#it was a fun little exercise drawing them as fast as I could with no references

[queeny-v]

A bunch of rlly awful Amity (and Luz) doodles from yesterday. I wanted to see how fast I could draw them from memory and using only a pen 😅💀

[fronomeeps]

Abriged text of Off’s 15th anniversary stream!

official VOD on youtube: https://youtu.be/RG4yEM9J3Zg

full disclaimer there are inconsistencies with the typing and punctuation and capitalization, but here it is!!! the full 4 hour stream in abriged text form! i tried including as much as i can while making it short and sweet-ish, everything under the cut!

Part 1: Off’s Childhood (Off creation)

Q: Did you design and draw the characters before you decided to make a game for them or did you have the idea to design a game first and have the visuals come after?

Some of them he drew before. He knew about RPGmaker for a long time and used it to make little games. Most of the RPGmaker games he would make before were using the RPGmaker assets. When he started Off, he decided that everything would be made by him. He never made a game with his own resources before, so he had no idea what to do with the graphics. He made everything very simple with flat colors and lines, which made it easy to use and easy to create. The first map he made in OFF was Zone 0’s building extremely fast to test his chipset and as an exercise. Afterwards he thought of what characters to make for the game. He had piles of drawings he did for fun with no particular meaning, and he happened to have a drawing of a baseball player and a cat with a “very big head” and decided that these would be characters in the game. There was no symbolic meaning to it, he just thought the drawings were cool.

Yes, the characters were made before the game was made but not intended to be in the game.

Q: Was there anything in the game you weren’t happy with or anything you didn't get to finish when OFF released?

He was quite happy with everything in the game, there was some cut content, but when he finished he was really happy with what he made. It took him 1 year to make Off. He is still happy about the state of Off. Sometimes he was frustrated with the limitations of RPGmaker2003, such as the battle system, that he would change if he had total control of these things. But with the tools he had, he was happy with the results.

If he had tools he had today back then, Off would be a completely different game. There are some things he is unhappy with and says he was a completely different person back then, but it’s been 15 years and he’s proud of what he made and what Off is and is happy people like the way it is.

Q: If you could easily implement any game mechanic into off regardless of how hard it would be to implement, what would it be?

He would make a battle system from scratch. He likes the JRPG battle system, but the balancing of the numerical side of things (HP, damage, etc.) were difficult to manage and he feels he could have done it in a more fun way. He thinks there's better ways to do things with the system.

Battles such as Dedan are hard to beat but not very fun since it is hard because of his large amount of HP, since that’s how he saw to make it hard.

So if he could change the combat, he would.

Another thing he would change is the puzzles, he feels they are too hard. Especially in zone 1 he feels they are not fun. Reading text and remembering random information he does not think is very fun and weirdly difficult. The Calendar puzzle in Alma in particular comes to his mind when he thinks of a hard puzzle. The calendar was inspired by a Killer 7 puzzle that he liked at the time but doesn’t like it now.

Q: Were any of the characters inspired by real people in your life or by pets?

Real people no, but his friend made the voices for the characters.

The judge is inspired by a drawing he made of his roommate’s cat back in college. The cat was named Madame Le Judge.

Q: Have you considered other sportsmen other than batter?

No, Batter was made from a drawing he did of a baseball player from a book from the library and had no correlation to the game.

Q: Was Zacharie originally planned to be fightable?

There were doodles of Zacharie with angel wings and a sword, but they were just for fun and he was not intended to be a fighter in the game. But he is aware that it has made the fans question if Zacharie was intended to be a battler in the game.

Q: Was there anything cut or scraped from the game?

Not really, but in the doodle pack on his old website where he posted Off originally, there was a version of Enoch with a mask on as well as some items. And for the ballman and boxxer part he had some more enemies planned, one being a baseball with eyes. He scrapped it because it was an unimportant part of the game.

There were some really complex puzzle ideas that were cut because they would be too complex to put in. He likes reaction based games, rpg games where you have to think not so much. There is a game called MYST on pc where you travel to an island and are tons of insane puzzles which he was hypnotized by as a puzzle. He did not solve many of the puzzles but thought it was extremely cool as a kid and wanted to make a game as cool as MYST.

Q: Can we get the full list of magaka and artists the bats are named in reference to?

Harrold: Don’t remember

Masashi: Naruto creator

Emmanuel: French comic book artist, he liked at the time but no longer likes, but was a huge inspiration for Off.

Michael: Hellboy creator

Yoshihiro: Hunter x Hunter creator, which Mortis is a big fan of.

Lewis: French comic book artist.

Katsuhiro: Akira creator, “still a banger” -Mortis

Ashley: An American comic artist who did paintings.

Q: What went into the decisions that went into the creation of Zacharie’s masks?

If there was an inspiration, he doesn’t recall. He designed them that way because he thought he looked cool.

Q: What are the inspirations behind every character in the game?

Elsen: Just a business man, office man, supposed to featureless and “boring” or “normal”, some inspiration from his hatred of administration(?). He is sorry for what he puts the Elsen though.

Dedan: “I don’t know…” -Mortis, he has a military jacket.

Japhet: Fire bird, Final fantasy 6’s Valigarmanda who is a fire bird trapped in a block of ice was a big inspiration.

Enoch: Inspired Nicolas de Crécy’s comics. There is a character who is large like Enoch that he was heavily inspired by. He enjoyed the comics at the time but now sees there is some fatphobia with the character.

Vader Eloha (Queen): Generally, a mysterious, strange, princess-like lady. A beautiful lady to contrast the heaviness of the rest of the game.

Queen’s Addons: Just complex stuff.

Bad Batter: No direct inspiration, but is a scary, terrifying version of the batter.

Hugo: Child with a big ham, no direct inspiration.

Sucre: Was designed by a friend.

General aesthetics of the game: Inspired by Killer 7 for the aesthetics, backgrounds, feelings. If you like Off you would like Killer 7. It is similar to off, and is very violent. In general, Final Fantasy 6-10, Metal Gear Solid 2’s “Meta” content (THE GAME SPEAKS TO ME?!?!?!?!?!?!), Silent Hill 2 (after completing off, he played more silent hill games but SH2 was played before and was inspiration).

In the game, there are 2 maps that are a silent hill reference, in that the maps themselves spell “SH” “Silent Hill” and there are long hallways with locked doors like Silent Hill.

Q: What had to be the most difficult part of Off development for you?

There were some times he would get stuck not knowing what to do next. Alias Coldwood, who also made the soundtrack of the game, was his roommate at the time. Alias helped him code parts of the game as he was already a programmer, such as the Elsen balloon minigame in the Zone 2 amusement park.

He was stuck on the balloon game coding for 3 days and then Alias came in and fixed it in half an hour.

Zone 3 is mostly pretty straight forward and doesn’t have that much coding, except for the dropping Add-On collection minigame. He says that the way the engine is, if you want to do something other than classic RPG it becomes very hard.

Q: What is the overall feeling you want people to have when they play Off?

A bad feeling, guilt, sadness, emptiness. He says he was quite edgy at the time, he wanted the game to make you feel like you were the good guy, then gently make you feel like maybe you aren’t the good guy, and then at the end confirm that you are in fact the bad guy.

There is a short poem called 10 Little Soldiers, where the narrator is revealed to be the killer of the story, and it was shocking and unexpected. He wanted to recreate this feeling of shock in a video game setting. In the end, you end up doing what the creator of the game put before you regardless of feeling of freedom.

Q: How was the planning of the game?

Production of the game was 1 year, and there was no clear idea in his head before he started making Off. He sorta winged it as he went. He made all the characters, then went and made maps chronologically and made it up as he went.

Q: Who was your favorite character to design?

Japhet. There are 4 different forms of Japhet, and he likes the way he transforms. He wouldn’t change much about his design.

Q: What was your process for making the sprites?

They were drawn on paper, inked, scanned in, scaled down in photoshop, then the edges were cleaned up with a black border to work with the game (which took up most of the time in game production).

Q: What was the creative process behind the music and what did you use?

He did not make the music, Alias Coldwood did. He would come into Mortis’ room, check what Mortis was up to, see the areas, then go off and make music for the game. He would come back and give him the music gifts. He would ask if it was good or if anything needed to be changed but usually no changes were needed.

Q: Why was Over the Rainbow used for the ending of the game?

He loves the song, and it is a strong contrast of gentle music, reassurance, after the extremely brutal game.

It can also be interpreted that the game itself is a rainbow, with the zones being very brightly colored.

Q: What sorta things did you think about while making Off? What did you think it would be?

He didn’t think much about the game itself, he mostly thought about being done with the game and how cool it would be. He thought it would be so crazy and cool if 50 people played his game, or if his friends played his game.

It was his last year of doing comics studies at school. He had his studies which were art related, but his free time was filled with working on Off, which was fun for him.

Q: What role does the battle system play in the story?

None, other than Batter attacks everything he comes across. In most games you fight a lot, maybe it was more so that fighting is in games, so his game needs fighting. But it makes sense to look at it that you are fighting everything you come across, which is sort of evil. You can actually flee from most battles other than the bosses. But it is not easy to defeat the bosses without killing people beforehand.

Q: What was it like to work with Alias Coldwood?

It was really cool.

Q: Did you have a theme you wanted to follow?

Yes, the idea that the main character is the bad guy was the main theme. He had the ending idea in mind.

Q: What was the last thing you made in the game before releasing?

Since he did it in chronological order, he believes the last thing he did was the secret ending(space apes ending).

Q: Do you have any old concept art for the game/ characters?

He doesn’t have them on his computer, but if his website is still searchable, there should be a zip folder full of art. Website: http://gaarabis.free.fr

Q: Is it true that the train stations in zone 1 are based on pens?

Pentel: A really good brush pen he has

Sachihata: Don’t remember

Alma: An actual train station in brussels.

Damien: Don’t remember

Q: What were those unused soundtracks for?

Music for zones that already existed and he didn’t have a purpose for.

Q: How were the sketches for Off made, were they sketched and scanned in?

Yes

Q: Do you have any beta builds of Off?

No, just the one version.

Q: What happened to the Off Demo?

It disappeared, lost on the old website that died and he didn’t have a backup. It stopped at Dedan’s office in Alma, and a text would show up to say that’s the end of the demo. It was made for a french rpg forum for people to play there, and he received a price in a french rpgmaker contest. There is no additional or different content in the demo that isn’t in the main game.

Part 2: Into Off’s big castle (Off lore)

Mortis notes, nothing is cannon in Off, he had things in mind when he made it but nothing is cannon, “everything is cannon” anything that comes to your head when you play is cannon, everything is cannon and nothing is cannon.

Q: when the batter turns into a monster, is that a shapeshift or is it just how the judge sees the batter?

It’s based off Killer 7, whose final boss is an angel. It is implied though that the character is not actually an angel, but is the way it sees itself. He liked the idea that you can people can be represented differently than how they actually are, and it is up to you whether that is batters view of himself, the players view of him, or the judges view of the batter.

Q: What is Zacharie and Sucre’s relationship? Are they friends? A couple?

They like each other, but as you prefer. If you want them together then sure. But he doesn’t have any thought on it.

Q: is the Judge a fluffy cat or a hairless cat?

Madame le Judge, the inspiration cat, was a fluffy cat, so the Judge is fluffy. Though he doesn’t look fluffy in game so that is up to the player.

Q: Top 3 vegetables for every character.

Too long of a question, but for the judge: Zucchini, Eggplant, and Tomato

Q: Do the zone guardians get along with each other or is there a reason they all rule their own zones?

They do know each other based on the events in The Room, but if they’re friends is uncertain. But Japhet did save Enoch from a hole, so they are probably on good terms. In the room, they have similar ideas on what to evolve the world into and at that point they are probably closest to being friends, more so that they tolerate eachother or are more akin to coworkers. Once they are in their own zones, they have no need to talk to each other.

Q: Is Off a universe or world?

There are definitely past events to Off, the world is already in a crisis point with its dead appearance. Maybe it is our own earth.

Q: What do Elsen and spectres taste like?

Elsen would taste like a human, and spectres would taste like smoke.

Sucre is also supposed to be a human, please don’t eat her.

Q: How is Zacharie doing, what are his views on the world?

He is not well, he is quite nihilistic and sees the world is not doing well, but he doesn’t care.

Q: Could you go into the game’s nomenclature, specifically the names for items, guardians?

The reason he calls the health items tickets was because he wanted a cool, clever way to refer to them rather than health potions.

He chose flesh for SP items because it was gross and fit with the universe. He chose demon names for the flesh because he thought it was cool and edgy at the time.

The guardian’s names are from the Bible, but there is no significance to the names themselves.

Q: How do you imagine the voice of the Judge?

He’s a cat with a big head so maybe there’s some resonance.

Q: What’s the Judge’s favorite brand of kibble/cat food and what is his favorite fish?

In zone 2’s marketplace, Judge is looking at an ad for catfood. Catfood made with meat from the fountains of Alma is his favorite food.

There is no more fish in the world, Judge doesn’t know what a fish is.

Q: What the heck is the zone 3 secretary?

It was a drawing he did based on a photo from a book from a library. They are drawings of wood carved baby artifacts. He drew clothes on them for the game.

Q: Does the batter like men?

In a previous stream, he and chat decided batter is a lesbian. He also states that batter (he/she/they) doesn’t like men.

Q: Is there a cannon explanation for the ending?

It’s in the game, it is cannon.

Q: Did you intend Sucre to have more content, and did you plan for other secret bosses to be in the game?

Sucre was the only planned secret boss and no other content was planned for her.

He asked his friend to design Sucre, asking her to design a character to be a secret boss in the game without knowing anything about the game.

Sucre’s speech pattern (using emojis and speaking in small sentences) is based on a character from Killer 7 as well.

We don’t know why she’s in the zone 0 room, though it’s implied she has changed and Zacharie knows she has changed.

Q: Why does Sucre like ducks?

She doesn’t like ducks.

Q: Is the art depicting Zacharie with wings and a sword cannon?

It is cannon and it isn’t cannon.

Q: How far does Zacharie’s self awareness go?

He knows he is in a videogame, and being in the videogame Off is quite depressing.

He knows everything, he knows about batter and his powers.

Q: What happens when the switch turns Off?

Everything is gone

Q: Was there any reason for the Panic in Ballville section in the room?

Everything in the room are hints to what led to the creation of the world, but the hints are obscure and it is up to the player to figure that out.

It’s up to interpretation

Q: Do you think Deltarune Queen and Off Queen would be friends?

The Queen from Off is not very friendly, and probably wouldn’t want to be friends.

He has played Deltarune and loved it and loves Toby Fox’s work.

Q: Do secretaries appear because of batter’s desires?

Secretaries have no emotion, they are mindless monsters. They are not even humans, they aren’t even living. They just exist in an empty world, symbols of despair and emptiness.

Q: Did spectres appear because of the Queen’s neglect?

Enoch says they’re just the souls of the people, so yes they are just the dead Elsen.

He had another idea with Alias that in the past of Off, when people die their souls would go to the future. But since there is no longer a future, they pile up in the present as the ghosts we see.

Q: How were Elsen made?

They are one person, who was cloned. They are all named Elsen. There are lots of him.

Cannon and not cannon: Before the events of Off, there was a man named Elsen, and he cloned himself over and over and had many of his clones in a bunker. When he died, his clones were all released. It is ambiguous that the Elsen know this fact about themselves.

Q: Is it possible that there are other lands in the nothingness or across the sea?

The idea is that it is a post-apocalyptic place, and the Queen and Hugo have power that emanates from them that certain people are strong enough to use that power to create worlds. Judge, Dedan, Enoch, and Japhet are those who can use this power, which is why when you kill them their zone dies. Though it is possible there are other survivors out in the world that may weild the Queen and Hugo’s power to create lands.

Q: Is batter bald?

Yes?

Q: Does the batter have any pets?

No, he would not be a good pet owner.

Q: Do the burnt elsen have any purpose other than being enemies you can fight?

The black material exploding from them comes from inside of them.

Since they are office men, it makes sense they are stressed. Burning is a direct representation of burnout. The world is too horrible for them to continue existing. As the world dies, they have a physical reaction which is dying and burning.

Q: Has the batter ever played baseball?

No

Q: Are Zacherie’s wings in the drawing Add-ons?

There is no cannon for this non-canonical drawing.

Q: How powerful would batter be in the real world?

He can kill lots of people, he can heal himself, and has magical powers so he would be pretty powerful.

His power is “4000”

Q: What is the Judge drinking in the drawing where he’s drinking from a cup?

Orange juice

Q: The drawing with the red dots in the room, is it an illusion?

The drawing itself is made by Hugo in the game world.

Q: How tall is Enoch?

Maybe like 4 meters.

Q: We saw the story of the zone guardians but what about Zacharie, Judge, and Valerie? Did they exist before the zones?

Yes they did exist before the zones, and they survived the apocalypse somehow, maybe in a bunker.

Maybe because Judge and Valerie have 9 lives as cats they came back to life, and Zacharie’s 4th wall breaking power allowed him to survive.

Q: Is there lore behind the important people of Zone 1 or not?

They are all dead.

Q: What happens to the puppeteer/player after we finish the cannon ending of the game?

You get back to your life, game ends.

Q: Does Hugo sees him as a monster or his human form?

Hugo would see him as a positive form, since Hugo created the batter, and is happy to see the batter arriving. But batter kills him. And Hugo probably changes his mind as he’s killed.

Q: Is the anniversary of Off also batter’s birthday?

When you start the game it is batter’s birthday.

Q: What is the reason the Queen isolated herself from everyone?

She doesn’t like anyone. She wanted to make a new world, but was disappointed in the outcome, and isolated herself and became crazy. She may be a bit of a narcissist.

Q: Who would win in a fight between Omori and Batter?

Omori

Q: How come the final hallway before the switch looks like a skull and spine?

It was not intentional, and he was just designing a strange hallway. But agrees that it looks like that.

Q: Is batter truly evil or is a victim of circumstances.

He is spawned from hugo’s wishes, in batter’s opinion he is not evil, but he is evil.

Q: Is there a timeline where Valerie lives after Japhet’s fight?

In the main game he dies, but there is many timelines where he lives.

Q: What does batter think of the player? A tool, a psychic?

He thinks of the player as a tool.

Q: Do the characters have cannon ages?

No, never thought of it.

Q: What is the meaning/story behind Off?

Play the game.

Q: Why does hugo have 8 dots on his forehead?

He doesn’t know why, but it was somewhat inspired by Krillin from Dragon Ball.

Q: Tell us more about Enoch

He’s a guardian of the zone 3, he is very big and tall. He tries to make people’s lives easier with sugar, but it is a drug in this world. But he does genuinely want his elsen to be happy, but he’s really not a good guy and doesn’t go bout it right.

Q: What characters from other franchises would batter get along with?

Batter wouldn't really be friends with anyone, he doesn’t really communicate, he doesn’t like to speak and he doesn’t want friends. He has a mission and he’s going to complete it.

Q: What’s up with the ring party members?

At first they were just there to add more party members, since being the only one is boring. So how do you have only 1 main character but multiple party members? The Add-ons do not have personalities but fill the party. But at the end they have meaning.

Each guardian is represented by an Add-On, and their ideas and thoughts and relationship with Hugo are represented by each Add-On. But as the world was created, the promises of their ideas were broken.

Q: How did the batter know what his purpose to purify the world was?

He just knew in his brain, in his programming.

Q: Was the batter the correct answer to the world’s problems?

It’s up to you to decide that, but there is probably a better solution than batter. Alooot of bad choices that led to batter.

