#I didn't think much about it just drew them quick <3

[zu-is-here]

Zu, I was thinking : we have seen Cat!Cross, Cat!Killer, Cat!Dream and Cat!Nightmare, (a another because why not •w•) but we never see Cat!Aim. How does he looks like (⌒▽⌒)

(Like a foundling :'D)

Cross & Dream's cat designs are based on the Lunnar's version <3

[myboipotterimagines]

Golden Pt. 3 - Weasley Twins x Reader

Hi guys! This is Part 3 of Golden! I did want to put a warning up here that this fic is 18+ (minors dni). There will be smut beneath the cut. You've been warned. ;)

Part One

Part Two

For a moment you didn't know where you were.

Your eyes focused on Fred's sleeping face. It was soft and you could almost see a slight smile pulling at his lips. You almost reached out to touch him before an arm wrapped around you from behind, pulling you against them.

Oh, you thought, the other Weasley. In his sleep, he wasn't nearly as much of an arsehole. He now held your body taught against his, enclosing you in with an arm tightly around your chest and stomach. Exactly where your mark hid under your chunky sweater.

You jump when his fingers drag from your waist to the hemline of your sweater. His fingers brush against your stomach before he works his slender digits higher, resting on the valley of your chest. Your heartbeat refuses to slow as George readjusts his body behind you, drawing you even closer. "And I thought you didn't want me to be your soulmate, princess," he whispers, mouth grazing your ear. "You're the one who pulled me over," you retorted, eyes locked on his twin who was sleeping only inches away from the two of you. "But you're the one with the racing heart." You didn't even need to see his face to know he was smirking. "You don't like it there, sweetheart? Where do you want it?" "Not in my shirt," you hissed. "Your brother is right bloody there."

He hummed behind you, his chest vibrating against you. His hand lowered from your shirt, onto the hem of your sweats. "This better, princess?" You gasped, but George's other hand flew to cover your mouth. Fred stirred slightly, but didn't wake. "You've got to be quiet now, or you'll wake up poor Freddie. Poor thing won't know what to think if he wakes up to you moaning my name."

His other hand slowly started wandering down. "And I'll stop if you want me to, of course," he added once he made it to the base of your hips. "But I don't think you want me to. Do you, darling?" After a moment, you shook your head. "Thought not," he smirked.

His hand traveled farther done and he gasped softly. "No knickers? You just knew one of us would end up inside of you, didn't you, princess?" Your cheeks burned under his hand and suddenly you felt very exposed, with Fred asleep beside you and his brother's hand down your sweats. You fidget within his grasp, which he promptly noticed. "Aw, don't get embarrassed now sweetheart." His fingers rub back and forth over your sex, getting you embarrassingly wet. "You can be embarrassed when you wake up your other soulmate."

Without warning, his fingers sunk into your cunt, masterfully curling to hit your most sensitive areas as they went in and out, all at a breakneck speed that left you breathless. His other hand pulled your face to the side, exposing your neck to him. Without slowing the speed of his fingers, he began leaving sloppy kisses up and down your neck, along with what you assumed would be a mess of hickeys. When his kisses turned into a sharp bite right below your ear, your breathless pants turned into actual moans, which he quickly silenced. His hand drew tighter over your mouth, nails digging crescents into your cheek.

"Fred's hands may never hurt you, but you'll be begging for mine to," he hissed, somehow quickening the speed of his fingers pumping into you. His words bring you right to the edge, a mess within his hands. "Getting close, sweetheart?" he asks, keenly aware that you're about to snap. You nod, vision starting to blur. He then repositions slightly, allowing his thumb to rub quick circles over your clit. You would have been writhing from the touch if you weren't within his clutch. It was becoming too much. The edges of your vision went back and goosebumps covered your skin. "Come for me, princess," he whispered in your ear. And then you were coming apart in his hands, cunt squeezing down on his fingers as you tried to force your legs together from the pleasure. You couldn't stop the moans that left your mouth, hopefully muffled by the hand still covering your mouth.

"'Atta girl," he whispered as you came down from your high. "That's a good girl." Your head was foggy from your orgasm and his words were not helping. You whined as he pulled out of you, leaving you empty. He was propped above you now, allowing you to look up at him. He slipped his fingers into his mouth, sucking them dry. "Mm," he moaned, before looking down at you. "I guess this'll be our little secret, right princess?"

***

Next in the series: Part Four, Part Five

Alright friends, above is my first attempt at smut ever. Hopefully it is not disgustingly awful or you may find this fic just gone. Love ya

taglist: @rk-ceres, @foji2000, @hazilyss, @f-e-222, @luthien-elvenia-asher (sorry some people wouldn't actually tag, but I promise I tried) <3

[imaginespazzi]

Part 5: The Answers We Wait For

Masterlist - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9

I'd go back in time and change it (but I can't)

(In which a writer's busy schedule somehow still had time for her favorite obsession)

Pairing: Paige Bueckers X Azzi Fudd

Themes: Angst, Pining

Words: 7.0K (it's very on-brand that my busiest week would produce the longest chapter)

TW: Swearing (I think that's it?)

A/N: Happy Monday lovelies :) How I managed to pull this off is between me and God at this point but here we are. I know it's been an interesting day to say the least, so I'm hoping me living up to my promises can be a silver lining. Quick note that I already fucked up the timeline at some point and Paige Olivia have actually been divorced for almost 3 years. I'll change that eventually. I actually didn't even try to really edit this chapter and in the choice between editing tomorrow and giving it to y'all today, I chose the latter. So please help a girl out and point out my typos/mistakes if you spot them and I will also eventually go back and edit. As always, let me know what you liked, what you disliked and anything you'd like to see going forwards. Have a lovely week my loves <3

December 2027

Marriage and weddings had never been at the forefront of Paige’s mind. To be completely honest, for most of her life, there wasn’t much occupying her brain other than the court under her feet and the basketball in her hands. But the couple of times she had let herself picture it, she’d always thought that she’d have a Fall wedding, probably in Minnesota, maybe even on a basketball court. An indoor winter wedding in Texas had never once crossed her mind. She’d imagined vibrant fun bouquets made of pink lilies and purple hydrangeas, not the elegant red and white roses arrangements that were currently being placed along a far too heavily decorated aisle. Instead of vintage wines and carefully constructed fancy cocktails, she’d thought it would be nice to have spiked shirley temples and maybe even blue and white jello shots. She had expected to have a quiet ceremony followed by a vivacious gathering of everyone she loved. It had never even occurred to her that her wedding would become a public spectacle with People's magazine in attendance.  She’d pictured a party, not an event. 

Most of all she’d dreamt of getting married to a girl with dark eyes that could see all of Paige’s flaws and a soft smile that promised she’d love Paige despite them all. 

But the thing about dreams is that they’re fleeting trains that travel through the tracks of your mind when you’re asleep, and when you wake up, reality is nothing but a devastating train crash. 

Paige sighs, forcing herself out of her own head, as she stares at her reflection in the mirror. She looks pretty. Brittany had found her a nice white wedding suit -fitted to perfection- matching it with dainty silver jewelry. Paige normally liked her outfits a little looser but Olivia loved it and Paige likes that Olivia loves it. Her hair is styled in a bun, with two straightened strands to highlight her face. She thinks she might have preferred to have them curled in the front but Olivia had sweetly insisted on them being straight because hers would be curly and they had to complement, not match. Paige doesn’t really understand the difference or the importance but she thinks if Olivia wants it like that then she's fine with it. She thinks the bold red lipstick heavily coating her mouth makes her look a little bit like a vampire out of a badly directed 90’s horror movie but Olivia had said it was necessary so that the lights and cameras didn’t wash her face out. 

Paige looks pretty. She just doesn’t really look like Paige. 

“What do you think Drewski?” she asks, twirling to face her stone-faced brother who’s sitting on the couch, with a bout of enthusiasm that rings hollow to her own ears, “do I look gorgeous or what?”

“You look weird,” Drews says stiffly and Paige sighs. 

“Dr-” Paige is cut off by her younger brother sauntering over. A confused expression spreads over her features as Drew takes her hand and places it on his forehead, “uh- what are you doing?”

“Paigey, doesn't my forehead feel hot? I feel so sick,” the little boy whines, letting out a series of overzealous dramatized coughs. 

“Your forehead feels fine,” Paige says, slowly removing her hand.

“Well of course you’d think that. You’re not a doctor who knows how to feel foreheads correctly. I think we need to go to the hospital to see a real doctor. Like right now,” Drew pulls at Paige’s hand as she begins to catch onto what he’s trying to make happen. 

“You’re fine Drew.”

“I’m NOT. I’m very, very, very sick. So we have to leave right now. I could be contagious. I could be a danger to all these people,” Drew’s animated hands start to fly everywhere, “you can’t get married when your little brother’s sick. It’s- it’s just wrong. Bad juju or something like that. Everybody will understand that you just had to call off the wedding. For family reasons.”

“Drew-” Paige tries again, a hard pit settling in her stomach. 

“Are you worried cause you didn’t bring your car? That’s okay I’m sure Ice or KK will drive us but you can’t get married today Paigey. You just can’t,” his bottom lip trembles as the façade of illness slips and Paige feels her own eyes start to get glossy, “it’s not right Paigey. This is all wrong. She’s all wrong.”

“It’s not like that Drew. You just haven’t gotten to know-”

“I don’t want to know her,” Drew yells, “you don’t even know her. How can you get married to someone you’ve barely dated for a year. How can you do this to Az-”

“That’s enough,” Paige’s voice is eerily calm, as she digs her fingernails into her palm, “watch how you talk to me-”

“You’re being stup-”

“Drew Thomas I am not going to repeat myself again. Behave yourself. You’re not nearly old enough to be questioning what I do with my life,” it takes every inch of self-control Paige has to not let her voice shake. 

Her younger brother’s words feel like acid rain pelting against her already wounded skin. They slip into the gashes, mixing into her bloodstreams to create an army with the battalion of her own thoughts that have been hacking away at her heart for god knows how long. Paige wonders how long it’ll be before she finally bleeds out. 

“Please don’t get married Paigey,” Drew pleads, gripping his sister’s hand, “please.”

There’s nothing but silence as Paige opens and closes her mouth. And she doesn’t know if she’s trying to get words out or breathe air in; all she knows is that Drew might be squeezing her hands, but it feels like someone is strangling her lungs. 

She’s saved from having to say anything by a hesitant knock on the door. As Drew begrudgingly goes to open it, Paige scrambles to put herself back together. She closes her eyes, taking in three deep breaths before-

Drew gasps and Paige’s eyes fly open. With her back turned to the door, she can’t see who it is and something like hope starts to bloom in her chest, vines of maybe it’s her weaving through her ribcage. And as she turns around, they turn to dust; dust that floats up to her eyes and makes them tear up again as she stares dumbfoundedly at the two people standing somewhat awkwardly in her doorway. 

Paige had grown up an independent child. It wasn’t that her parents were neglectful or that they hadn’t loved her enough because they had. But at first it was the constant fighting and then it was the nurturing of a brand new family with new children and Paige had slipped through the cracks of oh she’s so mature we don’t need to worry about her. She had always had her parents as cheerleaders in the stands; no one was prouder of Paige than they were. But no one had bothered to force her to drink terrible tasting immunity boosters. No had patiently dyed her hair purple and pinky promised to like it even if it turned out terrible. No one had yelled at her for being in the gym till one a.m or woken her up at an ungodly hour to run drills. Not until she’d met a girl at 15 and that girl’s parents had decided that Paige was just as much theirs as their own daughter. 

And suddenly there were more people added to her cheering squad for her wins. But that’s not when Paige fell in love with Tim and Katie Fudd. It was when she lost and there was a nagging finger followed by a full breakdown of what she could do better next time and finally, a bear hug promising they’d help her do it. They’d been there every step and she’d sent the invitation, scared they wouldn’t show up, that they wouldn’t be there for this step, a step that inadvertently took her further away from them. But here they are anyway. 

“Hi sweetheart,” Katie says softly, her own eyes moist as she takes in the sight of the bride, “you look- you look absolutely stunning Paige.”

“You came,” Paige whispers, “I didn’t- I didn’t know if you would.”

“Of course we came,” Tim exclaims but his normal boisterous voice doesn’t feel nearly as enthusiastic, “always told you we’d be front and center at your wedding.”

Because I was supposed to marry your daughter; I was supposed to become your daughter, officially. 

“I’m really glad you guys came,” Paige says, letting Katie wrap her into a warm hug. She only gets a second to let herself enjoy it before Drew’s asking a question that makes her stiffen. 

“Where’s Azzi?” 

It’s like there’s lightning wrapped in that one syllable and it strikes right through Paige’s heart, setting every inch of it ablaze with the flames of a name that used to feel like cotton candy on her tongue; now it feels like lava. 

“She couldn’t make it,” Tim says slowly and Paige knows she shouldn’t be surprised, let along disappointed that her ex wasn’t coming but there’s a string that snaps anyways. 

“Why not?” Drew asks petulantly. 

“The baby’s due next month,” Tim tells him gently, “she can’t fly.”

The air feels suffocating at the mention of the baby. She’d been scrolling mindlessly through her tiktok feed when the announcement had popped up. She still has it memorized. 

Golden State Valkyries superstar shooting guard Azzi Fudd announces pregnancy on Instagram; she’ll miss the upcoming WNBA season. 

