#was struggling with the posing for an hour hahaha

[vipermenace]

One of the beloved heroes in Halcyon City

[taleasnewastime]

Hello again hehe LOL I thought that little button lead to a very complicated link that would require me to probably code Tumblr all over again LOL don't know why I was so afraid of sending an ask hahaha anyways:

Hello lovely! Hope you're having an amazing day. I love your writing and I feel in love with your 'What if I love you too much' story, I think I relate to OC's overthinking a little bit too much haha (did you took a sneak pick at my mind? Please confess now hehe) so is love to request a drabble of maybe that first date/dinner of them with gorgeous little Zack and maybe Zack is so shy at first and oc is in her head about the whole thing but JK sort of ease them both down with his unlimited chill that he poses in this story, some fluff and all sweetness to heal my broken heart please. If possible? Thank you so much! Lots of love from this over thinking Londoner

Hello!! I hope I'm not too scary, I try not to be anyway. But thanks for asking for WIILYTM requests, and thanks for sending this in! I struggled to start with but in the end I think it's cute so I hope you like it :) Thanks for loving my fic, hope you're doing ok!!

Genre: FLUFF!

Word count: 1.2k

Warnings: Reader is frustrated at Zac, worries, insecurities, same old with this story really

“Zac, I asked you to go brush your teeth.”

You’re being too snappy, taking your nerves out on your son, but Jungkook will be here any minute and you still have one hundred things left to do. The house is a mess, toys everywhere, you haven’t even started thinking about cooking. Though Jungkook said he’d do it all you wanted to at least lay everything out for him so it would be easier. And Zac sat in the middle of the floor playing with his toy’s isn’t helping.

He should have been in bed an hour ago. But your stress coupled with his sixth sense for anything to do with Jungkook has meant he’s still wide awake. At least he’s in his pyjamas.

You manage to ignore him as you head into the kitchen, hoping that by the time you go back out he’ll be upstairs doing what you’ve asked. At this point you’re not even getting much done. The house in a state beyond recovery so soon to Jungkook turning up. It was his suggestion to have your date at home so that you didn’t need to worry about childcare, and though he’d offered to have it at his place, you’d said it would be easier here. Now you wish you’d never said that.

“Zac,” you stop dead in the doorway when you see him still sat playing on the floor. His eyes are wide as he looks up at you, a look that’s trying to show he’s innocent even when you both know he’s not. “What did we agree earlier?”

He looks to be contemplating the question and in this moment you fail to recognise his age and naivety. Frustration takes over. More frustration at yourself for not being more organised and nerves building for your first date with Jungkook.

“You promised that you would go to bed by 7 if I bought you that truck.”

He continues to stare at you with butter wouldn’t melt eyes. But you know you have him.

“Go brush your teeth and I’ll come and read you a story.” He stands, truck still in hand and you add, “Leave the truck here. We can play with it tomorrow.”

It’s the same moment Jungkook decides to turn up. Unaware of the current struggle going on, he does as you asked, knocks lightly on the door to announce his presence and then walks in. In theory it would have been enough to make sure Zac didn’t wake up. But with Zac not even in bed and you attempting to get him to go up, Jungkook’s arrival doesn’t help.

“Jungkook!” The name is screamed in much the same way it always is when coming out of Zac’s mouth.

While you give up, collapsing on the sofa, Jungkook only looks over at you in surprise before looking at the little boy charging towards him with a truck in his hands. He’s better at managing his emotions. You watch as he sets down a bag, bends and easily lifts the little boy who’s not so little anymore. While you always let out a little huff of effort when picking him up, Jungkook lifts him in a way that looks like he weighs nothing.

“Hey Zaccy,” he says, stepping further into the room. “I thought you’d be in bed.”

There’s a beat of silence, Zac’s attention going to his truck which he runs up and down Jungkook’s chest. He’s trying to supress a smile and when Jungkook’s eyes go from your son to you, you can see a similar smile on his own lips. At least someone’s amused by this situation.

“We were just discussing the importance of brushing our teeth, weren’t we?”

Zac’s head snuggles deeper into Jungkook’s chest, continuing to run his toy across Jungkook’s shirt while Jungkook lets out a small chuckle. You shoot him an annoyed look, but he just smiles down at your son.

“I thought something smelt,” he pegs his nose in mock offense. “Is that your breath, Zac?”

Zac giggles, looking up at Jungkook. “No!”

“Phwoar,” Jungkook waves a hand in front of his face, scrunching his face up, getting another giggle from Zac. “It is, isn’t it!” He sets him down on the floor and whilst bent whispers. “Go brush your teeth before your mum gets too upset,” Zac glances at you before looking back at Jungkook, “she’ll come read you a story in a minute.”

“And you?”

“If you go fix your stinky breath I will.”

Satisfied Zac goes running upstairs, truck and all. Jungkook watches him until he’s out of sight and then standing to his full height, turns to look at you.

“I don’t know how you do it,” you admit because that looked way too easy.

He rolls his eyes, walking towards you. “Let’s not pretend it’s not you who’s the hero here.”

“Which reminds me,” you ignore him. “Don’t look at the house. It’s a mess.”

He smiles. “Are you sure?”

He closes his eyes and then carries on walking towards you, stumbling as he goes. His arms go out in front of him as his knees hit the sofa, he falls slowly, his body hovering over you. By the time he opens his eyes you have a smile on your face.

“I meant to clean the house before you got here and at least get some food out, if not start –”

He cuts you off by pressing his lips to yours. Light, but you can still taste like the chocolate he told you he’s obsessed with. He pulls far enough away to look at you.

“I said I’d cook.”

“But I wanted to –”

“And the house isn’t a mess.”

“It’s always a mess.”

“Well, then it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

He smiles as you softly hit his side. He leans down to peck your lips one last time before fully pulling away. Standing above you, he offers you a hand to help you stand up. You want to tell him that this isn’t how you imagined your first date, that you wanted it to be perfect, to have candles lit and Zac tucked away. That you wanted the house clean and something delicious cooking on the hob. But that’s not your life, it’s never been perfect and it’s not about to start now. All your insecurities manifesting and all your worries about what Jungkook might start second guessing about all of this, that he might start to realise this isn’t something he wants.

All of it silenced with another small kiss, a small push towards the stairs and some reassuring words, as if he can read every thought and wants you to know that’s not what he’s thinking at all.

“Go read Zac a story,” Jungkook says. “I’ll get the food on and there’ll be a glass of wine waiting for when you’re back.”

It doesn’t alleviate your worries, but it calms them for the time being. It makes you remember that Jungkook knows what he’s getting into, that he’s here for the whole package.

You smile wider at him, are quick to lean in for one last kiss before you’re heading up the stairs to make sure that Zac is definitely cleaning his teeth.

It may not be the perfect first date for some people, but for you, you can’t think of anything better.

[yuthoe]

Day 6: Muse (MONSTA X: Lee Minhyuk)

REPOST BC IT DIDN'T SHOW UP IN THE TAGS LAST TIME

i was wondering when i'd finally miss a day of this challenge HAHAHA, but here it iiiisssss! today's prompt is

Day 6: Artist & Model

from this prompts list. i cheated a bit, using a short story i submitted to a creative writing class in college, but i edited quite a bit of it (in the original, the guy is bound and the artist is a woman) bc i wanted to make the reader as gender neutral as i could.

this story is kinda my baby, but at the same time im tired of looking at it by myself and letting it rot unseen in my college files lol. it's probably still horrible tho, even if i did get a relatively high grade for that class HAHAHAHA. i'm putting all of it under the cut bc we going RIGHT TO IT

PAIRING: Lee Minhyuk x reader. GENRE: smut (bc there's bondage and ~feelings~), fic. WARNINGS: bondage, ropes, gagging, mild suggestiveness. WORD COUNT: 1,501.

---

Minhyuk loops the rope one last time around your wrists, the white cotton startlingly bright against your skin. The series of crisscrosses start from your elbows down, secured with a small knot you can easily pull on if you want to unravel the whole thing. Your arms are pulled back behind you, looking almost suspended in movement; the rope gives no leeway, no space to move even an inch.

“How is it?” Minhyuk asks, moving on all fours on the bed to check for any signs of discomfort on his friend’s face. It’s almost a relief to be looking away from the ropes, if he’s being honest. If he weren’t so worried about this being your first time with bondage, he’d probably just sit there and stare at the intersecting lines and patterns the ropes make, the way they dig into the plush of your arms. “Are you good?” he asks again, swallowing.

You shift and squirm, the sheets rustling underneath you as you adjust your position. You open and close your hands, move your shoulders to try and dislodge the ropes, but they won’t budge. While Minhyuk was securing you in the bond, you didn’t feel a pull at all—he was very gentle, and you were even worried the ties would be a little loose.

Obviously, that isn’t the case now, as here you are—donning shorts and a tank top, a gag in your mouth, and your arms securely tied at your back.

Your eyes meet Minhyuk’s and you nod, impressed and a little scared that your friend group’s resident funny man is the kinkiest person you know because, with the way the ropes are tied, the way he walked you through the whole process… it’s like he’s done it before, and multiple times.

But while the sudden realization is scary, it is also very, very hot, so you’re not complaining.

“All right, just stay like that,” Minhyuk says, and you watch him hop off the bed and scurry to the corner of the room to drag the broken-in armchair across the floor. He shifts it this way and that, just out of your field of vision, miniscule adjustments that he insists helps him sketch better. It isn’t the first time you’ve modeled for your partner, so this is all familiar territory.

The ropes and the cloth between your teeth are new, though.

You inhale deeply. Exhale. You try to make yourself comfortable in the pose Minhyuk directed you into, sitting with one leg tucked underneath the other like a mermaid. You’re definitely gonna be sore later.

The springs squeak in the armchair, and you see Minhyuk tucking himself into the seat while flipping to an empty page on his sketchbook. You ground yourself on the familiar sight; he really is pretty, with the sharp jaw and piercing eyes. Sometimes you wonder what it would be like to have any artistic talents, so you could draw him too. Alas, the best you can do to replicate his image is a stick man.

“You still good, Y/N?” he asks, and without waiting for an answer, starts sketching. You hear the faint scratches of the pencil on paper, some light and long, some quick and short with a fuller sound.

It’s quiet, as Minhyuk is always quiet when he draws. He told you once that the silence is calming, the sounds of nature and graphite on paper helping him concentrate. You don’t know how long it’s been since he started sketching—your phone is on the desk at the opposite wall, and the clock’s batteries have run out.

The rhythmic scratching of Minhyuk’s sketching overtakes your senses, makes you doze off. You only notice when you start drooping forward, and you have to stop yourself from plummeting face-first into the mattress.

You shake your head, shift slightly to wake yourself up, and—oh.

Shivers wrack your body. Your arms, stiff with disuse, tingle as the ropes dig into your flesh, and you tense as if trying to break free of the bonds. You feel the resistance of the rope and try to breathe in deeply, keeping the oxygen in your lungs before breathing out slowly. Your back curves forward as you exhale and you struggle keeping in the moan that threatens to erupt from the feel of the rope.

Minhyuk notices the movement and pauses his sketching, moving his canvas out of the way to peek at you. “You okay there, Y/N?”

You take in another deep breath and nod frantically, still facing the direction of the desk, still sitting there how he wants, obedient and pliant.

The next thing you know, the hair that’s fallen into your face is brushed away, and you lift your head to meet Minhyuk’s concerned face. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

A shaky nod.

“Really?”

Another nod, more resolved.

“We can stop if you want.”

You shake your head.

Minhyuk purses his lips, weighing whether or not to continue, and you feel a little guilty for worrying him, but you’re overwhelmed!

Finally he sighs. “Think you can wait like, five minutes? I’m almost done, babe.”

You let out a muffled “mhm”.

As soon as Minhyuk steps off the bed, you take another deep breath to compose yourself.

God, his fingers in your hair felt nice. Has it really been that long since you had any physical contact? It took everything in you to not lean into his touch, to not let out a sound, to not disobey him and keep still.

You close your eyes and crack your stiff neck, trying to relax once again. You will your breathing to slow and your body to move back into position, long enough for Minhyuk to finish the sketch. But with each second that passes, with each scratch of graphite that reaches your ears, it gets harder and harder to keep composed.

You can feel yourself sweat, and your thighs are shaking and tired from keeping your position. The rope restricting you feels tighter, its fibers digging into your skin—or is that just your imagination? Has it been five minutes or five hours? You’re not sure.

You take another breath—Is Minhyuk done yet?

The bed dips and you open your eyes. Minhyuk’s dark brown eyes look back at you, satisfied and grateful.

“You were really good, baby, thank you,” he says softly. A hand cups the back of your head and the other pulls down the cloth gag, leaving it to hang around your neck. Minhyuk leans forward and quickly kisses you on the lips.

“Can I get out of these now?” you said, voice hoarse and scratchy from disuse. You try swallowing spit, but it only makes your mouth drier.

Minhyuk snorts. “The sketch looks great, thanks for asking,” he jokes and rolls his eyes. “No joke, though, you look really beautiful like this.” He slowly, gently lifts you up, giving your aching thighs a reprieve and settling you on his lap. You feel his warm hands rub and massage your tender flesh as he smiles at you. “Kinda wanna just have my way with you right now.”

You whine, “You’re killing me here!” and he just answers with a laugh. You squirm, trying to loosen the ropes, but your muscles are jelly. You’re still wound up from being in the ropes too long; you just want to get out of them and hold him again, press kisses into his face and run your hands through his silky hair.

Minhyuk isn’t helping either—his hands are everywhere, squeezing at your waist, running over your still trapped arms, cradling your neck, slipping under your shirt. His lips are at your neck, pressing kisses up your jaw and your ears, further amplifying your need to just touch with your own two hands.

Is this what the girls feel like in all those pornos? The heat, the haze, the feeling of feeling everything and nothing at the same time?

“Man, you knew what you were doing when you asked me to model for you,” you say, voice catching on a moan as he lightly nips at your ear.

Minhyuk chuckles and pulls away, smooths a thumb across your lip. You tremble in his hold. “So…? Wanna have a go? We can just try it out, but if you want to stop in the middle, we’ll stop.”

Would you even want to, though? In the event that you say yes and play out a scene, would you really, voluntarily choose to stop?

Do you want to get out of these ropes? Yes. But do you also want to see what Minhyuk is going to do with you in these ropes?

… Also yes.

There isn’t a doubt right now that you’re really, really absurdly curious as to what Minhyuk has planned for you.

You take a deep, shaky breath and lick your lips, anticipation clear in your eyes. “Okay,” you say, letting him take the reins. But still, you press closer and give him a kiss as you whisper, “I’m all yours.”

[jjuzoir]

Could I get some first kiss headcanons with Summer troupe? They're my faves and I absolutely adore each of them!

Request:

A/N: i get you anon,, they’re so cute;; summer group filled with softies

——🌻——

Summer Troupe First Kiss HC!

Tenma:

- You two were hanging out at the park near the dorms!

- It was a sunny summer day, summer break had just started and the sun seemed brighter than ever in the clear blue sky.

- Tenma had bought you two some ice cream and now you laid on the soft, watered grass protected from the sun under a big tree.

- “Can’t believe you didn’t want vanilla, [Name]- you can’t go wrong with vanilla,” Tenma rolled his eyes at you while shoving a big scoop of ice cream into his mouth.