Q: What are ghosts? Did the queen send them? Is it capitalism?

Mortis confirms he hates capitalism and you can see that in the game, and in a clumsy way it does speak about capitalism. But the ghost’s source is a mystery but they’re probably souls of Elsen.

Q: What happened to Hugo’s parents?

Probably dead.

Q: What did the batter save the elsen in zone 2 if they were all going to die anyways.

He didn’t care about saving the Elsen, he was just going after the spectres.

Q: Is each zone a planet or different universes?

They aren’t planets. The world is broken, and there are floating continents with light points that can be traveled to.

Q: Do Boxxer and Ballman have names?

Ballman is Casper, and Boxxer is Jeremy.

Q: Is it the player’s fault that batter is the way he is?

No

Q: What are the actual names of the Elsen?

They’re all named Elsen.

Q: What was the batter doing before the game started?

Nothing, he didn’t exist before.

Q: What would happen if you microwaved an elsen?

They would die.

Part 3: Off, the game

Q: Will the game be on steam or console?

He already got some proposals from companies to put it on different platforms, but for now he doesn’t want to, but he isn’t against it. It’s a long process of copyrights and other things and maybe one day it’ll happen, but for now no.

Q: Would you ever reconsider remaking Off in another style or game engine?

No, he’s happy that people enjoy Off as it is, but he’s not as invested in it as he was when he made it. He won’t be making any remakes or continuations, since he has other projects and plans and stories and universes.

Q: Would you ever make a sequel, comic, any continuations of Off?

When he first made Off, he had an idea for a part 2 and even spoke to Alias about it but dropped it because it works so well as a one-shot.

Q: Would you ever be interested in making projects similar to Off?

He has another videogame in the works, and RPG he’s working on with friends called HELP.

Q: Do you see yourself working on something Off related in the future? Or are you done for good for this world?

He doesn’t close every door but probably is done with the world.

Q: Will you ever expand on Hugo’s lore?

Probably not

Q: Will you ever remake Off with your current style?

If he did something Off related now, it would be in his current style, he can’t recreate his old style.

Q: Have you ever considered making merch, plushies or artbooks?

He doesn’t have any of the original drawings anymore, he sold his sketchbook. All the files he still has are too small to be used in an artbook. For plushies, it would be fun, but it isn’t a priority right now.

Q: Do you regret being better known as the creator of Off rather than other things you’ve made?

He is a little frustrated by the fact that nothing else he’s made is as popular as Off, such as comics he’s made since Off or other work he’s done. He isn’t complaining though. Whenever he does anything Off related, people give him lots of love and he’s extremely happy and moved by it and is happy that people love the game lots. He’s happy with his life.

Q: What’s your favorite piece of music from Off?

He loves all the music, his favorite would be Fake Orchestra, Dedan’s boss music.

Q: Do you think there’s a good way to adapt Off into an animated series?

It could be fun, but he doesn’t like translating video games into other mediums other than video games.

Q: What’s your favorite character from Off?

Japhet, he is a bad guy, even though he’s egotistical now, he really tried to please his elsen. Reading his journal, we can see he is disappointed in himself, and self-reflects.

Q: What’s your favorite spectre design? Which one is the sexiest?

His favorite is the 6th spectre, the one that explodes into many little spectres.

Smash or Pass round: He passed every spectre. The sexiest is the large spectre.

Q: Which character/creature design is your favorite?

The whale is still a favorite of his.

Q: After 15 years, what do you honestly think of Off as its creator?

He is happy that so many people still like, so he feels he succeeded in making something that speaks to or is relatable to so many people. To himself however, he thinks there’s a lot he would’ve done differently if he made it now. He’s a different person now, and elements of the game don’t resonate with him anymore.

Q: What was your reaction after the game’s big success?

Before the success, there was a translation to english, and then a while after that it really exploded. He was not prepared. He felt successful from just 50 people playing it and thought that was it for Off.

After 2 years when youtubers started making let’s plays of Off and fanart was being made, and now he is used to it. But it took a long time for him to understand that the game was a huge success.

Q: What ending do you choose, the batter or the judge?

For a long time, he liked the batter ending more. But now he likes the judge ending more. It feels like a small small spark of hope. You have a choice to not destroy everything.

Q: Do you think Off would ever get as big as it is now?

No, never.

Q: Did you expect Off to have such a big impact on people? Were you overwhelmed by it?

It wasn’t overwhelming, but he didn’t understand it at first but he was really really happy.

Q: Had you ever made a plan in case the game becomes popular?

No, he only made it to be played a little and got a price from a french rpg forum and that was all he thought would come of the game.

Q: If you could pick 5 songs not from the soundtrack to encapsulate the game what would they be?

The Kid A album from Radiohead was an album he was listening to while he was making Off and encapsulated a lot of Off’s themes that you can find in the game.

Q: How do you feel about Papyrus looking like Dedan?

He is so glad that his game had an impact on Toby Fox when he made his games.

Q: Would Papyrus and Dedan be friends?

No, Dedan is really mean and Papyrus should not be around Dedan.

Q: Where do you consider Off in your artistic journey? Has it impacted/ influenced you?

It is a part of him. Even though the stuff he does now doesn’t look like Off and everything he does doesn’t relate to Off anymore it’s a big part of him.

Q: Are you willing to/ planning to release the music on vinyl? Limited releases?

It is not in his hands, that is up to Alias.

Q: Is there anything about Off (the game, the characters, etc.) that you like much more (or less) now?

He is happy about the alternate ending with the Judge.

Q: What’s the biggest thing you scrapped out of the game?

Nothing was really scrapped out of the game.

Q: What would you say is the concept that defines OFf as a whole?

It’s a really nihilistic game about destroying a game that’s already destroyed. It’s a very sad and dark story.

Q: Which character was your favorite to draw?

Zacharie was the most fun to draw, as well as Judge with his big mouth.

Q: What do you think of the fangames?

He’s really glad and happy that people like the game so much they want to make other games. But he always thinks, why? It takes so much time to make these fangames when you could be making something you want to make.

Q: Can you explain the philosophy in the game?

It’s nihilistic and depressing.

Q: Do you have a favorite zone?

Zone 2 is his favorite. It’s more like a city, and it’s more organic than the other zones. The center of the city is a bit maze-like and he likes the way you move around it, and with a library at its center.

Q: For the longest time, I thought the batter’s left eye was a nose. Can you point out the intricate details of his face, for clarity?

Mortis sees it as a nose for the first time. But his nose is actually a left eye, both of his eyes are visible. The top 2 lines are his eyebrows, the bottom lines are his eyes closed.

Q: Is the judge smiling or is his face just like that?

He is smiling.

Q: Is there any want for batter to get into frame makers or any fighting game?

No, he won’t contact any companies to get batter into any game. If someone wants to put the batter in their game, it’s alright. Though he’s not a big fan of fanservice stuff.

Part 4: Officionados

Q: What is your favorite Off fangame and is it cannon to Off?

He doesn’t play any fangames but will in the future. He’s planning to play Home. All fangames are cannon. He’s really happy that there’s so much work around his universe.

Q: Why do you think people are still talking about and playing Off today?

Society is quite dark today, the future is not too happy, and maybe it makes sense to people nowadays. Maybe it is also because of the funny jokes.

Q: Have you seen the animated series by Tanblaque?

No, but he has seen animated content made about Off back a long time ago.

Q: What is your opinion about fan projects nowadays?

Do what you want, and he is 100% ok with it.  You can use any of his graphical assets, you have to ask Alias to use the music, and you can’t use the space monkeys since they were not made by him. He is happy if you make stuff for him, but also he would like people to make original stuff too.

Q: Have you ever played or seen gameplay of Home?

He has seen gameplay, but never played. He was in touch with Felix when he started the game, Felix would send him screenshots.

Q: What do you think about fandom theories?

It’s awesome and he loves it. What he loves the most about it is that Off is a very cryptic and vague story, and people are able to piece together things from what is presented. He thinks many of the theories are really cool. Even with the small community in the french rpg forum the game started getting really cool theories which made him really happy.

Q: Would you be open to someone remaking the game in a modern take?

He would prefer it not be done.

Q: Any silly fan ideas or head-cannons that you personally consider cannon?

He saw a lot of fan characters and fan ideas that he finds impressive, and his own personal story is not cannonic, and he doesn’t like the “trying to find cannon” way of thinking, anything is cannon. Once you play the game, the story is up to you.

Q: Thoughts on Zacharie being a tumblr sexyman?

It’s funny, there’s lots of sexy drawings of his characters and he was shocked at first, but finds it funny, but some of them are not ok. But mostly funny.

Q: Do you like my roblox cosplay?

Yes, it’s fun.

Part 5: Off-topic

Q: What’s your top 3 favorite sauces?

Archiduc sauce, Pili-Pili sauce, Pepper sauce

Q: Are you working on a new game? How is it going?

New game is called HELP, it’s being made by a team and it’s a sci-fi rpg. It is just at the beginning of production. If you want to help make the game then you can support him on patreon.

Q: Have you ever thought of making another game?

There was a large gap between Off and HELP, because making a game is a lot of work, and HELP is in another engine.

Q: Can we expect any Off references in Vold Vago?

Vold Vago had to be pushed aside for now, he doesn’t have the tools to make it right now. Maybe it will exist in the future or be restarted. But he is more comfortable staying in rpg games for now. And maybe there will be a reference, but probably not, he doesn’t like fanservice.

Q: Have you heard of other popular rpgs like Yume Nikki, Undertale, or Omori?

Yes, He has played the others but not Omori yet.

Q: Would you ever consider taking art commissions?

He did before but he doesn’t have time to do that right now. He has a lot of work to do right now, and he doesn’t see a future where he can.

Q: How much weed you’ll smoke?

He doesn’t smoke or drink.

Q: Have you made other comics similar to Doctor Cataclysm?

Yes, he worked on Star Delivery with Marie Spénale, and is working on other comics.

BONUS QUESTIONS he wanted to include but not answer:

Why is the game called Off when you have to turn on your computer in order to play it?

Does Zacharie know I love him?

Can I hug the batter? (no)

Can Sucre be my wife? (no)

Bye Bye!

[ekingston]

I was gonna be cheeky and ask for 10 and 19 again BUT I shall resist that urge… for now.

I will be sneaky (critical failure) and ask for three (I lied) 28. 30. And 37.

And what the hell, everyone should be proud of their work/s so a 33. (Feel free to pick a couple if this is just asking for a lot - I feel like it is 😅)

I feel like I’m order takeout or reading lotto number here

haha thank you! and the bonus number is…

Any writing advice that works for you and you feel like sharing?

today i’m reminding myself to practice mindfulness! and not in the sense of breathing exercises or lengthy meditation sessions (although I’m sure those have their benefits too) but by making myself be in the present, paying attention to all of my senses, and remembering that my characters would do the same. you’ll need that material to fill in the little details that draw the reader into your work, that tricky thing that makes them feel like they can’t just see it, but like they’re actually there. life is a sensual experience, and i think our stories should reflect that!

Describe a fic that almost happened, but then didn’t.

this got long, so…

i once scribbled down a dream i had that was a sort of trippy time travel/repeating day type of thing, where Lena was part of a small crew of criminals that used Lena’s tech to travel back in time to aid them with their heists. they would simply rewind time over and over, taking note of the details, learning every possible outcome, eliminating obstacles along the way, practicing the motions often enough to nail the final, perfect execution.

the first scene was a very bloody one, and i came in right in the middle of it, not understanding how Lena and her people could be so callous about the people laying bleeding and dying at their feet, especially because Kara was one of them. Lena’s crew just kept saying they’d ‘fix that next time’, like some sort of cryptic mantra.

in the dream Lena ended up looking for Kara in every run through, charming her in a thousand different ways, always the same, Kara falling for her every time. there were a few rewinds that took her back so far that Kara was still a child, immediately smitten but completely lost on earth, abandoned and alone, and Lena lobbied hard to make sure her crew fixed that, too, even when it meant Lena would never meet her again.

i saw Lena’s crew running down a dark alley over and over again, at least one of their crew dead or dying, at least one other gravely hurt. Kara turned out to be the reason their plan failed every single time. Lena ended up having to turn against her team to save her before they could eliminate her from their timeline completely.

in the end Lena lay dying in child-Kara’s arms, telling her ‘we’ll fix it next time.’ this was when she’d finally discovered Kara wasn’t human. the line i woke up with was Lena telling Kara to promise her, ‘if you figure it out someday—fly up’. the theory being, i think, that if Kara somehow were to fly high enough, fast enough, she’d achieve the same effect Lena did with her tech, and Kara could go back to save Lena instead.

my dreams get pretty elaborate, but they rarely come with as tidy of a plot as this one did, so i bet it already exists somewhere.

Do you research before writing or while you write? Is it fun or boring for you?

i don’t feel i write the kind of stuff that requires a lot of research and that’s probably a good thing! because i will go down absolutely every rabbit hole the internet has to offer when i do and zero writing will get done. my longform WIP TFOT has been brewing since—let me check—December 11, 2022 (thanks @mooosicaldreamz) and i’ve written less than 20k words, including my outline. instead i have spent my time working on it ‘studying’ veterinary medicine, learning about sustainable agriculture, planning trips to Wyoming and wondering alongside Paula Cole where all the cowboys have gone.

Give your writing a compliment.

i can’t tell you how happy it makes me when people tell me i managed to write something that made them laugh out loud. several times even! sometimes waking up their loved ones or startling strangers! i love that so much.

[risunsky]

I am sorry for bothering you, but if you don't mind, can you tell the tips for the very very begginers. I really want to start learning how to draw, but it is overwhelming and I don't no where to start and feel a little at loss

ha! One of these days I'm going to have to write something detailed and well-constructed to be able to answer these questions properly. ^^"

In any case, you're not bothering me at all and I'll try to give you a clear answer, but I apologise in advance if it's too long or if my English isn't good at times. In short version I would just quote Lorenzo from How to think when you draw : source

My long version:

It's hard because everyone functions differently, but I'd say that first of all you need to define a goal or a project that will be your driving force so that you don't lose your motivation. It could be a personal comics project or doing fan art, it doesn't matter as long as you're enthusiastic about it. If you have to choose between academic seriousness and fun, choose fun, because fun make you practice and practice make you progress anyway so you'll be less likely to get discouraged.

It's important to practice as regularly as possible, because your ability to draw is like a muscle that you need to maintain. If you don't practice enough, your progress will be slow, and if you don't practice for too long, you'll lose what you've learnt.

Having said that, learning fast is not an obligation - it depends on your goal.

For the technical aspects that you still need to learn between two sessions of fun, the order that seems logical to me is :

shape and volume || light and shade

anatomy

colour theory

perspective

composition

That's assuming you start by doing just characters before getting into complex backgrounds. And bearing in mind that certain parts are connected together and can be learned simultaneously. For example, I've put perspective towards the end, assuming that you come to the backgrounds last, but it's useful for drawing characters too.

To make each of these parts easier, they need to be broken down into stages.

Shape and volume || Light and shade :

Shape and volume :

Basically, it's useful for everything else. understanding shapes allows you to decompose complex subjects so that you can reproduce them more easily. Absolutely everything around you and everything you want to draw can be decomposed in this way. It will then help you to know how to apply light and shade. A good article here. Light and shade : not knowing how to sum it up in a few words, I found some useful links :

[link] [link] [link] these three articles talk about the same thing, but maybe if you look at what else their authors have in stock you'll find something different or explained in a way that suits you better.

Anatomy :

Once you know how to build a human being with tubes and rectangles, you can go into more detail about anatomy. You can start with the head alone, practising drawing it from all angles, with different characteristics, different expressions etc, then arms, then torso, etc and then gradually moving on to the whole human body. Study the skeleton and musculature, it sounds annoying but it really changes everything. Even if it's possible to know how to position a character correctly without it, the result will inevitably be better with it and it'll make your task easier and drawing skeletons is great fun! This doesn't mean that you have to learn every single piece by heart, just that you know enough to be able to place the bumps and hollows in the right places. a good article for beginners, giving the balance needed to avoid being overwhelmed by the study of anatomy. I suggest as an exercise : with the help of references and tutorials, draw a character 4 times in an identical posture, except that first you only do the skeleton, then the musculature, then a normal nude, and finally with clothes to familiarise yourself with the behaviour of the fabrics. (The folds and drapes are, I think, a sub-chapter of the anatomy part because clothes.) about folds and drapery [link] [link]

Colour theory :

Basically, it's what colour you get when you mix these two together, or which colour is best for shadowing this other one, or to produce a certain mood over the whole illustration, I have to limit my palette to these colours and so on. Again, I can't summarise this easily but it's a big important part. Just type colour theory in google or pinterest and you'll find so many good tutorials. Note: again I think that, colour and light / shade are connected and should be learned simultaneously.

[link] [link]

Perspective :

For this part it's easy to broke it in steps. Start by practising with a single vanishing point to understand the principle, then two points, then three, then the fish-eye effect. I forced myself to do the spiral staircase exercise with the perspective, it was terrible but once you've done it and understood what you've done then you're good. Better, you can test your understanding of perspective by having fun reproducing Escher's impossible constructions. I love his work. 1 point [link][link] 2 points [link][link] 3 points [link][link] [Escher]

Composition :

It's one of the last things I learnt and I can really guarantee that there was a before and an after to it. Composition is one of the fundamental that will make you say: I'm an illustrator, in the sense that I know how to tell a story, evoke a feeling with a single drawing. [link] [link] [link] [link]

To come back to more general things, accept that it can take time, it's OK if it's not great at first, we've all been there. Don't put pressure on yourself and don't make yourself feel guilty by comparing yourself to others. Be curious too, look for new challenges, and always do it for fun. Finding a community in which you can make artist friends with whom you can share projects can also be great, because you feed off each other and that helps to keep you motivated. Don't be afraid of failure, failure is good, failure is your friend. Because once you've identified the reason why you think your drawing is a failure or not good enough, you'll remember to pay attention the next time or it'll motivate you to do more training on that point. Knowing things is good, but turning them into reflexes is better.

Here it is, I hope it helps, most of the resources I learnt with were in French so I quickly tried to find the English equivalent, I checked them quickly, but I think it's ok. And, the links I've found are just entry points, in some cases you'll need to find other resources, like anatomy for example, but just type anatomy tuto on pinterest and see what seems easiest for you to start with. aaand this is the end, I think.