For a moment the world had stopped as Paige had hurriedly switched apps to instagram. And there it was. A smiling picture of Azzi holding a sonogram. Paige doesn’t know how long she’d stared at the picture but she remembers that it was set against a white background and she remembers that Azzi was wearing a green top. And as she’d typed out a congrats! that blended in seamlessly with all the other felicitating comments on the post, Paige had wondered if Azzi had felt it too. She’d wondered if, when Azzi had left a similar congratulations <3 post on Paige’s engagement announcement, she’d felt something unravel too. She’d wondered if Azzi had felt this hollowness of and i guess this is us signing off on never getting forever with each other. 

“So Azzi’s not going to stop this wedding?” Drew’s voice is dangerously even as he rounds on Paige, “and you’re really going through with this?”

“Drew please” Paige says tiredly as Katie runs a soothing hand down her back. 

“You’re stupid. And she’s stupid. You’re all so freaking stupid,” Drew bursts out, stomping past the adults in the doorway, his anger palpable in every single word. 

“I got it,” Tim says, wrapping a wrist around Paige’s hand as she moves to follow her younger brother. He squeezes gently, a half-hearted smile on his face, “it’s gonna be okay kid. It always is.”

Paige wishes she could just believe him, turn off the voices in her head and just be a kid who could take an adult’s word as gospel. But Paige is the adult now and believing no longer comes so naturally. 

“Hey,” Katie says after Tim runs after Drew, pulling Paige to sit with her on the couch, “I have a little wedding gift for you.

“Katie you don’t have-” Paige begins, watching as the older woman pulls out a velvet box from her bag, placing her phone on the table next to her. 

“Oh hush. I told you I’d give this to you,” Katie chides as she hands the velvet box. Paige’s eyes glisten as she opens it to find a familiar purple amethyst necklace. She’s flooded with the vivid image of her and Azzi on a random day in lockdown helping Katie organize her minimal jewelry. Paige had fallen in love with this necklace and Azzi had her eyes set on a pink topaz. It was fitting to say the least and Katie had promised them, with a glint in her eyes, that she’d give it to them as their something old on their wedding day. They’d been in between something and everything but Paige and Azzi had shared a shy smile over it anyways. 

“I can’t accept this,” Paige shakes her head trying to hand the box back but Katie dodges it expertly. 

“Yes you can. It’s basically a family heirloom and you, Paige Bueckers, are family,” Katie says firmly. 

“Katie-”

The older woman presses a kiss to Paige’s forehead as she starts to head out, “you’re always gonna be family Paige. Always.”

Katie’s words act like a band-aid but they’re not enough- maybe nothing will be enough- to fully heal the wound of today i was supposed to officially become a Fudd. 

A ringing noise interrupts Paige’s pity party and she starts half-heartedly digging around for her phone. She’s confused when she finds it because no one’s calling her and the room is still vibrating with noise. Crinkling her eyebrows, Paige’s eyes finally land on the couch side table, where Katie’s phone, clearly forgotten, is buzzing. 

Azzi’s CallerID flashes on the screen. 

Paige stares at the phone, rooted in place. She knows she shouldn’t pick it up, knows she should go return it. Still without a decision, Paige slowly starts to reach for it. And then it stops ringing and Paige goes still again, unsure if she’s relieved or disappointed. Swallowing, she takes another step. The phone rings again. A myriad of thoughts dance through Paige’s mind, opposing thoughts clashing with each other and making her head hurt. She lies to herself that it’s out of concern; that Azzi’s pregnant and this could be important. She lies to herself as she hits the green answer button that it’s not because she’s desperate to hear Azzi’s voice. 

“Mom?” Azzi sounds distraught when she picks up but Paige thinks it’s still her favorite sound any way, “Mom? I think I did something wrong. I can’t do this Mom. You’ve been gone a day and I’ve already fucked up. I don’t know what and I don’t know when but I think I fucked up. Maybe I ate something I wasn’t supposed to. Maybe it’s because I lay on my back instead of my side but Mom she hasn’t kicked all day and I can’t get Dr. Myers on the phone and I-”

“It’s a girl?” Paige breathes out. And suddenly she’s 22, sitting in a UConn apartment living room, grinning foolishly as Jana points out an AI picture that looks like the perfect mixture of her and Azzi. Azzi, who’s having a daughter. 

The woman in question is quiet and for a second Paige thinks that Azzi might hang up. 

“It’s a girl Paige,” Azzi says finally. 

“Are you- are you okay?” Paige asks slowly, trying not to dwell on how much she’s missed the way Azzi says her name. It’s been Bueckers every time they’ve seen each other this year and she’s never hated the sound of her last name more. 

“Yeah, I just-” Azzi sighs, her voice still a little frazzled, “I’m just being paranoid cause my Mom’s not here and my doctor’s not answering and the stupid baby hasn’t kicked all day,” she pauses, “sorry. I-I don’t mean to dump on you. Not today at least.”

“Az-”

“Where’s my Mom?”

“She- she’s probably outside. Think she left her phone here by accident. I can go find her but can I-” Paige hesitates, chewing at her lips in a way she knows Olivia hates, “can I help?”

“I don’t think-”

Paige shocks herself with her next words, “put the phone to your stomach.”

“What? Paige, did you hit your head in the last two seconds or something?”

“Just- just trust me,” she’s not really sure what she’s saying but now that she’s said, might as well commit to the bit, “I’mma talk sense into her. I saw it in a movie.”

“You saw it in a-” Azzi sighs and Paige can practically picture her rolling her eyes.  “I don’t know who’s more insane. You for coming up with the idea or me because I’mma follow through it,” there’s a bunch of static noise on the other side as Azzi adjusts herself, putting the phone on speaker and pressing it to her belly, “alright Dr. Bueckers work your magic.”

Paige is nervous as she speaks, “hey there little bean. I’m your-” she stops because what is she, “I’m your Paige,” she decides softly, “and I think- I think you should stop stressing your Mama out. She’s a bit of an overthinker so if you could just help her out, I think she’d really appreciate it. Because if- if you don’t she isn’t gonna be able to sleep tonight and you don’t know this yet but when your Mama doesn’t get sleep, she’s kind of a bi-”

“Paige,” Azzi hisses.

“Big baby,” Paige corrects, “she’s a big baby. And then she cries and it’s not a pretty sight-”

“Hey!”

“Sshhh Azzi I’m working my magic,” Paige scolds, “where was I? Oh yeah. She cries and it’s not a pretty sight because,’ her voice softens, “seeing your Mama cry is the worst thing in the world. I hate it and I know- I know you’re gonna hate it too because when you finally come out little bean, the first thing you’re gonna see is your Mama’s smile. And you’re gonna think it’s the most beautiful thing in the world. Just like I do,” a sob escapes on the other end of the line and Paige feels tears start to cascade down her own cheeks, “come on little bean, give us a little kick. Make your Mama smile.”

Time ticks by slowly and Paige closes her eyes, thinking maybe her desperate attempt to keep Azzi on the line had failed miserably. And then Azzi gasps, “she kicked. Oh my god Paige she kicked.”

Paige’s grin stretches her whole face and for a second it almost feels like she’s right there with Azzi, that instead of her ear being pressed to a phone, it’s pressed to Azzi’s belly. For a second she almost feels like she can feel the baby kicking. And then she opens her eyes. 

“Did it make you smile?” 

“Yeah, yeah it did,” Azzi admits and Paige can hear the relief in her voice. 

“I’m glad- I’m glad you have something that makes you smile.”

“Do you?” Azzi sucks in a sharp breath, “do you have someone that makes you smile?”

“Yeah, yeah I do,” and it’s not a complete lie. Olivia does make Paige smile. And maybe it’s not quite as big or bright or real but at least Olivia’s here to try. 

“Good. I-I’m also really glad you have that.”

“You are?”

“Of course I am Paige,” Azzi says quietly, “I want you to smile. I just- I just want you to be happy. Are you happy Paige?”

“I’m getting married today,” Paige says in lieu of an answer and she can hear Azzi’s breath hitch. 

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“It is. It’s a yes or no question,” Azzi presses.

“Then you answer it Azzi,” Paige bites out, “are you happy?”

“I”m-,” the younger girl lets out a sigh, “I’m content.”

Her answer makes Paige’s skin itch with irritation and she can’t stop it from seeping into her next question, “so you have no regrets then?”

“I didn’t say that,” there’s a warning edge to Azzi’s voice. 

“Do you or do you not regret saying no to marrying me Azzi?” Paige asks, unable to hold it in any longer. 

“Paige-”

“What? You gonna say it’s not that simple? It’s a yes or no question Azzi,” Paige mocks. 

“That’s not it-”

“Then what is?”

“You’re getting married Paige,” Azzi yells, “you’re getting married,” she repeats again, softer this time, “to someone else. And so it doesn’t matter how I feel. It isn’t fair of you to ask and it wouldn’t- it wouldn’t be fair of me to answer. Not today. Maybe one day- one day it'll be the right time but not today.”

“And what if it’s never the right time?” 

“Then maybe it’s a question you were never meant to know the answer to.”

There’s something final in the quietness that follows, like they’re having a moment of silence at a funeral for what never even got to be. 

It’s Azzi who speaks first. 

“You’re gonna be a wonderful wife P.”

“You’re gonna be an amazing mom Az.”

They let it left unsaid that they were supposed to be wives to each other, that they were supposed to be moms together. 

***

March 2033 

Paige doesn’t know how long she stands outside, staring down the winding road that had taken Stephie and Azzi away from her. The neighborhood is slowly waking up and if the woman across the street opens her curtains and thinks it’s a little strange that her new neighbor is standing like a statue on her front porch, she only raises a slight eyebrow before going back to her day. It takes almost twenty minutes before her head finally convinces her heart that no matter how much she stands outside, they’re not coming back. 

There’s a part of her that can admit that maybe Azzi had a point and maybe she shouldn’t have asked her to stay over last night. But Paige has never been known for her common sense, especially not when it comes to Azzi. Because truth be told, asking Azzi to stay the night was perhaps the least ridiculous of the thoughts that had invaded her mind last night. It was easy- too easy- to fall right back into whatever with Azzi. She’d done a good job pretending that the nightly facetime calls had been for Stephie’s benefit but the truth is that they had become just as much a necessity for Paige. She’d fallen asleep with a smile on her face every night and the temptation to have that in person last night had been too hard to resist. And so she hadn’t. 

She makes it about three steps up the stairs, when the fort still set up in the living room catches her eye. And that’s when the first tear falls, and then the second and then the third until she thinks if she tried to swim in them, she’d probably drown. Paige abandons the idea of going up to her room and crawls back into the tent made of blankets. And she must be going insane because she swears she can still smell the faint scent of a toddler and Azzi’s lavender perfume on the pillow she cradles to her chest. It’s ridiculous to be so attached already. She knows that. Stephie isn’t hers but it feels like the little girl has crept underneath her skin, burrowing herself in a part of Paige’s heart that the blond didn’t even know was there. And Azzi- well no matter how long it’s been, no matter how much resentment Paige has held, the truth is that there’s a little patch of Paige’s soul  that will always belong to the younger woman. 

Paige barely registers herself falling asleep until there’s abrupt knocking on her door and she realizes she’s been cocooned in the fort for almost three hours. She hesitantly lets go of the pillow, groggily walking towards the door. It’s useless to pretend that she isn’t hoping it’s Azzi and Stephie on the other side, isn’t hoping that Azzi had realized her mistake, isn’t hoping to scoop both of them into her arms and fill the hollowness that’s been thrumming against her ribcage. God Paige has barely survived a month -a day if she’s completely honest- she doesn’t know how she’s going to survive this whole season. 

She crosses her fingers behind her back as she opens the door. 

“Hey,” Katie’s smiling face looks back at her, holding up a tray of coffee and a bag of something, “figured you haven’t eaten breakfast yet?”

Paige blinks stupidly as Katie lets herself in, moving through Paige’s house with ease and immediately locating the kitchen. She hands Paige a cup of coffee before ransacking through the bag and pulling out a glazed donut, “eat. I know you haven’t.”

“Does Azzi know you’re here?” Paige asks slowly before taking a bite out of her donut. 

Katie gives her pointed look, “who do you think gave me your address?”

“Is she- is she okay?” 

“You two are something you know,” Katie shakes her head, “you’re asking me if she’s okay and she sent me over here to make sure that you were okay.”

Paige feels her heart swell with after all this time, “she sent you?”

“I have breakfast with Azzi and Stephie every Sunday morning. Now imagine my surprise when I get there today and my oh so sweet and wonderful granddaughter isn’t talking to her mother. And so I forced the story out of Azzi and I barely understood a word she was saying through her tears-”

“She was crying?” Paige feels her lungs constrict. 

Katie shoots her an unimpressed look, “can I finish the story?”

“I don’t like this story. It has Azzi crying.”

“Yeah well the two of you seem to enjoy doing that to each other,” Katie cocks an unamused eyebrow and Paige flinches at the truth of it, “anyways I didn’t understand much of it but she was clear by the end. Seemed to think you needed someone, needed me and so here I am Paige.”

“Why is your daughter like this?” Paige demands, “how is she gonna make me cry and then send somebody else to wipe my tears.”

“Well I can leave-”

“Why couldn’t she just have stayed?” the blonde questions, “why does she always have to overthink things and make it more complicated? Why can’t she just listen to her heart once in her fucking life? Why can’t she just let herself live? Why is it always no with her and never just yes?”

