#I'll make a post with pictures of all my cards soon!

[jesters-art-arena]

Inscryption art dump! [Spoiler under cut]

[Its really hard to get this formatting to work....]

[astonmartinii]

put it all on red (bull) | max verstappen social media au

pairing: max verstappen x fem russell reader

her brother won the race? does she know? does she care?

MASTERLIST | TIP JAR

yourusername

liked by alexalbon, georgerussell63 and 204,300 others

tagged: maxverstappen1

yourusername: VIVA LAS VEGAS

view all comments

user3: this is fucking hilarious

user4: her whole ass brother won the actual race and there's not a peep of him on the post

user5: i mean her boyfriend did win the championship...

yourusername: exactlyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy i mean my instagram is for pretty girls only

user6: do not erase george's beauty

yourusername: nothing to erase girlypop - FUGLY!

user7: the way the guys are in the media pen and can't see that y/n is coming for their necks in instagram comments

user8: i fear she's already started drinking...

user9: in the back of the sky broadcast she hands max a drink and i'm starting to suspect that it was not water or red bull

user10: LMAO HELMUT TOOK A SIP AND LIKE NEARLY FELL OVER

yourusername: i've never claimed to be good at mixing drinks

maxverstappen1: WHERE WAS THE TONIC ???

yourusername: i don't believe in tonic 💔

maxverstappen1: YOU GAVE ME STRAIGHT GIN?

yourusername: straight 🤣

maxverstappen1: Y/N THAT'S ATTEMPTED MURDER ON HELMUT ???

yourusername: free me i did nothing wrong !!!

user11: these people kill me

user12: sign of a healthy relationship is making gay allegations about each other

yourusername: ALLEGATIONS ???

yourusername: george is lucky that he was the first russell carmen met ...

georgerussell63: RIGHT, I HAVE HAD ENOUGH

georgerussell63: thank you for the congratulations but STOP flirting with MY girlfriend

yourusername: congratulations??? for what?

georgerussell63: WINNING THE RACE?

yourusername: boring!

georgerussell63: you are so lucky we're family because you are a few cards short of a deck

yourusername: CARDS? that reminds me ... time to gamble!

maxverstappen1

liked by oscarpiastri, charles_leclerc and 1,342,988 others

tagged: yourusername

maxverstappen1: winning without the fastest car isn't for everyone

view all comments

user13: this caption has y/n russell written all over it

yukitsunoda0511: i sat here and watched them giggle to themselves for a good five minutes while posting this

user14: tell max to post more pictures like the second one

yukitsunoda0511: they are not safe for innocent eyes and they are not taken with a locked door :/

user15: why are you there ???

yukitsunoda0511: they're very generous when they're drunk !

user16: so real

yukitsunoda0511: it's also not just me :(

user17: just how many people are using the bar tab?

liamlawson30: me!

oscarpiastri: me!

charles_leclerc: me!

landonorris: me!

pierregasly: me!

alexalbon: me!

yourusername: broke bitches

carlossainz55: you do not have a job?

yourusername: gambling and being pretty is more of a job that what you will have next season 🤨

carlossainz55: has anyone ever told you you're a really mean drunk

yourusername: just george about a billion times, you get used to it (we just don't invite you out)

user18: she is just dragging anyone now

user19: hold on that is her boyfriend's work boyfriend's enemy

user20: girl is 90% of lestappen twitter's source and you think she's not gonna have a problem with sainz???

yourusername: you're so sexy i actually can't even function

maxverstappen1: gotta put the trophy in trophy husband somehow

yourusername: jokes aside i am super duper proud of you, this year has been insane and you've proven that you are the bestest eva

maxverstappen1: couldn't have done it without my fave cheerleader

yourusername: i'll wear the uniform and everything ....

schecoperez: STOP

georgerussell63: still no congratulations? i know you won the title or whatever but we're going to be brothers soon SHOW SOME RESPECT

yourusername: literally suck his dick

yourusername: wait no

yourusername: suck my dick

yourusername: WAIT NO

yourusername: choke ❤️

georgerussell63: i have no words at this point

maxverstappen1: so romantic hehehehe

yourusername

liked by alexalbon, kimiantonelli and 410,300 others

tagged: maxverstappen1

yourusername: put it all on on red (bull)

view all comments

user22: ma'am why is there a cat?

user23: i think we already know the answer

user24: oh i know the answer i just wanna know the batshit explanation

georgerussell63: exsqueeze me ???

yourusername: don't speak like that about your nephew ??

georgerussell63: tell me you're not keeping it??

maxverstappen1: IT? HE JUST LEAPFROGGED YOU IN OUR WILL

georgerussell63: 1. you have a joint will ??? 2. why am i on it ??? 3. what is a cat doing with a monaco penthouse ???

maxverstappen1: i thought you could use the money ? i know toto ain't paying you what he promised me

yourusername: george your weird sugar daddy is more broke than you think sorry xx

georgerussell63: once again, what is stopping me taking the monaco house from a literal cat ?

yourusername: caesar will be very aware of his rights string bean - just because you talk in an uppity accent doesn't mean you actually know anything

georgerussell63: i cannot tell who corrupted who but i am sick of being your victim :(

user25: yes as fun as watching them dog george is i do want to know caesar's origin story

user26: i have a very bad feeling i know where he got his name

alexalbon: HE'S NOT NAMED AFTER THE CASINO IS HE?

yourusername: ding ding ding we have a winner, always knew you were the smarter half of galex

maxverstappen1: your gambling is getting out of hand

yourusername: did i or did i not win us a cat ?

maxverstappen1: AND £250,000 ???

yourusername: didn't want to promote gambling too much

yourusername: KIDS DO NOT GAMBLE IT IS DUMB

yourusername: look at me i literally have a child now ???

user27: we have lost the original plot of the movie

user28: you must be new, we stopped trying to make sense of these two years ago

lewishamilton: i can assure you it does not get any easier when you know them personally

yourusername: we aim to be sexy and mysterious

lewishamilton: that's strange because you guys dance like little boys and overshare at any given opportunity

maxverstappen1: guilty !

georgerussell63

liked by alexalbon, landonorris and 873,409 others

tagged: lewishamilton, yourusername & maxverstappen1

georgerussell63: i won the las vegas grand prix and all i got was this lousy cat

view all comments

user29: i am sensing a y/n and max meltdown incoming

user30: maybe they're too hungover to argue?

yourusername: NEVER

maxverstappen1: LOUSY CAT? FIRST OF ALL HE'S NOT YOURS SO KEEP HIS NAME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH AND ALSO I WILL KILL YOU WITH A GUN

georgerussell63: excuse me?

yourusername: do NOT threaten my boyfriend !!!!!!!!

georgerussell63: do you have selective sight or something?

yourusername: no i just like him more than i like you

georgerussell63: you only met him because of me?

maxverstappen1: i have faith we would've found each other regardless we have a SOUL TIE

yourusername: EXACTLY

georgerussell63: i give up.

yourusername: this is exactly why you don't have a championship ... no drive (pun intended)

georgerussell63: NOW THAT'S IT

maxverstappen1: are you threatening my girlfriend?

georgerussell63: OMG LEAVE ME ALONE

user31: their commitment to never letting george have a day of peace is really quite charming

user32: they're going to give him grey hairs before he even turns 27

alexalbon: i gotta say georgie, i'm not with you on this one - caesar is THE dude

georgerussell63: are all my eggs falling out of the basket at once?

maxverstappen1: that's called karma for calling caesar 'it' and a lousy cat

georgerussell63: i can't lie i am missing your honeymoon phase you guys were a lot nicer

yourusername: we never left the honeymoon phase we just like annoying all of you

maxverstappen1: makes you people leave us alone :3

landonorris: you don't have to be mean to do that

yourusername: YOU JUST GOT OFF OF THIN ICE NORRIS WATCH YOUR STEP

user33: they can make excuses all these want but they just like annoying everyone else

user34: i mean based on their vegas shenanigans i think they would be super fun to be around

yourusername: oscar literally came to stay while he 'looked for a flat' in monaco and hasn't left... it's been three months. face it we're a HOOT

oscarpiastri: they are fun! the secret is to not be annoying sorry george!

maxverstappen1: they grow up so fast :')

maxverstappen1

liked by charles_leclerc, danielricciardo and 984,036 others

tagged: yourusername

maxverstappen1: took a gamble when i went for the lanky posh dude's sister and i can now say it was definitely worth it

view all comments

user37: bro says snug as a bug in a rug once and now he's labelled as posh HE'S FROM NORFOLK

user38: it's also the way that y/n never gets the posh allegations

georgerussell63: it's because she's scruffy as fuck x

maxverstappen1: literally outside your house with a knife, keep talking

georgerussell63: i'm a grown man, max, you don't scare me

maxverstappen1: so i'm free to do a little gardening while you hide inside?

georgerussell63: you wouldn't...

yourusername: GO FOR THE PEONIES MAX

georgerussell63: NOT THE PEONIES I BEG HAVE MERCY

user39: so i'm supposed to read all of this shit and take them seriously when they get in the car

user40: it's part of the charm i think

user41: it's all fun and games until you remember they are full grown adults who can vote who are arguing over flowers

yourusername: i'd go through the strenuous task of growing up with george thousands more times just to be with you

maxverstappen1: i've been in love with you since i was 14, there has never been anyone else for me and there will never be anyone else for me

yourusername: ugh why didn't we just get married in vegas ?

maxverstappen1: because even though i did just harm his flowers, i do want to marry you in front of our families

yourusername: i guess you're right

georgerussell63: you know what? based on how you usually talk to me... i'm touched

yourusername: if i'm feeling generous i'll even let you do the seating chart

georgerussell63: I LOVE YOU BEST SISTER EVER

user42: only a declaration of love between max and y/n could end with george proclaiming his love for charts

user43: how does one procure an invite to this wedding ...

yourusername: be cunty

yourusername: @zakbrownceo YOU'RE BARRED

yourusername

liked by landonorris, alexalbon and 409,300 others

tagged: maxverstappen1

yourusername: i'm the sibling who can't drive and yet i'm the one with four championship trophies in their house... george, step your pussy up x

view all comments

user44: omg queen who can't drive, she's such representation

yourusername: george says i'm so mean all the time but really i'm generous, i clearly gave him all the driving genes

user45: have you even tried driving?

yourusername: i went on max's sim once and got motion sickness and i'm also with the best driver in the world and siblings with an okay one - i'm surviving

alexalbon: he's already texted me about your language on this post

yourusername: just because he's a boomer in a string bean's body does not mean i must censor myself - he should know what stepping his pussy up means by now

georgerussell63: i will not be stepping on any pussy, i respect both felines and women

maxverstappen1: you called caesar 'it' so PLEASE

georgerussell63: i respect women?

maxverstappen1: you called y/n scruffy?

georgerussell63: that's y/n it doesn't count

maxverstappen1: that's not very feminist of you george. i am disappointed

yourusername: i agree, i really think the GDPA should reconsider the type of person they're letting run it

georgerussell63: huh?

yourusername: not once have i been invited to a grid meal ....

georgerussell63: well you're not on the grid that's why

yourusername: FEMALE EXCLUSION

maxverstappen1: you know we have attachment issues, you're so heartless george

georgerussell63: what is going on ???

yourusername: you CLEARLY don't care about me

maxverstappen1: and you CLEARLY don't care about the wellbeing of the grid

georgerussell63: I'M SORRY???

user46: george is unbelievably easy to rattle

user47: it must be so fun

yourusername: oh believe me, we have way too much fun

maxverstappen1: we once convinced him that it was a social faux pas to shake hands in japan lol

georgerussell63: IS THAT WHY MERCEDES WERE TOLD THAT EVERYONE THOUGHT I WAS REALLY RUDE ???

yourusername: LMAOOOOOOOO

maxverstappen1: so so so easy bro

user48: i guess a couple that plays mind tricks together, stay together?

yourusername: 4eva

maxverstappen1: til death do us part

yourusername: quite literally you're not leaving me alone with GEORGE

georgerussell63: you know what: DIE

yourusername: GASP

maxverstappen1: @fia get his ass

fin.

note: HAPPY MAX VERSTAPPEN CHAMPIONSHIP DAY TO ALL WHO CELEBRATE. IE. ME LOL

[we-rice-boi]

Warning: !!NSFW, MDNI!!, Pathetic men, you should know my agenda by now.

I saw this post on Twitter about Sylus getting himself off when he sees you use his money, and I just have to write about it. So what if it's midnight and my eyes are burning!? Inspiration burns hotter... and so do this man's britches when he sees a deduction from his bank account. I'll probably be posting this in the morning, BUT ENOUGH STALLING!! LET'S GO!!

Ok, so picture this, Sylus gives you his black card, and you so happen to be in a spending mood, more than usual. You are going all out, bundles of art supplies, limited-time plushies, and rare merchandise (ok, this is purely based on what I want, but you get the picture). The point is that deductions are being made without a care in the world, and usually, you'd be wary of spending so much money, but today was... different. Whether it be that the silver-haired man has finally convinced you that spending his cash was OK, or that you were angry at him for something and thought spending frivolously would "teach him a lesson". The reason didn't matter because his reaction was far beyond your expectations.

See you were under the conception that he'd be indifferent, bored, or even annoyed. Oooh, how wrong you were.

The leader of Onycinous sat on his red cushion throne, and at this time, he should be hard at work, securing deals, making bets, destroying his enemies with nothing but the tip of his finger and such... Instead, the boogeyman of the N109 Zone was writhing in his chair, his clothes disheveled and tight, his silver locks a mess, and his expression a far cry from the smug, nonchalant armor he wore. Rather, all that was left was a whimpering, pathetic man who was currently spending his time watching the rapidly depleting numbers in his bank account in sick, dizzying pleasure. Every deduction sent a shiver down his spine, every hundred spent made his hips buck, and every thousand sent him into a spiral.

He tried to work, he really did, but the thought of you using him like some pay pig did something to him. At first, he thought a peak wouldn't hurt, just to check what your first purchase was. Then that turned into him opening the live feed of his savings account (excuse me, idk much about banking or what rich ppl use) and soon Sylus found himself a mess of desire as he watched the number go down.... down... down.

God, it was enough to make his eyelids flutter and his breath hitch. It was a sick obsession, but he wasn't known for his "good" morals anyway.

Uh i had this in the drafts for while cause I didn't think it was good enough but fuck it. Im here to spread my sub Sylus agenda.

