#they are both shaped like cargos but have no pockets

[kiragecko]

[Images of the Core 4.

Tim is labeled, ‘big shirt, big pants’, and is wearing a baggy long sleeve covered with an even larger t-shirt, very baggy sweats, runners, and chunky headphones around his neck.

Bart is labeled, ‘big shirt, lil pants’, and is wearing an oversized t-shirt partially tucked into shorts, with mismatched socks and shoes.

Cassie is labeled, ‘lil shirt, big pants’, and is wearing a halter top with giant early-2000s hip-huggers (low-cut baggy pants).

Kon-El is labeled, ‘lil shirt, lil pants’ and is wearing tiny shorts, a tight belly shirt, shoes, and socks.

The four images are shown again under the cut without text.

End ID.]

core four political compass based on this post by @aliteralchicken. op is asking the right questions

[drugsorgasmsandcheese]

trouble, j. miller | chapter three

mob!joel miller x fem!reader

chapter summary: you meet your best friend’s girlfriend for the first time, and you’ve never seen someone shit their pants more. and joel is so fucking done with you.

chapter warnings: reader’s sole purpose is to be an agent of chaos, strong language, implication of violence from reader, abby anderson appears guys, javier encourages your behaviour and is so ACHEKUSG, google translated spanish (PLEASE correct me if it’s wrong), no beta again LOL, dare i say it soft!joel??

word count: 1817

{series masterlist}

you’re sat waiting in a cafe, foot tapping against the tiled floor to its own rhythm. the cafe is about a fifteen minute walk away from your college campus, a place that you and georgia had made your second home. the coffee was cheap so that college students could afford it, and you had to admit, it was some of the best coffee you ever had. your favourite iced coffee had just been brought over to you, alongside a cookie that was warm and gooey.

as the door opens and the bell rings, you look up and lock eyes with georgia, sending a smile her way. you’re quick to notice the buff blonde behind her, dressed in a grey shirt and black cargos, her blonde hair in a braid. damn, you’d have to ask georgia for a threesome one day…

“hey, babe!” georgia exclaims, embracing you lightly before letting go as she turns to introduce you. “this is abby anderson.”

you give abby a once over, analysing her body language, her face, her placement in regards to georgia. she appeared intimidating, but her hand was locked with georgia’s. she stood behind your friend, her body relaxed and her breathing even. abby gave you a look that was welcoming, friendly, almost as if she knew who you were and was trying to make a good impression on you.

smart move.

“it’s nice to meet you, abby.�� you hold out your hand for her to shake it, and she does so. you notice the slight sweat in her palm, clear anxiety over meeting georgia’s best friend who may or may not have tried to run her friend’s ex over with a car she’s not even legally allowed to drive.

“you…you too.” she stutters out, and they both take a seat as you take a sip out of your iced coffee once you released abby’s hand.

“so, abigail-”

“-abby.” georgia cuts you off, and you give her a look with a scary grin.

“what are your intentions with georgia?”

georgia sighs your name, and gives you a pleading look. “can we please not do this? abby’s been treating me good, better than anyone else i’ve ever dated. please.” her puppy dog eyes win you over.

“fuck, fine. but i just need you to know-” you turn to abby “-you should know this too. if any harm is done, i will be under your bed with a pocket knife ready to slit your ankles if anything happens to her.” you point at georgia. your tone is patronising, mocking abby and you feel like a beast the way you feast upon her fear as she eagerly nods her head.

“good, now that’s out of the way. what do you study?” splitting your cookie in half, your lips forming an ‘o’ shape at the gooey delight, you take a bite out of one of the halves, looking abby dead in the eye.

“m…medicine.” there comes that stutter again, and you have to stifle a laugh because you’re sure georgia has filled her with stories about your behaviour towards anyone who has ever wronged her, but has then cut her own story off with “but she’s one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet once she knows i’m safe with you!”

you do warm up to abby throughout the next hour and a half the three of you are sat in the cafe, and you can tell she feels the same. she’s less tense, her face relaxed and no more stuttering. you see how openly affectionate she is with georgia, how soft she speaks and the admiration in her eyes for georgia’s simple existence. abby anderson is good for her, you can feel it.

the three of you walk back up to your college campus, and you catch the sight of a familiar man and his sexy porsche. joel leans against the car, arms folded over his chest, scowl on his face as he beckons you over with that little movement of his fingers.

you’re starting to feel seduced by that movement.

when you walk over to him, his head meets your level. “i’ve been waitin’ here for an hour.”

your eyebrows furrow, eyes squinting and your lips purse a little. “did you tell me you were here?”

“no.”

your eyes widen, shaking your head “so how the fuck would i know you’ve been waiting for an hour?”

“get your ass in the car.” he commands, and his eyes travel past you and seem to focus on something. you turn your body to meet where he looks, and the only reason why you pick up on it is because him and abby are staring at each other.

“what, have you never seen lesbians before? god, joel, this is embarrassing.” you roll your eyes and get into the passenger seat of his car. you don’t see the nod he gives abby, or the one who she gives back to him, because the second joel is in the driver’s seat, he’s out of the parking lot and driving to the club.

“i told you to only text me with work related things.” he starts, turning a street corner and you lick your lips when his hands clench onto the wheel.

“i do only text you work related things.”

joel gives you a quick look, his face conveying every emotion possible. “askin’ me if i think you’d win in a fight against the shark from ‘jaws’ isn’t a work related question!”

“i don’t see the problem here.” you shrug.

“you asked me at four in the mornin’!”

“and yet you responded, so you can’t complain.” you stick your tongue out at him as you soon pull into the parking lot of apocalypse, and you both get out, with joel opening any and all doors for you.

when you get to the v.i.p. section, you spot javier, and you immediately shout his name. when he turns around, he grins. “mi amor, i missed you.”

“missed you too, honeybunch.” you smile, hopping onto the bar top. “do you think i could win a fight against the shark from ‘jaws’?”

he looks at you, finger tipping up your chin with a smirk. “in a heartbeat, cariño.” his eyes scan your face, flicking back and forth as he takes in your features, and he lets out a low chuckle when you giggle.

“see, javier thinks i could win!” you shout at joel and he grumbles as he makes his way over.

he points at javier. “stop encouraging her behaviour.” he turns to you. “an’ you need to go get ready.” he grabs your hand, helping you jump off the bar top and steadying you as your feet meet the floor.

“goodbye, beautiful!” you wave javier goodbye.

“adios, bonita.” he bids, grabbing your hand from its previous position and gently kissing it, and it suddenly comes to your attention that you would not mind being between joel and javier, one fucking into your cunt and the other with his cock down your th-

“move your ass.” joel’s hand is firm against the back of your neck, but there’s something gentle about the way he touches you, hesitant almost. he guides you to the room with all the dancers in, and you make yourself at home, saying hi to adele, lucy, chelsea, destiny, and the rest of the girls as you get ready for your shift.

____

“i was thinking-”

“that’s not good.” joel cuts you off. you had barged into his office, lying down on his sofa and talking to him like he was your therapist.

your head snaps towards him, mouth agape in shock. “rude!” you throw a decorative pillow at him which he swiftly dodges, even with his back turned to you as he sorts through paperwork. “as i was saying before i was interrupted, i was thinking that you order me pizza.”

joel’s chair swivels round to face you. “an’ why would i do that when i’ve got chefs here?”

you groan. “‘cause i want a real greasy pizza from the place down the street.”

“tough shit, now get to workin’.” you whine at his words, kicking your legs against the sofa like a spoiled toddler as you reluctantly get off of it and walk out of his office.

the rest of your shift goes by in a breeze. it’s not busy tonight, so you spend most of the time by the bar flirting with javier. he even pours you a shot and shows you the blind spot, pulling you close to him when you take the shot like a champ.

the guests tonight were easy. you had gained a lot of money in tips, and you, destiny, and lucy were sat counting your tips at the bar by the end of the night. you were stood behind the bar with javier, leaning your chest against it and you knew he was getting a good view of your ass because you had purposely put yourself in this position.

“mama’s done good tonight!” destiny cheers, throwing her hands up in the air, her knotless braids swinging as she does so.

“same here!” lucy squeals and you join too. you had to have javi recount your money just to make sure you’d done it right.

“feeling like a millionaire already.” the shout causes the girls to laugh, and javier shakes his head with a smile. he gently pats your ass, telling you to go change so you can sleep.

you do as he says, linking arms with destiny and lucy as you change into your original clothes once you get back to the dancer’s room. you’re sat with adele, your head resting on her shoulder like a child with her mother when joel’s voice baritones through the door demanding you.

you give a swift kiss to adele’s cheek, bidding your departure to the girls before stepping out of the room.

when you look at joel, you catch sight of something in his hands. a medium sized pizza box, the order written on the top. just a plain cheese. you feel a smile itching its way onto your face because he probably did it based off the basics but a cheese pizza was your favourite kind.

“i did this so you’d shut up for once in your damn life.”

“you love when i talk.” you grab the pizza box out of his hands. “thank you.”

his hands return to the back your neck, but this time you swear you feel his fingers gently stroke the skin but you don’t want to say anything, too scared he might strip you of your pizza privileges.

so you prevent the quip of your lips ready to perk up, swallowing down your happiness as you make your way to his car, and start to wonder if maybe you should annoy him more often if it meant you got free food.

yeah, maybe you should.

____

a/n: reader who does not give a fuck and says what she wants x joel who’s just trying to commit a life of crime but there’s a menace in his way (ft. javier peña seducing reader and reader flirting with him)

btw guys if u want to be added (or taken off) my taglist pls let me know!! and if ur name is in white it’s bc i couldn’t find ur blog :((

taglist:

@dugiioh @amyispxnk @skysmiller @alyhull @noisynightmarepoetry @elliaze @dendulinka6 @zliteraturehoe @atyourmerci @al33naaa @mermaidgirl30 @lulawantmula @nana90azevedo @endlessthxxghts @getitoutofmymind @you-taste-so-sweet @blazeflays @iveseenstrangerthings50 @regalwhovianbrowncoat774 @aquanatalie @katw474 @ludwigxii-blog @eloquentdreamer @kyloispunk @txmel @din-jarring @daddysmilf0123 @sofiparallel @dunkinzjm @runningmom94 @ashhlsstuff @moel-jiller @isimpforfictionalmen @drewharrisonwriter @stormseyer @rodriguez31 @elliesswearjar @vvitchesh3x @joeldjarin @untamedheart81 @ellishamae25 @pedropascalfan221 @mellymbee @pedritosgfreal @yassspose @casa-boiardi

[marlynnofmany]

Friend-shaped

“She’ll want to pet it,” said a smug voice from the next room. “Humans will pet anything.”

