strawberista

[strawberista]

Hanekoma chuckled at her reaction, delighted by his his ability to make her smile even if she wasn't entirely convinced. And he made an effort to act casual about them, too, just so she didn't feel obligated to make a show of accepting it. He was just her friend and this was just what he did from time to time, so hopefully it became normalized and expected from him.

"Hey, you know me," he purred. "I gotta tell it like I see it~ I noticed you started jazzin' up your threads recently. It looks good. Comfort looks good on ya."

He slid a cup of tea to her and gracefully fell into his own seat, tipping back with the force of his fall just enough to prop his ankles on the edge of the table. It was somewhat panic inducing to watch him nearly fall backwards like that, but he somehow pulled it off looking like he knew exactly what he was doing. He wore confidence like an old T-shirt, effortless and natural in its execution.

It was the middle of the day and the cafe was technically open, but Hanekoma didn't keep hours posted and no one but his regulars even knew to come. So for the moment it was dead business, the only real ambience of the cafe being the soft jazz playing over the radio and the bustling street outside the door. It was relaxing when it was like this, and that's why Hanekoma always invited his most nervous friends on days like this. Tsubasa and Natsuki some of the highest on that list.

But Hanekoma knew almost instinctively at this point that Natsuki still wasn't comfortable with having the spotlight on her person, so he shifted the conversation as he sipped from his own cup of coffee. "So how's sales, sister? That book doin' good since its release?"

@strawberista asked “Looks most becoming. You look regal, dignified, sincere, masterful, noble…” -> Natsuki {Hanekoma playfully gassing up his girl, from here~}

disney's robin hood

"Oh my..."

She was trying to do better with receiving compliments. She really was. She still didn't necessarily believe them, but between Hanekoma and Izumi both working so hard to build back up her long-gone self esteem, she was making her best effort.

But she was still a little flustered, though she had made progress on not showing it quite as much as she used to.

"You're really too kind..."

Izumi had been slowly helping her with her wardrobe. Trying to keep to Natsuki's lowkey style, but nicer. Classy, yet cozy. Attention grabbing, but subtle. Unless it was a special occasion, of course. But for day-to-day outfits, Natsuki was slowly trying to become more comfortable with these things.

[strawberista]

{I need icons of Hanekoma doing the Kariya shrug. Like, exactly. I feel like that's a thing somewhere, but I don't know where. Or maybe I'm just conflating those things. In any case, I need it to be a thing but I'm too lazy. Insert Kohi laid out and K.O.'d here.}

[strawberista]

{I should be doing drafts but who cares about that when I can throw an inbox call out there?}

[strawberista]

Your URL change messed the link up, it should go back to normal if you reblog it directly from yourself.

{I realized this after I went back into Firefox Nightly and checked the URL. I was running through my archives looking for the last time I reblogged it and did not remember when I changed my URL so RIP to me ansks. It doesn't help that Tumblr kept throwing up a "WouLDn'T yoU liKE to UsE tHE APp!?" pop-up like every three seconds and that was frustrating~! Someone teach me how to block that on nightly. I'm sure Ublock origin has a function or something.}

{Being mobile is sometimes not fun. 😂😂 But we're getting there by golly.}

[strawberista]

{I saw a little bit of talk on this on the dash, and though I am incredibly late I decided I would put in my two cents.}

{Here’s some headcanons about Hanekoma’s romantic and sexual leanings. Of course, trigger warning for nsft/nsfw and suggestive content.}

Keep reading

[strawberista]

{Haven't done a gosh darn thing, but it's pride month so I'm gonna take a second to like. Change icons and post the pride posts. ✌️ I'm so sorry y'all these empty promises I keep making. 😂😂😂 I swear I am not avoiding Tumblr my life is just so much all the time. I love it so much I cannot be bothered with screens sksksk.}

[strawberista]

{A part of me wants to focus on finishing my 26 drafts but another part of me wants to start interacting with the dash again because the fandom is resurging and I haven't thrown my scrunkly coffee cat at anyone in a long time.}

{I also might be considering using my leftover time after medicating my dog to do Tumblr mobile because Neopets and Santae are completely consuming my computer time.}

{Otherwise my routine is finally getting fairly established. I gotta learn how to deal with the Tumblr FOMO better, but we're getting there. 😂}

[strawberista]

Hanekoma does less to hide his own amusement at the sight of Uzuki being picked up and hauled away like that. The cat actively lifts his paws to his muzzle to snicker into them, and then he stands upright again in order to stretch out the whole length of his body. A casual recovery from his earlier embarrassment.

