#need to ponder some more but also i need to fix the post bc right now i have 31 images. which does not work.

[remcocoa]

.

[featureenvyproductions]

here’s a bird’s eye view of my comic Eyan Eternal

For people who don't know what it is. Bc I think some of you might find it's right up your alley. Well this is an updated one anyway. I do actually have a volume of this out in print right now, but the low def, basic version is online and complete, and tbh, I just want people to read it. I took almost two years to complete this and quite literally poured every waking moment (after work and when I wasn’t fixing stuff in my house) into this to try and finish it.

Ahem

Here is one of these at a glance things! 

If that’s enough to intrigue you, take a look at my chapter masterpost which has convenient links to every chapter post so you don’t have to go figuring out where they are and what order they go in!: https://www.tumblr.com/featureenvyproductions/717516139934154752/eyan-eternal-tumblr-chapter-masterpost?source=share

If you like it and want to support me you can also buy a copy of the first print volume, which collects chapters 1-5 and has a smidge of bonus content (only available in the US right now, but that’s not going to be forever, and I’m working on an e-book as well): https://www.etsy.com/FeatureEnvy/listing/1447399615/eyan-eternal?utm_source=Copy&utm_medium=ListingManager&utm_campaign=Share&utm_term=so.lmsm&share_time=1683565699335

And now here is a more detailed break down if you need more info than that...

*Jonathan Frakes asks you things meme voice* have you ever wondered what you’d find if you REALLY lived forever?

Well, meet Eyan, an immortal vampire.

He’s slowly finding out the answer to that question...

...And it appears to be unbearable isolation.

Eons into the distant future, when most stars have faded in the night sky and the cosmic event horizon has confined any remaining beings to an isolated pocket of the universe, Eyan roams interstellar space in a repurposed generation ship in search of anything that could be considered alive/sentient in the way he is.

So far, he’s out of luck.

That is until he runs into an unexpected former rival on a remote planet - Zero, a sentient android he never expected to be the only other person left alive.

Well. That is, if either of them can really be considered “alive”. What does that mean anyway, when the humans who defined what it means to be alive are all gone?

This is something they’ll have to explore and define for themselves as they attempt to set aside their myriad of differences and try to work together on one of the few ways left to escape the dark fate of ultimate isolation - The Grand Encoder, a machine that can upload minds to a special medium - if it even works for them anyway. In the process, they slowly come to accept that maybe they’d had each other all wrong and weren’t seeing the bigger picture.

You may not find any action-packed Star Wars like escapades here in this sci fi drama. You also won’t find ponderings about the origins of vampires or what gave rise to robot sentience - It’s integral to the plot that these things just ARE. But you will find a thoughtful exploration of identity and how it can cause us to define ourselves and relate to (or abandon) each other depending on the framework within which we are doing that exploration and within which we are compelled to exist. It asks the question, what if the frameworks within which we defined our existence and purpose no LONGER existed...Where would we go from there?

And as two immortal guys who are the only folks left in the universe (as far as they know), Eyan and Zero are just the right people to mull over that.

There is both textual and allegorical queerness in this story - both main characters should be considered gay men, even if it’s The Future TM and terms/exact scopes of identities may not be EXACTLY 1-1 with today’s...But I want to be perfectly clear that it was my intent to make them gay because I wanted to see more gay guys in sci fi and I don’t want anyone erasing that. As for the allegorical stuff - I myself am a trans gay man in my late 30s, so this act of re-exploring and re-framing myself and evaluating how and why queer folks interact with each other the way we do is something I’m very familiar with, and I feel like other folks might relate. (I also peppered in some neurodivergent-person-in-a-neurotypical-world moods tbh.)

Of course it’s not all serious. I do have a bit of fun with some old school vampire tropes, tossing Eyan around and putting him in Situations.

Anyway if this all sounds interesting to you, take a look at my tag and site (above)! I’d appreciate it! I also like to hear from people and see if there’s anything about it you related to! :)

I also do everything. Every last monotonous step (well, aside from literally loading up a printing press to churn out volumes lol - BUT REST ASSURED IF I HAD $10K TO PISS INTO THE WIND I WOULD DO THAT TOO). So if there’s ANYTHING you want to know about my process, I’m happy to tell you so please ask, especially if you’re like trying to get started on your own comic or trying to go to print :) 

Edit before I go ahead and blaze this: I want to say, to be honest, the creation of comic was initially motivated almost entirely by the isolation/loneliness I’ve felt in my life. It’s not as bad as some folks’ and I know that, but it is a really prevalent thread throughout my life and sometimes is almost unbearable, and my comic began as an exploration of that loneliness, as well as a narrative exercise to try and express the depth of it at its worst point. I’m putting this out here because ultimately I don’t know...maybe someone will catch my drift and understand the feeling I’m trying to illustrate, and maybe they’ll want to see the plot that came of those feelings. I am not above the need to feel seen lol, especially if other people out there feel like they can resonate with this experience as well.

[horce-divorce]

We don't really have a deadline to leave other than "sometime when the weather is nicer," but generally speaking we have about 2 months to either find a new car or fix our setup for the summer. If we can't swap it out we'll still be okay out there, it's just so exhausting to have to move our stuff around constantly to make it fit inside a Murano. We can NOT stealth camp with this setup, it's boondocking only, which makes things a lot more complex, and we can't even really fit all of the supplies we actually need with us in there at all times. We also can't take anyone else in the car with us when we've got it set up for camp, which can make things weird in a pinch at times, too.

I've posted this before, but here's a couple pics of what we're working with: the whole house from the outside, and the view from our bed when its set up. I could probably keep doing this indefinitely if it was just me, but with both of us and all our supplies in here it's pretty tricky.

I've never sold a car before, and I know mine is NOT worth the full blue book value, but if I could get even 1/4 of it I'm pretty sure we could buy an equally used van with that. But I also have never bought a car bc my dad passed this one down to me... I know you need to, like, check the frame for rust, among other things? but idk how to identify other big deal breakers.

Anyway... saw the notif for ~60 days and I just got ponderous. I'm working on some posts for Ko-Fi right now as well, thinking about what kind of art and other incentives I'll be able to keep offering from camp this summer.

I've been trying to post more on Insta, too, as much as I hate it... I've sworn off all other social media and I don't really want my tumblr attached to my IRL stuff as much as possible (i know it already is to a certain degree, i just try to keep things tidy), so I guess Insta is where I'll be for now, unless a worthy successor to DeviantArt shows up. I suppose I could make a side/art blog too, but I already have one for photography and like, mehhh Idk.

In any case, I'm very grateful not to be out there now. Here's some pics from the last few days. Michigan is getting even more snow than here because of the lake effect.

We're hopeful of coming back here next winter as well... it'd be nice to be able to stay here long term. Our friend shares our dream of being able to bring the cats here and reunite them with Bel, but it's ultimately not up to them, so we're not sure if or when that might ever come to pass.

For now, the one thing that's for sure is that we need to be able to stay mobile, and we need more space in the car. But I do think that keeping up our usual lifestyle like this is feasible. We've both been making art here, and we do it out at camp more than anywhere else. If I can figure out a good sub tier structure for ko-fi and have subscriber stuff go out once a month instead of going to the post office every time I get an order, that would be way easier. And having some money coming in would mean ebegging less. I haven't looked into air fairs/fests yet either but maybe I can sell some art there too. But again, we either have to have a bigger vehicle or some kind of home base for all of it to work. It's tricky, but no moreso than trying to get housing.

I accidentally added a poll and I'm not copypasting this entire draft to get rid of it omg. End of post

[beomglocks]

happy (very) 'belated' father’s day

summary : the only father willing to come to the dinner

pairing : dilf neighbor!soobin x (legal)!reader x beomgyu (?)

warnings & other: i wrote the day after fathers day, the title is edited bc im posting this like WAY later LOL, threesome (?), degradation, some beomgyu (no incest), sub!beomgyu if you squint like really fucking hard, definitely not a normal relationship, slight exhibitionism, some possessiveness, DON’T read if you’re uncomfortable with age gaps, edit: REwriting this, this one is for the dilf soobin stans, eat up, don't say i don't feed yall, enjoy <3, kind of proofread

w/c : ~4k

you realize it now.

after living side by side with mr. choi soobin and his son, beomgyu, for a couple of weeks, you’ve started to realize something quite interesting.

1. your mother has a liking for tall lean men.

2. she also has a liking for trying to set you up with the tall lean mens’ son.

now, you wouldn't say you're exactly opposed to getting close to beomgyu. he's conventionally attractive and he seems like a nice boy but you're very much more attracted to the one who created him. it made sense after all.

"give these to mr. choi for me?" your mother all but shoves the roses and chocolates in your arms. you look down quizzically at such gifts. "it's not valentine's day.." you trail off.

you have a strange feeling that soobin would be put off by such acts, not seeming to be as out there as your mother. she doesn't care.

"it's fathers day..well it was...yesterday," she shrugs, fixing her bombshell red lipstick. why was she doing herself up? well a certain mr. choi was coming over.

despite the fact that your own father was out of the picture, that didn't stop your mom from wanting to celebrate every holiday in existence. unfortunately, the only willing father in town to partake in your mother's antics was mr. choi.

he liked to rile her up, you notice. soobin liked to toy with your mother's clear affection towards him, just as he did you. he also liked to throw it in your face sometimes. you didn't say what you observed but you knew he liked to make her feel wanted by a much younger, much more handsome man.

without another word, you decide to give the outlandish gifts to your neighbor. you sigh, looking down at the gifts. some assorted chocolates, nice flower arrangements, and what seems to be a sealed note? you want to roll your eyes but a part of you wonders if soobin would really like these kinds of things.

when you get to the door and ring the bell, the door swings open and there's stands the man himself. he's more put together than you at the moment so you feel out of place even at the front step of his house.

"always a pleasant surprise~" he smiles. his eyes trail down to the gifts in your arms. "for me?" his eyes grow wide and his pouty lips, the ones which you suddenly can't stop staring at since they seemed to be stained cherry red, lay slightly agape.

"from my mom," you deadpan, holding the gifts out. "she's generous~" "overbearing," you correct. "we seem to have different views then," he shrugs. "where's my gift from you though? this can't be all," he ponders in faux thought.

you smile shyly, looking down in embarrassment. "what did you get me baby?" he teasingly leans down closer to you to properly see your face. "could it be perhaps-"

before soobin can place a hand on you, beomgyu comes from downstairs. he's looking sharp, which suits him a lot, you admit. his hair is parted, giving you a teasing view of his forehead. regardless of the fact that he's wearing casual clothes, a stark contrast from his father who dawns an all black attire, beomgyu still manages to make it work for him.

"we'll be seeing you at the dinner," soobin clears his throat, noticing your apparent staring at his son. you can tell that he feels off put by your slight attraction to beomgyu. however small or minuscule it may be its still there to him.

the dinner goes almost exactly how you thought it would. soobin and your mother hit it off, talking about whatever they could to distract themselves from their children for a while. to your surprise soobin barely interacts with you. he seems too occupied with entertaining your mom to pay you any mind.

you're not sure why but this bothers you. beomgyu is occupied in the bathroom at the moment so you can't help but glance in their direction every couple of seconds. your mom is currently leaning against soobin's broad shoulder, laughing at something he's previously said. so he’s a comedian.

you watch as he looks down at her with a satisfied smile on his face. you bite the inside on your cheek and as if on cue, soobin looks up in your direction and smirks. it's almost as if he's taunting you. you bite down harder until you taste something metallic in your mouth.

you're not sure where this feeling of jealously is coming from and you know it's not healthy but you can't help it. maybe you've gotten too attached to your older neighbor in these past couple of weeks.

beomgyu comes out of the restroom with a sigh, walking back into the living room where you are. he can feel a weird tension in your general area but decides not to comment on it. suddenly you stand up, catching beomgyu off guard.

"come on beomgyu!" you say loud enough for everyone to hear especially soobin. the man in question practically pauses in speech midway to look over at you and his son. he eyes you both, mainly giving you a glare that will be engraved in your mind but you don't care. he needs a taste of his own medicine.

"come on let's go to my room, i need to show you something~" you urge him along. meanwhile, you say those words while staring straight at soobin. you hear your mom assure him that it's ok, "the kids are doing their own thing." you knew you were being childish and petty but if soobin wanted to fuck around with you this is what he would have to deal with as well.

you drag beomgyu along to your room who seems quite eager to be in this position. all he knows is that there's a weird tension between you and his father but that's as far as his knowledge goes.

when you both arrive at your room you close the door behind you and lean back on it. "is everything alright?" beomgyu hesitantly asks. you sigh, ushering him along to sit on the bed with you. he looks around subtly at all the little items in your room. everything seems to reflect you well, in his opinion. "well.." you try to stall.

you look up at him through your lashes. "you like me right?" beomgyu stares at you with wide eyes, "i-i mean yeah?" he stutters at your boldness.

"then lets try something," you smile at him, casually pulling your shirt over your head. "let's see how long it takes for your dad to come see us in this position," you say to yourself.

soobin doesn't need to be a rocket scientist to know what's going on here. he knows you're being a brat on purpose but he doesn't care because it makes it all the more fun. he will say he's surprised that you're using beomgyu, his own son, to get to him.

at first, he was getting annoyed with how you seemed to take a liking for his son which is why he wanted to rile you up by seeming extra interested in whatever your mom had to say. now, however, he knew he had a plan for that. you were not going to outsmart him, he wouldn't allow it and he would just have to put you in your place.

"excuse me but i need to use your restroom," soobin makes up a bullshit excuse to get to where you are. "oh of course!" your mom nods at him, instructing him towards the one upstairs. perfect.

"ill just finish up the dinner then!" your mother offers. "great that's enough time to put this slut in her place," he thinks. he smiles at your mom heading for upstairs.

"beomgyu you look like you just saw a ghost," you chuckle lightly, looking down at him. "y/n," he groans at the sight of only seeing you in your bra. he reaches up to grab your breasts, fondling them as delicately as possible. "you can be rough," you offer.

without even bothering to knock on the door, soobin opens it to see you both on the bed in a lewd position. you shirtless on top of beomgyu. he sucks his teeth when you both look back in alarm at the door being burst open. "y/n," he chuckles, almost sadistically.

you can already see the look in his eyes and suddenly you feel bad for not only yourself but beomgyu as well. you try to subtly grab your shirt again in shame but soobin's glare stops you. "what do you think you're doing little slut?" he folds his arms over his chest. not even caring that beomgyu is in the room, he walks over to you and grabs your hair causing you to yelp in surprise.

"s-sir.." soobin narrows his eyes at you then they flit over to beomgyu. "sit over there," he motions to the beanbag in the corner of the room. "i want you to learn something from this." without another word, beomgyu scrambles over to the seat, his heart beating in fear and excitement strangely.

you feel heat rising up your neck and to your cheeks as well as your dripping pussy. "don't be embarrassed, im sure this was your plan all along," soobin tsks, shoving your face down into the sheets. you breathe out when he rips the skirt and underwear from your body without a second thought. the racy thong that was supposed to be his surprise for father's day discarded in a second.

