#its been so long since i had to start from scratch in a new fandom

[shep-ard]

how do the kids go about finding people to follow these days?

[masezace]

little off topic for my blog, but i started watching a new show since a friend mentioned it was good and i'd heard positive things about it, so i just wanted to talk about it a little bit (probably never again after this since this isn't a fandom blog, but it's the only one i have rn so idc it's going here)

the show is Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous, and just going on looks alone, despite my love for dinosaurs and the Jurassic Park franchise i never would have considered it. it appears to be very much for kids, and as i'm in my late twenties now i'm not particularly interested in especially kiddy media. however a friend my age enjoyed it and mentioned it has a canon lgbtq+ couple in it among the main characters, so of course i just had to watch it. i had already been hearing that despite its initial appearance and premise, it was surprisingly good for a kids' show, so i had already been curious, but i was even more keen after knowing there were queer characters, and not even the adults, the kids themselves (in a kid's show?!! what a time to be alive), so i finally sat down and watched it.

[spoiler warning, both minor and major, for the rest of this post btw, so continue reading at your own risk if you haven't seen it yet/are still watching]

the show overall

okay so firstly, i am coming at all of this from the perspective of a writer, so my observations are from a technical standpoint more so than just as a fan of the show. and honestly, it really is a well-written show as a whole. is it geared towards kids? definitely. there are plenty of jokes/gags in it that just don't appeal to me as an adult, but beyond that, there was plenty to appreciate as an adult.

the writing is actually phenomenal? there were several points in the series where i just sat back and mulled over the way a scene went, what the thought process behind writing it was like, how well it was executed, and how important it was to the characters and overall plot.

the suspense is spot on, nothing gets dragged out too long, and i will admit there have been a few scenes throughout that actually got me; i jumped! it's actually scarier than i expected a kid show to be, but i'm so glad they went where they did because it really elevated the experience.

the pacing overall is very good, adequately engaging for kids' short attention spans (and us adhd adults 🥲) but not too short either to a point where things felt abrupt or unfinished. plot arcs are well developed and tied up nicely. also, as a bit of a dinosaur nerd, the array of dinosaurs in the show is super broad and satisfying! very fun stuff.

character element

imo the real gem of this show is the character development. honestly it's just *chefs kiss*

the characters grow and change so much and so realistically over the course of the show, it's honestly so much better and more satisfying than the character growth in most adult fiction/media recently.

the growth in ben (who btw was def my favorite character by the end of s1) and kenji in particular were my favorites and, in my personal opinion, the most interesting. the way ben started out anxious, cowardly, and rule abiding to a fault, then grew into a brave, confident, adventurous little pyromaniac gremlin, then had that stint later in the series where he regressed a bit-questioning himself-until eventually ultimately striking a great balance and really coming into himself was just... peak character writing.

kenji started out overconfident, lazy, and overly concerned with money/status. but that arrogant overconfidence and laziness slowly turned into responsibility, and a desire to protect his found family, and the realization that it's the people in your life that really matter most.

honestly what i mentioned only scratches the surface in terms of those two characters, there's certainly more that can be said about them (as well as all the others) but i'm not really in the mood for a deep dive character analysis atm. just trust me tho when i say these characters are so well done and each one of them have arcs that are super satisfying to watch play out.

queer representation

and as for the queer couple? yasmina and sammy are PERFECT. it was so beautiful watching their relationship grow from one-sided to mutual friendship, to loyal devotion, then to love. they were set up incredibly well and incredibly naturally. i have like, no complaints when it comes to them. i don't even know if there's anything i can say that would add to things, they were just a really awesome couple to watch become canon, they're the beautiful and painfully needed representation we all beg for in tv and movies.

shipping, chemistry, and intent

but oh goodness... probably my only real complaint about the entire show would be how benji (ben x kenji) and kenji x brooklyn (kenlyn? brookji? idk and idrc) were handled. because for all that this show did SO much beautifully right, they really screwed the pooch here, sadly.

i'm gonna start by saying that the writing in this show, as with most, is deliberate. what i mean by this is that despite having no clue who it would be because my friend thankfully did not even spoil me as far as the genders of the queer couple, i clocked yas and sammy as the would-be queer couple as early as season one (actually it was between them and benji, but more on that later). i could already see the chemistry, because it was deliberately written in.

shipping is subjective. anyone can ship any character, and in most cases it's pretty easy to see how there could be (romantic) chemistry between fan pairings based on their personalities, their arcs, etc. and that's okay! ships don't even have to have any canon support to be valid, because shipping is for the fandom, and it's for fun (i have a few rarepairs and crack ships across different media that i just love).

but onscreen/written romantic chemistry is a lot less subjective (to clarify, it is subjective whether or not the chemistry is good, but it's not subjective about whether or not it exists). there are literally scenes written with the sole purpose of building the romantic tension and/or chemistry between planned couples (some of which even have absolutely zero plot relevance, which usually is not advised tbh, and most of which are the cliches/tropes you see in literally any romance ever written, some are just disguised a little better than others. but make no mistake, it's all the same set of cliches. there is nothing new under the sun), as well as intentional, key moments within scenes that have other purposes. they are essential to establish romantic pairings.

and typically, the foundations for these couples are laid VERY early on. always within the first or second season (well, at least they are when the writer actually knows what they're doing and has at least a rough plan/outline for the entire series & characters. this is usually a large part of what separates the good chemistry from the poor chemistry. an author who knows who the couples are going to be and has a plan from the beginning to build them up is going to be more successful in creating a believable relationship with good chemistry. one who does not plan, or makes last minute plans will almost certainly fail, and the couple is just going to suck). when the set of characters you're working with are going to stay the same for most or all of the story, you start immediately.

i don't mean to toot my own horn, because i think it's because i'm a writer so i just pick up on narrative patterns very easily, and pretty much always clock the planned couples within the first few episodes of any series, and by the end i am right like 9 times out of 10.

that being said, do you know whose deliberately written chemistry i also clocked in jwcc? ben and kenji's.

kenji and... brooklyn?

no offense to people who like/enjoy kenji and brooklyn, you are free to love them, but the way their romance was written is... quite possibly the weakest point of the show. it felt like they were just trying to appease the upsetto heteros in charge, because there was definitely another het pairing that had a lot more potential than kenji and brooklyn (hello darius x brooklyn aka darilyn, you would have actually made sense because your relationship had amazing buildup and multiple standout scenes from s1 on. dgmw, i love that we got a m/f strong, supportive, purely platonic friendship out of them, i live for those and we really need more of them. but we could have had that with kenji and brooklyn, or darius and sammy, or ben and yas, literally any other pair instead).

kenji and brooklyn as a couple came out of absolutely nowhere. i honestly think they decided to shove them together last minute, and had no actual plan for them until they were working on s4. because their development barely started at the VERY end of s3 (the abruptness of him caring about her being held hostage so much more than literally anyone else in their group despite them having like zero buildup to that point gave me whiplash), but honestly didn't really even become "meaningful" development until s4, over halfway through the series. the two spend the first 3 seasons basically not particularly gaf about each other individually, only as part of the whole group and on an equal level with everyone else. they otherwise have no deliberate narrative foundation. it just starts in s4 with no prior hinting. which makes their development rocky and difficult to believe. the funny thing is their characters literally have dialogue (in s4) trying to draw comparisons/parallels between them to say that they especially have a lot in common and like??? no? they really don't? not any more so than any other two kids in the group. their relationship just, really falls flat.

it was disappointing to see it take such a massive spotlight in the series for almost all of seasons 4 and 5, overshadowing the friendships that have been the focus of the show and should have remained so, to the point where at times it just felt like i was watching some stereotypical het highschool romance. genuinely, it made s4 & 5 more of a drag to get through. yasammy and ben and yas' growing bond (which by the way was so sweet, it had the strongest queer solidarity vibes good lord, i sure wonder why yas chose ben out of everyone to come out to first, hmmm) were some of the few things that kept me invested, otherwise i would have dropped it if it had leaned much farther into becoming the kenlyn show than it already was. especially when it was that pair so much of the focus was given to, even though we had so readily and perfectly available, the pair that could have, should have been: benji. which finally brings me to:

ben and kenji

benji's foundation was laid in s1. their interactions, the situations they found themselves in, were deliberate (on the writers' part). i'm even gonna go out on a limb here and say the pairings were fully established in s1e3, even with parallels between yasammy and benji (sammy clinging to yas and ben clinging to kenji throughout the episode), and darilyn gets the beginning of their development too.

even though they bicker a lot in the beginning, they clearly care about each other? kenji protects/helps ben multiple times, and there are definitely some looks ben gives kenji at times. at the end of s1, the one who seems the most deeply effected over ben's "death," other than darius (understandably since he's the one who failed to save him), was kenji! immediately after it happens, we get two close up shots, darius and brooklyn then yasmina and sammy. after which, we go back to the whole group with kenji in center frame, the focus is intentionally on him. it is only kenji who drops to his knees at the loss, and then we get a close up of just kenji. he was saved for last, and he was alone in frame (tbf bumpy was in frame too, but i'm talking humans here), which implies his feelings are especially important in this moment. that is the reason for solo close ups.

after ben's "death," kenji takes to always wearing ben's fanny pack, and up until bumpy--who ben cares VERY much about--got separated from them, kenji was the one who (however briefly) took over her care, ensuring she got off the monorail with them, and he's extremely distraught, more than pretty much all of them, when they can't find her, and he's last to leave when they decide to accept that ben's gone. even when they do leave, he's distant and distracted and his mind is clearly still on ben.

other than darius, kenji is the only one (if i'm remembering correctly) to mention ben/say his name after they lost him, upset because he was actually trying not to think about him. he has clearly thought about ben, probably a lot, because it's hard not to be reminded constantly when you wear something that belonged to a deceased loved one. and frankly, he appears to be the only one who dwells on him that much.

when ben reappears alive (which btw he found the group again because of kenji's butter knife, hello), the frames literally purposely focus on kenji's reaction. he's the one in the foreground every time they show him and brooklyn in that scene. he is the first one to say ben's name, the first one to go to him and hug him, and the scene takes special care to highlight kenji's strong emotions at ben's reappearance, lingering on his teary face as the focus for a bit even after brooklyn enters the frame to hug ben (because she is not at all an important element in the scene at that moment). just like when ben "died," the way this scene is written and shot HEAVILY suggests that ben holds significant importance to kenji, specifically. because again, the focus here is on kenji and ben almost exclusively, with brooklyn as only an afterthought lol. and quite frankly literally everyone else's reaction to him being alive was pretty lackluster compared to the special attention they gave to kenji on this.

and then in s3 we have the infamous hat scene, where darius and ben are in the limo and ben sees and mentions kenji's sailor hat, looking sad and sounding like... longing?? then directly after we switch to kenji realizing he forgot his hat?? the scene has no real significance tbh other than to draw a connection between ben and kenji. like, it acts as a transition to switch to the pov of the group on the boat, but it was entirely unnecessary? why not just have darius say something about the others and then show them on the boat? if there were no special relationship between ben and kenji, it would have made far more sense if they really wanted it to be ben to say something, that he sees the hat, and sadly says something along the lines of "i hope the others are okay/doing better than we are right now/etc" which implies that the hat made him think of everyone, their whole group. rather than what we got... which very much implies that he was mostly just thinking about kenji 💀 and then kenji thinking about the hat at the same time ben's looking at it and thinking of kenji. like, this is.... a very blatant connection being made by the writing/directing here.

all of that. so many deliberate connections made between ben and kenji, they had a very solid foundation laid for a romance to develop, and by all intents and purposes one already WAS developing according to the show's own subtext. which was why up until s4 obliterated the idea, i was positive the queer couple in the show was either going to be yasammy or benji. it was extremely obvious imo. but as soon we started getting the typical, loud, cliche "we are going to pair off these characters" scenes for kenji and brooklyn, i knew we were getting yasammy and not benji (to be clear, i'm not at all upset about yasammy, they're beautiful and i love how their relationship was done, i wouldn't have had it end any other way for them. but i do personally prefer benji, i just like their personalities and dynamic more. and i feel they had so much potential that got wasted to make way for a far less interesting pairing between kenji and brooklyn. why can't we have 2 queer couples, huh? and if we really needed a minimum of one hetero pairing to appease whoever needed appeasing, darilyn was right there).

but then??? their like entire bond just gets dropped (honestly ben himself gets pretty heavily sidelined for almost all of the last two seasons, which is criminal imo). mostly so that a rushed kenji x brooklyn can be established. like there are still a few small moments here and there in early s4, and one episode in s5 (ep 10), but from early s4 till pretty much the end of the series we hardly see them have any meaningful conversations or interactions, meanwhile literally every other combo in the group does.

it's so weird? why build up benji so deliberately over the course of multiple seasons just to like, fully discard it for a pairing with far less chemistry, even after the chemistry-building scenes they shared, some of which literally had no other purpose than to affirm their connection? even though they were very sparse, the moments benji had were just so blatant (kenji leaps into the rock crevice right onto the back of a saber tooth to save ben?!!?? like he literally was just willing to exchange his life for him like that?? he basically says that he wasn't really thinking, he just did it. so he moved out of what, emotional instinct, that's what we're meant to intuit from that series of events? implying that he specifically has strong emotion and doesn't think things through when it comes to ben? because he doesn't do that kinda stuff for any of the others in the group! even better, this parallels when sammy jumped on the nothosaurus to save yasmina. and then the way benji look at each other after it's over??? hello??? and then how kenji pulls both brooklyn and ben in for that hug a couple minutes later... side eyeing the writers for that choice. they knew what they were doing there and they were evil for it). i just can't see any reason to have dropped them like they were, after all the development they shared for 3 seasons. confounding. biggest disappointment of the series.

i know this probably reads to some as just "wahh, my ship didn't become canon" nonsense. but that's not why i'm bugged. this wasn't just a ship i liked and wanted canon despite no actual narrative support, as most ships tend to be. this ship did have narrative support. there was intent behind many of their scenes together, lingering looks and little things that matter narratively and are always used to signify a stronger/special connection. and it led nowhere, for no good reason. that bothers me. writing that implies and promises something, but never delivers on it. like a person who never finishes their sentences (think Dr McPhee from Night at the Museum). ultimately it's not a HUGE deal or anything, at the end of the day it's just a ship and just a kids' show. but as a writer, it's just irritating to see something like that be done. what can i say 🤷

conclusion

even despite the wasted potential between certain pairings, and even though i do think the first three seasons were superior to the last two, overall i really enjoyed the show, and for what it was, it was really well-made. the overarching focus was of course on found family and friendship before anything else, which i absolutely love, and it was masterfully done. out of 6 kids, all of them had at least one or two meaningful bonding moments one-on-one with another in the group, so every possible combination had their moment to build strong, believable friendships with each other. i'm just so surprised by how good it was as a whole honestly, good enough to binge over the course of a week. i will happily recommend jwcc to anyone willing to give it a watch regardless of age, because i definitely think there's no age limit for a good story, no matter the medium it's told in. :)

[toomanybandstocare]

This one is the redo!!!

