#this got way longer than i intended smh

[trippinsorrows]

Wait Sam and Solana as sisters? And Soso is pregnant with Roman's baby??! I have so many questions. How would that even work?

oh, it wouldn't lmao i imagine the dynamic would still be the same where sam hates solana or is just really mean to her. they're not close at all. and solana would put up the baby for adoption cause it's all just too messy and too much.

something like:

2 months.

it's been two months since he's last seen her. 2 months too long. much too long. but this is only realized when she's standing before him, a couple of feet away. a safe distance. for her.

too much distance for him.

roman studies her, searches for any differences, and there are many. the main one being her hair. she's finally cut it, wavy locks hovering an inch or two above her shoulders. she's also dyed it. instead of the deep, obsidian black, it's an array of browns that compliments her complexion beautifully. the other things are more subtle, things only someone like him---someone who's memorized and etched every piece of her to memory---would notice. like the fact that her face is a little fuller, her skin a bit brighter, glowing almost.

a stark contrast to her pretty brown eyes that have to be the saddest he's ever seen. because despite all these changes, what stands out the most is the absence of that light she's always had about her.

one of the many things that made him fall for her in the first place.

unable to stop himself, he comments on one of the changes, "you cut your hair." roman waits for her to respond, only for her to give a small nod of agreement. "it looks good."

she swallows and looks down. "thank you." roman tenses. the first time he's heard that soft voice in months, and even that is different. so much sadder. heavier. "this won't take long."

roman finds himself feeling disappointed. it could take all night for all he cares. he's missed her.

"solana...." so much to say. not enough time. never enough time. "i--"

"i'm putting the baby up for adoption."

roman isn't stupid. far from it. when she first reached out to him after months of radio silence, he had a feeling it had something to do with her pregnancy. he just had no idea it would be this.

"what?" his voice is low, hesitant almost. "what--what do you mean?"

"i mean, i'm putting the baby up for adoption," she repeats herself, voice firmer as she goes on to explain, "i found an agency. it's reputable. they're going to help me find a coup---"

"what the hell do you mean you're putting the baby up for adoption?" he also finds more of his voice. as well as emotions other than regret and longing, such as anger, confusion, hurt. "i thought you were going to---"

"i changed my mind," she cuts him off, lifting her chin, slipping back into that place. "it's for the better."

"for who?" he challenges, seeing the way something flashes in her eyes. something familiar yet distant.

"for me," she answers with just as much conviction. "roman, i'm....i'm halfway through medical school. i can't be a mother right now. it'll ruin my plans---"

"bullshit," he cuts her off, that anger intensifying with each unoriginal word that comes out of her mouth. the robotic delivery is all he needs to hear to know exactly where this came from. "those aren't your plans. they're dr. nina and dr. xavier's plans."

and her looking away to escape his knowing gaze and truthful words is all he needs to see to know he's right. "being a doctor is a great career path."

"yeah, but it's not what you want, is it?" still, she says nothing. "when are you going to live your life for you, solana?"

at that, her eyes snap back to him, anger boiling. "i tried, and look where it got me." this time, he's the one who's silent, unable to respond to the weighty meaning behind such polarizing words. she shakes her head and wipes at her eyes. "look, i just wanted to tell you--"

"you can't do this." roman interrupts, partially unsure where this is coming from. up until this point, he hasn't allowed himself to think too much of the child. but now..... "i won't sign the papers."

"i don't need you to sign any papers. i'm unmarried, which means, by law, i can unilaterally make the decision for us--"

"you can't just give up our fucking baby, solana!" he didn't mean to raise his voice, didn't mean to snap at her, but the more the reality sets in, the more his frustration rises.

at that, she steps closer to him. "our baby?" she scoffs, "you mean the baby who no one except you and I know you're the father of?" shaking her head, she asserts, "no. this is my baby and my decision, and this---" her voice cracking gives away the fact that despite this strong display she's putting on. it's just that. a display. a mirage to hide her true feelings. "this is what i want to do."

he closes his eyes. "solana, we need to think this through---"

"would you stop saying we!" she shouts, gesturing between them. "there is no we! there never was, and there never will be! don't you get it?" she throws up her hands, the previously at bay tears finally escaping. "i don't have a choice, roman! i'm not pretty and skinny like sam and can get the world handed to me because of it! i have to finish school! i have to become a a doctor! i don't get picked. there is no other option for me!"

her words penetrate him, stomp on that small, almost vulnerable part that only she is privy to seeing and knowing. "solana....." his footsteps toward her are slow, partially because he anticipates her backing away. but when she doesn't, when she only looks away to hide her tear stricken face is when he takes his opportunity.

he's suddenly before her, roman not hesitating to swoop his arm around her. and in that quick act, along with her gasping and failing to catch her cardigan from coming open, he sees it.

and it's all he can see, all his focus can hone and center in on. it's almost a natural reaction. the way his hand dips to her stomach, feels the swell of her belly.

she's showing.

it makes sense. by his calculations, she should be almost five months, thus a baby bump only makes sense. but, it's one thing to know it, another to feel and see it.

her voice intrudes on his brief state of shock, "roman, please...."

hand continuing to explore, he says with almost sense of awe, "this is our baby.....my baby."

had he been looking up, he would have seen the way her eyes shut. "it doesn't matter, roman....."

his head snaps up at that. "of course, it matters." using his free hand, he lifts it to her face, palming her cheek, "we can figure this out, solana."

she looks down and shakes her head. "no, we can't."

"solana--"

"roman," she interrupts, voice pained. "you took me to bed....but you're taking my sister down the aisle....there's nothing to figure out." and with those crushing words, she steps back, from him, forcing both his hands back at his side. "i have to go."

she turns away, walking to leave when he can't help himself from asking, "what is it?"

his eyes never leave her, never miss the way she throws her head back, clearly taking a deep breath. or, the way she almost protectively covers her stomach back up with her cardigan.

just like there's no missing the crack in her voice as she answers, "it's a girl."

[baizhoobies]

Kunikida x gn!Reader Headcanons

A/N: so me and my girlfriend broke up recently and I’ve been super down and in desperate need of some fluff to feel better. So whilst I catch back up on finishing requests, have some wholesome Kunikida headcanons - he’d make the best boyfriend. I’m very sorry for being slow, just life hiccups, thank you for your patience! N E ways, enjoy this short little thing!

Warnings: none!

- Kunikida is the type of man who values quality time together; as someone who is super busy with work, any time off the clock and with you is treasured and cherished greatly.

- If you work at the ADA, its obvious to say that he won’t act super coupley with you; he will however, glance over at you a lot (to check if you’re working pfffttt) - though he finds himself staring at you for longer than intended (this man is in love love okay?)

- He will occasionally drop a forehead kiss when he is passing by, or instead of holding hands, he will link your pinky fingers together when no one is looking.

- If you work at the same desk as him, either side of him or opposite, please please play footsies with him; he may scold you but he secretly loves it when you affectionately kick him or rub your leg against him.

- Kunikida will bring you coffee, or tea, or something caffeinated, especially if you had a bad night sleep - but rest assured, he will also scold you if you have too much caffeine because “its not good for you” smh

- oh yeah, get used to getting scolded - but I guess you could call it a love language of his

- If you don’t work at the ADA, Kunikida makes a special note that he is to come straight home to see you immediately after work. With the exception of emergencies, (like idk the ADA being threatened by an enemy organisation every other week) he will make sure that absolutely everything is done at work so that he can put it behind him and focus on you.

- After work, if you ask him to pick up some milk from the store, he’s on it, it’s written in his notebook and he will absolutely not forget; also, I just know that he would pick up some flowers for you whilst there’s are the store

- He gives me househusband vibes honestly, he shares the load of housework (if not takes on majority of the responsibility, not that you wouldn’t do it, but he has a system). If he comes home from work before you, expect the place to be spotless, not only for his wellbeing, but he likes seeing your face light up in surprise.

- I mentioned that he isn’t into PDA at work, but its totally opposite outside of hours. In fact, I believe he is quite clingy. Constantly touching you kind of clingy. If you are cooking, his arms are around your waist, head in the nook of your neck and he just holds you for a long while

“Darling, I’m trying to cook”

“Hmm” *hugs tighter*

- Speaking of cooking, he would also be a fantastic chef. He would scope out the best recipes and follow each instruction to a tee. Though, as much as he enjoys cooking, his favourite meals are the ones you make, because they come from you.

- Kunikida’s love language is definitely more physical than it is in words. Don’t get me wrong, he would tell you he loves you, but he’s not exactly versed in romance. That being said, if you want cuddles and/or kisses? You got it on TAP. Any moment, at any time, BOOM its yours - if you catch him in a good mood, he may also be generous with his hugs and kisses at work - but don’t push your luck.

- If you ever so much as compliment him, he will explode. Bright red, a little speechless (or at least incoherent) and will mumble something about how lovely you are - trying his best to return the compliment.

- As per his notebook, he will have his nightly routine to the exact second, its very important for him, and you, to have a schedule that ensures you both get the best rest possible to work efficiently the next day.

- What he always fails to take in account when writing his schedule is the extra 10 minutes the two of you share just holding each other in the morning. He knows he should get out of bed 8am sharp, but there’s something about you holding him, your head against his chest, your legs entwined with each other, and the way you softly breath in your sleep is what convinces him to stay in just a little longer. - he may even stay 20 minutes longer in bed if you are big spoon, its harder for him to pull away.

- Needless to say, he has a lot of quirks which I will go into in future posts but…his love for you is genuine and he’d never want you to doubt it for even a minute.

[hitemwiththeoop]

see, i think this all summarizes as the toxicity of the fandom pushing the creativity of the authors.

it's no secret that the TLOK backlash was loud & insane and it's still is. you'll still find people trashtalking the show and talking about how better ATLA was compared to it. i feel like this has marked the creative decisions taken by bryke lately, especially when it comes to the azula redemption arc situation.

the movies also have a part in it. i mean, to have a movie especially dedicated to zuko, ATLA's fandom favorite character, says a lot, but not only that. the special focus given to kyoshi in comparison to the other avatars because of the impact she had in the fandom can be easily noticed.

my point? the creators are doing what they can to keep the fanbase pleased and i fear this is going to lead the show to a hellhole

let's begin with:

we all know how much the fandom has wanted an azula redemption arc ever since the original series' finale. we've seen it everywhere: on tumblr, on twitter, on instagram, on fanfics, you name it. it's been so much so that some have argued that the only reason the creators didn't redeem azula was because they didn't like her. aaron ehasz even said that he intended to have her have a redemption "longer and far complicated than zuko's". yet the creators never fully confirmed it, only saying it was possible she could heal in the future.

the comics give us but little hints at azula trying to become better, and in fact, it seems her mental state only worsened in the course of them. many fans have criticized the comics for their writing and characterization of the characters (when it comes to my opinion, azula's was on point).

yet when you think of it, with barely hints of it, you wouldn't see that a redemption arc for azula was ever the original intention. it wasn't ever implied in the first comics nor in TLOK, and in fact it seems it was only recently that it was incorporated. ehasz revelation of wanting to give azula a redemption arc was coincidentally brought up when the series' popularity re-spiked after years of being on the low, as it was made availaible on netflix during the pandemic.

a discussion was brought up about the representation of physicological damage and mental issues through azula's character, and realizing how much her upbringing had molded her way of being, fans began claiming she deserved a redemption arc like zuko did using her age and vulnerability as an argument. this has sparked much debate, but we ought to recognize that prior to these years, this analysis of azula wasn't visibilized the way it has now.

one has to wonder, if the series' fame hadn't resurged, would've the creators felt compelled to make a redemption arc for azula?

i've mixed feelings about this comic. it came out during the time the kyoshi's novels began becoming popular, and it feels like it was made as a move to give the fans what they'd been wanting: seeing more of kyoshi in official media. putting aside how wild it is that avatar kyoshi somehow appeared in front of suki (she could've been imagining for all we know), it does seem strange that we didn't get any more about her before in the prior comics when the chance had been given. instead, we saw a bit of roku and yangchen in the promise and the rift trilogies (and nothing of kuruk, smh).

that and that kyoshi's too going to get her own movie feels a little odd to me. she's really become the breakout character, and though i'm glad she's receiving the attention she deserves, i feel it takes away the importance other characters have in the plot and that i wish were explored also. true, we've got the dawn of yangchen now, yet i know it's not going to get nearly as much recognition as the kyoshi novels.

then, there's the new earth kingdom avatar series.

given the show's newfound popularity is no wonder avatar studios has decided to launch new media, yet, why develop another show when there's already so much to explore about the two series? it feels it's because they think no one will want to see more about korra because of all the backlash it received. it has only been recently that TLOK has found more acceptance among the fans (and more comics have been coming out because of it). yes, there's an upcoming movie about her, but the fact that it's been placed after the adult gaang movie and zuko's, one thinks it'll be the most delayed.

i'm all for avatar getting new media out and exploring the universe we didn't have a chance to see all of in the original series, but im afraid that launching all this stuff to please the fans will end up being detrimental. the games, the comics, the movies... theyre getting out all this new content as fast as they can as if theyre trying to take advantage of the popularity they've regained before it goes out, and to avoid it doing so, theyre trying to do what the fans want them to. that of course implies many things in the plot will be made so that its liked by the fans and no independent thought goes into them. that limits the creative capacity of the writers and all of those who will work at avatar studios.

honestly i REALLY hope this doesnt end badly thats all.

[fishnets-fingers]

Six Months - Part Nineteen

Summary - Layla desperately needs a vacation and her Aunt and Uncle come to her rescue. So, at twenty two, she packs her bag and jets off to America. Harry took a break from education and is now a full fledged content creator on OnlyFans. At twenty, he makes more money than almost all of his friends. What ensues when these two meet and realise the windows in their rooms face each other? How will paper airplanes bring them closer together?

PAIRING - camboy!harry x indian!oc

a/n -  i’m baaaack! sorry for the break being longer than intended, it was harder for me to get into the headspace to write layla and harry the longer i stayed away. still don’t know if it turned out alright. special shoutout to @sunandherflores​ and @0oolookitsme​ for being the sweetest. there is a bit talking about maternal physical abuse, so please feel to skip that part if that’s triggering. as always, like and reblog. feed back is not only appreciated but much welcome.  happy reading!

Word Count -  12.3k

Warnings - smut (sexy photoshoot, unprotected shower sex, mastrubation, sex toys), angst (blood, hitting, insecurities), fluff.

Masterpost (find previous parts here)

Layla: this could be us but you’re just being difficult. 

Harry: I don’t know what you are talking about 🧐

Layla: please… 😒 i’ve been begging you to do this for me from the start!

Harry: Really?!? Guess, my memory is like a goldfish then.

Layla: lies. all lies. will you ever put on your little maid outfits for me? 🥺

Harry: I like that we have a little bit of intrigue in the relationship. Don’t you agree?

Layla: what intrigue, you rat bastard! you literally pulled out your dick and peed in front of me. all intrigue is out the window!

Harry: I really had to go and you were taking a long time in the bathroom. 

Layla: i still can’t believe you did that smh

Harry: Your face was quite hilarious! You just stood there staring at me, frozen in place, with floss between your teeth lmao 😜 

Layla: i know what you’re doing, harry styles. tsk tsk.  

Harry: And what might that be??? 🤔

Layla: changing the subject! don’t think i’m gonna let this go!!!

Harry: It’s hilarious. You’ve seen only one picture of me in a maid outfit and you’re hooked 😂 Guess I’ve got some of that ✨raw sex appeal✨ huh?

Layla: who said i’ve only seen one??😏

Harry: There’s only one of my OF instagram and I haven’t shown you anything else. 

Layla: you’re right. but as a subscriber, i have seen  all the pictures and videos 😈

Harry: 😯😦😧😮

Layla: 😈😈😈

Harry: When did you subscribe?

Layla: you figure out 🥸

Harry: I’m gonna literally go and stalk and find you and boot you

Layla: why 😔

Harry: I told you that all you had to do was ask and I’d show you everything! Don’t waste your money, Lails. You have it all. 

Layla: has it ever crossed your fat head that i’d like to support you? 

Harry: You already support me in more ways than one. 

Layla: oh. 

Harry: Yeah, sweet girl, oh. 

Layla: i hadn’t thought of that…

Harry: Wouldn’t expect a different answer 😘

            Where are you guys rn?

Layla: oh we’re at cafe du monde. uncle’s gone to get us some beignets!!

Harry: Yum! That was the place Earl recommended yeah?

Layla: yup. we had some crawfish boil yesterday. delish!! i’m definitely falling in love with the city…

Harry clicks on the picture she sent, she was in her My Chemical Romance crop top smiling at the camera. She had a hair in a topknot, half up half down; hair ever so straight and long, bangs tucked away behind her ear. She’s holding a corn cob in one hand while sucking on a crawfish. There was a red ring around her mouth, no doubt from the seasoning. The picnic table in front of her had lots of shrimp, crawfish, lemon wedges, and corn cobs spread out on a newspaper. 

Harry: Don’t you look cute!

Layla: thanks 🥰😚 oh, uncle’s back with the goods. gtg!

Harry: Alright. Have fun! I love you!

He locks his phone and moves over to his setup in the guest room. He was using the cloud backdrop from his mum’s party. He picks up the thick white comforter from the bed and lays it on the floor. His camera has already been set up on a tripod, a power cord connecting it to his MacBook, so he could look at the pictures as it was being taken. 

He picks up his 35mm lens and screws it on. Harry hunches down and looks at the scene in front of him through his viewfinder. It looked very soft, especially with one of Layla’s skin coloured stockings stretched over the lens - ethereal. He clicks the shutter and looks at the picture on his laptop, and the corner of his mouth slump downward at what he sees. The lighting is still a bit too cool, for his liking. He sighs and walks over to the windows and opens them up, he fiddles with the light boxes, until he gets it exactly the way he wants it to be. 

He goes over to Spotify and clicks on his playlist titled ‘nasties.’ Funnily enough, he’s never used it when he was actually having sex. Brown Eyes by Fleetwood Mac comes on and Harry smiles taking in the music that fills the vacuum. He hits shuffle - his playlist ranged from Doja Cat, Weeknd, Cigarettes After Sex to his old dirty 80s rock - and moves over to strip himself of his shorts. He was wearing his fishnets and his black briefs, shirtless on top, except for the black leather collar fastened around his neck. 

