#[ it's been brought to my attention that my rules are hard to find so posting them here! ]

[coffee-430]

The Royal Harem (Smut)

Synopsis: You have been working hard constantly every single day, finding ways on how to improve your nation. Your attention was solely upon the needs of your Kingdom, to the point where you have forgotten the needs of your own harem.

Characters: Diluc, Kaeya, Zhongli, Thoma, Childe

Warnings: sub!genshin, dom!reader, handjob, blowjob, reader has a cock, anal penetration, licking/sucking, use of toys, overstimulation, cum swallowing, belly bulge

Note: This is my first ever post here in Tumblr. So I hope I didn't disappoint anyone reading this story too much. Also, the reader is gender-neutral.

Although, you do have secretaries to help you with the load of paperwork— but somehow, they, too, were just as busy as you. You couldn't really complain either, since you're literally the sovereign of your very big Kingdom, and doing some paperwork was just the bare minimum.

ㅤ

You heaved out a sigh. The papers on your table never seem to stop itself from piling even more anytime soon.

However it was tiring, nonetheless. And you were getting bored of it. But as you know, you would do anything to keep your Kingdom thrive and be evermore prosperous than it already was.

"The perks of ruling a Kingdom," Dryly, you humoured yourself. Your eyes boredly stared at the piles of documents right in front of you.

A knock resonated from the door and a soft sound of a woman could be heard behind it.

"Your majesty, I have brought you the backlog of papers from last week."

"Come in."

The door opened and revealed Ganyu holding a few stacks of papers. She smiled softly at the sight of you as she walked towards your table.

"Miss Jean wanted to finish them for you, but unfortunately it requires the monarch's attention."

"I see. That's no problem, put them here please."

She did what she was told and carefully placed them down. You thanked her and Ganyu gave you a small curtsy. But as she lays her eyes on your desk, concern swallows her whole.

"You've been working for quite a long while now, shouldn't you take a break, your majesty?"

You look up from your paper and meet her gaze, "Don't fret, I'm fine. They're just papers anyway. I'm already used to this."

"But I fear you might be burning yourself out." The female adepti argued, "You always nag me whenever I overwork myself into taking a break..."

Your (e/c) eyes look up at her expectantly, "And you claim how the tables have turned?"

Ganyu let out a small laugh, pink hue faintly dusted her cheeks as she nodded. You playfully scoff and lightly push your chair back.

"Alright alright," You say, raising your hands in defeat. "I'll perhaps rest for a bit. I wouldn't dare to push my lady's worry and have her dwell on my health."

She blushed at your statement, "O-Oh, a wise choice, your majesty." And quickly bowed before leaving.

Deciding that was it for the day, you stood up from your seat and almost fell. You have been sitting for a long while that your legs fell asleep.

And the moment you decided to use them— you began to cringe at the prickling sensation in your legs. A small groan came out of you as you furrowed your eyebrows at the uncomfortable feeling.

You should have at least got out of your seat for some time while you had work. This simply could've been prevented.

But it's not like you won't do it again anyway. After all, you don't think you'll remember to at least move your legs while you work.

Walking to your bed chambers was tiring. Every time you get to think of the thought of laying on your bed— you would feel your legs on the verge of collapse.

But the bustling noises in your palace would always snap you back to reality, preventing you from further indulging your thoughts of your bed.

Softly, you sighed, as you set your eyes upon the familiar engravings of your chambers' doors.

However, due to your tired state, you have failed to notice the lack of guards who were supposed to be near your doors.

You jog a little, feeling excited to finally run into sleep's arms.

"Ah, bed. I can't wait to embrace you."

You sang as you opened the doors.

But you halted as the feeling of surprise swallowed you whole as the room was filled with silence.

"—!"

There, inside your room, were 5 men wearing nothing but their underwear and white satin robes.

Their eyes widened, they looked like a deer in the headlights. But then relaxed once they realized it was just the person they were waiting for.

Your mouth hung open. You weren't certainly expecting this. (E/c) eyes scanned each man inside the room.

There was Diluc, Zhongli, Childe, Thoma, and Kaeya.

"..."

You then began to break the silence, "What on Teyvat is going here?"

They snapped back from their shock at the sound of your voice. And Kaeya was the first to approach you. His signature smile appeared on his face.

"Your majesty," He bowed, "What perfect timing you have. We were just about to give you a little surprise."

Childe then approaches you next with a wide smile, "But you arrived a bit too early though. Well, no matter. Since their majesty is here, we shall give them our surprise."

"Hope we're not bothering you, your majesty." Thoma smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

You stared at them, unsure. What was going with them? You didn't recall having a rendezvous with any of your concubines. Seeing the confused look on your face, Zhongli decided to explain themselves.

"We've noticed that you've been awfully busy and you no longer spend any time with us anymore. So we decided, if you don't come to us, then we'll come to you."

"Of course, not all of us had agreed to share you and your time, but we know their majesty doesn't like it whenever we don't get along with the others." Diluc added, having a look of displeasure and his red eyes glared at Kaeya— who just merely shot him with an unaffected smile.

Oh right...

You have been so focused on your Kingdom's needs that you forgot to tend to your lovers and now they planned to have you to them right now.

Honestly, you were surprised that they managed to agree to share you— albeit reluctantly.

"So..." You began, "In conclusion, all of you missed me and now you're all needy."

Childe and Kaeya gave you a close-eyed smile. While Diluc blushed and looked away, Zhongli timidly nodded his head, and Thoma let out a nervous chuckle.

"I see..."

It was then you closed your door and took a step forward. Your eyes stared at all of them and a smirk appeared on your features.

Seeing your usual dominating behaviour, all of them visibly shivered in your presence.

"Then, shall we begin?"

---

And now here you are.

Currently, you are lying on your bed. Your hand was holding Diluc steadily as you thrust your cock inside him. The red head had his eyes rolled back and his back arched whenever your cock would hit that spot. His nails dug into your thighs, gritting his teeth at the euphoric sensation inside him.

"Ah ah ah—!"

He bounced shamelessly on top of you. Becoming undone as he came for the umpteenth time.

And Thoma was sitting on your face, being absolutely ruined by your skillful mouth. His grip on his ass was so tight— his knuckles turned white. He rolled his hips when he felt your tongue fucked his insides.

You would groan and moan, whenever you felt your hand brush on the red head's stomach— feeling a bulge on it whenever you roughly thrust inside him, your vibrations adding more to Thomas's delight.

"Ah— F-Fuck~"

Filthy sounds— ranging from pornographic moans, whimpers, grunts, groans, to the sinful sounds of skin slapping and soft gasps filled the room. And you're quite lucky there were no guards standing beside your doors.

Your dominant hand was working on Zhongli's needy hole, said man was whimpering and would often let out a small squeak whenever your long fingers would hit his sweet spot as you ravaged his insides. Truth be told that he lost count of how many times he came just by your fingers alone.

Childe and Kaeya, on the other hand, were the loudest. They had a double end toy phallus inside their holes and both moved at a simultaneous pace. Moaning loudly as they felt the urge to come again. Their eyes watched at how you ruined your other concubines. Their dicks hardened and tips wetted at the thought of their turn with you.

All of them looked liked sex starved prostitutes in a brothel.

Pleasure shook the entire room like an earthquake and it seemed like it wasn't going to stop any time soon.

"A—Ah, c-cumming!"

"Y-Your m-majesty~!"

Thoma and Diluc came simultaneously, and both were at the verge of passing out. With your adept skills, you were able to maneuver them both off of you and you gently lay them down on your large bed.

They both lie down tiredly and their eyes begin to close due to exhaustion.

Zhongli saw you were done playing with the pyro welding men and went to crawl towards you— You happily accepted him with open arms.

You lay down on the bed and have the brunet on top of you. He steadied himself before slowly inserting your cock into his hole.

As the tip went in— Zhongli swore he had seen stars blurring his vision and he let out the most filthy sound once you were fully inside him.

"Mnhm~" He cried softly.

"Are you alright there, love?" You asked. Feeling a bit of pride swells up in you as you smirk at the sight of the trembling almighty Geo dragon on top of you.

He nodded with a red blushing face, beginning to roll his hips— with you letting out a soft sigh at his actions.

Your hands were on his waist, keeping him steady while trying to make you both cum.

"Oh, yes~ Just like that, keep going..."

You let out a groan and the man riding you could help but arch his back at your sound. He did what he was told, he rode you like there was no tomorrow.

And once you felt like he was slowing down, you took matters into your own hands. You lift him up a bit before slamming your cock inside him hard.

"AH~!!"

A loud sound of euphoria left the dragon's lips and his eyes almost rolled all the way back of his head.

He came almost instantly. Squirting all over on you, the bed sheets, and on himself. Tears formed on his face and his mouth drooled at pleasurable sensation.

But you weren't done with him just yet. You repeated your actions, slamming hard inside over and over again overstimulating the poor man.

Trying to catch your high and which you eventually did. You painted his walls white as Zhongli came again together with you.

Both of you panted. Zhongli— despite being a dragon— fell off of you due to exhaustion but you managed to catch him and lay him properly onto the bed.

You smiled softly and kissed his forehead before averting your attention towards the two remaining men— who were still waiting for you.

"Your m-majesty~" Kaeya sang, giving you a sultry look when you met his gaze. You sat at the edge of your bed. Gesturing for the two to come closer.

And they did. Crawling towards you with such whorish looks— abandoning their toy as they did so.

Kaeya reached to you first and he immediately went to kiss you on your lips. His kisses were hungry like and you had to push him gently to prevent him from making you lie on your back.

Both your tongues danced in an unknown rhythm but you both made it work.

And while you two were trying to fight for dominance— Childe had happily dived his mouth down on your cock, he didn't give any warning and just went straight to devour your huge dick inside his pretty little mouth.

The ginger head's action caught you off guard and it made you collapse down onto the bed on your bed. Kaeya chuckled at you and proceeded to pleasure your upper half with his mouth.

He sucked and licked your nipple as he toyed with the other with his hand. You moaned softly and grunted, your hands went to play with their hairs as your concubines gave you a mewl sound of appreciation.

"Ah, C-Childe.....c-cummi—"

You didn't even finish your sentence when Childe took you in deep down his throat and you felt him going deeper, you came. You arched your back, bucking your hips and hitting the back of his throat making the ginger head almost gag at your movement.

"Mmmh~"

The bluenette hummed, feeling you tremble while you reached your climax. Gently, he grazed your nipple with his teeth, teasing you as it added more pleasure onto your body.

Childe pulled away from your cock and tried to swallow your load. He spilled some a bit but he was satisfied with the taste of you.

"Mmh... Your majesty taste so divine~ I want more~"

He spoke with lust evident in his voice, beginning to lick the cum that spilled on your dick.

"Childe— Ah!"

"Now, that's not fair. You should give some of your attention to me too, your majesty~"

Kaeya pouted, feeling jealous when it wasn't him you're focusing on. He then went lower to where the ginger-nette was and he, too, began to lick your spilled cum.

You panted, as you looked down. You almost came at the sight of your two concubines going down on you. Oh how you loved it when they worship your cock, as they have worshipped you as their King.

Childe smiled at the sight of you. You pulled him by the arm with gentle care, and you had him on top of you.

"I've been waiting for this." Said the man on top with an eager tone. He personally slammed your cock inside him earning a small hiss from you and a lewd mewl from him.

The harbinger sang lewd sounds, as he bounced with harsh movements on you.

"Oh f-fuck—!"

He came when he felt you hit his prostate. But that didn't stop him, planning to overstimulate himself to see how far he can go.

Meanwhile, Kaeya made himself busy with your mouth. Your free hand was stroking his cock and that made him moan in your kiss.

Your hand movement synced with Childe's pace. Feeling the blue haired man shiver at the pleasurable feeling down his lower half.

He came as the other did— again— and the former started to move on his own accord, using your hand as if it was a fleshlight

Kaeya, knowing he'll be next soon, pulled away from your lips and moved on to your neck next, then on to the rest of your body. Biting, sucking, and nibbling the places that he knew would make you shiver.

He sat up, smirking at his masterpiece. Seeing you littered with all his love marks makes him swell up with pride.

"Ah!"

The ginger-nette came again for the umpteenth time and almost fell on you when you quickly held him before removing him off you.

He was panting, out of breath, lying there tired and contented with the cum that was inside him and was dripping down his thighs.

You move a stray hair off his face before placing a soft kiss on his cheek, bidding him sweet dreams.

Then, you turned to face the last of your lovers.

"Your turn." You grinned, your breath slightly ragged due to the 'activities' you've been doing.

Kaeya giggled, "Finally." Before lying down on his back, a blush was visible on his face. He wrapped his arms around you and captured your lips with his in a feverish kiss.

You pulled away from him and went to place your kisses on his neck— inserting yourself inside him as you did so.

A soft gasp left his lips when he felt you inside him, he released once he realized how big you were. You chuckled seeing him tremble, his embrace on you was tight but slowly went loose when he finished his high.

"M-Move...please..."

"Very well."

You smiled and did what you were told. Your pace started slow but it increased once the bluenette requested you to move faster.

"Hah— hah..."

"Ngh~"

You hit his prostate over and over again, making Kaeya see stars in his vision. He cried out in pleasure, his nails dug the skin of your back— slightly drawing a bit of blood.

He was close again, you could tell, by how he clenched tightly around you. You sighed blissfully at the feeling and you, too, were almost at your limit.

"Your majesty! I-I'm cumm—"

"I k-know. Hah... Me t-too..."

You pounded him for awhile, before finally releasing all your pent up seed inside your favourite pirate looking lover. You came together with him and his entire body shook.

His embrace around you was gone and instead his hands were gripping the sheets tightly.

Both of you were out of breath, but Kaeya was beginning to pass out. You stayed inside him for a bit, making sure he was getting the most of his climax and when he finally showed signs of subsiding, you carefully pulled yourself out of him.

Sweat lingered on all your skins'. You saw the bluenette smiling at you before succumbing to the sweet hold of sleep.

You looked at the rest of your concubines and noticed that all of them were now asleep.

You chuckled to yourself. Ah, one of the perks of ruling a Kingdom: was to take care of your harem with equal care and love.

You stood up, albeit your stance was wobbly and you were slightly dizzy. You playfully scoffed, they did a toll on you. And you proceeded to cover them all up with a large blanket.

Though, usually you would not prefer to let them sleep on a cum/drool stained bed, but there's nothing you can do about it now. You'll just have to make it up till next time.

Sighing, you mentally made a reminder to yourself: When in tending to the needs of your Kingdom, never ever forget the needs of your own harem.

Otherwise, you might never be able to get out of bed.

