language made it clear he knew you were present.

“Good evening.” the shadow greets you, you stay frozen, trying to see through the dark room.

“Who are you?” you ask, taking a hesitant step forward. The man turns his head to spare you a side glance. That when you were greeted with a pair of red eyes that you could never forget. “Kibutsuji.”

“A pleasure seeing you as well.” he shows his dangerous sharp fangs as he sends you a smug grin. “If i may, you look as radiant as ever.”

You finally feel your body start to relax, taking a few more steps to take a seat in front of the demon progenitor. He had tea ready, with a porcelain cup in his hand filled with red liquid he pours you a cup of your own, though it was a humble cup of lemon tea. You inhale the scent, before taking a sip. This earns a laugh from the demon you were seating in front, your suspicions of his plans was something he found entertaining.

“You wound me, do you not trust me after all these meetings?” he teasingly says to you, sipping his cup of red liquid.

“You can’t break into people’s homes and expect them to like it, Muzan.” you retort.

You see a flash of his pearly whites as silence surrounds the two of you. You open your mouth to say something until a wind hits your shoulder. The demon was now right next to you, barely an inch away from your left. You shudder at the cold before he wraps his coat around your shoulders.

“Again, as radiant as ever.” he compliments, pecking your cheek before he takes a seat behind you and wraps his arms around your waist. You feel him take a whiff of your scent and smile into your skin, taking a gander and kissing the small mole on your collarbone.

“What do you want?” you ask, trying to push his head away from your neck but to no avail. The demon was stuck to you like a glue, you sigh before relaxing yourself against him and taking another sip of your lemon tea. “Another kiss? You finally gonna kill me? What is it?”

“Live with me, (Name).” he replies, his arms around your waist squeezing you gently. His head was not raised so he could see you from the side, resting his chin atop your shoulder. “Be my queen.”

“So it’s the latter then.” you mumble, sipping your tea once more, deadpanning at the lovesick fool.

“Come now, we can rule together! Just like we should be.” he adds to his offer, you just pat his hair as you sigh exasperatedly.

“You had a few dreams about me and now you’re offering to make me, a woman you don’t know, your queen.” you deadpan, side glancing at the man who was looking at you with the most loving eyes you’ve ever seen. “Are you sure you want that?”

He thought for a moment, crossing his arms around your body, taking his thumb and index finger and turning you on your chin to face him eye to eye. You hum in confusion, cocking an eyebrow at his actions, before stiffening up when he leaned in to feel his lips clash with yours. He was gentle and passionate, his hands on your waist and yours fiddling with each other at his sudden reaction.

When you two broke the kiss, he was still as smug as ever, and you were left panting. You balled up your fist on his chest, sending an unseen glare at the demon king.

“Stop that.!” you say, he chuckles darkly at you reactions. Leaning in to kiss you again, you throw unbothered punches before kissing him back, relaxing your body as he grows more passionate with his lips. You let out a groan when he finally separates, you continue to shoot him a glare.

“You know i won’t, so why ask?”

“Im a woman who believes in second chances but with you…” you eye him again, voice trailing off before crossing your arms and letting out a huff. “You’re hopeless..”

“You adore me.” he replies back, nonchalantly. He presses another soft kiss onto your neck, trailing them down from your jar to your nape. You could only sigh and pat his hair at his clingy attitude, how in the world did you get here?

[pyrosomatic-metamorphosis]

rough art tips to learn and then break at your leisure.

the distance between your eyes is roughly one eye. the corners of your mouth dont extend past the middle of each eye. ears are roughly in the middle of the tip of the nose and the eyebrow. the eyes are in the very centre of the head. the neck is just a Little slimmer than the width of the head (varies with fat distribution, but fat tends to build up under the chin). hair is easier to draw when you plot out the hairline and then where it parts. leaving appropriate distance on the side of the face (cheekbone area and back to ear) contributes to making characters look more realistic/hot as hell. i dont know specific tips for that so use reference. an amazing reference/study site is lineofaction.com . if you think of the face in planes it makes it easier to construct (look up tutorials). if you draw a spiral like a tornado it can help you figure out awkward perspective for extended limbs (look up foreshortening coil technique). tangent lines are when two lines intersect and cause visual confusion (when it looks like a line that defines an arm is part of the line that defines a building, for example) and avoiding them makes your art way easier to comprehend. quick trick to good composition: choose a focal point (where you want your viewer to focus), detail that area the most, and make sure various elements of the piece are pointing to that focal point. you can use colours to contrast hue, saturation, and brightness and make certain elements of your drawing stand out. drawing in greyscale can help you figure out values. using black in a piece isn't illegal but you should know what you're doing when you do use it- it desaturates a piece and if used as a shading colour can desaturate and dull whatever youre shading too. if you use almost-black lineart and then add black to darken the very darkest areas it will do a lot to add some nice depth. the tip of your thumb ends just above the start of your index finger- your thumb also has two knuckles and all your other fingers have three. if you see an artist doing something you like (the way they draw noses or eyes or hair or anything else) you can try to copy that and see if you want to incorporate it in your style <- this is ENCOURAGED and how a lot of us learned and developed our styles. there are ways to add wrinkles to faces and bodies without making the character look a million years old, you just have to keep experimenting with it. The smile wrinkles around your muzzle dont connect to your mouth or to your nose; there should be a small space in between smile or nose and the wrinkle line. eyes when viewed in profile are like < aka a little triangle shape. think of the pupil like a disk and apply foreshortening to it (it looks like a line when seen from the side instead of a full round dot). subtle gradients can add a LOT to a piece. texture can also add a LOT. look up Tommy Arnold's work (his murderbot pieces are some of my FAVOURITE) and zoom in. find those random little circles he added and try to figure out why he added them there. light bounces. there's lots of way light bounces. sometimes it even spreads through the skin. i do not know these light tricks yet but i want you to know that they exist. draw a circle to indicate hand placement, draw a straight line between that circle and the shoulder, and then (normally at a right angle) draw a straight line on top of that line to find the placement of the elbow. elbows are normally placed Just above the hip when standing and your arm is at rest. there are no bad colour combos if you're brave enough about it, just fuck with the saturation and brightness until it works. keep playing. try new things. add your own tips to this post if you want or even expand on some ive mentioned here. good luck go ham etc