"soobin-" a smack to your ass. "that's not my name."

he doesn't even give you a chance to correct yourself, messing with your sticky juices before entering his cold fingers into your hole. you try to stifle your moan by burying your head further into the sheets.

"god you're so wet," soobin comments. he slowly moves his finger in and out for a while, practically torturing you with how meticulous and slow he's being. "please," you whine pathetically. "please what?" he slows his movements to stare at you with a raised eyebrow.

"please f-fuck me, please, i need your cock," you beg shamelessly. beomgyu breathes heavily, trying to forget about his growing boner but not being able to ignore it. he painfully wants to do something about it but he's not sure if he's allowed to touch himself.

he opts for subtly dragging his hand to his clothed crotch and palming himself through his pants, as uncomfortable as it is. in the meantime, soobin rids himself of his own pants, shaking his head.

he lightly smacks your throbbing pussy and you jolt. "do you seriously think you deserve it? fuck, look at you, can’t wait to be fucked like a bitch in heat~" you whine, wiggling your ass wordlessly in his face to hopefully get what you want.

soobin rubs your clit with narrowed eyes, making sure beomgyu is watching. he could care less that beomgyu is touching himself. he drags some of your cum from your hole to your clit and sighs. "alright then.."

he aligns himself with your hole and without another word slips his cock in with ease, completely bottoming out.

you want to scream at how big he is but you're only left with ragged pants as you know you're unable to make any loud noises. it seriously feels like you could be torn apart at any minute but you love the feeling of soobin’s cock filling you out.

"you're so tight seriously," soobin breathes. he can barely move at first. the way his dick fits inside of your pussy perfectly. he almost wants to comment about how you were practically made for him. he's sure if he flips you over right now, he would see the outline of his cock in your womb.

after waiting a bit for you to adjust to his length he finally starts moving. "shit-" he breathes. you have to grip the sheets to stop yourself from yelling. soobin's hands find their way to your waist and when you look to the side just for a split second you can see beomgyu fighting for his life to not moan out loud.

"look beomgyu-" soobin says in between jagged breaths. "if you wanna fuck around with his pathetic slut this is how you treat her." a moan gets caught in your throat when soobin pounds into you at once. "ah- i-" a part of you wants to apologize and is trying to but he won't give you a chance to speak.

"isn't that right my slutpuppy? did you have something to add?" at the sound of the nickname your walls tighten around him and he sends a harsh smack to your ass. "you're enjoying this aren't you?" he rolls his eyes and sighs heavily.

soobin thrusts start getting faster and faster, beomgyu watching with his mouth agape at his father kissing and sucking at your neck to muffle his own moans. beomgyu can only bite his lip and noises from his throat barely pass his lips as he reaches his high.

soobin growls at seeing your eyes focus on beomgyu so he starts slamming his cock into you at an animalistic pace and you think you might break.

beomgyu bucks into his hand as he cums from the sound and sight of skin slapping added with the tiny noises you'd make. not too long after you feel yourself shudder, unable to warn soobin that you had come you squeeze your eyes shut and let out a whine instead.

"fuck- ok baby," soobin understands as soon as your walls squeeze around him. he pants a couple a times and as soon as he reaches his high he pulls out, pumping his cock to let his cum shoot out on your ass.

"s-sir," you moan. "shhh it's ok." soobin sighs heavily, coming down from his own high to tend to your broken state. he looks over at beomgyu, who's head is lulled to the side as he gazes at your sweat and semen covered body.

soobin sucks his teeth deciding not to say anything to the boy and let him chill for a minute. he shrugs his pants back on and carries you in his arms to the nearest bathroom.

you cozy up to his warm embrace, letting out a sigh. "baby we need to clean you off.." you hear him whisper. you almost completely forget that there's a dinner that's supposed to be happening and you cant just go to sleep with soobin like you'd want.

a sudden coldness hits your body and you shiver. "ok," you agree. his cum is already starting to dry on you and you want nothing more than to be cleaned like he offers. you're not sure how you'll explain your change of clothes to your mom but you're sure you'll come up with something later.

no words need to be spoken after what happened and you're glad because you're not sure what to say. soobin doesn't seem keen on talking at the moment either, too focused on cleaning you off, so you decide to stay quiet.

it's silent in the bathroom until you both hear your mother all out. "dinner's ready!"

you chuckle, breaking the silence as soobin looks up at you with a questioning eyebrow. “happy father’s day.”

[the-witty-pen-name]

Rekindling

Part Two of The Necklace (2/3)

Read Part One Here

Obi-Wan x Reader (f)

Warnings: none; fluff and angst 

Word Count: 1.4k

Based on this Request:

“If you still need that inspiration... maybe an obi-wan thing where he makes the reader a beautiful necklace when they were young padawans and they get separated bc reader goes om a long mission but when they meet again as adults she still wears it and then he confesses his feelings (a bit of anakin teasing his master about his obvious feelings sprinkled in perhaps😂)”

A/N: Like part one, parts in italics are flashbacks! Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you like Part Two! Thanks again to @katevino for the request!

My tags are also now open for anyone who would like to be added! Also my requests are currently open!

Part three will be posted Thursday and will contain smut so this can be read as a two part fic or a three part fic. This one reads like it can be the end even though there is another part coming!

“When are you leaving?” he asked you, tears threatening to fall as they filled the corners of his eyes.

“Tomorrow morning,” you reply unable to meet his gaze so you keep your eyes fixed on the pattern of the tiles on the floor.

“How long will you be gone?” he sniffles, looking back up to you. He puffs out his chest slightly, like he’s trying to prevent strength and you don’t know if that’s for your or his sake.

“Indefinitely,” you respond after a sharp intake of breath to steady your breathing. “Master Yoda said it’s more like a relocation than one mission. I’m to accompany my Master as he is needed on Alderaan. Obi-Wan, I don’t have a choice.”

You weren’t children anymore, and it was so incredibly foolish of you both to have allowed your feelings to overcome you both this way. He had only just returned from Tatooine, the Jedi Consul meeting with Qui Gon-Jinn and the boy they brought back as the two of you spoke. Silent looks of desperation and sadness exchanged between the two of you. You were already torn apart once, and now just as he returns back to you, you are being sent away again.

“Let’s run away together,” he says suddenly, taking your hands.

“Obi-Wan…”

“We can leave the Order,” he begins quickly, letting his emotions completely take control. “We can move far away from here and just be together. We can get married, and just not have to hide anything. I want you, and I always have. I’d leave right now if you wanted. I care more about you than anything else in this lifetime. We can go to Naboo- I know you said you’d always wanted to visit and I promise you it’s beautiful.”

“Obi-Wan,” you say shaking your head, cutting him off. You keep your eyes closed tightly, trying to keep tears from spilling uncontrollably. “No.”

He sighs, but his breath is so shaky. You both are trying your best to find composure. “I’m sorry,” he says finally, resting his forehead against your own.

“I’m going to miss you,” you say, and you just now realize there is a steady stream of tears rolling down your cheeks.

“(Y/N), please,” Obi-Wan says, not entirely sure what he is even asking as he lifts his thumb to your cheek to wipe away the tears.

“We dedicated ourselves to the Jedi Order,” you say, trying to talk yourself out of his plan that you so desperately just wanted to surrender to. “Obi-Wan, we have been so incredibly blinded by our emotions. How can we allow ourselves to be so selfish as the galaxy is faced with the possibility of war?”

“I suppose you’re right darling,” he sighs. You both had responsibilities that weighed more important than your own personal tragedy.

“You should do your best to forget about me,” you struggle to say, stepping back from his embrace. “We should move forward from here like nothing ever- we never happened. Focus and commit to the code we pledged to uphold. It was all a mistake.”

“Darling, loving you was never a mistake.”

And with that, you were gone. Unable to bear being near him for another moment. It was too painful.

It had been ten years since you had last been at the Jedi Temple. As you navigate the halls to find your sleeping quarters, you notice the feeling of home you once felt here no longer existed for you. Perhaps that feeling all those years ago was Obi-Wan, you wonder. Finding your quarters, you survey the emptiness of the room. It was so incredibly sparce, and you imagine how you would decorate it if time permitted you to stay.

You feel uneasy, the Temple now feeling foreign to you when it was once the only place you had ever known. You remember back to that last conversation with him and how miserably you failed to forget and overcome your feelings. You wondered if Obi-Wan had been more successful. He must have, you think, you know Obi-Wan very well and he always excelled in areas of the Force you struggled with. You try your best to let the thoughts of him slip away to the back of your mind and try to get settled.

Meanwhile, Obi-Wan and Anakin were just returning back to the Temple. Anakin ruthlessly pestering Obi-Wan with questions.

“I think she is still in love with you, Master,” Anakin said with a grin, happy he was successful in making Obi-Wan flustered. “I sensed something when you two were talking.”

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan replied, “I must insist you stop bringing up these theories of yours.”

“They aren’t theories, Master,” Anakin chuckles, shaking his head at Obi-Wan. “And deep down you know I’m right.”

Obi-Wan sighed heavily, crossing his arms, thinking on how to respond to Anakin. “Anakin, it was over ten years ago. You need to put this to rest.”

“You need to stop running from your feelings, Master.”

“I wasn’t the one who ended things,” he says, exasperated. “She was the one who was stronger than me- she always has been. Now, please, don’t bring her up again.”

“I’m sorry Master,” Anakin says earnestly.

“It’s okay,” he replies with a sad smile. “It’s nothing more than reuniting with an old friend.”

“Of course.”

“I appreciate your concern,” Obi-Wan says, noticing how Anakin is saddened.

“I only care about your happiness, Master,” Anakin replies, the conversation finalized.

Obi-Wan walked back to his quarters, still overcome with memories of what feels like a past life with you. His thoughts weigh heavy as they shift to the realization that you are finally here. How much he longed for a day when you’d return home to him. Now that you were here, and he could feel your presence echoing in the halls again, he found himself disappointed. He spent years hopelessly wishing for you to come back, and the circumstances now add to the harsh realization those hopes will always be just that.

He was meditating when you arrived at his door. The tension in the air between the two of you was heavy as he watched you look around his room. You were just taking a moment to observe what he had on display, the mementos allowing you to form some kind of narrative of the life he’s led since you’d last seen him.

“I’m really happy to be back,” you say finally, your voice cutting through the weighted atmosphere. He pondered his conversation with Anakin. He was so quick to dismiss Anakin’s observation and now he feels a pull at his heart as he wishes that Anakin is correct.

“How do you like it on Alderaan?” he asks, holding his hands behind his back. Part of him genuinely wanted to hear about your mission and the specialty of your work, but it was more of a stall tactic to avoid the actual questions he was dying to ask you.

“It’s not home, but I like it fine,” you smile, looking back to him. Your heart feeling like it’s beating faster than it ever has before. The social niceties and the catching up questions were killing you inside. Your mind was scrambled and you frantically tried to find more to say. You could only think about him, and how he was finally right there in front of you. Looking at you the same way he always had.

“It’s a shame you cannot stay longer,” Obi-Wan says, his eyes looking nervously down on the floor before meeting your gaze again. “I wish we had more time… Oh, (Y/N), things ended so terribly when I last saw you. I feel heartsick thinking about it. I tried to find you the next day, give you a proper goodbye but you had already gone.”

“That was my doing,” you admit, looking down at your feet as he takes a few daring steps closer to you. “I knew if I had saw you again, I wouldn’t have been able to leave.”

“Oh darling,” he whispers softly, pulling you into his chest. His strong arms wrap around you tightly, the familiar warmth of his chest helping to calm you. You hadn’t even realized you had started crying until you felt the dampness of his tunic against your cheek. You rested your hands gently on his chest as he held you tightly, resting his chin on your head.

This feels like home, you say to yourself, the wave of anxieties and clutter in your mind vanishing at his touch. You could stay there just like that forever. Years you spent struggling with your thoughts and emotions, only ever just making them worse, and the one thing you needed was just to be with him- and it was all just so painstakingly clear.

“I’m not leaving you again,” you whisper softly.

Taglist:

@blackirisposts​

[thereal-linh-cinder]

Kaz Brekker is Asexual

Because I’m ace and I say so

Happy pride month! I read the entirety of the Grishaverse books in roughly a month and I have still not recovered.

***THIS POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE SIX OF CROWS DUOLOGY***

***this post will also talk about my asexual experience & there will be talk of some more "mature" topics.

Kaz quickly became one of my favorite fictional characters of all time, and halfway through Six of Crows I found myself thinking "ah, it’s because he’s ace. Like...explicitly ace.”

Usually, I'm not the type of person who can go back and reread just one little scene or rewatch one random episode of a tv show. I have to start from the beginning and do a full reread/rewatch, but with SoC, I would go back IN THE MIDDLE OF READING just because I loved certain parts so much. I spent an hour and a half combing through SoC and CK for the scenes that made me go "yeah lol he's ace"

It's so rare to see a relationship like Kaz & Inej (who I also think is asexual) and I just adore them so much

I've also been examining my own asexuality and reading about Kaz felt so affirming in certain ways because I see a lot of myself in him in that regard.

We'll start with the Imogen Flashback in CK. At surface level, this scene seems like "oh, typical 15ish-year-old boy figuring things out!" Most people would see this and use it to rule out the possibility of Kaz being ace, but if anything, I think that this scene just reinforces his ace-ness.

“Later, lying on his lumpy mattress in the room he shared at the Slat, Kaz had stared up at the leaky ceiling and thought of the way Imogen had smiled at him, the way her trousers sat low on her hips. She had a sidle when she walked, as if she approached everything from a little bit of an angle. He liked it. He liked her. (CK pg 415)

First of all, the amount of times that I, as an asexual, have found myself staring at the ceiling and pondering the intricacies of attraction and trying to piece together how I feel just like this...

Second, let's look at what he notices about Imogen. Her smile & her walk, things that aren't inherently sexual. If anything, this seems more like aesthetic attraction to me.

But he knew what he was expected to say, the things he was supposed to want. He did want those things, in moments, in flashes- a girl crossing the street in a cobalt dress that slid from her shoulder, a dancer moving like flames in a show on East Stave, Imogen laughing like he’d told the funniest joke in the world when he hadn't said much at all.” (CK pg 415)

This part right here.

The things he finds himself "wanting" also aren't inherently sexual. A girl's shoulder, a dancer, and a laugh.

One of the reasons I'm in a constant state of confusion is because I'll see things like, for instance, a dress strap slipping off of someone's shoulder and think "ah, that is something that an allo might find 'sexy.' Do I think that is 'sexy?' I'm not sure" and then just go on with my day.

“I can best this, he told himself. He was stronger than this sickness, stronger than the pull of the water. When he’d needed to learn the workings of a gambling hall, he’d done it. When he’d decided to educate himself on finance, he’d mastered that too.” “He would conquer this weakness the way he’d conquered everything in his path.” (CK pg 416)

This part kind of cracks me up because he has such a methodical way of looking at attraction. He has nothing to compare this feeling to, nothing to work from, so he compares sex to FINANCE. He may think that he understands, but he has nothing to relate this feeling to. He's not even sure if it is something that he himself is feeling, or something he believes that he's supposed to feel.

