#teehee this was so fun to write

[elliesflower]

w-would you like to write something about abby touching herself while thinking about reader? one hand up and down the strap she has on, her brain trying to picture you jumping on it with your long hair around her face, like curtains, isolating both of you from the world, the other one is on her clit under the strap 😔😔😔❤️‍🩹

oh my god babe u just woke something inside of me…..(also ur a genius)

tags; @prrimordiais @dnvrsmedia @frogychu @soleilmoons

18+ only mdni!!!!!!!!

i really do think abby would be a little shy about using the strap at first. she’d feel awkward and flustered when you brought it up…but once she built the courage up and saw how you reacted to it? oh, you better fucking believe she’d be pulling it out every chance she got.

she was mesmerized by how desperate you got for her when she put it on—how you'd beg and whine and nearly cry just to get her to put it inside of you, and use you however she wanted.

it was like it became a part of her, always connected to her hips when she knew she'd have you down on your knees. sometimes she'd tease you for hours, just to watch your pretty little face twist up in frustration as you chanted pathetically,

"please abby, please, please please please i can't take it anymore!"

but she knew you could. and would.

so naturally, when abby found herself alone, sometimes, sometimes, she's pull the black straps up her thick legs, buckling them loosely around her hips as she lay in bed and just thinks about you.

as she thinks about you, leaned over her body, pussy making lewd noises as you bounced on her silicone cock like it might fucking run away. and how you'd tire yourself out so quickly she'd have to pull you down by your neck, letting you rest your full weight on her as she caught your moans in a filthy, wet kiss—your hair tickling the side of her face as you let her fuck up into you gently, your slick dribbling out pitifully around her cock, the world fading away as she kept you pressed against her, and oh—

abby was wet now. thinking about you.

the thoughts were too much, her spit-slick hand was subconsciously sliding down her front until it reached the black silicone, grabbing ahold of it like you were watching her or something. and of course she wouldn't be able to help letting out small breathy moans and gasps as her ministrations made the most delicious friction against her puffy clit.

if she closed her eyes it was almost like you were there, on top of her, babbling incoherently as she fucked you stupid. and she'd groan, the pressure becoming overwhelming—so much so that her other hand would make it's way down, sliding under the loose buckles of the strap to release the ache.

and abby'd gasp, her bundle of nerves so sensitive from thinking about you that it wouldn't take much. one, maybe two more minutes of both hands pleasing herself, rubbing languidly at her clit and the other a poor replacement for your pussy on her cock, and she was bucking up into her hand—she'd breathe your name as she worked herself through it, her cunt leaking slick all over her strap as she twitched and panted.

and what more logical next step than to call you and invite you over?

[mediumgayitalian]

Nico really fucking hates capture the flag.

Well, not always. Last week was fun. Last week was the annual Everyone Against The Stolls (to atone for their crimes), and Nico got to chase Connor around at top speeds, cackling, committing his shrieking and begs for mercy to memory. That was nice. That almost made him forgive the fucker for digging a trench under Nico’s unwelcome mat for him to fall into at seven thirty in the godsdamn morning.

But tonight’s game is boring.

He’s been standing, alone, at the base of the flag for the past forty bajillion hours. He’d raised a few dozens skeletons to spar with at first, since animating them to fight himself isn’t technically against the rules, but that got dull fast. (It isn’t much fun sparring with a partner who doesn’t have a brain. He already has to do that enough with Percy when he comes to visit camp.) He’d climbed the various trees around the clearing, or at least he tried until he got reamed by the dryads for climbing on a manner that was too annoying (?), and tried his hands at a few summoning spells. Nothing held his interest long.

And now he’s just standing, doing nothing, and he’s not allowed to leave. He has to stay in this stupid spot on the off chance that someone comes stumbling over to fight him for the flag.

“You’re our best swordsman, she said,” he says mockingly, beaming the nastiest vibes he can manage in Piper’s vague direction. “We need you on our defensive line, she said. Nyeh nyeh nyeh.”

His checks his watch. He groans. He looks critically over the grass, looking for a softer patch, and when he locates it he throws himself dramatically upon it, groaning louder.

“This sucks!” he yells, to no one.

“Will you shut up!” shouts back the dryad he pissed off earlier. “For the love of photosynthesis! Fuck!”

He bites his tongue hard to hold back laughter. (If he can avoid getting his entire cabin overgrown with prickle bushes again, that’d be great.) “Sorry,” he calls, trying with everything he has to sound contrite. Convincing his father to fight the Titan War was easier, actually. Acting is not his calling.

“Hmph!”

At least listening to see if she’ll come out and yell at him again provides something to ease his boredom. Yes, he’s going to regret bothering her, but in his defense, solo guarding is cruel and unusual punishment. He’d rather sit by an outlet with a fork and see if he can poke and let go fast enough to avoid dying. That at least would be interesting.

A rustling of leaves recaptures his attention, and he pauses.

“Holly?”

When no one answers, which is odd because she’s taken every opportunity in the last hour to either insult him or pelt him with stones, he lifts his head.

“You’re not going to scare me, dude. I had my fear glands surgically removed to become a better soldier.”

Not true. Obviously. But a fun bonus of being the camp weirdo is that no one doubts anything he says. He’s working on convincing everyone younger than him that he needs weekly tributes of chocolate delivered to his door every Friday or the dead are going to take over the world. So far, it’s working.

“Look, Holly, I’m sorry about the zombie, okay, I promise it didn’t mean to sneeze part of its brain on you —”

The rustling sounds again, only this time Nico can see that it’s not Holly’s tree, and in fact she is nowhere to be found. Alarmed, he jumps to his feet, shifting so he’s balanced on the balls of his feet, poised to attack. Is Piper’s plan failing? Has someone actually managed to make it all the way over here without getting (gently, probably, although they lost the last game and Piper gets cranky without dessert) maimed?

The rustling sounds for a third time. This time, an armoured someone stumbles out of the underbrush, tripping over their own foot and nearly landing flat on their face.

Nico has his sword at their throat in a millisecond.

“Wo-oah, Morbius. That’s probably my least favourite sword you could stab in me.”

Nico goes bright red. “I have never wanted to stab you more than right this second.”

Will, chest plate skewed to the right, quiver completely empty, and black paint smeared under his eyes, snickers. He puts a finger on the tip of Nico’s sword and pushes it away from his neck.

“The opportunity was right there, babe. I couldn’t not.”

“You really, really could. In fact at all times, you should remember these words of wisdom: shut up.”

“…Damn. Inspiring.”

Nico rolls his eyes, but the effect is somewhat lessened by the smile on his face and the obvious pleasure in his expression. He’s even feeling merciful enough to accept Will’s kiss, although his sword keeps a good amount of distance between them. (Will’s on the blue team, after all. It would be unprofessional to be fraternizing with the enemy.

…Well, too much, anyway.)

“What’re you doing here? You’re supposed to be with the other archers, sitting in trees and causing havoc.”

Will shrugs, grinning lazily. “I quit. This game is senselessly violent and I’m Against It On Principle. I’m a pacifist, you know.”

“Uh huh.” Nico raises an eyebrow. “I assume this doesn’t count you choking Cecil out in a headlock, this morning.”

Will opens his mouth. Nothing comes out. He closes it again.

“Cecil is my mortal enemy,” he grudges after a moment. “He doesn’t count.”

“‘Course not. Not like you cried for two hours when he went to visit his mom last weekend or anything.”

“Will you — stop saying I cried. I barely teared up, okay. Barely.”

Nico can’t quite force down the stupid grin that pulls across his face, matching Will’s, nor can he resist grabbing the leather straps of his boyfriend’s armour and hauling him close.

“You better not be here to distract me,” he mumbles, leaning close and pressing a kiss to the underside of his jaw, the corner of his mouth. Will hums, settling his hands on Nico’s hips.

“Nope. Cross my heart and hope to die.”

“Drama queen.”

“Excuse — I am the least dramatic, I’ll have you know. I’m a pinnacle of solemnity. I am a shining beacon of stoicism. I am — mmfh,” He trails off. “Okay, doing this now, mhm.”

Nico smiles triumphantly into the kiss. Will, he has found, is very easy to shut up, despite his long-running nickname of Motormouth. It’s almost like he has an off button that can be accessed only by Nico sticking his tongue in his mouth. Nico is doing his civic duty, honestly. He should be compensated for his service.

(‘Course, doesn’t hurt that Will smells, like, really good, all the time, and his lips are soft as hell and he is actually quite the kisser, in fact. That is definitely a fun bonus.)

He smooths his hands over Will’s shoulders, travelling up the sides of his neck and settling in his hair. Will keens, slightly, when he wraps a finger around a frizzy golden curl and tugs, slightly, when he scratches his nails along his scalp. The rush of power at the feeling makes Nico dizzy, and his sword clatters to the ground as he busies himself with more interesting — and important — things.

Like pulling more of those sounds from his boyfriend’s throat. Or making his knees buckle, again, like he did the other night — gods, that was good, it made Will flush scarlet and Nico feel like he was fuckin’ floating, to have Will so needy and touchy and totally at his mercy —

“Free line to the flag! Go go go go!”

Nico startles, whirling towards the sudden cacophony of noises. To his horror, what looks like half the camp, helmets shining with plumes of blue, comes pouring into the clearing, weapons raised, voices mixing in one long, victorious shout. He lunges for his sword, but before he can grab it, two strong arms tighten around his torso, pinning his hands to his side.

Immediately, he knows he’s been set up.

“Oh, you — fucker!”

He feels the curve of Will’s grin against his neck. “First shower privileges for a whole month, baby.” He noses along his jaw, pressing an apologetic kiss to his cheek. “Couldn’t resist.”

Nico struggles, aghast, watching the once-red flag shimmer in Lou Ellen's hold to a bright, shining blue. “I am breaking up with you, you traitor, you Iago, you vixen — ”

Will snorts. He ducks down and pecks Nico on the lips, again, and again, and then shifts to his cheeks, the bridge of his nose, his temples, his forehead, and all over his face, making louder and louder mwah sounds until Nico is laughing, punching his shoulder and shoving him away.

“Okay! Okay. Let me go, you villainous toad. We will discuss how much you’ll have to grovel for my forgiveness after Piper finishes yelling at me for getting distracted.”

Will presses one last kiss to his nose, smiling cheekily before stepping away, heading towards his boasting team. “Enjoy that lecture! Love you!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Nico rolls his eyes, resting his aching cheek in his hand. “Love you too, asshole.”

[xochimillilili]

Probably a tiny bit early to be thinking of it, but shit I just wanna have a little halloween themed evening with a cute boy. Maybe invite him over for a movie marathon, baking ghost cookies and hanging up decorations— and barely an hour in just before staring a horror film, already have him tied up on my couch, a pumpkin plush shoved into his mouth as a gag, teasing his soft tits with a knife and pretend spiderwebs as I tell him how I'll fuck him stupid soon enough

Maybe I'll drip hot wax on his pretty body with one of the candles from the jack o lanterns, wear a mask as I spank his ass until bruised. Or maybe shallowly fuck his pretty cunt with the hilt of a plastic bloody axe. Finish the night off by finally fucking him stupid and getting him cockdrunk, pumped full of cum as I cuddle him close to me, telling him what a good boy he is... before finally admitting I'm a dumb lil scaredy cat with horror movies, melting at his cute laugh as we go off to scare the shit out the neighbors by setting up our giant skeleton in the yard

[jessamine-rose]

*cries* I thought I would be done with Dainsleif after writing Phantom Pain but no…….I still have Dainsleif x Demon! Reader brainrot orz

A YouTube playlist, Dainsleif art in my Twitter likes, an IG folder of fashion inspo for Demon! Reader, a drawing of Demon! Reader, a cameo in another AU, a fcking WIP for Househusband! Dainsleif—WHEN WILL IT END ( ´△｀)

[silentium-symphony]

Hey, You Free? Modern AU (Link x Reader)

hiii so sorry this took so long!! i had actually been working on another fic before shelving it and deciding to work on a Valentine's fic.... a week after Valentine's LMAO but wtv. thank you one again for being patient w me and I hope you enjoy!!

cw: afab!reader, modern!au, fluff, bestie!link, link is kinda fruity lol, getting a lil wine-tipsy, mentions of an unnamed ex

wc: 4.1k

♤♢ ~~ ♡♧

Another Valentine's alone.

You sipped on the glass of wine, careful not to spill the burgundy liquid on your ultra-expensive and super duper classy outfit of a thrice-worn t-shirt and shorts when a notification bubbled over the TikTok you were watching.

Linky Twinky🧚🏼‍♂️: Hey, you free?

You set the glass down with a gentle ting and tapped on the notification, opening up your messaging app. Your fingers giddily flew across the screen, a gremlin grin hooking your lips.

You: ofc I am 🥲🥲 why what's up??

You thumbed the body of your glass and stared at the three dots that popped in and out of the screen. Anticipation and baited breath straightened your slumped posture and your cheeks started to heat up as you remembered the slobby outfit you were wearing. You seem to have a second sense when it came to these things because a few short moments later, he replied:

Linky Twinky🧚🏼‍♂️: I'm coming over

You immediately jumped out of your lounged hunch and headed straight for your wardrobe, already half-disrobed by the time you swung the doors open. You frantically typed back a response.

You: wait what 😭 hol up i look ugly rn LOL

You had just dunked your grimy clothes in the hamper when your phone chimed.

Linky Twinky🧚🏼‍♂️: Girrlll you always look gorg whatchu talkin abt 😍🤪😩✨️

Now why tf did your heart flutter lmao

You hearted his message before you tried on Outfit #1. You twirled around the mirror and smoothed out the trivial wrinkles and creases that rippled through the cloth. It was one of your more upscale outfits, worn only during special or dressier occasions. Your once proud smile faltered to a disgusted grimace. It looked like you were trying too hard (you were).

Outfit #2 perfectly encapsulated ‘casual…’ But what if it was too casual? It was barely a step above what you were wearing before… You jerked the top off and stomped out of the bottoms when your phone buzzed again.

Linky Twinky 🧚🏼‍♂️: I'm picking up food bc I seriously doubt you ate yet >:( what do you want?

You thumbed through the makings of Outfit #3 while you pondered the age-old question of “what's for dinner” when you responded:

You: idk lol. where are you?? what's nearby?