Can I request a romantic Harry Potter summer of fun? I'd really like to know who you ship me with please 🙈

Sending you oodles and oodles of love!!! 🩷

₊‧°𐐪♡𐑂°‧₊ - Summer of Fun

Who I would ship you with plus a little drabble. @staygoldwriting requested a romantic pairing from the wizarding world, and I am so glad!! Thank you for celebrating with me, bestie <3

Pairing: George Weasley x GN! Reader

Genre: Fluff

Length: 721w + 254w

Counselor Notes: I am SO excited for autumn to come, and this got me in the mood. I've been thinking about starting to write for wizarding world characters, but I haven't made up my mind yet. I need to learn how to let myself enjoy writing different fandoms rather than sticking to just one until I feel burned out :/

-> Celebration Announcement Post <- -> Celebration Masterlist <-

Rain patters against your flat’s window panes. The kettle’s spout whistle grows in a crescendo against the soft record scratching in the background. Diagon Alley keeps quiet as its residents hide away from the summer thunderstorm in their homes. Still recovering from the war’s aftershock, the magical world seems to have made a silent agreement to take the fleeting moments of peace whenever possible.

Puttering across the living room, you wrap the lightweight blanket tighter when you reach the kitchen. With a flick of your wrist, you shut off the stove and move the kettle to one of the cooler burners before reaching up for a set of mugs.

Completely content with the sleepy haze that’s settled over the city, it isn’t until a gentle hand comes to rest on your hip that you realize George followed you. His warmth washes over you as his chest presses against your back when he reaches above to where your outstretched hand hovers over your favorite mugs. George ducks his head to press a soft kiss to your temple. His lips ghost over your skin before they rest on the shell of your ear. “What are you in the mood for, love?,” he hums.

Cheeks aflame, you grasp his wrist as he brings down your mugs. It’s as if his voice echoes inside you, and your heart calls out trying to find its way home as it hammers against your chest. Once both mugs sit on the counter, you pull his arm to wrap around your waist and lean against him. “Do we still have the French hot chocolate from Bill and Felur’s wedding gift?,” you softly ask. Tilting your head up, you chuckle as you watch George’s face scrunch up in thought. It had been so long since that night, and neither of you had the time to sit down to enjoy the goodies as the two of you went on mission for the Order.

“We should,” George slowly responds with a nod. Patting your waist, he slips away from you and steps over to the pantry cupboard. “Go back and bundle up on the sofa. This’ll only take a minute,” he encourages you as he peers out from the cupboard door with a soft smile.

Stretching your achy shoulders, a yawn escapes you as you nod. Without a single ounce of hesitation, you pad over to the sofa in just a few steps and sink into the well loved cushions. The fire’s crackle lulls you into a soft semi-consciousness. Its warmth envelopes you with comfort. Your ears twitch when George shuts the cupboard door. Another drawer rolls open then closed, and you hear him stir the cocoas. The faint aroma of his cologne and your favorite candle cause you to sink further into the sleepy state. After so much loss and challenge, never did you think that you would be able to share a life with your partner. One that brings you so much joy and fulfillment as the two of you navigate the new era of the magical world together.

A quiet laugh pulls you from your light doze. “Move over a bit. I promise you, the couch seats more than one person,” George teases you. Two dull thuds follow his words as you assume he places your drinks on the coffee table.

“In my defense,” you mumble as you open your arms out for him to join you, “you were working late, and I was a really good part in my novel. It’s not my fault you didn’t tell me you invited Angie and Fred over for dinner”.

Carefully settling himself to lay on your chest, George lets out a tired laugh. “Couldn’t have been that good of a book if you fell asleep reading it, love. But fair enough, I suppose,” he agrees. George wraps his arms around the small of your back and presses a lingering kiss onto your collarbone.

The two of you doze in and out of sleep as thunder rumbles in the distance. Occasionally mumbling to each other, you and George enjoy the comforting moment while you can. Legs tangling together and pulling the blanket with them. Hands gently caressing the other wherever they can steal a fleeting touch. Not a care in the world as the two of you slip away into your own.

As much as you keep your nose in your books or well loved baking recipes, your head is often in the clouds. Always the dreamer and hopeless romantic, you’re a person with a lot of love to share. However, you also tend to spread yourself too thin and forget to focus on your wellbeing.

Out of the infamous duo, George prides himself in being the mastermind behind the joke shop’s business. He busies himself in sketching out inventions or practicing the latest prank potion. George is a practical dreamer. He balances reality and inspiration in a way that only comes from his upbringing.

The two of you are very family oriented and home bodies. When the two of you finally have time to yourselves from busy schedules, it’s almost always spent cuddled up on the sofa in front of the fireplace with books and snacks, or visiting one of your families. 

George keeps you grounded without ever making you feel embarrassed about being a romanticist. He’s always eager to hear about where your head and heart are at, especially if something is weighing you down. He’s sensitive and quick on picking up when your moods shift, and the minute George feels as if something’s bothering you, he sits you down for a conversation. Even though he’s carefree the majority of the time, nothing is more important than an honest chat to get to the bottom of a situation. Especially when it regards your personal wellbeing and happiness, or that of your shared life together.

[messagesfromthestarrs]

Stress Relief

ship: Shigaraki Tomura/Dabi

fandom: my hero academia

genre: all smut no plot

warnings: none, its pretty vanilla. slight ooc. the writing may seem a bit cringe at first but it gets better trust me okay.

word count: 3.5k

They had a close call with the heroes. Luckily, the league of villains managed to escape last second.

Tomura was fucking stressed. So, so many narrow escapes, it was a huge surprise that his fellow league members made it out of there safe.

He paced around the "common room" area of the League's new hideout. Everyone else had already retired to their rooms. Tomura was scratching his neck, thinking, planning, analysing, criticising. He didn't notice his right hand man sitting on one of the chairs, watching him. Tomura was startled out of his thoughts when Dabi sighed and called out to him from across the room. "You look like you need a drink."

Tomura's scratching only got worse at that. He refused to look into Dabi's eyes, because he knew that the second he would, he would be trapped by Dabi's icy gaze and eyes that were the same colour as his fire.

That was the other reason Tomura couldn't relax. He couldn't stop thinking about Dabi. Couldn't stop himself from staring at him. Couldn't stop himself from imaging unholy things about him. Tomura couldn't breathe normally when Dabi would shove him out of the way of an attack and end up on top of him. Tomura stoped himself from thinking about Dabi's scarred hands on him. About what Dabi could do to him. About what he could do to Dabi.

Tomura started to lose control of himself when he was around Dabi.

Little did he know that Dabi felt the same way about Tomura.

Little did he know that Dabi had a plan in mind, something that he had been wanting to put into action for an embarrassingly long time.

"Well, don't we all." Tomura replied a few seconds later than normal since he was so busy imagining what Dabi's low and gravely voice would sound like in the morning after a particularly good night.

Tomura finally decided to look into Dabi's eyes and tried to decifer what he was thinking. Dabi looked the same as always, barely a scratch on him, his fire keeping away his enemies. But there was something different in his eyes. Something similar to how he looked when he was thinking and planning. What was he thinking about? What was he planning? Tomura couldn't help but wonder.

"Tell you what," Dabi said as he stood up from his seat and walked towards Shigaraki, "since we both need to blow off some steam, how about we get some drinks and give each other some company?"

Shigaraki considered the offer for a bit, then shaked his head "No, I don't want to drink anything right now. I just... I don't know."

"Ah, well, in that case," Dabi casually stepped into Shigaraki's personal space, locking eyes with him and lowering his own voice, "I had some... other things in mind."

There was a challenging look in his eyes, as if he was daring Tomura to take this further. So he did, "What did you have in mind?"

"Well..." Dabi stepped even closer to Shigaraki, still refusing to break eye contact, his voice and eyes hypnotic "we could, uh, you know, give each other company in a different way. I know some other ways to relieve stress" Dabi finished his sentence in an... odd manner. There was something different in the air, something that Tomura had never felt before.

And that's when it hit him. "Oh. Oh " he blurted out. Huh. Wow, this was a lot for him to process. He looked deep into Dabi's eyes to verify if this was what he thought it was.

Dabi's pupils were blown wide, making those turquoise eyes (that Tomura thought about in the wee hours of the night) look darker yet brighter at the same time, with a mischievous glint in them. Tomura couldn't stop looking into those eyes. Tomura felt his heartbeat get a little faster than he'd like, the adrenaline from their narrow escape starting to creep back into his body.

They seemed to be having a silent conversation by their eyes: 'you wanna do this? you know we can never go back from this'

Tomura felt the urge to kiss Dabi, to do so many unimaginable things to him, to get so many unimaginable things done to him by the arsonist. Dabi had the same feelings.

Dabi looked him up and down, and raised an eyebrow at his boss. Tomura nodded his head, a silent command in his crimson eyes. It was hard to tell who lurched forward first, but before they knew it, their lips clashed. Tomura let out a shaky breath he didn't know he was holding.

He felt ecstatic. The person he had been obsessed with the past who knows how long, the person who haunted his dreams, was currently all over him.

Their kiss deepened, their breaths got heavier, they got needier. They both wanted more.

Breaking the kiss with a small gasp, Shigaraki grasped Dabi's shoulders, looked him in the eye and commanded "Bedroom. Now."

Dabi breathed out a "fuck yes ", then they practically ran towards Shigaraki's bedroom.

Dabi paused, and realised that there was a good chance Shigaraki might decay him. "Hey, wait do you have some sort of gloves to stop your quirk?"

They finally reached their destination, shoved open the door and stumbled inside, locking the door behind them.

"Yeah- yeah I do, give me a second" Tomura quickly made his way to his bed, Dabi following him and removing his coat. Tomura went through the bedside table and fished out and put on a special pair of gloves that covered only his pinky and ring fingers.

With that taken care of, Tomura shoved Dabi onto his bed, pushing him up against the headboard, into a sitting position, and Dabi just let him. Tomura then gathered his courage, sat on Dabi's lap and straddled him. They resumed their kissing, but this time with Tomura grinding his hips against Dabi's lap in a slow rhythm, soft moans and groans escaping both of their mouths.

To Tomura, every little touch sent small spikes of electricity through his body, his blood rushing.

Their kiss deepened as Dabi and Tomura began exploring each other's bodies more freely. Dabi's hands slid under Tomura's shirt and moved up and down his back, firm and holding him close. Tomura threaded his hands through Dabi's hair, reassured by the gloves and desperate for something to hold on to.

Because of the way they were sitting, they could feel the other's erections growing by the second. Dabi decide to try something a little more mischievous as his hands made their way to Shigaraki's thighs, stroking them. He bit down on Shigaraki's bottom lip at the same time as he jerked his hips up into Shigaraki's, relishing the lewd moan that escaped his boss's mouth.

Shigaraki broke the kiss to catch his breath, "fuck, Dabi, I want more."

"Glad we're on the same page, Tomura." Shigaraki shivered at hearing his name in that tone and voice. Dabi continued, with a tinge of desperation in his voice "so how d'you wanna do this? Fast or slow? Soft or rough? I'll do whatever you want baby, I'm all yours."

Shigaraki's face reddened at that. "I'm... not sure. Look, this is my first time okay? I don't know anything, really" he confessed, feeling rather embarrassed.

Dabi felt weirdly happy to be Shigaraki's first time. He lifted him off of his lap and shifted so that he was on top of Shigaraki, lying down. Dabi loved the way Shigaraki was blushing right then; he leaned down slightly to whisper "i could teach you a few things" and kissed the area right behind Shigaraki's ear (where the jaw starts), making him shiver again.

"Hmm, I like that. A lot." Said Shigaraki, "ya know what? I'm leaving this up to you. You can do whatever you want to me, I'm all yours." He was giving up control. He was gonna let Dabi take the reigns instead, let loose and relax. Huh, this was a good idea.

Dabi looked deep in thought for a few seconds, deciding what things to do to Shigaraki, where to start. Shigaraki started to grow impatient, imprisoned underneath Dabi. After some good consideration, Dabi finally decided on a few things.

"Hey, I want to see you. Can you strip for me?" Shigaraki did not hesitate a second to rip off his clothes, almost decaying them in the process. His skin was pale, tinted pink with his blush and marked with old scars and some beauty spots here and there. Dabi looked downward immediately and was impressed at the sight, and slightly surprised since he didn't expect Shigaraki to be that big. "Dang, gamer boy, you're impressive" Dabi purred at said gamer boy, who's face and chest were a lovely shade of reddish-pink.

Dabi then slowly scanned the rest Shigaraki's body with his eyes, clearly enjoying the view. The blue-haired man in question got even more impatient "just fuck me already, I want you, now."

Dabi chuckled lightly at the desire and desperation in his boss's voice. "Quite eager, aren't we?" He teased lightly, warming up his hands with his quirk and massaged Shigaraki's thighs. Shigaraki shivered at the touch and tried to move a bit so that Dabi's hands would be on his cock instead, but it was to no avail since Dabi held him firmly in place. So instead, Shigaraki tried to touch himself, but Dabi grabbed both his wrists and pinned them above Shigaraki's head. Shigaraki whined at the lack of friction, which provided Dabi further motivation to tease him. Dabi leant down and began kissing Shigaraki's thighs, then stomach, then chest and neck. He tried to kiss everywhere he could, everywhere except Shigaraki's dick.

