#slapping 3 together to make the finale easier

[proton-wobbler]

Warbler Showdown pt 3; Bracket 1, Poll 1

Blackburnian Warbler (Setophaga fusca)

IUCN Rating: Least Concern

Range: breeds in the New England, Appalachia, and the Easter providences of Canada. Overwinters in the northern Andes, heavily concentrated in Peru, Ecuador and Columbia.

Habitat: coniferous or mixed forests, though during migration they can be found in any wooded area.

Subspecies: none

Myrtle Warbler (Setophaga coronata)

IUCN Rating: Least Concern

Range: Entirely North American; typically associated with the Eastern US, but does make it into the Western states during migration and for overwintering.

Habitat: mature coniferous and mixed coniferous-deciduous forests in the breeding season, preferring mountain forests when possible. When overwintering, they can be seen virtually anywhere small fruits like berries are present.

Subspecies: 2*; still a subspecies of Yellow-rumped Warbler under Clements, IOC recognizes MYWA as its own species, with two subspecies

Grace's Warbler (Setophaga graciae)

IUCN Rating: Least Concern

Range: western Americas, from Colorado to California in the USA, down through Mexico and into Nicaragua

Habitat: pine-oak forests across most of the range, sometimes in pine savanna in southern regions.

Subspecies: 4

Image Sources: MYWA (Ed Harper); BLBW (Kyle Tansley); GRWA (Michael Stremciuc)

[zkg2318]

Corporate Life pt. 1

genre/tags ✶ MDNI office!au, sunghoon x afab!reader x heeseung, smut, cursing, not proofread

synopsis ✶ working in corporate was supposed to be boring, not a guessing game of whether your two coworkers were eye fucking you or not.

smut warnings ✶ ass slapping, penetrative sex, use of pet names (slut, princess, baby, good girl, etc...), exhibitionism, oral male!receiving, msm (kissing, blowjob), fingering, virgin reader, threesom

WC ✶ 4.7

@heesimp

read part 2 here | read part 3 here

For the fourth day in a row, Sunghoon stood over Heeseung, who was slouched over in his chair working at his desk. Sunghoon’s forearm muscles tense under his white button down as he grips the edge of Heeseung’s desk, leaning down just enough to whisper whatever the hell it was into Heeseung’s ear for the umpteenth time today. Heeseung’s gaze matches yours as he looks across the short partition that separates your desk from his, the corners of his lips slipping into the smallest smirk as you instinctively clench your thighs together, a heat spreading through your core. 

You watch Heeseung turn his head to meet Sunghoon’s intense gaze, their lips just inches apart in a way that felt far too intimate for the office. Your breath hitches and you quickly look away, feeling a furious red bloom across your cheeks. What the hell? Was this what corporate life was like every day? You had only been here for a week now, and so far the air had never failed to suffocate you with whispered conversations and heated glances that seemed to exclude you at every turn. 

With a forced sigh, you turn your attention back to the report open on your monitor, but the words seem to blur together into a mirage of meaningless jumble. With the weight of Heeseung’s stare burning into you and Sunghoon’s continued murmuring, you find it almost impossible to focus on the task at hand. In the corner of your eye, you see Sunghoon’s lips brush against the shell of Heeseung’s ear as he moves closer, his body pivoting himself to block your view. 

It’s a relief when Sunghoon finally pushes off from Heeseung’s desk and returns to his own cubicle with a lazy stride. Without the weight of the two men’s presence, you let out a breath you hadn’t realized you were holding, finding it easier to concentrate and breeze through the rest of your files in a timely manner. For the next few hours, the rapid sound of your nails hitting your keyboard fill the space as you complete your last ticket just before your first coffee break. 

Pushing back your chair, you rise to your feet and make your way to the breakroom; one that was thoughtfully stocked with an array of healthy snacks- greek yogurt, granola bars, protein drinks… Though you just wanted a moment away from your desk. As you travel to the breakroom, you’re oblivious to the silent exchange shared between Heeseung and Sunghoon, the latter standing up from his desk as he follows after you in a silent pursuit. 

The hum of the fluorescent lights offers a welcome change from the bright spotlights of your office as you make your way to the counter, starting up the coffee machine. Fingers tapping against the cool marble surface as you watch each drip of coffee fill the pot, Sunghoon lingers by the vending machine in the corner, pretending to inspect the selection of snacks. His presence feels like anything but casual as his eyes lazily scan through the rows of healthy snacks which were voted upon by the staff in a monthly survey sent out last month, though Sunghoon can confidently say he has never seen anyone use it in the last three months he’s been working here. 

When the coffee machine dings, you quickly pour yourself a cup and turn to make a quick exit, but you collide with Sunghoon’s solid chest. “Oh, sorry,” you stammer, trying to step around him, but he matches your move with a casual smile. 

“My apologies. Y/n, was it?” He asks, his eyes locking your gaze with his, keeping you rooted to your spot. “Oh, is that the new coffee blend everyone’s been talking about?” He gestures to the cup in your hand, and without waiting for your reply, takes it from your hand.

You open your mouth as if to say something, but the words die off your tongue when he takes a slow, deliberate sip from your cup. As his lips meet your cup, his eyes never fail to leave yours and you feel your breath catch in your throat when he hands it back to you. “Not bad,” he says as his lips curl into a smirk, “But I think it could use a little more sugar.” 

Your cheeks flare with an intense heat as you stumble back, struggling to regain your composure. His cologne invades your senses and you suddenly become acutely aware of the warmth of his body emanating against yours. Desperate to get away, you awkwardly side step him, muttering a quick “Excuse me,’ before practically sprinting back to your desk. 

Back in the partial sanctuary of your cubicle, you take a sip of your coffee, tasting the mint that was evidently left behind by Sunghoon’s chapstick. The thought of your lips indirectly touching his sends a thrill through you, making you squirm in your seat. Your core slickens once again at the idea of your lips meshing with your coworkers, but you force yourself to focus on your screen. 

It works for a few hours, though the quiet rustle of papers and the soft click of your keyboard is interrupted by Heeseung walking over to you. He stands beside your desk, leaning a bit too close for your liking, “Hey, are you having trouble accessing the file in the manager’s email too?” He asks, his voice low and intimate as he peers down at your screen. 

“Email? I don’t think I got any…” you reply, the sudden proximity making your heart race as you cower into yourself. 

“Really?” With the rise of an eyebrow, he moves to stand behind you, leaning down until his chest touches your shoulder and his tie brushes against the hand resting on your mouse. “Let me check,” Without warning, he places his hand over yours, guiding the mouse with firm pressure as he scrolls through your inbox. “That’s strange. Maybe you weren’t on the email list,” he murmurs, his breath fanning against your cheek. 

“Was it important?” You ask, your voice catching as you clear your throat. Waiting for his response, you push your chair to the side, an attempt to create some distance between yourself and Heeseung. 

“It has some files we need for the meeting in ten minutes,” he replies, his gaze locking on yours, “But I’m sure we can manage without them. You’re coming, right?”

You nod, your shoulders relaxing once he steps back, giving you space to breathe. When he leaves, you collect yourself, taking a deep breath as you gather your laptop and notes. 

You take the ten minutes before the meeting starts as a way to have some time to yourself, entering the conference room first and taking a seat in the second to last seat at the end. The air is quiet, a stark contrast to the hum of chatter in the open office, and you use this time to organize your notes and adjust the settings on your laptop. 

A few minutes later, the door creaks open and you see Sunghoon stride in, a coffee in one hand as his eyes lock onto yours. He flashes you a smile before sliding into the chair directly next to yours despite the abundance of empty seats. You keep your eyes fixed on your laptop, but you can’t help but notice the intensity of his stare as he traces the lines of your profile as you pretend to type something important. 

“You look so beautiful when you’re focused,” he murmurs, his voice low and intimate. Your fingers freeze on your keyboard as the unexpected compliment sinks in. In the corner of your eyes, you see him lean back in his chair, spreading his legs wide until his knees press insistently against your own. The contact is warm and deliberate, sending waves of arousal down to your core. You shift in your seat slightly, acutely aware of the growing tension between you. 

As you move around in your seat, your gaze unintentionally drops downward, following the crease of his dress pants up to his lap. Your breath catches as you notice the way his navy blue dress pants fix around his groin, just barely letting you see the outline of his hardening bulge. A rush of heat floods your cheeks, your face burning as you force yourself to look away, but it’s too late. 

“Something catching your eye?” He teases, shifting slightly to bring his chair closer to yours. 

Your fingers hover uselessly over your keyboard as you think of an answer, but it proves futile as the meeting room door opens again, revealing Heeseung with a cool expression and papers tucked in his armpit. His gaze flickers between you and Sunghoon, as if catching onto the tension clouding the air before striding over to pull out the chair on your other side, sitting on the very end of the table. 

You sit in silence now, the minutes ticking by as the room slowly fills up with more and more coworkers. The once silent conference room now fills with a charged chatter as you make small talk with your coworkers, some you have acquainted yourself with and others you have yet to meet until today. You exchange polite conversation with your colleagues while you wait for the team leader, though your attention continues to drift back to Heeseung and Sunghoon. 

In due time, your team leader enters, carrying a stack of agendas that he drops in the middle of the table with a thud. Everyone leans forward to grab a copy, though Sunghoon stops you from grabbing one. He grabs two, giving you one while making sure his fingers brush against yours, lingering for a moment longer than necessary. You look up at him, your pulse quickening as an electrifying heat replaces the absence of his touch when he draws his hand back. 

Heeseung notices the silent exchange between you and Sunghoon and draws himself closer to you, pressing his knee into yours, though you can’t tell if it’s intentional or not. “Okay, let’s get started.” The team leader says, addressing the smart board at the front of the room. 

Though you try to focus on the presentation at hand, your thoughts seem to scatter as the two men who have positioned themselves to sandwich you between them have made it nearly impossible for you to pay attention. The meeting feels like a blur as the hard voice of your team leader mingles with the erratic thrum of your heartbeat. You’re barely registering what’s on the presentation slides at this point- every nerve in your body is on fire as the two men next to you push every boundary you’ve put up. 

Heeseung’s touch is persistent as he’s started tracing patterns on your thigh, his movements getting bolder, and higher, with each passing minute. Each stroke feels like a taunt, as if daring you to react to his touch. Meanwhile, Sunghoon’s constant nudging with his foot has evolved into a game of footsies, much to your dismay. His shiny black dress shoes trailing up your bare legs every so often as he pretends to listen to the presentation. 

And suddenly, during a particularly boring part of the presentation, you feel a harsh squeeze on your thigh, the pressure bitingly possessive. The violent squeeze has you audibly gasping before you can stop yourself. “Y/n?” The team leader asks, grabbing the attention of everyone. “Did you have something you’d like to share with the team?”

Your heart lurches as you come up with an excuse on the fly, “No, sorry!” You exclaim, waving your hands in the air in a desperate attempt to dismiss his concerns. When he turns his back on you, you shoot Heeseung a look, but he only returns it with a satisfied smirk. 

As the meeting presses on, the pressure of Heeseung’s hand never lessens. If anything, it grows more insistent as his fingers slip under your pencil skirt in a slow and deliberate tease which leaves arousal pooling in the seat of your panties. Your fingers grip the edge of your arm rests, the knuckles of your hands going white as he slides his fingers across your panties.

On your other side, Sunghoon’s gaze darkens when he notices Heeseung’s hand under your skirt, and without warning, reaches for your own hand. He pulls your hand into his lap, guiding it to his hardened cock and palming himself over the smooth fabric of his dress pants. Your fingers instinctively curl around the unmistakable shape beneath the nice fabric, and the quietest groan slips past Sunghoon’s lips. He shifts slightly, the move small enough to go unnoticed by the rest of the room, but enough for his suit jacket to fall like a curtain and cover your joined hands. 

You fight yourself to keep your expression neutral, biting the inside of your cheek to suppress the moan that’s been threatening to escape for God knows how long now. Your pulse beats wildly as Sunghoon’s slender fingers cover yours, squeezing tighter around him, pushing your palm harder against his aching erection. “Be good,” he whispers, “Wouldn’t want to draw any more attention, would you?”

You offer him a shaky nod, your breath hitching as Heeseung’s fingers slip inside your panties. The chill of his fingers sends a wave of goosebumps down your body as he rubs them between your folds, smirking to himself when he feels your essence drenching his digits within seconds. “Fucking slut,” he hums, “Soaking your panties when you should be focusing on doing your fucking job.” You clench your fists as he whispers to you, wiggling your hips around as his palm digs into your clit, his fingers working slow circles on your pussy. 

Torn between shame and an embarrassing thrill of adrenaline burning through the pit of your stomach, you move your free hand down to Heeseung’s lap, mimicking Sunghoon’s hold and wrap your fingers around his thick erection. Smirking as Heeseung’s breath catches in his throat, you squeeze, giving him a taste of his own medicine. Blinded by lust, you start to move your wrists up and down, both for their pleasure and your own. You’re unsure of what more to do though, limited to stroking them up and down as you’ve never done more than just make out with your past partners. Never before did you think you’d ever find yourself to be in a situation like this. 

“So fucking greedy, touching us both at work.” Sunghoon mutters, adjusting himself in his pants so his cock lays on the left side of his pants.

Every second that goes by feels like an eternity, your coworkers remaining painfully oblivious to whatever's going on below the table.  It’s almost laughable how unaware they are of the way you bite your lip to suppress any noises coming out of you, or of the way Sunghoon won’t stop moving around in his chair, or even how weirdly positioned Heeseung’s arm is as he slides his fingers down your folds. 

When your team leader finally concludes his awfully boring presentation, you quickly push Heeseung’s hands away from you and make an effort to leave, but Sunghoon is quick to lay his hands on you, pushing you back down in your chair. “We’re just going to discuss some things here, we’ll be out in a bit.” Sunghoon says to your team leader. Fortunately for the boys, your manager doesn’t seem to question it as he gives you three a nod, following the rest of the team out of the conference room. 

When they all file out, Heeseung stands up, his arousal painfully obvious as he goes to lock the door to the room before coming behind you. You pull your hand away from Sunghoon’s lap when Heeseung comes up from behind and puts his hands on your chest, rubbing you through your white button down blouse. “Did you have fun in there, you fucking tease?” 

You don’t respond, instead you nervously chew on your lip and close your eyes, not wanting to believe this is real. “He asked you a question,” Sunghoon says, swiveling your chair around to face him. 

“I- I don’t know.” You squeak, turning your head as if you’re afraid of being scolded. 

“I sure as hell didn’t. Wanted to shove my cock in you that whole time.” Heeseung says, bringing his hand up to your chin to pull your face to his. “Tell me you want this. Want us.” 

You swallow the lump in your throat, tempted to say yes but embarrassed to admit you’ve never done anything like this. “I-I’ve never done something like this…”

Sunghoon and Heeseung share a glance, a small smirk playing on their lips before turning back to you. “Do you mean you’re a virgin?” Heeseung asks, the grip on your chin softening as his gaze turns into something more gentle. 

You nod at Heeseung shyly, your gaze flicking away from his as a rush of heat burns onto your face. “Baby, look at us,” Sunghoon murmurs, his hand resting on your thighs, covering both with an annoying ease. “Do you want to watch Heeseung and I first?”

Your mind flashes to earlier, back when you saw Heeseung and Sunghoon whispering to one another, their faces so close to each other you had almost wished they would just kiss to get it over with, to stop teasing you like you were some toy they could play with. So you nod your head, and Heeseung steps back with a smirk, gesturing for Sunghoon to stand up.