"Well, I'll let you two get back to it, then," he hummed as he moved fluidly to Kariya's ankles to rub against them. "Be safe on the trip home, a'ight? We don't want someone with ill intent to find Uzuki like that. You keep an eye on her and get her home safe, brother."

Not that there was a single bone in Hanekoma's body that thought Kariya wouldn't do that. Addressing it was more formality than anything else, a string of parting words to close out their conversation. Hanekoma had seen first hand the lengths the two of them would go to protect each other, and they both worked well as a team. They were a good example of what partners could really be, no matter what lens one was looking through. That had been a hard won partnership, too, so he knew the bond was particularly strong.

"You call me if you need anything else, though," he continued as he neared the door. "I'll come runnin'. I don't mind helping out where I can while Bun-bun is getting her much needed rest."

It takes everything in Uzuki to not laugh at Hanekoma's reaction. It was so good to see that even he wasn't immune to his animal nature.

But she rolls her eyes at the lecture.

"You realize if I leave any work left undone, I can't rest and actually enjoy a break, right? I'll end up stressing about it the whole time. I'll go stir-crazy. It's either finish all my work or have to deal with Kariya trying to keep me from leaving home to come back to my office to finish up."

"And at that point it's just easier to let her finish her work," he shrugs in agreement. But he turns his attention back toward Uzuki, giving her some gentle headpats now, before picking her up.

"H-hey!" she protests, flailing her feet. "P-put me down!"

"You're gonna rest, girl. I'll take ya home, make dinner, and you can make yourself all comfy cuddling with me."

If she wasn't already pink from the fur, she'd be red from embarrassment.

She manages to wiggle herself free from his grasp, hopping up his arm and onto his shoulder, now perching there.

"Hmph," she pouts, rubbing her paws over her face and ears.

[strawberista]

The cat's eyes went wide when Kariya actually pet him, clearly not having expected that to happen. And, quite involuntarily, his whole back arched as he released a deeply pleased "mrrp~!" without even having the option to resist. It was beyond embarrassing, not necessarily for the fact that he made cat noises, but more for the fact that he had no control over such a reaction. He remained silent and puffed up for a good half-minute as he tried to calm himself down and get his muddled brain back in order.

"H-haa, well," he breathed, sitting up in order to start cleaning himself and getting the stress out of his shaggy fur, "I think she'll be alright. Though you really do need'a start really looking after yourself, Bun-bun. Even if ya did have the intention to rest, you clearly overworked yourself to a dangerous point, which shoulda never happened. Ya gotta act on your growth, capisce? I know you know it now, but it doesn't mean a damn thing if you don't walk the walk. At least keep that in mind the next time ya feel the strain. J blows his work off alla time and it doesn't tear things up too much. With as diligent as ya tend to be, Bun-bun, I highly doubt leavin' a little is gonna hurt too much on the off occasion. So please rest as soon as you're feeling tired next time... Okay?"

"Well, yeah, we can get home just fine, but it's when we get home I was worried about," Kariya explains. "We live in the RG like normal people outside of work. I didn't know if she'd be able to go in the RG like this, if it would do something to her or mess something up or what."

"Yeah, yeah, I work too much, we've established this, you both know that's how I died," Uzuki frowns. "I'm definitely convinced that that's cursed me to have to deal with this kind of stupid bullshit."

"You gotta be more careful, girl," Kariya sighs. "What if it ends up being permanent in the future?"

"I'm positive it won't. And like I said, I was gonna rest on break! I had already planned on it!" she insisted, stomping her foot.

Kariya just shakes his head, before giving cat-koma some gentle pats on the head.

"If it's safe to take her home, then that eases my worry," he admits. "She'll be able to rest a lot easier there."

[strawberista]

⚅— @runeystatic asked: —⚅ ⚅— Send 😉 to flirt with my muse!

(Rould) —⚅

Flirt with My Muse

— ★ ⚄ ★ —

The afternoon sun beat down over the two of them from the top of the Mark City building, Hanekoma's own dark eyes scanning the cityscape below. He had brought Rould up here to show off the view to him, but he'd gotten so locked into the scene himself that he'd completely lost track of the conversation. So much so, he had very nearly missed Rould's next words, but the sound of his voice caught him back into the present moment.