Most aces I know, when we go through that phase where we're convinced that we're broken and that something about us needs fixing, normally we'd immediately jump towards some sort of romantic endeavor like holding hands, kissing, going further, situations that are not ideal and that end up leaving us feeling worse than before. Obviously, Kaz is too traumatized to immediately go for things that involve contact, but I still find it slightly hilarious that instead of putting himself into a "romantic" situation to test his limits, he tests himself on a high stakes mission.

Now, let's look at his relationship with Inej.

Of course we're going to look at The Bathroom Scene.

This was another scene that my allo friend was unsure about, and even when I first read it it seemed to put a wrench in my theory. But after thinking about it, once again, the entire thing isn't inherently sexual.

“He watched that pulse, the evidence of her heart, matching his own beat for anxious beat. He saw the damp curve of her neck, the gleam of her brown skin. He wanted to...he wanted.” (CK ch 26)

“Desire coursed through him, a thousand images he’d hoarded, barely let himself imagine- the fall of her dark hair freed from its braid, his hand fitted to the lithe curve of her waist, her lips parted, whispering his name.” (CK ch 26)

“He wanted” okay, but wanted what??? Never quite specified. He ends up just planting a kiss on her neck, that's all. Simple. Not inherently sexual.

“Desire coursed through him” but desire also isn't inherently sexual. I don't want to say I'm reaching because... I don't think this is a reach. This scene is from Kaz’s POV and I’m reading it from an ace POV. Even the “images” he's imagined, just her hair out if it's braid, his hand on her waist also isn't inherently sexual. In fact, this one becomes real at the end when she falls against him when she sees her ship/parents!

“She reached for Kaz’s sleeve. She was going to fall. He had his arm around her, holding her up. Her mind split. Half of her was aware of his bare fingers on her sleeve, his dilated pupils, the brace of his body around hers.” (CK pg 528)

I just see so much of my own asexual experience in Kaz and the way he goes about things. Sometimes it's too difficult to explain, like I don't know how to tell you that the entire passage in SOC when Kaz finally talks to Inej after she wakes up from her stab wound is exactly how I feel as an asexual when I find myself 'catching feelings.'

It hasnt even been a month and I'm already rereading the books bc I loved them that much and I'm slowly finding even more little lines that make me go !!!

Kaz Brekker is asexual :)

[i-dont-want-your-hysteria]

When It’s Love- Joe x Reader

(One day in August of 2020 my favorite Van Halen song came on the radio and suddenly I was harassed by this idea so badly I screamed. True story. Anyway, here’s some more extremely reflective internal conflict romantic flash Joe fic. I put a LOT of work into this whole post ((including the first illustration)) so I really hope you like it! I had a lot of fun writing this bc of the imagery and descriptions of everything. You’ll see...)

(illustration(s) by @paper-sxn​ and myself)

Words: 2,798

Prompt: nah just read it and find out ^-^

-----

August 26th, 1988. Dublin, Ireland

The door on the rooftop of the restaurant opened, and a tall, anxious-looking man in a red suit walked out alone. He ran a hand through his dirty-blonded mullet, and shut the door behind him. Blowing out a breath, he walked up to the bar to order a single brandy. The bartender wouldn't have noticed it, but the casual, quiet tone the man used wasn't normal for him. It wasn't a facade, either; it was nothing but genuine.

He took the drink with much gratitude, slipped the bartender a bill, and told her to keep the change. She thanked him sweetly before turning up the volume on her small radio behind the counter.

The song that played proceeded to strike the man right in the heart.

"Of course," he thought with an exhausted and amused grin, "Perfect timing."

When he turned around with his glass, he was met with a glorious sunset of the late summer. Nothing but warm, soon-to-be-gold light engulfed him. He took notice of how it passed through his glass and the liquid inside of it. He gazed at the liquor for a moment, but he did not drink it.

Meanwhile, the small radio behind the bar was sounding off with a bit of static, "Everybody's looking for something, something to fill in the holes..."

Joe walked in a straight line. His left hand slipped into his pocket to anxiously fidget with whatever contents were inside of his famed red suit.

He'd only dressed up to this current degree just to make sure his outfit would be pleasing to you tonight. It was everything to him; this loudly colored look always held a place in his heart- and in yours. Hell, your relationship had begun partially because of it. The suit itself still held up in its style after all this time. Joe knew it was tacky enough, yet dapper enough for a date. It turned on his gentleman mode, which is what he suspected he needed the most right now.

He was your gentleman, after all. Just the thought of being yours made the edges of his mouth curl upwards into a bashful smile.

The singer, who was on break from tour for a short while, chose to focus this smile at the horizon before him. The slow and leisurely steps he took made him reach the edge of the rooftop where there was a ledge for him to put his drink down.

He smoothed his increasingly trembling hands over the cold cement of this ledge. He tapped all of his fingers against it. He crossed his arms on top of it.

He took a deep breath, and closed his eyes when he let it rush out.

The smile on his lips remained as he did this, pondering on what you were probably doing back downstairs at your table. Dinner had recently ended, so you were probably tapping your fingers as Joe was currently doing, looking around for him, and looking around in your purse.

Joe also pondered on what you could've been thinking about, too. He didn't have any guesses, but he knew without a single doubt in his mind that you were not thinking of the same thing he was.

He was thinking of time, and how he could not waste it.

This Leppard- shrouded in his red cloth- knew he couldn't spend more than a few minutes up here. Yet, he wanted to get one last look around before returning to you.

Picturing his return made him silently chuckle to himself. He had never felt so happy to be thinking of you- never in his whole life.

"We think a lot, but don't talk much about it..."

He picked up the brandy, and took a small sip of it. The sweetness of it spread over his tongue as he immediately associated the flavor with a memory of you. It was tranquilizing almost immediately.

Nerves were a tricky thing to deal with. Luckily, Joe knew there was a less tricky solution for this.

Joe also knew he was currently on the wagon for the duration of this tour. It was for his own good- and the tour's own good- but he needed to make a quick exception for himself. Despite whatever guilt he may have felt while sipping his drink, he knew damn well that it was an essential exception he had to make.

"Til things get out of control..."

The only other occupants of the rooftop lounge- a couple sitting and chatting at a table some yards away- subtly captured Joe's attention. He turned his head to look at them, and again, he smiled to himself. Again, you overwhelmed his mind. Seeing this couple be a match together- a duo, a pair- it only reminded him more of how head over heels he was in his own way.

He also lingered on how much he loved the sight and feeling of being in a duo of his own, too. He could only imagine if you two looked as good as these strangers did from afar.

"Oh! How do I know when it's love? I can't tell you, but it lasts forever..."

Chills suddenly trickled down his spine, and Joe shivered. Something different was in the air.

"Oh! How does it feel when it's love? It's just something you feel together, when it's love..."

He felt his head jerk back towards the sunset, and an intense wave of nostalgia washed over him. The heart within his ruby suit plunged deep into his stomach, but was resurrected instantly.

The soft green eyes of the singer were frozen- fixed on the premature descent of the sun. His clean-shaven jaw fell slightly open at the sensation running through his veins.

"This is it..." Joe whispered.

He now found himself unable to move with goosebumps forming underneath the layers he wore. This was strange to him, since he had been close to overheated for the whole meal with you.

Slowly, he felt his hand go back into his pocket. He closed his fingers around the small shape inside, and he removed it with more caution than if he were handling a grenade.

"You look at every face in a crowd, some shine and some keep you guessing..."

Without looking at it, he rubbed his thumb over the soft covering and placed it inches from his drink.

"Waiting for someone to come into focus..."

With the same carefulness, Joe lowered his eyes to observe the layout before him. Just like that, all minuscule details of what he saw jumped out at him without warning. Every spec of concrete on the ledge was suddenly visible, every single ray of light the glass refracted was defined, every single line of his skin was ingrained into his retinas, and every microscopic hair on the small surface of the object was magnified. It was as if he were now looking at an iconic still life in a museum. If he were to frame this sight right then and there, he was sure it would be priceless.

For as long as he lived, Joe knew he would never forget this exact moment. The temperature, the wind, the colors, and the air; he'd forever be able to instantly recall them. Every detail was priceless.

"Teach you your final love lesson."

Joe took a photograph of the moment with his vision when he felt tears of joy begin to sting behind his eyes.

"No-" Joe said to himself as he frantically clasped his eyes into a squint and pinched the bridge of his nose, "No, not now... c'mon..."

A faint reverberation of your voice rang through his head like a clear, concise ring of a bell, "Yeah, c'mon sweetie. Not now..."

He looked back up at the sunset while blowing out a breath, and took another quick sip of his drink. Even in the most private of reflective moments, his conscience always had a habit of manifesting your reactions. You were always there to him; he couldn't live without you.

"You can't waste any more time up here..." your voice said more clearly, as if you were right next to him, "You know that."

"Can't waste any more time..." Joe said aloud to himself again with a shake of his head. He hastily hid the small item back in his pocket.

"How do I know when it's love? I can't tell you, but it lasts forever..."

Joe knew damn well he couldn't photograph this moment, despite how badly he wanted to. If only he could capture this new level of existence in some way...

He still couldn't see you, but he heard your voice, "Work with what you're given, Joey. Use your head. Use your hands..."

Joe's eyebrows perked up at the spontaneous idea 'you' gave him. Looking around, his eyes soon located a napkin on the table of the nearby couple. He knew he'd have to be quick, lest the real you suspected something of his absence. The imaginary scenario of your suspicion was enough to make him feel the same shiver of anxiety again.

Despite the nerves surrounding him, it was still the best thing he had ever felt.

A small voice of his conscience told him you were able to feel it, too. Perhaps, back down in the restaurant, you, too, were feeling a shiver down your spine.

"Oh! How does it feel when it's love? It's just something you feel together..."

Joe knew this internal voice; it was an emotion. He knew by pure intuition that everything it said was true. As it got closer to him, he felt his heart speed up. He knew the moment was getting even closer.

Your imaginary voice was back in his ears, "Don't worry, honey. I can feel it, too."

"Sweet Y/n," he whispered aloud as he shut his eyes against the setting sun, "Darling Y/n, don't you realize what's about to happen?"

No sound of you came closer. Instead, he felt your hand caress his face. When he opened his eyes, a vision of you was finally standing there with him.

You told him one word.

"Yes."

You vanished from Joe's conscience instantly with that syllable. It gave him enough confidence to set himself into motion.

Going through with his plan, the fidgety Leppard strode over to the sitting couple, asking if he could snag their spare napkin. They granted him permission, leading Joe to head back over to the bar counter.

After obtaining a pen from the bartender, he began to write.

He didn't write much, but he wrote what he felt he needed to. The vivid, mindful memory of the rooftop ledge was stored into every letter he scribbled down. If he couldn't take a picture of the feeling, he knew he'd have the next best thing.

The pen lifted from the napkin, and Joe fought to control his smile.

He took his napkin and drink back to the ledge after returning the pen. Holding up what he had written in front of him, he engraved the new sight of it into his memory instead.

"August 26th, 1988:" the cloth read, "Our lives are about to change forever."

He was immensely satisfied with it; the last object to be created in what would soon be his 'old' life.

"Oh, when it's love... you can feel it, yeah!"

Joe repeated his own written word, and the word the mirage of you had told him, "Forever... yes."

Lowering the napkin, Joe was face to face with the horizon. It was constantly changing color, but each transition was more and more radiant. The evening was perfect; nothing could've gone more correctly for him.

Well, maybe one more thing could still go correctly for him.

"Nothing's missing, yeah!"

A simple yet powerful guitar solo reached the far edge of the roof where he stood. It was rather funny to him. It reflected his plan a little too well; simple, yet powerful.

You both had always ended your meals at this restaurant by going up to the roof for a drink. No other place on earth screamed of you and Joe more than that rooftop did. Your dinner was over, so it was almost time to head up. It was routine, and it was unquestionable. It was simple; it was powerful.

There was a sudden burning in Joe's pocket- a burning sense of raw and extraordinary power. Joe quickly reached his hand back inside to pull out the object he'd placed on the ledge before.

“Yeah, you can feel it! Oh, when it’s love...”

He held it in front of him and fixed his eyes over its whole surface area. He found it hard to believe he was given control of such heavenly power, all delicately concealed within the case in his hand. It was the sword in the stone, but only you could wield it.

And that moment when you wielded it had to be perfect.

"Can't waste any more time," Joe gasped. His fingers clasped over the piece in his hand, he closed his eyes in reverence, and slowly touched it to his lips.

"When nothing's missing!"

Joe privately declared with his lips against the small, soft surface, "Nothing's missing."

"How do I know when it's love? I can't tell you, but it lasts forever..."

Joe re-filled his pockets without looking at any of the contents. The napkin and the soft-covered object both disappeared into the scarlet suit, and the remainder of his brandy disappeared into his mouth. Before he took the finishing sip, however, he raised his glass to the sunset in a private toast accompanied with a wink. Only one word was needed to make such a toast.

"Forever."

"Ooh, how does it feel when it's love? It's just something you feel together, hey!”

The glass was returned, and all things were finally in place.

“How do I know when it’s love? I can’t tell you, but it lasts forever- when it’s love...”

Just as Joe turned in the direction of the door he came from, he stopped dead and reached back into his pocket. There was one last thing he didn't take a final look at; one very small thing.

"Hey! It lasts forever...! When it's love..."

He pulled out the deep-colored item yet again. Only this time, instead of admiring its surface, he opened it.

The glorious star within was now admiring him.

"You and I, we're gonna feel the same together- when it's love..."

Each twinkle and every finest detail of it was, in every way, flawless. It matched the very twinkle in your eye Joe knew you'd bear once you finally witnessed it yourself.

"Ooh when it's love, baby..."

Joe believed it bittersweet that this would be his very last chance to gaze upon the raw, divine power before he decided to activate it.

"You can feel it, yeah!"

The second Joe would conceal the item again, he knew he would not be allowed to look at it anymore. There was a destiny for this particular object. It beheld a future so great, so magnificent, that Joe himself would not be able to look directly at it when the moment came. He wasn't chosen for an honor such as that.

The only person who was destined to see this divine piece in action... was you.

It was you, and only you; forever. And the greatest part- you did not suspect a single thing.

Sucking back the happy and nervous tears he felt coming on, Joe closed the small box and put it back into his pocket. His hand remained on top of it as he turned away from the sunset to go back downstairs. His fingers continued to rub over its surface, and he could feel the radiant force within it. It had the ability to permanently change your lives, and that's the exact power he was about to bestow upon you.

As he opened the door to head back down to you, his nerves threatened to make him freeze again. His heart vibrated in his chest as the magic of the item within the box engulfed him.

"We'll make it last forever!"

Joe's hand squeezed the edge of the door as he just barely glimpsed the now-radiant sunset. He was aware that the time had come.

It was, at long last, about to happen. Your lives were about to change forever. It was becoming real; it was becoming perfect.

Finally, after so long, Joe could say with complete confidence that he knew the name of the strongest feeling that had ever engrossed him.

Oddly enough, that feeling also shared your name.

"Ooh, it's love."

