#they drew shoes i am proud

[brainrot-stitch]

Making fits in adopt me and then they become characters which I then draw part 1

Silly goose :3

[jesswritesthat]

Atsumu Miya: Second Choice

Fandom: Haikyuu!! — [ Masterlist ]

Summary: ~2.2k, fluff

• You were never first choice, so it comes as a surprise when he notices your presence before anyone else.

Warnings: None

>>>>——————————>

It was always the same, you'd watched as people flocked to beauty, straight past you every time. In reality when you became friends with Sachiko it was because she had a great personality, you couldn't have possibly predicted she'd become the most beautiful and popular girl in school by the time you'd reached Inarizaki High.

Regardless of her sparkling status, she remained your best friend and you'd usually be found together throughout the school premises along with anyone else who joined you at the start of first year.

When the Volleyball team grew more intoxicating, it was Sachiko who'd excitedly dragged you along to one of their home training matches. It's where you first laid eyes upon the famous Miya twins, a vicious team of spiker and setter with a serve worthy of award among them. Already they had personal fans and the cheer squad screaming their praises, you're surprised they didn't get mauled in the hallways.

Now you'd seen them, you recognised them in school and they apparently had space to breathe aside from the odd confession here and there. You'd regularly seen that with Sachiko though, she'd often be either pulled to the side or you'd bear witness to some lovestruck soul gushing their heart out for her.

It was humbling in a way, you were the one who goes unnoticed but notices everything. Including if feelings were reciprocated, and you're certain you deducted gossip before it even became that, you'd been getting accurate in predicting things lately. However, you never predicted one of them to notice you.

Especially him.

"Hey, ya in one of my classes right?" In honesty you didn't even realise it was you this voice was addressing since Sachiko lingered by your side, not until a careful tap drew your attention to the blonde twin rather than your locker.

"Huh? Oh I think so, it hasn't been long enough to learn everyone's name yet. You're the volleyball player though."

"Ah, have ya seen me play? Like it?" His head tilted in curiosity, proud smirk upon his lips.

"You were really good, you have great form when you serve." With that you nodded to him, slipping on your shoes and walking off with your best friend quickly following in tow.

"Woah— wait up!" You didn't even look back in the swarm of leaving students. "I didn't get yer name..."

———

It wasn't until a week or so later did he 'confidently' interact with you again, this time his call far more effective in hailing your attention.

"(L/n) (Y/n)!"

Immediately you spun to the origin, finding none other than Miya Atsumu dodging a group of fangirls rather effortlessly on his way to you.

"You know my name."

"Yeah 'course. You know who I am so it's only fair." It was surefire charisma, one you'd soon extinguish.

"Miya Osamu isn't it?"

"Ye—Hey?! YA GOTTA BE KIDDIN'!"

"'Tsumu shut ya mouth!" The namesake twin glared harshly at his counterpart, quickly flashing a calmer look when you'd addressed him.

"Ah, hey Miya-san. I apologise, that was my fault for winding your brother up."

"Dumbass has control of his own mouth." Osamu politely assured, meanwhile Atsumu reclaimed your peripheral with a childish pout.

"So ya knew ma name all along and decided to be freakin' mean about it? On our second meetin' too."

"I couldn't resist, you're so cute when you're mad."

"I'm— oh ya think I'm cute?" Atsumu stammered slightly, your smirk only widening upon noting the crimson tips of his ears. Honesty leaving your lips soon after.

"I think you're both handsome, as does a majority of the school body. See you Miya-san and Miy—"

"Call me Atsumu!"

"See you in class, Atsumu." You actually looked back this time, an unfamiliar and unexpected feeling flourishing within you.

———

Part of you wandered if it’d be different this time, maybe you’d found someone who was there for you and not Sachiko. Just this once. You’d spoken more in class, studied together, traded snacks, and genuinely became friends over the course of two months.

Ironically it was the same blonde who tugged you from your reverie at the your locker where you’d first spoken.

"Yer friends with Sachiko aren't ya?"

This was it, the moment you realised he was just like all others and for the first time in a long while, you were truly disappointed.

"Yes I am, and she is amazing."

"I'm aware, could ya introduce me?" He’d spoked so casually, completely unawares of the charade you donned.

"What? Too scared to introduce yourself?" Atsumu was taken aback by your mockery, smirk growing as you persisted. "She doesn't bite y'know, that's my job."

This was the second time you'd left him speechless, slamming your locker door and disappearing into the halls with a wave.

From then on you'd see them happily talking to one another, it was hard seeing them together, amusing considering you'd only known the blonde not even half the year, yet you'd liked him more than you considered possible.

The first time you'd walked into the classroom finding the pair conversing at her desk, it was like Atsumu was desperately trying to convince her of something. It was only for a brief moment but when the setter turned to see you with a suddenly concerned look, you realised you hadn't worn a facade. You were meant to smile, instead you must've looked saddened - briskly you offered a weak smirk, and span to leave the room with additional flare as to minimise suspicion.

You’d only made it three steps down the hallway when a grasp on your wrist limited your escape.

"Hey you okay?"

"Yes? Why wouldn't I be?" Came your upbeat response, even if he portrayed a careful worrisome look on his handsome features.

"Ya... ya looked upset."

"Really? Are you sure?"

"I'm observant y'know, gotta be fer volleyball so yeah, I noticed your little slip." He was more forward this time, gesturing to you with a tilt of his head - even if he was head over heels for Sacchan, at least he still genuinely cared about you.

"It's nothing, just realised I've got a test today and that's depressing enough." You thought it was acceptably convincing, though the calculating gaze he'd locked onto yours made you reconsider.

“(Y/n) I know I can be annoyin’ but I’ll do anything I can to help y—“

“I’m fine.” You instantly corrected, reaffirmation following. “I’m fine, Atsumu.”

A gentle pat on his chest told him not to worry, and the nod you gave said you wanted to be alone. So, he let you walk away, your wrist slipping from his grip.

———

Even weirder than the smitten pair hanging out was that your conversations with Sachiko seemed to revolve around him too. Which by your deductions, meant he’d certainly made more of an impression on her than anyone else recently. Maybe Atsumu really had a shot with her…

"Atsumu is so hot isn't he?"

"I guess he keeps in shape, he has to if he wants to improve his skills."

"Uh yes... his hair suits him though, brings out the colour of his eyes~" She gleamed, searching for your reaction and once more her face dramatically dropped at the deadpan reply.

"Makes him easier to differentiate from Osamu."

"True, but I'm asking if you find him attractive?!" Her impatience had gotten the better of her, voice raised slightly out of desperation.

"Isn't that a question you should ask yourself? I haven't heard you go on about a boy this much since middle school." You quipped, raising a quizzical brow at her.

"It's not like th—"

"Oh hey! Sachiko, (Y/n), you wanna come to practice today?" Atsumus’ hollering tone interrupted the conversation, the blonde strolling into your classroom like he belonged there.

"Yes, we'd love to." Sachiko of course was ecstatic to agree, why would she say no since he’s ’so attractive’. Yourself on the other hand had replicated the Thor meme perfectly…

"Would we though?"

"Yeah ya would! C'mon~" You hadn't the chance to protest further when Atsumus' hands clamped your shoulders steering you in the direction of the gymnasium with a giggling Sachiko skipping behind.

———

When Atsumu had asked you to meet him after school before practice started toward the end of the year, you expected something food related or about homework answers, not whatever this was.

Here he stood, flowers in hand and apparently a homemade bento box offered to you with a growing blush painting his handsome features and an aura of flustering about him which was unusual in itself.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm— isn't it obvious?!"

"I have literally no idea what's going through your thick skull, Sachiko will like the flowers though." You answered honestly, crossing your arms.

"They're not for her!"

"Oh... Suna...?"

Atsumus brows furrowed at your wit, shaking his head with a huff.

"Alright ya got me, they're for Sachiko. Yer gonna deliver them since yer her best friend. Thanks and make sure ya eat some of the bento 'cuz there's stuff yer will like in it. Later!" He basically threw the flowers at you and pushed the bento box into your chest prior to storming toward the exit.

You stood dumbfounded, flicking between the two items when he placed his forehead against the door with a defeated sigh and spun on his heel.

“Go! Go on, the team are here and I don’t want ya getting hit with a face full of leather and petals.” He’d stubbornly commented, ushering you out of the gym.

Still, you shouldered your sadness, wearing false confidence like your favourite outfit as you went to find your friend (completely oblivious to the embarrassed mess whining to his teammates inside).

Sachiko squealed when she saw you, leaving her work unattended and rushing to your side admiring your haul.

