#Give Sun lots of hugs Willow!

[violetsiren90]

What the Moon Saw

Pairing: Yoongi x f!Reader

Genre: One-shot; non-idol AU; friends to lovers; young love; summer nights, angst/fluff/smut

Summary: Having been with each other through thick and thin, you and your childhood friend, Yoongi, realize that nobody knows how to say goodbye.

Listen to: "Nobody Knows" by The Lumineers

Drabbles: Stolen Tides; Beacons Ashore; The Lighthouse Keeper

Content Warnings: 18+ (minors dni); allusions to domestic abuse; divorce of parents; cigarette smoking; infidelity (not between main couple); kissing; hickeys; making out; hand jobs; oral sex (female receiving); loss of virginity (female); moments of body insecurity; unprotected sex; cumming inside; cockwarming; characters are ADULTS at the time of their sexual encounter; LOTS of emotions

Author's note: I moved. Like, a block away from the beach, and the views and the vibes have me ALL up in my feels. I wrote this in two nights and then sat on it. I wasn't sure if I was going to post it or just keep it in my heart because parts of it are so personal to me. BUT, here it is. I want to give inspiration credit to @orchidyoonkook , because I will never ever be able to write young love or Yoongi without being influenced by the beauty that is Under the Willow Tree. 💕 If anyone chooses to read this little love story of mine, I hope it brings you something wholesome!

If no one has told you yet today, you are loved and worthy of love! 🧜‍♀️💜

    You inhaled deeply, taking the salty air into your lungs as you gazed out over the cliff side and across the rippling blue that stretched on and on until it met the soft pink glow of the horizon. Your eyes tracked the tide lapping at the smooth sands. You slipped off your heels to meet the cool pavement, but you could feel it already - the soft golden grains molding to meet your steps. These shores hadn't borne your footprints in over a decade, but here you were, drawn back again by the hypnotic crash of the sea and the lonely call of the gulls. It felt as though you had never left. You leaned over the railing of the rickety staircase that wove its way down the cliff side into the sand and scree. Your gaze trailed down the steps, one by one, until you saw it, jutting out halfway down: the lip of a ledge in the rock face. Your breath caught in your chest. Old, familiar feelings of a time gone by washed over you. The years rolled back like clouds from the sun in the western sky.

You were nineteen.

You shivered, drawing your knees up and hugging them to you as sat on the thick woolen blanket you had laid over the cool stone of the ledge. Even on a summer night like this, you should have worn something more practical. But you had worn your cotton sundress with the cherries. He had once told you that you looked like the main character in that dress, and it had been your favorite ever since.

You watched the moon dance on the dark water and thought about all it had seen. It had been watching the little alcove from the beginning. It had seen you the summer after your first year of middle school, wrapped in a blanket with book between your hands, as you took refuge from the emotional turmoil that shook your house nearly every night leading up to your parents' divorce. It had seen the boy one night, wandering the beach with a cigarette and busted lip, trying to smoke away the tears in his eyes. It had seen the boy climb the stairs, only to discover his favorite hiding place was already harboring another runaway. It had seen you look at him - skinny limbs in a jacket and ripped jeans not lanky on his small frame, tussled dark hair, round face, little bleeding pouted lips, dark sharp eyes wide with surprise - and consider that he was likely the most beautiful thing you had ever laid eyes on. It had seen him offer you a cigarette which you refused. It had seen him ask you for a light, which you didn't have. And then it had seen you become friends. Best friends. It had watched you become all that the other truly had in the small, beautiful, painful world of a child. And now it would watch him amble up the beach one last time to find you there.

Yoongi. He had been so upset when you told him that you were leaving for college, but he had tried his best not to show it. He was always like that, keeping things deep inside. You had to wait and watch and listen and coax them out. You could always find the right time to do it, when he felt safe to let you. Most nights, though, it was you pouring out every little thing in your heart. Yoongi loved it when you did that. He would listen with the softest little smile and warm eyes, creasing in the corners, as he watched your hands move with as much animation as your voice when you spoke. His nearly-silent breathy laugh would come like a breeze off the sea and waft around you, lifting your spirits and cleansing your soul. His rare, full smile spreading in breathtaking beauty over his face, pulling his upper lip away from his gums. There were the good times, and the bad ones. On hard nights you would hold each other in silence, letting the beat of the other's heart and the steady undulation of the tide carry you through to the dawn.

You remembered the first time you had awakened in his arms after such a night. The light had just started to stream over the tops of the cliffs, painting the water in rose gold. You had shivered, feeling the dampness of the cool salty air in your hair. And then you had looked up and seen him there, holding you, still fast asleep. His face was angelic, little pink lips just parted, chest rising and falling with the swell of his breath, and you swore you could endure anything life threw at you if the first thing you saw each day were his dark lashes resting gently on the apples of his cheeks. Yoongi had finally stirred and blinked down at you, just gazing silently - the little warm smile in his eyes rather than on his lips. In that moment, something had changed. In the weeks that followed, you thought you had never felt so many things at once.

You felt giddy. You felt a little sick. You felt like you could fly.

You were in love.

You were in love and you had very nearly worked up the courage to do something about it when you saw it - that horrid little purple bruise right below his ear. You had asked him if his father had done it and he had been confused at first. But when you brushed your fingers so softly over the mark, his eyes had widened and he had recoiled, pulling up the collar of his jacket to obscure it from your view. He had insisted that he was fine and not to worry. But worry you did, all the way up to the day you realized what the little bruise really was. Then your worry morphed into something different. You felt sick again, but this time it felt like a burden. You had chided yourself for being so stupid. He was beautiful and sixteen, of course he was involved with girls - girls that weren't you. Your heart broke. You pieced it back together with the succor of his friendship, and, soon, you started seeing other boys too. But you never let them give you purple bruises. You didn't want them from their lips. 

As the seasons went by, you remained tethered to one another. Regardless of friends or suitors who would come and go, you knew each other in a way that no one else could. A way that didn't require words. Laughter bubbled up without effort or restraint. Fights ended in tears and forehead kisses and never lasted more than a few moments. Never past parting. Until one day a few weeks ago when he had told you that a boy you were going with was seeing another girl. Yoongi had never liked your boyfriend, and so you had reacted badly, gotten defensive and let yourself be angry with him for telling you. You had snapped at him to mind his own business. When he had insisted that you were his business you had said no you weren't, not in that way. He had gone quiet. So quiet. And then he had left. And he hadn't come the next night. Or the night after that.

You were so angry and anxious, and you told yourself you wouldn't wait for him another night, so you stayed home for the rest of the week. Then, on the third night away, you had tucked yourself into bed only to imagine Yoongi waiting for you, alone in the darkness. You had whipped off your covers and gone to find him in your pajamas. When he had seen you he had jumped up, throwing his cigarette aside, and crushed you in his arms. He had hugged you from the other side of the railing, not even waiting for you to climb over, then lifted you to stand before him on the ledge where he had enveloped you in his arms again. You had tried to apologize, but he wouldn't let you. And then you told him what you had been dreading to tell him all summer: you were leaving. He hadn't reacted. He had just held you in silence. But there was something different in him now, something that had his eyes trained immovably on the horizon. Something that wouldn't let him look at you. Something that distracted him from all you had to say as his thumbs brushed softly over your arms. He had looked at you so strangely before you had parted that night.

Now you were meeting one last time before you would watch the little coastal town and all its hurts disappear in your rearview mirror. You needed a second chance and this scholarship might be your only shot. Your reverie broke as you noticed a figure shuffling down the waterline in the bright light of the waxing gibbous. The figure sprung nimbly, with practiced steps, up the stairs, and lightly vaulted the rail, landing with a soft thud, catlike, a few feet from where you sat. He stepped forward, standing over you as he pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket. He was wearing tight khakis, white tennis shoes, and a plain white tee under his green military jacket. With a smoke tucked behind his ear and that little smirk on his lips, you thought he might be cooler than Steve McQueen.

"Got a light?" he asked coolly, shoving the pack of Marlboros back in his pocket. You rolled your eyes.

"Of course not, Yoongi. And why on earth do you always ask me that when you've got one anyway?"

Yoongi smiled to himself as he brought a lighter to the little yellow-tipped cylinder between his lips. It was a secret kind of smile, the kind that made you want to snatch the cigarette from between his teeth. But tonight wasn't for fighting, even the bickering kind. He eased himself down beside you with his signature careful grace. You sat in silence, gaze trained out over the water. While you were looking elsewhere, he relaxed, and you tracked his movements in your peripheral vision. You would do this sometimes, especially when he was particularly guarded. He had always been bad at eye contact, but if you gave him a little space he would let down his walls, and you could read him like a book. Just now, he had let his gaze settle on you. Smoke hissed through his lips, his mouth hanging open just a little in that way it did when he was lost to his thoughts. His eyes roved over you in a way that made you mouth go dry. You swallowed. He suddenly shifted his gaze, coughing a bit.

"I like this dress," he offered, like an apology.

"I know," you murmured with a smile.

"Yeah?" he questioned, brow furrowing, as he took another drag. He was quiet for a beat before pressing out another question. "Paul headed out east too?"

"I broke up with him," came your answer, but without a smile this time.

  "Yeah?"

    "Oh come on, Yoongi," you bit out, "You knew that was going to happen. That's why you told me!"

His jaw ticked ever so slightly.

    "You know that's not true. He was cheating on you. I couldn't let you be in the dark about it - get hurt by another one of these assholes who don't deserve your time in the first place."

You sighed, frustration rising unbidden again as Yoongi casually hurtled the unspoken walls you had erected to make things easier.

    "What I deserve is my business. I don't go chastising you for letting random bitches suck on your neck and god knows what else so that you don't feel lonely."

The remark had been soft but laced with venom, and you had regretted breaching your own resolve against negativity the moment the words had spilled from your lips.

    "Random..." He stared at you intently, surprise and confusion mingling with another indiscernible expression in his eyes as they traced over your features. You were trying to think of a way, any way, to salvage the conversation when he huffed out a laugh.

    "You did know what it was!"

    "What?"

    "That hickey you asked about sophomore year."

Your stomach flipped.

    "How do you even remember that?" You blustered in incredulity.

    "How do you?"

    He was staring at you knowingly with those achingly beautiful dark eyes that always saw you. It was one of the things you loved most about him. But right now it was terrifying. Right now you wanted to escape, only, there was nowhere to go. So for a moment, just a moment, you didn't hide anymore.

    "Because," you swallowed, trailing your eyes back up to his, your voice shaking a bit as you whispered, "I remember everything."

A beat. Two. You didn't make a disarming jest, or a hurried qualification. You didn't even blink. In a flash as quick and heavy as a summer storm, years of yearning filled your eyes like intangible tears, holding his face in your gaze before casting it back out over the sea. Yoongi had froze where he sat, eyes trained immovably on you before he suddenly stood, tossing his cigarette and cursing as he took a step toward the edge, weaving his fingers through his hair.

"What?" you asked, almost defensively.

He didn't turn around, but you could hear the emotion in his voice, his head bowed as he wrestled with the words.

    "Nah, that's not fair. You're leaving...You're leaving and you're gonna make it even...even harder right now?"

Turns out you weren't the only one who had been building walls with invisible bricks. You jumped to your feet.

    "Oh, so this is my fault? You've been telling me my whole life to get out! You convinced me to apply to the Ivy Leagues! You spent the last weeks pushing me away! I don't understand what you want from me, Yoongi!"

He turned toward you, pulling his bottom lip into his mouth, eyes on the ground.

    "A clean break," he said lowly, "Not from you...for you. I just wanted you to run, no guilt no pain, and not look back."

You felt a lump rise in your throat as you shook your head.

    "That's not how it works though. I was always going to look back. Whenever I was frightened or lost or uncertain. Whenever I woke up in the morning or closed my eyes to sleep, or laughed, or...or felt so much joy I didn't know what to do with it. I was always going to look back, Yoongi," You took a deep breath, "I was going to look for you."

Hot tears slipped down your cheeks as you grabbed his arm and pressed your wet face into his shoulder. You could feel his body shake with little sobs.

    "Don't," he croaked out, "don't look for me."

    "Sorry," you huffed a tearful laugh into the fabric of his sleeve, "I don't think my heart will listen to you. Pretty rough deal when it's yours after all."

You had tried to say it like a joke. It had come out like a promise.

    Yoongi stilled. Everything stilled. For a moment, it was as if even the sea and the sky and the moon held their breath. He let his hands fall from where they covered his face. As he lifted his head and turned, you dropped his arm, thinking for one horrible moment that he meant to push you away. But he didn't. He reached for you, and gently, firmly - like every move he ever made, like every word he ever spoke - slipped his hand around the nape of your neck and pressed his mouth against yours.

    You gasped softly against his lips.

    Sweet, methodical, insistent. He slipped his tongue against your bottom lip and you tilted your head to slot your mouth against his, deepening the kiss as his tongue brushed languorously against your own. He tasted like mint and cigarettes and him. You could do this all day. A little dagger pierced your heart at the thought that you only had tonight. You stumbled back, tugging him down beside you onto the blanket. You pushed him to his back and slipped onto his lap, leaning down to reconnect your lips with his. He chuckled into your mouth, his cheeks still wet with tears. 

    "Slow down," he hummed.

    "No," you murmured in simple defiance, kissing along his jaw before dipping to press your mouth to the soft flesh of his neck.

You licked softly, experimentally, along the side of his throat, and his fingers tightened against your waist. He tasted like salty skin and the alcohol of that cheap musky cologne he wore and Yoongi. You leaned back, supporting yourself with hands on either side of his head as you looked down at him.

    "Can I?" you asked with a shy smile

    "Hm?" he hummed, large, lithe hands massaging your waist.

    "Leave a mark?"

His eyes squeezed into little crescent moons, and his mouth pulled up into a full smile he couldn't repress. He chuckled again, reaching up to brush his palm over your cheek, and nodded, tilting his head to the side to expose the creamy skin of his neck. Your heart hammered in your chest as you leaned down and placed an open-mouthed kiss to his throat before sucking until you had pulled a low, deep groan from him. You pushed up again, surprised at the sound, new and lovely, to find him flushed - his blown pupils darkening his eyes, and a little wet patch of smooth skin growing rosy against his throat. You felt a thrill rush through you, making you tremble. You leaned down and marked him again and again, pulling sweet moans from his lips until his neck and collarbones were littered with the proof of your mouth. You lifted your face to kiss him again, but after pressing his lips to yours twice, he pulled back.

"One more," he whispered, taking your hand from his face and guiding it down to the slight firm swell of the top of his left pec.

His eyes played over your face as you felt it softly against your fingertips - his heart. In a valiant fight for your composure, you pressed your eyes shut and buried your face in his chest. He ran a hand over the back of your head soothingly. You raised your face to meet his gaze again, choking out a little sob at the depth of its gentle affection. You slipped your fingers to the collar of his cotton tee and stretched it down and to the side, revealing his bare chest. With reverence you pressed your mouth to his skin, fulfilling his request.     

No sooner had you raised your eyes to his again than he was pulling you against his lips and rolling you to your back. His weight sank into you as your mouths moved together and you thought, maybe, under his warmth was the only place you ever wanted to be. Your body responded to him seemingly of its own accord, your legs weaving around the backs of his thighs as a thrumming ache intensified at your core. As he moved to kiss your neck you found your hips rolling up, seeking relief for the sticky ache at their center, and you were met with a firm knot in his groin that pressed just where you were neediest. Your high-pitched whine was a sharp contrast to his low growl into your shoulder. It was intoxicating - his sensation, his sound, and you undulated against him over and over to slake your want on his growing hardness and hear his breath come quick against your ear. He began to rock against you in return, and soon you were whimpering into his neck, beads of sweat cooling on your forehead against the night air as each rut of his hips became overwhelming and not enough.

    "Yoongi, please," you begged in a breathy moan, lightly squeezing the back of his neck and turning your damp forehead against his soft cheek.

He pushed up to look at you, brushing away the little hairs clinging to your brow. He looked as needy as you, but a little uncertain.

    "What is it?" he asked. You knew he knew. You leaned up and kissed him chastely before letting your head fall back against the blanket.

    "I want you," you murmured, suddenly barely able to look at him as the words formed on your lips.

Yoongi dipped to press another kiss to your mouth before sitting up and back on your thighs, and gently tugging you up with him. You noticed the bulge straining against the front of his khakis, and he winced slightly as he wiggled to adjust against your legs. He took your hands in his, that little smile tugging at the corners of his pink lips, tongue darting out lick at them as he considered you thoughtfully. Impatient, you pushed his jacket off his shoulder, which he fully shed and cast aside, and ran your hands over his cotton-clad chest. His muscle jumped when you grazed down over his stomach, which you thought must be as soft and lovely as the rest of him.

  "Are you sure you want this to happen right now, with me?" he asked tenderly. You looked up at him, your brow pinched in question. "Your first time?"

    You scoffed, your face heating as you looked away, brushing bits of sand from the blanket.

