#went for a more stylized look here

[melioristicbeast]

"DerekDerekDEREK holy mother of GOD I'm about to fall 200 feet to my DEATH" "Better hold on tight, spider monkey" "What the hell is a sp- NO don't you daaAAA"

Another of my friend K's suggestions - when she found out I'd never watched twilight she suggested we do so together, but she keeps insisting she won't tell me what happens in the last ones in advance because then I'll 'never agree to watch them'. i am afraid.

[kozachenko]

Shortly after that Zanmu drawing, I went on an art spree and made small little drawings of a majority of the current playable characters in Touhou (I've been procrastinating on drawing Aya and Ran) and finally gave myself refernce points for how to draw all these characters going forward! Also, don't mind the change in background colour, that's just me changing the background so the values are actually visible lol.

Artist's Notes;

So the first one I started with was Reimu, and the inspiration for her pose came from this pose reference on Pinterest of a girl doing ribbon dancing, and I thought "Damn, that's very Reimu-coded" and did a quick little Reimu drawing from that.

This was also the drawing where I finally learned what makes a Reimu drawing feel like Reimu. It's the shirt, it's literally just the shirt. I decided to try making Reimu's shirt have a stronger square shape and oh my god it's like I discovered some kind of secret sauce because it just feels so much more like Reimu. I also gave Reimu a tabard and loose pants because I felt like that also fit her very well and also tied in some element's of Yukari's design into hers. I also made her bow look more like a very geometric butterfly as a bit of a tie in to "Diochromatic Lotus Butterfly" and also because I think butterfly symbolism fits her a lot. I also left the hands unfinished because they are not the focus of this piece, Reimu is, I don't wanna cry over how I can't get the hands right and then never get to the actually fun parts of the drawing. Previously, I did some design experimentation with Reimu where I added a little ornament on her obi that was inspired by Yuna's design from Final Fantasy 10 (I can't remember if I ever posted that one lol, also FFX is so good you guys I love it so much) and I like it, I think it adds some fun assymetry to her design that I think makes it look neat. I also gave her some more traditional Japanese shoes (I don't know the name of them so please correct me if you know) since I've seen other artists doing it and I love that look so I added that to this drawing as well.

I also really like how Marisa turned out, I experimented a bit with her body type and outfit, though I didn't really go too off-model with her compared to Reimu. I liked the longer sleeves on her and I gave her a big bow on the back of her apron since I thought it looked cute. I couldn't find a spot for the bow on her hat that looked good so sadly that isn't present in this version of her :( I do like how her face turned out though, since I've also been experimenting with how differently stylized I can make faces in my art. I will always love mangas like Hunter X Hunter that can put two extremely differently stylized characters on the same panel and make it look cohesive, it's why I love the style so much.

I think the crulest irony is not being able to draw your favourite character well while you're hyperfixating on them, but then only being able to draw them how you picture them once they're no longer your favourite, and that happened with Sakuya here. I was initially gonna give her the flashiest eyeshadow known to man but when I removed the layer wih the eyeshadow rendering on it I ended up liking it more without it, so now she's just got some nice bottom lashes. I tried giving her more of an hourglass shape for her body type, mainly to differentiate her more from Reimu and Marisa, and I focused on making as many points in her drawing as sharp as I can. I also gave her some white gloves because I like the idea of Sakuya having fancy gloves, it fits her. To me, Sakuya has always been the most high femme of the main Touhou characters. Maybe this is just because she was my gay awakening, maybe it's just influence from the fandom, but it just kind of makes sense to me. Much like Marisa, I also emphasized the bow ribbons for extra oomph with the silhouette and when I added the red bows and looked at the overall design, I fixed the lack of red anywhere else by just... covering her in blood... I mean she does work for two vampires and she's exactly the sanest person in Gensokyo so please pardon my indulgence in edginess it couldn't be helped.

Youmu was really fun to do but also kinda challenging. In my mind I wanted to make her feel different compared to everyone else I've drawn so far, short enough to be somewhat accurate to canon, but not too childish looking since she never really acts all that childish in cannon and it wouldn't make sense for her to look like a child. I also had to make her look fast and speedy without her looking like Sakuya and potentially avoiding same body syndrome with Aya, who's whole gimmick is speed. In the end, I think her drawing is my favourite, mainly because of the shapes and silhouette. I also really like how I golden-ratioed myon. I also took a few liberties with her outfit and decided to give it some layers to add visual interest. I also like how the cuts in the clothing add more triangles, which adds to the shape language. For her face, I was wondering what to do with her eyes until I decided to just go for the simple, glowing, circular eyes she has in the final product. I was also listening to a bunch of Gorrilaz albums while drawing these (Demon Days is my favourite album btw, idk how basic of a take that is though) and my brain 100% was subconsciously influenced by some elements of the art style (it's so good omg). I also like the shade of green I gave her, though I am a certified green lover so I am 100% biased.

Reisen is where I let myself get a little weird with it, because as you can see, I turned her into an anthropomorphic bunny because she is a weird moon rabbit god dammit, why should she look normal? I was more excited about drawing her IN design than her modern design so that's why she's dressed like that, but I do have a sketch of her in my sketchbook of her modern design. I also had fun rendering her velvet suit jacket. This also helped me tie in some of the reds in her eye and ear, which is also a nice bonus. I also gave her pure white fur to create more visual contrast. Overall, I'm pretty happy with how she turned out, though I wish I didn't shade the legs too much because it's kinda blending with the skirt colour....welp, ya win some ya lose some I guess.

Sanae is also relatively on-model compared to everyone else here, though I did try to make some changes to her outfit to make her feel different from Reimu. First of all, I made her big sleeves (IDK the proper Japanese term for them, if there is one, so again if you know please correct me on this) more open than Reimu's, as well as making them more pointy to give her a different silhouette. I also tried out a new rendering style on her eyes that I also applied to Cirno (we'll get to her in a moment) to also make her face feel different from Reimu's. I'll be honest, I didn't really know what to do with her body type so she just kinda got the "basic slim girl" look in her drawing. I'm not too big a fan of the frills I added to her skirt though, I don't really think she needs them. I'm glad I gave Reimu pants and a tabard instead of a normal skirt because that does help to make the two of them feel different. I also kept her little frog hair clip the same shade of blue as her dress, mainly to economize my colour usage and limit the palette into something a little more tight-nit. I do like how her little hair snake looks though, it's cute lol.

And finally, we have Cirno. I have been a firm believer of "long sleeve Cirno is best Cirno" ever since I saw the art of her in PMiSS because she's an ice fairy, I think it would make sense for her to want to keep herself warm, same reason she has little socks too. Now that I look at it more, her colours are pretty similar to her design in Great Fairy Wars, and honestly I like that, I think keeping her colour palette simple is a good idea so I'm happy about that. I mainly wanted to focus on rendering her wings though, mainly because rendering ice and crystals is fun even though I have done zero studies of them! I also wanted to experiment with rendering her eyes in a similar way to Sanae's, and I like how they turned out! I don't know if I'll continue with this style in the future but it will probably stick around because to me, any stylistically different way of doing eyes is another facial feature I can use to bend the rules of same face syndrome.

While I'm on the topic, I want to mention that the reason Hunter X Hunter's art works so well is because everything is kinda rendered the same. It showed me that if you do everything else consistently in your style (i.e. rendering, lineart, shading), stylizing each character's faces differently will be a lot easier, at least that's how I see it. IDK if I'm ever gonna do drawings of Aya and Ran in this style since I gotta think about them more as well as stop procrastinating lol.

[sabertoothwalrus]

your character designs are incredible! do you keep anything/any thought processes in mind as you draw fanart vs how you draw ocs?

OOOOOO what a fun question...

I'd say my general thought process about how to build a new character-- figuring out who they are and what they do and what they're like-- is all pretty much the same across the board. The main difference between designing fan characters vs original characters is how I answer those sorts of questions.

For original characters, it can be almost overwhelming because I get to choose everything. I can make everything perfectly suited to my own tastes, except I have a broad range of things I like, and my tastes change constantly FJHFHD so depending on the project, choosing a more specific direction helps narrow things down.

Here's some old ocs I redrew recently. They're from an old story I'm not planning on revisiting, but it was about an art student, her little brother, and some grim reapers. Can you tell who is who?

I wanted the alive characters to have a lot of Opposites from the reapers. Warm vs Cool colors. Round vs Angular shapes. I wanted the reapers to look skeletal and sickly looking, and it was important that they all had some kind of hood. They needed to wear black & grey, but their colors still needed to be interesting, so they're all tinted with a color (one is sort-of blue, one is sort-of red, one is sort-of purple).

The story is more serious, so it felt appropriate that the characters were more realistically proportioned compared to some of the cartoonier designs I tend to do. They're still heavily stylized, and I tried to push myself to go harder on the shape language and Appeal™.

For fan characters, it's actually a lot of fun because so much of the work has been done for you. The more source material you have to work with, the less you have to come up with.

So, an example I'm going to use is Hugh Dini, a character I came up with as part of a fan concept for a new entry in the Ace Attorney series.

Phoenix Wright's daughter, Trucy, is a magician. She was 17 in her last appearance, and my fan concept takes place 7 years later, so she'd be 24. I decided she'd have a boyfriend who is also her assistant, and went from there.

I knew Hugh was going to be a defendant, which according to Ace Attorney rules means that he'd be falsely accused of murder. I needed to create a guy who was sympathetic, someone that you'd WANT to help prove his innocence.

What I did was reference existing characters from the games who fit similar archetypes and took a lot of design cues from them. I also referenced characters like Fukuo from Kiki's Delivery Service, who is a delightful himbo wifeguy that looks a little intimidating but is actually just kinda shy. And then I looked at actual photos of stage magician costumes for additional inspiration. THEN I go back to the source material to compare design details I want to add (ex, Hugh's high collar, his cuffs, the collar, the cape being turned into fringe on his jacket) and see if it already exists somewhere. No point in reinventing the wheel if I don't need to!

I wanted him to be like a "sexy magician's assistant", which I thought was a funny contrast to his restrained demeanor. He needed to be flashy, but not TOO flashy that he'd upstage Trucy. And additionally, since this is a game series where the characters are mostly seen from the waist up, I tried to keep his most interesting details in the top half of his design (but honestly in hindsight, I could have given him more. like Zak Gramarye's thigh-strap belt bag, perhaps).

Some other things I like to do when creating fan designs is to "roleplay" being the designers of the source material. If concept art is available, I reference that. I like to find the design quirks the character designers favor, and use them to make my own designs more convincing. If I'm designing something for, say, a european tv show that came out in 2005, I'd refer to the fashion and design tendencies that were most prevalent in the culture then, because that's what the actual character designers would have been most inspired by. But I'm not perfect, I'm gonna have the biases of an american lesbian living in 2025 no matter how hard I try LMAO

Hopefully I was able to answer your question!

[atlaculture]

ATLA Writing System Pt. 1: The Opening

Wanted to do a series of posts showcasing my appreciation for the writing in Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise. To the say the series went the extra mile in its use of Chinese characters (Hanzi) is an understatement. Allow me to explain:

The everyday writing system of the ATLAverse is Traditional Chinese. This writing system is used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan in the current day; It was also used in Mainland China prior to 1956--- nowadays, they use Simplified Chinese characters.

However, the series will switch writing styles when it wants to highlight the "ancientness" of something. For example, in the show's opening, each element is written in either Bronze Script (over 3000 years old) or Seal Script (over 2000 years old).

Water, fire, and air are written in Seal Script. Earth is written in Bronze Script. As a point of reference, here's how these concepts look when written in Traditional Chinese:

水 (Water)

土 (Earth)

火 (Fire)

氣 (Air)

Also, the symbol on the left and right sides of the world map is a stylized way of writing "longevity". I go more in-depth about the character here:

...longevity is an appropriate symbol for the Avatar world. Not only are the world and the entity of the Avatar quite ancient, but our protagonist is literally 112-years-old.

And the texts at the top and bottom of the map? They translate as...

The powers are divided into four The world [all under heaven] is restored by one The bottom text is a slightly re-worded quote from The Analects of Confucius: Avatar Map Quote: 天下一匡 (The world [all under heaven] is restored by one.) The Analects of Confucius: 一匡天下 (Through one, the world [all under heaven] is restored.) Same characters, but different word order.

In Part 2, I'll highlight some interesting uses of different Chinese scripts within the actual show. ^_^

[lonelysheepling]

Recently read @queenofthequillandink ’s DPxDC crossover fic Unearthed, Reborn

I got inspired to draw character sheets for Danny, Sam, Jason, and Jazz’s vigilante personas. Here’s a link to the author’s drawings of their outfits (these were a vital reference for me when doing this so thank you so much for sharing them Quill) More commentary (like 7+ paragraphs plus 2 images) about this project and the designs below the “keep reading” line.

None of these thoughts I have for each character are in order, but I have a lot of commentary for these since this project was a lot more conceptual than my normal work. I also just like talking about my art/design process. If you ever find yourself wondering at some point why an element from the original design wasn’t included, the answer is that the removal was completely intentional and part of my grandmaster vision for this work and wasn’t because I just forgot about it entirely during the design process.