"It finally happened! Oh my goodness!"

"Yeah yeah, blondie came through congratulations." You boredly spoke, placing the items down whilst she basically vibrated with pure joy.

"Congratulations indeed! Are you happy?"

"Eh. He did say we should share the lunch."

"That's... weird?" Sachikos’ prior energy disappeared as she looked to you in confusion.

"I know, that's what I thought. Apparently there's things I like in it."

"Well obviously. Atsumu made it for you."

"No, he made it for you."

A moment of silence passed, yourself and Sachiko locked in a puzzled stare off.

"Nah, let's be honest, Osamu probably made it~" You dismissively waved your hand once placing the items on her desk, although it was only you who found humour in the situation.

"No (Y/n) I'm serious! Atsumu has been asking me about you and your preferences for months and I've been super excited about it. He even wanted me to find out if you liked him or not —of course IF I found out, I would've kept it to myself— but he really likes you."

"I thought he was into you, I mean everyone is into you." You adamantly justified, as if it explained everything but Sachiko was just as passionate.

"Not him, why do you think he keeps asking you to practices or bugging you every 5 minutes?"

"To get close to you? I don't know."

"No! To get close to you!"

Widened eyes and a look of pure shock told Sachiko her words had finally resonated with you, the truth burned brightly and she could only smile as you ran.

Abandoned were the flowers as you dashed through the halls and came to a skidding halt before the gymnasium - fingertips hesitantly pausing against the door upon hearing Atsumus' cursing whines.

"I didn't even get to say! They just ran off to Sachiko!"

“Ya literally said ‘Go’.” Osamus voice maybe?

“Yeah well, I don’t ever wanna walk away from (Y/n), but it feels like they’re always walking away from me…” Atsumu trailed off, more emotion than you thought lacing his words.

"Maybe ya shouldn't have lied?" That was definitely Arans’ blunt advisory tone.

"I had no choice! They were lookin' at me with their stupid pretty eyes and askin' if it was for Sacchan and I didn't wanna disappoint 'em."

"Yer an idiot." Osamu gladly highlighted, the perfect moment to walk in and make your presence known you decided.

"I know! But—"

"Atsumu?" At the sound of your call, the entity of the team turned in your direction, the setter being the first to respond.

"Huh?! (Y/n) what are you doing here?"

Osamu and the rest of Inarizaki seemed to understand the underlying tension and were quick to evacuate the area.

"I came to tell you that Sachiko liked the flowers." You awkwardly started, Atsumu running fingers through his hair with a quiet voice.

"Oh, right."

"As did I, and I think I'd like to get you something in return."

"Eh?"

"She told me what was going on." You filled in, hands behind your back fiddling with your fingers.

"She's lying! I do not like you at all, let alone find you attractive or anything!"

Much like you predicted, he'd jumped to conclusions and had inadvertently dropped himself in it and exposed the truth Sachiko had enclosed which earned your witty reply.

"Funny, I never mentioned anything about liking me. That’s good to know~"

"Wait— then what?" Atsumu defused, utterly confused and blushing.

"And it's a shame, I was about to confess my feelings for you but I see there's no need since you 'don't like me at all'." You shrugged haphazardly, a hint of sarcasm lacing your tone but it was your statement that revitalised his spark. Enough to abruptly skid in front of you with a commendable justification when you’d started to turn around.

"You still can, nothin' to lose and all that." A half smile was sent to you, hazel eyes meeting yours. “And please, don’t walk away from me this time.”

"I didn’t want— I mean I—“ A wistful sigh escaped you, confession imminent. “I really like you Atsumu, you're both an incredible player and a cool person so I’m glad I got to tell you that.”

“I like ya too (Y/n)! So much, and I feel more confident playing when ya come and watch. Yer smile really hypes me up y’know. If yer up for it, I’d love to spend more time with ya.”

"Yeah, I’d like that."

—

That evening, he’d offered to walk you home and there was still one thing you wanted to say after all that.

“Hey Atsumu?” A hum signified his attention. “Thank you for noticing me."

"Noticing ya?"

"Yeah, I just… I appreciate it."

"No I mean, noticing ya? I haven't noticed anyone else since I met ya."

<——————————<<<<

[ Masterlist ]

[artificial-transmutations]

The wedding getaway

A mile in each other's shoes

"Oh, come on, you can't be serious."

Lance groaned and looked at Lisa, the bride's maid, who in turn didn't appear all that amused either, although for different reasons. She smiled a sweet and poisonous smile as she answered.

"Yes, I am, Lance. Dead serious. Apparently, you have no idea how difficult it is to find a hotel with enough free rooms on a Caribbean island in the middle of spring break."

Before Lance could answer anything, she continued with a sharp voice.

"Or how expensive. So, yes, I'm afraid you have to share your suite with one of the other singles for the duration of your all-inclusive stay. Deal with it."

Lance took a deep breath and fought down the urge to say something very inappropriate. Lisa was probably right, and he wouldn't die from having to share a room with one of the other guests for a few days. He would only go there to sleep, anyway.

"Ok, ok. No need to explode like that. So, who will be my... roommate?"

In an instant, Lisa had a list in her hand and looked at it until she found the name.

"Let's see... that would be Jamal, who also didn't arrive with a date. I trust the two of you know each other?"

"Jamal? Oh god, no! Why do I have to room with the n... with him? Isn't there any other option?"

Lance couldn't believe it. Jamal, really? Of all the guest, he had to endure Jamal?

"No." Lisa said firmly. "And now, if you excuse me, there are a thousand other places I need to be right now. Have fun and try to get along with your roommate, ok? I'm not gonna make any changes."

With a flip of her hair, she walked away.

Lance was fuming as he fingered the keycard to his room. This had to be a bad joke. Jamal and him... Let's say they never got along really well. And ‘never’ was quite a long time for them, actually. They've known each other since kindergarten and didn't get along very well even then, although they had arguably be friends back then. But ever since, their relationship became worse.

It wasn't Lance's fault, of course. That much was certain, he decided, as he drew the card through the door sensor. Jamal was just so...

The door opened and revealed the object of his disdain.

Black.

There was hardly any way to phrase it differently, Jamal had the unmistakable dark skin color of a dirty ... Black man. Lance didn't consider himself a racist, but the fact was that people who weren't white were less civilized, that was just the way it was.

"Lance."

Jamal's voice was just as dark as his skin as he glared at Lance. Unlike Lance, Jamal most definitely was racist. He was proud of his heritage and thought very lowly of Lance, no doubt because of his skin color. If things were allowed to continue like that, people like Lance would surely become even more oppressed by people like Jamal. He closed the door behind him.

"Yes, that's me. Do you have a problem with that?"

He approached the other man like a predator until he stood right in front of him. They were about the same size, and Lance could see the dark wide nostrils of the other guy flare.

"Yes."

Jamal spat the word.

"I do. What are you doing here, you white piece of trash?"

Lance gritted his teeth.

"What are you doing here, you filthy ni-"

Jamal's fist flew before Lance could finish the word and it was only due to the fact that Lance expected the hit that he could dodge and thus avoid having his teeth bashed in. He answered with a quick kick to the balls, and the two men began their brawl.

The fight was short and intense, but neither of them managed to seriously hurt their opponent. At the end, they sat at different sides of the large double bed, breathing heavily.

"Fuck."

Lance spit out a blood drop. Jamal had a surprisingly hard punch.

"Yeah, that about sums it up."

Jamal was massaging his wrist, and Lance guessed that his jaw would bruise pretty badly. He was more than surprised, however, when Jamal offered him his hand to help him up.

"It's no use, Lance. It looks like we're stuck together for the next few days, and I've got better things to do than beat your racist ass every time I go to my room. Truce?"

Lance considered the proposition for a few moments, before he nodded and grabbed the dark hand.

"Truce. At least as long as we're stuck in this room with each other, you fucking monkey."

A moment of silence followed before Jamal got up and went to the bathroom to take a shower. From inside, he mocked Lance again.

"You know, Lance, you really need to learn how to control your racism. I bet the only reason why you're so angry about me is the fact that I have a big dick."

"Oh, shut the fuck up, asshole."

These were going to be a few long days. The wedding wouldn't be for another two days to give everyone time to enjoy themselves a bit. Originally, Lance had looked forward to this opportunity, but now it seemed like these days were going to be more of an ordeal than anything else.

