#not 100% sure how to cast everyone else though

[make-friends-with-the-rats]

I’m very tempted to write a newsies moby dick au…

[riality-check]

riiaaa!! for the 100 ways to say i love you prompts, #1 and steddie please!!

(this is also very late, but here we go!)

"Pull over, let me drive for a while."

"Steve."

"Mhm."

"Steve."

"Yeah?"

"You're gonna drive us off the road."

"I'm fine," Steve says, and Eddie watches from the passenger seat as the car moves a full two feet onto the shoulder.

And people have the nerve to criticize his driving.

"Yeah, no," Eddie says. "Pull over, let me drive for a while."

"I got it," Steve says, a mid-sentence yawn ruins his credibility.

Eddie sighs. Steve is more than just a good dude; he's become one of Eddie's closest friends over the past few months, thank you, trauma bonding. But even though Steve Harrington is a good person, he's exceptionally stubborn when he wants to be, and driving his Beemer is the most stubborn he ever gets.

Seriously, though? He needs to sleep. He's gonna get them hurt otherwise.

"Sweetheart," Eddie says, and where that came from, he's going to blame on the sleep deprivation, "please. I promise I won't scratch your car."

Steve straightens up at that. Sneaks a glance at Eddie out of the corner of his eye. Relaxes his grip on the wheel.

"Okay," he says, and he puts his blinker on, pulls onto the shoulder. "Yeah, you can drive."

Eddie breathes out a sigh of relief as they switch seats. He's lucky he and Steve are the same size, nearly; he doesn't have to adjust the seat or the mirrors.

He glances at Steve, just to make sure he's settled, before he shifts the car into gear and gets them back on the road toward Hawkins.

Move in was a success all around. First Nancy, in Boston, then Jonathan in New York, then Robin in Philadelphia. Steve and Eddie had nothing else to do, the gas money to spare, and a want to help out. Taking the Beemer seemed stupid until Eddie was reminded by everyone, less than nicely, that the van would fall apart on a drive to Indy, nevermind to three different cities on the East Coast.

They fit less boxes, but at least they made the journey without breaking down.

And now they're on their way back, at nearly midnight with four hours left to go, because it makes more sense to drive than to find an affordable hotel that's not a shithole in Philadelphia.

"This is weird," Steve mumbles.

"What is?"

"Letting someone else drive my car," he explains. "Last time, I was concussed, and Max almost drove us into a telephone pole."

"Mayfield?"

"Yeah, back in '84. Hargrove beat the shit out of me so bad I could barely think, the kids had to get somewhere, and she was the only one who knew at least a little about how to drive."

Eddie laughs and shakes his head. "Everything I learn about you is weirder and weirder."

"I didn't even tell you the worst part."

"Which is?"

"I was so out of it, I thought Mike was Nancy."

Eddie cackles, wiping the tears from his eyes as he continues to drive. Thank god no else is on the road.

"They don't even look alike," he wheezes.

"In my defense," Steve says with a smile, "I did have brain damage."

"Past tense?"

Steve punches him in the shoulder. "Asshole."

Eddie rubs over the spot with one hand and keeps driving with the other. It's nice, this time of night. No one on the road, warm enough to have the windows cracked in the pitch black. Music playing loud enough to hear but low enough to have a conversation over.

It helps that Steve's rich-boy car drives smoother than anything else Eddie's been behind the wheel of, and Eddie's been behind a lot of different wheels in his life.

"Thanks," Steve says after a little while.

"For what?"

"Driving."

"Of course," Eddie says, because he means it. Of course he'd drive when Steve can't. It's what you do for the people you-

Eddie looks over at Steve. He's kicked his shoes off and scrunched his knees to his chest on the passenger seat. He's curled up, toward Eddie, with his hair fanned out and his cheek squished against his knee, eyes closed. The streetlights, as they race by them, cast his skin in varying shades of silver and gold, highlighting the contrast of his freckles.

-love.

Eddie's doing this because it's what he does for the people he loves.

It's a quieter realization than he expected. Eddie has loved a lot of people like he loves Wayne and his friends, but he's never been in love before. He thought it would be an all-consuming, heart-racing crash, a collision bringing fire and constriction, needing the jaws of life to pull him out.

This isn't like that. This is liking being a little kid, jumping off the couch, and knowing someone is waiting at the bottom to catch him. There's the feeling of danger, sure, but he knows what's at the bottom.

He wonders how long he's known. Long enough for that love, the love he has for Steve, to be something comfortable and warm in his chest.

Steve's hand rests on the space between them, palm up, outstretched. Eddie takes it and squeezes it.

And, though Steve is surely asleep, he thinks he might squeeze back.

Prompts here.

[tangytiramisu]

La Squadra React to Reader Crushing on Ghiaccio

Because I love him so much 🥹❄️

CW: None

Risotto Nero

Is pretty indifferent to it. As long as it doesn’t get in the way of your work, it’s fine with him.

Though he would be lying if he said he wasn’t at least a little curious, since most people are put off by Ghiaccio’s aggressive personality but you’re an exception.

Being the observant person he is, Risotto notices your blush and every longing glance you give Ghiaccio. That’s how he knows you like him in the first place.

He may be serious but he’s still caring, so if you seem to be struggling to get closer to Ghiaccio, he will give you advice from time to time. Listen to him. It always works.

If you follow his advice and it works he’s like a silently proud dad.

Prosciutto

Judgmental.

Why Ghiaccio? Sure, he is a good looking guy, but you could have chosen someone calmer and more sophisticated. At least in his opinion. (This is Prosciutto we’re talking about)

But regardless, he isn’t really one to meddle in people’s romantic affairs. The most he’ll do is cast judgement.

Though we all know that he’s quite caring, so if you need advice, he will give it to you. But he’ll make sure you know that your duties come first.

He definitely lifts you up if you’re nervous or feeling down!

He will be protective if Ghia is rude to you for any reason.

Pesci

He’s very supportive!

He may be a little surprised that you chose Ghiaccio, but he won’t question it.

Ghiaccio kind of scares him, but Pesci will be there for you if you need advice! He is also very good at comforting you if you doubt yourself for some reason.

Very sweet and routes for you 100%!

10/10 Wingman!

Melone

Oh he’s having a heyday!

He’s the most obnoxious yet enthusiastic wingman you could ask for. You like his best friend. Of course he’ll want to help.

He will want to know everything. Why do you like Ghiaccio? Is it his cute curls? His glasses? His handsome face? His muscles?

He will tell you whatever you want to know about Ghiaccio. Even information you may not have asked for, like the color of his briefs.

Will definitely ask you if you’ve had sexual fantasies about Ghiaccio. Even if you have don’t tell him about them.

Will constantly make dirty jokes when you and Ghiaccio are in a room together. It lowkey feels like he’s hitting on Ghiaccio for you…?

If you need serious advice he’s actually pretty good at it. He knows Ghiaccio the best out of everyone, so you can rely on him.

Melone will basically tell you to just go for it. Tell Ghiaccio how you feel because he appreciates honesty and straightforwardness. If it doesn’t go well, Melone will gladly make it all better ;)

Formaggio

He’s a little indifferent to it. You like Ghiaccio? He’s a little surprised for the same reason as everybody else, but hey, you do you.

He will tease you a little bit though, but it’s all in good fun.

He makes sure you know that you can come to him for advice.

Like Melone, he tells you to approach Ghiaccio. His methods may not be too helpful though because he recommends flirtation, and Ghia is not the best at handling flirting.

If you and Ghia end up together he’s happy for you! If you don’t, he’ll swoop in and get with you himself ;)

Illuso

Oh he knows before any of the others. Why? Because Man in the Mirror.

He scoffs. Ghiaccio? The ice brat??? What’s so special about him?!!

He’s mostly indifferent but it will cost you half your bank account to keep his petty mouth shut.

If you piss him off he will threaten to tell Ghiaccio. Will he go through with it? Who knows.

Ghiaccio

Look he may be book-smart but bro’s dense as hell when it comes to romance.

Don’t let him catch you staring at him. He will blow up at you without hesitation.

He will notice if you act differently around him but he assumes it’s because you hate him or something. He’s used to people being scared of him but that doesn’t make him any less angry.

Probably treats you as if you’re a nuisance because of it.

Eventually if the secret comes out and he doesn’t feel the same way, he’ll be flustered but may avoid you for some time. But if he reciprocates your feelings, he’ll practically melt.

[littlejuicebox]

this is random, but a prompt idea that made me giggle is what if Tav wasn’t very interested in Astarion, maybe she’s from a more stoic or conservative country/realm/plane, so his flirting either went over her head or pushed her away… until she sees him sewing. Him acting ‘domestic’ immediately attracts her. Him secretly fixing Karlach’s bear, or later maybe fixing up Yenna’s clothes, makes her give him heart eyes.

Astarion, who already gave up after his flirting failed, is very confused by her sudden attention and requests for sewing lessons. For extra fun, what if post-brain she requests for lessons on sewing tiny clothes, not even realizing she’s asking how to make baby clothes—their baby’s.

Olive Branch

This is a bit different from my other work so I thought I'd give it a go! Not 100% satisfied with it, but I hope you still enjoy, anon!

Word count: 1.3K

Tags/warnings: All fluff, Astarion being Astarion lol

-----

Astarion finally gave up on seducing Tav . He’d originally pegged her as a naive, and therefore easily charmed and manipulated, cleric. Unfortunately, two weeks of wasted effort proved him wrong. She’d barely spoken or paid attention to him and his overt advances at all. 

Any attempts to entrance her with aggressive flirtation or the allure of his sexual wiles seemed to have an opposite effect. In fact, Tav would always gravitate more towards Wyll and Gale and preferred to avoid him almost entirely.

He couldn’t be the issue, of course. He was gorgeous, witty, and made it quite clear he was experienced in bed. He was the man of anyone’s dreams; he knows because he’d manufactured himself to be practically undeniable to the masses. 

So then it was obviously her… she was certainly the problem. Something about that – admittedly attractive – cleric was strange; she was oddly secretive about her goddess. The rogue couldn’t even be sure which goddess it was; Tav never referred to the deity by name.

Her apparent distaste for him was concerning, however. Just a few days back, the monster-hunter had outed him as a vampire. The entire group seemed ready to cast him aside after that, save their cleric leader. She’d granted him a moment of mercy and had been able to convince the others that he wasn’t a danger, though he felt he was on thin ice with her and everyone else. 

Astarion did not know how he was going to charm his way out of this one. And as the rogue sits in front of his tent, mulling over his options for ensuring his own security, he begins to consider that perhaps he should just suck it up and proposition Lae’zel or Gale. One of them would be sufficient, too. 

The elf is ripped from his scheming by a sudden groan of dismay from Karlach just a few tents over. When he turns to survey the scene, he sees the slouched tiefling grasping onto that stuffed bear she slept with every night, muttering something to a concerned Tav.

“Perhaps we can find a new bear, Karlach,” Tav says, frowning as she gently takes the stuffed animal from her friend and spins it around in her hand. The toy’s back seam is split apart; tufts of white stuffing spill from the opening.

Astarion instantly recognizes the issue. And the opportunity. Karlach is easily Tav’s favorite campmate – they were two sappy peas in a pod. It was likely that by offering his aid, he’d be able to win points with both the strongest member in camp and their illustrious leader, all without much effort on his part. Perfect.

