#since there is no black or dark greys in it

[organic-bloodbath]

Hiiiiiiii. Could you do a Salesman fic?

I would love to see one where his usual calm and powerful energy is lost around the reader, as he's just enamoured with her. Like no shame, he is down bad and the reader is just flustered and lowkey confused cause they haven't known each other for long.

Idk if this makes any sense to you (up to you if you make it smut i don't really mind)

Teach Ddakji to me

The Salesman x American!Reader

Summary: You play Ddakji with a man at a subway station, but the game brings you two much closer than either of you were prepared to.

A/N: I'm not sure how well i was able to follow the request of how he behaves around the reader but this is what i got ;-; hope you still like 🫶🏻 (i'm so deep in love with this psycho i've been giggling during every other paragraph)

♡♡

You rushed down the stairs in the subway station, only one minute until your train was going to leave. You weren't going to make it, but you had to try.

The doors were closing right in front of you and you wanted to scream and let out several different curses, but you didn't want to draw attention on yourself. Your day at the college lectures had just ended and all you wanted to do was to get home, have a dinner and rest.

You heard noise behind a corner, as if someone was slamming something on the floor. You went to see what was going on out of curiosity.

Two men were standing there, the other one tall and dressed in a grey suit, the other one a lot shorter and dressed in a simple hoodie and loose jeans, a worn out cap covering his messy black hair. Suddenly, the man in the suit slapped the other so hard on the face that the man's head turned to the right.

They slammed blue and red squares on top of each other over and over again, and it ended in the man in the suit slapping the other almost every time. Once in a while he handed to the man what looked like a bill of money. You had never seen anything like that happen anywhere and were confused.

You got a notification on your phone, a text message from your classmate.

"Join us for studying and then a dinner? A new restaurant opened nearby, we'll go and try it tonight," she messaged.

"Another day, i don't feel like going out tonight," you replied, getting a thumbs up emoji as a respond.

You put your phone in your pocket and turned around, almost having a heart attack and jumping a step back when you saw the man in the suit standing mere inches away from you, looking down at you with a slight smirk.

"Enjoyed the show, i hope?" he asked and your eyes widened. Fuck, he had noticed you stalking the two of them.

"Yea, um, sure," you said awkwardly. "Though i didn't know what it was, really."

Seeing his face now closer and him staring at you with his dark eyes made your heart beating faster and it wasn't only because of him scaring you for appearing out of nowhere. He was extremely handsome and the way he looked at you made you blush.

"You haven't heard of Ddakji?" he asked, but didn't seem surprised since he figured you weren't local by the looks of you. "It's a Korean game, want me to show you?"

"Sure," you said, nothing else to do than wait anyway. The man took the squares in his hands and offered you to choose one. You took the red one.

He explained the rules to you, it was simple. You only had to hit your square on the blue one and make it turn around, the upper side facing the floor.

It sounded simple but you were hesitant if you were actually able to do it. You threw it on the floor, aiming at the blue square, but it didn't move even an inch in any direction. You let out a frustrated groan.

"It's okay, very few people succeed on their first try," he said in a comforting tone and took a step closer to you, standing right in front of you. "But do you know what losing means to you, hm?"

You had a very good guess after seeing him and the other man play just a while ago.

"You're gonna slap me?" you asked with a grimace.

He smiled. Without a word, you felt a painful sting on your left cheek when he slapped you, not going any easier on you just because you were a woman.

"Jesus Christ!" you gasped and held your hand on your cheek which was definitely going to have a red mark later. You had never been slapped on your face and it hurt more than you thought it would hurt.

"My turn then," he said and grabbed his blue square from the floor. He slammed it on top of your red square and it immediately jumped in the air and landed on its other side on the floor.

He looked at you with the same smirk again.

"So what happens when you win?" you asked, crossing your arms. If you continued this game much longer, your face would be completely covered in bruises and you'd have a lot of explaining to do to your classmates.

"I get to use your body again," he said with a confident tone.

You closed your eyes and prepared for another slap, hoping that it would be the other one this time because your left cheek still hurt. When you felt a touch on your left cheek, you automatically winced a little bit.

But it wasn't a slap, it was a tender kiss. You opened your eyes when he had already leaned away and you saw a glimpse of kindness in his eyes this time. You felt your cheeks warming up and tried to avoid eye contact for a moment.

"Your turn," he said.

Your hand was shaking when you lifted the red square from the floor. You wanted to succeed, you had never been good at losing in anything, it was always about to start to piss you off if you didn't start winning too.

"Do you want me to help you?" he asked. You looked at him and soon he was right behind you, keeping an eye contact with you when he put his left hand on your waist and his right one to hold your hand which was holding the square. "Is this okay?"

He didn't put too much pressure on holding you, making sure that you gave him a permission for that. You suddenly couldn't get words out of your mouth, so you just nodded and swallowed the lump in your throat. He held you tighter now and instructed how it was supposed to be done. You had to have more force when you would slam the square down.

"Spread your legs a little bit," he whispered.