Credit for Dividers: @cafekitsune

[queenendless]

😷🤒Sick Day(Adult!SatoSugu x Sick!Fem!Reader)🤒😷

A/N: Yep this is part of that SatoSugu Teacher AU alongside Moving Day and Nights.

Also, announcement. I have smut writing fatigue after just putting out one and I'm down with a cold right now. So that vampire AU gang bang piece is happening next month. I'm so sorry for this yall. Thanks though to everyone who commented on that and helped me decide.

But I will hopefully be posting a JJK Halloween piece to make up for it. A headcannon/ imagined scenario where the JJK cast celebrate Halloween with my ideal fave pairings in couples costumes and such in this what if AU. And yas it gonna be SatoSugu x Fem or GN reader, idk on that part yet.

All credit for JJK and its characters goes to the madman that is Gege.

* Please DON'T plagarize, translate, or repost my FANFIC content. Reblog, like, and follow instead.

I hope you enjoy!

Your throat feels raw.

Your nose feels stuffy.

And you kept coughing every few minutes.

You should have figured spotting a curse forming from a virus epidemic happening in the hotel across the street would pose a high ass risk of getting infected yourself.

But as a Window, it was your job, as life risking as it was.

The more people inside and around the building got infected, the Grade 4 grew closer to Grade 3. If it kept up, dozens upon hundreds would die.

"Ijichi-san. Disease curse. Transitioning from Grade 4 to Grade 3. Requesting sorcerer help here immediately." You struggled speaking over the phone as you kept coughing, dispatching the address to him, seeing the revolting curse grow in size as its toxic presence spilled, tripping as you tried keeping your distance.

Your head was pounding and you could barely focus as Ijichi-san panicked on his end.

"L/n-san!? L/N-SAN!"

In a moment of ailment, you dropped your phone, causing it to disconnect from the impact.

You were barely able to keep a grip on your phone or walk without faltering as you felt more drained with each passing moment. You blinked a lot as you tried staying alert, stumbling before collapsing against a parked empty vehicle on the street, sliding down to your bum just to rest your aching head against your knees, hugging your legs to your chest.

That curse's smogs began spreading down the streets, into traffic, and nearby occupied establishments.

Believing help wouldn't get here in time through the systematic process, you opted for your wild card, shakily picking up your now cracked screen device.

"Toru. Curse problem. Get here ASAP. Please." Texting the address in your feverish haste, you pressed send before curling in on yourself, welcoming sleep to rest your aching self.

In just under the next few minutes — more like moments — you felt a boom in the cursed energy atmosphere, that curse no longer being sensed. At last, it was done.

The shift from freezing metal to cozy soft fabric stirred you awake a bit. Along with the feel of solid warm arms draped around your shoulders and under your knees. Those big smooth hands squeezing your shoulder and your kneecap had you tugging weakly on the front of that top, pressing your face against your makeshift pillow, struggling to open your eyes as your hearing painted the picture for you in the meantime.

"A majority will spend weeks recuperating. The ones closest to the cause will spend months in the hospital at best. Still though, no casualties. Thank you for the help." High chances it was one of the many medics on site for post cleanup.

"You can thank the young woman here for that. She was the first responder, after all. I'll tend to her recovery myself. Sayonara." You know that voice right away, even when he was muffled, relaxing further in his hold.

"This cold isn't going away anytime soon. Too bad reversed cursed techniques don't make the common cold go away." Your half lidded eyes still had him swooning at how frail and precious you were in his arms.

You murmured, noticing him in his black long sleeved top, matching sweatpants, and face mask with the blindfold. "Blindfolded giant." That's when you realized a face mask was put on you as well, your muffled coughs hitting cloth.

You could already picture him beaming, grinning, as he laughed a bit.

"Correction. Your blindfolded giant, darling~ Now then, let's get you home."

°•○•°•○•°•○•°

Geto typing away on his computer, working on his latest reports.

Gojo straddling his lap, hugging him as he napped against his dear best friend slash hubbie.

The former smiling fondly at the motion before picking up where he left off was their situation before both men's phones began vibrating and ringing.

"Geto-san! L/n-san has reported a disease curse spotting! But she was cut off before I could get further details!"

"She just texted me the location." The sleepiness was wiped away, replaced with firm seriousness, as Gojo started getting off of him to get some shoes on.

"Ijichi-san, do not fret. Satoru will handle the curse." Geto calmly responded over the phone before speaking concerningly to his snowy-haired hubbie. "Toru, bring a face mask in case the affected area reaches where you land post teleport."

Said man smooched his hubbie in kind before slipping on the black face mask to match his current apparel. "Wait up for us, Sugu~"

Seeing you both back, teleporting into your home office, Suguru smooched Satoru the moment he took that face mask right off. Pressing the back of his palm against your forehead to double check for a fever, Suguru's dismay was warranted.

So being there when you awoke from your fever dream tucked in the middle of your guys' giant bed meant Suguru patting your now sweating forehead with a wet rag, you trembling from chills raking your skin followed by feeling warmer the next minute as you coughed into a tissue he handed to you.

"Well dearest, you've got yourself a nasty cold here." Suguru noted with a gray face mask on as well, seated by you on his side of the bed.

"Ah bah." Your raspy spat earned you a cough into your fist before you were offered a filled up water bottle by Satoru who was sitting behind you on his side; blindfold off but face mask back on.

"Welp, I exorcized the curse and brought your cute self back here. Plus I got that report to work on in your precious stead. So you're welcome." He gently ran his fingers through your hair to ease you in whatever way he could.

"Thank you Toru." You slowly sat up and were then handed some cold pills by Suguru to down some water with. "Thank you Sugu."

"Now that we've made our home Ground Zero, you are hereby confined to this room. Drink plenty of fluids. Take your medicine. Get lots of rest. Do you hear me, young lady?" Suguru's smart ass tone made you pout.

"Yes mom." You murmured raspy.

Satoru snorted behind his face mask to which Suguru whacked him in the shoulder across from him with narrowed eyes. "At least Megumi and the twins are living in the dorms now and Tsumiki was able to convince her classmate to stay at her place for a while. Meaning we three have the place to ourselves~"

"Does that mean … I have to sleep by myself?" You whimpered, cracking their resolve. "Neither the Gojo Geto bears, nor the Gojo Geto cats, not even the Gojo Geto giant round plushies can substitute for the real deal." You moped, pointing at said custom made toys lined up on the window seat on the far side of the room.

"Aww, Suguru, how can we deny our lovely sweetheart the company of her valiant handsome knights in the flesh, huh~!?" Satoru dramatized his own cries, muffled though.

Suguru sighed, consigning. "At least one of us should. Who else will be teaching the first years in the meantime?"

"Round robin, then? Last one left standing tends to that noble martyr and gets our dear sweetheart to be their own personal nurse in the end … huh …" That hum and those inquiring eyes could only bode mischief. "I volunteer Suguru to go first!"

"Not gonna happen, Satoru." He immediately denied.

"But to be fed by, bathed by and be doted on by our angel is heaven sent~!" Satoru gushed.

"Which is why you shouldn't be the only one getting that special treatment!" Suguru being jealous at possibly being left out on that.

"Hey!" Your strained shout ends in a coughing fit, curled up in bed, sniffling to which Suguru hands you a big enough tissue to blow your nose in. "I'm dying here."

"Hmm … Yu could fill in." Satoru suggested.

"He is working as a teaching aid part time. And he did say he could help out whenever we needed it." Suguru added.

"Plus Nanamin is on a business trip for the week~ He'll need something to do while waiting for his beloved's return~!" Satoru teased.

"That settles it then." Suguru was smirking behind that mask, you could just tell.

"How lucky you are, darling, to have the strongest duo be your own personal nurses~" Satoru was so smirking his ass off.

"Even though you'll literally get sick of me?" You shyly asked, squeezing your bottle, apprehensive.

"We have strong ass immune systems, Y/n. Comes with over a decade of immense training." Satoru prided on, kissing your flushed cheek.

"If we can risk ourselves in the face of death as sorcerers, this is nothing." Suguru assured, kissing your other flushed cheek. "I'll call Haibara."

"I'll start up a bath for us all. Thank you big ass bathtubs." Satoru clapped to that.

"What do I do?" Even when sick, tilting your head and batting those eyes made the duo smooch your lips at once.

"Just be a good little patient for us, alright, honey?" God that wink of Suguru's left you more hot than usual as he walked off to make that call.

"Besides, being sick with you means being granted a sick leave and getting paid for it! Ah, thank you, my darling sweetheart~!" Satoru did hug you, nuzzle his face in your hair, and left you a wheezing mess.

"Y - You're w - welcome!"

Well, on the bright side, at least you'll all be sick together.

Snuggled in bed, among discarded tissues, wrappers of cough drops, and smooshed in one big embrace of entangled limbs while binging nothing but sitcoms, movies, and anime.

You would eventually get better in a week's time then later tend to your two enamored, affectionate partners and get them back into tip top shape.

But until then, being in their cozy arms, sleeping smack dabbed in between them, that might as well be the key on your quick road to recovery.

The SatoSugu cure, indeed!

[eicsferrari]

annoyance - cs55 smau pt3

summary: you don't like carlos but now he's a williams driver and you have to see a lot more of him

a/n: short and sweet end to the series! tysm for reading. lando changing his user messed this up but i decided to just ignore it for my sanity lol also i had to find a way to add the latest news of franco going to alpine so this took a little longer to post. enjoy<3

pt 1 / pt 2 / pt 3

masterlist

✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧

Instagram

yourusername posted a story

caption: date night

replies

↪yourfriend2: what episode did i miss???? i thought we hated him

yourusername: not anymore

↪ yourfriend1: how did it go?

yourusername: really good😭 thank you for kicking some sense into me

✧

carlossainz55 posted a story

replies

↪landonorris: what a great momento to say thank you lando for being my wingman

carlossainz55: thank you lando

↪ francocolapinto: if you hurt her-

carlossainz55: i won't

✧

carlossainz55 posted a story

caption: the best photographer

↪user2: omg whooo👀

↪ user5: you replaced yn😔

✧

yourusername posted a story

caption: a bet is a bet

replies

↪user4: this is hilarious

↪ landonorris: send me this

✧

carlossainz55: fully recharged🔋 and ready for the next races🏁

view all comments

user9: is this...a soft launch?

user8: first pic🥵

user1: let's all think together, who do we know that loves wine and speaks spanish?

user3: this is so boyfriend coded

✧

yourusername posted a story

caption: race day

↪alex_albon: i see how it is🙃

↪landonorris: you are not being subtle you muppet

↪user6: watching the annoyance to lovers trope unfold in real life is insane

↪ francocolapinto: just hard launch already🙄

yourusername: if u insist

✧

♡liked by francocolapinto, carlossainz55, lilymhe & others

yourusername: camera crumbs

- carlossainz55, francocolapinto

view all comments

user4: OMG

lilymhe: so happy for you two <3

lilymhe: also i miss u😭

yourusername: let's get together soon🤍 just ditch alex

alex_albon: you steal my teammate AND my girlfriend??

user8: got a pretty face a pretty boyfriend too

francocolapinto: how do you sneak me into your hard launch and still manage to pick a terrible picture??? but congratulations, good luck with her carlossainz55

yourusername: es tradición !! [it's tradition]

yourusername: also payback for u leaving williams😭 i'll miss being paid to take your ugly pictures

carlossainz55: 💙 ♡liked by author

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[bunnyreaper]

𝓷𝓸𝓫𝓸𝓭𝔂 𝓭𝓸𝓮𝓼 𝓲𝓽 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓭𝓸 𝒶 𝒿𝑜𝒽𝓃 𝓅𝓇𝒾𝒸𝑒 𝓍 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹𝑒𝓇 𝓈𝑒𝓇𝒾𝑒𝓈

𝓅𝓉 3 𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒

wc - 4.2k warnings - 18+/nsfw, cheating (not from reader or john), older male younger female, future daddy kink) notes - hello darkness my old friend. i'm back! i have no idea what i'm doing or if it's even good but here we are!! also on ao3! ♥

With John gone, you stand in the open doorway for longer than you probably should, your thoughts overwhelming your ability to just turn around and walk inside. There's an unfamiliarity to seeing him off on your own, without James by your side, but honestly, the moment felt all the better for it. 

Eventually, you head inside, heading to the kitchen for a cuppa before you'll probably find your way back to bed. Tea always has a way of making you sleepy, somehow, which is good because it's coming up on 4:30 am, and the last thing you want is to be in John's home on a dark morning, without the man himself.

Atop the kitchen island sits a handwritten letter, some cash, a house key, and an emergency number should you need anything. 

You pick up the letter, noting John's scrawl—it's not the first time you've seen it by any means, Christmas cards, birthday cards, the post-it notes stuck to his fridge—but it's neater than usual, his all block letter filling out most of the page. 

[Y/N],

If I can trust anyone to not burn my house down whilst I'm gone, it's you. Please stay away from the sharps, though love. No Nurse Price to help patch you up when I'm gone.

Bins go out on a Wednesday, next week is grey recycling. Try not to put it out too early the night before, or the nosey neighbours will have a fit. Window cleaner is due Thursday, and it's £35. He just put the price up, bastard.

Feel free to use my ensuite, the pressure in the rain shower is way better, but fair warning, it'll ruin the main bathroom for you.

If you need anything, use the money I left, and if you need any more, I'll square you up when I get back.

See you soon, love, don't get into any trouble. 

John.

——-

The letter makes you smile, both that John took the time and that it reads like an overly cautious parent leaving their kid at home for the first time. He truly is a mother hen in a gruff man's body. You pick up the key, putting it in the pocket of your joggers so you can attach it to your keyring later.

The two of you, or rather, you and James, have a copy of it at your house, but this one is all yours. 

John letting you stay in the house at all is a sign of trust, but doubly so when he's away. Strangely, you feel less turmoil upon his departure when you're surrounded by everything him. His furniture, his record collection, the throw blanket you crocheted for him that you know he uses frequently. Framed pictures line the walls, every room smells like him, his cupboards are filled with cheesy mugs that have clearly been forced upon him over the years. 

It makes the sudden emptiness of this somewhat unfamiliar place a little more bearable.  

You make your tea, reaching into the cupboard for a mug. The Sports Direct one is tempting, but there's no way you're getting through that much tea before drifting off again. Instead, you grab one of the aforementioned cheesy mugs—one that's fairly plain beside the "GRUMPY OLD GIT" printed on the side. It warms you from the inside out, thinking of John's expression every time he sees those words, especially since the mug was likely from his squad and was intentionally picked just to irritate him.