With the remote in his hand, he goes to kneel on the white mattress, sitting back on his calves, leaning forward a little - palms flat on the mattress, biceps flexed. He presses the circular button and hears the camera click and his lightbox blink. He looks at his laptop screen, and parts his knees, the outline of his crotch visible and takes another picture. He took over a hundred pictures in the next two hours. Several clicks of him laying on his side - hand splayed out on his inner thigh. A few of him leaning backwards using his hands to support his weight, one leg bent at the knee resetting on the mattress, the other straight; he then bends his straightened leg at the knee, fleet planted firmly on the mattress. He then takes a few more of him after he folds his body and drapes his tattooed arm on his knee - his you booze you lose tattoo on display, head resting on his arm. For the final couple of shots, he gets up and gets closer to the camera, only his chin, neck and collarbones on display and uses his narrow black belt to thread into the metal hoop at the front of his collar, winding it around his palm and holding it taunt and takes a couple of pictures.

When he’s packing up, wearing a grey hoodie and a black pair of Nike shorts, taking apart the cables, he hears his phone buzz. He quickly makes his way over expecting a call from Layla but the corner of his mouth drops, when he looks at the caller ID.

“Yeah?” He says in a terse manner, after he presses the green button.

“Harry!” The voice chips, a familiar voice of a now unfamiliar person. “How are you, dear boy?”

“Alright.”

“What, I only get one word answers now?” He chuckles.

“What do you want, dad?” He sighs.

“Is it a crime to call up my son to check in?”

“No.”

“What are you doing right now?”

“Oh um,” his cheek flushes with colour as he looks around the room. It’s not like he could tell him he was taking pictures for his OnlyFans. “Just tidying up around the house.”

“Always the one to help your mum around the house. Guess some things don’t change.” Harry could hear him smiling on the other end of the line.

“You know me,” he manages to get out, rolling his eyes.

“Aren’t you gonna ask me what I’m up to?”

“What are you up to?”

“I’m in Manchester. Have been here for a few days for a few meetings with the mergers and acquisition team. Walked across the milkshake place you love - Shakeaway, the one at Chorlton. You remember those giant-”

“Yeah. The butterscotch and white maltesers ones.” He smiles, wistfully.

“And the brainfreeze we’d get drinking them,” he chuckles.

“Yeah.” Harry sighs.

The line goes silent, neither not knowing what to say next.

“H, what are you doing Christmas time? Do you wanna watch a game and grab a pint at a bar?”

“I won’t be in London, Dad.”

“Oh, you and mum off on a holiday?”

“We’re staying here in the States and celebrating.”

“That’s odd. Very unlike the two of you to not come home and celebrate with mum’s family.”

“Well, we’ve made a family for ourselves here. We might pop over to granddad and grandmum’s sometime after,” he says, although he doesn’t understand why he did add the last bit in.

“Oh. Thought I could see you. I picked up a Titanic record at the market the other day. Seems like an original. Pretty rare too; you can’t get the One Night in Eagle Rock anymore. Thought I could make it your Christmas present. It’s been two years since we’ve-”

“I know. Listen, I’ve got to go. Need to head to the post office soon. Told my gir - um… my friend that I’d ship some stuff of hers.” He wasn’t fully lying, he really did need to go ship Layla’s paintings of those kittens in babushkas, but he wasn’t gonna do it right now.

“Alright. You seem to be pretty busy. Hope you’ve applied to schools.”

“Yup. If everything goes well, might head to UCSD next autumn.”

“I’m positive it’ll all go smoothly, H.”

“Fingers crossed. Hey, thanks for picking up the vinyl, you didn’t have to.”

“Of course I had to, H. That’s our thing. I’m gonna let you go now.”

“Yeah. Bye.” He clicks the red button and collapses on the couch, letting out a big breath that he wasn’t aware of holding.

////

“Absolutely not,” Abi shakes her head.

“But why not?” Layla whines, holding up a small skull of a tortoise from the glass cabinet.

“It’s only six dollars. It’s the coolest thing in this room. Doesn’t this look like a dinosaur?” She asks, hoping to convince her.

“Nah uh.” Layla had managed to pull her uncle and aunt into a voodoo shop in the French Quarter. Ten minutes browsing in the small dimly lit, blood red room, that Abi frankly thought looked like a dingy basement from the sixties. 

“What if I take it back home with me?”

“Who’s gonna let you fly with a skull?” She chuckles.

“Fair point.” She thinks for a while, thinking about another reason to make her aunt agree. “Please please, I promise to have it in my room,” she resorts in the end.

“It's not coming into my house. Nothing belonging to dead animals.”

“Look at this!” Vasanth waves them over to him, on the other side of the room. They both shuffle over to him, Layla grumbles putting back the tortoise shell in its place.

They look to see a small drawer pulled out containing different trinkets inside - buffalo tooth, shark tooth, racoon tooth, coyote tooth, crow bone, and alligator claw. 

“Cool!” She exclaims picking up a buffalo tooth, which was larger than she expected to be. “This is like an ingredient list to a witches brew.” She picks up the alligator claw next. “One racoon tooth, two alligator paws, six drops of the blood of your enemy, stir in some bird saliva...” She prattles on, poorly mimicking a cackling voice of a stereotypical witch. 

“Do birds even produce saliva?” Vasanth asks. 

“I don’t know,” she shrugs, putting a glass case with a wooden frame into the small cart Abi was carrying. It already had a purple cardboard cylinder that her aunt picked up that was called ritual bath salt, there were two silk bandanas that Layla had picked out for Harry - one in red with blue patterns and other blue with white patterns, her uncle had picked out a black candle that smells like apples and cinnamon.

“What’s this kutti?” Her Aunt asks, turning over the glass frame and she’s faced with seven butterflies - all different shapes and colours - pinned to the white background. 

“You said animals. They are insects,” she defends herself, when her aunt’s eyebrow arches. “And your husband is also on board with me. So it’s two against one,” Layla sticks her tongue out at her.

“That’s right! Democracy baby,” Vasanth exclaims, high fiving his niece. “Seven of these beauties for forty five dollars, that’s a steal.”

////

Harry sighs for the umpteenth time, he shuffles to his side, pulls up his sheets and tucks the ends under his chin. He just couldn’t sleep tonight. He looks at the ceramic ring dish, Layla made for him, on his night stand. It was such a thoughtful gesture from her to make him a dish to keep all his rings in place.  He sighs again. It’s crazy that it’s only been four days and he misses her already, which is insane considering she has only been in his life for three months now. It’s ten past two at night and he’s sure she’s zonked out after sightseeing but it doesn’t stop him from unlocking his phone and texting her.

Harry: Hoi!!! 

His eyebrows raise up when his phone immediately dings with a notification from her. 

Layla: hi hi! what are you doing up?

Harry: Can’t sleep. Why aren’t you asleep?

Layla: mcr just released a new song out of the blue

Harry: So you’re trying to memorise it within a few hours for your fangirl cred?

Layla: know me so well. can’t look like a normie at the concert in december.

Harry: Won’t you look like a normie next to me?

Layla: i would but doesn’t matter. i’ll redeem emo points for you too!

           how was your shoot today?

Harry: Went well. Wanna see some pics?

Layla: deffo

Harry: Shit everything is in my SD card. I do have one on my phone though.

He attaches the only picture he took with his phone, a picture of his feet - with his fishnets on - pressed flat against the white mattress topper. The black of his ‘big’ tattoo on his big toe and the mesh pattern contrasted with the white of the background.

Layla: i’ve said it before and i’m saying it again but that’s some nasty ass feetsies. goblin trotters, even.

Harry: I’m hard…

Layla: have i pavloved you so much that my insults are sending all the blood rushing to your dick lmao

Harry: Shut up, dickhead. I’ve been hard for a while now.

Layla: i see. i’d love to help you out but uncle and aunty are a foot away from me. so you’re on your own.

Harry: :(

Layla: sorry but i’ll make up for it when i’m back. promise babe.

Harry: Counting on it. Good night baby.

Layla: good night! maybe try using that egg vibrator thingie you got. 

He does the exact same. He rummages through his drawers to find the grey drop. He then spits into his palm and strokes his length, palming at the head. He unlocks his phone to find some pictures of Layla he had taken. He moans out loud when her soft thighs come into view. She got a pair of embroidered butterfly panties off the internet and demanded he take sexy pictures of her because she felt cute in them. His tip spurts out pearls of precum and he spreads them down his length as he swipes through the series of pictures, hips bucking into his palms as he looks at the picture of her lifting up her white tennis skirt - thighs spread open - to show off her underwear. The next two were just of her thighs from different angles. His hips pick up the pace as he fucks his palm, warmth raging through his body. The last two of her taking off her underwear but her thighs took up most of the frame. He reaches for the vibrator, pressing the button before the little silicone starts vibrating and he touches it to the head of his leaking cock.

“Shit,” he curses, gritting his teeth of the new sensation.

What I would give to bite into her thick thighs right now, he thinks. He pictures himself pushing his cock in between her thighs, rocking until he spurts all over.

“Fuck sweet girl,” he whines, pressing onto the button again - the little machine’s intensity increases. He runs it up and down his shaft, eyes scrunching up as the pleasure plateaus. 

He just needed the smallest push to tip him over the edge. He places the vibrator against his balls and wraps his hands against this throbbing member, mewling at the tingles shooting up his spine. He swipes his screen quickly landing on exactly what he was looking for - a picture of Layla on top of his chest, head tucked into his chest, eyes glazed over from her orgasm, dopey smile stretching across her face, lips swollen, hair mussed up the perfect way that screams ‘just had my boyfriend rail me on all fours,’ and a hickey near her collarbone. She had two of her fingers in Harry’s mouth - she just finished telling him that he was such a good boy for her.

He moans out loud, feeling himself soaring as the pleasure bursts. And he empties himself onto his stomach and hand, he continues pumping until the last few spurts of his hot come dribble on his fern tattoo.

The power she has over me, he thinks, smiling as he’s coming down from his high.

////

“I can’t believe you two are gonna eat that,” Abi exclaims, shaking her head at the two of them. She fishes her phone from her purse and takes a picture of the hurricane cocktail Layla ordered. Layla moves her face, so right behind the poco grande glass filled with the blood orange liquid and a slice of orange wedged on the rim, right next to a cherry. She makes a funny face in the background as her Aunt snaps away. The couple opted for a pina colada sans any alcohol, because of the growing little baby in Abi’s tummy.

“When you’re at Pat O’Brien’s you’ve gotta do it their way,” Vasanth shrugs, rotating the hot sauce bottle that was on the green table.

“What do you think it’ll taste like?” Layla asks her Uncle. 

“Probably chicken.” The two were the adventurous eaters of the family. 

“Oh, are you two excited to find out the sex of the baby?”

“Who says we don’t know?” Abi smirks.

“What?”

“We know. The doctor was able to tell us in the last check up,” Vasanth smiles.

“Well, tell me!”

“You’ll find out with the rest of the family in a few days at the function.”

“Oh come on, not fair! Tell me,” she presses.

“You’ll find out when தாத்தா பாட்டி (granddad and grandmum) find out.”

“What if I rub your feet and rub lotion on your stomach tonight? Will you tell me then? I’ll make it worth it,” Layla asks her Aunt.

“I won’t but you’re welcome to rub my feet,” Abi giggles.

The waiter comes back with their starters and distracts Layla. She looks at the plate in front of her. The bite sized crispy breaded pieces looked to be fried to a  golden brown perfection. There was mayo dip placed next to a wedge of lemon. Tiny bits of green were dusted all over the plate, Layla could make out it was some herb from the smell. It looked very innocuous.

“Looks like KFC. Can’t tell that that's an alligator,” Abi says. 

Vasanth and Layla both pick up a piece and bite into it. “Not bad. Sure you don’t want any?” Vasanth asks his wife, gesturing to the plate of alligator bites.

“No. I’ll stick to my vegetarian choice. Thank you. What does it taste like, hmm?”

“It’s tough.” Layla gets out with a mouthful as she chews. She cocks her head from side to side, trying to best decipher what it tastes like. “Like chicken,” Layla declares, picking up a napkin to wipe the mayo at the corner of her mouth. “Could pass as fried chicken definitely.”

////

“You got all the bags?” Layla grunts at her uncle, as she drops the last of their luggage on the front porch with a slight thud.

“Yeah.”

“Alright, I’m gonna pop over to Harry’s,” she says, hands going into the pockets of her sweats.

“We just got in,” Vasanth raises his brow.

“So?”

“Don’t you wanna shower first?”

“I’ll do it later.”

“You could do it now and then head over to your boyfriend’s,” he suggests.

“No,” she huffs.

“Go ahead, kutti. Bring over the package பாட்டி (grandmum) sent over,” Abi says, coming over to the threshold from the bathroom.

“Alright! See you!” She waves and jogs over to the house next door. 

She quickly makes her way in, punching in the security code and quietly bounds up the stairs of the empty house. She sees him sitting on his desk, shirtless, broad shoulders hunched over the tiny black game console of hers. His greasy brown ringlets were haphazardly clipped away from his face. From the music Layla could tell that he was playing Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town. He got sucked into the game the minute he got to know that he could name his animals and his character. So much sucked into it that Layla’s Gameboy has only been on his bedside table for months now.

“Hi, farm boy,” she whispers, making him whip around.

His response is not one of surprise that she was expecting, and it almost offends her. She simply gives her a distracted smile and turns around to the backlit screen in his hands. “Give me a minute I just need to collect one more Goddess Gem, so I can marry the Harvest Goddess.”

“Excuse me?”

“What? She’s hard to impress,” he defends himself. “I finished digging up all the items in the spring and lake mine, and I bought a big bed. It’s the only thing left for me to marry her.”

“You do realise you can’t just ask her. You have to go to Carter and ask his permission to marry her in the confessional first.”

“Okay. Noted. Thanks, didn’t know that.”

“Wait?!? Why am I helping you?”

“What do you mean?” he asks, still glued to his game.

“Hello! I just got back after a week and came here straight to surprise you and you don’t even say hi,” she narrows her eyes at him.

“Just give me one moment,” he still fiddles with the buttons.

“Fine.” She huffs. “Guess, sex is off the table then. I’m gonna take a shower.” She unzips her lilac puffer jacket and shuffles it on his floor.

“Whoa, hold on now.” He flips the device close and puts it on the desk and walks towards her.

“Oh, that got your attention now, did it?” She grumbles, bunching up the end of her jumper and pulls it up her head, mussing up her hair in the process. She steps back when he goes to pull her in for a hug.

“Don’t be like that, Lails.” 

She frowns at him, standing in a sports bra and grey sweats, arms crossed over her chest and tapping her socked foot on the floor.

“Come on, I was just in the zone. You know what that’s like when you’re playing,” he reasons.

She thinks about what he said, worrying her bottom lip. “Fine.” She rolls her eyes, letting out a big sigh.

“How about we start from the top?” He says, coming to cup her puffy cheeks between his large palms.

“I’d like that.”

“Hi, baby.” He whispers, bending down to nuzzle his nose against hers. “I missed you so fucking much.”

“I missed you too,” she replies, getting on her tiptoes - throwing her arms around his neck to balance herself - brushing her lips against his. 

She rubs her hands against his stubbly, unshaven patchy scruff on his face. “What’s with the whiskers?”

“Didn’t really feel like shaving? What you don’t like my new look?” 

“Can’t decide. Prickly,” she giggles, when he rubs his face against her neck, pushing his face away. 

“How was your trip?” He asks, backing her up against the cream coloured wall. 

“Good. I got you two silk bandanas. You know, so you can stop stealing my claw clips,” she smiles. 

“Nice try but never.” He leans down and steals a kiss from her, it was needy, incessant and passionate. She swipes her tongue across his bottom lip, and he opens up letting her lick into his mouth and his hips involuntarily flexes into hers. 

His hands slowly make their way down her torso, caressing her soft skin, as he kisses down her neck, sucking on the spot right below her ear, making her tug at his hair at the nape of his neck. He unties her drawstring and pushes down her sweats, making it pool at her ankles, smirking at her Batman underwear. 

“Fuck, you’re so gorgeous you know that sweet girl,” he mutters, pupils blown out with wanton. 

She shrugs and tugs him closer, running her hands down his taut torso, fingers tracing the outlines of the ferns. “Could say the same thing about you.”

He laughs. “I’m honoured.” His hands slide into her panties, one hand gripping onto her meaty bum, while the other teases at her damp folds, getting close to her nub but completely not touching it.

“Harry,” she complains, biting down on the column of his throat. 

“What?” He smirks. 

“You know what.”

“My sweet girl  wants to be touched, huh?”

She nods. “Cut it out with the teasing,” she demands. 

And he does. He pins her against the wall, dips his head into her chest so he can kiss and suck on the fleshy tops of her breasts, as he works her clit repeatedly by drawing circles and alternating it between back on forth motions on her hood - just how she likes it. Her moans and whimpers against his ear only eggs him to keep going until he helps her reach her peak. His erection feels unbelievably heavy, straining against the zipper of his trousers, he rubs himself against her thigh, in an asynchronous pace, to relieve the pressure. 

“Ah, Harry,” Layla groans. Her fingers come to grip his wrist, stopping the ministration of his fingers. “Need you inside me when I come. Shower. Take me to the shower.” 

He carries her to his en suite. They both quickly work themselves to get rid of their clothes and walk into the water. Layla grips on to his hair and pulls him in for a kiss, letting him suck on her bottom lip, breaking away ever so often to mewl as her closed fist works his cock, thumbing and his leaking slit. 

“Baby, can I - uh fuck - feels good,” he grunts, as his hips work his throbbing member into her palm. “Can I not use a condom? Just wanna feel all of you.”

“Okay. Pull out, alright.”

She quickly turns around and presses herself against the tiles, chest flush, back curving, ass sticking out.

“Want this?” He checks in with her, as he’s roughly pumping himself, coming to stand behind her. 

“Need it.”

Harry quickly guides himself into her, mesmerised by how she sucks him in with ease. Both moaning at the feeling, when he bottoms out. 

“So exquisite for me, my sweet sweet girl,” he moans, hot breaths against her ear. She felt like heaven, all what he needed, warm, wet, tight, and loving. Things were much better without a condom. She was indescribable, almost like his antidote.

“Just like that. Keep doing that,” Layla tells him, when he drives his hips into her quickly. 

