#everybody is doing fancy pinned posts now

[codexargentum]

#CODEXARGENTUM

independent & selective chris argent rp blog, brought to life by melli (she/her, 30). crossovers & aus are welcome. IMs open to all. mature content tagged #nsfw at all times. a/b/o will be tagged #omegaverse. i am slow, but i love u all so come to me & let me love u.

very useful links:

rules / bio / headcanons / wishlist / memes / starter call / interest tracker

feb. 16th 2023 - semi hiatus due to me joining the athos rpg and having a blast. :3

[harryslittlefreakk]

to build a home

Summary: buzz cut!rry and y/n spend their first new year’s together after splitting up and they look back on happier times. inspired by the song!

Warnings: sad!rry 🥲 fluff, smut

A/n: a little new year’s drabble !! wishing everybody happiness and love for the year ahead 💖

you can join my general taglist here!

and find the rest of my writing here 🫶🏼 enjoy!

Harry had been here countless times before, though this was one of his first times as a guest. He reached inside his pocket for his keys instinctively, muscle memory from all the times he’d slumped through the door after a long day at work, all the times he’d stumbled inside with one hand wandering all over your body. But now he was standing on the doorstep, cold and nervous with one hand gripping onto a key ring that no longer held a key to your home.

He could hear the bustle of a party inside, the low beat of music echoing from the sound system he’d chosen. Every inch of the house, even from the outside, had traces of both you and him written into the walls. The only thing that was all you was the ‘for sale’ sign posted at the end of the driveway.

He remembered the day you’d spotted the house, the slim building covered in climbing wisteria, squealing from across the road as you pointed out the ‘for sale’ sign. You’d been walking back to the car after viewing a different house, desperately trying to find somewhere to make a home together. He’d called to enquire about the house as you stood there pinned to his side, imagining what you could do with all the different rooms. You’d moved in only a few months later, renovating the house together through the lonely months of the pandemic, spending your days covered in dust and paint but never feeling happier.

Harry bit the bullet and rang your doorbell, fingers clenched tightly around the neck of the bottle you bought. He watched for movement through the frosted door, shifting awkwardly as he ran a hand through what was left of his hair. He’d shaved it on a whim, too many rom-coms telling him you needed to do something drastic after a breakup, and since he already had tattoos, a haircut was the only possible solution.

“Hey, Harry,” you smiled, cheeks already stained pink from the alcohol. He knew you well enough to know you liked a few glasses while cooking, a final one as you finished setting up the drinks and nibbles, and a bottle or two as you danced with friends. You looked beautiful, one of his old band t-shirts tucked into a sparkly silver skirt, waved hair draped around your shoulders. Harry leaned in to give you a kiss on the cheek, holding out the champagne bottle in his hand with an awkward smile. “S’for you,” he told you, shuffling into the doorway. He kicked off his shoes, eyes glued to the floor as he followed you into the living room. Too uncomfortable to acknowledge that he knew this house like the back of his hand, somewhat too proud to remember all the times you’d snuggled together on the sofa his friends were now sitting on. You stopped suddenly, swivelling to look back at him with parted lips. “Your hair,” you gasped, instinctively reaching out a hand to touch it. It snapped back to your side, your heart in your throat as you apologised. “Sorry, I-”

“Just fancied a change,” Harry told you, rubbing his hand across the top. You plastered a grin back onto your face, turning back on your heel wordlessly as your friends stood to greet him. You’d decided to stay civil for them, for the sake of keeping the peace within the group you’d grown close to together throughout your years as a couple. You hadn’t ended on bad terms, merely a result of wanting different things from your life. Harry’s priority had always been his music, and as much as he loved you, you both knew he couldn’t resist the offer of a new tour or new shows halfway across the world. You wanted a family, your uninterrupted time together during the pandemic leaving you wanting more. He wanted a family too, but you knew the majority of the parenting would fall on you while he was out doing what he loved, and somewhat selfishly, that wasn’t the life you wanted. These were all things you’d known when your relationship became serious, but you’d foolishly believed he’d change. You never wanted to change him, never wanted to take away his love of performing, but you needed him to be more present. Sleeping on a tour bus and following your love around the world was fun, but it wasn’t a lifestyle you could keep up forever.

Harry gazed around the room as he spoke with Mitch and Sarah, a glass of whiskey cradled in his hands. It hadn’t changed at all since the morning he’d moved out, framed pictures of the two of you still littered across the shelves. His awards still sat on the bookcase, shiny and void of dust as if they were your prized possessions. It sent a chill through him, to be sat here smiling in the house he’d bought for you, unchanged except for the lack of him. He was heartbroken and yet relieved when you told him you wanted to sell the house, the idea of different men one day sleeping in his bed too much to bear. He stood up suddenly, excusing himself from the conversation and padded over towards the back door, fingers tracing across the edge of the dining table as he walked through. You watched him go, slipping away to follow him as your guests continued to talk and dance.

Harry was perched on the steps of your patio, eyes wandering across the dark night sky. He glanced over at you as you plopped down next to him, scooting over slightly to give you more space. “How did we get here?” he murmured, swilling the liquor around the walls of his glass - something, anything to distract from the tears forming in his eyes. You sighed, placing a gentle hand on his thigh. “I’m a guest in my own house.”

“Harry-” you started, eyes trailing across his face. “I was meant to be enough for you, I wanted to be enough for you.” He turned to face you, green eyes glistening in the moonlight. “You’re everything, H. I just needed a little more,” you told him, resting your head against his shoulder.

“If I was everything I wouldn’t be living in a rented apartment on the other side of the city.”

“I know, I know,” you whispered, choking back the start of tears. “I miss you every day Harry,” you confessed, words barely coherent between sobs. He wrapped an arm around you, his owns tears spilling out from heavy-lidded eyes. “I love you,” he told you, thumb rubbing delicately across your back. You stayed that way for a while, drinking in the silence around you both, hurt lingering in the air.

“It’s nearly midnight,” Sarah called out from the door, bringing you back to reality. Youd been sat there in dead silence for over half an hour, an unspoken conversation echoing around your minds. Harry tapped his hand against your back, sniffing away the last of any long-dried tears as he stood up. You turned to watch him slip past Sarah’s petite frame as she padded over to pull you to your feet, draping an arm over your shoulder as you walked back through the house. “Ok?” she asked, slipping a glass of prosecco into your hands as you rejoined the group. You’d set up the projector earlier ready to display the new year’s countdown and fireworks. You clicked it on just before the huge ‘10’ flashed across the living rooms bare wall, purposely left that way for when you and Harry wanted to cuddle and watch films in the late evenings.

Your friends shouted every number excitedly, party poppers and kazoos ready to blow as the clock struck midnight. Everyone shifted around to cuddle up in their couples, arms wrapped around each other ready for their new year’s kiss, leaving only you and Harry stood on your own, feet away from each other where usually you’d be pressing drunken kisses to each other’s mouths before the countdown even finished. Your heart was pounding in your chest as the numbers got lower. 2024 would be the first year you started without Harry in half a decade.

3

He yanked on your hand, pulling you into his side

2

He smiled down at you, wrapping an arm around your waist

1

He cupped your cheek with his cold hand, leaving you staring up at him with parted lips

Happy New Year

Echoed around the room as he dove towards you, lips crashing against your mouth. It was hard but gentle, soft yet deep, his mouth immediately melding with yours in a heartbreakingly familiar way.

“For old times sake,” he whispered, eyes glinting as he pulled away. You were speechless still, his kiss saying so much and yet not enough. “Harry,” you whispered, tugging him closer to you. Here, buried into his chest, feeling the same old little butterflies flit in your stomach, you were happier than you’d been in months.

Harry lingered in the kitchen as the last of your friends filtered out, scrubbing at dishes in the kitchen sink, nervous hands needing to find something to do. He heard the front door click shut, followed by the sound of your bare feet padding across the wooden floors, stopping behind him. He turned around to see you leaned up against the dining table, watching him. “You don’t need to do that, H,” you murmured, rim of a wine glass pressed against your mouth. “Wanted to,” he smiled, placing the last plate onto the drying rack and drying his hands on his trousers. He stalked towards you, grazing the back of his hand over your blushed cheek. “Stay here tonight,” you told him, the alcohol adding an over-confident edge to your nervousness.

He picked you up, just high enough to sit you down on the edge of the table, green eyes trailing over your face as you stared back at him, eyes wide and cheeks warm. His gaze was dark, caught somewhere between pain and lust. They dragged across your face, again and again, searching for any sign hesitance or doubt. When you didn’t flinch under his stare, his lips found yours again. Soft at first, tongue nudging delicately at your teeth for permission to lick into your mouth, your hands instinctively reaching up to tangle in his hair. You chuckled against his lips as you felt nothing to grab onto, hand instead splayed across the tickle of his stubbly head.

He pulled back for a second, leaning behind you to clear a space at the end of the table before guiding your torso back until your back was flush with the wood. His hands shoved your skirt up around your waist, mouth peppering gentle kisses up and down your thighs. His touch felt so foreign, yet so much like home. He was so gentle with you now, not able to throw you around like he used to. Every move was tentative, careful not to push you too far, as if he ever could.

Harry hooked a finger under the band your pants, the tip of him grazing over your folds. He held them to the side with one hand, head lazing against your thigh as he looked over your pussy, groaning at the sight he’d longed for every day you’d been apart. He’d always craved you, just needing a little touch or taste to get through the day, or celebrate the end of a long one. He pressed a kiss into your entrance, true affection coursing through his bones. His tongue darted out, almost involuntarily, licking a stripe along your centre, then pausing to see how you’d react. When your hips bucked into him, impatient and starved of his touch for too long, he began to lick and lap at you, murmuring contently as he tasted your sweet juices on his tongue. He moved slow but with purpose, savouring the moment rather than chasing after your high as he used to. You’d never think having someone’s head between your thighs could be romantic, but this was about as romantic and loving as it could be. He was licking into you with care and attention, smirking against your folds as you writhed around, constantly trying to grab at his non-existent hair. The stubble was tickling your inner thighs as he moved, something you were used to from his chin but it felt better now. He was different, changed since you last saw him, and yet still the same perfect man.

He slipped a digit inside of you, pulling the thoughts from your mind as he began pushing into your sweet spot, tongue fucking into you simultaneously. He’d usually be spilling out obscenity by now, rasping against your folds in the way he knew you loved. But like this, silent except for the tiny moans and groans emitted from you both, you felt reborn. Approaching everything differently, vulnerable to each other’s wants and needs. His lips wrapped around your clit, feeling your legs beginning to shake beneath him and knowing you needed that one final push. Your orgasm washed over you quickly, back arching off the table as your juices ran down his hand. It was so simple, so easy and still perfect. “Happy new year,” he whispered, pressing a kiss onto your mound as he finally came up for air.

taglist: @sleutherclaw @slutforcoffein @harrysolaf @opheliaofficial07 @dragonslayersupremacy @nikkisimps @michellekstyles @im-an-overthinker @fangirl7060 @indierockgirrl @palmettogal508 @thereunion1d @angstygyal @hannah9921 @he6rtshaker

[obscureother]

🌑 ˚x'˙ intro. . ??

Hello. . !! im new to tumblr, so sorry if wonky things happen while im setting this up. im still trying to figure things out guys-

i lurk on other accounts for general content but im closeted n shy so i made this one to yell about things instead so i don’t expose myself to people i know lolol

if you know or find other profiles i own, i request you not expose it for those reasons before im comfortable to.

so this is just an f/o blog/journaling. . thing. I'm not entirely sure what content will be here, but it will be centered around f/os, self-shipping, and its just to give me a place to yell about the people that live in my/your brain rent-free and know they don’t exist but we pretend they do anyway for comfort reasons and serotonin, dopamine, uhh what other things feel good and ok??

some of it will be for you if I happen to think of something, other times it is for me to explode over my fixation f/os!!

youre also welcome to come yell about your f/os if you just need someone to talk to them about!! dont think i know em?? COME OVER and INTRODUCE THEM. you can come in DMs, asks, or however you want to!! id be happy to know your f/o or listen to you talk about them if no one else will :00

This is a comfort blog to me, so there wont be any room for meanness or intended offenses here. Dont come to me with troublesome things or somehow twist/morph my content into something its not, we're just here to have a cool time with our fictional people, bro. . :((

ok who r you tho:

To be honest, I don’t have a name or something to go by as of posting this, I might get one later or just make a new comment all fancy for the pin. . For now you can just call me whatever you deem good or just go off my blog/username!! Don’t be mean tho. i may take one you guys think of or figure it out on my own.

they/them

im 21 yo. (if youre a minor, i dont mind you coming to say hello, but do look below the other stuff content for what you need to look out for. you should also know some of you goofy kiddos have energies i dont know how to respond to sometimes, so dont worry if i get awkward or something, its not your fault lolol.)

im in college, so forgive me if im slow, im also just not on tumblr very often :v i dont ghost people on purpose i swEaR-

i might post my f/os on a whole list, idk yet, but theyll prolly be mentioned sometimes to the very least. you can def ask of them tho!! (edited: i made an f/o list if you want to see them.)

i dont know if ill post content of my own f/os or me/my sona for them, but it could be there.

i dont mind sharing f/os!! id love to yell about them together. if you dont like that, then its ok!! i either wont talk about them with you so you can be their person when we talk of them, or you can just block/not interact. ill be sad i dont get to meet you, but its ok.

other stuff:

Nothing explicit/detailed will normally be posted. but: The worst there will be is just being hormonally silly from kind of "rrr ovaries go brr, chew on theM-" energy of my f/os. i will try to create a tag to mark it with so you can exclude honky content if you want or need to later, tho. from what i know, you can "block" tags. . so i think that will work if you like the other goofy stuff on the blog??

(edited: I DID IT, I DID THEM, LOOK: 🌑obscure tags list for the obscure blog )

NSFW talk can be in DMs, tho.

DO NOT come to me with those concepts if youre a minor tho, oh dear GOD. honky grown-up talk is not for you goofy child-folk.

LGBTQ+ friendly!! im nonbinary and love everybody. youre ok too. 💙

i do roleplay sometimes, but only in dms n please dont go exposing our roleplays to others. . i would be very not comfy :"0

if you want to roleplay, you can dm me to ask but i dont have to say yes or i might not be able to. im slow too dfsdf=

i may or may not make a side blog once i figure out how to do stuff, but know that until then, im going to just post whatever on this one til i know how to do things on tumblr lolol.

forgive me if some of my content gets deleted, edited, whatever as we go. like i said, this whole thing is very new to me and its not very organized for now. its just there. its gonna get wonky over here on my side for a bit.

• tiny bat gif •

[xmimiteh]

Pinned Post? Fancy!

I just realized there is an option to pin posts here and it seems to be encouraged by now. That has really gone over my head. One should think being here as long as I have been, I should know that. But I did not. Personally, I blame the Spriggans for it. So, here it is. I might switch it out later on with another updated post of this. For now, this will have to do.

And what do you do here?

This blog is mostly me posting screenshots and reblogging amazing things from other people. I simply love browsing through this community's content and love the overall positivity. That being said, I do not want to engage in ooc drama. I am just super tired of it and stay away from it as much as possible. But I am just human, too, so sometimes it might not work as much as I hope. Doing my best, though. We all have enough problems outside of the game, let us just focus on having fun here.

Writing stuff?

I might write something now and then, but since I have got a lot going on in life, I tend to spend more time playing the game than doing things outside of it. But it changes from time to time. I love writing prompts, but too often lack time or energy (or both) to do them. So most of the time I sadly fall behind. I love interacting with all of you, but anxious me sometimes gets too nervous or needs a horrendous amount time to push that "post" button. In my defense: It is a really scary button, is it not?

Hey, didn't I post that several weeks ago? Why reblogging it now?

If you are confused why I sometimes reblog stuff from you way later: I usually work with a posting queue, because I do not want to spam everybody's dashboard. Also I strongly believe a little push a bit later in time is also a nice boost for stuff to get some more traction again.

Here is my carrd!

My carrd has been heavily reworked over the past months and I am pretty proud of it. I may still change a few things here and there, but I think it is a good starting point for learning more about my character - or me. At least a little bit.

>Link< - Overview for Mimi >Link< - Soundtrack for Mimi >Link< - Tropes for Mimi (spoiler) >Link< - OOC >Link< - RP Rules >Link< - About me

[bunnybunbun0]

hi<3

Harry james potter request where he just win a Quidditch game and his girlfriend (reader) promised him a reward.

smut prompt #26. "wait to see what i'm wearing under it" & #30. "well, i think you're being a bad girl, don't you think you deserve a punishment?" also #27. "just one more, for me."