The two boys face each other, their hands immediately finding purchase around the other’s necks as they lock lips in a passionate kiss. Heeseung’s hands run through Sunghoon’s dark locks as Sunghoon grabs at his ass, slipping his tongue in when Heeseung moans in response. Their mouths create a mixture of lewd sounds that has your pussy throbbing for something to clench around, and you find your hand navigating north to quell the desire. 

Sunghoon’s eyes slip open and he looks over at you, spotting the way your hand has slipped under your skirt as you watch them kiss each other. Smirking, Sunghoon bites the bottom of Heeseung's lip and he lets out an erotic moan, pushing his hips into Sunghoon. Their bulges grow as the two men grind against each other, filling the room with their moans. 

Heeseung is the first to let his hand drop to Sunghoon’s pants, hurriedly palming the boy through his slacks. “Fuck, you’re so hard, Hoon.” He gasps in between kisses, squeezing his hand around his length. 

Sunghoon moves his hand from Heeseung’s ass to his own hardening member, mimicking Heeseung’s movement, “Suck me off, Hee.” He whispers, keeping his eye on you as you massage your breasts. 

Heeseung is quick to drop to his knees, undoing the belt on Sunghoon’s pants while the latter strips himself of his jacket. “Just undo my zipper,” Sunghoon says, desperation in his voice. 

Following his direction, Heeseung unbuttons his pants and zipper once the belt is undone. You scoot your chair a little bit closer so you can see a bit better, your jaw dropping when you see just how big his bulge is without the fabric of his pants impairing your sight. Heeseung places a few kisses over his black briefs, rubbing his hand over the bulge before pulling his underwear down. 

When his cock springs free, Sunghoon flicks his fingers in the air, garnering your attention. “Come, but don’t touch.” He points to the ground beside Heeseung, and you obediently move next to Heeseung to sit on your knees.

In front of you, Sunghoon’s long, thick cock stands erect, waiting to be stimulated. Heeseung spits on his hand, stroking the impressive length up and down a few times before placing his mouth over it. You watch Sunghoon suck in a breath, his jawline accentuating his pleasure as he throws his head back in response to Heeseung’s warm mouth enveloping his cock. “Fuck, lick my shaft, just like that.” 

Heeseung comes off of Sunghoon’s member to lick up and down his shaft, moving his hand to massage his balls as he does. Sunghoon’s dick bounces every time Heeseung’s tongue passes over a sensitive spot, leaving him a moaning mess under his touch. “Let Y/n have a turn, Hee.” 

Heeseung moves over just a little to make room for you, looking at you with encouraging eyes. Unsure of what to do first, you press a kiss to the top of his cock. “You’re so fucking cute, Y/n.” Heeseung coos, stroking your hair. “Place your mouth on it, baby.”

You do as he says, doing your best to wrap your lips around him and push your head down as far as you can go. You don’t get far before the head of his cock hits the back of your throat, leaving you gagging around him. Sunghoon pulls you off of his cock by your hair with a satisfied chuckle, “Careful, princess.” He strokes your cheek, “Try again.” 

His cock is covered in your saliva from your last attempt, and you swallow hard before trying one more time, placing his member back in your mouth. You have more success this time around, able to bob your head up and down, allowing Sunghoon to moan as your throat wraps around his cock when you get far enough. “Doing so good, Y/n.” He praises, threading his fingers in your hair. 

Too focused on sucking Sunghoon off, you fail to notice Sunghoon nodding at Heeseung, telling him to move behind you. With nimble fingers, he unzips your pencil skirt, taking your panties with it. You pull off of Sunghoon’s cock to protest, but Sunghoon is quick to shove you back on, this time bucking his hips into your face. He’s relentless as he does his best to thrust into your mouth, albeit shallowly, while Heeseung’s fingers slowly make their way up to your heat. 

Heeseung presses his chest against your back as you sit up on your knees, holding you against him in such an intimate way, you’d almost be asking him what this meant if you weren’t so full of cock. With Heeseung’s fingers rubbing circles around your clit and Sunghoon thrusting into your mouth, tears start to prick your eyes and you start to thank yourself for wearing waterproof mascara that morning. “I’m gonna put my fingers in now,” Heeseung says, collecting your slick with his fingers in one go. Sunghoon slows his assault on your face as Heeseung plunges one digit in, allowing you to get used to the sensation, “So fucking tight, my God.” He sighs, pumping his finger in and out.

You pull off Sunghoons cock, “M-more.” You gasp, looking up at Sunghoon. 

A rough slap to your ass has you crying out in pleasure, and you bite your lip to prevent your tears from falling. “Be patient, slut.” Heeseung scolds, “You should be grateful I’m even prepping you in the first place.” 

You whimper at his words, clenching around his finger before he adds a second. The stretch has you reeling in pain, but it quickly goes away and settles into a dull ache once he starts moving his hand again. When your body relaxes, Sunghoon sits down and pulls you into a kiss, not wasting any time to slide his tongue into your mouth. 

The familiar taste of mint chapstick from your coffee cup transcends onto your taste buds as he kisses you, a half-smile tugging at your mouth as you recall the memory of him stealing your drink. 

Sunghoon pulls you in closer, wrapping his arms around your waist in an intimate yet possessive grip. His kiss deepens, “You’re fucking ours, you got that?” A shudder rips through you at the thought of being claimed by both Heeseung and Sunghoon, though you don’t dwell on the thought for long.

As Heeseung’s fingers continue to pump into you, a coil begins to tighten in your lower stomach, “Heeseung, I feel weird!” you cry, instinctively clenching around his digits as the feeling intensifies. 

“My baby’s getting close to cumming, hm?” He coos, speeding up his pace. With a few more thrusts, you come undone around his fingers, a white film collecting around his fingers as he lets you ride out your high on his digits. “Good girl, you did so good for us.” 

You collapse against Heeseung, your head resting against his chest as you catch your breath. “We’re so proud of you, princess.” Sunghoon says before locking lips with Heeseung for a second time. Your eyes flutter open at the sound of lips smacking, just in time to see Heeseung’s tongue slip inside of Sunghoon’s mouth. The sight itself has you growing wet again, and you squirm in Heeseung’s hold. 

“Do you think you’re ready for our cocks now?” Heeseung asks, peering down at you as he disconnects himself from Sunghoon’s lips. 

You nod eagerly, letting the boys pick you up and place you onto the desk, your bare ass on the conference table while your legs dangle off of it. “Look how neglected you left our bambi…” Sunghoon chastises, rubbing his hand overHeeseung’s clothed erection, “You gonna let him use your hole?” 

Heeseung undoes his belt and button, not bothering to take them off like Sunghoon did and takes out a condom from jacket pocket. He gives himself a few quick pumps before slipping on the condom, biting his lip in the process. In one swift motion, he lifts your legs up so that they wrap around his waist, lining himself up at your entrance and prodding you with just the tip. “Let me know if it hurts, ok?” With that, he slowly pushes in, inch by inch, wincing as he feels your walls wrap around him. 

When he bottoms out, you wait for the pain to subside before giving Heeseung the go ahead to start moving. When you do, Heeseung’s pace is relentless as he pulls out and immediately snaps his hips back into you. The sudden intrusion has you crying out with pleasure, his cock opening you up in ways you’ve never experienced before. “F-fuck! You’re too big, Heeseung!” you cry, scratching at his back. 

“You can take it, slut!” He says, slamming into you. 

Sunghoon, who is standing a few feet away from the two of you, hand stroking his cock as he watches his best friend slam into you, steps forward. “You’re too tense, Y/n. Relax for us, baby.” He says, using his free hand to rub circles around your clit. With the extra stimulation, you relax around Heeseung’s cock, allowing him to move in and out of you at an easier pace. “There you go, baby.” He praises.

Heeseung leans forward under the guise of kissing you, and you open your mouth to accept his kisses, but instead, he spits into your mouth. “Swallow it,” he demands, snapping his hips into you. The lust in his voice sends a wave of desire rushing through you, making you swallow. “Good fucking girl,” he says, leaning down and kissing you this time. His lips are thinner than Sunghoon’s, but the passion is no less than the others as he continues to pound into you with your lips locked together. 

“Mmph, Heeseung- I’m gonna cum!” You moan, clinging to his arms as that familiar coil in your stomach tightens again. Heeseung subtly adjusts your position, slightly lifting your ass off of the table, allowing his cock to hit that spot. “T’s too much!” You cry, a tsunami of pleasure hitting you as your vision goes white. 

Heeseung, relentless in his thrusts, finds himself letting his release go as well when he feels your pussy tighten around his cock. Spurts of cum spill into the condom as his dick twitches inside of you, “Fuck, Y/n, cumming on my cock like that, you dirty girl.” He pants. 

You lay back on the table, Heeseung’s dick softening inside of you as the two of you catch your breath, but Sunghoon’s not done. “I’m close,” He says, approaching Heeseung with a look of desperation. 

“Yeah? Gonna cum for me?” Heeseung asks, gripping Sunghoon’s hair. Sunghoon bites his lip, the speed of his hand increasing as he listens to Heeseung talk to him. “Look at you, so desperate to cum, but you can’t without getting off to my voice.” 

Heeseung looks over to you with his eyebrow raised, as if expecting you to say something. Instead, you sit up, leaning on your arms and beckon Sunghoon over to give you a kiss. You capture his lips in a smoldering kiss, letting out the most erotic moans as encouragement. “Cum for me, Sunghoon.” 

And with that, thick, white ropes of cum spurt out of his slit, landing across the conference table while his head is thrown back in pleasure, moans leaving his mouth like a chant. 

“Next time, Sunghoon will fuck you.” Heeseung says. 

read part 2 here | read part 3 here

[yelenaslyubov]

A New Frontier: Part 1

𓃗𐚁🏜𖤓⋆｡° ✮ // a new frontier // part 1 // part 2 // part 3

main masterlist || yelena belova || requests

a/n: welcome to the first part of my first series! like i said in my announcement, i’m not sure how many parts this series will have, but as i see it now, definitely over 6 so get excited about that!! this first part is definitely a build up to everything will be contained going further, so there’s not much adventuring in this one. i hope you enjoy!

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ pairing: yelena belova x reader

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ warnings: language

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ description: you’re granted the opportunity to join the avengers on your first top secret mission together. not only are you navigating your newfound status as an avenger, but you’re also trying to hide your affection for another avenger, yelena. you travel to your location in stealth and soon find out what kind of mess you’ve really gotten into.

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ word count: 3.2k

Your eyes jolted open when you realized you had fallen asleep accidentally.

“…and we need to act fast in order to make sure we do our part in this mess. And remember, none of you jackasses better make a peep about this, I mean it.”

Shit.

You had fallen asleep during the majority of Tony’s mission announcement. This was the first stakeout call that you had been invited on since you had been recruited. Most jobs were simple and thorough—fighting and taking down a villain and so on. Everything was usually the same, except this time and you missed it.

“Alright, that’s all I got. Be ready and down to the pad in an hour.” Tony dismissed everyone from the room when they all dispersed and you were left disoriented from the meeting.

“AH, I’m so excited!” you heard Kamala squeal. You assumed she had been asked out on the mission as well, making this her first too. “I’ve never seen a horse in person before!”

Now you were even more confused as to what was happening. You decided to be surprised rather than ask too many questions, especially since you were new. You couldn’t be caught slacking on the job already.

You went up to your room to pack whatever you could with the little information you had. You remembered something being said in between your slumber about it being dry and hot, so you kept that in mind.

You packed all the toiletries you had since you did not know when you would return. You didn’t have a permanent suit currently, as it was still being worked on and you didn’t know when it was going to be done. You hoped you could finally break into it on this trip so you wouldn’t have to use one of the hand-me-downs.

You jumped as you heard a knock at your door. “Can I come in?” Kate shouted through the door. Even before you could speak Kate had opened the door and was on a mission.

“Do you have deodorant or a hairbrush? I-I must have lost mine or run out because I don’t know where they went.”

Kate was the first friend you had made since you had been recruited. You both hit it off immediately and she made the transition from normal life to super life much easier.

“How does one not know when they run out of deodorant?” you chuckled.

“I honestly don’t know. I think I kinda just slap it on without looking while I’m halfway out the door,” she stammered.

“Well in that case, yes, I have both deodorant and a hairbrush so you lucked out today.”

“Ugh, thank you, you’re a lifesaver,” Kate sighed. “Oh, by the way! If you’re all good with it I think Kamala was going to bunk with me and it’s three to a room so you wanna join?”

“Uhm, that sounds good,” you responded. You were nervous to be in such close proximity to so many new people, but you were excited to be involved in something this secretive.

“Awesome! Well, I’ll see you down there then.” Kate smiled and then ran out of the room in the same manner she came. It was then you realized you missed your chance to ask her what exactly you all were doing and what you should bring. It added even more mystery.

You had filled your duffel bag to the brim with anything you could think of—a couple books, clothes for all weather conditions, a swimsuit, a coat, etc. You had said goodbye to your room for the time being when you ran into another Avenger in the hallway.

“Oh, uhm hey.” You were face to face with a green-eyed woman looking slightly up at you. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“It’s good,” the woman smiled and shrugged. She walked off without saying a word and you felt an uncomfortable aura blooming.

The butterflies in your stomach slowed their flutter the farther away the woman went. You had learned in your first few days as an Avenger that her name was Yelena. She had short blonde hair and the most captivating eyes you had ever seen. She was nothing short of intimidating so you had exchanged little words between the two of you. This was most inconvenient for you because you were tired of her staring at you as if you were a bit helpless.

You hoped this trip proved otherwise.

You were still awkwardly standing in the hallway after your encounter with Yelena when Kamala came out of her room with what looked like all her belongings balances in her arms. You could make out her eyes peeking between different objects that looked like a fan and a small table.

“I hope I packed enough,” she said through muffled words. “I don’t know how long we’ll be gone.”

“I don’t think you’ll have any problem with that,” you laughed. You watched her carefully walk down the stairs with the rest of her things.

Based on everyone’s timely exit, you assumed that you should probably make your way down to load up. When you made your way down to the pad where everyone else was waiting. Everyone’s packs varied in size so you had no idea how your packing job compared to anyone else’s.

Wanda and Nat had a decent sized suitcase for the both of them to share and others had small duffel bags. You giggled a little to yourself when you saw Peter’s only bag which appeared to be his school bag.

“How did you manage to fit everything in there, Pete?” you asked him.

“Oh uhm all I really need is a few clothes, but the rest is homework.”

“You’re bringing homework on an Avenger’s top secret mission?”

“Uh… yes?”

“That sounds like a sad life, Peter Parker.” You looked to your right where Yelena was standing. “Do you do anything for your own pleasure… like ever?”

You, Yelena, and Peter all stood together staring at one another, waiting for someone to say anything.

“Alright!” Tony yelled. “It’s time to load up.”

Everyone made their way onto their biggest quinjet they had and found their seats. You sat towards the back of the jet as you filed in behind Yelena. Conveniently, you sat directly behind her so you had the perfect view for the duration of the flight. Kamala sat down next to you with her stuffed giraffe in hand.

You heard the echo of the seat buckles clanking together as everyone took their place. You then watched as Yelena twisted her hair up high and put it in a bun. You were mesmerized by the way her blonde highlights caught the glimmer of light shining through the small windows.

Kate looked back at you at the wrong moment because she caught you staring at Yelena. She smirked and winked, signaling that she planned on keeping your secret. Your face was flush with embarrassment. You had not planned to let anyone in on your little crush but there was no going back now. All you had to do was prevent Yelena from finding out.

