#he definitely dropped them like a billion times

[voxisdaddy]

TW: Stalking, invasion of privacy, mention of murder, Vox jacking off. NSFW

Nah but imagine Ex!Vox decided to check in on you one night since he had some free time before turning in for the night. So he hacks your tv, or any product in your bedroom that’s a VoxTek appliance, and his face drops as his eyes widen as he watches another demon go balls deep in you on your bed. He’s pissed, obviously; You can’t just move on! What are you? Some kind of whore!? Well it doesn’t matter cause it’s not like you’re his anymore. He wouldn’t admit it but after the breakup, he kept tabs on you and would definitely watch out for you on any camera of his enterprise. After like months of stalking you he grew comfortable to the fact that you weren’t gonna move on so he eased up on the stalking just a little bit-plus he had a billion dollar company to run, Alastor to constantly watch out for, and ect ect he’s just a busy man! Oh but that little pull back was all it took for him to miss the suiter who had apparently caught your eye enough to let them fuck you RIGHT. NOW. Vox doesn’t know what to do. All he knows is he’s pissed-and has a boner threatening to rip open his pants. Interrupting would mean admitting he’s been watching. Leaving would be cowardly. Despite how much he wants to fucking kill the demon bringing you so much pleasure right now, he may or may not find his hand pulling his cock out and getting ready to pump himself.

[jeankirsteinsgrlfrnd]

yesss pleaseeee write the stalker!jean y/n as a drabble!!! like Jean is just soo 😫i just know he would be a good asl stalker, especially since he is super tall and mysterious 😫

lurk

pairing: jean kirstein x f!reader

word count: 1.7k +

a/n: i didnt proof read this but also this came out super cute but like also terrifying but ily pookie bear jean

tw: stalking, manipulation, drinking, etc

it was cold tonight, nearly below freezing in shiganshina. you hated the cold, you dreaded being bundled up in a billion layers only to still be shivering. however, it was almost christmas and you were running behind on shopping. fortunately for you, the streets were quiet. nobody wanted to be out in this weather. you weren't afraid of the dark. often times, you embraced the peace that came from walking the street alone at night. despite being a woman, shiganshina was a relatively safe city.

the streets and sidewalks were lined with a thing layer of snow with flurries still falling from the sky. there's a glow of warmth from the street lines as you duck into the nearest store. it's a small boutique that's much warmer than outside. there are mannequins strewn about, various pieces on displays and a small jewelry section in the back. you decide to head to the back of the store and work your way up front.

despite being a small array of options, the jewlery they had was beautiful. you pick up a small white box were two silver earrings in the shape of hearts like. you frown as you slide a finger down the side of the container. they were pretty, but it wasnt something your mother would like and that's who you were here for, after all. you ponder getting them for yourself but your face drops when you remember your budget. you sigh and put them back on the shelf while you put your mother first.

as you set them down, you can't shake the feeling of being watched. no, you were definitely being watched. you slowly turn your head around and an exhale when you don't see anybody with their eyes on you. just a few other women browsing about and the shop owner who's ringing up a tall man's purchase. you shake your head. christmas time was always stressful for you and it's certainly showing now.

after finding a suitable necklace for your mom, you bring it up to the cashier. the cashier is a sweet, older lady who is smiling as hard as she can. you feel bad that she has to be out at work during the cold and make small talk about how you'll need to do your holiday baking tomorrow. she laughs and tells you that she's running behind too, and that she's sure you'll get your cookies done in time.

the walk back to your apartment building isn't so bad despite the howling wind. you remind yourself to be thankful for the snow, knowing the toll global warming would eventually take. on the opposite side of the street, there's a nice black car with tinted windows. you take a moment to wonder who was lucky enough to drive such a luxurious car, as you've seen it around town before. quite often actually. although, you've never seen it on your street before. you didn't live in the nicest part of town and you assume it must be somebody's family member visiting for the holidays. you head into the builiding, unaware of the pair of eyes staring at you from within the car.

unfortunately, the next day isn't any warmer. you're smart this time and decide to go shopping early in the day instead of having to brave the cold, harsh night. you drive to the nearest grocery store; your kitchen was tragically empty and lacking all of the ingredients needed to make your famous christmas cookies.

in the baking aisle of the store, you stare at the plethora of options that could either make or break your dessert. you grab a bag of chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. you spin on your heel, ready to move farther down the aisle. classically, you bump right into somebody and unfortunately the carton of eggs you had tucked under your arm before coming to this aisle heads straight to the ground. the lid pops open and eggs fall out, cracking on the ground. ultimately, they crack and the yolks splatter onto your shoes and up your paint leg a little. you let out a gasp and look up into the eyes of a handsome stranger.

his hazel eyes widen as he looks at splattered eggs on your clothing. "i'm so sorry, i didn't see you there." he looks for a way to help you but he's failing.

"it's fine," you sigh. "it's christmas time and we're all in a rush. plus, i'm a little clumsy." you blush as you feel his eyes give you a once over. you clear your throat and his eyes come back up to land on yours.

"i'm the clumsy one this time. i really am sorry. could i at least pay for your stuff?" he tilts his head. you realize just how tall he is as he looms over you, waiting for an answer.

"no, that's alright, really. it's my fault, i told you i'm clumsy. stuff like this happens to me alot." you admit, turning more red by the second. he laughs and rubs the back of his neck. his laugh is deep and hearty.

"oh, c'mon, how else are those cookies going to get made?"

"how did you know i was going to make cookies?" you ask, raising a brow at him. he clears his throat and points at the bags in your arms.

"you're in the baking aisle, after all. eggs and chocolate chips are also two of the most important things when it comes to cookies." he laughs and you feel embarrassed at your stupid question. obviously he knew you were going to be baking, it's that time of year and you are holding the ingredients for them. you laugh with him and choose to accept his generosity, appreciating not having to spend your own money, especially since it was a little tight right now.

after picking out a new carton of eggs, you and the handsome stranger head to the check out line. "my names jean, by the way." he says as he hands the clerk his card. he looks down at you.

"i'm (y/n)." you tell him. he nods his head. he hands you the plastic bag filled with your now paid for groceries. you two walk out of the store together when all of a sudden, he stops you.

"this might be a little cliche and a little too fast, but would you like to go to dinner with me tomorrow? just feel really bad 'bout the eggs 'n all." he shrugs as he makes sure his joke lands.

you know what, what the hell?

"sure, jean."

after exchanging numbers, you two head off in your own separate directions. back at your apartment, the fancy car is still there, just in a slightly different position. you think about how nice it must be to have family come to visit as you head inside.

tomorrow night comes quicker than expected. you had knots in your stomach all morning and you find them still lingering into the evening. you take your time getting ready for your date with jean and you can't shake the feeling of anxiety nestling into your chest.

later on, you park your car at the restaurant jean had texted you to meet him at. it's a high end restaurant and you're relieved you chose to wear one of your nicest dresses and an overcoat. as you make your way to the front door, you see that same black car, tucked neatly into one of the back parking spots. you shake your head as you head into the restaurant.

jean is dressed to the nines. if you thought he was handsome yesterday, you thought he fucking looked deadly tonight. if looks could kill.

jean smiles as you take a seat across from him. you give him a shy smile as you watch him take in your appearance. there's a glimmer of hunger in his eyes that makes you want to sink into your seat. you're self conscious as his eyes devour you but his words come out so calmly. "you look really good."

"thank you." quiet are the words that manage to come from your lips.

you spend the evening making talk of all sort of topics ranging from the weather to the casual, heated arguments about aliens and if they existed or not. you really enjoy your time, finding it n yourself to indulge in a bottle of wine. jean offers to pay for the entire meal as your plates becomes empty. you laugh and make a joke about how rich he must be. he just chuckles in return.

you start to realize just how drunk you are. the heat in your cheeks is radiating and you feel like you're vibrating, just a little. jean hasn't taken his eyes off you once.

"before you go," he starts. he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small, white box. "i got you something. now, i know we just officially met but i couldn't help myself."

the words go right over your head as you reach across the table for the little container. you take the lid off and gasp. the pair of little, silver hearts from the store the other night. you become a stuttering mess. "h-how did you.."

your brain begins to move a thousand miles a minute, flashing different pictures your eyes have collected the last few days. it's the black car you've seen all over town. the tall man in the boutique. the black car parked on your street. the feeling of being watched. the cookies. the earrings. the car in a different position.

your words fall out in a whisper as you drop the box onto the table. "you..." jean tilts his head and smirks. he can see the realization in your eyes and the hunger in his grows. you feel helpless in this crowded restaurant, not wanting to make a scene. he watches your rosy cheeks turn pale.

"me? what about me, (y/n)?" his words are condescending.

"you've been watching me. stalking me." you hiss under your breath, hoping it comes out as confident but jean picks up on the shakiness on your voice.

"hmm..? what was that?" you can see the thrill he's getting. you don't answer him. you reach to where you set your phone on the table at the beginning of the date. it isn't there. “oh, my silly (y/n.) you've drank a whole bottle of wine. just however will you get home?"

my jean fanfiction

my ko-fi

[sunflwryu]

warning: yandere, murder |  requested by: anon

perfect

“w-what? baby, what is this...?” niki’s head snaps towards the direction of the familiar voice, only to see you, his beloved, standing there at the bottom of the stairs to the basement with wide eyes and a mortified expression.

fuck! he doesn’t know what to say to explain the situation. what, should he say that he kidnapped and beat the shit out of your ex because you ranted to him about them last night about how they led you on and broke up with you and dated someone new immediately? there’s no way you’d be okay with something like this, even if he did it to take revenge on them for hurting you.

“i-i-i...” he stammers.

your terrified gaze falls to the bruised body on the floor, registering the sheer amount of crimson red pooling around them to the metal baseball bat in his hands. “...you killed them?”

he drops the bloodied weapon on the floor at the horror in your voice. doom weighs on his shoulders as he dreads what comes next. he can’t lie to you, especially when you’ve caught him in the act, and because of the truth, you’ll definitely leave him. you will, won’t you? he closes his eyes for a moment, remembering all the good memories you had together, how much he loved you and dedicated himself to you, how much he loved hugging you and holding you close, how much he loved taking you out on dates, how much he loved how you folded into his side as you stuck to him like glue.

he opens his eyes, clenching his fists, preparing for the worst and taking in your beauty for what probably will be the last time. “i-i did this because i love you...” he blurts out, nervously waiting for your inevitable rejection.

that’s the truth, and that’s the only thing he can say right now. he swallows hard, knowing you’ll probably just scream, run away, and report him to the police for this, knowing that you could just ruin his life if you wanted because he’d never raise a hand against you even if it was to stop you, but he still hopelessly hopes that you’d notice his sincerity, that you’d stay and love him back.

but you don’t run away like he expects. instead, you’re still standing there. there’s no hint of fear in your demeanor, only acceptance.