[soldier-requests]

Katsuki Bakugo selfcare/selfcomfort headcanons please?

i’m trying something a bit new with this and added some ‘tips.’ not sure yet if i want to include them to my requests or not, though.

anyway, i hope these are alright!! i wasn’t too sure about this one to be honest. feel free to request more or to be more specific or something.

i hope your day will turn up for you a little!! i put everything under a cut because it got a bit long.

headcanons:

most things Bakugo does for comfort are sort of dirty secrets, because he doesn’t frequently enjoy sharing things about himself

on the flipside, it’s pretty well known (throughout class 1-A, at least) what he does for selfcare, because he has a strict routine surrounding it. little do they know, he didn’t start doing this routine by himself

sometimes, he has so many thoughts that it’s just easier to be angry. thinking about classmates, his parents, or villains make this task relatively easy

any mattress of his throughout the years has had numerous holes punched through it on accident. his parents tried to fix this by putting a punching bag in their garage. the holes transferred into the walls. they let him go back to punching mattresses without complaint

he mostly got himself to stop doing it in public before his middle school / junior high years, but he still chews on the collars of his shirts when nobody’s looking sometimes

if he got particularly stressed and there were no shirt collars or mattresses around, Bakugo would pull at his hair, sometimes even ripping some out. he began using weird-smelling hair products afterwards and eventually stopped it

if he feels up to it, he might go visit a best friend, queerplatonic partner, or romantic partner! they generally know him enough not to ask, and don’t mind going to spar, work out with, or be a cuddle partner for him :]

at later hours of the night, he might find himself using anonymous websites to rant or vent what he’s feeling at that time. (there is a site called “this website will self-destruct” that’s pretty good for this!!)

if he feels aggressive, he might try to go be competitive instead! winning, of course, is the best option, so he frequently seeks out Kaminari/Dunce Face to dominate at Mario Kart or other racing games!

if he feels aggressive but is alone, he may go work out, play a violent video game, or watch stupid videos online. preferably of people and animals tripping and falling over.

tips:

listen to music! stereotypically i would think you may like louder/faster music, like rap, metal or rock, or scene/techno, etc., but if slower music helps better than definitely choose that :]. i find that 80s-90s music (especially rock) is usually nice and upbeat! not too slow/fast and not too quiet/loud.

the smell of lavender is scientifically proven to help calm people, if you have any candles/wax or even lavender itself to burn! just remember to stay safe, and don’t leave candles lit if you leave your residence or take a shower

speaking of showers, taking a shower or a bath could help too! sometimes the water pressure of your shower can be nice after a hard day :]. that more depends on your showerhead, though. if you’re careful, you could light some candles in your bathroom while bathing! or maybe use a bath bomb if you have any!

try changing your scenery! attempt taking a walk, or simply just going outside to sit! maybe you have chalk, sparklers, or bubbles to mess with, too :].

if you can’t leave your residence, maybe try changing the room you’re in, switching your position, changing what you’re doing/your task, eating or drinking something, turning on different lights, or making it smell different (with candles, cooking, etc.)

try dressing like yourself / your kintype! not necessarily to get yourself into that headspace, but just because it may be comforting.

possibly try to work out, do yoga, or some smaller exercises like stretching your hands, arms or legs!

maybe attempt assigning yourself a fun task, like drawing, writing, or creating something in general :]. if you enjoy talking about something, try to find someone to discuss it with! (if that makes you nervous, i would suggest doing it anonymously online!)

[kjqbls]

Creativity, Art, Expression, Mindset Reset, and Self-Care: A Reflection Paper

The Creativity, Art, Expression, Mindset Reset, and Self-Care session with Ms. Rosanne Araneta was a timely and much-needed reminder of the importance of these aspects in my life. We live in a fast-paced and often stressful world, where it can be easy to get caught up in the daily grind and lose sight of our own needs. This session was a valuable opportunity to pause, reflect, and reconnect with myself in terms of my hidden creativity.

Creativity is an essential part of the human experience. It allows us to think outside the box, come up with new solutions to problems, and express ourselves in unique and meaningful ways. One of the ways that we can foster our creativity is to regularly engage in creative activities. This could involve anything from painting and drawing to writing and music to simply spending time in nature. When we engage in creative activities, we allow our minds to wander and explore new possibilities. We also learn to express ourselves in new and different ways. 

Ms. Araneta reminded us that creativity is not just for artists or musicians. It is a skill that we can all develop and use in our everyday lives. In this session Ms. Aranetal has led us through a series of art exercises that helped us to tap into our creativity and express ourselves in a visual way. One of the art exercises that we did also was to draw 20 objects that has circle or round shape in it for 10 minutes. For me, that represented my current state of mind. This exercise was a great way for us to reflect on our thoughts and feelings, and to express them in a creative way. We also played a game using one sheet of paper to create, fold, or cut it to an object. The game was to foster creativity. We needed to create multiple objects using that single paper and our output should not be the same as others. It was a fun and simple way to get our juices flowing. It's also a great way to test our problem-solving skills and see what we can come up with when we are limited to just one piece of paper. I was initially a bit overwhelmed. I didn't know what to create. But then I started to think about all the different things that I could make with just one piece of paper. I could make a boat, a plane, a bird, a flower, a stone, a coaster, an eraser... the possibilities were endless. Playing this game was a great way to foster my creativity. It forced me to think outside the box and to come up with new and innovative ideas. It also helped me to appreciate the beauty of simple things. The game was a reminder that creativity can be found in even the most mundane things. A simple sheet of paper can be transformed into something beautiful and unique with a little bit of imagination.

Ms. Araneta has also helped me to reset my mindset by teaching us about the power of positive thinking. She also led me through a series of exercises that helped me to identify and challenge my negative thoughts. Like how mindset has a powerful impact in my life. Thew way we think will surely transpire in us and will be our truth. We choose who we are and it is with the way we think about ourselves. If I have a negative mindset, I am more likely to focus on the negative aspects of my life and to give up easily. However, if I have a positive mindset, I am more likely to see the good in my life and to persevere in the face of challenges.

Through her exercises and teachings, Ms. Araneta helped me to tap into my creativity, express myself in new and meaningful ways, challenge my negative thoughts, and adopt a more positive mindset. She also reminded me of the importance of taking care of ourselves physically, mentally, and emotionally.

I am grateful for the opportunity to have participated in this session. It was a much-needed reminder of the importance of living a balanced and fulfilling life. I would highly recommend this session to anyone who is looking to foster their creativity, improve their self-expression, and boost their overall well-being and to try something new that you have always wanted to learn, but have been too afraid to try. Step outside of your comfort zone and see what happens. You may be surprised at what you are capable of.

[i-am-hoo-iyam]

I really miss @mega-puanni and wish I could tell them I know I fucked up in a gif of frustration and I am very sorry and I feel really bad. But for now all I can do is write more funny skeleton stories about sea shanty singing skeletal systems.

One fine summer night when the moon was lighting up the sky and the air was still warm and somehow there were a few bugs buzzing in the ship even though it was in the middle of the sea, stretch asked everyone at dinner if they wanted to have a little fun on deck and sing and dance and drink and be merry. Everyone thought it was a great idea.

Bear brought some snacks up on deck and blue put some strings of lanterns up at waist height. “Hey shorty! Gimmie those lights!” Cash took the lights and hung them way high so they lit up the deck. “But if I’m too short to hang lights what can I do?” “Bring some deck chairs out?” “Ok!” Blue came back with five deck chairs held over his head and red lounging on one of them. “Hey he asked me to lay here! He says it’s good exercise”. “Thanks Ted! You can get down now!” Sans gave blue a funny look. “Why don’t you stick to cannons ok?” “Why?” “Cuz you looked like you were about to send him into the sea with how much you swung around!” “Oh.”

Stretch went to the front of the deck. “Ok anyone have any song suggestions?” Navy got exited. “ICEES MERRY SEA SHANTY FOR A MERRY GOOD TIME!” Blue looked at navy. “Ok I know I can be childish sometimes but that’s where I draw the line. Iced is for lil kids who fry and poopy in their diapers and eat lollipops.” “Yeah but you read fluffy bunny!” “WHAT NO I DONT WHO TOLD YOU THAT?” “Yourself. There isn’t a spare room and I’m scared of the dark so I share a room with you. And you read fluffy bunny every night”. “Nooooooooooo it’s uh uh it’s uh uh fiiiiiiiiine BUT IM NOT A BABY”. Red snickered. “Baby”. “NO IM NOT HES THE BABY!” Blue pointed to navy. “I won’t deny it”. Baby shrugged.

“Ok any serious suggestions?” Red thought. “Drunken sailor?” “Ok thsts a nice song!” Stretch started singing. “What do you do with a drunken sailor? What do you do with a drunken sailor”. Ht crew danced and enjoyed the music. Cinimon got enthusiastic with papyrus and they started really dancing and twirling around. Papyrus flung cinimon overboard and kept dancing unaware. Bear blew the signal for man over board on the alarm horn and dove in to get him. He came back a minute later and nobody had drowned. “Ok guys what’s the big deal?” Red looked at the crew. Papyrus looked sorry. “I-I-I I diddnt mean to… we were just having some fun dancing around and three i twirled him and then he was overboard”. Cinimon didn’t look that bothered. “It’s ok! Stretch has a lovely voice! Let’s just dance in the middle of the deck ok?”

Stretch started up on the song again. He sang with passion. He finally turned back into the real world when the ship suddenly spun 180 as fast as razz could steer it. “Guys?” Wveryone was on one end watching a seagul who had flown off with sans hat. The one papyrus had given him with the bandana thet meant a lot to him. Sans was in tears and reaching out futilely. Cinimon ten below deck and came back with the net gun. He fired and the net came down on the bird, who fell struggling. The crew reeled the net in and got the hat back. Sans shoved it on his head and went to his room. Blue carefully took the bird out of the net and smoothed it’s feathers and then let it fly away. The bird decided never to steal from that ship again.

Stretch went to check on sans. “Hey buddy. Are you ok? That was a bad scare”. “NO MY HAT ALMOST WENT AWAY FOREVER!” “We would’ve gotten it back without the net though. Remember that one time your hat got carried to kingdom come by the wind? You refused to leave your room and then a month later we found it in that thrift store where the guy said he was cleaning up the beach and found a hat and decided not to throw it away! And that other time it got eaten by the whale and then another ship gone out whaling found it inside the whales mouth! It’s like the hat is connected to your soul”.

“Snf your right heh. I’ve never lost it once. It always comes back. It means so much to me cuz papyrus said if anything ever happened to him I would still have the hat to remember him by. Cuz he said it’s easy to loose a man to the sea and he didn’t want me to be all alone without him.” “You ready to go back for another round of singing? I was gonna sing tthe Wellerman next!” “Ok! Tonight seems like it was made for partying!”

[grothcamp90]

A Portable Activity Of Your Kids

Many kids love to draw. But they get stuck and frustrated when how much they see in their heads, or public record information want to create on paper, doesn't match what equates of their sessions. With a little practice and some simple instruction, any kid (or adult, for that matter) can grow their skills. Here handful of great books children who want understand how to bring. Even though you can participate in the game entirely free people commonly buy sport from Spin Master. You will discover is how the actual game includes headbands that are worn to prop inside cards. Personally I've played this game before and it's also kind of fun. Of course, once i played it we turned it create drinking sports. Which probably isn't appropriate for children.

Do not get mad if your kids do not draw, as you wish to. Kid remains crucial steps to develop their mind and artistic skill. Educate kids to keep practice and learn brand new techniques to Draw for Kids their favorite image. Supply them with numerous image sources that help them to memorize detail of your respective particular entity. Draw a jigsaw pattern on the rear of the textbox. There are numerous patterns online but for convenience's sake, you can try to get a simple jigsaw pattern. Also, it would be good if you approach the puzzler's skill level when you this. Since we're that for kids, a bigger size per piece would definitely be more suitable. Treasure hunt: This is a popular game with you cannot escape alike. The overall game can be varied for a great team building events exercise. Let fun and easy things to draw describe someone else. Surname, place of residence, hobbies - these kinds of all possible clues. On reaching suitable person, they are able to hand the particular next vision. This is an excellent ice-breaker that prompts children attain out and talk to unfamiliar buyers. Actually, finding something conduct in all weather is more about a mindset change than an activity change. A large number of these days we feel it always be too wet to go out or too cold when actually even the brief period outdoors in inclement weather can offer a lot of fun. This eBook can be transferred to the computers a person simply own. Down the road . download your eBook as soon as payment. It's fast and easy. This eBook comes as the regular Pdf file that could be opened and printed with Adobe Reader or any similar process.

[atlasifyllm]

Scarlet Semblance - (DOTS:DR)

hi its 5am and was drawing a 2 panel comic for this but then just wanted to write ruby being serious for once

also disclaimer: i’m not sure if this is canon or will be canon but it’s definitely in-character and should be taken more as a character development exercise

Ruby carried around her newest delivery in the streets of Viridian Hills. 

Her moms’ newest customer was an unlikely one; Marengo Payne. Not that Maren himself was a surprise, considering his eccentricity, but the fact that a gray soul was in need of fighting gear. Maren had sworn he’d needed it as a form of protection against the dangerous workplaces he’d been put in charge of. 

Whatever it was.

It was quiet in Viridian Hills, like normal. There’d be the occasional neighbors carrying baskets of eggs or herbs to each other, faint sounds of music playing from gardener’s headphones, and the clack of sentry boots as they made sure the area was as calm as possible.

Ruby was simply taking the scenic route. She wasn’t in any sort of rush, and Cobalt would’ve made sure that Maren understood if he was… that… kind of customer. 

Her mind was both everywhere and nowhere at once. For now, the emptiness was comforting. She’d been too used to the busy streets of Ruby Roads, or the cacophony of guitar shredding from performing at Blanche’s bar. Silence felt so foreign to Ruby Raleigh.

But something caught her ears. She wasn’t as sensitive and proficient at sound as Cobalt… but she could tell that she was being followed.

Viridian Hills would never allow her to pick a fight with whoever stalker had caught her attention. But perhaps she could play them anyway.

She turned a corner, a hedge blocking whatever house was at the curb. She put her back to the hedge, awaiting for the growing sound of footsteps.

“Heya.”

Ruby immediately dropped the package and pulled out her sword.

“You-!”

“Ah-ah-ah, can’t be seen causing trouble in old Viridian Hills, huh?” Oriole said, playfully wagging his finger.

Ruby put away her sword and glared at him. She didn’t take his eyes off of him as she grabbed the package off of the concrete.

“Whatdya want from me,” she hissed. Her mind tried to scramble around for a name. “Uh, Orange. Guy. You’re part of Pyrrha’s little cult.”

Oriole simply smirked, holding back a laugh. 

“Oriole. Oriole Valencia. You’ve probably heard of me.”

Ruby dusted the dirt off of Maren’s package. “Ehh, vaguely. I’ve heard about an Oriole doing some team tourneys, buut I’m always prepping to watch the Zodiac tournaments instead.” She shrugged. “Turq sometimes dragged me to watch some Speedrunners tournaments, but you seem very…” Ruby looked at Oriole’s body, analyzing it from head to toe. “You’re a pretty beefy guy. I’d guess you’re too slow for Speedrunners?”

“What? Like what ya see?” Oriole burst into laughs. “Nah, nah. I’m part hare, actually. I’m a hare-tortoise fighter.”

Ruby felt on edge, but decided to play it off. 

“Oh, inch’resting! Most of my friends are pretty solid fighters; Blaze’s a tortoise, Rina’s pretty fox-like. I think Jay’s a fox-tortoise though. Pretty cool to see a hare-tortoise, I woulda thought that they were opposite ends of the spectrum.”

Oriole began to lean back into the hedge. Any passerby would’ve thought that they were two acquaintances having a friendly chat.

“I’d say it’s a perfect balance, actually. Speed and strength can do wonders together… though I guess you wouldn’t know that, being a pure hare, wouldn’t you?”

Ruby’s eyes flashed red for a second. 

Stay calm.

“Speed helps you last longer in battle. Better dodges n’ shit. Landing a consistent hit because you’re too fast for your opponent to counter is a pretty handy thing.”

“Well, ya beat Cobalt. Would be more handy to see your stats if you pushed through that initial tourney win.” Oriole replied. 

Ruby was getting annoyed. “Stats aren’t everything! Thinking about the sciencey stuff takes out all the fun out of tournament fighting! And besides, I stand by my interview; I’m not coming back until Cobalt does.”

As she turned to walk the other direction, Oriole blocked her. Ruby tried to put on a blank face, but knew her glaring eyes and its crimson glow were already betraying her.

“And why is that, hm? It’s a pretty weird coincidence you throw it all away after Cobalt’s finally out of the picture. Afraid you’ll both sweep? I’d say it’s time Neocity gets a new tourney fighter S-tier.”

“‘Balt’s a pretty private person. You’re not getting an answer out of me; you wouldn’t understand nor SHOULD you be prying me for info at my JOB.” Ruby paused for a second. “At my TEMP JOB.”

“You’re a red soul, all right. Clips have long since been posted on Bluescreen. You were soo excited to be the next monarch of melee to the point it kicked you into kicking Cobalt’s ass into eigengrau. Hell, a good chunk of people believed you actually hospitalized the guy. I should thank you, actually; your hot-headed vigor of violence gave a chance to all the little guys waiting for their turn in the kiddie pool. It’s nice to see Cobalt finally become irrelevant ‘specially in the tourney scene.”

Ruby simply stayed silent. Her eyes focused on Oriole’s; she could tell he was trying to provoke her. But she was just… so… determined. 

Determined to kick HIS ass into eigengrau. But alas, dueling wasn’t allowed in Viridian Hills.

“You’re still irrelevant as fuck if even my tourney-fighting obsessed ass hadn’t even heard of you. Besides, the newest hotshot in the tourney scene’s already sweeping the competition; you’ve lost your chance. My better beefier buddy Blaze Saffron is absolutely gonna own the Valencia Viceroy if I don’t jump in to kick his ass too.” 

Oriole simply laughed.

“Well, you and I are more alike than ya think. Aren’t we both striving to be better than Cobalt? Like I said: It’s about time for a new all-star tournament fighter. The Valencia Viceroy’s long since surpassed Cobalt’s potential.”

Catching him by surprise, Ruby grabbed onto his shirt and pulled his face closer to hers. Ruby could see the nervousness form in his eyes as she glared into them with a vermillion venom. Her eyes darted left to right, checking for a sentry about to pull them apart. 

“Cobalt. Is my friend.” she spat into his face.

She let go of his shirt, allowing him to sway awkwardly as he steadied his posture. 

She walked past him, letting out a huge sigh. Her eyes shifted back into their normal cornflower blue. She did not want to pick a fight today… especially over her and Cobalt’s private matters.

“Go toss yourself in a furnace, Ori. I have fighting gear to deliver.”

Oriole waved goodbye and began walking in the opposite direction.

“I’ll see you soon…”

Ruby burst into a streak of light, both to get away from him as fast as possible and to intimidate him with her light powers. She’d appear at Maren’s at any moment.

“I’ll see you very, very soon, Red Paladin.”

[writingwithcolor]

Gingerbread man as golem

@yaronata asked:

I would like to write a character who is Jewish and uses a Golem. She's based on the D&D class of the artificer which looks magic but isn't, because they produce all their effects with inventions, like the "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" quote. Her story is that her very Jewish town was under attack from a terrible monster when she was little. Her Rabbis made a Golem to protect the town, and it succeeded but was torn to pieces in the process. She was fascinated by the Golem and as a kid didn't see a big difference between it's sentience and person's so was really thankful for its sacrifice like you would a person's sacrificing their life for you. They thought all the pieces had been devoured by the monster before it died, but she went looking and found the piece used to animate the Golem, which she, kinda misunderstanding called its "heart". She kept the piece and grew up to be an incredibly skilled cook, specialising as a baker in the town. I imagine she would make a lot of really good food for the Jewish holidays, or to break fasts on ones like Yom Kippur or Tish'abav. But she also made a town specific holiday to honour the Golem's sacrifice and the town still being alive, because I feel "we are not dead woo" is a big theme for Jewish holidays from my research, so it could fit, for which she invented ginger bread men to be the golem, and gave them little "hearts" of fruit or honey, and you're meant to eat them limb by limb like the beast did before eating the heart. This would be the inspiration for using the "heart" piece later to make her own giant gingerbread Golem to help her save the world.