Tony hopped on last and shut the large door behind him. “As much as I wish I was joining you on this part of the excursion, I’m going to be residing on a small base right outside of the airport we’ll be flying into. I’m working on tracking air transportation as well as focusing on the technical aspects of the issue. I will be checking in regularly.

“As much as I would love to fly everywhere, we have to be more careful.” You looked around at the others to see if they had any clue to what he was talking about. “Once we arrive at the airport, you’ll be assigned vehicles that you must transport in. Using jets gets too risky with the high volume of dust and dirt. You would be noticed too easily that way, so it’s much easier to fit in with the rest of the crowd. Another form of transformation will be provided… promptly.”

Tony sat down in the controller seat without another word, leaving only you at a loss of what could be coming.

You stared at the back of Yelena once again before falling asleep to the sound of her voice and buttons pushing from inside the jet

.

.

.

You jolted awake at the sound of the large compartment door opening. It was abnormally bright and dust seemed to be swarming into the jet. You looked to your right to see Kamala passed out as well.

You stood up to stretch and grab your things, but you were distracted by the look on Yelena’s face as she stared at Kamala. She then turned to you and you were not sure what to do. Yelena looked as if she was trying not to laugh.

“You’ve got something about there…” Yelena gestured around the side of your mouth where you found dried drool from your peaceful sleep.

You frantically wiped it off the best you could and tried to shake the feeling of embarrassment that washed over you. “Oh, I’m sorry, thank you,” you nervously responded.

You proceeded to wipe everything off your face shamefully. You gave Kamala a small tap on the side of her arms in hopes to wake her up. She jolted awake as if she had been screamed at.

“What happened?” she said, groggily.

“You fell asleep…and it looks like we’re here,” you responded. You gathered your things and joined everyone at the front of the quinjet.

“Listen up!” Tony yelled. “This is where I leave you. You’ll be self-escorted from here to the designated vehicles that are waiting outside. I have implemented state of the art trackers and GPS in each of the vehicles. Try to use these vehicles as much as possible. When the time comes, by all means, do whatever is necessary to complete said task, but please, for the love of God, stay hidden. We do not need to be compromised and if I hear about any of you messing around…I will personally handle the situation, and you don’t want that.”

You looked back and forth from Kate to Kamala. You could tell Tony was being serious, which meant this mission was a whole lot harder than you led on in your mind.

As you all unloaded off of the jet the sun pierced through the door making you cover your eyes. Once your eyes adjusted to the brightness, you were met with the vast ground of red clay and trees in the distance. There was not a house or town in sight meaning you were far away from civilization.

“This is my worst nightmare,” Yelena whispered to Natasha.

“No kidding. I can already feel my skin sweltering,” she responded.

Your face recoiled when you saw the rides that were provided to each of you. “They’re joking right?”

“I wish,” Bucky said as he walked by you.

“Ain’t she a beaut, Cap?” Sam said while rubbing his hand back and forth down the side of the truck.

Before you were four rusty, beat-up pickup trucks that were supposed to be your rides for the time being. You weren’t even sure how long they were going to last. They were most definitely older than you.

“Are we sure these are safe to drive…or ride in?” Yelena questioned.

“They’re top of the line, I assure you,” Steve said.

“Maybe when you were born,” she mumbled.

You laughed at her comment and Yelena turned around to look at you and she smirked. Your face couldn’t help but turn a deep shade of pink, but you hoped the heat would disguise your blushing.

“Alright, let’s hit the road. We’re burning daylight here and it’s a two hour drive,” Steve informed everyone which earned a groan from each of them.

Steve, Sam, Bucky, Clint, and Peter took one of the trucks and planned on leading the way to the house. The rest of you assumed you could fit in one truck but there were two left and needed to utilize them both. One truck could seat five and the other could seat three; there were six of you left and you each knew you couldn’t leave someone behind by themselves.

“Race ya!” Kamala yelled. Nat, Wanda, Kate, and Kamala began to run to the five seater truck, while you and Yelena stayed behind. I guess you both assumed that it wasn’t worth fighting over.

You were hesitant to say anything at first but you were curious. “Why didn’t you go with them?”

Yelena shrugged. “My sister and Wanda can get gross when they’re together so I would rather be 100 feet away. But I hope you know I’m driving.”

You nodded in agreement, not wanting to go against her wishes. How could you say no?

You and Yelena put your belongings in the trunk of the car and shut it nice and tight so there was no way it could fly out and escape. Yelena climbed in the driver's seat while you sat next to her in the passenger's seat. The truck started with a sputter and music started blasting through the radio. Tony Keith’s voice rang out, causing you to plug your eyes.

“If this is what the trip has in store,” you gestured to the nature outside and then to the radio, “it’s going to be a long trip.”

“I think my ears are bleeding,” Yelena groaned.

“How about I do this.” You made the executive decision to turn the music completely off. “Better?”

“Much.” Yelena was satisfied with your choice. She followed the kicked up dust trail that led to the truck in front of them. They were farther ahead but you both hoped you hadn’t lost them.

In the meantime, you decided to look around the truck to see what all treasures were held inside. Just by looking at it, it didn’t seem to be anything special. The dash was covered in dirt and dust and old, empty bullet shells rested on top. There were no cup holders for drinks, only a bench seat that could fit another person. You found yourself wondering what would happen if you scooted just a bit closer. You brushed off the thought and continued your scavenger hunt.

There was no backseat, only a small gap that could fit a slender bag. There was a tacklebox that slipped under your seat, so you decided to dig through it. You gasped as you opened it to reveal a pistol made out of vibranium. You could spot it from anywhere.

“Woah!” you admired it. You shifted the small pistol in your hand, observing the craftsmanship.

“Oh shit,” Yelena said. Her eyebrows were raised, telling you she was just as impressed.

“They really did the most.” You took another look at it before you put it back where it belonged and slid it back under the seat. “What we’re to happen if we were stopped somehow and we had that in the car? Wouldn’t they do the math?”

“Look at this thing,” Yelena said plainly.

You looked around at the crusted steering wheel, the patchy seats, and the dirty covered floor. “I suppose you’re right.”

Yelena sighed and continued driving.

You watched the world go by as the clay mesa crowded your vision. It was beautiful in its own way and it was nothing like you had ever seen. The plateau of rock and the arches that presented themselves high off the ground. You may even learn to love it.

You then turned your attention to the driver. Yelena did not go anywhere in public without dressing her best. She was wearing wide cut jeans, a cropped shirt, and high leather boots. The dedication impressed you, especially in this weather. Your eyes wandered from her clothes to her skin and how her olive tone was tanned from the sun. Her eyes twinkled with the reflection of the endless blue sky and you found yourself drowning. Of course until Yelena looked over at you because you had been in a daze for too long.

You turned your attention back out the window with the hope that she wasn’t paying attention to your admiration. The more you stared out the window, the heavier your eyelids were. Eventually, you found yourself drifting to sleep once again with dreams of twinkling green eyes.

.

.

.

You felt a push on your left shoulder but you didn’t move.

There was another push this time, but much harder, causing you to sit all the way up. To your surprise, it was night. You rubbed your eyes and looked to your left to find that Yelena was staring at you.

“Did you know that you snore?” she said outright. Yelena unbuckled and got out of the truck, leaving you stunned all alone.You decided that it would be better not to respond because you wish you could forget it ever happened.

As you slid out of the truck, you looked up at the stars. You had never seen the sky so clear in your life. It was like lightning bugs had hung themselves way up high for everyone to see. You were so distracted by the sky that you didn’t notice where you were.

When you snapped yourself out of your trance you looked around. You were now surrounded by some species of pine tree you couldn’t recall with scarce grass. You were most certainly still in the desert but had traveled farther in the new direction.

In addition, you seemed to be up on a cliff. You looked around once more and there was no sign of a house, let alone anyone else.

“Uh, Yelena,” you questioned. “Where are we?”

Yelena was crouched down ahead of you looking down from the earth when she shushed you. You tried not to take too much offense. You walked to where she was in hopes of figuring out what was going on.

“Yelena, I said, where are-” Yelena covered your mouth quickly. You wanted to resist but all you could do was yell silently into the palm of her hand.

“Be quiet,” Yelena whispered, then held up a finger to her lips as she uncovered her hand from your mouth.

You huffed. “I just want to know what we’re doing out here? Where is everyone?”

“I took a little detour,” she admitted. “I just wanted to scope out the competition and Tony had already wired the GPS with significant locations so I knew where to go.”

“He should’ve known better,” you shook your head. You were already in this mess with her so you might as well finish it.

You focused your eyes to where she was looking to find a small sized building. It was nothing like you pictured it would be in your head. There was a flagpole outside the fence gates with an American flag on it accompanied by another flag that you could not make out. You squinted harder to see what picture was made out on the fabric.

“Is that…” You could spot the unique design of a skull with its six arms recoiled under.

It was Hydra.

//

i hope you enjoyed!

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[intimidating-fettuccine]

I love ur teen reader content and since reqs are open, I’d like to ask if we could get Jeff, Liu and Ben being big brother figures to a teen reader who’s struggling with depression/taking care of themselves? I love ur blog and I hope you have a great timezone :p

I always love writing big brother content <3 I hope you also have a great timezone! I did combine Jeff and Liu since they themselves are brothers and they would definitely work together, I hope that's okay

Jeff/Liu:

The super protection squad. Jeff and Liu are very caring and understanding of both depression and not being able to take care of themselves sometimes, so they're honestly quite helpful as older brother figures for you. They sort of work as a tag team, where they alternate having one of them helping you with day to day things and the other one just spending time with you to try and cheer you up and do things with you to take your mind off of things. Jeff is the best at helping you care for yourself, as he's really good at cooking good food and making sure that you're eating it, he makes sure you're drinking water, he does his best to help you make sure you're showering (but if that is something that is a big struggle, he also helps with getting you cleaning wipes and making sure you're using them). He's used to not being able to take care of himself at certain periods, so he uses all of the various things that were helpful for him to try and be helpful with you. Liu is generally the best at being a comforting presence and getting a smile onto your face. He'll sit outside with you or go for walks when it's nice out so you can get fresh air, he'll watch things you enjoy with you so you can still enjoy those things, or he'll take you out to eat some yummy foods, and he always stops and gets ice cream with you because ice cream is awesome. Liu has a very comforting and calming presence, and it's hard to feel stressed when you're around him, he's very good at giving advice and helping you talk through things, so he makes a very good brother figure and is very helpful when you're going through things and need some help. It's funny to try and watch them both help you at the same time because Liu will intentionally tease Jeff the whole time and do the opposite of what Jeff says to make you laugh, and Jeff will play along at first but then they end up actually bickering which is even more humorous, and it always halts their disagreements when they finally get a laugh out of you. They both take very good care of you and do a lot to help get you out of any very big depressive ruts.

BEN:

BEN....... BEN is good at giving people advice and a comforting presence, helping them through depression, which is a little ironic in his mind because BEN's solutions to his own depression are to slap a lid on it and pretend it's not actually happening so he doesn't have to worry about it. With you, though, he tries his best. I know I mentioned that Jeff is pretty good at helping with cleanliness, but BEN is even better at it. With BEN's extreme fear of water, he struggles to take showers even when he isn't depressed, so he has mastered low-effort showers and cleanliness, and he's a very good help in that department, whether it's helpful tips for washing your hair or products that are best for when you just can't take a shower. If he can help you actually get into the shower, BEN will just chill in your phone and talk to you through it while you're in there so you don't have to be alone and it's easier for you to do things when you have his company. BEN is not good at cooking, but he is good at pestering others to cook for you, so you don't have to worry about not having food to eat, and he always makes sure you're drinking water and probably does silly little check ins to make sure you're drinking it by calling himself the water police or something. I can see him getting you a bunch of soft blankets and plushies so you can always be very comfortable if you're in a depression nest era, and he'll get you good snacks to keep on your dresser so if you just really can't get out of bed to eat you can have something right there to make sure you're eating something at all. He'll send you silly little memes and encouragements throughout the day when you're apart so he can try and cheer you up in any way, and he's good at keeping your mind off of anything that's been bugging you. He's also your best gamer buddy and will play games with you so you can spend time together and have something to look forward to every day. I feel like he'd make a Minecraft world with you so both of you can play it together and have a world to progress in every day so you're still able to feel like you're accomplishing things when it feels like you're unable to accomplish anything in real life. BEN is very good at looking out for you throughout the day and reminding you that you're still making improvements every single day.

[wowa-bublord]

How do you decide how to stylize the characters you draw? If it's okay to ask.

totally okay to ask! but kind of a hard question because I have so many designs BAHBGFHDJKS!! I'll use my zack design as an example since I draw him the most... and I want an excuse to talk about my process BAHABGFH

the first thing is obviously to get references haha. with Zack thats really easy cos he has 500 designs, I did some studies to figure out how to draw him, what aspects I liked and what things I didn't like! I don't have the studies anymore cos i lost them (bubby lost media) so heres my recreation vvvv

the thing I liked the most were the sharper, bigger eyes of the cutscene zack, the harder jaw of the remake older zack, and the bigger eyebrows of the younger remake zack >:3 so I slap them all together into my design !!

some other stuff misc stuff I took from some design are the darker skin from the og crisis core, and the big ol mane he's depicted with in his first designs!

BOOM first pass design

once I have my first design, I just slowly decide what parts I want to emphasis and exaggerate :) for zack, I like to really push his hair and his eyes. I like to make his visuals very expressive because I see him as a character who isn't very good at verbalizing his emotion, having him physically readable makes writing comics with him easier despite this. (In canon he actually has a tendency to completely turn around or hide his face when he cries! You can see this when Angeal dies, he hides his face behind the sword, later faces away from aerith in the church when he cries, and then at the end during the final meal he turns away from them again. Just a little zack fact.) I also like to push triangular shapes in his design to give him a sort of super hero vibe. Triangle eyes, triangle body type, triangle hair, that sorta thing. Triangles are the strongest shape, so they give him a sort of immovable vibe, however triangles in character designs are also often used for villains because they convey a sharpness and unpredictability. That's why I use them in my sephiroth design a lot too LOL, parallels. I also tend to push the wolf/dog theme a lot with him, with the sharp teeth, big fur hair, and puppy dog ear bangs in his younger design. Mostly because. yea duh Zack The Puppy BAHBVGFHD but also to mirror Sephiroths own theme of dehumanization. Zack is a person second and an attack dog first to ShinRa. Sephiroth the hero and Zack the puppy..... ive got a lot of thoughts but idk how to say them i just hope it comes out in my drawings at all thats what its all about LMAO

Some other things I try to add are visual parallels I give him to my sephiroth design, with a low nose, sharper jaw, big shoulder pauldrons and a triangle body type. It's more obvious from how I draw their side profiles tho hehe

And that's how I got to my current Zack design!! sorry for the ramble, thanks for giving me an excuse to talk about my art FWWHWH character design is a big passion of mine yippee!!

[aurasy3ag3r]

𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐀.𝐓𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐚𝐦𝐞́𝐧𝐢

☆ an : was requested! hope y'all like. Btw didn't give baby a specific name but feel free to name baby whatever y'all want

☆ wc : 632

It’s been exactly 3 months and 3 weeks since your baby was born, Since then you and your fiancée haven’t had any alone time. Luckily you and aurélien have started to get the hang of this parenting thing and you think tonight is finally the night that you can go on a date, with your baby of course. It’s not that you guys didn’t have anyone to watch your little angel but you guys just loved having him around. 