[spaghettificationandpretzels]

A Possessive Display Part 2

This took me ages and ages, but I have to go where my muse takes me.

Part 1

Contains: Smut, Dom Simon/sub reader, oral sex (f receiving) fingering, P in V, aftercare.

1.1K words

Simon works through his feelings

You made your way to the bedroom with locked lips, pealing each other clothes off as you went until you were falling on your back onto the bed naked as Simon climbed on top of you. He ran his hand from your hip to your face before he took your chin between his fingers. "Eyes on me or this stops."

You smiled softly and lifted your hand to brush his lower lip with your thumb. "Ok then Lieutenant."

He nipped your thumb and grinned. "Now you're really in for it."

It was hard to hold back a laugh as the room swelled with the effervesce of long-held affection, the tone of dominance Simon was trying to set ushered away and leaving lightness in its place. "Oh, I'm terrified." 

He slotted himself between your legs and kissed you as he ground his stiff cock into your slit, swallowing your gasps like a man eating his last meal. When he pulled away, the warm brown of his eyes was consumed by the inky black of his pupils.

"Do you like to make things hard for me?" He kissed you again before you could use his words against him, but you rolled your hips upwards nevertheless as his lips left yours so he could kiss his way down your neck. "My statement still stands, Lovely. You better not close those pretty eyes of yours, I want to see them watching me."

His lips brushed your hip as he waited for your answer. "Of course, my love, anything you want."

You twisted around to push up the pillows so you could watch him comfortably as he slowed moved to your centre, and he ran his hands from your hips to your legs as he lifted them over his shoulders. The angle was a little strange, and he smirked up his eyes, drifting upwards as he started running his fingertips from the inside of your knee, up your inner thigh, and right to your mound. "I want to put a mirror up there."

"Ok, darlin. We can go mirror shopping tomorrow." His lips retraced the path of his fingers until he was spreading you open with his thumbs.

He licked his lips like a hungry wolf, then licked you from entrance to clit before wrapping his lips around you. The sight was obscene, the lust in Simon's eye burning holes into your flesh as he touched you. He was so aggressively attentive to your needs that there was no reason to correct his technique, and part of you cursed that his keen observation skills meant he could play you like a delicate piano.

You felt his calloused index finger circle your entrance and watched as the firm muscles of his arm coil as he slid two fingers inside you. Your eyes fluttered closed, and his mouth lifted off you as his fingers stilled halfway in. "Love, eyes on me please."

You took a breath and met his eyes, and he returned to touching you like nothing had happened, his rough fingertips brushing your G-spot as he worked you closer to the edge. You understood why he wanted this; the proof that he was enjoying himself just as much as you were was almost painfully arousing, and the only thing you could do was give in and watch.

He scissored his fingers open and moaned as you responded with a clench. His thumb replaced his mouth, and he watched with ardent attention as you came around his fingers. He looked close to drooling, his lower lip nipped between his teeth as he worked you through the last of it.

He pulled back and wiped his face with a sweep of his massive hand before kissing his way up your body to your lips. He lifted your legs over his waist and settled between your legs as he grabbed his cock and notched it at your entrance. His thumb and forefinger were back holding your chin, and he held your gaze as he slowly slid inside you.

The drag meant you felt every inch of him, all the way, until his tip nudged your cervix, and he came to a stop. "You good, Lovie?"

"Yes. Move please." He smiled and rocked his hips, his eyes on yours the whole time as he shifted his weight into his elbow so he could press his chest to yours. His free hand left your face, and he slid it down your body, watching your expression change as his fingers found your clit. His pace was slow at first, ramping up steadily until he had hit his stride.

You were once again fighting to keep your eyes open, and mercifully, he kissed you as he shifted the angle on his hips so he could brush your G-spot with every stroke. You rocked your hips to meet his movements, and he moved his lips from yours to your neck to take your flesh between his teeth so he could worry a mark into your skin.

He pulled away, his face filled with intensity as he spoke. "You're mine, and the next fucker that looks at your sideways is getting his ass beat. Understand?" You knew that tone, it was the same one he used when he berated your boss for removing security from the parking lot. It wasn't jealous; it was protective, like a wild animal guarding his mate.

