#they always look like theyre just kinda hovering above it

[boarloved-art]

i havent drawn wangxian in 5 minutes and i started shivering like a chihuahua so. happy wangxian are married and have a son sunday

[syrupspinner]

i just played the demo for beat, heart, beat

i think im just gonna start linking the steam page in everything i review. now its your job to click that link and try the demo. but read my post first cuz i like it when people do that

so this game kinda confounded me when i first saw it. i knew it was inspired by mad rat dead, like cmon the protagonist is a little rodent of some sort and theres this whole motif about following your heart. but then i saw the gameplay and it was an auto scroller with... idk the terminology but its a muse-dash like where youve got the top and bottom rows. and then i actually played the game and realized how much of its own thing this game was going for

so in muse dash your character is kind of in the centre between two single-width lanes, yes even if it looks like theyre on the bottom one, because the upper lane is always mapped to a dedicated upward button and the lower to a dedicated downward button. unless youre using a touch screen, this usually splits your controller in half, one side being up and the other down. i always end up holding it sideways

anyway, thats not how this works. its way more like a platformer, as in when you attack, you attack relative to where you are. the right key attacks in front of you, the up above, and down... down. this really fucked me up at first believe it or not, cuz my silly rhythm game brain is used to a perfect parity between lane and input

let me break it down cuz i dunno if that makes sense. if theres a note in front of you, hit ->. if theres a note above you, hit ↑, cuz youre on the ground and that note is in the air. now that youve done that, youre gonna hover in the air for a bit. theres another aerial note coming up, and since youre still in the air, you hit ->, because its in front of you, even through its in the air. i feel the need to be this granular because i really havent played a game like this before, lane relativity is uncharted territory (intentional pun)

they do some fun stuff with this! so theres this enemy that looks like a blueberry pancake and/or deflated balloon? look we were moving fast and i was focusing on the beat. anyway, its always gonna be below you (in the air over a pit) so you always down-attack it, but when you do you bounce right back up to the elevation you were at. this sets up for some really cool patterns where youve gotta be attentive to know what the inputs are thanks to the lane relativity, and that makes a fun and challenging section of the level! im really excited to see the patterns they use in the full game

i do have a few snags. first, the cue notes really fucked me up. all the notes are really visually distinct, and thats important cuz theyre gonna do different things to your character and fuck with your note relativity. but the cue notes are only different from their colour, which i find a lot harder to process than shape if ive got half-a-second to register what input i need. one cue has a different tempo, and another starts on an offbeat, so it really threw me off whenever i had to react to em

another thing, really minor, no controller support. not a problem since i, yknow, own a keyboard, but the menus use the mouse way too often? the main menu is permissable, but even the results screen makes you click confirm with your cursor instead of being able to highlight it with buttons and stuff. whats weird is that the song selection lets you use arrow keys, so i really dont get it. the last point was just me struggling with the gameplay, this feels like something that id actually wanna see changed in the full release

but heres some things i LOVE. first, the vibe, fucking obviously. i love the gritty overtoned garageband soundtrack i love the mishmash collage visuals, i love the design of the main character i wanna snuggle them to bed.

so heres something ive never seen a rhythm game do before, right? and i cant confirm this is the case, but i feel like this has to be what happened just watching the gameplay difference: they make the judgement windows tighter on higher difficulties. thats genius, why are you the first person to do that, that feels so obvious in retrospect but it just makes sense as a thing to do. i understand in a lot of more 'professional' traditional rhythm games, yknow the beatmania kind, wanna give you a more uniform experience across songs and let you personalize your input windows and yadda yadda we dont do that here. you are a little mousie and hard mode makes the timing harder too, thats badass

dont worry about the difficulty btw, from what i can tell the game is pretty forgiving to newcomers while still offering a challenge. all the levels defaulted to easy mode in the level select (no story mode in the demo, whatcha gonna do) but you still get tutorials and stuff on the higher levels, so its accepting if you just wanna jump into tough shit. either way though you cant really fail a level, theres no health bar and no minimum score. if you fall down a pit you just head back to your last checkpoint and you dont get a medal on the results screen, so if you dont care then you can just blitz through. they dont even have overstrum so you can just spam that shit and look at the pretty backgrounds

so i think BHB is gonna be something special. i love the looks, the sounds, everything has this raw vibe to it. like, the singer has a really scratchy and heavy singing voice, and i think that adds a really good emotional quality to all the songs. the cue notes are gonna fuck me up and itll probably take the whole game for me to get used to the lane relativity thing but you know i dig a game that lives on its own terms.

if you like rhythm games then youre gonna try the demo and youre gonna wishlist it because you like psychedelic visuals and alt-rock vibrations. if you dont like those youre gonna wishlist it anyway because that really helps the algorithm pick up indie games and more people need to see this, i think this really has potential to be a gem and it deserves the recognition for it. after youve done that youre gonna play the demo again until you like it. its a good demo for a probably good game, i dunno cuz its not out yet but i just have a good feeling about this one. its 1 am and i woke up early as shit today so thats the best youre getting

[hops-hunny]

im back!! well not totally back, but i have a treat for you ;)

idk if you are comfortable with sex tapes, if youre not you can ignore this

it's about nev with the hot popular person who everybody wants :)

okay so, the reader and neville are dating in secret, but the reader wants neville to tell people that theyre dating, and as neville expected, no one believed him

neville is sad and the reader wants to cheer him up, so, why not have sex with him right? it's the best way to cheer someone up

but the reader wants to spice things up with the idea of recording a sex tape

nev is like "sure! why not?" cause he LOVES that kind of thing

they record the sex tape, they watch it, and they watch it again, and again, and they love it, and they do it again...

a few days later the tape was """""accidentaly""""" leaked

and everyone watch it, and they are SO FUCKING SURPRISED due to the fact that not only neville is dating the hottest person in school, but also cause in the tape, he is fucking them into oblivion, and people never thought about neville being a dom and rough during sex, actualy people didnt even imagined that neville had sex SHDISKDJJS

now sweet neville is happy and can hug and kiss his fit s/o in the hallway with confidence cause now, everybody knows he has a hot s/o and a massive dick

thank u for your atention <3

idk if this has anything to do with exhibition, but if it does, hope you liked it cause i know you have a kink for that

~🌻

PRONOUNS: SHE/HER

erkkr 🌻 anon, you remembered one of my kinks? pls that's so cute ily <3 also I didn't know which pronouns you wanted so if you want I can probably go back and change it if these aren't to your liking!

"I know you're upset Nev, but this was your idea in the first place darling." (Y/n) said, straddling the boy as they stroked his cheek. She placed a peck on his lips, pulling away to look into his hazel eyes.

"I-I know but I didn't think that would include me having to watch blokes flirt with you and be able to do nothing about it!" He huffed out, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend's waist. (Y/n) stood up in front of him, a flirty look present on her face.

"Well," she started as she began to unbutton her shirt, dropping then thin white material to reveal her bra, "There is something you can do about it." his face flushed as he motioned her over, pulling her panties down before stuffing them in his back pocket. Gripping her waist with one hand, he used his other to flip up her skirt, revealing her slick covered folds.

"Yeah? What would that be pretty girl, having me mark you up? Leave bites and bruises all over this pretty little body of yours?" The boy ran his thick digits along her messy cunt, chuckling as she whimpered, nodding and urging him to go further. "Use your words, bunny."

"P-please touch me Nev. Want you to mark me and make me yours.." she felt her eyes roll to the back of her head as his thick fingers curved inside of her, letting out a sigh as he began to pump them in and out. The girl climbed into his lap, resting her head on his shoulder as he began to speed up his pace, tips brushing against the spongy surface of her cervix. Her eyes landed on her phone across the room, still positioned on the tripod from a photoshoot she had of herself earlier. "W-wait, I wanna try something...."

----------------------------

(Y/n) was completely confused. Ever since she had made her way from her room this morning, eyes followed her every move. That wasn't the uncommon part, no that happened quite a bit. The uncommon part was the unusual whispers that came with them. She felt relieved when her friends approached her, same treatment as they usually gave her.

"Ya know (Y/n), I should've known you'd go for someone like Longbottom. I mean I never saw the appeal but after seeing that little tape of yours, I can see why!" Sasha giggled, nudging her friend along with Sophie on the girl's other side. (Y/n) felt herself grow dizzy.

"T-tape?!" she squeaked, watching as Sophie pulled her phone out, handing it over to the girl. (Y/n) watched herself on the screen with wide eyes.

Tossled hair, puffy lips, and thick mascara tears running down her face, she watched as Neville lifted her up flush against his chest, tightening the grip he had around it. He smirked into the camera, pulling out of her as he rubbed his monster of a cock along her folds, light reflecting off the piercing in the tip. His dick was a sight, long and thick, inches upon inches covered with a mix of their juices.

(Y/n) let out a series of whimpers, crying and whining from the loss of him inside of her, causing him to turn her head to look at him some. He pecked her lips before turning her messy face to look at the camera. He looked down at her, eyes filled with lust and admiration.

"Tell the camera who's you are, pet or daddy's not putting it back in." He stated, continuing to rub and slap his cock along her folds. She whimpered, blabbering something incoherent which caused him to cackle. "Oh come on, puppy, daddy knows you can do better than that."

"Y-yours Nev! Daddy's whore." she cried out, letting out a series of yesses as he slid back into her at full force. "G-good, feels so good! Neville's good girl, all yours." he released his firm grip on her face, patting it gently as he tightened his hand around her throat more, continuing to fuck her as he admired his work in the reflection of the phone screen.

"I-I've seen enough! Here, take it back." she shrieked, handing the phone back to her friend trying to ignore the heat in her cheek and the pooling in her panties (which she was lucky Neville hadn't taken already). "Let's go, I've gotta find him!"

-------------------------------

Neville had been enjoying the attention he had been receiving all day. How could he not? All those poor, jealous, lovesick boys envious of him? Some of the most well known boys in the castle, begging him for even a word of what his baby's cunt feels like. He'd never tell them though, he had so snarkly replied to each one of them with something along the lines of 'you've got a hand, I'm sure you can use your imagination'. However one thing was obvious: he'd never miss the opportunity to brag about it to the boys.

"I just, I'm in shock! You're fucking (L/n)?!" Ron exclaimed, standing up from the ratty couch as he ran his fingers through his hair. Neville chuckled, smirking some as he examined his friends' jealous expressions.

"Well I'm not just fucking her, she's my bird." he shrugged, as if it wasn't the most shocking thing they'd heard in a while.

"Yeah, yeah that's nice. Not to be rude but," Harry cleared his throat as he pushed his glasses up his nose. "You have sex? Was she your first time?"

"(Y/n)? God no. I was hers however." he turned his attention back to his phone screen, which everyone's eyes was currently on. Since most, if not all the castle had seen it, what was the problem with watching it with the boys?

"I'm not surprised Neville has sex, he's my boy!" Seamus exclaimed, patting the boy in question's back way too hard. "I'm more so surprised that he's a beast of a man, like look at that!"

Neville spit in the girl's mouth, hooking his fingers on the inside of her mouth. He used his leverage on it to hold her up, stretching her mouth back as he continued to pound her. (Y/n) let out multiple screams and moans, tears continuing to poor down her face.

"God she's so pretty like that." Neville sighed, leaning back as he looked at the ceiling. However, something caught his attention out the corner of his eye. He smiled as a familiar set of beautiful (s/c) legs made their way over to him. Seamus quickly turned off the screen, all of them freezing up as the girl and her posse stopped in front of them.

"Wow, I-"

"You're, you're..."

"I-I..."