[fertilize-my-eggs]

King of decay

New game ch.1

Ch.2 ch.3 A03

A/N: since everyone pick king shigaraki in the poll, I couldn't resist making this story asap. I was into this idea for the longest. If you guys enjoy this story please let me know. So this is a dark romantic fantasy theme au where it doesn't follow the mha plot but I'll add characters into this story, I'll post this every Friday if this get popular. ( Not this Friday but the next one. ) anyway I hope y'all enjoy this one. MINOR N ANTIS DNI, IT'S 18+ AND YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

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New game

—>press start (click)

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Choose a player?

—> Player one (click)

Player two

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Will you have a love story or not?

—> yes (click)

No

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Select a difficulty

Easy

Normal

Hard

—> legendary (click)

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Are you sure you want to continue?

—>yes (click)

No

Shigaraki's pov

It's the beginning of my life, I lost my family by accidentally killing them with my bare hands. I met a strange man before the incident, I didn't know much until I was cursed with it, I couldn't touch anything and anyone with these hands.

Blood covered my hands as I sob uncontrollably, I ran away from my village to live in the forest alone.

The days went on as my clothes got dirty and I felt cold, I lay on an old tree as a resting spot.

No one in my village helped me, I was truly alone, I curled into a ball and couldn't stop crying.

Until I hear him, the strange man that brought me home as I look up with tears.

“ Are you lost? ” he had a sincere smile as he put a hand on my head and pull me close.

“ don't worry, I'll take care of you young one.”

“ What's your name? ” he looked into my eyes as I stare in silence.

…

“ tenko shimura..” he has a comfort aura as he smiles softly.

“ tenko… you will be reborn, you don't need your old life from that village. ” I tilt my head in confusion as he pet my hair softly.

“ you will be known as tomura shigaraki as the new~.. come on little one.” and I don't remember much about my childhood but I had everything a kid asked for, a massive bedroom, a feast, so many maids to help me out.

As I grew older into my early adulthood, my old man king Shigaraki made me become a king.

He wished for two things for me, a new heir and to rule the world with a fist.

A new heir?uh I'm not sure about it since I'm cursed with decay. I can't do anything like that but fear of not finding a wife and starting a family is running out of time.

I sit on my throne lazily as my mentor Kurogiri, he was around when Afo brought me into his kingdom when I was a child.

He cleared his throat as he had a princess in line and in hand in marriage as I sighed softly.

None of them catch my attention, they're a bit too rude and entitled little brats that pisses me off.

“ Switch one would you like your highness? ” I roll my eyes as I tilt my head at him then at the women.

“ ehh.. they're not interesting to me. ” Kurogiri bowed his head as he apologized.” I deeply apologize your highness, we'll find more princesses!! ” he politely escorted the women away as they looked neither offended nor annoyed about wasting their time. At least I didn't send them to the dungeon to go rot.

This is wasting my time, I need some fresh air, I told my guards not to worry about me as I'll be taking a long walk.

I head quietly to my master bedroom as I dressed myself in civilian clothes. Baggy black outfit and deep red cloak.

I pull my hood over my long messy white hair as I begin to scroll to the village nearby.

This village is doing a bit better these days, afo was an evil man and so evil that he forced everyone to bow to his knees and give him money. I didn't understand back then how he brainwashed them into thinking he's a good king and made them starve.

I destroyed that man after he was laying in bed after I became king. He didn't say anything, he seemed like he's ready to pass away so I ended his suffering by decaying his face. Putting his ashes into a jar on the shelf never went into his old room afterwards.

I passionately hate him and how he's treating everyone in this kingdom.

I begin to walk into a flea market, looking around as I observe the surroundings.

This village has gotten a lot better, there were people enjoying their own life and gossip as I eavesdropped.

“ Man, that new king seems more intimidating than the last one.”

“ yeah but at least he's a bit helpful by making us have better jobs and- ” I was too distracted by their conversation but I didn't realize a young woman bumped into me, costing me to catch her while she was falling.

My eyes wide in shock, too stunned by what was happening.

You were covered in dirt, covered in rags as you immediately apologized." Oh God!! I'm sorry Mister, I didn't see you coming.” as you're rambling, I wasn't shocked by bumping into you. No no no.. you didn't decay immediately, my hands were on your arms for a second and you didn't get affected by this.

Strange as I thought to myself, could this be my new lover? A person that is immune to this cursed and be alive.

“ it's o-okay.. don't worry about it sweetheart.” I give you a playful wink as I walk away. Who is this woman and I need to make her mine.

Mine and mine only, seeing you blushed even though you had a rough life with dirty old clothes on and hair that hasn't been washed for days.

I couldn't help but find you adorable and remind me a lot like myself when I was young and in the forest once.

I turn my head back as you slowly walk away from people who have jobs selling fruit on the streets.

You definitely peak my interest, I need to follow you.

[miamochi-writes]

Shake It Off

Modern!Vash x Reader

A/n: Not a request, but I’ve been wanting to write more AUs and Modern Trigun posts. This is my take on what Vash would do as a boyfriend if the reader had a bad day. I definitely wanted to dedicate this one to @whirlwindimagines​ Hope you like it Whirl! <3

It was another typical day of working in the office. Clock in, say hi to your coworkers, hype yourself up with coffee, do your tasks, snack break, and just survive at the end of the day. That was until you had an angry client bursting through the door.

“You! I want to speak to your manager right now!” she demanded as you took a deep breath. So much for a normal day. You mentally prepared yourself with what this person was going to throw at you. Clearing your throat, you prepped your customer service voice before engaging with the client.

“Hi, I’m sorry what seems to be the problem?” you asked. Sure enough, the lady was complaining about the service she received. She specifically wanted a refund because the service she got ‘did not meet her standards.’ Apparently she was not happy because she wasn’t seen exactly at 9:00 even though she was seen at 9:02. Furthermore, she felt lied to because the service promised it would be the best she received and that it was adequate at best. So if she had a problem then she would make it everyone’s problem.

“Ma’am I’m sorry to hear about that, but I can’t give you a refund. Our policy states that we can only give a refund if you cancelled your appointment or if we didn’t cover the full service. Which our records show we did give you the full hour,” you explained. 

“How dare you talk back to me! Do you know who I am?! I demand that you give me a refund! Where is your manager so I can report you!” she yelled as you just took the brunt of the verbal accusations.

“Ma’am, I don’t make the rules. I just work here, and our manager is currently traveling right now so it might take awhile for them to get a hold of them or even hear back from them,” you tried explaining. But this just made her yell even more about how you were incompetent to work here. You didn’t ask for this, and wondered why you haven’t bothered to turn in your two weeks notice.

Then out of the corner of your eye, you spotted a familiar tall ray of sunshine with blonde hair that you can recognize from a mile away. Vash was passing by your area and saw what was happening. He noticed the scene unfolding and how uncomfortable you were growing with each passing second. Then he started mimicking the lady with the most absurd facial expressions. His mouth moved almost the exact same time as hers while he placed his hands on his hips like she was. If she yelled, he made it twice as funny with him being over the top with his actions. You had to hold back from laughing or even cracking a smile as you pursed your lips as hard as you could.

“HEY! Are you even listening to me?!” the lady snapped at you as she brought your attention back to her. Before you could react, Vash knocked at your door.

“Hi there! What seems to be the problem?” he asked. As the lady proceeded to tell him everything she told you, Vash offered her to follow him as he would handle things. Somehow, Vash just knew how to handle and deescalate these kinds of situations with his can-do personality. As he took the lady away from you while she was talking his ear off, Vash flashed you a wink and a smile before leaving. That was when you remembered, the only reason you hadn’t left this job was because of Vash, your boyfriend. 

You had been going out for more than half a year now. Despite being in different departments, you managed to find time together. Eventually, you fell for his natural charms, while he fell harder the more he got to know more about you. The both of you practically shared many things in common. He liked how you treated him normally unlike other people when they saw his prosthetic arm. Plus, you were always patient with him no matter what he threw at you and kept your promises which he absolutely adores.

Even though work could be rough, you tended to do small gestures for your coworkers and him. Whether it would be cheering them up through sharing memes, getting them a snack, or write down small appreciative notes the action never went unnoticed. At least with Vash. So whenever you were having a hellish day or struggling to keep up, he was always there to support you in any way possible.

Later on that day, you were coming back from a meeting that definitely could have been summed up in an email. Once you came back to your work space, you noticed a tall pink drink in a plastic cup and a note attached to it. Upon closer inspection, the note read:

“May your day be as sweet as this strawberry smoothie. I love you! x - Your favorite bf in the entire world”

A smile made its way to your face after reading the note Vash left you. He always knew how to cheer you up. Plus, you noticed he went out of his way to get you your favorite drink from your favorite place. Just the way you liked it. How did you get lucky to have Vash in your life? you questioned as you took a sip from your drink before going back to work.

~*~

Once work was over, Vash was eagerly waiting for you at his car as he waved at you. You gave him a tired smile as you got into the passenger seat.

“So how was your day today?” he asked with his pearly whites.

“Could be better. I’m just ready for today to be over,” you sighed as you rubbed your temple of your head. More work piled up throughout the day and a few more people came to give you a piece of their mind several times. But you reassured Vash that you appreciated the things he did for you today.

“Aw I’m sorry to hear Y/n. I hope things get better tomorrow. But at least you get to be with me now!” he reassured you as he planted a sweet and tender kiss on your cheek. 

“Thanks Vash, you’re the best,” you said while smiling at him. You felt anytime Vash showed his affection towards you, all your problems slowly melted away.

“Plus now that we’re here, I think this calls for a little pick-me-up,” he suggested as he pulled out his phone and started playing the one song you figured he would pick from your shared playlist.

I stay out too late~

Got nothing in my brain~

You loved how you got him into Taylor Swift, but the both of you knew that this particular song is banned from playing in the car. Vash would constantly overplay that song whenever he had the chance (especially when you spent the night at his place and caught him playing this at 5am in the morning). But after the day you had today, you figured this would be an exception as you started bopping your head to the upbeat tune. Once Vash noticed you didn’t make the effort to skip or the stop the song, he beamed at his small victory.

He backed out from the parking lot as he put his arm behind your seat. As he drove you back home, he would start dancing along to the song while singing the lyrics. He wasn’t a bad dancer at all, and his upbeat attitude was infectious. He would do a little shimmy and get you to sway with him whenever he stopped at a red light. You joined in on the fun as you both sang and danced along to the song. You were smiling ear to ear knowing that Vash did everything in his power to make sure your day ended on a high note.

Once you arrived at your apartment, Vash suggested ordering takeout from your favorite restaurant. He wanted to treat you which you didn’t deny. While he did that, you changed into your most comfortable clothes and decided to put on your favorite show. Once Vash came back from picking up the food, he took his seat next to you on the couch. Before he could hand you over your food, he put his face close to yours and flashed you a playful smirk.

“Before you get this food, you need to answer these questions correctly,” he piped up as you laughed knowing where this was going.

“Who’s your favorite?” he asked.

“You,” you answered as he gave you a peck on the lips.

“Correct! Now who’s my favorite?” he asked once more.

“Me,” you said matter-of-factly. Once again he gave you another kiss, but this time you made it a bit longer as you pulled him closer to you. He loved it when you did this and smiled into the kiss.

“Correct again! As a reward, your food and cuddles,” he answered as he handed you your meal. The both of you started eating your food while watching the show. Once you finished eating, Vash hugged you close to his side as you rested your head on the crook of his neck.

No matter what the day threw at you, Vash knew how to take care of you and put a smile on your face at the end of the day. Whether it be getting you to crack a smile, laugh until your sides hurt, or shower you with kisses, Vash will make it known just how much he loves and appreciates you. Just like how he started the day, he ended the night with giving you a soft and warm-hearted kiss.

[mariamariquinha]

True Blue (Gurney Halleck x f!reader)

Summary: It was hard to react to the fact that you'd gained Gurney Halleck's attention.

Word count: 3.6k

Warnings: I don’t know shit about Dune universe. Sorry. This is REALLY experimental. Other than that, nothing to worry about here.

Author’s Note: Listen, I can’t explain. This... came out of my mind, I wrote, then I got aprehensive to post because Sci-fi was never my strong point and the only reason I wrote this was because I have a crush on Josh Brolin and I came up with this idea. Anyway.

Safe to remember I DON'T WRITE TO GURNEY HALLECK and this happened as one of those impulse moments where you just do. I have a special fondness for this idea. If you are interested in more Dune stories, I recommend you follow @dunefeather and @supernovafeather​. She writes AMAZING pieces. 

If any Dune fans find inconsistencies from the true story, I apologize again. They really do exist. I tried to research to bring elements from the books.

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!

---------------------------------

It wasn't the first time you'd left Chusuk. Still, a part of you was wary of hearing that House Kio would participate in a political obligation to the Atreides on Caladan, which seemed more like a courtesy of their good relationship. They had history. A good one.

There was a commotion on the part of Nefertari, who sorted out the best dresses and ordered new pieces for more days than necessary. For three days the palace was in turmoil, suddenly people really wanted this to be a special occasion.

You had simple instructions that were not repeated aloud by someone else, but in the silence of your own head - stay close to Nefertari, be political, polite, subtle and thrifty. Nothing like the Bene Gesserit rules, of course, and your rank was infinitely less, conditioned to a role as influential as a chaperone. Perhaps therein lay your fear; each meeting, each trip and each year brought closer the possibility that Nefertari would have a marriage, followed by the end of your trajectory without an eminent future.

Lady Holda offered you alternatives, such as a place in politics, as well as the possibility of joining the Bene Gesserit. Whether she leaned in one direction, you could not tell, but it was a fact that her planning for you was at odds with what she was doing for her own daughter.

You didn't have many opinions about Caladan: it was a beautiful planet. There was green and a lot of water, favorably pleasant for occasional walks and easy on the eyes. Distracting even. Duke Leto even offered a tour of the palace's points with a good view of the landscape. Although he didn't direct the comment or the friendly smile of that moment to you, your ears caught that part and, unconsciously, you made yourself available to know what those places were.

“Green?” Nefertari pointed at one of the three dresses you laid out on her bed. You nodded.

“Perhaps. The color could give a good impression to the hosts.”

Because it was one of the Atreides colors. Because it matched the beauty of that place. These were things she knew, as well as you, and they didn't need to be given a very elaborate justification. Knowing her as you knew, she was trying to get you to talk more, since you’ve been a lot quieter since your arrival on the planet.

She watched you from head to toe and smiled discreetly.

“Let's match, then.”