Katie gives Paige a sad smile, reaching for her hand, “that’s why.”

“Please don’t speak in riddles. It’s 10 a.m and I’m sad,” Paige whines. She might be in her early thirties but there’s something about Katie Fudd that makes Paige feel like it’s okay to be a bit of a child.

“Why is it always no with her and never yes?” Katie repeats, “c’mon Paige you know that’s not about last night.”

“It is,” Paige argues stubbornly. 

“It’s not,” Katie says, gently squeezing Paige’s hand, “it’s about her saying no 8 years ago.”

“I’m ov-” Paige stops, withering under Katie’s glare, “okay maybe it’s a little bit about her saying no 8 years ago. But I’m allowed to still be upset about it. She broke my heart. I wanted forever and she walked away. I’m allowed to be mad about that.”

“Of course you’re allowed to be mad Paige but that’s exactly why Azzi had to go this morning. And it’s exactly why you shouldn’t have asked her to stay last night. You guys can’t just pretend none of it happened because it did. You’re still hurt Paige and ignoring that is gonna get you guys nowhere. Especially with Stephie involved.”

“So what are you saying? You’re saying me and Azzi should just be teammates? You’re saying I should just never see Stephie again,” even the thought of it makes Paige feel like she is laying down on a bed of thorns. 

“You’re so goddamn dramatic Bueckers,” Katie rolls her eyes, “I’m not saying any of that. I’m saying maybe you just need to take it slower, with both of them, instead of having a goddamn sleepover the literal first night you’re in the same city. Besides,” Katie gives her a knowing smirk, “my granddaughter is obsessed with her Miss Buecks. Pretty sure she’d find a way to see you again no matter what.”

“Good,” Paige lets out her first smile of the day, “because I’d find a way to see her again too. She just- she’s kinda great isn’t she? Azzi did a good job with that one. She’s- she’s perfect,” she looks at Katie who’s regarding Paige with a thoughtful expression, “what? Do I have donut glaze on my face?”

“No, no it just- I’ve seen that expression before.”

“What expression?”

“The one you just had on your face while talking about Stephie,” Katie laughs to herself, “it’s the same one Tim had when he first met Azzi.”

***

“Oh my god. It’s Paige Bueckers. Can I have your autograph?” Steph Curry winks at Paige as she walks into his office. The Golden State legend had started an after-school basketball camp for kids in the Bay Area and as soon as he’d heard the news of Paige coming over to the Valkyries, he’d messaged her if she’d be interested in helping him out in the off-season. Paige had been more than willing to be a part of it, always invested in giving back to her community. If she’d been excited by the idea before though, today, after the worst sleep of her night as she tossed and turned to the hopeless depression of not having spoken to Stephie and Azzi for far too long, Paige really needed this distraction. 

“Don’t think you can afford my autograph,” Paige smirks lazily as she basically droops into the seat opposite him. 

Steph laughs goodnaturedly, “welcome to the Bay Area kid.”

“I’m a little old to be called a kid don’t you think? I’m nearly 25,” Paige grins, wiggling her eyebrows.. 

Steph shakes his head, “nah you’re always gonna be a kid to me. You and Azzi both,” he chuckles to himself, “even though Azzi’s got her own kid now. Have you met her?”

Well that distraction lasted 30 seconds, Paige thinks to herself as she forces a smile onto her face, “yeah. I’ve seen her around.”

“She’s cute as hell right? And she knows it. Little miss bossy pants has everyone wrapped around her fingers. Kinda reminds me of Riley,” there’s a goofy expression as Steph thinks of his daughter and Paige wonders if the same one is reflected on her face as she thinks about Stephie, “and she’s a natural at basketball. Only five and her shot’s already pretty good. You’ll see it today when she comes to camp. And she’s pretty good at defense-”

“I’m sorry what?” Paige blinks rapidly. 

“I know. What defense can a 5 year old play but it’s just the way she moves you know?” Steph tries to explain and Paige shakes her head. 

“Not that. Stephie- Stephie’s coming to camp?”

Steph grins large and proud, “of course she is. She was the first camper I signed.”

“Right,” Paige nods, giving the man in front of her a tight smile, “can you- can you excuse me for one second.”

As soon as Paige is outside of Steph’s earshot, she’s calling Katie; Katie who had sat at her kitchen counter yesterday and listened with a smile as Paige told her all about Steph’s camp. Katie who hadn’t said one word about Stephie being a part of said camp. Katie who was maybe grinning just a little too hard at the idea. 

“Did you know Stephie goes to Curry Camp?” Paige asks as soon as the line connects. 

“Hi Katie. Hi Paige. How was your day? Oh mine was good Paige, thanks for asking, how was yours?” Katie replies sarcastically. 

“Katie,” Paige groans. 

“Did I know that my granddaughter goes to her godfather’s special camp for the sport that her mother plays and she’s obsessed with?” Katie says slowly and Paige can tell she’s holding back a laugh, “nope, didn’t have a clue. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“And ruin the surprise?”

“What happened to telling me to take things slow?” Paige hisses. 

“Well if I left the two of you two to your own devices y’all wouldn’t go slow, you wouldn’t even move at all,” Katie defends. 

“So you’re meddling?”

“I am not,” Katie protests, “you were always gonna help with the camp and Stephie’s already been going to the camp. I just didn’t let you stress out about it. Really you should be thanking me.”

“Thank you Katie,” Paige bites out mockingly. 

“You’re so very welcome Paige,” Katie sing-songs, “by the way, come over for dinner soon okay sweetheart. Love you honey. See you later darling.”

She hangs up before Paige can say anything and the blonde saunters back into Steph’s office, trying to corral her facial expression into something more neutral. 

“All good?” Steph asks. 

“Just peachy,” Paige hums in response, “we gonna head over to the court soon? It’s almost 4.”

Steph nods, “yeah they’ll be done setting up for us. Azzi usually brings Stephie to say hi to me right before cause no favoritism in front of the other kids you know? But maybe she’s running la- oh no wait there they are!”

Paige freezes, heartbeat erratic, as Steph walks to the door in anticipation. 

“UNCLE TWIN,” Stephie screams and something in Paige’s heart starts to fix itself at the sound of the younger girl’s voice. She’s scared to turn around, unsure if she’s more scared to realize it’s a dream or find out that it’s reality. 

“TWIN NIECE,” Steph yells back with equal vigor and Paige can hear Azzi’s laugh now too, each giggle acting like a needle, stitching up the parts of Paige that had felt broken since yesterday morning. She turns around deliberately slowly. Stephie is cradled in Steph’s arms and Azzi’s watching them with a fond smile. And it’s ridiculous to be jealous of a happily married man who’s practically Azzi’s brother if not her uncle, but the sense of that should be me, weighs heavily on Paige’s lungs anyways. 

It’s Azzi who sees her first, smile slowly fading as dark brown eyes clash with light blue ones. 

“Paige,” she whispers softly and there’s a multitude of undecipherable emotions wrapped in that one syllable and Paige thinks she could spend forever just trying to uncover them. 

Stephie’s ear perks up at the mention of Paige’s name as her own little eyes finally land on the blonde, shuffling her feet nervously in the corner. Her bottom lip trembles, eyes watering as she forces herself down from Steph’s lap, racing to Paige. It’s instinct the way Paige falls to her knees, ready to catch the bundle of limps that practically falls into her waiting arms. 

“Miss Buecks,” Stephie whimpers, “I missed you so much.”

Paige’s own eyes water as she buries her face in Stephie’s hair, “me too sweetheart. I missed you so, so, so much.”

In front of them, Steph looks beyond confused as to what's happening and Azzi’s determinedly looking away, even if there’s a lone tear waterfalling down her left cheek. 

“I couldn’t sleep last night,” Stephie confesses, voice choked up as she tightens her grip on Paige’s neck, “and I begged and I begged Mama to let me call you but she said you were busy. And then I yelled at Mama and it made Mama cry too and I hate making Mama cry.”

“I know. I know sweetheart,” Paige soothes softly, running her hands down Stephie’s back as the little girl continues to babble. They stay like that for a long time and Paige thinks if she could ask the world for one thing that doesn’t belong to her, she’d ask for Stephie. 

Finally Steph coughs, looking apprehensively between the three girls in the room, “so um- I take it you’ve more than just seen Stephie around then Paige?”

Paige lets out a watery laugh, finally letting Stephie go and turning around but still keeping a hand on Stephie’s shoulder, “yeah I guess that’s true.”

“What are you doing here Miss Buecks,” Stephie asks, looking up at Paige. 

“I’m uh- well Mr. Steph-”

“Uncle Twin,” Stephie corrects immediately and Paige can’t help but grin at the nickname. 

“Right. Uncle Twin asked me to be a coach at his camp and I agreed,” Paige explains, trying to catch Azzi’s eyes but the shooting guard seems determined to focus on a picture of Steph and Ayesha on the wall instead. 

“You’re gonna be my coach,” Stephie squeals, turning around to hug Paige’s knees, “this is the best news of my life.”

Paige feels her heart soar into a sky of you’re the best new of my life Stephie as she bends down to kiss Stephie forehead, “let’s see if you say that when I make you run laps after you miss a shot.”

“You wouldn’t?” Stephie says, looking horrified at the idea. 

“I totally would,” Paige teases. 

Stephie is quiet for a second before a proud smirk blooms on her lips, “that’s okay ‘cause I don’t miss. I’m Azzi Fudd’s daughter. Right Mama?”

“Right baby,” Azzi says, finally letting herself meet Paige’s gaze. 

“Well Miss-I-Don’t-Miss, how about you walk over to the court and show us how you don’t miss,” Steph teases. 

Stephie waddles out of Paige’s grip and holds her arms up at Steph, a saccharine smile on her face,“I can’t be tired if I don’t wanna miss Uncle Twin, so can you please carry me over there?”

Steph rolls his eyes but it doesn’t stop him from hoisting Stephie onto his shoulders, “alright your highness, let’s go.”

Stephie’s giggles echoe down the hall as Steph runs towards the courts and Paige can’t help the fond laugh that escapes her. 

“She gets that from you, you know,” Paige says softly to Azzi. 

“Gets what?”

“Being a princess who gets everything she wants.”

“Not everything,” Azzi says wistfully, “not everything I want.”

She moves to start following but Paige wraps a hand around her wrist, “I didn’t know Stephie was a part of Curry Camp. I swear I- I didn’t do this on purpose.”

Azzi sighs, “I know. I know you wouldn’t Paige.”

“And I- I wanted to thank you for sending your Mom yesterday. I really- I really did need it even if I didn’t know it,” Paige’s thumb subconsciously rubs against Azzi’s skin, “but you- you always seem to know what I need.”

Azzi rips her hand out from Paige's grip, “you’re doing it again.”

“I’m not-”

“Yes you are. You keep saying things like that- things you shouldn’t say- things I can’t just listen to and be okay,” Azzi brushes her hand against her face, “I know the way I left yesterday was wrong and maybe I was projecting,” she admits in a whisper, “but you just- you make me feel too fucking much. And it's too quick and it’s scares me.”

“Scares you?” Paige scoffs, “I’m not the one who broke your heart Azzi.”

“You don’t think I know that? You don’t think I’ve lived with that guilt for the last 8 years? Jesus fucking christ Paige. I’m not scared of you. I’m scared of me,” tears stream down Azzi’s face as she paces the room, “I have never heard Stephie cry so fucking much in my life Paige. And you know who did that to her? Me, I did that. Apparently I’m really fucking good at making people cry but I don’t want to. I don’t want to break her heart, I don’t want to break your heart and I don’t want to break my own heart. Not again.”

“Azzi-”

“And so I’m stopping it before it happens. Before I ruin it again.”

Azzi tries to leave again but Paige is faster, wrapping her arms around the younger woman’s waist and pulling her flush against her chest so she can’t escape. It’s a terrible idea because now all of her senses are consumed by Azzi as they both become acutely aware of how close they are now. 

“Paige,” Azzi whispers weakly, one hand pressed right against Paige’s heart, “let me go.”

“I think today’s the right time,” Paige says softly, hands grazing Azzi’s waist, “I asked you a question once and you said one day, when the time was right, you’d give me an answer. It’s the right time.”

“I don’t think so-”

“Azzi please,” Paige begs, “do you regret saying no?”

“Paige let me go,” Azzi wriggles against her grip but it only makes Paige tighten her hold. 

“It’s a simple yes or no question.’

“Stephie’s probably wondering where we are-”

“Then answer the damn question and we can go to her-”

“Paige please.”

“Answer the fucking question Azzi.”

“What do you want me to say?” Azzi bursts out finally, “you want me to say that I’ve never regretted anything more in my life? You want me to say the minute I said no, I wanted to rip out my tongue? You want me to say that I almost called you several times in the last decade to tell you how stupid I was? You want me to say that I flew to Dallas once to tell you that I fucked up but then I saw you with Olivia and decided you deserved better than me-”

“What?”  Paige feels the air being snatched from her lungs. 

“The answer to your stupid fucking question,” Azzi’s voice breaks, “is yes. Yes I regret saying no to you Paige. But it doesn’t matter. Because I said no and you found someone else who’d say yes and now it’s too late.”

And Paige thinks that Katie was probably right, that she should probably take things slow. But when it comes to Azzi Fudd, Paige Bueckers has never been one to do what she should. 