Of course, there was no way he was going to sleep in the same bed as Jamal, and, luckily, Jamal agreed on that without argument and moved his stuff to the couch. They didn't speak a single word to each other this evening, and Jamal left the hotel room shortly after, allowing Lance some time alone. He was still bruised up and dirty from the short fight and took the opportunity to take a shower himself.

The water was somewhat soothing, and slowly, Lance regained his composure. He certainly wouldn't let someone like him spoil his vacation, and perhaps Jamal was right, and it was a good idea to just ignore each other as much as possible. He could live with that.

When he was sufficiently clean and calm, he left the shower and reached for a fresh towel, only to see a small article of clothing fall from the rack.

With some disgust, Lance noticed what it was: A piece of underwear, a pair of boxer briefs to be exact. It was previously worn, and Lance had no doubts who the owner was. Jamal must have forgotten it when he took a shower earlier.

Lance tried to ignore the unwanted textile as much as he could, but his eyes kept returning to it. Truth be told, it wasn't all that small. In fact, especially the pouch area was rather large, and the fabric looked like it had been stretched somewhat. Without really wanting to, Lance had picked up the piece of underwear and inspected it from all sides now. Frustratingly enough, what Jamal had said earlier appeared to be true. If this piece of underwear was any indicator, then Jamal's dick had to be fairly huge.

That only angered Lance further. Who did Jamal think he was, with his stupid large penis, mocking him? Did Jamal think he could impress him with that?

The piece of clothing had a slightly damp feeling to it. Most probably it was because of the steam from two showers, but was that really all? His body acted on autopilot when he brought the foreign item of clothing closer and sniffed. It was a bit musky, that was for sure, but he wasn't quite sure yet. He buried his nose in the front part of the pouch, right where the dick had been before and took another deep breath.

Oh, there it was. Definitely, Jamal's scent was embedded in the fabric, and the smell was stronger now. Lance felt a rush of shame and anger. Did he really smell the underwear of his black temporary roommate? That was disgusting. He was just about to drop the garment, when he noticed something else. His own -rather small- dick stood proudly at attention.

"What?" Lance said out loud? He was hard because of a man’s underwear? No, not just any man’s. Jamal's, his arch enemies if he had any.

No, this had to stop. With a quick motion, Lance pulled the underwear over his legs and left the bathroom.

Only when he pulled on his pants over the baggy and mostly empty cloth that concealed his erection, he took note of what he had done. Why had he put on the thing?! Well, now it was too much of a hassle to change that, he decided and closed his pants, pressing the damp sweaty fabric against his groin.

Luckily, Jamal didn't come back until late in the night, when Lance was already asleep. He half noticed the other man getting settled on the couch, but he was too tired to care.

When Lance woke up the next morning, he was covered in sweat and his boxers were uncomfortably tight. He groaned as the memories of the day before came back. A quick glance confirmed: Yep, the black man was still there, on the couch, and still asleep, as it seemed.

With a throb, his cock demanded attention under the sheets. It had been quite a while since he had woken up with such a severe case of morning wood, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He wasn't alone, after all. He couldn't resist, however, to reach down under his sheets to readjust himself.

Only when he felt the unfamiliar fabric, again somewhat wet, by his own sweat and precum did he fully remember. Right, for some reason, he had put on Jamal's underwear after the shower. And later, when he went to bed, he hadn't fixed his mistake. There was something else, though.

Lance carefully felt the outline of his cock. This wasn't right. The stolen underwear pouch was filled to the brim with a throbbing organ entirely unfamiliar to him. This wasn't his cock! It was much, much too large!

However, every touch on the large piece of flesh felt good, and he couldn't resist stroking the length stealthily, if only a few times. Why did this feel so good? Lance failed to fully suppress a moan, and saw Jamal stir in his sleep. He really had to stop this. Only perhaps one or more stroke.

Were before, when rubbing one off, he often resorted to only using three fingers to stimulate his length due to his tools size. Now, however, he found that his whole hand was unable to fully close around the shaft, and there was a lot of space for his hand to move up and down, too.

He threw Jamal another glance, but the unwanted roommate still seemed to be asleep. Perhaps he could continue just a bit longer, and perhaps pick up some speed...

This time, too, he failed to muffle his moan completely.

"Ahh, fuck, yes..."

He breathed as he pumped the thick organ faster and faster, using his other hand to caress his balls through the underwear, which felt unusually large as well. Not being able to keep it down any longer, he pumped faster and faster, through Jamal's underwear, until, with a loud groan, he shot a generous load into the fabric.

Lance saw stars for a moment, but the noise had apparently been enough to wake up Jamal, and he turned around on the couch and remarked with a sleepy voice filled with annoyance.

"Dude, what the fuck? Did you just jerk off?"

"Uhh, no. I was... not."

"Yeah, right. And I'm the president. What the fuck, dude? Couldn't you wait until I was gone or something?"

Jamal groaned and got up to go to the bathroom. As he was walking, Lance got a short glimpse at the other man’s groin for the first time. If one thing was for certain, his dick wasn't as large as Lance had suspected. Most of the front of Jamal's boxer briefs was obviously empty.

Jamal spent a surprisingly large amount of time in the bathroom, and when he emerged again, he was - as far as Lance could tell - pale as if he had seen a ghost. He didn't speak a word as he quickly got dressed and basically fled the room, leaving a puzzled Lance behind. What had gotten into that guy again? He shook his head and, finally, removed the sheets and pulled down his borrowed boxer briefs.

And then, he looked at his crotch dumbfounded. He had been right. It wasn't his dick, even though it was flaccid again now, it was much too large. However, that wasn't the biggest problem. Despite being too big, it was decidedly... Black.

And it wasn't just his shaft that was suddenly dark skinned. His balls, too, and the rest of his groin as well. When he turned in front of the mirror, he realized that even his ass-cheeks were a rich dark brown color now, and his pubes dark and wiry.

Lance's head was swimming. What in the world was going on? Was it an infection?

No, even a guy as biased as Lance knew that dark skin was not a disease you got infected with. He simply had no explanation for what he was seeing. Luckily, only his groin was affected. Both his legs and his torso were still as white as they were supposed to be. And his face was fine, too.

Lance shook his head. He'd have to get to the bottom of it, but that had time until later. Today, he wanted to enjoy the beach a bit. However, as he tried to put on his swimming trunks he noticed a problem with his new anatomy. Neither his swimwear nor his pants would fit without being extraordinarily uncomfortable. Not wanting to cut off the circulation to his now much larger tool, he glanced over to Jamal's suitcase. Judging by the pair of boxer briefs, Jamal's stuff should be about the same size, even though Lance didn't really understand why the other man brought clothes this big.

After rummaging through Jamal's belongings for a bit, Lance found what he was looking for. A pair of swimming trunks and a pair of pants that fit comfortably as he put them on without a second thought. He briefly considered fully dressing from the other man’s trunk, but decided against it and took socks, shirt and sunglasses from his own stash.

Finally, fully equipped, he went to the beach.

Given the time of the year, it was rather full, just as he had expected it to be. Nevertheless, he found a spot to lay down a bit and sunbathe, and soon, the warm rays had him relaxed.

For a while, nothing happened. Lance felt at peace, and his thoughts returned to the morning events. He was no stranger to masturbating, but it was the first time that he had felt the urge to do so while in the same room as another guy. Even stranger though, he didn't feel particularly ashamed about it anymore. So, what if Jamal had seen him? He certainly jerked off, too. Put aside all the obvious things that separated them, that was one thing they had in common. They were both men, and men had certain needs. Nothing wrong with indulging in them, right?

In fact, in the morning sun, his thoughts about Jamal were less hostile than usual. It was really hard to be angry all the time when relaxing in the warm seaside sand.

A few hours later, Lance decided to take a swim. However, as he wiggled out of his borrowed pants, he was confronted with yet another surprise.

Apparently, the dark skin had spread. Now, the whole length of his legs was decidedly dark-skinned. Lance shook his head as if he would be able to revert the skin color of his legs like that. But it was no use: The pigment was there to stay. This couldn't possibly be natural, or even healthy! He needed to see a doctor, right now!

Half-panicking, he checked his upper body but was relieved to see that there, his skin was just as milky white as it was supposed to be, as were his feet.

Against all logic, his panic subsided. Sure, he looked ridiculous like that, but it wasn't that bad. In fact, once he managed to look past the weird color of his skin, he found his legs somewhat better looking even, packed with lean muscles. It wasn't bodybuilder level, but a whole new level of power that he never had before.

Originally, he wanted to run, search for a doctor as quickly as he could, but now, he reconsidered. He might as well go through with his plan and swim a bit in the inviting ocean. He could look for a doctor afterwards.

