#which apparently holds very little weight for some reason.

[krispiecake]

ive been back at college for 5 days now and we are at the point where i unfortunately am going to be a huge bitch to everyone as i no longer have the ability to mask due to exhaustion

[waxingrunes]

Ghostface Thriller

This was supposed to be my original fully fleshed out Halloween gig but I changed my mind at the eleventh hour to something else. I only have these very rough shallow sketches to offer that started the whole thing. Read on for a little texting excerpt of their conversation from this moment.

And for one single (quite tame?) Ao3 continuation.

Sirius: you know, this whole conversation is just proving more and more disappointing ghostie

Ghost: Why’s that.

Sirius: well

Sirius: the more you talk the more you

Sirius: this is gonna sound weird but you know when you can grow attracted to the way someone sounds without ever seeing their face? the way they hold themselves like through the screen, the way they talj

Sirius: talk*

Ghost: Are you about to tell me you’re crushing on me, pretty?

Sirius: i mean

Sirius: im telling you i think the way you talk is attractive and despite the damning circumstances you’re actually kinda smart

Sirius: you have to be to get away with the sick shit you do :)

Ghost: Mm, nobody’s made me blush before.

Sirius: me calling you a sick shit made you blush?

Ghost: And sent a jolt straight to my c*** little pretty.

Sirius: romantic

Ghost: Struggling to understand what’s disappointing about any of this.

Sirius: oh right

Sirius: well it’s just you sound hot but obviously you’re not actually you know

Sirius: hot

A moment passes where Sirius swaps the phone between one clammy palm to the other, doubting his turn of phrase with the radio silence that’d been dealt.

Staring at the bottom of the screen he waited another whole minute for the three dots to appear, which was excellent restraint in his books, before huffing out a breath through his nose and yielding.

Sirius: no ten wears a mask

Sirius: if you were as attractive as your fancy words make you sound you’d make it known

Ghost: You’re trying to unmask me through the phone and here I was thinking I was the pervert.

Sirius: doesn’t pretty get at least one photo

Sirius: of something? anything? to aid my crush :(

Ghost: Ask nicely.

Sirius readjusted, looking up to the ceiling as if he was going to find some sort of resolve there. What wasn’t yet clear, was whether it was the weight of the situation that was getting to his head and making his tummy swoop with this roleplay he’d voluntarily landed himself in, or, he really had a fucking crush.

Wetting his lips, he swallowed and was already blindly tapping out his response before his eyes fell to it again.

Sirius: please ghostie

Moments passed. Deadweight moments where Sirius convinced himself his shadow was moving on its own accord. In reality it was a handful of seconds but it felt like minutes, ticking by with the faint feeling of something hot dripping down the back of his throat.

Ghost: I don’t make a habit of sending selfies to my toys.

Sirius stared at the photo. It was his time to go quiet now, for reasons he planned to take to the grave; an event which may end up closing in sooner than anticipated if he plays his cards wrong.

Ghost: Tick-Tock, pretty. What you looking at?

The bastard.

Sirius: not much apparently

Sirius: i mean nothing i haven’t seen before apart from your legs

Sirius: never seen those out before

Ghost: You a leg man?

Against his will, Sirius giggled. Flushed in an instance from shame and shock and the feeling of very sudden self-awareness, but still had to swallow the tail end of it.

Sirius: am i going to get anything else more

Sirius: motivating

Sirius: i’ve been good all week and followed your orders

Sirius: i haven’t argued

Ghost: Oh, pretty. Come on now.

Sirius: okay but

Sirius: wouldn’t you get bored if i made it easy

Ghost: Clever boy.

Sirius squeezed his legs together, sinking further into the cushions.

Sirius: then reward me

Sirius: please

Sirius: please please please

Ghost: You’ll get what you want soon, but for now…

Another picture came through and for a sharp second, Sirius hesitated. It wouldn’t be his face, surely. He knew that and yet the moment felt pivotal either way as he hovered his thumb over the attachment and tried levelling his rattling heart.

He opened it, simultaneously losing feeling in his fingers and gaining it elsewhere.

Ghost: I wasn’t kidding about that jolt, not that hard yet but you’re doing a good job pretty.

Picture no.2

[fuwushiguro]

I. NEW ME!

CHAPTER SUMMARY : after a year out of the spotlight following a traumatic event, you’re about to take your first step back into it on a popular talk show. your whole team is counting on you to be perfect; but nobody is seeking perfection more than you.

WARNINGS : 18+ only, past trauma, mental health struggles, alcohol.

WORDS : 2.3k.

notes: loosely based off ‘The Idol’ which we all know is trash but I wanted to make my own (and hopefully more entertaining) version!

               MASTERLIST ┊ NEXT CHAPTER

“Are you sure about this? I know you feel like you’re gonna let everyone down if you don’t start putting yourself out there again, but—”

“Yuuji.” you interrupt him, grabbing his hand and smiling at him. There’s not a single ounce of sincerity in it. And if there’s anyone who’s going to notice, it’s Yuuji. He knows you better than you know yourself. “It’s fine, really.” you do your best to assure him.

The crushing weight of disappointing your entire team is heavy on your shoulders. As much as you’d like to run away, to hide, to cry… you stand firm.

“Alright…” he sighs, returning your insincere smile right back to you. He’s worried, of course he’s worried. But Lord knows you don’t need him putting any doubts in your mind, not now. You’re doing that enough for yourself. What you need now is positivity. Faith and belief that despite what you’ve been through, you can do this.

“Okay, two minutes to go, are you ready?” your manager, Taylor, asks you quickly. Before you can answer, there are more words spilling from her lips like it’s out of her control. “We love you, but please do not fuck this up.” she reminds you before walking away to tend to something else.

Your eyes turn glossy as your cheeks fill with air. You quickly exhale as you fan yourself, doing all you can to make sure the sudden appearance of some tears won’t roll over your lashline and ruin your makeup.

Just then, Yuuji grabs you by the shoulders, forcing you to face him.

“Listen to me.” he starts. “You’ve got this.”

You’ve been locked in your bedroom with a bottle of champagne since the interview. It went well, apparently, according to your team. And yet… for some reason, you feel dead inside. The sounds of cheers and celebrations can be heard throughout the house, and all you can do is drink your champagne directly from the bottle.

“Hey… can I come in?” you hear Yuuji ask sweetly from the other side of the door. You get up, walking to unlock the door and let him in. Your smile finally finds its way back to your face when you see him holding a pizza box. “Getting a pizza through here in one piece with a house full of drunk people shoulder be a new Olympic sport.” he grins and laughs a little.

“Very impressive, Yuuji.” you agree with him, you wait for him to enter and then quickly lock the door behind him. “I don’t actually remember agreeing to a party?” you confess.

“Taylor mentioned it. And… well, you know Taylor.” he reminds you. “Everyone thought it would look good for some reason… not sure if I agree with that but they never listen to me anyway.”

“Or me.” you chuckle, taking a slice as you sit beside him on top of the bed. “I’ve been watching the interview on repeat…” you go to grab the remote, but he takes it first.

He presses play, settling comfortably against the headboard as he pulls a slice for himself. You get close to him, he’s always so warm. And when you’re always so cold, it’s nice to be with him, despite the fact it always ends up in sibling-like fights when you press your freezing feet against him to make him jump. Though it isn’t on your mind right now. You’re worn out, defeated, and you can’t believe he actually wants to watch this.

You weren’t embarrassed to watch yourself when you were alone. It was more like analysis. Seeing what you did right and what you could improve on. The pressure of being perfect is enough to drive anyone insane. But after this, after everything, you know you have no choice but to be perfect.

The sound of your voice carries through the room as you laugh with the host as you talk. Yuuji is smiling softly as he observes, like he’s proud of you.

“You’ve got a new movie coming up, right?”

“Uh… yeah! Kinda, we’re starting filming in two weeks.” you smiled, and it was genuine. You were lapping up the way that the audience cheered at each and every word you said. Whether it be sincere or out of pity, it didn’t matter. You felt truly adored after worrying no one would remember you.

“You’re working alongside some big names, I’m sure you’re excited! Tell me a little about the movie.”

“Yeah, right! I’m the lead but I’m working with Megumi Fushiguro…” you pause perfectly to allow the audience to cheer at the name drop. There are a few wolf whistles too. “We’ve worked together before; I love working with him because he’s so talented and nice. He’s always super serious on set but between takes he’s a total sweetheart.” you giggled as you reminisce on the last film you worked on together.

“I love Megumi too we’ve had him on the show a few times.” the host smiled, agreeing. “Now I do recall dating rumours for you two…” they announced and looked to the audience, earning a slew of ‘oooh’s’ and laughter. You rolled your eyes and shook your head.

“No comment.” you wink, “No, but seriously, I’m focused on my career right now and I know Megumi is too. We’re professionals!” you laughed.

“Alright, alright.” The host laughed too. “The movie’s called ‘Assemble’, leaves a lot to the imagination, wanna tell me more about it?”

“Sure! It’s a horror, which is new for me. I know a lot of people don’t take horrors seriously, but I’ve always wanted to be a scream queen and I’m really excited to sink my teeth into a role like this. I don’t wanna say too much; I don’t think I’m allowed.” you laughed a little more awkwardly to try and placate the host and the audience.

“A horror, wow! I wouldn’t have expected that after what you went through last year.” the host spoke so casually. And at that moment, you think everyone watching could feel the way the air knocked out of your lungs. You began to fiddle with your fingers and look down at your lap as you considered what you should say.

You had never felt so small.

Not since it happened.

“Um… y-yeah. I mean… Like I said I’ve— I’ve wanted to do a horror for a long time. And things lined up well.” you nodded. “We have a great director and script. An amazing cast who I can’t wait to work with… It’s gonna be something special. I can feel it.” you told them, and the silence lasted a beat longer than you wanted it to, you couldn’t help but continue to speak. “I don’t want what happened to define me… It’s hard to talk about even though it was a year ago. But I’m more than what happened to me. I’m not the same person anymore, but I’m looking forward to learning who the new me is.”

