#It's surprisingly both easy and incredibly expressive

[kakusu-shipping]

Two Urchins and a Jellyfish; Childhood friends to lovers and also I'm there. Platonically.

Felt like doodling @cakeships tonight for funsies. Having a good time.

[libby-for-life]

Experiment part 2. Read part 1 for more info. Again, this had the help of @breedtheseed

The minute Lilith and Lucifer met Adam, they knew he was different. Sure, he seemed kind, but there was just something different in him that set him apart from the rest. He looked stunning for one.

Seven feet tall, muscled body, and gold eyes. Who had gold eyes? They could tell it wasn't contacts so it had to be a genetic thing. As soon as they parted, the two of them could feel Adam's eyes on them. Observing them through a curious gaze.

He watched them talk with the rest of the school population and they couldn't help but watch Adam Kadmus as well. He was smart. Smarter than anyone else in class but he didn't flaunt that. He just seemed...bored. It was like he knew everything and was just coasting.

He didn't socialize much but from what Lilith and Lucifer observed, it wasn't from the lack of trying. He just didn't seem to understand how to talk to people. It was cute seeing someone as muscled and tall as Adam being reduced to this shy man who had no idea what he was doing.

And the amount of flirting Adam received was just astronomical. Lucifer and Lilith understood it, people who looked like Adam only came around once, but the gentle giant had absolutely no idea what he was doing. When a girl tried to ask him what he did to get all those muscles, Adam took it literally and began to list his entire exercise routine.

They couldn't help but giggle at the poor girl's expression. She didn't understand why Adam wasn't taking the hint.

Adam also seemed enamored by the simplest of things. He loved plants, animals, and sunshine. The man couldn't seem to get enough of it and could be seen sleeping outside with the sun on his face. He seemed to have a lot of joy in life in general and was what interested them in talking with Adam.

They had both collectively decided that they wanted to have him. At least before anyone else decided to have him. So, they approached him. Talked with him. It was surprisingly easy to get him to come to a party. They would have fun later on with him.

XxX

Slowly, Adam shifted trying to free himself from the arms, “mmm” Lucifer mumbled in his sleep as he held on to Adam a little tighter. Adam stifled a moan when Lucifer’s dick ground into his thigh, his shifting also caused his own dick to slide against Lilith's thighs.

The soft friction made him shiver but he had to get up he needed something to drink.

Adam managed to wiggle free from the bed, he was trained in stealth after all. After picking up his clothes and putting them on he headed to their kitchen, he had trained for this. It was just a one-night stand, right? He was supposed to leave, Adam thought to himself as he grabbed a water bottle from a case.

“What? No goodbyes?” A soft voice spoke from behind him. Adam jumped when a pair of hands caged him into the counter. It should have been comical to see someone so short, compared to him at least, dominating him like this.

He just found it incredibly arousing. Lucifer chuckled when he saw Adam's red cheeks.

“Stay,” Lucifer purred as his hands traced Adams hips, Adam could feel Lucifer’s hard on rubbing against his thigh.

“We have classes,” Adam said, Lucifer only smiled at him as he gripped Adams ass. Adam let out a small gasp.

“Missing one or two classes is ok Adam,” Lucifer said as he kissed Adam's neck, Adam melted into the touch. “I want to at least make you breakfast."

"Okay..." Adam whimpered out and Lucifer smiled. "Good baby girl." Adam blushed heavily due to the comment.

"Why don't you go wake up Lilith? I'll make breakfast." Lucifer said. Adam nodded but as soon as he was free from the cage of arms, his ass was slapped.

Adam had learned about this and blushed, it embarrassed him as he walked to the bedroom to find Lilith asleep. She looked so pretty as he got to her side and gently woke her up.

Lilith was quick to pull them into a bruising kiss that left Adam breathless. "Hey, baby girl."

Adam whimpered and she smiled as she kissed him again pulling him back into the bed, “you’re so cute,” she said excitedly.

“Lucifer said to wake you up,” Adam said against her as she hugged him.

"Hm...we have time." She whispered as she palmed him through his pants. Adam moaned, squirming under her. Lilith bit her lip and slipped a hand into his pants to gently massage his wet pussy. "Already wet for me? My, I'm flattered~."

Adam whined and tried too pull away, but she had a strong grip on his hips. He could easily overcome it but his body craved more angling his hips so her fingers could go deeper. “Mm still not satisfied are we,” she whispered as she slowly pulled down his pants and underwear.

“Isn’t it too early,” Adam shyly said as she helped him out of his bottoms.

“Mmm I think it’s a nice thing to wake up to,” she hummed as her fingers glided against his wet folds then trailed to the tip of his dick. “How about you lay back for me?"

Adam complied immediately and spread himself before her. Lilith grinned and made a show of licking her juice-covered fingers. She wrapped her tongue around the digits making Adam moan at the sight.

Lilith let it go with a pop and bit her lip as she gently circled his pussy. She grinned when Adam shivered.

"Ready for your treat, baby girl?" He nodded and moaned loudly when she plunged two fingers.

She slowly thrusted them as her hand went to his aching cock, she could still feel the remnants of Lucifer inside him. It brought a smile to her face.

“Such a good girl you are,” she hummed as she kissed his tip, “would you like for your pretty dick to be sucked too?” Adam nodded his head as more moans escaped his mouth.

“Lilith~” Adam moaned as his hips slowly thrusted up towards her mouth. She gladly opened it as her fingers quickened their pace. Having taken Lucifer’s cock into her mouth of numerous occasions made her a master of taking even a formidable size like Adams.

Adam whimpered beneath her as heat filled his body, he wanted his clit to be played with too. It had felt so good when Lucifer had sucked on it.

"More!" He moaned, trying to finger his aching pussy but Lilith simply pinched the nerve beneath the ball sack and let go of his dick with a pop. He squealed at the sudden pain mixed with pleasure. "You take what I give you, and you will thank me, baby girl."

Adam sobbed and nodded, without realizing he was saying, "Yes, Ma'am!"

Lilith paused, "I like that. Keep saying that, okay baby girl?"

"Yes Ma'am!" He more moaned than said when she sucked hard on his dick.

Adam was a moaning mess as she began to bob her head while her fingers expertly spread him open, he was gushing and soaked while her mouth began to fill with pre and saliva. He was so adorable as tears began to roll down his reddened face, he was close. She could tell by the way his insides were milking her so perfectly. And the way his strong toned thighs shook against the bed as they remained spread.

It was divine. She moaned around his shaft making him moan even louder, she was sure Lucifer could hear them from the kitchen. He was going to be quite jealous when she’s done with Adam.

“Ahh~”Adam let out a desperate cry as he finally came, Lilith swallowed as much as she could before pulling off and taking a good look at her prize.

Adam's pussy was seeping while his dick still squirted some cum that was only able to seep down his shaft.

"Looking good, baby girl. Now, what do we say?" She teased, not truly meaning it but blushed when Adam turned to her with a dazed smile and slurred, "Thank you, Ma'am."

She bit her lip to stifle her own moan and helped Adam clean up. Soon, he was presentable to leave the bedroom and she guided him to the kitchen table.

"Well, Adam certainly took his time getting you up," Lucifer said as he gave them each a plate of pancakes with syrup, butter, and copious amounts of whipped cream.

"Yes, well Adam tastes delicious." Lilith teased her boyfriend and Adam blushed under the compliment.

Lucifer huffed took a large helping of pancakes and offered the bite to Adam with a sly grin. "Open up, baby girl."

“I can feed myself,” Adam said but Lucifer’s grin never left.

“I know, it’s only fair we take care of you after the fun we had last night,” Lucifer purred and his smile grew soft when Adam took a bite and smiled excitedly.

Heaven had only allowed him to have healthy beneficial food, sweet like pancakes, cake, candy or ice cream were off the table.

Both Lilith and Lucifer loved how excited their new boy toy got when he began eating the rest of his serving. Savoring the soft texture of each pancakes the syrup and the whipped cream Lucifer had dabbled on it

Adam enjoyed it so much that he didn't notice that Lucifer was intentionally making Adam's face messy with whipped cream.

Both Lilith and Lucifer blushed as he got a little whipped cream on his nose and upper lip....like Adam just drank some cum...

Lucifer stifled a moan and continued feeding Adam, who was only too happy in his own world.

Until Adam accidentally braced himself on the table in his eagerness to eat the bite before it came to him.

Lucifer and Lilith watched as Adam slipped and fell face-first into his breakfast.

Adam peeled himself from the sticky syrup and whipped cream with a grimace. Great. Now he was sticky. Taking a palm he scrapped his cheek of whipped cream before sucking a finger into his lips.

He was completely unaware of the predatory gazes watching him. Lucifer and Lilith watched with hooded eyes as Adam licked the whipped cream off of his palms.

"Here. Let me help~." Lucifer purred before licking Adam's cheek. The said boy blushed a bright red...did Lucifer just lick his cheek?

“Let me help as well,” Lilith mimicked the behavior on Adams other cheek causing Adam to blush further as they continued their attack.

Both giving each other a hungry look as they kissed their secret treasure, Lucifer gave the man one last kiss before pulling away.

“Looks like our babygirl needs a bath,” Lucifer teased.

“Oh yes she’s quite dirty,” Lilith said as she lead Adam out of his seat, “here Lucy I’ll clean up here,” she gave Lucifer a look before going to the table.

He knew that look all too well, Lilith would soon be joining them

Adam was dragged to a bathroom and was told to strip. Adam blushed a bright red but complied to Lucifer's wishes.

"My, just look at how dirty you have gotten. Baby girl really is a good nickname for you."

Adam gave him a look. "I'm not a baby." Lucifer hummed. "Really? Turn around." Adam tilted his head but complied. Lucifer smirked and in a quick session, spanked Adam's ass five times.

Adam barely had any time to react and his ass already felt red and hot. He whimpered but allowed Lucifer to drag him to the shower.

"My baby girl looks pretty with such a colorful ass," Lucifer said, slapping it once more.

Adam whined as Lucifer started the water while gripping Adams stinging ass, “so pretty, I’m sure lily would love to see you like this,” Lucifer said as he guided Adam first into the large shower. There were shower heads both ends, further showing Adam how wealthy Lucifer must be.

The water felt nice against his heated skin, Adam let the water flow over his body as he heard the curtains open behind him.

“I’m going to help you wash yourself, baby,” Lucifer hummed as his hands glided to Adam's hips. The man was so short compared to Adam and yet Adam wanted to feel Lucifer closer.

He guided Adam to his knees and gently washed his face and hair with a wet washcloth. Adam sighed under the care he was receiving.

When Lucifer was satisfied with Adam’s face and hair, he instructed Adam to present his ass to him.

"Hu?"

"I said I was helping you clean, so I am. Now, present it." Adam blushed and stifled a whimper but bent down on hands and knees as Lucifer picked up a loofah with a smirk. He was going to make Adam feel so good.

He glided the bundle of lace across Adams body taking his time on Adams lower back and thighs while his other hand rubbed against his soft toned legs.

“So perfect Adam, your legs are so strong,” Lucifer placed the loofah back as he used the remainder of the soap to glide it against Adams's perfect skin. Adam moaned against the touch as Lucifer’s hands gripped his ass.

"Now, we really need to make sure that you are squeaky clean," Lucifer said. "Don't want to miss anything." Pouring a handful of body wash onto his fingers, he lubed up his fingers.

Adam was not prepared for a finger to enter his asshole.

Adam whimpered against the intrusion, he felt so embarrassed and spoke with a whimper “wait not there.”

“Shhh it’s ok baby, I did say we don’t want to miss anything,” Lucifer repeated as he played with the ring of muscles “just relax for me ok.” He hummed and Adam gasped when another finger was added.

“My, aren’t you two having fun,” Lilith said as she entered the shower as well, the area was big and had Adam now being sandwiched between the two blondes.

“Just making sure our baby girl is nice and clean,” Lucifer said as he placed a kiss against Adam's back.

"Hmm. Was someone a naughty girl?" Lilith said with a smirk, pinching Adam's pink ass. "Yes, he was very naughty. Had to spank him a few times but having a baby girl isn't always easy." Lucifer said, delivering another spanking.

The whimper that left his mouth was downright sinful. Lilith laughed as Lucifer added a third finger. Adam was drooling at the sensation of having his ass played with. He had no idea how pleasurable it was! The idea had never once come up. But now? Now he wanted to have other things shoved in there.

Adam moaned when lucifer began to thrust his fingers, enjoying how they would slide against his insides. Adam could feel how wet his pussy was getting. “Oh Lucifer can’t you see he wants more~” Lilith hummed as she slid her hands down to Adams ass, spreading it open for Lucifer.

The movement made Adam shiver as his pussy and asshole were spread for the man behind him. “Mmm Adam won’t you be a good girl and let me put it in,” Lucifer hummed as he stroked his dick, “I want to feel how tight your ass is,” Adam moaned in response and Lucifer took it as a sign to continue.