“Baby are you almost done changing him?”. You peaked your head into the nursery where aurélien was finishing getting him ready. “Me and my baby matching”. Your boys were both wearing matching chrome hearts shirts and some grey jeans and matching dunks. “So yall wasn’t gonna tell mommy nothing?”. You rolled your eyes and went to grab your baby back from daddy. “Well mommy doesn’t get fly like us”. You gasped while aurélien laughed in your face. “Papa you so handsome”. You squished your baby’s cheeks while he giggled.

“Let’s head out mama our reservation is in half a hour”. Aurélien grabbed the diaper bag and car seat as you two stepped out the house, He got the baby all strapped making everything ten times easier for you. “Thank you baby”. The car drive was smooth no need to stop at any point because of baby. 

“Reservation for Tchouaméni”. “Follow me” Aurélien followed behind the hostess as she lead him to a booth, The restaurant was chill, A few families and a few obvious dates but nothing too overwhelming. “Will you need a booster seat?”. Aurélien shook his head and the waiter nodded and walked away leaving you two to settle down. “It feels good to be out the house”. You nodded and Aurélien smiled, You’d been having a rough time adapting to this new life of yours and aurélien wanted to make it as easy as possible for you so seeing you out again was making him happy. 

“You know baby you can always go out with the girls, me and handsome man can handle ourselves”. Aurélien kissed your hand repeatedly making you giggle. “Instead of me going out why don’t we invite some people over”. You and aurélien continued the discussion on having a little get together until your waiter brought out a bottle of whine and the menus. “This is our best wine per Mr Tchouaménis request, I will be back in a few minutes to take your orders”. 

“Mr Tchouaméni… Thank you baby”. You leaned over the table and placed a kiss on auréliens lips leaving your lipgloss all over his lips. Aurélien picked up your baby holding him on his chest, Seeing aurélien holding your child that you two made together truly made you love him more, he was such an amazing father and you loved him for that. “Let me take a picture of my babies”. You snapped a quick pic of them but put your phone away so you could soak in this moment. 

Dinner went well, You and Aurélien discussed many things that you haven’t had time to talk about recently. “Thank you for tonight papa”. “You’re welcome Mon Amour”. Aurélien slapped your butt as you exited the restaurant. “Aurélien you have our child in hand”. Connie just smiled as he wrapped his free hand around your waist.

“I love you baby”. 

Posted 10 mins ago

[jlepixie]

Can you write about Tom Riddle ? A dark nsfw :)))

hi love! yes of course, thank you for requesting! I hope you like it <3

╰ ୨ Tom Riddle nsfw ୧ ╯

༶⋆˙⊹｡⋆ʚ♡⃛ɞ ✩ ˛˚.

You are a Slytherin, but the difference between you and the others from your house is that you are shy and silent like a bunny. You never start fights, you found it immature and a waste of time. All you want to do is attending the classes you have and try not to fail them, and to not let anyone even realise that you are there. Unfortunately for you, he started watching you. He was watching from the dark corners, waiting the right moment. You watched him as well but only when you passed by him. In your opinion he was handsome but you could never imagine yourself with someone like him. 

When you were asleep he was touching himself, thinking of you. For Tom you were a prey and he loved the feeling of a predator. That thought made him obsessed over you, all he wanted was to have you, to own you. He even started following you everywhere, keeping a generous space for you to not notice him, but you did. Every time. It wasn't scary although you preferred to be alone. 

One day when you were enjoying the company of a book in library, he entered and leaned over the wall, examining you. Every move you make. “It is rude to stare” he hummed and replied “I can't help it, you are relaxing to watch” Knowing he is saying random stuff but that didn't stopped you from forming a blush on your cheeks. That day was the start of your nightmare. He was following you everywhere, like a lost puppy, he was too close for your own good now. You didn't mind it that much. At least he wasn't talking or touching, only following. 

After a week he finally talked “This school and her rules are stupid” “In that case you could just hope it will finish soon” That was the beginning of a weird friendship. You believed he was stupid in the head. Always complaining and com-plotting. Tom was hoping you would beg for him, for his attention, but nothing, that was making him desperate to take you and destroy you. 

The night after reading together and making silly conversation, he decided it was time to own you. At your parents request to the school, you were staying alone in the room, that was making it easier for Tom in completing his plan. You were sound asleep when he got into the one bed room, he started touching your body, putting his cold hand under the loose shirt you were wearing. The friction made you gasp and wake up to find him towering you. You actually were expecting that, you knew what was in a mind of a person like him, it was easy to know what he wants. He grabbed your chin and covered brutally your mouth “Don’t take out a sound” His dark brown eyes were staring deep into your soul and that made you have goosebumps. Shaking your head, assuring you will be quite, he took off the hand from your face but not until getting an easy slap on your cheek. 

“Fuck, you don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for this moment” He loved the scared look on your face. Tom didn't know what he wants more, to make you beg for him, or just take what he wants. You on the other hand, didn't mind what he was trying to do, in fact you were loving it. Someone making you to be submissive was your weakness after all. He was on top of you looking straight to your eyes. Lingering with your lips open, slightly touching but not kissing, your breath was heavier with the every second that passes. “Fuck it” whispering you get your hands around his neck and push his head so that you can kiss him. He looks surprised for a moment but not long after Tom gets his rough hand on your neck squeezing a little. The other hand travels along your body until it reaches the waistband of your trousers. He slides in to feel your cunt. “How pathetic, look at you, all wet for me” He laughs at your reactions. Trying to look away to hide your embarrassment, Tom grips one more time on your neck and forces you to look at him. 

“Don't look away doll, not when you have those glossy eyes.” He demanded “You are so pretty under me” He pushes one finger against your core, teasing you, making you suffer. “Please Tom” you cry out-loud “Please what? hmm use your words pretty girl”, “Please stop teasing” He giggles, getting closer to your ear “I will stop teasing, if you will be only mine”. Your desperation was reading through your shaky voice “Than make me yours Tom Riddle” He didn't waited any longer and pushed two fingers in your now soaked wet hole. 

In the end birds of a feather flock together. 

© 2023 jlepixie.  ─ ��please do not copy,  repost or translate any of my works on other platforms without my permission. 

[jackiequick]

Operation Baby Rescue - Fast & Furious Fic 🏁 (Part 2)

Val Toretto x Deckard Shaw

Check out the backstory to the character and couple here

Operation Baby Rescue / Fast & Furious Fic 🏁 (Part 1)

—

Val reread the note more than twice and groans, can’t believe what she just read onto the real reason why Dom kept working with the bad side of the story. She has his son. She took a breath and looked up at Santos who pointed with a smile to take a look in the back.

She nodded and busted open the door, stepping inside to see a rather older woman she hasn’t seen before hanging over Deckard’s body. “How lovely..” Val mutter and took a seat across from her, with the man in question in the smack middle of them. “Sorry, haven’t met you before..who are you?” She asked.

The older woman gave her a cheeky grin and shook her head. “Bloody idiot didn’t think of mentioning me to anyone, did he?” Said the woman sending a small glare to Deckard’s unconscious face then glance back at her, “I’m Magdalene Shaw, dear.”

“Sh-Shaw? As in his mother, Shaw.”

“Ah, so you heard of me?”

“He mentioned his mother once or twice. Nice to finally meet the face to the name.”

Mama Shaw smiled, “You’re prettier than your brother said and humorous, i like you. Too bad my idiot son, didn’t bother to tell me about you!”

Val snickered and nod, “We should make plans for a lovely brunch, just the two of us. Let’s wake up him.”

Magdalene Shaw took a syringe stabbing it into her son’s chest. Deckard gasp glaring at her, “Jesus mom, your supposed to avoid the nerves!”

“Oh shut up.” Replied his mother, putting the syringe away, “Don’t be such a baby. That’s for also not telling me about her.”

“What?”

Deckard’s upper body slowly turned to his left, his eyes widen at the sight and groaned, “Oh hell..”

“Not happy to see me, Deck?” Asked Val, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed waving at him.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

“Clearly Dom didn’t tell you, I’m coming.”

“Of course he’ll ask his sister. I’m guessing you met mom.

“She’s lovely, we’re having brunch if we survive this.”

“Oh no..”

His mother smirked, “Oh yes. That’s what you get for not introducing me to her earlier!”

“We’ll discuss this later! Did Toretto hold up his end of the deal?” He asked, looking at both woman.

Magdalene held up a communication device, that looked like a smart watch to track Cipher with. “But you can’t do this on your own, it’s got to be 3 of you.” She explained.

“Fine, we got contacts.” Deckard said with a shrug.

“No, you’re taking your brother. Toretto knows where he is, it’s called the devil’s bumhole or something.”

~~~

Val tried not to laugh as she corrected her, “It’s called God’s eye. And we’ll take Owen.”

“No we’re not! He’s a lost cause.” Deckard remarked, not liking the idea.

“He’s your brother, Deck.”

“Yeah so?”

“We should take him, we need someone to help as back up.”

“I can call one of my guys back home, get the job done much easier.”

His mother added onto Val’s response and started to cry, “He’s your brother. My son, your family. And our family don’t die, bloody..how can you talk like that about Owen i can’t believe you! You gone and upset me, why can’t you just listen to us and..”

Deckard sigh looking around and said, “Oh come, mom. Ok, I’ll take him!”

Mama Shaw grinned knowing her son fell for that trick every time and wink at Val. “He’s too easy.” She said, slapping her son’s chest, “Now, how long have you two been together?”

“Oh mom!” Deckard exclaimed annoyed and slightly embarrassed at the question, taking Val’s hand, “This is why I didn’t want you to meet her.”

“How long, Deck?”

“Since 2011. It’s been a going on for a while now, we’ve all seen each other every couple times a year.” Val answering and chuckling brightly, squeezing her boyfriend’s hand.

His mother gasp, “How long were you gonna hide this from me? You’re own mother! Have i’ve not taught you anything?”

“Mom, I didn’t think i needed to tell you. I was prison for more than 2 years, for god’s sake!” Deck tried to explained and sigh, “..I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“At least kiss the sweet girl, she must’ve thought you were dead for half a day. Us women deserve more from you Deck.”

“I can handle this. You two meeting wasn’t on my agenda for this..”

~~~

Val leaned forward watching the two and smirked, “She’s right, you scared the shit of me after Dom fake shot you.”

“You’re just as worse. Come here, you.” Deck said as he rolled his eyes and cupped her cheeks pressing his lips onto hers, giving each other a taste of how much they missed each other, “I’m sorry, we couldn’t tell you.”

“It’s alright. I must’ve known Dom was planning something else involving you and the team.”

“I promise we’ll go on another vacation after this, your choice.”

“Let’s get to work then.”

——

Val packed up her guns and the carrier, waiting for the Shaw brother to stop bickering. “Boys! Seriously?” She yelled, looking at the clock.

“Sorry, love. We’re planning out who flies first.” Deck replied and kiss her cheek.

“I still can’t believe i get called back to action, to see my brother in a relationship with what used to be my enemy.” Owen said looking over and scoffed.

“Shut it.”

Within 4 minutes, they stood up and out of the drop zone. Placing their helmets, as they flew behind and beyond the plane that belong to Cipher. Owen in front opening the back of the plane as the three of them stumbled onto the track, holding onto crates closing the back door.

Removing their helmets, Val took a breath, fixing her handheld set and pushing hair out of her face. The brother talked quickly, Val instructed Owen to take the pilots while her and Deck searched. Cipher got alerts about them being on the plane right now and got pissed.

“Surprise.” Deckard said looking over his shoulder at the security camera and the next two smirked. The doors open as the 3 shot down a few agents Deckard instructed Owen to wait for his signal before following Val down the halls safety.

The two ran down the hall fighting a few guards reaching the room, that carrier the package. Owen signaled his brother that they’re in position, Deckard slide open the door as Val’s jaw dropped at the very package in front of her. A bouncing baby boy in his crib babbling, reaching his hands in the air.

“Hello chulo, hi. I’m your Tia Val.” She said calling him ‘cutie’ in Spanish as he gushed at her making grabby hands.

Without a second later she picked him, bouncing him on her hip. He curled comfortably into her chest. She nuzzled her cheek onto his head, “You’re so cute. Deck i think i want one.”

Deck chuckled as the baby boy grabbed his finger and he replied, “We’ll see about that, love. He’s a very handsome boy, seems to like us. A happy kid, for sure.”

He opened a comm link to Dom, waiting for the other line. Once he did, Deckard announced, “We got the package, Toretto. All 12 pounds of him.”

As he did, the baby smile bouncing and babbling, “Ya!..yeahhh da..dada..da.”

The two chuckled at him, in love with the kid already. Val can only imagine the sigh of relief on Dom’s face as she cradles the little guy in her arms. Deckard smiled at the two of them, cooing at the kid, imagining his lady as a mom one day.

Deckard placed the baby boy in a carrier, covering his ears with headphones as the kid just softly smiled at him. He turned up the volume of the music being Alvin and The Chipmunks. Val gave him a look, “Seriously? That song?”

“What? He like it.” Deckard replies turning back to the baby, “You good?”

The baby boy just made a satisfying sound as if to say, ‘yeah i love this song. We’re good.’ Val cracked a laugh, placing a kiss on her nephew’s forehead before nodding towards the door with her gun.

Deckard looked down with a soft look of reassurance to the boy and said, “Alright little man, this might be a little scary but its’ gonna be a lot of fun.”

—-

Once the door open, Deckard held the carrier jabbed and punched a two men as Val pointed her gun shooting down two more. The two took cover, switching off who gets the carry the boy next. Like a game of hop potato. “How’s the music? Good?” Deckard asked the kid, who was in his own little world waving a hand in the air replying to his question.

Val pinned and kicked a few men off balance and onto the glass table, even shot once in the chest, satisfying herself. Deckard scoffed dragging one across the bar on the wall, slamming him against a few glass as he shot a few others.

“Going for a ride.” He said, sliding the carrier over to her, as Val catches it with her foot like a Soccer ball.

She heard her nephew giggle which cause the girl to smile in return, “You like that, huh kiddo?” Val slide the carrier in between a few seats safely, “Back in a sec, keep watch.”

Deckard and Valentina stood back to back, holding up their gun to the soldiers who glared at them, they shot down two. Deck leaned forward, causing her back to rest against his, holding Val securely spinning around as she kicked a few steps onto the soliders. Once he dropped her onto the ground, Deckard dodged a few punches swiftly whooping a couple of asses successfully along the way, eventually throwing one across the room breaking the glass shelf in between them.

Val dodged a couple of punches and switch places using items such a bowl to slam a few heads. She crouched down in front of the carrier, “Where’s that handsome smile?” Baby Toretto smiled brightly listening to his music. “There is it!” She added, picking up the carrier blocking a couple of bullets, spinning to shoot the very who shot at her.

“How dare you shoot a baby? No respect!” Val scoffed and looked over shoulder jokingly signaling him, “You heard Deck?”

Deckard peeked his head from the other side of the wall after punching some guy. He scoffed at the man, “You were gonna shoot a baby? You sick bastard!”

He turned the carrier toward windows and stepped over to the male guard with a smug smirk slamming his head into a table multiple times until he passed out while fighting off two more.

Val noticed a huge guard charging at them and she scoff in annoyance, “Ugh! Another one of you? Aren’t you tired yet of this game?!” The man flipping her over and slammed her against the table, swinging her around like a rag doll as glass shattered around her as Val tries to fight him.