————————————————————————

Aconite (Sam)

This was the first one I sketched out, I wasn’t even sure at the time if I was going to fully commit to drawing all of them. I thought that Sam was gonna be the hardest since her description was way longer than the others, but then bird boy beat her out. I took a lot of creative liberties with her design, the bag was added bc I couldn’t figure out how to add pockets to the skirt. I was trying to avoid a joker color scheme so I had a lot of ref images that I got by searching like “purple green aesthetic” on Pinterest. The dark purple and dark forest/blueish green won out in the end. I desaturated a lot of my colors for her just to get as far away from the neon Gotham rogue aesthetic. I also added the bdsm harness over the armor to add more punk elements to her design, I know that in real life that would be very uncomfortable to wear over scalemail armor but sometimes we take creative liberties when they look sick as fuck. Also, I didn’t realize until I went to look for a reference for aconite flowers that aconite is wolfsbane! That was neat to learn! Also, the font I used for Aconite is called “zai Art School Calendar 1931”, I’ve used this a few times for other projects, it’s one of my favorite fonts. The ‘zai’ fonts the creator has are all very good.

Shade (Danny)

There wasn't much to add to this page. His outfit is pretty simple (besides the patterning). I wasn’t sure how to pull of an optical illusion pattern but I was reminded how I sometimes get an eyestrain induced headache when looking at someone wearing a patterned shirt with really thin stripes so I just leaned into the idea of a small/detailed hard lined pattern. I originally made 5 separate patterns for him and then turned them into stamp brushes in procreate. I only ended up using three of them, the one on the chest, the one on the legs, and the one on his hand. But, I imagine the patterns fade and shift when he moves, sort of like a lenticular print. I gave him constellation freckles and stylized the hair’s fade into white. The hair was inspired by how time-woods draws Martin Blackwood’s hair (linked: time-woods’s fanart of Martin Blackwood). Also put way too much effort into the teeth on the mask. I just like the chunky teeth design. Oh yeah and the font I used for him is called “Typewriter_Condensed_Demi”

Erinys (Jason)

Repeatedly ran into the issue of not having enough canvas space bc of my fervent need to thoroughly document and plan out how the wings worked. I also reversed the colors for the bodysuit & armor so the under layer was black while the armor plates were red. I only realized afterwards that I may have been inspired by the red centipedes in Rain World (linked: gif of the red centipede, don’t click the link if you’re unsettled/afraid of bugs/insects), artists subconsciously draw inspiration from other artists all the time though so I’m not like upset about it. I stand by it because it looks sick as hell. Also leaned into the magpie theming for the wings. I think the vigilante form was supposed to be reverse magpie coloring? I can’t remember, but I stuck with normal magpie coloring. The anatomy of how the wings connected to the collarbone was inspired by JayEaton’s Magpie Bridge Project. Reference image link. Link to the article the image is from. I didn’t draw the wing armor because I couldn’t figure out how to would work with the wing anatomy and I ran out of canvas space. Finally, the font used for him is “DIN Condensed” this is a default font, I would’ve used something more punk but I needed the text to be legible.

Insight (Jazz)

I did Jazz after I’d already finished the initial trio, so I had to switch to a new canvas for her bc I’d hit the layer limit multiple times on the previous one. I really do love doing that spiked under-eyelash thing with characters. Don’t know when that started. Anyway, I added the shoulder pads to her outfit to help break up the empty space. The golden eyes were a nice accent color since her design is very overwhelmingly green. Honestly the braid hairstyle and gold eyes really do obscure her identity, multiple times when drawing her I was worried that she didn’t really resemble Jazz enough. There wasn’t a drawing from the author for her so I only had the text description to go off of. I just realized that she sort of reminds me of a forest ranger and I don’t know what to do with that realization. I copy/pasted my drawing of her eyes when gold and recolored them to match her normal eye color. There were two layers for that, a hue shift and a hard light layer to emphasize the shadows.

Here’s what it looks like without the hue shift: 

It looks really cool and I’m 100% that color combo in another drawing down the line. Oh yeah and the font used for this sheet was “Euphemia UCAS”. It comes with Apple’s operating system, I use it as a neutral default text most of the time bc it’s nicer than helvetica but not overly fancy like Times New Roman—and why am I talking about fonts. ——————————————————————— Anyway, this project was very fun to work on. The alt text for this was its own endeavor, hope the folks using screen-readers don’t mind 4-5 paragraphs of description text. Also, I cannot remember for the life of me if Dani got a costume description, but if she does I’ll make sure to update this image set with a sheet for her. And to the author, QueenOfTheQuill, if you’re reading this message that I’ve left at the very bottom of this post below a read more line, thank you for the fic. It’s very good and I’m glad I caught it during my slow decent into DPxDC brainrot. I love the interactions between Jason and Tim, it’s nice seeing a revived Jason that’s not bogged down by pit rage. They definitely seem like they could’ve been good friends if not for the unfortunate circumstances that led them to meet in canon. Also, I’m sure Jazz will love interacting with Batman and Nightwing. So much psychological & childhood trauma to unpack with them. Feel free to use/share these images if you so desire and thanks again for your work.

[arleniansdoodles]

Inspired by a "La Belle Dame sans Merci"-esque painting (included below because I couldn't find the artist), here's Noa and Mae again! Please forgive the messy sketchiness, I was getting kinda tired while drawing and decided to wrap it up as it is loll

I could've used La Belle Dame itself as a reference, but that one's been redrawn plenty of times, and because of that I feel like it's lost a bit of the novelty, if y'know what I mean? So I wanted to try something different while still keeping the same vibe, if possible!

Also, here's the first fanart I technically did for Kingdom but never posted before! I went for a more stylized look because it was my first time drawing apes and boy oh boy was I struggling XDD

[ciphersoi]

ME INTERESTED IN YOU ! ₊ ˚. 🕯️ ⊹₊ ⋆

content warnings: graphic descriptions, gore, blood, fighting, disturbing imagery (?)

summary: after a near death experience fighting mr. machete, he gets bored of you. but when he goes to finish you off—your tears bring him…enjoyment?

notes: first time writing for homicipher, hope nothing is too ooc ! also stylized version of the homicipher language to fit the characters more ^-^

“Yo!”

A gruff voice suddenly called out to you, freezing you in place. A cold sweat dripped down your forehead as your [e/c] eyes darted around—frantically trying to find the owner of the voice.

“Above you…” The voice jargoned sinisterly, a toothy grin appearing on its face as your eyes finally locked onto the mysterious entity.

There he sat, confidently resting upon a shoddy balcony against the wall. His gray skin was tinged with red markings, (much reminiscent of your own skin), and his head was wrapped with bloody bandages. By his side rested a large machete, which was currently dripping with a liquid you had no desire of knowing.

A shiver went through your spine as your body instinctively entered flight mode. Even without Mr. Crawling you could tell that this room was unsafe. That entity looked violent, and if you didn’t get out of here now—there was a high chance that he would kill you.

‘He can’t possibly see me with all those bandages…’ You thought to yourself, slowly reaching your arm behind you for the door handle as your eyes stayed trained upon him. ‘Let’s just try to get out of here—’

“Oi…” The mysterious entity’s voice takes on a more commanding tone as his mood begins to sour.

“Me not give permission leave.” The entity starts to rise, his arm reaching for his weapon. Meanwhile, you hurriedly turn the doorknob, a curse rising in your throat as you realize that the door is jammed.

“You leave…” The entity points his machete at you, a wickedly deranged look appearing on his face. “Me kill you!”

Without a second thought you darted forward, sprinting for the door on the other side of the room.

As you ran, your footsteps echoed against the cracked concerte floors. Behind you, the sounds of shuffling could be heard, along with the screech of metal scraping agaisnt concrete, the rustle of fabric, a jump, and a landing, sending vibrations through the ground.

Panic clawed at your chest, urging you to turn left, so you do—twisting your body just in time.

The air hissed as a machete sliced past you, its edge glistening in the faint light. Time seemed to slow as you watched it carve a deadly path through the air. It buried itself into the wooden door ahead with a sickening crack, the force splintering the wood and sending shards flying.

‘Just a moment later and that could have been me…’ You gulped, feeling your heart beat faster at the realization. But, he was now disarmed, giving you the perfect chance to stun him and run away.

Your body entered fight mode as you turned to face the entity. You raised your hand, fingers crackling with energy that shimmered and flickered like embers in a dying fire.

The entity looked at you, showing a brief moment of uncertainty before lunging at you. It was then your palm ignited in a blaze of destructive power, energy pulsing outwards towards the entity.

Dust and debris flew into the air, obscuring your view of the entity. You used the chance to open the door and escape, bolting down a long hallway.

Unfortunately, your moment of victory was short-lived. The door behind you crashed open and the entity’s heavy footsteps followed. They were faster, heavier and closing the gap with alarming speed.

The hallway seemed to stretch on forever. Your muscles screamed in protest, not use to this level of physical exertion, but you didn’t dare look back. You could feel him gaining, the air between you shrinking.

And then—

A hand grabbed you, missing by a few inches. The sudden jolt made you stumble, and that split second is all he needed.

Pain erupted in your lower stomach, sharp and all-consuming. You choked out a gasp as the machete’s blade pierced through your lower stomach. The force of the strike sent you sprawling forward, collapsing to your knees.

You clutched at the wound, hot blood pooling between your fingers and soaking your clothes. The world tilted, vision blurring as your heartbeat thundered in your ears.

Behind you, his heavy breathing filled the space. You didn’t need to turn around to know he was there, towering over you like a predator over his prey.

“You dead?” He asked gruffly, stabbing his machete onto the ground in front of you before crouching down. Although his eyes were covered, you could tell that he was examining you. Was it to see if you still had fight in you? Or maybe he was deciding how to deliver the finishing blow?

Your trembling fingers curled against the floor, lifting yourself in an attempt to attack him again with your power—but the searing pain in your lower torso was too much, so you crumbled back onto the floor.

“Tch…” An annoyed sound left the entity’s mouth before he roughly grabbed your arm and pushed you against the wall. You grimaced as your vision focused on the man in front of you. He appeared…angry for some strange reason.

“You not fight me.” He grumbled, his hand trailing down your body towards your wound. You flinched slightly. “You disappoint me.”

Before you could react, his hand slammed against your wound, fingers pressing cruelly into the torn flesh. A strangled cry escaped your lips as his weight bore down, forcing more blood to gush out, hot and sticky against your hands.

“S-stop—desire you s-stop…” You grunt out, struggling to formulate words that he would understand. At this rate, your wound would be infected, and you’ve already lost so much blood. Was there any way you could survive this?

The entity quirked his head to the side, his lip twitching upward slightly at the despair on your face. “You understand language?”

When you didn’t respond his grip deepened, every press deliberate, each second dragging out your pain.

You gasped for air, your body shaking violently as you tried to push him away. But it was useless, your strength draining from you at rapid speed.

Tears welled up slowly, blurring the edges of your vision until the world became a blurred haze. Thick globs of water clung to your lashes, trembling with the weight of emotions too heavy to hold back.

Suddenly you felt hot liquid against your cheek, causing your eyes to shoot open. It was the strange machete man, whose bloodied fingers carefully wiped away the tears that streaked down your face.

You took on a confused expression. ‘Was he…drying my tears? Why does he look like he’s enjoying it…?’ You shook your head, dismissing the thought. This must be your body hallucinating due to blood loss.

“Me touch you here…” The machete man hovered over your open wound. “You cry?”

He looked at you with expectation, a concerning grin stretching across his face.

It took all of your strength, but you managed to cough out a short: “You touch me here again…me kill you.”

The grin on his face widened as something akin to a laugh left his lips. “You enjoyable! Me interested in you!”

He tightened his grip on your torso and hurled you up, tucking you underneath his arm. With his other hand you grabbed his machete, dragging the heavy weapon behind him with a deafening screech.

You were too weak to fight against it, so you allowed him to carry you. But you wondered, what would he do with you? And did he know a way to heal you?

These questions would be left unanswered as your vision slowly faded to black.

[candycandy00]

I Got a Goth Santa Boy for Christmas! - A Dabi x Reader Fanfic

You ask Santa for a hot goth guy to fuck you stupid. Dabi shows up at your door. 

Smut. 18+. Fem Reader. Dabi as Santa’s Helper. Spanking. Degradation. Humiliation. Squirting. Faint Praise. 

Dividers by @animatedglittergraphics-n-more!

Part of CandyCandy’s Kinkmas 2024!

It’s Christmas Eve, a little before midnight, when you hear a knock at your door. You’d just settled in with a mug of hot cocoa and a blanket on the couch, ready to watch looping classic Christmas cartoons as you fall asleep. But before Santa can even begin bullying poor Rudolph, you get interrupted. 

Sighing as you peel the blanket off and sit down your mug, you wonder who could be knocking on your door at this hour. You went to a small Christmas party at a friend’s house earlier today, but if you’d left something there they would have just texted you, right?

The knocking is getting insistent as you reach the door. “Alright already!” you yell as you unfasten the lock and swing the door open. “Stop knocking so loud on Chris-“

Your voice dies in your throat, because what you find on the other side of the door is a very strange sight indeed.

It’s a man in a bizarre Santa suit. The parts that should be red are jet black, and the edges of the coat are frayed and stitched at odd angles. He’s wearing black gloves and boots, both a little too stylized and a little too shiny leather to fit the Santa look. His hair, what you can see of it beneath the black Santa hat, is snowy white and his eyes are bright blue. He has piercings dotting his face and ears, but what strikes you most of all are his scars. 

Rich purple burn scars cover the lower half of his face and form half circles under his eyes. They contrast beautifully with the blue, making his eyes seem to glow. 

He’s gorgeous. And he’s so very much your type that if a friend saw him out in public, they’d snap a photo of him and send it to you. 

You finally find your voice again. “Uh, can I help you?”

He looks at you with an almost bored expression. “Yeah, I heard a naughty little slut lives here. That you?”

Your jaw nearly drops. “Excuse me?!”

“Oh? Did I get the wrong place again?” he asks, pulling an electronic tablet from his coat and tapping the screen to turn it on. He looks from the screen to your face, then holds the tablet out for you to see. “This is you, right?”