Lucifer grinned and slipped the head in. Adam hissed at the intrusion, not quite used to the sting and stretch.

But when he felt the three fingers enter his pussy, he moaned in pleasure. God, he felt so very good right now. Just ready to be fucked.

Lucifer and Lilith chuckled, loving their baby girl so submissive. "What do you call Lucifer, Adam?" Lilith said as Adam groaned on the floor. "Come on, baby girl. What do you call Lucifer?"

It tumbled out before Adam could stop it.

"Daddy~!" Adam's eyes widened as the two people behind him froze. He heard one of the scientists call that to each other in a joking tone. When Adam questioned them, they said it was a sex thing. His mind immediately must have connected the two and, well, called Lucifer that.

“Daddy,” Lucifer hummed as he pushed his length deeper into the other “I like it, moan for your daddy Adam~”

Adam did just that whimpering and moaning for the two of them as they had their way with him. The whole day was spent with Adam getting fucked at some point he had Lilith in his pussy and Lucifer in his ass.

Adam hadn’t even checked his phone for the whole day, being too busy satisfying Lucifer and Lilith to remember his duties as a perfect experiment.

He remembered well into the night that he needed to make a report.

He was quick to leave the warmth of Lucifer and Lilith to find his phone. Quickly leaving for the bathroom on the other side of the house, he turned on the water faucet before making a call.

"1-A, reporting for z/H3." Adam responded immediately.

"Why didn't you send your daily report."

"I was with two other people. They kept me occupied and I never got the chance."

Silence on the phone. "And what were you doing that required your full attention from your orders?" Adam should have known better. He should have expected it. He felt the stinging pulse of being electrocuted from his chip.

Adam stifled a scream as he collapsed on the floor.

"You will always contact us. This is not a life-threatening mission. There is no excuse." They hung up on him. Adam let a few tears slip. He deserved this. He shouldn't have let himself get caught up in the intimacy. He breathed in once and shut the faucet off. He couldn't have relationships. Adam wasn't made for that.

He wanted it though. He wanted it so badly. But, Adam was scared. He had to follow orders. Or else he was then defective. Adam knew what happened to the defective. They get scraped.

Maybe...maybe he could work something. He didn't want to lose Lilith and Lucifer. But that meant he had to be careful. Or there won't be a next time.

[shininas-ideals]

KUNICHUU RAHHHHHHHHHHHHH WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS IF I CAN ASK . THEY MAKE ME SKITTER AROUND IN MY ENCLOSURE I NEED MORE CONTENTTTTTTT I need to draw them too but ehhh BUT GAH. KUNICHUU SWEEP

Kunichuu makes me so angry because THERE'S LITTLE TO NO CANON INTERACTIONS LIKE WHAT. THEY WOULD HAVE SO MUCH CHEMISTRY. THEY WOULD BE UNSTOPPABLE.

Okay, where should I start

Kunikida would start having a very low opinion on Chuuya since he's an Executive of the Port Mafia, y'know, an organization that kills, tortures, practices extortion among other very illegal activities; but then he would slowly realize that Chuuya, believe it or not, has a strong moral code, that he doesn't see his subordinates as numbers, that he would only kill for the job and doesn't actually enjoy the act of taking a life, and he would at least respect his humanity (and respect the fact that he could stand Dazai for three whole years)

Chuuya, on the other hand, would see Kunikida as a naive, idealistic "hero" wannabe, someone weak that doesn't realize how horrible the world is and tries to be all high and mighty towards any criminal; his view changes a bit when he sees how much of himself he's ready to give up for his partners, and that Doppo doesn't ignore the horrible realty he lives in but instead tries to FIGHT against it, aiming for being the best person he can be even IN SPITE of the world working against his morals and ideas

As a duo, they're both incredibly proficient physical fighters, even without abilities; they tend to have a more nonsense attitude that their piers, making them both some of the more responsible in their respective jobs; they're both surprisingly very in touch with their emotions, feeling free to cry, to scream, to laugh; they wear their heart on their sleeve, and have eyes that burn with passion and vitality, which would make communication between them very easy, and they could find understanding in the others company

Dazai contrasts and complements them both, but Doppo and Chuuya multiply each other strengths, and I think that's a beautiful dynamic that we should se more of

This was supposed to be a short answer since I'm really bad at expressing myself with words, but alas I had more to say than I realized lol

Thanks for the ask!

[baxndaid]

1999/lmk sun wukong x reader

𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 ! tbh this can be read as both 1999 or lmk OR literally anything else since this is taking place during the jttw !! SORRY FOR LONG ABSENCE </3

- you were a witch that was ordered to aid the pilgrim named Tripitaka on his quest to find the ancient scriptures

- you didn’t really know he’d have company though, even with your powers you could’ve never predicted that he’d be travelling with a monkey, a pig, and a sea wizard (not to mention their dragon horse)

- at first it was pretty rocky considering that when you revealed yourself to the group, the monkey (who was conveniently named monkey) attacked you with no hesitation

- in battle, you tried to show him the letter you received from the goddess Guan Yin, but it fell on deaf ears and he continued his attacks while calling you a liar

- he stopped as soon as the monk ordered for him to halt, with a bit of encouragement from the headband of course 😋

- you both floated down to your master

- you bowed and introduced yourself as y/n, and the group introduced themselves to you too

- pigsy took a liking to you (obviously)

- monkey did not

- sandy was neutral

- tripitaka was just glad he had another semi-sane individual in his group

- and so, you and your new companions continued with your journey to the west

- ANYWAY that brings you to where you are now 🗣️🗣️

the journey

♡ wukong didnt trust you much, even after a few months of traveling together

♡ he would allow you to do the same things he and his fellow companions did of course, but he would never let you stay and watch his master alone

♡ you did notice, but you didnt care, babysitting the monk wasnt exactly something you were dying to do as much as you respected him

♡ he did appreciate you for your skills, though

♡ Tripitaka managed to get kidnapped 4 times a week instead of 9 with you around 🥳

♡ for that, he warmed up to you

♡ just a smidge tho💔💔

♡ during the whole white bone demon/crimson witch saga; you defended monkey from the accusations of him killing a not so innocent young women

♡ you didnt feel as if he had a reason to lie, and even if you definitely werent his favourite person of the group, you still didnt want him to get punished for something that he did to protect his friends

♡ didnt work tho LMFAOO 😩

♡ he was soon banished from the group and went back to his home in flower fruit mountain in a sour mood

♡ you kinda felt bad but you kinda liked it like lmfaoo deserved 💔💔

♡ after the young monk got in trouble again, it was up to you to find monkey and get him to help you again

♡ you still don’t know why the hell pigsy made you do it, you just assumed he was being lazy and just wanted you to do all the heavy lifting

♡ you’d bully him later for compensation

♡ but for now your goal was to find monkey which was surprisingly easy considering his island was supposed to be incredibly difficult to find

♡ your task was easy, go to the island, get wukong, and come back

♡ it wasn’t easy 💯

♡ you ended up getting ambushed by a bunch of monkeys which you couldn’t take seriously since they were just so cute!

♡ they beat your ass

♡ they brought you to a stone throne with your ex-companion sitting on top of it, a dismissive look on his face and his head leaning on his hand

♡ they pushed you on your knees as the monkey king began to speak

♡ “state your name and your business here”

♡ “oh be quiet, unless you hit your head i expect you to remember me, it’s been like 2 days you dramatic ape”

♡ immediately you regret insulting him as his subjects hold you tighter and audibly chitter and gasp at your words

♡ you grunt “fine, i’m here to take you back to Tripitaka, he’s… in a tight spot” you look up at him to see his expression

♡ “why should i help him? he threw me away without a second thought!”

♡ you groaned, he had the right to be angry but you just wanted to get this over with, so you negotiated with him for a while

♡ a very long while

♡ he sighed, “fine” he got up from his throne “monkey subjects! your king is going on an important mission, you’ll have to do without me for a while” he said dramatically

♡ you playfully rolled his eyes as you watched him comfort the female monkeys, them clearly not wanting him to leave so soon

♡ after like 20 minutes you got bored, you took his hand and led him to your master, you were surprised he let you hold him for so long, he normally shoves pigsy off whenever he flings his arms around him after battle

♡ the rest of your friends rejoiced when they saw a certain monkey flying behind you, hand in hand

♡ pigsy had questions about why the two of you came back with hands intertwined and his mind immediately went straight into the gutter, and naturally, he got jealous

♡ he refused to talk to monkey for a week because of his assumption 😞

lego monkie kid masterlist

[nazukisser]

REQUEST | cuddling hcs

CHARACTER(S) | sazanami jun, hasumi keito, saegusa ibara

TAGS | fluff, established relationship, hcs

READER | gender neutral

SAZANAMI JUN

When you cuddle with Jun, it’s so incredibly safe. It’s when he brings you into his arms- your face against his shirt and his on yours- that you can finally close your eyes. The outside world can’t hurt you, not there. It’s so easy to forget everything, to only remember his warmth and the mumbles of “I love you”.

Sometimes, it’s silent, and sometimes the conversations are almost unintelligible to anyone else. For Jun, it’s enough to hold you like this. He knows you’re safe in his arms,  home and with him. He always misses you, but you’re there with him- and that’s what really matters to him. The warmth you share, breaths tickling skin, hearts beating all bring him comfort, and he hopes you feel the same about that.

Jun really loves playing with your hair- he loves the way your hair feels against his skin, whether he kisses it or plays with it or runs his hands through it. Jun loves keeping his lips on your shoulder. Up and back on again, kiss after kiss. Another “I love you”, another “Mmm, stay a little bit longer”. 

Jun really has no thoughts when you’re cuddling with him. He’s simply full of love. You, you, you- that’s every thought in that brain of his. He loves it when you touch him like how he touches you, that you’re not just present but you’re there with him.

You could be there all day- Jun doesn’t mind. Even though he’s busy, he’s found solace in staying with you like this. If only work could wait a little bit longer- Jun stays as long as he can, always. He always hates having to get up, having to separate himself from your shared embrace. 

HASUMI KEITO

It feels like Keito can finally relax. It’s so magical, so magical that the work somehow just disappears. It’s not really gone, but if he doesn’t think about it, how can he worry about it? There’s nothing in the world, nothing but you. He’s so soft, his heart’s melted completely. 

Keito listens. Whatever you say, he’s listening. Even if you don’t say anything, he picks up on it; are you upset? Are you sad? Are you tired? Are you just happy to be with him? Even if nothing leaves your lips, it’s alright. There’s no need to say. Anytime is alright. He’ll listen whenever you need. But he picks up on it, and he’ll wait. He’ll wait however long. 

Whenever Keito falls asleep like that, you know he went a little too long without a break. He never means to, but it’s always the best kind of rest- the ones in your arms. It’s so easy to poke his cheek, it’s so easy to give him a kiss on the forehead. If he wakes up, he’ll smile and perhaps kiss you back, it’s so sweet.

Keito loves playing with your hands: intertwine, kiss, let go. Again and again, he loves it. It’s so mindless, so natural, so habit. It’s calming and relaxing for him, something he can do when you kiss his cheek and he smiles.

SAEGUSA IBARA

Ibara never knew he would like this so much. It’s all new to him, but it comes to him more naturally than he thought it would. It’s surprisingly relaxing; he never feels like it’s a waste of time. He enjoys every moment with you, always. He finds himself thinking about just how cute you are, how he’s lucky to be there right with you. 

Oftentimes, he has his arm around you, while you snuggle yourself into his side. He’s reading an article- though it’s not more interesting than you- and he plants a kiss on your forehead. It just feels so right to him, so, so right. He can feel his heartbeat and yours too, and a smile that rarely ever shows appears on his expression.

Even when he’s not reading, when he’s the one cuddled up against you, both arms around you as to not ever let go, he’s just so comfortable. He holds you tightly, unknowingly burying his face into your back before he knows it. He doesn’t let go, even if this is new, because it just feels so good. He’s safe, you’re safe, somehow, even if the world’s cruel. 

Ibara always lets go when you want to go, but a part of him wants to ask you to stay a little bit longer… even if he has to go too. It’s an oasis in all the stress and work that goes on, and even though he knows that it’ll have to be done sooner or later, sometimes he wishes it just wasn’t time yet.

WORD COUNT | 777 words

NOTES | If you enjoy my works and would like to be tagged for future works I release, please send me an ask! Additionally, it would help content get around on this site as there’s basically no algorithm if you reblog works you like. This means a lot to many creators, including me. Thank you to all who reblog!

[forever-rogue]

how about tasm!peter helping reader overcome anxiety, but she has a hard time expressing herself to others, even about anxiety. but peter wants to help comfort her no matter what 🤍 don't need to write this if you don't want lol

AN | Okay, this got away from me, but I think it’s so cute! There’s also a first kiss🥰❤️

Pairing | tasm!Peter Parker x Fem!Reader

Warnings | Language

Word Count | 3.9k

Masterlist | Main | Peter

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Peter Parker was pretty. Really fucking pretty. 

