#orion and the hare

[orionandthehare]

We did it!!!!!

After around six months of hard work, we were finally able to show off our finished film!! Orion and the Hare was presented at a two-day showcase alongside many incredible game and animation projects.

I feel so fortunate to have worked with so many talented artists in the making of such a lovely film. It means the absolute world to see something this cool be made. I’m looking forward to seeing all the incredible work that our team members continue to make in the future!!

[thetoonstation]

Star fox tf one au

❤️

James is Orion

Peppy is d16

Delta is elita

Beltino is b 127/ bee

And general shears is sentinel prime

I’m still working on this au so stay tuned!

[bethn0tfound404]

The Sillies are playing/singing Harpy Hare :3

I like to think that Orion wouldn't be able to remember all the lyrics and moves because of his golden retriever excitement, so they'd have to restart because Nereza would have to show/remind Orion the words and moves.

(Here's the song if you wanna listen to it and feel the vibes :3 They fit the song very well.)

(origin post+outfit credits)

[apollo-soyuz1975]

New rusame AND lietmano fic!! In which I take a 30 second scene from season 7 and make it a 3.5k fic where America exhausts himself into an intervention and also Lovino is a diaster bi.

[beforeorion]

Rising Star Cave Engravings - Part I: The Underworld - Before Orion

[passionpeachy]

Constellations 🌌

Left to Right:

🌟 Canis Major (Greater Dog)

🌟 Orion (The Hunter)

🌟 Ursa Major (Greater Bear)

🌟 Lepis (The Hare)

🌟 Cygnus (The Swan)

🌟 Felis (The Cat)

[thaoworra]

The Science Fiction and Fantasy Poetry Association recently released the poems that made it to the finalist stage for consideration for the 2024 Rhysling Awards for Short and Long Speculative Poems of the year. Congratulations to all of the nominees! This will be the 46th year these awards have been conferred!

Short Poems (50 finalists)

Attn: Prime Real Estate Opportunity!, Emily Ruth Verona, Under Her Eye: A Women in Horror Poetry Collection Volume II

The Beauty of Monsters, Angela Liu, Small Wonders 1

The Blight of Kezia, Patricia Gomes, HWA Poetry Showcase X

The Day We All Died, A Little, Lisa Timpf, Radon 5

Deadweight, Jack Cooper, Propel 7

Dear Mars, Susan L. Lin, The Sprawl Mag 1.2

Dispatches from the Dragon's Den, Mary Soon Lee, Star*Line 46.2

Dr. Jekyll, West Ambrose, Thin Veil Press December

First Eclipse: Chang-O and the Jade Hare, Emily Jiang, Uncanny 53

Five of Cups Considers Forgiveness, Ali Trotta, The Deadlands 31

Gods of the Garden, Steven Withrow, Spectral Realms 19

The Goth Girls' Gun Gang, Marisca Pichette, The Dread Machine 3.2

Guiding Star, Tim Jones, Remains to be Told: Dark Tales of Aotearoa, ed. Lee Murray (Clan Destine Press)

Hallucinations Gifted to Me by Heatstroke, Morgan L. Ventura, Banshee 15

hemiplegic migraine as willing human sacrifice, Ennis Rook Bashe, Eternal Haunted Summer Winter Solstice

Hi! I am your Cortical Update!, Mahaila Smith, Star*Line 46.3

How to Make the Animal Perfect?, Linda D. Addison, Weird Tales 100

I Dreamt They Cast a Trans Girl to Give Birth to the Demon, Jennessa Hester, HAD October

Invasive, Marcie Lynn Tentchoff, Polar Starlight 9

kan-da-ka, Nadaa Hussein, Apparition Lit 23

Language as a Form of Breath, Angel Leal, Apparition Lit October

The Lantern of September, Scott Couturier, Spectral Realms 19

Let Us Dream, Myna Chang, Small Wonders 3

The Magician's Foundling, Angel Leal, Heartlines Spec 2

The Man with the Stone Flute, Joshua St. Claire, Abyss & Apex 87

Mass-Market Affair, Casey Aimer, Star*Line 46.4

Mom's Surprise, Francis W. Alexander, Tales from the Moonlit Path June

A Murder of Crows, Alicia Hilton, Ice Queen 11

No One Now Remembers, Geoffrey Landis, Fantasy and Science Fiction Nov./Dec.