“Even spiky things?” asked the skeptical voice that I recognized as Zhee. “I’ve never had a human want to pet me, and this thing is much worse.”

As curious as I was to see our newest cargo and judge for myself, I first had to finish setting out food for the animals in the next bay. I lugged in bags of dried pellets and fish jerky as the door slid shut behind me, cutting off the sound of Zhee insisting to the delivery person that there was no way under several suns that I would want to touch this new mystery animal. We’d see about that.

I stashed the pellets in the appropriate closet and pulled out a sheet of jerky for each of the three fangy monstrosities that twined around each other, trying to hypnotize me through the bars. I ignored the moving pattern of stripes that probably worked on prey from their world. Working quickly, I set the sheets down on the floor outside the cage, spaced as far apart as possible, then used a gravity wand to lift them through the bars without losing a finger. Left one, right, one, then the middle, to keep the beasties from all jumping on the same treat.

A chorus of happy growls and chewing noises filled the air. Success. I put away the gravity wand and reflected that I absolutely would have liked to scritch all three terrifying predators on the head, but I valued life and limb too much for that.

On to the next room! The doors opened and closed in quick succession. I passed other people loading and uploading various crates, but I only had eyes for the terrarium that looked like it was made of force fields instead of glass. Or maybe some room-temperature version of hard water, given that the person chatting with Zhee was a Waterwill. They had some pretty bizarre tech.

“Ah, here’s the human!” the Waterwill said happily, her voice burbly and vaguely female. “What do you think of your newest live cargo?” She extended what passed for an arm from her column-of-goo body. Beside her, Zhee spread purple pincher arms in a silent display of “ta-dah.”

Inside the tank I saw rocks, sand, a puddle of algae, and the ugliest little ball of snot and spikes that I had ever encountered. Protruding eyes struggled to focus on me like a wall-eyed Chihuahua that had rolled through the most unfortunate of trash piles.

“Wow,” I said, bending down for a closer look. “That’s an animal, all right.”

The Waterwill bobbed up and down. “And is it not, as you say, cutesy-wootsy?”

Zhee made various clicks and taps that were probably skepticism. I couldn’t blame him.

“Well,” I said, struggling for a tactful answer, “It sure is a little one. Looks a bit scared.”

“They always get twitchy when they’re moved around before egg-laying,” the Waterwill said with a dismissive wobble. “It’ll settle down when everybody stops walking by. It’s non-toxic. Maybe once it’s calm—”

The rest of her sentence was cut off by loud snarls from next door, carrying through the hall while both doors were open at the same time. It sounded like a brief squabble over fish jerky, no cause for alarm.

For me, anyway. The animal in the terrarium made a piercing squeak and tried to burrow under the rock, its spines growing visibly longer and flinging droplets of moisture as it trembled violently.

“Oh, that’s bad,” said the Waterwill, all cheer gone. “It could sour the eggs. Everybody be quiet! Move slowly!” She waved two armlets at the other people carrying boxes, who did as she asked.

Zhee was making a whistle that was probably a curse in his own language, or maybe someone else’s. “We’ll get blamed for egg troubles. Would dim light help? I’ll hit the controls.” He moved off on quiet bug legs.

“What else helps?” I asked. “Wait, there’s a manual for this, right?” Without waiting for a response, I unfolded a screen from my pocket and looked for the newest files. There it was. Easily searchable, too.

While I spent a moment on that, the room dimmed and quieted into a soothing nighttime. The other crewmates grabbed the remaining crates, left, and shut the door. I heard someone say to leave oncoming boxes in the hallway for the moment.

“It’s still stressed,” the Waterwill said. “We should have brought another one to soothe it!”

“Hang on, I found the sound files,” I said. “Here’s the soothing one.” At the press of a button, a brief gurgle played, then cut off. “That’s it?”

The animal turned toward me, then back to the rock. No change.

I asked the Waterwill, “I don’t suppose you can make that sound?” When she hesitated, I tried myself. Hard to do without any water around to gargle, but I managed an awkward warble in the back of my throat.

The animal’s shivering stilled.

“Keep doing that!” the Waterwill said with an urgent wave.

I did, feeling silly. But the animal liked it. The trembling ended, and the spines started to retract. When I paused for breath, the creature held perfectly still, then when I started again, the spines continued shortening. After a few moments, it was a slimy ball of green with eyes that stuck out, and soon enough those finally closed. When they opened again, they weren’t bulging any more.

A head lifted from the goo, with a cute little face that chirped curiously.

“Aw, look at you,” I said to it. “All calm and happy.”

It oozed over towards me, moving much like Waterwills did, without any legs. It nuzzled a hatch that I hadn’t noticed in the side of the tank.

“You said it’s non-toxic, right?” I asked, not waiting for a response. I’d skimmed the manual. The hatch opened easily for me to stick my hand in and stroke the slimy little head. It purred like a babbling brook.

“Told you,” said a voice behind me.

Zhee hissed.

I turned to see him handing over credits with a displeased tilt to his antennae. “Did you just lose a bet?” I laughed.

Zhee threw his pincher arms into the air. “It was covered in spikes! No fair changing shape like that.”

“Well, if we’re going to be fair,” I said. “I would have sacrificed a hairbrush to pet it through the spikes, if it liked that kind of thing.”

“Of course you would,” Zhee muttered.

“Righto,” the Waterwill said as she stuck the credits into a wallet pouch that floated among her other miscellaneous bits. “I can see it’s in good care here. Guess I’ll be off.”

I gave the creature one last stroke, then eased my hand out and closed the hatch, waiting to make sure it stayed calm. When it settled back into goo, I stood and joined the other two in soft-footing our way to the door. “I’ll keep an eye on it,” I promised.

“And a hand,” Zhee grumbled.

“I’ve petted worse,” I told him.