“It’s never too late for us,” Paige whispers before crashing her lips against the woman, who’s always been the reason for her biggest, brightest, most real smile.

[howling-goldendemon]

How I'm starting to believe in Greek gods

I just wanted to share my story, including some doubts because I'm not sure about some things. I have never been a really religious person, as growing up in a very religious family, i think even having some connection to Christianity when it comes to a town near where I live.

Anyways, as I was saying, I have never been that much about beliefs, always wondering about what else could be out there waiting for me.

After all, my family said that the most important part of being human is worshipping a greater deity, specially god; I decided to try to take that in mind while searching for a religion where I could feel kind of comfortable.

Despite the taboo that it is, i started with Satanism, my reason behind it being "I'm not comfortable in what surrounds me, maybe if I try the opposite...?".

I moved on to try atheism, it didn't feel right, something was missing.

Then I tried believing in Greek gods, this being the reason because of a famous musical based on The Odyssey.

I don't know why, but this one really felt like it called me, something in Greek gods drew my attention and respect.

I tried then making my first prayer, being it to Poseidon, I still don't know if I did it right or if I chose the wrong god to start, but my ask was for clear skies on the weekend in exchange of being able to make it rain as hard as he wanted on my 18th birthday, the reason for the ask was that there was going to be a camp; in the end, the camp was moved to next week, but it did rain in my birthday and the weekend was clear skies.

I am a little ashamed of this but I ended up asking again 2 times, this time to Zeus too, as the camp was moved to another date 3 times, this time i tried my best to not be disrespectful and I promised I'd try to make something in return.

The day of the camp, I made a quick prayer to Gaea, asking for a safe travel and general safety during said camp.

As soon as I got back to school, I got cherry incense, I am still new to this and today I lit up one of the incenses.

I was going to try Aztec gods, but I ended up feeling more comfortable in Greek mythology.

I am willing to make a tiny altar for Gaea, Poseidon and Zeus, As I feel like I still need to make a proper offering to all of them, I would've thought it was coincidence and I know it's not 100% true or reliable, but the weather forecast for those weekends I asked were written with a high probability of heavy rain.

It may have been coincidence, but I like to think it was a way to receive me with open arms in this religion.

Now for the questions:

Do I need to make separate altars for each god? I don't have much space, and I don't know what my family would thing of it if I made an altar they could see, I could fit one in my closet or a tiny table in my room.

What would I do with offerings? specifically food, I cannot leave it to rot, that feels kind of wrong, but eating or throwing it out feels too disrespectful, what is the common practice when it comes to food offerings?

Am I praying correctly? I tend to pray in this way: Treat the gods like I would treat a Teacher I respect a lot, with a lot of respect and trying to not ask for too much.

Is there a guide on what to pray to which god? I just wanna show respect by believing in every Greek god, regardless of if I ask for something or not, I wanna keep doing this.

Thank you so much for reading until the end.

[jake-g-lockley]

Gentle Sutures (Marc Spector x reader) 

Masterlist | Spotify Playlist | Wanna be Tagged?

A/N: This story is for my dearest @softieekay thank you for being there for me <3 Warnings: slight hints of past abuse, but the rest is fluffly fluff flufffff

Word count: 1.4k ☾ .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Marc Spector was head over heels in love. He had been standing in one spot for god knows how long, staring at you while you worked. Never in his life was he accustomed to so much calm. If his alter did not sign him up for volunteering, he would have just been sitting at home, sulking as usual. Now all he wanted to do is walk over to you and tuck the beautiful coil of hair that frames your face behind your ear, not that it bothered him, he just wanted to touch you, feel your skin under his fingertips. "It’ll only take a second, auntie." you said, the biggest, most purest smile gracing your face.

Marc grew to love that smile in the past few months travelling around with you. You are a junior resident, always keeping to yourself but you lit up the whole woom whenever you interacted with patients. In the times that he spoke to you, or gained the courage to approach you, he found out that all you wanted in this world was to help people in need. He knew from the way you would treat them, you would definitely become a world class doctor.

Marc watched as your dexterous hands drew blood as quick as ever, even before the patient got a chance to wince.

"Are you a nurse, my dear, your blood drawing technique is excellent! '' the patient exclaimed.

"Oh no, auntie, I am merely a doctor. "You smiled shyly.

"Well, coming from a former nurse, you make an amazing doctor, my dear!" the patient said, taking ahold of your hand.

Marc could tell that you had a faraway look in your eyes, just for a few seconds before snapping out of it and squeezing the patient's hand back. Your eyes suddenly met Marc's as if you knew he was watching and Marc swore his heart nearly stopped when you gave him a small smile.

"Marc, I think it's time for you to walk away and stop gawking at her like a lost pigeon, mate." Steven suddenly said, making Marc blink and turn on his heel comically, almost running into another volunteer.

“That one’s handsome.” your patient tells you as you snickered at the confused army man.

Your eyes widened and you covered it with a gentle scoff.

“I don't date who I work with, auntie." you say sticking a plaster on the patient's arm.

"But you're thinking about it." the patient says with a sing-songy voice. as she gets up and you roll your eyes playfully.

Truth be told, you thought Marc Spector was one of the most interesting human beings you're met. Whenever you had the chance to look into his eyes, you knew he had been through a lot. You felt like you wanted to unlock every single secret behind those eyes but at the same time you wanted to help him forget all of them.

You watched as Marc stumbled around for a while, mumbling to himself. You watched as a little boy toddled up to him and started pulling on his housers. Marc turned and startled himself but knelt down next to the boy and smiled.

You felt something pull at your heartstrings as you watched Marc interact with the boy. Your hand immediately found your necklace as your thoughts dived into your past. You strained hard to keep the thoughts at bay but it only made you tremble. you pulled the chair behind you and slumped on it, the horrible yelling filling your head and ears.

You didn't realise you had your head in your hands and that you were not breathing until you heard your name. You lifted your head and your eyes met big brown ones which were full of concern and worry.

Marc tucked your hair behind your ear and cupped your face in his hands. You found yourself mimicking the breathing he was making you do and soon your heart slowed and you calmed down. You closed your eyes and leaned into Marc's touch as his thumb stocked your cheekbone.

"Sorry, I don't know what came over me. '' You whispered, but Marc was already shaking his head gently.

"You have nothing," Marc's thumb wipes the tear dripping out of your eyes, " to be sorry about.

You sighed and nodded, your hand caressing Marc's hand  that was so ever gently cupping your face.

☾ .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

You looked up at the sky and sighed as you placed your kindle aside. You felt better now, but you kept imagining Marc's beautiful brown eyes calming you down. You breathed in, the salt in the air filling your lungs with warmth. The rhythmic cadence of the waves echoed like gentle sutures, delicately mending the fractures in your tender heart.

"You don't look like the beach kind of person, you know. "A deep Chicago drawl suddenly interrupted your thoughts.

You gasped as you turned to your left, big brown eyes and tanned skin meeting your sight. The eyes widened slightly and the person moved back slightly.

“Sorry, sorry, you scared me for a second. Too stealthy dude!” you chuckled, clutching your chest.

"Force of habit." the army man gives you a gentle smile and scooches closer.

The both of you sit in silence for a while, listening to the sound of the waves and watching the sky print its own masterpiece as the sun sets over the horizon. The silence was comforting, and Marc's presence was more than a warm blanket that you had been expecting all your life.

You were the first to look away from the sunset.

Marc was absolutely stunning in the evening glow. You found yourself smiling at the way the corners of his eyes pinched as he gazed at the view before him. The hook of his nose and his plump lips made the blood rush to your face.

“You done gawking yet, doctor?” Marc smiled and turned to you.

“I was not gawking” you scoff, which made Marc belt out a laugh.

Suddenly, Marc’s hand was on your face. He plucks something from your face and shows it to you.

“Eyelash.” Marc turns his whole body towards you and looks at you with a twinkle in his eyes. “Make a wish, sweetheart.”

You bit your lip and closed your eyes. You wanted nothing more than to just have peace and quiet. Your life has been loud and scary, a little quiet would be all you need to heal. Peace would mend your heart and god knows where you would ever find it, but you wished with all your heart.

With that, you blew and felt warmth fill your heart.

“Hey.” Marc whispered .

You slowly open your eyes to see Marc looking at you with a dopey, boyish look on his face.

“You are an amazing door, you know that?” He says, cupping your face with his left hand, his right reaching for yours that were on your lap. 

“And you're gorgeous.” you swoon, your brain misfiring the second you leaned into his touch.

“Woah, where did that come from?” you say, pulling slightly back, but Marc held you in place.

“You are exceptionally gorgeous too, sweetheart.” Marc quips and gives you the most dazzling smile.

Nothing could have prepared you or Marc for how you reacted next. You leaned in and placed the softest kiss you've given anyone on Marc's lips. You pulled yourself back almost immediately, your hand flying to your lips as you watched a bewildered expression creep up Marc's face. “Oh god Marc, I’m so sorry, I don’t know why I did that, don’t know what’s happening-”

“Shut up and let me do that again” Marc cut your jabbering off instantly.

With a lurch, Marc pressed his lips to yours and you felt your body give way as your hands gripped at his shirt, falling and pulling him down with you. You deepened the kiss and Marc groaned into your mouth. When you both finally broke apart, you were out of breath and Marc pressed soft kisses on your neck until you came to.

“That was …” “Absolutely amazing, just like you.” Marc gazes down at you, admiring the way your hair is splayed around you like a halo and the light of the sunset making your skin glow. Marc lays down next to you pulling you closer to him as the both of you stare into each other’s eyes as if you were searching for something. “What now?” you whispered, your heart preparing itself to hear the worse from Marc. “You don’t need to worry about what is next, my angel, just be in the moment.” Marc’s words curled around your scared heart, encasing it in peace like no other. “I’m glad I found you.” you say, tears forming in your eyes.” “I’m glad I found you too sweetheart.” Reblogs are appreciated ~~ Tagging: @fandxmslxt69 @randomnessfangirl @bodhisattva11 @marc-spectors-wife @nyotamalfoy @steven-grants-world @whatsliferightnow @minigirl87 @wonderfulboiledcoldpotato @alexxavicry @autismsupermusicalassassin @flordelalunas  @euphoricosmo  @sky-robin @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction @sugarpunch-princess @violet-19999 @swiggy-needs-mental-help @ghostheartbeat @kierramofficial @ryebreadsworld @your-voice-is-mellifluous @absolutelybloodyhopeless @mintpurplemnm @britishscum @spookyysilverr @bubblezuku @cookielovesbook-akie @mandoloriancookie @pimosworld @thewintervalkyrie @anonymously35 @nerdreader @marylovesdilfs @jakelockleysdoll @pigeonmama @sarveshishwarishsuta

[aezuria]

*ੈ✎ you know i'm such a fool, for you

—linger; the cranberries

content: leo valdez x daughter of aphrodite! reader

╰┈▸ back cover: part I | part II | part III

╰┈▸ warnings: cursing.. are we surprised tho, also drew is not a stuck up bitch because rick totally mischaracterized her IDC IF HES THE AUTHOR she just gives mean older sister who secretly thinks ur alright okay???

librarian's annotations: long awaited part 3 guys + tagging the moots that i think were waiting ! @hopelesslyromanticshark @s1utlvr @crownofgildedlilies @pinkdiorluvr

"so... how are we gonna break it to him?"

jason looked up from his book, his glasses sliding back up his nose. "break what to who?"

"you know.. break it to leo that y/n might not like him?" percy gestured, before throwing his turtle plushie up like a ball.

frank blinked owlishly at him. "what gave you that idea?"

the other boy caught the plushie and paused. "what do you mean?"

"isn't it super obvious that they both like each other and are mutually pining over each other?" jason closed his book. "like, i didn't see it at first, but it was so obvious after leo finally followed her."

"she does? wait, so i wasn't actually lying to leo when i was hyping him up?" percy sat up, his face brightened at knowing that he was guilt-free.

"well, i wouldn't say you weren't lying-" frank started before the door slammed open.

"are you guys having a gossip session? without me?" leo appeared in the doorway of poseidon's cabin, an utterly aghast expression on his face. "um, what the actual flip?"

"there is no way you just said that."

"i was using it ironically!"

alldaladiesluvleo shared a note "having a gossip session without me is a new low i hate ALL OF YOU FOR REALS THIS TIME" ╰┈▸ loveloveyn replied to your note "STOP WHY DID MY FRIENDS LITERALLY DO THE SAME THING"

leo went back to his bunker after frank had shoved him back out the door. he was taking a much needed phone break after working on another contraption he had yet to finish. "holy shit!" leo almost dropped the phone on his face after getting the notification. oh my gods, she just texted me! play it cool! but playing it cool was not wired into his brain.