    "How do you know if it's my first time?"

His little smile spread into a grin.

    "Because I know," he offered, a bit smugly.

You toyed with the hem of his shirt.

    "I'm sure," you murmured. And then you looked up at him. "Have you ever..."

    "Yeah," he responded, almost like he was sorry, as he glanced down and took your hands in his again. He bit the bottom corner of his lip. "I don't have a condom."

You felt your heart pounding as the concept of him taking you where you sat became increasingly real.

    "So pull out," you offered nonchalantly, hoping you sounded far more experienced than he knew you were.

He nodded. You snaked a hand between you to dance your fingers over the strain against the crotch of his pants. His hand flew to encircle your wrist and still your movements. He took a deep breath.

    "It might hurt you at first. Maybe the whole time," he said, his thumb brushing in a pendulum motion over your arm. You nodded.

    "I know. I don't care."

He smiled again, regarding you for a long moment. 

    "Okay," he said, nodding and licking his lips before taking your jaw delicately between the rounded pads of his fingers. "But you have to promise me one thing."

    "Hm?"

    "You still have to leave in the morning."

You heaved a sigh. Oh, Yoongi. You thought you might cry again, so you nodded, pulling him down over you once more.

    "Promise me," he murmured against your lips.

    "I promise," you breathed.

    You kissed slowly, greedily, learning each other's mouths and mapping each other's faces and necks. At some point he dipped below your collarbone to drag his lips along the tops of your breasts. Your hand flew into his hair and he looked up at you, dark eyes seeking permission. You nodded, bottom lip clamped between your teeth as he tugged down the stretchy bodice of your sundress to reveal a simple beige bra that clasped in the front.

    "It's not sexy," you remarked apologetically.

He shook his head, his dark hair falling into his eyes, and dipped to kiss the tops of your breasts as his fingers found the clasp.

    "Shhh, it's just the wrapping," he whispered as he snapped the garment open, letting your breasts fall into view as they pushed aside the fabric cups that had confined them.

He cursed under his breath as he brought both hands to your tits and kneaded them gently, sliding your pert nipples in the spaces between his fingers. You mewled, arching your back to press your chest up into his grasp. Before you could truly revel in the feeling of his hands plying your supple flesh, they were gone, but your whine of protest was cut short by a sharp keen as his mouth replaced his fingers. He suckled and nipped at one bud and then the other, and each time he released one with a pop, you were certain you had been rendered temporarily unconscious. Soon he was sitting up and smirking down at the panting, writhing mess of you beneath him. You saw him grimace again as he adjusted his stance, and you reached for his zipper, only to find your hand caught in his.

    "No yet," he chided lightly, a twinkle in his eye, "I have to make you cum."

You drew your arm back and cast it over the top of your face, suddenly shy at his remark.

    "To get you ready for me," he explained again in a murmur as he pushed your dress up to your rib cage.

He traced his hands lightly over your naked waist and you shivered. He moved to his knees, pushing your legs to either side of him. He hooked his fingers into the top of your pink cotton panties, when you suddenly felt yourself sitting up, your dress falling back over your midriff. You were a sight - wild hair and your tits half out, still panting for breath while worry painted your features. Yoongi pulled his hands away and sat back, confusion in his widened eyes. 

    "I don't shave," you rushed out, "I know some girls do, but I've never tried. And...I don't know, I'm kind of a mess down there right now..."

Yoongi's face softened and he leaned forward to press his forehead to yours.

  "I don't care," he whispered. You huffed out another sigh.

    "But...but what if you...don't like it?"

    "I know I will."

    "How?"

He bumped your nose with his, swallowing again as his hand found yours.

"Because I love you."

He only let the words hang in the air for a millisecond before he was crashing his lips into yours again, passionately, as if it was the only way he could convey his conviction.

He loved you. You could have died. But he was pressing one of the kisses you would always remember into your lips like an oath, so you didn't. And then you let him bare your skin and lay you down and tell you that you were beautiful. You felt tears prick at the corners of your eyes when you felt your heart believe him. How were you to leave in the morning when his soft, warm words felt like the sun?

    He ran his hands over your sides and thighs, dipping to trail slow, deliberate kisses down from your navel until his chin brushed the soft, curly hairs of your mound. Your breath caught in your chest as the cool air hit fresh slick dampening your sex. He leaned back again, regarding you with warm eyes, and took your hand in his, placing it over your lower lips.

"Do you touch yourself?"

    You stammered. He had asked you as simply as if he were inquiring about your favorite flavor of ice cream. With effort you admitted that you did. He stroked over your hand.

"Show me how. What makes you feel good."

You nodded slowly, feeling yourself tremble a little as you moved to stroke your middle finger in beckoning motions over your swollen clit. The motion that should have been almost automatic and familiar felt new and lewd under his gaze. As you dipped to gather more arousal from your entrance you watched his Adam's apple bob in his throat and his hands tighten where they gripped your thighs.

    "You're soaked," he murmured as he stooped to press a kiss to your belly. Then he did something that would be seared into your brain for all eternity: he scooped up your hand and brought it to his lips, sucking your sticky middle finger into his mouth. You gushed at the sensation of his lips and tongue, wide eyes locked on his as he slowly let your finger slip free.

    "You want to know how you taste?" He asked, not waiting for an answer before humming, "So fucking good."

    "Yeah?" you asked breathlessly, propped up on your forearms to watch as he laid down between your legs.

  "Mhm. Sweet. Like honey."

He kissed into your pubic hair, slipping one of his long fingers to trace over your clit the way you had showed him. You gasped as you watched him work you up, something inside your growing taut like a bowstring. And then a kind of pleasure you had never imagined, the kind that made you want to melt and scream, rushed through your trembling body as a single finger pressed slowly past your entrance while his mouth found your clit. You found your hips bucking to meet his thrusts as he pressed in a second finger. You felt a slight sting at the stretch, but the exquisite pressure of this knobby knuckles caressing your walls overwhelmed any pain, and when he pressed the pads of his fingers to massage a spongy patch of muscle, you cried out, gripping his dark locks. 

    "Yoongi!" you moaned as he repeated the motion, and when he took your clit between his lips to suck you came.

You came hard and in waves, rolling your hips into him until you were clamping your thighs shut at the raw sensitivity of overstimulation. Yoongi sat up to rub his hands over your shaking thighs and heaving belly before leaning back down to kiss you and return your spirit through his lips from the astral plane.

    "You did so good," he cooed, "Came so easy for me."

    "That's good?" you asked between pants. He chuckled into your neck.

    "Mhm."

    "It felt good, Yoongi, really good." He dropped a kiss to your shoulder, and then mumbled into your skin.

    "You still want to go all the way?"

    "Yes," you whispered, pulling his shirt up his back and running your hands over his bare skin.

Yoongi sat up and pulled the shirt over his head, tossing it to lay with his jacket. He was slender and milky, as you had expected, but his shoulders were surprisingly broad, and his upper chest firm. The soft swell of his belly was dusted with a trail of delicate dark hairs leading down from his navel. You reached instinctively for the button of his pants, and this time he let you. Trailing the zipper down, he helped you shed his tight pants and boxers, sighing in relief as he freed his erection. You bit your lip as your hand trailed over the velvety skin of his shaft. Even this part of him was beautiful, you thought - not overly long but thick and proud with a pretty vein and a smooth tip glistening with precum. You had been so consumed with drinking him in that you only now noticed the little needy whimpers falling from his lips as you stroked him. You squeezed a little firmer, pumping him with more confidence.

    "Like that?" you asked, unable to look away from the sweet sight of his face as his eyebrows knitted and his head tilted back.

"Yeah, just...no, no, I won't last," he groaned, his hand stilling yours.

When he met your concerned gaze he reached up to stroke your cheek.

"Feels too good," he murmured reassuringly, then he guided you back down on the blanket, balling up his jacket and slipping it under your head.

He lowered himself carefully over you, skin to skin, as he kissed you again and again, his right hand toying with your breast and trailing lower to caress your clit. You could feel the heat rising in you again, and an aching want inside growing deeper and hungrier with every shock of pleasure. When he trailed his fingers through your folds to find you thoroughly wet he leaned to the side, gliding his length between your lips, his smooth tip brushing over your bud. You cursed, fingers digging into his back and he huffed a little laugh, eyes sparkling down at you.

    "Dirty girl," he chuckled, before kissing the tip of your nose. "Are you ready?"

You felt a squeeze of trepidation in your chest, but you pushed it away.

    "Yes," you assured him, wrapping your arms around his neck.

For a long moment, he just stared down at you, the same look in his eyes as the morning you had first awakened in his arms, but so intent - as if he was trying to commit every feature of your face, in this moment, to memory. Finally breaking his gaze, he glanced down between your bodies, aligning himself with your entrance. His eyes flicked back up to you as he slowly, slowly breached your core. When he had pressed in past his tip you felt the searing stretch he had warned you of. You closed your eyes, drawing in a sharp breath.

"You okay?" came is worried voice, "Want to stop?" You shook your head.

"No, just do it," you panted through the pain, "I want it to be you."

You pulled him down to press your mouth to his. Every kiss between you seemed to say something. This one said that you trusted him in a way you would never trust another.

He was so gentle. Pressing in slowly, giving you time to stretch around the thickness of him, kissing you sweetly through your whimpers, until he was fully sheathed inside you. Tears filled your eyes and trickled down your cheeks. You were so full of him.

    "Why are you crying?" he cooed, touching his forehead to yours.

Your hands clutched his back as you raised watery eyes to his.

"Because I'm yours, Yoongi. Yours first and no one else's." He buried his face in your neck.

"Take me, Yoongi," you whispered desperately into his ear, "Take me like I'm yours."

You felt him let out a tiny sob against your skin and then he started to move. He kept a slow pace at first, carefully gliding against your tight walls, unaccustomed to his presence. You could feel him jerk and twitch as he moved, and thought he must be restraining himself. You found the worst of your pain had passed, and all you wanted in the world was to make him cum.

    "Don't hold back," you hummed as you rolled your hips to meet his thrusts.

He didn't need you to tell him twice, instantly setting a quicker, sharper pace that had his balls slapping your ass and his pelvic bone pressing to your clit with each forward snap.

    "You're so fucking tight," he mumbled, a dazed look beginning to overtake his features, "You feel so good, baby. So good." You wove your hands into his hair, pulling him down to kiss him as you breathed in every curse, whimper, and moan. And then he was looking down at you with dark, wild eyes.

    "I'm gonna cum, sweetheart, where do you want me to cum?"

You didn't have to think.

    "Inside," you answered breathlessly.

    "But I'm not..."

  "Please, cum inside me, Yoongi. Please," you whimpered, tempted to wrap your legs around his waist - your desire for him transcending every fear of consequence. But you wanted to give him the choice.

He raised himself up on his elbows, his thrusts coming impossibly harder and more erratic, and then he came. You watched him in exaltation as he threw his head back and cried out, emptying himself inside you. So beautiful, you thought, with his hair clinging to his brow, his chest heaving and flushed, and his face drawn in the throes of his release. You did wrap your legs around him then, and he collapsed, his head falling to your breasts as he gasped for breath. You tangled your fingers into his hair, caressing his head. You were swollen and sore and messy, and yet the thought of him abandoning you was unbearable. And the moon saw it all.

It saw you stay each other's as long as possible. It watched you both try to hide your tears as you pulled on your clothes. It watched you fight desperately, and fail, to put your heart in words. It watched him silence you, and hold you, because you didn't have to say it. He knew. It watched you fall asleep in his arms one last time.

You opened your eyes. The gulls were crying and the pale morning sunlight was spilling over the tops of the cliffs. The sea was soft and plashing and cerulean. It was the most beautiful of the ninety-three mornings of summer. But you didn't notice - all you saw were dark lashes on the apples of soft cheeks. You watched his breath rise and fall as the sun tipped over the horizon in the east, the dew trickling down your face as salty as the sea.

When Yoongi's eyes fluttered open they met your red ones, and he pressed is forehead to yours only for a moment before pulling you up to stand.

"Get outta here," he whispered shakily, hands still clutching your arms and brow still tilted into your own.

"Come with me," you choked tracing your hands over his chest.

"I can't leave her with him."

"I know." Your fingers traced over his heart and the little bruise you knew rested under the cotton fabric.

Yoongi wept.

"Go," he whispered, squeezing your arms. You nodded weakly.

"Go, goddamn it, go!" he cried, as you shook with sobs, then he crushed his mouth against yours.

Time didn't stop, you'd have any - so you stole every second you could.

And then you kept your promise.

You shivered as a zephyr sprang off the water to whip around you, disrupting your thoughts. You tugged at your blazer. It had been a long time since you wore a sundress with cherries.

It was time to let them go, the little girl huddled in a blanket and the boy with the bleeding lip. They had held your hands for so long. They deserved to be free. It was time to let them go, so you did.

With a deep sigh you cast one last wistful glance back over the great blue expanse as the sun sank into the sea.

The moon was just a silver slip in the sky that night, but it saw. It saw before you did, as you turned to go, the breath catching in your chest when a low, soft voice behind you asked,

"Got a light?"

-Fin-

[ponyosmom35]

proposal

Simon Ghost Riley X reader

Liability chapter thirty four

Synopsis: Simon is freaking out before he proposes.

warnings: tooth-rotting fluff, crying, slight angst, cursing

Liability series:

https://www.tumblr.com/ponyosmom35/733401347573088256/simon-ghost-riley?source=share

Simon had always been confident. He held himself tall when he walked. His presence commanded respect within his workplace and his personal life. Mask or no mask, Simon was confident. He was the type of person you trust with your life. The man you wanted supporting you, watching your back. He is the best at his job, one of the most feared men on the planet. There were less than ten people in the world who knew his name, but they knew his mask. They knew the stories about him. 

Simon Riley had never been more scared in his life than in this moment. All of the war and violence he’d seen couldn’t compare. Now he stood in the middle of their backyard pacing back and forth. He’d set up lights and a picnic underneath the willow tree. He had her favorite wine and he’d made her favorite meal, pasta and made fresh bread with oil and vinegar to dip it in. He had macaroons for dessert. The ring he picked out three months prior was in his pocket. Every few seconds he would check to ensure that it was still in fact there. Now all he had to do was wait for her to arrive back from a shopping day with her mom and her cousin, who of course were in on the plan. 

He was sweating bullets. Never had he felt so anxious. His hands were shaking and his heart was beating out of his chest. He was attempting to calm himself dwon with all of the tricks he’d been taught but it was to no avail. He went over his words, trying to keep himself together enough to remember his speech. He’d never been good with words, he wasn’t much of a talker, never able to express his love and gratitude for her in the way that he wanted. He knew that she felt it, she never expected him to profess his undying love, she knew him well enough to understand. She felt it every day. 

His phone buzzes and he sees that her mother was two minutes out. He curses and runs his hands through his blonde hair which had grown out due to her request. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, he looks over his setup one last time before walking to the door to greet her. He watches her get out of the car, laughing at something her mother said as they grab the bags from the back. His heart swells at the sight of her and he pushes back the tears forming in his eyes. He opens the door and walks outside, meeting them. 

“Whats the damage?” he asks as he places a hand on her back

“Oh shit! Si you scared me” she laughs “you don’t wanna know”

“Simon dear, how are you?” her mother asks as she gives him a hug

“I’m doing great, how was the shopping day?” he asks, trying to be nonchalant

“It was wonderful, we got a lot of really cute things”

“I’ll have to do a shopping haul for you” she says wrapping her arms around his middle 

“Can’t wait” he responds 

“Well I’ll leave you kids to it, talk to you later” her mom says before hurrying to her car, she frowns at the odd behavior. “That was weird, I was gonna ask her if she wanted to have dinner”

“I actually made dinner for us already” he says smiling down at her, she looks up with a smile as her eyes light up

“What is it?”

“Come on, I’ll show you” he says taking the bags and setting them on the table. He takes her hand and leads her out to the backyard. She gasps in surprise and jumps into his arms. 

“A picnic! Oh my god that is so fucking cute!” she says

“You mentioned you wanted to have one the other day so I thought why not tonight” he shrugs, his heart rate going through the roof. He attempted to keep himself together as they walked over to the setup. The sun had just begun to set as they sat down, he was thankful that she was so chatty. She talked gushed about the picnic and took several photos of it. 

“Listen there is actually something I wanted to talk to you about” he says as she sips her wine. 

“Good or bad?” she asks 

“Good” he nods 

“Okay” she smiles, he opens his mouth to talk but all of the words he prepared escape his mind. He looks at the women he loved and tears fill his eyes. He felt such an intense burst of love, he could barley contain himself. 

“Oh my god Si whats wrong?” she asks, setting down her glass and placing her hand on his face, she lifts his chin and looks into his eyes and wipes his tears. 