Before he can get a strong shot at her, Deckard came in swinging and slammed the man across the room yelling, “Hands off, asshole!”

He quickly pulled her up from the ground checking her face. Concern was laced in his eyes, scanning for any damage aside from the hits they already took to the head. “Are you okay? Did the bastard hurt you badly?” Deck asked.

“N-no, I’m alright I think..” Val reply noticing a few cuts on her man’s shoulders from the fight, “Are you okay?”

“Ah, I’ll live. We’ll get bandage up later.”

“Yeah, and next time you take the big guy.”

The two crack a few smiles, running over to the baby carrier to check their special package, making sure no more guards or soldiers coming in anytime soon.

—

Deckard wink at her before checking on Baby Toretto with a soft smile, “How we doing, buddy? Good?” The baby was clapping his hands with the brightest toothless grin he ever seen.

“There’s that handsome smile!” Added Deck grinning from ear to ear, before looking back at his lady, “I love the little guy.”

“Me too. He’s one of the funnest rescue I’ve ever had.” Val joked, making a silly face toward her nephew who giggles in return.

Val walked into the room that held Cipher holding the gun straight to her face, a piercing look laced with such attitude and seriousness. “You bitch.” Is all she said at the blonde in braids.

“Fair. How did you find me?” Cipher asked, noticing Deckard walking in behind her holding his gun with a glare and gentle placed down the baby carrier.

Deckard smirked as hee answered the question, “A friend gave us a tip.” He revealed Dom’s famously worn cross necklace, tossing it over to his lady, who caught it.

“Clever.” Cipher said with a smirk, “You’re also out of bullets, Deckard.”

“Like i need a gun to take care of you.”

“Also very resourceful, I’ll give you that.”

“You have a lot to answer for Cipher. What you put both of ours families though, my mother. I’mma make sure that never happens again. Not to anyone ever again!”

“You should know by now, you messed with the wrong crew. Especially when my brother’s really calling the shots around here.” Val added, “It’s simple really, stop you for the damage you caused.”

Cipher scoffed, “Only one fault in your pretty plan.”

“What’s that?” Deck asked, with a glare.

“Only one of us has a parachute.”

Within not even a matter of seconds, Cipher grabbed the raven black backpack that held a parachute inside, opening the doors flying out. Val raced after her causing her to almost hit her fist and slip out of the plane, gasping and yelling out in frustration at losing Cipher. Deckard noticed the baby carrier sliding towards the door as he jumped to grab it quickly, but almost being able to reach the buttons to shut the door.

He grunted as he noticed her almost slipping out of the door, Deckard reached towards her forgetting about closing the door for a moment and pulled her back. Once Val was near the doorframe of the bay, she grunted pushing the baby carrier away safely as both their feet hit the button to shut off the plane door, sliding down closing them in safety.

Deckard lays with his back against the floor and banged his fist against the wall, “Damn it.”

“We tried.” Val responded with a annoyed sigh, laying down next to him.

“No more racing after the enemy.”

“Or planes for a while.”

“Agreed.”

The two stayed there for a moment to catch their breath, with a slight smile but those smiles only grew once they heard a sudden giggle and sweet babbles.

Val sat up first pulling the baby carrier towards them chuckling, “What you laughing at, huh?”

“Told you this will be fun.” Deckard added with a chuckle and winked at the baby.

Baby Toretto giggled some more looking up at them with huge chocolate brown eyes that reminded Valentina so much of Dom and Elena. She remembered Elena she called the sweet baby boy Marcos as a middle name but Dom should be the one to give him a first name. She adored the name Baby Marcos Toretto but she was also interested to see what name Dom picked out for him.

The baby giggles once again, snapping her out of her thoughts. Deckard’s voice that held a smile caught her attention as well, talking to Baby Toretto with a quick wink. He stood up, lifting up the carrier with him and informing his brother to talk to the pilot to land soon. She watched Deck take Marcos out of the carrier and bounce him in his arms chuckling. It made Val wonder how Deck would be as a father one day, seeing him being so sweet and loving towards the baby.

“You alright?” He asked, reaching out his hand to help her off the floor as he carried the baby with the other.

She took it and stood up, “Huh? I’m good.”

“You seemed lost in thought for a moment there.”

“Just seeing you with him, had me thinking about you as a dad.”

Deck smiled and joked eyeing her for a moment, “You’re not pregnant, aren’t you?”

“No!” Val laughed and playfully slapped his arm, “I’ll leave the baby making to my siblings.”

“Okay good, but you will make a good mom one day.”

“And you’ll make a good dad.”

Baby Marcos Toretto had a toothless silly grin waving a hand up and down, as the headphones stayed on his head playing ‘Alvin and The Chipmunks’ on repeat. Val reached out to tickle his belly, then bopping his nose as Deckard bounced him for a moment catching his attention, fixing his headphone.

The pair knew the next few days would be interesting, since they headed off to a select safe house to take care of the boy with Owen’s help while Dom and the crew finished settling the mission for Mr. Nobody.

—-

Thank you so much for reading! What did you think it? Let’s discuss if you like. Please remember to like, comment & share! ✨

Tags: @gaminggirlsstuff @t-nd-rfoot @topgun-imagines @ohgodnotagainn @morgan108 @yetanotherwells @hanlueluver @blackheart-beauty @gcthvile @mandylove1000 @rooster-84 and etc

[chibimui]

The Apothecary Diaries LN3 Thoughts - Ch12-13

LN 3: Prologue-ch2 - ch3-5 - ch6-8 - ch9-11

Just two chapters this time! They're both really interesting chapters in terms of in terms of world building, fleshing out the history of Li as a country and providing little nugget of info regarding the Royal Family - whether it's about the past rulers, or the current ones.

I genuinely love how much lore dropping LN3 and from this point onward it just keeps giving and giving until the end. For now, let's just see what the next two chapters bring eh?

(Warning: These thoughts may contain spoilers from later light novels all the way up until LN15.)

Chapter 12 - Shrine of Choosing

I feel like a lot of people enjoy this chapter for the JinMao implications, and I do too, but the bigger highlight for me is the answer to the mystery! It's funny because I grew up with a medical background so I usually really dislike medical dramas, but taking modern medical knowledge and throwing it into the context of the past always fascinates me a bit. I'm always like "wow, what a clever way to depict this modern medical thing we now understand!" and this is another great example of that.

Anyway, passages which I highlighted before we get to the real meat of the chapter:

1) I find the history of Li really interesting. It doesn't have any huge relevance to the overall plot, but I like how it builds up the world and adds a bit more depth to the politics that occur.

2) Jinshi and Maomao spying on the class is so cute. I can already picture how they'd animate it <3

3) More imperial family world building - again, we love to see it!

And finally, the meat of the chapter:

Appropriate response from Maomao. It's pretty obvious that the Emperor specifically wanted Jinshi and Maomao to go through the shrine together, but I wonder what his overall line of thought was. Clearly it was meant to be a test, but what was he planning to do afterwards once they succeeded? Was he eventually going to use this moment as a way to convince Jinshi to accept the position as royal heir? Was this just a test to see if Maomao would be an appropriate partner for his sons affections?

I also find it amusing how Maomao is just like "of course Jinshi would be here, he officiates ceremonies" without actually asking why Jinshi does that. Maomao please. The evidence is literally slapping you in the face.

1) I wonder what Jinshi thinks about this. He's clearly taking this very seriously. I genuinely wonder what the Emperor told him about why he's doing this.

2) This specific eunuch is also such an interesting character. I can't remember if he ever comes back in any significant way, but he has such a strong personality. He works for the royal family, but clearly does not necessarily bow down to them and knew exactly what to say to get Maomao going. What a sneaky guy.

Maomao being the genius she is always gets to me, but again, I just really like the answer to this mystery and how it connects back to the royal bloodline. Colour blindness, inherited from the maternal line which is foreign blood, and then too much inter-marrying to retain the gene which made it easier for the royal line to die out. I know I've mentioned before reasons why Consort Lihua wasn't picked as Empress, but this is definitely meant to be the main one - at the end of the day she's just too close to the family line.

(Don't worry Maomao, it's not you the Emperor is having a laugh at.)

Jinshi was probably a heart beat away from having an aneurysm. It's one thing for Maomao to question whether the Emperor is making a joke given he is the Emperor, but it's another thing entirely for Jinshi to take him seriously. Jinshi, please. You know the type of women your "brother" likes and Maomao is definitely not up to par.

It's also just funny that the Emperor is aware of Jinshi's little (humongous) crush. If you think about it, Jinshi probably doesn't actually meet with the Emperor that often and when he does I bet it's mostly to talk about the rear palace - Maomao shouldn't really come up in conversation. This leads me to believe Lady Gyokuyou has been sharing the hot gossip and I find this possibility absolutely hilarious.

And once again we have Maomao taking the path to ignorance. What the eunuch said is so curious though - I guess this is foreshadowing the court's displeasure towards the Emperor choosing Lady Gyokuyou instead of Lady Lihua, but for Jinshi I presume this is just a general warning that people will try to target those around him whom he cares for.

Now for JinMao fans this is a big chapter because there's the big question of is this entire chapter foreshadowing the eventual conclusion to their future - Jinshi becoming Emperor with Maomao at his side.

As someone who is in the camp of Jinshi becoming Emperor is the Bad Ending, reading this chapter again..., instead of seeing this chapter as foreshadowing, I read it more as a nudge to help the Emperor figure out how to effectively navigate the current political climate. The Emperor himself has failed the shrine multiple times on his own so far, while Jinshi is only able to "succeed" with the assistance of a partner who was able to use her intelligence to solve the puzzle - not her bloodline.

As Maomao mentions, part of the reason the royal family is in decline may be due to trying to hard to protect the colour blind gene. Maomao being able to solve the puzzle through just her intelligence breaks this--and I feel like this may be what causes the Emperor to decide to elevate Lady Gyokuyou. Wisdom over bloodline purity. Someone who can bring change rather than sticking to the same old traditions of the past.

Chapter 13 - The Empress Dowager

The pay off to this joke is so funny. It's truly moments like these that make me appreciate The Apothecary Diaries so much. It's something that genuinely has no plot relevance, but is such a fun way to build up the world and Maomao's character.

I also think it's so funny that Maomao is so affronted by the wrong accusation that she personally goes to hunt down Shisui just to prove that it wasn't her. She's so offended.

The oddities around Shisui just keep piling up don't they.

I am screaming at Maomao just casually giving Jinshi's stuff away. I mean yeah Jinshi probably has 5000 beautiful expensive handkerchief's and doesn't need it back, but like... I love how she isn't even concerned about whether Jinshi would care or not. And I love that she knows him well enough now to know he probably wouldn't even care to ask for it back.

We have mysteries upon mysteries. I do like how as the series has progressed, Natsu-sensei begins balancing both one off cases and grander, larger mysteries that get their pay off a few books later more and more.

Maomao is truly a cat meeting another cat and being like "This isn't me >_>", except it totally is her. She is so lucky she doesn't live in the era of smart phones because she can pretend she doesn't act as unhinged as Shisui when she is in the vicinity of rare medicinal herbs. Maomao, you literally climbed onto Jinshi's desk when he suggested giving you an ox bezoar. You are absolutely just as deranged if not even more.

Lots of juicy details in this short exchange. One is something that is only fun in hindsight as a re-reader - "Why are you hiding?" Why indeed.

The second is Maomao realizing that she has completely stopped treating Jinshi with any of the respect that is typically required. When I first read this line I see it as somewhat self-deprecating humour, she says it but we know she isn't going to follow through on it. When I consider upcoming events in this novel though, I realize Maomao is actually being pretty serious with herself in this moment. She actually does want to maintain the boundary, even if she keeps failing at it.

This is one of those moments where I really grew to love and appreciate the way Natsu-sensei approaches the world of The Apothecary Diaries.

You have her introduce a character, the Empress Dowager, kindhearted, brought about revolutionary changes meant to better the world... and in other stories I feel like the narrative would end here. She would be showered with praise, everything is great, slavery is gone, just like how things are in our modern world, woot woot. But it doesn't end here.

I feel like that question - "What constitutes slavery" and the following "the practice had simply changed its name and adapted to new social standards" is especially hard hitting in the present when I look at what's happening in the USA/Canada, where class inequality just keeps growing and growing and growing. People might not be slaves by the traditional definition, but a lot of people definitely aren't "free" either when they're chained to their shitty jobs to basically stave off homelessness. "Corporate slaves" is a term that exists and it exists for a reason. The problem didn't just fix itself, it just changed and morphed into something else and there are still so many things we could and should be doing to make the world a better place.

Unfortunately, even when kind people like Anshi exist to bring about revolutionary change, if you push too hard sometimes it will create backlash and I have seen that even within my own province.

Moving on:

1) Maomao? Actually being put to work? Say it ain't so!

2) Loooove this detail in characterization for Lady Gyokuyou. But also, we get a name to the Empress Dowager!

3) More interesting world building details regarding the inter-connected web between Suiren and the royal family.

4) A reminder into Maomao's cautious nature.

Aaaaand the chapter ends with this tiny little bomb - WN spoilers but... Anshi really believes in her curses doesn't she.

I genuinely wonder how Anshi got the idea to come to Maomao. Was it a direct suggestion by Suiren or Jinshi, or was it something she thought of on her own just by hearing about Maomao? It's hilarious to remember Maomao from LN1 just wanting to keep her head down, have no one notice her, and now the Empress Dowager is personally coming to ask her for help. This poor girl.

Also, I think it's interesting how this chapter was called "The Empress Dowager" even though she only appears at the end and you don't actually get that much of her character--you mostly just get Maomao's observations of her. And then next chapter, which arguably characterizes Anshi even more is titled after the former Emperor.

Anyway - we shall end here for today because the next chapter is a Big One and this post is already long enough as it is.

Until next time!

[oh-saints]

sunshine becomes you (pt. 3)

Martin truly lives up to the expectation, like a dream come true, except this is reality.

Grumpy!Martin Ødegaard x Sunshine!OC

Word Count: 4.0k

Note: as promised (re: post them as soon as i'm feeling better)! the gifs are actually a clue LOL but please please please don't hate me after this :( but as usual, i happen to write this at dawn so this is ofc not proof-read. feedbacks are also always welcome! hope you like them as much as i like writing them!

tw: some suggestive languages

tags: @julianalvarez9 @formula1tina @okayline @mrswhitethornbelikov (lemme know if you want to be added too!)

sunshine becomes you masterlist here

However, after an hour playing the dutiful, supportive girlfriend—both towards her beloved boyfriend and the cause of the gala itself—around the charade full of everyone deemed important for the club, Eve decided she needed a bathroom break.

So much for answering the endless probing, especially from the women, on how long they’d been dating—to which Martin would save her by saying, “only recently, Ma’am. We decided to take it slow after what happened to Eve.”—or how they’d ended up together—“it was snowing heavily that day so he offered me a lift home, and the rest is history,” Eve would tell them while stealing a pre-planned glance to Martin.

If only the women were easier on her like the men.

Martin had it rather easy and smooth when they clapped back on him for “finally sucked his balls and tell Eve how you feel.” The captain laughed along the joke, and she did too to make their story believable in the eyes of the public.

Yet, it seemed that even bathroom wasn’t a safe place to take a breather.

As Eve sat on one of the loo, she heard a bunch of ladies walking in while laughing. They were grumbling at first, muffled by the background music of the ballroom that was slowly turned into a dance floor. But once it became clearer, she wished to take back her hearing ability.

