#so it's all in on the movement and colors and the pacing is written for TV so it's perfect

[badninken]

of the animes you've watched, which one do you think you liked the most in terms of art style?

Samurai Champloo

No contest. No other anime comes close for me. It's a 10/10 in every aspect but especially in terms of art style.

Just seeing the intro for the first time rewired my brain and solidified my infatuation with edo-era Japan, hip hop and graffiti by combining all those things into one extremely well polished anime everyone needs to watch.

Mugen is in it, and even though I've barely posted him on this blog, he's the blorbo that has squatted rent free at the back of my mind since 2004, sounding exactly like Zoro but like, slathered in even more chaotic pirate energy and dango sauce.

Just look at this scrawny ass stray dog of a man. He fits right in with the rest of them, because he was the first.

Jin is also very cool, and here shown drawn with extremely dynamic lines with weight variation so sexy it hurts. Look at the thickness of the ear outlines compared to the thin strands if hair. The shape of the lines of his eyelashes and eyebrows. Hair detail! And this is all animated! Well and beautifully animated too!

It's just one single, well plotted and super polished season with a satisfying conclusion. You should watch it. Everyone should.

[danikamariewrites]

Straddle Me (smut)

Eris x reader

Notes: another installment of my favorite lil series I write for Eris 🥰 I realized the other day I really written any smut for Eris besides this stuff, then I felt bad lmao. I feel like I’m neglecting my sweet baby boy

Warnings: dry humping (I hate saying that), allusions to oral

Finally, Eris thinks, stretching his long body against the soft blankets. Alone at last. He closes his eyes, folding his arms behind his head.

It had been a very long day. Beron had required more attention from Eris than usual all afternoon. Sending him on errands all over the Forest House that brought him to advisor after advisor. Then he had his generals to meet with to go over recruitment.

It was exhausting.

And on top of all of that he hadn’t even seen you today!

You had woken up before Eris this morning to spend time with his mother. As the wedding draws closer you’ve begun shadowing Lady Autumn, learning what her duties are as the High Lord’s wife.

Eris couldn’t wait for you to return. For you to be safely in his arms.

The want for you to come back was short lived. Your hurried, excited footsteps padded across the carpet in the sitting room. Flinging the door open to the bedroom, a huge smile on your face, you let out a joyous squeal and launch yourself on the bed.

“Eris! I missed you!” You say giddily, pecking kisses to his freckled cheeks. He cradles you to his chest pressing a long kiss to your forehead, inhaling your scent. “I missed you too, little fox. Tell me about your day.” His tone was gentle and full of genuine curiosity.

To Eris’s dismay you untangle yourself from his embrace. Sitting up, you straddle his stomach, your bare things caging his clothed torso as your dress pools around the two of you. You hold onto his hands, absentmindedly playing with his fingers as you ramble about what his mother showed you.

Looking down you notice his pupils blown wide as they stare at where your legs are placed. You giggle, knowing Eris’s thoughts are wandering to something dirty that he’s itching to show you.

You wanted it too. Ever since you started reading smutty romance books things have gotten heated between you and your mate. You craved his touch every moment you could get it.

Your eyes grow wide, sparkling with mischief as an idea blossoms in your mind. Your new goal: make Eris feel as needy as you have.

The thought has a wet spot growing rapidly in your panties. You pulled his hands to your chest, cradling them and loving the heat radiating from them. “Tell me about your day, my love.”

On command, Eris starts to list everything he did today. If you wanted to hear about it he would tell you every godsdamn detail you wanted. Hell, Eris would tell you the color of the rocks stuck in his shoe if you demanded it.

As your mate's deep melodic voice fills your ears you slowly slide down his body, resting over his crotch. You begin to lightly grind your hips back and forth. Teasing your mate at an agonizing pace.

Eris tried to ignore the feeling of you rubbing against his cock. He tripped over his words as he tried to focus on you, not your movements. He could feel the blood rushing to his cock as it pressed against his pants.

He so badly wants to pin you to the mattress and tease you until your legs are shaking, begging Eris to let you come.

You pick up the pace of your hips. Eris bites down on his lips to keep from moaning loud enough for the Forest House to hear him. “Little fox… You’re going to be the death of me if you keep this up.”

The giggle that leaves your lips almost sends him over the edge. Gods, he’s going to come in his pants like a teenager.

Eris holds your hips in a vice grip that you fight through. You lean down, pressing your breasts into his chest. “Let me make you feel good, my mate.” You whispered in his ear.

Your mate was always taking charge in making you feel good. For once you wanted to rile him up. Make him feel good.

His hands slip from your hips to rest on your thighs, allowing you to continue. Resting your hands flat on his chest you quicken your pace. Biting your lip you let out a small moan. The feeling of Eris’s hard cock pressing against your soaked panties, rubbing against your clit has your back arching. Definitely better than your fingers.

You couldn’t wrap your head around the fact that you and Eris get this worked up over each other. And you haven’t even taken your clothes off.

Dragging your nails down his chest, Eris tenses and groans. His grip turns bruising on your hips helping you move faster. You lean down to whisper in his ear again. “Come, Eris. Let go baby, you know you want to.”

Eris pushes his face into your neck, his moans muffled as his thighs and cock twitch under you.

“Fuck,” he groans, holding you tight to his body. You smile pleased with yourself. Running your fingers through his hair you say soft ‘I love you’s to help him calm down.

Propping yourself up you bat your lashes at him innocently. Eris looks down at you breathless, “You are going to be the death of me, little fox.” You giggle and slither down his body. His eyes go wide as you reach to undo the ties of his pants. Eris knows he should feel embarrassed by the stain on his pants, but he can’t help but get turned on by your hungry gaze.

“What are you doing, little fox?” You send him a smirk and tug at the fabric restricting him. “Getting you cleaned up.”

[deathbyday]

˚.⋆Anya x F!Reader soft NSFW hcs⋆.˚

Written By: DeathByDay

warnings: NSFW obviously

(assume you two aren’t in the Tulpar and are in your house)

-/-/-/-

- I honestly don’t see her being very talkative during sex. Possibly a few words about how good you’re making her feel, but other than that, I’m not sure.

- Speaking of being talkative, i wouldn’t expect her to be very vocal either. Of course, when you hit her G-spot, she’ll let out a moan or whimper.

- Definitely not a kinky kind of girl. She just likes going at a nice pace, whispering sweet praises as you either eat her out or fuck her.

- I see her being a switch leaning towards bottom. But if you’re ever feeling down and don’t feel like being top, she’ll take that position for the night.

- Her stamina is pretty average. She could go on for a few rounds. Alongside that, I don’t think she’d change the position you two are in unless you asked.

- Let her bounce on your strap. She loves it. Especially when your hands are on her hips, guiding her movements. With your back against the wall, her breasts lightly hitting yours with each move.

- If you two were in missionary, she’d be a bit more vocal. As you get deeper inside her, the more she whimpers. Her legs would be wrapped around your hips, her arms wrapped around your neck.

- I don’t feel like she would be into dirty talk all that much, only light praises.

- While eating her out, I think she’d adore it if you rubbed your hands along her thighs to comfort her.

- As she gets closer to her climax, her soft moans get a bit louder than usual. And if you two are making out as she gets closer, she lightly scratches your upper back as a warning sign.

- I don’t see her caring if you used a strap or not. Maybe for a few nights, just rub yourself against her.

- 100% into boob sucking. I think she’d rather receive it than give it, though. Swirling your tongue around her breast while massaging the other one really gets her going, especially when she’s already close.

- If you are one to use a strap, it would obviously take her a few tries to finally adjust to it, depending on the size. So don’t force it all in at once. Go at her pace.

aftercare hc’s

- She wouldn’t leave your side until she knew you’d be okay.

- If you were overstimulated, she would immediately begin to apologize over and over and rub the palm of her hands against wherever it hurt or tingles. Of course you were fine after a small massage.

- She’d already have towels and pajamas ready for you both in the bathroom.

- Please bathe with her. Run your fingers through her deep black hair and cuddle in the water. She’d honestly fall asleep.

- The two of you would take turns washing each other’s hair, just sitting in comforting silence until the one of you speak up and say you’re finished washing the other one’s hair.

- I feel like she would be the one to have a romantic playlist playing in the background while you two bathe together. The combination of you cuddling her and the songs in the background makes her feel at ease.

- She’d 100% have robes laying out for you two to wear to bed. One in your favorite color, the other in hers.

- Once you two are done in the bath, you’re both worn out from the previous activities you two just had together.

- Adores being the little spoon, especially when you two just had intercourse. Her cheek pressed up against your clothed breast along with your arms wrapped around her sounds perfect.

-/-/-/-

authors note

i love Anya sm <33 I need to see more fic’s on here about her. So far I’ve only seen two-three

ty for the request!! I appreciate it very much!

[love-fictional-ppl]

Pegging Mammon

Summary: headcanons for pegging Mammoney

Pairings: sub!Mammon x dom!Afab!MC

Warnings: language, smut, pegging, lots of anal play, handjobs, sex positions, overstimulation, color system, premature ejaculation, cum eating, etc.

A/N: ignore the gif I just love the way he looks in this😭😭 also sry if this is shit this was written on my phone.

I’m going to start this by saying, you had to beggggg mammon. He would never be caught dead asking you or giving in so easily to being pegged, I mean he’s the Great Mammon.

You probably only got him to agree by making a bet, he lost obviously.

There was lots of complaining up until the final act, so much so that you actually asked him a couple times if he wanted to stop. Mammon’s response was prolly sum like this, “No! Wai- I mean- pfft! Only if you want to stop, human.”

Once you lubed him up and inserted a finger, he became putty in your hands. This is the way to get them noises.

Once you stretched him to fit three fingers and he came you lubed up your strap on

The cock would hopefully be perfect size for Mam. It was 6.5 inches, a decent girth, and a dark purple. The straps were slightly uncomfortable but not too much.

First time you’re probably in missionary, feeling more intimate that way and allowing Mammon to see your face. After the first time, feel free to explore more positions. Mammon would probably wind up liking doggy and lotus.

The greed demon clung to you once you prodded his entrance with the fake cock. Once you were inside of him you stilled to let him adjust.

“What color are you?” You asked.

“Green!” Mammon’s eyes were shut tight.

Mammon the entire time stayed at green, much to your relief.

You started with slow shallow thrusts, working your way up to a pace you both liked. You eventually found your rhythm, your hips rocked into each other at a steady pace.

Mammon came quick without warning, strings of cum shot onto the both of yours’ stomachs and onto his chest.

Mammon had tears falling from pleasure, he was fucked dumb. The white haired boy kept babbling nonsense.

All you could respond to his babble with was, “I know, baby.”

You tried to pull out but Mammon wrapped his legs around your waist locking you in place.

You gave in and continued fucking Mammon, his eyes were rolled back, tears and drool running down his face, cum covering his abdomen, all while being drilled into. Mammon was a fucked out mess.

Your hips were meeting with such force, you could feel and hear the vibrations of the bed frame hitting the wall. You felt bad for Satan whose room was on the other side of the wall.

You wrapped your hand around Mammons painfully hard, leaking erection. You jerked him off at the same spread you were fucked him, movement in sync.

Mammon stiffened and bit your shoulder, cumming again. Your hand was covered in cum, you put your ring and middle finger up to Mammon’s mouth offering him to taste himself.

Mams quickly complied and sucked on your fingers greedily, licking your fingers clean of his essence. When you pulled back your fingers, he opened his mouth to show you he swallowed everything.

“Good boy,” you praised him.

Mammon smiled at your praise, he grinded his ass back against you, wanting to go another round. You denied Mammon what he wanted, also seeing the exhaustion evident in his face.

Long story short Mammon enjoyed getting ass fucked and would do it again.

Btw Satan was pissed.

A/N: sorry for any spelling errors, Not Proofread! Ending was rushed cs I didn’t know what to add😭

[zyxy4j]

Pretty when hurt (I still don't know what to call this)

Comforting Jason after he surprises you at the door, bleeding all over your floor after a mission went wrong. (I personally think this is my best fic I've written lmao) cross-posted on ao3!

tags/warnings: nsfw with established relationship, blood and injury (canon typical stuff), blood kink, rough sex, oral sex (male receiving), size kink/difference, sadomasochism, hurt and comfort, medical care, submissive characters

Humming quietly you arrange the varying trinkets on your shelf, content with yourself. Gotham isn't particularly quiet, so you have to distract yourself from the noises coming from this gloomy, hostile environment to get any kind of peace. Shuffling different collectibles and pieces of decor in your apartment, you hear a loud noise coming from another room. The noise disturbs the rhythm you had, it shakes your room with the hefty, hastiness of whatever, or whoever, it could be.

“Hello?”, you question while hesitating, jumping up from the noise. You walk down the hall to where the noise is coming from, and you're greeted by a familiar presence.

“Hey…” Jason says weakly. He's leaning against your front doorway with his huge frame leaving a cast, helmet held between one of his arms as he struggles to stay up. Since his helmet is removed, you see his unkempt hair drenched in sweat as he lets out shallow breaths, disheveled and dazed you clearly see from his expression. Scanning him further down, you notice blood dripping down his body, dark and invasive. There's so much that you can't pinpoint where it's coming from on his body. The blood pools onto the wooden panels of your apartment's floor, underneath Jason while he stands there in clear anguish. Focusing on him, you start to notice the clear gashes as the crimson color saturates his clothes.

"Shit..." You continuously repeat, pacing around while staring at Jason, your expression changing rapidly, concerned and upset.

"Jesus Christ, Jason." You exclaim, your voice soft yet stern, you don't like him getting hurt like this.

Jason manages a sympathetic look, grating his teeth as you pull him away from the door. He tosses down his helmet. Sitting him down on a chair, you pull off his armor as he complies, quietly letting you tend to him. His shirt peels off the wounds, blood crusted on it. He tenses and groans, you notice that there's a couple decently-sized gashes on his chest and lower stomach.

You step over to the bathroom, grabbing a medical kit and a towel. You hurriedly run it under the sink and rush back to the chair, your pace causing the floor to creak under your feet. Leaning down to his level, you take the wet towel and lightly graze over his wounds. He doesn't show much reaction but you can tell it stings, trying to be more gentle. Jason's leaning down, watching your face as you take care of him.

Staring at his chest, taking in the wounds as you clean him up you softly say to him "You still look good like this, y'know."

He let's out a soft laugh. 

"Freak." He said quiet and playfully, trying to keep his head up as he watches you. He's a bit dazed yet still attentive.

You smile and look into his eyes. Bringing him into a kiss, you caress his face leaving a little streak of blood on his cheek. You pull away and grab the supplies for stitching up his wounds. You take the needle and thread and sew his wounds together, he's paying attention, hyper-focused on your movements. You eventually take care of all the wounds, making sure to clean them after stitching. Tending to somebody's wounds is surprisingly intimate.

"You're all good now! Just try not to push yourself too badly and break a stitch. And don't get hurt like this again...please." You tell him loudly, but caringly.

"I'm sorry." He grumbles, nodding. He's thankful for your care. He's continuing to stare at you with wide-eyes, looking down where you meet his legs at the chair.

"Shhh, it's okay baby." You hush him. "I'll help you feel better." 

Reaching to his belt, you grab at his pants and pull them down with his help. There's a bit of blood down his legs from his chest leaking, but he managed to keep his lower body relatively unharmed. Careful with your movements, you get the rest of his clothing removed. Just his boxers left, looking at them to see he was obviously  enjoying your company and care. You smile as heat fills your face. You lift the spandex of his boxers, and he brings them down with you, lifting up off the chair and arching his head back. He's clearly trying to be careful.

You bring your head down to his dick, holding the base of it as you're on your knees. You gently tease him, bringing your mouth to the tip of him. Dragging your tongue down one of his veins slowly. You hear his breathing get shallow and caught. Pausing yours for a bit to get a closer listen, the nervousness of how he's carrying himself entertaining you.

Jason tenses and rolls his hips, bringing his head back and positioning himself better for you. The tip of his dick is slick already, it dribbling before you even got to him. You caress it with your tongue, able to taste some of him already. Your grip tightening, you take him inside your mouth. You slowly go up and down him, letting his sensitivity feel all of your movements. You bring your head deeper into him. You gag silently as you try and take his full dick.

"Fuck!" Jason gets worked up easily, groaning as he holds himself back, his hands tensing and holding against the furniture.

You bring your head deeper, as much of his dick as you can get down your throat. You continuously drag your mouth up and down, bobbing your head from the base to the tip while you tease him with your tongue. Jason stiffles down as many of his moans as he can, whiny and desperate. He seems to be forgetting that he's severely wounded as he's more relaxed with your movements.

Spit starts coming down your mouth all over your chin, dripping down onto his lap and leaving small pools. You tug your mouth away from his shaft, barely off of him. You tease the tip of his dick with your tongue, bringing it down to the slit with your spit and his cum mixing down it. As you tease him with your tongue, you look into his eyes while you play with your tongue on his tip. You see him biting back moans with a smirk, he brings his hands down to your shoulders and holds onto those. You take a deep breath and pull your head down, you swallow him whole and drag your throat faster, carelessly sucking his dick.

