#yeah leon ur life is so hard

[withonly-sweetheart]

Starry Eyed Singer

You're a scientist, not a singer, but when the newest experiment takes a liking to not only you, but your voice, you might just be the key to finding the rest of them. And although he's stuck behind the confines that keep him away from you, that hide the songs that he knows could have you throwing yourself into the water for him, he won't hurt you. After all, how could he? When you're his starry eyed singer.

a/n: first lets ignore the fact there's only dialogue at the last bit im so tired of this literally its been two whole ass weeks I NEVER GO PAST A DEADLINE IM GONNA TWEAK buuuut i really really like this idea i just think that for a theme, this is short and sweet enough for me! i would definitely want to expand on this as a whole, and i couldn't resist adding a dead dove ending <3 (im a creepy mf ik)

find the bad ending here...

alright now its time for credits

@bunnivievve - this is literally her au. like seriously i took everything from her analysis sheet like i would not be here without you. i salute you fine woman you are the reason i wake up and write siren leon. + thank you sm for ur hc i hope it's fitting to what you were thinking!!! THISSSSS LITERALLY THIS IS WHAT INSPIRED ME SMMM <333

@larvamars - help im sorry for mentioning you but i kinda took the art of leon looming over the scientist in that one piece of urs to heart... yeah... thinkin abt that while writing this really helped <3 so tysm just crediting people where credit is due!!

@sirenhub <- ngl i thought of you while writing this the WHOLE time i was tryna be freaky... get it bc ur name is siren... also the dead dove ending is dedicated to you my love... please drown me to the bottom of the ocean.. <333

@vampiricgf <- KITAA WE'RE TWINNING SO HARD ON THIS ONE... ur au is better than mine i fear but its ok this is a connection i couldn't pass up

(psst. if i didnt mention u in this one artist moots TRUST you're definitely in one of the other three.)

tw: descriptions of loss and grief, reader's mother is dead, luis angst, tiny mention of smut but nun too bad, brother i can't write anything without making it sound like shakespeare and not in a good way...

wc: 7.3k

The pearl of the ocean. He’s watched every wretched person who’s confined him here, with their white coverings and spectacles resting on their too sharp noses, their awkward gait and their irregular size. And not one was interesting enough to keep him intrigued for more than a day.

And then you appeared in his life, a presence uninvited, a treasure undeserving of his touch, not that he would be able to get his fingers on you either way. Your eyes were so lively, restless, sparkling like stars through the clear material that separates you.

If only you could hear him. He was sure just a moment of his voice would be enough to ensure your enrapture, enough to ensnare you like they had caught him off the coast. His colony had warned him enough times of all the dangers the shore brought, yet something brought him back.

You are alike in that sense, hunger consuming you from the inside out, fatal if not for the restraints that were easier for him to hold than you. He can feel your eyes on him as he languidly floats through the somewhat roomy tank they house him in, temporary, of course, but for three months he’s been stuck behind this insufferable, invisible surface that sets the barrier between you both.

A creature of the sea and a creature of the land. He entertains quiet thoughts of you at night, when his dreams should be fitful, longing to be free in the ocean, yet the yearning for you is stronger. He assumes it is mutual, why else would you act the way you do? Enamored, entranced, elated enough to send shoals of fish skittering through his stomach.

But he mistakes fascination for infatuation. 

<><><><>

You cast Luis a sideways glance, a strange haze between you, air infecting what used to come so naturally, seeping into your skin, sealing your lips shut as if your banter was planned and you’re finally speechless.

His fingers flick the lighter lid open, then back, setting a rhythm that should be comfortable enough to make up for your unnatural silence, but it only serves to make things worse. You resist the urge to bristle when he finally speaks.

“You really don’t know why you’re here,” he murmurs, and you would’ve missed it, hidden under the whirring gears vibrating in the ground if not for the fact you’ve been expecting it. 

You scoff. “What do you think?”

“I think that you must’ve done something.” He sighs and leans forward, tense in every aspect except for his mouth, brown butter molding to the cherry of his lips that purse, abandoning the man you knew. “Why leave both of us in here? Alone?”

His tone is suggestive, and you might’ve dismissed it as playful under other circumstances, but you know exactly what he’s doing—making a fool out of you. 

“Tell me,” you insist. Luis leans back, the lamp in the hallway shining through the window, bronzing the copper planes of his face. He links his hands together and rests them palm upward on his forehead, closing his eyes. 

After a few moments of silence, he cracks one of them open, narrowed as soon as he realizes you’re still watching, still waiting for an answer he’s far too reluctant to hand over.

“Impatient, are you?”

“You’re the one who fucked everything up! If you had just listened when I said the radar was, what, three feet off, we could’ve caught it just fine! But no, guess who has to play the hero?” you seethe. You feel your heartbeat thrum under where your fingers lie on your wrist, pulsing like a warning. Back off.

“Are you a senior scientist?” He quirks an eyebrow, challenging you to a fight you’ll surely lose, but when have you ever backed down to him? “I didn’t think as much.”

That pet name irks you enough to spark a retort, one you didn’t even think about before it’s past your lips and hanging in the air between you.

“I’ll rip that badge off your shirt before they get here if you don’t tell me why the fuck we’ve both been stuck in here for three hours!” Your voice is level to an extent, level like you’ve never thought to be calm.

His arms fall down to his knees, elbowing the meat of his thighs, eyes drawn back to you. “Are you always this irritable?” A smirk tugs at the corner of his lips, curving them upward. “Or am I just lucky to be sitting next to a beautiful woman with the temper to match?”

You scowl, unable to summon the grin that you wish would appear in your mind. Seeing that you aren’t as amused at him at his little joke, the smile slips right off his face, and that sullen expression usurps his features.

“They found it,” he admits, albeit quietly, as if he’s afraid someone will hear. “Right after we left.”

“They… did?”

“Mhm,” he confirms, voice low and throaty. His lips part and you lean forward slightly, eager to hear his elaboration. “A new project is underway. Experiment 003. And you’ll be-”

The door swings open, and the white light that bathes you isn’t a good sign. 

<><><><>

You don’t understand the solemn look on Luis’ face. Shouldn’t he be happy for you? You actually got the assignment you had requested, for once, and with what was once thought to be a creature only found in stories. And yet he stands leaning in the doorway to the lab room, gazing at the water.

It’s been two weeks, and not once have you actually seen this supposed creature. You’re starting to think this is all some elaborate joke Luis has crafted to keep your enthusiasm fresh, but he knows that your praise and effort aren’t akin to fruit and vegetables.

“No progress?” he offers weakly, not once making eye contact with you.

“Why don’t you try?” you reply bitterly. It’s been a hot minute since you’ve gotten any quality sleep, and the laboratory’s coffee runs alongside your blood in your veins, which bubbles back up in the raw coffee beans that swirl on your tongue as you await his response.

“Ouch.” Luis pretends to wince, seemingly hurt. “You might hurt my feelings, chiquita.”

“Good.”

“You can insult me all you want,” he says, damn that clever tongue of his, “but you’re pretty cute when you're mad. Makes it hard for me to take you seriously, mi amor.”

“Why are you like this?” you grit out, sweeping the papers off your desk to slam your clipboard down, crisp paper untouched. Can’t take notes on something you’ve never seen.

“Like what?” he asks, tilting his head. “Ever charming?”

“I was thinking something like bipolar,” you groust. “You’re never just one person, are you? What else are you hiding from me?”

He puts his hands up in defense as you stalk towards him, but he waits until you’re a step away to respond. “Hiding? Me? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he muses.

You tilt your head up just as he tilts his head down, and you lock eyes with him, the searing honey dripping from his eyes to yours, cooling quickly enough to create threads of sweet ice connecting you both.

How it feels to long for something you’ll never have.

Your eyes flit to the band on his ring finger.

<><><><>

The cool glass finds your fingertips, aching from restless typing emails back and forth, persisting that you can handle this one. Your encounter with Luis has left you determined to prove you can do it without him, that you’re perfectly capable of ignoring him in the hallways, in the lunchroom, pretending not to hear him call your name across the lab.

But the blue glow dapples your face as you stare into the mirror on your desk, angled towards the picture of you and Luis, acceptance letters crumpled in your hands with your arms over each other’s shoulders, eyes glazed.

One too many drinks that night led to peppering his face with kisses, sliding those glasses off his face, admiring how pretty he looked all tipsy and breathless underneath you, watching all those cocky retorts disappear under your fingers. 

It’s hard to get over someone you’ll never stop seeing, and you’ve got a better chance of being fired than retiring early. Besides, if you love your job, you’ll suffer through anything to keep it, right? Even if that means forcing smiles at his open face.

With no one to console you, a locked door and curtains dressing the windows, you let the tears flow freely, wishing that the water only a few inches away would somehow absorb the tears, make you seem stronger than you really are. Somber music tinkles away to an end in the background, leaving you in obsolete silence that seems to swallow you whole.

A tap on the glass. Suspended motionless just beyond the barrier, electric blue undertones of his skin mesmerizing, highlighting elegant fins and swirling markings. Deep azure pools that lock onto yours, hair framing his face like a snapshot in time.

"Holy shit, shit, shit!" you blurt out loud before you can help it. Your pulse races to life, drinking in every feature you can, drawing an image that will never be up to scale; whoever can put his flowing, inky locks to delicate fins that frame his lithe, powerful frame into words should be standing in your place, because you sure can’t.

You swivel around, hyping yourself up even more at the fact that you’re the first scientist in the building to see him with your own eyes, fingers curled around your clipboard as you shuffle back.

But you’ve dotted your name and scribbled down the date only to jerk your eyes back to the empty space, as if he was never there. Only one piece of evidence remains, and even that flutters down to the depths you cannot see.

An iridescent scale.

<><><><>

Your voice is croaky from even more lack of sleep, hours of waiting by the glass in vain; the frog in your throat leaps out to greet Luis when he saunters over, leaning on his elbow that rests on the table, eyes darting from side to side to confirm what he already knows from ten minutes of absconded silence - you’re alone in the breakroom.

“Well?” he urges, eyes slicing down to check his watch. “Make it quick, mi amor. I’ve got a meeting in ten minutes.”

My love. How ironic that he still calls you that, it must slip from his mind on days like this. “Isn’t today your rest day-”

“Well?” he repeats, more urgently this time. And under his persistence, you’re less sure of your theory than before.

Your teeth pierce the chapped skin of your bottom lip, cracking it open, savoring the iron tang of blood that flows freely, even though you know it’ll come back to bite you in the ass later. The sting calms you.

“Experiment 003,” you begin, digging your fingernails into your palm for a split second before forcing your wavering hand to push the files towards him. “The mermaid-”

“Merman,” he corrects quickly, before his eyes go slightly wider than before and raises his hands in defense, again, as if his open palms will stop the silent words of hurt that batter his skin from your eyes.

“Merman,” you repeat, continuing, “isn’t really a merman.” 

“What?” Luis’ eyebrows fly up and he claws at the folder, flipping through the papers before staring back up at you in disbelief. “You have no evidence to support this!”

“But I saw him,” you insist, admitting what you had told yourself you weren’t going to reveal to him. How is it that his face still gets your tongue tied in your mouth, coaxing secrets without him even knowing? “And… it displays none of the traits found in the fisherman’s tales.”

“They’re all old men,” he says dismissively, and his nonchalance, once again, only serves to irk you and fuel your need to prove him wrong. “So what if they couldn’t see right?”

“But—”

“No buts,” he says with a tone of finality, and it doesn’t occur to you to speak back this time. The point’s been lost in your first plea, and the honey bees descend from his tongue to spike you everywhere, scorn you for trying to doubt him. “Just get back to work, and don’t bother me anymore, señorita. I have work to do.”

You’ve never been dismissed by him before, so when he sinks into his hands, rubbing circles into your eyes, you don’t move a muscle, wondering if there will be any further instruction.

But he lifts his chin, so slowly that his gaze sears everywhere that it touches until that flame gets put out by the bucket of boiling water bubbling to life in his eyes. That dull demeanor lying over irritation lies bare on his face, soaking through like wet newspaper, ink unintelligible but meaning clear. 

Get out.

<><><><>

It’s hard to find something more consistent than the steady lapping of water, kissing the top of the glass where it connects with your ceiling. You stare into the abyss, willing the creature to appear from its depths, but where the flowing water meets your demands, the being does not.

Your thoughts begin to wander. How exactly had you called it— no, him?

“The subject is male,” you hear Luis’ voice ring in your ear, as if a ghost of a person still standing with you, a shadow of what you hoped could be true. That day, there was no sound in the room except for the steady current of your tears washing your cheeks for the umpteenth time that week.

It’s probably not that. After all, it would take a creature with keen ears and a sharper mind to hear not only through the glass, but to recognize the pain that even the person who causes it cannot identify. But you’re desperate.

So you conjure up the strongest memory you have, one that surpasses all levels of guilt and anger and pain to the highest level of sorrow you’ve ever felt. The night your mother died.

Your eyes stay glued to the simple white cloth adorning her body, cupping her gently like the beings from above have descended to hold her in their heavenly hands, the idea that if you keep your gaze away from her, she’ll long for it once more and return to you.

But as much as you know she loves you, she remains still. And when you drag your reluctant eyes to grace her pale, limp hands, rubbing some warmth into her spindly fingers, fingers that fed you and dressed you. Arms that hugged you when you finished elementary school, kept your grades up with a raise that was never a promise, only an empty threat.