On the screen is a picture of you with your name and address beneath it. “That’s me,” you say, “but I’m not a slut!”

He pulls back the tablet and taps the screen a few times. “Really? We got this letter from you. ‘Dear Santa, send me a hot goth guy to fuck me stupid for Christmas!’ Didn’t you write that?”

Your face immediately burns with embarrassment. You did write that. As a joke. And you never showed it to anyone, much less mailed it. How the hell did this stranger get ahold of it?!

You cross your arms defensively. “Even if I did write that, as a joke, it doesn’t mean I’m a slut!”

He taps more on the tablet. “Maybe not, but Santa’s surveillance network is pretty good. We’ve got these videos of you playing with yourself every night.”

“WHAT?!”

Suddenly you hear sounds coming from the tablet, your own voice moaning and crying out in pleasure. The stranger grins, and you can see him using his fingers on the screen to zoom in on something. 

“Wow, look at you go! If this ain’t a horny little slut, I don’t know what is!”

You lunge forward, trying to grab the tablet, but he jerks it out of your reach, holding it up high. On the screen, you can see your own fingers rubbing your clit. “Turn it off!” you scream, absolutely mortified that this hot guy is seeing something so private. How did he get these videos?!

“Oh? Gettin’ worked up?” he asks, laughing as you continue trying to grab the device. 

“I’m not a slut,” you yell out, “I’m still a virgin!”

Both of you freeze. Did you just yell that out to a complete stranger? He’s staring at you, the video still playing, your cries reaching a crescendo as you cum on screen. His eyes flick back to the tablet. “Holy fuck. Never seen a virgin squirt like that!”

You feel tears stinging your eyes. You glare at him in silence for a moment, then step back into your apartment and slam the door in his face. 

“Hey, don’t be like that!” you hear him shout through the door. “I’m your present! You asked for me, right?”

“I didn’t ask to be humiliated!” you yell back. 

You hear him sigh. “Look, it’s not a big deal, okay? You’ve been good enough to get your wish granted, but Santa thinks you’re spending’ too much time flickin’ the bean. I’m supposed to punish you, but in a fun way, yeah?”

“What do you mean, in a fun way?”

His voice is sultry as it glides into your ear. “Let me in, and you’ll find out.”

You stand there facing the door, having a full on mental debate. Should you let him in? He’s an asshole, but he’s fucking gorgeous. You’ve been wanting to lose your virginity for a while now, and you have the hottest guy you’ve ever seen at your door, ready to do the deed. But how did he get your letter, and those videos? 

Oh shit. Santa Clause is real. And this guy works for him. 

Once you accept that, everything else starts to make sense. The guy seeming to be tailor made to fit your taste, him knowing all about you, the way he’s dressed. 

So he’s your present from Santa? 

You take a deep breath, then open the door. He’s sitting cross-legged on the floor, his back against the opposite wall in the hallway. He looks up at the sound of the door opening and gets to his feet. 

“I have a question,” you say, a little uneasily. You’re still grappling with the fact that this guy has watched you masturbate. 

He dusts off his black Santa suit. “Yeah? What is it?”

“Did they make you do this?”

He tilts his head and frowns. “They?”

“Whoever you work for. Santa or the elves or whatever.”

He bursts out laughing then. “No, doll, the elves ain’t whorin’ me out. I volunteered after they showed me those videos!”

You look up at him. “Really?”

“Yeah. Got me all riled up. And besides, those little fuckers can’t make me do anything,” he says, a smirk on his handsome face. 

That’s a relief to hear. You don’t want to do this with someone who’s here against their will. 

“So?” he asks, blue eyes gleaming. “You want your present or not?”

You step back inside your doorway and to the side, gesturing for him to come in. You can barely look at him as he walks into your apartment. You’ve fantasized about something like this for years, and you’re certainly horny enough, but now it’s actually happening. Just thinking about it makes you nervous. 

He doesn’t say anything as he follows you to your bedroom, but once there he glances at the bed and grins. “There’s a familiar spot!”

You grimace. “Please stop reminding me of that!”

“Why?” he asks, his eyes not so subtly sliding up and down your form. “You were hot as fuck in those videos.”

The comment makes you blush. Did he really like watching you? Still, you’d rather forget all about that. “Let’s just pretend that never happened, okay?”

He shrugs, standing near your bed. “Okay, so do you wanna unwrap your present now?”

Before you even answer, he’s opening up his furry black Santa coat, revealing no shirt underneath. Oh god, the scars are all over his body, making such a lurid patchwork. You can’t take your eyes off them. 

He sits down on your bed and pats his thigh. “Come sit on Santa’s lap,” he says. 

You cross over to him, your candy cane striped socks making no noise at all on the carpeted floor. You’re wearing a red tank top and green pajama shorts. Nothing fancy or sexy but it’s not like you expected any of this to happen. 

When you get close enough, he suddenly grabs your hand and pulls you over, so that you’re laying across his lap, face down. Your ass is slightly raised in the air, and you squirm a bit in surprise. 

“H-hey!” you shout, trying to wiggle off him, but one of his hands is gripping your thighs while the other is holding your back down. 

“I gotta punish this naughty little slut before we have fun,” he says as the hand on your thighs slides up, over your ass, and then hooks a thumb into the waistband of your shorts and panties. In one smooth motion he pulls them both down, exposing your ass and leaving the fabric around your knees. 

You squirm around in his lap, making a show of struggling, but the truth is that you’re more turned on than you’ve ever been in your life. He raises one hand in the air, then brings it back down in a harsh slap to your ass that makes you yelp. 

“How many do you think you deserve?” he asks, then brings down his hand again. 

You’re trying to keep from moaning, clamping one hand over your mouth, hoping he doesn’t notice how wet you are. 

Another slap. “Come on, answer the question!”

You move your hand from your mouth. “Ahh, I don’t… know!”

He laughs. “Well, tell me how naughty you’ve been and we’ll figure it out.”

Another slap. “I’ve been… very naughty!” you squeak out. 

“I can see that,” he says as his fingers slide down, between your legs. “What naughty things have you been doing?”

“Y-you already know!” you cry out, your voice shuddering as his fingers probe your wet folds. 

“Yeah, but you gotta say it, doll.”

His hand withdraws from your pussy, and you feel another slap, this time to the backs of your thighs. 

“I… I masturbate too much!” you blurt out, feeling your face burn. 

Another slap. Is it your imagination, or does his hand feel unusually warm? 

“Such a dirty little slut,” he says, giving your ass another slap. “So how many whacks does that deserve?”

“Uh… ten?”

You’re too embarrassed to look at his face, but you can practically hear the grin when he says, “Ten? Goin’ a little easy on yourself, huh doll?”

He gives your ass a firm squeeze, and you bite back another moan. Why is his hand so hot? And why is this making you so wet? 

“Well, whatever,” he says. “Ten it is. One…”

Another whack, and you twist in his lap to look back at him now. “One? You’ve already given me a bunch!”

“Yeah, but I wasn’t countin’ those.”

You groan and bury your face in the nearby pillow on your bed. If this keeps up, you’re gonna cum right here, while being spanked. 

The next nine whacks go by with you biting your knuckles, whimpering from the strain of holding back. You refuse to cum in this position, even when he pauses halfway through to rub your sore ass and dip his fingers into your quivering pussy again. 

When all ten whacks are given, he suddenly flips you onto your back on the bed, making you wince when your raw bottom collided with the mattress. Before you can complain, he jerks your shorts and panties off your ankles, pulls your legs apart, and moves between them. “Ready for the fun part?” he asks, leaning down, licking his lips. 

Oh god. You’re so ready. But you’re afraid you’ll make some embarrassing sound if you speak now, so you nod emphatically. 

Then, all at once, his face is in your pussy, his tongue parting your folds and circling your clit. Your body arches off the bed, your legs spreading wider automatically. Your breaths come quicker, shaky and hitching. 

His tongue feels so much better than your fingers! You’ve never felt anything like this, so warm and wet and moving expertly over the little nub. When his thumb takes over for a moment, rubbing your clit in a slightly rougher way, your legs begin to tremble. 

He’s looking up at you from between your thighs. “Gonna squirt for me like you did in the videos?” 

“N-no!” you say, trying desperately to contain yourself.

His thumb rubs upward on your clit, pushing back the hood, making you almost buck off the bed. “Show me how dirty you can be, naughty girl,” he says, then lets his tongue go back to work. 

You can’t stand it any longer. It just feels too good. You let out a cry as you cum, squirting all over him in the process. You squeeze your eyes shut and throw your head back against the pillow, your body spasming with pleasure. Once fully spent and panting, you gather your nerve and look down. 

His face is glistening, your juices dripping from his chin. He’s licking his lips and grinning back at you. 

Face burning, you grab your own pillow and pull it over to hide your humiliated expression. But the man gently tugs it out of your grasp. “Don’t hide,” he says. “You look real cute right now.”

You slowly open your eyes. “I do?”

“Yeah. Now how about I give you the rest of your present?” he asks, drawing back on his knees and unbuckling his black leather belt. 

Oh god. It’s happening. You’re equal parts scared and excited as he opens his pants. You’ve never seen a dick in person before, though you’ve seen plenty in porn. This one is, surprisingly, very pretty. The piercings dotting it catch the light in such a lovely way, and the small patches of scar tissue contrast with his pale skin. 

He leaves on the open Santa coat as he pushes his black pants down his hips and pulls your lower half into his lap. He lines himself up, then slowly pushes in. 

You feel yourself stretching to accommodate him, and there’s a bit of a sting, but not as bad as you’ve imagined while pleasuring yourself. When he starts thrusting lightly, the friction feels good. You can feel the cool metal of the piercings and the warm heat of his hard cock as it slides in and out of you, going deeper each time. 

When he finally gets all the way in, his tip pressing against your cervix, you gasp at the fullness, at feeling him so deeply within you. 

You’re losing your virginity to a guy who works for Santa, whose name you don’t even know. But it feels so amazing, you don’t care. You clamp onto him, throwing your arms around his neck as he pounds into you. 

You hear his voice at your ear. “This what you wanted for Christmas, doll?” 

“Yes!” you cry out, gripping him harder, not wanting to ever let him go. 

He’s practically slamming into you now, your whole body jerking with his thrusts. You’re holding yourself up off the bed by clinging to his neck, and he’s got one hand on the back of your head, cradling it as he fucks you. His other hand, which had been holding your hip steady, slides down between your bodies and finds your clit. He gives it a pinch, and you moan, your mouth pressed against his collarbone. 

Now he’s rubbing small circles into it with his fingertips, and you know you can’t last much longer. Your body is already quivering again, on the edge of release. 

He gives a few more especially deep thrusts while his fingers continue stroking your clit, and you come undone. The orgasm smashes into you, making you scream out as the pleasure washes over you. 

Almost immediately after, as if he were waiting for you, the man cums inside you, clenching his teeth as he shoots his load into your waiting pussy. 

Your arms slide from his neck, and he lowers you to the bed. It takes you a long moment to catch your breath, during which he pulls out of you and buttons his pants. 

“Your name,” you mumble, still dazed. 

He looks at you. “Huh?”

“What’s your name?”

He hesitates, looks away, then mutters, “Touya.”

You laugh weakly. “I thought all Santa’s helpers were elves.”

He sits down on the edge of your bed. “Most of ‘em are. I’m a special case.”

You raise up, pulling a sheet over yourself. “Special how?”

He grins. “This is my community service, to make up for all my fuckups when I was alive.”

Your eyes widen. “Are you… dead?”

He laughs at your reaction. “Nah, dead isn’t the right term for it. ‘Between lives’ works better.”

“What does that mean?” 

“It means I was on the naughty list in my previous life. Did a whole lot of bad shit,” he replies, looking a little nostalgic. “So I got an offer. Do some good deeds for a while and start my next life with a clean slate.”

“How long is a while?” you ask. 

“Sixty-five years,” he says. 

You shoot straight up in bed. “That long?!”

He laughs again. “It’s not so bad! I help out at the workshop a few months a year and spend the off season ice skating with elves.”

You stare at him for a moment. “Are you, uh, allowed to leave the workshop?”

His eyes slide over to your face. “Why? You want me to come visit you?”

You’re immediately flustered. “No! I mean… maybe. If you want to.”

He stands up and leans over you, kissing you on the cheek. “You’re really cute right now,” he says, then straightens up and heads for your door. Before he leaves, he looks back at you. “We’re pretty bored up there around Valentine’s Day. Maybe I’ll come see you.”

You find yourself smiling. “I’d like that.”

He raises his hand in a casual wave as he walks out, saying, “Merry Christmas!”