Your dress was remarkably simpler than hers; in place of such fine fabrics and giving the best appearance of her arms and torso, there was a more basic cut that despite revealing your shoulders, had a secondary purpose. You kept your hands behind your back as Nefertari approached, running her fingers through your neat hair and then holding your arms.

“You look amazing. I'm sure there will be plenty of suitors tonight.”

“The preference will always be yours in this context, Nefertari.”

“Oh, don’t be so pessimistic!” She grinned.

Fortunately, it didn't take long for the conversation to take another turn and you can get busy with the commitment of getting her ready for the night. You didn't look at yourself much in the mirror after that, but you checked your hairstyle one last time before joining her to the party.

-------------------------------

Everything was hectic; you heard a not-so-good joke about how House Kio should have brought the musicians from Chusuk and for a brief moment you listened to the young Paul Atreides mention his particular interest in Varota and his expert manufacture of balisets. He was accompanied by his mother, Lady Jessica, who equally complimented the choice of clothes to Lady Holda - everything very polite and inside the limits of mandatory sympathy.

“You must be inclined to music as well. Are you born and raised in Chusuk?” It took a while for you to realize that the question was directed at you, with Lady Jessica being the one who asked it.

“I am. My education was very eclectic, even if traditional for our customs. I have knowledge with baliset, among other things.”

“She’s being modest,” Nefertari intervened preemptively. “In addition to music, she is knowledgeable in three different languages ​​and in the elements of physical healing.”

“Is that so?” Lady Jessica indulged the information with a tilt of her head, serene and attentive. “You seem to be a well-educated young chaperone.”

You bowed discreetly in thanks, the woman's gaze suddenly very penetrating. Fortunately, that was as far as the conversation went for you - soon everyone got involved in matters far beyond your remit.

This kind of meeting hardly piqued your interest - there was a time when you were younger when you yearned for them. You could wear your best clothes, eat the best food, and see people in what felt like a real act amid boring politics. It was a relief from the constant studies. After a while, however, when people started courting you accompanied by questions about the political environment, when your education started to come out of your mouth with empty and almost rehearsed words, it all came down to a commitment that could have been shorter.

And the only person who noticed that was Lady Jessica.

“I imagine it's a strenuous occupation,” She offered in a low tone, taking your attention from whatever place you’ve been staring at.

Paul made a good effort on keeping the conversation between Lady Holda and Nefertari, so no one was even looking in your direction.

“I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean, Lady Jessica.”

“The responsibility you carry as Nefertari's escort. Do you teach her too?”

“One thing or another. My instruction had another purpose at first.”

“Work on something else, I assume.”

You didn't want to say anything right away, afraid of how that might sound to Duke Leto's ears and, eventually, to Lady Holda and her husband. Still, there was something in Lady Jessica's neutral gaze that led you to believe that, with the right words, you could be more honest.

“It's something that hasn't been defined yet.”

She didn't respond right away, pondering it with a calm shake of her head.

“So it's being discussed.”

“Indeed.”

And that was all she said, which you didn't worry about. The Bene Gesserit had that in them, among other things that created huge barriers between your role and theirs; perhaps Lady Jessica had all the information she was curious to know just in those seconds of communication. Soon she'd conditioned herself to listen to the main subject with the same contemplative silence as before - the kind that didn't resemble your own, which was inattentive.

It didn't take long for your eyes to start wandering, wandering, wandering… You saw other guests, noticed the conversations, the smiles, the bodies inclined to the interest of the conversation… Until they stopped at a specific point.

He was a naturally robust figure, probably prepared for a job that required more physical dedication, and stood at Duke Leto's side, listening to the conversation with Nefertari's father. The uniform was dark, like most of the members of House Atreides, and judging by the eagle symbol on its chest, it belonged to the highest echelon of the government there.

Shaved hair, middle-aged, with a rigid posture - certainly an army officer. It certainly wasn't the type to attract your attention, but… There was something there. An aura. Something that caught your eye long enough for him to notice and turn his gaze in your direction, a big frown on his face.

You turned around sharply to avoid getting caught. Your neck heated up in embarrassment at the possibility of being discovered acting so rudely towards a member of Atreides’s circle.

When you dared to look there again, he was the one watching, and you held his gaze for a brave moment. Like most people there, this man looked contemplative, even if with a much more rigid expression. He stared straight to your eyes, as did you - suddenly Nefertari called and you no longer gave him your full attention for the rest of the night.

------------------------------

It chased you as soon as you reached your quarters. Lying in a bed that wasn't yours, with sheets that weren't yours, you stared at the ceiling that was partially lit by moonlight from the open window. Your mind made a brief memory capture, trying to name that male face, but nothing happened. You knew the history of House Atreides, but not as well as that of House Kio - their close relationship, which earned them enormous gratitude on the part of your people, didn't give you details about all the powerful members that inhabited Caladan.

He could be a military man; that was pretty obvious. Someone trusted by the Duke. Perhaps Lady Holda or even Nefertari have commented on something, you should know…

Oh.

Oh.

The scar on his face was familiar, just like the story. A rescued slave from Giedi Primo, turned into a skilled warrior - this comment came at the dinner before your trip to Caladan.

A Warmaster. The Warmaster.

You looked at the thin fabric of the curtains swaying in the night breeze, a confused feeling filling your chest.

It was hard to react to the fact that you'd gained Gurney Halleck's attention.

-------------------------------

Your silence remained throughout the next day. You were shown parts of the palace, minus the landscapes Duke Leto mentioned, and that didn't bother you so much because Nefertari made most of the conversation happen with the servants willing to introduce the place. She always talked a lot.

With so many private parts of the palace, you put on more comfortable shoes while Lady Holda locked her daughter into engagements that didn't concern you and… walked around. A few servants would greet you or ask if you needed anything, but your answers were short - you didn't know when you'd have another chance to see so much and you enjoyed being alone more than ideal.

That's when you saw him again. Not that you were lost or anything, but reaching one of the outside gardens was a coincidence that made you blink a few times to get used to the sunlight. Your hand went in front of your eyes so you could adapt to that, and as you did, you saw a group of soldiers some distance away - Gurney Halleck turned his face and there, when his physical details were more noticeable, you had the luxury of looking at him more openly before giving the impression that you were staring.

The first contact was a nod. You reflected the movement and turned your eyes to the small bed of daisies, believing that he would not prolong any conversation.

“Are you lost, lady…?”

He had a thick, gruff, and considerably low voice. From the mild initial approach, you weren't startled by his closeness, so you just offered your name with a discreet smile.

“Warmaster Halleck,” The greeting was simple and brief. “But no, I’m just enjoying the view. As I see it, House Atreides takes special care of the palace.”

“You've never been to Caladan before,” That sounded more like a vocalized thought than a question. Gurney even seemed to be rambling when he said it.

“Pardon?”

“I believe we saw each other yesterday,” There was no hesitation in his voice and as embarrassed as you were by the man's direct words, you took in his face and the white strands that adorned his goatee.

“We did,” You shook your head. “And you are right. My travels with Nefertari had not yet reached this level. Until now.”

“Apparently you've been having good impressions.”

“I am.”

He considered your answer for a while, not looking at you. The silence that followed was comfortable enough to make you return to the cautious observations of the space around you.

“We like inspiring places. It is in our nature to have tendencies to search for what makes us who we are,” The comment made him hum. “I’m afraid that I know very little about your traditions, unfortunately. That's why I'm exploring.”

And deep down, you knew you shouldn't be stretching the subject anyway. Despite the cordialities, you could be disturbing something, after all, he and his soldiers were already there when you arrived. Not to mention that whatever Lady Holda and Nefertari's engagement was, it would run out soon, so you'd have to go back.

It made you flex your fingers - Gurney seemed like a good listener.

“I must go now.”

“As you wish,” He bowed his head lightly, giving one step back to let you go even without the necessity of such.

This little encounter ended as quickly as it started, but you looked back as soon as you reached the access door to the palace corridor and saw that he was still there, with both hands behind his back, no doubt giving you his undivided attention. The black outfit might even make him look more menacing; that was just a detail that enhanced the features marked by his considerable age.

A glimmer of hope surged through you - whether it was the chance to see him more often during the trip or the belief that he was also trying to keep details about you just as you were about him.

-------------------------------

For many residents of your planet, music was intrinsic, just like other arts. As a regular at the Imperial academy of music, that was really a part of who you were. That old baliset, tuned and built by Varota himself, almost played itself as it had been used so much. Your reaction was natural during moments of silence, where you could play it by yourself in your quarters: eyelids closed, just the weight of the instrument on your shoulder as you guided it through the melody that formed colors in your mind.

Every now and then there was the hum of a song you never sang aloud, memories of an eternal apprenticeship caught between the strings of the baliset. At times, your body accompanied the coming and going of the notes, like tidal waves, which helped you in the construction of the music that would give you considerable praise from other people.

They said that artists knew how to read the world, understand circumstances; your fingers brushed the body of the instrument gently before you could open your eyes again to look at the big pools of water illuminated by the moonlight. A thought occurred to you. A simple and subtle moment of foolishness where you, unconsciously, thought of that cunning man who repressed his own curiosity.

While you policed ​​your own words, he found them on the tip of his tongue and then discarded them amid mutters of affirmation or utter silences. Yes, it was silly. Banal, even. You saw him twice in too brief moments, and knew him from a story told by others.

Why was he in your head? Why did you long to see him again? What was in that unknown figure?

-------------------------------

His absence from the palace and from your sight lasted a few days, probably four or five. You almost forgot him in the midst of so many other faces and attentions that were focused on particularities far removed from those he included himself. If Duke Leto or Paul mentioned his name, it was in conversations that did not concern Nefertari and, consequently, you.

Your curiosity remained reserved for the places to be discovered and soon there were paths etched in your mind. Well, at least you thought you were handling it well.

The second (or third) encounter came by surprise. It was another one of those days when you were particularly bored, circling places like a shadow. He stood at the end of a long hallway, talking to what appeared to be Thufir Hawat. Neither of them had turned to you right away, immersed in the matter. That gave you time to pretend you were indifferent to Gurney's presence in the palace after days of disappearance.

Steps were taken towards you as you looked at a painting by Paulus Atreides right in front of you; it wasn't two people, just one. Steady, big steps.

“I wouldn't dare ask if you're lost this time.”

You smiled. Unlike that day, Gurney seemed more relaxed, with an open, passive expression. It suited him.

“The days here have made me smarter. Now I know where the library is and the corridors I need to avoid.”

“So you were lost the first time.”

Caught.

“... Perhaps.”

He considered your answer silently, narrowing his eyes for a moment.

“Have you learned about the traditions of Caladan? Going to the library?”

“Mm-hm. I have been very satisfied with what I’ve learned so far.”

“Would you like to learn more?”

The two of you looked at each other for a good few minutes, mainly because his intentions might be different than you assumed. That thought must have shown on your face, because Gurney was quick to explain.

“I can show you some places. The ones you haven't met or have doubts about.”

Of course that was a tempting invitation, but still you felt reticent, looking around and in the direction he had come from.

“I would hate to get in the way somehow, Warmaster Halleck.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

He didn't offer an arm or make any gesture to touch you - with respectful distance Gurney indicated directions and you walked side by side, your hands in front of you while his was on behind his back. Along the way, the servants greeted him as well as you, and that was the maximum number of times he spoke. Only when you stopped at a few specific points you could hear him: Gurney used a low-key tone and gestured very little, but when he was done explaining, he would turn to you, either to see if you were paying attention or waiting for you to say something.

He had an artistic passion within him. You didn't dare interrupt the man even once, immersed in the way every part of that huge palace was known to him, interpreted in a unique way, in an optics that enchanted you.

As for the good landscapes, Gurney showed you the ones he could unintentionally. The best windows, balconies and gardens, in addition to an excellent explanation of the lakes and rivers that belonged to the Atreides lands. At one point, he turned to another one of those moments where he was checking on you and you were already watching him - Gurney measured every inch of your face just as you did with him.

He blushed discreetly.

Neither of you mentioned it, but from that point on, the two of you started walking with your arms loose at your sides.

--------------------------

It became a routine. With the trip extended, despite Nefertari's father returning to Chusuk, the two of you found time to walk around the spaces and talk. There was a lot to learn about Gurney Halleck, as well as you, apparently. You never asked about the absence of that one in those days and why he was more present, even because it could give the impression that you didn't want him around, which would be a lie.

Sometimes, if the day was really intense, he would be somewhere near the dining room and you would stay up late talking about music and art. You found out that he also played the baliset, that he wrote poetry. There was no talk of his past and you learned that you didn't need to know everything, that just that fraction was enough for the warmest of enchantments.

Still, the best part of all this was the touches.

They started with your fingers brushing his while walking, tentatively looking for a contact. You smiled to yourself when it happened. Soon, he put a hand on your back to lead you somewhere, and you started holding his biceps to walk. Gurney was strong. Feeling the muscle of his arm over the fabric of his uniform was a unique experience and you even flexed your fingers thinking he didn't notice to feel more.

Gurney was magnetic with his words and face and body and… you hoped it was mutual. God, how you hoped.

And when the day to leave came, a part of you shattered and suddenly Chusuk became a depressing place. You wanted to stay longer, at least a little, as if delaying the inevitable would make that silent parting less difficult.

Because it was difficult.

He stood beside Paul and Lady Jessica, all walls up like the first time you saw each other, making every little memory of that short period of time a huddle of distant memories. Nobody paid you any attention except him. As you headed out for a polite and cold goodbye, as it should be, Gurney watched you tilt your head forward just a bit before reciprocating, fists unclenching and unclenching at his sides.

Your feelings, whatever they were, were a tight secret inside your heart. Not because they were futile or wrong, but because it wasn't easy. It didn't seem to be. At least not like the literature and poems Gurney wrote, poems you've never read but must be as true as he tried to be with himself.

In the dead of night, in your real rooms and in your real landscape, what comforted you was knowing that he left you something to remember. Hidden in the middle of your luggage, a small sketch of what his rustic and serious figure hid in the tangle of his own emotions.

For me, the gardens of Caladan will never be the same again. I used to look at every beautiful piece of this place and make it a haven for my darkest nights. That no longer exists. Someone took this beauty from here. Someone with a particular nature of looking for what makes her who she is.

I hope to one day have the bare minimum to receive one more look. Until then, I'll take every moment as a sensation of what it's like to live closer to paradise.