You sniffle, hearing yourself say that. Really hearing it. You’ve played the clip so many times but that is the first time you’ve really heard yourself. It sounds so much more gallant than it really is. Because in truth, you’d go back to the old you in a heartbeat. You’d love the option to rewind to last year and change everything that happened.

Of course Yuuji noticed you starting to cry instantly, pausing the TV and putting an arm around you.

“I know you’re still struggling… maybe you should try therapy again.” he suggests.

“Maybe,” you sniff. “I just think it’s like… survivors’ guilt?” you tell him. “And I miss my dad so much. If I could trade places—”

“Don’t do that.” he chastises you. “I wish none of it happened, b-but… it did. And you’re doing great and I’m proud of you. And I know you don’t think so, but you crushed that interview.” he assures you. You smile at him, melting into his arms.

“I don’t know what I’d do without you, Yuuji.”

“Yeah, you’d never find another assistant as hard-working and good looking as me. You’d be doomed.” he grins, laughing a little as he speaks. You join in, finally deciding to wipe your tears and pull yourself together. “Let’s watch something else. Something… fun.”

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

You wake up the next morning, alone in the bed. Yuuji has tidied the room already and he’s opening your curtains for you. He laughs as you groan, the light burning your retinas. You sit up as you rub the sleep out of your eyes.

“Morning…” you grumble.

“Hey, I slept in my room by the way, don’t worry.” he tells you. “Everyone’s downstairs.”

“I’ve been off for a year and it wasn’t enough rest to prepare me for these hectic days again.” you sigh. “I didn’t know I had stuff to do today…”

“Uh… yeah, we’re doing a photoshoot here this afternoon. Makeup is coming in… an hour. Same with wardrobe, I think.” he tries to remember. “I left my phone in my room but I’ll go get it, Taylor wants you downstairs, like, now.” he reminds you.

You manage to pull yourself out of bed and put on a robe over the mismatched bra and panties you fell asleep wearing. The sight of you hungover and imperfect makes Taylor sigh as you come down the stairs. “You look gorgeous. Come sit.” she speaks, though you know she thinks otherwise. You slowly approach and she guides you outside to sit on the patio with her and the rest of your team.

“We want you to know how happy we are with your interview yesterday. It was perfect, really perfect.” your publicist tells you, making sure to butter you up as much as he can before moving on. “This is just the start though so we need to make sure it’s full steam ahead from now on.”

“You’re doing a shoot for Elle here this afternoon. You’ll get to show off the new place, talk a little about your recovery blah blah you know the deal.” Taylor speaks rapidly. “We just want you to know we’re all here for you for whatever you need to get through this transition back into the spotlight. It’s gonna be tough but we know you can do it.” she assures you.

“Thanks.”

“We all know perfection isn’t real, but, as close as you can get to it would be… well, perfect.” she adds. “So we’ll go over what you can and can’t discuss before the interview and—”

“Anyone order a big ass bouquet of flowers?” Yuuji shouts from inside, his voice booming through the house and out to the patio. Everyone stares as he signs for them and brings them from the front door all the way to you. He puts them down in front of you so that you can read the card.

Welcome back — love M x

You smirk as you keep the card close to your chest. Everyone is waiting with bated breath to hear who they’re from so the conversation can be over and they can get back to preparing you for this afternoon.

“I need to use the bathroom… don’t stop on my account.” you smile as you stand up. You pick up the flowers and hurry inside before anyone can object.

“Who were they from, Yuuji?” Taylor asks, which only earns him a shrug in return.

The house is full of liars on days like this. Taylor lied about you looking gorgeous just as easily as you lied about needing the bathroom. But neither of you are as good at lying as Yuuji. He knew damn well the flowers were from Megumi.

He just thinks you deserve a little time for yourself.

You don’t care that everyone can see you inside leaning against the bar in your lounge as the FaceTime dial rings and rings. There’s a real smile on your face that you cannot seem to wipe off your face as you gush over the fact he sent you flowers. The biggest bunch of flowers you’ve ever seen.

“Hey you.” he smiles, shirtless in his bed as he answers. The sharpness of his jaw and his pronounced collarbones remind you just how handsome he really is. “It’s been a little while, you okay?”

“I just got your flowers…” you tell him as you show him. “They’re stunning, thank you.”

“No problem, I saw your interview. How are you feeling?” he asks.

“I’m good, yeah. Getting lots of praise so I can’t complain.” you nod, leaning on the bar again. “I didn’t get you in any trouble for what I said, did I?” you wonder, he shakes his head which is a huge relief.

“It was just a joke so, no, no trouble at all. I was in London for a week, but I’m back now. I’m in a hotel.”

“Oh, really? Why aren’t you at your place?” you ask, curiously.

“I was gonna go home but I got warned there was paparazzi waiting for me, so I came here.” he explains. “I was thinking you could come over and run lines with me later.” he smirks as he gets out of bed. He’s walking, and you realise when he switches on a light he’s in the bathroom.

You can’t help but smirk, too, knowing what running lines will likely lead to.

“Um… I’m pretty busy today.”

“That’s a shame. I’m sure you can make the time since we’re both professionals.” he tells you as he turns on the shower. He always finds a way to make you smile. And knowing he really watched your interview is making you grin from ear to ear.

“Well, I guess I can make some time tonight.” you reply, giggling as you see his cheeks flush a little red at your answer.

“Good. Good girl, then I’ll see you tonight.”

© 2023 fuwushiguro  

[lemon-russ]

Today's parade of fleas comes with a complementary/ optional musical accompaniment

BABY SAID - Måneskin

Lots of this was written at 3am on my phone and deep in my Unwell (tm) brain land. I love putting them in situations.

Part 5/ ???

1 :: 2 :: 3 :: 4 :: 5 :: 6 :: 7 :: 7.5 :: 8

Cato Sicarius x F!Reader

(Cato POV 3rd person this time though)

CW: Talks about sex, Cato being a bully (verbally)

Summary: Cato does not want to talk about the events occurring from the discovery of the new emotion of horny

word count: 2,096

He couldn't even begin to explain to himself why he just did that. He sits on the floor of the cave, staring ahead with a blank, tense look, thinking about how sometimes, he does things, and sometimes, they have consequences. Like this awkward, confused silence.

The ambassador sits a few feet away, sharing a similar look. She was flushed still, hair a mess, dress barely holding on after the rock wall of the cave shredded the back of it. By the throne she looked good like this- No, stop that, doesn't he learn? This whole thing was insane and now he's going to have to live with it, and yet he's still sitting here daydreaming of how she'd look on her back and fully naked next time.

But there isn't going to be a next time, because that was a moment of insanity. They had been arguing, why did he kiss her? Okay, he knows why, but he doesn't want to actually think about that, because it's a stupid reason. She'd been insisting he didn't care about her- which is correct- but for some reason some sort of madness overcame him and he wanted her to think he did care. Okay, maybe he cared like, a little. Not anything weird, it's not sentimental to not actively wish death on someone. He'd go so far as to say it wasn't even overly familiar to wish someone does not die.

But that feels like a long leap between I'd be displeased if you perished and pinning her to a wall and fucking her mindless. Which he will admit, he did do. And he was excellent at it, of course. Cato Sicarius is the greatest at all feats of combat, and what is sex but really sticky awkward combat? He smirks to himself a bit. Another grand mastery to mark down, even if it was one he might prefer to keep to himself. But, unfortunately, unlike regular combat, your fighting partner here stays very much alive- hopefully- and can do things like ask you what was that about and what the actual fuck was that about Cato, no, seriously, what was that. He grimaces and takes a deep breath, letting it out tiredly. Not physically tired of course, he was superior in all things, including this, and was not so weak as to tire so fast- not that that matters, because, again, it won't happen again. But if it did, it could happen right now. Theoretically. Space marine stamina was second to none.

She glances over at him, expression mirroring his internal conflicts. “So….” She says softly, a small frown tugging the corners of her mouth. He clears his throat. “So.” He returns, frowning back. Emperor this was awkward. Truly a fitting punishment, to be forced to endure such banal things like talking about feelings after sex. He shudders to himself.

She frowns a bit deeper. “Are we going toooo…. Talk about that or….” She asks in a nervous voice.

Ah, excellent, she was giving him a choice. He sighs in relief, smiling genuinely for the first time in what feels like a week. “No, thank you.” He says politely, standing and brushing off his pants. What a weight off his mind, maybe he could do this sex thing more often-

“Cato.” She says, displeased. He frowns. He didn't know it was a trick question, but apparently he'd gotten it wrong. He groans. “Can't we just, pretend it didn't happen?” He pleads with an exasperated look. “What happens on dirt rock planet stays on dirt rock planet or something?” He grumbles, checking outside for the armies. Night had fallen, but he didn't see anything new at least.

“You seriously aren't going to explain what that was about?” She says, growing more frustrated. His eye twitches. This, this is why astartes are not supposed to take women to their beds. They can't move on from things and need to talk about unimportant drivel like motivations and futures and labels. Uhg. He rolls his eyes, giving her an annoyed look. “What's there to say? Your face when you got angry was attractive and I fell to baser reactions after a long and stressful day of saving you from perils.” He said dryly, crossing his arms and leaning against the cave wall, facing out and keeping watch.

She groans, “That's your excuse? You just, decided today was the day to grow a heart and feel human needs and you take it out on me?” She says tiredly.

He huffs out his nose, frowning over his shoulder at her. “I have two hearts, actually. Maybe you should read up more on the superior anatomy of an astartes and spend less time droning on about weather with nobles.” He frowns back out at the landscape. Was that a light…?