With a steaming mug in hand, you head back to the guest room and snuggle back into bed. Desperate to take your mind off of John, you watch some video essay on your phone and sip at your tea until you're finally ready to drift off to sleep.

—-

Days pass by, mostly in a haze. The post-breakup limbo you're in is strange. It's been so long since you've been without James that even though you're glad it's over, it's weird to be apart. 

Your sleep is much better now without him coming into bed late, making a racket, waking up early, and making a racket all over again. Your heart is lighter, not filled with worry and second-guessing—at least until his late-night texts come and disturb your peace. Despite muting the pop-up notifications, the number on your messages app ticks up every day, making you squirm with discomfort at the reminder of James and the little red circle that lingers. You don't hear from John, which never feels great when he's away, but at least keeps you from seeing glimpses of James' vitriol.

Your newfound state of suspension is all the more complex by being in John's house. 

Admittedly, you hadn't thought much of what would happen if and when you and James broke up. You thought you'd be headed home, and you suppose you still might, but you didn't expect refuge in John's home along the way.

You still sit with the sin of coming between father and son, no matter how much James' actions are to blame for this whole mess. Even more than that, you feel decidedly wrong for holding onto your relationship with John with both hands, for being closer to him than his own blood.

John doesn't belong to you, never has and never will, but there's something safe and comforting and familiar about him you know you'll hate to let go of, more than James and more than the life you're leaving behind. 

Guilt twists in you further, for you finally admit to yourself that you've craved this closeness with John the entire time. From the moment you two met, there's been a connection, a simple bond of kindred spirits, an unspoken natural enjoyment of the other's company—and perhaps there's more to it than you thought. 

The feeling sits uncomfortably in your stomach, the realisation that you're interested in John Price as a man, separate from his relationship with his son. 

Creeping into his room almost feels illegal, but he did offer up his bathroom for your usage.

You've been in here before, but only ever briefly, and in John or James' company. Now you're unaccompanied. The texture of his soft pile carpet feels unfamiliar under your feet despite being the same one in the guest room. It's lived in, it's his, but it's still tidy in a way you'd expect from a man in the military. The bed is perfectly made, and everything's in its own place. 

You make your way through to the ensuite, delighted to see, just like John said, a room even more lavish than the main bathroom. The rain shower beckons you in, and the shelves are filled with a surprising amount of gels and creams.  

Turning on the shower, you begin to strip down, ready to bathe under the steaming cascade of water—yet a sense of unease washes over you.

John isn't in the room, isn't even in the house or the country, so why does being naked in his bathroom feel so... forbidden? 

You catch yourself in the mirror, entirely bare, on display only for your eyes. How many times has John stood in this very spot, getting the same view of himself? Your cheeks flush at the image of his bare chest, an undoubtedly hairy trail downward... and you try hastily to push away such inappropriate thoughts. No longer able to face yourself in the mirror, you step into the spray, the temperature of the water rivalling the heat building in your body. 

It doesn't help you any as a scent, uniquely John swirls in the air, his body wash and shampoo emanating from the bottles on the shelves and the loofah that now sits drenched near the taps.

Usually, you'd just feel a sense of safety, but now, something else entirely builds inside you. It's likely just a misplaced sense of wishing for John's return, missing him, as anyone who knew him would. It's likely not helped by your lack of physical intimacy for months now and the neglect you've suffered from for so long. 

The thoughts you were having earlier, of being interested in John as a person, grow corrupted with each passing second. Could it be that you're interested in John in a baser sense? Or is it just an unfortunate combination of other factors? 

You swallow thickly as you turn the temperature lower, hoping to douse the flames of your inappropriate thoughts. 

——

After several days of sitting around rotting, the urge to actually do something works its way into every fiber of your being. You've already sorted through the suitcase and bags you brought over to John's, though it likely won't be long until you need to repack again. You've also performed every self-care act known to man, and religiously checked Rightmove in the hopes of finding somewhere to rent on your own. You're in the middle of singing, dancing, and deep cleaning John's kitchen when your phone lights up, the man himself calling.

"Hi John." You greet sunnily, beyond pleased to see him safe and sound and smiling too.

"Hello, love."

Even through the speaker, his voice is soothing and warm.

"Ooh, is that the wifey?" A Scottish brogue fills your ears as a head pops into view, before a loud shushing and the slam of a door. You can't help but chuckle, only knowing Soap by reputation and feeling warm at finally getting to witness the man firsthand.

Even if what he said is mortifying. Isn't wifey a term for any woman in Scotland, anyway? 

"Was that Soap?" Hopefully John doesn't hear the waver in your voice.

"Sure was. How are you, darling? Keeping well?" John smiles in that way he always does, tight-lipped and only just meeting his eyes. 

"Not so bad, you've caught me at a bad time actually." You look at yourself in the small preview of what John sees—messy hair, dressed in barely there pyjamas, and definitely looking a little worse for wear. Shit.

"That's usually my line." His chuckle is faint, but then he seems to notice your appearance too, and the disarray behind you. "What are you doing?" 

"Just some chores. I cleaned your oven, and now I'm about to get rid of all the expired stuff in the fridge." There's a proud smile on your face as you explain—a small subconscious part of you hoping it pleases him, that it shows you're earning your keep. 

John sighs, his brows furrowing. "Woman, I can empty my own bloody fridge." 

There's equal amounts playfulness and reservation in his tone, the perfect balance to make you want to tease him. "And yet, you neglected to, so here I am." 

"What would I do without you, hmm?" 

"Come back to mold in your fridge?"

"Wouldn't be the first time."

You grimace before setting up the phone and turning back to the open fridge, picking up a half-open bottle of wine that sits in the door. It was probably there the last time you visited. You pull it out, taking a quick smell of the alcohol before your stomach lurches in protest. "I mean, how long has this actually been here?" 

"A while, but it's expensive wine, love." 

Feeling brave, especially despite the smell, you take a quick swig of the wine, downing as much as you can in one go. Not all of it makes it to your mouth, and you wipe your lips with the back of your hand before you show the bottle to John once more. There's still a bit left, but the guilt of wasting it isn't enough to make you suffer through more of the taste. 

"It's going down the drain." You shrug, setting it down on the counter next to the sink.

John's eyes twinkle with amusement, but he purposely tries to keep his expression flat. "Fine, least you're keeping busy, 'spose." 

"I am!" You smile brightly, focusing your attention on John and coming closer to the phone.

Upon closer inspection, you take in his surroundings. It's a surprise to get a call from him, although a pleasant one. He seems to be in a building instead of some tent or the middle of some desert, which comes as a welcome change. Despite the more hospitable surroundings, John looks just as tired as you'd expect, the lines on his forehead seeming deeper. 

"How are you, anyway?" You ask. "Didn't expect you to be in some office."

"Not that cushy, the bloody AC is broken, but I'm taking advantage of the WiFi while I have it."

He finally gets the chance to get in touch with normal civilisation, and he uses the opportunity to call you. 

The mere thought sets something in you aflame, a warmth that radiates outward from your chest and heats you until you feel your cheeks flush. 

You take a step away from the phone, fiddling with something off camera so your reaction is your own little secret. 

"Did Soap have to show you how to use FaceTime?" You tease, hoping to deflect with humour.

"Very funny, love." John rolls his eyes and fights the smile that lurks on his lips. "Think you'd have still been watching CBeebies when I got my first iPhone."

Incorrect, but a horrid thought regardless. 

"Okay, I take it back. You're not that old, and I'm not that young!" You protest, a desperate voice inside you screaming to assert the need to not have John see you as a child.

"I'm well aware, missy." He purrs, something imperceptible in his tone that makes you feel far from innocent. John's demeanor shifts quickly, and whatever was there before now hidden behind a mirage of stoicism. "How's the house?" 

"Fine, nothing disastrous happened. I waited for it to get dark before I took the bin out, paid the window cleaner his extortionate price even though he was a prick." 

"What'd he do?" John frowns.

For a moment, you hesitate, wondering if you should even tell him. While you're certain you're not making a big deal of nothing, you don't mean to sour his opinion of his competent-yet-arsehole-ish window cleaner. 

"Just called me your 'midlife crisis' and then asked if I could help him with his." Your features crinkle in disgust, entirely at the idea of being that man's anything.

"Arsehole." John huffs, his jaw clenching.

"I think he was just trying to be funny, but I just wanted to shut the door in his face." 

"Wouldn't have blamed you, love."

You shrug, hoping to brush off what was an unfortunate but fleeting encounter. "Oh well, at least when he comes next month, I probably won't be here."

John stills. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, I can't stay here forever."

"Maybe not, but you can stay as long as you like." 

There's no question in his tone, and you should know better than to argue with the man, but that feeling of something untoward still fizzles in your veins. "I don't want to get under your feet."

"Darling, you're doing me and that house a world of good. Don't make me tell you again." Despite his words, his features are soft, his eyes almost pleading for you to drop the subject and agree with him.

You can't resist the look on his face.

"Fine." You sigh, accepting your defeat.

You watch as John repositions himself, the relaxed posture he held before now stiffening as he leans into his desk. "You heard from him?"

You nod solemnly, actually thinking of James for the first time that day. "He keeps blowing up my phone, deleting messages, and then doing the same all over again." 

John's jaw tightens, his rage clear. "Block him."

Another command, but one you know you can't obey.

"I would, but I need to organise a day to move all my stuff out." You explain, hoping it's clear to John that you're already counting down the hours until you can do exactly what he asked. "We let the landlord know we're moving out, so I'll need all the furniture out too by the end of the lease." 

John nods understandingly. "We'll get you sorted when I'm back." 

There's a knock at the door, a creak of a hinge, and a gruff voice on the other side—Ghost, you suspect. "Captain, you're needed."

"Roger." John calls out. He picks up the phone and offers you a sad smile.

"Duty calls." You say, forcing a smile onto your face for his sake. You pick up the phone also, and the two of you are closer for a moment.

"So it does. Talk to you soon, love."

Your chest tightens, entirely unfairly. It's only the end of a call, and you get to go back to lounging around John's home while he goes off to get his hands dirty. "Stay safe, John." 

You give him one last smile as you wait for him to end the call, unable to press that little red button yourself.

—-

Just a few more days, each dragging longer than the last, and finally John's coming home. When he sends you that fateful text, you rush to tidy the house all over again and plan a meal for his arrival home.

He should get back to base at 9 pm and be home a little while after. The hours feel like days, the time not even seeming to speed up as you cook him an indulgent dinner and put on the record player. Alone, waiting for him to come home pathetically, for a moment, it feels reminiscent of your nights with James. You're waiting for him to come over so the dread can be over, though at least with John, it's not caused by the man himself. At least with John, everything will be alright as soon as he crosses the threshold.  

By the time eleven rolls around, you turn down the music, waiting for any sound of his arrival. As soon as you hear his truck coming down the street, you're on your feet, rushing to unlock the door and pick up where you left off. 

He seems surprised when he climbs out of the car and sees you silhouetted in the doorframe, yet a tired smile shows from behind his beard, his eyes crinkling in delight. A few steps bring him closer to you, your breath stuttering before he drops his bag and pulls you into him.

His large arms wrap around your waist as yours slip around his neck. His hands grip you tight, his face sinks into your shoulder, and he holds you like he's never going to let go.

Safety. Connection. Electricity.

Your body shivers—whether due to the cold air of the night or the feeling of him pressed against you, you don't know. In John's arms, you know you'll never fall, you know he has you. 

John pulls away, his eyes staring into yours, an unknown emotion within. "Darling girl, what are you doing awake?"

"Couldn't sleep until I knew you were back." You almost go to reach for his bag, but you know he'd have none of it. You lead the way inside and immediately fall into a decidedly domestic role. "Cuppa?" 

"Go on then." 

John says very little, clearly exhausted in every which way—still, there's a twinkle behind the tiredness in his eyes that lets you know he's happy to be home. You get to work with the kettle whilst John shucks off his coat and boots. 

"I've got dinner ready for you, just needs reheating." You reach for the nicest mugs in the cupboard. 

John sinks onto a stool at the kitchen island and takes a deep breath—tension seeps from his body as he watches you. "You're an angel, love." 

"Figured you'd be hungry, and I know you love coming back to a home-cooked meal." You explain as you start to mess with the microwave, ready to reheat the food you prepared for him earlier.

"And the heating on." He smiles softly.

"Perks of a house sitter, hmm?" You muse, before turning your attention back to the tea. You pour the hot water on the teabags before adding a single sugar and a splash of milk for John. After squeezing out and discarding the teabag, you stir John's tea before setting it down before him, and taking a seat too.

Under the soft glow of the dimmed kitchen lights, you finally get a chance to take in John—the deepening of his crow's feet, the length of his beard, and the ruddiness and freckles splashed across his cheeks.

"You've got a tan!" You exclaim, your teasing half genuine and half kittenish. 

"Don't start." He fixes you with a look, but you know there's nothing behind it.

"But—" You start to protest, but fall silent when he raises a finger to shush you. Your mouth falls shut on instinct.

"'There's no such thing as a safe tan', I know, I know. You're about 30 years late to tell me that."  

You sigh, relenting on giving him The Speech, despite how much you care. You look over him once more, taking him in. The freckles give him a boyish quality that you wouldn't usually associate with the older man, and the tan only accentuates his dark hair and bright eyes. 

"I hate that it suits you, actually. Brings out your eyes." 

Handsome, even more so than before, you muse. If such a thing were even possible.

The microwave beeps, saving you from saying more than you should. 

"Cheers, love." John offers in return, and you can tell from his tone that he doesn't take such sweet words to heart. 

You focus on serving up, ensuring everything is perfect before you set the plate before him.

"You didn't have to cook for me." He says, but his eyes betray his appreciation. 

"I wanted to." You shrug, thinking little of it. It only seemed right. He goes out to god knows where doing god knows what—he deserves a hot, home-cooked meal. Add to that the way he's caring for you by letting you live with him, the way he's always cared for you—it makes perfect sense that you want to repay him in kind.

"Right." He nods before he dives into his food, barely blowing on it before he shovels it into his mouth.

You'd already eaten hours before. You wished you could've held out to share a meal with him, but your appetite and blood sugar were having none of it. You're more than happy to watch him enjoy the food all on his own.