-----------------------------

[wizardofrozz]

Kix x mechanic!reader, Captain Rex, Hardcase

Word Count: ~1.9k

Warnings: swearing, mention of injury

A/N: I’ve been waiting to start posting my Life Day fics 😂 Most of them are my first time writing for a lot of these characters so I hope I’ve done them justice ❤️

Kix had been running himself ragged trying to keep up with the 501st and lending a hand to the 212th while their new medic was trained. With General Skywalker’s outrageous plans that had your workstation full of gunships and Kix splitting his time between the two battalions, you could maybe steal a few precious minutes over the last few standard weeks. It took Life Day getting closer for your schedule to die down but that didn’t seem to be the case for your favorite medic. 

You finally managed to scrub the last spots of grease off your hands, a rule Kix wouldn’t budge on if you wanted to visit him, and made your way out of the hangar. The walk to the medbay was uneventful since most of the troopers were lounging around in their company barracks, meaning you got there faster than usual. The door slid open, revealing a mostly empty medbay aside from Hardcase sleeping nearby, making it easy to find Kix sitting on a stool sorting through supplies.

         “Hello, my love,” you greeted, wrapping your arms around his unarmored shoulders. Kix jumped so hard he kicked a box of bacta patches across the room before slumping back against you as his brain registered your voice.

         “Maker above, cyare, are you trying to kill me?” Kix sputtered, scrubbing at his face.

         “Sorry,” you giggled, kissing his temple. “Been busy today?”

Kix grunted, glancing over at the only occupied bed. “Busy with idiots.”

         “What did he do this time?” you wondered, noticing the cast on Hardcase’s arm. 

         “Commander Tano initiated a game of hide and seek…again,” Kix grumbled, slowly rubbing your arms as he stared off, eyes a little glassy with a memory. “Apparently Jesse and Hardcase had the bright idea to hide on top of the same gunship so Jesse pushed him off.”

         “That’s what all that noise was,” you mumbled, resting your chin on his head. Short hairs tickled your chin, a foreign feeling when it came to Kix. “Hm, you need a haircut, dear.”

         “Yeah, add it to the list,” Kix huffed, using his foot to drag a nearby cart closer.

         “You also need a break,” you urged, gently tightening your arms around his neck.

         “No, what I need is to finish taking inventory so I can submit my order forms,” Kix argued gently, half of his attention already shifting back to his work. 

         “Kix,” you murmured, untangling yourself from around his shoulders to squat between his knees. Dull, tired eyes dropped down, your heart aching at the dark bags under his eyes. “You can’t keep doing this.” Kix sighed, his composure faltering and letting on just how exhausted he was. 

         “Then who will?” he countered. You knew his determination came from a place of love for his brothers and it only made you love him more. Although, it was slightly irritating at the moment. 

         “Yeah, I know,” you grumbled, massaging the bridge of your nose. “I just…I hate seeing you like this.” You gestured vaguely at his slumped posture before continuing. “And I - I miss you.” Kix’s eyes softened, a longing you understood well clouding his whiskey-colored eyes. 

         “I -” he started, his voice thick with emotion, “I’ll come by when I finish up here. I promise, cyare.” The sincerity in his voice lifted some of the sadness off your shoulders and you managed a small smile. 

         “I’m holding you to that,” you teased, getting to your feet and running a hand over his short hair. Kix’s lashes fluttered as he leaned into your touch before he caught himself.

         “Stop that,” he huffed, gently grabbing your wrist and dragging your hand out of his hair and down his face. You brought your other hand up to cup his face, forcing his eyes up. Of course, he shared a face with thousands of his brothers that you saw every day but as similar as they all were, they were each unique as well. You took a moment to just admire him, noting the warmth rising in his cheeks at your attention.

         “Prettiest trooper in the GAR,” you mused, swiping your thumb across his cheek. A smirk slowly lifted the corner of his mouth, and a flicker of pride lit up his eyes, making your stomach swoop.

         “Damn right,” he drawled, craning his neck to beckon you closer. You giggled but didn’t resist, aiming for a kiss until Kix stopped you by holding a single finger up. “Hold that thought,” he hissed, squeezing his eyes shut and raising his voice. “If I open my eyes and that bed is empty I’m going to glue your ass to it, Hardcase.” The strangled laugh that fell from your lips was extremely unflattering but it did make Kix smile faintly before his eyelids fluttered open.

         “How’d you even know?” Hardcase whined, drawing both of your attention. Hardcase was sitting upright in his bed, arms crossed despite his cast, and undeniably pouting.

         “Medic superpowers,” Kix deadpanned.

         “I believe it,” you teased, letting your hands drop down to the sides of his neck. “Now, give me a kiss so you can get back to work. The sooner you’re done the sooner I can kidnap you.” Kix snorted, rolling his eyes playfully but closed the space without further prompting.

It took every ounce of self-control you had to keep the kiss chaste and of course, Kix’s quiet groan wasn’t making it any easier. You scraped together the willpower to pull away, resting your forehead against his for a moment. 

         “You should go before Hardcase gets a show,” Kix rumbled, lightly trailing his hand down the outside of your thigh. 

         “Don’t stop because of me,” Hardcase called, a smile obvious in his voice. You laughed, pulling away from Kix completely, allowing him to turn a deadly glare on his brother. 

         “I’ll break the other arm if you don’t keep your mouth shut,” Kix warned and Hardcase just smiled wider. With an eye roll, you pressed a quick kiss to your boyfriend’s head before stepping out from between his legs. 

         “Be good,” you teased, tapping Kix’s nose as you passed. The sound of the brothers bickering drifted into the background as your mind started to put together ideas for how to spend the one night you had with Kix. 

Kix was ready to bolt when his assistant, Dart, finally came to relieve him. He was dead on his feet, barely acknowledging the greetings thrown his way as he trudged through the Resolute. Kix was halfway to your quarters when a familiar blonde clone cut him off.

         “Kix, hey,” Rex said with a tight smile.

         “Captain,” Kix sighed, rubbing at one of his eyes. “What can I do for you, sir?”

         “Hm?” Rex hummed, his brows pinching together. “I - nothing. You almost walked into me.” Kix blinked, his brow furrowing as he looked at his brother while his sluggish mind tried to process the last few minutes. 

         “Sorry, sir,” he settled on, opening his eyes wider than usual. Rex grunted, glancing over his shoulder at the other end of the hallway before moving to walk at Kix’s side.

         “Where ya headin’?”

         “Don’t ask stupid questions,” Kix yawned, picking up his previous slow pace. Rex chuckled, ducking his head.

         “Figured as much. I’ll walk with you,” Rex stated, switching his helmet to his other side. They walked in silence for a few minutes but Kix could almost feel Rex’s question threatening to burst out of him. 

         “What is it?”

         “How are you?” Rex asked without missing a beat.

         “Fine,” Kix grunted, glancing up to figure out where they were. “I just want to get to - I just want to go to bed.” Rex hummed, more questions obviously on the tip of his tongue but thankfully, your door came into view. Rex came to a slow stop outside your door, staring down at his boots as Kix waited for whatever he was mulling over. Then his brother’s expression changed, putting Kix on edge. 

         “I hope you like it,” Rex said with a half-smile. And then he was turning away, heading back the way they came from, leaving Kix to stare dumbly at the now empty spot. 

         “Finally.” Kix nearly jumped out of his skin for the second time that day, wide eyes zeroing in on your smiling face in the doorway. 

         “I’m gonna put a bell on you,” Kix grumbled, letting your drag him into your tiny quarters. He instantly noticed the wall of warmth he walked into, chasing away the chill of hyperspace that he hadn’t realized had settled in his bones. It took a few seconds for Kix’s brain to register what he was seeing. 

All the pillows and blankets in your quarters and some you had to have stolen from storage were piled up in the middle of your bunk like a nest. A portable heater was on low power against the opposite wall, giving off a faint glow in the dim room and Kix smelled something sweet lingering in the air. The room felt…cozy. 

         “Come on, get your kit off,” you urged, pulling his helmet out of his hand. Kix blinked at you, working through his foggy thoughts as he mindlessly unclipped his armor like he’d done thousands of times. You held out a pair of pajama pants you had bought him last Life Day and he didn’t hesitate to peel off his blacks. Kix stood at the edge of your bunk when he was finished, raising a brow at the mug you were holding out to him.

         “What is it?” he wondered, leaning forward to look at the dark, steaming liquid. 

         “Hot cocoa,” you answered, nodding at the mug. He carefully cradled the warm cup, letting the scent wash over him. 

         “Why?”

         “Well, drinking hot cocoa and curling up in front of a fireplace was one of my favorite things to do around Life Day on my home world,” you replied, patting the spot at your side. Kix watched you for a beat but relented, climbing onto the bunk. He hadn’t even realized Life Day was approaching but to be fair, he wasn’t even sure what day it currently was.

         “That’s not a fireplace,” Kix noted needlessly.

         “Thanks, smartass,” you snorted, taking a sip of your hot cocoa. “Can’t really have a fire on a Star Destroyer so I had to settle for the next best thing. Luckily, Rex managed to borrow General Skywalker’s heater.”

         “That explains it,” Kix hummed, taking a hesitant sip of his own drink. It had been a while since he’d had hot cocoa; it was probably last Life Day. He looked over at you, a soft smile lifting the corner of his lips as the warmth settled in his stomach, dragging him closer to sleep. “Thank you.”

         “Anytime, dear,” you sighed happily, resting your head on his shoulder. Kix couldn’t really remember drinking the sweet beverage, let alone finishing it, the warmth of the heater and the familiarity of your presence lulling him into a trance. He blinked sluggishly up at you when you took his empty mug and his eyes followed you around the room. You climbed back into the nest of blankets, carefully directing him to lay on his back so you could curl up on his chest. 

         “Love you,” Kix slurred, wrapping his arms around your shoulders. You propped your chin up on his sternum, your smile making his stomach flutter. 

         “Love you too,” you giggled, stretching up to reach his lips. Kix tried to reciprocate but the second his eyes closed, he already started to drift off. He managed to comprehend your suggestion to get some sleep before he was pulled under with the memory of your lips on his.

25 days of Life Day Masterlist

Taglist: @sleepingsun501​ 

[rylanenthusiast]

the moment ryan realized his feelings for dylan ? 😊

initially this was not at all meant to get so…intimate? blame my thumbs for typing it out i was held hostage by my hands. I gotta admit tho, I’m not the happiest with this- but I’m trying to be less of a perfectionist so I’m posting it anyway :)

side note: I HIT 100 FOLLOWERS??? Y’ALL ARE THE FUCKING BEST FOR ALL THIS SUPPORT I KISS EVERY ONE OF YOU ON THE FOREHEAD.

It was one of those summer days where you can feel the heat of the sun cooking you from the inside out, so naturally, the counsellors decided it was the perfect day to host an impromptu water balloon fight- as per Dylan’s suggestion.

Ryan had almost decided to skip out on it to go listen to podcasts at the docks, but the way his sweat made his shirt cling to his chest was getting increasingly unbearable by the second.

They’re all gathered under the tree in the cabin area, the open space and cabins providing a formidable battlefield.

“Alrighty!” Dylan exclaims with a wide grin, clapping his hands to get all the kids and fellow counsellors attention. “If you would so kindly stand in a line so we can hand you your balloons, we can get this show on the road!”

Once the kids eventually settle into a (somewhat) line, Dylan begins explaining the rules to the game.

Ryan wants to listen but…he sorta just tunes it out. In his defence, the sun has practically fried his brain.

He’s suddenly brought back to earth as he’s handed two water balloons by Dylan, who winks as he places them in his hands.

Ryan’s cheeks warm, but he blames it on the sun peeking between the tree leaves.

He’s once again ripped out of his train of thought by the sound of a countdown.

“3…2…1…Go!”

He sprints off towards the direction of the radio hit, he suspects nobody will find him there because of all the (outdated) technology inside the hut which he assumes nobody would want to get wet.

-

He’s not entirely sure how long it’s been, but safe to say, Ryan had been right about nobody coming to check the hut.

He’s leaning against the wooden back wall, leaning out ever so slightly to try get a look at the game, until-

He feels a cold hand clamp over his mouth. He lets out a muffled yelp- and as he tries to turn around to see who’s behind him, he feels a wet torso pressing up against his back. Warm breath ghosts the nape of his neck.

A shiver runs down his spine.

“If you don’t say anything, I might let you go,” a familiar voice whispers into the shell of his ear.

Ohhhh shit.

He slowly turns around until he’s face to face with Dylan Lenivy. And fuck does he look good.

Ryan leans back against the wall, Dylan’s hand still clamped over his mouth. The boy is covered head to toe in water, his wet hair flopping onto his forehead, and his soaked shirt clinging to his lean torso. He has a shit-eating grin on his face, obviously enjoying this far too much for Ryan’s liking.

“You gonna do that for me?”

“Mhm,” Ryan muffles out.

For a second, neither of them say a word, Ryan’s wide eyes staring into Dylan’s which were flicking between his own and the hand he had over Ryan’s mouth.

Ryan can feel his heart in his throat. They’re so…close. Ryan’s back is planted against the wall and Dylan’s practically caging him in, his free arm resting to the side of Ryan’s head. The air between them is thick and heavy, and Ryan can feel his stomach doing flips.

“Good!” Dylan exclaims, suddenly pulling his hand away. Although, he doesn’t make an effort to increase the distance between them.

“…Fuck dude, you scared the shit outta me-“

He’s cut off with a giggle that has his stomach doing a different kind of flip.

“Sorry- sorry- I just- I couldn’t help myself-“

Dylan cant even finish his sentence he’s laughing so hard.

Ryan’s too busy fighting the blush creeping up his neck to notice the hand above him.

He looks up just a second too late to see Dylan’s hand release a water balloon straight over his head. The ballon bursts, soaking Ryan as he gasps at the sudden coldness.

He flicks his head down to look at his assaulter, glaring as he watches Dylan stumble backwards and begin sprinting in the other direction as best as he can whilst fighting a fit of laughter.

As he’s stood there, dripping water and soaked from head to toe, Ryan takes a minute to process what just happened.

The way being so close to Dylan had made him feel…the way he yearned for the feeling of his back pressed against his again.

No. Nope. There’s no way.

Shit.

[this-is-krikkit]

hi!! read you're doing prompts, can you do the 9th? i feel like it's a perfect one for levihan 😂

send me a number and a ship and i'll write a drabble!

thank you for sending this prompt ! it does have undeniable levihan vibes to it 😏

Prompt 9. “You can’t banish me! This is my bed too!”

Zeke (★now edited and posted on ao3 ★)

Characters: Levi, Hange, Zeke

Tags: modern au, levihan, no zekehan or zevi i promise, i just think i'm hilarious sometimes and you guys have to deal with it hehehe, erumike mentioned, tw alcohol mention ig

.