These are my questions 1) would it be considered bad or disrespectful for someone who isn't a Rabbi to make a Golem, or is this method of taking an animating piece someone else made disrespectful? 2) Her journey will take her far from her town and her Jewish family and friends and she will likely travel with gentiles. Would it be disrespectful for a Golem to be used to protect a lot of gentiles and one Jew in the course of saving the world? I don't want to fall into the stereotype of someone putting all their effort into valuing and protecting very specifically the group that in real life is oppressive to them. 3) While she is not using magic and is actually mimicking its effects with technology she invents, is this drawing too close to the line of "magical Jew"? 4) I like to "play test" my characters in ttrpgs to really get a feel for them before I write. Would it be disrespectful to play a Jewish character when I am a gentile, and would it be disrespectful to play a Jewish character in a setting where there are demonstrably real gods other than the one of Judaism?

I really like this character idea and I think it's cute and fun and rooted in Jewish culture but I really want to make sure it's respectful and as good as I, a gentile researching on the internet, thinks it is. Thanks so much! Have a nice day!

My answer to this is very complicated because there are things I both like and do not like about this premise. First of all, I love the idea of a cookie golem, and I'm even imagining the magic word that brings him to life (EMET/truth) would be written in icing. And I'm okay with the part about how she found a piece of the old golem and used it to build a new golem, because that makes sense for a golem made from a baked good when you think about how people use sourdough starter to make a new batch of sourdough.

However, here are the thing that make me cock my head to the side like my little sister's German shepherd:

1. re: "magical Jew" - that's not a trope I've ever heard of. Remember, marginalized groups don't receive identical disrespect across the board. It is indeed a trope to use Black people or disabled people as supernatural plot devices who exist only to further the stories of white main characters or able-bodied main characters. But I can't say as I've ever seen anyone using Jewishness that way. Usually if we are someone's one-dimensional plot device it's as someone's lawyer, fixer, "money guy", etc, not a supernatural force. So this isn't something you have to worry about.

2. I have a certain level of discomfort with you playing as a Jewish character just because playacting as a marginalized culture you're not part of strikes me as off, but I understand that that's how you gain insight into a character you're about to write so it's more of a writing exercise than anything else. (I wonder if D&D regulars from marginalized groups have written about this -- I've only played a few times casually with family so if I did run into this type of discussion in my social justice reading I wouldn't have absorbed it. If anyone is curious I played first as Captain Werewolf, and then switched to playing as Cinnamon Blade because lawful good was too hard. :P )

3. I would prefer you omit the detail about eating the cookies piece by piece symbolically, for two reasons: a. it unintentionally evokes Communion by having appreciative people consume a baked good symbolic of an entity who sacrificed his life for theirs, and b. focusing on the details of flesh consumption reminds me too much of Blood Libel (yes, a gingerbread man is in the shape of a person but how many of us actually think about it literally, the way this act would cause?)

As to your first question: I'm fine with her making a golem even though she's just a rando. Second question: I see what you're saying and maybe it could be more okay if it's really clear how well these gentile folks are treating her? And questions three and four are answered above.

I really do love the idea of a giant gingerbread man golem. Cookie golem T_T <3

--Shira

I would like to second Shira’s point about not ripping apart the gingerbread cookies. I honestly would prefer they were used as decoration, and other cookies eaten instead, since that part just feels so not-Jewish to me, but I don’t have golem-specific issues other than that. It seems like you have already been doing a lot of research, which is appreciated.

As far as the ttrpg/DnD aspect… I bounce back and forth on the topic of playing characters that are so very different from our experiences, other than in fantasy-related ways. However, I am aware that a lot of people will play with, and experiment with gender in game, and learn something about themselves in the process (the number of trans players of ttrpgs who tried out their gender in game before they were out is high). It’s different with Judaism, and even more significantly different when it comes to things you can’t convert into, like various actual, real-world races. But because people do sometimes experience growth from experiences like this, I’m hesitant to dissuade players completely. I do urge you to, at a minimum, bring the same care, research, and willingness to learn, that you brought to this question.

--Dierdra

This sounds like a creative storyline that you could have lots of fun with 😊

At first I was confused by this part:

She also made a town specific holiday to honour the Golem's sacrifice

But then you really got me thinking about different types of Jewish holidays and how they come about, so thank you for that!

Because it’s often the little details that either make a story super powerful or kind of nonsensical, I think it would be a good idea to decide what type of holiday is being created here:

A full-blown chag with restrictions on labour and halachic obligations? These are commanded in Torah and new ones can’t be added.

A minor yom tov with halachic obligations but no restrictions? These were instituted by the rabbis prior to the destruction of the Temple, so again new ones can’t be added.

A public holiday or equivalent? This would usually be declared by the Knesset in Israel, and filter to the rest of the Jewish world from there.

A community-based yom tov with specific customs only for people in the know, such as certain Chasidic groups celebrating the birthdays of their deceased leaders? I asked around, but no one can really tell me how these holidays get started, which is probably a good indication that they arise quite organically from a group of people who all just feel that it should be celebrated. Probably not created by a single person, as such.

Something she runs from her bakery, not religion-based, but more like a day of doing special products and deals the way many small businesses do on their anniversary?

Now, if the people of a modern-day town were actually saved by a real live Golem, that would arguably be the most overt miracle for many generations, so there would be a decent chance of options 3 and/or 4 happening. It’s entirely plausible that there could be special foods for this day that become a tradition, including Golem cookies. People who directly benefited might also return to the site where the Golem fought the monster and recite the prayer, ‘Blessed is Hashem, Master of the Universe, Who performed a miracle for me in this place.’

Alternatively, if it’s important that your MC created the holiday, something like option 5 might be the best. Hopefully this will still fulfil what you need: you describe her as incredibly skilled, so I can imagine the day when she goes all out on the Golem cookies being one of the most exciting events of the year for the townspeople, just because her baking is that good. Plus, they already have a personal stake in the Golem’s sacrifice, so I definitely think it could be a thing without being an official holiday. Also, if she is outside of an all-Jewish environment, don’t forget that she would have to decide whether to commemorate the anniversary in the Hebrew calendar or the local one.

Coming back to the cookies, sorry if we’re getting a little repetitive on this point! But I don’t see the cookies being torn limb from limb as part of a celebration. First of all, this doesn’t sound like a very celebratory thing to do, to say the least. Can you imagine explaining that to a three-year-old on their first Yom HaGolem? They would be terrified! (I don’t read this suggestion as accidental anti-Semitism so much as getting carried away with a metaphor, which I’m sure as writers we have all done!)

But also, it’s worth pointing out that our commemorative foods aren’t usually that literal. If you think about hamantaschen, maror, or apple in honey, they’re all symbols. That’s not to say that having Golem-shaped cookies is a problem, as this sounds like just a bit of fun that the MC is having and not something that is directly at odds with Judaism or Jewish culture. But it’s worth bearing in mind that the more literal you go from there in terms of tying the cookies to the event they commemorate, the less culturally aligned your holiday food becomes.

Finally, about the Golem protecting non-Jewish people: I like this idea! There’s a stereotype that we only use whatever is at our disposal to help ourselves and other Jewish people, so a Golem being created by Jews but helping others as well is a big plus for me. Of course, as has already been pointed out, this would be an odd choice if her Saving The World team were anti-Semitic or otherwise disrespectful to her/her community, but I don’t think you were headed that way!

-Shoshi

I have to come back in here just to squee over the phrase “Yom HaGolem.” Well done :D

--Shira

[sugar-petals]

SuperM as Boyfriends Headcanon

↪ caro’s note. extra long version because i miss ‘em. best boys, they’re all bf material to the moon and back ♡

5k words | bullet points

○ warnings ⚠️ 18+, dom/sub play, shibari, female reader, grinding, poly mentions, threesomes, face-sitting, femdom & vanilla, smut and fluff

⌈ ten

— motto: they won’t underestimate me for long.

most of your social environment is gonna be confused by ten at the beginning 

and don’t really get what he’s all about

or think he’s like whatever, some random guy in a tank top

acting peculiar

finding him kind of hard to gauge

some of your family and relatives might even think he’s totally unusual and a sneaky fuckboy making you mad 

they seriously wonder what you see in him

down the line that perception has turned by 180 degrees

as it should

ten becomes more irreplaceable, relatable, beautiful, perfect and impressive the more you know him

he’s not as mysterious and impossibly badass as everyone assumes

his personality is very approachable to you 

and you find him interesting in every aspect, looks to hobbies to background to personal habits

and also opinions because ten is a guy who really thinks stuff through

so you gotta be roughly on the same wavelength 

he likes discussing controversial and complicated stuff a lot for sure

being far wiser than his age suggests 

you are the first to share those things with him until the rest of the world catches up to this gem of a person

spending so much time with you

in the most personal way he can

he takes you to see the floating markets in bangkok, you spend the summer in thailand

wakeboarding and playing badminton

his entire family knows you inside out at some point this shit is serious

it’s very important to him to go back to the roots every now and then

and that you have been around his home city as well

getting to enjoy the area and time together eating the most savory delicacies

renting a boat and paddling you around to the important spots, he can explain any question you have

this kissing is gonna be so romantic 

who needs a vacation in venice when you can go to thailand with none other than ten himself as your ferryman let that sink in

except eating durian there he is, the boyfriend who can do anything!

with seemingly no effort

ten does little kind services of love for you throughout the day

he pours you herbal tea, fixes some furniture (he’s surprisingly good at tinkering), comes home from the bakery with your favorite pastry, does the laundry with your favorite fabric softener

he also goes on a huge shopping spree with you monthly because fashion is key in this household and it’s tremendous fun

you giggle when he puts on oversized shirts deliberately to look funny

everyone in the clothing store will think oh man what an adorable pair

ten will model the living hell out of the entire stock

and buy you the cape you really really want as a birthday present

said item turns out to be your favorite couple accessory

because you can sit next to each other on a bench at the river and wear it

what’s not to love about a portable blanket

of course he will take to instagram and make it such a cool thing, photographies of you wearing really cool coats and jackets

mirror bathroom selfies together as well, with a back hug, the classic

and not just for insta

you snuggle a lot generally

ten is always available for affection

and accepts all PDA

he’s a kitty after all, he loves the warmth of your body more than you know

remember how taemin said ten’s hands are always cold, newsflash not anymore since you stuff them into the pocket of your hoodie whenever you can

and hello sir your paws will be nice and cozy on my waist

or hand in hand when you waltz through your apartment

time for dance is a must

oh my god ten is so good at all of this

although say he’s definitely faster into latin than standard genres

tango argentino, he loves flamenco as well

don’t believe me? ten is a diehard rosalía stan!

vamos

so, no-brainer, expect a lot of dancy stuff 

that escalates into wild, passionate fucking

which probably looks like an aggressive form of couple exercises

you poor sore souls

ten’s lil kitty butt is falling apart from all the “i can handle a bigger one!”-level pegging and you have aching legs all over

favorite position? full nelson

if you ask me ten’s ass is probably so carved out by the end of this you could fit lucas and kai in there from head to toe

this is not for the faint of heart

sex with this guy is extra cardio

and if you’re into that a threesome is gonna go down sooner or later

with our girl lisa

there. i said it

miss manoban in those knee-high boots, grinding her thighs between yours and you finishing off on ten’s face? the fucking hottest thing ever i need a moment wow

i don’t have to tell you how orgasmic this is gonna be

steamy sex life with ten very recommended

⌈ kai

— motto: you’re like a precious rose. i’ll protect you forever.

to be straightforward with you

he is in so heavily in demand it’s madness

to give you an idea of the scale

mark is basically occupied by yuta until the end of time 

but kai has an entire idol fanclub on top of all erigoms

those sharp moves did not go unnoticed

he gets an inkigayo sandwich every other day

jesus christ

if rent-a-sexy-bf.com was a thing kai would be the most requested

his phone would be blowing up with contracts like

and you also have to pass kyungsoo’s vibe check

and taemin’s

the road to being kai’s gf is indeed the way of the samurai

i mean honestly: kim jongin is without a doubt the hardest member to get a date with

this has got to be the most selective man of the entire industry or something

if he likes you he REALLY likes you

and he will be the one showing initiative

because he wants to make it clear he isn’t just spending time out of politeness or something

although it’s pretty logical that if kai was unable to reject someone he would no longer be an idol but a harem husband busy every hour of the day

seoul would be able to found its own village 

kai town

where like 70% of the population is pregnant

but since kai wants to keep on dancing obviously and he wants to lend his heart to only one person 

seoul has to settle with a singular nini family house instead of a kai district

where you and the man himself are a full-fledged household basically since kai’s nieces double as actual kids

if you wanna be a young ass ‘mom but not mom with kids’ and be married to kim kai this is it

does he have a thing for milfs or something

that thought just came to my mind

anyway you’re mommy anyway wink wink

fucking til’ dawn until even his muscles hurt

going raw at the gym together

him cooking the most random food with the infamous waffle maker

cuddling with an army of teddy bears surrounding you

walking the dogs with the sexiest dancer alive 

and the sexiness is only the tip of the iceberg 

we know he’s all-round amazing

kai is the king of figuring out ways to chill out with you anywhere anytime

and yes innocent chilling

...unless you’re in the mood for something else

up to you

anyway

sweet innocent chilling for now... with the stunner... just smooching at best things aren’t going raw or anything

on the couch in the kitchen in the car when it’s parked somewhere in nature

kai takes you very seriously and is a great listener

he’s literally so respectful and open-minded i can’t

he will keep your secrets and stand up for you if it’s ever needed

yes he is extremely caring and invested

kai does not tolerate others being shady towards you

if there’s an instance where you are hurt and unable to assert yourself don’t worry. he knows how to confront others with measure but a firm determination.

kai takes a lot of that responsibility but only to the degree where you are comfortable

i think you get what i mean by that

and he is diplomatic instead of plain patronizing

you have a right to be protected. it means he not only treats you well, but also makes sure your well-being isn’t disturbed in any other way outside of the relationships

outside influences aren’t to be underestimated

and since kai is a godly man you encounter a lot of jealousy from others

a matter he will take into his hands since he knows he’s the reason

standing up for you also means saying no 

to these jealous voices so this is an important boundary he has to draw

that all kinds of hellbent people want to get into his pants and take his stage image too literally is not up to you to fix

kai is there for you to enjoy and love not to defend

that’d be exhausting and beside the point 

kai prevents stress and negativity to come to you

i hope i explained this well he doesn’t do this to be bossed up or make you weak it’s because he wants to make life easier for you

guys being protective will be chalked up as chauvinistic these days. often rightfully so 

but what i mean is that kai support you in all regards so you won’t be at a disadvantage or feel terrible about something

⌈ taeyong

— motto: we’ll take good care. enjoy the pleasure.

he’s the type of boyfriend who will ask you about things he missed out on while he was busy

things um from the internet

while mark literally knows that one by heart already taeyong will ask you things like what the wellerman song is

and you thought it would be something nsfw

i got you fooled

did we forget that the man literally watched nct memes on youtube

taeyong is both even more 18+ than you think but also even more innocent than you think it’s complicated

this man is just hard to describe he’s so different, i mean every person is unique but he’s an original it’s the extra mile you know

anyway

sea shanties

bopping to it all day since he just heard it 

singing it while he prepares dinner based on a youtube recipe video as he often does

he’s the most adorable person ever ever ever

asking you why shanties are back in fashion 

(good question, requires a deeper sociocultural analysis i reckon)

planning to remix one for his soundcloud lmao i kid you not

maybe your favorite shanty 

featuring fast-pace rap and all

creating his own previously unknown phrases and shit like that you know him

palazzo rocco lemon detox flashbacks

he’s hilarious i swear

taeyong will produce his own shanties for you can you imagine

as he says: my happiness is your happiness

watch out he will drop a shanty music video with extra krumping moves

taeyong is a never-ending source of pure crack

prepare to laugh a lot like, a lot lot

how can a man who seemingly has such a serious outlook on life and such a bonkers kinda face be so lighthearted

it’s like he’s peter pan or something

especially since he has to manage like over 20 brats in nct his cutesy behavior towards you as his gf will stand out to you

yeah so to be clear we all know he’s the cute one in the relationship

and guess who wears the pants

that’s always you ma’am don’t deny it

or wait 

not for long actually because they come off um physically

but not metaphorically

because who doesn’t wanna sit on his face tbh

your favorite reserved spot

he loves it

taeyong has such a thing for your body it’s ridiculous

mister lee got a sexy mama

and you have such a thing for the gloriousness that is him

but neither of you will not admit it as openly as other people would think

all there is... is being flustered

baekhyun probably has to play some cupid now and then

and give you some ideas

like gifting taeyong plushies and things like that

baekhyun knows what taeyong is all about so the advice is very welcome

but most things you find out for yourself

by being a little braver with him you know

you walking around naked in the apartment or basically fresh out the shower with nothing but a towel

will shake up taeyong so immensely, he will back himself against a wall without you even pinning him there lmao!

jeez he’s so deep into kinky stuff but easily shook anyway

i quote him again: “born to be cute, i dunno!”

you can imagine the overwhelm when you rub yourself against him like it’s nobody’s business

it’s so much fun to give taeyong a regular horny meltdown not gonna lie

this man was grinding his whole body all over the superm stage and now he’s basically freezing up and drooling

how many denied and ruined orgasms he’s gonna get, so much overstimulation all the way  

you’ll lose count of it

and just how wet you’re gonna be

is a thing for the history books

taeyong isn’t such a big deal in nct for no reason god gave him every talent 

so great sex is obviously in his repertoire

i think you’re gonna break some records for most fucks per week

you know... guys like lucas taemin kai and baekhyun spend more time wooing and teasing and flirting

but taeyong gets down to business

one glance is enough

⌈ lucas

— motto: the hottest couple around.

ah, big boy

you really got this man’s attention

doing nothing much at all really

he probably just saw you walking around talking to friends

carrying an impossibly huge veggie burger munching and enjoying yourself after going on a jog

yeah boy that’s how you catch his eye

they say love begins in the stomach and that is the true meaning

or the nose, your food smells really good, lucas is going crazy, he’s seeing stars and shit

anyway

the towering burger isn’t the only thing he wants

lucas cannot get you out of his mind no matter how much he tries to distract himself 

with more good food, movies, games

fooling around with wayv or the superm maknaes, and working out

he’s admittedly... a little himbo head over himbo heels with you the feels got to him

he’s not gonna say it’s a date he’s just gonna invite you just because

to hang out in the kitchen while taeyong cooks and baekhyun comes up with the idea to play twister

imagine lucas with his long arms and legs bending himself all over the place

fighting with kai who almost crashed his shoulders into taemin who avoided the accident quickly

making you lose a round

obviously lucas will hustle until your team wins

mostly because he’s so tall and baekhyun is so small which is a huge advantage when stacking each other over the map

let’s just face it baekhyun only suggested this game to bite everyone’s butts and to see you have skinship with lucas

which is definitely a successful plan of the leader

yukhei is in paradise 

jumping around his room like an oversized bunny after you went home

don’t lie, you fell hard for him as well he’s just such a presence

emotionally, physically

a gentle but persistent giant

he’ll do anything to make your relationship happen once he knows you’re interested

if there’s someone meant to be a boyfriend it’s gotta be him come on

he will cave in after a while and admit he can’t just forget about you 

not gonna lie

your ex is gonna be shaking in his ratty boots

his poor eyes will literally jop from their unexpecting sockets

when he sees lucas hanging out with you

with his shining blonde hair and tall stature, that perfect shapely body, with great fashion on top of that

looking like your guardian angel

man, xuxi really does

pulling you out of your slump that’s been going on for months

and bringing back smiles and a good time he knows how to do that best

and big big hugs of course

you can imagine how soothing and grounded it feels with such huge arms around you

he will make sure that feeling is always there when you need it

because you deserve that treatment

which means he will come over very very often

yeah get ready for how yukhei is a lot more driven than you think just dial and he will be there

underneath the meme surface is someone very determined who really really wants you

yukhei is chaotic good incarnate but in that area he isn’t messing around

his brain is like: “gotta be with her”

on repeat

he must call you, he literally can’t sleep without tying loose ends together as quickly as possible

no second wasted with this guy, even far down the relationship timeline

i really pity your ex 

i mean someone dating any superm member would drive their former partner completely nuts 

but lucas is a special case

he has that kind of look and aura that makes other guys dig themselves into the ground like wiggling worms or cope by fanboying over him

i don’t wanna make this sound like a competition and yet — congrats on your noodly blondie boyfriend alright

⌈ mark

— motto: two nerds in love.

how to explain this. mark is a perfect balance of a lover, a talker, and a shy bean

with a tendency toward bean

and flicking the bean

you know

cutting right to the chase are we

mark is very invested in pleasing you as good as he can

and defeating his awkwardness

because if we know one thing it’s that he always strives to become better and better like he can’t help it

and isn’t afraid of almost biting off more than he can chew

how many subunits is he part of at this point is it gonna be nct hollywood as well god dangit

back to the point mark doesn’t treat relationships and sex as something static which is a good and rare thing

he does his best and always looks for room to improve

while being very nervous, very bilingual, it takes two languages or more to express what he thinks about you let that sink in

that’s very shaky first date sex while being extremely in love with each other

lucky you

and an afterglow where he plays the guitar for you

that’s so nice 

he can play it while laying down and shit

while singing

not rapping, actual full-fledged serenading

we’ve heard how that sounds in the relay cam

are you dating some kind of teenage heartthrob or something huh

mark will make it very clear he’ll stick around, this bad bitch is here to stay

or actually, he’s a good bitch, don’t misunderstand

mark doesn’t have a lot of edgy in him unless rap is concerned

he’s the kinda guy to get lost in IKEA with 

having a good time 

as often as his schedule permits

you really have to make use of your time together 

this man might as well the busiest idol out there

and you are no different because birds of a feather

you’re both mr. and ms. independent 

out and about very often

so meeting up becomes something special during comeback season

or wait mark always has a comeback going on

which is a double-edged sword but something you both know you signed up for 

which is why you spend a lot of time around NCT dream, 127, and SuperM 

sm’s publicity agents have to work extra hard i’m telling you

a dating rumor is the last thing both of you would need

since you befriend several members you gotta stay on the low as well

but hey the rage of jealous people of the public is nothing compared to the force of nature that is yuta nakamoto

who seriously thinks himself threatened and robbed

in case you are feeling possessive as well...