Tag List:

@coldluminarykoala @atomicweaselpaperapricot @chocoyanchan @calculust-prime

[celestiamour]

since you asked for hyun-ju ideas, here am i 🙂

Imagine being her girlfriend and finally managing to hype her up to wear something more feminine for a date (like a dress or a skirt), only for that confidence to be shattered by some strangers on the street ;((

so, after a bit of comfort, you just need to prove how they were wrong, and show your sweet girlfriend how nice you think she looks on that outfit *wink wink*

ft. cho hyun ju x f! reader — squid game

╰₊✧ hyping her up to go out wearing a skirt for the first time┊0.7k words

contains: fluff with suggestive content at the end!! gender dysphoria & insecurity but mainly euphoria, established relationship, reader is shorter

➤ author's note: i went off prompt and didn’t do smut for this one because i really just wanted to focus on her gender euphoria moment, so sorry (also this is my first time writing for a trans character centered around gender identity! my knowledge mainly comes from having an ex girlfriend who was trans and told me about her experience, but if i got anything wrong or need improvement for something, please tell me so that i can improve and do hyun-ju justice!)

she stared at herself in the mirror, almost in disbelief at first at the reflection looking back at her. it’s insane how a little bit of makeup and stylized outfits could completely transform her appearance, the magic being something she’s heard about plenty of times but has only been able to witness at this moment. her fingers nimbly adjusted her hair, brushing it back before pushing the front stands forward to frame her face, and then flying to her pleated skirt to straighten it out. her heartbeat was all over the place, both from the happiness of finally feeling like herself and from the anxiety of planning to go out in public like this.

hyun-ju paused at the thought of that, looking back at herself and suddenly focusing on all of her insecurities again— the more masculine features that other people would point out and whisper about from her face to her frame. she looked at her bare legs and found the contrast with the dainty piece of cloth too stark to ignore, finding herself crossing her legs and wondering if she should just wear pants like she usually did.

self-consciousness started to consume her entire being and thoughts about it not being enough raced across her mind, taking in a deep breath and considering just taking it all off to stay in for the night. the last thing she wanted was to get harassed by some assholes on the street just for trying to be herself, especially when she knew you would yell back at them and a fight was very much possible as it happened in the past before ending with you in the hospital for a broken wrist (the other guy was in a much worse state, but she still didn’t like the idea of you getting injured or possibly even arrested for her behalf).

“babe, are you finished changing?” you called out and broke her out of her thinking, but you entered before she could say anything. she cringed slightly and closed her, feeling embarrassed until she heard you gasp in pure delight, “oh, you look so beautiful!”

the heat radiating off her cheeks from being sheepish quickly changed to that of being flustered, “r-really?”

“of course!” you took her hands into yours, spinning her around like she was a princess wearing the most luxurious ball gown ever crafted even though it was bought at a local mall, “i knew this outfit would look good on you, it really is your color!”

“right, i was just worried it looked weird…” she felt a little stupid expressing her concerns, but she knew you were understanding, “i just feel like… i don’t know, i feel like i’m too tall to wear something like this…”

“being too tall isn’t a problem! personally, i would kill to be your height and to have your legs, and i know plenty of other people would too. it’s a trait that lots of top models have, so you don’t have to worry about anything!”

your words made her crack a smile, feeling the initial confidence flood her and your arm wrap around her waist as her gaze returned to the mirror once again with both of you admiring her beauty. seeing herself in your light was always enlightening like she was a completely different person in the best way possible, and she was so grateful to have you as her girlfriend to pull her out of her negative thoughts. 

“well, we better get going. if we stand here always just staring at how pretty you are, i might not be able to control myself and we’ll be home all night,” you teased, standing on your tip-toes and kissing her carefully on the lips so as to not mess up the tinted gloss.

“i don’t think i would mind that…” 

“don’t tempt me now…” the fluffy atmosphere became charged with a familiar tension with your touch lingering on her skin, one of your hands traced up her thigh with sinful ideas forming on how you could mark up the unblemished skin and ruin the makeup you wanted to preserve a mere few seconds ago.

after a few seconds of heavy silence, you finally pulled her to join you on the bed, all teasing smiles and lust, “well, we can just order an uber instead of walking, we can spare ten minutes. that’s all the time we need, isn’t it?”

[sweetbunpura]

Upendi - The Fierce, Lioness Princess 1

Yuu knew marrying Leona would come with the ups and downs of being a Princess, but she was going to put that power to good use and begin to help the people of Sunset Savanna.

WC: 1684

“Are these terms fair enough?”

A warm breeze blew through the council room. Spring has finally come to Sunset Savanna as the heat of the sun melted off the frost of the last winter frost. In the room sat Farena with the Sunset Council and across from them was Malleus with his two Royal guards. The draconic fae looked over the terms, flipping through them several times as he hummed.

“I would like more time to ruminate on this matter.” Malleus spoke eloquently. “Is that alright?”

“Of course, take as much time as you need.” Farena responded with a smile.

He grabbed the papers, bowed to them, and left the room with his guards. Once out of ear shot, Farena sighed.

“Do you think he'll agree, Kifaji?”

“I don't see why not.” The older beastman replied as they also began to leave the room. “This is beneficial to both countries.” The older man hummed. “Although, “He seemed to be contemplating the deal. If there was some way to get him more agreeable-”

“Mal!”

All heads jerked to see Princess Yuu, in her stylized royal garb, rushing towards the Briar Valley King with her arms wide open. Farena fully expected his guard to step in and stop her, but to his surprise, neither moved.

“Child of Man!” The King wrapped her in a hug. “How have you been?”

“Busy. There’s so much work that has to be done.” She sighed and placed her forehead against his shoulder. “So much that I’m sorry I had to cancel our tea date. I’m sorry about that.”

He shook his head. “Do not worry about it, something had come up that day for me as well.”

Yuu stepped back and looked at Draconia’s guards. “Silver! Baebek!”

“You still call me that ridiculous nickname!?” The light green haired guard snapped. “We’ve long since graduated NRC and have gone past that name, have we not?”

She simply smiled and opened her arms. “I missed you too.”

He huffed and shook his head before hugging her. “...It’s good to see you.”

“Mm-hmm.” She moved towards the other man. “Silver, how’s Lilia doing?”

“Enjoying his retirement.” Silver gave a smile and hugged her. “He sends postcards from everywhere he’s been.”

Unknowing to them, as they continued to talk and converse, Farena and the Council stared at them with wide eyes.

“S-she knows them and went to NRC with them as well?” Kifaji muttered.

“That is... shocking news.” Farena added in. “Wasn’t the school they attended an all male one?”

“Perhaps she snuck in.” One councilman, a monkey beastman, suggested. 

“No, she’s magicless. It would make no sense for her to do such a thing.”

“Then she is a special case.”

Another councilman chimed in, this one a meerkat beastman. “Wasn’t she supposed to be kept busy while King Draconia was here?”

“She was.” Kifaji answered. “Unless she completed all of it.”

Yuu’s eyes shifted from the group over to the lingering Council, the warmth in them left quickly as she glared at them. They jumped back and split apart, each muttering something about the princess, and leaving only Kifaji and Farena.

“My!” Farena laughed almost nervously. “Her and Thema have the same glare.”

“Indeed....”

They shuffled away, but Kifaji had a feeling that the Princess had more than just the King of Briar Valley and his guards in her backpocket.

Yuu waited for the men to disappear before turning her attention back towards Malleus. “So whatcha doing here?”

“King Farena and the council wished to meet with me about a possible deal.” Malleus held up the papers. “I was going to deliberate on it more and give them an answer at a later date.” He looked around. “Where is Kingscholar?”

“Leona?” He nodded. “We got Cloudcalling coming up and he has to oversee it, so he’s doing that.”

“And you?”

“Some diplomatic shit.” She sighed and crossed her arms. “Like who we should and shouldn’t invite to the event, thinking of all the rooms to give people and such.” Muttering under her breath, she continued. “And keeping me away from the slums and Ruggie.”

“I see.”

“Here.” Yuu started directing them down a hallway. “Let’s keep talking in the garden. I can brew some tea for you, if you want some.” 

“That would be lovely, thank you.”

“Mmhhmm, thank you.” Silver added in.

“Much appreciated!” Sebek chimed in.

They were soon seated amongst the many greenery that the castle grounds had to offer. The tea finished brewing and Yuu handed out cups to them.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what did the papers detail?”

“Here.” Malleus handed the papers to her. “You are more than welcome to look. I trust your judgement above anything else.”

“Thanks.” She took and read the papers over. “Hmm.” Yuu crossed her legs at the knee and took a sip of her tea. “....We don’t need your gold.”

“Pardon?”

“They're asking for your gold in exchange for the fruits we produce here.” She handed the papers back to Malleus. “If anything, I would exchange the fruits for the fabric Briar Valley produces. Right, Leona?”

“Yeah.”

Malleus, Silver, and Sebek watched as a very familiar tail dropped down from the branches behind Yuu.

“Leona-san has been here the whole time?” Silver blinked.

“Yeah.” Yuu took another sip of her tea. “That’s actually why I came back, they couldn’t find him and they knew he only answers to me when he gets like this.”

“I do not.”

“Really now?” She smirked. “Can you join us down here then?”

A few heartbeats passed before Leona dropped down from the tree and stretched. The prince shook the leaves from his hair and sat down next to Yuu with a yawn. He had started growing facial hair as wisps of it decorated his chin and stretched up to the sides of his face. The outfit he wore was close to Yuu’s and there was a wedding ring on his finger.

“Kingscholar.”

“Draconia.” Leona reached over and took some of Yuu’s tea. “What’s this about a trade?”

“Farena and the Council are asking for gold in exchange for fruit.”

“Typical.” He huffed and flicked his tail. “As she said, we don’t need the gold. We have plenty if they would open the mines.” Setting the mug down, Leona leaned back in his chair as his tail rested in Yuu’s lap. “We’re lacking fabric for mostly everything here. From clothing to sheets on beds. Spring may be here, but winter wasn’t kind to Savanna and neither is the night for that matter.”

“I’ll amend this at once.” Summoning a quill, Malleus began making changes. 

“You have picked up a lot since marrying Kingscholar.” Sebek said.”

“I had to because the council makes me want to tear out my hair and scream at them.” She placed her elbows on the table and sighed. “A bunch of old men running this country into the ground for the sake of keeping everything traditional.”

“We know the feeling all too well.” Silver added in as Malleus gave a small hum. “It’s a struggle, isn’t it?”

“You’d think they’re afraid of change or something.” She waved her hand. “But I’m not about to ramble on about them. Are you guys staying for Cloudcalling?”

“Are you inviting us to stay and partake in the festivities?” Malleus willed the quill away as the papers rolled up gently in his hand.

“Only if you’re able to. It’s in a few days, so you can give me your answer whenever.”

“Don’t I get a say in this?” Leona looked at her. 

“No. Wife privileges.” She smiled and kissed him as Malleus gave a soft chuckle.

“Thank you for the tea, Child of Man.” He got up and bowed. “I’ll be returning these papers to King-”

“Oh, Leona and I are coming too.”

“We are?” He grunted when Yuu swatted at his bicep. “We are.”

Before either of the men could move, Leona got up and helped the woman out of her chair.

“My, how marriage changes a person.” Malleus teased.

“Hush, Lizard.”

They left the garden and began making their way back to the main part of the palace. Stepping into the establishment, they spotted Farena and Kifaji.

“Ah, there you are, Leona!” Farena smiled. “And I see you’ve met with King Draconia.”

“Yeah.” Leona rolled his eyes.

“Here you are.” Malleus handed the papers to Farena. “I reviewed the terms and believe this is more beneficial.”

“Oh?” The older Kingscholar looked at the sheets. “Fabric?”

“Yes. Gold is far too accessible and common, but the way Briar Valley weaves our fabric is worth the cost of your produce.” Malleus held out his hand. “Do you agree to these terms?”

Kifaji leaned slightly over to Farena, but he waved him off and shook Malleus’ hand.

“They are. Thank you, King Malleus.”

“You’re welcome. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to continue spending the day with my friend.” He turned to Yuu with a smile on his face.

Yuu returned it. “Gimme one second, okay?”

He nodded and Leona directed them towards the exit of the palace. Once out of ear shot, Kifaji rounded on Yuu.

“That gold was needed.”

“For what? Another fountain?” Yuu glared at him. “If you want the gold so much, open up the mines and go grab it yourself.”

“I’ve told you time and time again-”

“You can’t keep using that broken record of an excuse, Kifaji.” She growled. “Do you know how many people we lost last winter because they didn’t have the means to keep warm?” She pointed at the papers. “The way they weave their material around makes it so you are never cold. So, you’re going to have to forgive me for directing him over towards that option.” Yuu poked his chest. “You may not think highly of the residents of this kingdom, but I do. Don’t pull this shit again, bird and that also goes double for you, Farena.”

Yuu ended the conversation there as she walked out of the palace, leaving Kifaji and Farena to stare at her with a surprise look.

Tagging: @kimdourden

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

So i read the ENA Prom!AU and hear me out....

So ENA is still going to the dance with someone else BUUUUT reader is going with a close friend of theirs, and so once ENA is dumped she gets really sad until she found out they're only going as friends and not as a date????

Omg I forgot about that one-

Imma do a rewrite of that fic but with the idea you mentioned (and I'll make the "close friend" Dream BBQ Ena, but for this fic she'll be called "∃NA" like it's stylized in the game).

.........

Prom night.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime event Ena was excited to participate in.

Everybody was allowed to attend...so long as they had a date, of course, as that was the only way they'd even be permitted to enter the building it was held in.

But that wasn't problem for her, as she found herself a date only a few days ago: a guy who she didn't know all that well, but has talked to her a few times between classes. So that was enough for him to be a familiar face; he was nice to her, and thus was considered a "friend" in her eyes.

Of all people, she never suspected that she'd be asked out to prom, so when he approached her with the question...obviously she couldn't refuse!

She couldn't be more eager for night to come--which was odd, since she never liked parties or huge social gatherings.

But this was an exception she was willing to make. Anything to make one more person in this school treat her like she's normal.

Once the pair were granted entry, Ena's grin only widened as she clung to her date's arm, eyes surveying the gym and everything going on within:

In one corner, she saw Phindoll wearing his best tuxedo, trying to woo a group of ladies with some advanced mathematical puns. In another, Shepard was trying to sneak pieces of turron while she kept an eye out for any potential messes.

Then she spotted you, Moony, and ∃NA hanging out together by the food tables, chatting about things she couldn't quite make out. But even so, she was glad to see another one of her kind attending the party.