“I’m sure you have,” he said. “And I don’t want to hear about it.”

~~~

The ongoing backstory adventures of the main character of this book. More to come!

[dronebiscuitbat]

Oil is Thicker Then Blood (Part 71)

Patrol was both the easiest and the hardest job N had. Most days it was a whole lot of nothing, walking around the market, hallways, and residents, people watching. At this point it was mostly friendly smiles he got when people saw him, and he was always sure to give one back.

Today was looking to be much of the same, the only slight bump he had run into was a group of teenagers having magnets they weren't supposed to, of which he confiscated and sent them on their way. It wasn't exactly illegal for adults, but for minors it definitely wasn't allowed, and needed to be confiscated.

There were lines under his eyes, stress made him look way older then he was as he leaned up against a wall in the market and took a long drink out of his oil container. His hands were marked with tiny bites from his daughter, and he smiled lightly as he touched them.

As much as he was stressed, he was also content with how he was building his life. This morning he had kissed Uzi goodbye on his way out the door and did the same to his still sleeping daughter in her arms.

The night before, he'd taken them both up to the nest and they'd taken turns reading to her as she fell asleep, and then spent the rest of the night talking about nothing, meaningless talk that went nowhere but everywhere at the same time.

It was… perfect. For the most part.

He sighed with a small smile as he took a final sip of oil, topping up his reserves to full before stashing it away in his pocket, when something caught his eye.

A couple of drones sneaking into an abandoned hallway. Which were common in the bunker, but usually closed off with ‘DO NOT ENTER’ signs… not that anyone ever paid any attention to them.

Rolling his eyes, he followed them silently, he wouldn't be surprised if he had to confiscate more magnets or an even harder system altering substance, it wouldn't be the first time.

“Where are we going?” One of the drones asked the other, who was holding their hand while leading them forward, they had dark blue eyelights and was wearing a fisherman's cap with sunglasses perched on them, a grey tank top, and tan cargo pants.

The drone in front of them laughed, wearing a leather jacket and his auburn hair slicked back into a greaser classic, he had vibrant orange eyelights and a blush on his face.

“You'll see.”

N continued to follow them, not so close that they'd notice but close enough that he could still hear and somewhat see them, it was convenient that the very traits that made him good at killing drones also made him excellent at his job now.

Once the two drones were well away from the market and any other person, they stopped in one of the only well lit rooms back in the neglected portion of the bunker, it looked like someone had put up some decorations, paper flowers of blue and orange, and some similarly colored streamers in the shape of hearts.

N suddenly felt he shouldn't be here.

“Martin? You set up all this?” The one with blue eyelights asked, clasping their hands together in front of them, smiling from visor to visor.

“Yeah, you like it Link?” Martin asked, looking nervous but still smiling at the other drone. Link wrapped him in a hug, smiling wildly.

“I love it! But what's the occasion?” Link pulled back with a dark blue blush, looking into Martin's visor, the other drone had a soft look on his face, one N was sure he'd worn every time he looked at Uzi.

And then got down on one knee.

“Link I-I, We've been together for so long now, and I… I never want to wake up in the morning without you being next to me.” He pulled out a little box from his pocket and opened it, inside was a necklace with an orange gem, held inside a silver border.

“You've changed my life, and I want to change yours.”

Link had tears in their eyes, their mouth wavery as they realized what was happening.

“Will you marry me, and be my better half?”

“YES! WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?!”

Link jumped into Martin's arms, causing them both to crash into the floor and Martin to laugh wholeheartedly, he put the necklace around Links neck, before grabbing it to pull them in for a very passionate kiss.

“Did you get me a long necklace just so you could do that?” Link asked with a smirk as they pulled away.

“Maybe.”

N backed away slowly, leaving the happy couple alone while he went back to the market, even he was blushing a bit, feeling bad about eavesdropping on what was obviously a special moment.

Marriage wasn't something he often thought about. His relationship with Uzi was perfect as is. She was already his partner, his ‘better half’. And asking her to be felt… redundant. Of course she was the one, there wasn't, couldn’t be, anyone else. So he'd never seen the point.

She said it best herself, they mate for life.

Still though, the entire situation had him wondering if that was something she might want. It was certainly something her dad wanted for them, but he was more worried about what she wanted.

It was best to ask about something like that right? If he just popped a question like that out of the blue that would be really sudden and off-putting, especially if she didn't want to. But how did he ask a question like that?

Did he even want to?

He would do anything to make her happy, and if she wanted to get married he would be all for it. A big celebration to celebrate how much they loved each other sounded… romantic actually. And extremely fun, now that he was thinking about it.

Maybe he did.

He blushed a little at the thought of calling her his wife. And more at the thought of her calling him her husband.

But they hadn't talked about it at all really. They'd talked about spending the rest of their lives together. But not about actually getting married, which felt a little silly now that he was paying attention.

He'd need to bring it up. He would bring it up, just… at the right time.

We watched as that same couple passed him again, hand in hand as they walked back through the market, they looked happy, extremly happy.

…

Uzi was home alone. Finally.

V was nowhere to be seen, hopefully bothering Lizzy instead of her. And that left plenty of time for her to binge watch a new anime, she had a few hours before N came home, so a few hours of uninterrupted watch time.

She'd been doing her best to keep herself stress free, which today meant sitting covered up in a blanket with a warm container of oil and a plate of assorted drone building materials with Tera asleep in her crib.

Tonight, she'd probably ask N to bring them back up to the nest, where a lot of her stress really did seem to melt away. She wasn't sure if it was the location or what, but there she could just get lost in the moment for hours, where no one could truly bother them.

She'd even begun to write in an empty book, it wasn't a journal, it was just… her life, written out in words, though maybe embellished somewhat, part creative, part actual history, of how her and N met, of her dad and what she could remember of her mom, and the weird, solver bullshit and how she'd dealt with it.

It was partly for her, partly for her kids, both of them would have the solver, and she wanted to leave tips on how to control it better instead of being thrown in on the deep end like she was.

Hopefully, she'd be there to teach them herself, but the book was there, just in case.

She ran her hand over her midsection, not any larger visually but it was heavier, contributing to her loss of balance, she idly wondered what they would be be like, she hoped they would be more like N then her, he was patient, and loving, and the best partner she could ever ask for.

“I hope you're just as excited to meet us as we are to meet you…” She hummed, blushing slightly as she realized she was talking to her unborn child like every doting, expectant mother out there, it wasn't even like they were developed enough to truly hear her either.

She looked at her core, the color a lavender that almost bled into pink, by what color her core was now, she could safely say the neural network inside would be a very light color, white; or a pale yellow.

Good, Tera already shared her eye color, N deserved to have one of his kids to look like him. She imagined a tiny toddler with silver hair and pale yellow eyes, the spitting image of N.

Would she want more kids after?

Maybe. That would entirely depend on how painful of an experience this ended up being. While she was utterly exhausted, there was also something in the back of her mind telling her that this was what she was built for. And while she didn't quite believe that, it was a rather nice thought.

That she was built for N.

A sweet sentiment, if logically impossible.

She couldn't put into words how much she loved that man. How something as simple as his hand on her shoulder would have her leaning into him, or how his voice was so calming it was so easy to get lost in…

That was so sappy. But it was true.

Every single day she fell deeper in love with him, even when he came home exhausted he still made time to be with her, to be there for their daughter and drowning them both in all the affection he had to give.

He was a great dad, and an even better life partner.

Part of her wondered if the pregnancy hormones were partly to blame for her increased reverence of him, but recently, she'd just been feeling… so hopelessly in love. It was a good thing that were already together, otherwise she might just explode.

It was gross and sappy and so, so perfect.

The door opened;

“Hey honey, I'm back.”

Next ->

[jymwahuwu]

kjhgfghjk oooh ooh! jing yuan with a wingweaver reader! perhaps the reader is a half breed and pulls a zuko where she is banished from her people because she may have been too 'soft' or 'critical' of their ways.

( aka reader actually saying "um sorry but i think being a band of space pirates terrorizing hapless people in the name of yaoshi might be...idk...wrong..." ).

however due to her status as a denizen of abundance, the luofu captures and detains her? jing yuan, having a soft enough spot for birds as is might grow a but too interested in the reader? especially with how awkward and easy to fluster she is.

and oh, she's been cast away, scarred and scorned by her own people for being kind? for being too 'gentle'? it's easy enough to prove that the reader is not a threat and is allowed to wander under strict surveillance. and he's watching her too, always watching, ready to comfort her when she wakes from those painful nightmares, to satiate the touch starvation she had to put up with for so long as she's a mewling mess below him, to stand by her.

just as long as she never leaves his gaze, see? he is an emanator of the hunt after all, and she's a denizen of the abundance in his territory. it would be messy if she were to disobey his orders.

https://honkai-star-rail.fandom.com/wiki/Wingweaver

Thank you for sharing this!! immediately studied wingweaver. I want to be the general's pet bird and be teased by him in his hand...😩💕💕

-CW: yandere, non-con, manipulation, humiliation, forced pet play

"Leave, since you can't agree with our life. Don't come back!"

The arrogant Wingweavers drove you out of the tree-like space world after you once again refused to join them in looting and violating Xianzhou and other space civilizations in the name of Aeon Yaoshi. You wandered and starved on several small planets, and then snuck into a cargo Starskiff to rest.

All Starskiffs need to be checked. As soon as the cloud knights noticed the wings on your back, they immediately surrounded you with swords raised in their hands. That's one of the signs of Denizens of Abundance! After Jing Yuan was informed by the knights and arrived, you were already firmly trapped in a web woven from cosmic materials. Like a frightened bird, you wailed and struggled, holding on to the net with both hands, while your precious wings trembled slightly. Some feathers had fallen to the ground in the commotion. Something soft inside him was touched.

"Who are you? What is your purpose?" After the basic interrogation, Jing Yuan ordered his subordinates to untie your net and tie your wrists with soft ropes. You sobbed and chirped unconsciously.

The background check was completed within a day. That information was unearthed from you, and there were signs of your expulsion. The general can prove that you are not a threat. The condition is that you must be under surveillance.

Jing Yuan… almost feels sorry for being able to do whatever he wants with you. A collar is locked around your neck with a heart-shaped symbol on it, which includes tracking and forced sleep functions. Everyone can clearly see the collar around your neck. This is so humiliating. You plead for the collar to be invisible or to use a bracelet instead, but are reminded that as Denizens of Abundance you are not entitled to bargain.

And you know you're being watched all the time. No matter where you wander in Xianzhou…