The water was wonderful, and the feeling of his legs powerfully propelling him through the waves was intoxicating. Lance lost track of time, and it was only when his stomach reminded him that he hadn't eaten all day that he turned back, all thoughts of a doctor forgotten.

He grabbed his stuff and went back to his hotel room to change, but was surprised to meet Jamal in there, when he unlocked the door.

The other man was sitting on the bed with his pants at his ankles and was furiously beating his meat. When the door opened, he quickly covered his groin with a pillow, but there were two things Lance had noticed: First, Jamal's dick was really small! And, secondly, from the waist down, Jamal's skin was colored a bright tone of pink, a stark contrast to his dark torso. There was an obvious connection waiting to be found, something really profoundly easy, but it escaped Lance persistently.

Instead, for the first time in God knew how long, Lance smiled at Jamal briefly.

"Don't mind me, just carry on. I'll just get changed really quickly."

"O...okay." Jamal replied, obviously confused about more than Lance's statement. Hesitatingly, he removed the pillow and continued his work, his eyes glued at the other man.

Since Jamal was occupying the bed at the moment, and Lance didn't want to disturb him by accessing his own suitcase, without thinking too much about it, he grabbed a new set of clothes from Jamal's: A pair of socks, pants, fresh underwear, a shirt and a baseball cap. He got dressed and nodded at the furiously masturbating Jamal again as he left the room just as Jamal came.

Dinner was somewhat strange for Lance. His upper body, arms and feet felt all strange and tingly, and below the borrowed cap, his hair felt like it was shifting and changing. He was really hungry today and was glad about the all you can eat buffet.

However, the more he ate, the more the strange feeling took hold of his head and face as well, and with it, another urge awakened. Lance's thoughts consistently went back to the picture of Jamal masturbating on their bed. Say what you want, but that white boy really had a cute body. That was something Lance had always liked about Jamal James.

Lance Lamar felt his groin get tight again. It was difficult enough to find underwear for his large black python, but when he got aroused, there was hardly anything able to contain the beast of burden.

Finally, he stood up in all of his black glory and went to the elevator. Time to see if James was still around and was up for a length of his loving boyfriends large dick up his cute tight ass.

He was.

As he left the dining hall, Lisa smiled a thin smile and changed an entry in her list. Two less troublemakers and one more happy couple for the wedding.

What a great couple, in the end! After all, racism never pays.

If you like to read about another great couple, in a magical story, perhaps check out this novel!

[inkievoid]

Ballet Shoes and Bulletproof Vests

CW: Recovering from alcoholism (Leons just trying to better himself man

Words: 1k

A/N: 👛anon I've had brain rot because of you. But I still love you pookie.

Blue leotard... Gunmetal blue, his favorite shade. It was almost like you were trying to send a signal through the glass windows of the studio attached to the apartment building gym.

Every weekend for the past few months he'd come down and workout for a two hours without issue. Until you moved into the building a month ago. Walking through the gym in leotards and the same skin tone tights straight into the small studio space.

Leon picked up quickly that you don't seem to be doing mindless pirouettes, pliés or chassé. You practiced the same routine, which means you probably do this for a living. Or at the very least a hobby.

He tried his best to not come off creepy but sometimes he couldn't stop from staring. Leon rarely found beauty in life anymore, something he was trying to fix. His sponsor suggested that life could be worth living if you find something meaningful to live for.

Besides surviving or being a living breathing weapon.

At first, the staring was for more "primal" reasons, but it soon turned to him admiring how gracefully you could move. How sharp your movements were. The clean movements were mesmerizing and very distracting. It certainly didn't help that you were pretty either. But every time you stopped and turned back towards the windows, Leon would turn away immediately. Scared you'd think he was some kind of weirdo or worse...

A pervert.

You were probably way too prissy for him anyway. Why bother window shopping?

You're too pure, jumping around in white satin ballet slippers and him in bulletproof vests with tactical gear. Your worlds can never mix, you're too different. Far too different.

So, with his better judgment, Leon got into the habit of changing his routine and getting up at the crack of dawn like in his army days. Just to go workout first thing in the morning. Leaving the gym as you were coming in.

But one morning you didn't come in as he was leaving. And as usual, he stops at his mailbox, fishing in his jacket pocket as he walks into the main lobby.

And there you were. Stood in front of the mailboxes, sorting through a few envelopes with your tiny mailbox door hung open.

Shit... This is gonna be awkward.

Leon approaches slowly, walking up to his mailbox and ripping his keys out of his jacket pocket. Something round flies out of his pocket with a clatter as it hits the floor. You lift your head to see the green chip rolling across the floor, quickly you step past him and pin it under your shoe.

Leon stares, realizing he forgot to take his chip out of his pocket after his meeting last night. Too tired from a long day at work to remember before passing out in bed as soon as he got home. He can feel his neck heating up, he hasn't even said a single word to you, and now you'll know he's an alcoholic trying to get his life together.

And he's sweaty and gross?!

What a fantastic first meeting...

You bend down, grabbing the green chip from the floor as you walk back. Giving it a glance, you hold it out for him. Slowly he raises his hand, chest tightening as he nods a “Thank You” while taking it.

"90 days is a big accomplishment, you should be proud of yourself." He stared for a moment, fully expecting a dirty look or pity.

"Uh, yeah. Thanks. I-I am." His lips drew to a line as you walked back around him, shutting your mailbox and locking it. He gives you a glance as you grab your bag from the floor and give him a small smile.

"You're from 3D, right?" You question, his eyes glance at his mailbox, his lips part slightly. Brain trying to process how you knew his apartment without even talking to him.

"Yes?" His eyebrows raised, your eyes fixed on his uneasy response.

"Hmm." She looks him up and down, almost like she's trying to size him up. Or even taken him in completely.

"A little scruffy for my taste, but you'll get the job done." His nose wrinkled as you stepped past him, and headed for the door.

"The hell do you mean by that?" You turned your attention back to him, smiling again.

"The old ladies in the building, they talk about everyone. Well, anyone interesting at least. And they said you're pretty cute. I'd have to agree." He feels his neck burning again, embarrassment of another kind seeping into his collarbone and rising to his cheeks as he smiles a tiny bit.

He was never great with women.

"Thank you..." He clutches the chip in his hand, running his thumb across the bumped out embossing of the metal.

"And um... I know we don't know each other," you step forward again, gesturing to his hands, "but I'm here if you ever need to be talked down... 3 years for me, still have my bad days, but it gets easier with time. I promise."

He looks a little surprised, not expecting you to know his struggles in some way. He just nods, watching you lean to the side, looking behind him and turning back to leave again.

"Congratulations again on 90 days, Leon." You smile, pushing the door open.

"Whoa, wait. What's your-"

"2B!" You yell back without turning around, watching you leave through the doors leading to the gym. His head swivels, looking at the mailboxes. Seeing your name printed a piece of tape stuck to your mailbox.

His mind wanders, thinking of you as he pulls his bills from his mailbox. A folded over flyer was wrapped around the envelopes. Pulling it off the envelope, he gave it a long look. Your face staring back at his as you're leaping in a beautiful flowing white dress and veil.

Giselle printed in fancy font under you pointed toes along with show times for next weekend.

Staring for a second, he thought, pondering over the words of his sponsor telling him to try new things.

Maybe he should try theater.

[rottenpumpkin13]

For Christmas, I would like some angst with a splash of comfort.

Affer a particularly gruesome experiment as a small child, Babyroth (maybe 5 or 6) comes across a holding cell containing Red XIII.

Sephiroth finally snapped after a session that left him quivering, nauseated, and wracked with unease. He'd thrashed and screeched when they attempted another blood draw, sending blood vials cascading across the steel floor, leaving several lab technicians nursing their wounds. Hojo had him confined to a holding cell "until you learn to conduct yourself as a proper specimen."

The cell was cold, furnished only with an uncomfortable metal bench, the confining walls pressing in like a suffocating box as Sephiroth cocooned himself in the corner. His unruly silver hair cascaded over his face as he kept his head bowed, eyes adjusting to the darkness while he vacant-mindedly kept track of the click of lab assistants' shoes against the corridor floor.

But it was the padding of paws across the corridor that drew his attention. Sephiroth unfurled slightly, eyes straining through the gloom, curiosity piqued.

Sephiroth couldn't identify its species. All he knew was that it was unmistakably young, notable by its childlike movements, the nervous flick of its burning tail, and the inquisitive tilt of its head as it studied Sephiroth with equal fascination.