As John eats, lost in his thoughts, you blow at your tea before taking quick sips, trying hard not to burn your mouth while still quenching your thirst. T.Rex keeps you both company as the minutes pass.

"Sorry that I'm not better company. Heads elsewhere, I'm afraid." 

"A particularly tough mission this time?" You ask, just as concerned as always.

"Wasn't easy, but don't you worry about that." The smile he offers you doesn't quite reach his eyes.

You reach out without thinking, a hand settling on his arm as you feel the need to connect with him. "You're back in one piece, that's all that matters."

His smile seems a little more real this time. Your touch lingers for as long as you can stand before you worry you've overstepped, and you withdraw. 

John devours the rest of his meal, a satisfied hum bursting forth from him with the final bites. He turns to you with a sense of purpose. "I know it's late, but fancy a drive?" 

"Sure." You nod. Admittedly, you're ready for bed, but if John wants some company, you'd do anything to indulge him. "... Though I have a confession." 

"Go on." His brow lifts, his eyes set upon you tenderly.

"Country lanes on a night freak me out."

He barks out a laugh before his features settle into a soft look. "Tell you what then, I'll take you down the A49 as a treat." 

"What a gent." 

John makes his way to the cupboard, pulling out a thermos for your tea. He drinks his own in quick gulps before he ushers you to the door.

He holds out his jacket for you to wear like its nothing—your own not yet present on the coat rack for you to grab. His scent wraps around you, and the approving look in his eyes only makes the comfort of the sherpa all the sweeter. 

——-

From then on, the two of you enjoy each other's company in relative silence. Once in the truck, John whacks on his driving playlist and pulls out of the drive with ease.

You're more than content to just watch him, satisfied enough just having him there, before you, safe and sound. Every time he looks over at you, sparing a glance before he focuses on the road once more, you find comfort washing over you more and more.

The warmth of the AC and his soft singing lull you to sleep as you look out upon the stars. 

[leafofkudzu]

Greetings and salutations from a summer in full swing, everyone! I hope the season is treating you well, because the first Saturday of a new month is this Saturday, and the festival gods have blessed us with the perfect venue for yet another art party hosted by my guild, [VS] Verdant Shield! That's right, finally the cards have aligned for us to visit one of my favorite locations in game - the Labyrinthine Cliffs!

For those who aren’t familiar with art parties, they’re a concept carried over from Final Fantasy XIV - in-game get-togethers for artists/writers/creatives of all types to hang out, chat, and create together! Get your favorite character/look together, head to the location, find someone that catches your eye, and create! Afterwards, everyone posts their creations in a shared tag (ours is #VSArtParty) so others can see, interact, and share! Tl;dr: the ‘goal’ of an art party isn’t to be drawn, but to draw others, and share with the community!

Time and /squadjoin information is under the cut, but will also be posted again via reblogs as the squads go up on the day of the party!

Location Information:

No picture needed because the Labyrinthine Cliffs are unforgettable! When the Festival of the Four Winds started on Tuesday everyone should have got an invitation to the festival grounds, and if you didn't you likely have an old one lying around, or can find a portal to the locations from just about any major location you can think of! Head to the Cliffs and look for my tag down by the water - there's a good chance I'll be on the NPC boat that cruises around, or lounging on the beach awaiting the next treasure hunt with everyone!

Time & Squad Details:

As we always do, we’ll be having two parties - one on EU servers and one on NA ones - with an hour break in between. People tend to arrive early and/or jump between accounts as soon as the break comes up, so don’t be surprised to see tags and announcements going up ahead of schedule!

The first party will be on EU servers and begin at 9pm Central European Summer Time (aka 3pm Eastern Daylight Time or 5 hours before in-game reset). I’ll be hosting on my EU alt account, so to join either /squadjoin or whisper Ashelin Falstaff for an invite.

The second party will be on NA servers and begin at 7pm Eastern Daylight Time (aka 1am Central European Summer Time or an hour before in-game reset). I’ll be hosting this one on my main account and may swap characters a few times, but a safe bet is to either /squadjoin or whisper Teekzi for an invite - just don't be surprised if you get a response from a different character name!

Closing Words:

As is clearly evidenced by this post being in the right format, I did mostly cobble my computer back together after last month's implosion! I wanted to wait until the Festival was announced in order to confirm that it would be active for this month, and then IRL got in the way again (but in a pleasant way this time don't worry), so I'm a smidge delayed. But we got there! Thank you for rolling with my weird Situations these past few months - hosting these events is a joy I will continue to prioritize as long as you all continue to come by and make them awesome! Keep being kind to each other, and I'll see you all on Saturday! ♥

[oddwalkerduckarts]

Sylus x MC: No Way Out

Literally just realized I never cross-posted my first fic, lol. Sorry for the repeat if you follow me on AO3, I promise I've got a grassland romance fic coming soon.

Summary: A rewrite of my absolute favorite Sylus card. I really enjoy just how hurt his VA made him sound, and I wanted to reflect that in this.

Contains: AFAB MC, hurt/comfort, kinds enemies to lovers (ish??), Sylus in Pain, blood and injury, like a lot of talk about blood, an MC who swears constantly (she's earned it ok), SFW

AO3

-*-*-*-

I'm going to fucking strangle him, she thinks.

She's standing there, in a public park, on a gorgeous day. It should be the perfect sort of afternoon to relax after a hunting shift, and that had been exactly her plan. But Sylus, sitting relaxed and carefree in front of the fountain, has apparently seen fit to obliterate any chance of that. She's still breathless from sprinting to the coordinates her hunter's watch had specified. Sure, it was a relatively short run, but it was enough to have her adrenaline running high and her mind racing in preparation for dealing with a wanderer. She can feel a prickling sensation under her skin as she pants for air; a sensation which is not helped by the prickling of embarrassment as a middle-aged passerby gives her a judgemental look and makes a point of walking a wider distance from her than is strictly necessary.

She throws him a glare that tells him to mind his own damn business before turning the glare back to the true source of her ire.

He's wearing sunglasses, making him even harder to read than usual, but the slight smirk on his face is all too familiar.

No, he's too damn tall for strangling. Bastard hot man. Maybe I'll drown him in that damn fountain. That could work, she muses.

Despite the warmth of the day, Sylus's jacket is still hung around his shoulders, making his silhouette even sharper, more striking. The fountain spreading out behind him gives the whole picture a strangely artistic look, a statuesque man before a sculpture of angels and cranes, a slight mist hanging in the air as the water crashes back into the pool behind him. And somehow, that makes the whole situation even more irritating.

"Did you send a request to be rescued?"

She tries to make her voice cold, icy even. Unfortunately, the effect is slightly undercut by her puffing from the recent exertion.

His one shoulder rises and falls in a careless gesture, expression inscrutable. "I encountered a wanderer, and needed some help."

The words come out in a way that strikes her as odd; almost choked, perhaps?

Even in sarcasm he can barely lower himself to ask for help. What an ass.

"Well," She makes a show of looking around, spreading her arms wide, "Where's the wanderer?"

"I made it run away."

Her eye twitches. She can't start swearing here, in the middle of a public park. She doesn't need to go through that particular bit of remedial training with her superiors again. So instead she forces a slow breath out through her nose and asks, "How did you know I'd be the one to show up?"

Sylus lifts his phone, and her own smiling face looks back at her behind a pair of rainbow, heart-shaped sunglasses. Underneath the picture is a geotag.

Didn't I disable geotags last week...? I thought for sure I did so that Zayne wouldn't see that I got takeout at 1 a.m. again. Shit, does that mean he knows? Ugh, i don't want that nutrition lecture again-

"Let's flip a coin," Sylus's voice halts her train of thought. He tosses a coin from who-knows-where up into the air and catches it with the same hand. "The outcome will determine many people's fates tonight."

What the hell is he talking about? Is he going to blow up a building or something? Ugh, no, he wouldn't have called me if that's what he was up to. I don't need this right now. I'd like to enjoy my afternoon without a hail of bullets, thanks.

She rolls her eyes, opening the watch's interface, scrolling through to cancel the assistance flare, marking it as resolved. There's the tiny splish of a coin landing in the fountain.

He's damn lucky no one else responded. Or maybe I'm unlucky. Six of one, half a dozen of the other, probably.

"I'm busy with work, Sylus, stop messing around. Today, you-"

She's not sure when he stood up, but suddenly his strong arm is around her neck, pulling her close to him. Her heart, much to her irritation, skips a beat. Just like it always does when he's close, damn the man. And he's certainly close now. Close enough to feel the heat of him, to catch the smell of metal polish, oiled leather, and…

...blood?

What the hell...?

Her eyes dart across the dark material of his shirt, underneath the cover of his jacket. She's grown familiar with the streaks of dark red that swirl across the fabric, since it seems to be one of his favorites. And the large, dark splotch that she spies spreading across his sleeve and side is definitely not part of the usual pattern. And the streams of blood leaking from two punctures on his arm are certainly not typical.

"Sylus, you're bleeding!?" She stammers out in shock, trying to process the strange turn in the situation. The last time she'd see blood on his shirt she'd been...

Well. She'd been the one who had opened that wound, hadn't she? A shot to the heart, point-blank range-

No. Focus on the problem at hand.

"What happened-"

Just as the words start to fall out of her mouth, a single long digit is pressed against her lips, startling her into silence.

"Shh," He drops his finger from her lips. It's somehow both a relief and a disappointment, though she refuses to think about why she would be disappointed by the lack of contact. "Let's go. If we don't, we'll be stuck here."

She isn't sure what he means by that. But she reasons that it's probably not wise to argue with a bleeding man. Not that he gives her time to; his arm is already tucking her to his side and guiding her to walk with him away from the park and all its potential onlookers.

As a hunter, she's seen a lot of injured people. Civilians and other hunters alike. For civilians, the reactions vary wildly. Some cry, some scream, some are in the complete silence of shock. Hunters, on the other hand, tend to have more predictable reactions. Barking out succinct updates on their status and position to their partners, maybe requests for backup teams. In the worst cases, calling for assistance to retreat.

Sylus isn't like either of those. This doesn't surprise her, of course. Sylus isn't like anyone in any way she can think of. She barely even counts him as human most of the time. The current situation seems to support this, as well. Looking at him now, as they duck into an alley across from the park, she would never guess anything was amiss, except maybe for the lack of movement from his left shoulder, slightly stiffening his gait. His head is held high, his steps are sure, and he carries himself with the same usual air of arrogant nonchalance.

At least, he does at first.

The minutes roll by as he guides her through a labyrinth of narrow side streets, so quiet the sound of their steps on the cobblestones echo off the walls, and dark even at the height of midday. Side streets like these would normally have her at least a bit on guard, but the man at her side is an entirely different class of threat than whatever petty criminal she'd find here. At least, he would be, under usual circumstances. But with the passing of time, she notices his bearing begins to change, albeit minutely. His steps drag just slightly more against the rough path. His posture sags, just a fraction of an inch, but enough that she can tell. There's a slight labor to his breathing that she's never heard from him before.

And damn her, it's fucking terrifying.

This is a man that she's seen tear another person asunder. A man she's seen stop bullets in midair. A man she's seen take a gunshot to the chest, and then look her in the eye with a cold smile. A man who stood with her in a building as it went up in a blaze around the pair of them. And now, in this strange, wrong moment, he is a man struggling to walk down a street and stand tall.

Idiot, use your head, she chastises herself, you know how to help someone who is wounded. The fact that it's the leader of fucking Onychinus, and maybe the most terrifying person you know, is beside the point right now. For right now, he's a person who is hurt. And you're all he's got.

She curves around him, pressing her shoulder to his side for support, her hand settling just above the stiff leather of his belt. She shifts herself closer, trying to help distribute some of the weight onto herself. Given the height difference, it isn't terribly effective; but she does feel a decent amount of pressure settle across her shoulders, as well as feeling a slight lean to his spine against her arm. And a twitch of a muscle in his side relaxing slightly under her palm. The strength of his arm, even loose as it is across the back of her neck. A surprisingly tight grip of his fingers on her waist. And warmth, radiating from his core. Trapped against her, where their sides meet. Bleeding through her vest, her shirt. An uncomfortable, restless warmth, spreading through her body; collecting in her cheeks, her chest, her stomach.

"You really like helping others."

The slight rumble of his voice, a bit hoarse from effort, startles her. He seems almost surprised, though she can’t imagine why. Helping others is her entire career, after all.

Right. Wounded crime boss. Focus.

"Well," she starts, affecting an irritated tone to cover her distraction, "if I didn't take you with me, you wouldn't have let me go."

"How are you so sure?"

The amusement in his comment is almost lost under the strain. He's getting worse, she realizes. She should've been putting pressure on the wound ages ago. But how to do it while still supporting him with her left arm? She tries crossing her right arm over his front, but again his height proves problematic.

Dammit.

"Lean down a little." She commands. The deep, throaty chuckle it earns her would tempt her to swat him, were it not for how breathless it sounds. To her surprise, he replies without further comment, allowing her hand to make contact with the wound. It’s hot, wet and tacky under her palm with a mix of old and new blood. Underneath the layer of blood and cloth, she can feel a deceptively small hole. A puncture, then. And a deep one, if the amount of blood is any indication. Even the relatively light touch makes Sylus inhale sharply. She feels the muscles across his torso tense, though he doesn’t recoil.

What the fuck? How did a wanderer do this?

A small growl of frustration escapes her as she realizes there's no way to apply an appropriate amount of pressure from the current angle. "Lean down a little more."

He looks down at her, a single gray eyebrow arched. "When hunters accept a rescue mission, do they always tend to the wounded?" Despite the light tone of the question, she notices some of his consonants are starting to drag.

You'd have a lot easier time catching your breath if you stopped fucking talking.

She’s startled by the strength of her own irritation, the thought jumping unbidden into her mind. Ugh. Calm down. I guess if he’s still asking questions, he’s not about to pass out or something. I don’t know how I’d carry him if he did…

"No, we just escort them to the hospital." She puts some pressure to his back, reminding him to lean. To her surprise, he responds without resistance. "We only care for them when they're troublesome, like you."

That barb earns her a slight smirk. She doesn't expect it to be such a reassuring sight. Usually it makes her want to punch him.

They manage to start walking again. It's quite awkward, he's bent almost double and she's moving sort of sideways.

"So what happened exactly?" She asks, then notes with frustration, "You're still bleeding."

Why hasn't he healed himself? I've done worse to him than this. Hell, half the wanderers we've fought have.