Jing Yuan gave you some Strales and Credits as pocket money, and even graciously gave you a mobile phone device, so you wouldn't forget to buy him a gift and thank him, right? He's not that unreasonable. You can have friends...just remember to stay away from them, people who are attracted to your wings and shy, gentle nature. People who have romantic thoughts about you.

Your sleeping area is a large cage in the General's mansion, filled with plush cushions, pillows, and dolls…or…sleeping next to your master is a reasonable alternative. Jing Yuan is not that mean in this regard and enjoys combing the feathers on your wings or sleeping on them. Those feathers were as soft and delicate as velvet.

He set up a social account for you to share your lovely daily life (without your consent). This…is like a warning to all Denizens of Abundance. They witnessed your pampered life in the hands of General Luofu and were pissed off. How can you be so submissive? How could you be the enemy's… pet bird? They regarded this as a demonstration, but only Jing Yuan knew that his main purpose was to let the whole world know how lovable you are, and the warning was incidental.

One day you wake up from the cage and are caught by the flash of the camera. Jing Yuan blocked the light with his hand, told the film crew not to disturb you like this, and then allowed them to continue filming. You panicked and hid behind the general with trembling wings. He lifted you up and explained to the film crew how shy and easily frightened you were… Later you found out on Space TV that they were filming a documentary about you… the theme was General Luofu and his pet bird. You were annoyed and embarrassed, but after arguing with Jing Yuan, you sat on his cock and apologized...

Discipline and comfort are necessary. Jing Yuan loves having you curled up against his chest. Those little breathing sounds and the rise and fall of your chest. The wings relied on and surrounded him.

"Don't-don't drive me away..." You exclaimed from the nightmare, whimpering and sobbing in fear. The general wipes away your tears and kisses your forehead and eyelids. “No one will expel you.” While intertwining his lips with yours, he used his fingertips to draw circles on your clit. Your butt is supple and springy... The hand spreads your ass cheeks and presses the cock into your warm walls. Listening to your beautiful moans is like singing to him in a cage. He's glad you're not as aggressive as one of those wingweavers, such a sweet little bird...

Those hunting eyes are on you. He is the hunting general, just like the Aeon Lan they admire, he has only focused on the same goal for thousands of years, fighting against the civilization of the Denizens of Abundance.

divider @/cafekitsune

[welcomingdisaster]

WIP Wednesday!

happy mid-week, folks! is a little bit of a silly wip i've been writing :)

Her next interviewee, then, came precisely at 12 in the afternoon, just as she was closing up shop. He stood a few inches taller than her; to her eyes he looked thin, but held himself in a way that suggested a certain athletic grace, a familiarity with his own body. He was startlingly blond, like the platonic ideal of blondness, like he had caught sunlight in his eyelashes and his eyebrows and his hair and carried it inside the coffee shop; his hair was very long and bound in two tight, full braids, both falling just past his hips. He was wearing a black t-shirt, light purple camo cargo pants with the pockets clearly full, and flip flops with pictures of dolphins on them. His ears were pierced in two places, and long, expensive looking pendants shaped like silver stars dangled from them. He was carrying a briefcase. 

Hazel stared at him for a moment. Clearly his wardrobe told a story and she felt she had forgotten how to read. 

“Hi,” she said, “you can take a seat the counter, I’m just cleaning up. I’m Hazel.” 

“It is a pleasure, Hazel,” the newcomer said, then, with a slightly guilty air: “I am Rodfin.” 

“Oh, that’s unusual,” Hazel said, wiping down the counter, then, to say something, “I like it.” 

“Thank you,” Rodfin answered, “I— well, I must admit I came up with it myself.” 

Probably he was part of some new age thing, Hazel thought. Or maybe just trans. 

“Uh,” she said, and then, because she had slept about four hours that night and had worked all morning, “do you have pronouns?” 

He blinked, plainly bemused. “Pardon you?” 

Hazel winced. “I support it if you do,” she said, “I’m, like, I’m in favor of pronouns, I, uh, sh— shoot, I meant. Like, I use she/her.” 

He stared at her. Hesitated. “I… think I do not need any. But thank you; that is very kind.” 

“Uh, okay,” Hazel said. “Yep.” 

“If it is important for you to offer me pronouns,” Rodfin said, “then I will gladly try some. I am open to this consideration.” 

tagging... @that-angry-noldo @melestasflight @polutrope @eilinelsghost @zealouswerewolfcollector @thelordofgifs @searchingforserendipity25 :)

[heartedbysunoo]

INTERVIEW

SUNGHOON: “ENGENE helps me to know who I am”

ENHYPEN ROMANCE: UNTOLD -daydream- comeback interview

2024.11.20

SUNGHOON is like a blank canvas, embracing every color that splashes across the empty white space. And he mentions several times how much he likes the colors he’s been painted in, and the picture he’s been painting, since his debut.

Your face shows up everywhere in drugstores these days. (laughs) You’re currently a model and ambassador for a number of beauty brands.

SUNGHOON: I was fascinated to hear ENGENE and my acquaintances saying my picture’s all over drugstores. There’s even a gigantic picture of me in Seongsu-dong. Now I know for certain that I’m a celebrity. (laughs) It’s actually not easy becoming a brand ambassador or model, so I’m extremely thankful to ENGENE for being the reason I can do all these things. This was an opportunity I was fortunate to have, and I plan to keep working even harder.

It’s also the result of all your hard work, of course. You always work hard to keep yourself in shape and keep your hair, clothes, and makeup perfect.

SUNGHOON: I think basic upkeep is important, so I always try to present a neat and tidy image. I take care of my skin and exercise regularly, but these days, I’m trying to be less perfect and have a more natural, casual style, too. I don’t want people to think I’m overly flawless when they see me. I want to have a laid-back image, too—not that I’ll ever look flawed. (laughs)

You seem to have shifted to more vintage and trendy looks.

SUNGHOON: Right. It feels like I’m moving more in the trendy direction lately though. I bought a lot of clothes with patterns on them, which I wouldn’t normally wear, and a lot of trendy outfits, too. I’ve been wearing military cargo pants a lot lately. Everybody seems to be wearing them these days, so I figured I’d give it a shot too. (laughs) I like them because they make you look rugged.

It seems like you’re into glasses and sunglasses, too.

SUNGHOON: ENGENE loves it whenever I wear glasses. I go out vintage shopping when I have time and now I have around 20 pairs. I’m always looking for new ones since they really add to a look. Horn-rimmed glasses make you look smart and give off a bit of a nerdy vibe, while silver frames and rimless glasses have more of a sexy vibe? And sunglasses are just plain cool! (laughs)

You aim for perfection in both your appearance and your performances. Perfectionists consistently strive for excellence, but we understand that achieving absolute perfection is a rare feat. Have you ever felt that you've truly attained perfection?

SUNGHOON: To be perfectly honest, I’ve never felt like I did something perfectly. What you just said is absolutely true—I always try my best to approach perfection in any given situation. I feel like I’m still a long way off from what I’d consider to be perfect.

You strive for perfection but don’t seem obsessed by the idea of it. There was a minor incident with the lift at Weverse Con Festival, and you just said, “It was too bad that happened, but there’s nothing we can do about it. It is already behind us.”

SUNGHOON: Actually… I’m not the kind of person who can just stop thinking about things that already happened. (laughs) So I try and tell myself “it’s in the past, there’s nothing you can do” a lot. And there’s something fun about something unexpected happening, like the incident during “She Was Pretty” at Weverse con festival, and overcoming it.

What was one thing you worked particularly hard to perfect or feel confident about on the new album, ROMANCE: UNTOLD -daydream-?

SUNGHOON: For me, it’s dancing. I think the highlight of the single “No Doubt” is when we dance with our hands in our back pockets during the hook, which restricted our movement. And since our backs are turned for most of that, our faces aren’t really visible. I spent a lot of time thinking about what I could do to captivate ENGENE and general audiences in the brief moments I’m facing forward. Finding a killer angle that looks as hot as possible? (laughs)

It feels like the entire song “Daydream” is whispered. You must’ve had to work hard to sing with an airy voice like that.

SUNGHOON: It was my first time singing a song like that. It was hard and a little bit frustrating since you need to sing a bit forcefully for a hip hop song but I had to basically be whispering at the same time so I couldn’t be too loud. I didn’t have to hit any specific notes for this song, so I just tried to really get into the hip hop rhythm. I never used to feel confident with hip hop, but I liked the final product when I heard it.

I heard you experiment a lot to find your own vocal style.

SUNGHOON: I think my vocals sound very “clear,” and it’s something unique I can bring to the table. You can especially hear it when I sing in falsetto, and that’s exactly what I did on the single “No Doubt.” I actually never used to like how I sound when I sing high notes like that, but this time the part I sang was a good match for my voice, which was nice.

Both the single “No Doubt” and the track “Daydream” are about how absence makes the heart grow fonder. It’s similar to the relationship between fans and artists, where they love each other but also spend time apart, and at other times don’t know what the other’s up to.

SUNGHOON: I think so too. You can easily substitute the relationship between ENGENE and ENHYPEN into those songs. It seems like it’s about two people in love, but who I was really thinking about while practicing it was ENGENE. I hope ENGENE feels the same way when they’re listening. (laughs)

When do you need ENGENE the most?

SUNGHOON: I always need ENGENE, but especially when I’m performing. When I do a performance that’s exclusively for ENGENE, I’m not showing them a refined version of me but my everything. I can show them my less-than-perfect aspects, and it’s way more chill talking to them—like talking to a friend. ENGENE fills me with as much strength when I see them as I do when they see me. If either of us ever disappeared, the whole thing would fall apart. We’re so important to one another, and a lot of what’s possible for us is only possible because we’re together.

The song “Highway 1009” off your second studio album is dedicated to your fans. What were you trying to say with the lyrics you wrote?

SUNGHOON: When I wrote those lyrics, I imagined going on a journey down an endless road with ENGENE. The words flowed right out of me—maybe because I was being so open with my feelings. I wrote the line, “Promise you’ll hold on tighter,” and some before and after that line, too. My version went, “I’ll meet you again under our destiny / Promise you’ll hold on tighter / So nothing will ever keep us apart again.” I thought it was well written and I said I wanted to show it to ENGENE, but looking at it now, I’m not so sure. (laughs)

It’s clear when watching Weverse LIVE that you’ve developed an even closer bond with ENGENE. In an interview with Esquire, you said, “I don’t have much to do besides work, so I do LIVEs just to hang out.” So interacting with your fans doesn’t feel like “work,” then?

SUNGHOON: It seriously never feels like work. Nobody tells me to do it—I do it because I want to. When I go on Weverse LIVE, I get to see what ENGENE says and share my thoughts. It’s as simple as that, and I love it. Having said that, since there’s so many people watching from all around the world, I am careful to avoid saying anything that could hurt even one person.

Speaking of your LIVEs, ENGENE says you’re unintentionally funny. You also post a lot of somewhat quirky videos on TikTok. (laughs)

SUNGHOON: What I’m going for on TikTok is basically to be silly. (laughs) I’m not into doing any of the stuff you’d expect. I have to do things I find a little funny and amusing so ENGENE can genuinely enjoy them. It’s the same with the 02z: If I see something decent on TikTok, I would suggest it to the others, then every single one of them gets on board. I was the one who suggested the “Attack on Bangtan” video. The composition and the timing for moving out of the frame just popped into my head. (laughs) I don’t know that I’m really trying to be funny, though… I think that side only comes out when I’m with the rest of the group.

The calligraphy photos you’ve posted of phrases like, “Let’s hope everything comes up roses,” and, “You’re special,” make fans laugh.