- “And I can't believe you chose vanilla when they had like, I don’t know, a thousand different flavors?!” You snorted, “Vanilla is for the basic bitches, Sumeragi.”

- “H-Hey! It might be basic but it tastes good.”

- “Oh, really? Then let me taste it,” you prop yourself up in one arm and look up at him.

- He smirked slightly before picking his plastic spoon- one fittingly orange- and scooping out a big chunk of vanilla before nodding along with your plans.

- “Fine but give me your spoon,” he rolls his eyes as he shoves another spoonful into his mouth but a small drip had fallen from the corner of his lips to his chin.

- Then, you attack; you go kiss him smack straight in the lips aiming at the melted sweet.

- You pull away before nodding in agreement; the vanilla ice cream really was as good as he said.

- The kiss tasted of cold, ice cream and sweet vanilla plus the hint of lip balm added a sweeter feeling of lemons to the mix.

- And that’s how you had your first kiss with Tenma, who in the end, turned so red everyone around you two though he had a heat stroke.

——🌻——

Yuki:

- You were helping him with the costumes for the newest Winter troupe costumes late at night.

- Sakyo and Izumi were making rounds at his room to make sure you didn’t do anything stupid but it was already 11PM on a Sunday night and you both had school early tomorrow so que whining from you and scolding from Yuki.

- “Can’t we put it on hold, Yuki? We’ve got school tomorrow, we can’t skip or-“

- “Stop complaining and sew those buttons,” Yuki rolled his eyes at you before redirecting his focus on the sewing machine in front of him.

- “B-But it’s so late! You have to be kidding me,” you rub your eyes tiredly, “W-What about that skin-shit you’re always complaining about?!”

- “We need to have these done by Tuesday, [Name], we can’t stop now.”

- “Yes we can, instead of working now and possibly screwing up why don’t we just finish it up in the morning!”

- “Because.”

- “You can’t just say because!”

- “Less complaining, more sewing.”

- You huff annoyed before continuing sewing the buttons on Hisoka’s blazer, fucking Yuki and his need to get things done fast!

- “What if,” you mutter under your breath, “I give you something in return for my sleep?”

- “Gah, stop-“ Yuki blinks slowly as your words settle in, “What could you possibly give me that would make me wanna stop now?”

- You stand up, leaving the materials- especially the needles- in place before skipping behind Yuki’s chair and hugging him from behind.

- “A hug-?!” He goes to mock your choice before being cut off by your lips giving him a quick peck.

- “No, a kiss!”

- “A KISS?!”

- Congratulations! You’ve managed to corrupt Yuki to the point of shortwiring, he’s now malfunctioning :(

- His lips were soft, he tasted of coffee- probably from the 3 cups he had drowned that evening….

- You felt him attempt to kiss you back but before anything could happen you pulled away smirking.

- He’s now red in the face, a red as bright as the fabric he was using as he tried not to squeal in shock.

- “So, can we please bring Muku in and go to sleep?”

- “... Fine but you tell anyone about it- Ack!”

- You shut him up with another kiss on the lips, but this time- you could feel him kiss you back properly.

——🌻——

Muku:

- It was during one of your anime marathons!

- One of just favorite series had finally gotten its long awaited anime adaptation, and through a rough month of no-spoilers you two had finally gotten together to binge watch it all.

- It was another romance anime, one of the millions that Muku had read throughout his short life- but you had to admit that even if it was kind of cheesy it still somehow made your heart race.

- By the end of the penultimate episode it was already 2 in the morning on a Friday night and sleep was crawling unforgivably into your brain.

- “Muku… how many episodes… left?”

- He yawned before looking at the list, “I think… one?”

- “Already?!” You gasp shocked before sitting up, okay- you can do it! 25 minutes, no ads- you could do it, right! Right?... Oh no… you’re falling asleep!

- You pinch yourself awake, come on!!! It was getting good!! The protagonists were finally kissing after being apart for years!!!

- Muku was your struggle against sleep and laughed to himself before covering his mouth in fear of hurting your feelings.

- Just then, he remembered a scene you two had previously watched… episode 17, where the boy kissed the girl awake after she had fallen asleep in the library… could he do so too?

- A pink rivaling that of his hair crept into his cheeks- what if you hated it though? What if he smelled bad? Or if he was a bad kisser??

- He was too caught up in his mental-torture session he didn’t realize you sneaking up on him and kissing his lips.

- He felt your lips touch his and his eyes opened wide, you had done it!! Did this mean you liked him- wait, did you like it?? He liked it but that doesn’t mean you did too-

- “A-Ah! [Name],” he shrieked as the blush deepened, he touched his lips- he could still feel yours in them.

- At least now he didn’t have to worry about messing up, “Thank you, hehe.”

——🌻——

Misumi:

- You were helping him on one of his triangle hunts when you two had your first kiss.

- He had insisted you two go to the park nearby since, and I quote, “Had heard the crows talk about triangular treasure!”

- So, 2 hours into the hunt and you were exhausted from attempting to keep up with Misumi and his treasure hunt.

- “Oh my… it’s too hot for this, Misumi,” you rest your body on the ground.

- “Nope! We’re not leaving until we find the Super Rare Ultra Triangle Treasure!”

- You sigh tiredly and close your eyes before waving the blue haired boy off , “Give me 5 minutes.”

- “Okay but I am not gonna share the treasure with you,” he jokes before practically disappearing from the air.

- You turn around in the soft grass, it felt so nice against your skin- you wondered if you could find some water or something cold.

- You opened your eyes only to find a small cart stationed near the edge of the park; a shaved ice cart!

- You practically jump in line and count your money, you’d order two and bribe Misumi into coming home by asking it to be triangle shaped!

- And by the time Misumi came to drag you back to the hunt you had two shaved ice cream in your boyfriend’s favorite shape!

- “You found the treasure!!”

- He jumps you with a hug and takes the cone into his hands and takes the biggest bite ever.

- “And what’s my reward, Misumi-kun?”

- “Reward… reward, what could [Name] want for finding the ultra rare super triangle?”

- You smile at his scrunched up face, he looked so cute concentrating like that you could help yourself from kissing him.

- He’s shocked at first, he quickly smiles into your lips before kissing you back.

- “I’m fine with that.”

- “Hahaha, me too~”

——🌻——

Kazunari:

- You two were shopping for supplies to help Kazu for his next assignment, some weird yarn or whatever art students needed, when you found a photobooth.

- “Yah, let’s get some dope pics!”

- “I’m not feeling too well, Kazunari,” you shyly deny him but he doesn’t listen- or maybe he just doesn’t care- because he’s soon shoving you into the seat before you can hear his reply.

- “It’s just for you and me, ain’t no one gonna see ‘em,” he smirked before inserting some coins, “Let’s see, how should we pose for the first one, eh?”

- “Maybe a heart? I-I don’t know, I’m not good with- Ah!”

- Before you can finish your thought when you hear the countdown starting, you quickly rest your arms next to Kazunari forming a big heart; an eye-smile follows and boom! First picture done!

- “Kay, next! Maybe some peace signs?”

- “Oh- uh, sure? It’s starting,” you quickly pose and you feel Kazunari’s arms circle your waist and boom!

- “Second pic’s done,” Kazunari smiles, “But I can't think of what to do for the last two- oh, it’s starting, any ideas-!!”

- You panic and simply kiss him on the lips, that’s a good picture… right?

- By the time you hear the camera click Kazu pulls away blushing a deep red, how the turned tables have oh.

- Before any of you two can think of another pose a photo is taken where your boyfriend’s blushing red and you’re smirking up at him in victory.

- “Guess I came up with the best picture idea, ha!”

[primus3510]

The Fight For Wanting to Be a Light Side

Here it is guys!! The second fan fiction!! I hope you guys like it! I am sorry that it is so long and really angsty but, none the less, I am proud of this. 

The Fight For Wanting to Be a (Caught) Light Side 

Summary: Remus gets mad at his brother, Roman for not letting him be a light side. Remus kidnaps his brother so he could take place of him as #1. The sides figure out about Remus’s actions and go and try to save Roman. Happy ending 

Genre: angst / action 

Warnings: hunger mention, kidnap, Remus (not nearly as bad as the video) , restraints, injuries, 

“Remus, you can not be a light side!” Roman yelled at his brother. They had been arguing for the past hour and Roman was starting to get tired of it. 

“Why?! Because you hate me? Because....”

“No! Because Roman, Virgil and Patton don’t know you as well as I do. Plus I am older than you and I said so.” Roman ended the conversation by sinking out, going back to light sides where he would probably rant to Patton about the whole thing. 

Remus crossed his arms in frustration. Yes he was Thomas’s intrusive thoughts and yes, he wasn’t the best at being good but...the light sides seemed to love each other like family. Deceit hated him because of the past pranks and scares he had played on him. Now Deceit was a non social snake boy who was always in his room, unless he was scheduled to appear for a video. 

Suddenly an idea popped in Remus’s rotten brain. Tomorrow...no...tonight, he would kidnap his brother and transform into his brother, taking his place. The light sides would never find out and he could be a light side forever! Yes. That was the plan. 

Roman did not remember locking his door, neither did he remember his door only being locked from the outside. He didn’t remember falling asleep last night with his wrists chained to the legs of his bed and ankles tied together. Neither did he remember his room being painted green and hinted with the smell of dead fish. 

It popped into his head. He was in Remus’s room.

Roman tried to pull at the chains that chained his wrists together but the more he struggled, the tighter they became. The restraints dug into his wrists, making it painful. Roman looked for his sword to cut himself free, but it was nowhere in sight. Red marks appeared at his wrists, and Roman was pretty sure they would turn into blisters if he kept resisting. 

“REMUS!” No response. “REMUS! GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE!” Still no response. 

He brought his knees up to his chest and tried to use his hands to tear the duck tape that Remus had used. With no prevail, he gave up on trying for now. He would have to wait for the other light sides to find him and cut him free. 

“Roman!” Thomas summoned Roman/Remus. 

“Yes Thomas?” Roman/Remus responded, a giant grin spread across his face. “In my opinion, I am all you need because I am your creativity.”

“Well of course you are. Why exactly are you…” 

“Oh so that is not what you were asking. Oh....okay whatever.” Roman/Remus raised his hand summoning Patton, Logan, and Virgil. 

“Hey Roman!” Patton smiled as he raised a cup of tea to his mouth, his cat onesie wrapped around his neck like usual. 

“Hi Patton, Virge, and Lo! I just wanted you three here because I think Thomas was going to get mad at me if I didn’t summon you.” Roman/ Remus said. 

“No that’s not true.” Thomas stated. “Why would you think that?”

“He is probably joking, Thomas. You know him.” Logan joined in, pushing his black glasses back on to his face. He was in his usual black T with a blue neck tie. 

“I think what he means is that Roman just said something that was kind of worrying. I mean, why would he say something like that?” Virgil had his arms crossed and glared at Roman/Remus from across the room. The usual patched up hoodie fell slightly off his shoulders, showing the ripped, purple T-shirt underneath. 

“I mean I just say what I say right? I am allowed to after all. I’m your creativity!!” Roman/Remus raised his hands up into the hair in the classic Roman pose. 

“You don’t need to keep saying that, kiddo. We all know that already.” Patton corrected. 

“Yes, why do you need to keep repeating that?” Logan asked. 

Roman/Remus hoped that the other sides didn’t see the nervousness inside of him. He could hear his heartbeat in his head. 

After the conversation/argument ended, Roman/Remus sunk down and joined the rest in the commons. It was nice hanging out with the light sides. Roman/Remus went straight to his room, or Roman’s room. It had white walls with a window on the opposite wall. A bed took up most of the space of the room, but left just enough space for a dresser and a TV. 

This is going to be nice, he thought. He transformed back into his Remus self, the usual black outfit and green sash. 

“Did you guys notice anything different about Roman?” Virgil asked. He was getting anxious, well...more anxious than usual, about the conversation they had had that day. 

“Yeah, I sensed it too.” Patton said. “But maybe Roman was just having one of those days.” Patton was sitting next to Virgil on the couch reading a book he had summoned. 

“Roman doesn’t usually repeat himself like that though, so I agree with Virgil.” Logan stated, not looking up from the informational, astronomy book on the dining room table. 

“OH MY GOSH!” Virgil shouted. It had hit him. 

“Are you okay Virgil?” Patton said, his worried tone very noticeable. 

“What if Remus had taken Roman’s spot? Doesn’t that make sense? Quote and quote Roman was acting strange. He kept repeating that he was creativity. Remus was just trying to get us to think that he was the real Roman!” 

“That does make sense, but if Remus were to keep Roman somewhere where he couldn’t interfere, where would he keep Roman?” Logan asked, unsure of Virgil’s hypothesis. 

“His room.” Virgil answered. He looked over at Patton and noticed a worried expression on Patton’s face. 

“Are you okay, Patton?” 

“What?” Patton looked up from fidgeting with his finger nails. “Yeah, I am fine. Just nervous about what Remus would do to Roman...and what his room would look like.”  

“Patton, you have met him before and plus, who cares what his room looks like?” 

Patton takes a deep breath. “Okay, we can go into Remus’s room as long as we stay together and we don’t get caught.” 

“Wait, so we are going to Remus’s room? Oh my gosh, this is going to be so creepy.” Virgil ignores Logan’s complaint and transports all three of them to Remus’s room...in the Dark Side of the Mind Palace. 

It was boring, chained to a bed, nothing to entertain yourself with. Roman was also very hungry. His stomach raged inside of him, because he had not eaten since that morning and now it was almost noon.  

If only you had just asked the rest of the light sides if Remus could be a light side… 

The thought made Roman anxious and doubt himself. Maybe this was all of his fault. The reason he was going to starve to death in Remus’s room was because of one stupid want of his brother’s. If only he had just said yes, and then solved it out later with the rest of the light sides. 

A sudden click disrupts him from his thoughts. He looked at the door and noticed that the door was unlocked. It probably just Remus. Then the door opened and in stepped Virgil, Logan, and Patton. Roman can feel his heart do a somersault. 

“ROMAN!” Patton whisper yelled, a smile spread across his face. He then noticed the restraints on Roman’s wrist and ankles. 

“Oh no, what did he do to you?” 

“Save the story for later. Let’s just focus on getting you out of here.” Virgil rushed over to Roman and started to pick at the duck tape. Soon enough, the duck tape was weak enough to be ripped, freeing his ankles. 

“Now we have the chains. How are we supposed to handle those?” Logan asked. Logan was standing at the door, standing guard over the area, in case Remus sensed their presence. 

“Roman are you able to summon anything?” Patton asked, a hopeful expression crossing his face. Roman scrunched his face up and tried to no prevail. 

“Look for Roman’s sword. See if it is in here somewhere.” Virgil said. 

“Guys? Remus is_” Logan was interrupted by Remus pushing again the door trying to get in. Logan tried to block the door with his whole body while Virgil and Patton searched frantically for the sword. 

“FOUND IT!” Virgil shouted. He raced from the opposite side of the room to Roman’s side. The sword cut through the chains like butter. 

“Thanks now let’s get out of here.” Roman said, grabbing his sword from Virgil and racing to the door to help Logan. But he was too late. Logan gets pushed into the wall with a grunt, and Remus walks in. 