Hanekoma turned his gaze up to Rould, the sunset painting his dark hair and clothing a lightly orange hue. His eyes were just a bit wider, taking on the sunset tones into the depths of his apparent surprise, and somehow his blush rose even through the rosy evening painting his form. In that moment, Hanekoma had gone from almost complete distraction to full attention, making sure he heard the other as correctly as he thought he had.

"What was that, boss?"

[strawberista]

the story - it belongs to you.

[strawberista]

"Well, ya don't necessarily gotta shift planes to go back to your place anyway," Hanekoma said with a shrug. "But it's fine. It's just a form her soul can take on. I can do it, too, but I didn't learn how until a couple'a years ago. I wasn't sure reapers could get away with that sorta thing, but maybe that's something that can happen when you're such a goddamn workaholic."

This last sentence he said with a laugh, and in a moment he had made his own transformation. It was so fast and fluid that it was impossible to catch just by looking, but in one moment Hanekoma was there and in the next he was not, replaced by a black cat that approached Uzuki and rubbed against her in the way cats do, flopping down beside her in the same motion. It was a scrawny little thing, with some strange mixture of long and short hairs, creating this unkempt, fuzzy sort of look. It had some white markings on its chest and nose, but throughout the black of its main body one could just almost make out darker black stripes and spots.

"Used to, I'd turn involuntarily whenever I got really excited," Hanekoma, turned cat, said from his flopped position beside Uzuki. "Sometimes that still does happen, haha. But I mostly got a handle on it these days. Maybe if ya practice with it, you can get to where you can control it, too, sweetheart."

"You know damn well I'm not like this by choice," Uzuki pouts, sitting up and crossing her arms.

"Why are you both so calm about this?" Kariya asks, trying even harder now to not let his panic show.

"Well I finally have an answer for all of this nonsense," Uzuki sighs. "My Noise form. It talked to me."

"...What?"

"She said that she's trying to protect me from burnout. Which sucks, because I was absolutely going to rest once today was over. I just had to get everything finished up before the break."

Kariya just groans. While he was glad it wasn't anything that was wrong with her, of course it would be connected to her overworking. Of course it would be!

"Uzuki..."

"You know I can't just leave all this work not finished!" She's glaring at both of them. "I swear I was going to rest on this break!"

There was a part of Kariya that felt stupid for calling Hanekoma here. It didn't seem like anything was seriously wrong with her. But he hadn't known that at the time.

"Mr. Hanekoma, is it safe to take her home like this?" he asks. "That's why I brought her here, why I asked you to come here. Well, that and wanting answers, but looks like she's got those... I didn't know if it would be safe to take her out of the UG like this. I mean, she's not Noise, she's like, a normal rabbit, but..."

[strawberista]

At this point, Hanekoma was only vaguely aware of the aversion to that area of his body, but he was aware of it. So the moment Aedus turned his head up, the angel felt his whole soul burst with some intense sense of joy, like fire rushing through every nerve, right down to the tips of his wings despite the fact they weren't even manifested right now. A sound almost identical to a growling tiger rolled up out of Hanekoma's chest as he dipped his head down, lips softly grazing the tender skin there. He eyes were catlike but glassy, hazed over with the strange pleasure that was spreading through him just from Aedus's show of trust. He was going mad. Absolutely mad.

"This is dangerous, boss," Hanekoma purred, and his voice was somewhat altered, his noise slipping through even like this, the air around them becoming tense as the planes shifted around Hanekoma's soul. "Mm... Maybe in more ways than one, haha."

The angel took a moment to still himself, to breathe as he pressed a final few kisses to Aedus's neck. Soft, chaste, barely there kisses that peppered the skin from the collarbone to the tip of Aedus's chin. Each one a breath in and then a breath out for Hanekoma, a single step back to sanity. The trust was incredible. He didn't want to get too worked up, go too fast. He wanted to savor every second of this display, to keep it locked inside his memory and brand it there with a hot iron. He wanted to make sure this image never left his mind for the rest of his existence.

"You're gonna drive me crazy, my beautiful bird," Hanekoma said softly as he finally came back up, pressing a kiss to Aedus's lips. "You shouldn't give me so much power, hm?"