Do you see how much Eve is so out of place in Martin’s arms?

It’s like she forced herself onto him, no?

She doesn’t even deserve to be here! Look at her cheap dress!

Hush! It can be expensive, you know? It only falls on the wrong person.

Or maybe Martin really bought her that dress so she could look the part? I mean, she’s given her pussy for all we know!

That was it. That was the final straw for Eve.

She and Martin had slapped Bob in the face, played their lovey-dovey part tonight. She was more than ready to smack these girls before calling it a night.

She burst the flimsy excuse of a plastic they called a door, electrocuting the fucking mean girls to the point their jaws dropped on the floor. It felt good to give them what they sow in the first place—and don’t get Eve talk about one of these pathetic bitches was Bob’s wench.

Despite her initial rejection to the exquisite evening gown, it was what Martin had chosen for her. Martin had outmost confidence on her pulling all the stunts from the beginning and—boyfriend or not—she wasn’t going to let it goes to waste.

By wearing that, too, she’d promised the man a favour, and she intended to keep it the way he kept his. She’d wear them with squared shoulders and immense proudness, as had Martin been doing to her and for her.

“Better pick up your jaws, ladies,” Eve reapplied her lipstick without a flying fuck to the girls, albeit seeing them with stunned faces from the corner of her eyes did the trick. “You don’t want to look like a bunch of pathetic, jealous bitches.”

She’d like to pardon her French but why not utilise the fact she was resigning by next week?

Although, if the girls had taken a closer look at her fingers as Eve passed them by, they’d find the digits shaking from the acute adrenaline rush.

However, as soon as she opened the door, it was Eve’s turn to be surprised. Martin was leaning his body against the wall, both hands kept inside the pockets, a leg was crossed over the other—had Eve not controlled her expression, the Norsk wouldn’t miss the way she swooned, especially with his black tie and all. Eve could swear she was one of the girls at that moment and she cursed at Mikel for building a team surrounded by models.

But Martin caught on the bad words muttered under her breath. How he did it when everyone and everything was practically too loud in this part of the building was certainly a question for another day.

“That’s my girl,” He stood up straight at her meek voice, with a cheerful voice that truly sounded like he welcomed her, like he was truly waiting for her proudly, and her chest eloped in ways she didn’t want to think of because with the way he looked so damn good it should be a sin. “I was worried about you. You’re taking too long for my liking…”

“Aw, you’re getting lonelier without me?”

She was actually teasing him, as they’d discovered the kind of fun they let to dictate how far their impromptu scenario could take place. So many touches—hidden or not, subtle or not—and glances between them passed by and they now fell into their own rhythm of bantering this evening.

But Martin took the glint gleaming in her eyes as something else. He didn’t know whether he could describe them in words.

So he didn’t, and chose violence instead.

He pulled out his hands in a flash that could put ninja to shame, cupping the side of Eve’s face that felt so small under his fingers, and brought her lips to his. It was gentle, compared to the fireworks show earlier that must’ve been relocated down to between him and Eve. Like alpha and omega blending into one in the sky beautifully.

It was gentle, very much in contrast to the rough and patchy hallway like those you see on Americans shows, which made this all supposedly a wrong thing to do. In the wrong place, in the wrong setting. It was everything but what Eve deserved to have. It should be wrong… but why was something so wrong felt so right?

“What was that?”

Martin himself found it funny how her little whisper tickled his ears in all the right way, as if they were meant only for Martin to pick up the sounds, like it tingled his spidey senses even against the blaring music that was starting to take over the bar down hall. Yet, he knew he’d choose her melodic tune over any other music in this world.

And there was the smile she’d come to love. The one she knew only reserved for her—because there was only 3 instances when it happened and every single one of them occurred around Eve—with the edges tipped slightly slanted in all the right ways as it deepened the dimples that rarely existed anywhere else.

“I promised you I won’t let anybody disrespect you, didn’t I?”

It all fell down on her like a fucking nuclear bomb.

He’d heard those horrible ladies. He’d heard, and he’d come to the rescue. He kept his end of the promise he first gave her.

He fulfilled the promise she herself even forget.

Nobody had ever done that to her. Perhaps, none to all what Martin had been doing tonight. Frankly, Eve didn’t think she’d find somebody else that could do what Martin just did.

As much as the green monster lurking on the back of her head for the possibility of him kissing her only for the show, the gratefulness that blossomed from the very bottom of her heart succeeded in taking over. And before she could swallow the bitter pill of reality that they were only faking it till they make it, Martin kissed the top of her head, the side of her head, the shell of her ears.

“Let’s go,” He whispered against the soft bone, and she swore the shivers didn’t come from the cold winter air that seeped in through the open backdoor. “There’s still the real party we’ve got to attend.”

No matter she liked the feeling of his fingers sliding down her arms until they were finally clasped together with hers, Eve tugged Martin’s to a halt. “Can we go home instead?”

Eve really wished it wasn’t the constant flow of champagne she chugged to ease her nerves that resulted her vision seeing Martin confused and… hurt. “Why? Did you not enjoy yourself?”

The disgraceful bunch of ladies earlier slipped past behind Martin’s back and Eve felt like throwing up again, all adrenaline from earlier washed away by now. Martin, however, being alert as he always was on the pitch, noticed how her hands freeze slightly in his grasp as soon as he sniffed the reeking smell of cheap perfume.

“Angel, baby, look at me,” Martin stepped closer, hindering her eyes from direct exposure of fluorescent lights coming from the dance floor behind him so he could meet her eyes. “You’ve gotten so far, beyond what everyone expects of you, so brilliantly at that and I’m so proud of you,”

Martin giving her pep talk was the last thing in Eve’s mind. The first one was how his clear blue orbs were searing into her soul, as if begging her to stay with him instead, and she had to ask herself silently if her vision was seeing right with the help of her contact lens. If not, then she’d surely have to buy a pair of new ones.

“For that alone, we should celebrate you.”

“You mean, us.”

“That can be arranged,” and there was the playful Martin again. This one she could handle easily by now—trust me, spending almost 4 hours around him did wonders to you. “So do me one last favour, Eve.”

She snickered at his response. “You seem to like this whole favouring thing a bit too much.”

“Only for you, solskinn,” Martin tucked away the unkempt strands that went astray from her bun that exposed her flawless neck. The man swore he had to remind himself not to run his fingers against the length of her neck right here, right then, for he was a gentleman and he was raised better than to treat her in public less than what she deserved. “Enjoy the rest of the night like you’re not pretending, will you?”

But in all honesty, how could she deny him when he made her crave his touch like that?

＊✿❀○❀✿＊＊✿❀○❀✿＊＊✿❀○❀✿＊

So enjoy yourself was what all Eve did for the rest of the evening. She’d danced, she’d laughed, she’d drunk, she’d laughed some more.

True to his words, like the gentleman he was since the beginning of the night, Martin never strayed too far from Eve. He’d be lurking somewhere while watching Eve having fun for those who knew her—Louisa, especially, for it’d be the last time attending this kind of event with you!—and Eve knew his eyes lingered on her because he made it hard for her to miss it.

There was always a burning feeling on the back of Eve’s head or back, surely unmissable whenever she looked for the source of the warmth, it always directed back to Martin. No matter what he was doing or whom he was speaking with, his eyes always managed to meet hers from across the room without missing a beat. Like he knew she’d be searching for him, for the stolen glances he’d always snuck on between flowing conversations with his teammates and staffs and other guests alike.

Maybe because he intended it to be, so she could find him anywhere, everywhere. If she was to encounter another nasty bunch of women, if she was to be graced by Bob’s disgusting breath, if she was to be disturbed by a stranger she didn’t wish to be around with…

Wherever she wanted him, he’d be there.

He’d asked her to enjoy the night, and he’d also promised her that no one would disrespect her while he was around. But with the way she swayed her hips left and right in tune with the blaring music, Martin started to question his initial noble motive.

It was straining him to be honest, down to the particular parts of his pants, to see her enjoying the night so free, her hair dangling loosely down her spine left and right in opposite direction to her hips, hands in the air with a smile so widely stretched unconstrained, like she didn’t go through the worst period of her life just weeks ago.

To see her so unrestricted, after weeks of toning down her chirpiness in the training ground, was like watching a caterpillar transforming into a beautiful butterfly, ready to fly away from the cocoon that was protecting her all this while.

The metaphor surmised what Martin was actually feeling, ironically.

Martin couldn’t—and didn’t—want to acknowledge she was leaving the premises he’d call home these days but he had to. It was a decision she made before he was involved in her life, and it was a decision he had to respect. At least, it gave him an insane amount of proud to see her leaving a huge footprint in the facility before she left, just the way she wanted it and just the way she deserved.

At least, Martin would like to proudly think he’d given her back the life that was identical to the facility just before their sunshine left. Just before Eve left.

And proud was becoming something he’d like to wear on his exterior, he found out tonight, especially whenever Eve was striding towards him with a full-watt smile that was directed to none other than him. She might be smiling to everyone but he discovered that those smiles strained the edges of her eyes a little too forceful for his liking, while this—no matter how cute her eyes turned into crescent moons as she grinned, every contour of her face was relaxed and clearly glowing.

And proud was becoming something he’d like to wear on his arms as well, as he scooped Eve by the waist before the woman could even reach his sides. He was proud of the woman she’d become tonight—acting or not, after her earlier stint in the bathroom—and he was proud of the woman every men and women alike would like to get hands on her.

No can do was something Martin didn’t know could be so exhilarating when saying. Or maybe in his case, showing, as his hand settled well on top of her hip while his lips nestled well on the back of her ears or somewhere between her hairs. The action startled his conversation opponents, for they’d never seen Martin so openly affectionate and possessive, but that was the last thing on his mind as he felt Eve sinking back against his front, her hands covering his own in their respective places.

Eve didn’t let the guests continue to be fluster, though. Being an excellent conversationalist, she steered the chat between them seamlessly like nothing happened. Not even when Martin joining Eve in moving his body left and right slightly, following the music in the background.

Granit, somewhere at the other end of the ballroom, was shaking his head with a smile on his face as he noticed the young captain only smiled whenever Eve was around him. Every time someone interrupted his time with Eve, Martin’s smile would vanish into thin air as fast as Eve could strike them back in seconds. Well, he’d call the dibs from the start, to be honest.

“I’m thirsty,” She turned her head slightly to reach up Martin’s ears and he swore he had to hold back an audible gasp when her lips grazed his jawline. “I’m getting something, you coming?”

Like an insolent pair of teenagers, Martin had to quickly disengaged themselves from the conversation before her tug on his hands got stronger. Before her hands slipped of his. Before he couldn’t get a hold of her anymore.

And Martin thanked God he was following her. He could definitely pull off a head from its place if he’d caught the stare thrown by the bartender a second too late to Eve’s lowering cleavage, a result from dancing too many hours too count. Involuntarily, he stepped in between Eve and the oakwood bar, hands already reaching for her waist before he could help himself. And as soon as the drinks were served, he navigated the both of them to their table, although only to find the chairs were all occupied.

“I want to sit,” and Martin didn’t hesitate to pull a chair from the table beside theirs before sitting down himself. Eve was left bewildered at Martin’s action, so much for being a gentleman. “Can we switch places?”

“Sit,” Martin tapped his thighs, and Eve had to blink out the alcohol that was slowly coming down her system. “Come here, Angel.”

She didn’t see anything wrong, of course, for Martin had been sporting that challenging look with him since he told her to have the fun of her life earlier. But maybe that subtle smirk was something else… is that another challenge?

Bring it on.

The crystal glass on Martin’s hands almost slipped off his grip when Eve welcomed his daring challenge, sitting sideways across his lap and slithering her arms on the back of his neck. They’d been bantering each other, verbally and physically, throughout the night but still, Martin didn’t think Eve would answer this one so brutally like this.

He wasn’t complaining, though.

How could he if it meant him getting access to nuzzle his nose right on the crook of her neck, like two pieces of puzzle meeting each other as a match? How could he if it meant he could wrap his arms around her so easily, like a kid with their favourite bolster? How could he if it meant he could whisper all these things to her ear that lit up her entire features, like the electricity to a light bulb?

She might be drunk in alcohol but Martin might be drunk in life, for he didn’t want this to end.

Sue him.

Sue him for stealing her away from the crowd for the rest of the night, until the dance floor was being cleaned away slowly but surely. They didn’t do anything more than cradling one another in each other’s embrace and talking each other’s ears off—and somewhere in the back of the room, Rob Holding could be heard bawling his eyes out for losing the bet to his best friend.

But Martin couldn’t care less. He was picking up all sorts of endearing little anecdotes of Eve, one he’d never gotten to know of and one she’d never revealed to anyone in the building, for how precious it was for her. Like the fact she likes it so much to go to the flower market for a fresh bouquet on the weekends, no matter how tired she was or how early the clock might be striking.

Martin was proven right once more of his own hypotheses; Eve was more than the bright persona she let on.

So sue him when he refused to let her go from his clutch when she stood up, agreeing to join the rest of the staffs one last time for one last dance. It was his one last time, too, in a way. Put some regards to his name.

“Then dance with me.”

How could he deny her when she made him crave her touch like that?

The rest of the staffs didn’t expect Martin, the club’s current captain, to graze his presence to the dance floor. The staffs usually had fun amongst themselves, not even the physios or doctors joining them, more over the players. What started as murmurs between the staffs that Martin and Eve weren’t possible was starting to become true in their eyes.

They couldn’t refute whatever it was displayed in front of them, as Eve jumped to the music in Martin’s arms, both laughing at God-knows-what as her arms circled the back of his neck, so comfortably like they’d done this on a daily basis and not like someone who’d been hating each other’s guts until today.

The way they kissed each other certainly didn’t give anything away, not even the slightest clue, that they weren’t an exclusive item initially. Martin’s gentle brush over her lips and the little pecks she gave in return, just to capture Martin’s lips between hers and teased them in the way she only could—in the way Martin definitely would never get tired of getting kissed, the smile stretched over his face was an absolute giveaway to what he was feeling inside.

“Stop laughing, Martin.”

Eve was another level of irresistible when she pouted deeply like a child not granted sweets, and Martin had to succumb to the temptation. He kissed her deeply this time and he could feel her melting underneath his skin that was supporting her exposed back as he tilted her head to gain a full access to the cavern of her mouth that tasted exactly like how he imagined her to be. Sweet, sour, fun, and addicting.

Once, twice, thrice—they could go on to the fourth if Eve didn’t catch the glimpses of reality happening around them. Nobody was remaining on the dance floor and everyone was already deserting the venue. It was the two of them now, and it dawned on her that this was it.

She was dreading the moment the bell pounded its 12th ring.

But it never came. Instead, Martin landed another well-placed smack on her lips, like nothing bothered him at all. Maybe he didn’t, being used to playing a full stadium every week and out.

But it bothered Eve, so much. Was the last kiss one last show to the cleaners and everyone that was waiting for their transportation modes? Was the last kiss meant to be for them, now that they were alone?

“What’s wrong?”

“Martin,” By the way her lips quivered against his, letting out a huff of breath as shaky as her lips, and eyes not meeting his, the Norwegian immediately wished to not hear anything else she had to say. Because he knew—he knew—that it wasn’t going to be something he liked to hear. “Martin, I—what are we?”

It was the question he didn’t even dare to ask himself, let alone imposing her with such heavy baggage. Yet it was the question they had been dancing around tonight, as it was impossible to deny the shift in their chemistry. Somewhere along the night, the lines between reality and acting had blurred.