Reminder: it is completely fine if you don't want to do it so no pressure! It's your account, and it's your choise so I understand :)

- Stay happy, love!

Prize| harry James potter

Summary: that was always something about the cocky grin on Harry's face after he has won a match that made you all hot and bothered,this time,you decieded to take matters into your own hands.

Pairing:harry James potter X fem! reader

Warnings:smut, fingering,oral(f receiving), overstimulation, penetrative sex, degradation,Dom! Harry,hints of subspace.

Prompts: smut prompt list

#25 "wait to see what I'm wearing under it"

#30 "well,I think you are being a bad girl,don't you think you deserve a punishment?"

#27 "just one more,for me"

A/n:first of all hello,and thank you so much for your request! Second of all, sorry it took so long to respond I was out of town visiting my godmother and the internet connection there is awful,but I'm finally back home,and posting again!

That was very cool to write, harry owns me on a silver platter,it was also my first time writing overstimulation stuff so I hope it doesn't sucks.

Hope you enjoy it <3

_________________________________________

The match had came to an end after what felt like forever, griffindor had won, and that meant youd have to deal with an extra cocky harry.

You weren't such a quidditch enthusiastic, but you loved harry and wanted to show it to him,so you always came to watch and cheer extra loudly for him.

As usual, there was a party planned on the common room to celebrate the victory and hard work of the team by being showered with firewhiskey and a lot of music.

Now what you had planned for tonight's party was the real news. There was something about seeing harry all confident and extroverted that just did it for you,letting you all hot and bothered, so you decieded to take matters into your own hands.

After greeting the boy by the door of the locker rooms and make sure he would be at the party you came back to your dorm to put your plan to work, you took a fancy shower with all the self care products you owned,then you dressed up in a sexy pair of see through dark blue lingerie, putting on top a a tight black dress to ensinuate your curves.after fixing your hair and putting on some makeup you were ready to go down to the common room.

You went in naturally through the door, being used to said so celebration,you saw harry sitting in the couch bickering his drink,almost spilling it when looked up and saw you in a dress much shorter than you used to wear

"hi,uhm,wow,you look..."

"brilliant?"

"y-yes"

You chuckled lightly at how easily you could flutter the boy;you choose to ignore how he was devouring you with his eyes,and invited him to the improvised dance floor,being familiar with the playlist of Muggle sounds playing in the background.

The little firewhiskey you took making you confident enough to start purposely grinding down on harry times enough to make his mind wander to some dirty thoughts.

"I'm warning you y/n,you should stop while I'm being nice"the look in his face was hard

"stop what?"you knew that playing dumb would get you exactly what you wanted,encouraging you to bat your eyelashes at him innocently.

He chuckled darkly, expression getting even harder.

"you know exactly what you are doing don't you?"he smirked and pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheeck.

You kept ignoring his warnings and getting even more confident while swinging your hips to the beat,while harry shamelessly stared at your body,giving you an awesome terrible idea.

In one swift move you locked your lips on his, slightly biting his bottom lip,them pulling away only to whisper seductively into his ear

"you seen to like my hair huh?wait to see what I'm wearing under it"and then pressed your body against his.

That was it,in a split second,he was dragging you to his dorm by your arm,being followed by weird looks and wolf whistles, everybody knew what you were about to do,so it was no surprise to find the bedroom empty

Once inside it,he slammed the door shut pinning you on it and passionately kissing you,roaming his hands all over your body,lips now trailing down your jawline to your neck, getting on that spot that made you melt.

"bet you liked acting like a whore, let's see if you like what comes now"

He threw you on his bed,and proceeded to assault your neck,claiming you with red marks all over,knocking the breath out of your lungs.

"your dress,"he gave your clothes body another hungry look"take it off, now"

You did as you were told without hesitation,presenting him his favourite post game prize, pulling out a huge smirk from him

"all of this for me huh?"if he looked hungry,now he was a starved man looking at his favourite meal.

His gaze shot from your body directly into your eyes.

"well I think you were being a bad girl, don't you think you deserve a punishment?"

You felt yourself get wetter over your panties where a damp spot were already sitten,you simply looked at him with this doe eyes and he already knew what you wanted.

His feather like touches teasing you through the fabric of your underwear, slowly taking them off,teasing you by rubbing agonizingly slow circles on your clit,making you gasp loudly;harry slowly but surely buried his fingers on your cunt,knowing very well how to find that spot that made you melt and giving it no rest,prescisely brushing his fingertips in there with every thrust of his hand.

As his ring and middle finger pumped your pussy,his thumb played with your clit,bringing you closer and closer to a release.

Harry could feel the familiar feeling of your pussy clenching around his fingers,he leaned his body upon yours,attacking your neck once more,never stopping the ministrations on your pussy,it was definitely gonna leave a mark,but he knew you liked to be marked by him,so that everyone knows what he's getting after a well played match

"are you going to cum?"

"yes!" You somehow breathed out

"let go them"

You came almost immediately after his words, feeling your orgasm wash over you,at first you find it Weir that he so easily gave you your release,you were expecting him to tease the hell out of you and make you beg for him to let you cum.

But when his fingers didn't stopped after you rode out your high,it was when it hit you,he was going to overstim you,turn you into a sloppy mess,the startled look you gave him letted the boy know you were aware of his intentions,but it never stopped him though,he just winked at you,before diving into your pussy like he needed it for a living,tongue flicking your little bud,fingers never ceasing

You were still sensitive due to the orgasm you just had,the vibrations his groans of pleasure sent to your core had you already on the brink of cumming again,moans getting more desperte and hard to hold.

"ha-ah!-harry, gonna cum again"

"weren't you acting like a slut?that's what sluts like you get,just what you fucking asked for"

These words were all you needed to push you over the edge,coating his fingers and moth on your release.

You were already a whimpering mess,harry had that power over you,make you putty in his hands with so little,the sight of him pulling his pants down along with his briefs made you whine loudly,both for seeing his rock hard cock finally free,and for the thought of him fucking you in such a fucked out state

Harry knew you,he knew how you could get carried away,but he was painfully hard and just needed to feel your warm walls clench and cum around his cock.

He started to pepper little kisses all over your face whispering sweet nothings in your ear while easing himself inside you,his groans and whimpers in sync with your moans.he really did try to hold himself but you were just so close to him,so warm,so his,he quickly started a relentless pace

At this point you were giving zero fucks about being quite,just straight out moaning aloud.

"that's right princess,let the whole castle know how good I make you feel,f-fuck so tight"

You were literally quivering,shaking underneath the boy,wanting to get closer and away from him at the same time,it was hurting,but felt so good you didn't had the heart to stop

"h-harry 's sensitive,too much,'s too much!"

Now call him a masochist but this boy loves seeing you like this,writhing underneath him,face contorting in both pleasure and pain,him being the cause of it.

"fuck,I know love,just one more,for me"

He reached his hand down to toy with your clit,sending you into a blissful high,eyes shutting close as you came hard with a loud cry.

The way your pussy clenched impossibly tighter around him was all he needed before filling you up with his warm cum.

Once you regained yourself and opened your eyes again,you were met with harry holding a wet cloth and a glass of water.

"you okay love?was it too much?are you still with me?"

"it's fine,I'm here love,just tired" once the adrenaline ran out it was hard to keep your eyes open,a drowzy smile on your face.

"all right, let's get you ready to rest"

Harry handed you the glass,and carefully wiped you clean while you drank,he them handed you a pair of his boxers and one of his shirts,after you were all dressed up you just snuggled against each other,curled in your own little bubble of affection until doze off to sleep.

________________________________________

Sorry,I don't do good with endings,and sorry for any mistakes,English is not my first language.

Hope you like it,tell me if something needs a change.

[dragonseattofu]

NekuShiki question time! #2 :)

Who said "I love you" first? When?

Do they ever go dancing? How does it go?

Who is more affectionate with the other?

First I love you

The person who I envision to say the first “I love you” in the post-NEO world would be Neku. Pre-NEO I would hands down have thought it would be Shiki, because out of the two I feel like Neku’s more of an awkward sort and wouldn’t know how to put romantic feelings into words. But after NEO I feel like Neku became a little better at conveying his feelings and here’s why:

He watched her exit the elevator. She was talking to someone holding a camera bag, possibly the photographer she had just hired a couple of days ago. He remembered their evening meal yesterday, one he had to pry her away from her work to partake in, relating to her upcoming photoshoot. He learned their usual photographer had double booked and she had to scramble to find a replacement. The replacement looked young, around their age, and seemed to be bowing a goodbye to her before walking towards the exit behind him.

Neku continued to watch her, as she pulled out her phone from her Mr. Mew purse. Shiki tapped furiously at the screen, with speed rivaling Nagi, and seconds later he felt a buzz in his pocket.

After tucking her phone back away, Shiki moved toward the turnstiles situated near the door and finally saw him. It took her a second to overcome the surprise, he didn’t tell her that he was coming to pick her up, but she immediately brightened as she walked toward him at a steadfast pace.

How many days, months, years had he waited and hoped for to see a sight like this? To feel like this? Like his chest tightening in anticipation of her being in his arms, his cheeks warming at her smiling at him for simply … existing? How long had he spent thinking about the life he could have had with his friends, with her?

When Neku was dropped into the Shinjuku UG, he went into shock. Why? Why was he back when he was banned from ever playing the game again? He had just gotten his life back. He finally didn’t feel so alone in the vast seas of Shibuya.

But then he got shot … again.

His cynical side thought, maybe this was his retribution. He didn’t deserve friends, not after what he did to him…

But then he remembered them, and what they had all said to him.

“Let me in! Tell me what you're thinking!”

“Give up on yourself, and you give up on the world.”

“You're not my partner anymore man, you're... my friend. So trus' that yo!”

Come on, work with us. A problem shared is a problem halved!

And then he could have sworn he heard her…

“You finally came back to us … I knew you would.”

“I’m so happy you're back, Neku.”

He didn’t remember her saying that to him, but it wasn’t the first time he felt like he saw things that haven’t happened yet, things that could happen if he played his cards right. Visions of a future that gave him some … hope.

Every battle he fought, every new area he stumbled into, every floating thought he passed, all led to this hope that he would get back to his friends.

When he wasn’t fighting to survive, or when Coco was standing watch so he could rest, he thought about them. Was Beat skipping classes still? Was Rhyme learning how to do those ollies Beat was trying to teach her. Was Shiki … was Shiki hanging out with Eri right now? Was she fixing a stitch on Mr. Mew? Did she miss him, the same way he missed her?

His time in the RG after playing three weeks in the reapers game was short, but nothing less than wonderful. Shiki and Neku went on a couple outings together, just the two of them when the Bito siblings had family errands. It started out a little awkward, especially when familiar restaurant and store keepers thought they were an item already. A specific ramen owner was the worst of them all even though his teasing came from a place of fondness for the pair.

Without him realizing, being with Shiki was almost as natural as breathing, and every moment he spent with her was fun, interesting, precious to him.

Neku didn’t get the time he needed to work out how important Shiki was to him before being plunged into the Shinjuku UG, but three years of company to only the disembodied thoughts of lost souls and an occasional “fairy” reaper gave him the opportunity to delve into it. The conclusion he reached gave him the motivation to keep fighting, to keep surviving. For once, he had someone worth living for.

“Earth to Neku?” Shiki waved her hands in front of his face.

He blinked, bringing himself back to the present. Shiki stood on her toes, trying to look at his face underneath his overgrown bangs. He felt her touch his cheek, concern marring her adorable face.

He hates that he brought so much strain to her life. Maybe she could have been happier with someone else, someone who wouldn’t break their promise to go shopping the next day and abruptly disappear.

But then she smiled at him, having noticed that he simply zoned out. And all of a sudden his negativity stopped spiralling and he felt grounded again. He may not feel like he deserved her, but she chose him nonetheless.

She chose to never give up on him, that he would survive the ordeal he was thrust into. She chose to be the best version of herself that she could be while she waited for him.

And then even after all that time had passed, she still chose to be with him.

Neku didn’t know if there was a word that encompassed the overwhelming emotion he felt whenever he thought of Shiki. One certainly felt close enough though.

“Hey Shiki?” He asked, putting his larger hand over her smaller one that lingered on his cheek.

“Hmm?”

“I love you.”

He couldn’t remember the last time he said that to anyone, if he did at all. Even though Neku had told Shiki almost immediately after his arrival in the RG that he wanted to be more than friends, he hadn’t used that word before. Love was still such a foreign concept that he wasn’t sure he understood it completely, but if there was anyone in the whole world he could associate love with, it would be Shiki.

Shiki’s hand on his face stiffened at the sudden confession. For a hot second, maybe it wasn’t the time or place she expected him to say it. He felt a slight panic from the doubt of her not reciprocating his feelings.

But those thoughts were quickly thrown out when she leaned in and kissed him.

It was a kiss longer than they had ever shared before. She was physically telling him something, but he was a little preoccupied to fully process anything. Shiki pulled away, far quicker than Neku would have liked, carrying the sweetest grin he ever saw on her.

“I love you too, Neku.”

Dancing

Shiki would have this fancy company dinner that she’d have to go to for networking. As friendly as Shiki is, she’s still introverted and the whole event just sounds utterly exhausting. Neku would be her plus one, because even if that’s the last place he would rather be, he’s her partner, and that’s that. She gets well enough along with everyone, but she has to make the rounds and greet everybody, leaving Neku alone at times. Thankfully Eri’s also there, and the girls take turns between networking and keeping Neku company. He surprises both of them when the head designer for Jupes notices Neku’s deep purple button down shirt from Jupes under a Gatto Nero’s half grey plaid - half black solid blazer (it’s visually better in my head than what I just described), and wants to talk to the designer of the jacket. Neku goes full endorsing mode for his girlfriend, and smiles smug when the girls realize they didn’t need to worry about him, much less securing a major deal with a major brand for a collaboration. He’s pretty happy with himself when he hears a version of Someday play on the surround sound. The dance floor opens up, and a couple of people start a waltz.

Neku thinks to himself, it’s an odd thing to have a dance in the middle of a company dinner, but dinners in the fashion industry are often hosted by the most eccentric of people, and he supposes it’s not so peculiar after all.

The melody plays soft and slow, and if he’s honest with himself, it’s a pretty good rendition of one of his favorite songs. He sees Shiki from the corner of his eye, silently asking her to dance as he extends his hand out. She’s surprised at the gesture. Neku’s many things, but dancer’s not one of them. The exaggerated kicks he’s so fond of are sort of hard to move elegantly in. A simple slow dance, he thinks, is enough for him to handle. Her thin finger slipped effortlessly into his hand.

More affectionate

Post-NEO, I feel that both are pretty affectionate toward one another, but in different ways. Shiki’s more physically affectionate, she’s more of a hugger and is always holding his hand, or his clothes, just so she can feel that he’s there. He doesn’t initiate physical touch as often as she does, but he never let’s go, or moves away from it. This happens more naturally as they start dating, snuggles and such.

Neku’s more affectionate verbally. He’s gotten comfortable saying what’s on his mind more often. He’s not shy about complimenting her, she doesn’t need his reassurances but his opinion is important to her nonetheless. He’s a natural flirt; says things that would be considered suave without intention. He would say pick up lines without realizing that they were pick up lines.

Okay, so I’m like not really sure how best to put my thoughts together but here goes:

The Shibuya and Twister kiddos would all be at some fashion function, and the Fret and Beat would comment on how attractive some of the models are. Neku would just be like, “yeah, they are attractive, but they aren’t as beautiful as Shiki.” Him referring to how much he loves her appearance as well as her personality, whereas he knows nothing about these girls so all he is going on is their looks.

And of course Shiki, who has pins in her mouth and is trying to get her models ready, hears this. Her jaw loosens and the pins fall on the floor. She’s essentially flushed and flabbergasted, by what he said and how nonchalant he said it. He looks at her like he said nothing wrong. Then he just smiles at her, and she just stutters out curse words. She doesn’t have time for this.

Notes: I’m so sorry for the late reply. I’m such a slow thinker and writer! But thanks again for the ask! The first prompt sort of snowballed. Hope you like it! @doesitringabell, I added a collection on Ao3 dedicated to you for any/all other prompts that end up longer than I had anticipated. Check out the source content.

