#this took a minute. i actually was half way done but tumblr decided to have a heart attack and crashed

[daemon-is-perfectly-unhinged]

HTTYD List of Dragons that I’ve compiled including some of the most important, the freakiest, and generally ones I loved the most. And plenty of them that I believe Rhaegar would geek out about in a Viserys-Lego-Years-Long style.

@syndrossi I hope you enjoy the read.

I figured to start out with the main dragons we meet in the first film as well as the ones we follow the most in the series since the main characters are their riders. These are the ones that have the most personality as well since we spend so much time with them, but almost always see personality in every dragon we meet in the show. The fun thing about these dragons is that not one of them have a whole ‘monster’ vibe ‘we gotta kill it’ no, there’s a reason why they act this way, sometimes they’re hungry, they’re searching for something, it’s about survival, but overall, the majority on this list are intelligent but wild animals. Some can be trainable, some can’t be, and that’s fine.

Dragons in this universe have a type of Class. I’ve never delved fully into it but from my recent research I’ve seen:

Stoker Class - mainly fire types, although a majority of all dragons have fire-breathing these are the main direct fire ones that rely on it the most.

Boulder Class - heavy, tough scales, mainly shoot lava type fire and eat rocks.

Sharp Class - contain some sharp anatomy body-types or sharp extremities, like spikes or horns.

Strike Class - very fast, very agile, amazing accuracy.

Tidal Class - water dwellers

Tracker Class - a new class in the show, it can be given to other dragons from other classes, it’s in the name, they’re able to track almost anything from miles away.

Fear Class - stealth, sneaky, terrifying.

Mystery Class - generally where dragons are placed when there isn’t much known about them or they’re very rare. It isn’t unusual for dragons to show up in Mystery Class only to be placed in a Class they fit in better after getting to learn their abilities and traits.

Now, onto the dragons! Dragons in this universe are ‘trainable’ in the sense that with enough time and trust, a dragon can technically be bonded to any human. This does not apply to all dragons of course and not to all humans, as a human needs to be as open as the dragon to form a bond. A rider is also not limited to their dragon and vice-versa. While they don’t typically switch around, there have been moments when main characters ride other dragons momentarily or their dragons are ridden by other people (again, rarely.)

Their diet is also mainly fish-related and raw. Although it depends on the dragon, some prefer chicken or goats, even fruits. And as we know, Boulder class enjoy rocks.

Night Fury

The unholy offspring of lightning and death itself. The only one we ever really meet is Toothless. He is the fastest of the other dragons, a Strike Class and his flame is typically referred to as Plasma Blasts. Quick and powerful projectiles that land heavy damage to their enemies. Night Furies also tend to dive-bomb in a fight, using speed as their weapon and they have echolocation! They have retractable teeth and amazing accuracy, Hiccup himself says that Toothless “never misses”. They also have great acute senses, in the first movie, Toothless was able to hear his rider screaming all the way across the village in a hidden cove. This also showed how loyal Night Furies are as Toothless clawed his way out of that cove to get to Hiccup (something he tried before but couldn’t achieve before their bond was formed). They’re also intelligent creatures, when Hiccup spares his life upon their first meeting and decides to let him go, Toothless could have just killed him but recognizing mercy, let him go as well.

Deadly Nadder

Nadders are very beautiful and they know this. They enjoy pruning and keeping themselves clean. Nadders are in the Tracker Class (used to belong to the Sharp Class). They have folded spikes on their tails that they can extend and shoot like projectiles at enemies. Nadders are similar to birds or chickens in their walking stance, they have a blind spot right below their jaw but be careful! They have excellent hearing. They enjoy hunting in packs. Nadders are also very loyal to their riders, putting themselves in harms way to keep them safe.

Gronkle

A Boulder Class dragon, Gronkles love to eat rocks and shoot molten lava (and lava rocks) as their main fire power. They have thick heavy scales and a tail made for offense. They’re not the fastest with their small wings and they prefer to be on the ground (thats where you find rocks!) In the show, our main Gronkle, Meatlug, was fed a particular combination of rocks that led to her molten lava coming out and forming a type of light but incredibly tough metal. (Think of it as their version of Valyrian steel.) Sociable and like packs.

Monstrous Nightmare

These can be a bit of a show off, they like to think they’re the toughest of the tough in their Stoker Class. Perhaps that’s because they can light themselves on fire! Yep, Nightmares’ scales produce this flammable gel that they can activate to light on command. Hookfang, our resident Nightmare, doesn’t get to do it as often because it would burn his rider.

But since Jon and Rhaegar don't burn it wouldn't be much of a problem, although I doubt they'd like going into battle naked. OTOH, Daemon next to a flaming Caraxes is a new-level of terrifying.

Hideous Zippelback

Our only main Mystery Class dragon, oh! And did I mention he has TWO heads? Meet Barf and Belch, one head (on the left) breathes a green awful gas while the other has a sparking-type flame that sets the gas ablaze. After a while, dragons tend to mimic their riders personalities more often than usual, so when their riders, a pair of twins called Ruffnut and Tuffnut, start bickering or fighting, it’s not long before Barf and Belch start literally butting heads with each other.

Zippelbacks are also notoriously loyal to those that help or save them. When Hiccup and Toothless save them from a rock avalanche, the dragon sticks to the pair, in debt to them until it was repaid.

I particularly love how each head has a specific function and it isn't just random or basic like fire and ice (IYKYK). They're part of a cohesive system and work together, they need each other.

all these previous dragons mentioned are easily trainable and sociable with both dragons and humans after the effort is put in.

bonus: Hiccup reading the Book of Dragons for the first time, we see a bunch of different dragons here for the first time! This is where we get to see the different types of dragons as well, and we do eventually meet all of them throughout the large franchise.

Time for more dragons! The following are dragons we get to see in the show, a few more recurring than most. The show does have a usual dragon-of-the-week format but not always. And it always depends on the situation but regardless we always add more to the dragon lore.

Whispering Death:

Boulder Class dragon that prefers to be underneath the earth than flying above it, uses its thousands of teeth to drill into the very earth.

Very lamprey-esque that still fills me with nightmares.

Have poor eyesight and a terrifying roar.

Hold grudges against dragons and humans.

Not the best fliers as they prefer to be on land.

They don't often travel in packs but they can, although it isn't brought up much.

not trainable.

Screaming Death

He’s just a lil guy.

An albino giant Whispering Death called the Screaming Death in the show. It's said that a Screaming Death only comes to be every one hundred years. This one is a recurring obstacle in season 2 for the gang of dragon riders.

The Screaming Death we meet is a thousand times more ferocious than any previous Whispering Deaths’s we’ve seen before. He’s also barely a year old.

More than that, he was taken from his mother which is the cause of most of his behavior until he reunites with her in a season finale where he had been an ongoing obstacle for the the mains.

untrainable— DON'T EVEN TRY IT

Boneknapper

What a name.

A Mystery Class dragon that, because of its weak scales, uses the bones of dead dragons to protect itself.

Very stubborn, it will go far and wide for years on end to find the perfect fit for his armor, even risking its life in the process.

Has a deafening roar that can send Vikings ten feet away from him. He's incredibly stealthy and able to sneak up on anyone.

We meet this dragon in a special short film.

trainable after some effort and offering something he wants.

The Scauldron

A Tidal Class dragon, meaning he's a water dweller.

The Scauldron shoots boiling hot water at its enemies.

Typical loners, and like most water dwellers they can't go long when stuck on land.

That’s how we meet Scauldy, a Scauldron that is stuck on land and the riders wish to rescue. He forms a bond with Ruffnut thanks to her fish-scented hair.

trainable, but rare and under the right circumstances.

Timberjack

A Sharp Class dragon that we actually don't get to meet in the main series but rather the sequel series set in the future (it's eh)

Timberjacks have sharp wings that can cut through entire forests (and enemies).

They closely resemble Monstrous Nightmares in a way.

Loyal to their riders regardless of anything, these aren't dragons to mess with.

Trainable

Usually solitary.

Extra extra: EVEN MORE dragons for Rhaegar to go crazy over.

Terrible Terror

So, in the books, Toothless was just a small common Garden dragon that got his name from the fact that his teeth just hadn't come in (and then when he got one, he lost it in a fight to an adult dragon).

When the writers began planning for the movies, they knew they wanted Hiccup to have a dragon big enough to ride, thus the size and species changed.

And so the Terrible Terror was born as an homage to the original Toothless.

Terrors are the size of a large cat or an iguana, they purr like cats and are part of the Stoker Class, so they are fire breathers.

But what they lack in size they make up for by attacking in large packs.

Terrors ended up being something of a comic relief from time to time. Although Hiccup did begin to train them to deliver messages, inventing 'Terror Mail'.

trainable

Thunderdrum

One of the few Tidal Class dragons able to breath fire although they don't use it often, their main method of attack is actually a strong concussive sound that can kill a human in close range.

They can dwell easily on either land or water, and they can expel the oxygen from their body to flaten their bodies to be able to glide across the surface and easily catch their prey.

They can be reclusive but enjoy travelling in pods.

Thunderdrums are also hard of hearing, making them the only dragons known to be immune to the Deathsong dragon.

trainable but they are stubborn and a challenge.

Changewing

This Mystery Class dragon is able to camaflouge using its chamaleon-like scales to blend into their surroundings.

Instead of fire, they shoot hot, corrosive acid that burn rocks and wood (as well as humans). They're also incredibly fast and stealthy.

One alone is a threat but can be taken down, thus why they hunt in packs. But they're large enough to defend themselves too.

Their packs also follow a typical lion pride style, as their females are the hunters.

Aggressive to humans and other dragons, they're also not opposed to eat both.

not trainable

Night Terrors

Not exactly cousins to Terrible Terrors although they do receive their name from them.

These nocturnal Stoker Class bat-like dragons opperate best as a team.

They unite in masses to form a large shape as their main defense to scare off predators, typically following their Alpha (a slightly larger sized and white scaled Night Terror.)

We meet them in the beginning of Race to the Edge, the riders claim an empty island of their own and come across these little guys. By taking away the leader, the rest scramble and run, not able to function together as a group. They get along well and name the Alpha Night Terror, Smidvarg.

Since it's their island too, they come to an agreement and the Night Terrors act as sentries or sentinels for the island.

trainable.

Armorwing

Not unlike the Boneknapper, this Mystery Class dragon uses metals to protect their scaleless bodies.

Their bodies are also somewhat magnetic, any metal coming into direct contact stays there until they can properly forge it.

Speaking of forging, when they do melt metal onto their body, their fire is unsually bright and one of the hottest seen.

I wouldn't be surprised if they were to be reclassified as a Stoker Class, even their shape is very Monstrous Nightmare-like.

Some actually have a preference for specific metals. It could range from iron, bronze, silver, or even gold.

Smothering Smokebreath

They get their name from the fact that they can't breathe fire but rather exhale extreme thick plumes of black smoke.

These guys are not inherintly aggressive at all, they actually prefer to avoid fights.

They're always in packs due to their small size, only slightly bigger than Night Terrors. Together, their joint smoke breath appears like a natural fog bank, keeping them hidden and safe from predators.

Their reputation has been quite supernatural for years, thanks to their smoke, no one has ever gotten a good look at what they look like, making them larger than life and spreading scary tales.

They're also little thieves that like shiny things, typically stealing anything metal to keep in their caves.

not trainable, they don't like to leave their home, although i wouldn't 100% rule it out.

Speed Stinger

Okay, I know, they look like velociraptors from Jurassic Park, bear with me.

For decades they were believed to be a rumor or legend.

The ultimate of the Strike Class, they don't have wings but are the fastest dragons on land that you'll ever meet. And I hope you never do.

They're scavengers and hunters, always in packs and never alone, using their poison tipped tails to paralyze any victims they claim.

Incredible aggressive and not an easily susceptible threat.

They typically get to places by running across glaciers and frozen bodies of water, but over time other packs have evolved and even developed webbing to be able to run across water.

They aren't trainable but it's not impossible, the riders once found an injured adolescent Stinger, nursed him back to health and managed to train him for months before sending him back to his pack.

This was a specific circumstances case, so I would still call them untrainable.

Deathsong

The Deathsong is one of new dragons we get to meet and name along the way.

Very beautiful on the outside, resembling a butterfly to attract prey from afar but that's not all it can do. Coming from its name, the Deathsong's most potent form of attack is its siren song.

Able to attract and disoritent humans and dragons alike.

Once prey has arrived, the Deathsong is able to shoot out an orange hot type of lava at its victims that hardens instantly like amber.

This way it keeps its victims on standby before consuming them, dragon and human alike.

Aggressive and solitary.

Not trainable as an adult, but we did see the riders train one since he was a hatchling, forming a bond that lasted even years after being in the wild.

Foreverwing

The only dragon we don't get to see in the movies or the shows but I included him since he was just so interesting.

He's one of the Titan dragons due to his colossal size and has thick foliage and trees that grow on his back.

Foreverwings sleep for a long time, typically on mountains so their backs grow larger and denser, becoming homes for all matter of creatures, dragons and animals alike, able to live in peace and harmony amongst each other.

It also spews copious amounts of lava able to take down entire villages.

More dragons:

Dramillion - this dragon is capable of mimicing fire blasts of other dragons

Snow Wraith - a cold dwelling dragon, entirely white with red eyes, solitary and impossible to find

Catastrophic Quaken - her mouth opens in a split way that makes it terrifying. also can curl into itself like an armadillo and smashing themself against enemies or large rocks

Typhoomerang - A new species of dragon that the gang encounters. Their first dragon that isn't in the Book of Dragons actually, so they get to name the species and spend time with a hatchling for a while. These Dragons leave scorch marks on the ground not unlike a typhoon sigil and tend to come back down the same way, like a boomerang.

And there are so, so, so many more.

[jellogram]

These recent staff changes feel like the kind of thing that gets passed down from upper level management. Let me illustrate.

I used to work at my campus dining hall in college where I flipped burgers. We grilled the burgers from frozen ahead of time and then kept them warm on the flat-top, hitting them on the grill for a few minutes right when they were ordered so they'd be piping hot.

Upper management, whom I had never met or even seen on the premises before, visited one day and told us that from now on, all patties should be kept frozen until ordered. Then we could market them as fresher!

There's just one problem. It took like half an hour to grill a frozen patty into an edible burger, and the students had to stand at the counter that entire time. We got about a dozen complaints on the wait time before we decided to ignore management's orders and go back to pre-grilling.

The students didn't actually care if their shitty dining hall burger was freshly grilled, they just wanted to make it to their next class on time.

And this was abundantly obvious to everyone who actually worked on the floor. But to the middle-aged execs who didn't know us, didn't know the students, didn't go to school there, and had never actually worked in a campus dining hall, fresher = better, because that's what other restaurants do. They ignored the fact that we weren't a regular restaurant. We had a specific customer base (students) with a specific reason for choosing our establishment (speed).

This is how I feel about all the recent Tumblr changes. I think staff has generally had their finger on the pulse of what we want, but these decisions are being handed down from upper level folks with no clue. They think social media sites are supposed to have certain features and look a certain way, because all the previously successful sites have done that. They've likely worked at other sites in the past where these techniques were successful. They're following industry standard practices, because they've forgot something vital — Tumblr isn't a normal restaurant.

[theunmarkedtombstone]

Part 2 | Part 3 Hello hello! today I will be teaching you how to make GIFS, from scratch, and some other stuff. I've been doing this on this platform for the past 10 years (yay!). I've seen gifs morph and change, seen tumblr up their image size by a considerable amount (in 2015 you had to maintain your gifs UNDER 2MB. 2MB!!!!) and all the sizing changes, PSD changes, etc. So, idk, I decided to do this too cause I thought it might be fun!

I am going to go through a few different GIF types in this:

GIFS that are straightforward, take your frames, turn it into a gif and go. I'll be teaching everything here: How to grab frames, how to organize it, how to open it on photoshop, how to do the thing (except for coloring, at least here), etc. (Half in part 1, half in part 2).

The BITMAP gif, how much faster it is (despite the slightly lower quality) and how it enables you to make gifs on potato computers. (Part 2).

GIFS that need a little more finessing, like GIFS that contain two different angles you have to make work in one. (Part 3).

GIFS that have text, which are 90% of my GIFsets, and how I make the text look crispier (this is still a work in progress, though, would love some tips <33). (Part 3).

Now, I'm not saying that this is gonna be such a different gif tutorial from all the others, or that I'm an actual expert (I'm bad a synchronizing gifs, for example). I'll try to make it comprehensive, but I think all the other ones are really solid, I'll just go through my own process, the program I use and have been using for years (as someone who's tried GOMPlayer and didn't like it) what I do for individual gifs, and all that. I will NOT go into coloring, because I am BAD at it, never been too good, but everything else should be covered here pretty neatly! Keep in mind I don't do insane edits, though I find them BEAUTIFUL, or anything overtly complicated cause I am, hmmm, lazy. Sorry. I CAN make them because I've learned, but my heart is not in it and there are hundreds of talented GIF and edit makers here on this webbed site that would provide a more solid base.

Also, this is a pretty wordy tutorial, because it goes from frame capturing all the way to the end result, but I hope it helps peeps. So, let's get to it. (divider used in this tutorial by @e-resources)

INTRO:

Before this year, I used to make all of my gifs on my Dell Inspiron 2012, with 6GB of RAM, rolling on Photoshop CS5 and praying. Each gif took 5 minutes to load, ten minutes total to complete. Believe it or not, I've seen Hell.

I also do all my gifs, from a young age, using the KMPlayer. The KMPlayer doesn't open pop ups on your browser (which on my old computer would mean CHAOS and UPRISE and I'd probably have to turn it off because it only actually did one process at a time, believe it or not) and it allows you TO CAPTURE FRAMES WHILE THE MOVIE OR SHOW IS PAUSED which GOMPlayer DOESN'T LET YOU. In general, KMP's advantage is also that the PNG frames it takes are higher resolution than GOMPlayer. A GOMPlayer PNG frame will always have 96ppi whereas a KMPlayer frame will have an 120ppi:

A higher resolution image has more ppi, and though anywhere between 92 and 125 is good, KMPlayer is better. Now, idk if KMPlayer was outed as being spyware, of being bad, because everyone on this platform used it and then stopped for some reason, but unfortunately IMO it's still the best program to do it. Yeah. If it sucks, I'm sorry :(( I can't stop using it cause I am spoiled, and it never did anything on my computer as someone who has used it for YEARS (and who has gotten probably every single virus out there, including computer ending ones. Twice. Thankfully they were close calls, but the fear was there). (Later in the tutorial, I'll do a pros and cons of each program).

Ok, intro done, let's begin the segmented portion of the tutorial.

INDEX:

Frame capturing 101: Frame organizing, and how I personally do it (part 1).

Basic GIFS (including resources I use for sharpening) (half in part 1, half in part 2).

GIFS with Text (part 2).

GIFS with two angles, and what to do to center them (part 2).

How to make lower quality GIFS look acceptable (or SOMEWHAT acceptable) (for older PCs and lower quality releases) (BITMAP instead of PNG).

FRAME CAPTURING 101

This is gonna be pretty straightforward. Open your movie with KMPlayer, or your program of choice. Now, KMPlayer doesn't allow me to record its screen for some reason, at least OBS doesn't let me, so I'll make do with prints. CTRL+G opens the capture window. You can pause your frame and start from this point without releasing the movie, cause like I said the KMPlayer allows you to do so, and to me this is important cause I like to capture as many frames as possible, and be as perfectionistic as I can be.

Now, if you have a potato of a computer like I had, both KMPlayer and GOMPlayer offer a few formats on your capture (CTRL + G) window. On KMP, there's BITMAP, JPEG and PNG. My program is in Portuguese, but basically it says BITMAP is fast, JPEG is medium and PNG is slow.

Here are some examples of gifs I made with BITMAP quality:

I used to take my frames in BITMAP from 2014 til very recently. It sucks, it doesn't have a high quality, but it allows you to have SOMETHING to work with. If you are an aspiring GIFmaker and you don't have the equipment, you can still make stuff with this setting (I say this because my other computer used to turn off when I captured frames in PNG so, uh… Try it at your own risk on old machines. I never tried JPEG, might do you a solid. probably better than BMP, but like I said, I never tested it).

UPDATE: I now use KMPlayer's JPEG option, because it's the same ppi and it's faster.

As you can see, they're not bad, just a bit grainy (I did the sharpening myself, so my bad. Later in the tutorial, I'll put better examples, and you'll see they're not bad.). When I upgraded my laptop, I started taking frames in PNG. The gifs now look like this:

Sometimes, I still struggle with quality, like on my Bedazzled gifsets. This is due to me being an obscure, old film lover, and those often not having 4K or real 1080 quality (Most of my BITMAPs were taken from YTS releases, though. It helps on old machines and it looks ok. Real 1080 is over 2GB and 4K is way more than that, so that's the difference, and it looks better. YTS releases are very compressed, but real 1080 never rolled on my old PC (nothing over 3GB did) so I still used them for basically everything. Not many complaints here).

Now, to go back to how I capture the frames: Depending on how familiar I am with the scene, I allow the frames to capture continuously until the scene is over. That being said, if it is a scene with dialogue that I am not 100% familiar with, I usually capture it gif by gif. It really depends on your specific style.

The KMPlayer, like GOM, will capture these to the CAPTURE folder. This folder is located inside of your disk (local disk? is that the name in eng. too?) inside of the program's folder. I then divide these captured frames into other folders, for ease of maneuvering.

I usually use 48 frames per gif, especially because I make gifs that are 540px (by either 405 or 540px). If you are doing a gif that is smaller, like 268x268, etc, you'll be able to get away with 60+ frames, up until 10MB. You have no idea how much 10MB is a Godsend. It was the trenches in the olden times. Unlike GOM, KMP captures all frames, regardless of movie or show, on the same folder and it is your job to organize it. I think GOM got this specific point right, but I'm used to the heavy lifting, so I don't mind. Still, be mindful of KMPlayer eating older frames. If you have important frames on the main folder, make sure you organize them into smaller ones, because KMP will replace these unorganized frames with newer ones. I hope I made this easy to understand. Bottomline is: Make sure all your important frames are as organized as possible to prevent mistakes and accidents.

Kind of left field tangent but there is nowhere else here to put it, so here you are: For my Peter Cook in Bedazzled, Matt Bennett in M&E&TDG, and my Nightmare on Elm Street gifsets, I made A LOT MORE GIFS THAN I USED. I made up to 11, 12 gifs for both my Nightmare and Bedazzled gifsets. Sometimes you have to make a lot of them to decide later what you want, so don't be sad if your process is extremely chaotic. From chaos comes beauty in the form of tumblr.com the website and the app GIFsets.