"Your hair looks like starlight," the creature suddenly spoke, its voice clear and young, sending Sephiroth practically leaping from the bench in surprise.

"You... you can talk?" Sephiroth whispered.

The creature's tail swished playfully. "Of course I can talk!" came the reply, tinged with a hint of pride. "I am Nanaki. And you are the one they call Sephiroth."

"Just Sephiroth," he confirmed, finding an unexpected comfort in this strange dialogue. "I've never seen anyone like you before. What are you?"

Pride straightened Nanaki's spine as he declared: "I am of a proud tribe from Cosmo Canyon," though his posture quickly softened with homesickness. "Though I am far from home now."

"Cosmo Canyon?" The words felt foreign on Sephiroth's tongue. His world had always been bounded by windowless walls, the sharp bite of needles, raining routines, endless tests, endless expectations.

Nanaki's eyes brightened as he settled onto his belly. "It's the most beautiful place in the world," he began, his voice rich with longing and admiration. "The canyon walls are red like the sunrise, reaching up toward the sky. At night, the stars shine so bright you feel like you could touch them. My grandpa, Bugenhagen, knows all their names and the stories they tell."

Sephiroth edged closer. "There are stories in the stars?"

"Oh yes! There are stories all around us! They teach us about the Planet, about life, about how everything is connected." Nanaki's voice grew animated as he painted pictures with words: warm winds dancing through the canyon, the rhythm of festival drums, the intoxicating taste of freedom on the night air.

Hours slipped by as they talked. Nanaki spoke of his people's sacred duty as canyon guardians, of planetary studies that sought to understand rather than exploit, of communities bound by love instead of scientific curiosity.

When morning came and the lab assistants came to collect Sephiroth, he hesitated, looking back at his newfound friend. In a world where survival was never guaranteed, goodbyes weren't possible and promises empty. Instead, Sephiroth offered a small wave, and Nanaki's tail blazed briefly brighter before they separated.

Neither could have known that their next meeting would come decades later, when fate would place them on opposite sides of a conflict.

But for one precious night, they were simply two children sharing stories in the darkness.

[obessedwithfictionalmen]

Co-Stars pt.8

Callum Turner X Actress! Reader

Summary: A bad joke is made about Y/n and Callum won't stand for it.

Warning: Joe Koy/ Swearing/ use of Y/n/ mention of being naked

Word count: 1.1k

Yn's outfit:

Award season was going well, she won an Emmy and now she was nominated for a Golden Globes for Best Performance by a Female Action in a Drama series. Unlike the Emmy’s, she was now nominated as if she was a main character, and it was amazing. The cast walked on the red carpet, again, getting yelled at by photographers. ‘’Good luck tonight, Y/n, I hope you win!’’ one yelled. It made the woman smile. ‘’Boys how does it feel to work with this amazing woman’’ without saying a word, they all start to kneel, to pay their respect to her. ‘’Oh my god’’ Y/n laughs. She takes a pose for the photographers and the boys get up. ‘’I love you guys’’ she says to her co-stars.

They didn’t know who the presenter was, so Y/n had to google him, but at the same time, Florence Pugh came to the table and asked for a photo with her. Her phone was towards the camera, her google research was exposed. But the ceremony started, Y/n was nervous, she was against really good actress, like Emma Stone and Bella Ramsey. ‘’Now Master of the Air was amazing! But I didn’t get why each time we saw Y/n on screen, we saw her naked, I mean, was the only purpose of her character, being naked? You’re playing in a series about WW2, not Sex Education’’ that was supposed to be a joke, but no one laughed. Y/n was looking at the presenter with a death stare before taking a sip of his drink. Joe nervously laughed. ‘’Sorry about that’’ he continued his speech but when he ‘apologized’ the camera went on Y/n and Callum. ‘’You better be sorry, asshole’’ Callum mumbled. He hid his mouth when he insulted him, but he didn’t understand why he thought making this joke was supposed to be fun. ‘’He clearly didn’t watch the hole show’’ Austin said to Y/n, which made her smile.

‘’And the winner is…’’ her heart was going to burst out of her chest. ‘’Y/n Y/l/n for her role in Master of the Air’’ She got up her chair, kissed Callum, hugged Austin and Antony, took off her shoes and made her way to the stage. She hugged Meryl Streep, she was presenting the award, when Y/n got to Joe, she didn’t hug him. She took the statue and came closer to the mic. ‘’Oh my god, wow, thank you so much. That’s amazing!’’ her voice cracked from the emotions. The crowd cheered for her. ‘’This series means so much to me, my wonderful co-stars, I love you so much. I don’t want to say the same thing as my other speech, because I did more than being naked in every scene, so I won awards, and people actually know who I am.’’ The crowd laughed at the comeback for the woman. Joe faked laugh and looked at the ground. ‘’To all the people out there, that are scared to pursue their dreams, don’t give up. You can do it, dreams come true! I got men kneeling for me, I won awards, and I got made fun of on national television! Thank you and good night!’’ she said, making the crowd laugh again. Callum was so proud of his girl; she stood up for herself and she did it the funniest way possible.

‘’The Golden Globe for the best drama Television Series goes to…’’ Drew Barrymore opened the envelope, the cast all held hands, silently praying. ‘’Master of the Air!’’ she exclaimed, stomping around in excitement. The cast got up, followed by Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg and Gary Goetzman. When they all got on stage, the trophy was handed to Gary. Callum and Y/n held hands; it was special to be on stage together. ‘’Wow! Thank you so much, this is amazing! This T.V show is, I think, really important to understand history and its darker parts. I’m going to stop talking or I’ll take all the time’’ Gary laughed. The mic was given to Tom Hanks. ‘’Like Gary said, this series is the third, we did Band of Brothers and The Pacific, but Master of the Air is the last and to see it getting so much recognition fills my heart with joy’’ he said, tears in his eyes. Steven stepped forward to talk. ‘’Thank you to everyone that made this project happen, to our beautiful cast, thank you for accepting to follow our crazy idea, love you all’’ he blew kiss to us. Austin stepped forward. ‘’Thank you so much. This type of series, uh, I think, needs to be done so the next generation can understand what really went down. Thank you so much!’’ Y/n smiled; Callum stepped forward. ‘’And finally, thank you to everyone that really watched the show and saw that Y/n wasn’t always naked!’’ that made the cast laugh. A Y/n face palmed, but she was happy to see that the joke wasn’t forgotten and that the guys didn’t like it. ‘’Yeah! Y/n is amazing!’’ Barry quickly said. The woman laughed as they all left stage. Backstage, they all hugged, even the directors joined in. ‘’I’m so proud of all of you.’’ Tom Hanks said.

‘’So, Y/n, a picture came out, can you explain what you were googling’’ the journalist asked, making the woman laugh. ‘’Uh, I didn’t know who Joe Koy was, so I looked him up’’ she simply said. ‘’About the joke he made, your co-stars became protective, what does it mean for you?’’ she was tired of this question, each interview station, they asked that question. ‘’Personally, I thought it was low, I mean, it wasn’t the fact that she was naked that made her win an Emmy and a Golden Globe, so yeah. But I think he learned his lesson’’ Callum answered. Y/n smiled and leaned her head against him. ‘’Thank you, good night’’ the journalist said. They could finally leave this place. Y/n has her statue in her hand, it was really beautiful. ‘’It’s going to fit perfectly beside my Emmy award’’ she said in the limousine. Making her co-star giggle. ‘’Like we told you before, we got your back, we weren’t going to let him disrespect you like that’’ Anthony said. Y/n thanked him as they made their way to the after party.

[mystycitty]

Chen from Touhou :3 So this was the start of the redraws thing I decided to do on a whim. A friend drew Chen a lot which got me in the mood to also draw Chen and now here we are! Funnily, out of all the PCB redraws, this is the one I am most proud of. Also mentioned in Lunasa's redraw, the sprites tend to have shoes, but the portraits don't. For Chen I decided to give her the shoes. Maybe they don't need it because they can fly, but it can still look fashionable.

[tegabyte]

@ignoct-week day 5: angst/whump

I am very clearly leaning into the angst on this one admittedly. I had another clarity of vision and I knew what I wanted to do. I actually wanted to do this with Ignis's back facing the camera, and just the hint of Noctis's head, but uhhhh... the positioning wasn't working right and I used a reference photo for this pose instead. (I did have a reference for the pose I initially wanted, but it wasn't coming together for me as fast and I wanted to stop being stuck.)

I was initially inspired by the Lufia and the Fortress of Doom english instruction manual, there's an art drawn of Maxim holding Selan in it that Compels me and also breaks my heart.