Also sorry for any typos and such, let me know if you spot any. If anyone is still interested in my rambling mess of Neshiki fanfics/ficlets, don’t hesitate to send me more asks! It might take a while, but just know that my moments of silence are just me tinkering with ideas (writing something, hating it, revising it, writing again, rinse, repeat, then screw this, just take it.)

[the-mercurial-star-o-vesper]

TEN OUTTA TEN 1010

Welp, its happened. I’m into No Straight Roads, and the boys with the K-Bop in their step has got me hooked.

So I’m gonna celebrate (for the moment) with lots of gathered info I’ve found, seen, or heard speculated, regarding the Top Boy Band of Vinyl City... 1010. [Possible OCs to come later]

Some of this stuff might be common knowledge, some is already on the wiki, but hey, no shame in having a consolidated list.

But for now...

The Names of 1010 were deciphered by out of universe fans. They are Rin (White), Haym (Yellow), Eloni (Green), Purlhew (Blue) and Zimelu (Red).

An old placeholder model for 1010 had Black Hair and different tron lines.

1010 in binary is... literally just 10.

Eloni does not get fan letters; He’s the “Funny Band member”, and Funny Band Members don’t get fan letters.

1010 wears Sailor uniforms (The US Navy would call them Dress Blues, so think... Popeye. But no hat.) In fact, their flying limo is a god damn Tron-lined Battleship. Even the Cannons dance to the music.

They’re a parody on K-Bop bands or Boy Bands to the West. And while they’re listed as Funky, they’re technically Synthpop. (Haha, Synth)

In the background of their fight, when the Battleship Limo stops for pictures, you can see that there is a set of pictures of 1010. Rin the White has a Fuschia or Purple Background, while all the others have a background matching their aesthetic colors.

1010 have common powers... ... Firing Lasors. ... Levitation (Or small time Flight; as they rush to the side to meet the Cameras) ... “Taking to the Sky”, or just really powerful jumping. ... Being powered by Cheers. ... There’s a reason I left Shield off in a moment.

1010 are both outrageously tall (Mayday only comes to their waist when they stand up properly), and outrageously heavy (did you hear them walk backward in their intro cutscene? How heavy are these guys!?)

It could whatever kind of AI they have, but they are waaaay insynch, almost preemptively. Perhaps 1010 are directly linked to each other?

In most of their appearances outside of battle, they all have the same colored eyes as their aesthetic colors. But in Battle, they all have White eyes. Mind that in their Show Stopper picture, they’re back to having their aesthetic eyes again. Take that as you will.

1010 has associated attacks, when you’re in the Phase facing the Factory and Neon J. ... Yellow has Missiles or Splash Damage explosions. No literally, the yellow droid is the missle. ... Green has Bombs. HIS HAIR IS A BOMB. ... Red has Saws. He-He literally uses Red Droid as the Saw. ... Blue has some sort of Staffs or Whirlwind strike. They are staffs made of Purl-Hew. ... Because of his Picture’s Purple Background, White’s likely isn’t an attack but is, in fact, the Shields that occured early in the battle. Which is probably why they’re never deployed, because how the hell can you make a shield out of Rin Bots.

It was pointed out in one of the many Youtube Comment Sections that 1010′s hairstyles match their respective attacks in some form or fashion. ... Zimelu’s Mohawk indicates his associated Saws. ... Haym’s hair looks like a missile. ... Eloni’s hair looks line a Grenade Pin. ... Purlhew’s flat top hair could indicate the fact that he’s literally used as a Staff End. So basically he’s Blue. That’s his attack. [Hah] ... Rin’s the sexy one. Look, for a Band of Robots with fancy hairdos and attacks, he’s not considered remarkable.

As they are a parody of Boy Bands across the World, they may follow the boy band “archtypes” ... Rin is the Leader, and the Heartthrob (He doesn’t have a weird hairstyle, and he does the most flirting / talking; as well as the most promoted) ... Eloni, as already established, is the Funny Guy, or the Comedian. ... Purl-Hew is the Cool Guy, (consider his Sunglasses) ... Zimelu is the Bad Boy (Mohawk, his ANGRY EYES AARGH) ... Haym’s is apparently considered a Pompadour. Maybe he is also a Bad Boy? Consider his name, he may be the Smart Guy. ... There is no known “Shy Guy” or “Cute Guy (Technically, the Second Heartthrob, but isn’t a threat to first Heartthrob’s position). So, go forth and create.

Fun Consideration on my part. Since Names can have meaning in No Straight Roads and meaning in personal names... ... Rin is a japanese name, and boy can it mean a lot of stuff depending on the Kanji (Some of the meanings are “Dignified” “Compassion” “Cold”). He’s probably coolly impassionate off stage. ... Purl-Hew is apparently a pun on Pearl Hue (cos I guess blue Pearls). Perhaps he likes puns. ... Zimelu is an ooold fortress in Lativa apparently. Perhaps he has a warish personality. Or I guess knows very Niche military history. (Perhaps, in-universe, it was the name of a base Neon J served at?) ... Haym is the name shared by a few people, but in the themes of music, its probably Nicola Francesco Haym (Italian Poet, Opera Librettist, Composer, Manager, Editor and Numismatist (That’s uh, a guy who studies Currency)). Perhaps our Haym is quite the Nerd. ... the name Eloni means Lofty. Which can me “Of Imposing Height” (They all are), “Noble or Exalted Nature” (Possibly?) “Proud, Aloof or Self-Important” (They all are that too, yes), or in regard to Lofty Wool “Thick and Resilient” (I mean, if you look at those thighs-- Ahem). So basically Eloni’s name defines all the group... Wow, poor fella. No wonder he’s the Comedian, he’d have to pull anything to get noticed (when its not about his hair) [THE DUDE DABS]

If Battledroids all have background memories to be more efficient in combat... Does 1010 have backup memories from Neon J?

Metro Division shows other kinds of Robots, and the progression of 1010′s Mark Models (1 looks like your typical Sailor, 2 looks a bit like our 1010 but more droid, jointed and blocky, and our 1010 is currently mark 3... There are 4 known Types of Droid, so a 4th Mark may be on the way)

Neon J, Manager and Creator, is a Vetren of Vinyl City’s Navy (It only has a Navy); and his District is literally a Theme Park mashed with a Ship Yard.

Neon is the 10th element of the Periodic Table, and J is the 10th letter. Dude loves his 10s.

Considering how he replaces the bots in battle, or even outright uses them as weapons... Perhaps his “Troops” are not the Bot bodies, but the AI possibly hosted inside? 1010 has more personality out of battle after all, and Neon is seen fervently protecting 1010 when their eyes share their hair color. (As their eyes are only white in battle...) Hm, mayhaps the HC is, that when their Eyes have color, the AI is truely present.

Neon is a Cyborg, note that his body appears to be the same kind of droid as 1010′s, with a Radar head. His brain is apparently in his radar, and as we saw post-battle, that head was smashed to hell. Perhaps the reason he was reminiscing so much and though that BBJ was really after him, was because of some serious onset head or brain trauma.

Apparently, Vinyl City has or has had Border Wars. This could be a reference to the Korean DMZ Conflicts (As 1010 does distinctly include Korean K-Pop, and South Korean men do have to serve 2 years in the military forces by law), but there have been hundreds of different Border Wars throughout the world. [ I wonder what war Vinyl City was in. Perhaps against the Artist Capital of the World, Canvas City ] [ Oh take me down to the Canvas City, where the grass is green and the pics are pretty--]

Neon’s passion is Dancing.

Neon J and DJ Subatomic Supernova do seem to be in a lot of pictures together. No wonder everybody ships them.

Neon J used to make toys, as seen by the collectibles you can get. Done by hand too. Though if each toy found is a stage in his life... I wonder who the doll with the violin is.

Think maybe Neon J has direct control over 1010? I mean they share the same voice, they have a passion for poses and dancing, he does directly command them...

Are Cyborg parts cheap? Or was Neon J someone important enough in the Vinyl City Navy to actually become a cyborg? Military doesn’t do expensive prosthetic surgeries for random grunts without reason.

Okay, regarding what the Azkar faction is. Its probably suppose to be Askar. Azkar is a type of Islamic Prayer. Askar is actually Arabic for Army. So it’d be The “Army Faction” (which makes more sense for a nation city-state that only has a Navy)

The place he called “Kewan” is not a real world place. Its either Persian for “Saturn” (What, is he... Is he a SAILOR SCOUT!?) or Kurdish for Mountains (He does mention mountains).

Possibly more as information arises.

[wienerbarnes]

The Escape

Pairing: Bucky x Reader (Cheek to Cheek)

Word Count: 2,717

Warnings: mind control ooooo, general violence, description of stealing a car that is wildly inaccurate bc ive.... never stolen a car, dues ex machina

A/N: some background about the reader! this one takes place before the last chapter of the original series, way before anything with bucky. this oneshot kinda recounts her prison escape 👀 not a lot of bucky in this one, but kind how the reader got to where she is and stufffff i love a good origin story

MAIN MASTERLIST | CHEEK TO CHEEK MASTERLIST

You didn’t sleep the entire night. How could you? How were you supposed to sleep when you know you’re waking up to your inevitable death?

You refused a last meal a few hours ago. What was the point? You didn’t have an appetite anyway.

All you could do was count the hours, the minutes, the seconds, until the footsteps would sound down the hall, arriving at your cell, the guards would stare at you through the bullet-proof glass wall, the only wall of four that wasn’t made of thick concrete.

They’d take you down to the observation room, they’d strap you down in the chair before asking for your final words. You’d stare out into the window of the observation room, unable to see through to the otherside, but knowing there’d be witnesses there. Maybe the families of people you killed. Maybe government officials, the ones who worked as hard as possible to get you this ending.

First, the sodium thiopental would be injected into your veins to sedate you. Then, the vecuronium bromide will be given that will send your body into paralysis. Finally, the potassium chloride will stop your heart. And your life will be over.

What a shame.

Too soon, your life was wasted. And too soon did the guards feet sound down the hall. And too soon did he arrive in front of your cell, ordering you to get up from your bed to shackle you.

He’s alone, you notice. Perhaps they don’t expect you to put up much of a fight.

Something snaps in your brain and before you realize you’re even doing it, you’re tapping into the young guard’s poor brain. He was a cop. A cop turned prison guard to spend more time at home, less time out in the world trying to catch bad guys. Never really bad guys, though, always just some unlucky soul caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“Open the cell.” You tell him, finally through to his head. The keys jingle as he unlocks the three complicated locks attached to the side of the door.

You’re suddenly grateful for the hundreds of times they called you crazy, they called you a psycho, they told you you didn’t have powers, that that was your sad and sorry excuse of the reason for your crimes.

“Take off your clothes.” You order next. The young man begins to strip, taking off his clothes until he’s down to his underwear. White briefs with a blue waistband.

Once his uniform is on your body, you take everything he has, leaving his pistol with him.

“Shoot at everybody that comes in here.” You tell him, and he stares at you blankly, no longer in control of his actions as you take over.

You take a moment, closing your eyes and trying to concentrate on what the prison looks like, where the exits are, and where the guards are. You peek an eye open to glance at the man’s watch that now sits on your wrist, eight minutes until the shift changes.

Eight minutes for you to not fuck this up.

You close the cell door behind you, locking it, and making your way down the hall. You need to time this perfectly so that you’re slipping out as the other guards are leaving.

Just keep your head down, and get out as quickly as possible. Don’t talk to anyone. Just get out and start walking. You’ll get to the city eventually and you’ll hide out until you can keep making your way through New York. Maybe you’ll go to Jersey. Or up to New Hampshire.

Yeah, you’re just going to walk to New Hampshire, aren’t you?

Not a priority right now. Focus on getting out. A deep breath until you unlock the gate at the end of the hall, making your way out into another hallway. You visualize the map in your head once more and keep making your way down. You walk with confidence, head still slightly tilted down, but steps quick and light. Another guard turns the corner at the end of the hall and you make sure your steps don’t falter, and he walks right by you without a second thought.

You’re still unsure about the whole mind control thing. You don’t want to question it, because it seems to be pretty useful right now, but you don’t want to abuse it either, knowing your luck will eventually fail you.

It’s not long before you hear a gunshot ring out in the distance and you glance at a clock on the wall to see the shift change happening now.

You need to get out of here, now. Soon the guards will realize it’s you who’s missing from your cell and the search will begin. They’ll start with the entire grounds of the prison, which will hopefully buy you some time to make it to the city, if you sprint.

You finally make it to a more open area, exit signs now posted at the tops of doorways. You finally find a group of other men, some with bags or coats and you slip into the crowd, hoping that these are the guys leaving from their shift.

“Hey, have a good one, man. Tell the family I said hello.” A rough hand pats your shoulder before brushing past you.

Your stomach drops at the fact that these men are so unaware. So unaware that their real friend is in your cell, probably having a shootout with the new guards who just began their shift. The fact that these guards showed up to work today and the first thing they encounter is another guard in his underwear shooting at them.

Push it back. Push it back. Push it back.

As you’re huddled in between bodies, a bright light suddenly washes over your face. Sunlight. Your eyes burn at the feeling, a feeling so foreign having not felt it in months. You force them open though. You need to separate quickly, because not only do you not know where the parking lot is, you don't know which car is yours, you don’t have keys, and even if you did, you don’t know how to fucking drive.

Why did you never learn this! You never thought you’d need to since you decided you were going to join the military at sixteen, but you still should’ve fucking looked into it!

You don’t think you’ll make it walking. It’ll draw too much attention. The prison is in the middle of fucking nowhere and you’re just going to walk home? What would be worse is if someone offers you a ride.

New plan: find your car and hope it’s unlocked so you can sit inside until everyone leaves.

You know Hydra made you break into things before; houses, cars, etc. But you’ve tried to repress so much of that time that you can’t remember if you ever hot wired a car before.

You hope your luck doesn’t run out anytime soon.

Men arrive at their cars and the options quickly narrow down between an orange SUV and a black, fancy-looking car. You take your chances on the SUV.

It’s unlocked. It’s fucking unlocked. You shut the door and heave, feeling so hard to breath in the small space, but feeling relieved at the chance to finally make some noise and express your stress outside of that group of people you were stuck around.

“C’mon. C’mon! Fight or flight, c’mon, just make me know how to hot wire this.” You close your eyes, as though that will suddenly make the knowledge appear in your head. It doesn’t, surprisingly.

Until you look in the cupholder to see a dozen bobby pins. He probably has a daughter. “It’s going to have to do.” You mumble to yourself.

You quickly straighten them out and shove them into the small spot where the key goes. You twist and turn, holding a bunch of pins together to simulate an odd shape of the key, until finally you hear a click.

That’s gotta be good! Right? You go with it, continuing to twist until you hear a sputtering and crunchy sound of the engine starting.

This guy drives a piece of shit car. But it’s fucking on! You waste no time in putting the car into the drive before pulling out the lot. You make yourself extremely nauseous at your own driving, or rather, attempt at driving. You see in the rearview mirror the lights on the prison flashing, the bright red signaling that they’ve realized you escaped. You give yourself twenty minutes before they ditch the search of the prison grounds and look for you in the city.

Down the road you alternate between driving fifteen miles an hour to sixty, finding it so difficult to get a steady control of the car. But you’re doing it! You only need to make it to the city. That’s it.

“How the fuck do they make sixteen-year-olds do this shit?”

Eventually you get the hang of it. Still a terrible driver, but you at least don’t feel as scared driving among other cars. 

The longer you drive, the more it catches up to you what you’ve done. Soon enough, the tears come and so do the sobs. Until you stop a red light and let out a yell of agony, the stress and sadness washing through your body.

It’s hard, wanting to break down completely but having to keep your eyes open for the light to change, and having to pay attention to your surroundings. You find a small alleyway to pull into and you put the car in park before ditching it.

No time to cry, you can cry later. You peek around at the name of restaurants and stores around you, not recognizing any of them. You look at the street signs not recognizing those, either. You haven’t been around society in almost ten years, and you feel hopelessly and utterly lost.

You look around the alleyway and see a big dumpster. Just for a little while, you think. You lift the lid and climb inside, shutting the lid above you.

It’s dark, greasy, and the worst thing you’ve ever smelled, but it’s somehow better than where you were. You don’t know how much time has passed, but the noise outside the dumpster grows, and you make a guess that it’s around six or seven in the morning.

If you want to blend in with the crowd, you need to change your clothes. A prison guard outfit will most definitely make you stand out to people, especially when news breaks that there's a prison escapee on the loose.

When you finally lift the lid to stand up, you look to your left to see a teenager, probably not older than seventeen, staring at you, frozen, key in hand, seemingly to open up some store that you’re in back of.