orion conquers the sky, Maria Zoccula, On Spec 33.2

Pines in the Wind, Karen Greenbaum-Maya, The Beautiful Leaves (Bamboo Dart Press)

The Poet Responds to an Invitation from the AI on the Moon, T.D. Walker, Radon Journal 5

A Prayer for the Surviving, Marisca Pichette, Haven Speculative 9

Pre-Nuptial, F. J. Bergmann, The Vampiricon (Mind's Eye Publications)

The Problem of Pain, Anna Cates, Eye on the Telescope 49

The Return of the Sauceress, F. J. Bergmann, The Flying Saucer Poetry Review February

Sea Change, David C. Kopaska-Merkel and Ann K. Schwader, Scifaikuest May

Seed of Power, Linda D. Addison, The Book of Witches ed. Jonathan Strahan (Harper Collins)

Sleeping Beauties, Carina Bissett, HWA Poetry Showcase X

Solar Punks, J. D. Harlock, The Dread Machine 3.1

Song of the Last Hour, Samuel A. Betiku, The Deadlands 22

Sphinx, Mary Soon Lee, Asimov's September/October

Storm Watchers (a drabbun), Terrie Leigh Relf, Space & Time

Sunflower Astronaut, Charlie Espinosa, Strange Horizons July

Three Hearts as One, G. O. Clark, Asimov's May/June

Troy, Carolyn Clink, Polar Starlight 12

Twenty-Fifth Wedding Anniversary, John Grey, Medusa's Kitchen September

Under World, Jacqueline West, Carmina Magazine September

Walking in the Starry World, John Philip Johnson, Orion's Belt May

Whispers in Ink, Angela Yuriko Smith, Whispers from Beyond (Crystal Lake Publishing)

Long Poems (25 finalists)

Archivist of a Lost World, Gerri Leen, Eccentric Orbits 4

As the witch burns, Marisca Pichette, Fantasy 87

Brigid the Poet, Adele Gardner, Eternal Haunted Summer Summer Solstice

Coding a Demi-griot (An Olivian Measure), Armoni “Monihymn” Boone, Fiyah 26

Cradling Fish, Laura Ma, Strange Horizons May

Dream Visions, Melissa Ridley Elmes, Eccentric Orbits 4

Eight Dwarfs on Planet X, Avra Margariti, Radon Journal 3

The Giants of Kandahar, Anna Cates, Abyss & Apex 88

How to Haunt a Northern Lake, Lora Gray, Uncanny 55

Impostor Syndrome, Robert Borski, Dreams and Nightmares 124

The Incessant Rain, Rhiannon Owens, Evermore 3

Interrogation About A Monster During Sleep Paralysis, Angela Liu, Strange Horizons November

Little Brown Changeling, Lauren Scharhag, Aphelion 283

A Mere Million Miles from Earth, John C. Mannone, Altered Reality April

Pilot, Akua Lezli Hope, Black Joy Unbound eds. Stephanie Andrea Allen & Lauren Cherelle (BLF Press)

Protocol, Jamie Simpher, Small Wonders 5

Sleep Dragon, Herb Kauderer, The Book of Sleep (Written Image Press)

Slow Dreaming, Herb Kauderer, The Book of Sleep (Written Image Press)

St. Sebastian Goes To Confession, West Ambrose, Mouthfeel 1

Value Measure, Joseph Halden and Rhonda Parrish, Dreams and Nightmares 125

A Weather of My Own Making, Nnadi Samuel, Silver Blade 56

Welcoming the New Girl, Beth Cato, Penumbric October

What You Find at the Center, Elizabeth R McClellan, Haven Spec Magazine 12

The Witch Makes Her To-Do List, Theodora Goss, Uncanny 50

The Year It Changed, David C. Kopaska-Merkel, Star*Line 46.4

Voting for the Rhysling Award begins July 1; a link to the ballot will be sent with the Rhysling Anthology, as well as with the July issue of Star*Line. More information on the Rhysling Award can be found here.

[energ00n]

If you had to pick, what songs would you pick for your characters that would suit them well?