He drives himself deeper and faster into her each time. Grunting against her ear, one hand steadying himself by gripping onto her hip, while the other snakes its way to toy with her clit, making her cry out in pleasure. He notices her hands - one gripping onto the shower handle, the other clawing onto the cold tile and he can’t help but feel jealous. So he pulls out quickly, kissing down her wet back, turning her around quickly, so she’s facing him. 

“Want your hands on me,” he whines greedily, bringing her hands to rest on his shoulders. He gets between her hips in no time, one hand gripping onto the shower wall, the other coming to cradle the small of her back, her chest pressed against his in a delicious manner. Her leg comes to hook around his hips, getting on her tiptoes, they both cry out from how good they’re making each other feel. The sound of water was torrential but not enough to mask the way their skins were slapping against each other. 

“Ah. Don’t - fuck fuck fuck. Don’t stop,” Layla cries out knowing full well he won’t, nails scratching down his back in a painful manner. 

Tingly sparks shoot up his stomach at the delicious pain he’s experiencing with heightened pleasure. He stutters his hips into hers, harsher than he intends to, causing her to cry out.

“Hurts,” she gasps, tightening around him.

“Motherfuck,” he moans loudly. “Don’t. Or I’ll come,” he warns and she relaxes around his throbbing prick. 

“Sorry. You okay?” He asks, pushing the sopping strands of hair away from her eyes, blinking away the beads of water that weighed down his eyelashes. 

“Yeah. Think you went a bit hard on my cervix there,” she chuckles. 

“Sorry. Got a bit excited when you scratched down my back.”

She chuckles. “That’s okay. I’m okay.” She pushes the water away from her face. “Make me come now.”

He works him slowly into her. Going slow and being much more gentle. “Faster, Harry,” she demands and he picks up speed, drawing circles with his hips, making her bite into his shoulder. 

“Aargh,” she grunts, clutching onto his bicep, tightening around him again, much more relentlessly and tighter, band in her tummy stretched, ready to snap. 

“Don’t. Don’t.” He can feel his control slipping, his rubber band snaps. “Fuck fuck fucking hell,” he curses, eyes screwed shut, pulling out of her hurriedly - just in time -  as he comes all over her stomach – warmth spreading in his body. 

She chuckles, pulling him closer for a kiss as his cock sputters ribbons, emptying himself. She could still feel him twitching between the two of them. 

“Unacceptable,” he shakes his head, chastising himself for coming before her. 

“Guess I got that gorilla grip, huh,” she jokes, as his come smears on his stomach, as she sucks on his neck, meeting with a blooming kiss mark when she pulls away. 

He uses two of his fingers and scoops some on his hand and sucks it into his mouth, bending down to kiss her, tongue dancing with hers. He kisses and licks down her body, getting down on his knees as he runs his stubbly face against her inner thigh, making her shriek in response. He hooks her leg onto his shoulder, palms laying flat against her belly - holding her squirmy body still - as he dives into her folds, intending to take full advantage of what his scruff can do. 

////

Warm. The thick duvet, afternoon sunlight slanting into the room and a certain someone curled up on him made him feel warm all over, yet he couldn’t bring himself to move and turn on the fan.  Harry looks down to see a shock of her dark slightly damp hair fanned every which way, obstructing her face. He gently pushes her wild locks behind and smiles when he sees her let out soft snores through parted lips. His thumb absentmindedly comes to caress her cheek, as he stares at how her eyelashes fan across her face and the way her eyes move behind her closed lids. Poor thing, must be shattered from all the travel, he thinks. 

Layla can sleep anywhere at any time, unlike him and she needed her full eight hours.  She’s threatened to bite him if he ever woke her up early during the weekends for his runs. He’s seen her pull a few all nighters prepping for her classes  - her lights are always on and her windows were open and that certainly caught his attention when he got up for a wee - and when he’d gone over the next day to check up, he’d found her snoozing away on the sofa. 

It’s nice when he gets to hold her while he can. He never really had the opportunity to hold her through the night. They’d both start with a cuddle but would eventually need their own space, because they were both predominantly stomach sleepers. 

Harry always knew that she wasn’t a big cuddle or a touch person but it always surprised him to no extreme when she’d be up for a good cuddle whenever he wants. He’d once asked her if she was just putting it up for his sake and she’d told him “I am not a touch person. I don’t really reach for people often. Dolphin is the only exception. I’d always pick the floor to sleep on rather than squeezing into a queen sized bed with my cousins. But the only cuddles I accept are from my Aunts. Vasanth had left for the States for his Masters before my parents started fighting. So they, all four of my Aunts, basically stepped in to take care of me. Being my Dad’s first cousins, they had good relationships with my mum and they were the only ones who were allowed to talk to me from my Dad’s side when we lived alone. They were the only ones who always treated me as their baby during that time. I’ve never had to pretend to be fine with them. I’ve felt the most at ease to cuddle with them. I don’t see them very often and they all have their own families now. Timeshare sucks, so I haven’t had a cuddle with anyone in years. Until you. I like cuddling with you because it makes me feel like that. Like safe and comfortable enough to let my guard down to accept your care. So no, I’m not putting up with it just because you’re a touch person. I look forward to it actually.” It knocked the soul out of him. He went home that night and cried himself to sleep knowing that he was able to provide a haven for his sweet girl. 

His fingers weave into her hair, and he gently rubs at her scalp. Raspberry lips brush against her sweaty forehead. She was a natural caretaker. There probably wasn’t a time where she didn’t jump at the chance to take care of others - cooking, helping run errands, handiwork, helping with the orders at Earl’s, and knowing how to listen to others when they’d want to talk. She absolutely loved listening to his stories in a way that fed right into his ego; Layla always being so curious. He thinks back to a conversation they’d had when he was sitting on the lidded toilet watching her do her skincare routine at night. 

“What did you just squirt from that?” He asks, watching her set down a dark amber frosted glass bottle on his counter. 

“Vitamin C.” She responds, using her index to dot the serum at different points of her face, before softly massaging them into her skin.

“Do you know Narwhal’s have the same amount of vitamin c on an inch of its skin as half an orange?”

She shakes her head.

“Inuits used to use their skin to ward off scurvy.” “Interesting. Narwhals are those whales with a tusk, right?”

“Yeah. I’ve seen a few when I was in Churchill.” He says with a smile on his face. 

“Aren’t they rare?”

“Hmm.” He makes his way to the counter, popping his butt on the marble top. A proud grin stretches across his face. “It was May and we were up North to get more data on the machine and while we were standing on the ice, setting up equipment, there were seven of these and they popped right up in the ice pockets to get some air. They go down super deep and they always remember to come back to the same ice pockets to get some air. They are also creatures of habit, quite like you. Too bad it’s killing them.” He sighs. 

“How so?”

“Climate Change.”

Layla gives him a confused look as she squirts some of her aloe vera  moisturising gel into her palm. “Oh,  global warming and because of rising water temperatures?”

“No.”

“No?”

“No. See what’s why the word global warming pisses me off. It’s reinforcing the idea of heat to people who don’t know much about the science behind it. People in colder areas don't think it applies to them and everyone thinks the ice caps are melting. I’m not saying they aren’t, it is a pressing issue. But the earth is also getting cooler. Much much colder. That’s why I personally prefer the word climate change over global warming. Coming back to whales, because they are such creatures of habit, they come back to the same pockets of openings in the ice sheets for air. Suddenly, mostly due to a shift in the wind and these pockets freeze over fully or have a very small opening, this makes a whole pod fight to come to the surface for air while the weak ones drown. Sometimes, they get trapped in these tiny areas and get hunted by predators.”

“What are predators to living whales?” Her voice muffled as she applies some Vaseline on her lips. 

“Polar bears, walruses and sometimes even the arctic foxes.”

“I didn’t know walruses and bears are powerful enough to take on whales.”

“They are- wait am I waffling about and boring you?” He stops. He’s been told that when he gets excited, he has a tendency to blather about it for ages. 

“No you are not. I love getting to hear these snippets from your time in Manitoba. You must have worked so hard.”

“I was the youngest, and inexperienced, so I did meaningless work most of the time. But the people on the team were real nice.”

“Harry, don't sell yourself short. No one just gets to go on an all expense paid year long research expedition in the Arctic Circle, especially when they are right out of school.” 

Boy did that stroke his ego. It felt nice coming from her, he knew she was sharp as a tack. She had the ability to read a forty page research article and condense it down to five lines and she’d hit all the right points. He was also envious of the way she’d instantly make abstract ideas and sound like it was as simple as breathing. 

She always gave and gave, sometimes it resulted in back and forths just to get her to accept care from him. Care in the form of appreciation. Gratitude. Helping her with whatever she was doing. Helping her unwind with a massage or a movie.  Paying for things. Wanting to spoil her. But it was hard sometimes. She was far too stubborn. He’d also notice the way her eyes flit around any room they walk into, assessing the situation, like she’s gauging the temperature of the water by dipping her toe in before taking the plunge. Taking care of people was her default mode, she’d find time to squeeze the act in even if she was slammed that day. His fingers drift to the exposed honey like skin under her collarbone, she was wearing his white ribbed tank and one of the sleeves had slid down her shoulder. He presses his lips to her sleep warm cheek, sighing in response to her scent crescendoing. 

It was challenging to get her to just accept the smallest acts for care. Harry wondered sometimes if she’d short circuit if she can’t care for someone or something. As herculean it was to get her to shut up and go with it, he wasn’t gonna stop until the fact that he’s not gonna give up trying, until it’s driven deep into her thick skull. 

She jerks in his arms and he stills not wanting her to wake up, she mumbles something incoherently and moves to lie on her back, but her left thigh was still wedged between his. Bare legs tangled together in the sheets. Faint red splotches, a result of friction, decorate her inner thigh, a reminder of the places his stubble traced her sensitive skin. Dimples carve into his cheek as he thinks back to their exchange an hour or so ago. 

“What are you doing, babe?” Layla asks, while towelling her sopping wet raven strands, eyeing him as he picks up his razor. 

“Shaving.” He replies, tearing his eyes away from his reflection on the sink mirror to look at her in just his briefs. 

“Why?” 

“Because you have beard burns on the inside of your thighs,” he tells her, nose scrunching as he deals with a phantom itch at the top of his nose. 

“Don’t shave. Please.” She says softly. 

“Baby, I don’t want to irritate your skin any more.”

“I can always put some aloe on it. It doesn’t really hurt. Keep it please, Har. I really liked how it felt when you went down on me,” she blushes. 

“Is that so?” He asks coyly, putting the razor on the counter and turns his body towards her fully. Ego skyrocketing. 

“Hmm.” She nods, giving him a shy smile. 

“Okay, since you asked so nicely. I’ll maybe give this stubble thing a go for a few days. But I’m gonna shave before Abi’s ceremony.”

“Super!” She bites the plump of her bottom lip as she picks up the white tank top that Harry had hung on the rack for her. 

////

Layla pushes a strand of hair that flips onto her forehead, obstructing her view, back with her wrist. She squints at the scrawny handwriting on the bound notebook in front of her. The blue ink had faded, the once white pages have now faded. But she could make out the instructions on the page. She squeezes a tablespoon of sriracha into the bowl containing mayonnaise. 

A sizzle comes from the pan, from where Earl’s toasting their baguettes. She was over at his place for lunch. “How’d you like the piano duels?” He asks, referring to his recommendation to her New Orleans bucket list. 

“Fun. I was surprised when one of the musicians started playing ice ice baby. I never really thought of it as a piano song,” she chuckles. 

“I loved the video Harry showed of you rapping it on stage.”

“Oh. He came over last week?” She adds some more ingredients as per the book and mixes them into the sauce. 

“Yeah to drop off my meds and he stayed over too. We geeked out over music, as usual. Missed you though. I didn’t know you could rap that good.”

“I’ve heard that song my whole life really; Appa (Dad) had it on repeat. Not that hard,” she shrugs. 

“You’re full of surprises, little girl.” He brings the toasted baguettes to her so she can spread some of that remoulade on the golden brown pockets of dough. 

“Your wife’s a genius. This po’ boy seems so different from the one I had in New Orleans. This is such a wealth of info, you really should look at printing this or typing this onto a computer,” she says, pointing to the book full of recipes. 

Earl smiles. He goes to sit on one of the bar stools at the island. “I forgot it was there, to be honest. You were the first person who made me open it up after a long time when you asked me to teach you Gumbo all those months ago.”

“Oh. Didn’t you kids or grandkids ever try to make something from this when they’d visit?”

“Not really. Her recipes are always elaborate and time intensive. Everyone came over to relax, so spending over two hours on a recipe wasn’t at the top of their list.”

“They’re missing out. I would love to have something like this,” she brings the excess sauce that had dribbled into her thumb to her mouth to suck it off. “I’ve been begging my grandmum to write down her recipes and she always goes ‘why don’t you ask me to die already,’” she laughs at her own high pitched voice she picked to mimic her grandmum; her voice was the furthest away from that. 

“I’m here!” His voice carries over to where the two were. 

“Hi,” Layla greets him, when he gets to the top of the staircase. He drops his white tote on the ram recliner, and beelines straight to the kitchen, bending down to kiss Layla’s cheek. 

“Yes, pretend like I don’t exist and go straight to your girlfriend,” Earl teases them. 

“Lovely afternoon, is it not?” Harry takes Earl’s hand and presses his lips to his knuckles, cracking them all up. 

Harry’s wearing a black button down with the word ‘Styles’ embroidered on his chest in white, against his chest. He was wearing a pair of hot pink and neon green checkered shorts - it looked like it was stitched from a curtain. His hair was not styled, his little clip at the top missing; instead his hair flopped down to his forehead, almost reaching down to his eyes. He looked so boyish, especially with the patchy scruff on his cheeks. He sits down on the stool next to Earl and drops his leather bound journal on the counter. 

“We’re having po’ boys for lunch?” He asks, watching Layla wash some tomatoes and lettuce. 

“Uh huh.” She answers, turning around to get the baked shrimp out of the oven. He can’t help but shamelessly stare at the swell of her ass as she bends down.

“Did you get me the snail poison?” Earl asks.

“Yeah. Left it downstairs in the greenhouse,” he answers.

“Wait, snail poison?!?” Layla exclaims.

“Yeah. There’s an infestation of them in my cabbage patches.”

“So you’re planning to kill them?”

Earl nods. “They’ve chowed down on almost all of my cabbages, those fat slimy bastards.”

“Don’t say that.” Layla scolds. “You can’t kill them,” she says in a stubborn voice.

“Oh yeah, little miss here is a lover of snails,” Harry chuckles at her cross demeanour.

“I’m sorry, Layla. I tried the natural route with the copper plate and it just didn’t work. It’s the only way.”

“No no. There has to be some other way to get rid of them without killing them,” she huffs, crossing her arms defensively against her chest.

“Well I’m all ears,” Earl says. 

“Umm…” She thinks, biting down on her bottom lip. “Oh! How about I pick them up one by one, put them in a cardboard box and release them in the park. Harry will help me,” she says determinedly.

“Fat chance. I’m not touching those slimy things. You’re on your own, baby.”

Layla shoots him a dirty look.

“Honey,” Earl sighs. “Even if you do manage to get all of those snails, there are still eggs and it’s not a guarantee. I need to sell those cabbages to the local farmers. They aren’t gonna be of much use if they have been chewed through,” he reminds her.

She pouts at the two of them like a petulant toddler knowing she’s lost the battle. “Fine. But I’m mad at the two of you.”

“What did I do?” Harry exclaims. “He’s the one who’s doing it.”

“But you were the one who’s aiding him with this whole ordeal by getting him the poison.” She pointedly says, the baking tray still in her hands. 

The next few minutes go by in silence as Layla gets to slicing up the tomatoes and lettuce. She keeps giving the two dirty looks every now and then as she arranges the thinly sliced tomatoes on a bed of lettuce.

“So what’s this?” Earl gestures to the journal hoping it would distract Layla. 

“Nothing important.”

“He'd rather die than tell you what’s in there Earl. Don’t even try, you’d only be wasting your time,” Layla informs, as she picks up a spoon to transfer the shrimp on top of the tomatoes. 

Harry rolls his eyes and shakes his head. 

“Now I gotta know,” Earl turns towards him, giving him his full attention. 

“It’s just…” He could feel the tips of his ears getting hot and by the way Layla is smirking at him, he can only imagine the blush spreading on his face. “I write sometimes and - just like dabble in it,” he tries to explain, his hand subconsciously reaching for his book, splaying his hand protectively over it. 

“So, what do you write?” Earl asks. 

“Umm… just things. Things that I see, emotions I experience, things that I like, things that pop up in my head.” He slides the book closer to him. 

“So is it like poetry? I’m assuming because you read a lot of them,” Layla says, plating up their sandwiches. 

“Yeah. Sometimes I do write a bit of them… sometimes they’re like journal entries. Sometimes I write down something people around me have said. Could be a movie quote.”

“That explains the Winnie the Pooh quote,” Layla says more to herself but they all could hear. 

“Let’s head to the dining room. The boy’s uncomfortable. His ears are to his shoulders. Well, Harry, we get that it’s personal. But I would be happy to read whatever you write, if you are comfortable sharing.” Earl slips out of the barstool. “I’m gonna head to the restroom and wash up.”

“Thanks, Earl.” He nods and Earl squeezes his shoulders before he disappears into the hallway. 

“Har, can you um, reach that mason jar of hot honey,” she points to one of the cabinets, that was way placed much further away from her grasp; it was out of direct sunlight pouring in from the open window. 

“Yeah, short stuff.” He opens the counter and pulls out the glass jar with an exorbitant amount of sliced chillies. “I’m surprised your stubborn ass isn’t climbing over and getting it yourself.”

“Oh, I’m wearing skinny jeans and these ones really restrict my movement, especially at the thighs, so can’t really bend my legs more than ninety degrees. But they make my butt look so good. Plus, I think I’ve lost some weight, it’s loose around my tummy and hips,” she explains, getting the jar from him and popping it open to spoon some of that spicy honey onto all of their sandwiches. A slight drizzle for Harry and Earl, and two generous tablespoons -with all the sliced chillies -for her. 

“Oh is the fermented honey thing you and Earl were making a week ago?”

“Yup. His wife’s cookbook is a wealth of all things fermentation. I didn’t even know you could add things to honey. Can you help me put these plates on the table?”