Linky Twinky 🧚🏼‍♂️ : So helpful, thanks 🥴🙃 but I'm at the intersection of 26th and Westgate. It looks like there's some pizza nearby??? You good with that or do you want something else?

You: pizza sounds good! ty pookie <333 do you want me to pay you back??

He hearted the message.

Linky Twinky 🧚🏼‍♂️: Nah it's fine. What kind of toppings do you want?

You tapped your desired toppings and sauce base and pressed send.

Linky Twinky 🧚🏼‍♂️: Got it. See you in a bit babe 😘

Why did your heart flutter AGAIN C'MON MAN GET IT TOGETHER

You let out a raggedy sigh and haphazardly tossed your phone onto your bed. Your fingers danced atop the rainbow arrangement of hangers as your mind’s eye jigsaw-ed an outfit from the pieces you plucked out. You began slipping on the garments.

Outfit #3 looked the most promising so far! The perfect blend of casual and classy—thank the gods you found it in time. You did a lil’ dance in front of your mirror and shuffled the rejected outfits back into your closet. You hauled ass to your TV to turn on 24/7 LIVESTREAM Fireplace ASMR Crackling Sound for Sleep, Study, and Relaxation with Smooth Jazz and set down a second glass to accompany your lonely first. You placed the wine in the fridge to chill it when your phone buzzed.

Linky Twinky 🧚🏼‍♂️: Got the pizza. Should be there in about 10 min

You placed the wine in the freezer to chill it. While the wine was chilling and hopefully not freezing or whatever, you fluffed and arranged the pillows on your sofa and smoothed that one corner of your rug that's been creased into a new shape thanks to your klutzy self. The small, somewhat inconspicuous stains on your countertops might as well have drawn an arrow to themselves and twerked in the spotlight as adrenaline-pumped shame overtook you. You had just finished scrubbing your counters and chucking your dirty dishes into the wash when your phone chimed once more.

Linky Twinky 🧚🏼‍♂️: Here. Let me in I'm freezing

You took one last look-over in the mirror before grabbing your keys and heading out the door. One hand combed through your lightly tousled hair while the other hearted Link’s message. The tip of your elbow was employed to get the elevator up and running. As the churning hum of metal cables and gears worked its way up the idle space, you rocked back and forth on your heels in time with your quickening heart. You swiped open your phone's camera and broomed and brushed the wisps and strays that clung to your forehead. The elevator announced its arrival with an off-tune ding!

The soft hum of elevator music rivaled the rackety grates of metal-on-metal from outside your confines. With a final lurch, the elevator doors rolled open with that off-tune ding! You rounded the corner and sped-walked down the short hallway; the side profile of a young man sitting on one of the benches outside, hunched over pitifully and protectively over a pizza box, filled your view. A chuckled bubbled out of you as you pressed your key fob against the sensor, unlocking the door with a soft click.

Link's face, reddened and scrunched by grueling winds and below-zero temperatures, immediately lit up seeing his pretty… so pretty savior halo'd by the lobby's warm light. He hopped up and immediately dashed for the slowly opening door.

“Thank the gods, I thought I was gonna die out there.” He chattered through shaking teeth, his lips drawn back into a lopsided grin. You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him down for a quick side hug, careful not to crush the fruits of his labor. His cold shocked your system, but his face warmed up fairly quickly.

“Thanks for coming by. I really appreciate it.” You hummed, releasing your grapple and leading him back to the elevator. “Do you want me to hold that for you?”

“Nah I got it, thanks.” He snorted. “I felt like SpongeBob delivering pizza to that one dude who lived in the middle of nowhere.”

A belly laugh rumbled through the both of you as you hopped on the elevator and whirred up the floors.

“How's your Valentine's goin’?” He inquired, a goofy tilt in his voice.

You dished out the nastiest stink eye and scoffed. “Alone, thanks for asking.”

“Not for long, babe. I'm here now.” The only thing more charming than his wink was that boyish smile he flashed. Your cheeks warmed and your hands found his muscular bicep in a playful smack. He laughed in time with the ding and watched you stomp your way to your unit. He caught up with you in a few strides as you unlocked the door to the intimately lit room.

Link stood wide-eyed and open-mouthed at the place, absently failing to shuffle out of his boots.

“Wow. You really cleaned up the place.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” You huffed with a wry smile, taking the cold pizza from his hands so he could undo his boot laces. You turned your back to your gawking guest as you eyed the re-heating instructions on the cardboard.

“Girl, I've seen you and your apartment at your worst.” He neatly placed his boots to the side and folded his arms. “Remember how I visited you every day for a whole month after that piece of shit broke up with you a week before your birthday?”

“Ugh, don't remind me.” You heated up the oven and slipped the pizza in. “Gods, that was horrible… I've only lasted this long thanks to you.”

You turned to see him sitting at your counter, balancing the skinny neck of your wine glass with his fingers.

“Have you ever wondered where he is now?” He asked, absently watching the wine slosh side-to-side.

“Nah. I stopped caring once he started balding.”

You both let out a squealy holler followed by unhinged cackling.

“Girl, forget the bullet—you dodged a whole nuclear missile.” He concluded with glee, sipping the wine with a content sigh. “You deserve to be treated like the queen you are.”

“Thanks, babe.” You snickered, stealing back your glass from your exasperated bestie. A look of faux offense gripped his sharp features.

“What?” You chortled. “This is my glass. The empty one is yours.”

“Sooo where's the wine?”

“In the freezer.”

“The freezer?” He repeated incredulously, his nose crinkling at that revelation. He opened your freezer and was met face-to-bottle with fine aged wine.

“Huh. All right.”

He poured himself a healthy amount and held out his glass for a toast. With matching smiles, your glasses met with a soft cling and you both sipped the bold, fruity concoction. Link's eyes glazed over and shut as he reveled in another sip.

“This is good. Where did you buy this?”

“I got it as a gift when I had my promotion. My boss gave it to me.”

“Wish my boss would do that.” He sighed. “The only thing she gives me is more work.”

“I thought you loved your work?” You hummed, slumping over the counter and closer to Link.

“Oh, I do. Don’t get me wrong, I love working for Zelda but… She really makes me work for that check, y’know what I mean?” He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Yeah, she's a hard-worker… Super pretty too.” You slipped in quietly, gauging his response. He shrugged and took another sip.

“Yeah, I guess.”

Not gonna lie, your heart raced at his nonchalant remark and you felt like a giddy little schoolgirl fishing for validation from your crush. Liquid courage may be whispering something to you as you asked aloud,

“Have you been seeing anyone?”

Link's eyes widened and he slammed his cup back down, hurriedly swallowing the glass’s contents before coughing and rubbing his chest. You grabbed him a napkin and awkwardly laughed.

“Sorry, didn't mean to spring it on you like that! I think the alcohol is getting to me…”

“Uh—…. Uh-huh…” He mumbled, shock evidently laced through his features.

“You don't have to answer if you don't want to.”

“I haven't.”

“Wh… Huh?”

“I haven't been seeing anyone.” He looked at you, eyes still bright but edged with an earnestness you weren't used to seeing. Frankly, it felt rather… intimately intimidating to be under his unblinking gaze.

“O-Oh…? And why is that…?”

The faintest twitch tugged his eyebrows. He opened his mouth to speak, but the digital beep beep beep from your oven pulled you out of your hazed stupor. With a stiff laugh, you pulled away and slipped on your oven mitts.

“P-Pizza's done! Haha, almost forgot about it.”

You pulled down the oven door and was hit first with a wall of hot air and second by the delicious, hearty aroma of freshly heated pizza. You pulled the comfortingly toasty box out of the oven and set it back down under Link's nose. The both of you ooh'ed and aah'ed at the final reveal, watching the gooey melted cheese mingle with your favorite toppings and—.

“Oooh, cheese-filled crust?”

“Mhmm. It's a special day, after all.”

“Hell yeah, man.” You dished out two plates and scooped up a gooey slice, carefully avoiding the hot stringy cheese from scalding your fingers. Link waited for you to fish out your slice before he dove for the one next to yours. You puffed hasty breaths over its sizzling surface and took the first bite of sustenance you'd had all day. The crust was warm and slightly crisp, softening deliciously under the weight of the pizza's sauce. The cheese filled your mouth with warmy goodness, and your favorite toppings elevated the simple meal into something divine.

You cast a glance back at Link, who was looking right at you with a small smirk.

“Mm-what?” You muddled.

“You seem to be enjoying yourself.” He cocked his head to the side, grin widening.

“This shit's good as fuck.”

“Yeah, but you were having a whole moment.” A sudden heat surged through your cheeks and you cleared your throat, averting your gaze.

“Don't be mad, but… This may or may not be my first meal of the day.”

“Girl, I swear to Hylia—”

“I'm sorry! I just got distracted…”

“Doing what? You're off today.”

reading fanfics “Uh… TikTok?”

An audible groan heaved out of the man as he took another bite.

“How many times do I have to tell you? You should eat at least twice a day if you can. Of course it'd be great if you could have three meals, but if you can't, at least two! Just two!”

“I know, I know, you're right…”

“Mhmm, you only say that to get me off your back… C’mon, you have to remember to eat. Please? Please don't forget to eat, okay?”

“Okay, fine! I'll remember, okay?”

“Promise?”

“Yesss, I promise…”

“Good. Thank you.” With a satisfied nod, he finished the rest of his first slice before decorating his plate with two more. “Let's watch a movie. What’re you in the mood for?”

“Mm… I wanna watch a Ghibli movie.”

“Oooh okay, what were you thinking?”

You filed through your mental catalogue at an unhurried pace, adding additional slices to your plate and brimming your near-empty cup with more wine. Link followed suit and moved the pizza and wine over to your coffee table, plunking down in your sofa's soft cushions. With a click of a button, he pulled up several streaming services that had Studio Ghibli's best films.

“We've got Ponyo, Spirited Away, Arrietty…” He mumbled, thumbing through the selection.

“Wanna watch Howl?”

“Howl's Moving Castle?”

“Yeah.”

“Sure. I love that one.” While the on-screen cursor shuffled through the carousel of films, he patted the space beside him. “C'mere.”

You took a large swig of wine before ambling over and plopping down beside him.

Perhaps… a little too close, you thought as his residual body heat emanated through you. You tried shuffling away a bit, worried he might be uncomfortable, but the wine had begun to dull your motor functions just a tad. You let out a chesty cough as you dove for your pizza and wine, hoping you could rock yourself away as you told yourself over and over that it was only the wine that was making you feel all warm and tingly inside.

The iconic blue logo of the beloved movie studio beamed through the screen. Link got up with a huff to turn off the rest of the lights, leaving you sagged and chilled from his absence. Your heart pulsed with a confusing jolt of relief and excitement when he promptly returned to his post right beside you, ignoring the other 90% of the sofa. You didn’t know whether your heart or thoughts were racing faster as the opening sequence to Howl's Moving Castle idled by.

The mechanical hiss and creaks of Howl’s castle lurching through the fog grounded you enough to begin to relax, slumping more and more into the back of your cushions until you were in a comfortable lounge. As you grew more engrossed in the film, your surroundings (including your best friend) began to fade away from your mind’s eye.

Link downed several gulps of wine, hardly tasting and much less appreciating the dark, full-bodied notes of the cabernet. A velvety rush coursed through him as he peeked down at you, fully in tune with the movie. He weakly disguised his chuckle with a cough as his arms stretched up, his cough turning into a more noticeable ahem that was just enough to break the movie’s spell.

“Um… Is it okay if I put my arm here…?” He murmured, careful to speak only just above the TV’s volume but loud enough to be heard clearly. You looked at him, your slightly agape mouth contrasting your widened eyes as he gestured to the backpiece of the sofa.

“Oh, uh, yeah… For sure, go ahead…” You squeaked, his now absent arm and gravity making you fall closer to his side.

“Thanks…” He tentatively wrapped his arm atop the fabric. “Sorry, my arm was bent in a weird position.”

A white lie, but shhh.

“You’re all good.” You assured with a smile. “Uh… Is it okay if I scoot a bit closer?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” He breathed, swiftly covering up the little warble in his voice by clearing his throat.

“Thanks. Just a bit cold, ‘s all.”

A white lie, but shhh.

It wasn’t very long before you were both entranced by the movie, your hearts occasionally skipping a beat or a breath getting caught in your throats when either of you shuffled into the other.

You both silently watched the film, allowing yourself to be transported into the dreamy and nostalgic landscape of the fantasy world. As the movie worked its magic, you were internally smiling as the movie slowly approached the scene that would introduce the titular ♡Howl♡.

You let out a throaty, unhinged cackle when his clothed chest came into view, his arm protectively wrapping around the heckled Sophie. Link physically recoiled from the horrible sound.

“What?!”

“Howl!!!”

“Huh? I-I mean, yeah, but what—”

“Ughghgh, look at that scrumptious snack of a man.” You, quite loudly, mm-mm-MM’ed before taking another bite of your pizza and yet another heavy swig of your drink. “The things I would let that man do to me.”

A twinge of jealousy tugged at Link’s heartstrings and he scoffed at himself. No way he was fucking jealous of a fictional 2D man. But seeing you swoon over Howl in real-time sparked in him very similar feelings to when he saw you gushing about your balding ex.

“What, you got a thing for blonde hair, blue-eyed twinks guys?”

“Well I mean, look at him!” You turned, almost nose-to-nose with a blonde hair, blue-eyed twink guy. The corners of his lips cocked wickedly as a brow raised.

“Yeah? What about him?”

“I mean,” You blubbered, “I don’t know, he’s just… Well, he’s handsome and I don’t know, he’s got this boyish charm that’s really…”

“Yeah? Really what?”

“Really… Um, attractive?”

“Huh.” He exhaled. “Interesting.”

“What’s interesting?”

“Never knew you had a type.”

“Well, not necessarily! If I like someone, I just like them. That’s it.”

“So what makes you like someone?”

“Like, if we just vibe together I guess…”

“So you guys just… have to vibe?”

“No, it’s more than that! I like someone who is kind, patient, loyal…” Howl began to fade from your mind. “Smart, funny… Aggressively caring...”

“’Aggressively caring?’” He repeated with a bemused lilt in his tone.