"Hi petal, you alright?" He asked, hovering above the girl as he stroked her cheek. She nodded some before pouting.

"Yeah, I would be better if half the school hadn't seen my tits before the time I even woke up! How'd you manage to leak it anyways?" she whispered, hiding her face in his chest to avoid the horny gazes of his friends.

"To be fair, I thought I hit your name not all contacts!" he lied, causing her to look up. She looked at his ears before gasping looking back up at him again as she punched his shoulder.

"Neville Longbottom, you leaked it on purpose?! Don't even lie again, your ears always get red when you lie!" she huffed out, turning away from him. "I wouldn't have had a problem with releasing it if you had just asked. I will admit though, it is kinda nice not having to hide and sneak around anymore."

"I'm still not over the fact that he has a piercing.....and thigh tattoo!" Dean finally spoke up, catching everyone's attention. It grew silent for a bit before they all began to laugh.

"Well there's a lot you don't know about me."

"I think it's better that way after this. I don't know how much more Neville I wanna get to know."

TAGSLIST: @princesslaiahg @elemental-of-magic @pink-hufflepuff @nevillelongbottomlover @ezra-my-beloved @vayeya11 @beewitchedlou @redpanda-poetry @nevillelongbottomsgirlfriend @De4d-s0up

[musubiki]

JUST SOME LEON/SONIA IDEA DUMPING BUT,.,..,,

imagine leon and sonia hanging out at her camp in the wild area. they're just chilling, Leon was on his way to motostoke when he spotted her fishing by south lake miloch and decided to drop in and say hi, spend some time with his best friend. they just laugh about dumb things they see around galar and dumb people they've run into. they let yamper and charizard play around in the grass since they're also best friends and don't get to hang out too often. 

Sonia invites him to stay for dinner and mentions she wanted to try out a new curry recipe shes been working on, and HELL YEAH he's not gonna say no to that, he loves her cooking. so he helps her chop up leeks and berries and fans the campfire while she cooks the curry, chit-chatting about hop and Gloria and that white-haired, old lady looking ass kid. little glowing cutifly’s buzz around the campsite. and of course, her curry is wonderful, as always. yamper and Charizard eat a whole plateful each, and Leon pretty much gobbles down about three.

and right before they finish dinner they hear thunder. it's about the time of night the weather in the wild area changes gears. at first they both just kinda laugh it off saying “Naw we’re probably fine it sounded far off haha.” and then the familiar sound of pouring rain slowly gets louder and louder. 

and pretty soon they’re running like crazy, grabbing the curry pot, putting their pokemon back into their pokeballs and diving for cover into sonia’s tent. (luckily the curry survived). now theyre both panting and giggling, sonia laughs about how she forgot how rapid the weather changes there. 

and it pretty much dawns on them both at the same time that he might have to stay there with her until the rain stops. Leon says, “It’ll be fine, I’ll leave when the rain lets up” with a cheeky grin and a wave of his hand. the rain did not let up. at all. 

so they go over the options. flying taxis don’t operate in thunderstorms, its too dangerous. charizard can’t fly in the rain. leon mentions he could probably make a run for it, but without charizard he’d just get lost and wander around forever until he fell into a pit and died or something. sonia could go with him, but she left all her makeup and extra clothes at home that day and there was NO WAY she was gonna walk around motostoke tomorrow looking like something the purrloin dragged in. she would rather just have him stay there. 

the tent was small, but not that small. they could sleep there on opposite sides of the tent without it being TOO weird. i guess he’s staying the night then. 

leon takes off his wet cape and hat. he notices how comfortable her tent is. the bottom of it is at least 4 inches of soft plush. easy to sleep on. she has a bunch of pillows, blankets, comfort items in the corner stacked up, and a lantern on the tent wall (the curry pot is in another corner). “How come your tent is so premium??” he asks with confusion and some jealousy. he had to sleep on the most basic, hard-ass floor tent ever during their adveture. heck, he STILL DOES when he goes camping. 

sonia just huffs in pride. “Leon, I’m a camping master. Qualitity of life is a top priority of mine.” he notices a little patch of duct tape on the roof keeping the rain out, and jokingly mocks her as he points to it. “Oh yeah, quality duct tape repairs-” which earns him a playful punch on the arm from her. 

she slides him some soft pillows and blankets for his side of the tent. hes not really sure what to do with himself. i mean, hes glad shes letting him stay, but it still feels like hes intruding. they’ve had sleepovers before a lot when they were kids, but they’re not kids anymore. and they’ve never slept this close. after a few moments of silence, leon just asks “...wanna watch that new ghost-hunting show on youtube...?” sonia blinks, thinking for a moment, before saying “Okay!” 

for the next few hours they just binge watch the ghost-hunting show, wrapped in warm blankets and comfortable pillows. leons rotom phone hovering in the air above them on autoplay. sonia finds herself leaning her head against leons shoulder to watch, but neither of them are uncomfortable with it. its not that scary of a show. they just laugh at the stupid banter between the ghost hunters. 

the rain is a little lighter now, and they’ve binged quite a bit of episodes at this point. leons rotom phone pauses they auto-play to make sure theyre still watching. “Wanna watch the next season?” Leon asks her, but when he turns to her, shes asleep. on his shoulder. just snoozing away. and he freezes. 

he stays like that for a bit just hoping he didnt wake her up with his loud-ass question. after a few moments, he has the rotom turn off the latern on the tent wall, and then go back into his bag. 

he shifts his position a bit, and pulls the covers up over her shoulders. shes cute when shes asleep, he thinks. shes cuter when shes sleeping on him. actually, shes cute all the time-

he takes a deep breath and tries to think of something else. but she’s there next to him. and really its her fault for falling asleep on him, so she cant be mad at him in the morning. he leans his head on hers, and he can smell the shampoo in her hair. it smells nice. 

by the morning shes cuddled up in his arms. its not either of their fault, its just how they ended up sleeping. (maybe a little bit leons fault, but shh). when sonia wakes up, the first thing she sleepily notes is how warm and nice it feels. then she realizes whats actually happening. she jolts a little, enough to half-wake him up, and frantically apologizes (she assumed she fell asleep on him because it was the last thing she remembered). the drowsy leon just mumbles out an “It’s okay..” and pulls her back down, and close to him again. hes not ready to wake up yet. and now its her turn to freeze. 

when they both actually get up they kind of laugh nervously about it and equally apologize. he thanks her for letting her stay there and she hastily blurts out a “Y-Yeah-! Anytime you want-!!” and then stammers away trying to rephrase it. theyre both red in the face. 

yamper and charizard kind of give each other the look(tm). leon gives her a ride to motostoke, and he has to go to a meeting with the chairman that day. she waves him off. but neither of them really ever stop thinking about it. 

[kalypsichor]

and they were quARANTINED [a beatles fic] - ch 1

summary: George takes a shit. Ringo braves a trip to the tescos and loses a bit of his soul. John harrasses the general public and Paul’s just trying to get them home before they kill each other. All while a virus tears the world apart.

warnings: CRACK (not cocaine), geo’s bad potty habits, ringo’s copious use of emojis

so, this is different... but i’ve always been a crack fic writer at heart. this is the result of being quarantined myself due to COVID-19. i’ve been seeing so much fear and frustration and hatred that i just wanted to write about it kinda cathartically. enjoy!

Unfortunately, George doesn’t realize that they’re out of toilet paper until after he’s taken a shit.

“Fuck,” he mutters. “Ringo?”

No answer.

“Ringooooooooo. RINGO!!!”

George’s legs are starting to lose feeling. He bounces them up and down a bit and the motion almost makes him drop his phone in the toilet.

“RICHARD FUCKING STARKEY!”

There’s the sound of footsteps and then a pause before Ringo answers.

“What’s up?”

“What took you so long?”

“Had my headphones in. Sorry I couldn’t be at your beck and call, O Lord of the Loo.”

“SHUT up. Look, do we have any more loo roll?”

A pause. “Why, are we out?”

George rolls his eyes so hard he sees stars. “No, I’m askin’ for the banter.”

“I’ll go check. Don’t move!”

George can almost see the shit-eating (heh) grin on his mate’s face as he walks away. With a sigh and some choice curse words that would make Louise cry, George pulls out his phone again. Opens Twitter. Sees yet another tweet from that spraytanned clown across the pond. Closes Twitter and contemplates deleting it. After about three rounds of this, Ringo comes back and knocks on the door.

“We’re all out. Got you some tissues, though.”

Krishna help me. George tips his head back against the wall and thumps it a few times for good measure.

“Thanks,” he says flatly. “Could you- ?”

The door opens just a smidge before he can finish talking there’s a flying blur of Kleenex box, a blinding pain in the side of his head, and a sickening crACK—

***

“I’m really sorry,” Ringo says for the millionth time, hovering over George as he examines the spiderweb of cracks on his phone screen. George huffs. He wants to be mad, he really does, but Ringo’s face is doing that stupid thing where his eyes are very, very blue and droopy and his teeth are worrying his bottom lip and it’s obvious that he’s genuinely remorseful and—fuck, he’s got it bad.

“It’s fine,” George insists, even though he can hear his bank account having a fit. “Piece of shit phone, anyway. And look, it still works!” Very shittily, his brain adds, but that’s what you get with a five year old phone.

The older boy’s eyes still have an unconvinced, sad look about them and George wishes he could kiss it away. No homo, though.

“How can I make it up to you?” George’s brain does a slutdrop into the gutter. “I’ll… I’ll get the groceries! How ‘bout that?”

“NO!” Scrambling off the couch, George just barely misses smacking noses with Ringo. “What about the… the virus?”

“I’ll wear a mask and all. Wash hands for twenty seconds, stay six feet away from people… am I missing anything?”

“Yeah, the quarantine bit.”

Ringo snorts and puts a hand on George’s arm. “Quit your worrying, Geo. I’ll be fine. Haven’t John and Paul been out all day?”

***

John and Paul want to go the fuck home. They’d walked all the way to a new art gallery opening only to find out it was cancelled (“Why didn’t you check Google?” “Why didn’t you?”). And now, both being tired as hell from their long trek, they couldn’t even flag down a single cab to take them home.

“This is the worst thing ever,” John cries, flopping his entire body down on a park bench. Paul rolls his eyes and lifts up John’s stupidly long legs so he can sit down as well.

“People are dying, John.”

“I feel like I’m dying.”

“John.”

“Okay, fine, maybe I’m being dramatic. But this stupid… thing… is fucking up all our plans!”

“It’s not fucking Voldemort, you can say the name.”

“Alright, fine. Coronavirus. CORONAVIRUS. You happy, Paul?”

A woman hurrying by shoots them a wide-eyed, nervous look and crosses the street, tugging a little boy by the hand.

“... bitch.”

“Jesus, John.” Paul pinches the bridge of his nose. “I’d do that too if some rando was shouting in the streets.”

“Yeah, but she didn’t hafta shoot that nasty look at us… did you see that? Paul?”

“Hold on, hold on.” His phone is vibrating in his pocket and he fumbles to pull it out. “Your stupid legs are in the way.”

John huffs and makes a show of wiggling said legs, almost kicking Paul in the face. Still, he tucks them to his chest (flexible, Paul thinks and then instantly regrets) so that Paul can take out the buzzing rectangle.

--

bongo: do u or john want anything? 🤔🤔

bongo: like groceries

bongo: going to tescos

Shouldnt you be quarantining?

bongo: ur literally at an art museum 😂

It’s a gallery

And it got cancelled :/

bongo: oop sorry m8 thats tough

bongo: srsly tho whaddaya want

We need more vegetables. Carrots, etc

--

“Tell him to get cornflakes,” John says, peering over Paul’s shoulder. He’s sat up and practically draped over Paul’s lap. Paul sighs and shoves his legs off, ignoring the indignant squawk the other boy makes when he almost falls off the bench.