"What?" you gasped in shock.

"To get a better and more firm position when you throw it," he explained, his breath hot in your ear.

"Oh," you said, cheeks burning even more. You hadn't realized you were standing almost like a stick. He guided your hand up in the air in a correct position.

"Remember to let go of it at the correct moment, i'm going to aim it for you, okay?" he said and you nodded, now much more nervous than you would have been if you did this alone.

With this help, the blue square flew into the air and landed on its other side easily. You were excited of the victory, even though it was for his help, and a wide smile spread on your face.

To be honest, for a second you wished you would have failed on purpose, just to get his hands on you again - you didn't even care if it was a slap, kiss or something else.

He let go of you and you turned around to face him, already missing his touch.

"There you go," he said with a proud expression on his face. "Now, you can choose what to do to me."

You didn't hesitate for even a second longer, you immediately slapped him on his left cheek as hard as you could. However, you knew you didn't have as much as strength in your body as he did, so the slap must have stinged a lot less. His head didn't move even an inch and he only smiled.

Right then, the train you had been waiting for arrived and you took your bag from the ground. You weren't going to miss this train just because of wanting to have another round of Ddakji with this stranger.

He offered you money, worth of 100 dollars, and put them in your hand, closing your fist around the bill. You were about to refuse but he wasn't having it.

"Treat yourself a nice dinner tonight," he said. When you didn't answer, he nodded towards the train which was about to leave soon, with or without you.

"Thank you," you said. "Um, bye."

You made it into the train just in time and when you looked back at the spot where that man had just been, he was already gone.

♡♡

The salesman didn't want you to leave. He was absolutely mesmerized by you, you were the most gorgeous woman he had ever laid eyes on. Your perfume and the smell of your shampoo still lingered in his nose, even after you weren't there anymore.

He would have wanted to ask you to stay, but he couldn't find the correct words and you were in a hurry to catch your train.

He hadn't felt like this of a woman in a long time and he wanted to find you again. To hold you again.

He didn't understand how you could have made this big of an impact on him in only under 10 minutes, but all he knew was that he needed to get to know you better.

♡♡

The next day, you arrived to the class and sat next to your friend.

"Oh my god, what happened to your face?" she gasped in shock.

Yes, there was a visible red mark on your cheek and you didn't have anything at home to cover it. You didn't really use any makeup either except mascara.

"Oh um," you started, trying to find some excuse. "It's my allergies and acne." You didn't have any allergies and hadn't had acne since you were 15. But you couldn't tell her the truth, atleast now that you didn't have time to talk much since the class was about to start.

And what were you going to say to her? A stranger in the subway station slapped you and you enjoyed it?

The teacher arrived and the noise of the door slamming closed interrupted your friend who was about to say something to interview you further.

♡♡

You walked down the subway station stairs again on your way home, just like yesterday. You had your headphones on, listening to random metal songs on Spotify and were texting your mum who catched up with you twice a week how you were doing. You were supposed to have a video call later today but she apparently had to work extra tonight, she was a nurse.

When you had reached the bottom of the stairs, you bumped into something and almost tripped back but managed to keep your balance. You looked up and saw the same man in the suit as yesterday, staring down at you with a smile.

"Hello," he greeted, not moving anywhere.

"Hello," you repeated and lifted your eyebrows, taking of your headphones. "What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you," he said without thinking.

"Me? Why? How did you know i would be here?"

"I didn't. I only figured you might have the same daily routine and took a chance," he explained.

"Why did you want to see me?" you asked, confused but feeling butterflies in your stomach.

"I didn't have a chance to ask for your phone number yesterday," he said. "And i'd like to take you out."

"Take me out you mean murder or dinner?"

"The second option. I already finished the first task earlier," he said with a smile. Handsome and with a sense of humor.

"Fine, where did you plan to take me?"

"Anywhere you want. Are you hungry?"

"You don't even know my name," you pointed out.

"You can tell me your name and all about you on our date," he smiled.

"Aren't you straightforward," you chuckled. "Are you going to teach me Ddakji again?"

"If you wish so," he said.

You bit your lip, not sure if you should go somewhere with this stranger or not. You hadn't been asked for a dinner at a subway station before, though, so you could write it on your bucketlist and cross it out.

"Okay."

♡♡

He had taken you to a lovely dinner to enjoy local foods you had never eaten before. You rarely tried any new foods, always sticking on the ones you already knew you'd like, but now you had tried something different and loved it.

Now, you were in a park, nobody else in sight. It was already dark and you knew you had to go home soon if you wanted to get enough sleep.

You held the red square in your hand once again and aimed for slamming the blue around finally on your own.

Again, you weren't able to hit it. But you hadn't even tried properly and weren't mad about it.

"Damn it," you mumbled.

"You'll get there," he smirked, stepping closer to you.

He lifted your chin with his finger.

"Close your eyes."

You did as told and waited for the worst option, squeezing your eyes shut tightly.

You felt his lips press on yours, taking you into a slow kiss. He broke the kiss but didn't let go of your chin

"Do i have to play another round of Ddakji to do that again?"