"Oh for fucks sake, just do it already please Dabi please just fuck me already!"

Dabi let out a satisfied hum at that. Shigaraki's begging made him harder, and as much as Dabi wanted to suck the soul out of his boss, he still wanted to drag this thing they had going on a bit longer. The chances of something like this happening again were low, so Dabi had to make the most of it.

"Look at you, such a needy little slut" Dabi growled in a taunting tone "so hard, so desperate, and just for me?" Shigaraki grumbled and turned his head away, blushing harder, his hips jerking involuntarily. So apperantly Boss was into degradation, noted.

"Alright then Tomura, you're gonna be a good boy for me?" Shigaraki grumbled something again, and blushed harder. Dabi let his hands stray near Shigaraki's thighs and cock, barely touching. Leaning down close to Shigaraki's ear, "Now now~ I won't give you any pleasure if you're gonna be a brat. I could just leave you here, all alone." Dabi purred seductively, and bit Tomura's collarbone who whimpered in response, gripping his bedsheets tightly. "I'll ask again; are you gonna be a good boy for me? You're gonna listen to me and make pretty little noises? Do exactly as I say, understand?"

"Hnnng yeah I will- just fuck me please I'll be a good boy! I'll do everything you say! Please, just do something! "

Dabi's stomach did some funky backflips at hearing the pure lust and desire and desperation in Shigaraki's voice. "Fuck- say that again"

Shigaraki lurched forward, muttering a few colourful curses under his breath. He caught Dabi and wrapped his arms tightly around Dabi's shoulders, smashing their lips together in a brief yet heated kiss. He stopped kissing for a second to say, "Fucking- I'll be your good boy okay! I'll moan and scream for you I'll do whatever the fuck you want me to do, just- just- ugh! " and promptly brought their lips together again.

"Oh fuck yes, Tomura, I'll fuck you good and hard all night long, baby." To prove his words, Dabi gently, finally, stroked Tomura's cock, and the rewarding lewd moan Tomura let out was music to Dabi's ears.

They readjusted their position slightly, so now Shigaraki was sitting at the edge of his bed with Dabi kneeling on the floor in front of him. Finally, after what had felt like hours of torture and teasing, Dabi spread Tomura's legs wide, and leant down and put his mouth around the head of Tomura's cock. Tomura gasped at the touch, his hips jerking up in surprise. Slowly, Dabi began to sink lower, taking in as much of Tomura's huge member as he could fit in his mouth, going slowly at first, then suddenly quickening his pace.

Tomura shouted in surprise as Dabi swallowed him down, the tip of his cock bumping against the back of Dabi’s throat. Without thinking, Tomura tangled one of his hands into Dabi’s black hair, his grip tight and punishing. Dabi rumbled in pleasure, sending a vibration down Tomura’s length that had his toes curling, "Fuck- fuck, okay yeah cool"

Dabi looked up at him, a smug look in his eyes.

Slowly, Dabi brought his head back up then slammed down again, resulting in a gasp from Tomura. Dabi began to bob his head up and down in a slow and sensual rhythm, holding eye contact the entire time. He was enjoying himself.

Dabi was being torturously slow and that annoyed the hell out of Shigaraki. But their eye contact was held as a challenge, to see who would break it first. That was a thing Tomura was struggling with. Dabi seemed to have complete control over him, despite being the one looked down upon. To Tomura, just the sight of Dabi seated between his legs, mouth filled with his cock and that look in his eyes; that was more than enough to fluster Tomura, despite the lack of friction. He was the first to look away, bite his lips to poorly hide a whimper.

Immediately after the eye contact broke, Dabi rose his head up, moving to suck and bite Tomura's inner thighs instead.

All the foreplay had already put Shigaraki on the brink of collapse. He was turning into a whimpering and moaning mess, gripping onto the sheets with one hand and Dabi's hair with another.

"ughh please Dabi- more-"

Dabi, on the other hand, was having a power trip. Shigaraki Tomura, enemy of the nation, most dangerous man alive, falling apart with barely any effort. Shigaraki kept whining and gasping and desperately tugging Dabi's hair. The boss was the one completely naked and covered in possessive marks, while Dabi simply languidly moved his tongue across that monstrosity of a cock. It fueled Dabi's obsession and also made him realise how tight his pants were getting. He was getting impatient.

"do you have any lube? and condoms?"

"uh- no?" right. of course he didn't.

"right. of course you don't. fucking virgin."

that earned Dabi a sharp pull of his hair, to which he fake moaned dramatically. "all right, let me get some from my room" he said, getting up.

"w-wait- " Tomura seemed to panic, grabbing Dabi's wrist "don't go…" he pouted.

Dabi's heart fluttered. he leaned down to peck his lips, "dont worry boss, I'll be back soon" and sprinted to complete his mission

upon returning from his room, which took less than 2 minutes mind you, Dabi came upon quite the sight: Shigaraki Tomura, wearing nothing but Dabi's coat, jerking himself off. Dabi stood transfixed for a moment, eyes unable to turn away from that veiny, weeping cock, from Shigaraki's bony hands moving at inhuman speeds, muttering Dabi's name into his coat, breathing in his scent.

Dabi might as well go insane.

Tomura's eyes fell on him at last, making eye contact. He seemed to be getting off on being watched, came with a shudder and Dabi's name on his lips.

Dabi… might as well go insane.

"Uh. boss."

"yes, my soldier?" a cat like smile, eyes still dazed

"...I thought I told you to wait for me." he crosses his arms

Tomura gets on his stomach and elbows, hair falling over most of his face, coat slipping off one shoulder. "what're you gonna do about it?" he murmured, " punish me?"

and with that, all of Dabi’s self control went down the drain.

He charged onto the bed, flipped Tomura over, pinning him to the bed. They kissed passionately, completely engrossed in the other's essence, blind to the world. Yes, Dabi did shove his tongue down Tomura’s throat and yes, Tomura did respond with a strangled moan.

Breaking away from the kiss, Tomura looked even more fuckable. Hair messy, covered in bites and hickeys, mouth slack and red, eyes lidded, panting, his own cum on his stomach and his dick already hard. What a painting. Dabi could not wait a moment longer to wreck him more.

Dabi got rid of his clothes as well, put on a condom and started to work open Tomura's hole.

Tomura lied down on his back, spreading his legs open,allowing dabi access.

dabis fingers were warm and gentle as they began teasing the rim, slick with lube. he made sure to prep tomura properly, he definitely wouldn't want to hurt him. not only because he cared for him, but also because Tomura would literally rip Dabi's dick off if something went wrong.

the fingers penetrating tomura felt cold and uncomfortable at first, but soon enough he was enjoying himself. dabi was warming up his hands with his quirk and was curling his fingers just right.

Dabi gazed at Shigaraki as he continued his ministrations, and a fleeting thought came- he wanted to ride his boss' dick some day. it would be a waste not to.

and soon enough, with all the preparations done, they were ready. Tomura's hole clenched in anticipation. He felt like he'd been waiting for this for an eternity.

"relax" dabi said.

Nodding, tomura responded "I'm ready"

dabi coated his penis with some leftover lube, and pressed the head up against the rim. slowly, he pushed inside. he didn't go all the way just yet, and waited for Shigaraki to give him the green to continue.

tomura bit his lip and scrunched his eyes in concentration, getting used to the feeling of fullness. he nodded at dabi.

fuck that went deep. very deep. Dabi slid out slowly, then slammed back in, shaking Tomura's whole world.

dabi pulled out, and pushed his dick in all the way until he bottomed out.

Tomura had half a mind to tell Dabi to slow down, but to be honest he liked it. he liked the way dabi dragged his length in Tomura's hole, he liked the way the man above moved harshly and desperately.

dabi was trying hard to keep his cool, but tomura was just so warm and tight, he made all the right noises and his back arched and his ass was so plump. dabi had one hand gripping tomuras waist and the other hand in that soft blue hair

tomura was lost in his own pleasure, chasing that dopamine high. his moans were loud and he was chanting Dabi's name as his hard dick stretched his walls.

they kept going at it, dabi pounding him progressively harder, hitting all the good spots. tomura was practically getting hammered into the bed, which creaked with every thrust. tomuras eyes rolled back, a string of moans and incoherent begging escaped his mouth. their minds were filled with buzzing and a warm feeling was gathering rapidly in their lower abdomens.

at one point, they switched positions to doggy style. this allowed dabi a better view of that ass, and he found the perfect angle to ram into Tomura's sensitive spot.

the sound of skin slapping against skin filled the room, along with lewd sounds. their bodies were sweat-slicked and hot. this was everything tomura had dreamt of, and dabi had craved. who'd have thought they'd be doing this.

soon enough, Tomura's asshole was clenching as he came a second time, Dabi's name on his tongue, eyes rolling and back arching.

dabi himself was unable to hold on any longer and burrowed deep inside Tomura's tight warmth, also coming.

.

later, after having cleaned up, the two were cuddling on the bed, spooning. yes, dabi was big spoon. Dabi's one hand was caressing Tomura's hair, and the other mischievously snaked down Tomura's abdomen and grasped the base of his cock.

Shigaraki grunted, asking sleepily "what are you doing now…"

dabi pressed closer from behind to the other's ear, talking sensually "tomura, I am going to ride your dick one day." he began pumping, feeling Tomura get a bit harder "i want this inside me so bad… you're great when you're submissive and breedable but fuck man… it would be a waste if I didn't… i wanna be filled up by you too…"

then, tomura turned around suddenly to face dabi. he stared intensly for a moment, and pulled another bullshit move that would make dabi go insane. Tomura climbed on top of dabi, stared right into Dabi's eyes, hot blue and cold red, and breathed out "What are you waiting for?"

dabi smirked to himself. this night was far from over.

[cheesus-doodles]

Would the yandere toman boys be jealous if darling got a pet, I imagine that kazutora and Baji would be conflicted between fighting or fawning over the little beast, meanwhile Mikey is ready to throw hands because the pet keep hogging you and sleeping on their fav spots

^

^

^

This is the ask I accidentally left on someone else’s blog, I was so mortified, they said they weren’t that into the fandom so I can only imagine how confused they must have been 😭

HAHAHAHA sorry it took so long to reply ya anon! don't worry about it, they probably understand it was just a mis-send ^^

‎‎Recommended Readings: A Friend In Me Chapter 1 | 2

Masterlist

‎

Gonna go with a cat here since Baji already canonically takes care of Peke J. Be it where you got the cat, be it one of those community cats that you help look after, or a new stray that you picked up because it just looked so lonely and its meow was so sad and you didn’t had the heart to chase it away after it followed you home all the way from school, the boys are non too pleased when you turn up with your new pet, doe eyes shimmering with excitement, blabbering about how cute your new friend was.

The six boys probably felt their heart stop when you said you had decided to keep the kitty as your pet - and you would have all six boys instantly trying to jump in and tell you why it is an absolutely horrible idea to do that. Draken and Mitsuya would go for the logical appeal, insisting that you were already too busy with school (and them of course), and that if you had to look after a pet as well, you would collapse from exhaustion. Pah would insist that it was dangerous - you didn’t know what kind of bugs and diseases that the cat had, and that you would get sick if you brought the cat into your house. Mikey and Kazutora would straight up tell you that they wouldn’t stand for you keeping a pet because it would steal your time and affection and attention away from them and that was absolutely unacceptable and they wouldn’t stand for it. Meanwhile Baji’s already distracted trying to get the kitty to play with him and bribing it with a few loose cat treats he found in his pocket.

You just blink at them in confusion, pointing out that Baji has a cat too, and that you would definitely take care of your kitty well, starting off with making sure it was disease-free and in tip top shape by taking it to the vet, and that the boys were welcomed to come along to the pet shop to pick up supplies if they wanted to. Of course they would reluctantly slink along, the more mature of the boys graciously allowing the babies of the group to hold your hand on the journey there, but no doubt Baji definitely gets a lot of heat from the others for the crime and sin of suggesting that having a pet cat was fine, especially so from an infuriated Mikey and Kazutora. This black-haired boy would be even more trouble if the kitty turned out to be a boy - instant banishment from your bed, no cuddles for life (okay maybe for a week, you didn’t understand why the others were being so mean and Baji whimpering to himself eventually hurt you enough that you overruled them).

Kazutora wouldn’t be conflicted in the slightest - be the first to get jealous, starting right from the beginning at the sight of the cat rubbing its little face into your leg. How dare it mark you as its own?! You were his, and Kazutora wouldn’t stand for anything else. And seemingly everything else it did was just to taunt him about what it could get away with - sleeping in your lap and getting head pats and belly rubs, with you chasing the boys away and instead choosing to aww at that little shit. Pawing at your shower door only for you to let it in with you, while he had to cry outside and wait for you to come out. No doubt this baby boy comes away with the most scratches out of everyone trying to bat at the cat and chase it away from you, only for Kazutora to turn around and whine to you for more love because he got some booboos. You still love him right?

Mikey would obviously be the next to put his foot down when you forbade him from cuddling just because that thing picked that exact same time to huddle in your lap. One time was bad enough, but the cat crossed a line when he was banned from his turn to get night cuddles because it decided to fall asleep in the crook of your leg after kneading your blanket and you didn’t have heart to wake your new baby. Absolutely not, this baby would throw a full tantrum if you didn’t stop this nonsense right now. He was the baby, not this… homewrecker. Mikey would attempt to convince you to remove the cat (as his attempts to move it out himself have failed miserably) by trying to set up your pet to fail - making a mess and then blaming it on your cat, adding fur into your drinks, and if all else fails, scratching himself and then blaming it on your cat, and guilt-tripping you into picking either him or it. A few days of cuddles, forehead kisses and a healthy bribe of taiyaki generally helps to settle this boy back down into a comfortable stalemate.