“What are you guys doing with my brother? I am not afraid,” he pulls out his weapon, “to do it.” 

Virgil steps forward. “You took him from us, you idiot. You think we weren’t gonna come after him? You’re wrong.” 

“HAHAHA! You are funny Virgil. You know, you are a lot less scary than you used to be. What happened to you Virgey? Did the lighties get in your head?” 

Virgil’s fist landed on Remus’s cheek faster than any of the others, even Remus, could react.

“Ohh so you are going to play that game.” Remus, seemingly not bothered by the hit, summoned a sword, replacing his usual, and charged. Roman managed to block it in time. He pushed up against Remus’s sword. 

“Get out of here, NOW!” he yelled. 

“But we can’t leave you here! You’re the whole reason we came…” Patton said. His eyes seemed to be shiny, and a tear ran down his cheek. 

“Come on Patton, we have to go. Roman will catch up later.” Virgil said. 

“Yes. Come on Patton.” Logan added. He seemed to have recovered, except a hand crossed across his midsection. 

As the three ran out of the room, Remus planted a kick to Roman’s stomach, forcing all of the air out of Roman. Roman quickly recovered, gathering all of his strength and bolted for Remus, guarding his face with his sword. Remus swung, but Roman managed to block the swing and run out the door. He made it 10 steps out the door when something wrapped around his foot, tripping him. A summoned chain had come out of nowhere and wrapped around him, connecting his foot to the floor. 

“HAHAHA! Roman Roman Roman, my brother. You are so pathetic.” Remus’s voice came from behind him. Roman turned to lay on his back and swiped his sword at the chain. The chain didn’t break. He swiped it again, this time breaking it. Roman stood up quickly, swiping his sword, which scraped Remus’s cheek, leaving a gash. He ran for it, watching for any traps near his feet. 

Remus swiped hand summoning a net. Roman’s reaction was too slow for the net, at wrapped around him, trapping him. The net was tied to the low ceiling. 

“Darn you, you son of a_” 

“Roman! Please don’t use that language. You are a prince, aren’t you? Plus that’s my thing.” Remus said with a false begging tone. 

“Shut up, and let me out of here, please. I just want to go back with my friends. We can talk about you becoming one of us…” He had dropped his sword when the net had picked him up. Roman cursed himself inside for being so idiotic. 

Remus stepped up to Roman’s face so he was face level with the Prince. 

“You know, this could have all been avoided if you had just let me be a light side, Roman.” Suddenly, a surge of pain surged through Roman as Remus sliced Roman on the stomach with his sword. The once white shirt now turned a sickly red. 

“You piece of_” 

“Now, now, Roman, no need to get butt hurt over such a little scratch.” Remus’s eyes were full of hatred and longing; longing to be a light side. He dropped to his knees and picked up Roman’s sword. 

“Maybe if I just get rid of you, then I can be you forever.” He made an X shape with the two swords and put up to Roman’s neck....and sliced. 

But Roman was too quick for Remus. He ducked allowing the net to get slice in half. He hurried out of the net and ran as the adrenalyn flowed through his system. Roman quickly sank down and into the Light Side commons before Remus could produce another trick. 

Patton paced across the floor, tears rolling down his face as he thought of the many different ways Roman can get either hurt or even killed. 

“Hey now, Patton.” Patton can feel Virgil pull Patton into a hug to comfort. Patton can feel Virgil’s hand shaking but didn’t care to take it into consideration. Patton can hear Logan walking over to them and joining the group hug of sorrow and worry. 

Out of nowhere, the sound of a side rising up sliced through the silence. Logan, Patton and Virgil turned to see a tired and injured Roman standing near the dining table. 

“ROMAN!” Patton squealed with joy as he ran to give Roman a big hug. Roman cringed as the pain of his injuries surged as soon Patton made contact. 

“Oh my, you’re…” Virgil started to say. His face switched from joy to a face full of worry.  

“Yeah I know.” 

“We should maybe get you healed up first before any celebratory things happen.” Logan said, the hint of a smile crossing his face.  

“I think that is a good idea.” Patton added with a grin still hinting on his face. “But we are glad you made it back.” 

“Thanks Patton, all of you.” Roman smiled tiredly, happiness finally taking over after all that had happened.

Later: 

“Remus, you are not allowed back at the light sides ever again.” Virgil scolded. 

“HAHA! You’re so funny, Virgil. I can never be gone fully, so bye for now!!” 

[s-nebul0sa]

Sorry I didn’t get to this sooner! I wanted to do this on my laptop though because it’s so long I didn’t want to post it without a ‘read more’ part. Thanks for asking though! (And your patience)

I went ahead and skipped the ones I had already answered or really didn’t feel comfortable answering/even thinking about.

3. Do you miss anyone?

I kinda miss my little sister and my mom a bit. But that’s just because today is one of those days, you know…

5. Is there anyone who can always make you smile?

My sister. And my best friend too usually

11. Are you listening to music right now?

Yes. I was about to write but then I got distracted. Oops. I’ll get back to it once this list is done. (If I can decide which fic to work on… eternal struggle)

13. How do you feel right now?

Better than a few hours ago. Like, not bad but not great either. So, okay I guess? Decent?

17. Opinion on insecurities

This is a really weird question. Like, opinion on insecurities in general? Because really, I don’t have a strong opinion on the matter, never really thought about it. Everyone has insecurities and I don’t really know what I should think about it other than that it’s okay to have them…

21. Age and birthday?

23 and in July

23. Fears?

So many. The dark. Heights. Insects and spiders. Being left behind (as in, everyone moving on with their life and getting jobs and relationships and houses and kids and me being stuck where I am or something). Losing friends (though that would require me making some (more)). Dogs, even though I don’t want to be scared of them.

25. Role model

I’ve never really had a role model. Or acknowledged that I maybe unconsciously have one? 

27. Things I hate

People who get all up in my personal space (without me knowing them well enough or giving them permission). People who get angry at me or immediately assume I mean stuff in a bad way even if I am very careful about the way I say stuff because I know they’ll think I’m attacking them even when I’m not (maybe it’s the way I say stuff?). People who immediately ask about my love life within a few minutes. (I hate a lot of people hahaha, oops?) The fact that food goes bad because it requires so many planning skills and actual control over life to not let stuff spoil… Doing laundry.

31. 3 random facts

Facts about me?

1. I have sore muscles everywhere right now. Everything, except my abs hurts. I spent yesterday pulling out carpet that was glued to the floor and that’s hard work man. 2. I sleep with a stuffed animal, always. Bring one on vacation with me too. And I have another one on my couch so if I take a nap or start to feel bad, I don’t have to move to get my stuffed animal. They also double well as a pillow.  3. I have more books I haven’t read than ones I did read…

33. Something you want to learn

To draw figures and poses (and simple faces) so I can draw supercorp 😋😋

(Or to love myself but I’ll stick with the more realistic goal)

35. Favourite subject

Err… High school subject? While I was in high school? Biology or PE (because PE just didn’t require us to do homework)

37. Favourite actor/actress

I think that’s obvious…

41. Relationship status

Who cares? (single, though)

45. How you found out about your idol

I’d seen ‘A princess for Christmas’ a long while back and, though I didn’t realise it then, I totally already loved Katie. It was the only Christmas movie I really liked and that I wouldn’t have minded watching again. But, because I was unaware and my mom recorded it and deleted it, I forgot about it. Then I started watching Supergirl and suddenly there she is, on my screen. I didn’t make the connection until I looked her up and that’s when it clicked. Also because I was realising more about me being maybe more into girls than guys and then I started watching SDCC clips and joined a group chat and brought my tumblr back to life (not necessarily in that order, I don’t remember) and now we’re here….

51. Starsign

(*Googles what a starsign is*) Oh! Just my sign.. right…

Cancer

53. 5 things that make me happy

Family

Friends

Reading

Writing

Comments on my writing and replies to comments I leave on other people’s writing

57. Favourite animal(s)

I have many and none at the same time. I’m really bad at favourite anythings because I can never decide. I like turtles and foxes and dolphins and deer and little birdies and fish and mammals and reptilians (hehe)

[aboutsixplums]

We have a client who’s like. Tiptoeing along the deep end. Long post to rant about it.

Older lady, very sweet but always a little dotty. When I first started one of her Shih Tzus got very ill and shortly died of myesthenia gravis, and the client, Ms L, announced that there would be a Celebration Of Life party for Wee. Sure, sounds nice, we said. At your clinic!! she said. ...What. A couple days after the dog died she & her (beleaguered) husband showed up at the clinic with food and a lot of wine, which she insisted everybody drink with such force and increasing franticness that we all took a small sip to appease her (it was like noon on a weekday. still had seven hours of the day to get through, we can’t get sloshed, lady!!). And then she said that everybody had to share a favorite memory of Wee. Me, a meager 2 months’ employment under my belt: haha what is this normal Anyway. After Wee died she got HYPER-FOCUSED on the remaining dog, Lyssie, the focus increasing with time, and for the past ~18 months we have seen Lyssie at least monthly for full exams to ensure her health. We quickly realized we need to block off a full hour for these exams. There is nothing that God himself could do to expedite the process. And you know, the dog’s a geriatric Shih Tzu, so she’s not healthy. Actually the release of Claro helped speed the exam process up bc with regular applications her ears finally stopped being lichenified and coated in measurably thick yeast crusts, and Cytopoint has been even more helpful in cutting down the amount of time Ms L spends detailing which body part she’s chewing at what time for how long. One of the dog’s problems is chronic pancreatitis and about two weeks ago she did hit a rough patch where it flared up. Anorexic, painful, vomiting bile, etc. We happened to have ultrasound in & Ms L insisted on a scan to ensure no other problems, found none, so we slapped her on an IV to rehydrate, gave Cerenia, pain meds, etc. Went home that night looking much better, had a quick (ish) recheck next morning & clinically was much improved, no further hosp needed. Except Ms L decided this last flare-up was A Signal Of The End. We’d told her to give oral Cerenia for a few days, but she said nonono, she can’t pill her and she spits out food with hidden pills. Okay, we said, bring her in and we’ll pill her. That triggered a weird tearful/angry tirade about how the struggle to pill her will break her back and paralyze her so we’re like...okay...we can do it injectably, but it stings badly, so we want to give a little LRS bubble first, so instead of being pilled she will get 2 needle sticks. This somehow was more appealing to Ms L, so, fine. Then it gets to be like day 5 of this--and the client being who it is, this is not a two-minute process, it’s taking 15 minutes each morning to do this--and I’m like hahaha why are we still doing this?? Is the dog not improved?? Bc the dog looks--not great, she’s a lump-ridden yeasty bow-legged dry-eye geriatric dog, but--clinically well, BAR, trotting around, tail wagging, Ms L says eating good, etc. And then in talking to Ms L, I realize she genuinely believes if the dog does not get Cerenia (”shmeenya”) and Buprenex (”poopinex”) every day, she will die. This is a cold-hearted convinction, actually worrying in its intensity. And every morning me & the other techs have to listen to her quaver that she “looks into her eyes and sees pain, just excruciating pain” and in the next breath, like it’s news I’ve been waiting for, “her bowels are well-oiled” and I finally tell doc YOU HAVE TO HAVE A TALK WITH THIS LADY. She gave me a copy of her all-day schedule with the dog, which is planned not to the minute but to the hour. She literally spends all day following immediately behind the dog, fussing, trying to make her drink fennel tea. It goes on. The daily shmeenya injections continued, and by Saturday the dog was getting really sore from all the pokes and was starting to yelp when stuck for the LRS, and that was making Ms L mad bc she thought we were being rough with the dog. I did explain firmly to her that I was very sorry but the dog’s skin is sore from all these shots, and there is nothing I can do to make it less painful, so she had to make peace with the fact that the dog has to experience a moment of discomfort to receive comfort later on. On Mon doc told me to get her in for a QOL discussion, except I couldn’t phrase it that way or she’d wig, so I bullshitted something about “how we as a team can be aware of her health.” She came in that afternoon and THE NEXT MORNING THERE SHE IS ON THE SCHEDULE FOR ANOTHER SHMEENYA INJECTION and talking to her was no different. The dog’s bouncing around the lobby and Ms L’s telling me how she went through her stool for blood and found none and this morning she burped after eating her egg and what does THAT mean and I’m not getting paid enough for this nonsense. Doc told me that Ms L was defensive from the start at the QOL appt. Doc’s goal had been to get her to realize that clinically the dog is doing very well, and to tactfully pose the question If you truly believe she is in unbearable pain 24 hours per day, why are you keeping her alive? But she said Ms L believed she was being accused of taking poor care of her old dog, and nothing doc said could get her away from that. The shmeenya injections continued until this morning when, bless, there was a voicemail when I got in from Ms L that the “liquid cherry shmeenya” (from Stokes) was “a godsend” and “even though it makes Lyss smack her lips” she thinks it’s easier than the injections. So thank CHRIST doc managed to convince her to try that bc even though I’m sure we’re gonna keep getting daily phone call updates at least we’ve eliminated the injection/bowel discussion from our morning routine. I did, at one point, encounter her poor husband when he came in later in the day to pick up the dog’s armada of treats. “How are you holding up?” I asked him. He looked me dead in the eye and though he spoke no words, we communicated on a spiritual level. “Yeah,” I said. “Hope it gets better soon.”

[kayliemusing]

15

Do you usually sleep with your closet door open or closed? - Technically open, but it’s usually open by just a crack.

Do you take the shampoos and conditioner bottles from hotels? - No

Have you ever ‘done it’ in a hotel room? - No

Where is your next vacation? - I think my mom, sister and I are planning to go to Disneyland soon but we have to wait until all of this covid nonsense is over.

Have you ever stolen a street sign before? - No and why would you do that??

Who do you think reads these? - No one on my blog.

Do you have a calendar in your room? - No, but I used to!

Where are you? - on my couch 

What’s your plan for the day? - It’s nearly 7 pm so I’ll just rehash my not-exciting day. I woke up at 6, got to work at 8, got off work at 12, decided to go to the dollarstore but car got stuck in the snow for a panicking 30 seconds, we (i was with the sis) went to the dollarstore and grabbed some candy and went home. I watched Youtube for about an hour, listened to some music, read for a while, and now I’m taking this survey to relax before I try to squeeze in some writing.

Are you reading any books right now? - Yes! Right now I’m reading the Serpent and Dove series by Shelby Mahurin. I’m on book 2 called Blood and Honey.

Do you ever count your steps when you walk? - No

Have you ever peed in the woods? - No. One time I was camping with my friend though and she tried to get me to do it because I really needed to go to the washroom but I was too scared that a spider would crawl up my ass lmao

Do you ever dance even if there’s no music playing? - I mean I occassionally twirl to the music in my head when I’m by myself lmao

Do you chew your pens and pencils? - No

What is your “Song of the Week”? - Probably Coney Island by Taylor Swift ft The National

Is it okay for guys to wear pink? - Yes. It’s just a colour. 

Do you still watch cartoons? - Mostly animation movies. The only cartoon I’ll watch when I’m sad or lonely is Spongebob lol

Whats your favorite love movie? - I really like You’ve Got Mail and To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before

What do you drink with dinner? - Because I’m not a super healthy person I’ll drink pop lol

What do you dip Chicken Nuggets in? - Sweet and Sour sauce or Honey Mustard sauce OR plum sauce

What is your favorite food/cuisine? I love Cheesecake! As for a cuisine, I really like Chinese food or Italian.