**Note: These aren't the best as I'm not an avid music listener but I'd say they remind me of how the characters are in the AU enough. May change later idk

Orion: For the Best - Gregory and the Hawks

D-16: Swimming in the Flood - Crywolf

Jazz: Ghost - Confetti

Prima: Harpy Hare - Yaelorke (strongest song)

Bonus ship songs:

DPax: Ultimately - khai dreams and Suneater - Leanna Firestone

Jazzop: Love Like Woe - The Ready Set

Noblespark: Love Story - Indila

Zetasen: J'envoie Valser - Zazie

[summerwages]

the hunter and the hare...

a whimsical cloud imitating Lepus just there below Orion and Jupiter...

[apod]

2025 March 7

Planetary Nebula Abell 7 Image Credit: Image Credit & Copyright: Vikas Chander

Explanation: Very faint planetary nebula Abell 7 is about 1,800 light-years distant. It lies just south of Orion in planet Earth's skies toward the constellation Lepus, The Hare. Surrounded by Milky Way stars and near the line-of-sight to distant background galaxies its generally simple spherical shape, about 8 light-years in diameter, is revealed in this deep telescopic image. Within the cosmic cloud are beautiful and complex structures though, enhanced by the use of long exposures and narrowband filters that capture emission from hydrogen, sulfur, and oxygen atoms. Otherwise Abell 7 would be much too faint to be appreciated by eye. A planetary nebula represents a very brief final phase in stellar evolution that our own Sun will experience 5 billion years hence, as the nebula's central, once sun-like star shrugs off its outer layers. Abell 7 itself is estimated to be 20,000 years old. But its central star, seen here as a fading white dwarf, is some 10 billion years old.

∞ Source: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap250307.html

[susiekern]

17. the one with the tour

warnings: swearing

word count: 945

masterlist

It was the days like this one, or should I say evenings, that you appreciated the most. When the world seems to slow down, giving you the space and air to breathe. To cherish the things you love the most.

On evenings like this, you’d get cozy in the living room with Nobara, both under a blanket, with warm tea and snacks on the coffee table and a dumb rom-com on the TV. Or maybe you’d spend it in Yuji and Megumi’s apartment, where the destined chef for the night would cook something for the group, as the rest sit patiently at the kitchen island with drinks and chat about things so irrelevant that normally it’d skip your minds. Some days, you and Megumi would escape from everyone and hide in either one of your rooms, playing games, cuddling, or just lying down with quiet music playing in the background. Sometimes he’d play the guitar and sing for you, watching as you relaxed on the bed with a book or just looked at him with pure adoration in your eyes.

It’s one of those evenings when you grab a blanket, something to drink, and climb up to the rooftop to stargaze. The weather is perfect, the cloudless night granting you a perfect view of constellations. You lay on the fluffy blanket, wrapped in Megumi’s hoodie, his warm body next to you, your fingers intertwined. Both of you have one earbud in, changing who’s choosing another song.

Your eyes are mostly stuck on the dark sky above you, tracing the constellations your grandfather taught you about all those years ago when you went camping.

“There’s the Andromeda. Oh, and big and small dogs, they’re chasing the hare that’s right there. They were named for Orion’s hounds.” You tell Megumi, pointing to the shapes with your finger. As you turn your head his way, you notice how his gaze is stuck on your side profile. “Sorry, I bet it’s boring.”

“Not at all. I just didn’t know you knew so much about the stars.” He squeezes your hand and gives you a smile.

“When I was little, my grandfather would take me, Yuji, and Ryo camping in the summer every year. We’d lit a campfire and stargazed for hours. He was passionate about Greek mythology and would tell us about the myths that the constellations were named after.” Your eyes are back on the sky. “It was my favorite day of the year.”

“I can’t imagine Yuji camping. He’d be gone day after day without the wifi.” Megumi jokes, putting his free arm behind his head.

“Yeah, he was the worst one. Ryo would prank him with insects every time.” Laughing, you nod and turn sideways to look at him.