Moving your head up and down against him, you focus more on your movements. Spit leaks all over down your mouth, you both start to get a little drenched at your careless speed. Jason's thighs start tensing, he's getting weaker and continues to whine and moan out-loud. You slow down and move your tongue more, caressing his dick more intimately when long strings of cum start to coat your tongue and the back of your mouth. He chokes a little as he cums, his body weakens and he falls back into the chair. He whinces as his chest moves.

"Oh my god." He breathes out.

Your mouth is full of his warmth, you pull away with strings of spit and cum running down him. You swallow and let out a deep breath of pleasure. You hop up and messily bring your lips to his, leaving him without any room to calm down. You both kiss eachother hungrily, moving your mouths with trails of spit forming between them. He bites at your lips, whincing and moaning into them as you lightly push against eachothers chest. He's significantly larger than you, you can fall into him fully as you both passionately taste eachothers spit. Pulling away finally, you both catch your breath. Jason stares lovingly into your eyes, you continue to push against his chest. A mixture of his blood on your chest and hands, with your spit and his cum dripping down his legs you both sit in the mess of this moment.

"I do feel better now." He glances into your eyes, happy to be with you. You smile, sitting in silence for some time.

"We have a fuckton of bodily fluid to clean off my apartment floor and furniture today, huh?" You hastily joke as you get reminded of the pool of Jason's blood still covering the wood of your living room floor.

"I'll clean it, it's the least I can do; considering you had to play doctor." He nods and smiles.

[umemiyan]

𝙋𝙊𝙎𝙏𝙈𝙊𝙍𝙏𝙀𝙈 / 𝙋𝙊𝙎𝙏𝙋𝘼𝙍𝙏𝙐𝙈. — 𝖯𝖠𝖱𝖳 𝖨𝖨

𝘗𝘙𝘌𝘝𝘐𝘖𝘜𝘚 𝘊𝘏𝘈𝘗𝘛𝘌𝘙 ･ 𝘕𝘌𝘟𝘛 𝘊𝘏𝘈𝘗𝘛𝘌𝘙 ･ 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧 ･ 𝘛𝘈𝘎𝘓𝘐𝘚𝘛

𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗨 𝗚𝗢𝗝𝗢 𝗫 𝗚𝗡!𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗥. ⌇ sfw, but minors dni (nsfw future chapters likely) / an interpretation of "came back wrong" gojo (he's not necessarily wrong, just different) / yandere!gojo vibes / disabled-coded gojo with reader acting as caretaker; it's essentially a learning curve for everybody involved / some dubcon physical affection moments, but nothing serious / 3.4k words

well... we have made it to a second chapter!! this overall idea just really resonated with me, and after learning how it affected others as well, i just knew i had to do my best to keep it going. this is the first ever "part 2" of anything i've ever written, so i beg for just a shred of mercy! i'm trying my best, and thank you to everyone who has said kind things about this story so far. i hope you enjoy <3

The winter air is brisk and a little volatile, but you feel blessed to have it whirl past your skin—even more blessed to watch Satoru’s flesh prickle at the sensation. Alive.

You had done your best to rummage through the expanse of his closet to find a suitable coat for him to wear—one that would cut the chill of an afternoon breeze when it inevitably brushed across his body. January could be unforgiving at times—the harshest of winter moths. You wondered how cold death must’ve felt.

“Satoru, where are your shoes?” You inquired, voice muffled in his closet as you sifted through garments, multitasking in an attempt to compose an outfit for him.

He sat at the edge of his bed, eyes fixed on your movements as they often were, mind turning at your question for a moment. He stood then, paced towards the shoe rack that stood outside the closet door, and reached gently for one of your busied hands. Satoru points your fingers towards the collection of shoes.

You paused your movements, eyes curious as they followed his guidance before landing upon their intended target. “Oh, that’s right,” you said with a small shake of your head, bearing a self-defeating smile and feeling rather silly for your oversight. 

It was a challenge to become acquainted with someone else’s home amidst everything else, responsibilities stacking upon responsibilities. However, Satoru continued to prove that he could recall more than you initially thought, that he could act as your guiding light when called upon. A little ironic, you think. A little pathetic, too? No, you are human, after all. Just as he is.

He smiled in return. You swore there was even a hint of a familiar light-hearted, teasing glimmer in his eye, unless you were seeing things.

(You weren’t.)

For once, you are grateful for the rather serene nature of the school’s grounds as you stroll across them side-by-side with him, much like in days from a not-so-distant past. The remaining fallen leaves from the trees dressing the mountains rustle with the wind, colored by the touch of death but still beautiful all the same, just like something else you know.

“We can always go back if it gets too cold,” you say as a reminder to Satoru of his agency, his home on campus easy to circle back to should you take the notion. You fear he might choose to freeze himself into another early grave if that’s what you wished, and you can’t fathom the idea of making him suffer simply because he thinks it pleases you to do so. Your happiness is somehow his, and although this is a new quality you have yet to decipher, there’s still something about it that strikes you as indulgent and rather characteristic of a gluttonous Satoru Gojo.

He doesn’t respond, gaze flitting across his surroundings as he walks, nerve endings and six eyes absorbing a litany of information. A silent Satoru used to be a rare occurrence but is now the default, the air somehow punctured by the lack of his voice riding along it. However, his presence is still stark, his being brimming with energy as if to make up for the words he can no longer speak. 

Unbeknownst to you, he communicates with you not only with his physical body, but with his feelings, too—waves of energy that he projects outward on instinct, hoping you’ll have the means to grasp what he is trying to say even if he isn’t always sure what it is. It has been rather unsynchronized and sloppy thus far, but with each day that passes, your ability to hear him grows.

You can hear him now even with the only sounds being the breeze rushing in your ears and leaves crunching beneath the soles of shoes. There is something somber about him, more than usual, mixed with that same sense of being lost in a world that feels brand new. 

All of it is familiar to Satoru on a physical level—the paths, the buildings, the foliage—but what prickles his mind is attempting to piece together the myriad of strange feelings that arise as he is faced with more and more reminders of a past that he can’t fully recall. 

It’s as though the memories are trying to surface but can’t quite fuse into something tangible, something concrete, like when you feel a word forming just at the tip of your tongue but it never arrives. He can sense them deeply in his body, almost experience a brief image flashing like lightning through his mind before it disappears. Satoru’s frustration is palpable, and he reaches for your hand.

Icy-cold fingers nipped by winter intertwine with yours, tethering him in place as his fractured mind aches with the burden of obscurity. His physical affection is new to you, but you allow it—welcome it, even. As much as the earnest displays contrast with his previous tiptoeing around connection, it is yet another thing you can’t bear to turn down, not after everything that’s happened. 

You hope it isn’t simply guilt of all things compelling you to accommodate him, but wouldn’t it be equally bad to do it for selfish reasons? Could one misconstrue it as taking advantage, of feeding off his need to satisfy some part of you that had always wanted him?

The various implications make your head swim with conflict, so you force yourself to shut them down for the time being. Satoru is only holding your hand, nothing more, at least for the moment. There had of course been instances of his lips pecking against your own, wandering down to your neck, his hand settling on your waist as if to draw you closer… but you’d always managed to divert his attention in one way or another, severing the connection before either of you could become too engrossed in it. He never seemed overly perturbed to shift direction, but you couldn’t help but wonder just how long his patience might last, and if you’d be able to figure out what you even were to him before then.

Needless to say, nothing could have ever prepared you for something like this. What drives you forward more than anything is your contentment with the fact that he’s here walking the earth with you, as whole as he can be after having been stolen from the arms of death. And despite the abundance of challenges, part of you can’t help but feel special for being chosen to face them.

When your feet bring you near the school’s entrance, gates opening way for a path down the mountain, Satoru stops dead in his tracks, alert like an animal that’s suddenly caught a scent. His grip on your hand tightens, heart plummeting into his stomach as something takes hold of him, something he likely couldn’t put into words even if he had the ability to speak.

You turn to check over him with your gaze, concern etched upon your features at the immediate change of pace. “Satoru…?” you call softly, yearning for a chance to be able to peek into his mind. All you can do is feel the chill of his demeanor.

His name drifting upon your voice earns a split second of his attention, but he is, for once, captivated by something else.

Pierced gut. Blocked throat. Summer sun and the sounds of buzzing.

It’s a memory that lives in his body but not his conscious mind, an instinct telling him to heed the surroundings for a threat that once was. He relives it with a rapid heartbeat, knows it bears importance, but he can only recall shreds of information that don’t merge together to form a full picture. He simmers in mounting frustration.

Black hair. Sharp eyes. Boiling blood—the brink of death.

Satoru turns on a dime and faces a figure in the distance, on guard and brimming with a sort of defensiveness you’d never quite seen before, at least not coming from him. Muscles rigid, he squeezes your upper arm as if to warn you, to keep you close, his extraordinary senses absorbing information quicker than you can even pivot to see what it is he’s looking at.

From around the corner of a building emerges Megumi, clad in warm clothes and a mellow disposition. His distinctly unruly hair makes it easy to identify him even from where he appears down the path, hands in his pockets as he strolls towards you upon recognition. 

Satoru’s mind runs through calculations as the young student approaches, attempting to distinguish and fill gaps and create something he can take hold of as a semblance of fact.

Black hair. Sharp eyes. Something… different? 

Megumi’s cursed energy burns in a recognizable way, striking Satoru as peculiar as he instinctively studies it with the six eyes. But it makes sense to him—it’s familiar, even if he struggles to trust it in full. This is someone he hasn’t met since his awakening, but someone his eyes have certainly seen before.

You can sense the fear radiating off Satoru’s being and into yours, the presence of someone other than you agitating his already troubled state. You must act.

“Look, it’s Megumi,” you say softly with an encouraging smile, encasing his hand with your palm and hoping that your pleasant reaction takes the edge off. Satoru is reluctant to avert his gaze, but does so anyway, blue darting in your direction to witness the happiness written in your features. You appear to trust this person, and he trusts you, so despite the pounding in his chest, the sorcerer relaxes his grip.

You guide Satoru to take a few steps forward with you to meet Megumi as he draws nearer, a tired but welcoming smile turning your lips upward to greet him. It’s nice to see the boy alive and well in the aftermath of his own debacle—or at least as well as someone could possibly be. You wish there had been something more you could’ve done to help him recover, but it was known to many that you happened to have your hands full at the moment. Hopefully he will understand.

“Hey,” Megumi utters quietly, eyes scanning over your face and then his teacher’s, trying to briefly assess your individual states.

“Hi, Megumi,” you respond, appraising him yourself. He seems to be all in one piece, which you had been informed of, but had yet to see yourself. It’s nice to have visual confirmation. “How are you?”

“Fine,” he replies quickly, flatly, minimizing himself as usual. His voice is more sincere when inquiring about your wellbeing. “And you?”

You grin, finding a way to sum up your experience without overwhelming him. “Hanging in there,” you muse with a breathy chuckle. There’s no use in worrying him with all the details of Gojo’s current condition and how it has subsequently flipped your world upside down, but Megumi is shrewd, and you’re sure he can come to some sort of conclusion, especially when briefed by the others who have eyes on the situation.

Megumi awkwardly rubs at the back of his neck, skirting around vulnerability and concern as his next question arises. “Gojo-sensei… how are you doing?”

Satoru has been silent all the while, of course, but sorting through every detail while you and his former student exchange pleasantries. Neurons fire, rewiring frazzled connections, giving him a glimpse at how this boy is not the same as the one he bears a resemblance to.

Megumi isn’t sure what sort of response to expect; in fact, he feels silly for expecting one at all, posing a question that he’s fairly certain can’t be answered directly. But how else was he meant to conduct himself in such an interaction, to show that he cares? To speak as if Gojo weren’t even there would feel like even more of an insult.

You’re caught in the middle, watching Satoru’s face and seeing the gears turning in his head. “I think we’re all just… learning how to adjust to things, y’know?” you reply with a rather vacant smile, turning back to Megumi who understands your subtext with ease. Rather than speak for Satoru, you’ve made a blanket statement to provide just the slightest bit of feedback, and Megumi is well aware.

The student nods his head with a short hum of acknowledgment, doing his best to see his mentor in this new light—one he never thought would be possible, not when it came to someone who had always claimed to be so strong. But at least there is a light at all.

The wind tosses leaves around between the three of you, filling the silence with its quiet whispers. You wish there was more to be said. You wish you had a solid grasp of how well Satoru really was doing.

“I think Ieiri said she wanted to see you soon,” Megumi states, acting as a courier, trying to fill the space with words.

You nod. “Yeah, we’ve been in touch. We’re actually meant to meet up with her tomorrow.” 

Shoko, while expectedly rather removed, had been one of your primary contacts and supports thus far, apart from Ijichi who shouldered the burden of several essential tasks you hadn’t been able to complete on your own. You felt guilty for sending him out for groceries and back to your apartment for extra sets of clothes, but how else would you manage to make it by? Leaving Satoru alone or in the care of someone else wasn’t currently an option, and taking him outside the school grounds didn’t sound like an optimal idea either at the present moment. So you had to make do in the meantime, and you were truly grateful for the help, but you couldn’t help but hope that things would eventually fall into place. Maybe Shoko would have answers.

“That’s good,” Megumi replies with a sparkle of hope in his tone, then reluctantly adds, “and, uh… just let me know if I can do anything to help, okay?”

You respond to his gesture with a warm smile. “Thank you, Megumi. That’s very kind.” You don’t have immediate plans for taking the young man up on his offer, but you appreciate the sentiment regardless. He deserves to rest and seek peace, not fight any more battles for the sake of others.

A twinge of pink colors the apples of Megumi’s cheeks, and he recedes into the scarf wrapped around his neck, unused to accepting grace from others without feeling inclined to quarrel about it. He is at a loss for words, somewhat eager to make his escape before the vulnerability has the chance to further consume his dignity. You take that as something of a cue.

“Well, we—” you start, preparing to make a closing statement and depart, before being interrupted by a sudden movement to your left—Satoru, breaking free from his fixed state to perform a familiar gesture.

As if finally making a connection, he grins and mimics the Ten Shadows hand configuration for summoning the Divine Dogs, clapping his palms together and examining Megumi’s reaction with ardor. The student is startled out of his mild embarrassment, somewhat baffled by the sudden communication attempt and the implication that his mentor perhaps actually remembers who he is. It’s a pleasant surprise to you both, and a moment or two is required for it to sink in.

Your face lights up with glee, heart warmed by the simple action in a way that’s difficult to express. Megumi appears to be in a similar boat—taken aback, but ultimately stricken with joy.

A modest smile creeps upon Megumi’s lips as he softly mirrors the motion with his own hands, acknowledging Gojo’s revelation. “Yeah…” he says, voice faint but pleased. “Divine Dogs.”

Every brief glimpse into Satoru’s thoughts feels like a blessing, and this is certainly no exception. It’s refreshing to watch him have a moment of sincere connection with someone other than yourself, and it leaves you glowing with hope for the future as you bid Megumi farewell and make your way back home.

“Head back, Satoru.”

Water splashes into the bathtub as Satoru cranes his neck to peer up at the ceiling as per your request, a cup full of liquid streaming over his hair and carrying shampoo suds along with it.

After returning from your walk, you’d prepared something for dinner and eventually urged Satoru into the tub for a bath before bed—yet another activity that seemed to get a little easier every time you did it.

Figuring out how to get him to bathe had initially been quite the challenge, but you had managed to devise a method that had gotten the job done quite well thus far. He might’ve looked rather awkward sitting cramped in the shallow bath with a pair of swimming trunks on while you rinsed him with an old plastic cup you’d excavated from a cabinet, but it was the most effective way to get him clean and preserve both your dignities while doing it. Though you were the only one who seemed to be concerned with such things.

Satoru blinks when a few soapy droplets backslide into one of his eyes, causing him to squint, scrunch, and rub it with his fingers until the uncomfortable sensation eases. He looks at you, almost as if to say, “Hey! That burns!”

You chuckle and shake your head with a playful roll of your eyes. “That’s why you’re supposed to close your eyes, goober.”

He wants to submerge in a pout, but your playfulness rids him of the inclination. Satoru instead shifts his focus to the beauty of your frame perched upon the edge of the tub, a beacon of divinity as you cleanse him with care and devotion. He takes the notion to express an inkling of gratitude by leaning forward and placing a kiss against your lips, lukewarm water rippling around him as it gradually cools.

You’re somewhat stiff and unresponsive, the sudden gesture catching you by surprise as it usually does, but you don’t chastise him for it; in fact, it takes a certain level of concentration for you to avoid letting your thoughts linger on his current state: hair slicked back; flesh exposed and glistening with droplets of water; lips warm, wet, and eager for reciprocation…

Your mouth receives his but does not encourage him for more than a split second, pulling back gently from his advance until you can see Satoru shiver as the water chills his body. His eyes are glued to your face, waiting for a reaction as you prepare to make one more pass over his hair with the cup to see that he is fully rinsed, this time using your hand to shield his eyes from any backflow (and from your expression, which is surely indicative of your now rapid heartbeat).