“Sure. Almost forgot to tell you this.” He gets closer to her, lips close to her ear like he’s gonna share a secret. “You look beautiful today,” he says, trailing his fingertips down her cheek. His feathery stroke tickles when he gets to the column of her neck, making her squirm. “Your shirt is just marvellous,” he cockily smirks, fingers coming to clasp her gold elephant pendant that rested on the centre of her collarbones.

“Is that so?” She smiles, rolling her eyes. She was wearing his shirt. A light cream shirt with vertical dark green stripes, she’d left the first few buttons undone - just like he would. She paired it with her favourite black skinny jeans, that she’s refused to part with since high school. Her signature hoops in her ear. The gold butterfly in her conch and the single diamond of her helix stud shimmers, throwing off fractals of sunlight. She had put a lip tint on, some brown liner at the outer corner of her lids, smudged to create an illusion of fuller lashes, her eyebrows bushy and straight - she hadn’t threaded it for a few weeks now, some shimmery gloss on the centre of her lids - making the gold particles scintillate on her honey wheat skin. Her hair is pulled back into a high ponytail, her bangs straight and unstyled, tucked behind her ears. 

“Almost warrants a thank you to the person that bought it,” he says in a sing-song manner. His other hand comes up to her face, thumb rubbing her full bottom lip. 

“Guess, I better call my boyfriend and thank him. Wonder what he’d say though,” she teases.

“I don’t know this boyfriend fellow of yours, but it were me I’d say something along the lines of ‘I know. My fashion taste is impeccable. Almost as impeccable as the way it’s draped on your body.” He bends down to button her lips against his. 

“Idiot,” Layla mutters, when they break apart, chest heaving to draw in air. “Go set the table, will you,” she pushes him towards the dining room.

They scroll on their phones, waiting for Earl as they settle into the dining chairs. Harry shows her a funny meme and they both giggle as Earl makes his way towards the two.

“You okay?” Layla asks immediately, brows furrowing in concern.

“Yeah.” He replies in a soft voice, mopping his face with his pocket handkerchief. 

“You look ashen. What’s wrong?” She prods, watching him sit, more slowly than normal.

“Just got a bit light headed when I was washing my face,” she says.

“We can go to the hospital. I’ll call mum and get my car,” Harry offers immediately.

“You two worry so much,” he chuckles. “I’m old these things happen more often now. It’s not the first time. I’ll be fine.”

“Earl,” Layla starts.

“I’m fine. Must just be from not eating. I only had a banana for breakfast. I’m sure I’ll perk up after lunch,” his eyes flit to the stuffed po’ boy in front of him. 

“But if you feel ill in any way, let me know and we’ll go straight to the hospital,” Harry says.

Earl nods. The rest of their lunch goes in silence, all of them eating while listening to Idle Moments by Grant Greene. Earl can’t help but notice the little things between the two of them and how much they were in sync with each other. When Layla looks around the table for something, midbite, Harry wordlessly heads to the kitchen and brings her the bottle of sriracha. She smiles and says a muffled thank you to him, mouthful of food, and sheepishly smiles at the two of them as she proceeds to paint the inside of her sandwich with the fiery red condiment. When Harry knocks Layla’s phone off the table with his elbows, as he takes a sip of water, he watches Layla cover the edge of the wooden table with her  palm while he’s bending down to pick her phone and on cue, Harry being klutzy as ever bumps into the same spot but comes in contact with her hand and not the sharp edge.

After lunch, the two head downstairs to clean up the floor shop and close up orders for the day. They’d convinced Earl to head to bed and not open up the shop for the rest of the day. 

Harry’s using the swiffer to clean up the floor while Layla was standing on a step stool busy peering into her phone for different fonts - a white chalk in hand, as she writes down tomorrow’s special deals on the chalkboard. They each had one of Layla’s Airpods popped into their ear, while it was connected to Harry’s phone - playing tracks from his playlist. Irene Cara  starts crooning What a Feeling and Harry slowly makes his way over to her, putting his arms around his neck and he wraps his hands around her waist, pulling her body flush to his.

“Dance with me,” he murmurs, lips brushing against her neck, making her shiver.

“Can’t,” she smirks against his jaw. He pulls back to look at her face and frowns. “I’m on a step stool. Very restricting movement wise, I’m afraid,” she teases him.

“Dickhead,” he whispers, rolling his eyes. God, was she a menace. “Sway with me then?”

“I’d like that very much.”

They both sway together, smiling at each other, both lovestruck fools - but one unable to recognise that. The added height for Layla changed things for them, instead of burrowing her face into his chest, this time they were almost on par with each other. Harry resting his nose on top of hers, their breaths igniting warmth against their skin, chests indescribably close, lips a hairline away from one and another - brushing every now and then as they moved. Smiles stretching across their faces, dimples fully making an appearance on their cheeks.  Green eyes locked with her hickory hued orbs. Harrys mutters many ‘I love you’s in between the verses. They both felt so incredibly cocooned with each others’ endearment. It’s not a common occurrence, you see, seeing a stranger through your window and having them tight in your arms - a few months later, as you are baring your soul to them.

“Harry?” She says after the song ends

“Hmm,” he hums, in a drunken haze.

“Does it ever…” she trails off.

“Ever what, Lails?”

“Does it bother you that I haven’t said I love you back?” She asks him, lips gnawing on her bottom lip, eyes focusing  - on her painting that Earl had hung up - behind his ear.

“Why would it bother me? I told you this last time, remember… I don’t want you to rush in any way or feel like you need to tell me that you love me. I can wait. I just need you to know that I do.” He kisses her temple.

“It’s just…” Her lower lip trembles and Harry can’t help but rub this thumb over it. “J-Ju-Just,” she stumbles with her words, chest heaving a sob threatening to breach the levee. 

“Hey,” he coos. His hands come to tightly grip the back of her thighs, right where her bum ends, and plops her on the counter, nudging her knees and wiggling himself in between. His hands come to cup her face, lifting her head to read her eyes. “What is it? You can tell me anything,” he prods.

A bead slips down one of her eyes and he’s quick to wipe it away with his thumb. “It’s just that I feel so guilty when you say it and I don’t. Initially when you said it, it was all tingly but now I just feel bad that I can’t. You don’t deserve this. You’re so nice to me all the time and I feel like you should be with someone who deserves you, you know.” Her heavy wet eyelashes blink up at him.

“Lails, it is not your place to tell me what I deserve. I need to - no, I want to be with you. You don’t get to tell me otherwise. You’re the one I want - on purpose. I choose you on purpose. I’m sorry you’re feeling guilty. But you should have told me about this sooner, baby. Should I stop saying it? Would that help?” He tucks a loose lock of her hair behind her ear. 

Layla thinks about it, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, eyes flitting down to his shirt she’s wearing; she inspects the way the fabric is bunched around the tops thighs. She smooths out the creases with her fingers, feeling the seam of her jeans digging into the side of her thighs - protesting against her movement.

“No,” she says, timidly. “I don’t know,” she huffs out frustratedly. “Maybe, I’m not explaining this properly.” She uses the back of her hand to wipe her nose. “I’m scared.”

“Scared?” He asks, eyebrows arching up as he caresses her cheeks, hoping to provide her some comfort.

“It’s just that I am not very comfortable or good at expressing affection towards others. Especially, verbally. Like it’s much more valuable in a way. Especially if I bring myself to tell someone that I love them and it will just make it that much harder to lose them.” She sniffles. “What I’m blabbering… I can’t umm..” she tries, but tears spring to her eyes, and she screws them shut, trying to even out her breathing - hunkering that memory deep down.

Layla was ten, she was busy hiding in the kitchen, using her new craft punches that her father dropped off at school when he came to visit. She only saw him at school now. Sometimes her grandparents would come with him. Her mother didn’t want her talking to them, so she’d kept it a secret. She kept the fact that her father, and sometimes her grandparents would come visit her in school grounds, after school hours for forty minutes. Her mother didn’t know about it because she had basketball practice till four thirty, and her mother came to pick her up after practice. He’d bought her a set of those paper punches which cut paper into different shapes. The same punchers, she used to make confetti with her colourful origami papers - she cut out many flowers, stars, hearts, butterflies, and fishes. Her mother had been sad when she came to pick her up. She had been sad all through that evening, so after Layla made dinner for them, her mother’s favourite - a simple vermicelli upma, she’d gone to execute her plan in motion. She went up to her mother, who was at the dining table, looking at a stack of papers wistfully and threw the confetti in her direction shouting a very loud ‘I love you, Amma’ - hoping it would cheer her up. But it went horribly wrong, her mother was startled, causing her to tip the opened water bottle all over the papers on the table. Her mother shouted profanities at her as Layla begged for forgiveness, she got up and grabbed a fistful of Layla’s hair and slammed it right on to the closest brick wall. ‘லூசுநாயே (stupid bitch)’ she yelled. Her jaw came into contact with cement first but Layla had managed to block the rest of her face from the wall by putting her palms in between her face and the wall. She couldn’t feel the pain but noticed blood on her shirt before she realised that blood was spouting from her mouth; she'd lost her first ever baby tooth from the impact - she’d found it two days later under the fridge, she’d later buried it in her backyard hoping she would grow a plant that would have teeth as flowers. Her mother quickly apologises telling her she didn’t mean to and she did this because she loves her, as she ushered Layla to the bathroom to help her rinse out the blood in her mouth. That was the last time she’d ever said I love you.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbles shakily to Harry, after she’d shoved down that memory, blinking back the film in her eyes that made her vision hazy.

“It’s alright. You’re alright,” he tells her, he could tell she was struggling with something. 

“It’s just that, it makes it more real, you know. And if something were to happen, it would make losing you so much harder. And I selfishly don’t want that.” She finishes. “I’m being stupid. Sorry.” 

“Sweet girl,” he utters, resting his forehead against hers.

A snort escapes her lips and her hands immediately come to cover her mouth. “Sorry.” She giggles.

“Shut up. I don’t call you that only during sex,” he whines. Finding himself giggling with her even through his denial. 

“Do you want me to start counting again?” She laughs.

“Don’t be a dickhead.” He presses his lips against her forehead.

“Can’t help it you know,” she shrugs.

“Thank you for sharing this with me,” he says, coming back to cup her face, feeling how warm her cheeks have gotten against his palms.

“Just know this, you mean the world to me, Har.”

////

“Thank you!” Layla tells the woman behind the counter with a polite smile as she tucks her receipt in her bag. She pushes the wooden panelled glass door of UPS and steps out onto the sidewalk. 

She smooths out her now empty white tote that had her painting and folds it into a small square and slips it into the compartment of the black shoulder coach bag she “borrowed” from Abi. 

Layla walks around town aimlessly for a while strolling to note how more people preferred sitting inside bistros than in the outdoor seating area. How the bright yellow and orange leaves were now more on the pavement than on the trees. Hotter drinks were a source of invitation into coffee shops, their icy refreshing drinks nowhere to be found on the chalkboards. How almost all the Halloween decorations outside of shop windows were sparse. Her breath hitches in her throat, a burn simmers in her tightening chest, she feels her lungs strain to exhale. She coughs into the crook of her elbow. Changing of the season had also set off her wheezing. No more backyard yoga in the mornings, she thinks as she shakes her turquoise inhaler before wrapping her lips around the mouth and pressing on the canister for a puff. She stays out on the sidewalk for a few seconds letting the meds do their work in freeing up her lungs, when a bright red and yellow sign catches her eye. She sticks her hand in to fish out her phone as she drops the inhaler back in her purse. 

Layla: i’m downtown. fancy something from McDonalds?

Harry: Egg and cheese McGirddles, fries, and an Oreo McFlurry. 

Layla: see you soon!!

Harry: Love you x

Layla : i know!!! xxx

It's almost midday when Layla turns into the familiar street, a shiver runs up her spine when a cool gust of wind picks up. Her body can’t handle wearing her Dad’s running shorts anymore, it was baggy and stopped right above her knees and the wind was just not working in her favour. She's glad her Uncle zipped her up in his NASCAR jacket because that was the only thing that’s keeping her teeth from chattering. The warmth of the fast food seeing through the thin brown paper bag keeps her hands toasty. Dear Maria, Count Me In by All Time Low was blasting through her AirPods. She must definitely start layering to keep up with the November weather. 

As she turns into the familiar street, she hears someone call out her name. Her brow furrows as she pops one of her AirPods out to check and she hears it again. This time clearer.

“Layla! Kanna!” Nandhini Aunty’s familiar voice booms from across the other side of the street. She was standing outside of her garage. Her empty driveway now houses three new cars. A red hatchback had its truck wide open and Layla could see the trunk filled with different sized suitcases.

She smiles at her giving a polite wave in return hoping that it was just a simple exchange of pleasantries. Her stomach had been growling on her way back and all she could think of was pouring out the honey mustard sauce from the small dipping container onto her chicken sandwich. But Nandhini Aunty had other plans as she waved her over towards her house.

“What now?” She mutters to herself as she crosses the street with a smile, she was still salty that Nandhini Aunty ratted her and Harry out to her folks.

“Hello, kanna! How are you?” Nandhini Aunty smiles warmly at her, crows feet becoming more pronounced as she grins wider.

“Hi Aunty! I’m doing well. How are you? Must be super busy with the wedding in ten days.”

“Oh yes, kanna. Very very busy. We have family slated to come this entire week. In fact that’s why I called you over-”

“Oh, sure. What do you need Aunty? I can come and help out.” Layla immediately responds. 

Dammit! Why did I fucking say that?!? She mentally smacks her forehead.

“No no, kanna. How sweet of you to offer but we’ve got it under control. I just want you to meet some of the cousins who’ve come in today. Just thought it would be nice for you to hang out with people your age.”

Layla laughs. “Nandhini Aunty, I hang out with Harry all the time.”

“I just meant someone from our culture. It’ll do you some good,” she responds, as she takes one of her hands between hers and gives it a gentle squeeze. Layla’s brows furrow as she looks at their hands.

“பசங்களா! லேலாவை சந்திக்க வாருங்கள்! (Kids! Come meet Layla!)” She yells out in the direction of the open front door. 

Layla awkwardly stands there until she sees two men rush out in jeans and the flashiest sneakers. They were both obnoxiously rambunctious, shoving and cackling amongst themselves as they barreled towards the two of them.

“Where’s Pooja?” Nandhini Aunty asks one of the boys.

“Oh, she’s feeding the baby. Prasath’s helping her like the good husband he is,” the man with the buzzcut tells her. “Hi, I’m Dhruv,” he extends his hand out boisterously to Layla.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Layla,” she introduces herself by wiggling her hand out of Nandhini’s grasp and gives Dhruv a firm shake. He was short but very built and had a long beard. His red shoes catch her eyes. “Cool shoes,” she compliments him.

“Thanks!” He beams.

“Those Jordans are his most prized possessions.” The other one tells her. “I’m Ashwin.” He extends his hand out in a more timid manner. His hair was wiry and the way it was cut made it so that it was fluffy at the top and with a fade on both sides. He had a navy blue jumper that had a bright red vertical stripe at his torso.  

“Hi, Ashwin. Layla.” She shakes his hand and notices him fiddle with the belt loop of his jeans with his other hand.

“Layla here is getting her PhD soon,” Nandhini Aunty boasts.

“I have to get accepted into a school first though. But I appreciate your confidence,” she chuckles.

“Oh god. Nandhi Aunty is the worst! She went around telling everyone that I got into law school,” Dhruv tells Layla.

“That was seven years ago and not everyday someone I know gets into Harvard. I’ll be telling it some more at the wedding. We need to get you some proposals, you’re almost 32. When I was your age I had two children who were in elementary school,” Nandhini shakes her head, making the three roll their eyes.

“Sucks to be you,” Ashwin mocks.

“Don’t think you’re free, Ash. You’re mother and I are already in talks of finding you a girl. We need to start now.”

“But I’m only 27. You should really redirect your focus on this old unmarried cow here,” he points to Dhruv, making Layla laugh. She mumbles a quiet apology to Dhruv.

“No redirection of attention. You work at Apple now and-”

“You work at Apple? That’s so cool. You’re basically living the NRI dream,” Layla interjects Nandhini.

“Yeah. Been there for over two years now. Loving everything San Francisco has to offe-”

“Do you want to join us for lunch, Layla? You can hang out with them and I’m sure my daughter would love to meet you,” Nandhini Aunty interjects.

“Oh no. Thank you for the offer but I have lunch plans with Harry,” she lifts up the takeaway bag to emphasise her point. “I’ll be happy to hang out some other time.”

“We’re going to watch Beast in theatres in a few days. Do you wanna join us?” Dhruv asks.

“Oh, I’ve been listening to Halamithi Habibo all week! But I don’t wanna impose on a family activity.”

“Please. The more the merrier. It’s just us cousins.” Ashwin says.

“I didn’t know they released Tamil movies here.”

“They do in some theatres. Especially in places with a Tamil crowd. We have to drive to Charlotte to watch it.”

“Ah I see. You can count me in. I’m excited to see if it’ll top Thuppakki though. I doubt it but I’m willing to give it a chance,” Layla tells them, rocking on her heels.

“Super. We’ll let you know once we’ve booked tickets.” Ashwin tells her with a smile.

“Alright. See you all!” She waves and crosses the road to Harry’s house.

She gets in front of the door and opens up the brown bag and pulls out her french fry bag and pulls out a handful of them and drops them at the bottom of the bag. It may be a silly thing to do but she’ll never forget the look on Harry’s face, on their trip to Cape Hatteras and they opted to go through a drive through for lunch,  when he discovered some loose extra french fries at the bottom of the bag. He declared that the gods of luck were on their side and swore that the loose french fries tasted so much better than the ones in the bag. She places the bag on the white railing and tries to seal both the brown bag and the french fry bag, so it looks inconspicuous. She’s been doing this every time they got fast food and the last thing she wants is for Harry to know that she tampered with it. 

She rings the doorbell once she’s done and waits for him to answer the door. She could easily punch in the code and walk into the house but she prefers it this way. She hears some heavy shuffling of his feet and a few seconds later the door swings open. 

“Hi, baby!” He yells still sweaty, from what Layla assumes was his pre-lunch workout session session. His hair was all gathered in a spout with a clip and the blue bandana, she got from New Orleans was tied around his head to keep the sweat off his face. He was shirtless and was just wearing the tiniest shorts she’d ever seen - it didn’t even cover an inch of the tiger tattoo on his thigh - and a pair of white socks.