SUNGHOON: I started doing those hoping it would make the fans laugh at least a little bit, and they really did, so I do more now and then. Seeing words like that gives people positive emotions, and while for some it might just be funny, for others, it could be truly uplifting. I think calligraphy has become a part of my identity now. It’s even come up in other videos, like how I was part of the calligraphy club in EN-DRAMA.

During your closing remarks at the FATE PLUS concert in Seoul, you said, “ENGENE, you’re the only one that’s ever made me cry.” That shows how close you’ve become with ENGENE, considering you once said you’re not good at expressing your emotions.

SUNGHOON: I think when it comes to ENGENE, I’ve really opened up. I think we’re close enough now that we can open up to each other like that. Since I’m not someone who cries easily, even the other members didn’t know at first whether I was actually crying or just joking. (laughs) But I could really tell how concerned they were for me onstage. We’ve been together long enough that we know how each other’s feeling without having to say much.

What moved you to tears like that?

SUNGHOON: I’m the type to let it out all at once, and it’d been a long time since I last cried. There’s little hard moments all throughout the work we do, and those small things slowly piled up until they hit me all at once. I was doing my closing remarks and felt like, “Well, I’ve made it this far,” and then suddenly felt emotional. I felt a lot better after that cry. It’s a bit embarrassing since so many people saw the video of me crying, though. (laughs)

I remember you said, “I feel like I still don’t know myself all that well,” during your closing remarks.

SUNGHOON: It’s hard for anyone to look at themselves objectively from an outsider’s perspective, but I feel like I’m getting to know who I really am through my career. My personality and emotions will keep on changing, and ENGENE always watches out for me and lets me know about that. ENGENE helps me to know who I am.

What do you think of Park Sunghoon these days?

SUNGHOON: In the past, I saw myself as this really quiet person who lacks confidence. I wanted to break free of that. I’m a lot more confident these days and I’m working hard to keep it that way. These days I see myself as someone who chases perfection and doesn’t like when things get complicated, but I feel like I do complicated things, somehow. (laughs)

When you say you do complicated things, it sounds to me like that you don’t take shortcuts.

SUNGHOON: Right. I don’t want to be taking shortcuts. I feel like I always do things the proper way and with integrity. And I like that about myself.

You’re now entering your fifth year since your debut. In the whole time from your I-LAND days and up until and including now, you seem to have consistently put on good performances and kept yourself healthy.

SUNGHOON: I think it was unconsciously in my bones from being a former athlete. You can’t be an athlete for very long if you’re inconsistent. I need to express it more when things get tough, though. But I feel like I’m not very good at doing that, so I’m making an effort to express myself more these days.

So crying during the concert was part of that?

SUNGHOON: Exactly. I probably could’ve held it in, but… No, I doubt I would’ve been able to stop those tears. (laughs)

I see you as something of a blank canvas. As time’s gone on, you’ve been painted with more and more colors. You’ve become closer to and more affectionate with your fans, you express your emotions more, and you’re gone from a smooth dancer to one who can now nail high-intensity K-pop moves.

SUNGHOON: I love it. Being like a blank canvas means I can keep growing and showing different sides to me. I’ll keep painting myself with different colors, and even though I might make mistakes here and there as the painting forms over time, I won’t erase them—I’ll just incorporate them in different ways into my picture. I used to be really hard on myself and find faults only in myself. I’d tell myself it’s because I’m no good. Now, I’m trying to be more forgiving with myself and look at the bigger picture.

You are a perfectionist, but you’re also self-affirming.

SUNGHOON: There are places I can stand to improve and evolve, but I don’t want to lose the original me, either. I want to keep showing that off. I want to be flexible and make a move according to my circumstances. I don’t want to become someone else—I want to keep at it like I am now, adding my own unique colors and giving people what I consider to be the ideal version of me. If nothing else, I want to be cooler. (laughs) I feel like, as an artist, I need to bump up my skill level where singing and dancing is concerned. And I need to be more emotionally strong, too. No big drastic changes—just taking who I am now and reaching a level or two higher should do it.

[hanayori89]

🌻 Hello all- I just wrote this little one (two it’s a two) shot. My mother recently passed away on 1/24. My existence feels hollow. Writing is the only thing keeping me grounded, the only thing that makes me feel like myself when I feel I don’t know who I am. When you read this little works you’re supporting not just a writer- but a grieving human. Thank you 🌻❤️

A Little Too Not Over You

“Hey, watch it!”

A rotund woman ran into you, causing you to ricochet backward and stumble off the curb. You watched as she stopped, shifting her weight back and forth on her feet. The sheer trace of her underwear beneath her shoddy dress told you she wasn't wearing much else beneath it. She continued forward, hurriedly crab-walking as she winced from her seismic thighs slapping together.

You grimaced, feeling the phantom sting of chafing between your own thighs.

"Hurry! Someone said he was down here!"

The racket of charging feet stomping against the pavement made you duck for cover.

"SQUEE!!!!"

You watched from behind an empty stall as a throng of rowdy, jubilant women of all ages, shapes, and colors came stampeding down the street.

"For Din's sake..." You muttered in disbelief.

Today was the biggest delivery day of the month, and your cargo now sat, ripped and dented from the abuse of hordes of running feet. After you discerned the coast was clear of all signs of estrogen besides your own, you ran toward your box and retrieved it. You squinted as you read the delivery address on the mottled label.

Bombchu Bowling Alley.

You hoisted the precious cargo on your shoulder, relieved that it would be your last delivery of the day. On an average workday, Castle Town never took you nearly as long as it did today. But whatever had the citizens in a tizzy also threw your schedule into the same energy of disarray.

You glanced upward, admiring the way the dark dusk clouds patted down what little light of the sun remained. The drawbridge that connected Castle Town to Hyrule Field would soon close, blocking any visitors from leaving or entering.

With that thought in mind, you scurried down to the Bombchu Bowling Alley, relieved that with the promise of night came the promise of the end of your shift.

🧚

"Well, I'll be. Are you actually awake during your shift?" You greeted your friend, Ally, the clerk who ran Bombchu Bowling.

She gave you a wistful sigh. "If I actually had customers, I wouldn't be over here falling asleep." She jumped over the counter; her magenta pinstriped crop top revealed her chiseled abs, which came as a surprise considering she seemed to sleep for a living.

"Got my goods?"

"Got my money?"

Ally fluttered her caked lashes at you in amusement. "Always right to the point." She reached into her pocket, fishing out the rupees she owed you. "You really saved my hide doing this freight business; your costs are much cheaper than those of Lon Lon."

"Well, I won't talk ill of Malon; we are friends after all. But she has her hands full these days and running a farm ain't cheap. Besides, I love to explore Hyrule. Especially since-" You stopped yourself from saying it.

The words seemed to be obnoxious and loud, despite not leaving your mouth. "He's never once come back to see you?"

"He's a hero now. Why would he?" Your voice rose as your wounded ego flared. "Besides, I have my business and my life now. I appreciate the time we spent as kids and what he's done for Hyrule, but I've moved on, and I'm sure he has too."

"Have you, though?"

Your mouth shot open in protest. "What's that supposed to mean?" You didn't need to prove to Ally or anyone that you were over Link.

So, what if you saw his stupid face every night for seven years since he left?

Or that you sometimes sat outside of the Kokiri woods by the tree you both met.

Or the fact that every date you've ever been on always left you empty because no one seemed to compare.

So, what?

"Y/N," Ally said your name as if she were a medic about to tell you that you had a terminal illness. The empathy in her voice was present, albeit earnest. "Did you see the crowds gathering today?"

You nodded. "How in Hylia could I not see them? It would be like not seeing King Jabu Jabu in Zora's Domain. I almost got run over! This one woman-"

"He's come home."

"He?"

"The Hero...er- Link, he's returned. He's here, in Castletown."

"Link? Link has come back?"

Her eyebrows rose in concern as you let out a bitter laugh.

"Y/N-"

"So, Link has come home? That's what those females were fussing over? How pathetic." The venom that coursed through your veins over Link's abandonment somehow didn't manage to overshadow your curiosity as to what he looked like after all this time. You stopped entertaining the thought. "They can have him and all the tears they'll cry when he leaves them too."

You left Ally standing there with her unopened order. You walked towards the door, your throat raw with the taste of acid. "Let me know if there's any issue with your order. Have a good night."

You didn't bother to look her way as you slammed the door shut behind you.

Link had returned.

So, what?

🧚🏿

"Why are you crying?"

A boy with eyes haunted by unwelcome duty ran past you. He turned toward you, surprised, as you revealed yourself from behind a tree.

"Why are you sad? Whatever it is, it can't be that bad."

“I'm supposed to go meet Princess Zelda. But I won't make it. I'm going to die."

You tilted your head at the boy's assured declaration. "How are you so sure you're going to die?"

"Look at me! I am a Kokiri! If we leave the forest, I'll die! That's why Saria looked so sad. She must have known she'd never see me again. She must have known..."

You walked up to the sullen boy swathed in green. Drawing your arm back, you walloped him in the shoulder.

"HEY!" He growled.

You began to laugh hysterically. "Silly forest boy, if you were dead, that wouldn't have hurt. There is no pain after death."

He began to begrudgingly blink with recognition. "So then, it's true. I am not one of them after all. I am not a Kokiri." His eyebrows furrowed in thought.

"Apparently not because you're very much alive."

He looked at you. "I must go to the princess." He didn't ask you to escort him, but something in the way he spoke made you silently understand that you were to accompany him.

"Come on, I'll take you as far as I can."

"Thank you."

You both traversed Hyrule Field together with chatter that had such ease it caused time to pass with lamentable haste. As you approached the drawbridge that led to Castle Town, you could feel the boy's aquamarine eyes overtly examining you.

You gave him a playful side-eye. "Don't go falling in love over there."

Little did you know, you would eat those words for seven years straight.

🧚🏽

"Wait! Hey, Wait!"

Two guards stood; their gargantuan helmets eclipsed their vision but left their prickly and soured lips on display. They ignored your begging and continued to crank the bridge upward; the hinges were in desperate need of lube to ease the egregious grinding sound that filled the air.

"Wait! I need to leave! My cargo wagon is outside!"

One of the guards looked at you and scoffed. "Rules are rules, little miss. This bridge closes at 7 p.m., as it always has for years. You know better."

You stomped your foot. "It's 6:58! If you're not going to let me leave, then I fully expect to be compensated with a room at an inn since you cannot be so kind as to let me pass."

Both of the guards exchanged glances and began to laugh.

The guard that had ridiculed you earlier now walked up to you, dipping his head close to your ear. "I can make an exception if you do something for me." His gruff, come-hither voice made your ovaries revolt in disgust.

He crept his fingers along your shoulder, resting them on the thin cotton of your sleeve and slowly pulling it down.

"I would rather mate with a goron." You felt a collection of foamy saliva sit at the base of your throat. With an uncouth gurgle, you spat in the guard's face as a Deku shrub would shoot a nut.

"You little-"

An arm dressed in a gilded gauntlet slithered around the guard's neck, wrapping him in a chokehold. You couldn't see the face of the man who intervened, but you caught glimpses of green fabric behind the guard's body. The color reminiscent of a vast forest and the special boy who hails from its verdant haven.