The action is enough to distract him for the moment, but Satoru is still on edge, teeming with infatuation and need. He is unsatisfied with your response—or lack thereof—and is frustrated with his inability to express it, but your hands carefully wiping drops of water from his face act as a temporary soothing agent.

“Alright, let’s get dried off and ready for bed,” you say, standing to fetch his towel from the rack and bring it back to him before reaching down to trigger the tub to drain. “We’re going to talk to Shoko tomorrow.”

Satoru is less concerned with the meaning of your words than he is with how lovely you sound while saying them. He is once again caught in your spell, entranced by the need to be closer but settling for the scraps that you give him—for now.

You aren’t convinced of his comprehension of what you say, but nevertheless, you use the sweetened tone to deflect from the overwhelm of watching him stand and observe your every move as you help to dry his chiseled body. Satoru is tall and looming, scarred in the midriff, but compliant with your ministrations; however, his easygoing nature doesn’t keep your hands from wanting to shake against the towel that repeatedly caresses his physical beauty. You wish you could torch every thought in your mind, switch your brain off to preserve the strength and sanity that remains. 

You aren’t sure how long you’ll be able to remain steadfast and maintain this cycle of “temporaries” until something eventually changes. And what if it never does?

You suppose the only thing you can do for now is try your best and wait and see what the future holds. It certainly can’t be any worse than what you’ve already been through, especially now that Satoru is by your side once more. That is something you’ve realized you wouldn’t trade for anything.

[gypsophiliaz]

“ douceur „

quanxi x fem florist | barista reader.

multiple part series. first part thats just pretty fluffy and romancey!! first time writing and actually publishing it so ermm leave tips ig idk. ik the pacing is weird but its bc i like to write in detail.

feminine reader x quanxi, includes romance. >:3 smut in later chapters or wtv.

disclaimer ; I've never written like romance before so forgive me lol. I write with extreme detail too so it probably gonna be the SLOWEST burn ever. also she smokes weed cuz ion fuck wit that cig shit lmfao

CHAPTER I

being a florist in tokyo isn't anything you thought you'd be finding yourself doing. though, being drawn to the sweet and naturey smell of flowers wouldn't suprise anyone who had known you before. head over heels constantly in love with all kinds of plants and flowers, from spider lilies to hydrangea, peony and flower arrangements in themselves.

. . .

you'd adjust your grip on the box cutter in your dominant hand, the vivid pink color of it mixing with the warm lighting above you, the blade swiftly and sharply cutting through the protruding thorns of the white roses, the remaining water inside would drip slightly onto the paper below the bouqet would find itself sitting inside of momentarily. a smell similar of freshly cut grass would fill your senses, and the cozy and comforting feel of the floristry – cafe place that you had recently assigned yourself to.

the smell of coffee, tea, and the baby's breath that sat to the right of you would fill the air, a rainy day with cars ever–so making light noises as their wheels splash and sputter inside of the puddles left by the rain. the annoying ding of the door would fill your ears once more, and like clock–work the all too familiar words would spill out of your mouth.

“ Welcome to Yrlissa's Flowery, How may I be of assistance? ”

as your eyes lazily drifted off the commissed bouqet that laid on the counter infront of you, your eyes would laid upon a tall lady, with a muscular yet slim figure. wispy bangs and a lacey eyepatch concealing her right eye. the rest of her thin hair contained by a black hairtie— who the hell visits a flower shop in a full black suit? Is she going to a fucking funeral ?

NOT professional thoughts. get it together!!!

the lady would approach the counter, with an almost monochromatic expression. not one emotion would appear on her face, and no body language out of the ordinary. her movements would seem almost perfected calculated, almost uncanny even, but as she grew closer the smell of the the roses and baby's breath would be replaced with the smell of marijuana.

the footsteps would come to a halt uncomfortably close to you, or maybe it would seem that way since shes near the height of a basketball player and you couldn't be any closer to a smurf, and also leaning over flowers with posture far from the best in the world– a few seconds of silence commence, the ladies eyes piercing above to read the sign. her lips parting to finally speak.

“A small espresso will do, please.”

“ would you like sugar or cream? ”

“ Surprise me. ”

the click of the box cutters blade retracting back into itself, and the clack of its placement onto the counter would follow her sentence. with your feet tapping to the cups behind you, and your body language obviously showing your nervousness, you'd swiftly grab it and draw back over to the counter near the woman.

tipping over the jug of geyser water just measuring to the line that marks a half liter. the sound of the water filling up would once again save you from extremely embarrassment from the pure awkwardness of the situation at hand.

. . . .

you'd stretch your hand over and weigh out 20 grams of coffee beans, pouring them into a small tin and placing them on the miniature scale. the lady bringing a stop to the awkward silence that filled the air.

“ I take it it's relaxing to work here hm? ”

“ It's nice on it's slow days, but then there's times like valentines day, and wedding season ykno? ”

“I'd imagine.”

as a few weeks passed, the lady swiftly became a regular. almost always coming in during your shift or being there before you clock in. a name you wrote on the coffee cup almost every shift, the type of name that rolls off your tongue sweet and slick, — quanxi. another day had arrived, opening the door to yrlissa's the bell would chime as you walked in, swiftly pittering to clock in, not missing quanxi sitting in the corner of the shop, as always.

she would stay for a few hours and make nice company on slow days, an often occurrence it would be to sit and speak with her while filling out the commissions for bouqets, and other kinds of assortments. it didn't take long to realize quanxi liked more to listen than to speak.

today was october 5th. the chill in the air sweeping into the store moments after the bell on the door would ring. it didn't take long for you to learn to brace yourself against the cold on the cue of the chime. completing the same ol' sequence you'd do everyday, steaming the milk and poking holes in the puck of espresso, yet this time for yourself to warm up on the cold day.

the thick fog outside would make seeing the people and events happening outside near impossible. pouring the milk, then espresso, a drizzle of caramel and whipped cream onntop, the perfect go—to drink. the cup would warm your hands, soothing you and bringing you into relaxation with the first sip, a small breath leaving your parted lips—

the all too familiar chime would fill your ears.

bruh.

quickly stepping behind the counter to at least shield your lower half. or.. 90% of ur body bc ur a fucking smurf. srry im writing this in my perspective im fucking 5'0. the chill would still expectedly hit your face and torso, sending a small shiver up your spine. gripping the cup of coffee just a bit tighter to warm your hands once again. fluttering your lashes and squinting to keep the ice cold air out of your eyes, you'd realize who'd walked in.

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cold.” Quanxi would say, looking back and closing the door softly behind her as not to brush more cold air inside. this time she was wearing a brown turtle-neck under her coat and long black pants. she'd take a deep breath in and pull her other hand out of her pocket.

“you're fine don't worry. at least it's not another total stranger walking in, I think I'd rot inside having to make any more small talk today.” you'd set down your coffee to start her order, placing it beside the cash register and lean on the counter with the corner digging into your palms.

“Usual?”

“Mm.”

Quanxi would approach the table near the entrance of the work space, leaving about 3-5 feet in between the two of you as you started her order. It took her a few days in the beginning but she got what she wanted down pack. a shot of espresso, mixed softly into chocolate syrup followed by warm steamed milk and whipped cream. In other words, a Caffé Mocha. with some extra chocolate.

. . . should probably start that order

you'd started serving quanxi in the pretty white mugs boss lady told you not to use, simply to reduce dishes. but you didn't mind washing one or two for quanxi. You'd hear the clink of her keys being placed onto the table before she'd speak.

“How's work been treating you lately? ” Quanxi would say to you, looking at you completely still with a hand propped up under her chin, but still as nonchalant as usual. It was hard to believe she was genuinely interested sometimes.

pouring the chocolate into the bottom of the cup focusedly, to make it look as pretty and perfect as can be, you'd take a second before answering. “Horrible, Actually. This guy yesterday, came in and got mad at me because I forgot to put caramel on top of his frappe. He ended up throwing it on the floor, and of course I had to clean it. ”

Quanxi's eyes would follow the way you carefully made the coffee. The way you'd twirl the cup to make sure it was evenly distributed, and the way you'd add extra for her, even though she didn't ask for it. Nor did she really like how sweet it made the drink, but to her it was an act of kindness.

"Mm."

“Oh! and thennnn I had a lady come in here with her boyfriend and I guess I was a bit too friendly with her and she pulled me to the side and basically threatened me. I'm not one for wanting a guy in general. That was actually around a week ago and she came back a few days ago an—”

the glass pot to steam the milk in would fall to the ground instantly shattering. nothing but the thought of your boss chewing you out rushes into your mind. not only is it expensive to replace, it was definitely coming out of your paycheck. Quanxi wasted no time raising out of her chair and assisting you with cleanup even before you, yourself could process what had happened.

“thank you. god my boss is gonna make me pay for this. . . " you'd say squatting down and beginning to pick up the big chunks of glass first and placing them in your palm. “I'll get it, you might get cut. ” Quanxi would take the glass from out of your hand and continue to pick up where you left off.

"are you sure? I can just get a broom or something." you'd turn away for a second to grab the broom from the back, yet once you come back you find the glass all gone, not a single piece remaining on the floor and a note on the counter, sitting placed under two 10,000 yen notes. (around 140$)

the shock would spread across your face almost in an instant. what the absolute hell? picking up the notes, you'd take the time to read the note she'd left behind.

“𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓬𝓸𝓯𝓯𝓮𝓮 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓹𝓲𝓽𝓬𝓱𝓮𝓻. 𝓾𝓷𝓼𝓾𝓻𝓮 𝓱𝓸𝔀 𝓶𝓾𝓬𝓱 𝓲𝓽 𝔀𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓫𝓮, 𝓪𝓹𝓹𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓮𝓭 𝓺𝓾𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓮𝔁𝓹𝓮𝓷𝓼𝓲𝓿𝓮.

𝓠𝓾𝓪𝓷𝔁𝓲 347-1782.”

✧��── ･ ｡ﾟ✧: * 🎀 .* :✧. ───✧

tired of there not being fuckin quanxi fics and smut bro. ik u stans r alive ACT LIKE IT!!!! 😡 k hope u enjoyed tho owo also im seriously fucking hoping this isn't ugly on pc bro.. idk but if ur reading fluff n shit on a pc u got balls cuz id cry if i got caught

[sook9i]

— I SAID LOOK

. . . GENRE ! yeonjun x afab!reader | smut

. . . CONTAINS ! dom!yj, sub!reader, implied edging, fingering, mirror sex, choking, yj kinda rough, some marking (tried to keep readers skin color ambiguous as possible tho is it described that red from bite marks can be seen), finger sucking 😞, reader naked while jun is still semi-clothed, reader is a little…dazed, pet names (yeonjun called junnie; reader called baby, darling, handsome, pretty, & cute), i think that’s it lmk if i missed anything !

. . . WORD COUNT ! 772

. . . NOTES ! I hope you enjoy our first fic !! yeonjun posted that fucking photo and i lost all coherent thought 😵‍💫

. . . ADMIN ! written by fairy cal 🐱

“Come on, baby.” The voice is silky, devilish, right up behind your ear. “Look at me.”

Your head is filled to the brink with fog. All senses dulled and yet turned up to one hundred. The firm feeling of his thighs spread out beneath yours is driving you crazy. Yet the sound of his command swims in and out of your ears, never sticking. Your only response is to let out a high-pitched whine as you struggle to grind your hips back into his.

The movement is quickly brought to end as he delivers a sharp slap to the inside of your thigh, drawing out a gasp.

“No, darling,” His hand travels up your thigh and over your hips and stomach, fingers fleeting on your bare sternum, until a strong grip takes hold of your chin. “I said look.”

Your head is yanked away from his comforting shoulder, forced forward straight at the mirror. Yeonjun’s half-lidded eyes meet yours in the reflection. His black tresses dangle down into his sight-light, drawing more attention to the sly smirk hanging on his lips.

Oh how proud he is of himself to have you like this.

Focusing on yourself in the full-length, you see just how much damage he’s already done. Your neck is littered in red, unlikely to disappear for the next couple of days; Your thighs draped wide on top of his reveal the leaking wet in between them. He has you completely naked, while only his top remains bare. Looking into your eyes, the gaze is far away and you let out another soft whine. His other hand, draped upon your lap, inches ever closer to where you need him most. Still, he continues to refuse you.

He’d been so tired coming back into the hotel room. Shoulders sagging, eyes heavy, you wanted to do anything you could to make him feel better. Thinking maybe a massage or running him a bath perhaps. Three ruined orgasms later, you can barely think beyond how desperate you are for his touch.

“Aren’t you so handsome? Look at how pretty I’ve made my baby.” Suddenly so much more energetic the moment he had you in his lap, quickly submitting to every touch.

Two long fingers poke at your lips, signaling you to open them. You gladly do, letting the rough pads run across your tongue, pushing down the back of your throat. Your eyes flutter shut at the feeling. The gag reflex pushes back up your throat, you swallow it as it’s replaced with a whiny moan.

He pulls the fingers away and you quickly peel your eyes back open, watching dazedly as he trails them down to your clit. Keeping with a soft touch, he begins circling the nub, barely pressing down. He moves at a torturous pace. A mewl breaks out of your lips, squeaky and needy. The deep vibrations of his chuckle shake against your back. Every movement of his bare skin against you drives you deeper into a haze. The two fingers dip further down, spreading slick up and down your folds, toying at your wanting entrance.

“J-Junnie, please! Please, I’ll be so so good for you! Promise-Just please give me anything, please!” Your voice hikes up, feeling tears begin to bubble up in your eyes. Need taking over, your hips buck against his hold, trying for any sort of relief you can get.

“God,” Fingernails dig into your sides as he stops your movements. “You’re so fucking cute.”

In a moment his lips swallow up yours. Eating up every delicious moan that spills out once he finally pushes his fingers into you. The pace he sets is fast revealing a need comparable to yours. Two fingers stretch out your walls again and again with a slight sting, yet you still want more. Yeonjun seems to think the same as he soon adds in another. That draws out a moan which he lets ring out, pulling away from your lips and back down to your neck. There his teeth scrape on the red skin. Pain fogs up your senses until it leaks into aphrodisiacal pleasure. Bombarded with so many sensations when he places his thumb back to roll circles around your clit; your head lolls back onto his shoulder and your eyes screw shut. The sounds you release grow higher and louder with every second past. Your high creeps up closer and closer, so close to finally getting there.

Yeonjun’s free hand soon finds purchase tight around your neck; grip harsh when he squeezes and forces your head back up. “I told you to look, baby. Watch how I ruin you.”

[homestuckreplay]

🔓 NEW AREA UNLOCKED!!! 🔓

(page 1026-1031)

This very important Luminous Planet Reveal comes courtesy of Jade’s third music page. Finally she’s able to play the advanced eclectic bass, and I gotta say that building a five-armed robot just to play better bass solos is real dedication.

Jade’s [S] bass pages (p.822, p.1026) are perfectly scripted around the music, with moments like the zoom in to Jade’s hand on the keyboard synced up with changes in the melody. I have learned a little more about how the music works – there’s a semi-official ‘MSPA Soundtrack Team’ who make music that might be good for the comic, and Hussie grabs tracks from the pool (sometimes even in-progress tracks, for example ‘Upward Movement’ on p.665) any time they want to work on a [S] update. I guess this makes sense as so little is planned in advance and the turnaround time is so short even on Flash pages – once one is happening, there’s no time for music to be written specially if Hussie wants to keep the current pace.

The slow zoom in this flash is SO cool. We pause for a moment on the full view of Jade’s dream room, and it seems like that’s the ending, but then there’s another zoom out to her tower, another to the golden moon, another to the full luminous planet (and its name!!!!) and ANOTHER zoom out to Prospit orbiting Skaia, with beats between each pan outwards. Jade is already so small on page 1029 and she’s only just outside the tower. So the zoom gives a real sense that these kids are part of something infinitely bigger than them.

The luminous planet is named Prospit, which likely comes from ‘prosper’, meaning to succeed or flourish. Most Homestuck words are mashups of two existing words, which is how they all sound so real, but this place doesn’t look like much of a pit. The ‘-pit’ suffix could come from a few different places, including ‘incipit’ (links to the Incipisphere, means the opening of a text or piece of music), ‘pulpit’ (elevated platform for preaching a religious service), or ‘cockpit’ (the place from which an aeroplane or racing car is piloted). It probably isn’t ‘cesspit’, ‘armpit’ or ‘decrepit’, unless we’re about to learn that life on Prospit is actually terrible. Or unless it’s related to Prospit’s destiny to lose – once it prospered, but it will be left decrepit.

On Prospit, the WARDROBIFIER has different settings! I know that Star-Heart-Horseshoe is a Problem Sleuth reference, so could just be an easter egg, but I wonder if there are other minor yet relevant distinctions between Jade’s waking and dreaming rooms.

On page 1029 it’s very clear that Jade’s tower (clean and in focus) has been drawn by an artist, while the rest of the moon looks like various overlapping jpegs of intricate medieval castles. This has a couple effects. It makes Jade seem very important – her tower is also one of the two biggest on the moon – and it makes the whole planet look procedurally generated. Sburb is a game all about building, so of course its local planets would be covered in buildings and structures. Build grist becomes light gray when used to create a simple platform (p.262) so there could be ‘luminous grist’ and ‘ominous grist’ which create golden and purple structures, respectively, and which Prospit and its counterpart are programmed to use via some script that uses the grist to auto-iterate on castle designs, making similar yet slightly different structures over and over.