Ok, now that this is done, let's get to the gifmaking portion of this mess.

BASIC GIFS (no text, just frames and sharpening):

You have to have a Photoshop that allows you to have the timeline function. CS5 worked for me for years, 2020 also has it, and I'm assuming 2024 does too (but that one didn't roll with my system). I use Photoshop 2020.

Anyway, if you don't have your timeline enabled, go to window> timeline, like so right there at the bottom:

There you have it. Now you can load up your frames. For that, you'll go to to file> scripts> load files into stack:

You click on browse:

Get your frames and load them. Yep. That simple. Nothing to it.

PNG FRAME GIFS:

(I will be using Capitu (2008) as the examples for this tutorial)

Now, different from GOM Player, KMP will not name your frames automatically, for some reason when its PNG, so your images will flash on screen as Photoshop renames each individual frame. On a potato computer, this takes 30 minutes to do and it's undoable. I know cause I tried. Anyway, it takes a little longer to open, but it should be done in less than a minute or a minute or so on good computers, probably a few seconds on state of the art ones. Just make sure that if you don't like or are sensitive to anything flashy that you either don't look or don't do this using KMP. Ok, now that you opened the frames, you create video timeline by clicking on the middle right here:

Then, you click there, nvm if my timeline is not loaded. Just click and it'll create one of your frames for you. Now click here on the corner and on "make frames from layers, to create the rest.

This will make your actual frames for you, in a nice neat line. Now, keep in mind that these frames are reversed at this point, so you have to click on the "reverse frames" option, right there on the panel (it's unclickable on my example photo up there, but it'll be available once all your frames are loaded). Still on the same panel, you click on select all frames, cause you basically do everything from here, and once the frames are all selected, you input your delay.

In my time, we used 0,07. Now that's too slow. Some people use 0,04, I use 0,05, I think it depends on what you want. Once the gif is all loaded up you'll be able to see if the frames are too fast better (In my Goodbye Again gifset, I struggled with frame velocity as 0,04 was too fast and 0,05 too slow for example), but if you are not a perfectionist like me and you don't feel like backtracking every time, 0,05 is your best bet for most gifsets.

After this I usually crop the gifs. I use the pre-crop thing here:

And input the size I want. Usually it is 540x540 or 540x405. In this case, though, it'll be 540x304, which is the native usually (unless your movie is widescreen. I hate those). This tool will not actually resize your image, it will just leave it ready for when you do resize, here:

Remember, tumblr dimensions are 540px by 540px for square gifs, 540px by 405px for medium sized gifs and usually 540px by 304px for rectangular gifs. For gifsets that are two gifs per row, the dimensions are 268px per whatever you want, better if it's square though. 177px by whatever is the three gifs per line one, also better if square. You can still leave it 540 on the pre-crop tool, though, because it'll just do the 1:1 square ratio. When you do resize it to 268 or 177, it'll work, it'll be square, or whatever other size you want. Anyway, when you do resize, you'll be taken to this screen:

These are my settings. I also use bicubic sharper, but it's holistic for me, tbh. I usually resize it to 540px right away, some people like to do it in increments, and I respect it, but I have no patience for it. If you want to do it in increments, you can take image size little by little (from 1920px, for example, to 1400px, then 1200px, etc, until you get to 540). It works. But I'm lazy. Anyway, here's what the gif looks like as it is:

Ok, so you cropped and resized your gif. What now? Well, now I do coloring, but like I said I will not teach PSDs here, cause I think there are more talented people than I out there for it. If you wanna make your own, just go here:

And add brightness, levels, curves, etc. holistically, like I do cause I GENUINELY don't know what I'm doing and just play it by ear. I don't use PSDs often cause I love doing this part, I just suck at it, but feel free to do as you must in these trying coloring times. I do have to say though, in Photoshop 2020, you can edit your coloring in whatever frame you want (for example adjust brightness and contrast settings while frame 40 is clicked) whereas in Photoshop CS5 this is not possible. You have to make sure you do all your edits on the first frame, which is still a good general rule of thumb, imo. Ok, cool, now what what? You go here:

Same tab as usual, select all frames, then you make sure the frames on the left are also selected, like so:

Usually, when there are gif malfunctions (for example, you open the save for web screen to save the gif in its entirety and the gif is only a few kb big with all the frames being the same image), it's because you didn't select every single frame, or you forgot to hit "make video timeline," which is the next step. Make sure you DON'T select your PSD, whatever it is, or text. I mean, to be completely honest, the text one might work, but here is a gifset in which I merged text and image together:

I think the text looks odd, too sharpened, which is why I sharpen it afterwards, but it's a matter of taste, no big deal. I'll teach how to do it both ways in my text gifset portion of the tutorial, so more on this later. Anyway, after you do all this, you click, on the same panel as the select all frames, etc, in "convert to video timeline." Once that is done, you go here:

Convert for smart filters, don't forget to do this otherwise it won't work, all that. Now, for the true meat of the tutorial, the sharpening:

(continued on part 2, because I exceeded the image limit. Oops.)

[downbadumu]

even at the best of times, i am out of my mind

༄𓏸ଳ˚࿔⋆ content summary: fluff (i hope), maybe like a sprinkle of angst, a teeny tiny sprinkle of sex and kinky play, the morning after, a somewhat prequel to this and this but can be read as a standalone, reader and caleb are friends/co-workers with benefits, reader is not MC, domestic themes but reader is too caught up in thoughts, dom/sub undertones but very lowkey, all lowercase and formatting might be fonky cuz i half wrote this on my phone so bear with me <3

༄𓏸ଳ˚࿔⋆ word count: 2154

༄𓏸ଳ˚࿔⋆ shanna's note: i literally poured my soul into the ending but tumblr didn't save it so i had to rewrite it and im giving up writing forever

you woke to the sounds of cooking, in your not so tiny studio nothing's quite able to escape you, you tried to take a glance at your kitchen from the comforts of your bed but caleb pulled your curtain divider shut when he left.

it was a rare feat that caleb was making breakfast for you, usually he'd have left before the night ended since it has been an unspoken agreement between the two of you, but maybe today (or last night?) he has been off his meds you reasoned.

you took another 10 minutes to toss and roll around in your bed more before deciding to head out to see if you were the one who should be taking medication for hallucinations.

caleb was indeed in your kitchen wearing nothing but his pants (you hope) and making food, you weren't hallucinating so that meant he was off his meds.

"good morning," he greeted without turning. it's really hard to miss anything in this apartment. or maybe you both were too aware of each other's presence.

"hey," you tried not to offer much, brain trying to connect dots that weren't fully there. but you just couldn't help needing to know. "to what do i owe the pleasure?"

he huffed, flipping your egg on your pan. "is that how you thank someone who's making you breakfast?"

"i'm not sure if you're making it for me yet," you sassed.

"i am," he said so easily you questioned if you were actually dreaming.

"oh," you replied weakly.

you both fell into a somewhat comfortable silence, unsure of what to actually say to each other. you openly oogled at his back, how his muscles flexed and moved as he does; studying him as if he's your next test, you noted the still red scratches you left on his back, you closed your eyes trying to memorise this moment.

"i'd offer you coffee if i knew how to work your fancy machine," caleb said breaking your concentration.

"is that your way of asking me for coffee?"

"i wasn't sure if you'd want to share your precious stash with me," he quipped. "you ran out of your regular stuff."

you hummed, getting off from where you were sat to go around to your coffee machine. "i don't mind."

so you started up your espresso machine, trying not think too much about what you're doing and existing in the same space as caleb doing something like this. you tried not to pay attention to the way he practically synced up with your movements, his hulking figure making way for you and accurately predicting where you'd for reach next. you don't want to remember something like this.

you handed him his cup of coffee once you were done with his, he hummed appreciatively and you cursed yourself for not asking him how he'd like his coffee as if you didn't already know.

you made your way back to your seat quietly. you didn't have to wait long because caleb gentle placed the most delicious and well-balanced meal you've ever seen on your kitchen island. "eat up," caleb told you merrily as he moved away to wash up the pans he used.

"i didn't know i had proteins in the fridge," you muttered poking at the neatly arranged food. "or fresh greens or bread or butter."

"you didn't have anything in your fridge except for eggs," caleb tutted. you watched as he grabbed his own plate with an equally beautiful presentation and a plate of fresh cut fruits. "i took the liberty of stocking your fridge for you."

"you didn't have to."

"i already did."

"well, you shouldn't have."

you meet his glare with your own steely gaze. caleb picked up the coffee you made for him and then joined you at the island. you should’ve been shocked or terrified at how quickly he was able to shift his expression to a soft one if you weren't already familiar with it, you were practically looking into a mirror after all.

"let's not argue, yeah? it's still so early, come, dig in!" his manner was back to his usual puppy demeanour.

you broke eye contact, batting away your negativity and returned his smile kindly. “thank you for the meal, caleb.”

the rest of breakfast went by quietly. you don’t bother offering to clean up after you’re done, you know taking care of everything for you is something caleb enjoyed so you don’t feel bad when he shooed you away to your living space. you were shameless in the way you continued to watch him in your kitchen, and caleb doesn’t bother calling you out on in because you think he liked the attention.

with your head propped up by your hand you leaned forward to get a better view of him as the morning sun filtered in, usually you hated mornings but maybe this one could be ok in your books. your eyes focused on the way the sun catches caleb’s hair, turning it golden in this light, he worked at a moderate speed, he wasn’t in a rush to leave. then you wondered about your dynamic with him, the past twelve hours with him haven’t been bad at all, and maybe this had been the longest consecutive time you’ve spent with him outside of work. maybe they need to double his medication dosage, maybe he doesn’t actually know what he was doing.

you sighed softly, eyes flickering down to feast on the shadows that dance on his skin. there was a faint bite mark right on his ribcage, a reminder of last night for you or him you weren’t sure. his pants hung a little loose on his hips, he hadn’t bother to buckle up his belt yet. it must be uncomfortable to move around in his work pants first thing in the morning, he really should’ve already left already. but a smile tugged on your lips; he looked so pretty there.

you should schedule an appointment to get your brain checked out, you thought.

caleb turned to meet your eyes probably, but you were still busy taking in how his wet hands were so perfectly placed on the counter. “had your fill?”

“uh-huh,” you answered dreamily.

“good,” he smiled. “i have a gift for you, stay there.”

“a gift?”

“mm-hmm,” and he disappeared behind your curtain divider into your room.

you stayed put; because you knew he’d be pleased that you did, but you told yourself it was because you wanted to see if you were actually dreaming. a beat passed and you willed him to not come out of your room but he did, holding something behind his back.

“is it my birthday?” you pondered out loud, a gentle smile forming on your face like it was natural as caleb padded closer in all his topless glory. he didn’t put on his shirt you laid out for him on your bed because he truly did thrive on attention.

what you were really thinking off was if you had died last night and are now in the afterlife.

“it’s something to convince you to come to the gala tonight,” caleb answered, crouching down to your height where you sat.

“uh-huh,” you don’t bother taking your eyes off him even as he pulled out a medium sized box. you could almost see a tail wagging excitedly behind him, fast but not too fast as if he didn’t want you to know how excited he was.

“i had it custom made,”

how thoughtful.

your eyes lingered on his face then his pecs before you forced it down to his arms then down to the dark purple velvet box he held, thicker than you imagined. if he wasn’t in a rush to get out of your place then you wouldn’t hurry him away.

inside it was a matching set of jewellery; a pair of asymmetrical drop diamond earrings, a necklace and two pairs of bracelets. your eyes darted back and forth the box, the earrings was fine but the design of the necklace and bracelets were unique. you thought about pulling caleb up from his place to sit next to you but he hadn’t made a move yet either.

so, you took your time looking at the necklace that looked suspiciously like a martingale collar. the inverse of it was made of fine leather, the other layer lined in plush white-grey velvet with a –what you think might be— white gold hardware. small diamonds were studded into the velvet to look like water reflecting off the surface of water, there were irregular sized diamonds hanging from the chain at the front of the necklace at different lengths. you imagine it’d looked like water droplets once you put it on. there wasn’t a buckle at the back the necklace, only one tiny heart shaped charm connecting the delicate but sturdy looking chain at the front of the necklace. the bracelets matched the design of the necklace but without the velvet.

you whistled lowly and caleb hummed in acknowledgement.

“where’s the key?” you asked.

caleb chuckled lowly. “you’re a sharp one, aren’t you?”

you hummed, eyeing the corner of the box where a tiny black ribbon sat. caleb’s hand slowly traced the exterior of the box to where you were looking. he gently lifted it and the box clicked revealing the hidden compartment at the bottom.

“kinky,” you scoffed at the small key placed in the middle of the box amongst other things. you met caleb’s gaze just so you could make sure he watched you roll your eyes.

you didn’t look as closely as before you saw the matching martingale waist and thigh belt, the bust harness, the bell on the end of the leash, and bells on the nipple clamp attachments. you’ve seen enough to know caleb had this set custom made to be play proof.

“you’ll definitely come, right?” he purred.

caleb’s hand reached up to your face, firmly making you look at him again. you feigned a disinterested look.

“i suppose,” you sounded nonchalant. caleb’s eyes flickered from yours down to your lips then back up again, fast enough that you couldn’t follow along but slow enough for you to notice.

there was a delight in his eyes that you could only describe as feralness, you want to cross your legs or lean forward to head butt his stupidly attractive head just to test him but there was nothing more you craved than being good in his eyes. you remained still.

in your peripheral, you see caleb put the box up on the couch close enough to where your fingers laid, close enough for you to almost feel the velvet exterior of the box.

"perfect," he cooed, hot fingers tracing your cheeks achingly slow, so close but so far away from your lips. oh, how you wished he had outright said it to your face that you were.

your gaze darkened, face twisted into a scowl. anger flashes through you as fast lightning, mirroring the lust that was coursing through his eyes.

you glared at him because a spark ran up your spine so quickly you almost didn't register it. "you are so fucking ugly, caleb, do not kiss me right now," you growled lowly though you remain unmoved.

he tilted his head curiously, he was drinking you in. if it weren't for the fact that his grip on your cheeks had tightened you wouldn't have known how turned on he was by you. caleb makes one of you wishes come true by tracing his thumb with faux hesitation across your bottom lip. you want to scoff.

"have you been learning reverse psychology?" he asked sweetly, a sharp contrast to the storm that was brewing in his eyes. "you’re sure you don’t want me to kiss you right now?”

"no," you snarled but let him pull you down.

his grip was almost rough on your jaw, you sucked in a breath roughly, you weren’t preparing yourself to be kissed at all, you glared straight into his eyes. you let yourself fall onto your knees, he doesn’t catch you but lets you knock into his sturdy form.

then his warm lips land gently on yours, kissing you in a way that will screw up your life forever.

it lasts for only a millisecond, you thought. too short for your liking which puts you in an even more foul mood. “i hate you,” you want to tell him.

caleb smiled at you gentle but not with the kind of warmth you want. you glare at him as he got up, you trying to strike him down with your mind, make him grovel for your forgiveness; you’re well aware of the heat in your cheeks, however. and you just know you don’t look like how you picture yourself to.

he leant back down to kiss the top of your nose. “i’ll see you tonight then, princess.”

[e-wills-afterhours]

Pretentious Coffee, Chapter 4

A/N: I saw a quote on Tumblr that I believe is attributable to F. Scott Fitzgerald. He said something to the effect of life is a struggle between the overwhelming desire to write and the series of circumstances that seem to conspire to keep him from writing. Y'all. That's it. That's the whole deal. I am trying. However, a surprise December tornado devastated my town (it made national news so I'm giving my location away there). My children fell ill. My husband had to go to a funeral in Arizona for a buddy who died from colorectal cancer. Then, in my caring for said ill children, I also caught the ill.

On the bright side, I'm usually left alone while sick. I aim to get some new writing done instead of just uploading parts of old fics, like this one. Please bear with me and my half-delusional, high on decongestant writings.

-------

Astrid’s feet were cold, and her boots were soaked through with snow. Wool socks made little difference. Her body was numb beneath thick layers, but that was for an entirely different reason than the weather. She had gone against her better judgment by deciding to tag along with Ruffnut to her brother’s party, but she took a chance that she might actually enjoy herself.

The severity of her mistake became clear within the first ten minutes.

She had only just gotten a beer for herself, joining Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and the other party-goers gathered around the fire pit blazing in the tiny backyard. No one else arrived at first and she had begun to feel foolishly optimistic that it would remain a smaller, more relaxed affair—much more her speed.

Then a SUV pulled up, and a half-dozen people spilled out of it, followed by two more sedans. She recognized one but dismissed it as a common make and model to soothe the anxious twist in her stomach.

But, the door opened, and a tall, muscular figure she knew all too well emerged with an infuriating swagger. From the passenger side, he was joined by a pretty girl with long, black hair pulled into a loose plait—much like Astrid wore hers, insultingly enough.

The very person she left her dorm to forget was strolling up to the fire with his new lover on his arm: the girl who had ended everything. The one he cheated on Astrid with, only to finally leave her for.

“I didn’t know he would be here,” Ruffnut whispered urgently. “Shit. We can go.”

Astrid shook her head, eyes narrowing as the crunching of snow beneath the crowd of boots grew louder. Tuffnut and his friends called out to the newcomers, and they hollered back. It was then Astrid’s eyes met her ex’s, and she took small satisfaction in the hesitancy of his next few steps.

So, he was still feeling guilty? Good.

More bottlecaps popped and the huddle around the crackling fire grew tighter. Astrid was closer to the source of her frustration than she had been in over a month. She could feel his eyes on her, wanting her attention—he had  always wanted her attention, never content to let her pursue her own interests outside of himself and school. He was not controlling, but…persistent?

That had been fine in high school when prepping for college was all that mattered, and he had been a pleasant way to unwind from sports and homework. They were always together when their schedules had allowed it, pouring their energy into being the power couple—alphas in the adolescent pecking order.

University was a different world, though. New opportunities and a fresh start called to Astrid, and she had started to drift from him, only a little, as she branched out toward new interests. She thought it was a good thing—a way to grow and have more to share to enrich her relationship.

She quickly learned, however, that things became a competition. Who was having more fun? Who was faring better in their courses? Whose accomplishments were more brag-worthy, and who was better taking advantage of their new independence?

Astrid quickly grew weary of it. She had no interest in competing against her boyfriend, simply because he felt he had no one else to compete with. She understood his drive and his confidence. She shared those same traits to an extent, and that was what first attracted her to Eret. There was no thinking involved. It had been easy. They were one and the same.

But when she deliberately put more distance between them, coming up with excuses and activities to fill her schedule, he responded in kind—a sort of “two can play at this game”, she figured. They saw each other the weekends, and still went out on dates. Things weren’t great, but they were okay in her mind. They were holding it together and still having fun, though the emotional adhesive in their relationship had grown more brittle than she had realized.

Eret had likely already been seeing his new girl on the side, but Astrid had been clueless for a time. Maybe they had not yet started sleeping together then. Astrid knew him to have more integrity than that.

She eventually decided they were something worth saving and had shown up at his apartment unannounced. She had only wanted to talk, to regain some of the spark they had lost…and that was how she had found out about the other woman. Halfhearted excuses chased her all the way to her car as Eret stumbled after her, trying to wipe the lipstick off his face.

No official declaration ended their relationship. Such a thing was unneccessary and redundant. The tears that had blurred her vision then were more from the sting of wounded pride than true heartache.

Even as Astrid stood beside Ruffnut in the snow, determinedly avoiding eye contact with Eret, it was her wounded pride that was still hardest to tolerate. Thoughts of him plagued her, not because she wanted him back, but because he had made a fool of her. There was no closure, because she would not speak to him or give him the satisfaction of apologizing. He wouldn’t get to have the last word. She kept him on a hook because he deserved to sweat.

He deserved to be made uncomfortable by the mere sight of her, and so things went unresolved. Her pride, still raw.

“I’m going inside,” she told Ruffnut. “It’s too cold out here, suddenly.”

She didn’t wait for a response, marching toward the backdoor with purpose. The chatter faded as soon as the door shut behind her, replaced by the latest hit music and quieter, more intimate conversations between the few, less social individuals hiding from the elements.

There were cheesy Christmas lights strung up in the kitchen, extending through the open floor plan. The most pathetic fake tree was tucked in the corner, decorated with cleavage ornaments and small, plastic pin-up girls. Instead of a star, it was topped with a glittering marijuana leaf.

Astrid rolled her eyes.

She set her beer down on the kitchen counter and shrugged off her coat. There was a pile of hats, scarves, and winter jackets draped over the sofa closest to the front door, and she added to it.

No one cared that she was there, wrapped up in their own conversations. It was nice and what she had originally expected. She did, however, stand out like a sore thumb, hovering by the door alone. To be a wallflower was entirely new.

She made her way back to the kitchen and her beer, noting the hints of Tuffnut and Snotlout in every immature, novelty Christmas decoration, and the swimsuit model calendar tacked to the side of the refrigerator. She envied the other people sitting around and chatting away about anything and everything, sharing their half-baked revolutionary ideas that would surely change the world.

Astrid never had much practice with philosophical conversation outside the classroom. She fancied herself much more pragmatic.

“Are you stalking me now?”

The simple question cut through her reverie.

She jumped and nearly dropped her beer on the faded linoleum. From the corner of her eye, a tall, slim figure sauntered out from the hall to her left. She was gobsmacked, blatantly gaping. Her shame was in pieces on the floor, like her bottle had nearly been, as her mouth hung open.

“What are you doing here?” she blurted out.

Hiccup, the coffee barista, shuffled around her to get to the refrigerator. He was nonchalant in his T-shirt and sweatpants, like there wasn’t a party going on around him, and they often did the very same awkward dance in cramped spaces.

“I, uh…live here?” he replied, pulling out his own beer. “I didn’t realize that was such an offense.” Astrid continued to stare at him and he leaned back against the adjacent counter, drumming the fingers of his freehand on it. “I’m beginning to think everything I do offends you, actually.”

“What? I—no. No, it doesn’t,” Astrid answered hotly. “I would just like to enjoy myself without any aggravations, for once.”

He popped off his bottle cap. “I’ve been called many things. ‘Aggravation’ is new.”

Astrid scrunched her eyes closed and took a deep breath. When she gazed at him again, she hoped it would be with less obvious annoyance.

Admittedly, she had been thinking about him too much, pondering his sarcastic wit and why it lingered in her consciousness.