All her friends were here.

Life was good.

"Ah, isn't this great? I wonder how we should best spend our time. I see delectable turron there! And the bowl of code just over there! Oh, so many possibilities!" She giggled, leaning on her date's shoulder. "What do you think, my dear acquaintance? Where shall we begin?"

"Oh..uh about that..." He cleared his throat, shifting awkwardly in-place. "You mind letting go for a second?"

"Certainly! But...is something the matter?" Although confused, the polygonal woman listened, her eyes still shimmering with happiness. "I know. I'm nervous, too. But it's gonna be wonderful-!"

"Yeah, um..look, I only said I'd take you to the prom. They wouldn't have let me in otherwise." His gaze went to the corner, where he saw his friends hanging out. "Couldn't let them figure out I was emptyhanded, y'know?"

"Are you referring to your buddies over there? We should go meet them post haste-!" She went to take his hand, only to see him take a huge step away from her, and she frowned. "Huh? What's...What's wrong? Why are you acting this way?"

"Didn't you hear me? I said I'd take you here. I never said anything about being with you the entire time."

".....what..?" Her blue side took over as her shoulders slumped, the words slowly hitting her like a truck. "I don't...understand. I..I-I thought-"

"You seriously cannot be this dense...you really think I'd wanna be seen with someone like you? You know what that would do to my reputation?!" His voice became raised, and she brought her hands to her chest, cowering under his gaze.

"That's...not very nice. Wha..What did I do wrong? Did I say something offensive?? Is it...the way I'm dwessed?" Her voice trembled as she looked down at herself.

She was so excited about tonight that she picked out the best dress possible: one made of blue screens, pixelated popup clips on the straps, and ribbons of code wrapped around her waist.

But now she felt nothing but insecure about it.

He sighed, suddenly feeling bad for shouting. "No, it's not what you said. It's not how you're dressed. It's....It's you, Ena. I'm sorry. Don't take it personally. You're a nice girl, but I just needed a reason to get in here and be with my friends."

She felt her heart crack in two.

"B-But....but I-"

"Look, you can have fun by yourself. Do whatever you want. Just...stay away from me, alright? I'll see you in class sometime."

"Wait! Please don't..!!!"

Despite trying to reach out to him, her date--or rather her ex-date--walked off and disappeared into the crowd, pretending she didn't even exist.

Her yellow hand was grasping for air, although it flopped down to her side as she realized she was very much alone now.

She stood there for a moment, before an involuntary shudder took over her body.

Was she about to cry or vomit or both?

Apparently, it was option two as she felt white noise bile rise up in her throat, and she slapped both hands over her mouth. She sprinted out the nearest backdoor, hoping nobody would see or hear her.

She definitely didn't like this party anymore.

.........

"Ugh, why didn't I ask her when I had the chance?"

"Dunno, but get a load of this turron, dude! Eat your feelings away if you feel that bad about it."

"I still don't get the point of these stupid events. We're just wasting time...remind me again why you dragged me here against my will?"

"Because it's prom, Meanie. You'll never get another chance to attend it." Shaking your head in amusement, you glanced at ∃NA, whose meaner side wasn't at all thrilled to be here.

No, she wasn't your date, as she was too committed to her studies in business to pursue any relationship. Yet you convinced her that she could afford one night of joy, and she finally obliged--but only because you two were close friends. Otherwise, you would've had to drag her here kicking and screaming.

On paper, you two were listed as "partners", thus fulfilling the requirement to enter the building. While Moony somehow snuck in and hasn't been caught yet.

In truth, there was another member of her species here that you were hoping to ask out to prom....but unfortunately she was already taken by some random guy outside of your circle.

Ena was so excited about it, given how much she rambled and nervously asked for your opinion on the dress she had prepared, that you couldn't let her find out how disheartened you were upon hearing the news.

So you decided to go with ∃NA and introduce her to Moony. Her Salesperson side was taking the backseat for a while, as she got bored of doing inventory on random things and trying to pitch sales to uninterested attendees. For now, Meanie was here, mumbling and grumbling while chugging cups of code, wishing they were alcoholic.

"Say..I haven't seen that other Ena or her sleazeball of a "date" in a while." She huffed. "Something ain't right about that.."

"Yeah, I hear you.." Moony nodded in agreement. "I get nothing but bad vibes whenever I'm around that guy. Plus..he's kinda ugly. Why would she settle for that?"

"You say that about everyone, Moony." You chuckled, setting down your empty plate. "I'll see where she is and make sure she's alright. Don't kill each other over the last piece of turron while I'm gone."

"No promises." Meanie answered, immediately shooting the celestial entity beside her a look, which she returned in kind. "What, you oversized boulder? Got something to say?!"

"Woah there, lady. I'm a rock, thank you very much."

"Rock. Boulder. Stone....whatever!! It's all the same, ain't it?"

"Hahaaaa!! You're pretty cool, ya know that? I love your sass."

"...hmph. The feeling's mutual."

"....alright. I'll catch you guys later." You flashed a smile at them both, before heading off to search for your friend.

You prayed that Moony was wrong about the "bad vibes" that guy gave her, but usually she was correct about 99% of the time. Although you won't know for sure until you found her...

.......

It took awhile, and it felt like you were going on several different sidequests, but after asking around the gym, one attendee mentioned that they saw her running out the backdoor by herself.

That immediately worried you, and so you headed outside, where it was dark and particuarly chilly. The moment you clicked the door shut behind you, all of the music and chatter from the event went mute.

Not long after that, you heard two different noises fill the air.

They sounded like....glitched crying and sniffling?

'Oh no.' You didn't have to go very far to locate the source, as you eventually found Ena sitting alone on a bench illuminated by a single streetlight. Her back was turned to you, and she was sobbing loudly into her hands, static vomit scattered around the grass surrounding her.

It broke your heart deeply.

You felt terrible for even thinking about it, but somehow....you had a feeling that this exact scenario was going to play out.

She'd get her hopes up and believe she finally found someone who was nice to her. Someone who didn't judge her for her species....only to do the cruelest thing imaginable and leave her all alone again.

You didn't wanna believe it. You didn't wanna crush her happiness by warning her.

Now? You wish you did.

Quietly walking over to the bench, you sat down beside her. "Ena..." You rested a gentle hand on her shoulder, seeing the way she tensed up and immediately looked at you, tears flowing down the white half of her face. "What happened?"

"H-He...He used me to get into the pwom, [y/n]!!" She bawled. "He didn't wanna be seen wi...with "someone like me" and said I was huwting his weputation!! I should have known better...I-I'm too stupid and dense to think anyone would wanna go out with me! Why did I come here???? I SHOULD JUST GO HOME RIGHT NOW AND DIE!!! WOULD THAT MAKE HIM FEEL BETTER?!!!"

"No. Absolutely not. He's wrong about all of that." You brought her into a hug, and she buried her face into your chest, wailing and blubbering about how much she hated these social gatherings and listing every regret she had in life leading up to this moment.

Rubbing her back, you let her get it all out of her system, hoping she didn't go "full-sadness" on you.

The one time that happened, she was damn near inconsolable and ∃NA's Meanie side had to threaten her with violence to get her to calm down.

You didn't want it to come to that now, not over a broken heart of all things, but her skin was already turning light grey.

"He's a liar. And a total prick for treating you like a one-way ticket into this event. Anyone would be lucky to go out with you, Ena. I...I-I know I would be..." You muttered the last part quietly, your face growing a bit flushed.

Yet she heard you. "Bu...B-But you have ∃NA, don't you?" She mumbled depressingly, clinging to your [dress/suit]. "She's pwettier..more confident..isn't a jobless loser like me. You should go back to her and leave my misewable-self alone."

"You already know I'm not gonna do that, and besides...she's not actually my date."

"...wh..what..?"

"Yeah, we only had to present ourselves as a couple to enter. She didn't even want to come, but I insisted she took a break from her studies."

"S-So..you two are just...?"

"Friends. That's all. Nothing more. Honestly, I really wanted to ask you out before that guy did, and I was kicking myself for not speaking up sooner." The words spilled from your mouth before you could think. But you didn't care anymore. She needed to know.

It was enough to make her stop crying for the moment, as she looked up at you. "Really?"

"Mhm. Moony had a bad feeling about him. But you seemed so happy when you told me, and I thought...maybe he was a nice guy. So I let it go. Now I wish I hadn't...I'm sorry, Ena." You frowned slightly.

"No, it's...it's not your fault. I-I didn't listen, and...a-and now I'm a mess that you had to come clean up!!" She began sobbing again, falling back into your arms. "I wuined your night!! Like always...I'm sowwy..."

"No, honey. You didn't do anything wrong. The only one who ruined tonight was him." Shaking your head, you helped her sit up, brushing away the tears falling from her blue eye. You wish you could beat up that bastard for making her feel this way--like she was nothing--but you knew that's not what she'd want. It wouldn't solve anything.

"Come on. No man is worth your tears. He only cared about himself and his loser friends. He missed out on the chance to be with somebody as beautiful and kind as you. And I bet he's gonna regret ditching you every time he sees you in the halls."

Ena looked stunned by your words, sniffling as she tried to compose herself. Then you saw her face glitch back to its normal blue-yellow scheme, the former half still looking a bit sad. "I...have my doubts I'm either of those things. Did Moony put you up to this?" She squinted.

"Nah. She's mean sometimes, but she'd never stoop that low." You smiled, taking her hands into yours. "So before I forget...may I take you to prom and share at least one dance with you?"

She blinked in surprise. "R-Really? Are you sure?"

"Yes, really. The night's still young, and there's no line to re-register as a couple. But if you're not feeling up to it, we can go home. That's okay, too."

"No, no...this night shouldn't be spoiled by his ungentlemanly actions. Your words ring true." Her yellow half took over, smiling brightly as she threw her arms around you in a tight embrace. "Thank you for talking some much needed sense into me, [y/n]! I apologize for any distress I may have caused. I'll be your date! Absolutely!"

"Now there's the Ena I know." You laughed softly, hugging her back for a few moments before you both stood up and headed inside the building hand-in-hand.

Already people were gathered on the dancefloor, moving and swaying to the beat of the vaporwave music playing over the DJ's speakers.

Moony and ∃NA were still by the food tables, laughing together as if they've known each other all their lives, only to fall silent as they spotted you and Ena together in the center.

They glanced at each other once, and exchanged brief smiles, understanding what had happened and being glad she was with you and not that prick anymore.

Ena saw her celestial friend give her a wink, and her fellow polygonal entity raising a toast, causing her face to burn with a slight blush.

"Don't worry about them."

Feeling your hands grasping hers gently, all of her attention was redirected to you and your face. "Let's get through this one dance, alright?"

Without another word, she smiled back and nodded, allowing you to lead the way, focusing on nobody else but you and your footsteps.

You both ended up staying for a few songs, and it was a wonderful experience.

This night started off horribly, with someone who didn't think twice about abandoning her, and ended with someone else---the one who truly and deeply cared about her.

That was you.

it was you the whole time.

How silly of her to not realize that sooner.

[moonchildstyles]

whats this aster curious gazes im seeing ?🥸

wordcount: 2.7k+

—————

Mikaela impatiently checked the time broadcasted on the clock above the auditorium's entrance, trailing after the molasses-slow minute hand. How had it only been three minutes since she last checked and not the twenty she had sworn it had been? She and her group had already finished peer reviewing each other's papers ten minutes ago, but they were all confined to their seats for fear of Professor Rian marking them down for leaving early—one of his favorite activities Mikaela had learned about the hard way during the second week of courses.

"How much longer?" Bria bemoaned from across the table, her own boredom showing in her dull gaze. (Y/N) perked up at Mikaela's side at the question, though she stayed just as quiet as she always was. 

"Another thirty," Mikaela murmured, a moment away from rolling her eyes, "I feel like we've been waiting for, like, an hour." 

Around them, the remaining groups were still chattering, some speaking about the essays while others seemed just as checked out as them. Running a hand through her long hair, Mikaela convinced herself to stay strong. 

"At least it'll be the weekend after this," she reminded the table, looking to Bria, "You're still set on getting your tattoo this weekend?" 

Bria plucked up at the question, her brown eyes sparkling in excitement. "Mhm! They called and confirmed yesterday with me, so I'll be in tomorrow morning, first thing!" 

"Are you going to be with the same guy that you had the consultation with?" Mikaela asked, picturing the long haired, heavily tattooed man she had seen when she went with Bria the first time to set up the initial appointment. She almost booked one for herself after seeing him; even the scowl and less than friendly demeanor couldn't detract from his... everything. 

Leaning across the table as if sharing a secret, Bria raised her eyebrows with a conspiratorial gleam in her eyes. "I hope. I might cancel, if not." 

Mikaela laughed along with her friend, knowing exactly where she was coming from. 

Piping up with a small smile on her features, (Y/N) asked, "Where are you going for your tattoo?" 

"It's not too far from here actually," Bria started, settling her chin in her hand as she spoke to (Y/N) at Mikaela's side. "It's called 17Black." 

(Y/N)'s expression brightened at the mention of the tattoo parlor in a way Mikaela had never seen before. Though she usually came to class fresh-faced and dewy, there was now a glimmer in her eyes that almost gave the illusion of glitter having fallen in her lashes.

"They're the best," she bubbled, her smile wide, "It's gonna turn out really, really good. You said you know who your artist is going to be?" 

"Yeah—um—hold on," Bria muttered, reaching into her bag, "I got his card last time I was in—I think he's the owner, or something." After a moment she pulled out a black and white business card, reading the name off: "Harry." 