You smiled and stepped on your tiptoes to reach him better, cupped his face and pulled him in a proper, deeper kiss. He instantly wrapped his arms around your waist to press your body against him tighter.

"Just so you know, i don't sleep with men on our first date," you said when the kiss was over, his hands wandering around your back they had almost reached your ass.

He moved his left hand to the back of your neck, keeping the right one on your lower back. He pushed his fingers through your hair, softly massaging your scalp.

"What is it about you that makes me so drawn to you?" he whispered, and you didn't know if the question was for you or just for himself. "Only two days and you've managed to make me absolutely addicted to you."

He pushed a strand of your hair behind your ear, and you felt blush creeping on its way to your cheeks.

He eventually walked you back home like a gentleman, not allowing you to walk anywhere at this hour. He had to make sure you got back home safely.

"Will i see you again tomorrow?" he asked before you managed to leave, gently holding your wrist.

"I have to study, i've fallen behind in couple of courses so i need to catch up," you said and his face fell a little bit. Surely he had other things to do in his life besides seeing you. "Are you free this weekend?"

His face lighted up again for your suggestion.

"For you, of course," he said and brought your hand towards his face, planting a kiss on your knuckles. "Goodnight, Y/N."

You went inside your apartment and silently closed the door, trying to do everything as quietly as you could, but then the lights were turned on.

"Okay who the HELL is that man, Y/N?!" your roommate shouted at you, making you jump and almost have a heart attack. It was so late you thought she was already sleeping, she was the type to be in bed by 8pm and asleep by 9pm.

"Um, well I-"

"That is the most gorgeous man i've ever seen," she said, still speaking loudly, and stepped closer to you and pointed you with her finger. "How couldn't you tell me you were dating a new man?"

"Well i only met him a while ago," you admitted.

"Still?!" she shouted. "You know i like boy talk and you never talk about your dating life! Oh my god, have you finally downloaded Tinder or something?"

"Ew, no," you shook your head.

"You're right, there's no way men THAT hot would still be on Tinder and not married," she said and then gasped. "Girl, he's not married, is he?"

"I sure hope he's not," you said and for a moment you were afraid he might be married. I mean, how could he still be single? Your friend always talked so much that you started to doubt everything you previously knew.

"Wait a minute, i'll get us some popcorn and then you're gonna spill everything," she said and without another word, she was already in the kitchen.

And you did tell her everything because my god you needed to talk to someone about him.

♡♡

A few days and several text conversations later, you were in his hotel room, and he pressed you against the wall, his right hand leaning on the wall right by your head.

He lifted your head by his forefinger on your chin to make you look straight into your eyes.

"How long are you going to stay in Korea?" he asked.

"What, are you going to ask me to move in with you or something? Plan a summer wedding?" you joked.

"If you want to," he said with a serious face and you truly wasn't sure if he was serious or joking. You hadn't yet found a difference between the two.

"Wait what?"

You hadn't dated any Korean men before so you weren't sure how fast they progressed in the dating life. Would it be normal to propose on the first week or ask to move in? Surely not.

He smiled. "I only ask because i don't want to have you only for a short while," he said and let his fingers wander around your shoulder, sending goosebumps all over your body.

"Well, i'll be here for atleast another 5 months," you told him and then pouted. "So, no summer wedding?"

"I'd have to buy a ring first," he smirked.

"It better be a real diamond too then," you chuckled, having seen the stacks of money he had carried with him, and pulled him into another kiss.

He was soon kissing your neck, leaving a mark on your skin, until your stomach growled and interrupted him.

"When was the last time you ate?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "I thought you had eaten before you came here."

"Well, it's been a while i suppose," you said, not really remembering anymore when the last time was.

He stepped away from you and pulled out his phone.

"What are you doing?"

"We're ordering food," he said. "What would you like to eat?"

He ordered Chinese food for you and ate it on the bed while watching some brainless comedy movie.

When the movie had ended, he went to the bathroom, leaving you to lay on the bed and making you to fall in your thoughts alone.

You had been in a relationship twice in your life, and in neither of them your relationship had moved on this fast. I mean, you weren't in an official relationship, you had been just barely hooking up, but the way he talked about you only knowing you for a few days wasn't something you had been used to at all.

In the U.S., it took guys several weeks to make any progress in relationships, atleast what you had seen and gone through.

Maybe you should slow down a little, take a step back and see what he really wants from you.

By the time he came back from the bathroom, you had fallen asleep. You looked so peaceful in your sleep, so beautiful even with your messy hair all over the pillow.

He came closer to you and pulled a blanket over you, the edge almost reaching your jaw. You stirred in your sleep, turning to lay on your side, but didn't show any signs of waking up.

He laid himself on the bed next to you and just looked at your sleeping figure for several minutes. He was afraid of getting attached to a woman so fast, in so little time, but he couldn't help it.

To him you were perfect, and he wanted to know everything about you that there was to know.