“I love you so much” he says 

“I love you too Si” she smiles 

“I never imagined that I would be lucky enough to find someone who fully accepted me for who I am. Someone who was able to get past all of my issues. I have so much baggage, but you’ve never hesitated to help me work through it. You take such good care of me, even now I wake up next to you and I wonder if I could be dreaming. This didn’t seem like something that could ever happen to me. How could someone love me after what I’ve done?” he says, pausing as he notices tears fill her eyes as well. 

“Falling for you was the easiest thing I’ve ever done” she says 

“Falling for you was the scariest thing I’ve ever done. Nothing compares you. My life had been nothing but darkness until the day you walked into the base. The most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. I knew that you would be a problem for me. And you were, the second you talked back to me I knew that I was in for it. Nobody had ever stood up to me the way that you did. It was over on that first day, I knew it deep down. I tried to push it away but you stuck into me like a fucking thorn” he admits, she laughs and wipes a tear off of her cheek. 

“You didn’t let me shut you out, I’m so fucking grateful for that. You are the only person in this world that could hurt me y/n, everything I do is to make sure that you’re safe, that you’re taken care of. I love you so much, you’re happiness is everything to me, if I can bring just one smile to your face then I’ve done my job. I used to think that I was born for war, that I was a weapon. But now I realize that I was put on this earth to take care of you, to love you forever.” he says as he reaches into his pocket, she gasps loudly as she spots the box. He opens it gently and she covers her mouth with her hand as tears fall down her cheek. 

“would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?” he asks. she is unable to respond as she cries into her hands. Simon sniffles and places a hand on her back, rubbing it gently. 

“Say something love, you’re killing me” he begs 

“Of course I’ll marry you Simon” she says 

Simon places the ring on her finger gently and pulls her into his lap he kisses her passionately. After several seconds they pull away, hugging her tightly as they sob into each other. 

“I was not expecting that” she says 

“I was so nervous I thought I was gonna pass out” he admits, wiping the tears from her face. 

“You were nervous? Did you think I was gonna say no?” she asks pulling back

“I just wanted this to be perfect for you”

“It was, this was everything I could have ever dreamed of, absolutely perfect. I love you so much” she says kissing him again. 

“You’ve just made me the happiest man in the world” he mumbles into her lips. 

[rotdistressxox]

Hi... can i ask a little thing?

I dont know if you do this but...

Pleaseeee can you write something about mountain x reader x aether?

I was thinking about a lil fic but choose whatever you feel inspired to do (sfw and/or nsfw, i dont care at all)

(If you dont like poly trio can be at least mounty x reader? He's a little giant puppy, i would cuddle 🥰 him all day if he was real...)

Oooo today's your lucky dayyy

A Spring's Soft Greeting

Mountain x Reader x Aether

Established relationship (Poly) No Warnings! Just lots o' fluff / kissing n stuff

The air was crisp just as it was gentle when the ministry's willow tree swayed with the breeze. Though one could still feel a chill when the wind blew, the sun was warm and comforting. Blanketing the green grass and the wildflowers as their colors reached their peak. Spring was here, finally.

Aether and Mountain had planned this day with you for weeks. They made sure the weather was perfect, even going so far as to cast a few good weather charms. The Ghouls and the Sibling's of Sin had off from their duties today, and nothing would ever get in the way of their perfect picnic Mountain and Aether had planned for you.

Aether was carrying two hefty baskets of dishes and food. A ghouls' gotta eat. Meanwhile mountain had flowers hidden behind his back. With a pep in their step, they headed over to the Willow tree where you said you'd meet them. And there you were in all your beauty.

You were sitting on a checkered blanket, sunning yourself with a hat over your face. They smiled and picked up their speed as they approached you. Though they were thinking about catching you off guard. Aether gently set down the picnic baskets, the of them got on their knees and crawled towards you. Their tails flicking in anticipation.

They sprung at you, attacking your face with kisses on both sides. "Guys!" You shouted in surprise as they sandwiched you into a hug. "Hey Love" Aether purred in your ear, his sideburns tickling your face.

"Hello my handsomes, glad you showed up" you sat up from your position, a little dazed after the sneak attack. Mountain held a bouquet of flowers under your nose. It was clearly a fresh batch, hand picked by the ghoul himself. Gasping, you give him a giant smooch on his nose and he chuckles.

The day was spent lounging on the blanket and eating whatever Aether brought along with him. Everything was perfect, down to a dot. It was moments like this that you had to take a step back and feel the world around you. Nobody made you feel as loved as Mountain and Aether did. They were similar, yet very different, and they enjoyed eachothers company as much as they do yours.

Spring was around now, which means the ghouls were as cuddly and lovey dovey as ever. Their moods changed with the seasons, and in warmer climates the ghouls certainly prospered.

With a full stomach, you rested your back on the blanket, looking at the branches of the Willow tree. The two ghouls joined you, squishing you between them. "What's up beautiful?" Mountain chimed into your thoughts, taking your hand and kissing it.

"I can't wait to go skinny dipping" Aether almost choked on his spit when you replied. "How blunt" Mountain laughed "I get to join you, right?"

"Duh!" You looked at Aether with a smirk "You're also invited if you want." The quint grinned "How could I refuse?"

With Mountain and Aether tucked into both of your sides, you couldn't help but blush. Mountain had his tail wrapped around your leg with his head next to yours. While Aether had his head resting on your stomach, his strong arms relaxed around your hips.

The quint ghoul slightly lifted your blouse and left small pecks on your stomach, and the earth ghoul decided to join in. He lightly suckled on your neck, and all of a sudden it was kinda like you had two cats giving you affection.

"So warm" Aether mumbled into your abdomen face first. "So soft" Mountain said into the skin of your nape. You massaged Aethers scalp and placed your palm on Mountain's cheek.

"You two are very touchy today" you commented, but it certainly wasn't a complaint.

Aether detatched his face "It's not our fault, you're just-" "irresistible" Mountain finished. "Took the words right outta my mouth"

You sighed "Just don't do too much, we don't want to give the others a show"

"And why not?" Aether pouted.

Mountain chuckled and rubbed the quint's head "If anyone here is needy it's you." Aether face planted back into your stomach, groaning as his tail swished around.

"Don't tell me it's that time of the year" You sat up on your elbows, furrowing your eyebrows as you looked at him.

His tail fell and he looked up at you "Well-"

[sstarrfishh]

Rocky planets HC’s!!!! \(•^•)/ (be mindful these may be a lil oc)

.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.

-Mercury-

•He has burn marks all over him from all the solar flares, he hides some of them with bandages. He’s kinda self conscious about them.

•Speaking of burn marks sometimes his feathers will get burnt he can get them out himself but sometimes needs help.

•He likes to take naps in his free time sense most of the time he’s not really allowed to go be with the other rocky planets bc of the sun.

•He’s the solar system’s messenger he delivers letters and packages across the entire system, so he knows a lot more than u would think

(he sometimes gets nosey and reads some of the letters, but only if it’s nothing too personal).

•His hair is a birds nest (it’s really messy and frizzy)

•He can go to sleep while flying

•He has 3 pairs of wings, one pair on the side of his head,on his back,and a pair on his ankles

•He wears glasses because he’s so close to the sun.

•He has sun kissed skin (lots of freckles all over)

•when he gives someone a hug he wraps his wings around them

-Venus-

•He has long wavy/curly hair (Which he keeps up most of the time).

•He helps Mercury pluck out this burnt feathers (when no one’s watching ofc).

•He’s practically adopted Ceres, it started out with him just teaching them to scare Mars but over time he started to get attached him and started treating him as his he would his own moon.

•When he visits Ceres and isn’t teaching him new pranks he combs out his hair and styles it for them,sometimes even playing around with them. (tag, hide & go seek, and catch)

•He envy’s the Earths life but is kinda glad he doesn’t have any because of what the Earthlings are doing to him.

•Trans 🏳️‍⚧️

•Resting bitch face (he’s really not that mean when he wants to be)

•He has a rock collection, not because he likes to collect rocks but ceres finds rocks he thinks are cool/pretty and over time it just became a collection because he has so many.

•He hates his axis (177 degrees)

-Earth-

•weeping willow tree hair bc i said so

•also has sharp teeth

•Their REALLY good at card games

•When he wears his hoodie/pullover he lets Luna sleep in his hood fluff which are clouds

•Tall (the biggest rocky planet)

• Very flirty

•Likes to make jewelry

•He yaps about his earthlings as soon as he gets a chance

•He has a lot of stories about his earthlings that he tells to phobos, deimos, and Luna.

•He likes to help saturn bake sometimes

•even though he can’t cook that good (or really at all) 😭😭

•when he listens to music he blasts it. like anyone near him can hear it clearly

-Mars-

•He’s really smart being so close to jupiter he’s heard and learned a lot of things

•the “parent” of the rocky planets or voice o reasons most of the time

• he’s a nonchalant dread head 🗣️🗣️

•He’s a really good dad towards phobos and deimos

•He’s actually kinda over protective of them but just a lil 🤌🏾

•He uses having phobos and deimos to his advantage to cheat when playing cards with the others (they look at the others cards and tells him what cards they have,it’s why he almost never loses).

•alien 👽

•He sometimes listens in on Jupiter’s stories

.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.anyways this took longer than it should have 🤦🏾‍♀️

But what ship should i draw next??? (•U•)

[whathebeep]

Domestic Life with the companions: Astarion

So like, how I imagine things would be once you and your partner(s) settle down, ofc depending. If folks like this I'll certainly make this a series!

I imagine you two spend a long while adventuring before settling. I like to imagine (whether you declared it to him or not), the goal was always to find a means to get him safely in the sun again. I imagine it took YEARS of travelling to try and find it, but eventually you do come across it. Not a cure by any means, but a ring lost in an abandoned vampire crypt that took you ages to learn about, and ages more to find. And he slips it on his finger and it gives him the means to not only step in the sun, but it also hides his vampiric features, if he so wishes. (I like to think it will make him look as he did before he was changed).

When you make your way back towards Baldur's Gate, you make a point to visit old friends along the way. Visit the now thriving town and nearby Selunite temple, restored to it's glory over the years, thanks to Isobel and Aylin. Shadowheart lives in the small town, I'd like to imagine, having settled there upon her finishing adventuring. She's of course, pleased to see you both and host you, sharing glasses of wine and some good stories and gossip. You two stay for a week or so, taking care to take in the sights, visiting the grove, the old crash site, hell, even Auntie Ethel's former house that had been taken over by some of the druids. You're surprised to discover that even the forge in the underdark has some new occupants, some of the spawn that were freed by Astarion; they have started up a mining operation, and are making quite a good living, the ore they find making good weapons to be made in the forge. From them you learn more settled in the underground near Halsin's community, and would certainly be worth a visit.

Next comes the former shadowlands and Halsin's community; by now so many of the kids he brought along and raised in the orphanage are much older now, either teens or young adults. Halsin, as you can imagine, probably beams at the sight of you two, especially Astarion in the sun, and most certainly drops whatever he's doing and runs over, picking up and hugging you both. He's happy to host you at his home, ThanieI's former place of residence. The building is a lot larger now, but still a homely stone cottage look to it, moss growing up the side and a sizeable willow growing to the side. I imagine you two stay there a few weeks, as there is a lot to see if what has changed, and Halsin is more than eager to show you both around. Everything has been restored and repurposed; Surprisingly, Moonrise has become a school, last light restored to a fully working inn, the inn near moonrise repurposed as the orphanage, the hospital back in working order- hell, even the former Sharan temple in the underdark has been inhabited by a large portion of the spawn and the community there is thriving. Hell they've even constructed a proper entry and exit point that doesn't require them walking through the graveyard, and instead leaves out of that old Shar shrine under the statue in town. (Of course, all Shar symbology has been removed). The area is lively and it's nice to relax, take in the clean air and admire how the land has healed, and the community has thrived.

When you have to leave, Halsin asks you to write once you're back in Baldur's Gate, and promises you a place there, if you ever tire of the city.

Astarion almost seems sad when you two leave.

It doesn't take long for you two to return to the city. When you do, you stay in a room at the elf song while you try and sort out an apartment or home, but within the first day back you're off to see Wyll and Karlach; both back in the gate after a few years in the hells. Her engine repaired to the highest degree, they've settled down together in a home of their very own, and it's of no surprise when there's three kids scrambling about. The two of you had been gone for nearly a decade exploring, I'd like to imagine; so it's of no surprise that they've got three kids, all half tiefling half human, the oldest being five, and the other two being 3 year old twins. Wyll and Karlach both have jobs, Karlach having taken to working at the forge with Dammon, and Wyll working as a private investigator, occasionally writing for the Baldur's Mouth Gazette too.

Seeing them settled like that, Astarion, when you two are relaxing in your room at the elf song, drinking some wine, tries to laugh about it. "Could you imagine settling down like that? Hah!" He says it in a mocking tone, but after nearly eleven years together, give or take, it's easy to see the way he frowns into his wine glass when he looks the other way.

A few weeks after returning to the gate, you receive a letter: Gale is going to be coming through town, and he'd love to visit the two of you. Coincidentally enough, he's moving to Halsin's community, to teach at the school, and will be in town for a day or two and would want to visit.

Upon his visit, the whole group in town get together for dinner and drinks together, Grandpa Ulder having taken the kids for the night. Gale has become quite the accomplished teacher, and has even written more than a handful of academic papers. His move was inspired by wanting to learn more about he other fields of magic, and also to help teach the youth of tomorrow about it too.

There's laughter and jokes and fun stories all around, and eventually Gale asks how the house hunt goes for you and Astarion. The city is ever expanding of course, but there isn't quite anything that the two of you feel confident about quite yet; and there's well wishes on that, and eventually everyone departs for the night.

That night Astarion suggests it, moving there as well. Having a house built on the edge of town, maybe by the water, or up on a hill. It's then that he admits that even though Baldur's Gate had always been home, there's far too many bad memories; and that he'd like making new memories somewhere else.

It takes maybe 3 months before the house is completed. The two of you had travelled back, and stayed in last light until construction was completed. Plans had to be drawn up with what the two of you wanted, a location scouted out, and then of course the process of building it. Stone and wood, two floors, and just up a hill from the water.

Within a year of living there, the house is truly a home. Astarion was enjoying a lot of his free time reading, to the point that a second bookcase had to be commissioned. He took up a job working as a bartender at the last light inn, and a few times a week the two of you meet up with Halsin and Gale to chat, have drinks, discuss things; and whenever it calls for, the two of you pick up your weapons to travel again, albeit a lot more short term.

What more could you ask for?

[ashwritesmonsters]

The Thru-Hiker (part 2)

Female Reader x Male Mothperson (Desmond)

Prev: [Interlude] Next: [Part 3] Words: 2.9k Note: Yes, this story is alive! Don't mind me just editing things like 80 times 😭

As you wake gently to the sun shining through old lace curtains, you enjoy a delicious moment of not quite knowing where you are. Your body feels rested properly for the first time in ages, and the bed underneath you feels impossible to get up from. This all changes when you remember you're in Willow Grove, on the second floor of Evangeline's Bed & Breakfast, and running into Desmond again is a very real possibility. The town was a tiny one, after all, and Moths like Desmond literally stood head and shoulders above the humans, Selkies, and Lupines in town.

With the possibility of seeing him again giving you much needed motivation to get out of bed—you literally imagine yourself hugging him and nuzzling into his soft neck fuzz—you quickly freshen up with an indulgent hot shower and throw on some fresh clothes. You never realized how much you missed wearing things like leggings and sweaters until you wore nothing but purpose-made hiking gear for months. 

The moment you step out of your cozy room, you're dragged by the nose downstairs towards the aroma of fresh croissants. As you step into the kitchen, Evangeline pulls a baking sheet with half a dozen of them out of the oven, her tail wagging with satisfaction.

"Good morning, dear," she greets you, moving with impressive speed to set out a plate and silverware for you in the breakfast nook. "How did you sleep?"

"Perfectly," you reply, playing hot potato with a fresh croissant as you sit at your plate. 

"I've forgotten how nice it is to sleep in a real bed. I seriously considered never getting up."

"Well that just wouldn't do!" She smiles warmly, baring her sharp canines. "Otherwise, who would I share breakfast with?" She turns her back on you for a moment to reach for jugs on the counter. "Coffee, orange juice, water?" She offers.

"Coffee, please," you ask. You heft your camera off your shoulder strap and onto the table, where it's joined by a mug of steaming coffee. You don't have to be a coffee snob to tell by smell alone that this is better than the freeze-dried stuff you had with you on the trail.

"You're a photographer, I take it?" Evangeline asks, eyeing your toaster-sized camera.

"I am," you say between bites of warm croissant. She smiles as you enjoy her delicious handiwork.

"Is that what brings you to Willow Grove?"

You think while you chew. Yes, you could tell her that you're here because you hiked five months to find a Moth you hooked up with in the woods, whose full name and contact info you don't even know, and you're sorta hoping to just bump into him in town and...

"Pretty much," you lie. "I took lots of photos on the trail, and I guess I didn't want to go straight back to the big city. Willow Grove is a very pretty town." That last part is honest.