Oh, gods, what had he been talking about? Thoroughly lost to the rush of heat, flaring flames within him growing hotter with the flush that darkened his features. Retrieving his words was a task made only harder as Hanekoma's hands, and lips, began their journey... and, in lieu of actual words --- or even a single, coherent thought beyond desire --- the only sound that managed to escape his lips was a gasp, turning to groan.

His own fingers collapsed from his love's face. Instead, sought purchase in the softness of Hanekoma's shirt, the sides of it, leverage to draw him in closer still. Even having him nearly flush against the blazing heat of phoenix's own self was not nearly enough.

And, all misgivings or fear around it vanishing, Aedus's face tipped upwards, the slope of his throat exposing itself like a plea. Were there anyone he would trust so implicitly with his greatest of weaknesses, it was his shining Lux.

Let the soup boil over, Aedus could not care. All work gone to waste, gladly, for this... for hours of this, for more, for however far Sanae wished to go, Aedus would blissfully follow.

[strawberista]

Hanekoma picked up his pace a bit, now more filled with curiosity than anything else. And being assured he didn't have to stop to get anything, he just made his way in a steady pace to get back to the office. He hadn't been in there a great many times, but he was familiar with the path anyway. Hanekoma made it a point to know where everything was and what everything looked like, even though he had nothing to do with the reapers and tended to keep his identity a secret from them. He couldn't even count how many times he'd infuriated the reapers by wandering around places he shouldn't be as an RG citizen and then promptly refusing to explain himself. At this point it was a habit.

Back into the Pad and only looking around his surroundings with one pass to make sure everything was safe before turning to dip into Uzuki's office. It wouldn't due to be caught by other reapers at this point. But he seemed safe enough as he stepped in and saw the scene unfolding before him. Kariya with that sheen of mild panic and Uzuki sitting there... Looking a lot fluffier than usual...

Immediately, a grin split over his face.

"Damn, Bun-bun. Really takin' your other form more seriously now, aren't ya?" He purred, propping himself up in the threshold of her office and crossing one ankle over the other. "That's dangerous, ya know~"

Uzuki might not have seemed surprised by her transformation, but Hanekoma straight up did not seem concerned at all. Though, sometimes that could be infuriatingly so even when there was a very real issue about. He just stood propped up with his hands in his pockets, looking every bit like he was gazing down at a child who'd spilled a drink as opposed to Uzuki who had completely turned into a bunny.

"Nah, it's nothin' like that..." He glances over at Uzuki just to make sure. She didn't look like she was hurt, which was at least one good thing about this.

"It's, uh... Kind of a unique situation. But not like...emergency level?" He hoped that would reassure Hanekoma, but he was also trying to reassure himself. "I just...didn't know who else to turn to for this kinda thing."

He reaches over, gently petting her as she slept. As guilty as he'd feel for waking her up, he hoped she would. He needed to ask her what had happened. He needed to talk to her and make sure she was okay.

There's a quiet noise, almost a whimper, from her. This caused him to perk up, and he wanted to get off the phone to focus on her.

"The door's unlocked, just come on in when you get here. We'll be waitin' for you."

Once he was sure there was nothing more, he hung up the call, putting his phone to the side.

"Uzuki?" he quietly asks, not wanting to startle her.

"Mm..." She stretches, before slowly opening her eyes, blinking for a moment. She frowns, and sighs before looking up at him. "...I've really gone and screwed up this time, huh?"

She was...calm? Kariya didn't understand. How was she so calm? Here he was, panicking, and she was calm about it? Why was she calm?! She'd freaked out more than this when she just had bunny ears!

"Wh... Uzuki, what happened to you?! Why are- You're a bunny! An actual bunny!"

"I know," she sighs. "You were on the phone to Mr. Hanekoma, weren't you?"

"Yeah. He'll be here soon. I panicked, I didn't know what to do. I thought if anyone would have answers, it would be him. I was scared," he admits.

[strawberista]

Hanekoma glared at her, the aura of anger over him enough to be felt on the air. He was already angry that someone had attacked Joker, but the fact that she felt like it was okay to then turn around and pretend that she was in fact trying to help him just infuriated him all the more. He couldn't stand that. He couldn't stand when people tried to throw up the most pitiful justifications for their actions, without even so much as a hint of confidence on their breath.