“Hi you! I come bearing junk!” She exclaims, getting on her tippy toes to give him a big kiss.

“Hmm.” He sighs when their lips touch. “Thank you.”

“For what?” She asks. “The food or the kiss?”

“Bit of both really,” he smirks, grabbing the bag from her hand and opens it up, shuffling the contents in the process.

“Sweeeet!” He exclaims. “Loose fries!” He picks three up and pops it into his mouth. “I swear they’re laced with cocaine or some shit. Tastes so fucking better than normal fries,” he declared with his mouth full of fried potato. 

“Oh, I know,” she agrees with him in a soft voice, a fond smile stretching across her face. 

  LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK SO FAR!

[jojothaho]

Dance Dance. Draken, Mikey, Nahoya, Hanma.

Word Count: 1,011

AHHH OMG @sanchezbloodline, I'm so sorry it took me this long! I fully intended on posting yesterday, until I read through and realized I didn't even write Hanmas part, smh.

Request: Them with a Fem Latinex Dancer.

No warnings, please enjoy.

Draken

Draken never understood the appeal of watching someone do something, the concept bored him. That's why, for the longest time, he was hesitant to go to one of your performances.

But he's seriously regretting that right about now, as he watched you Rumba your way around stage.

Draken is completely and utterly mesmerized by you; The crowd disappears, and it feels like it's only you, dancing just for him.

"I never knew you could dance like that!?"

"You would've if you came to my shows sooner <3."

From that moment on, Draken becomes your biggest fanboy.

He came to all your performances, even if you weren't the star of the show. It didn't matter to him, as long as he could see you move.

Draken would drive you anywhere for your shows, no matter how many hours on the road, he insists.

Do you need money for a new dress? He's got you, babe. A fan getting a little too comfortable? He'll lay em out.

Draken brags to the guys about you ALL the time, like full-on fangirling, but whenever they ask to come to one of your shows, he vetos the idea immediately.

Mikey

Mikey watching one of your performances was pure coincidence. One of Emma's friends bailed last minute for a concert, so she dragged him along. Just his luck, huh?

But Mikey knew nothing about dancing; It wasn't something he was particularly interested in.

The music wasn't remotely close to his tastes, so instead, he people watched, hoping for something interesting. And then his eyes landed on you, the lead dancer.

When Mikey saw you dance, any thoughts about another woman vaporized.

The way you swayed and rocked on stage was like magic, every movement of your body a spell. And Mikey? He was enchanted.

After the concert was over, Mikey met you backstage and professed his newfound love. You were flattered, but you didn't think he was any different than any other fan in "love" with you.

"Aw, I'm flattered love, but you know I get that every day."

"I'm different. though."

"Really?" You weren't convinced.

"If you don't believe my words, then let my actions speak."

And after that night, Mikey showed up to all of your performances, cheering you on and complementing your moves. And some nights, he even had backstage passes.

He was there whenever you were in a jam and needed a ride. He was there whenever a crazed fan followed you home. And whenever you got lonely and just needed company, Mikey was there.

One time Mikey almost folded a fan because they got "too close." They were 3 feet away. It's concerning sometimes, but you find his protectiveness adorable.

The two of you have gotten so close, there isn't a time when he isn't beside you, apart from your performances of course.

And a few months later, you couldn't bring yourself to resist Mikey any longer.

Nahoya

Nahoya was aware that you had dance partners, and he was completely fine with that. Until he saw you dance.

He soon realized that he couldn't handle you dancing with another man in front of him. He understood that it was your career, but it needed to be his hands roaming all over you, it needed to be him dipping you.

"Give me a month <3"

"Hmm? A month for what, babe?"

"In one month, I will be your only partner."

And in a month's time, the two of you went at it, a practice session, of course.

Nahoya stunned you.

You've never had a partner so skilled they made you almost forget the routine.

"Are you sure you've only been practicing for a month?"

"Hm, is that your way of complimenting me? <3"

Your first night together on stage was rapturous, and Nahoya couldn't stop flirting. The two of you were a perfect combination, and he knew it too.

"We're perf-"

"Shh! Talk to me with your body, not your lips."

And talk he did, it was more like a conversation. The way your bodies flowed and whisked together, the audience would've thought you danced together for years.

You had a Merengue mambo that put others to S H A M E.

You two ATE on the floor and left ZERO crumbs. With every sway of your hips, Nahoya was perfectly in sync, following up and spurring you on.

And for years after, the two of you would go on dancing, becoming a sensational dancing duo all around the globe.

Hanma

This man Hanma would buy out an ENTIRE theater.

You were just too perfect, too beautiful to dance in front of anyone but him; And honestly, you never liked sharing the dancefloor anyways.

You were more than happy to dance for him. Dancing was your passion, t was in your blood, and if Hanma loved to see it, then that was all the better.

The floor was a blank canvas, and you were there to decorate it. And of course, Hanma would decorate you. Only the finest and softest silks for his love while she's at work.

Even from his seat at the top of the theater, you could feel his steely eyes, silently observing and assessing every move you made. It only fueled your passion to dance, to showcase everything you were capable of.

Soon though, you would realize that you needed an audience. You missed the thrill of having an audience, the feeling of being part of something bigger.

When you spoke to Hanma about it, he was against it at first, but after seeing how desperate about it, he allowed it. If you're happy, he's happy, even if that means sharing you with the world.

"Really!? Do you mean it Hanma!?"

"Tch, don't make me change my mind. If you really want something, it's not like I could keep you from it."

And so you went public again, your success and publicity blooming with every step of your Bachata.

And Hanma is okay with this, but only if he has front-row seats to every performance.

[just-a-creep-babe]

What type of April fools pranks would the creeps pull

-tiny anon

I, ah, went more-so with how they act on April fools instead of what pranks they do, mostly just cause I’m bad at thinking of pranks :”)

ALSO I didn’t have much time to write this & I wanted it out by today, so it might not be as refined as my other writing 😳👉👈

Nonetheless, hope this is alright! ☺️💖

Masterlist: x

Slenderman

No pranks from him tbh

This tired eldritch dad is, unfortunately, probably gonna (unintentionally) get the brunt of most pranks—just cause he’s at the wrong place at the wrong time 😐😔

And, y’know, you would THINK that because he’s telepathic, he’d be able to get a read on what the lil shits are planning, right?

But nope

He never prods into the others’ brains unless he has a reason to (out of respect for their privacy), so he ultimately always ends up paying the price

It doesn’t help that he tends to forget humans have this specific tradition once a year

Otherwise, he probably WOULD peer into their minds to find out what they’re planning

It somehow just always sneaks up on him smh

There was maybe only one year that he just so ~happened~ to remember

And that was pretty much the only year he didn’t get fooled by anyone/anything ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Jeff the Killer

Oh boy

One of the absolute worst people to get pranked by

When he combines forces with BEN?

The two are unstoppable

Pranks range from the classic slime-over-the-doorframe trick to some of the most innovative, dickish pranks he can think of

If only he used his powers for good 😔👊

He can & WILL flip the entire mansion around, if need be, to prank people

Nothing’s off limits if it means he gets to humiliate someone

(Even though he should know not to cross certain boundaries smdh)

He pretty much always ends up having to do EXTRA chores for Slender as a punishment for going too far :”)

BEN Drowned

My mans is part of the aforementioned chaos duo

Being a ghost entity that roams the internet, he happens to get ~plenty~ of ideas to fool the others with

He will legit spend WEEKS planning ahead for what he wants to do, how he wants to do it & how it’s all going to go down

Again, if only he used his powers for good :”)

This day of the year is, like, legit the one & only day he plans everything out to a tee

He’s usually a lazy boi™️ but no shortcuts are EVER to be taken on April fools

His fave victims include Masky (it’s funny to see him get so upset), Dark Link (I mean, he’s not gonna pass up an opportunity to embarrass his rival), and, surprisingly, Jeff

He LOVES turning the tables on his prank buddy

Jeff tries to get him back for it, but it’s very difficult to properly fool BEN 👀

Such are the perks of being a super smart internet-lurking ghost, I suppose 🤷‍♀️

Eyeless Jack

Eh, he’s not too keen on the whole thing

He considers himself a bit too mature to deal with that kind of “childish behaviour”

He’s not very fun to prank either, because A) he’s got super fast reflexes, B) he’s got heightened senses, and C) if the others somehow manage to catch him off guard despite that, he’ll just be like “ok cool” and carry on with his day

No Shits Given

Still, knowing how goddamn chaotic the mansion gets during this time of year, more often than not, he tends to make himself sparse

Either he locks himself up in his room, or he sticks around the creeps that also don’t like the tradition, or he leaves and goes,,, wherever he usually goes when he disappears from the mansion sometimes

On the rare occasion that he does stay behind, he might help one of the creeps to get their revenge on someone that pranked them

But only if he’s feeling particular playful that day, which doesn’t happen very often

Honestly, because he takes pity on Slender, if he comes back to the mansion being a mess, he’ll help clean things up

Overall a good boi that deserves some head pats for not turning into a goddamn monkey like the others smh

Masky

Masky is essentially the 2nd tired dad figure that has to deal with “this shit again,” as he puts it

Except, unlike Slender, the others aren’t scared of him, so he might ultimately get the worse brunt of it (even worse than what his boss gets)

Something about the way he reacts just makes for some ✨quality content✨ to the others

And, just because they can, they like to film him

It sucks for Masky, because not only does he get his ass handed to him, but then the others also get blackmail footage of him 😐😐

He hates it lmfaoo

Honestly considers hiding under a rock until the day’s over

But, somehow, they always manage to find him & drag him back out into the fray

This poor manses can’t catch a break

Someone help him please—he’s too tired to deal with this 😔🤘

Hoodie

I know we haven’t gotten to him yet, but Hoodie’s somewhere between Toby & EJ when it comes to the tradition

He’s relatively laid-back & won’t actively go out of his way to fool someone

But, hey, if there’s a prank to be had like right there, who’s he to not go for it?

His pranks tend to be relatively low effort—like a joke or a lie or something that tricks someone into believing something kinda stupid

His victim makes a fool of themselves, everyone has a good laugh, then the joke’s over & people move on

Albeit sometimes, the gag lasts longer than intended

Like that one year he convinced Toby that slugs can communicate telepathically because of all the fungus they eat

And Toby believed it for many months until Slender had to break the news to him 😔😔

Also, somehow?? homeboy’s damn near impossible to prank

Many have tried, all have failed—no one knows how he does it 🤷‍♀️

Ticci Toby

Prank time! Prank time! Prank time!

Boy fucking lives for the day he gets to have fun & mess around with the others

Every year most likely ends up with him getting injured, but hey, nothing new there :/

Unlike BEN & Jeff, he probably won’t turn the mansion upside-down (both figuratively and literally smh) to trick people 

He’s more-so in it for the goofs

Like he doesn’t actually wanna humiliate or embarrass anyone too badly, ya know?

He’ll recruit others & form a prank gang because he knows there’s strength in numbers 😌✨

And it’s an unspoken code that those in the prank gang can’t prank each other

So, honestly?

Toby might be the most wholesome April fools-er out of everyone :3

[bookwyrminspiration]

TW// Drugs n such

you asked for it smh, but I've been thinking a lot about that one scene in Neverseen in Exilliums healing tent (or whatever its called)

I had a whole rant here about what the implication of this 'serum' might mean in the lost cities but it kinda spiraled into nothing so I'm cutting it out. (main point was just the mood towards drugs, Shannon has had previous mentions of both alcohol and drunk people, so (though im not saying she should incorporate this into a middle grade book series a t a l l), Id be curious to see her take on drugs, (if they exist and how they effect people and the elven population // how is it treated? Is it looked down upon or even forbidden (why we might only see it in Exillium territories) or is it so normal and inconsequential that its just part of the norm in the lost cities?

but anyway, back to the thing I was originally thinking of - i feel like this is something rarely talked about but pls tell me I'm not the only one who has picked up on how weird Keefe's relationship with sedatives is. It's such a contrast to Sophie, where she's openly opposed to taking any type of sedative he seems to be really open to them, in fact in Unlocked every time he's knocked out by a sedative his language is pretty much always positive, like he really enjoys it. This probably just ties into something you mentioned a while back about Keefe and dealing with stuff by running away but I find it really interesting.

(Sorry if this is an uncomfortable ask to get, I know not everyone is comfortable with drug talk and I hope this Isn't overstepping a line.)

you're fine, don't worry! no lines overstepped. I appreciate you including the warning at the top, even though I'm alright talking with the subject. if there's something I'm uncomfortable with, that's not on you to know or worry about because I haven't shared any of my specific triggers, and the more anxiety-inducing ones are so specific to my personal experiences that I highly doubt they'll ever have any effect on any conversation ever. but I do genuinely appreciate your concern <33

I don't remember specifically what I asked for, but this is a topic I hadn't even realized was so fascinating, so thank you for bringing it up! That scene is kinda funny (as in weird) looking back on it, but Keefe was completely out of it and being a lot more vulnerable than he probably wanted to be due to his state of mind. I think it was intended to mirror something like anesthesia or laughing gas (note: in my brief research trying to find info about the boobrie dude I made a mental comparison between tam and sandor, so I'm just making note of it here so I don't forget), at least as far as Keefe's reaction goes. I think part of this was strategic so that we could get some information and vulnerability (although unwillingly) from Keefe and get that first glimpse of "the boy beneath all that swagger" (paraphrased from Sophie). But that's not what your ask is about so I'll move on before I get even more distracted.

wine, at the very least, exists in the lost cities. we've got fizzleberry wine, which is blamed by some for Caprise Redek's accident. Aside from that we've seen no mention of it, as this is a middle grade series about a young teen girl in a fantasy world, and in a "perfect" world there isn't a lot of talk about recreational substances. And I agree with you! this isn't to say that I think drugs and alcohol should be this huge thing in keeper or that it even needs to be address, just commenting that the attitude the general public has towards substances and intoxication is likely even more severe in the elven world, as has been the pattern with other things. We can tell from Caprise's incident that their wine functions similar if not identical to ours, as it was said to have impaired her motor control and thinking, hence how she fell off that balcony. So I think we could assume that drugs in the Lost Cities would be similar to those in the Forbidden Cities in function. Not in name though, likely named after some strange elven thing. Though if we go with the wine example, Fizzleberry is likely an exact description of what it is--the wine probably fizzes and is made from berries.

the elves highly value the mind, so I anticipate that anything that messes with it past beneficial medicinal uses prescribed by a physician are frowned upon. they think of your mental capacity and capabilities as integral to who you are, and composure as essential. drugs take that away and can impair your reasoning, hence my conclusion they're not well liked. however, I propose that this mindset is mostly those who are very proper, for example Lord Cassius. Dex was more than ready to take concentration serums of his own making--and convinced Sophie to take one (note: dex has almost killed both Sophie and Fitz. that can't be fun to know)--which directly messed with his limbic center. However, as he was raised in an apothecary and is already a little less in line with all other elvin values, I don't think him being an outlier is enough to completely through out my assumption. overall: looked down upon because it messes with the mind and the mind is crucial to elven society, and the way it impairs your thinking would make you a lesser person

and you're right! keefe's relationship with sedative is weird. we have this teenager who grew up without stable supports or a loving family having very little regard for how substances will effect his body, prioritizing the possible--not guaranteed, possible--benefits over all the risks. this is not to say drug use is inherently bad, just that the situation he's in makes me very cautious because he feels more at risk of falling into bad habits. also, your observation about tying that into him running away is very astute! i've talked a lot about him running away from his problems in more ways that physical, and I think this is an excellent example of that

he doesn't like his reality, the world he lives in when he's awake and aware and lucid. it's full of all these problems and people and he doesn't know what to do. but when he's asleep? he doesn't have to deal with any of that. he doesn't have to do anything, but he's also troubled enough and anxious enough that sleep doesn't always come easy, and he can be plagued by nightmares. but those sedatives mess with his mind and not only make him sleep faster and longer, but they can mess with your dreams and alter the reality you experience while asleep. i guess it could be a way of trying to take control of a situation he had very little control over, especially in unlocked when everyone else was trying to fix things without consulting him. with his waking world that bad, of course he's gonna like anything that takes him away from it.

it stands out especially when we switch to him as a narrator and he's praising these things and wanting to be sedated, as we've spent so long in Sophie's head and she's so against them from the trauma she experienced in the first book. that could mean his attitude them is more jarring just because we're used to Sophie and it wouldn't seem as dramatic if we'd switched from say, Fitz's head. but that doesn't mean there's nothing here.

i think i've said it before, but Keefe doesn't have any healthy coping strategies right now that he consistently relies on. his deference towards avoidance and making the problem go away, even if it's just in feeling induced by drugs, is a more extreme example of how he doesn't know how to just exist without hurting.

I jumped around a bit between topics so if I missed something you wanted to talk about more in depth please feel free to send another ask! Keefe's relationship to experiencing reality is fascinating and covers things from denial and refusal to change all the way to drugs and literally altering the way his brain perceives reality. This boy is on a collision course with destruction in both body and mind.

[alifeasvivid]

U should write about Queen of Spades fucking his King against societal expectations 😘

Hmmmm I wonder who sent this one, @pastelsugar6w6 ;)

and yes you're right and I intend to P: at some point

(you can keep reading but it's a concept outline and there's no smut... although I guess in the concept it’s outside expectations for them to be together at all lol)

I got really intrigued by how sometimes pixiv artists called it chessverse and how a Queen functions in chess, as the protector of the King. There's also this idea in certain magic systems that one person "has" magic or "is" magic, but they require a channel to actually wield any power and can't do it themselves.

So in the Suit Kingdoms, the monarchs are chosen by the gods and they basically ascend, they are no longer quite human. the Kings are basically the power source, the lifeblood, almost a minor deity really and they do not interact with the outside world much. Their human bodies become fortified, but it is still taxing to carry the entire essence of their Kingdoms. Most of the time the Kings sit on their respective thrones and just... exist in a very deep spiritual sense.

The Aces are main companions and keepers. The Queens, Jacks, and Aces all draw their power from the King (as do the actual Kingdoms) and they are all also like minor deities, no longer quite human.

The Jacks do not run their respective kingdoms, rather they are a channel that dispenses the King's power to the people of the kingdom/the actual government of the kingdom.... uh like an energy company LOL and they interact the most with humans, but they still are very removed from them.