Hange gets out of the shower, puts on the clean shirt Levi had left for them in the bathroom and sneaks into the bedroom quietly. They successfully stop a yelp from escaping and only wince as they bump their toe into their bedside table, and put the miraculously unspilled glass of water they'd brought in with them on it.

They crawl under the duvet quickly, delighted to have made it here just as the hangover headache was starting to make their head throb, and frown as they realize something heavy has taken over most of their side of the bed. They reach back and click their light on, and feel their eyes widening as they take in the sight.

"What the- Levi, what's Zeke doing here?" they ask, way too loud even by their own standards.

"Fuck's sake, four-eyes," Levi moans, voice groggy and dry, "what's it look like? He's sleeping. And so am I, so shut the fuck up and turn the damn light off."

Hange bites their lip to stop themself from commenting on his bed hair or the adorably cranky look on his half asleep face, and obey his order.

Before they swiftly climb over both him and the dog, and stretch their arm far enough to turn on the light on his own bedside instead. They fully laugh when Levi whines again, swearing some more, and the Husky joins his protest with a loud howl.

"And where do I sleep, grumpy-grumps?" Hange asks, fluffing the dog's fur, who quickly calms down at the attention.

"I don't care, just get out of my bed," Levi replies, his voice all muffled from speaking into his pillow as he protects his eyes from the sting of the light.

Hange gasps in faked horror, Zeke looking up at them in concern at the sound.

"You can't banish me! This is my bed too!"

Levi groans again, and blindly feels behind him with his hand.

"Not anymore," he sighs in reflief when he finds his mark and darkness replaces the cruel artificial light. "Now it's mine and Zeke's."

"Right... and since when do you allow this- how'd you put it again- 'overactive drama queen of a hairball', to get on the sheets you love so much and shed all over them?" Hange pushes, genuinely curious.

"Since you leave me for two nights in a row to go on a weekend-long party with your brother and his brainless jock friends. And I was planning on changing the sheets later today anyway," he adds as an afterthought.

"Mike's bachelor party was fun, honey, thank you for asking," Hange replies playfully. "But I still don't understand how that has anything to do with your rules regarding the dog's sleeping-

"For your information, your four legged soulmate here wouldn't stop whining and howling at the front door until I let him come in here," he interrupts in a huff. "I don't know what he was so anxious about, but he had a really hard time sleeping without you around."

Hange's eyes have grown accustomed to the shadows by now, and they don't miss the way Levi stares at Zeke, actively avoiding to look at their own face. They should have known from the minute they came home and Levi was still in bed in the middle of the day that his insomnia had been acting up again, and it twists something in their gut to hear him confess so in his own twisted way, especially when they know he'd been working long hours the week before.

They hum and perch themself back on what little space they've got left on their side of the bed, letting one of their hands land on Levi's pillow to ruffle his hair and massage his scalp as they pet the dog's fur with the other.

"I'm sorry you didn't get to rest properly," they say softly.

Levi sighs, and his fingers link with theirs over the dog's belly.

"From the looks of you right now, I'd say you didn't either," he jokes. "Did you really have fun?"

"So much. I don't see how Erwin's going to beat that next weekend, honestly."

"Well, don't tell him that. He's so competitive he'd do the craziest shit just to try and prove you wrong."

They feel their own grin widening, and Levi chuckles when he spots it.

"Tch, four-eyes..." he warns, shaking his head in faked disapproval.

"Come on, what's the point of being one groom's sibling and the other's best friend if I don't get to mess with them a little?"

They yawn around the end of the sentence, which makes it sound way less villainous than they'd meant.

"Better get some rest while you can, then, evil mastermind," Levi scoffs, failing to hide his own reflex yawn.

Hange vaguely remembers letting out a weak laugh and pinching his nose in retaliation for his mocking tone, before falling into deep slumber.

[pathschosn]

&    𝑷𝑨𝑻𝑯𝑺𝑪𝑯𝑶𝑺𝑵     ...  private  &  highly  selective     multimuse  blog     that  is  currently  featuring  hsr's        JINGLIU  ,  SWORD  MASTER  OF  THE  LUOFU        .  all  of  the  muses  on  this  blog  are  relatively  canon  divergent  and  headcanon  based  ,  so  please  read  through  my  headcanons  if  you  want  to  get  an  idea  of  how  they  will  be  written  .          minors  kindly  do  not  interact  &  please  read  rules  before  following          .  this  blog  will  in  activity  until  further  notice  ...  lovingly  brought  together  by       lune       (  she/they  25+  GMT+1  )         you   can   find   both my   rules   and   my   navigation   under   the   read  more .

TRAVERSING THE COSMOS WITH ... @/godfled , @/knghted

NAVIGATION ; MUSES // INTERACTION CALL // PROMO

VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE ; i am an avid supporter of people that write as female muses . i will not tolerate any kind of down playing or over sexualisation of female muses to the point where their personalities and actual interesting points are not recognised . female muses are not here to be your ship fodder and they are not here for you to use only for fantasies .

this brings me swiftly onto female characters that identify as lesbian or are canonically heavily implied as lesbian . i will absolutely not tolerate anyone taking a canon lesbian character and changing their sexuality so that they can be paired with men . it is something that will result in me hard blocking you without any warning . i'm going to give you some examples of characters that , if i see them being written as anything but lesbian , will result in me hard blocking you ; ACHERON , ROBIN , JINGLIU , YUKONG from Honkai : Star Rail & RAIDEN EI , ARLECCHINO , NAVIA , CLORINDE , BEIDOU from Genshin Impact .

note about clorinde ; while originally i thought clorinde might have been bisexual due to the connections between her and the famous French swordswoman she was based off , there is still absolutely 0 in game references to any kind of relationship with men . the only canon romance she has is with navia as far as we can see from the game . so therefore , i personally think that Genshin Impact's depiction of clorinde is lesbian .

Every single one of these characters are HEAVILY implied to be lesbian . while you might argue that 'nothing is really canon' i implore you to be aware that because these games are made in China , any kind of LGBTQIA+ representation in media is BANNED and therefore Hoyoverse has to be very careful with the way in which they give us diverse representation .

𝐈.          ACTIVITY.          this  blog  is  highly  selective  and  low  activity  due  to  a  busy  personal  life  and  me  running  another  blog  over  at  @evelicious please  be  patient  with  my  replies  both  in  character  and  out  of  character  and  do  not  continuously  try  to  catch  my  attention.

𝐈𝐈.        FOLLOWING  PROCEDURES.        i  will  only  follow  those  that  i  want  to  interact  with  after  having  read  their  rules  and  about  pages  of  their  muses.  i  expect  the  same  in  return.  being  slow  is  absolutely  fine  ,  but  if  we  follow  each  other  and  you  make  absolutely  no  effort  to  interact  with  me  ,  my  posts  or  my  muse  after  two  weeks  i  will  simply  block  you.  i  know  it  seems  harsh  but  i  need  to  keep  my  dash  and  my  followers  as  organised  as  possible  so  i  can  keep  up  with  the  flow  of  the  blog.  if  ,  for  any  reason  ,  you  want  to  unfollow  me  without  telling  me  ,  please  hardblock  me  to  avoid  any  confusion.  i  might  just  assume  that  tumblr  did  it's  goofy  unfollowing  thing  and  refollow.  so  please  just  yeet  me  into  the  void.  

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[eulchu]

im gonna get the record straight and be completely transparent.

i have never lurked critblr or leaktwt. i barely know who any of these people are. if you're critblr and i have you blocked it's because you interacted with dtblr and your url sounded weird, and people fact checked what kind of people were under your likes. or in your following list. you guys don't really know how to be subtle

many of us have been here for long enough to know urls of the people who post the most fucked up posts, because once in a while you'll pop up on the based on your likes tab.

implying im in critblr is fucking insane. i can genuinely tell all of you the exact number of leaked info i know. the truth is if you're in dtblr and you recieve more than 3 asks a day you ARE gonna get freak anons bomb dropping leaks in your askbox. there's unfortunately very little way of modding that. we try our best by blocking but every single day we get harassed with information we don't fucking want.

i am not in charge of the fandom and i will never be. tumblr is the least fucking relevant site in the fandom hierarchy. i'm no god of the fandom i don't make the rules of the fandom and i am under any impression than im more important than any other blog in dtblr. my blog would be NOTHING without all the members of dtblr. i am not special i am not famous. it's not my fault people who don't like being active blogs come into my inbox to express themselves. i don't pretend to be any authority figure. i say shit and if you agree with me cool and if you don't, that's cool too.

i am so fucking sorry that some of you have a complex over blogs that get attention, but that's not my fault. i have been here for Years of course i'm gonna have a big number of followers. especially since october all dtblr has tried so hard to not become what it used to be, and if you have a complex that's on you. there's tens of blogs with very little followers who are amazing. because a following count means NOTHING.

it's crazy to tell me im only finding reasons to shittalk dizzy and alison. i didn't know dizzy prior to their gross behavior regarding the shit they write about and the people they're friends with. if you know me well enough you'd know i have 0 problems with saying i hate x person for whatever personal grudge. i have done that plenty of times. i don't have to hide behind any excuse to shittalk someone.

calling me petty is ridiculous. petty over what girl? i'm just here to vibe idgaf what other people are up to if it's harmless shit.

yet another clinically fucking insane statement to make. i very politely to invite you to scroll my blog and tell me where i have confirmed anything. the only things i have talked about are dream's ex and those "body issues". i have never verified any kind of leak and you're insane for thinking i have. i genuinely invite you to send me one of those instances you talk about.

in regards of "a bunch of blogs complaining" i'd love to know what kind of blogs you're talking about because as far as i know the only conversation that's happened before regarding this topic, was something extremely similar to what i'm saying right now and not at all close to verifying any kind of leak. if you get those blogs on your dash that's a you problem and you should curate your experience better, but don't drag me into it.

yes. all of this. yes.

i do apologize for the confusion. dizzy didn't write that fic but they did defend it and they've co-written together before.

i'm not a lurker and i don't know them, don't think i know all this information because i'm a stalker. i don't even know alison's tumblr. some of these people used to be friends. friends of a lot of people in the fandom. but you can only cover your behavior for so fucking long, and then people talk, and shit gets brought up.

both alison and dizzy have done more than morally incorrect things in the past for other fandoms. other than the choice of the kind of fics they write and bookmark, they both are 100% friends with people who discuss doxxes like it's top of the morning news. dizzy particularly was part of the phandom in the side of phannies who harassed and were weirdly invasive of their lives to the point where it affected their mental health.

again, read what you want like what you like but be aware that these are the people you're reading fics of. hey if you're one of them, kudos to you. but genuinely. don't even try to say they're not the kind of people im describing right now. people across different fandoms who have had the displeasure of knowing them will tell you the same thing.

[looneyleyle]

so, so pretty ~ b. loomis

synopsis: a party? while a masked killer is on the loose? what a great idea.

warnings: ghostface, scream-typical violence

words: 647

becca's pov

the last thing i remembered was being knocked out by the one and only masked murderer.

how did i get there? let's look at what happened.

stu, being the idiotic shithead that he is, decided that the best time to throw a party would be when a masked killer is on the loose, slicing up a bunch of high schoolers. i wouldn't have gone, but billy insisted. no, he didn't insist, he begged me to go. he all but got on his knees and pleaded for me to go. i didn't understand what the big deal was, i told him we could just watch horror movies in my room instead, but he was dead set on going to this party.

so, being the good hook up buddy i am, i obliged.

how did i become billy's hook up buddy? well, after sid accused him of being the killer, their relationship came to an abrupt end. not that they had been doing very well prior to that. so, when billy showed up at my door one night, telling me that him and sid were over, i knew exactly what he wanted. i mean, being a rebound hook up didn't feel great, but when a hot man comes to your door asking to hook up, you don't say no.

so, i went to his friend's dumb party, even though he wasn't even there. he told me he would be a bit late, but after an hour of party festivities, i figured he wasn't gonna show. i instead spent my time with randy and the others on the couch, watching halloween. with the news of the principal being hung by the field posts, the crowd thinned until it was just me and randy. i couldn't pay attention to the movie, i had watched it nearly a hundred times. and where had everyone gone? i mean, a couple dudes left to check out mr. himbry's body, but where was everyone else.

"hey randy, i'll be right back, i'm gonna go check on something." i told him. i tensed up as soon as the words left my mouth, and so did he.

"becca!! you of all people should know the rules!" i mumbled an apology to him but left the room nonetheless, with him muttering something about finding me with my throat slit later on. i first went to check upstairs, assuming at least stu and tatum would be up there. the bedrooms were all empty, so i made my way back downstairs. as soon as i got to the last steps, i saw something move out of the corner of my eye. i turned towards the living room just in time to see the killer raise their hand and strike me hard on the head.

when i came to, i was being shaken. i opened my eyes to see billy, covered in blood.

"becca, baby, are you ok??" he asked, concern etched onto his pretty face.

"yeah, i think so, but, fuck" i cried, feeling the stinging sensation on my cheek. billy reached out to my face, gliding a finger over whatever was hurting me. his finger came back covered in blood, in my blood. i felt like i was going to faint. billy came closer to me, quietly shushing me as i began to hyperventilate. tears prickled my eyes, what had happened?

billy leaned down and kissed me on the forehead.

"becca, baby?" he whispered to me. i let out a slight whimper, urging him to continue. he brought his lips towards my ear, kissing my neck on the way, before whispering,

"you look so pretty covered in blood."

and with that, a sharp pain erupted in my stomach. i looked down to see billy's hand plunging a knife straight into me. he then twisted the knife, bringing a whole new level of pain to my body.

"so, so pretty."

[svartalfhild]

"No one ever cared about me like you."

HOPEFULLY post-resurrection, Laudna visits Ashton in his room, and the two talk about that last One Bad Day in Bassuras (FCG claiming Laudna was never alive, the sandstorm, the DEATH, and how they gladly shouldered the burden of carrying her throughout the trip until she was brought back) and how in Ashton’s eyes, it woke them up to something he almost took for granted, and how he doesn’t want to again. First kiss optional, however you wish to frame it ❤️‍🩹

Oh my, that's detailed. I'll see what I can do! Hopefully this captures the spirit if not the letter of what you're looking for.

~ ~ ~

Bells Hells had been back in Jrusar for about a day since the Voice of the Tempest had come to return Laudna to life. Lady Keyleth had insisted they take a little time to rest and prepare before running off again, and some of them had taken it better than others. Chetney and Fearne wanted to get right back out there and tear Otohan Thull a new one as soon as possible. Orym accepted his boss's wisdom without question, but they could all see the restlessness in his eyes. Fresh Cut Grass was torn on how to feel about it, but ultimately agreed that they needed a little time after everything that had happened, and they'd do better with rest. Imogen was equal parts afraid of giving Otohan more time and afraid of facing them, but ultimately she was too rattled and exhausted by the ordeal of losing and regaining Laudna to say no to rest. The two of them had returned to their room at Zhudanna's for the time being, hoping that the quiet company of the sweet old lady would help them feel normal again.