“I can fix that for you, Karlach, if you’d prefer!” The rogue calls, snapping shut the book he’d been half-reading before taking a few strides toward his campmate, “It looks simple enough, wouldn’t take me more than an hour or so.”

Karlach, always the easily excitable, affable campmate, is grinning as she responds, “Really, Fangs?! You can do that?”

The silver-haired elf chuckles and then nods, taking the bear from a suspicious Tav before briefly examining it,  “Certainly. It’s nothing a simple whipstitch won’t fix.” 

And then he returns to his tent and quickly sets to work. As promised, the bear is good as new in just over an hour. 

*

Later that evening, the vampire sits close to the campfire, warming his icy skin. Apart from Tav, all his campmates had returned to their tents and since gone to sleep. The cleric was perhaps the only person that loved the fire almost as much as he did; she would often stare at it for long periods of time as if in prayer or meditation.

These nightly moments between the two of them typically passed in relative silence until one or the other dismissed themselves from the strained situation. Sometimes it felt as if they were fighting for a claim over the fire.

But tonight, Tav turns her head to stare at Astarion for a moment too long, prompting him to face in her direction with an arched eyebrow. 

“You’re quite talented at sewing,” She says, her eyes flickering across his face, examining it as if it’s brand new and not a visage she’s already known for weeks. Astarion thinks he sees her skin reddening, but then, she’s sitting remarkably close to the flames.

This olive branch is unexpected.

“Is that an actual compliment?” Astarion retorts, feigning shock and cocking his head just slightly, “I suppose I’ll take it, darling. I have to admit it’s preferable to the eye rolls and sighs you normally send my way.” 

Tav shrugs, not really refuting any of the rogue’s claims, before continuing on, “I suppose I didn’t think you had a domestic bone in your body. I misjudged you.” 

“Domestic?” Astarion asks, his tone betraying his displeasure at being called such a thing. He thinks she means to call him weak and is about to spew an insult in the cleric’s direction before she interrupts.

“I don’t mean offense,” She starts, throwing her hands up in surrender, “I apologize, I forget that isn’t always viewed as a compliment. But where I come from, domesticity is a highly favored attribute.” 

The rogue’s vitriol dies in his mouth as he assesses the woman in front of him. He can’t help it, he’s curious, so he asks, “And where do you come from, exactly?”

There is a long moment of silence. Tav heavily considers her response. And then she sighs and shrugs, “I’m from a hamlet in the Dalelands… it’s quite small, made up of no more than a few hundred. Most of us worship Hestia, the goddess of hearth and home.” 

Astarion’s eyebrows furrow as he tries to recall this goddess, but he doesn’t recognize the name.

Tav realizes Astarion has no clue what she’s talking about and visibly relaxes, “She is the goddess of hearth and home in our beliefs. Most inhabitants of the Dalelands worship Chauntea… Hestia worship is not widely accepted. It’s generally considered savagery.” 

The rogue shrugs. He really didn’t care who worshiped which god. In his eyes, all gods and goddesses were essentially the same and none of them seemed to respond anyway. Everyone was free to beg whatever deity for whatever handouts they wanted; he preferred to abstain from the practice entirely. 

“Good for you, darling, go on and worship whoever tickles your fancy,” The elf responds, turning once again to watch the fire.

Another stretch of silence, this one a bit more comfortable than any moments previous. Astarion doesn’t notice as the cleric quietly admires his profile, her eyes filled with a yearning that hadn’t ever been directed towards the vampire until now. 

After a while, Tav stands and briefly stretches her muscles. She walks a few steps toward her tent but then abruptly spins around to look at the rogue.

“Astarion?” She murmurs, her tone almost hesitant, as if she’s unsure of herself.

“Yes?” He replies, ripping his eyes away from the fire and dismissing his own thoughts to acknowledge the woman.

“Do you think you’d be able to show me how to sew like you? I only know the basics. I thought you could give me sewing lessons and I could teach you something in return… crochet or how to play the lyre, perhaps?” She asks, her hands twisting together in an anxious knot as she speaks.

The rogue nods almost imperceptibly, subtly cocking his head as he processes Tav’s sudden change in attitude toward him before responding, “Certainly, darling.”

Tav grins, and it appears almost childlike. Astarion feels the briefest flicker of affection toward the woman at her relative innocence, which is such a stark contrast to his own jaded nature.

“Okay, then. How about starting lessons tomorrow night?” She asks, still smiling, her eyes shimmering with excitement.

“Sounds like a plan,” The elf responds, and then watches with idle curiosity as Tav bids goodnight and walks away.

Astarion smiles as he returns his attention to the fire. He thinks this is a nice, simple plan; an easy way to keep himself safe in the wilds. Surely a plan as simple as this couldn't fall apart.

Right? 

[fellthemarvelous]

The Giggle is a true work of art

It's a love letter to humanity, but everyone has to be willing to listen for it to work.

I love this gif. Think about it. The MCU has a LARGE audience base and Tony Stark is the face of the MCU and is one of the richest men alive. It is no accident that UNIT looks like a tower that was erected by a a white male American narcissist who sacrificed his life to save the entire universe. Love him or hate him, Tony Stark gets your attention. And so does Iron Man. And so do the other Avengers. You know who else has a tower? Batman. (Right?). He's DC. Some people like both. I don't know enough about the DC characters.

And think about RDJ who is trying to step away from the Tony Stark image. It's a character he loved, a character that changed his life after he got out of prison, and he will always love Tony Stark, but he and Tony Stark are not the same person.

https://www.thestreet.com/media/vintage-video-of-robert-downey-jr-visiting-wall-street-resurfaces-goes-viral

Robert Downey Jr told us what was up in the 1990s.

This is meant to connect to the people who love superheroes and superhero movies. To see that Robert Downey Jr is the way he is because he's seen the ugly side of humanity and he has always told us what he really thinks. People look up to him.

This is meant to catch their eye, to say THIS IS WHAT WE ARE DOING. Please listen to our message.

Nerd culture is beautiful art.

And if you don't spend your time asking yourself how often Neil Patrick Harris is bullshitting us because I refuse to believe that he had never heard of Doctor Who before joining the cast. I think he just threw 100% of his "please" attitude into Barney Stinson.

Remember when Neil Patrick Harris played Doogie Howser, MD? The 14 year old Doctor?

Oh, he was a Doctor too! So let's not forget this other cult classic Doctor character he played. If you haven't seen Doctor Horrible and His Sing-along Blog you are missing out.

He was once listed as one of Times' 100 Most Influential People in 2010.

He's charismatic and is openly affectionate with his husband and their children.

Love him or hate him, he has a large fanbase. And he is an AMAZING actor. And a really good magician too.

And they used his skills as a magician on Doctor Who, took us to Soho in 1925, and the Good Omens fandom arose from our slumber severe hyperfixation and meticulous meta analysis to dig into a fandom where David Tennant is the most popular incarnation of a particular character, so we are already doing nonstop detective work.

The Good Omens fandom LOVES David Tennant. He is our favorite rebellious demon.

He played the MCU's most terrifying villain (there is not one single MCU villain that has ever terrified me as much as Kilgrave because that fucker uses his powers of mind control to force Jessica Jones into being in a relationship with him...among other things). As a character though, he was fucking fascinating despite the fact we have met so many men who act just like him, and we hate all of them.

Side note: When I typed "Doogie Howzer" into the gif search, this is the most popular image that came up. I consistently get Howser and Howzer confused.

Now I've got the attention of the Star Wars fandom! Howzer rocks.

You know who else appeared on a Star Wars show (again) this year?

This entire episode was crafted in a way that it formed as many connections as it could with other fandoms.

And not just that. It made sure to include as much representation as possible. Was it perfect? No, but the point is that Doctor Who is telling the world that it is moving on. It is ready to grow and it is ready to be a mainstream voice for everyone whose existence is being threatened by unjust laws.

The new Doctor defied expectations. This Doctor is a breath of fresh air, and a reminder that we will all be okay, but change is inevitable and this sci-fi show about an alien who is either 2,000 or 4,000,000,005 years old. I can't keep up anymore. It doesn't matter because he's a Doctor free from the confines of societal expectations.

Nerd culture is vast, and I know I've left out fandoms because I don't really have all day nor do I know all the fandoms, so I'm just giving you a taste of what I do love.

This episode is meant to be for everyone who needs a place to call home.

And the old Doctor finally gets to retire to make way for the new Doctor.

And as a reward for longtime fans, the retired Doctor has found a place to call home on Earth with his best friend. David Tennant will always be Doctor Who because the old Doctor was allowed to live.

And for the Staged fandom, you know what that means, Michael?

[mi6ato]

Late Night

Pairing: Aki Hayakawa x Fem!reader 

Word Count: 5.5k

Content Warning: heavy nsfw, pet names , degradation, dry humping, praising, profanity, masturbation, choking

Synopsis: Whilst "finishing" some paperwork with your co-worker, things start to become a bit heated, and not just by arguing.

Playlist

18+ - Minors don’t interact.

Make sure you complete the remaining paperwork which is due by tomorrow and if not, then you’ll be working extra hours next week :) - Makima. 

Fuck. You’ve been stuck in the Public Safety building all day, and even though there were several files to proof-read and store in the cabinets, you accomplished absolutely nothing for the last five hours. Sighing, you lazily prop yourself up from the black chair and walk to the illuminated window. 

Nights like these, where the buildings shone iridescent colours of yellow and white, hearing people bustling around to get to their desired places and most of all, beginning to see the moon make its way up the cloudy sky, casting a dim but surreal light over the city, are what you couldn’t get tired of. 

You seriously craved a break, considering you killed around twenty devils this week alone, a pay-rise is certainly needed for accomplishing that much. Placing your hand against the glass, you admire the atmosphere, purely wishing to escape this damned hell-hole and live a life at ease, just like those people down below.

"Quit fucking day-dreaming."

Oh, and him. 

Aki Hayakawa, the absolute worst nightmare one could imagine. You only started working here around a month ago, but you already established how much of a prick he was. Ruthlessly cold and arrogant, Hayakawa wouldn't even bat an eye towards you whilst he was working alongside you. 

Even when you were trying to get to know him and asked the simplest of questions such as: How long have you been working here? Do you have any hobbies outside of work? Favourite manga? He'd give incredibly dry responses like why do you need to know. It doesn't matter right now, can't you see we need to work? and I don't have time to read fucking nonsense. 

At other times, he chose to scream at you if you unknowingly messed up the smallest amount. It was a distant memory, though his voice resounded within you deeply. 

Two weeks ago, you and Aki were sent out by Makima to handle a cockroach fiend. You managed to kill it, but only through 100 rough swings, leading you to bleed excessively soon afterwards. 

 You didn’t even use the devil you had a contract with, which could have obliterated the target within seconds. Your co-worker, well higher-up technically, was mad. Incredibly mad. 

“You’re so fucking stupid, thinking that you could beat the thing up just because it was a fiend. Why the hell did Makima employ you in the first place, and most importantly, why did she make me work with you.”

So he was going to be like that, huh. You figured at that point, there was no way you could approach him casually again, or else he'd act like an ass towards you. But at the same time, you couldn't wrap your head around the idea that he behaves like this all the time.