‎‏alldaladiesluvleo ‏‏does that mean were matching rn ‎‏‏‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎‎loveloveyn‏‎ omg i think so

you sent the message before you could think about it. wait, wait wait. does that count as flirting? that's gotta count as flirting, right? a giddy smile spread across your face as you rolled over in bed. the "group meeting" annabeth had shooed you away from was quickly forgotten, replaced by your current conversation with leo.

loveloveyn ‏‏so like if ur friends left u and MY friends left me.. alldaladiesluvleo ..we should totally ditch them and hang out tgt‎‏‏‎?? loveloveyn ‏‏YESS

we're actually gonna hang out! leo sat up in shock. was it that easy!? he started to regret the months of longing glances and waiting around for nothing. was i was too forward? i wasn't, right? she used all caps and an extra letter at the end so that must mean she wants to hang out too, right? yeah! without his designated hypeman, he had to go and hype himself up.

alldaldiesluvleo going to ur cabin rn

"what the fuck!?" you rolled out of bed in a panic and tripped on the mess of clothes you had yet to put into your wardrobe. you muttered another curse and hauled yourself up to look in the mirror. the sight before you was not one to behold; your bedhead was crazy, your camp half-blood shirt was wrinkled, and your makeup was smudged from your unplanned nap.

you took a brush and combed it through your hair, trying to get the knots out as quick as humanely possible. drew watched your fix-up frenzy from her perch, legs swinging over her bunk. "someone's got a date!" she smirked. "you look disgusting. need some help?"

"don't think there's any time," you grumbled, trying clean up your smudged mascara and smooth out your shirt. "now do i look like i didn't just get out of bed?" you spun around in a slow circle under her watchful eye.

she shrugged at your stunning presentation. "you look as good as you can get? now go and have fun with your ugly boyfriend." drew hopped off her bunk and pushed you to the door.

"he's not ugly! and he's not my boyfriend!"

"yet!"

drewtanakax shared a note "hate couples praying on their downfall rn (JUST DATE ALREADY)"

"hey," leo waved as he reached the cabin. you were just about to flip drew off when you caught sight of him.

"hey!" you waved back, already feeling the nervousness creep up on you. shit, i didn't think this through! what if he thinks i'm weird for acting like we were already friends?

"so." leo's voice broke you out of your thoughts. "shitty friends we have, huh?"

"totally," you nodded. "like, that was just so unbelievably rude. after all we've done, too." you put a hand over your heart dramatically.

"exactly! i thought they were like, my best friends. where am i ever gonna find a replacement?" he gave you a pointed look, his eyebrows raised as if he was waiting for you to say something.

you took the hint and grinned. "hey! i could be your new bestie!"

"really!? you're a lifesaver!" in a spur of the moment, leo took your hands in his and jumped up and down.

you laughed and jumped along with him, caught up in his enthusiasm.

"that means.." leo stopped bouncing, a mock serious expression on his face. "we have to show them what they're missing by having the most fun day ever!"

"yeah!"

drewtanakax shared a story caught these bitches frolicking in the fields can they go die

you replied to their story stop being such a hater this is why u dont have a gf

alldaladiesluvleo tagged you in a post hanging out w my newer, cooler, AWESOMER bestie WITHOUT U GUYS

herseaweedbrain WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS LEO jasongrace is this what a hard launch is? frankzhangnotocean does this mean ur gonna shut up now

loveloveyn tagged you in a post notice the good time im having with my super cool and better bestie INSTEAD OF YOU FAKES

thepiedpiper WHERE THE FUCK DID THIS COME FROM hiswisegirl is this where youve been all day?? ditching us for a MAN tell me everything rn hazyhazel omg! are you guys dating now?

librarian's annotations: sooo i wanted to make this the last one but i feel like it would be moving too fast if i made them FR get tgt in this one so (next one will probably be short cause im running out of ideas HELP ME)

[makeyoumine69]

Daddy Knows Best 3

NSFW rambling 3, previous part.

"Do you want me to...taste it?" You almost whispered into his ear, eliciting an amused chuckle from his solid chest.

"You don't have to ask, kitten," he gently placed his palm on your neck as a sign of agreement. "But I won't lie — your naivety really turns me on."

With that, Bateman kissed you hard on the lips before leading you down to his throbbing dick, encouraging you to take it into your warm mouth, and as you wrapped your soft lips around his leaking tip, Patrick couldn't help but moan loudly, throwing his head back.

"F-fuck," he grabbed a handful of your soft hair and set the pace of your bobbing movements. "Your mouth feels so good, baby."

You just mewled around his hot flesh, trying to concentrate on breathing through your nose, so as not to choke on his huge shaft, and not to think about how much it would hurt if you decided to go further into this dangerous game of unleashed lust.

"Use your pretty hands a little bit," he commented suddenly, before stretching out on the couch to give you more space. "It will help."

Embarrassed as hell, you cupped the base of his thick cock with both hands, not stopping to suck on his swollen tip. Every low growl he made set you on fire and caused your little pussy to drip so badly.

"Mmhm," you whimpered as Bateman pushed you down, thrusting deeper into your mouth, but in the next moment he pulled gently on your hair, forcing you to look at him. "Did I do something wrong, Daddy?"

Patrick chuckled cheekily, tracing his thumb across your glistening lips to smear his pre-cum along them. "No, little one," he pulled you into a passionate kiss, your tongues sliding along each other, and you couldn't help but moan into his mouth. "You did it so fucking well, that's why I stopped you," he crooned, shifting your position so that you were now underneath him on the couch. "Because I'm not done with you yet."

Without breaking eye contact, Bateman slowly drew his thin finger along your taut lower lips, coaxing a muffled gasp to escape your half-open mouth. Then he tugged at the lace of your damp panties, watching your reaction, and when you didn't protest, he pulled them down in one quick motion.

"Such an obedient girl," he hummed to himself, stroking his arching length with his free hand. "Now, listen to me very carefully," Patrick stroked your legs and spread them wider so he could place himself between them. "I need you to do everything I say. Understand?"

[sparrowrye]

Alastor x Fem! Reader {soulmates} Part 5

Synopsis: soulmate AU where you have the same mark on your body as your soulmate, and if your soulmate dies, you die too. Alastor needs to make sure that his soulmate is safe so he can continue his reign - whatever that takes.

Part 5: digging deeper

Part Pilot | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I stared at my reflection in the bathroom. I opened my mouth and ran my tongue, which was a little longer than usual, along my sharp teeth. The sharpest ones were my canines that slipped past my lips when resting.

I touched around the base of my horns. The skin was tight near the bottom and paler than the rest of my skin. My horns jutted up, curved down a bit, then back up to a point at the very end. I tried bending them but they were sturdy, even near the tip.

I clicked my claws together then on the counter. It felt strange to have something that felt like elongated nails. I poked my arm until I drew blood, noting how quick it took to do so. My toes also had claws. They weren't as long as my fingers but they were definitely sharper. The skin on my feet felt extremely tough, almost rubbery.

I turned off the light and sat on the cushions by the window. I rested my head on my arm and stared off into the ocean. For the first time in a long while, I tried to think back into my memories.

I was only able to get snippets, though. I could envision myself in small, specific scenes but I couldn't remember anything past my first rounds of fighting. What did my parents look like? Did they give me to the rings? Did someone kill them? Was I born in hell? How much magic did I have and what kind was it?

I had so many unanswered questions.

I met Husker for dinner again. I couldn't stop looking at my claws as I tried to go about normally. Using a fork was new; long nails made it surprisingly difficult. Husker tried not to laugh and I caught him smiling several times.

"Did you know?" I asked him.

"No. Alastor told me he thought you might be a demon but I was skeptical."

"Why?"

"Well it takes effort to have a human appearance yet you always had one when you were asleep or unconscious. Plus you only used Slight magic when we fought."

"So Alastor knew."

"It was more of a theory." The Radio Demon materialized at the end of the table. "No one had ever heard of a human and demon being soulmates." My eyes fell to my plate. I hated looking at him and I hated hearing the word soulmates. "Once you've finished we'll head back to Rosie's."

"Tonight?"

"Yes, tonight.” He almost sounded annoyed. “She wants to unravel your curse as quickly as possible. She said something about it putting a strain on your mind." He touched a pointed claw to his lips. "I'm sure it's nothing."

Husker rolled his eyes and took a gulp of his drink. I offered to help clean the dishes but he refused. Alastor wrapped an arm around my shoulders and practically dragged me outside. I peeled his hand off and walked up to the scorched symbol on the ground. It didn't look like anything I recognized but it was always there.

He pulled me against him by my waist and stuck his cane into the ground. The ground gave way and I held my hair to my neck. We teleported to a different location this time and I soon discovered it was behind Rosie's store. The quiet town had all their indoor lights and radios turned on.

Alastor knocked twice on the glass door before it opened for him. We walked right into the same meeting room as before. Rosie was setting down a hot teapot.

"Welcome back dearies," she curtsied. "Come in come in. I just took this off the stove. You'll love it."

"I have a matter to attend to but I'm sure you'll take good care of my darling," Alastor said. My darling?

"Oh of course. Go off and do your man's work. Us ladies will get to know each other better." She hooked her arm around mine and lead me to the chair again. "I'm sure you've got lots of burning questions." This time I accepted the warm tea. "But I have to warn you sweetheart. This time, when we go back into your memories, it's going to be a lot more dangerous."

"Dangerous how?"

"If you get too wrapped up in the emotions and feelings of your memories, you can get stuck there."

"Stuck? In my own head?"

"I'm afraid so," she sipped on her tea, "When I feel you starting to fall down that rabbit hole, I'll touch your leg to let you know. When you feel me touch you, I need you to reel your emotions back in. Do you think you can do that? If not, there's no shame in waiting for tomorrow.”

"No," I said quickly, "I'll be okay. I can do this."

"I believe you. Now. Let's begin."

She sat beside me on the stool and took my hands in hers. I stared down at my black claws as she asked me to go back in time. I closed my eyes and skipped through my teenage-hood and into my early childhood. I tried to push away the sinking sadness of my first friend's death.

"What did your first master look like?" Rosie asked.

"I know he had white hair. Long, white hair. He always had a scowl on his face and he dragged me around."

"What about your very first fight?"

"I was...I was against another kid. Another girl. She had short brown hair and looked...inhuman."

"Inhuman, how?"

"She...her eyes...they were red and...she just looked insane. Her hair was all matted and she was down on all fours. She was drooling a lot too. I remember she...she ran after me and started clawing and biting my arms. She went for my face and I shoved her off. She chased me in circles around the ring. I can still hear all the men cheering above. They were laughing."

"What did you do?"

"I uh...I grew tired and she eventually caught up to me. She grabbed my foot then went for my face. I don't remember much but I...I remember kicking her off then kicking her head. It bounced off the walls and then she didn't get up after that."

"When did you start to learn how to use magic?"

I paused for a moment. “I…I had a master before him? He…he was the one who taught me. Every so often he would come back during the day and take me into the ring. He showed me how to use it. First it was with wind. He told me to throw sand and dirt in my opponents' faces."

"What else did he teach you?"

"He taught me...how to use my sweat as a weapon...how to pull apart the earth so their foot would get stuck or so that they would trip...he taught me a lot."

"Did you warm up to him?"

"When he was teaching me I was happy. I loved learning how to use my magic. And he praised me all the time when I did well. Eventually he stopped being rough with me. It felt like...like he cared about me."

"But?"

"But..." I felt my heart sink with sadness. "But...he...gave me up...to someone not nice."

"Do you know why?"

"Yeah...he was...apparently just someone who trained children in basic magic then...then sold them off to the highest bidder. I was...I was so angry at him...I thought I was going to make him proud and live to be set free but...but I was nothing to him."

"Very good. Now, what can you tell me about when you first met him? When you first saw his white hair?"

I paused. "I remember...I remember looking up at him. He was such a tall man. I was holding someone's hand but I can't...I can't see their face."

"It's okay, don't push it. Tell me about the hand you're holding. What does it feel like?"

"Soft. But...tough? It's definitely tight."

"Good what about-"

"No. Wait...there was another man with white hair. But his...his was shorter."

"Tell me about him. Where were you?"

"I was...I was in a cage. I was...with someone. I remember seeing him come to the cage often. I was...the person I'm with would always get tense when he did. Why can't I see this person's face?"

"It's okay. Take your time. Tell me what this person is wearing."

"A short sleeve. Her skin is...covered in scars and bruises. She's...she's always stroking my hair."

"What else does she do?"

"She...she hums a lot. There's a small radio in the corner and she hums to it a lot. And...I can feel it in her chest when does. She rocks me back and forth until I fall asleep." I suddenly grew very sad and angry. My hands tightened and my hair on the back of my neck stood up.

"What is it, doll? What's happening?"

"He's...the man...he's wearing a white suite...exactly the color of his hair...and he's yelling with her. They're fighting. There's yelling. He hits her. She's arguing back but not fighting. Why won't she fight?"

"Stay with me dear." She touched my lap. I tried to lower my tense shoulders but it was hard.

"He picked me up and...he closed the door on her. She's screaming. Why is she screaming? Why is he taking me away from her? I can't...I can't reach her. I don't...where is he taking me? I don't want to leave her."

"Enough sweetheart, come back. Come out of the memory." She touched my shoulder this time. "Come back to my store. Come back to this world. It's all just a memory."

"I can't stop crying. Why...is that my mother?"

"Sweetheart, you need to come back. You're going in too deep. Stop the emotions."

"But...I want to see her."

"We'll look next time. We can come back next time but you need to take a break. Come out of the memory. Come back to the store. Blink twice and look up."

I stared at the figure reaching out to me through the bars. I was so close. I just wanted to touch her hand one more time. But it was just a memory. She wasn't really there. She might not even be alive at all.

I blinked twice and looked up to meet Rosie's dark eyes. She let out a huge sigh and patted me on the head. "That was a little too close for comfort."