You nodded, suddenly painfully desperate to feel his lips on yours again and once again, he read you like an open book because he was taking you in a kiss as his fingers sped up on your clit. He kissed you like he was trying to consume you, and you sunk your teeth into his lower lip as you came around him.

His hips stuttered, and his pace faulted, and you felt him pulse inside you as he collapsed on top of you. You took a moment to collect your breath, wrapping your arms around his body to hold him to you. His lips found your skin again, and he pressed kisses across your face, first your cheeks, then your forehead, over each eye and finally the tip of your nose.

He rolled off you but took you with him into his arms, smiling as he pulled you into his chest. "You doing good Love?"

"I'm great." He rubbed his hand up and down your back until your breath slowed before getting up to get a cloth to clean you up. He had a gentle smile on his face the whole time, clearly enjoying the act of taking care of you. When he was satisfied he crawled back into bed and took your back into his arms, burying his nose in your sweat damp hair and taking a breath. "I love you y/n."

You sighed as sleepiness finally came over you. "I love you too." You nestled yourself into his chest, and he wrapped his arms around you as you drifted off to sleep; the last thing floating into your consciousness was the warmth of Simon's body around yours.

Fin

@candy616 @chaos-4baby

[reallybigproblem]

pairing: mark lee x afab!reader

warnings: established relationship, massage, heavy petting, grinding, nipple play, slight roleplay

wc: 0.7k

mdni banner by @cafekitsune

You started out with good intentions, honest!

When your boyfriend’s constantly working nonstop it’s normal to think of things to do to keep him going.

Encouraging little notes around the house, cute desserts, a full body massage.

Nice, normal things.

Ok, maybe you just want an excuse to feel him up but it’s not like Mark isn’t getting anything out of the deal.

He gets to relieve the tension that’s been building up in his muscles for weeks and you get to feel those muscles all oiled up under your fingertips.

This is just supposed to be a nice, normal massage.

But it’s Mark, he’s very vocal with his appreciation. Letting out a saccharine moan when you hands reach just the right spot on his defined back.

Once you’re satisfied with that area you pat his lower thigh, prompting him to roll over.

Thighs next, starting with the one closest to you near the edge of your bed. The extra baby oil probably isn’t necessary but you add it anyway before getting to work.

Rubbing upward with both hands, it’s almost like kneading a very muscular dough. Maybe your knuckles brush against Mark’s crotch a few times, but that’s not your fault, call it an occupational hazard.

“Your hands are getting a little low there, don’t you think?” Your boyfriend plays with you.

“Want me to stop?” Maybe when your hand makes contact this time it’s a little bit on purpose, palming him fully through his basketball shorts.

“No.” He grunts. “Keep going.”

So you do just that, straddling Mark slowly to get the best angle to do his chest of course. Very professional.

The leftover bits of oil drip down from your fingertips to those chiselled abs of his. Your hands follow suit, feeling from his toned stomach up to his chest.

And maybe you move your lower half as well. It’s only fair to help Mark release the tension down there, since he’s getting harder by the second.

Trying his best to not let another moan slip, he grits his teeth.

“If you keep on moving like that I’m gonna cum.”

“Good.” You bring your face down to his, lips almost touching before you decide to go for the sweet spot between his jaw and neck instead.

Your kisses get lower, all the way down his neck, through his pecs. Maybe your lips and a little bit of tongue brush past his nipples a few times, but from the way he twitches against your clothed pussy, he clearly likes it.

“Hope you don’t do this for all your customers.” He jokes.

“Nope, just you.” Sealing your promise with another kiss on Mark’s chest.

You lift away from him to remove your tank top, thankful to not be wearing anything underneath. Making sure to not take too much weight off your boyfriend, you grab the oil to pour maybe a bit too much on your chest.

“Fuck.” Mark’s eyes are trained on you as the liquid flows through the valley between your breasts. Lacing your fingers through his, you bring his hands up and rub them around the area, to make sure the oil’s been properly applied of course.

Pushing his hands back down on the bed you follow shortly after, looking him deep in the eyes as you move your chest up from his to drag down near his belly button.

“New technique I just thought of.” You whisper when close to his face after repeating the action a few times.

“You’re so creative.” He pants before moving up to kiss you properly, finally getting the chance to taste your lips.

Your legs are starting to feel more like jelly between the movement of his mouth and the way Mark ruts against you. He takes full advantage, wrapping an arm around your waist to flip you over so he can hover above.

“Thanks for the service.” Hooking both index fingers around your shorts and panties, he pulls them lower whilst placing small pecks on the now exposed skin. “I think it’s time you got your tip.”

“Just the tip?” You smirk, taking in the view.

Of course you were going to get a lot more than that, cause now it’s Mark’s turn to feel you inside and out.