"Himeno, you've worked with that bastard, does he really always act so harsh?" 

"Eh, I mean, so long as you don't push his buttons, then he's not too bad, why?" 

"Well to be honest, I only see him as a cold-hearted bitch with no intent to at least try and get friendly, what's even the point in working with him? All he does is shout at your fucking face and expects you to do what he asks every single time, it pisses me off."  

"If it makes you feel better, when the division went out for drinks a couple of months ago, Aki got totally hungover, couldn't even speak at all so I had to drop him off to his apartment. Funny thing is, he started spewing tons of bullshit, like how he felt the urge to fuck this girl he saw whilst walking to work and how sad he was because he barely receives female attention. Everyone was dying of course because of how insane he was acting. So, don't worry if he's being bitter towards you right now, he definitely has a certain side to him that's blind to the naked eye." 

A certain side, sure. Clearly, there must be a side to him that no one has uncovered. A side that he's hiding because he doesn't want to be seen as weak or idiotic amongst his co-workers. He still has to remain at the top, maintaining the role of the most renowned devil hunter in the prefecture. If he slipped over, even once, he'd never make an appearance again because of the way people would change their entire perspective of him. Pathetic. 

Through all of this though, one thing you'd definitely admit is that he has a striking appearance, slick dark hair done up in a top-knot, his uniform ironed to perfection and his body. Holy Shit. Okay, you might call him a prick most of the time, but sometimes, when you're feeling curious, you wonder how good he'd be in- 

"Are you deaf, I asked you to stop zoning out.", you snap out of your daze and shudder, slowly turning around in order to see Aki's looming figure. 

"My bad, I'm just tired, how come you're here?" , you mutter, genuinely wondering why he's here so late since everyone else has gone home. 

"Makima told me to stay and check on you, since you're still new and what not. Seems to me you haven't done shit though during the last couple of hours, have you?"

Fuck no. You can't get into trouble with him again. There's no way you could deal with it this time round. You'd probably end up shouting the most incredulous stuff at him, like how shallow and brash he is towards you and even if you managed to slice a devil in front of his goddamn eyes, he'd still tell you to try harder next time ,making you feel like utter shit. Things like that couldn't be said out loud, so you figure it'd be best not to argue and instead just listen. But you don't. 

"I haven't, so why don't you come and do something instead of just standing there so idly, if you think you're the best worker around here". 

Aki grits his teeth and you could see, ever so slightly, that his left eye was twitching in frustration. It looks like he wants to say something, something that he usually wouldn't say. After what seems to be forever, He lets out a long sigh and replies "Fine. But for the record, I'll be informing Makima about the "work" you've completed today, don't even think you can get away with this, especially with me". 

He strides to the desk, where you left all the papers to fill out and begins sorting them with ease. It was in this moment, where you wished for him and you to just get along, if he wasn't acting so impertinent. Maybe you'd actually enjoy being in his presence if he started being nice to you. Maybe, just maybe, if you rile him up a bit, he'll listen to you. 

"And I'll inform her about how much of a self-centred bastard you are.", you retorted. 

Aki cocks his head towards you, with a grimacing look on his face. You don't care though right now, focusing instead on what you want rather than giving in. 

"Y'know how much of a pain in the ass it is to deal with hearing the same bullshit spewing out of your mouth on a daily basis? I fucking physically recoil whenever Makima tells me I have to work with you out of all people. And get this, even she says that you can be persistent with work at times, like a little try-hard." 

That'll do the job, you're sure of it. You may have lied about the last part, but you were willing to go over the edge if you wanted Aki to budge. Instead though, there's a deadly silence in the room. Saying nothing at all, he just looks at you with those dark blue eyes of his. One minute goes by. Three minutes go. For fucks sake. It's been nearly five minutes but he still stares hard into you, making your entire body shiver in fear. 

Shit, shit, shit. You realized that he'd probably tell the higher ups everything you've said to him, regardless if it was true or not. Not only that, but he'd tell your fellow co-workers, and they'd definitely despise you after that. Ah, working in the streets didn't seem so bad after all. 

"Come here." Aki places the papers onto the desk, neatly stacking them and leaving it to the side. You remain still, unable to move an inch, afraid of the endless possibilities of what he'll do next. 

"I said come here, you seriously can't hear a fucking word, huh." , he repeats, adjusting his blazer as he stands up. 

You start making your way towards him, even though you might piss any minute because of how terrified you are. If anything, you'd rather cause an accident and make an excuse to leave instead of hearing whatever he has to say to you next. Once you finally approach him, he motions you to sit on the chair. He bends over slightly, and you can already smell the musky cologne blended in with cigarette smoke from him. 

“Tell me, did you really mean everything you said?”, Aki questions, slowly placing a hand on your shoulder. Oh God. The touch of his palm alone sent a shiver through your entire body. You felt yourself blushing red, Jesus Christ , he was obviously going to catch on that you were unreasonably warm. Your mind felt hazy, but you had to keep talking or else there’d have been utterly no point in provoking him. 

“Y-yeah, of course I meant every fucking word and what are you gonna do, tell your superiors that some random girl who you believe doesn’t do shit at work insulted you, like a coward? Go on then, see if I-” , your words are abruptly stopped as his hand shuts your mouth. Shit. It reeks of cigarette, but it feels oddly tender against your lips. You want to break free from his hold but right now, at this moment, you give in, slumping down. 

"Listen, I don't fucking care whether you like me or not, in all fairness, I couldn't give two shits if you told Makima, because at the end of the day, I’m still your higher up, so even if you went around telling our entire goddamn division that I've been acting hasty towards you, chances of them actually caring are low as hell.", he sneers, his grip tightening around your mouth ever so slightly, but the sheer slightness made you wince, sinking you downwards on the chair.

In this position though, you came to realize how huge his hands are compared to your face and holy hell, his fingers. They were gracefully slender and oh, so intricate. Your mind began to wonder elsewhere, those unwanted thoughts slowly beginning to creep in.. you were helpless at this point. Aki let go, lightly tapping his foot whilst he waited for your response, but you were still immersed in your little fantasy, evident by the way your eyes were dozing off. 

“Am I talking to a fucking dog right now, or are you just going to keep spacing out with that hideous look of yours.” Oops. 

“Uh-huh, I mean- No, I heard you the first time.” 

“Is that it? You’re not even going to apologize? After everything you’ve just said to me in the span of ten minutes.” Aki answers, his tone deeper than it was before. He straightens his already taut posture and glowers at you. Oh God. 

There was something rather thrilling about seeing him so worked up about you, knowing that this was the first time you garnered so much attention from him. All other attempts of trying to at least hold a small conversation whilst you were partnered up with him never seemed to be successful. But now, now that you’ve finally got him under your control, he’s forced to take notice of you. You yearn for more. 

“Apologize? Pft, I was speaking the truth, you scolding me isn’t going to do anything and quite frankly, I have friends in our division who are amusing and fun to be around. Unlike some people who think it’s okay to act like a bitch 24/7.” 

His eyes widen but nevertheless, he keeps that cool, stoic composure. How much more did you have to say for him to snap? You ponder for a bit, trialling the different ways you could approach this situation in your head. 

“So you’re going to be like that, chatting like a runt to me when you clearly don’t fucking understand who’s in charge here” , an enraged expression forming as he speaks, “ If I were you, I’d try and actually get some shit done if you don’t want to get fired, but it seems that everything I say to you goes through one ear and out the other.” Letting out a heavy exhale, he re-adjusts his blazer, trying so hard to keep his cool. 

“A runt. Is that what you really see me as? Maybe this is why I choose not to listen to a fucker like you. I’ve worked my ass off this week, but you’d clearly know, wouldn’t you?” you insisted. 

Aki chews his lips, fiddling with his fingers before remarking “I think, if you’re going to continue acting this way, you need some lessons retaught, I’m talking the basic principles since filth like you have no fucking clue what it means to respect those who are only trying to help.” 

Stress mounts your head, “Help? Yeah, as if you’re helping me at all. What lessons do you even need to re-teach me anyways, I'm not a goddamn child.” What the hell was he going to explain to you, how to show some decent manners? Of course you knew that, for God’s sake. 

Wasn’t it clear to him that you’re fed up with his antics, that you’re just trying to get him off the leash a little. This is gonna take so long. Way too long for your liking. 

“Get over here then, and I’ll show you”, Aki tilts his head a bit, signalling you to come over with his finger as he walks to the desk. 

You stroll with him, taking a peek at how neatly the papers are stacked on top of each other, and how they were arranged in alphabetical order. Wow. He certainly takes attention to detail seriously. You want to praise him all of a sudden, for how agile but engrossed he is with his tasks that weren't even meant to be assigned to him. 

“Hey, did anyone ever mention how well you sort-” 

Out of nowhere, you feel something seize the back of your head, shoving you onto the desk. You smack against the concrete wood and cry out in pain. 

“Jesus, what the fuck are you doing”, you yell, shaking around frantically to try and loosen the ever-strengthening grip at the nape of your neck. 

“Dirt doesn't deserve to be taught shit I realized, and you undoubtedly seem to be the dirtiest of them all. I don’t fucking know why I bother with lost causes these days, all they do is make my head writhe in disgust.” , he goads, digging his hands into your neck until it turns bright red. He’s cut access to air, rendering you unable to breathe properly. You struggle within his grasp, failing to break free. God, you were going to die right now in the most wretched way possible. But, the harder he latched onto you, the more you wanted to let out a- 

“H-hah.” Oh. no.  

“Oh? What was that, I didn’t quite catch you” , Aki chides, but you see a smirk beginning to form on his face. He fucking heard. 

“I-I want you to let go of me, it fucking hurts like hell.”

“Really? It seems to me that you were enjoying being pushed around, or did I mishear that noise coming out of you”, he slowly began to release you but as he did , Aki angled your body, so that you were facing directly at him.

“God, please can you go, I’m already tired enough as it is.” And in distress. How on earth were you going to work with him again, after he heard you moan whilst fucking suffocating you. You can’t even register why you did that, you were on the verge of passing out, yet you couldn’t repress that disgusting sound coming out of your mouth. 

“That’s not a good enough reason, and you didn’t even answer my question” he countered, narrowing his eyelids. 

For fucks sake. This man was clearly going to push you on and on, to the point where he’d drive you mentally insane. You couldn’t even deny the allegations he hurled at you though, filling you with fervent anger. 

“Okay, maybe I did fucking moan when you were choking me, but that doesn’t mean I felt good from it. If anything, I feel sickened by you. A bit traumatized even.” 

“You’re a shit liar.” 

His words bang in your head, making you feel unsteady. Those 4 words alone made you want to retch, he wasn’t buying into your games anymore. He most certainly wasn’t planning on feeding into them either. 

You had 2 debilitating choices. Leave so you could get away from him, but ultimately you’d get nothing done and probably get fired. Or, you could stay, but you’d be suffering in the hands of your higher up, who was already giving you a fucking hard time. 

No matter what though, everyone in your division would find out about what you did, and soon enough, it’d spread to the entire workforce. 

You might as well just die at this point. 

“I’d never lie, Aki. You’re a bastard, and I hope everyone finds out about your feeble antics”, you scowled at him, attempting to maintain your coolness so that you wouldn’t lash out like a feral cat again. 