And the eyes that sparkled like yours, now dead. How similar you look to her, even now, hollow cheeks and irises that lose their cheer, wilting flowers like your dress that billows in the wind as you stand with your feet in the sea, grounding yourself against the waves that threaten to pull you away.

Why couldn’t you stay? Why did she abandon you in a cruel, motherless world that you know is common yet feels like a situation that will only ever apply to your pitiful self? Why does nothing last, if only for a fleeting moment in which you light her pyre and watch the flames engulf her until she’s nothing but a pile of ashes.

Before the wind can steal her away with its greedy fingers, you sweep her into a vase.

And that vase will stay in the second wooden shelf, the sturdiest one right above your desk, two inches away from the ledge, pressed against the chipped paint of your wall. You will never let her go. She will always be with you; in one way or another.

You’ll make sure of that.

Guilt isn’t the right word. There is no word to describe the torrents of how disgusted you are at yourself, and if there is, there shouldn’t be. You’ve confined your mother to these lands instead of accepting the peace she deserves.

And suddenly, observing the creature doesn’t seem as important as before. There are more pressing issues at hand, issues that might have something to do with your current lack of luck, as of late.

What you miss as you scamper around the room is the eyes that watch you from the darkness, sharp enough to crackle fire that would burn this whole place to the ground if he wished, but he waits. 

In silence as you hastily grab your bag from the coat rack, abandoning your jacket. He knows you’ll be back from this one action and relaxes his tense body.

As long as you come back.

<><><><>

Aquamarine darkness envelops the far side of the room, if the building you’re in even resembles a room. It must end somewhere, especially since the peacock lights flash back in a rhythmic pattern, always circling back to where you’re planted.

Rooted to the peaty soil that squelches around your rain boots that were required before stepping into… wherever your current location was. Of course, the admin team is never happy with what they have, and apparently one subject to prod and poke wasn’t enough.

So you’re sent in here, to gain more information, the rookie’s always the guinea pig for anything, right? To find the rest of them, if there are any. You’re doubting this idea as a whole theory itself, because what if he’s one of a kind? Special.

But that something gets closer and closer to you. Your eyes have become accustomed to the darkness, adapting to the shapes that spark your vivid imagination, the murky water swirling everywhere the inky mass touches. 

Eight feet and four inches is intimidating enough to scan behind the safety of your reinforced glass walls, bulletproof and all, and you’re not reassured by the idea that although you shouldn’t be scared, you are.

Only once have you seen him through the water, and that was enough to spark your interest. The flame of curiosity burns falsely in your stomach, washed out by the waves of fear. You feel like nothing but a small fish at his intense gaze, a gaze that frightens you, and it must show on your expression.

Within a matter of seconds he backs away, perhaps sensing your discomfort, and you realize that your initial hypothesis must’ve been correct; he can feel others' emotions. You wonder how this works for a creature that cannot communicate, at least not with you.

Something flashes through his eyes, storm clouds and thunder alike, and a low hiss pushes its way through his canine teeth, an attribute you hadn’t noticed until the sound hits your ears.

It is strange, the look on his face, with his hair moist and clinging to his neck as he bobs further away, weaving between the speckles of moss that float from your little island to him, gifts or warnings, you don’t know.

He takes them as warnings, it seems, with his tense, hostile expression that seems to appear from thin air, staring at you tersely, somewhat like a dolphin or a seal at the aquarium before dipping back into the water without a sound, silence filling the area where he was.

And although you’re perfectly aware that your fear has not yet subsided from crashing against your lungs, you admit to yourself that now that he’s gone, you miss the thrill.

Who would’ve thought you’d become so daring, hm?

<><><><>

But wait, it gets worse. You had assumed this was a one time thing, a test run with a temporary guinea pig that happened to be the rookie of the lab, and although you weren’t too happy with the arrangement, you were perfectly content with the idea of admiring him from a distance, especially after such a close encounter.

Yet no one gives you a heads up or a warning before you’re shoved into the same room again, fear licking at your spine as those flashing lights proceed further through the water. And after a while, the initial horror bypasses your system and you grow used to the thick silence hanging in the air, mingling with the musty scent of swamp water.

You don’t know what they’ve fed him this week. Maybe they forgot to clean his tank. Whoever’s in charge of his wellbeing obviously fucked up the one time you take a break to visit friends touring the city, because when you return, rested and fresh, ready to succeed, something’s wrong

You’ve never noticed it before, but there are scales scattered on his neck, a light blue color, tile shaped as if a button longing to be pressed. Those are the northern lights transferred from the sky to the sea, plastered onto him, hanging loosely so his gills can pulse. Open, shut, as you inhale sharply and exhale swiftly.

They light up in assortments of azure, carribean shades of the murky water, yet so much more vibrant. And as if the thrill wasn’t enough to make its fingers around your neck and restrict your breath, holding your silence as if the air would scare him away, he starts to sing.

Vertigo overwhelms your senses the moment his euphonic voice escapes from those lips, marinated on his tongue, deep and resonant. A dizzying feeling that causes you to stumble to your knees, red dots sparkling all along your vision.

And through the haze, you swear you can see him smirk, the corner of his lip twisting upward, as if this was the intended effect, like you’re supposed to feel as if you’re about to throw up and dance and cry and jump for joy, all at once.

Guess what else you were right about?

He’s no merman.

You forget the word, the term to describe the hooks cast into the sea to lure unsuspecting victims, hooks that are merely sweet, velvety tones that are all hollow truths, a desire to be craved and a hunger that can never be satiated.

A warning to be reckoned, to be heard, to be feared.

A siren.

<><><><>

“What the actual fuck?” You restrain your voice to keep yourself from screeching, which you know you would do if you were alone, which you never truly are with the walls that hear everything, along with throwing yourself at him and wrestling him to the floor. 

“You said it yourself, he’s a siren! And you could’ve just died!” Luis’ hands are twisted his hair, madly clutching at their roots, and his concern for you is so profoundly surprising it sparks a laugh from you.

“I was fine, thanks,” you snap back, drumming your fingers on the table as you stare directly at his face, a face that seems crazy to love now. So many times you wonder what could’ve been, and now you’re wasting time sitting here with this fool.

“You. Could’ve. Died.” Luis accentuates each word with the ending sound as a growl, as if his voice will instill some sense of security in you, but you find yourself getting burning as he continues, “How could you even think about doing something so stupid?”

“Me?” Your voice has found a perch high in your vocal range, and it won’t come down. “Whose idea was this in the first place?” You scan his face for any hint of remorse, but there is none, and nothing in his expression offers an answer.

“Mi amor-”

“Stop fucking calling me that! You don’t get to say that like- like we still have something! Do you even know what love is?” Luis’ eyes go stony, a boulder pushed up the wrong side of the hill, and you’re not strong enough to keep it up. 

And it all comes crashing down.

“Love?” A dry chuckle erupts from his mouth, expression conforming to both disbelief and pity, both uncalled for and unwanted. “Excuse me? Of course I know what love is, but it’s a little hard to love someone that’s constantly putting themselves in danger!”

His accent is sinking further and further into his words with his newfound irritation, irritation aimed at you for no apparent reason. Maybe something’s going on at home, but does that give him the authority to take it out on you? Hell no.

You stand, far too loudly, and everyone watches you get ready to make your exit without another word, because what are you meant to say to something like that? Are you so unrecognizable, within less than half a year? How easy is it to leave your old self behind?

The one that clung to him. Is that his problem?

You brush past his chair on the way out, and out of the corner of your narrowed eyes, you watch him twist the band on his finger, flicking his fingers back and forth, an absent habit he’s had since your sorority years.

But before you can pass him completely, he glances behind him and rolls his chair back, maneuvering it to avoid your feet. You’re about to tell him to fuck off when he draws his eyes back up, lingering on your lips, and you know what he’s thinking.

“Wait,” he says quietly, voice soft and barely audible, but he’s stopped rolling his chair back to tilt his head up towards you.

“What?” you snap, at first unknowingly but strangely reveling in the way he flinches at your harshness, flitting back to the day he had dismissed your concerns so flagrantly. You justify your actions by determining that he deserves it. His eyes darken again as a frown puckers his lips and the space between his eyebrows. 

“Don’t… just… don’t leave, please…” he stutters, his usual confidence nowhere to be found, struggling with the words before speaking again. “Can we… talk?”

“No, because there’s nothing to talk about. Besides, I have work to do.”

He lets out a small sigh at your response, to the reference of that event, irritation fluctuating in his tone. “Work? You’ve been working for four months, and you’ve found absolutely nothing.” And so the truth slips out, whether branching from his will or against it. This is how he really feels, huh?

"You don't get to tell me that." you mutter. "I'm the one documenting him, not you. You sit in your little room behind the glass, perfectly safe, and not once have you thought about swapping our roles. You don't love me, and I honestly have no idea why you even bother to lie to me about it."

Luis grits his teeth, his irritation and anger clear in his eyes, those eyes that were once pools of admiration sinking into the depths of everything you thought was between you. "What are you talking about? That's not true, I... of course I love you!" Then he rises from his chair, taking a step towards you, as if you’d allowed that.

You step back, pressing against the door. Your fingers creep behind your back to the handle and his eyes flicker to them, to the hand that’s grasping it so tightly it goes whiter than his face as he retreats to the table, pale with horror.

“I wouldn’t… ever hurt you,” he murmurs.

“Then why did you marry her?” you ask, voice soft. It’s a question you’ve been tossing in your mind, a simple game of catch that started grabbing rules from all sorts of games, pickleball and why he chose her, badminton and how you could’ve done better, volleyball in the victory in which his wife revels, and in which you wallow, losing yet another thing you loved.

“Because you said it was temporary!” he grumbles, sliding his teeth over his bottom lip, refusing to make the very same eye contact he was practically begging for an hour ago, in this very meeting room where you would stare at your department head as she provided strict instructions, catching Luis’ fleeting glances at your side profile.

“Isn’t that all we ever were?” you whisper. “Temporary?”

The air shatters between you. Finally, the unspoken truth that you both have carried for so long in your hearts is out, and it feels like a burden has been lifted off your shoulders. You can see it in his expression, however horrified, there’s some form of acceptance. He’s known this for as long as you have.

“What… happened to you? To us?” he asks quietly, looking at you like you’re a stranger, fractured parts of you discarded behind you like a broken mirror, one and the same but reflecting another person.

The door clicks open, squeaking as it swings to show you away, to the exit, finally leaving behind what you thought you could never let go of. But you pause before you leave, entertaining his question. When you have your answer, you don’t hesitate to deliver it.

“Sometimes you lose people. And there’s nothing you can do about it.” 

<><><><>

As the rerun comes through, cracked on the cheap speaker, fading quickly, you waltz around your room, feeling serene enough in the moment, losing yourself to the melody. How many hours have you wasted soaring through the skies in your office, only to plummet back down like a shot bird when you acknowledge the stack of papers spawning on your desk?

But when the hard day’s stresses melt away to the sway of your hips and your however offkey voice, no one is there to judge you. Luis isn’t chastising you about anything, and it’s good enough for you.

When the chorus swells, you open your mouth and belt out the lyrics, hoping the grainy walls can contain your voice, but the volume seems obnoxious, even for you. That’s when you notice the shadow on the floor towering over you, and you spin around.

Your eyes are glued to his mouth, to the words that are achingly pure and smooth, somehow heard through the glass. Illuminated by the tank lights, ethereal tones blending perfectly with the recording, enhancing it in a way you’d never heard. 

Raw emotion, the longing in his voice, however foreign to you, the curve of his accent, words you’ve never heard. All so new to you, chills racing down your spine, tickling at your back.

And when the song crests, his unearthly high notes soar with a beauty strong enough to bring tears, tears that you have to hold back in case someone were to walk in. When he seals his mouth with a smile—a private, intimate thing that feels like it belongs to you, you’re sufficiently spellbound, the world ceasing to exist.

His eyes flash in the water, flitting behind you, to the rattling of your door, and only after you’ve twisted over your shoulder to verify there’s no one there does he choose to make his exit. You see the corner of his tail flick, you hope in temporary goodbye, before you close your eyes and replay his voice in your head.

Over, and over, and over again, until all you can think about is him. How wonderful would it be if he was real, hm? You see him as an illusion now, you suppose, because how do you ever know something is truly real before you can feel it under your fingertips?

And when the voice is gone, fading from your mind into the echoes of your room, vibrations clamoring to bury the sweet sound that you long for now that it’s not with you anymore, you realize there is something you’ve been doing wrong.

Something that you must fix right away. Someone you’ve kept for far too long, yet another person you’ve lost and tried to bring back.

Your mother.

<><><><>

The ocean is trying to draw you in again, rhythmic waves pooling at your feet, urging you to come sleep in its embrace, take an everlasting nap to the lullaby of the water. But you’re not so easily fooled. You remember all you’ve lost, all you’ve regained, and how you’ve been forced to let everything go.

Not for your gain, but for theirs. You suppose scientific curiosity was not what you were chasing this entire time. Your resignation letters were turned in promptly, along with an anonymous report to the people you knew you could trust to shut down what is undoubtedly an illegal operation.

Will Luis be caught in the crossfire? You’re sure of it, and although you’ll never stop caring for the man you first loved, only shreds of compassion remind, and even those shreds are not enough to bail him out. 