For Prospit and its counterpart, it seems like colors outside the white-gold and black-purple pairs can only arise from prototyping. The ’golden city’ (p.1028) makes me think of the Emerald City from the Wizard of Oz, the movie of which was released 40 years to the day before Hussie was born. In that story, the city is not actually made of emeralds, it only looks that way through glasses. I don’t think Jade’s glasses are doing this, but I wonder if the gleaming gold is illusory in some way. The limited palette also reflects the video game nature of Sburb, where older games were very limited by how many colors they could include.

Tabbing back and forth very fast between pages 1029 and 1030, Jade’s two houses are identical besides the color, and probably also generated by Skaia just like the frog statue and bunkers. I wonder if Jade’s house being created by Skaia could give her an advantage playing Sburb. I also wonder if this is how Jade, who doesn’t have any Sburb beta discs, will end up in the game – she is the hacker Rose predicted (p.510), not the trolls. If she is already crossing the boundary into the Medium in her dreams, then a disc, or even the whole apple tutorial level, don’t feel necessary. She’s already there, she just needs her house to become controllable via someone’s computer – and possibly link her two houses, so that when one is built up, the other auto-builds, too.

Of course now that we’ve seen Prospit, I had to go back and reconsider the previous lore. WV describes the cosmology from the perspective of Skaia, as being orbited by Prospit and its moon (p.702). The battlefield at the center of Skaia (p.423) is the only physical structure we’ve seen there, and at the time it’s only inhabited by two kings. After prototyping, armies from both planets begin to arrive. WV and PM may be among them – WV due to how he perceives his location, and PM due to their beautiful sword and skill using it.

The original chessboard has five black squares, and four white ones. While this doesn’t give black a game advantage – it is an ‘eternal stalemate’ as Nannasprite says (p.423) – it does give a visual advantage that points towards the forces of darkness’ destined loss. Sburb is a game about building, the battlefield auto-increases when John enters the Medium, and John is currently practicing the skill of dealing with swarms of enemies while still alchemizing and building. I think that John and Rose will eventually have to build the battleground – the forces of light can’t win in a direct assault on a flat board, but via alchemy and building structures, John can create tools and advantages that will lead them to victory.

On page 1031 we can see a couple of Prospit’s residents, one visibly wearing a jester hat, the other what looks more like a wizard’s hat. But they are so tiny. Jade can potentially interact with them, which would explain the Peregrine Mendicant’s question ‘Don’t I know you?’ (p.900) and why Jade ‘seems familiar’ to them (p.898). The lightning that destroys PM’s bunker (also p.900) is I think Bec’s powers, not Jade’s – it’s the same lightning he crackles with on page 980, and now that we know how protective he is of her – taking Jade to bed and sitting on top of her bedroom while she sleeps – I think he might react that way if she was upset due to strange voices in her head.

> Jade: Wake suddenly mid-flight.

[hollybyrde]

Chapter 2: Into My Heart

Written for the @strangerthingsreversebigbang

Art below and here by @glitterfang

Beta'd by @penny00dreadful

Rating: E | WC: 4371 | Chapters: 2/2 | AO3 Link

CW: Smut

Eddie tucked the bottle of whiskey, concealed in its nondescript brown paper bag, under his arm—freeing his hands to unlock the apartment door. Wine just wasn’t going to cut it tonight, he’d decided on his way home. Disappointment to this degree called for something stronger, and as luck would have it the liquor store was a convenient stop on his way.

“Honey! I'm home!” He called out, kicking the door closed behind him hard enough to shake the walls.

Chrissy startled, jumping about a foot in the air from her seat on the sofa. “Do you have to do that every time?”

He grinned, tossing his keys on the little table they kept by the door. 

She flipped him off.

Their apartment was small, its entrance, living room, and kitchen all essentially one big room, and he could feel her eyes tracking his every movement as he crossed the space. Wordlessly he took a rocks glass out of the cabinet and sloshed about a shot and a half's worth of amber liquid into it from his newly acquired bottle, and downed it all in one go. 

Could he have just used a shot glass? Probably. But this way was classier, and he liked the feel of the heavy bottomed cup in his hand. He’d drink the second one a little slower, maybe even add some ice.

“Well, that’s not a good sign. Hard session?” Chrissy asked.

Hard.

A manic laugh bubbled up from his throat as he thought back to the beginning of his appointment with Steve. “You could say that.”

“That’s… concerning.” She mumbled, upending her wine glass to catch the final drops before setting it down on the table. “Might as well just bring yourself and that bottle over here. Come sit, tell me all about it.”

Eddie was too keyed up to sit. He paced back and forth in front of the couch as he went through the whole thing detail by detail. He wasn’t sure what the ethics were of recounting the entire interaction for her, particularly the sensitive bits—about Steve's sensitive bits, but he supposed there was no such thing as tattooist/client confidentiality.

“Maybe she’s just like, a really close friend?” Chrissy said when he was done.

“No, Chris. I'm telling you, he basically called her his soulmate. You should have seen the way he glowed when he talked about her. It was like his whole stupidly-fucking-pretty face lit up from the inside.”

Chrissy groaned, taking a swig directly from his bottle, like a heathen, and slumped down in her seat.

“I want thaaaaat.” She whined.

Eddie plopped down hard next to her, heaving a sigh. “Don’t we all.”

In an attempt to put it all out of his mind and enjoy what was left of his Friday night in peace–-without being plagued by thoughts of cute little moles and dazzling hazel eyes, Eddie changed into comfy clothes, queued up the next episode in their Drag Race rewatch, and cuddled up next to Chrissy. Unfortunately, as hard as he tried to concentrate on the queens and the drama unfolding on the screen in front of him, he couldn't stop thinking about Steve. Not even the Snatch Game could hold his attention. 

Apologies to you Jinkx Monsoon, Eddie mused regretfully. It’s not you, it’s me. You were wonderful.

After much hemming and hawing, and one too many woe-is-me sighs from his side of the couch, Chrissy yanked the remote out of his hand and hit pause.

Rude.

“Did you have something you needed to say, princess?”

Eddie grumbled. “I just wish I didn't have to see him again.”

“That’s dramatic.”

“What if you did it for me?”

“What? The tattoo?!”

“Come on, I'll owe you one—a big one. Just, I dunno, we'll let Steve show up for his appointment and then you’ll tell him I’ve got, like, food poisoning or whatever, and didn’t want to have to cancel on him at the last minute, so you’re going to finish up his color. I’ll show you the sketches—It’ll be great.  It's more your style than mine anyway.”

Chrissy raised both eyebrows, crossing her arms over her chest. “Sounds like you’ve got it all worked out, Munson.”

“So you’ll do it?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Come on.” Eddie slid down to the floor, falling to his knees in front of her and lifting his hands in prayer. “Please?”

“No! This is ridiculous, Eddie! I can’t believe you’re even considering… What's the big deal anyway? So you thought he was cute, you both flirted a little, so what? Now you can’t even face the guy?”

She narrowed her eyes, staring down at his, admittedly, pathetic display. “You didn't do something embarrassing did you? Is there more to this story than you're telling me?”

“No.” Eddie reared back, giving up his wide-eyed begging which was clearly not working on her—damn lesbians and their immunity to his boyish charms—and pulled himself back up into his seat. 

She hummed suspiciously.

“You don’t understand. He’s like, perfect.”

“Aww,” She cooed, wrapping him up in a one-armed hug. “You really have it bad for him don’t you?”

Eddie leaned into her, pouting. He couldn’t even argue. 

She flicked his bottom lip. He flinched away. 

“Ow!”

“No pouting!” 

She huffed a laugh, but when he didn’t crack her mouth turned down into a sympathetic frown. “Are you absolutely sure there’s no hope?”

“Chris, he’s covering up one woman's name with a bird to represent another. He’s taken—and an idiot. A very hot, very sweet, kind to kids and old ladies, idiot. It’s over, that’s it, no chance.”

-

As if to mock the way he was dreading their upcoming appointment, the next six weeks flew by for Eddie in a blur, and before he knew it the day had arrived. It was another Friday afternoon appointment, apparently the only time Steve was available between his work schedule, spending time with his D&D loving adoptive brother, and whatever other altruistic endeavors he got up to in his daylight hours. Probably saving kittens from trees and shit. 

At least he wouldn’t have to go through it alone this time, Chrissy had promised to stick around whether she had a client or not, though, he wasn't naive enough to think she was doing it solely out of the kindness of her heart. Oh no, she wanted to get a look at Steve with her own eyes and see what all the fuss was about. 

Eddie paced back and forth in his studio, arranging and rearranging his supplies and setup as he watched the clock tick down to Steve’s arrival. 

“Oh my god, since when did you become so high strung?” Chrissy gaped at him from the doorway.

He wondered how long she’d been watching him freak out.  

“I don’t fucking know, alright?!” Eddie hissed, sitting down heavily in his desk chair. He picked up the color mock up of Steve’s tattoo, the one he’d be using as a reference, and ran a finger along the edge. “He just… I dunno, he weaseled his way inside me and now I can’t shake him.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Gross.”

Eddie rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

The bell above the front door dinged, the sound carrying into his room, and Eddie peered back at the clock. Ten minutes early—the boy was punctual, he’d give him that.

Chrissy smiled mischievously, darting back out to the lobby. Eddie raced along behind trying to catch up, knowing full well it would be a bad idea to leave her alone with Steve for any length of time. She’d probably try to interrogate him or something.

Eddie locked eyes with the man of the hour the moment he slid around the corner, his shoes squeaking on the linoleum. An easy smile spread across Steve's face. He looked genuinely happy to see him, but that was probably due to the prospect of finally getting his tattoo finished.  

“Eddie,” Steve released his name like a sigh of relief. “It’s good to see you.” 

It sounded like he meant it, and If Eddie didn’t know better he’d think Steve had also spent the last 6 weeks pining, and thinking of their time together obsessively. 

Until this moment he had held out hope that maybe somehow this time would be different. That maybe going into it knowing that Steve wasn’t available would make it easier to deny the pull he felt, but then he cast his eyes down and realized Steve was wearing those same fucking Levi’s again. 

It’d been weeks. It could easily have been a coincidence, just the next clean pair of pants in his rotation, but there was no way Steve didn’t know what he looked like in those unholy jeans. Had he done this on purpose?

Either way, Eddie didn't know whether to be grateful for the view, or throw himself out the window into oncoming traffic. 

Chrissy cleared her throat loudly. 

Shit. He’d been staring too long again.

Eddie shook himself mentally. “Steve, this is Chrissy.”

“Nice to put a face to the name.” She said, giving a little wave.

Steve's eyes slid briefly to Eddie, narrowed and curious. Probably wondering why he’d told her about him at all. 

He was gonna kill her. 

“You too.” Steve said with a quirk of his brow. “Eddie told me how you two met and opened this place together. Must be great to get to work with your best friend everyday.”

“Could be worse I guess.”

Eddie cut her a hard look. “Don’t you have some cleaning to do?”

With a smirk, Chrissy winked at Steve, then mercifully did head off towards her own studio. 

“We should go get started.” Eddie said, leading the way to the back to his room. “Sorry about her.” 

Steve chuckled. “She seems nice. I think Robin would like her.”

Eddie clenched his jaw, turning away to hide his scowl. “I’m sure she would.”

Steve knew the drill now and took off his shirt without being asked, getting comfortable in the chair while Eddie slipped a pair of gloves on and pulled his stool over, examining the healed lines of the half-finished tattoo. 

He hummed, impressed. “You did a good job taking care of it.”

Steve shrugged, but Eddie noticed the way he preened a little at the praise. “I did exactly what you told me to do.”

Fuck. 

There was just something about a man who followed directions.

Eddie took a deep breath, blowing it out slowly through his nose. He was going to give himself whiplash at this rate.

He prepped Steve’s skin in silence and got right to his task, trying to focus on the thrumming of the machine, instead of the rise and fall of the other man’s chest under his gloved hands—thankful that Steve didn’t seem to be having the same reaction to the initial pain that he had before.

“I told Dustin about you.” Steve blurted out after a while. 

The sudden sound of his voice, as well as the words themselves caught Eddie off guard. 

“What?”

Steve’s body flushed and Eddie flicked his eyes up, finding a matching shade of pink spreading over his face. “Yeah, I'm pretty sure he thinks you're the coolest guy in the world now. A tattoo artist and you play D&D? I had no chance.”

“Oh.”

Eddie went quiet, not sure what he was supposed to do with that—with any of this. He got back to work, hoping Steve would leave it there. He didn’t want to be rude, but he also didn’t want to play whatever game this was anymore. 

“Are you okay?” Steve asked. “You seem… I don't know… different today?”

Eddie could have said, how would you know, you’ve only met me once? Or, we spent a few hours together, why do you care? Or something else equally passive aggressive, but… Steve wasn’t wrong and Eddie wasn’t in the business of gaslighting people. 

Telling a little white lie though? That was fair game.

“I have a headache, that’s all. It’s fine.”

It was fine. He just needed to do his job and get this over with. 

But of course, Steve had to be perfect and sweet about that too. 

“I’m sorry. I get migraines sometimes, so I get it. Doc says it’s from getting knocked in the head one too many times playing high school sports. I was very dedicated.” 

Steve laughed a little at himself, and Eddie couldn't help but look up again to see the way his eyes crinkled with it. Steve tilted his head, mouth turned up at the corners as he gazed down at Eddie.  “Doesn’t seem worth it, in hindsight.”

Despite trying not to, Eddie smiled back and could feel himself getting drawn in again. 

He forced himself to turn away. 

“Are you sure you're alright, though?” Steve continued. “If you're not feeling well–”

“I’m fine. I'm not going to mess your ink up or anything, don’t worry.”

“Hey,” Steve said tenderly, waiting until Eddie had stilled the machine again to lay a tentative hand on his upper arm. “I wasn't worried about that.”

“Oh.” Eddie swallowed a gasp, feeling like his skin was on fire under the touch. 

“We can reschedule if you need to, it’s okay.”

Fuck, Steve was entirely too thoughtful. 

And what was Eddie even doing? Trying to be cold and aloof, pretending to have a headache to explain why he wasn’t talking? It wasn’t fair to the guy. It wasn’t Steve’s fault he’d developed an extremely inconvenient crush—that he couldn’t handle a little innocent friendly flirtiness without losing his mind.  

“No. I promise I'm–”

I’m just an idiot. 

“I, uh, took some ibuprofen before you got here. I’m already feeling better.”

Finally, Steve let it go, allowing Eddie to get back to work without disturbing the quiet between them again. At least now the silence was almost comfortable. 

Art by Glitterfang

The time went by quickly. Eddie did glance up every so often to make sure Steve was okay, always surprised to find the other man’s eyes fixed on his face, rather than the tattoo, making Eddie’s stomach flip each time. 

The finished piece was beautiful, and honestly Eddie thought it might be some of his best work, even if it wasn’t his usual style. After a thorough cleaning he held a mirror up so Steve could see it better. He teared up a bit as he inspected his reflection. 

“It's even better than I could have imagined.” Steve turned away from the mirror to face him, smiling and looking so sincere it made Eddie’s heart ache. “Thank you so much.” 

“You’re welcome. I’m really glad you’re happy with it.” Eddie bit at his bottom lip. “Well, you already know your care instructions, so i’ll get this wrapped up and you’ll be good to–”

Steve cut him off abruptly. “Do you… um, I mean, could I get your number?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Steve.” Eddie said, heart hammering in his chest. He couldn't do this. He didn’t want to only be Steve’s friend, and if somehow the other man wanted his number for more than that, well, he didn’t want to be a homewrecker either. 

Steve deflated, looking hurt, which was a little ridiculous considering he was the one with a whole-ass girlfriend. “But I thought maybe… since we’re done now, and I’m not a client anymore–”

“Look,” Eddie interrupted. “It’s sweet that you want to be friends or whatever, but–”

“No, I–”

“Knock-knock” Chrissy sing-songed, appearing in the doorway rapping her knuckles on its frame. “There’s someone here to see Steve.”

Saved by the bell. 

“We’re about done if you want to tell them to just–”

“Great, I'll send her in!”

Her?

Eddie was gonna kill Chrissy, for real this time.

Worst. Friend. Ever. 

A very cute girl with a chin length bob bounced into the room. Eddie got as far as noticing the spray of freckles across her nose and cheeks before he had to look away, using cutting down a square of Saniderm to the correct size as an excuse.

She wasn’t quite what Eddie had pictured as the girlfriend of a gym bro—okay, Steve wasn’t exactly a gym bro but Eddie was allowed to be salty about it in his own mind if he wanted to—but to his dismay, they made a nice looking couple.

“Hey Dingus, how’s it going?” She said.

Odd term of endearment, but okay. 

“Eddie, this is Robin.” Steve said.

“Yeah I figured that one out all on my own, thanks.” Eddie muttered, rolling back up to Steve on his chair with the bandage in hand.