“I didn’t mean you’re an aggravation, specifically,” she amended. “I’m just not in the mood to listen to—.”

“Nice backpedaling. Why say it, then? Exercising that baccalaureate vocabulary?”

Her face fell. “Because you seem to lack a basic conversational filter. Or charm. I haven’t figured out which.”

He shrugged. “Well, if pedestrian talk of First World problems is more your thing—“

“Then I would’ve taken a sociology course,” she scoffed.

They made eye contact over the lip of their respective bottles and he grinned.

Astrid felt a strange prickling beneath her skin—butterflies made of fire that she hadn’t felt in quite a while.

His sass should’ve turned her off. If he was anyone else, she’d have walked away and never looked back. But, their banter held the dim embers of excitement. Each exchange was giving oxygen to the burgeoning heat that she had once felt for Eret—and yet whatever drew her to Hiccup felt entirely novel. She wasn’t even sure it had a name.

“Attraction” seemed too juvenile, but “lust” also missed the mark. It had nothing to do with the physical essence of him. Too many years, she had been with the male reflection of herself. Hiccup was something different—a challenge to her concept of what was normal and desirable. He was intriguing—a hypnotic fascination that drew her closer to some kind of rabbit hole. If she fell, she didn’t know where she would end up, but it would certainly be somewhere much further than where she had already been.

After all, wasn’t college about branching out and trying new things?

She took a large swig of beer, her rational brain screeching for attention.

What was wrong with her?

She wasn’t the kind of person who looked for a rebound lay—but then again, she had never been on the rebound.

Still, she was a stranger unto herself, sizing up this young man she hardly knew, and frighteningly, he was hitting all the marks on some mysterious list tucked behind the most desirable traits she had first dreamed up when she was twelve.

“I see you’re hard at work on ‘not being hungover’,” Hiccup teased, nodding to the drink in her hand.

Astrid smirked. “Indeed. This is my one and only tonight.”

He quirked an eyebrow and chuckled. “Color me impressed. A true achievement.”

They shared a genuine smile and Astrid felt her numb body warming down to her toes—until the backdoor opened. Several party-goers filed in to escape the cold, including Tuffnut, Snotlout, some of their friends, and Eret, with his girlfriend.

Astrid felt as though she had been thrown back out into the snow.

She nearly dropped her drink a second time when Hiccup said, “Hello, Eret.”

Eret nodded and his girlfriend shifted her weight uncomfortably beside him, glancing back toward the door.

“You know each other?” Astrid hissed, eyes darting back and forth between her past headache and her future gamble.

“Sure,” Hiccup replied flatly, not bothering to lower his voice. “I know he’s in the business of stealing people’s girlfriends.” He raised his bottle and Eret’s jaw clenched. “And business is good, isn’t it, Heather?”

The girl on Eret’s arm looked away with a scowl, and Astrid felt like she had been catapulted into an afternoon soap opera.

[la-principessa-nuova]

literally my day so far:

wake up at 8 or 9, not happy about it, back to sleep

wake up again at 10:45

use the bathroom and take my meds (oh god i hope when i get downstairs i took them)

write a long, detailed description of a very transbian dream i had in explicit sexual detail and then decide i shouldn't post that on tumblr

spend too long adding things to an image on a post i was reblogging that i thought were really funny but i guess nobody else did who saw it

realize it's now 12:30 and i have therapy in 30 minutes and need to have breakfast lunch first and also get dressed

realize i need to do laundry and my one bra that fits right now should be in there, so i go to put on the backup one i wore last time i did laundry that did not fit well at all and realize i spilled some sort of food inside of it and so it needs to go in too

"fix" the mangled hook on my third and final bra that kind of sort of fits still which requires tools from the laundry room, so while int here, i put my clothes in the washer

get dressed

ok now it's 12:45, i really need to hurry to make lunch before therapy

it's time for therapy, lunch is *almost* done

bring half of my lunch that is ready upstairs with me in case i feel like eating it during therapy

therapy

now it's 2pm and the plan was to work on my apps while i was upstairs afterwards, but i didn't bring the pitcher of water up, so i need to go down and get water, but first let me close these extra tabs. oh, some of them are links from my therapist to read. let me update my therapy session notes to add these links so i can close the tabs.

one of the notes is a book i want to read, let me add that to StoryGraph

oh hey this tag reminds me of something that makes me sad now. let me remove this and replace it where necessary.

actually now that i'm on desktop, is there a way to better represent the number of books I've read so I can use it for reading goals and take into account short stories and mangas and things without counting them as "1 book"?

do they have an API? no? ok but like how does their UI work, can I reverse engineer how to use their not-intended-to-be-public API?

hmmm... are they doing serverside rendering? what's in the headers. oh hey, that token in the cookie reminds me of the tokens I've seen elsewhere...

i guess i'll spend 4-5 hours learning about text encoding and typing up a post about that.

ok, now seriously time for dinner

i need to vent about how i wasted my whole day.

then literally while typing this:

what was it i saw in StoryGraph that set me down the Unicode path? Let me go look again.

oh, on my profile it's showing this book wrong. let me fix that. actually I should clear out some of these old reviews that were synced from Goodreads, I didn't really mean the same thing I do now by 5 stars.

i wonder if people would be interested in seeing my StoryGraph account. Maybe I should change my username to not have my last name in case I want to share it with anyone. hmm.. what could it be.

what if I did this little trick to my name and used that, that would be cool. But I would need to know the same about my middle and last names... what would the equivalent be?

oh no, I've been learning about etymology for an hour!

so yeah, stopping now.

* 。𖦹° (꩜﹏꩜)

[justagalwhowrites]

Lavender - Ch. 28

You get ready to leave the QZ - probably forever. A continuation of Lavender Ch. 1-27 found on Tumblr here.

Pairing: Joel Miller x Reader

Warnings: Canon typical violence. No use of Y/N. Minors DNI 18+ only

Length: 4K

A/N: If you're seeing this and feeling behind, it's probably because I put up two chapters in a day! Go back for chapter 27 first :)

You kept Ellie close, flanked by Joel and Tess as you made your way back across the QZ. They slowed down a bit once there was some distance between you and the Firefly hideout, reassured that FEDRA wouldn’t be showing up at any second to start arresting people. 

You weren’t sure there was a safe way out of this situation. Not that you actually thought Joel would kill a child - you doubted Tess would but didn’t know her well enough to know for sure - but if you managed to slip away, the Fireflies would be after you immediately. 

In a time where you could freely move between cities, you might have taken Ellie to a bus stop or train station and gotten the hell out of there. But the QZ was an immensely finite space. There weren’t many rocks under which to hide. 

“OK,” Tess said, looking between you, Joel and Ellie. “I’m going to check on our path out. Doc, you go do whatever you need to do, be back here in three hours. The kid stays with Joel.” 

“No,” you shook your head. “Ellie stays with me.” 

“Then you stay here,” Tess shrugged. “We’re not about to let our key to a way across country out of our sight.” 

You sighed and turned to Ellie, a hard look on her face, and tugged her into the kitchen. 

“You’re not seriously considering leaving me with these psychos?” She asked, voice low. 

“They’re not bad,” you said. “Joel… he’s a good person, he’s not going to do anything to hurt you. He just might be an asshole.” 

“How much of an asshole,” she narrowed her eyes at you. 

“Enough to be annoying about it, not enough to do any damage,” you smiled. “Promise. But I have to go shower and change and grab some things, if I try to cross the country smelling like this they’re going to throw me out of the car before we even make it to Pennsylvania.” 

“Fine,” she muttered. 

“Try not to poke the bear though,” you said, looking back toward Joel and Tess talking quietly in the living room. “Not worth the hassle.” 

She sighed dramatically in the way that only teenaged girls seemed to be able to do and stomped back to the living room. 

“Back in three hours,” you said. 

“Should probably tell Andrew you’re leaving this time,” Joel muttered, flopping on the couch. 

“Yes, the next time the Fireflies grab me off the street and hold me captive for two weeks, I’ll try to leave a note first,” you snapped. He sat up a bit, looking at you, frowning. “What, did you think I was there on purpose?” 

He settled back into the couch. 

“Figured you and Tommy’d decided to do something stupid,” he replied, looking you up and down. “You OK?” 

You were taken aback by the question. 

“Fine,” you replied. “Just really need a shower. Back soon.” 

The shower might have been cold but it might have been the best one you’d ever had. You took your time, scrubbing every inch of yourself, washing your hair twice. You were shivering when you were done but you knew it was probably the last time you’d be clean for a while, you wanted to take advantage of it. 

You tried to pack as quickly as you could but you took a few minutes to make your bed and clean the glass that Ellie had used two weeks earlier, putting it away. You knew you’d likely never see Boston again, let alone this apartment so you wanted to leave it in a good way. You’d lived here for nearly half your life. It was small, parts were worn, but it had been yours. It was hard to reckon with leaving everything behind. 

You packed some clothes, trauma gear, all the research notes you had about the effective treatment you’d found, water bottles, the book of poetry Beth left you. For the second time in your life, you took the picture of you, Joel and Sarah out of its frame and tucked it into your bag, knowing you likely would never return. You did the same with the pictures of your grandmother and Becca. You got the photo of Joel and Tess out of the notebook in the drawer and tucked it away, too. You grabbed a handful of ribbons that you’d collected through the years, like bringing them meant you weren’t leaving part of yourself behind. You took all the food you could from your kitchen - jerky, dried fruit. Every birth control pill pack and broad spectrum antibiotic you had. Finally, you put the old sweatshirt you’d worn during the outbreak in your bag. You still wore it when you felt lonely, put it on and remembered how you’d felt when Joel had given it to you the day you graduated. You’d been tipsy on champagne and he looked so goddamn proud it made your heart ache. 

You sat at your kitchen table and wrote a short note, the only one you felt you needed to write. “Derek,” you wrote. “I’m sorry for everything that happened. Know that I loved you the best I could and know that you deserve more than that. Thank you for everything.” You put it with the framed photo you had taken of him reading in your apartment. 

Before you took a last look around, you went into the stash below the floorboard and brought up all your extra ration cards and ammunition. Not that you had your gun any more thanks to Marlene but hopefully Joel or Tess could use it. You pocketed some ration cards and put the rest in the bag you usually brought to school, along with the photo, the note and as much of your other research as it could hold before setting off to Andrew’s. 

Elizabeth was shrieking with laughter when you got to their door. You waited a second before knocking, savoring the sound while you could. The thought of never hearing it again put a knot in your throat. You took a deep breath before you knocked. 

There was some chaos on the other side of the door, you could hear Andrew trying to herd his children out of the way, followed by the frantic turning of the deadbolt and him ripping the door open, the knob slamming into the wall as he all but jumped into the hall to hug you. 

“Holy shit I thought you were dead,” he held you tight, backpack and all, crushing you to his chest. You hugged him back, trying to remember what it was like the first time you’d held him. You’d both been so different then - he’d just been a teenager, he’d gotten slightly taller since then. It was hard to think of leaving him behind. 

“I’m sorry,” you said, your voice thick. “I’m really sorry…” 

He stepped back, pulling you inside, looking you up and down. 

“Are you coming back or are you leaving?” He asked. 

“Leaving,” you said quietly. 

“Auntie Doc!” Elizabeth ran over to you, her little bare feet slapping against the linoleum floor. “Did you know that giraffes’ tongues can be 20 inches long? That’s almost two feet!” 

“No way, really?” You smiled, trying not to cry. “That’s so long! What do they do with it all?” 

Jess ran out from the bedroom and hurled herself at you, her red hair flying. You barely caught her. 

“Thank God!” She said tearfully. She clung to you for a second before falling back. “Where the hell were you? We’ve been worried sick!” 

“I know and I’m sorry,” you said. Elizabeth was looking up at the adults, confused. “Can we stash the kids for a minute? I need to talk to you guys.” 

Jess nodded before taking Elizabeth’s hand and scooping up Jonah, setting them up in their room with some toys before closing the door. 

“We’ve got about five minutes before one of them winds up dead,” She said. 

“I’ll try to be quick,” you said, handing the canvas bag to Andrew who took it with a frown. You slid your pack off your back and to the floor before sitting on the couch. He sat beside you.“That’s for you. My apartment keys are in there, too. When you can or want, go take whatever you might like.” 

Andrew looked at you and frowned. 

“You’re talking like you’re not coming back…” 

“I don’t think I am,” you said quietly. 

“No,” he shook his head, looking away from you for a moment before turning back, tears in his eyes. “No, see, we don’t do this. You and me, together, that’s how we do this…” 

“It’s not going to happen this time,” you said. “I have a student, the one I’ve told you about… The Fireflies are taking her across country. Something happened with her and… They think she might be immune.” 

“Immune?” Jess frowned, sinking onto the couch beside her husband. “Like can’t turn?” 

You nodded. 

“That doesn’t make sense,” Andrew said. “That… we’d have seen that by now if it were possible.” 

“That’s where I’ve been the last two weeks,” you said. “She showed up at my house with a half healed bite, I was trying to take her to the clinic to see if I could get the cordyceps out and the Fireflies found us. They’ve been monitoring her for the last two weeks. She hasn’t changed, the cordyceps haven’t advanced. I never got a chance to remove them, they just… aren’t attacking her. They’re bringing her to their lab out west and I’m going with them.” 

“No,” Andrew said again. “Fuck the Fireflies, who the hell knows what they’ll do with anything they get from her…” 

“That’s why I have to go,” you said. “I have to make sure whatever they’re doing they’re doing it right. But more importantly, I have to protect that girl. No one is on her side, Andrew, no one. She has no one. She’s going to vanish and no one is going to notice, they’re all going to assume she fell through the cracks. Someone has to be on her side, she can’t go through it all alone.” 

You didn’t want to give them time to argue. 

“In the bag is all the research I didn’t want to try to haul in the backpack that I might want,” you said. “I’m hoping I’ll have access to a radio so if there’s something I desperately need, I’ll get word to you and you can relay it over. There’s more at my place but it’s even older. I’d appreciate if you could get it and hold onto it for me, though. 

“There’s also something in there for Derek, if you wouldn’t mind dropping it off. Doesn’t need to be soon, whenever you want but I’d appreciate if you waited until I’d been gone for a week or two first. I don’t want him thinking I took off because of him or something. I also put my stash of ration cards in there. I kept some to hopefully bribe someone with if I need to on the way out but the rest are yours.” 

“What am I supposed to do without you?” He asked. 

“I don’t know,” you sniffed, starting to cry. “Let me know if you figure it out because I’m going to be lost without you.” 

He pulled you into a tight hug and you pressed your face into his shoulder. 

“I owe you everything, you know,” you said, voice muffled by his shirt. 

“I wouldn’t be here without you,” he replied, holding you close for another moment before pulling back. “The end of the world fucking sucked but I’ve always felt like it at least got me my wife and my best friend out of the deal. And now you’re leaving.” 

“You’re my family,” you smiled tightly, putting a hand on his knee. “But you’ve got your own family now and you’re doing a hell of a job with them. Keep it up, OK?” 

“Yeah,” he nodded. 

“Never thought I’d get another sister,” Jess sniffed. “But damn, I lucked out.” 

“I never had one to begin with,” you smiled at her. “But if I had, I think she’d have paled in comparison to you.” 

There was a clatter from the bedroom. Jess dried her eyes. 

“Let me get the kids before they hurt themselves,” she said. “You have to say goodbye to them, too…” 

It took everything you had to not cry as Elizabeth babbled to you about giraffes - the animal from today’s science book - and Jonah tugged at your shirt. You hugged them both tightly, told them how much you loved them, tried to cover the feeling of your heart cracking open with longing to hold them just a while longer. 

Andrew walked you to the door, his arm around your shoulders. 

“Even if we never had to save each other, I’d still be so glad we met,” he said. 

“Me too,” you smiled through the tears. 

“I’m just deciding this isn’t goodbye,” he said. “It’s see you later, OK? We’ll see you again. It’s you and me, that’s how we do this.” 

“Yeah, OK,” you laughed a little and he pressed his lips to your forehead. 

“Radio when you make it, OK?” He said. You nodded. “Love you.” 

“Love you, too.” 

The walk to Joel’s felt both too long and too short. You wanted to get your tears under control before you got there but walking through the QZ while crying was a little too vulnerable for your taste. There were still tears in your eyes when Joel opened the door. 

“You OK?” He frowned down at you as you stepped inside. 

You shrugged with a sniff.

“Said goodbye to Jess and Andrew and the kids,” you said softly. “I never thought I’d know when I wouldn’t see them again, you know? At least not for a few decades if we got that lucky.” 

You wiped your eyes on your sleeves. 

“You’re not coming back,” he said it more than asked it. 

“No,” you shook your head. “I don’t think I am.” 

“Doc!” Ellie came out from the bathroom, a proud grin on her face. “I figured out their smuggling code. 80s means trouble.” 

You glanced up at Joel. 

“Bill and Frank?” 

He added once. 

“Shit,” you muttered. 

Tess wasn’t too far behind you, letting herself in just as you’d managed to stop crying. 

“Let’s move.” 

*** 

This girl was going to drive Joel insane. 

She was nosey, a smart ass and too clever for her own good. And she damn well knew it, too. Which only made it worse. 

Thankfully, she seemed to have a modicum of respect for you and actually listened when you told her to be quiet and do whatever Joel and Tess told her to do. 

“They’re pros,” you’d told her as they got ready to leave the apartment. “You’ve got to trust them. Stick close, obey, you’ll be fine.” 

She’d sighed dramatically but seemed to listen, Joel in the lead, the girl behind him, you behind the girl and Tess bringing up the rear. 

He wasn’t huge on any part of this plan. You were a liability outside the QZ. He’d given you a gun and a knife so you weren’t totally unarmed but you were far from a great shot and he wasn’t sure you’d even be willing to shoot or stab anything but an infected. 

And then there was the kid. 

Joel hadn’t been around kids such since… Regardless, he didn’t remember them seeming quite so small or disturbingly fragile. It wasn’t that she was particularly delicate by any means, it seemed like she approached everything that crossed her path the way a freight train would: loudly and head on. It was more that she was inherently breakable, something that was in desperate need of protection. 

Protection that you’d, apparently, decided fell to you from the way you kept close to her. It set Joel’s teeth on edge. You might have been capable of protecting her in the QZ - you had connections, after all, and you could certainly patch her up when she got hurt. He was sure you’d have no problem shouting down some FEDRA asshole on the girl’s behalf. But raiders and infected? Those were another story. 

But he only had to get the two of you across Boston. Then he’d have a car and could go find Tommy. And leave you to the Fireflies. 

He ground his teeth. 

He’d cross that bridge when he came to it. 

He made it to the fence line, ducking under first while Tess held it up for you and the girl to scramble through before following behind. 

“Holy shit,” the kid breathed, looking up as though the sky should be fucking different a few feet outside the wall. 

“Ellie!” You hissed, grabbing her and tugging her down beside you. 

“Sorry,” she winced. “I’ve just never been outside!” 

Joel watched the searchlight and you tugged the girl lower against you as it passed overhead. 

“Go,” Tess ordered once it had cleared. 

He led you along the wall, staying pressed close against it, until they were close to the next gap… and ran almost head first into a guard. 

“Hey!” He yelled, raising his gun. 

“Fuck,” Joel muttered, putting his hands up, trying to maneuver himself in front of you. You grabbed the girl and tucked her behind your body before raising your hands, too. 

“Are you fucking kidding me?” The guard snapped. Joel tried to not groan. 

“Look,” he began but he cut him off. 

“Thought I warned you that we were cracking down and now you’re just, what, leading a fuckin’ field trip?” He demanded. 

“This is all just a big misunderstanding,” you smiled a little. “I’m sure we can work it out…” 

“Did I tell you that you could fuckin’ talk?” The man pointed his gun at you. Joel’s jaw twitched. 

“If you just want to give me a second,” your voice was calm. “There are some cards in my back pocket. I’m going to get them out, you can have them, they’re yours, OK?” 

The man paused, gun still pointed at you. 

“Let’s seem ‘em,” he said. 

Joel glanced back at you as you moved slowly, just one hand, and pulled out a wad of cards, approaching the guard slowly and handing them over. You stepped back, glancing behind you as you did, lining yourself up with the girl, staying in front of her. 

“Thanks,” he pocketed them. “For that, I won’t kill you.” 

“What more do you fuckin’ want man?” Tess asked. “Let us do this run and we’ll give you half.” 

“Need a lot more than fuckin’ half if you want me risking my neck for you assholes,” he snapped. “Turn around, down on your knees, hands on your head, let’s go.” 

You looked at Joel, your eyes wide. Your head moved, ever so slightly, once. A shake. For some reason, this was a bridge too far.

“You can have it all,” he said quickly. “All the cards from this run, they’re yours.” 

“I said down on your fuckin’ knees!” The gun was up. 

“Alright, Jesus,” Tess muttered, turning around and looking to you and Ellie. “Just get down…” 

You and the girl shared a look as you got to your knees and Joel followed, watching you out of the corner of his eye. 

“I know a lot of high up people in FEDRA here,” you said as the man went to Tess. “Want a nice, cushy gig? I can make that happen…” 

“Yeah I bet you fuckin’ can,” he scoffed. “Crawling out of the QZ like a fuckin’ rat screams power…” He pressed his scanner to Tess’ neck. 

“Seriously?” She snapped. “We were coming from inside…” 

“Unauthorized exit,” he showed her the screen. “That’s a hanging offense.” 

“Pills,” Joel said quickly. “Half off.” 

“All off,” the man countered. 

“I’m a doctor,” you said quickly. “You won’t even need to wait for them to do a run, I’ll get you as many as you want, I’ve got access…” 

The scanner pressed to Joel’s neck. 

“Two for two,” he shook his head. “Not lookin’ too hot for the field trip…” 

He scanned you next. 

“Looky here,” he turned the scanner around. “Unauthorized. Exit. Hope your powerful friends are free to bail you out…” 

“Name it,” you said quickly, pleading. “I’ll give you whatever you want…” 

He pressed the scanner to the girl’s neck and she screamed, leaving him yelping in pain, clutching his leg. 

You moved quickly, twisting and grabbing the girl, all but throwing her behind you as you scrambled to your feet and the guard yanked a knife from his leg. 

“Fucking bitch!” He raised the gun. 

Joel jumped between you and the guard. 

“She’s freaked out, I’m sorry,” you said quickly. “It’s a misunderstanding, it’s all a misunderstanding. I can still get you whatever you want, I can get you more cards, I can get you pills…” 

“No, fuck you,” he snarled, pressing forward. 