You are far more concerned for the experiment, hope that he survives. If there’s anything you’ve learned during your time at the laboratory, it’s that no matter what branch of government, no one is merciful to anything different.

So you call upon all the gods watching, if there are any, and pray to them for forgiveness. Plead to them for mercy, and spin the lid off the vase that you’ve seen so many times, staring at it absentmindedly while studying, unable to understand a concept without your mother to explain it.

But like with all things and people, you’ve learned to live without her. And you’ve kept her spirit with you for far too long, haunting you in dreams, dreams she shouts your name in, screaming for peace. 

You break those shackles with a gentle toss, keeping the vase cradled in your arms as the ashes pour out into the water. Taking a step back to avoid any sticking with you, you dig your feet back into the dry sand, watching the dark particles disappear into the clear water.

She is free. Your mother is finally free.

A high pitched call returns your initial sob, and you swipe at your face, bleary eyed and trying to get a good look at what it could’ve been. The assumption it could be a dolphin has you reaching behind you for your bag, shuffling through its contents, pictures of you and your mother. You will not abandon those, for memories are precious, you know this well.

But when you bring your eyes back to the sea, you see a humanoid figure in the distance, raising their hand in greeting to you. Tawny hair that reflects the descending sun, a simple white shirt, gloriously unbuttoned, and khaki beige shorts.

You do not recognize him, and so out of fear, you retreat further and further into your backyard, all thoughts of admiring the sunset gone, as the man approaches. You reach for your stuff as you stumble backwards, never taking your eyes off of him and this plays in your favor.

Everything about him is so different, so foreign to you, and when he speaks, his voice is raspy, and you feel like a tourist all over again, in a city where you don’t belong. You don’t deserve this, to be standing here.

You lost him, right? But you could never mistake those eyes.

And now he’s human. There are no scales, no gills, no affront to his identity, one and the same as you, and yet he feels so different. You recognize his eyes, they haven’t changed from their cerulean blue, orbs crafted from the sea itself, forged by Poseidon’s hand, a statue in the hands of the gods, but so much is missing.

The raven feathers of his hair that would’ve looked stunning in the night, now out of place and far too vibrant against the mellow shades slowly darkening, becoming more somber. 

Twinkling lights strung in the space where the muscle stretches as he twists behind him, as if checking the sea, now gone dim and dissolved into the pale, unsullied skin of his neck.

You suppose you should be happy his voice hasn’t changed. With just one word, he lulls you back to him, and you can’t remember thinking of the differences between the experiment you had so vigorously studied and the man standing in front of you, not to be studied, but to be loved.

“Hi.” He reaches up, ruffles the back of his head, as if that will rattle out all the words spinning around in his mind, mirroring your own turmoiled thoughts. 

“Hi.” You mimic his actions, running sharp nails against the side of your scalp, failing to push stray strands away from your face. Through your hair, you peer at him, the sun long gone behind him, and parts of him are hidden again, like you’re hiding pieces of him from your conscious mind, fearing losing him again.

Most mystifying of all was how right it feels to have him standing right in front of you, finally equal, aside from the few inches that he has on you. Those depths of ocean blue lingering in his eyes grounds you, realizing how many times you’ve looked into those same eyes, wondering exactly what he’s thinking of.

Now you can know. And you’re not about to pass up the opportunity and let fear engulf you like you’ve let it usurp your mind so many times before.

"It's still you in there, isn't it?" you ask softly.

He smiles, and your heart skips at the familiar gesture, a smile you’ve unsurprisingly missed. "It is. I wanted to see you again."

"But how? How’d you… do this? And why come back?" You step closer, drinking in each subtle nuance of his new appearance. It’s appropriate for him, nothing too flashy, blending into the background. Aside from that halo of blond hair pressed to his forehead, slick with salt water.

“You freed me,” he says quietly, eyes searching your body, as if he’s trying to ingrain an image of you into his head. You did the same, not too long ago. But there was a need for it then, and no need for it now.

Reaching out tentatively, you trace the contour of his neck, half expecting to feel residual traces of his missing bioluminescence. Only warm skin meets your fingers, and a low sigh from his lips, and now that he’s here, under your touch, you know that he’s real. Not just for your sanity, but in reality, as well.

“You don’t owe me anything,” you say, just to clarify, because you assume the last thing you need is to owe a mythical sea creature. “We’ll call it even since you didn’t eat me.” He barks a soft laugh, a seal-like sound, before lacing your fingers with his onto his cheek, pressing your hand further into his skin.

 "I changed so I could be with you without barriers. So we could truly understand one another." He gazes meaningfully into your eyes. "If you'll have me."

“I don’t even know your name,” you say, breathless, because haven’t you expected all of your loved ones to come back to you just like this, before inevitably accepting it’ll never happen? And now it is.

“My name?” That goddamn smirk, whether he is able to communicate or not, whether he’s human or not, tells you all you need to.

“Hm?”

“Leon.”

“Leon,” you test out, rolling the name on your tongue, causing him to scrunch up his nose.

“What? You do not like it?”

“No, no,” you say, with a chuckle. “It suits you.”

His expression relaxes, frown vanishing as he pulls you closer, leaning forward to rest his chin on your shoulder as he takes your other hand. A familiar tune thrums through your ear, reaching your brain at supersonic speeds, cruising into your blood. The first song he ever sang for you, and now both the memory and his voice seem so far away compared to this moment.

A single moment. Suspended in time, lovers finally reunited, pair after pair failing like incorrect puzzle pieces until now, you’ve found the one. 

And this time, you’re never letting go.

<><><><>

The stars arrange themselves in Leon’s eyes, constellations spelling out a story as you gaze down at him wholeheartedly, loving him with all your spirit and throwing caution to the wind. 

His gaze flickers from time to time, like if he truly blinks, you’ll be gone with the night breeze, a stray leaf on the sand, misplaced. 

“Did you like being a siren?” Leon’s eyes squeeze shut, head shifting on where it lies in your lap, hand creeping onto your knee.

“It’s all I’ve ever known,” he says timidly. “But you showed me more. I didn’t want to hurt people anymore after seeing you.”

“Me?” Your laugh is soft, melodious to his ears, and it soothes a little bit of the ache that has been forming since the day you arrived at the laboratory. “How’d you even find me?”

“Your mother,” he replies, voice soft. “I sensed her, and with her came you. And somehow, my father obliged in my wishes to… abandon my colony.”

“Abandon?” You quirk an eyebrow in concern.

“I can never return,” he says, but his tone is light and airy, unconvincingly so. “But I found that I would give the sea, my family, for you, even if it’s all I’ve ever known. There is nothing left for me there.”

“But you shouldn’t have,” you whisper back. “Give up all that, for me? You could’ve just visited once in a while… I wouldn’t have minded.”

“And yet I would find myself longing for your touch, even on the days that all seemed well, the ocean’s beauty is but a teardrop in comparison to yours.” Ever the charmer.

“You don’t… regret it?” Leon shakes his head.

“How could I? What part of my life would I regret if I gave something up to spending even a fraction of it with you? All those days, from the sun rising to the moon rising, and you were right there, even if you weren’t under my fingers.”

“You were beautiful,” you admit. “But…”

“And I suppose all along,” he continues, “I was truly just bait for my colony. It is better that I have left them, better to leave them safe where they are happy. Where I am now happy, with you, with your beautiful face and pretty voice.”

“Pretty voice?” You flush, hoping you can mask it as an abnormal overheating technique. He doesn’t seem to notice. “Really?”

“You always look so lovely when you sing,” he muses. “Sing a song for me, please?”

You don’t know what brings you to actually do it. Is it the warmth of his hair splayed out on your thighs, or his eager expression as his eyes drag upward, flitting to your lips. You hum a tune and instantly feel at ease, perhaps you should’ve pursued a life of music.

Music. It doesn’t sound as absurd as it did throughout high school and college, when you scorned the same people who have now grown famous for their voices. You saw them as lazy, when you should’ve seen them as talented.

You hold out a note, gazing towards the sea, wondering if your mother is watching you right at this moment. You wonder if she would be content with everything you’ve done in your life, if she’s forgiven you enough to let you have this peace. The peace you once denied her.

Leon’s approval comes in a hum of his own, snapping you out of your thoughts. His hand reaches upward, trailing your cheek before he tilts his head up and you lean forward and kiss him, and the seconds rush by far too quickly before he pulls away, lips already quite red, and the corner of his mouth ticks upward, exposing the pearl white of his grin.

“Just as perfect as the last time,” he murmurs, “my starry eyed singer.”

[martyrlamb]

✶  let the light in  /  leon kennedy

pairing:  leon kennedy x gn!reader

summary:  early mornings are hard and leon loves you.

tags:  sfw, fluff, a bit of angst when leon thinks about his life, no use of y/n, complete self indulgence i want to wake up next to him, cuddling, kissing, established relationship, any time period leon!!, leon being clingy and adorbs, leon is absolutely whipped for you

note:  ummm title based off the lana song. it’s so waking up and being all soft and cuddly in bed with ur s/o coded and i know leon is so clingy on the mornings he has off so that’s what i wrote :P enjoy

word count: 1.3k

He’s used to sleepless nights and early mornings.

Been used to them. Leon lived in a group home, kids got loud before breakfast—incessant laughter and whines of hunger he couldn’t tune out by smothering his ears in the fabric of his pillow. Training had a rigid schedule he couldn’t get past even if he tried. 

Falling asleep was harder than it looked, and he spent most nights staring at the back of his eyelids wishing he could fade away from consciousness. Every creak of the floorboards made him jolt and the wind that whistled through a crack in the window frame produced cold, clammy hands. 

When he did float off to dreamland, he usually didn’t last very long. 

The last few hairs on his dad’s head. A string of pearls snapped on the floor. His mom’s manicured hand, stained with blood. Every set of eyes he’s ever known going dull. Losing himself. Desperately—desperately holding onto something solid for dear life. It’s all there, and it plays over like freeze frames of a movie.

He pretends it doesn’t stick. There are no bad dreams he’s startled himself awake from, he doesn’t shake like the alley strays in the middle of winter under his blankets, his skin is not damp with sweat.

He knows the routine when he wakes up: lie there until he isn’t allowed anymore. Only, when he opens his eyes all heavy and groggy, unable to shake the itchy sleep deprivation from his tear ducts, he’s with you.

You, with that peaceful expression of yours while your head rests against the pillow. Your chest rises and falls in soft hills under the bit of blanket Leon hadn’t managed to steal during the night. He traces the bridge of your nose with the shadow of his finger; he thinks about counting the number of eyelashes that ring your pretty eyes so he never forgets the shape.

It’s tooth-achingly sappy, and it makes him feel like that giddy kid late for his first day as a police officer again. A little brighter, a little more saturated. Before he saw the worst parts of the world—at least on mornings like these.

Between work and the general hustle and bustle of life, he doesn’t get many of them. A crime, if you ask him.

Sunlight filters through the crack in the curtains that you picked out. It’s peering over the horizon and it beats down in streams on the bed and makes a silhouette of your face. You’re backlit like something angelic. God, he’s getting poetic but he can’t help it; you’re you and you’re in his life, so yeah, it’s innate in every way possible.

He takes it in: the birds chittering through the screen of the window that you always leave open an inch, the squeak of the old fan he pulled from storage as it oscillates, your warm skin against his. Leon’s room isn’t very picturesque (your doing; when he started seeing you, your things began to crop up everywhere and now they’re strewn about the apartment alternating: yours, his, yours, his.), but he thinks this morning could be put in the Louvre.

You stir in your sleep and Leon goes still, watching your breathing as it speeds up. He doesn’t want it to end yet.

Okay. Leon might be the villain for this, but he rolls right back over, partially on top of you, and puts his head on your chest with one of his arms draped over your stomach. When he hears the gentle thrum of your heartbeat, he shuts his eyes and pretends to sleep. 

Words that fade to nothing escape your mouth in a sigh as you squint yourself awake. He can picture the face you’re making right now: all bleary-eyed and softly disgruntled, the slight furrow of your brows as you regain consciousness. He’s seen it a thousand times, and he’s going to see it a million more if fate wills it. 

You struggle under his weight to check your phone and he can tell you’re moving as slow as possible so you don’t wake him. Something about no good deed going unpunished—he’s not planning on going anywhere anytime soon even if he could for the sake of your mobility. 

When you place your phone on the nightstand again, it’s a bit more aggressive, a bit rougher, and you grumble. Must be work. Your fingertips creep up and palm at Leon’s hair gently, an attempt to coax him awake that doesn’t work. His breathing stills, and he listens to you whisper his name sweetly into his ear.

“I know you’re up, Leon,” you mumble finally, he can hear the smile in your voice.

Damn, caught. He doesn’t budge. 

You continue, stroking his hair with one hand snaked behind his head. “I have to go to work.”

With his gig up, he merely buries his face in the crook of your neck and inhales like it would somehow attach you to him. The hairs on his arms rise when he catches the smell of your shampoo. You giggle and squirm under him from the sensation. His name falls from your lips in a playful complaint, dragging out the last syllable. 

Leon can feel the vibration of your throat and he smiles against your skin. Shhh… he thinks when he peppers kisses along your collarbone. You’re ticklish under his feather-light arsenal and you laugh, grabbing the sides of his face to tilt his head up slightly to look at you. Your hands are soft and warm and he could probably draw out your fingerprints from memory by now, but he still relishes the feeling like he’ll forget at any moment.