She growls in frustration. “Unbelievable. No, actually, very believable. It's my fault, really, for fucking you and thinking maybe you were having some sort of emotional breakthrough-” he hushes her, making her fluster in anger, but his eyes are trained on the light outside, and she catches the hint and just huffs out her nose a little. She quietly scootches over to see what he's looking at. Daft woman, a mortal's eyes can't see that far in the dark.

“I don't see anything…” she murmurs. No shit. Maybe he shook the last cobwebs of intelligence from her skull when he slammed her against that wall. He just hushes her again, making her pout. He glances at her annoyed little face and briefly considers repeating his misstep- no, focus Cato, there's enemies around. And he's pretty sure she can't take being fucked any dumber before she loses her ability to form speech. He smirks to himself at his little internal diss as he scans the landscape again.

He sees a search party now, combing the area back and forth in lines. Fuck. That is very, very bad for them. “Time to go” he says quietly, scooping her up onto his shoulder, making her squeak as air was knocked out of her a little. He frowns a little and glances at her kicking and annoyed little form. Well, maybe there was a few minutes before that party found them- no, no she cries like a banshee when she comes, they'd find them in minutes.

He sighs, moving her onto his shoulder upright. “hold onto my armor” he instructs, standing with her clinging to the neck of his armor, sitting on his power pack like he's giving her a piggy back ride. He puts his helmet on, “We're going to be running and calling for a pickup.” he says, ducking out of the cave and into the cold desert night. She shivers and he grimaces. Right, she barely has clothes on. Not that he cares if she's cold, but, it’s probably not great for their cover if her teeth chatter. He sighs and reluctantly tugs his cape off its holds on his back. “Here. Your ridiculous outfit choice once again forces me to do everything for you, wrap yourself in this.” He grumbles. She blinks at him, expression something he couldn't read, and takes the cape, using it like a blanket and tying it around herself. She smiles a little at him and he grimaces. “Stop that.” He demands. “Don't look at me like that. It freaks me out.”

She raises her brow and sighs. “Lets just get home.” She says, rubbing the bridge of her nose, mumbling something about mixed messages. That's stupid. His messages were very clear. He never mixes them. He huffs and starts heading away from the search party into open dark desert.

He moves at a light jog, and after a few minutes, she makes a sharp noise, making him stop and look up at her. Shes frowning, “ah- sorry, don't mind me, I'm just sore from… well… the power pack is a little hard to sit on right now.” She mumbles, glancing away awkwardly.

He sighs. “squishy, breakable mortal.” He says tiredly, pulling her off his back with a squeak. “Aren't you meant to push children out of there? How could I so damage you by doing what nature intended for it.” He grumbles as he moves to cradle her bridal style instead.

She's surprised a moment as he holds her, then frowns a bit. “I don't think astartes count as things nature intended to happen to it…” she grumbles, pink staining her cheeks as she glances away. He chuckles to himself as he starts jogging again, “Ah yes, nature could not predict the perfection of the space marine. Maybe we should create genetic enhancements for women, allowing them to not break the moment they are touched in any capacity.” He speculates to himself. “The basics, really, hardened bones, healing, sturdier flesh, some spare organs. Maybe increased pelvic capacity so an astartes lover doesn't rend you more useless than usual.” He says, smirking down at her behind his helmet. “Then I wouldn't have to work so hard this whole trip to just keep bullets out of you. It has been a huge trouble for me, you know.” He says with slight annoyance.

She groaned and rolled her eyes. “Are you seriously still doing this? You admitted to me already that you care about me and didn't like seeing me hurt.” She says with a tired scowl.

He nods, “Yes, which is also deeply disturbing. Now I have to keep you free of holes and breaks, because if I don't-” he stuttered in his gait, taking a small breath. He was thankful for the helmet, it was hard to school his expression right now, and it hid the terrified grimace that assaulted his face muscles at the thought of her becoming injured. He let out a tense sigh. “Well, it is quite annoying that for some reason I will be the one to suffer if great harm comes to you.” He grumbles a bit.

She blinks up at him- ah, there's that stupid puzzled look again. It'd be cute almost if it wasn't so agitating that she could apparently not comprehend simple thoughts at random. He sighed. “What is that face for? Shall I say it slower with smaller words?” He asks dryly.

She frowns and knits her brow, but was still looking at him like he'd grown another head like a chaos spawn. “You are possibly the most stubborn or most dense man I've ever met, and I can't decide which it is. Maybe both.” She says, shaking her head. The action makes some of her hair fluff around her face and he scolds himself when he thinks it's cute. “What in the Emperor's name are you on about now, you senseless creature?” He asks in exasperation.

She rolls her eyes. “I don't think I have the time or crayons to explain the entirety of the concept of interpersonal relationships and emotions to you right now, Cato.” She says tiredly, laying her head against his chest plate. He smiles at her cuddling to him- wait stop that she insulted you, do not smile- he forces a frown. “You do not need to explain these things to me. I know them well.” He huffs indignantly. “I am Cato Sicarius, master of many things, including psychology.” He says, pouting under his helmet. He already solved psychology this morning.

She chuckles for some warp damned reason, actually laughing at emperor knows what. He frowns down at her as she giggles herself into a fit. “I fear your mind may have sustained one too many hits, knocking what's left of your brain against the inside of your ceramite skull.” He says with a small scowl. “You seem to be losing more and more of your senses every passing moment. Perhaps it is good I did not actually render you unconscious to make you easier to handle. You probably wouldn't be able to speak again.” He says with an annoyed tone as he picks up the pace and voxes an SOS signal with their location up to the flagship.

She laughs more, snorting a little and shaking in his arms. It makes him crack a smile himself against his will. “You are mad, Woman.” He grumbles, trying to keep the amusement out of his voice. That's what it all comes down to, he decides. Women are simply all completely mad. Boom, he solved women, the eternal enigma. He smiles to himself. He was on a roll today, but that's expected. He's Cato Sicarius, there is no mystery he cannot unravel.

[chipped-chimera]

Aquarium update - I have a Betta again! Got kind of burned last time so I travelled wayyyyy north from where I am to get her, along with some cories. It's been about two weeks since, judging my water changes (do about 25% a week, not because the water needs it but more because any longer and my filter gets gummed up) and she's been doing really well. She's changing rapidly, but she was very juvenile when I got her (like literally only a bit bigger than some of my green neons which max out at 3cm) which I expected, since marble gene. The contrast of a few weeks though is kinda nuts.

Not quite named yet, since honestly I was so burned from last time (RIP fish Karlach 😔) that I've been hesitant to name her or even share anything about her online. Also because I literally have no idea how she's gonna look in a few weeks as she matures.

I was thinking maybe Arita or Imari since her patterning reminds me of Asagi Koi and Imari-Arita Ware ceramics? Leaning towards Arita since it sounds a bit 'sassier' I guess (idk, vibes) and she definitely is that. I'll take suggestions though!

Anyway more fish rambling below -

Honestly I was so hesitant to get her, but I was already putting in replacement Cories after a mystery disease decimated my Corydora population, leaving my admittedly kind-of-fat female Three Lined solo. Whatever contagion was in the tank is either gone or dormant (since a lot of fish disease I know is entirely reliant on how stressed a fish is - they can still be a carrier but completely fine) after basically doing every treatment I had at my disposal. I think it was a mix of parasitic and bacterial, maybe fungal? Hard to target given all my tank tests consistently returned a big fat 0ppm for all the bad shit. My tank is about as clean as it gets - I only change about 25% weekly and that's more to clean sludge out of the filter, it never really needs it. Admittedly some of the deaths I contributed to because I wasn't aware how much my tank PH had changed over the months (test your PH regularly guys), apparently the huge chunks of wood have exhausted all their tannins cause I've gone from acidic to more basic. It seems to be holding about 7.8, apparently related to the Seiryu stone in there. Basically water changes caused the PH to flux to much, contributing to stress for the Cories. Yeah I feel bad but I'm also not blaming myself since a. Literally first tank b. I am learning the fish hobby is really annoying for consistent information. Like literally information that doesn't contradict itself half the time. A lot of that is the reason why I've been slowed down in figuring out what is going wrong and that ultimately has resulted in a lot of loss.

Important part though is everyone seems to be doing fine, and I've learned enough now to maybe recognise stuff a lot faster. One of the Pandas, after my first water change developed a big fungal streak down it's body (I'm guessing it scuffed itself in a panic somewhere) but had that treated easily within about 3 days with just Pimafix. No seriously, they're doing well. Well enough they apparently spawned? Saw the betta striking some mystery thing on the glass. I thought it was a freshwater limpet (they've been in there, just haven't seen them in a while) and realised no, actually an egg. Not opposed to this since I'm pretty close to stocking limit (at least in a regular, unplanted tank) so I'm down for the population control.

Betta really is a little predator though. She's honestly weird for a Betta in that she doesn't show interest in food. At all. She might nibble at a fallen bit but couldn't care less about anything I put on the surface or during feeding time. Been monitoring her weight, and she's definitely not underweight. Guess I have enough random critters in my tank (Planaria, about a million scuds since my last-ditch effort treatment to save a Cory decimated my shrimp population. I lost my favourite orange/red shrimp too 😭) to sustain her? Worry is of course I need to re-establish more shrimp. There are some left but nowhere NEAR what I had before. I've seen her chase a few who appear, she definitely has them on alert but they tend to be too big for her anyway. And too fast. Juveniles though ....

I do have a HUGE amount of hiding places for new, young shrimp (just moss. So much moss) but I think I'll maybe raise them in a netted isolation box until they're big enough that she's no longer a threat maybe? Idk. That or I get technically-not-allowed Cherry Shrimp from someone local, since they tend to be adults. Juveniles are kind of my only option at my local store.

Anyway that's the ramble!