"Well you are in for a treat." Evangeline leans in, elbows on the counter. She's proud of her town and her tail wagging is proof. "If you're looking for something to do today, I'd love to help you with some recommendations of mine."

"That would be lovely." Just like that, your croissant is nothing but crumbs, so you sip your coffee.

"Well, I think you should start at our library." Evangeline reads your mind and grabs you another warm croissant. "I'm sure you would find the archival photos there interesting. There are some from nearly a hundred years ago on the microfiche."

"Wow. That's pretty good archiving." You start working on the second croissant. You're drawn in by the chance to see this town in photos a century old. The town already feels so steeped in history; you'd love being able to see it for real.

"For a town this size it's unheard of. The library really is the centerpiece of the town. It's the only building with three stories and it's a beauty, too. It's all red brick and stained glass on the outside, with stained wood and brass fittings on the inside. It's pretty enough to photograph on its own, now that I think of it."

"I'll have to do that, then," you chew. "Thank you for the recommendation, Evangeline. I'd be lost without your help."

"Of course, dear. Don't hesitate come by and chat with me again."

You nod eagerly and thank her again. Between Evangeline's generosity and the small town charm, Willow Grove was growing on you. Once you finish your coffee and croissant, your camera finds itself slung on your shoulder once again and you set off, stepping out into the crisp Autumn air.

The walk to the library is a pleasant one, with the scent of fallen leaves and woodsmoke in the air. As you approach the building, you see what Evangeline meant when she said it was the town's centerpiece. The red brick exterior is adorned with intricate stained-glass windows depicting scenes of nature and the townspeople. Where the morning light shines on the exterior just right, you frame a shot and snap a photo.

Stepping inside, you're greeted by the rich, dark wood interior that oozes warmth and history. If you weren't drawn here by the lure of the archival photos (and didn't have a Mothman to find), you'd want nothing more than to curl up in a warm corner and finish a book in one sitting. Your eyes are drawn to the towering bookshelves that seem to reach for the heavens, each equipped with rolling ladders to access the highest volumes.

Following Evangeline's advice, you make your way to the microfiche room, eager to delve into the historical photographs she had mentioned. Upon entering, you find yourself alone under the dim lighting with only the sound of analogue machinery as various machines hum and click around you.

You take a seat at one of the microfiche machines, both eager and intimidated. You're no stranger to old tech, but you've never used one of these, and the machine's knobs and scroll wheels seem don't match anything you've used before. With determination, you begin to attempt operation, threading a nearby spool of delicate film through the machine and squinting at the projected images on the screen.

Despite your best efforts, the machine proves stubborn and uncooperative. The images refuse to focus properly, and the scroll wheel seems to have a mind of its own as it either moves too fast or not at all. Growing increasingly frustrated, you ball your hands into fists and fight the urge to smack the machine. You'd probably end up more damaged than the machine if you did.

"Ugh," you mutter under your breath, trying to channel your patience and remind yourself that it's just an old machine. "Why won't you cooperate?"

Taking a deep breath, you look around the dimly lit room, seeking solace in the quiet space. As your eyes adjust to the low light, you notice the intricate details of the machinery and the countless reels of microfiche waiting to be explored. Thinking about the long history of this town and the fact you're only one of many people determined to photograph it and record its charm calms you down a bit.

You refocus your attention on the stubborn machine, steeling yourself for another attempt at coaxing it into cooperation.

Just as you're about to touch the scroll wheel again, a gentle tap on your shoulder startles you. Your heart leaps into your throat as you spin around, only to find Desmond standing behind you with a warm smile on his face. 

"Hey there," he says softly, his big red eyes sparkling with amusement. "Need a hand?"

"Desmond!" you exclaim, unable to contain your joy at seeing him again. With a mix of delight and relief, you sweep him into a tight hug, lifting his featherlight frame off the ground for a moment. His fluffy wings flutter against your back, and you can't help but smile even wider.

"Wow, someone got pretty swole on the trail," Desmond jokes awkwardly as you set him back down, his chitinous features accentuating his shy grin. "I'm glad to see you too."

"Sorry, I just got carried away," you apologize, cheeks burning a little. "It's been so long since we last saw each other."

"Yeah, it really has," he agrees, rubbing the back of his neck. "How have things been for you since we... parted ways?"

"Tiring, but good," you reply, trying to focus on the positive aspects of hiking and living like a caveman. "I actually finished the trail just a few days ago. You weren't kidding when you said the town was right near the trail's end."

"Well, welcome back to civilization. I don't need to reintegrate you to society do I?" He teases.

"Shut up," you land a playful shove against his shoulder. "What are you doing in the library, anyway? You haven't been stalking me since I got into town, have you?" You tease back.

"Actually, I work here. It's what I did before I hiked the trail and it's good to be back."

Desmond the Librarian just seems too fitting for him. "How's life as a librarian?" You ask.

"Quiet, mostly," Desmond admits with a chuckle. "But I like it. It gives me time to read and watch old movies, which is nice. Plus, I get to help people find what they're looking for, whether it's a book or a piece of microfiche."

"Speaking of which," you say, gesturing toward the stubborn machine, "any tips on how to make this damn thing work?"

"Of course," Desmond says, stepping closer to the microfiche machine. With a few deft movements of his slender fingers, he adjusts the knobs and scroll wheels, and the image on the screen comes into focus.

"Thanks," you say with relief. "I was about to give up on this thing."

"Anytime," he replies with a warm smile. Then, he glances around for a moment before leaning in slightly, voice hushed as if by instinct in the quiet library. "Hey, do you want to see something really cool?"

"Sure, what is it?" you ask, your curiosity piqued.

"Come with me," Desmond says, leading you out of the dimly lit microfiche room and toward a staircase tucked away in the back corner of the library. "There's a private office upstairs with an amazing view of the town. I think you'll like it."

As you ascend the stairs, you notice the atmosphere shifting from the cozy bustle of the library to a serene, quieter space. The dark wood paneling continues upwards, and the scent of old books melds with the faintest hint of dust.

Desmond opens the door to the private office, revealing a room filled with antique furniture and more floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. A large, arched window dominates one wall, offering a stunning view of Willow Grove below.

"Wow, this place is incredible," you breathe, taking in the beauty of the room and the town beyond. Townspeople below mill about, getting ready for a lazy morning. You can see the cafes on the main street starting to fill up and people driving their cars on the winding roads to the neighboring towns.

"I thought you might like it," Desmond says, a hint of pride in his voice. "It's one of my favorite spots in the library."

You both step closer to the window, absorbing the breathtaking view and enjoying each other's company in the peaceful atmosphere of the office.

"You know, um..." Desmond starts, fidgeting with his neck fluff, "I'm happy to see you again. I'm glad decided to find me again."

"Me too." You sidle up to him, enjoying the warmth of one of his wings. "I worried you'd think I was crazy, or you'd have gotten over me, or..."

Desmond stops you. "No, not at all. "I'll admit, this would have been much easier if I just gave you my number," he chuckles, "but it just didn't feel right back then, you know? But now that some time has passed and I've gotten to be on my own for a bit... this feels right, having you with me."

"Thank you," you reply, touched by his words. Your heart swells, and the knowledge that Desmond is just as happy as you are to be here has your face filling with warmth. If Evangeline's croissants were a feeling, they'd be closest to the sensation of Desmond wrapping a soft, warm, fuzzy wing around you as you both watch Willow Grove come to life.

Just as you're about to stand on your tiptoes to plant a kiss on him somewhere, the door behind you swings open.

"Desmond, I need to talk to you about..." The voice, strong and low like dark chocolate, trails off as the Mothwoman enters the room and spots you. Immediately, an aura of coldness and intimidation emanates from her, making the air heavy with tension. She's taller even than Desmond, and her black wings, spiderwebbed with streaks of white, wrap around her like a cloak.

"Who is this?" she demands, her gaze fixed on you. The warmth in the room dissipates like a snuffed out candle.

"Mom, this is my friend," Desmond says, trying to defuse the situation. "We met on the Appalachian Trail a while back."

"Friend?" Samara narrows her eyes, suspicious of your presence. Her overprotectiveness of Desmond is palpable, making you feel like an intruder in their world.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs... um..." You stammer, offering your hand in a polite gesture.

"Samara," she replies icily, ignoring your extended hand. She turns her attention back to Desmond. "You never mentioned any new friends from your trip."

"Ah, well, we just recently got back in touch," Desmond explains, his voice wavering slightly under his mother's scrutiny.

"Is that so?" Samara regards you with a steely gaze, her tone accusatory. She begins asking terse, probing questions, attempting to assess you as if you were a threat. "How did you meet? Why are you here in Willow Grove?"

"Um, we met by chance on the trail," you respond, feeling uneasy under her intense stare. "As for the rest, I'm just here to take some photographs. It's a hobby of mine." You try to remain polite, but can't help being taken aback by her coldness.

"Photographs," she repeats skeptically, looking you up and down. There's something unspoken in her expression, a hint of distrust that you can't quite decipher.

"Mom, please," Desmond interjects, coming to your defense. "It's really not a big deal. We're just catching up."

"Fine," Samara relents, her tone still chilly. "But don't plan on spending all day with her. You're needed at the circulation desk soon." With that, she gives you one last lingering glare before turning and leaving the room as abruptly as she had entered.

You stand there in the wake of her departure, heart pounding, as the atmosphere slowly begins to return to near-normal.

"Sorry about that," Desmond says with an apologetic grimace. "My mom can be a bit... overprotective."

"Is she always like this?" you ask, still reeling from the encounter.

"Unfortunately, yes," he admits. "Especially lately, with the town's Founding Festival coming up. She's been under a lot of stress." He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly before continuing, "I guess I should let you know she's the mayor of Willow Grove, so the responsibility of overseeing the whole event falls on her."

"Your mom is the mayor?" Your jaw goes a bit slack. Having his mom dislike you is one thing, but when she runs the whole town? You try to shake off the lingering unease, focusing instead on the warmth of Desmond's wing as he returns to your side and rests his hand on your shoulder.

"Yeah," he chuckles nervously. "She's a bit of a local celebrity around here. I'm really sorry for how she acted towards you. I promise, it's not personal."

"Thanks," you say, managing a small smile. "I appreciate you sticking up for me."

"Of course," Desmond replies, his gentle eyes meeting yours. "You're important to me, and I don't want my mom's behavior to drive you away."

The sincerity in his voice makes your heart flutter, but there's also a pang of disappointment. When he had introduced you as "just a friend" earlier, it had stung a little, even though you understood why he did it. You wonder if that's all you can be to him when Samara is around – just a friend.

Desmond seems to sense your uncertainty, and hesitantly reaches out to take your hand. "Hey," he says softly, "if you're up for it, I'd love to take you on a real date soon. Somewhere outside of this dusty old library."

"Really?" The hopefulness in your chest flares up at his words.

"Absolutely," he confirms, giving your hand a reassuring squeeze. "I want to show you the town and get to know you even better."

"Then I'd love that," you reply, feeling a mix of emotions, but still hopeful. Willow Grove seems like a town just magical enough to make this work, no matter how much warming up Desmond's mom needs before she gives up the cold shoulder.

[writing-fanics]

⁂ starry eyed ⁂

✦ Hunter X Collector!Reader ✦

[Chapter Five: Watching and Dreaming]

previous chapter

[Y/n] smiles, as she sits up happy the war is over, watching as the sun shines between the clouds. She looked down at a puddle of water, and her reflection stared back at her, and her eyes were no longer that of the same as her brother. But, [e/c] and her hair was now, [h/c], and the purple batch on her face no longer there.

‘And that's how we saved the Boiling Isles.’

In the forest where the red pine trees are to be placed horizontally. A bird perches on one horizontally.’Well, as much as we could.’ 

At the Archives, where everyone starts to come out safely. 

‘We were so relieved to see everyone safely released from the Archives. They were spared the worst of it, at least.’

Lilith hands over a puppet Steve to be returned to normal by The Collector. Steve then feels his body and sees Lilith, who offers him a hug. Instead, Steve scoops her into a big hug, much to Lilith and The Collector’s happiness. Inside everyone was reuniting with their families and loved ones. 

with their families and loved ones. 

‘Because of that, everyone got to reunite with their families and loved ones.’

Amity runs over to hug her father, who happily hugs her. “Dad!” Amity laughs happily, Odalia scowling to the side. Gus, looks around for his father worriedly. When he does, he releases several illusions of himself which all approach his father. Once surrounded, Perry tries to hug the first two illusions until he gets to the third one, who turns out to be the real Gus. He picks him up and hugs him as the other illusions disappear. 

Willow looks around for her fathers, accompanied by Hunter. He then suddenly smiles and points to someone. Willow instantly stares in shock and she runs to hug her fathers tight, who then kiss each other after. 

Hunter’s expression returns to gloom as he reaches into his pocket; pulling out the single wolf ear hairclip. He had forgotten to give it to her when they reunited, and something in him told him that he’d never see him again. The moment he saw the tiny stars fall from the sky in the archives, it was just that gut feeling. He looks down sadly, as he looks after realizing no one might be probably waiting for him.

‘And if someone thought they had no one waiting for them, well, they were in for a nice surprise.’ 

Someone suddenly ruffles Hunter’s hair, and he looks towards them in annoyance to reveal Darius and Eberwolf, with an appreciative looks on both of their faces. Darius then points to Hunter’s shirt to which he goes into detail explaining everything while Darius and Eberwolf look on, interested. 

Someone suddenly taps on Hunter’s shoulder, and he looks towards them in annoyance but turns into a look of joy, revealing [Y/n]. Emotions took over and he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her as if her life depended on it. She pulled back from the hug and smiled at him, the excitement of seeing her again and the emotions, just seemed to take over, cause the next moment he crashed his lips on hers. She was taken aback for a moment but slowly melted into the kiss and kissed him back. 

Back in Hexside, everyone celebrates the return of Principal Bump, which is met with applause. His long black hair, which is flowing in the wind, stops to reveal Amelia and Cat, who wave happily. Boscha suddenly pushes through the Blight twins who were in front of her, Edric falling due to his cast, runs over and hugs them, crying.

‘Still, there was a lot of work to be done—’

Various Bonesborough citizens, including Morton, observe all the damage done. Darius and Eberwold, inside the ruined castle, look on at the Titan’s hand, now in its new position. 

‘And not everyone was keen to change things—’ 

Belos’ ruined throne. Vitimir, Terra and Adrian all walk towards it with mischievous looks on their faces. Two big shadows loon over them, revealed to be Darius and Eberwolf. Darius forms his left hand into an abomination fist, seemingly threatening them, as the three coven heads walk away nervously. Vitimit suddenly returns to touch the edge of the throne and it is promptly smashed away by Darius’ abomination hand. 

‘But we were ready to give it a shot. All of us.’

Inside the owl house, Eda fixes the nest as she lays Raine down, then resting by their side. King jumps from behind, plopping into the spot beside Raine as Luz, Eda, and [Y/n] laugh. A blue light suddenly flashes and the gang turns to look at the Collector, followed by a hooded Lilith. The sisters reunite and hug as Camila and Amity, also enter the house. Amity and Luz hugs, and subsequently share a kiss. Camila then nudges Luz’s hand and the two share a hug. 

‘As for The Collector—’

The Collector then approaches King and decides to give him back Francois. King happily hugs Francois as he walks away.

‘he and I made a pinky promise to keep trying our best. He said he had a lot of growing up to do, so he decided to return to the stars.’

[Y/n] looks down at her little brother and hugged him, and he hugged her back “Even though, I’m no longer a Collector, I’m still your big sister.” She said, kissing him on the forehead. King then catches up with the Collector and decided to let him have Francois. He then whispers in The Collector’s ear, which makes him tear up. 

‘No one argued, but I think I heard King whisper, "I hope I see you again.” 

‘We got our happy ending, but I realized something in that moment.’

‘When the Titan had finally passed on, so did the powers of the glyphs.’

But there would be a new adventure.. 

[ four years later ] 

Owlbert flies next to Willow, who is now a professional flyer derby player. Together, they dive into the forest, where Hunter is carving a palisman from palistorm wood to give to Braxas. Willow lands on the ground and surfs on thorny vines. Hunter turns and he has a bluejay on his shoulder. He glances at the Bat Queen and Eda’s parents working in the garden. He catches up with Willow and walks before sliding down a steep incline. Hunter loses his balance and Willow breaks Hunter’s fall, and they are in shock. 

They look to the side and they warmly smile. It is a gravestone for Flapjack, and Willow conjures delicate vines to decorate the gravestone. Hunter and Willow fly off to Bonesborough. They stop at the library, which is in the process of renovation. Mattholomule is seen overseeing the construction, while Kikimore is struggling with the wooden beams. Lilith unfurls her plans for a library wing, and Hooty eagerly watches. 