What movies could you watch over and over and still love? - A Christmas Carol (2009), Hamilton, The Greatest Showman, You’ve Got Mail, Clueless

Last person you hugged/kissed? - I don’t remember the last person I’ve actually hugged because ~miss rona~

Were you ever a boy/girl scout? - No

Would you ever strip or pose nude in a magazine? - No

When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper? - I’m writing all the time and I especially see a lot of my poetry as letters, but it’s usually addressed to whoever’s reading/audience/my journal. 

Can you change the oil on a car? - No. I don’t have my own car yet, and I think my mom or dad showed me once but I’ve never done it since and that was years ago.

Ever gotten a speeding ticket? - Actually no!! 

Run out of gas? - I’ve been really low, as in didn’t know if I was going to make it to the gas station, but I’ve never completely run empty on it.

Favorite kind of sandwich? - I really like BLT’s.

Best thing to eat for breakfast? - McGriddles from McDonalds, but if we’re being practical I love eating bagels with strawberry cream cheese because it’s quick and easy

What is your usual bedtime? - I usually hop into bed about 10-11 pm, but I usually read for a couple hours so technically I’m not asleep until about midnight or 1 am.

Are you lazy? - Incredibly and I hate it about me.

When you were a kid, what did you dress up as for Halloween? - A few things! I remember dressing up as a bumble bee and I loved that costume because it was like a little dress with bee wings!

Do you have any magazine subscriptions? - No

Which are better, legos or lincoln logs? - I don’t know what a lincoln log is.

Are you stubborn? - Yes

Who is better…Leno or Letterman? - Neither, both are low key rude

Ever watch soap operas? - No

Afraid of heights? - A little bit. 

Sing in the car? - Yes

Dance in the shower? - No

Dance in the car? - No. I’ll drum my fingers on my steering wheel but that’s as far as it goes hahah

Ever used a gun? - No

Do you think musicals are cheesy? - No, I love them

Is Christmas stressful? - A little bit. I love Christmas, but I get stressed about it because I work in retail so I find people actually more crabbier at that time most likely because of stress. I do get stressed over money at Christmas time though, except I’m generally enjoying the season so it’s not too bad.

Ever eat a pierogi? - Yes, my grandma makes them the best

Major annoyance right now? - I’m feeling pretty okay right now. I guess I wish my writing was going better, but whatev.

Occupations you wanted to be when you were a kid? - Hairdresser and I wanted to own a pet adoption center/pet hospital hahaha

Do you believe in ghosts? - No

Ever have a deja-vu feeling? - Sometimes

Do you take a vitamin daily? - No

Wear slippers? - No, but I do wear reading socks so it’s kind of the same thing? Keeps my feet toasty!

Wear a bath robe? - No

What do you wear to bed? - PJ’s.

Wal-Mart, Target or K-Mart? - Wal-Mart

Nike or Adidas? - I don’t really have a preference. I don’t know much about either brand, but I guess Nike?

Cheetos Or Fritos? - Cheetos

Peanuts or Sunflower seeds? - Peanuts

Ever hear of, “gorp”? - No

Ever taken karate? - No

Ever kissed someone of the same sex? - No

Can you curl your tongue? - Yes

Ever won a spelling bee? - No, I’ve never been in one.

Ever cried because you were so happy? - I’ve never full on cried, but I’ve been teary.

Own any record albums? - No

Own a record player? - No but I want one!!

Regularly burn incense? - No

Ever been in love? - With fictional characters mostly.

Hot tea or cold tea: - Hot, I guess, but I’m not a fan of either really.

Tea or coffee? - Neither, blah!

Favorite kind of cookie? - Chocolate Chip

Can you swim well? - Not really. Deep water is a fear of mine, so I never really learned to swim well. I feel like I could manage not to drown but I would struggle lol

Can you hold your breath w/o manually holding your nose? - Yes

Are you patient? - I think so

Ever won a contest? - Yes, but small contests like at work.

Ever had plastic surgery? - No

Which are better black or green olives? - Black

Can you knit or crochet? - No, but I wanted to learn to crochet!!

Wash room or bathroom? - I say both ways, I don’t really know if it’s different or not.

Do you want to get married? - Yes, but I don’t think anyone could fall in love with me

Who was your High School crush? - I never had a severe high school crush and it was mostly guys I saw in the hallway or in class that I thought were cute lol. I never hung out with them or knew them. They were just pretty strangers.

Do you cry and throw a fit until you get your own way? - No, but when I was young...that’s another story

Do you have kids? - No

Do you want kids? - I don’t really know. I don’t want them but I don’t not want them either. I can’t make up my mind lol.

What kind of mom are you? - I’m not one, but I think I’m pretty maternal so I feel like I would be a caring and protective mom.

Do you miss anyone right now? - Not terribly, but I’m always missing someone or something.

Who do you want to see right now? - No one at the moment.

[aurami]

I was tagged by @dialover-author-couples ~!!! ❤️ Thank you so much sweetheart, I’m looking forward to filling this out. Thanks for tagging me and all the support you give me here~! ❤️ Rules: List your top 10 favorite DL characters (it doesn’t just have to be the dateable guys, any characters are fair game) in order. And the answer the questions. Blank questions at the end. 1- Subaru Sakamaki 2- Ayato Sakamaki 3- Kou Mukami 4- Shuu Sakamaki 5- Yuuma Mukami 6- Azusa Mukami 7- Laito Sakamaki 8- Shin Tsukinami 9- Ruki Mukami 10- Reiji Sakamaki 1. Number 5 (Yuuma) has decided they want to completely change up their wardrobe and they take you shopping with them so you can give your opinions on what new outfits they should buy. What sort of clothes are you going to recommend? •Oh my goodness this would be so much fun- honestly, my mind goes back and forth from wanting to see him in nice black jeans with a nice collared blue and white checkered shirt, to ripped up jeans and a black leather jacket with his hair down. So, either cleaned up a little more than he already is, or total badboy ^^ 2. You walk into your room one day to find number 2 (Ayato) standing on your bed, dancing to your favourite song while wearing nothing but your favourite underwear. How do you react? •....Excuse me sir? What is this?? Those are my panties??? Also lol it would be very amusing to see him poorly try to sing Ariana Grande and her high notes heheh. But, well, I would be very confused and red and like what oml- 3. Number 7 (Laito) has to go to the dentist but they’re adamantly refusing. How would you persuade them to go? •...Can I get Misa to help me out with this one? She would be best to persuade him. Yeah, I would probably go get Misaki to come help me out -w- 4. You lose a bet with number 6 (Azusa) and now have to be their personal maid for a day. Do you go through with it or do you try to get out of it? •I would probably be going with it because I know Azusa wouldn’t do anything too bad with me. Okay, I would refuse parts of it probably if it involved hurting him or myself, but I wouldn’t mind sharpening knives? 5. Number 4 (Shuu) takes you to see a horror movie however they end up getting absolutely terrified halfway through and bury their head into your shoulder. How do you react? •At first I probably wouldn’t pick up on that he was scared and believe it was just him falling asleep as normal, but then I would probably realize it and feel absolutely horrible. That would be followed by gently stroking his hair and telling him that he’s going to be okay, and that I’m here for him. I’d probably also be panicking about this scary movie though- 6. Number 9 (Ruki) surprises you with a cake they’ve baked especially for you. Are you going to eat it? •Hell yes that cake is probably some really good fancy stuff. But maybe not, who knows? Although I know his cooking is excellent so I would very much enjoy it. I’d probably also ask if he wants to share it and such ^^ 7. Number 8 (Shin) accidentally manages to completely trash their room, to the point where it’s uninhabitable. They don’t have anywhere to stay while it’s being repaired and so they ask if they can room with you for the next couple of weeks. How do you respond? •If he comes and stays with me, he would have to stay on the couch. The only way he could probably get away with staying on my bed is if he was in his wolf form because I would just be like what a good boy and forget- 8. Number 1 (Subaru) has decided to learn how to play the trumpet. The downside to this is that, for some reason, they’ve taken to practicing right outside your room around the time you normally go to sleep. What are you going to do? •...Cry because it would break my heart to tell him no but also I wouldn’t be able to sleep so like yeah- I would probably put my earbuds in and play music there to fall asleep just to avoid crushing his dreams. 9. Number 10 (Reiji) recently purchased a cat onesie and they’ve insisted on wearing it everywhere over the past few days. They’ve now purchased a matching onesie for you and they’re being very insistent that you wear it and go out in public together. What do you do? •...First of all ask if he’s feeling alright?? That seems very... not like him. I would most likely wear the cat onesie anyway because I am obsessed with cats and love how comfy onesies are, but I don’t know if I would agree to do it in public. Although I might, just because Reiji can be very intimidating to me. 10. Number 4 (Shuu) is still scared after watching that horror film with you. It’s now late at night and they’re demanding that you let them sleep in your bed with you. What do you do? •Knowing me I would just be like “yeah go ahead come on in!” I’m naturally a really open and snuggly person in general, so I wouldn’t really mind at all. I would rather him be not scared. If he tried to make a move though idk how that would go- 11. Number 3 (Kou) confesses to you that they want to be an Olympic gymnast but struggle to even touch their toes. What sort of advice do you give to them? •Okay but like what- anyway, I would tell him to go for it and practice stretching. Everyone should be able to at least work on achieving their dreams ^^ 12. Number 7 (Laito) decides they want to paint a picture of you. They make you sit still for hours while they work on it, only when they finally reveal it to you, the image bears absolutely no resemblance to you. They ask you for your opinion, what do you say? •... Knowing Laito, it bETTER NOT BE A SITUATION WHERE HE ASKS POSING NOT CLOTHED. I would wear clothes either way though. Anyway, I would just be like “yeah looks great lovely I love it-“ even if it didn’t look like me, since art is something that is important to me and I don’t know if he was actually trying or not. I would feel horrible if he actually tried and I was like “no” that’s just not something I would do. 13. Number 5 (Yuma) buys a large pet python and they try to talk you into keeping it in your room. How do you respond? •nO???? Like snakes are cool and if he were to want one I would support and be all for it, but it’s not staying in my room. There was this one show.. Fatal Attractions? Probably not what it’s called I’m going to look it up but I’ll leave how off I was up there just for giggles... ...Just kidding I was right!! Anyways, the ones with snakes... I’ve seen enough of those to scare me into not wanting a snake in my room whoops- 14. You go on a Ferris wheel with number 6 (Azusa) but when you reach the top, it stops moving and stays still for a long time. There seems to be some kind of fault, which means you’re trapped with number 6 till someone can get it working again. What do you do? •PANIC. I mean, luckily I’m with Azusa, and it would be nothing against him either, I’m just sorta terrified of heights. Poor bean would probably have to comfort me but I don’t know if that would happen or not- 15. Number 2 (Ayato) proposes you play a game of twister. Regardless of whether you want to or not, you get dragged into it. As you’re playing, you notice number 2 seems to be touching you a lot more than necessary. Do you call them out on it, or take some other course of action? •Okay this sounds like something he would do too though so um... well, I would probably try to call him out, but it would be one of those “Aye! Quit it!” Things where it won’t really work because I’ll just start laughing about it. 16. You’re getting changed in your room when you suddenly hear a noise from your wardrobe. You open the wardrobe to find number 3 (Kou) standing in it. How do you react? •......AaaaaAAAaaaah hello-? If I was not fully clothed I would probably panic and pull clothes on as fast as possible. Also like- ask why he was there and what he was doing? I would be very flustered and panicked haha. 17. Number 1 (Subaru) manages to accidentally handcuff themselves to you. They don’t have a key and for some reason, no matter what either of you do, you can’t seem to get them off. What are you going to do? •I would probably giggle at how hilarious the situation was, and knowing Subaru he would be so flustered and snappy and such. There would be so many funny scenarios like seriously, and it would either lead to a way out or to something kinky 👀 18. Number 10 (Reiji) presents you with a bouquet of roses and declares that they have feelings for you. How do you react? •I’d be very confused? Thanks for the flowers though- 19. You go swimming with number 8 (Shin). You’re having a great time until they pull you aside and tell you that they’ve somehow lost their swimwear. Are you going to help them and if so how? •Panic and go look for those swim trunks. I ain’t looking below his waist though that isn’t going to happen- 20. Number 5 (Yuuma) wrote a love letter to you and slipped it into what they believed to be your locker, however the locker actually belongs to number 8 (Shin) and they didn’t bother writing your name on the letter. How does number 8 react when they find it? •....HAHAHA I FIND THIS SO IRONIC- anyway- Shin would probably rip it up and hunt poor Yuuma down. There would be some whole huge drama that’s for sure- 21. Number 7 (Laito) gets very very drunk and tries to give number 3 (Kou) a strip tease. What happens? •I can see this actually happening too whoops haha. Anyway, depending on Kou’s mood, I could see Laito doing it anyway and Kou being either very pissy or recording it for blackmail or to post on his blog to embarrass Laito. Little does he know, Laito doesn’t give a shit and takes it as maybe some endorsement on his quest to get to some more girls- c: 22. Number 6 (Azusa) and number 2 (Ayato) get into a rap battle and they want you to be the judge. Who do you think is going to win and why? •.......Probably Ayato just because like their personalities and yeah. I feel like part of me would be like “no screw this I can’t choose-“ because I just don’t want to have to tell one that he’s better than the other. 23. Number 1 (Subaru) accidentally ruins number 9’s (Ruki’s) most prized possession and begs for your help in covering it up. What do you do? •I could see this happening. I would help out however I could, or end up saying he should come clean. But I would most likely help Subaru despite my own advise- 24. You wake up in between number 4 (Shuu) and number 10 (Reiji) with absolutely no memory of how you got there. Do you have any idea about what might have occurred and what are you going to do now? •Also very ironic. Well, we would have all probably had to have been drunk to get to that point. Me and Reiji would have to at least. I would probably wake up with this “ <: “ look on my face but still. A night of drinking would lead to that. 25. You go on a camping trip with number 9 (Ruki), number 6 (Azusa) and number 3 (Kou). What sort of stuff do the four of you do together? •Well first of all poor Yuuma is left out, but also it’s a blessing they’re all from the same family so there won’t be any fighting (at least I hope). Honestly I would probably want to fish at some point, walk around the woods, take some pretty pictures, draw, and all that fun stuff. I’d probably do a lot of messing around with Kou tbh because the thought of camping with Kou just sounds like a whole lot of fun to me. 26. Number 9 (Ruki) and number 4 (Shuu) have somehow swapped bodies. How do they react and are you going to try to help them get back to normal? •Ruki would be screaming and Shuu would just be like “idgaf.” I would probably go to Reiji for help right away but I don’t know how that would go. 27. You’re playing a game of Monopoly with number 5 (Yuuma), number 7 (Laito), and number 10 (Reiji). Who wins and who goes bankrupt and storms off in a rage? •I feel like Laito would win with some strategy of some sort because I know he’s intelligent with this sort of stuff I’m pretty sure? Yuuma would be the one to go bankrupt and rage. Probably throw and break the board haha. 28. You go on a hike with number 8 (Shin) and number 2 (Ayato). Number 8 is in charge of the map and they manage to get you completely lost in the middle of nowhere. What are you going to do? •Cry- just kidding. But maybe not. I feel like it would be hard being trapped between the two of them just because of who they were. I would probably get teased a lot because of the complete panic and that I’m terrible at directions, so, I would probably have to rely on them to get back. 29. Number 1 (Subaru) has given up on learning the trumpet and has taken up the banjo instead. They write a song and play it for you but it sounds beyond terrible. How do you react? •”IT’S BEAUTIFUL YOU’RE SO TALENTED I LOVE IT SO MUCH THANK YOU-“ there’s no way it would go any other way. Again, in general, music is also one of those things where I couldn’t say no to someone, especially if it’s something for me. He would receive many hugs and I would be super happy even if it was horrible. 30. Number 1 (Subaru) and number 2 (Ayato) get in a fight over you. Number 2 manages to win and asks you for your hand in marriage. How do you respond? •I wouldn’t know how to respond, especially if it just followed after a fight. I would probably be upset, so I probably would say “maybe later” and just kinda step out without responding. I wouldn’t be in the right mindset to say yes or no especially following something like that. It would also depend on relationship status and how close we were and such. Idk. That’s just a big mess ah. —— That’s it, all 30 questions answered~! Thanks for the tag ❤️ I look forward to writing and drawing more on here. Hopefully these can be a few icebreakers her~ love you all❤️ I’m again too scared to tag people so I’ll leave this as it is.