“y-you’re not scared of me...?” he asks hesitantly, not knowing if that act is real or just some strange response because you’re scared of him. he’s afraid to know the answer to that question.

you walk over to him, reaching up to caress his cheek, smudging the red splatters on his skin, the gentlest of smiles on your face as if you hadn’t just witnessed him standing over your dead ex with a bat, as if you hadn’t just stepped over a bloodied corpse, as if you just happened upon something completely normal. there’s a familiar glint in your eyes as you stare into his, and then you press your lips to his before throwing your arms round his neck.

“why would i be? i’m so lucky to have you. you’re one in a billion to me, darling.”

he blinks once, twice in disbelief. “r-really?”

you jump up and down eagerly, your tone extremely enthusiastic. "i’ve always dreamed of someone proving their love by killing for me! don’t you think that’s so romantic?” you sigh dreamily in satisfaction. “that’s the biggest form of love, wouldn’t you think so?”

huh...?

“and you did this because i told you about how cruel they were to me, right? and you did the same to all my exes, right?” you barrage him with questions, and he gives a slow nod to all of them, still processing what you’ve said. “you’re absolutely my dream, baby! you love me so much to even commit murder for me, to even risk being taken away from me just to avenge me and my pain!” you peck him on the lips again excitedly, pulling away with a sick grin. “i love you even more now!”

niki’s ecstatic from hearing this side of you he’s never known, this abnormal dream of yours he’s somehow embodied. you actually accept him! you actually love him even after knowing all he did, all his twistedness. he beams at you proudly, showing how happy he is at your words, how happy he is that you’re staying, that those memories won’t have to disappear, that they’ll be new, better ones to be made.

you brush a lock of hair away from his face before gesturing towards the body still on the basement floor. “we should clean up and dispose of that thing quickly. wouldn’t want my darling to get caught, hm? i’d be devastated if someone as wonderful and romantic and loving as you were taken away from me because of it, you know.” you click your tongue as you make your way over to the mop and bucket, dragging it across the floor to clean up the blood nonchalantly, humming a lighthearted tune.

and that's when he knew...it wasn't a dream when he saw you at the sink yesterday morning at the crack of dawn, grinning almost too widely as you washed a knife. he sighs happily in relief, reaching for a garbage bag to stash the body in.

aren't you two just perfect for each other?

anon said: Hellooo good day. May i request a yandere riki where y/n found out about his yandere behavior so riki thought that y/n is going to leave him but y/n didn't because of the power of love(lol jk) i just thought it'll be a cute scenario lol

note: thanks for requesting, anon! i hope you like this one! i already have a disclaimer on my pinned post, but i just wanted to reiterate here: i don’t condone this behavior nor should you! it’s not romantic y’all, okay? this is just fiction and purely for entertainment. mc is really twisted in this one so oops (thought: they had so many exes cuz they were looking for someone like niki), sorry that it’s not so cute. anyway thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed this fic!! it was different from my other ones so i had fun writing it. <- my original note lol but this is also part of my publishing-drafts spree.

enhypen masterlist  |  main masterlist  |  by @sunflwryu

[darklcy]

☆ 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐧! 𝐀𝐎𝐓 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬 ☆

this has been in the drafts for a long, long time and i haven’t posted aot in a while, so enjoy :) | also i feel like some of these may be ooc but this was fun to write! just keep in mind this is how i think they’d act in a modern setting, ofc minus the war & trauma

attack on titan masterlist

𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍

skips class to vape

smokes to thundercat & nirvana

flannels flannels flannels

naturally you steal them. acts coy when you do.

“you didn’t steal it, i just let you wear it and didn’t say anything when you went home with it.”

i feel like he’d be into meditating. idk why. like someone said he should do it so now he does a quick 5-min guided meditation every morning

showers with his chain on and gets green neck

doodles on his converse and yours

writes “hi :)” on your homework, journals, notes, etc during class

has a minecraft server w jean, connie and armin

claims he’s not scared of games like outlast or silent hill but everyone knows he’s lying

ends up hiding behind you in haunted houses

LOVES DRIVE THRUS/FAST FOOD. sonic & in n out specifically

toddler sense of humor, like finds things falling over funny (y’all remember the video of the piece of bread falling over-)

doesn’t know how to work pinterest

leans over people’s shoulders to look at their phones

tried getting his cartilage pierced but it got infected

has a few tattoos on his wrists and bicep

will bite you impulsively

𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐈𝐍

you mean my bf

so this boy DOES know how to work pinterest, and has so many boards

one of them is filled w future pets he wants & another one includes house ideas with you :3

is the best language learner and knows french, spanish, and german

can’t watch gory shows like squid game or the walking dead, but enjoys psychological horrors like black swan

has a billion playlists with like 6 songs each

your playlist is titled ��lovey” bc i said so

has maybe one lobe piercing. but only one

he goes so hard to TV girl and mac demarco, but also loves singers like sza & jack stauber

LUVS SMOOTHIES

downloaded bumble only for the fun of it once but immediately deleted it when someone liked him

bounces his leg and picks his nails

best. skin. ever. has a good skin care regime

drives a silver toyota prius 

super into journaling & drawing :>

such a gentle bf, but lives for gossip

you text him, “you will NOT believe what i just heard.” and he drops everything he’s doing to respond

coffee dates!!!

you two have a stardew farm together with a dog and a bunch of chickens and cows

his favorite character is crobus

i love him very much

𝐌𝐈𝐊𝐀𝐒𝐀

hardcore alison from breakfast club vibes

secretly into girl kpop groups

but loves hardcore women, like björk & poppy

definitely owns a lot of platform shoes: has like three pairs of demonias

shaves her brows to draw them on 

loves online shopping from aliexpress & etsy

into weird chunky jewelry!! has a necklace with a heavy cat pendant & a pair of eyeball earrings

loves to do your makeup! if you don’t wear a lot daily, she’ll do something for special outings like concerts or even for fun she’ll ask you to let her do it :3

has a tiktok specifically for ootds

favorite foods include spicy ramen, mediterranean meals & ice cream

i feel like she’d be in art class! she’d draw you random portraits or cute versions of you two to put in her scrapbook

oh yeah i also feel like she’d have a scrapbook!!! and keeps a lot of mementos from your dates/hangouts

when you come over, you, her and eren play mario kart

no doubt a spiritual girly: maybe not super into spells but has a tarot deck and a few oracle decks as well as a beautiful incense burner

you two go to goth clubs cuz yeah

her lipstick gets on you all the time

dressed up as lydia deetz one year for halloween

makes rings and necklaces and gives them to you, and she debates on opening an etsy shop

— hope you enjoyed!

[poppadom0912]

Anesthesia

Characters: Kelly Severide x Reader, Matt Casey, Crockett Marcel

Warnings: Mentions of surgery.

Summary: It's incredible was anesthesia can do to a person.

A/N: Very much mixed feelings but it's also kinda cute, idk. Really short compared to what I normally do but oh well.

*****

"Everything ran smoothly, not a single complication. I'm proud to say your stitches are some of my best and with this kind man at your bedside, you'll be back to firefighting in no time." Crockett said with a smile once he checked all your vitals.

You hummed happily, a sleepy smile on your face as you mentally thanked the man, forgetting he couldn't hear your thoughts. "Your a really good surgeon Crockett."

"I try my best." The surgeon laughed, taking your compliment in his stride. "Rest up alright? I'll be back later to check on you."

Wiggling your fingers, you sighed as the surgeon left the room and looked up at your man in interest, only now remembering his existence when you felt his fingers combing through your hair. "Oh! Husband you're here!"

"Always will be." Kelly chuckled, finding it too amusing how loopy you were after your surgery. He'd definitely remember every single second and make sure it came in handy in the future. "How you feeling?"

"Like a billion dollars." You said with a cheesy smile, enjoying the comfort he was bringing you. "I have a question for you though."

"Ask ahead baby." Kelly said, entertaining you.

"I'm not a baby." You scoffed, looking at him disapprovingly. "What happened to our baby though, y'know the reason why my stomach was so fat." You said, poking your completely flat stomach in pure wonder.

"I did give birth right?" You asked, confirming that your fears weren't true. "There was no surgery for taking our baby, they can't cut into my womb, the wombs mine-"

"Y/N, who do you think is sitting in the chair opposite mine." Kelly rose a brow, stopping you mid ramble before you could get yourself riled up for no reason.

Confused, you huffed but listened and turned your head to your left and what do you know, there sitting was none other than your husbands best friend with your six month old playing with his fingers on his lap.

"You have a baby?" You asked, your eyebrows shooting all the way up. "Since when was Sylvie pregnant?!"

Struggling but somehow managing to keep in his laugh, Kelly mocked glared at Matt who snickered. "That's our baby. The baby we made and was just talking about."

"My baby!" You said with the biggest smile. "I missed you baby boy."

Your son sent you a gummy smile, easily recognising your voice. He made random but very cute gurgling sounds mixed in with his giggles which made you smile even more.

"Don't you dare hurt my baby boy Matthew Casey." You said threateningly, glaring at your friend with squinted eyes. "I know where you live, where you work, sleep, and eat."

"We do a lot of those things together Y/N." Matt said, reminding you that you worked in the same firehouse as you and he was also your roommate at the loft.

You hummed nonchalantly, waving him off. "I'll still come for you Matthew."

"Copy that." Matt smiled, eyeing the time on his watch. "I gotta go, shift starts in ten and I need to drop off this little man with your sitter."

"Thanks man." Kelly said, helping gather up your son's nappy bag. "Be good alright? Don't be trouble." Kelly looked at your son seriously, giving him a quick kiss before they left.

"Aw, I miss them already." You pouted, looking at your husband longingly opening your arms wide open. "Come cuddle me please. I miss you too."

"I've always been here Y/N, and I'm not leaving any time soon." Kelly chuckled, sitting on the bed besides your legs. "I've taken time off to nurse you back to full health, remember?"

You hummed, not fully paying attention, simply gazing adoringly at your husbands incredibly handsome face. At the lack of an answer, Kelly laughed, brushing your hair back from your face so he could see your properly.

"Alright, budge up." Kelly gave in, watching you cautiously in case you hurt yourself as you moved.

"Your a firefighter, shouldn't you be able to fit into small spaces?" You asked very seriously but made room for him anyways. You wanted a proper answer but all your got was a small shake of his head and a hearty laugh from your man.

Settling against him, you rested your head against his chest, finding extreme comfort in the steady beats of his heart. His warmth enveloped you the second he gently wrapped his arms around you.

Pressing a kiss into your hair, Kelly listened to you hum contently as you relaxed in his embrace. Even on drugs, you always felt as though you were home with Kelly.

"Love you." You mumbled into his chest, your eyelids fluttering shut, completely wiped out despite barely moving and doing anything.

"Love you too." Kelly replied, watching you doze off and the only thing he could hear was the beeps of the monitors telling him you were alive and your barely audible snores.