I felt something brush against my leg. I looked down to see a black tail that ran all the way to my back. I stood up and spun around in an effort to look at it. I felt something pulling on my back and realized I had a pair of black wings to go with it.

"What the..." The black on my hands had stretched all the way down to my elbow now. I found the closest mirror and noticed a pair of long ears sticking up from my human ones. Was I a type of dragon?

"I see you're making lots of progress." Alastor's staticky voice cut through the silence.

"Quite a lot, actually," Rosie answered. "I must say, you sure got lucky, Alastor. She looks like she's got a lot hidden away in her."

"Which is why you're the perfect person to help pull it all into the light."

"How do I hide them?" I asked Rosie, still turning in circles to look at myself.

"Oh, uh..." she tapped her sharp finger to her sharp teeth.

"Picture them receding into your back," Alastor answered. I grimaced at the thought of listening to him but gave it a try. The tail shivered but did nothing.

"I'm sure it'll take getting used to," Rosie reassured me. "But I'm sure you're absolutely exhausted. You should go home and get some rest. We can figure out more later."

"Good idea," Alastor agreed. "Come along, darling." He put his hand on my back but I pushed it off. I thanked Rosie and walked out of her store, my wings hitting the edges on the way out.

"So, what did you learn?" he asked as he shut the door.

"What's it to you?"

"Just curious is all."

"You can stay that way," I mumbled. He grabbed my waist and sent us back to the cliff side manor. As soon as my feet touched solid ground, I pushed his hand off and walked inside. My wings hit anything and everything, frustrating me even more.

"Whoah, ain't you something," Husker commented from the sitting room. I didn't respond, clambering up to my room and locking the door behind me. My legs buckled and I collapsed onto the floor. I sobbed into my arms as the new memories replayed themselves in my mind.

Who am I?

[rocknroll7575]

Team ARCZ is... Crazy (Pt.4)

Part 1/Part 2/Part 3

XXX

Pyrrha closed in and used her spear to knock out May's weapon, however, as she did this, May seemed to go for an open Palm strike, which landed but only touched her aura.

Pyrrha was confused by the move but didn't think much of it as she backed away and looked at May as she stood there weaponless.

May looked over to see her weapon was embedded into the wall, and it was here that May knew she stood no chance in a fair fight.

"Surrender," Pyrrha said, her spear and shield in her hands, seeming at ease as if she had won.

"Pyrrha Nikos, was called the invincible girl for a reason, as she had never lost a fight... her skill for a student was unparalleled, her skill in battle was only surpassed by the likes of Summer & Ruby Rose, and Raven & Qrow Branwen..."

May thought about giving up, but then thought back to the rest of her team, and what they had shown during this final test of Beacon's Initiation.

"Let's go blow for blow! Come on! Let's embrace until one falls!" Jaune cried with a crazed chuckle.

"I guess that's the difference between you and me because I don't care about winning! But that doesn't mean I'm handing it to you!" Reese cried with a crazed smile

Cardin then once again, put his entire body into overdrive, and he quickly hit Yang in the face with a quick swipe of his Mace, before he spat more blood out and some more spilled from his eyes.

With her teammates giving it their all, she decided to do the same.

So, instead of surrendering, May simply smiled as she unzipped her jacket, "Surrender?" May asked. "What for?"

Pyrrha was confused as to what May was doing as was everyone else, however, Summer smiled as she knew what the young first year was doing, having read the file on the sniper.

'So, she's using that already... I gotta see this!' Summer smiled.

May's jacket was now fully unzipped and inside her jacket were two scalpels, a small bottle of red liquid, a small thing of some sort of spray, and a taser.

May's smile widened as her expression was similar to that of a crazed lunatic. "The games just begun!" May cried with glee.

May grabbed one scalpel and sliced her right arm, and the moment the cut had been made, Pyrrha felt incredible pain in the same arm, enough that she let go of her spear and grabbed her arm.

Pyrrha stumbled forward as she let out a pained cry.

May watched her squirm and giggled, "Hurts, doesn't it?" May asked.

Pyrrha looked at May with wide eyes as an uneasy feeling rose within the champion.

"For a long time, Pyrrha knew she stood at the height of combat skill among her peers, she was the invincible girl after all..."

May then slashed her arm again, before turning it around and stabbing her hand.

Pain shot all across Pyrrha's own right arm and hand as she screamed so loudly, that it sent shivers down the spines of every witness within the training room.

"... But this feeling was something she had not felt for a very long time... a feeling every creature felt..."

May then pulled out the scalpel and then began to laugh like a mad woman, as she grabbed the 2nd scalpel and gripped both before stabbing both upper arms and leaving them in, then grabbed the taser, but with each movement of her arms, pain shot Pyrrha, who fell to her knees.

Pyrrha's heart raced, sweat dripped down her face, and she couldn't feel the world around her...

"Pyrrha Nikos, the Invincible girl, had felt true fear for the first time!!!"

May then activated the taser with a smile as it buzzed with life, and with a crazed smug expression, she looked at the kneeling Pyrrha Nikos. "Bet you didn't think I'd have a Semblance like this did you? You drew the short straw when fighting me!" May cried. "So how about this Pyrrha! Let's play a game of Chicken~!" May cried with a joyous tone.

[ljubitelj-sonca]

I can see you

Hello! @targarrus drew this absolutely beautiful picture of Nace and Kris (almost) kissing and immediately wrote "i need to write a fic about this" in the tags of my reblog. This is said fic:

Nace and Kris, kinda platonic but they kiss obviously. Also surprisingly angsty, Kris is going through it. 1.8k words, rated T (because they are making out)

(Thanks @guggi04 for beta reading! <3)

The sound of the sink running stopped, but the door to the bathroom stayed closed for much longer than it should take to dry off hands and put back a toothbrush. Long enough that Nace ended up looking up from his phone in confusion when Kris didn't reappear in their hotel room for another solid few minutes.

At some point, the lock did turn and the door did open, and Kris stepped out with his hair towel dry and his face scrubbed raw from the shower. The skin around his eyes seemed extra red though, like he’d been rubbing at them.

Neither of them spoke as Kris padded through the room in only his underwear, carrying things from A to B without any real purpose, that much was obvious to Nace. He watched him anyway, from his position on the bed where he’d been just about ready to go to sleep and had only been waiting for Kris to get done in the bathroom. But it didn’t look like Kris was gonna be ready to sleep anytime soon.

“Kris.”

His head snapped up and towards Nace at impressive speed, like he’d been too distracted to even remember Nace was there, but so vigilant he immediately heard him. That worried Nace even more than his red eyes.

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Kris was quick to respond. He averted his eyes, going back to folding his clothes into his suitcase.

“Stop that,” Nace said, surprising himself with how stern he sounded.

Kris halted immediately, mid-movement. “Stop what?”

“Hiding. Downplaying what’s going on.”

Kris still didn’t look at him. “It’s really nothing.”

“Kris. I can see you.” Nace placed his phone on the nightstand. “I can see that you’re worked up about something.”

Kris opened his mouth to retort, probably to protest, but he just closed it again. It took only a moment longer for his shoulders to slump and his head to drop. A heavy breath shook his torso and it was followed by what sounded almost like a sob, as the shirt fell to the ground unfolded.

Nace’s heart twisted.

“Hey,” he said, reaching out his hand. “Hey, it’s okay. Come here.”

Kris lifted his head just enough to find Nace’s hand and step towards it. He slipped his fingers into Nace’s palm, let him envelop them. Nace tugged gently, getting him to come closer to the bed.

“Nace,” Kris whispered hesitantly.

Nace squeezed his hand. With his other hand he pushed the blanket off his lap. “Come here,” he simply repeated.

Kris seemed to contemplate the offer for a second, but then shuffled closer and climbed onto the bed. Nace helped guide him into his lap until he was sitting with his side pressed against Nace’s bare torso and his legs thrown over Nace’s thigh. Nace let go of Kris’s hand and slipped his arms under his knees and around his back to pull him even closer. Kris let himself be pulled.

With a slow breath out, the usually so tall and confident man melted into Nace’s embrace, dropping his temple onto Nace’s shoulder but otherwise curling fully into himself. He started crying properly now, but much calmer than he probably would have if he were left alone—it felt like Nace’s body was able to absorb some of the tension, some of the despair that had kept Kris running until now.

Nace let cry into the crook of his neck, trailing gentle fingers over the soft skin of his back and pressing soothing words and kisses into his hair. When Kris’s sobs started to die down and his breathing evened out a little, Nace squeezed him.

“Wanna tell me what’s going on?” he asked quietly.

Kris adjusted his head, then shrugged the best he could. “Just a lot, right now. I think.”

He slowly uncurled one of his hands and placed it on Nace’s chest, his palm hot against Nace’s skin, before he began to trace the pattern of his chest hair almost absentmindedly. The touch sent a small shiver through Nace and he tightened his grip on his friend.

“Like—Bojan being sick and not catching a break. Half our luggage missing. Planning the tour. That shitty organiser at the venue today.” Nace hissed in sympathy as well as memory of the guy. Kris’s cheek brushed over Nace’s collar bone. “I can feel Jan slipping again,” he added in a whisper.

Nace had noticed that too—Jan dipping into his mind, unconsciously, whenever he wasn’t on stage or his immediate focus wasn’t needed. As soon as they’d be home in two days, Nace would wrap him up and hold him and guide him until the fog cleared. It was hard to do so himself, but Nace would always be there to help. The others would do the same for him.

But this wasn’t about Jan. This was about the man currently seeming so small in Nace’s arms, rendered helpless and vulnerable with worry for his friends.

“That really is a lot to think about. I’m sorry it overwhelms you this much,” he said, accompanied by another kiss to the top of his head.

Kris shrugged again.

“You don’t have to deal with it all by yourself, you know?” Nace prompted. He knew that Kris knew, of course he did, but maybe it helped to be reminded of it sometimes.

This time, Kris nodded. “It’s hard for me to talk about it,” he muttered.

A wave of affection surged through Nace at the simple trust Kris must have in him to even be here like this right now. He was so raw, so naked—figuratively as well as physically—in Nace’s arms but comfortable enough to let himself be held and listened to.

“How are you feeling?” Nace asked.

Kris’s head turned and Nace felt the breath of a kiss against the skin of his clavicle. “Better now,” was spoken after it, “still overwhelmed, but slightly better now. It helped—it helped to just. Say it.”

“That’s good,” Nace said. “Proud of you,” he added, which earned him a sweet little noise in return. Nace responded to it with a brush over Kris’s thigh. “Do you know what you need now? Or want?”

The movement on Nace’s chest continued. “I—think I want to take my mind off things.” Nace felt him melt further into his chest. “I think I need you to take care of me for a while.” His voice was little more than a whisper, laced with hesitation.

As if Nace wasn’t always ready to take care of his friends.

“Of course. How?” he asked calmly, trying to wash away any uncertainty.

It didn’t work. Instead of relaxing more, Kris tensed in his arms, like he knew what he needed but didn’t want to ask for it. “Can you—” he started but swallowed the words again. “I need—I can’t—”

“Hey,” Nace interrupted him soothingly, “it’s okay.”

He had an idea what Kris needed, craved, to stop thinking for a bit—he was settled nicely into Nace’s lap after all, their bare skin smooth and warm against the other’s, with his hand heavy on Nace’s chest, like what he really needed was to climb inside his rib cage and nestle there.

“Look at me,” Nace prompted.

When Kris did, Nace found his eyes locked to Nace’s lips. He dipped his head to dive into Kris’s line of vision, urging him to meet his eyes for merely a second, to confirm that the open expression was out of genuine want and not simply desperation. Kris’s eyes were wide and pleading, and whispered “please,” much surer than Kris himself ever could at this moment.

And while they may not be together, really none of them were, the lines between their friendships had started blurring a long time ago, as close as they were.

So Nace lowered his head further, let their noses brush together and waited for Kris’s relieved exhale before he pressed their lips together.

Kris sighed against them and pushed back enough to get Nace to push into him a little more, handing a bit more of himself over to Nace. His body finally relaxed again, his mind clearly finding refuge in the sensation Nace offered with his lips, his tongue that nudged Kris’s mouth now. Kris opened up for him willingly.

Nace was barely able to pull Kris any closer than they already were, but Kris’s hand travelled up Nace’s chest, his shoulders, his throat, until he was able to bury it in the hair at the back of Nace’s head. Kris tugged on it, while his other hand found Nace’s neck and squeezed, like he hoped it would make Nace swallow him whole.

“Kris,” Nace whispered between kisses and squeezes, “how much do you need?”

Kris whined against his lips, but Nace didn’t know if it was in need or in overwhelm.

“This,” Kris managed. “This is perfect.”

In response, Nace gave in to Kris’s tugs and kissed him deeper.

At some point, Nace removed his arm from around Kris’s thighs and used it to fully take a hold of his torso. Carefully, he shifted their position, guiding Kris onto his back and settling between his legs, hovering over him, all while doing his best to keep their lips locked. Kris seemed to appreciate the change, pulling a knee up and dragging it against Nace’s hip, and exploring the strong muscles of his shoulders with his hands. Nace kept one hand on Kris’s side, holding him, while the other propped him up so he wouldn’t crush the man beneath him.