[yoinkschief]

Me when I men

Dog Teeth AU Tom Character Reference Sheet

WARNING: Slight NSFW - Mild, Non-Explicit Nudity under the cut

My other husband I love him so much let me kiss you on the lips volatile ball of angst and anger

My poor boy was cursed with his father's hairline and sress he cannot carry,,, to be fair that last bit was his own doing

I sure hope he looks nautical enough,, I mean I want him to nautical INSPIRED, not a member of the marine court, y'know?

My lover said "very Garp of him" and I think that's that One Piece Marine DILF guy so that's a plus :)

I also wanted his outfit to be a direct contrast to Tord's - I mean red and blue are already contrasts on the color wheel but kinda so is green so I wanted a little more driving force: white against Tord's blacker color palette

While white is supposed to represent purity, I assure you, Tom is anything but

It's more a reflection of how the characters see themselves: Tord KNOWS he's a piece of shit and happily flaunts it because no one can do anything about, he holds it with pride even

But Tom doesn't believe he's being an ass, he thinks he's genuinely doing the right thing or at the very least the lesser of the two evils he was forced into, and than on it's own has some merit but this is just to say Tom isn't exactly the "savior" of the story despite what the white palette may suggest

It certainly is what he wants to portray to the public, however

Mmmmm mann

I'm apparently really into sharp contrasts or something cause I keep shading with very bright colors against very dark shadows,,,, it's really fun actually so whateva

Also that cape thing Tom wears ? Worst thing ever, it's like a texture issues but instead of the texture bothering him it's the uneven amount of weight, like he's painfully aware it's on his left shoulder and not his right and it irks him so badly but "it carries his rebellion's symbol so he has to wear it in public" or whatever

He's really only seen wearing it during important or public matters, when it counts

Otherwise that thing's in the bin

Back in his OG style but with the horrible hairline and salt in his hair

He got a day off

He snuck out of the lime light

"Ohh I drew him naked to show off his tattoos and to talk about them"

No I didn't

I'm a liar

I drew him naked cause I wanted to draw his tits so I did, simple

But I will talk about his tattoos some more :)

First of all: That scar on his left shoulder is from the house rubble, that cut we see on his arm at the end of The End pt. 2, yeah that's where that comes from

As for his tattoos,,

I know I've explained these somewhere but I'm explaining them again cause I dunno if I explained it someone's DMs or not lol

The Harpoon tattoos are pretty self explanatory, and I also just wanted to show off colored tattoos on darker skin complexions cause that's the stupidest argument I've ever heard and black/dark skinned people should be able to get colored tattoos

The rest are kind of important to Tom and the story line,,,ish?:

the Shark Teeth tattoo comes from the time he visited Hawaii to find out more about his father and his Father's side of the family and their customs, traditions, his heritage, etc. etc.

To make a long story short: there's a reason his father doesn't talk about his side of the family often, but it didn't ruin his experience while visiting some lesser hostile family members in Hawaii like his cousins, and he even got to surf with them - which was when they decided to convince him to get the Shark Teeth tattoo

On top of Tom just being really obsessed with sharks and having infinite knowledge on all things shark related, it's supposed to represent strength, guidance and protection which I think is very fitting for Tom

The "Wolf" tattoo kinda stands out because Tom's Irish, not Scottish or any sort of Norse. So why the Nordic rune?

Well :)

Back when Tom and Tord lived together, they weren't always at each other's throats

I think I mentioned this in my Strip Mafia AU reference sheet for Tord ignore how I forgot to flesh out Tom's,,, I have it I just haven't cleaned it up yet but I'm gonna rehash it here really quick:

Tord gave everyone in the house a tattoo he thought best represented them, including himself (which was the Ouroboros tattoo seen on his character sheet) and Tom's was the rune for "wolf" and I think there are very obvious reasons behind it

Tom stays around his friends a lot, he's got more bite than bark, very unfriendly to outsiders, the list goes on really

It's so odd seeing Tom in so much white if I'm being honest

I'm so used to him being in like angst blacks and greys and I don't think he's adjusting any better himself LOL

[tiredmoonslut]

The fish wives are fine! Either that ending did not happen or it was all a planned thing for everyone to get stuck in THEIR nets. Whatever. Those are the only 2 options.

Still in all seriousness it was a planned thing between Moiraine and Siuan IMO for too many reasons. The delusion is real

Oh I have no doubt they'll be alright, nonny! Rafe Judkins is smart enough to know that if he was going to canonize Siuanraine, we wouldn't accept its mishandling. We're gonna be fine.

Personally though I do think that conflict was real, not planned. Of course, I do love the idea of them orchestrating a fake falling out! But it just doesn't peg me as something that wins them anything.

I think Siuan is so used to her and Moiraine being in agreement about how to handle the Dragon prophecies that she truly didn't expect for Moiraine to go rogue. The way I see it, Siuan sees two things: for one, Mo has been stilled. That is agony no matter how you slice it, and she's deadset on taking as much of the Dragon burden off of Moiraine's shoulders as she can so Mo has more of a chance to heal (remember, there's been a whopping two Aes Sedai who ever managed not to kill themselves after being stilled in the Tower's known history).

Secondly, she sees that the time of the Last Battle draws near, and Moiraine has been withholding information for the past six months and also very pointedly not tried to prepare Rand at all. Siuan is the Amyrlin Seat. She's made of strategy, and that is a bad one, whether it was her lover's choice or not. I think Siuan was certain that if she made a point of taking the burden off Moiraine's shoulders, she'd be met with acquiescence---perhaps even appreciation.

Watching the episode, I took Siuan's reaction to Rand having been released to be one of complete shock. I'm sure she expected stubbornness, but not outright double-crossing. That's why she made a point of chasing after them alone, with no guard. She felt betrayed.

Then she runs in to see Moiraine channeling. I'm sure she was floored, and this is why I think the theory that she suspected Moiraine of joining the Dark to hold weight. I mean, how bizarre from her perspective. Six months of correspondence, and Rand hasn't been trained even a little, and this alleged stilling was kept from her completely until Lan tattle-taled. That's outrageous, especially since it doesn't seem like Moiraine has ever been that dishonest with her before. And now it was apparently a complete lie? It shouldn't be possible. Unless of course Moiraine made an oath that supersedes her previous ones...

Which is why she forced her to close the Waygate. Twas a test. Once Moiraine obeys, you can see just how much Siuan regretted doing it. Her eyes well up immediately, like all she wants to do is apologize. Had Lanfear not walked in that very second, I'm sure she would have.

So, we'll just have to see how Siuan feels once she hears about the events of Falme, that Ishamael is dead, and that Alanna and Verin were Mo's accomplices. Hopefully she reacts well, or at least well enough to still want to talk it out with Moiraine when she gets the chance---and I think she will. This has been the burden that's ruined their lives for 20 years. She's not just gonna let that go.

So yeah, we'll be okay. We're just gonna need some medicine, perhaps an emergency operation. 😭

[johnslittlespoon]

HI I'M ALIVE i swear this is a pattern at this point, i post a new fic/chapter and disappear for a phat day (or two) lmaoo i literally get The Fear and i have to avoid notifs/comments for a bit <33

that being said, wept reading the comments on TAS, i'm so so thankful y'all are vibing with it because i was NERVOUS about posting my first ever modern au and i wanted to make sure it still felt true to the characters but everyone's been so unbelievably kind i'm so wahhahhhh :')) i appreciate the sweet words SO so much, it's so reassuring and so motivating <33

so motivating actually that i'm already halfway done ch2... whoops? litch rally buzzing with how excited i am to write, i don't think i've ever experienced this which sounds strange but like. okay hold i can already tell i'm gonna go on a tangent so let me cut myself off with a read more lmaoo

idk, does anyone else ever sometimes feel like even though obviously we all write fic for enjoyment because we do it for free, sometimes it feels like a chore? not in the sense that i feel obligated to write, but just that even though i feel passionately about what i want to write, it's just hard to get my brain into gear (adhd aside) even when i really want to. i'm just thinking out loudddd now but my concerta just kicked in so it's inevitable LOL word vomit and thought processing is apparently a necessary part of my writing process smh

writing yad(iym) has honestly been so helpful with this because one of the biggest things that i struggle with when writing is that i have a super vivid imagination and can picture exactly what i want to portray/convey, but sometimes i don't know how to get there, but with the dog coded fic i have the timeline of the actual show to follow, so it takes a lot of pressure off in that sense! it's sorta like filling in the gaps because i have something base level to work with.

but 99% of the time when writing, i don't have that, so i end up avoiding my docs often because i feel stuck in terms of progressing the storyline, and my writing process drags on so longgg. i'm finding too now that i'm writing my first (and second oops) actual long fic that oneshots are actually more difficult for me to finish for some reason despite most of mine being shorter than a singular chapter in my fics, which is funny because i was so terrified of commitment starting a chaptered fic but i've ended up being more consistent.

anyway point is, i adore writing yad(iym) and it's been the most fun experience i've had fic writing, but now that i've sorted out the world building aspects for tough and sweet, everything is just flowing and instead of having to sit myself down at my desk and kinda just force myself into the zone, i cannot drag myself out of my docs?? and i've never had that happen but i'm definitely trying to take advantage of it while it lasts and get as much written as possible!

i think it also helps that it's so lighthearted compared to the angst of yadiym (tho i've got some angst planned for tas too lol sry) so i don't have to think as much about the weight behind certain dialogue, or carefully plan out the progression of the relationship dynamic the way the time period/setting of yadiym requires. it's a nice breather from the constraints of the mota–verse (as much as it's still my favourite thing to read/write with these boys), but i also enjoy getting to sink back into that doc when i want something deeper than the little biker boys.

i'm still very much working away on yadiym tho to be clear!! i was scared to start tas before i finished it in case i hyperfixated on tas and my updates got slow on yadiym, but it's genuinely helped me find a balance because i'm always working on one if i'm not working on the other <3 i'm about half done ch6 too for yadiym (how many times can i type that in one post jfc), i'm just at an internal emotions heavy part which i Hate. writing lmaooo give me dialogue or smut and i can type away for hrs but introspection?? internal conflict? hell

ok that's all my fic related rambling thank uuuu/apologies if u sat thru all of that LOL lmk if your writing process/mindset is similar or not bc i'm always curious about how other people's brains work with this stuff!! also how does one get over feeling obnoxious about rambling on their own acc like. this is my acc. i could post 100 times a day if i wanted. i need to Relax good god

[lillxart]

Snip from CH 9

“I never asked before, but why do you think Elenwen would want you dead? I mean, you’re really good with magic and you’re efficient with killing things.”