“We can work this out,” Joel kept his hands up, glancing behind him. Your eyes were wide, the girl peering over your shoulder. Your arms were behind you, trying to hold her back as you shielded her. He looked back at the guard. “Just put the gun down.” 

“I don’t fuckin’ think so.” 

The man’s finger twitched toward the trigger and, for half a moment, it was 20 years ago. He was holding Sarah. He was scared. He needed to protect her. Life without her wasn’t worth it, he needed to keep her safe. 

He lunged for the guard before he was fully aware of what he was doing, knocking the gun aside and bringing his fist down on the man’s face again and again and again. 

There was something deeply satisfying about it, raining blows down on the man who would have killed Sarah, just tried to kill you, just tried to kill the fragile girl whose body you were protecting with your own. This time, he wasn’t failing. This time, he was doing what was needed. 

“Joel!” Your voice snapped him back to reality, the man’s face a bloody mass below his hand. 

The girl was leaning behind you, watching him intently. He looked back at the man, his hand covered in his blood. You darted forward, putting one hand gently on his back, the other taking his bicep, tugging him slowly to his feet. You pulled his hand into yours, looking at his bloody knuckles.

“Come on,” you said quietly. “I’ll take a better look when we’re clear…” 

He nodded to you once. You got to your knees and checked the guard’s pulse, wincing after a few seconds. Joel took the gun from the ground. 

“Joel!” Tess yelled, panic in her voice. She was holding up a red scanner. 

“No,” the girl shook her head and you ran past Joel so fast you were barely a blur, throwing yourself between Tess and the girl. 

“Are you fucking kidding me, Doc?” Tess snapped. “You’ve got me hauling an infected girl out of the goddamn QZ! You have us risking our asses for this?” 

“I’m not infected!” The girl said, slipping below your arm and holding out her own. “Look, I got bit weeks ago, OK? Weeks, no one lasts that long…” 

“It’s true,” you said quickly. “It’s true, she came to me two weeks ago and it was already a week old then, Marlene got us and held us another two weeks, I saw all of it, I swear she’s not infected I don’t know what it is…” 

“I should fucking kill you both!” Tess snapped. 

“Then let’s do it away from here before more guards show up!” You said quickly, putting the girl behind you again. “Tess, you know me. I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t have a reason, do you think I’d leave everything here if I didn’t have a reason?” 

She panted for breath, staring you down. 

“Let’s move before we have more fucking problems,” she snapped, stalking for the fence, Tess ducking below first. You nudged the girl behind her and you stopped, looking back at Joel, waiting for him. He came and stood beside you, his mouth a grim line. 

“I promise there’s a reason,” you said softly. “I promise.” 

He gave you a single nod. You ducked below the fence and he followed you and the girl into the dark.

A/N: And we say goodbye to Boston and the Boston OC crew! I hope you enjoyed Andrew and Jess at least half as much as I have. Andrew quickly went from a small side character to probably the second favorite character I've ever written. It's the only reason he survived the run with Tess and Joel - I couldn't handle killing him!

I'm really looking forward to exploring some of the dynamics of these characters in the next chapter and, of course, some fun with infected - with some added drama on the books because why not.

I have a taglist! If you'd like to be added, comment below.

Thank you again for reading! I know I say this all the time but this has been such a joy in large part because the readers are such a joy. Thank you thank you thank you for this experience. Love you all!

Taglist: @paleidiot@ayamenimthiriel@ginger-swag-rapunzel@drewharrisonwriter@flugazi @pedropascalsbbg@taoyuji@starstruckmusiciansartghost@splendsay@bigboiseason123@jpbplvr @ashleyandring @mrsyixingunicorn10@sloanexx@ninaminaromina @lady-bellyn @hufflepuffriver @sarap-77 @storyarcscribe @mellymbee @jasminedragoon @lemonmeli @reds-ramblings@arizonadaydreamer@mumma-moonchild@blackroseguzzi@candypeaches16@kittenlittle24@wrappedinfiction@oatmeaiboy

[neonacity]

ARCANE | CH.2 | NCT DREAM X READER

Summary: When you decided to apply for a researcher post in an elusive institute, you already had the feeling that you will be getting yourself knee-deep into something out of the ordinary. But desperate needs require desperate measures, and so you embraced the invite, despite all the alarm signals urging you to run away. What you found out was nothing you’d ever expected.

Seven boys.

Seven human deviants granted with abilities tied to the legendary Arcana Cards.

Welcome to Project Dream.

Pairing: Various Dream Members x Reader

Trigger Warnings/Themes: violence, torture, trauma, yandere themes, poly dynamics, psychological, mystery, sci-fi. The concept of the tarot or Arcana cards will be loosely used throughout the series. Note that I am not a trained doctor so there may be some slips here and there about medical things. Again, this is a work of fiction and I am not implying any likeness between the characterization here of the boys to their real life counterparts. I also reserve the rights to all my work—I do not post anywhere else other than tumblr.

> CH. 1

Chapter Song: Play With Fire

"The rules are simple. You'll be given a set number of minutes to talk to each of them. The notes that you are going to take every session should be documented on this tablet. Everything that you write here will be automatically encoded and stored in our database."

You silently took the black device handed by the tech staff assigned to you when you came to report to work this morning. One thing you noticed about Cypher in the two short days you’ve been there is how the place is pretty much run like a military camp. You're assuming everyone who works here has signed non-disclosure contracts, but still, you can't help but find it a little eerie how everyone seems so distant and frigid towards each other. It's almost as if every person here is on a mission to do their job as quietly as possible, while avoiding as much conversation and human interaction with others.

You turned over the device in your hand before pressing a button on its side to wake up its screen. It prompted you to scan your thumbprint so you pressed your finger against it to unlock it. It did, giving way to a regular-looking home screen with Cypher's logo.

"I actually prefer to write my notes on paper… So… it's not allowed?"

The man gave you a dry look before handing you back your ID which he had been tinkering with since you came into his office. "No. None of the employees here are allowed to keep personal notes. If you need to review them, you can always use the tablet. Everything you put there will also be automatically stored in the cloud so you can access them using other devices as long as they are company issued."

"Here's your ID too. It now has access to all the rooms and other places here in the building that you have permission to enter. If you try to tap it anywhere and the entrance gives two beeps and a red light, then it simply means you are not allowed to be there."

You took your ID wordlessly and slipped it back into the plastic holder pinned on the pocket of your coat. It is obvious from the way the man looks that he is done dealing with you so you silently gave him a bow before finally finding your way out. You have just closed the door behind you when a voice called out for you from the hallway. You glanced up to see Kun heading towards you with a small smile.

"Hey. I was looking for you. Really thought you wouldn't show up today after yesterday."

You didn't really know whether he was teasing or if he was actually half-serious, but you gave him a smile back.

"I don't think yesterday was too bad. Today though… that might be the deal breaker," you replied ironically which he obviously picked up. His eyes caught the tablet you were holding and he nodded towards it slightly.

"So I guess they've already given you all your gadgets. Ready to start the day then?"

You hesitated before giving a small nod. The order for business on your second day is pretty straightforward. Today, you will be meeting three of the boys for the first time.

"Yeah… I guess. I read their records, but to be honest, there's not a lot on their files," you told Kun as you fell in step beside him when he started walking.

"Well… unfortunately, that is the most we have right now. They are the three who have the most complete data at the moment so I think it would also be best to start with them."

"Do you talk to them usually?"

Kun leaned his head slightly to the side. "Every now and then when I need to do medical checkups. But since the nature of my work is more about checking the data, I don't get many chances to have one on one sessions with them. Don't worry though. I can vouch for the three. They're the tame ones."

You didn't know if he noticed the slight look of worry that you gave him just as you were about to turn the corner. From the quick tour he gave you yesterday, you found out that the whole section of this wing is dedicated to the project alone, with rooms designed for interviews, physical tests, and even entertainment sections for the boys. Staff working on the research are also given different levels of access, with you and Kun being one of the few who are actually allowed the closest level of contact with the participants. From what you were able to piece together from yesterday's orientation, some junior members of the group can only observe and interact with the boys from behind the test monitors while others are not even allowed to see them.

You were just about to go right into the next hallway when you felt Kun slightly tug you back by the crook of your arm. You have barely glimpsed the two towering figures waiting down the corridor when you looked up at him in surprise. You only realized that he was trying to give you something when you felt the chill of steel pressed against the palm of your hand.

You glanced at the device you are now holding with a slight frown. It was silver, cylindrical, and was about ¾ the length of your open hand. At first look, you thought it was a mini flashlight, but none of its ends has a bulb on it.

"What's—"

"This side is a panic button you can press when you need security to pull up in the room," Kun explained before you can even finish, tapping on the top end of the cylinder you were holding. "This one," he continued, his pointer finger now moving towards the bottom part. "It's a taser. You need to slightly flip the button in the middle to use it."

This time, you looked at him in full alarm. He gave you a slight shrug before motioning for you to start walking again. You did, but with a slightly queasy stomach this time.

"You just said they are nice…"

"I didn't say they are nice. I said they are tame. Anyway, this is just a precaution," he said in a lower voice as your duo approached the two men waiting in the hallway. They straightened up when you got closer, your eyes immediately going towards the bulges on the side of their scrub pants. You couldn't clearly figure out what they are, but they look like bigger versions of what Kun just handed you.

"They're the security who will be assisting you today. They'll just be outside the door while you have your first session. If you need them, there is a small button under the table where you are designated to sit. Or…you can also use what I gave you."

You quickly glanced at the two men—who look more like bouncers than actual facility guards—before looking at Kun. He tapped his ID on a small slot beside the door which slid open the entryway with a small hiss.

"Well then, good luck. Your seat is the black chair. Just wait for about five minutes. We'll get the first patient."

"...Got that."

You took a furtive step inside the room as the guards finally took their spots on both sides of the door. Just before you could go inside, you peeked at Kun again one last time. He gave you an encouraging nod and a look that you clearly read.

You'll be fine. I'll be watching.

The door closed behind you with another foreboding mechanical hiss.

*******

You can't say that you're exactly proud of your  choice of actions, but the first thing that you did the moment you took your seat was to run your hand under the table to check the button that Kun was talking about. It was there, easily within reach, but even the smooth feel of its high-grade plastic material under your fingertips didn't really do much in easing your nerves. You looked around the room again as you tried your best to relax, your eyes quickly catching the dull red gleam perched on one spot by the ceiling directly above your head. The same spots of light were visible in different areas, silent but foreboding. They look almost invisible with the way they were seamlessly integrated into the structure of the room, but there is no mistaking what they are.

Cameras.

If you're going to be perfectly honest here, you're not really sure what to feel about being watched. The upside of it is that you know you are—to some extent—safe because you are being monitored, but at the same time, your doctor's training makes you feel uneasy about the transparency. One of the values in your profession is to keep the privacy of patients, so being here right now in this very room is like being pulled towards two different directions.

At the very least, you think Cypher tried its best in creating the closest they can manage to a relaxing space. Compared to the handful of other rooms that you've managed to visit yesterday, the furniture here looks…warmer than the others, if that makes sense. Instead of the utilitarian looking steel and plastic chairs, you are actually provided a love seat and a longer couch for your visitor. Most of the room was bare and the table separating you from the other seat still looks closer to what you would see in an interrogation room, but hey… what exactly can you expect from an organization that asked you to sign a waiver in case you die on the job?

You were just about to reach out for the glass of water in front of you when the sound of a door opening startled you. Looking up, you were surprised to see a slot open on what you thought was a plain, blank wall across from you. A boy stepped out of it silently, wearing a plain white shirt and pants similar to the comfy ones given at hospitals. He was looking at you intently, light brown eyes unreadable as he took just a few steps closer. The door behind him closed with a hiss and melted into the wall once more.

It took you a few seconds to respond. When you realized he wasn't planning on closing the distance between the two of you, you immediately stood up from your seat and motioned towards the spot across the table.

"Hello, Mark. Please, make yourself comfortable. You can sit here if you want."

You saw a flicker of something in his eyes when you called him by his name. He still looked cautious, but his gaze slipped towards the seat you just pointed in silent contemplation. For some reason though, the way he was carrying himself doesn't make it seem to you as if he was scared. It was more like... he was the one hesitant to scare you.

"We can also talk while standing if that's what you want. Whatever makes you comfortable," you suggested again gently, making sure to let him know that he is in a safe space. That seemed to have helped him make his decision as he looked at you again before slightly shaking his head.

"I'll sit."

You nodded and slowly lowered yourself back to your chair. It was a conscious choice of action for you to send him the message that you are relaxed in inviting him over. The way that he watched you confirmed what you were guessing. He was announcing his next action before actually doing it to give you the choice to move away if you wanted to.

It took a couple more seconds before he actually took a few furtive steps towards his seat. When he finally sat down, he made sure that there was a little bit of distance between him and the table. Meanwhile, you quickly reviewed his record in your head like a well-practiced script.

Name, Mark Lee, 23 years old. Patient number ID, 04, the same number of his designated card in the tarot deck. Arcana Identification, The Emperor or L'Imperatore.

Skill: Elemental Manipulation.

"It's nice to meet you," you opened up the conversation and offered your name to him. He was not exactly looking at you straight, instead giving glances between your face and the glass of water in front of him. "How are you feeling today?"

"I'm good… Are you a doctor, too?"

"Yes. Yes I am. I am going to be your assigned psychologist. We're meeting right now because I wanted to get to know you better. Are you comfortable enough with that?"

Something in his expression told you that it wasn't everyday that he is given choices. You could sense from the set of his shoulders that he is more or less wary of who you are, but now there is an air of slight confusion and even surprise in him that you could pick up. He frowned ever so slightly but leaned forward just a little, proof that he is trying to test the waters.

"I don't really need a psychologist."

You simply nodded and gave him a smile. "That is good. I want to make one thing clear though, meeting with me doesn't mean that there is something wrong with you. Sometimes, simply having someone to talk to helps a lot."

He merely stared at you at your reply. Finally, he leaned back on his chair again, his stance a little bit more relaxed than when he first came in. He shrugged.

"That's fine, I guess. I'm pretty sure you know what I am by now?"

This time, it was your turn to be a little taken aback. Part of your training was to observe your patients from the way they carry themselves and talk—similar to reading between the lines where the answers can sometimes be found—and Mark is an enigma from what you have observed so far. He is polite and careful, but at the same time he is also direct and confident. He approaches the situation carefully, not out of insecurity, but with the goal of being an active participant in it. There's no doubt about it.

He is a leader.

"I read whatever was written on your file, but I'd prefer getting to know you better in your own words. I don't want anything to get lost in translation," you started as you rested your elbows on the table. You pointedly pushed the tablet a little ways from you—where his file is currently open—to drive your point better. Since it was him who already opened the door to the topic, you felt it safe to go straight to one of your questions.

"L' Imperatore. What is it exactly, Mark? Is it you? Or are you it?"

He looked a little hesitant to answer, but only briefly.

"Neither. We are one and the same."

"Interesting."

"Do you know what the Arcana cards are?"

You leaned back on your seat a little. "I have a very basic understanding of them, but I did take some time to read about them last night. Especially about your card."

"And do you believe in what you've read? And what is written on my file?"

"I believe in what I see. I believe in experiences."

He leaned his head slightly to the side. "So tell me what they say about me and then I'll tell you if they are true or not. It is hard to ask someone to describe themselves—not a lot of people even know who they are. But they can easily say yes or no."

Your brows rose a bit. He has good command of the conversation and he does make sure to keep a good balance between you and him—not scaring you, but not giving you the upper hand either. You linked your fingers together and met his gaze.

"The Emperor, the fourth card of the 22 from the Major suit of the Arcana. It symbolizes leadership, authority, order, and structure. When drawn in reverse, it can mean lack of control or an excess of it. That is at least, the book meaning of it."

Mark remained silent, knowing you weren't done yet. You lifted your chin up slightly and he looked straight at you, his gaze urging… almost challenging you to continue.

"They say you can control the elements…"

"Do you think I can?"

"What I think is not important. I—"

You weren't able to finish what you were trying to say as he reached out to the glass of water in front of him. His long fingers wrapped around the radius of the glass container, lightly and with enough space from each other so you could still see between their gaps. For a split second, you frowned in confusion, but soon enough your eyes were widening as you stared longer at his hand.

The clear water inside the glass turned a little more opaque under his touch. At first you couldn't understand what was happening, but then it hit you.

It was turning into solid ice.

It probably took less than 10 seconds for him to do that. You were way too focused on the sight in front of you, but the slight prickling of your skin confirmed that even the temperature in the room dropped. You unconsciously parted your lips in surprise and a fog of breath escaped you.

"This room is built so that we can only use a controlled amount of our Arcana, but water can be the most flexible of the elements…" he said slowly now, his eyes never leaving your face. In a snap, the water turned into pure liquid again. His fingers wrapped just a little bit tighter around the glass once more, causing small bubbles to form on its bottom this time before rising to the surface.

You unconsiously clasped your hands tighter together.

It’s boiling. 

"How…" you didn't even realize you'd whispered that word out loud. Mark's lip twitched a little as if he's been waiting and expecting for that question to come out of you all along.

"The Emperor card symbolizes control. Order. Structure," he said quietly, repeating the exact words you said earlier. He slowly let go of the glass then, steam curling around his hand as he did so. Not a single droplet of water remained there, all the liquid having evaporated to gas.

Your eyes raised and locked with his. The puzzle pieces moved in your head until they fit together to make perfect sense.

Structure. Order. The states of matter that shift and create. The four elements, considered as the most basic of all structures of nature.

Mark smiled, seeing the look of realization on your face.

"You say you believe in what you see…"

You were speechless. Slowly, he leaned forward, the closest he had allowed himself since he came into the room. Something unrecognizable rose in the back of your mind briefly, but it was gone before you could even grasp it.

"Are you scared of me?" Mark asked, his voice low but gentle. All of a sudden, the distant, almost calculating air between the two of you dissolved, as if it was never there in the first place. You couldn't look away from him even if you wanted to.

"No," you finally managed to answer. "No, I am not."

This time, you actually saw him smile a little.

"Good… I trust you."

*******

The vibrating sound that rumbled through your table snapped you back to reality. You looked around, you gaze landing on the mobile phone which was currently flashing with an 8-number code on its caller ID. The unit was also company issued, similar to the rest of the "digital toolkit" that you received today, and you figured the tech room already set it up with a database of contacts. You're unfamiliar with the sequence of numbers on the screen right now, but you have a guess that it might be an employee code. You picked it up now and pressed it against your ear after swallowing to chase away the dryness in your mouth.

"Hello?"

"Hey. Just checking up on you. Are you done with your lunch break?"

It was Kun. You looked around for the first time at the area beyond your cubicle ever since you came back from your first session. You felt a little foolish now to just realize that you were alone, having been way too lost in your own thoughts after the talk with Mark.

"Hi. I… uhh… Yes. I just had lunch. Where are you?" You managed to say as you reached out for the mug of water on your desk. Flashes and snippets of what happened earlier scuttled across your consciousness again. No, you haven't eaten a bite ever since this morning. Heavens, you can't even take a sip of water after it.

"I just got out of the lab. I'm on my way to a different control room now. Look, I called because there has been a slight change of plans. The next boy can't meet you at the moment because he's feeling a little sick."

You frowned and looked at your tablet where two photos are currently on display on the screen. You're still scheduled to have two more sessions for the day.

"Is he okay?"

"Yes. His health is not really the best—he's always been on the more sensitive side even before Cypher took him in as a volunteer. It's fine though. We have a dedicated physician for cases like this."

You nodded, then realized he can't see you. "But the other boy…"

"Yes, you can still meet him. You need to go to a new room though. It's on a different section. You have a map there on the tablet that you can use, but you need to look for the one labeled ‘Terra.’ I think he is already there."

That made you immediately glance at your watch. You still have five minutes before you need to start, but you quickly picked yourself up from your seat and gathered your things in your arms.

"Okay. I am going there now. Will you be—" it was already too late for you to realize what you were about to unconsciously ask him. You abruptly stopped, but Kun already caught your hesitation.

"What is it?"

You stalled for a bit before finally giving a sigh. You hate sounding pathetic, but you guess it would be better to ask anyway.

"Will you be watching again?"

You didn't like that you sounded so small and hesitant. Kun clearly picked up the thought behind the question, though it took him a while to give a direct reply.

"No. Not this time. There will be cameras in the room too, but I won't be closely monitoring this session. It is fine though. For this one, I can assure you that he is nice."

You were already at the hallway trying to follow the direction towards your next destination when he said that. You trust him, of course. It's just that…

"Your meeting with Mark went really well," Kun added when you didn't really say anything after a few seconds. You clearly understood the underlying message under that.

You came out of it alive. You'll survive this one, too.

"Yeah… yeah it did."

You heard a soft sigh then a slight creaking from the other end of the line as if he just took his seat somewhere.

"Look… I understand how shocking it must have been for you. You saw what he can do, but believe me when I say that they won't really hurt you. I haven't really spoken to a lot of them in person, but I have watched them long enough to be confident about this. They are decent kids. Maybe just a little bit special.”

A little bit special is a clear understatement, but you didn't say anything anymore. Instead, you looked up at the entrance which is now in front of you, its double door design looking cold and unwelcoming. A steel plate with the word "Terra" glimmered on the wall beside it under the fluorescent light.

"I know. Thank you for giving me the assurance. I'm not really scared… just a little… shaken. I have to go now though. I'm in the room already."

"Alright. Good luck. You can call me after if you have any questions."

"Thanks, Kun."

That was the last you said before finally cutting the call. The truth is, you are not afraid of getting hurt or anything. Just like what you told Mark, you don't feel threatened at the slightest, even after what you have witnessed. Your gut tells you that you can trust him, and your gut has never been wrong.

No, what has exactly been gnawing at you ever since this morning is this incomprehensible feeling that has been tugging at the edges of your mind. You couldn't really put a finger on it, but it's been there, tempting you to explore it. It's hard for you to identify, probably because it is a mush of different emotions, but you tried your best now to pluck the ones that are the strongest.

Shock. The realization that something bigger does exist from what you've always known.

And finally, curiosity. Probably the most extreme one you've ever felt in your whole life, ever.

*******

The inside of the room was nothing like you could have expected. The moment you stepped into it, it was like you entered a different world altogether, leaving behind the white, sterile hallways of Cypher. Plants rose around you like walls in various shades of green, with some areas dotted by colorful flowers that glittered under the sun like gems. Lush vines gracefully hugged the metal banisters supporting the glass dome above you.