Passing the card across the table, (Y/N) eagerly read over the stylized font and the glossy logo on the other side. "He's amazing—you're super lucky, Bria." 

(Y/N)'s smile wasn't one that could be shaken as she passed back the card. Mikaela thought she looked like she was proud, even. (Y/N) was always so reserved, seemingly more comfortable in the background and only chirping up when needed, Mikaela had never seen her so bright like this. 

"Have you been there before, (Y/N)?" she asked, trying to imagine someone like (Y/N) with any tattoos—especially done at a place like 17Black. 

Not that there was a specific kind of person that could have tattoos or that the parlor wasn't nice, but she had a hard time picturing (Y/N) with all her ribbons, pink sweaters, and shimmer flouncing into that building and getting a design inked into her skin. Especially by someone like Bria's artist; she was already shy enough, Mikaela doubted his scowls and curt tone would be anything of comfort.

That left her raising her brows in surprise when (Y/N) happily nodded her head. "Yeah! I only have one tattoo, but Harry did it and it's"—there was a moment something dreamy flashed over (Y/N)'s gaze then—"It's perfect." 

"I didn't know you had a tattoo," Bria interjected, her expression surely mirroring Mikaela's with her own perked brows and searching gaze as if they had both somehow missed an obvious marking. 

"It's really little," (Y/N) explained, settling some in her seat, "It's on my side, like, on my ribs, so people don't really see it." 

"I never pictured you with a tattoo," Mikaela added, "And especially on your ribs. You're brave." 

"Honestly," Bria started, bouncing full brows over her eyes "I don't know how you got through it, especially with him." 

A cinch appeared between (Y/N)'s brows. "What do you mean?" 

"You probably had to take your shirt off for the rib tattoo, right?" Bria prodded, watching as (Y/N) flustered some before ultimately nodding her head, "I don't know how to act around that guy—Harry—with my clothes on, I think I would combust if he asked me to take them off." 

It wasn't hard to see that (Y/N) was bubbling with embarrassment at Bria's remark—though Mikaela did hardily agree. She wondered if (Y/N) felt the same way; it was hard to picture her getting flustered over someone like Bria's artist. There could be that whole opposites attract thing going on for them, but Mikaela could only really see the scenario where Harry would crush the marshmallow that is (Y/N).

"Oh, I don't know," she muttered half-heartedly, trailing off without a real answer, "You know, he's just..." 

"It's okay, I get it," Bria finished for her with a bubbling laugh that had (Y/N) cracking her own polite smile. "He's pretty intimidating, honestly. Not for everyone, I guess." 

With her hands a bundle in her lap, (Y/N) tilted her head, "I wouldn't say that—" 

Not a moment too soon, Professor Rian made his way back to the forefront of the auditorium—something Mikaela wished he would have done a half an hour prior. "Class dismissed. Next Wednesday we'll do our final draft reviews and the finished essays will be due next Friday at midnight. Have a nice weekend." 

"Finally," Bria exasperated, immediately rushing to pack her things just as Mikaela had before Rian had even finished talking.

(Y/N) had done the smart thing and had her things ready to go once they had finished peer reviewing, only having to sling her bag over her shoulder while she quietly waited for the pair of them to get their own shit together. 

It was wild how much more awake Mikaela felt now that class had been dismissed, leaving behind the exhausted state she was lulling into at her desk. Shrugging into her jacket, the mental list of tasks she had to accomplish before her sister, Mira, and her boyfriend would be over for dinner didn't sound so bad now.

"What are you getting, Bria? For your tattoo, I mean," she chirped up, peering around Mikaela as they walked into the corridor, steps in sync with one another. 

"The moon and some stars and stuff on the top of my hand," she explained, "It's kind of hard to describe without a picture, but it's this whole thing." 

"That sounds really pretty," (Y/N) smiled, sincerity in her voice, "Hopefully it won't take too long—I hear the top of your hand can hurt sometimes with the bones and all." 

"It might not be so bad if it took a while, right?" Mikaela piped up, shooting Bria a look from the corner of her eye. Maybe, if Mira and her boyfriend didn't overstay their welcome tonight, she'd go with Bria in the morning and see if her artist had a girlfriend or something. 

(Or was at least open to hooking up on one of the tattoo chairs). 

Leading down the hall towards the main entrance of the building, Bria nudged Mikaela's shoulder. Ahead of them, (Y/N) reached forward and opened the door for the three of them to pass through. 

"Definitely wouldn't be bad," Bria laughed, the chill of the winter air seeping through the sleeves of Mikaela's jacket as they stepped outside. "I don't know, I might even—Wait, oh my god." 

"What?" Mikaela asked, brows furrowing at the abrupt change in her friend. 

Instead of the amused bubbly expression she wore just a moment prior, Bria now looked ahead with wide eyes and gaped lips, her steps slowing over the concrete. 

(Y/N) noticed the change in her demeanor as well, peering around Mikaela as her own features molded into something of worry. "What happened?"

"He's here," Bria muttered, looking straight ahead towards the student parking lot, "That's literally him right there, isn't it? Why is he here?" 

"Who? Who's her—" 

Following Bria's line of sight, Mikaela felt her own words get stuck in her throat when she saw just what had her friend going limp. 

As if summoned, Bria's tattoo artist—Harry—had somehow found a prime parking space in the student lot and was now waiting.

He was ever the intimidating figure with his arms crossed over his chest, leaning against the hulking frame of the black Range Rover behind him. (Because, of course, he would drive a Range Rover). Even with the chunky black cardigan draped over his form, he didn't look any less imposing than when he had stalked through the tattoo parlor. He perfectly matched his car, all black, tattoos tracing over his skin, including the heavy chest pieces on display from the low scoop of his top. A pair of sunglasses were holding his hair back on the top of his head, with his lips set in a firm line, lip ring and all.

"He doesn't go here, right?" Mikaela blanched. Why else would be here, if not to go to class, right?

(Y/N) looked just as bewildered as they were, a cant to her head as she took him in. "What is he doing here?" she muttered, voice quiet enough to be speaking to herself.

Their small trio stood off to the side, out of the way as the rest of their classmates trickled around them as well as other students meandering through campus. From where they stood, Mikaela could see the way the tattoo artist scanned over the student body, searching for something—or someone.

He didn't come to see Bria, right? That would be crazy, leaning on certifiable—even if he was hot.

Mikaela's eyes widened when she saw (Y/N) wave her hand above her head. What was she doing? Did she not think this was weird that he had showed up to campus when he really didn't have any reason to? 

She watched as he caught sight of (Y/N)'s waving arm and his features almost immediately softened. Even from where they were standing, it was clear to see the tension releasing from his body in a breath. He pushed off from where he was lent against his Range Rover and started towards the building—towards them.

Was (Y/N) insane or something, and they'd just missed all the signs until this moment? Why would she ask him to come over here?

"He's coming over here, what the fuck," Bria murmured, just as lost as Mikaela. 

It didn't take long for his spanning strides to cross the concrete and take him to where their small group had taken root. Seeing him this close again, Mikaela realized her memory didn't do him any justice—he was more than gorgeous. Unfortunately crazy, but still hot. 

Had he always had his nose pierced? Had his eyes always been that green? Had they always been pinned to (Y/N) like that? 

"(Y/N), do you—" Bria started, only to cut herself off when (Y/N) excitedly bounced up to her toes once the tattoo artist was close. 

"What are you doing here, H?" she chirped, familiarity in her voice as she looked up at him.

Mikaela figured she wore the same expression that Bria did, with her eyes wide and brows raised, a fraction away from her jaw dropping as they watched the tattoo artist—H—pull (Y/N) into his arms and drop a kiss on the top of her head.

"Came to pick you up for lunch, if that's okay," he murmured, not sparing a glance their way as he kept the pink marshmallow in his arms. "I also noticed there was an extra jacket lying around my room that I thought was supposed to be with you." 

Sheepishly looking down, (Y/N) shook her head. "I forgot, I'm sorry." 

Adoration was clear on the tattoo artist's—her boyfriend—features. "'S alright, lovebug. I brought it with me so y'can have it the rest of the day, jus' don't keep forgetting it. 'S only getting colder out, I don't want you to get sick." 

"I won't," (Y/N) sighed, looking entirely at home as she clutched his sweater in her hands and fluttered her lashes at him as if he were a king. "Thank you." 

Mikaela couldn't help the simmering of her blood beneath her skin, surely a flush painting her complexion as she thought back to just what she and Bria had been saying during class. They talked all about how hot (Y/N)'s boyfriend was to her face, implied he was intimidating and not her type, and she had even heard them freak out thinking he had come to see them. She was never going to pair with them for peer review again.

(Though Mikaela will give herself credit for not speaking about the lingering fantasy she'd had involving one of those tattoo chairs and Harry's hair pulled back so he could focus). 

"Um," Mikaela sounded, almost cringing at how stupid she sounded from just a single syllable, "I think we should probably go, but we'll see you next week, (Y/N)." 

(Y/N) turned with her expression going bashful. Her boyfriend's hands didn't move from where they were on her waist though he finally looked up from her to see the rest of the world around them. 

"I'm sorry," she apologized as if in reflex. Looking at the man behind her, she started with a shy smile on her lips, "Harry, this is Bria and Mikaela. They're the girls from one of my English classes I've told you about." 

Back was the expression she recognized from when she had dropped by the tattoo parlor. His features hardened some, going less open and easy to read than they had been just a moment ago. He took them in with a stilted smile on his lips. 

"Nice to meet you," he murmured, his gaze flicking to Bria for a split second longer, "Actually, we've met before, right? You're my nine a.m. tomorrow." 

"I am, yeah," Bria said, sounding just as lame as Mikaela felt. It was easy to see Bria was floundering for anything to say before she finally settled on, "(Y/N) didn't tell us she had a boyfriend." 

His smile turned lopsided at that, amusement flickering in his gaze as he looked down at the marshmallow in his arms. "She didn't?" 

(Y/N) looked to the pair of them, biting back a smile as if remembering what was said back in class but deciding it was their secret to keep. "It just didn't come up." 

"Right," he smiled, squeezing her waist just enough to get her bouncing at his side with a short huff of laughter pouring out, "Are you ready to go?" 

"I think so, yeah," (Y/N) agreed, craning her neck to smile up at him before returning her attention to Mikaela and Bria. "I'll see you guys next week."

The pair shared similar goodbyes, hoping they didn't sound as embarrassed as they felt. Walking away from them, Mikaela watched Harry tangle his fingers with (Y/N), slowing just long enough to press a kiss to her forehead before leading her towards his Range Rover.

"We are the most annoying people in the world," Mikaela said, breaking their silence, "We literally said all of that about him to his girlfriend." 

"She's never going to partner for peer review with us again." 

Despite the guilt and bits of humiliation floating through her system, Mikaela couldn't shake off just how sweet it was to see (Y/N) interact with someone like that—especially someone like her boyfriend. They were clearly in love, that much she could tell.

"Oh my god," Bria said, whipping her head around to look at Mikaela with horror stricken eyes. 

"What?" Mikaela asked, taken aback at the sudden urgency in Bria's voice. Was another person they had lusted over to their partner, about to round the corner? 

"I have to see him again tomorrow," Bria whined, "And, (Y/N)'s probably going to tell him what we said." 

At that thought, Mikaela really hoped her sister would overstay her welcome tonight—give her a reason to stay in bed and leave Bria to her appointment alone. 

—————

this is the first time im trying out this kind of pov so I really hope everyone like it! thank you sm for reading, sorry for any mistakes, and please lmk if you have any ideas you want to share!

[askoverkill]

Your overkill Bonnie has such a wonderful design. 10/10. Why did you choose pilot hat over stylized canon, if you’re ok with saying? Frankly I would like to know what went into all the changed designs because they rock, but that feels like the biggest not mask change.

// the goal was to make everyone fit their Title, and it's hard to do that with Bonnie because. Being a "kid" isn't really something you can dress for, without looking like this:

which obviously would be too stupid lmao

so i thought about it and, well, a kid wanting to look like an aviator is kinda the epitome of playing dress up as a cool grown up! Symbolically, it represents chasing the skies and the sun, which is fitting for someone who is characteristically defined by their devotion to the sky wizard as opposed to the strained relationship we see in canon.

its also got the perfect childish vibe to it. obvs bonnie isn't going to be flying, and open planes aren't common IRL let alone in this fantasty setting, so the hat is SUPER impractical. the goggles, meant for open planes, are extra useless. it evokes a vibe of "kid playing dress up" because of how disconnected as a real professional outfit it'd be here. (it also makes me think of the little prince!!! and thinking on it deeper, a few digimon kid protagonists had goggles too)

and, when researching (aka, scrolling through Pinterest) i'd often see kids/young adults in aviator hats in the post apocalyptic genre. why? no frickin idea. it's a vibe tho.

// so yea, the visual aesthetic of the au is "character title + post apocalyptic" so that's the combo i went for!

// in universe it's meant to show bonnie has been away from their sister a bit longer, that things have been more dangerous that they lost their original beach hat. so the design is less beachy and more adventurery!

[redsugarx]

青白之魅 3: Hair & Makeup Styling

1 Introduction & Presentation // 2 Background & Influences // 3 Hair & Makeup // 4 Set Design // 5 Clothes & Accessories // 6 Conclusion

If you thought there was gonna be less nerd from here on out you are deeply mistaken.

I was responsible for the hair styling for both the white and green snake, which was super fun. I’ve been doing hanfu hair styling for a year or two now (thank you to everyone who let me practice on them!!!) and have gradually gotten better at it, even though I still struggle with some parts of it. I certainly have the equipment collection to show for it now at least! I have so many fake hair pieces I can’t keep track.