“I have to go,” you insist, your thumb strokes circles on his cheek when he starts on your waist. There’s no real urgency in your tone.

He groans and lets his head fall forward, forehead against your chin. “No.”

“You don’t know how much I want to stay.” Your reply is wistful; considerate—he’s got you right where he wants you.

“Then stay,” he mutters quietly, and he looks up, glancing at you through his lashes. Bingo. He watches your persistence dissolve on your tongue. 

“What about work?”

“Call in sick.”

You hum in response, a cute little tone that means nothing in the long run. Your mind is already made up, Leon can see it in your eyes, but you like to pretend to put up a fight for responsibility’s sake. 

“Oh, fine,” you finally reply and snatch your phone from the nightstand. It only takes a few minutes for you to finish tapping on the tiny keys and when you do, you discard it and rake your fingers through Leon’s hair.

The sensation of your nails against his scalp sends goosebumps down each column of his spine and he shuts his eyes, leaning his head on your shoulder. You simper when you say, “You’re a terrible influence.”

“I’ve been told.” It comes out more like a sigh.

You press a kiss to the crown of his head, a small, loving movement that might have brought him to tears a few years ago. It was so plain and domestic, a type of subtle affection he’d never had the privilege of experiencing until he met you. He thought it wasn’t real for the longest time, something of romance novels and shitty rom-coms, but you made it so easy. You made everything so easy.

He wraps his other arm around your waist and rolls both of you over, him on his back and you on top of him. You laugh his name, tangled in a mess of blankets and limbs as you wrap your arms around his neck. He presses a kiss to the crown of your head, now, and he hopes it feels the same for you as it did to him. 

A ray of sun beats against his eyelids, enveloping the darkness in an obnoxious white light. Bah. Leon can’t even find it in himself to complain; he loves you. He’s in this bed, and you’re in this bed and he loves you so much he can’t think of anything else. 

[goldfades]

𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡. | delicate au, jack hughes

౨ৎ ─ summary | this takes place in late august of 2023, a little before the njd season started. jack hughes dm's the girl the whole internet thinks he's dating and invites her to a pre-season get-together at his house.

─ word count | 1.9k

─ warnings | anxiety, some flirting? nothing else!

─ taglist | @dancerbailey3 @valluvsu @daisysnhl @dasiysthings @iminlovewithtz11 @literatureluster @lvrzegras @lxvleyzoe @bowen-power @ru-kru @jackhughesily @hearts-for-luke

─ ev's notes | please lmk ur thoughts on this au so far! i, of course, always read ur guys feedback so anything would be very much appreciated.

Accept message request from jhughes (jackhughes)?

jhughes: have you seen twitter? we're trending 🤣 jhughes: looks like i'm your bf now 🤷🏻🤷🏻

libbytf: yeah um i don't even know how that happened😭 libbytf: they're crazy, that's not either of us?

jhughes: it does really look like us though haha 🤣 i don't blame them

libbytf: the more i look the photos the more i disagree lol, i hope they figure it out on their own 😭

jhughes: haha yeah [seen]

jhughes: me and luke are having a pre season party, you should come if ur free jhughes: oh and if leon wants you to hahaha😭

libbytf: when is it? i'll see if i can come and if i'm in town

jhughes: next saturday at our new place

libbytf: i'll let you know!

jhughes: k lmk ( 👍🏻 )

Libby stared down at her screen, trying to comprehend what had just happened. Did she just get asked out?

She received the message later that day and she was surprised that Jack Hughes had messaged her. She wasn't starstruck or anything but he didn't seem like the "dm" type, he looked more like the type to approach you in public.

She shook her head, she didn't even know if he was hitting on her. He probably wasn't even trying to come off that way, he probably just needed more people at his party. And the truth was, after the whole "Josh" thing, she didn't really have anything to do because everyone in the world was seemingly against her. The messy breakup with Josh had left her feeling exposed, as if every aspect of her personal life was now fair game for public scrutiny.

She had been under the spotlight for years now, long before she had even considered the idea of being a singer. Her sister and father were already apart of the "Hollywood" circle, she has seen this kind of stuff before. She's never been apart of the gossip, though - this was the first time she'd been in the spotlight for a bad reason.

Growing up in the shadow of her sister's and father's fame had accustomed her to the entertainment industry and all the drama that came with it. But now, as the fallout from her breakup with Josh engulfed her, Libby found herself thrust into uncharted territory. The barrage of rumors and gossip had stripped away the layers of privacy she had worked so hard to preserve, leaving her feeling vulnerable.

Libby couldn't even turn to her music anymore, she felt like it was no use because the whole internet (and their moms) hated her for no reason other than her relationship, or lack thereof.

She was pulled out of her thoughts as she felt her phone buzz on her bed. She reached for it lazily and opened it, reading the message.

leon 😛 are you down for something this weekend?

Libby typed out a quick response.

libs 🥸 depends

leon 😛 me and some of the team are gonna have a party this weekend to celebrate the start of the season, they told me to bring someone and ur all i have

leon 😛 unless u say no i'll ask someone else

libs 🥸 jack already asked me so sure :)

leon 😛 wait so ur his plus one?

libs 🥸 no bc he's the literal host, he just invited me😭😭

leon 😛 thats weird but okay, can u still be my plus one

libs 🥸 idk if that'll change anything but sure!!

She sighed at her brother's slight stupidity. It sounds like she was going to be going to the party this weekend. As she agreed, Libby couldn't help but feel a twinge of anxiety about attending Jack's party. The thought of facing a bunch of strangers, each with their own preconceived notions about who she was, made her stomach churn.

Before she could turn off her phone, her phone buzzed and she looked at the notification.

jhughes (jackhughes) started following you!

──

"Have you been on Twitter?" Leon spoke up as he drove, his eyes glancing toward Libby before focusing back on the road.

She shrugged, "Yeah. Why?"

"Everyone thinks you're dating Jack, it's kinda funny. Isn't this like, your first time meeting him?" Leon replied with a small laugh, shaking his head.

"It's pretty dumb, isn't it?" Libby replied, her voice tinged with amusement. "Well this is like my second or third time meeting him so it's not like we're strangers but still, we're far from strangers."

"Are you sure about that? He messaged you." Leon joked as he smirked at you as you rolled your eyes. She knew he was joking but a part of her thought that maybe he was flirting with her. But Libby could not even mention that to Leon because it'll make him go crazy, staying quiet was the better option.

"Shut up," Libby mumbled as Leon laughed. "The pictures aren't even us, you know?"

"The guy looks a lot like Jack but not you. It's so funny especially because everyone swears that they know you so well but they can't even tell the difference you and some other person." Leon grinned, clearly enjoying the absurdity of the situation. "Well, I guess the internet just loves drama. Can't blame them for trying to spice things up, it is fun."

"I just hope people figure it out soon," Libby sighed, glancing out of the car window at the passing city lights. "I mean, it's not like I need more rumors right now."

Leon shrugged. "Yeah, I get it. But you know what they say, any publicity is good publicity."

"Yeah at least I'll know my new album will get tons of new streams, thanks to Josh's fangirls."

"You mean dickriders? Jesus, have you seen the comments?" Leon scoffed, making a turn to Jack and Luke's home.

Libby sighed, her shoulders slumping as she leaned back against the car seat. "Yeah, I've seen them. It's like they're just waiting for the opportunity to tear me apart completely, I can't even go on Instagram anymore."

Leon's expression softened with empathy as he reached out to place a comforting hand on Libby's arm. "They're just fucking bored, that's all. They have to tear someone down to feel better. Don't let them get to you."

Libby nodded, grateful for her brother's words of encouragement. "I know, it's just hard sometimes, you know? Feels like I'm constantly under a microscope."

Leon nodded in understanding, his gaze unwavering in its support. "Yeah, I get it. But remember, those comments don't define you. You're so much more than what people say about you."

Libby managed a small smile as they reached Jack's home. The night air was crisp as Libby and Leon made their way towards Jack's home. The distant noise from the party spilled into the quiet neighborhood as they walked towards the entrance.

The home was pretty big but you weren't surprised, they were really good and popular hockey players so of course they had a big home. However, as you walked into their porch, you noticed how clean it was. Not many boys in their twenties kept their homes so clean and organized but Libby was pleasantly surprised at how clean their home was and she hadn't even been inside yet.

Leon gave the door a few knocks before the door opened to reveal Jack, a big grin on his face and a backwards cap on his head. "Leon! You made it!"

"Yeah, and I brought Libs!" Leon grinned back at Jack as his gaze finally fell on Libby, she felt his eyes scan her body before they landed on her eyes once again.

Libby felt a slight flush rise to her cheeks as she met Jack's gaze. His warm smile putting her at ease as she returned it, trying to ignore the flutter of nerves in her stomach.

"Awesome! Come on in, guys." Jack ushered them inside, the sounds of the party becoming more pronounced as they stepped inside.

"There's some chips in the kitchen and you guys can just help yourself to the drinks inside the fridge, just don't drink any of our protein smoothies." Jack side glanced to Leon playfully, in which he responded with a quick fine. "Everyone's in the living room playing pool."

"I'm gonna go get a beer, if y'all don't mind." Leon called out as he headed towards the kitchen, leaving Libby and Jack by the entrance.

As Leon left, Libby shifted her gaze to Jack with a warm smile. There was a brief awkward silence before Jack broke it, "I didn't know that you lived in Jersey."

"Well I don't but ever since Leon's moved here I've been spending every second at his place. I actually live in New York City but it gets a little hectic, I need a break sometimes from... everything." Libby explained as she recalled all the drama from the summer, from everything with Olivia to Josh, it was eventful.

Jack nodded, his expression sympathetic as he listened to Libby's explanation. "I get it. New York can be intense, especially with everything going on."

Libby sighed, feeling a weight lift off her shoulders as she spoke about the challenges she faced. "Yeah, it's been a lot to deal with lately. Sometimes, it's nice to escape to somewhere quieter, you know?"

Jack's gaze softened with understanding. "I get it. I'm sorry by the way, with the whole uh... thing." Jack didn't really want to specify but they both knew as Libby nodded.

Libby gave him a sweet smile but before she could respond, Luke came in wearing a Devils jersey. "Dude I've been looking everywhere for you, there's something wrong with the-" He cut himself as he noticed Libby.

"Hey Luke." Libby greeted the tall curly-head with a grin as he walked over to where Libby was and gave her a side hug as Jack observed.

"Libby! I haven't seen you in a while, how's everything?" Luke asked casually as he pulled back.

"Can't complain." You spoke with a small grin as you looked in between the boys. "You?"

"Very excited for the new season, I don't know if you could tell." Luke chuckled as he looked down at the jersey.

Libby couldn't help but chuckle at Luke's enthusiasm. Even though she's never formally met Jack, her and Luke have a pretty good friendship through Leon. As soon as they met they clicked and now they're practically tied at the hip. "Hmm... I couldn't tell. Go Rangers, right?"

"Hey, hey, hey!"

"Whoa, don't you dare step foot in our homes and disrespect us like that. That is a like a slur around here." Jack shook his head playfully as him and Luke exchanged looks before all three of you busted out laughing.

"Sorry, sorry won't happen again!"

"It better not or we're gonna have to kick you out." Luke threatened with a mock-serious expression. "But seriously Jack, the TV isn't working and everyone wants to play Fifa for some reason."

Jack shrugged as he motioned to Libby towards the living room, "I don't even know if we own Fifa..."

They all entered the spacious living room where everyone was. There were some teammates who she recognized and some people she'd never seen before. Jack and Luke ventured off toward the TV, leaving Libby to go stand by the couch. She'd enjoyed the night so far but as she stood there, anxiety began to creep into her stomach.

Everyone here knew somebody and right now the only people she was close with was her brother, Luke and Jack and they were all playing Fifa right now.

"Libs, get a controller we need one more player!" Jack shouted from the coach and waved at her to come over. Libby hesitated for a moment, feeling a familiar pang of anxiety at the thought of joining a group of people she didn't know well. But as she stared back at Jack, she swallowed all her fears and walked over, taking a controller.

As she settled in next to them, Libby felt a sense of normalcy wash over her. For the first time in a long time, she felt like she could just be herself, without the weight of everyone's expectations or the glare of being perceived.

↳ make sure to check out my navigation or masterlist if you enjoyed! any interaction is greatly appreciated !