Joe squeezed the tiny, sublime box in his pocket. He whispered to himself just before he shut away the glory of the impending dusk:

"With this ring... I thee wed."

The end

(When It’s Love by Van Halen)

[yami-writes]

Velvet~ [ NNWM day 1 ]

NNWM prompt: baking desserts

(🏷️) paring(s): Kageyama x gn!reader (⚠️) warning(s): just a single cuss word bujiuhiubji (🔖) word count: 2068 :’) (💌) note from Yami: repost bc when i posted it before it flopped really bad 😃 

“Hey, Tobio!” you called from the kitchen, peeking your head out to look at him. He hummed in response. “Can you come bake these cupcakes with me?” surprisingly, he paused the recording from one of his games and walked over to you and into the kitchen. You could already feel the excitement start to bubble within your core.

You had to ban him from entering the kitchen without you for a month because he almost burnt the house down trying to cook something himself. He’s still banned because you truly can’t trust him after burning the ramen.

“I found this really good looking recipe online! I really wanna try it out with you!” you pleaded, knowing he wouldn’t be able to refuse. You showed him the recipe, scrolling through the steps and pictures, “those do look good..”

“Exactly! That’s why you should make them with me!” Tobio pondered for a second, before nodding, agreeing to bake them with you, “yAY-!”

You took another look at the recipe, making sure you got everything you needed. “Okay~ i think we have everything.” you said, placing your phone on the counter.

“First, we have to preheat the oven and line the cupcake tin with 12 cupcake cases,” you turned around and walked out the kitchen, coming back with a grocery bag you had gotten previously. You took out a small pack of red and white cupcake cases, placing them on the counter and putting the bag away for later. “Open these and place one each into those,” you pointed at the cupcake tins, “I’ll preheat the oven.” the setter picked up the bag and opened it as you headed over to the oven.

You watched closely as he placed the cases into the tins, accidentally placing two into one of them, however, you didn’t really care. As long as he wasn’t burning anything this time around.

Although, you do wonder how he could mess up such a simple task..

You set the oven to 180 degrees and picked up your phone, scrolling to the next step.

You read the next step ‘cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy’ you get out the butter and sugar you had gotten beforehand and throw it into the mixing bowl, using your hand mixer to cream it.

You notice Tobio watching intently at what you’re doing, probably noting the circular motion you’re using to presumably mix everything evenly.

Though, you already know this is information he’ll forget overnight, considering it’s not in any way related to volleyball.

After mixing for a while, you looked back over at your phone, reading the next steps. ‘then add the beaten eggs one by one and the vanilla extract, mixing well between each one to ensure the mixture does not curdle.’ “hm, okay~”

You took out the eggs you had previously done and poured it in bit by bit, mixing well in between each one like the instructions said.

Afterwards you added the vanilla extract, mixing that in just as well.

“What’s that?” Tobio asked, looking over your shoulder. “Vanilla extract. It adds the flavor, Tobio.”

“Oh.”

You scrolled down to find the next steps, reading them out loud despite knowing your boyfriend would have no idea what you’re talking about.

“Sift in the flour, cocoa and baking powder and carefully fold in until just incorporated, do not over mix. Then add the red colour and carefully mix until distributed evenly through the batter.” the instructions read.

You got out the flower from the grocery bag you placed to the side earlier, opening it up and pouring some out into a bowl.

You opened up the drawer and got out a swifter, handing it to Tobio.

“Hold this above the mix.” “That’s it?”

“Yup!”

You positioned his arm exactly where you wanted him to hold it and proceeded carefully pour the flour into it

“What does this do?”

“It gets rid of all the clumps inside the flour, see?” you said as you pointed to a small bump inside he was sifting. He nodded in response

“Try shaking the swifter a bit, the flour won’t just unclump itself~”

“Oh.”

He gently shook the swifter as you instructed, making a bit of a mess but doing much better than you expected. You continued to pour in a little more until all the flour in the bowl was neatly sifted, leaving only a few more stubborn clumps inside the swifter.

You got out a spoon and used it to smooth them down, not wanting to waste any flour, even if it was only a bit.

“Now the cocoa powder~”

“There’s more??”

You laughed at his comment while getting the cocoa powder out of the bag, also taking out some baking powder while you were at it.

You then poured both into separate bowls, getting ready to sift them aswell.

The two of you managed to finish sifting the last of it and added the red food colouring, giving it the velvet look you were going for.

You washed your hands and began to fold the mix with your hands, using a continuous pattern to make sure you mixed and folded everything neatly and evenly.

You noticed how Tobio was watching very closely, probably still trying to learn. You find it cute how attentive he is for you.

“Okay, i think it’s done!” you say as you head over to the sink to wash of your hands, looking back at Tobio to make sure he doesn’t fuck it up.

“What do we do now?”

“Put it in the tins,”

“….?”

You jokingly roll your eyes and pick up your phone, reading the next step,

‘Spoon into the cupcake cases until they are 2/3 full then place in the oven for 25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean and the cakes are springy to the touch.’

You watched the confusion twist on Tobio’s face, already knowing you would have to simplify those instructions for him.

“Use this spoon to put the batter into the cases you already finished, don’t fill them all the way though.”

“Oh, okay.”

You watched his movements closely as he did what you instructed, not exactly perfect but nothing too bad. Not cases weren’t even and one of them wasn’t even filled half-way but nothing was being burned and that’s all that mattered.

“Done?” you ask upon seeing all the cupcake cases were filled, to which the setter nodded. You looked them over and pointed out the ones he messed up, fixing them for him, telling him to take note for next time.

Once you were done you placed the tin into the preheated oven, a wave of heat hitting your face when you opened it.

You then put a timer on your phone for 25 minutes.

“What now?” Tobio asks, seemingly eager for his next instruction.

“We just wait for the cupcakes to bake now, it should only take about half an hour.”

“Okay.”

The two of you mutually decided to watch over the recording of his game, as he hadn’t finished it yet.

You watched and listened as he over analyzed every part of the video, making comments on his team as well as the other team.

“Hinata boke’s block sucked.”

“That’s all you have to say??”

“Yea.”

You hear your phone ring, signalling that the cupcakes you had set to bake earlier were supposedly finished. You turned off the alarm and walked over to the kitchen, your boyfriend following behind.

You take out a fork and open the oven, carefully poking the fork inside one of the freshly baked cupcakes.

You slowly slid the fork out and looked at it, there was no cupcake on it, signalling that they were in fact done.

You take out your oven mitts and cautiously slide the tin of cupcakes out of the oven, placing them on the stove but then moving them to the counter after closing the oven.

The sweet, velvety smell of freshly baked goods filled the kitchen air as you took out the grocery bag to get the rest of the ingredients you needed to finish off the cupcakes.

You looked over to your phone and read over the next steps

‘Whilst the cakes are cooling you can make the sugar paste hearts.  Knead the red and white sugar paste icings and to make pink add a small amount of red to some of the white and knead until the colour is uniform, repeat until you have the desired shade of pink. Roll the icings out on a surface dusted with icing sugar until they are about 2-3mm thick, then cut out different sized hearts using heart shaped cutters.  Put them to the side on some baking parchment to set whilst you make the rest.’ step six read.

You got out the red and white icing and did as the instructions said, re-reading them every once and a while to make sure you were doing everything right.

Once you got everything the way you wanted it, you took out the heart shaped cutters, placing them in order from smallest to largest.

“Okay, this is simple. Use these heart shaped cutters to make hearts with the icing sugar, then place them on this, okay?” you pointed to a sheet of parchment paper,

“Oh. Okay.”

You watched him do it for a while before coming to the conclusion that he was doing everything right, so you looked over the next step

‘To make the buttercream, place the butter and icing sugar in a large bowl with the vanilla extract and start to beat together slowly to start with then increase the speed and beat until the buttercream is light and fluffy. You can add a few drops of food colour here if you wish.’

You get out some extra butter and place it in the bowl along with icing sugar, and begin to mix it with the hand mixer, starting slow but increasing the speed every once and awhile.

After about 5 minutes of mixing, the buttercream was ready.

You decided not to add any food colouring, just to keep the red velvet look.

You looked over at Tobio to see he was almost finished with the hearts, seemingly only having a few more to go.

Relieved you only had one more step to go, you scrolled down and read it over.

‘Pipe or smooth buttercream onto the top of each cake using a piping bag or palette knife, then place the rolo on top. Add sweets as extra decorations if desired.’

You got out a plastic bag and spooned the buttercream into it, twisting and cutting the tip of it, making it into a piping bag.

Tobio watched closely as you started icing the still fresh batch of cupcakes, taking note of the slow yet swift circular motion you used to make it into a perfect swirl.

“Can i do something?” he asked, awaiting your next order.

The line ‘Add sweets as extra decorations if desired.’ from the recipe rung in your brain for a moment.

You carefully placed the homemade piping bag on the counter and got out some red and white sprinkles you had gotten, opening them and handing them to him.

“sprinkle these to the top of the cupcakes I add the icing to, not too much though.” you sprinkle some on as an example, giving Tobio the rest of them to continue, to which he nodded.

The two of you continued working your magic, finishing your cupcakes no more than 8 minutes later.

You looked them over to make sure they had enough sprinkles, which to your surprise, they did.

“Wow! These look so good!” you say, taking out your phone to take a picture.

“Can i eat one?”

“Of course! You helped make them, didn’t you?”

“well…..yea.”

“Then have one!! These are ours to enjoy!”

Without hesitation, the both of you each grabbed one of your cupcakes, peeling off the cupcake case and taking a bite

The red velvet flavor was immaculate, truly blessing your taste buds in a way no other food has in a while.

“wOW- these are really good!!” you smiled “thanks for making these with me, Tobio!” you said, tightly hugging him.

“I… w-why wouldn’t I make them with you, dumbass…?”

“Mmm.. i dunno, maybe its cuz you’re always focused on volleyball~”

“Stupid boke.. You know I love you more than volleyball.”

recipe i based this on

NNWM masterlist [ coming soon ]

masterlist

[faerielleart]

Is there any headcanon/au you’ve got

OHOHOHO YES INDEED ANON i just posted a long ass high school au yesterday that is really weirdly specific and self indulgent but i had to combine two of my most fav things in the world so

i also got a hunger games au, a tangled au, a the witcher au, a les misérables au, a wip of a harry potter au, holy shit i posted a lot of aus on this blog you see this is what happens when canon sucks

let’s spit out some new aus and headcanons shall we

some headcanons for canon era

- i feel like some nights during these 4 years of timeskip levi and hanji actually slept together and i mean in the literal sense as in sleeping in the same bed, not in the bumping uglies sense, like when the nightmares got too bad for hanji they would get up in the middle of the night and knock on levi’s door and they wouldn’t need to say anything bc levi knows and he makes way for them in the room and they both lay down in the bed back to back and fall asleep like that just comforted by the fact that they can hear the other’s heartbeat and breathing, they won’t hold each other or touch each other, just them feeling each other’s presence; ofc in the morning hanji is sprawled like a starfish half on the bed and half on levi and he pretends he’s annoyed by it but he really isn’t lmao

- during their monthly/weekly meetings with the press i feel like at some point roy and peaure would actually start to think they’re married?? i mean you have hanji accidentally burning their hand with the hot tea and levi’s immediately dragging them to a sink to run their hand under cold water, or levi smoothing out a wrinkle on hanji’s jacket or fixing their tie, or straight up fixing their hair, cleaning their glasses, or casually hanji leaning on levi during a conversation, them having literal telepathy?? all that domestic shit so one day after seeing levi wiping a pastry crumb from hanji’s cheek roy’s like “ahhh young love! it’s a rare sight nowadays to see a couple being so nurturing towards each other... if i may ask, how long have you been married?” and im pretty sure levi has a stroke while hanji blushes furiously and tries to explain that “NOOOO NONO NO WAIT WE UH WE’RE NOT MARRIED! WE’RE REALLY GOOD FRIENDS! BEST FRIENDS! RIGHT LEVI” but levi doesnt answer his brain is too busy processing the words “married” and “hanji” and “hanji married” “hanji and i married” “marriage” “marriage with hanji”. they like to pretend this “accident” never happened but after that day i think they’d be more aware of their actions around each other? and they’d start to slowly, over the span of four years, connect the dots

- the flashback in chapter 126 doesn’t stop at that “you’re right, i can’t” part, they definitely kept talking more and i feel like at some point during that night levi asked hanji to lay down under the blanket next to him as a way to confess “i wish we could stay here as well” but hanji doesn’t get it, at this point they still believe their feelings are one-sided and their mind is too occupied by other thoughts to really understand what levi means. somehow levi understands that this time hanji didn’t get what he meant and thinks “maybe this isn’t the right moment after all”. when chapter 132 comes, he tries again to confess, playing it off as a subtle joke with the “unrequited love for titans” thing, and hanji starts to ponder on that, but still doesn’t allow themself to insinuate that levi’s words might have a double meaning. then, the thing happens and levi doesn’t want to waste his last chance. he says “dedicate the heart” putting his own left hand on hanji’s chest, he means that he too is dedicating his heart because he and hanji share the same heart. this time, hanji finally understands. just before flying away, they think “i wish i had realized it sooner”.

- okay assuming that the “hanji is alive” theory becomes real, assuming that the war ends and assuming that a cure for the 13 year curse is found, i see levi and hanji living together in a lil house in the woods and having a family but somehow never bothering to define their relationship staus? like the funniest thing to me is them growing old together and being like 80 years old surrounded by their grandchildren when hanji suddenly says “levi,,,,,,,,, what are we” “do u like me by any chance” and levi just thinks “i am way too old for this shit”

[imaginedisish]

Fakin’ It (Five Hargreeves x Reader) (The Umbrella Academy)

A/N: SORRY FOR THE DELAY...nothing else was posted, and this got posted so late only because this imagine may or may not be like...3,000+ words..... oops. Anyway, y’all asked for fluff, here it is. Also, this is somewhat based on the Simon and Garfunkel song, Fakin’ It. Okay, it’s 1:57am, I have to be up at 6...goodnight everyone :) and enjoy :) (also, I say this in the story, but you and Five are around 18/19 in this fic)

Summary: You and Five have obvious chemistry, but you’re both oblivious to the fact that you’re in love with each other. It takes a life threatening fight with The Handler and The Commission to make Five realize he needs to tell you how he really feels.

Warnings: Language, angst, killing, guns, killing with guns???, FLUFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!

Word Count: 3,678 TOO LONG AH. but too bad bc i was inspired asf.

A warm breeze swirls around you, capturing you in the tight embrace of the sweet summer air. Birds sing happily throughout the courtyard, gossiping to each other as they carefully watch your chess game. Maybe they were pondering your next move, or maybe they had recognized the obvious feelings you had for the midnight-brown haired boy sitting in front of you, and felt the need to chirp loudly on and on about it. 

His eyes catch each individual ray of light that extended itself down to the courtyard, the rays transforming into sparkles, glimmering in his ocean eyes. You knew there was no chance of winning this game, you were far too distracted by the way Five casually basked in the sun. 