...you might have to fistfight yuta

to be able to be with mark

who is basically property of osaka at this point

yuta is a scorpio that’s just the way it is

unlike taeyong who wishes his rap buddy the best, yuta kinda wants to be mark’s wingman and see him date, live his best life

but also have mark for himself to fawn over and to adore, to be fascinated by

we get it yuta. bisexual struggles. very understandable

you have to promise in person that mark doesn’t forget about the holy gaming nights with yuta 

which is hilarious since that’s not up to you but mark’s memory

bestie, yuta uses everyone as a scapegoat don’t sweat it too much

regardless you put a weekly reminder on the fridge

so the roaring lion yuta would be pacified

he doesn’t want to lose his sweetheart can you blame him

the ultimate but also most risky solution is obviously inviting yuta for movies 

which will be appreciated but also cause a storm

mark will definitely break a sweat when you start a popcorn war or try to prove who hugs mark the best 

caught in the middle of mayhem is mark lee’s specialty what did you expect

this either ends with murder or a chaotic open relationship down the line

yuta really is attached but who wouldn’t be

it could be worse mark has double the love you know 

⌈ baekhyun

— motto: you wanna know why i’m your candy?

baby tell me are you ridin’?

in fair verona where we lay our scene...

that baekhyun always wants to woo you — his way, which proves to be very interesting to say the least — is never hard to miss

putting in effort is mochi default mode 

no matter what stage of the relationship you’re in

he might as well regularly serenade you under your balcony in the backyard just because

probably singing ‘baby we can stay up’ and wiggling his ass in all directions because he’s a dirty boy gone wild

yeah. nowadays romeo is twerking instead of feuding with tybalt

that’s good for him and everyone involved

you in particular because you get some very racy eye candy

you know how baekhyun is

at least nobody’s around seeing him put on an 18+ show like that

your little guy is one unhinged fella

if it starts pouring he will grind up and down the next lantern and belt out ‘singing in the rain’

you bet he can do some actual pole dance

he’s strong and bendy you know

and loves to gyrate his whole bag of bones like... he wants to hit you with all the body rolls

in the rain

what a freaky man

but hey you wanna stay up for sure 

doesn’t take long until you beckon him to come upstairs

where the only way to alleviate him of his wet clothes—

oh well he has those roger rabbit vibes and you can’t be mad at it

he will play off all his hormonal antics

baekhyun is hilarious

and so perverted, he can keep up with your spicy idea of playing patty-cake don’t worry

how do i know you’re an extra nsfw kinda person?

who else would like baekhyun

he says juicy things all the time

and does juicy things

yes. finally a couple on eye level indeed. 

when baekhyun asks are you ridin’ you ask how hard 

bruh

this is gonna be fun

and remember

beside handing you sacks of money

his priority is always to make you smile

i’m kidding about the bags but

baekhyun is so rich it’ll show in your relationship, but he’s more about the interactions with you rather than the lifestyle

baekhyun didn’t hustle for a bentley he hustled to sing and get out of sm alive alright

financial stability: important

luxury: very nice to have, he can make you the presents you want to have and travel a lot together

but smiles: baekhyun priority

because he so badly wants to know you love him and adore him, he sometimes feels so insecure

of course you do

you always reassure him with your reactions

it’s very important to him don’t underestimate it

baekhyun has always been talking about his ideal type in terms of how he can cheer her up

so even the naughtiest sexy time evenings are gonna be filled with all giggles

anyway other than that your pussy will be dripping

because this guy is as horny as all other members of super m combined

and you have your ways of leaving him tongue-tied and wrists-tied

taemin’s impact

superm isn’t short of bondage supplies we all know that

so yeah. shibari baekhyun is gonna happen

since he does pilates imagine what kinda shapes you can bend this lil guy into

and take some pictures

privé is in trouble 

bondage model baekhyun is bursting onto the scene

you might even run a risque blog that features cropped pictures with him

heh — you think people will recognize him by his body?

nope

first: you only upload HD pictures that aren’t whitewashed

baekhyun is basically never photographed like that

second: who expects baekhyun to be featured on a bdsm blog with his girlfriend

and this is the guy that drives you around in his expensive car with his big black shades on 

well what can i say

nothing is the way it seems

⌈ taemin

— motto: i’ll unfold a whole new world for you.

taemin is cocky, he’s sensual, and: a very smiley person as we know

least boring relationship ever

he will prance toward you whenever he can to involve you in cuddles

touch-starved taemin is a thing

kkoong can tell you about it, he needs kisses and embraces so often

might as well pepper him with it no problem

and put him into your oversized sweaters when he eats ice cream on the sofa, watching movies, and you brush his ever-growing hair

he’s smol he’s gonna fit into them don’t worry

and on the other hand he likes a rough and tough girl who thinks of him like a boy toy

who acts tsundere or like his bodyguard

working out almost daily to the point of sweat all over

a gal probably able to pretzel minho lucas and chanyeol into one giant bundle

taemin truly has the taste of a divo

multi-layered as always

so you couldn’t say the relationship is always the same in sentiment, the vibe of the dynamic could be different every day

we love a complex man

what would be volatile to others is actually an advantage up close

because taemin understands every difficult facet of himself and his partner 

even if those facets might be contradictory

or something that’s felt shameful about

he will accept and listen anyway

the same goes for getting what drives you

taemin is like a walking psychology velvet couch with fancy swirls as arm rests

point is he isn’t fooled by the surface of the world

he knows what has to be known

which also means your looks aren’t the part he prioritizes

and not even outward personality and habit is what he’s drawn to

it’s the mentality and values underneath

that’s true compatibility to him and he can feel it

he’s really really smart

and also finds it important that you get along with shinee and superm, that you think they’re nice to be around and vice versa

especially kai as taemin’s absolute bearly bestie. if kai thinks you’re shady and you don’t like kai either

or if you’re permanently super awkward and taemin’s moodmaking doesn’t help

we have a problem

but fair enough

kai and taemin are basically one soul at this point so if taemin likes you jongin does anyway 

bff telepathy

in fact jongin was probably the one introducing you to taemin lmao!

because he knows you go well together instinctively and he is correct

so not to worry then

and it’s good on taemin to think longterm and not see you as a person outside of social interaction y’know

cough cough he thinks about marriage, you might be ms. lee one day

here he goes again taemin is just very mature seeing you as well-rounded in every aspect of life

without letting his dick make the important decisions at the detriment of making this a relationship of two lives not just two bodies only

but obviously don’t assume taemin is no horny devil. we all know he dreams of the freakiest scenarios and fantasies in this whole group

going kinda crazy about the thought of making you cum which he always wants to try with new methods

which occupies his mind more than a big bowl of super spicy noodles which is taemin’s favorite meal so

at the same time taemin junior is definitely the same clingy attention whore as his sparkly owner

limp wrists from all the handjobs on your side

and very swollen lips from giving all that head on his side

this is gonna be interesting

he puts the 6v6 in 69

equals 69v69 am i right

but i’m serious that’s gonna be a lot of oral action

you definitely ask each other about having sex very often, daily if you have the time and find a nice spot

and how on earth do both of you keep your hands off each other sleeping in one bed

taemin is touchy as hell with no shyness, and you squish squeeze and grope this guy like the mochi he is

ah when things go both ways

© submissive-bangtan 2017-2021. all rights reserved. do not repost or translate. all depictions fictional.

[separatist-apologist]

I have an idea for a one shot, Elucien, Nessian, and Feysand cutest couple contest and Elucien wins but then Eris and Arina walk in and actually win 😂

Okay anon, I'm sorry I sat on this for so long but it took me a hot minute to figure out how to write this.

I think you wanted fluff? Anyway you get unhinged insanity. This is the mating game (like the newly wed game) and if ANYONE says I got any of these couples besides Elucien wrong, it's because this is my first time writing them in earnest.

This is SFW though there are impolite sexual references so exercise good judgement. References to HENrietta the chicken (no apologies).

--

--

“What is this, again?” Nesta groused, crossing one leg over the other.

“It’s the mating game,” Gwyn, ever cheerful, replied. Beside her, Azriel helped organize a stack of cards, offering them to Gwyn without a word. The red-haired priestess perched on a stool to survey the group of people sitting in Rhys and Feyre’s drawing room. Though the game ought to be fun on its own, there were bottles of liquor just out of reach on a nearby table surrounded by cups and snacks.

“Why doesn’t he have to play?” Rhysand demanded, jerking his head towards the spymaster. All heads turned to look at Gwyn and Az, the two newest mates in Rhysand’s inner circle.

“Because he doesn’t want people knowing his personal business,” Gwyn offered. Azriel’s cheeks flushed as Lucien, Rhysand, and Cassian all glanced anywhere but at the females across from them. Twin black, leather couches had been rearranged for the game, with males on one side and females on the other. Behind the males, a roaring fire kept the howling wind outside from leeching cold into the softly lit room.

“Can we start or—”

“Not so fast,” Eris Vanserra stated, bursting through the twin glass, French doors theatrically. Behind him Arina, bundled in a puffy red coat, rolled her eyes and shook out long, blonde hair.

“I invited them,” Elain murmured quickly before Cassian or Rhysand could protest. “Arina is my best friend.”

“Hurtful, baby sister,” Eris intoned, joining the other males across the room. Arina plopped between Nesta and Elain, squeezing her friend tight. Azriel offered Arina a large stack of white cards and a black marker while Gwyn offered the same to Eris. It was impossible not to notice how Azriel’s eyes avoided Eris despite how desperately Eris was clearly trying to provoke him.

“The rules of this are simple,” Gwyn, perhaps sensing a squabble brewing, began explaining the rules of the game. “I ask questions about your mate, and you answer. The team with the most right answers wins that knife in the corner, generously donated by my mate, not to be used on anyone in this room.” Her eyes slid to Eris as she said that last part. Behind Azriel sat a gleaming silver hunting knife with a black, leather wrapped hilt placed just beside a matching leather sheath.

“Males first,” Rhysand decided and though Gwyn rolled her eyes, she didn’t contradict him.

“Want to take bets on who wins?” Cassian whispered.

“Shush,” Feyre shot back.

“The first question: What would your mate liked you to have served them when you accepted the bond?” Gwyn asked. All four females immediately turned to their cards. Elain began scribbling immediately, her lips upturned in a smile that very much said her and Lucien had discussed this before. Arina, too, was writing though her shoulders shook with laughter.

Nesta frowned, looking over at a furiously scrawling Cassian. “Did I not give him exactly what he wanted?” She whispered.

“No cheating!” Feyre elbowed Nesta though she hadn’t written anything either.

“Ten seconds,” Azriel warned. Everyone turned back to their cards, the only sound the squeaking of markers on slippery paper.

“Time.”

“Okay, we’ll start with Feyre. What would your mate likedyou to have served them when you accepted the bond?” Gwyn asked, teal eyes twinkling.

Feyre glanced towards Rhys, who was grinning openly. Azriel narrowed his eyes.

“No mind sharing,” the spymaster warned the pair of them.

“We’re not,” Feyre replied earnestly though the glitter in Rhysand’s violet eyes told the room he had definitely tried. “I wrote exactly what I gave him.”

“Turn your card, Rhys!” Gwyn replied excitedly. Rhys’ grin only widened.

“Oh for fucks sake,” Nesta snapped when Rhys revealed Feyre herself.

Beside Rhys, Lucien began shaking with silent laughter.

“Nesta?”

“I wrote what Feyre wrote,” Nesta replied, turning a card that read a biscuit.

“Oh…babe…we are going to lose,” Cassian said sadly, turning a card that read A nice roast.

“Ungrateful, is what you are,” Nesta grumbled.

“Elain?” Gwyn asked hopefully.

“Lucien said he would have been fine with dirt,” Elain replied, her card written neatly to reflect exactly what she said. Lucien turned his own card excitedly to reveal the word dirt written in impossibly nice calligraphy.

“The bar is so low,” Gwyn mumbled. “Okay, Arina, give us what you’ve got.”

“Eris wanted an apple pie,” she replied, flipping her card with a wink. Eris grinned, revealing his own card that had a drawing of an apple pie, followed with a little arrow pointing to his description that read apple pie.

“We cannot lose to Vanserra’s,” Cassian told Nesta.

“Then do better,” she hissed.

“Next question,” Gwyn interrupted, her teal eyes bright with amusement. “What is your mate afraid of?”

Everyone collectively groaned as they wrote. “This feels like political subterfuge,” Eris grumbled.

“Like anyone cares about your fears,” Azriel mumbled as a reply.

The responses were only a little better. Feyre and Rhysand both guessed my mate dying as their response. Nesta wrote endless warwhile Cassian responded with nothing, causing a booming laugh to escape Azriel’s mouth. Elain and Lucien also wrote my mate dying, and Eris, grinning at Arina, clapped his hands when she wrote falling into a pit trap. He’d done another drawing of a stick figure falling into a hidden hole causing the room to burst into speculation as to whether it had happened or not. The twinkle in Arina’s eyes suggested it very much had.

“Next question. What was the first thing your mate thought when they saw you for the first time?” Gwyn’s enthusiasm was unmatched and Azriel scooted just a little closer to Gwyn, his own hazel eyes bright with affection.

“Don’t get this one wrong, darling,” Rhys told Feyre as he wrote.

“I just know you two are cheating somehow,” Cassian complained.

“If we were cheating, we wouldn’t be losing to the Vanserra brothers,” Feyre shot back. “No offense, Lucien.”

“Some offense taken,” Lucien joked.

“Turn over your cards,” Azriel demanded.

Feyre went first. “I wrote, my mate is a human.” Rhys groaned, flipping over a card that read, “most beautiful female I’d ever seen.”

“That’s what I thought!” Feyre replied, outraged. Rhys merely shrugged. “We were thinking the same thing.”

Nesta, smirking, turned her card over next. My mate is terrifying.

Cassian cackled, revealing a card that read Nesta scared me.

“I know that’s romantic but…wow, Cas,” Azriel teased. Cassian merely shrugged.

“I always knew my perfect female would terrify me.”

“Same,” Nesta agreed with a smile.

Elain flipped over her card which read, oh no.

“You two sure are romantic,” Gwyn joked when Lucien’s card said the same.

“How do we know they’re not cheating?” Rhys demanded; eyes narrowed. Lucien sighed, exasperated.

“Perhaps we spend more time talking than the rest of you,” he suggested. Rhys considered that.

“Maybe. But only because my mouth is occupied—”

“C’mon!” The room complained. Even Gwyn narrowed her eyes at the High Lord, who displayed not one ounce of shame. Arina went last.

“Eris thought about how to get me naked,” Arina replied, revealing her card. True to form, Eris had drawn a rather crude image that caused Lucien to take the card from his elder brother and rip it in half.

At the end of the first round both Lucien and Elain and Arina and Eris were winning, with Feyre and Rhys coming in second and Nesta and Cassian in last place. They were given some time to talk with one another while Gwyn flipped through her cards, but the males were only interested in a rare bottle of whiskey Rhysand had recently acquired.

“This is why we’re losing,” Nesta complained when Cassian did two shots consecutively with Lucien.

“Hardly,” Elain teased as Azriel chuckled in agreement. Cassian narrowed his eyes towards his brother and Azriel shrugged.

“I heard enough up at that house.”

“Okay, okay, let’s do round two so we can all drink,” Gwyn insisted, urging everyone back to their spots. Elain winked at Lucien as Eris called, “We can’t let Lucien and Elain win.”

“Hey!” Elain cried.

“Full offense, Elain,” Eris added, earning a sharp elbow to the ribs from his younger brother.

“First question,” Gwyn called over the chatter. “What is your mates perfect day?”

The males all immediately began scribbling responses while the females watched suspiciously. Feyre went first. “In my art studio.”

Rhys groaned as he flipped his card. “In my bed.”

“You had to know I wasn’t going to write that,” Feyre chided.

“Ah but you were thinking it,” Rhys crooned.

Cassian, too, flipped over a card revealing a wholly inappropriate answer. Nesta sighed as she flipped hers over.

“Seriously? With my girls eating cake?”Cassian asked with disbelief while Gwyn rose from her stool to high-five Nesta.

“Hell yes, Cass. You know I love you.”

“Do I?”

Lucien was quick to flip over his card. “In the garden.”

Elain beamed, her own card reflecting his answer.

“That’s a euphemism, by the way,” Lucien informed the group, his cheeks-tinged pink from the alcohol. Elain spluttered, clearly embarrassed for all Lucien noticed. Cassian high-fived him with what he clearly thought was some covertness.

Eris was the last to flip his card which, true to form, depicted a rather crude drawing. Beneath it he’d written, getting absolutely wrecked.

Arina laughed. “You know me so well.” Her overturned card read Non-stop fucking.

“More information than I ever needed,” Azriel grumbled.

“Jealous?” Eris taunted. Azriel leveled an unyielding stare.

“In your fucking dreams.”

“I do dream of you,” Eris replied with a mocking grin.

“Who doesn’t?” Gwyn asked, defusing the situation with a smile. Next question, gentleman.”

“Don’t be gross this time,” Elain murmured, sending Lucien the sweetest death glare to ever exist.