"It's nothing. The sun's too bright," he says, like that explains anything at all.

She glances up. The sun is, indeed, glaringly bright today. Not a cloud in the sky, either. She's rarely seen him in Linkon himself, but on those rare occasions, she supposes they have all happened at night. Or maybe he’s just being facetious, she can never completely tell with him.

"Oh good," she teases, "I discovered another one of your weaknesses."

She could swear he intentionally leans more weight on her at that, and she swallows a grunt.

Two turns later, she finds herself looking at a, frankly, aggressively average-looking motel. Maybe a bit smaller than average, but certainly not what she'd pictured their destination to be. She hesitates slightly, checking to see if there's another turn to take. But Sylus continues ahead, seeming to know where he's headed, and she goes along with him. Fortunately, there seems to be a lack of visitors at the moment, there’s a single car pulled up next to the motel, and no one outside. Nevertheless, her eyes don't stop scanning their surroundings for potential dangers, even as they come up to the door underneath a neon sign reading OFF CE, the ‘I’ occasionally blinking to life.

They enter the office, and she vaguely realizes what an odd picture the two of them must make as they enter. Sylus is half bent-over her, now obviously bleeding and breathing heavily. She's wrapped around him, in her hunter's uniform, with his blood covering her hand and beginning to dye her sleeve.

An inconspicuous sight, they are not.

Fortunately, the only person in the small office room is a pre-teen boy, who is deeply engrossed in a mobile game. She's pretty sure she recognizes the sound effects to be from Light and Dark Raiders: Dragon Team Descent.

She briefly wonders what level he is, before Sylus raps sharply on the desk with his free hand.

"I want room 503."

The boy starts, guiltily putting his phone into his pants pocket. As he does, she notes the abandoned textbook and scratch paper on the desk beside Sylus's hand. Her nose wrinkles slightly of its own accord.

Algebra. No wonder he was playing on his phone.

The boy blinks at the two of them, and for a moment, she thinks she'll have to explain that they're not criminals (well, she isn't), or victims of a mugging, or something. But, to her surprise, the kid asks no questions. Just pulls out a key card from a drawer, and a first-aid kit from a side table, putting them both on the desk before immediately returning to his game. She wonders how often this happens, that Sylus shows up here bloodied and half-conscious. Surely it can't be that often? But then, why does she care in the first place? This is Sylus. The man who kidnapped her, regularly kills those who upset or betray him, and rules over the N109 zone like a tiger over jackals.

"Thanks." The slight mirth in his voice surprises her, and she just notices the slight traces of a warm smile leaving his face as she turns her gaze to him. The contrast between her most recent though and his soft expression is jarring. Whatever the situation is here, Sylus clearly knows this child and vice-versa. The thought that this child, who is playing games, doing schoolwork, and occasionally checking in the odd customer, is wrapped up in the chaos and lawlessness of the N109 zone settles uneasily in her stomach.

But, before she has much time to think about it, Sylus is moving forward again, and she's bound to go along with him. The odd pair walk down a narrow, carpeted hallway, toward the elevator doors at the end. Her arm is beginning to ache from holding pressure in this position, but she does her best to hold steady as Sylus uses his free hand to push the button, still holding the kit and card. She tries to think of something, anything to say, as they step into the elevator together. But she can’t stop listening to the short breaths he takes, and trying to calculate the amount of time he’s spent bleeding. When did she begin to worry over this man like a mother hen? He was the last person alive who she would consider needing any sort of care from another person.

And yet, he does. So she will give it. Because no one else will, right now.

Her sleeve is now soaked, and as they exit the elevator, she can’t help but note the trail of dark red droplets staining the carpet in their wake.

Sylus slides the key card through the reader, and despite the worries about his current state, she can’t help leaning forward to get a glimpse of where the leader of Onychinus makes space to lick his wounds on occasion. However, perhaps to her slight disappointment, it’s as seemingly average as the rest of the motel. Although, once inside the room, she does note that there’s an extra half-room sized space that houses a kitchenette and some cupboards. Sylus gives a slight shrug of his uninjured shoulder, and she realizes that she is still holding onto him as she studies the new space. Her hands leap from him as though burnt.

Rather than face his infuriating smugness at her distraction, she busies herself with opening a side drawer with her clean hand, slightly hoping there will be an object of interest to redirect her thoughts. Unfortunately, it’s completely empty. It seems silly to be disappointed, considering the current situation, but she had half-expected to find a secret arsenal hidden in the room. It certainly wouldn’t surprise her given Sylus’s usual business. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be anything for her to ‘borrow’ from her charge.

“Is this your safe house in Linkon?” She wonders aloud, heading over to the sink to clean the blood from her hand before it has a chance to completely dry. She rolls up her soaked sleeve (the shirt is definitely ruined, she’ll have to get a replacement), trying to prevent it from continuing to drip. She really doesn't want the poor kid at the front desk, or whoever the cleaning person is, to have to clean up more blood than is strictly necessary. The cool water sluicing over her hands and washing away the stickiness is calming, grounding in this unreal situation.

Deep breaths, that's what Jenna said at that training. Although that was about not telling rude onlookers to go fuck themselves in the ass… I think that still applies to this situation? The purpose is still to calm down.

“Can I get some help?” Despite the breathlessness, his tone stays airy, perhaps slightly irritated.

She turns from the sink, towards the sound of his voice. He's sitting on the floor of the shower, having apparently already dropped the jacket from his shoulders and discarded the sunglasses. The sleeve and abdomen of his shirt are soaked through, dark and heavy on his frame. The puncture- no, punctures, there's another she hadn't noticed, and a graze across his ribs -are clearly visible, the fabric frayed and partially plastered into the wounds. A small stream of blood is already starting to reach past the open first-aid box on the tile and slither lazily towards the drain. He pulls at his shirt collar on the injured side, unable to manage the buttons on his own.

She could never, before this very moment, have imagined Onychinus's Sylus ever looking like this. Like a wounded, wild animal; stubbornly refusing to die, but unable to continue on under its own power alone. And yet, still assessing her with those crimson eyes, seeing if she will balk or break or abandon; wash her hands of the whole thing and let him fend for himself. Perhaps daring her to do so.

But that isn’t who she is.

She turns off the faucet and walks over to him, muttering, “At least have the decency to say ‘please’ next time you ask.” Another jibe, meant to pull out their usual banter.

Instead, he exhales a ‘sorry’, as though he was holding his breath.

She doesn't expect the pang of disappointment or the accompanying anxiety that comes with the apology where a teasing quip should be. This is, quite simply, not the Sylus she is used to dealing with.

When did I start becoming used to him?

Probably somewhere in between Sylus threatening to take her hand off to get rid of the energy linkage, and Sylus easing her nerves over text the night before a banquet, or maybe Sylus helping her pick out a pair of sunglasses, or sending his stupid bird to check on her all the time.

In between dozens of small moments, it seems

She kneels down, squeezing into the uncomfortably small space between his outstretched leg and the shower wall, and begins undoing the buttons. It's easy to imagine, with his panting breaths as she uncovers more and more of the toned body underneath his shirt, what this might be like in another situation. Far too easy.

No, no no no no. Do not imagine that right now. Professionalism. I'm a model of professionalism. I am not going to imagine fucking the shot-up sexy man.

The sound he makes when she brushes the skin over his sternum makes her resolve considerably weaker.

“Does it hurt?”

His slight grimace and narrowed eyes, at least, help dismiss any untoward thoughts of hers. “Your hands are cold.”

“I just washed them. Bear with it.”

She gingerly begins to tug at his left sleeve with one hand, her other maneuvering the collar of the shirt so that removing it takes as little movement from him as possible. Fortunately, his shirt (and her sleeve) seem to have soaked up a decent amount of the blood, so it isn’t terribly difficult to examine. She’s never seen wanderer marks like this. But she has seen Sylus with a nearly identical wound before, just slightly left of his sternum instead of on his arm.

A flare of anger rises in her chest. The fucking bastard lied. And, worse, she took him at his fucking word .

Idiot. This is still Sylus. Of course he lies, it’s his whole deal. He’s a black market arms dealer, murderer, and smuggler.

“A gunshot wound?” She seethes, even as she leans around to look for an exit wound. Two gunshot wounds, really, both in his upper arm. Three if she counts the graze streaking across his ribs, which has opened up slightly after removing the shirt. And no exit wounds. She hopes they haven’t hit the bone.

Of course the bullets are still in him. It’s probably the only reason he didn’t fucking bleed out.

She sits back to glare at him, trying to ignore that his face is even paler than usual. For his part, Sylus unflinchingly meets her gaze, which is even more infuriating. He could at least have the decency to try and fake an ashamed expression, rather than having this… curious impassivity. “Wanderers don’t shoot guns. Is this an old grudge or a new one?”

He gives a small, humorless huff. Which is, decidedly, not an answer.

“You always cause trouble,” she growls, refusing to back down from his stare, “but you’re never honest about it.”

He doesn’t bat an eye at her fury. He’s eerily calm, actually, even lacking his usual air of arrogance as he keeps his gaze.

“If you’d like to keep your involvement with the N109 zone to a minimum, then you shouldn’t care too much.”

There’s no condescension in his words. It’s a straightforwardness that is foreign to her interactions with Sylus before now. She’d think it was sincerity, were it not for the recent lie.

She gives a sharp snort, “But I thought you liked my ‘excessive’ concern.”

A strange, small smile pulls at the corner of his lips at that, along with a small hum that she can’t quite interpret the meaning of. It disarms her once more, leaves her reeling, the angry wind taken out of her sails. She wishes, not for the first time, that she could read desires like he can, just to be able to piece out all the thoughts he doesn’t say.

He finally breaks the staring contest between them, reaching over to retrieve a pair of tweezers from the first aid box.

“Turn around.”

“Huh?”

“You don’t need to see this.” He mutters, still wearing that strange not-quite-a-smile, “I’d rather not give you nightmares about me.”

That would be a first for him, she’s never gotten the idea that he much cared if he was fit for her nightmares or not. But he’s fixed her with that same oddly pretensionless look. So what can she do but heed him?

She turns her head to the side, and tries not to flinch at the quiet, pained noises he makes. Even worse is the slight squelching noises of the damaged flesh, which is nauseating to hear (though she’d never admit it). She’s had numerous injuries over the years, from wanderers, accidents, and her own lack of grace; but she finds herself currently grateful she’s never had to try and dig bullets out of herself.

“Is there local anesthetic in the first aid box? I can administer it for you.”

“No need,” he grunts, as something metallic clinks to the tile, rolling before coming to rest against her foot. A 9mm hollowpoint bullet, the top blooming out like a bloody flower. A few more moments and pained noises, and its twin joins it. She takes this as her cue to be able to turn around.

The sight twists her heart with worry once more.

Sylus is leaning back against the tiled wall of the shower, face ghostly in color, chin tipped up slightly. Though he’s still conscious, his eyes are unfocused, and lacking their usual vividness. His mouth is hanging open as he forces himself through steady breaths. His injured arm is limp at his side, with fresh blood streaming from the wounds down his arm and dripping steadily onto the tile.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” She mutters to herself through her teeth. Enough is enough. He called for her help, and he’s damn well going to get it.

She steps carefully around him, trying to find space for herself in the close quarters. It’s certainly not an easy feat, with him being nearly as broad in the shoulders as the wall he’s leaning against. She finally manages to squeeze herself in by squatting down in front of him, her knees between his. She’s pleasantly surprised to find hemostatic gauze in the first aid kit, though she supposes she shouldn’t be; the kit is probably specifically put together for Sylus’s needs.

He grunts as she packs the wounds. Though she’s doing her best to be gentle, there’s only so much she can do at this stage. She knows it isn’t a permanent fix, but it should be enough to get him back to the N109 zone, and whatever passes for his version of safety. She does manage to staunch the bleeding as well, and that is a relief in and of itself right now. She takes out the alcohol wipes and begins cleaning the area surrounding the graze.

“You’re skilled.” His words are slurred slightly. If she’s being honest, she’s impressed he can still manage coherent speech. Maybe, now that he’s out of the sun, his healing is returning to normal speed. She hopes so. “I thought you were the type who usually comes out unscathed.”

She gives an affirmative hum as she concentrates on cleaning the area. Then adds, “but, because you keep messing around, all of my time lately has been spent on you.”

She waits for a response, but there is none. So she continues, “I don’t often get to take on very difficult missions.” In her periphery, she can see his face tip slightly towards her, watching. “My marksmanship skills are getting rusty.”

“I see, you’re not exactly pleased.” He says quietly. Almost regretfully, though perhaps that is just her imagination. His head lolls back to center as he continues in a more airy tone, “I’ll find a few dangerous wanderers for you to use as training dummies later.”

She rolls her eyes as she discards the wipe, and reaches for the bandages. She's about to ask Sylus to lean forward, so she can pass the bandage more easily around his ribcage, but he beats her to the punch; closing the small distance between them to rest his forehead heavily on her shoulder.

“Give me a few minutes,” he murmurs.

And God, she tries to do that, she does try. But she isn't properly balanced for his weight, and it isn't more than a few moments before she falls backward, flat on her ass. Sylus doesn't seem to be fazed. He simply shifts to a kneeling position, head remaining in place. She can feel his heavy breaths, puffing through her shirt, just below her collarbone.

“Does it hurt?” She murmurs. He gives a grunt in response.

Her mind wanders as she begins winding the bandage around his chest as gently as she can. She hates this. Hates how seeing a force of nature brought low fills her veins with an icy dread. Hates seeing him pale and shaky and damn vulnerable. She knows he can stop bullets. She knows he can tear a man’s very atoms apart on a whim. Hell, he can look a giant fucking bird wanderer in the eye as it drops giant stone feathers on him without a second thought. It’s unnatural, to see such a power reduced to the same level of humanity as everyone else.

But in the next breath, she realizes that she likes this. Not the hurt, or the exhaustion, of course. She isn't a sadist, even if she sometimes thinks he is. But so often he seems more like a weapon than a person. Something to be pointed in the direction of what you want obliterated, and released like a bullet from a gun; cold, unyielding, unfeeling. But, maybe, not all of the time. She's heard concern in his voice in the heat of a fight. Playfulness radiating out of a simple text. Gentleness, in the grip of his hand as he leads you through a dance. And now, right now, he's a person in pain, vulnerable and reaching out for help.

The two sides of a coin, the Leader of Onychinus and Sylus. Equal and opposite and baffling. They can't both exist on the same side together, and yet, a coin can't only have one face.