And the Queens protect the Kings and basically do nothing else. They are not spouses. They are also channels/magic wielders and they are warriors (the Queen of Spades is exceptionally skilled with a sword). Threats tend to come from outside the 4 suit kingdoms as taking another kingdom's King would essentially be mutually assured destruction, but the threats are numerous and the Queens are very busy. (Hey what do you know? It's not a good idea to concentrate all of a kingdom's power into one being???? The actual gods are not very smart smh.)

So busy, in fact, that the Jack and Queen of Spades have seen each other only briefly and neither has ever met the King. Only the Ace, the person who was the King's brother before they were all chosen has seen the King. The Queen has seen the Ace only once.

Then, on one eerily peaceful day, Queen Arthur is having a rare moment to breathe out in the palace gardens when a strange, strikingly beautiful man wanders out, though he is seemingly not there at all. Arthur is captivated, though rarely does anything catch his eye other than whatever threat must be neutralized next. He sees the Ace dash out and grasp the stranger's hand. Arthur's eyes widen.

The stranger is King Alfred.

And then Arthur's kind of obsessed--he cannot help but be drawn to the being his life is sworn to protect, but Alfred is like.... rarely lucid? Or rather, rarely "on this plane of existence" in any sense but physically....? The Jack is like wtf do your job, do you want us all to die? The Ace is like you can't come near him, he's fragile, being the King is slowly crushing his body to death and Alfred's like... also obsessed in his own way and it frustrates him that everyone keeps Arthur away. Given how far removed he is from the human world, his fascination starts off more as curiosity than attaction.

>.> the point of all this is that it's UKUS and the Queen fucks the King because the Queen is an absolute badass whose sole purpose for existing is to protect the King and the King is a curious, kind of naive, dare I say delicate being and I think that dynamic is hot.

-_- why am I like this?

[deadmandairyland]

Guess who’s back with another tier list!

So I found another Black Lagoon tier list, this one including both Fabiola and Ginji, and this time I decided to go a different route with the list. Maybe some time I will use it to make a new, actual tier list, but today I decided to talk about probably one of the most confusing things about Black Lagoon (especially in the anime): the language barrier!

...So basically this list is just what languages the characters are speaking based on what I picked up on over the past decade of being a fan of this series.

This list was inspired by the fact that people watching the anime tend to be very confused on what languages the characters are actually speaking because unfortunately there is no perfect dub of Black Lagoon that actually shows what characters are actually speaking at any given time. Don’t get me wrong, still one of the best English anime dubs of all time, I’m in full agreement of that, but both the Japanese and English dubs of this anime fall apart when the language barrier becomes a key component in the series. And honestly it’s not their fault. I imagine translating this over to anime must have been hell for both dubs.

One important thing to mention: I do not claim that this is 100% accurate. This is what I’ve picked up on as I read the manga and watched the show, but obviously there may be other languages these characters speak that either I missed or was just never really addressed in the series. Also in several places I filled in the blanks myself because, well, obviously English isn’t going to be the first language for, for example, Ibraha.

I also remember reading in a few places that it was confirmed that English is a common language in Roanapur, but I cannot find the official source that said this. This is one of the reasons why I’m not claiming that this is 100% accurate, because while I do think this is probably what was intended for the story, no proof means no proof at the end of the day. But it’s also worth noting that--spoilers btw--the United States basically runs the city behind the scenes, so that’s something to keep in mind.

Another reason why I’m not claiming that this is 100% accurate is because human beings are fallible and as shown in some of my corrections below I know I’ve made a few mistakes here and there in the list, and there could be more that I’m missing or that I’ve got wrong. At the end of the day, this list is not to be seen as a definitive answer to the question of “What languages do these characters speak?” but rather something to look at to get a better understanding of some of the more confusing parts of Black Lagoon wherever language is a key component in the story.

One final note: at one point I refer to the main mob bosses of Roanapur as the Big Four. This is just a name I came up with to describe the balance of power among the four mob bosses, so it’s not an official name as far as I’m personally aware. I figured I should point that out to clear up any confusion.

So with that being said, here’s the breakdown. Expect lots of spoilers.

Revy speaks English, and a small handful of words or phrases in Cantonese (as mentioned in The Wired Red Wild Card), and that seems to be it. She is the most likely person to tell some to speak English when they speak another language to her, or to just say that she doesn’t speak whatever language they’re speaking. In the Japan arc especially, if you’re reading the manga or watching the Japanese dub, it’s clear that she doesn’t understand what most of the Japanese characters are saying. Canonically the vendor she has a shouting match with is actually shouting at her to speak Japanese and she thinks he’s insulting her (and her being unable to talk to the vendor is why Rock goes back and forth between them in the first place to talk about the fixed game), she never actually communicates with Ginji or the kids verbally (she talks to them, but they don’t understand each other’s words), when Rock asks her if she and Ginji can work together in the anime’s English dub when they enter the bowling alley he’s actually asking if they can communicate (Revy basically says when the action starts, they’ll be in sync without needing to talk to each other), and the dude who’s like “I GIVE UP, SERIOUSLY, I GIVE UP” is actually desperately trying to say he gives up in English. Also if you’re only familiar with the English dub, this video is a great example of why this arc is so confusing for everybody, and why the English dub was like “Fuck it, we’re not bothering with the language barrier subplot.”

Benny speaks English. He’s also Jewish, so it’s possible he may know Hebrew or another Semitic language.

Eda speaks English. She’s a CIA agent who claims to be from Alabama and is shown to be very patriotic when in CIA mode. Not that I’m saying this automatically means she doesn’t know any other language, but I haven’t seen any proof that she does.

Lotton... is mostly speculation based on everyone else, particularly Sawyer and Shenhua. I don’t even think he has an official nationality, he just... exists.

Sawyer speaks English. She is British and her name is of English origin. It is possible she speaks a Chinese dialect as well since she seems to do jobs for the Triad and befriends Shenhua, but she seems to be more freelance than a member of the Triad so this isn’t very clear.

Rowan is also mostly speculation. His name is of Irish origin, his last name is likely Pigeon, and Revy can understand him.

Chief Watsup is the chief of police in Roanapur and is the only recurring character in the show who is actually Thai. He can communicate with both Revy and Balalaika, so whether or not he speaks English depends heavily on whether or not Revy and Balalaika speak Thai (and given that Revy says in The Wired Red Wild Card that she only speaks English and a tiny bit of Cantonese, it’s more likely that he knows English).

Yukio and Ginji speak Japanese and do not appear to speak English. It is ignored in the English dub of the anime, but everywhere else it is often brought up that Revy can’t understand what they’re saying and they can’t understand what Revy is saying. To add on to what I mentioned above in Revy’s section, also consider that Yukio curiously asks Rock if Revy is Japanese when they first meet, with the thought in mind that the first thing Yukio and Ginji see when they first meet Rock and Revy is Revy shouting in English at a Japanese vendor who is yelling at her to speak Japanese.

Mr. Kageyama obviously speaks Japanese, and I assume he speaks English as well as he seems to be able to speak to both Dutch and Balalaika, the latter of whom is confirmed to not know Japanese.

Chaka canonically speaks both Japanese and English. Not only can he and Revy understand each other, but being able to speak English is one of the things he brags about to Revy when they first meet, saying something along the lines of “Can’t run a place like this without being able to speak English.”

Takenaka obviously speaks Japanese, more than likely speaks English as he’s able to communicate with Revy, and likely speaks Arabic as he has allied himself with Ibraha.

Ibraha obviously would have Arabic as his first language and he presumably speaks English as well (and possibly French as he’s from Lebanon, but this isn’t relevant). The important thing is that he does NOT know Japanese, because it is implied that THIS is the reason why he gets angry out of nowhere during the interrogation. Takenaka and Rock are speaking in Japanese during the interrogation (signified by a change in font in the manga, which would only be important if the language barrier is important to the scene) and Ibraha interrupts by saying something along the lines of “Even I know this is no longer an interrogation!”

All of the canonically English-speaking cast can understand Roberta, Garcia, and Fabiola, whose first language is obviously Spanish. Rock and Fabiola both act as interpreters in different points of the series. It’s also worth noting that Lovelace is obviously of English origin, which suggests to me that the Lovelace family in particular has a very ethnically diverse background.

Rico communicates with Revy and Eda, but judging by his name he probably can also speak Spanish (or possibly Portuguese, but Spanish is more likely as there are many Spanish speakers in town).

Balalaika and Boris obviously speak Russian, but they can communicate with the English-speaking Lagoon Company as well as Roberta.

Hansel and Gretel are Romanian, can communicate with several English-speaking characters including Revy and Eda, and are working for the Italians.

Verrocchio obviously speaks Italian, and presumably English as well as he’s part of the Big Four of Roanapur (this again ties into the idea that English is a common language in Roanapur). Also where IS Ronnie the Jaws? Or Abrego for that matter? This list said “All Characters.” False advertising smh

Bao is Vietnamese, but often speaks to characters that don’t speak Vietnamese (e.g. Revy).

Mr. Chang would likely speak Cantonese as a leading figure of the Hong Kong Triad and would likely know Mandarin as well. He can communicate with Revy, who according to The Wired Red Wild Card only knows bits and pieces of Cantonese and likely not enough to hold a whole conversation. He is also the CIA’s lapdog, so unless Eda speaks Cantonese they are probably talking to each other in English.

Shenhua is from Taiwan and as such would most likely speak Taiwanese Mandarin. She speaks with Revy who makes fun of her for her thick accent and way of speaking when she speaks English. She also might speak Cantonese as well since she works for the Hong Kong Triad.

Ahbe from the WWII flashback obviously speaks German.

Sir Alfred the old Nazi fuck would also speak German, but he’s able to talk to Dutch over the phone and he has American Neo-Nazis doing his bidding so he likely speaks English as well. He is also apparently living in Spain so it’s possible he might also speak Spanish.

Caxton and Yolanda speak English as they are constantly speaking with known English speakers throughout their appearances. Caxton in particular is about as ‘Murican as it gets without being a negative stereotype. It is unknown if they know any other language.

Jane is almost always speaking with English speakers. She is from India, so she likely also speaks Hindi. She is also part of an international team of counterfeiters, so it’s likely she knows other languages as well. After I made this tier list I remembered she also speaks German at one point and I think Theo was also from Germany, so she probably speaks German fluently as well, but I’m not redoing this list.

Leigharch speaks drugs... and presumably English and Irish as well.

Rock pretty much knows every language that ever existed in the history of mankind. He is basically the go to guy to translate anything. That being said, Japanese and English are the languages he’s most fluent in.

Dutch knows English, and--spoilers for L’homme Sombre btw--probably French as well, and also probably one of the many languages spoken in Burkina Faso, especially if he was born there (which I sadly didn’t think about until after I made the list). This arc is still ongoing in the manga, and more than anything I’m just excited to see Dutch's backstory being explored. It was long overdue. (Now we just gotta hope that the same happens for Benny.)

As I mentioned in that caveat, Roanapur is in Thailand, and it’s possible the people living in Roanapur may know Thai, but actual local Thai citizens are a rarity in Black Lagoon (with Chief Watsup being the only recurring Thai character), and American influence is so strong in the city that it’s probably the reason why people drive on the right side of the road with steering wheels on the left side, in a country where people drive on the left, and why US currency is accepted along with Thai currency, so that’s worth pointing out.

[sinkix]

Haikyuu!!│Boys going grocery shopping w/ you! HC’s│Ft. Bokuto, Nishinoya, Terushima, Kuroo & Kunimi

I had this late night idea and just HAD to follow through, the chaos would be O F F T H E C H A R T S. Thank you to @deathcab4daddy​ for helping me brainstorm some good characters for this post lmao I love you bby and can’t wait to do a collab. <3

E N J O Y ~ 

*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

BOKUTO:

WHEN I TELL YOU THIS BOI PICKS UP EVERYTHING IN SIGHT LIKE A 6 YEAR OLD

 I FUCKING MEAN IT.

“(Y/N) we need this” 

“Bokuto we do not need a 7th jar of peanut butter.”

 “But (Y/N) it has a squirrel on the front-”

“BOKUTO I SWEAR TO GOD”

Tries to drift on the edge of the cart like something straight outta CSGO and the cart nearly obliterates under his weight.

V e r y l o u d u n e c c e s s a r i l y.

Everyone always stares at y’all when you’re going through the isles bc ur literally escorting a man-child sprawled in a shopping cart who’s going “OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO” at everything he sees like he’s a toddler at the zoo who’s never encountered a chimpanzee before.

Unless you have a bottomless bank account do NOT take him shopping of any kind he is LETHAL.

When you’re at the check-out he turns it into a basketball competition and tries to launch everything perfectly on to the conveyor belt.

Volleyball player? Nah this sis with the NBA now.

Do not ask him to go get something, he will return with at least 9 items you didn’t need and everything BUT the item you requested

He turned up with a whole ass pineapple, a jar of jam, a stick of butter and a bottle of olive oil.

Like,,,where is the correlation in those items???

Once made the mistake of asking him to grab some pads from the hygiene section and specified it HAD to be with wings

Boy showed up ten minutes later and looking very confuzzled.

You questioned why he has a pack of wingless pads in one hand and a can of red bull in the other.

He said it’s because they didn’t have any with wings so he figured the Redbull would suffice and do the job for you.

i-

NISHINOYA:

Can literally fit him in the little cart seat made for kids and he LOVES it lmaoooo IT’S SO CUTE MY HEART.

HE JUST SWINGS HIS LEGS EXCITABLY WHILE YOUR GETTING STUFF AAAAAAA

Ppl give you such weird looks though bc you have a guy who’s at least 14 years older than the intended demographic sitting there and raising his hands in elation over you copping a cookie dough pie and chucking it in.

Again, another who is VERY LOUD FOR NO REASON AT ALL.

Get’s out of the cart after a while bc his legs be growing numb and begins roaming around.

Someone came back with a feral Noya in hand stating “Is this your child” WNDKJWEFNWJEF.

M’AM HE’S LIKE 18 EXCUSE YOU.

Was salty about it for the rest of the day.

Just ruffle his hair and call him Senpai 

Problem solved.

Picks up tons of exotic fruit that look more like plastic or fuzzy poisonous plants and begs you to get them.

“Noya what the fuck is that.”

“...a Pitaya.”

“...”

“Can we get it-”

“no.”

“(Y/N)-”

“I SAID NO DAMMIT”

Last time you bought some strange fruit he took it to practise and got Tanaka to spike it LMAOOO

IT SPLATTERED E V E R Y W H E R E

AND OVER DAICHI’S SHIRT.

He begged you to no longer allow Noya to purchase weird fruits from then on since he is like a child with a nerf gun.

He once picked up a phat wrinkly purple fruit and turned to you asking if it was an overgrown raisin.

“Noya sweetie that’s a Date.”

HE FULLY TSK’ED AND THREW IT BACK SINCE IT REMINDED HIM OF DATE TECH I CAN’T.

My boy out here defending Asahi even in the Grocery Isles.

We stan a loyal king.

TERUSHIMA:

Another one who tries to stand on the ledge and the cart wheels almost collapse because it wasn’t designed to hold the weight of a young adult.

Oh young adult??? Sorry I mean’t MAN CHILD.

He treats a shopping experience as a time to practise his aim apparently because he ALWAYS THROWS SHIT AT YOU TO THE POINT YOU’RE THREATENED TO BE KICKED OUT.

Definitely picks up phallic looking objects and places them against his crotch, snorting and saying “Like what you see (Y/N)?”

Homeboy is stood there in front of a wife and child presenting his cucumber appendage for the world to see.

He once grabbed a pair of fat ass melons and pressed them against his chest, shaking them and belting the lyrics to ‘My Milkshake’ while begging you to SQUEEZE HIS MELONS.

“Look (Y/N) they’re bigger than yours!”

I just- 

I give up.

Constantly tries to sneak mutli-packs of energy drinks into the cart to the point you’re convinced he is going to keel over from heart failure and kidney stones by the age of 20.

Has his airpods in 90% of the time and treats the isles as his personal dance floor.

He busting them MOVES and performing the MJ moonwalk while in the dairy section.

ONCE HE SLID TOO FAST AND SLIPPED ON HIS REAR IN FRONT OF LIKE 12 PEOPLE LMAOO

He was DEAD silent the rest of the trip.

Probably the most serene shopping experience you’ve had to date.

The checkout clerks occasionally hit on Mr. Sore-Ass over here.

Until he opens his mouth and they realise he’s a total dolt and question how you have the patience for him.

You don’t know either honestly.

The whole bagging experience is spent with them shooting you sympathetic glances as if to say ‘sis you shoulda’ left him at home’.

Yes, yes you should have.

Never a dull moment with Teru as your shopping partner.

KUROO:

LITERALLY LIKE A MIDDLE-AGED MAN OR A TODDLER WHEN Y’ALL GO SHOPPING THERE IS NEVER AN EVEN MIDDLE-GROUND.

Frequently cracks lame-ass food puns or dad jokes that make you want to crawl into a hole and die.

You have competitions on who can come up with the most and the loser always faces a penalty.

Kuroo and creating penalties do NOT mix safely so you better hope you win.

“I love you a waffle lot.” 

Proceeds to hold up a wrapped waffle.

Ok that one was kinda cute you’ll let it slide.

“I ap-peach-iate you Kuroo.”

Cue HyenaLaugh.mp3

“Want a pizza me baby? Bitch peas, doughnut take me lightly.”

You changed your mind.

You didn’t talk to him the duration of that shopping experience, no penalty could be as horrifying as what just came out of his mouth.

“(Y/N)... sometimes I feel like you don’t carrot all.”

You slapped him with said carrot and obviously had to pay for it after.

You forced him to eat it raw.

He is the definition of Neutral disaster when you go shopping.

Shitty food puns aside, he is actually very responsible when making sure you both get what you need.

Not without tons of poking, prodding, and blowing into your ear while you’re trying to decide what ingredients to buy for dinner.

You contemplated serving him a plate of bubbling snot and moulded broccoli seasoned with rosemary.

Bone apple teeth, bitch.

Ofc you didn’t because he always pulls out the puppy eyes and cuddles card after since he knows he’s well and truly rattled your patience lmao.

Actually picks really healthy food options?? Being the captain of a team he has the responsibility of keeping his health in top condition and leading by example so at least he knows the right ingredients to make a bomb-ass and nutritious meal ig.