The wind suddenly picks up and an Abomintaion themed blimp lands in front of them. Amity steps out and hugs Lilith. Lilith then revealed her new harpy form, which resembles a raven. [Y/n] lands on the ground, and holds her staff in her hand while holding a sketchbook in the other. She smiled happily seeing, everyone, and walked towards Hunter kissing him on the cheek.

‘Jasper, stop I’m trying to listen!’

‘Me too, shh be quiet Stella!’ 

Sitting in a chair sat a much older [Y/n] her hair had been cut short, and there was a wedding band around her left ring finger. Closing the picture book in her hands she looked down at the children in front of her. A boy with blonde hair and [e/c] eyes looked at his twin sister with an annoyed look. A girl with [h/c] hair and brown eyes stuck her tongue out her at older twin. [Y/n] shook her head, and watched as her children bickered over them continuously interrupting the story. 

“Knock it off you two,” She said, looking at the twins whose gaze shifted back to their mother, who still held the book in her hands. She opens the book, and was about to continue reading. 

“Mommy?” Stella said, causing her mother to look up from the book. “Yes, sweetie?” [Y/n] said, looking at her daughter. “What, was it like when you kissed daddy?” She asked, and Jasper looked at her disgusted making a barf face. 

[Y/n] chuckled, patting her lap Stella stood up and waddled her way towards her, and she picked her up. “Well, the first thing there was a lot of emotion behind it.” She said, smiling looking down at her daughter, “We hadn’t seen each other in almost a day, and he thought he’d lost me again, and that he’d never see me again.” She said, sadly causing Stella to frown. 

“But, the moment he saw me it was like seeing an old friend after years of being apart. And all that emotion just took over.” She said, recalling it and smiling warmly at the memory. “Then he said I love you?” Stella asked, and [Y/n] shook her head, “Nope, not yet thats my little star.” [Y/n] said, nuzzling her head against Stella’s. “Is a story for another day.” She said, causing Stella to frown. 

“Awe, did I miss storytime?” A voice said, the children looked over towards the doorway, a much older Hunter stood there. “Daddy!” the twins exclaimed, running over to their father he knelt down wrapping his arms around his children. 

“How’s, my little stars?” He asked, Jasper looked at his father happily, “Mommy’s telling us the story of how you and everyone defeated Belos.” She said, and Hunter looked at her, “They’ve been begging me nonstop.” She said, and Hunter just rolled his eyes with a smile. “Plus, they wanted to stay up so they could see you.” she said, smiling and placing a bookmark in the book for later. 

She pushed herself up from the chair, revealing her bump of a stomach. “Now, that you back….Bedtime!” She said, clapping her hands, causing the twins to whine. “Daddy! Can we stay up to finish the story?!” They asked, and Hunter shook his head, “Nope, mom said it’s bedtime.” Hunter said, and they pouted folding their arms across their chest. 

“Plus, mommy needs rest,” Hunter said, gesturing toward their mother’s growing stomach. “But, I’ll finish the story tomorrow,” Hunter said, looking down at the twins whose eyes lit up with joy. 

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@tinkerbellsgf @supernerdycookietrashblr

[rulersreachf4n]

MY LONG LIST OF HUNTLOW/WINTER HEADCANONS

(REPOSTED)

Some of these are before the time skip and/or post-season 3

Because of their height differences, Hunter usually gives Willow forehead kisses or tussles her hair

Willow loves foreheadkisses

At least 75% of the photos that Willow took are of Hunter

Hunter pretends to hate cuddling but secretly loves it

Hunter and Willow has flown on each other’s palismen

Willow makes flower crowns for Hunter and he blushes whenever she does it

Huntlow and Lumity go on double dates but they prefer to go on dates alone

Flapjack and Clover (and now Waffles) ships them together and constantly tries to bring them together

Hunter at first when Willow blushed at him he misinterpreted it as Willow still being mad at him ‘cause of ASIAS

Gus is Hunter’s wingman and Luz is Willow’s wingman

Before they confessed their feelings for each other the rest of the Hexside squad and emerald entrails kids knew that they liked each other

Darius when full dad mode and mocking/teasing Hunter about his little crush and eventual girlfriend

Willow gives Hunter hugs all the time since he is touch starved

Willow dips Hunter then kisses him and he blushes when she does it

Amity always playfully teases Willow about Hunter

Hunter went full red tomato face when Willow kissed him on the cheek

Hunter sometimes plays with/braids Willow’s hair

He’s actually surprisingly quite good at styling and braiding hair

He got her a little baby flower seed for her to plant when they where in the human world

Hunter and Willow raced their palismen or played flyer derby when they where in the human world

Willow ran her fingers through Hunter’s short hair before they went to bed

Darius loves Willow as Hunter’s girlfriend

They talk all night on pensta

Talking on pensta is great but they prefer to have conversations in person

Hunter is so smitten when Willow shows her strength whether it’s opening a jar that other’s can’tor doing workouts, Hunter is always smitten

A lot of their time is spent in silence or with little to no words like gardening or reading

They cherish the time they spend together

Hunter at first didn’t really talk to Willow that much because everyone in the post called his voice annoying and he didn’t want to annoy Willow

Willow constantly tells Hunter how much she loves his voice especially his laugh

Willow blushed when Hunter picked a flower and put it in her hair by surprise

Hunter wore the yellow sun hat (the one shown in Willow’s photo album) because Willow said it looked good on him

Hunter somewhat knows what Clover is saying and tried to talk to other bees in the human world causing them to chase him

Willow had to get Clover to tell the bees to stop chasing Hunter

Hunter thinks that he isn’t good enough for Willow since she’s so strong and didn’t want to embarrass her

Willow wants Hunter to realize that he is more than enough for her

Willow took care of Hunter when he was sick and bought her cold stud earrings (the ones she wears in the season 2 end credits)

Hunter likes to watch Willow sleep

Willow fell asleep on Hunter’s lap which caused him to go full red tomato face

He unconsciously cuddled her after this and pet her head/hair

Gus playfully teases Hunter about his crush

Willow loves it when Hunter plays with/styles her hair

Hunter went full red tomato face when he saw Willow with her hair down for the first time in the human world

Hunter also saw Willow with her hair down and no glasses and was totally flustered about seeing her like that

Willow sometimes talked to Flapjack but doesn’t know exactly what he’s saying

Hunter stood up to Boscha but it didn’t do much but Willow appreciated the effort

One time Willow’s glasses was smudged and Hunter cleaned them, when Hunter put them back on Willow’s face she got full red tomato face and had to leave

Hunter misinterpreted her red face as anger and wondered if he did anything wrong and didn’t interact with her fir the rest of the day ‘cause he didn’t wanna make it worse

They always go on picnics, watch the sunset, or watch/chart star constellations as dates

They like simple dates with very little planning ahead of time

Amity and Willow talk about their dates after it’s over

Same with Gus and Hunter

Gus one time made an illusion of Willow and Hunter attempted to flirt with it but when he reached for the hand it poofed away and hw as so embarrassed and Gus was in trouble

The emerald entrails know about their little slush and try to get Hunter and Willow alone together any chance they get

After Labyrinth Runners, Willow grew fruits and veggies for Hunter

After learning about the day of unity Willow was scared about what will happen to Hunter since he has no magic

Hunter big spoon Willow little spoon but when one of them has a bad day or nightmare that one is the little spoon

(Happened immediately after everyone was re-uniting with each other) Hunter properly introduced Willow to Darius and Willow introduced her parents

Hunter was scared about meeting Willow’s parents since he was the golden guard and they knew what happened about ASIAS

Hunter was worried for nothing since he took care of their daughter

Both of them thanked Hunter and he said it was nothing

Hunter went to the human world and bought Cosmic Frontier book set and read it together with Willow and Gus

Hunter is speechless when he sees Willow in her grom dress and was red tomato face the whole night

Hunter didn’t wanna go to Grom with Willow since he doesn’t know how to dance and didn’t want to embarrass her but she told him that nobody knows how to dance at Grom and he accepted her offer to dance

Hunter had sewn matching flower patches for them to wear to grom and kept rambling on about Willow not needing them since she can create her own flowers but she wore it anyway

Hunter gets gitty whenever Willow touches him

Hunter was the first to say I love you

Luz and Hooty remade the tunnel of love for Hunter and Willow and they both go so flustered

Darius loves playfully teasing Hunter about Willow

Hunter was the one who cut Willow’s hair since she cut his

They both got flustered when he was cutting her hair

Hunter, Willow and Gus all 3 of them have their own Cosmic Frontier book club and reenact scenes and chapters and they always laugh about it

Hunter made a gravestone for Flapjackand the Hexside squad was there when he made it but only Hunter and Willow are the ones who visit it on a day to day basis

Willow and Hunter have date nights in the human world, they love the Boiling Isles but they both think that the human world is safer

Their dates are usually just the 2 of them alone together

Luz introduced all of them to Christmas and mistletoe and for the rest of the day all of them tried to get Hunter and Willow under the mistletoe

When Hunter found out about their plan he scolded them saying that when he does kiss Willow it can’t be forced and is waiting for the right moment

Hunter gave Willow a wooden heart he carved with their names on it

Willow didn’t give Hunter anything saying that she didn’t know what to get him or what he’d like

Hunter explained that she did give him something and that’s her, he just wanted to be with Willow and that’s the only gift he needed

After the kids thought that what Hunter said it was romantic (which it was) Willow got full red tomato face on Hunter when he said that

Their first date was a disaster and Hunter asked for a redo date, that was also a disaster and Hunter apologized repeatedly

Willow explained that it doesn’t matter because they will have plenty of dates to go on

Hunter go flustered after Willow said that

Darius asked Hunter is he was in love with Willow and he got embarrassed and flustered

Willow one time slept on Hunter’s bed and he went red tomato face but tucked her in and he slept on the floor

They onetime held hands in the hallway and everyone kept whispering and pointing and taking photos

They both go red when they held ands fir the first time in public

They love holding hands/fingers and both blush when they do it

They where in their “newly wed”/“honeymoon” phase for their first year of dating

Their first kiss was when Hunter was cutting Willow’s hair

Willow was Hunter’s first crush, kiss and girlfriend

Every other time Hunter has ALWAYS asked Willow if he can kiss her (CONSENT! CONSENT! CONSENT!) with the exception of forehead kisses

Forehead kisses are always appreciated

Willow loves watching Hunter sleep

He boops her nose all the time and Willow loves it

Hunter made his grom tux and Willow thought it was cute

Willow was oblivious to Hunter’s obvious flirting ad smitten by her but, when she saw the grom photo of Hunter getting flustered that’s when she knew

Willow his and cuddles Hunter

They always get flustered and embarrassed when they show PDA

Hunter always tells Willow how much he loves her

Willow helped Hunter carve Waffle’s

It was Hunter’s idea to get a Flapjack tattoo but, he wanted Willow to get tattoos but he thought that she wouldn’t want to

Hunter helped make her Emerald Entrails flyer derby uniform

Willow loves her jersey and wears it everyday

When Hunter first saw Willow in her flyer derby uniform with her hair cut he got so flustered and nervous

He one time saw Willow without her glasses and her new hair cut and got full red tomato face

Hunter helps Willow study for those late nights

Clover and Waffles tries to bring them together all the time

Hunter was Willow’s first kiss

Willow loves it when Hunter carved palismen and she always visits him at work

Hunter tried to call her a pet name like honey or baby and Willow thought it was strange and Hunter got embarrassed

All that lovey dovey pet names like Luz calls sweet potato for Amity all pet names and stuff they don’t like and prefer they just be real and honest with each other

When Hunter’s eye bags disappeared Willow blushed

Hunter loves it when Willow cooks food for him

Hunter tried making breakfast in bed for Willow but failed

Hunter can’t cook basic things so he’ll burn toast or set cereal on fire but can cook complex foods like a cake from scratch with no box mix or gourmet meals and Willow is just like… how

She always impressed by his meals and cooking and vice versa

They both prefer human foods over Boiling Isle food

When they first kissed in public they both got flustered

They prefer to have their romantic or affectionate moments alone

They always fly their palismen together in the night and they both love it

Hunter tells Waffles all about Willow and Willow tells Clover all about Hunter and they both live for that shit

Willow and Hunter made a nest for Waffles together

Hunter carved their names into the nest without Willow’s knowledge (she still doesn’t know about it)

Willow one time watched Hunter sleep and she kissed him on the forehead and tucked him in

Neither of them know that they both watch each other sleep

Darius loves it when Willow comes over

Hunter and Willow made their own private tree house in the human realm

They also have a tree house in the Boiling Isles

They spend more of their time in the tree house than they do at home whether it’s with each other or by themselves they spend more time there than anywhere else

Darius, Harvey and Gilbert don’t know about the tree house

Neither do the Hexside kids or the Emerald Entrails team and they intend to keep it that way

Hunter and Willow sometimes pull memories out of them whenever one of them ask a personal question

It’s easier to see than explain especially with Hunter’s situation

Hunter took care of Willow when she was sick and she was very red tomato faced both ‘cause the fever and because of Hunter

When Willow was recovering from her sickness, Hunter mistook her blushing and flustered as her getting sicker and worse

Willow and Hunter always sleep together (NOT IN A SEXUAL WAY!) sleep in the same bed cuddling or spooning etc

They usually sleep together in the tree house

Gus playfully jokingly asked both of them when is their wedding

They both got flustered and red tomato face

After that Hunter genuinely asked Willow if she sees a future with him in it

Willow got flustered and said yes

Other than that one time they both don’t want to think way ahead into the future and re more focused on each other and the present

Harvey and Gilbert love Hunter and ships him and Willow constantly

Same with Darius and Eberwolf

Willow, Vee, Luz, and Amity have girls night where they all tease Willow about Hunter

Same with Gus, Hunter, Edric (Hunter needs friends his own age) and Mattholomule have guys night and teases Hunter about Willow but Gus ESPECIALLY

[wexhappyxfew]

mercy codona (of and then the dawn came, a band of brothers fic ) — chapter excerpt

Sometimes on weekends, when they weren't in training or there weren't long 3-day overnight training sessions, Mercy would usually go for a run as the sun was rising. By mid-November, the runs were filled with cold puffs of air floating to the sky, her burning throat, aching muscles, and her red, crimson cheeks shining on her face. If anything, it usually gave her a lot of time to think.

Almost too much time.

She'd think about her youth, her mother, her father, a past she no longer was connected to, but would think on and breakdown over when the time was warranted.

She wondered if in another world, her father was proud of her.

She wondered if he would've cared.

She wondered if he would've been there to send her off, to give her a hug, a farewell. In another world.

In reality, she'd gone to that train station alone, with a poor excuse for a satchel and disappeared from Fort Wayne, Indiana for good.

It sometimes choked her up - she was never good with emotions - explaining them, feeling them, knowing what they meant. No one had told her that growing up the way she did would leave her with that lacking capability. No one told her the lasting effects it'd leave or the emotions she'd have to grapple.

Mercy came to a small clearing where her and Esther had gone sometimes to sit and stare at the sunshine or the grey clouds, covered in wavering fields of overgrown grasses, and willow trees hanging over small ponds or bushes. Slowly, she settled on a rock and let her heart rate come to a normal speed, before letting out a deep breath.

" Half-pint?" Mercy looked over her shoulder and found Joe Toye there, hands on his hips, out of breath, hair sticking to the sides of his face and forehead, walking towards her with a raised brow.

" Hey," Mercy said, wiping a hand across her forehead," didn't think anyone else was out here." Joe shrugged and let out a cough before clearing his throat to sit beside her.

" Ditto."

ie: my most favorite chaotic smol character of attdc who needs so many hugs and so much gentleness, and one i will protect with my life + she gets multiple chapter POVs throughout the fic and some of her moments in the fic are my fav hehe :) so enjoy!!! her chapter will be in the future!

[pantoneyoongi]

the sun & the stars | kth | 04

title ; the sun & the stars pairing ; taehyung x you

word count ; 6k

masterlist | part one | part two | part three | part four | part five | epilogue

description ; 

taehyung’s known you almost his whole life - his sister’s best friend, the girl who invades his home and his life on the daily. you’re the one who gave his sister the nickname ‘sky’ to begin with - and also the one who relented when he whined about it at age five and said okay, you can be the stars, then. 

it’s funny, because to him, you’re just the petty, mischievous neighbor from across the street with a penchant for stealing his snacks. but over the years, you’ve somehow landed yourself a reputation that stretches beyond the 1.5 year age gap he has with you - for someone who generally likes to keep things low key, you sure have a way of drawing attention. 

sky’s friendly, teasing best friend is known for being cold, impassive, and immovable. which is weird, because when he’s around you, all he sees are unabashed grins and terrible jokes. until he realizes maybe he doesn’t know you like he thought he did. maybe they’re right - it just so happens that the walls you throw up around him look a little different from the walls you throw up around everyone else. 

tracklist ; willow - taylor swift, give me your forever - zack tabudlo ft. billkin, limbo - keshi

tags ; college!au, best friend’s little brother!au, childhood friends to lovers, angst, a lot of it, fluff, mentions of absent parents and financial instability, insecurity, brief mentions of infidelity, arguing, fun fact i wrote this entire fic based almost entirely off one (1) scene in this chapter lol, please give my girl sun a hug after this is over thank u

you’re not sure if the luck counts as good or bad, but both you and sky finish your finals earlier than most of the other students do. your finals stack up back to back, leaving you a couple extra days to breathe easy after. so while jimin and taehyung are still frantically cramming and testing, you crash at sky’s apartment for a day after jinyoung convinces you to take a day off before you actually collapse at the restaurant. 

slouched on her couch and half-awake is when sky decides to ask you. you almost topple off the couch, startled awake. “come again?” 