He’s tall and lanky, and what makes him stand out to you the most is the spiky black hair he sports on his head and the thick black eyeliner around the rims of his eyes.

“You… okay?” He asks, clearly confused as to why a random woman in a prison guard outfit is hanging out in the dumpster behind her place of work. But you’re frozen. You don’t know what to say. You can’t imagine the last twelve hours I’ve been through, it won’t make much sense.

“Are you… hungry?” He asks when you don’t answer. “I’m, uh, opening now, but no one will be here for another hour or two when we actually open. I can make you something if you like?” He offers.

He thinks you’re homeless. Which, you are, technically. But he doesn’t recognize you. Perhaps you haven’t made the news yet, but it’ll only be a matter of time.

You finally nod, climbing out of the dumpster bin and walking over to where he holds the door open for you.

You devour the sandwich he makes you, a simple ham and cheese on white bread, but it’s the best thing you’ve eaten in, well, a decade.

“How long have you been homeless for?”

“Are you from New York?”

“What’s your zodiac sign?”

“What’s your favorite band?”

So many questions come from the curious kid, kindness radiating from him. Casual conversation ensues, and you’re careful not to give too much away.

“Can I ask you something?” You ask, wiping your mouth with a napkin as you swallow the last bit of sandwich.

“How do I get to Brooklyn from here?”

“You’re in Brooklyn, silly.” He responds and your eyes widen a bit, not thinking you’d get this lucky.

“Sorry, that came out kinda insensitive,” He apologizes, picking up your plate, “It’s not like you have a GPS or anything. Anywhere you’re trying to go in particular?”

You have a flash of a vision, Bucky sleeping soundly in his apartment, as the sun shines through in orange cracks in his blinds. Your mind envisions the building, where it is, what it looks like, and how you can get there. Why is your mind and body wanting to lead you to where Bucky is? If you’re trying to lay low, why does your vision want you to go to what’s the third most recognizable government figure in the country, after the President and Captain America?

“Uhm… to see a friend. I guess I wasn’t trying to go, but I have a lot of… free time now, so. Just don’t know what I’d say to him.” You tell the boy, rubbing your eyes in exhaustion. You’re not looking forward to the rest of the day, or week, or month, or life.

“Why don’t you write a note? That’s what I do; when I don’t think I can say the right thing, I write it instead. I can give you some paper and an envelope.” He offers.

This kid has got to be my guardian angel personified, you think. What are the fucking odds?

“You should take it with you, though. I gotta open up soon, and I’m sure you don’t want to experience the morning rush of this place.” You read my mind.

“I’ll give you a change of clothes, too. Where’d you get that, anyway? Do you hang around dumpsters often? Is that one from a Halloween store?”

“Okay, that’s too much. You’ve already been so kind.” You refuse, ignoring the curious questions that shoot out of his mouth.

“Then don’t take it as me being kind, take it as me being mean. You smell like shit from that dumpster.”

You can’t help but laugh, and oh how good it feels. You never thought you’d laugh again, and here you are, giggling at being told you smell bad by some goth teenager.

Soon enough, you’re walking through the backways of buildings, in a crisp white t-shirt that smells of the cologne of a teenage boy, and note and envelope in hand. It takes you about forty five minutes to make it to Bucky’s apartment building, and it was only slightly less stressful that your walk out of that prison.

Through the glass door, you don’t see anyone at the front desk, so you open the door and step inside.

To your left you see a wall of mailboxes, and one large one at the bottom overflowing with letters and gifts. You take a wild guess and say that that one belongs to Bucky. You’ve heard he’s a pretty popular guy, along with the company he keeps.

You take the stairs to the eighth floor and the fourteenth room, hoping the 814 on that mailbox wasn’t random. You scribble out on your piece of paper, tearing it off and keeping the rest in case you need for another note in the future, or a snack. You bite at the blue bracelet on your wrist before it breaks and stick it in the envelope, tucking in the flap to close it.

You place it on the ground and silently press your ear to the door. You don’t hear him, but you hear the sound of the television, announcing your missing presence and the manhunt around the city. You take that as a cue to leave quickly.

Why you feel such a draw towards Bucky, you’re not sure, but for some reason, you have a feeling that leaving him this gift of sorts won’t come back to haunt you.

Perhaps it’ll even lead to the opposite.

[shadowofthelamp]

Partners

Swap Zim and Dib decide to work together. Technically a direct sequel to this thing that was posted a year and a half ago. Like, comments, and reblogs all super appreciated!

Wordcount: 1800

Warnings: Mentions of Dib experimenting on people, I guess?

Zim woke up strapped to a lab table that smelled so strongly of blood that he almost threw up. (Which was quite an accomplishment, considering it wasn’t like Zim was a stranger to animal test subjects, or even getting himself injured.) It took him a few seconds to remember why he was strapped to a bloody lab table, but hearing the familiar voice frantically muttering next to him helped.

“Come on, I need to kill him, but it’s Zim, I like Zim, I don’t want to kill him, but he’s a threat to the mission, I can’t upset my Tallest or the Professor, but maybe I could just wipe his memory...”

That voice was Dib. Dib, the stalker who had turned out to be a real live alien. Dib, the kid (was he a kid?) who must have strapped him to a table.

_____

It had started out pretty easy- he’d already known where Dib lived from the one time Dib had dragged him there when they’d both gotten caught in an explosion and he’d wanted to help patch Zim up. All Zim had to do was use a taser to short out the electric fence and some hacking to get in the front door once he found the security frequency they were using.

It was child’s play, although it wasn’t like it would be easy for anybody else. Zim was special. He was always special, always better than everyone else. Dib had seen that. As annoying as he got at times, Zim was glad that at least he was annoying because he liked Zim.

However, things had started to go south as soon as he got inside the front door. There was a chubby little pig perched right next to it, and it sniffed at him before its eyes lit up bright red.

“STATE YOUR BUSINESS.”

“You talk?” It looked like a regular pig to him, usually talking animals were a lot clunkier and more robotic-looking.

“IRRELEVANT. STATE YOUR BUSINESS, HUMAN.”

“Seeing Dib.”

“NONE MAY PASS.” The pig jolted up on two legs, and Zim noticed a small zipper on its belly only moments before the pig grasped at it, yanking it down and ripping off its- costume? It didn’t look like any fabric Zim had ever seen- to reveal a silvery robot with burning red eyes. A dozen weapons, mostly guns and knives, popped out from its head, and Zim couldn’t bite back a yelp as he fumbled in his backpack for his own laser gun.

“I know how to use this thing, you know!”

“ANY THREAT TO THE MISSION AND TO MASTER GAZ MUST BE ELIMINATED.” 

Zim squeezed the trigger, but the robot- okay, it moved way too fast for a robot that size, Zim’s tended to blow up if they tried any fancy acrobatics, but this one flipped out of the way, his laser blasting a hole in the wallpaper instead. 

He took half a second to breathe before squeezing the trigger again and swinging it around, burning a line through the wall and couch before hitting the robot and getting a metallic shriek out of it as it lunged for him, pinning him down by the shoulders and making him drop his laser.

“ELIMINATED. ELIMINATED. ELMINATED.”

“Release Zim!” Zim kicked up and heard a metallic crack before he rolled to the side, thankful for those self-defense classes he’d taken as the robot plunged about fifteen knives into the spot where his head had been half a second ago. The red eyes narrowed at him before activating rockets in its feet, and Zim ducked as it swung with a giant mallet from its head. He dropped to the floor, fumbling for the laser and swinging it around to take another shot at the thing. 

The gun managed to blast one of the arms off, but that sure as hell made it mad considering he didn’t have time to dodge the second swing of the mallet. He saw stars for half a second before there was nothing at all.

_____

“Dib,” Zim croaked, head feeling rather like it was full of rats that had thrown a dance party inside his skull and left a mess all over the cerebral cortex. 

“But this is a perfect opportunity for some experiments, you wanted that, didn’t you Dib- huh?” Dib looked up from muttering to himself.

Or rather, the alien did. It was still wearing Dib’s trademark goggles that looked heavy enough to weigh his head down with lenses too dark to see anything underneath, but its skin was an even darker shade of green, and it had a pair of twitchy antennae. No nose, no ears, and it had donned a full-on labcoat that was soaked in a whole lot of red and black stains. He’d always kind of figured aliens were real somewhere out there, but seeing it... it was like reality had tilted a little to the left. There were more pressing matters than a crisis about aliens existing anyhow, and Zim was pretty good at repressing things he didn’t like.

It sounded like Dib, though, and the way it fussed with its hands was the same with two fingers and one thumb on each, same as Dib. ‘Machine accident’, his ass. 

“You’re awake?”

“Y-yes, I’m awake. Could you let me go?” His voice came out sickly-sweet and polite, like he was talking to the counselor again to convince her that he was fine.

Dib-alien shook his head. “I’m afraid not. I really would like to, but you know too much. Protocol is pretty clear- dispose of or brainwash all witnesses when the planet is marked for conquest. But brainwashing knocks out a lot of the intelligence, and that would be such a waste, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes, yes it would,” Zim agreed. “So let me off with a warning?”

Dib folded his arms. “Nope. But the fact that you actually held your own against a SIR unit for a full minute as a smeet- and one that I modified to be extra aggressive- just tells me that you’re still useful as a specimen.”

“Hey, I’m not a- a- smeeb!”

“Smeet, child, baby, whatever term it is you humans use.” Dib waved a dismissive hand, stalking closer and looming over Zim. His eyes were a deep, electric blue like an unsucked sour candy, and Zim squirmed under the restraints. “That table is where most of my previous experiments died, and I don’t want you to just be number thirty-six, you know?”

“Thirty-six? Thirty-six what?”

“Oh, this and that. Humans are good for experiments, they’re very determined to survive so you don’t have to use as many.”

“Well, so is Zim.” Zim tried to twist away, but something metallic erupted from Dib’s backpack like a dozen sharp insectoid legs, propelling him up onto the lab table before he dropped directly on Zim’s chest, driving the wind out of him.

“I’m well aware. You’re already a survivor, aren’t you?” He ticked off on his fingers, alien butt shifting on top of Zim a bit to get comfortable. “Barely any parental supervision, yet you create machines and work on biological experiments that are beyond the capability of most humans three times your age. You almost get blown up often and yet walk away from it. You’re an anomaly.” Dib leaned closer, and Zim could taste the sugar on his breath. “I like anomalies.”

Zim attempted to buck Dib off to no avail as he continued. “Find the exception and you’ll have found the thing of most interest, the thing that makes or breaks a species. The outlier the proves the rule, and you’re a human that behaves like an irken, showing just how far ahead of the rest of your species you are. According to my research, they’re going to burn when Gaz decides what to do with this place if they don’t destroy each other before she gets around to it, but I just might keep you as a pet.”

“Zim is no pet!” Even with little oxygen left in his lungs, Zim shouted, snarling up at Dib with his lip curled. “Earth may be terrible, but it’s mine, so back off!”

“Oh? So you agree that Earth is terrible?” Dib tilted his head to the side, one of those long antennae twitching, and Zim narrowed his eyes.

“You’re not very good at research, are you? Of course it is! But it’s mine, and I don’t want any buggy alien getting his sticky hands all over it!”

“It’s not exactly up to me,” Dib replied, hearing the wheeze in Zim’s voice and sliding off his chest to the table itself, and Zim sucked in a deep breath, feeling the air reinflate his squashed lungs. “Gaz is the one who’s actually invading, I’m just here to study the planet in case there’s anything useful. You’re a pre-contact planet, or at least that’s what’s logged, so this place is a treasure trove of undiscovered species. I’m trying to convince Gaz to at least set up a preserve so I can study some of them once she’s done with the invasion.”

“Are you even listening to me? I told you to bug off! Leave me and Earth alone!”

“I’m listening, but I told you, it’s not my call. Even if it was... you said it yourself, Earth is terrible. It would be far more useful to the Empire as a sugar-harvesting operation, or a zoo, or something else. Humans don’t really deserve to be in charge, they’re just going to blow themselves up eventually.” Dib shrugged.

“If I was in charge, you wouldn’t say that,” Zim muttered, and Dib’s antenna twitched again.

“What did you say?”

“I said, if I was in charge, you wouldn’t say that. I bet if everybody listened to me, you’d take that back. I’m a human and I know I could fix everything.”

Dib stared at him for a solid ten seconds, and Zim wasn’t sure he hadn’t spontaneously kicked the bucket. Did aliens do that? “You’re a genius. You’re a genius!” 

“Of course I am, but why?”

Dib smacked his hands on Zim’s cheeks, squishing his mouth in like a goldfish. “Of course, how didn’t I see it before? Your potential is stifled by the fact that you only have access to tools that you create, but if we worked together, you could help us because you have intimate knowledge of humanity, and I could help you by giving you limited access to my technology! We could be lab partners- I wouldn’t have to kill you, and you can help reshape your species for a better future!”

Zim blinked. “Does this mean you aren’t going to do horrible experiments on me?”

“I can’t promise that, but I’m not going to kill you right now.”

“Good enough for me!” Zim tried to shake Dib’s hand, before realizing that he was still restrained to the table. Dib leaned over, hitting a button just next to Zim’s head, and the restraints popped off. Zim rubbed his wrists for a moment as he sat up, mind still whirling.

This was a chance to fix everything, to make things the way that they should be.

“So, you won’t kill all humans, and you’ll give me access to cool tech.”

“I’ll consider your input on that, and I’ll give you access to cool tech.” Dib nodded, taking Zim’s hand, and a slow grin spread across Zim’s face.

“Then lead the way, Dib-thing.”

[amwritesitall]

The Sarahs as Songs from Folklore and Evermore

Masterlist

Link in the names are the Spotify playlists I have for each character. These playlists are a never ending work in progress. Some posts can be found on a few of them on the Masterlist link above.

The reasoning for these songs vary. Some are like I’m pitching you a thesis for an essay and others are just little blurbs. Also, I apologize for any grammatical errors! A lot of this was worked on after midnight, so there might be a few errors I missed.

Billie Dean Howard

“cowboy like me”

I've got some tricks up my sleeve Takes one to know one You're a cowboy like me Never wanted love Just a fancy car Now I'm waiting by the phone Like I'm sitting in an airport bar You had some tricks up your sleeve Takes one to know one

You're a cowboy like me Perched in the dark Telling all the rich folks anything they wanna hear Like it could be love I could be the way forward Only if they pay for it

You gotta love Billie Dean. This song gives me Billie vibes in the way that the narrator never was really looking for love, they just kind of stumbled upon it. Billie Dean was never really looking since she was focused on her show and her career in general, wanting fame and fortune. Settling down for love wasn’t in the cards, but then she finds the perfect person and the person she ends up falling for is someone similar to her, never wanting to settle down. 

Long story short, two lady killers meet and fall for each other.

“august”

But I can see us lost in the memory August slipped away into a moment in time 'Cause it was never mine And I can see us twisted in bedsheets August sipped away like a bottle of wine 'Cause you were never mine

A lot of folklore gives me teen au vibes for a lot of these characters. This one makes me think of teen summer romance au with lady killer Billie Dean. For teen Billie, I just picture her having a whirlwind summer romance that doesn’t last long, but it leaves such an impact on her and the other person even after they’ve returned to someone else at the end of the summer.

Lana Winters

“betty”

Yeah, I showed up at your party Will you have me? Will you love me? Will you kiss me on the porch in front of all your stupid friends? If you kiss me, will it be just like I dreamed it? Will it patch your broken wings? I'm only 17, I don't know anything But I know I miss you

I know this song isn’t gay, but I want it to be, so here we are. Pretty much my only reasoning for this one is teen au vibes.

“cardigan”

Sequin smile, black lipstick Sensual politics When you are young, they assume you know nothing

But I knew you Dancin' in your Levi's Drunk under a streetlight, I I knew you Hand under my sweatshirt Baby, kiss it better, I

And when I felt like I was an old cardigan Under someone's bed You put me on and said I was your favorite

Secret relationship with Lana and her giving her lover all the love she deserves. Lana Winters is such a loving person and from her trouble with her family and others in her life, she knows what it’s like to feel like “an old cardigan sweater under someone’s bed” and she doesn’t want her lover to ever feel like that.

Another thing about this is in the first three lines. Lana is a young woman working in a mainly male dominated field. All the men (most of them older as well) look down on her because she is a young woman assuming, as the lyrics suggests, that she knows nothing. I might be crazy, but I feel like these first few lines some up some of the Lana we know and see throughout season two and her multiple appearances in other seasons as well.