Y’all always bicker and tease each other at the checkout which is usually great amusement for the clerk serving you as they often smirk and perceive you as an old married couple.

Which tbh you kinda are, it feels like it at least.

Still such a big asshole though lmao you never leave the store without your sanity being scathed.

KUNIMI:

Honestly just wanted an excuse to make jokes at the expense of the Aoba Johsai teammates.

and what better candidate for cracking these than Kunimi.

He’s a very chill partner to have tag along with you on your endeavours.

Not without some grumbling and groaning on his part though, lazy bitch.

You always finish shopping trips with a busted lung at how much you have been laughing though with some of the SHADY ASS REMARKS HE MAKES ABOUT THE OTHER TEAM MATES.

You were outside the store when you both spotted an angry looking Doberman tied to a nearby post.

“Smh who let Kyotani outside again.”

You hadn’t even set foot in the store yet and he was already spitting flaming insults.

[Walking up to the automatic double doors]

“Damn Oikawa move out of my way.”

Oikawa just tryna live and he keeps getting roasted for his flat cheeks 

#StopOikawaAssShaming

Ten minutes of scouring the store later he picks up a spikey Kiwano and compares it to Iwaizumi’s hair.

Proceeds to beg you not to tell my boy Iwa because he KNOWS he will get decked to the gym floor.

Passers by often wonder why you’re wheezing and producing noises like a boiling kettle.

When I tell you no one is safe, I mean N O O N E.

“These Yule logs really out here looking like Matsukawa’s brows.”

The finisher was when Kunimi picked up a turnip and said 

“Huh, kinda looks like Kindaichi.”

I just-

He could roast a whole chicken in minutes from the burn of these comments I stg.

You can now never look at the Seijou team without various foods or inanimate objects plaguing your thoughts.

Thanks, Kunimi.

[ghoulciifer]

So heard you want Haikyuu request! So when I get mad at someone (VERY rare) I just look at them like 😠. And just kinda shun them like “dont talk to me 😠. That was rude 😠” so i just scoot away from them. I wont walk away from them, ill just go to the other side of the couch or whatever and if they try to console me im like “no! You spoiled my show 😠” and only kinda yell at them if they keep pursuing like “im mad at you” and if they touch me im like “NO! IM MAD AT YOU” is all lmao UHHH PART 2

hc: how Kageyama and Nishinoya react when their S/O gets angry

tw: none (i think?)

tags: angry!reader, haikyuu, eventual comfort/fluff, slight nsfw with noya

notes: ahsgshahajsh i’m the same way when i get angry but i CRY so much, so i kinda felt this one? but i did hc’s for this because i wanted to do it NOW. i love my boys, especially noya. ty for the request, i love you, and my inbox is still open for asks ❥

» i feel like kageyama is just permanently unaware of everything going on around him, like all this boy has on his mind is fuckin’ volleyball and you, ofc

» i also feel like this is a big reason why doesn’t have a filter sometimes... which gets him in trouble.

» you two are just chilling on the couch, all cuddled up together, watching a show you’ve been trying to catch up to him on (because he’s impatient and apparently can’t wait for you to come home smh)

» you’re halfway through a super suspenseful episode, and there’s a huge lead up to a plot twist but it’s just dragging on forEVER

» “ugh, why can’t they just show who dies, already?” you grumble under your breath, beyond irritated, huffing for good measure

» kageyama just

» nonchalantly fuckin’ spoils it

» “oh F/C/N dies, happens next episode.”

» the speed in which your head turns his way is inhuman LMAO

» you’re so angry you can’t even form words, your blood boils as it rushes to your face and your brow is furrowed so deep

» not only did your boyfriend ruin the rest of the episode but YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER DIES??

» of course kageyama doesn’t notice your death glare until a couple seconds later, looking at you with the most dumbfounded expression

» “...what?”

» you don’t even say anything, just get up, take a deep breath, and walk as calm as possible to the bedroom, slamming the door behind you

» meanwhile kags is still just ?? nani ??

» he leaps into action and tries talking to you through the door but once he hears the tub’s faucet running from your bathroom, he knows it’s your me time and he shouldn’t interfere

» so while you’re soaking up in a hot bath with your favorite scented candle burning at the edge of the tub, listening to your favorite playlist at a comfortable volume,

» kageyama literally sits on the couch and thinks SO HARD about what he could have possibly done wrong ahsgsgshaja this boy

» you were fine before you started watching the show, even after the show started you were quite literally all over him, so where did he go wrong?

» it finally dawns on him that your sudden mood change happened after he spilled the beans on your favorite character’s death

» insert kageyama slamming a palm to his face

» THIS DUDE FEELS SO FUCKIN’ BAD NOW

» he waits at least another 15-20 mins before creeping into the master bath to check up on you, a warm mug of your favorite tea in hand and the sweetest look on his face

» how could you still be mad at him when he’s literally doing the 🥺 face ???

» he crouches at the edge of the tub and leans forward to press a gentle kiss into your temple before setting the mug on the ledge, situating himself so his chin is laying over his folded arms, facing you

» “I’m sorry I’m an idiot... and about F/C/N. I know you liked them a lot.”

» you can’t help but giggle at how precious the moment (or the look on his face) is and you raise a hand to his cheek, rubbing the soft skin over his cheekbone with your damp thumb

» “It’s okay, Tobio, at least I didn’t have to see it. But next time... try not to spoil anything, okay?”

» nishinoya might seem like an air headed tornado to most, but he’s actually pretty perceptive !!

» so he’s always aware of when you’re angry, very in tune with your emotions, constantly tries his best to avoid hurting you or your feelings in anyway

» but uh... he fucks up sometimes.

» you were at your shared home, waiting for him wearing nothing but his old volleyball jersey and his favorite pair of your panties (y’know the ones, with a cute lil’ bow on the front and less fabric in the back ;0)

» there wasn’t really any special occasion but you both made it very clear during a suggestive text conversation earlier in the day that you were going to jump each other’s bones as soon as you got home

» he did let you know he needed to stop by tanaka’s after work to pick something up, but you figured that wouldn’t take long at all, right?

» wrong

» you’ve been nestled in the same spot on the couch for hours, the sun no longer shining into the living room, and you were absolutely steaming from the ears in wait for your boyfriend

» you honestly weren’t even in the mood anymore the longer time dragged on, the show you put on doing nothing to distract you from your aggravation

» eventually you hear the familiar jiggle of your front door and the clanking of keys being hung on the rack before footsteps head your way

» you keep the blanket in your lap wrapped around your waist and sit up, arms crossed, bottom lip jutted out ever so slightly with narrowed eyes

» “Hey, baby! I missed you all da-“

» he tried leaning down for a kiss but you pressed your hand against his lips before they got close enough

» noya is confused for a split second before he notices you’re wearing the one piece of clothing you know will get you laid when you wear it

» “...fuck.”

» “Actually, no, not anymore.”

» you get up from the couch and side step around him, ignoring the way his fingertips brush against your wrist in a failed attempt to grab it

» once you make it to your bedroom you lock yourself in the bathroom to change clothes, wash your face, let your hair down, etc.

» the running water lets noya know you’re starting your nightly routine, and there’s no way you’re doing anything after that

» he’s very aware that you just need to cool off, you got your point across and all that remained was the recovery process

» so he decides to use this time to get himself in his sleep clothes as well and situate the bed in the most comfortable set up possible, the way he knows you like it

» also grabs a snack or two from the kitchen and sets it on your nightstand in case you do decide to talk it out instead of going straight to bed

» he patiently waits for you to emerge from the bathroom as he holds onto the stuffed koala he won for you at some fair years ago HE’S SO CUTE I CAN’T ALDJSHSJAK

» when you finally do come out, donning an old pair of his sweats and an oversized t-shirt, hair brushed and face clean, his face instantly softens

» bc he can’t help but admire how beautiful you look in moments like this 🥺

» once you see the look in his eyes and the stuffed toy in his arms, it’s all over, my guy - you don’t even remember why you were upset in the first place

» you climb on the bed and settle on top of him, head tucked under his chin and arms wrapped underneath his shoulders while he runs his hands up and down your spine, koala bear long forgotten

» “I’m sorry I was out so late, babygirl, I lost track of time... I’ll make it up to you whenever you want, okay? and I’ll hold you like this if you just wanna go to bed.” He finally says after a comfortable silence, kissing the top of your head as he finishes.

» your heart practically melts and suddenly you want to be the one comforting him

» “It’s okay, Yuu. I love you so much.” you lift your head from his chest to give him a sweet kiss as he reciprocates the phrase against your lips

» the kiss lasts much longer than intended and grows in intensity - next thing you know, he’s got you flipped over with his hands sneaking under your shirt to explore your soft skin, mouth latched onto your neck

» his hands wander to the waistband of the sweats resting over your hips and when his fingertips brush over the familiar texture of lace, he looks up at you with the MOST excited look

» “You kept them on?? FOR ME??”

[gargalesthesia]

kiribaku fics i’ve read that i cant get out of my mind

okay so @bakuberrys you wanted in general kiribaku fics, i have in general kiribaku fics for you (this’ll be a lONG fic rec)

these are some fics you DEFINITELY need to read if you haven’t already

(!!!) means smut

(this got way longer than intended so its gonna be under the cut)

butterfly kisses by kiritime

DKJNIUADBNW, BAKUGOU YOU SMOOTH MOTHERFUCKER

I LOvE YOU SO MUCH

quote love unquote by newamsterdam

so this is literally the PINNACLE of kiribaku fics

this one i think every kiribaku shipper has read at least once

and really its just so FUCKIN good

actor! bakugou? fuck yes

band! kirishima? EVEN FUCKING BETTER

(!!!) my first one and only by blackbarbooks

MMMMMMMM

THE FLAVOUR IS

JUST

SO

REFINED

AND JUST SO PERFECT

THIS IS THE DAMN FIC THAT GOT ME INTO KIRIBAKU NGL

speak into the silence by rosedvst

ugh

this fic fucking killed me

good luck reading it without crying

you’ll need boxes of tissues

im so sorry

interview tour by poorunfortunatesoul

IM FUCKING DYING AFTER READING THIS FIC

I COULDNT STOP LAUGING

HE REALLY IS THE NUMBER ONE SIMP LMAOOOOOOO

(!!!) candle and a flame by kiricak3s

OTHERWISE TITLED BAKUGOU BEING HORNY FOR 15,891 WORDS AND THREE CHAPTERS

in all honesty tho, bakugou has some WEIRD ass kinks (that are SO DANGEROUS?????) and kirishima is in tragic backstory mode

things soft and precious by gloop

we stan mitsuki bakugou

and thats all i have to say

come back toe me by milligramme

they are such DORKS and i LOVE THEM so FUCKING mUCHHHHHHH

damn furniture man

fuck you furniture

(!!!) gray area by dreamy science

they are such FOOLS and i HATE THEM so FUCKING muCHHHHHHHHH

UGHHHH 

THIS ONE HAD ME SCREAMING AT MY SCREEN ISTG

the fools rush by chonideno

THIS ONE AS WELL

I SWEAR I JUST LIKE TORTURING MYSELF WITH THESE KINDS OF FICS

the knock-on effect by kiritime

kirishima: knock knock

BITCH

here to hit you with some FUCKING AFFECTON YOU BEAUTIFUL MOTHERFUCKER

heart stains on the carpet by cityboys

three words.

body guard au.

coming up for air by ellieb3an

THIS FIC OML

IT EVEN HAS ART FROM SYBLATORTUE AND ITS REALLY GOOD PLS READ IT

(!!!) snapbackchat: kiri bottoms by arxaris and mslead

WHY CAN I SEE THIS FIC ACTUALLY HAPPENING? LIKE

kiri tho kirishima bby you dont send dic picks without them saying you can smh

manly man falls for manliest man by afuzzyowl

IM CRYING

AFTER I READ THIS FIC ADNWIWUHDNCIEW

obvious by amethystunarmed

istg ive already recced this way too many times

but im just so softfor it okay??????

absolutely did not by ganglylimbs

THIS IS PROBABLY ONE OF MY FAVOURITE KIRIBAKU FICS. EVER.

I LOVED THIS???? WAY TOO MUCH???????

SO YES HAVE FUN

kokoronashi by chiisanaai

first kiribaku fic ive EVER read

and boy do i not regret a FUCKING THING

AND WE ARE DONE

I HOPE YOU HAVE FUN WITH THE EXTRA LONG FIC LISTS IVE BEEN GIVING Y’ALL JUST BECAUSE IM SO GENEROUS

[summonerscenarios]

How about some more chaotic Mc! Characters of your choice reacting to encountering Mc looking lost, so they ask how they got there. Someone decided that including Mc in the good ol game "The Floor is Lava" was a good idea. So, without thinking, Mc hopped onto the closest thing, the outside of a bus. Before they were able to get right back off, the bus took off with them on it. They highly doubt this is what happened, until the group Mc was with confirmed that is what happened. Hope this is ok!

Chaotic MC is once again getting into mischief! honestly I’m loving these scenarios so far because the idea of the MC just straight up using a bus for the floor is lava is so hilarious to me and I wouldn’t be surprised if this actually happened. (also from a floor is lava champion a rookie mistake smh) 

-----

Takemaru

Takemaru spots you wandering around while he’s out running errands in his truck. It’s nothing out of the ordinary for the two of you to cross paths while he’s going about his work, if anything you guys accidentally meet up so often it’s become an inside joke. However he recognizes the look of someone who’s lost when he sees it, and you look like you have no idea where you are. He pulls up next to you and leans against the truck door as he calls out to you; you look relieved when you spin around and notice him and you all but jog over to the truck to greet him.

He asks you why you’re looking around so confused. Once he hears the story of playing the floor is lava with Ryota and your friends he almost doesn’t believe it. You make rash decisions all of the time but hopping on a bus right as it took off? AND sticking on it until it reached the next stop and getting lost? You can’t fault him for being at least a little bit skeptic. However he’s not just going to leave you wandering around trying to find a way back to Shinjuku Academy, plus when you give him those puppy dog eyes as you ask him where the quickest route back is of course he’s going to cave. With a sigh, Takemaru runs a hand through his hair and motions for you to get into the passenger seat, reassuring you that he’ll get you back to your group in no time.

You all but leap at the chance to get back and as soon as you’re in the truck and the belt’s you’re safely on your way back to Shinjuku. The ride back is straightforward; Takemaru knows these roads like the back of his hand by this point so the ride back is relatively comfortable, the only silence broken when you fiddle with the radio stations and start up some idle chatter. You guys talk more about what happened, how you thought you could have gotten off the bus before it took off, the route you ended up taking and some of the places you passed by before you were able to get off. You clearly feel a lot better now that you don’t have to worry about being lost, and even crack a joke that you’ve found some pretty cool shops to check out the next time you get lost in the area. 

By the time the truck pulls up to the Academy and you jump out, the Summoner’s are already rushing out to meet you as soon as they see you. Ryota’s the first to reach you and as soon as Takemaru hears the boy fretting over if you got hurt and asking you what happened with the bus the oni begins to realize that damn you were serious. This is only confirmed when Shiro approaches him and begins apologizing profusely for Takemaru having to go out of his way to bring you back, corroborating your story in his explanation and filling in the gaps of what’s happened since you were gone. Even with it explained Takemaru’s in disbelief but he decides that it’s better not to question the kind of trouble you get into in favor of just being glad you got back in one piece. With that being said he still leaves you with a reminder to stay out of trouble next time, or at least to give him a call next time you get lost and he’ll come to your rescue before he heads off to continue his errand run.

Snow

Not much goes down in the Berserker’s territory that isn’t noticed by the ever watchful eye of Snow, so when word first comes about that you were spotted wandering around Ikebukuro after tumbling right off the back of a coach the news reaches his ears almost as soon as your feet (or body in this case) touched the floor. Naturally the lion transient brings this information to master Claude and upon being told to seek you out and bring you in if necessary Snow sets out to seek you out. He’s swift in finding you - you’d decided to take a rest on a bench not too far away from the Ikebukuro guild, still cursing at the scuffs marking up your knees and elbows and trying to wipe away as much dirt and debris as you can when you notice that you’re no longer alone.

Ever doting, Snow kneels down to your height and takes over looking over your injuries - they’re surface level but still sting when you move the joints too quickly. He takes care not to cause too much discomfort as he looks you over, noting that you must have taken quite a tumble as he looks up to meet your eyes in a silent questioning for an explanation. He’s mostly silent as you begin to open up about what happened, how an abrupt game of the floor is lava got out of hand when you’d hopped onto a bus and wasn’t able to get off before it took off on its intended path. His reaction is neutral throughout, humming along even when some of the facts you mentioned seem rather far fetched even for him, though if he does he doesn’t let his doubt show in the slightest.

By the time your story is concluded Snow’s already cleaned your injuries with a few well placed plasters to cover them up (when he pulled them out you have no idea but you’re definitely not complaining) and you watch him rise to his feet and hold out his hand for you to take. After such a surprising turn of events surely it’s for the best that he helps you return back to your friends, yes? After all they must be worried about you! Though Snow also wants to use this to see for himself if you’re being truthful about what actually happened, so when you slip your hand into his and accept his offer he offers you a smile pleased by your response. 

The journey back is a pleasant one. After stopping by the guild momentarily you soon find yourself whisked off into a car and on your way back to where you were originally playing with your friends, where the only thing you had to worry about was keeping up conversation with Snow as you watch the scenery pass by through the window. The students that you had been playing with at the time practically rushed you in relief when they spotted you step out of the door as Snow opened it for you, a barrage of questions ranging from ‘where did you go?!’ to ‘do you realize how long you’ve been gone?!’ coming from several directions as you do your best to fill them in on what happened. Snow only hears that your story is in fact true from the mage who was doing a hell of a job reaming you out for being so reckless, warning you to be careful the next time you decide to hop onto a moving vehicle and even Snow finds himself taken aback seeing the group all speak out in agreement, further ensuring the truth behind your words. You can spot him shaking his head in surprise, though he still smiles when you turn back to him and shrug helplessly in a ‘well it happens’ gesture before your attention gets pulled back to your friends. 