“do you want to meet namjoon?” 

you hesitate. “are you… official, or something?” 

sky shakes her head. “not yet. but i mean, you know everyone i know, and… i just thought…” she trails off, but you know what she means. namjoon is an anomaly compared to sky’s other friends. most of her friends are your friends. 

you sit up on the couch, trying to look nonchalant knowing full well you are anything but. “feels like i’m the parent meeting the new boyfriend.” 

sky cracks a grin. “feel free to chew him out.” 

you narrow your eyes at her playfully. “oh, i will.” 

her eyes light up with amusement. “i expect nothing less.” 

sky looks happy; it’s easy to tell by the way she can’t help smiling. her excitement is subtle but palpable, and you try to reciprocate, but your heart feels weighty in your chest, and you’re struggling to keep it held up. you make an acknowledging noise when sky jumps up to make food for the two of you, watching her flit about the kitchen, light on her feet. 

you and sky tend to communicate less in words and more in implied feelings and actions. you know it’s not the best way to communicate - it’s what landed the two of you in trouble the last time - but even despite having what jinyoung calls “half a conversation, dammit, sun,” you can tell the tension has faded. sky looks like she feels more comfortable in her own skin, like it’s a relief not to be holding onto a secret anymore. 

your shoulders relax a little, watching her. even if your heart feels like a traitor in your own chest, the majority part of you feels relief, too. that sky’s happy, that she found someone who won’t love her in halves. it’s a testament to namjoon’s sincerity, that he’s able to step past sky’s basic levels of kindness, becoming part of her life. even without your protectiveness, sky’s circle of friends is deeply exclusive, just from sky’s shy and introverted nature. 

she smiles at you from the kitchen, and you smile back. for her, you shove down the insecurities, push yourself off the couch to go wreak havoc in her perfectly organized kitchen, and hope that no matter what position you hold in or outside of sky’s life, that she’ll always have someone who makes her laugh as loudly as she does now. 

.

.

.

“i need a ten year nap,” jimin says into your countertops, voice muffled from his face being smushed into it. his arms dangle lifelessly at his sides, back arched from the way he’s sitting in the chair. 

you click your tongue against the roof of your mouth. “go take a nap at your place then. stop bothering me at mine.” 

jimin lifts his head, and you snicker at the red mark that’s left on his forehead. “i feel like you favor taehyung over me,” he complains. “you feed him once a week, you’re nice to him, and what do i get? kicked out of your apartment in less than ten minutes.” he jabs a finger in your direction. “this is blatant favoritism.” 

you smile sympathetically at him, and he makes a disgusted face at the mocking saccharine look. you even pout a little. “are you mad everyone likes taehyungie better than you, jiminie?” 

“you - you know what?” jimin looks like he’s going to be ill. “don’t ever use that voice on me again. never mind. you can have her,” jimin hops off the chair and goes to faceplant into your couch instead, leaving behind a bemused taehyung in the kitchen with you. you share a look with the younger, eyebrows flicking up as you smirk in amusement. 

taehyung just shakes his head, nursing his glass of water. he looks exhausted too, but he’s still poring over his notes, with two exams left before the week is over. 

you whip up a simple fried rice for the boys, setting a bowl in front of taehyung before going over to nudge jimin with your foot. “get up, freeloader. go eat.” 

jimin pathetically lifts his head from the couch cushion. “leave me here to die. at least if i die, my classmates will get automatic a’s.” 

you smack him against the head. “get up, you overdramatic gremlin. we all know you’re acing all your classes anyway.” 

jimin grins. you have half a mind to drag him up by his ear, but that would go against your policy of putting minimal effort in when it comes to men. 

eventually the two of you join taehyung at the kitchen counter, though taehyung hasn’t even touched his food, still buried in his notes. you tap your fingers against his notebook. “hey. eat.” 

he looks up slowly, like his brain and body are out of sync. you want to run your hand through his hair, smooth it back and away from his forehead, take away that tired look on his face. you soften, pushing the bowl closer to him. “you need to eat to be able to study, tae.” 

quietly, he nods, relenting and putting his books away. jimin looks between the two of you, offended by the blatant difference in treatment, but he keeps his mouth shut at the look you throw him. you watch them both affectionately though, chin propped against your hand. 

when they both look like they have a little more life in them, you start up conversation. “hey, are either of you coming to the dinner with sky and namjoon or is that just me?” 

“there’s a dinner?” jimin says at the same time as taehyung shaking his head, saying, “i have an exam that night.” 

you wince. “you have the worst finals schedule. that’s literally the last slot of finals.” 

taehyung groans a little, burying his face in his hands. “please don’t remind me.” 

you huff out a laugh, giving in and patting him on the head, ruffling his hair a little. “i’m sure you’ll do just fine.” 

“is no one gonna explain to me the meet the namjoon thing?” jimin interjects, and you almost instinctively flick him on the forehead, but cut him some slack and don’t. you shrug at him instead. 

“sky wanted me to meet namjoon this friday before everyone goes back for winter break. guess it’s just a ‘meet the bestie’ thing since she didn’t invite anyone else.” 

jimin hums thoughtfully, thumb rubbing at his chin. “well,” he finally says. “if he can pass your standards, then he’ll probably pass mine.” 

you deadpan. “what am i, like the final boss or something?” 

jimin snaps his fingers. “exactly.” 

you can’t even argue with him. he’s probably right. you settle for pretending to take his food away, jimin sputtering out nonsense to steal it back from you, scraping rice into his mouth as fast as he can while you laugh, eyes crinkling happily. 

.

.

.

the dinner with namjoon makes you more nervous than you let on. you’re meeting sky and namjoon somewhere a little ways off campus, within walking distance. it’s a relatively known and popular ramen spot, with a cozy interior, booths lined up against windows and tables neatly lined in the middle otherwise. 

you wish taehyung was coming. but seeing as taehyung has one last final to take, and most of campus, including namjoon, is leaving for winter break tomorrow, that leaves just you for this dinner, sky mentioning in the group chat that she’ll introduce him to the broader group some other time. your palms sweat and you wipe them against your jeans, dragging your hands against the material, trying to find your grounding. 

you stand outside the restaurant, counting numbers backwards. you remind yourself that this is sky, and someone important to sky, and that means you need to find the right balance between making sure he won’t hurt her, and making sure you don’t scare him off. 

with a deep breath, you enter the restaurant, scanning the room until you spot sky and namjoon at a booth, off to the right. a waiter comes up to you but you shake your head politely and gesture towards your friend, and he steps out of your way so you can make your way to them. 

sky and namjoon sit opposite each other, sky sliding in to make room for you. you offer her a smile and try to extend it to namjoon as well, but you’re you and you’ve always had issues smiling at people you don’t know well. he takes it all in stride, offering that dimpled smile he’d given you the last time you’d seen him, at the library. 

he really does give off good vibes. you almost feel bad about your half-assed smile. 

sky leans towards you, and she’s practically vibrating in her seat, though you can’t tell if it’s because she’s happy or nervous. probably both, honestly. “this is sun,” she introduces, and that’s how the night starts, with her exchanging your names and namjoon’s kind eyes so obviously captivated by her, but still finding time to shift to you, friendly and open. he’s so effortlessly inviting that you find your defenses lowering, even if you let sky and namjoon carry most of the conversation, watching the way they interact, the shy grins sky tries to hide, and the affection pouring out of namjoon whenever he looks at her. 

you smile. a real one, and even when namjoon catches it and matches you, you keep it. 

.

.

.

you slide out of the booth when sky mentions she needs to use the restroom, letting her slip past you while you sit back down. sky glances back but you give her a look promising that you’ll behave yourself and she smiles and heads off, to the bathrooms in the back. 

you return your gaze to the table, eyes flicking up to meet namjoon’s. now it’s just the two of you, and you regard him carefully. he doesn’t shy away from the way you assess him, like he’d been expecting it, especially now that sky isn’t here to serve as a buffer. 

the silence passes, like he knows better than to say anything while you gauge whether he’s worth sky’s time. he doesn’t even seem to mind. 

you relax against the booth. “seems like you know me.” 

he rubs the back of his head. “sky talks about you a lot.” 

“did she tell you i’d threaten you?” you say it with a smirk, eyes glinting. 

namjoon gives a small smile. “she said it was a possibility.” 

you won’t admit it yet, but you like namjoon. he seems honest and casual, and there’s something reassuring about the way he cares for your friend. he doesn’t look scared of you, nor does he seem amused by the possibility of your five-foot-nothing ass trying to beat his. he regards you with respect - like he already knows how much you mean to sky. 

your smirk eases into a smile, eyes growing gentler. “i won’t,” you say. “i don’t think a threat would be particularly effective. what i’ll tell you instead, is that she’s important to me. she’s the most important person in my life. and i regret it, but i haven’t always been able to protect her like i should have.” 

you lean forward slightly, smile fading, and while your expression hardens, your voice remains soft. “i don’t plan on having any more regrets like that, do you understand?” 

something about the way your voice stays quiet, firm, how there’s no malice strewn into the words, only a simple promise, is what freezes namjoon in place. it’s not technically a threat, but the way you look at him holds a guarantee that if he fucks up, he’s not getting any second chances. the person sitting in front of him would do anything for sky. you, without hesitation, would commit a crime for her if she asked you to. take the fall for something she’d done if you needed to. you would do anything if it meant protecting sky. 

“understood,” namjoon’s voice comes as a low murmur of confirmation. you know he hears you loud and clear, so you straighten, smile returning. 

“good.” your eyes drift over to the window. despite being located right next to campus, the restaurant has a decent view of more than just buildings and parking lots, overseeing a small field. “you know why we call her sky, right? ‘cause,” you gesture outside, where you can see the sky turning the different shades of blue directly post-sunset, the beautiful hues of cerulean, cobalt, indigo. your voice grows nostalgic. “she’s my whole sky. the only thing that encompasses every part of the world.” your eyes slide back to him, and he meets your gaze. “take care of her. please.” 

it’s a request. one you’ve never asked of anybody, because sky doesn’t need someone to take care of her, not when she has you on her side. but she deserves to have someone worry about her, bring her lunches, remind her that she’s special and worth loving, out loud, with their whole chest. the way namjoon stares back at you, you know he can give that to her. he can treat her like she’s his whole world. 

he smiles, and nods. without words, you know he’s made the same promise you made when you were five years old. 

when sky returns, neither you nor namjoon give any indication of the conversation you’ve just held. you’re all smiles and light banter, and when sky looks to you, silently hoping for your approval, you beam right back at her, the way you always have. 

because it’s sky. for sky, you would do anything. 

.

.

.

it’s when you part for the night that you break. you head back towards your dorm, after five solid minutes of convincing sky that you don’t need or want an escort. but halfway back and your knees give out on you, and you drop into a crouch in the middle of the sidewalk. you hang your head and try to breathe evenly, to smooth out the shaky way you inhale and exhale. 

it shouldn’t feel like this. you should be happy for sky - you are - but you’re so fucking selfish, you’re so fucking scared, the ugliest parts of you sneaking behind your back to strangle you, remind you of who you are. 

to everyone else, sky’s the one who needs you. sky, who is too nice to say no most of the time, who is gentle in everything she does, who has always been the one you’ve protected. sky’s quiet, demure nature gets taken too often as compliance. as someone who can be bent to anyone’s will. 

but that’s not true. you know that. sky’s just simple and patient; she doesn’t mind much. she goes with the flow, content to follow after you, let you take the lead. 

but she doesn’t need you. she never has. 

you press your hand firm against your mouth to muffle the cry that threatens to slip out, eyes squeezing shut. no. no. you’re not going to be upset about this. you’re not going to be selfish about this. 

fuck. 

.

.

.

everyone looking from the outside in says you’re the strong one. 

you and sky sit at distinct parallels, impossible to intersect. on one hand there’s you, cold, hard, and impassive. you don’t know how your reputation spun wildly out of control, but people dodge you like you’re poison. they fear what you could do, even if they don’t know what you would do. 

on the other hand there’s sky, elegant, trusting, and caring. she’s a bit shy, much quieter than most others, but she’s sweet, and people like that. she embodies the definition of a good girl, with off-the-charts intelligence to top it off. she’s your best friend. you’d protect her with your life. everyone knows it. you’re her personal guard dog. 

but the truth is, she’s not the one who needs protecting. you’re the one that’s fragile, quick to come apart. one nudge and everything around you will crumble, scatter in the wind and you’ll be left with nothing. they say sky needs you, but it’s you who needs her. 

she’s your safe place. she makes you feel wanted. you don’t know anyone else like her, who makes you feel like there’s something worth fighting for. because what else are you going to do? if not to protect sky, what else are you worth? 

not much, apparently. after all, you’re the one who hurt her the most. 

you’ll never shake the self-inflicted blame for it. for falling for seokjin and not realizing the entire time that sky also had feelings for him. that he was playing the field, holding your hand while sweet-talking sky, keeping her his secret, leaving her with the guilt of having feelings for her best friend’s boyfriend. you were blind to all of it, rose-colored glasses fogging what was right in front of you. 

they can say all they want about, it’s seokjin who hurt her, it’s seokjin who shouldn’t have done that, but even if you’re not the mastermind, you’re the accomplice. you know that because of you, sky experienced heartbreak before she could experience love. 

the world sky existed in was perfect, until you fractured it. 

you did everything to patch it back up. return to sky the picture-perfect she used to have, before you weaseled your way into it, selfishly begging to be a part of it. to have even an ounce of what normalcy might feel like. but even in doing so you couldn’t bear to give it up. you need sky. 

nobody understands that. you need sky, but she doesn’t need you. least of all now that she has namjoon. 

.

.

.

you don’t really like school breaks. winter and summer breaks are longer than spring break, which means you can go back to your hometown. you usually spend it working most days, but being home also means unlocking your door to an unlit room, hardly any food in the fridge and your parents never there. 

it’s a little better now that you’re older, and can stay up later. you catch them when they get home at midnight, weary eyes and tired smiles. they hug you and you feel like a child again, melting into your mother’s embrace that you’ve missed so much. but they’re too tired to spend much time with you, and most mornings, either you’re gone before they wake up, or they’re gone before you wake up. 

you know they love you, and that’s why they work so hard to provide for you. but you really miss them sometimes. you missed them in elementary school, when they didn’t show up to see your science fair project. you missed them in middle school, when they couldn’t be there to see your artwork displayed for the night. you missed them in high school, when they weren’t amongst the proud parents watching their kids walk across the stage for graduation. 

your pictures are scattered throughout the house, though. your science fair participation ribbon is tacked to the fridge, your artwork framed on the wall. your high school diploma is kept displayed on a dresser in your parents’ room, a reminder of what you accomplished that they never got a chance to. and when you graduate college next semester - you know they won’t be able to attend your graduation ceremony then, either, but they’ll leave a picture frame out for you to place your university diploma into, and a slice of cake will sit in the fridge as their way of celebrating with you, too. 

you know better than to believe you aren’t loved. but you also don’t really know your parents at all, just know that they have sacrificed everything to make sure you could have a better life than them. that includes being there for you in all the little moments, and all the grand ones, too. 

it’s a lot of pressure. they give up every waking hour, bending over backwards to pay for your future. but the child in you cries while you sit under a single light in the kitchen at a table meant for a family and you’re utterly alone. 

coming home means a lot of things. it means comfort, in the form of your parents arriving in the middle of the night, getting to see them even if it’s brief. it also means sitting alone with your own thoughts, forced to confront the parts of you that you can escape when you’re away at university. 

you’ve always known what you’re afraid of. it’s why you put up such a big front, whether it’s the cold and calculating way you treat strangers, or the bright and adoring way you love your friends. 

you’re afraid of being alone. you’d think after years of it, you’d find the time to get used to it, but you never have. you don’t want to be alone. you want someone at your important events and life milestones and even for the little stupid things that don’t matter and can easily be forgotten. you want someone there for all of it. 

that’s sky. when you had your science fair, sky’s parents stopped by your booth for a full twenty minutes, fascinated by everything you had displayed. sky was never part of the art exhibition, but she and her parents and taehyung all showed up, taking pictures and ooh-ing and ahh-ing over your mediocre middle school artwork. and when your parents couldn’t attend graduation, sky’s family drove you there, cheering as loudly for you as they did for her. 

sky’s there for everything. she listens to everything you have to say, no matter how mindless or menial. she remembers most of it, too, even better than you do - can recant stories that you don’t even recall telling her in the first place. if you love sky fiercely, defensively, sky loves you quietly, peacefully. 

what you’re afraid of is that sky will find her happily ever after, and it won’t include you. that the family you forced your way into doesn’t actually want you, and you’ll go back to your empty house and your dinners alone and the child in you will peer out across the street and wonder again what it’s like to have a family that can afford to be home. with you. that you’ll have to once again get used to an absent family, with no one to go running to. 

but you can’t tell her that. you can’t tell her, or taehyung, or even jimin. they’ve already shown you so much love. given you so much more than you deserve. you can’t beg them to stay if they don’t want to. 

you stare out the window. when it’s winter, it gets darker earlier, and all you can see is black. 

lonely, lonely, lonely. 