↳ thank you for reading all the way through, as always ♡

[lipglossanon]

hellooooo, back at it again with these intrusive leon thoughts>:)

this time though, it could be because my period is getting close, but i feel pretty down lately and these intrusive thoughts are winning soooooo

Leon angst anyone?

its not anything too deep really, just poor lil reader catching leon at the wrong time :(

like she's just chilling in her room, playing with her phone and all, but then she decides to go down to the kitchen to get smth to eat cuz she's a bit hungry. she's about to step down the stairs and turns around a corner when she suddenly hears a female voice, an unknown female voice. peaking around from behind a wall, her eyes widen in shock as a heavy feeling drops down to her stomach, nothing but a painful ache in her heart at the devastating sight in front of her. right on the couch in the living room, she sees her step brother, his arms wrapped tightly around some girl she's never seen before; they're both smiling and laughing with each other, seems to be watching some kind of movie that they're clearly not paying attention to. for some reason, her heart tightens up so bad that she feels like she couldn't breathe at all; it feels like a heavy weight is on her shoulders as her breath hitches in her throat. why is she feeling this way? it's not like she's together with leon, or at least not romantically. that thought only makes her feel even worse. unknown to her, tears begin to fill her eyes and slide down her cheeks as she cries quietly. not feeling hungry anymore, she slowly goes back up to her room and locks the door, sitting at the edge of the bed again. even then she can still hear their laughter downstairs, as if they're taunting her. laying on the bed with a small thump, she cries silently into her sheets as her body shakes a bit from the hurt she's feeling. she doesn't even come down to eat dinner no matter how many times her mother knocks on her door and basically orders her to come down, all she can think of is leon with that girl. who the hell even is she?

her body tenses up immediately when she hears his voice on the other side of the door, "sweetheart? can you open the door?"' his hand twists the doorknob as he knocks the door softly. she doesn't respond back to him, just laying there with tears now getting dry on her cheeks. leon stops after a while and sighs, then suddenly she can hear the sounds of keys jiggling outside, making her slightly panic.

"I'm coming in." opening the door, he frowns at the sight of her body laying still on her bed, not turning to look at him excitedly like she used to.

"hey princess, what's wrong? come on you gotta talk to me. Mom's really worried you know?" finally slowly turning to leon, his concern expression turns to a shock one when he sees her red and puffy eyes. quickly getting closer to her and pulling her to his chest, he coos softly and pats her hair gently.

"baby what's wrong? who made you cry?" his comforting tone gets a bit hostile when he asks the last question, but it immediately changes when she answers.

"you."

BOOM CLIFFHANGER MWAHAHAHA. i might add more since i need more time to think but yeah feeling quite down right now and leon's brain rot isn't helping much.

may i have a small blurb about this if ur comfortable at writing angst? :)

Yooo you’re back at it again with the feels ;_; but I get emotional before, during, and after my period so this hits so hard it’s not even funny 😔

Noo not Leon accidentally breaking her heart 😢 please I need closure 😭 who is the girl? Why were they snuggled on the couch? I have unanswered questions!! 😫

I’d love to write one! I’ll try my best cause angst is hard for me 🤣 mainly cause I want even fictional people to be happy (life is sad enough lmao). You have any more ideas for this?? I want any and all info you have haha 😂 so my mental picture matches yours 😆

[sinsoakedsaints]

for: @tvvgers​

based on: dis meme.

“Sometimes I feel like my whole life is just a series of loosely-related wacky misadventures.”

[bottomshuichi]

Random dr characters react to you asking to ride them

taka, byakuya, leon, souda, gundham, kaito and rantaro - nsfw

if i missed anyone you want these of, leave an ask!!! ill do whoever :D

also may make a reverse one of characters reacting to u asking them to ride u.......... if u guys want that hehe

Kiyotaka Ishimaru

“Y-You want to what?!”

Blushes like crazy man cannot handle a thing.

Low key scared you’d get hurt when you bottomed out

He’d absolutely let you because hes a gentleman.

newfound fav thing wow. nervous to ask you to do it again so he kind of just gets you into the position when youre kissing heheh

“You look so good like this-”

slowly hed become more and more comfortable and hold your hips and help you. praise you!!!!!!!!!! tell you how good you were doing

HOLDS UR HAND WHILE U RIDE HIM CRIES

constantly asking if youre okay and if you’re too tired :’))) “Y-You can stop if you need to! I can take over”

But when you shush him and tell him to stop worrying and start riding him faster hed m e l t. just go into shock and watch you do ur thing

Byakuya Togami

“Oh? Really? Why should I let you, hm?”

He’d tease you for asking but secretly hes very proud of you for being able to get the courage to come out and say it.

Either treat you like you’re priceless if youre genuinely nervous or be a complete asshole the entire time. No in between. 

“Careful, my treasure. Don’t want to rush yourself.” // “Well? You going to do it or what? You wanted this, may I remind you.”

Wouldn’t touch you very much, just look up at you and watch your face as you grab onto him for dear life and rock on him.

Hed mark you up tho. so much. just to make sure everyone you see knows youre his

He would hold your face though, whispering to you. Also would absolutely hold your throat.

“Come sit on your throne, my prince(ss).”

Once he was close he would lose his cool persona and pull your hips down and fuck up into you and curse and growl and doubwdddaodubawodihawoi bruhrruh thank u sm togami

Leon Kuwata

He’d just bite his lip and. be like aw shiiiiii

i imagine him to be kinky but have no idea ab it and neither do u so all of the sudden hes like mega egotistical 

“Why didn’t you say so earlier, baby?” 

He’d grab ur hips and just immediately have his tongue down ur throat as soon as u asked him

From then on he’d make you ride him like every time u got busy bc he just loves to see u all desperate and doin all the work.

you wanting him immediately gets him off bc ego smh

“That’s right. Bounce on that dick.”

touches ur chest/butt while u ride him bc he likes jiggle. bonus points if he can motorboat u

like togami he’ll sit back and watch a lot, one hand on your hip biting his lip. the sight of u literally gets him off as much as fucking you

Kazuichi Souda

jfc this dude. nosebleed instantly 

“Holy shit, please! That’d be so hot- I, holy shit.”

he can barely handle sex by itself, now youre gonna do this to him??? jeez what were you thinking.

i hc that he basically goes feral during sex just. rlly fast and hard and loud and just streams of dirty talk

so hes basically holding your hips and fucking up into you and praising/degrading you (whatever hes in the mood for) 

Youd barely be able to ride him, it’d mostly be him fucking up into you while you just shake above him and hold onto him for dear life

“You’re so good, feels so good, f-fuck baby,”

can go for a while,,,, which is a benefit of him doing most of the work bc you’d prolly collapse if you rode him for as long as he would want you to 

hed just go so fast you’d be writhing and drooling all over yourself bc you can’t form a sentence. just goin wild. my man.

Gundham Tanaka 

queue blushing scarf sprite

“O-Oh! My rose! I didn’t expect such a request from you... But... I suppose you can, yes.”

Hes nervous literally up until the sex itself, where he becomes just. huge soft dom vibes lol

holds u so gently hehehe. little groans and praises bc wow he loves u so much

“That’s my beautiful little pearl. You’re doing wonderfully for me.”

Keeps it very slow and loving, making sure you know how well you’re doing every second. 

will tuck your hair behind your ear and stroke your face and hush you when you whine too loud

loves to look you in the eyes n will rest his forehead on yours. he loves your expressions so so much

hums very deeply. you know the gundham voice. hes just so pleased and so proud of you for doing so well.

kisses everywhere :) n soft bites and hickeys as a reminder you’re his

Kaito Momota

This guy. God he’d get a boner in a millisecond.

“Y-You’d do that??”

Touches u all over when you do. Like wow he’s. Yeah. So in awe genuinely can’t form a sentence at the sight of you.

Praise u so much tho. In a kaito way.

“You’re so strong! Look at you! You can sit all the way down, take all of me in. Such a good baby.”

After the first time he often just sits against the headboard and touches himself inviting you to sit on him :3

Or he’ll flip u over mid fuck and just lay back and flex his muscles while you bounce on him Bc wow his ego. Bigger than his dick.

Kisses your neck n chest while you ride him

Rantaro Amami

holy shit i am gonna have a stroke writing this im a whore for rantaro anyways

“I believe that can be arranged, my love.”

the first time hed be waiting for you all ready and beckon you with his finger and hed have all his rings on and hngngggggggg

praise the fuck out of you if ur nervous. just telling you how good you’re doing and being so gentle and sweet. my beloved

but when ur comfy enough. oh god. the god complex comes out. hes just staring at you with this fucking look and taking in all of your sounds and iefubaieufiudh

“You’re doing so good, you look so beautiful. So gorgeous sitting on my cock.”

His jewelry would jingle when you bounced what the FUCK

absolutely hold your waist and scratch you up. also bite your collarbones i know that man loves collarbones

would roll his hips up to meet yours and push himself deeper and bite his lip when you cry out at it

a lot of eye contact. hed encourage you to keep your eyes open if you were scared to look at him too. just staring you in the eyes and groaning just to turn you on more knowing youre on this man’s dick and BYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEee i may pass away

Haha simps

[fruggo]

leon, quentin, and joey x anxious reader - fluffy headcanons

sickening fluff and comfort because that is currently my mood <3 thanks dont hate me please this is self-indulgence

also omg im posting ! crazy ! sorry it’s been so long but im doing a little better now :)

❀ ❁ ❀

𝐋𝐄𝐎𝐍 𝐒. 𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐃𝐘

when you start to feel very anxious, he can tell immediately, especially if you are a very physical person (i.e. hand shaking/wringing, leg bouncing, rocking, or just your facial expression)

he will do anything he can to calm you down. he’s very thoughtful and conscientious so he will be careful not to do anything that you’re uncomfortable with

if you are okay with being touched, he will hold your hands and pull you real close and put your head on his chest, and he’ll tell you that this will eventually pass, that it’s going to be okay, that you are going to be okay.

he won’t leave you alone if he knows you’re having a hard time. he’s worried that something will happen to you in his absence, and he just never wants you to feel abandoned or lonely. but if you need to be alone he will respectfully step away.

listen, we are talking about leon flirty-ass kennedy here. he is so touchy now that he has you; he’s always attached to you in some way. he loves to put his hands on your waist, or sometimes one of them will rest protectively on your thigh when you’re sitting down at the campfire. if you like to hold hands you best believe his hand will be slipping into yours the second he sees you are getting overwhelmed.

it’s his way of reassuring you that he is here and he’s not going to leave you.

he does that thing where he moves his thumb back and forth over ur hand that makes ur stomach go AAHHHHHHH u know that one???? that shit gives me butterflies☠️☠️

❀ ❁ ❀

𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍 𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐇

he understands you.

sleepy cuddles. that’s most of what i have to say. he’ll pull you all gentle into his arms and just hold you so close that you feel like nothing could ever hurt you again.

he will remind you how brave you are, and he’ll tell you how proud he is of you.

somehow even more touchy than leon. his favorite way to cuddle is hugging you in his lap, your legs wrapped around his torso and his arms holding you close. it’s not only comfort for you—it’s comfort for him, too. he loves the feeling of you clinging to him like a koala; it’s very cute, and it also makes him feel needed.

he likes to trace his fingers along your face. i know this sounds weird but let me explain

you know when you pet a cat?? on its face?? and you trace its nose, and maybe its cheek, then under the chin, and then its nose again?? yeah its like that basically

you will lay your head in his lap and then he will trace his fingers along the bridge of your nose, then across your forehead, down your cheeks, and then he’ll just hold your face in his hands for a while to admire you. then he’ll squish your cheeks to make you do a fish face so that you’ll smile.

he likes small kisses. thumb, cheek, shoulder, forehead, etc. he will do this when he senses you getting overwhelmed—your mind is racing, you feel your heart speeding up, you feel like you might explode, and then suddenly quentin’s hand is in yours and he is pressing the softest kiss to your knuckles.

just the most precious boy in general. he will coerce you to take naps with him in which he falls asleep with his arms wound around your waist and face buried in your shoulder.

❀ ❁ ❀

𝐉𝐎𝐄𝐘

joey doesn’t want to be a killer and nobody can convince me otherwise

yeah he can be kinda scary personality-wise but frank is the one who convinced him and susie to help kill that guy; and then suddenly they were all kidnapped here, damned to kill innocent people for eternity.

he’s just a teenager. he was up to some bad things before the entity’s realm, sure, but he was never a murderer. he often missed having a normal life and slacked in trials—he couldn’t bring himself to harm so many innocent survivors unless the entity was driving him with that insane bloodlust he couldn’t control.

so seeing as joey is still hanging on to sanity, it’s fairly easy for him to sympathize with you when you start freaking out in one of his trials.

he doesn’t know exactly what to do, because mental health was not yet widely discussed in his time, but he could tell that something was wrong and you were in a lot of pain. the entity was not being particularly demanding right then, so he took that trial off to befriend you and calm you down.

you have never spoken of this to any of the survivors, but after that trial, joey took you back to the ormond lodge and gave you a cup of hot chocolate. you were astounded at his kindness and felt very connected to him since then.

you felt the urge to cling to him whenever he came to see you or took you to ormond again, and he didn’t mind at all. nobody had ever seen you in such an anxious moment but him, and he had made you feel safe, whether he was part of the legion or not.

you knew joey didn’t want to hurt anybody. he couldn’t want to hurt anybody. it wasn’t like him, was it?

whenever you hold onto his arm, he always stiffens for a moment, but then relaxes, and even slides his hand out of his pocket and intertwines it with yours. he’ll squeeze it every now and then to let you know he’s still paying attention to your touch.

frank calls him soft, but he doesn’t care. he likes the thought that you trust him, that you care about him, and that you don’t think of him as a monster. he feels normal around you.

and he likes being able to protect you. he loves feeling like he is doing something good for you, because ever since becoming a killer for the entity all he has felt is guilt, anger, and shame, and he’s sick of it. caring for you has made him feel not so much like a monster. you make him feel not so much like a monster.

he doesn’t completely understand your anxiety, but he will support you no matter what and knows what to do when you get overwhelmed. he visits you in the forest frequently just to talk and maybe cuddle if he’s in the mood. he doesn’t always initiate physical contact, but he never minds when you do as he knows it is comforting.

when he does touch you, usually it will be him playing with your hands. he likes to play with your fingers and just hold them in his own, compare the size, etc.

never, in any circumstance, harms you in a trial. he doesn’t care how much the entity punishes him—he will never hurt you. he will take that entire trial off cuddling with you to mentally prepare himself for what the entity will do to him. it will hurt a lot, but he doesn’t care. he wouldn’t harm you for anything in the world.