In the morning, Laudna went out to find the one person who had been surprisingly quiet after her return. According to FCG, who had been round to check on her, Ashton had gone back to the Krook House and was brooding in their room. She found them just so, nestled amongst the colourful, messy trappings of their space, working on what appeared to be a leather cuff of some kind.

"Ashton? May I come in?" Laudna inquired, and they looked up at her over their right shoulder.

"Hey. If I'd known you were coming, I'd have rolled out the welcome mat." They gestured for her to enter, and she perched herself on a cushion beside them, offering the small wooden box wrapped in a scrap of red linen.

"I brought you some dumplings Zhudanna made." Laudna didn't quite know why she felt so damn nervous. Ashton was her friend. Why would it be hard to thank a friend? He set aside his little project and took the box.

"Thanks." He unwrapped the gift and took out one of the dumplings, taking a satisfied bite.

"I heard what you did for me."

"Ah. Well, you don't owe me anything, if that's what you're worried about."

"No, I just wanted to thank you. No one's every cared about me like you. I mean, obviously Imogen cares a very great deal, perhaps more than anyone ever has, but, well, it seems like you care just as much, but...differently, and I'm not sure I understand it, but...I don't know; I feel like I'm saying this wrong," Laudna rambled, kneading her fingers together anxiously. Ashton set aside the food and gave her their full attention.

"Alright, let me try to explain then," they began. "I...I've lived my life a certain way for a long time, lived by certain set of rules and expectations. This crew has changed a lot of that for me. My old crew left me to die, left me broken and alone, and I accepted that, because that's the way you live when you're from Bassuras, but I don't want that for you. You deserve better."

"Why? I was already dead. I've been on borrowed time for 30 years. Getting murdered again seems like a natural conclusion. Why would you go to such lengths for a corpse?" Laudna challenged, and Ashton's brow furrowed.

"I don't know what the fuck that voice in your head says to you, but you're not a thing; you're a person, and I'm not going to let anyone or anything take you away before you've had the chance to figure out what that means. I'd carry you to the ends of the world if I had to." Laudna wasn't quite sure what to say to such an intense statement, especially with Ashton's amethyst eye staring at her like they could see into her soul.

"But why?" she pressed, quiet but firm. Why did he care so much? Why did he worry about her? Why was he willing to throw away his own freedom for her? It all seemed so unlike him.

"Because I fucking like you, Laudna! You're a fucking delight! And if there's something like redemption for people like us, I don't wanna find it without you!" he half-yelled, and his impassioned words filled her with an odd buzzing sensation and a fiery, selfish impulse she'd never felt before.

"Well, same to you!" she snapped back.

"Great!" Ashton replied aggressively, and the impulse took over, compelling her to lunge forward and kiss them. They gave a small grunt of surprise, and they barely had a chance to respond before Laudna realized what she was doing and panicked.

"Sorry! I'm sorry! That's probably not what you-" She swallowed the last words of her sentence as Ashton slid his arms around her and pulled her closer, kissing her even more fervently than she had him.

"Is that clear enough for you?" he asked in a low voice when they parted.

"Y-Yes!" Oh gods, she felt like a giddy schoolgirl now. Be cool, be cool. This was all happening so quickly that she was a bit dazed and disoriented. "That was, um, very nice. Very good. But I think...I need some time to process...I should head back." She began to slowly pull away from Ashton, not wanting them to think she didn't like this, but feeling a bit overwhelmed.

"Sure, yeah, no problem." They gently let her go and gave her space. She got up and smoothed her skirts, wandering towards the doorway, but pausing at the threshold.

"Ashton?"

"Yeah?"

"I was thinking of stopping by Marwa's later. Would you like to come?" Laudna nervously rubbed her wrist as she looked over her shoulder to ask this, and Ashton grinned.

"Sounds fun."

It took everything for Laudna not to skip the whole way out of the Krook House and back to Zhudanna's place. Besides simply not wanting to appear foolish, she felt as though skipping might cause her to float off into the sky. It was a bizarre, unexpected sensation, but not an unwelcome one, and she couldn't wait to tell Imogen everything that had just happened when she got home.

[patamon]

Takari Week 2022: [Day 2 prompt: First Date]

I’m kind of nervous about posting this fic but I still hope everyone enjoys! Warning: This fic gets spicy (but nothing explicit). Also, I've been terrible at editing my work so this feels so...unfinished and I apologize T-T

Also, Tumblr keeps eating this post if I include a picture, so I have to leave it plain and without my usual accompanying visuals -_-

Title: F is for Firsts Character: Hikari Yagami & Takeru Takaishi Pairings: Takari Word Count: 5939 Rating: T+ Summary: The spring of Hikari’s 18th year brought with it an abundance of firsts.

Cross-posted on AO3 Read below the cut 👇🏻

F is for Firsts

The spring of Hikari’s 18th year brought with it an abundance of firsts.

First, it was her first funeral, dressed in her modest black dress, she walked up to her grandmother’s casket as her and Taichi said their final farewell. Then, it was her first trip on a plane alone: a solo flight to Hong Kong to visit her cousins, no friends, no family member, not even Tailmon, just her suitcase and a string of worried reminders from her mother to be safe.

It didn’t end there. It was a string of firsts after that: first cup of coffee, first time riding a rollercoaster, first job at a photography studio. Hikari never thought, after 18 years of living, that there were still so many firsts to experience.

She always considered herself lucky. She had opportunities and first experiences that many people would never have a chance to live through: running through the fields of the newfound Digital World, witnessing her first digiegg hatching, watching her Digimon evolve for the first time. But best of all, she had someone to experience all her firsts with. If she was curious, she would bring it up, and often, he would comply, no questions asked, no explanations necessary.

First hug with someone other than a family member, nestling herself close and smelling the fabric softener his mother used, which was both foreign and familiar at once. It felt comfortable.

First time holding someone’s hand, feeling the satisfaction of having their fingers wound through the gaps between hers. It felt complete.

First kiss, tasting the chocolate ice cream on his lips as she awkwardly thought about where her tongues should be placed. It felt sweet.

Can we…?

Have you ever wondered…?

Do you ever think about how it would feel…?

It felt good to know that she had a scratch pad, a secure base to deposit all her hesitations and insecurities, and even if the first hug was a bit tight, the first hand hold a bit scratchy, the first kiss a bit clumsy, she knew she could make all her mistakes with him, and there would never be any misgivings.

After all, he was her hope. Her Takeru.

The summer of Hikari’s 18th year, the air was thick with sweat and restlessness. Despite the heat wave burying the city underneath its oppressive rule, the school’s soccer team carried on with their match. Hikari watched with beet-red face from the sideline as the players glistened with sweat, speeding from one end of the field to the other while calling out to each other in spirited voices.

The whistle blew, and Hikari jumped in her seat, realizing a second too late that she was once again lost in following the lean, muscular frame of the soccer team captain. Her feet jerked upward, knocking over her glass water bottle, the shatter drawing the attention of everyone around her, including said captain.

She blushed hard, ducking low to quickly investigate the aftermath of her clumsiness, only to find her water bottle now in a hundred smaller pieces at the bottom of the bleacher. She groaned quietly, but when she stood up, she was shocked to find Jun, the captain, standing opposite her with an unopened water bottle in his hand.

“Here,” he offered.

Hikari froze, her eyes skittered from the water bottle to his sharp face, dark and chiseled, and glistening with sweat. Her body was no longer hers, just a victim to the hormone coursing through her vein.

“Thank you,” a cheery voice called out from beside her. She turned and caught a glimpse of purple, then watched Miyako snatch the water bottle from Jun’s hand.

Jun’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion for a moment, before offering a loose grin.

“See you around, Hikari,” he greeted before dashing away.

Once he was gone, Hikari’s entire posture collapsed. Her body woke up to the myriads of sensation prickling under her skin. Miyako phased into her line of sight, standing before her with her hands on her hips, her long purple hair tied up in a perfect bun.

“Holy fuck, Hikari,” Miyako cried out, “You should have seen your face,” then burst into uncontrollable laughter

Flabbergasted, Hikari jumped up, attempting to cover up Miyako’s mouth while shushing madly as Miyako flailed about, laughing and pushing Hikari away. All the while, the crowd and the players on the field gawked, Jun’s amused dark eyes boring holes into Hikari’s consciousness.

“MIyako, shut up,” Hikari hissed, but to no avail.

Finally, she had enough. She grabbed her bag and hat, then pulled Miyako away by her wrist, moving past other spectators in a huff.

“Miyako, that wasn’t cool,” Hikari gritted out once they were far enough from the soccer pitch, “You’ve no idea how badly you’ve embarrassed me”

Miyako sighed, readjusting her glasses before speaking, “Fine, fine, sorry, I lost control back there. But holy fuck Hikari, you didn’t do yourself any favour either”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh come on, Hikari, it’s so obvious how attracted you are to that soccer guy. I watched you the entire time. You couldn’t stop staring at him the entire game, and when he came up to you, you were like…” Miyako paused, opening her eyes wide and throwing her head back, mimicking the startled expression Hikari must have given when Jun tried offering her the bottle of water. She blushed, horror possessing her every limb.

Did she really look that stupid in front of Jun?

“I was not,” Hikari countered.

“Believe whatever you want, Hikari. But I am telling you, you need to get better at these scenarios, have a little more confidence, throw yourself out there a little more. Learn how to flirt, show him you’re interested in ways that are more mature than a 12-year-old girl crush”

“Miyako!” Hikari cried out in exasperation.

“Hey, I’m only trying to help. Honestly, I am. I mean, look at Mimi, she’s got guys and girls lined up around the street for her. It doesn’t hurt to have a little sex appeal,” she winked at Hikari, which prompted her to roll her eyes.

“I’m fine, thank you,” Hikari responded.

“You’re fine until you need to impress a certain soccer player,” Miyako continued with a giggle, “Between you and me, how about a little harmless girl talk? Tell me, have you ever kissed a boy?”

“Of course”

“Second base?”

Hikari scrunched her face in confusion, “What?”

Miyako rolled her eyes, “That’s a no then. So I’m assuming you’ve never been intimate with anyone?”

Suddenly, Hikari had an almost violent urge to escape the scene. She felt irritated everywhere, her fingers digging deep into the meat of her arms as she looked for a way out of the situation.

“Oh and just so we’re clear, Takeru does not count.”

Her eyes widened, the irritation melted into shock as she thought about Miyako’s declaration.

“Why doesn’t Takeru count?”

Miyako stared back at her in horror, “Wait…does that mean…?”

“No, no, no, no, I promise, nothing happened between us, but, why doesn’t Takeru count?”

Miyako sighed in relief. She then pressed her palm against her forehead, rubbing it in slow circles as she threaded her explanation together slowly.

“He doesn’t count…because…he’s Takeru. I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s just a rule. You two are like best friends and creepy twin angel children, whatever happens between you and Takeru won’t ever be real.”

“Really?”

Miyako beamed, “I guarantee you. Now, back to that hot soccer player dude. I was thinking...Would you be open to a makeover? I can rope Mimi into it. I think that’ll help catch his attention, and maybe she can teach you a thing or two about embracing your sexiness…”

“Is it...is it bad that…I don’t have any experiences?” Hikari asked in response, the sharpness of her question quieting Miyako’s rambling.

Miyako thought about the question for a long while, longer than Hikari had anticipated. Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore. She continued before Miyako could offer her responses.

“My mom...is a little old-fashioned. She always tell me to wait, to save myself for marriage…” Hikari whispered shamefully.

“I think all our parents say that,” Miyako countered with a playful laugh, “My mother did, too. But luckily, I had older siblings, and it was my older sister that told me that’s not how the world works. In fact, maybe that’s not how the world has ever worked, and your parents had to make up and enforce all these rules because they’re your parents and they don’t want you getting hurt and growing up too soon, you know?”

“Have you been intimate with anyone?” Hikari asked quietly, almost too quiet.

Miyako flicked her wrist nonchalantly, “Yeah but…I have a boyfriend, so it’s a little different.”

“Do you think…the others? Like Mimi and Sora?”

“Well, I don’t know for sure but…I think…most certainly, yes. Especially because Mimi and Sora are both with someone at the moment. Also, have you seen Mimi with her boyfriend? They can barely keep their hands off one another.”

“So then, is it bad, Miyako? Is it bad that I’ve never done it?”

“You’re overthinking it, Hikari. It’s not necessarily a good or a bad thing.”

As she spoke, Miyako shifted nervously, moving from one feet to another. Hikari decided to nod in understanding, so they could change the topic and talk about Mimi’s party this weekend. But she didn’t tell Miyako about similar conversations she’s had with her friends, and that it wasn’t the first time she’s asked herself that question and wondered if perhaps she was missing something.

To Hikari, it felt that in this new world of secrets and closed doors, she was once again being left behind.

—

Three days later, Hikari made a decision.

It would be the most daring thing she had ever done, risking more than she cared to admit. But in the end, she decided this pursuit would be worth it, and she knew in her heart that Takeru would understand.

So that night, she found herself facing Takeru’s apartment door, her mouth painfully dry as her heart hammered hard in her chest.

Before she could knock, the door opened, she almost yelled out in shock as Natsuko appeared on the other side.

“Oh, Hikari, sorry, did I startle you?”

Hikari shook her head instinctively, her head swirling with the shame of what she was about to ask her son to do for her. Natsuko, unaware of the turmoil within Hikari, threw her head back over her shoulder and called out in a cheery voice.

“Takeru, Hikari’s here.”

“Coming.”

Hikari froze at his familiar voice, her cheeks reddening as Natsuko sidestepped to leave the apartment.

“Have fun tonight,” she called out before disappearing around the corner.

Hikari almost laughed at the statement, but then Takeru appeared. his smiling face like sunshine peeking through dark clouds. And just like potent medicine, Hikari’s entire body lightened, her muscles loosening as she watched him walk down the corridor towards her.

“Hey,” he greeted her, “Hope you’re hungry, I ordered us some pizza.”

Hikari smiled in response, she stepped into the foyer and closed the door behind her, watching as Takeru disappeared into the kitchen.

This was Takeru, she reminded herself. If Takeru was her first embrace, the first pair of hands she held, her first kiss, then it would be fitting if he could be this first, too.

And besides, he didn’t count. Miyako had affirmed that whatever happened between the two of them won’t ever be real. This is practice, just to understand how it feels, so she can finally say she did it.