[adamsrcnan]

FRAGILE THREADS OF POWER WAS SO GOOD I AM ONCE AGAIN BLOWN AWAY AND READY TO SCREAM ABOUT IT

*SPOILERS BELOW*

*SPOILERS BELOW*

*SPOILERS BELOW*

*SPOILERS BELOW*

*SPOILERS BELOW*

*SPOILERS BELOW*

Firstly seeing my babies after 6 years was so emotional omg i missed them all so much !!!

Lila naming the Alucard's ship after Barron???? kill me she's a little softie inside

Kell not being able to do magic was like HELL like i felt his pain so deeply my precious gum drop :(

The montage of him learning to fight with the swords was top tier though !

Kay is a sexy bastard

Lila going to find Kell at night when he passes out in his room at the palace and crawling into bed beside him??? Top tier ship let me tell you.

Kosika while i do like her, i felt her chapters were a little bit repetitive and kinda dragged a little for me in the middle, but the ending in black london..... my god

GHOST/SPIRIT HOLLAND???? I missed my husband so much like please i'm being tortured. He's there but he's not because they say it's him but something is definitely off there too???

Also i relate heavily to kosika because i too would do whatever Holland asked me too and worship him as a saint

URM RHY AND ALUCARD BEING MARRIED??? SHUT THE FUCK UP WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE

I adore the whole dynamic between Rhy, Alucard and Nadiya i think it was so tastefully done and though i find Nadiya to be a little shady i like her whole inventor thing and i appreciate her loyalty towards her family

REN IS A PRECIOUS LITTLE CUTIE PIE

The fact that she's named Tieren and the way she adores animals and has a billion random pets, and the way she is fascinated by Lila and oblivious to any awkwardness Lila has around her. Just wonderful. Such a little sweetheart. If anything happens to her i will be banging on ms schwab's door !

Tes. I love her. I don't even know what else to say. I think she's brilliant. Her chapters were so entertaining to read. Her back story was intriguing. Her gift is so special. Her interactions with Lila were top tier and i definitely need them to work together again !

Delilah Bard. My wife!!! What can i say. She's a fucking icon. A legend. Never fails to disappoint.

"You came." "You called." URM I CANNOT BELIEVE SHE MADE LILA AND KELL DO THE THING???? SHE MADE THEM DO THE THING !!! THE WAY I SCREAMEDDD

KELL GETTING HIS MAGIC BACK !!!!!!!! HE'S BACK BABY!! I'M SO READY FOR HIM TO FUCK SHIT UP !!!

There's so much more i wanna say but like i'm trying to gather my thoughts. The book was so good. Everything i could hope for in a continuation of the series and more ! Victoria Schwab is a pure genius !!!

[rawliverandgoronspice]

Idk if this is interesting but since you brought up the French versions tu/vous situation: in German ganondorf straight up uses the royal "you" for rauru where you refer to a person with the plural pronoun and calls him your majesty and such, while rauru also uses the informal you (du) and his first name for him. Which kinda had me shocked, because in fantasy media kings usually refer to each other with the royal you! It definitely felt disrespectful. But also in the German version ganondorf says, roughly translated: "we ask to be allowed to return (to our place) under the umbrella of the kingdom hyrule, if you'd allow us this grace." So here it's implied the gerudo used to be a vessel state and freed themselves, and STILL he gives them "repeated invitations "??? It's soo off-putting

Hey, thanks for the ask and the absolutely wild input!!

So I did a post a billion years ago detailing my feelings about the french translation of the Show of Fealty scene, its tl;dr being: it's wild they decided to go for the the tu/vous distinction because it just adds 26 layers of subtext to the entire exchange --and I don't know how this works in german, but using "tu" on a fellow adult during a show of power definitively has racist history if the context does apply (and here it's pretty hard not to see colonialist accents to the whole situation).

But it's absolutely buckwild that they gave the gerudos this notion of previously being a vassal state? but like when???? when did it happen, was it all... extremely recent history? like did Zelda just dropped at the end of some sort of unification war, where Ganondorf became a hero of his people for..... very concerning reasons? Like did they need a hero *in that context*?

(cue I need a hero etc my brain will now be haunted for the next day or so)

Like... I don't know I'm sorry if I go a bit insane, but I feel like the implication is either that Hyrule was founded in 10-15 years, given Sonia still looks pretty damn young, mid-thirties at most; or that Rauru/Mineru were trying to handle everything for far longer, and Sonia was a late addition to the picture? And so, in that time, they managed to convince everyone to do a kingdom about it --and that would mean the gerudos had time to either join first/be conquered first, and then revolt, and then join again? Like was Ganondorf forced to submit a first time as a younger king, and then return later with a Molduga army, zero-ing in on the Secret Stones, and then going all Demon King???

Yeah, from what I've seen from literal translations, that seems to be a german exclusive (unless I'm mistaken? let me know!) But it's pretty wild how such small changes in translation literally change the game's fabric and the story it tells.

[edosianorchids901]

Where You Go, I Go

@flashfictionfridayofficial prompt - "a fool's quest"

On some level, Crowley was always waiting for Aziraphale to contact him. It might be months, years, or even decades between their encounters, but that didn’t matter. While he went about his job and exploring Earth and trying new forms of alcohol, he still waited.

The instant he got the message this time, he happily dropped his boring assignment to inspire gambling and rushed off to meet Aziraphale at a little tavern on the outskirts of Florence. It was a decent tavern, with good wine, but not nearly as high class as Aziraphale’s usual choice of establishment. That alone made Crowley curious.

He got even more curious when he spotted Aziraphale. The angel seemed to be in disguise. Still his usual colors, mostly beige of various shades and a bit of blue. But it wasn’t nearly as fancy as his usual outfits.

“What’s this about?” Crowley asked as he approached. “You look like you’ve gotten a role in a play as a… a… wealthy farmer?”

“Shh! No one can know that I’m not a farmer.” Aziraphale looked around, and Crowley shook his head. “I’m undercover.”

It was all Crowley could do not to laugh as he sat down. He put on his best serious expression and sniffed the wine. It was an expensive vintage, at least for this part of town. “Really?”

“Mhm. Quite successfully so far, although I’m afraid I did have to use a few teensy-weensy little miracles to convince people that I wasn’t a French spy.”

“Shoulda just tried speaking French at them,” Crowley said in his most serious tone. “That definitely woulda convinced them.”

Aziraphale pouted at him. “Crowley, you’re very rude.”

“Yup.” After a gulp of the wine, Crowley lifted an eyebrow. “So. I’m guessing you’re not here on one of your language learning kicks.” Aziraphale cycled through those every few centuries, although he had a fondness for various versions of French. He was terrible at it, and at every language he tried to learn the hard way. “What’re you up to?”

“Well. Do you remember that book I talked about?”

Crowley stared at him. Aziraphale didn’t seem to understand why he was staring. “No. Can’t say I remember one specific book out of the sea of them.”

“Oh. I suppose there is that.” Widening his eyes theatrically, Aziraphale learned forward. “Everyone said it was a fool’s quest, but I’ve found it.”

“It?”

Aziraphale went off on an extended ramble that ranged from Rome to Constantinople to Baghdad, and finally to Florence. Crowley listened, trying not to be impatient. He always enjoyed being with Aziraphale, even if it involved listening to an incredibly boring story about a book being copied about a million times.

But when Aziraphale detoured onto talking about book binding, Crowley finally intervened. “Angel. What does this have to do with you pretending to be a farmer?”

“Oh! I suppose I should explain.” Aziraphale chuckled, glanced around surreptitiously again, and spread his hands wide. “I’ve tracked down what, as far as I can tell, is the last copy of the book. I remember reading a few of the stories when they were being written, and they were wonderful. But I thought they’d all been destroyed at one point or another.”

“Uh-huh.” Crowley still wasn’t getting it. Then it clicked. “Ohh, hang on. Does the book happen to be in the private collection of some guy or other who own farms?”

Aziraphale beamed at him. “Yes! Isn’t it clever?”

Crowley never thought Aziraphale was foolish for his quests to find books that seemed to have all been destroyed. Copies of stuff turned up all the time. This, though? This was foolish.

“I can think of about a billion ways it could go wrong,” he said, unimpressed.

“Goodness, yes. I can too.” The bright smile on Aziraphale’s face never failed, which was incredibly suspicious. “But I know a way we can avoid that!”

“What?” Crowley barely got the word out before it clicked. “Wait, no. Nonono, I am not joining you on your bloody quest to pretend to be a farmer so you can steal a book from someone. That’s ridiculous, Aziraphale, even for you.”

“I wouldn’t be stealing the book! You would.” Aziraphale pouted at him, eyes big and pleading. “And you wouldn’t be pretending to be a farmer, obviously. You’d have to a member of the household staff or something.”

“No.”

The pout intensified. “Please?”

And there it was. Just as Crowley was always waiting for Aziraphale, he was always waiting for that, too. A chance to help. To be needed.

He sighed, resigned, and Aziraphale clapped his hands with delight. “Oh, good. I knew you’d agree. It’ll be awfully fun.”

Crowley highly doubted that it would be particularly fun. Heists were a lot less fun to do than they were to hear about in stories, since actually doing it involved the possibility of being stabbed or something. But it did involve spending a lot of time with Aziraphale, and that made it worthwhile.

[yelshin]

SAVING WHO? I ONLY KNOW SPENDING | MLIST | ♡

﹙SCARAMOUCHE/WANDERER X FEM READER﹚

An: lets all take a break from Xiao and Scaramouche's bs AND FOCUS ON SPOILING THIS SPOILED KITTEN. also i didn't add the pics since i dont think its necessary anymr and yes this is still Adopting Meowmouche fic

Tw: none

"[Name] i sent some money on your bank account, since you deserved it very much my dear; u can spend it on whatever you like" Your heard your mother speak through the phone and you have mixed feelings about what she said; concerned and happiness.

"but Mother i already have my own money.. you should save up for yourself too yknow.." your mother chuckled and said "we both know that your mother dont know what is the word saving up!" You laughed with her on the phone, you agree with her because when you met Kuni you immediately showered him gifts and even affection!

"mother i think i know where i got this genes coming from" you giggled while looking down at your sleeping kitten at your lap "Mhm definitely not coming from me" you let out few laughs before saying your goodbye to your mother and wishing her to take care as always and hung up

"Now where should we start first.."

1. First things first you head to the store to buy 2 sack of cat food; wondering how will you carry it to your cart with Kuni inside your bag while watching you struggle to lift up a heavy sack 'this is harder than i thought..' you gathered up your strength and successfully carried the sack and put it on your cart, tho you wanna bring another one but you decided to buy one for now.

2. "Do you want that?" You asked Kuni while he keeps staring at the cat bed and it looks REALLY fluffy. He look at you with THOSE big doe eyes which you can't resist; he knew your weakness. He can basically just stare at you and viola! He gets whatever he wanted. You chuckled before petting him "alright well lets see the price-..." You went silent as you check the tag price, sweating drop you look at Kuni while he keep looking at you with those eyes (new west fr/j) "We promised that our budget will be only 1k but... Scrap it! Im buying this." You added the soft and fluffy cat bed in the cart and move on forward.