Ebisu

When Ebisu first spots you wandering around outside of the shop he wonders if you’re looking for something that you’ve lost. You passed by the window a couple of times before leaning against a wall and checking your phone, brows furrowed in confusion and then he thinks that perhaps you’re waiting for someone. Maybe you and Benten were planning to meet up? The two of you had been spending a lot of time together recently so the thought itself isn’t so weird to consider. However the next time he checks up on you a few minutes later you’re still perched against the wall, looking even more concerned than before.

Not wanting to leave you outside when something could be wrong Ebisu plucks up the courage to step outside the shop and call out to you, watching your expression shift into a smile upon seeing him approach. That smile turns into an awkward chuckle however once he asks if you’re alright, though before he can apologize if he made you nervous you begin filling him in on what’s transpired over the past hour. You’d been hanging out with Benten and some other friends when one of them had bellowed out floor is lava, and after a quick rundown of the game you’d panicked and latched onto the nearest thing that wasn’t the floor. I mean, how were you supposed to know that the thing was going to take off as soon as you’d grabbed onto the rear bars? The last thing that you’d seen of your group before the transport had rounded the corner was the Biwa player yelling for you to just let go as you disappeared from their line of sight.

Ebisu is shocked to learn about what’s happened - it sounds so bizarre that coming from anyone else it probably would have sparked some serious doubt, but after all the weird things you two have been through he thinks that it could very well be true. He doesn’t think that you’d lie about something like that so you’re surprised when instead of questioning you he just nods and confides that it must have been a shocking turn of events and that he’s just glad that you’re okay. 

As soon as the words come out of his mouth however your phone pings with a message from Benten, followed by a spam of messages asking where you ended up and where you were right now. She even sent you a video someone had taken of the whole thing, and it’s even more bizarre to see the whole thing play out on the video than it was when you initially explained it. It doesn’t take long to fill your friend in on where you are, and the conversation ends with a firm order to stay where you are and she’ll come get you before the messages stop. While Ebisu’s relieved that the situation’s resolved itself he’s still got to get back to the shop, but at the same time he doesn’t want to leave you out here waiting who knows how long before Benten can get here. So after a moment of mulling the question around in his head Ebisu asks you if you’d like to come inside until she shows up - so long as you’re okay with it of course! But you can tell that he’s relieved when you accept the offer and take the lead back to the shop.

[birlcholtz]

fic prompt idea: nurseydex football/soccer au. [lowkey] rivals to friends to lovers.

i can’t tell if you meant one of them plays football and one of them plays soccer or if u were just trying to cover ur bases regardless of what i call that sport?? i’m gonna assume the latter but i don’t know shit about soccer so if anyone who does wants to rb and add more accurate stuff PLEASE DO lol.

and im also throwing this out into the world as a prompt for a legit fic since im doing more of a bullet point thing-- if u want to fic this then hell yeah do it and tag me!!

things i learned while doing some google searches for this post: there are ELEVEN players per team on the field at once??? what the FUCK

okay so they’re on the soccer team. after about 3 minutes of research i’ve decided they’re both fullbacks, and as nursey and dex do, they hate each other pretty much as soon as they open their mouths. and they are both extremely irritated by how well they work together (side note: do soccer players get grouped up in the same way that hockey players do? like on SMH nursey and dex are a d-man pair. does that exist in soccer?)

and their raging dislike for each other obviously turns into a competitive streak when they’re playing. or at team hangouts. or at parties. or doing literally anything. (chowder: are u aware that whenever u do something mildly impressive u immediately look at him to make sure he noticed / nursey or dex: IT’S SO HE KNOWS I’M BETTER / chowder: sure)

this means that they absolutely do DUMB SHIT together all the time. ‘i can eat this froyo faster than you’ ‘that’s not fair you got yours first you had more time’ ‘oh really and you’re just gonna give up??’ ‘fuck you no i’m not watch how fast i can eat this *immediate brain freeze*’

and somehow this turns into.... kind of enjoying each other’s company? the antagonism becomes less antagonistic and a lot friendlier and they both start to figure out where the bounds are (dex learns not to dare nursey to do things if he’s drunk because he WILL do them and dex WILL have to take him to student health. similarly, nursey learns dex has no sense of physical safety when it comes to temperatures. he WILL pull a ‘it’s not that cold’ at literally any time even if he’s turning blue.)

at one point dex is definitely like hey nursey maybe if you wore cleats all the time you wouldn’t fall on your ass so much and nursey’s ‘fuck you’ is MUCH less heated than it would have been in their first semester

and for about six months, they’re great friends and chowder is delighted that he no longer has to deal with nursey and dex’s bullshit about each other

then, obviously, they fall for each other and chowder has to deal with their bullshit again sorry dude

so guess what happens? they never really *stopped* doing dumb shit together but now there’s a definite undercurrent of ‘IMPRESS’ happening and a lot less daring each other to do dumb shit that might actually like,, turn out badly? mostly it’s just ‘shit that will make you look stupid and then you’ll do it and you’ll definitely look stupid but it’ll be endearing and i’ll feel all gross and tender and regret it’

and at one point they win a game and nursey basically tackle hugs dex who promptly falls on his ass and literally the FIRST thing dex says is ‘huh i guess i was wrong about cleats keeping you from falling’ and nursey is seriously repressing all of the ‘falling for you’ comments he COULD be making so he’s like ‘well technically you were the one who fell’ and then something in dex’s face changes and he’s like ‘yeah i did’ and it’s probably a little more tender/fond than he intended and nursey internally is like hey what the FUCK was that

they’re definitely lying on the ground in the middle of the field right now. nursey is literally lying on top of dex face to face. it’s extremely gay

(chowder: oh my fucking god)

and of course nursey gets up and holds a hand out to dex to help him up and dex DEFINITELY yanks him onto the ground again and they’re both laughing and roughhousing and the ENTIRE REST OF THE TEAM IS LIKE wow. wow do they. do they realize. do they know what’s happening right now

(they figure it out eventually)

[baragakiscans]

Firstly, sorry for losing the post to your ask! Tumblr shitty UI stuff happened and I accidentally deleted the draft TvT (they should make an option for asks to reappear if the draft answer got deleted or sth smh)

Secondly, IM SO SORRY FOR THE EXTREMELY LONG POST AAAAA

I tried to keep the explanations short like I did for Saraba (even that was pretty long) but then the more I tried the longer it became, and in the end what was supposed to be my take on like 2 pages of this book became this extremely long in-depth analysis of the entire book  _(´ཀ`」 ∠)_  But I mean, I’ve agonised over the translations for this book for almost half a year and I have Lots of Feelings about it because GOD I LOVE THIS BOOK

Anyway, Makkura is another one of those books with a lot of hidden layers that can be unpacked from the story with multiple rereads. Unlike Saraba where some things were intentionally left open to interpretation (I think), though, this book is slightly more straightforward, and I’d like to offer my take on the story.

Long post and Makkura spoilers below the cut!

At the beginning of the story, Gintoki and Hijikata were already dating (secretly-but-not-so-secretly). They’ve clearly been dating for a while now; Hijikata coming over to Gintoki’s place to stay the night (though he’d usually be gone by morning), mayonnaise in the Yorozuya fridge, etc… Though their displays of affection were rather subdued, to the onlooker (and everyone else around them) these two idiots were so obviously crazy in love with each other 💕💕 However, there is something that seems a little… off about their relationship, and this something would have continued lurking in the shadows…

The beginning of the end…?

…Had Gintoki not lost all of his memories of his relationship with Hijikata. Gone was the man who would become agitated at the mere thought of his beloved going into danger; the man before Hijikata now barely knew him, and the thought of dating the Demon Vice Commander would never have crossed his mind.

Imagine waking up to find out that your boyfriend has forgotten all about his relationship with you and makes THIS face at the mere thought of shacking up with you

What Hijikata did next may seem illogical at first (and don’t get me wrong, it really is), but it makes a bit more sense once you realise what exactly was off about their relationship.

You see, Hijikata didn’t think that he was good enough for Gintoki.

If you’re familiar with Syaku’s works, you may have noticed a particular trope being rather common: Hijikata and/or Gintoki falling in love with the other, yet not taking the step forward because they were afraid of getting in the way of the other’s creed—to protect.

Looks familiar? ;)

In Makkura, they did manage to take that step forward (regardless of who made that step first), but even so, there’s always been a niggling doubt somewhere in the back of Hijikata’s mind that maybe—just maybe—Gintoki would be better off without him. Hijikata would do everything in his power to protect the Shinsengumi, and he knows that Gintoki would do the same to protect those he holds dear. It just didn’t occur to him that he was one of them, too. Instead, he was afraid of Gintoki straying from his path because of him.

Gintoki losing his memories was like a wake-up call to Hijikata, that his relationship with Gintoki was too good to be true—and if it will all come to an end eventually anyway, then he should be the one to pull the plug first, especially since the perfect opportunity to reset everything to a clean state has presented itself. He pretended that nothing happened between the two of them. He told Gintoki to “Forget about all this. Everything.” He tried to convince himself that he should make a clean break and completely remove himself from Gintoki’s life, and be content with merely watching from afar.

Maybe Hijikata thought that since he and Gintoki never confirmed their relationship, the people around them will just shrug it off, or won’t notice the change in behaviour. But needless to say, everyone around them immediately noticed that something was wrong. And they even had Hijikata’s inner thoughts all figured out.

The Shinsengumi members know their vice commander too well XD

Even Gintoki himself had managed to put two and two together, but he just couldn’t figure out why he fell in love with the man with whom he always fights like cats and dogs. And since Hijikata himself was so adamant on nothing happening, all he could do was watch as the man-who-is-apparently-his-lover-but-he-somehow-forgot told him to stay out of his way. That’s why, it’s up to everyone else to restore Gintoki’s memories and get these two idiots back together.

While the Yorozuya kids were scrambling to find the antidote, Hijikata opted to go down the slippery slope of self-abandonment by meeting the pervert Bakufu official despite knowing full well what might happen to him. He thought it was all for the sake of the Shinsengumi, but seeing Gintoki down the hallway jolted him back to his senses and made him realise just how wrong he was. He realised the reason why he was actually doing this—to see if Gintoki would come to his aid, to see if Gintoki was still the man he knows and love. He realised that he doesn’t want to give his body to anyone anymore—anyone else, that is. He realised just how truly madly deeply in love he was with Gintoki.

What indeed…

By the time he realised this, though, it already seemed too late; it didn’t seem like Gintoki was going to save him. So, he resolved to keep his memories of Gintoki as a happy dream, and was ready to succumb to despair—when Gintoki finally comes to the rescue! (Not sure if Yamazaki didn’t press the button on purpose here) Of course, Gintoki was pissed off that Hijikata would do something this reckless. So he told Hijikata, “You should treasure yourself more…” (BTW, the original Japanese really only had “You should _______ more…”, I had to fill in the blanks) That’s when Hijikata realised that he was right all along; Gintoki hasn’t changed, even without Hijikata’s memories. And that’s all he needed to know.

And over in this exhibit we have the exact moment when Gintoki fell in love all over again

Right when Gintoki was about to profess his love say something to Hijikata, the kids finally arrive with the antidote! And Sougo even figured out that Gintoki doesn’t really need the antidote anymore since he’s in back in love with Hijikata XD But of course Gintoki wants to remember. Of course he wants to remember all about his time together with the man he now knows he loves. He drinks the antidote—

Ohhhh boy shit’s about to go DOWN

—And we arrive at the emotional climax of the story. Gintoki’s furious—Of course he would be; his lover just tried to erase himself from his life, thinking that it was for his sake! Gintoki thought that Hijikata had underestimated him—in a way, he’s right; Hijikata had underestimated just how much Gintoki needs him. He knew that Gintoki loves him, but he also thought that Gintoki should forsake him for the sake of those he wants to protect.

That’s why Gintoki let Hijikata know just how much he means to him. He has already come to know all of him, so he can’t ever bring himself to let him go. That’s when Hijikata started to realise that he was wrong about Gintoki, and wrong about himself. He meant much more to Gintoki than he ever thought he did.

This led to the one exchange that I wrote out this entire analysis for—

Did I really write 1800 words just for this? Yes. Yes I did.

If Hijikata really meant so much to him, then does that mean Gintoki would have tried to erase himself from Hijikata’s world for his sake, too? Gintoki doesn’t think so, but that’s after everything that has happened so far. Who’s to say he wouldn’t do it if their positions really were reversed at the beginning of the story? They both know that, because they both hold on so dearly to the same beliefs, the same pride.

That led to Gintoki throwing the question back at Hijikata—does that mean Hijikata would fall in love with Gintoki again even without his memories, just like Gintoki did? In asking this, Gintoki was telling Hijikata that, even if he were to do the same, deep down, he would still want Hijikata to fall in love with him again. And that’s when Hijikata realised—it was the same for him, too.

At that point, the two of them came to the same conclusion—neither of them can live without the other anymore. Yet, even if their positions were reversed, they would still have done the same. And even if that were to happen, they would still arrive at this same conclusion. They both love the other too much to let go; yet, they both love the other so much that they’d be willing to let go. Now that they both know this, their bond has become truly unbreakable.

Hijikata’s reply was therefore an affirmation—

“Even so, you’d have done the same. Even so, I’ll still fall in love with you.”

That’s just the way both of them are.

And so, at the end of the story, we now have Gintoki who wants Hijikata to know just how much he loves him (maybe becoming more possessive in the process?), and Hijikata who now knows just how much Gintoki loves him, and has come to forgive himself for loving him. Their relationship is one full of contradictions, yet no matter what happens, they will both find their way back to the place where they belong—in (or should I say on?) each other’s arms.

Look at the how much love there is in Hijikata’s eyes just LOOK AT IT AAAAA

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why Makkura is one of my top Ginhiji doujins of all time! I really really hope that my translation managed to do it justice, and I hope my ramblings were coherent enough TvT 

If you’ve managed to read this far, do give Makkura a reread and you just might see it in a different light ;) Of course, my interpretation might be different from what Syaku intended to present, so feel free to come up with your own interpretations as well!

Also, halfway through writing this I found an analysis by @mugimarumaru over in the MRM comments section, so do check it out as well :>

Thank you for coming to my TED talk and hope you have a nice day~

(I wish I’d put in this much effort in my college essays)

- JJ

(P.S. The REAL question here: if their roles were reversed would that make it a Hijigin book 🤔🤔🤔)

[kiseiakhun]

Fic Writer Interview

I got tagged by @atasteforsuicidal and @do-not-careissa several days ago and LOOK AT ME, I actually remembered to do a tag meme

Name(s): kiseiakhun (tumblr), Kiseia (ao3)

Fandoms: DC. I think I focus mostly on... Titans and Lanterns right now? It depends on my mood tbh. I mean, Titans are forever, but otherwise I jump between which character I Vibe with more at this particular moment. I think most people know me for my Jason Todd writing/Roy Harper meta

Where you post: Ao3, tumblr for little ficlets that I don’t put a lot of thought into. I’ve been meaning to clean them up and toss them on ao3, actually, buuuut I keep forgetting.

Most popular one shot (by kudos): 

overall: take in some oxygen, sad jayroy porn

this year: shove your kiss straight through my chest, aggressive jaykyle porn that involves Kyle brandishing a knife at Jason. I’m very proud of the knife.

Most popular multi-chap (by kudos): 

overall: leave your lights on for me, my jayroykyle wip that actually has the next chapter half-written already, I just need to finish it smh I’m so sorry it’s been so long since my last update ;;

this year: ^ same thing

Favourite story you’ve written so far: drive home to you. It’s mostly an excuse to have an angstfest, but a lot of the story is drawn from things that I’ve witnessed in my own life. Amidst the comments yelling at me for making them sad, there’s a couple peppered in from people who feel Seen in a way that they usually don’t find in fiction. And, you know, I get that. The reason I write is because I’m not finding the types of stories that I want to read.

Plus, for someone who writes mostly pwp, it’s validating to know I still have the skills to make people cry.

Fic you were nervous to post: Hmmmm. HMMM. I would say... oceans between us. Which I meant to finish when I posted it but, smh. The second part is lying around in my wips somewhere. I put a LOT more effort into this fic than I usually do, and I was scared that some elements might not come across the way I’d intended. It’s the first fic that I actually sought out a beta for.

How do you choose your titles?: Sometimes I’d already have a title in mind, or at least a theme that I wanted it to encompass. Like, for leave your lights on for me, I knew I wanted to touch on the element of light, because Kyle was the torchbearer and it’s told from his pov, and like... he’s agonizing over Jason and Roy’s relationship, whether the lights are still on, if he can enter that door. ... more often, though, I finish a fic, go, fuck, and flip through songs until I find a line that can work as a title.

Do you outline?: When I do outline, it’s very loose. For longer works, I do this thing where I sketch out a few scenes that hit the emotional high notes, and then I go in and fill the blanks around them. I... should outline more. It’s a skill that needs practice, but ughhhhh outlines hard ):

Complete: 12

In-progress: 4 on ao3, plus countless wips

Coming soon/not yet started: Hoooooboy. Uhhhh. Okay, let’s see here...

There’s a Kyle/f!Wally fic that’s like. God. 50? 55% done? And it’s already at 30k words. This fucking fic right here would be the reason why I abruptly stopped posting btw, because I thought it would be a SHORT THING for me to get girl Wally out of my system. Smh. Smh!!

Hal/f!Kyle fic where they’re vampire hunters

Stars and Constellations, fab 5 as teen/young adult delinquents. I’ve got one spaqua oneshot up on my ao3 but the main story is... much more involved. And less sexy.

JayKyle except they’re girls and it’s gay. I have like?? Two more scenes to write??? But unfortunately I have no idea wtf those two scenes are so it’s simmering on the backburner for now

So many wips for ttgb. SO MANY.

and many many many other wips that I don’t want to mention in case I get peoples hopes up >.>

Prompts: I mean, people can send them, but generally I have enough of my own projects to keep me busy. There are some prompts in my inbox that I still want to respond to. Unfortunately, I have the memory of a goldfish and my brain is a goddamn sieve

Upcoming work you’re most excited about: The fucking Kyle/f!Wally fic that’s been plaguing me for months. I know it’s not going to garner that much interest because it doesn’t involve any Bats but I... love them. Also pls I’ve been working on it for so long, I just want to be Free

No-pressure tags: I think everyone I know has already been tagged before me, because I’m the slowest ever to respond to these things... oh, @crimeronan this seems like something that would be Your Shit

Edit: also @stvlti ❤️