--

Also that cornflake cereal stuff

bongo: k

bongo: tell john i said hi

Heyyyyyy rich wots up

Paulie’s being a bitch he pushed me :((((

Why is his auto caps on lsdnfol

--

“Give it back!”

“Ow! Ow stop hitting me Jesus fuckin-”

--

Sorry that was john

bongo: yeah i could tell lmao

bongo: where are u guys??

Stuck at some park. Can’t get any cabs home

bongo: well duh coronavirus 😷😷😷

bongo: bad time to be a cabbie man 😔

Yeah yikes

Pick up some rice for george too

And hand sanitizer

bongo: ill try but twitter says handsan itizer is going fast

bongo: what the fuc why did it space like that

Lol

bongo: oh also

bongo: geos being a mother hen and making me wear a face mask

bongo: u know where they are?

Second drawer down in the bathroom, behind the rubber gloves

bongo: … how did u reply SO fast

Uh i know where things are in our flat? Like a normal person?

bongo: thats sus but ok

bongo: wow theyre actually here

bongo: okay imma head out before it gets dark

What’s after dark? Zombies?

bongo: u never no

bongo: *no

bongo: FUCKING *KNOW

Nice

Okay stay safe ritch

bongo: 😘🙃👍🏼✌🏼✌🏼🌈🌟🥦🥦🥦☮️

***

Ringo has never seen this many people at Tesco in his entire life. Two grown men are having a full on argument in the pastries. A harried-looking dad almost knocks Ringo into a rack of Twinkies, pulling along two screaming kids with one slung on his hip. And… is that person actually wearing a Hazmat suit??

“This is insane,” Ringo mutters to himself, slightly muffled due to the face mask. He just needs to find the loo roll and then he’s going to yeet outta here ASAP.

Okay, hygiene aisle… here we g—what the—

The entire aisle is empty.

It’s like a goddamn Old Western. Just add a cow skull… cue the tumbleweed… and it would be perfect.

Not for the first time that day, Ringo sends a prayer to whoever is listening above. There’s got to be something left. He walks down to the end of the aisle. Walks back. Jumps a couple times to check if there’s anything on the top shelf. Sincerely hopes no one just saw him do that. Finally, shoved at the very back behind a couple of Always boxes, Ringo digs out a dusty as shit six-pack of toilet paper.

Well. It’ll have to do.

As he’s walking to the check out lines, a woman drops her bottle of hand sanitizer. It rolls across the floor in a perfect arc and Ringo scoops it up before it can get too far.

“Oops, you dropped this!” He says cheerily, handing it to her. Well, trying to. The woman makes a strangled noise in the back of her throat, physically flinches away from his outstretched hand, and almost drops the rest of her groceries. Before Ringo can react, she’s disappeared behind the produce aisle.

Ringo’s arm falls to his side. He stares at the space where she was just a second ago and holds in a scream.

“More for us, I guess.”

***

By the time Ringo reaches the flat, he’s ready to never see another person again. He trudges right past George in the kitchen, dropping the groceries on the table with a thwack. John hums a greeting to him in the living room and offers him a biscuit.

“No thanks,” Ringo says. He faceplants into the couch.

Something clinks onto the coffee table. Well, coffee table is one way to put it; it’s more of a hunk of stone from back when Paul thought he was going to be the next Michelangelo and get really into classical sculpture. It now sits in the living room and primarily holds George’s textbooks, plus takeout for whenever they don’t feel like cooking (which is all the time), so you can see how that panned out for Paul.

“Tea for you,” George says. He plops onto the floor between the couch and the table and runs a friendly, comforting hand through Ringo’s hair. Ringo practically purrs, leaning into the touch, and George feels his heart melt and trickle through his ribs. “You okay?”

“I’ve lost all faith in humanity,” Ringo mumbles into the cushion. John reaches over and pats him on the back.

“Don’t worry, Ringo. There won’t be any humans to have faith in soon.”

George throws a packet of sugar at John who dodges it, snickering. Ringo groans and tries to sink even deeper into the couch.

And that’s when they hear Paul scream.

[tfw-no-tennis]

mtmte liveblog - 2012 annual

iirc the annual takes place between 7 and 8, or something. whatever, im gonna go for it

shifts in art style always throw me off phewwww

i cant remember what theyre doing but i find it really funny that first aid is there squaring the fuck up to punch shit

ah yes of course how could i forget the time they shrunk down to fight tiny robots in ultra magnus’s head. a comic classic 

poor magnus lmao

HBJSDKFBSHJFDHJSD HIS TERRIFYING SMILE HAUNTS MY NIGHTMARES. LOVE IT

love the continuation of magnus’s law-vision

the fact that everyone is dunking on magnus for smiling ONCE hvbhjdksbfjks

rewind and chromedome ough

i feel like cyclonus spends 90% of his early mtmte screentime staring broodingly out of windows lmao 

tg so precious

lmaooo i love the flashes of rodimus saying ‘til all are one’ All The Time

rodimus just wants to be like his dad ok

rodimus telling drift to go meditate or something vbhjfdbhdsjkf

i love rodimus calling magnus out on referring to himself in the third person lmaoooo but also I'm like Oh I See That [eyes emoji]

wish i had emojis on the computer sigh

lmao so the circle of light is a bunch of pacifists With Big Ass Swords

them betting on how long it'll take rodimus to say ‘til all are one’ vbkjsdhbfjhkhsdf

damn so ambulon rlly did switch sides late in the game 

cyclonus is here!! being an emotionally closed-off fool as usual 

nooo rodimus let tailgate speak

cant believe rodimus graffiti’d tailgate

drift, immediately: rodimus is FUCKING POSSSESSED 

ratchet: ok, no, 

godddd everything abt the galactic counsel here is so funny. ‘its big - its grey - its taxpayer funded’ hvbkjshdbfjkdf and the fact that their ship is called ‘the benign intervention’ lmaooo

also DAMN that is a BIG ASS SHIP 

‘a fleshling in a stupid hat’ i love rodimus and his irrational hatred of hats

magnus comin in CLUTCH with the dry-ass clauses shit 

rewind vhjbdskfbaksdfn ‘the sub-section 7 defense - sneaky’ ily

tailgate hvbhjadkfbjskdf its ok that you don't know what's going on

also tailgate serves a vital role in the story as the audience insert character (or w/e its called), bc he’s often confused which allows for handy exposition that we the audience also need lmao 

i find it so interesting to see how the cybertronians are viewed by the rest of the galaxy - we don't see a lot of aliens but its always fascinating when we do, because of COURSE they’re mostly gonna think of the cybertronians as destructive and war-like when that’s what they’ve been up to for 4 million years 

ooof swerve :( swerve is one of those characters who you’re like ‘haha he’s funny’ most of the time but pretty often he’ll have startling moments of like, deep pain about life or w/e, and you’re like Oh Shit and then you kinda move on, until finally the swearth arc hits and it all comes together. what I'm saying is that this is some nice building towards that 

HGDSBJFKJSJBDF THERE IT IS THERE IT ISSSSSSSSSS

THE PANEL WHERE REWIND IN ALT MODE CAN FLY FOR SOME REASONNNNNN

i fucking love that shot so much. does everyone see this. rewind is a GIANT FUCKIN FLASHDRIVE and he’s hovering ominously thru the air. like, what happened to all the biz from issue 1 or w/e where his husband was roasting him for having a non-mobile altmode? if he can fucking HOVER than Actually rewind is the fucking coolest, no contest 

or like, is the implication that they all teleported there (having switched to alt mode along the way i guess?) and rewind is just like, suspended in midair? bc that's what the speed bubble text implies, but it also totally looks like they're just travelling across the area and rewind can levitate

anyways. that panel has always cracked me up lmaoooo

rodimus calling the council ‘fascists’ hvbhduifbjsdjfajskf sir i love you 

GODDD and there's the joke payoff from a few issues ago - rewind, facing front, hearing drift transform behind him and not only being able to tell its drift without looking, but also being able to tell that drift is upset, JUST like chromedome said he could....fucking PEAK i love that type of payoff humor

ooof and more swerve introspection. i mentioned earlier but i fucking LOVE how this series showcases the extremely wide range of reactions/coping mechanisms that everyone has towards the endless war finally being over - and swerve really nails it here: confusing peace with happiness, and assuming that everything would automatically be better after the war is over, when in reality you still have to work just as hard to build shit rather than break it

also i adore the horror of a guy who is half-embedded in the wall, his face stuck in a rictus of terror & death, waxing philosophical about how peace is about the freedom of choice, and how they should all just feel lucky to have survived...oof, that's very specifically ironic coming from you, dude 

but i do love the little characterization we get here for ore, a character who is literally already dead and has so far been used as a plot device pretty exclusively, but we still get to know little things about him here, and how HE feels about the war and the current peace, etcetc. it really makes the story and characters seem believable, like every character has a story even if we don't take the time to see it 

love cyclonus posing coolly 

kinda love how clear it is that drifts whole hippy schtick is just a front to cover his anger, and a tool to make him seem like an approachable, upstanding autobot

drift dramatically monologuing while pointing his sword at the sky is extra funny with everyone else just staring at him doing this

cyclonus why are you grabbing at the edge of the hole you're falling into, you can LITERALLY FLY, 

magnus finally getting some appreciation for being The most law abiding guy like, ever 

genuinely forgot abt the whole metrotitan plot that happens here 

GOD when rodimus is like BRAIN QUEST TIME and then we smash cut to them at the brain ‘six minutes later’ vhbhkudfjbjksf i live for that shit 

also that would be even funnier animated which further proves that we need an mtmte/ll animated series, please, somebody, 

HBDSJKFSHDJF REWIND IS SO FUCKING FUNNYYYYYY you cant even tell if he GENUINELY didn't think cyclonus could talk or if hes just being a dick but either way? comedy gold 

oh i adore the flashbacks being in a different artstyle, especially one that's so retro 

i love rewind being a history geek, and cyclonus passionately explaining cybertronian creation theory

HHHH i fucking LOVE the myth/lore stuff like....a lot of franchises tend not to dwell in this type of mythology, you tend to get The True Version Of Events, but this kind of explanation rocks bc it totally sounds like the kind of religious mythology that naturally develops based on a species’ progression

and drift and ratchet’s very opposing and polarizing views certainty do make for interesting perspectives, tho i feel like the story sometimes leans too much towards ratchet being ‘more correct’ bc, logic! or something idk i feel like i used to have a couple mild opinions on this but i don't remember

and its funny bc i am, irl, an atheistic medical professional who believes in science above all else - essentially just like ratchet. but i feel like the narrative portrayal skews a little more in his favor than i’d like, despite that 

skids just out here being a bummer, completely unprompted. cant even blame you tho dude 

hhhhhh chromedome talking abt rewind ;_; 

and when he says ‘maybe there’s someone out there who can save your life, too’ and cyclonus is there....hhhh

god i fucking LOVE drift and rodimus’s entire relationship. the layers...the LAYERS!!!