Living up to her reputation, Eve made time and space, a well-known complicated concept, shrink into something as magical as a tinkerbell dust. Before long, Martin was trapped into something he didn’t want to return to. Something he didn’t want to grow up on and smell the fucking coffee.

Yet, if this was a reality, they’d skipped out the conventional way of getting to know each other that it threw them off the axis. If there was something Martin was sure of at that moment, it was that he was as confused as Eve was.

“I—” Martin was rendered speechless and helpless against the blinking of Eve’s beautiful eyes sparkling under the chandelier. The soft yellow hue suited her entire being, and he knew, despite starting on the wrong foot with Eve, the moniker he’d given her was nothing close to a mistake. “I don’t know.”

But he had to face it.

They had to face it.

The least he could do to her was to talk the truth, and only the truth. In the midst of this chaotic, Cinderella-like parade, Martin didn’t want Eve to have anything less than what she deserved. Even if it costed him the heart he was wearing on the sleeve as he watched her withering in his arms after hearing his answer, and shrinking Eve didn’t fit anywhere in this world.

For God’s sake, she was solskinn—sunshine; his sunshine—and yet she wasn’t shining anymore in his arms. As if he was the moon only bound to eclipse her into something unseen, insignificant. A force like her shouldn’t be hidden, and certainly shouldn’t stray away from the centre of his universe.

“Do me one last favour, Martin.”

But now it was too late, wasn’t it? She was slowly setting down and Martin already didn’t know what to do if he didn’t see sunrise anymore.

You said you want to see her having any other emotion? Well, congratulations, asshole, his inner-self emerged in anger. You did it, just like Bob did to her.

And Martin had never hated himself more than now, for doing the one thing he promised not to do.

“Angel, you know I’ll do anything—”

“Don’t kiss me again if you don’t mean it.”

*solskinn means "sunshine" in norwegian.

[yumedoca]

Why did Lum love Ataru in the first place and how her love grew into the real thing as time went on? - An Analysis 🧐 (Long Post)

Hai there, hope you’re having a great day! Today on ‘Yuca Analyzes Silly Things (For No Reason)’,  we’ll be talking about the question that is the most asked in UY, both in universe and the fandom as well. “Why did Lum love Ataru in the first place and what made it into the real thing?” Note: All of the facts and evidence and such are taken from the manga because: a) it’s the canon source, b) the og anime changes a lot in relation to character to the point it isn’t consistent and c) the remake is an adaptation of selected chapters from the manga, as in it’s not the complete story. Also most of this analysis are just theories put together using canonical facts, as in what I say is speculation and not 100% confirmed (considering the manga ended like 3 decades ago, we’ll probably never get a confirmation).

With all of that aside, let’s begin!

First, We’ll divide the analysis into parts to make it easier to understand and explain:

Marriage Proposal

Evading First Love

The Beginning of True Love

The Eventual Reason

Conclusion

Marriage Proposal Lum’s first impression of Ataru wasn’t all that big, he was a human who she was supposed to play tag with but she looked down on him because she can fly and was sure that he wouldn’t be able catch her. Cue ‘Day 8’, In an attempt to catch Lum so he could grab her horns, he accidentally groped her breast and when Lum slapped him in anger, he fell down but since he was holding onto her tightly, her bra came off (as in the bra coming off was not Ataru’s fault, it was actually Lum’s which happened due to circumstances).

Later on she goes to visit him and tries to get it back, but since Ataru believes that things were finally going his way, refuses. This causes Lum to get mad it him and spite him, so the question is why would she accept his ‘marriage proposal’ later on? It took time to figure out an answer to this but I was finally able to put together an answer which makes sense: Revenge, as in for the trouble he put her through by refusing to give back her bra and flashing her to the neighborhood, she ruins the relationship between him and his girlfriend. Pretty bitchy behavior? yes, but it fits Lum’s character back then.

Look at her evil little grin…

Sure, there’s also the alternative that she just gave up to him and agreed thinking he actually wanted to marry her, but it doesn’t fit Lum’s character to give up to someone who she was frustrated with a couple seconds ago, it just doesn’t make sense story wise, which is why I’ll disregard it. Moving on, since Lum isn’t there and that Ataru and Shinobu’s relationship has been mended in the next chapter, we can think that the misunderstanding was resolved sometime between chapter 1 and 2… But Lum appears once again in chapter 3 and announces that she’ll be living with Ataru (as a part of a deal obviously) and even breaks out a tantrum when he refuses, so you may ask, why did she come back to him if her revenge idea was already resolved beforehand and why is she so eager and stubborn to be with him? The answer for that is simple and it is all because of…

Yup, him.

Evading First Love For now we’re going back to Lum’s past, back when she dated and broke up with Rei and theorize the aftermath of that. In the chapter(s, since it’s a two parter) ‘Heartbreak Crossin’’, we are shown a flashback to when Lum and Rei broke up:

We can’t really tell how old they are since it was never stated, but considering that Lum’s drawn a bit shorter and smaller (and her outfit), we can guess that this happened a few years back. Now every time Rei appears, he is seen going after Lum (that or eating) and since it’s because he wants to get back with her we can assume this started when they broke up. This means that Rei’s been, well, stalking Lum for a couple years and she’s clearly getting tired of it. I also have to mention the fact there seems to be no high school in space since Benten just hangs and rides around on her bike and Oyuki is her planet’s ruler (Lum and Ran go to school because they’re on Earth). It seems as if Junior High is where their education ends and then they do what they want or what their supposed to do and since we see that Lum was with her dad in the first chapter invading, it is likely that after graduation she decided to become an invader with her dad, but then she retired cuz she got ‘married’. She probably made the decision to work with her dad so she doesn’t want Rei to come after her anymore, however invading planets take a couple of days (10 days) and she’ll be back on her planet again and will have to put up with Rei all over again. And during one of the invasions is when she played with Ataru and answered his proposal, and like I said earlier she went back home later on. I think, after she went home, she realized that a permanent way to end the Rei issue is to get a boyfriend, and stay on another planet so he won’t be able to bother her all the time and then she remembered Ataru and that it how she eventually lives with him now.

The Beginning of True Love From there on, Lum stayed with Ataru so she could be free of Rei, if we believe this to be the actual reason then Rei’s introductory chapter makes a lot of sense. She kept trying to provide assistance to Ataru (except it hilariously backfires most of the time and causes him trouble instead) so he would accept her and tries to rid of Shinobu (and other woman) so she would have more chances with him. But eventually, in the chapter ‘How I’ve Waited For You’, Lum contemplates when she was faced with the question on whether she truly loves Ataru or not, and we her finally have her admit that she really does love her darling after all.

Now, we have to note that Ataru hasn’t shown his more positive side at all, by this point. So, why this feeling of love? Two reasons: a) It’s because she enjoys being with him. Since, Ataru is very unlucky, he tends to naturally attract all sorts of weirdness towards him causing him to end up in strange situations and we all know that weird means fun and Lum is someone who actively enjoys taking part in fun, rather than just sitting around and watching (That’s what Ran does when she’s on dates with Rei, isn’t it?). And of course, b) Overtime, she’s grown to care for him. Lum has bonded with Ataru through their experiences and since she lives with him she spends a lot of time with him. ‘The more time you spend with someone,the closer you get to them’, this isn’t a theory, it’s fact and I’m pretty sure you yourself can confirm it. Of course, by the end of the chapter, Lum got a hint that Ataru has started to accept her as well. And because of various instances such as ‘Since Your Parting’, ‘Deranged Marriage’, ‘Valentine’s Disillusion’, etc. where Ataru shows his affection has caused her own affections to grow cuz ‘If you learn that someone loves you more than you think they do, Your love for them grows as well’ (another basic fact!).

The Eventual Reason So as time went on, not only has Lum begun to see that Ataru does care for her, but she’s also seen his softer and nicer sides: The side which cries because she’s gone, The side of him which keeps a diary (“It takes a sensitive guy to keep a diary!”), The side of him which fights his entire class to protect a little caterpillar, the side of him which goes on a date with a girl to cure her of a curse, etc. and the more of those sides she sees, the more she’s in love. The final page from the chapter ‘Last Date’ is enough to see that Lum really loves and admires the man beneath all those flaws…

…More specifically, this panel of silent love:

Conclusion In the end Lum’s reasons for loving Ataru has changed overtime: At first it was an act of spite, then it was to escape her ex, then it was because she’s bonded with him and because she enjoys his presence and finally it’s because she loves the Darling underneath the mask… It’s nice to see love grow from something so fake to something so real and the writing really helps, so big props to Takahashi- sensei. Thanks for taking time to read this analysis and I hope I was able to make things clear about Lum. I love her and she’s probably my favorite female character of all time so hopefully this post does justice to her. I also apologize if I’ve overlooked anything or made any mistakes. If you have any doubts or questions about this analysis feel free to send an ask and if you want me to do an analysis about other characters, feel free to send an ask for that as well. I have previously done an analysis on Ataru’s love for Lum and how that grew overtime, so please check it out if you haven’t. It’s a lot smaller (since it’s not as complicated as this one) and isn’t as detailed (it doesn’t use images either), but it still conveys the point otherwise. I have also done two other analysis, one on Lum’s character and other one on Ataru’s character, so check those out if you haven’t as well. And finally, likes are appreciated and reblogs are even more appreciated (seriously, please reblog this so more people can see this post, I’m usually not this kind of person, but I spent a lot of time on this so I want it to feel worth it, ok?). Hope you have a great day ahead.

[madsdawls]

Neon Frights review:

Okay so Neon Frights aka the most anticipated Skulltimate Secrets line up and I finally have them all, so what do I honestly think of them? overall I would give this Skulltimate line a 7 out of 10. I loved this line a lot and it's personally my favorite of the 3 that have released but there are a few glaring issues that bring it down for me as a whole.  Anyway let's get into it!

The positives:

▪ The SHOES omg I love them so much I love how some of the pairs are comparable to Demonias which feels like a callback to MH's more alt fashion staples while keeping G3's new choice of styling of bold colors intact 

▪The pet themed hoodies were so adorable I love the mesh sleeves on them especially my only issue though is I wish they were more detailed and they were easier to get over the ghouls heads

▪Loved the bold designed pleather skirts all of them looked cool

▪Love the overall bold color schemes on the dolls and their lockers were even masterfully done

▪All of the character jewelry and accessories were super cute and showed off the element of each characters personalities super well

▪The makeup looks were soo fierce and cunty they added so much to the entire line

The negatives:

▪The poly hair every ghoul is cursed with in this line. I loved the bold cuts and colors but oh my gosh the hair quality is HORRIBLE. This line is $30 dollars there is no reason a doll worth that much should have worse hair quality than the MH budget dolls.

▪I'm more neutral on this but I personally did not like the harness gimmick they were very cute on Frankie and Draculaura but over all they don't match or really add anything to this line? idk I would have scrapped that for a different accessory.

▪Absolutely hated the two tone pleather shorts. They were totally boring and lifeless compared to the rest of the boldness of the line and doesn't really read as a relaxing considering how stiff they are on the dolls. I think if they were fabric and more styled they may have been cuter.

▪Another reoccurring issue I don't like about Skulltimate Secrets is how they managed to make the earrings all hang sticking out to the sides so awkwardly when the other dolls don't have the earrings set in like this.

Doll rating:

Twyla: ☆☆☆☆ I thought this doll was gorgeous from the dark makeup to her entire outfits and accessories the only thing I despised about the doll was the horrid dry poly hair quality it fell out and broke so badly everytime I brushed it to the point I am considering commissioning a reroot it bothers me that much :/

Ghoulia:☆☆☆☆ I just loved the gamer girl aesthetic they went with for Ghoulia and the shade of green on all of her accessories and clothes though her pixel glasses were bent from how they packaged her and so they wouldn't stay on and also I hated the two tone shorts and blue harness that didn't match.

Toralei: ☆☆☆ I loved her bold makeup and short hair and most of her clothes however I don't think they balanced her colors very good it was just too much orange and I didn't like how her tail was removable instead of having the clothes have the hole for it.

Frankie: ☆☆☆☆☆ I think Frankie knocked this line out of the park the bold colors suits their character so well and they did not disappoint! I love the hot pink color pop on the side shave and eyebrow piercing it stands out so well with all of the other colors. I am inlove from head to toe Frankie pops out being totally in their element :)

Draculaura: ☆☆☆ I was probably most disappointed with Draculaura honestly I think they half heartedly slapped a doll together of her to be included in just because she is a fan favorite and big seller (especially true since she is in every SS line up even the upcoming Ballerina one). I loved her shoes, the pink bat top, and the black skirt with yellow straps but aside from that the design falls kinda flat. I think with the reintroduction of yellow in her color pallet giving her full neon pink hair would have been better suited.

To sum it up I think this line is still one of the best G3 has come up with but as a whole I wish they would do away with polypropylene and put more effort in the clothing pieces for $30 dollars it feels a little disappointing when you pay a lot for a doll and aren't satisfied with the obvious cheap quality.

[chiskz]

▶️ SKZ Foreign Line Being an Absolute Mess During Their First & Only Live

♡taglist: @g4m3girl , @smh-anon , @stealanity , @neohyxn

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Board from the author: Hey! Welcome to the new video. Sorry for the long absence. I hope this video makes up for it. Here, a compilation of moments from ChiChaLix's (foreign line) first and only live (we need more tho), but actually it should be called "Chan trying to do live in peace, but Chichi and Felix prevent him." Anyway, enjoy!

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🎬🎬🎬

Chan: Should we say hello? Let's say hello.

Felix: Yes. Nobody knows us.

Chan: Exactly. 3, 2, 1... We are...!

Awkward silence...

Chichi: We are... Chi!

Chan: Cha!

Felix: ...Lix?

ChiChaLix: We are ChiChaLix!

The three of them make a clumsy Stray Kids' gesture. Chichi laughs soundlessly, gasping and bending, Chan smiles pityingly at the camera, and Felix slaps him on the back, laughing loudly.

🎬🎬🎬

Chan: What language will we speak?

Felix: Not in Korean.

Chichi: No no. We're not even from here.

Felix: We're not even in Korea right now.

Chichi: We are not?

Felix: We are not.

Chichi: Where is Korea anyway?

Felix: What is Korea?

Chan smiles slowly and Chichi and Felix start shaking his shoulders.

ChiLix: Dad, what is Korea???

🎬🎬🎬

Chan: So let's speak English. Foreign line for foreign STAYs!

Chichi: But in Australia they don't speak English.

Chan: They do speak English.

Chichi: That's not true. You can't tell me that "whater", "bratha" and "knaur" are English. Felix laughs loudly, hiding behind Chan's back.

Chan: What is this then?

Chichi: How could I know? Sounds like you guys are trying to start a gang war in the neighbourhood.

🎬🎬🎬

Chichi: Chichi how did you learn Japanese? It was hard. Japanese is not easy, all those characters you have to master... But! After 22 years of living in this country, I somehow managed to master the basics.

She smiles like a meme cat

and Chan and Felix clap their congratulations.

Chan: That means you can introduce myself in Japanese?

Chichi: Ah, no, no. I haven't gotten to that yet. Be patient, in the next 22 years I might be able to. Patience...

🎬🎬🎬

Ordered food arrived. Felix comes back into the room and says something inaudible. Chan and Chichi's eyes widen in shock.

Chan: How much?

Chichi: How much?

Chichi starts laughing nervously while Felix laughs much louder. He slowly puts one plastic bag on the table... then second one... third, fourth, fifth... and two larger ones. And one more. And two more. And another two more. Chichi peers slowly into the bags.