Aki looks at you, but doesn’t say anything. You wonder what’s going through his mind right now, whether he actually cares about what you’ve said or if he’s just trying to process the fact that you’re fucking crazy. You honestly couldn’t tell at this point. 

Checking the time, it’s already gone past 1. Now it’s been 7 hours. You’ve roughly completed 25% of the work, but the 25% was Aki’s doing. Great. 

“God, we’ve wasted so much time arguing, please can I just finish my assignment, you’ve done enough helping as it is”, you affirmed. 

The throbbing pain in your head finally eased, so you managed yourself up, slowly but surely. It would have given you great joy if you passed out in front of Aki, the fucker would have realized how drained out you were. Flashes of black and white entered your periphery as you tried to regain vigour, exactly how long were you slammed down for… you didn’t have a clue. The last time you felt like this was when you accidentally snorted cocaine whilst peeking in your dad’s cupboard. That certainly was an interesting time. 

“I’m gonna continue, thanks for helping I guess, and for the record, whatever happened here stays here. I think that’s a pretty solid plan, don’t you think?” , you propose as you sit down on the desk chair. 

Aki moves closer, leaning his face in so that he can get a clearer view of you. You didn’t realize how tall he was, probably 6 feet, or more to be fair. The feeling of superiority lingered between you both whenever you worked alongside one another. Though he was your higher-up, even if he was an average colleague or loosely something along those lines, you’d still feel like a fucking ant compared to him. 

“Nah. I think I have a better idea in mind.” , Aki muses, his navy eyes piercing into you yet again. This time though, there was no hint of distaste or pure hatred coming from them like they used to. It seemed there was a hint of compassion and even, you refused to believe it, a trace of lust. Lust. There was no way that Aki had any intention of doing anything of the sort with you, considering the terms you were on with him currently were not great. Although… The smallest thought lingers through your mind;

Maybe he does want to fuck me

Another thought races into you; 

And I want to fuck him. 

Ah shit. As much you hated to confess, your love life wasn’t exactly exceptional. Occasional hook-ups, sure. The ones that you got into though, were boring and mundane. You couldn't even remember the last time you had a one night stand with someone, one, no, two years ago. It was heart-breaking. When you first started working at Public Safety, you knew it’d be best to cast your concerns of romance aside, it was an issue to deal with another day. 

Now… maybe this could be your chance. Your chance of finally satisfying that unkempt desire burning deep within you. What you were about to do was ludicrous but fuck it, you only lived once. Heart pounding erratically, your hand traces up his shirt and to his collar. 

Seizing him, you murmur “Oh really, what kind of idea?”, pulling him closer to your face. Rubbing his chin, you whisper into his ear “If I were to guess, I think your so-called idea is fucking me right here, right now.” You can feel Aki’s neck suddenly become more heated, and you can’t help but grin. 

He slaps your hand away. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking about, just shut up. I’ve had enough of this, I’ll tell Makima to give you an extension or something.”, Aki stutters, his face becoming flustered so much that he turns away. He starts making his way towards the door, ready to unlock it and leave.

 You can tell how agitated and disoriented he is, by the way he fumbles the keys out of his blazer pocket and the uncoordinated movement of his legs. 

No. 

After all of this, you can’t just have him leave you. You’d be so fucking embarrassed if you turned up to work tomorrow and saw him again, after all the things you said and did to him. It’d permanently haunt your mind as long as you continued working here. You rise up and hurry to him. Grabbing Aki, you turn him around and shift his focal point towards you. 

“Look at me Aki, please, I can already tell how frustrated you are by all of this. By me. I’m sorry for all the bullshit I’ve said to you, but I can’t tell what you want from me. One minute, you’re yelling at me because I’m apparently not doing my job correctly, and the next you shut your mouth and refuse to even acknowledge my presence. Just tell me what you want.”, you insisted, narrowing your eyes at him. 

He stays mute, yet again. 

Beginning to lose hope, you mutter “See you tomorrow then.” and start heading back to your desk to try and complete the paperwork that was supposed to be finished hours ago. 

Out of nowhere, you feel something grip your arm, making you stop dead in your tracks. It was Aki’s hand. 

“I hate you. I hate you so fucking much” , he states, tightening his hold on you. 

“Well no shit, I figured so why don’t you just le-” , your words are halted as his lips press onto yours, begging for you to indulge in this moment. 

His tongue slips into your mouth, whirling around your inside. Fuckk. You can’t help but groan, it was so sudden, yet you felt so good. Craving for more, you push his head further in, so that his tongue drives itself deeper into your throat. Oh God. You were struggling to breathe, but if he wanted to play like this, you’d do the exact same. You force your sloppy tongue inside him, exploring the crevices of his mouth. The sweet taste of him made you twitch, it was other-worldly. Aki pushes you against the wall hurriedly, so desperate for more. Pulling away from him, you catch a few breaths, wiping the sweat that was already forming on your face. Wow. Aki’s hands cup your face and you hear him mumble

“And y’know what else I hate? I hate that you’re so fucking addicting. It hurts my dick every night.” 

What. 

“The hell do you mean by that? I- please elaborate.” you stumble upon your words, attempting to process what Aki just said to you. 

He raises his voice ,“You heard me. Ever since you stepped foot into this damn building, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. The way you strolled to Makima’s office without a care in the world, and spoke with such transparency even though you knew no one, made me fucking envious. I simply despised the way you were being praised and held so highly by everyone, and you hadn’t even been here for a week.” 

Your face plasters with shock. Aki, Aki Hayakawa, the most esteemed devil hunter at Public Safety, was jealous of you. Despite how slightly amused you were hearing that from him, your mind was mixed with confusion and chaos. He still didn’t explain what he meant by those last words he uttered. 

“I get that, well, most of it since I really can’t comprehend why you out of all people would be so irritated with me. After all, you’re the most driven individual at work, how could I get in the way of anything?”, you implore, running your hand down his silken face. Aki pursed his lips, turning the faintest pink and looked down.  

“What did you mean by those last words too? Or was it just in the moment.” God, you seriously intended for it be some shitty prank, it sounded demented coming out of his mouth. 

He glanced back up at you, smiling slyly as he took your hand and began kneading your fingers. 

“Oh, I wasn’t lying. You have such an alluring figure and fuck, those lips of yours. So pink and luscious. I wanted to savour you so badly, every single day. Every goddamn day, as soon as I arrived home, I headed to the bathroom and stroked my dick relentlessly whilst I thought about you undressing, sucking me off, all sorts of obscene shit. I came so much, so much to the point where I was in pain. It hurt that I couldn’t approach you because you joined Kishibe’s division and not mine. It hurt that you managed to shit talk every guy you stumbled upon, but not me. And most of all, it hurt that even if I did attempt to speak to you, I’d shy away, afraid of messing up my chances.”

“Chances of what?”, cocking your eyebrow at him. Everything he was saying to you, it was definitely surprising but holy shit, you couldn’t get enough of the fact that you directly consumed his mind. It felt electrifying, knowing that he pleasured himself because of you. And God, that sultry grin of his. It’s as if he wanted you to give in, solely wanting you to get on with it. You wanted to as well, but curiosity got the best of you this time round. 

Aki clasped your shoulders and whispered into your ear ,

“Of making you mine.” 

The sonorous intonation made you quiver with delight. His hot breath trailed down your skin, squeezing your legs as the sensation tingled throughout your entire body. Dear God. 

Pure adrenaline entrails you and within seconds, you shove him onto the chair and propped yourself on his lap. You catch a glimpse of his arm making its way up to your waist, clutching your hip. He’s seriously desperate for this. For you. 

“Tell me Aki, do you really need me?” , you muse, brushing his bangs away so you could get a better look at those divine sapphire eyes. They reminded you of the ocean at night, the waves hitting the coastline ever so softly, but its next moves were unpredictable. The wave could either be calm, or surge with malice. Aki was the exact same. So perplexing he was, you wished to uncover each sophisticated layer of him, no matter how long it took. 

“Yeah, I do need you, so fucking badly. I crave for every single inch of you, I want to be inside you”., his voice is strained, trying so hard to hold back. 

“How much Aki, hmm” , you begin grinding on his crotch, pressing your hands onto his chest for balance. He was needy, and you were going to make him ever more so. Quickening your pace, your body worked into him harder, feeling his bulge throbbing beneath you. It already felt so huge, fuck, it was exhilarating. You’d never felt this aroused before, not like the other times. He didn’t even have to do anything, but you could already feel your panties dampening at the sheer sight of him screwing up in libido.

“Hn-ngh, so, so much, f-fuck, too fast, you’re going way-” 

“A-Aki, you wanted this, right”, your hands enfold the back of his head, bending in to smother succulent licks down his neck. 

“Of course I do, a-at least let me touch you, I wanna make you feel high, so high that you cum for me as much as I did for you.”

“A-ah, please, please touch me Aki. Fuck me up so badly that I can’t even breathe after we’re done.” , you purr, frantically moaning out as the friction between his fully erect dick and your soaked clit rises. 

That does it for him. Those vulgar words slurring out of those seemingly innocent lips, the way that you arched your back whilst dry-humping him, God, he was ready to do this all night. Ready to strip you down and fuck you senseless, that you’re only calling out his name whilst you’re at your tipping point. Even if his cock was aching to fill you up, he wanted to take his time, focusing on each intricate part of you that he’d be fantasizing about for so long. 

It happens so fast, too fast that you couldn’t even fathom what he’d do next. He’s untucking your shirt, lifting it up and planting small pecks on your stomach. His warm touch on your bare skin alone was enough for you to squirm. He wasn’t done though. Far from it. 

His hands reach to your bra, and it’s as if he’s skilled in this profession. Unclipping it swiftly, he tosses it onto the floor, taking no time to fondle your tits, stroking circles around. 

“D’you like this? Tell me you like this baby.” Aki pants, seeing your face blossom with pleasure as his thumbs press into your breasts fervently.  

“Y-yeah, I do, need more, hah, so much more.”, your pupils shimmering with intense desire at him. 

“Beg for me then. If you don’t, you aren’t getting fucked. Simple.” 

Right. This was payback for much you toyed with him, but you’re too caught up in the moment to even care.

 “Aki, please-” , he pinches your nipples, twisting them as you squeal out in pain. 

“It’s Sir, already forgetting how to address your higher ups?”

“F-fuck, Aki sir, I only crave you. Your touch. Your voice. Give me all of it, please.” 

"Oh hell yeah, been waiting to mess you up for so fucking long.” , his formal tone fully leaves him, though he honestly couldn’t have given two shits whether or not he sounded professional anymore. Aki was already overwhelmed with all the work he had to finish, particularly this one. 

Sticking his tongue out, he proceeded to your left breast, dragging his hands down to your hips. Rolling it against your tit, you convulsed within his touch. His mouth was skilled, way too skilled for your liking. Saliva trailing between your nipple and his mouth as he released, a smug grin formed on his face. 

“God Aki , you're so good, so fucking good” , you whimper, digging your nails into his back skin.

“Y-yeah, this isn't enough for me though, not in the slightest" Aki says through harsh breaths, moaning at how brash you scratch his back. 

He returns to suck on your right tit, this time with incessant movement, making sure he feels how hard it's becoming. You could tell how desperate, how frustrated he was. He wanted you for so long, yet he waited until you gave the call. This only made you wetter. 