OH HEY ITS THOSE ROBOTS SKIDS FOUGHT 

ah, inconvenient laser time!

ok i fuckgin love how cybertronian’s brains look just like the planet cybertron. that's so fucking great 

of COURSE brainstorm brought his shrink ray 

truly i love the convo between ore and swerve, especially overlaid onto everyone fighting 

oof, the themes and plot threads of this annual are all so nicely tied up (which is something i love abt mtmte, especially early on when the story is smaller), with swerve now choosing to disobey an order from rodimus

oh yeah, the circle of light! that's who you've been looking for this whole time basically! 

and then the ending, hearing that magnus smiled (willingly!) :) i love it

rodimus’s profile says ‘finds it difficult to sit still’ bc rodimus is an adhd icon

lmao i feel like over half of my sentences in this recap - and in most of my recaps - contain ‘i love it’ or ‘i love how-’ or some variation upon that theme. I'm predictable 

anyways - the annual! i love this issue. its really long which is cool and i feel like it does a lot to flesh out the setting and lore, and even the characters as well. also, as i said above, it does an excellent job telling an exciting and well-contained story, with solid story beats throughout and plot threads that emerge and get resolved all within this issue, even while leaving plenty of stuff up for future resolution. that's the Early MTMTE Special, and i adore it. tho i will say I'm glad we’ll be getting back to the regularly scheduled art style, bc this one didn't really do it for me 

[theshinobiway]

OH MY GOD I LOVE THE WAY YOU WRITE KISS SCENES!!especially with the first kiss scenarios and then your two Neji scenarios, theyre super romantic! could you write heated make-out scenes for the members of team Gai? Can be kinda nsfwish but doesn't need to be explicit

Team Gai Scenarios – Make-Out Scenes (Semi-NSFW)

My dude, I loved writing these! I haven’t done any true NSFW scenarios on this blog yet and I tend to avoid full-on NSFW unless it’s explicitly requested (because I don’t know the age of my readers and don’t want to make them uncomfortable) but I’m glad to hear that you love reading them because kiss scenes are one of my favorites to write! I hope these were saucy enough for you, thanks for contributing to the blog!

I played around with my writing style for each of them, and this request took a bit because I felt some of them were too similar or had too many of the same phrasings. The length isn’t uniform because I prioritized narrative over duration, but I did add some to Neji’s in celebration of his birthday. 😊

I wrote each of these as an excerpt to what would technically be a larger piece. As a side note, I’ll totally take the request to expand them to their, ahem, full glory if desired.

Might Gai – Now, Please

Breathing. All you could hear was heavy, panting breaths.

The edge of the counter was hard against your back, but you didn’t care.

He held you there, ravishing every last gasp of air from your lips, arms—God, did he know how much you love feeling his arms hold you?—hoisted under your thighs as they brought you on the counter’s surface.

             “Can you just…” You stuttered as he made his way to your neck, groping him through the towel that was sliding off his hips. He moaned in reply, sliding himself in your hand for any desperate bit of friction he could reach through the towel that draped delicately across his Adonis belt.

Given the circumstances, he could barely speak. Returning to your lips, he replaced words with action, giving you a seductive nip before claiming them once more.

Tongues tangled together, mingling the taste of intimacy and salt.

Of him.

Gai’s characteristic grin had taken a more mischievous turn and you caught a glint of excitement behind his heavily lidded eyes.

Nobody had ever kissed you quite like he had. It was always an entanglement of longing and adoration that hung in a balance between his parted lips.

One kiss from him and you were caught, a feeling you had only imagined but never felt until he impressed himself upon you for all time.

Nothing mattered when you were with him. There were no gods, or kings, or men. Only the one you loved. And he asked, ever so sweetly in a low voice that rumbled through your being, for only the permission to cherish you more.

“What can I do for you exactly, my love?”

He loved to hear you say what you wanted. More specifically, he loved seeing the way your face lit up with color when he asked.

You craved the sweetness that came from the man built from hardship and battle, but this addiction meant you could only hold on so much longer.

No more questions.

“Ngh, Gai—”

The towel was on the floor now.

There was only ever one way to let Gai know anything—say it outright.

He would have to earn it from you.

“Make me.” You growled against his ear as he left another dark mark on your collar.

You saw a flash of onyx eyes and his serious grin—the one almost always reserved for battle, but at its core a conveyer of his intent—that caused unconscious goosebumps to spark down your back.

That was as far as you got onto that sentence before you lost patience, slipping off the counter to switch your positions, pressing him against the counter yourself. Almost laughable considering your size difference, but you knew how to lead him when you reached capacity.

He let you without thought to resist—it wasn’t even conceivable how your tongue and hands worked over his body.

Gai always smelled rustic, like earth and metal. When he was out of the shower, his bodywash dripped off of his skin with the faint smell of cologne, one that you now lapped off of his abdomen while he grunted your name as you worked your way down.

His usual cheerful face was now twisted in concentration, brows knitted together as your tongue punished his earlier actions. The way you moved over his freshly-scrubbed, still sensitive skin was practically sinful.

And one devilish look told him that you weren’t to be through with him until one—or both—of you weren’t walking until the next day.

Or at least him, as your head bobbed on him and he felt his knees buckle beneath him while white knuckles were close to tearing off the edge of the counter.

You shot him another mischievous look as your pressed further down than before, letting a rhythm build as he lost control, gripping your hair with trembling fingers, the fine line between gentle and lustful blurring until he finally snapped.

“You… are very persuasive.” He gasped, though the glistening of sweat that shimmered down his body conveyed all you needed to know about what you did to him.

Pulling you back up and punctuating a forceful kiss with a not-so-subtle grope of your backside as further evidence of his breathless desire before you were effortlessly lifted into the air, you couldn't help but shiver at the sudden contact as your legs wrapped around his well-muscled waist for stability.

A low chuckle came from his throat as he carried you to the room, not-so-subtly sliding his body against yours as he climbed on top of you, nipping for every bit of exposed flesh he found—and so gently peeling off your layers to find more. Even in passionate embrace, he was gentle with you. But right now, you wanted him.

And oh, he knew.

Rock Lee – His Fire

Your fingertips pressed into his shoulders, working out every knot they came across, and he hummed at the pleasurable touch. Still, you weren’t ready to let him relax just yet. Settling close to his back, you forked your way through his shoulder blades and down to his lower back, drawing your hands back up and then over his chest. Lee shuddered, the motion was both relaxing and pleasurable.

“You’re really tense.” You whispered in his ear, pressing a soft kiss to his shoulder as your hands went to work.

“Y-Yes, I’ve been training a lot recently. Sorry, I know you worry about me…” Lee’s skin raised goosebumps at your kiss, and you took that as an indicator that he was becoming on edge. This time, you drew your hands down his lower back then to his thighs, rubbing up and down near an area you knew would garner a reaction out of him.

“Y-y/n, you’re…ah…” He tilted his head back as you captured his neck with your lips, gently grazing your tongue over the nape of his neck. Your movements on his thighs remained languid, teasing what they encroached upon. Lee squirmed, though not from discomfort. His eyes squeezed shut and his breath hitched, lost in all the things you were doing to him. Your agile hands then found more delicate skin at the same time as your lips, and it was all too much for Lee.

“Y/n…”

His face flushed and his mouth hung open, and you could just barely see the warm breath that fell from his mouth as it dissipated in the air. Lee couldn’t hold back from your teasing anymore.  and whipped himself around, throwing his arm around you, capturing you in a desperate kiss, leaning you over until your shoulders gently hit the ground and he hovered above you. His mouth sought yours and brought forth a desire you never knew he possessed.

Lee’s body was always burning, the intensity of his being seemed to burn through his very veins and now it poured over you, igniting sparks across your skin as your bodies pressed flush and the friction of your clothes barely abated his radiating warmth.

Every kiss from him was like a spark that flew out when you struck a match. Every gentle meeting of your mouths caused a friction that lit up everything inside you until you were captured in his flame, consuming you from the inside out.

Burning, Burning.

And he set you on fire.

Your hands gripped firmly at his clothing, all but ripping it off and your skin finally pressed against his, and you groaned. Defined muscle covered his body and your fingers hungrily devoured every bit of it, earning gasps of pleasure that punctuated his hungry kisses.

Lee was losing control as he began pulling at your own, whispering apologies for his rushed actions but every plea you had to continue spurring him on until he could run his hands over your bare skin, peppering your neck and chest with messy kisses until he came back to your lips.

“Lee..”

You groaned at his sudden attention—Lee was always gentle with you, but there were times when his adoration became laced with desire. At times like this, you felt yourself give in to his every touch and caress, holding him close against you while he peppered your neck and collar with sweet, longing kisses. Without warning he hiked your leg up over his arm, pulling you down against him.

The sight of you disheveled brought a look of concern to his face, wondering if he’d been too rough—but before he could question, you pulled him back, guiding his hands, letting him trace your figure, memorize it once more with his fingertips.

The discovery of this side of him was no less tantalizing, knowing that he was sweet even in his yearning. His lips captured yours in another smoldering open-mouthed kiss, hands working their way down your abdomen while the love he had for you spilled out in soft moans and breathy words against your lips.

“You’re…so beautiful…”

He tossed your shirt out of the way, moving his kisses even lower.

“So Perfect…”

He reached the core of your stomach, pressing more of his burning, wet kisses all the way to the hem, until the heat reached up, wrapping itself around your throat. At a last moment before the heat robbed you of your voice, you called for him in the only way that conveyed all of this feeling that coiled inside of you, that threatened to burst through every pore of your skin.

“I love you..”

Tenten – Frustration

It began with slow caresses that morning before breakfast, drawing your hands up her back and over her shoulders—you knew her weaknesses—and trailing your nails down her back, and she shuddered with goosebumps, a smirk playing on her lips as she turned to give you a thankful kiss.

Instead of going completely for her lips, though, you pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek and left immediately after as she eyed you, pouting, but shrugging it off.

Within the hour and before you left, you were on her again, coming from behind to kiss over her neck as she dressed, leaving another kiss upon her cheek and avoiding her as you swept out the front door. Tenten scrunched her nose in frustration, muttering that you just had to wait until she left to do that, right?

You knew her training schedule too well, and when you found her alone she was pushed against the tree, a sloppy, open-mouthed kiss that had her gasping at first from surprise before it became pleasure, your hands finding their way behind her.

She nipped at you impatiently and you once more tore away from her, avoiding her reactionary hand that shot out for you, and you were then off in the distance, leaving her practically growling in frustration as she straightened herself out and swore you would ‘seriously get it’ later.

             That is, until past lunchtime and she found herself alone once more until you appeared again, this time pushing her into the grass, hoisting one leg over your waist and hand dipping beneath her clothing, pulling it just far enough to draw your mouth to her chest.

She could only stutter out words of frustration with your antics between moans of appraisal for your actions, letting you lavish your tongue over her tanned skin, and gasped as you delved beneath her waistline, drawing small circles with your fingertips that began slow, but picked up pace as she eased into contact.

Your lips admonished hers, hands never forsaking that familiar rhythm and it wasn’t long until you had her shuddering and writhing against you.

She was always so beautiful like this.

             At this point you had decided to give up your game, the temptation to embrace her then and there too great to resist. The mere look on her face—flushed, gasping, and wanton, staring at you with adoration and lust at once—was enough to block out the world, and you wanted to give her every bit of pleasure, to shower affection over every part of her in words and touch.

             She didn’t try to be irresistible. Her beauty was effortless, captivating in the rawest sense of implicated strength that you saw ripple through the taut skin that covered her abdomen, the way she flexed as her body moved underneath you. She was powerful, magnetic, and you were a slave to her every movement as she called out for you.

But this time, you sensed others coming nearby—though she didn’t, too caught up in the moment thanks to your intimate caress. Reluctantly you managed to straighten her clothing out, stifling her complaints with a last passionate kiss and slid out of sight just as others arrived.

             The training dummies may or may not have had your face on them for the rest of the day.