The space was akin to what a greenhouse would look like, though instead of the roof showing the open sky, it was giving off an artificial light that made you do a double turn. Squinting, you caught a slight glitch on one of the white clouds that floated past by. It was very miniscule, similar to how a malfunctioning pixel would look like.

Your eyes widened when your brain finally figured out what you were looking at.

What was above you was not just a regular glass roof. It was an artificial screen showing a loop of a fake skyline.

"The sunroof is not scheduled to be pulled up today."

You turned around in surprise at the soft voice that came from your left. He was fringed by the leaves of a nearby low tree beside him, but he took a furtive step forward away from the shadows so you could see him better. The fake illumination from the sky above made his snow white hair glow even under the artificial lighting of the room. He glanced at you shyly then moved his gaze back towards the floor, an air of nervousness cloaking him.

"Hi…" you managed to give a reply when you finally gathered yourself. You only slightly turned but didn't move from your spot though, not wanting to alarm him with any big actions. The boy was tall, maybe even touching over 180cm, and was the exact opposite of Mark when it comes to the aura he was giving off. He looked withdrawn… almost hesitant as he seemed to struggle over making the next move. On the other hand, he does not seem to be disliking of your presence. Just a little… nervous.

"Jisung, right? It's nice to meet you," you continued as you offered him a smile. He quickly glanced up at the sound of his name before looking away again, enough for you to catch the red stain that crept to his cheeks.

How adorable.

"Are your legs tired?" He suddenly asked out of nowhere. Your head tilted a bit to the side.

"Hm? Oh no… My legs are fine. Why are you asking?"

He looked absolutely petrified. You easily realized that he was reaching for something to talk about, as if he wasn't that used to speaking to strangers.

"Calm down, Jisung. You're making it so much worse."

For the second time since you entered the room, your heart jumped again in your chest as a new voice chimed in out of nowhere. It took you a few seconds to find the source of it, its owner stepping out from the shadows beside Jisung. You blinked. He seemed to have sprung out of nowhere, materializing from thin air, but you weren't sure if the contrast of light in the room was just playing tricks on you. The new visitor was a little shorter than the former, but you could tell they were very close in age from the way he comfortably draped his arm around the other boy. He smiled at you easily and jerked his head a little as if you've known each other forever.

"Hi, hi, noona."

You know him by the name plastered under his photo on your file.

And you also know that he wasn't supposed to be here today.

"Chenle?" You phrased your reaction as a question which he only answered with a wink. Jisung slightly rolled his eyes beside him and elbowed him by the side.

If Jisung was the picture of a shy, polite boy, Chenle was, in all sense of the word, the exact opposite of his friend. His body language looks confident and relaxed, and there was a playful, almost reckless air in him that almost felt infectious. Even his physical appearance was a stark contrast of Jisung's, his pale skin even more pronounced against his jet black hair with streaks of red. They were like light and darkness. Night and day. Two halves of one thing that fit together but couldn't be more different from each other.

"I… I wasn't informed that I will be meeting you today too. I thought it was just Jisung."

"Ah, yeah. Well, I asked Kun-ge to just let me join in today. You see, Jisung is very very shy and awkward so I told him it might be better if we just do it by pair. Also, we're sort of like a package deal," he explained as he moved away just a little from the other boy and buried his hands in his pockets.

"I see… And Kun was okay with it?"

Chenle shrugged. "Yah. He gave the A-okay. None of us are really allowed to go out without getting permission from you docs, you know," he explained casually. He did give you a look for a bit like he was thinking of something before smiling playfully again. "Don't worry, noona. We're the nice ones. See how there are no guards outside~?"

A look of realization flashed in your eyes. He's right. There were no stationed guards when you came in unlike with your first session with Mark. There were no prying eyes behind the camera and no safety button under a table.

"I didn't mean to sound alarmed. I was just really surprised," you said now as you made a conscious effort to slightly loosen the set of your shoulders. The source of your initial hesitation, however, was not really because Chenle invited himself to your session today. It was the fact that unlike Jisung—who is one of the three boys who have profiled Arcanas in their records—Chenle is included in the four who still have undisclosed abilities.

"That's good. I mean, I would be uncomfortable if the first thing Jisung asks me is a question about my legs."

The latter threw him dagger looks. You can see it… the way his shell just melts away a little with the other around. He really does seem more comfortable with Chenle here.

"I was supposed to invite her to the benches so she can sit," the younger boy grumbled.

"Then you could have just asked if she wants to go there. Come on, Ji. What are you going to do without me?" Chenle countered back sassily. You couldn't help the soft laugh that left you upon watching their exchange. "So? Do you wanna sit, noona? You need to talk to us, right?" He asked again, this time turning towards you.

You gave one quick look around before shrugging. "Actually, I have a better idea. Why don't we walk around while we talk? This is a beautiful place. I'd like to see more of it."

Chenle gave a quick glance at his friend and grinned. Jisung didn't say anything, but his blush was back again.

"Oh Jisung will love that. This is his room after all."

*******

"You said the sun roof will not be opened today, right?"

You turned a little to look at the towering boy beside you as you gently reached out for the wide, deep green leaf of what you assume is an Alocasia plant. Your knowledge in flora is basically non-existent, but you do know a few names thanks to Mijeong's obsession over them. You gently ran your thumb and forefinger now over the soft edge that you are holding, marveling at the silky smooth feel on your finger pads broken by the leaf's veins. Despite your lack of affinity to plants, one thing you can be sure of about the greenery surrounding you now is that all of them are flourishing despite being inside such a restricted greenhouse.

"Yes. They only open it for an hour every day, usually during the morning. The staff say it is for our safety… because some people might come snooping in if we are exposed too much," Jisung answered as he plucked a wayward bug from a leaf gently. Instead of swatting it, you noticed how carefully he held it up in his palm to urge it to fly away.

Something about what he said rang a mental bell inside your head. You can't figure out what it is exactly since technically, the rules make sense, but you also are not that comfortable with the idea that the boys—from what you have picked up so far—seem to be under such controlled conditions.

For now, however, you simply waved the idea away. Sure, there is that sense of curiosity in you that has started catching fire, but there is another time for you to probe. Right now, you are here to work.

And work means trying to learn more about Jisung, the youngest of the group. Similar to Mark, he also has an Arcana assigned to him. However, unlike the latter, his file didn't really have a detailed description of his skill. When you brought it up to Kun yesterday, the only reason he gave you is that the assessment of Jisung's skills are still incomplete, so Cypher hasn't finalized his file yet. What they have, however, are good starting points.

Jisung Park, 20 years old.

Patient ID: 19

Arcana Identification: The Sun / Il Sole

"Chenle said this is your room though? What does he mean by that?" You asked him again, smiling. From your initial reading of his personality type, it seems like it will be easier for you to gather what you need if you ask him less direct questions. It seems to be working as he ducked his head a little over a bright red flower to cover his face from your gaze before providing an answer. 

"I spend most of my time here…" he trailed off slowly.

"Is this your favorite room then? Do you like plants? I heard from Kun that you also have gaming rooms."

For a while, you actually thought that the boy wouldn't answer your last question at all. For some reason, something about what you asked made him tense up. You were just about to speak again to shift the conversation when you heard him mumble again.

"The doctors always put me here so they can check me… That's why I am always here."

You stopped short at that. He didn't exactly answer your question—didn't really say if he likes to be here or not. What he did give you, however, gave you an idea of what he might be saying behind his words.

He may not like it… but he still has to do what the doctors want him to do.

An uneasy feeling started to unfurl at the pit of your stomach slowly but steadily. You looked away, an effort for you to refocus before you get lost in your assumptions again. You can't afford to lose focus now, not on this crucial and possibly only time when you can get a semi-private conversation with Jisung. Who knows if your next sessions will not be moderated again through prying cameras?

"So the sun roof… It actually only opens an hour every day?" You shifted the topic smoothly in the hopes of pulling the boy back from whatever internal conflict that you unwittingly pushed on him. "That's strange. Is this room somehow temperature-controlled? All the plants here look really healthy. If they are only getting an hour of sunlight every day…"

"Oh they are getting more than the share that they need, noona. I wouldn't worry about it too much," Chenle was the one who answered as he went over to join your little group. He disappeared earlier in the other rows of greeneries when you and Jisung started walking around. As he approached, you noticed that he was holding a stick, a short dry branch that he was turning in his fingers.

The look of confusion in your face must have been so obvious because the boy actually snickered. Something about his reaction, however, made things click in your head.

The Sun Arcana. One of the cards in the tarot that does not actually have a negative meaning. It implies positivity, success, and abundance. When stripped of all those symbolizations, it also directly relates to warmth and light.

The source of all life.

Chenle nudged Jisung the exact moment that you figured it out. You looked at the younger boy, your eyes a little bit wide.

"Go on. Show her."

"But I…"

Despite your shock, you still didn't miss the hesitance on the boy's face. He glanced at you, then back at Chenle.

"It's okay, Jisung. You don't need to do it if you don't want to," you told him in a reassuring tone. That made him finally look at you properly.

"You won't… be scared?"

You stopped at his question. So it's not like he doesn't want to. Similar to Mark, he was more afraid of what your reaction would be.

You gave him a firm shake of your head.

"No. Never."

The confidence in your voice seemed to have calmed him down a little. However, he gave another quick look at Chenle who simply grinned at him encouragingly. Finally, he sighed before putting out his right palm in front of him, fingers spread slightly apart.

It started with the slightest of glimmers. Jisung looked calmly at the space above his open hand, his stance steady. The glimmers grew into what looked like crackling wisps of electricity before they finally formed into full blown orbs of light the size of marbles over his palm. You gasped. They were whitish yellow, but some orbs flickered a darker orange as they hovered idly on the once empty air.

"This is not only his room. Jisung is this room," Chenle said from the side.

"It's not just light, is it? It's electromagnetic radiation. You control energy," you said in a voice barely above a whisper as you looked up slowly to meet Jisung's eyes. He didn't say anything, but the orbs in his palms soared a little higher before all of a sudden darting off into different directions in the room. Several light bulbs came on and the artificial sky above actually flickered.

"Everything about this room is controlled by energy. The water, the temperature, the light."

"And they're all you. That's why you are always here."

In answer, Jisung raised his palm again and moved it closer towards you as if he was offering something. New specks of light came from the once vacant air hovering above his hand again, but this time, they formed a single bigger orb.

You stared at it, mesmerized by its beauty. You didn't even realize that you've taken a step forward until you could almost feel its warmth radiating on your cheek.

"Can I touch it?"

Jisung didn't look surprised by the request.

"Okay… it's fine. I won't make it too hot."

You didn't know what you should do next so you simply held out your hand to him out of instinct. Jisung moved his fingers gently, urging the ball of light to languidly float towards you. You took in a pleased intake of breath as it hovered over your palm.

"Oh… it's so beautiful."

Jisung gave you a look that told you he wanted to hear it again. "Really?"

You didn't hesitate to give him a nod. You even moved your hand a little in an up and down motion which caused the ball to also bob slightly. You laughed softly.

"It is. It's so comfortingly warm and pretty… Like it has a life of its own."

"Pretty cool, eh? I knew you'd like that," Chenle said, tapping the stick he was holding against his palm. You smiled at him. At that moment though, a thought hit you.

That made Jisung finally break into a smile. He exchanged a look with Chenle who gave him an 'I told you so' look. It took a few more seconds before the orb of light finally dissolved cleanly into a hint of glimmer on your palm.

His Arcana. What is it that he can do?

"I guess you can pull off something like this, too, Chenle?" You asked casually. He clicked his tongue in response.

"I knew you would ask that. Yes and no. Yes, I can also do something, but also no because mine is way cooler than Jisung's."

Jisung gave a soft snort. "That's not true."

"But yours is not filed yet…"

"Nope. Because none of them are actually smart enough to figure it out. You though… I think you can do it, noona. You realized Jisung also controls energy on the first try when everyone else thought he was just a human flashlight."

You didn't exactly know how to react to that, but you weren't really given any time to properly think it over when he suddenly stepped closer. For some reason, the ceiling changed and morphed, replacing the fake day view with that of an evening skyline.

You glanced up to figure out what was happening, but your attention was caught again when you felt something pressed against your palm. Looking down, you saw that Chenle had handed you the stick he had been playing with earlier. He and Jisung have both moved a little farther when you finally tried to address them.

"That's your first clue. And a gift, I suppose. He made sure to tell me to give it to you."

"What do you mean—who's he—"

You were absolutely at a loss over what was happening but they had already turned and were at the door before you could even finish. Out of reflex, your hand wrapped around the stick you were holding.

Except it's not a stick anymore.

Your fingers curled around something solid but definitely more flexible than a dried twig. You heard the boys' fading footsteps disappear behind the mechanical hissing of the door as your eyes finally registered what they were seeing.

A yellow flower rests on your hand, it's bright petals as bright as the artificial sun shining from the ceiling earlier. Except just like how the object in your hand has transformed, the sky above is now lit with a silver radiance coming from the moon peeking between wisps of clouds. 

CH. 3

----

A/N: Hope you can all guess Chenle's card by now? 😏

Cards from > Soul Cards, Midnight Black

Taglist:  @negincho​, @jhornytrash​, @aaasteroidsky​, @huangberryyy​, @marijmin​, @ashkuuuu, @reluctantserpent-101​, @yutasnabi​, @huskyhunny​, @domojoo​, @anaveragefangirl​, @lostlovesoul11, @dreamisfelix​, @lomlwoo

[stupidbeecandle]

Can you tell us more lighthouse strories? :)

Hmm. I made a few other lighthouse stories but I think a lot of them are harder to track down these days? I should probably just make a pinned post.

Stories: The lighthouse and the watch house were right next door to each other the same way you might put a shed out back if your shed was a three-story glowing tower that screamed at a decibel level akin to violence at predictable intervals. There was a white painted line, or maybe it was yellow? On the rocks in a circumference, you were never to cross because beyond that line the noise could permanently deafen you.

The house we stayed in had a rich history of tear-downs and rebuilds. The Atlantic ocean is not fond of houses and does its very best to destroy them with ice, tides, and occasionally very large rocks. It was two stories, downstairs there was a kitchen, a living room, and a gear-storage room where we had a bunch of fancy-schmancy equipment set up and either running, or ready to take out and run. Upstairs were the sleeping quarters but it was weird. At one point the house had belonged to a family with normal bedrooms, then some new owners came in and boarded up the upstairs into two gendered halves so that boys and girls couldn't touch each other in ungodly ways. Then some door-holes were cut in those shodily put up barriers so the upstairs kind of had a spirit-halloween popup store vibe with the construction.

No heat, no electricity or running water. Water was usually packed in on ships and the bathroom was converted to a compost system that was actually fairly well done. Fire stove and gas appliances that we shipped gas in with kept the downstairs super cozy so often we just slept there instead even though it was cramped and sometimes we wanted to kill each other. One of my teammates had the nastiest unwashed white girl dreads Id ever seen because she didn't take advantage of any of the camp hair-hygene options available and kept trying to convince us to dredge our hair with seawater and tie it in knots. Blessedly I had lost my sense of stank by a few days into expedition mode.

Once I lost my hat in the wind and it blew into the circle zone of bodily harm near the lighthouse and I timed my sprint so I could run in, get my hat and get out before it could go off again in what was a spectacularly stupid move, exactly the half brained shit you would expect from an 18 year old with no thoughts in her head.

The moose washed up but so did a leatherback turtle which took a lot longer than the moose to clean and prep. We never killed animals but we often recorded the contents of dead ones and used/sold/donated bones and things to museams, researchers and various societies. We all hated the turtle, while the moose brought us together in a task of madness and hubris, no one wanted to touch the turtle and it was the most cursed task on the island for some time.

Various sea birds (assholes) were the main species living on the island. You had to walk with one hand raised above your head in a fist at nearly all times when they were nesting because the assholes were stupid and would attack the highest part of your body thinking it was your head. You would wear a glove or use an umbrella if you knew you would have to be out there for more than a few minutes.

All of the food was vegan and I hated it. We had a joke that if you threw the vegan scrambled eggs on the ground they would bounce higher than the hight you threw them from. They didn't bounce that high but they did bounce suspiciously high.

The other lighthouse I stayed at had a fancy helipad we could all sit out on made of wood. On off days we would sun ourselves. For some reason despite only a 3 hour difference between the islands great duck island was green and sometimes nice while great rock island was grey and bitterly cold.

Thgis lighthouse had electricity but still no plumbing. It was a much larger research station with at least one permanent resident but I didn't stay long. they studied burrowing owls, horribly invasive rabbits, ruins from early new england settlers and a now feral cow population the settlers just left for some reason.

Its bizarre to be warned about the dangerous cows that lurk in the woods nearby and how they can appear and disappear into the trees faster than you will realize it. It is even more bizarre to be walking in the woods planting your little pink flags to mark burrows when out of nowhere there is a huge godamn cow in front of you that is blessedly more afraid of you than you are of it as it slowly backs back into the trees and disappears.

Loved the research lighthouse life and the cool stories I got to be a part of. Unfortunately decided that it was not what I wanted to dedicate my life to for various reasons tumblr wouldn't find interesting.

For people who are super interested in lighthouse adventures, look up college of the atlantic where I was a student when I had my cool lighthouse adventures (they have a kickass program)

For people who just want to get the fuck away from everyone, enjoy some nature and live a nice quiet life I much more highly recommend checking out forestry jobs.

[stillctrsara]

200 Park Avenue

Read on AO3 (this one got way too long to just put on Tumblr!)

@Comfortember 2022 Alt #2 Frozen and #25 Lost

Peter Parker knew this was a bad idea, but what was he supposed to do? He’d gotten off on the wrong train stop, his phone was dead, and he actually wasn’t that sure where he was compared to where he needed to be. He definitely had no idea how to get to the Morgan Library & Museum OR back home at the moment, and the extremely cold rain that had just started falling had him wet and nearly frozen in his inadequate winter gear. Why hadn’t he checked the weather before he made plans this evening? Why hadn’t he listened to Ned, who said he should have done this sometime last week?

As he ducked into the lobby of Stark Tower, he hoped he could fly under the radar and just warm up for a few minutes. Maybe if he took his soaking jacket off he could actually stop shivering. He really had no idea what his next step was, but he was sure he’d be able to think better if he got out of the freak winter storm.

His art history teacher was offering a pretty substantial chunk of extra credit if he spent an hour at any kind of art exhibit and wrote an essay on his experience with three pieces. And Peter desperately needed extra credit in that class. 

He had also procrastinated though, with all that had been going on with uh, Spiderman , and Homecoming, and all the insanity that had been, and now this extra assignment was due Monday. The Morgan Museum had free Fridays from 5-7, so he had taken the train there after AcaDec today. After several delays he had managed to misread which stop he needed to get off at, and then when he’d thought he could probably walk the last half mile to the museum, he’d gotten hopelessly turned around. Even though he didn’t have his Spiderman suit with him (he and Aunt May, and Mr. Stark and Aunt May were still hammering out the details of the circumstances wanted before she would be willing to let him continue that) he was about ready to climb a building so he could figure out where he was compared to where he needed to be. And just hope no one saw him.

That was all before the clouds had decided to let loose. He just happened to be less than a block from Stark Tower (which was impossible to miss) when it started raining, and without even thinking, he instinctively headed straight for what he hoped was a safe place.

So now he stood inside, dripping and shivering, and unfortunately both security and the employees at the reception desk had all noticed him. It was “after hours,” so there wasn’t a lot going on there. He knew Mr. Stark had said the sale of the building was on hold after all the chaos the Vulture had wreaked, but Peter suddenly realized just because he knew the owner of the building didn’t mean anyone else knew him, or that he’d be welcomed here.

An intimidating security guard casually approached him. Peter wanted to bolt, but he just couldn’t make his feet move to return to the frigid downpour outside. 

“Evening, son. Can I help you?”

“Um, I was just coming in out of the rain for a few minutes?” Peter managed to get out.

“Well, I can understand that, but the problem is we’re technically closed, and we especially can’t have unaccompanied minors in here. I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to leave.”

Peter cursed inwardly. He was still actively shivering, and probably making a puddle on the floor. The guard looked sympathetic, but also serious about his directions. Peter had just turned to go take his chances outside again, when a light Irish lilt interrupted them.

“Mr. Parker, you’re expected in the penthouse. Hurry along and don’t keep them waiting.”

Finish Reading on AO3

[gale-gentlepenguin]

ML Fic: Soulmate Survey Part 38

Sorry for the delay. Real life gets out of hand. But here it is! The antepenultimate chapter.

Shout out to @asongeverlasting for beta reading for me and making sure I actually got this out.

Check her writing out on AO3 as Ramblingwren

(Master post)

(Read the fic in a more condensed on Ao3)

(The latest chapter will be up on there once this reaches over 500 notes on tumblr)

Hope you all enjoy

_____________________________________________________________

“I shouldn’t have let her go out there.”

Fu watched the school nurse, Angela, fret as she paced back and forth.

“I understand your concern, but I believe that it will all be alright. Ladybug and Chat Noir haven’t failed in handling an akuma yet,” he explained. “The girl will be okay.”

The nurse stopped pacing.

“I appreciate your optimism but… I am really not used to this,” She said as she gestured to the air.

Fu blinked at the statement.

“Oh?”

“This! This whole thing! Super villains that appear whenever someone gets sad, teenagers with superpowers! This is all new to me! I just moved to Paris a month ago from the countryside. All I wanted was to further my education and get work in the medical field. It… It boggles my mind that everyone in this city is so okay with all of this! Even my new boyfriend Curtis is able to shrug off an akuma attack like a sudden drizzle. This isn’t normal!”

The guardian could tell the young woman was distressed, and he couldn’t blame her. In a way, he envied her. This was all foreign for her, but to him, this was his entire life.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to blow up like that. I've had a lot to deal with, and this whole situation is just so…”

Fu moved to her and helped her sit down.

“It’s alright, this is by no means a good situation. Your concerns are very understandable. I can tell that deep down that your frustration and fear come from compassion and empathy. You will make a wonderful doctor one day.”

She took a deep breath.

“Thank you. You have no idea how much I really needed to hear that today.”

“How about I teach you a medication technique that will help you calm down?”

“Meditation? I'm not really one for that kind of stuff.”

“If one wants to be a doctor, being able to calm down and handle an emergency situation is a must.”

The school nurse agreed that he had a good point, and that this may help get her mind off of things.

“Okay, I guess I'll give it a shot.”

Fu smiled.

“Good. Let us start simple. Close your eyes and put your hands together.”

Angela felt the action was a bit odd but complied.