“Your tender loving care is going to last the whole night, huh,” He drawls against her shoulder.

And assholiness. Definitely assholiness, she thinks as she moves to wrapping his arm.

“Why don’t you just instantly recover and head back to the N109 zone to wreak havoc, then?” She retorts, though it’s missing her usual venom. It’s too good to hear him starting to banter again. This doesn’t stop her though, from cutting his responding chuckle a bit short with a rougher yank on the bandage. “You’re either the source of trouble or in trouble,” She pauses a moment, before a genuine question bubbles out of her mouth.

“Aren’t you tired of living like this?”

“It’s almost like you’re telling me to join you, and become a member of the hunter’s association.” There’s a slight mocking edge to his voice, and she briefly wonders if punching him in the gunshot wound will make him pass out. It almost seems worth it. But instead, she finds herself giving into the impulse to match his tone.

“Do I make hunting look easy? We’re required to memorize the hunter’s code, and take assessments during the holidays.” She finishes tying the bandage with a tug, lacing her words with teasing doubt, “Could you handle that?”

There’s only silence in response. She wishes she could see his face, get some idea of what he’s thinking. But his forehead remains on her shoulder. She becomes aware, once again, of his breath; less heavy now, and steadier, but no less warm. And now that she’s unoccupied with tending to him, she becomes terribly aware of all the other sensations. Soft hair brushing against her ear and cheek, the nudge of his nose against her collarbone, the smell of sweat and blood and something underneath that she can’t place.

A strange, visceral impulse to wrap her arms around him makes her muscles twitch.

Where the fuck did that come from? I’m not going to do that, absolutely not, I’m just helping him. He’s probably had to do this alone dozens of times and-

Her thoughts begin to swirl, out of her control.

And it should not feel like a knife to her heart (a sword to his) to think about that. To think of Sylus wounded, maybe unconscious on the floor from blood loss (so much blood) until his evol kicks in to restart the healing. Breath choked and mouth leaking red (you must press on)-

How many times, Leader of Onychinus? How many hails of bullets, stabbings, poisonings, beatings… How many more, Sylus?

She swallows down the rising lump in her throat, bottles and corks the swirling thoughts for later. But she still finds herself asking,

“Be honest with me. Why are you doing all of this? Do you not care about your own safety?”

She feels the shift in his face, feels what could be a sigh across the base of her throat. “There are shadows even in the places where the sun doesn’t shine. And it just so happens,” his voice shifts slightly, into something odd, self-mockery, maybe, “I’m a person who likes to live in the dark.”

Likes to, or must? She wonders. Before today, hell even before thirty minutes ago, she wouldn’t have considered Sylus to be a man without a choice in… well, anything. Now… now she isn’t so sure.

“If you’re curious about my world,” his whisper at her ear sends chills racing down her spine, “you’ll have to step beyond the border between light and shadow. You must be the one to make that decision.”

There’s something thick in the air, something tense. A breath being held. She looses a halfhearted laugh to try and assuage some of it.

“You act as though you’re giving me a choice.”

He draws back then, and she expects him to resume leaning against the wall. Instead, he remains within a breath of her face, crimson eyes filling most of her view. They’re focused precisely now, practically electrified intensity. It’s like staring at a paused lightning strike, and she needs to look away, break the contact.

A warm thumb touches her chin, a finger curling underneath it, and they drag her gaze back to his. There’s the curl of his smirk, ever-so-slightly narrowing his coreless eye.

“Of course,” his voice is breathy now, and gentle , in a way she’s never heard it before, “I did give you a choice. And it’s precisely because you’ve never chosen something that surprised me.”

She vaguely realizes her lungs are burning. Ah. She’s forgotten to breathe. The slight gasp of an inhale she takes seems loud, too loud in this tiny, silent space. And it carries the scent of him into her lungs, warming her chest. The thumb pressing just below her lower lip is a burning contact point, begging her to take it into her mouth. To lave her tongue over it slowly.

Insanity. This must be insanity.

A deep, throaty chuckle barely registers over the static in her mind. “Maybe someday.”

Someday what?

But he leans back, settling against the tile with a smug look on his face, and the electricity dissipates. She is left dazed, confused, and flustered, wildly trying to find some sort of grip on what just happened.

“You’re going to lose your balance like that, sweetie.”

“I… what-” a sense of dread settles low in her stomach. Then, mortification, as she realizes she was leaning closer, chasing the strange electricity that had evaporated as quickly as it had come.

I should’ve fucking punched him.

She grinds her teeth together to avoid aiming one at him now.

"Well, apparently you're beginning to feel well enough to be your usual infuriating self," She leans back to stand up, deeply grateful to not be sitting on the hard tile anymore. "So, you likely don't need my help anymore, and you can make your way back to the N109 zone."

His smile is devilish. "So quick to leave your charge behind. Unfortunately, i doubt I'm in any shape to get back to my ride with the sun still out. And the gauze will need to come out in a little while anyway, so i can heal them faster."

"And?"

"And, since you've done such an excellent job with the bandages, I can't exactly manage that myself. So, I'll be needing your further assistance. Unless, that is, you mean to leave me to me own devices."

Absolute motherfucker.

She quickly starts assessing her options, there has to be some sort of out.

"I could just leave. Luke and Kieran can help you when you get back."

He gives a little nod, "You could."

The "but you won't" hangs unsaid in the air between them. Her better nature has backed her into a corner, and they both know it.

An irritated sigh escapes through her teeth as she holds out her hand to him, "Come on, I don't want all my hard work going to waste because you pass out from the change in altitude, and you crack your head open or something."

"So very selfless, miss hunter," he grins as he takes her hand. She yanks him upright, though it takes considerable effort. He reaches out to brace his good arm on the shower wall to keep from swaying off balance, the remaining half of his sodden, ruined shirt slipping to dangle from his shoulder.

"Altitude sickness?"

He gives a small laugh as he steadies himself. She remains close by, honestly a bit worried he will end up in a heap on the floor. And God, what would she do then? He'd be too damn long and heavy to move effectively.

Better safe than unconscious.

She tucks herself back against his now-bare side, and quickly realizes that maybe, just maybe, putting the side of her face directly against him like this was a mistake. She can feel the muscle of him firm against the curve of her jaw, and his deep chuckle against her ear as it rumbles through his chest nearly makes her breath stop. Again.

"And eager to help, too. A model example of a hunter."

"I liked you better when you were bleeding out." She grumbles, vaguely aware of him shaking the last bit of his shirt off.

If I dont kill him or kiss him before sunset it will be a fucking miracle.

[kisakis-boyfriend]

(CLOSED) 3000 FOLLOWER SPECIAL CELEBRATION 🎉🎉

Also technically our 100, 666, 800, 1000, 2000, and 3000 milestone celebrations!! Thank you all so much for following, reblogging, liking, commenting, sending asks, and lurking 🫶

You've made these past 2 years sort of a dream come true for me. I've wanted to write my own fanfics for more than a decade, but I never got around to it for several reasons. Then, I finally sat down and wrote something. And, thanks to y'all, I'm still here writing and sharing my works all this time later ❤️

I posted a poll well over a year ago and y'all voted for another nsfw alphabet. So, that's what we're doing!

Here are the rules:

This is open to followers and lurkers, including brand new followers!

My usual rules still apply (male reader, switch/top reader only)

You can send up to five (5) letters for one (1) character, OR you can ask for the whole alphabet for one (1) character. You must specify if you want the whole alphabet

All of the fandoms that I write for are eligible, UNLESS there's an ❌ emoji by the name. Check this link to see which fandoms I write for!

Please check which characters I write for too. I don't write for every character in every fandom!

Please be patient with me! I'll do the best I can, but I know for a fact that these will take a while to finish

This event will be open for one whole week. Starting as soon as I post this announcement and ending on March 4th, 2025. Unless I get more than like 150 asks…then I may have to close this early for my own sanity 😵‍💫

Click on the 'read more' for the alphabet I'll be using ❤️

Credit: @/robothumpmycamel

—

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

B = Body part (Their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically)

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

F = Favourite Position (This goes without saying. May include a visual)

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect)

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

L = Location (Favourite places to do the do)

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last)

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

U = Unfair (How much they like to tease)

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words)

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

Z = ZZZ (How quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

[crunchyapple33]

since i've finally fully plunged into paganism now, i finally got around to sprucing up Apollo's alter 🙏🙏🙏 i'm genuinely so happy

i moved his stuff from a random tin and into an empty altoids tin since i finished all the mints finally .

he has a bandaid (a substitute for the literal antidepressants i wanted to put in there 😭), a yellow citrine palm stone, a yellow sunflower bracelet, a rutilated quartz bracelet, 2 cinnamon mints, a "The Sun" tarot card, and a bay leaf :D

OH AND HE HAS A SODA TAB!!! i put it in his previous altar and i felt bad for taking it away from him. i also had a "The Moon" tarot card in his altar, but i really wanna make Artemis an altar eventually as well, so she'll have her card there <3 i can't light any incense rn w/o anyone asking questions (i'm in a safe environment i just . hate being perceived (ironic for a reality shifter)) sooo i used a baoding ball as a bell and rang it around the altar. does that work for cleansing the same as it does for tarot cards?? i may never know . . /silly

oooh yeas . does anyone want to see it . i am typing this all up on desktop rn and don't feel the desire to figure out adding a photo to this post via my phone. eeeeek!

i absolutely want to print out a picture of him and tape it on the inside, but 1. i'd really have to figure out how big the photo needs to be, and 2. we've been having printer problems saurr,,....

but anyways i'm genuinely so proud of myself . finally an upgrade.

i have like . so many gods i'd love to make an altar for. besides Apollo, i'm severely leaning towards Demeter and Hestia as well. they just feel so familial to me?? i would love to make Hypnos an altar as well. and i also really adore Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos, and Hedone but i haven't seen anyone talk much about them so far, but that doesn't mean i can't make them some sort of.. something.. right?

for all my info, i've been watching this video over the course of the last few days (i'm literally only like a few minutes into the first hour of the video LMFAO but i digress . after this video, i feel like i'll be fairly confident in my knowledge of the gods, but the learning phase is never over, in any case. i also really want to look into norse pagan gods, slavic pagan gods, and luciferianism!!! i saw someone on the #rodnovery tag the other day talking about Marzanna and . i am obsessed and need to know everything about her as soon as possible. she is like . idk i've always felt deeply intertwined with winter and oh my goodness . sobs

anyways soz for ranting and raving . i am not allowed to use twitter (as per my own legislation) until like wednesday or thursday and i don't feel like signing into my main tumblr to talk to pine about any of this sauyrrrrr baiii<3

[woso-dreamzzz]

If Music Be The Food Of Love II

Laia Aleixandri x Reader

Social Media

-- -- --

liked by laiaaleixandri, leilaouahabi and 9,302 others

yourinstagram another concert piece 🎵🎵🎵

laiaaleixandri can't wait to hear it 💕����

leilaouahabi you two digust me -> laiaaleixandri then stop liking our pictures

user2 need a love like this

user1 laia and her girlfriend are so sweet 😭😭😭

liked by laiaaleixandri, yourinstagram and 30,405 others

leilaouahabi with this idiot on our way to see one of my favs @yourinstagram

yourinstagram I've got the champagne ready for after the show 🥂🥂🥂

user3 Leila vibing with classical music was not on my bingo card -> user3 actually, Laia vibing with classical music wasn't on my bingo card either

user5 you're both so beautiful ❤️❤️❤️

user4 not Leila preferring Laia's gf over Laia 😂😂😂

liked by yourinstagram, manchestersymphonyorchestra and 20,134 others

laiaaleixandri this beautiful girl is playing four nights leading up to Christmas. Buy tickets @manchestersymphonyorchestra here

yourinstagram all profit from tickets go towards funding music classes for sick kids 🤕💕🤕

user4 laia's gf is actually an angel -> user2 they're both angels

mancity tickets secured ✔️✔️✔️

liked by yourinstagram, leilaouahabi and 10,305 others

laiaaleixandri my baby in autumn 💕💕💕

yourinstagram I hate taking autumn walks but you've made me love them 💕💕💕

leilaouahabi 🤮🤮 🤮 -> laiaaleixandri just because you don't have a girlfriend, doesn't mean everything we do is disgusting -> leilaouahabi I'm single and I'm making it everybody's problem -> user1 I'll date you Leila!!!!

liked by laiaaleixandri, leilaouahabi and 2,305 others

yourinstagram date nights with sexy 🥂

user1 not laia's gf simping on main

user4 she's one of us!!! -> user3 one of us! -> user2 one of us! -> user5 one of us!

liked by yourinstagram, leilaouahabi and 25,503 others

laiaaleixandri she said she's teach me but everything looks so complicated 😭😭😭 -> laiaaleixandri I'm scared 😭

leilaouahabi send me the recording 😜

user3 we need y/n playing football now!!!

liked by yourinstagram, laiaaleixandri and 30,405 others

leilaouahabi they're fighting over whether the pasta is cooked 🙄

laiaaleixandri we're not cooks!!!

user1 😂😂😂

user5 at least we know that they're like a regular couple every once in a while -> user5 I was getting a little bit annoyed at how perfect they are all the time

liked by leilaouahabi, yourinstagram and 30,597 others

laiaaleixandri hanging out with my substitute gf while I wait for my real one 😭

leilaouahabi you'd be lucky to have me -> laiaaleixandri 🤮🤮🤮

yourinstagram I'll be home soon 💕💕💕

user4 cuties 💓

liked by laiaaleixandri, leilaouahabi and 29,567 others

yourinstragram walks with my baby 💕💕💕

laiaaleixandri my beautiful girl 💕💕💕

leilaouahabi stop posting -> leilaouahabi it's making me feel sad and single -> leilaouahabi please stop

user2 absolute cuties

user5 need a relationship like this

[plague-karm]

Right time to analyse this shit because god dammit I have been silently making theories about this show the second I saw the premise I’m about to become the most annoying person on the planet on god so LETS GOOOOOOO-

First things first the animation looks fucking phenomenal (let Kevin Temmer cook, that man can do no wrong). Also Caine the guy ever, he is the silly and I love him wholeheartedly, he’s just a fucked up little guy who’s living his best life fr.

And also NEW CHARACTER HELLO.

They do be circling though.

THE SILLIES ARE HERE LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOO 🎉🎉🎉

Smiling Gangle spotted ten seconds before disaster, no thoughts head empty indeed.