             You passed through back ways to slip into the house in wait for her, planning to apologize and make up for it in kind. That is, you had plans until a wire tripped through the door, triggering another, thicker rope that wound itself over your torso and pinned your arms—and legs—together. In the haze of your earlier excursion, you had no awareness of your surroundings until it was too late.

And really, who sets up traps in their own home?

You lost your balance and toppled over the floor, not even having time to struggle until a familiar, frustrated shadow loomed over you.

“Oh, Welcome home, darling.” You didn’t need to look at her to know that her voice accompanied a particularly dangerous grin.

Gentle kisses trailed along your neck as you half-heartedly pulled at the ropes, letting the softest whimper be pulled from your mouth as her hands wandered over your sides, down your thighs, nipping at the nape of your neck. It was overwhelming, feeling her relinquish all of her attention on you, and you tilted your head as far as it would let, begging for her kiss. She trailed her tenacious fingers along your cheek and acquiesced, allowing you to finally taste the residual sweetness that lingered in every open-mouthed exchange.

“I know I deserve every bit of what you do to me after today.”

“Oh, I know.”

Neji Hyuga – You’re Never Like This

You feared most upsetting Neji’s boundaries, and so you held back.

But when you last expected it your body acted in your place, running your hands along his shoulders when he sat reading, keeping your eyes closed a second longer when you broke away from a gentle kiss, or the ever-seldom tug at his shirt when faint passion ebbed its way into another mind-numbing entanglement of lips.

This particular time you were curled up against him both engrossed in your own books. When he shifted, he earned a look of curiosity. Neji pressed a reflexive kiss to your temple when you turned back. One shift, and those lips were lazily drawn over yours for a brief moment.

That was all it took.

Forget that just earlier that day you had awoken from a torturous nap where in your dreams he had kissed you in so many more ways than that.

He lingered for a moment, and that alone was enough to start a slow burn. You pulled at his collar and you felt him stiffen, but respond in kind.

It didn’t register just how much he was reciprocating until his arm was around you, taking every ounce of restraint to make sure you both didn’t topple over on the couch.

In the past, when he grew distant in your kiss you drew away, rationalizing it as one of his boundaries. Today you chased him, begging with your hands along the defined lines of his jaw, and to your surprise it garnered positive response—at first.

You felt his grip tightening on your hips, shifting you more into his lap as he pressed back.

He didn’t break away when your kiss deepened, either, though you knew it wouldn't be long. It almost seemed as though that kind of kiss wasn’t his preference--because it never lasted--though he had shyly admitted otherwise in the past.

Almost as suddenly as you felt a small victory in reigniting his warmth in your kiss, he broke away, faint color on his face and lips partially swollen, taking a deep breath.

As you had been examining him, he looked at you with an expression that you couldn’t read, pausing meaningfully before he spoke.

“What’s with you today?” Neji scanned your face for any indication that this behavior wasn’t as sudden as it seemed.

The directness of his question caught you off guard. As if you were about to go off, Neji kept his hold on your hand. His brows narrowed for a second when you leaned back from him, but relaxed when he recognized the telltale signs of nervousness.

Instead, now they lowered in concern.

Needing the space, you reluctantly let go of his warm hands. Rising up from the couch, Neji didn’t let you linger too far. He was at your side, gently caressing the strands of hair that fell past your ear until you were ready to face him again.

You shifted your weight from one side to the other, weighing your options for how to begin this conversation. It wasn’t one you both had delved into before in detail, the only withstanding agreement being the request that you take this slow.

“Do you ever…” Your words trailed off, and you were unable to finish your own sentence. You averted your eyes, almost ashamed you had sought an answer.

Your arms closed around you as you spoke. Defensive.

He could take a glance at you and knew your every thought as though it was written all over your skin. No sooner had you paused then he could have finished the sentence himself.

Neji took in every word you said, quirking his head slightly to the side as his intuition finished the rest of your sentence. He locked on your eyes with intent to see if you would continue further, which now refused to gaze at him again.

Clearing his throat, the slightest waver betrayed his otherwise impermeable façade of confidence.

“Do…you?”

“I…” You paused, now realizing how this could turn. Still, you were unwilling to lie to the person you loved. Even if you could, your face alone spoke on your behalf.

Your thoughts cautioned you, trying to guard you from possible rejection, from the uncomfortable conversation that could follow. He didn’t have to try; those entrancing, ivory eyes drew out from your heart that overwhelming truth.

One that now fell from your lips without abandon.

“…I do. All the time.”

He blinked at you in silence, his face frozen. Neji reflexively stilled when strong emotions passed through him, a result of years of training his self-control. Even now, it was difficult to read his thoughts.

Your face was burning at your admission, and you unconsciously took a step back. But then, catching your retreat, he firmly stepped forward, drawing one arm against the wall and leaning over you, searching your expression. His face was serene as an untouched pond.

But then you were caught by a shimmer of something that dwelled behind his eyes.

You had never seen a look like this before, you thought. It was a sight you couldn’t explore; one glance that harbored an unreadable intent. It was terrifying and beautiful at once.

He captured you with a look and coaxed you with his voice, breaking his silence.

“What of now?” His smooth baritone sent shivers down your spine and his eyes locked with yours, silver-white piercing through you. The soft breath from his lightly parted lips enticed you to reach for them with your own as if in a trance, but he held back for a moment, out of your reach.

“Answer me.” Neji’s voice lowered to a husky whisper and he tilted your head back, lips barely grazing over yours.

A weakness of yours, one he discovered in an early kiss in your relationship.

But why was he doing it now? You had thought you were to have a serious discussion.

“Right now, I…” Your voice was breathy and his presence was magnetic, drawing you further in but he kept you just far enough, rapturing you with his presence.

The blessing of gazing upon his composed face so close, to admire every part of it but yet be held just far enough away so that you could not embrace him was a beautiful torture, your punishment for your silence now rivaling that of Tantalus himself.

“Neji, I—"

He caught you before you could finish.

And then you saw it.

That glimmer was no more than the telltale faltering of his restraint, and now you were aware of his fingers gently grazing the smallest bit of exposed skin underneath your shirt.

He still needed an answer, one word of consent.

The lump caught in your throat as you swallowed, and you gripped onto his shirt, pulling him closer, trying to convey what words couldn’t, but he remained out of reach.

“Neji…”

He’s never like this. Your head began to swim with the realization that this was temptation. A prelude meant to convey that he wanted you, but for all his assurance about your soon-to-be answer, he didn’t proceed without that word of consent.

Such a gentleman.

“Saying it is just…”

Neji’s thumb drew over your lips, giving you pause.

At first you tried to speak but only managed a gasp, swaying on your feet as his other arm came around you to hold you steady, pulling you closer, holding you for balance. It was too much, the sudden permeating and intoxicating smell of his hair, of his skin, of the sensation of his towering presence, his breath mingling with yours, just out of reach…

Now.

“Neji, I want you so bad, please—”

Before you could protest, let alone capture air to finish, his mouth was on yours, rough, pressing almost hard enough to bruise. You heard—felt—a growl or a moan against you. You couldn’t tell which, but the thought of either made you shiver and your skin was aware of the heat that came from his body before your brain could register what was happening. You mustered a gasp as his body lurched forth, now flush against you as his hand caressed your face.

That smoldering passion you felt in every kiss, always faint, was now ablaze as his entwining lips burned at the touch, filling your body with warmth. Coupled with the still-gentle, painfully loving caress of your face, you didn’t stand a chance.

God, could he always kiss like this?

His lips devoured yours, teeth grazing you, nipping at your bottom lip, then pressed firmly against yours again, parting ever so slightly and coaxed you to do the same. You did. He never deepened the kiss on his own, but now you came together you lost what was left of your mind as sounds you didn’t know you were capable of escaped your throat.

“Please, ah…Neji—”

When he heard—felt—you moan, Neji’s chances of regaining control anytime were abolished. You were moaning for him, kissing him back with equal ferocity, and he could barely register what he was doing in the haze that clouded his mind with lust.

His hands both swept around your waist and you stumbled, toppling to the ground overtop of him, and just as quickly as you fell you were rolled over on your back. Your hands tangled in his hair, gripping near his scalp, bringing his lips back to yours, the seconds apart feeling like eternity.

The controlled roughness of your grip and the feeling of your nails gently working their way down his neck let a groan escape before he could resist.

Almost as sudden, he broke away from your embrace and feverishly trailed smaller kisses down your cheek, the curve of your jaw, teasing your neck with his warm breath before covering it completely, eliciting sounds from you that drove him wild with need.

There was no resemblance to the withheld man you knew now as he flicked his tongue over your skin, leaving gentle nips and marks in his wake, searching for every nerve that would reward him with more of the sweetest cries that poured from your lips.

“Ah…N-Ngh…You…Now.” You pled through the repeated assaults on your neck that barely let you speak until your words brought him back to your lips once more.

Your breath brought goosebumps across his skin and the begging that he drew from you sent his senses into overdrive. It didn’t matter that you were on the floor.

A faint thought passed through his mind that right now he would have taken you anywhere.

He hungrily sought you once more, letting your moans meld together. As his hands gripped your hips, Neji knew this was impulsive, but he also knew that he was never more sure about anything in his life.

‘He’s never been like this,’ you thought, as you felt every bit of need and desperation in his touch when he entwined his hands with yours. Your body shivered with every movement of his hips, his firm grasp gentle all the same.

During nights by yourself you questioned if he ever felt this way about you; if the withheld man you loved so harbored that same maddening desire. But now, as he pressed into you, face flushed, eyes snapped shut, slowly rocking against you as he failed to stifle another moan, you knew the answer.

[mistymark]

the one with the step stool.

nakamoto yuta x reader // barista!au // enemies to lovers!au

summary: in which you and yuta are coworkers and he finds it funny that you can’t reach the things on the top shelf

lets get this started then

can I just say

you absolutely adored your job

like most people hated their jobs? not you

working at the quaint coffee shop was the highlight of your day; talking to the old ladies who came in for morning tea every week, having friendly debates with the suits who came in during rush hour as you made their coffees, fun discussions with the other students and making new close friends with your coworkers

all in all, work was great

was

over the summer, when it started to get really busy as the weather looked up, your manager started hiring some new summer staff

enter yuta

okay not gonna lie the first time you saw him you thought he was hella attractive and couldnt wait to work with him

but that was until he began openly flirting with all the customers, and boasting to one of your coworkers about how much money he got in tips from it

and honestly, it began to piss you off

who the hell does he think he is

he was so cute and flirty with all the customers but so teasing when it came to you

and no it wasn't cute you hate the guy shut up

“y/n can u stop staring at my ass” “im trying to see how many muffins are in the case, asshole”

“hey y/n,,, like what you see?” “I wasn't even looking at you until you said my name wtf”

and no he wasn't a fuckboy!!!!! but he was definitely flirtatious

“y/n you missed a spot” “no I didnt I just finished wiping this table down” “no, not that,,, the bit of drool,, from looking at me” “oh my god shut up”

most of the time u worked the machine whilst he was on registers

but one of the other girls in the back went away on a holiday, so u started covering her in the office

which meant you had to be able to reach all the files in the top cabinets

and okay,, you weren't SHORT per say... but u were sorta

vertically challenged

and Yuta had taken it upon himself to help bully you whenever you needed ingredients from the top shelves when u were in the kitchen

so watching u try and reach for the files every day made him cACKLE

literally it was the funniest shit to him

“do u need a hand” “oh uh, yes please” “come on y/n just take it” “YOURE HOLDING IT OVER YOUR HEAD YOU LITTLE SHIT I CANT REACH IT”

anyway

one day you come in to work

and you roll your eyes at him when he sends you a grin from the registers

and roll your eyes even hARDER when he winks

when u walk into the office you're working in, theres a small pink step stool sitting on the desk, heart and rainbow stickers stuck all over it

theres also just a pile of glitter sitting on the top, like not glued on or anything, just sitting in a pile on the black surface

immediately your smile drops and you turn around in a fit of rage, and he's already standing there smugly, his arms crossed as he leans against the doorframe

“nakamoto yuta i am going to KILL you” you march up to him, your eyes shooting daggers

his eyes widen a little as you stand as close as possible to him, your finger pointed at him “you're such an asshole you know that?”

his smile never falters “you’re really cute when you're mad”

in a huff, you stomp back to your desk, grab the step stool and set it down at his feet

he laughs softly at your actions and watches as you stand on the stool confidently

“bet im not cute anymore”

he shakes his head at you and leans back quickly to make sure he’s not going to get in trouble for abandoning his work

“nope” he assures you

not gonna lie,, it kinda hurt

he saw the smile falter on your face

“well, uh... good, I-”

he glances down at the stool, before dragging his eyes up to your face, hovering above his “not cute exactly, I'd say more hot, but it’s whatever” he grins cheekily at you as he watches the small, shy smile appear on your face

“um? thank you?” you let your hands drop and you keep eye contact as you step off the stool and kick it forcefully into the corner of the room

he doesnt leave

“dont you have something better to do? like, idk, your job?”