But that seemed to be exactly what he needed—a particularly hard tug, a hard squeeze at his shoulder blade made Nace lose his balance and he almost dropped on top of Kris, now only propped up on his elbow. A gasp was pushed into Nace’s mouth, and he was about to shift and apologise, when Kris’s grip on him tightened and the leg pulled up to his side was hooked around his thigh. So Nace pushed Kris fully into the mattress, pinning him down with his hips as well as his torso. It was met with an appreciative sigh.

“Thank you,” Kris breathed when Nace couldn’t help but let his kisses drift from Kris’s lips up his jaw. The skin was wet at the junction of his jaw and throat, not just from their shared spit but from fresh, gentle tears as well. But Nace didn’t dare pull back to ask if Kris was okay—they both already knew he wasn’t. Instead, he continued to drag his lips down his throat. “I—” Kris started but it broke off into a sigh as he tilted his head to the side to give Nace better access.

“Shh,” Nace pressed into his pulse point. “It’s okay.”

Kris nodded vaguely, and his hand back in Nace’s hair kept him right where he was needed the most.

[kuradex]

I wanna know about your art style. How you draw like that??

i tried putting down considerations as well as a (very) general step by step of what i do; if there's anything more specific you want me to explain lmk i guess?

first off, general (self imposed) constraints / purpose of project -- this informs what i draw & how i draw it

i.e. "kuradex" is pretty different from my normal art (my 5 latest rough illustrations):

or my monster hunter charms:

or my pokemon tcg contest illustrations that im not allowed to show until june (😉):

although i've said its for merch purposes, ive started drawing these because i wanted to practice conveying "liveliness" and noticing key features / nuances of a given design, but i didn't want to spend a large amount of time on each one.

so what i came up with is

i want to draw things on-model in terms of proportions ( + take note of weight / tapering of shapes / etc )

no backgrounds & minimal "props"

experiment with / practice line/texture/color/flow/rhythm/etc

spend <1 hr on each pokemon on average (this is a bit more difficult for me to track, but for example, the cyndaquil line took me less than 42min to color, combined, and means at some point in time instead of focusing on cleaning up the art as much as i can, i stop after cleaning up most of it)

that said, the pose & the rhythm/flow of lines are key in conveying liveliness, and if i have a concept in mind i usually end up going with it, but i may go thru a few if i dont.

i consider pokemon origin / lore or a key point in its design, and if i'm particularly stuck, i try looking up pokemon card illustrations for inspiration. (i noticed the research i do is essentially a truncated version of how Atsushi Furusawa does research before doing an illustration.

(& even despite all this i do get stuck sometimes and don't exactly understand a pokemon and just opt for "as cute or cool as i can make it i guess?", but i think it's part of the process...?) (theoretically things that are A Shape should be really easy to draw but with what i want to practice in perspective i find them difficult...)

this is from my latest paid req but these are my first sketches of chesnaught -- i was thinking of how one of its inspirations is a warrior / tanker from RPGs, so i drew a pose where it's shielding its face.

i do another pass and take note of details.

in general i draw overlapping shapes and erase (it's a bit visible on one of the spikes)

because i opt for quickness i start coloring at this point -- i just use a colored "color burn" sketch layer for the "lineart" & colorpick official art & lay down messy flats & set the color layer to 60%

60% multiply layer for shadows. i tend to use both hard and soft brushes

for bigger projects i would use 2-3 shadow layers to create more "layered" shadows

here i use overlay layer (60%). this is just throwing colors at it and seeing what works and doesn't work. i personally prefer to throw red under the eye and a yellow or blue near the top of the head. this is mostly done with a soft brush

before this point, everything is under the rough lines, but now i start drawing/painting over it

i just color pick the colors that have been laid down from the previous steps and clean up / render textures (making the green on its arms look fuzzy) / fixing anything that i forgot or looks too off (i.e. the spike on its shoulder and the way the tail curves)

I could potentially keep cleaning this up, but this is where i usually stop 🫡

[zeroskiis]

The wild soccer bunch as fishpeople/mermaids!

Alright! So I started to think...What If the bunch were fused with fishies/water animals! :3 These are just some of my opinions and I would be delighted to hear yours.

Leon: Beta/betta fish

So I considerd a jellyfish for Leon, since he can be a bit stingy, but I went for a Betta fish for Leon instead. Why? Well my reasoning for this is because the Betta fish are EXTREMELY territorial. Male betta don't get along with each other and will kill each other. Males don't get along that much with female bettas either, which ends up in bullying! :D 👍

I thought it fit Leon so I drew him as one another reason being that I just liked the idea of him being this frilly, colorful being that is just angry as hell. (The betta fish are really cool and have so many nice colors which is why I drew a couple variations)

Deniz: Koi carp

I don't really have that much reasoning for drawing Deniz as a Koi, like I did for Leon. I just associate Koi with pretty and rich, so It just fit Deniz inside my head. Another one I considered was a Moorish Idol, but I decided to abandon that idea.

This is the quick draft I did for the other one, the moorish idol, but I didn't really like it that much. The colors would have been cool and I think they fit Deniz, but I couldn't figure out the shape, so it got scrapped.

Vanessa: Orca

My reasonings for drawing Vanessa as an orca? Simple. I thought it was cool and fit her! She just seems like a fierce fighter and what a better way to respect that, than make her an apex predator of the sea!

I changed up the headscarf of hers a bit. I thought the headband would fit a bit better. :3

Jojo: Clownfish

This is another one I went for just purely out of feels. My head just didn't let the thought of Jojo as a clownfish leave my head. I just thought the colors would be nice. Another one I considered was an otter since otters are cuddly and cute and he sorta gives me those vibes too.

I drew his hat as a headband instead. I thought it would fit the mermaid theme better. I like to think it's made of seaweed and has some sewed in pearls as decor.

Marlon: Blue marlin

Sooo...You can probably see my reasoning. The name. Yup. Just because of the name. The Blue Marlin is a quite cool fish! I just decided to go with it!

I decided to change his hairstyle up a bit and I added the fishnet clothing piece or whatever it is. I added it because the species is often hunted in sport fishing. To my knowledge the marlin population has been hunted a lot.

(This has to be one of my favourite drawings.)

Markus: Octopus

For Markus I went for an octopus. I just feel like he would be one taking in his spot as the goalkeeper. (the tentacles would come in handy) Another reason I thought it would fit is because of his hoodie. He just feels like he likes to hide, and most octopus species can camouflage themselves to their surroundings, PERFECTLY.

I just like to think he would have longer hair so I dew him with longer hair! :D I added the broken chains just because I think he would be edgy like that. The cape thingy is just a reference to his iconic hoodie. :)

Raban: Axolotl

So for Raban I thought about drawing him as a seahorse, since they are very clumsy swimmers. But then I thought...Axolotls...And I liked that idea so much more!

I chose the axolotl, since they are quite clumsy swimmers and don't really have that great of an eyesight either. I also just liked the idea. :D

EXTRA! :

Now here are some ideas I didn't draw but I thought of!

Willi:

So I thought of Willi as a hermit crab. He just gives me those vibes!

That one long nosed blonde wanker dude that recruited Leon or something:

I don't even know why I thought of this dude, but need I even say it... anglerfish.

The unbeatables:

I like to think of them as a pack of piranhas. Not that much of a threat alone, but in a pack they will tear you up.

If we think about them as singular beings, I don't have that many ideas. For Michi I would probably go for something like the blobfish or an eel or something idk. For Kong, my head just said A L L I G A T O R. And the other ones I don't know the names of TwT

Natasha:

The one my head thought of was the sea angel. A Very pretty sea slugs species. I don't even really know why.

So here was more of my useless rambling! I'll let you be at peace now and quit yapping. :D

[genopaint]

And here's week 35! Nice and on time this time :)

As always you can follow me on twitter where they’re posted daily

And read more info on each of them below the cut

Daily Dragon #239 / #240 / #241 - Dragoons

Hey, look, Dragoons are back! I need to catch up on 3 days of this challenge. I have 3 dragon species that are quick, easy, and fun to make? Sounds perfect to me! For these fellows I used random color and word generators :)

The randomly generated colors and words in question for each of them!

In case you forgot, the species with 2 legs and 2 arms is a Behemites, the serpent are Leviatites, and the winged ones are Zizites! They're my random little experiment thing for quick and easy dragon OCs

What's that?? You've immediately fallen in love with Dragoons and want your own? Oh my god! You should go to my Ko-Fi and give me any amount of pocket change, and in your donation message give me a species of Dragoon, colors, and 3 themes to make you one!

Daily Dragon #242 - Teal

3 Green designs in one month... and somehow 2 different Mikus in the challenge over all... Goodness gracious

Daily Dragon #243 - Drago

Do you ever think about how dragons exist in animal crossing? I wanted to do Drago a few times but never liked how it came out. I made him more anthro now and it finally worked :)

Daily Dragon #244 - Tankamat

AND TANKAMAT WINS FOR AUGUST! Thank goodness, I was worried it would be the set of 4 elemental dragons and I just didn't have that in me tonight lmao

To celebrate, I drew it in the pose of the old Charizard card. Which I think looks kinda neat :)

Here's the results:

Tankamat - 4 Votes Crashadon - 2 Votes Vulture Wyvern - 2 Votes 4 Elemental Dragons - 1 Vote Petunia Petals - 1 Vote Chimney Dragon - 1 Vote

This is another month where I did actually like a lot of the designs that I did even though I was so sapped of energy the whole month. I really liked Petunia, Tankamat, and the Bio Dragon among others. I think my favorite is one of those 3

Thank you all very much for indulging this for so long, we're close to the end now. September 10 is my birthday so I already know which old piece I want to redraw for the big day, and yes, it'll be a dragon for this challenge. So get excited.

Also just in case you're curious my hiatus will continue into september and if im lucky i'll be able to have more time to be offline even more. just as a heads up

[gogolstoelicker]

OB gang with albedo mc ?

Like at first they got the cold treatment (aka how albedo treated anyone and anything he wasn’t interested in)

Then slowly they warmed up and got to see the other side of them ( aka how albedo treated the traveler (kinda smug low-key flirty etc)

OB! gang with Albedo! MC

a/n: •FUCK THAT MAN HE DIDN'T COME HOME EVEN WHEN I WAS GUARANTEED

•if im being honest, albedo would probably be so interest in twst that he could not be cold to them. well maybe some of them but I'll make it work

warning:spoilers abt book 6(that i myself barely know about but here we are)

Friendly and popular, you gained fame for your alchemical talents. Though popular, you have an extreme distaste for social interactions. Barely anyone knows anything of your personal life as you are quite secretive about it.

Fueled by the feeling of enlightenment, you research about the things that pique your interest and once the feeling is gone, you lose all interest. Along with your alchemical genius, you're also a respectable artist.

Riddle:

he had heard u were really good at alchemy and making potions from trey who heard from ace

so he is very much curious about your world and how you got to know alchemy

start up a convo with u when he saw u in the middle of his walk

and you're sketching grim LMAOAOAOA

literally acted like u didn't know he was there bc you're sketching can't he see🙄

riddle thought it was kind of rude and pointed it out

still acted like u dont know

it takes u finsihing the grim drawing for u to even look at him

we all know hes angry so lets skip!!

riddle would like to know the basic alchemy of ur world and got absolutely flabbergasted when u showed him

"how the heck did a magicless student like you managed do that⁉️"

"but that is basic alchemy??" -u after turning dust to a bird

eventually,riddle had to cut the convo short bc he have a schedule to follow🤗so u went back to grim sketching

he tried to invite you to the unbirthday party bc he really enjoyed ur convo

but u declined it

but still went there bc the adeuce duo forced you LMAOAOAOA

so like kapoosh kapow the ob happened and a day after that he got interrogated by u

no break for riddle💀

u were very much interested in how he felt before and after the ob, if anything changes about him after the ob, what was it really that triggered the ob and-

CALM DOWN HES TRYING TO ANSWER ONE BY ONE

you're like "🤔hmm i see" the entire time with this serious face

u also gave him a potion for quick recovery so good for him!!(u gave everyone who overblot btw im just too lazy to write for all)

saw ur sketchbook one and saw some sketches of him

in both his ob form and how he is normally

"🧍why did u drew me"

"u carry a different aura and look different from how u usually do, it's quite fascinating"

"BUT IN THE MIDDLE OF MY OVERBLOT??"

multitasking royalty😂🙌who knew you could draw him while fighting him off

Leona:

you've seen some people with ears like him back in your world so you're not exactly as interested 🤷

even ur assistant have non-human like ears

tho u do wonder if there's anything different abt him since hes technically not from ur world

i dont think yall will interact much before the ob but after? and when book 3 is happening??

knowing how he acts, you're quite disappointed

"not only are u skilled but you're also quite knowledgeable. you could've been something greater if only you could muster up some motivation and ambition in you other than for the throne"

leona goes 🤨🤬you picking a fight or smth⁉️

but then also got goosebumps bc why is this small fry doing analysis of him and how come you know so much already😱

ruggie snickering beside him bc bro got called out so hard

bc hes pissed at u, he quite literally got an A on every single subject LMFOAOAOAOA

mans live off of spite (me too)

you did saw it and was quite pleased hes showing more of his potential

praised him so hard u made his ego bigger

is this... the feeling of recognition😍⁉️ -leona /hj

saw ur sketches of him during ur stay in savanaclaw in book 3

was surprised you captured every single detail about him, lowkey smug abt it

"you were staring at me so hard huh. you could've just asked if you wanted to draw me"

"oh? then by all means, strike up a pose for me. i would love to draw u again"