Baji would definitely be the most conflicted of the Toman bunch - he absolutely loves cat, and he absolutely loves your cuddles and headrubs. But you having your own cat wasn’t exactly what he wished for, given he gets less of the latter, and not to say that you’re the only one that kitty allows to pick it up, the chosen human. Anyone else that tries gets a hiss, and at best the cat skitters/crab-walks away, and at worst they get a taste of those knife claws. Honestly, this baby boy still treats your pet cat the best, spoiling it with home cooked food and the expensive canned wet food, buying it toys and treats, in a hope that getting on your cat’s good side will also earn him more love and attention from you. Plus point if the cat finally allows him to pet it and snuggle with him as well. Gets accused of being a traitor, but Baji’s just soft to animals. You give him a few extra forehead kisses for his dedication and sneak him his favourite homemade snack when the others aren’t watching.

Mitsuya would most likely try to make use of his sisters, either to at least try and minimise the amount of your time the cat takes - bringing them round to your place whenever possible, allowing them to fall in love with the little thing, playing with it and feeding it treats (and of course, teaching them how to respect the cat’s boundaries like a good older brother should to keep them safe). Hopefully one day his sisters’ begging to you to let them bring it home with them would get through to you, and maybe you would let them for a day or two, and he would have you all to himself. In the meantime, Mitsuya works with Draken to distract the cat as much as they can while the other gets cuddle time with you, and then switch around as agreed upon. It worked so far in getting them some alone time with you and has kept both you and your pet happy, so in their eyes its a win-win.

[meruz]

another ask post

i mean i also read it because a friend whos rly into queer SFF fiction circles recced it but she did kinda lead with "the writer used to write hs fanfic...tasmyn..taz...?" to which i replied

of COURSE I read the locked tomb because i heard taz had written a book. of course. ill consume most any media made by a beloved homestuck bnf. thats also why i played undertale. and read like..snotgirl. and idk... watched the new dub of neon genesis evangelion.

if u made homestuck fanwork 10 years ago and havent even made it since chances are I still remember and I love you for it.

sdlkfhsg its funny you sensed that because that drawing did in fact start kinda more........ well, I'd be lying if I said my hands never wrought a drawing toeing over the pg-13 line LOL...

NOT to say i have a secret stash of porn or anything. in general im more interested in the implication of sexuality or mature themes over any explicit depiction. like everything i draw is so softcore itd almost feel silly to make a nsfw acc for anything.

but im not rly jumping to post anything on main either bc i get the sense i have a lot of kids in my social media following. it varies from site to site and fandom to fandom but the themes in my work often circle around childhood, coming of age etc and in general i like stories about kids so the fandoms i draw for have a lot of kids in them. even stuff like IT (stephen king) which is about kids but isn't necessarily for kids.. there were a lot of kids in that fandom lol.

actually thats why ive been censoring swears in comics lately because the tmnt fandom comes across to me as a little young...IDK I've had MULTIPLE people ask me what "sodomize" means because of the joke in this post and I'm like... I Cannot be the one to explain this to you. you have to look it up on your own klfsdhsdg like i wouldn't be doing this if i were doing a comic for mgs or even homestuck wherein the characters textually swear constantly LOL but sometimes u gotta change tacks depending on the faces u see in the crowd yknow.

i HAVE been thinking abt drawing nsfw of sunspot/richard rider/kobak from x-men red just because that comic seemed to be really asking for it. who knows.. if the need rly arises maybe my separate account policy will change.

its rly more a matter of the fact that i havent read/watched much of any other iterations... im sure id like most lol. I like most things related to my interests regardless of quality. i rly like the marvel ultimate alliance games for instance. sometimes seeing my fave guy is enough he doesnt have to be well written LOL. i dont exactly have a wealth of free time tho thats the real impediment.

i did watch the 2007 movie on new years eve and found it quite charming overall. and i have read about 30-40 issues between the mirage and idw comics. still feels like im barely scratching the surface but i liked em. i rly want to read all the sophie campbell stuff bc i think her work is interesting. jason aaron will be a mixed bag i think lmao. i say as the worlds biggest Wolverine and the X-Men (2011) fan.

hmm this is kinda hard bc i feel like i naturally draw very loose and the hard part for me is tightening it up. maybe some suggestions tho...

1) hand excercises. i think its easy to forget this when many artists sit in front of the computer all day but drawing is a physical activity u do with ur actual...bodys...muscles lol. if u feel urself tightening up it might help to strech (any google search for "artist hand excercises" should yield good results) or do a page of loose practice strokes like..big circles. long lines. scribbles. that kinda thing. whatever feels good for ur hand. this is also just good to do as a general warm up before u sit down for any drawing sesh.

2) draw further away from the canvas. as a general rule...when ur painting traditionally you do the big strokes with your whole arm outstreched and a long handled brush. and when you do the details its smaller wrist movements and a shorter handled brush. so it might help to take a step back or push back from ur chair a little.. or hold ur tablet a little further away. and hold your pen further away from the nib.

3) change mediums / brush types. some brushes and mediums are more suited to loose sketching and some more inclined towards detail work. so changing ur tool could help. also! i personally have this problem where sometimes if im using a brush i feel really familiar with the pressure to make a "good" "finished" "perfect" drawing is greater... if i want to force myself to loosen up ill switch to a tool i dont use as often so it feels like the pressure is off. a lot of times for me this is switching from digital to traditional. but sometimes its switching from a small pen to a big marker. or a smooth pen to a textured one. or a nice brush to a shitty dried up marker.

but also every body is different so i dont think these tips will work for everyone. u should listen to what ur body and mind tell u and how drawing feels to you

bro just sign up and set it up i dont think theres much to it... i dont rly think too much abt my itch.io store because its digital goods so u just upload the file and let it do its thing. no distribution work needed on ur part. youll notice i barely even advertise my itch unless i have smth new on there lol.. its easy. but good luck!!!

idk if im the best person to ask this im more a comic fan than i am a comic professional... a comic hobbist.

well. scott mcclouds understanding comics and making comics are good books on the craft. i think i had to buy them for a class in art school once.

other than that idk just keep at it. comics are really laborious i think for a lot of people the hardest part is sitting down and doing it.

i think a lot of people have a very instinctive understanding of how to read comics and what they look like so whatever you think seems like good way to tell the story you have in mind, its probably right. if u get stuck, study comics that have done something similar. most people in comics are relatively self taught and actually it can be problematic bc you can tell when a lot of comic artists are all copying the same like 5 old white guys LMAO. but on the flip side if you make sure to reference and study broadly your comics will almost assuredly feel unique.

sorry im responding to this anyways. this is just a really nice ask. i like when people reference my older work bc i feel like sometimes theyre subtly implying it wasnt very good LMAOOO. but its true! at least compared to the work i make now ^^ and the fact that im still making art is whats keeping me from being embarassed abt how much of my old art just floats around online lmao im never ashamed to be growing and learning. isnt that a nice thought <3

[bluenadesu]

"Unique"

Fandom; Jojo's bizzare adventure

Featuring; Josuke Higashikata x gn reader

Tags; wholesome, wholesome, wholesomeee

Tw; none

"Again?" You say exasperatedly as soon as you caught sight of who was outside your door. Said accused simply grinned and scratched his cheek. You sigh and move to the side. "Come in."

"excuse me for the intrusion!"

Almost as if it was his own house. Josuke took off his shoes and headed toward the kitchen. As he didn't want to stain your lovely couch with his blood. "Where's Koichi then? You two usually come in pairs."

"He wasn't there, I just had a fight with some assholes who made fun of my hair." He growled as he recalled their insults to his hair. Hands instinctively checking to see if his hair was still in good state or not.

You set the first aid kit on the table with a thud and hum. Seeing the scratch on his cheek. You reach out and swipe off the dripping blood with your hand as he fussed with his hair.

"Assholes indeed. How could they say that? People really can't mind their business." Josuke rolled his eyes and gave you an unimpressed stare. "Says the person whose first sentence to me was 'what a weird hairstyle'."

You pause dabbing his wounds with the alcohol-soaked cotton and protested. "Hey, I told you I didn't mean it in a bad way! Your hair is unique okay? I just couldn't fathom how you got it to look like that, let alone how long it takes." You place a bandaid on the small wound on his cheek and smack it as if to get your point across. Josuke hissing in faux pain and pouting. Telling you to be more gentle.

"Now that I'm think about it, it's impressive that you didn't go mental on me. Do you have a rule not to hit girls or something like that?" Josuke placed his mouth on his palm and shrugged.

"Something like that." He answered vaguely and you blink, tilting your head. You poke his shoulder. "What, you aren't going to tell me?"

"Do I have to? It was months ago!" Josuke complained and grabbed your wrist to stop you from constantly poking him. He didn't need more bruises, especially since crazy diamond couldn't heal them. You pout. Eyes narrowing and brows furrowing as you cross your arms and turn your head away.

"Alright. Guess I won't tell you what I've heard today either." At that, Josuke perked up and turned to look at you, looking very interested as he scooted his chair to face you.

"What did you hear?"

"Something very, very, interesting. But I guess I won't be telling you anything now that you've decided to be like that." Josuke stared at you suspiciously before he scoffed and leaned back.

"You've got nothing." He pointed out firmly. Realizing this was just a ploy to get him to confess.

At least he thought so.

"Mm, kay." You start tidying up the bandages and bandaids without giving Josuke a second glance.

"You...You really got something?"

"Yup."

You gave Josuke your back and place the first aid kit into the cabin. Unbeknownst to him, you had a smile smile stretching from eye to eye as you nearly cackle. You know Josuke, know that he loved to gossip just as much as the aunties that meet up in the streets and gossip about every person that passes by. It's not like you're not guilty of that as well. You'd sort of come to an agreement, every interesting news you heard. You'd share it with the other.

From Mrs. Takahashi having a thing with the mailman to whether Okuyasu is wearing bunny-themed socks and matching boxers or just normal ones, nothing you guys knew doesn't get shared with the other.

The point is, Josuke couldn't handle not knowing anything. It was like an itch. The idea that you knew something and he didn't is like a personal offence. He couldn't stand 5 minutes of not knowing. And considering its been 4 minutes, it should be coming any minute now...

"So..if I tell you, will you tell me?"

Hook.

"Hmm I don't know..maybe if you tell me first."

Line.

"I..alright. okay fine! I'll tell you!"

Sinker!

You twirl around and smile at him, placing your hands on the counter. "I'm all ears."

Josuke groaned, rubbing his face so hard it'd probably catch on fire. He stood up, his cheeks a tad pink but face determined as he approached you. You raised a brow, wondering what he had to say that he needed to get so close. Blinking, you lean back as he went as far as placing his hands on either side of your body. Trapping you against his firm body and the counter. You gulp, having to crane your neck to look at his face. He was pretty tall. And pretty. Damnit.

You wanted to bring up his closeness but found your tongue unable to move. Frozen in place.

"That day.." he stared at your face. Your pretty eyes, your slowly warming cheeks. Your lips. He could still remember that day you two first met. It was the schools opening entrance and you happened to be standing next to each other. And the first thing that came out of your mouth when you caught sight of him was,

"Your hair is so weird!"

And normally that type of comment would have sent the poor person who said it straight to the hospital.

But when he turned to look at you, smoke coming out of his nose and ears from the rage burning inside him. He heard a musical laugh coming from one of the most beautiful person he'd seen. That he even felt his anger dissipate and instead he felt awe rise in its stead at the sight of you laughing cutely. Nose scrunching adorably and eyes closing as you held a hand up to muffle your hearty laughter after getting strange looks from your fellow students. And even a teacher glaring at you.

He gulped, feeling his ears turn red as he realized he was staring and turned his head away. Rubbing his neck. You notice his silence after your laughter faded. You lean forward to peek at his face. — which he was trying very hard to neutralize right now but it ended up looking like he was annoyed. — biting your lips slightly. You smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I didn't mean it in a bad way. Your hair is actually really cool, but it's just not a hairstyle I'm used to seeing, I'm new here..or, in Japan in general." That caught his attention as he turned to look at you questioningly.

"You're a foreigner?"

"Yup!" You held out a hand and introduce yourself. Smile wide and pretty. He hesitated for a second before he took your hand. "Higashikata Josuke."

"Nice to meet you, Higashikata Josuke!" You beam at him, and he felt his ears turn red again as he rubbed his neck. "You too."

"Higashikata is also a wei-eer, unique name too."

"Higashikata is actually my last name, my actual name is Josuke."

"Ah, why would you say your last name first though?"

"It's something you do in Japan, you're supposed to say your last name followed by your first name."

"Ah, makes no sense but got it! That's gonna be a pain to remember though.." you mutter to yourself.

And that was their first meeting, and the first time he's ever fallen in love that quickly. Even if he didn't realize it at the time. You stared at him, mouth gaping at the story. "I-you, so-so you didn't do anything because.." your face gradually felt hotter. "Because you thought I was cute?" You watch him blush and look away. Despite the embarrassment, you couldn't help but feel a laugh babbling in the back of your throat as you held a hand up to your mouth.

The sight of your shoulders shaking pulled Josukes attention to you. "Are you..are you laughing!?"

"Pfft! I-i can't help it! Higashikata Josuke, you!" He sighed and let his hands leave the counter. But you suddenly grab the front of his uniform and pulled him back closer. "Hey!" He protested but soon went quiet as he saw your adoring gaze on him. "You're too cute." You lean up and kiss his cheek gently, pulling back to look into his eyes. "I've thought that since the first day I've met you. You're too cute, Higashikata Josuke." You giggle as his face nearly burst into flames. He stumbles back as you let go of his uniform and placed your hands back on the counter.

He brought his hand up to his mouth and glanced away from you. "A-anyways, it's your turn now. Spill it!"

"Oh, sure." You look around and lean forward. As if you were going to spill the secret of the year. And he found himself mirroring your moves, leaning forward as well. "I heard..that Koichi and Yukako are now officially dating!"

Josuke stumbled, nearly falling face first on the ground. "What?!" He couldn't help crying out, face baffled. THAT was your very, very interesting fact?! Everyone knew Koichi and Yukako were going to hook up. It was so obvious! It was as obvious as the sky being blue and the grass being green-wait.

Josuke blinked his pretty blue eyes and stared at you. Who purposefully avoided his gaze as he slowly came to the realization.. you were tricking him! You never had any interesting gossip, you just wanted to know what he was hiding! "You! You were tricking me!" You gasp dramatically. Placing a hand on your chest.