Steve furrowed his brow, staring from Eddie over to Robin and back again. Suddenly his eyes went wide. “My roommate, Robin.”

“O… kay?” Eddie shrugged, ducking his head to start covering the tattoo. Weird fucking way to refer to your live-in girlfriend, but whatever. He was over it. He just wanted to get the happy couple out of his tattoo shop so he could go home and–

Eddie sucked in a breath as Steve lightly gripped his arm again. He looked up, ready to be annoyed—the audacity of this guy to keep flirting with him, right in front of his girlfriend, but stopped short when he saw the soft pleading look in Steve’s eyes. 

“My best friend, platonic with-a-capital-p, lesbian roomate, Robin.”

Wait, what?

“Wait, what?!” Eddie nearly shouted.

He whipped his head around to look at Robin again. He’d only glanced at her before, not noticing much more than her hair and denim jacket, but on closer inspection he saw her neatly trimmed manicure, and the fact that she was wearing men’s jeans with a carabiner holding her keys hanging from one of the belt loops. 

None of those things were a guarantee of course, plenty of straight women also kept short nails and had masculine leaning senses of style, but when he spotted the pink, white, and orange stripes of the lesbian flag stitched into her lapel, he figured that was as sure a sign as any. 

“Oh.” Eddie breathed, turning back to Steve.

“Yeah, oh.” Steve parroted back softly, his mouth spreading into a tentative smile. 

“B- but I thought… and the tattoo!” Eddie stuttered.

“Is that why you were acting so weird? Because you thought Robin was my–” Steve shook his head as if that very idea were unthinkable. “You thought that I was covering up my ex's name with a new girlfriend?”

Eddie squirmed. “...No.”

“Eddie?”

“Well, what was I supposed to think?!”

“Oh shit, were you jealous?!” Robin blurted out.

“Robin!” Steve hissed.

“Oh I'm sorry,” she said, tilting her head side-to-side, the words absolutely dripping with sarcasm. “Was I supposed to pretend the tension in here wasn’t thick enough to choke on?”

Eddie bit his tongue, locking eyes with Steve. Steve broke first, letting out a loud but very adorable snort of laughter.

Robin’s face went bright red, realizing what she’d said. 

“Birdie, can you just give us a minute?” Steve asked her, when he’d regained control of himself.

“Fine,” She sighed. “But I'm only going because Chrissy said she’d pierce my nose for free.”

“Slut.”

“Shut up.”

Robin moved to leave but paused on the threshold, looking back at them over her shoulder. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” She called out, taking hold of the knob and pulling the door to his studio shut behind her. 

Eddie wasn’t sure it’d ever been closed before.  

“So, when you asked me for my number?”

Steve nodded. “It was because I wanted to ask you out.”

“I’m such an idiot.”

Steve reached out to tuck a stray curl behind Eddie’s ear. “Does that mean maybe you’ve changed your mind about me calling you?”

Eddie eyed up the now closed door and let himself do what he’d wanted to since the first time Steve sat shirtless in his chair, and climbed up onto it, straddling the other man’s lap.

“Is this okay?” He asked, hovering his mouth over Steve’s, close enough that a hard thought would have their lips brushing. 

“Yes.” Steve whispered, leaning in to close the almost non-existent space between them. 

It was tentative and unsure at first, the way Steve’s lips moved against his own, testing—tasting, but then he whined, a high-pitched and needy sound deep in his throat that went straight to Eddie’s dick, and opened his mouth wide. 

Eddie took it for the invitation it was and licked inside, their tongues sliding together as their bodies did the same, grinding and making out like a couple of teenagers in the backseat of a car, both growing hard.

Suddenly Steve broke the kiss, panting, “Wait, wait, wait.”

“Shit. Sorry, I shouldn’t have–” Eddie tried to climb off but found himself held firmly in place by Steve’s broad hands on his waist.

“No, please. I just need to know… is this only a hookup for you?” Steve asked once he’d caught his breath. “It’s okay if it is,” he added quickly. “I just hoped–”

The rest of Steve’s words were lost to a gasp as Eddie ran fingers through his hair, gently tilting his head to the side for better access to the other man’s speckled neck. Eddie scraped his teeth gently over Steve’s pulse point, licking up the column of his throat to speak low and close to his ear. “While I do fully intend on sucking your dick here and now, if you’ll let me–”

Steve whined again, hips thrusting up and into Eddie of their own accord.

Eddie shuddered, pressing a kiss to the skin just behind Steve's ear and finally sat back, looking him in the eye. “I’m not really into hookups, not anymore, and I would love to take you out after.”

Steve's eyes fluttered, watching heavy-lidded and open mouthed as Eddie slid down his body until he was eye level with the obvious bulge in his pants, nosing over it. 

“Not before?” Steve croaked out, struggling to speak as Eddie teased him mercilessly. 

Eddie rested his cheek against Steve’s denim covered cock, looking up at him through the thick curtain of his lashes. “Sweetheart, I've been dying to get my lips wrapped around you since the first time you got hard in my chair. If it’s alright with you, dinner can wait.” 

“Fuck.” Steve bit down on his bottom lip and wound a hand into Eddie’s messy bun, nails scratching at his scalp. 

“So, what do you say?” Eddie asked, smoothing his hands up Steve’s luscious thighs, resting them on either side of his fly as he waited for an answer. 

Steve brought his other hand down to cup Eddie’s face running a thumb over his cheek. “It’s a date.”

Eddie grinned, making quick work of Steve's button and zipper, working his pants and underwear down just enough to let his hard length spring free. 

Fuck it was pretty.

Not that that was a surprise. Everything about Steve was pretty.  

Eddie flicked his tongue out, tasting the tip of him, dipping his tongue into the slit to capture a bit of precum that had spilled out. 

“I’m not going to last very long.” Steve rasped.

“How long has it been since someone touched you?” Eddie asked, pressing an open mouthed kiss to the pink head of his cock. 

Steve whimpered. “Too long.”

“Don’t worry, baby. I’ll fix that. Just sit back and let me take care of you, okay?”

As much as he wanted to take his time and enjoy the feel of Steve sitting heavy on his tongue, for hours or days, those thighs pressing in on either side of him, Eddie was acutely aware that Robin and Chrissy were within earshot, and the door Robin had so helpfully closed did not have a lock. Quick and dirty was probably for the best. 

Hopefully he would have many more opportunities to enjoy Steve at his leisure, assuming their date went well. 

Eddie sank down, keeping his lips tight around Steve’s shaft as he took inch after inch of him inside, until he was nose deep in coarse curly hair.

It’d been a while for Eddie too, since he’d been with anyone like this, but it was like riding a bike, once you’ve mastered the art of taking a cock down your throat—you never forget.

Steve gripped the back of his head harder, not quite holding him down the way Eddie really wanted him to, but enough to let him know he was there. Eddie moaned around him as he began to bob his head, setting a rough pace that had Steve making the most debauched sounds above him.

“God, m’so close already, Eddie.” Steve cried out in warning, taking his hand away to give him the option of moving back. As if he’d waste the opportunity to taste him.

Eddie doubled his efforts, nearly choking himself for how deep he took Steve down, swallowing around him over and over again until finally he came—hot and thick and a little bitter, but oh so wonderful.

He didn’t pull off until Steve was soft in his mouth and writhing from oversensitivity.

Steve immediately pulled him back up into his lap, crashing their mouths together, moaning into the kiss when he undoubtedly caught a taste of himself on Eddie’s tongue.

Eventually Eddie broke the kiss, helping Steve tuck himself away and wiggle back into his jeans. He ignored his own arousal, content with this moment being all about Steve, anxious to keep his promise about taking the other man out on a real date.

“So, where would you like to go? What’s your favorite restaurant in the city?” He asked, settling himself back down into Steve’s lap once his clothing was back in place.   

“What if instead we went back to my place,” Steve began, pulling him in close, dragging his lips over Eddie’s collarbone as he spoke.  “I cook for us, you let me return the favor, and you can take me out to dinner next time.”

Eddie sucked in a sharp breath as Steve palmed him where he was already so painfully hard in his own jeans. “Already planning a second date?” 

“And a third and a fourth. Is that okay?” 

“Sounds perfect.”

[yuukimiyas]

⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ sweet disposition

₊˚ෆ 1.0k words / sfw! / est. relationship / written w fem!reader in mind but can v much be read as gn!reader / proofread by my bff & word genius @/grimmjaws / super duper fluffy fluff for the dreamiest boy ever ໒꒰ྀི´ ˘ ` ꒱ྀིა

ᕱ ⑅ ᕱ a/n: this is so V self indulgent & self ship coded!! / based off one of my fave scenes from one of my fave comfort movies <33 / tyasm for bein so patient w me as i mustered up the courage to post this ૮꒰ྀི∩´ ᵕ `∩꒱ྀིა your support means the absolute world to me! / now, w/out further ado! chloe's writing debut!

yukimiya kenyū adored you. whether it was the sound of your laugh, the way you took your coffee, or the way you looked while going on & on about your favorite author, he adored everything, no matter how big or small.

but notably, his most endeared moments were the dates the two of you shared together downtown. getting up just as the sun rose in the morning to make it to your favorite coffee shop, or walking a few blocks to the record store you now call ‘yours’, or spending some time together at the park, or maybe side-by-side, taking turns reading passages from whichever covers you’d picked up that day, while the sun’s rays elevated your eye-color to something otherworldly – those times were yukimiya’s favorites. 

every date with you was no exception.

or, so he thought.

the day had started off a lot like those others. another all-day-date-turned-adventure where you’d both gotten coffee and flipped through an abundance of jazz vinyl (most of which you owned, but continued the tradition nonetheless), then left to roam the streets of a city you were so passionate about. when your footsteps came to a halt, yukimiya stuttered to a stop just in front of you, your sudden lack of movement making him turn and raise his brow.

“everything alright, darling?” his voice was smooth and sweet, every syllable coated in pure honey. the question dripped down your spine and your cheeks took on a much rosier hue as you faced him head on.

“come with me.” wearing a sickeningly sweet grin, you took the lead. you dragged yukimiya behind you for a few paces, unable to contain your excitement, until he caught up to you, footsteps in tandem. the familiar sidewalks crunched beneath your feet, then turned into blades of grass as you traveled through the park, passing by your usual spot. you lead him up a fairly steep hill, hand-in-hand, before eventually coming to a beautiful, well-loved ironwork bench. 

while the body of the arrangement used to be freshly painted, it was now a weathered black, flaking heavily near the metal arms, displaying how endeared the spot was to more than just yourself.

“alright, here we are - my favorite place in the whole city.” you turned, arms outstretched & smiled so wide that yukimiya was positive there was no sight greater in the universe, one that could rival how you looked in front of him just then. he couldn’t tell if it was the way your hair was blowing in the light, autumnal breeze, or the way your small giggles & excitable expression made his chest warm, but he was filled with the obvious & irrefutable love he had for you. it didn’t matter the reason, you were ethereal in every small moment you shared together. 

yukimiya thought he couldn’t possibly love anything more; more than soccer, more than modeling, more than every star in the vast sky – it was always you who proved him wrong.

you sat down, patting the empty space beside you, its cool surface an invitation. yukimiya could do nothing but oblige.

“so this is your favorite place in the entire city?” the tall, dark-haired man questioned. a soft smile was apparent on his picturesque features, and when you felt yourself staring for a little too long, you attempted to hide the blush covering your cheeks by looking forward.

“mhm. i randomly came across it one day a few years ago & have found myself drawn to it ever since. you see that roof over there? on the left? that’s the museum of natural history, one of the largest since its founding in 1869…” you continued. yukimiya watched you with rapt attention as you pointed to numerous structures and parking garages, explaining each bit of history that highlighted all of the parts that make you, well… you. 

fascinated was an understatement for the striker, and he did his best to give coherent responses besides a quick ‘yeah’ & various head nods, but he just couldn’t shake it. the pounding in his chest began to drown out the outside noises of passing individuals going on jogs, talking on the phone, and walking their dogs until all he could hear was you.

“i feel like they could have done more with the layout of some of the larger structures, but hey, i’m no architect,” you joked. blushing, you raked your fingers through your hair and gave a somewhat shy chuckle at your own statement. “i’m…sorry if i bored you at all! i know hearing all of this is probably less than riveting.” 

“no!” he rushed out, words overlapping the end of your statement by just a moment. “please don’t apologize. tell me more.” 

just like that, your eyes lit up & another gorgeous smile adorned your delicate features before you spoke again, cautiously optimistic, “really? because i totally get it if it’s too–”

“really. please, go on.” yukimiya’s words were gentle, tone liquid and smooth as his arm snaked around your middle. he pulled you close, letting you rest your head comfortably on his chest as you began to talk again. he could listen to your saccharine voice forever & he was absolutely positive no bit of information, too dull or too bold, could deter him from thinking so.

after you exhausted all of your favorite factoids about the city & its many tall stone and brick inhabitants, the two of you fell into a comfortable, almost soothing silence. the moment stretched on for a while before you let out a whisper - one that simply could have dissipated into the wind if not for your close proximity to each other.

“i was wrong.”

“hm?” yukimiya answered with a hum, pressing a tender kiss to your temple.

“about this being my favorite place in the city,” you nuzzled into his frame as if it were humanly possible to be any closer than you currently were, “it’s my second favorite.”

“oh? why the sudden change of heart?” he inquired, his gaze never breaking away from the concrete horizon before him. he noticed it a moment later, how the city felt a little different now - more personal. it was as if every notion & bit of information you shared with him had opened up his eyes to a whole new perspective. admittedly, he was grateful for it; he cherished knowing the city better - you better. 

yukimiya knew in that moment, there, with you, that nothing else could possibly elevate the airy feeling of cloud-nine that he was already on.

and then you spoke.

“because my first favorite place in the city is anywhere i’m with you.”

fin.

๋࣭ ⭑ seehaven © '23 / please do not copy/repost/translate anywhere! / all dividers by @/benkeibear <;33

[fr3sh-tragedies]

Only For You

[Resident Evil: Village] Cassandra Dimitrescu x Fem! Reader

Word Count: 4.4k

Proofread: Yes

Content Warnings: (Slightly implied) Jealousy

[A/N]: This was written quite a while ago, so some things might have changed, but I kept the overall idea the same.

Enjoy!

[Y/N] yelped for the fifth time as Daniela roughly yanked her forward, ignoring Bela’s suggestion to be easy with her–subtly reminding her that Cassandra would have her head if she left any bruises. “C’mon, [Y/N], Cass is waiting for you! You gotta hurry up!” [Y/N] readjusted her arm in Daniela’s grasp to ease some of the pain, though it didn’t work. “Why is she waiting for me? And why did the two of you force me into this dress?” To be blunt, [Y/N] didn’t like the dress; the design and the colors were absolutely beautiful, and it hugged her body perfectly, but the texture was driving her insane. The constant itch from the rough fabric rubbing against her skin made her grimace each time. Bela and Daniela had locked her in a spare, empty bedroom and practically forced her to slip it on only a few minutes prior, so it didn’t help that it wasn’t smoothed out properly.

She wasn’t sure why she had to wear it, or even where they were going, but the eldest and youngest daughter of the Dimitrescu household were adamant that it was important, and she needed to hurry. The matching heels she had clumsily slipped on as she was rushed out the door were too tight, blistering her heels and squeezing her feet uncomfortably. She winced with each step. Why did she have to wear it? Why was Cassandra waiting for her? “Because Cassi wanted you to wear it tonight,” the redhead answered at length. “But why? What’s so important?” Bela finally stepped in front of the two large, wide doors leading to the ballroom, preventing her sister from barging into the room before everything was ready. She pried Daniela’s hand from [Y/N]’s, now red, arm. “Dani, you need to calm down. Cassandra told us to let her know when [Y/N] is here so she can gather herself. If you barge in now, you’ll ruin everything.”

Daniela rolled her eyes, bouncing impatiently on her toes. “But this is so exciting! It’s like all of the romance I read about in my novels, and I want to witness it in person!” The blonde sighed and firmly squeezed her younger sister’s shoulder. “I know, Daniela, but we did promise Cassandra we’d follow her plan. Tonight is about her and [Y/N], not your interests in romance. She wants it to be perfect. Why do you think she spent such a long time planning everything?”

Bela had to choose her words carefully to avoid revealing any of the actual plan itself. The entire time, she panicked about getting Daniela involved, worried the redhead would spoil everything before it could even begin. Cassandra seemed so excited–yet nervous–about the plan she and her sisters had made.

Cassandra paced back and forth in front of her sisters, fidgeting with her necklace as her gaze flickered back and forth like she was reading from a script. “And then the pianist will play the final slow song, and I’ll pull [Y/N] closer,” she recited at the end of her walkthrough of the plan. “Yes. You’ll be just fine, Cassandra,” Bela voiced softly from her spot on the sofa. “Everything will be perfect, just like you want.” The brunette turned her head to gaze at her, though she didn’t slow in her movements. Her eyebrows were furrowed tightly together as she chewed harshly on her lip. “But what if it doesn’t? What if I mess something up? Or–or what if she hates the dress I picked for her, or the suit I’m wearing because it’s not what she actually described to me?” She groaned and buried her face in her hands. “God, I just want things to go smoothly.”