“What are your mates biggest pet peeve?” Gwyn asked. All four males hesitated, glancing towards their mates as they wrote.

As usual, Rhys and Feyre went first. He wrote Tamlin which earned a round of laughter though did not match Feyre’s response (unlabeled paint tins). Cassian guessed Nesta’s answer right (being told what to do) and for the first time, Lucien guessed Elain’s answer wrong.

“Weeds?” Elain asked with an eye roll as she flipped a card to reveal mismatched patterns.

“Ah I almost wrote that,” Lucien said with a sheepish grin, reaching for the bottle of whiskey in Cassian’s hands.

“Are we going to let Eris win?” Nesta asked incredulously as he flipped over his card. It was a drawing of his face with big x’sfor eyes.

Arina laughed, her card reflecting his answer.

“I’m so afraid to go to Autumn Court,” Cassian mock whispered to Rhys. The High Lord nodded as he poured out more shots.

“Last question!” Gwyn told the room. “What is the best gift your mate ever gave you?”

All four men immediately began writing.

“Cassian I know what you’re thinking—”

“You don’t,” Cassian interrupted with a grin that told everyoneexactly what he was thinking.

“That’s my sister,” Elain reminded Cassian, who merely laughed.

Feyre got a little weepy when Rhys flipped over his card to reveal Nyx written in elegant script. She went and plopped into his lap, twining her arms around his neck. “Is that what you wrote, darling?” She showed him her card which did, indeed, have Nyx written on it.

“Ugh,” Nesta and Elain complained at the same time when the two began kissing. Cassian interrupted their moment with more crudeness.

“What?!” He asked with a laugh when she tossed her card at him. “We were losing anyway and these two—” He jerked his thumbs towards Rhys and Lucien –“Are being gross and sentimental. Is that what you want? Open, public displays of affection?”

“Were you not already?” Azriel asked with one arched brow. Nesta’s cheeks immediately reddened.

“What did you write?” Cassian demanded, picking up his card. His face softened at what he saw. “Oh Nes.”

“Oh no,” Azriel muttered when Nesta attacked Cassian’s mouth with her own. “Someone stop them.”

“Hey,” Lucien snapped next to Cassian’s ear. “Save that for later.”

“What did the card say?” Gwyn asked curiously. Nesta showed the red head her card, displaying my freedom to the room.

Lucien flipped his card quickly. “See, this is what I meant,” Cassian grumbled when Lucien revealed the word you to which Elain, beaming, revealed a second wrong answer.

“Did you really write Lucien’s best gift was the chicken you two share?” Arina asked with disbelief, looking at Elain’s card.

“Henrietta is our baby,” Elain protested. Lucien chuckled but did nothing to contradict her assertion.

“Alright Eris. What did Arina write?” Gwyn asked.

Eris had drawn a picture of what was clearly Arina in a crown. “My High Lady,” he crooned, his russet eyes filled with affection. Arina smiled, her card the same.

“It was a nice surprise,” she admitted.

“I can’t believe you two let Eris win,” Rhys chided Lucien and Elain, now sitting on the same side of the couch holding hands.

“You know, while all of you were fucking instead of getting to know each other, Arina and I spent vast amounts of time separated. We wrote letters,” Eris informed the room with just a touch of defense. Arina perched herself on the arm of the sofa Eris sat on, her hand resting on his shoulder. “I could tell you her whole routine since the moment she was bornuntil this morning.”

“I’d rather have done the fucking,” Cassian announced. Lucien choked on his whiskey as Rhys nodded in agreement. “We’ve got forever, I’m in no rush.”

“I’m boring, anyway,” Rhys added. Feyre elbowed him hard.

“This is not how I thought this was going to go,” Gwyn admitted. Azriel, his hands on her shoulders, was walking her to the half empty bottle of whiskey.

“At least we have alcohol to numb the pain,” Feyre joked. There were giggles in response.

At least they had each other.

[sunnysviolin]

Omotober Day Six

“Bran thought about it. 'Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?'

'That is the only time a man can be brave,' his father told him.”

― George R.R. Martin

The walk home had become much more fun since they had met Aubrey. Before they met her it was just him and Kel. That wasn’t to say Sunny hadn’t had fun on those walks. Kel was his best friend, and he never pressed Sunny out of his comfort zones. He did pretty much all of the talking between the two of them and only stopped periodically to check in with Sunny or get an encouraging nod. Sunny loved to listen to Kel’s ranting and wild made up stories, and he usually ended up drawing them once they got back home. But now that Aubrey was there too, it wasn’t just a walk. It was a performance.

“Did not!”

“Did too!”

“Did not!”

“Did too!”

They continued back and forth, practically tripping over each other in their haste to respond. They had seemingly forgotten anything was around them but their ranting, facing one another as they walked and expertly avoiding obstacles with the practiced ease of those who were used to doing two things at once.

Aubrey had only joined their friend group a week or two ago, but she fit so seamlessly in with them it was hard to remember she hadn’t always been there. Kel had found a sparring partner in her, Mari finally had a little sister to spoil and do girly things with, and Hero could have made friends with a brick.

As for Sunny? Well he wasn’t too sure exactly what he thought of the girl, but he enjoyed having her around. He had never been a fan of loud noises or anger, but somehow with Aubrey it was different. She never stayed angry for long, and even when she was mad, she had never been scary.

“Did too times a million!” Aubrey declared, and Kel gave a disgusted growl, throwing his hands up in the air. She smiled smugly and stuck her tongue out at him, which only started their argument anew as Kel’s fire was rekindled by her slight.

Sunny smiled to himself as their back and forth sped up even more, and he continued to walk innocently at their side. As long as he didn’t call any attention to himself, they wouldn’t remember to drag him into it and try to get him to pick a side. Sunny couldn’t exactly remember what started their argument, or why they were still going at it after being at each other's throats since they had all gotten on the bus, but their shouting was funny.

An unexpected bark broke through his happy haze, and Sunny froze. His good mood evaporated and in its place was cold fear, dripping down his back and gluing his feet to the sidewalk. Hector bounded closer, tongue waving in the wind as he ran towards them. Kel cut off his argument with Aubrey and called for his brother. He intercepted the dog as it got to him, holding his collar fast and keeping him back from Sunny.

Aubrey gasped and clasped her hands together, squealing at the arrival of the furry terror. She skipped over, elated by the new arrival.

“Oh my gosh, who is this?” She asked, holding out her hand towards him. Hector was distracted from his mission to squirm out of Kel’s grasp and sniffed her hand with a laser focus. Once he had determined she was friend and not foe, Hector refocused his efforts to escape.

“This is Hector. He’s my dog,” Kel said, his words punctuated by pauses as Hector jerked them back and forth trying to get his freedom. Hector was only a dog, but Kel was also only a nine year old boy, and trying to hold onto an energetic ball of fur was quite the exercise.

Sunny tried to remember the steps Mari had given him for when he felt like this. Calm down.. Focus. No, he had to focus first, right? He couldn’t remember, and if he couldn’t remember the order, then it wouldn’t work. Sunny shut his eyes tight, letting black starbursts try to distract him from the pain in his chest. It didn’t work, then he was just scared he wouldn’t see if the dog came near him. He opened his eyes again. Kel was watching him with a worried look, and shame colored Sunny’s cheeks. It was bad enough to have such an overreaction to something completely normal, but Kel’s eyes on him somehow made it even worse.

“So cute!” Aubrey shrieked, not noticing what was going on between the boys. She squatted down and let Hector lick at her face, giggling in joy and scratching behind the dog’s ears. She took his face in her hands, speaking to him in a sweet baby voice, “You’re just a little lovebug, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” Kel said, trailing off. He was clearly distracted by trying to manage everything around him, “Where is Hero?”

Said boy was hurrying up the street, an electric blue leash in his grasp. He was panting from exertion, the same way he always did when what they were doing required any exercise, and Sunny vaguely wondered if Hero had his inhaler with him. It was just running up the street, it shouldn’t trigger an asthma attack, but Sunny also knew that stress sometimes made them worse and could make just breathlessness pull into a full attack. On top of the fear and on top of the shame, now he also had to deal with guilt wrapping around his shoulders for causing Hero to have to run out and help him.

“I’m so sorry guys, Mari and I left the door open to get a breeze and I wasn’t paying attention to where he was,” Hero explained as he clipped the leash to Hector’s collar and pulled him into a heel. Hector walked in circles around Hero and tugged to try and get closer to the group of kids. The second Hero had him, Kel was back by Sunny’s side, blocking him and Hector with his body and quietly checking over his best friend. From around Kel Sunny spotted Mari walking over at a much slower pace, and the steel in his spine began to melt. Mari meant safety.

“Why are you sorry?” Aubrey asked, cocking her head to one side and looking around. She finally saw Sunny hiding behind Kel and she seemed even more confused.

Mari arrived with a gentle smile, walking around Kel and hugging Sunny close without words. He wrapped his arms around her automatically, breathing out a sigh and letting the tension fall out of his shoulders and onto the ground. He had felt better when Hero had intervened, but Mari was the one that made him feel safe again. If she was here, nothing bad would happen.

“Calm down. Focus,” She whispered, and the order clicked into place in Sunny’s mind. Once he knew that, he took an experimental breath. It was easier. He could do it.

“Sunny’s afraid of dogs,” Kel explained as the sibling had their moment, “We always keep Hector in our parents room when he’s around,”

“I completely lost track of time,” Hero said apologetically, rubbing the back of his head with one hand. Now that Sunny was taken care of, Kel knelt down by Hector and shushed the still whining dog, scratching underneath his chin the way he liked. Hector’s leg began to shake erratically and he held his head high to give Kel better access.

“It was an accident,” Mari replied, keeping Sunny close to her. When she worried she liked to have him right beside her, and he never minded. Beside her was the best place for him.

Aubrey hummed to herself, clearly taking in all of the information. She pulled her mouth into a thoughtful frown surveying the scene around her. The young girl walked away from where the brothers were and over to Sunny and Mari. She stood in front of him with her hands behind her back rocking back and forth on her heels.

“He’s a nice dog,” Aubrey stated, shooting Sunny an encouraging smile. She kept her voice sweet and light, the way she always talked to him. He bit the inside of his cheeks, avoiding eye contact with the girl. The shame sitting in his belly got worse.

He knew that Hector was a nice dog. Hector was the only dog that Sunny could even get relatively close to, but that didn’t change the fact that he was a dog. He was loud, and he jumped, and he licked, and the energy was just...too much. Sunny didn’t even have a good reason for being afraid of dogs, he just was. He had always been, and he always would be. It was frustrating. It was humiliating.

“It’s okay, Sunny,” Mari soothed, as if she knew what route Sunny’s mind was bringing him down. She patted his shoulder and turned to Aubrey, “It’s just something that he’s uncomfortable with, it’s not something that has to change.”

Aubrey loved Mari. She liked all of them, but Sunny knew that it was more with Mari. Aubrey looked at her like she hung the moon and the stars, and her word was law. They had only known Aubrey for a short time, but he already knew that she would never disagree with his sister.

That’s what made her next words so shocking.

“My mom says that fears should always be confronted. You can never bring light into the dark unless you open the door.” Aubrey stated, the words clearly rehearsed from hearing them over and over. She ended by holding out her hand towards Sunny, her smile never wavering.

“Aubrey...” Mari started with a sigh, her voice kind but delicately firm. Sunny knew what would come next from that tone.

Mari would gently put Aubrey down from the idea and bring Sunny back to the shelter of their house before anything else could happen. She would wrap him in blankets and hot chocolate and love and he would never have to confront what scared him so badly. It was the option he knew, the one that he should take. It made sense and it was safe, responsible even. It would be foolish to break out of what he knew and go beyond into the unknown.

But Aubrey was still holding her hand out. She still believed in him.

Sunny took her hand before Mari could finish her thought, letting himself be pulled out of his sister’s arms. Aubrey hummed a happy tune as she walked them away from Mari and back towards the boys. They were staring at Aubrey in silenced shock, Kel managing to keep a tight grip on Hector’s collar in spite of being clearly lost for words.

Aubrey, unphased and unafraid, changed her grip on Sunny’s hand and turned it so the back of his hand was facing Hector.

“So what you do is let him smell you. That way he knows you’re a friend, and you know that he’s okay with you being close to him.” Kel and Hero had taught this to him over a dozen times, but trying now wasn’t quite so stressful.

It had to be the way Aubrey held no fear or concern. Every time he had tried this before, his sister and friends had reassured him they were holding Hector tightly and that should anything go wrong, they would be here. The possibility of going wrong was what scared Sunny so badly, but that possibility wasn’t present now.

Hot puffs of air hit the back of Sunny’s hand as Hector eagerly sniffed the offered appendage. Kel still had his arms looped around Hector’s neck and Hero was holding the leash, and nothing had gone wrong yet. A pink tongue darted out and licked at his fingers, and Sunny pulled away. It wasn’t the normal jerky motion that was usually accompanied by a sudden breathless panic, he just didn’t like that feeling. Aubrey giggled and reached her own hand out to pat Hector on the top of his head.

“If you pet him, he won’t be able to lick at you,” She commented, and Kel took the silent direction to turn Hector close to him so Sunny could reach his body, “He’s really soft!”

She was right, Hector was soft. His fur was thick and glossy, clearly cared for and brushed thoroughly to keep it this nice. Sunny had seen Kel brushing Hector in the backyard plenty of times before, but now he could see the appeal of putting in all that work. Experimentally he scratched his fingernails against the dog’s body and he was rewarded by Hector giving a full body shake, turning so Sunny could get to his other side.

This was nice, unexpected, but nice. Mari was coming over now, putting a hand on Aubrey’s shoulder and beaming. Sunny turned around to look at the two of them and awarded the girl’s with one of his rare smiles, both of them lighting up at the unexpected happiness on Sunny’s face. Aubrey let go of his hand and turned all of her attention onto Hector, distracting the pooch with her baby talk.

“Are you fwiends now wiv Sunny? Yes you are, yes you are you sweet little baby,”

Sunny pulled his hand back, but he didn’t retreat. He was focused on watching Aubrey. Strong, confidant, idealistic Aubrey. Sunny finally figured out what he thought of her.

[bubble-tea-bunny]

i could make you care

[saiki kusuo x reader]

author’s note: i tried to incorporate as many characters into this as possible to make it feel like an actual episode and i got overwhelmed so fast lol i haven’t written this many characters in a story in a long time. in any case hope i did them justice and that you enjoy :’)

word count: 3,029

Today’s morning is bright, and Saiki’s walk is quiet. Typically this would be no cause for concern. A quiet walk to school is few and far between, difficult to come by given the company he keeps. (He’d much prefer a calmer bunch, if he were granted the chance to choose, but that is neither here nor there.) Don’t misunderstand: he’d bask in this brief peace, guaranteed to be broken the moment he passes through the gates of PK Academy, if the reason for this uncharacteristic period of silence comes about because of the absence of one particular person—someone who, if one could hardly believe it, Saiki actually prefers to have around more often than not.

He walks past the street which leads to your home, his pace never slowing because he expects you’ll join him, as you do every morning. You’ll wait for him on the corner and smile widely like you haven’t seen him in weeks then skip towards him, falling in step easily. He’ll remain nonplussed as you hug his arm, give it a brief squeeze as you greet him—Good morning, Kusuo!—and then promptly let go because you understand he likes his space but you just can’t help but indulge a little bit.

However, none of the aforementioned events play out this Friday. You’re not on the street corner, not there to smile and fall in step with him. There’s no arm hugging or a bubbly greeting Saiki pretends he isn’t affected by. But the truth is that he is, the routine coming somewhat as a comfort, even at the price of sacrificing some of his beloved personal space. So when you’re nowhere to be found his brows furrow and he wonders where you are.

His steps slow until he comes to a complete stop. He wants to check up on you, sooner rather than later. There isn’t much time to delay if he wants to make it to school before the first bell, but this won’t take long. He crosses his eyes, activating his clairvoyance, and he centers in on you immediately. You’re still at home. You’re at home, and you’re sick.

A box of tissues rests on your nightstand and you’ve pulled your small trash can right next to it from where it usually stands by your door. You toss used tissues into it before nestling beneath your blankets, pulling it up to just below your chin and hugging it close in order to retain heat. Your breath evens out quickly and he can tell you’re asleep. Your body must be exhausted dealing with your cold, and he’s confident this is the way you will be the rest of the day—drifting in and out of sleep, dealing with the sniffles and congestion.

He blinks and loses sight of you and now he’s staring once more down the road. Readjusting his bag on his shoulder with a sigh, he resumes walking and thinks about his plans for the day. As it was the last day of the school week, he’d planned to go to Cafe Mami for coffee jelly to celebrate. But now that he’s learned you’re sick in bed, he’d have to make adjustments. Momentarily he debates if that’s really necessary. You probably wouldn’t want visitors in the state you’re in, and knowing you, you’d tell him to go to the cafe without you to enjoy himself anyway. The thought is tempting, truly, yet he can’t shake the urge to check on you.

It feels less like an obligation and more like a simple desire of his own to make sure you’re okay. Saiki shakes his head, more amused than frustrated. There’s no one else for whom he would so willingly do this, or much else, for, and he doesn’t think he’d ever tell you because you’ll tease him the way you are wont to do whenever his facade cracks and he’ll let you have your fun because when you ask if you’re really so different as to make him act this way, the answer is, well, yes. You are.

He imagines this scenario and the corner of his lips lifts in a small smile. Good grief. You could be quite the handful.

“Hey, Saiki!”

Nendo’s voice is entirely too loud for the morning and Saiki heaves another sigh, one that sounds as though it belongs at the end of the day and not the beginning. Nendo is joined close behind by Kaidou and Kuboyasu, and they easily fill the silence with discussions about going to get ramen after class and the latest movements of the Dark Reunion. Saiki really only picks up words here and there that allude to the topic of conversation but it doesn’t require his full attention. It’s the same song and dance every morning.

The commotion once he arrives at school is much the same. During lectures he is afforded the temporary reprieve from having his ears talked off, since the only one speaking is the teacher, but at breaks, the noise resumes, and though he always stays sitting at his desk, in hopes the others will get the hint that he’s uninterested in chatting, they inevitably crowd themselves around it, until he is right in the middle.

Hairo has outlined a new workout regimen and in his louder than normal volume of speaking he shares it. He’s going to start it today, and if anyone wants to join, they’re more than welcome. It doesn’t look like anyone wants to take the offer, which is expected. Hairo’s exercise routines were… a little extreme.

In any case, Hairo is nonplussed by the lack of enthusiasm from everyone else and remarks he can’t wait for the end of the school day.

“I think I’ve been losing muscle tone,” he laments, and he complements this statement with a casual flex of his arm, more so to point out the specific areas he thinks are getting soft rather than to show off, but even if he isn’t trying, his biceps are bulging and if his sleeves hadn’t been rolled up, they would have torn.

Saiki’s brow raises. Yeah… I don’t think that’s an issue for you, Hairo.

“I’ve just finished installing an indoor gym at my home, you know.”

Everyone turns to find Saiko has entered into the circle, a smug smirk on his face. When had he gotten here? Really it’s only Hairo who has any sort of reaction to this, eyes practically sparkling imagining the machines and equipment (or maybe that’s just the glare from the fluorescent classroom lights). All the same, Saiko relishes the attention, boasting of the privacy and space and how really, it’s so much easier to be productive if there’s no one else there but Saiki can only wonder if Saiko even works out at all. He doesn’t remember that being mentioned, and Saiki is nothing if not detail oriented.