“Now, take a deep breath. Count to 5 in your head and then breathe out.”

She took her breath and followed the order.

“Whenever you feel a thought come to your head, simply picture yourself putting it out of your mind and into a bucket.”

She tried her best to comply.

As she did this, Fu moved behind her and quickly pinched a nerve on her neck, causing the young woman to seize up for a moment before losing consciousness.

“That will help her relax.”

He carefully moved her to the cot and laid a sheet over her like a blanket.

Once it was clear that she was asleep, a turtle kwami flew out of hiding.

“So, what do we do now, Master?”

Fu took a moment to consider.

His plan was already in motion. Ladybug and Chat Noir had plenty of allies to help fight the akuma. All that needed to be done was to sit down and wait.

But as he thought about it more, he couldn’t help but think that he should go in personally. It was what he'd initially planned to do with akuma, after all. Listening to this young woman’s fears made him really see how his inaction has led to such fear and uncertainty.

For once, it was time for him to go on the offensive.

“Now we head out and find this akuma.”

“Master, you already sent out three miraculous. Let the other heroes handle this,” Wayzz insisted.

“The people of Paris should not have to become used to this. I have been far too lax with this situation. Right now, Ladybug and Chat Noir are facing their most dangerous akuma yet. For decades I have always remained passive in order to avoid making another mistake, but I have already made so many with my inaction. It's time I stop letting my actions be dictated by fear.”

“But Master, you can’t transform! Your body is too old to handle it!”

“Fear not, Wayzz. I have been exercising and restoring my vitality with the techniques of the guardians. By my estimation, I should be able to maintain the transformation without too much issue for 10 minutes,” Fu assured.

“That is not a lot of time, Master!” Wayzz pointed out.

“True, but it is better than nothing. We will head out and wait for the moment we need it. Be ready, Wayzz.”

The old guardian started heading to the door.

“But Master, what if you get captured? What if the akuma does succeed and you are unable to step in?”

Fu paused at the door.

“I know you are concerned for me. I appreciate your care. But I need to go out there. I have lived a long life, Wayzz, far longer than most humans. One day I may not be here to be the guardian.”

Wayzz felt a pang of sorrow hearing his Master talk about how he would no longer be around.

“But that’s okay. I know that when that time comes… I have two young heroes that will be ready to stand up and fight. The best thing an old man like me can do is pave the road for them.” The guardian said with certainty. He went to open the door.

“Fu…”

The old man stopped. Turning around, he saw the turtle kwami he had known for most of his life smile at him.

“I know you think of yourself as a failure of a guardian… but Su Han and the others were wrong. You are a great one. You are the most caring guardian that has ever held the title. And I will be by your side to the end.”

The old man felt his eyes well up at the sweet comment.

“Then let’s go, Partner.”

___________________________________________________________________________

The dragon heroine grabbed the confused snake hero and moved him to the closest room before closing the door.

“Okay we should be safe here,” she said as she looked over to her comrade. It was clear that Viperion was still very confused. It did not help that both his and her miraculous were beeping. They didn't have much time.

“Thanks… ummm,” Viperion started as he tried to rack his brain for a name. Part of him felt like he should know her. But his mind is blank.

“Ryuuko. You can call me Ryuuko. And you are Viperion.”

“Okay… weird name for me, but I guess it works.”

Ryuuko realized that the bubble Viperion had been put in wasn’t just to keep him frozen in place. One of the side effects must have been leaving him without any memory of who he was. Had her partner been aware of that risk when he took the bubble for her? She couldn’t know for sure. But right now, she needed to focus on the task at hand. Shehad to take charge since her partner was out of sorts.

“Okay, 'll try to explain this as quickly as possible.”

“Your real name is Luka. But when you are in your hero form, you go by Viperion.”

“Hero form...”

He looked down.

“Well, that does explain the costumes. I thought it was some sort of weird costume party.”

Ryuuko decided to ignore that.

“Okay, so I'm a hero. And you're one too?”

“Yes. We are both heroes picked by Ladybug to help her fight villains. Right now, we're fighting a bunch of them, and you got your memory wiped by one of their attacks. That’s why you are confused. Any questions?”

The boy took a moment to look himself over and then look at her. This was a lot of information to take in. Ryuuko was half expecting him to call her crazy. Which, given how bizarre the circumstances were, she wouldn’t blame him.

“Okay, I think if it was anyone else telling me this, I would have called it a load of bull. But… I don’t know why but I feel like I can trust you. You sound sincere,” Viperion responded.

“Okay great, now let's…”

“I still have a few questions.”

Ryuuko sighs.

“Look, we really don’t have much time. We need to hurry and get out there to help…”

And just before she finished the statement, both of their transformations wore off. Revealing their civilian forms.

“Oh no.” Kagami muttered in horror.

“What happened? Where am I… What am I?” The snake kwami questioned as he looked at himself.

“It appears that Sass was also impacted by the amnesia.” The dragon kwami that popped out of her necklace commented.

Luka stared wide eyed at the creature.

“Are you a snake?”

“A snake? I suppose?”

“A snake with limbs? That is very rock and roll.”

The two fistbumped. Thankfully they seemed to get along.

Longg looked at them.

“This is quite a predicament.”

“We need to hurry back in. Longg! Bring the….”

“Hold on a moment. Both Sass and I will not be able to do that yet.”

Kagami stopped.

“How come?”

“We need to refuel. The energy of transforming AND using our unique powers drains a lot out of us. We need some food to continue.”

“Food… Okay.”

The snake Kwami grabbed his stomach.

“I find myself rather famished,” he commented.

Luka looked at him.

“Let me see if I can help you out.”

The teen took off the backpack he was wearing to go through it. Thankfully there was a bag lunch in there. For some reason he felt that was important. But decided that if it could help the little guy out, he was sure it wouldn’t be a big deal.

He opened the bag lunch and pulled out a bag of apple slices. Opening it to grab a piece.

“I know snakes usually are carnivores, but how about some fruit?”

“Ooo! It smells divine!”

Luka handed the floating kwami a piece of the apple.

He takes a bite.

“Oh! It's delicious! Juicy and sweet!”

The snake quickly devours the apple piece.

As that happens, Kagami looked through her bag.

“I don’t have fruit but I do have some onigiri. It was my afternoon snack… but since this is a dire situation.”

“Rice? Yes please!” Longg exclaimed as he dive bombed right into the delicious rice ball.

“It’s Umeboshi, it’s not to everyone’s taste but It is one of my favorites.”

“It’s the most delicious thing I have ever eaten. The sour plum really brings a new dimension of flavor.”

Kagami smiled a bit at her kwami companion, happy that she could help.

The two Kwami finished their food and were ready for action.

“Okay, Sass. You need to help Luka transform.”

“Sass? Is that my name?” the snake inquired.

“So, he helps me transform into Viperman?”

“Viperion, and yes,” Kagami responded.

“All you need to do is say. Sass, Scales Slither. And to activate your special power just pull your bracelet back and say second chance. Then pull it back when you want to use it. But be sure not to use it right away,” Longg instructed.

“Okay seems easy enough. Are you okay with this?” Luka asked as he turned his attention to his snake pal.

“The floating horn snake seems fine with it so I say let’s give it a try”

Longg decided for the sake of his friendship with Sass to ignore the comment.

“Alright! Let's do this!” Kagami exclaimed as she prepared to transform.

“One last question.”

Kagami was starting to get antsy. She wanted to be back out there fighting. But she held back her annoyance, considering how he sacrificed his memories for her.

“Make it quick, we need to hurry.”

Luka scratches the back of his head.

“Are we a couple?”

If Kagami was drinking water she would have done a massive spit take. Her cheeks turned red.

“What?!”

“You know… together? You seem to know a lot about me, and I just feel this connection... like I can trust you even though I don’t remember anything. I don’t know how or why, but I feel like you matter to me.”

Kagami’s eyes went wide at the comment. It felt surprisingly bold of the musician to say. She had to admit that the statement made her heart skip a beat.

“No, we had just recently become friends.” Kagami responded.

“Oh…” Luka was saddened by the response.

“But, I have thought about the possibility it could be more than that one day," Kagami continued. "But that is something to discuss when you have your memory back. Maybe.”

The fencer felt her mind scream at her.

‘WHY DID YOU SAY THAT! Well, at least he won't remember.’

Luka smiled at that.

“Well, that must mean I must be a good guy, if I could have such a great friend like you.”

The teen prepared himself.

“Alright then! Sass! Scales Slither.”

The musician shifted into his hero form.

“Let’s go save the day.”

Kagami looked at her hero partner and smiled.

“Longg, Bring the storm.

______________________________________________________________________

“Well, that might be a problem.”

Chat Noir and Ladybug looked to see a stone giant guarding the front door of the classroom. The two had hidden just out of the goliath’s view.

“Any ideas on how to take down Mount Akuma?” Chat Noir questioned.

Ladybug looked at the giant from their hiding spot and began formulating a plan.

“Stoneheart grows bigger when he gets mad. These akuma aren’t really able to express their emotions. That means we don’t need to worry about him getting bigger. We just need to find a way to incapacitate him.”

“We could ask Mayura,” Chat Noir pointed out.

“We could ask… wait WHA…”

Chat Noir covered his partner’s mouth and ducked down.

“Shhhh! She’s right there,” Chat Noir hushed.

Ladybug removed the cat’s hand from her mouth and looked from the spot to see that her partner was right. Mayura was in the building!

“She actually showed up?” Oh, this is a lot more serious than we thought. Hawkmoth is really playing it serious with this one.”

“To the butterfly man’s credit, he really has been throwing out some tough ones.”

“I will not give our worst villain credit for anything except this headache,” Ladybug retorted with annoyance.

“So, what do we do? Mayura is in the building and she is talking with the giant.”

Ladybug felt like the situation couldn’t get worse.

“Not so fast, Feather Freak!”

Ladybug recognized that voice.

“Chloé?”

Chat Noir and Ladybug glanced to see a familiar blonde strutting down the hallway. But their expressions of shock shifted to bewilderment when they noticed what she was wearing.

“So are you and that purple fashion blunder here? Or is it just you? I am guessing it's just you. Your boss doesn’t really like to show his face unless he thinks he is sure to win. No wonder Ladybug always kicks his…” The bee themed heroine confidently quipped.

“Queen Bee. Now that is a surprise. I thought Ladybug was done giving you a miraculous.” The peacock villainess commented. She had no interest in dealing with the bee heroine at this time.

“Well, you would be surprised by a lot of things. So how about we settle this. My fist really misses your face.”

Mayura rolled her eyes.

“Fortunately for you, I don’t have the time to deal with you. Stoneheart, I am sure Masquerade would love for you to take care of this pesky bee.”

“Oh don’t think you can walk away! You and that purple cockroach are the same. Both cowards that can’t even face children.” She jeered as she walked forward.

The stone giant moved forward, allowing Mayura to walk to the door and enter.

“Too scared to face me! Typical. I'll beat your pet rock as a warm up and then your butt will meet my foot!” Queen Bee exclaimed with confidence. “Because I am a real heroine!”

Queen Bee got into a stance and prepared to trade blows with the colossus of rock.

Chat Noir looked to Ladybug.

“Did you give her a miraculous?” He whispered in surprise.

“I don’t have any additional miraculous. I thought she had been captured with the rest of the class.”

“Wait… if it wasn’t you… you don’t think…”

“Either Master Fu is in the building and saw how dire the situation was or Chloé snuck away and had a Queen Bee costume stowed away in her locker.”

The two look at each other and immediately come to the same conclusion.

“We need to save her before she gets crushed!”

______________________________________________________________________

Mayura walked into the classroom.

She managed to keep a straight face, but internally she had a lot going through her mind.

What was once a standard classroom now looked like an elaborate throne room. The amazing curtains, the high ceilings. The steps leading up to an elaborate throne. The portraits of Masquerade really brought together the utter decadence and vanity of the akuma persona. It reminds Mayura of Gabriel’s obsession with Emilie in the worst way possible.

Despite finding the décor off-putting, she had to admit it was impressive how Masquerade had been able to change the room into something completely unrecognizable. A testament to her vanity.

She took a moment to see what akuma servants she still had in the room. The Gamer, Reflekta with around 12 copies, Princess Fragrance, Robostus, Zombizou and Horificator. While the white masks obscured their expressions, it was clear that all of them were watching her. It greatly unnerved her.

She kept these thoughts to herself as the masked akuma that was running the school took notice of her.

“Mayura. I've been expecting you.”

Mayura looked up to see Masquerade sitting on the throne.

“Please, come in.”

She approached confidently. Though in the back of her mind something seemed off.

Masquerade stood up from the throne and walked down the steps, a smile of certainty on her face.

“Masquerade. Your Sentimonster gave me the basics of your plan. Securing the school as your base of operations was a good first step. Your plan of creating a video to lower the spirits of those in Paris was also a nice touch,” Mayura praised.

“But of course! My plan is flawless,” Masquerade boasted. “Not even Ladybug and Chat Noir will be able to stop me.”

“Getting ahead of yourself aren’t you?” Mayura cut her ego trip.

Masquerade’s mood soured as her smile faltered.

“What do you mean by that?”

“You have yet to face the two heroes. Not to mention there's a pesky bee flying around.”

“A bee?” Masquerade was very confused by the comment.

“Yes, Chloé Bourgeois, or Queen Bee, to be precise. Seems that Ladybug and Chat Noir went and got back up."

“It doesn’t matter if they have one additional hero or three. This plan won't fail.”

‘Something isn’t right here. I need to leave now!’ Mayura’s mind screamed.

She wasn’t sure why, but something felt incredibly off.

“Speaking of heroes, your plan never really specified how you will deal with them. Care to elaborate?”

Masquerade’s smile grew more sinister.

“I am glad you asked. After Simularé relayed to me that you were here. I finally figured out the perfect way of dealing with those arrogant heroes,” the masked woman stated with certainty, moving forward.

She now stood only a few feet from the peacock villainess.

“Wait a moment, something is wrong here,” Mayura commented as she tried to focus. She couldn’t ignore the warnings in her head.

“What do you mean?” The mask akuma looked with confusion at the blue villainess.

Mayura looked around. Frantically trying to find something but it was fruitless. This distress caused Masquerade to smile.

“I can't sense it,” Mayura spoke with slight worry.

“Sense what?” Masquerade inquired further.

“Where is your amok? It should be on your person but I can't sense it.”

“Is that a problem?”

“Yes. If you don’t have the amok in your possession then that sentimonster will go out of control!” Mayura explained.

“Can’t you just rip the amok out?”

“If it's nearby and I sense it, yes. But I can’t do that if it’s out of my range.”

“So you’re saying you have no power over me right now.” A devilish grin appeared on Masquerade’s face.

“No, I am saying I don’t have any power over the senti…”

Mayura felt a chill as she realized that the masquerade in front of her was not an akumatized Lila.

“Horrificator, block the door,” the Faux Masquerade commanded.

The pink and purple monster quickly moved to block the door with her large form.

The controlled akuma started circling around her as Simularé undid the illusion and morphed into its true specter form, Simularé.

“You ungrateful little monster. You think your master will be okay with you attacking one of the ones that gave her power?”

“My master doesn’t care about you or Hawkmoth. You are a means to an end. And she gave me special permission to take your miraculous from you.”

“Well if your master isn’t here, then no one is jamming the signal. I can contact Hawkmoth and put this little coup to an end.”

Simularé shifted into Lady Wifi.

“I have access to every power my master does. You are trapped with no options.” The sentimonster mocked.

Mayura looked around as she was circled by the controlled akuma. She needed to get out of there.

She felt a pain rush to her head.

‘F*** not now’ She mentally cursed.

The odds were indeed not in her favor.

______________________________________________________________________________

Stoneheart began charging at the bee themed heroine, and just as Queen Bee was about to move, a yo-yo wrapped around her waist and pulled her away from the monster.

The stone giant had expected his charge to make contact but forced himself to stop when he noticed the bee was gone.

“Sorry tiny, but I’m your playmate now,” called a cat-themed hero.

The mindless akuma didn’t visibly react to the change in foe and simply charged at the cat hero.

Queen Bee found herself near Ladybug.

“Chloé! What are you doing?!”

“Uh… Saving the day? I got the jewelry box that you sent out because you needed my help.”

“Jewelry box… wait a minute that means. You are wearing a miraculous.”

“Yep! Don’t worry LB, I will show you that I am worthy of being Queen Bee. And not to boast, but I totally saved someone. But right now, we gotta go beat that ugly pile of rubble.”

Ladybug looked at Chloé for a moment. With the situation as hectic as it was, Queen Bee has shown some competence when there is real danger. Ladybug knew that right now, all hands that could help would be appreciated, and Queen Bee’s appearance could mean that Fu may be closer than she expected. So maybe there were more reinforcements. So if this was the case. She would trust Fu’s judgement.

“Alright, just be ready to return the bee after all of this is over.”

“Right, right, but just know I will probably change your mind about that after this is over!” the bee exclaimed confidently as she jumped back into the fray.

Ladybug shook her head. Whether she was Queen Bee or Chloé, she was still a handful.

“Are you finished gossiping? Because I could REALLY use a hand!” Chat Noir shouted as he held his staff up to hold back the rock monster’s boulder of a fist.

Queen Bee and Ladybug jumped into view and noticed the situation.

“Don’t worry you stray cat, The Queen Bee will put that rock in his place. Ve…”

Ladybug covered Queen Bee’s mouth before she could.

“Hold it. We might need your power for later.”

“I think it would be useful now!” Chat Noir shouted as he struggled to hold the weight of the giant’s rocky hand.

“Okay if my powers are a no no right now, what is the plan?”

Ladybug looked around. She found her attention drawn to a fire extinguisher, Queen Bee, a rubber band, and a discarded backpack.

“Okay, I have a plan.”

______________________________________________________________________

Gabriel had made a decision.

He hurried out of the lair in his civilian form. He was going to head to the school. Now he would just need to get his chauffeur and go…

Gabriel’s eyes went wide as he saw his son’s bodyguard and chauffeur fall to the floor at the steps of the main entrance, a white mask adorning his face that he was desperately trying to get off.

“What is the meaning of this?” Gabriel asked aloud in shock and anger.

He looked to see the mask akuma he created standing at the door.

“Well, if it isn’t Gabriel Agreste. Fashion mogul, and master manipulator.”

Gabriel’s visible anger faded as he stared at the akuma.

“Lila, is that you?”

“Oh quite astute! An amazing deduction. Was it that observational skill that made you the fashion success you are now?” the akumatized Lila inquired. “Though I go by Masquerade now.”

Gabriel knew very well the girl’s powers. He was the one that gave it to her. She was trying to antagonize him, get him angry. But that would not work.

“Well Masquerade, what brings you to my home at this time?” Gabriel asked calmly. Doing his best to keep his tone and mannerisms calm.

“Oh, I was just in the neighborhood, finding more people to join my little army and I notice my charm glowing as I was getting near.”

Gabriel’s eyes went wide as he realized something. The charm bracelet was configured to locate anyone that has ever been akumatized. That included him. His ploy to ward suspicion off of himself was now biting him in the butt. And of course, Lila was likely holding a grudge with how he pushed her with his words about his son and his classmate.

“My bodyguard was akumatized. What of it?”

The silent action figure enthusiast stopped resisting and his body began growing. Gabriel noticed the man was transforming into the gorilla akuma. Gorizilla! And he rushed up the steps as the akuma moved and pounded his chest.

“Gorizilla, go gather up anyone who has been akumatized that you know of. I will handle Mr. Agreste myself.”

The giant akuma nodded at its master and headed off, leaving the agreste mansion with a giant hole that was once the front of the mansion.

“Handle me? And what do you plan to do?”

Masquerade’s necklace began to glow.

“Oh! Well that is very interesting,” Masquerade mused aloud as she learned from the glowing charm.

“What do you mean, interesting?” Gabriel asked. He knew that the charm had the bonus effect of pointing out the emotional weak points of those that had been akumatized. But he had PRETENDED to be angry and wasn’t actually emotional when the akuma took over. Did the charm still impact him the same way it did everyone else?

Masquerade started walking up the steps.

“You blame yourself for your wife’s passing.”

The statement was a blade pointed right at his throat. But Gabriel refused to react. He would not let himself be taken advantage of by his own akuma. He has been on the receiving end one too many times and he would be damned if he let that psychopath have control of him.

Masquerade saw that Gabriel was not reacting to the statement.

“I have never seen a man more miserable and pathetic,” Masquerade said. Her words sounded genuine and cutting.

Gabriel tried to turn around and walk away. But Masquerade jumped high with her superhuman agility and landed right in front of him, continuing her tearing down of his emotional state.

“All of this wealth and yet you are obsessed with what you don’t have. You are so blinded by the grief of losing your wife that everything else in your life may as well not exist. You locked yourself away, desperately trying to find something, anything that would bring her back. But now you are finding that color is starting to return in your life. You feel guilt over hiding the truth from your son, you loathe the attraction that you have been developing for another woman. You hate that you can’t dedicate every second to your lost wife and any speck of joy you feel without her here feels like treason since she is not here with you. You are a man so blind with his obsession that you fail to see the world doesn’t revolve around you. It's disgusting.”

“You know nothing of my life,” Gabriel dismissed.

But Masquerade knew he would say that. She only smiled. The truth was right in front of her. And she was ready to bring it home.

“You are actually terrified of facing her again.”

That shook Gabriel.

“What?”

“You are afraid of seeing her again. Whether it’s a year or 10 years, you feel that even if you could bring her back, she would be here and realize how much of a shell you had become without her. You are afraid that your obsession with her will be the very thing that drives her away once you see her again.”

“That isn’t true.”

“Then why haven’t you brought her back yet? Don’t you love her?”

Gabriel felt like his heart was being repeatedly punched.

“How dare you question my love for my wife!”

“Then why isn’t she here? If you loved her she wouldn’t have been taken from you and Adrien. But you were far too pathetic to do it. You failed her, and you are still failing her. You will never be with her again, and deep down. You know it to be true,” Masquerade answered coldly.

Those words were enough to get him down. That is what finally did him in.

Gabriel fell to his knees.

“No…”

Gabriel had broken. Masquerade knew she had him.

He was emotionally devastated, to the point where couldn’t even react to the mask coming his way.

____________________________________________________________

Well now things are now hitting their highest points of drama!

Will Ladybug and other heroes be able to stand up to Masquerade?

Will Mayura fall to Simularé's double cross?

Will I EVER update in time?

Tell me your thoughts on the chapter. Your support keeps it alive

[majestyeverlasting]

hi! prompts 16 and 27, if that's alright with you? thank you so much!