You move your king up a spot, hoping for a chance to possibly take the game once and for all. To your dismay, a smirk slowly but surely spreads across Five’s face. He stares down at the board picks up his black queen from her spot. Your eyes widen. You saw his perfect move. It was like witchcraft. 

“Check mate,” Five says, his queen knocking over your final king, his piercing blue eyes peering up into yours. “Should’ve kept that king in the back row there,” He states matter of factly, pointing to your now fallen king. Five’s smirk widens as he crosses his right ankle over his left knee, his arms folding nonchalantly against his chest. 

Diego or Luther would have reacted by throwing the board across the room in a fit of anger. Allison would have scoffed, secretly upset by her brother’s win. Klaus would’ve won by default, simply through the method of pestering Five with far too many questions, driving Five to the brink of insanity. But you? You weren’t bothered by the loss at all. You didn’t care what you were doing with Five, as long as you got to spend time with him. 

He could beat you at chess every day for the rest of your life, and it wouldn’t matter to you, all because it was him, and only him that you were sitting here with.

“Maybe I let you win,” you joke, shooting a smile in Five’s direction. For the record, you most definitely did not let him win. Chess was in no way, shape or form your strong suit. Five on the other hand, was a master. 

Five giggles a bit, his smirk turning into a wide smile, highlighting the dimples in his cheeks. “Oh really now?” He questions, arching his eyebrows as he leans back in the black, wrought iron garden chair he was sitting in. “I beg to differ.”

Then, Five pushes himself out of his chair, and with an abrupt flash of bright blue light, he had disappeared. You felt your heart involuntarily sink to the bottom of your chest. Where did he go? Why did he leave? You think to yourself, a small frown making its way across your face.

“Surprise!” You hear a voice shout from behind you as two hands grab onto your shoulders forcefully. You let out a screech, freaked out by the unexpected “surprise”. You instantly whip your head around. 

There was Five, laughing so hard he was doubled over, his hands on his knees, his bangs bouncing against his forehead. His laughter only grew by the second, changing into what sounded like a hyaena cackling. You try your very best to suppress the smile that was slowly stretching across your face, not wanting Five to know you’re entertained by his hijinks. 

“You scared the shit out of me!” You try to shout, but it comes out as more of a heavy laugh. You jokingly punch Five in the shoulder.

He pretends to wince, and grabs at the “wounded” area in response. “I didn’t know you were so violent, (Y/N),” Five says, his jaw dropping as he acts as though he’s in pain. “I guess I’ll just have to get my revenge!” Five leaps towards you, picking you up, lifting you high enough that your stomach is pressing against his shoulder, and your upper body drapes against his back. 

“Put me down!” You laugh loudly, lightly drumming your fists rhythmically against Five’s back. 

“No way,” He chuckles, walking around the courtyard now. “This is payback.” You didn’t have to see his face to know he was smiling widely, his eyebrows arched up, his ego shining through his blue eyes. 

“Well, what’s going on here?” A new voice chimes in from the opposite side of the courtyard. Five quickly turns around, and within seconds you’re put back down on the ground. You turn around as well, to see the face of the familiar voice. 

Merely feet away stood Klaus, decked out in a flowy, navy blue skirt that you instantly recognized was your own. Klaus, however, some how pulled it off way better than you ever could have. 

“Nothing, nothing at all,” Five says, crossing his arms in front of his chest as he lifts his chin up a bit, almost to assert dominance over his brother. The word nothing repeats in your head over and over again. The moment you and Five had just shared did not feel like nothing to you. It felt like a million butterflies flying around in your stomach. It felt like your heart had made a new home in your throat. The feeling was intense, and it hurt a bit to hear Five call what he felt in that moment, “nothing.” 

Klaus looks to you, his black-lined eyes searching yours for some sort of explanation as to what was happening, but you give none. You look to Five, who’s eyes are menacingly fixed on Klaus, and then down to the ground. 

You hear Klaus hum a bit, almost as if he’s studying the situation in his head, taking mental notes as he stares at you and Five. “Well,” Klaus says finally, “I’d like to talk to (Y/N),” Klaus pauses a second, “Alone, brother, if you wouldn’t mind.” Klaus finishes, holding up his right hand in a fist. He opens up his palm towards Five, revealing his message: “Goodbye”. 

Five scoffs. “Fine then,” He rolls his eyes to Klaus before turning to you. “I’ll be in the library when you’re done talking to the ouija board, okay?” You nod, and Five smiles. He turns around and starts to walk away. 

“I find that extremely offensive, dear brother. Especially after all I’ve done for you. World peace? Snow Globe? Remember?” Klaus shouts sarcastically at Five. 

Five doesn’t bother to turn around. Instead, he simply flips Klaus off, and slips through one of the French doors that lead back into the Academy. You can’t help but let out a small giggle at Five’s response. 

“Alright, enough of the secret chess games! Tell me what’s going on between you and the resident asswipe!” Klaus sings, a wide, toothy smile spreading across his face. You shake your head in reply. 

“There’s nothing going on, Klaus,” You sigh, walking back over to where you and Five had been playing your game. You pull out the garden chair you had been sitting on from under the table, and plop yourself down. “I thought…maybe…” You trail off, looking down at the chess board. “No, never mind. There is no maybe. It’s a no, the biggest no on the planet.”

Klaus pulls out the chair across from you, and sits down. “I really don’t think that’s the case here, (Y/N),” Klaus says, shaking his head in disagreement. “Five doesn’t act like that with just anyone. I’ve known him for years, and I can tell you’re special to him. You’ve been special to him from the very minute we all met you.” 

You smile a bit, thinking back to the day when you met the Hargreeves. It was a crisp fall day, and you sat in a booth at your favorite diner. Five, Klaus and Diego walked in, and Five had immediately caught your eye. There was just something so special about him. 

However, things seemingly took a turn for the worse when the Commission appeared at the diner. What the room didn’t know was that you were a super, just like the Hargreeves were. You stood atop the counter you had been eating at, and began to lift certain pieces of furniture in the room with your mind. The Commission stood shocked, shaking in their boots, especially since you were able to disarm them as they stood in awe of your power. 

You and the three Hargreeves brothers destroyed the Commission members with your powers, and the few who survived fled for their lives. 

One thing confused the boys, however. It was the fact that you were 18, just like Five. You explained to them that you weren’t one of the 43 births, you were one of a kind. With this, your friendship with the Hargreeves family quickly grew. They took you in, helping you learn to control your abilities. You learned about them as well, and how Five and his family saved the world from the apocalypse. 

Five told you everything about him within the first few days of your meeting. After traveling back to the present following saving the world, his body aged an extra five years, turning him from 13 to 18. Of course, he was really much older on the inside, but that didn’t bother you. You two became extremely close, running off from time to time to be alone with each other, just to vent and talk about things.

But god, had you come to love that boy. Those eyes, his sarcasm, his wit, his-

“Hello? Earth to (Y/N)!” Klaus calls out, waving his left palm in your face, and you’re forced to come back to reality. “What the hell was that?” He laughs. 

“Sorry, I got lost in thought,” You say softly, smiling in Klaus’s direction. “But I just don’t know about this, Klaus. Five hasn’t ever told me that he has feelings for-,”

Klaus cuts you off. “Five doesn’t talk about feelings. ‘Feelings’, is not a word in the Five Hargreeves dictionary. You have to talk to the dumb kid yourself.” Klaus leans back in his chair, resting his hands on the back of his head. 

“I really rather not get my heart broken, Klaus,” You say, hiding the pain you had already been feeling with a small laugh. 

Klaus sighs, contemplating his next words. “Well, at the end of the day it’s your choice, but telling him how you feel would definitely be the best one,” Klaus says, pushing out his chair and standing up. He steps a bit closer to you, extending his right hand to your left shoulder. “Trust me, I think you’d be surprised with his response. Think it over, okay? Ben just said he agrees with me. Ben, of all people, wants you to do this, so it must really be destiny.” 

You nod, “Fine, I’ll think it over.” Klaus smiles, nodding right back to you. He walks towards one of the sets of French doors, and steps back inside the Academy. 

You look down at the chess game, studying the pieces carefully. 

“Playing by yourself there?” You hear a familiar woman’s voice question from behind you. You knew that voice far too well, and you were terrified to turn around and see her face. 

“What the hell are you doing here?” You ask harshly, refusing to greet the woman properly. However, unfortunately for you, she intrudes your space, sitting down in the garden chair Five, and then Klaus had once sat in. 

“That’s no way to talk to The Handler, darling,” She coos, patting the top of your head lightly. You finally look up at her, her grey hair presiding atop her head in a clean bun. A devious smile stretches across her face, warning all those who see her, that she is most certainly up to no good. 

“I asked you a fucking question.” Your voice is shaky and filled with anger now, since you had begun to put things together. She was most likely here to go after Five for altering the timeline. He must’ve messed with it one too many times. You push yourself out of your chair, jumping back a bit. “Why are you here? Answer me!” You command. 

The Handler laughs. “I will say, (Y/N), your instincts are quite good. I noticed that the minute I met you. When was that? A year ago I believe. The diner, don’t you remember?” She continues the conversation as if there’s no gun in her hand, no real reason to visit the Hargreeves household.

“Get on with it,” You say angrily. 

“Well, Five needs to be punished for his…” she trails off, tapping her index finger against her chin as she searches for the right words. “well to be quite honest, for his insanely dangerous and terrible offenses against The Commission, and the universe.” 

You step towards her, making fists with your hands. “I swear, if you lay one finger on him, I’m taking you down.” Your voice is menacing and filled with intent. 

“Wait, you really think…oh my goodness you’re an absolute riot!” The Handler shouts as she begins to cackle. “Oh dear, we aren’t going to physically hurt Number Five, we’re going to scar him emotionally,” She pauses, extending her hand to your forearm, “by killing you.” 

Your jaw drops, and you pull away from The Handler’s touch. You sprint towards the nearest set of French doors, and you make your way inside the mansion. 

“Five!” You scream, running as fast as you can down the hallway and into the library. 

“No need to scream, I’m right here,” Five says, putting down the book he was reading, and standing up from the couch. He studies your face, easily reading the fear in your eyes. He then notices that you’re trembling. “Is everything okay? What happened?” Five questions, rushing over to you, grabbing your hands in his. 

“Th-the H-Handler is outside, F-Five,” You stutter, struggling to get your words out. “A-and she says she’s g-going t-to k-kill me.” Five immediately lets go of your hands, and begins to rush towards the door. 

Suddenly, two gunmen approach the door from the outside, blocking Five from leaving the mansion. You hear the sound high heels clicking echo through the library.

“Hello there, Five, long time no see!” The Handler exclaims. Five rolls his eyes. 

“You aren’t going to hurt her, I won’t let it happen,” Five says, taking a step towards the Handler as he points back to you. 

“Oh trust me, Five, I know. That’s why I’ve brought hired help with me,” She says, snapping her fingers. “Oh boys, come on out!” The Handler calls, and suddenly the room is filled with The Commission’s worst level of gunmen. 

Before you could even comprehend the situation, Five grabs your hand, sprinting as he pulls you across the library. 

“Open fire! But spare the boy! His punishment is going to be much worse than the girls!” The Handler screams, the fake sweetness in her voice replaced with something evil, something malignant. 

Gun shots echo off the walls of the Academy as Five swings open a door, revealing a walk in closet filled with coats. He pushes you inside, and follows after you, softly closing the door shut. 

“What the hell are we going to do?” You ask, your eyes searching Five’s for some sort of solution. He rubs his face anxiously, pacing frantically around the small space. 

Then, he stops in his tracks, and turns towards you. “I don’t know, but I know that I am not going to let them do anything to you. I wouldn’t be able to survive without you.” Five takes a step towards you. He looks down at the ground, and back up towards you. “There are so many things I need to say, but I just don’t know how to tell you, or how much time we have…” Five trails off, his eyes becoming glossy. 

“W-what are you talking about?” You ask, confused as to what Five means. 

He takes your hands in his. “If we don’t make it out of this, or if I don’t make it out of this, I need you to know h-how m-much you mean to me,” Five says, swallowing harshly. “You’re just, so special, so witty, so beautiful.” 

Your heart beats out of your chest. 

Five takes a deep breath, “Fuck, I hate this shit…feelings…” He trails off nervously. “Goddammit, I’m in love with you, (Y/N). I have been for a while. I-I just needed you to know that, if I, well if I die, and I just-,” 

You cut Five as your lips come crashing down on his. The kiss is slow and soft, and you silently wished to yourself, as you smile against Five’s lips, that it never had to end. Yet, you knew what had to be done. You knew it was you who had to take a stand against the gunmen, and not Five. You pull yourself away from Five, feeling empty now that you two have parted. 

“I love you, Five,” You say, tears filling your eyes. You take a few steps backwards, reaching for the doorknob. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to say that. I’m sorry if I don’t come back. Just know how much you mean to me,” You choke, opening the door knob and running out of the room, and back towards the library. 

“NO!” Five screams, sprinting behind you, trying his best to catch up. But, it’s no use as you find your way into the library, surrounded by the gunmen.

All at once, the gunmen take their aim. You shut your eyes, and lift your hands to the side as the sound of a million guns firing rings out throughout the Academy. You exert all of the force and energy you have inside of you out towards the bullets flying through the air. 

You hear an intense ringing in your ears, and immense pain in your head. It felt like the walls were closing in, like everything was coming crashing down around you. You scream in agony, not sure what it was that you were feeling. 

And then, almost instantly, things go back to normal.

After a few seconds of feeling absolutely nothing, you open your eyes. Around you, suspended in air, were the bullets shut by the gunmen, each bullet flipped around to be aimed towards each shooter. You managed to pull their guns from their hands as well. 

More importantly, to your surprise, time had stopped, and everything had froze. 

That’s new, You think to yourself. 

You begin to tremble in place, sweat dripping down your forehead as you start to struggle to control your powers. You recognize you have no choice but to let go of the bullets. It was either kill, or be killed. 

Instinctively, you release your control, and the bullets go flying back to the gunmen, and time starts up again. The gunmen fall to the ground. 

You did it. Fucking hell, I actually did it. 

And then, you feel yourself becoming woozy, your knees growing weak. You feel yourself starting to collapse from all the energy you had used.

Suddenly, your eyes shut, and the world goes black. 

“(Y/N)? Wake up! Come on, stay with me! I can’t lose you, please wake up!” You hear Five shout, his voice extremely muffled. Everything around you feels like it’s spinning. You needed to open your eyes, you needed to see that everything was fine.

“Five, take a step back. She needs some air,” Klaus interjects, and Five presumably stays exactly where he is. 

Your eyes slowly begin to open again. Five was hovering over you, his fingers gently combing through your hair. “Is everything okay?” You ask, pushing yourself up onto your elbows. 

“Well,” Five pauses, smiling a bit as he looks around the room. “I suppose things are okay now,” He says calmly, helping you to sit up further. You let out a small laugh. 

“Alright,” You say, trying to stand up. You stumble a bit, practically falling over completely, but Five is there to catch you. He brings you over to the couch, and helps you sit down. 