♡♡

A/N: If you want a part 2, please leave any requests you might have, i'm not sure where to go with this 🫶🏻❤️💙

[spideyanakin]

Reader being a cat to reveal who the traitor is genius. And I think peter noticed the symbolism behind it.

The part with the widow pearls was sad, rip regulus 😔

I cant wait to read more on reader being Madam Black 🤭

THANK YOU HIHIHIHIHI

I'm so glad you noticed <3 I was so happy when I came up with the idea of the cat hihi. Also reg will always be in our hearts ♥️

here is mr black and mrs black reuniting to heal our hearts

all I think about now - masterlist

summary - sirius black x malfoy + slytherin! reader, the order takes a break after peter has been caught, sirius joins you outside for some fresh air (and some revelations)

warnings - revelations and reunions <3, yearning, longing, and everything in between. mentions of minor character death (r's mom who was sick), smoking (s bad for u), james being a menace, spot the Metallica reference lmao

read the part before

The soft autumn air suddenly felt heavy.

You kept facing the sea, watching as the waves grazed the sand below the cliff. You could feel Sirius shifting beside you, the sound of his leather jacket, the zipper of a pocket, and the crisp sound of a cigarette box with the wrapper still half on.

The spark of his lighter caught the corner of your eye, and soon after followed a cloud of smoke gently blown your way by the wind.

With your gaze still fixed on the waves, you saw his hand move towards you, offering you his cigarette. You took it without a second thought. You hadn't smoked since the last time you had seen him.

You took two long drags before you handed it back to him, your gazes still refusing to meet.

A sense of deja vue filled you. Suddenly you were back atop the astronomy tower at the start of your seventh year. Tension slithering between you before it would hopefully crack.

You knew how it had gone the last time. You could never stay apart from him for long. You had always felt close, no matter how far. No matter how many times life has pulled you away from one another, you still felt that tug, that string pull you towards him.

But no matter how hard it was, there was a reason the two of you had called it off the last time. There was a reason you had tried to break that unbreakable string.

You were to be married to his brother, which you now were.

You had pledged your allegiance to the dark lord.

There wasn’t a world anymore where the two of you could have attempted keeping this up.

In 7th year, you were already risking your life sneaking around. You had both risked your lives trying to see each other after graduation, and then he had risked his life coming to see you, for one the last time, the night before your wedding.

The grey area you had been dancing around had been reduced to ashes by the exceedingly fast brewing war.

And now, as you smoked together watching the waves dance upon the sand, it seemed that maybe, just maybe there was a flicker of hope for a happy ending.

But how could he forgive you for never choosing him?

After an unknown number of smoke clouds, he sighed. It wasn't out of annoyance. It was soft, as if he was finally getting rid of an unknown tension that prevented him from voicing anything.

"How have you been?" You could tell he had a hard time asking. Voice laced with rugged emotions as he kept his gaze toward the waves.

You finally dared to look at him.

"Frankly, I do not really know. You?"

He laughed the tension out his shoulders, "frankly? I don't know either."

"Well, that makes two of us."

It took him another minute before he looked at you after he discarded his cigarette.

You stayed without a word spoken as he scanned your face. Your tired eyes peering back at him.

His hair was longer than when you last saw him, and a huddle of tattoos peeked out of his clothes anywhere skin would dare show. You could tell he was probably just as tired as you, but his eyes still held that fire you loved so much about him.

Salazar you had missed him.

But emotions didn't have time to surface because soon enough his gaze tore away from you, and you found yourself looking down to your shoes.

"How long have you been on our side?" He asked, and you heard him huff as he tried fishing for a second cigarette.

"Since we left Hogwarts."

You watched as Sirius dropped his lighter, a surprised groan leaving his lips.

You both bent down to pick it up, fingers brushing as you reached for the lighter first. You handed it to him.

It felt like sparks flew from the mere brush of your hands, and you knew Sirius had felt it too by the surprise in his eyes. With a second too long of your hands lingering, you finally spoke through the ice.

"I missed you."

"Why didn't you tell me you were working for the order?" His voice was soft, and you carefully scanned his traits as he placed his new cigarette to his lips and lit it.

"To keep you safe."

"I could have handled it."

"Sirius..."

"I can't believe it."

"Is it so hard to believe?"

"If I’m being honest, yeah!" His voice rose from an octave or two until he got quieter again. "After you refused to come with me, twice. Yeah. Especially since, apparently, the second time I asked, you were already allied with Albus."

"Sirius..." you trailed as you watched him advert your gaze as he burned away his cigarette, sighing half of the smoke through his nose.

"You couldn't leave. I know." He looked down.

"I wanted to," you stepped closer to face him, trying to gain his eyes. "You out of anyone should know how desperately I wanted to be like you, be with you," your voice quivered. "But I had strings attaching me there, I had my mother to take care of, and then- then when she passed and I finally thought I could leave, that nothing kept me back anymore I-" You stopped in your rambles, too afraid of voicing the rest of your thoughts.