Bela stood, internally thankful she did so she didn’t have to feel Daniela bouncing on the cushion next to her any longer, and stepped in front of her younger sister, planting her hands on her shoulders to halt her anxious pacing. “Cass, none of that will happen. I’ve never seen you this nervous over anything before.” Cassandra averted her gaze, not willing to admit she was actually terrified of how the plan would play out. “You really love this girl, don’t you?” The brunette swallowed the lump in her throat as her face flushed. “I-I…” She couldn’t lie. [Y/N] meant the world to her–she’d do anything for her.

At length, she sheepishly glanced up at Bela before her gaze returned to the floor beneath them. “I do. I really do,” she whispered. Bela smiled warmly at her, though she couldn’t see it, and patted her shoulders softly. “I’m glad. And I’m so happy for you–I really am. It’s really nice to see you be so comfortable, and open, and honest with this girl. I’m glad she makes you happy. I can assure you that she truly does love you too, and you know she’d never blame you for anything, so don’t dread what could possibly go wrong. I’m sure that no matter what happens, she’ll love everything about this plan–including how much effort you put into it.” Cassandra finally met her reassuring gaze. She didn’t know what to say, but she was so glad her sisters weren’t teasing her about everything like she had initially thought they would.

“[Y/N] loves you,” the blonde whispered, setting it in stone.

A smile finally cracked across Cassandra’s lips, prompting Bela’s to widen in return. “Thank you,” the brunette mumbled, unsure of what to say. Bela nodded. Both of them jumped, however, as Daniela clapped once loudly. “Aha!” Her two older sisters turned to look at her in confusion. “What?” She stood, stepping over to the two and excitedly grabbing Cassandra by the arm. “When you play the slow songs at the end, the last two should be special! The second-to-last one should be one of her favorites, and then the final one should be one you both love! That could be your song!” Surprised she found her sister’s idea so intriguing, Bela smiled and nodded as she turned to Cassandra, who seemed utterly confused. “That’s actually an incredible idea,” she spoke firmly. The brunette turned to her.

“It is?” “Of course. Leave it to Daniela to think of something really romantic.” Daniela grinned pridefully. Her gaze bounced back over to Cassandra, whose expression hadn’t faltered. The redhead tilted her head. “Don’t you think it’s a good idea, Cass?” The middle child seemed lost. “Well, the part about playing a song she loves, yes, but what do you mean the final one could be “my song?””

Daniela and Bela looked at each other. The blonde sent Daniela a threatening look when she chuckled. “It just means a song that both of you love. One that’s personal to you and can relate to your actual relationship. It’s a song that will make you think of each other and the moments you share when you hear it.” It finally clicked in Cassandra’s brain, her eyes lighting up at the idea once she understood. “And it doesn’t mean it’s actually your song. It means it’s a song you and [Y/N] can share and enjoy on a personal level,” Daniela added. “Exactly,” Bela agreed. The two could see the gears visibly turning in Cassandra’s head as she wracked her brain for a song that could work. She knew it had to be truly special–it couldn’t be just any cheesy love song. It had to mean something to the two of them.

“Don’t just try to think of one you think she’ll settle with though. Talk to her about it. Next time you’re listening to music together, just ask her what her favorite love song is and play it. Or maybe ask what kind of song she’d want to play if you ever got married,” Bela wanted to be sure her sister didn’t grow close-minded on something that she was going to share with [Y/N]. Cassandra nodded. “I can do that,” she mumbled softly. Bela smirked and nodded. “Good. Now, let’s go over the plan one more time, alright?”

“Well, then go tell her [Y/N] is here!” Bela shook her head and pointed towards the doors behind her. “You go tell her instead.” “What? Why?” “Because I need to speak to [Y/N] alone before she goes in there.” [Y/N] looked at her, panicked, as Daniela finally nodded and opened the door just enough to slip into the room before shutting it. Bela hadn’t torn her gaze away from [Y/N], who stared back anxiously. “Did I do something wrong?” The blonde stayed silent for a moment, trying to phrase her words in a way that wouldn’t upset Cassandra if she overheard. Finally, she crossed her arms and stepped forward with a small sigh. “No, you didn’t. I just want to know that you love my sister. Really love her–not anything fake.” [Y/N]’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “What? Of course I love Cassandra. I love her more than anything.”

“Then I need you to prove it to me.” “And…how do I do that?” Bela’s hands found themselves planted on top of [Y/N]’s shoulders the same way they were with Cassandra several weeks ago when she was panicking. “Tonight is very important to Cassandra. She’s spent months planning this, and she’s been extremely nervous about it. So, when you go in there, I need you to be completely honest about everything that happens. I need to see that you’re willing to put your guilt aside to show good communication and loyalty with my sister. Those are two incredibly important factors in a healthy relationship of any kind. I’m not saying what she has planned will likely upset you, but she is worried that something will go wrong. If for some reason it does, I need you to be honest about how it makes you feel–whether it be good or bad. Do you understand me?”

[Y/N] swallowed the lump in her throat. She nodded. “Of course. I could never lie to Cass. I’d do anything for her because I love her with all my heart.” Bela’s gaze flickered across her face, searching for any sign of a lie. At length, she sighed and smiled, her hands dropping down to hold [Y/N]’s. “I know you do. I’m so glad you’re a part of her life. You’re an incredible woman, [Y/N], and that’s what Cassandra deserves. I know you’ll be there for her through anything and everything, and I know she’ll do the same for you.”

[Y/N] smiled fondly at her, a soft tint of red dusting her cheeks. They stared at each other for a moment, unsure of what to say, before the door opened slightly behind them, allowing Daniela’s head to pop out. “She’s ready,” she announced softly with a grin. The door shut again, and Bela turned back to [Y/N]. “Alright, I’m going to step inside for a moment to check some things. You wait right here, and Dani and I will open both doors for you when it’s time. Got it?” [Y/N] nodded, unable to wipe the grin from her face. “And you remember what I said?” “Of course.” “Good. We’ll open the doors for you shortly. Wait here. Maybe smooth out your dress–I know we sort of rushed you, so you didn’t get a chance to. I could see how uncomfortable it was making you. Sorry about that by the way."

Bela opened the door and headed inside, leaving [Y/N] there by herself. She looked down at the dress, a beautiful blend of black and red with rose patterns etched in around the waistline and trim. There weren’t any sleeves, but since the castle had to be kept relatively warm for all three sisters, it didn’t pose as much of a problem. She ran her hands down the fabric repeatedly, smoothing out the wrinkles. The texture of the material used for the dress still made her itch if she moved too much, but it was much more bearable now that nothing was bunched up in uncomfortable places. She sucked in a deep breath to steady the rising nerves. She wasn’t sure what all Cassandra had planned, but it had to have been a lot if Bela said it was incredibly important to her. Cassandra wasn’t one to go all-out for events, including dates. She preferred to keep things relatively simple and calm–which was uncharacteristic of her contrasting self. This had to be a special event of some kind.

“Okay, Cass. You ready?” Cassandra took a shaky breath and wiped her sweaty palms against her black slacks in an attempt to dry them, though it was futile. “I-I don’t know. Do I look okay?” Bela smiled. “Yes, you look incredible. I just know [Y/N] is going to love that you had this suit made with only her interests in mind. You told me what she described her ideal suit was, and that’s exactly what I see. Granted, you did change the colors to suit your style, but I think she’ll end up loving it even more because it was made for the person she loves. It adds to the meaning.”

Cassandra found herself smiling as she glanced down at her outfit. A white button up shirt, a red silk vest with a matching tie, a black blazer with crimson accents, charcoal-colored slacks, and black dress shoes. She had even styled her hair and put on the cologne [Y/N] loved. She put even more effort into this night than she had realized. About three weeks prior, she had commissioned her aunt Donna to make the three-piece suit, knowing that the skilled woman would be able to get every little detail perfect. Every amount she spent on this night was worth it, even if something goes wrong. She was proud of herself for putting in so much effort to please [Y/N]. She was everything to her.

“So, are you ready?” Cassandra looked up at Bela, who was standing by the pianist to help double check all of the sheet music, and then to Daniela, who was on the second floor leaning over the railing with a cheeky grin as she gave a thumbs up. She took another deep breath. “Yes, I am,” she stated firmly. Bela smiled and walked over. “Good. Just remember what we practiced. Deep breaths, focus on the positive, and know that Dani and I support you all the way.”

The brunette chuckled. “I know. Thank you,” she replied softly. Bela nodded and pulled her sister into a tight hug, patting her back before motioning for Daniela to come down. They both flew over to the heavy wooden doors and grasped each handle. “Oh,” the blonde said before they could open the doors. “And you might want to take a deep breath now because I know when you see how [Y/N] looks in the dress you picked out for her, you’re going to be breathless. She looks just as stunning as you had hoped.” The youngest daughter raised an eyebrow. “Bela, are you trying to tell us something we don’t know?” Bela turned to her, slightly offended. “Not at all. I’m trying to get Cass excited about this so she isn’t anxious anymore. And,” she raised her index finger and twirled it in a circle before pointing to the middle child across the room with a cocky smirk. “I’m pretty sure it’s working. Look at how red in the face she is.”

Daniela followed her sister’s point to find Cassandra blushing profusely. She giggled and turned to her, never letting go of the door handle. “C’mon, Cass, you’ve gotta look confident. Stand up straight, head held high, and put your hands in your pockets or behind your back.” Cassandra nodded and cleared her throat, straightening her posture and stuffing her hands in her pockets. “How’s this?” “Great. You ready?” She nodded, fighting with herself to regain her composure. Bela and Daniela turned to each other before they shared a nod and turned to their respected door. Slowly, they pulled them open. Inch by inch, Cassandra was able to see more of [Y/N], who had listened to Bela and stood there patiently with her hands intertwined in front of her.

Just like Bela had said, Cassandra’s breath was taken away once the full picture of [Y/N] came into view. She truly looked so stunning, even as she stood there trembling. After a long moment, Bela led the [h/c] girl inside before she joined her youngest sister upstairs to view from above. Cassandra and [Y/N] stared at each other in awe, both blushing madly as their eyes traveled up and down the other’s outfit and body. “Wow,” the brunette breathed out at length. “You look…” She stepped closer, as if to get a better view. Softly, she took [Y/N]’s hands into her own, squeezing them as she fought her mind to find the right word. “Phenomenal. God, that dress suits you perfectly.” “Your suit makes you look absolutely ravishing. It looks just like–” She gasped at the sudden realization. “Cass, no way.”

Cassandra chuckled and tilted her head. “What?” “Did you…did you get the suit that I…” “That you said you loved?” [Y/N] nodded. The brunette laughed softly, looking down at herself. “Yeah, I did. I had Aunt Donna make it for me so I could be sure all of the details were right.” She glanced back up at [Y/N] to find her still staring at the suit. “Do you like it?” She finally met her gaze again, tears pricking the corners of her eyes as she smiled and nodded. “Cass, I absolutely love it. Thank you so much.” Cassandra smiled and nodded in return. She stared for a moment. ‘Be bold,’ she told herself. She removed her hands from [Y/N]’s and slid them down to hold her waist, gently pulling her forward. Caught slightly off guard from the motion, the [h/c] girl’s own hands instinctively flew up to grasp onto Cassandra’s shoulders.

“Do you like the dress too?” Sheepishly, [Y/N] nodded. “Yes, it’s absolutely beautiful. It’s a little uncomfortable though.” Concerned, Cassandra peered down at the dress before looking back up at the woman in front of her. “It is? Is it too tight? Too short? I was sure I got the measurements right.” “Oh! No, Cass, no. It’s not the fitting at all–it’s actually a perfect fit for me. The material it’s made of is just really…rough? I’m not sure how to describe it. It just makes my skin sort of itch if I move too much or too quickly.” The brunette sighed, visibly relieved. “Oh. Yeah, I kind of figured that was going to happen. Donna mentioned she didn’t have enough of the fabric she usually uses to make dresses, so she had to improvise. The Duke wasn’t going to stock up on those materials for another two months, and I wanted to do this sooner rather than later. Before I lost the nerve, I mean.”

[Y/N] giggled. “Oh, alright. Well, aside from that, I think it’s perfect. Just like your suit.” Cassandra smirked. They gazed into each other’s eyes for a long while before the brunette seemed to remember something. “Oh, are the heels alright? They didn’t have your exact size, and I wasn’t sure what to do to accommodate it.” [Y/N] scowled. “Ah, well…they’re a bit too tight. It sort of hurts to walk in them, if I’m being honest.” Cassandra hummed in thought. “You could take them off if you’d like. I want you to be comfortable for this.” “I don’t want to make this weird though.” “Weird?” “Yeah. I mean, I’m not sure what you have planned, but to me it’d be kind of weird if I was the only one walking around without any shoes on.”

Cassandra nodded. “Well, here’s an easy fix,” she said as she slipped her derby shoes off and slid them closer to the nearest wall. She turned back to her. “Now you won’t be the only one without shoes.” [Y/N] stared at her for a moment before giggling with a nod as she slid her heels off and walked to put them next to the other pair. They stood in front of each other again finally. “So,” [Y/N] chirped with a newfound confidence. “What all do you have planned for tonight?” Cassandra’s previously settled nerves spiked up again, popping her knuckles anxiously as she cleared her throat. “Oh, well, I–” She looked up at her sisters, who were nodding their heads and mouthing words of encouragement. “I figured that–since I had both of these formal outfits made for a special reason–we could maybe…wear them for a special occasion? So, I thought maybe dancing alone together would be fitting.”

She finally looked back down at [Y/N] after several seconds of no response, only to find the girl staring back at her with a bewildered expression. Gulping much louder than she meant to, Cassandra brought her hands behind her back to pick at them. “What? Was this a bad idea?” Snapping out of it after noticing how crushed Cassandra was at the possibility, [Y/N] waved her hands dismissively in a panicked manner. “Oh, no, not at all! I’m so sorry, Cass, I didn’t mean to worry you. I just…this isn’t like you at all. I really wasn’t expecting any of this. I’m really happy that you’re wanting to do this with me–especially so much so that you had these outfits made specifically for us. I’m just surprised is all.”

Cassandra let out a heavy sigh at the reassurance. “Oh, thank god. I thought you were going to tell me you didn’t like this idea at all.” “No, of course not! I absolutely love the idea of being able to dance with you. I think it’s really romantic.”

They beamed gleefully at one another, feeling their anxiety slowly wash away. After a moment, Cassandra turned to face the pianist for a brief moment to nod and show she’s ready to begin. A slow, steady melody began to play, reverberating through the walls of the large room. The brunette faced [Y/N] again and held out her hand. “May I have this dance?” [Y/N] returned her radiant smile and placed her hand in the one offered to her. “Of course.” As they stepped closer to begin the dance, Cassandra couldn’t help but glance down and notice a fading red handprint on [Y/N]’s forearm. She grasped her wrist and pulled her arm up to get a better look. “Who the hell did this?” Bela stepped forward to lean over the railing above. “Cass, come on, don’t ruin the moment like that. Daniela just got a little too excited bringing her here, that’s all. It’s nothing serious.”

The brunette scowled up at the redhead, who yelped and stepped out of view. [Y/N] laughed softly, bringing Cassandra’s attention back to her. “It’s alright, Cass, I promise. I’m not upset about it–like Bela said, she was just excited. It’s a good thing she was excited to bring me here and not annoyed, don’t you think?” The brunette studied the girl’s carefree expression for a moment before she sighed with a small smirk. She pulled [Y/N] close to her again and began to lead the dance. “Okay, but just so you know, Daniela,” she announced, raising her voice and putting emphasis on her name so the redhead knew she was addressing her as well. “You aren’t going to get by for this, even if [Y/N] tries to stop me.”

“They really are in love with each other,” Daniela praised, resting her chin against her palm as she leaned against the railing to watch Cassandra and [Y/N] as they waltzed around the room, laughing as they shared small jokes. She sighed. “Why can’t I find someone to do this stuff with?” Bela smirked knowingly and rolled her eyes. “Probably because you kill every living being after playing with them and leading them on.” Daniela faked a gasp. “Hey! It is not my fault that everyone who falls for me doesn't meet my standards. People need to do better.” “Is that really it? Or is it because you love to taunt those people and end up craving their flesh and blood?” “I–You know what? I feel attacked. I’m too good for all of those people, and I stand by that statement.” She huffed and crossed her arms, glancing at Bela through the corner of her eye, both of them trying to bite back a smile, before they both erupted into a fit of giggles.

Once they caught their breath, the two sisters turned back to observe the couple still dancing around to the music. Bela sighed. “It’s really not like Cass to be this affectionate with anyone, but I do have to admit: it is a breath of fresh air to see her care so deeply for this girl. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her as happy as she gets when she even thinks of [Y/N].” Daniela hummed and nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I feel the same way. She really deserves to feel loved by someone who’s so devoted to her.”