[askguyslikeus]

((answering questions under the cut!))

i do actually plan on a little story! nothing too huge ahah but i do want this to be mostly run as an askblog! i might leave yall hints in the tags of important storyish posts but for the most part just sending asks should keep the ball rolling

eastern time zone! i have a weird work schedule and usually get out by 10 am - 1 pm or have weekdays off so my posts are kind off all over the place aha!

legit whatever strikes my fancy TBH haha sometimes i get asks that i love but i cant think of anything for them and i save them for some other time if something stikes my inspo. but usually if i can think of something that has more than one word answer and makes me smile i pick that one! sometimes i even come back to an ask i didnt wanna do cause i RANDOMLY THOUGHT OF A GOOD SCRIPT or somehting hahaha

ahhh i love exploring characters different from myself!! i mean i love writing these awkward boys who use silly lingo cause i too am super awkward and use silly lingo BUT i dont play overwatch or listen to the smiths or wanna major in music theory but i feel like michael would like all these things sooo,,, its been fun exploring new things because i want to know more about them for this blog specifically. i dont want to settle on something being their fav just cause i know about it i guess and im having fun with it

it also is nice to explore thingS ive dealt with myself through these boys in a healthy way using what ive learnt about myself and others. i deal with dependency issues and i always read michael as having them as well? but i didnt deal with them in a healthy manner for a while and ive learnt how to be better about it. and just ,,, being able to help these fictional boys in a way i struggled with is really refreshing and helps me a lot

aaa sorry i mostly just, enjoy exploring issues that i can grow in myself while also trying to get a grasp on these boys if that makes any sense?

at the moment no, i already reached out to a few people to ask them to do asks, and i do have a kinda story i wanna get to so,,, at the moment im all set on guest artists! i might do another round a little later tho!

i have not been intentionally but i have a lot of friends on the spectrum and am all for headcanons for michael and jeremy as well! i base a lot of my scripts and way of speaking and how they deal with situation on how ive seen friends of mine and myself react so!! i myself am not on the spectrum but i can see both jeremy and michael being autistic !! rock on anon

usually around an hour or two since i do multiple panels ahaha but if its one like the michael in the bathroom one or the childhood one i defs spent three or four hours on those bad boys,,,, i chose a very easy to do art style for this blog so i could work on my expressions and scripts and poses and get them done quick without worrying too much about how finished things look and hoo wee go past me cause ,,, i would not have as many posts as i do now slash i PROBs would have gave up 3 asks in hoooo boyyy

ye lol

like,,,, only a month ago woops i saw a cute shippy headcanon and i was like oh wait fuck these boys are cute. then i listened to the musical and was very blindsided by the entire plot omg but!! im glad im here!!

mostly because i wanted u to be able to tell who was talking! soemtimes my handwriting is small or my pic is big so jeremy ans michael will talk like this back to back

i ate a big corndog the other day HE SURE DID why do u sound proud im the one who ate the big corndog IM JUST A SUPPORTIVE BRO

and when they talk like that i needed a way to show who was speaking? aaaa i made theirs contrast the most since they are in the most asks together! as for everyone else i kinda just do whatever im feeling hahaha

i was gunna do something like a winky face or be like maybeee~ but imma just say ye man. i love boyf riends and im workin on a little plot to get these boyos together and happy!

ALSO I DIDNT GET AN ASK ABOUT IT BUt peopl have dmed me their headcanons or post ideas and im going to say it now in bold and caps

I DONT DO ANGST FOR THE SAKE OF ANGST if i end up posting sad things its because its what the boys are feelin in a story line but for the most part this is a happy happy blog. i have a lot of shit going on in my own life and i know some people use their ask blogs or art to draw out their venting and that is very good and healthy usually and i support you! but that isnt my way of coping and this blog will not have angst. dont prompt me for angst homies and stop trying to throw triggers out there to make me make a sad post. there are a lot of good blogs than can fill ur bmc angst needs!! 

AND LASTLY CAUSE YE IMMA POST A BUNCH CAUSE THEY MADE ME SMILE :

I am SO OVERHWLEMED AND EMOTIONAL ABOUT ALL THE SUPPORT IVE GOTTEN ON THIS BLOG,,,, i went into this fandom in a really bad place and really lonely and really hating my art and idk it wasnt good but!!! making this blog is helping me grow a lot on my own as an artist but also everyone else enjoying it as much as i am ??? i die every timeee aaaaaa yall what th heckkkkk,,,,, 

THANK U SO MUCH EVERYONE I APPRECIATE U ALL A LOT??? im glad ur enjoying my silly askblog idk im emotional im sorry aaa

hope i keep u guys entertained and u enjoy where i take these two!

there were some asks that were sent to me that i plan to answer soon in the form of asks so i didnt answer them but thank u for sending me questions guys!! 

[mary-twig]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY DEAREST AND LOVELY ANGIE - @soreidy27. Here, have some of me singing, let’s say in kinda “Marilyn style”, “Happy Birthday to You”. If you lose your hearing after listening to it, I’m so so so sorry, I didn’t mean it!

BUT, HAHAHA, IT IS NOT THE END. I think you were right that I may have written something for you… So that is why my fluffy fic about Han and Leia going to a music festival is dedicated to you. :)

The fic was inspired by the real events my friend @paulinadeanz and I had experienced last week during Lana Del Rey’s concert. Although, not everything written here must be absolutely true, right? It’s a fan FICTION. ;) Greetings to @theorganasolo, a beta who helped me with my struggles against English, haha.

Just, you know, short, silly, Han and Leia going to a music festival. I encourage you to listen to Lana Del Rey’s “Coachella - Woodstock In My Mind”, as this song was the thing that inspired me to write this fic the most.

“Hey, I think we have to go this way!”

Her exclamation vanished into thin air, drowned out by the cacophony of thousands of excited voices and thick rain, which was hitting the ground steadily with its huge drops, adding to the already loud sounds.   

She took his hand in hers, entwined their fingers, and conducted him to the big white tent, where a bunch of people dressed in yellow raincoats were checking some sheets of paper - most of which seemed to be soaked.   

XXXXXX 

The day began in Han and Leia’s apartment at 1000 hours with a resounding alarm, that had awoken both of them from their serene sleep. The upcoming evening had heralded a great dose of music, excitement, and unforgettable experiences.   

This week on Coruscant was dedicated to celebrations on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Battle of Endor, the memorable moment, which had gone down in history as the triumph of the Rebel Alliance over the Empire and a very important leap in the better future for the Galaxy. The New Republic’s government had decided to prepare an enjoyable event to honor involvement, effort, and commitment of those people who had fought in that war, and of those heroes who had given all their best to bring back peace. That is why the “Coruscant’s Live Music Festival” had been organized, with a lot of wonderful singers to perform on stage.   

Amid those artists was Lliana del Reya*, one of Leia’s favorite musicians, whose discography appeared to touch the Alderaanian princess’s soul and remarkably speak to her. When she had been informed that del Reya was going to be the biggest star of that event, she had immediately come to the conclusion that she wouldn’t miss it. And as it had turned out, of course, Han wouldn’t miss it too… 

He wasn’t into music very much, to be honest. It wasn’t like he didn’t listen to it, avoided it, or couldn’t quote any name of any song. He knew some of the biggest hits: the biggest hits from Corellia, the biggest hits from his childhood, and since he had started his relationship with Leia – her personal biggest hits. He was well aware of her fascination with Lliana’s music, and the fact that she would like to see her live was so obvious to him as the high temperature on Tatooine. He wanted his girl to enjoy herself, so the natural order of things was his agreement to attend that festival with her. Simple rule – if she was happy, he was happy too.   

And now they were here, standing in the rain, soaked from head to toe, and waiting for their entrance tickets to be checked.   

The weather had been building to that point for the whole daytime: its own performance had begun early in the morning, when the sky had been encased with dense gray clouds. Then, in addition, to make the show more noteworthy for viewers, the mid-afternoon had been engulfed by muggy air. The culmination had come in the evening, rewarding the audience for their attention with a downpour.    

XXXXXX   

“Tickets, please.”   

Leia opened her blue clutch bag with trembling fingers, visibly thrilled. She passed the tickets on to the man who checked them. She smiled widely and leaned against Han’s torso. He looked at her with quite the confusion, not knowing exactly what was happening. As searching for the reassurance that everything was alright, he wrapped his arm around Leia’s waist. At once the feeling of calmness reached him, finding Leia’s body eased his mind.  

“Thank you very much, everything’s fine. Please, come to that stand on the right to get your bands,” the man informed, pointing at the other tent where people were putting concert bands on the participant’s wrists.   

Leia and Han approached the stand fast, persistently trying not to tread on large puddles the rain had created.   

The young woman greeted the couple and asked them for their tickets. Then she explained that now they would get their bands and that stripping them off means withdrawal from participating in the festival. Leia nodded and extended her arm. After she received her band, Han was the next one to be given his own…  

“Umm… Sir? Can I put the band on your wrist, please?”   

Leia prodded him lightly with her hand. He looked slightly disconcerted.   “Han? Hey, what happened?” She put her palm on his cheek and made him look into her eyes. “You have to get the band.”   

Han stared at her as if he had been abruptly woken up from the trance. He gave her a coy smile, pretending everything was perfectly alright, and turned his head in the direction of the woman waiting for him to put his wrist on the wooden block.   

“Thank you, Sir. Here it is. Have fun, the main stage is straight, and the second stage is on the left side of the field,” the woman informed them.   

After a few minutes they found themselves next to the immense blue tent, where sellers offered some junk food and drinks of all kind: alcoholic, non-alcoholic, everything you could ever desire.   

Leia knew something was wrong. She didn’t want Han to feel uncomfortable, she wanted to have fun. With him.   

She asked him openly. “Han, what’s going on? I see something’s not right. Please, tell me.”   

He was clearly avoiding the answer.   

“Han.”  

“Uh, no, it’s just…” He realized what he had to say was embarrassing. He rubbed his neck, and said timidly. “Just, you know… I don’t have any idea what we can do here. I’ve never been to a music festival! It sounds, uh, weird, right?”

She couldn’t believe what she had just heard. And that was the reason of his self-consciousness?   

“I want you to have fun, I know how much this thing means to you, ‘m sorry.” He averted his gaze from her face and focused it on his slightly muddy boots.   

At first she had an urge to laugh out loud. “My poor Hotshot,” she thought. Instead of that she decided the more wisely would be to convince him that obviously it was not a “weird” thing to never attend a music festival before. They were here tonight, together, they were supposed to make the best of this evening! And Leia decided she would do everything she could to make it an enjoyable time for him.   

“Han, please.” She couldn’t help but chuckled slightly. “There is nothing wrong about never being to a music festival.” She stood on her tiptoe, and bent his head to give him light, reassuring kiss. Not casting her eyes down from his hazel ones, she promised. “I’ll do my best to make you enjoy your first festival.” She kissed him once again, this time a bit more passionately, running her fingers through his thick hair, causing small flickers of pleasure to travel down his spine.

XXXXXX   

It was 2300 hours when del Reya was about to get on the stage. Han and Leia were standing at the rear of the big crowd of people, who were impatiently waiting for their favorite artist to appear. Many of them were carrying carton peace symbols with themselves. As Leia got to find out, the symbols were going to be held up during one of Lliana’s songs, “Love”. It was a special action organized by del Reya’s fanclub from Coruscant. The couple decided not to move more into the front of the stage, because of Leia’s height, as she knew that being surrounded by many tall people she had noticed in the audience, was a bad idea.    

They were very content now, full and after having a few ales. They had taken many pictures; the front of the smaller stage, with their hot dogs*, or just posing together with Leia’s arms wrapped around Han’s waist, and with his hand kept on her back. She had made a joke of putting them all on her Instastar profile. Well, she had been joking only partially… She knew she wouldn’t let all of those beautiful shots go unremarked… 

Leia was constantly grinning, making Han delighted with her current mood. He didn’t feel self-conscious anymore. These few hours he got to spend with Leia there made him truly exhilarated. They had listened to some other artists before del Reya’s concert and enjoyed them thoroughly. Oh, and Leia, Han thought, how she danced, how she sang, how playful she was… And how her hips moved to the rhythm, oh Gods… 

Awareness that she was having a good time filled his heart with pure joy.   

It was obvious that Lliana showed up on the stage when the audience started shrieking with excitement. She looked ethereal… The elegant white dress she had worn was emphasizing her long, slender legs. Her face was the spotlight of her look, her white teeth visible for everyone from the crowd. The cries of happiness suddenly ceased when first notes of “Body Electric” issued from the instruments.   

Leia couldn’t hide her buzz; she was beaming from ear to ear, looking like a teenager who got the chance to see their idol in the whole grandeur. Han, who was standing next to her, took her hand, and after a second felt a strong clasp around his knuckles. Leia’s motion confirmed his conviction that she was, indeed, highly eager.   

After a few tracks, such as “Cherry”, “Shades of Cool”, “Blue Jeans”, and “Coachella - Woodstock In My Mind”, the atmosphere got more melancholic. Lliana was amazing; the audience loved her energy and the honest happiness radiating from her body. She said she was glad to be there, to sing for these people. The next song she performed with was “White Mustang”. As Leia loved this track, its melody and lyrics, she felt like she was drifting off to another Galaxy while listening to it, to the place where there is nothing else but music. She leaned against Han’s chest and closed her eyes. His natural reaction was to wrap his arms around her, feel more of her. He looked at her expression when one interesting observation came to his mind. How much music could give. It could be a shelter, a therapy, an addition to the party. It could be everything.

Han wasn’t one to claim himself as someone who knew technical aspects of music. Nay, he wasn’t one to think music can be something more than just a few accords and a voice of a singer, or just simple songs. When he saw Leia’s face, so peaceful, so intent, the realization hit him. Music equals emotions.   