As with any hanfu hair styling, the process involved a lot of fake hair, pins, and hairspray—but of course before the actual styling started, which was mostly only on the day of, I had to spend some time thinking about how I wanted the hair to look on each character.

元 衛九鼎 洛神圖, Taiwan National Palace Museum, 她：女性形象與才藝，2020

As far as snake-like hairstyles go, the first thing that comes to mind is the 靈蛇髻/灵蛇髻/ling2 she2 ji4/Spirited Snake hairstyle, shown above on Luoshen, a women’s hairstyle that went through a lot of changes through the dynasties but generally involved a tall, twisting bun leaning slightly to the side on the top of the head, resembling the body of a rearing snake. It’s a very popular style both historically and among hanfu enthusiasts today, because it looks very unique and ethereal. Often, female spirits or goddesses are depicted with this hairstyle.

That was the style I was originally planning on using, but it came with some limitations: one, it’s kind of… in unstable equilibrium? We’d essentially be walking around with the leaning tower of Pisa around on top of our heads. I had to style both of our heads BEFORE setting up the set design, so there was too high of a risk that something would get knocked out of place, since I knew I would have to be running around doing things. Also, because Yulan has brightly colored dyed hair, she had to wear a black base wig under all the fake hair pieces, which is a bit more difficult to pin things to than your actual scalp.

So instead I went with a different design. I knew I still wanted a lot of serpentine loops and strands, and I wanted there to be a significant amount of volume going on—they are ‘spirits’ and ‘goddesses’ after all, they deserve to be fancy!—so I went from there.

The Poetry Vibes

I stumbled upon a few poems last year while looking for names for Cloud9 Hanfu’s Year of the Dragon collection, and a few of them ended up becoming inspirations for this project.

This is the first part of 張可久 (Zhang Kejiu)’s Yuan Dynasty verse, 醉太平·春情 (Drunken Peace · Spring Romance). It’s a bittersweet poem describing a speaker that is longing for a lost love, likening her beauty to the imagery of the evening spring showers outside his home. I’ll do a slightly more faithful line-by-line translation of the poem’s actual words, then a paragraph-form translation with more stylization that gets at the meaning a little more (poetry is really hard to translate).

This is mostly just my interpretation though, and my Classical Chinese is... extremely questionable, so like... take it with a grain of salt.

張可久 Zhang Kejiu, 百度百科

Line-By-Line

烏雲髻鬆，金鳳釵橫。<- “Storm cloud hair is soft and loose, the golden phoenix hairpin is horizontal.”

伯勞飛燕自西東，惱離愁萬種。<- “The shrikes and swallows fly their ways to the West and the East, causing ten thousand kinds of sorrowful goodbyes.”

碧溶溶满溪綠水桃源洞，淡濛濛半窗白月梨雲夢，恨匆匆一簾紅雨杏花風。<- “Jade stream water flows to the Peach Blossom Grotto, moonlight is cast cloudily through the pear blossoms to my half-open window as if through a dream; the wind is unforgiving, felling apricot petals like a red curtain of rain.”

把青春斷送。<- “It ruins the spring.”

Stylized

Storm clouds gather loosely outside my window. I can almost imagine that they are strands of her soft hair; I can almost see where her golden phoenix hairpin would have laid, nestled in her black locks.

It’s springtime now—the orioles should be migrating, flying to their summer homes in the west, and the swallows to the east. Imagining their inevitable parting stirs a complicated sorrow in my chest.

As it storms, clear rainwater collects on the ground in rivulets, streaming away like liquid jade. I wonder where the water is going—is it to some forgotten, untouchable paradise? Is that where she is now? I can see through my half-open window where moonlight drizzles through the petals of the pear-blossom trees, misty and clouded as if I’m dreaming. Suddenly, a curtain of red petals fall across my vision like rain: it’s my flowering apricot tree, struck by the wind.

My trance is broken—spring is over.

//

As Chinese poetry tends to be, it’s very romantic with lots of natural imagery, tinged with sadness. When I reread it with this project in mind, it made me think of Xu Xian after the events of the Legend of the White Snake. While it’s commonly accepted that Bai Suzhen later ends up getting freed and there’s some kind of happy ending, the actual legend itself ends with the White Snake being imprisoned under the Leifeng Pagoda. Many years, if not centuries, pass before she gets out. So as many Chinese romances tend to be, the Legend of the White Snake is, by itself, a great tragedy. I can see the Xu Xian as the speaker of the poem.

Bearing this in mind, I imagine that the beauty of the Snake Spirits are much like the scene described in this poem—soft and ethereal like mist, hiding enough power to bend nature to their will.  I decided to lean into the ‘clouds’ theme, especially for Bai Suzhen.

傳 五代 周文矩 仕女圖, Taiwan National Palace Museum, 她：女性形象與才藝，2020 (ft fucked up fat cat)

The comparison of women‘s hairstyles to rainclouds is actually very widespread in Chinese literature, so it was perfect for hairstyle inspiration—in poetry, women are often represented by their features, ex. a poem might say "moth brows" or "cloud hair" to refer to a beautiful lady. Cloud hair and cultivated appearance is integral to the allure of a woman, so much so that the act of putting on makeup can be considered a transformation of identity.

In the linked instance the transformation of identity is supposed to be in the sense of gender identity, but you could also see it (in the context of this project) as the transformation from snakes to women.

This connection is strengthened by another poem, 好事近·夢中作 by 秦觀/Qin Guan from the Song Dynasty.

清宫殿藏画本. 北京: 故宫博物馆出版社. 1994, Wikimedia Commons

Line-By-Line

春路雨添花，花動一山春色。<- “Rain has filled the road with flowers, swaying in the breeze, filling the mountain with the feel of spring.”

行到小溪深處，有黃鸝千百。<- “I walked far along the mountain stream, where there were hundreds and thousands of yellow orioles.”

飛雲當面化龍蛇，夭矯轉空碧。<- “The flying clouds turned into dragons and snakes before me, stretching across the vast jade expanse.”

醉臥古藤陰下，了不知南北。<- “I lay down, drunk in the shade of the vines, not knowing which way is North or South.”

Stylized

I see where the spring showers have filled the mountainside with flowers. They sway in the breeze, bringing with them the rejuvenating scent of spring as I walk deeper and deeper into nature, following the bubbling mountain spring and the crowds of yellow orioles that have come out to celebrate the season as well. As I look up at the sky, I see dragons and snakes form in the midst of the roiling clouds above, leaping and coiling across the expanse of the clear blue sky. Intoxicated, I stop to rest underneath some vines, lost in the beauty of springtime.

//

So I am aware that it kind of sounds like this guy miiiiight be on acid but I'm pretty sure it doesn’t mean he’s hallucinating snakes in the clouds, it’s just like when you look at a cloud and say “that one looks like an elephant!”

Then again there is an interpretation that says his "walking further and further into nature" means he's just getting more and more drunk to escape his problems, so like... make of that what you will. Art is more often than not subjective.

Anyway, dragons also have power over rain and weather, and snakes are often called the ‘little dragon,’ often also associated with flowing water. All this is to say—clouds & coils are good representations of snakes! Also, you’ll notice that both of these poems are about springtime (though the second one is noticeably happier), fitting in with using this project to welcome the Spring Festival :)

Moving onto individual hairstyles. Keeping in mind the shapes of clouds, I wanted Bai Suzhen’s hair to be very tall, voluminous and ethereal to represent her spiritual prowess and strong will. A bunch of loops fan out at the top center of the hairstyle, adding ‘rays’ pointing outwards like a halo. I made sure there were a lot of round, circular elements to ‘fluff out’ the shape like a cloud. There are two strands of circles kind of peeking out at the bottom behind her neck/ears area, which were achieved by pinning a braid to each side and then pulling the outermost hair strands of each ‘loop’ outwards to create little flat circles.

Going back to the first poem, if I imagine that the speaker is Xu Xian thinking of Bai Suzhen, it makes sense for the mentioned ‘gold hairpin’ to appear in her hairstyle, doesn’t it? So I also added a few gold hair accessories—U-shaped pins for the most part, plus a small guan in the center to tie things together—to point outwards above her head. 

For Xiaoqing's hair, I wanted something that was a little more youthful, but still resplendent enough to do her justice. Xiaoqing is a younger spirit than Bai Suzhen, but still accomplished in her own right. Her hairstyle don’t extend as far outwards as the White Snake’s, but she has two ‘loop’ buns on each side rather than one peak in the middle. It’s kind of evocative of the double bun look often styled on younger girls, but with more fancy loops and swirls added to represent her high spiritual abilities. Each of the two main buns has two strands of hair looping up from the back of the head to the top. The strands are very loose, so depending on how I moved, they separated into several visible strands/just one thicker lock of hair.

The hair accessories I chose for Xiaoqing don’t have as much metal in them, to distinguish her from her sister, as I wanted to emphasize her connection to nature—because she has less experience than Bai Suzhen, she is often portrayed in media (Green Snake 1993 especially) as not yet reaching full human form, still closer to her serpentine origins. She has a white flower with green leaves on each side, standing for spring, youthfulness, and her dedication to the White Snake. There are a couple strands of pearls ‘dripping’ down from the flowers like raindrops, matching with the pearl accessories in the makeup, as well as with the white markings on Dragun’s back.

傳 唐 周昉 內人雙陸圖 , Taiwan National Palace Museum, 她：女性形象與才藝，2020

I also chose to include a pair of green half-moon combs, made to imitate jade (they’re acrylic, I’m working on a budget here ;-;). These were often worn several at a time, inserted into different layers of hair (as seen in the image above). Jade accessories are carved from nature—they are often subject to the colorings and properties of the natural base material they are made from, and they are often used to describe natural imagery. This can sometimes be a limitation, but for those who look further it can be an inspiration (see the Jadeite Cabbage, my favorite thing ever, Taiwan Numba One).

Peking Opera Hairstyles

京劇旦角，百度百科

Peking opera influenced the hairstyle design a lot. Dan roles (旦角）in opera have very specific hairstyle protocols. They wear a lot of fake hair pieces and hair accessories just like modern hanfu hairstyles have. One of the base hair silhouettes shared by almost all dan is the traditional 大頭/大头/da4 tou2/'big head,' with most of the hair wound into a large oval bun on the back of the head, and small pieces added at the edges for decoration. To imitate this look, the back of both of the hairstyles are padded with a large, flat, and round hairpiece (known in the hanfu hairstyling community as the 西瓜包/xi1 gua1 bao1/'watermelon bun'). This helps to add volume onto the back of the head, creating the illusion of very long hair that has been neatly wrapped and pinned up.

Another one of the key parts of these hairstyles is the round loop of hair in the center of the forehead. It’s an important feature that I included to tie the two styles together, to make sure it was clear that it was a ‘matched set’ so to speak, and was inspired by the hair loops seen in Chinese Opera styling.

戏曲旦角化妆、梳大头全过程，新浪博客，2011

Traditionally, a solution made from elm tree sap and/or kelp was used as hair gel to glue the little contouring base pieces (貼片子/tie1 pian4 zi0) down to the face. Seven loops called 小灣/小湾/xiao3 wan1/'little curves' line the hairline, one in the center and three off to the sides. I think they look kind of similar to the hairstyle that ballroom dancers have.

This was an artsy hanfu concept shoot, so I didn’t want to necessarily copy the operatic hairstyles—not to mention I don't know how, the motion of making one hair loop alone can take 3-5 years to train—but I did want to include some elements of the opera characters as a nod to their role in popularizing the legend! So each hair design has that central loop. It’s a separate hair piece that I bought for this shoot, whose base I covered with some of the other hair. It isn't glued down like it would be traditionally. I was going to have a few more loops coming down on the sides too, but I found that it looked kind of awkward so I took them off.

There are also two thin strands of hair trailing down each shoulder, another element partially inspired by Chinese opera styling, but it’s very common nowadays to have those there just for the Vibes so it’s not as unique. Most dan roles have a section of long unbound hair trailing down their backs, with two small strands separated out to stream down the front. This is called 線尾/线尾/xian4 yi3/'thread tail' or 線簾/线帘/xian4 lian2/'thread curtain.'

Makeup

Okay so this mostly ended up being about hair rather than makeup because I know a lot more about hair than makeup, but I'll talk a bit about the makeup too lol. I can't speak for the White Snake's makeup—Yulan was in charge of that and she did a marvelous job!—but I did do my own makeup.

The makeup for the green snake came with a great challenge: how do you make my face, arguably the roundest and most nonthreatening thing you’ve ever seen, into something resembling a snake demoness? Also, flamboyant makeup in cool colors can be tricky—too little and it’ll all disappear on camera, too much and it’ll look like a muddy green mess.

Both my sister and I are fairly warm-toned; green has to be very concentrated in a very small area to look interesting, otherwise it just looks like a bruise (I tried it). So I tried to use a lot of long thin lines of color and angles in the eyeshadow to avoid that, and to kind of draw out the snakey vibes. The meager selection of green eyeshadows that I had weren't the most pigmented, so we made a stop at Sephora (my first time in Sephora believe it or not) on the way from LAX to Riverside and bought some supplies. They turned out to be super super useful.

One of my favorite makeup features was a my sister’s suggestion—fake pearl ‘snake bite’ piercings under the bottom lip! It’s a fun little linguistic easter egg that I’m super happy to have been able to incorporate into her styling. 

宋人 宋高宗后坐像，Taiwan National Palace Museum, 她：女性形象與才藝，2020 Look closely and you'll see dozens of tiny women depicted in pointillism on her guan headdress!