[craacked-splatters]

Mismatched twins au ramble continuation!!: ch3

Warning spoilers for those who haven't read it yet.

Under the cut!

Edit: 1/2) NOO I didn't mean to post this already😭 im gonna come back and fix it after work

2/2) I fixed it now

Ch3:

Yep yep yeppers

Leon's denial and defensive response makes sense.

I mean it's not like the rise bois ever encountered alternates b4. I'd be skeptical too if someone came up to me and said they were my brother from another universe. And although the rise universe doesn't have a lot of enemies that wish for the bois heads on a spike, having that much similar info is still pretty alarming.

And he just lost his family a few mins ago and still coming to terms with it pretty sure. Having a different version of his twin standing right there next to him? Having a reminder of everything he loved and lost secs ago breathing right next to him? Man what a cruel joke.

Of course he's not going to accept that. he won't accept it. (Not yet lol)

And Dee's reaction😭 He acts so guilty about it.

"I didn't mean to upset you" bro😭

I love the fact he doesn't push or keeps insisting his own universes existence further when he notices Leon's reaction. He just answers when asked or states anything about his home the same way one would talk about the weather or a restaurant menu. It's all true but Dee's not about to fight over it. He's aware of the tension and he ain't gonna push it.

Not when they're hurt and alone and not when he sees Leon get so upset. (I don't think the thought of any Leo being upset would sit right with him, especially not if he's the reason for it)(*sniffs the air* *squints* angst🤨?)

[This interaction might not seem as much but I like it cuz loads of other crossover fics the turt groups always almost immediately accept thier situation. Like oh, ur me from another dimension yeah ok 👍. Granted all ninja turtle lives r crazy might as well happen yk lol?

But anyways yeah, it was a nice change to see, and it also helps highlight the serious danger they're in and Leon's inexperience to stuff like that. Hah bro is going thru it.]

The turtle finally looks up. Any confidence is gone, leaving a meek uncertainty that makes it really hard for Leo to keep being mad at him.

LMAO

This and the fact that Leon checks him off of being a potential villain is funny to me.

Look at this guy

Wet fruit gummy looking creature. Hes not even doing it on purpose either he just looks like that.

Dee testing the physics and landscape immediately to start piecing a plan is like second nature. He's got experience in traversing unfamiliar dangerous territory. He'll do what it takes to find anything that could give him intel or advantage.

Before this, I'd never realize how strange that would look to outsiders XD. All of Donnie's curiosity and poking makes sense, in order to learn anything one must head into the unknown, but to Leo he looks insane. (But then again, to be a true Donatello, u have to be a touch mad)

As much as the blantant horror has the writhing guilt making him want to throw himself off the edge for utterly ruining someone else’s day, he’s relieved that he’s finally getting through to him.

He wouldn't wish this whole thing, this death sentence, on anyone and it must suck knowing there's another victim in here with him suffering the same fate. The most he can do is let them fully understand how futile it is to try before he gets absolutely destroyed right?

You- you mean…” Something changes as he scans Leo’s face, overcome by disbelief. “They just… Left you here?”

RAHHHHHH OSIDHDGHSK

Leon in the back of his head probably: No of course they didn't leave me behind. I left them, which is sooo much worse

(in a way they kinda did leave him tho,not on purpose oh no NEVER. They would NEVER

But...

Something something the sacrifices of the hamato clan is never ending something something to become a hero is to lose pieces, chunks fragments even, of what makes up ur life and that includes ur home and the ppl around you)

It must sting knowing that his family's love wasn't enough to save him?

Also the contrast between Donnie's determination and Leo's defeat OOOOOH HO. Good very good

Oooh!! And! And

Leon's insistence on taking care of Dee's wounds despite his very understandable doubts & suspicion AND Dee extending the offer to help Leon escape if/when he figures out a way to leave AoUGH

They are good bois, with good hearts. The prison dimension will not be kind to them😔

Mismatched twins au ramble continuation!!: ch2

This is about @imagionationstation rottmnt and tmnt 2012 crossover au. Check it out over at @mismatchedtwins (lol I'm always gonna be promoting it)

Rambles under the cut! (So I don't clog up anyone's dash lmao)

Dee and Leons escape? Mhm yeah mhm👁️👁️

You totally captured that terrified desperate injured animal vibe. Leon's disorientation really sets out the "oh shit we're going to die" thing. Like it really introduces the absolute horrible dire situation both bois have landed up in to the readers. They're both separated from their fam, injured, and trapped in a wasteland with a bloodthirsty maniac.

Also this?

Leo needs it, so when he dies, he still has a chance to find Karai.

Ough. When u said Leon had accepted death already for himself ig I didn't register it completely?? Man what a slap to the face

He headed into the prison dimension fully expecting to meet his family in the afterlife huh? Ouch :((

Oooh and the contrast between Dee and Leon's handling of injuries! Dee's gentle, precise and thorough administrations🥺 (how many times did he do the same to his own family? Precise. Of course it is and of course it's gentle. Had plenty of practice before ending up there right? Must've been weird to check up on another version of his older brother like that tho. But I doubt Dee would just leave a Leo or any version of his other brothers hurt like that without at least trying to help. They might not be his, but bros r still bros yk? )

And Leon was able to keep up with Don's examinations even while he was wrecked! Very observant and he clearly took his medical studies to heart (Team medics💜💙) ( is leon actually medic in rottmnt? I actually can't remember 😔)

“Dude, you just wrapped me.” Leo remarks, amused by the glare that he earns. “Of course, I did. I had too.”

🥺

“But it’s different when you’re seeing your own?” Leo offers a cheeky grin. The turtle looks uncomfortable.

Is this bcuz he just saw his flesh and blood exposed to the open air like a few mins ago or? (I do wonder how bad the crisis he's gonna get(if he gets one) for the whole disintegrating body horror will be after the adrenaline and survival mode wears off)

Dee immediately after realizing he's in another dimension : 👁️👁️🎤📝

LMAO

[withonly-sweetheart]

Bloody Dove

You didn't know the effect a vampire's eyes could have on you, or your life. Fooled yourself into thinking you were his pretty little dove, didn't you? Well, all pretty things must rot eventually.

a/n: aight... so... uhm... @eyesofsix UR ART WILL FOREVER HAVE ME IN A CHOKEHOLD... LOOK WHAT U MADE ME DO 😔 this one's short and sweet like u <333

the second pic in the banner of leon is by them, go check them out i cannot tell you how talented they are all my moots are so talented i cant anymore 😭

tw: mentions of blood, character death, gore, stuff like that i dont know if i can classify this as dead dove actually but just in case!

wc: 1.3k

The night was cloaked in darkness, the type only a small, secluded village could offer. The moon hangs low in its humble abode, accompanied by twinkling stars as its silvery light casts eerie shadows that dance up to you, interrupted by an occasional passing car.

It’s so quiet you can hear the wind whispering eerily outside. 

Equally eerie is the man leaning against the light post, eyes reflecting light like twin stars that never leave your motions as you approach. It’s unsettling, to say the least, so after a few minutes, you turn to glare at him.

“Do you need something, sir?” you hiss.

“You’re out late,” he remarks, voice smooth and velvety, carrying a hint of amusement. There’s something hypnotic about his tone, an intensity that makes it hard for you to respond, and his expression tells you nothing more.

“I'm traveling,” you reply grudgingly, trying to make it obvious that you don’t want any small talk.

But his gaze is fluid, languid, uncaring. “Strange time of year to be traveling.”

“Yeah, well, I hear Canada is pretty nice right about now,” you grumble.

Surprisingly, that sparks a soft laugh from him, something unsettling when compared with his mysterious demeanor. The man's lips curl into a sly smile, his eyes glinting with an unknown intent. 

"Aren’t you funny?" he murmurs. 

On second thought, maybe booking a taxi would be better after all. But just as you’re about to pull your phone out of your pocket, he says something that startles you enough into hesitating.

“It’s become far too deserted, here,” he whispers, almost to himself, so quiet you might’ve missed it if you weren’t strangely tuned in to his voice. “It’s been so long since we’ve had a visitor.”

“I’m not staying for long,” you mutter back, almost as soft.

“Leaving so soon?” he attempts, chuckling dryly. You glance at him through the corner of your eye, admiring how his hair falls in neat waves over his eyes, reaching the corners of his lips, when pulled back reveal unnaturally sharp canines. 

“Mhm,” you say absentmindedly, eyes fixed on his teeth. He catches you watching, and his sly smile widens, revealing what, now exposed to more light, resemble glinting fangs. 

“I might just melt," he purrs, his voice sending a sudden spike of heat spearing into your stomach. “Watch your wandering eyes, darling. They might land a sweet girl like you into unwanted trouble.”

“Trouble?” you say, thoughts slipping through your fingers like grains of sand. “What kind of trouble?”

“Why don’t I just show you? After all, I have you right where I want,” he says, twisting to look at you, eyes softening at the corners, mouth quirking up. “You’re bolder than most, I’ll give you that much.”

"Thanks, I guess," you say, shaking your head to clear the strange haze that falls over your thoughts. "I’m not interested, though."

"Not interested?" he repeats, eyes narrowing. "You’re asking for it with those eyes."

"I’m not asking for anything," you reply firmly. "My attention just wandered for a second. It happens."

"Happens, you say?" His tone remains light, but a tightening around his swirling eyes betray his irritation. "I suppose keeping your eyes to yourself happens to be a good idea, no?'"

“I think I will,” you say defiantly, dipping your chin, not as a sign of submission, but of arrogance that you hope irritates him enough to keep him away from you.

But the silence that stretches the minutes into hours only adds to the guilt that slowly drips onto your back, drenching your shirt, an unpleasant feeling that craves to be satiated.

“Sorry,” you mumble. “I mean it, sir-”

“Leon,” he interjects, letting his head fall against the metal of the pole. “Please. Not sir.”

“Leon,” you finish, testing out the name on your tongue. It rolls through your mouth like a sweet caramel, or the iron tang of blood. What? “I, uh, didn’t mean it. Really.”

For a long moment he says nothing, studying you through tawny wisps of hair that escape his neat, uniform lines. Then, with obvious reluctance, he shrugs and flashes a cocky grin that fails to reach his eyes. "As you wish, little dove. No harm done."

Of course, no harm done is never the end.

Not for you. You convince yourself that you have control over everything.

But those eyes…

How could you ever say no to those eyes?

<><><><>

Your opulent surroundings seem normal, as if silently mocking you, the tales of your past seeming to drip from the pearls of blood, running into crimson rivulets from where Leon’s teeth pierce your skin.

“You don’t put up much of a fight, do you?” he muses, wiping his lips with the back of his hand, smearing your memories across his face. In some twisted way, you admit he looks good. “I might start to assume you like this little game we’re playing.”

His eyes refract the little light that passes through your own, turning them an odd shade of green, emerald against your pale skin.

“You shouldn’t, you know,” he whispers, breath tickling your neck, fanning across your strained muscles. “Give in, this quickly. What would happen if someone else got their hands on you?”

The idea seems to spark through his mind, the consequences, everything that might happen, just as he says it. His fingers curl around your arm, and something’s switched.

You wonder why he has such an effect on you, why he’s gotten you helpless under his touch, just the ghosts of his fingertips everywhere. Your aunt must be wondering where the hell you are.

Heaven, you think, intoxicated on a feeling you can’t grasp the word for. Your life drains from every star he pecks into your scarred, far from pristine skin that seems to stretch for miles, being marked like a map.

Leon’s lips find the mountains, follow the rivers, murmur soft, loving compliments against the lakes and ponds between your legs, pooling everything that you feel, caged in his arms and legs, spread out for him to explore.

"Trouble seems to find you regardless, my dear. Perhaps it's in your best interest to remain… unfound, for now,” he suggests.

"And what would keep me from running?” you muse, mind already floating to another plane of existence, staring back down at you, ascending through dimensions.

He smiles, small and mirthless. "Trust is a luxury. I would like to think that you would enjoy being with me forever, no?" His voice sings like bees buzzing, like their sticky honey in your ears, dripping from his tongue, sweet like his words and the pout of his lips as he shifts to nose your chin. 

“Think of how sad I would be if you left. It isn’t healthy, growing so attached to a little dove I’ve met so quickly and must release so soon.”

So you’ve become his anchor to peace, kept in the room of his heart, if only for a moment while you sing cries of pleasure. You can tell from the desperation clear in his voice, close to falling apart, that it’s been quite a while since this has happened.

But before you realize it, your short life soaks his sheets, painting your story in a redundant shade of ruby that sparkles in the moon’s smile.

And you slip from his embrace, the bloody, broken dove he carved you into with his fingers, sharp arrows that shot you from the night sky.

<><><><>

 He doesn’t notice the roll of your eyes until it’s too late. Until you’ve gone limp in his hands, cradled in his arms. He doesn’t understand why you aren’t responding to his gentle nudges until he presses his nose to your throat.

There is no movement. No pulse.

It feels as if the world is his symphony, his to keep, to cherish. Everything around him stills and takes a breath, watching you in your dying glory. 