“Yeah, someone who makes sure I’m doing okay. Someone who calls me out of the blue because they saw something that reminded them of me. Someone who tells me to take care of myself all the time… Someone who,” you swallowed, “visits me every day for a whole month after a breakup.”

His tilted smile stiffened and his eyes crinkled from general amusement to something more. You continued, gut gnawing and breath clenching.

“Someone who takes care of me when I don’t have the strength to do so. Someone who reminds me that I’m capable of great things and pushes me to work for it. Someone who has never once stopped believing in me. Someone… Like you, Link.”

“(F/N)…”

“I like you, Link.” You drew your eyes to your hands. “A lot. And I know this is really sudden and I’m sorry for catching you off-guard, but—”

A firm grip hooked your forearm before you were lunged into something warm and firm. Your senses were enveloped by the faint smell of pine and amber, and the rapid thumps in his chest echoed through your core. Strong arms encircled you and pulled you closer, almost suffocatingly so, while a gentle hand carded through your hair.

“I… like you too.” He murmured to the top of your head.

“H-… What…?”

“I like you too, (F/N).” He pulled away, catching your flickering looks with his steady gaze. “For awhile now, actually.”

“R-Really?”

He nodded with a ‘mm,’ his warming cheeks spilling its heat onto yours. He brushed the flyaways from your face and cupped your cheeks in his hands, beholding you with such love and adoration you felt like melting.

“Oh, (F/N)…” You were pulled into another hug. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”

You nuzzled into his chest before his voice rumbled in your ear.

“Can I… Kiss your forehead?”

The innocent, almost juvenile request made your heart flutter, and if you weren't wrapped up in the comfiest bear hug you've ever been in, you definitely would have been squealing and kicking your feet. You looked up at him with a twinkle in your eye.

“I can do you one better.” You leaned in, your soft lips capturing his cheek. The heat blooming through your lips disappeared as quickly as it had come as you shyly pulled away.

“I think I can actually top that.” His face drew nearer, hovering just over yours. The fruity bitterness of the red wine diluted your senses into a mirthful haze. “Is… this okay…?”

Your widening smile and gentle nod was all the confirmation he needed to close the distance.

It was tender, soft, slow. His lips moved and melded with yours so perfectly, capturing every little moan and sigh that escaped you. He pulled away only to come again in soft devotion, his lips and hands caressing you with delicate worship. The soothing circles he rubbed into your cheeks paid no mind to the growing heat spilling between his fingers. The cold of the room blanketed your moistened lips suddenly; a shiver sourced from the cold heightened to one of pleasure as he languidly and carefully balanced your bottom lip with his teeth.

“You’re perfect…” He mumbled through your gasp, trailing butterfly kisses down your jaw and to the crook of your neck. You wound your arms around his neck and let out a wanton moan, filled with a deep-broiling need you weren’t cognizant of until now. He traced his lips up your neck, relishing in the goosebumps that prickled his sensitive flesh.

“Perfect and glorious, like the first light of dawn…” He caught your lips again, the motion tinged with something heavier this time, but still full of the awe and reverence he had initially bestowed. You pulled him closer, each of you melting into the other. You felt him sinking closer and closer to you, his hand traveling to the small of your back, almost to aid your gentle descent into your sofa.

“You’re wonderful… So, so good to me…” You breathed out in between kisses, your head spinning and filled with nothing but the thought of him. He pulled away slightly and combed your hair back, a slight smile on his lips. His lips met yours in between words.

“You are so beautiful, (F/N)…” Your eyes fluttered shut, basking in his endless kisses and whispered confessions of utter devotion. “I've wanted this for so long, I almost can't believe that we…”

“Are… together?” You finished, pecking the tip of his nose with childish delight. His chest heaved a laugh as his hands traveled to your hips, hoisting the both of you up into your previously seated positions. He pressed a chaste kiss to the top of your forehead while his hands left your hips to take residence in your hands, tracing the curve of each finger with giggle-filled pecks.

“Have I ever told you how gorgeous you are?”

“Yeah, you mentioned it over text earlier.” You chortled, watching him finish his loving ministrations with a kiss to the back of one hand before moving on to the other.

“And I meant it.”

The sincerity in his baby blue eyes and tenor tone made your heart swoon all the more. You bounced kisses and excited whispers amongst yourselves, until the terrified shriek of Howl cut through the peace. Both of you flinched as two pairs of eyes locked in at the source of the scream. You and Link watched your fictional crush zoom out of the bathroom to yell at the transformed Sophie for switching up his haircare potions.

“Do you wanna just start this thing over?” Link chuckled, watching the chaos unfold on the screen.

“Yeah, that sounds good.” You finished off the rest of your now-cold pizza while Link restarted the movie. With a couple clicks, the familiar bright blue of Studio Ghibli's logo silently filled the room. You turned to him, imprinting the image of blues and shadows painting his features in your memory forever.

“Link?”

“Mm?”

“Happy Valentine's Day.”

He turned to face you and flashed that smile—the one that had you falling in love over and over again.

“Happy Valentine's Day, Valentine.”

[hplonesomeart]

Would

(go to one of his theatrical broadway-wannabe concerts or perhaps a late night gameshow comedy hour sketch performance. I’m not too picky I’d be willing to pay money just to see him perform anything period)

Yea I felt like doing something silly in order to break away from the dread of finals week coming up. What can I say? I’m a professional procrastinator. But man oh man it was a good call this time around—I mean just look as this scrumptious masterpiece right here. Time well spent for sure. Genuinely I believe to have cooked with it chat /j

This is a version without the added stars by the way. And the second one is obviously just raw image reference/the original “bereal concert meme” source. I was very tempted to put Puzzles in that same exact outfit—however I decided it would be overly time consuming to make two separate versions. Maybe once finals are over I’ll be able to do that :)

[hballegro]

the clock is here. all hail.

i forgot to turn antialiasing to the right settings with my pen so it is. the little numbers are chunky. thats life sometimes. just dont zoom in too hard. if i fix it, i wont make a new post abt it ill just edit it on to this one or something [and state that i did so in the post]

prev post with noclock version

and as promised here is also progress pics, harvested from when i sent screenshots to friends as i worked. as a bonus ive also included various layer names and the 5 different names the file went thru. the parts i [very lazily] painted over with dark blue had not been done yet, ergo anything with dark blue over it is just the picture itself so do not regard it

i will now be nice to myself and work on my fanfic and smaller drawings for a while. i will do eye posts sometimes still when i get a slow day and wanna do some peepers for 3 hours, i have collected many eyes [klinger, fr mulcahy, trapper, margaret, charles, hawkeye, bj. ive been busy stealing eyeballs to paint on. theyre all on one document its pretty funny]. i will be doing my best to force the cast into my style so i can do quick stuff.

i also WILL do more paintings of full shots again, but. fellas. ive done 3 back to back full paintings with no other digital art projects in between.

this has been NOT good planning lol

not sure if i should tag everything again so i will just. do so? idk i have not been on tumblr hardcore since like 2018 and have never regularly posted so idk proper etiquette. im gonna leave off characters for this one ig

[butchcarmy]

ok after that i now NEED to read carmy getting a bj heh

(in reference to this post)

I’ve been thinking really hard (lol) about this…spent some time thinking and researching and studying and here’s what I’ve got… 

…BUT I want to promote this part of @zorrasucia's carmy fic first. It so closely follows what I imagine his first bj is like too. This is the blueprint. Its so good please read it. 

It finally happens one day after Carmy finishes going down on you.

You look down between your legs just as you’re trying to catch your breath post-orgasm. Carmy’s staring up at you, cheek resting on your thigh. His mouth and chin are shiny, coated with you.

“Carmy,” you sigh like you’re in a dream. You run your fingers through his hair, combing through it. “You’re too good to me. Please, let me return the favor.”

“Y’wanna go for round 2 already?” He’s sitting up, clearly already hard. He always is when he eats you out. “Don’t get me wrong, I wanna be inside you—“

“No, no, not like that.” He’s confused, and it shows on his face, too. “I wanna suck you off.”

“…Oh.” Carmy’s cheeks are quickly coloring. “That’s, uh…”

“We don’t have to anything you don’t wanna do—“

“No, it’s not that at all,” he protests weakly. The tips of his ears are pink. “It’s just, ah… I’ve never done that before.”

“You’ve never had a blowjob?” You’re aghast. He just nods, embarrassed. You do suppose it makes sense, with you being the first person he’s had sex with. You don’t know why you’re still surprised. “With how hard you fuck me, I forget there’s still a lot you haven’t gotten to try,” you muse, pulling the hair tie off your wrist, and he laughs shakily. 

“I, I’m probably not gonna last long,” he warns. You believe it, not just because it’s his first time, but because how reddened and hard his cock is. The exposed tip is so flushed, beaded with so much pre-come that it almost looks like he’s already finished. All this from eating you out.

“That’s okay. There’s always next time, and the time after that, and then the time after that…” That gets another shaky laugh out of him. You lower your head, your breath ghosting across the tip. It twitches. “Ready?”

“Please,” he whispers, and then he corrects, “I mean, yes.”

You start with just kisses. When your lips first touch the tip of his cock, he inhales sharply. Keeps it held as you kiss down the rest of him, kissing along curves and veins until you reach the base.

“Relax, baby,” you tell him, and his exhale rushes out of him. 

“I’m trying,” he starts, “I’m just—“

You lick gently at the base of his cock, forming a wet ring, and Carmy lets out a strangled moan. 

“I wanna hear you,” you whisper. You lick upwards, slowly dragging the flat of your tongue on the underside of his shaft before running it over the head. 

“Fuck,” Carmy curses, snapping his head back. You’re not sure you’ve ever seen someone so sensitive, so reactive. It’s making you wet again. You lick at the swollen tip again and again, covering it in glossy spit, and you pull a couple more moans out from him that way.

“I like the way you taste,” you confess with filthy honesty. The tip of your tongue runs firmly along his slit, and he gasps. Every pass of your tongue brings out another noise from him. 

Maybe it’s mean of you since he’s clearly so sensitive, but you do it anyway. You open your mouth and carefully suck the head of his cock between your lips. 

“Oh my god,” Carmy whimpers, hips twitching forward like they’ve got a mind of their own. You’ve pulled him deeper into your mouth. His thick, warm length rests heavy on your tongue. It’s admittedly a little bit of a tight fit…

Inching further down onto his cock, you start gliding your slick tongue on the slippery underside. Carmy’s been reduced to a mixture of poorly restrained moans and whimpers. You’re not sure if you’ve ever heard him like this before. You bring your hand to the last half of his cock that’s not in your mouth, but as soon as you pump the spit-slicked base once, he’s coming down your throat.

He moans to high heaven as he comes, hips jaggedly thrusting towards the back of your throat. You breathe through your nose, resisting the urge to gag, but if anything, it just makes you wetter. You swallow on reflex, feeling the tip spurt come down your throat, and you think the constricting tightness of it makes the volume of Carmy’s moans spike. 

You keep him in your mouth until he softens, and when you finally drag yourself off him, his cock glistens with your spit. Above you, Carmy’s still trying to catch his breath. 

“You should fuck my mouth next time,” you say cheekily, and all Carmy does in response is groan.

[vaguely-humanoid-form]

maybe I haven't been looking at the sky

post-sonic 3 fic about stone. stobotnik too. oh yeah baby it's time for some pain.

word count is a bit under 3.6k

featuring: grief like so much grief, lots of hurt, a smidgen of comfort, second-person narration, so many goddamn timestamps, did I mention hurt, acknowledgement of shadow the hedgehog being like an actual teenager, shadow the hedgehog being kind of like a weird cat, the smallest hint of sonadow, and, of course, hurt.

have fun! >:3

p.s.: the title is from Maud Gone by Car Seat Headrest because I like that song and it fits too well

June 24, 2024, 3:26 AM

You wake up.

You don't immediately open your eyes, though, because if you stay in the darkness, you can pretend that everything is alright. You can pretend that nothing's changed.

You can pretend he's still here.

You open your eyes.

It's still dark, and you can only just barely make out the hotel room ceiling above you.

You can hear the soft pitter-patter of the London rain against the window.

You spare a glance at the clock on the bedside table.

You know you won't be able to fall asleep.

Four hours of rest is enough, anyway.

You get up.

You take a shower.

Your reflection in the mirror seems to bore holes through your skull.

You brush your teeth, and you get dressed.

You work, because you have nothing else to do.

You go to get shitty hotel coffee and breakfast.

On instinct, you grab two cups.

You decide you don't want coffee anymore.

June 24, 2024, 12:58 PM

Your lunch is tasteless, and not just because it's British.

You think you would've laughed at that only 24 hours ago.

You don't think about if he would've.

You don't have much to work on.

Your hands itch. Everything feels so still. So static.

You try not to think about it. You try to think about anything else.

You think about how cold it is for a summer day.

You think about the smell of rain on the sidewalk.

You don't look at the sky.

You count your steps to fill your mind with something, anything.

It takes you precisely 673 steps to get back to your hotel from the lunch spot.

You don't think about how odd it feels to walk so slowly.

You don't think about how lonely you are.

You don't think about the Crab sunk in the Thames.

You don't think about him.

June 24, 2024, 7:31 PM

It's been 24 hours since it happened.

You feel empty.

You feel empty and sweaty and gross despite the wind chill and you shower again.

Your reflection stares at you again. It accuses you, blames you. It says it's your fault.

In its eyes, you can almost see something like him.

You cover the mirror.

You get yourself ready for bed, and you lay there under the hotel duvet, air conditioner blasting, and you shiver, but you don't get up to change it.

The Doctor prefers it cold, so–

You stare at the ceiling. It looks blurrier than usual.

You don't fall asleep for another few hours.

June 30, 2024, 1:08 PM

Montana is certainly better than London. At least, you'd say so.

It was a good idea to keep paying the lease on the Mean Bean. It's something you know.

You can't decide whether the familiarity makes you feel better or worse.

At least G.U.N. doesn't want anything to do with you, which you are more than welcome to.

Your “house,” if it can even be called that, what with its studio apartment style, in the back of the Mean Bean feels foreign to you, but the warmth feels nice.

The café stays cold.

You say it's to save money on the heating bill.

You were always good at pretending.

July 23, 2024, 4:23 PM

It's been exactly one month.