With all the hustle coming with planning a tour, a setlist, and recording a few new songs, Megumi was so busy lately that you started to appreciate moments like this even more. You’d still see each other almost daily, but usually, he’d fall asleep on you or just listen to you talk about your day. So in moments like this one, when you could spend a few hours without anyone else, either Yuji, Nobara, or his band, you loved watching his relaxed face, admiring how calm he gets around you. It also calmed you in a way and pushed the thoughts about the tour to the back of your mind. Why would you worry about it now when he’s right next to you, his thumb is caressing your hand, and he hums the song that’s currently playing in your ears? It could wait another day or two.

“Do you have the favorite one?” He suddenly asks, ripping you out of your thoughts. You nod and look back up, searching for a moment.

“Ursa Minor, a little bear.” You point it out. “It was called after a nymph that nursed Zeus in the form of a bear when he was an infant.”

Megumi focuses on the stars for a moment, trying to memorize the shape.

“I’ll look for it.” He whispers, bringing your attention back to him. Your brows are furrowed when you turn his way, catching his gaze. “When we’re apart. It’ll remind me of you every night.”

You swear your heart stops for a second before it clenches almost painfully. Right, you can try to ignore it, but soon, he’ll be gone for probably three months, traveling the world. You won’t be able to just cross the hallway for a cuddle; you won’t feel his warmth and won’t steal a kiss when out with friends for three months. You’ll only hear his voice when you manage to fit in a call; you’ll only see his smile on the video call. Three months. Seems like an eternity after seeing each other almost daily for so long.

“Will it be toxic if I just chain you down in my room and won’t let you leave?” Your joke comes out weak, given how your voice is shaking and there are tears in your eyes, threatening to fall at any second now. You rest your head on Megumi’s chest, and his arms wrap around you instantly, pulling you closer.

“I wouldn’t be mad, honestly.” He says quietly and gives you a kiss on the forehead, his hands caressing your back. You stay like this until the cold has you escape the rooftop, but even then, you end up in Megumi’s room, bodies as close as possible, like you’re both trying to memorize how it feels. How it feels to have each other close, how it feels to be together, stealing the feeling and saving it in your minds for later.

tag list (lmk if you wanna be added!): @nytylie @fresa-luna @syrooo @zaranobiyuyu @jvpit3rr @pandabiene5115 @good-mourning0 @pearlydays @irwinchester @pxppetmxster @ivydoesit23 @zayuriluvs @applepi25 @s777athv @estella-novella @wgafa @pookalicious-hq @lovely-maryj @briezy04764 @evergumi

[orionandthehare]

Feast your eyes on this rendered shot for our short film Orion and the Hare! As we're now reaching the home stretch, here's a shot animated by our 3D animators featuring the Hare and one of her babies!

[watcherwingedcat]

✧ WELCOME TO MY DEN!

✧ ABOUT ME

𓃢 My name is Moss. I'm 21 years old. I'm from Europe.

𓃢 I'm plural, so I will post in a sideblog from time to time. My headmate's name is Orion.

𓃢 In terms of nonhuman identities, I use terms such as nonhuman, alterhuman, therian, fictionkin and otherkin to describe myself. I awakened on april from 2024, and I started this blog on september of the same year.

𓃢 I (Moss) use he/him, they/them, and it/its pronouns. I'm nonbinary, genderfaun and aroace. (My pronouns and identities)

𓃢 Orion uses it/he pronouns. It's aroace and agender.

𓃢 I'm a college student, on my third year of social education.

𓃢 Neurodivergent. Autistic and ADHD, both diagnosed.

𓃢 In this blog, I will post mostly about my experiences as an alterhuman adult, such as little stories, and anecdotes. I will also post art and poems from time to time.

𓃢 I'm nonhuman in every possible way, also called holothere. That means I'm a physical, psychological, and spiritual nonhuman. I believe my body is the one of a Watcher, and my mind is the one of a dog and, my soul is the one of a winged cat.

𓃢 This blog is endo friendly, open to all kinds of plurals or systems.

𓃢 Discourse will not be tolerated in this blog.

𓃢 My website: Watcher's archive

✧ Moss' Nonhuman identities:

𓃢 Theriotypes: Greyhound, jackrabbit.

𓃢 Kintypes: Watcher and winged cat.

𓃢 Hearttypes: Phantom.

✧ Orion's Nonhuman identities:

𓃢 Kintypes: Watcher and velociraptor.