ALSO I WASN’T EXPECTING STUFF OUTSIDE THE CIRCUS BUT IT’S A WELCOME SURPRISE WHOA

They have come to steal your credit card information.

The thoughts I had of Ragatha being the lone brain cell keeping everything together were completely correct I CALLED IT- (it has been said by Gooseworx that she has been there the second longest so she’s probably gotten used to the zaniness by now…maybe)

A door that leads to a void?

Maybe it has something to do with this room in the teaser trailer? Possibly.

Tumblr sexyman spotted.

''If there was a way to leave I'm sure we'd have all left by now''

They're ✨suffering✨

This caught me off guard when I first saw it lmao (holy FUCK I love Zooble's design, they're everything to me).

''Welcome to your new home...AND your new body...''

So they're aware that they were human before they entered the circus? That's interesting considering what happens in a few seconds (I'll get to that soon). It's also worth mentioning that Gooseworx has stated that their clothes ARE a part of their bodies.

Case in point...

At the end of the character introduction compilation Gooseworx posted to their YouTube channel Pomni is heard saying something along the lines of

''How do I...take this...headset off?!''

I saw a few people theorizing about her talking about a VR headset and that was how she entered the circus to begin with (I had the same thoughts until very recently). However, considering how much of the visuals and character designs are based on old media (also a teaser image was set up as the menu screen for a retro game), I'm beginning to think that this isn't the case.

So it's incredibly likely that Pomni is actually talking about her jester headpiece since she can't take it off.

This scene is probably the first time Pomni sees her new body, pinwheel eyes and all.

''I'm fine with whatever, as long as I get to see funny things happen to people''

I love him he's so unbothered.

I'm sad that we didn't get to hear any dialogue from them but I can't wait to see them in the pilot! Kinger is love, Kinger is life.

''After a while you start to realise that you really can't leave, and constantly chasing an unattainable goal will start driving you a little crazy''

She's a little fucked up actually wow who saw that coming.

It sounds like Ragatha tried to leave a few times and just resigned to her fate after a while, her description DID say that she was the ''sweetest little optimist in the digital circus'', so maybe she's told the others that escaping is impossible and that they should make the best of their situation instead? (Also the framed picture of the right looks like some kind of void, a lot of void imagery here).

Also, Gooseworx released this image a short while ago and it has the same background that Ragatha had while she was talking so she's DEFINITELY talking to Pomni here.

''OH GOD! WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER MY NAME?!''

EXCUSE ME? Okay time for some more speculation. I knew that their names definitely weren't their real ones but I wasn't expecting them to forget them!

Now, since the premise is said to be centred around Pomni and the others getting messed with by AI and their traumas, maybe instead of forgetting what their names were, they actually REPRESSED their memories from when they were human due to the trauma they went through? (Which would include their names)

I don't buy that they've COMPLETELY forgotten who they were (Zooble is aware that the body they're in isn't the one they used to have so I'm guessing everyone else knows that too.)

I'm guessing that their human lives absolutely SUCKED and they've now repressed their trauma to the point where they can barely remember who they were in the human world, this is just speculation.

''Thank goodness this is all a dream, right Pomni?''

What a sassy little guy (it's so weird hearing Michael Kovach sound so reserved, he's normally feral as hell playing these kinds of characters). The little mannequin symbol on the door is probably there for when new people stumble into the circus.

She's definitely seen some shit, I wonder what it could be though?

OH MY GOD THERE'S MORE OF THEM 😭

Wow this background looks...oddly normal. The only thing I can think of this being is Pomni witnessing a flashback of her human life before she showed up in the circus.

''You completely lose sight of who you are and why you're even alive and when you reach your breaking point something REALLY terrible can happen''

OH? Okay speculation time again. This is the closest hint we've gotten to what exactly one of the gang's traumas could be. Ragatha may have forced herself to stay positive in really shitty situations during her human life which likely lead to a lot of negative thoughts which eventually lead to her doing...something, I'm not sure what though, maybe it lead to her losing an eye? (Maybe her new body represents that?) I'm not sure. Maybe this is why she's been in the circus for as long as she has, instead of dealing with her feelings and existentialism, she instead continues to try to be someone who's more adjusted than they actually are.

Again, this is all just speculation, maybe it's just an Infinity Train type of thing where they can't leave until they learn to accept what they went through and how to work through it healthily idk.

WHAT THE HELL IS THAT? Well, I'll tell you what I think it is.

I think it's this weird tar like tentacle thing from the teaser trailer, I don't see what else it could be.

And I'm 90% sure that whatever it is, it's connected to this room, and I think that THIS is gonna be where we'll be seeing what the gangs traumas are (Ragatha looked TERRIFIED when she was grabbed so if this was the case I wouldn't be surprised). I'd also like to speculate that this could possibly be another AI. There's Caine, Bubble, and whatever the hell those little shape creatures are, so it's very likely that other AI does exist, we just haven't seen them yet.

But who knows? I'm probably looking too much into it.

Woah new background, he is angy.

I would go into another theory I have about how their designs may hint at what trauma they have but I've spent over an hour writing, compiling trailer screenshots, and speculating every individual frame while suffering with chest pains I wanna go to bed

Holy shit that took WAY longer than I thought it would. I cannot WAIT to watch the pilot, this show has become one of my most anticipated projects of the year over the last few months and I can't wait to see what it has in store.

TL;DR: The trailer looks fire 10/10 can't wait for the inevitable Pomni plushes.

[valevntine]

So, it's no secret that I think you're an absolutely amazing artist! But I would love to know about your art background! Have you always made art? Do you have a favorite medium? What artists are your faves? How do you get inspired? What is your favorite thing you've made in the fandom? Tell me all the things! 🩷

HI MEGAN!! 💓 omg i hope you know that you've just set off a bomb because i looooove yapping and blabbering about my art!! alright buckle up, it's going to take a while:

- have you always made art?

my answer to this question always is: "yup, ever since i can remember", if the pictures of me as a child with marker stained hands aren't enough proof. there's piles and piles of drawings in my closet, i started once and never really stopped! when i was around 12/13 i started realising that i wanted to make drawing something serious. i focused on studying languages in high school but still used art as a way to vent and express my feelings. after i graduated i got into art school, which i finished last year. now i aim to be a children's book illustrator :)) <3

- do you have a favourite medium?

as someone who's studied traditional art for 4 years so this is incredibly difficult to answer. 😀 it really depends on what i'm doing and the type of vibe i'm going for, but i'd say gouache paint, coloured pencils and ecoline (it's basically watercolours but make them *vibrant*). i love love love oil painting but it's an absolute pain to set up, wash the brushes, the smell of whichever solvent you use never goes away... sigh

- what artists are your faves?

okay idk if anyone here can relate but whenever i get asked this question my mind goes BLANK. i've always been drawn to impressionism and post-impressionism, monet and van gogh especially (i teared up when i saw starry night irl). i've been re-discovering roberto ferri, an italian contemporary painter heavily inspired by caravaggio and neoclassical art (this drawing i posted yesterday with p's face slapped on there? yeah i might have done the same thing with one of his paintings too...)

other than that it's just some artists i follow on instagram, i'll leave whoever comes to mind: noahdea.art, elly smallwood, mowri, andrea serio, dovegraveyard, ver__tigo, marion sonet, anna-laura sullivan

- how do you get inspired?

long ass answer incoming....

most of all it's always been music. as i said, when i was a teenager i used drawing as an outlet and the music i listened to was directly linked to it. nowadays it can help me set a proper vibe and gets me into the mindset i need for a drawing. the tlou fanart i did last month is based on "i'm your man" by mitski, which i've listened to over and over as i drew; i actually have a couple more ideas in mind for tlou, both based on songs. certain lyrics usually spark very vivid images in my mind and i sometimes can bring them to life, other times i can't (i get really frustrated when i can't 🥲).

apart from that, i'd say other art and artists, pinterest and such, and those random moments when the stars align and i get a random idea in mind, i try it and it works. that's how oberyn's card + the tarot series started <3

- favourite thing i made in the fandom?

megan don't ask me that 😭 as soon as i post something i start to hate it, i'm not joking. the art i did for pedro's 50th birthday? i can't look at it anymore. everything you see posted on here gets sent to my best friends first and needs a lot of hyping up before i post it 🥹

but if i really have to answer... ughhh probably oberyn's tarot card because it's the one that started the series (not necessarily my fave amongst all the tarot cards i did, i'm just emotionally attached to it) + the tlou fanart, this sketch, which i later painted and surprisingly didn't ruin, but it even turned out great!! yay <3 (i can't trust myself and my own skills)

... so there's that. lmao

sorry i rambled so much, hope it didn't bore you to death, and if you or any other poor soul who has read until here wants to know more i'm - as you can see - always very eager to answer! as always thank you for asking and thank you for all the support, mwah xx 💗

[ima-lay-on-the-floor]

So this is just gonna be a lot of random Twisted Wonderland thoughts that I haven't been able to say and need to get out of my head before exams

This is NOT going to be spoiler free!!!!! It will include JP only cards, the events of Book 7 that haven't been translated yet, and maybe some of the beta designs if I really get into yapping (watch this be my longest post ever)

I'm still new to Tumblr so idk if this is hidden but if it is not, ADVERT YOUR EYES

If you're still here, welcome to my ted talk

Let's start with the upcoming JP Coral Sea event, specifically the cards we got for it.

FIRST, MALLEUS

Glorious king 🫶

I don't know the picture limit to this post, but based on this card and the others (Rook, Riddle, and Jade), there's multiple explanations/reasonings I've seen people discuss.

#1, a wedding event. Not like Ghost Bride, but maybe attending a wedding??? With all of the SRs carrying a flower basket and spreading the petals, it's very much giving flower girl.

#2, hometown event. Jade is our SSR this time and this takes place in the Coral Sea. You could ask, "Hey floor, if this is a hometown event, why is it on land?" And what I say to that, my sweet child, is that they already gave Jade his merman form card and they need to sell more. HOWEVER, I KNOW Yana is going to cook with this story. Maybe Jade is visiting a town that he saw from afar in the sea, but never could actually visit because he didn't have legs. Now he can. Maybe the whole wedding theme is because they just stumbled onto a wedding and decided to help (which doesn't sound like a Jade thing to do unless there were mushrooms involved).

But at the end of the day, who knows? I'm very excited to learn the plot of this event. HOWEVER, I definitely think this is a nod to the Little Mermaid marriage scene at the end of the movie.

I'm going to do a little bit of card analysis, specifically with Malleus's card. Let me throw in a screenshot of all the cards.

So we see all the SRs have a certain motif in their jewelry. Riddle has red coral, Rook has pearls, and Malleus has oysters.

Hmmmmmm interesting. Why oysters?? Maybe because he seems like a cold, rough person on the outside, but his personality is like a shiny pearl (he's precious, be so fr).

Small tangent real quick. Oysters are still a weird choice, because they've been mentioned in another event. Which event? Tapis Rouge (not calling it Vil's Red Carpet Cadets). Now Ace is a HATERR of oysters. This is interesting to me because if you remember when Ace's dream and his UM awakening came out in JP, a LOT of people were freaking out because they felt validated as Aceyuu shippers (its me I'm Aceyuu shippers). If you follow the Aceyuu tag, you can see a couple of people talking about how if twst ever has an endgame couple, it's either going to be Malleyuu (don't know if I got the ship name right😔) or Aceyuu. This design choice could be a reference to the symbolism of an oyster OR it could be a really fun reference to the two ships. Maybe both.

Ok I think I got everything out regarding that event, and now I think I'll focus only on cards just so this won't be a 10K word long ramble no one's gonna wanna read.

Let's talk about the Tangled event, Lantern of Wishes.

(weird space I can't get rid of)

First off, I am the #1 fan of this Kalim card. It looks so good in the card art and in the 2D sprite. All the hair looks good in the art, but personally some of the 2D sprites don't do it justice. Like Deuce, my king I love you, but I can BARELY see the hair. I know why though, because it is a high ponytail but that's the fun of art, you can make it over the top and extra.

Let me start by saying, 2025 is the year for Riddle fans. We get dream Riddle (who will be brought up soon, trust), the then long hair Riddle, and now we have coral Riddle in the new event.

Jack's hair fits his personality so well, it's crazy and big and kind of wild. No other notes, just great.

Before hitting Deuce's card, let's talk about who each character could represent

Riddle -> Rapunzel obvi

Kalim -> the green makes me think Pascal

Jack -> I want to say Maximus because, animals

Deuce -> maybe Flinn, but I saw someone in a YouTube comment saying that he's the frying pan which sent me so it's canon now to me

Ok, now let's talk about Deuce. When I first saw the ponytail, I got flashbacks to his beta design. If you haven't seen it before, I'm adding the image below.

It shows all of Heartslaybul's beta designs.

Trey didn't change much, he looks less spiky though.

Cater is still fruity, but WHAT IS THAT HAIR. Yana thank you for changing it.

Ace with brown hair haunts my nightmares.

We have Deuce, who might be an honor student, with the perfect posture and a subdued attitude compared to the others.

Let's talk about Riddle. He seems like, for lack of a better term, a BRAT. Maybe he's still super smart, but instead of putting in work at a young age, all of his excellence is pure talent. Maybe his OB arc would be him hitting the gifted kid burnout and realizing he needs to put effort in now to keep his spot, he throws a tantrum and OBs, yada yada yada.

But that design also feels familiar now doesn't it?

I present you, dream Riddle.

Is it the exact same vibe? Hell no. Are there definitely elements in this? Hell yes.

I immediately picked out the fuzzy collar of the jackets, but now that I'm actually trying to find other similarities I think they were just in my head. It's official, I'm delulu.

Even if those two cards weren't inspired by the beta designs, I find it interesting that you could draw that conclusion, or maybe it's just me 🤷.

To finish this off, let's mention the OB cards.

We finally got what we wanted guys.

It looks like they'll be going backwards, and they might all include two different home screen outfits like Silver's did. My theory is that the GROOVYS (I had to put it in caps lol) will either show moments at the end of the chapter or will feature their dream forms.

Let's bring Riddle into this because he's my fav OB, sue me.

Riddle's GROOVY could be :

#1 his SLAY dream outfit

#2 the unbirthday party where he gave the NASTYYYY tart to the rest of the Heartslaybul main cast

I kind of want the dream forms because we'll get a Octopus Azul card, Leona's king outfit, and Jamil's dream school outfit (Vil's dream outfit was mid tbh).