"Ha-, fuck Aki , I'm gonna-" 

You feel your underwear slick with cum and pant heavily. Aki notices and wastes no time to unbutton your trousers and throw them aside. 

You're embarrassed. If you were aware of the events that would occur today, then you could have put in a little bit more effort with what you were wearing underneath. Your underwear wasn't even laced either, they were pink. And striped. 

"Shit- I swear I don't wear these all the time.." , you mutter. 

"Honestly, I couldn't care less, you've already coated them with your juices”, he tugs you and leans in to mumble 

“Now I can finally have a taste of you.” 

[lambertdiary]

In The Woods - Halloween Special

Summary: A camping trip adventure turned into a nightmarish ordeal, forever etching the woods into their memories as a place where darkness concealed the unknown.

Word Count: 3.3k+

Warnings: angst, stablished relationship, anxiety, mentions of The Further

A/N: I KNOW it's a couple of days late and it's not Halloween anymore, but I still wanted to share this piece with you guys! I liked it when I initially started writing it but I'm not sure how I feel about the result, so please let me know what you think!!

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Dalton had never gone camping before, but it was his girlfriend’s favourite activity and he couldn't bear to disappoint Y/N, so he reluctantly agreed to the trip she so eagerly invited him to.

He wasn’t scared or worried something bad would happen, but anytime he thought about the suffocating darkness surrounding them in the woods, there was a tiny part of him that felt anxious about going.

Not that he would ever tell anyone, he wouldn’t want the people he’s camping with to know his deal with the darkness and demons of The Further, especially not Y/N, and considering she had no idea about his ‘gift’ and what he went through before meeting her, he just kept it to himself. 

He closed the door anyway, so he shouldn’t be worried about something following them and possibly taking advantage of the vast darkness of whatever lonely forest they’d spend the night in, right?

“I think that’s all of them” Dalton put the last bag on the trunk of his car, turning to face his girlfriend as he closed it.

“Thank you for coming with me” She smiled at him as she came closer, her arms going around his neck “I know it’s Halloween but-”

“Hey, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Who cares about Hallween anyway?” Her smile grew bigger, and he placed a quick peck on her lips before getting into the car.

It wasn’t a long drive, maybe about 40 minutes to make it to the national park where they would camp and he hated to admit that his nerves were growing, and it was getting harder to push those feelings away, but he was trying really hard to. The main reason was that he didn’t want her to find out and feel like she was unsafe around him, the woods are scary as it is and adding terrifying beings to that only made it worse. He tried to maintain his composure, the last thing he wanted was for her to feel like something was wrong, though his unease was palpable.

“Are you okay?” Y/n asked him, pulling him out of his thoughts “You’re acting weird”

“Yeah, I’m okay. Sorry, I’m just focusing on the road, I’ve never been here before”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it” He gave her a quick reassuring glance, briefly placing a hand on her thigh before returning it to the wheel “What were you saying?”

“That my friends will be joining us tomorrow, so it’s just the two of us tonight”

“Just the two of us?”

“Yeah” Y/N studied his face for a moment. Since the moment they got into the car, she had been getting a feeling he didn’t wanna go camping, his worried face validating her suspicions “You know we don’t have to go tonight, we can go back to campus and come back tomorrow when everyone else is there”

“No!” He was quick to reply “Y/N, I’m okay. We’ll be okay” He said that last part almost as if he was trying to convince himself.

“I just wanna know that you’re 100% sure-” “I am. Since when are you scared of camping?” “I’m not, but I know you’ve never been camping before, so it’s normal to feel intimidated by the experience”

“Okay, maybe I feel a little intimidated, but I’m with you and that always makes me feel better”

Once they got there, Dalton carried most of the stuff they brought, letting her guide the way to the campsite. They walked for a bit, immersing themselves deep into the forest until she found a perfect spot to set everything up.

They arrived at their campsite just as the sun dipped below the horizon, casting long, eerie shadows in the dense woods. Y/N was overflowing with excitement, eagerly helping Dalton pitching their tent while Dalton anxiously surveyed the surroundings. 

“Why don’t we set up the campfire? It’s getting dark” Y/N said as they finished setting up their tent.

“Yeah, I’ll go find some logs” Though he tried to cover it up, she could tell that he was nervous.

“I’ll go with you, they might be a little heavy for you” She teased, trying to lighten up the mood.

“Oh, and you’re gonna help me carry them?”

“Yeah, someone strong should”

He pretended to be offended, gasping in indignation “Do my arms look weak to you?” Dalton playfully flexed his biceps for a few seconds, earning an eye roll from Y/N but she couldn't hide her blushing face, making Dalton smile “I guess that’s a no”

They only had to walk for a short while until they found a bunch of logs scattered in the uneven ground, so she started stacking as many logs as Dalton could carry in his arms, enough to bring back for the fire.

“So how come your friends aren’t coming tonight?” He asked all of the sudden as he held the logs Y/N was giving him.

“They had a Halloween party tonight, I doubt it was so important that they couldn’t cancel it but whatever”

“Maybe it was just like Chris’ party” He joked. Y/N excitedly invited her to join them in their camping trip, but she immediately said no, reminding them of the amazing costume parties she promised she'd go to, and she couldn’t possibly miss any of them.

“Yeah. I didn’t think she’d come though, she’s not a fan of the outdoors”

“Neither am I, but I’m here”

“Well, you’re my boyfriend, you kinda had to be here” She joked, placing another log on his arms and standing on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek.

“Let’s get these logs back to the camp, yeah? These are getting heavy”

“I thought your big arms could take a few logs” Y/N started walking back to the campsite, a playful smile appearing on her face.

“To be fair you said you’d help”

“Do you want me to help?” She stopped walking and turned to face him. Dalton shook his head in response “I can carry these for you” She said as she got closer to him, pretending to reach for the logs in his arms. “No, I got them” He took a step back “I could carry more if I wanted to but this is enough”

The two of them took the short trek back to camp, carefully deciding where they wanted to place it. Before long, the fire was burning bright, illuminating and warming up the area where their tent was.

As the moon crept higher in the sky, the temperature dropped, and the forest fell into a deep, almost oppressive silence. Dalton noticed the stillness and shivered, feeling as though the very trees were watching him. He was so immersed in his thoughts, he faintly jumped when Y/N talked to him.

“Do you remember if we packed the buns? Can’t really have hamburgers without them” Y/N was looking through their bags for the buns they packed for dinner, standing up and making her way to the fire when she couldn’t find them.

“Uh- yeah, I think they’re in my bag” He said as he looked for it “Is it usually this dark out here?”

Y/N looked at him and almost laughed, until she noticed the serious look on his face “Oh… yeah. Most of the hiking trails are illuminated but they encourage campers to set up a campfire, so it’s pretty dark”

“Oh” He replied in a low voice.

“Why?”

“Just wondering. Most of the national parks I’ve been to have lights everywhere” She could almost sense his fear, but she knew there’s nothing to worry about “Found them”

Dalton walked towards the fire, where Y/N was already opening the burgers to cook them “Thanks” She replied as she took the buns “You know it's just the wilderness, nothing to be afraid of”

“I’m not afraid, I was just curious”

One thing about Dalton, he’d never admit he’s scared “I know, I was just saying”

Soon, the two of them were sitting around the fire, happily munching on their food while Y/N shared stories about her previous camping trips, carefully leaving out the embarrassing parts, and Dalton was happily listening to them.

“I used to be scared of everything at night so I’d just stay in the tent while everyone else had fun around the fire” Dalton asked her for an explanation with a look “I didn’t wanna see things moving in the woods”

“Why? Did something like that ever happen?” 

“No, or at least not for real”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I’m sure I used to think that, but I was just letting my imagination get the best of me” She stopped for a moment before saying “That and I used to get pranked a lot, just because I got scared easily”

“Pranked?” He asked, distress evident in his voice.

“Don’t worry, that was years ago” She reassured him “They haven’t done anything like that in a while” 

He wanted to be relieved, but he was still curious “What type of pranks were they?”

“Uh- I remember one time someone was hiding behind a tree making weird sounds, and when I walked by he jumped to scare me, that type of pranks”

“Oh”

“Dalton, that was years ago” She scooted closer to him, wrapping one arm around his shoulders “Besides, it’s just us tonight, we can… you know, cuddle and kiss” Dalton hummed in response, leaning in for a kiss.

They stayed by the fire for a while, and night soon settled in, and the forest came alive with eerie sounds. Rustling leaves, distant hoots of owls, and the occasional snap of a twig added to Dalton’s anxiety. He tried to distract himself by stoking the campfire and keeping an eye on the dimly lit path leading to their campsite. He was aware that most of the sounds were common for a natural forest like that, but he couldn’t just get rid of his anxiety. 

But strange things began to happen, things that only Y/N seemed to notice. Mysterious shadows moved in the periphery of their campfire's glow. She was no stranger to camping, but she felt her heart race. She hadn’t been truly scared of her surroundings in a long time, but she was starting to feel like something was watching them. She would usually dismiss it as a figment of her imagination, convinced that it was just the dancing flames casting eerie shapes among the trees, however, this was different. 

“Do you wanna get in the tent?” She asked, ignoring the shadows around them “It’s getting late”

“Sure” He stood up and drowned the fire with water, dispersing the partially burned logs to make sure they were wet “Do you have the flashlights?”

“In the tent, hold on” Y/N used the light of her phone to see the path to their tent, finally making it to the entrance and reaching to open it, but as soon as she touched it something moved inside.

That’s weird.

She opened it slowly, repeating in her mind that the forest was full of animals that would occasionally try to steal food. Once it was open, she carefully inspected the insides of the tent, her shaky hands moving the light all over it, but it was empty.

“Hey, did you find them?” Dalton asked behind her, looking over her shoulder.

“Uh- yeah, they’re here” Y/N crawled into the tent and grabbed the flashlights, turning around to see Dalton getting in the same way “Let’s just use one of them, we don’t wanna waste any batteries”

They settled in and got ready to go to sleep, changing into their nightclothes and laying next to each other to keep their bodies warm. They talked for a while, and Dalton seemed to be fully relaxed, his fears and worries fading almost completely as he took in the wilderness surrounding them, accepting the fact that there was nothing to be scared of. Not Y/N though, it was like she absorbed every negative feeling Dalton was having and now she was the one aware of every sound and movement outside their tent, her heart racing constantly.

“I need to go to the bathroom” Dalton said as he got up and reached for a flashlight.

“Okay, let’s go” Y/N was about to do the same, but Dalton stopped her.

“Don’t worry, I can go on my own. Plus, it’s too cold outside, I know how long it takes you to warm up again. I won’t take long”

“But-”

“Y/N, it’s okay, I’ll be right back” Dalton left the tent, using the flashlight and the guiding light of the moon to make his way to the communal bathrooms.

She stayed there, watching as his shadow got further away from their campsite. Her mind was racing, jumping at everything that happened around her, but she was still trying to convince herself that it was just like any other camping trip.

It seemed to be working, until she heard a weird sound coming from one of their bags. It was like an interference. She opened it and looked for what could be making that sound, spotting a walkie-talkie and letting out a sigh of relief. Y/N picked up the walkie talkie, bringing it closer to her ear, she turned up the volume for a moment, but just as she was about to turn it off she heard something else, it sounded like a… voice.