Anyway the pose and ref photo I ended up using made this easier AND more difficult (that head angle is..... a lot....). I'm very rusty, but I'm proud of myself for what I did. I once more gave up on the shoes but I hate Noctis's shoes and I needed to keep going!! Momentum!! time crunch!!! also I drew the Sword of the Father and I think that balances it out.

come to FF fandom, they said. be a fanartist, they said. don't look at all the details don't worry about it--

[thatradfailure]

Genderbent mercs. If you even care.

Notes about them under the cut because I put way too much thought into one off designs (even though Sniper and Scout technically aren't one off because I drew them before, came back, didn't like the designs, and decided to do an entire revamp and include three of their pals)

Sniper: Since she's a woman in a hypermasculine society (Australia) she probably grew up with extra pressure to also be hypermasculine, but failed a little extra hard because she's Woman. So, I gave her a lot of teeth jewelry for the intimidation factor they provide, as well as boots instead of regular shoes. I also gave her claw nails so that she can be perceived as extra dangerous. Otherwise, her short hair isn't necessarily a style she likes, but one she feels pressured to have to look more masculine and thus fit in better. I like the idea of fem!Sniper with braids tbh but couldn't see it fitting here.

Scout: Basically, she's both proud and insecure of her femininity. She dresses cute, she has cute stickers, and she constantly rubs it in people's face that they're being beat by a girl. But to be taken more seriously, she also masculinizes herself. Not her love of sports, that's natural, but she acts more boyish and speaks deeper than her natural register. Her young looks and immature attitude probably get her infantilized moreso than canon Scout, much to her great annoyance, which makes her double down on her boyish traits.

Medic: Honestly nothing too major to note. It was just important to me to get across that she's just as willing to sew a baboon uterus into a man as canon Medic is. Added a skirt because Medic is a prime and proper kinda guy, and heels because I think she deserves the intimidation factor.

Spy: Much like Medic, nothing too major to note. However, I think it's fairly evident that she looks the least like her canon character than the others. This is because men's and women's fashion is so different. She's also BLU in a RED lineup because I thought it'd be funny.

Engineer: Unlike the others, I actually based her design on concept art (the post I referenced specifically being here: https://www.tumblr.com/renposter/730118522655686656/official-gender-swapped-versions-of-the-tf2-roster?source=share). Specifically, the Rosie Rivets-esk hair for some of the fem!Heavy concepts, and the boots from one of the actual fem!Engineer concepts. I also included two little details- one is that her sleeve for her right arm is down, tucked into the glove. This is an allusion to her prosthetic hand, since a lot of people tend to have (needlessly) harsh beauty opinions about that, and beauty standards on women are. Especially harsh in the little details. Not to say they aren't harsh on men (I am so sorry you all are expected to look like Greek statues) but this post ain't about that. The second detail is the addition of the Teddy Roosevelt cosmetic, which is like a little good luck charm to her! There's no real reason, I just thought it'd look cute. Oh, and also she's about to bash Spy in with her wrench. Because she's the only one that's noticed. Unless Sniper knows but has stayed quiet about it because I'm a SniperSpy shipper-

[metallicaislife]

Long Day

A/N: Other than the 80's I am not as familiar with the eras, so I hope this the correct era in the gif 🥲 hope this turned out good!

Requested by: Anon

Genre: Hurt/Comfort

Word Count: 834

Warnings: none, the hurt comes from your own feelings and Kirk comforts you :')

It was one of those days. I counted down the time until I could clock out and go home. But of course the time dragged on as if I was running through molasses. If anything could go wrong, it went wrong. Between phone calls, emails and coworkers interrupting me anytime I got into a grove of my usual work load, I definitely wasn't going to finish everything meaning this shitty day would bleed into tomorrow making it not only a current problem, but it would be future Y/N’s problem too. 

All that to say I was overwhelmed and in tears by the time I clocked out. As always I called my boyfriend from the car on my drive home. 

“Hey baby.” He answered. 

“Hi, Kirk.” I said, attempting to keep my voice even, but I could hear the shakiness as I spoke the two words.

“Hey, is everything okay?” He asked, worry was evident in his voice. 

“Um… yeah everything is fine.” I replied. 

“I don’t believe you… Just get home safe and you can tell me all about it.” His voice was so comforting. I knew a warm hug awaited me and it made more tears fall. 

“Okay.” I croaked, then hung up. 

I safely pulled into the driveway of the house Kirk and I had been living in for about a year now. I grabbed my bag and made my way inside. I slipped off my shoes, and hung my bag. Kirk came around the corner and fresh tears fell as he pulled me into a warm embrace. He cradled my head and rubbed my back. After I composed myself I pulled away. He used his thumbs to wipe at the tear stains on my cheeks. 

“So everything is fine, huh?” He teased with a small smile. 

“No… I mean, I’m just overwhelmed. It was one of those days ya know.” I said. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked. Kirk was always so kind, and respected my boundaries,  he would give me space when I needed to mull over things before confiding in him. 

“Yeah, can we just snuggle and order some take out?” I asked. 

“Of course, baby. Whatever you want.” He smiled at me, I smiled softly for the first time that day since leaving for work in the morning. 

I changed into something more comfortable and crawled into bed with Kirk. We faced each other, legs intertwined as he drew soft shapes on my face. 

“What happened today?” He asked softly. 

“We were super busy, so I got behind on my normal workload, which will affect tomorrow since I’ll need to catch up and hope we don’t get lots of calls or emails to the front desk. I just hate getting behind on things. I know my bosses are aware of how hard I work but with days like these I feel inadequate, like I could’ve done more to accomplish everything.” I relayed my day as a fresh set of tears formed, “I feel like I have imposter syndrome, that they’ll realize I’m not an asset to the company and they’ll just get rid of me.” 

“Hey, hey. No, none of that. I mean your feelings are valid, and you’re allowed to feel those things, but please don’t dwell on them.” He started as he traced up and down my spine, “you work so hard, and you couldn’t have known that you would get an influx of the other things outside your usual workload. If your bosses don’t see all the hard work you do, that’s on them. You can’t control that, even though we all wish we could control how others view us. You gave it your all today and accomplished what you could given the circumstances. You’re not a robot and nobody should expect you to be able to control all these outside forces just so you can finish your whole work load in the allotted 9 to 5 hours. For what it’s worth, I’m proud of you, you did a great job.” He finished his little speech with sweet praise. I moved closer burying my face in his chest. 

“Thank you.” I said, though it was muffled. He nuzzled his head into mine. 

“Any time, baby. Whenever you feel that way, I’ll be here to remind you that you’re doing your best and absolutely killing it.” He replied. We stayed in the embrace until my tummy gurgled indicating I was hungry. 

“Let’s get you fed, then we can snuggle some more, maybe put a movie on. How does that sound?” He asked, pulling back enough so he could look down at me. 

“That sounds perfect.” I replied with a genuine smile. 

He kissed my forehead and left me in bed as he went to call in our regular take out order. 

I’ll always be grateful for my sweet Kirk who is always willing to help bring me back down to reality when my head gets away from me with the negative thoughts.

Thank you for reading! Feel free to request or chat :)

-Isa

[nerdieforpedro]

Part Five of “The Lake Between Us”

Closing the Distance

Ezra AU x Seraphina (plus size OFC)

This fic is for those 18+ MDNI

Word Count: about 1.2k

Warnings: Ezra is a warning, alcohol use, food mention (I finally got him to cook!), tension of various kinds 👀

Summary: Ezra and Seraphina have agreed to dinner. He cooks, she serves the liquor.

Notes: More interaction with these two and I’m getting more used to writing Ezra’s speech pattern as I understand it. 🥸 Might be a time skip

Main Masterlist / Ezra Masterlist/ The Lake Between Us Series

Ezra was two minutes early. He’d made his shrimp gumbo, the fragrance of the spices seeped out from under the top that jiggled when he walked up her stairs. Seraphina insisted that he come in through the front.

“Guests come in through the front door. Those you want to hide enter in the back.” She told him as they planned for the evening.

Ezra retorted, “Even if I were to enter from the rear my dear Sundrop, my presence would be known no matter my status. I don’t mind if you feel the need to hide me, as long as I am allowed in.” He’d left her with that line after they made plans to have dinner that night.

His wore a pair of black slacks with a white t-shirt, it hugged his biceps and chest, with a v-neck that dipped and exposed his collarbone. It glistened with the humidity almost as brightly as the smile he had when he stood on her front porch, a bottle of Jack Daniels was under his arm. The nurse opened the door, took the bottle and stepped back to allow him in. Her guest was right on time, a good thing as she’d just taken the biscuits out of the oven and buttered them.