“dorothea”

Hey Dorothea Do you ever stop and think about me? When we were younger Down in the park Honey, making a lark of the misery You got shiny friends since you left town A tiny screen's the only place I see you now And I got nothing but well wishes for ya

Dear reader, I propose to you this, the narrator talking about our Lana Winters. Specifically, I’m referring to Lana towards the end of season two where she has gotten fame from her book and her newfound fame goes to her head a little bit. The spin is that along with this she’s got a lover back home that wishes her well, but misses her, yearns for her if you will. So, we’re going to pretend there’s an AU where Lana’s got a lover back home and watches this all occur.

Cordelia Goode

“my tears ricochet”

And I can go anywhere I want Anywhere I want, just not home And you can aim for my heart, go for blood But you would still miss me in your bones And I still talk to you (when I'm screaming at the sky) And when you can't sleep at night (you hear my stolen lullabies)

I didn't have it in myself to go with grace And so the battleships will sink beneath the waves You had to kill me, but it killed you just the same Cursing my name, wishing I stayed You turned into your worst fears

CORDELIA HAS BEEN DONE DIRTY BY QUITE A FEW PEOPLE IN HER LIFE. Sis has been done dirty by Fiona, Hank, and problem a few other people we don’t even know about. 

This song makes me think of a few different things with Cordelia. The Fiona aspect is 1) Fiona’s anger with Cordelia for being the Supreme instead of being happy and proud of her daughter and 2) Fiona’s overall poor treatment of Cordelia.

You could also interpret this as Cordelia’s awful relationship with good ol toxic Hank. Cordelia didn’t deserve the awful treatment from Hank and Fiona. Cordelia is trying to deal with all of this and she loved these people, but they treated her so poorly and in the end it’s going to come back and bite them in the end.

“tolerate it”

I wait by the door like I'm just a kid Use my best colors for your portrait Lay the table with the fancy shit And watch you tolerate it If it's all in my head, tell me now Tell me I've got it wrong somehow I know my love should be celebrated But you tolerate it

Now I'm begging for footnotes in the story of your life Drawing hearts in the byline Always taking up too much space or time You assume I'm fine

This song HURTS me. You can interpret this song a few different ways, but the way I interpret it for Cordelia is to look at it as a mother/daughter relationship between her and Fiona.

As a child, Cordelia always wanted to impress her mother. Her mother was the Supreme after all, so she had a lot to live up to (makes me think of “Now I’m begging for footnotes in the story of your life”). She’s giving it her all like the lyrics “Use my best colors for your portrait / Lay the table with the fancy shit.” The first line from the excerpt above also points to Cordelia still seeking this approval even now that she’s an adult. She does all of this for her mother, but in return her mother just merely tolerates it. It never seems like enough to impress her even though Cordelia is a successful and overall incredible woman. She always feels like she’s not enough, merely getting in the way (”Always taking up too much space or time”).

“ivy”

Oh, goddamn My pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand Taking mine, but it's been promised to another Oh, I can't Stop you putting roots in my dreamland My house of stone, your ivy grows And now I'm covered in you

I wish to know The fatal flaw that makes you long to be Magnificently cursed He's in the room Your opal eyes are all I wish to see He wants what's only yours

AU AU AU AU AU

Picture it: a historical au with a forbidden love between Lady Cordelia Goode and a normal working class gal, however, Cordelia has been promised to marry another, say Hank. Secret relationship ensues.

I have so many thoughts on this au

Bette and Dot Tattler

“seven”

Sweet tea in the summer Cross your heart, won't tell no other And though I can't recall your face I still got love for you Your braids like a pattern Love you to the moon and to Saturn Passed down like folk songs The love lasts so long

This song just captures the innocence that I think fits Bette and Dot really well. It’s hard to find songs to fit these two, but I really think this one has their vibes.

“willow”

Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind Head on the pillow, I could feel you sneaking in As if you were a mythical thing Like you were a trophy or a champion ring And there was one prize I'd cheat to win The more that you say The less I know Wherever you stray I follow I'm begging for you to take my hand Wreck my plans That's my man

Like “seven,” this song captures the innocent, sweet vibes that these two have. This one adds to the hopeless romantic aspect that both Bette and Dot have as well.

Sally McKenna

“hoax”

This has broken me down My twisted knife My sleepless night My win-less fight This has frozen my ground

Stood on the cliffside Screaming, "Give me a reason" Your faithless love's the only hoax I believe in Don't want no other shade of blue But you No other sadness in the world would do 

Sally is a sad bitch. Poor girl has been heart broken and I elaborate on this next part more later. With her love, Sally doesn’t want to move on from that person since she believed they were the love of her life, however, now they’ve betrayed her and are gone and she’s alone once again.

“right where you left me”

Everybody moved on, I I stayed there Dust collected on my pinned-up hair They expected me to find somewhere Some perspective, but I sat and stared

Right where you left me You left me no Oh, you left me no You left me no choice but to stay here forever You left me

AHHHH THIS IS A SALLY SONG! I’ve had this post in my drafts since evermore came out and I was worried I wouldn’t have much for Sally, but then this bonus track came out and I couldn’t not think of Sally when I listened to it.

This is another one of those songs that you can interpret literally or figuratively. In Sally’s case you could definitely interpret this as her being trapped as a literal ghost in the Cortez after her lover leaves her but you can also look at it in terms of Sally’s personality. In love, Sally seems like the person to hold onto someone long after they are gone and moved on. She loves hard, so it is extremely hard for her to move on. I think that if she found the person she believed was the right person and they ended up leaving her, she wouldn’t move on from them at all. She’d be holding on, waiting for them to come back even if they never do.

Audrey Tindall

“the 1″

But we were something, don't you think so? Roaring 20s, tossing pennies in the pool And if my wishes came true It would've been you In my defense, I have none For never leaving well enough alone But it would've been fun If you would've been the one

Audrey looking back on a love from another time. Basically I want all of the AUs. I wish I had more to say, but vibes.

“mirrorball”

And they called off the circus Burned the disco down When they sent home the horses And the rodeo clowns I'm still on that tightrope I'm still trying everything to get you laughing at me I'm still a believer but I don't know why I've never been a natural All I do is try, try, try I'm still on that trapeze I'm still trying everything To keep you looking at me

This song makes me think of Audrey having to be different versions of herself for everyone through her career path and being a celebrity because she wants so desperately for people to love her and everything she does. She loves the spotlight with “I’m still on that trapeze / I’m still trying everything / To keep you looking at me,” and she’s such a people pleaser that she’ll do anything to get people to continue to like her even if sometimes there’s nothing you can do (”And they called off the circus / Burned the disco down”). I come to this conclusion through Audrey’s insecurities about her age that we see in the second half of season six with her relationship with Rory. 

“champagne problems”

Because I dropped your hand while dancing Left you out there standing Crestfallen on the landing Champagne problems

Your mom's ring in your pocket My picture in your wallet Your heart was glass, I dropped it Champagne problems

I’m not gonna lie, I don’t have a huge interpretation for this one. This kinda just makes me think of angsty au with Audrey.

“’tis the damn season”

So we could call it even You could call me babe for the weekend 'Tis the damn season, write this down I'm stayin' at my parents' house And the road not taken looks real good now And it always leads to you in my hometown

Out of everyone, Audrey is the person I picture going back to the ex for the holidays. She wants get cuffed for the holiday season even if it’s only for a little while.

“invisible string”

Green was the color of the grass Where I used to read at Centennial Park I used to think I would meet somebody there...

Time, curious time Gave me no compasses, gave me no signs Were there clues I didn't see? And isn't it just so pretty to think All along there was some Invisible string Tying you to me?

Audrey is definitely the type of person to believe in fate. To her everything happens for a reason and one day she’s going to find her soulmate. Overall, big Audrey Tindall vibes.

Ally Mayfair-Richards

“mad woman”

Every time you call me crazy, I get more crazy What about that? And when you say I seem angry, I get more angry

And there's nothing like a mad woman What a shame she went mad No one likes a mad woman You made her like that And you'll poke that bear 'til her claws come out And you find something to wrap your noose around And there's nothing like a mad woman

You cannot tell me that Ally did not ghost write this like damn this song screams Ally. This song is literally all about how society has a habit of gaslighting women and that’s exactly what happened to Ally for most of season seven. The entire season focused on Kai’s cult working to convince Ally that she’s going insane and when people wouldn’t believe the very real terror’s she was suffering from, it pushed her closer and closer to madness until she nearly breaks from it all.

“no body, no crime” feat. HAIM

Good thing my daddy made me get a boating license when I was fifteen And I've cleaned enough houses to know how to cover up a scene Good thing Este's sister's gonna swear she was with me ("She was with me dude") Good thing his mistress took out a big life insurance policy

They think she did it but they just can't prove it They think she did it but they just can't prove it She thinks I did it but she just can't prove it No, no body, no crime I wasn't letting up until the day he died

We love a homicidal queen. Ally isn’t in SCUM for nothing. Also I’m pretty sure this is my favorite song from evermore because I’m in love with the vibes.

“marjorie”

Never be so polite, you forget your power Never wield such power, you forget to be polite

This bit of the song just makes me think of how Ally holds herself at the end of the season. It’s a simple, but still expresses the perfect message.

“closure”

It's been a long time And seeing the shape of your name Still spells out pain It wasn't right The way it all went down Looks like you know that now

Yes, I got your letter Yes, I'm doing better

ALLY DOESN’T NEED YOUR APOLOGY! SHE’S A BAD BITCH

Wilhemina Venable

“exile” feat. Bon Iver

All this time We always walked a very thin line You didn't even hear me out  You never gave a warning sign 

All this time I never learned to read your mind I couldn't turn things around  'Cause you never gave a warning sign

For these lyrics I’m picturing Mina’s lover saying/thinking them. Mina isn’t used to love, so when she finally falls for someone and they reciprocate those feelings she gets scared. She shuts them out without any warning sign because she’s not sure how to handle all these intense feelings for this person.

“illicit affairs”

Make sure nobody sees you leave Hood over your head Keep your eyes down Tell your friends you're out for a run You'll be flushed when you return Take the road less traveled by Tell yourself you can always stop What started in beautiful rooms Ends with meetings in parking lots

And that's the thing about illicit affairs And clandestine meetings And longing stares It's born from just one single glance But it dies, and it dies, and it dies A million little times

The connotation of these lyrics is everything in my interpretation of it with Wilhemina. The story line is similar to the song “ivy,” but the connotation of the affairs taking place is completely different. “ivy” is all about a forbidden but loving relationship, while “illicit affairs” has a more negative connotation to where the affair is tearing the person apart. This song makes me think of a secret relationship with Wilhemina where her lover wants something more than just a secret affair, but Wilhemina isn’t willing to open herself up enough for that. This affair turns into something that isn’t working well for the lover, but they want Wilhemina so much that they put up with whatever they can get.

Mildred Ratched

“happiness”

Honey, when I'm above the trees I see it for what it is But now my eyes leak acid rain on the pillow where you used to lay your head After giving you the best I had Tell me what to give after that All you want from me now is the green light of forgiveness You haven't met the new me yet And I think she'll give you that

I don’t have much in the interpretation department for this one, but this song does make me think of Mildred’s personality. This song has the vulnerability and a bit of bitterness that I feel like Mildred would have in a situation like this. I’m not exactly sure how to describe it but this makes me think of her outlook on love and heartbreak.

“evermore” feat. Bon Iver

I rewind the tape but all it does is pause On the very moment all was lost Sending signals To be double crossed

And I was catching my breath Barefoot in the wildest winter Catching my death And I couldn't be sure I had a feeling so peculiar That this pain would be for Evermore

This girl has been “double crossed.” My woman Mildred has been done dirty. This makes me think of angsty Mildred getting betrayed by someone who she trusted in love. And I don’t it’s sad and I thought of some sad vibes with bb millie.

“epiphany”

With you, I serve With you, I fall down, down Watch you breathe in Watch you breathing out, out

Something med school did not cover Someone's daughter, someone's mother Holds your hand through plastic now "Doc, I think she's crashing out" And some things you just can't speak about

Nurse Mildred Ratched. That is all folks.

“gold rush”

But I don't like a gold rush, gold rush I don't like anticipating my face in a red flush I don't like that anyone would die to feel your touch Everybody wants you Everybody wonders what it would be like to love you Walk past, quick brush I don't like slow motion double vision in rose blush I don't like that falling feels like flying 'til the bone crush Everybody wants you

At dinner parties I call you out on your contrarian shit And the coastal town We wandered 'round had never Seen a love as pure as it And then it fades into the gray of my day old tea 'Cause you know it could never be

Call me crazy BUT this song makes me think of Mildred. She’s the type of person that isn’t really comfortable with love. She doesn’t like to be vulnerable and this pushes her to be uncomfortable with little things like someone making her blush. Love is new to her.

She is also envious of the effect this person has on her and, in turn, the effect that person has on everyone else because they are so stunning. When they do get together it is the type of love that poetry is written about. Witty banter and fiery gazes but also the gentle caress of a hand while walking along the shore. 

This love is perfect in every way, but of course there must also be a level of angst to nearly all stories and the angst with this one is the fact that the time period Mildred is around in does not allow her to love her lover openly and freely. Overtime this might cause a strain on the relationship with the line “And then it fades into the gray of my day old tea / ‘Cause you know it could never be.” Her and her lover both know that society would condemn them for who they are.

Harriet Hayes

“peace”

'Cause there's robbers to the east, clowns to the west I'd give you my sunshine, give you my best But the rain is always gonna come if you're standing with me

But I'm a fire and I'll keep your brittle heart warm If your cascade ocean wave blues come All these people think love's for show But I would die for you in secret The devil's in the details, but you got a friend in me Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?

Harriet is a big celebrity. She has paparazzi hounding her all the time and once she’s in a relationship they start hounding that person too. It’s a lot for a person and a relationship. Harriet can change that aspect of their relationship (”But the rain is always gonna come if you’re standing with me”), but she can provide her lover with as much love she can give. She will always try her best for the person she truly, truly loves her. There may be some bumps along the way (like the next song) but she will do her best and hopefully that’s enough for her lover because she can’t ever completely give them peace.

“this is me trying”

I've been having a hard time adjusting I had the shiniest wheels, now they're rusting I didn't know if you'd care if I came back I have a lot of regrets about that Pulled the car off the road to the lookout Could've followed my fears all the way down And maybe I don't quite know what to say But I'm here in your doorway

I just wanted you to know That this is me trying I just wanted you to know That this is me trying

They told me all of my cages were mental So I got wasted like all my potential And my words shoot to kill when I'm mad

The last line gives me hella Harriet vibes because I feel like when she’s angry she’s kind of blinded by it. She’s the type of person that says some really hurtful things that she doesn’t mean when she’s angry. 

Looking deeper, I get Harriet vibes from the beginning in the sense that Harriet is just trying to do the best that she can in a relationship, but it’s just not really working out. She has her career the “shiniest wheel,” however, now that’s slowing down and she’s lost on what to do with her relationships. She wants everything to work out like how she did so well so quick with her career, but everything isn’t working out like that.

[faterpresources]

Anonymous:

Do you have any advice on how to start an rp blog? I feel like there's so much to do and so many specific things, it looks intimidating, but I really want to get into it (and your blog seems like a safe space to ask as a baby in the matter)

Hi! Thanks you for asking and for trusting. I do admit that rping on tumblr can look daunting and there is a series of things that are considered “etiquette” that might not be obvious for newcomers. And the only way to learn is to ask, right? As I’m not sure if you would like something more specific or a step-by-step, I’m going to go through the whole process.

note: this is a repost from an ask in a more reblog-friendly format

1.       Setting up the blog

You might want to make a new e-mail account for each blog you want. I recommend making a gmail/google account, so you may be able to use other services and associate them with your blog. I’ll go into more details in a minute.

Some people would rather have a personal blog and then making the RP blog as a side-blog. Or a “hub” blog and many side-blogs so they have everything centralized. The downside is that you can’t follow people with side-blogs, only the main – and some rpers are a little suspicious of personal blogs, so if you intend to go this route it might be a good idea to state somewhere in your blog that you have a RP blog.

Tip : It isn’t said too often, but I recommend saving your blog’s e-mail and password somewhere, maybe a flashdrive or even google drive. This way, if something happens you will be able to retrieve your account.

When picking the URL, for a very long time tumblr had problems tagging URLs with a hyphen ( - ). I’m not sure if it has been fixed or if there are still some issues, so I recommend only using letters and maybe numbers. Other than that, pick anything that sounds nice to you!