They fell silent for a while, watching with admiration as Cassandra never failed to crack a joke that resulted in [Y/N] bursting into laughter, their steps faltering, then getting back on track, only to grow unsteady again as they laughed together. After a moment, Daniela leaned over and nudged Bela’s arm with her elbow to gain her attention. “So, when they get married, who do you think is going to take the other’s last name?” Bela looked at her as if she were crazy, though her smile never dropped. “Are you kidding? Cass has been wanting [Y/N] to take her last name since they started dating. Plus, she’s too prideful of her status and reputation to change her last name.” “True, but you see how in love she is with [Y/N]. There could be a chance she does the unexpected and takes [Y/N]’s last name instead.” Bela raised an eyebrow.

They turned their attention back to the two below, only to find Cassandra staring back up at them with a warm smile. The brunette briefly averted her attention to press a gentle kiss to [Y/N]’s cheek before glaring back up at them again. She mouthed a silent ‘thank you.’ Daniela gave a thumbs up with a wink while Bela nodded and mouthed a quick ‘you’re welcome.’ She turned back to the redhead and subtly motioned to Cassandra with her head. “Yeah, no, [Y/N] is definitely going to be taking on the family name.”

[liloinkoink]

hi, big fan of lamplight, and I wondered whether you used a guide/list for Ren's more specific mannerisms, or just work from your own knowledge?

love the series :D

glad you’re enjoying it!

as for a guide to Ren’s mannerisms… i don’t know that i have 100% hard set rules that This Action = That Emotion Every Single Time, but i do have some guidelines for myself. i haven’t ever really written them out, but ill try and mark down the rules i follow in my own head for how to write Ren expressing himself

first: the obvious one is that good/happy emotions are generally bright. when he’s excited, he gets big and bright, with a lot of motion and sparking. he can’t wag his tail or shout anymore, so he ends up big and bright to express himself instead lots of fast movements like it’s windy, or sparks / embers, or becoming genuinely hard to look at—that’s happiness and excitement, generally. this is what you see the most in him in lamplight

the opposite of that, of course is that and bad/unhappy emotions are usually small and dim. if he’s hurt or upset or sad or angry or scared, he gets small and dark. i imagine his flames also move a bit slower when he’s sad

however, bright doesn’t always mean happy and dim doesn’t always mean sad. the light level also corresponds to how intensely he’s feeling something. strong emotions usually see his flames get bigger/brighter/faster, while weak emotions don’t have as much as an effect. if he were frustrated or anxious, his flames might move faster—think of it like pacing, or bouncing his leg. he might also get brighter when he’s angry if there’s a lot of passion behind it.

that sort of thing is where color comes in. the color of his fire is his other big emotional tell. i’d say his neutral is orange—if they’re just walking around in silence, or if Martyn is asleep, he probably defaults to a nice orange. when he’s happier, he turns more yellow/white. i use the word “gold” to describe him basically exclusively when Martyn is making him smile / he’s smiling at Martyn, and i usually picture that as like… specifically fond/comfortable(/lovestruck)

the color he appears most rarely is red, which is… irritated or angry, mostly, but it can also be incredibly sad, in a “dimmed so far down he’s more embers than fire” sort of way. i’d say flustered could also be red depending on the context? red can mean a lot of things, but they’re not emotions that are as common, and you’d have to figure it out based on the intensity/motion of his flames

for other really uncommon things: he sometimes makes smoke when annoyed, frustrated, flustered, or when he’s purposefully trying to annoy Martyn. smoke also is just something i throw in sometimes if the vibe feels right for it. also, Ren’s temperature doesn’t fluctuate that much, because it’s something he has to remain in control of so he doesn’t hurt Martyn, but if he’s taken really off guard he might slip up and get hotter (ie. getting flustered by Martyn kissing him in worship the ashes. i think if Martyn ever surprised/scared him suddenly he would risk Ren burning him by accident)

bc of all this, Ren’s expressions are kind of mix-and-match. for example, sometimes he’s upset and bright—if he’s really pissed, he’d be red embers that are small, but INCREDIBLY bright, to the point he’s difficult to look directly at. another example, i tend to describe him as sparking “like fireworks” when he’s happy, but he might also spark when he’s annoyed or nervous

when i’m picking how Ren’s expressing himself, i usually think about two things:

first thing, what was he just doing last? if he was so upset he’d gone down to embers and is now moving toward happiness, he’s probably not going to jump immediately to blinding white fireworks (unless he’s really happy)—he’s going to warm up a little bit, move more to orange, and have to be cheered up until he reaches yellow/white again

the other thing i think about is examples of real world flames and match them with certain vibes. like, with Ren’s anger, i tend to think about hot metal right out of a forge, because ren’s anger is intense and can be powerful when directed or shaped purposefully. for unease, i think about sparks from friction, because those make me uneasy.

aaaand finally, to end out all of these considerations, the last rule is that i can also break just about any of these if i think that it feels correct to do so. he operates on vibe. sometimes the vibe says do something else besides what is in this guide. at which point i do that thing instead

if there are any specifics that usually stay true consistently… i can think of three reliable constants that usually only mean one thing

-crackling generally happens when Ren is using his “voice.” often it specifically means laughter, but not always, and not every laugh results in crackling. it can also just mean he’s talking or yelling

-like i said up in the color section, if i use the word gold in prose, it usually means specifically a warm/fond smile directed at or because of Martyn

-when Ren cries, it appears as steam. we haven’t seen him cry yet, but this is how it would appear if he did: so dim it looks like he’s nearly out, barely red embers, heavy steam. he looks almost like water has been doused over him. you will only ever see steam if you actually genuinely dunk Ren in water or if he’s crying

-i haven’t really thought about sleep before, BUT if Ren were to sleep again as fire he’d probably get fairly dim and pretty slow, unless he was dreaming, at which point ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[room-surprise]

Dungeon Meshi Anime Review, Season 1, Episode 11 review

Red dragon part 1!!!!!!

Absolutely fantastic episode. No real complaints. Spoilers below! NO REALLY THERE ARE SPOILERS.

Sometimes the camera is too close to the characters and I really don't like it, examples are when Marcille and Laios are talking before Laios goes to try his final attack against the dragon, and when Senshi is helping Chilchuck pick up the sword and throw it to Laios.

The camera is zoomed in so close to Senshi that it's genuinely hard to understand what's happening, especially with all the sakuga speedlines. I'm sure that bit of animation was gorgeous but I couldn't see enough of it to understand what movement Senshi was making!

Didn't like how multiple times they zoomed in on character's eyes while they were talking so you couldn't see their mouths for the entire shot - normally you'd start with a shot that shows the mouth moving and then cut to the closeup without the mouth to save budget, but just going straight to the eyes closeup... Made it hard to tell if they were speaking out loud or thinking. This is just sloppy storyboarding IMO and not the end of the world, but it was noticeable and bugged me. Maybe it was like that in the manga? But then there are dialog bubbles vs thought bubbles so it's clear if it's a thought or spoken out loud. Anime doesn't have that.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the way the magic words written on surfaces are being animated like they're a gunpowder trail/wick for a traditional explosive. WONDERFUL detail, so inventive and fun! I don't think that was in the manga but it fits in SO WELL with the vibes of dungeon meshi. Fantastic addition.

Loved Marcille's little bouncing spell.

The jokes in this episode all landed so fucking well. Just incredibly funny and good, pacing was immaculate.

Marcille healing Chilchuck and Senshi rofl.

Funny that they put Marcille on TOP of the building she exploded, I think it was more ambiguous in the manga or she was off to the side. Putting her on top of it was certainly a choice, and funny lmao.

The pathos and the drama... god. Laios' final attack on the dragon. Losing his leg. It was all incredibly well done. The way the sound and color cut out, Laios hyping himself up to do something he knows will be excruciatingly painful.... top ten Laios moments for sure. This episode captures his character so wonderfully. That's my boy!!!!

(thinks about if they're going to handle Kabru's moment of falling into the dungeon with this amount of intensity..... ohgodplease.)

I love how gory they get with the dragon, the butchering sequence so far is fantastic, I hope anime onlies are like "haha... ha..... what the fuck this is kind of intense? and gross?" because they do not know what they're in for lmao.

While I DO LOVE the way they revealed Falin's skull (what an incredible pov shot!!!!!!!) I kind of miss the panel that was in the original manga... Where Laios pulls the skull out of the clump of hair in a way that looks like a baby's head coming out of the vagina during childbirth. That panel was REALLY intense in a quiet horror sort of way in the original, and I miss it.... BUT they replaced it with something equally cool so I can forgive it.

They had new dub actors for the Touden father in this episode, and some random villagers. Since those characters have VERY few lines, I'm wondering if these actors have been double-cast and if we'll see them again playing other roles later, since this has been the case for most of the other minor characters so far.

[jojolymes]

𝐒𝐄𝐀 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐄; arc one

𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐄 ¡!

next: ࿔*:･ﾟi. | table of contents

warning: graphic depiction of choking/violence

YOU'LL HAVE written this in one of many journals, hatching away at the paper, ripping out pages, rewriting them, tongue to ink, all in some attempt to immortalize the Straw Hats properly— and it will always start with the day you met them. It was some objectionably plain day in January, back when you had still blindly followed under Captain Tempest as his Lieutenant Commander, with millions of doubts resting upon your shoulders. The weight was so great, of course, that the only way for you to wear that damn white "Justice" embroidered coat was to wear it the way every coat was supposed to be worn.

You'd been sitting in your little secret spot on the northwesternmost part of Shellstone Island, a reasonable distance from the overbearing watch of Murex Base, somewhere in the blind spot that was Wentletrap forest. Auger Village wasn't too far either, but it was too small even to be considered an issue. You sat nestled in the branches of some big, ancient oak tree whose trunk had bent to the right halfway up. Your view was partially obscured, just enough that all you could see was the sea to the north. If you squinted just enough, you could see a hint of the Conomi Islands on the horizon.

That's all to say that you had not seen the Straw Hats until they were directly beneath you, standing under your tree.

You had heard them first, all screams and screeches, their words undiscernible to your livid ear as your wrapped fingers dug into the bark of your beloved oak. You had tried to ignore it at first, chalking it up to some cadets that you would have to straighten out later so they wouldn't ever come near your tree again. But as the voices grew closer and yelled much less, you started coming to terms with the fact that the voices had to belong to pirates.

"God, I can't believe you don't know your east from west!"

"This wouldn't have happened if you gave better directions."

Oh, so they were lost.

"We are so screwed! Of course, we'd land on an island full of marines!"

"Just our luck... Hey, what should we do, Luffy? Merry won't get unstuck until sometime tomorrow."

And they were stuck.

And were with... Straw Hat Luffy.

You'd nearly fallen out of your spot in the branches just as their voices grew closer to your tree. You grit your teeth— the Straw Hats had landed in an effective dead zone, too far out of range for the old transponder snails that Headquarters refused to retire. The poor snails were just a few years away from dying, and you had chosen this spot because you knew it. You had taken a snail the first time Tempest had laid his hands on you and walked out as far as you could until he could no longer yell through it.

Now, here you were, facing the consequences you had never expected to face.

You slowly steadied yourself on the branches, trying to blend the sounds of your movement with the crunching footsteps of the Straw Hat crew. You slowly reached for the branch above you, up on your tiptoes, ready to pull yourself up, until you saw that telltale straw hat below you, some good ten feet down. You held your breath, taking note of the boleadoras that weighed down your hips, watching as his crew stopped behind him. Below and behind you.

"I don't know, but I'm pretty hungry. Sanji, do you have any meat?" Straw Hat asked with a snicker as his crew physically recoiled.

"Luffy! This is not the time to be thinking about meat, you idiot!" yelled a girl with pretty, tangerine-colored hair, livid as you could only expect her to be. It was nearly comical.

"Don't you get it, Luffy?! The Marines will kill us if they find us here!" screeched a long-nosed guy, his arms flailing around before he paced in small circles. As he began to mess with the goggles he wore, you held back a snicker.

"Sanjiii! I'm tired! I need meat! As your captain, I demand meat! Meat!"

"No can do, Luffy. I left it all on the Merry. We'll need it to make it to the Grand Line anyway," said a blond, flicking a lighter with his hand cupped around the cigarette poking from his lips. Your eyes lingered a moment but quickly moved on. Sanji, huh?

"Great going, Cook. Now Luffy will eat us alive," grumbled a green-haired man, his hand resting on the sword at his waist and two sword sheaths. You watched the ragged rise and fall of his chest and the slight limp he seemed to carry. It didn't take much for you to realize that this was Pirate Hunter Roronoa Zoro.

You weren't a stranger to him or Straw Hat, considering one of the cadets had come stumbling into your office with two wanted posters. Tempest had called you over that baby transponder snail he had gone out of his way to buy for you, to yell in your ear about what had happened with Nezumi, some insult in each sentence— as if you had been the one to make Arlong Park crumble to the ground. The baby transponder snail still sat flush in your ear, even further out of range than the old ones.

The branches and leaves of your oak rustled in the sea breeze, and you took the chance to pull yourself up higher, watching the Straw Hats grow more obstructed from view. You threw a leg over the branch and sat back against the trunk, its bark digging into your coat. Their voices grew slightly fainter with the height, but you continued listening.

"Well... Auger Village is nearby. We could hide out there for a bit, considering Merry is in Murex's blind spot," Tangerine stated as your brow furrowed— how did she know that? You leaned down, chest to the branch, struggling to see her with the leaves in the way.

"Woah, how'd you know that, Nami?" Long Nose marveled; the clicking his goggles had been making stopped, as did his pacing. Sanji pulled his cigarette from his mouth and put his hands on his hip, the cigarette sending smoke up to where you were from between his fingers.

"That's our Nami! So gorgeous, and smart, and pretty, and gorgeous~!"

"...Thanks, Sanji... But while that's all true, people from Cocoyashi used to come trade here at Auger. Bellemere took me a few times to sell our tangerines before... well, she passed. So, I know my way around."

Bellemere, Nami— the names sounded familiar, but yet not quite. Still, you felt better knowing she hadn't somehow scoped out your island, hoping to destroy Murex with the Straw Hats. You let out a shaky breath that melted into the wind, sagging against the branch. But if Tempest found them in Auger later... your breath caught in your throat, not noticing the creaking of the branch as your mind ran a million miles a second. God, he'd destroy it.

"So... did they have meat in that village?"

"Of course, dumbass!"

Tempest would wreck everything if the Straw Hats were there. His Devil Fruit was senselessly strong, destructive beyond belief, and utterly disastrous. The 'Nado-'Nado Fruit would have done better in the hands of anyone but him. God, Smoker should have gotten it instead of the damn Smoke-Smoke Fruit. It would have been fine in his care, far away, somewhere in Loguetown and nowhere near little Auger Village. You could feel guilt claw up your spine, digging into every vertebra— and then, he laughed.

In a haze of green, Straw Hat Luffy laughed. He laughed without a care in the world, eyes shut tight, hand on his stomach, with a big, white smile. His hat made a halo around his wispy black hair, nose scrunched, eyes crinkling until his signature scar warped on his cheek (you'll describe this scene in detail in your future writing, carefully capturing the smile that had drawn you away from your misery-filled marine life). Then, the branch cracked, and you chucked the sea-prism stone boleadoras at him, wrapping around his body and sending him rolling down the steep shore.

"Luffy!"

"Shit!"

"We're gonna die!"

"Shut up, Usopp!"

You swung off the cracked branch onto the one below it, watching "Usopp" and Nami scamper away, screaming. You pulled off the other boleadora and spun it a bit before whipping it at them, wrapping them together as they fell into a heap on the ground. Sanji locked eyes with you and wiped at his nose before stumbling over to them, shouting for Nami.

"Cook! Get Nami and Usopp!"

"Don't tell me what to do, Mosshead!"

You frowned and jumped off the branch, trying not to let your emotion show, when one of the other branches fell to the ground with a gust of wind and a crack behind you. That damn Pirate Hunter had defiled your tree. You ran after Sanji, watching him slide along the dirt to Nami and Usopp, deft fingers struggling to untie them while Zoro shouted after you.

"Sorry, Blondie, I can't let you do that," you snapped, kicking Sanji away from Nami and Usopp, who screamed when he hit a nearby tree, "Nothing personal." Sanji slumped against the tree, breathing hard, wiping at his nose again. His face was flushed a cute shade of red, but you had no time to be distracted by pretty boys.

"Well, I'm going to make it personal," growled Roronoa from behind you while Usopp cheered him on. You rolled your eyes, spun around, and swung your forearm to block the flat of his sword. The rope wound around your arm barely softened the blow; still, your arm slid up the flat and struck his cheek. Roronoa reeled back, teeth grit as he dug his heels into the dirt.

"If you insist..."

You rushed forward, and Roronoa steadied himself— you avoided his darkening gaze while his two empty sheathes rattled, reminding him that all he had left was Wado Ichimonji. He swung his sword at you, hard and fast, so you jumped to the side, reaching him with a series of two kicks, the second of which he blocked. As you fell, you kicked down, bringing him down to one knee.

"Shit! Mosshead!"

"Oh my god! Zoro!"

You held back a laugh as you stepped over Roronoa's shoulder with one leg and swung the other one back with it, pulling your thighs against his throat tight in a leg lock. You felt him stiffen, breath choking up as you locked eyes with Blondie. A dribble of blood dripped over his lip, and you squeezed a little tighter before flipping Roronoa over onto the ground. He landed hard, knocking the breath out of him as he fisted at his shirt.