“HA! That’s certainly one way to put it. I imagine from an outsiders perspective that’s all the Thalmor would need from an Altmer.” Taliesin gave a dead chuckle and leaned back into his seat. Eventually she shrugged. “It could’ve been any number of reasons really. My brash attitude, my candid inability to hold my tongue–”

“–You do seem to be quite the quippy quipster 0v0”

Taliesin stopped and looked at her. Just stared at her face for a long time. Then his mind went back to the brilliant notes he just read, and then he looked back at her face again wondering how the person who wrote such notes and the ditzy Breton were the same person. “Do you have an alternate personality by any chance?”

“Wuh? 0<0 Nooooo, why? :>” There was nothing going on behind those eyes of hers.

“No reason.” Taliesin rolled his eyes. “Anyway, to put it plainly she wanted me dead because she doesn’t believe I’m a good Thalmor. I’m not a reflection of the Altmer people, not the pinnacle of bigoted lesser elf hating nationalists all the other members of the Dominion back home are.” He huffed. “Those of us sent to Skyrim are meant to shine in her own image, to make Elenwen look good… Apparently I didn’t make the cut.”

Snow White silently took in the explanation. She put her alchemist's tools down and lowered the heat of the beakers so nothing would explode. The witch found herself thinking of her own people, how she would never make the Spring Elves have to ‘shine in her own image’ and kill them if they failed. The weight of such a concept made her shoulders ache and her stomach curdle. It was beyond unfair and she hated it. Snow White looked back at Taliesin, who was staring down at a book, but not quite reading it. His brows were furrowed and he was clearly thinking about what he just told her, and of course what that meant for him. The high elves are an esteemed and prideful people. Being told that you’re not ‘good enough’ when your whole culture is based around perfection…

…it leaves a scar. 

“H–Hey…! What are you doing?” Taliesin startled at the Breton making herself comfortable on his lap. “Erm–ever hear of personal space? You could at least give a little warning first!” He raised his hands, panicking a bit and not sure where to put them. 

“Oh stop it -3- I promise this filthy halfbreed Breton won’t do anything to you. Just wanna have a looksee…” Snow White placed her hands on the side of his face, tracing her thumb down his cheekbone and using her index finger to trace the arch of his brow. 

Taliesin’s posture went completely stiff, eyes hyperfixed on her every motion as she studied him. His mouth was twisted into a nervous frown, very unsure how he should be reacting to her invasion of his personal space. Ordinarily he’d like some–warning before someone gets too close to him, his instincts from the war making him prone to skirt away or shove anybody that could be a threat. But the Altmer really had no idea what Snow White was doing. He cleared his throat, hoping to bait out an explanation from her. To no avail, since she remained quiet which only caused his face to go red at her continued proximity.

Once Snow White had examined every part of his face she settled back gazing into his eyes. Taliesin averted his stare, acting nonchalant about the deepness in her somewhat simple actions. “Are you done whatever it is you’re doing yet? You’re quite heavy.”

“No I’m not -o- I’m tiny and light. Shut up and look at me!” 

“Well that’s a polite way to ask for attention isn’t it?” Taliesin had never seen her eyes this close and for the first time noticed there were little…fractals of light deep in the grey. It would be wrong to describe them as gold, or green, or blue, but it was a mixture of all those colors. Just pure light. He found himself hypnotized by them. Since when could humans possess such a color pallet? They look like…diamonds. Seemingly satisfied, Snow White gave a hum and hopped off his lap. Taliesin felt like he could breathe again. “Do you crawl onto the lap of every man you meet, or am I just lucky?” 

“You look like an Altmer to me! :D” Taliesin glanced back at her and tried to pick apart that statement. When it was clear he couldn’t make heads or tails of it, Snow White giggled and poked his forehead. “I looked over every inch of your angular face! You have a pointed nose, ears that stick out like a sore thumb, that typical tired scowl high elves have, arched and well groomed eyebrows…”

“Am I supposed to be taking this as the strangest compliment I’ve ever gotten or are you spouting nonsense again…?” He rolled his eyes mildly insulted, though still a bit flushed.

Snow White only smiled brighter. She leaned back down and traced the rims of his eyes, continuing on her little tangent. “…you also have some of the most beautiful eyes Nirn has ever seen…” Taliesin found himself blushing, heart skipping a beat and mind not even processing that she could actually mean that. 

What? 

Snow White took a step back. “Soooooo, you’ve got all the attributes of a high elf! >W< Which means Elenwen is stupid!”

“Poft–! What? Did you; you stuck your grubby little hands all over my gorgeous face just to mouth off Elenwen?” Now he was really lost. 

“Well I had to make sure you were an elf! And you are! You’re all elf! One hundred and ten percent organically grown Altmer from the Summerset Isles! >v< If Elenwen can’t see how you’re not a reflection of the Altmer people when you are an Altmer then she must need glasses!” She pointed a finger up like a scholar at the end of their thesis. 

After a moment of thought, and soothing his rapid heart from the bizarre touches, Taliesin found himself smiling at her decisive; although naive way of putting it. He found himself quietly laughing, both in bitter irony and maybe even a little melancholy. He looked down at his gloves. The clothes of the Thalmor Dominion, the shell that covers him. “It’s not as easy as simply having the ears, the eyes, the skin of an Altmer. In the Summerset Isles if you aren’t the kind of elf they want you to be then you’re no elf at all. Death is merely the fitting reward for being sub-par amongst the expected standard…”

“Taliesin. No one has the right to tell you what you are except yourself.” Her back was turned to him, going back to check on her beakers. Her voice was serious, the certainty in her tone something he didn’t expect to hear from someone of her childish persona. It made her words more raw, and made Taliesin all the more discouraged. 

“Are you trying to cheer me up?~” Taliesin deflected how he felt with humor, smirk on his face. 

“Just stating the obvious! ^v^” Her brew started to bubble, she decided to focus on the milk. “Ohhhhhh OoO” 

Taliesin took the bait and went back to reading her magic notes, the audio of her excited giggles and the scrawls of formulas on parchment no doubt similar to what he was reading right now. After a moment to himself, Taliesin softly smiled. 

“No one has the right to tell you what you are except yourself.” It’s not that simple…

…It was…a nice thought from her, though.

[polyklok]

A, C, D, F, I, U, Y, Z

Toki fluff plz

A- Affection

KING, NO COMPETITION

Everyday, he’s going to be drowning you in compliments, kisses, gifts, and everything else he can think of! Toki completely dedicates himself on making you happy, he worships you with his suffocating love. You might need to tell him to take a breather, it’s a bit much to live up to his grand amounts of care and affection.

If you need anything from him, say the word, he’ll make it happen. Being with him is a great way to make you self confidence rocket. You’ll never have a doubt in your mind about how loved and appreciated you are by him.

C- Cuddling

He wants to cuddle all the time! Being close and touchy with you is a Toki specialty! Unfortunately, he has, like, 0 patience and is very twitchy. When you two cuddle, he’s constantly shifting, fidgeting, and moving you around. He also doesn’t like silence, so he needs some background noise, even if it’s just you ranting for a little bit. That being said, he still likes it, even if he isn’t very good at it. It’s best to cuddle him while he’s sleep, so he can feel your weight and warmth while you don’t have to deal with his restlessness. Win-win.

D- Domestic

He’s definitely the most domestic out of the Dethklok. He constantly tries to provide for you, in more ways than his mass amounts of money, like doing favors and completing chores. He has to stay out of the kitchen though, for the safety of everyone else.

Long term, he definitely wants marriage (more on that later) and eventually kids. It’s a bit scary at how dedicated he is to having children with you, especially with his lifestyle and the conditions of Mordhaus. You’re gonna need multiple long, serious talks with him and lots of preparation if his fantasy is ever to become a reality. He is so, so happy when if it does happen, though.

Despite the music, the fame, the chaos, and all the other conditions that come with his name, he really does want to provide a secure, traditional lifestyle for you.

F- Fiancé

Like I said, marriage is a big part of Toki’s dedication to you. He bought the ring very early on, but didn’t propose until about a year and a half in. Still early, mind you, but later than he would’ve if he didn’t have some voices of reason urging him to wait.

His vision of a perfect wedding is a mix between Norwegian traditions, American traditions (based on wedding scenes in movies and tv shows), and his strange, colorful, and fuzzy fantasy world. It’s colorful, floral, lively, a bit strange, with tinges of religious influence. What I’m trying to say is that he should not plan the wedding. He’ll definitely like having some influence, but you guys are gonna need a lot of help making sure it doesn’t dissolve into chaos. But at the end of the day, if you’re happy, he’s happy.

Leading up to the event, he gets a bit less bubbly, giddy and becomes a lot more sentimental. He spends a lot more moments staring into your eyes, whispering sweet things to you, holding you close for no apparent reason. It’s reality settling in on him that he’s about to make a lifetime commitment to you. He’s not scared or feeling any regret, quite the opposite. He’s grateful. And he’s excited to begin a new chapter of life with you by his side.

I- “I Love You”

The moment he meets you. Toki tends to be hit hard with puppy love, so it’s either when he meets you or when he realizes he loves you, which will probably happen soon after meeting. He says you don’t have to say it back to him, he just needs to you know. And from then on, he’s gonna say it every single time he sees you.