That was one of the first things you’d noticed about him freshman year in your early morning biochem class. You learned, later on, that he was also incredibly kind, charming, and ridiculously smart. Like genius level smart. You knew he liked photography, which happened to be a hobby of your own. You wanted to be his friend; you’d thought many times about going up and speaking to him, but always talked yourself out of it.

Why would Peter Parker want to be your friend?

Instead you admired from afar, from a safe distance. But once you both graduated from ESU and went on to getting advanced degrees, you were sure that you’d never see him again. After all, New York was a huge city, and the odds that your lives would be intertwined enough to run into each other on a regular basis seemed slim to none. 

So - imagine your surprise when you started working as a research scientist at Biotech a few years and another degree later and you found that Peter Parker was starting at the same time as you. You’d done so well to keep your distance, to keep your feelings in check by being a silent admirer. But now, not only would you be seeing him every day…you’d be working closely with him in a lab all by yourself. 

You had no clue how you were going to survive, and part of you was tempted to quit and look for a different job, but you’d worked so long and so hard for this position that you weren’t going to just give it up. You were just going to have to suck it up. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

And it worked, surprisingly. Peter was nothing if not polite and kind, and honestly he was a dream to work with. The two of you had a certain synchronicity that just was hard to put into words, but you complimented perfectly. Despite your initial fear, working in a lab with Peter went well. The worst part was that it made it all the more easy to fall for him. But you doubted he would ever see you as anything other than the girl at work. 

“Hey,” Peter softly interrupted your silent prayer to release any feelings for him with a soft smile. It was getting later into the evening and you were both getting ready to leave for the weekend. You flashed him a smile in response but slipped on your coat, “I was wondering…umm, do you want to grab a bite to eat?”

No way. No freaking way was Peter Parker asking you to get dinner. Right? Right?

“I-I’m sorry,” you blinked a few times and looked at him with wide eyes. His cheeks flushed a pretty pastel shade of pink as he nervously ran a hand through his hair, “what did you say?”

“I was wondering if you wanted to get some dinner,” he repeated softly, shrugging one of his shoulders lightly, “you don’t have to if you don’t want to, of course. I just thought it might be nice to spend some time outside of work together.”

“You want to spend time with me?” your eyebrows shot up in surprise. You needed to make an appointment to get your ears checked. Peter would never want to be with you outside of work. Or, if anything, he might have been so lonely that he welcomed anyone’s company, “me?”

“Yes you,” he laughed softly and it was a sound you’d memorized over the years but still made your knees weak. He took a step closer and bit his lip for a moment, “let me clarify so we’re both on the same page - I, Peter Parker, am asking you, you, if you’d like to go out and dinner.”

“Oh,” every dream you’d ever had of Peter seemed to be coming true then and there. Peter liked you, Peter wanted to spend time with you; maybe you’d never been invisible to him after all. But no. You couldn’t…you just couldn’t. You were sure if anything he’d spend about ten minutes with you alone and he’d grow bored of you and make some excuse to leave. The idea that Peter would end up being bored of you was enough to make you never want to speak again, “umm…Peter, t-that’s really nice of you to ask. But I just…can’t. I’m sorry.”

“Oh,” it was laced with disappointment and you could see his face falling. You were pretty sure you’d just made things so much worse than if you’d just agreed on going, “no worries! I just thought I’d ask, it’s no big deal - maybe next time…well, enjoy your weekend.”

“You too, Peter,” you watched as he grabbed his bag and left, pausing at the door to turn around and give you a small wave. You returned and remained rooted in place, regret clouding your mind. If you hadn’t had such bad anxiety, you would have said yes. But the fear of messing everything up had been worse. You sighed at yourself, “pathetic.”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

There was something quite lovely about New York in the middle of the night. The city never quite deadened, but there was a lull to life that made everything feel so much calmer than normal. That, combined with the insomnia you struggled with from time to time, was enough of a reason for you to venture outside. You grabbed your camera and slowly climbed out of your window and onto the fire escape, slowly making your way the several floors up to the rooftop. When you got there, you set out a long exhale of relief as you looked around the space and found the big blanket you stashed up here for times like this. 

It was chilly out, but it was exhilarating and made you feel more alive than you had all day. You walked around the rooftop and looked out into the city, trying to find anything worthy of your attention. After scouring for a few minutes, you found a gathering on one of the nearby streets and decided to capture it. You framed the shot, but before you could even press the shutter, you heard something loud fall next to you, accompanied by a small oof. 

You dropped the camera which was luckily around a strap on your neck and turned towards the commotion. To your surprise and shock you found Spider-Man looking right back at you. You gasped, hands covered your face as you looked at the man in the blue and red spandex suit, “Spider-Man?”

“Hi,” he cheerily waved before putting his hands on his hips and cocking his head to the side, “what’re you doing up here? It’s freezing - and it’s late.”

“What are you doing on my roof?” you asked with just as much surprise. You’d seen him on the news, read about him on the internet, but you’d never seen him in the flesh before, “you’re shorter than I expected.”

He playfully groaned and you were sure that he’d rolled his eyes under that mask, “first of all, I’m patrolling, and I happened to be swinging by. Secondly - I’m above average height, thank you very much!”

“Well, I don’t know, I expected you to be like…6’5 or something,” you shrugged, stifling a laugh at his distress, “aren’t you a superhero and all?”

“I am still a person-”

“With spider-like abilities,” you found yourself grinning in spite of the initial nerves, “so I dunno, I figured you might be tall. The news does you justice I guess.”

“Yeah well…fine,” he huffed lightly as you laughed at him. You could have sworn that he sounded so familiar and you couldn’t quite place it. Part of you was sure that he sounded like Peter, but there was no way that your crush of eight plus years and lab partner was Spider-Man, “but seriously, what are you doing up here?”

“I…I couldn’t sleep,” you found it incredibly easy to talk to him, nerves and anxiety the last thing on your mind. Maybe it was the fact that you couldn’t see his face, or the fact that you had no clue who he was, “I go outside when I can’t sleep…it helps sometimes.”

“It’s dangerous,” he reminded you and you shrugged lightly, “you shouldn’t be out alone at night in this city.”

“Well I don’t exactly have someone that’s just available to come out with me at three in morning when I’m dealing with insomnia,” if you didn’t know any better you were sure that he sounded concerned, “it’s not the first time I’ve done this. I’ll be okay.”

“You have someone now,” he insisted and your mouth opened in surprise. When he saw the visible confusion on your face he pointed at himself, “that way I know you’ll be safe.”

“There’s only one problem with that.”

“Which is…?”

“How am I supposed to just call you if I need you?” you asked softly and he chuckled warmly as if there was some sort of inside joke between the two of you, “I don’t think there’s some sort of Spidey Signal or something.”

“I’ll be here,” he promised, “I’ll know.”

“Sure,” you liked the sound of it but you highly doubted he would just show up when you needed him. He had a whole city that he kept safe, and you were just one unimportant, small person among millions, “thanks for the concern.”

“I care about you, you know,” he said it like it was something of some personal thing to him. He must have caught his mistake because he quickly cleared his throat and added, “I care about everyone in New York.”

“Of course you do, you’re Spider-Man,” you gave him a small smile and decided that perhaps it was time for you to go. You were about to turn around and head for the fire escape when he stopped you.

“You have a camera,” you looked down before looking back at him and nodding softly, “you’re a photographer?”

“Amateur,” you confessed with a shy smile, “scientist by day, amateur photographer by night. It’s just a hobby, but it’s stuck with me through the years.”

“Wow,” you could tell that he sounded genuinely impressed. Peter, of course, knew you were a scientist, but he had no idea that you’d shared the same hobby too. It made his heart melt a little more, “that’s really cool.”

“Not as cool as being Spider-Man,” you insisted softly as he made a small sound, “I guess I better get going. And let you get back to work…or whatever you call it.”

“I’d love to see some of your work sometime,” the small that worked its way onto your face was breathtaking and made his knees weak, “if that’s okay.”

“Yeah,” you nodded with your face warm despite the chill of the late fall air, “definitely. Well…I guess I’ll see you around Spidey.”

“See you around, smart girl,” if he’d had the mask off, you’d have seen the giant, dopey grin on Peter’s face. But he was gone, swinging back into the evening as you stood there and stared after him.

You were pretty sure you had just  befriended Spider-Man. Holy fuck.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

You really hadn’t expected to see him ever again. But on your next little, a late night walk through the streets of Queens, he made another appearance. He swung over and gracefully landed next to you, easily catching up to your stride. You couldn’t deny that you were elated to have him there. There was something easy about talking to him, about giving bits and pieces of yourself to him, and taking what he gave back. He was always careful not to give too much away, not to reveal too much of his real identity, but you felt like you were getting to know him. And you really liked him. You spend weeks upon weeks of your evenings with Spider-Man, growing closer than you’d have thought possible to the masked man.

On the other hand, it felt like your relationship with Peter was slowly slipping away. After that first night when you’d turned him down, you created a bit of a divide between the two of you. It wasn’t for lack of wanting to be his friend or even more, it was just that you didn’t trust yourself around him. He made was Peter fucking Parker and you were just…nobody. He never made you feel that way, but that’s just what you had ingrained in your mind. And, to your dismay, Peter slowly pulled back as well, which you took as rejection, when in reality it was him not wanting to make you uncomfortable. Either way, you wished you could go back in time and just say yes to him. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Spider-Man seemed to notice your glum mood the next time he saw you. You hadn’t even gone out to the roof or for a walk, but he’d made an appearance at your bedroom window, gently tapping on the glass once he’d spied you sitting at your desk, typing away. When you heard the noise, you turned around and your face morphed into a look of surprise and then happiness. You rushed over to open the window and let him.

“How did you know which window was mine?” you asked softly as he took your outstretched hand and stepped into the room. He set his hands on his hips and looked around your room, taking it all in; your face flushed with warmth as he realized he was getting a glimpse into your most intimate space. 

“I’m Spider-Man,” he said as though that explained everything, “I was in the neighborhood and wanted to see you.”

“You wanted to see me?” your face softened and he nodded. 

“Can I sit?” he pointed at your bed and you nodded eagerly before plopping back down into your cushy desk chair, “I like your room. ‘s cute.”

“I…I never thought Spider-Man would be in my bedroom, I might have decorated a little more,” you joked and he laughed lightly, but he could see that your smile didn’t quite reach your eyes. He paused for a moment and you could feel that he was studying you, trying to pull you apart, “what?”

“You seem upset,” he whispered, leaning towards and holding out his hand. He hesitated for a moment, trying to make sure that he didn’t cross any of your boundaries, but when he noticed that you almost leaned, put his hand on the side of your face and gently stroked your cheek, “what’s wrong, my smart girl?”

My smart girl. He had a tendency to call you; you secretly loved it more than you cared to admit. 

“It’s nothing.” you insisted, biting the inside of your cheek in order to keep the tears from welling up. You put your hand on his forearm and gave it a gentle squeeze. When he made a small sound of concern in his throat, you couldn’t back the tears. A few pearled up and rolled down your cheeks, “it’s my own fault, it’s so stupid. Really, i-it’s fine.”

“It’s making you upset,” you could practically hear the frown in his voice as he used his thumb to wipe away your tears, “it’s not stupid if it’s making you upset. You don’t have to tell me…but I am here for you if you want to tell me. You can tell me anything.”

“It’s just…my friend,” you sighed lightly and pulled back, curling into yourself, “I think he’s my friend, anyway. I feel like I kept pushing him away and now I don’t think he wants to be my friend anymore. I don’t think he wants anything to do with me. We work together, and he almost never talks to me anymore unless it is about work.”

Peter’s breath hitched in his throat as he realized you were talking about him. He felt himself getting choked up as well, “what makes you think that?”

“I feel so dumb,” you shook your head, “it’s just that…I think I like him. I mean I do like him, a-as more than a friend. I’ve had a crush on Peter for a long time. Like eight years, but I’ve always thought I was invisible to him. But he just…he knows all these things about me, and it’s like…it feels like he’s always seen me, you know?”

“Why did you push him away?” Peter’s heart was beating so fast and hard he was surprised you couldn’t hear it, and even more surprised it didn’t just burst through his chest, “what happened?”

“He asked me if I wanted to have dinner with him,” you confessed as if he didn’t know all of this, “and I thought it was just as friends at first but I think he might have meant more…he seemed so upset when I said no. It made me sad to see him like that. I didn’t mean to hurt him or upset him, I just…I got so in my head and let my anxiety get the best of me. So I just said no.” 

“Did you want to say no?” he asked softly as you looked up and met his gaze through the white eyes of the mask. It just felt like he knew you, and that you knew him. There had always been that very familiar air about him, but you’d never been able to quite place why.