The hedgehog visits you today.

You know you should be plotting against him. You should be planning your revenge. You should be scheming to get rid of him once and for all–

But you're just so tired.

And in the end, he didn't want what happened, either.

He smiles at you as he orders a hot chocolate, but you can see the tightness in his face.

You bring up the other hedgehog, Shadow, and he falters for a moment.

You don't smile, not really, but your face softens as you come to an understanding.

You can't talk about him, but listening to Sonic talk about Shadow helps to dull the pain for a moment.

Before he leaves, Sonic gives you a sad smile, and tells you he's sorry about the Doctor.

Your throat closes up.

You stand still as the door opens and closes.

Your hands are shaking as you close.

August 16, 2024, 1:15 PM

Ever since he visited you the first time, Sonic has come back every other day for a hot chocolate and a chat.

The kid seems to always have something to say. You suppose he's hyperactive in many ways.

He's nice to you, and a part of you hates it, but you can't get yourself to get rid of the kid. Even if he says he stops by to check on how you're doing, you know it's helpful for him, too.

Deep down, you feel guilty for commiserating with the enemy. The guilt is something you opt to push down, though, because it makes you think of him.

You're interrupted when Sonic walks through the door with his human quasi-father in tow. Tom, you think his name is.

If you're honest, he looks like shit. His arm is in a cast and he's walking with a slight limp. The bags under his eyes are nothing to scoff at, either, but he gives you a soft smile.

He only orders a water, and drinks it slowly as Sonic chatters at his side about the shop.

You know he's been worried about Tom, and you're glad to see he's alright, but a twinge of resentment bites at you.

Why couldn't have you gotten a happy ending, too?

August 27, 2024, 1:00 PM

He's back again, and he brought his friends: the fox and the echidna.

You freeze for a moment when you see the fox. The conversation you had with him plays in the back of your mind and you relentlessly shoo it away.

The echidna is still annoying, but it's funny to see him order a shot of espresso and then immediately choke when he takes one sip.

When you're not trying to fight each other, they're good kids. You appreciate the effort they're making, at the very least.

It's nice to have noise to fill up the air. Helps quiet the thoughts a little bit, especially when the shop doesn't get much traffic these days.

Chatting with the alien children gives you something to do, too, since you can't do latte art anymore.

Your hands start shaking the moment you try.

So, you listen to them talk: teasing each other, making bad jokes, ranting about this or that.

When they leave, they all say goodbye, and while the silence is still suffocating, you're finding it slightly easier to breathe.

September 10, 2024, 8:01 AM

It's his birthday today, and you can't get yourself out of bed.

You can't even properly cry. Quiet tears roll down your face and stain your pillow.

You can't get back to sleep, either. You don't know if you would even want to. You don't know if you could bear to see his face in your dreams.

You stare at the brick wall, bare of photos or posters or plans, and you can't get yourself to look away.

September 10, 2024, 1:30 PM

The door to your “house” opens and you jump from your bed.

Team Sonic broke into your house.

You would be angry. You should be angry. But you can't muster up the energy.

Sonic says something that you don't register, and Knuckles proudly holds out a messily-made cupcake in front of him.

When you get a closer look…

Oh.

It's for the Doctor.

When you look up, Sonic is giving you that same sad smile he did the first time he came to the cafe. He says he knows how you've been going through a hard time, and that since today is the Doctor’s birthday, he wanted to do something special.

It takes everything in your being to not burst out sobbing in front of the kids.

You all sit around the cupcake and sing to it.

You falter on the name. They don't seem to mind.

You can't bear to eat any of the cupcake, so you stick it in the fridge.

The second those kids are out the door, you cry so hard you can barely stand.

September 12, 2024, 1:12 PM

Tails bursts through the shop door, startling you and the single customer sitting at a table in the corner.

He starts talking, so fast you can only make out a few words.

Before you can tell him to slow down, Sonic runs in after him, smiling brighter than the sun and presenting to you…

…Shadow?

You nearly short-circuit.

How is he alive?

You ask as much, and they all shrug their shoulders, minus Shadow who stands there staring at you without expression.

Apparently, Shadow has some sort of minor amnesia. He can't remember much immediately before…

Well.

But, still, he's alive.

And that sparks something deep in your chest.

You wouldn't dare to believe anything. You know he's… gone.

But a tiny, near molecular voice in the back of your head says what if?

And you can't give into it, but the voice, small as it is, nestles itself in between your cerebrum and cerebellum.

Back to reality, the alien children have decided that Shadow will stay with you.

Their home doesn't have the room for yet another anthropomorphic hedgehog in it, apparently.

You don't seem to have a say in the matter.

You can't say you mind too much.

September 12, 2024, 4:25 PM

You take him in and set up a futon in a clear area of your house.

You give him a tour, which really isn't much considering there are only two actual rooms.

He follows you around, nodding or shaking his head slightly whenever you ask him a question. He's quiet. Shy, even.

You make a simple dinner in silence, and he mumbles a thank you when you hand him his plate.

He falls asleep while you're working, and when you get a closer look at him…

…Did he always look that young?

Minus the 50 years he spent in stasis, he couldn't have been more than 15. Maybe 16, if you're being generous.

His brows furrow in his slumber, painfully familiar, and you're suddenly reminded of the fact that he is, in a way, a Robotnik.

You draw in a sharp breath and blink away the stinging in your eyes.

Maybe you'll sleep early.

September 23, 2024, 1:08 PM

Three months.

It's been three months since it happened, and the pain has only barely dulled.

You're starting to wonder if the coping mechanism of bottling everything up as much as you possibly can isn't working as well as you thought it would.

Shadow has opened up more, at least. He's still quiet and sometimes stares at you, wide-eyed and expressionless, but you've had a good few conversations with him.

You've shown him how to operate some of the coffee machines, even if he isn't quite tall enough to reach them very well on his own.

Every day you spend with him, the more it sets in just how young he is.

For the first week or two after… what happened, you resented him for being a part of it all. But now?

You just see a scared kid.

Team Sonic has been back to the Mean Bean a few times since Shadow arrived. He's incredibly socially awkward and is not one for idle chit-chat, but you've seen a hint of a smile on his face a couple times, and that's enough for you.

His memories have been returning slowly. Despite the voice screaming at you at every waking moment, you don't want to hold out hope. You don't want to be crushed again when the inevitable reality hits you that he is really gone.

You remember when it happened, when three months ago, you watched the Doctor dedicate his last words to you.

You remember going through every stage of grief and then some all at once.

You remember thinking you were done with that process, then, after it hit you like a freight train in all of 20 seconds.

You checked into a hotel, perfectly calm. You went up the elevator, fine. You unlocked the door to your room, ok.

Then you shut the door behind you and realized you'd accidentally gotten a room with two beds.

You remember the taste of bile at the back of your throat.

You blink and you're back where you were, alien children conversing at the counter in your coffee shop. You realize you've been holding the same empty mug and towel for a while.

When you set them down, your palm is indented from the fabric.

October 12, 2024, 2:00 PM

Shadow has warmed up to everything a lot more since he arrived last month.

You've seen him shoot back straight espresso like it was water, which drove Knuckles insane, and, for whatever reason, made you glow with pride.

He's slowly started asking for things directly: meals, things to do, what have you. You finally got to make that revenge guac for you both. It was great.

You had to try to not choke on it.

He's insanely excited for Halloween. It's refreshing to see him like this. He's usually a pretty doom-and-gloom type of guy, and there's a pain within him that you resonate with. But right now, he looks so happy, asking if you can decorate the cafe for the holiday. Of course, you do.

His memory is almost fully restored, too. You're happy about it, but it also instills an intense anxiety in you.

You aren't sure which situation it is that's making you feel like this.

Maybe both.

It'll be 4 months in a little under a week.

You don't think it's stopped hurting.

When you get a moment to be alone, it all comes rushing back at you, and suddenly you feel like you did when it first happened.

But the hurting isn't that bad all the time. Not anymore.

It settles in your chest when you're distracted by something, knocking on your ribs when you're reminded of it.

It's constant, like a bruise that just won't go away.

But it's manageable.

What is less manageable, however, is the voice.

Every day that passes, the voice gets louder, crawling further into your brain and making itself known.

Hell, it's even shown up in your dreams.

As annoying as it is, though, it makes you think about your grief beyond what you had been.

Whenever you have one of the dreams, you wake up and shower, and sit in the water and think.

Mostly, your brain has focused on his absence. The fact that he's… gone.

But, then you start to wonder.

Would this have happened if you'd told him? Would he be gone if he knew how you felt?

Would that have even changed anything?

You have to stop before you spiral too far. Asking questions is dangerous.

You convince yourself that it's just the shower water running down your cheeks, even if your eyes burn.

October 23, 2024, 1:02 AM

You wake up.

You don't immediately open your eyes, though, because if you stay in the darkness, you can pretend that everything is alright. You can pretend that nothing's changed.

You can pretend he's still here.

You open your eyes.

The room is not silent. Faraway thunder rumbles in the sky and Shadow lightly snores from where he sleeps.

It's four months now, and you've suddenly forgotten how to feel numb.

Your hypothesis about emotional suppression seems to be correct.

You sit up.

You stare at your hands.

You can't breathe.

At first, you think someone is trying to kill you. That's the obvious answer.

But then you feel the tear drop down to the tip of your nose.

And then you break.

You lose all sense of time as your vision is flooded. You hiccup between sobs and you know you've always been an ugly crier.

What makes it worse is when you feel a hesitant hand on your shoulder, and look over to see Shadow looking at you with so much concern and understanding.

You don't want to cry in front of him. You're meant to be strong for him, for this kid that you've grown closer to, for this kid that you want to take care of.

But when he reaches up to hug you, all you can do is fall apart on his shoulder. And you feel so bad, because no kid should ever have to be the one to comfort an adult, but the tears keep coming and you can't make them stop.

You don't know how long you sat there, weeping on him, when it seems the well has run dry.

You try to mutter an apology to him, but he gets up and walks away. You stare at nothing in front of you and curse yourself for making this child have to support you, but he comes back with a glass of water, averting his eyes nervously.

You think back to the first week he was here.

He'd had a nightmare and woke up screaming and crying. When you'd gone to comfort him, you brought him a glass of water.

You had awkwardly stuttered about how crying can be dehydrating in a sad attempt to make him feel better, social skills be damned, and it had worked.

That was the first time he'd really smiled at you.

And now he's doing the same for you.

He says something similar about water and dehydration and you can't entirely understand what he's saying, but you smile as best you can through the tears in your eyes and take the glass with a choked thank you.

He lights up at the affirmation, and you feel a warmth bloom in your chest as you realize that you are to Shadow as Tom is to Sonic.

You gently ruffle the top of Shadow's head, the corner of your mouth quirking up. He flusters at the action and tilts his head, almost like a cat, you think, sporting a ghost of a smirk.

You tell him you're alright now and to go back to bed, and you yourself fall asleep with the knowledge that you are this weird alien hedgehog’s weird quasi-father, and you don't mind it one bit.

October 31, 2024, 5:30 PM

Turns out Tom and Maddie made a costume for Shadow. Sonic had apparently told them about something Shadow said about it after one of his trips to the Mean Bean, and they'd decided to surprise him. Needless to say, he was ecstatic. Others may not have registered the level of happiness he was at, but you know Shadow.

You know your boy.

Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails somehow convinced Shadow to go trick-or-treating with them. You encouraged him, too. He seemed a bit nervous, and even sort of embarrassed, but he ultimately agreed, smiling as he waved goodbye to you.

This was the first time in a while that you've been really alone. The pain starts to catch up to you and for a moment, you feel incredibly empty. Your throat begins to tighten.

You take a deep breath as the grief curls up once more, resting for the moment. It makes you cold.

You make yourself a simple latte and draw a little jack-o'-lantern on the top. Your hands still shake, but it's not too much to deal with.

You doubt anyone else will come into the shop. You already planned to close early for Halloween, and the sign at the front tells as much to any prospective customers.

You turn to begin dealing with the back counter, cleaning the machines and putting things back to where they belong. You've grown fond of the routine.

Then you hear the door open, and turn around to see Shadow running into the shop. His eyes are bright, brighter than you've ever seen them.

He tells you that he remembers everything now. He says, excited—God, it makes you happy to see him excited—that his memory is back and he can tell you what happened to–

The door opens again.

You look up.

He's there.

He's alive.

You stand there for a moment, completely still, completely silent.

You almost scream.

You leap over the counter, running and tackling him in the tightest hug you've ever given anyone.

He smells horrible. Like smoke and sulfur and dirt and grime and he's alive and he's holding onto you just as strong as you are and the voice is cheering and exploding into fireworks in your brain and the pain squeezes your heart in its hands and he's alive.

You don't even notice when the tears begin to fall. You only notice his pulse, alive, his breath, alive, his arms around you, alive, alive, alive.

When you finally pull back after what feels like both an eternity and a millisecond, you get a look at his face, and you put it in your hands and holy shit he is alive.

He looks absolutely disheveled and it's possibly the most beautiful thing you've ever seen, and then he smiles, wide, genuine, warm, so rare, so real, and then he leans forward and kisses you and you can't think anymore.

He tastes awful and you've never loved him more than you do now.

[uhhlifeig]

HI. THIS IS THE ASK YOU WANTED LAZY BITCH

soulmate AU with the gays. Don’t care what ship. As long as I got the gay boys and it’s gay boys I know I’m fine. Bye sad lazy bitch

-Alex(with love)

well first of all fuck you wifey (affectionate)

second IM ON IT

third. for your rudeness the writing gods have sentenced you to 511 words of ANGST mwahahaha

enjoy!! (or not)

~~~~~

The mark on James's shoulder was still fresh when he first noticed it, its lines stark against his skin, as if the ink had been etched into his flesh with purpose. 

The Leo constellation stared right back at him from his left shoulder, the letters R.A.B. inked into his skin right below the image.

It had to be impossible, right? 

James had to sit down, his legs trembling and his breath coming in short. The name seemed to stare back at him, mocking him for how blind he was. 

How could it be Regulus? 

They had broken up almost a year ago. He had thrown Regulus away, told himself it was for the best, that he was far too consumed by the darkness that the Blacks had nurtured.

And yet. 

Here it was, the truth written on his skin.

He really had been blind, hadn’t he? Throwing away a love that had just barely begun to form in the darkness of closed classroom doors and late nights at the Astronomy Tower was just the first of his mistakes.

First, he had fallen in love with Regulus.

Then, when Regulus had come back after a Christmas hols with tears in his eyes and a condemning mark on his arm, James had ended things. 

He had sent Regulus away when tears were streaming down both of their faces.

Regulus had begged him to listen, to understand, but James was too bullheaded to give up his anger and frustration.

Now, there was a soulmark on his arm. A soulmark that tied him to someone that he had previously thought of as someone lost to the light.

So James threw himself into his work, hoping against all hope that he would find Regulus out there, that he’d be able to convince him to switch sides.

But it was too late. 

His Regulus was gone, lost to the war.