"What's your ID number?" The voice's curt command wasn't enough to hide its feathery resonance or the way it made your core pool with warmth.

The guard fumbled beneath the unforgiving grasp of his captor, his voice escaping in hoarse spurts. "7..."

"7 what?" The man's muscles swelled as he wrapped his arm around the guard's neck tighter.

"7...5...2...7." Satisfied by this response, you watched as the guard was disregarded and thrown to the ground.

"I'll be sure to speak with the princess in the morning, 7527. It would behoove you to leave the premises at once. Now get out of my sight."

The other guard squealed from behind. "Ach! "It's him! Let's get out of here."

Your eyes slowly wandered to the man before you.

'Him.'

The shadows that hung beneath his eyes were the perfect accessory to the familiar glint of unwelcome responsibility that had remained in his eyes all these years. His lips tugged upward, and an insecure smile seeped cheek to cheek, transforming his aged face into that of the youth you had fallen in love with years ago.

"Hello, Y/N."

You stood there, as if you were staring at Dampe's ghost, which would be a lot more palatable than Link standing before you as a grown man.

A grown man.

You felt your flesh incinerate as you observed the chapped and gargantuan hands beneath the gauntlets. Your eyes stalled on the flashes of muscle that couldn't be hidden beneath his padded gambeson or his tunic.

You could hear a soft chuckle as he realized he had rendered you speechless. He reached upward, pulling off his signature green hat and setting free a wave of long, silky blond tresses. "Have I aged so terribly that you cannot possibly find the words?" For as much as your gaze seemed to procrastinate on certain areas of his body, it was incomparable to the way Link's eyes refused to move away from your own. His Adam's apple bulged, shimmying down his throat as he took a deep breath. "The passage of time is usually cruel, but it relieves me to see how incredibly kind it has been to you."

He took a few steps toward you, desperate for your acknowledgement. After another minute of silence, you reached your hand forward. Link mirrored you, lifting his hand upward in an attempt to gently place his fingertips against your own, as if you were his reflection. The romantic gesture was severed thanks to your hand plunging forth and latching onto one of the shiny gray hoops that swung from his ears.

"Farore! You pierced your ears?"

You could make out a little droplet of sweat trailing down his jaw as he released a nervous laugh. "That's it? It's been seven years, and that's what you noticed about me?"

You folded your arms. " It's not my fault; it's been seven years, Link. Oh, forgive me, do you still go by 'Link?"

He frowned. "You're right, Y/N. You're absolutely right. I cannot say anything that will mend the rift of time between us. But" He got down on his knee and held your hand, your delicate fingers resting in between his firm grasp, weakening your resolve.

"The bridge is closed for the night. Give me just tonight to try. Please."

"Fine." You surrendered. You were going to humor Link. But it was not to appease his own guilt over his absence.

No, it was to prove to yourself that you were over him.

But if you truly were, then why did you need to prove it?

🧚🏾

                                             

Edited: 2/1/24

[msfcatlover]

Shadow Tim (Reverse Robins)

So, a few very important things to keep in mind for Tim's iteration of the Shadow design:

Tim is taking it up as a tribute to Steph after her death.

Tim does not have a Moonbeam as his partner. (He was supposed to be the next Moonbeam, apprenticed under Cass, until shit went down.)

Tim lacks the fully context & perspective on Being Shadow that Steph & Damian had about it (but he's trying his best.)

To start with, Tim brings Shadow back to Damian's greyscale & gold color scheme, but with one critical difference: where Damian had pops of red, Tim uses very light touches of purple.

(Tim also keeps Steph's bat symbol, so here's a quickly thrown together contrast. Tim has no Moonbeam, so he gets no light/metallic accent on his bat symbol.)

The second major tribute is that Tim adds a cloak, specifically taken from Steph's original Spoiler design. Tim's version is black with a purple lining, and gold trim around the edge of the hood, calling back to both Steph's dual-tone hood & her hair. The cloak itself is ankle-length; not practical, but evocative & stylish.

(So this style cape, and massive thanks to the Stephanie Brown Costume History page, y'all are lifesavers.)

Tim relies on the cloak to disguise his form, with the costume itself being much closer-fitted than previous iterations. The top is a black bulletproof vest with short sleeves added not dissimilar to his traditional Robin costume, but the weird stripes are actually places for him to tuck gadgets he expects to grab in a hurry.

(Basically this, but all one piece, with the Robin sleeves, and obviously lighter on detail to keep from being visually cluttered. No one wants to draw or look at all those lines & straps, or that little wheel-velcro-thing.)

Tim wears a dull grey chainmail body suit between his black undersuit & outer costume. It shows mainly on his arms, between the top sleeves & his gloves, but if his pants tore it'd be visible there too. The gloves themselves are his spiky gauntlets from more modern costumes, in black but with a gold hem at the very top to reflect the band on his hood (paying tribute to Steph's thick hems & blonde hair, while also bringing back Damian's color scheme.)

(These bad boys.)

Tim sticks with the neck gaiter Steph switched to, but does not keep the greasepaint. Instead, Tim has a headset styled after ski-goggles. He was originally designing it for becoming Moonbeam, hoping an AI scan of his opponents' moves would help him predict what they were going to do (allowing him to better mimic Duke & Cass's skillsets.) It's still a pretty rough prototype by the time Steph dies, but Tim's put a hell of a lot of work into it, he's not not going to field-test the thing, now is he?

(You meet the new Shadow, and this stares back at you from under the hood [lightly edited for appropriate drama])

Below the utility belt (grey with gold snaps/buckles,) Tim wears black heavy-duty cargo pants tucked into knee-high armored boots. The extra pockets even further emphasize that Tim is a character with a diverse set of skills and especially gadgets, and the slight puff caused by tucking not-entirely-fitted pants in at the knee calls back to Damian's "Infinite Frontier" outfit that inspired my original Shadow design.

(Not quite that puffy, but that would probably be down to the artist.)

For the boots, I do really like the ones Tim's been recently wearing in comics... mostly, at least. The ones on-panel have a little tabi toe-stripe most of the time, which either appears to be decorative (just a notch in front of the toe, which I don't like the look of) or does weird things to the depth (making his feet look flat.) Also, as someone who cannot even wear flip-flops without getting bloody blisters, it just looks uncomfortable to me. I really like the version Tim wore on that cover with Damian—the shape looks more comfortable, it looks like it has better grip & heavier armor, and looks like a shoe it'd really suck to get kicked by—but the stripes are nearly invisible, and the weird spike of armor above the knee is a bit much.

Combine the foot from the cover-boots with the shape & highlights from the panel-boots. Make the stripes & knee-pad border gold, and add a gold trim along the top edge of the green sole; the sole itself should be dark grey.

And that's Shadow Tim!

A little higher-tech to foreshadow his ascendance to Oracle, while also reflecting Tim's canonical love of weird gadgets through the ages.

Pays heavy tribute to Steph, but not in any way that'd be super-obvious if you weren't in-the-know, without directly ripping off her designs or looking so much like her that the other Bats could mistake Tim for Steph out of the corner of their eyes.

Pays light tribute to Damian, but aside from being a Shadow costume, Duke & Cass have about as much influence on the changes Tim makes (see: chainmail, glove style, face covering) as Damian does.

Misses a few important details of Shadow's design (see: no longer visible eyes, no more grease paint, dramatically changed silhouette) showing Tim wasn't prepared to step into this role but is doing his best anyway.

Extra armor & pockets shows that Tim's got even more protection than previous Shadows, hinting through design alone about the impact Steph's death had on the family.

Sticks to Tim's fashion tastes without going overboard.

Adds a cape for him to go swish.

I'm pretty happy with it!

[stardewremixed]

I saw your post about NPC pairings!! I really like the idea of Sam and Emily as a pairing. One loves to play music, one loves to dance. They’re both high-energy and quirky in their own ways! I would love to see a list of headcanons for them, platonic or romantic! Exploring the dynamics between the NPCs is so much fun!

Hi. So sorry 😭 for the ridiculous long delay.

Sam & Emily headcanons

Emily only brings Sam root beers on the nights when he plays pool at the Saloon. He doesn't really drink, and he wants to be on top of his game. He still fails. Emily added a scoop of vanilla ice cream at the end of the night to cheer him up. 😋 🍦

Emily's parrot gets loose once and Sam notices it while he's out boarding. 🦜 He goes out of his way to rescue the bird, endearing himself to Em.

Sam once asked Emily to watch Vincent in a pinch. His mom was gone and he needed to get to work. She, of course, agreed and proceeded to pull out a big chest of costumes to play dress up with Vincent (and they had a blast). She had to make adjustments so the clothes could fit the little boy. This inspired Sam to ask Emily for help making his Spirit's Eve costume. 🎃

Emily twisted her ankle at the Luau one time, dancing on the beach. Sam gave her a piggy back ride home. 🌴 💃

Sometimes they close the place down, trying to beat the next level of the arcade games 🕹 🎮 at the Saloon. Emily is surprisingly competitive but it's all in good fun!

Jodi always cooks a feast for her growing boys. Sometimes Sam brings leftovers to the lovely neighbor girls. Haley doesn't like cooking and she's picky and Emily doesn't always have time between work and her projects. Emily always appreciates a hot meal (even if it's lukewarm by the time Sam remembers to bring it by). She doesn't mind because it's an excuse to enjoy his warm smiles. 😀 🍽

Jodi isn't great at sewing. When Sam rips his jeans or cargo shorts again trying to do an epic kick flip, he brings his pants to Emily to fix. She is a bit flighty too, but Sam always forgives her absent-mindedness. He's that way too. 🪡 🧵 And she sometimes stitches something in a fun color.

These two always volunteer to host face painting 🎨 at the Stardew Fair. Often there's more paint on their hands and ears and arms and clothes than their actual faces. Usually because they're laughing and teasing each other too much. 😏

Emily would teach a yoga/meditation class 🧘‍♀️ 🧘‍♂️ after the Community Center is renovated. And Sam is her enthusiastic first participant. Of course, he has the hardest time sitting still, but he would try for Emily.

They would build the best sandcastles on the beach. ⛱️ 🏰 I'm talking EPIC! Maybe even would challenge others to a contest.

Once Sam starts working at the movie 🎬 theater, he would always make sure they stock items for kale smoothies. He might hate the "green stuff" but he knows how much Emily loves it. 💚 For a "first date," he'd use his employee discount and take Emily to her favorite movie.

Sam doesn't like venturing in the mines, but he would commission someone to keep an eye out for Emily's favorite gemstones. Then he would find a craftsman to turn it into a pretty necklace or bracelet or pair of earrings (not Clint). Even if it meant saving his pay for months... it's worth it to make her happy. 💎

Sam would totally invite Emily to join his DnD circle. 🎲 She would make an awesome elf, I think! Even if it takes her a bit to learn the rules. Sam is a surprisingly patient and enthusiastic teacher.

Cloud gazing and picking out fun shapes in the clouds ⛅️ would be a fun shared experience. Was that a mermaid floating by? 🧜‍♀️ 🧜‍♂️ Or a fire truck? 🚒

Emily would regularly give Sam a tarot readings. She would give him little crystals and beads 🔮 for positive energies, which he would keep in his pockets. And pull out the Ouija board every October. And he would be totally into it. 👍

She would be in the front row dancing and cheering at every one of his concerts. 🎸 And she would encourage Sam to pursue his music. 🎶 It's a beautiful dream and she would fully support him! ❤️ And Sam would work hard so Emily could spend more time making clothes, her real passion. 👕 👗 🥻 👚

Their home would be vibrant - full of color, music, and life. 🏡 A beautiful, messy, and sometimes chaotic space, but you can feel the love when you walk inside. It's so uniquely them. ❤️ 💙 💛

[midnight-scrivener]

Kids are wild, dude.