✧ Tags I use:

#thecatchirps will be my talking tag (#thecatreplies for reblogs and asks, and #watcher flaps for everything)

#watcher writes will be my poems tag

#thecatcollects is my tag for genders and sexuality

#thecatdraws is my art tag

#thecatmoodboards is my moodboard tag

#community archive is for my favorite posts

✧ Reblog tags:

🐈◁ Cat purrs ▷🐈 → Catkin posts

🐕‍🦺◁ Dog barks ▷🐕‍🦺 → Dogkin posts

👁️◁ Watcher muses ▷👁️ → Watcherkin posts

🐇◁ Hare hops ▷🐇 → Harekin posts

🦌◁ Deer roams ▷🦌 → Deerkin posts

🦖◁ Dino chomps ▷🦖 →Dino posts

🐾◁ The Animal ▷🐾→ General therian experiences

🕯◁ The Archives ▷🕯 → Orion’s hearthome

🍃◁ The Community ▷🍃 → Aka everything not ours

🕹️◁ The Games ▷🕹️→ Tag games

🧪◁ The Lab ▷🧪 → Being a lab experiment

🪽◁ The Moss Grows ▷🪽 → Moss posts

📕◁ Orion Archives ▷📕 → Orion posts

🎲◁ The collective ▷🎲 → Plural posts

[pupsmailbox]

SURREALISM ID PACK

NAMES︰ abigail. abyss. abyssa. achey. adam. adelaide. adeline. agatha. agnes. albert. alexander. alfred. alice. amelia. angel. annabelle. apparition. arch. archie. arthur. atticus. augustus. beatrice. beetle. benedict. benjamin. birdee. bliss. bubbles. bug. bugby. buggy. bunny. cain. calvin. cardee. catherine. cecilia. celeste. chaos. charlotte. chev. chevrotain. chimera. clara. clementine. cloudi. cloudy. compass. crow. dahlia. daisy. daphne. daze. decay. deja. delusion. dorothy. doubt. dove. dream. dreamy. drift. echo. eleanor. elizabeth. emily. enigma. erebos. erebus. ernest. error. eve. evelyn. exite. eyes. fading. fady. faid. faint. fawnly. felicity. felix. fish. fisshu. flaw. flower. forky. foxy. frog. froge. froggy. frost. frosty. ghost. ghosty. gideon. gin. ginnungagap. glitch. glitchy. graham. gray. grey. hare. harriet. hattie. haunt. haven. hazel. heartbeat. heartbreak. henry. hoarfrost. hollow. howl. hugo. icey. illusielle. illusion. imogen. infinesse. infinitie. ink. iris. ivy. jane. juliet. juno. jupiter. kai. key. khali. khaos. khora. kit. larkling. lichen. lichy. lilith. lily. liminal. link. locket. love. lucy. lulu. luminal. luna. mabel. margaret. mars. matilda. matrix. meadow. meddy. mercury. mirage. mirror. misty. mo. mold. moon. moss. mossy. moth. mothy. mug. murmur. mush. mushy. mysterie. nada. nameless. nemo. neptune. night. nightmare. nihil. nobody. noir. noire. noiresse. noirette. nostal. nostalgesse. nostalgette. nothing. nox. null. nyx. oblivionne. obscuritie. obsidian. oceana. ocina. ocula. odditie. oddling. olive. oliver. olivia. ombra. orion. pale. penelope. phantom. phoebe. phone. pin. pluto. poppy. portal. post. pulse. pup. rain. rainy. rippel. ripple. rose. salem. saturn. scythe. scythette. serene. shadow. shivver. shroom. shrum. silver. sky. smile. snak. snake. snek. snowy. socket. sombra. sophie. sparrow. spook. spookie. spooks. spooky. spoon. spotty. sprite. stacy. static. stitch. storm. stormy. stream. sugar. sunny. teeth. telle. theodore. thread. thunder. thunderly. ticket. tide. tooth. tripp. twilight. unknown. vac. vacancy. vacuify. vazio. vega. velvet. venus. victoria. vinyl. vivian. void. vortex. walter. worry. wraith. wren. yearn. zero. zeta.