~~~~~

Regulus Black was in pain.

He downed his last cupful of the glittering substance, wincing at it burned down his throat for the tenth (and hopefully last) time.

“Kreacher,” he rasped. “Get the locket.”

“Yes, Master Regulus. Kreacher will Apparate us-”

“No, you won’t. You will leave me here. That is an order,” Regulus croaked. His eyes caught on the glossy surface of the lake.

Water.

He needed water.

He stumbled towards the eerily calm edge, kneeling down next to the lakeshore.

He dipped his hands into the water.

For a split second, Regulus stood there in shock. There, on his right arm, mirroring his Dark Mark- there was an antler tattoo with the letters J.F.P. inscribed between them.

Then a hand shot up out of the water. It grabbed the area with the soulmark, covering it up. 

Regulus Black drowned that day, alone in the cave.

He believed that his soulmate hated him.

He never could have been more wrong.

The moment James felt the soul connection snap, he fell to his knees. 

He didn’t care that he was in an Order meeting- he just knew that Regulus was gone for good.

They never did have every universe.

[madaqueue]

anyways . selfship pics for the soul :3

[firefly464]

Scott | Pearl | Martyn | Cleo | Scar (You are here!) | Grian

Scar fic is out!!!! oh im so so proud of this one I hope you guys like it!!

Word Count: 2,123

Fandom: 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Charles | Grian & Ryan | GoodTimesWithScar, Pearl | PearlescentMoon & Ryan | GoodTimesWithScar

Characters: Ryan | GoodTimesWithScar, Charles | Grian, Pearl | PearlescentMoon, The Universe (Minecraft)

Additional Tags: Character Study, POV Second Person, Memory Alteration, Only Winners Remember the 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series, 3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series-Typical Character Death, Ryan | GoodTimesWithScar-centric, Isolation, Disassociation, its the end of secret life he does NOT have a good time, Ryan | GoodTimesWithScar Needs a Hug, Scar and his relationship with The Universe

Series: Part 5 of Life after Life (again and again and again)

Summary:

You think The Universe might hate you. That’s the first conclusion you come to after you wake up. It’s also the only explanation you can really think of for why you’re in this situation.

Not only are you the first yellow, but now you’re the first red! And not only are you the first red, but all the color of your skin seems to have drained away.

And on top of all that, there’s sand in your blankets!!

~~~

Or, an exploration of Scar's relationship with The Universe and how it evolves over time

~~~

https://archiveofourown.org/chapters/159769846

Or read it under the cut :D

~~~

You think The Universe might hate you. That’s the first conclusion you come to after you wake up. It’s also the only explanation you can really think of for why you’re in this situation. 

Not only are you the first yellow, but now you’re the first red! And not only are you the first red, but all the color of your skin seems to have drained away. 

And on top of all that, there’s sand in your blankets!! 

Well. That one isn’t a new development, but it’s certainly not pleasant. 

The second conclusion that you reach is that you don’t really care. Yeah you might be red, but you’re still alive! So you’re not out of the running quite yet. 

Besides, you’re not alone in this.

Hopefully. 

You still don’t actually know if Grian is still with you now that you’re red. Last you had seen, he was watching you fall to your death, desperately reach out to try and catch you. 

You should probably go check on him actually. He’s probably worried. 

You think The Universe might hate you. That’s the first conclusion you come to after you wake up. It’s also the only explanation you can really think of for why you’re in this situation. 

Not only are you the first yellow, but now you’re the first red! And not only are you the first red, but all the color of your skin seems to have drained away. 

And on top of all that, there’s sand in your blankets!! 

Well. That one isn’t a new development, but it’s certainly not pleasant. 

The second conclusion that you reach is that you don’t really care. Yeah you might be red, but you’re still alive! So you’re not out of the running quite yet. 

Besides, you’re not alone in this.

Hopefully. 

You still don’t actually know if Grian is still with you now that you’re red. Last you had seen, he was watching you fall to your death, desperately reach out to try and catch you. 

You should probably go check on him actually. He’s probably worried. 

~~~ 

You manage to get to the end. You’re not sure how it happened. 

No, that’s a lie. You know exactly how it happened. 

It’s because Grian helped you. 

You would have died a long time ago without him. The Universe would have ripped you up and tossed you away. 

Perhaps that would have been kinder. Maybe not to you, but to him. 

He wouldn’t be here, cradling your dying form. 

You want to reach out, to tell him that it’ll be ok. Your arms won’t respond. 

Just another way that The Universe has screwed you over. 

~~~~~

Not to toot your own horn, but you think you might be The Universe’s favorite. 

When you had woken up, there had been six hearts on your arm. One heart per life. 

Meaning you started out with six lives. Six!

And ok sure maybe Grian had managed to trick you into giving him one, but that still left you with five! Which was still way more than most other people!!

And if that wasn’t good enough, you’ve managed to find yourself a promising new business venture! Since there’s only one enchanter that you know of, you have no doubt that people will be willing to pay a decent amount to be able to use the thing. 

It’s not your fault that it had been left completely unattended. It’s not your fault that no one else saw the incredible opportunity right in front of them! 

Well. No one except Joel. But that’s why he’s your new business partner. No reason in having competition when you can have help instead!

Magical mountain. That’s what you call it. 

~~~

And then Joel dies. And he dies again. 

And again. 

And again .

And suddenly he’s red and you’re being forced to tear down the bridge that leads to his little cave in the mountain and he’s screaming that everyone better watch out before he kills them all. 

You come out of the whole ordeal with no allies and no enchanter. 

Honestly? It could be worse. 

It strikes you just how easily you could have ended up in his place. Both started out with five lives. Both felt the weight of the curse upon your shoulders. 

The only real difference is that you got lucky. He didn’t. 

Well. No one ever said being The Universe’s favorite was easy. 

~~~

As it turns out, it doesn’t really matter how kind The Universe decides to be. No matter how good of a hand you’re dealt, people will still find a way to take advantage of you. 

It almost makes you want to laugh. 

~~~~~

You think that Grian might hate you. You don’t know why. 

And before anyone says anything, yes you know how stupid that sounds. This is Grian that you’re talking about! One of your best friends!

So why won’t he look at you?

On a certain level, you get it. You’re not exactly the best at surviving. You’re reckless and you don’t exactly think about your own well-being and you’re no stranger to dying repeatedly. You’re sure that it would be far easier for him if he was tied to literally anyone else. 

But that doesn’t mean you’re useless. And it certainly doesn’t mean that he gets to look at you like your fate is already sealed. 

Fine. That’s fine.

You suppose you’ll simply have to prove it to him. 

There’s only a moment of hesitation before you launch yourself off the tower. You can hear him yelling your name as you fall. 

Something tells you that if looked up, you would be able to see him reaching down, desperately trying to catch you. 

You don’t bother to check.

~~~~~

The Universe is kind to you in this world. 

But not only that, the people are kind as well. For some reason, you can’t help but feel that it’s not something that happens very often. 

When you die, it isn’t alone. 

Something tells you that might be rare too.

~~~~~

Well! That’s it! The Universe hates you! Or the Secret Keeper or god or whoever might be out there listening!

Point is, you’re not having a very good day. 

Someone thought that it would be funny to ruin whatever good relations you might have with these stupid tasks. 

You had tried your best to be welcoming and kind. You had filled your home with flowers and light, thinking that maybe, maybe it would be enough to keep people around.

But no . Of course it wasn’t. It never is.

Because some jerk thought it would be funny to watch you make everyone hate you.

Fine.

Fine!

The Universe wants a show? The world wants to be entertained?!  

You can do that. You can fill that role with ease . 

~~~ 

You make it to the end. You’re not sure how. 

It’s certainly not because of your allies. You didn’t have any of those until Pearl had grabbed your hand and told you that she was with you until the end. 

You still don’t know why she did that. She could have easily taken Gem’s side in the final fight. You’re not blind. You had seen the way that the two of them had looked at each other. 

You had seen the way Pearl had hesitated as Gem had begged her to reconsider. 

By all means, you shouldn't have made it out of there alive. She should have slit your throat and left you for dead. 

You don’t think you would have blamed her. 

But she didn’t! And now she’s dead regardless! And you’re the last one standing! 

Huh. You always thought that winning would feel… better? Maybe? 

Less bad, at the very least.  

You’re so tired. You’re so so tired. 

The dirt feels cold beneath your palms. You don’t know when you collapsed. 

Stand up. You have to stand up. You have to go hit the button. You’ll be free once you hit the button.

Get up. You have a game to win. 

~~~

You hit the button. Your wounds close up. You collect your prize. 

And. 

You. 

Remember .

~~~

Your memories of home had grown fuzzy while you were here. Slowly, they had slipped between your fingers like sand. 

The broad strokes were always there. Even at the end, you had known that you had come from a world filled with laughter and creativity. You had known that there were more people there than there were here. 

But the specifics were gone. You couldn’t remember the name of your cat, or what items you had sold, or what the world was even called .

You remember it all now.

You remember a sprawling theme park and a fracture in the world and pandas and a hut atop a mountain and the desert oh god you remember the desert.

The red and purple flowers on your poncho suddenly make so much more sense. 

You brace your arm against the stone pillar to keep yourself from falling. There’s so much. 

There’s so much.

But…

You’re still here. 

You’re no closer to getting home than you were before Pearl died. The only difference now is that you remember everything you’ve lost. 

You don’t know if this is better or worse. 

You hit the button again. There’s another rush of energy. Items pour up from the ground. 

You’re still here. 

You hit it again. 

Nothing. 

Again .

Nothing. 

You scream.

The statue doesn’t reply.

~~~

You don’t know how long you stay by the button. Maybe hours. Maybe days. 

You don’t know. 

Mobs don’t come near the Secret Keeper statue. Or maybe they do, and you’ve just stopped noticing.

Drip .

A drop of water hits your nose. You blink. 

Another hits your hand. 

Oh. It’s raining. 

You should go inside. 

~~~

You return to the secret keeper frequently during the first few days. Every minor injury brings you back. The idea of dying terrifies you. You don’t know the rules of this world now that the game is over. 

For all you know, death could be permanent and no one would ever know what had happened to you. 

It’s not a risk you’re willing to take. 

~~~

You find yourself holding your breath each time you hit succeed. 

As if doing that will make it easier for you to return home. 

It’s a stupid idea.

~~~

You build a cemetery for your friends. 

16 graves, all dug by hand. 16 coffins, each carved with painstaking detail. 

16 bodies, laid to rest in the dirt. 

You try to make it beautiful. You want your friends to rest in a place that would make them smile. 

You wonder what they would think. 

~~~

Time passes. Your visits to the secret keeper become less frequent. You injure yourself less often, so you tend to let them build up before you push the button again. 

There’s still no sign of returning home. 

The sunflowers are starting to wilt. You should probably harvest them soon. 

~~~

The weather begins to turn cold. You’ll have to move to someone else’s base. You haven’t been able to repair Trader Scars yet. 

Pearl's base will work just fine. 

~~~

It’s snowing. You hope you have enough firewood. 

~~~

If there’s one thing that’s worse than being hated by The Universe, it’s being forgotten. You wonder what you did to deserve this. 

~~~ 

Neither of the other two buttons work anymore. You don’t know what you expected.

~~~

You find an old sewing kit tucked away in one of Cleo’s chests. There’s some embroidery hoops and thread in it. 

You had found one of Pearl’s jackets the other day. A dark blue one, not the bright red that she wore near the end. 

Something tells you she won’t mind you using it.

~~~

You wonder how your friends are doing. You wonder if they miss you. 

~~~

Flowers begin to grow in the explosion craters left behind. Poppies. Because of course it's poppies. 

They bloom for weeks. It looks like the ground is bleeding. 

You try not to go outside too often during that time.

~~~

You hope Jellie is ok.

~~~

Pearl’s hoodie is covered in intricate swirls and stars. You wonder if she’ll ever get to see it. 

You hope so.

~~~

Why haven’t they tried to find you? It’s been months now. Surely by now they would have realized something is wrong and come looking. And even if they don’t remember the games, Xisuma should have been able to track your player data. 

But no. You’re still alone. 

~~~

The sunflowers need to be planted. Maybe you’ll try to plant some other flowers as well. That sounds nice. 

~~~

Your hair is getting long. You need to cut it. 

…

You drop the blade before it can get anywhere near your neck. 

That’s fine. Grian taught you how to braid, back in the desert. You can work with that. 

~~~

You wonder if they’ve forgotten you too.