“No,” you admitted with a small, bitter little laugh, “I wanted to say yes. I want to spend more time with him and…I really do like him. But I’m afraid he’s going to get to know me more and think I’m boring or lame, or he just won’t like me. I have really bad anxiety and it really gets to me.”

“I’d never be able to guess,” he confessed and you gave him a small smile.

“It’s different with you,” you admitted shyly, “I feel comfortable around you, andI always have. I don't know why, but it’s true. That’s how I feel with Peter too, except that one time I clammed up so much and ruined everything.”

“I’m sure you didn’t ruin anything,” he insisted softly, and you couldn’t help but laugh lightly, “what’s so funny?”

“I don’t have as much confidence,” you shrugged, “how are you so sure? You don’t know Peter, you didn’t see the look on face when I said no. I…I never want to see that look on his face again. It made me so sad.”

Peter was internally debating on what to do. He could either tell you that it was him and risk the chance that you’d hate him forever for not telling you for so long and getting all of this out of you. Or he could continue on as Spider-Man and never tell you that it was. Or he could tell you tomorrow at work…as Peter. There were risks and benefits from each scenario. All he knew was that he couldn’t lose you; that would be too much.

“You know, Spidey, you remind me of Peter in some ways,” you whispered shyly and his heart plummeted into his stomach, “you sound like him. And you like a lot of the same things and I dunno…I feel the same way around you as I do around him. That’s never really happened with anyone before.”

“Listen-”

“It’s almost like….” you stopped yourself, worrying your bottom lip between your teeth as you shook your head, “it’s silly. So stupid, really.”

“Tell me,” he asked softly, “please.”

You inhaled softly, your heart pitter-pattering wildly in your chest. It was your turn to hold up your hand and reach over, ghosting your fingertips along his jaw. He leaned into your touch ever so slightly and you could feel the warmth of his skin even under the mask. You closed your eyes for a moment before exhaling shakily, “Peter?”

He paused for a moment before taking your hand and guiding it to the back of your neck where you felt the zip of the mask. You undid it softly, slowly, and when he sensed your hesitation, he helped you and slowly pulled off the mask, revealing himself to you. 

You gasped lightly when you found Peter Parker’s glittering honeyed eyes looking back at you nervously. You couldn’t help the nervous laugh that bubbled up, and he visibly relaxed when you didn’t get angry. He held up his hand nervously, “hi.”

“This whole time,” you felt your face warm up when you realized that you had basically confessed your feelings to him, “I knew you seemed familiar, Spidey. I should've known that it was you. I’ve never felt the way I do about you with anyone else. When it happened with Spider-Man, I didn’t think anything of it. But it was you this whole time.”

“I didn’t know if I should tell you,” he whispered, “but I wanted you to know. And I never meant to make you feel like I was pushing you away. I just didn’t want you to feel uncomfortable….when I had asked you out and you said no, I thought maybe you didn’t feel the same way, so I thought it’d be best to back off.”

“It wasn’t you,” you promised, “it never was. It was me. Peter, I meant what I said, I’ve had a crush on you since that first day in biochem. I wanted to be your friend for so long, but just could never bring myself to say anything. I thought maybe I could use the photography thing since that’s something we both like but it just never seemed like a good time. And when we started working together…it was nerve-wracking and wonderful. And when you asked me for dinner, I panicked and thought I would surely ruin everything, so I took the possibility of failure away by saying no and making it impossible.”

“Ever the logical scientist,” he smiled softly, “my smart girl. But so you know, you could never have ruined anything. Do you want to know a secret?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve liked you too,” he admitted and your heart felt like it was going to burst, “since that first day in biochem. But you’ve always been way out of my league, so I never said anything.”

“No way!”

“Way,” the look on your face was both pretty and priceless and he was dying to finally kiss you, “now you know all my secrets.”

“Do you want to know one of mine, Peter Parker?”

“Yes.”

“I thought about what it would be like to kiss you so many times,” you whispered so softly that he was sure he wouldn’t have been able to hear you without his heightened senses, “I’d really like to kiss you now.”

Peter’s eyes lit up and you both leaned in, his lips inches away from yours. After a moment of hesitation, he finally kissed you, soft and sweet. He pulled back much sooner than you would have wished, his eyes searching yours as if to make sure it was alright. Your beaming face told him it was more than alright. 

“Was that okay?” he sounded so nervous it was almost too precious.

“I think so,” you teased lightly, “but I am a scientist and need more data to form a proper conclusion.”

“As a fellow scientist, I’m more than happy to provide all the data you could need,” he was grinning from ear to ear, “if you want that is…”

“Yes, Peter Parker,” you kissed him softly, “I would love that.”

[rayalltheway]

A lil fic snippet for @journeytomonkiekid !

This was supposed to be part of soemthing bigger but I lost momentum lol but here we have Wan Ji and her father-in-law (my oc) hehe

——————————————————————————

“So, you’re not…back to life, exactly?” Wan Ji asked, hoping that question somehow came out okay.

“Well, we are…“ Zhuang Jie answered, not sounding any less neutral than before, but he still took a sip of his tea before continuing.

“I guess the best way I can put it is that we’re still technically ghosts, just in…fully corporeal forms. Even Changbiyuan can’t fully summarize how that works, so apologies, I’m not that much better off.” He smiled to himself a bit at that, clearly taking some humor in it, which made Wan Ji relax a bit more. She was alone with the elder man in Macaque’s dojo right now — who had made himself scarce during this topic of conversation, for fairly obvious reasons.

Despite the mutual understanding (at least, there was an assumption of such), Wan Ji noted that the lack of his son’s presence did bear some weight on Zhuang Jie — and when Wan Ji looked back up at him from her own drink, she saw the concern in his eyes as he regarded her.

“Does it bother you?” He asked, his tone genuine.

“What?” Wan Ji’s tails fluffed up a bit in surprise, and she quickly raised a hand in frantic reassurance. “Oh no, no, not at all! I just wanted to make sure I didn’t say or…assume anything…insensitive…” she explained, self-consciousness starting to grip her — but Zhuang Jie’s expression softened quickly, and he chuckled. She couldn’t help but hear Macaque at that moment.

“Don’t worry about that, I appreciate it. I don’t think there’s any easy way to put it. We both were dead, and…now we’re not. But we’re not going anywhere.” He said gently, and Wan Ji saw his eyes leave hers, gaze deepening at the purple training mat in front of them. “Not again.”

Wan Ji was still a little bit in wonder about this whole thing. Macaque having a father and stepparent who came back from the dead, sure, that was incredible and complicated…she wasn’t sure what to expect at first. But now she was seeing how this man was capable of such pure paternal warmth, in words and action. Even more so that it was currently directed at her. She was pretty sure he had genuinely smiled at her more in this one conversation than her father had in years. She…wasn’t really sure how she felt about that, honestly, so she was trying not to dwell on it. Besides, that didn’t matter right now.

“I am so sorry that you went through that, Zhuang.” Wan Ji spoke empathetically, welling up a bit when thinking of this sorrowful subject she’d been learning more about piece by piece over the last few weeks. “I can’t even imagine what it must’ve been like.”

“It’s alright. And please — don’t try to.” He said, looking back at her with reassurance. “I don’t want to overwhelm you with this topic if it’s uncomfortable to hear about. But don’t worry about offending me — I’m too old for that now.” He said with a joking smirk, and Wan Ji let out a snort.

“Point is, if you have any other questions, I’m fine to answer them, kiddo.”

“…You and Changbiyuan?” She questioned. Surprisingly, Zhuang Jie nodded without hesitation.“Of course. They’d like that, actually.” He stated plainly, and Wan Ji felt taken aback.

“Really?” She couldn’t help but say aloud, and she quickly felt herself regret it, her face warming in embarrassment when Zhuang Jie raised a brow at her questioningly.

“Sorry! It’s just, Macaque told me a little about…” She paused when feeling that same sinking in her gut, that same chill running over her…the memories of that demon.

“...What happened to them.” Zhuang Jie listened patiently as she took a moment to get her words together. “I guess I figured that asking them about it directly would possibly be…triggering for them.” She finished, nervously glancing up to see Zhuang Jie’s reaction. He was nodding contemplatively, unangered.

“That’s a fair assumption to make. When it comes to certain…details, you’re not wrong.” He clarified gravely, taking a moment before smiling lightly at the younger woman.

“But here’s the thing about Changbiyuan — you don’t know them well yet, but once you do, they’re an open book. Sometimes too much of one.” He said, and Wan Ji smiled back at him. It was sweet, hearing him talk about Changbiyuan. About Macaque, too, and seeing this…trust he was placing in her, a woman he basically just met. She briefly wondered just what she was missing.

“They definitely have many horrible memories, we both do. But they cherish the good ones with all of their heart, and want them to be known. If you want to ask them about their family…I think will make them really happy. Especially in this case. You’re someone we both hope to be close to.”

[tonberry-yoda]

Congrats on 900!!! You deserve all of your followers and all of those that come in the future <3 can I request something fluffy with Polnareff?

Long Day - Polnareff

notes: OMG I AM MORE THAN HAPPY TO DO A REQUEST FOR YOU!!! thank you so much for all of your support, it really means the world. i cannot express enough how glad I am to have you as a mutual, even if we don't talk all the time! im just glad i have you as a supporter and i am glad to be supporting you as well <3 i hope you have an amazing week and enjoy the fic :)

word count: 624

Nothing like seeing Polnareff's cute little face after a long day.

After you moved to France with Polnareff to take care of him and just stay with him after the events with DIO and the Joestars, you started working extra hard. Not only for the Speedwagon Foundation, but for your regular job too. You didn't just have time to research and travel constantly, especially in you and your boyfriend's condition, so you worked somewhere simple: at a flower shop. It was nice and quiet, usually full of older women or men looking for a gift for their partner. The work was extremely easy too, especially with help from your stand, who could cut thousands of flowers in seconds. But even so, the days didn't shorten. You still had to deal with customers and get tons of calls from the Speedwagon Foundation. You didn't mind it, especially since you were getting paid really well in both fields, but god did it make you tired.

So yeah, nothing was better than getting home to see Polnareff smiling at you like an idiot saying that he made you something. Surprisingly, he was an amazing cook and never failed to make you something that you loved.

You would fall into his arms as he would whisper sweet nothings in French into your ear, his warm lips brushing against your earlobe before he would move them to your neck, planting kisses that made you melt.

You would tell him all about your day while eating dinner and he would tell you about his, making sure to explain if he was feeling better or if something was bothering him. Usually it was his foot. It was hard for him to walk or stand for too long without the excruciating pain or even just losing balance.

You and him both were just in not great condition. Your arm was still in a cast and your black eye hadn't much as faded a bit.

But nonetheless, you were both still standing and both still fighting. You were an incredibly strong couple that could do anything if you worked hard enough for it and sometimes that required a lot of patience and a couple of long days.

Getting home, though, was never something that you would get sick of. You would do anything for that French, lovesick idiot and you knew that he would do anything for you too.

You didn't mind a couple more weeks in a cast as long as you were still with Polnareff.

---

"Mon cheri!!~~~" Polnareff sang as he heard you open the door. He rushed to you and held you in his arms for a moment, landing little kisses all over your cheeks. His foot was in much better condition than it had been for the last couple of weeks, so he was very able to run up to you and luckily, you were able to take sneak attacks or big hugs as your arm was finally out of it's heavy cast.

"Hi, bubba." You held him in your arms and pressed a kiss onto his nose before placing one on his lips.

"How was your day?"

"Not that busy this time," you smiled and cupped Polnareff's face in your hands. "How was yours?"

"Lonely. I'm just glad you got home early today." Since Polnareff was giant compared to you, he was able to lift you up and place you down comfortably on the couch. "So, what's the plan? Cuddles and a movie?"

"Yes please." You sighed lovingly as Polnareff quickly ran to go turn on a movie.

He scooped you back up in his arms and held you close, burying his face in the crook of your neck. "I love you, y/n."