Themes are nice, but not entirely necessary. Not everybody has photoshop skills and all that. Some people do have commissioned themes, but if you want to try your hand at it my first stop is usually @theme-hunter  or @sheathemes . They reblog many themes from many creators, so there are always many options that might suit your needs.  Some creators offer very newcomer-friendly themes that you can configure a lot of things without much hassle but some might require basic HTML knowledge – a few creators have guides on how to properly set up their themes and are willing to and answer questions, so don’t be afraid to contact them! You can also send me an ask, I’m not a specialist but I can certainly help walk you through the basics.

Tip: @glenthemes have very good themes and a basic installation guide here.

When fiddling with the options, try to pick colors that have nice contrast and are easy to read. If you are bad at picking colors or have problems in finding the code for them, I recommend trying this link. There is also this one that auto-generate palettes.

Tip : If you mess with your theme, remember there is the Theme Recovery.

Tip: If you use Chrome or Firefox you can set up different profiles and associate each with a different blog, so you don’t need to log out from any of your accounts.

There are two pages that I recommend having: one is an about your muse. If they are an OC, it is always a good idea to have at least some information out there to make things easier. If they are from a canon source, not everybody is familiar with the material so it might be a good idea to state. For example, if you are going to roleplay as Altria/Arturia, it is a good idea to have a “RP blog for Saber (Altria Pendragon) from FGO/FSN “ somewhere visible. The other page that is a good idea having is a rules/guidelines page. This one can be a little intimidating, but it is usually a way to communicate important things. For example: are you comfortable writing violence? Do you have any personal triggers? There is something you absolutely won’t write? There are things you may figure out along the way and it is absolutely ok to fine-tune this session every now and then. Some people also credit source for their icons and graphics in general in their rule/guideline page.

If you are using the tumblr default themes, when you create a new page you can turn on the option to show a link to the page. If you are using a custom theme, most of the time you will have to link it manually.

Oh, and if you are planning to do a multimuse, it might be a good idea to list which muses you have. The same goes for a hub blog; list the muses and link to the pages.

Icons aren’t necessary but are considered commonplace. You can find some icons I’ve done here but there are plenty of other sources. If you want to do your own icons, keep in mind to don’t make them too big, as a courtesy to your mutuals.

Tip: Anything larger than 300 pixels will be stretched to fit the post. As of today ( 4/29/2021 ) the posts are currently 540 pixels wide. This can be useful as making banners for your blog.

Tumblr allow users to “pin” posts. This mean that they will always visible if you access your blog, even on dash/mobile. You can use this to set up a post with basic links for mobile users or something else. For example, if you are out on vacations and won’t be able to do replies, you can pin a hiatus notice and then remove the pin once you are back.

2.       Introducing yourself

Time to officially join the fun! (insert a “Hi, Zuko here” joke) Don’t worry if you don’t have a fancy promo graphic or anything, most people make their initial introduction with a simple post.

(as you can see, I’m not very good at saying ‘hi’)

Try to introduce yourself in a few lines, but make sure to state which muse you RP as. Some people also like adding their pen name/alias and establishing a brand. Follow as many people as you want that reblogged or liked your post, and tumblr is going to start recommending other blogs that are related to the tags you use normally or have any relation to the people you follow. You can put as many tags as you want, but tumblr will disregard more than 6 tags in their system. Try tags like “<fandom> rp” and “<fandom> roleplay” along with the media, such as “movie” “video game”, “anime” and so on.

It might also be a good idea to follow a few RP memes blogs. They often have options to break the ice, like one-liners that your mutual can send you.

Tip: Don’t forget to turn on the asks and the anon

3.       Practical advice

Alright, now that you have a few mutuals, it is time to get to some general tips:

Tumblr can be a little “iffy”, and a great quality of life extension for RPers and navigation in general is installing the New Xkit extension. They offer a number of options to enhance your tumblr experience, but the ones I consider essential are the “editable reblogs”, “quick tags” and “blacklist”. Get it for Chrome or Firefox.

As a rule of thumb I recommend writing your RPs using Google Docs before posting or replying. By doing this you can do some spell check and if your browser crashes for any reason you can easily recover your work. You can also use Word, Open Office, or any text editor you feel like.

Because I’m a bit of a perfectionist, I also have Grammarly ( Chrome / Firefox ) installed for an extra layer of spell/grammar check. There is a subscription option, but the free one works perfectly fine.

To make things easier to locate, always tag the URL of your RP partner when doing a reply. There are other useful things you can tag, such as open starters, memes, and such.

Risking being obvious here, but when you are not interacting as your character it might be a good idea to tag as “ooc” or “out of character”.

Some people like making google docs with basic info and other useful stuff for easier access on mobile. It is a recent trend, it might be easier to edit as opposed to going through tumblr page editor and dealing with the HTML.  You can find some templates here and here.

Tumblr’s activity can be unreliable, so don’t be afraid of contacting your partner to see if they have gotten your reply after a few weeks. However, some people also enjoy using the RP Thread Tracker in order to be on top of things. It might be a good idea to check it out.

Because of Tumblr shadowbanning and shenanigans, it isn’t unusual for people to have NSFW sideblogs (sometimes referred as ‘sin blogs’). If you want to write smut, it might be a good idea to consider making one.

Some people don’t like replying to asks, as Tumblr won’t let you remove the initial ask. It has become common to see people making new posts to reply to asks.  This is a simple example:

As you can see, I used the mention to have the RP partner notified then I copied and pasted their question on my post and used the quote to indicate it. You can also have fancy graphics, like a line to separate the contents, just do whatever you feel like with the formatting or keep it simple.

To make sure your partner got the answer, I recommend copying the link to the post and pasting on the ask and then replying it privately.  An example sent to my rp blog:

4.       Basic Etiquette

Ok, this is a little subjective most of the time but here are a few things that are considered universal courtesy.

Never reblog someone else’s headcanons. If you enjoy it, maybe it should politely contact the author and ask if it is ok to write something based on their original idea but you should never downright copy or lift something from another creator. It is considered rude, or even theft in some cases.

Don’t reblog threads you are not involved with. It is ok to leave a like, but never reblog. This is because Tumblr can mess up the notifications and disrupt the flow of the RP.

Don’t copy other people’s graphics. It is very rude and sometimes they commission (aka: paid) for it.

Trim your posts. What does that mean? Every time you reblog with a reply, the post tends to get longer and longer, and it can cluster your and your mutuals’ dashes. This is why the New X-Kit’s “editable reblogs” is an almost must-have tool. If for some reason you can’t install X-Kit (if you are on mobile for example), then remove the previous post or ask your partner to trim for you.

Never take control of your RP partner’s muse. This is called “godmodding” and it is heavily frowned upon. It is ok to control your muse and the possible NPCs that you inserted, but never seize someone else’s character. Likewise, it can also be very upsetting if you use what people call “meta-gaming”, applying knowledge that your muse shouldn’t know about the other. For example, let’s say your RP partner’s muse is a vampire, but they have never disclosed that information to your muse, who also doesn’t have an excuse to know that (for example, being a vampire hunter) so it can be quite jarring sometimes. When in doubt, contact your partner.

This should go without saying, but RPing sexual themes with users under the age of 18 are illegal. It doesn’t matter if the age of consent in your location is lower, once you join Tumblr you are abiding by their user guidelines and the law of the state they are located in. If you are an adult, don’t engage minors with these topics, maybe a fade to black would be a better option. If you are a minor, don’t insist or you might cause a lot of legal problems for others.

Try to tag anything triggering. Violence, gore, NSFW. Both Tumblr and the New Xkit have options to block keywords.

When picking PSDs or graphics for your blog, you should avoid templates that change the color of the skin of POCs muses and try to pick the right race/ethnicity of the muse you are going to RP as. I won’t go through a lot of details, as it is a rather lengthy subject in an already lengthy conversation but keep this in the back of your mind.

Some RPers don’t like when you reblog memes from them without sending anything. Try to always reblog from a source or to interact with the person you are reblogging from, it can be rather disheartening to be seen as a meme source rather than a RP blog. This isn’t a rule and some people don’t mind, but it is always a good idea to try to do this.

This might be more of a pet peeve of mine than proper etiquette, but it is ok to use small font. What is not ok is use small font + underscript. Some people have disabilities that might make it harder for them to read it, so it might be a good idea to refrain from using it. Maybe if you feel like doing something fancier every now and then, but I wouldn’t recommend making this a habit.

Mun and Muse are different entities. Remember that it isn’t because a muse does something (especially a villain one) that the mun condones something. Never assume anything about the mun, when in doubt talk to them.

Be mindful of your partners and treat them the way you would like to be treated.

As a rule of thumb, always talk to your RP partner. It is only fun as long both of you are enjoying it.

5.       Closing Words

This got longer than I expected.

Despite all of that, don’t be too worried about not being very good at first. I assure you that you will get better with time, so don’t be afraid of experimenting as long you feel comfortable. And don’t be afraid of saying “no” if something bothers you.

My inbox is always open to questions and ideas, so feel free to contact me anytime!

I would also ask my followers: there is advice I missed/overlooked? Anything you would like someone have told you when you first started? Add your thoughts so I can update this.

Happy RPing!

[doodlestab]

Hey! I just now saw that video that you posted! Who is who?

This is an evil question to ask me because it enables me to talk about my OCs. Not evil to me but evil to everybody who follows me because I can’t resist. (^:<

I’ll slap this all behind a read more because it’s pretty long.

I’ll go in order of who’s seen first.

So starting with these three, from left to right, are Rachel, Gary, and Bonnie. Rachel and Gary come from an underground city, and Bonnie is a vampire who’s a few hundred years old at this point, though she was bitten younger in her life.

Bonnie hangs out in a run down castle, Gary tends to go to said castle to escape his life back in town, and Rachel likes to follow Gary everywhere. So they’re all friends, to an extent!

This guy’s name is Holly. He should be holding a microphone in this shot but I haven’t gotten around to drawing it yet. That’s why his hand is like that.

He’s not a human. It’s sort of hard to describe him, alongside the others that look like him, because they aren’t human, nor are they aliens or anything of the sort. Well, not extraterrestrials, at least. I just call them mimes (even though they really aren’t). He among the others is a personification of color. He is aqua. All of his friends are different colors, too. Though there’s only about 15 of them in my story, theoretically there would be as many of these guys as there are colors that exist.

Anyways, he’s a sneaky, rather flamboyant sob who nobody can ever pin down whether he is good or bad. In the video’s case, bad. The reason Rachel, Gary, and Bonnie do not immediately kick into fight or flight is because they don’t know Holly to be bad up until this point.

He and all of the other colors have their own monster form as well, and this is his. They are usually based off of insects, clowns, jesters, mannequins, etc. He is the smallest of the monsters, measuring probably somewhere around 7 feet tall.

These are a bunch, but not all, of his friends. In order from left to right is Uppsulka, Rede, TyV, Twiddle Niddle, Caela, and Atrox.

Uppsulka is usually stoic and calm, but she can be a little quirky and sassy sometimes too. Her smile on her monster form is deceiving; Usually she’s pretty blank-faced: 

She’s also a prime example of something that the mimes can do, which is taking over a dead body as a host to appear more human. Every mime has their bug-like stick limbs and their tube torsos, but some choose to take on a host to fit in a little more.

Rede is a crotchety, extremely near-sighted punk who really doesn’t like people very much. On the inside he’s pretty smart and logical, but on the outside he tends to talk like a middle school bully.

He is essentially blind, and can only really see things an inch or two from his face. Because of this, he’s almost always seen squinting.

TyV is a silly, literature-hungry dork who likes spending a majority of his time reading every book he comes across. He uses a lot of big and fancy words, but never really pronounces any of them right.

When he manifested as a physical being, one of the very first things he did was accidentally get a TV stuck over his head while trying to gut it from the inside out. He sort of just lives with it, and uses the screen to express his emotions for him.

Twiddle Niddle is essentially what you could consider an old cartoon villain-- the kind that’s always seen twiddling their mustache, tying someone to a railroad, or holding a big black bomb-- that kind of guy.

He’s kind of an asshole, but he uses funny words and phrases nobody can understand so oftentimes he’s seen as the useless clown of the group because nobody can take him seriously.

Caela is a peppy and rather manic gal who’s like, totally into drills or whatever. She’s pretty obsessed with human culture, and actively tries to engage in normal human activities, even if she doesn’t understand them.

She’s rather self-centered, and often times puts herself before others, even her closest friends. 

Atrox is a very fickle, very dramatic guy who often finds himself-- or rather makes himself-- a “gallant in distress” in many situations. He’s extremely picky about his preferences, and never uses his monster form. None of his friends know why, nor does he ever shed any light on the matter.

There’s others, of course, but nobody else that’s prominent in the video. 

I know I only gave brief descriptions of them all, but thank you anyways for asking because it’s so fun to talk about them :3.

[47-shades-of-hitman]

Twelve days of Agent 47 | Day 2

Day 2 - Home for Christmas

[Originally posted here]

[12 days Masterlist]

You visit your parents for the holidays and assure 47 of some things.

Warnings: Implied sex

Agent 47 straightened his tie, fingering the silk of the accessory admiringly. He found it most endearing that you had picked it out for him with so much love and care.

The silver cufflinks looked wonderful on his sleeves, and combined with the shimmering pin on his new tie, it was a complete different look from what he was used to. He looked sleeker, even more elegant than usual.

You appeared on the doorstep of the bedroom, abashed by the handsome appearance of your lover in front of you. It was surprising how often the sight could still take your breath away. Fiddling with the skirt of your dress, you mused a soft: “How do I look?”

47 looked away from the mirror to face you, and his heart leapt in his chest. The colour of your knee-length dress matched the colour of his forest green tie perfectly, being the exact shade, as if it had been made out of the same material. And then, the jewellery he had gifted you. You were picture-perfect – still, to him, you always were, jewellery or not.

“Absolutely beautiful.” he said, his voice warm and laced with a sincere tone reserved purely for you. You smiled softly and stepped towards him, laying a hand on his smooth cheek, rubbing at his jaw gently.

“So do you.” you sighed. “Are you ready to go?”

“Whenever you are.” he replied.

You pressed your crimson-painted lips to his and you giggled upon pulling back and finding them stained with your lipstick. You thumbed it away and gleamed up at him.

“I’m just so happy that we finally get to celebrate Christmas with all of my family.”

Saying it out loud made you realize that the pair of you hadn’t seen your family for such a long time, let alone together.

You were the oldest out of three and your siblings were way further on the area of relationships – your brother Daniel had welcomed a second baby with his wife about three months ago, and your sister Maisie had recently engaged herself to her girlfriend. Being the oldest, you would get bombarded with questions about when 47 and you were going to tie the knot, but you had learned to let those questions slip off of you.

Heading to the hall, you fetched your coat. Agent 47 donned his and grabbed the car keys off the dresser near the door. Upon your way outside, 47 halted you by putting a hand on your arm. “There’s some lipstick on your…” he pointed at your cheek and you quickly brushed it away. He mused a soft ‘no’ when you asked him if it was gone, and he rubbed his index finger over your skin.

The gesture made you blush and you thanked him. Finally making way to the car, you stepped outside in the crisp snow, feeling it creak under your heels.

“You’re looking ravishing, 47.” you breathed as you sat down in the shotgun seat, fastening your seatbelt.

“Well, I do have to look good if I’ve got such a gorgeous girlfriend. Those are the rules.”

The flirty comment was unusual and caused your heart to crawl into your throat. You flushed almost as red as your lipstick.

“Oh, you’re being sappy.”

He quirked a rare smile and drove off.

The trip to your parents normally took roughly half an hour, but thanks to the snow, it took ten minutes longer. It was already becoming dark outside when 47 pulled up into the driveway.

He turned off the engine and the pan with leftover stew you had placed in between your legs on the floor of the car rattled a bit as the engine's soft vibrating ceased. You put a hand on his thigh and softly squeezed.

Behind the doors of your parents’ home, his name was Tobias Rieper. He was ten years younger than he actually was, because otherwise your parents would question his outstanding physique and lack of aging on his face. And for his work, he was a spokesperson for a prominent company, hence why he had to travel so much and why he was rarely home.

Who knew what your parents would think if they found out that you had invited an assassin into your home and bed five years ago…

He put his hand on yours and squeezed it just as tight – a final reassurance right before entering.