[inprogresspokemon]

#906.5 - Sprigatito are capricious and attention-seeking Pokemon that thrive with attention and will sulk if they’re ignored by people. Their fluffy fur has a similar composition to plants, enabling them to create energy by absorbing sunlight. Through grooming, they can further aid the photosynthesis process. By rubbing their paws together, they can unleash a sweet, therapeutic aroma that mesmerizes anyone near it and causes their foes to stop battling; the scent becomes more potent when Sprigatito is exposed to sunlight. Over time, they learn to stand to better perform tricks and attacks. As these Pokemon age and grow in Leafelino, they develop a mischievous streak that is aided by their intelligence and dexterity. If their Trainers do not give them the level of attention they desire, Leafelino may misbehave by pulling pranks. Their flora-like fur begins to grow a flower bud with a long vine; as Floragato, they can wield the vine with deft attacks.

#907.5 - Floragato’s plant-like fur responds to their mood. Though normally soft and silky, their fur will harden to needle-sharp points when they are prepared to battle. Floragato’s desire for attention stems from an innate loneliness; they can easily develop a jealous personality and a strong attachment to their Trainer. As they evolve into Purrtalo, the leaf growing from the base of Floragato’s neck will develop into a showy cape, while their pink flower bud transforms into a battle-ready flower bomb! The fur lining of their cape has a special property that scatters light, aiding them in illusionary tricks and attacks; however, only fully grown Meowscarada have mastery over this technique. By using skillful misdirection, Meowscarada will rigs their foes with pollen-packed flower bombs, setting off the bombs before their foes even realize what's going on.

Named: Sprigatito - Leafelino - Floragato - Purrtalo - Meowscarada

- - - - - - - - - -

Follow for more In-Progress Pokemon evolutions!

FAQ | Social Media | Pokemon Index | Commission Information

[asgards-princess-of-mischief]

Last Updated: 2023-04-26

Disclaimer: I am not the author of these stories, just sharing my favourite Dr. Stephen Strange stories. Find the authors' links below. If you want your work removed, message me privately.

Legend: 〔E〕 ⇢ Erotic/Steamy | 〔F〕 ⇢ Fluff | 〔A〕 ⇢ Angst/Hurt 〔M〕 ⇢ Minor Angst/Hurt | 〔C〕 ⇢ Comfort | ♥︎ ⇢ Established Relationship | 𑁍 ⇢ Pregnancy/Children | 🚫 ⇢ Content Warning

✑ Brave by faithinhome • 〔A〕 • 🚫 •

Summary: "[Even amid a major argument] Stephen [always] shows up when you need him."

✑ Dirty Laundry￨Prt. II by brunchable • 18+ • 〔E᜶A〕 • ♡ •

Summary: "After having sex with Stephen after a stressful operation, you gathered the courage to tell him you want to stop your little rendezvous."

✑ Don't Get Jealous by girl-of-many-fandoms • 〔F〕 • ♥︎ •

Summary: "[Sometimes to] get the job done, a little flirting is necessary [but your boyfriend's not jealous… not at all]."

✑ Even You Need Rest by eviesarusrex • 〔F〕 • ♥︎ •

Summary: "[You seduce] your workaholic boyfriend, Stephen, [into taking a break with promises of] a snack, a cuddle..., and neck kisses..."

✑ Just As Important by lykaonimagines • 〔F᜶C〕 • ♥︎ •

Summary: "Stephen and [you] have been dating in secret for a while, [and] when one of [your superiors] seems to deliberately be making [your] life harder, he [decides to] step in."

✑ Morning After by omgstarks • 18+ • 〔E᜶F〕 •

Summary: "The morning after spending a night with Stephen, you make him breakfast. He has other ideas."

✑ No Running by strangelure • 〔E᜶F᜶A〕 •

Summary: A former colleague, you run into Stephen for the first time since he took off to Tibet. Upon discovering he has no place to stay, you insist he stays with you. Past feelings are finally brought to light, and this time there will be no running…

✑ Strange Policy, the by ay0nha • 18+ • 〔E᜶F〕 •

Summary: After an incident involving a bedpan, you and Stephen begin building a friendship. However, as feelings grow, you worry about ruining everything.

✑ Strange Technique, the by deepett • 18+ • 〔E〕 •

Summary: "Doctor Strange was an asshole. You knew that as soon as you saw him, and instead of calling you by your name, which he knew, he said, "Hey, nurse.'"

✑ Coffee for Two by classickook • 〔F〕 •

✑ Figure You Out by give-me-a-moose • 〔F〕 •

✑ Late by withalittlehoney • 〔F〕 • ♥︎ •

✑ You Look Good by dino-fart • 〔F〕 • ♥︎ •

See Also: Navigation || Stephen Strange Master Index

Authors: @ay0nha || @brunchable || @classickook || @deepett || @dino-fart || @eviesaurusrex || @faithinhome || @girl-of-many-fandoms || @give-me-a-moose || @lykaonimagines || @omgstarks || @strangelure || @withalittlehoney ||

[x-emeraldsky-x]

Sasuke pressed his index finger to his lips, looking up at Sakura from where he sat. She continued to cut ingredients for dinner, noticing his gaze after a few minutes. He averted his eyes, cheeks dusted a light pink. He tried to play it off by resting his chin on his hand, but Sakura new this game all too well.

His indirect question was answered with a gentle kiss, the taste of cucumber and capsicum tingling off Sakura's lips. She's always had a habit of snacking on her cooking ingredients. He brought his hand to the back of her neck to deepen the kiss, subsequently stopping her weak attempt to pull away. Sakura obliged in his desire until her back strained from leaning. She nipped his lip, causing him to yelp, and made her escape during his distraction.