"I love you too."

~~~~~

jjba masterlist (2) | pinned post @tonberry-yoda

[kusagrasskusa]

Hey there, Happy New Year.

If not a bother, could you do an MK Reptile X reader, please? You can be creative with it, I wouldn't mind.

Thank you for your attention

Yes, Happy New Year! Thank you very much for your request!

Reptile X Reader

This incredible piece was made by u/AnttiHako on the r/MortalKombat!

_____________________________________

Okay so imagine this- You worked for Shao Kahn and then get assigned something with Reptile.

You guys would work pretty good together to where you practically had the same thoughts- if someone attacked you, he would know what to do without you saying anything and the same the other way around

If you’re the quiet type, imagine that you guys would walk silently but the energy between you guys is just comfortable and casual. And if there was a scare or something on your guys’ adventure, you’d have a quick laugh and he’d express a small amount of humor the way a reptile would.

If you’re the talkative type/wouldn’t mind a conversation, imagine it being surprisingly easy to talk. He’s the quiet type but listening to what you have to say would be as calming as listening to the leaves blow to him. A comfortable background sound.

After your adventure, you’d find yourself as one of Shang Tsung’s regular parties, where whenever the couples go to the dance floor, the guy you’d been talking to in the corner of the room both smile as you’d watch the couples. That guy would be Reptile, who found you a little after the party started

It might surprise you he would talk to you but he was very attracted to the comfortable bound you surprisingly had with him. Not many people can make him feel that calm.

Eventually it becomes standard that whenever an expedition or task at hand, it’s best to send the both of you. You guys were as close as Eurasia- Seperate continents but are together as one giant piece of land.

People began to mistake you guys for a couple pretty quickly lmao

Like quickly. But to be fair ya’ll were like friends that didn’t know you were in a relationship yet

Well to you, you were in one already. You didn’t know how he felt, but you knew you thought he was cute

And lemme tell you, the day you heard Shao Kahn refer to his as Syzoth… Your heart melted. But you kept it secret for a while

But one day during an expedition, Reptile had slipped and fallen, making you laugh. “Are you okay, Syzoth?”

The way his name rang in his ears, how your voice complimented it, made him freeze for a moment. He cutely cocked his head, and with that look he gave you, I think you both knew you were better than partners in crime or best friends

It was sort of awkward at first- reptiles don’t ever mate for life and so breaking away from that evolutionary norm was a little hard for him. But he was IN LOVE with you, and whenever you reminded him of your love, he slowly began to realize all he had to do was stay

Rather than wanting to protect you, he wanted you to take the ladder during fights. He would hiss in the background excitedly, code for “GET THEM BABE”

PDA probably wouldn’t be a very common thing, especially since his way of affection was different from normal. He didn’t exactly have lips to kiss, but he had hands to throw for a love spar

Honestly fighting and killing foes was such a honorable and beloved thing to Reptile- like there was no better date then being sent to get the Ring of Delia and massacring a reign of foes who thought they could sneak up on you

With working for Shao Kahn and whatnot, finding other time for yourselves was difficult. But the few times you would wonder throughout Outworld together and get a day off, it was spent in the loving arms of each other

If you’re a human/Edenian/anything that literally is not Syzoth, cooking is definitely gonna be… interesting. Syzoth is interested in a lot of things that may not be particularly edible to you and so whenever it’s his turn to cook, he’ll just plop down a decaying scavenger and is just like “Try it!” So, let’s say it’s up to you to cook if you wanna eat

I can imagine Syzoth being like a dog almost. Laying his head on your lap all the time, all touchy when he wants attention, wrapping his arms around you from behind (though that isn’t very dog like), the snake tongue thing he does would be like a dog whining

Of course no one really cared if you two were together. Though sometimes the Kahn had no problem setting barriers between you two just for the fun of it

There would be months of you two not seeing each other and Syzoth would freak out about if his partner doesn’t wanna mate for life? What if he forgets about his promise to mate for life?

But no matter what when you two cross paths, the anxiety fades away. Gosh your arms are such a safe space—

[bajabule27]

Market Girl

This is my very first fic so thank you for reading! 🫶🏻💐

Pairing: Sam Kiszka x f!reader

Word Count: 3.4k

Warnings: Fluff

It was a bright and bustling Saturday morning at the farmers' market. The air was filled with the aroma of fresh produce and baked goods, mingling with the lively chatter of vendors and shoppers. I found myself drawn to a booth displaying an array of handmade jewelry. As I admired a delicate necklace adorned with a small, shimmering gemstone, I heard a voice behind me.

“That necklace would look amazing on you,” the voice said.

I turned around, surprised to see a tall, attractive guy with long brown hair and warm brown eyes standing there, a playful smile on his face. For a moment, I was taken aback by his presence, but his warm, easygoing demeanor quickly put me at ease.

“Thank you,” I replied, smiling back. “I’m Y/N.”

“Nice to meet you, Y/N. I’m Sam,” he said, extending his hand. His grip was firm but gentle, his eyes twinkling with genuine interest.

Looking back down at the necklace, Sam nodded towards it. "Are you going to buy that?" he asked curiously.

I nodded, "I think so. I have an outfit that would go perfectly with it."

After I made the purchase, Sam offered with a charming grin, "Would you like some help putting it on?"

I laughed softly, touched by his gesture. "Sure, that would be great."

As Sam delicately fastened the necklace around my neck, his fingers brushed against my neck, sending a subtle jolt of electricity through me. It was a simple moment, but it felt surprisingly intimate.

After turning around, Sam spoke up, breaking the silence. “Would you like to keep me company while I walk through the market?”

“Sure, I’d love to,” I said, feeling a thrill of excitement at the prospect of spending time with him.

We strolled from booth to booth, chatting and laughing as if we’d known each other for years. Sam’s enthusiasm for the simple pleasures of the market was infectious. He seemed genuinely interested in everything, from the handmade soaps to the fresh berries, and his easygoing nature made him incredibly easy to talk to.

At one point, we stopped at a flower stand, where a vibrant array of blooms created a riot of color. Sam picked out a small bouquet of wildflowers and handed them to me with a shy smile. “For you,” he said softly.

“Thank you, Sam,” I said, touched by the sweet gesture. The flowers were beautiful, their colors bright and cheerful.

Later, we stopped at a coffee stand. Sam turned to me with a smile. “How about a coffee?”

“Sounds great,” I agreed.

As I reached for my wallet to pay for mine, Sam quickly handed over the money to pay for the both of us. “This one’s on me,” he said with a wink.

“Thank you,” I said, touched by the gesture. We found a small table and sat down with our coffees, the conversation flowing effortlessly. He told me about how he was in a band with his brothers and their best friend, who explained was practically a brother too. He explained that they were finally gaining some popularity and have been playing at different bars around town. I nodded, genuinely intrigued.

“That sounds incredible,” I admitted, taking a sip of my coffee before adding, “I'm also passionate about music, but my day job is as a barista.” I felt a pang of embarrassment, fearing my life seemed mundane compared to his exciting musical journey.

He leaned forward, his expression earnest. “Are you kidding? Being a barista sounds amazing,” he said sincerely, his eyes lighting up. “You get to be around coffee all day, which is practically magic in a cup. Plus, I bet you meet all sorts of interesting people.” His warmth reassured me, and I found myself smiling back at him, feeling understood and appreciated.

An hour flew by in what felt like minutes. Realizing I needed to get home, I stood up reluctantly. “I should probably get going,” I said.

“Can I get your number?” Sam asked, looking hopeful. “I’d love to see you again.”

“Of course,” I replied, handing him my phone. He entered his number and sent a quick text to mine so I’d have his.

When I got home, my phone buzzed with a new message.

Sam: I really enjoyed spending the afternoon with you. Would love to do it again sometime.

I smiled, typing back a response.

Y/N: I’d love that too. Thank you for keeping me company today :)

Days passed without hearing from Sam, and I began to wonder if he had lost interest. The following weekend, unable to shake the feeling, I sent him another message.

Y/N: Been thinking about our afternoon at the market. Any chance you’re free to see each other again?

His response was immediate.

Sam: I was hoping to hear from you! Actually, I wanted to invite you to a show tonight. The guys and I are playing at Rhythm & Roots. Are you interested?

My heart raced with excitement as I typed back.

Y/N: I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

That evening, I took my time getting ready, savoring each moment as I prepared for what I hoped would be an unforgettable night. I chose a band t-shirt; its faded logo a nod to my love for live music. Layering it with a well-worn leather jacket and a pair of black jeans, I felt a sense of comfort and confidence in my attire.

When I arrived at the bar, the band was just going on stage. The dim lighting and the buzz of the crowd added to the atmosphere as I found a spot near the stage. My eyes were immediately drawn to Sam, who looked effortlessly cool with his bass slung low. His passion for the music was evident in every note he played, and I couldn't help but admire how he seemed to lose himself in the rhythm.

Throughout the show, Sam kept stealing glances in my direction, and each time our eyes met, a subtle smile would play on his lips. I found myself captivated, unable to tear my eyes away from him. The electricity between us was palpable, heightened by the music that filled the air and the shared anticipation of what the night might bring.

As the last song faded into applause, Sam made his way towards me through the crowd. His eyes held a hint of excitement and warmth as he approached, and I felt a rush of anticipation. Without hesitation, he enveloped me in a big hug.

"Hey," he said warmly, pulling back slightly to look at me. "I'm so glad you could make it. Did you enjoy the show?"

I nodded, feeling a rush of excitement and relief that he seemed just as happy to see me as I was to see him. "Yeah, you guys were amazing up there. You have such a stage presence."

"Thanks," he replied modestly, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he grinned. "It means a lot coming from you."

We stood there for a moment, the sounds of the bar swirling around us as people congratulated the band and moved around us. There was an undeniable chemistry between us, a connection that seemed to deepen with every shared glance and exchanged word.

"I was hoping we could grab a drink and talk some more," Sam said, his tone hopeful yet casual.

"I'd love that," I replied, matching his smile. "Lead the way."

As Sam guided me towards a quieter corner of the bar, his brothers made their way over to where we were sitting. Sam introduced me to each of them with pride evident in his voice.

"Hey, this is Josh," Sam began, gesturing towards the curly-haired guy with a big smile. "He's my older brother and Jake's twin."

I stood up and he enveloped me in a warm hug before I could extend my hand. "Nice to meet you! So, you're the market girl Sam won't stop talking about," he said teasingly, making me blush.

Next was Jake, Sam's other older brother, who had a striking resemblance to Sam with his long brown hair. He gave me a friendly handshake, his eyes curious as he studied me. "Sam's mentioned you," he remarked, his voice slightly softer, hinting at a reserved yet genuine interest.

Last was Danny, introduced as Sam's best friend and "bonus brother." Towering over the others with his tall frame and long curly hair, Danny greeted me with a bear hug. "Sam's told me a lot about you," he said warmly.

After the introductions, we settled into a cozy booth with drinks in hand. Josh, with his theatrical personality, regaled us with animated stories that had us all laughing.

"You won't believe what happened at our last gig," Josh exclaimed, his gestures adding to the drama of his tale. "Jake was on fire, doing his thing, playing guitar behind his head like a rockstar. The crowd was eating it up!"

Jake grinned, a hint of pride evident in his expression. "Yeah, it's my signature move," he admitted with a shrug.

"Until this one time," Danny interjected with a chuckle, "when his guitar strap got tangled up in his hair!"

The table erupted into laughter, imagining the scene.

"It was like a rock 'n roll version of a hair-pull wrestling match," Josh teased, earning another round of laughter.

"I couldn't believe it," Jake admitted, his cheeks flushing slightly. "I had to pause for a moment to untangle myself. But you know what? I finished the solo without missing a beat."

We all chuckled, shaking our heads in disbelief at the antics he described. As the evening wore on and Jake relaxed with each sip of his drink, he began to open up and I decided to start up a conversation with him.

"I noticed your guitar," I said, nodding towards his prized 1961 Gibson Les Paul. "It's a beauty."

Jake's eyes lit up with a mix of pride and enthusiasm. "Thanks," he replied, a hint of modesty in his voice. "I've been playing for years. Do you play?"

"Yeah, a bit," I admitted with a smile. "Not as well as you, though."

He chuckled softly, a genuine warmth in his expression. "It's all about practice and passion," he said, his gaze thoughtful.

Danny chimed in with a grin. "You play too? We should jam sometime," he suggested.

I glanced over at Sam and couldn't help but smile. Our eyes met, and I saw the warmth and happiness mirrored in his gaze, knowing that he understood how much I was enjoying getting to know his family.

"Hey, are you guys up for another round?" Sam asked, breaking the moment with a playful grin.

"Absolutely," Josh replied eagerly, already signaling the bartender.

As the night continued, we laughed, shared more stories, and enjoyed each other's company. It felt like I had known them for much longer than just this evening.

After a while, Sam stood up. “I need a smoke break. Want to join me outside?”

“Sure,” I said, following him out.

Once outside, he lit his cigarette and took a deep drag. “Thank you for coming and meeting my brothers. It means so much to me.”

“Of course,” I replied warmly.

“So, what are you doing after this?” he asked, his voice laced with a hint of playfulness.

I chuckled softly. “Probably just going to go home and watch a movie.”

He grinned, a familiar sparkle in his eyes. "Need any company?" he asked, his tone teasing yet genuine, recalling our first encounter at the farmers' market.

I couldn’t help but laugh, charmed by his cheekiness. “I would love the company, I've got an unopened bottle of wine at home that's been calling my name.”

With that, we made our way back inside to tell the group we had to go. “I hate to break up the party, but I should probably get going,” I announced reluctantly.

There was a collective sigh of disappointment mixed with understanding from the group. "Already?" Josh exclaimed, a playful pout on his face. "We were just getting started!"