3. "You already have a cat tree at your rook but It looks boring... Should we buy this?" You point at the very looking expensive cat tree that have some cat toys inside it, Kuni meowed and look around before meowing again. You didn't understand him but you'll just take it as a yes "does this thing even fit in the car..?" You asked yourself and ended up adding it to your mountain cart full of everything that Kuni needs.

4. Just as you we're about to go to the counter you decided to buy Kuni some cat clothes. Now you're filling up your phone with billions of picture of him wearing a different cat clothes while squealing like a high school girl ignoring the weird looks that people gave you "OMG YOU ARE SO CUTE ON THIS!" lets be honest you devoured the whole cat clothing section..

Once you two got home you immediately placed everything on its place, and cook dinner for yourself and make a special food for Kuni. While cooking you heard your phone rang you stopped from cooking and picked up the phone

"hello who's this?"

"[Name] its me Ayaka.. do you have any spare cat toys because Thoma decided to keep a cat too so i was wondering if i could borrow those?"

"ofc! I could send the toys for you tomorrow, also i think you and Thoma should visit the house along with the new Cat he keep in" Ayaka hummed and you could feel her nod "Sure! But its only Thoma coming though because me and my brother have other plans tomorrow" You smiled while using your shoulder to hold the phone while cooking "Alright! Sounds great, stay safe Ayaka and tell Ayato and Thoma i said hi to them!"

"thank you [Name] and yes i will! Stay safe too!" She hang up and you almost drop your phone when you loosen up your shoulder but thank god you have Spiderman reflexes and you immediately catch it

"Kuni its time for dinner!" You called out, seeing no cat appearing or meowing "Kuni?" You start to look everywhere in the living room only to find him sitting on top of the the robot cleaner while the robot cleans the floor.

You chuckled before grabbing your phone and took a picture of him "C'mon lets go eat and after dinner you can sit on top of the cleaner again!" You smiled at him and the whole night you two spent watching movies while eating the delicious dinner you made.

An: definitely did not cancelled the househusband fic i was abt to publish just to write this.. hahahaha...aha feel free to comment below/send ask if you wanted to be added on this fic taglist!

Bold ones: cant tag/user cant tag

Taglist: @thetwinkims @sunsethw4 @etherisy @kunikuzushicandegrademefr @Heiijoxz , @eliciana @naritecs @kkazuyass @itztaki @makilovescofi @louise-rosita-leroux @w9vyy @lystaaa @midoriapologist @lilithticalx @red-chester @yushiu @raideneiari @scaraapologist @kxr0mi @sakiimeo @shizunxie @yanfeimainn @just-simping-over-genshin @thenightsflower @eunchaeluvr @ohmyfinggod

[kandisheek]

FIC REC WEEK 6 - SMUT

rough enough for love by silkspectred

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: E Words: 14,562 Tags: Age Difference, Supersoldier Serum, Established Relationship

Summary: The first time they had sex was right after their first kiss. Steve dropped to his knees and then Tony reciprocated after making Steve lie down on the bed. The second time it was Steve that initiated it, slow handjobs under the hot spray of the shower, and Tony looked surprised by it. Like it was weird that Steve wanted it. Wanted him.

Reasons why I love it: I can't even explain how much I love this fic. There are so many things about it – like the sheer fact how much Steve loves Tony and how he is so turned on by him, how they actually TALK about their feelings instead of bottling them up, the sex marathons, the trust – I could go on. Check this one out if you haven't already, I promise you won't regret it!

Before It's Time for Sunny-Down by Annie D (scaramouche)

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: E Words: 1,721 Tags: Slice of Life, Established Relationship, Masturbation

Summary: Tony and Steve spend a lazy Sunday afternoon together in the tower.

Reasons why I love it: This is one of my comfort fics. It's so soft and sweet and hot in a really understated way. Tony and Steve are so comfortable with each other, and seeing this quiet moment between them just sparks so much imagination about what their relationship might be like. It's lovely stuff. Definitely check this one out, you'll love it!

love the sin, love the sinner by silkspectred

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: E Words: 10,585 Tags: Lack of Communication, Realistic Sex, Angst with a Happy Ending

Summary: It keeps happening. Not often, just once or twice a month, but it keeps happening. Always in the same way: it’s unplanned, sudden, unexpected, Steve is surprised and eager, his dick goes from zero to one hundred in two seconds, Tony’s touch is electric, everything he does drives Steve crazy, but he never lets Steve kiss him, he very rarely looks Steve in the eye, he never talks, never makes a sound when he comes, never mentions it later.

Reasons why I love it: Oh Tony, you insecure little bean. The miscommunication is handled really well here, and I love how Tony opens up once it becomes clear that there's been a mistake in his understanding of what's going on. Watching it all from Steve's PoV makes it even better. I love this one to bits, and I bet you will too!

Not That I'm Complaining by scribblywobblytimeylimey

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: E Words: 3,247 Tags: Spontaneous Blowjob, Post-Mission, Cockblocking Aliens

Summary: The next time they save the world, Steve sucks Tony off against the wall without a word of explanation. Tony’s pretty okay with it.

Reasons why I love it: Jesus Christ, this one is so hot. How the hell the author managed to make this not only one of the most scorching smut fics I've ever read but to also pivor to humor in the middle and towards the end as well, I'll never know. This fic is the best thing since sliced bread, and you can't change my mind.

In Exchange by Del_Rion

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: E Words: 12,532 Tags: Point System, Sexual Favors, Sex Toys

Summary: It all began with an off-hand remark, and there shouldn’t have been any cause for it to escalate… until Tony keeps finding himself indebted to Steve – and Steve enjoys collecting his dues.

Reasons why I love it: If I had a choice, I would want to read a billion words in this universe. It's just so perfect, the way they fall into their arrangement, how Steve actually manages to shock Tony by calling him on his bluff, and all the subsequent hotness that follows. This fic is so fucking good, so please do yourself a favor and go read it!

[alteon77]

Updated Masterlist of Writing and Art

About the writer/artist: I like to write and paint. My current obsession is Sandman, but I enjoy most fantasy fandoms as well as anime (I think I’m on season seven billion of One Piece right now 🤣). I'm also weird as they come (and awkward, too), so just please ignore my oddball (coughTERRIBLEcough) sense of humor.

On a more personal note, I have PTSD and suffer from severe manic depressive episodes. Writing and art are my most familiar coping mechanisms, and I need them like I need oxygen. Seriously, there were times in my life that knowing I had to finish a story or a piece of art was the only thing stopping me from ending up dead. So, I don't take part in fandom drama. Having my peace and protecting my mental health are very big deals to me, and I won't risk those for anything if I can help it.

As for my writing, it ranges from short one-shots to ridiculously long novel series. I use third person POV (on longer series) as well as second person (on shorter things). I also try to always exclude physical descriptions when writing main character OCs and assign them nicknames to avoid using Y/N. I love to read Y/N fics, but writing them makes me feel like I'm at work. And who actually wants to ever feel like they're at work when they're engaging in a hobby? Definitely not me.

Lastly, there's usually more stuff on my AO3 page than I have listed here, because I forget to post it pretty often. Oops. I'll get around to moving it all over one day. Probably. Maybe.

Feel free to leave an ask if you want or just drop by my DMs. <3

Artwork links are at the bottom of this list, so if you're here for those, that's where they are.

Sandman 'Verse

All the Precious and Fragile Things (so easily do they break)

After banishing his lover from the Dreaming for her betrayal, Morpheus learns that she is pregnant with his child.

And that she’s been captured by a revenge-seeking Alexander Burgess.

What the both of them are unaware of is that this will set in motion a cascade of unfavorable events, causing a chain reaction that threatens the whole of existence itself.

PART I: All of This Past

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

PART II: These Tender, Loving Mercies

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

PART III: When It All Falls Down

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

PART IV: The Dark of War

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Epilogue

Sometimes He's Sweet

Morpheus hates the holidays.

As excited as she seems to experience the mortal holiday, he's… less so. Much less so. With the entire collective unconscious contained within him, this time of year can be wholly overwhelming, a miasma of too much red and green, too much worry, too much loneliness, too much excitement, too many similarly themed dreams, too many similarly themed nightmares, and far far too many holiday songs. It all bleeds out from the collective unconscious into his own mind, sticks there like weeping sap to a tree until he feels half-mad with the unrelenting presence of it, with his inability to get free from its cloying trespass upon his very being.

This is just a little sweet fluff for the holiday season. It takes place between chapters 19 and 20 of "All the Precious and Fragile Things". No spoilers here if you've read that far!

The Dog Debacle (or how best to sneak a dragon into the dreaming)

Morpheus' daughter gets a new dog.

Well..... kind of.

That Familiar Feeling of Family (or how Hob Gadling ended up as an uncle to his stranger's oftentimes feral children)

It's a pretty universally known thing that families are just strange. As Hob is quickly figuring out, however, this little fact is magnified by AT LEAST a billion when the family in question is Endless.

(A lighthearted story in which Hob Gadling finds out his stranger has married, makes friends with a homicidal maniac/ruler, and manages to become an exemplary uncle to a pack of magically mischievous children. Really, now all he has to do is convince everyone to stop calling his and Dream's weekly meetups "playdates", and then his life would be practically perfect.)

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

The Maker, the Muse, and the Sundered Song

In his temple, what remains of Orpheus waits in trepidation. Something is changing. Something that he knows might alter the very fabric of the world as he understands it.

Finally freed from captivity, Calliope struggles to make any meaningful changes to the laws that saw her bound and taken in the first place. When the strange woman appears on Mount Parnassus and offers help, Calliope knows she would be a fool not to accept it. Even if she thinks that she's being lied to.

Meanwhile in the peace of the Dreaming, Morpheus grapples with guilt over his son's fate. As he basks in the love of his new children, he can't help but to regret his own failings where Orpheus is concerned.

And as for May, she's really just got a job to do. And her own traumatic issues to deal with. And if it's all hella awkward because she's having to work alongside her husband's ex-wife, she'll see it done anyway. There's even the small possibility that she might eventually admit to Calliope the truth about her identity. That is if she can ever actually work up the courage to say it aloud.

Chapter 1

Nothing in This Closet but Boots and a Boy

Morpheus is wildly protective of his daughter.

That's probably bad for the boy in said daughter's closet.

AU's and Other Stuff in the Sandman 'Verse

Of Exes, Hellhounds, and Waffle Fries

Morpheus shows up to rescue the woman he probably loves (though he won't admit it) from hellhounds and ends up getting roped into helping with her family. This is one of those extras that doesn't fit into the main story, but it's fun, so I'm posting it.

The Bizarre Breeding Habits of Anthropomorphic Personifications

It's a tale as old as time.

Two idiots fall in love. Two idiots fall out of love.

Neither one of them is expecting a baby to come along and derail their unhappily ever after.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Original Fanart

I like to play around with different styles and to try new things with my artwork. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. I'm still learning, and I am so far from being a professional that it's laughable. But I only post things that I think look decent or that I think others might enjoy.