Ezra removed his black shoes and followed her into the kitchen, the smell of the bread dancing on his nose, more powerful than that, was whatever perfume or oil that his Sundrop was wearing. It smelled the same as when he met her in person earlier today. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail this time, not in a tight bun. It lightly swayed along with her hips as she walked, her left shoulder had a mole that he noted, no tattoos that he saw. The dress she wore was bright, a royal blue draped across her curves. She might say too generous and too chunky, Ezra felt they were just fine, more for him to hold and explore - when the time was right.

Setting his pot on the stove, she asked if he wanted a plate or a bowel for his gumbo. He chuckled and told her bowel of course. Full lips formed a smile as she shook her head, the muted red on her lips drew his eyes to them.

The pair sat down to eat, starting with the basics, last names, birthdays, and favorite liquor. Neither of them mentioned why they ended up on their respective spots across the lake yet. The conversation then shifted to family, Sera described her parents and brothers. Ezra was estranged from his and wasn’t sure if he was alive or not. They were never close. His charge Cee or his ‘Birdie’ is his family now. He expressed that he wasn’t never sure he would ever feel truly proud in life but he did with her. His eyes that had twinkles of lust changed to excitement in regaling Seraphina with her accomplishments.

Watching him become so animated where he’s been relaxed was a treat to see so the nurse enjoyed. He spoke a bit about his airboat captain and touring before inquiring as to what she did. She left it as being a medical- surgical nurse in a hospital. He could he feelings were mixed, but he didn’t press. It was still too early. Instead it switched to relationships which neither of them were in.

“Ezra, I don’t know if I should trust a man who can cook so well.” Sera sighs after finishing a second helping of the shrimp gumbo. She shouldn’t haven’t eaten so much but it was delicious along with the lemonade she made.

Ezra swallowed the last spoons of his second bowel and sat back, full of confidence, “It would be wise to be wary but you can enjoy the food you have now. You might find you want another taste later Sundrop.” He picked up a biscuit and split it open, drizzling honey on it and biting into it, licking the sticky substance off his lip. “I find myself with an ache to sample a vision I’ve often seen. I wager it would hands down beat that flavor of this honey.” A drop had stuck to his finger so he sucked it off, audibly.

Seraphina knew it was a dangerous game inviting a man like Ezra into her home. It had been a bad idea to keep watching him from her porch but she still did that as well. She had remained curious about him, the familiarity of his hunted look. She went to wash dishes which Ezra soundly told her “No Seraphina I’ll take care of them.” He’d been calling her different nicknames during the evening and it was their first time since the afternoon he’s said her name, she thanked him and grabbed two glasses with the liquor gifted by her guest and headed to her back porch where he joined moments later.

“Join me on the porch since you like to be licking your fingers like that. Acting like you’re a savory nightcap you rascal.” Her chuckle as they plopped down on the whicker bench led the airboat captain to speak after he observed the sky, the sun had long dipped beneath the horizon and small stars dotted the darkening canvas above them.

“We’ve been each other’s nightcap for six weeks Moonbeam. I don’t foresee that changing in the immediate future. Our distance has decreased.” Sipping on his first glass of the night, his arm extended along the back of the bench, not touching Sera’s shoulders but close enough where she could sense his heat.

“It has. I am eager to know why you’re up in the late hours like I am,” her inquiry began, “since you’ve warned me to be wary.” The slow gulp from her liquor had Ezra contemplate how much to say if anything at all, even where to start.

“That I did Moonbeam. You should be cautious of my motives, but I can start at the beginning of my troubles for you if you like.” He placed his hand on hers, running up her arm to her shoulder and drew a small circle around her mole. “Be forewarned, the past is neither rosy nor glamorous. It is fraught with hardship, double-crosses and some death.”

Moonbeam grinned, nodding as he spoke, “Sounds like a thriller Ezra. I’m all ears. Add a dash of romance and some mistaken identity and you have yourself a movie marathon.”

“I’m sure you’d be riveted to hear it.”

“That I would.” Moonbeam crosses her legs and leans forward, touching his chin with a finger, “Speak.”

The night continued into the daylight as they sat exchanging stories, laughing as they drank. Eventually they parted, with Ezra heading back to his home as they waved at each other from the respective screen doors. This time, there was a definite promise to meet again and they would in a few days. This time his house would be open to Seraphina and he’d welcome her with warm food, open arms and more laughter.

These nights turned into days over the subsequent weeks with greater frequency as Ezra and Seraphina spent more time together.

Part Four Part Six

Interlude One

Taste-testers of Ezra’s gumbo 🍤: @rav3n-pascal22 @maggiemayhemnj @morallyinept @survivingandenduring @bonezone44 @magpiepillsjunior @yorksgirl @gemmahale @missredherring @missladym1981 @alltheglitterandtheroar @megamindsecretlair @readingiskeepingmegoing @pedroshotwifey @tinytinymenace @inept-the-magnificent @vivian-pascal @jessthebaker

[padspadspads]

I met my best friend, Jack, in Year 7. We were in the same form room. He sat behind me, and attendance was sparse so early. I turned and said “I think my timetable is wrong, it says E7 and E1. I don’t know what that means.” His said the same. We were in the same classes. We were all getting to know each other, our form teacher was doing ice breakers. He said he drew comics. I thought, “What a nerd.” Little did I know, we’d make comics together, hang out every day, go to each other’s birthday parties, go to comic con every year, start a band, work together, and keep in contact as he travelled for Uni. I’ve known Jack for a decade. Soon I will know him for longer than I haven’t.

At the time, I had another best friend. Our older brothers were the same age, and best friends. So, naturally, we were best friends too. We’d been friends for longer than I could remember. I’d never known my life without knowing him. We’d play games, stay up late, talk for hours, play football, curby, SPOT, and try to keep the earwigs away from his trampoline.

As Jack and I grew closer, me and my other best friend separated. The people we grew with, and grew into, became wildly different.

I miss him, occasionally.

I miss being a child, yet being a child coincided with our friendship, and as we grew into teenagers, we eventually stopped speaking to each other.

Sometimes I wish we could reconnect, but there seems to be a barrier. An invisible, omnipresent barrier that prevents me from catching up.

I often circle back to a memory of when we were children, we went to the beach.

“Best friends forever?”

“Forever.”

Maybe he still means it. I do. My door is always open.

For old times’ sake, don’t be a stranger, take off your shoes, your coat, become so closely linked with my couch and that cup of coffee that it seems to be not only an extension, but part of your human.

Or if it is more convenient, I can come to you.

The layout of your home feels as though it is a map to my heart. Your living room is by my left ventricle, your kitchen, my aorta, your bedroom, my atria.

I grieved this friendship as I got older, the simplicity of our connection is something that seems impossible as an adult. You have work friends, Uni friends, old friends and new friends, but no friends.

I am so proud of the grief I feel, I am so privileged to feel it. My mind runs through fields I’ve never been through, filled with memories of a boy I could map, to grasp a part of a man I have never known.

I didn’t know we’d fall out of touch, I didn’t know that that one night sleeping on his brother’s mattress in the living room would be the last I’d ever see him, but it was.

Losing his friendship has aided me as an adult. How to grow, how to let yourself be who you are, how to miss people, how to fall out of touch, how to separate, and how to cope.

My brother and his brother are still friends. The things I learn about him are sieved through the filter of “Being his old friend”.

I know he’s doing well, I know he’s happy, I know he’s healthy.

I hope he knows he can talk to me, whenever he likes.

For old times’ sake.

[the-missann]

I don't think I've shared this with anyone besides a friend I don't really talk to anymore; and while I feel extremely nervous sharing them, I'll think I'll ease that by expressing the fact that I'm not an artist. I have been self teaching myself how to draw for years, so if this looks kind of bad, that's why.

Anyways, I obviously like it enough to share, so I am very proud of my work regardless.

That aside, I wanted to detail this story before sharing everything I did for it (I guess this'll be a short series about everything I drew for it).

A Fourth Dimension Reality is a series of books I'm writing about two inter-dimensional kids trying to find out what dimension they're actually apart of. Along the way, they meet other people who are integral to their goal. Each of these characters will be introduced as I go along.

Now, as for the real world logic, I wrote this story after me and that friend were talking about how some shows that are suppose to be comedy/satire lost that along the way.

So, I was determined to make a story where that stays intact even in the finale. Essentially, this is a long shit post that needs to be stopped, but it's still going well into five books with a unfinished total of 100k and seven books officially planned.