Leon sighs wearily, slightly disappointed.

He had hoped you would’ve lasted longer than that.

[i-like-eyes]

(Feel free to ignore this!) Reading ur Elfilin take reminded me of my biggest problem with Katfl's story, being... there wasn't any consequences or loss. Sure the waddle dees & elfilin were kidnapped & waddle dee's town was demolished or how leon’s soul were scattered or elfilin noble sacrifice, but those were all temporary problems for plot connivences (or more accurately, game convenience) In the end, the story didn’t feel very fulfilling+

Uh I'm not going to ignore this because it is really good. You're right at the complete and utter lack of consequences, or any event having a lasting impression. What got me is that you described them as "temporary problems for plot conveniences (or more accurately, game convenience)" which first off, true, but also that just makes me appreciate RtDL's story so much more. Out of all the modern games RtDL is the most "gamey" in that you are collecting a much of items to build the thing, but it's much better gameplay and story integration. Like I said, Elfilin's relationship to the Waddle Dees is arbitrary whereas Magolor's connection to the Lor is much clearer. And I don't know about y'all, but spending 6 ish hours building the ship with all your minigames and shit and helping this nice wizard man only to have that all taken away from you when Magolor decides to do a little trolling is one hell of a consequence! A common prediction I saw was that Waddle Dee town would be destroyed again during the final boss, which while cliche, as it is now it feels very disconnected from the rest of the story. Contrast to Magolor using the ingame hub/Lor in a shmup section, it's all that hard work now shooting at you. Part of why Magolor's betrayal is so effective despite the fact he's a very simple character is because the gameplay makes up for it, you played the 6 hours of the game for him, and when he goes final boss on you it's not just he lied to you but those actual 6 hours of your life were a lie. Even replaying the game when you know the twist, while the game itself is fun to go back too Magolor's betrayal still stings every time because you know the other characters are still being tricked and Landia gets beaten up for no reason and the Lor is being treated as a tool and etc. You might want to finish the game so can beat him up again! What softens the blow is that the Lor itself is good and you did do a good thing by putting it back together and eventually freeing it of Magolor's control, so that is something to fight for when replaying. RtDL is genius actually- I do think a bad ending of sorts would of helped, and yeah it was very weird that despite being HiAD 2.0 the Forgo Islands lacked that. My personal theory is that the postgame was rushed, or at least didn't get the same amount of time as the rest of the game because it was last minute. It was still fun, but it would explain why it wasn't as expansive as HiAD's and why the World 3 boss Clawroline is all the sudden given plot importance; whoops we got the Hyness equiv but we need someone to be the mage equiv. For what it's worth maybe the inevitable KatFL novel will elaborate on some aspects, if I remember correctly the PR adaptation had plot points from the Miiverse interviews before the Miiverse interviews were a thing. So maybe we could see what could of happened if there was something missing, but I'm not holding my breath either. I remember around the second or so trailer looking at Elfilin and thinking 1.) This looks like Huepow and 2.) This looks like Chip. I don't love Chip personally, but I do think he's one of the better written Sonic characters (helps he's only been in basically one game). And playing KatFL I remember looking at Elfilin and thinking wow this is just a weaker Chip wow. Chip has a much clearer personality, motivations, evolves as a character and grows for the better even, and the ending actually pays off. It's not amazing, but it's something. Also, while an overused plot device in video games, the amnesia thing is a much better explanation for not talking about the baddie instead of just. Never addressing it. I'd never thought I'd see a character done better in Sonic well over a decade before Kirby tackled the type but here we are. Well anyways thank you for enjoying my ramblings, I'm glad to see it sparked some critical thinking! The fandom can use more analysis from the meta-textual/technical side of storytelling.

[salandition]

Its,,,,, so basic but Maybe Leon and Reader are training out near Circhester and get caught in a snowstorm? They find an old cabin amongst the trees and tHeReS OnLy OnE BED and they have to keep warm,,,, (Love your writing btw)

A/N: yes, the classic trope. I will gladly take a bite out of it :) Also this one kind of really dragged on, so it’s a bit long lol took me way too long to finish. if any of you recognize the title, ur a real one 

Chilly Down (Good Times, Bad Food)

Leon x Reader

--- --- ---

You feel like you should have expected something like this to happen. Despite what a great guy Leon is and how fun it is to hang out with him, he was sort of a magnet for trouble. He had an ability to draw in unfortunate events wherever he went it seemed. 

So you’re not completely surprised when you and Leon are hit with an unexpected snowstorm while training together outside of Circhester. Are you a bit miffed about it? Yes. But surprised? No, not really. 

“Training with the Champion is great and all,” you yell over the storm, one arm in front of your face to uselessly protect you from the snow, and your other hand is holding tightly onto Leon’s. Grabbing hold of him was almost more important than making it out of the storm- if you lost sight of Leon during this, you might never see him ever again. He’d find some way to end up on an undiscovered continent, you just know it. “But I think I’ll pass on your invitations after this!” You finally finish, continuing to trudge through the snow with him. 

“You know, usually I’d argue, but I think that’s fair,” Leon laughs, and then immediately shuts his mouth as a rush of cold air hits him and tries to travel down his throat. He hacks a few times- a few ice crystals probably hit his uvula or something- and then you feel a harsh tug on your hand. “Look!” 

Leon points toward a dim but very much real yellow glow in the distance. Immediately, the two of you head for it- desperate for any shelter you could be given. Part of you was doubtful, wondering if it was just some luminescent Pokémon or a random streetlight. Though even a streetlight would be better than nothing- that would mean you were back on the route’s path and could find your way back to Circhester if you were lucky. 

But it wasn’t a random streetlight. Thank whatever Gods that may exist- the light was coming from a big, sturdy wooden cabin, a sign being viciously blown by the wind read that it was even a hotel. What are the odds? 

“This is literally the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Leon yells as you both make a run for the cabin. 

“I believe it!” 

You almost fall with the amount of force that you and Leon enter the cabin with- both frantic to get out of the biting cold. You actually do fall, tumbling into a roll on the ground and snow scattering everywhere as Leon fumbles for the door and slams it shut before you bring too much of the storm inside. 

Heavily breathing, you don’t even notice the lady behind the counter before she coughs. 

Leon looks up with a beaming grin, laughing as he huffs and puffs, leaning against the door. “Hell of a storm, innit?” 

Not the smartest thing to say, but the lady gives out an amused snort anyway. 

“I’m assuming the two of you will be purchasing a room?” She tilts her head with a gleam in her eye. Something tells you that business isn’t going so well if she’s working in a hotel in the middle of nowhere and she’s still charging when you’re both obviously stranded- but hey, that’s life. You look up to Leon as you stay on the floor, hands on your chest as you continue to try and catch your breath. 

“Let me see,” you huff and wheeze, “those Champion benefits,” another huff, “big guy.” 

It’s not that funny but Leon laughs so hard that he starts to slide down the door, knees buckling beneath him, and you think that’s really funny so you start laughing too, rolling on the floor. The lady watches all the while, and if you notice a flying Rotom recording you while you and Leon lose your minds over nothing, you don’t say anything about it. 

Once Leon manages to shuffle over and pay the woman at the desk after your post-adrenaline delirium, she gladly shows you over to your room. You’re suddenly feeling exhausted after trudging through a snowstorm, so you don’t pay much attention to what she says as she leads you there- but it’s not like you need to. Leon does most of the talking as he keeps you steady with an arm around your shoulder. 

You don’t notice the look the woman gives you, nor do you notice the look Leon gives back. All you feel is the comforting rub of his hand on your arm, and it’s nice. 

“Enjoy your stay, you two,” is the only thing you pick up from her before the door is shut and you’re left alone in your newly-purchased hotel room.

There’s an important detail here, and that detail is the fact that there’s only one bed, and you’ve never shared a bed with Leon before. Sure, you’re friends, but you’ve never been the cuddling-type of friends. This detail is completely missed by both of you as luck would have it because as soon as you and Leon manage to remove your clothes, you’re out like a pair of lights the second your backs hit the mattress. 

No, the problem and important detail doesn’t really announce itself in your mind until morning comes. Well- afternoon, actually, if you managed to look at a clock. 

When you awake- at first, it’s not strange. It’s not strange until you recognize the hand around your waist, hair in your face, and legs entwined with yours- which is definitely not something that’s a usual occurrence for you. Recognizing all of these details, your eyes snap open, and you begin to take in the situation as it is. 

Leon and you both stripped down to your underwear, definitely cuddling, and definitely in the only bed available in the room as far as you can see. And from what you can tell with how the walls shake and the windows vibrate, the storm is still going strong. 

Right. 

“Leon,” your voice is hoarse from sleep as you smack your lips, your hand lifting up to shake Leon’s arm that’s wrapped tightly around your waist. “Leon, you daft idiot, wake up,” 

“Mmmgh,”

“I’ll… I’ll steal all your Pokémon, and run off to another country. Wake up, Leon.” The threat is creative, but lacking any real malice behind it as you continue to shake Leon’s body. A few more rough shakes and he finally blinks his eyes open. 

“Where… where am I?” He mumbles almost incoherently as he blinks a few more times, lifting himself up on his elbows as he takes in his surroundings. A bit of drool falls from the corner of his mouth. 

It’s kind of cute, but also kind of gross, and Leon is still kind of on top of you in nothing but his underwear. You begin to wonder if he’s ever going to notice- but finally, his expression seems to come to life as his mind wakes up and he looks up and down your body again. 

“...Right. Yeah, my bad.” Grunting, Leon finally rolls off you and to the other side of the bed. You want to laugh at the pinkness of his ears and cheeks if you weren’t vividly aware you probably looked exactly the same, so you bite your tongue for now. Apparently, the both of you have agreed to ignore your partial nudity for now as Leon holds his head in his hands, keeping his gaze off you as he asks, “why on Galar am I so tired?” 

“Maybe we were supposed to die,” you snicker, sitting up yourself and bringing up the covers as you do, trying to stay somewhat-modest. “And now our brains are realizing we’re actually alive and it doesn’t know what to do.” 

Despite himself, Leon giggles. “Yeah, maybe.” 

The window shakes from more pressure of the storm outside. It gets your attention for sure, and you realize that you should probably check your phone to see when this storm would even end. Very, very slowly, you shuffle out of bed, analyzing the floor and looking at how scattered your clothes are. It takes your tired mind a minute to find your bag, but when you do, it’s not good news. 

Of course there’s no service. 

“Ugh,” you groan again. “This sucks.” 

“Put on some clothes,” Leon says from the bed and you roll your eyes.

“They’re drenched, mate, and so are yours,”

Leon’s head snaps up from his hands at that. “Really?” You’ve got no reason to lie about that but he scatters toward his clothes anyway, feeling the damp and dirty texture of them with his own hands, as if that would change their outcome. You’re definitely not checking out his butt as he bends over to pick them up, because that would be silly and childish. 

Very nice view, though. 

Leon sighs. “Of course. Don’t suppose this hotel has a store of any sort?” 

“Good one,” you laugh. “Probably not, but I’ll check the bathroom for robes-“

“Oh, let me do it,”

“Why?”

“I’ve really got to pee, mate,” 

“Right on, then,” you point him toward the direction of the bathroom and Leon immediately makes himself sparse. You can only laugh as you watch him go, and while you wait, you gather all of your wet clothes and start to hang them all around the room so they might dry while you wait out the storm. 

“Good news,” Leon comes out of the bathroom and you look over your shoulder, seeing him hold up two white, fluffy robes. He tosses one your way and you catch it easily, wrapping yourself up quickly and Leon follows suit. “So, roomie,” Leon raises a brow at you, hands on his hips, “what do we do now?”

You wave your phone that’s in your hand. “We got no service, so we should probably check in with that lady who was at the desk if she knows anything about the weather reports.” Your eyes move to look at the bed. “And maybe you should talk her into changing us to a room with two beds.” For both of your sakes. 

“Right,” Leon nods. “Let’s go, then.”

More bad news, though. The lady didn’t know anything about the weather other than the fact that these storms usually lasted a day or two, so, in her own words, ‘if you’re lucky, you won’t be here much longer, but I can’t assure that. Also, you’re charged per night, per room.’ 

And all the rooms in this shotty little hotel only had one bed, so the idea of getting privacy at night was a lost cause. You weren’t the biggest fan of wasting your money or Leon’s on two rooms, anyway, especially since the owner seemed to be somewhat rude. So that’s nice. 

‘At least she had food’, Leon had told you positively, and you suppose he was right. She had a rather weak list of a menu, but ‘at least there was a menu’ so you wouldn’t have to eat whatever berries you had in your bag. The two of you seemed to dance around the fact that you were going to most likely be sleeping partly nude again tonight, except this time you’ll both be a lot more awake and conscious of it. You distracted yourself with the mediocre food that tasted mildly burnt or undercooked, no in-between, and playing with what Pokémon could fit in your small hotel room instead until both of your eyes were drooping and you couldn’t delay the inevitable any longer. 

“So.” You stand on one side of the bed, Leon on the other. Both of you stare at each other with your hands on your hips. 

“So,” Leon nods. 

“Should we… make rules?” Looking down at the bed and up at Leon, you know that technically you guys could try to stay on your side of the bed and probably not touch each other all night. 