PRONOUNS︰ ?/?. ?t/?t. [redacted]/[redacted]. _/_. abandon/abandon. ap/ap. backroom/backroom. being/being. bizarre/bizarre. blank/blank. blur/blur. clock/clock. cloud/cloud. cold/cold. creature/creature. creep/creep. dark/dark. daze/daze. deja/vu. deranged/deranged. dim/dim. dream/dream. echo/echo. eerie/eerie. em/empty. empty/empt. empty/empty. end/end. entity/entity. error/error. eye/eye. familiar/familiar. film/film. flower/flower. fog/fog. forget/forget. fru/fru. ghost/ghost. glitch/glitch. h?/h?m. hollow/hollow. hx/hxm. hy/hym. illusion/illusion. ina/ina. infinite/infinite. ink/ink. jpeg/jpeg. key/key. lim/lim. lim/liminal. liminal/liminal. lost/lost. lurk/lurk. mist/mist. moss/moss. mush/mush. mush/shroom. mystery/mystery. night/night. no/exit. no/non. noir/noir. nos/nos. nostal/nostalgia. nostalgia/nostalgia. not/nothing. nothing/nothing. nox/nox. null/null. obsidian/obsidian. odd/odd. one/one. penumbra/penumbra. phantom/phantom. pitch/pitch. pop/pop. rem/ember. scythe/scythe. sh?/h?r. sha/shadow. shade/shade. shadow/shadow. shrooms/shroom. shx/hxr. shy/hyr. silhouette/silhouette. space/space. spiral/spiral. stat/stat. stat/static/static. static/static. stone/stone. strange/strange. surreal/surreal. tele/vision. th?y/th?m. that/thatthing. thing/thing. thon/thon. thxy/thxm. thy/thym. tooth/tooth. tv/tv. twilight/twilight. un/canny. uncanny/uncanny. vae/vaer. vast/vast. venta/venta. voi/voi. voi/void. void/void. vor/tex. watcher/watcher. weird/weird. where?/where?. winde/winde. x/x. yellow/yellow. ⚫. ⚫️. ❓. ❔. 🌀. 🌑. 🌚. 🌫️. 🏚️. 👁️. 💭. 🕳️. 🗝️. 🚪.

SIMILAR LISTS I HAVE︰ 1 2 3 4 ⭐

[apollo-soyuz1975]

should have another fic out on...christmas hopefully?? its fru/k which i've never written before but it's just a short little ficlet (it'll still probably be like 2k at minimum lol).

After that I probably won't have any fics again for a while. I'm writing out my next rusam/e oneshot outline while on my lunch break (aka in little 30 minute chunks) but I'll try to work on the not one but TWO long fics I have in progress (Phoenix and a secret one eheheehehe) in the meantime. Nowhere near like the flood I just posted lol (flood being two. maybe three fics).

If I don't post a fic after christmas, thanks for reading this year and I'll bring more in 2025!

[ferigrievous]

last words of a shooting star.

⊹ ࣪ i always wanted to die clean and pretty / but i'd be too busy on working days

a.n for ao3 user headlightspirit ദ്ദി(˵ •̀ ᴗ - ˵ ) ✧

⤷ masterlist ; requests open

under the cloak of the night, the world seemed to hold its breath.

two figures stand at the edge of the world, their souls tethered by an invisible thread of fate. inumaki traced the constellations above him with nimble fingers, his lips forming words you hoped to hear in another lifetime. 

he speaks of orion, the mighty hunter, and his faithful dogs. how they paint a story of a hunt, orion chasing down a hare with his hounds by his side. how sirius represented the laelaps– the magic dog that could catch any prey.

 he’d tell you how the dog was sent after a fox that could never be caught, and zeus, having pity on them, immortalised them in the stars. or how the egyptians used it to mark the flooding of the nile, or the greeks the beginning of the dog days.

and though you cannot hear him, you watch with close attention how his mouth move, eyes tracing the curve of his lips as he smiles, turning to you as if to ask  ‘was that okay?’

you nod, pulling up the covers closer to envelop you both in a warmth you could only wish for. he pulls the covers closer around the two of them, creating a cocoon that shields them from the world even for just a little while. he takes a deep shuddering breath, and slowly moves closer to you. his hand brushes against yours, almost like a secret dance. he leans his head on your shoulder, body pressed against yours.

it’s the most comfortable you’ve ever been in a long, long time.

he’s warm, his body curled around you. his lips brush against your neck, feather-light. the heat from his body seemed to spread onto yours, sending a shiver down your spine. he murmurs something indecipherable.

you shift to stare into his bright purple eyes, mouthing a ‘what?’ as you brush a stray strand of hair away from his face.

he blinks slowly, almost languidly, before he answers your question.