“Do you remember what happened?” Five asks, shyly reaching for your hands. “How exactly did you do…well…all this?” 

“I’m not sure,” You say honestly, looking deeply into Five’s eyes. “But I do remember what you said in the closet, before I did all this.” You smile widely. 

“I meant what I said, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I’ve been faking it, you know? Trying to suppress my feelings, hiding them from you, but it was useless,” Five explains. He takes a deep breath. “This sounds disgustingly cliche, and I hate that, but I really am in love with you, (Y/N).”

Just like before, Five’s words felt like a million butterflies flying around your stomach. They felt like your heart had travelled all the way to your throat. The feeling was intense, but this time it didn’t hurt. There was no pain. There was no more “faking it” as Five had put it. 

“Thank god! Finally! I’ve known this entire time. You two are so amazingly obviously to your surroundings!” Klaus excitedly exclaims, popping up from behind the couch. 

“Shut it, dickhead!” Five yells. You can’t help but let out a laugh. 

You inch your face closer to Five’s, and you surprise him as your lips come in contact with his, distracting him from Klaus’s intrusion. You feel Five smile against your lips, which makes your heart melt.

No more faking it, You think to yourself. No more danger. 

You pull apart from the dark haired, blue eyed boy in front of you. 

“And I’m in love with you, Five,” You say softly. He grins widely, and leans in to kiss you again. 

[perenlop]

Could you tell me more about Starfall? I really like what I've heard so far, but some more context for the characters/their world or even just a preview of the very beginning of the story, would be really cool to see, anything you want to talk about!

AAA ok ok so starfall honestly is. weird. its a pmd story ofc but its also a dimension travel story in the vein of svtfoe sooo things may be kinda wacky but i can share some things abt the story and the pmd world itself!! the story itself has. quite a bit going on tk the point where i already have a prequel mostly scripted that im waiting until starfall itself is more finished to actually start. adhd storytelling folks.

basically though the Starting Plotline is that this platinum ranked team called team silverwind (Castor, Atlas, and Quinn!) get roped into a job request dealing with wormholes that have been popping up throughout the world and something goes VERY wrong and the team pretty much drops off the face of their world and the multiverse entirely. so, our main trio team starlight- Asha, castor and atlas’s daughter whose spent her entire life traveling through wormholes and is tired and mad about everything, Skylar, an amnesiac impulsive dare devil adventurer who wants answers and to help their new friends, and Valerie, the optimistic happy go lucky newest friend whose never been outside her hometown much less her dimension and just kinda fell into the plot- have all set out to find the lost exploration team, find out what happened, and maybe see if they can fix the wormhole issue themselves while theyre at it!

valerie’s hometown, Serenade Falls, is set on mist continent (aka the gates to infinity continent) and is “the hub world” as you will... its kiiinda like a vacation place ironically so like there are a ton of attractions and places to relax and Just Have Fun. theres only one official rescue team placed there (as anyone there knows anyways ;) ) because its so safe. as of right now anyways. hint. in fact skylar chose to stay there after meeting valerie bc “asha we are way too young for constant anxiety and stress we need a decent rest stop now”. so yeah thats the town where our main gang rests and plans things in. the first arc basically is them going into the wormholes, searching for these people, getting into some plot relevant shenanigans, and mayybe getting some hints about their lives that make them question their own selves and the universe but perhaps. ;)

there is also stuff going on in the pmd world as well ofc tho!! bc im assuming people read pmd stuff to see more abt the pmd world. the events of the games are referenced, some more relevant than others (one main driving point of the story actually is caused by gti, but uh spoilers for that game so i wont say 😔) but starfall takes place yeeeaaars after psmd, id say five generations or so after that game. idk if people will care for it but the main things dealt with in the pmd world itself will be emotional stuff. some exploring and conflicts there, of course! but the majority it will deal with is character stuff.

i cant give an official preview or anything yet but i can give a brief thing of what the opening will be like! the prologue will basically show team silverwind’s apparent demise, with atlas handing baby asha to castor and he escapes with them and goes on for a while as she ages before he eventually vanishes too. (or i could cut that and just show the scene of him vanishing... still pondering What Works with the prologue 😔) and chapter 1 is basically about how valerie meets skylar and asha! basically she falls into a wormhole and they help her out of trouble! dont mind spoilers like that bc. its chapter 1. but yeah! its gonna be fun, more fun than it sounds! (besides the prologue thats just gonna be sad sorry)

i could go on about the characters but i feel ive made the post too long as is but THANK YOU i love talking about starfall ty!! im sorry if this was kinda incoherent bc my brain is kinda rushing rn it was more rambly but i hope it answered some questions at least!!

[imnotcameraready]

chivalry is dead (20)

A/N: BIG YEEHAW HOURS TODAY Y’ALL ITS BALL TIME!!!!!!! AND WE CAN’T HAVE A BALL WITHOUT A PRINCE *stars bawling*

costumes will come in another post bc i. got really excited and then drew them all like, last month (most of them, some were finished last night y e e et)

WARNINGS: remus mention, heist details, wound descriptions, sword mention, scar descriptions, threats of violence, thoughts of dying — alright, im pretty sure that's it, but this chapter has thicc details so if i missed anything pls pls pls lmk

Words: 4550

AO3 link!

MASTERPOST! <– look here!! for the longterm warnings!! including sympathetic Deceit and cursing/swearing!

enjoy !!! <3 <3 <3 ,3 <3 

Deceit really was right, Patton thought while he looked around at the town. His arm was linked around Logan’s as they walked down one of the town’s side streets, from Dr. Picani’s office, and he was taking the time to admire how intricate all of the architecture had gotten. It was intricate and worn and every building seemed unique now, something that he hadn’t realized was missing during their first pass through. 

There were arch ways, bridges between doors on the third floors of buildings. There were seemingly hand-woven canvases shielding some of the streets from the sun and, if Patton squinted hard enough, he could see actual detailed stitching and some stains of age. They passed buildings that had scratches and chisel marks, and Patton could clearly see that it was made from stone bricks that had been painted over. Twice, actually. Once with a very old and faded blue, then with a lighter cream that still let the blue show through in spots where the paint was gone. 

He wondered a little what had caused those spots. Was it because you weren’t supposed to layer house paint? The spots were different sizes — how many memories were made here? 

Patton stumbled, tripping over his thoughts and heels, and leaned more into Logan’s side.

Logan tugged at his arm. “Don’t ponder too hard, Patton,” his voice was soft, hushed to not draw attention.

They’d figured that the best thing to do was to not think about the world around them. Thinking too much about the world and specifically the things that they would affect about it made their focus wander onto fixing those things. Logan would get a headache, Patton would space out, and Deceit would….well, okay, Deceit hadn’t disclosed how and if he’d been affected. But Patton noticed he’d been sweating like a sinner in church, and how his fist would clench every so often, so it was clear that something was happening with Deceit. He didn’t want to force him to talk; honesty wasn’t Deceit’s strong suit.

The four Romans had agreed that that was the smartest decision; none of them nor all of them together were able to limit the Imagination enough. The Playwright had argued that, had Dragon and Damsel known that it was hurting the other Sides, then they would probably all have a unified thought enough to close up the unused worlds. But that would require discussing the entire matter with them, which, as the Thief pointed out, is “pretty fucking useless where they are now.” 

So the focus thing was their current strategy. Patton grinned at Logan. “Thanks for the reminder, Octo-cutie-pie,” he smiled wider as Logan blushed. 

“I–I’m–Octopi is the plural for octopus and there is only one of me,” Logan bit his lip, then patted Patton’s hand gently, “Thank you.”

Patton giggled, snuggling against Logan’s side briefly as they kept walking. They hadn’t actually talked about the whole love thing, hadn’t really established boundaries, but that seemed like a problem for tomorrow. 

Right now, they were all going across town, invitations in hand, to the ball. And, at the very specific right now, Patton was admiring the Playwright and the Artist’s handiwork. They’d worked together to make everyone’s outfits and he’d be a liar if he said they weren’t handsome and beautiful.

Patton himself was themed after a cat — a grey cat, but a cat nonetheless! His dress had a long train for a tail, made of shimmering silver tulle, the same as his poofy sleeves. The skirt went from his waist to the ground, with a built in flair in his corset at the waist. Like, all of it was sparkling, all three tiers of his skirt, which went from grey to black with an inner layer gradient of blue to grey. His favorite part were his gloves, though. Silver for the most part, but with soft circles on his palms and the tips of all his fingers. His own lil’ toe beans! 

Logan’s outfit was one of Patton’s favorites. His was themed after an octopus (“Known for their intelligence,” the Playwright had explained, face bright red as he tied Logan’s necktie into an Eldritch knot) with a dark blue blazer and slacks. He wore a vest that shimmered royal blue, with a white button down underneath. There was a piece of coral in his lapel where a flower would usually go, and his coat tails seemed to spiral in shapes that resembled an octopus’ arms. There were even rhinestone bubble decals on his shoulders, or suckers, if you wanted to interpret it that way. The Artist and the Playwright had a small argument about that.

He was dashing, in summation. Patton leaned his head against Logan’s shoulder. “Who knew the town was so big!” he said. 

“That’s actually on purpose,” the Playwright said from behind them, “It’s actually not so big as the castle is small, using the same foreshortening techniques used at the Disney theme parks to make Cinderella’s castle, or Sleeping Beauty’s castle depending on which park you’re at—”

“I think he means how far Picani’s office is from the castle, God Mod,” the Thief responded.

The Thief and Deceit were walking in front, swords drawn on the chance that they ran into any guards, and so that the Thief could critique Deceit’s sword fighting skills. Surprisingly, he’d taken to the weapon, something about it being good to have at his disposal while dealing with the Others. The Thief offered to make him one once this escapade was over. 

Or maybe it was an excuse for the Thief to keep touching Deceit’s hand. Because that was happening every so often. A lot more often than would be considered normal. 

It wasn’t like Deceit was complaining about the touching. It was more the other way around. The yearning for physical contact was frustrating, but neither of them were going to admit that they wanted to hold hands. Even though they’d confessed to at least caring about each other. 

“Oh,” the Playwright hummed.

“Cheer up, butter cup, I love hearin’ bout the forced perspective! The Disney parks are so~o~o fun,” the Bard sang out. “When’s the next time we get to go to California? Are we making a trip down to Anaheim? Can we PLEASE take a trip down to Anaheim!”

One of his arms was looped around the Playwright’s, while the other was looped around the Artist’s. They had settled on outfits that complemented each other’s, pulling from the same red and black color palette.

The Artist was the only of the trio in a suit, though his outfit could be considered the loudest. Buttoned down the middle with a high collar, half of his shirt was a solid black, while the other half was a diamond checkered pattern. All of the accents were gold, and his pants were half solid red and half checkered as well. Tonight, the Artist would be a jester. 

An improvement on his self-esteem, the Bard had thought. The Artist had said so, too, saying he’d be dressing like a joke. It...was nice to hear.

The Playwright had also gone with a more light-hearted outfit, pun completely intended. He was dressed as the queen of hearts, with an A-line skirt that skimmed the ground and was almost entirely a replica of the skirt worn by the Queen of Hearts in Disney’s Alice in Wonderland animated movie. His corset had a low scoop neckline with a long heart that stretched down from the neckline to the bottom of the waist. His sleeves were poofy, black with red stripes between. 

It was a deck of cards theme between the three of them. Honestly, they took a bit of solace in their three Musketeers situation. The Bard was dressed like a harlequin in a ball-dancing dress. His entire dress was checkered, a stiff corset traded for a looser fit bodice that was sinched at the waist by a thick black belt with a heart clip. Bits of tulle were attached to his wrists, ideal for dancing in, which was perfect for the plan. He and the Playwright had matching heart chokers, too. 

As he’d said earlier, “We cute.”

Neither the Artist nor the Playwright had argued, and they had yet to pull away from him holding their arms. Maybe they didn’t hate him. 

They didn’t! They were moving beyond all that! 

Because they had to get the Child back, and Virgil back, and save the Damsel and they had a plan. Actually, they should run through the plan again, because the Bard had already forgotten most of it. 

“Thief?” he called ahead. 

“Mhm?” 

“Can we run through the, uh,” they had a code word for it, shoot, what was it? Oh! Oh, right, “The waltz again?”

“Great Mona Lisa, Bard, how the fuck did you forget how to waltz?” the Artist groaned. “We’re going to a ball.”

“No, no, no, THE waltz,” the Bard nudged the Artist’s side with his elbow. 

The Artist shot him a small confused glare, but realization struck his face quick after. “Oh. Oh, that waltz. Yeah, uh,” he turned to the Playwright, who also seemed confused, then to the front again, “Before we get in, we should go over the waltz again.” 

The Thief and Deceit both stopped as well, fingers brushing once again. The Bard saw the motion and chuckled to himself. Sweet Chopin, they needed to just hold hands already. He could envision the love birds flying around their heads. 

He felt a smidge bad, though. After all, he was the lucky Roman who got to kiss Patton. 

Logan and Patton both turned back to them. Patton let go of Logan, then looked around. They weren’t quite at the castle yet; a side alley, wide enough for all of them to stand in and with ample trees, barrels, and an open door beside it would provide good cover. 

“Let’s go over there,” Patton grabbed Logan’s arm again and led them all into the alley. 

They grouped up into a small but tight circle, the Thief pulling them together. He was in a suit, and an ironic one at that. Originally his costume was intended for Deceit, but he suggested switching them, so that the Dragon would think he were Deceit while being less suspicious. He was themed after a snake, though the theming was less noticeable than the color palette; there were yellow sequins arranged in scale patterns across his black blazer’s forearms, and his vest was black as well, undershirt yellow, and bowtie black. It looked a little like a snazzed-up version of Deceit’s lawyer suit and, though he’d tell no one, the Thief loved the look.

Deceit had said it looked nice on him, too. The bowtie, specifically, but also the entire outfit, and also the Thief simply looked good — yeah, they were both kind of messes. Gone was the ability to seamlessly flirt, apparently.

Still, it was nice to see Deceit in something other than yellow for a change, too. He was dressed as a peacock, with no blazer but a side-cape that shimmered iridescent purple and green. Part of it had blue and green rhinestones inching up the shoulder, and his vest beneath was teal, while his undershirt was mint green. There were bands on his upper arms, keeping his shirt bunched back, that were dark blue. Even his ascot was an iridescent purple and blue. 

They leaned against each other in the huddle. Brown eyes trailed all around the group, meeting similar expressions of steely determination. 

They could do this. 

“Alright,” the Thief started, “For the first hour, we’re gonna scope out the room and surrounding rooms. Meet wherever the snacks are in pairs, alternating pairs, and spread details. Patton and I will go twice.”

“Because you and I are gonna peel off after the first hour to go get Virgil and the Child,” Patton said, meeting the Thief’s eyes.

The Thief nodded. He looked around at everyone — Deceit and the Bard had both been fairly defensive about that choice, but he argued that they needed people who were good at causing distractions on the floor. Patton would be the best at comforting both Virgil and the Child, and the Thief was the only one who had any inkling of what the inside of the castle looked like. 