Saiki doesn’t have long to ponder over this (not that it would’ve continued much longer because he doesn’t actually care about whether Saiko exercises or just set up a gym in his house to brag) before Nendo asks where you are.

Had he just noticed? You always join them on their walk in the morning. But Saiki can’t say he’s surprised it took this long. What he is surprised about is that Nendo had noticed in the first place.

“Oh that’s right,” Kuboyasu adds. “I thought she just went ahead of us today.”

Yumehara informs them of your whereabouts before Saiki does. “She texted me this morning she wasn’t feeling well so she stayed home.” Her phone dings with a new message and she glances at it, then looks back up. “But she says she’s a little more awake now!”

“It’s the Dark Reunion.” Kaidou’s sudden interjection draws everyone’s attention. He clenches his right fist, staring at the bandages wrapped around it. “They’re trying to get to me by going after my friends!”

Saiki remains expressionless but if he didn’t have such good control he would’ve rolled his eyes. Or maybe she just has a cold.

Upon Kaidou’s claim that a secret society is responsible for your illness, Saiki picks up Yumehara’s thoughts: I wish I was the one Kaidou was so worried about! Maybe if I got sick he’d worry about me too! Getting sick to grab Kaidou’s attention? That’s… going overboard, but Saiki can’t find it in him to be shocked, considering from whose mind this speculation has sprung.

“Poor [Name],” Teruhashi says, kind as always. She sets an index finger on her chin, gaze momentarily aimed upwards as she thinks. “I was about to suggest we all go to the cafe after school today and I wish she could join.”

This gives Saiki pause. Wait. The cafe?

“That sounds like a great idea!” Yumehara declares. Again Saiki hears her thoughts: If we go, I need to do my best sit next to Kaidou!

Whether a visit to Cafe Mami comes across as a good idea because it’s a fun way to celebrate the end of the school week or simply because Teruhashi suggested it, Saiki doesn’t know, but one by one the murmurs of assent resound through the group and he barely contains a relieved huff. He’d already changed his own plans from visiting the cafe to seeing you instead, and it’s a good thing too since it’s apparent his alone time would’ve been ruined. Now he has an excuse not to stick around.

Once the final bell rings, they begin their walk into town towards the cafe. The sidewalk feels crowded with all of them on it, and they have to split into pairs to keep the opposite side of the sidewalk free for people going the other way. Among comments from everyone else about how hungry they are, Saiki makes known his intention to just pick up food before leaving. There’s somewhere he needs to be.

“You’re going to go make sure [Name] is doing okay!” Teruhashi exclaims. It’s a statement, not a question. “That’s sweet of you.”

Saiki shrugs. “Sweet” is not the first word he would associate with his actions. It just seems like common sense to check on you. You’d looked miserable this morning, but he takes your message to Yumehara earlier as a good sign that you’re improving, slowly and surely. Still, he’d be more comfortable seeing you himself. He hadn’t gotten any other chances today to use his clairvoyance, but at least it wouldn’t be long now until he’d be heading to your house.

Chisato is working today and she seats everyone. Saiki goes directly to the counter to place his order—coffee jelly for him and strawberry mochi for you—and he stands off to the side while waiting for the treats to be packed. The others are sitting on the far side of the cafe (in his peripherals he sees Yumehara has taken a seat right next to Kaidou) but he can hear them clear as day discussing what food they should order. Yes, he’s certainly glad he won’t be sticking around. Spending Friday in the midst of that noise is far from ideal.

Holding the bag of coffee jelly and mochi in one hand, Saiki uses the other to push open the door, the bell jingling gently, and someone, Nendo it sounds like, raises their voice to shout across the room: Seeya later, Saiki! Then the door closes behind him, and all he can hear is the footsteps of other pedestrians and the low whoosh of cars.

He exhales slowly. Peace at last. He proceeds in the direction of your home, and when he thinks to himself that any longer and his ears might’ve begun to bleed, he’s only half joking.

In the neighborhood it’s much quieter, the only person he passes being someone walking their dog, and only a couple of cars drive past. He knocks on the door and he assumes you’re in your room and so it will take some time for you to open it, but you’re there faster than he expects. You open it just wide enough to stand in the gap, and immediately he notices the fatigue in your eyes. When you realize it’s him, they light up, and the fatigue fails to take away from the brightness of your smile as you open the door wider.

“Kusuo!”

Inside, he sees you’ve moved downstairs to the living room. That’s why you’d answered the door so quickly. There’s a pile of blankets on the couch and a tissue box on the coffee table. The television is on and playing an animation. He doesn’t recognize it, but it must be one of the new ones you mentioned wanting to watch. However, you’re not interested in it now that he's here and you grab the remote to turn down the volume.

“I thought you were going to the cafe today,” you state, head tilting.

Saiki shakes his head. Change of plans. Instead I brought the cafe to us. He holds up the bag of food and doesn’t have to tell you what’s in it. You squeal in delight that he’s come bearing treats, but the sound is a little raspy and awkward due to your sore throat. It’s still easier on Saiki’s ears than the earlier commotion he’d been surrounded with and, if he’s honest, it’s cute.

You plop down on the couch and wait as he joins you. He unties the bag and opens the box, first taking out the packaged pink mochi and handing it to you. Then he grabs his coffee jelly and the plastic spoon it came with before settling back against the cushions.

You sit cross-legged facing him and bite into your soft and squishy treat, humming delightedly. “Thanks, Kusuo.”  

Saiki chews a mouthful of coffee jelly and glances at you.

You grin and hold up the mochi. “For the snack and for coming to see me.”

He shrugs because it’s no big deal. Or, well, he tries to play it off like it’s no big deal. But you know him better than that, better than most others do, and don’t brush it off so quickly. You breathe out dramatically and set a hand on your chest.

“What must I have done for Kusuo Saiki to give up his quiet time for me?” Then you giggle, and  it’s punctuated at the end by a sniffle.

He tells you there would’ve been no quiet time at the cafe since the others had also decided to go, and that you’re much better company. Even when I’m sneezy? you ask him, and he chuckles. Yes, even when you’re sneezy.

His remark about coming to see you because he’d prefer to be here and not at the cafe with the rest of your friends is merely part of the truth. The rest of it is that he did genuinely want to check on you to make sure you were okay. Though to give this a voice felt like too much for someone typically so reserved in his feelings, but you understand perfectly fine as you smile softly. You’re appreciative of his actions, and it would seem Teruhashi had been right about them, for you murmur that he reminds you of the mochi you’re eating: You’re so sweet!

Grabbing your mug from the coffee table, you frown when you see it’s empty. “I ran out of tea.”

Saiki sets the spoon and now empty container back in the box then holds his hand out. You blink, momentarily confused, but when it registers what he’s doing, you give him the mug. As he stands to make his way into the kitchen, you call after him.

��Thank you!”  

Having been to your house a number of times already, he knows where everything is and starts brewing a fresh cup of tea. You’ve turned the volume up on the television again, but you have to rewind to return of the spot you were at before he’d arrived. Once he comes back with a filled mug, instead of allowing it to continue to play, you pause your show.

You’d snuggled beneath the blankets and have to finagle your arms out of the multiple layers to take the mug from him. You say thanks again and blow gently at the tendrils of steam floating from it. The ceramic is warm in the palms of your hands and you sigh contentedly.

“Sorry I’m a little high maintenance today,” you apologize suddenly. “I’d make the tea myself but I just have such little energy…”

Saiki wishes you wouldn’t apologize because there’s nothing to be sorry for. So he tells you as much. Don’t apologize. Besides, he’d offered to make that tea, and if you wanted soup, he’d offer to make that too. He does understand where you come from, however. You tend to be more independent, opting to do things yourself, and you also know his propensity for being alone and needing space. As such, you’re careful not to be overbearing, and the idea of Saiki doing even little tasks like brewing you tea bothers you.

It’s endearing, the level of care you take to make sure he’s comfortable too, but when he says you’re far from high maintenance, he means it. You immediately understand what he’s implying and laugh before scooting closer and leaning your head on his shoulder.

“Okay, point made,” you concede. With a small smile, Saiki grabs the remote you’d tossed down on the couch and presses play.

He would struggle to call you high maintenance on any day considering who your friends are.  They’re loud and all over the place, practically bouncing off the walls. Life could hardly be tranquil when around them and their antics. It’s the total opposite of Saiki, who values calm and silence. If they were high maintenance, he was low maintenance. That’s the way he prefers to be, existing in relative quiet and as close to mediocrity as he can muster. But he can't say he’s opposed to the occasional interruption to the otherwise mundane, especially where it concerns you. You’re not to be found on one side or the other, but right in the middle, and to Saiki, you are just right.

[heliosthegriffin]

He’s channeling his energy productively.

Jaune walked down the halls of Beacon backed to his dorm, it had been a long day so far, not a hard day though, just one of those days that kept going and seemed like they wouldn’t end. Making it back to his room would at least let him spend the rest of day how’d like.

The sounds of laughter followed a group of older girls walked pasted him. It was outside of class time so the students could wear whatever they wanted. They wore clothes that were made to go clubbing.

Jaune’s eyes had a life of their own as they stared at the girls walking past, you’d think having seven sisters would make him more respectful wouldn’t you? But, having a lesbian older sister, and a couple others that were bi, all they did was teach him how to peak without getting caught.

That said he’d doubt his friends would call him out for staring, considering some of the girls here had assets that would give Yang pause.

They didn’t notice him pausing and walked by, a fragrant fruity perfume left behind. Jaune couldn’t help but look behind him, watching those girls go, a sway in their step that cause something in Jaune to rise up.

“Dammit,” Jaune cursed as his pants tightened up.

Jaune look around before he adjusted his pants, so that his zipper wouldn’t fly off by accident again, and tucking his erection down his pant leg so that it’d be less noticeable.

Jaune felt frustration well up in him, this had become a reoccurring problem since he started Beacon. The girls here were just too damn hot! It made walking anywhere a damn hassle and a embarrassment, and he had no way to release any of his damn tension in his dorm, Nora had broken the locks to the bathroom and the door; That had probably been the closest he had ever come to killing somebody.

Letting out an other sigh he resigned himself to shuffling back to the dorm as the blood went flowing elsewhere. He should just thank his lucky stars that he’d never popped a boner anywhere near Ruby, Yang would have found out somehow, probably Nora, and then killed him.

Right as he got close to the dorms, Jaune’s blood-flow was back to normal, but he still felt tense and incredibly worked up.

The sound of weights being lifted, treadmills running, and other exercise equipment sounded from nearby.

The gym was only a short walk away from the dorms. Jaune paused for a moment, Nora and Yang always seemed to go to the gym when they go worked up, maybe he should try it, it’s not like he didn’t go often anyway, so what would it hurt to work out so stress?

---------

Jaune stared at the scroll in his hands, ‘10:03′ where did the time go? He went in at ‘4:26′, went to the weight rack, and then everything seemed to go into a blur, and then the next thing he remembered was a upperclassman telling him the gym was closing in soon.

“Guess, I had more stress to work out than I thought I did.” Jaune said to himself walking to the gym showers, suddenly starting to feel exhausted and wanting to jump into bed at the closest opportunity.

-----------

The next morning was agonizing, his arms felt like they were made of pure, while on fire and being pulled apart! Maybe he went too hard last night.

He was also feeling cavernously hungry. No wonder Nora has an appetite like a black-hole.

------

Jaune’s problem came back in full force during lunch when Yang leaned too far back and the top couple buttons of her shirt decided they wanted a life in the air force.

Leaving Jaune with a delicious view of her cleavage.

Yang looked at her shirt, “Shoot, I actually liked this one.” She then resumed eating.

A hand caressing his leg, brought him out of his vision. “Are you alright, Jaune?” Pyrrha’s warm, gentle voice whispered into his ear

A mildly blush went up his face. “Yeah, just, uh, taking in the view.”

“Oh, ok then, but if your not feeling well, I can take you back to the room.”

“I’m good.” Jaune said a little too fast, as his mind started to fill in the blanks of what his monkey brain wanted to do to Pyrrha.

Pyrrha nodded.

Jaune felt thankful that Yang or Nora hadn’t found a chance to tease him about being alone with Pyrrha. 

Lunch came and went, and Jaune made sure he was the last to get up, so that his problem wouldn’t be seen. He couldn’t exactly fiddle with himself under the table without drawing attention. So with all the swiftness he had, he tucked himself into his pant-leg while getting up.

In hindsight, maybe walking behind his developed female friends, and especially Blake, was a bad idea. His other head disagreed with him.

The rest of the day went by in a blur, combat class was a mess, but mostly cause he can’t being drawn to his friend outfits, they showed so much leg.

He went back to the gym again after class, he went to the treadmill and leg exercise machine. The upperclassman had to tell him to leave again.

-------

The rest of the week seemed to follow a similar pattern for Jaune, he’d wake up sore, but a little less so each day, go to class, end up aroused, then pent up, then go to the gym when he had the free time, and only when he had free time, going into those workout trances made him lose anytime for studying, hanging out, or training. 

Training with Pyrrha was probably the hardest part of his week, literally and metaphorical, because while he loved Pyrrha like a sister, his body constantly reminded him that they were not siblings! It always made him feel disgusted when ever he looked at Pyrrha that way. No way Pyrrha ever looked at him that way.

After training with Pyrrha though, he still had two hours before the gym closed, and he was pent up again.

The upperclassman had told him to get an alarm or something, cause he wouldn’t always be there to tell him to leave.

-------------

Hanging out with team RWBY was always a... Experience, they were fun, don’t get him wrong, but it was like chaos in a bottle. The bottle was also cracked, and there was no cork either.

Today he and the rest of his team came over to hangout, and Ruby insisted they play twister.

Jaune was forming a bridge with his arms bending backwards to stay on there spot, while Ruby was draped across him with one leg over his shoulder and the other over his arm, with her front laying across his stomach, and her arms going in between and around his legs. While Nora lay under him her chest pressing into his back. It was also a really small mat.

Everybody else had dropped out, or refused to play, while Blake controlled the game, and Yang video taped everything.

Then Nora sneezed into his neck. That was the straw that broke the camels back. Sneeze both tickled his neck and scared the life out of Jaune, as he somehow managed to jump a foot into the air from his position, carrying Ruby with him. They landed on Nora with a thud.

Jaune’s position with Nora’s chest on his back and Ruby’s legs on his chest, really wasn’t going to help with his tension, as his lower-body decided to achieve liftoff.

That said he had managed to get a grip on himself lately,. So Jaune calmly got off Nora, and picked up Ruby, putting her next to Nora. All while hiding his full mast, then went to the gym again.

“You think he’s alright?” Ruby asked innocently.

“Probably just rubbing one out.” Nora said full of confidence. “These sweater puppy's of mine are of a quality most women can only dream of, yet here I sit, my majesty a reality, I don’t blame Jaune at all.”

------------

Jaune was watching with wrapt attention as Ms. Goodwitch strode across the arena pointing out several flaws in recorded fights she had on holographic videos. Tapping them with her wand to enhance the smaller images at time.

RIIIP

Her blouse broke, showing off globes of creamy white flesh barely being contained by a purple bra.

Ms. Goodwitch paused, a light blush on her face. “Well, Students this should teach us to be prepared for anything.”

Jaune then got up, walking out the door.

“Mr. Arc, where do you think your going?” His teacher asked severely, as several laughs broke out of the room, many people pointing at him.

“To the gym. I don’t think I’m going to be able to focus much today.” “Very well, any others who wished to join him?”

The gym was very packed that day.

------

Jaune enjoyed hanging out with Pyrrha, she was probably the best friend he ever had. He just wished she would stop having to bend over so often in front of him, or walking in front of him when she did that he couldn’t help but focus on her swaying hips.

Jaune sighed as he felt a rise tower start to erect. “I’m going to the gym be back later.”

Pyrrha merely looked bewildered. She though she had him for sure this time!

----

The transfer students were interesting people, and he couldn’t take his eyes off of them. They came from all walks of life, all paths, all creeds and kingdoms. From the strictly dressed military like Atlas Academy, to the survival of the fittest types and loosely dressed Shade Academy, or the storied and traditional style of Mistral. They were all interesting, diverse, strong and incredible sexy.

Ever since he ran into that black haired girl and her green haired partner, he somehow kept managing to find them in the most compromising or revealing positions possible.

So, Jaune started hitting the gym harder than ever.

--------------

1 Year later....

----

With a slight shaking arms Jaune pushed the loaded bar back up, exhaling. Then he took a slow, deep inhale as he lowered it down to his chest, then exhaled rising it up again. Inhale, exhale, till he finished his rep.

He rose up from the bench with a grate moan, feeling the warm soreness across his body. It hurt, but in a good way. In a way he couldn’t have appreciated a year ago.

Grabbing his towel he wiped the sweat off his face, and then cleaned off the bench. Treat the gym right, and it’ll treat you right back.

Jaune paused as he walked toward the shower, he had gotten into a habit of showering here so he didn’t have to make his teammate's rush to clean up, there was wall of mirror he looked himself over finding nothing of note, beside himself sweaty and his hair kinda sticky looking.

The water was cold, but high pressured, helping unwind any knots on his back and wash off grime better. He had started taking cold showers more frequently as in the field your rarely got to wash off in general, and if you did, it’s not likely you’ll get hot water, so it he thought it was probably best to get into the habit now.

Working out felt good, taking a shower afterword was just perfect. The only thing that would make it better was wearing his onesie, he had a right to comfort! But, it had gone mysteriously missing after he met Coco on his walk back from the gym half a year ago. So, for now he was stuck wearing white tank-top, and a pair of cotton shorts back to the dorm.

He waved by to the upperclassman about to close the gym, and left for his dorm. He may not have started going to the gym for the right reason, but over the course of a year, he felt like he had grown from then. In fact... what was the reason he started going to the gym? Something about women? Eh, must have been nothing. Ever since he started taking his training double seriously during the Vytal festival, it was like he just didn’t feel dating anybody till he around to being a huntsman, like that there was more to life than dating or stuff.

Jaune ran a hand through his hair, he had started growing it out at the beginning of the second year and now Pyrrha and everybody else vetoed him getting a hair cut! 

“Hahah, jokes on them though, they have to brush the knots out of my hair!”

Walking back to his dorm a fruity perfume pasted his nose, a vaguely familar laughter along with it. Then a slightly familar group of girls were walking in the opposite direction as him. They looked like they came back from a night on the town. He liked the way they dressed, it complimented themselves very well.

As he walked pasted them they paused and stared at him, Jaune paused too, but shrugged, giving them a broad smile and a wave before walking back to his dorm.

Jaune failed to miss the women eyeing fucking him as he walked away, all of them red face and heavy breathing.

“Hmm, why do I feel like I’m in danger?”

----------

Jaune wasn’t sure when, but he had grown into a morning person. It was fun to get up in the morning now, he liked watching the sun rise, seeing the sky change colors on his morning runs. 

Being team leader meant having responsibilities, so being a early riser now meant getting up his team, they were going to be third-years in a not small amount of time. So he made sure that they got up at a reasonable time to prepare for the day. Along with the fact on mission they would have to get up before the sun rise on most days.

Also, he especially liked to watch his teammates get up, it was entertaining in different ways from Nora crashing out of bed, to Ren rising from a blanket cocoon, and Pyrrha’s silly little death threats to any man stealing bitches out there.

He tended to wake them up with a gentle approach putting hand on there shoulders and carefully shaking them awake. He had forgotten how strong he was a couple of months ago when he sent Nora flying into a wall by accident, so had tried to be gentle.

The rest of Team Jnpr had learned a couple months ago that they no longer had a choice in waking up early, the only choice was before the sun was up or after.