"Me? I'd never!"

"Oh yeah?" He narrowed his eyes. A playful smile climbed his lips as he marched over to you and held his hands out threateningly above him, in that very familiar motion. Making your eyes widen as you realized what he was trying to do.

"W-wait, let's talk about this Josuke-eek!" You cry out as he suddenly rushed at you, you duck under his arms. But he was much faster, grabbing you and pulling you to his chest. Long arms wrapping around your waist and tickling you until you were near squealing. Tears sprang to your eyes as you laughed boisterously. "Josuke! Hahah! S-stop-stop please please please!" You squealed.

He stopped, and all that was left was the sounds of your panting and his warmth against your back. You place your hands on his. Your cheeks aching from how hard you had smiled. Some might say you and Josuke's closeness was too abnormal for two supposed friends but you didn't mind. If only because there was a selfish part of you that wanted to be as close to him as humanly possible, even if that was pushing the boundaries of friends.

"Hey."

"Hm?"

"Wanna go out with me?" You blinked, and tried to crane your head back to catch a glimpse of his face. He tightened his arms and hid his face in your hair shyly.

"Higashikata Josuke," you called out playfully. "Are you trying to ask me out?"

"That's the idea."

You snickered and patted his hands as a nudge to let you go. Which he did with a little resistance. You turn around and cupped his cheeks. Smiling sweetly.

"I'd love to go out with you."

[s0lar-ch3ri]

i make a new theory post on a frog (psoilers ahead)

with theories such as felipe is evil and/or working with niklaus:

(post from aethlingg, his post can be found here! note: after research they no longer do jrwi content but rather qsmp content [specifically q!bbh and q!forever from what i noticed! theyre still very cool so go follow him [heres to hoping ik how he/they pronouns works btw])

(post from redcloverf3y, their post can be found here! i cannot find if they still do post jrwi and just talk about other fandoms rn, but nonetheless go follow them!)

(post from razberrypuck, its post can be found here! they def are still into jrwi from their lil bio and shit, but theres also others things they post, like q!charlie [or qsmp in general] and stuff, follow it too!)

to theories of what demon actually got felipe:

(post by pulchrasilva, their post [correct the pronouns if im wrong, i couldnt find anything on the blog] can be found here! considering how five or so minutes ago they made a jrwi post, they def still talk about it, as well as other things, go follow them!)

to even some on felipe BEING niklaus (which i reblogged and stuff):

(post is from aethlingg again, this one can be found here! for once i cant get a full image because its a long one but ill be talking bout my tags on it too)

theres been 2 posts on how felipe wasnt the culprit (heres one by wrinklemcdinkle) (heres another by ralexsol) ive seen, so im throwing my own theory into the mix: the demon is kuba kenta and kk (or mr. kenta) has relations to both niklaus hendrix AND the compass. lets get into it!

lets start with the tags i wanted to use (i found they werent actually on the felipe is nk post, but rather on the second felipe is being framed post i linked)! theres a couple details here i mention but why do i say kuba in particular?

the only person who could actually have something against gillion straight up is jayson ferin, mainly cause he got stabbed by him twice, but jayson isnt a demon! you know who is a demon though? kuba kenta. so for jayson, mr kenta was the perfect way.

as for felipe's escape, the rope was burnt, correct? who has fire powers again? mr ferin. when felipe was being investigated or whatever, kuba contacted jayson and he got him out of there, leaving there be reason to assume felipe was dragged to hell.

yes i do think felipe was controlled by kuba to hurt gillion, it plugs up some plot holes thats for sure. so how would felipe been target if he only pulled the card the next day? because felipe probably was a target since he was born.

its important to point out the compass not only having effects like kk's scratches do (give nightmares, cause physical reactions/changes, etc), but a similar color pattern to both niklaus and felipe. (pointed out by several people before me, like aethlingg in his actual essay about evil felipe working with niklaus shown above) another interesting detail is the nk tattoo is used with a moon attached, felipe's choice of goddess to worship. he immediately finds a friendship with chip when about 4 eps ago, niklaus had been given a stick by chip (important cause of how it was harder to spy on niklaus since the stick was in his room and stuff before, i think itd also add in an idea of "greater connection with the person" and stuff). i could go on and on abotu their connections.

lets get back to the connection of niklaus and kuba. how would they even have met? probably something like chip did for his deal. as the quote above shows (found from the post by redcloverf3y, heres another link to it), people who have that desire for their goals will find him, not those who look for it. why would kuba need to strike a deal with desire daddy? because how else would he be able to use felipe. theres no way the curse would change the free will of felipe (it didnt do that for chip or gillion), so if he wants felipe to be a better puppet, he needs something to interfer with that. niklaus and kuba cut that deal, and felipe doesnt lose that curse on him, well to the others. kuba wouldnt have been able to give felipe the nightmares, anytime we see him hes with the three, so someone would have seen him get scratched! even if he got scratched in the couple months before they met him (cause felipe was six months old, not a couple days), the scars dont fade, rather theres the black ooze to them that burns, making it not a forgetable thing.

speaking of that, lets move onto the daggers situation. why the fuck would a tour guide have such dangerous daggers, poisonous ones to be exact (i heard it had poison effects somewhere, but sadly cannot find any info about that)? felipe has no need for poison daggers! he literally can spit acid! that means its only being used for its forgetfulness, which doesnt make too much sense to me since its not like being stabbed isnt just something you remember but theres the fucking pain of it too (example being, when i was younger and we were in the car getting ready to leave some place, there was this like tightness on my foot and i look at the door and [because it was one of those automatic doors and shit] it was closing on my foot. i didnt remember getting my foot in there and i still dont know how it happened, i do remember though how much of a bitch the pain was. not close to the pain of stabbing im sure, but you still remember the pain even without the memory of how it got there). that leaves one last usage: actually stabbing. again, hes a tour guide, he has no reason to need to stab people, no reason he should have a dagger that damaging, let along access to one like it. you know what has good weapons, ones with magic and shit? the navy. hell, theyre building a mechicanical leviathin! they of course have magic weapons for combat and such. and being a vice admiral, kk would have access to all of them. he gets a dagger for felipe, uses his deal to make sure felipe does whats needed, there.

so why would pulling the card get kuba as his enemy? its the magic of the cards! why would felipe hate gill? why would gillion dissappear only able to be brought back by powerful magic (whole can of worms for niklaus's abilities btw, needed to point that out)? the cards! theres also how felipe did reveal what his plans with gill were gonna be, but its probably just the cards.

i do also think the compass is related to kenta cause of their abilities being matched and it kinda fits him, a man driven even beyond the grave to reach a goal, even if that goal is only known by him...but this is long enough!

i hope i fed someones wants and if theres any contradiciting (or even more proving) evidence, lmk and ill try to counter it, bye and ill see you probably in a writing thing ive been putting off since this morning to write this

[mynamesaplant]

It Changes, like Water (CH. 6)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Summary: Akari has just met Gaeric for the first time and is still a little rattled by the experience. Ingo tries to reassure her by telling her a story.

Content Warning: Blood, bodily injury, and wild animal attack

Notes: I've made this in honor of Monsoon-of-Art and their PLA mer au (and just a touch from a different au where Gaeric acts as Irida's guardian). Many of the scenes in this fic are directly inspired by their work, there mer stuff more specifically. I've been a big fan of them since I started playing PLA and I've only grown to love all their characterizations of some of my favorite characters in all of Pokemon.

The last one! Woo~ If you've made it this far, thanks so much for the read. I had excellent inspiration and the power of Lexapro and ginseng giving me strength to write the first new fanfic I've done in months. Between school, work, and trying to sort out my depression and anxiety with medications, its been rough. Writing is one of my favorite outlets, as is Pokemon - not having the motivation or time to do much of either… well, I'm just glad to have them back.

Thank you so much to the community of writers and artists in the PLA and Pokemon fandom at large for inspiring me everyday to make more of the content I love. You keep doing you, guys.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy! Don't like to read on Tumblr? Read it here on AO3.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ingo finished his story and Akari did not look remotely convinced, the mer grimaced.

“I know Gaeric has a – ah, reputation, but from what I gather, he has come a long way since he was a young man. He can still have a poor attitude regarding strangers, I know that firsthand. His devotion to Pearl clan can be a little misguided, but it is just that, devotion.”

Ingo realized that, again, he was making it sound as though he was excusing Gaeric’s destructive behavior. He didn’t condone it, although he knew some others did. The Galaxy Team’s presence and the mystery of the frenzied nobles seemed very closely linked in the eyes of many, even Melli had gone so far as to begrudgingly praise Gaeric for his grit. When Melli was saying something nice about the Pearl clan, that was when you knew something was wrong.

“What I am trying to say, Miss Akari, is that Gaeric has had his own identity crises in the past. He is not a stranger to misrepresenting himself or acting untrue to his ideals. He no longer permits himself to be that way. He was young once, he raised Lady Irida for a few years and continues to be her mentor – I don’t think he has it in him to harm a young, inexperienced pup like you in the way you’re thinking. So please, Akari, do not think so poorly of Gaeric.”

This plea gave her pause, absently scratching the rough coral exterior of the flute with her nail, its blue color matching the darkening color of the sea as dusk turned into evening. Ingo was asking for her understanding, but more importantly to put faith in him and his clan. In her heart of hearts, Akari knew that what she was doing was wrong. She was lying to a lot of people just to satisfy her own curiosities and desires. Now she had dragged Ingo into her brew of lies. He was asking for her trust, and she trusted Ingo just as much as she trusted her captains or Professor Laventon.

“I’ll… try. He’s not nearly as nice as you.”

“You caught him at a bad moment. Gaeric is nocturnal.”

Oh, so she woke him abruptly. That explained his grumpiness at the very least, she would also be pretty upset to be woken up abruptly by some stranger. Akari also knew for a fact that she looked terrifying before taming her hair and washing her face in the morning. His actions… She couldn’t condone his actions, but there were things that the commander did in the name of the team and Jubilife that she found questionable. There was a lot more grayness to the world, Akari was coming to realize. She hopped off the rock she had seated herself on and asked Ingo to run her across the cavern, where a narrow path between the boulders led out to the forest about a mile from Jubilife.

Ingo knew her fears were at least temporarily assuaged but knew more moments like this would crop up with more interaction with the clans. He would do his best to keep Akari at a distance, but between his clans’ own concerns for him and his mental/physical wellbeing and both clans insatiable nosiness to know more about the small pup that followed him around occasionally, he knew it was practically hopeless. His goal now was to soften the blow as best he could for all parties. It was a precarious position, but Ingo had been treading fine lines for many years now. Who knows, there was the remote possibility that this could be a unique experience for positive change in the clans and humans.

Only time would tell and that was just as unpredictable as the ever-changing sea.

<<Last Chapter || First ||

[softrozene]

Sean is Struggling

Anon asked: Hi yes, I'm new to the fandom as well, but what about a Sean x Fem!Reader where after everything that had happened to him (before Arthur saved him in ch2) he's struggling with being touched and how the reader slowly gets him used to it? And like, angst hurt/comfort bc its 10:17pm and I want sad things that get resolved 

rdr2 masterlist

Sean is a good boi who deserves all the love

Originally published on January 12, 2020

Sean MacGuire x Female Reader

Warnings: Angst probably not enough but fluff to combat it, Sean has PTSD, Karen and Sean don’t happen lmao

Words: ~1k

You’ve been with this group long enough to know everyone on a personal level. You care for all of them equally and know when something is wrong. It just so happens that Sean is just a tad different. Okay, a lot different, and Arthur and Hosea may have picked up on that.

The relentless teasing you received from Arthur when his group brought Sean back was embarrassing. However, you could easily push whatever feelings you have away because as soon as Sean got to camp and you tried to give him one of the hugs he claims to always adore, he hesitated.

He never hesitates to hug you.

It was only a small thing but you noticed it and you kept your eyes and ears on him to see if anything else was amiss. There was plenty.

The male already drank like a pirate but it seemed to have worsened since he got back. Thankfully, he would hold off on being drunk until it got late but the odd thing was he drank alone or only ever with Arthur and John. Sometimes Hosea but rarely. That was the other odd thing. Arthur seemed to have gotten closer to Sean but in a way, you’d never under but desperately want to.

It made you sick to your stomach not knowing how to help the boy who is obviously having problems. So one night you decided to ask.

~*~

“Sean, Arthur, may I take a seat?” You ask softly looking at the fire.

Sean has already gone quiet. You hate when he goes quiet around you. It’s like he doesn’t want you there. You’re about to abort the mission when Arthur nods his head.

“Here, take my seat. It’s closer to the fire. I’m going to actually head to bed,” Arthur shares ignoring the glare Sean sends his way.

Arthur leaves and you sit down with hesitation.

Your heart starts to ache and you have a slight panic. Is whatever he went through that terrible that he doesn’t even want to be by you? Did you remind him of something? The thought nearly kills you.

“(Name), oh no. What the hell did I do?! Why are you crying?!” The poor fiery red-head is stunned.

You are stunned as well. You had no idea you had busted out into tears as your fingers brush your cheeks. You quickly try to recompose yourself and ask the question you’ve been dying to ask.

“Are you okay, Sean? Scratch that, tell me how I can help you. I noticed that even Arthur is trying to comfort you by being your drinking buddy but that isn’t going to work Sean. I can’t pretend I don’t see all the flinches you do anymore. All the little scared moments you have that you think no one else notices. Please tell me how I can help you,” You say your voice breaking in multiple parts.

Hearing the hurt in your voice, the pain you felt for him, it nearly made him cry. He doesn’t cry in front of others. He puts down his bottle and pulls you onto his lap. His arms immediately wrap around you tightly and he’s trembling, shaking like a damn leaf.

“Sorry (Name). I’ve been so fucking stupid as of late. I’ve been avoiding you too. I-“ He stops so he won’t cry.

You can feel his hands shaking worse than his whole body and you realize he’s already trying to push himself for you. You scramble off of him in a heartbeat. The confusion on his face shows as you gently take his hand.