"How about after I cook dinner, hm?"

Sasuke pouted. He wanted her now, and his desire for her outweighed any desire to wait, but there was promise in her voice. Promise that after cooking, she'll take him to their bedroom and pin him down. And for that, Sasuke would wait a lifetime if he needed to.

He watched her closely, every small tense of her muscular arms made him want to be held, the short glances of her eyes made him want to be seen, and the gentle grip of her hands made him want to be touched. Every second he spent staring, the more he sat wanting.

Sakura finished chopping and turned to the stove, a pan already oiled and heated waiting for her. Sasuke shifted the chair to see better, marvelling at how unphased she was when the oil splashed on her arm when the ingredients went in.

Part of him felt silly for finding such small things so amazing, but the growing impatience pushed the thought to the back of his mind.

He watched her swirl the vegetables with a wooden spoon, taking note of her concentration and technique. Sasuke felt a pang of jealously in his chest, even though it was just a pan and spoon. He wanted her focus on him.

Sasuke stood from his chair and shuffled next to her, looking up at her and resuggesting his advance.

This time, however, Sakura didn't pull her gaze to him, she didn't lean in nor did she pause what she was doing. Sasuke pulled himself closer, placing himself in her periphery.

"Sakura," he started. His words turning into mumbers the more he spoke. "Please... please kiss me."

Sakura hummed, finally catching his presence. It took her a moment to process his words, and she laughed a little once she did.

"You're too cute," she said, tilting her head forward and chuckling. "Last one."

Sasuke connected their lips impatiently, gripping Sakura's qipao tightly in his hand to pull her closer. Sakura caved to his desires until the smell of burning zucchini broke their kiss.

She worked quickly to try and correct the error, hoping the slight char wouldn't affect the overall dish too badly. In the end, though, it was only for them. Sakura would eat anything put on the table, and Sasuke would eat anything Sakura prepared for him, so nothing would be wasted.

Sasuke slowly pulled away despite his desires, giving Sakura some room to move. He returned to his chair and went back to watching her, licking his lips to savour the taste of her lip balm. An off vanilla taste that mixed poorly with onion and pepper. He loved it regardless, mostly because it came from her.

As the clock ticked by and the pops of the oil slowed, Sakura's gentle humming came into ear. It was an unfamiliar tune, something from Naruto's interests he assumed, but it was soothing. She often hummed like this during her tasks, the house was rarely quiet because of it.

Sasuke didn't mind it either. Like this, everything was cozy and warm. Calm despite the nature of the Hidden Leaf and it's prized medical ninja. It had become home after all those years away, and in the end, Sasuke didn't mind waiting if it was like this.

His eyes slowly fluttered shut as he listened, almost slipping into sleep then and there. About fifteen minutes left until dinner was ready and he'd have her full attention. About fifteen minutes of hearing her hum.

They were fifteen minutes he didn't mind at all.

[allisluv]

lucy gray comforting you through a panic attack 🤍

content warnings: anxiety, detailed description of a panic attack and the guilt that is sometimes associated with them. not proofread or edited

word count: 600

As the market comes into sight, you feel your anxiety reaching new heights. Normally when you feel on the verge of a panic attack, you remove yourself from the situation that's causing stress until you're ready to go back in, but that’s not an option right now, so you power through and hope it holds off until you're out of the public eye.

Lucy Gray’s first stop of the day is to a stall that sells jewellery. Balancing a dainty gold chain on her index finger, she holds it against the dip in her neck. “What do you think, sugar?”

You smile and squeeze her hand to let her know that you’re listening, even though there’s so many thoughts being tossed around in your head that it's almost impossible to think straight. "It’s goregous. Suits you, too.” You tug on the collar of your sweater, desperately looking for a way out.

Lucy Gray hangs the chain back on the mannequin’s neck before drifting to another stall and then another as you struggle to keep up.

You can hear your heartbeat thrumming in your ears and you try to take deep breaths. A passing customer shoulders their way past you and thats the straw that breaks the camels back for you.

In one swift motion, you pull yourself free from Lucy Grays grip and tear off down the street, moving away from the hustle and bustle of the market.

The traitorous sting of tears pool in your eyes as you collapse to the floor in a heap, leaning against a tree trunk for support.

Lucy Gray must run from the marketplace because in a matter of seconds, she’s there, crouching down in front of you and cupping your face in her calloused palms. "Can you talk to me, honey?"

You shake your head, grasping your chest and ignoring the salty taste of tears. "I can't-- I can't breathe."

"That's alright," Lucy Gray's tone is soothing as she places one of your hands over her heart. You can feel the material of her blouse crinkling under your fingertips. "Feel my heart beating? Now, I want you to try and match my breathing, you think you can do that for me, sugar?"

You nod, gripping her other hand like it's your only lifeline. She sucks in a breath and holds it for three beats before blowing it out. You try your best to copy her but your panic gets the better of you and sends you into a fresh wave of hysteria.

"Look at me sugar," Lucy Gray instructs softly. Prying your eyes open, she rewards you with a small smile. "That's it. You're doing so well. Try it for me one more time."