Every single morning, on every date, every time you make love, “I loves you, I loves you, I loves you.” And he means it a little more every time. From puppy love, to infatuation, to admiration, to genuine passion, he’s letting you know just how much you loves you.

The important part is when you decide to say it back. At that point, he’ll scoop you up and say it a thousand times more, filled with glee because he did it. He loves you, and now you love him!

Y- Yuck

Families are a…sensitive topic.

If you somehow don’t know anything about his past, asking to meet his family is gonna get you met with a blank stare and a small “No thanks you.”

If you do know, he’ll get uncomfortable and gets very upset if you start to pry. He’s trying to leave that behind! While he doesn’t hate his family…he really doesn’t want to see them again. Ever. And he probably doesn’t want to you to meet them because he knows that his love for you very much goes against the values he was raised on. It’s best not to bring it up.

The weirdest part is that he doesn’t want to meet your family, either. If they’re a big part of your life, he’ll simply just wait back at Mordhaus while you go visit. If he does meet them, he’ll do a basic, polite introduction and then stay silent for the rest of the time. He’s just…so awkward, considering his usual friendliness and enthusiasm. Afterwards, when you’re alone, he asks a lot of questions about your family and your childhood. Answer honestly and don’t question it, he’s going through a bit of a mental crisis and needs some patience from you.

Z- Zzz

Toki is so clingy. Mf is practically glued to you as he sleeps. He either wraps all his limbs around you like a koala or you’re laying on top of him. He won’t accept it any other way.

Toki is also frequented by nightmares how lovely. He might whimper and shake while holding onto you, a few tears spilling from his closed eyes. On really bad days, he has a tendency to thrash around. If this happens to wake you up, just shush his sleeping form and stroke his hair. It won’t fix the issue, but it might just calm him a little. He never remembers his nightmares, though, and he’ll be just dandy the next morning.

[blackjackkent]

Aw, we get a long rest cutscene with Shadowheart. It seems to take place outside the camp so I'm going to assume this is happening before Hector goes to bed for the drabble I just wrote.

This seems to be some sort of Selunite churchyard; I'm not sure where in the city this is supposed to be, but I do love that she and Hector apparently came there together. The only scenario I can think of where this would happen is that she asked him to come with her, because I don't think he would have, like, followed her.

So he comes with her and just kind of stands there and watches as she wanders around, waiting until she's ready to speak.

"It doesn't look like anyone's been here in a while," she says thoughtfully after a while. "Perhaps people lost faith. Or forgot about it."

He raises one shoulder in a slight shrug. He has not lost faith. But he cannot speak for the people of the city, who all seem to come at the world from a darker angle.

"I wanted to come here," she goes on after a little while. "To see if I felt anything that I hadn't done before. Now that I know what I know. Now that I know what I am."

He nods slowly. "You've turned from Shar," he points out gently. "Doesn't necessarily oblige you to come here and embrace Selune." He has pointed this out to her before - that after what she has been through, her obligation is to herself, before it is to any goddess, even the one he serves.

"True," she agrees. "But too much freedom can be frightening. Lonely. There's a reason why so many are eager to bow..." Her eyes squeeze shut and she looks away from him, her fists clenching at her sides. "I had my family, for too short a moment. Now they're gone... by my hand..."

He listens quietly, moving to lean his weight against a nearby plinth. As often before, his role here is not to convince her of anything, but merely to listen, to let her work her own thoughts out.

Say nothing.

He waits. And to his surprise... tears well in her eyes, and after so much pain, so much suffering... he finally sees her cry.

Her shoulders hunch and she buries her face in her hands, her whole body starting to shake with sobs. All the reality of the last twenty-four hours is suddenly crashing in on her and he feels a surge of tremendous grief and compassion for her that makes his heart ache.

Embrace her.

Neither of them has ever seemed remotely interested in a hug before, and yet the movement feels utterly instinctive, automatic, as if he would never even consider doing otherwise. He wraps his arms tightly around her, pulls her in against his chest, and after a moment's hesitation he feels her grip him back, her fingers digging into his shirt as if clinging on to avoid being swept away by a tidal wave.

Her face presses into his shoulder and she weeps bitterly with exhaustion and grief. And he holds her, and rocks his weight slightly side to side, mumbling an inarticulate sound of wordless comfort. And in spite of how terrible the events that brought them here, he feels tremendously gratified to have been asked to stand with her now.

From the guarded fear with which he first knew her, through the wary support with which he has followed her crisis of faith... they have finally come to rest, equals. Born siblings in the Selunite faith, but followers of very different paths, each feeling their way through the dark, each faced with questions in the real world that they never expected in their sheltered life before. And he realizes in this moment how terribly proud of her he is - and, almost to his surprise, that in her there are seeds of the sense of family that he thought he lost when he was pulled from the monastery.

He's not sure how long they stand there, but eventually they draw back almost with one mind, just as the embrace began. She wipes at her eyes, looking simultaneously embarrassed and grateful, and turns away abruptly, looking back at the statue of Selune behind them.

"What's next?" he asks softly, taking a step back and lacing his hands behind his back.

She draws a breath and lets it out slowly. It's still a little shaky, but the deep, heartrending sobs have eased, and she looks calmer for having had the moment of release. "We carry on," she answers. "It's all we can do. I'll... follow in a while. But I think I want to stay here a little longer, firstly. This place isn't familiar, but it's peaceful."

He smiles slightly to himself and nods at her back. After waiting a moment to be sure she has nothing else to say, he turns and walks away, back to camp, leaving her to the Moonmaiden's silent presence.

[hanamiyama-basketball-club]

i want to know what piercings isami and smith would get, and what they would feel about them

Oh, this is an interesting one.

I have of course immediately hit a wall in that I said to handwave external reasons that someone wouldn't get a piercing; but "literally being in the military" feels like a big wall to completely ignore, or at least one that we'd be better off seeing if we can use as a ladder.

(Disclaimer: I don't know a ton about the military, but this is my question and I say rule of cool applies exactly as much as I want it to. I mostly looked up uniform requirements for the US Marines because that at least applies to one of them and probably the JSDF aren't that far off. I am calling this sufficient bc A. I'm only using it as vague guidelines anyway and B. I am too tired to attempt to understand that kind of formal rules language in Japanese and most Japanese military stuff in English has Bad Vibes.)

Smith, as we see him, doesn't really seem terribly interested in uniform regulations. I have to imagine he's gotten written up at one point or another by some exceedingly stodgy higher-up for wearing his tokusatsu t-shirts a little too close to base. (Though Ryoma didn't seem very strict about these things either, so maybe that's just what their unit is like.) So I have an easier time imagining he has a piercing and it's healed well enough that he can take it out when he needs to appear in full dress uniform. From a bit of googling, this seems like something male Marines often get away with as long as it's not like, gauges.

(Tangent: I skimmed what purported to be official regulations and apparently only female Marines are allowed to carry -- hold up google tells me as of 2019 umbrellas are now gender neutral https://www.npr.org/2019/11/07/777352792/marine-corps-revises-its-umbrella-policy go woke or get soaked)

(As of recently he could have a decent amount of tattoos too so long as they weren't on his face or hands or anything. I was about to say I hope he has a secret cool Sparkaiser and then I remembered we have seen them all incredibly naked. Nevermind. Maybe it's on his dick.)

Anyway I think he got his right earlobe pierced when he was a teen because he thought it was pretty cool. Maybe this was as close as he felt like getting to rebelling, though it probably felt hollow without parents to react to it anymore. He was born late enough to have missed schoolyard taunts about the "gay ear" and oblivious enough to not realize why older or more queer-history-aware people tend to nod thoughtfully at him. He doesn't swap the earring out much, though sometimes he attaches a charm to fidget with, something geometric and dangly. Mostly he just wears a tricolor gem trio, which looks sufficiently patriotic that most people leave him alone about it but in his heart it's Sparkaiser merch.

He would maybe get something else pierced if he thought it was cool enough, but he's pretty happy as is. Maybe after he gets back from being a robot he gets something else to ground him back in his physical existence again, or something that interacts with whatever weird sensory hangovers he has from having radar and built-in wifi. Like daith piercings for migraines. I said only one though so that means I don't have to decide any specifics.

Isami is more difficult.

I have a hard time picturing him with any kind of piercing at the start of the series. This guy seems to have changed into his dress uniform to go to the bar, he has no hobbies besides weight training. We never see him in civvies until, presumably, Bravern makes him that aloha shirt; you can't convince me he owned anything like that before. I don't know what reasons would make that Isami either decide to get a piercing or do it impulsively. (Which I imagine is why you asked.)

I can imagine him as a teen doing something like what I did when I was ten: going as far as ... well piercing in Japan is usually either done at the doctor or by getting a little self-piercing doohickey (only for lobes, hopefully), so not "standing nervously outside the Claire's for half an hour and then getting scared and going home" but close enough. Maybe he did try piercing his lobe, panicked thinking of The Permanence Of It All; how it didn't make him feel as immediately different and grown up as he thought it would, it just meant he had a hole where he didn't have a hole before, and maybe he did it wrong and it will get infected. So he immediately let it heal up again. (Which it did without a trace, so it wasn't permanent, obviously; but in that moment it felt very serious, because he was and is a very serious guy.)

I'm projecting massively onto both of them. That's allowed. Isami is hard to get a grasp on and I'm still working on it. We don't know much about him as a kid besides that he didn't find heroes compelling.

But being Big Bang seems to have loosened him up a bit, and he seems to have learned to take a chance and keep moving forward even if he doesn't know what's going to happen. I can imagine that Isami getting a piercing, somewhere on their world cruise. A way to commemorate everything that happened, to mark the break between his old cautious self and the one that smiles and cries when someone might see. A sanctifying of the body changed forever by the ultimate communion with Bravern. Something with gold jewelry, probably something simple like a barbell; somewhere he can still hide it under his dress uniform if he needs to, because he is still a very serious military man, but somewhere the right person might get to see the secret passion even he didn't know he had until recently.