"I know I hate to leave" I replied with a smile, touched by their warmth and hospitality. “But thank you for an amazing show, it was so good to meet you all.”

Sam immediately chimed in, looking at me with a smirk. “I’ll be heading out too.”

He turned to the group, still smirking. “We’ve got some very important things to do.”

This prompted a few eye rolls and playful groans from his brothers.

We exchanged heartfelt goodbyes, and all of the boys gave me a warm hug as we promised to meet up again soon. Sam stood up with me, his hand resting gently on my back as we walked towards the door. Sam confirmed the plans for the evening and followed me to my apartment complex. We parked side by side, and as we walked to my front door, I couldn't ignore the flutter of anticipation in my chest.

Inside, we shed our coats and shoes, the atmosphere becoming more relaxed and intimate. "Make yourself comfortable on the couch," I said, gesturing towards the living room. "I'll just be a moment while I change."

I slipped into a comfier shirt and leggings, feeling comfortable yet excited. When I returned, Sam was examining my record collection. He held up a Neil Young album with a smile. "Great taste," he remarked, setting it down as I approached.

"Thanks," I replied, feeling a rush of nerves and excitement as we moved to the couch together. Sam settled against the armrest, facing me.

As Sam looked into my eyes, he smiled warmly. "You have a really beautiful smile, you know that?" he said, his voice soft and sincere.

I felt my cheeks flush at the compliment. "Thank you," I murmured, feeling a bit flustered. Needing something to calm my nerves, I asked, "Would you like a glass of wine?"

"I'd love one," he replied graciously.

I walked over to the kitchen, poured two glasses of wine, and returned to the couch. Sam had shifted over, leaving a spot for me right next to him. As I handed him his glass, our fingers brushed, sending a small jolt of electricity through me. We both smiled at the contact.

Settling down beside him, I picked up the remote. "What movie do you want to watch?" I asked.

"I'll let you pick," he said, leaning back comfortably.

Scanning through my continue-watching list, I clicked on "The Proposal." Sam chuckled, a playful glint in his eyes. "I secretly love a good chick flick," he confessed.

I giggled, feeling the last of my nervousness fade away. "Good to know," I said, smiling at him.

Sensing my hesitation, Sam opened his arms invitingly. "Come here," he said gently.

I grabbed a blanket and snuggled close to him, feeling his warmth surround me. As the movie started, I couldn't help but giggle to myself, thinking about how this all began with a chance encounter at the market.

Sam's arm wrapped around my shoulders, and I nestled into him, enjoying the comfort and closeness. The warmth of his embrace and the relaxed atmosphere made me reflect on how different this night was from what I would normally do. Usually, I wouldn't have given a random stranger the time of day, but there was something about Sam at the farmers' market that made me want to get to know him. I giggled to myself, thinking about how that afternoon walking around the market with Sam had led me to where I was now, curled up on the couch, watching a movie together.

"What's got you giggling over there?" Sam asked, a playful grin on his face.

I looked up at him, smiling. "I was just thinking about how we first met last week at the farmers' market," I confessed. "And now look at us."

Sam raised an eyebrow, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "You mean, sitting on your couch, watching a movie?"

"Yeah," I laughed softly. "I promise this isn't something I usually do."

Sam chuckled, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "So you don't always let handsome musicians buy you coffee and flowers?" he teased, giving me a playful nudge.

I couldn't help but laugh, playfully hitting his shoulder. "Not always," I replied with mock seriousness, enjoying the easy banter between us. "You're a rare exception."

As the movie progressed, I felt a growing sense of contentment. Sam's presence was comforting and familiar, even though we had only just met. Every now and then, he would make a comment about a funny scene, and we'd both laugh.

At one point, I glanced up at him and found him already looking at me. Our eyes met, and for a moment, everything else faded away. There was something incredibly genuine and sincere in his gaze.

Sam reached down, his fingers lightly brushing my cheek. He looked into my eyes, then down to my lips. I swallowed hard, feeling a rush of anticipation. Sitting up a little and turning towards him, I pressed my face more into his palm, savoring the warmth and tenderness of his touch.

The tension between us grew, an electric current that seemed to pull us closer together. After a few seconds that felt like an eternity, Sam finally leaned in and pressed his lips to mine.

The kiss was gentle at first, testing the waters. His lips were soft and warm, tasting faintly of the wine we had been drinking. As the kiss deepened, it became more urgent, filled with a longing that had been building since our first encounter at the market.

Sam's hand moved to the back of my neck, pulling me closer as our kiss intensified. My own hands found their way to the nape of his neck, gently pulling on his long hair. The world around us seemed to disappear, leaving only the sensation of his lips on mine, the taste of him, and the feeling of his heart beating in time with my own.

When we finally pulled away, we were both breathless, our foreheads resting against each other. Sam's eyes were dark and intense, a mixture of desire and something deeper that made my stomach flip.

"Wow," I whispered, unable to find any other words.

"Yeah," he replied softly, his thumb brushing against my cheek. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," he murmured, his voice husky.

I smiled, my heart pounding in my chest. "I think I might have an idea," I replied, leaning in to kiss him again.

This time, the kiss was slower. His hands moved to cradle my face, his thumbs brushing lightly over my cheeks as our lips moved together in perfect harmony.

Eventually, we pulled back, resting our foreheads against each other as we caught our breath. "I should probably refill our wine," I said with a soft laugh, my voice tinged with excitement and anticipation.

Sam nodded, his eyes still locked on mine. "I'll be right here," he promised, his voice warm and reassuring.

Reluctantly, I untangled myself from his embrace and stood up, heading to the kitchen to grab the bottle of wine and two glasses. My mind was racing with thoughts of what had just happened and what might happen next.

When I returned, Sam had made himself comfortable on the couch, his smile widening as he saw me approach. I handed him a glass, our fingers brushing once more, sending a familiar jolt of electricity through me.

We settled back into the couch, our bodies close. As we sipped our wine and watched the movie, Sam was sitting with his legs extended, and I rested my head on his lap. He gently played with my hair, his touch sending a wave of comfort through me.

As I looked up at him, our eyes met, and a soft smile formed on his lips. I couldn't help but feel grateful for the unexpected turn of events that had brought us to this cozy moment together.

"Thanks for inviting me over," Sam said softly, breaking the comfortable silence.

I lifted my head slightly, meeting his gaze with warmth in my own. "Thank you for being here," I replied sincerely.

Sam raised his glass saying, "Here's to spontaneous farmers' market encounters leading to cozy movie nights."

I mirrored his gesture, raising my glass in a silent toast. The clink of our glasses resonated softly in the room, a simple acknowledgment of the moment we were sharing.

As we settled back into our quiet companionship, the movie playing softly in the background, wrapped up in Sam's gentle touch and the warmth of his presence, I felt a sense of contentment and excitement for what the future might hold for us.

[greaterstolenlandspolycule]

OC Profile—Liesel (from Pathfinder Kingmaker)

Art done by the wonderful @moyashidoodles ! Go commission them (if you want of course)

Name: Liesel

Aliases: Gertrud/Gertrud Elise (by the people who raised them); Ainsel (generic fake name given out)

Alignment: True Neutral

Pronouns: they/them

Race: "Human" (actually a fey)

Homeland: The River Kingdoms

Birthday: Neth 1

Religion: Formerly Erastil; currently none, but pays lip service (and a few coins) to Hanspur for the sake of safe travel

Class(es): Sorcerer (Fey Bloodline)

Professions: Spinning, weaving, etc (formerly); general farmwork on their family's farm and around their village (formerly); itinerant mercenary (formerly); Baron of the Stolen Lands (currently)

Languages: Taldane, conversational Hallit, a smattering of Skald and Varisian

(The rest is going under a cut because this is long)

Skills: As a result of spending most of their life in a rural farming village, Liesel has a fairly in-depth understanding of nature, despite not having an education that someone from a city would consider “formal”. Their mercenary work essentially forced them to become light on their feet in order to dodge blows from attackers they wouldn’t be able to withstand and to get out of melee combat so as to be able to safely launch their own, arcane, attacks. Whenever possible, though, they prefer to avoid combat, something they are surprisingly adept at despite their innate difficulty socializing, due to being in an environment where they felt their safety depended on spending agonizing hours studying the patterns of social cues and rules in order to mimic and exploit them (a process more like learning a foreign language completely unrelated to one’s birth tongue with no dictionary, or figuring out a complex code, than anything else), and due to an innate, extremely subtle, almost definitely supernatural effect on others (while they are skilled at masking in this way, it is incredibly draining for them; additionally, while they are good at assessing the situation and figuring out what people are expressing and how they are supposed to respond, this is very much an intellectual understanding, and they have pretty significant difficulty empathizing with others). They have an inexplicable aptitude with magical items, which they find uncommonly easy to detect and command the magic of. (In game terms: Lore (Nature), Mobility, Persuasion, Use Magic Device)

Romance(s): Octavia, Regongar, Tristian, Secret Romance

Appearance: Liesel appears to be a fairly average Riverfolk human in their midtwenties. Slightly wavy brown hair in a pixie cut frames a face with somewhat tan skin and black eyes that betray little of their emotions. Their nose is just the slightest bit upturned, and, although they often don't smile wide enough to show it for long, they have a gap between their two front teeth.

They dress comfortably and casually, in colors that blend into the background--almost exclusively shades of black, grey, white, and brown--and their outfit is always completed with their beloved gray cape. While this is very much practical, it is also done deliberately, so as to not bring attention to themself, or risk seeming odd. 

They generally try to keep as much of their skin covered as possible, especially their hands--indeed, unless the situation absolutely requires they not, they always wear a pair of well-worn leather gloves. This serves both to prevent direct exposure to cold iron and to limit any unexpected unpleasant sensations.

Fighting Style: Although they are fairly athletic due to a life spent doing farmwork, Liesel is nonetheless a sorcerer, and thus stays out of melee combat on account of a) your average farmer not being a match for people specifically trained for combat and b) the gestures and focus it takes to properly channel their spells leaving them open to attacks from anyone too nearby. As a result, they stay on the backline of battle–although sometimes not as far back as they would like, given the limited range of many of their spells. They primarily focus on debuffing and generally causing problems for the enemy, whether with spells that directly do so (such as Sleep, Hypnotism, Entangle, and Scare), spells that do so in addition to dealing damage (such as Ear-Piercing Scream), or, occasionally, simply “debuffing” the enemy’s HP (read: using damaging spells to help even the odds against enemies resistant or immune to mind-altering effects, whether through significant or chip damage). They also wield a crossbow with surprising (but not at all remarkable) accuracy when necessary. When forced into close combat, they tend to default to using Laughing Touch to disable the attacker, then running away. Should that not work, they will reluctantly take out their +1 Cold Iron dagger (which they keep on (gloved) hand both to make sure that nobody else in the party could somehow use it against them, and to provide evidence why they couldn’t possibly be fey, just in case) and attack with the ferocity of a cornered animal.

Personality: Liesel’s personality is rather hard to pin down because, quite frankly, they’re so used to putting on a mask and playing a role that nobody, including them, has any idea what their true “face” would look like beneath. It’s much easier to define Liesel by the roles they’ve performed/are performing, both for practicality’s sake, and because the ways in which they adapt their behavior provide hints as to why they do so, glimpses at whatever it is that lies beneath.

For most of their life, they played the role of Gertrud Elise. The only child of two farmers, she had exhibited some odd behavior after experiencing a serious illness as a child, but had recovered to be known throughout the town as, in many ways, an ideal girl, and, eventually, young woman. She was kind, courteous, and always knew the exact thing to say when talking to others, but spent most of her time not socializing but working–often apart from others in the fields or pens, although she would sometimes join others at the loom. If there was no work to be done at her own family’s farm, she would even go work at others'. Nobody could resent her for the time spent away from others, for not being part of the community, not when she so clearly did it for them. And besides, it wasn’t as if she was a recluse–the time she spent away working was absolutely unusual, but it wasn’t extreme.

After fleeing their home village–and the simultaneously comfortably familiar and stifling nature of playing the same role day in and day out–and becoming an itinerant mercenary, Liesel began presenting radically differently in different situations, swiftly learning to assess the situation and adapt to be whatever was advantageous and needed for the job: the unflappable rock, the politely threatening negotiator, the detached and uncaring freelancer, et cetera. Since they worked with so many different people, and often under different names, there was no real need to maintain continuity. While it was radically different from what they had been used to, over the course of a few years, they got used to it.

As a result, being in the same group for an indefinite amount of time–as they have been since they accepted Jamandi Aldori’s quest–and thus needing to play the same role for an indefinite amount of time is an odd experience, both familiar and unfamiliar. “Liesel”–for, indeed, the name “Liesel” itself, which has no real special significance other than being the fake name they were using when they got word of an opportunity from the Aldori and thus being the one they are stuck with, might very well be seen as a part of this role–is a capable leader who always listens to others’ opinions and takes them into account (even if they don’t always act as others want), who is slightly uncommonly quiet and observant, but not at all stoic or severe–instead, they are rather carefree, simply not speaking up when there’s no need, content to let things flow along until they see a need to act or a true purpose for their input. They are skilled with words, whether in the form of their occasional jokes or in their deft handling of tense negotiations–and in the latter case they can reveal an ability to wield their words like a deadly weapon that sends foes sputtering and retreating without a fight. In one-on-one conversations with their companions, they are very personable, and give graceful compliments that often match exactly what the person wants complimented, to the point of flirtation at times. If this flirtation is rebuffed, they are completely without resentment, but if it is received positively, they will gladly go as far as the other person is willing to.