The Lover's Argument (Morpheus x oc)

Oneiros (Morpheus in Grecian garb)

Because I could not stop for Death, she kindly stopped for me... (Regency era Dream and Death)

[simpsandships]

A Prank gone wrong? [Sasuke x Naruto]

The Hokage's Office

"The war had finally ended and the ending consequences, you two lose an arm each! Well, the chakra from nine-tails made it easier to heal Naruto, but Sasuke's arm is still not fully healed, but with how his injuries are, I'd say he'll be just fine. So, now that Sasuke is getting discharged, it is your responsibility to share your apartment with him, do you hear me Naruto?" said Lady Tsunade, in a serious voice.

"But baa-chan, can't he go back to his own house, to the Uchiha quarters?" Naruto had asked her, not actually hating the idea of Sasuke living with him for a few days.

"You dobe." This time it was Sasuke who cut him off, "First, the villagers don't trust me yet, and the way these elders have acted all these years only ever caring about their own selves, do you actually believe they'd be okay with the idea of a death-row convict like me going back to the Uchiha compound?"

"But why wouldn't they!!?" that really angered Naruto. Sasuke too, was a war hero after all, and without him by his side, he wouldn't have been able to wake those people up from the infinite dream. "Sasuke saved them, he saved all of them, all the villages and all the people!"

"Sadly, that's not how it works. Well, either way, I can ask the elders to drop all the charges against Sasuke but the living-arrangement needs to be taken care of by you. People trust you more than anyone and if you trust Sasuke blindly to let him stay with you, the people will start trusting him too, and then the elders won't have any other option but to acknowledge him and drop all his charges." Lady Tsunade explained.

Naruto finally understood the strategy to make people trust Sasuke again, "What an amazing idea! No wonder you are the hokage!!"

"It's pretty astonishing that a gambler like you managed to come up with a plan like that." Sasuke added, pretty impressed.

"Actually, it was Shikamaru's idea." Shizune interrupted, "that boy sure is a genius!"

"I know right! Shikamaru's awesome!" Naruto giggled, remembering how he always came up with the best of ideas when they were in a pickle.

Something shifted inside Sasuke. His stomach flipped and he felt a small lump in his throat. Somehow, he didn't like it when Naruto was praising someone else. Although he knew that Shikamaru might have had a thing for the blonde from the village of Sand, but still.

"Okay, since we're all clear about everything, Naruto, let's go back."

"Huh? Go where?"

"To your apartment, of course."

"Wait, we're staying in my apartment? Like I get it that we need to stay together, but my apartment is way too small for the two of us."

"We'll manage."

And with that Sasuke pulled on Naruto's collar as he dragged him out of the room.

'Ah, young love ~' both Lady Tsunade and Shizune smiled.

...

"Baa-chan is very nice, you know. Although she can be so serious sometimes, ya know!" Naruto said, as the two boys jumped over the roofs heading towards Naruto's apartment. But then he slowly took a glimpse of Sasuke's face from the corner of his eyes.

Sasuke's expression seemed neutral, just as usual but his hair had gotten longer, hadn't it? And Sasuke's height had also increased, and Naruto definitely couldn't deny that he had surely gotten a lot more handsome than what he was when they were still academy-graduates. But this time, Naruto was also popular among the girls, so, he wasn't actually losing.

But Sasuke might have caught Naruto staring, that he turned to look at Naruto's face and smirked, "What, don't tell me you've fallen for this face too? ~"

A major blush rose to his face as Naruto yelled, "As if teme! Just who do you think you are!? I would never...!!"

Sasuke was definitely enjoying it, he mimicked Naruto in his voice, "Come back Sasuke ~ I'll die with you Sasuke ~ You can't leave me Sasuke ~ These were the things you probably said a billion times till now, and what else was there? Oh yeah, be mine Sasuke, give yourself to me ~~ " he teased.

The little blush that had occupied Naruto's face intensified and now his entire face was red. He was blushing immensely and his pulse rate had probably increased. "H-Hey!! I never said the last part!! Just stop messing around!!"

"Oh, and not to mention, I was your first kiss, oh, and your second too. But honestly, the I'll die with you Sasuke part was really something else ~" Sasuke had no intention to stop his teasing. Plus, he was seeing a different side of Naruto now. Usually, Naruto was this loudmouth who went on talking confidently even about stuff he was wrong about, but this Naruto who was blushing like that, sure was cute. Wait........cute?

Naruto had had enough, his heart hurt because of his fastened heartbeats. He immediately jumped towards Sasuke, trying to grab him and cover his mouth to stop him from saying anything more, but Sasuke got hold of both his hands. "Not that easy."

"Let go of me bastard! I won't let you say any other weird stuff!" Naruto yelled, still flustered. But Sasuke had caught hold of both his arms so there was no way of shutting him off.

"Honestly Naruto, I get that you were obsessed with me, but I thought you saw me as a friend, who would've thought ~"

Okay, that's it. Sasuke definitely had the upper hand and he was saying all that just to rile him up. But Naruto wasn't going to lose either. If he can't use his hands, then there's just one way left to shut him up. Although... that would be... but who cares!? Naruto couldn't lose!

[Author here - Any of you guessed what 'other way' Naruto was thinking about to shut Sasuke up? ^^]

"I mean, I understand I'm quite a looker so, it was justifiable for those fangirls" Sasuke kept continuing, "but you are a totally different story ~ The war hero lusting over the guy who almost destroy - " Sasuke's words faded and his eyes widened as he felt a pair of soft lips crashing into his own.

Naruto had inched closer to him and had pushed his lips onto Sasuke. It wasn't anything like the previous two kisses they had shared. And it was Sasuke's turn to get flustered.

But the kiss did more than that. Sasuke's face had gotten redder that's for sure, but the longer the kiss went on, his knees felt weaker. His heartbeat rose and temperature increased. Just how the hell did he know how to kiss like that!!!? Sasuke could feel Naruto lips licking his own, gently nibbling on his lower lip, waiting for an entrance. Sasuke's mind short-circuited. He could feel the intensity of the kiss and that send shivers down his spine. Was that longing? Whatever it was, Sasuke was completely absorbed in it. Although, he knew all too well that Naruto had only kissed him to shut him off, but as the thought of Naruto doing this just for winning a situation send an excruciating pain through Sasuke's heart. Wait, did he want Naruto to kiss him in real? And as if unable to handle that, Sasuke kissed back.

He parted his lips, just enough for Naruto to slip in his tongue and explore the insides of Sasuke's mouth, as he released Naruto's hand and sending his arms around his neck, pulled him closer. Seeing that as a sign maybe, Naruto too, wrap Their bodies crashing, and their mouths moving in a perfect sync. The innocent-at-heart kiss had slowly turned passionate with 'want' written all over it. Naruto had definitely initiated the kiss to shut him off, but seeing Sasuke actually get into it, sent Naruto into a frenzy. His heart burned and heat travelled to places he hadn't had expected. He was kissing Sasuke and he wanted more.

Sasuke too was getting hard. Their tongues danced in perfect harmony as they grinded against each other, through their cloths until,

"mm ~" Naruto moaned, when Sasuke had accidently rubbed his knee against Naruto's @-@, that they momentarily separated from the kiss.

Their faces flustered and both huffing for air, they had the words, 'need' and 'desire' written all over their faces. What they had experienced now was something they'd never experienced before, never even imagined it. One joke. Just one joke and they were already a mess.

Now, Sasuke had never been one to be in awkward situations or instances where he wasn't in control. And with how the kiss with Naruto had felt, only he knew the extent to which things could go wrong in so many ways. And there was no way he was willing to risk that. Naruto had saved him from an eternity of loneliness and he wasn't going to lose all of that for some stupid prank Naruto pulled, that majorly went wrong.

Although, it didn't look like Naruto hated it. His face was coloured red and his lips parted slightly, it was clearly evident that he wanted more too.

Sasuke was the more mature one, he couldn't have let things go further south, he had to do something. He had to... But the face Naruto was making then was...

"So.. irresistible" Sasuke murmured, and immediately bit his cheeks. And within seconds, before Naruto could even comprehend it, Sasuke activated his rinnegan.

"S-Sorry Naruto... but this, never happened."

"Wha..." Naruto immediately shut his eyes, being affected by whatever Sasuke did and began to lose balance.

But Sasuke caught him and waited for him to stand back up.

Slowly, Naruto gained his composure back and looked up at Sasuke, "teme? What happened?" he asked confused, gaining his balance back. "Feels like I passed out? Are you okay though, huh, your face, it's red!? Are you okay?" he brought his face near Sasuke's once again, genuinely worried.

'Too close, idiot' Sasuke thought and put a palm against Naruto's face. "Nothing usuratonkachi! Let's go to your apartment already. I'm tired."

Naruto pouted, whining, "So mean!!"

But they both resumed their walk towards Naruto's apartment. And they would've made it inside the house as well, if only Shikamaru wasn't standing just outside Naruto's door.

"Well, took you guys a while. Looks like Tsunade-sama gave you the details already. You guys will be living here from now on, right?"

"Ne Shikamaru! How did you know, we would choose this place to stay? We could have refused the offer." Naruto asked, excited.

Shikamaru just looked at Sasuke and smirked, "How I wonder ~"

Sasuke flinched but looked in a completely different direction.

"But that aside, you're coming with me, Naruto! Back to that study, you need to finish 6 more scrolls today!"

"Whoaaaa...... no way!"

"You'll get plenty of time to be with Sasuke but only after you finish your work! Move your ass, Naruto!"

"Uhh fine!" Naruto yelled, obviously not happy to be separated from Sasuke. But he had to do what he had to do, right? "Ne Sasuke, you'll be okay without me here, right?"

"You're 100 years too early to be worrying about me, usuratonkachi." Sasuke said that, but his face had gotten gloomier that Naruto was going.

Naruto smiled at that and waved him a 'bye-bye' "See ya later, teme!"

...

Sasuke had holed up in his room (Naruto's bedroom, since there was only one bedroom in Naruto's apartment) and clenched his fists, "Making you forget that... was the only thing I could do. Honestly Naruto... you're an idiot... " 

[If you liked it, then here's a link to 7 more oneshots]

see ya later - Ciao ^^

[autisticlancemcclain]

Allura clutches the receiver in her hand, looking at it desperately. Her grip is so tight her knuckles are bloodless. 

Things are not looking good. 

“We’re not even close,” she says miserably. 

Pidge peers over her shoulder, taking in the number, and – hey. 

“It’s not that bad,” she argues. “We’re halfway there!”

“We’ve only got one act left,” Hunk reminds her quietly. Any and all hope shrivels up and dies in Pidge’s chest. 

“Oh. Right.”