Sirius was staring back at you with glassy eyes, mouth slightly agape at your sudden confession. You were about to leave. You were actually going to, but then his face hardened again, the sudden reminder of reality hitting him.

He didn't need to be a genius to figure out what had kept you there. If his information was correct your son was born around nine months after your wedding. Your mother died barely two months after the ceremony.

"Another string kept you attached."

"Yes," your voice was hoarse over the suppression of your tears, and it took you another minute before you managed to use your voice again. "I didn't mean it to."

That seemed to get his attention, and you watched as confusion riddled his eyes.

You took in a sharp breath. You weren't even close to ready to have this conversation, but here you were, plotting against the dark lord, not even being sure of making it past these next few weeks.

It was now or never.

"Breaks over!" James's voice rang from the opened window, causing your shoulders to jump at the interruption.

Sirius dropped his dying cigarette before pressing it with his foot and giving you the best sad and tired smile he could muster as he headed back to the door.

"Wait, Sirius," you caught his arm before he could grab the handle. "If anything were to happen... to me or r-" you caught yourself. "If anything were to happen, promise me you will take care of Perseus."

You could feel him tense under your touch at the mention. His expression almost stoic as his movements fully stopped.

He caught your gaze and suddenly something seemed to shift in him, he almost smiled.

"So that's the little rascal's name."

The lightness in his voice took you aback, and you almost smiled too.

"Yes. Perseus Sirius Black," you sheepishly mumbled and watched his eyes widen.

"Is that why Walburga and Orion finally kicked the bucket? Must of given them both of heart attack," he mumbled and this time you couldn't help but smile.

"No," you bit your lip. "Your mother insisted he wore Reg’s name. We told her he did but we wrote Sirius on the official papers."

"First borns usually take their middle names after their fathers."

“They do…"

Sirius couldn’t decipher your expression but took it as a sheepish ‘we broke the rules, so what’ because he couldn’t even dare to even think of looking into the fact that you could mean anything else by it.

"Didn't take my brother for a sentimental," he muttered before fixing his hair in attempt to distract himself. "I'll do what I can, but I promise you, it won't come to that. You'll come home to him."

He reached for the door again, and the burning feeling that after tonight, you weren’t sure when you would see him again came nagging at your gut.

The same voice rang through your mind again.

It was now, and If not, the possibility of never.

"Regulus never laid a finger on me," you blurted out.

Sirius turned back to you with a confused expression, one hand already on the door handle.

"We, um-" You were blinking extremely fast now, heart fluttering uncontrollably as he awaited for you to elaborate. "Weneverconsummatedthemarriage."

"Sorry?" Sirius tried to comprehend the string of blabber. He had heard it. But it just didn't make sense in is mind.

Nope. Absolutely zero sense.

But then by the look of absolute terror and pain in your eyes, he seemed to connect two and two together.

His jaw opened by itself, literally like one of those muggle cartoons Lily made Harry watch on Friday nights using what she called a TV.

He wanted to speak. Say something, anything. But all words died down in the back of his throat.

Suddenly Sirius fell. One second he was leaning against the door and the next he was being swished backwards and harshly onto the wooden floor of location twelve, which didn't make any sense because there was supposed to be a door behind him.

He blinked to realize that his hand was indeed still securely on the handle of said door, with James sheepishly on the other side of it.

"Prongs!"

"Sorry mate didn't know you were behind it." He looked at you and then back at Sirius, "we're waiting for you."

[choccy-zefirka]

She laughs when they break the kiss.

But it's not the bitter, derisive snort that Emmrich half-expected… That he feared. Never quite free of that sinking sensation — as if he were balancing on the edge of a ravine, with spikes of shattered ice at the bottom. The premonition of tumbling down, of getting impaled, never left him, not fully, even as he pressed the shroud's kiss blossom into Rook’s hand.

Surely, he misread the signs.

Surely, Rook's companionship the battlefield and at the Lighthouse intoxicated him so much that he forgot himself.

Surely, his blundering attempts at high romance would seem pathetic to a weathered seafarer with so much turmoil in her past — a hopeless, starving childhood where no respite came to her like it did to him; a long, winding path of crime in the ever-sunless slums of Tevinter; a brutal arrest by the uncaring, corrupt Templars, followed by blood-drenched toil as a galley slave.

She has been through so much, battled such pain and darkness, withstood twists and turns of fate that would fit into multiple lifetimes. Meanwhile he, a man nigh twice her age, peacefully trudged along through just one. What if he's insulted her, what if —

She laughs.

The reflection of the silvery-white petals swirls like starlight in her black sclerae. And she laughs. With the same sparkling, giddy wonderment that Emmrich himself felt when he stepped on the white sand of that beach they explored in Rivain, and saw with his own eyes, for the first time in his sheltered life, just how vivid the turquoise of the sea could be.

She laughs, tucking a strand of long black hair behind the delicately carved conch of her ear, and the rush of blood to her helix darkens it from the usual grey — with a subtle tint of green, like the noble patina on the Necropolis statues — to a rich purple. She laughs, gazing down on Emmrich from her surely seven feet of height (a rare occasion when he is not the one that needed to bend down for a kiss).