At times, however, they reveal another side–one far more wild. On a lighter level, this can be revealed when their emotions get the better of them and they do something impulsive and kind of silly. On a darker level, though, if an enemy is able to charge from the front line and engage them in close combat, they display a surprisingly vicious side, striking repeatedly and somewhat recklessly, willing to do anything to preserve their own life. 

History/Hooks: (CW child death, low-key ableism, discussion of a trans person prior to their transition)

On Neth 1, 4684 AR, in the River Kingdoms, in a quiet farming village nestled between the arms of the Echo Wood, so small you would be hard-pressed to find it on most maps, a child was born and named Gertrud Elise. One day, not many years later, they ran out to play, past the rye-fields that surrounded the inner village, into the woods beyond, lured by the excitement and wonder of nature and too young and foolish to think they could fall victim to its dangers. They never came back.

(Had this never happened, this child would have grown into a gregarious, hearty man named Hedwirg. He would have become a mercenary in order to pay for an expensive transitioning potion, and eventually become known for the strength of his blows and of his moral code. But this happened instead.)

After a few days of frantic searching, the child’s parents found a child that looked just like their own in the woods, distressed and feverish and covered in soil. The desperate parents, who had feared their child would become another one of the stories used to warn children not to wander, didn’t question it.

When they recovered from the fever, the few memories they had at that age were somewhat hazy, as if they’d occurred years before they did, or were particularly vivid dreams. The parents didn’t question it, though–they were happy as long as they had their child back, regardless of whether that child was whole. Besides, while fey weren’t known for giving back what they stole, they were known even less for giving replacements–and it was perfectly plausible that the child had merely gotten lost in the woods. Any oddity or change was attributed to the trauma and the fever.

As the child called Gertrud grew up, they had trouble fitting in with others. Whispers of having been permanently “damaged” by whatever happened during their disappearance, or, rarely, of something worse, terrified them, and so, when with other people, they spent all their effort on figuring out how to behave so as to fit in. The act was more or less successful, but it was exhausting, and so they took any opportunity they could to limit the time they needed to perform by working whenever possible (whether in the farm, the house, or generally around town), earning them a reputation of being a good, solid, dependable kid whose selfless and helpful disposition balanced out any slip-ups that snuck out.

This continued into adulthood, until one day when a traveling merchant came by. While the adult called Gertrud didn’t really have wanderlust, per se, they always liked and were curious about things from outside the village, so they examined the wares. When they touched one item–a dagger–their skin burned with pain as if they’d touched freezing metal. They were not naturally very expressive, and practiced at hiding their feelings besides, so they concealed the reaction, and asked casually if there were any unusual wares. This was when they learned that the dagger was cold iron.

They made their excuses (easy, because they were known for being hardworking and didn’t have much pocket money), and left for the rye-fields, where they panicked. The whispers they and their parents had dismissed their whole life were true–hell, they weren’t even their parents!

Terrified that, if they had found out that they were fey, someday–maybe even someday soon–everybody else would, that night, they packed a small bag with a few necessities, left a vague note, and took off into the darkness.

As they traveled, going by a variety of fake names, they slowly discovered they possessed magical abilities. While they feared these abilities, and didn’t understand them–and especially didn’t understand how natural they felt–they proved incredibly helpful in the mercenary work they took up. Over the course of the next few years, they garnered a reputation that, while small, nevertheless earned them an invite and offer of a mysterious job proposition from one Jamandi Aldori in Rostland. 

Unbeknownst to them, Liesel is the creation of the Green Mother, the Eldest of intrigue, carnivorous plants, seduction, and the urges that lead the unwary to their death. While they are very much flesh and blood, they were grown in the First World from a plant that was planted on top of the shallowly buried corpse of the child they replaced.

Trivia:

I often use common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) imagery with Liesel, on account of their whole deal. 

The name Liesel isn’t fundamentally special to them, other than deriving from the middle name they thought was theirs; it was initially just another fake name, but since they are in a situation where they will be using it for the foreseeable future, and it is used by people they are growing to care about, they are becoming attached to the name.

Some of the specifics of their backstory are inspired by German folktales about the Rye Mother/Rye Aunt.

The way in which Liesel grew from a plant is partially inspired by barometz from Dungeon Meshi.

Liesel’s whole “autistic but obsessively studied and takes advantage of social cues and social norms” thing is inspired by Nick from Hell Followed With Us.

Liesel is really good at weaving. 

Liesel’s personality is partially inspired by Siffrin from In Stars and Time.

Liesel’s outfit is going to change significantly in later Acts as they progress their character arc.

If they existed in the modern day, they would be a huge fan of Kabru Dungeonmeshi and. Probably relate to him too much because they share a few very important and key traits despite being radically different people. 

Liesel has very inconsistent–and some would say entirely lacking–principles, but one of their few consistencies is that they highly value the Six River Freedoms.

They believe strongly in religious freedom, and would have no issues, for instance, with someone worshiping Lamashtu, so long as they don’t, for instance, kill people about it. They would, in fact, struggle to understand why someone would have issues with a Lamashtan who wasn’t making their religion other people’s problem.

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 20/12/2023

11 Minutes of City Pop

Season 4 Episode 2 Featured on: Neon Lights & Holiday Nights ~ The SiIvaGunner All​-​Star Winter Festival Collection

Directed by Ahmaykmewsik, Millenium Hero For full list of contributors, see YouTube upload

Two days ago, with Ripping Video Game Music​.​.​.​.​.​.​At Night (2020 Edition), and with several rips from Season 4 Episode 2 in general, I've described the Season as one big celebration. The big reason for that is obvious - it was a year of recovery after the SiIva team pulled out absolutely all of the stocks at once for the biggest event in the channel's history with the King for Another Day tournament, and the SiIvaSummer Festival was primarily dedicated to celebrating DJ Professor K's victory in the tournament. Yet, with 32 contestants entering, with no rematch or future events involving them clearly in sight - a lot of the remaining 31 contestants became treasured by the fanbase in general during, and after, the tournament. It meant a lot to people, more than the first tournament in Season 3 could've really prepared the SiIva team for - and one of the most adored contestants was the holder of the silver medal, and star of 11 Minutes of City Pop - Mariya Takeuchi.

In my eyes, a big reason as for why DJ Professor K wound up taking the tournament, was because he was the contestant who best represented huge parts of what SiIvaGunner is - a celebration of pop culture, self-expression, video games and the art of remixing. And in a way, I feel like Mariya Takeuchi was the perfect grand finalist to match him, in encapsulating so much of the other side of SiIvaGunner. To me, she embodies the niche interests, the depths of YouTube scavenging, the art and appreciation of genuinely fantastic music and the emotional ties we can have to the strangest of things. And due to all of that, it was an absolute delight to see her receive a wonderful consolation price later in the Season, in the form of a collaboration so huge I can't bring myself to list all of its contributors here. 11 Minutes of City Pop, despite being a silver-medalist award, does not cut any corners on delivering exactly what's on the tin.

It has everything we've come to expect from these current huge-scale collaborations, with tons of different styles and creators featured, yet it casts a far wider net: it doesn't center on just one single meme song a la Plastic Love, but instead arranges two dozen hits from the City Pop genre into a listen that manages to feel surprisingly cohesive despite its variety. Part of that is of course the excellent VHS-tape visuals attached to the collaboration - aside from the incredibly well done artwork on both Mariya and the environment, the work done by livvy94 to properly record the footage on VHS is remarkable. I recommend going to the SiIvaGunner Wiki to look at the behind-the-scenes images of the process, because it really puts into perspective how much went into a celebration like this - compared to how easy, yet cheap-feeling, it would've been to just use a filter in a video editing program.

Looking back on it all, I absolutely adore SiIvaGunner's 2020, and it was a huge source of happiness and joy during a time when it was hard to stay optimistic. The feeling of joy that all of this celebration contained were infectious beyond belief, and was absolutely a worthy send-off to KFAD in so many ways. To me, projects like the King for Another Day tournament, like the SiIvaSummer Festival, like Halation Celebration and rips like snow halation but it shreds, and indeed projects like 11 Minutes of City Pop, all demonstrate just how much SiIvaGunner matured during Season 4's two-year run.

[queenofthyme]

Okay this is kinda funny to me but I actually just finished binging your fic (did a descendants marathon, started mid D3, got genuinely interested in RoR, read the rest with bleary eyes and bated breath into what is now 4 am) and. I. I kid you not I was internally lamenting the lack of spicy scenes because you wrote the teasing incredibly well and. Well. I wasn't going to say anything bc ppl are completely within their right to not write something BUT then I saw your post and now that I know(1/?

(cont) and now that I know that not only is it maybe an option but that you'd be willing to write it let me just say. On my knees pleading. I was craving some MalxEviexUma content and you wrote it *so incredibly well* and it was such a delight to read. I appreciate you taking the cheating seriously and I really like how you handled the variety of queer revelations happening in this fic. Genuinely it is because of authors who write characters so well like this that I feel less isolated in my experiences

(cont) especially since things revolving around my identity and sexuality have been pretty present the past few months, and it's almost relieving and somewhat cathartic to get to read characters experiencing similar situations and getting to be accepted and also get together with their beloveds. And also have gay (dragon/tentacle/) sex lol. I like how you took your time with each of the characters to make their conclusions feel natural and anything but rushed, and I really love what a good grasp (3/?

(cont) you have of their voices. I could hear each of them (especially Uma) distinctly in my head the whole time, and could visualize their faces and movements so well because of how you wrote them. Character voices are hard, so many kudos to you!!! You really did a good job staying true to them! Also, somewhat but also not surprisingly, I was not having an easy time finding content for the three of them (or even a few of them) and sometimes when you're low on fics the ones you find aren't the most polished, but yk you take what you find or you make it yourself! But!!! That is not the case here! You wrote a beautiful and enjoyable and fucking sexy fic that exactly hit the spot for me and was a thrill all the way through. You do not know how many times I had to keep myself from jumping ahead or reading to fast to enjoy it because I was so excited. Also the only reason I'm not commenting is bc I don't have an ao3 account set up for this blog yet so I'm bothering you in asks instead!

I would like to be very detailed in my appreciation of how you wrote each character but I seriously need to sleep and I'm probably taking up to much space, so let me know if I can come back and rant to you about your fic in your ask box or if you would prefer me waiting till I can comment on the fic itself :3Thank you SO SO SO SO MUCH for writing such a scrumptious fanfic and for sharing it with the rest of us! /Grins/ Have a delightful rest of your week!

(final. Sorry it got split up! Tumblr was being an ass and giving me a word limit so I switched for Easter so I didn't have to verify w every ask and it fuckin dropped both problems lmao)

This is how you leave a comment, folks. If it's not 4 asks in my inbox when I wake up I don't want it.*

People like @gayafsowhat who leave comments and asks like this are the backbone of the fanfic community. These asks have sat in my inbox for a like a week because there's literally no way to adequately express my gratitude so I'll just say simply: thank you. ❤️

Also authors, if you are hesitating about writing for a smaller fandom or rare pair, fucking do it. Yes, I get more kudos on my drarry fics, but the enthusiasm and support you get from people when you write for pairings with less content is equally fulfilling (if not more - see giant comment above holy shit!??!?).

*This is obviously a joke. For the record, I gratefully accept and apppreciate comments in any format. ❤️

[mamanbou]

The Roppongi-Yoyogi beef in tmm au lait is something that's so important to me. The hatred they share. Yoyogi obviously hates Roppongi on sight because Roppongi is a narcissistic freak, but I think it goes deeper than that. It's because roppongi is bisexual.

i think yoyogi's closeted-gay in-love-with-his-best-friend doing-mental-gymnastics-to-regularly-kiss-said-best-friend-as-a-bit ass saw roppongi openly flirting with a man onstage and felt a complicated unspeakable blend of emotions and instead of confronting any of that he just decided that, no matter what, he hated him. (Which is quite easy to do given that he's insufferable)

Roppongi, being surprisingly perceptive, is of course fully aware of this. He makes it clear repeatedly, though mostly in extras, that he knows exactly what Yoyogi is.

Like with most other things he perceives about Yoyogi, he finds this fact equal parts frustrating and (sym)pathetic. So he openly tries his best to give yoyogi advice and hints and nudges towards at least realizing his feelings, but it never really works Yoyogi loves both Shibuya and Anzu dearly (in a general sense) and would never seriously take action to jeopardize their relationship, so conceptualizing his own feelings about shibuya as romantic is too dangerous. And also because i think he'd rather die than admit Roppongi was right about something.