~~~

You begin work on rebuilding Trader Scars. It’s not the same as it once was, but that’s ok. You don’t think you’d want it to be the same. 

~~~

You don’t know how long you’re alone. A year maybe? If the growing cycle of the sunflowers is anything to go off of. 

In the end, it’s a careless mistake that leads to your death. You haven’t hit the button for a bit now. You figured it was fine. Time here has made you more careful, more aware of your surroundings. 

Not too much more aware, it seems. You don’t even hear the creeper coming up behind you. 

You’re standing at the entrance of the cemetery when it happens, looking at the graves of your dead friends. You miss them. You miss them so much. 

One moment, you’re paying your respects to them. The next, an explosion. 

The world goes white. You’re overwhelmed by pain. 

You don’t even get the chance to scream.

[ioniansunsets]

Hello!! I love all the heartsteel writings you have done recently , they are really delightful to read with the effort and time you put in thank you!! Would it be okay to request a secanrio i have in mind :

Where reader was listening to heartsteel kayns playing the guitar and she gets dreamy , he teases her and offer up to teach her how to play the guitar. He could also drag her close to his lap for close-up demonstration. Reader is very aware of his heartbeat and stuff and kayn could tease more!

Whichever you're comfy and feel free to change if youd like, and take ur time with it!! ♡

✖ Heartsteel!Kayn Teaching Reader the Guitar ✖

✖ Word Count: 891

✖ Tags: Established R/S

✖ A/N: Thanks for waiting! Sorry this took a while teehee I tried to make it fun for you.

----

It was a nice cool evening, the two of you just had dinner and you were lazing on his bed. Kayn was feeling like rocking out so he set up his electric guitar and was having a hell of a time just a few meters from you. You lean against the headboard, watching him from the bed. It was beautiful. Without a doubt. The soft expression on his face as he hums and strums, the way his fingers glide over the strings, the way his arm muscles tense as he presses down on the frets. You were in love, and if you weren't, just seeing him like this playing the guitar for you would have your heart stolen anyway. For someone so chaotic, he was almost angelically graceful when he gets so in the zone playing the guitar. It was so unlike his usual stage self like this. Playing a different tune from the usual genre you were used to hearing from him. Kayn calmly vibing instead of his chaotic high. It was Kayn playing this time, not the Rhaast you were used to seeing on stage.

His brows furrowed in concentration as his hands work away on the instrument. The way he seems so...at peace when he's playing the instrument. The beautiful melody and steady tapping of his feet just further draws you in. You can't help it, you really can't stop yourself from staring. He was beautiful like this. The way sweat slowly drips down his face. The small step he takes back as he balances himself when he really gets into it. No wonder he had so many fans. If you weren't so distracted you would have grabbed your charging phone and tried to sneak in a few photos. Smiling to yourself, you watched him intently, doing your best to commit this to your memory when his voice snapped you out of your daydream.

" Starstruck my love?"

He gives you a smug smile as he puts the guitar down by his desk and walks over to you. You wave off his comment and tell him how much you loved watching him play. It wasn't that you were starstruck, it was just that you loved him and he had his charms. Especially over you. Especially when he looked so cool...

" Do you want to try playing something? I could teach you. I'm generous that way."

He bends over the edge of the bed, giving you a chaste kiss before smirking again. Hands behind his head as he looks at you.

"A private lesson from the Amazing Kayn of Heartsteel is something most fans would die for you know~"

You wanted to scoff and reject him but honestly, it was a nice way to understand him better. A pleasant excuse to get closer, share a new hobby, how could you say no. So of course you agree.

Excitedly, he grabs you and pulls you over to his chair by his desk. Sitting down, Kayn pats his lap, signaling you to join him. You raise a brow but his arms are already snaking around your waist, pulling you down. He adjusts some things on the sleek guitar before placing it comfortably on your lap. Your heart races as his arms wrap around you to hold the instrument. Sure he was just holding the guitar in place but you could feel his breath on your neck, his strong chest against your back, the small twitch in his leg as you adjust yourself, the rhythming thumping of his own heart. Ok, you were going to try and commit this feeling to memory too.

" Hmm...let's start with something simple. We'll get you used to like, some easy strumming pattern or something first. Easier stuff."

Kayn's fingers ghost over yours, gently moving your fingers into place, lightly pressing them down onto the frets for you. His other hand passing you his guitar pick as he gently holds your wrist. He leans his chin on your shoulder as he helps you move your hand. A shiver running down your spine as you feel his warmth slowly spread across your body from the close proximity. Kayn's hand begins to move, rhythming a slow down down up down beat. A simple beat that you've heard in other pop songs before. It was nice to listen to, Kayn already humming a little tune before he stops to speak.

" Wow you're doing good~ "

You almost yelp as his deep voice whispers into your ears. Way to close than you were used to. The way his breath hit the edge of your ears just send an almost instant blush across your features. He notices you jump a little, another playful smirk now plastered across his face as he sees you turn red.

" Oh? Feeling more than the music darling?"

Another accursed deep sultry whisper into your ears. Kayn leaning in closer to give the edge of your ears a teasing lick before you turn to glare at him flustered.

" Sorry can't help it, you were too cute all blushy like that in my lap."

He almost purrs into your ears, you can feel the deep rumble of his voice against your body in the closeness. Ah, what did you get yourself into by agreeing to this. You close your eyes and sigh as he lightly presses a kiss against your neck.

[ashipiko]

“A Hundred and More Memories with You”

SUMMARY: A story in which Ace reminisces upon the many memories of him and Ashi.

WORD COUNT: 5.8k

NOTES: <3 enjoy the rare Ashi writing

taglist: @taruruchi @deeva-arud @thelegendaryfluffypotato13 @midnightmah07 @cynthinesia

Ace would consider himself an Ashi expert. A lot of people would consider him one too, considering how often they hang out with each other.

And when he says it’s a lot, it’s a lot. Sure, of course, there’s Deuce and Grim too. They all go through their antics together, whether it be slaying in a singing and dancing competition or solving the latest issue Night Raven College has got to answer, which includes facing off against high school boys in life-risking duels, when they should really be in therapy. They all went through a lot together and somehow pulled through and survived all that nonsense too. Same class, same lunch table, same shenanigans for them all. And Ace would like to think of them as a dream quad, but here’s the thing.

Who got there just a little earlier than Juice did when Ashi was having trouble at Scarabia? Who did Ashi go to hug tightly when that happened? Who did Ashi stay behind with when VDC practice came by and everyone else left the room? Who turned out to feel so comfortable with him that she fell asleep on his shoulder? Who always bunks at Ramshackle and is always taken in by the prettiest girl at NRC?

That’s right. Not Grim, not Deuce, but Ace Trappola himself.

It might not be much, but Ace finds himself thinking that it’s those small things that no one else sees that places him a little higher than everyone else. With this, at least. He can confidently go up to anyone and go, “Hey! That’s my best friend you’re talking to, you know?” with a shit eating grin on his face, and no one would bat an eye. Because that’s just usual Ace behavior around Ashi.

Behind closed doors or not, he’s real committed to her.

…Maybe if you cut out their first meeting, actually. He thinks about it sometimes. How’d he fall for a goody two shoes like her?

Just some girl, straight out a coffin and fell onto the floor, during NRC’s opening ceremony. It was really funny! Doesn’t mean it made him think much about it. Like yeah, sure it's all-boys school, but it’s not anything crazy. What, none of you have seen a girl before? Do you guys not have moms?

Until Ace spots her again, her eyes crinkling in confusion at the sight of the Great Seven. Some dialogue is exchanged, and nothing is of note. She’s cute and pretty, sure, but it’s not like Ace came to NRC, an all-boy’s school might he reiterate, to get a girlfriend. After the last snooze fest he had? Pfft! Forget it! Not to mention she’s got no passion or fire within her. The little furball she’s got beside her is the one who carries that all for her, I guess.

“Maybe before you try gettin’ into the academy again, you should try a second crack at kindergarten? Hahaha!” That was the Ashi-Grim duo’s first taste of the iconic grin™.

“Grrrr… How dare you!”

“Anyway, I’ve gotta head to class~. Unlike these two janitor losers over here I’ve got places to be. I’ll leave you alone and let’cha get back to picking up some trash.”

Ace still remembers looking over at such a blank face. Just standing there like a statue, watching the situation play out. Nothing about this interaction would’ve hinted to what was in store for him.

“Hey, goody two shoes, maybe loosen up a little, how ‘bout it? You could benefit from some good old insults every once in a while. Take a page outta the weasel’s book here.” The redhead teases one last time before his departure, as he watches the brunette’s eyes lock with his.

“Hehe,” Ashi finally perks up, “I’ll think about it, Acey.” She chimes.

Ace is about to shoot something at her again, until a blaze of blue fire engulfs the area around them. All tension is lost and next thing he knows, he’s battling a literal animal and being sent to wash windows as punishment for the roughhousing. He didn’t sign up for this at all! But after some self reflection, the Ace now would roll his eyes and mutter, “Well, I GUESS it was kinda deserved.” But of course, that would only be because of Ashi. Despite how much of a “bad influence” he is on her, in her own way, his best friend had her own ways of helping Ace improve himself too. They balance eachother out well, and Ace smiles as he thinks this. To make himself feel better? Maybe.

Even still, in the beginning, Ace didn’t really think much about Ashi. He ditched the whole window cleaning ordeal for a reason, you know? And no matter how hard he tried, no amount of pushing her buttons resulted in any sort of snap back, no retorts at all. Bullying her more than Deuce didn’t work either— so he eventually gave up and changed targets. Which I guess was fine, since he had to focus on the stressful situation of the mines.

But at the end of the mage stone obtaining mission, when Ashi caught some time alone with him on the walk back as Deuce and Grim walked ahead, Ace figured that she just wanted a piece of him. He can’t blame her, honestly, so he decided to give her what she wanted and talked to her casually for a while. He thought one last time, adding some spice into the conversation, to joke around.

“You were reaaaally scared back in that dark and spooky house, weren’tcha?” Ace teases, giving Ashi that signature grin once again, “The cave too, to boot. What are you, actually scared of the dark or something?”

He catches Ashi’s attention, and she looks at him, offended, “Aaand? I totally did it still, you know! Give credit where credit’s due, Acey!”

“Still means you’re a baby.”

“Hmph.” Ashi huffs in response, pouting a little, “…At least I manned up and made a plan instead of arguing like an idiot with the others.”

An actual comeback? For real? Ace didn’t think she had it in her!

The ginger’s lips curl up into an even bigger grin as he pokes the bear a little more, “And who did the execution, huh? Without me, you wouldn’t have even gotten to go through with your plan!”

“I could say that about Deucey. He definitely deserves more credit than you do anyway.”

“Ha! As if. Juice over here barely did anything.”

“Either way, neither of you would’ve come out of this successfully without me,” Ashi sighs, fed up with Ace’s behavior, “What’s your brawn worth if you don’t think about how to use it?”

“Offense over defense, baby!”

“Exactly why you would’ve failed without me!” Ashi snaps at him, immediately realizing how much she’s allowed Ace to wind her up right after. She internally scolds herself for acting out, and before Ace can say anything else, she breaks eye contact and changes topics.

Noticing how her body stiffens and her words seem less… slangy than usual, Ace can’t help but ponder about this. This whole entire time, not a single complaint has come out of her lips. Her voice was constantly sing songy throughout the entire nerve-wracking situation, but the way that it climbed up and became more strict and stern at this moment was a complete curveball. A breaking point, perhaps? Not to mention, the sudden way her body closes up and acts like it resets? It’s like she’s being corrected. A light goes off in the instigator’s head.

Huh, Ace thinks. Maybe goody two shoes here isn’t exactly what she’s living up to be.

He barely knows how he got here himself. Something about Ace’s first taste of something outside of Ashi’s whole “peppy good girl” deal was enough of an incentive to pester her more, and more, and more and more and more, only in attempts to see more of that special side of her. And somehow, through some sort of divine intervention, he got closer than anyone could’ve imagined for the guy who’s known for pissing people off.

Closer than anyone else she’s met in Twisted Wonderland has gotten, and based on how she words it, closer than anyone in her home world, even. The fact makes Ace feel bad, but at the same time he can’t help but feel kind of proud. Hell, he doesn’t even understand how people don’t like the real her. The whole good girl act is polite and sweet, sure, but compared to how dynamic and fun the hidden side of her is… Why would you ever think that the shallow 2D side is better than the in-depth 3D side in this scenario?!

If he ever gets there, Ace pledges to beat the hell out of every person who made Ashi think this in her home world. You can count on it.

From there on out, he had to keep his curiosity at a minimum. Though he wanted to keep pushing, he cared for her so much that he didn’t wanna cross her boundaries too far. So he kept it as teases and banters for the time being, because that’s how you keep it light and fun. Such as having sleepovers, just the two of them at Ramshackle.

To say the least, Ace got a little too comfy.

At some point, Ashi would offer him an old sweatshirt she never wears, too oversized for her but perfectly fitting for Ace during the cold nights he would want to visit. At some point, Ace had a secret knock he used at her window after the incident where he had only scared her instead of delightfully surprising her. At some point, Ashi and Ace giggling the night away became the norm for them.

Simple? Yeah, Ace had to admit, it’s just talking the night away with a friend till you both pass out, but it has its charm. Just as they showcase it in movies, the two best friends always hang out under the covers, tell scary stories and laugh excessively due to being way too sleep deprived, having a special bond that no one else would understand, just because they understood each other that well.

Something so simple, and yet something Ashi never got a taste of before.

She never got that close.

So, Ace, being the great friend he is and being the bearer of knowing Ashi’s history of, well, not being too involved in the usual teen activities, he would take it upon himself to go and make a dream come true. His mind begins to wander off way back when, before any of these bestie advancements were a thing. When Ace wouldn’t come out of nowhere, instead making his way through the door, like a normal person. And what better place to propose the idea of Ashi’s very first sleepover than the cafeteria?

“You’re telling me you’ve never had a sleepover. Seriously, Ash? The heck kinda life did you live?” Ace jokes, giving her the most bewildered look as they eat their lunch.