In other words, my brain immediately went "oh he has a Prince Albert" and I'm trying to come up with any way that could possibly be true. Maybe he wanted to surprise Smith. (It did not work he still hasn't seen it got dammnit lewis smith get your shit together) Or at least nipples, that man spends enough time shirtless all of a sudden he should at least get to show off. He can put tape over it when he goes to the gym or something it's fine

[aeide-thea]

tagged by @aldieb! thx for thinking of me, these little questionnaires are like. a cute little blast from tumblr's more interactive past :)

last song: i was going to have to give a sad little answer here about how i don't listen to music nearly enough anymore (never mind sing) and it's very definitely a reflection of my depression, but then i entirely out of nowhere and very urgently was like 'wait actually i have to listen to gordon lightfoot's "song for a winter's night" right now' so then i dashed off and did that and now that's the answer:

if i could know within my heart that you were lonely too i would be happy just to hold the hands i love on this winter night with you…

favorite color: oof so so many!! colors are so important. the signature one has gotta be a really highlighter-vivid chartreuse (🎾), but i do also really love me a good marigold orange? not to mention vermilion, or ochre, or moss green, or really saturated cobalt, or shades of rust or russet…

last movie/show: shetland bbc, which is a quiet well-acted murder mystery series set in a very beautiful very remote landscape. soothing if you like the british isles and can bear to entertain the fantasy of a decent policeman, at least for an hour or so at a time. also i admit to enjoying douglas henshall's face.

sweet/spicy/savory: all the best things are savory and also spicy! like. the jamaican curried chicken i grew up with. indian curries. malaysian laksa my beloved. can you tell i like curry. :D

relationship status: sidebar but this is such an amatonormative question lol. like why are we societally expected to look at 'relationship' and infer 'romantic.' also it seems like a weird outlier given that all the other qs are low-stakes little softballs abt yr tastes. however. extremely single! sometimes i'm sad about it because i miss sexual intimacy and i'm too shy to pursue that with strangers? but honestly most of the time i'm just as glad, because i don't actually know how to love people romantically without making a whole self-abnegating religion of it, so i'm not really convinced that dating was ever really all that good for me, on the whole…

last thing i googled: i use duckduckgo now, and you should too! :) having said that: 'yoal boat.' which is a very beautiful traditional style of shetland boat—apparently descended from a norwegian model?—that the islanders used to use for fishing, and then for storage draw up onto the land into these little prepared hollows called noosts (they have marinas now), which like. obviously i think is the most charming word imaginable. a cozy little noost for a lovely little boat! 🪺

current obsession(s): yoals aside, i guess the thing that best fits this category is that sometime in the last year or so i turned into Merino Guy??? like. even my boxer briefs are merino now (well, a merino-tencel blend) and like. it's so good, guys. comfy in a startlingly wide range of temps, helps me lessen my contribution to the microplastics problem, somehow even makes for reasonable athletic wear in the right weights and cuts: what's not to like. anyway brb, gotta go print out my 'NOT 🐑ISH ABOUT MERINO' bumper sticker. :D

tag 9 people: oof idk, do this if you'd enjoy it and ignore it if you wouldn't? gonna make like west and pull some names from my activity feed: @e-b-reads, @ghostofasecretary, @leatherbookmark, @nathanielthecurious, @obstinatecondolement, @papavera, @quailfang, @tisiphoness, @youcanthandelthetruth

[imagineakatsuki]

Hello there! I hope I did it right :) Could you do an image about an akatsuki and a fem s/o and they have to care about a robot baby as a school project? Feel free to choose an akatsuki :) (School AU, if you don‘t do it, it is okay) I hope you could understand me, I am not very good in englisch 😅 Have a good day!

Hey anon! I chose Sasori because I’m a little obsessed with him right now, but just send in another ask if you want a specific character! Who knows, I may or may not make this a series anyway~

Note: for some reason, I missed the s/o part of this ask, so this scenario reads more as a general female reader. Sorry about that!

Admin S

“Sasori and [Name].”

The redhead wasn’t thrilled about the project when the teacher had first announced it, opting to finish a joint of one of his puppet creations instead of paying attention. With a heavy sigh, he turned to his project partner with his usual dead-eyed stare.

“You’re [name], right?”

“Yes, I’m [name]. You must be Sasori?”

“That’s right,” Sasori took the paper with the instructions and skimmed it quickly. It was like one of his puppet creations - except he didn’t make it, and it required actual physical attention beyond just fixing its appearance.

“Frankly, I think this is a ridiculous project and a waste of time,” the boy said, “How unfortunate that it counts for so much of our final grade.”

“Y-yeah,” [Name] replied appeasingly. She had sensed the irritated aura of her partner and didn’t want to push her luck. If the rumors were true, the redhead had very little patience for idiocy. He was a genius, however, so maybe [name] could use that to their advantage. “It might be stupid, but I kinda need to do well on it to get a good grade, so your cooperation would be great.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll pull my weight. It seems fairly simple and straightforward; getting a good grade will be easy.”

[Name] raised an eyebrow. “Oh? You have some childcare experience then?”

The silence was telling.

“No.” Sasori scrunched his nose. “But I take good care of things that I own, and they somewhat resemble this… thing.”

[Name] still wasn’t very confident with that answer, but, hey, it couldn’t be that bad, can it? It’s not like she had a choice anyway. She just hoped that Sasori wouldn’t be this standoffish throughout the entire project or this project would be harder than it had to be.

“So how do you want to do this? I take it one day and then we alternate?” [Name] asked.

Sasori hummed. “That sounds acceptable. It seems that we have similar schedules, though, so it wouldn’t really matter until after school.”

At that, [Name] had to admit she was surprised. Sasori had noticed her?

“You’re in nearly all of my classes.” Whoops. Apparently she had said that out loud. “I may not speak much, but I am still capable of observing.”

“S-sorry. I just wasn’t expecting you to actually recognize me, much less remember me.”

“Then how do you know me?”

“Well, your bright red hair is pretty noticeable… and you’re really smart when you feel like talking,” [Name] shrugged. “The way you eviscerated that teacher in biology class 2 weeks ago was awesome!”

Sasori smirked but didn’t reply. 

Soon after, the bell rang and everyone flew off their seats. Thankfully, the redhead took the decision away from [name] and grabbed the robot baby as he stood up. 

“Uh… I don’t think you hold a baby that way,” the girl giggled as she followed Sasori to their next class. He held the baby by one of its hands, the rest of the body awkwardly dangling at his side. 

“It doesn’t matter how you hold it. The thing can only track how well you attend to its artificial needs,” the boy retorted. He walked to his usual seat in the back of the class which, fortunately, had the seat next to it open. 

The two made it through half the class before the baby decided to unleash its fury on them. They had been hopeful it wouldn’t interrupt them at all, but alas, they had to suffer just as some people in the class already had. 

The entire rest of the morning was plagued with screaming, crying babies. 

<< Later >>

“What a nightmare,” Sasori rubbed his temples as he and [name] made their way out of the school doors. 

Feeling pity for the teen who was likely used to silence, [name] offered to take the robot baby for the night. The boy’s expression barely changed, but after spending the whole day actually interacting with him, [name] could tell there was a glimmer of gratefulness in his eyes when he looked at her.

“That would be great. I can take it tomorrow, but I’ve had enough of babies crying for today.” Without further ado, the redhead handed her the baby and walked away, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Later that night, [name] would come to regret that altruistic decision. Just as she was getting in bed, the baby started bawling, forcing her to get up and grudgingly take care of it. 

However, no matter what she did, it just wouldn’t stop crying. [Name] was getting to the end of her rope, close to a meltdown herself, which would put her no better than the baby she was supposed to take care of. Finally, after debating the pros and cons of doing so, she decided to call Sasori and see if he could help fix the problem. If nothing else, he could be moral support.

“[Name]?”

“Sasori! I’m so sorry if I woke you up or anything-“

“You didn’t.”

“But this damn baby just won’t stop crying! I swear I’ve tried everything! I was supposed to be in bed an hour and a half ago… I’m losing my mind!”

“Deep breaths, [name],” the redhead listened for an audible - if shaky - breath before continuing, “Now, I need you to tell me what you’ve done so far. We’ll figure this out by process of elimination.”

“I’ve fed it, I’ve changed it, I’ve burped it, I’ve rocked it - I don’t what else I’m supposed to do.”

The two were on the phone for half an hour before they gave up. “Since nothing has worked so far, I’m going to believe it’s malfunctioning. And it doesn’t surprise me that these companies who mass produce these things are making errors,” Sasori ranted. “Instead of continuing to waste our time, I say we just disable it and tell the teacher tomorrow.”

“Ok, that sounds good. How do I do that though?”

“I’ll walk you through it. Are you ready?”

“Yeah, I’m ready to get this over with. What do you want me to do first?”

Sasori smoothly dictated the steps to disable the doll. Knowing his impatience, [name] did her best to keep her (stupid) questions to a minimum. It didn’t take very long after that before the doll finally stopped crying. As someone who had been hearing it for the past 2 hours, it made [name] feel like crying herself. 

“Thank you, Sasori! You’re a miracle worker! Sorry I kept you awake.”

“It’s no problem. You should go to bed.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice! As soon as I put this phone down, it’s straight to bed for me. Thanks again! And good night!”

“Good night.”

Suffice to say, the teacher heard an earful the next day about the superiority of independent creators over large corporations when it comes to making good products.