"I oughta twist you in a knot," he growled. "Everyone knows who Joker is to me. I broadcast that shit day in and day out. You knew damn well there was no threat here. I'm reporting you, asshole. I'm not letting this stand in my city."

He wanted desperately to tear her apart, to make her feel all of the pain she had just inflicted, but he knew the backwards ways the angels who came after Joker worked. If he didn't bend their sick system in his palms and play by their rules he knew he would just be going to jail, too.

The teen angel slumped to the ground, blood poiuring from a wound in his stomach. A Hunter stood over him, dripping blade in his hand.

"You've robbed your last Soul, thief." She snarled, stabbing him again with the blade. "You're finished now. I'll make sure you never awaken anyone again. Now...with your dying breath...give me the method for Diving!!"

Joker spat at her. "Look behind you...bitch." he said before going limp.

The Angel did, and her eyes went wide.

"Com...Composer sir! I got rid of the threat...sir! Chaos agent neutralized, Sir. He will trouble you no more. I can assure you. Don't worry sir...we'll condition him good and proper!"

[strawberista]

⚅— Update Time! —⚅

Alrighty, guys, so. In the background of me trying to work through my chores and find a good schedule again. I think this whole thing is gonna be a major work in progress. Because! I am trying to really hammer down on my mental health and create a life for myself that is routine, disciplined, and fulfilling! Which means overall I'm going to get a lot less time online, but! It might actually work out being more time by comparison because instead of getting up every two seconds to do something else I'll have like, one single hour in the day (or half hour? I haven't worked it out yet) where I do absolutely nothing else but computer stuff. Which means I won't get as much done as once as I usually do, but I'll at least definitely get something done because I won't sit down, write two words, and then just leave the computer for three consecutive hours afdaeka.

Generally, what I'm trying to do is: 🍓 Start a strict schedule that I follow no matter what 🍓 Include some time for art/creativity away from roleplay 🍓 Include some time to sit on the back porch and talk aloud to myself 🍓 Have at least one hour dedicated to chores 🍓 Have at least a half hour dedicated to journaling/spirituality/introspection 🍓 Start and keep an exercise routine 🍓 Stop social media/screens in general an hour before bed

That's a big ol' checklist and it's going to take a really long time to teach myself how to do all of that in a steady rhythm, but I'm already on my way with it and that's kind of part of where I've been since the last time I said, "I'm coming back this time! Promise!" XD I am coming back. But I don't think I'll ever be as active as I was before. And that's okay. :) I really am working on myself and making a much better life for myself, and I'm really proud of how far I'm coming. I thank everyone for their patience with me thus far and their patience with me going forward. I love writing with you guys and I love being here, and I won't abandon y'all for good, so don't worry. If you're totally cool with me taking 5ever to reply to your stuff, please let me know so I can prioritize folks who might be a little less okay with it, haha. I wanna make sure I can get to those who might get frustrated from the wait. I get it, waiting is hard! We'll get there eventually, y'all. I care deeply for everyone here and I hope you all have the absolute best day that you can!

[strawberista]

⚅— @runeystatic asked: —⚅ ⚅— "I was just wondering if, um- If you might like to come out for a drink with me sometime?"

(William) —⚅

Hanekoma raised a brow as he looked the other over, his lips curling into an amused smirk. it wasn't as if he'd never been approached before, especially by tourists, but this one so did not put off the vibe of a person that was into flirting carelessly with strangers... And maybe that's why he was tripping over his feet like a school boy. There was something endearing about these types, even if he felt a little bad about having to turn them down. The kid must have really put himself out there to approach Hanekoma like he did.

Still, Hanekoma didn't do casual relationships and outings like that. As flattered as he was, his work came first always. And anyway, this guy gave reaper vibes that made all of this very suspicious. Where was he from? What was he trying to pull? Just general travel was a thing, he supposed. He did that himself, even if he wasn't what one would call a typical reaper, and there was every possibility that the guy was just passing through. But Hanekoma hadn't forgotten what had happened the last time foreign reapers had begun making themselves comfortable in Shibuya, and he'd known what was going on with that lot. A wild card like this needed to be investigated.

"Sorry, boss, I usually keep a tight schedule around here," Hanekoma replied with a velvet purr. "That bein' said though, I certainly don't mind servin' ya a drink. Where are ya from? What kinda work do ya do?"

General clerk questions to throw out to strangers. It was fine enough. He could poke around and get to the root of things like this.