She laughs — and he cannot help himself.

Tracing an elegant curl through the air with his fingertips — shaped like the musical clef, almost, and raining soft, ethereal-green sparks of magic — he guides a plucked blossom to rest on the top of her head. And then another. And another. Until he has assembled an entire glimmering floral crown between Rook's horns.

She laughs again and grabs him by the hand, raising it to her face to see her reflection in his bracelet. The blush darkens her face almost entirely, and Emmrich holds perfectly still when he takes her in.

He traps his breath in his chest; his pounding heart, underneath his free hand; and the sight of her, the dauntless, fierce Rook, with starlight in her eyes and silver upon her hair, to memory. Selfishly, he hopes that... if he succeeds in taking that next grim step beyond the Veil and back, the memory will stay.

She pulls him into a new kiss, almost lifting him off the ground in her honed, tattooed arms... But when she lets him go, the flowers are askew, and the elation on her face seems to have dimmed. Like a candle flame, stamped out with a cap.

"So," she exhales, sounding oddly... Tired?

"I guess you will want me to fuck you now."

Emmrich makes a highly un-professorial spluttering noise.

That... Is certainly a blunt way to put it. Of course, the fantasies have been there, more and more persistent since the day on the very same fateful beach, when Taash, even more brusque and to the point than Rook, swiftly disrobed and urged their kinswoman to do the same and follow them into the sea.

"C'mon," they said, doing a little stretch to warm up their trapezius, while Harding attempted, very poorly, to duck behind Emmrich and not to look.

"I'm teaching you to swim. What kinda lousy Lord of Fortune doesn't know how to swim anyway?"

"Told ya," Rook said, shielding her eyes from the glare that danced off the truly Lords-worthy bounty of sun-coins on the gently whispering waves. Her other hand rested on her hip, and she'd bent her leg slightly in the knee, with her pants rolled up to keep sea foam off them, and with her utterly remarkable gastrocnemius on full display.

"I was only with the Lords a short stint. Before that, I worked the galleys; and before the galleys, I ran with the Threads. What would I swim in, sewage from some altus jerk's privy? Have you seen the fucking water in Docktown? Have you smelled it?"

"Ugh, now I'm gonna throw up all over you," Taash groaned.

They may have exchanged a little more banter, generously sprinkled with curses in Trade and in Qunlat, but at that point, Emmrich found it as hard to focus as Harding.

That image of Rook, towering so majestically over the waves, has been the subject of many a messy, feverish dream... But to have it phrased like this, in such a... mundane way, suddenly sends Emmrich teetering on that ravine's edge again.

He... He did misread the signs. She may not have detested his silly flirtations; but at the end of the day, this is what it's about. Again. Inevitably. A quick, physical release and a parting of the ways.

Well.

No matter.

There is no shame in that. And he really should be flattered, at his age. This close to his mortal journey's end. Even if the poetic ideal of all-encompassing, undying love will never be his, was never meant to be his — he can afford a sweet indulgence, or several, before he faces eternity. Especially if Rook enjoys it. She deserves no less.

"I wouldn't, ah, phrase it in such a straightforward manner..." he says, fully back in the present. Fully there with her; for her. "But I would be quite amenable to that, yes. Should it please you."

"Please me?"

Rook frowns, as if he'd just slipped into high academic Nevarran, which she has not quite mastered yet. But she will; he knows she will. Her life’s circumstances have not been too conducive to keeping up a reading habit, but now that the Lighthouse has opened up its plunder of books to her, Emmrich has seen her devour tome after tome with increasing dedication. He... He is so proud of her.

"What does pleasing me have to do with anything? I'm the one that pleases people. You have to know the drill."

She rolls her shoulders and sighs again. Her air is deliberately cynical, just as when she tried to convince Emmrich that no, she shouldn't be in their "fucking book club", it's not for the likes of her... And just as back then, the last remnants of light rapidly leave her eyes.

"Big, tall Qunari mommy. Scars and tattoos for days. Here to step on your chest. Grab you by the throat. Slap you around. Lock my thighs round your head so you never know when it might pop like a melon. Strap one of those enchanted cock trinkets to my hips and ram it up your ass till you can't walk straight. I can even try to growl, but I'm no adaari, so I can't promise we'll do this as well as Taash and Harding. I..."

Her hand slips off his, and her fists clench, pale-knuckled. Her eyes dart up and down Emmrich's face. Searching. Pleading. For a fleeting moment, it seems like the light is back... But it's just the glint of unshed tears.

"I dunno, are you into being insulted? I know I still talk like a fucking... like a Threads bruiser, for all the fancy books I've read... People expect me to always be… foul-mouthed. But it gets kinda awkward for me... Calling someone names during sex."

"Rook..." Emmrich whispers.

Whatever horrible, murky thing is roiling within her, Emmrich can feel its spill-off seep through his own heart. Flood his lungs till it's hard to breathe.