Each book ranges from 23k-30k and no book is any longer... yet

So, anyways, here's the actual cover of the first book (I have two more made).

Later on though I ended up drawing something goofy where all the characters find a dimension that does space tours. That was my excuse as to why they don't have shoes (because you don't want to get the dimension dirty do you?)

But this is everyone and presents their personalities pretty well. I'll showcase them separately over the next few days.

For now, this is perfect showcase of this story:

“So this means no one can hear me scream!” Cassie used all of her breath in that howl. Larson groaned and went to hit her, but she moved out of the way and spun slowly in the air. “I can dodge you better out here.” She mocked.

With a growl, Larson said, “this isn’t some kind of joke. We need to do what Jax said.”

“Yeah, yeah whatever.” She dismissed his comment. “We’ll get there eventually, let’s just have a little fun!”

Larson just stared at Cassie as she continued to spin around happily.

He was brought back to reality when he felt his phone vibrate. “Oh, I forgot,” he answered it swiftly, “you can hear me right?”

Back on Earth, Jax could clearly hear them through the phone. “I’m surprised that it even works! I really didn't think it would.” He said with amazement present in his voice.

“Yeah, doubt me, why don’t you.” Jax laughed at Larson’s remark. “But I’ll try a video call now.”

“Alright.”

Larson was about to press the button when he saw Cassie still spinning around in front of him; he sighed and turned on the video call. Once it came up, he saw a smile grow to Jax’s face.

“So it does work, great.” Jax paused. “Cassie!” He called out.

“Yeah?” She said while turning to look in their direction.

“The video call works.” Jax announced.

“Okay!” She began to slow her spinning down.

Cassie took out her own phone and called Jax once more. She put it on the video call and stuffed the phone inside of her bag. She zipped it closed and turned to Larson.

“Okay, I can see him, so that means we’re good! I’m screen recording so you guys can do whatever you have to.”

“You don’t have to tell me that,” Larson said.

Cassie huffed. “Stop being so mean. Anyways, we will Jax!” Cassie confirmed.

“Good luck you two!”

With their method of documentation set, they started putting their plan into action. Larson slowly moved over to Cassie.

“Stop acting like a kid and let’s get to work.” He snapped at her.

“You’re so boring. We’re in space dude! We can breathe without astronaut helmets, why not live a little, Lars?”

“Maybe on our next trip.” Larson went ahead and turned back once he was a small distance away from her.

From his jacket pocket, he pulled out the rope he brought. Needing to be as air resistant as possible, he couldn’t carry a bag with him, instead he just already tied the rope around himself and stuffed the other end into his jacket pocket. He pulled out the other end and threw it to Cassie for her to grab. Cassie caught it and was now being pulled by Larson.

Once she was in front of him, Cassie pulled him. Their motions created a way for them to move about in space with the most amount of ease. After a few minutes of their maneuvering, Cassie let out a sigh.

“See, this is all business,” Cassie said with a pout.

“Yeah, yeah. Looking like a bitch doesn’t help you.”

“At least you used the right word, but I wasn’t trying to give you puppy dog eyes.”

They remained pulling each other in a still silence. This was maintained until they could finally see Pluto. Cassie giggled as she stared at it.

“Oh it’s so cute!” She paused. “Do you really think anyone will be there?”

“I don’t know, but if we do find someone it would be better to stick together.”

“I wonder if it’s like a superman thing.” Cassie started to talk about something else. “Like we’re stronger because we were on Earth for so long.”

Larson scoffed. “If anything, being on earth made us weaker.”

“See, I don’t think like that,” Cassie began, “I really feel like we’re stronger because we’ve been exposed to different mindsets and then we’re going to learn this one. So by default, we’ll be smarter!”

“Always on the bright side huh?”

Cassie giggled.

Also, fun fact: I'm so bad at spelling I kept writing Dimension as Dimention and I still don't really know if I'm spelling it right😃

They kept pulling each other until they were caught into the gravitational pull of Pluto and were able to land...

Next post

[devouredbyflame]

I'd be interested in getting a general reading if/when you have the time. I'm kinda stuck between asking for a general reading and asking about my relationship with Loki specifically. I've been feeling very stagnant and stuck in my life lately. So I suppose you can take your pick on whichever you would like to do?

Hi anon! I can perhaps try to give you a bit of insight on both because they feel related.

I drew two major arcana cards and two knight cards which is interesting. The two major arcana denotes some overarching theme here and the knights shows that you’re in the beginning stages of something.

I’ll start with the two major arcana - I got the sun and the magician reversed. I feel as though these two denote that you are going through something that is going to impact you in the way that you are not necessarily going to see as beneficial but it’s going to give you a lot more authority over the things you are needing in order to get somewhere else. The way you are going seems to be difficult to get off the ground because you already understand that you do have some sort of potential but you are mystified by the result - perhaps perturbed, even. You are scared of where it is going and what it’s going to look like. But you don’t have to be.

Now, for the minor arcana which is the knight of cups and the knight of swords and they both tell you very similar things but bring more nuance. Knights are all about going somewhere even when you don’t have a clue about what it’s going to look like. It’s a brave sort of innocence, if you will. You’ll pretend it’s okay because you’re fine, but it’s not really fine. There are conditions and rules you’re afraid of. Boundaries, perhaps, that don’t really seem to be getting anywhere.

I feel like I need to pull more cards because Loki is tapping my shoulder so I’ll go ahead and say that those two sets of cards were mostly about a general overview? A bunch of cards jumped out at me and he is very impassioned (as He often is). The first two cards were the page of wands and two of pentacles and those initially made me feel like you are sort of hanging between two paths. On one hand, you feel sad because you don’t know which one you should take and the other hand you know something is wrong about one of them and perhaps you can’t put a finger on it yet?

I also got the devil, the six of wands and the 8 of cups. All of these are also similar in that you are broken up about those results not getting you things you want. You’re brave and I can tell from the knights energy that you want to move forward but you’re stuck because of limited focus on something that perhaps you are proud of. That’s not to say pride is a moral failure but rather that it’s something that could get you hurt if you’re not careful. It’s dangerous to be too prideful because it could get you to being short sighted and you will cut off your nose despite your face.

You should be having a look into the sorts of things that you feel are possible and not limit yourself to the ways in which He or you think you should be going.

I am getting that Loki is essentially trying to tell you to stop second guessing things. He’s sick of trying to tell you it’s not working - He wants me to add that it’s not that He’s upset at you, but He wants you to get something that is not within the general vicinity of your emotional boundaries. And that takes a bit more trust than you’re willing to believe He is capable of receiving. Don’t make yourself feel insufferably prideful because you don’t know what you’re doing - not until you get to where you’re supposed to be should you look back on things know that you couldn’t have known that had you realized it before.

It’s like walking through the forest with a blindfold on and He’s holding your hand and you keep stopping in the middle and He can’t get you anywhere because you feel as if your shoes are sinking into the mud because He told you you’re not going anywhere you think you are. It’s an awful feeling - and it’s an adjustment to correct yourself when you get stuck - but soon you’re going to see the end result and the payment is going to be worth it.

That’s all I have for you at this moment. Please reach out if you have any clarifying questions!

[raven-poet]

I made my own Able design for my TADC AU and I am so damn proud of it

like!! look at him!!

i drew him taller and skinner than Caine, with a lot more blues and softer colors. but I wanted him and Caine, in my AU, to have some colors in their palette representing each other so their hats have each others coat colors! I thought it'd be cute and a nice detail that these two are brothers. for Able's pants and shoes, I took inspiration from Lucifer in Hazbin Hotel! thought they looked neat

in my AU, Able is the business side of the game while Caine is the main event, hence his brighter colors and flashier look. Able deals with fixing of the games code, keeping viruses out, creating games for the players with Caine, and various other little things. :D the two are extremely close despite their differences

I'm definitely going to draw more of my AU soon but rn, I'm super busy and stressed out so hopefully when things calm down, I can dive into my AU lore! :D

[urbuddynova]

Restyling Birdman (again-)

Hi guys! Been pretty sick lately so I drew a redesign Of the silly old birdman. I got better at drawing the angle of shoes which I am pretty happy about :) Does it look better than the other restyle I did? I hope it does since I'm actually so proud of how it looks :DDD Also I'll do the Birdman and That dollar store comedy mask drawing soon! I think the Landscape I was going to do didn't work well with the other poll that stated you wanted them to bicker so I might change it if that's okay with you guys!

Also It looks a bit messy since this was technically a sketch ;-;