He continued. “Right. We’re gonna try to get out and—”

“Say, what d’ya think that’d make us?” Patton asked, a tiny grin on his face. 

“Oh, no,” Logan groaned, “Not—”

“Cat burglars!” Patton exclaimed with a giggle. 

The Bard immediately broke out into a fit of giggles, leaning into Deceit a little as he did so. Deceit just rolled his eyes and patted the Bard’s back, letting him cling to his side. 

The Artist stifled some chuckles of his own, and the Playwright grinned. Oh. Oh, no, not the idea grin. 

“I think Dragon will be hard pressed to find flaws in our purr-fect plan,” he said, eyes shining as Patton laughed as well. “We’re just gonna have to distract him with our adorable kitty-Pat.”

Logan groaned again, in good humor this time. “I thought you were supposed to be on my side, Playwright,” he grumbled. 

The Playwright immediately sobered up, mouth pressing into a line. “Ah, Logan, darling, I’m sorry, I didn’t—”

“Hey, but,” the Bard raised a finger at the Playwright, smile wide and mischievous, “If he catches wind of anything, you, Artist, and I can pull a wild card and deck him.”

That got the Artist and Patton to both laugh aloud, and even Logan smiled a tiny bit at the Playwright, if only to reassure him that his frustration was not directed at him.  

The Thief seemed actually annoyed, though. He snapped his fingers in the center of the circle. “C’mon, focus here. Patton and I are going to get Virgil and the Child, then we’re going to come back up to the ball room at the second hour. At that point, Deceit—”

“I’ll be dancing with Dragon and, once you’re back, I’ll be distracting him enough for you to get out,” Deceit waved his hand, also slightly exasperated. He wanted Virgil back immediately and, as the time to pull off their hest approached, he grew more nervous.

“Right. Then, Playwright will take you backstage once everyone else has filed out,” the Playwright nodded to the Thief regarding his involvement, and the Thief looked around the group once more, “All of that sound good? Everyone else, be on the look out for Damsel. We don’t know where he’s gonna be. If he’s out on the ball floor, Logan, you—”

“I will approach him and explain that we are here to get him out,” Logan grimaced, “If he is not on the ball floor….”

“Then I’ll be on standby to head into the dungeons,” the Artist said, smile deflated, brow furrowed in thought.

“Good,” the Thief patted his shoulder, gripping reassuringly, “And if Remus is there, then Bard is going into the dungeons with Patton and I’m staying in the ball room to kick his ass.”

“This all sounds like a plan, Thief,” the Bard said, smiling at him, “Logan, thoughts?”

Logan huffed, frowning at the ground. He’d rolled the details over in his mind a few times, so he’d already worked out some of the issues, such as the irrationality of the original plan’s “jump out the dungeon’s windows, really, how large are the windows, and how do we know it’s not underground.” For right now, it seemed as though the plan were efficacious, but they couldn’t be certain until it was enacted. 

But at that point, it’d be too late to change the plan to any degree of impeccability. They would have to wing it. And Logan wasn’t a fan of that. 

But what choice did they have?

“It is as detailed and as faultless as we can arrange for it to be currently,” he said.

The Thief’s mouth twitched into a slight grimace, but he nodded all the same. That was as optimistic as he would be. “Once this is all over, we meet at the tree as fast as we all can get there,” the Thief said, casting one more look around, “If we pull this off right, no one’ll be leaving alone. If your partner gets injured, you carry them to the tree.”

“I don’t think….” the Artist said, frowning a tiny bit as his voice trailed off. 

The possibility of injury was very high, actually. Death for the Romans, at least. And they didn’t know if the Dragon had injured Virgil or the Child. To be honest, they didn’t know if the Child was alive. Oh, goodness, what if Dragon had killed him? 

“It’s gonna work,” the Bard said, “It’s gonna.” 

He squeezed the Artist’s arm and gave him a nod. It was going to be okay. Roman was optimistic by nature, and the Artist did crave that sort of positivity. 

“It must,” Deceit affirmed none too positively. 

“It will,” Patton said, smiling at them all again before clapping, “And break!”

Everyone stood up on instinct. Then, they all shared slight laughs, small smiles.

The Bard leaned over and hugged Deceit with an arm, reciprocated a little. Patton leaned against the Artist, who didn’t hug back, but also didn’t flinch finally. 

They were getting somewhere. It was going to be okay. 

It was going to be okay. 

….Without Virgil, they all felt as though their optimism was naively placed. But that was why they were going to get him back! 

Once he was back, Deceit thought, he was never letting go again. If he was back. No, no, once he was back. He was coming back soon. 

“Let’s go,” the Thief pulled his mask out from his coat, a black half-face mask covered in yellow sequins arranged like scales.

Everyone shared looks, nodding to each other as they slid on their own masks. Logan, Patton, the Artist, and the Playwright all had special masks that mimicked their glasses prescriptions so they wouldn’t need contacts, too. With faces obscured, they nodded once more, squeezing arms in reassurance and patting backs and giving smiles, and hurried out of the alley. 

The Playwright walked at the front of the group, the only one not paired to any Side. He looked up at the sky. A storm had grown, clouds angry and grey above the castle, which was only a few blocks away now. Perhaps it would thunder during the ball. 

He wondered vaguely what had caused the sudden shift in weather. During their week alone, it was all sunny skies. 

Was it….

No. No, no part of Roman was that desperate, to have gone to Remus. Right? He’d been telling himself that ever since they’d begun this game, but the darker their future seemed, the more he worried about the Duke’s involvement. 

The Thief seemed to think it was very real, enough to have a back-up written into the plan. C’est la vie. Such was life, he thought, the show must go on.

They walked quietly for only a few minutes. The closer they got to the castle, the more Imagination inhabitants they saw walking around them, some in pairs, some in groups, some alone. Everyone was in costume, most intricate. Good. This would be good, for coverage. The Thief had been a little worried that the ball would be sparsely attended, but this was good. 

It was going to be okay. 

They approached the drawbridge. Patton leaned against the Artist, gripping his arm tighter as the wind picked up. The Thief and Deceit were stoic behind them, and Logan and the Bard were simply quiet, though their hands were interlaced tight. It was going to be okay.

A line had formed on the bridge, in front of one man in a suit, perhaps the medieval equivalent of a bouncer. The group shuffled into the line, looking around at the castle, at the moat (“I think it’s filled with alligators,” the Bard murmured to Logan, who shook his head and was about to respond that that didn’t make sense, until an alligator’s maw jumped up and snatched a low-flying bird) and at the sky. 

Angry, angry clouds. 

It took an excruciatingly long eleven minutes for the Playwright to finally reach the front of the line, but when he did, he immediately grinned. He had to hand it to the Dragon. 

“May I see your invitation?” Zac Efron asked, dressed in a black butler’s outfit.

Bless the Imagination’s castings. The Playwright handed over his invitation, and Zac looked over a list in his other hand before handing back the invitation and checking off a name. “You may enter to the ball room,” he motioned to the door. 

The Playwright curtsied and hurried in. Behind him was the Artist and Patton, both of whom gasped a little, becau se holy shit, it’s Zac Efron. 

The Dragon was really out here casting Thomas’ celebrity crushes as butlers. It was the first thing that the Artist had wholly agreed with the Dragon on, actually. Once they were Roman, they were going to have to look into that as a possibility. 

One by one, each entered, walking down a grand hall with a ceiling so high and so vaulted that there seemed to be a sky inside. But, then again, there probably was. This was the Imagination. It looked somewhat like the Great Hall from the Harry Potter movies, this time shining with stars and constellations. 

Logan could identify Aries and Pieces. That was actually accurate for the season and hour, so he gave a mental kudos to Roman for his design, then considered if it were his knowledge that had been used to perfect the stars. Well. That was inconsequential, I guess?

The hall was also lined with suits of armor, and bannisters adorned with Roman’s full crest. Though, Deceit noticed while he walked through, the entire crest was outlined in gold and the castle in the center was colored with grey and brown and black. He thought the Dragon was only supposed to be the outer tower and walls. If the Dragon called all of the shots around here, then why was the center tower also colored?

The walk was long, heels clacking against the stone. They turned with the carpet to the left and entered through a pair of double doors that had to be at least two floors high. 

Inside was life. The room was massive, stretching almost the size of a football field. There was a stage near the entrance door where there were musicians (with undetailed faces, Deceit noticed) were playing loud enough to echo across the room. The dance floor seemed to take up about half the room. 

Farther away from the entrance were some circle tables, arranged around with some citizens already sitting down. Further back were some long tables, food stacked atop them, and even further….

The throne was elevated so the Dragon could see across the hall to the dance floor. The Thief’s fists clenched immediately upon seeing him wearing the Prince’s attire, white uniform a stark contrast to the black he was typically adorned with. It was a jarring difference. 

He was taunting them. By Doc Holliday’s pistol, they were gonna take him down.

Beside his throne was a large Ottoman seat, where there was another figure. The Damsel, most likely, though his face was obscured by a sheer red veil and distance. He was wearing a large dress, which had a triple-tiered skirt that seemed to flare out orange, then red, then black. His corset was decorated with red and orange and yellow rhinestones, and raised behind his head. It almost looked like flames. 

Burned. The Damsel’s scars were also entirely visible, scabs on his arms angry and red, clearly not fully healed. They weren’t openly bleeding, but the Playwright could tell that they would start bleeding at some point in the night. 

His nose scrunched as he examined the pair. They didn’t seem to notice him, the Damsel leaning against the throne’s side and not moving, the Dragon stroking his chin and looking across the hall absently. He had a sword sheathed beside the throne, too, with its handle sticking up in an easily accessible manner. 

He was waiting for them, he realized. Of course he was, this was a trap, you fool. You knew this. You’d planned. It was going to be okay.

The Playwright turned back to the group just as the last pair, Logan and the Bard, entered. 

“Okay. I am going to move toward the snack table,” he nodded toward the thrones, “Octopus, would you like to join me?”

Logan let go of the Bard, who curtsied and stepped back, and then offered a hand to the Playwright. “It would be my pleasure,” he said, “How about we acquire a table, Hearts?”

The Playwright nodded, then shot the Thief a look. “Snake,” he said, a promise, a warning, “Let’s waltz.” 

“Let’s,” the Thief responded, squeezing Deceit’s arm. 

The Bard and Patton had already taken each other onto the dance floor, hoping to not be conspicuously waiting in a group by the door way, and the Artist was meandering around — nope, no, he just asked an Imagination citizen to dance. Blending in well. 

Operation save Virgil and the Child was a go. 

Virgil could hear the faint music from above. He squinted up, then closed his eyes and exhaled. What’d that matter? 

His side was throbbing. It seemed that just wrapping a bandage around a wound did fuck all to stop it from hurting, or bleeding, especially if it was just wrapped once and around the front. Virgil would have to remember that for the next time he got stabbed by an evil Dragon, he thought snidely. 

He and the Child had relocated themselves to the bed. Pretending to not be panicking was tiring, but luckily for him, the Child had fallen asleep. 

He sniffed quietly, rubbing his eye with the butt of his palm. For the past half an hour, ever sine the Child fell asleep, Virgil had been silently crying. And there was no Damsel to conjure him a glass of water or tell him it’d be okay. Because he knew it wasn’t going to be okay. 

Even if he didn’t die in the Imagination, he’d be exiting it alone. And that was fine! 

The Child snuggled closer to his chest, tiny arms wrapped around him. Virgil sniffed again and hugged him tight. 

If he did nothing else, he’d at least protect this Roman. 

He wished he’d at least told Roman how he felt. 

Maybe he’d never get the chance. 

Gosh, this was really fatalistic, even for him. It wasn’t like he was gonna die in the Imagination. 

Virgil shielded his eyes with an arm and, as illogical as it was, wished that he could use that one arm motion to block out the sounds of the ball going on above. Shit, he was gonna die in the Imagination. 

….Usually that’d freak him out a bit more. Maybe he’d bled out to the point where he was too tired to be worried. And, maybe it was childish, but he really did want to dance with Roman. 

taglists!

chivalry taglist: @starlightvirgil @forrestwyrm @daflangstlairde @marshmallow-the-panda @askthesnake @k9cat @patromlogil @theobsessor1 @ninja-wizard101 @fandomsofrandom

general taglist: @jemthebookworm @okay-finne

[soul-of-silver]

Hohoho here’s my /canon/ for the Kanto trio

So since gamefreak seems to hate my girl Leaf I decided to say fuck canon and build up my own thing with hcs yada yada you know the thing

Uuh here we go

-Red, Green, Leaf are all from Pallet Town but she moved to Viridian when the kids were like 7

-So the boys begin their adventure from Pallet and Leaf from Viridian and that’s how they spent around 3 years together (so they are childhood friends yay)

-side note: I hc Viridian to have a supermarket, gamestore, public swimming pool, primary middle and high school

-Pallet has a preschool, a police station, the lab and a grocery shop only (so Pallet folks have to go to Viridian for things that are missing)

-before the start of their journeys the kids went to the same school in Viridian

-She departures a bit later, coming back to Pallet to pick up the last starter (i still don’t know if I want her to have Bulbasaur or Squirtle eeh but I’ve made up a -not definitive- team for her a while ago)

-The road she takes is a bit different from Green and Red. She goes from Viridian to Pewter to Cerulean to Saffron to Celadon then goes to Vermillion and takes the boat to the Seafoam Island, and then goes to Fuschia city

-She returns home to Viridian after all this and beats Giovanni before Green and Red

-She’s done with her journey faster than the boys bc she didn’t get caught up in the whole Team Rocket situation

-Thought she HAS decked a few grunts who got in her way bc she is THAT bitch™️

-Leaf stays in Viridian for like 2 months to ponder wether she wants to challenge the elite 4 or not, and to train

-Finally she has the eight badges but doesn’t battle the e4 and prefers travelling (also during these two months Red defeats Green and climbs up Mt Silver)

-So she’s the one who goes exploring the Sevii Islands!! Plus she becomes a shiny hunter

-A year after that she goes to Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh to explore and shiny hunt (she does that for 3 years)

-Actually during all that time she kept contact with Green and has met him and Red many times during their Kanto journey: in Cerulean (she bumped into Green after he got beaten by Red next to Nugget bridge and encoutered Red right after he got his badge) + other times i haven’t thought about yet eheh still got to expand)

-She’s also a legendary hunter! During her trip she learns about pokemon mythology and all that stuff

-She returns to Kanto post hgss events, long after Gold went up Mt Silver and battled Red

-She’s back home when Green starts preparing his things to go take Red’s ass down Mt Silver and bring him back to civilization™️, right after he came back from his study year in Kalos

-So that means they are all around 17 when Red is down Mt Silver

-Green and Red spend around 2 years fixing their relationship (and it’s pretty awkward)

-Thankfully Leaf is there to help them and is a great listener for them both

-Then Green and Red are invited to the Unova World Tournament, so meanwhile they’re battling Leaf takes some time in Unova

-The tournament takes around a month, and she uses that time to look for more shinies

-Afterwise the trio goes back to Kanto for about 2 years, Leaf stays in there for a year and departs to Alola

-Meanwhile Green receives an invitation to the battle tree

-The letter comes in right when Green is thinking about quitting his gym leader job so it’s pretty convenient for him!