Yoyogi is full of himself, but only in that he acknowledges his many strong points in an objective, neutral light without embellishment. He's intelligent, he's physically adept, he's handsome, he's good with women- these are all traits that are societally encouraged. He's also very likely gay, based on. the way he acts the entire series. Like seriously whenever he discusses women (including Anzu, which is very notable as she's kind of the female audience insert when it comes to fanservice) it's "women are attracted to me, I am capable of attracting women". whenever he's deliberately seductive, it's either a means to an end or he's messing around- either way, 110% uninvested. Compare that to his baffling persistence in finding any excuse to kiss Shibuya directly or indirectly... his ass is homosexual.

But being gay isn't rewarded by society. it isn't something that Yoyogi can embrace like he does all his other traits- he can't even bring himself to face it properly, because it would shatter his self-image and public persona of objective superiority. Yoyogi's narcissism isn't an actual obsession with the self, it's more like a dedication to showing off the most accepted version of the self.

Compare that to Roppongi, whose narcissism is 100% pure and all-encompassing. There's not a bit of posturing. He's flamboyant, certain in his own judgement, prioritizes his own wants and needs to an often absurd degree, flirts with anyone he pleases with no pretense... he loves himself, ADORES himself, in his ridiculous entirety. He doesn't feel he has anything to prove, he's just himself- and "himself" is inherently a thing of greatness. So he's happy with his bisexuality, polyamory, and subtly feminine gender expression- unlike Yoyogi. Compare their initial reactions to their mew mew outfits.

So of course Yoyogi immediately hates him. Roppongi receives nothing but adoration for proudly, mindlessly (well, not really, but to the bitter outside observer it would appear mindless) displaying these traits that he keeps locked deep, deep in a closet to protect his social standing.

Anzu calls Yoyogi's dialogue here "Roppongi-kun-ish", but it isn't, really. He's more resigned than anything else. He receives benefits for his attractiveness, it's best (objectively) to be above average, versus Roppongi basking in the grand consequences of his excellence.

Roppongi's issue with Yoyogi is that Yoyogi refuses to face his flaws or work to improve himself for the team's sake. He cares for the guy as a teammate, and shows him special attention as he tries to understand him, but he insists on being incredibly difficult to work/reason with because Yoyogi's issue with Roppongi is that everything about his personality triggers self-loathing.

I just think the contrast in their characters and the background conflict that springs from it is so fun, it would've been so easy to make the two self-absorbed "mature ones" indistinguishable from each other, but the best thing about au lait is the main character writing (aliens notwithstanding fuck those guys). Read au lait for them. In my minds eye they're like a serene worldly mother bird and her baby bird who won't stop pecking the shit out of her leg

[desertsquiet]

Despite the fact that an unexpectedly funny and infamous internet presence had made him a very well-known figure even among the younger generations of music fans, I feel like David Crosby’s own contribution to the art has always been somewhat underrated. I can recall a few instances where people wondered what he was even doing on bands like CSN and the Byrds, as if his role was pretty much singing an harmony line and that was it. The reality is even if he did “just that” his importance in those groups would have still been invaluable, but he did so much more.

Almost two years ago, having grown up in a Neil Young household all my life but never having actively listened to anything CSN or CSNY related and being even less familiar with any of their mother bands, I embarked on a journey of discovery where I wanted to focus on each unique singer/songwriter at a time, both solo and in the context of a band. As it turns out, not surprisingly, I was already pretty familiar with many of the songs I found along the way: Teach Your Children, Ohio, Suite: Judy Blue Eyes, For What It’s Worth, Our House, Helpless, Chicago. However, I had never heard a single David Crosby-penned track before. And when I did, they were nothing like I would have expected them to be based on his public persona. While I strongly gravitated to Stephen Stills at first - and I still mantain that his early songwriting, singing, performing and arranging is second to none - and in many way Stephen’s songs are still the ones I enjoy listening to the most, I slowly realized that David’s songs were actually the ones that spoke to me the most, that felt more true to who I am. For someone who was so notoriously opinionated, his songs mostly reflected uncertainty and doubt.

They were always questions. “Why”, “What’s Happening?”, “What Are Their Names”, “Where Will I Be?”. Together with the incredible way their voices could blend, I think that’s the secret of what made the musical partnership of Crosby & Nash work so well: David’s music is always asking questions and Graham’s music is always providing answers. I sure know whose side I am on, but I can also appreciate the magic that the melding of such opposite but complementary outlooks like that can bring.

They were also uniquely freeform and trippy, psychedelic and truly experimental. David Crosby was the biggest reason the Byrds were among the first bands (perhaps the very first) to dabble in “psychedelic rock” and the albums where his creative presence is felt the most, Fifth Dimension and Younger Than Yesterday, are nothing short of incredible milestones. His songs on those albums are undoubtedly some of my favorite stuff he ever did, especially the achingly beautiful Everybody’s Been Burned.

They took you on a journey that was both unsettling and relaxing at the same time, that made you question everything beginning with reality itself around you, and there was just nothing like it. Especially not in 1966-67. Later, when his music changed setting, he still maintained that original style that didn’t even seem to care about expressing his ideas in the form of a song, it felt more like a free flowing stream of melody and sound and thoughts that couldn’t and shouldn’t be confined to any kind of shape.

He was entirely his own thing for his entire career and his music made me feel like maybe it was okay to always feel confused by the world around me and like maybe it was okay there really weren’t easy solutions or answers to be found, but it was important to constantly question ourselves and the outside world to try and make sense of it all in our own specific way. I got to know myself a little better by listening to his songs and they made me feel understood and validated like very few artists have managed to do with their music. I can only be forever grateful to him for that and I will miss him terribly.

[everfascinated]

Writing prompts:

49. “I may be an idiot, but I’m your idiot.”

Feeling this for Steddie, but obviously dealer's choice =)

Thank you for the prompt! It took two tries and I think this came out nicer for it

tw: bugs

The Birds and the Beetles

The leaves on the ground were making it impossible to walk quietly, but that was alright. Eddie was keeping his running commentary as low as he could manage as they walked through the forest, however, that was still louder than their footsteps.

"I don't know how they could have missed it. The signs were right in front of them." Rolling his eyes, Eddie nearly tripped over a particularly large tree root. When Steve dropped his binoculars to catch him, Eddie's alarmed look melted into a smile before he took advantage of their position to peck a swift kiss to the corner of Steve's lips. "My hero!"

Steve knew his expression was more fond than chiding as he helped Eddie back to his feet before giving him a little shove to keep him moving.

"So you've said." And Eddie has. He's got a lot of nicknames for Steve and 'hero' made it into the rotation after they pulled him from the Upside Down oh so long ago. "Maybe you should be paying more attention or you'll miss some signs of your own."

Because, yes, the walk was a bit for their health - getting out and walking around was good for them no matter what Eddie sometimes complained when Steve pulled him from his indoor hobbies. He always came though, because it was also a great way for them both to indulge in their outdoor hobbies which Eddie was incredibly enthusiastic about. He loved to look for bugs and creepy crawlies as they wound their way through the forest, but Steve preferred -

There was a bird call, just audible over Eddie's exaggerated hurt at being called out like that, and Steve instantly had the binoculars up again from where they were hanging around his neck. Not quite putting Dustin's gift to his face while he didn't know the direction it came from, Steve scanned the trees for movement.

Nothing.

Well, that bird call sounded familiar - what little he could hear clearly when Eddie stopped mid-sentence to let him listen - so he'll get his chance to look at it another time if not today. Today would be nice though. He remembered to bring the old camera Jonathan gifted him (with a particularly amused look) last winter and Steve would love to add to his small collection.

"No?" Eddie asked, watching Steve instead of the treetops, obviously trusting Steve's skewed vision to pick the birds out. When he got a negative head shake, Eddie just gave a commiserating nod and motioned them onwards. "Let's see if we're just too far away."

Reaching out with his free hand, Steve snagged one of Eddie's and set the pace. It was an easy one, more of a stroll than anything as Eddie picked up his story again as they both scanned the path for interesting creatures.

Birdwatching wasn't something Steve ever thought he'd like. Honestly, if anyone had told him that it was a hobby before he unknowingly fell into it he likely would have said it was for old people. Fortunately for him, he did kind of come to it naturally. Between the way their encounters with the Upside Down made him hyper aware of movement and the way his eyesight slipped from perfect to far sighted, spotting birds was surprisingly easy and fun.

The fun part was possibly the most surprising, but Steve loved seeing the little guys. Whether they were flitting by his bedroom window, sitting on a wire at a stop light, or hopping along the forest floor, the birds were always free and happy to do as they liked. And finding an uncommon one was always exciting! Trying to think of how or why a bird would come to their part of the state instead of their usual haunts was tricky and both Dustin and Eddie loved to debate it with him.

Of course, sometimes those debates included wildly incorrect guesses like bird revolts or bird spy tactics (specifically, birds spying on other birds and not shady government organizations using birds to spy), but those were usually joined by a wink in Steve's direction as Dustin started tearing Eddie's ideas apart on principle.

"So I told them we'd need to continue another- Steve!" Hissing his name Eddie froze, only the fingers trapped between Steve's moving in an excited set of taps telling him nothing was wrong. Not looking away from whatever he spotted, Eddie pulled Steve's hand closer to tap the back of it with his other hand as he did a few giddy steps in place, the ones that shift him from foot to foot rapidly in a motion that makes him look all of seven. "Look! Look look!"

It took effort to pull his eyes away from Eddie's elated grin, but Steve eventually managed to look in the same direction only to see more trees, leaves, and bushes. After a moment, he leaned in close to whisper a question.

"What exactly am I looking at?"

"A Potato Beetle or maybe a false one." Eddie brought his free hand up to his mouth to squint, presumably at the bug but Steve still couldn't see it and didn't know what that one looked like. His silence was telling, it must have been, because Eddie let his eyes slide over to meet Steve's before flashing him another smile. "Come here and get that camera of yours ready."

Setting his binoculars back down, Steve reached across to pull his camera from his opposite pocket so that Eddie could continue pulling him slowly forward until they're couched a few feet from a branch laying beside the trail.

"See, right there?" He pointed to a spot on the top of the branch and something moved. Narrowing his eyes, Steve listened to Eddie describe it. "It's kinda small, but it's brown and white, with stripes. It almost looks like a lady bug, do you see it on the top of that twig?"

And Steve did. It was small, less than half an inch so he was impressed Eddie noticed it (though, maybe he needed to stop being impressed, Eddie was finding little guys like this constantly). As they watched it, the bug's antennae wiggled a little and Eddie made a cooing noise.

Acting fast before Eddie tried to pet another bug only to get upset when it few away, Steve raised his camera to take a picture of it. The thing had more functions than a disposable one, but thankfully not as many as Jonathan used so getting the zoom right only took a few seconds.

Steve snapped one, then paused.

There was that birdsong again. Closer this time. Shaking off his distraction, Steve focused on getting another few safety shots in case the first was blurry. The bird likely wasn't going anywhere.

He took a second picture and then jumped as Eddie cursed, partially because of the noise, but mostly because of the nearly green bird that swooped down in front of them. It barely glanced at them as it snagged the little beetle right off the branch it was now scuttling along before flitting off again.

They both sat there for a second in stunned silence before Steve snorted with laughter, Eddie's squawk of affront following shortly after.

"What?!" Standing, Eddie stomped over to the branch as if he might be able to find the little bug they definitely just saw get eaten. "No! That's not fair!"

Steve looked down at the camera in his hands to try and keep from laughing too hard and realized he snapped another photo. Damn, he hoped it wasn't blurry. He wasn't sure what part of that farce he just caught, but that was going to be a story, he just knew it. It would be great to have proof when Dustin inevitably tries to deny this happened.

"Steve!" Back in front of him, Eddie stared down with his hands on his hips and Steve caught his tongue between smiling teeth as he looked up at that dramatic pout. "Steve, call your bird back and make him put down my beetle!"

"Her." The correction fell out automatically, before Steve shook his head. The coloring of cerulean warblers wasn't the part of his statement to focus on. Unable to wipe the fond smile from his face anyway, Steve continued, "Idiot. I watch birds, I don't control them."

Clicking his tongue, Eddie's shoulders slumped as he obviously fought to keep up the disappointed expression instead of smiling back.

"Lame. What's the point if you can't make them do your bidding?" The grin fully overtook his expression as he moved on before Steve could point out that Eddie was doing something similar even though he didn't have control over bugs. "Besides, I  may be an idiot, but I'm your idiot."

Warmth spread through Steve as he exchanged an adoring look with Eddie that would have their friends groaning and throwing things at them.

"Yeah," he agreed, accepting the offered hand up to lean into Eddie's space. "And I'm yours."

The bird called again, but Steve was enjoying their kiss too much to pay it much mind.

There would be other times to photograph birds.

Eddie did love indulging Steve's hobbies after all.

Also put this on AO3 if people like reading it there better