She entered the kitchen and was greeted by the enticing aroma of the promised pizza. Takeru had his back turned to her, busy putting ice cubes into two empty glasses.

“I know, I know,” Takeru chirped, “You like extra ice,” he turned around and flashed a smile at her. For the first time since they’ve known each other, the gesture turned her legs to jelly, her stomach churned painfully as she thought again about what she was planning to ask of Takeru.

If this ends badly, she could lose Takeru. She understood this. But still, the memory of their firsts flooded back to her, the most memorable being that time at the pier. They only had enough money for one ice cream cone, and Takeru being Takeru, insisted Hikari had it for herself, but she being who she was, insisted they shared, until they found themselves giggling and passing a chocolate popsicle between the two of them under the setting sun.

Hey Takeru, have you ever kissed anyone?

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to kiss another person?

Could we try it?

Until this day, the taste of chocolate ice cream brought her back to that moment by the pier, where the world evaporated into a haze of bliss, where sweetness invaded her every sense, and it wasn’t just from the chocolate ice cream.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Hikari’s head snapped up, the memory dispersing slowly until she cued into Takeru’s blue eyes before her.

She cleared her throat. Takeru will understand. He always understands.

“Actually, uhh…” her voice trailed off as she eyed the pizza box. Not on a full stomach, Miyako had joked to her last night. Still, she took the advice seriously.

“Are you upset I ordered mushroom topping?” Takeru asked while scratching his head, “I thought maybe we could try something different. There’s a first time for everything, and who knows, maybe we’ll like it.”

Hikari almost choked. But she shook her head and tried again, “Uhh…actually, I’m…not hungry. So maybe we can leave the food until later”

Takeru pursed his lips, but ultimately nodded with an easy smile “Yeah, of course. So, what do you want to do then?”

The anxiety returned. Her heart fluttered while her head spun, she became all too conscious of the way her fingers picked at the hems of her blouse incessantly. And of course, if she noticed, then Takeru definitely noticed as well.

He stepped forward and placed his hand on her forearm. Normally, it would be comforting to Hikari, but today of all day, she picked a sleeveless top to wear to combat the heat, and now, the feel of Takeru’s hand on her bare skin felt too overwhelming.

“How about we sit down?”

Speechless, Hikari nodded. They walked outside the kitchen, Takeru holding onto her hand as they made their way to the sofa in the sitting room.

“So, what’s going on?” Takeru asked once they sat down.

Hikari lifted her head and fixed them upon Takeru’s blue eyes, studying the way it furrowed with concern. How many times has she seen this look? How many times has she heard him speak to her with that voice laced with worry.

They’ve known each other far too long. They’ve known each other far too well. It was then that she knew in her heart, Takeru will understand.

She cleared her throat, “Umm…I…I was just wondering…”

Takeru inched closer, eyes narrowed in concentration as he attempted to pick out her words. She realized then that his hand was still on hers, and they were holding hands as she struggled to form her question. In spite of all the fear and anxiety, the gesture brought to her a brief moment of serenity.

Can we try holding hands? I want to know what it feels like.

…and it felt like they have never let go since.

“Takeru, have you…ever been intimate with anyone?”

If silence had an edge, then Hikari definitely felt it at that moment, cutting into the tense air like a thousand knives. She watched slowly as the colours drained from his already pale face, his pupils shrinking by the chokehold of fear. Hikari remained still as the space between them, waiting patiently before Takeru spoke again.

“Uh...what?”

She wanted badly to laugh at his demeanour, but swallowed it whole and repeated the question.

“Have you ever been intimate with anyone?”

“What do you mean? Like intimate as in…”

“Sex”

He flinched. Even Hikari was shocked by how brazen she was in saying the word. He brought his hand up and rubbed thoughtlessly at the back of his neck.

“Why are you asking me this?” he questioned after a while.

“I just want to know,” Hikari responded.

He bit his lips, then veered away from Hikari. The silence continued to permeate every particle in the room. But still, Hikari sat stone faced, waiting patiently for a response.

“Uhh…this is awkward,” he breathed out at last, the volume barely a decibel above inaudible.

In response, Hikari scooted closer, squeezing Takeru’s hand in-between hers.

“You can be honest with me, Takeru. There’s no judgment between us. I promise.”

Takeru turned back to Hikari, his eyes tearing up as he scrutinized her.

“What do you want me to say, Hikari? Do you want me to say yes or no?”

“I…” Hikari began, then stopped abruptly. She had thought about the possibilities of his responses, and couldn’t land on any concrete theory. She knew he never had a girlfriend, but there were plenty of girls in school throwing themselves at him to no avail, and it wasn’t a secret that Takeru could flirt. Hard. So it wouldn’t surprise Hikari either way, yes or no.

“Well?” Takeru’s pressed. She looked up and saw his lips twisted in a smug smirk. Most people hated it, she found it endearing somehow.

Hikari retaliated by offering her own sly grin, pinching his arm in jest.

“Let me guess,” she began, “You’re one of those boys Taichi warned me about.”

“What boys?”

“The boys that sleep around and around and around,” she raised an index finger and spun it in circles. Takeru shook his head and lowered her arms.

“Who do you think I am? Jun?”

Hikari blushed at the name, a part of her sank in despair as she considered the insinuation.

“Jun?”

“Yeah, the soccer captain, he’s known to break a few hearts, or many.”

No. She clung onto the disbelief, then forced herself back to her quest at hand.

“You still haven’t answered my question,” she pointed out.

Takeru sighed, he sat back against the sofa and held their hands up, studying the way their fingers fit perfectly together.

“No judgment?” he whispered.

“No judgment,” Hikari repeated.

“No, I’ve never been intimate with anyone.”

“Never?”

“Never.”

Her body lightened, breathing became easier as she processed Takeru’s response, realizing that Takeru was like her, that once again, they could be each other’s firsts.

There was something so perfect about that.

“I haven’t either,” she blurted out.

Takeru’s blue eyes snapped back at her, there was a hint of understanding to it now. Perhaps he was remembering all those times they sat together alone, when Hikari would grill him on other corners of his experiences, and ask if perhaps they could try things together, to see how it would feel, just to say they’ve done it.

“Do you…do you ever wonder what it would feel like?” Hikari asked in a shaky voice.

Takeru’s eyes widened. He fixed his posture and cleared his throat, then nodded.

“I mean, yeah, of course. You probably have no idea, Hikari, but boys talk about it a lot, like A LOT, all the jokes, all the questions, it’s kind of hard not to think about it”

Her curiosity flared. She thought back to all the times she would see Takeru in the crowded hallways of their schools, sometimes walking with his school bag in hand, other times leaning back against his locker, but always with one, two, or a gaggle of gawking girls around him. Somehow, it didn’t make sense.

“Have you never really been intimate with anyone?” Hikari pressed.

Takeru blushed, his pale cheeks colouring a deep red as he turned away, “Now you sound like Yamato,” he pouted.

Hikari winced, perhaps she hit a nerve. If she felt wholly insecure by her lack of experience, then Takeru must have felt it, too.

“Sorry, I was just curious. You just seemed so…popular around school.”

Takeru chuckled, “Let’s just say…I wouldn’t want to be one of those boys Taichi warned you about”

It was silent again after that, a pregnant silence, full of expectation and knowing. She could sense that Takeru knew what she would ask next, and it made it easier for her to finally say it.

“Could we try it?”

She held her breath, waiting and watching Takeru, but he remained frustratingly stoic, stewing in secretive silence.

“I’m sorry, I know it’s a lot to ask,” Hikari stammered, then removed her hand from Takeru’s. “I don’t know what got into me, can we pretend this conversation never happened? Please?”

She was anxious again, but for a different reason altogether. For the first time since she concocted the idea, she was genuinely afraid that this could destroy them, and she would lose Takeru forever.

Takeru gulped, with his freed hand, he resumed rubbing the back of his neck thoughtlessly. Then finally, after what felt like forever, he reached for Hikari’s hand again and nodded.

“Okay,” he whispered.

“Okay?”

“Yes, okay. Let’s try it. Together.”

Hikari beamed. The disbelief at her own audacity knocked out all the fear from her. But it wasn’t until they moved to his room, when she sat on the edge of the all too familiar bed when the panic returned.

What was she doing?

This is crazy.

Is she really going through with this?

Is this really happening?

Her breathing quickened, until she was taking in shallow gasps while sweat condensed all over her body. Takeru swooped down, landing beside her on his own bed. Within her line of sight, she could see stacks of notebooks laid on top of one another, the spine crinkled with frequent use. She counted the books in her head, mentally tracing the stroke of each title to dissociate herself from her fear.

“Hey…look at me,” Takeru whispered.

Hikari obliged, staring deep into Takeru’s eyes until she could see her own reflection imprinted in those orbs.

“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” he assured her.

To her own surprise, she shook her head. Her hands moved on their own to grasp onto Takeru’s.

“No, I want to do this.”

“Are you sure?”

She nodded, “I want to know…what it would feel like.”

“Is that it? You just want to know what it would feel like?”

“Umm…” she looked away. Because really, there was another reason, a part of her that wanted to get this first over with.

“Because I think it would be different with different people, it won’t feel the same every time”

Her throat dried up, thinking of what it would feel like with Jun, wondering if she could ever have a chance to try it with Jun. But she was sure of one thing, if she did find herself with Jun, she would want him to know that she knew what she was doing.

She grabbed Takeru’s waist with conviction, turning his body until they faced one another.

This doesn’t count, she chanted in her hand, Takeru doesn’t count. This was practice, a scratchpad, the first pancake in the batch.

“I’m ready,” Hikari declared.

Takeru balked, he looked away from her. But she kept her gaze, watching as his Adam’s apple bobbed with discomfort.

“Hikari…are you…are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. That’s why I’m here. That’s why I came tonight”

“O…okay,” Takeru breathed out, then he leaned forward, and much to her dismay, she found herself on the receiving end of the second kiss they shared.

This time, it tasted like peppermint and faded cologne. His lips were dried too, his breathing heavy, and beneath the anxiety and uncertainty, Hikari sensed a little something else too. Desperation. Relief.

Maybe he was desperate to get this over with as much as she was. Maybe he was relieved that he could finally say he did it, and not have to feel pathetic around his friends.

But she couldn’t dwell on the curiosity for long, because things moved quickly after that. Hikari remembered undressing, that part she was never nervous about, because if it was anyone beside her family seeing her bare and naked for the first time, she was glad it was Takeru. Takeru was home and comfort and familiarity. In a way, she had already exposed herself in ways far more vulnerable than this to Takeru, so being physically bare felt comparatively easy.

But after that, no matter how much she grasped onto the present, how much she worked to commit the moment to memory, everything smudged together into an incoherent blur. She could recall certain details afterward, like the unsteady rhythm at the start, almost erratic as Takeru laboured to figure it out. She remembered him apologizing a lot, they came as quiet whispers in her ears. She never realized he could sound this abashed, this nervous as he struggled on top of her. But then something clicked, and the rhythm came as if it was second-nature to both of them, and afterward, instead of hushed apologies and jittery groans, she heard a different question repeating at regular intervals.

Does it hurt, Hikari? Am I hurting you?

I don’t want to hurt you.

Yes, it hurt a little at the beginning, but the pain was miniscule compared to all the sensation she was feeling now. For the first time in her life, she understood pleasure and ecstasy. She heard novel sounds bubbling forth from her parched throats, her toes curled inward as her hips buckled around Takeru.

But what surprised her was how it felt, nestling herself within Takeru’s body and running her fingers through his hair, inhaling his scent, feeling the sturdiness of his body, the smoothness of his skin, and tasting him again and again as his lips plowed into her.

It felt comfortable. It felt complete. It felt sweet. It felt…real.

Impossible, she told herself. This shouldn’t count. Things that happened between them weren't real, shouldn’t be real. This was practice for when she found herself with someone she was truly interested in.

But yet, the question haunted her. Why then did this feel so real?

—

They laid in the dark afterward, catching their breath together. She curled her body towards him, and Takeru knew to pull her close, wrapping her up in his hold. It felt so natural, like they were on the same wavelength, moving to the same rhythm.

“So…how was it for you?” Takeru asked timidly once he caught his breath.

Hikari thought about it for a moment before answering, “I’m not sure, because I don’t really have anything to compare it to.”

Takeru chuckled, “Are you saying you want to do it again?”

Hikari laughed with him, but remained quiet. Yes, she was sure she’ll do it again, but most likely with someone else. After all, this was practice. This wasn’t real. They weren’t real.

“I didn’t…I didn’t hurt you did I?” he asked again.

Hikari smiled against his skin, the kindness of his tone enough to melt her heart.

“No, don’t worry, Takeru. That wasn’t an issue at all.”

“Oh…okay good. Because I thought I heard you strain a few times, I was worried…”

Hikari giggled, “Well, you don’t have to. I promise you”

He sighed in relief, before relaxing against his bed. They laid in silence for a while, until Hikari thought she should excuse herself and leave. But there was something so intoxicating about being in this moment, wrapped up in Takeru’s essence, so she stayed, basking in a different type of intimacy, her first experience of this kind.

Another first, just between her and Takeru.

“Hikari?”

“Hmm?”

“Remember that time when we were young, I think we must have been 9 or 10, I can’t even remember. But it was the first time we came back to the Digital World after we left, remember?”

“Yeah”

“We hadn’t seen each other in so long. I remembered…all the older kids got together and was talking amongst themselves, and I was so glad you were there, because then we wouldn’t be left out again by my brother and his friends”

Hikari smiled, remembering the two of them underneath the tree, while Taichi and the others were occupied by some other businesses with Gennai.

“You made fun of my new hat”

“That’s because it was ugly”

“It was not ugly,” Takeru countered.

“Yes, it was”

The sounds of their laughter bounced through the room, then, Takeru spoke again.

“I remember you telling me about the movie you watched the night before. You saw a couple holding hands, like this,” he linked his fingers through hers and raised it until they could both see it, “And then you asked…if I have ever held hands with anyone before.”

Hikari emitted a soft smile. Until this day, she could still recall Takeru’s confused expression in response to her question.

“I said no, you asked if I ever wondered what it would feel like, then you asked if we could try it, and I said yes. Then we held hands, and…it felt so…comfortable and just so…right. I couldn’t explain it, but I just knew that we fit together so well. Do you remember what I asked next?”

Hikari nodded, the sound of Takeru’s boyish voice filtered into her memory. It sounded much higher, squeakier than the one his voice has deepened to today.

Does this mean we’re boyfriend and girlfriend now?

“You were so dumb,” Hikari commented with a chuckle.