“Eh…” Ashi mumbles about, thinking about it as she takes a bite of her sandwich, “Kinda just the way the cards played out? Dunno, my mom didn’t really get the whole dealio.” Shrugging as if it’s nothing, she looks over at Grim chowing down his food to end the current topic.

Ace looks at her as she finishes talking, and he feels like her smile’s lacking more than it usually does.

“Then why don’t you experience it while you’ve got the right cards?” He shoots back, pulling Ashi back into the conversation, “You know who’s not here? Your mom.” He chuckles a little at his little joke, “Seriously though, take this whole away-from-your-family situation to your advantage!”

“Ace has a point, actually,” Deuce joins the conversation, “For once we agree on something. You’re already in a magic world, what’s one more abnormal thing to experience?”

Ashi blinks a couple times at the pair, before putting her finger to her chin and letting out a hum, “I guess so… Who do I invite, though? Plus, there’s Grimmy I gotta worry about too. This guy’s a drama queen…”

“I need my beauty sleep!” Grim scowls, before getting right back to his tuna. Ace rolls his eyes before he leans across the table, towards Ashi.

“Invite me, duh! Who else is your bestie, Ash?”

She smiles at his attitude, “Mr. Trappola, huuuh?” The brunette takes a comedic amount of time to think about it, “All his complaining miiight keep me up at night… Me and Grim are in the same boat when it comes to the sleep department too~.”

Deuce chuckles, “He really doesn’t shut up. Actually, a sleepover with all of us would be fun, but I have studying to do…”

Grim adds on, “Well I don’t wanna see an ugly face when I wake up!”

Tired of the bashing from the rest of the group, Ace loudly groans, “Then why don’t you take your ugly mug to me and Juice’s dorm while me and Ashi have a sleepover! Problem solved!”

It takes one glance from Deuce for Ace to get the message, “You know, you just sound like you just wanna get alone time with Ashi.”

The redhead glares back, “As if! I just wanna have a sleepover!”

…Only to add a solemn “Back me up, would you?” to it. Deuce gets it and helps him out.

“It would help me actually, Ashi. Take him away from me so I don’t have to worry about getting off track. And Grim can’t be that bad of a roommate, right? He’s just a cat. If he slept the whole time, I think it’d be relaxing if anything.” Deuce adds on, slowly egging on Ashi to decide.

“If you feed me enough tuna!”

The prefect ponders for a second, as her fingers tap once, twice on her chin, “I mean I guess… It’s not like it’s the first time Acey’s stayed over.” Ace pumps his fist in the air, and the other two think he’s being a little too obvious.

“Win! This time, it’ll totally be a proper sleepover. Call me the sleepover master, even! Get ready to not get a wink of sleep tonight, Ash!”

Ashi giggles in response before the bell rings and everyone scatters once again.

Later that night, Ace appears at the door of Ramshackle once he gets word that Grim has taken his place as Deuce’s roommate. He knows that Ashi’s scared of being alone in the dark, so of course he rushes over as fast as he can. Not because he wants to. It’s just what a decent person would do. It’s nothing to give him a weird look about. Right?

A few knocks and he’s let inside, and it’s not like anything has changed much. The dorm is the same old dusty and dainty place it’s always been, except this time he’ll be spending his time in an actual bed. No, it’s not because he’s asked all those previous times that Ashi finally caved in and let him get what he wants. It’s because now they’re just close enough that it’s chill. There’s no other reasoning further than that. Right?

Because he and Ashi are just best friends. He’s not here because he wants to have alone time with her! Ace just wants to see his best friend happy, able to experience all the things she hasn’t. Because that’s what good friends do.

…Right?

Okay, maybe Ace did get a little sidetracked from his main mission now that he thinks about it. The whole idea of being alone with Ashi planted a seed in his head, he admits it, but how could you blame him, honestly? None of that means that he didn’t get what he originally wanted, though. Two birds with one stone! He wins either way!

Still, it’s a night filled to the brim with snarky comments and blissful laughter, and while certain housewardens wouldn’t allow staying up this late, Ace decides that the lack of sleep is worth it. A sleepy Ashi is always cute, cuter than usual, and it’s an evening of rare sights. They’re both laying down all across the bed, staring at the blank ceilings and watching the cobwebs the prefect hates sway with the breeze of the bedroom. It’s calm, and neither of them are thinking about what they’re saying. The norm for one and an uncommon occurrence for the other.

“So how’d your first sleepover go?” Ace mutters, tiredness hitting them both. It’s dim within the room, and it’s thanks to Ashi’s nightlight that they can even take in this atmosphere at all.

“It was pretty hypesies.” Ashi replies back, and it’s a simple exchange. ‘Till she speaks up again after a while, and Ace is surprised at her different tone of voice.

“…Thanks, Acey.”

“Eh? Sounded pretty serious there, Ash.”

“That’s ‘cause I am!”

Ace faintly laughs, “Yeah, yeah. No problem.”

“Really though. I’m pretty sure you’re not as dumb as you look, so you probably caught on already,” Ace’s eyebrows suddenly jump in surprise at the sudden change in character, and Ashi proceeds, “I’m not really used to being this buddy buddy with people, even chicks— And like, it just means a lot to me that you even volunteered to do this with me in the first place. It makes me real happies to call you my bestie, you know?

I like that you’re honest. It makes me feel comfies. I can kinda be more like myself, somethin’ like that? And…” her voice quiets down before she says anything else. Which is somehow both a good and bad thing for Ace.

They both soak in the moment, and Ace’s cheeks feel like they’re burning up just a little. This is probably the most genuine reaction he’s gotten out of her— But at the same time, it’s completely unfair how she’s simultaneously making this seem so casual and yet so impactful.

His train of thought quickly fades away as a small, weak laugh from Ashi breaks through, “Sorries, I got too serious there. You might as well call me Riddle or something at this point,” she murmurs, her voice not quite carrying the energy she intended, “Probs ‘cause it’s past my bedtime.”

Ace hears her sit up a little, and he still stares at the ceiling blankly as he hears the crinkles and turning of the blankets along the bed. His next words practically come out of thin air, cheeks still feeling warm.

“You really should talk more, Ashi.”

The noises he hears suddenly pause, and after a quaint moment of silence, he hears a relieved exhale from the other side of the bed.

“…Thanks, Acey.”

It’s then that Ace wonders if it’s not just his cheeks that are hotter than usual at that moment.

From there on out, Ace feels both better and worse about himself. Because, man, his chest begins to feel kinda weird when he sees her. He swears she’s gotten prettier somehow, but at the same time, he also feels proud that he’s Ashi’s special person— she basically said it herself, y’know? Part of him wonders if this is the farthest he’s gonna get. Both as a friend and, well, maybe more.

So he waits days on end, they have their sleepovers more and more often, and hell, they get to a point where they have sleepovers every day. Ah yeah, the VDC days, amirite?

In his head, Ace thinks that this “era” of “AshAce” (name made by him, proof is in his alchemy notebook) is an era in which their relationship deepened even further.

There’s multiple points and examples he could give, and he’d tell you about ‘em and brag all day if he could. But the most vivid memory for Ace, apart from the one he forcibly tried to forget out of embarrassment, has gotta be when he really saw Ashi speak her mind.

He remembers the rain pittering and pattering outside when he went to go and get a drink. It was a cool night, after everyone was done and exhausted from practice, so he figured the one who’s all “I need my beauty sleep!”, especially, was asleep. Well, until he saw a figure outside and flipped the freak out— Alas, it was just Ashi, but he found it to be pretty out of character for her. She’s notorious for being horrible at dressing herself for the cold, and he’s sure Vil would bark her head off if she got sick before their performance. Ace’s neck still aches in memory of all the times he’s been collared, and he knows that pain of being yelled at by a housewarden all too well. Knowing Ashi? She wouldn’t be able to handle that kind of discipline. So why’s she out there in the first place?

He makes his way outside to investigate, and knocks a couple times on the doorframe, same pattern as he would when stepping through her window. Ashi’s frame jumps in surprise, and she quickly turns around, body stiff and drops of rain across her skin.

“Oh, it’s just you, Acey.”

“You aren’t looking too hot. What’re you even doing out here?”

“Ah…” Her tone of voice trails off, and ends off with a sneeze. Not a good sign.

The boy lets out a somewhat disappointed sigh as he sits down next to her, aware of the sketchbook on the porch as she keeps to herself. Based on the way there’s endless scribbles and several notes floating around the halfway finished sketches, contrasting against the blissful, one-take doodles in class, Ace puts the pieces together and concludes that maybe he’ll stay quiet just this once, the best he can. To prevent himself from getting any more tuckered out, and to prevent Ashi clamming up again.

He doesn’t like oysters, and clams sure aren’t that different in this scenario.

Now that he’s got a better look at her though, Ashi doesn’t seem to be very warm. The rainy ambience gave everything a downer mood, and her lack of a dry jacket is concerning. Her cheeks are wet too; but Ace can’t tell if that’s a byproduct of the weather or her own emotions.

“You don’t wanna get sick, do you? Vil’s never gonna let you hear the end of it.” Ace mutters, as he takes his own NRC blazer and drapes it across Ashi’s shoulders. She gives a faint smile, one saying thanks, before it fades away once again.

“You know me~. Not good with cold weather.”

“You’re even worse with discipline.”

“Fairs.” Ashi sighs, her voice quavering a little. The vibes in the air aren’t it, as Ashi would usually say, and I guess that’s something to apologize for for her.

“Sorry,” she says. It’s a quick mutter, but Ace hears it. And he hears her act unravel further and further, feeling his own heart drop and drop.

Hesitant, she continues, “I’m— I think I’m too tired to keep anything up at this point. There’s been so many issues going on and with managing and performing in VDC and feeling homesick I can’t even look anyone in the face right now. I’m so worried that my smile doesn’t live up to what it usually does, and I’m worried that everyone’s gonna notice and it’s all gonna go to ruins and the whole process of learning the dance and song is gonna get so— so… I don’t know!

I wanna perform. I want to learn from the others, but I don’t want to show them an Ashi that they’ll be annoyed with or make them think she isn’t what she’s lived up to be. I just can’t muster up the courage to push the act, so I end up spiraling down and isolating myself which is so not it for a cooperative project like this. Even if I do show up, the heck are the odds that they’ll be satisfied with such a half-assed act. It’s so hard to keep up.”

And now I’m showing you all of this stuff that I don’t want you to see and it’s embarrassing. It’s… I’m sorry, Ace. I’m sorry.”

Her confession finally comes to an end, and Ashi falls into silence. Meanwhile, Ace’s response is said so quickly— It doesn’t even seem like he’s keeping up with his own words.

“Ashi, seriously, you know I really don’t care, right?”

“…Huh?”

“Actually. I don’t care at all. I can’t speak for everyone else, but I don’t give a care in the world if you’re crying on my shoulder or laughing and doodling on my paper in class,” a breathy laugh follows suit, “Great Seven, honestly, when are you gonna realize that?”

The way Ace’s words just fall out of his mouth make him feel like he’s being too honest and brash again, and he doesn’t want to hurt Ashi in any way. He stops himself for a second before looking at the brunette’s expression, delicate and yet invested. It’s not anything ordinary, and maybe someone would find it weird coming from her. But if anything, Ace is an honest man. Both of them know this.

“You… Man. You know how I said you should talk more? That still holds up. You should think less, if anything. You overthink all these things, and you’re so people pleaser about it. Like— C’mon! You know I’ve got your back. You don’t have to be so cautious and scared of things.”

Ashi can barely process his words.

“Just know that I…”

Ace pauses.

“I… care for you. A lot.”

The silence that follows after is awkward, sure. Two frozen figures under the thin overhead of Ramshackle dorm, and Ace feels like he’s fumbled his words. The one time he hesitates.

Yet, one more raindrop falls to the floor, breaking the silence. And after that, one, two, three follow pursuit.

She doesn’t say anything, and yet Ace hears so much. Offering her his shoulder, they spend just a while longer together, soaking in the moment. Ace doesn’t mind the tears soaking into his clothing. Because if it results in Ashi’s true, sunny smile shining his way, he doesn’t mind. He doesn’t mind at all.

Of course, not without some lighthearted teasing.

It’s a bittersweet memory, Ace notes as he reminisces. A memory of many, but definitely one of the highlights, he thinks. Like he said, a pretty core point in their relationship, and an eye opener as to how Ashi works.

…He could even say it helped soothe his own insecurities too.

Ace would consider himself brash, assertive, and I guess in some cases, insensitive of other’s feelings. Other people think that too. It’s part of who he is, the troublemaking prankster he is. It’s a double edged sword. Sometimes people complain about your attitude and think you’re a dick, or sometimes people actually think you’re doing something good on a rare occasion.

While this kind of attitude could totally get you out of sticky scenarios, sometimes Ace’s heart hurts at the way people climb up before him. He did it to himself, really— I mean, he’s gained a reputation and at an expense, he just so happened to lose the chance of hearing some praise. The troublemaker gets something done? At least he’s actually done something. The good guy does it? Everyone’s cheering him on.

It stings a little.

It’s just the way he is, he knows it. He tells himself this again and again. He’s proud of it, but it’s hard to feel like he’s really accomplished something when people treat him the way they do. When he feels like he’s falling behind, all he can do is give snarky remarks to the people above him. He doesn’t do anything. He doesn’t gain anything.

But the rainy clouds fade away when Ashi’s near him, able to put all her trust in his care and see him as something better than a guy who’ll mess things up. She sees him as her knight in shining armor, and Ace’s heart heals.

To be someone people want to be around, and to have people see you for your true self without berating you because of it.

It’s something they both want. Something they both have, now that they’re together. Ace doesn’t wanna let that go. Not for one second.

These memories and thoughts with the girl he really loves are what Ace has to repeat in his mind, over and over and over again in this moment. Because when he’s standing in their little Heartslabyul hideout, the mood perfect and warm just like those paintings Ashi gushes about, voice clear and his back straight, he needs all the evidence he has.

He’s ready to take a shot at making this last forever.

Though, despite how determined he is, it’s not like he’s acting like his palms aren’t insanely sweaty right now. It’s lowkey embarrassing at how riled up he is about this.

Even in his basketball matches, he isn’t this nervous. But maybe it’s ‘cause Ashi isn’t cheering him on now that he’s really feeling the pressure? His thoughts wander and wander… couldn’t she get here sooner?

Jeez, how do you talk to girls again?

Ace has had a girlfriend before. He knows how to treat girls, but this opportunity is so much more stressful. Ashi’s not just a shot at a possible girlfriend for fun. He’s surprised himself if he’s being real about it, that he’s even this serious about them.

He didn’t intend for it to end up this way. To be friends, to best friends, to falling for one another and now, risking it all away in attempts to, what, kiss her? I guess it would be worth it. Wait— maybe he shouldn’t get too cocky about it. But doesn’t Ashi love him because he’s cocky? Wait a minute! Who said she even liked him like that in the first place?!