It’s so stupid. The whole thing, all of it. The Coalition – it had been doing so well. They’d been getting signatures left and right, planet after planet promising their aid. But at some point, somewhere between Keith leaving and the start of the Coalition Show, they’d hit a sort of… plateau. Suddenly, they stopped expanding. They were still getting distress calls, still making treaties and agreements, but for the type of missions they were planning, the level of reinforcement they needed… it was nowhere near enough. They were even having some planets turn them away – send them a distress signal, accept their help, then refuse to join the Coalition. And it was their right to refuse, sure. Voltron would never force anyone to join them. But it definitely felt like they were getting used, and for the life of them they couldn’t figure out why.

Answers came by way of what was basically an intergalactic e-mail. Apparently, thousands of different planets and governments had gotten to talking, and had come to the ever so wonderful conclusion that they wouldn’t join the Coalition unless they saw ‘more support’. Allura – and the rest of them – had been a great mix of horrified, angry, and confused. What the hell did they mean, ‘more support’? More civilian support? More vocal support? More financial support?

The consensus had been a mix of all three. The planets on the fence had decided that if Voltron could prove that they had overwhelming, vocal support from civilians and other governments alike, then the unsure planets would join, and wholehearted support in the fight against Zarkon’s Empire. 

The proof of support in question?

A sum of donations, from anyone in support of the cause, of at least three billion goddamn GAC. Three motherfucking billion. Nine fucking zeros. 

They’d been mostly out of ideas. How the fresh fuck were they supposed to procure that kind of money? Begging could only get so far – they’d completely forgone any kind of dignity – and they didn’t want to financially cripple any planets already on the Coalition. That wasn’t fair, or even really possible. 

It had been Coran who had come up with the idea. (Although he looked uncomfortable any time someone congratulated him for it. As if he thought he didn’t deserve the credit. It was strange, and usually something Pidge would investigate, but she didn’t have anything close to the time to investigate it, so she dropped it.) What if they were to host a special version of the Coalition Show, like those fundraisers on Earth? A larger scale than any of the others, featuring acts not just from Voltron themselves, but many of their allies. A live show, broadcasted to every civilian and anyone else, really, willing to watch, on any planet that could receive the signal, whether their planet was in the Coalition or not. 

Billions of potential viewers. Enough that if each one gave even one GAC, they’d meet their goal several times over. They’d poured weeks of energy into organising this, preparing and training and coming up with original ideas.

And here they are now, falling short. One act left in the show, one and a half billion GAC left to go. They’ll never make it. 

No wonder Allura looks so upset. 

“I think… I have an idea,” Lance says, lip between his teeth and eyes trained on the number displaying their giant failure. 

Shiro shakes his head. “We appreciate it, Lance, really, but there’s no way you could come up with an idea this late in the game. It’s… well, we’re going to have to take what we can get. Just finish your act as planned, and we’ll figure something out tomorrow, okay?”

As much as Pidge hates it, she has to agree. No one could raise over one and a half billion fucking GAC in a four-minute act. She knows Lance comes up with a million plans a minute, and a lot of them have saved their asses at the last minute, but this? This is too much. A quick glance around the room tells her that she’s not the only one who feels this way. If she had to pick one word to describe the look on everyone’s face, she’d pick defeated. 

If anything, though, everyone’s hopelessness only seems to further Lance’s determination. 

“No,” he says, eyes hard. “I need you guys to trust me. Really. I have ten minutes until my act starts. I’m gonna – I’ve gotta make a couple quick changes. Trust me.”

Lance doesn’t wait for approval before striding out of the room. 

“Lance –” Shiro starts, half standing to go after him, but Allura’s hand on his arm stops him. 

“Don’t bother,” she says tiredly. “There’s nothing he can do, but there’s no point in crushing him now. It will do nothing to help him.”

Shiro sighs, hunching over. “Yeah, good point. It’s just – if he really thinks he can fix it, it’s going to hurt him that much more when he can’t.”

“There’s nothing more we can do now,” Hunk says, speaking up for the first time since he pointed out the problem to Pidge in the first place. “Let’s just go sit down and watch Lance. We’ll pretend everything’s fine, we might even enjoy it. He’s a good dancer, anyway.”

“And he does bring in the largest chunk of our viewers,” Allura points out. “We won’t reach our goal, but he’ll certainly bring us closer.”

That’s true. It’s a silver lining, at least. 

“Maybe Lance’s big plan is to switch to pole dancing. That’ll get his viewers to break out their wallets,” she jokes. It falls a little flat, but at least it makes everyone crack a half-smile. Lance’s devoted fans are… something, all right. Pidge has read the comments on some of Lance’s videos, and they are genuinely the horniest thing she’s ever seen. If Lance wasn’t who he was as a person – that is, someone who thrives in the limelight – she’d be shocked that he’d ever leave the castle, let alone tease and flirt with his fans at every opportunity. 

She once saw a picture of a fan who’d gotten Lance’s face tattooed on their person. Lance’s face. On their body. For permanent. (Personally, Pidge thinks that is insane behaviour. Whatever floats their boat, though. Lance seemed to get a kick out of it. He’d retweeted it on Space Twitter. It had gone pretty insanely viral.)

As they take their seats in the front row, getting as comfortable as they can for Lance’s performance, Pidge notices something off. 

“Hey, where are Lance’s silks?”

Hunk notices something next, squinting at the corners of the stage. “And why are the microphone speakers on?”

“What on Earth is this kid’s plan?” Shiro mutters. 

Allura shrugs, eyes still glued onto the receiver, watching the numbers start to pick up in anticipation of Lance’s performance. 

Still too slowly, though.

“Doesn’t matter,” she says quietly. 

...Right. 

They sit in silence for the next few minutes, any jovial mood built up completely dashed to pieces. Lance will get them closer, sure, but they’ll never get the support of those planets. 

Two minutes to Lance’s performance, Coran rushes over, elbowing his way through various rabid fans to get to his seat. He looks strangely excited, even for him. He knows they’ve failed. Why is he so ecstatic?

“Why such sad expressions?” he asks, as soon as he’s seated. 

“Why aren’t you sad?” Pidge questions. “We bombed, man. There’s nothing Lance can do to make up –” she peeks over Allura’s shoulder for the number – “one point three billion dollars. Not in the four minutes he has.”

Coran smiles at her, eyes twinkling. “I think you’d be surprised.”

“Hey, everyone.” Lance’s voice stops any further conversation, the very sound of it sending the audience absolutely feral. People are outright screaming their heads off, and Pidge is sure she hears a marriage proposal or two shouted in the mix. 

“It’s good to see you guys too,” Lance chuckles, tuning his guitar. 

Wait a minute. Tuning his guitar?

“Why isn’t Lance dancing?” Pidge yells over the insane amount of cheering. Hunk only shrugs. 

“No clue,” he shouts back. 

“I’ve got a little change of plans for y’all, if you want to listen up,” he says, and the speed at which the audience goes completely, pin-drop silent is astounding. 

“Now, I know you guys came here to see me dance, and I can still dance if you think this will be terrible,” he says, and the audience laughs, shaking their heads and yelling encouragements. Lance has got them intrigued – there’s not a chance they’ll turn him away now. Hell, Pidge can’t wait to see what he’ll do next.

Allura gasps. 

“What?”

“The – the numbers,” she stammers, “they’re skyrocketing. And he hasn’t even started yet!”

Pidge peers over her shoulder, and her jaw drops. They’ve already cleared half a billion donations. Half a fucking billion. They’re two-thirds to they’re goal, now, and Lance has only been on the stage for thirty seconds. 

Pidge feels dangerous stirrings of hope erupt in her chest, along with a snake of guilt. 

Will Lance really do the impossible, raise them a billion and a half dollars by himself?

…And did each member of the team really dismiss any possibility that he could?

“You see,” Lance continues, tearing Pidge’s eyes away from the receiver, “I got my heart broken a little while ago. And as much as I love to dance, I need to get this feeling off my chest before it eats me alive, so I wrote a little song. That okay with y’all?”

The audience goes fucking apeshit. Not only is the idea of Lance singing and playing for them admittedly pretty exciting, but the idea that Lance – Loverboy Lance – had his heart broken? By whom? Who is the mysterious person who didn’t want Lance?

It’s an ingenious marketing strategy, Pidge will give him that. She wonders if it’s true, if he really did write a song about heartbreak. 

She glances at Allura, who is staring resolutely at the receiver, and then exchanges a look with Hunk. This might work, yeah, but yeesh. 

It’s going to be a little uncomfortable, that’s for damn certain. 

“So this is Loneliest,” Lance announces. “I hope y’all like it.”

An echoing note sounds through the speakers, and then he strums his guitar. 

You’ll be the saddest part of me

A part of me, that will never be, mine

It’s obvious

Tonight is gonna be the loneliest

His voice is crackly, upset. His brow is creased, and one hand grips the guitar tightly when it’s not moving on the frets. 

He really does look sad. 

The audience is holding its breath.

Allura still hasn’t looked up. 

You're still the oxygen I breathe

I see your face when I close my eyes

It's torturous

Tonight is gonna be the loneliest

Lance’s voice is slow and sad, accompanied by soft drums in the background and his own guitar chords before every line. The audience – seemingly without realising, as if they can’t help it – has begun to sway to the beat. Pidge is surprised to find herself swaying as well, along with everyone else. 

There's a few lines that I have wrote

In case of death, that's what I want, that's what I want

So don't be sad when I'll be gone

There's just one thing I hope you know, I loved you so

The mention of Lance’s potential death causes a visceral reaction. Everyone suddenly realises that it’s not a famous singer, up there with a guitar, but a paladin, who has his life on the line every day, and may very well be killed at any moment. 

By now, with Lance’s emotion very real and obvious in front of her, Pidge is sure Lance was telling the truth, in the beginning. These words are truly coming from a place of pain, of heartbreak. He’s written this in advance. But, like, again, from a marketing standpoint: Lance has knocked it out of the fucking park. The words remind everyone what this show is for, what they’re trying to achieve, and, well –

The counter spikes. 

“He’s doing it,” Allura breathes. Her face is a strange mix of pinched and relieved, which Pidge can understand. When this does work – and Pidge is sure now that it will – it will all be because of Lance and the heartbreak that he has likely experienced because Allura does not return his feelings. That’s… a rough place to be in, that’s for sure. 

The next part builds, each syllable hitting a new note and a new beat, climbing and climbing and building tension that has the audience at the edge of their seats. Lance’s vice is heavy with pain, enough that faint hints of his accent affect the shape of the words. 

'Cause I don't even care about the time I've got left here

The only thing I know now is that I wanna spend it

With you, with you nobody else here

Tonight is gonna be the loneliest

The beat drops, and Lance’s voice goes fucking raw.

You'll be the saddest part of me

A part of me that will never be mine

It's obvious

Tonight is gonna be the loneliest

You're still the oxygen I breathe

I see your face when I close my eyes

It's torturous

Tonight is gonna be the loneliest

There’s not a soul still sitting down, now, everyone standing up with Lance, some people even singing along. More than half of the faces that Pidge can see are wet with tears. 

“He’s done it!” Allura shouts. “We’ve reached three billion!”

“Is it still going?” Hunk asks, yelling to be heard over the noise of the audience and the heavy bass of the music. 