She pressed a button and asked “Dalton?” 

She was trying to remember if Dalton took a walkie-talkie with him, but her soul almost left her body when she found the other one. She heard the voice speak again, this time longer sentences instead of just a word, she didn’t recognise it and she had no idea what it was saying, which only made it worse. She turned it off hoping the whispers would stop, however, as the minutes passed, the whispers on the walkie-talkie grew louder and more distinct. Unintelligible voices seemed to be speaking in an unfamiliar language. Y/N clutched the walkie-talkie tightly, but she threw it somewhere in the tent when she heard her own name, her fear growing intensely.

Suddenly, she noticed a shadow getting closer to the tent. She allowed a small smile form in her face, opening the tent to let her boyfriend back in.

"Dalton-" But as soon as she caught a glimpse of the outside, the shadow disappeared, and the voice said her name again.

She put on her shoes and took a flashlight, leaving the tent and the talking device behind as she looked for the bathrooms.

“Dalton!” She yelled, her voice echoing through the trees “Dalton!” She repeated a little louder, but she didn’t get a response. 

Y/N didn’t remember the communal bathrooms being this far away from their tent, but it felt like she had been walking for a few minutes and she still hadn’t found them. A weak feeling in the pit of her stomach grew with each step and sweat covering her body even in the cold night. It only took another minute until she finally saw Dalton walking towards her.

“Dalton” She exclaimed in relief, quickly cutting the distance between their bodies.

“Y/N, are you okay?” He asked, worried something happened while he was gone “What’s wrong?”

“What took you so long?” Y/N hugged him tightly, the fear leaving her body for a couple of seconds.

“What do you mean? I’ve been gone for like two minutes”

“No, I’ve been looking for you for the last five minutes” She pulled away to look at him, his eyebrows coming together as he tried to decipher if it was some kind of prank “I- I started to hear things and then I heard one of the walkie-talkies, it was like a- a voice and I swear it said my name” She explained with a shaky voice.

“Those thing pick up on anything, don’t worry about that”

“No, Dalton I’m telling you, it was not picking up other signals, I- I turned it off and it was still talking. I don’t know what it was saying and- and I don’t know who it was but that’s not normal”

“Where is the walkie-talkie?” He asked, aware of his fear coming back to him.

“I left it in the tent. There’s something watching us, we’re not alone. Baby, you have to believe me”

Just as Dalton began to question the whispers himself, a gut-wrenching scream pierced the night. Both of them jolted, their hearts pounding in their chests. Their flashlights illuminated the dark woods as they rushed towards the source of the sound.

The horrifying scene they stumbled upon sent shivers down their spines. Their campsite was in shambles, their belongings scattered, and their tent was torn to shreds. It was as though a malevolent force had descended upon them, leaving chaos in its wake.

Terror washed over Dalton again, and he could no longer deny the eerie reality of their situation. They were not alone in the forest, and something unnatural was lurking in the darkness.

“We have to go” He looked for his bag in the mess, trying to find the keys of his car. Y/N was helping him, and at the same time she was looking for the walkie-talkies, but they were nowhere to be found. 

Weird sounds were coming from everywhere, the rustling of the leaves and the swishing of the branches sounding more sinister than normal, but they eventually turned into whispers, the same ones Y/N heard before.

“I found them!” She yelled, turning to Dalton and running towards him.

Dalton took the keys and held Y/N’s hand, whispering soft calming words before running out of the campsite.

Desperation fueled their every step as they stumbled deeper into the woods, trying to find their way back to safety. But as they fled, the malevolent force continued to pursue them, the whispers growing more sinister with each passing moment.

In the pitch-black darkness, they couldn't see what was pursuing them, but they could feel its presence, an otherworldly malevolence that threatened to consume them. Except Dalton did recognise what was stalking them, a very familiar being that hadn’t stopped looking for him and the people he loved for as long as he can remember, and he was cursing himself for putting her in danger.

They were hoping they were close to the exit, but none of them could think clearly enough to know where they were supposed to be headed, their minds consumed by their suffocating fear, so they just clung to each other.

Then, just as they were on the verge of despair, a blinding light pierced through the trees. Y/N recognised it instantly, the lights were coming from the big sign that marked the beginning of the trail, meaning Dalton’s car was parked just a few metres away from them.

“We’re close” Y/N picked up her pace, dragging her feet closer to the source of light. The relief in both of them was noticeable when they finally made it out of the woods, running to the car when they saw it. They got in and Dalton immediately turned it on, driving away as fast as they could. 

They stayed silent for a moment, trying to process what just happened and bringing their breathing back to normal.

“I’m sorry, this is my fault” Dalton broke the silence.

“What? No” Y/N said confused.

“I should’ve told you-”

“Dalton, of course this isn’t your fault-”

“We need to talk” He interrupted her “There’s a lot you don’t know about me”

Dalton reassured her he would explain everything once they got back to campus, and he tried his best to promise everything would be okay. Y/N was confused and scared, she didn’t understand what Dalton was talking about but he seemed to be scared too, so she wanted to be there for him no matter what.

After all, they had just witnessed the unexplainable, and she knew it would leave a lasting scar on their souls forever.

Thank you so much for reading! Please let me know what you think, likes and reblogs are highly appreciated!!

[saltydkdan]

Yo, Salt man. Decided to finally bite the bullet and dive into One Piece. Currently on Volume 4/Chapter 27 of the manga (also episode 2 of the Netflix live-action, really good ngl). I'm excited to read it, but the sheer length of the manga is extremely daunting to me, and I'm starting to wonder if it's even worth reading at this point. Dunno if you got any sort of tips or such to help someone like me through this, or at least boost morale?

Don’t worry! I felt the exact same way. The length of One Piece can feel really daunting when you start. However here is what I tell people to keep in mind:

Get to Arlong Park

This is what EVERYONE SAYS. But it really is true. Get to Arlong Park, and if you enjoy it, then you will 100% love this series. Arlong Park is the arc where One Piece starts to really become what it is known for (and in some senses Baratie too). And what’s cool is that as someone who has caught up, Arlong Park isn’t even my favorite anymore, far from it. Arlong Park made me a fan, but later stuff like Alabasta, Skypeia, and Water 7 especially made me HYPER FOCUS on the series.

Basically if you think Arlong Park and stuff like Baratie is good, it really only goes up from there, as it’s more or less a taste of what you’ll be getting as Oda develops the story. If you don’t like it tho? No harm no foul! You’re allowed to feel however you want! You can move on to something else if you feel like and that’s super okay. Though based on your current reactions I feel like you are def gonna like it LMAO.

You don’t have to binge ALL of it

You are totally allowed to pick it up and read a saga and then put it down to switch to something else for a bit. In fact, if you do find yourself getting too tired at points, def switch it up with another series, TV show, or video game! Nobody expects you to finish reading it in a month or something. It took me a full year to catch up after jumping on and off of it and I had a blast because I didn’t force it!

There’s a reason that the series is broken up into arcs and sagas! The end of a Saga specifically is meant to be a very good break point for you to do something else if you like!

And trust me, if you’re anything like me, you won’t want it to end. After I passed chapter 1,000 I had a sudden violent awakening that I was going to catch up and become a week to week reader and I got really sad LOL.

Being a One Piece reader feels rewarding!

This is something I would have loved to know going in, but reading/watching One Piece (especially nowadays) feels like an insanely rewarding experience.

I have no idea how Oda pulls it off, but there is information that is as immediate as Chapter 1 that is still relevant all these years later in Chapter 1,000+, it really feels rewarding to be into the series for so long.

I’ve never read or watched anything THIS LONG that rewards the reader like this, it’s so fun. And it’s also something that makes One Piece great to re-read or re-watch.

There are so many fun twists, turns, and reveals that are either foreshadowed, or established in a very small way early on. I can’t emphasize harder how fun and connected it makes everything feel.

I call it the opposite of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. Because while Jojo will constantly reset itself with a new cast and characters every arc, instead One Piece doubles down, and is still revealing massive bombshells that we’re hinted at ages ago.

The series does show it’s age at times

I don’t like ending stuff on a bad note, but I like to let people know to keep in mind that One Piece has been running for a LONG time, and this can be both good and bad.

It’s good in the sense that I think it gets better and better over time, but bad in the sense that it does feature a couple of outdated depictions, as well as “Pervy” anime-esque humor that I honestly cannot enjoy personally. Just make sure you’re aware going in because some of it has aged… horribly.

That being said though, when One Piece gets depictions right it gets them SOOOO right.

There’s a reason that there’s an ongoing joke in the community that “Luffy would have died multiple times over if not for the Queer Community” lol it’s extremely correct

Reward yourself with the side content

One of my favorite things to do, is after I caught up to a certain point in the manga, is that I rewarded myself by watching one of the One Piece Films from around that time.

It’s a great thing to use as a rewarding little checkpoint and be like “Omg now that I’m this far, I can enjoy this fun animated film without fear of spoilers”.

And while a good chunk of films are very obviously not canon and don’t clearly fit into the overall story (I.e. there is not a good space for them to canonically exist) some of them actually do fit super well, and in my opinion, even add greatly to the overall story.

A big favorite of mine, One Piece: Baron Omatsuri, fits this description like a glove. Not only does it easily fit between the sagas of Skypeia and Water 7, but it even adds to the later themes of the story, and even foreshadows certain elements later on in a super fun way! Plus it’s one of the only One Piece films to have a very experimental direction, created by the guy who made Summer Wars. It feels very different, but in a super fun way, and works as a great little treat for getting as far as you have in the manga!

Anyway, I hope that this helps you out? Remember it isn’t a race, and you can pick up and put down the series whenever you want! There’s absolutely no pressure at all.

A part of me wants to kind of make a “read/watch list” for people who get into the series based off my own recommendation/experience. Obviously everyone is going to read and watch the anime in order, but it would probably be cool to know when you can check out certain side content like Anime-only specials and animated films during your read-through.

If anybody wants that let me know! (I’ll probably end up making it on my own time anyway I have zero self control).

Anyway yeah, enjoy One Piece!

[autisticwizardwritings]

HI HI HI HI HI :D

Can i get a total drama request about the contestants meeting Chris’ niece/nephew(gender neutral tho) preferably for world tour but any are good :)

Thamk you!!! :3

(Wasn't sure if you wanted younger, same age, or older, so I'm doing all three. If you want ALL of them, tell me! I just did these 3 for now since they're the only new appearances in World Tour, but I'd be happy to write more of the cast! I say it at the end too, but if you want this written in a proper paragraph style too I'd be more than happy to try to do so, just let me know!!)

Probably OOC 💔

Alejandro, Sierra, and Blaineley meeting Chris’s niece/nephew (no pronouns mentioned) (gn)

Younger (8-12)

Alejandro:

Extremely confused

Also fairly concerned

Why would Chris bring his own niece/nephew on this show at such a young age?

Even if they aren't competing. Should they really be seeing this sort of thing?

After finding out you're not part of the competition, he relaxes a little bit.

Apparently you're here because your mom/dad had to go on some big work trip, and since you were so young, you couldn't be left alone for that long.