The redhead groans a little as he throws his head back. His last get-a-girl operation compared to this is insane. From boring stupid love to serious I-love-you-for-real love? Did Ashi really impact him this badly? Did her hopeless romantic disease spread to him too?! At this point, Ace doesn’t know if the break they spent apart while Ashi was off fighting Idia helped him calm down his feelings or make them more prominent.

He wallows in his thoughts a little longer, the doubt slowly consuming him, before a small noise of footsteps make their way towards him, causing him to straighten up. A patch of leaves open up, and Ashi waves through, catching Ace with somewhat of a goofy smile on his face.

Gosh, she really is pretty.

The nervous boy stands and waits for her to make her way towards him, and Ashi looks around the garden. Someone spruced it up, for sure. Starting out as just a simple hideout for Ace when he tried stalling from getting collared by Riddle, and turning into a hangout space for the two of them, Ashi never would’ve thought she’d see it in its full glory like this. Some cute fairy lights, treats on the small table, and even considering her fear of the dark, something about the atmosphere here still makes her feel delighted. It’s nice, but it obviously gives the suspicion that something’s gonna happen.

While she’s stuck enjoying the scenery, Ace can’t help but feel his smile getting even goofier as he watches her. The smile that shines through as she looks over at him tells Ace that he’s gotten successful with the first part.

“Ahaha. Acey, everything’s so bedazzled. What’s happening?” Ashi jokes, her voice chiming through the nighttime breeze. The redhead chuckles a little, before stepping another step closer.

“Just got something to tell you. It’s not a bad joke this time, I swear,” Ace comments, trying to keep the mood light, “So I tried getting the vibes to translate through this and that. Artsy, right? You proud?��� He gives a snarky smile, gaining a laugh from the brunette.

“Yeah yeah~. So what is it?” Ashi tilts her head, awaiting for the big reveal. Ace gulps, before going on ahead. Just like he planned.

“Listen, I know that we haven’t really gotten time to spend with eachother since the end of VDC, but the whole break while you were gone… It got me to think about some stuff.” He starts off, focusing on the way Ashi’s expression changes along the way, “It made me really think of all the stuff we’ve been through, together, and I couldn’t help but keep thinking about how close we’ve gotten since you got here.

And NRC is filled to the brim with guys. Heck, some of them even have crushes on you. But…” Ace exhales, his heartbeat quickening as he starts to forget his lines. But in proper Trappola fashion, he bounces back and decides to go with his gut.

Brows furrowed as he clasps Ashi’s hands in his and pulls it to his chest, he spills his heart out to her.

“But none of those guys, and I mean none of them deserve you! You deserve someone you can laugh and cry with. Someone who won’t hate on you for showing something a little weaker than a big grin. Like me.

No matter what, even if we ever butt heads, you know I’ll always set it straight. Heck— I don’t even know how much time you have left in Twisted Wonderland— and I don’t know how much time we have left together. But none of that matters.

Because, Ashi— I love you.

I love you and I want to spend every single second with you. As something more than friends. Something where I can give you all the love you deserve, and you don’t have to be scared.

So please, just answer me.

Will you let me?”

The stars shine in Ashi’s eyes as she processes Ace’s words, and he feels his heart beating out of his chest. The tension is insane, and he can’t do anything but watch her for any sign of a reaction.

Stars, dancing in her eyes as they tear up and shine, her cheeks being painted a rosy red, and her shining smile falling into a soft one.

“Ace…”

“I love you, Ash.”

She laughs as her face faces downwards, hair falling over her eyes, “You idiot…” she mutters, before looking Ace in the eyes once again.

“I love you too. A lot.” Ashi confesses back, voice choking up a little as she laughs again. Again and again. It’s music to Ace’s ears, and he can't help but find himself laughing along as he picks her up and hugs her like it was her last. The two simmer in their emotions for a while, tears and jolly laughter transforming the atmosphere into a lovely and bright scene.

This is another memory to mark down, Ace subconsciously thinks as he holds Ashi in his arms, one to look back on again and again.

And he can’t wait to make even more memories from here on out.

[rentenwins]

hold your horse(s) (prince!gyuvin x reader)

synopsis: crown prince kim gyuvin was extremely friendly! (though his horse might not be). little horse riding afternoon with the crown prince on your time off. absolutely nothing could go wrong!

content: slice of life, FLUFF!!, banter, yujin cameo, eumppappa jumpscare >:D, reader is gender neutral, mild cussing, lowercase intended

a/n: originally wrote this for @yunextdoor a few months ago, and they convinced me to upload this here cuz ngl it's quite cute :D enjoy!

wc: 1074

“it’s not actually that hard is it?”

gyuvin blinks at you funny. well, he always looks funny.

“… is it?”

he just laughs. “y/n, it’s not,” he pulls the strap of his left boot, “plus you’ll be starting off easy anyway. not going too fast enough to give you whiplash at least.”

gyuvin intended that to be some sort of comfort. but it didn’t work, your face contorted weirdly as you leaned against the fence, waiting for gyuvin to finish preparing.

“wait no that wasn’t supposed to scare you! you’ll be fine! i’m a pro anyway!” he waved his arms dramatically, seeing your terrified expression. “you’ve seen me go around a few times anyway right?”

yeah you ha— wait. the only times you’ve recalled watched him go around was in secret. it would be in the morning, it was cold but you had to get up anyway to run errands in the market to avoid the crowds. you always saw the king’s son in the field, full of energy and smiling as the horse he was on galloped around the field for a warm up. someone was there too, he looked related to him, a bit younger. was it yoon? yui.. jin…

“HAN YUJIN HOLD ON OR YOU’RE GONNA FALL, I DONT NEED NURSE SUNG TO KNOW THIS WAS BECAUSE OF MY INFLUENCE AGAIN!”

“oh they sound so happy.” you thought. there was something so oddly comforting seeing friends? family? being so close. insults that held no venom but was a secret language for care and love. you could tell from the older boy’s face, you eventually learned his name was kim gyuvin, that he was charming. not in the way that was conventionally handsome per say, but it was the uniqueness is his smile and friendly eyes.

after weeks of watching him in secret, and new duties in the stable whilst one of the groundsmen fell sick, gyuvin decided it would be a great idea to make a new friend. yep… friend.

it was odd seeing him up close, and not just a blob in the distance. he was oddly fumbling walking towards his horse, eumppappa, until he reached down to fix his bootstrap. as he stood up, he almost loses his footing with his undone helmet almost flying off his head.

this? this was the prince? how… how oddly refreshing.

“hey, what are you smiling at?” gyuvin grumbles, and borderline pouting.

you waved off your smile. “it’s nothing i swear. now come on, i still have things to do i quite literally don’t have all day.”

gyuvin sighs playfully, putting on his brown, leather gloves. “fine then. why would you even take horse duty? there had to be better  uses of your time around here.”

you blush. god, did you take the job just so you could observe closer? that didn’t seem creepy at all… 

“alright watch and lea— SHIT!”

before you know it you hear a heavy thud, eumppappa shook his head, and trotted off in the other direction. gyuvin groans from the ground clutching his right arm.

you stood still for a second too long before you stooped down to his side.

“oh my god, gyuvin, are you okay? are you hurt? i’ll get you to nurse sung he’d know wha—“

gyuvin’s laugh echoes in your ears. you regain your focus as gyuvin lifted his helmet that fell in front of his face again. his eyes crinkled and his smile was wide. 

“i’m fine! i’m totally fine, that was part of the—ow, plan. that damned horse…”

“your white shirt’s all ruined.” you frowned. he was the prince. knowing his dad, the king’s reaction may not be one you anticipate.

“y/n, seriously. it’s fine. my dad can scold me as his son, not the prince. i’m not actually on duty, right? so he technically can’t even scold me that bad.” he chuckles to himself, yet something in his eyes know that conversation won’t end well either.

you break out into a smile and a small laugh. suddenly you realise, the position you guys are in. gyuvin sat on the dirt, while you knelt next to him, your hand clutching a piece of his white sleeve not touching his body, but his hand was right next to yours on the muddy ground. you start to pull away, but he takes your hand before you could. 

he attempts to pull himself up, but you lose your footing too. thankfully, you don’t face-plant into the dirt. your face lands flush his chest and his hands come on your back to prevent you from falling off of him.

you spend a few seconds to catch your breath, raising your head slightly but not too high because god forbid he sees your impossibly red face.

“are… are you alright?” gyuvin’s voice is low and a bit strained, maybe due to your weight on his chest, maybe a bit from embarrassment too.

you don’t say anything as you scramble to get up, then you actually offer a hand to help him up, cringing as he wiped his dirty hand onto his ‘white’ shirt. you step back and straighten your own pants, though not as dirty as gyuvin’s. you felt bad for his clothes.

he coughs awkwardly and smiles your way. 

“you really have to be careful, gyuvin.”

“well… seeing as how that ended up, i kind of don’t want to next time.” he mumbles

“sorry i didn’t catch that?” you say confusingly.

“o-oh uh nothing, nothing, yeah i’ll be careful. but you have to be careful too!”

you break a small smile. “alright, we should get cleaned up before our clothes fully dry, it’s easier for me to clean it anyway.”

gyuvin looks at you apologetically, but your eyes say ‘don’t worry’.

“h-hey,” he stammered. stammered? since when did the kim gyuvin stammer? “surely, let’s try this again later. eumppappa would be in a mood for the rest of the day because of this. but it’s up to you! i know you’re busy and everything—“

“gyuvin.” you stop his blabbering.

“yeah?” he looks at you dumbly. cute.

“i’ll see you on friday same time okay? this time with… less dirty hopefully.” he smiles out of relief at your words. your heart leaps and speeds up unintentionally. the cool kim gyuvin you saw from afar just a few weeks ago was gone. in front of you was a silly, charming prince. this was gonna be fun.

[backhurtyy]

hi hi hi!!!

maybe “a man could hold the weight of worlds, but he could never carry the love i have for you.” + figayda??? 👀

or “you can’t scare me like that” + any lotr pairing you think fits??

i want to come back to the figayda but my brain LEAPT at the second prompt so... poking my head out of the ground like what would you say if i said boromir and aragorn should kiss a little bit? under the cut because in typical me fashion i cannot shut up

For a long time - too long - Aragorn knows nothing but fear and desperation and the slick feeling of Boromir's blood coating his hands. It's only the faintest flutter of Boromir's heartbeat, soft beneath Aragorn's shaking fingertips, that keeps him from completely giving into despair. Only his heartbeat, however weak it is, that gives Aragorn enough strength to choke out an urgent plea for athelas, Legolas, please, whatever you can find-

Legolas has never once let him down in all the decades they've known each other, and now is no different. He returns moments later with the weed in his hands and swiftly gets to work making the poultice, Aragorn and Gimli staunching the blood flow around the arrows with their hands the best they can.

Finally, after too many too long minutes, Legolas falls to his knees next to Boromir's body and gives the poultice to Aragorn, pressing his hands to the wound instead. "It's ready. We'll start with the wound closest to his heart, then move to the stomach, then the shoulder."

Aragorn nods, and gives Legolas the order to pull his hands from Boromir's chest. They work quickly, in unspoken unison. Gimli snaps and removes the arrow, Aragorn smears the poultice over Boromir's wound, and Legolas bandages it with whatever he can find before they move on to the next. Aragorn has to tear his shirt for the final wound on Boromir's shoulder, ripping away what little clean fabric remains, but it doesn't matter.

If it's the difference between Boromir living and dying, it doesn't matter.

Once they're sure the worst of the blood flow has been stemmed by the poultice, Legolas and Gimli slip away to wash the blood off their hands and clothes. Aragorn, though, doesn't dare move. Not so long as Boromir's heartbeat is too weak, not so long as his breathing is too shallow, not so long as his face is too pale, not so long as his life hangs in the balance.

Even once they return and the sun has long since set, all he can do is sit there with his knees digging into the forest floor, his hand gripping Boromir's tight, and his eyes fixed on his face.

"Aragorn," Legolas says behind him eventually. "You should rest. I will watch over him."

"I cannot leave him. I will not."

He doesn't tear his eyes away from Boromir's face - he thinks perhaps color is returning to it, but it could just be a trick of the fire - even as Legolas sits next to him. "I didn't realize you cared for him so."

Aragorn laughs through his nose, short and humorless. He hadn't either. Not until he saw the arrows buried in Boromir's broad chest, not until he pressed a kiss to Boromir's strong brow, not until he thought about entering Gondor without Boromir at his side and realized he couldn't even fathom it.

He didn't know when it happened. Didn't know when the aching in his heart had begun to be soothed only by Boromir's presence. All he knew was that he needed him. He needed the Steward - his Steward - with his sword and his strength and his good heart, no matter how the ring tried to change that. He couldn't bear taking the crown if Boromir was not there by his side, friend and companion and partner all at once.

"I didn't either," he finally answers Legolas. "But I do, and I can't leave him until I know he will live."

"I understand," Legolas says, a small smile in his voice. "I'll keep watch, then."

And then he slips away into the darkness, no doubt leaping up into the trees so that he may see even further, and leaves Aragorn to maintain his vigil.

He leans his head down, resting his forehead over Boromir's heart - still too faint, but getting stronger - and whispers, "Come back to me. Please, meleth nin, do not leave me."

He goes quiet, then, and watches Boromir's face through the night.

And finally, when the sun has just begun to rise, he watches Boromir's eyes flutter open as he takes a shuddering breath. Aragorn's heart leaps.

"Boromir," he whispers, leaning over so he may see him. "Don't move too much, your wounds are deep."

"My king," he says. His voice is weak, but his lips curl into a smile. "I did not expect to see your face again. It is a welcome sight indeed."

"Yes, well. I couldn't let you swear yourself to me and then abandon me," Aragorn says, unable to stop himself from smiling in return. "And I do not wish to walk through the gates of Minas Tirith if you are not beside me." The smile slips from his face and he grips Boromir's hand even tighter. "You cannot scare me like that, Boromir. I... If Legolas had not found athelas for me, I don't know what I would've done."

"You would have gone to Gondor and claimed your throne," Boromir responds with surprising conviction. "You are not so weak as to be torn apart by the loss of one man."

"Perhaps you think too highly of me, me-" He stops himself. "My friend. Your loss... I would have lost myself, too."

"I do not believe you," Boromir insists, "but I am glad we don't have to find out who is right. I am here. You saved me."

"Yes," Aragorn says, and cannot stop his free hand from drifting up to cup Boromir's handsome face. "Yes, you are here."

Boromir turns his head carefully to press a hesitant kiss to Aragorn's palm, though his eyes never leave Aragorn's. "My king. My captain... My beloved."

Aragorn's heart cleaves in two.

This time, when he leans down to kiss Boromir, it is to kiss his lips.