"Rook, darling, you don't have to — "

"I'll do it if you want," she insists. "I'll be as rough as you like, if that makes you want me as much as I want you... I know that unless I show people what a... feral sex beast I am..."

Her voice breaks, and she buries her face in her hands.

"No-one would want me at all."

She crumples into herself, desperate to make herself appear smaller. As though... As though that would suddenly make her softer. More loveable. More worthy of being wanted.

At last, Emmrich tumbles into the ravine, the ice driving deep into his chest. But his heart is not ripping itself apart for his own sake.

"Dearest, no — " he pleads with her, grabbing onto her tense brachialis, as if to anchor her in place. "No, no! You are no beast! You do not have to force yourself to act like one, just because people who... who purport to be your lovers do not see you for who you are!"

He gets tangled up in his own syntax, his mind a messy mush of memories. Not just Rook sunning her chiseled body on the beach; gorgeous as she looked in that moment, that was but one facet of her. He thinks, all at once, at the speed of a fire spell barrage, of Rook discovering her love for reading. Rook, first uncertainly, then with more and more confidence, more inner force, falling into the rumbling, tide-like rhythm of a Qunari verse Taash would teach her to recite. Rook talking to a lost child in the Warden fortress, amid the shrieks of darkspawn and the gloating of the mad goddess in the sky. Rook guiding a stumbling, wounded Veil Jumper back to camp. Rook emptying an entire coin purse into a little cracked bowl extended by a Minrathous beggar with a grimy, shaking hand. Rook talking with her hands, distracted almost to a Bellara-like extent by the story behind the dish she is cooking, while Lucanis darts frantically to rescue the burning pan from under her nose. Rook raising her thumb as she lays on her back, overpowered by a living blanket of affectionate stray cats.

Rook laughing. Oh, Rook laughing.

Rook being herself. Warm. Alive. Beautiful.

How could they not see that, see past her height and built, no matter how impressive? How could they not see... her?

Hesitantly, Rook parts her fingers; moves her hands away from her face, now stained and blotchy with running kohl and muddied glitter. Emmrich catches her in his grasp and gives her a little nod of encouragement. A kiss over her metacarpals. A gentle token of unspoken praise for being so, so very brave.

"What do you want, darling?" 

"I..."

She stutters, like when she first started making out words on a page, after years of dismissing herself as too uncultured, too stupid to even try. But as he did during that precious, unforgettable evening, Emmrich nods along in keen interest. And eventually, she relaxes.

"I... I know it's fucking vashedan, but... I want to go in one of those fancy bath houses, like we have in Tevinter... Or — or I guess they have in Tevinter. I would never have been allowed anywhere near one; only saw the inside when I had to rob some magister on vacation. Maybe there's a place like that in Nevarra somewhere, I don't know... Or maybe Maevaris could pull some favors... For friends of the Shadows... Anyway."

A blissful smile wanders onto her lips. Another moment Emmrich would love to carry between his flesh-cleansed ribs into lichdom.

"I want to get a bathing pool all... All for you and me..."

The blush returns, more intense, more adorable, than before.

"With petals on the water, little candles along the edge... Maybe a few wisps? I want you to undress me, very slow, not ripping anything off me, and not having me rip things off you... And kiss me in whichever places you can reach. I want to show you my scars, and tell you how I got them, and look into your eyes as you listen... With those mabari pup sparkly eyes you get sometimes — yes, like right now!"

They both laugh, and Emmrich moves his arms to wrap around Rook's waist. Oh, listening to her has always been an utter joy.

"We can rub some kinda perfumed oil into other another, too! And then we can go into the water, and sit back, all warm and fancy, maybe nibble things off those little fruit and cheese platters. Have a little wine... Start kissing along the way... And all the time, you'll tell me that I am beautiful..."

Unexpectedly, she begins to choke up again, cracks starting to run both through her idyllic scene, and her voice.

"No, wait; that's too much, right?"

A little more of Emmrich's heart breaks. Here he was, fretting over offending her with flowers — while she was so starved for affection that even the simplest, most casual rendezvous of two lovers in a bath house seems like too much.

"Far from it, my dear. It wouldn't be too much even if..."

He stands on tiptoe and whispers into her ear, nigh scorched by the burst of heat radiating from her.

"... Even if I set down my wine glass and my platter, and ran my fingers all over your body, venerating every inch, warm and sensitive under my touch, outside and within..."

She whimpers in anticipation, pupils widening.

Emmrich allows himself a slow, languid smirk. Even if all his years of waiting and searching never brought him what he wanted, they did leave him with experience. And even if Rook, so young, from a world so unlike his own, will eventually — inevitably — add him to a litany of lovers past and move on, the least he can do is help her live that sweet dream... Of being cherished like the princess she is.

"Wasn't that a lovely sound, my darling?" he teases. "It will be such a delight to hear more. I shall write to Maevaris post-haste."

"You — " she shakes her head in blissful disbelief. "You are the greatest treasure I'd ever found."

"You flatter me, dearest," Emmrich murmurs, sealing their little pact with the third kiss of the evening. "No treasure is quite like you."

[tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang]

If you don't mind, is there like a list of character colors for the cast? Bc I feel like there are 4 different people with the color purple as their character color.

They do share colours since there's so many characters but they have different shades! We see this in a lot of merch arts, like these old ones

But anyway here's a list (we're going in 4th character book order)

Takeomi- Dark brown

Benkei- Reddish brown

Inui- bluish purple

Wakasa- Platinum

Kakucho- Grey

Angry- Light blue

Smiley- Amber

Senju- Cherry blossom pink

Kisaki- Black

Izana- Indigo

Koko- Gold

Emma- Magenta

Shinichiro- Gold

Mikey- Red

Sanzu- Pink close to magenta

Taiju- Wine red

Hakkai- Navy blue

Yuzuha- Light orange

Makoto- Olive

Akkun- Orange

Naoto- Grey

Hina- White

South- Hunter green

Ran- Deep purple

Rindou- Amethyst

Baji- Dark blue

Takemichi- Light green

Kazutora- Yellow

Peh- Emerald green

Pah- Pea green

Hanma- Purple

Shion- Canary yellow

Chifuyu- Light blue

Mitsuya- Orange

Mucho- Khaki

Mochi- Camel

Yamagishi- Lime yellow

Takuya- Marine blue

Draken- Pink

[ricoka]

there are art supplies where it genuinely doesn't make much of a difference what kind of price point they're in but there are art supplies where it makes so much of a difference

[sysig]

Coming in to play! (Patreon)

[joverflowers]

And we can run away to the walls inside your house. And we can laugh off things that we know nothing about.

[mjhartwork]

spotted lanternfly in oil pastels

[sillylilguystehe]

So I drew cyrus in one of his outfits from TACO salad!! A amazing fic by Lady_Sandry on ao3. Some close ups under the read more and notes in the tags!

[kresnikcest]

I already knew this but yellow and purple being on opposite sides of the colour wheel... Ludger being associated with yellow (his ties, his Chromatus, and a number of his concept art colour palettes) and violet eyed Elle—

(In seriousness, this is probably more to do with Lara, but lemme sound silly for a bit 😋)

[koslinas]

currently on a hiatus because i have someone visiting me but astarion having three times the amount of romantic scenes than wyll..........

[mirokuna-hime]

My unpopular opinion of the day is that making Chuuyas eyes blue was absolutely the right decision for the anime.

[lazilyhereandhazilyclear]

I was tagged by the lovely @thesadboisguidetolife to give this a go.

Rules: bold & color the ones that are true and tag whoever you want to do it too!

APPEARANCE:

i'm over 5'8” // i wear glasses/contacts // i have blonde hair // i prefer loose clothing to tight clothing // i have one or more piercings // i have at least one tattoo // i have blue eyes // i have dyed or highlighted my hair // i have gotten plastic surgery // i have or had braces // i sunburn easily // i have freckles // i paint my nails // i typically wear make-up // i don't often smile // i am pleased with how i look // i prefer nike to adidas // i wear baseball hats backwards

HOBBIES & TALENTS:

i play a sport (or used to) // i can play an instrument // i am artistic // i know more than one language // i have won a trophy in some sort of competition // i can do a handstand

RELATIONSHIPS:

i have been single for over a year// i have a crush // i have a best friend i have known for ten years // my parents are together // i have dated my best friend // i am adopted // my crush has confessed to me // i have a long distance relationship // i am an only child // i give advice to my friends // i have made an online friend // i met up with someone i have met online

AESTHETICS:

i have heard the ocean in a conch shell // i have watched the sun rise // i enjoy rainy days // i have slept under the stars // i meditate outside // the sound of chirping calms me // i enjoy the smell of the beach // i know what snow tastes like // i listen to music to fall asleep // i enjoy thunderstorms // i enjoy cloud watching // i have attended a bonfire // i pay close attention to colors // i find mystery in the ocean // i enjoy hiking on nature paths // autumn is my favorite season

MISCELLANEOUS:

i can fall asleep in a moving vehicle// i am the mom friend // i live by a certain quote // i like the smell of sharpies //i am involved in extracurricular activities // i enjoy mexican food // i can drive a stick-shift // i believe in true love // i make up scenarios to fall asleep // i sing in the shower // i wish i lived in a video game // i have a canopy above my bed // i am multiracial // i am a redhead // i own at least three dogs

i'll edit this post soon to tag others (trying to shift my hyperfocus to, like, maybe i should cook and eat), but here ya go.

[psychicbluebirdmiracle]

Not me psycho analyzing all of the characters colors in lockwood and co again

[todayisafridaynight]

I mean Yokoyama is only 43 and he’s gone dark gray pretty fast but with a touch of tasteful hair streak. He needed to relate to someone

its ok yokoyama your hair looks sick as hell... i accept greying kiryu with my whole heart.....

[transgenderization]

im still thinking about my astray colorscheme btw ive been thinking about it all day. have no idea what i want to do with it