“Yes!”

The numbers are climbing so rapidly they’re blurring. Lance must have half the fucking people in the universe, watching and relating and weeping, each feeling the same heartbreak that any person can feel. Lance’s voice is steady and strong, and his hands are firm on his guitar, never missing a beat, but there’s – something, about his voice, that aches. 

Allura has set the receiver down, no longer worried about the numbers, but she still doesn’t look at the stage. 

I'm sorry but I gotta go

That’s what he said to me, as he let me go, he left me alone

Wait a second. He?

Allura’s head whips up to look at Lance, jaw dropped, and Lance isn’t even looking at her. His eyes are squeezed closed, and his expression looks agonised. Pidge watches, shaken, as a tear drips down his face. 

And I just keep on thinking how you made me feel better

And all the crazy little things that we did together

In the end, in the end, it doesn't matter

If tonight is gonna be the loneliest

Suddenly Pidge is thrown back to the months before they found Shiro again. She thinks of Keith struggling to lead, to stay part of a team, but the way the crease between his eyebrows smoothed when Lance spoke. How Lance would sometimes duck into the observation deck in the dead of night, eyes red, and Keith would follow, and when she went to check on them in the morning she saw them tangled together, expressions peaceful. She thinks of the insane training simulations they made together, how Pidge and Allura and Hunk would tap out halfway through because those sims were never made for the team, not really, but instead for the red and black paladins and the leaders of Voltron and the rivals, neck and neck, hand in hand, who were each other’s match in every possible way. She thinks of every quiet smile traded between them that she assumed was friendly and reassuring, of every shoulder clap that lingered too long, of every teasing look. 

She reaches this conclusion at the same time as the rest of the team, who stare at each other with wide eyes. 

This song is not about Allura at all. Lance’s heartbreak, his brokenness, is because of someone else entirely. His desperate loneliness – palpable, from the stage – cries out for one person and one person only, and he’s nowhere near. 

You'll be the saddest part of me

A part of me that will never be mine

It's obvious

Tonight is gonna be the loneliest

The lyrics feel so much different, now. Now the situation is far from unrequited feelings. Now Pidge knows that Lance has been, by circumstance, wrenched away from the love of his goddamn life, from his comfort, from Keith, and he never knows when or if he’ll see him again. Pidge feels her own chin begin to tremble, because there’s no awkwardness, now, no pity. Now Pidge is watching one of her best friends flay his heart out on stage, aching, and is reminded of her own pain – she misses Keith, too. Now the song is that much closer to her heart, and it hurts. 

You're still the oxygen I breathe

I see your face when I close my eyes

It's torturous

Tonight is gonna be the loneliest

Lance's voice curdles with emotion, hunched over the mic and the guitar, before he takes a breath, and the fingers shred the frets. There are no lyrics for a moment, nothing as Lance plays and plays and plays and pours his pain into the music, fingers moving so rapidly on the strings they blur, notes cresting high and crashing down, evoking the desperate and terrifying feeling of never knowing if you’re going to be whole again. 

Then he takes a deep breath, slows down, and sings again in almost a whisper. 

You'll be the saddest part of me

A part of me that will never be mine

It's obvious

Tonight is gonna be the loneliest

The drums kick back in, and Lance lifts his chin, opening his eyes, and looking straight into the audience. There’s no mistaking the pain in the brown irises, the misery. 

You'll be the saddest part of me

A part of me that will never be mine

It's obvious

Tonight is gonna be the loneliest

You're still the oxygen I breathe

I see your face when I close my eyes

It's torturous

The drums fade out, and Lance takes his hand off his guitar, wrapping them carefully around the mic. His voice goes quiet and sad again, like in the beginning of the song.

Tonight is gonna be the loneliest

The last note rings out in the stunned silence of the audience, shaking to its quiet death as Lance takes a step away from the mic. He takes a deep bow, song finished, and the audience goes wild. Lance walks off stage to screams so loud they’re deafening, to applause and stomping and sobbing. 

Pidge is suddenly very grateful for front row seats, as she doesn’t have to wade through a mass of people to take off after him, the rest of the team at her heels. She finds him in the same room backstage where they gathered before his performance. He’s got his face buried in Coran’s neck – he must have left before them – shoulders shaking. Coran holds him just as tightly. The room is silent, Lance is silent, but Pidge can wager a guess as to what’s going on. 

“Lance?” she asks quietly. 

He whips around at her voice, quickly wiping his face, but there’s nothing he can do about the red rimming his eyes. 

“Hey, Pidge.” His voice shakes, hoarse. Any strength he had on stage has left him. “Did we do it? Did we make it?”

“You did it,” Hunk whispers. “We beat our goal by miles. We’ll – we might never need funding again.”

Lance tries to smile, but it shakes, his chin trembling. “That’s great! Glad we managed.” He blinks rapidly, swiping the tears from his face as they drop without his permission. “I, uh, left something running, so I’m gonna go –”

“Lance –”

“I’m fine, I just need to –”

“Lance, you should maybe talk –”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Lance snaps. The venom in his voice makes everyone rear back, a little. 

“S – sorry, I don’t mean to yell. It’s just – I’m fine. I gotta – bye.”

He runs out of the room, and there’s nothing Pidge can do but watch him go. 

She can’t help feeling that even though they far suppressed their goal – she’s not sure it was worth it.

[journey-to-the-attic]

3rd anni req 6: belphie, astaroth / stellar confession

ao3 link

note: i've done some scribblings before for our main pairings in my own time, but i think this is the first thing i've written in earnest with romance as the focus for jtta! all things considered, i'm happy with this - "no.1 boyfriend enjoyer", this is for you

∎ ∎ ∎ ∎ ∎

It isn’t so much a surprise as it is an irritation when the penny finally drops.

It starts on an idle night, lying in the observatory, whiling away the hours with only the stars - and the voice on the other end of the phone - for company. And it happens like this:

Astaroth says something about how late it is. Belphie yawns and mumbles, “I dunno. I can’t sleep without hearing your voice.”

And neither of them acknowledge it. Eventually, he drifts off, knowing that Astaroth will be able to tell and end the call in his stead, and that is the end of that. Until morning, anyway.

He wakes up in a snap, and his lethargy vanishes faster than it’s ever done before. There is only one thought on his mind: why did I say that??

It isn’t true - demonstrably. He takes naps all the time, usually without warning, and certainly without needing to talk to anyone first. He was probably just talking without thinking. He does that a lot when he’s about to drift off.

But then he thinks about it a little more, and suddenly he realises how many nights in recent memory he’s spent on the phone. Not all of them, surely - Lucifer would kill him for doing that so many times consecutively - but a lot of them.

So he decides to run a little test. Next time he feels the need to pick up his D.D.D. and scroll down to that specific contact, he’ll ignore it. This much he should be able to manage without much issue, mostly because it requires an absence of physical effort, which is his specialty.

Except it doesn’t. He keeps having to stop himself from reaching for his phone - as in, practically has to restrain himself from moving. That’s the first part that gives him pause.

The second part comes late at night. He should be able to drop off without a problem. Instead, he tosses and turns, counting the weird noises Beel makes in his sleep, and nothing happens for hours on end.

Conclusion: he wasn’t just saying nonsense. These days, once he feels the urge, he really can’t get to sleep without hearing Astaroth’s voice first.

This is troubling news. He tells IK so the next time they have a video call.

She isn’t looking at the camera when he does, and she doesn’t take her eyes off whatever she’s doing at first. “That’s kind of normal, isn’t it? Honeymoon phase or something.”

“Honeymoon phase?”

IK turns to the camera with a blink. “...you’re not going out?”

“Going out where?”

IK is quiet for a very long time. It gives him a distinct feeling that she’s disappointed in him.

“...you aren’t dating?” She asks finally.

“D— what?” His head had started drooping, but now he sits bolt upright. “Huh??”

IK is doing the same face Satan does when he’s about to ask ‘Are you stupid?’ - so before she can, Belphie continues, “That’s not a thing. That’s never been a thing. Stop looking at me like that.”

“Belphie,” IK says, with that endless patience that she is definitely too young to have, “Have you even noticed that you like him?”

Belphie stares blankly at her little face on the screen. And then it finally hits him.

“...oh.”

IK sighs loudly. He hurries to defend himself. “I wasn’t paying attention to it! I thought it was just— I don’t know, I didn’t have time for that.”

“You’re so lucky I’m not there right now,” Ik says very seriously. “Or else I’d hit you. Actually, can you do it for me?”

“Already ahead of you, twinkle.” He knocks himself firmly on the head, then slumps onto his arms with a groan. “So that’s what that was about.���

“What did you think it was about? You’ve been on a billion dates now.”

“I didn’t know they were dates! And there definitely weren’t a billion. Wait, how do you even know about that?”

“‘Cause Asmo tells me everything. You even stopped saying that they weren’t dates - we thought you’d just figured it out.”

Now that he thinks about it - he hasn’t been denying any of those accusations lately. At some point, without him noticing, they had become dates, so he hadn’t sensed anything off when Asmo referred to them as such. So he hadn’t corrected him.

He leaves that conversation with a great deal of enlightenment that he rather wishes he hadn’t received.. Now that the thought’s in his mind, he can’t stop lingering on it - overthinking every little detail in the same way Satan does every bit of background symbolism every time they watch a play. And it drives him crazy, but now he can’t even make fun of him for it, because he’d be throwing stones at glass houses.

He thinks about going to one of his brothers for advice - but the very notion sends a shiver up his spine. The most he can do is vent to Beel, because the others certainly will not have any useful advice to offer.

Which leaves him with one other option. At times like this, Belphie does wish his main other confidant wasn’t a kid thousands and thousands of years his junior. It’s beginning to feel rather humiliating to keep consulting her on this subject when he should almost certainly know better than her.

“Just say something,” IK says one day, clearly sick of it all. Even if her advice has been working so far, there’s only so many suggestions she can come up with.

“It isn’t that easy.”

She sighs loudly, and he imagines the sharp look she’d be giving him if she was there - the one that just kind of makes him want to pinch her cheek. “It’ll make you feel better. Seriously, you can’t keep going like this forever. It’s like you’ve gone crazy.”

“Maybe I am crazy now,” He grumbles, but it does make him think.

Quite frankly, it is embarrassing how much he’s been acting the fool as of late. It’s not like him to be flighty and unsure - he’s blunt by nature, but so is Astaroth, and he’s not sure just how devastating a rejection could be from someone of so few words.

IK’s right. Even if it doesn’t go the way he wants it to, it’ll be over at the very least. He has to do something about this… only then will he finally know peace.

Some might say he’s being dramatic. When the moment finally arrives, though, he thinks he’s being anything but.

His heartbeat sounds like a drumline.That shouldn’t be allowed. Nothing should just be able to do that to you - it’s so unfair.

They’ve been on this hill so many times already that he’s lost count, but tonight every blade of grass feels fresh and new. There’s a slight chill on the breeze, but he can barely feel it.