Jaune put on his uniform for class, he frowned a little bit, as it was tighter than it was yesterday. Maybe it’s new? Guess it needs to be broken in.

Team RWBY met them at breakfast, Ruby refused to let her other bestie get ahead in the leader game by letting just JNPR get up early! Jaune didn’t notice but he often got murderous glances from Blake.

Eating breakfast Jaune felt a crick in his back so he leaned back.

Pop-pop-pop-pop, RIIIIP!

His buttons on his shirt fired off like a machine gun shattering against the walls of the cafeteria, and then his shirt fell to pieces, revealing his sculpted torso, arms and abs.

“Ahh man, I liked that shirt.” Then continued eating, not aware of the stares his friends, other students, and Ms. Goodwitch were giving his body, eyeing him up as much or more than he used to do to them.

AN: If this Jaune was ever put into a situation where couldn’t exercise for like a week, his libido would come back with vengeance and make him a unstoppable sex monster. That said, what are the odds of that happening?

[crashdevlin]

Opposites Don’t Attract (A Witcher Fic)

Author’s Note: This was written while I was fighting Covid19...so I’m pretty proud of that. I'm aware that not everyone likes the Witcher but this was the only thing that would could out of my head that week so...

I took bits of lore from the show, the books, and the games and mixed them all up into a cohesive awesomeness...also, the smut is pretty good, but the banter is where it's at with this one. If you guys like this, I might make it a series...so, let me know how you're feeling on it.

Summary:  Y/n is a witcher from the Cat School (a nomadic school that is one of the few that actually makes female witchers) who keeps running into Geralt of Rivia...to her great pleasure.

Pairing: Geralt x Female Witcher!Reader, mentions of Geralt x Yennefer and Geralt x Triss Merigold

Word count: 3869

Story Warnings: 18+! HERE BE SEX!! DON’T READ IF YOU’RE A YOUNG’UN!!!, unprotected sex, creampie, mentions of infertility, little bit of angst (it's a Cassie story...what do you expect?)

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

It wasn’t often you crossed paths with the White Wolf. The Continent was vast and you both had work to do. But it was always a treat when you walked into a tavern and smelled the man.

"Geralt. What brings you to Kagen?" you asked, taking the stool next to him at the bar.

"A contract."

"Always so succinct, Wolf...and just a bit disrespectful. Isn't my school the one that's supposed to birth disreputable thugs?"

Amber eyes turned on you as you fiddled with your medallion, a silver coin with a cat's head on a silver chain. It hung right between your breasts and never came off.

"Here to kill a monster...or be a monster?" he asked, his voice a deep rumble.

A zing of indignant fury went through you but you stifled it instinctively. "I haven't taken a contract against a human in nearly twenty years. I've learned the error of my ways. I told you as such when we met last. Remember? The bard's impromptu celebration in Lyria." He grunted softly at you and looked away. "You do remember, don't you, Geralt?"

"My memory is fine, Feline."

"Then you remember folding me in on myself and making my body quake?" You set your hand on his thigh and watched his face for a reaction.

He gave no indication he even noticed your fingers over the conditioned leather. "Since when do you call them 'humans'? When last we met, you were still calling them by the slur."

You rolled your eyes. "That was a single slip. Another thing I've seen the error on. I've developed, I've grown. You have to admit that some things are hard to shake, like a word you shouldn't say or a prejudice you were taught as a small child. I wasn't really given a choice on who to sympathize with in the conflict. Cats and Elves, we go together. Call it a commiseration of outcasts."

He let out a long sigh before dropping his hand to yours. "You talk too much, Cat."

"Well, someone has to fill the silence around you. Jaskier doesn't seem to be around right now, so I'll take that mantle." You licked your lips and hummed as his fingertips slowly caressed the back of your hand. "I could help you fulfill your contract. Two witchers are better than one. What are you after?"

He turned his head just enough to catch your eyes. "You want to help me?"

"I want to fuck you, but I feel you're going to be distracted until you've got your coin so I might as well hasten that instance."

"Can I trust you to have my back in battle?"

You pulled your hand away and shook your head. "If I can alter my preconceived notions of humans, you can alter your notions of Felines. Or, in the very least, of me." You caught his eyes and held them without blinking. "I have known you for decades, Geralt. Can you trust me to have your back?"

He held your eyes for a few moments before he picked up his ale. "It's a graveir. Strength is more important than speed."

"Well, then I'll just have to pull its attention and hope it is hungry for witcher." You smiled. "And you can kill it before it eats me."

He smiled just a bit as he set his mug down. "Perhaps I'll let it eat you, kill it while it is sated and happy."

"Aww, but then the great White Wolf would never get to eat his fill of this Feline ever again."

He smirked as you set a coin on the bar and requested an ale of your own. "And what brought you to Kagen, Y/n?"

You smiled at the use of your name. "Tracking a man." His eyebrow went up so you clarified. "Just tracking. He's a historian. There's some question of the authenticity of some of the Aen Seidhe artifacts he's 'found'. He's at the whore house two down so I thought I'd have a drink while he was busy. A lucky stroke to find you."

"If you help me with the graveir, you might lose him."

You took a drink of your ale and turned on the stool. "You think we can't take down a graveir and have a fun night before a middle-aged human historian wakes from his well-deserved nap after a night of lust away from his wife?" You leaned next to his ear and whispered, "Are you underestimating me or yourself?"

"I could never underestimate you." He tipped his head back and finished off his ale and you chugged down your own. It was time to work.

As you moved to follow Geralt out of the tavern, a tall man with a sunburned face stepped in front of you.

"I didn't know they made witchers with tits," the foul-smelling farmer said with a guffaw at the end for good measure.

"Well, you've never seen the Butcher of Blaviken with his shirt off, have you?" you snapped, stepping away from him.

"You're a real one, then? You got the eyes, I see. They do all those mutations on you? Hear witchers are like a bitch in heat but cain't procreate. Now there's a perfect woman, right? Always ready to be filled, but never able to give me any more little brats."

Geralt sneered at the man's words but you just shook your head. "I guarantee no woman wants to be filled by you or your brats. Especially not this woman."

The drunk looked offended for a moment before he scoffed. "You're not a woman. You're a fuckin' mutant. Wouldn't want your-"

A blade was in your hand and held against his throat in a flash. "I'm a fucking mutant and a fucking woman and I want nothing to do with you."

"Apologize," Geralt demanded, quiet and intent.

The drunk looked down at the knife and blinked a few times, then nodded. "Sorry."

Your blade was back in its sheath on your hip before he could take another breath. "Let's go, Geralt."

"Hmm." He pulled open the large wooden door and walked out, you followed.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"When's the last time you saw the Caravan?" Geralt asked as you headed for the woods.

"You really don't think I've changed, do you?" He gave a noncommittal grunt so you rolled your eyes. "Even after that slime back at the tavern? I didn’t kill him. I didn't even hurt him. I didn't even spout off and call him a...well, if anyone deserves to be slurred, it's a man like that and I held my tongue." You reached out and slapped your hand across his chain mail. "Haven’t seen hide nor hair of Dyn Marv in…"

You rubbed your fingers across your eyes and shook your head. "I abandoned the Caravan the day I met you. The ideals were harder to shirk but I left my school the moment I realized that Gezras wasn't quite the savior they claimed. You had it right. You and the others up at Kaer Morhen, you know how...how a witcher's supposed to act. You were trained in the codes and morals, I wasn't."

"No, you were trained blindfolded on a tightrope across the rooftops of Oxenfurt."

"Let it never be said that Cat School is without our flair." You smiled over at him. "And it was Oxenfurt, the Cintran Capital, and Vengerberg. Nomads and all that."

Geralt looked over at you and smiled. "I can imagine the Cintran guard were very happy to have a bunch of witchers crawling across their roofline."

"Oh none of them ever cared for having a bunch of witchers in their city let alone running training exercises across their roofs. But not a one tried to stop us. You'll recall, there was a time when most feared and respected us more than they hated us."

"I don't recall people ever fearing Cat School," he teased.

"Ah-ha, you're so hilarious, Geralt. My sides are in stitches from all this laughter," you responded dryly.

You walked in relative silence for a few moments, your boots making no sound on the tall grass. "I didn't know meeting Vesemir affected you so much," he said eventually.

"Oh, yes. It was wise old Vesemir that showed me the error of my ways, not the dashing white-haired man who rode into Novigrad after him."

"Dashing. That's a new one."

"I'm absolutely certain it is not a new one, Geralt. Not for any woman who's had the pleasure to make your acquaintance." Your cheeks heated up in a way you imagined his never did. Wolves dulled emotion. So did Bears, and Vipers, and most schools. Most pushed down emotions to make a witcher less susceptible to fear and anger and sadness. Cat School was different. You were reminded of that every time you were around Geralt. "I bet 'dashing' would be one of the first words they'd use to describe you: the Triss Merigolds and Yennefer of Vengerbergs of the world."

He looked over at you as you approached a cemetery filled with recent dead from a bandit attack on the outskirts of Kagen. "Hmm. Is that jealousy I hear?"

"No!" you responded just a little too loud. "What do I have to be jealous of? They're two supernaturally beautiful sorceresses who've been part of your life much longer than I have. Besides, none of us really gets you for more than a night or two, right?"

He grunted softly in agreement, then offered a potion from his belt. You took it and swallowed it down, feeling your already-fast reflexes get a boost. "You're supernaturally beautiful too. It will make you better graveir bait."

You couldn’t focus on the compliment he'd given you as he pointed to a bloated ghoul digging into a fresh grave with short, strong claws. He was gone by the time you looked back but you could sense him moving around the outside of the cemetery.

Normally, this was the point when you'd draw your silver; approaching a ghoul as it ripped a limb from a corpse to make its meal for the night. The sword stayed on your back with your steel, however. You were to take its attention so Geralt could kill it from behind.

It was fairly easy, actually. You and Geralt, working in tandem, had the graveir as dead as his dinner before there was a chance for real trouble. It noticed you, it rushed you, you dodged and dodged and threw a punch or three to its ugly face and then Geralt appeared in your vision and the graveir met the sharp blade of a witcher's silver sword. No muss, very little fuss, and very little blood.

"You did good as bait," Geralt commented as you walked back toward the city. "Maybe I should have you play the snack on hunts more often."

"Oh? A snack for the monsters or a snack for yourself?"

"I'm serious. We work well together."

"It's not the first time we've worked together."

There had been, in fact, two other monsters that you helped Geralt with. A wraith terrorizing a man in Novigrad that you helped him with when you first met each other and a wyvern you encountered on the road. Geralt happened to have the contract on the wyvern and showed up to take it down as you were in the midst of killing it.

He graciously shared a portion of the coin garnered from his contract.

He hummed in acknowledgement. “You should come with me.”

You stopped and turned to look at him. “What?”

“Once you’ve fulfilled your contract on the historian, you should saddle up and travel with me. You said it yourself, ‘two witchers are better than one’.”

You looked up into his eyes and blinked a few times. “You miss Vesemir so much that you would travel with me just to have another witcher at your side?”

“Why don’t we leave it at ‘I enjoy your company’?” he suggested.

You started walking again, heading toward your mare, a Konik named Daisy, and Geralt’s mare, Roach. “Will you be staying in Kagen for a while?”

“I have a room at the inn. I can stay in Kagen until you return.”

“You’re serious about me coming with you? I thought sweet nothings were whispered in the throes of passion, not in the aftermath of battle.”

“You don’t have to come with me, Y/n.”

You shook your head. “I’ll have to think about it, Geralt.” You didn’t want to anger any sorceresses. You climbed up into Daisy’s saddle and grabbed her reins. “For now, let’s go to the inn. A bath and a bed sound amazing,” you said, before riding toward the city.

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

The tub was small but you weren’t large. “How do you fit in this thing?” you asked, dunking yourself under the warm water.

“I’m very good at fitting into tight spaces.” Geralt stepped up behind you and kneeled down, setting his chin on your bare shoulder. “Do you need help getting clean?”

“No. But I’d love a bit of help getting dirty again after I’m done.” He hummed and nodded, turning his head to press his lips to your neck. You hummed happily and turned your head to give a bit more access and he took the invitation, running his hand down your body and under the water. You gasped as his fingers brushed your curls. “I’m not clean yet, Geralt.”

“Clean enough.”

You pressed closer to him, arching your hips and reaching back to grab the back of his head, pulling him further down. “More,” you whispered. He chuckled, slipping a finger down to tease your entrance. “Fuck, don’t tease.”

“Why not?” He nipped at your jawline and gave a low hum. “You know...the first time I heard your voice, I knew I’d have to hear you moan.” You gasped as his finger slipped into you down to the knuckle, your fingers digging into his scalp as the heel of his palm pressed into your clit. “I knew I’d have to feel you cum on my cock when I smelled you in the heat of battle.”

You moaned at the thought of Geralt, barely knowing your name, deciding that he’d have to have you just based on scent. It was something so animalistic, so inhuman...so uniquely witcher.

You twisted in the water and wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him in for a fierce kiss. You didn’t wait for an invitation into the cavern of his mouth, tugging on his bottom lip with your teeth as he gathered your body in his arms and carried you to the lumpy bed across the room. You pushed at his clothes without breaking the kiss, desperate to taste and feel him. Your fingers skimmed across the lines of his back muscles as you pulled his shirt off. His fingertips dug into your hips and moved to put bruising pressure on your ass as you started untying his trousers.

The man was a specimen. The mages at Kaer Morhen made the best of him. You didn’t have time to examine the body and the cock that were so prominent in your wettest dreams because he was obviously just as desperate for you. He got his trousers down and reached between your bodies, taking his length in hand and smearing the head of it in the wetness seeping out of you. You were just about to start begging when he slipped his cock into your cunt.

You lifted your hips to get more of him inside of you. You needed him stretching you and stuffing you. You needed him pushing you to the absolute limits. He fit you better than any ever had.

He rocked his hips against yours, his pelvis putting pressure against your clit as his cock barely moved against your walls. You wrapped your legs around him, ankles crossed at the small of his back, urging him deeper. He growled and grabbed your wrists, pulling your hands from his shoulders to pin them to the bed above your head.

No other man could put you in such a position. No other man controlled you like Geralt. You would never think to let it happen. No man, not even another witcher, could play you like such a fine instrument. A beautiful lute.

Part of you wished you didn't heal so efficiently, so quickly. Part of you wanted to wear his marks upon you for days, but his marks, just like the scent of your coupling, faded far too quickly for your liking. It left you with nothing but the memory and that just wasn't enough. Not when the man you were remembering was so...amazing.

You whimpered out a faint request and he heeded it, slamming his hips into yours harder. You struggled against his grip, desperate to get your hands in his hair, wanting to tug on the white locks, but he refused to relinquish control of your wrists. He gave you everything you needed, but not necessarily what you wanted.

Like you wanted to hear his voice, but the only time you really needed to hear it was when he leaned down next to your ear and demanded, “Cum, Cat.” Your toes curled and your head pressed back into the pillow, your hips arching closer to his as that finally cracking pleasure fell over you. Geralt lasted a while longer before he filled you, his cock pulsing against your walls as his breath caught in his chest, fingers tightening around your wrists as he came.

He pressed sweet kisses along your jawline as he pulled his half-hard member from your dripping pussy and his hands released your wrists to slide his fingers up to entwine with yours. You ended up with your legs tangled with his, neither of you seeming to care about the wetness of sweat and cum sticky between both of your thighs. You kept one of your hands clutched in his, but pulled the other away so that you could run your fingers through his hair as you stared at the ceiling.

“Do you give it much thought?” you asked, quietly. He made a questioning noise and popped open one eyelid to look up at you from where his head was on your breast. Your cheeks heated up and you licked your lips. “What they did to us. What the mages made of us. What they took from us.”

“Took?”

“Options. The options they took from us. We were children, Geralt. We were babies. They stole…” You cut your words off with a shake of your head. “I guess I’m the only one who thinks about it...and I can’t really imagine being some normal peasant wife with a litter of children and a world of misery, but I...I guess there’s some sweetness in the simplicity of their lives, you know? And I hate that I was never given that option. I was deprived of simplicity before I was even aware there was a difference between the folk in the Caravan and the rest of the world.”

Geralt was silent, but the way his fingers tightened their grip upon your hand filled you with a sense of calm. “People hate us, Geralt. They think us heartless, emotionless, cold. I learned to fake it, because that’s what people expect from someone with two blades on their back and these lovely eyes, but-”

“Cat School doesn’t dull emotions.”

“No. Not even with training. That’s a learned reaction to the outside world. I miss Dyn Marv fiercely sometimes because it’s...lonely away from people who understand. It’s hard to walk the Continent alone.”

He closed his eye and shifted a bit against you. “Why aren’t you with them, then?”

“Differences of morality.”

He was silent for a few minutes, just the sound of your breathing filling the room. “Opposites attract.”

“What?”

“It’s something the bard says. The idiot heard it from an alchemist once and he likes to believe it applies to relationships too. It’s why he goes after beautiful, cultured, married women. ‘Opposites attract’.” He sat up and looked down into your eyes. “But it’s horseshit. We look for companions that remind us of us. It’s why all of his women are as enamored with him as he is. Opposites don’t attract, Y/n...and that’s why you are someone I can’t say ‘no’ to.”

“Because we’re so alike?” you guessed.

“Yes.”

“Just because I’ve changed though, right?”

“No. You changed because you weren’t truly that woman. You were what the mages made you. What your teachers made you. You changed when you decided to.”

You licked your lips again and sat up a bit on your elbows. “What about your sorceresses?”

He smirked a little. “I don’t have sorceresses, Y/n.”

“Lovers. Ex or current?” you simplified the question.

“Current. Obviously,” he said, sarcastic humor in his voice as he ran his hand down your body.

You rolled your eyes and tried to ignore the way his touch lit your skin aflame with sparks of desire. “Geralt, I’m serious. If Yennefer were to ride into Kagen right now...if she knocked on that door…”

“Yen would just walk in. She’s never been one for other peoples’ privacy.” He leaned his head down when you didn’t express amusement at his jest, pressing his forehead to yours. “I could lie.”

“Not really. You’ve not proven yourself a good liar, Wolf.”

“True. I prefer honesty.” He sighed and looked away, sitting up to lean his back against the wall.

“Would you turn her away? Would you turn away Triss?” You sighed heavily. “I’m not trying to sound...like such a sodding woman, but...Geralt, you asked me to come with you. That seems like-” His pensive face made you question what you were even trying to get at. “You know what? I think it’d be better if I just head back to my job following Professor Lery and-”

“Don’t.” He grabbed your arm as you moved to get off the bed. “I care for Triss and I think I...loved Yennefer. But I...don’t think we’ll be an option again. She’s been upset at me since Triss.”

“Won’t this-”

“Stop questioning everything.” You closed your eyes as he leaned over and kissed you again. “Stay.”

“I have to finish the contract, Geralt. I’ve already been paid a hundred-fifty gold for it.”

“Then come back,” he demanded softly.

You smiled at him and nodded, but your heart was far less resolute than you were pretending. “Of course. Don’t go anywhere.” You rolled off the bed and grabbed your trousers and shirt, dressing hastily before grabbing your swords and potion belt. You kissed him one more time before leaving the room, swiping a loaf of bread off of a table in the tavern on your way out.

You weren’t sure if you were coming back to him. You wanted nothing more, but you weren’t looking forward to the moment one of his sorceresses came to call. “I’ll decide while I finish this job,” you told your horse, patting her lovingly. “Maybe it should just stay you and me, huh, Daisy. Maybe two witchers aren’t better than one.”