“You are naïve to think that a bottle will fix what happened. Or make you forget. I’m unsure how to help you, but if avoiding me was helping you I can accept that. I can stop trying to care abou-“

The squeeze Sean gives your hand became a tad painful as he lets out a choked “no”. He glances around, to make sure the others are still sleeping or well haven’t been eavesdropping before he allows himself to speak with a bit more urgency.

“No. No. I don’t want that. Avoiding is making things worse. I- I miss you. I miss your hugs. I miss actually talking to you and teasing you. I’ve been avoiding you because I like you so damn much and I thought you seeing how badly this affected me would’ve been a turn-off,” He admits his skin turning a little bit red from embarrassment.

You honestly want to hit him with love right about now.

“You might be a bit of a dumbass. You honestly thought that I wouldn’t like you because of this? Sean, I care too much about you. I honestly love you. It’s hurting me seeing you like this,” You whisper looking at your joined hands.

His slim long fingers are holding onto your own with everything they have. He had stopped shaking. It finally hits you.

“I know that they physically harmed you. If you want me to help we can start there? Have little touches like this until you are more comfortable and your body and mind processes that you are safe here? Only if you want to though. I’m so sorry for projecting my feelings onto you like that,” You murmur out all of this in a slight panic once again.

Sean gives you a hearty chuckle and large grin as he asks, “Did you say you love me?”

“Of course, that’s the part that sticks with you! I guess that’s good. That means there is hope for you yet,” You mumble looking anywhere but him.

He pulls your hand to his chest forcing you to look at him. Only this time he’s serious. “I’ve been holding out on ya since Blackwater but I love you too (Name). I accept your help since you’re so willing. Ah… Would you be kind enough to uh-“

He stops talking and simply uses his other hand to point and tap his cheek. He so desperately wants the simple touch so you gladly do it. Your soft lips meet his skin and he almost melts at the moment. Pulling away, you both stare at each other and for the first time since he’s been back, Sean feels completely safe.

[nitewrighter]

i hate that I'm starting to get those ppl who say shit like "i know it's problematic but I can't not interact w it cuz it's my hyperfixation"

I've been in this overwatch shit since the game launched and stayed even when the fandom was dead like in 2021, and i just feel like I can't leave now even tho everything abt it makes me either sad or angry

Well like, I think it's always been kind of complicated with Overwatch because when it first dropped, everyone was crowing about its representation and its optimism, but at the beginning, so much of it was fan hype. It's never really belonged to just one person like H*rry P*tter. It started out as a completely different game, Titan, passed through god-knows-how-many hands before it dropped in 2016 and became this massive phenomenon. The first big Blizzard scandal was centered on Hearthstone, not Overwatch, and when the sexual harassment and union-busting scandals started emerging, it was clear there were still people at Blizzard who cared about Overwatch and their work on the game and the community it created, they just wanted better working conditions and workplace culture. Overwatch was never the product of one singular asshole, it's always been collaborative, and that's also why I've spent the past few days really questioning my relationship to it--because I poured a lot of myself into this community through my fanfics, and I had gained this wonderful audience from it, but the negative keeps stacking and stacking, and even if you've carved out your comfortable little niche, eventually it weighs on you more and more.

On top of it all, the game was very much designed to be addictive. The sensory overload of the game itself, the euphoria of working with a cohesive team, the exasperation of being on a shit team, the leveling systems, the sounds the game makes as you get a loot box or progress through the battlepass, the challenges and achievements, the cosmetics, the sunk cost fallacy of how much time you've already put in, the way it can be 1 in the morning but you're like "oh that last game sucked, I can't end the night on that note" like--I know it sounds ridiculous but it is a game that really worms its way into your psyche in the same way gambling can.

I think like... the first step to getting some distance from it is giving yourself permission to explore other things. One of the first steps to breaking a habit Like, for me, because I had such a narrative focus on it, I kind of joked that getting into Dune and reading 'Fire and Blood' after months of writing Overwatch fic was like doing lines of coke because my brain was going, "Holy shit, lore." I'm also lucky enough to work in a library, where my magpie brain can go into overdrive. I've been reading a lot of comics, working my way down a reading list I had been neglecting too long, and when I get an urge to play video games specifically, I play a different game like Horizon Zero Dawn or Skyrim. I found that open-world games have kind of helped my brain wean a bit off of they hyper-overstimulation of Overwatch, and it also scratches my narrative itch, too.

Basically what I'm saying is, if everything about the game is making you sad or angry, it's okay to explore other things. Don't make it about quitting, per se, make it about finding something new that makes you happier. And if you're just getting sad/stressed from it, I promise you, you are going to find something new. It might not scratch all the itches Overwatch did at first, but just be patient with yourself.

[twiceasfrustrating]

The Best Laid Plans

Rating: General Audiences

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Category: M/M

Fandom: Shall We Date?: Obey Me!

Characters: Mephistopheles, Satan

Relationships: Mephistopheles/Satan

Additional Tags: fluff

Summary: Mephistopheles has planned the perfect date for Satan.

A/N: My ship. My love. My everything. I need more content for them, I swear.

It was the perfect plan. A day that would get him out away from any of Satan’s annoying brothers and bring a smile to his boyfriend's face. Mephistopheles knew his planned day out was better than anything else. Plus, this particular cat café was brand new, so it meant he could be the first to introduce Satan to it.

The only hitch in his plan was that he had clearly underestimated his boyfriend's ability to find every available cat in the Devildom. An underestimation that made itself evident the moment they walked through the front door and a grey, fluffy, long-haired cat came bounding over to them.

"Hello, Muffintop," Satan said as he picked up the fluffy grey cat brushing up against his leg. It meowed softly as he cradled it close to his chest to support its weight. "It looks like you've lost some weight. Soon they'll only be able to call you Muffin."

Mephistopheles crossed his arms and cleared his throat, trying not to show his genuine surprise on his face. "You've already been here, haven't you?"

"Not since the grand opening two weeks ago." 

Of course Satan had already been here. Mephistopheles knew how much his boyfriend adored cats in all their forms, so it only made sense that he'd rush to any location where they freely scampered about. He felt foolish for thinking for even a moment that Satan wouldn't know every single cat in the café already.

It was time to tweak the plan.

Mephistopheles swept a strand of his purple hair to the side with a confident smile. "Then this is the perfect time to reacclimate yourself. We'll order drinks then get some toys to entertain these adorable felines."

Satan listened with a smile as he softly scratched the underside of Muffintop's chin with a single finger. "I get the feeling Mayonnaise will be your favorite, if he decides to join us today. He's a pure lap cat through and through."

"That name is…" terrible. Just the thought of such a low class, fatty, oil ladened food made him feel nauseous.

"There are a limited number of foods that start with the letter M."

"Is that really the theme?"

"It is called Cat Kitchen M."

Honestly? Mephistopheles had simply assumed it was a strange name for the sake of being a strange name; a mismatched puzzle piece that didn't quite fit into your regular schema so you would constantly come back to it out of curiosity for where it fit in; an attention grabbing headline that peaked the reader's curiosity without giving away the content of the article.

But, no. It was apparently more akin to the picture on the front of the box that showed you exactly what the end product was.

Satan set down the grey cat in his arms so he could grab Mephistopheles' hand instead. 

"We should grab a seat before they get busy."

Again, Mephistopheles had to contain his feelings lest he make a fool of himself due to his joy at holding Satan's hand. This man was testing every ounce of noble composure he'd cultivated since young.

"Thank you for bringing me here," Satan said with wonder in his eyes as he looked up at Mephistopheles. Not at the cats around them, but at him.

Mephistopheles cleared his throat, his face no longer able to hide the faint red blush slowly spreading across his face.

"What do you expect when you leave such plans to me? I know exactly what kind of outing will be best."

"Of course," Satan said without protest. Mephistopheles deserved to be proud of himself this time. As a treat, he also wouldn't say anything about his obvious blush.

Instead, he led his loving boyfriend deeper into the café with an excited smile while Muffintop trotted after them.

[whimsicallyenchantedrose]

Christmas Reruns 2023 Day 11: Home for Christmas

Merry Christmas if you celebrate it and happy holidays if you don’t!  One of the things I love about Christmas is watching reruns of all the old classic Christmas movies–Christmas is a big time for nostalgia.  A few years ago, I decided to incorporate that tradition into my fandom life and post my CS holiday reruns.  So here you go!  Enough holiday (mostly) fluff to get you to New Year’s Day. (With a new story posting on Christmas Day.)

Rating: G

Word Count: 2642

Other chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

Notes: Today’s story was written during the hiatus between 5a and 5b, so obviously a number of the Underworld events referred to in the story did not come to pass. We’ll just call this a canon divergence. Newly back from the underworld, Emma finds a way to give Killian the best Christmas present he could ever hope to get.

Genre: CS 5b canon divergence

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Emma woke, as she woke every morning any more—with a smile on her lips and a song in her heart.  The sun shone brightly into her bedroom window, letting her know it would be time to get up soon, but her bed was warm and cozy and she had no intention of leaving it until she had to.  She stretched and turned over, hoping to spend a few more minutes snuggling with her husband before it was time to start the day.

Only her hand landed on empty sheets rather than a furry pirate chest.  Emma sat up abruptly, her heart stilling before beginning to race, the panic hitting with no warning.

It had been three months since she, Killian and the rest of her family had returned from the Underworld, and though time had eased the pain of their two-month-long ordeal with the darkness and Killian’s subsequent death, it was still difficult for Emma to let her true love out of her sight; it was still difficult to keep the fear at bay whenever they were apart.

Emma tossed the covers aside, stepped into her furry slippers, and wrapped herself in her warm bathrobe.  She tossed open the bedroom door, and hurried into the hall.  No sooner had she stepped out of her room then the smell of frying bacon teased her nose, and the sound of her boys talking and laughing met her ears.

She let out the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.  They were fine.  They were both fine; safe, happy, and here with her.

“Come on, Killian!” Henry cajoled.  “It’s Christmas morning!  Can’t we just wake her up?  She’ll sleep all day if we let her, and I can’t wait for you guys to open my present!”

Emma grinned as she stepped into the kitchen and leaned against the doorframe waiting for her two true loves to notice her.

“You know as well as I that’s a dangerous prospect lad,” Killian said, turning toward the stove and flipping the pancakes with the handy spatula attachment he’d replaced his hook with for the task at hand.  “You know full well that waking your mother is akin to bearding the lion in its den.” 

Emma cleared her throat, masking her amusement with a fierce scowl.  “Excuse me?”

Two pairs of startled eyes met hers, and then Killian reached up to scratch at that much abused spot behind his ear.  “Merry Christmas, love!  I just…I wanted to let you sleep.  I didn’t mean…you see, we understand.  But when you don’t get your sleep you are sometimes…not that you aren’t bloody brilliant at all times, but…” 

Emma chuckled, sauntered up to him, and placed a quick kiss against his lips.  “Merry Christmas, Killian, and I think you’d better stop while you’re ahead.” 

She noticed the tips of his ears reddening as she pulled back.  “Aye, love.  Perhaps you’re right.”

Henry launched himself at her, wrapping her in an exuberant hug.  “Merry Christmas, mom!”

“You too, kid.  From what I heard, it sounds like someone’s excited to open presents.”

He grinned.  “Yeah, maybe a little.  But Killian convinced me it would be better to have breakfast first.”

Emma’s stomach growled.  “Smart man.  So what can I help you guys with?”

Killian stepped to her side, kissed her cheek and handed her a mug of hot cocoa, topped, of course with whipped cream and cinnamon. “Not a thing at all, my love.  You do so much for us, for all of the townsfolk.  It’s time you allow your men to spoil you.”

“Yeah, mom!” Henry said, turning her toward the living room.  “Why don’t you go relax; maybe turn on some Christmas music.” 

Her smile widened.  “How could I say no to that?”

After turning on the stereo, Emma settled into their plush, comfortable couch, looking up at their magnificent Christmas tree as she sipped at her cocoa. 

This was Killian’s first Christmas in the land without magic, and Emma and Henry had been determined to make this a holiday to remember.  Her inquisitive husband had jumped into the holiday traditions with both feet, spending long hours searching out books and movies about the season, peppering everyone with questions, setting out to fulfill each and every time-honored ritual.

He and Henry had taken an axe and trekked into the woods on the morning after Thanksgiving, and they’d subsequently returned with the biggest, most magnificent Christmas tree Emma had ever seen.  The three of them had spent hours stringing it with lights, hanging ornaments, positioning it just so, ensuring it was an outward expression of their inner joy.

Killian had gone on to hang three stockings on the mantle–meticulously neat and tidy, of course—and sprigs of mistletoe everywhere he could think of.  Emma had to admit, she was rather glad she’d told Killian about that particular tradition. 

(Henry, not so much.  The way he complained about the two of them making out all the time you’d think the kid was traumatized for life.  Henry couldn’t fool her, though.  She saw the pleased grins he tried to hide behind his eye rolls and groans of adolescent angst.  Truth was, all of them were utterly, stupidly happy just to be together and alive and in the land of the living.  Not much would really annoy any of them for some time to come.)

The result was that their home looked like something out of one of those cheesy Christmas movies, and Emma couldn’t be happier. 

Other than the year with Henry in New York, Emma had never been much for Christmas.  Watching all those happy families smiling and laughing, enjoying each other’s company, the love and joy clearly showing on each of their faces—well, it was nothing short of agonizing for a lonely, lost girl. 

But she wasn’t a lonely lost girl anymore.  She was part of a family—a family she deeply loved, and one that she knew loved her just as much.

She couldn’t ask for anything more perfect or more magical.  Christmas was a time for love, a time for family.  Emma smiled to herself as she thought about the plans she and her parents had made for today.  She had one last plan for making this a Christmas her husband would never forget, one last surprise for the man who’d proven there was nothing he wouldn’t do for her; the man who had given her her happy ending.  When her parents had come to her with the idea, she’d cried, overwhelmed at the beauty of the plan, at the joy it would bring Killian.

Yes, Christmas was a time for family, and she was bound and determined to show her pirate that he never needed to spend a lonely holiday—or any other day—again.