-Red and Green talk it over and decide to go, since there’s not much to do for them in Kanto anymore anyways (and Green isn’t really in good terms with Oak)

-So after these two years of finding a new gym leader for Viridian and teaching him (it’s Silver), Red and Green pack their bags and go to Alola

-Leaf is there before them and she welcomes her boys at the airport

-The battle tree isn’t ready yet so they spend around 2 months exploring some of the islands (with Leaf as their guide, she got familliar with the region)

-The battle tree is ready when Moon is halfway done with her journey (i hc it took her around 4 months to complete all the islands trials)

-So when Red and Green are able to become « final bosses » at the tree, Leaf leaves for Kalos (that’s where she went)

So that’s pretty much it! I still need to expand on some of that but roughly, these are my hcs for Red Green and Leaf

Don’t hesitate to tell me about yours via an ask!

[imaginingcriminalminds]

Just Another Tiny Secret

HEADER FORM (General) Title: Just Another Tiny Secret Author: souloutside-xx Rating: T  Prompt/Summary: Imagine Prentiss informing Hotch that she’s pregnant. Main Character(s): Aaron Hotchner/Emily Prentiss Trigger Warning: Nope. Word Count: 1,588 Beta/Editor: me Multishot: I don’t know, it may have a follow up but i’m not quite sure yet Author’s Notes: so this got a bit out of control bc i really wanted to tell a story, solid stuff. i hope you enjoy it anyway :) there’s a bit of sexual content but very very slightly (bc i was trying to keep this fluffy)  Any spoilers for either S11 or S12?: No, it’s s7 (Painless - 07x04)

 Although her smile was sincere and so was his, both of them knew there was something else behind her sudden approach. Hotch could almost sense a nervous tinge with her every word, like they were precisely measured to don’t give too much away. If he had to be honest with himself, the Unit Chief had a clue – alright, he was sure - of what was the matter with his dearest subordinate. Still, he didn’t want to push. Rebuilding bridges – especially between the two of them – was something he was more than willing to help her, but sometimes one needs to let other reach for.

 And Prentiss pleaded them without a single word to don’t make it easy. She wanted to prove she was herself that she could fight for them. Whether they agreed with it or not, the team promptly complied - some more than others, matter of factly.

 Since the whole situation with Doyle, her exile in Paris and her come back from ashes, the dark-haired man gave his feelings a great deal of thought. It was a dim night, shortly after he made up his mind about his mission in Pakistan. His daydreams drifted as Dave’s voice played on repeat in the back of his mind.

“Emily and Haley”

 Reality hit him brutally, shoved in those damn shades of black he used to fairly admire from his office window – and it was quite what he got stuck at. From the color of doe eyes to that perfect silky hair he’d often dreamed to run his fingers through, trailing her shirts and jeans and all the last details he could recollect.

 He was falling. Hard. And there was one single problem.

 Emily Prentiss was dead and miles away, somewhere in Europe.

 When she returned, visibly tired, different and with that excruciating doubt if she indeed belonged there, the father of one knew it was his time to step in. He wanted to build something with her, he wanted to have a chance, and he was more than done waiting to act on it.

 Dave eventually endorsed his plans. The dinner, the house, the opportunity he dreaded for. She’d need a lift, he’d have a car, they could talk, finally be able to speak what they ever wanted to, put an end to that profound connection they unconsciously constructed between them. It was a long time coming for any bystander.

 However, Hotch’s expectations were overcome – as much as her own - and, by the end of that same night, he’d hold her draped against his body, drowned in that post-coital haze that both of them found to be a much better heal than any therapy could do. They’d felt complete, each of the three times they succumbed to the unique warmth they found in there. It was moment out of time.

 Morning arrived as a reminder that the brunette pair had a choice to make. Albeit Emily’s dark orbs matched a shade of tenderness she read on his hazel eyes, the younger agent wasn’t ready to take the risks. Not yet.

 Just weeks later – one or two, both couldn’t quite remember – there was a get together at a local restaurant. Emily realized Hotch was trying to compensate her for what she’d been through the last months and, regardless most of her hated the extra attention, deep down she was thankful.

 That night, after declining Morgan’s offer to join him and PG in their post-dinner drinks, the ambassador’s daughter made up her mind about them. He deserved happiness and so did she. And if they were supposed to have this together – for she swore to God she never saw the man with such wide smile than while he nuzzled her forehead -, then let it be.

 It was a grip on his forearm, gentle and unsteady and anxious and all at once. It was a smile, inviting and calm and anticipating. Then it was his lips on hers, his fingers entwining her hair, their hands drawing patterns in a desperate need-driven minute.

 Emily woke up to his sleepy tousled hair, his slender frame covering hers in such a way she couldn’t gather words to describe. For the first time in long while – she knew this phrase was a damn cliché – she felt safe, protected.

 Only now she sat across him with a tiny piece of them growing within her, small, unnoticed, and ready to shake their lives upside down. Although Hotch made clear throughout the years he was definitely a family guy, the brunette woman wondered idly if he would take this well. Part of her blamed them for not doubling birth control, part of her fantasized about a small child of them in her arms – dark hair, dark eyes, the father’s dimples and the mother’s lips.

 Yes, definitely a sight she was looking forward to. Emily fidgeted slightly under the table that separated them. She introduced their conversation with a family subject – Jack, who she needn’t to know further to understand there was something just odd about the little boy these last weeks – and then he quickly turned to her stay in Paris.

 Almost, but very much so, she chickened in the last second. With a breath kept in her lungs, the soon-to-be mother softened her natural smile, used his disarmed posture to bring up her real intentions.

“There’s something we need to discuss” it was barely a whisper, a tone above it or something.

“Go ahead” the older agent encouraged her for he always had an unbelievable knowledge of her behavior.

“Hotch…” she blew some air, averted his infinite gaze, an unsuccessful attempt to ease the tension on her shoulders “I don’t know how to say this”

 The Unit Chief eyed her tell carefully, pondering whether this was the time to ignore professional boundaries and interlace her feminine fingers to his gun calloused digits. He had to, he just had to.

“Sweetheart” they came in touch, skin on skin above the surface, right where anyone with a pair of eyes could see. He didn’t miss how she shifted on her seat, probably startled by his gesture. “It’s…”

“No, Hotch, I need to tell you” she looked down at their hands, mingled so casually, like they have been doing this for a lifetime “Hotch, I-I’m… God, why this is so difficult?” he squeezed her hand, softly, enough to reassure her “I’m… pregnant”

 Notwithstanding he was plenty aware of her announcement, the father of one – two – rarely restrained his emotions to flow wildly, painting every line on his face whilst he gave her a bright grin. Heartfelt, kind, hopeful. All of the walls she had built to seclude herself from feelings, crumbled with silent grace, opened up to what he was offering right in front of her. She could read it from his posture to his eyes, every curve longing to tuck her into his arms and hold on for dear life.

“Are you sure?” he was about to explode, she was too, but he maintained enough rationality to assure that this was not another dream – the man was whipped, goddamn he was.

“Yes, I mean, my practitioner confirmed before this case” her gasp was contented and his chuckle formed as a mere outburst of how gleeful he was, perhaps the dark haired man wasn’t even aware he actually did that.

“This is…” he leaned back on his seat, creating more space between them therefore he could slip his free hand through his hair, dimples never leaving as he shook his head in amusement.

“Scary, but awesome” her eyes lingered on the interactions of their team, each one apparently lost there and none minding the unprofessional moment on the back of the jet – that’s what she supposed, at least.

“Hey” a hint, tiny one, gave away what she was seeking with that conversation: reassurance. Emily Prentiss was a strong, independent woman - Hotch would never doubt that for minute. But he could tell what days hiding it from him brought her. A bit of anxiety, a bit of second guessing… he was feeling it himself if he had to be honest. “We’ll work this out as soon as we land”

“It’s not gonna be easy, you know, there’re a lot of people into this” looking down at her – still – flat stomach, his dearest subordinate cupped where their baby probably rested, before she finally glanced up at him “And I just came back… I don’t know”

“I wish I could tell you everything will be fine and perfect, and we’ll be happy-go-lucky whole way through it, but…” he sighed, intense stare proving his point and the veracity of his sentence “I’m willing to go through it, Emily, if you want me to.”

 His eyebrows raised the slightest, hazel eyes glowing as they opened a quarter more, allowing the younger agent to fix his sight on him. She was aware Strauss would use this against them, also the possible intercurrences still to come and what other agents would gossip about her. Put aside she’d be grounded until she came back from maternal leave. Over one year without field activities. And though such idea enraged her, it was necessary to keep that little piece of them secure.

 She could do that – they could – and Prentiss knew that’s what she intended from the very beginning. Closure.

 Thus, her answer was bit sheepish, mouthed while she caught a glimpse of JJ approaching to take a seat on the other side, but he saw truth therein, and that’s what he accepted as meaningful, “I do”.

[ufocafe]

do all the voltron asks!!

holy moly thanks pal i’ll answer them under the cut bc i anticipate it’ll be Longe since idk how to shut the fuck up

keith: how edgy/emo do u consider yourself to be?

tbh i don’t think i’m that bad like trust me i used to be way worse but overall on the inside i am Soft on the outside i still look hella edgy bc all my clothes are black and it’s just ,, how i look

shiro: are you a good leader and can you handle responsibility?

no and no i am So Bad at being in charge cause i don’t like telling people what to do and i’m a stressed out pushover who avoids anything like group projects at all costs

lance: what’s your type of humor and what’s your favorite meme?

whatever the hell this blog consists of is my humor it’s legit just a shitpost collection. nd my fav meme would probs be the whole cryptid meme trend ? idk if it counts as a meme itself but i lob posts that are like ‘i saw mothman in a overly air conditioned chili’s at 5:47 pm and he bought me a soda’

pidge: are you good w/ technology?

i’d say i’m average for someone my age like i’m a teenager in 2017 so i can operate simple stuff like computers and phones, find how to fix small problems but i’m not a #hacker though i did go to wikihow once to try and learn then gave up after a solid 30 seconds bc it was too hard

hunk: how kind and loyal do you consider yourself?

i’d say i’m pretty kind like i can be rude to a handful of ppl but only cause they’re bad ppl so it evens out. idk bout loyal cause ig it means to stick by your friendos and support them which ofc i do but i can’t say that i like stay by someone’s side thru everything bc sometimes things become Too Much or stuff goes down and u just gotta blast

allura: do you feel underestimated sometimes? and should you totally be the black paladin?

i feel like it’s more overestimated? lots of ppl expect great things from me that i don’t think i can achieve so it’s p stressful. also black paladin allura 4 life

coran: what’s your fav show other than voltron?

i have so many so i’m just gonna name a few; over the garden wall, star vs, gravity falls, stranger things, steven universe, etc.

zarkon: would you consider universe domination for your lost cat/pet

i,, don’t think so ? i mean idk what this question is rly implying like did someone steal my pet and now i gotta take over the world ? or did it die and the only way to like avenge it or whatever is world domination bc probably no to both which sounds heartless since i lob my dog but like everythings gotta die someday and i’m not gonna take over the world to reverse/stop smthn thats inevitable

kaltenecker: do you look good in sunglasses?

not sure i never wear then since i have glasses and rarely go to a beach-like setting but i probably do

slav: are you a perfectionist? do you believe in alternate universes?

i’d say i’m in the middle of perfectionist and absolute walking tornado like i’m so fucking messy and i’ll let stuff pile up until i’m basically living in a dump and i’ll hate it sm but i’m so lazy cause Depression then one day i’ll just do a massive clean up and make everything PERFECT. also yes i like to think theres alternate universes/realities it’s a cool concept to think abt cause it doesn’t exactly affect me it’s not an existential thing like pondering if god exists its more like “i wonder if i’m a duck in another reality”

thace: would you go against the authority if it was the right thing to do?

ofc fuck the authority

haggar: who is your fav character in voltron?

i’d have to say lance i lob my sweet son

matt: what are some things you like abt watching voltron?

i have to admit i’m more into filler episodes rather than fight scenes every few minutes so probably just like all the humor and team bonding it warms my emotionless heart

commander holt: do you like peas?

ya

voltron: are you a team player? do you prefer to work alone?

i rather work alone bc then i get to use all my ideas instead of make a compromise with someone else cause i can never find the voice to speak up for what i want so i just end up watching ppl do stuff i don’t like when there’s stuff i think would be better

blue lion: how trusting and loyal do you think you are?

i already mentioned the loyal thing but for trusting i think i trust too easily? ill just spill beans to ppl i’ve barely known for a long time i wish i was more mysterious but whatevs

red lion: how impulsive and/or decisive are you?

i have 0 impulse control for example i have problems with picking at my skin and i’ll just see a piece kinda tore away and before i know it my fingers are all bloody and i’m like owo what’s this. but when i actually put thought into a decision i am very indecisive because i always wanna make youre i’m making the right choice w/ smthn like choosing classes or buying a certain thing

green lion: how curious are you and what subjects are you interested in?

while being impulsive i’m also quite curious so if i wanna go sneak and see smthn there’s not hesitation. i like english/writing and psychology stuff.

yellow lion: do you consider yourself strong and reliable?

i don’t think i’m either i mean i’ll always be there for ppl if they need me but i don’t really think i’m the best person to lift ppl up even if i wanna

black lion: what are some things you want in season 3?

def more lance and hunk character development, some gay shit (cough klance cough) more team bonding in general, and allura piloting black lion ofc

rover: what’s one fact abt a pet you have/had?

once i had a dog and i can’t recall his breed but he looked just like toto from the wizard of oz and we had him for a few months but he pissed everywhere and on everything so we ended up selling him to some ppl. fast forward to a few months later maybe a year the couple had auditioned him to play toto in the school’s wizard of oz play and he got the part so that was cool

shay: do you love hunk? how do you feel abt the enviroment?

i lob hunk with all my heart he is a sweet bean + i care abt the enviorment a lot i think that with trump as president it’s really gonna go to shit more than it already is bc obv it’s been a dilemma for years now but with the goverment denying climate change and all that i rly fear for our planet

lotor: how concerned are you abt your looks?

i think i’m generally good looking but that’s not to say i’m not concerned with my looks bc i kinda am like ill see myself as cute or smthn but then as soon as acne starts popping up or my hair is bad i kinda just spend the next few days doing whatever i can to fix it so i stay nice hnngh it’s a work in progress

alfor: when faced with conflict, would you rather fight or flee?

i suppose it depends on the type of conflict but i’m most likely to fight until it gets too stressful and then leave

ulaz: would you sacrifice yourself for a cause?

we were asked a similar question in history regarding the dude who discovered gravity or smthn like that idk and it went against the churches beliefs so there was a trial and it was either death or admit he was wrong which is a pretty big thing i guess and we can all say we’d die for what we believed but if it actually came down to it the answer is kinda blurry. i had said i’d say i was wrong then continue to spread my info. underground or just flee but unlucky 4 him he was on house arrest for the rest of his life so choose wisely kiddos

i think i’m gonna sleeb now so bye