Chichi: How did you do it?! 33 noodles in total? There were supposed to be 3! 3!

Chan: He can't count, and here's the proof! If Minho or anyone else... Is watching us now...

Chichi: They're not watching us.

Felix: They're not watching. They're glad we're gone.

Chan: IF someone is watching! Then we have a lot of noodles, we can share!

🎬🎬🎬

Chichi: I am often in Japan. I'm trying, at least. We also often have activities as a group there, so... it's much easier for me than for you guys. I don't feel so far from home.

Chan and Felix nod.

Felix: We are rarely at home.

Chan: That's true... 

Chichi: But a few months ago you were in Australia!

Chan: We were.

Chichi laughs briefly covering her mouth with hand.

Chichi: We were. I was with them in Australia at that time. But we didn't spend time together. It was their time, I stayed at the hotel and explored the city.

Felix: Yeah... We parted quickly, after leaving the airport, we only had dinner together.

Chichi: Yes. Everyone was spending time with their family at that time... I'm not close to mine and I'm in Japan a lot anyway, so I asked if I could go with Chan and Felix.

Chan: Yes, you were just bored. You came to me, you stood in the doorway like a child... You looked at me in that oversized sweatshirt of yours until you finally asked "Can I fly with you guys?"

Chichi laughs embarrassed.

Chichi: Yeah, he's right...

Chan: But it wasn't your sweatshirt tho. It was Changbin's sweatshirt that got lost in the washing machi-

Chan, however, did not finish, because Chichi put a huge amount of noodles in his mouth with her chopsticks.

🎬🎬🎬

The three of them eat their noodles in silence for a while. Felix slurped loudly and sighed. He glances at the comments where Momo from TWICE appeared.

Felix: Momo?

Chichi: Momo?

Chichi leans all the way out to be closer to the phone.

Chichi: MOMO!

Chan: Momo wants some noodles... Should we--

But Chichi had already run out of the room with the noodle bags, stumbling along the way and cursing silently under her breath. It was only audible when the volume was turned up and the fragment was slowed down.

Chan: Chichi just... Chichi loves Momo.

Felix: And Momo loves Chichi.

The video creator put in the waiting sound speeding up Chan and Felix's eating.

But Chichi, however, did not return.....

[louloulemons-posts]

In celebration of hitting 1K followers Im releasing a prompt list and a list of characters to go along with it. Please interact if you want 🤍

Thank you so much for all the love and support i can’t believe we’ve gained this much in such a short time i love you all 🫶🏻

~ / / / * \ \ \ ~

character -

Eddie Munson (Stranger Things)

Steve Harrington (Stranger Things)

Tom Grant (Make Up)

Spencer Reid (Criminal Minds)

Bucky Barnes (MCU)

Peter Parker (TASM)

Young!Remus Lupin (Marauders)

Young!Sirius Black (Marauders)

Finnick O’Dair (The Hunger Games)

Matt Murdock (Daredevil)

prompts -

1. taking photos of your lover when they’re smiling

2. peppering kisses all over your/their face W/Matt Murdock

3. draping a blanket over them when they’re sleepy W/ Matt Murdock

4. “i think i might be in love with you”

5. smiling into kisses

6. “you’re an idiot. now we’re gonna die!”

7. “everything would be a lot easier, if you sat. fucking. still.”

8. “i’m about to say ‘shut up’ and if you say ‘make me’ i will slap you.”

9. “ok. fine i admit i’m a dumbass. but i’m a hot dumbass.”

10. “you look like shit.”

11. “i can kill a man with my bare hands but i can’t unscrew this goddamn jar-“

12. “okay maybe i have a crush on you! so what?”

13. “if you do that one more time, i don’t think i’ll be able to control myself.”

14. “well since you asked nicely … sure.”

15. “you used to have feelings for me, admit it.”

16. “i don’t want them! i want you!” W/Eddie Munson

17. squeezing their hand when you know they’re stressed about something. W/Eddie Munson

18. threading your fingers through their hair

19. running to them, picking them up and spinning them round in a circle.

20. giggling when having a ‘serious’ make-out session

21. leaning down and head butting each other when trying to pick up the same thing.

22. trimming their hair

23. surprising them with a hug from behind

24. frantically checking them over after a traumatic event W/ Remus Lupin

25. grabbing them by the collar for a kiss

26. hiding your face in their neck

27. letting your lips brush their ear as you whisper to them

28. “are you flirting with me?” “have been for a year now, well done for finally noticing.”

29. reminding them to drink water

30. adopting a pet together W/Eddie Munson

~ credits to all owners of these prompts ~

[prancingintheshadows]

I've just finished FFVII Rebirth and RWBY's back with new content, so obviously those two things are the only thing on my mind right now. So of course with my brainrot I have to imagine and conceptualize what the RWBY characters would play like in FF7 rebirth. Especially since Monty was a fan of Final Fantasy.

For people playing Rebirth, there's not going to be any story spoilers, but this will go into gameplay and talk about certain abilities in the game as comparison.

This is mostly just 'how would these characters be designed in this gameplay?', so I'm not really making any big changes to Rebirth's systems to account for RWBY's in-universe mechanics. While Dust is similar to materia, there's some notable differences but I'm ignoring those differences for the sake of this. So these characters will all use Dust/Materia the way the game does, using mp or something rather than having dust be like ammo. And speaking of MP, same case. Aura is both HP and MP in RWBY, but for the sake of this, everyone's having separate bars for those.

My plan is to generally talk about the overall gameplay identity of each character, along with specific details like if they have attacks after dodging worth mentioning or holding square produces a unique attack or such. I will not be talking about synergy, at least, not in this post. Maybe in a future one if I have the attention span.

For the first of these posts I'm tackling everyone's favorite blonde brawler

Yang

Basic Idea

I'm starting with Yang because... she was the easiest. But not too easy. It's not like we can slap on Tifa's moveset and stats and call it a day. Tifa's combo focused gameplan is fun and fitting for a martial artist, but it lacks the defining features of Yang's semblance. Yang's the toughest member of her team by a long shot and her semblance builds up as she takes damage, so it's instead easier to take inspiration from Red XIII's Vengeance Mode. However, not everything of Red's is usable. Red features a lot of supportive moves that apply buffs or healing and that's not really in line with Yang's straightforward, frontline fighting style, so I'd ideally take a mix of Red's ability to turn defense into resources as well as Tifa's explosive damage potential.

In keeping in line with this mix of tank and damage dealer, ideally Yang would have comparatively high health and defenses, though I can see magic defense being noticeably lower, along with good attack and low 'magic' or whatever the dust equivalent would be. Controversially though, I'd put her speed rather low. Yang's not slow, but everything's relative, especially in video games and video game balance. Comparing to everyone else on Team RWBY, Yang's slow. I'm not too sure on luck, but I'm leaning more towards low. Yang strikes me as doing a lot of damage raw rather than relying on situational damage like crits.

Yang, like Tifa, uses martial arts, so she has a short attack range that doesn't have much spread. As such, when coming out of a dodge, Yang will do a spinning kick. I get she's a punch girl, but she's not exclusively using punches. Holding square has her do a close range shot gun blast that can push enemies back. I'd also say Yang's dodge is only average. Again, relative speeds. She's got Ruby and Blake on her team, Yang has to be average at dodging at best by comparison.

Burn Mode

We gotta talk about Yang's unique mechanic. As stated earlier, I think elements from both Red XIII and Tifa work, so I'm trying to mesh them together. At the fundamental level, it works like Vengeance where blocking builds up a meter. However, this meter has several levels, much like Tifa's Chi or Cait Sith's moogle stuff. Obviously, building more levels increases the potency of the Burn Mode, which is functionally a super mode. I'm thinking maybe 3 levels? Like Red, Yang's attacks get a massive boost and increased range and the button used to transform is replaced with a new attack.

Unlike Red, this attack will drain the form's meter, similar to Tifa using up levels of Chi and falling to the lower level. Also, these levels drop quicker than Tifa's Chi or Red's Vengeance. This is just a byproduct of what I'm trying to achieve with Yang. While being a tank/dps hybrid can be a rather simple character, I want to give Yang's fighting game plan depth and complexity. Have her be able to fight smarter like in the show. It's why I want a healthy mix from both characters. Tifa's chi is cool, but you ultimately just spend all of it on a staggered enemy and there's no other uses for it as the buffs it gives you passively aren't enough to be worth considering, so Yang's Burn Mode needs to have passive benefits closer to Red's Vengeance than Tifa's Unbridled Strength. But it also needs to run out in a decent time frame to make spending Burn levels acceptable. I want that conflict of deciding whether or not using a level of burn for a potent attack is worth it. And similarly to Red, I want a lot of interplay between Yang's super mode and her abilities.

Abilities

I'm not going to make enough abilities to match the Rebirth characters. They have 10 abilities, which is an insane amount to be doing for 4 characters for a 'for fun' theory craft. There are certain requisite things Yang needs for abilities. For one, a rather standard damaging ability. You know, your Bravers, Divekicks, and Sidewinders. Likely some sort of punch. Easy enough.

Second thing, Yang's very block heavy, so like Cloud and Red, she gets an ability that puts her in a guard stance that builds up meter faster and is functionally a better guard. I call it Block Party, and no, I will not be using puns this entire section.

Most of Yang's abilities I want to play with Burn in some way to create that possibility for smart play while staying true to her fighting abilities. Dragon Throw is probably the ability that I've best made to fit this mold. In base, Yang grabs an enemy and chucks them at another enemy. In Burn, Yang instead grabs the enemy, and in true FF fashion, leaps into the air and comes crashing down on a different enemy. This gives Yang a repositioning tool without detracting from the brawler fantasy. I think this is also not out of the question as there's a few abilities in Rebirth that bring enemies closer, so I don't see any problem with just straight up manhandling them like this.

Meteor Impact is Yang's basic AoE attack where she slams the ground. It interacts with Burn the same way Dragon Throw does. While out of Burn, it's decent, but in Burn, it's range and power increases. It would be a simple and effective tool for people who like using Burn in a straightforward manner.

Bombshell is an ability that uses Burn meter the other way. You don't have to be in Burn mode to improve the move, the move will simply eat meter from Burn by default. Yang attaches sticky bombs to the enemy that go off the next time they're hit with an ability. The amount of stickies attached can be increased by holding down the command and spending meter. It's a move that has some thought that can be put in it. It doesn't deal immediate damage, so you have to either be willing to wait or have resources left over to set them off. You could attach bombs to an enemy and then Dragon Throw them to make them a living bomb. You can set them up when the enemies stagger is nearly complete so you can rebuild your ATB and resources and go for a truly devastating combo. You can go full throttle on the bombs or hold back so you can still enter Burn.

The next ability is one I really wanted to make once I had the concept of Yang down as a fighter with a lot of variability. Golden Glow takes inspiration from Unfettered Fury being a side grade to Unbridled Strength. It's an alterative to Burn. While Burn quickly burns out and has potent offenses, Golden Glow is a mode that lasts longer but instead focuses on Yang's defenses. While Yang mostly uses her semblance to attack, she's also used it a few times to take hits. An ability like this has lots of synergy with Yang's abilities that want her to be in her super form, but doesn't play as well with moves like Bombshell that prefer having meter being quick to build and spend rather than something long lasting.

Limits

Limits aren't hard to do, but I should still talk about them anyways. A solid chunk of Rebirth's cast has a basic Level 1 Limit, a Level 2 that increases stagger a lot, and a Level 3 which just does tons more damage. That's not to say all of them are like that. Red notably gets healing from his LB1 and a longer lasting mode from his LB2.

LB1 I'd make a basic damaging limit. It'd be just one big strong punch, like the one used against Junior in the Yellow Trailer, to mirror how quick a lot of the other LB1s are.

LB2 would put Yang in Burn with 1 extra level. If used while you have level 3, this would put you in the otherwise unreachable level 4. Because of course there's 4, this a RWBY character, I can't not slap the number 4 on things. I'd probably use a scene from the JL movie part 2 actually. The one where Yang activates her semblance, jumps up, and starts peppering the battlefield with gunfire. I just think it's good to have a little bit of variety between all the melee combat.

LB3, due to being a whole process to get up to, would be huge stagger increase and huge damage. It's meant to help end the fight, regardless of how the enemy is currently looking. I actually think I'd like her to do something new for this attack honestly. LB1 already uses something from the early RWBY days and LB2 uses more recent stuff, so there's a good spread of representation.

[burlveneer-music]

Bosq & Kaleta - No Be Today - 12 blasts of Afro-Latin disco from Colombia

After 10 years of globally celebrated but only occasional collaborations, Bosq & Kaleta have their first full length album together. On No Be Today the duo is finally able to stretch out and explore their wide range of influences and musical histories. The album seamlessly melds styles from West Africa & it’s diaspora, Caribbean & South American sounds most prominently, with Disco, Funk, Soul, Hip Hop & House. Live Horn sections mix with a blend of acoustic and electronic drums, Kaleta’s effortlessly funky guitar, Bosq’s layers of keyboards, bass & synthesizers, and heavily layered percussion sections that tug at your waistline. Kaleta’s virtuosic melody writing ties the pieces together with infectious chants and socially conscious lyrics that span Yoruba, French, Goun, Fon & English. Kaleta, having played in the bands of both Juju music great King Sunny Ade & Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, brings the first hand experience and authenticity seldom found in todays West African influenced fusions. Bosq, now on his 6th full length album, brings a 20 year run experimenting with updating vintage sounds in the most tasteful way possible, melding Disco & Funk with styles from around the globe. In that time he’s worked on adding his touch to records by Ray Barretto, Orchestre Poly Rhythmo de Cotonou, Toure Kunda, Poolside, Rawayana & more. The record is an ode to these musical histories, with the title No Be Today coming from a Nigerian saying, which explains that this did not just start and this did not happen by chance, there’s lifetimes of work behind this. It’s also a flag planted for a different way of doing things as technology makes the “perfect” & “clean” sound easier and easier to obtain, with AI art slapped on the front. This record is handmade, full of love and feeling, from the music to the incredible art by Brazilian muralist Amanda Lobos that graces the gatefold vinyl. The statement made by this record is that we should still take our time and delve deeply into projects with our whole soul.  Marco Fajardo - Sax (2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9) Jose Miguel Vega - Trombone (2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9) Leon Pardo - Trumpet (2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9) Andres “Bongie” Giraldo - Timbales (4) FLORENTIN KOUDJOU - Trombone (1, 4) TCHANVOEDOU PARFAIT TADAGBÉ - Trumpet (1, 4) ANICET HOUNDONOUGBO - BARI SAX(1, 4) Erlyn Correa - Bass (1, 2, 3, 10) Yuki Kanesaka - Keys, Synths, Organ (2, 4) Wilton Bravo Tascon “El Towii” - Congas (1, 2, 3, 7) Luis Miguel “Papinm” Guerrero - Marimba (3, 11) Hemmy Shout - Trumpet (10) NOAH DREIBLATT - Tenor & Bari Sax (10) Thank you Josephine Ikudehinbu & Salomon Fassinou OROBIYI MOTUNRAYO ABIODUN - Backing Vocals (2, 10) Daniel Biodun - Backing Vocals (10) HORNS RECORDED AT OZANA TRINITE IN COTONOU, BENIN (1, 4) HORNS RECORD AT MAMBO NEGRO RECORDS, BOGOTA (2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9) All songs mixed & mastered by Caserta