♡ Hi! Thanks for sending in this request. As for a summary, let's just say that there's nothing like summer in the city. Bucky and the reader decide to leave Brooklyn for a night out in Manhattan and have a mini hotel staycation. I hope you enjoy!

♡ Prompt 16: “You’re not good at pretending to be asleep.”

♡ Prompt 27: “What do you want for breakfast, grumpy.”

♡ To make a request for my One Month Tumblr-versary, check out my Fluffy Prompt List :)

As Long as It's With You

It had been an hour since night had fallen over Times Square. In the midst of the crowds, chatter, and array LED screens, you and Bucky sat at a small red table with a basket of fries between you. You remembered the words he spoke to you earlier that evening, let’s go be tourists for the night. It was a last minute suggestion, one you almost made the mistake of turning down. But because it was the weekend and there was a sparkle in his eyes, you figured why not? That’s how the two of you found yourselves in a cab from Brooklyn to the heart of Manhattan with overnight bags in the trunk. He managed to book a room in a hotel on 8th Avenue.

As the energetic atmosphere encamped you, you were glad you came. As hectic as it was, the familiar charm is what always managed to draw you back. There was always something new to experience, and an abundance of interesting people to watch. When Bucky took a break from eating to look around, you admired the way his face was illuminated by the lights. Not too far away, a man was playing a smooth melody on the saxophone. It flowed up into the air and mixed with the symphony of voices and laughter.

Upon meeting your gaze once again, Bucky smiled and told you that he loved you. When you told him that you loved him more, he shook his head but didn’t say anything. There was just an intensity to his gaze that suggested you didn’t know half of how highly he thought of and valued you. Everything within you wanted to melt in gratitude for the pathways that had led him to you. Out of everyone and everything, he was one of the good ones.

The moment he rested his hand face up on the table for you, you grasped it. It was warm. Times Square seemed to still as he started brushing his thumb over the back of your hand. There was something different about his touch that night, more reverent. And it remained that way even as the two of you arrived back at the hotel. In the elevator, he cupped your chin and kissed you as if you were a treasure. You didn’t mind being one if it meant being admired by him time after time again.

The room was small, and the accent wall behind the bed was a beautiful cobalt blue with the phrase ‘Lights Out Please’ printed across it in big letters. Everything was still tidy because all you and Bucky had done was drop off your bags before venturing back out. The scent of the fresh sheets lingered in the air with a pleasant undertone of lemongrass. You allowed yourself to fall back onto the bed with a sigh. Light from the city skyline helped illuminate the room along with the lamps Bucky had clicked on.

“Tired?” He eyed you.

You sat back up to the sight of him toeing off his shoes, and smiled when he stumbled a bit. “Only a little.”

“We can go ahead and get ready for bed.” He started undoing the buttons on his black shirt. “We don’t have to go to sleep—maybe we’ll be able to find something on TV.”

“Even though hotel TV channels are always wonky,” you noted.

Upon reaching the last button, his shirt split open to reveal his chest and stomach. There was a dusting of hair over his pecs and a line of it trailing down from his belly button.

“Fingers crossed then,” he said.

“Yeah... hey, Buck?” He raised his brows in encouragement for you to continue. “That’s a good look on you.”

He looked down at his torso and the parted halves of his shirt. “Yeah?”

“Mhmm. You look handsome.” You crossed the room to meet him, and he smiled when you pressed your lips to his.

“Thank you.” He quietly spoke those words against your lips. “You already know that you’re the most beautiful girl in the world. At least in my eyes, you are. Always gonna be that way.”

Bucky was the first to stir the following morning, only moments before you. Your back was turned towards him and you heard the sheets ruffling as he stretched, quiet grunts escaping him. When his foot grazed your calf, you thought it was unintentional at first. But then he draped his whole leg overtop of yours, his leg hair tickling your skin. The two of you laid in that comfortable silence for a while, aware of the other, but feeling no immediate urge to engage yet. Based on the amount of sunlight slipping in from around curtains' perimeters, you could tell the room looked out east towards where the sun had risen.

Eventually, you felt Bucky scoot closer to you so that the front of his body was against your back. You basked in his pleasant warmth and the feeling of his soft exhales gracing your neck. He was the first one to speak, his voice joining the distant sound of car engines humming from the streets below. “G’morning,” he said, kissing your nape.

You responded in your head, but remained quiet in reality, eyes slipping back shut in content. Bucky peaked over you to get a look at your face, because he could’ve sworn you were awake. But finding that your eyes weren’t open made him conclude otherwise. When he settled back into his previous position, he pressed more gentle kisses to your neck in hopes of rousing you. Not knowing you were awake.

“Doll?”

You were messing with him at that point, purposely ignoring him. But when Bucky’s flesh hand started to caress different parts of your body, it became harder for you to suppress the reactions that someone who was actually sleeping wouldn’t have had. He didn’t call you out upfront when he caught on. He waited until a small sound rose from the back of your throat at the feeling of his fingertips trailing over your thigh beneath the sheets.

Bucky’s voice was deeper and had a slight rasp when he spoke. “You’re not good at pretending to be asleep, pretty girl.”

After a beat, you finally rolled over to face him, and he scooted back to give you more space. His hair was disheveled and the skin around his gorgeous steel eyes was the slightest bit puffy. The lazy little smirk on his face made your stomach flutter.

“You have to admit, though, I had you for a second,” you said, voice soft and hopeful. A tad sleep ridden.

“No you didn’t.” He tried to keep his smile from growing wider.

“Doll?” You mimicked his rousing attempt from earlier.

"Okay, maybe you had me for a second," he admitted. "But that's all."

That response prompted you to pull the sheets over your head with a fake grumble of disappointment, making him laugh. It was so easy for the two of you to be playful with each other. Especially on a morning like that when you woke up in a different borough with no obligations. All there was to do was enjoy each other's company.

He tried to pull them down but your grip remained firm. "C'mon, lemme see you," he drawled.

"Nuh-uh."

You heard him shifting. "How about food—you hungry?" His hand squeezed your leg. "What do you want for breakfast, grumpy? We can go anywhere you wanna go."

You didn't say anything, so he continued talking. "Westway Diner's a block or two over I think. I know you like it there. And we don't have to check out till noon, so we've got time," he said. "You wanna hop in the shower with me?"

Bucky was smiling when you lowered the sheets from your face. "Yes," you answered.

"Which part are you saying yes to?"

"Everything. Being hungry, the diner, the shower… everything. As long as it's with you, I'm game."

-

Previously fulfilled request: “No Such Thing as Winning By Default Tonight”

[morroodle]

Morrotober Overview

October is over and morrotober is done! I actually made it all the way through without missing a single day (I swapped 2 days because I have a terrible concept of time but that dosent count). I'm so proud of myself. I've tried an October drawing challenge year after year but I always gave up and burned out after the first week so this is a huge accomplishment.

I'm not quite sure what made this year different but there are a few things I think might have helped:

Morro is my blorbo and ninjago is my hyperfixation. I'm already obsessed and thinking about it daily so this wasnt too different

I gave myself flexibility. Even though I ended up doing one for every day I never was going to force myself to do so, I had the freedom to skip a day if I didn't want to do it.

Flexibility pt. 2: I didn't make a full drawing every day. I allowed myself to put in as much or as little effort as I wanted which removed some of the pressure and worked better with my schedule

Now for some fun stuff! A recap of the art I made this month and my thoughts on some of the peices.

My favorite peice: day 29 - au/the movie

This was so much fun and I'm so happy with how it turned out. I couldn't decide on one au to draw since I have so many and keep making them so I just did a bunch! (Copy paste my best friend) I've had a bunch of ideas for designs bounching around for a while and getting to draw a handful of them with less effort than a full drawing which is great for my mental health. Honestly I liked making this and the results so much that I'm probably gonna do more of these with more designs.

Least favorite: day 1 - torment/chains

A dissapointing start to the challenge but luckily things only went uphill from here. The reason i dont like it is because this is one of those instances where the idea I have in my head is above my skill level. Additionally this is one of the ones that took the longest which is extra dissapointing considering I don't even like the result. I am proud of the hands though!

Most effort: day 14 - crew

I am NOT used to doing more than like 2 characters in one drawing and this was a challenge. Figuring out a pose for all of them was hard and I had to get creative with Wrayth cause he came last. I originally wanted to put a ghost dragon behind them too but that was just more effort and time than I had. Funny story about this one actually! I completed the base sketch for 3/5 of the characters but then my computer got fucky and I had to restart it. I saved the drawing but when I tried to open it I got the dreaded clip studio Unsupported File Format and had to restart ;-; I spent like half an hour trying to restore but had to give up in the end and restart.

Least effort: day 23 - memories

Little guy. Tiny dude. Took like 5 minutes and I love it. I didn't realize just how small I made him until I got a reblog saying they couldn't find him.

Most popular: day 5 - rope

Would have liked for some of my other drawings to get some of the attention this one got but honestly I'm not suprised it got so popular. It's a masterpiece.

Least popular: day 12 - underwater/submarine

Guess people don't want morro to be destinkified

Extra: day 6 - skeleton

This dude literally showed up on google?? I made that???? The funny part is the link dosent even lead to my blog or tumblr

Additional notes: wait what am I supposed to do now?? I think I forgot how to have free time?? For an entire month it's just been school eat sleep and morrotober but now it's over I don't know what to do with myself. A

Did I enjoy this? Yes. Will I do it again next year? Who fucking knows. Anyway back to my normal bs

[hyunjilicious]

a helping hand [henry cavill] - part 2

A/n: I’m sorry it took me so long. I don’t like how this part turned out, at all, but I rewrote it 3 times and I can’t even think about these scenes anymore without getting annoyed. I’m just happy it’s finished and that I can start working on part 3 (that is, if you like this one enough to want to keep reading lol)

Summary: After you post on onlyfans a video starring another man, Henry decides to take matters into his own hands. (cameo: Steve Rogers) KINKY 4k

Warnings: spanking, daddy kink, dirty talk, mentions of smut and masturbation (male), humiliation/degradation kink, groping, mentions of porn and filming pornographic material, stalker-ish/obsessed Henry. (also tumblr crashed when I first tried to upload this so maybe that a sign this sucks)

You can read part 1 here!

-

The sight brought down a storm upon Henry's mind. He stood there, mouth agape, watching the screen, unable to believe his eyes. It was one thing to post videos of yourself on the Internet, but to have someone else take part in them was too much. At least for Henry. Still smart and composed, he realised there wasn't anything he could do about it, but nevertheless, he was determined to not let this shit slide for much longer. 

As much as he wanted to hunt down that man who dared put his hands on you, Henry gathered himself, took a deep breath and closed the onlyfans page. He was perfectly aware that just the right amount of you could get him to lose his sense of control and do things he'd later regret. Still, in desperate need to see you, he grabbed his phone, eyes scheming over your socials, only to see that the last time you had been active was 7 minutes ago. So, without much consideration, he started typing.

"You up?"

"Yep. Finishing up an essay. Coffee in 30??"

Oh, and how deeply that hurt him. "Of course" he sent you, and then checked again the post you made at 3am. '...I'll go to sleep right now, edit it for you when I wake up...'

You were lying? Why were you lying to him? It drove him insane. Henry felt like he couldn't sit down anymore, like he had no chance to catch his breath. He couldn't think straight, so he wasn't really to blame for what he did next. 

Henry's fingers flew over the keyboard, accessing Facebook and logging into your account, desperate to see whether he could find out who the man in your video was. And it was as easy as it could've been, considering your last 5 conversations were with the girl friends he already knew about. But somewhere among them, he spotted an unfamiliar name - Steve R., and instantly clicked and opened the conversation. His blood started to boil when the multitude of emojis you sent reached his eyes, but he scrolled up, until he found the beginning of yesterday's conversation. 

It was started by you, and with a request. You were blunt and went straight for it, asking him with just one message to be in the video with you. There was no trace of your relationship with him on the Internet, so Henry had no idea regarding the nature of yours and Steve's connection. Judging by the way you addressed him, he could easily assume the man was nothing more than a fuck buddy. Even though it angered him, Henry kept his calm and decided to go about this with care. It would only be a matter of time until he removed Steve from your life. But for now, he just had to keep digging for information. 

Steve R.: "Exactly what do you need me to do, baby? Spank you? In front of the camera? Are you serious?" 

"Yes, Steve. Come on!! I know we haven't seen each other in a while, but still... 😇 when it comes to these things, you know me better than anyone"

Henry scoffed. Who the fuck was this guy?

Steve R.: "I know, baby"

Steve R.: "What's in it for me?"

Smoke came out of Henry's ears, and the fact that you acted so sweet and innocent made him want to smash his keyboard.

"Whatever you want! Just do this for me!!! Please!!!! 🥺😊😋"

Steve R.: "Ofc I'll do it, sweetheart. I got you"

"Thank you thank you thank you 😘"

Steve R.: "I should be the one to thank you"

Steve R.: "Send me the location and I'll be over there asap"

After that, your address followed and then that was it. Determined to dig deeper, Henry started to scroll up again, wanting to find out as much as he could about this mysterious man. He didn't get a chance to lurk too much before this computer alerted him of a notification, the onlyfans tab glowing orange. His attention was instantly won, smiling devilishly as he checked the content.

Posted 30 seconds ago, was the new video. Ready to kick back and enjoy, Henry pressed the play button, ready to go at it with an open mind. 

He reluctantly accepted the fact that there was another man in it with you, but he decided to enjoy it nevertheless. The video started, displaying Steve seated on the couch, thighs suggestively parted. He had a pair of black dress pants on, dangerously stretched over his massive thighs. A white, elegant shirt hugged his visibly sculpted torso, the top two buttons undone to show just a hint of chest hair. Quite a sight, but all Henry saw was trash. With his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a silver watch on his wrist and a pinky ring on, Steve patted his thigh, cueing your entrance.

When Henry saw you, he felt his breath reach a new, sudden level of difficulty. With the shortest of skirts barely managing to cover your ass and a mostly see-through shirt on your top half, you made your way to him in such an angelic way that Henry couldn't believe his eyes. 

You looked like happiness personified, and it came in such a painful contraction to what you were about to do, that it twisted Henry's mind in such a perverse way, his cock nearly twitched just by seeing you. 

When you were about to bend over Steve's thigh, he grabbed your chin and stopped you mid action, his lips slamming against your as his free hand lewdly caressed your ass. He flung the skirt over your hips, your flimsy underwear on full display. 

Attentive to the events unfolding on the screen, Henry found his cock, teasingly rubbing it over the material of his pajama pants. His mouth watered when he felt the sensibility in his tip, actually believing this would be easier than he initially anticipated.

"Are you going to be Daddy's good little girl, or do I have to make this fucking hurt?" Steve asked and Henry almost threw up. 

"Yes, Daddy. I'll be good" you mewled, wiggling your feet. 

"Let's see" the man menacingly chuckled, releasing a sharp slap against your ass that made you yelp out in pain.

At this point, about 30 seconds in that was, Henry was already losing his mind. It was as if you took a trip inside his dreams and decided to play out his fantasies. The only problem was that you did it with another man. It was next to impossible for him to keep this going.

"Can you count?" Steve taunted, his hand traveling all over the back of your thighs, your exposed ass and between your legs. 

"Yes, Daddy" you eagerly nodded and Henry almost threw up.

"I wouldn't be surprised if a dumb slut like you didn't know how to" Steve chuckled, "But it's ok, that's how we like our girls. Dumb and pretty"

"Thank you, Daddy"

Henry couldn't believe his eyes. He refused to accept the fact that a random man got to play with your innocence like that. You were his sweet little girl. And if until now he pushed through heroically, when literal yelps of pain started erupting from your lips as the blonde man slapped your ass hard enough to rock your whole frame, Henry's blood ran cold.

But no matter how hard the jealousy had hit him, the video was still pushing his limits of self control. It was still what he always wanted to see. When he reached inside his pants and grabbed his cock, a low grunt of early satisfaction left his lips. He once again found himself picturing you, willing to please him, but this time, he didn't get to go too far. The buzzing sound of his doorbell rang through his apartment, and he never stood up faster.

Cock still hard and completely visible through his pants, Henry slapped the pause button and minimized the browser, before springing to his feet and rushing to the door.

"Henry!" you exclaimed as soon as he came into view. He looked somehow tired, but it was easy to tell there was something else bothering him. "You didn't answer your phone" you pouted.

"Yeah, sorry" he shook his head, a few sweaty curls falling against his forehead. "I was busy with something. What's up?"

You raised your eyebrows and pointed to the door of your apartment, "You said you'd come over? Coffee? Remember?"

"Oh, shit, yeah" Henry cringed, rubbing his forehead. "I'll be over in 10 minutes, that ok?"

"Sure" you beamed, completely oblivious to the way he just tried to get rid of you. With utter nonchalance, you pushed your way past him and strolled into the kitchen.

"You wanna wait here?" he muttered.

"Yeah... Is that a problem? I can leave..."

"No, no" Henry eventually sighed and rushed over to you. He cupped your cheeks and kissed your forehead. "Wait here, I'll be right back"

And that was what you did. You silently sat down, grabbing a bag of chips you found laying around, and settled to wait. And maybe, a few seconds passed where nothing devious came to mind, but as time ticket itself away, boredom got to you. First you stood up, and padded to the hallway, looking around. There was almost nothing new over there, but it still felt so homey you absolutely loved to inspect every detail. The TV in the living room was turned off, a couple of pizza boxes on the floor and his DVD cases laying around - absolutely nothing interesting.

You sighed and plopped down on his couch, folding your legs under your body, ready to flip through the channels on TV until he'd decide to join you. Nothing seemed of interest, being bombarded with news and fishing programs. "Old man" you thought to yourself, before opening up the menu in search for something less depressing. A wave of nostalgia hit you when you came across a Spiderman marathon, and you were done for. Maybe one full episode passed until Henry walked out of the bathroom, but you were nowhere near ready to leave.

"Look what's playing!" you beamed, pointing to the screen. Henry raised his eyebrows in amusement, his shoulders shaking as he softly laughed at your unusual choice of entertainment. 

"Are you serious? Cartoons?"

"Yes!" you scoffed, extending your arms and gesturing for him to join you. Although reluctant at first, Henry agreed to sit and watch the show with you, but not before brewing some coffee first.

When he returned from the kitchen, two steaming mugs in tow, you shuffled to the side and welcomed him on the couch. He brought you close against him, draping his arm around your body. With your head resting on his shoulder, you sipped your coffee, eyes glued to the TV. "You seriously never watched these as teen? You were 11 when it came out."

"I did" Henry laughed, rubbing his hand up and down your side, "I was in love with Felicia Hardy"

"MJ was so much better!" you shook your head disappointed, "You have no taste"

"No need for that" Henry threatened, his fingers exploring their way down your body. The way he trailed his hand across your hips and thighs made you squirm, smiling to yourself as you shuffled closer to him.

Henry was more than happy to reciprocate, kissing your forehead and squeezing you tighter. 

And just like that, you didn't care about Spiderman anymore. You flung your leg over Henry's lap, all but crawling on top of him. The episode was still playing in the background, but none of you was paying attention anymore. Henry wrapped his muscular arms around your frame, eliciting a soft moan from your lips as you pushed your hips down against his thigh. His hands traveled lower, exploring your body with delicate but greedy strokes. 

As you let yourself get carried away with absolutely no worry in mind, Henry knew exactly what he was doing. And considering how easily you let your guard down, he had you right where he wanted. 

When you hid your face in the crook of his neck, your nose rubbing across the slope of his collarbone, Henry's right hand found your ass. You froze for a second, but his gentle caress helped you relax again in an instant. With his lips against the top of your head, he allowed his fingers to sink into your flesh. Your whole frame stiffened as you gathered a handful of his hoodie into your fist.

"What's wrong?" Henry cooed, grabbing your chin, "You ok?"

"Yep" you whimpered, and then winced again as he squeezed your ass once more. "I'm good-" you lied, cupping the side of his neck into your palm as you crawled higher up his body, your lips right against his ear. 

As weak as he was for you, Henry stood his ground. If you wanted to play this game, he'd do it, but he wouldn't let you win.

"Does this hurt?" he asked, roughly groping your ass.

Jumping slightly from the pain, you still managed to shake your head, blurting out another lie. "... no"

"What about this?" Henry teased, grinning widely as he shoved his hands inside your leggings, under your panties. 

The urgency of his touch made your eyes open wide, your back arching as you tried to push yourself off of him.

"Does it hurt, darling?" he continued, keeping you in place with ease. 

Defeated, you sighed and lowered your gaze, "A bit" you mumbled.

"Just a bit?" 

"Henry-"

"Did he fuck you good?" 

Your mouth fell open. "What- no, I didn't- we didn't do anything-"

"Didn’t do anything?" Henry grinned, his perfect teeth showing as he proudly pried information out of you.

"I just... fuck-" 

Seeing no way out of this one, and eager to stop hiding, you pushed yourself back. Henry's hands left your body as you sat beside him, and he watched you curiously, patiently waiting for you to word your thoughts. "I just filmed a video for my page, that's all" you bowed your head.

"What kind of video?" Henry questioned.

His demeanour was so relaxed, he was right in his element, unlike you, who were riled up to the extreme. "A spanking video-" you cleared, awkwardly fidgeting with the hem of your shirt. 

"Did he spank you good?" 

His hand found your hips again, and you leaned into his touch, nodding your head yes as you were too embarrassed to actually word your answer.

"Then show me" 

He was dominant and stern, and even if you wanted to, you felt like saying no wasn't an option. Henry didn't wait for your permission as he grabbed your waist and pulled you up to your knees, chuckling softly to himself when he saw you shyly smile down at him. 

His fingers curled around the waistband of your leggings, forcefully pulling them down your thighs. "Come on" he urged you, softly guiding you to lay down across his lap, your ass barely covered by the pinkish and slightly unflattering underwear you had chosen for the day.

Henry's breathing picked up at the sight, and so did yours. You watched him over your shoulder, his fingers tracing over the bruises Steve left on your bum the night before. 

"Henry-?" you whimpered, the anticipation building up in the pit of your stomach becoming too much to bear. 

"Yes, darling?" he cooed, leaning down to the side to kiss your cheek. His stumble tickled your skin and you whimpered when his hand made its way between your legs.

You felt his fingers against your opening and involuntarily clenched your thighs around him, hiding your face in the cushions of below your head.

"Tell me" Henry pushed, teasing your folds and clit over your underwear. 

"Nothing, I-" you cried, making him chuckle.