“i love you.”

his voice is whisper-soft, the words ghosting over your skin like a breeze. you could feel the slight of the vibrations against you as he speaks, and you want nothing more than to say it back the way everyone else couldn't. he leans close, so close you can feel his breath against your lips, before pressing a chaste, lingering kiss to the corner of your mouth.

‘i love you too’

you’d never get used to the way his eyes soften, the corners of his mouth quirk up at the simple words. but oh, he never got tired of hearing them.

he pressed his forehead against yours, taking in the sight of you. you could hear his soft exhales and feel the rapid beating of his heart against yours. the stars in the sky twinkle softly, watching as the two of you bask in the silence.

inumaki sighs, contentment seeping deep into his bones. he brings his hand up to your cheek, calloused hands gently brushing against it as his thumb traces the curve of your cheek like a gentle caress. 

you’d think he’d never get enough of you, when he’s done the same thing countless times. yet, time and time again, you’d never cease to fascinate him.

he’s drawn to you like a moth to the flame, you were the only thing he could ever see.  the way your breathing stuttered when he looks at you like how he is now, the way you’d lean into his touch like how you do now, his eyes tracing over the soft arch of your brow. you’re all sharp curves and soft angles, and he yearns to worship you.

he can’t help but think that maybe, when you leave this plane forever, the two of you would meet again in the heavens, together in the endless sky. 

you would be a star, shining down on him from above, forever immortalised in his memory and the vastness of the universe. 

until then, he’ll kiss you like this under the cover of night, their heartbeats and breaths the only sounds in the quiet.

and when he pulls away to breathe, he presses his forehead to yours. you’d never leave his sight– forever etched in his mind. just like a star, one day he’ll look up into the sky and remember.

you’d outlive him. that’s something he’s always known. your cursed technique was powerful, but it never really hurt you the way inumaki’s did. you’d often spend your time tending to his sore throat, a direct consequence of the curse he inherited at birth.

that, for all he wanted to be the sky that would keep you grounded at all times, he’d eventually crumble to dust and get carried away by the wind. and he’s come to terms with that.

yet, he can still see the way your eyelashes flutter against your cheeks. hear the way your breath is stuttering as he leans close, his hands on your cheeks. he wants to imprint you on his very soul.

he could melt right there and then, his eyes slipping shut as he leans into your touch. he’d never tire of this feeling, you thought. 

inumaki would live and die for you, and in another lifetime it would be the same. he’d find you, again and again like a ship navigating a storm. he’d find you, because you were his world.

‘something wrong?’ you mouth, brows scrunching up in worry. he had been staring at you for a minute now, eyes glazed over as if he was searching for the secrets of the universe.

inumaki shakes his head, a soft huff of a laugh escaping him. he’s never seen anyone more beautiful than he’s seeing right now, you’re so close yet so far away.

he takes your hand from his face and presses a kiss to each knuckle, relishing in the way your breath stuttered, before pulling you close to him.

you shift and reach over your boyfriends body into the small cooler you had brought up, fishing out a thermos and sitting up. you poured some of the liquid into the lid and offered it to him. you grinned as his eyes light up, a soft gasp escaping him. he’d never turn down the offer of hot chocolate, especially when it’s from you. he gives you a smile before leaning close, almost as if to sniff the drink.

it gets a bright laugh from him. the kind that’s full of joy and mirth, the kind where his eyes crinkle in that adorable way he does.

he leans into your space, breath tickling your cheek as he takes the hot chocolate from you, before pulling you close to him, his arm wrapped around your shoulders. inumaki takes a sip, content to bask in the moment. you could feel the rise and fall of his chest, and his fingers playing idly with the strands of your hair. he’s warm, so warm that you can’t help but lean into him, burying your face into the crook of his neck.

he’s gentle, almost reverent as he holds you. soft touches and gentle caresses, and he holds you close, like he’s scared to let go. you’re the only one on his mind as he holds you, the rest of the world seems to fall away. 

you notice he’s tracing your features like he’s memorising them. the slope of your nose, the small divots that he liked to kiss you in, the curve of your lips as you smile. he’s taking in every single part of you, ingraining the image of you in the night, in his arms, into his memory forever.