She repeats the breathing techniques and you follow suit to the best of your ability. Lucy Gray holds your hand the entire time and doesn't let go until you've stopped hyperventilating.

Hiccupping, you wipe your damp cheeks with the back of your sleeve as Lucy Gray traces soothing circles into the skin on the back of your palm. "I'm sorry I ruined our day out," you sob.

Lucy Gray clicks her tongue against the roof of her mouth and shakes her head. "Don't start that, sugar," she chastises. There's no bite behind her words. "You didn't ruin anything. It's been a long day all'round. We should go home." She can tell you feel guilty, so she knocks her shoulder into yours and helps you to your feet, a steadying hand on your bicep. "I've got some new songs I wanted to show you if you're up to listening to them."

[yyh4ever]

What did you think of the live-action yu yu hakusho I confess that when I finished watching the first episode I had good expectations for the next ones but from episode 3 onwards they lost their hand.

To be honest, I loved it! They skipped all the introductory parts and got right down to the point. It's a rough adaptation of the original, but the action scenes are amazing! I felt the love of everyone involved towards Togashi's work. There were more highs than lows.

*CONTAINS SPOILERS*

Togashi wanted to draw a battle shounen, but since it was his first battle series, his editor advised him to take it easy at first. The first chapters were stand-alone adventures of Yusuke's spirit helping others. They weren't even adapted into the anime. Although I love those early stories, I don't think they are crucial to the story. I missed the comedy aspects though, that's what makes Yu Yu Hakusho so appealing. Yusuke's resurrection was a bit rushed, but I loved that "Hohoemi no Bakudan" (anime opening song) was playing on the truck's radio. I also didn't mind a 17-year old Yusuke or Kurama.

Even though they gave a more actual look to the characters, like Botan wearing peep-toes heels and Kuwabara with a dyed blonde hair instead of his iconic pompadour, we can still feel an atmosphere from the 90s in the scenery.

The stealing of the Artifacts of Darkness was so well adapted. Yusuke VS Gouki was an impressive fight. Masaru finally got to thank Yusuke, something that I missed in the original. Kurama telling his story to Yusuke at the hospital was genial as well. I think the motive that driven Hiei to steal the kouma sword in the live action suited him better. Togashi only made Hiei a main character because his editor told him so. That evil Hiei who kidnapped Keiko is so different from the Hiei who showed up later. Making Elder Toguro do the dirty job was more interesting! I'm just curious what they are going to do about Shigure in case of a second or third season. They probably have something in mind already!

Genkai's Tournament/Training was there in a different way. I don't care that much about Rando, but I missed all the pain the original Yusuke went thought to master the reiko hadouken technique. It was a little disappointing to see him absorbing the spirit wave with just an "okay". But, I'm glad they included some iconic moments of his training, like when he's upside-down balancing himself up with only his index finger on a needle.

Probably, what I missed the most was The Saint Beasts Arc. It was during this arc that the four guys got to know each other better and form a bond. Keiko and Botan also worked together and became friends. Considering the budget, I'm aware the live action didn't have time and money to produce it, they had to focus on the first big villain of Yu Hakusho, Younger Toguro.

Filming a whole Dark Tournament would be too hard, expensive, and maybe a little tiring to watch. Although the Rescue Yukina Arc and the Dark Tournament Saga were re-written, all elements from the original series were there:

They showed both Tarukane's mansion and The Hanging Neck Island;

Sakyo needed money to open a big hole to the Demon World. Goro Inagaki also slayed as Sakyo;

Younger Toguro wanted the same thing, he became too strong for the Human World;

Elder Toguro was insanely crazy. Probably, the best villain of Kenichi Takito's career;

A bunch of rich old dudes from BBC gambling;

Tarukane making Yukina cry to sell her hiruseki stones;

The random guy trying to help Yukina. Instead of killing her bird friends, Elder Toguro killed him.

There wasn't Botan and Keiko helping each other, but instead Keiko and Yukina teaming up, and I really enjoyed it;

Kuwabara falling in love at first sight, and asking Yukina to not hate all humans;

Best scenes and lines from Hiei VS Zeru and Kurama VS Roto were incorporated in the fights against Bui and Karasu;

Youko Kurama appeared! Jun Shison nailed it!

In the original, only Kuwabara didn't know about Genkai's death, I liked that in the live action Koenma kept it a secret from Yusuke as well. Elder Toguro making a puppet of Genkai out of his body was amazing!

Younger Toguro "killing" Kuwabara;

The memorable 100% Toguro VS Yusuke's spirit gun;

Sakyo telling the original plan was to make Toguro lose on purpose, so he could collect money from the rich. Also, betting his own life in front of Koenma;

It was interesting that Sakyo told his story and how he had bet his own life a few times to Tarukane instead of Toguro. I felt the Tarukane from the live action was a little bit more human. The actor did a pretty good job. Genkai's dead by the hands of Younger Toguro happened too quick and was disappointing, but they made up for that by showing their amazing goodbye scene in the Spirit World. Young Meiko Kaji was dazzling.

In the first episode, Koenma had sadness in his voice when he mentioned the former spirit detective. There was also that post-credits scene with Elder Toguro. I really hope there will be a second season. I think the Black Chapter Saga is much easier and more interesting to adapt.