They gaze up at the stars in silence. Belphie lies in the grass as if it is his bed - ungraceful, but comfortable. Astaroth lies in the grass like he’s in a painting.

He sighs quietly. Nothing for it.

“Astaroth,” Belphie says, and everything else comes out in one breath. “I think I’m in love with you.”

The night is quiet. He feels too tense to even move, so he keeps staring at the sky instead.

“...what?”

“Don’t make me say it again,” He mumbles - as much a plea as it is a quip. “You heard me.”

“I know.” He can hear a smile on his voice. The question is whether it’s earnest or sarcastic - because sometimes, it really is hard to tell with Astaroth. “I just want to hear it one more time.”

“Fine,” He says, a little sharper than he meant to. “I’m in love with you. Happy now?”

It’s quiet again. After a moment, Astaroth admits, “I think you’re the only demon in the world who could say that to me and mean it.”

“Don’t be stupid. I bet you’ve got tons of fans.”

“Maybe. But you’re the only one I want to believe.”

“Just believe?”

“You’re the only thing I like looking at more than the stars. What do you think?”

He hadn’t expected to hear the words back - not in the same way he said them, anyway, because Astaroth is only ever literal when he doesn’t have to put his own feelings out on the line. He thinks he’s gone and outdone him, though. His heart is doing stupid things in his chest.

Belphie waits for a moment. Nothing happens, and he can’t quite keep a plaintive lilt out of his voice when he prompts, “So?”

“So?” repeats Astaroth.

“You can’t touch the stars. But I’m not far away like they are. Aren’t you going to do something about it?”

There’s that teasing smile again. Belphie’s beginning to suspect that Astaroth has known exactly what he was doing this whole time. “Like what?”

He inches closer, until there’s barely a breath between them, and wonders how long they have before someone comes looking for them. “I don’t know. Figure it out.”

[overallsonfrogs]

Foxes as types of color guard performers (for the like 2 people who live in this part of the venn diagram with me)

Kevin:

- Parents & older siblings did DCI

- Will name drop shows from like 20 years ago and act like you should know them

- Needs direct validation from the director or they’ll take their frustration out on everyone else

- DEFINITELY a JI (derogatory)

- Pissed that they’re not captain even though they’re not a senior

Neil:

- Feral unknowingly queer child who needed an after school activity to avoid being at home (😅😅😅)

- Stays in the gym after practice to learn cool tricks

- Channels anger into conditioning workouts & gets super strong out of spite

- Isn’t naturally talented but works really hard & makes rifle line

Andrew:

- The sabre prodigy that thinks they’re too good for flag & that everyone low-key hates bc they’re jealous

- Always gets a solo & makes the choreo harder without asking bc it was “too easy”

- Never knows the counts for the choreo when asked but is always in time

- Silently counts every drop they see in other shows

Nicky:

- The first out kid on the team who sings along to the pop girlie warm up music

- Saw the Flaggots at Philly Pride and decided to join despite having no prior athletic or musical interest

- Has watched Light Brigade’s Madonna show like a billion times on youtube

- Technique is just okay but they bring ~the dramA~ when performing

Allison:

- C*nty former competition dancer who hated all the drama but still wanted to perform

- Helps underclassmen with their hair & makeup

- Hosts the “summer sectional that’s really an excuse for a pool party” every year at her house

- An absolute beast on rifle

Renee:

-Upperclassman career flag who *could* make rifle line but simply doesn’t want to

- Helps all of the flag newbies not be too scared to let go

- Unofficially in charge of team bonding

-Bakes cookies related to the show theme for show days

Matt:

- Also plays an instrument and is therefore friends with everyone

- Knows all of the cheerleaders & football players & convinces them to come to a band/winterguard competition

- Runs the guard insta & makes the section t-shirts

Dan:

- Guard captain who is very supportive but also wants to WIN

- Very strict about conditioning days, but will always chill out if someone is on their period

- Organizes a ton of sectionals even when it’s cold and no one wants to go, but always buys pizza

Aaron:

- The straight STEM girlie who somehow ended up there

- Instead of practicing, they just complain about how hard their classes are to justify not knowing the choreo

- Got in trouble with the director for being homophobic, but the team was too small to make them quit

Seth:

- Only wants to spin rifle bc he thinks flags are “for girls”

- Refuses to try during dance warmups

- Never goes to optional sectionals

- Skips band parties for “real” parties

Bonus:

Jeremy:

- Former baton girlie who’s really good at sabre & can do a bunch of cool tricks under tosses

- Always the first to point out when someone shy/new does well

- The “GET IT!!”/“You got it!!” girlie, depending on circumstance

- Organizes bigs/littles for show day traditions

[lokiondisneyplus]

Disney has revealed that it has spent $141.3 million (£110.6 million) on pre-production and filming of the second season of its Loki streaming series as it attempts to reinvigorate its struggling Marvel Studios division after a string of critical and commercial failures.

No expense has been spared on Loki Season 2 which cost more in pre-production and filming than many big screen Marvel movies including Doctor Strange (£102.7 million), Thor 2: The Dark World (£99.4 million) and Guardians of the Galaxy (£91.1 million).

Due to debut on the Disney+ platform in October, the sequel to the hit 2021 series stars Tom Hiddleston as the eponymous Asgardian god of mischief. He is joined by Owen Wilson and a new addition to the cast, Oscar-winning Indiana Jones actor Ke Huy Quan who team up to stop a time-travelling conqueror called Kang.

Indiana Jones star Ke Huy Quan is joining Loki for Season 2.2023 MARVEL

Quan's role has been particularly well-received with one fan gushing that "this is the greatest thing to ever happen. I adore this man". Another described it as "like seeing an old friend. It is comforting to see him on screen." One fan even went as far as to say that Quan is reason enough for tuning in. "I was on the fence on watching Loki season 2 but I saw that Ke Huy Quan is in it and yeah...I'm definitely watching that." It is more than can be said for most of Marvel's productions this year.

The studio kicked off 2023 with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, a sci-fi film which opened in February and introduced the Kang character. Its domestic debut weekend box office of $106 million was the highest in the Ant-Man trilogy but then it fell by 70%, resulting in the biggest second-weekend drop in the franchise's history. The movie ended up grossing $476.1 million worldwide which was lower than both of its prequels. As we revealed, Disney spent $193.2 million on pre-production and filming alone.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was widely criticised for its CGI Photo courtesy of Marvel ... [+]COURTESY OF MARVEL STUDIOS

Just days after her departure, Marvel was rocked again when Kang actor Jonathan Majors was arrested on assault and harassment charges. He denies them and will get a chance to explain why when he goes on trial this month.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was a rare recent success for Marvel © 2023 MARVEL.COURTESY OF MARVEL STUDIOS

Then came Secret Invasion. Disney had high hopes for the streaming series which launched in June and was based on a beloved comic series about a race of shape-shifting aliens secretly invading the corridors of power. However, its serious tone, gaping plot holes and poor CGI put off fans leading to its crescendo becoming the single lowest-rated episode of any Marvel series with just a 7% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

As we revealed, staggeringly, it had a budget of $211.6 million. It explains why Disney's chief executive Bob Iger said in February that the studio needs to "reduce costs on everything that we make because, while we're extremely proud of what's on the screen, it's gotten to a point where it's extraordinarily expensive."

A total of 7,000 job cuts and $5.5 billion of cost-savings followed, but even that wasn't enough. Just last month, Iger told CNBC that Disney is slowing down when it comes to making movies and streaming series for its Marvel and Star Wars franchises. "You pull back not just to focus, but also as part of our cost containment initiative. Spending less on what we make, and making less," he said.

Season 2 of Loki was given the green light long before these comments and before Iger even returned to the helm of Disney in November last year. It shows.

The series was filmed at the historic Pinewood Studios just outside London as well as on location across the UK capital. It's a far cry from tinsel town and this shines a spotlight on the otherwise secretive cost of film-making.

Budgets of streaming shows are usually confidential as studios combine the cost of them in their overall expenses and don't itemise how much they spent on each one.

Shows made in the UK are an exception. They benefit from the government's Television Tax Relief scheme which allows studios to claim a cash reimbursement of up to 25% of the money they spend in the country.

To qualify, shows must pass a points test based on factors such as how much filming was done in the UK, the level of UK content and how much they promote UK heritage. Furthermore, at least 10% of the core costs of the production need to relate to activities in the UK and in order to demonstrate this to the government, studios set up a separate Television Production Company (TPC) there for each picture.

These TPCs have to file publicly-available financial statements showing everything from the headcount and salaries to the total cost of the production and the amount of cash they have got back.

The UK government's regulations state that each TPC must be "responsible for pre-production, principal photography and post-production of the television programme; and for delivery of the completed programme." Accordingly, there is no doubt that their financial statements show all of the costs of each series. It isn't even possible for studios to hide costs in other companies as the law also states that "there can only be one TPC in relation to a programme."

The companies usually have code names so that they don’t raise attention when filing for permits to film on location. The Disney subsidiary behind Loki Season 2 is called Limbo Productions I UK in a nod to title character's transient status. Its first set of financial statements were filed on Sunday and cover the 18-month period to October 31 2022 which is when filming wrapped.

They reveal that the company was handed a $27.9 million (£21.8 million) reimbursement bringing its net spending down to $113.4 million which is still far from small beer. The colossal cost dates back to the peak of the pandemic when much of the world was locked indoors addicted to streaming content. Disney was eagerly adding shows to its streaming platform in a bid to attract more subscribers than its rivals.

Season 1 of Loki was the most-watched Marvel TV show to date on Disney+ ©Marvel Studios 2020. All ... [+]COURTESY OF MARVEL STUDIOS

According to industry analysts Samba TV, Loki's first episode was watched by 2.5 million households in its first five days giving it a higher audience than any of Marvel's other streaming shows - a record which stands to this day. The streaming bubble has long since burst thanks to the easing of the pandemic and pure strings being pulled due to rising inflation. However, Season 2's budget could be more important now than ever. Disney doesn't just need it to succeed in order to give a glow to Marvel but to its entire streaming platform.

Unlike theatrical releases, which share ticket sales between studios and exhibitors, Disney receives all of the revenue from its streaming platform. Subscribers pay a single fee which grants them access to all of its new content throughout the year, with or without advertising depending on how much they pay. This makes it impossible to calculate how much subscription revenue is generated by each streaming show.

Instead, the total costs of the shows are deducted from the total revenue to determine whether the platform overall made a profit or a loss. The more subscribers it has, the higher the revenue and the greater the potential for profit. However, Disney wisely changed its goal of chasing subscribers in light of the bleak economic backdrop. Its aim now is to reduce the cost of the programming which also gives a greater potential for profit. It is badly needed.

Disney+ hasn't made a profit since it was launched in 2019 and made an operating loss of $659 million in the first quarter of 2023 alone. Disney has assured investors that the platform will be profitable by the end of its 2024 fiscal year and time will tell whether Loki Season 2's blockbuster budget is a help or a hindrance to that.