‘take a picture. it’ll last longer.’

he shakes his head with a huff of laughter. a picture can’t show how soft you look right now in his arms, or the way you lean into him. no lens in the world could ever be able to capture the warmth of your smile against his skin when he presses a kiss into your shoulder.

inumaki promises to store the memory for as long as he can, and even if he’d forget, he’ll fall in love with you all over again.

but, to humour you, he quirks a smile before sitting up a little, propping his knees up as he pulls his phone out. “smile” he’d tell you, and you’d grin like it was the last time you’d ever see him.

he captures the moment like a professional. the soft upturn of the corner of your mouth, the strands of hair framing your face, as the moon casts a soft, silvery sheen on your features, the blanket around you doing little to hide the sharp edge of your collarbones.

you were still injured from your last mission, various bandaids littering your body and bandages covering up the expanse of your skin. when you had come back to your dorm, inumaki had never looked more panicked. he had spent the next few hours tending to you himself, meticulously wrapping all of your wounds and picking each and every bandaid. 

it’s a sight for sore eyes – the way he’s looking at you now. his eyes trace the length of your form, eyes lingering on the small cuts and bandaids over them. 

he leans over, pressing a gentle kiss to a cut on your cheek before kissing each and every bandaid on your skin. his fingers are gentle as he takes your face in his hand, tilting it up so he can kiss your lips.

inumaki realises he’ll never get used to this. your skin soft and supple under his fingers as he kisses your scars and cuts. the way you’ll tilt your head to kiss him better or press your lips to the curve of his chin – the way you’d lean into this caresses. he’ll never get used to the way his heart stutters in his chest whenever your lips are on his, or the soft sighs you’d breath against his skin.

he’ll never get used to it, and he finds that he doesn’t want to.

instead, he’ll savour it, drink it in like a dying man in the middle of the desert being handed a glass of water. your soft exhale against his skin, the press of your body as you lean into him, the sound of your voice as you whisper his name like a prayer. 

inumaki  presses you closer, closer than he ever could and he’d press you closer still if it was possible. he can feel the rise and fall of your chest as you lay next to him, and it’s a lullaby he’d never get tired of.

you pulled him back to the makeshift bed, wrapping your arms around him and resting your head in the crook of his neck where you belonged.

his hands trail up and down your back, the motion lulling you closer and closer to sleep, until your breathing seems to even out, the steady rise and fall of your chest almost rhythmic. 

you’ve got your face buried into the crook of his neck, lips parted gently against the skin. he’s still tracing circles on your back softly, but he’s still very much wide awake. he’s watching the way your lips parted slightly, how the moonlight reflected off the small scars on your skin, the way you snuffle softly when his fingers dance over a sweet spot on your back. 

inumaki doesn’t think he could ever get used to this, he’s utterly enamoured.

he’s memorizing the curve of your back, the way he can feel the arch of your spine under his fingers. the way you fit so perfectly against him, how he’s able to wrap his arms around you so easily, the way his heart stutters in his chest at the little breaths you’d breathe against his skin. 

he’s got an arm gently wrapped around you, his fingers tracing soft, gentle patterns on your skin. he’s not letting you go tonight.

it’s the small things that get him, how your breath seemed to tickle his skin, how your eyelashes against his neck was a whisper of a touch. it’s the small things, how your fingers curl in his shirt, the tiny huffs of breath you’d let out, the little noises you make in your slumber. 

inumaki’s utterly and completely in love with you.

he closes his eyes, now, and prays. he wasn't a religious person, there was just something about you that made him believe in a higher being.

he decides at that moment, holding your sleeping form against his under a starry sky, that's he’s going to love you more fiercely. until the day he can no longer breathe, or feel, or hear the sound of your voice. going to keep you close and love you with all that he is. because, you may be the star, but he is nothing more than the planet destined to revolve around it forever.