"Sorry, this is just protocol, you know," you muttered as you got to your feet, dusting yourself off as you came to stand over Roronoa. He growled in response, shooting back up to his feet, making you jump a few steps back. He was surprisingly resilient, you would give him that much— you planted your feet into an L-shape, bringing your rope-wound arms in front of your face as he positioned his sword.

"Don't hurt her, Moss!"

"Shut it, Curly!"

You dropped your guard, eyes flickering over to Sanji, who had stumbled back to his feet, another cigarette tucked between his teeth. He was still leaning against the tree, looking distractingly handsome. You sucked a breath through your teeth, knowing you'd have to take him down again if he tried to make his way over to his friends.

"I appreciate your concern, Blondie, but Roronoa will be taken down regardless of whether or not he tries to fight back."

"I've heard enough of your bullshit!" Roronoa ran forward, swinging his sword at your head, and managed to evade until he made a last-minute change, allowing the blade to slash your shoulder. You bit back a scream and bounded back, holding onto your bleeding flesh. Roronoa smirked and followed forward, slicing at you again, hitting your thigh. You choked out a garbled noise as you brought your other leg up to swing at his head, which he blocked with the hilt of his sword.

"Dammit!"

"Wrong move," Roronoa grinned, grabbing your leg with his other hand before you could react. You flinched, and the next thing you knew, you were hitting branch over branch somewhere in the continuous woods, eventually rolling to a stop. You wiped at the blood that had found its way into your mouth, dripping from some nondescript wound on your head. Your chest heaved in retaliation as you got to your feet, temporarily collapsing against a nearby tree. But as if the situation couldn't get any worse, Tempest's voice crackled into your ear.

"Major! You better fucking answer me, or I swear-"

"Captain Tempest, sir... Sorry, there's just been a situation, is all."

"What kind of situation has you ignoring me for hours?! If it's about earlier-"

"No, no, no, Captain... I- er-" you paused to try and steady your breath, shutting your eyes tight as you forced yourself to speak, "the... the Straw Hat Pirates are on the island." The silence on the other end formed a knot in your stomach, tightening as your captain's tormenting breathing blew dread into your ear. Your knees ached as you put your entire body weight against the tree— god, your tree, the tree with everything you saved in the little spot he had hollowed out for you when you were younger.

 "Where are you, Major?"

"No, there's no need for that, Captain. I'll take care of them-"

"I asked you a question."

You swallowed hard, the nauseating anxiety tugging at your vocal cords until they were taut, barely allowing you to whisper a word. You had to get the Straw Hats away from Auger Village but far from your tree, too; far away from the people you were made to protect and far away from the crumbs of salvation the boy with freckles had left for you to take. You pushed the thought of him aside and let your mind slip into a haze while your fingers dug into your thigh.

"I'm in Wentletrap, near the northeasternmost part closest to Auger," you tried not to let your voice waver, "it's south of this big crooked old tree. You'll see it. They're all nearby." You could feel your thoughts crumble in on another as you heard the baby transponder snail click in your ear. But you wouldn't let the tears fall— no, you had a job to do, and that was to take down the Straw Hats. 

You pushed off the tree and stumbled into a run, sidestepping overgrown shrubbery, poignant rocks, and protruding roots. You ran and ran and ran, ignoring the sirens that started to whine, spinning your introspection around until there was nothing left for you to think about. You stumbled into the clearing where Sanji leaned over his friends, still struggling to make work of the boleadoras. Roronoa was nowhere to be found.

"Sanji, look out!"

The wind whistled up above as you wound back your arm, stepping forward to slam into Sanji's face, sending him rolling back a good few feet. You heaved as he sat up, resting back on his arms, looking up at you with one blue eye that shimmered before you threw yourself on top of him. Your heart raced, thundering in your ears while you brought two hands to his shoulders, eyes frantic as you pushed him into the dirt. The wind was getting louder.

"Where's your captain?! Where's Roronoa?!" 

"They're gone! We won't ever tell you!" Nami shrieked, kicking at the dirt while the wind grew incessantly, breaking smaller branches around you. Your breath grew heavy as you looked over your shoulder, making her and Usopp squeal. 

"Answer me, Sanji—" Sanji's face went red, his jaw slack, and his face swollen as you shook him for some response, "Please tell me! Please, I need to know, I- I-" The wind was howling now, and the leaves were falling much earlier than they were supposed to, and you knew why. The whimper dripped from your lips before you could stop it, your salty tears dropping onto Sanji's pink face. You made yourself ignore the screeching of the wind to focus on his curly brow, swallowing back bile.

"Dammit!"

You got off of him and scrambled to your feet, running past your tree, running toward the shore, running to where Straw Hat had to be. The wind was deafening as you stood at the boundary between sand and grass, staring down at the shore, where all that was left was your boleadoras and your Captain, standing where Straw Hat should have been. You could feel yourself turn numb as he squatted down to pick them up, weighing them in his rough palms. His steel-gray eyes met yours, and as soon as you blinked, he was in front of you, dropping your weapon in your limp hands that you didn't realize you had extended.

"Major. Lead me to the crew."

"Yes, Captain."

Your captain's hand sat sober on the back of your neck, his fingers stroking the baby hairs on the back of them with a plump finger. You took the lead, but not really, walking past your tree to where Sanji sat with his eyes narrowed beside his crew, cheek purpling from where you had hit him. You stopped when your captain stopped, fingers twitching against your spine. 

"I don't see Straw Hat or Pirate Hunter anywhere, Major," Tempest tightened his grip, and you flinched, "surely, you didn't let them get away, did you?" You could feel your chest rise and fall quicker as you felt your captain's gaze fall on you, humming as he dug his nails into your flesh. 

"No- No, Captain, I would never-"

"You think I believe that?!"

Your words were cut short when a crushing pressure engulfed your throat, your back hitting the bark of your beloved tree, your feet struggling to reach the ground as you hung from Tempest's hand. Where was your boleadora? Your vision swam with tears, and your snot began to clog your airway further than the fingers pressed against your neck. There was screaming, but the voices all joined the one at the forefront of your mind, telling you to escape.

"Let her go!"

"St... op..."

You didn't need to see anything to know Sanji had been thrown off somewhere; his guttural scream was doing all the work for you. Nami and Usopp's voices were frantic, but you could hardly distinguish the words. The pressure in your brain was growing greater and you couldn't help but scratch at your captain's arms, feet kicking in some futile attempt to break from his grasp.

"Look at what you've done! You let Straw Hat and Pirate Hunter escape, and now his crew is trying to save you! You think I don't know what that means?!"

"N-No... I- I nev...er-"

"Why the hell would we ever ally ourselves with a marine?!" 

Suddenly, the pressure was gone, and you were on the ground, clawing at dirt, heaving for air. You hacked out mucus and snot and tears and bile onto the roots of your beloved tree, watching as Tempest walked over to Nami and Usopp, the latter of which looked petrified. Nami stared straight up at Tempest, not daring to look away. Sanji laid against a nearby tree, curled in on himself, shaking as he tried to call for her.

"The fuck you say to me, girl?"

"I said we'd never ally ourselves with the Marines. Especially you and your lackey over there!"

Tempest stared, silent, shoulders slowly shaking until he laughed that horrid laugh that took the wind from your lungs as you clawed at the ground. Your eyes flickered over to her, not missing the glance she had given you, the one only another woman could decipher. Tempest hadn't put the pieces together and squatted down, patting Nami's cheek, and you didn't have to be the one in front of him to know that he was smiling. 

"Feisty, huh... I like you," Tempest began, reaching around to grab the back of Nami's neck as Usopp wailed, flailing within the restraints of the boleadora. You could see the color drain from her face; you could hear Sanji mustering out her name and Usopp's screams ("He's gonna kill us!"). So you coughed, coughed hard, hard enough to get his attention, to make him scoff and stomp over to you and pull you onto your feet fast enough for you to stumble forward.

"Oh, get up. Stop being dramatic."

"Y...es... Captain..."

Tempest's eyes narrowed, and he raised his hand when you failed to stand up straight, teeth grinding against one another— then, like your saving grace, came the reinforcements. You had hardly heard them over your ragged breathing, but then they appeared like little white angels popping out in the green. Some rushed Nami, Usopp, and Sanji, throwing them into cuffs and untangling them from your boleadora as they had always done, already used to how your weapon wrapped around your enemies.

"Captain Tempest! M-Major (L/n)! What happened?!" 

You struggled to respond to whoever had asked, and Tempest shook you around before pushing you to the unknown person dressed in white and navy blue. As your vision darkened, you thought of Straw Hat and his smile and ignored the calls of more cadets that stormed through the trees. The last thing you saw was the struggling Straw Hats while your captain grumbled under his breath.

"TAKE THEM AWAY."

hiii! welcome to get lost and then get found (or swallowed in the sea) or as you guys on tumblr will know it, just swallowed in the sea! as I stated in the preface, this will be a sort of collection of stories throughout the arcs of one piece! it's my sort of dedication to oda because I love him for making one piece and I think I would die without it :3 

also, just as a warning there will be some mild spoilers as we go and I do ask that you ignore any future continuation errors bc I am only on marineford I fear... anyway, I hope you all enjoyed, even though this is a little rough at 3500 words, and I hope you guys will stick with me on this little journey, haha!

[spencerthedeerhumanhybrid]

Chapter 12 of A Contract I Regret Signing

Written by SpencerTheDeerHumanHybrid

La Seine And I

~She’s resplendent, so confident

La Seine, la Seine, la Seine

I realize I’m hypnotized

La Seine, la Seine, la Seine~

Bumblebee drove towards where he and Nova usually hung out, he didn’t ask her to be there as he told her earlier that he wanted some time alone, mostly to think about his relationship with Blurr. He wanted to confess to him for so long but it seemed impossible to find the right moment, even more so with the situation he was in. He arrived at the usual place but went past it to go to where the ocean was. The colors looked so beautiful and had a wonderful shade of blue.

’Just like Blurr,” Bumblebee thought. Bumblebee gingerly stepped into the water and started to move his pede around in it, creating small, pretty waves. Bumblebee moved his pedes slowly across the water, waiting for a rhythm to come out. He started to slowly spin around and had his arms out and still in opposite directions.

Blurr appeared and saw Bumblebee had started to dance, he hid behind a large, thick tree nearby and peered out to watch Bumblebee dance. He seemed to be hypnotized by Bumblebee, looking at him lovingly as he moved his body in such elegant ways.

~I hear the moon singing a tune

La Seine, la Seine, la Seine

Is she divine? Is it the wine?

La Seine, la Seine, la Seine~

As Bumblebee danced his movements slowly became more faster, despite this his movements were as elegant as before. Blurr couldn’t help but stare with such love at him, they watched as Bumblebee easily twisted his body and was amazingly flexible.

Bumblebee then noticed some movement in the water he was in and stopped to bend down and look more closely at it. Blurr followed Bumblebee’s sight and saw that a dark shadow was underneath the water. The shadow suddenly jumped out, revealing it to be a flying fish as Sari called it.

Bumblebee shrieked and started to fall backwards, before he could fall down into the salt water, Blurr ran up and caught him in his arms. Bumblebee looked up at him with shock and surprise. Blurr just realized that he had blown his cover and started to apologize.

“I’m-so-sorry!-I-didn’t-mean-to-follow-you-here-I-just-wanted-to-see-you-dance-I’m-so-sorry-I’ll-just!-“ Blurr was cut off when he heard Bumblebee giggling.

“Blurr, it's okay!” Bumblebee said while laughing. Bumblebee then pulled himself and Blurr up and spun around and stopped in front of Blurr, looking at them with excitement and mischievous optics.

~I don’t know, don’t know, so don’t ask me why

That’s how we are, la Seine and I

I don’t know, don’t know, so don’t ask me why

That’s how we are, la Seine and I~

Bumblebee put his servos in Blurr’s own servos and slowly started to spin the two of them. Blurr blushed at the contract and even more so when he realized that the both of them were going to start dancing. They moved across the water and began shuffling around to try to get a rhythm.

They eventually found one and started to go into a more elegant style of dancing. Bumblebee lightly gasped when he felt Blurr place one of their servos on his back plates. He then began to giggle when Blurr suddenly took the lead and started to move the both of them around with the grace of a swan preening their lover.

The both of them started to laugh as they continued to spin one another around all while the water was splashing below them, covering both of their legs in salt water.

~I feel alive when I’m beside

La Seine, la Seine, la Seine

From this angle like an angel

La Seine, la Seine, la Seine~

Blurr suddenly picked Bumblebee, his servos still on Bumblebee’s back plates and servo. They started to spin him around at a fairly fast yet steady pace, the moon shining brilliant light on the water and their frames alike. As Blurr spun the both of them around, he realized how much they liked Bumblebee, they loved the way that he smiled whenever he could hang out with his friends, he loved the way Bumblebee always wanted to protect his team, they loved the way that he was always ready to comfort his friends and that organic named Sari, they loved the way that he would always be the light in everyone’s shadow always ready to cheer people up even when he was feeling down.

Blurr realized that he loved him ever since they first saw him and the way he seemed to be mesmerized by the way Blurr spoke. With a sudden surge of confidence, Blurr leaned up against Bumblebee’s face plates and kissed him.

~I don’t know, don’t know, so don’t ask me why

That’s how we are, la Seine and I

I don’t know, don’t know, so don’t ask me why

That’s how we are, la Seine and I~

Bumblebee froze at the contact, Blurr noticed that Bumblebee had froze and slowly leaned back out to stare at Bumblebee. Upon seeing Bumblebee’s shocked face, he began to apologize.

”I’m-so-sorry-I-shouldn’t-have-that!-I-understand-if-you-don’t-want-to-talk-or-see-me-after-this!-“ Blurr got cut off when he felt Bumblebee’s lips against their own. Blurr was in shock for just a nano-kilk before returning the kiss, with said kiss continuing for a few cycles more.

Eventually they separated from each other's face plates and looked at each other with a loving look. After a few moments of silence, Bumblebee started to lightly cry.

”What’s wrong?” Blurr said in a slow and steady voice. Bumblebee smiled down and him and replied,

”I always loved you, I’m glad that I finally had a moment to show you that.” Blurr was silence for a nano-kilk before saying,

”I love you too,” They wrapped their arms around one another and started to spin around while laughing, happy that they could finally be together once and for all.

~Upon the bridge

My heart does beat

Between the waves

We will be saved

The air we breathe

Can you believe?

Learn to forgive upon the bridge~

While they were spinning, Blurr suddenly dipped Bumblebee in a fast motion which caused him to grab onto Blurr hasilty, this caused the both of them to fall into the water, salt water enveloping their frames. The both of them peeked their helms and a good chunk of their frames above the water, looked at each other and started to laugh. They were like that for a couple of cycles before they heard soft clicking coming from the trees nearby. They looked at the direction of the trees to see Nova Storm leaking optic fluid and holding a camera.

”That.. was.. the.. most.. beautiful.. moment.. I have.. ever.. seen,” She said while crying. Bumblebee and Blurr looked at her and back at each other before giggling and embracing in each other's arms.

“Let’s go back to the base,” Bumblebee said softly to Blurr. Blurr nodded and waved his servo at Nova as if to say ‘goodbye’ and zoomed off to the base, Bumblebee cradled in their arms. Thankfully from the supersonic speed of Blurr, all the water dried up by the time they stopped in front of base. Bumblebee got off from Blurr arms before looking down and saying,

”Hey, I know that this might be a little fast but.. do you want to cuddle in my room?” Blurr blushed before excitedly replying,

”Of-course!” Bumblebee giggled and led Blurr towards his room. When the two speedsters were on the berth, Bumblebee wrapped his arms around Blurr and laid down on top of him, a blanket covering their frames. Blurr did the same and the two lovebirds recharged in peace, knowing that the both of them will love each other till the end.

~That’s how we are, la Seine and I

That’s how we are, la Seine and I

That’s how we are, la Seine and I

That’s how we are, la Seine and I~

When morning arose, everyone except for the speedsters were in the living room.

”Has anyone seen Blurr? He wasn’t inside his berthroom today,” Jazz asked. Everyone was also wondering why both Blurr and Bumblebee weren’t in the living room as the two of them woke up at similar times. When everyone voiced their concerns about them (except Sentinel, he could care less) Nova struggled to hold in a laugh. Eventually it became too much to handle and she burst out laughing. When everyone looked at her with surprise, she said while still laughing,

”C-check B-Bee’s r-room PFFT HAHA!!” Optimus immediately ran to Bumblebee’s room and discovered it was unlocked and burst in. He froze in surprise and shock as he saw the speedsters cuddling with each other, a content look on both of their face plates. Everyone else also appeared behind him and smiled at the cute display. Cliffjumper, Sunstreaker, and Sideswipe however, looked very pissed, especially when they noticed Blurr’s arms were holding Bumblebee near his aft. Optimus smiled and motioned for the others to exit out of the room quietly, taking one last look at the lovebirds and smiled knowing that their romantic tension was gone and out came a beautiful relationship.