A few chansons later, the melody of the next song started issuing from huge loud speakers. “Ride,” one of Leia’s favorite numbers, filled her with sheer glee; she started singing along with del Reya. Han saw how much she wanted to see more of Lliana’s face and her posture, so he came up with a wonderful idea. He noticed how some guys did this with their girls and they didn’t seem opposed to it… Beforehand, he checked if anybody was standing behind them, not wanting to block the view, and when he was sure that there wasn’t anyone to have their vision violated, he crouched, and told Leia to sit on his shoulders.   

“Han, are you serious?!” She shouted, clearly amused.   

He smirked and responded. “Princess, just sit on ‘em, okay? You weigh nothing!”

She did as he asked, sitting on his shoulder during the whole song, feeling like one of those girls she had seen in holos from other festivals. She felt cherished, loved, light-hearted, and she appreciated the gesture enormously.   

After Lliana sang “Off To The Races”, making fans laugh affectionately at this performance’s… unique choreography*, she started saying goodbye to the audience.   

“I’m so grateful to perform for you today. You are amazing.” She smiled and sent a kiss to the crowd, which shrieked with excitement.

“There’s one last song I’d like to sing today. As we all know, we celebrate the first anniversary of the Battle of Endor there. That is why I dedicate “Love” to all those people from the Rebel Alliance, and now the New Republic, who fought bravely for the better future of the Galaxy, who work hard to repair what the Empire had broken. To all the heroes, AND…” She stopped for a second. “We can’t forget - to all those, who are simply in love.”    

People, as had been said, held up their carton peace symbols. The whole festival area was covered with thousands of them, making Leia feel that thrilling atmosphere of a victory she had felt one year ago. The raining, which had been tapering off, disappeared completely then, leaving the air clear and brisk almost as if it was a miracle.   

“Whaddaya say, Sweetheart? Was it worth this?” He was holding her now, kissing her temple and nuzzling his nose in her soft hair. They swayed softly to the melody playing around them.  

“The weather didn’t freak you out, huh?”  

Her answer was firm. “No.”   

It doesn’t matter if I’m not enough  For the future or the things to come ‘Cause I’m young and in love (ah, ah) I’m young and in love (ah, ah, ah, ah)   

It was true. Love. This was the thing she could feel again, after all the years of constant fear from coming back to it - to loving someone. And she wasn’t scared of it anymore. 

Leia nestled to his chest, and added. “I have my sunshine next to me.”

* You may know Lliana del Reya from my fic, “Perfect”. I had decided she must have been written in one more story… :)

* I don’t know if there are hot dogs in GFFA, but I wanted them to eat hot dogs, sorry not sorry.

* Just watch the clip from the link put in the title of the song. Please, it’s worth it.

[differentjokes4differentfolks]

Where’s the Fun in This? Chap 2

Here you guys go, the second chapter :)

Whatever ideas Bruce had in mind, he erased upon walking in. He’d imagined Joker’s hideaways as entirely too over-the-top, and while it was true there were some gaudy finishes, a bright couch here, vivid curtains there, most of the room was relatively...normal. Not what he was expecting.

“Why isn’t anyone here?” He asks out loud. No guards, henchmen, or any sign of life.

“It’s a trick room. No one but me can find it from the inside, and the outside no one but me can find the way in. Simple. Not sure we want to go in just yet though...” Joker rummages through a few boxes in the corner, pulling out a rather large gun. “Here we go. Whaddaya say, Bats, should we go in, guns blazing?”

Bruce ignores him in favor of scoping out the place. “Why on earth would they come here? How’d they even find it?”

“Oh, y’know. I might’ve let it slip once or twice when we were all in a short alliance. Not to help them, of course. I must’ve just been mocking them, who knows? They weren’t supposed to take it over, silly boys.” He peers down the length of the gun, eyes squinted. “Maybe this isn’t the right gun. Too dull.”

“Joker.” Bruce’s voice is heavy with annoyance. “You aren’t going to need a gun.”

“Says you. And you of all people should know I play by my own rules.” Joker doesn’t even look up, but he says it so matter-of-factly Bruce chooses not to respond. “So do you have a plan or not?”

“For now, we should just do recon and see what they’re up to. If we don’t have to, we shouldn’t attack anyone.” Bruce says thoughtfully. “Will they know once we get into the main part of this place?”

Joker lifts a shoulder. “No idea, I’ve never needed to know that.”

They can’t hear anything on the other side of the wall, Bruce takes that as a good sign. “We’ll need to go inside then. Who knows what we’ll find.”

“You sure? Seems a little reckless for you,” Joker says teasingly. He turns to the wall, a dirty red brick that looks unmovable, clearly meant to dissuade people from finding a secret passage. Joker knows the way to open it though, and with a shudder it gives way. It’s dark on the way through, but from here he realises he can hear something on the other side. He places a microphone on the wall, listening through his earpiece. Joker is surprisingly silent, though from the light of the other room he can see the clown tapping his fingers on his thighs anxiously, gun in his other hand. Bruce hopes he won’t have to use that.

“You don’t think the Bat’s coming, do ya?” Voices start coming from the microphone, and Bruce crouches down, listening.

“You think he’d find us here? Don’t worry, Two-Face knows what he’s doing. Besides, the sooner we finish this thing we can leave. The longer we stay the bigger the chance of being found.”

“That’s true. I wish we actually knew what was going on though. Some sort of bomb?”

“Honestly? I have no idea, just that we have to take in some kind of shipment and give it to the boss.”

Bruce’s brow furrows. From what he hears there’s only two people on the other side of the wall.

“Joker, what’s on the other side?” he whispers.

“Oh, just a lounge of sorts. It’s small.”

“Can you open to the other side quietly?”

Joker grins. “‘Course I can. It’s a regular door.” Bruce’s expression is blank.

“What?”

“One little lever and the door swings open. It’s a wonder they didn’t see it, it’s so obvious.” He flips a sort of switch, and the door swings open, revealing the henchmen, their backs turned to the walls, standing casually in the room, which brings back Bruce’s idea of a flashy living space for Joker. So bright, so colorful.

Bruce inches over to the two, right as they notice he drags them back to the door, Joker closing it with a wild sort of laugh. The two men struggle, disoriented, but Bruce has their mouths covered. He knocks one of them out out swiftly, letting them slide to the ground. The other’s eyes are wide with fear and anger.

“For such a big bat you can be so quiet!” Joker states, eyeing the thug with a glint in his eye. His gun arm swings casually. The man’s struggles don’t weaken, Bruce lifting him so his feet dangle inches off the ground.

“What are Two-Face and Penguin up to?” He demands roughly. The man immediately gives in.

“I swear I don’t know anything, just that Two-Face wants to get rid of you! He hasn’t mentioned anything beyond a shipment.”

“When does it come in?” Bruce snarls.

“Tomorrow? I told you, he hasn’t told me anything. Please don’t hurt me!” The man’s eyes are wild. Bruce knocks him out with a huff of annoyance.

“Well that wasn’t too informative.” Joker crosses over to the men, inspecting the coats they wear. “Hey Batsy, can I keep them? They’d be useful target practice, don’t you think? Just let me shoot them up a bit.”

“Leave them here, Joker. And put the gun away, you don’t need it.” He clicks on his comm.

“Sir?”

“There’s a shipment coming in. Can you check every ship coming to the dock tomorrow?”

“I can certainly try.”

“Thanks, Al-” He catches himself, noticing Joker’s curious eyes on him. He turns off the connection.

“Well?”

“I think we might as well try to bring in Two-Face and Penguin.”

“We? Did you just say ‘we’?!” Joker gives a cry of happiness, though Bruce can’t place if it’s fake or not, and is promptly jumped on by the clown. His legs wrap around Bruce as he hugs him. For some reason he lets Joker stay on a moment longer than necessary, but it isn’t because he enjoys the hug, not at all. When the moment’s over he pushes Joker off.

“When did you get so romantic?” Joker smirks. “I thought for sure you were gonna slam me to the ground in a rush. I wouldn’t have minded that too much either, darling.”

Bruce’s face grows warm, and he’s thankful they’re still in a relatively dark room. His mouth stays close, and he knows Joker knows he hit a nerve.

“Come on,” he says gruffly. “We should go back to where penguin was.”

“Right behind you,” Joker says lightly, straightening out his suit.

*

The clearing they’d first heard Penguin in was quiet now. The ground was littered with wet footprints leading inside, to which Joker tutted sadly.

“I’ll bet they’re making a mess in there. I should’ve had a self-destruct sequence installed or something.”

“If that was a thing you’d definitely be in Arkham right now.”

“Sure, sure. I was just saying. Hey, hold on.” Joker takes out a phone from his pocket, turning on the camera. He poses, Bruce in the background, and snaps a picture before Bruce can take the phone away. “I’m sending that to Harls. She’ll love it.” He pockets the phone again quickly.

“If anyone sees that they’ll know where we are,” Bruce protests.

“Harley wouldn’t,” Joker answers him. “Not unless she was mad at me or something. Come to think of it…” He goes off, biting his lip. “Well, maybe she’ll tell someone.”

“I can’t believe you,” Bruce says. “Give me your phone.” Joker shakes his head. “No way.”

“Give it to me or I swear to God I’ll-”

“Shh!”

Bruce is so taken aback at being shushed he stops in his tracks.

“Bats, we’re on a secret mission. Be quiet, remember?” Joker says mockingly. He climbs onto a crate, walking on top in a way that his feet don’t his the metal and crash. Bruce grits his teeth, regretting not locking the clown up when he had the chance.

They sneak in with relative ease, making sure no one spots them, though Bruce can tell Joker wants to jump up just so he can scare the hell out of them.

The further they walk in, the more of Joker’s embellishments show up on the walls, spray-painted “HaHaHa”s here and there, discarded playing cards, and even a couple bullets littering the ground. Voices echo up ahead, one definitely the Penguin. Bruce crouches lower as he walked, moving stealthily next to the wall. Men stand scattered in front of him, most armed. They’ll be hard to maneuver around, but it’s doable. The less people Bruce has to take out before he reaches Cobblepot, the better. He inches forward, going unnoticed as he edges around the room. Easy enough. He keeps going, only pausing when someone turns to move a bit. It’s a little annoying, being one of the only darker things in a bright room, but he’s managed in worse.

The problems start when one man gets a little twitchy, looking this way and that as though he senses something. Bruce edges back, accidentally brushing against a can of what he guesses is paint. He prepares to run or hide, seeing the henchman turning towards the noise, when he hears a crazy sort of laugh on the other side of the room. Everyone, including him, looks to see Joker at the balcony, leaning out to look at Penguin with an insanely large smile, the shorter man standing at the center of the room.

“Ozzie, baby, it’s been forever!! Or, no, hold on, it’s been four hours? Ah, what the hell, I missed ya!” He fixes Penguin with a perfectly predatory grin. “I was so sad you didn’t take me with you when you escaped,” he jeers.

Penguin’s face grows red with fury. “You! What are you doing here, you idiotic clown? You were supposed to stay in that bloody madhouse!”

Joker’s eyes flick in Bruce’s direction, accompanied but a slight raise of an eyebrow. Bruce remembers he’s supposed to be sneaking over to Penguin, not enjoying the show. He resumes creeping over, Joker keeping up his obnoxious banter.

“I can’t believe you didn’t invite me, Oz. And in my own home too. If I’d known you were coming I would’ve made you feel more welcome, y’know? Of course, it’s understandable you’re jealous, I do pick the best locations, don’t I?”

Bruce wavers, a man stepping a bit too close for his taste. Everyone else’s gaze is on Joker, however, so he makes quick work of dragging the man to where he lies in wait, making sure he’s unconscious before moving on. In front of him Penguin fumes, though it’s obvious he struggles to keep in control.

“I don’t need you interfering with our work. Every time you show up, the Bat comes along for the ride, don’t think I haven’t noticed. It’s almost like you want to be caught.”

“Mm, that’s why you’re working so hard on getting rid of him,” Joker laughs. “Like a flightless bird and a man who can’t decide which face to put on in the morning could get rid of old Bats.”

Bruce can’t help but feel proud in Joker’s vote of confidence, but then Penguin feels the conversation is over, throwing out one last question.

“And who do you think would kill him then?” A pause. Penguin grows smug, the seconds passing until Joker sheds a facade of pensiveness.

“Batman is mine, Happy Feet. We understand each other, him and me, and I won’t let two-bit thieves butt in.” Joker wears his edged smile like a badge, his insane brashness worn like a second skin. There’s no doubt in his eyes either. Bruce shivers, he’s no stranger to that look. It’s a look of promise. It’s time for this conversation to end. He’s where he needs to be, only five feet from the shorter criminal, and Cobblepot seems to sense it. Before he can turn fully Bruce leaps, pinning him to the ground. His men give shout of surprise, Joker refuses to give them a chance at focus, shooting haphazardly. Bruce notes he’s not going for the kill right away. He’s just keeping the men away from Bruce as he carries a struggling Penguin towards the entrance. He doesn’t worry too much about Joker. If anyone could take care of themselves, it’s him.

He rushes from the base, bullets flying, a few grazing his suit. One hits him so he knows it’ll bruise, the sudden pain of it hitting his shoulder causing him to grit his teeth.

Once he finds himself out in the open he uses his batclaw to propel himself on top of a nearby crane, Penguin refusing to give up easily cursing loudly. Bruce realises it’s hard to use a batclaw when your cargo wriggles like a worm, but they make it relatively unharmed.

“Let me go, you tosser!” Penguin continues to protest loudly, though he shudders at the height he’s at, gripping his umbrella tightly. “I swear, I’d kill you myself if-”

“If what, Cobblepot?” Bruce feigns boredom. He wonders why Penguin even wants him dead in the first place, of all the villains he’s faced, Penguin was the one he fought with the least. For the most part they left the other alone. “What are you and Dent planning?”

“Oh, no. You won’t be dragging me into any interrogation.” Penguin crosses his arms with a glower, nose upturned. “You won’t get a peep out of me.”

Bruce returns the look. “Fine. You can spend your night at Blackgate. Maybe that’ll help.”

“I have things to run,” Penguin spits out.

“And I still have Dent to capture. Now will you tell me or not? What’s your plan?”

“Piss off!”

Just what he expected. Bruce heaves a large sigh. There’s nothing else to do now but take Penguin to Blackgate now. He gets ready to heave Cobblepot over his shoulder again and jumps off the crane when with a burst of strength the portly man pushes away, falling over the edge of the crane, using his umbrella as a parachute to quickly get away. Bruce curses, calling the Batmobile, but he knows Penguin will be long gone by then. The man is sneakier than a snake.

Joker is leaning on the car when Bruce gets there, humming a cheerful tune and tapping a rhythm out on the black vehicle. Bruce’s eyes narrow.

“Oz got away,” Joker points out unhelpfully.

“I know.” And it’s gonna be a pain in the ass to find him again. Of all weeks. Of course, that was the point to this, chaos before a huge event. It still feels too random though, especially for Harvey and Oswald.

The hatch to the batmobile opens, causing Joker to jump away from his moving armrest. Once he’s in the car, Bruce looks to the clown, the latter eyeing the vehicle.

“You can come with, but you’re sitting in back,” he says hesitantly.