Convinced that your parents don't watch the show, because no responsible parent would allow their child in that

Probably tries to talk to you, to get to know you.

Maybe even ends up seeing you as some sort of sibling after a while.

Will defend you if anyone else (*cough* Duncan *cough*) decides to be an asshole

Genuinely cares about you.

How can someone so sweet be related to *that?*

If you're a trouble child however

Makes sense how you're related to Chris

Still makes an effort to be nice to you considering you're only a child

Little minds are influenced by family, they can't help it.

Does tend to keep his distance more though

Probably pulled his hair at some point and that was it for him

Always ponytails it if you're there now.

Either way, if you get hurt somehow, he'd help.

Again, you're only little.

Even if you're 12. 

A little less worried in that case, since you're old enough to kinda look out for yourself

But still makes sure you're alright.

Sierra:

She already knew of your existence. 

Found your mom's Facebook page for info on Chris

Found you there too

Doesn't question the fact that you're here

Immediately wants to become friends with you

Probably smothers you with hugs

Suuuuper friendly

Constantly saying stuff like "Chris your niece/nephew is so sweet" even if you're basically the devil himself

"They could do no wrong ♡"

She's doing it because she genuinely thinks this, but also partially because she wants some "brownie points" or whatever the fuck they're called

Also trying to prove to Cody that she can "be a good mom."

He apologizes for her

If she wins a reward challenge, she'll 100% share whatever it is with you if it's child friendly

Even if you're getting the same good food as your uncle

Will make you dolls out of anything she can

And will want to play with them with you

Blaineley:

A child? Really?

What was Chris thinking?

No one wants to see a child on a show like this

Not to mention the grubby little hands

Doesn't want anything to do with you

Or she makes it seem like that, anyways.

If you get time where it's just the two of you, she's actually surprisingly nice.

Genuinely good with kids

Treats you like her own child

As soon as someone walks in she's back on the other side of the room glaring at you

Will deny this until she dies

If she finds out the fans like you 

Then she starts acting all nice and buddy-buddy on camera too

Not very genuine though

It's just like that when she knows she won't get poked fun of for it

Same age as (still younger than Blaineley)

Alejandro:

Couldn't really care less tbh

Another contestant

Another obstacle

For now

Still makes the effort to talk to you, to make you like him

Like he does with everyone there

The more allies the better right?

May possible try to woo you

With the idea in mind to get you eliminated

There's a possibility he does come to genuinely like you over time

But he'd never admit that

(Platonically or romantically depends on how you wanna read this)

Keeps you around for a little while after

Really not a fan of you at first though

Mainly because you're related to Chris

Who wouldn't?

With the reputation that man has, he's got every right to assume you're like he is

Hopefully that's wrong

If it is? Like I said, definitely starts to genuinely care for you

Actually tries to befriend you

Not just an alliance 

Not just for a scheme

Maybe a little schemey 

But not only for that.

If you ARE like Chris?

Not a fan of you then.

The whole robot thing hasn't happened yet since this is World Tour

But even then

He knows what an ass Chris is

That's an understatement

Really doesn't like you that much

But he still makes the effort to "befriend" you

Just to get rid of you, of course.

(Cannot write for this man to save my life, sorry if this is absolute dogshit)

Sierra:

Again, already knew about you.

Very excited to meet you, too!

She's the self proclaimed Total Drama Superfan, she HAS to know everything about you!!

Talks your ears off

All with good intention of course

She is absolutely ECSTATIC

You know in those cartoons where they shake someone's hand extremely excited and they just. It's almost violent

Yeah

Like that

That's how she shakes your hand when you're first brought on the show

I'd imagine you weren't brought immediately

Because like

Idk

I have no proper reason

Just for funsies

Before any proper eliminations 

(But after Zeeke's)

But yeah!!

Her Cody obsession is… off-putting to say the least

You stay away from her, or at least keep your distance at first

She keeps talking to you, being all friendly

And if you're not too scared of her

Then you guys could become friends!

If you keep talking to her on your own without keeping any distance?

Makes every day so much better for her

Probably used to people being weirded out by her

So you actually talking to her because you GENUINELY LIKE her? 

Bouncing off the WALLS

A friend! Yay!

Obviously Cody is still her #1 priority

But if you prove yourself, she miiiight let you in on a couple group hugs

Maybe

Blaineley:

Doesn't give a shit

Just like the younger version

But without the sweet bonding time

Doesn't like you very much

Might put on her fake little buddy-buddy act to stay on the good side of the media

Since you're probably "great for the ratings" 

Being related to Chris and all

Idk what else to put for her sorry

Older than them (17-19) (STILL younger than Blaineley)

Alejandro:

..why are you here?

Probably assumes you're an intern at first

Or here to help run challenges/watch them

If you're in the challenges, he finds it to be unfair

You're older, probably taller and smarter, and he's CONVINCED Chris is giving you some sort of advantage

Still does his whole thing

But like. Not romantically.

If you're not in the competition?

VERY confused as to why you're here

You're not competing, but you're still back in the plane with them?

It just doesn't make sense to him

You're probably there to help out with challenges

If you're 17, and I'd assume still in high school, you might be there for volunteer hours or something

Since you're probably not getting paid either way /hj

Might attempt a flirting thing once or twice (if you're not older than 17)

Probably doesn't do shit though

Sierra:

Genuinely have no idea what to put here I'm just repeating myself

Again, already knows who you are

Basically just like the second one but more "respectful" (not really) 

Blaineley would've probably been suuuuper boring (even worse than her "same age" (technically still younger) one) so I didn't include it.

I'm sorry this is so shit lmao I'll probably try redoing it as a proper paragraph written fic/one-shot instead of this. That'll probably make it better. If you want that, please tell me so I can start it soon!! xx

[lucalicatteart]

Finally finished my weird hanging painting thing (originally a secondhand partially-done 'paint by numbers' kit that I found at a thrift store and kept to repurpose lol)! Imagery somewhat based in my own worldbuilding projects, and text written in my constructed language for one of my fantasy species, but also vaguely inspired by old tapestries and illuminated manuscripts and etc. I've never been great at neat clean patterning or text, but it looks cool from afar, and I always enjoy making "props" or things that are somewhat like real objects that might could exist in my world. :0

(additional pictures/info under the readmore)

-

Here's what it was originally! I probably didn't have to actually have a river running down the middle because it further makes the composition of the whole thing weird (various connected yet separate locations and things happening, instead of one unified event being portrayed), but I wasn't sure if I'd be able to fully cover up the already existing paint that was there.. and I can also kind of justify it by going with a more "all the imagery is just symbolic so it doesn't have to make exact sense" approach lol.. How is one half of the grass green and the other is suddenly snowy? shhhh.. it's not literal.. shhh...

Made a vague sketch, then painted over it, and then added more distinct lines in black pen. Center image first and border second.

The very last thing was the text, which actually took forever to translate because my conlang is still only like.. partially done, and some of the grammar is not worked out exactly how I would like it to be, so a few sentences I had to think about for a long time before just going "eh, this is probably not how I would do it if I considered it more, but I'll go with it for now" lol . I also am not entirely satisfied with all of the characters for the writing system, but again, it's good enough for a quick project, it doesn't have to be 100% accurate and perfect because it's a fake language that nobody knows anyway lol.

I thought about breaking down the text and translation here like I have for some of the tidbits of Avirrekava (the language) in things I've posted in the past, but I think it would take too long and is not interesting to anyone but me ghghj, so for the sake of getting the post out quickly, I shall not spend an hour typing All That lol.

The general jist of the writing though is that it's just about the Avirre'thel being cast out from the other elves, after abandoning their magic for immortality as a means to truly attain perfection (an important concept in elven culture), the usual, blah blah blah, but how it's Actually A Good Thing, because the gods are wrong and immortality is Cool actually and they like the shitty frozen lands they were sent to, so it's fine that everyone else is being a Hater about it lol

Lastly, here's a few photos outside in the sun to TRY and show the gold detailing actually shimmering or showing up! It really doesn't come through in photos, but there's plenty of little golden spots to highlight light or Importance.

Mostly the fire, the pink sparkle that represents magic, the red drop that represents blood, the light behind Inaashi's hands and head (common symbol for the elven religion/one of their main gods, shout out to anyone who read the ancient elven religion post and recognized that lol), the sun, and the symbol for the Avirre'thel/country of Navyete at the very top. I did a few other gold bits, but they're not highlighted because they're Significant, more just that it looked more symmetrical to have some gold on the border too lol.

Other things of note: The animals are not actually significant to Avirre'thel culture really, I just wanted to put a cat and a bird because I like them lol. (I also wanted to have a few funny looking creatures, as I was slightly trying to go with the 'in some old medieval painting the anatomy and perspective is very weird' vibe, though I think some of the other parts of it look too Normal to pull it off entirely). Same with the four leaf clover, which means nothing in their culture - but these are the only areas where stuff was just added self-indulgently .

Bligabata (giant cabbage that grows along rivers in Navyete) making an appearance! The architecture of the building IS based on actual concepts for ancient elven/older Avirre'thel architecture and metalwork. The Avirre'thel who's turning away from Inaashi/elves/magic and collecting blood, is doing so in a Special Bowl, as is part of their culture (collecting it in the hands, or just in a normal vessel would be disrespectful, they have Specific Bowls which is the only thing blood can be kept in, etc.).

The figure that represents Jhevona (and thus, a closer connection to magic, celestial imagery, etc.) is in weird ugly teal, which is not necessarily a color or design associated with them, as I don't have much common culture (like clothing) worked out for Northern Jhevona (who the avirre'thel would have come into contact with) yet, BUT everyone else is in more Typical colors (a northern elf in green, Inaashi in lavender + white + blue, an Avirre'thel in darker purples and reds).

Some things, like the four figures in the corners, and the two people + fish in the stream, do not currently have a meaning, but in-world they would.. Like, I could make up lore for how they're culturally significant and it would be true because I am god of the world, but I don't have anything currently. But just know.. they DO mean something, I just haven't decided it yet, maybe kind of fill in as I go, come up with a meaning later lol. Probably along the lines of an old myth from the ancient elven religion, a story, etc.

-

I don't know, probably other stuff, but that's my Trying To Keep It Short rambling for now lol. I'm just glad I finally finished this! For how vaguely sloppy it is up close (everything being completely freehanded, only used rulers once when doing the initial sketch and lining where the border should be + my hands are shaky + the canvas is bumpy + my handwriting is scratchy and terrible + etc. etc.) it still took a REALLY long time, even when not trying to make it all perfect. Especially if including the text translation + writing, which took like 3+ hours itself.

Maybe all the asymmetry/lack of things being centered is NOT because I was too lazy to measure anything, but is actually because in-universe, it's a practice illustration made by some young apprentice who has to work on little canvases for years before he can be trusted will a full sized mural or tapestry. It's his first week on the job! of course he's uncoordinated! don't laugh at him!!! lol

[nightghoul381]

Hello.

Congratulations on reaching 100 followers.

I would like it if you could do first kiss with Harrison (ikevil).

English is not my first language.

EEP SORRY THIS IS SO LATE!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REQUEST AND FOR YOUR PATIENCE!!

This is such a long time coming, I'm well past 100 followers now, but I finally had an idea for this request!