“shouldn't I be asking you the same thing?”

“whatever yuta”

later that week, you’re collecting your payslip from the box theyre kept in  after your shift when yuta joins you

for once in his lifetime, he doesnt make any jokes as he easily reaches up and grabs it for you from above the cupboards

he huffs dramatically as he searches for his from the box “why can't they just do it in alphabetical order or something wtf”

“im sure its there somewhere”

“I can't find it”

“just grab it next week then”

“I can't, this is my last week”

“you're quitting?” you stop, looking up at him, instantly feeling as if it was your fault

he sent you a small smile because of ur concern, and continues looking through the box “no, im only summer staff, remember? and last time I checked, this is the last week of summer”

“so, you're not going to work here anymore” you couldnt believe it

“pretty sure thats what it means, yeah” he looked amusedly at you

when you didnt respond: “you gonna miss me, shortstack? no one to get the files down for you”

you snorted, “doubt it, and besides, I have a stool”

but to tell the truth, part of you was going to miss him

you continue to rifle through the pile you have in your hands and you find his

“this is yours right?” he looks up and makes to grab his payslip from you

“come on yuta just take it” you mock as you hold it out away from him

he reaches out to grab it and you move your arm behind your back, and he doesnt hesitate to reach around you to try and get it back

“um” you start, when both of his arms are wrapped around you, trying to snatch the envelope from your hands

it wasn't because you were freaked out because this wasn't normal, it was because you were freaked out because it did feel normal

it felt like he should always have his hands wrapped around you

and you didnt mean to ruin it;

he stopped instantly, taking in your position

you were standing there, one of his arms holding you to his chest to prevent you from moving, as his other reached for your hand

your other hand was resting on his shoulder as he bent down slightly to reach down your back

you stayed like that for a moment; trying to gage each other’s reactions

because if he wasn't lying; he was quite enjoying how flushed he made you, and how cute he thought your habits were while you were working

and how pretty you looked every morning when you walked in, and how you still looked gorgeous at the end of the day

okay okay maybe mAYBE yuta had a slight thing for you

but you would never take him seriously because of his constant flirting

“sorry” he pulled his arms away from you, taking a small step back

“no, no, um- here” you offered him the payslip

he took it, nodded and left

okay what the fuck just happened

did u have a thing for yuta

surely not

okay maybe

yes?

well this wasn't supposed to happen lol

the following week, after four days of not seeing yuta working with you, and with your friend coming back you were working the machine again, so u felt extra lonely

dont get me wrong, like your other friends were great, but you couldnt help miss him

especially with the small moment you'd had only a few days ago

the days passed much slower, but you continued your work diligently

“one regular iced mocha please”

your head shot up at his voice, and he sent you a wide grin as he met your eyes, then focused back on the girl serving him, grabbing out his wallet from his pocket

he stood waiting for his coffee beside the machine

“how have you been?” you tried to sound casual, not wanting to let on how excited you were to see him

he smiled happily “good, tho I miss working here”

“is that why you're back so soon”

“actually...” you looked up as you waited for the machine to finish pouring the hot liquid into a cup

“I wanted to ask if you were busy after your shift”

you felt a smile creep up on your face

you nodded happily, biting your lip to stop him from seeing your obvious reaction

“you still finish at 3 on Fridays right?”

“yeah” you blushed a little and began to focus on your coffees again

“iced coffee for,, hottest man alive?” you frowned at the docket you'd been handed

“wow y/n thats not necessary but thank you” he laughed and stepped closer to collect his coffee

“nakamoto yuta i will-”

“kill me? okay, y/n, but you’ve gotta wait” he checked the time “seven minutes until your shift ends”

seven minutes later, you hung up your apron and grabbed your things, stashing them on the chair beside yuta, as he stood up to leave

“I just have to grab my payslip” you turned around to rush to the backroom

“I got it” 

you cocked your head confusedly at him 

he held it up, then moved it to above his head

you jutted your hip out and crossed your arms over your chest, unimpressed

he lowered his hand, offering it out to you, level with his chest

quietly, he said “come on y/n just take it”

you cocked an eyebrow at him and reached out to grab it, but he grabbed your wrist with his free hand, pulling you into him, and bending down to reach your face, he closed the gap between your lips

you stood there, surprised, before you felt yourself smile and kiss him back

your hands forgot about the payslip and moved around his neck, pulling him against you

he moved the hand with your payslip in it around you waist, supporting you

he pulled away and you pouted at him

“dont give me that look, I came here to take you on a date, not just make out with you”

“funny, I like the second idea more” you mumbled, stashing your payslip into your bag

“hey it took me two months to work up the courage to ask you out, you’re not throwing my date away this easily”

you grabbed his hand as you stepped out onto the sidewalk

“really? two months?”

he laughed as he lead you down the busy street

“you have no idea”

[hermannsthumb]

Newmann with 33 please? Because you know that Hermann's dad would never let him go sledding or do anything fun as a child, so Newt makes it his personal mission to give Hermann the maximum sledding experience without any pain to his bad leg.

yes this prompt is two months old but its still winter so?

33: we don’t know each other that well but i found out that you’ve never been sledding and feel like it’s my personal mission to change that (adjusted slightly to “theyre married actually” bc i kinda wrote this before i read the whole prompt LOL)

from winter prompts here

“Trust me,” Newt says, and he smiles back at Hermann over his shoulder. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

It’s the wrong thing to say, maybe; there are a lot of bad things that could happen. A lot of things that could go wrong. Newt’s like a walking beacon for bad things, and things going wrong, and disasters in general. He doesn’t blame Hermann for looking nervous, nor for the way he grips tighter to Newt’s waist, nor for the small panicked noise he makes in the back of his throat at Newt’s less-than-reassuring words.

"This is a bad idea,” Hermann says. “This is a very bad idea, Newton.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Newt says cheerfully.

The thing is, bad idea or not, it’s all Hermann’s fault to begin with. Or maybe technically it’s Hermann’s dad fault. It’s snowing--like, snowing a bunch, enough that the university forced them to cancel their lectures, enough that Newt had to work his vastly under-used (and mostly nonexistent) muscles after months of laziness and shovel out their front walk way, enough that one could, conceivably, find a nice big hill and spend an afternoon sledding down it to their heart’s content. Newt expressed such a sentiment to Hermann wistfully as they cuddled on their couch and watched snow drift gently past their big bay windows.

(“Like being a kid again,” he said after posing the sledding observation to Hermann, all while Hermann did his very best to distract him with making out, and Hermann grazed his teeth at Newt’s ear and said, “Father would never allow me,” and then tried to worm his hand up Newt’s sweater, and Newt startled so bad he made Hermann jump and actually bite Newt’s ear and then yelped “What?” because it shouldn’t surprise him but, goddamn, Hermann’s dad really did a number on his kids, and now they’re here, all the way out at the hill down the road with a sled Newt bought off their thirteen-year-old neighbor for $20 and a promise to take good care of it.)

“You just gotta hold on to me,” Newt says, as if Hermann isn’t already clinging to him for dear life. He smiles reassuringly again and pats Hermann’s hand. “I’ve got you, honey.”

Hermann makes that distressed noise again. After making sure he’s properly arranged, that his leg is propped at an angle alongside Newt’s that’s not uncomfortable, Newt grips the sled’s rope handle with one hand and pushes them off with the other.

Newt’s shared most of his adult life with Hermann (all the way from the tender age of twenty-three), and as of late, a good deal of that shared time’s been spent making up for all the shit Hermann missed out on growing up. Or even beyond growing up--all the shit Hermann was too self-restrained or frugal or isolated to do as an adult. Newt takes Hermann to amusement parks (where he spoils him with cotton candy and wins him huge stuffed animals in games that are probably scams), and beaches (where they have fancy drinks with tiny paper umbrellas and Newt rubs Hermann’s sunblock in very thoroughly), all the nerdy museums Hermann’s nerdy heart could possibly desire (Newt even lets Hermann do the audio tours), and he cooks him food Hermann’s never tried but always waned to and books him long massages at fancy spas and picks out soft clothing that actually fits him and kisses him a bunch (every day, all the time, all day if Hermann would let him, and sometimes he does), but he never realized sledding was something he’d have to add to the list. What else was Hermann not allowed to do as a kid? Fingerpaint? Watch cartoons? Find cool bugs in creeks and play in mud? Fucking tragedy.

Hermann’s shrieking. It takes Newt a while to realize that’s what that ringing in his ears is.

“Isn’t this fun?” he shouts back at Hermann, as wind whips back his hair and scarf and snowflakes fly at his glasses and blind him; he can’t exactly see where they’re going, so he hopes they’re not about to hit a tree or a small child or anything.

Hermann keeps shrieking. And shrieking.

When they hit the bottom of the hill, it’s not nearly as graceful as Newt hoped it’d be: the sled stops, but they don’t, and they tumble off into the snow in a chaotic tangle of limbs and winter coats, Newt’s glasses flying off in one direction and his Hermann-knitted hat in another. He takes all of Hermann’s weight when he lands on top of Newt, and they grunt painfully in unison. At least Hermann’s stopped shrieking, even though that probably means he’s about to start yelling at Newt instead.

“Uh, well,” Newt says. “How was that?”

He can only just make out Hermann’s face where it hovers a few inches above him--no details, only vague and blurry shapes, Hermann’s messy dark hair, his round granny glasses that somehow remained completely in place, the snowflakes that drift around him. Then, to his surprise, Hermann kisses him. “You moron,” he says, far too affectionately, “you’ll be the death of me.”

Newt grins and drags him by the ugly parka in for another kiss. “But it was fun?”

“I suppose,” Hermann says. “Though I’m not overly fond of the prospect of walking back up.”

It is a pretty big hill, which already sucks, and on top of that Newt talked Hermann out of bringing his cane, which seemed like a great idea at the time (he can walk pretty okay without it, so long as he has Newt’s arm to lean on) but is giving Newt serious doubts now. “Tell you what,” Newt says. “I’ll carry you.”

He knows Hermann likes it when he works those barely-there muscles, and that Hermann likes it even more when he works those muscles on Hermann, so he’s not all that surprised when Hermann kisses him once more in response and rubs their pink noses together. Newt’s going to cuddle the shit out of him later. “Mm. Alright.”