Couple days ago, me and Partner popped over to Disney Springs to a) buy some mead, and b) spend gift card money to go see the Boy and the Heron (10/10 so good).

I was chilling on a wall outside, waiting for Partner in the bathroom, and behind me, I hear a tiny, clear voice, filled with the plaintive ennui of someone who's been trapped in a time loop for aeons unknown, say, "just let me die."

*Freeze, slow turn*

Reader, allow me to paint you a picture.

There is a man, the daddest man perhaps ever to dad. He is wearing a visor. The visor says something like, "have a Disney day™️" on it in red swirly font. His hair is sticking straight up out of the top of the visor, like a mad scientist who forgot he was leaning on the Tesla coil when he told his Igor to throw the switch, henchman! This gives the distinct impression that this is not his visor, but rather was hastily thrust upon him, likely by a spouse who is also in the bathroom. It was cold out (for Florida anyway), so this man was wearing a heavy Patagonia fleece, and, in true Dadly fashion, little cargo shorts, pockets bulging, dragging the shape of the garment parabolically earthward, laden with the responsibilities inherent in being the Vacation Manager and Bearer of the Visor. His legs were covered in gooseflesh. But, reader, he bore it.

He had sunglasses, those iridescent mirrored kind that make you think of sport fishermen. But they dangled around his neck, so I could see his eyes, vacant, staring, lined with the patient resignation that can only come from loving someone who is A Lot To Be Around. His hand, large and calloused and properly Daddish, was clasped with another set of tiny digits.

Dangling from his arm with a comfortable drama that implied this was but one time of many, was a tiny girlchild, no more than maybe five years old, wearing a full length Rapunzel princess gown, light-up Sketchers, and pink, glittery mouse ears that had been knocked askew in the process of her collapse and gave her hair the air of waging a losing battle with a little bird.

This girl, with the face of a cherub and the serious manner of an elderly man of state, stared off into a slightly different middle distance than her father. Her sketchers trailed over the ground as she rocked slightly in his gentle-but-firm grip. She sighed, and reader, I felt that sigh. In my bones. No one who's never experienced the weight of deep debt looming over them should be able to sigh like that.

She opened her mouth and said again in that clear, innocent voice, "Please won't you let me die?"

Her father, aware that people had begun to take notice, shook his head. "We're just waiting for Mommy."

This did not satisfy the tot. Still without a shred of distress, just the solemnity of a gig worker with twelve different 10-99 forms to file come tax season, asked "Yeah, but why can't I just die now?"

Her father closed his eyes. He was silent for long enough that I knew on some level he was wondering the same thing about himself. People were Aware of the situation now. Eventually he took a deep breath and looked down at her, still hanging from his arm. "It's against the rules to die at Disney World," he said. "Even if you want to. But tell you what, if you wait until we get back home, you can die there instead. That way Mommy and I can both be there."

The girl's mood brightened immediately. She got her feet under her and straightened, beaming up at her dad. "Oh, okay," she said. "After Mommy comes can we go to Legos?"

There's not really a proper end to the story, Partner just came out of the bathroom and we went to the movie. But damb. I hope that little girl knows I'll think about her at least once a day for the rest of my life.

Don't die. There might be Legos in it if you stay.

[zirosisblog]

So, I made some designs for my Link and Zelda in my original Legend of Zelda story. (Currently a nameless brainchild)

Their designs aren't fully final, but I do like them for now. If you're wondering, "Why the freak are they dressed like that?"

It's because it takes place in a more modern era 'cuz I thought that'd be kinda cool. Also, I may or may not have pushed my personal style onto them. I tried using a mixture of my fashion style and incorporating elements of previous Link and Zelda designs into them.

More details are below! (Med length)

(Link details!)

Like the white under shirt, and short sleeved collared gingham jacket Link is sporting. The under shirt takes inspo from Oot and Wind Waker Link.

The collar is a successor to the collared undershirts Link usually wears. They have a shoulder bag, which acts as a replacement to the usual sword sheath and sort of kills off the endless pockets. But... they still live on through the MANY pockets they wear on their baggy cargo pants!

Of course, the beanie is a successor to Link's lovely pointy silly guy elf hat. They also wear fingerless gloves. And how could I forget the earrings?

"Why black hair?"

...Too much blonde. Yes, some Links had their pink hair, their blue, green, white, red or green hair, and the og brown. But... black hair is so cool. Like c'mon. Their hair shape takes elements from my own, and also the Oot, SS, TP, and BotW Links. One time, I accidentally styled my hair exactly like theirs... whoopsies.

Now, onto Zelda!

Each Zelda is given a mostly unique look (except for the ones that are just Oot or WW Zelda copy pasted), carrying elements of her ancestors in her clothing. Her design is a little messy, I will admit. But... I like it... so... if you have a problem with it, that's your problem, not mine. A lot of it is sort of original, but I added little inspirations every aspect I could.

She wears a little blue, short sleeved cardigan over a lacy patterned white long sleeve shirt. Which takes aspects from both SS and BotW Zelda. Her sleeves are like SS Zelda's, and the cardigan is like BotW Zelda's design. Like how the sleeves kinda poof out. And...

Her necklace is kind of like a cross (I'm not Christian), taking the main part of Hylia's symbol. She wears it around her neck, of course, and it's kinda like the gold details on the neckline of BotW Zel's blue top. And her belt is blatant theft of SS Zelda's gold one. Might shamelessly just make it gold, too. Her earrings are kinda like the big ones. Oot Zelda wears, just... circle. Might give her more piercings because it fits her character, and would also take inspo from TP Zelda.

"Why hair orange?"

Good question! Some Zelda's have orangish hair, like Oot Zelda. And uh...

"GERUDO!?"

Yeah, she's a gerudo.

"How did that happen?"

Secret.

Hehehehehe... hehehe....hah...mwahahahahahahah AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-

Anyway, yeah. That's their designs!

Also pronouns.

Link (they/them) Zelda (she/her)

Thanks for reading, and please be respectful.

[marlynnofmany]

Scary Stories in Space

If you’ve ever wanted to experience the rapt attention of bodybuilder-shaped swamp monster/goldfish crosses, who are equal parts muscles, fins, and floaty silk clothes with absolutely zero interest in blinking, then I can’t speak highly enough of telling ghosts stories to a pair of Frillians.

That hadn’t been the plan; it just came up in conversation while we tidied the storage hold. Our ship was going to take on a lot of cargo soon. There were things on the floor that needing picking up, which was boring, so we passed the time with stories.

As it turns out, Frillians love ghost stories.

“Then what happened??” asked Blip when I paused for effect. She’d frozen in place holding a wrench and a heat sensor, wide-eyed in a cloud of fluttering silks and fins, all electric blue and bright red and deeply invested in my story. Her brother Blop was her mirror in aqua and lavender.

“Then,” I said, picking up a crowbar, “When he went to let her out of the car, he found a hook on the door handle!” I caught the crowbar on my hand dramatically.

“Ohhh!” they chorused with a gratifying flinch, for all the world like frat bros watching someone get hit in the nuts. “Near miss! Oh, wow!”

I grinned and put the crowbar in a cabinet while they rehashed the very simple story to each other. I’d already told them a few others, and I was going to run out of stories before they ran out of enthusiasm.

Blip asked, “What do you think they did when they found that?”

With a shudder like a bird fluffing feathers, Blop suggested, “Throw it as far away as possible? Run into the house?”

Blip nodded, fins still flared slightly. “Maybe both. Then call the authorities.”

I walked past to collect a stray cable. “I don’t know about the authorities where you’re from, but mine wouldn’t have been much help.”

The twins discussed this some more, then agreed that the best response would be to run screaming into the house and lock every door they could find. Only then did they remember that they were supposed to be cleaning, and resume putting stuff away.

After three seconds of silence, Blop asked, “Know any more?”

“Maybe,” I said. “Lemme think.” I shelved a box and looked around the room for inspiration. No ghosts hid in this storage hold, though it had been home to many an animal cargo. The reinforced clear pen was still empty, and had been for a while — our cargos were mostly boxes these days. The door to the hallway stood open, and I almost had a thought about some doorway-based haunting, but couldn’t pin it down. I moved to stack a few stale tubs of animal food while I thought.

Then my cat Telly walked in, recently free to roam the ship on a provisional basis, and I had an idea. The fact that Telly had made a beeline for Blip’s spare overcoat helped. She burrowed right under, sniffing out the shrimp sticks that were undoubtedly hidden in several pockets.

Neither Frillian noticed.

“There was one story,” I said, watching them both perk up like meerkats. Fishy, musclebound meerkats. “The legend of the Pants With Nobody Inside Them.”

“Pants With Nobody Inside Them?” they dutifully asked.

I tugged at my own pant leg. “People where I’m from wear a lot of clothes that are shaped to fit our bodies, and have the same silhouette when they’re empty. Just imagine how creepy and unsettling it must have been for the first person to venture into a dark forest at night, and see the shape of another human — but only the bottom half. Walking … steadily … towards them.” I took slow and deliberate strides toward the far side of the animal pen, drawing their gaze away from the shrimp stick excavation.

“That sounds terrifying,” Blip declared. “Did they run?”

“Oh, you bet they did!” I said, jogging slowly in place, then speeding up. “But the pants ran after.”

Blop squeaked in fear, muscly arms bent to bring his hands to his mouth.

They had no idea how hard I was working not to laugh. “That first person got away, and so did the next. But it kept happening, and the pants got faster each time. People started to worry about going outside, and wonder about their own clothes — they’d look at a pair of pants on the floor, and imagine it starting to get up on its own. Then OH JEEZ WHAT’S THAT?!” I pointed through the clear walls of the pen.

Both Frillians whirled and screamed at the sight of — as promised — an item of clothing moving around.

Telly bolted in panic, with one shrimp stick in her mouth and several others scattering in all directions. I heard someone down the hall yelp, though it was hard to make out over the Frillians screaming.

“WHAT WAS THAT?”

“WAS THAT AN ANIMAL?”

“WAIT, THAT WAS YOUR ANIMAL, WASN’T IT?”

“WHAT WAS IT DOING IN MY COAT??”

I leaned against a wall, laughing. I couldn’t hold it back any more. “Stealing your shrimp sticks,” I managed. “Sorry.”

After a little more yelling and hyperventilating, during which three other crew members came to see what the emergency was, they finally calmed down. The rest of the crew was waved away.

“So,” Blip said, clearly determined to speak evenly, “How does the story end?”

I was still grinning. “Somebody makes friends with the pants. They were chasing after people because they were lonely.”

“What!” Blip exclaimed, fins spread and eyes wide, which just made me burst into laughter again. Blop echoed her.

“It’s a children’s story,” I explained. “I think the pants wanted to dance with other people. Or they wanted someone to wear them; I honestly don’t remember the details. But they were lonely.”

Blop shook his head. “Lonely haunted clothing,” he said. “Your planet sure has some memorable ones.”

Blip picked up her coat at arm’s length, and I couldn’t tell if she was looking for damage or ghosts. “Maybe it was hungry,” she suggested.

“I’m sure many ghosts like shrimp sticks,” I said, picking one up from the floor. “I’ll bet we could think up a new story about that. Maybe they’re haunted by the ghosts of the shrimp, mad about being eaten?”

Their dismayed expressions told me that such a story might ruin their favorite snack for them.

“Or,” I said, turning on my heel, “We could think up a story about a haunted… stun gun! Maybe it keeps a ghostly copy of all the people it’s stunned. How do you think a story like that would work?”

To my delight, Blip and Blop proved just as interested in composing new stories as listening to old ones. The rest of the tidying session passed quickly.

I take no responsibility for the nightmares they inflicted on the rest of the crew.