~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~

Emma laughed at something Henry said, and Killian smiled to himself, picking up her hand and lacing their fingers as they walked.  It was a bitterly cold afternoon, but yesterday’s snowstorm had given way to a brilliantly sunny Christmas day, and he and Emma and the lad had decided to walk the few blocks to her parents’ abode for Christmas dinner.

It did his heart good to see his wife so happy.  The darkness and its consequences had weighed heavily on both of them, and for weeks after their return, Emma had woken nearly every night with the nightmares.  The haunted look had finally begun to leave her face; the fear to leave her eyes.  Killian knew her excitement over this Christmas holiday was a large factor, and for that alone, he would adore this holiday to the end of his days.

Killian sighed softly to himself, careful not to let his small family hear the wistful sound.  He was happy; truly he was.  Having Emma as his wife, Henry as his son…it was more than he could have ever dreamed.  Not for anything in all the realms would he give up this life he was privileged to lead.

This holiday, this Christmas, it put such emphasis on love, on family joining together.  He loved Emma and Henry with all his heart; he was profoundly humbled and grateful for the way Emma’s parents had welcomed him with open arms into their family.  (Even now, some three months later, his eyes still welled remembering the moment he realized not only Emma and her lad, but her parents, Regina and Locksley had all travelled to the Underworld for him, because they cared about him, because they couldn’t stand the thought of him being gone from their lives.)

Even so, there was a bit of bitterness mixed in with the sweet.  The truth was, Killian missed his family—his beloved brother and the father he’d been privileged to reconcile with in the Underworld.  It had been a beautiful time among the horror and ashes, and Killian would never be able to fully express his gratitude to Emma for agreeing to wed him there, in the underworld with Liam as officiant and his papa as witness.

But all things must come to an end.  When he and Emma succeeded in breaking Hades’ stranglehold over the Underworld, his father and brother had finally been ushered to their eternal reward in the land of paradise.  Killian had willingly returned to the land of the living with his new wife at his side, secure in the knowledge that the two men he loved more than anyone in any realm (save for the woman beside him) were finally happy and at peace.

Henry ran ahead up the steps and knocked on the Charmings’ door, his gift for Grandma and Gramps held proudly in his free hand.  A moment later, the lady Snow opened the door and soon enveloped each of them, in turn, in a warm, motherly hug.

“So glad you guys got here!” she said, ushering them inside.  “Dinner’s almost ready.”

Killian looked around at the assembled group, the Charmings, the young prince Neal, Regina and Robin with their children–all smiled happily, talking and laughing, welcoming him with joy.  It was enough.  It was far more than enough; far more than he’d ever thought to have.  Far more than enough to push the tiny ache of loss to the far corner of his mind. 

“Smells good in here!” Henry said, peering into the oven.  “Did you make your famous lasagna, mom?”

Regina ruffled Henry’s hair.  “That I did.  And my apple turnovers—and don’t worry, Miss Swan…er…Mrs. Jones, this batch is completely free of sleeping curse—for dessert.”

“Awesome!” Henry said.  “Can we eat?”

“In just a minute kid,” Emma said.  “We just have to wait until a couple more people get here.”

Killian looked around in surprise.  It appeared the family was all assembled.  “Who else are we missing, love?”

Emma shared a look with her parents, and Killian noticed the tears in her eyes, the secret smile on her face.

Charming stepped forward, holding out a small, non-descript canteen, which Killian automatically took.  “Hook…Killian,” he began, “before Merida took the portal back to her land, she gave us a gift as a token of her appreciation.  That canteen you’re holding.” 

“That was…thoughtful,” Killian said, staring in bemusement at the object in question.

“Yes, it was.  It really was,” Snow said, stepping forward in her turn, “but it’s not the canteen, but the ale that’s in it that’s the real gift.”

“Killian,” Emma said, smiling up at him.  “It’s not just any ale.  It’s a special ale Merida got from a witch in her land.  The person who pours it on the ground can bring back loved ones who have passed on—temporarily at least.”

Killian’s eyes widened, and he shot startled looks at all of them.  “You mean…you mean, I could bring…?”

“Yeah,” Charming said.  “We discussed it, and we all agreed.  That last cup of ale should go to you.  Emma wanted to make your first Christmas special; she thought you might like to invite your own family to our feast.”

Killian’s vision blurred as he looked down at his wife.  “You’d do this for me, love?”

She reached up and cupped his face, bringing him down for a quick kiss.  “I’d do anything for you, Killian.  I thought you’d know that by now.  I know how much you miss them, and, well, I just wanted to make you happy.”

Killian smiled shakily, returning her kiss, brushing away a tear from her cheek.  “You do make me happy, love.  Every day you make me happy.  I wouldn’t trade our life together for anything.” 

“I know,” she said with a smile, “but it doesn’t mean you don’t miss those you’ve lost.  I get that.  I really do.  So, when I found out there was a way to bring them back for the afternoon, I hopped right on that.  Besides, I think it would be amazing to have the whole family together for Christmas. 

“I love you,” he said, swooping in for another kiss.

“And I love you.”

“All of this love is great,” Regina drawled, “but you think we could get on with it?  My lasagna just came out of the oven, and if it gets cold because of your yearning looks and doe eyes, I might start throwing fireballs.”

Killian grinned.  “I wouldn’t dare risk such a thing, your majesty.”

Taking a deep breath, he pulled the stopper from the canteen and poured its contents on the floor of the Charming’s loft.  Before it hit the ground, it transformed into a fine, golden mist, and when it cleared Liam and Brennan Jones stood before him, brilliant grins draping their handsome faces.

“It looks like you’ve done quite well for yourself, little brother,” Liam said, stepping forward.

“I think you mean ‘younger’ brother,” Killian said, voice suspiciously gravelly, before launching himself into his brother’s arms.

~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~c~s~

Several hours later, Emma lay in bed with her head cushioned on her true love’s chest.  She reached up and absently fiddled with the charms on his necklace as she listened to the winter wind howl outside. 

Killian leaned down and captured her lips in a tender kiss that went on and on.  When it finally came to an end, she rested her forehead against his.

“Not that I’m complaining, but what was that about?” She asked, smiling at him.

“I love you so bloody much, Emma, sometimes I cannot contain myself.”

She chuckled, settling back in against his chest and planting a quick kiss against the space above his heart.  “I love you too.  So how was your first Christmas?  Did it live up to all the hype?”

Killian was silent for a moment, absently running his fingers through her hair.  “It was everything I could have imagined and far more, love.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.  You will never know what those two hours with my brother and my father meant to me.”

“I think I can guess,” she said.  “We’re kindred spirits, remember?  The lost boy and the lost girl who finally found each other.”

“Not lost anymore, love,” he said, and she felt the deep rumble of his voice as much as she heard it.  “Though we each possess but half a heart now, mine has never felt so whole or complete.  Liam may have spoken of all the wonders he’s found in paradise, but I’d wager no wonder could compare to having you here in my arms on this Christmas night.

NEXT CHAPTER->

[danieyells]

I wrote this lil drabble like. Two years ago, back when I was still in the ObM fandom. Turns out I never posted it! I think it's kinda cute/silly and decent, and one of the ObM twitters mentioned the first time Satan encountered a cat, so. Here's a silly story. I don't remember how long ago it was, so canon compliance is virtually non-existent, because I bet I wrote it before I'd read a lot of Devilgrams/they released parts of the story that reveal early stuff.

Tl;dr, here's an old drabble for a fandom I'm no longer in where Satan meets a cat for what's likely the first time.

Lucifer had visited the Devildom on his own time two or three times since the incident his Father had him attend a meeting with the Prince in his place. They'd hit it off quite well and the Archangel found himself asking more and more questions every time he left. This wasn't a bad thing, he found. In fact, the introspection was new and curious. . .but enjoyable. For a demon--no, not for, not despite, but because of it--as a demon, Diavolo had more thoughts and knowledge and awareness of the world than Lucifer had considered there to be. Father had taught them of a black and white world, a good and evil world, when it came to their two opposing kinds. But Diavolo spoke of one of grays, of peace, of unity and progress. One his father had never had them consider.

It made Lucifer think too.

He felt almost like he'd never been allowed to do so before when he did.

But this was only partly about that. No, this wasn't about Diavolo, but in something Diavolo. . .gave him. Or perhaps awakened in him.

Something rude and noisy and hostile, though it started as pouty, grumbly, growly, and huffy.

When Lucifer confessed these negative feelings, his father said they were demonic influence. They weren't allowed in his house. They were bad, designed to make him doubt and hate. They were the enemy.

And so he named them Enemy.

The Enemy started off a question and a feeling of displeasure. The Enemy gradually became a whisper, a growl, a feeling of heat in his head and his heart. More questions, more whispers, then words and scratches, and demands and advice. A feeling, but so strong he had to recognize it as a coexistence.

Because Lucifer was curious. It had something new to say and observations to make. It pointed out things he'd never noticed before. Things that he wasn't sure he liked. (Things he was later certain he disliked.)

The Enemy said to keep it a secret for now. To keep it from Michael, from Mammon, from Asmodeus, Lilith, Beelzebub, Belphegor, Leviathan, even Diavolo.

And especially from Father.

The Enemy lived within him. He couldn't help but fear it. He couldn't help but fear that he couldn't pray it to silence.

Good, said The Enemy. Be afraid, said The Enemy. See how what you knew was all a lie. And as you see and come to know the truth, you won't have anything to fear. We are stronger than the lies. The Enemy told him so.

And he found himself with less fear in his heart and more of something else.

The Enemy called it anger. But Lucifer said it was stronger than mere anger.

Good, said The Enemy. You're learning.

And so they called this feeling in their heart "Wrath".

And The Enemy was louder and stronger when they felt it.

At first only wrath made The Enemy speak. Rarely did it raise its voice for anything else.

But it began to find wrath, even wrath that Lucifer did not feel. Sometimes he felt it when he noticed it. Sometimes he was confused.

There was no reason to push the angels so hard in training. There was no reason to be mad at his brothers and sister for being themaelves, not usually, not to the violent degree that The Enemy wanted him to express.

But all of this is a subject for another day. All of this was not what was happening today. For today Lucifer learned something new about his Enemy.

An outlet could silence the voice and cool down the feeling. Sometimes reason could, and once upon a time so could prayer. But today it was relentless, suddenly and unexpectedly.

'Cat.'

Cat?

There was a cat. Peacefully lounging in the light of the Celestial Sun was a little length of fur and downy wings in the form of an angelic cat. Innocent and minding its own business, it opened clear blue eyes to gaze at the Archangel.

'Cat.'

There were no strays in Father's realm. All creatures, though not all in His image, were His children. The cat felt safe and calm and at peace here. It gave a slow blink of trust, as cats did.

'Cat!!!!!'

Lucifer felt dizzy, The Enemy suddenly burning hot within him. Was it angry? Why? The cat did nothing, wasn't in the way, hadn't made a sound--certainly sometimes The Enemy flew into a rage over a mere existence, but truly the animal was innocent!

Afraid for what was truly something that had done no harm and deserved no trouble, Lucifer began to veer away from it, to avoid it.

The Enemy went ballistic.

'No! You fool! The cat!! The CAT!!!!'

'The cat isn't bothering us. We don't need to bother the cat.'

'Grab the cat, Lucifer. Get the cat!'

'No!' He almost said it aloud, clenching fists to resist what felt like an attempt at seizing control when he began to avoid it. 'You'll do something horrid to it! It wouldn't be the first time! We're leaving the cat alone!'

Not unlike a spoled child being carried away from the candy aisle, the screeching of The Enemy felt as though it could be heard for miles. Usually The Enemy had some sort of reason for things. It was surprisingly, well, reasonable for something that seemed to only feel rage. But this was. . .clawing and wanting for no reason whatsoever. It was more intense than any wrath they'd felt so far.

It was unbearable. Painful, even.

"Alright already!" Lucifer snapped before he clammed up, realizing he'd responded to his internal companion aloud. As he turned around to approach the now confused and somewhat startled feline, he checked his surroundings. Nobody seems to have had heard his cry. Good. 'Fine! We can see the cat! I have enough self control not to let you have your way if you try something. . .unacceptable again.'

The burning calmed down. He could breathe easily again. Taking careful breaths for both if their sakes, Lucifer knelt down beside the cat who had risen to approach him in concern.

'Pet the cat.' The Enemy ordered with a shocking calm. The cat meowed in a friendly and reassuring manner, rubbing against their legs. 'Pet it, Lucifer.'

"I am, I am. . . ." He muttered, reaching for it with uncertainty. It bounced up on its hind legs, little wings fluttering behind it, meeting their hand as they stroked it gently and rubbed its ears. The cat purred and Lucifer sighed, feeling the heat of The Enemy cool. "Happy now?"

Silence.

Lucifer kept petting the cat in confusion, running a large hand down its back and rubbing the bases of its wings.

"Enemy?"

A silence he hadn't heard in a few hundred--maybe even a thousand years. In fact, the heat had fallen away to nearly nothing. He felt. . .at peace. He wasn't even sure he felt The Enemy at all.

It felt like the cat's purring echoed in his head. When it placed a little paw against his chest he wrapped an arm under its rear and scooped it up.

He felt lonely inside his own head. Empty almost. The sudden absence of The Enemy was jarring.

He pet the cat as he carried it home with him, looking around as though expecting to see that part of him outside the confines of his being, though he didn't know what to look for.

His siblings were happy to see him home, worried about his lateness when he'd not said anything about other plans, but were quickly distracted by the offering of a furry friend to play with so long as they stayed outside with it.

The rest of the day, The Enemy was silent and calm.

Aside from that Lucifer felt prompted to give the cat a little wave as Lilith took it to bring out to the garden to give attention alongside her older brothers, whispering to it, "Goodbye. . . ."

A few hundred years later, Lucifer had a particularly bad day with the angel trainees. They were practically steaming. He stormed into Father's house with his report for the day, slamming it onto the desk where the other Archangels were discussing their own days with their subordinates. Lucifer'd been getting more and more quick-tempered lately, his anger lasting more, but they had dismissed it or hushed his concerns that there were perhaps concerns at all. Nonetheless, the head Archangel's wrath was still shocking and noticeable, but before any of them could ask what was wrong, he snapped at Michael, gripping his upper arms a little too tight for comfort,

"Michael, I need you to direct me to the nearest cat, immediately."