“Ideally, though,” Newt says, squinting up at Hermann, “we find my glasses first. Technically that’s my spare pair, so--”

[hysterialevi]

Abraham - A RDR2 Fanfic

Fanfic summary [NO SPOILERS]: Lyle Morgan and his eleven-year-old son have a conversation about Beatrice’s death, only for the boy to witness a second one.

Warning(s): Mild language

Author’s note: Bear with me if not everything in this story is correct. I’m not entirely sure where Arthur’s originally from (all I’ve heard is that he’s from somewhere in the north), so I just made something up lol. Also, this fic will only be one part. Anyway, hope you enjoy :)

From Lyle’s POV

A FOREST SOMEWHERE IN MONTANA

SUMMER, 1874

Strollin’ through the tall, thick grass, I led my mount around the forest at a casual pace while my son sat on top, consumed by his journal as always. It was an hour or two before midday, and right now, there was a radiant blanket o’ sunshine bathing the entire forest, painting everything with a golden tint. It was beautiful, and I wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of the day out here...but this feeling of annoyance just wouldn’t stop naggin’ me, and I knew exactly why.

I briefly glanced over my shoulder, peering at my son as he scribbled something down in the weathered pages of his journal.

A quick sigh escaped me.

I didn’t know who the hell Arthur got his interest in art from, or why Beatrice even bothered buying him that book, but that child just couldn’t seem to take his eyes away from it. Every time I came across the boy, he was always scratchin’ down some fantasy world of his, or creating images of a utopia I ain’t ever seen. It was pointless.

He spent more time daydreamin’ in that book than he did playing outside, or hunting, or fishing -- hell, he didn’t even know how to read -- and yet, Beatrice seemed perfectly content with it.

Or at least...she did.

Beatrice weren’t around no more. She was killed by bandits a few months ago. Robbed. Left on the side o’ the road for the crows to feed on. But Arthur didn’t know that. Sheriff told him it was a wild animal that took her. A wolf, to be exact. And he believed him.

I dragged a hand down my face, suddenly feelin’ exhausted just thinking about it.

Had I done the right thing, not tellin’ Arthur the truth about his own mother’s death, I wondered? I figured the kid didn’t need to know the morbid details, or even the entire truth, but I still felt like a piece of shit for not revealing the full story -- especially considering that them bandits who killed Beatrice...killed her ‘cause of me.

I had stolen something from them. Somethin’ valuable. And before it fell into their dirty hands, that “something” apparently belonged to a rich plantation owner who really wanted it back. Ended up gettin’ one of the bandits hanged, and left them thirsty for revenge. But they didn’t have the strength to go after the plantation owner. So, they came after me instead.

They chased me for quite a while. They chased me across the mountains, across the swamps, across the goddamned snow...until finally, they came to their senses and realized there were much better, more convenient ways of hurtin’ me. And thus, their paths diverted to my wife and son.

Those bastards managed to corner her while she was ridin’ to town to do some shopping. Found her on some secluded road between here and the nearest settlement, and ensured she would never return. That was when Arthur went lookin’ for help to find his missing mother hours later, and the sheriff assured him a wolf had gotten to Beatrice.

Christ. I really was a terrible father, weren’t I? Not only did I pay more attention to a bottle o’ whiskey than my own wife, I had also neglected Arthur for years on end, and indirectly gotten his mother killed. And the boy was only eleven.

He had spent half of his life not knowing a damned thing about where his daddy was, or even what he did, only to lose the one parent he already had before he could find out.

Lord...there had to be some way to make this up to him.

I looked back at the boy, suddenly feeling an urge to say something -- anything -- to him.

“Arthur,” I called out, catching the kid’s attention as his head perked up from behind the journal’s pages, “put that damned book away for a moment, will you?”

The boy hurriedly marked his place in the journal with a pen and shut it closed, resting the object on the saddle’s surface as he hung his head low in shame.

“...Sorry, sir.” He murmured.

I shook my head, lettin’ out a concerned breath.

“You spend far too much time in that journal. It was a mistake to buy it.”

Arthur’s eyes wandered to the trees towering around us.

“I’m sorry, dad,” he apologized timidly. “But I like drawing.”

I scoffed. “Yeah? Well, I like Poker. But I ain’t got time to play it. Too busy worryin’ about survival, and keeping the both of us fed. You can’t always do what you want, Arthur. You gotta provide. Things like drawing, gambling...they’re frivolous. We got better things to worry about.”

The child quirked a brow. “Friv-uh-less...? What’s that mean?”

“It means we don’t need to do it,” I explained. “What we do need, however, is to eat. So put that journal away and keep an eye out for deer. You was the one who suggested we come out here in the first place.”

Arthur frowned in a discouraged manner. “Yes, sir.”

I gave him a stern nod. “Good boy. Now...you said you seen a big buck out here?”

The boy pointed ahead. “Yeah. It was by the river.”

I gave the reins a little tug, urging my horse to follow me. “Then that’s where we’ll start. C’mon, Boadicea.”

Continuing our little hunting trip, Arthur and I traveled deeper into the lively woods as creatures of all types scurried around us, rustling blades of grass and alerting the tiny insects that hovered above the plants.

There was a rather peaceful mood to the forest today -- a welcome change considerin’ how chaotic my life usually was -- and I had to admit: some part of me enjoyed being here with Arthur. I rarely ever got to see the boy because of my work as an outlaw, and when I did, he always seemed reluctant to leave the house. Whether that was because he was more of an indoors person, or simply ‘cause he weren’t eager to spend time with me -- I didn’t know. But it was good to be with him regardless.

Approaching the large river, I came to a temporary halt as I crouched down and examined the ground, carefully searchin’ for any tracks that could’ve possibly led us to the buck.

The area here appeared undisturbed -- save for the fish flopping in and out of the babbling water -- and as far as I could tell, there weren’t no deer running around this section of the forest. Not at the moment, anyway. Maybe they were at a different part of the river.

I took a closer look at the grass, only to be torn away from my thoughts when Arthur raised a question.

“Dad?” He asked softly. “Can I...can I ask you something? About momma?”

I paused, thrown off-guard by the sudden change in tone.

“Momma?” I repeated, slowly turning towards the boy. “Why you wanna talk about her?”

Arthur’s expression sank with sorrow.

“It’s just...you knew her better than I did. Or longer, I guess. And I don’t remember her that good. ...Do you?”

I gazed at him in a puzzled manner, admittedly still a bit taken aback by the abrupt question.

“...Clear as day,” I replied, unwilling to sift through the painful memories. “But that don’t matter. She’s...she ain’t coming back, Arthur. No one does, once they die. Ain’t no point in lingerin’ in the past when it can only haunt you. All we can do is move on. You understand?”

Clearly a bit hurt by my response, Arthur dropped the subject and averted his eyes from me, peering over at a nearby gathering of flowers instead.

He slouched despondently. “...I understand.”

That wasn’t good enough for me. I took a step towards him.

“Look at me when you say that, Arthur,” I demanded. “It’s important you look people in the eye when you speak to them.”

The boy brought his line of sight back to me, his face veiled behind a very subtle layer of fear.

He straightened his back a bit. “I understand.”

I nodded in approval. “Good. Now...let’s get back to huntin’ this buck. You sure it was around the river?”

Arthur gazed around. “I saw it this morning when I was playing with Copper,” he confirmed. “It was drinkin’ water right here. That’s when I came to get you.”

I observed the dirt underneath me, squinting my eyes as I searched for clues. The grass in these parts was quite thick, so that made it even tougher to spot fur, or dung -- and I still didn’t see any deer tracks -- but it certainly looked like another animal had been around here.

I kneeled down, shuffling the grass outta the way with my hand.

“It looks like some wild horses might’ve passed through this area,” I examined. “But no sign of deer. Oh, well...the day is still young, and we have some time, so we’ll keep looking.” I gestured to a nearby bridge. “Let’s try over there.”

Grabbing my horse’s reins, I continued to guide it through the woods as Arthur scouted the area for me, his big blue eyes scanning the sharp horizon while the sun escalated in the sky. There was a certain determination in his temperament now, and the longer we carried on trying to locate this buck, the more my son seemed to be enjoying himself.

Perhaps there was hope for us, after all.

“...Dad?” The boy called again, making me flick my eyes to the side. “What if there are wolves out here?”

I encouraged him to stay calm. “Now, don’t you go worryin’ about that. If we see wolves out here, we’ll be fine. We’re armed, we’re fast, and we’re smart.”

Arthur wasn’t convinced. “...Momma was smart.”

I sighed in a melancholic tone at that. “Yes...she was. But...Momma was killed by a different type of wolf.”

He tilted his head in a puzzled manner. “What d’you mean?”

I gestured to my rifle. “Not all wolves are the same, Arthur. Some use their teeth, some use their guns, and some use their tongue. You gotta be able to identify them when you see ‘em.”

The kid didn’t say it flat out, but I could tell he knew what I was really talkin’ about.

“Those sound more like people.” He replied. I let out a gentle chuckle.

“People can be worse than wolves, Arthur. In fact, I’d prefer a wolf over some o’ the people I’ve met.”

Arthur leaned forward in the saddle, his body swaying along with Boadicea’s steady speed.

“What kinda people have you met?”

I lowered my voice, thinking back to the bandits who killed Beatrice.

“Killers. Thieves. Deceivers. Men who will constantly betray each other even though they share the same motive: greed.”

I turned to Arthur with a remorseful look, hopin’ to do at least one right thing in my life, and use myself as a cautionary tale that money weren’t as clean as it seemed.

“...Greed,” I told him, “it breaks people, Arthur. They may not realize it, ‘cause greed can get you far in this world...but the reward ain’t worth it. Not compared to the things you have to sacrifice. In the end, you’ll have tons of cash, only to realize that there are luxuries not even millionaires can afford.”

His innocence took over. “Then why do they do it?”

That was a question I asked myself everyday. I shrugged in a disheartened fashion.

“Because they don’t care. So long as their pockets is heavy, and their bellies is full, they’ll keep on going. But like I said, greed poisons you. It kills you. And you won’t even notice until you’re already sittin’ in a grave. So promise me, Arthur, promise me that when you get to my age...you won’t become a wolf.”

Despite evidently bein’ a little confused, the child was able to make some sense of what I just said and agreed to the promise, reassuring me with a small smile.

“I promise.”

“Good boy,” I praised, bringing my mind back to the main reason we came out here. “Anyway, here’s the bridge. Why don’t you hop down and help me find this buck?”

“Okay.”

Sliding down the saddle, Arthur effortlessly climbed down and joined me, scurrying ‘round like a mouse while he searched for any signs of the buck. But so far, there was nothing in sight.

“See anything?” I checked. The boy shook his head.

I wiped some sweat off my brow, letting out a fatigued sigh. This animal was certainly proving to be a challenge to hunt down. We had already been in this forest for a couple hours now, and our efforts still hadn’t paid off. Part o’ me was almost starting to suspect if Arthur even saw a deer in the first place, and not some other kinda animal.

I decided to take a short break, and turned to ask the boy.

“You positive the buck was roamin’ around in these parts? Or that it was a buck at all? I haven’t seen any tracks so far.”

A soft rustle suddenly reached my ears, interrupting my conversation with Arthur as I reached for my gun, only to be stopped by a sound I didn’t expect.

It was a man’s voice.

“...Don’t even think about it,” the stranger warned, cocking his own gun. “I will shoot if necessary.”

Freezing at the intrusion, I remained perfectly still and didn’t utter a single word as a pair of footsteps steadily approached me from behind, followed by two more men coming in from the front on horseback.

They were all dressed in similar outfits donned with Nevada hats, and I couldn’t help but notice the star-shaped badges shimmerin’ blatantly on their chests.