But you were keenly aware that this man is a cuddler and you had a subconscious habit to scoot over to the warmest thing while you slept, so it seemed like physical interaction was going to happen one way or the other.

“I think that’s a bit pretentious,” he scratches his chin and shrugs. His nonchalance is downplayed by the heat on his cheeks and the sweat on his temple. “It’s fine if we… Cuddle. Right?” 

You suppose so. “I guess,” you purse your lips. “Typically friends cuddle with clothes on, though. And these robes are too awkward to sleep in.” 

“I mean, we did it before.” 

That’s true, but again, both of you were a bit delirious. But you can’t really argue with that, and you’re getting tired of dancing, so you nod and sigh. With a burst of courage, you square your shoulders, narrowing your eyes. Leon looks at you strangely before he squawks, his hands flying to cover his face when you remove your robe, the material falling and pooling around your feet. 

“Some warning!” He chokes and coughs. You laugh through your embarrassment, quickly getting on the bed and under the covers. 

“Come on. We could be sitting here all night. Lose the robe,” you cheer him on and Leon glares at you through the spaces of his fingers. “Lose the robe! Lose the robe!” 

“Stop!” He laughs and you giggle along, but it slowly ebbs and abruptly comes to a halt when Leon does, in fact, lose the robe. It’s too much to ask for him to not notice how you stare, so of course he does- humming proudly as he snuggles under the covers. “Speechless?” Leon smiles. 

“Don’t push it, I saw you ogling me the first time,” 

He coughs when you smirk. 

“Fine. Come here and cuddle me if you’re so smart.”

“Fine, I will!”

“Do it.”

“I’m gonna.”

The two of you lay under the covers, Leon’s arms open and beckoning, and you- frozen, not moving an inch. It’s not until he gives you a cocky look and starts to wiggle forward that you finally bite your lip and shove down your ego, rolling over to his side. It should be awkward, and it is, but only because the two of you somehow manage to fit together perfectly and that’s a bit odd. Your head resting against his collarbone, his arms wrapped snugly around your body, your legs entwined in a comfortable and fitting manner. It all happens almost instantaneously as if you’d both done this for years, as if it was a habit.

“Not that bad, right?” Leon murmurs in your ear and hums when your fingers trail little patterns across the skin of his waist and back. You mostly just did it to ease your nerves, not realizing how intimate the action was, but you figure it’s fine if Leon seems to like it. His hands explore your hair and the nape of your neck, the feeling making you curl further against him with a sigh. 

“Not bad,” you whisper. “Still odd.”

He hums but doesn’t prod the conversation along any further.

Several odd minutes pass, your breathing slowing as your body relaxes against Leon’s. Right as you find yourself on that warm, lulling cusp of falling asleep, there’s a brushing feeling against the top of your head. Leon’s body shuffles and lowers on the mattress and you’re about to whine a complaint about him moving around so much- but you’re silenced by the feeling of lips against your forehead. 

The hand that was previously teasing the skin of your neck trailed up and lightly grazed your cheek as Leon’s lips moved across your forehead to your brow. The actions are relaxing, yes, but your body tenses regardless because friends don’t do this. 

“Leon,” your whisper is like a shout compared to the dark silence in the room. Leon freezes up instantly at the sound of it and when you open your eyes, his head is angled in a way with his lips still pressed against your temple so you can’t see his expression. “...What are you doing?” You lick your lips nervously.

“...I thought you were sleeping.” Is all he has to say. You can’t say anything in reply to that because it’s fairly obvious to the both of you that no, you weren’t sleeping. “Um.” The air that leaves his mouth is hot against your skin.

From where your head rests, snug against his chest, you can almost feel the thundering pace of his heart more than you hear it. You idly wonder if it’s possible for hearts to beat in sync with one another. 

“Leon,” you say again when he doesn’t offer any explanation. He sucks in a shaky breath, his arm propping up from under him as he finally comes into your field of view; his eyes downcast and refusing to meet yours as he scoots away from you and lays his head back on his pillow. His hand lowers from your cheek down to your waist, touching your skin and then jolting back and insecurely moving against his chest, instead. 

“Sorry,” he whispers, “that was a bit creepy.” 

You remember the feeling of his heartbeat, and you don’t think that’s creepy at all. 

You reach your hand forward, tenderly cupping Leon’s jaw as he had done to you. Finally, he looks at you- his golden irises shining like glowflies in the darkness. The moment held between you now is a stark contrast to the harsh snowstorm outside- if you strain your ear, you’d be able to hear the whistling of the wind and the creaking of the trees. 

For now, all you can hear is your heart in your ears and the voice in your head saying kiss him, kiss him, kiss him. 

You’re aware that friends don’t do this. They don’t look at each other like this and they don’t press their lips against each other so softly- meekly. Lovingly. Maybe if you’re experimenting, maybe if you’re a different type of friend. But you and Leon aren’t like that, you’ve never been like that. 

So if things are different now, that’s something that’s a treasured secret between you, him, and the snow. 

[sweetoversavoury]

Oh, hi! Hi tumblr world.

This is my first post in my tumblr.

Umm yeah. A lil bit awkward. But okey let’s jump right in yo! (So excited🥳)

Let me introduce my self, yup. I’m No one.

Ehe just kidding.

Im just a simple girl. Just like the simple things in life. I mostly dress in white or black because it’s easy. I thought it would be simple for me to find joy in a small things of a regular day. Like stand still for a minute, close my eyes and just enjoy the sun/ the rain/ the wind/ the crowd/ the quite. While listening music. My favorite song from the first decade of the 21st century, when times were easier. (Clocks or viva la vida-coldplay, Complicated-Avril Lavigne, Gives you hell- the all american reject, Used somebody-kings of leon, One step at a time-Jordin spark) Ahh i love the old days.

I did it today and it was wonderful-

I’m a girl who don’t mind eating a ‘Lalapan bebek’ in the middle of the night or Big Mac instead of salad. Lol.

I prefer sweet foods over savoury. (That’s my nickname, Aye). Huaaa sugar craving.

Ok. Then.

I don’t manipulate things to please ppl around me. I love very hard bcs it feels right. I don’t start a drama to get attention. I keep quite when I am angry. I don’t care if there’s anyone who doesn’t like me.

Im just happy with what I have.

And yes, I do still exist.

“Focus on what makes u happy. Focus on what makes ur soul feel at peace.”

This.

[aerisse-remade]

literally just me complaining abt vocaloid/its fanbase

ok i got a good starting point so its Time to Complain

before i start complaining im just gonna say that some of these were taken from my ooooold pet peeves posts on tvs that i made in like. 2013. so if you see those now, keep in mind that i may no longer be bothered by certain things or ive just become less harsh in general. but some of them i still agree w obv. also i dont mind if anyone who actually reads this wants to add on to this post or to start a discussion (pls do!!!! i love hearing others thoughts) but pls either send me an ask, an im, or just reply bc i dont want to have a long chain of reblogs

also sorry again @ app users

i really cant stand certain headcanons, but the absolute worst ones are that the male vocaloids are huge perverts or even pedophiles....or any vocaloid in general. leave them alone!!!! why do u hate certain vocaloids so much that youd call them a fucking pedophile??? pedophilia isnt cute or funny, its fucking disgusting. and this might be very presumptuous of me but if you hc any vocaloid as a pedo you're disgusting too. [also if any pedos are reading this (bc i know some of you freaks go into the search) if you interact with this post or me at all, you'll be reported and blocked]

i also hate when ppl call any vocaloid (or ANY character for that matter) shotas or lolis. bc yknow...those terms are rooted in pedophilia, and once again pedophilia isnt cute or funny. like this literally isnt up for debate, if you try to defend that shit you'll also be reported and blocked

listen....i know vocaloids dont have canon sexualities so all hcs are valid...but when ppl hc luka or mayu as straight i die. i mean i hc most of the vocaloids being lgbt+ but especially luka and mayu. luka is like the biggest lesbian and mayu is also gay af

this one might be controversial?? idk but it kinda bothers me when ppl take a japanese vocaloid, change their skin colour, and then say theyre poc now. like japanese ppl arent white so werent they poc before?? like im genuinely confused. is the term poc for nonwhite ppl in general or specifically for darker skinned nonwhite ppl? bc ive seen both ways. also the issue here isnt making a pale vocaloid darker (bc im all for that!!! we need darker vocas) in general, its just when ppl imply that japanese ppl are white ig. (if you cant tell already im white, so if i said smth wrong, please correct me!)

i hate when ppl whitewash leon and lola. like ik they dont have official designs, but they are still canonically black (not to mention the whitewashed designs for them are ugly af....especially white, blond hair + blue eyes leon). also i dont like whitewashed merli, wil, bruno, and clara either

speaking of bruno and clara, i hate how even their official designs were whitewashed due to racists complaining abt their old designs!!! like. ppl literally sent death threats to the artist of their original designs

i hate pikos design. its not even anything in particular, his whole design is just ugly imo

i hate yohioloids boxart. i absolutely cant stand the way the artist drew his face, it looks like that generic straight girl fujoshi anime artstyle. i hate it lmao

this one also might be a big no-no but i honestly cant stand the western producers' fanbases? i cant even get into most of the western producers works. i like ghost as a person (they seem pretty cool), and i like their instrumentals, but i dont like the vocals/rhythm of most of their songs? and their fanbase is just....annoying. they treat ghost like a god or smth (which they themself is uncomfortable with!!) and idk basically im just tired of seeing ppl shit themselves over communications. this isnt supposed to be hate either, im just genuinely confused nd tired. also circusP's fanbase is also annoying bc i feel like his songs appeal to edgy 12 yr olds (like circus monster and insanity) who constantly spam his comments sections with "lol im psycho too!!!". i havent looked into his comments sections for a while now so if this has changed then im glad ig

when ppl call galacos hair rainbow....like, blonde, brown, yellow, red, and blue dont make a rainbow. mayus hair is rainbow tho!!

speaking of mayus hair, it bothers me when ppl forget she has rainbow hair?? especially fanartists. i understand if you know she has rainbow hair but you didnt include it bc its hard to colour in. its ok. but like....straight up forgetting?? im confused how do yall not notice it

also when ppl think mayus bday is December 5th. like yeah its her release date but her canonical bday is may 6th. pls im so tired of ppl saying "happy bday mayu!!!" on dec 5th but nobody saying shit on her actual bday....

also this might b petty but i dont like how most ships involving mayu are het. Let Her Be Gay

when ppl say mayu is a ritsu rip off...,like the only design similarities they have are those little hat things and the piano motif. thats it. also they were designed by the same person (hidari) so ofc theyre gonna have some similarities

this might be elitist of me but when ppl claim to be "vocaloid trash" or hardcore voca fans yet they dont know who unpopular vocas like big al and mew are. also when these same ppl (those who claim to be hardcore fans) cant even name a single producer

recolours and genderbends. u know what im talking abt...,the bs "shion family" or mikuo, luki, etc. theyre boring tbh

also when ppl think kaitos last name is canonically shion....like he doesnt have a last name. same with meiko being sakine. meiko sakine is a fanloid, not the actual voca meiko

obnoxious fangirls/boys in general. yknow, the "lenkun is mine!!! xdddd" kind. pls...,.grow out of that phase already...

ppl who call vy2 roro. or ppl who think thats his canon design. pls im so tired

ppl who think gumi extend/lily/cul/merli/etc look like "sluts". like bye

ppl who draw/make mmd models of voca appends, yet their "append" design is exactly like mikus

ppl who dont source their art or dont source it properly. zerochan and weheartit are not sources.,,,

ppl who complain abt there being "too many vocaloids". like vocaloid isnt even marketed to you, theyre marketed towards music producers lmao. let producers have a wide selection range

ppl who think vocaloid is a weeb thing. like yall will call literally anything japanese weeb shit. like....not all vocaloids are even japanese. and even if they were, smth being japanese nd having anime styled mascots doesnt automatically make it for weebs. vocaloid is a professional software. im so tired of seeing ppl like "omg im such a weeb im listening to vocaloid" or "im reliving my weeb days by listening to vocaloid" or "if u listen to vocaloid ur a weeb" fuck outta here w that bs

now this is a personal thing, but i just cant stand voca crossovers with mlp..,,im so tired of everything being ponified

ppl who hc rin and len as siblings AND ship them. like its fine to ship them if u dont hc them as siblings but if you do....,yall nasty. incest is nasty

i really dont like kailen, kaimi, yuki/kiyoteru, kairin, gakurin, etc. theres more ships i dont like but i'll probably make another post abt that sometime

honestly i dont really care for most f/m amd m/m ships in general? gimme the wlw

ppl who ship the child vocas  (ryuto, yuki, una, oliver) with adult vocas without aging them up. i mean even if its aged up its still kinda weird but not aging them at all is Bad

....also heres a super petty and personal one. when ppl say that white ppl cant kin/id with most vocaloids. like some white kid thinking theyre miku is in no way comparable to actual real world racism. as long as theyre not claiming to actually be another race it shouldn't matter. get mad over smth that actually matters lmao

basically just kin drama in general. like its fine to be uncomfortable w doubles but like....dont harrass them or send them hate or anything. let them be

also ppl who take vocaloid at face value and cant have fun. ykno, those ppl who are like "how do yall ship software and make headcanons for them?? get a life lol". like hey. its fun. let us be

theres probably more but i cant think of them rn. if i do think of more i'll just compile them into another post and call it part 2 or smth lmao