Getting out of the car, you grabbed the pan and was greeted with a creak of hinges – the front door stood open, welcoming and bright like it always had been, whenever you needed anything.

The scent of food flooded your senses and your nephew soon stood at your feet, hugging your legs tightly.

“Auntie (Y/n)!”

“Hey there, Jules!” you greeted the four-year-old boy, “Look at you, in that fancy suit!”

He shyly giggled up at you. “Did Santa bring you presents, too?”

“Of course,” you said, “Uncle Tobias is grabbing them from the trunk. Why don’t you go say hi to him? I’m going to bring this food to granny now, okay?”

He didn’t answer you, instead running over to 47, who was already holding a bag filled with carefully wrapped presents. You smiled as you heard Jules happily greeting his uncle whilst you headed to the kitchen. You felt at peace upon seeing your mother checking on the turkey and you placed the pan onto the stove gingerly.

“Hey, ma.” you greeted, and she put her hand on her heart, as your sudden arrival had spooked her a little. Sharing a home with a hitman had made you almost forget that your footsteps were quiet – at least to ordinary people.

“Oh, sweetie, you startled me.” “I’m sorry ma.” She hugged you tightly and you inhaled her familiar scent, something you missed quite often if you were being honest.

“You look beautiful. Oh, and your necklace! It brings out your eyes beautifully!”

A bashful smile tugged at your lips. “Thank you, ma. You look dashing yourself!”

She waved her hand in the air. “Oh, stop it, you!” Your mother wore the same dress she had been wearing on Christmas day for the past thirty-five years, at least as far as you remembered. You had never seen her in a different fancy dress, but you didn’t mind. It made you nostalgic, if anything.

Agent 47 appeared next to you and your mother smiled at him. “Oh, Tobias! How have you been, darling?”

She embraced him and he awkwardly hugged her back. “Ah, I’ve been wonderful, thank you Mrs (L/n).”

“How often do I have to keep saying it? It’s Guinevere. You’ve been part of the family for long enough!” She patted him on the nose with the back of the wooden ladle she was holding, soon turning back to her pans. 47 shared an unsure look with you, but you could only smirk in amusement.

“You two go check on your siblings, alright? I believe little Tilly has just awoken. She has been sleeping in pa’s arms so cutesy, really (Y/n), you need to see the pictures!”

“Of course!” you laughed, taking 47’s hand and leading him to the living room. The fireplace was blazing brightly and your brother was just keeping Jules well away from it when you entered.

“Hey everybody, Merry Christmas!”

“(Y/n)!” your sister Maisie cheered, leaving her fiancée’s side to hug you tight. “You two are looking like a dream!”

She gave 47 a quick hug – he wasn’t one for physical contact and she knew that. Maisie’s lover Charlotte stood and greeted you too, albeit a bit unnaturally. She was still a bit shy around you, even though she had been around for two years now.

After greeting everyone, your mother called everyone around the table. With the growing family, it had been expanded with a small table on the side of it, where Jules sat with his mother Sarah, so she could keep an eye on both him and the baby.

On the menu was turkey, salad, mashed potatoes, and a whole lot of other things you absolutely loved. Under the table, your hand rested on 47’s lap, squeezing his leg every so often to remind him that you were aware of his presence despite your small-talk with your family.

As you had expected, the subject of marriage came onto the table quite soon, seeing as your mother became entirely engrossed in the silver engagement ring around Charlotte’s finger – and it didn’t take long for her to divert her attention to your relationship with 47.

“Say, (Y/n), what do you think of the ring?”

“I think it’s pretty.” you said, talking a sip of wine.

“Wouldn’t you like one of your own, then?”

You sighed mentally and shrugged. “Tobias doesn’t need to give me a ring to prove to me that he loves me.” 47 hummed out a pleasant sound that made your toes tingle, soft enough to be heard only by you. “He does it through different ways.”

Your sister whistled through her teeth, smirking, and it made your mother a bit flustered. “Oh, Maisie, you’re thirty years old, grow up!”

You laughed lightly, shaking your head. “It’s alright, ma.” 47’s hand came to rest atop yours and you turned your palm so that you could intertwine your fingers. “I just love him for who he is. A ring won’t make a difference in that.”

It was true – time and time again, you had proven that you loved him unconditionally. And if 47 eventually decided to put an official title to it, sealing your relationship with marriage, than you’d take it with both hands.

But for now, this was all you ever wanted, and even more than that.

[vellichorom]

ok maybe NOW you’re a little ready to hear about v3 remnants SO I WAS THINKING OF THESE LAST NIGHT & NOT ALL OF THESE ARE SOLID IDEAS SO I’D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR GUYS’ THOUGHTS BUT

I do like !!! to think that outside of the v3 universe & in the main canon timeline, the v3 cast exists - doing what they do, & they were primarily targeted to become remnants of despair because of how outlandish they are & junko thought ‘ these would be tasty tasty additions to my despair army c’mhere pspsps ‘

 -- shuichi saihara / ultimate detective often times commits a series of crimes that he later investigates himself & somehow manages to pin blame on an entirely random person & thrives off the thrill of being acknowledged as this wonderful detective as someone rots in jail or immediately gets a death penalty

 -- korekiyo shinguji / ultimate anthropologist kindaaa ??? does about the same thing he did in canon ??? a serial killer that primarily targets women ( friends for his sister but in a twisted platonic sense of love ) but kind of goes after everybody, why? he gets to witness raw emotions with the heinous acts he commits & that is just too beautiful for him, because these emotions can’t be faked when there’s a knife at your throat huoouh,,

 -- angie yonaga / ultimate artist kills in the name of “ god “ / on behalf of god to rid the world of sinners ??? or save the good ones, I’m not sure which would work more IN ANY CASE, she’s using the name of god as her excuse for killing - FULL well knowing she’s not being encouraged by a god OR “ god “ now translates to junko enoshima subconsciously, & she’s preaching on her behalf

 -- miu iruma / ultimate inventor joins with ultimate despair kazuichi to keep up with the supply & demand of monokumas, as well as sprinkle in their own means of causing despair & FOR MIU, her award-winning inventions quickly shift into making the public’s life hell, & w/ the corruption of society & it’s buisinesses, she gets away with it for a long time before the world truly goes under

 -- tsumugi shirogane / ultimate cosplayer ( ??? ) FANGIRL OF JUNKO ENOSHIMA ( in the way that we have fangirls of serial killers today ) & commits v3-esque killing games in her name & broadcasts them alongside the others going on it starts off as a dark web series that QUICKLY gets out of hand & trickles into public domain when the public begins to close control of everything & collapse, during the tragedy, junko uses her for broadcast filler & tsumugi is happy to do it

( or, another thing I thought of ) through her cosplaying / impersonation skills, she & the imposter team up a lot && IN ANY CASE, she somehow slips into the future foundation’s rank ( chisa-esque ) & broadcasts from there or tries to start a killing game up in there or what have you OTHERWISE JUST ACTS AS AN INSIDER THAT FURTHER MAKES THEIR JOB HARDER ( eventually kind of creates a killing game w/ the v3 remnants to cause a bigger wave of despair, on herself & toward junko enoshima )

 -- K1-B0 / ultimate robot a creation of ??? or for tsumugi in order to maintain the killing games she broadcasts / acts as her monokuma in keeping guard of the game & assuring no players break rules, as well as doing his thing of maintaining the public’s suggestions as to what to do with the players otherwise  -- gonta gokuhara / ultimate entomologist I’m not actually sure what his whole shtick is BUT he’s smarter than he lets on as a despair, or at the very least ??? semi-skilled through his rich & fancy family history, he’s able to attend events of high-status & meet with officials & people who have word of mouth in towa through his seeming lack of intelligence, which people find charming, he’s able to slip through certain cracks & dismantle businesses from the inside & claim he has no idea / it was an accident & get away with it until the tragedy in which he just goes thorough apeshit

 -- kokichi oma / ultimate supreme leader continues kind of doing what he was doing already, pulling pranks with the members of DICE, except now the pranks are a LOT more violent & if any of the DICE members don’t comply, kokichi will threaten them into submission so the entire organization is run beneath fear of blackmail & death & they wreak more havoc across the place, all while oma thrives on the despair

he’s also a devout of junko enoshima & her whole thing because ‘ that’s SOOOO not boring !!!! ‘

 -- kirumi tojo / ultimate maid the personal right-hand man of junko enoshima, performing ANY tasks she wishes, typically tedious & just waiting on her hand & foot, but she takes advantage & often goes out to assure her despairs are doing as they should & that everything is going according to plan, or carrying out demands herself & getting them done

this is post-being a prime minister, which went about as glorious as you can imagine after being converted into an ultimate despair SO THAT PLACE WENT DOWN QUICKLY, & afterward, kirumi went to go serve under junko happily

&& THOSE WERE THE MAIN IDEAS BUT I’M STILL THINKING UP ONES FOR TENKO & HIMIKO & RANTARO & ALL THE ONES I DIDN’T MENTION SO FAR SO I’LL UPDATE THIS POST WHEN I THINK OF ALL THOSE

[love-sims-and-juicy-drama]

Welcome to Love, Sims and Juicy Drama!

Now, let's meet this season's contestants!

Meet Jana Mayfield. She's our feisty wildcard, already pulling out some of her signature nastiness!

Jana says: "I'm fine. I'm totally fine. I don't know why everybody's worried. All I wanna do here is meet somebody new and maybe win a ridiculous amount of money."

Here's Kole Hawthorne. He may look innocent, but this guy is a known prankster. He likes causing trouble and we can't wait to see what he does.

Kole says: "I am so ready to get with some of these girls. I'm gonna make a move before any of these other guys. Also, like... This house was made for me. Have you seen this furniture? Fit for a king."

Cristina Hilton is our next lady. She is an aspiring singer/songwriter and this is her big break into stardom. Let's see how it ends up.

Cristina says: "I am wearing my best outfit, I am giving my best smile and I am the best bachelorette here. Any of these guys would be lucky to have me."

Next up is Jacqueline Strand, our resident bookworm. She's a solitary type of person and may have trouble making a match. Lets see how she goes.

Jacqueline says: "Hm... This place is really fancy."

Meet Brett Bravo. He was the star in high school, the star in college and is planning on being the star here. He is here to have a good time.

Brett Says: "Yeah, I'm feeling good about this. I already feel like I'm building a bit of a relationship with everybody here. Like, even just as friends. Everyone seems pretty cool."

Dean Crow is a bodybuilder, known to work hard and play harder. He may be a bit too extreme for some of the other contestants.

Dean says: "Woah, the girls here are hot. Like movie stars. I've gotta step up my game. Maybe later I'll invite them to watch me work out."

Here's Harmony Reed, an aspiring wife and mother. All she wants is to start a family, so lets see if her dreams will come true or end up shattered.

Harmony says: "I'm just happy to be here. Some of these guys seem really nice, as if they want to make a connection. I might find the One."

Finally, our eighth contestant is Ricardo Wise. He's looking for the chance to make a statement and hopefully make a romance.

Ricardo says: "There are two things I want to do: Get on a date... And teach these guys how to dress themselves. Seriously, are you wearing THAT jacket to a place like this?!"

Alright, viewers! Make your bets! Who's the best contestant? Who would make the best couple? (I'm keeping couples male/female for easiness sake in splitting them up into dates.) If you'd like more information on Love, Sims and Juicy Drama, check out the pinned post! :D

[vesperlionheart]

Songbird -KakaSaku

Original Ask:

You mentioned Paolo Sebastian and expect us to pick just one?! I tried to narrow them down. 2016 AW Reverie dress 14. 2015-16 SS The Nightingale dress 07 (All the grey/silver wing dresses are amazing.) 2014-15 SS Sirens of the Sea dress 09. The first and second dresses in the 2019-20 AW collection, too. I would also like to tell you about my absolute favorite designer/collection: Hassldriss 2019 SS Ashes. Gives me ethereal, mythical creatures and goddess vibes, thought you'd like it, as well.

Sakura scurried up over the cracks in the rock face and used her momentum to keep her from pitching sideways into the deep valley below. Her hands were rough and held her in place when she paused to catch her breath, reminding her to be proud of her harsher features.

It had been several years since she had moved from the lord’s house with her mother to the outskirts of the Fire Country’s boundaries. Gone were the paved roads and tall buildings with fancy doors and glass windows. The mountains were as rough and rugged as her hands making it no place for a young lady to grow up.

But Sakura wasn’t a young lady.

“Just a little farther,” she told herself instead of looking down.

Her mother had been a maid and in her youth she had warmed the bed of men she shouldn’t have, thinking it would get her ahead. When it didn’t she took her small child with unnatural jewel like eyes and fled to the outskirts. It wasn’t much longer before the harsh climate took its toll on them with Mountain Fever, something only Sakura survived.

The screeching cry of a large bird made Sakura pause on the cliff and listen, waiting to hear more, but the cry was only an echo and there was no sign of the thunder bird who nested in the cracks.

A little while later Sakura pulled herself up onto a ledge and rolled onto her back, breathing hard. The air was thin and there was only so much a person could acclimate to on their own. The climb had been treacherous, but the reward would be worth it.

Sakura rested a minute more before pulling herself up and crawling over to the long nest, easily three times her own size. Inside were the loose feathers left behind that shimmered and gleamed in the pale light. Sakura loaded her pack, amazed by her luck. The thunderbird had left behind so many beautifully colored contour feathers and even some strong flight feathers. When Sakura handled them they greedily reflected the light like they were the only thing in the room allowed to.

Sakura was careful to pick her way around the nest and keep her contact with the boundaries of it to a minimum. Thunderbirds had an excellent sense of smell, after all.

She worked quickly, until her pack was full and then went back to squeeze some more feathers into her pockets. It had been a day’s labor to scale the mountain and two days worth of travel by path to the place where her climbing could begin, far from the village where she lived.

She should have left as soon as her bag was full.

Sakura felt the static in the air and then tasted the tang in the back of her mouth. She looked to the cliff opening and saw thunder clouds in the distance, dull and silent but no less dangerous. She scrambled to the edge, but the screech made her cower on her knees, holding her ears from the nausea.

In the shadow of the storm clouds the mighty bird soared more like a bullet and less like a beast for his den.

Sakura did all she could to roll out of the way and pin herself again the cave wall, hoping she might not be noticed in his den.

The silver bird banked and then touched down, filling up the cavern with his size as it stalked towards its bed with talons as large as Sakura’s torso. She held her breath as it paused and turned white with it stiffened.

The feathers down his back ruffled as it turned, opening its wings part way to block her path as it rounded on her, his gray black eyes charged with lightning.

It screeched again and the sound made Sakura cry out in pain, holding her head as she crumbled to the ground.

“Please my lord, forgive me!” she cried through her tears. “Please, forgive me, forgive me.”

With a strength she didn’t have, Sakura forced her body into a deep bow, pressing her forehead to the stone as more tears fell free to stain it underneath her. She was at his mercy and if the stories were to be believed, the thunderbirds were no more merciful than any of the other beast gods.

“Little morsel, you come into my home, into my nest, with greed in your heart,” it roared with a voice like thunder. He flapped his mighty wings once to shake them out and then bent his head lower. “I smell your fear but it will not save you. Produce your weapon and end your own life if you can.”

Sakura trembled. “My lord, I have no such weapon. I swear I meant you no harm. I-I would never. Please, I beg you to abate your anger against me.”

“Liar.”

“I swear it to you, I never wished you ill.”

It roared with magic, making her bones tremble. “Then why have you dared the wrath of my mountain to post yourself in my nest and lie in wait for my return? Why hide yourself?”

Trembling, Sakura removed her bag and flipped the front flap open. The glare of light from the discarded feathers was bright enough to see without removing. “I am no such fool, but I am a thief and I am a coward, I came here in your absence to plunder your cast offs. I-I meant to leave before your return but I was too greedy. Forgive me, forgive me!”

Some of the electricity in the air snapped and then lessened. The bird flapped once more before taking a step forward to inspect her bag, sniffing it and then nudging it with his beak.

“Filthy cast offs, you risked your life with such a climb for this? None of these feathers hold any magic. What use could you have for my mess?”

Sakura swallowed. “A dress. I wished to sew them into a dress.”

The bird said nothing, but Sakura heard it shift closer. His shadow fell over her and then there was a tingle as his beak nipped at her hair and then nudged against her back. She kept still as it searched her over.        

“You are a dirty human who lives close to the land. What use would you have for a dress with my feathers?”

Under his shadow Sakura swallowed and forced the words out. “I…I wish to sew for myself a wedding dress, so I might…so I might be married at the Crossroads.”  