"...i never said yes, herbivore"

Azul:

not interested in you other than taking ur dorm for business + not interested in him at all

signed the contract anyway bc why not LMAOAOA

totally not bc grim was trying to get u to sign it so bad, no. not at all

anyways now you're homeless and is staying at savanaclaw

lets skip a lil bc i literally have nothing to say

yknow when the tweels tried to sabotage yall?

u literally fend them off using ur geo vision

them: 😧⁉️

they did report to azul

"but that bitch is magicless⁉️" is what he would say if hes not a professional businessman

hes sobbing and crying and clutching his contracts bc how dare⁉️

and u found out he is an octopus like after the blot so yknow what that means

"i would like to see u in that form, if you do not mind"

azul's glasses breaking bc he absolutely refused to

"😕😔a shame but it's alright" *starts studying that childhood pic of him instead*

azul standing right behind u🕴

he did ask why do u wanna see that form of his

and u go "that's something u wouldn't find in my world, i would like to know everything i could know"

the tweels agreed for a price btw

idk whats the price dont ask me

u sometimes visit the lounge bc that place is pretty as hell

notices how u would draw the place sometimes and the gear in his head was working so hard on how to get money from that

peeked into the sketchbook once

saw many sketches of him in his other form or what u think would be his other form

and the way its so accurate😧⁉️

🕴🕴- u and azul

Jamil:

i feel like u would recognize him for his many talents??

and would totally go "why are u hiding it if you know you could do it🤨🤔"

"i do not know what you're talking about☺" -jamil

u just shrug bc oh well. none of ur business

hes kind of glad u decided to drop the topic but also kinda :/ bc there goes his plan if u could see through him that easily

he is quite knowledgeable so u often ask him abt his homeland and their designs there and everything else bc

my god is scarabia pretty😍

u drew scarabia so often its not even funny anymore

and yknow those times he would like hypnotize kalim?

u knew smth was up but decided not to confront jamil abt it

he witnessed u eating a spider one time

he considered letting u go back to ur dorm out of fear LMFAOAOAA

u noticed him and asked if he would like some

U EVEN RECOMMENDED HIM SPIDERS TASTED GOOD WITH THIS AND THIS💀

he was on the verge of tears😔🙏rip jamil, he could've lived a normal life if life loved him enough

u finding out jamil and kalim is a little like subject 2 and u: 😱⁉️(trying to uh replace someone's position or smth)

after the entire blot stuff, he absolutely let u know if theres any bugs around

bc like hell is he fighting those bugs

you're delighted bc yes nutritious foods!!

jamil watching it all:

Vil:

you drew vil quite a lot since he's very pretty

vil is quite drawn to u from the start bc you're also very pretty

has heard of how great you are at making potions and alchemy from epel

so when the program thing happened, hes quite happy that he got to talk to you more

since he was living with u, he could see the many drawings of him and the others (vil and the non-vils. u totally don't play favorite)

vil seeing those beautiful sketches, thinking of ways to promote yalls group with ur talent

he did commission u for it and even offered to pay

u going k sure, i dont mind

vil posted the art on social media and it got so many attention💀

and yknow how vil is so popular and all? yeah so many people asked him to get in touch with u so they could commission u smth bc ur talent is just so😍😍🙏🙏‼️‼️

congrats⁉️it was supposed to be for their promotion but u accidentally got promoted as well

vil is very happy and proud

well after the whole overblot thing, u sometimes visit pomefiore for various other reasons

sometimes bc some famous ppl wanted to get in touch with u, sometimes u just wanna go potion potion with vil

Idia:

he is actually very thankful that you're not interested in him in any way

or so he thought

you're in fact very interested in him

his hair is quite unique to you + his creations are quite interesting to you

"woah unique robots😍" u 5 mins before disaster

and by that i meant a bigass hole in the dorm you're staying in LNFAOAO

so yknow how rook, epel and mc tried to save the others by going to this place they're supposedly brought to?(i dont think i missed anyone)

and my god are u taking ur time

"what is this fascinating creature?" *tries to eat it*

"PREFECT NO!!" -epel and rook

be thankful you're not from their world or else you would've overblot for that

idia and ortho seeing it all🕴🕴

and when idia and ortho came to see yall, you are even more delighted

"i would like to study you, if you do not mind"

idia bc its supposed to be the other way around:

epel, rook and ortho staring at u:

u did ask again after the whole incident and he def did not broke out in cold sweat

[storyofmychoices]

Yoga & Pancakes

[Beckett Harrington x Emma Carlyle Masterlist] 

Pairing: Beckett Harrington x Emma Carlyle (F!MC)

Other Characters: Shreya Mistry, Atlas Ernhardt

Book: The Elementalists

Word Count: ~900

Rating/Warnings: teen, suggestive language

Submitting to: @choicesmonthlychallenge ; @choicesficwriterscreations

Synopsis: Emma, Shreya, and Atlas run into Beckett at breakfast and Emma discovers a new Attuned food.

"Let me guess—" Emma began, quieting Shreya's excited tone. "Some famous Attuned chef I've never heard of but who probably catered an event for you has prepared some incredibly magical treat for breakfast?"

Shreya pressed her hands to her hips, her smile falling slightly. "You make it sound so utterly dull." 

Emma opened her mouth to apologize, but Shreya continued. 

"You've been spending far too much time with Atlas. We've got to get you back to society."

"It's not me." Atlas shrugged. "Don't worry, Emma's still the sunshine of our group. She's just a little cranky this morning... she didn't get much sleep." 

"Is everything alright?" Shreya looked over her friend, beginning to think of healing spells. 

"I'm fine," Emma insisted, brushing off Shreya's worry, shooting her twin a quick don't you dare glance. She looped her arm with Shreya's pulling her forward.  "Now, let's go see what is so special about breakfast today. You were telling me about the chef and his specialties?"

"I wasn't but now that you asked—" Shreya began rambling off facts about the chef and private events she had catered. 

Emma smiled and nodded along, trying to keep her eyes open when she was desperate for a nap. Not looking where she was walking, she bumped into a tall student in line in front of her. "I'm sorry—" she began, recognizing his dark blue blazer before he even turned back.

"Emma?" Beckett couldn't help the smile spreading across his blushing freckled cheeks. "I did not think I would find you here. I thought you were  sleeping in."  

"Oh, yeah," Emma's cheeks warmed as her gaze shifted to Atlas for some help, but she merely found her twin smiling in amusement, watching their awkward encounter. 

"Why would you be sleeping in?" Shreya questioned with concern. "Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

"Oh, I think she's feeling just fine," Atlas smirked. "Just a little worn out from some early morning—or was it a late night—'yoga'." She added air quotes to the last word.

The hue across Beckett's face darkened at Atlas's words. 

"And here I thought 'yoga'"—she offered, using air quotes again, "—helped you relax, you seemed quite exhausted but very dreamy—" she mimed gagging, "—when you returned this morning at... what was it... 4:30 am?"

Emma chewed her lower lip. 

"Oh! OH!" Shreya's lips drew into a knowing smile of amusement. "No wonder you're tired. Keeping our girl up all night, Harrington? Impressive! I didn't think you had it in you. I bet you two worked up an appetite."

"I beg your pardon?" He didn't think his face could flush any darker.

"Okayyyy," Emma tried her best to move them along. "Look, we're next. Oooo, pancakes. I love pancakes. Pancakes are so delicious. Did I ever tell you the time when I was six and my parents made me pancakes shaped like a bunny for easter? Oh and they cut up bananas on the pancakes and added chocolate syrup, there's really no end to what you can do with pancakes. Strawberries on pancakes are also delicious. Did you know, pancakes—" 

The trio stared at her, Beckett in relief and Shreya and Atlas with amusement, her rambling words trailing away. 

"Would you like to say pancake one more time?" Atlas teased. "I don't think you've said it enough."

The cafeteria worker handed Emma a tray with 3 large, fluffy, circular pancakes. A look of disappointment fell on her face. "Huh, I expected more. They look just like tuneless pancakes."

"Oh, they're so much better!" Shreya announced gleefully as she guided them to a booth on the side.

"So when do I find out what makes these pancakes magical," Emma questioned. "If I eat them will confetti rain down? Will I make weird noises?"

"Not this time," Shreya replied. "These are no ordinary pancakes. They're shape-shifters. Watch this." She focused on the pancake on the top of her stack, concentrating on a single image in her mind. Slowly, before their eyes, the pancake transformed into the shape of a blossoming orchid. 

"Woah!" Emma marveled. "How?"

"It's a centuries-old recipe passed down. The chef has yet to reveal the secret, but I've been working on wearing her down. She can't say no to a Mistry forever."

Beckett didn't dare contradict her. Usually, he'd love bragging about his superior knowledge—it was rather a simple spell. He had learned it at the age of five— but right now, he didn't want the conversation shifting back to him or Emma. 

Emma focused on her pancake, her gaze momentarily shifting to Beckett, admiring the way the glowing sun kissed his face through the ornate stained glass windows. The pancake transformed into a heart, with a B + E appearing at the center. 

"Bleh—" Atlas choked, before picking up her pancake, which she had turned into a mace, dipping it in syrup, and biting off the end. 

"What are you going to make?" Emma questioned curiously of Beckett.

"I can think of something he could turn it into for her." Shreya wagged her brow, enjoying as the pair blushed. "Thinking about last night, Harrington? Be careful or you never know what might appear."

"Gross," Atlas mumbled through a mouth full of pancakes. "I'm trying to eat. I don't need any graphic "yoga" depictions popping up on the nerd's plate. It's bad enough I've seen them kiss. I can't stab my eyes out with a pancake dagger."

Shreya laughed, holding her hands up in a peaceful truce. Her mind quickly returned to the shopping trip she had scheduled next, the pancakes on her plate following suit, one turning into a long gown and the other a shopping bag. 

Emma and Beckett breathed easier as the conversation shifted. Laughter bubbled between them as the morning sun shimmered around the space. Despite the teasing, their free hands tangled together beneath the table. 

This is just a silly little idea that popped into my head. It's not edited, so please forgive any mistakes.

My Atlas is demiro.

[loupy-mongoose]

That last piece aaaaaaaah beautiful and sweet, really captures how Lav feels about Randy :D

Also I love how you colour and shade everything, how do you do it? Do you think you could record a speed paint or something? What brushes do you use? Canvas size? How do you painstakingly colour within the lines? What device do you use?

Sorry for so many questions in one ask, I’m really curious lol. Hope you can answer these! No rush :3

First off, thank you so much!

I use Procreate on iPad, which has a handy-dandy little feature where it automatically records everything you do on a canvas, and you can create a time lapse of it. So, yes, I can give a speed paint. :3

(Yes I painted this specifically for this ask.) For comics (and this painting sample), I use a canvas that's 1813X2263. For doodle dumps and other less dedicated projects, I use a 1955X2357 canvas, rotating as I want or need to. If I have a bigger project I want to do, I start with Procreates "Square" canvas default (2048X2048) and crop as I need to as I work.

I've been sticking to this Jingsketch brush set for a while now, though I've modified some to make them more comfortable. As of now the set is free to download. (There appears to be a larger Jingsketch set that costs about $15--I may get that someday lol)

For smudging of shadows and markings, I use the Jingsketch "Jittery Smudge".

Alright, prepare for a thorough rundown of the time lapse. X3

As for how I color, the video shows my two most used methods. I do the Momo method when I want it to look a little neater or smoother, and the Midas method for when I don't care how unpolished it looks and just want to show a colored image.

For flats (the solid red seen in the video) I do it on a layer under the lines. I usually put all the flats on one layer, but this time I did their flats on separate layers for demonstration purposes, and merged them once they were both filled.

For Momo, I colored by drawing just inside the lines, erasing what went outside. Then used a Freehand (or equivalent) selection tool to fill in the inside. This is the more time consuming but smooth of the two methods, in my opinion.

For Midas, I specifically drew the outer lines thicker so that I could use the "automatic" (I guess that's "wand" in other programs? I'm not sure) selection to do a quick fill. This method will usually leave the colors with a hard, semi-unappealing edge. (Feathering the selection a little or smudging the flats can probably help with that, but I don't do that very often.)

What I do is select the OUTSIDE of the lines, expand the "Selection Threshold" so that it barely selects JUST outside the lines, then invert the selection so that it filles everything INSIDE the lines. With this method you need to be careful to get all the negative zones as well--I didn't think about demonstrating that in this painting, so here a mini-tut on that.

For the actual colors, I usually do each color on a separate layer set as a "Clipping Mask" to the flats layer. Eyes usually get a layer of their own--The iris colors and pupil (if present) get the Clipping Mask treatment until I'm satisfied with them and merge them into one eye layer.

For shading, I'll fill an entire layer, still Clipped to the flats, with my color of choice, usually set it to the Multiply blend mode, and adjust the opacity as I want. I usually shade the main body separately from the eyes, but try to match the blend mode and opacity settings.

For more high-effort projects, I'll fill a layer with a solid color under the shadow layer but above all the other colors so that I have a better idea of the shapes. Colors like on Midas here can really badly mess with the perception of the shapes and shadow locations. I may also add more Multiply layers if necessary.

And that's my lengthy and extensive look into how I paint~ Keep in mind this is MY process, and I admit I work in a rather quick, dirty, and even somewhat lazy way. So take what you will from this, and go arting as YOU please! ^w^