Shit. These were lawmen. What the hell were they doin’ out here? I never expected the law to travel this far into the country. This was definitely odd.

What really puzzled me though, weren’t the fact that there were three lawmen just...waitin’ for us out here -- it was more the fact that Arthur didn’t seem phased by any of this in the slightest. Just what exactly was goin’ on?

Trotting closer to me, one of the mounted men glowered in my direction as he ordered his deputy to restrain me, his firm, steel eyes never wavering.

I recognized him instantly.

“...Sheriff Buchanan.” I muttered through gritted teeth.

He returned the greeting, scowling from under his hat’s rim.

“Lyle Morgan.”

I shrugged at him, unsure of what to make of the situation.

“What is this shit? What’s the sheriff doing all the way out here?”

Buchanan glanced at Arthur, standing in front of him in a protective manner.

“I told you I’d use every option I had to get you behind bars, Morgan...and I meant it. You made the choice not to heed my warning.”

Taking a second to process what he just told me, the realization suddenly hit me like a bullet to the gut as I stared at Arthur with a sense of immense betrayal, unable to believe what was happening.

There never was no goddamned buck.

Things was never gonna work out for me and Arthur.

This was all a trap.

My own...son...had turned me in.

He was the bait, and Buchanan was the true hunter.

I clenched my jaw in rage, doing my absolute best to shield my emotions as the deputy kicked me to my knees.

“...A-Arthur...?” I whispered, my voice trembling.

The boy looked me straight in the eye, standing adamantly beside Buchanan as his deputies tied me up. I threw a glare at the sheriff, damning him till my last moments.

“You bastard, Buchanan...!” I cursed. “You turned my own damned son against me...?!”

The man showed no guilt and tightened his grip on his rifle, silently advising me to stay back.

“No need,” Buchanan denied. “You drove him to me all by yourself.”

He placed a gentle hand on Arthur’s shoulder and guided him towards the second deputy, ordering them to bring him back to town.

“Clayton, bring the boy back to the office. We’ll figure out where to send him later. For now though, just keep him safe, and look after him.”

“Right away, Sheriff.”

Preparing both his horse and mine for departure, the deputy left Arthur next to the sheriff as the boy stood firmly in place, his innocent yet damaged gaze never leavin’ mine.

Despite the hint of remorse clouding the child’s eyes, it was pretty obvious Arthur felt he made the right decision in turning me in. And just as Buchanan’s second deputy started to drag me away, I couldn’t help but notice a beautiful Whitetail buck wanderin’ around in the distance, its majestic antlers standing out like a crown on a monarch’s head as it bathed in the golden sunlight.

The animal swayed its head in my direction, almost as if trying to communicate with me.

“I’m sorry, dad,” Arthur whispered as he walked towards Clayton, blocking the buck in the process. “...But you made me promise.”

Taking his leave, the boy finally mounted up and steadily trotted away from the scene, only to reveal an empty spot where the buck once stood as he left the forest.

Well...I may have found the buck like I planned, but it weren’t my job to kill it.

And it certainly weren’t my place to look for it.

I could hunt them down to my heart’s content, and kill ‘em all I wanted for my own desires...but in the end, they would always be able to afford the one luxury I’d never obtained.

Peace.

[latenightbotanist]

I have feelings about the ode to joy and im going to dump them on you

At the time i am writing this part i have suffered through twenty two (22) hours of “ode to joy” repeated in my brains so you are gonna suffer with me now. Srsly, ask @madgronkish i kinda lost it around noon.. Anyways. First thought when i heard it was literally" theyre not going to fucking reunite them to THAT SONG??!?!“ Whilst i was wrong about sherlock driving the car…they still did that. Thanks mofftiss.

Ok now down to business. First off, DISCLAIMER, i am in no way qualified to do this? I dont know much about music and have like half an experience at writing meta? so..sorry in advance, maybe just look at this as inspiration and well..gay feelings bc i have enough of those to go around rn.

I will also tag some lovely people who actually know how to do this whole meta thing, and who knows, maybe one of you actually reads this mess and makes somethin out of it? Possibly? Idk, i dont blame you if you dont, really. @quietlyprim @loudest-subtext-in-tv @joolabee @hudders-and-hiddles @love-in-mind-palace @teapotsubtext @beejohnlocked @kinklock @marcelock @gaytectives @ormondsacker @culverton

So.. for all of you who dont know, ode to joy (originally “freude, schöner götterfunken”) is part of beethoven’s 9th symphony, it is the first ever symphony to incorporate voices, the lyrics mostly come from schillers “Ode an die Freude” and the melody itself has been the european anthem since 1972 (1985 if you insist on EU).

Ok so lets have a quick look at the lyrics(and i really mean quick, these are my notes from this morning, not exactly coherent but enough to get a general idea of my feelings about this, we’ll get into more detail later) i also put both the english and german version bc i felt at some points things got lost in translation, but honestly i dont know what to do about that so yeah, if you speak german, good for you, if not and by the end if this youre not bored to death and still have questions dont hesitate to ask i will awkwardly but gladly try to elaborate (this applies not only to lyrics btw)

O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!


Sondern laßt uns angenehmere anstimmen,


und freudenvollere.

/

Oh friends, not these sounds!


Let us instead strike up more pleasing


and more joyful ones!

(Literally lets have happier stories, also the score.. yes lets get the johnlock theme back,please)

Freude!
Freude! / Joy!
Joy!

Freude, schöner Götterfunken


Tochter aus Elysium,


Wir betreten feuertrunken,


Himmlische, dein Heiligtum!


Deine Zauber binden wieder


Was die Mode streng geteilt;


Alle Menschen werden Brüder,


Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.

/ Joy, beautiful spark of divinity,


Daughter from Elysium, 

 
We enter, burning with fervour,             (Cant set the heart on fire if its

 
heavenly being, your sanctuary!              already burning w/ love, yall)


Your magic brings together 


what custom has sternly divided.               (Gayyyy!!!!!)


All men shall become brothers,           (Secret brothers,reunion…)


wherever your gentle wings hover.      

(Idk, mrs hudson is an angel?)

/

Wem der große Wurf gelungen,


Eines Freundes Freund zu sein;

 
Wer ein holdes Weib errungen,


Mische seinen Jubel ein!


Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele


Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund

!
Und wer’s nie gekonnt, der stehle


Weinend sich aus diesem Bund!

/

Whoever has been lucky enough.         (Luckiest man in the world,


to become a friend to a friend,                 my only friend, … ) 

 Whoever has found a beloved wife,


let him join our songs of praise!               (Uh….how bout no?)


Yes, and anyone who can call one soul


his own on this earth!                                       (My john…..)


Any who cannot,

let them slink away
from this gathering in tears!   (Mary crying,then disappearing)

/

Freude trinken alle Wesen


An den Brüsten der Natur;


Alle Guten, alle Bösen


Folgen ihrer Rosenspur

.
Küsse gab sie uns und Reben,


Einen Freund, geprüft im Tod;*

(Like.. sherlock died and
 came back for john what more proof??)

 Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben,

 
Und der Cherub steht vor Gott. 

Every creature drinks in joy


at nature’s breast;


Good and Bad alike


follow her trail of roses.                  (Good and bad, rosie, hmmmm)


She gives us kisses and wine,


a true friend, even in death;              (Or only in death?hey mary)


Even the worm was given desire,     (Mycroft? Nah,probs moriarty)


and the cherub stands before God.    (Sherlock, my lil cherub)

/

Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen

Durch des Himmels prächt'gen Plan,

 (Plans…ominous)


Laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn,

 
Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen.

Gladly, just as His suns hurtle


through the glorious universe,


So you, brothers, should run your course,             (the way it was always


joyfully, like a conquering hero.                                  meant to be…..) 

/

Seid umschlungen, Millionen!


Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt!


Brüder, über’m Sternenzelt


Muß ein lieber Vater wohnen.


Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen?


Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt?


Such’ ihn über’m Sternenzelt!


Über Sternen muß er wohnen.

/

Be embraced, you millions!


This kiss is for the whole world!             (,!!???? Like???????Yes pls)


Brothers, above the canopy of stars


must dwell a loving father.                                (Or two? Hey dads)


Do you bow down before Him, you millions?


Do you sense your Creator, o world?


Seek Him above the canopy of stars!


He must dwell beyond the stars.

Well that was……….. kinda gay. Yeah yeah i know its just a queer reading no i dont believe it was intended to be gay by either beethoven or schiller (or was it?? Irdk) but. in the context of the show. which is rather what were looking at. Pretty damn gay, right?

Ok lets have a look at my absolute favourite lines first:

Your magic brings together/what custom has sternly divided.

Well… i think we can all agree that society has, quite sternly indeed, divided holmes and watson, romantically. Homosexuality just simply wasnt a custom, or at least very frowned upon, mildly speaking. It is rather magical to watch this wrong being righted though, i should think. More specifically in bbc sherlock, the divide has come through a custom of not speaking to each other, and guess what?? Yeah hudders is friggin done with that bs these two are talking now!

And then…

Be embraced, you millions!/This kiss is for the whole world!

*shrieking* do i? Do i really need to talk about this? I think not. This just…. yeah. I mean really….. I would like to add at this point that, at least to my ears, embraced sounds like a rather tame option of translation. “Umschlungen”, to me personally conveys a certain vigour, almost as if the embrace might… idk.. come as a surprise to some extend? Take the air from some peoples lungs? Yeah dunno what that could be about……

If you still need more i guess i could just blubber some more about it all but tbh what is structure? so yeah, here we go, feel free to leave anytime i mean its already pretty gay and hurts my heart i wont blame you if you think 

•WE ARE NOW ENTERING THE REALM OF JOY… yep thats happening things are getting happy, please, god, let them actually. And this joy that we will feel when John and Sherlock ( finally) get together will mend all the wrong thats been done to those two, and us Holmes fans, during all these years of being kept apart by society and norms and customs, homophobia and heteronormativity. Were entering a sanctuary, we are literally save here!

•General message of schiller’s ode to joy is literally that HUMAN CONNECTIONS ARE THE CROWN OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE like wow yes thank you it is as if human connections were the stuff that…completes you as a human being. Say what? 

•Not only is this true for johnlock but also for our entire community, were bound together by the joy of this show, our joy will mend what heteronormativty destroyed, the joy of their kiss will unite us, we will embrace it and the joyfull gayness will embrace us! 

 •The fact that its literally such a groundbreaking piece of music. There have been symphonies over and over but this is new, this is different, he incorporated voices. Groundbreaking,earthshattering… u get it. Seriously if anyone who has even a slither of a clue about music wants to educate me on what the inclusion of voices could stand for please im begging enlighten me my brains too fried im already struggling to get this done(as you might be able to tell. I am so sorry)

 And now, onto some more shit i stumbled upon in the original poem that, sadly, didnt make it into the song but: 

•Have patience for a better world to come, god(mofftiss) is good and will give you what you deserve

•Forget hatred and revenge, forgive your (arch)enemy who shall not have to cry or be rueful (ahem mary. Also possibly mycroft to some extent who knows whats gonna happen) 

•Bravery even in agony,help where innocence is weeping (hi john) 

•Something about oaths and telling the truth to your friends as well as enemies and how lies will bring everything down…… 

•Narrowing the circle, making oaths with wine and staying faithful(keep believing!!) 

•Salvation from tyranns, hope to the dying, mercy in council, forgiving of sins and ENDING HELL well ok then yes to all! 

 No honestly theres a lot and im horrifically underqualified and have a headache so i’ll stop now. If you actually read this whole mess of a thing.. thank you. Bless your soul. I’ll make you an origami elephant or something