He loved giving you a taste of your own medicine. He straightened himself up and grabbed your ass into his hands, squeezing until you yelped out in pain. A soft laughter of approval escaped his throat as he bent down and pressed his lips to one of your cheeks, applying lingering kisses over each and every single bruise. 

The way he took control of the situation and handled your body, turned you on to no end. For whatever reason, being exposed like that for him, waiting for any kind of judgement to leave his lips, you were getting more and more riled up by the second. You were done for. You did your best not to moan with need, but little did you know that was exactly what kept you from being thrown onto the floor and fucked into oblivion. Just one single sign was all you needed in order to break his self control, but you didn’t have it in you to do it. 

But he didn’t say anything, instead just keeping you on your toes as he had his way. You were dripping through your underwear, and judging by the bulge in his pants that pushed up against your belly, you knew he was on the same page as you. But again, he didn’t allow things to go further. Everything about this moment pointed in the right direction - the teasing, the touching, you were all but whimpering in his lap, but he cut the moment short with a sharp slap against your ass before he helped you up. Henry acted as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened as he pulled your leggings back up, but this glare became colder when he found your eyes.

He bent down and spoke into your ear, "He could've done a better job"

Completely under his spell, you bit your lip and furrowed your eyebrows. "I don't think I would have been able to take any more"

"That's not what I said" Henry shook his head.

"Look at you being an expert" you teased, relishing in the fact that he seemed eager to keep things going. 

"All I'm saying is that if you had asked someone else-" Henry laughed, stroking your cheek, "Things would have turned out much more different"

"Oh" you pouted, ready to tease him further. "Who should I have asked-"

Just when you started getting comfortable and confident enough to push things further, Henry's phone rang. "I don't have to take that" he shook his head when he heard you stopped talking.

"Just see who it is" you giggled, slapping his shoulder.

Before doing so, Henry grabbed your chin and kissed your forehead, his touch drawing you in like a magnet as you leaned into him when he pulled away. With a sigh, you eventually crawled off his lap and then your face fell with disappointment when Henry showed you the screen of his phone. 

"Yeah?" he huffed after picking up, his boss being the last person he wished to talk to right now. 

You watched him closely as he listened to whatever the man was saying, and almost whined out loud when Henry frowned annoyed.

"I'll call you back in 5, ok?" he asked and after a couple of seconds hung up.

"I'm so sorry-" Henry sighed, turning to you, "I gotta go take this, there's a problem with one of the radars, I need to go see if I can fix it remotely"

"Sure thing" you shook your head. "But please tell me you don't have plans tonight"

"I don't" Henry leaned towards you and again, kissed your forehead. As much as you loved the sweet gesture, it was now more than ever that you craved something else entirely. 

"And please don't forget about me again" you giggled, grabbing his biceps and stopping him from leaving without a promise.

"I won't" he sighed, "I'm really sorry about that. I'll make it up to you"

"However I want?" you beamed and licked your lips.

"Absolutely" Henry smiled, sweetly embracing you before walking you to the door.

You had his word now, and you were planning on making it count. There was no way either you or Henry would act as if nothing had happened, and you couldn't wait.

Once alone and seated at his desk, Henry opened up the text editor associated with the code he wrote months ago. When his screen was flooded with errors and his chat popped up with three different messages asking for help from his colleagues, Henry all but yelled out loud in frustration. Not only did he wish to be with you, it was also Sunday, one of his days off. But he couldn't just text the pilot of the plane whose radar went berserk and tell him to wait. So he got to work, determined to get this done as soon as possible. 

But unfortunately, that 'as soon as possible' turned into 3 hours of continuous work. He didn't even stand up to go to the bathroom until he made sure everything was on point. It was about 4pm when the program started running smoothly again, and seeing how he had a few more hours to waste until he had to see you, Henry decided to make the best of them, by getting a head start on his tasks for the following day.

Productivity flowed through his fingertips as he solved the first issue he had been assigned for the day to come, getting ready to start working on the second one when a call caught his attention. He didn't recognize the ring tone, and it only dawned on him that he was still logged into your facebook account a couple of seconds after it stopped ringing. 

Still curious, Henry switched the tabs on his computer, noticing that the chat with Steve, which he left open hours ago, showed that there was an ongoing video call. His jaw fell. Henry tightened his hands into fists, fuming with anger. First as you for doing this, and then at himself for allowing you to believe this was an ok thing to do. He knew there was no way to eavesdrop on your conversation even if he had the password, but that didn't mean his curiosity died down. No, it only grew stronger.

He felt lost for a minute, but then he thought of something. On his dresser, right next to his winter gloves and under his favorite jogging hat, laid an extra set of keys. Henry remembered the day you gave them to him, saying something along the lines of 'I feel much safer knowing that if something were to happen, you could always get to me, Henry.' and then remembered how you stuffed them in his pocket, and kissed his chest before stepping back. Such different times. 

There was no trace of hesitation inside his mind as he grabbed the keys and made his way out of his home. He passed the hallway in less than a second and pressed his ear to the door. It was perfectly quiet, and through the peephole, he couldn't see any light. You weren't in the kitchen or living room, so he felt confident enough. After putting his phone on vibrate, Henry ever so gently pushed the key inside, turning it inside the lock with the most meticulous movement his wrist could muster. The sound of the door knob being turned was so faint he barely even heard it, but his pulse skyrocketed when he heard the click that signaled the door was finally open.

With small, careful steps, he made his way inside. The entire apartment was dark and quiet as he made his way in, stopping just outside your bedroom as the relaxed, deep voice of a stranger became audible through the wall. “Trust me, sweetheart. Just relax, I got you. You’re all tense, I can see it from here. You know I have more experience with this than you do, just do as I say”

With one hand on the doorknob of your bedroom, Henry was ready to put an end to this whole charade. He knew he might regret it later, but he didn't care. The image of a so called friend, pushing you to do anything that you seemed to have clearly stated your discomfort about, flipped a switch inside his brain. There was no stopping him because no one, no one got to push you around like that. Not while he could do anything about it.

[mrpenguinpants]

Diluc: Comfort HCs

Oh no worries anon! We’re getting through everything and I can just see the top. I’m not sure if people saw it - probably not - but my entire blog has devolved into “See this genshin character? Animal.” and I refuse to have another cat character so I’m making Diluc a hawk.  

Apparently (maybe) Diluc’s bird is a nightingale [voicelines]. But I don’t really see Diluc the kind of guy to serenade you at night in secret because your father doesn’t approve of your marriage.

---

Today’s appreciation post goes to fulltimeventisimp. Tumblr throws a goddamn fit when I try to tag people (even though I literally have a tag list but that’s apparently not good enough) so I hope you see this^^ You’ve been so nice and caring to me I feel so soft 😭 and I hope you’re doing alright! I’m remembering to take breaks and rest  💕💕

---

Semi Part 1: Relationship HCs [I would read this just for the last point]

Diluc Ver: Jealous HCs

[Masterlist]

---

[taglist]  <- if you want to be added, please read this first.

@hanniejji​  @mikeysbike​ @unionwitch​ @musekala​ @twistedsunnshiii​ @stanzastic​ @akaasea​ @xoneaboveallx​ @adoring-ghost​ @asheseiler​ @childelover​ @dilucsz​

---

Diluc: Comfort HCs

Diluc has always had either an aloof or professional persona based on who he needed to talk to. In both cases, no matter the subject or how Diluc talked, there would always be some sort of forced distance so no one would mistaken it as familiarity or friendliness. There were only a two cases where he felt comfortable and those were with close friends and his staff. The third case being Kaeya but Diluc prefers to not acknowledge him and stashes that folder away. Even with friend’s such as Jean or Elzer, he could never really relax and let his true feelings slip until you burst into his life. Literally. “An unexpected outcome of an experiment,” is what Albedo had told him but regardless, since you entered his life he’s let himself regress into his younger days and let himself take for once.

Maybe that was why you had gotten so used to Diluc’s touched starved self that, when it was suddenly gone, you were feeling uneasy. Lately Diluc seemed to be spending longer hours at his desk or working at the tavern. You knew that he was just busy and there wasn’t any underhanded reasoning behind it, Diluc wasn’t that kind of guy. But did he seriously have to spend every waking moment, day or night, talking to the same people? When was the last time you saw him for more than two minutes? Diluc isn’t a big fan of idle talking but would it seriously hurt just to catch up? You didn’t even get together to have your weekly chess matches too.

You didn’t consider yourself a very clingy person and you knew what a relationship with Diluc was going to be like so why were you getting so bothered? You decided to take the situation in your hands and go visit him at the tavern only to see him so busy at work. It both made you a bit huffy, you wanted to storm in there and drag the man away from his work so he could stop trying to speed run life - not like that would ever happen because the second hand embarrassment would make you dissolve into the ground and you could never show your face to Diluc if you actually did that - but also making you more upset. Here he was, working and running his business, and you couldn’t go at least a couple weeks without seeing him. You ended up turning around and going home to scream into your pillow and sleep the heavy feeling away.

Your inner turmoil seemed to seep out into the open that Kaeya felt the need to bring it up. As much as Diluc dislikes Kaeya around you, he really does care about you and he still does owe you for the troubles he gave you when you first started going out with Diluc. He catches you while you’re off running errands and manages to coax you into getting some lunch with him. You’ve been bottling up your feelings so much that when Kaeya shows some concern you let it all pour out. At this point you don’t care if it’s Kaeya of all people you’re confessing your feelings to, you just want to get it off your chest because the man you’re in love with doesn’t seem to notice you’re actually there and it’s making you feel insecure about yourself. Kaeya gives you a sympathetic smile and tells you not to worry about it, he’ll personally knock some sense into Diluc.

Diluc’s been hard at work on another possible Fatui plan and business with the winery that he can’t help but feel that he was missing something. Was he overlooking something? He had planned this for a while so everything should be perfect. It wasn’t until Kaeya himself had to walk in, press his hand on the tavern counter, and call him an idiot that he realizes that he had been so wrapped up in his work and personal duties that he completely neglected you. He quickly passes his duties to Charles with a quick apology, throws his coat on, gives Kaeya a very strained thank you, and he’s out the door to find you. He’s already lost so much so he’ll be damned if he looses you. Not right now. 

You gave him the key to your home after a few months of being together, in case his he needed to temporarily hide should his night activities get the best of him. He’s already at your door in seconds as he quickly unlocks and steps in. 

“Beloved?” he softly calls out to not accidently scare you but he receives no reply. It’s dark inside but he can see your shoes at the door so he knows you’re inside somewhere. He softly closes and locks the door as he hangs his coat up. Carefully running a hand down the fabric and beside your coat as he looks around your small home. He’s always felt it was warm even when you weren’t here. The “home” he has will always be the place he grew up in but after everything that’s happened, he feels a bit alienated in there so he always appreciated that you lent him a key.

He catches the sound of some shuffling and follows the sound to see you under your blankets. He breathes a quick sigh of relief that you weren’t in any danger as he carefully circles around your bed before gently placing a hand on your back. He’s never been good at words or communicating his feelings so he’s at a bit of a standstill. Despite his reputation of being a nobleman of high esteem, you’re his first serious relationship. As far as he’s concerned you’re going to be his only relationship for that matter.

“I...apologize for my recent behaviour. It was never my intention to hurt you. I ended up letting myself get too blinded to see you were in pain and that was my fault. You don’t have to forgive me now but won’t you let me see your face my love?” he asked in all his awkward pose, put him in front of massive event and he’ll perform with flying colours but put him in front of his partner and he stumbles over his worlds like a new born fawn. But it seems to bring a small laugh from you as you peek from under the covers. 

He smiles softly as he sees your ears flush pink. No matter how many times he calls you that you always get so shy, he adores it. But he can feel the guilt rise up in his chest, you’ve always been there to support and reassure him that he was doing everything right. That things were going to be okay when he re-took his father’s business and you would be with him every step of the way. So in the best and awkward way that Diluc can manage, he tells you this. By the time he’s done he can feel his own face start to pink but it’s made you feel better so it was worth it. 

“Feeling better?” he smiles softly as you nod up at him as he lays down beside you, opening his arms in comfort, “Good, come here.” 

You shuffle closer to him as he holds you. It’s been awhile since he’s held you like this and even without realizing it, he’s missed this. Just you and him together, basking in each other’s presence. No work that needed to be attended to. No Fatui trying to cause him any more trouble. It was a safe place and one he didn’t want to let go.  

“What if we got married?”

There’s a beat of silence. 

Then a thud. 

You end up scrambling and falling off your bed face first. It’s a bit silent as you give off a pain groaned and climb back up and he can see your face has exploded red. He can almost see steam coming off as you try and nurse your nose. He blinks a bit at you taken aback as you stutter and scream into your hands as your brain seems to process what he just asked. You lift your face from your hands to look at him, somehow go even redder, and scream louder into your hands. He’s not sure if this is something he should be offended or concerned about but the weight he had been feeling earlier starts to fade away as a new and familiar feeling bubbles up. For the first time in half a month, Diluc let’s out a laugh as he tries to console you as you manage out a yes.

---

Gripping my writing hand why is no one stopping me? Diluc you’re literally acting like Childe rn. [if anyone is confused ahem Childe: Fiancé HCs (should be in my masterlist)]

Also, I continue to look away from the lore. Kaeya and Diluc are not on the best of terms but if they can have petty rich lady wine talk then Kaeya can walk in and call Diluc an idiot.

I was serious when I said that I researched hawk behaviours. I have learned the internet is horrible in telling me how hawks behave. But I did find this and I found this hilarious:

In the case of the red-tailed hawk, for example, the pair soar, screaming at each other; then the male dives at the female, who may roll in the air to present her claws to him in mock combat.

[withcolebrock]

I Drew That

Corpse Husband x fem!reader

Summary: Corpse finds out that Y/N has a drawing of him as her background

Warnings: swearing :)

Word Count: 1,818

Author’s Note: I’ve spent weeks trying to write this piece :/ I just couldn’t find a way to make it how I wanted it if that makes sense but I tried my best. This idea was very cute because I can totally see this happening lol. Especially with like the whole flirty voice thing Corpse has been doing with like Brentman and like James and stuff haha. I hope you guys enjoy it!!

~~~

Tonight was one of the many nights that she was playing Among Us. It had taken over her life, a flood of success followed her once she had played with Sean and Felix. She had gained over two hundred thousand subscribers on her YouTube channel. It had changed her life for the better, in many ways.

For the last three rounds, it had been strict imposter wins. Felix won two of those. Everyone was shocked when it was him the second time, Felix was getting great at the game. The group then decided to switch lobbies because Felix was throwing a fit about getting imposter too much. It was the usual group of Felix, Sean, Poki, Rae, Sykkuno, Leslie, Toast, Dave, Corpse, and Y/N.

Over the last few months everyone in the group had gotten a lot closer. Especially Corpse and Y/N. After the first time they played together, a lobby Sean had created, they had talked for hours after the first game they played. This had continued almost every time they had played  Most of the time, Corpse would be editing his videos while talking with her. It calmed him as he worked. She would be working on her art or scrolling through Pinterest or Tumblr.

They had even FaceTimed several times, where Corpse revealed his face to her. He made a big deal out of it, saying a whole monologue before he turned the camera to his face. She followed in pursuit being very dramatic as well. Whenever they would talk he would play her his music, waiting to see if she liked it. She loved any song he put out, despite it not being her usual music taste.

One night she was scrolling through Tumblr and found an artist who was drawing Among Us players with their little characters. One particular character made her smile and her heart flutter slightly. It was an amazing drawing of Corpse and his little character sitting on his shoulder. It was an art style she was familiar with, she loved supporting smaller artists. It was the cutest thing she has ever seen. Weirdly, it perfectly described him. She loved it so much, she decided to keep it as her phone Wallpaper.

The round started on Mira, where Y/N was a crewmate again. Throughout the whole night, she still hasn’t gotten imposter. “Dammit,” she groaned at the screen. She stood still at the start of the map, waiting to see if anyone would fake tasks at the start. Everyone ran off, not doing them. She quickly followed.

After a long thirty seconds lights get shut off. She ignores the emergency and continues doing her tasks, she stood by the vending machine when Felix killed her. “It’s fucking Felix again!” she leaned back in her chair groaning. She covered her face with her hands. “He’s gotta stop killing me first,” she shook her head. She tried to hide how annoyed she was.

Her body was called by Poki, she was the only dead one. “Oh my god,” Poki said once the screen popped up.

“Y/N no!” Rae yelled, “You guys, she’s died first the last three rounds,”

“Wait really? Oh Jesus, sorry Y/N,” Sykkuo said, a breathy laugh leaving his lips.

“I’ll protect you next round, Y/N, I promise,” Corpse said. Y/N tried to hide her smile and the heat rushing to her cheeks.

“We’ll avenge you, Y/N!” Sean yelled. Soon after everyone grieved her death they began asking each other where they were. Everyone had a solid alibi making it impossible for them to figure out who did it.

“Guys, guys, Y/N died first the last three rounds right?” Toast started, everyone hummed, “Who was imposter these past few rounds?” he explained. Everyone gasped.

“You really think I would kill her first three rounds in a row?” Felix tried to defend himself as the voting time clock turned red.

“You’ve done it twice already!” Sean yelled, voting Felix. Felix was saved since half of the group skipped. She floated around the map trying to get her tasks done quickly so she could talk to her chat without holding back the rest of the group.

She glanced towards her chat, reading a few questions, she shifted her gaze to the game and thought about the questions. “I’ve been working on a cute little animation for you guys, I might do another art stream with you guys. Only if you guys want it, of course.” she read through a few more questions while answering them, while she waited for the meetings to end.

Once all of her tasks were done, she began to talk about her art and fanart. “Yeah, there’s an artist on Tumblr, they are amazing, they deserve so much more recognition,”  she explained as she showed them her lock screen with the drawing of Corpse; without thinking about her chat being curious as to why it was him. Turning her phone back towards her, her eyes widened as realization dawned on her.

The chat began to flood in with questions, begging Y/N to tell them why she had Corpse’s drawing as her background. She chose to ignore the question and continue talking about her own art and showing fan art. Despite trying to change the subject, she sighed dramatically. “Chat, there’s no reason why Corpse’s character is my background, the artist is just good, stop talking about it,” she giggled as the victory screen popped up on her screen.

“Felix what the fuck!” she unmuted in discord. He began laughing as he began to defend his actions. “No, no it doesn’t matter if I know your liar voice, Felix-” After about five minutes of everyone talking the next round started. She was a crewmate again, “I feel like I’m bugged,” she groaned as she started running around doing her tasks. Corpse’s little black character was following her.

“Looks like I got myself a little body guard,” she smiled as she spoke. They walked passed the medbay room, as Corpse moved his character dramatically. She rolled her eyes as they both walked into the medbay room. She didn’t have medbay, but she sat waiting for Corpse to finish. They continued doing tasks together until a body was called. It was Sean’s.

“Y/N’s cleared I was with her the entire time,” Corpse said confidently into his mic. She said the same about him. Poki was acting a little weird during the call, which made Y/N a little suspicious of her.

~~~

When the lights were shut off Corpse was killed by Poki, and he groaned as his body was killed immediately. Poki called out Y/N right away, saying that she was with Corpse the whole time. Corpse glanced towards his chat, finally able to try and read everything everyone was saying. His eyes lit up as he saw her name flash the screen several times.

One person kept spamming the chat saying, Y/N’s has your Among Us character as her background, he smiled as he read it. He knew exactly what the picture was, “Oh really?” he hummed as he continued reading. Everyone was saying how nervous she got when they kept asking her about it. He pressed his lips together nervously. He decided to drop it for now, but he was curious. He looked back up to the screen and began to listen to what was happening during the meeting.

“...You really think I would spend this whole game marinating Corpse for me to kill him in front of Poki? What about that double kill that happened, there was no way I would’ve done that if I was with him.” Y/N explained, over Poki trying to defend herself.

“I think she’s got it guys,” It was down to Toast, Y/N, Sykkuno, and Poki. Everyone quickly voted for Poki. The Victory screen popped up. “I knew you had it, Y/N,” Corpse said as everyone started shouting into the discord.

After a few minutes of them discussing the round, they decided to switch over to Polius. “Hey, Y/N, can I ask you something?” Corpse asked, the group quickly went quiet.

“Sure,” she giggled.

“My chat keeps saying you have my character as your phone background, is that true?” he asked, teasingly. He smiled widely. The entire group started cheering while teasing Y/N and Corpse.

Her mouth dropped open as she tried to find a way to explain it, “Well, uh,” she cleared her throat, “I do actually, it was great art, what was I supposed to do?” she laughed.

“Oooo, someone has a little crush,” Sean teased, Felix quickly joined. The rest of the group was simply laughing along. Corpse stayed silent while the group was teasing Y/N, and Corpse for that matter.

He pulled up Y/N’s Twitter and began to scroll through her feed to find the perfect drawing. He took the drawing that Y/N did of her own Among Us character. It was a drawing of Y/N holding her little character in her hand. It was his favorite piece of art she has done. Mainly because she drew it while on FaceTime with him. He quickly changed it to his iphone background, he glanced back towards the screen, seeing if the game started. He took a screenshot of it and immediately texted it to Y/N.

“Y/N, look at our messages,” he said simply into his mic. The group slowly stopped talking as they waited for Y/N to open the message.

“Corpse, I’m scared,” she whispered, everyone started laughing.

“Just open the message,” he giggled.

She sighed dramatically while she pulled up the messages with Corpse, seeing the screenshot. Her lips fell into a pout as she saw it. “I drew that,” she mumbled into the mic.

“You did,” he whispered, as he felt heat rise in his cheeks. He loved hearing her voice. “It’s my favorite,” he continued.

“Corpse,” she whined as her eyes began to tear up. She didn’t know why, but her heart felt so full. “You didn’t have to do that,” she mumbled, readjusting herself in her chair. She shifted her gaze towards the contact name, Corpseyyy.

“Of course I did, It was beautiful art,” he muttered while he looked back towards his phone, admiring his new phone background.

“Is this..a possible.. New relationship starting?” Sean whispered dramatically into his mic.

“It sounds like it,” Rae interjected. Corpse rolled his eyes dramatically, but he didn’t oppose the idea; neither did Y/N. Rae quickly started the game, letting the tension ease between everyone. Corpse and Y/N got imposter together.

“Oh my god finally,” Y/N said into the mic as she started faking tasks, “Chat, please stop saying I’m blushing, you aren’t helping,” she giggled as she continued the game. She raised her hand to her cheek, feeling the warmth.