I think those who have already read the manga or watched the anime, felt the love all the cast and staff have for Togashi's work. The new generation will probably buy the manga and watch the anime. The live action will surely bring new fans to the Yu Yu Hakusho franchise!

Netflix announced a new One Piece anime by Wit, made in partnership with Toei Animation. I'm also hoping that with the huge success of the live action, some anime studio or even Studio Pierrot will produce a remake of the Yu Yu Hakusho anime too.

By the way, I recommend watching the "Making of Yu Yu Hakusho". The main cast talks about all the trial-and-error process during the shoot. Action Director Takahito Ouchi also shares behind-the-scenes stories. They gave their blood to shoot this series! RESPECT!

[thatbuddie]

seven sentence sunday

tagged by @sibylsleaves & @tidesreach <333

we're going to ignore the fact that i wanted to have this fic done a while ago and the fact that these are way more than seven sentences. let's just enjoy how i seem to have my motivation to write back. so yeah, welcome everyone to what is for now only deemed as "the guitar fic"

“So when does the world tour start?” Eddie asks, moving his hands to grip the back of the couch.  Buck raises his head just enough to look at Eddie from under his eyelashes. Eddie swallows heavily. For a second,  Buck moves his gaze away from Eddie’s to look at his fingers as he strums the chords of his guitar. The sound reverberates through Eddie’s chest as he watches Buck’s long fingers.  “Not any time soon,” Buck says, chuckling. His fingers move through the strings again, plucking at them one by one clumsily. “My fingering technique is in need of a lot more work, apparently.” Eddie’s eyebrows raise so fast they almost fly off his face.  “Not— Oh my god, not like that!” Buck denies, looking earnest and embarrassed at once. “I’ve never had any complaints about that type of fingering technique, okay?” Even as a blaze begins devouring Eddie from the inside out, he manages to tease Buck, saying, “Sure. Yeah, I’m sure,” exaggerating the agreement.  “However,” Buck says, emphasizing the word heavily, “The moving my fingers on the guitar strings technique doesn’t seem to come so naturally to me.” “Right, because you’re so used to being a natural with your fingers,” Eddie states, his eyes instinctively setting on Buck’s hands again. The tip of Buck’s index and middle finger trace the length of two of the guitar strings. Eddie swears he can feel a path being traveled from the nape of his neck to the small of his back.  Buck strums two of the guitar strings with his fingers. Eddie shivers. 

i'm tagging @hattalove @clusterbuck @doeeyeseddie @capseycartwright

@lover-of-mine @transboybuckley @butchdiaz @usereddie

(i know it's not going to be sunday anymore for most of y'all but motivation monday or tidbit tuesday or whatever can still work.)

[aishnico]

more cliff please omg…..

#𝘾𝙇𝙄𝙁𝙁 𝘽𝙐𝙍𝙏𝙊𝙉: 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭

» summary: you woke up from your afternoon nap and saw your son and husband practicing playing bass

» word count: 1.7k

» warnings: none, just pure fluff (+🎁), grammar issues

"okay, let's get started. did you tune the bass first?" cliff asked your son. and he responded by nodding quickly. "well then, surprise me." cliff chuckled.

he lined his four fingers to the g string and hid his thumb behind the neck on his left hand. he then put his right hand's thumb on the pickup and lined his fingers to the string. he then placed his left hand's index finger on the first note and placed his other three fingers in order while he was pulling the string on each note. he moved his fingers from g string to e string.

the sound of what came out wasn't that smooth. his hands and fingers were still small after all. he was starting to stagger when he moved his index finger on the first string's fifth fret and gave up.

"my fingers, my hand, ugh..." he sounded tired after this.

"you sure made a lot of progress." cliff expressed happily.

"why the sound is not coming out smoothly? am i not pressing hard enough?" your son asked angrily. cliff shook his head and sat next to him closer. "you're just not pressing your fingers next to the fret. you're pressing in the middle of it. try again like i said." he answered.

he lined his fingers to the first string and then tried to open his fingers wide to place each finger next to the fret. and the sound started to come out pleasant. he smiled to himself for fixing it and cliff smiled at him because of his happiness.

the more he moved his fingers to high strings, the more his hand started to get tired. he was playing slowly but he was pleasant because the sound was clear. he grimaced and eventually moved his hand away after getting to the first string's fifth fret again.

"yeah, that's what i'm talking about!" cliff cheered and patted his son's back. he let out an ouch and then moved the bass away. "you're a fast learner. don't tell mom this but, you actually learned faster and sounded clearer than her for the first time."

his son smirked. "how long did it take to teach her?" he asked. cliff thought about it for a couple of seconds. "i think maybe two weeks? i used to teach her two or three times a week. now a week ago i showed you just the basic things and you just practiced for a whole week by yourself."

your son shrugged. "i just practiced more than her, that's why. but i still feel like i achieved something! can you teach me how to play master of puppets now, please?" your son's eyes sparked. cliff just grinned and got comfortable on the couch.

"nah, you should make your fingers get used to this position first. then maybe i can teach you how to play come together first. there's a technique in there but still, i can teach you that too."

your son's facial expression changed. he was disappointed and crossed his arms. "beatles suck, don't tell mom this, though."