I'm super excited to see if we get Idia's OB card announcement at the same time as his Board Game Club card, but the devs can't be that evil to the Idia fans, right?

Also, I NEED Idia's goofy ass coat at the end of Book 7 on my homescreen.

I also have stuff I want to say about Azul's club card, but I'll hold off on that to see how people feel about this ramble, lol. Wow this is a lot of words. Sorry if this felt random or rushed or not explained clearly. I was just writing my thoughts as they came to me.

Thank you for listening to my Ted Talk. Please try guessing my fav character from this, I don't think it's possible because of all the yap.

[the-stars-in-between]

So I wrote a little something for Zoro's birthday but there was a part that didn't fit what i wanted for the story. It's not really finished but i didn't want to leave it in my unfinished projects graveyard so it's yours now. Enjoy! And if you want you can always read the real story on AO3. I'll post it in a few days when I'm done.

Walking Home

When Zoro walked down the stairs of the school after his last class of the day, he didn’t expect his friends to be waiting for him at their usual picnic table in the courtyard. It was the perfect table, shaded by a large tree in the summer and far enough away to not be disturbed by the stream of students.

(Luffy had bitten a kid who sat there once, no one else had dared after that.)

Everyone usually dispersed on Monday nights, Usopp to join the art club, Nami to make out with Vivi by the river, and Sanji to help his father at the restaurant. Luffy was more of a wild card, as likely to sneak into the zoo to fight crocodiles or stay behind at school to chat with Principal Jinbei.

Zoro himself took advantage of this evening to go train at the dojo with Kuina but she had a medical appointment tonight and training wasn't nearly as fun without her.

But tonight, they were all here—waiting for him. Vivi was the first to notice him, her gold bracelets clicking against each other on her wrist, catching the sun’s rays as she gave him a big wave. Zoro’s smile widened slightly as he walked over to his friends, the sound of Luffy sipping loudly from his juice box audible from across the courtyard.

“How’s the birthday boy?” Usopp asked as Zoro set his gym bag down at his feet.

“Still the same as I was at noon,” Zoro replied amused. “What are you guys doing here?”

“We just thought we could walk  home together tonight,” Vivi smiled. “Take a detour downtown to get a waffle. My treat.”

“Sweet,” Zoro agreed.

He had nothing to do tonight and didn't particularly want to return to his empty apartment anytime soon. The loneliness didn't bother him that much, not when he spent more time at Luffy's and his brothers' or with his friends than at home, but something about his birthday made the atmosphere feel strange.

"Yeah!" Luffy cheered brightly as he jumped up from the table, his flip-flops hitting the concrete heavily. "Let's go."

Luffy grabbed Zoro’s hand and dragged him out of the school, everyone following behind them. The wind stirred up fiery-colored leaves around them, ones that crackled with a satisfying sound underfoot. Usopp and Luffy stopped to jump into each pile of leaves and Nami pulled out her phone to take pictures. She called it blackmail material but Zoro had seen her creating a photo album on her old computer.

“How was your math class?” Sanji asked, walking beside him.

“A little boring,” Zoro admitted. “I’m not sure I understood everything.”

He wouldn’t admit it under any circumstances, even under torture, but he sometimes missed Sanji’s presence in class. They weren’t in the same class anymore since Zoro had repeated his first year and the cook hadn’t. 

Even after spending the hour exchanging familiar squabbles and sarcastic (and often mean) comments about their classmates, Sanji somehow always understood the lesson and took the time to explain it to Zoro when he asked.

“I can help you,” Sanji offered, lighting a cigarette now that they were far away from the school.

“That’s suspicious, what do you want?” Zoro retorted, his brow furrowed.

“I’m just trying to help you, asshole. Do you really want to spend five years in high school?” Sanji replied with practiced ease.

“Sanji! Don't be mean to Zoro on his birthday,” Nami interjected.

"Yes, my sweetness," Sanji replied as Zoro's smug smile grew.

A smile that faded when Nami added. “Wait until tomorrow before reminding him of his academic failure.”

“I don't know why I'm friends with you!” Zoro shouted at the witch.

“You love us!” Usopp and Nami replied in unison, exchanging an amused look.

“Unfortunately,” Zoro mumbled, kicking a chestnut that ended up in the gutter.

Zoro shoved his hands in his pockets and continued straight ahead. At the last moment, Nami's arm intertwined with his, pulling him in a different direction.

"We turned," Nami pointed out in false exasperation, without letting go of his arm. "You really aren't paying attention to where you're going. We should put you on a leash."

"Look, I caught a pigeon!" Luffy shouted as he ran towards Usopp, Sanji and Vivi with a pigeon in his hands.

The poor animal flapped its wings in desperation, trying to fly away and escape, but Zoro knew it was useless. When Luffy had you, he didn’t let go. The commotion attracted the attention of passersby, and Nami hid her head in Zoro's shoulder.

"Luffy too," Nami groaned. "It's impossible to go out with you."

"You should consider putting your girlfriend on a leash too," Zoro pointed out, smirking. "But I bet she'd like that."

Cheeks flushing, Nami slapped Zoro on the shoulder. That didn't change the fact that Zoro was right, while Sanji was hiding behind Usopp, Vivi was petting the pigeon and talking to it in a low voice.

"I'm sure she's already adopting it," Zoro mocked. "I can see it from here, she's going to call it Carue and it’ll sleep with you every night."

"Luffy!" Nami called out in horror, realizing the truth in Zoro's words. "Let the pigeon go, these critters are full of diseases."

Luffy and Vivi turned to Nami, batting their eyelashes in a pleading manner. "Please, can we keep him? Please, please, please?"

"No," Nami replied firmly. "Luffy, what will your grandfather say if he comes home and there's a pigeon in your apartment?"

It was a low blow, but it was necessary. Ace and Sabo certainly weren't going to stop Luffy from bringing yet another stray animal to their apartment (yes, Zoro was included in those strays). It had taken Nami weeks to convince Luffy to bring the dugong back to the marine biologists.

(So ​​far, no one knew how a dugong ended up so far from its natural habitat, but the local aquarium had paid for Luffy's plane ticket to bring his friend back to Australia.)

"Nami is no fun," Luffy pouted with his head down after releasing the pigeon. “Boo!”

"Boo!" Vivi added, sticking her tongue out.

"Don't forget to wash your hands before you eat," Nami ignored them as she walked past them.

[kaiowut99]

Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX Episodes 120-121 Subbed (Finalized)

(Previously: Episodes 117-119 Subbed [Finalized])

(Check out my Subbed!GX Stream Masterpost!)

TURN-120: A Battle in a Different World! The Gem Beasts VS Harpie Lady

Upon opening his eyes after his life-or-death bout with Cobra, Judai finds himself in... a desert--a desert in which only the Duel Academia school building stands, making this an odd situation. Well-versed in geology, Jim posits that the Duel Academia has been flung into a different world, the strange circumstances causing disorder among the Duel Academia's students. Things turn for the worse as the Monsters made real in this world come to attack. Johan confronts the Harpie Lady invasion, but...

TURN-121: Survival in the Desert! Johan VS the Antlion

Something has caused Rei to sustain a serious injury. To acquire medicine to treat Rei, Judai and co. head for a submarine that Misawa saw, having to traverse the desert in order to get to where the submarine is. A materialized Titan appears before Judai and the others there, obstructing their way. A battle begins between Titan and Johan, and as Titan materializes his Sand Doodlebug to attack him, Johan responds with his Gem Beasts. However, with Titan summoning a Monster that is at its best in the Desert, Johan is gradually cornered.

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

Does anyone else have sand in their everywhere

Slight delay aside, episodes 120 and 121 are now up and finalized! With Cobra out of the picture, we shift into a bit of a transition arc as we get more setup for the second half of Season 3, with a little dimension-hopping as our crew gets warped to a Desert world (featuring three suns like the Gravekeepers' world) and come face-to-face with materialized Monsters. I do appreciate how this shakes things up and gives us a setting that's away from the Academia island, and also getting the glorious [yet random] return of Misawa, 5-o'clock shadow and all; 120 effectively serves as setup for how this new world works, as well as finally getting Samejima back [as Chronos notes, he never is around for times like these] with Pegasus coming to join him, and the glowing boy getting his hand on Martin, with 121 showing us more, and also a hint at who might be behind the arm ("This pain... is your love, isn't it?"). Also, materialized Winged Kuriboh is precious.

Animation error-wise, there actually wasn't too much overall! (Which is nice since I can keep it all to one post, lol.) Though that would happen since these don't have too much going on all told. 120 gets two small fixes with the Ojamas-in-bed scene and Sapphire Pegasus's second ATK/DEF counter, while 121 gets a handful of mostly quality-of-watching ones, with one card fix and a couple of on-screen translation edits. Details under the cut below for the interested!

Quick housekeeping: I re-finalized episode 46 after an "I activate an Quick-Play" typo was brought to my attention (a holdover from my "Instant Magic" days--thanks to Lyeat Akiyama over on NAC for the heads-up [pls let me know if you find typos while watching!]), as well as 119 after missing an update to the Program Marketing credit in the ED (Kenrou Utsumi taking over from Machiko Ishii as of 119). The 119 link in 117-119's release post now links to the re-uploaded version, as does 46's in its post; I've updated both links in the Masterpost and will be posting the re-finalized hardsub/script/MKV for 46 and hardsub for 119 on NAC soon as I post these.

Anywho, enjoy! With these done, I'll be getting into the ZEXAL stretch of TFSP for a bit as I revise what I'd already worked on for Yuma's story and then start on the next one, as well as getting my ARC-V "Dub-Uncut" edit for episode 1 finally off my backburner (subsequent episodes shouldn't take that long lol--though it's funny, I wasn't going to sub ARC-V since Crunchyroll's done so, but in revising their subs to use with my DU releases [since I want to release dual-audio versions], I still revised quite a bit like it'd be my own take anyway lol, so I guess I am in some way 🙃). After that, it'll be onto GX 122-123 as we get into the Invasion of the Body-Snatchers Duel Zombies stretch of this arc--stay tuned!

Fixes & Edits! (120)

As Manjoume gets up from his Infirmary bed, he pushes the bed sheets down to the foot of the bed, revealing the Ojamas--now materialized--under them. But as the sheets pass over them, there's a quick frame of sheet movement (lasting for three frames) where the sheets are drawn over Ojama Yellow's eyes (partially over his left eye and fully over his right). A quick fix in Sony Vegas by masking Ojama Yellow's eyes from the prior frame on top of the sheets.

As a persistent Harpie Lady comes back for an attack, Johan re-summons Sapphire Pegasus to take her on--but for a quick frame just before his ATK/DEF counter disappears, we can see it start decreasing. A quick fix in Vegas as I masked in the counter from the frame just before to hold it in place (couldn't just hold the frame prior as a whole as the scene started to fade into showing Johan and co. on this last counter frame).

Fixes & Edits! (121)

As Titan asks Johan if he will be his opponent, their split-screen levels up as it becomes a split-screen of their Disks activating, but the split with Titan's starts sliding in a frame before Johan's, causing both to be uneven as they slide in. Fixed in Vegas by masking in Titan's Disk split to start its slide-in with Johan's Disk split.

After the eyecatch, Johan bemoans how his Gem Beasts are at a huge disadvantage on the Desert field effectively in play, before Titan slides in on a split-screen to gloat about how there's nowhere to escape in this world of endless sand--but Johan starts moving for his slide-in a frame early; fixed in Vegas by editing Titan's slide-in for 3-4 frames to time it with Johan's moving. Then, as their split-screen splits to show Cobalt Eagle being summoned by Johan, Johan's split takes a frame longer than Titan's to slide offscreen; fixed in Vegas by just replacing this frame with the following no-split one.

For the hardsub: as Amon sneaks around in the Garam submarine, he finds his bio information on a computer, which he goes on to delete; I set up this edit back when handling his bio in 111 to get it out of the way, applying my translation of his bio to this screen using the CC Power Pin effect in AfterEffects, masking in the edges for blending. (And, of course, edited a dub version for reasons.)

Later, to deal with the Devil Scorpion onslaught, Judai summons Clayman in Defense Mode to hold them off, but the card's reversed as he plays it on his Disk, with its name box facing to the right. Fixed using AfterEffects to apply a correctly facing proxy, masking Judai's fingers onto it and using some motion tracking during the initial rapid blurry zoom-out, while also masking the original card border around it for blending; I then used Vegas to re-zoom the post-rapid-zoom-out fix into the remaining bit of the shot to keep the card consistently edited (since the motion tracking didn't come out perfectly for that part).

After 8-Claws Scorpion's able to take out a face-down Clayman, Johan summons Amethyst Cat and Topaz Tiger to corner and deal with all the Scorpions, but for a quick frame after they're summoned, as they start to split apart from their split-screen, Amethyst's isn't given a border (it gets a border in the frame after). Fixed in Vegas by applying a quick border to her split, masking in part of the following shot of Johan behind the two splits.

For the hardsub: in the preview for 122, as we see Manjoume hanging out in the Food Storage facility, there are posters with Mrs. Tome behind him, saying "Our Food's Important" and "No Stealin' Allowed 🧡"; wanting to translate these in 122 proper--madman that I am as there are about 22-23 total shots I'll be editing--I worked on translating these there first. I worked off the best front-facing shots of them that there were in the episode and made a full translated copy of each poster, repainting Tome as needed to cover up the Japanese text (annoyingly, I couldn't get the border on the heart to blur nicely but oh well), which I then used AfterEffects to Power Pin into place, masking in only the bits with the translated text. Then, for this shot, I used some motion tracking to track the panning across the shot, and then applied that tracked motion to the edit.

Also for the hardsub, the subsequent shot after #6 shows Manjoume with the Ojamas fading in to join him, with the poster on the right behind him; I applied my translation for that poster there, masking in the top tip of Manjoume's hair over the edit as needed.

Also also for the hardsub: during the "Just After This!" preview clip before the best card segment, we see Manjoume prepping his Disk in front of that second poster; I applied my edit to this scene, as well, masking in Manjoume's hair over it, but I also had to take some of the frames and touch them up in Photoshop, since the color of the original text was bleeding into his hair. The poster on the left also appears in the shot as Manjoume plays Tribute to the Dead/Doomed; I applied my edit there as well, masking Manjoume's shoulder over it and dimming it as the shot dims while the light from the card radiates out.