.

.

.

sky is pacing. 

sky doesn’t pace. sky generally sits still, in fact, so still that sometimes jimin will pretend to double check if she’s still breathing. taehyung’s eyes follow his sister back and forth and back and forth as she crosses the length of the room over and over again. 

“you okay?” taehyung ventures, after sky’s doubled back for god knows how many times now. sky pauses, head turning so slowly, she could give a slowly deteriorating animatronic a run for their money. taehyung makes a face. “sky.” 

she blinks at him. “something’s wrong.” 

he raises his eyebrows. yes. something is wrong, but sky doesn’t usually say it out loud. both you and sky have this in common: when things go south, you hide. 

taehyung noticed it a week ago, when the first stop you made since coming home wasn’t his house, but yours. you actually haven’t even been here since winter break started, and this is usually the place you come to lie down on the floor and complain about your creaky old joints. your messages in the group chat have been dwindling further and further, and you’ve canceled on group invites, even the ones that include yoongi and hoseok, who you haven’t seen in an entire semester. you cite work as an excuse, even though you normally would’ve found a way to make time for them regardless. 

sky looks stressed. “sun hasn’t come over.” 

taehyung chews on his lower lip. he’s not really sure what to say. taehyung has gone looking for you, of course, but he keeps missing his chances at actually seeing you. he’s considered just walking over to your place, but when you get like this, there’s the distinct possibility that you’ll just pretend no one’s home, which you’ve done before. 

sky resumes her pacing, and taehyung lets her. he wishes he had answers, solutions, anything - but the best he’s got is an attempt to get to you before you can step foot into your house. the problem is your schedule is not exactly consistent, and somehow you manage to sneak back into your house in the precise moments when taehyung isn’t creepily staring out his window trying to catch you before you head in. 

he hates when you get like this. hates that when you’re hurting, or insecure, you don’t come to him. or sky, jimin, yoongi, hoseok, someone. you draw into yourself instead, refusing to reach out. you lock yourself out, and taehyung’s banging on every door trying to find the room you’ve hidden yourself in. he’s looking for you in corners and around bends and in nooks and crannies, trying to figure out where you’ve hidden yourself this time around, because he cares about you. he worries about you. he knows he might not know you the best, but god, he wants to. but you won’t let him. 

it aches, to see you pull into yourself. to watch you work yourself to the bone, until you’re so tired you could collapse. yet you say nothing of it. neither the work nor the feelings that smother you; you keep all of it sealed tight under lock and key. the lock is shaped with your blinding smile and taehyung has spent years trying to find the goddamn key. 

he hates that you always tell him you’re fine. that you always tell him not to worry. that your smile is just convincing enough that he can’t argue, can’t push hard enough for you to waver and cave, confess what he knows is true. 

he can see how much you’re hurting, and you still won’t let him in. 

.

.

.

you honestly wondered how long you could keep this up. it’s not like you can call on yoongi this time to help you dodge sky and taehyung, considering he’s been blowing up your phone trying to pry an answer out of you. yoongi’s a little better at reading people than the rest of your hometown friends, and the fact that you haven’t shown face to him or hoseok yet is a little too telling for him. 

you opt for just ignoring his messages lately instead. 

(note: yoongi is not amused by this.) 

your luck runs out on you, naturally, on a day that you are more exhausted than usual. your shift ran over and you were definitely a hazard on the road driving home. you genuinely consider taking a nap in your car before heading in, except it’s fucking cold and there’s no way you’re leaving your car on to burn gas just so you don’t have to physically move. 

that’s how taehyung catches you. he’s sitting on the curb outside his house and when you finally manage to drag yourself out of your car, he stands, catching you off guard. 

“you’re home late,” he comments casually, but the way his brows knit tight together gives away his worry. you shrug. 

“long day.” 

you step towards your house, and he doesn’t stop you, just follows behind. “sun.” 

you’re so tired. you lower your head while your back is still facing him, trying not to be agitated by his presence. but you just want to lay down. you just want to take a shower and pass the fuck out. you don’t want to face your demons, and you definitely don’t want to face them in the form of a conversation led by kim taehyung. 

with a deep inhale, you turn to face him. “yeah, tae?” 

there it is. that look you keep trying to avoid, pretty brown eyes revealing all his emotions, because unlike you, taehyung isn’t scared of them. all his concern, his care, everything he’s wondering about you is laid open on his face, but if he’s not asking them out loud, then you’re definitely not answering them. 

his tongue swipes over his bottom lip nervously, and he struggles a little with what he wants to say. you wait, as patiently as you can, and briefly ponder whether he can see your eyebags actively getting worse by the minute or if you’re just tired enough to feel like they are. 

when he continues to say nothing, you rub your forehead and scrunch your face a bit. “taehyung, i-” 

“wait,” it comes out a little desperate, and he flounders a little, which is unlike him. he breathes out a steady breath. “i…” his eyes fall to the scarf looped around your neck. you wear it every day now, cradled by its warmth and familiar scent. “was just… looking for my scarf.” 

it’s an excuse to keep you here and you know it. but it still takes you aback, face contorting into a frown almost immediately, and you can see the regret on taehyung’s face just as instantly. your hand comes up to grasp at it, but you don’t move to take it off, instead clutching it a little too tightly. 

it doesn’t belong to you. it’s taehyung’s. he’s asking for it back. 

he’s starting to panic, but you don’t really notice it so much as the rush in your ears. you hold onto it, entire body tense, like you’re geared to run any second now just to keep it with you another day. 

“shit. wait. that’s not - you can keep the scarf, sun, that’s not really what i came for. i promise. i didn’t - you can keep it. please keep it. i just -” he scrubs at his face, frustrated, shaking his head, clearing it. when he lowers his hands, he looks calmer, adjusted, but there’s still too much in the way he looks at you for you to bear. 

“sun,” he starts again, gentler this time. “i’m just worried about you. we’re all worried about you. you’re working so much, and you come home so late, and you look so tired. i know you think we don’t notice, but we do, and - you don’t have to work so hard, sun.” 

anything else he says is lost after that. you don’t have to work so hard, sun. your head spins, everything sounds muffled, and every emotion you’ve tamped down shoots straight through you, hard and fast. 

“do not fucking talk to me about working hard, taehyung,” your voice comes out like steel, and whatever he was in the middle of saying cuts short, taehyung startled into silence. you look at him with borderline disdain, scoffing. “i-” you shut your eyes, trying to calm your temper. but the waves keep rising and if you don’t want to say something you’ll regret, you need to leave. “i’m going home, taehyung. you should too.” 

you turn around. you don’t want to have this conversation. you don’t want taehyung’s worry and you don’t want anyone else’s, either. you don’t do well with confrontation, you don’t do well with letting people in, and you don’t do well with people making empty promises telling you that you can rely on them. 

people like sky and taehyung, live their lives so comfortably. in every moment, everything they say and do, they make it so abundantly clear that they were loved to the fullest as kids, and continue to be loved. that their family had the ability to shield them instead of needing them to grow up too fast, like you did. it makes you resentful, sometimes. you hate that part of you the most. 

but the anger is so much easier to manage than the hurt. the anger is so much easier to feel than the jealousy. 

“sun-” 

“what?” you whirl around at his voice, voice so fierce he almost takes a step back. “what, taehyung. what do you want?” 

you’ve never looked at him like this before. you’ve never let the smile slip from your face. taehyung’s part of your inner circle, he’s always had the privilege of seeing your free laughter, be on the receiving end of your playful jibes. he gets to see you without restraints, without guards. but now you glare at him like you don’t even know him, like he hasn’t been there for almost every step of your life. 

except he hasn’t. he only knows that side of you, the side that’s bright, content, the side that lives to please. he’s gotten glimpses of the version of you that’s exhausted, the version you kept so neatly tucked away in dark houses and latchkeys. but never really because you chose to let him witness what it means to be you behind your brilliant smiles and easy-going jokes. the best he has to see that side of you are the rumors that swirl and follow you around. 

when he stays silent, you advance towards him. “what do you know, taehyung? be fucking for real. what do you really know? you live the definition of a white picket fence family, you have everything. do you even realize what you grew up with? your - your fucking - packed lunches and juice boxes and 6:30pm dinners and-” your hands wave around, gesturing to nothing, and taehyung doesn’t think it even hits you that you’re crying by now, tears welling helplessly in your eyes as you go, “all the times someone was there to pick you up at the bus stop, or make you breakfast in the morning, take care of you when you were sick, taehyung - you have no fucking idea! you don’t know what it’s like! to be scared in your own house because no one’s home to protect you, to be lonely in a place you’re supposed to call home, to know that every decision you make, everything you do, it has to be worth something - i don’t have to work so hard? i have no fucking choice, taehyung, so tell me what the fuck it is you really think you know, because you don’t!” 

you end in an explosion, breathless, in tears, shaking. that’s when the recognition settles into your features, trembling hands lifting to wipe at your tears, scrub them away. it feels hard to breathe, chest tight, and your head lowers, eyes growing distant as the fight starts to leave you. the exhaustion returns, draining all the anger out of you. 

you stare at some aimless spot on the ground, tired. “you don’t know,” you repeat, voice almost inaudible. your eyes slowly lift to his, and there it is - your defense mechanism, ruined; you give him a broken smile. “i never wanted you to.” 

the way you say it is heartbreaking. he can see something shatter in your eyes. his lips part but the words fail to come, feeling all of your anger and grief and hurt all at once. he’s never seen it as plainly as he does now, written all over your face. you look away, and your smile falls, useless, now. 

and then you’re gone. you trudge back into your house, and by the time taehyung figures out how to move again, it’s too late. your front door is closed and locked, and he doesn’t know where to go from here. 

masterlist | part one | part two | part three | part four | part five | epilogue

[weatherman667]

Rare Jaune Ships

Velvet:  The primary purpose people use her is either a breeding fetish, as part of a Faunus harem, or as a closet key for Coco.  Most fics forget that the only characterization we get out of her is that she’s a shy photographer.  Not saying don’t make spank fics about it, but she is a shy if kinky photographer.

Coco:  Coco is a right royal bitch, and should be primarily used as a way to teach her a lesson.  Luckily, this is what most fics focus on.

NDGO:  Primary useful for a quick way to bang a squad of teen idols.

Glynda:  The best for a transgressive power/exchange relationship, where Glynda learns it’s not always appropriate to be - proper.

Cinder:  A great way for a hate fuck / high-heel-face-turn.  This brings out incredibly raw emotions.

Neo:  While Cinder brings out a lot of raw emotions, both positive and negative, Neo is more about having a little goblin girlfriend who just needed hugs, (and frequent reminders that killing is bad).  RWBY Chibi has shown us that Neo is more than willing to use her powers for kinky purposes.

Emerald:  Emerald is a character who wasn’t really given a chance.  She had little characterization, until post-Haven, at which point she still had little characterization, just now being portrayed as a woobie.  She is great if you want to do a non-Cinder/Neo redemption arc.

Neon:  People only really use her to round out a Faunus harem, and that is pretty much the only good use for her.  Still mad at her for calling Yang a fat slut.

Sienna:  A right royal bitch.  Even more so than Coco, but unfortunately, most of the fics about her don’t punish her in turn.

Winter:  Seems to be a consolation-prize Schnee.  Good to punish Weiss and/or make her Jealous.  Would rather pair her with Ironwood.

Willow:  Diametrically opposed extremes of wholesome and kinky.  Extra points if it give the Schnee kids a proper father figure and/or brutally cucking Jacques.

Ilia:  The quickest redemption arc in Human history, because she’s a lesbian, and you can have lesbians do bad thing.  This said, I LOVE her with Jaune, to the point it’s become my favourite ship.  I just absolutely hate her in RWBY, because they try to put her on a bus by making her in charge fo the White Fang.  Leadership is not he strong suit, and she literally has no idea what she should be fighting for.  Okay, yes, they wanted to sink her ship with Blake to focus on Bumblebee, but maybe have someone else going through the same problems as she is?  Have them grow together for mutual support?

Kali:  The best part of the Black Sun fauxmance was Kali being a little baby crazy.  I find Sun a flat, boring character, but that doesn’t mean she’s not baby an/or blond(e) crazy.  She wants Grandkittens, damnit.

Raven:  Brush with your wild side.

Vernal:  They never met except in the middle of the battle, and didn’t actually meet.  You have to bend the story quite a bit to get them together.  But yeah, nothing wrong with a little teaching a lesbian another way.

May Zedong:  She is cute.  We know nothing about her.  Should be good, but I just can’t get over the fact she’s named after Mao Zedong.

Happy Huntresses:  I disavow and repudiate the Happy Huntresses, in their entirety.

Arslan:  I have no emotional connection whatsoever.

Summer:  Despite the fact she’s dead, doesn’t seem to cause any barrier.  No one even tries to justify it.  Jaune’s Aura control lets him touch ghosts.  See?  Easy.

Nora:  Nora would do ANYTHING Jaune told her to.  Anything.  Anywhere.  With anyone.  Luckily for her, Jaune is both jealous, and careful in deciding what/when/who to do.  That said, he sometimes has to get a little creative, as she’s REALLY energetic.

Ren:  The biggest problem with Nora’s Arc is what to do with Ren.  Turning him into a femboy concubine definitely solves that problem.

Whitley Schnee:  If anyone deserves to be forcefully feminized for the purpose of humiliation, it’s him.

Oscar:  I liked Rose Garden, briefly, and then have since become completely against it.  How dare he try to get between the glory that is Lancaster?  He needs to be punished for it.

PENNY:  Really interesting idea.  Except they never actually met before she was killed.  He did meet her reincarnation, only to be forced to kill her with his own hands.  Other than that, sure.

Ciel:  They have little to no chance to interact.  But, if she tagged long with a reincarnated PENNY, then fuck yeah.

Salem:  The FNDM have weirdly decide that Jaune is Salem’s heir.  Luckily, this has been kept out of most of the Jaune x Salem fics.  Someone needs to teach her the value of life and death, afterall.

Malachite Twins:  No reason to, but no reason no to, either.

Terra and Saphron Cotta-Arc:  The most boring characters introduced, with no one possibly being able to say anything against them, (like one of the more socially awkward ones asking where Adrian came from).  The FNDM then said, fuck this, if you give us boring characters, we’ll make them more interesting, and that was apparently Jaune being Adrian’s father.  Adding Saphron makes it even more interesting.

Momma Arc:  She wants grandbabies, even is that means she has to grease the wheels a bit.

[bunbeeplays]

The Lemon Legacy: Generation 1, Chapter 73 - Redemption and Relaxation

Xander's spending the day going over the plans for construction of the new bar with Hilary, so Ophelia's on her own. Inspired by her last session with Omari, she's going to embrace being alone for the day. In fact, she already has plans for what she wants to do.

Xander: Hey! Are you trying to stall?

Ophelia: Moi? Never!

Xander: Sure. I know you can do it, Lemon Cake. I'll keep my cell on me if you need anything.

Ophelia: No, I'll be okay. There's just a lot of memories attached, but I have to let go. Thanks, baby.

Ophelia goes to to mantle and admires the statue she stole from the museum next to The Blue Velvet after her last shift. She remembers how she felt when she first saw the statue on her first day in Willow Creek, but now she realizes why she was so excited to eventually steal it.

She was new in town and had lost everything from her previous life due to her parents disowning her. Though she had been surrounded by people in the club that day, she had never been so lonely. As she takes it off the mantle, Ophelia reminds herself she doesn't need it anymore.

Ophelia remembers the awkward encounter she and Travis had that resulted in her stealing this pastry display. Now he's a father and has a smart, beautiful fiancée. She removes it from the counter.

Mental note, find something else to hide the leaf poking through the wall.

The sign she had stolen from that same café. It wasn't the prettiest décor, but it was all she had when she first moved to Willow Creek.

Ophelia: You're okay. You're doing the right thing.

Ophelia removes the sign from the wall, leaving a big blank space.

This is her last stolen possession.

Ophelia: Oh, Harold. We've gone through a lot, haven't we? I didn't think you belonged in a museum when I swiped you but I was wrong. You'll always be a masterpiece in my eyes. Goodbye, old friend.

Ophelia removes him from her yard.