“No VIP seat for your assistant? Thanks, but I’ll pass. I’ll see if I find anything else out--” Bruce is surprised by this, and tries to thank him until Joker meets his eyes, “but I won’t do it for free.”

This is what Bruce is afraid of. He hesitates.

“What do you want in return?”

Joker tilts his head, tapping his chin thoughtfully. “You know, I haven’t really decided. I’ll think of something though.”

That is as dangerous a bargain to make as an. For all Bruce knows Joker could want him to kill people, or turn himself in. Anything to get under his skin. He goes for a warning. “Pick something reasonable. I don’t do random favours,” he ventures.

“Would you expect anything less from me?” Joker lowers his eyelids, his voice a whisper as he leans up to talk in Bruce’s ear. “Don’t worry so much, Bats. The stress is too much. Any other fiascos, you’ll get gray hair and end up looking like your butler.” He ambles off into the shadows, but Bruce barely pays attention. His focus snags on Joker’s last words. His butler. Meaning Alfred. Meaning…

He knows who I am.

Bruce feels a chill run down his spine. He thinks of what it means and calls Alfred.

“Sir, is something wrong?”

Bruce stays quiet before responding, unsure how exactly to say what he needs to. “Joker knows who I am. Knows you help me.” He can hear Alfred’s sharp intake of breath, and when it turns to a resigned sigh.

“It isn't like we didn’t know this would happen. He’s intelligent, despite his insanity.” Bruce agrees, but…

“What do you think I should do?” He hates that the few words Joker spoke make him feel so vulnerable. He feels about ten years younger, a novice, though his exhaustion adds those years back quickly.

“There’s nothing you can do for the moment, Master Bruce. I suggest you follow up with him, has he told anyone else?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Then I wouldn’t worry too much. You have larger fish to fry.” As usual, Alfred’s right. Before Bruce cuts the connection, he remembers what Joker had told him about Harley Quinn.

“Make sure to check up and see if Harley Quinn is up to anything,” Bruce adds.

“I’ll alert Oracle as well, sir.”

Bruce cuts the connection, revving up the Batmobile. It’s back to a mindless search around the city. But he’s nothing if not a detective. Finding a lead should be easier if he returns to the docks at this point. He knows the rough area now, at least.

Upon returning, he finds the place vacated. No men, though the bodies Joker left are still there. Bruce pulls them to a side, walking inside.

Joker’s former hideout is ransacked, things strewn about haphazardly. Bruce scans the room. A few guns are left behind, and one of the crates the men had been carrying. They really had left soon after Bruce had arrived.

Scrutinising the wall Bruce finds words scrawled on the words sloppily. Death to Batman and Kill the Bat most common. Upon a closer look, Bruce discovers what seems to be a time.

22:15.

Bruce looks up shipping times, none of the ship landings at that time. He’d suspected it was off the schedule, but now he realises if this crate hadn’t been taken, maybe it wasn’t as important as the other. He opens the crate.

Row upon row of stacked up explosives. Unoriginal, but it raises the question of what the other crates held, if this one wasn’t valuable enough to take in the retreat.

Maybe the ship is supposed to drop off more. Bruce checks his clock. 21:57. He’ll wait.

A ship arrives at 22:15, all it’s lights off, more like a shadow on the waves than a concrete object. It’s not one the Bruce expects. This ship is small, more a tugboat than a cargo ship. Instantly suspicious  watches silently for any movement. One of the lights turns on, and a few men shuffle out carrying a crate not unlike the one Penguin had left behind. Alarms go off in his head.

When the men disappear into the entrance to the hideout Bruce sneaks aboard the boat. The captain is at the helm, leaning over the wheel, smoking. He keeps his back to Bruce, giving the man an easy trip below decks.

It’s full of crates. Bruce stays in the shadows, voices are audible around him, lifting the crates. Bruce wonders if it’s just more explosives. They’re heavy enough, certainly.

“Come on, we got fifteen more of these to go, ya know. We can’t stay here.”

“They’re fuckin’ heavy, man! What’s in these anyway?”

“You know what. All the guns an’ shit. Whatever the boss needs to get rid of wealthy Gothamites. I tell ya, it’ll be way better once they’re gone.”

“True. But do they need so many boxes?”

“Gotta do the job right, I guess. Plus a little extra if the bat shows up.”

Bruce listens intently, sending the feed to Oracle. He backs away to escape from the ship, quiet as a mouse. The way the thugs talk, like all wealthy people are selfish snobs, irks Bruce, but he knows quite a few millionaires he’d rather left Gotham. They’re more useful for charity money than kindness, and only when Bruce can convince them to donate.

The voices fade, Bruce opening a window to propel himself back to the dock. More crates are carried out, and Bruce decides once the men leave he’ll investigate.

“Batman, this ship isn’t logged in to any schedules, but it seems to have come from around Arkham.”

Of course. “Do you know if anything’s missing?”

“Nothing that’s been counted, so far. A couple crates of chemicals. Mostly toxic.”

That sounds more like something Jonathan Crane when it comes to toxins. And even though the Joker is helping Bruce at this moment, it’d be a mistake to count him out. Bruce really doesn’t know his motives.

“Oracle, what’s going on?”

“Apparently more criminals have gone missing. Penguin’s escape seems to have started a chain reaction. Harley Quinn showed up, now Poison Ivy is missing, along with a couple others.”

“Can you track them down?”

“I’ll try.”

“Thanks.”

Bruce hides until the boat leaves, creeping into Joker’s hideout. The crates sit in the middle of the room. He knows it’s only a matter of time before Penguin comes to collect. He pries one open. Toxins and chemicals. A couple others hold the same thing, some explosives. And in a couple crates… uniforms. He should’ve guessed. It’s going to be an up close and personal attack on Gotham’s wealthiest, unless he stops it.

One quick call to Gordon asking to pick these items up, and Bruce leaves. He leaves the coordinates, knowing Joker won’t mind terribly. Once a hideout is discovered he never comes back. A fact Bruce came upon a couple years ago.

He won’t go to the Asylum, if people have escaped Gotham’ll need them stopped. He grudgingly things he might need more help on this, even the great Batman can’t be everywhere at once.

He hopes nothing deadly is happening over in Bludhaven, calling Nightwing to see if he’ll help.

“I’ll be right over, I was getting bored anyway,” is Dick’s quick reply. Bruce feels a weight being lifted off his shoulder, another ally fighting on the streets will get the job done quicker.

One thing Bruce knows for certain: Gotham is in for a rough couple days.

[xladymalice]

How long does it take for you to draw digital/traditional art?

Depends on how complicated the pose is. Do you know this feeling that you suddenly cannot do this easy thing you usually do with no problems?Sometimes it struggles and it never works… no idea why.I am tons faster drawing traditionally… that’s why I scetch my comic pages on paper instead on pc (which I sometimes still do).

I am slower on computer…. this is also influenced by the distractions that came along… hahaha… Youtube, Tumblr and some other shit are srsly bad influence.

Traditional can take from 5 minutes to 1 hour (scetch. Colored shit takes much longer. Again it depends on complexitity.

Digital art is also different… around 15 minutes to hours… my comic pages take a lot of time, considering the traditional art, lining and effects. :s it can take 3- more hours to finish it all.

And sometimes… it takes TOO MUCH FUCKING TIME

[rubiaryutheroyal]

Phoenix and Maya are investigating a case in the Ghost Trick town. They notice that some people look really familiar...

Maya: Tell me about it. With all these blue people walking around, you’d think Nick came from here!

Phoenix: Hey. Only my clothes are blue.

Maya: Oh, sure, that’s how it is now, but maybe you just grew out of your blue stage?

Phoenix: What the heck is a “blue stage”? And I’m not some mutant shapeshifter!

Maya: Yeah, I guess not. Your specialty is standing out, after all.

Phoenix: (Look who’s talking…)

–

[The young lawyer duo have found themselves yet another strange case in a certain town. Aside from the curiously blue-skinned foreigners, their oddly cheerful client has directed them to a junkyard where an even weirder murder has taken place.]

Maya: Not to mention the detectives here! That guy over there looks almost exactly like Nick! He’s just missing the spikes.

Phoenix: Yeah, it’s almost eerie… (And am I imagining it, or does Mr. Green-suit there remind me of someone too…? Maybe I’m overthinking it.)

[But most notably of all, there stands a large wrecking ball over a spot outlined with white tape.]

Phoenix: Couldn’t you have gotten straight to that detail in the first place? It sticks out like the biggest sore thumb ever!

Maya: Whew, flattened by wrecking ball. That’s a nasty way to go.

Phoenix: Hmm… Lynne said she fired a warning shot in the air, right? I doubt a single bullet would be enough to detach the ball from its arm… but I guess it’s not entirely impossible if the latch was weak in the first place.

Maya: But what are the chances? It still sounds like the police are making it up as they go…

???: Well, now. That’s a bit much coming from two nosy sightseers who’ve just walked onto a crime scene under investigation!

Maya: Huh?

[A handsomely dressed man in a white coat has arrived, and he’s not shy to show off a few dance steps as he skips on over and flashes them with a sparkling white grin.]

Maya: Wow! Smooth.

Phoenix: (What’s with this guy…?)

???: Nothing like it, baby! Now, how may I help you on this lovely night?

Phoenix: Sorry to intrude, but we’re here by request of one Detective Lynne.

???: Oh? So she really did call someone over. To be honest, I’m a little shocked that she doesn’t trust me enough yet.

Maya: Well, this guy IS an Ace Attorney.

Phoenix: Phoenix Wright, attorney at law.

Maya: And I’m Maya Fey, Ace Assistant!

Cabanela: Aha, Mr. Wright and Ms. Fey! You may call me Inspector Cabanela… *strikes a pose* and this is my crime scene.

Maya: Ooh, a smooth inspector! Hm, in a way, he kinda reminds me of that one pop star…

Phoenix: Oh, so you’re the inspector she mentioned. If you don’t mind, we have a few questions for you.

Maya: Yeah. For starters, why would you arrest Lynne? Aren’t you two close?

Cabanela: Oh, you could say that. But I can’t help it if we don’t have any other suspects at the moment. She’ll just have to wait it out until we sort out just what really happened here.

Phoenix: We heard from her that she was arrested on charges of murder, but from her story, it sounds like it’s just an accident. Why is that?

Cabanela: Hmmm? …Ah, I see we’ve had a little misunderstanding here!

Phoenix: Huh?

Cabanela: Yes, I believe the last detective may have charged her with murder, even though it could very well have been a case of self-defense. But while I could blow over the whole thing by calling it “manslaughter”, that wouldn’t put her in a much better position, especially since she’s so new to the force. Besides, these guys need a little motivation to do their best to look into it. So I reopened the investigations.

Maya: So that’s why you guys are still investigating.

Cabanela: That’s right! I’d prefer that she not be held responsible at all, but hey, we take what we can get.

Maya: Well, if you don’t mind, I’ve got a hunch who it was!

Cabanela: Oh? And who would that be?

Maya: Um… someone who was controlling the wrecking ball?

Cabanela: Hahaha! Yes, that would be rather convenient, wouldn’t it? Unfortunately, there was no one else here at the time. The deconstruction had come to a stop a few hours prior, and by the time Lynne and the victim were here, everyone had gone home already. We made sure to check the alibis of all the workers who were here, of course.

Phoenix: I see… But would it really be possible for a stray bullet to hit the latch holding the ball and knock it loose?

Cabanela: Weeell, I have my doubts too. We checked with the workers and they all can confirm that the latch was pretty sturdy and in good condition. For it to detach, it’d take some real fire power!

Maya: …Like a shot or two from a shotgun rifle?

Phoenix: Right. The victim was armed with a shotgun… for some reason.

Cabanela: Oh, so she told you, did she? But I don’t think the victim was planning to commit suicide either! Besides, even if he were, the ball would have to be right above him, which means so would the latch. He couldn’t have hit it from there.

Maya: Oh, right. Well, I’m out.

Phoenix: Could it be possible the latch was hit by accident and it didn’t give way immediately?

Cabanela: Not a bad guess, Mr. Wright. But why would the victim shoot upward? Lynne may be a flighty young lady, but she sure hasn’t flown before!

Maya: Could she have climbed to the top of pile?

Phoenix: I don’t think so. These piles here aren’t packed that tightly, so if she were trying to escape fire, it wouldn’t be very practical to get up there. Besides, she’d become an easy target.

Cabanela: But it does bring up an interesting possibility.

Phoenix: What possibility?

Cabanela: That Lynne and the victim struggled with the weapon, which fired a stray shot and hit the latch. Then, if it didn’t drop immediately, the victim wouldn’t have expected it would fall right on him.

Maya: Oh! So it was an accident?

Phoenix: Though, I’d wonder what was going on in his head when he was standing under it. Who would even want to stand under a giant ball of steel?

Cabanela: Of course, this is only a possibility. Since the gun was in pieces when we found it, it’s a little tough to find fingerprints.

Maya: Oh. Rats.

???: Meow.

Maya: Huh?

[Suddenly, they’re accompanied by a small black kitten, followed by an excited Pomeranian. The kitten stops by the ball, looks up at the crane, and walks off. The doggie, meanwhile, sniffs around, and when it notices its friend has gone, it hurries after it.]

Phoenix: …What was that about?

Maya: Did they hear me say “rats” and get curious?

Cabanela: …Well, I think that wraps it up for tonight!

Phoenix, Maya: Huh?

Cabanela: Thank you for the ever-so informative deductions, my friends, but I believe you can leave the rest to us from here!

Phoenix: W-wait! But we didn’t even get a chance to examine the place yet!

Cabanela: Believe me, you’ve seen all you need to already! Rest assured, if all goes well, I’ll see to it that Lynne will get off without a hitch. She might not even need to stay in detention for much longer!

[He returns to his bike.]

Cabanela: Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a little something to clean up.

Maya: Inspector Cabanela! Why are you leaving so suddenly?

Cabanela: Toodles~!

[And with that, he zips away in the opposite direction as where the pets went.]

Phoenix: …What the heck was that?

Maya: He started acting weird as soon as the cat and dog stopped by. Do you think he recognizes them?

Phoenix: Maybe. He looked just a little flustered as he left too.

Maya: Well, what’s stopping us from having a look around anyway?

Detective Blue: That would be us, ma’am! We haven’t been standing around here for nothing!

Detective Green: Sorry, but the inspector’s orders. You’ll have to leave the premises until we’re finished here.

Phoenix: What?

Maya: Hey!

[And they’re promptly escorted off. Perhaps this mystery shall be tackled another day…]

[hustlebonezzzz]

Short Story: Integument

“Is it safe to be getting your face that close?” I said with hesitance. 

Locke was down on all fours, marveling at a large Eastern brown snake sunbathing in the center of the almost desolate road. 

“Don’t worry, mate,” Locke said in his thick Australian accent, looking calm and confident while his eyes and the snake’s were locked onto one another. “Out where they belong, snakes are gentle as can be.” 

I squatted down and snapped a photo of the surreal Kodak moment unfolding before my eyes.

 “Everyone gets the wrong idea about snakes,” said Locke. “Most run into snakes when they’re scared and cranky, but that’s not the true nature of a snake,” His charismatic words paired the Australian accent somehow lessened the tense mood of the situation.