Pearl makeup （珍珠花鈿/珍珠花钿/zhen1 zhu1 hua1 dian4）was really popular throughout several dynasties, but especially the Song Dynasty, where it became a huge trend among nobles. Today it mostly appears in hanfu circles, but I believe some Southern Chinese opera styles use them too.

As far as I know, the position that we put them in under the bottom lip is anachronistic, but they did often appear at the corners of the mouth/the dimples (面靨/面靥/mian4 ye4), so if you stretched it a little and imagine they've just been moved slightly, I could probably claim that it's at least historically inspired.

元人 畫梅花仕女, Taiwan National Palace Museum, 她：女性形象與才藝，2020

Other places that pearl makeup often appeared was on the temples, cheeks, or forehead. I also put a pair under my eyes just for funsies (I find that using smaller-sized pearls looks better to me, even though the ones shown in paintings are usually fairly large).

//

Okay that ended up being a lot longer than I thought it would be. I am so tired wow. The next one might take a while to come out too, but hope this one was enjoyable :)

1 Introduction & Presentation // 2 Background & Influences // 3 Hair & Makeup // 4 Set Design // 5 Clothes & Accessories // 6 Conclusion

[voidcat]

characters: you/imaushi wakasa, sano shinichiro...

a/n: angst lol. strangers to friends. themes of fwb but nothing explicit. switch of perspective. mcd obviously,,

as i said in this post the loose explanatio/beginning of an idea i had that i liked ALOT but couldnt write due to various reasons (esp lck of time) (open post for a lil further stuff for reader x wakasa ig,,,)

attending the same classes as shinichiro sano... you've heard of him alright but that's about it. a nice face to look at perhaps but a little odd. not someone you'd interact with occasionally, nor someone you'd remember in particular-

until you're paired with him for an assignment. it'll help build bonds between the lot of you! the teacher announces and everyone groans in unision

you shoot your new partner to be a look from where you stand and turn back to your notebook. the ring bells but by the time you can get up adn gather your stuff, sano is nowhere to be seen

it takes you hours to find him. and at possibily one of the worst times too.

you heard of the rumors about fights and deliquents but you didn't expect yourself to run into one. youre careful, you live a peaceful life, you avoid trouble, always keep a clean name and all-

the people around all battered and beaten up, covered in bruises, cuts and maybe blood, looking hungry, unsatisfied, maddened– and you're in the center of it all.

footsteps approach you, strong, stern, taking their time and all- you hold it in you to not turn for a look. wait for them to show their face at your feet, dont give them the satisfaction nor even the slightest sign of weakness.

a man with blond hair and a pretty face, long lashes and all, stands before you, looking almost a little amused. "what's a pretty little thing doin' here all by themselv-" "where's sano" you cut him midsentence.

the man looks baffled, a little offensed even. soon joined by a second figure a lot taller than him, they both look at you with hostility and a hint of curiosity.

who cares, you scoff internally, whatever intimidation they're going for, you won't fall for it.

the other man raises a brow at the way you've mentioned sano. shit, you do hope this was not the wrong place, or whatever fight went down there, they must've won... right?

"and who is asking?" the blond speaks up again, sounding a little annoyed now. "you know, we don't allow passes to every pretty thi-" "eeeew" you drag the word and scretch like a gum, making sure to put on a face. "none of your business actually." you add on, placing your hand against a hip.

"why, you-" before he can follow up with whatever's on his tongue, a jolly greeting from behind interrupts him, cutting through the air. you can notice how the idle folks around suddenly tense up, and for the two man before you, shoulders dropped, bodies relaxing...

soon sano emerges, with his hair put up and stylized, nothing like the man in your class, a deliquent out of a shitty teen's magazine you'd say so.

exhanging greets with the two men and doing a special handshake for only them to know, he looks in the mood, just his face a little bruised up and some blood on his clothes.

so that's probably why he skips school some days, you muse.

he notices you a little later.

"oh!" mouth formed into an 'o' shape, you can see his surprise written all over but he is quick to disperse all that." greeting you with your surname formally, he reaches out a hand, then brings it up upon noticing the splatters of blood and takes it back with a sheepish smile.

"what brings you there?" he asks, never losing a bit of his joy that contradicts the entire atmosphere.

"our assignment." you say curtly and receive another sound of surprise from him. he looks apolegitic at the very least, you think.

"well.. uh-" he scratches the back of his head, casting a glance around, you wait to see where the stammering will go.

"how would you wanna do it then?" he asks more for you than himself, to ease you probably, you can only assume.

another joins their little group, keeping silent and watching what's going on. you relly, really should get going, you decide after giving a quick look around. "we can go over the details at an appropirate time later."

"alright then!" he says, never missing a beat from his energy. it's unbelievable, you think. "should we... ah-" he pauses, "exchange numbers to keep in touch then?" he asks, and he means well, you can tell just from the way he looks and talks, but the rest? you're not exactly dying to say out loud your contact information. especially not with that blond anywhere within a 20 meter radius.

"here." you say, reaching out your hand to reveal your phone. "i'm not announcing my number for a bunch of weirdo, self proclaimed deliquents to hear."

your words take him by shock but he breaks into a snort right after. the two men exchange a glance and a thug at their lips as well. the blond however does not look once pleased with your words.

or you at all.

you begin to come and go to their place often, the assignment builds up slow but steady and the guys seem reasonable enough after actually sitting down and hearing each other out. shin looks happy with the development too, says you have brought a change but you'd disagree. he is the light and sun and the beating heart of this place and wherever he goes, they follow, absolute devotion and belief in him, as a person, for his mind and for his heart.

you can see why, you can feel it too. once you begin to spend your time with shinichiro sano, all the rumors and speculations you've heard up until then are gone. assignment be damned, you can tell when a friendship begins to bloom and with shin- it happens at such a pace, you find yourself a little afraid.

the assignment ends, presentation and all, with flying colors you pass and decide to celebrate it out, with the rest joining as well.

a karaoke bar is all fun and games until night rolls out. it has gotten late but shin offers to walk you home; keizo and takeumi dragging a very drunk and messed up wakasa. everyone bids one another goodbye- save for wakasa... and you almost believe youhave seen a hint of sadness in their eyes as they bump their fists against yours. if you didn't know any better, you'd ever go as far as to say they'll miss you around.

a day passes, another and another... much to their relief and encouragement, you stick around.

not within the vicinity on the days big fights go around but definitely dropping by to hang out, fool around and whatnot. it's now your laughter mixed with shin's that fills the air, and everyone seems joyful and happy most of the time- save for imaushi wakasa.

for reasons unbeknowst to you, he remains hostile, rude, and on and up about sending your way stupid lines like he did the first time. most of the time you ignore him, which annoys him further– the scene alone brings a smile to your lips, the smirk of a vixen, you even overhear him once, yelling to keizo about you are, sounding very much frustrated.

despite this is how the things begin and roll out, neither of you expect to grow close- closer than you'd have imagined.

yes, you and shin might be the sunshines, but you and wakasa? the two of you become inseperable. you even hear some people mumble how they fear the two of you looking down at them, gazes that burn holes through their skulls, see into their souls... the two of you could make a power couple- if you were one at all.

there is the heat, there is the tension. you comb through his hair with a gentle touch that has wakasa melting in your hold, yet the second someone dares to imply anything more, you shoot them a glance so heavy, it'd crash their lungs.

wakasa hopes, in the end, that perhaps there is an end to it that is happy, that is hopeful. he knows there is no making up for the way he treated you but you were not the kindest toward him either, so it makes you equals, no?

so he sings sappy songs at karaoke whilst tipsy, so any accusation he can brush off as the effect of the booze, but hopes you caught how he looked at you. so he touches you as soft as you do him, trying to mimic your kindness, an attempt at how love, in the physical, in action should be.

he doesn't know any better, why should he? why should anyone to begin with?

it scares him how natural it is for shin and you. some days he finds himself envying the two of you even, would things be any different were you to attend the same school as the two of you? oh what wouldn't he do to be graced with your smiles and giggles all day every day, having you look at him as you rest your cheek against your palm–

he aches for something a tad normal sometimes, at the very least with you. would the two of you ever cross paths were it not for shin? the thought scares him and he feels like an asshole for envying his friend like this, desperate for anything that would come from your hands.

but at the end of the day, it is himself you seek out. his arms that you allow around your person, his lips on you, devoring you, it's wakasa that consumes you wholly and the thought brings a wave of comfort at the very least.

then the entire world collapses down in the span of 24 hours.

shinichiro dies.

almost 24 hours have passed since his death and wakasa still cannot find it in him to return to reality yet.

then like an angel amidst the chaos, you reemerge from the fog, from smoke. it doesn't take a genius to figure out something is wrong.

"waka," you call out to him, sound laced with something he cannot quite pinpoint. shutting his eyes completely, he sits in the same spot for a moment, all the doubts, every single negative, twisted and fucked up thng he has been holding at bay til now so close to breaking out.

you speak, but he does not hear the words.

not pass the 'i am leaving'

[heylittleriotact]

WIP WHENEVER

Thank you for tagging me, @roguishcat and @xxnashiraxx! I haven’t written much over the past few days because art, but here’s a bit of what I’ve got going on for Chapter 12 of i heard people are dying to get in here

Tagging: @allofthebarks @aldisobey @thepalehorsevictoria @emmg and @preciouslittlebhaalbae

It was always a bit disconcerting to wake up in someone else’s bed for the first time, but as Rook lazily wandered the path between sleep and waking, becoming aware of the thick, heavy duvet she was huddled in, while her fingers dragged over the luxurious texture of linen sheets she couldn’t even begin to put a price tag on, that fleeting confusion gave way to a warm feeling that touched every corner of her.

Granted, she had no idea where Emmrich had gone, but she was surrounded by him even in his physical absence: his sheets, his bed, his scent - even the subtle ache between her thighs was his doing - and it felt amazing.

Unsure of what time it was due to the black-out curtains over the windows, Rook reached over the bed for her phone on the nightstand, squinting into the bright screen until her eyes adjusted.

7:15… on a Saturday. Who gets up this early on a Saturday?

Emmrich, evidently. How long had he been awake? And why wasn’t he cuddling her?

Unacceptable.

She flung back the down-filled duvet and swung her legs over the edge of the bed, taking her phone with her to use the flashlight so she could find a light switch on the wall and illuminate the room properly.

When she had, she looked at her duffel bag on the gold damask chair in the corner of the large room - it contained enough clothes to last the weekend, and enough underwear that even if she shit herself numerous times before Sunday afternoon, she’d have fresh clean ones.

She had brought along a pair of sweats and a couple of comfy tees, but…

Instead she went to the chest of drawers against the wall, tall and handsome like Emmrich, and she could tell by a glance that it sure as shit wasn’t comprised of pressboard and dowels.

Solving murders for the cops as a side-gig is clearly not without its side-benefits…

Looping her fingers into the solid brass handles of the uppermost drawer, she was greeted by a plethora of designer underwear and socks in nearly every colour and pattern imaginable. Giggling, she slide the drawer shut and opened the next one: ah, more cashmere sweaters - he likes his knitwear, doesn’t he?

The next one yielded a variety of casual chinos and one single pair of dark grey jeans at the very bottom that looked like they’d been in that exact spot for years.

The bottom drawer contained what she was looking for (amongst sweat wicking athletic shirts, and to her delight, a few pairs of breezy pants that wouldn’t have been out of place in a yoga studio): a stack of t-shirts, carefully folded like everything else, but bearing the same air of untouched neglect the jeans had.

Settling onto her knees, Rook pulled the stack out and balanced them on her lap, feeling utterly at home with the act of brazenly snooping through Emmrich’s dresser.

“Mhmmm…” she murmured, lifting the topmost shirt and unfolding it, holding it up before her. “I knew there was more to you than Beethoven…”

Pink Turns Blue - she wasn’t familiar with the band, but there was no mistaking that this was indeed a band shirt. It was old: the black cotton faded nearly to grey, the screen printed graphic cracked and lightened by countless washes.

Draping it over the edge of the drawer, she unfolded another.

Depeche Mode, nice.

Then another.

Bauhaus… ooooh…

Siouxie and the Banshees, The Birthday Party, The Legendary Pink Dots, The Velvet Underground

The Cramps…

“Ewww gross: The Smiths,” she wrinkled her nose and put it down. “Judging you, for that one, Emmrich.”

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

Einstürzende Neubauten…

“Can’t have one without the other, right?” She smiled at the purple and gold stylization of a stick-man and the crimson splash bursting out from behind it, the band’s name picked out in the same ochre shade that outlined the stick-man.

This one looked to be the most threadbare and heavily worn: the neckline was riddled with small notches where the elastic had deteriorated, and the material was so thin in places it might tear if handled too harshly. Sure enough, the seams under the armpits were lined with holes where friction had stressed the cheap garment the most.

She cast a glance over her shoulder towards the door to ensure Emmrich and his soft footfalls hadn’t snuck up on her, and when she deemed the coast clear, she brought an armpit to her nose and gave it a tentative sniff.

Oh yeah. This smells like a favourite.

The fibres were steeped in the permanent, detergent-resistant musk of a garment that had been worn and sweated in and washed hundreds of times: the lingering ghost of Emmrich’s booze (and potentially other substance) fuelled escapades of youth.

An image of Emmrich, lankier even than he was now, clad in tight leather pants and tattered combat boots, grooving sullenly in an 80s goth club wandered through her mind. He was sweaty, bare-faced, and the amount of hairspray in his dark hair undeniably contributed to the hole in the ozone layer. A flat gin and tonic dangled at his side and he puffed on a dirty ass clove cigarette as he watched the band with half-lidded disinterest, swaying in place to the music.