[philodendrongirl]

When cats love and trust you so much they got all limbs in the air laying on you on their back and trust you to be gentle with softly petting their little faces… was in this situation last night and was lightly rubbing over my kitties tiny closed eyes while she was purring and reveled in the love within this interaction. Like you trust me so much you love the soft pets over something so valuable to your life and normally uncomfortable to touch as your eyes? That you use to hunt and see the world? There is so much love in these connections even if not outright and obviously said as human to human interactions. You trust me to hold you on my lap so you won’t fall. You’re not worried about it at all. That’s exactly what I love to see you feel. The total trust is so heartwarming with cats because I feel like their feelings are often overlooked albeit they’re very different to human emotions. Strong feelings like fear or happiness are so apparent within them and also stuff like their concern/curiosity is so akin to human children. They have clear expected boundaries and what seems like concepts of respect/hierarchy which some people really don’t like but… it’s like a friend telling you they don’t want to talk about a certain subject anymore! Would you really be annoyed with your friend telling you that? Even in the hiss/swat/push that they give you, how beautiful and special it is to be included in their communication - to trust you enough to let you know what they’re feeling. Please don’t be mad at your kitty for this. Something that I’ve noticed about cats in general is that the reason they don’t like you shifting around/moving is that they think that you’re getting up or they’re going to fall! And that’s why they leave immediately. They’re ready from the getgo to use their reflexes to get out of an unstable situation. But when my cats been laying on me, I started to wrap an arm around her if I ever need to shift my weight or move and she’s been leagues more comfortable staying on my lap knowing that she can trust me to make sure she doesn’t fall off. It’s really important for them to know the ground they’re getting onto is stable and flat since balance is so crucial to the way they function. Idk it’s beautiful and incredible. I love these guys

[solar-halos]

december prompt #3: hot chocolate

some gale hawthorne and delly cartwright fluff under the cut :o)

Delly Cartwright looks scared out of her mind.

Gale thinks she should be. Merchants don’t belong in the Hob. You don’t see him perusing sweet shops and bakeries, do you?

Still. She approaches a vendor and she smiles and smiles and smiles as someone tries to haggle money out of her that even Gale knows she doesn’t have.

She’s being nice, and they’re gonna latch onto that and exploit it. Gale shifts his weight, his warmest jacket and his bag of game weighing heavy on his back. Katniss had to cut their meeting in the woods short to take care of Prim—in her words, her mother was in Useless Mode again, which she seems to be in a lot these days—so Gale was in charge of the trades today.

Delly reaches into her pockets, emptying out the contents in exchange for just one ridiculously tiny vial of lard.

Gale steps in. He’s not sure why. Maybe she reminds him too much of Prim.

“Don’t waste your time.” He reminds himself to make his voice steady and even so the vendor picks up on his confidence. Good luck trying to haggle him now. “I could get you a bigger tub for cheaper. Also, Chock dilutes all his stuff with water.”

Chock splutters, but that’s mostly because he sucks in a stray snowflake floating around, so Gale and Delly high-tail it out of there before he could start getting confrontational. He doesn’t usually rat people out in the Hob—part of perfecting the craft is unearthing everyone’s secrets on your own—but he has a feeling Delly’s not gonna be up here very often. She doesn’t need to learn all the secrets of the trade, but she sure seems to need lard (for some reason), so Gale throws her a bone.

She smiles at him, so warm and sweet and a smidge shy that Gale almost forgets it’s the middle of winter. “Thank you. He seemed so nice that I wasn’t sure how to tell him no.”

“I can help you out with that: Chock’s an asshole.”

“Well, even then, his wife’s been battling the flu, and he said things aren’t looking good. No one deserves to go through that.”

Maybe it’s because he wants to see her smile again—no one has ever smiled at him like that before—but the tears suddenly pooling at her eyes makes his stomach twist in the worst way possible.

“Chock’s not even married,” he assures her. He expects her to get a bit angry—Gale certainly was, when he found out—but her expression only softens.

“Well, even then—” Gale has a feeling he’s going to be hearing a lot of that from her “—no one would lie like that if they didn’t have to. He must have something awful going on at home.”

“Hate to break it to you,” Gale starts out, because he really does, “but everyone here has something awful going on. You wouldn’t be at the Hob if you didn’t.”

That begs one question: what’s Delly doing here?

Gale doesn’t ask. She had looked so scared with Chock, but she’s so much more at ease now that she’s walking by his side, so he doesn’t wanna give her any opportunities to psych herself out. It’s impossible to receive good deals on trades if you’re thinking about everything that’s at risk if you walk out of there empty handed. That’s rule number one.

Delly doesn’t really need to learn any of these rules, but she does need to know them at a least a little bit if she wants to walk out of here with at least a few cents in her fleece-lined coat.

That reminds him: “Pick-pockets are ruthless here, you know. Does your pocket at least have some sort of zipper?”

“Oh.” Her forehead crinkles—apparently, she doesn’t know. And, even though they’ve just met, she transfers a few crinkled bills into his hand. “Will you hold onto it for me, then? For safekeeping?”

Okay, so she doesn’t remind him of Prim. His head has never gotten so foggy from someone’s fingers brushing over his—especially not for something so trivial—but it feels good to be trusted with something so important. It feels even better to be trusted by someone so kind.

So Gale sticks by her side, extra mindful to snag all the good deals for her. He handles all the trades for himself and Katniss along the way, impressed that Delly eventually gets the hang of it after a few booths, but he still thinks she’s entirely too generous with her time.

Gale doesn’t say anything about it, doesn’t wanna risk the chance of squashing down her sweetness. Plus, it works in her favor; one hug and a shoulder to cry on later, Miss Burna gives her a complimentary bag of peppermints as a parting gift.

“Everyone there is so kind,” Delly tells him on their way out, and Gale is starting to think that might ring a little true. He’s hardly ever seen any of those vendors smile without trying to cheat you out something really important along the way, but Delly’s got them wrapped around her finger.

“We should go get something to drink,” Delly says, pulling her coat—and all of her spoils—closer to her chest. “My treat. As a thank-you for getting me through all that.”

Gale’s first instinct is decline, but when he opens his mouth, the words don’t come out. Instead, he takes one look at her pink nose and tangled blond curls, and he says, “Okay.”

He expects something like coffee. Katniss’ mom loved coffee, but they had more important things to worry about in the Seam, so that must be why Delly’s taking him to the merchant side of town. Or maybe she’d want some warm wine. Gale doesn’t know why, but he has a feeling Delly might really like that. The way Greasy Sae does it, he means.

Now it’s his turn to squirm under the gazes of blue eyes and pink lips. But if Delly could tough out a visit to the Hob, Gale can wait in line and clasp his fingers around a steaming mug of hot chocolate.

His eyes nearly bug out of his head. Hot chocolate.

“How can you even afford this?”

He expects to feel a rush of injustice—he couldn’t even afford a chocolate chip—but he’s only curious.

Delly gives him one of those smiles again. “The girl who’s working this afternoon is in my math class, and my family really likes trading with hers. Besides, everyone feels extra generous around the holidays.”

That’s not true. Everyone feels a extra generous around her, but he doesn’t know where this stupid affectionate haze is coming from, so he takes another sip of hot chocolate before he could say something stupid.

Delly plops a peppermint into her drink. And, before he can think about it, he follows her lead after she holds out another one in his direction.

It tastes like the new year.

He doesn’t drain it all right away. He doesn’t wanna waste it, and he needs something warm to wrap his fingers around. They take a walk to get the blood pumping, arms brushing against each other sometimes, and Gale developes a newfound appreciation for window shopping.

There’s the pastries in the bakery. The scarves in the boutique. The holiday themed color palette of all the medication in the apothecary.

Gale wonders if the hot chocolate is spiked with something. It would explain why he feels so happy and weightless and smiley, but it was too watery—apparently, merchants aren’t above diluting their products, either—so he pins that feeling down to the way Delly is looking at him. Like he’s worth liking, even though he’s not really doing anything for her.

“No shit!” he says, in response to her story about how she and her baker friend snuck out a bottle of booze that they use for all their cakes. “How’d it taste?”

Her nose wrinkles, laughter making her exhales come out in the shape of pretty white clouds. Gale didn’t know stuff like that could be pretty. “Awful. And his parents got so pissed that they put a lock on all their cabinets.”

They skid to a stop by a trash can, both unwilling to dump it in and go their separate ways, so they loiter. Gale knew he should have drank his hot chocolate slower.

“Thank you again, by the way. For helping me at the Hob.”

“Thank you for the drink,” he says, holding up his empty cup for emphasis. “Didn’t think anything could be sweeter than you are.”

Okay, so maybe he’s actually, literally drunk. He wouldn’t have said something like that if he wasn’t, but it’s kinda worth it to see Delly’s cheeks flush.

“You’re sweet, too. Even if you don’t wanna admit it.”

That gives Gale a pause. The only people in the district who seem to think he’s at least a little nice is Rory and Posy and Prim, but—

“Oh, shit,” he mutters. He forgot he was haggling for two today, and Katniss is gonna be expecting her half of the trade soon. “I have to go. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry.” She puts her hand on his arm, the warmth from her glove seeping into his jacket. He finds it a lot easier to relax. “Thank you again for helping me out today. And keeping me company. You’re gonna have to finish your story about you and Katniss and the lynx next time.”

Next time. Gale smiles so wide his cheeks start to hurt.

“Okay,” he agrees, schooling his expression into something less giddy. “And, next time, I’ll get you something nice.” He thinks of the ribbons Burna sometimes sells. “Or something pretty.”

The flush to her cheeks deepens, but that could also be because of the breeze. They’re both equally as hesitant to actually leave, so they stand outside the plaza for a few extra minutes and plan out the itinerary for their next visit. Gale knows that there’ll never be a next time—Delly was just being polite—but it feels good to think about.

The pressure of Delly’s hand on his arm increases, but that’s only because she’s tightening her grip and propelling herself forward. She plants a kiss on his mouth, short and sweet and breathtaking. Just like her.

“See you later, Gale!” she says, already turning on her heel. And then she’s gone.

He stands there, trying to get his bearings. She tasted like peppermint.