In all my experience as a wildlife photographer, Locke had been the most hands on I’d seen. Although his face couldn’t have been more than three feet from the snake, I trusted his judgement. I had never seen anything like this. I put my focus back into shooting the scene instead of worrying about Locke getting bit by our first accidental run-in with a snake. Looking through the viewfinder of the camera and zooming in, I couldn’t help but admire the look of the brown, wet looking scales that laid atop its thick, muscular body. This snake blended in perfectly with the dusty brown landscape that surrounded. From behind the safety of my zoom lense, I focused on the snakes small head, finger half pressed on the shutter, waiting for the right moment to snap a photo. Snakes have a way of constantly looking pissed off even if they’re not. The brow of this one was permanently furrowed. The snake flicked its tongue and without a hesitation, I fully pressed the shutter. *Click*

“Got it,” I said to myself. A small moment, a fraction of a second, captured forever. 

 “Jude, are you ready to bag ‘em up?” Locke said, still refusing to avert his gaze from the deadly reptile. 

“Ready when you are,” Jude said assuringly. Locke slowly backed away and stood up. Getting three feet away from the face of a deadly snake seemed like a showboating move on the surface, but I could tell that Locke was genuinely marveling at the creature like it had been his first time ever seeing one.

Jude handed him the three foot long metal snake hook, and they both assumed their positions on each side of the snake. Jude manned the cloth snake bag, which was clipped to a metal hoop to prop it open. He held on to the end of the metal arm that extended from the hoop like a cane. Then, with impressive ease, Locke used the snake hook to guide the Eastern brown into the cloth bag. To my surprise, the snake seemed at will to Locke and slithered into the bag without putting up a fight. Locke seemed to be the natural snake charmer. Jude began to twirl the metal arm to twist the bag shut.

“Nice work, boys,” said Locke. “Now let’s get this girl off the road and on her way”

Back in the jeep, I could still feel the effects of the adrenaline from our encounter with our first snake of the journey, the most poisonous in Australia as Locke would later point out. I sat in the back, laying my head back against the leather headrest, watching the the scenery of the Australian bush pass by as I reflected on how I got to this exciting point in my career. This was my second time being hired by NatGeo as a freelancer to shoot photos to go along with a magazine article. This article was a feature on the top ten deadliest snakes in Australia. My very first assignment had been to take photos of snails, a low-stakes assignment compared to now. I remember my early days of photographing weddings and taking senior portraits to barely scrape by. My young ego had a hold on me then, and nothing was more agonizing to me then than shooting senior portraits. My family had sorely questioned my choice of pursuing a career in photography, and the debt I had after pursuing a degree in photography made me question how worthwhile it was. But I can say that I ruthlessly hung in there no matter what, hammering my way through my twenties to build my nature and wildlife portfolio in hopes of getting some sort of recognition. I’m so glad I stuck to my guns, and I’d be lying if i said I wasn’t at least a little bit proud of myself. My parents are just happy that I didn’t get a degree to photograph families at Sears. 

“Most people ‘round here run over the poor things if they ever see ‘em laying in the road like that,”  said Locke, bringing my attention back from my daydream. “She’s lucky that we ran into her today!”

“That she is, that she is,” said Jude. “You still make me nervous every time you get yourself that close to a snake.”

“Hahaha, if I’ve learned anything, snakes are the least of my worries, it’s other people that pose the real threats in life. Snakes are easy, their intentions are laid out for all to see. People are harder, they pretend to be your friend first before they strike.”

“Sounds like you’ve been burned in the past, eh?” Jude said with a chuckle. 

“Well, haven’t we all?”

Jude began twisting the volume dial on the radio, a news broadcast now filled the jeep. 

“It’s been approximately 72 hours since 42 year-old Zara Rumburg of Darwin went missing. There are no possible suspects and there is no current evidence of a struggle in the home of Rumburg, where she was last known to be. Her car was parked in her driveway at the time of her disappearance. We cannot conclude that this is a kidnapping, but we encourage all Darwin residences to take precaution and report any information that could lead to the recovery of Zara Rumburg.”

Jude clapped both of his hands together. “Nice to know that there’s a looney roaming the streets of my hometown.”

“It’s probably someone she knows, that’s usually how it goes, right.” I said. 

“See what did I tell ya, they get close to you and then they strike. Our next stop is actually just right outside of Darwin,” said Locke.  

“A man named Tom called about a possible desert death adder” said Jude. “Highly venomous, Chris, so keep your wits about you or you’ll be good as dead.” he said half jokingly.

“Oh don’t scare ‘em like that Jude, we have nothing to worry about as long as we’re precautious.” said Locke.

“You guys are the ones with the dangerous part of the job,” I said with a laugh. “I get the easiest part of it all.” I grabbed my large DSLR camera and checked the battery life and made sure the settings were correct for the third time to make sure to prevent any possible camera mishaps. This assignment, if shot well, could do a lot for me as far as building a reputation. 

I was the only one in the trio that didn’t have an extensive background with reptiles. When I first received the offer to shoot this assignment, I thought they might have us traveling deep into the bush, but I soon found out that most of these snakes can be found in many Australian suburbs, where city meets country. In a way, our mission was to kill two birds in one stone. Locke and Jude would perform their service and remove snakes that had found their way too close to people and release them back into the wild, and I would photograph it all. My part of the job was straight forward. The magazine wanted photos that illustrated how many of Australia’s most dangerous snakes can wind up close to humans, and that’s exactly what they were going to get. 

Locke, or Dr. Locke Beckett for formality's sake, was a zookeeper at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney, specializing in reptiles. Dr. Jude Cornell also shared a love for snakes, and was known in Australia for his toxicology research with snake venom. He served as Locke’s right-hand man for this trip, and had anti- venom at the ready. 

After continuing to drive for about a half an hour, Locke turned the jeep onto a gravel driveway and pulled up to a trailer sized house resting on stilts, three feet above the ground. A small plastic playground set up for toddlers stood in the grassy front yard. 

“I reckon the snake is cooling off under one of those tarps under the house.” said Jude. “Perfect place for it on a day like this.” Today had been especially sweltering, and we had all sweat through our shirts from our first encounter with the Eastern brown. Regardless, we were all anxious and eagerly hopped out of the Jeep to hopefully encounter the death adder.

“Crazy to think that there are children playing alongside deadly snakes.” I said as we approached the small porch attached to the house.

 “Snakes are just a part of everyday life here in Australia. They’ve been wandering around here a lot longer than we have.” Locke said with enthusiasm. 

Before we could reach the porch, a stocky, older man walked out onto the small porch. He reminded me of Santa with his trim snow white hair and beard, along with his firm-looking pot belly that was accentuated by his neatly tucked in t-shirt.

“G’day gentlemen! I bet you’re here about my snake problem.” said the man.

“In fact we are!” replied Locke. “I’m Locke, this is my partner Jude, and here we have our photographer, Chris.”

“Nice to meet you all, I’m Tom. I appreciate you comin’ out to help me get rid of the feller. Scared the hell out of me when I saw it a couple days ago”

“Absolutely, of course! So now the question is, where can we find it.”

“Down in the cellar in the backyard over here.” Tom motioned with his hand for us to follow him.

 “I wonder how it found its way down into the cellar.” Jude wondered aloud.

I had seen cellars attached to houses before, but a cellar with doors parallel to the ground in the center of a backyard was new to me. The doors had rust around the handles and hinges, with dark green paint blistering off from being directly in the sun day after day. The more I thought about it, there was no evidence of any space large enough for a snake to find its way in, and looking at the contemplative expression on Jude’s face, I could tell he was thinking the same thing. But my knowledge of snakes was limited to say the least. I’m sure there are more ways than one for a snake to find its way into a cool, underground cellar. 

The doors creaked as Tom pulled them both open, revealing a set of concrete steps leading down into the cellar. This thing was more like a bunker than anything. The cool air of the cellar hit like a wave, and offered a moments relief from the sun’s rays.

“Looks like a bit of a tight fit down there.” said Locke. “I think it might be best if I go down and have a look first and locate the snake.” 

Jude and I both agreed, and remained at the opening of the cellar. It was hard to view what was going on from our angle. The bunker-like room extended to left at the base of the stairs. The cellar didn’t have superb lighting from what little I could see, and Locke used his pocket flashlight to get a better look. The one thing I did notice was that Tom seemed to become increasingly uncomfortable as time went on. His eyes kept darting back and forth between the house and the cellar. As strange as it seemed at first, I could understand why one might become uncomfortable. It wouldn’t be a great day for Tom if someone was bit by a venomous snake on his property. Jude seemed to quickly take notice to Tom’s behavior as well, and promptly began the small talk.

“I’m actually from Darwin, born and raised. We actually heard something about a missing woman from here earlier on the radio.”

“Oh yes, indeed. You know, it’s funny that you mention that.” Tom turned and motioned to the only other house about a mile down the desolate gravel road. “The missing woman actually lived just down the road there. Crazy. Sweet woman, she was. Recently widowed actually. She’s got a sad story to tell. But that’s for another time.” Tom said with a coldness. 

“Oh jeez, that is crazy. I don’t know if I’d feel comfortable staying here by myself after that” I said. Tom remained silent, and I wondered if I had said the wrong thing.

Luckily, Locke returned to the surface a moment later.

“I couldn’t find anything down there. He must have found a way out. My bet is it’s under your shady house. I saw a rodent scurrying around when we were walking up earlier.” said Locke. “Shade and food on a day like this is exactly what a snake needs. If you don’t mind, I’d be more than happy to take a look.”

Tom paused for a moment, glancing back again at the house.

“Sure, sure! That’d be great. But first, why don’t we go inside for a moment and have a drink to cool off. You all look like you need it. I made my special fresh lemonade this mornin” said Tom.

None of us could argue with that logic, and we all proceeded to walk into his home. As we followed Tom into the house, my eyes were met with the head of a dingo, a dead one, hanging directly ahead of the front door. 

“That’s sure a statement piece you’ve got here.” I said with a smile. 

“Like it eh? Did it myself.” Tom said as he walked into the kitchen. 

I soon noticed that the dingo wasn’t the only taxidermied animal in the room. The living area was chock full of different furried animals. A wombat, a fox, and to my surprise, a koala. There were several other small to medium sized mammals erected around the room. The koala was somehow perched onto a thick, long stick, standing upright out of a large terra cotta pot, making the taxidermied koala that much more uncomfortable to look at. 

“Wow, you’re pretty good, they look so real.... I’ve heard taxidermy isn’t the easiest thing to do.”

“It’s a passed down art form.” said Tom. “My father taught me everything I know.” he said with pride in his voice. 

I saw Jude quickly shake his head in disapproval at the sight of the koala.

“Have you ever heard of the Koala Protection Act, Tom?” Locke fired quickly at Tom, with an air of seriousness replacing his upbeat demeanor. 

Tom began to chuckle, a small grin escaping his lips.  “Calm down, Locke. My father passed that one down to me, and his father passed it down to him. Got the papers to prove it if you’d like to see”

A wave silence fell over the group for what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was only about three seconds. 

“I don’t think that will be necessary.” Locke solemnly replied. 

Tom’s half smile still remained. “Well anywho, let me get that lemonade. This way into the kitchen, gentlemen.” 

We followed Tom through the small door frame. Although small, it was clean and quaint, a nice contrast to the living room full of dead animals. Photos of a young boy and girl were hanging on the fridge, along with silly crayon scribble drawings. Must be his grandkids. The kitchen opened up to a small nook, with a table and two chairs placed along the window. Locke and I took a seat at the table while Jude leaned up against the counter. Looking out onto the plastic playset outside, I thought back to the idea of children playing so close to something that could kill them with one bite. Their small bodies wouldn’t stand a chance. An adult has at least a little bit of time before the ill effects of the venom fully set in. 

The clanking of glass cups roused me from my thought, and Tom began pouring lemonade from a glass pitcher. 

“You know, taxidermy isn’t as easy as one might think.” Tom said, looking in my direction.

Oh god. I thought we were leaving this topic behind. 

“Yeah? Why do you say that?” I immediately regretted my choice of words. Asking him to tell me more probably wasn’t the wisest choice. 

“Well,” Tom said as he loaded the the tall, sweating glasses of lemonade onto a dainty metal tray. He began to walk towards the table. “There are many elements that go into successfully preserving an animal's body, Chris.” His eyes flicked up to meet mine. The quick and unexpected eye contact was enough to send goosebumps up my arms. 

“Really now?” I responded, pathetically trying to terminate a conversation that I wasn’t sure how to shut down. 

Tom exhaled sharply, and I could tell my attempt to end the conversation was not about to work. He set the metal tray onto the table. Upon receiving my glass, I couldn’t drink it fast enough, and I was the first to finish. I didn’t realize how thirsty I was until my lips hit the sweet liquid. Delicious. Locke and Jude downed their beverages just as quick, and its smooth, sweet tartness seemed to be enough to lighten up the mood for a moment or two.

“Taxidermy only preserves the skin, you see.” The mood quickly reverted to awkward and tense. “ You don’t have the organs, fat, muscle, and cartilage that help form the true structure and shape of the animal. The skin is removed and then mounted on a mannequin in the shape that resembles the animal. That’s the hard part of it all. It’s not the stripping of skin from an animal, it’s creating that perfectly shaped mannequin for the skin and fur to lay atop. It’s a meticulous process if I do say so.”

 The small grin on Tom’s face still remained. It was really starting to piss me off, that smugness of it all. It made his taxidermy talk seem out of spite towards Locke and Jude, as if he was trying to push their buttons, and it seemed to be working. Locke and Jude looked annoyed, but I didn’t take them as the type who easily lost their cool. He was probably just some crazy old kook after all.

“I never knew that about taxidermy.” I said.

I turned my back to the window to face Jude and Tom. The heat must have taken its hold on me, because nauseousness began to wave over. Downing a highly sugared drink probably didn’t help. 

“Hey Tom, I’m sorry, but would you mind if I had a glass of water?” I said.

“Not a problem. You look faint, mate. Here, hand me your glass.” said Tom, eyes looking upon me with uncomfortable intent. That smug smile still remained. 

I reached to grab my glass, but knocked it onto the linoleum floor with the backside of my knuckles. I watched the glass crash to the ground- I was more out of it than I thought.

Tom casually walked over to the corner of the kitchen and grabbed a broom and dust pan. He began to calmly sweep up the glass. I guess I wouldn’t be getting any water from him today.

“You know gentleman, I have a taxidermy bucket list.”

A wave of confusion and fear rolled over me. What the hell was he talking about? 

I watched as Locke began to lean up against the wall, as a faintness grew upon him as well. Suddenly, Jude crashed to the ground, his head narrowly missing the corner of the small table. 

“What the fuck is going on?!” Locke yelled with his last bit of energy. 

I was passing out, we were all passing out, and before I had the chance to tumble out of my chair, I crossed my arms on top of the table and rested my head atop. My limbs felt so heavy to lift. I could hear glass crunching.  I lifted my head to look forward at Locke, only to see that he was fully slumped against the wall with eyes shut. 

“I only.. one species... left to attempt on my… list… the most difficult...”

The words began to sound more and more warped, like an adult speaking in one of those Peanuts episodes. I kept fading out further and further, and there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t stand, speak, or understand what was going on around me. All I could do was give in to the overwhelming drowsiness.