~~~

The ongoing backstory adventures of the main character from this book. More to come!

(And yes that’s a reference to the Dr Seuss story.)

[ironverseocs]

OC Valentine's Challenge 2024 -> Day 1: First Love

(Read on AO3)

Melissa scrambled up the limbs, hand over hand, feet scraping bark off where they struck and kicked off against the organism. She laughed as she chased Jackson higher up.

“Race ya to the top!” he said, unnecessarily so since he was already a yard from the last bough with two yards between him and Melissa.

“Says you with the head start,” Melissa sneered playfully. Nonetheless, she eagerly spurred on the pace.

Once she reached the last stable bough – something sturdy enough to support her weight to sit on –, she seated herself with her legs hanging off one side and her left hand wrapping around the top of the trunk for support. Jackson mirrored her on the opposite side. She could see half his face through the needles of the pine.

“So, what is it you wanted to give me?” she asked.

Jackson just smiled, a little bit sly, a little bit coy.

Melissa frowned.

“Don’t tell me it’s just this. Like, the view or whatever,” she said, finishing in thought, because that would be lame.

“It’s not.”

She waited for him to continue, to say what it was, but he held silent another moment longer.

“So?” she drew out. “What goes, Jack?”

Jackson sucked in his lips, pressing his mouth into a line. Suddenly, it was like all his glee had vanished and only his giddiness remained. He stared at her a second longer, then ripped his gaze away to stare at the ground below, a sizable drop below. Was that… sheepishness she was seeing? Why would he be scared? They had hung out all Summer since the moment he moved to her neighbourhood. They went to the movies together, biked to the far side of town, stayed up late into the night playing video games under the same roof or apart and online, speaking through headsets, trying to keep their voices low so they don’t wake up the whole of their households. His eyes drifted to a pocket on his cargo shorts before glancing behind him.

Melissa’s brows knit harder into one another.

He shoved his hand into the pocket and pulled out a parcel—brown paper wrapping with a red string tying off.

“Happy birthday,” he said quietly—in a tone that blew away all thought from the girl’s mind—and pressed his hand forward.

It was all Melissa could do to stare at it.

“For you,” he urged.

“Right. Duh,” she parried back and caught him in a glance before she took the parcel into her own hands. She flipped it over, studied the way the knot in the string was made and the tape was laid perfectly parallel with the edges of the paper. She looked at Jackson again.

There was a lump suddenly in her throat. “What is it?”

“Are you forgetting how gift giving works? You’re supposed to unwrap it and find out!”

Melissa holds back her sheepishness and peels the tape off with her fingertips. The package is irregularly shaped, cylindrical but squat, about one inch deep and three in diameter. It’s heavy, making Melissa guess it to be made of metal. She finishes peeling off the last of the tape, unraveled the paper, and revealed —

Her eyes flash wide and round; glittering bronze, polished glass, a shifting stick half red, half white with letters inscribed around the outside. White on black. Despite its now polished nature, she can tell it used to be old. An antique.

“Jackson, I — how much—” Breath catches in her throat. “This must have cost…” She doesn’t know exactly, but the gist…? “A lot. What made you– why– ?”

He shrugs. “I knew you’d like it. And…” He looks away, his cheeks tingeing with pink. “I like you.”

It’s Melissa’s turn to turn pink, from the tips of her ears to the bridge of her nose. Butterflies begin to flutter in her stomach, preparing for a liftoff. He likes me? she repeats internally, trying to comprehend what that actually means. She blinks, trying to make sense of it, and then it hits her: Yeah, right, he likes her; they’re friends. Why would he hang out with her if he didn’t like her?

But then, why would he have to say something like that, if both of us already know it’s true?

“Sure,” she says simply, cautiously, “like, as a friend, right?” Melissa studies the antique compass resting in her palm while in wait for a response. While probing the space for clarity, she cannot look at him. She cannot give him more than her carefully chosen words. She cannot take this too fast— assume too much, and fall flat on her face as a result.

“No, like…”

Jackson’s hand is suddenly on her wrist, gentle yet alluring, and the gesture tugs at her mind enough that she allows her curiosity to take over. She shifts eyes to the corners, lifts her chin a fraction… he takes his hand away, now that he’s got her attention, and smiles—a small smile not like the one before slightly sly but innocent and pure like stars in a midnight sky.

“Like this.” He leans forward, over the tops of the pine branches, and presses a kiss to her cheek. Before she can react, he pulls back, suddenly flushed with colour, gaze sheepishly casting down. But then, he realises, and his posture springs up; he looks alarmed. “I’m sorry. That was probably too much. I think I—”

“No,” Melissa states firmly, and her confidence shocks the both of them. “Why ‘sorry’?” And then she laughs. She can’t help it. The lost puppy look on his face makes it all ten times better. She should stop— she should sober up and ease his worries, but she can’t, for all she’s feeling is one hundred percent glee. “No no, you can’t be sorry,” she starts again. “Because if you’re sorry, I can’t do this.”

As best she can, Melissa twists on the branch she’s sitting on so she’s facing him, closes her fist around the compass (to tuck it into her coat pocket), and then reaches herself forward to catch him on the lips.

It’s a quick peck. Like his was to her cheek. But Melissa hopes it conveys all the sentiment she is unable to express into words. For things like this, words barely do the feelings justice. A simple ‘thank you’ does not express the warmth behind her sternum, filling up her ribcage.

When she pulls back…

“I like you, too,” she says. “So, there.”

Jackson’s smile is slow to grow across his face, but he says back to her, “There.”

“Thank you,” Melissa presses, “times a million, for the present. I can’t believe that you’d… How did you afford it?”

“Told my dad I wanted it, then gave it to you.”

Just like that? If she were in another state of mind (not a young love-spun one), she’d marvel at how easy he made that sound, how Jackson had spoken of his deed like it was easier than a breeze. Like using his parent to give him something that he wasn’t even going to keep… and then giving it to her… the awe of it wrapped around Melissa’s mind and would not let go.

“Well, tell you dad thanks for spending the money,” she jokes.

He smiles.

"But,—" more sincere, "thank you for getting it in the first place."

They’re back to their usual dynamic, it seems, but with one very significant change:

Now, they hold each other’s hands.

–

forever taglist -> @ocappreciation @ochub @arrthurpendragon @foxesandmagic @shrinkthisviolet @themaradwrites @goldheartedchaoticdisaster | dm me or send an ask if you'd like to be added :)

[dichromaticdyke]

🗣 - I was reading ✂️ and yalls conversations and it had me thinking about Toki rejecting purses and always wearing those huge cargo pants with 1 million pockets while Skwisgaar is either carrying those itty bitty purses that only hold your chapstick or those gigantic purses that would could fit a baby in. But Toki is always sneaking in something in Skwigaars purse to hold or snooping in it for gum or loose change or an extra guitar pick. And Skwisgaar usually doesnt mind until Toki is trying to put in something that is obviously not meant to be in a purse, like something sticky. (Side note, Skiwsgaar has sensory issues and I see sticky as being one of those Bad™️ touches)

oh my god first of all: 🗣 and ✂️ crossover WHEN. i need the legends to meet.

second of all: "can i put this in your purse" butch and "can i put this in your pocket" femme YES. skwisgaar definitely doesn't wanna carry around too much (her arms are so weak and pathetic lksdhflskdf) she's got her lipstick, cigarettes, MAYBE her phone. actually, tangent, my fave headcanon of them is them both having heart-shaped carabiners that match hehhehe skwisgaar keeps extra guitar picks on hers (there are ergonomic ones with holes in the middle! just slide those on) and toki just has a million keychains and bead charms and bullshit. it weighs her down.

third of all: yes she absolutely doesn't like sticky things. i hate rn that i have a WIP of something sticky getting poured on her LSKHFSDJGHLFHSDLFKSD DON'T ASK FOR DETAILS THE DETAILS WILL COME LGSKHDFLKSHDLKFHS

[speedlimit15]

I don’t think they would have shut my internet service off for being just one month overdue but it hasn’t been working since 8:30 this morning. But whatever I have my silly little iPad with ok service in my apartment and my phone with like perpetually one bar and a couple games and movies I can access offline. And like 250 books to read between my nook and PDFs so I’ll be ok. And I can draw. So that’s where I’m at.

Went to goodwill earlier before the grocery store, I wish I could try clothes on but I still can’t so I didn’t buy pants. I think that’s why I keep not getting them because there were a few cute pairs of nice quality this time but I just couldn’t tell if they’d be too small. But I got a beautiful red Talbots 3/4 sleeve embroidered top embroidered with a large white viney floral pattern it fits perfectly but it’s kind of fancy looking for everyday. And a vintage linen plaid lightweight button up with cuffed short sleeves and a collar I can’t button it fully bc boob opening so I gotta do the tank top underneath open shirt situation so it makes me look very gay but it’s good.

Annnddd I got a basket with a handmade cover shaped like a chicken that you can lift up the wings and there’s holes to put your hand in to access contents of said basket. Naturally I’m using this for weed purposes, basically all shared loose items (personal smoke filter, grinder, lighter) are now safe organized and smell-less (-less suffix used, for example, as in stainless steel, as the steel stains less, so do my items smell less). Ummm I’m gonna take pics later.

Oh and I got a carhartt khaki cropped jacket with chunkier sleeves and like cargo pockets it’s so cute. All for under $15 and the coffee place I went to messed my drink up barely so I got both the messed up one and better one for free. So that’s why I won’t shut up I think