And, just like that, Ophelia returns the items she's stolen. Hopefully, there won't be anymore.

She feels a swelling sense of pride at sending the items back to their rightful owners, but there's still more work to be done.

Ophelia sold a lot of the stuff she swiped, so there's no giving that back. To make up for her mischief, she gives a large donation to the Foundation for Less Mischief in hopes that it can be used to help other kleptomaniacs reform like she has. The fame boost is a bonus.

Now for part two of the day. Being alone.

Ophelia could have made plans with Drew or Moses. She could have popped on over to Willow Creek to hang out with one of her many friends there but no. Today is about embracing alone time. The beach by her house is empty. She relaxes.

Ophelia tries one of those deep breathing exercises Omari taught her. She thinks about the sound of the waterfall, the coolness of the shade the umbrella is giving her. She thinks of her friends, her found family, Xander.

She's alone, but she doesn't feel lonely.

Ophelia isn't much of an outdoorsy gal, but she does love the Tartosa waterfalls. She could lay in the water and listen to them all day, the sun keeping her from getting cold and the water keeping her from getting hot. Tartosa really does feel like home.

As Ophelia gets out to lounge again, she hears a familiar voice.

Xander: Is that Rising Star Ophelia Lemon?

Ophelia: Xander!

She runs over to embrace him, and he happily returns the gesture.

Xander: Ooh, this is a wet hug. My favorite.

Xander: I was just on my way home. How was your day?

Ophelia: I returned everything. They're on their way back to where they belong.

Xander: I'm proud of you, babe. Why don't I spin into my swim trunks and join you for a dip, huh?

How do these two enjoy one of the most romantic spots in Tartosa? They splash each other like a bunch of goobers. At least they're enjoying themselves.

Ophelia: So how was working on the bar?

Xander: Good, it's just going to take some time but it'll be great.

Ophelia: Will I get a sneak peek?

Xander: Not until I've got everything ready.

Ophelia: Boo!

Deep in her heart, Ophelia knows she doesn't need to steal anymore to feel good. She has a huge support system in her life, and a Sim she loves more than anything. The energized moodlets from a successful swipe are nothing compared to how Xander makes her feel.

[iwriteformysanity]

6/6/23- picnic for one

if i lived in a perfect world

i would have that picnic basket that I’ve searched a thousand thrift stores for.

it’s white and closes with a lid and has that red gingham fabric on the inside

i would fill it with crackers and green grapes and a box of sour patch kids

and take a walk down the path less traveled 

i would follow the faded footprints of the other wishful dreamers like me

and hope that they too found what they were searching for. 

it’s an ideal 72 degrees outside 

the light streams through the leaves and cascades across the gravel like a bucket of paint that’s been tipped over by an artist with no boundaries

i wish i could bottle it up and take it home with me. 

i lay down my blanket at the foot of a willow tree 

it matches the fabric of my basket perfectly. 

the birds sing my favorite songs oh so sweetly 

and the warmth of the sun pulls me into the tightest hug i could ever dream of.

the ants march up to me in a straight line and we have a little gift exchange 

i give them the crumbs of my five star meal and they give me words of advice

they tell me to look around and appreciate it all 

a lot can happen in a year 

and the time will pass anyways.

so i lay on my back and i eat my crunchy grapes and i watch the leaves sway on the branches as they serenade me with a sugary sweet melody 

the wind whispers to me that i will be home soon

and maybe when i open my eyes 

my fortress of solitude will look a little bit more like it does here. 

[ladylilithprime]

A, B, F, I, L, V, Z

A - Ships that you currently like a lot. (They don’t have to be OTPs because not everyone has OTPs.) Friendships, pairings, threesomes, etc. are allowed.

Geez, do you have a couple of hours?? Sastiel, Wincest, Wincestiel, Sabriel, Casabriel, Sauck, SaRaph, SaMichael, Samwena (I'm sensing a theme here), Debriel, Drowley, Dreamhunter, Dodio, Deonna, Samchit (also your fault), Otayuri, Viktuuri, MilaSara, WinterIron, IronHawk, SpideyTorch, Buckchester (Bucky/Sam Winchester, because crossover ships are too fun sometimes), Asushin, Shinworu, Asurei, Reiworu, Kajisato, Drarry, Rorry, Twincest (Fred and George edition), Twins/Harry, Charlie/Harry, Bill/Harry, Bleur, Percy/Oliver, Ozander, Xander/Spike, Willow/Tara, Xandelia, uhh.... Yeah, there's a number of fandoms where I don't have ships for one reason or another, too, so. That's not it, but it's all I feel like admitting to. XD

B - A pairing–platonic, romantic or sexual–that you initially didn’t consider, but someone changed your mind.

Answered here, and I blame you. XP

F - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom?

Do you mean active participation in., or from inception? Because I don't really consider myself as having left very many fandoms even if my participation in them faltered and lay fallow for a while. For active participation, Supernatural is probably the longest I've been continuously a part of, which is funny since it's the one I resisted getting into the most. From inception, though, probably Animorphs.

I - Has Tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why?

Tumblr actually made me dislike a fandom before I was even in it to the point that I refused to even watch the series for ten years before a crossover fanfic piqued my interest in the characters enough to go looking for more and eventually reading fanfic for it without the crossover element, and even then I resisted actually getting into the fandom until I started getting plot bunnies I couldn't ignore anymore and now I've been in the Supernatural fandom for seven years and counting. Go figure.

L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves. (Characters you’re neutral about are fair game, as are characters you merely dislike. Characters that you absolutely loathe with the fire of ten thousand suns are exempt, as there is no point in giving yourself an aneurysm over a character that you hate.)

Lucifer had the potential to be an amazing, complex character full of head-twisting theological implications of free will and the nature of angels, the incredible and infuriatingly human potential to grow beyond the limits of what he was created to be, and he deserved better than to be Bucklemming's yoyo.

V - Which character do you relate to most?

In which fandom? I don't think I could pick just one, anyway. Online quizzes have put me as "Sam-coded", if that helps?

Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go! (Prompts optional but encouraged.)

Gah! Every time someone asks me to talk about some unspecified "something", even with the codifier of "fan-related", my mind goes blank. I have no idea. I'm tired and need more sleep than I get and I could really use a hug. One of the best hugs I ever got was from Jared Padalecki at JAXCon in December of 2018. It was warm and solid and felt like hugging a flannel-wrapped tree, and I'm amazed my eyes were actually open in the photo op. Second to that was also the hug I got from Misha Collins that same weekend during an earlier op. Something about him, his presence, was just so incredibly calming that I felt like I had been dropped into a liminal space where a full thirty-minute meditation was compressed into one and a half seconds, and it left me feeling so relaxed for the whole rest of the day. Hugs are really nice, and those two in particular had to have hugged a LOT of people just that weekend alone, but it still felt special and briefly connecting. Good memories, and I'm glad all of us were in the right places within ourselves to make those memories. (I rather doubt I stand out in their memories at all, or at least I hope I don't, I was an awkward bean that weekend and I just hope I'm part of the more positive background blur in their minds.)

[malach-te]

headcanons/backstory for my tav, willow

this is definitely gonna have spoilers for baldurs gate 3 but i just wanna write down stuff for her

so shes in her 30s, no set age, and is from a small village thats not near baldurs gate at all. in terms of geography shes been very separated from the places in game and had only ever heard of baldurs gate but had never been.

when she got pickwd up by the nautiloid it was not long after she was setting off on an adventure for the first time. she had gained an interest in necromancy as a teenager but becoming a wizard in a village in basically the middle of nowhere isnt very easy so she had to study a LOT and finding materials wasnt easy but her parents helped her.

willow is a half drow, her fathers a human bard that settled down in that village after stopping there for a night and meeting a drow, her mother, that he fell in love with instantly. she didnt fall for him at first, she had recently left the underdark after rebelling and going against lolth (she was a paladin before) and was hiding in the woods by this village only going there to occasionally buy clothing or food but they werent really fond of her. bc of this willow also had some difficulties growing up but was mostly well adjusted. until she found a book about necromancy and became obsessed with it and would threaten other children with it which her parents were supportive of her studying magic but told her to keep her threats to a no threats.

i know half drow dont actually have any sun sensitivities in canon but i like to believe its more like theyre prone to sunburn and are like allergic to sunlight not that it would burn them alive. one time as a child she played in the sun too long bc her dad convinced her mom to let willow play and then she had the worlds worst sunburn and was peeling for weeks.

getting into the astarion hc’s bc yes she dates him YES its predictable BUT. i love them

when she first met him she could tell he was undead just by looking i mean. she’s obsessed with necromancy she has a nose for these things. and also that she could smell the undead on him no matter how much he masks it.

she actually likes that scent and does hug him to smell it. along with hugging him because she wants to hug him bc she loves him LMAO

she calls him star and starry but that one is for when she wants to annoy the hell out of him.

at first in their relationship, before it was really any relationship, she was happy to hook up with him as often as he offered but the more she was told about what he had been living through the less she wanted to do that. it felt to her that was both his way of manipulating her because he told her that but also that it was almost transactional like it was him wanting her to like him so he offered his body. the more she began to fall for him the more gentle her gestures of love would become. shed give him hugs or kiss his hands more often than wanting to sneak away together at night. its not like theyd stopped having sex all together but its not the main way they would show each other affection like it had been at first.

post game, willow and astarion continue adventuring together but at first its more like wandering. they can only travel at night ofc bc he didnt ascend and shes still half drow but they still go around together and she takes him back to her village. then they go on their way finding situations a vampire rogue and a necromancer can help/benefit from LMAO sometimes shadowheart joins them, sometimes they go to the underdark to check on the spawn. theyre just exploring the world on their own terms and their own pace.

willows trying to find a way to extend her lifespan so she can spend as much time alive with astarion as she can. immortality is really the dream for her. shes also looking for a way to help astarion walk in the sun again.

her and shadowheart are best friends FOREVER, thats her first party member right there. did her best to help shadowheart with all the tough decisions she had to make and stood by her choice in the final decision with her parents. they are practically sisters!!! willows parents would happily treat shadowheart like family.

she tries to keep in contact with everyone as much as she can. its not easy with lae’zel since shes off in the astral sea. karlach and wyll being in avernus also makes it difficult for her. gale just disappeared to look for the netherese crown, she tried to dissuade him but he didnt listen 💔

i just love her a lot shes my silly scrimblo neutral necromancer

[theclo4ked1]

(I finally figured out how to do the multi picture table thingy, it was easy.) Damn. The last NEW art thing I posted on Tumblr was eight months ago. I think highly of "Supa Paypa Sistas", even though it was a bit rushed. But for while after ehh June? I was totally burnt out and I didn't feel like making or doing anything artistic. Luckily, that changed during July and August when I became inspired because I did a bit of * t r a v e l i n g ! * and just getting out of the house and exposing myself to other things. Unfortunately, not enough music... but I'll get to that soon.

So what are these drawings? I hope you like my OC (Nina) because she's fucking everywhere, and all but two of these drawings are concepts/ideas that revolve around her world. In fact, let's get those two out the way:

The Sonic one (#6): it was made after I taught my brother how to draw Sonic and Daria (he forced me to, send help). He has the paper I drew the prototype on, so if I can get that paper, I will post it. The two Sonics are based on the depictions of him during the 90s, from Japan (the left) and North America (right). No European, though, sorry. While the American Sonic is based more on Greg Martin's work, Japan's Sonic is now an amalgamation of a lot of the Sonic I've drawn in my life because my spark to draw arose FROM Sonic CD, so that specific Sonic is the one I've known most. They have sentences near them too. JP Sonic's quote is reference to Sonic CD. Not anything specific, but a central message/theme of the vocal songs to believe in yourself. Obviously, US Sonic's quote is a reference to one of his catchphrases spoken by Jaleel White in the cartoons.

Next is the two-point perspective practice (#9). Nothing much else. It looks decent, I think, but what do you think? I didn't have a ruler on hand for any of these perspective drawings, so every gridline you can see was hand drawn and looks like sewing stitches.

Ok then, let's talk Nina.

Drawings #1, #2, and #8 include Clearix Forest. #8 isn't really that place, but it's what I thought of while I was drawing, so I've included it with the other two just because. Now, I want draw attention to the trees before anything else. #1 prominently features this Emerald Hill-esque palm tree as an odd one out of what I think are weeping willows. #2 has all the trees the same palm-lookin' trees at different heights, which I like in this drawing, but in execution of the "real thing", whenever that comes, it's not what I want. The rainforest is said (by me, the creator LOL) to have the most diversity in vegetation of all the land. *looks at notes* Wait no it doesn't. It just says it has the most vegetation of all the land, no diversity. But just by having the most, isn't that enough to mean "oh there's a lot of different greens in this green hell maze right?" right? #8 also shits on the stale vegetation AND the fact the rainforest is NOT flat, it does have a few slopes, but not as crazily varied of slopes as Lunar Valley. Speaking of Lunar Valley...

#7, fittingly, is just a valley with a river running down the middle. Lunar Valley is not structured like this. It does have rivers and streams, but not one big central one flowing through it all. This valley illustrated here is not supposed to be Lunar Valley, but I thought of this place while drawing. Again, it is not Lunar Valley. BECAUSE THE SUN IS THERE OMG oh wait #2 is a more accurate depiction of what it looks like. See for yourself. Nina is in shock of the world she lives in.

#3 was one of the post-burnout drawings that sprang from my mind. Well err, I suppose everything here is post-burnout, it's just this one was of the earliest artworks I have scanned, but anyways, this drawing is a meta joke on how Nina's arms reach past where they would end for any normal human, assuming the particular person has arms in the first place. But hey, the best part is she'll give the warmest, but probably tighter hugs since her arms can constrict.

#5 is another inaccuracy of the world. It might not be, I haven't decided yet, but most likely it won't be because of the flowers AND the Bob Ross lookin' ass fence you see down there (who put that fence there). Lunar Valley does have flower. Singular. But it only sprouts at night and when the moon shines in the sky. You can also see Mt. Ebott Undertale in the distance here because that's part of the story.

Lastly, #4 represents my connection to my character. One of my cousins called it "sus" (insert Jerma face) and I can't understand why. What, is it phallic? Personally, I don't think it matters since that's not the point or the imagery I was going for. It's just two hands (one is a claw) touching via index fingers. Also I don't care what you think it is, unless I purposefully leave it up to the viewers' interpretation.

Hey! Check out this cool stuff I made outside of my sketchbook. Also know as "Man-I-Wish-I-Bought-My-Sketchbook-But-At-Least-I-Have-My-Notebook" Drawings. A mouthful, right? Let me introduce to you to these notebook brain-children.

Let's get this out the way right now, Super Sonic, Nina, and the cake were drawn in the same night.

It's been a VERY long time since I've drawn a Super Sonic as good as this--I'm talking, what? 2014?? I think??? It was a nice coloured one, too. I liked it so much I cut it out and taped it to my wall. I remember I overlapped one of his lines wrong so his ear looked weird. So why does this one have hot dog shoes and a 15min above his hand? It was getting late, had shit to do.

Nina is back at it again, doing Nina things. Here, I drew her without boots this time. I don't have a reason why I did that night, but I think it's good to know what they might actually look like since it's not a part I'm too focused on for her anatomy. I mean, I have drawn them before, just look at my #Inktober2021 posts, she's in there somewhere with them... DOGS out. Sorry, I thought that'd be amusing anyway, the bottom line is that a lot of idea and study has to go into an animated character, y'know what I'm saying? ...wait i just noticed her left hand is fucked. she has two right hands HWAT HAVE I DONE--

CAKE! just CAKE!

Perhaps the most sentimental to me: the nacho bear. It wasn't a commission, @molly_bender_art just, asked me to draw a bear with sunglasses eating something, but I think she asked for cheese, specifically. Looking at it now, it probably was cheese. Please check out her stuff, maybe commission her? Just sayin', schwing by!

Addendum: Apr. 20, 2024. The nacho bear was something I had posted to my Instagram on Aug. 21, 2023. That post gave the drawing a silly narrative with writing that was inspired by the Arabian Nights book (that I have to start over because I stopped reading when the summer ended, and if I go too long without reading an in-progress book, I feel like I have to start ALL over). The post read:

@molly_bender_art this fo' u boo ;) The bear, marveling with exceeding marvel, gasped "THE NACHO!" It shined with such a brightness that the bear's sunglasses almost weren't enough; they were cheap specs.

Okay, okay, you might be bored of reading this, but rest assured, this is the last part, you can probably see the end of the post, I bet. So, along with the burnout came a dry spell of no animation. Not even flash animation. Well recently, I put together two animations just to get my footing back, called "yes, sir" and "ból". It's all practice; the first one looks fine, using the cube drawing technique I did back in Nina's test pilot, but the ball's physics are off a bit. It just sorta...increases velocity more than it should after being thrown up. Furthermore, the wall bouncing should loss strength after each bound. It's been a while since I did physics, please correct me if I'm wrong about what I said. ok..... so why does Tumblr look like Twitter now?