The bird pulled back. “A barbaric tradition,” it boomed. “A human turning itself into cattle? There is no nature that can explain such things.”

“I don’t have any other choice,” Sakura admitted with distress as more tears fell. “I have debts to pay and-and I can’t live like this anymore. I can’t take care of those who saved me like how I am. If I’m-if I’m married a husband would take on my debts and my family would be fed. There’s nothing else I can do.”

The bird nipped at her hair again, still so close. “You climbed my mountain and made it into my nest but you cry like a lamb and claim uselessness? The humans have fallen further than I had first assumed if they can not see your value.”

“Please, let me leave with my life, my lord. I can not leave my parents alone on this earth just yet, not until I’ve paid back my debt to them. I beg you, please, I beg you.”

The bird made a noise that was like a chuff before  pulling back and flapping hard.The breeze made her flinch.

“Not tonight, little one. You tremble worse than the leaves in my storms. You cannot climb in your current state. Come.”

Sakura almost squeaked in distress as she was picked up by the back of her shirt and lifted into the air before being set down into the middle of the nest. Sakura looked up, shocked as the silver gray bird turned about, circling her before folding his wings and curling down around her. “My lord,” Sakura squeaked.

“Sleep, you will have no peace until you do.”

“Here?” Sakura asked with a voice that pitched high.

She heard the thunder bird rumble in delight at the sound she made and somehow that only embarrassed her. It turned its head and stared up at her with eyes more black than gray. He was a god beast, one of the ancient creatures and it dwarfed her in every way.

“You wish to defy me?” it teased.

“I-this is-this is your nest.I couldn’t-”

“Your eyes are very old,” it interrupted her, looking away to readjust. “I remember with the first gods still walked between the clouds. I’ve not seen such clear eyes since then, but yours come close. You’re not some princess, are you? I thought only the royal families bred with the last traces of divinity.”

The question made her squirm. “I’m nobody, my lord.”

“Everybody is somebody.”

“Not me.”

It turned to face her once more, staring hard until Sakura ducked her face and blushed. She only looked up once she felt the tug on her curls as it pulled with his beak to get her attention.

“Your name?”

“S-Sakura.”

“Just Sakura?”

“My mother’s surname was Haruno, but I don’t know my father so…so just Sakura.”

“Fitting. You look like a flower.”

“My lord,” Sakura breathed, covering her face with her hands as it rumbled in mirthful enjoyment of her honest distress. It was an immortal so of course it would enjoy teasing such an insignificant creature like her.

“You may call me Kakashi, enough with your silly human titles. You owe me no such allegiance, and I’d like it better if we were friendly.”

Sakura swallowed, running the name over in her head before daring to form it with her own lips. “Kakashi.” It sounded so simple, too simple for such a revered creature  

“Very good. Now sleep, Sakura,” it rumbled, sounding more like distant thunder.

So she did.

When she awoke in the morning she felt far more rested than she should have for falling asleep in a bed of sloppy down feathers and twigs. There was no sign of the thunder bird-of Kakashi-but her bag had been left untouched and her stolen feathers were still stuck inside her pockets, so she didn’t question it further.

It took another full day to climb back down the mountain until she was on solid ground once again, and then another two days more traveling down the long, winding paths carts and horses never traveled anymore. All the shrines and crumbling churches lay empty along the roadside, forgotten even by pilgrims.

When Sakura arrived back home Ino and her parents all wept on sight, claiming she had been gone too long and everyone thought she had died. Overdramatic as ever, Sakura let them fuss until they were content before showing off her finds.

“Oh Sakura, no…” Ino whispered, eyes wide with fear.

“We can’t all be lucky and fall in love with good people,” Sakura teased back.

A month later Sakura was done with her dress and Inoichi had his cart ready with wildflowers to sell at the Crossroads. Ino and Sai stood outside, watching her leave with the same solemn faces.

“They’ll get over it, they have each other,” Sakura laughed to her adopted father as he yelled at the horses to move.

“They also had you, but now they don’t. Don’t think they’ll get over it so easy,” he grumbled.

“I…easy or not, they’ll get over it because they have to.”

Inoichi bent his head to hide his tears under the cover of his wide brimmed hat. “Our debts shouldn’t be for our children to worry about. Sakura-”

“I’m not your child, Inoichi,” she interrupted softly, making him jerk, “and this is my choice.”

He swallowed thickly and shook his head. “We can still turn back,” he whispered.

“And you can still be killed for not paying back your money lenders. Don’t ask me to make that choice, you know what I’ll say,” Sakura whispered back. “I’ve come this far, let me face this as I see fit.”

Inoichi didn’t speak up again, but Sakura noticed how he didn’t rush the horses even when the roads allowed it. When the reached the Crossroads he grabbed for her hand one last time and kissed her knuckles, crying over her fingers. “Forgive this old man for his foolishness,” he said.

Sakura reached up and kissed at the corner of his eyes where the wrinkles caught most of his tears. “I loved you and I always will, father. Thank you for letting me go.”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Not really,” Sakura laughed before slipping off the cart.

With hours to go before the bidding, Sakura arrived at the Matchmaker’s early and was let in with a few whispered words. Once inside she was seen to, examined, prodded, interviewed, cleaned, and redressed in the handmade gown.  

“You’re one of three, but you’ll be last since…well…” the matchmaker’s eyes slid down Sakura’s figure and then up again, settling on her eyes. “…we don’t get such rare beauties this matured very often. You’re quite the holdout. What’s the reason?”

“A family debt,” Sakura answered honestly, long since numb to the looks and questions. “When is the noon bell?”

“Not for another half hour, come let’s take you to the lounge where you can have some tea. It’s good for the nerves.”

Sakura allowed herself to be led away to a dainty little parlor where two other girls, both younger, sat drinking tea and avoiding the stale sweets offered on a silver tray. Both frowned when they saw Sakura walk in but neither said anything.

Absently, Sakura noticed both girls looked younger in person compared to their posters. It seems the artist had painted them as more mature to attract more of an audience. Sakura hadn’t seen her own posters, but the painting they were based off of had been flattering enough even if it was only from her shoulders up.

A voice just outside made it through the doorway for each of the three girls to hear.

“It’s a better turn out than the last one.”

“Forget the last season, this is bigger than all last year’s crowds.”

“What do you expect when it’s only once a season they turn out?”

One of the girls made a sound that betrayed her youth and Sakura felt sorry for her, but not sorry enough to open her mouth and lie. They were going to be sold off, they had signed up for this, and the chances of any of them being happy with what came next was slim, no matter what the matchmaker said.

Outside the noon bell rang like a death knell and the first girl stood when the door opened. She held her head high and marched out in a swirl of lavender colored fabrics to the roar of an excited crowd.  

The bidding took five minutes, but the preamble was ten times that. Sakura could hear how the girl was led around stage and talked up, listing the number of instruments she could play and languages she could speak, but little else.

She didn’t go for a poor price, but it would likely be the lowest since she was first.

The next girl stood when the door was opened. She stared straight ahead and marched with less grace, but as her virtues were read off to a frenzied crown the stiffness mattered less and less.

Her bidding took less than ten but more than five minutes.

When the door opened again Sakura saw the attendant laughing. “The crowd’s only grown,” was his excuse.

Sakura swallowed her nerves and threw her head back. She had climbed the Spine of the world, plucked feathers from the nest of a thunderbird, and slept under his wings. This crowd would not frighten her.

“This way,” the attendant said.

Sakura put one foot in front of the other, measuring her pace the way she’d seen noble ladies do. Through the short hallway and out onto the stage she followed the attendant out with a mask of indifference. The Crossroads’ open square was packed and all the nearby buildings had faces in their windows.

When she had been a child she had enjoyed the thought of being considered beautiful.

Now all she could do was curse it.

The matchmaker waved to the attendant and Sakura squared her shoulders as the long fur coat was pulled from her shoulders. The crowd’s reaction was understandable as she stepped forward into the light.

The cut of her dress was low, reaching almost to her navel as the bodice was crafted out of the thunder bird’s silver feathers. Glittering feathers hugged her waist and covered her hips, but did little else as the dress morphed into glittering see-through fabric that hid nothing of her figure from view. When she was asked to walk across the stage, the crowd roared at the sight of her, her indecency, her immodesty, her beauty, her legs, the swell of her breast, the dress, the way she reflected the light…

“And she sings, ladies and gentlemen,” the matchmaker cooed in mock adoration. “What a little songbird. Who wouldn’t want to have her in his own golden cage?”

“Sing!” the crowd demanded.

In reaction the matchmaker motioned to the attendant who had pulled out a simple hand drum. When he struck it the drum gave a solid thud that repeated and repeated and repeated. With every strike the crowd quieted until they were silent.

Sakura shut her eyes and inhaled.

On the next strike she let her voice out, low and rolling. When she sang she sounded like the mountain, loud and booming with highs and lows an eagle could soar through. The language was an old one that sounded as lost as the forgotten religions and shrines left at the base of the Spine of the world.  

Spellbound am I, am I

The wizard bewitched me, bewitched me

Spellbound deep in my soul, deep in my soul

In the heart glows a burning fire, a burning fire

The song morphed until it was less lyrical and more a testament to her range as she held a note up high and kept it aloft until the last sudden beat of the drum. Then all at once there was silence.

When she opened her eyes the crowd before her was just as spellbound as her parents the first time she sang for them-before they made her swear never to again.

What a horrible daughter she turned out to be.  

The crowd broke like a dam and the roar was deafening but Sakura refused to flinch. She was numb to it as the matchmaker rushed to the front of the stage and motioned wildly for the crowd to quiet.

She couldn’t get them under control for a good five minutes as they screamed for more. She tried to read off more of Sakura’s qualifications, but it seemed no one was interested in anything beyond her song.

“Then the bidding for our songbird…”

Sakura closed her eyes as it began.

Her price climbed rapidly until it became apparent only two men in the crowd had enough of an estate to shoulder the expense. From 300 Krown (a moderately rich man’s yearly salary) to 500 to 700 her bridal price climbed. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized her cut would be large enough for Ino’s family to live comfortably on for the rest of their days.

“Five thousand Krown!” a new voice boomed.

Sakura raised her face and saw further back a man flanked by attendants, all dressed in the same dark uniforms trimmed in silver. In the afternoon’s sunlight the medals on their breast pockets gleamed, making them all look impressive.

At the front was a man with dark eyes and silver hair that betrayed his youthful face. For a noble he seemed too beautiful.  

The crowd grew quiet.

In the history of the Crossroads the bridal price had only exceeded 1000 Krown a total of three times, but the highest bid had been three thousand five hundred and paid for by the envoy of the emperor. This man was unrecognized and bore no such crest. Who could have that sort of money?

“Sir?” The matchmaker squawked.

He waved to one of his guard and he rushed forward with a small metal box. He opened it for the matchmaker to peer inside, only for her eyes to boggle.

“My master is good for the money,” the man holding the box chuckled before shutting the lid.

“Th-that…is…is there anyone who opposes?” the matchmaker asked once more, sounding numb.

Neither of the other two nobles raised their hands as they glared across the crowd at the newcomer. There was a low murmur through the crowd before the bell rang out, signaling the sale.

Sakura shut her eyes and followed the matchmaker off the stage into the rooms where her sale would be finalized. She sat on the couch watching as several iron chests came into the room, carried by three identical servants. Inside each chest was 1,500 neatly stacked bars of Krown. The last 500 came in a smaller chest.  

It took several minutes for the chests to be counted and the money organized. Sakura closed her eyes and ignored the stares of the three identical servants who watched her where she sat. Her silence and seeming indifference seemed to amuse them.

Then the door opened once more for the silver haired man to enter. His fur collared cloak trailed after him like a pair of long wings, flapping around his legs with each of his long strides. Up close he was even more handsome and Sakura prayed that didn’t mean he was cruel too.

She stood as he entered and met his gaze head on. A different servant bent to talk with the matchmaker while he stared down at her, eyes creasing in the corners even though his mouth didn’t bend in any such smile.

“Then, your mark sir?”

Sakura inhaled sharply and readied herself for the branding all bought brides went through. Some saw it as a mark of pride, but others recognized it for what it was-a shackle.  

“I will not brand her,” he said, speaking with a voice so deep and full it filled the whole room.

“-B-but she might run. A mark is traditionally what-”

“I will not brand her,” the young lord interrupted more firmly. He took a step closer to Sakura then reached for her hand. “But let this serve as my testament.”

Sakura watched as he slid a rose gold colored band onto her ring finger. When she looked down she saw the massive emerald in the center, flanked by a multitude of smaller diamonds.

She stared up at her to-be husband with wide eyes that only made him smile more openly.

“Mah, I’ve been waiting too long for someone I could spoil to my heart’s content. I’ll never give you a reason to run, Sakura.”

“What… what is your name, my lord,” Sakura asked, feeling a bit light headed at the prize on her finger and the message it carried with it. She wasn’t a prize, she was a bride. If she wanted to run her ring would pay her way several times over, and he knew that.

He pulled her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers. “Hatake, but you may call me Kakashi.”

She didn’t have the breath to ask any more questions as his servants stepped up to finish the paperwork that allowed him to take her. He folded her under his arm and lead her out of the room, through the halls, down the stairs, and into the awaiting carriage.

Inside there was a dressmaker’s box on one of the seats he encouraged her to open. She lifted the lid with trembling fingers and gasped at the sight. The same silver feathers that she had sewn together to make her dress were crafted into a similar bodice that complemented a much fuller skirt.

“Your wedding dress. This one served its purpose for our engagement but,” Kakashi kissed the back of her shoulder as he stood behind her, “us old gods are terrible about showing off our extravagance.”

“Kakashi,” she breathed again, not daring to believe it.

He hummed cheerfully. “Yes?”

“Thunderbird…Kakashi.”

“One in the same, my dear.” He ushered her into her seat and sat down beside her. “I’m glad you remember me. Sometimes they don’t. When witnessed in our divine beast forms there are only certain brains that can hold onto the memory. But you,” he kissed under her left eye, “you, are worth far more than gold could buy. I’ve not seen such eyes in many thousands of years.” Kakashi leaned over and kissed under her other eye, reaching for her hand to hold as he did so.

“Why did you do that, though? You…you’re not human, so what could you want with me?” Sakura asked, still feeling light headed even as he kissed the side of her neck.

“I said so, didn’t I? The humans are fools to not see your value, but now you’re mine and I’m yours and we have lifetimes to enjoy together.”

His voice made her feel like melting. As powerful and old as he was, she still felt safe next to him. He was an ancient god who could tear her apart in an instant, but she knew she had never been safer.  

“Lifetimes?”

“I’ve waited too long to have a mate to spoil. I won’t let you go so easily, not even to death,” he promised darkly before bending her down to kiss deeply, lips to lips.

Later that night Kakashi stirred in bed and growled at the presence behind his bed chamber’s doors. His wife was warm in his arms and there was nowhere else he’d rather be. But his stupid servants wouldn’t leave until they had given their report, so he detangled himself and dressed in a simple robe to greet them at the door, making sure the bed curtains were drawn to save Sakura from sight.

“What?” he growled low, promising thunder and pain.

“It’s done, sensei.”

Kakashi exhaled forcefully. “And?”

“As you wished, the lost revenue has been recovered and the Crossroads razed.”  

“The people?”

“After her family left we… took care of them.”

Kakashi scoffed at Naruto’s soft tone. He was too young to understand how sometimes these things needed to be done. They were divine beasts, they didn’t need to feel sympathy for the masses.Their feelings were meant for precious few.  Just because the humans had forgotten that didn’t mean they had to. Naruto had a long way to go before he could be trusted with his own dominion.

“It’s their fault for looking at wasn’t theirs to behold,” he commented darkly, shifting so more of his body filled the gap between the door and the jam. “Is that it?”

Naruto nodded.

“Then make yourself scarce. Don’t show up unless I call for you again. I don’t plan on attending to any business for the next…couple of weeks.”

“We’ll cover it.”

“Yes, you will.”

And with that Kakashi shut the door on his student. When he drew the curtains back he chuckled at how Sakura had rotated onto her back, fingers curling in her sleep for something she could no longer hold.

He brushed aside the stray feathers and pulled back the covers to slip in and reach for her hip. She turned to him easily and he kissed her shoulder in thanks as she melted against his side.

“Mine,” he breathed in tired fascination. “My precious songbird.”

SS The Nightingale dress 07 (All the grey/silver wing dresses are amazing.)

Engagement

Wedding