“Yeah…yeah I was,” Takeru mumbled half-heartedly, then cleared his throat. Hikari felt his body stiffened against hers, ushering in an uneasiness within herself

“Hikari…can I…can I ask you something?”

She bit her lips, no please don’t go there, Takeru, please

“Sure, what’s up?”

“What are we?”

“Uhh…humans?”

“No, that’s not what I meant, Hikari. I meant…you and I…what are we?”

Hikari squeezed her eyes shut, the alarm bells ringing in her head. This can’t be real. This conversation cannot be real.

“What do you think we are?” she ventured.

“Well, that’s the thing, I don’t know. I only know that there’s no one else in this entire universe that’s more important to me than you, Hikari, and you understand me better than anyone else I have ever met. We hang out, we talk, we laugh together, we cry together, we share so much together. We were each other’s first kiss, first everything…”

Hikari shot up suddenly, untangling herself from Takeru as she grabbed for her clothes.

“Hikari?” he called out timidly. He switched the lamp on, and watched nervously as she began pulling on her clothes.

“We’re friends, Takeru,” she asserted as she hooked her bra on. She kept her head down, working furiously to dress herself.

“Friends?” he repeated.

“Yes, friends,” with her blouse in place, she turned to face Takeru, scooting close and putting her hand on top of his, “Takeru, please, I think you and I both know this wasn’t real. This didn’t count. We were just trying it out, practicing for when we do have a chance to follow through with someone we actually like.”

For a moment, Hikari caught the crack in Takeru’s demeanour, the shadow that flashed as quick as lightning. But much to her relief, Takeru donned on his smile and nodded.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right. We were just experimenting”

“Yes, and there’s no one else I would have asked to do this with, because there’s no one else I feel more comfortable with. I’m so thankful to have you as a friend, Takeru, I hope you feel the same.”

Takeru nodded, while Hikari forced herself to ignore the way his eyes glistened, or the way his shoulders slouched down in defeat.

“I do,” Takeru assured her, “Sorry, I just wanted to make sure we were on the same page. But I think…maybe I was being dumb again.”

“No, you weren’t. I’m glad you asked, I’m glad…we are on the same page.”

He flashed a small smile, but Hikari could see the tension in it, the emptiness. Takeru smiled with his entire face, his eyes practically lit up with the glow of his smiles. But now, they were faded and dim. Still, she chose to ignore this detail, because there was no way this moment could really be real.

“Walk me out?” Hikari offered, to which Takeru agreed.

Hikari excused herself immediately, citing his mother’s imminent return as the reason. But she couldn’t escape without half the box of pizza in her hand, because as Takeru put it, he wouldn’t know how to explain why they didn’t touch the pizza the entire night.

As she walked down the stairs and out into the night sky, she couldn’t help but embody a new type of swagger, acknowledging the invisible frontier she crossed into a new chapter of her life. She was so much more aware of her body, the physical aspect of her existence. At the very least, she’s done it once, and at least she’ll know what to expect when it happens again.

At the door of Takeru’s building, she turned and looked up towards his balcony. The curtain was drawn open behind shuttered windows. She caught a brief glimpse of Takeru’s blond hair streaking away from the screen, then she was left staring at the darkness of his room.

Her heart quickened, and she laid her hand on her chest.

“Be still, my heart,” she whispered, “Not for Takeru, please, not for Takeru.”

But her heart rebelled.

She continued home, forcing her thoughts on Jun on the soccer pitch, imagining what it would feel like to be with him for the first time. But when the dust settled in the thick of night, as Hikari laid in her bed stewing in dreams and fantasies, the person she imagined in her arms was Takeru. Takeru and his bright smile, Takeru and his hair full of sunshine, Takeru and his warmth.

Takeru, Takeru, Takeru.

“It wasn’t real. It wasn’t real. It wasn’t real,” she chanted to herself in the dark.

But still, the question lingered, the smell and taste of Takeru still all over her, his essence drenching her every pores.

Why then did it feel so real?

—

The summer of Takeru’s 18th year brought with it an abundance of firsts.

First funeral, first job, first meal he cooked on his own, first time learning French, first solo trip overseas.

First time.

First time being together with the girl he dreamt about.

First time realizing his deepest fantasies, the one he was too embarrassed and scared to admit to anyone, even himself.

First time accepting he was truly, madly, deeply in love with his best friend.

First time understanding it was real.

First time having the courage to ask the question he mulled over for years.

Then…

First heartbreak.

And as he now watched her walk away from his building, her scent and taste still all around him, her rejection still piercing the delicate fibers of his heart, he wondered if perhaps, this should have been the first time he stood his ground and finally asked her…

Can we try it, Hikari? Because I want to know what it feels like, I want to know what it’s like living in the hopes that I could be your first…and last.

[nickgerlich]

When The Beer Goes Flat

Nearly 10 months have passed since one of the biggest consumer boycotts began. It all started last April when AB InBev, maker of Bud Light, sent a one-off beer can to trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney bearing her likeness. It was posted to social media, and the sh*t storm followed in seconds.

There was no reeling in the social media tirade, no walking it back. At a time when the US had started to show signs of being more accepting of the L, G, and B, they just weren’t ready yet for the T. And for a prominent US brand to align itself with the T was a hard beer to swallow.

So the boycotting ensued. Now before we go too much farther, consumer boycotting has been a thing for many years, but even in the social media era, when word spreads like fire that just had a few gallons of accelerant poured on it, they were usually forgotten after about six months. People simply got on with their lives.

AB InBev, the Belgian-owned parent company, saw its stock plummet, as well as sales of Bud Light. While the company saw global revenues and profits increase in 2023, the opposite was true for the US. The brand simply has not recovered yet, in spite of efforts last fall to align itself with football, including the NFL, but also college football. Gen-Z students, you know, are far more accepting in matters of LGBTQ (all the letters).

I must note that this was not the first time that Bud Light had supported the LGBTQ community. For several years it produced rainbow-colored 16-ounce aluminum bottles, and has been associated with supportive events for 20 years. I don’t recall anyone flinching until last April.

So where did the boycotters go? They switched to Modelo Light, a Mexican lager. But here’s where the irony starts. Modelo is also owned by AB InBev. It’s just that when AB InBev purchased that brewery earlier this century, in order to satisfy the SEC in the US, they allowed Constellation Brands to do the importing, distribution, and marketing. While Constellation is certainly happy to have the additional sales, former Bud Light drinkers need to be aware that they are still feeding the beast they came to loathe.

And now we find ourselves staring down Super Bowl 58, and Bud Light—as well as Budweiser and Michelob Ultra—will make advertising appearances. AB InBev has been blowing and going ever since the controversial moment, as if nothing ever happened. And also of note, this is strictly a US matter. It elicited a big yawn elsewhere around the world.

AB InBev is confident that sales will recover, although the six-month rule is now in need of revision. This one clearly has been an exception. Furthermore, the attention it brought to LGBTQ issues then spread to June, otherwise known as Pride Month, and the activities that other companies were rolling out. Target in particular took a hit, and moved its Pride merchandise from front-of-store to other places farther back.

In terms of its stock price, it has recovered from most of its losses. Shares were trading in the mid-60s at the time the shock wave was felt, plummeted to about $52 later in the year, and then rose to $66 earlier this month. It now sits at $62.14 per share.

From a marketing perspective, the big takeaway is that the number one light beer in the US lost its crown, only to be replaced by the parent company’s other brand from Mexico. Furthermore, it was caused by public perception—or is it misperception?— of support for one letter of an acronym, demonstrating that when it comes to voting with your pocketbook, it may not just be about taste, but matters of the heart and mind.

Personally, I am not affected by any of this. I don’t consume Bud Light, Modelo, or any other AB InBev products, other than an occasional Hopadillo from its Karbach craft beer division. Otherwise, I shy away from mass-produced beers. But I couldn’t care less about who appears on a beer can, whether a one-off or one produced by the truckload. My value system is summarized in four words: Love all, serve all. Oh, and if I (or anyone else) doesn’t like what they’re seeing, look away.

But that’s just me, and apparently there are still many for whom this is a big deal. We’ll see if Bud Light is able to shake off the cobwebs on aging stacks of beer in stores.

Dr “I’ll Be Watching With A Cold One In Hand” Gerlich

Audio Blog

[terrible-super-mario-ideas]

Paper Mario: Sticker Star

Ok, so...I'm grateful for the submission (The truth is this is the first one I've received since starting the blog up again; every other submission has been in the inbox for years) but if I'm being honest, I knew this exact thing would come up when I first made the blog, and I didn't want it. That's what I had in mind when writing the third rule for submissions...

...But apparently back in 2021 I was not very good at rule writing, because even I have a hard time imagining someone figuring out that that's what it meant, and I'm the one who wrote it. I also maybe overestimated the blog's reach by thinking that kind of submission would cause discourse, but I feel the spirit behind the rule is the same. I've always hoped the blog can make people who love the Mario series laugh, and putting things on it that amount to "Thing = Bad" feels overplayed, and the negativity behind it is less fun than I'd like it to be.

Sorry to kinda hijack your submission, but on the one hand it wouldn't feel fair to just ignore it; I can't really fault you as the rule was poorly-worded (as well as hard to find due to how Tumblr formats blogs), though on the other if I just posted it as-is I worry I'd get more similar stuff. It also ultimately brought to my attention that I really need to rewrite the rules and pin them (which I'm working on right now), so I'm grateful for that as well. I'm still not too experienced with managing a blog like this, so I apologize for the confusion and the weirdness of this post.

[atmymercy]

Hi, how are you? I would like join your tarot especial!

Quote that reminds me of you:

Mostly because you generally give me the vibes of someone who does her best to look at the brighter side of situations and to keep going regardless of fear. Let me know how you feel about it tho lol I personally loved this quote and is often a great motivator for me :)

My question: what should I expect for my love life in the next 3 months?

Thank you so much for your attention, time and energy!

hello gsp! i'm pretty great! how about you?? and of course, you can! woot! let's do this!

awww thank you, honey! i really do try because honestly, i used to look into the darkness way too much! lolol but hell, it's right there! it's a bit hard to ignore, right?? lol plus we all have a dark side and i think when we neglect that darkness, it can become overwhelming. finding sweetness in all shades has really brought me a lot of triumphs! "i had to go through hell" lol thank you, spirit! yes! so yes! i think you got me good, honey! lol might as well grab what we can now because this moment shall never return! love it!

for you, i got the knight of cups (reversed), death (reversed) & the sun.

so your spirit guides are saying you will have some success in love within three months but only after you make some necessary changes, regarding yourself and how you view love. it would seem you are not acting in the most mature way when it comes to love. i'm hearing spirit is trying to send you options and love matches but you disregard them for sometimes petty reasons. or for reasons that of being immature when you are also showing some of these same shades. aka you don't like who we are sending you? well they're only sending those options become you continue to stay on this emotional maturity level rather than leveling up! you're ready to level up but you also know how much hard work it is! so you kind of want to drag your feet about it but your spirit guides are saying that all the "good men" have already been through these lessons too! so time to join them over there! lol your spirit guides are blunt right now!

hope you enjoyed it! please give feedback or buy me a coffee when you can! if you want to explore this further, please consider a private read as well. also thank you for sharing with me!♡

love & light!

-tea

as always, my rules & info are in my pinned post if you're interested in a reading of your own!

[mdesafey]

How to Update Your Resume Without Rewriting the Whole Thing

How to Update Your Resume Without Rewriting the Whole Thing

How to Update Your Resume Without Rewriting the Whole Thing

Job hunting has changed dramatically over the past few decades. The days of “pounding the pavement” looking for work door-to-door are long gone. Today, most applications are initially gathered and processed online. And while not every job posting requires one, your chances of landing a good position are always better with a quality resume. Nowadays, even entry-level positions in blue-collar fields like construction, paving, and environmental jobs will require that you send a resume. If yours has been figuratively gathering dust, here are some time-efficient tips to update it. First Things First: the One-Page Rule No matter how extensive education and experience, keep your resume to a single page. Some sources claim a two-page resume is okay, but we disagree. With potentially dozens of applications to review each day, the hiring manager is unlikely to look at anything beyond page one. Keep it concise, don’t waste their time —and if you catch their eye, they will be the ones asking for details. Write an Attention-Grabbing Objective and Update it as You Apply for Positions Now that you’ve cut down to the most essential information, you want to make sure it will be read. The first portion of your resume that’s meaningful to your audience is the objective. Here, you’ll describe what you’re looking for in a workplace, but also nail down the industry. Write your objective near the top of the page —underneath your name and contact information— so it’s always easy to find and edit. The idea is to tailor your objective to each job application. While keeping the rest of your resume the same, you might send this for one application: - Objective: To find full-time, entry-level construction work in the X area, and further grow my carpentry skills. And this to another company: - Objective: To use my years of experience in carpentry in a construction job in X location. On the other hand, avoid objectives that are too broad and unspecific: - Objective: I’ve developed some carpentry skills over the years and I’d really like to work in construction and learn more. You can always tweak that objective line to reflect the business you’re applying to. Never apply to a position using a one-size-fits-all resume that doesn’t reflect the industry! Now that you’ve told potential employers what you want from them, it’s time to show what you can offer them. Capture an Interview with Great Work Experience Now, don’t misunderstand us —we’re not saying you should make it up. So, you may ask, what if I don’t have great work experience? Well, it’s all in the way you present it. Not everyone can boast having worked on life-changing projects, but valuable work experience doesn’t have to be glamorous. Some of the least prestigious jobs can still demonstrate that you are hard-working and dependable. Highlight how they have equipped you with valuable transferable skills for the workplace. Most interviewers are looking for reliability first, while training and expertise come later. Use your resume to highlight your reliability, and any actions you were involved in that brought value to the company. For instance: - Janitor at ABC Restaurant — ABC depended on me to arrive at work at 6:00 am every day for ten years, to make sure the restaurant was ready for business. I also helped research and select new cleaning products and more affordable cleansers over the years. Don’t think this type of work experience is irrelevant if you are no longer looking for a cleaning position. By pitching your daily dedication and your valuable opinions to ABC management, you’ve made yourself look valuable to prospective employers too! In summary, every resume is different. But the best ones are a single page, include an objective that’s tailored to the industry, and showcase your value as an employee. If you’re still unsure or need help creating an impactful resume, visit www.webuildresumes.com  to learn more. Michael DeSafey is a leading executive recruiter for professionals in the construction, engineering and environmental industries. He is currently the President of Webuild Staffing www.webuildstaffing.com  . To learn more about Michael or to follow his blog please visit www.michaeldesafey.com Read the full article