"i've heard you, both of you!" you shouted at them from your bedroom. you woke up from your afternoon nap from your son's loud voice but you didn't mind, you wanted to be with them.

you walked to the living room with heavy steps. it wasn't easy to walk with your 9 month old daughter, after all. now, you could give birth at any time and you were nervous. so were your husband and son.

especially your son. when the first time you told him the news, he didn't welcome this good. he was both mad and worried about you. what if you two would love his sister more than him? what if you two would not spend time with him anymore? what if you two would forget about him? and what if you would die while giving birth?

it took a while to assure him that your and cliff's love for him would never change. cliff, who is a good talker, would always remind him that. and you would always assure him that you're going to be okay, you were going to take care of both yourself and his sister very well.

and you two promised you would spend time with him in various ways, to not make him feel forgotten. sometimes in your mood changes, you would get selfish and want him just to yourself. it wasn't healthy, you would think. but cliff would understand you so he would take your son to his parents or his metallica uncles and would grant your wish in various ways...

cliff smiled and gave you his hand. you held it and he helped you to sit next to him. "good afternoon, love." he greeted you and planted a gentle kiss on your lips. you smiled and kissed him back. "what are my boys doing, hm?" you looked at your son and he smiled excitedly. "you should listen to how i play now!"

he then grabbed cliff's bass again and positioned his fingers after opening his fingers as wide as he could. he started to play slowly the notes but unexpectedly, he got faster and faster. you two looked at him with shock, he was shocked too.

"i'm a fucking genius!" he cheered himself. but you gasped when you heard the word. you looked at him with a furious expression. "where did you learn that, young man?!"

"hm, i think i heard this from uncle lars. he was furious at something, and he just shouted this. but instead 'u', he said it with 'o'. 'fock!'" he mimicked him. cliff hid his face but you heard his giggle. you sighed and turned to him.

"i knew you shouldn't have left him with lars and james... that's what happens then!" your son sat next to you and rested his head on your arm. "i'm sorry if i made you mad, mom. i didn't mean to. and i swear i'll never say these words in front of you or anybody else." you sighed and caressed his reddish hair. "okay, you always keep your promises. and by the way, i really liked it. you're getting better at this." you smiled at him.

"i'm going to be like dad someday!" he cheered and you heard cliff's chuckle. "don't be like me, be yourself. and i know that you're going to become better than me. i have no doubt." he messed up his hair and then kissed his forehead. "i'm really proud of you. and i always will."

your son yawned and felt like he was going to sleep. he put the bass back in its place and went to his room. you stayed alone with your husband. he gave you a heartwarming smile. "what do you want to do now, sweetheart?"

you just snuggled at him and buried your face on his chest. "i just want to eat my fruid salad and after that i want to play piano together." he caressed your cheek with his thumb. "as you wish, love."

he took your hand in his and led you to the kitchen. after making you sit comfortably on the chair he went to the fridge and took what fruits and ingredients he was going to use for salad. he washed them and started to cut them into small pieces.

he then poured 1/4 cup of orange juice into a small bowl, added two tablespoons of honey and 1/8 teaspoon of salt, and mixed them all. then poured this mixture into the fruits and mixed them all again. after a couple of seconds he put the salad in front of you. "enjoy your meal." he smiled and sat in front of you.

you pouted. "aren't you gonna eat? starving isn't good, cliffy." he chuckled and shook his head. "i already ate with him while you were sleeping. i'm not starving, love." you shrugged. "i don't care, i want you to eat with me. feed me then yourself." you then closed your eyes and opened your mouth. he laughed at your behaviour and did as you told him.

"i saw a dream where four of us went to a beach. the weather was nice, nobody was there exce—" you paused when cliff reached the spoon to you. you swallowed and then continued. "except us. she was four years old. she got your pretty green eyes, and my hair colour. our son was making a sand castle with her. they were playing peacefully. you brought an acoustic guitar with you and started to play a song by... i don't remember actually, but it was a country song. and i was singing along with you."

he reached the spoon to you again. you swallowed and continued. "then we got sleepy, you laid on the sunbed and grabbed a book and i was lying on your chest. you were reading to me. and i felt like my eyes were going to shut. before i slept, the kids rushed and showed us pretty seashells they collected." he fed you again while smiling lovely at you.

"it sure is a lovely and peaceful dream. this is going to be real, after years. maybe even a better thing will happen." he squeezed your hand. after a couple of minutes, you two finished the salad and he took you to the piano. he helped you to sit and then sat next to you.

"what do you want to play?" you thought for a couple of seconds. “hm, let’s play goldberg variations. i want to feel nostalgic a little bit.” he smiled and nodded. you placed your fingers in the right places and started to play the song together.

three minutes later, you both finished the song. "do you feel tired?" he asked you and planted a kiss on your forehead. you shook your head. "no, how about if we go to the living room, you can practice while i draw on the couch?" he smiled. "sounds great, baby." he then stood up and carefully lifted you from the seat. you couldn't help but let out a laugh.

while he was carrying you, you felt a fluid was leaking out from you continuously. your eyes widen at the realization.

"cliff, call jan."

"hm, want her to babysit our son tonight?"

"no, i think my water just broke."

"... OH SHIT"