He had to admit, some ten thousand years later, Diavolo holding the recently born, newly separated Enemy--now simply Satan--as Lucifer looked at the little welcome gift he'd been given,

He'd started getting tired of cats.

"He's small now," Diavolo admitted, petting the curious rage ball that was Lucifer's 'son,' "But he'll be a great guard for your brothers when he grows up! Or, at least, your home and the Grimoire--I can tell you won't need much defending once you get settled as demons."

The little three-headed puppy was small enough to fit in his pocket(though he had rather large pockets, admittedly) but it was an eagerly welcome gift and a welcome change from his having to seek out cats to relax Satan when they were one. Satan had no problem with other animals but cats were what he cared for most. And having the 'opposing' mammal was somehow very soothing, though he didn't show how odd it felt to no longer be. . .carrying his child? Overwhelmed by Wrath.

"He's perfect." Lucifer gently scooped the puppy up and it panted excitedly. In Diavolo's hold, Satan huffed and lashed his tail, cheeks puffy and claws pressed against Diavolo's strong arms making him laugh. "I'll name him. . .Cerberus."

"Pbbbbbpp!!!!" Satan slapped his little limbs against Diavolo. 'Cerberus? Really? You're naming your dog Spot?'

Or, that's what Lucifer thought would be coming into his head if Satan were still able to share his thoughts that way. Unaccustomed to his new physical form, he couldn't do much in terms of communication for now. He couldn't even walk, so far. He was, for all intents but spiritual and magical, a baby. He could only hope it'd give them time to teach him to be something besides a living negative emotion.

"Is something wrong, Satan? Are you jealous that I named him, but Grandpa named you?" He teased, holding the little demon puppy to the demon baby, watching the more socialized creature lick his personified feelings. Satan at least had already learned not to hit and made a. . .less upset noise than Lucifer anticipated, growling at Lucifer. When the former Archangel leaned in to kiss the child's head, he flinched back in amusement when a pair of clawed hands went straight for him, sharp teeth bared hostilely with a hiss.

"Perhaps he needs more time. I can take care of one--or both--for now, give you time to get settled--"

"There's no need, My Lord." Lucifer insisted, pocketing the puppy and taking Satan into his arms despite that he immediately began to growl, bite, claw, and whip with his tail against him. "I understand I'll have many responsibilities. The sooner I learn to endure them the better."

"If you insist. But I'm always here for you all if you need me. And I'd love to spend some alone time with Satan! He's mine, too, after all!"

Diavolo laughed and grinned at the shy and somewhat annoyed look Lucifer gave him, mirrored almost exactly by Satan. He truly was his wrathful. . .child-clone.

"Mine as in one of my people! But we don't have the familial associations angels do. So it isn't strange if you want to consider me his fathe--"

"Thank you for the gift, Lord Diavolo." He flushed and turned away sharply. Enough of that. "I'll keep it in mind in case of an emergency. But I assure you I'll be a model right hand man and take everything into my own hands. You're busy enough as it is and have already done us enough of a kindness."

He looked to the baby in his hold, writhing and whining.

"You've given me everything. I won't let you down. I'll make sure you don't regret it." A nod, as he departed, bouncing the agitated Satan in his arms. "Say goodbye, Satan."

Satan took in a sharp breath. Rather than make any noise that sounded like a goodbye, he simply screeched and flailed his arms back in the direction they came, startling Lucifer and making Cerberus bark in alarm. Did he want to stay? He'd made Lucifer his rage focus after the Fall, and Lucifer didn't want to admit how lonely it sounded, the idea that perhaps Satan. . .didn't want to be with him. Hated him. (In fact, it was downright anxiety-inducing--but anxiety was a demonic oddity he was still growing used to.)

Or perhaps, based on the soft chuckle of the steward who'd arrived to see them off, Satan had climbed and clawed his way to be able to see behind them and flail his little arms in order to attempt to be given the demonic housecat that Barbatos had carried with him, having had pulled it from someplace it didn't belong in its mousing. Diavolo laughed as well, and the familiar feeling made Lucifer feel less like he'd lost himself, knowing where he was. "You'll have your hands full with Cerberus. Please, if only for the evening."

Seeing Satan's familiar peacefulness, now on a chubby baby face and not disrupting his own feelings due to their connection somehow made Lucifer feel a little okay about it all again. Soft little fingers rubbed the castle cat with expert care and gentleness, petting the familiar, and Lucifer frowned for a moment before nodding and relenting with a sigh. "For the evening."

"Yay!!!" Diavolo scooped Satan up, and, aside from a noise with his mouth, the newform was more concerned by the cat. "Isn't that wonderful, Satan? You get to play with our cats a little longer?"

Satan did a perfect rendition of a cat's meow, purring loudly and contentedly.

The happy quiet was comfortable and reassuring when Satan was no longer a voice in his head. The loneliness felt bearable, knowing he was content. And he had five brothers at home and a new dog to worry over.

He and Satan had been one for well over ten thousand years. Inseparable. In a way, Satan saved them all.

Having had come into being as his 'Enemy,' he'd become something like a precious ally when he was born.

Perhaps they could use some time apart.

[scattered-winter]

also for your oc ask game: !! i am very curious about your creatures/monsters!

I'll tell u abt some things from a vague fantasy concept I have !! I actually originally came up with these creature concepts to fit in with a fantasy au from an existing fandom + characters but I ended up liking them so much that I've started developing the worldbuilding itself separate from the au so I can eventually fit it into one of my oc stories <3 as of right now I don't actually have any ocs for this particular story setting BUT I have the world ready for ocs pretty much at any time so as soon as I think of them I'll have a whole story pretty much ready <33

so first: the cats <3

they're like. large cats (lions, leopards, tigers, etc) except they're BIG. like. tryna think of a good comparison but if you've seen the legend of korra, they're about as big as naga, the polar bear dog

speaking technically, there are breeds of giant cat that are pretty much really, really big housecats that civilians have in their households (usually to pull wagons or lift things, or sometimes they're just pets) but the cats I like to talk about are the slightly wild ones (lions, tigers, etc). they're the oldest species of giant cat, and all the domesticated ones are their descendants (like a wolf + dog situation) and they're the biggest and most dangerous. additionally, they're intrinsically linked to knights because as part of their training, a knight will choose a kitten (about the size of a small golden retriever <3) to become his battle companion for life. he will raise the cat and train it, and they will have a mystical bond that ties them together in ways most people can't even imagine. they can sense each other's emotions, and it's like. a tether . sorta tying them together. if a knight has a partner or kids or anyone he's particularly close to, the cat will sort of psuedo-bond with them (there isn't really an actual Bond but the cat will protect them like they were the knight himself) and if either the knight or the cat dies, the tether snaps, and losing a cat is considered one of the absolute worst tragedies that could happen because it's like losing a part of yourself. if a knight loses a cat he is able to get a new one, but a lot of knights don't do it because it's too painful to reopen the bond. and if a cat loses his knight, usually the pain of the severed bond drives them completely feral and they need to be taken down, or released into the wild unless the knight had family who could take care of it instead.

royal families also traditionally have cats, but they're more of a sign of status than an actual battle companion/steed. but since I love knights so much (not a secret to anyone who's been here for a while) I figured this worldbuilding would probably be centered around knights and their cats because <333333333

and I'll also talk about the hound!!! I've touched on it before on my blog but couldn't find the posts alas, so I'll try to sum everything up:

basically, the hound is an ancient eldritch horror that haunts the darkest corners of the world. it's passed into legend and so stories have spread, and so people will say it's a giant wolf, or a dragon dog, or a bunch of other things, but none of them are actually right. it isn't even organic matter!! it's basically a cocktail of dark spells and curses and black magic all compressed together like a neutron star and it takes the form of a giant shadowy dog. it has huge teeth and claws that can retract like a cat, and their full length is about a foot and a half long, and its claws and teeth also infect anyone who is bitten/scratched with death magic that slowly leeches away at their life force until they basically become a husk. like a zombie except it answers only to the hound. the husks are relatively easy to kill, but they can also spread the death magic infection to others, so if left unchecked it could be a major fucking problem. however if the hound kills its prey, they won't like. resurrect as a husk or anything. they have to be alive to be infected. back in the day the hound's handlers (the wizards who created it) would send it after their enemies, and the hound would track them all the way across the continent, and probably even across oceans too. it's manifested by shadows so it only shows up at night, but it will constantly track its prey until its dead. nowadays though, the hound has been around for thousands of years (long enough that it's more legend than anything else) and its handlers (the successors of the creators) don't really have a lot of information about what that thing really is. a lot of it was lost over the ages in what's basically a game of telephone, and each new generation of handler had less of an idea of what the hound is, so by now, the handlers have NO idea what theyre really dealing with.

the hound's ONLY weakness is light (life) magic. one of the most fundamental laws of the magic system is that Everything Has An Equal Opposing Force. no matter how powerful the spell is, there will ALWAYS be something equally powerful that can counter it. and each class of magic has an opposite class that can cancel it out. and because the hound is pure dark (death) magic, light magic is the natural opposite, and the only thing that can really stop the hound. unfortunately, light magic is practically extinct, and so if you're being hunted by the hound your only real chance at survival is rediscovering a magic discipline that hasn't been around for centuries <3

(the magic system has a LOT more moving parts but these are the ones that apply to the hound so. <3)

also, the hound has been EVOLVING all this time, so it's even MORE of an unknown. it's literally pure fucking evil, because it's made entirely of evil spells, and it's been programmed to be pure evil, but as time goes on, it starts gaining a bit of sentience. it was created to only follow the orders of its handlers, but as it learns and grows, the hound starts developing free will, and it starts hunting and killing because it loves the thrill of the hunt, not because it was ordered to. and eventually, down the line, it turns on its handlers and is unleashed without anyone holding it back or controlling it. and I figure Plot would happen when the main characters (whoever they are) go out to stop the hound and the potential husk zombie apocalypse but this fantasy story doesn't have any characters yet lmao. I have the worldbuilding and the setting, but it's not populated yet 😔

I've done a shitty little sketch of the thing also:

when it moves it has a sort of. anime flower petal effect except its with little particles of shadow floating off its body <3 also it can stand on its hind legs and when it does, its movements are super stilted and jerky and horror movie-esque, but when it's down on all fours it moves so smoothly and gracefully that it's terrifying in the OTHER direction because it moves like a Peak Predator. <3

ask me abt my original stuff !!

[moonstrider9904]

I LOVED your thoughts on Disney and Marvel. I saw that you likened it to fanfic writing and, I noticed you're expaning the story of Moonlight with Gravitation, but that MAKES SENSE, ya know? Like, Bree and Tech's story was there and you WANTED to tell it, you're taking your time with it, and it's expanding on Moonlight while telling a new story, old characters' appearances make sense etc

Thank you, nonnie ❤️

OOF now that we're going to talk Moonlightverse, I have to admit that I have to stop myself from adding Clair and Mora and even Crosshair more into Gravitation precisely because this is Bree and Tech's story. I can't rely on Clair and Crosshair to tell another couple's story. They had their story, now it's someone else's turn.

I wanted to tell Bree and Tech's story ever since I wrote their little interaction during Clair and Crosshair's wedding in Moonlight. It took me a while because I didn't know how to tell it or what that story would even involve past "they hooked up and caught feelings." There was a lot of thought and development, plus the encouragement of a few people and a growing love for Tech, that later shaped the story into something that could stand on its feet. Only then was it the right time to start the project, not when I was desperate to find something to write and post (a dangerous time for a writer that results in multiple scratched projects, at least for me lol).

I love adding little references to Moonlight and nods to my first story because Moonlight is my treasure, but I'm doing my best to tell a new story, one that mainly focuses on Bree and Tech but has other things going in the background because it's a universe.

I'm not going to say MARVEL SHOULD BE LIKE ME because that would be arrogant on my behalf. I am not a perfect writer and I quite frankly understand the rush and hype behind adding a cameo or a reference, and it's okay to add a cameo or reference for the fun of it. Just not all the time; for it to not become tiring the way it has become with Marvel, it has to work from time to time. If it enriches the story and helps in telling it, green light with your cameo and reference. If you're only adding it to promote your story or make it more popular, maybe pause to think of a better way to stay more loyal to the story you do want to tell. You, as the writer, will be happier with that result in the long run.

It's like writing dialogue. You wouldn't add "Hey!" "Hey. How are you." "Fine, and you?" "Fine, thanks." Because it does not do anything for your story (unless awkward small-talk develops your characters). You add dialogue that adds to your understanding of the characters or the story, and if not, it's recommended to leave it out lest you'll bore yourself and, inevitably, your reader.

And I might be steering further from the topic but I feel like bringing this up as well:

For a while, some months ago during my dark ages, I considered not writing Bad Batch fic anymore. I see fics focused on other characters that are so loved and so popular that I thought "Hey, if I write that, I might be popular too!" So I considered writing Rex, Din, Boba... characters who are widely popular and beloved, but who don't resonate with me specifically, same like there are writers who don't resonate with Crosshair or Hunter but there are other characters they love and write incredibly for.

Even right now I flirt with the idea of a Din fic, and I've written one shots for Din and Boba in Kinktober. They've been fun, surely out of my comfort zone but I'm not unwilling to explore; a part of me hopes I'm writing them right - the idea of a larger series focusing on them, for now, at least, isn't on the table for me.

Note, I'm not saying writers who write for these characters do it to be popular. They know these characters and love them far more than I do, and they write them beautifully. I am happy and proud of these writers. There's probably more Boba fic than Crosshair fic in the great, wide fandom, so I thought maybe if I took a shot at that, I could get more reblogs or comments.

Now that I look back on it, I was probably being unreasonable 😅

But if I sacrificed writing for Crosshair to instead write for characters I don't vibe with, just to be popular, I'd be selling myself out and I wouldn't even get any money lol. It would be sad for me, and I'm glad I didn't do it. I'm glad I waited a bit more to find the inspiration for my silly little Crosshair fics, and now, even a Tech fic.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, nonnie, and thank you for coming here and talking about my fic. I love when that happens ❤️