Play Acting

Harrison Gray (POV) x Reader Prompt: First Kiss Genre: Fluffy with a bit of spice WC: 1.2k

I usually didn’t enjoy watching Liam during practices at the Scala, I only went because I wanted to support him. I knew it made him happy, I also had the lovely experience of finding that he lied about not being upset whenever I told him I didn’t feel like going.

Instead of hurting my friend, I decided to join him anyway, boredom be damned. This show, however, had an unexpected twist. Or at least an unexpectedly stunning actress joining the troupe.

The minute our eyes met and you flashed that shy little smile at me I knew I was sunk. You tended to stay on the edges of the group, trying not to draw attention to yourself. Yet as soon as you took to the stage you captured the attention of everyone present.

It’s as though pretending to be someone else filled you with such confidence any insecurities you might feel were blown away. I have to admit I can’t seem to keep my eyes off you. The way your eyes brighten and your face flushes when you receive praise for your performance, the way you play with your hair while waiting to go on stage, and most of all, the way you blush whenever I catch you looking at me.

I can’t help but be curious, and strangely enough it seems even Liam hardly knows anything about you. A mystery waiting to be unraveled. My kind of girl.

“Harry! We’re all going to go get drinks tonight to celebrate opening night! Did you want to come with us?” Liam shouts excitedly, huge grin spread across his face from the adrenaline high acting gives him.

“Everyone else is going?” I ask, trying not to seem too interested. If you were going to be there, then there was no doubt there would be a chance for me to talk to you alone since you typically seemed to avoid conversing with the rest of the cast and crew.

“Of course! It’s like an early cast party, so will you? Oh--” Liam inquired, cut off by one of the other actors and the director who were gesturing excitedly for him to join them.

“Sure, I’ll go,” I sighed, trying to keep the small rush of excitement I was feeling to a minimum.

Just as I had figured, you were with the group for the first round of drinks but soon settled against the wall a short way from the rest of them. Taking my time, I casually made my way toward you. You were so wrapped up in the conversation a few of the other performers were having that you must not have heard me come up to you.

“Hey.”

The little squeak you let out and the way your body jumps told me I’d accidentally caught you off guard.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” I chuckled, absent-mindedly patting your head.

“I… um… you’re Harrison, right? Liam has mentioned you a few times,” you stammer, face bright pink with embarrassment. Damn, just how cute can you get?

“Yeah, that’s right,” I chuckle, letting my arm fall from your head and leaning against the wall next to you. Something inside me is screaming for me to get closer. To test the waters and see if you’re as interested in me as you had seemed.

I lean in close and hear you take in a sharp breath.

“Did you enjoy seeing me at the rehearsals?” I ask, my voice dropping low to keep the conversation between the two of us. “You sure seemed to be looking at me a lot.”

“I look at everyone that much!” You hastily reply, eyes stretched wide in shock.

A lie.

“Mm, and here I thought maybe I was special,” I chuckled, letting my mouth curl into a lop-sided smirk.

Your tongue darts out to lick your lips while I take a sip of my drink, your attention seemingly fixated on the way my throat moves as I swallow.

“Am I drinking funny?”

“Aah! No! I thought I saw some had spilled, that’s the only reason I was looking, honest!” You insist, waving your arms in front of you as though to emphasize that I had the wrong idea. The only problem with that was the fact that I knew, once again, you were lying.

“Tch, see… something tells me you aren’t being entirely honest,” I tease, stepping just slightly closer and bringing my face closer to yours.

“Tell me the truth now, okay? Are you interested in me?”

You hesitate, swallowing thickly and letting out the breath that you’d been holding.

“A little.”

Another lie.

It would be unfair of me to continue pushing you like this, but the adorable hue of your cheeks and the sweet way your voice catches when you respond with what is clearly a lie keeps egging me on.

“Tell me something else. Do you want me to kiss you?” I purr, bringing my lips just inches away from yours.

“N-no…” you breathe shakily. I can practically hear your heart pounding in your chest, but I’m not about to continue making you uncomfortable. Instead, I let out a sigh and lean back.

“Too bad, I was kinda hoping I might get a chance with you, but if you’re not interested I can take a hint,” I raise my hand in a wave and turn to leave.

“Wait!” You shout, voice still quiet compared to the din of the pub.

I stop in my tracks and look back over my shoulder at you questioningly.

I wait while you approach me, shyly tugging on the sleeves of your sweater.

“I changed my mind.”

Oh? I settle back against the wall and you do as well, surprisingly close to me.

“I… I am interested in you. I do want you to kiss me.” Your face is crimson now as you admit the truth, anticipation causing your fingertips to tremble slightly as you reach up to my cheeks and stand on your tiptoes, your soft lips pressing against mine briefly.

Taking a deep breath, I slip my hand behind your back, pulling you the last few inches until you’re pressed close to my body and let you deepen the kiss.

Your grip on my cheeks seems to tighten as you let yourself get lost in the kiss. The taste of your drink on your tongue as it dances against mine is intoxicating, something deep within me responding with a primal need to claim you for myself.

I let my other hand come up to cradle the back of your head, slipping my tongue into your mouth and drawing out a pleased moan. There was something so innocent, but so erotic about the moan that I had to pull myself away from the kiss before I got carried away.

“Now that we’ve established we’re interested in one another, would you like to get dinner with me tomorrow after your performance?” I ask, willing my heart to calm down at the sight of your kiss swollen lips.

“I would really like that.”

“Then it’s a date.”

Taglist: @judejazza @aquagirl1978 @themiscarnival @abundance-pathchooser @xbalayage @maries-gallery @randonauticrap @queengiuliettafirstlady @candied-boys @echoes-in-the-forest

[the-consortium]

Dear Dr.Bile

I was wondering, *how* do you treat any Death Guard? I mean, logically they must rarely require your service, being kinda immortal and all, but if they do... Do you peel the armour off? Do they molt?!? How do you make sure that they don't contaminate everything ever???? Do you have chase off any stray nurgling after?????

Small particles that may be tiny flies dance through the rays that the almost-sun casts obliquely through the thick skylights with tarnished transparisteel into Khorag Sinj's private laboratory. The heavy full lock shutters are pulled back and hang rustily from the sides of the ceiling. The heady smell of growth and death, of fungi and water is undisturbed by air flows. The Death Guard Apothecary's area is, in a way, even far more secure than the Chief Apothecary's private laboratory - though for entirely different reasons. It has the biggest air filters, the best maintained airlocks on the doors and is the furthest away from everyone else.

Which doesn't bother him. At least not much. He has his peace. Whether he wants it or not.

With a sigh, he leans to the side and pats the coiled tentacles on Paz'uz's head. The demon looks up and grunts amiably as he snaps at Khorag's hand.

The marine shakes his head, straightens up again with a groan. "No, it's not time to play. I've got work to do. This virus looks promising, if I can just - ."

The large airlock at the entrance opens. Khorag tilts his head. "What a rare guest!" And even rarer in full armour and helmet. But the athmosphere, stimulating for Khorag, is unpleasant at best, even deadly in normal circumstances, for the rest of the Consortium.

Khorag puts his fist to his chest: "Chief Apothecary. What can I do for you?"

Fabius walks towards Khorag's workbench, glances at the readouts on the screens hanging in rusty frames above it, nods. His expression unreadable under the baroque, ancient helmet in well-worn amethyst. He hands the Plague Marine a dataslate. "I don't talk about my colleagues and their areas of expertise."

Khorag reaches for the pad, his touch leaves grey-brown traces. He wants to ask something, but Fabius is already on his way out. Turns around once more at the entrance. "You've made good progress. We'll talk about the new mutation Agape-Xi-3 tonight." "Gladly, Chief Apothecary."

Khorag sinks heavily onto one of the reinforced stools, reads the brief message. Sighs again. Looks at Paz'uz, who puts his head on his knee. Caustic slime drips to the floor. "We've become a cabinet of horrors, haven't we, my friend?" Paz'uz stares at him.

Khorag taps the record button on the pad. "Sent by Khorag Sinj, Apothecary of the Death Guard on behalf of Fabius, Chief Apothecary of the Emperor's Children.

I am the last Apothecary of the Death Guard, as the gift of Nurgle protects us from anything that harms us. Every change in the body is done according to his will and only makes us more effective. Therefore, my services to my brothers are no longer needed. The rate of fusion with the Armour is almost 100% for the Fourteenth - much, much higher than other Legions - with the possible exception of the Thousand Sons for obvious reasons. The armour has become an exoskeleton for us and we feel with it in a certain way as with bare skin. From that point of view, removal is neither necessary nor advisable. Should I ever feel the need to subject myself or one of my brethren to surgery, I will treat the armour the same way I do the horn plates that some Possessed of the Word Bearers have." He pauses for a moment, looks around his lab. Takes in the browns and greens. The stalagtites of rust on the railings. "Others speak of contamination. For us, it's passing on the gift. We spread what nature gives of its own accord. It is a philosophical question how far we go with it. Where we draw boundaries. I understand that my colleagues from the Third and from other legions who worship other gods - or in the case of the Chief Apothecary are their own little gods - draw boundaries. I have no problem separating religion and medical practice. I keep a low profile."

A few moments of silence again, broken by the buzzing of rotflies in one of the corners.

"And Nurglings? No, unfortunately not at the moment. I know Saqqara has some, though he downplays that fact somewhat, believing for some reason that it would offend me. But at the moment, no shard of Grandfather has pierced the veil. Except, of course, Paz'uz.

I hope you are more enlightened now. And as medical advice, you seem to have had too much caffeine, I gather from the amount of punctuation. You should have a nice lie-down. Yours sincerely, Khorag Sinj. Dictatum Finis."

He sighs. "Nurglings … Hmm? A little company wouldn't be bad sometimes. It's too quiet here."

[void-botanist]

19, 20, 21, 22 for the polycule of your choice? :0

whoops we're doing it for two of them :3 and I'll include Heith too

19 - Summarize your character's goals in one sentence.

Marcus: be okay and go home, but also never have to tell Heith about all of his lies by omission

Heith: figure out if she's actually for real serious about Marcus (she thinks she might be actually for real serious about Marcus) and one way or another move out of her hotel room on Aephar

Yera: be a mom and try to make peace with the fact that Marcus is not here to be a part of the family

Hossan: be a dad and help Umedes figure themself out

Gren: see Marcus again and hopefully find out that there was no need to be jealous about his girlfriend, and make sure everyone's okay, especially the baby

Pali: prevent Kiatcarmen from finding Marcus (though that isn't a very active job), make sure the shifter coalition in the court doesn't budge, and get somewhere with her studies of shifter magic

Umedes: figure out whether they want to have a kid or not help

Kiatcarmen: find Marcus, because Minaya must not ascend, and do whatever else she can to preserve her accomplishments in the kingdom

Pirianus: broaden Kiatcarmen's vision beyond legacy, or, failing that, as he has for some 30+ years, get her to open up to him

Caladea: see Marcus again, and for his polycule's sake believe with all her heart the lies they tell Kiatcarmen

Thade: continue completing the political project du jour and end up in a happily ever after with Pirianus, which might also make him more welcome in the palace

Orvi: complete the one thing he was installed in the palace to accomplish

20 - Who's in the way of those goals?

Marcus: his mother. Always his mother. And honestly a little bit himself

Heith: herself, mostly. This is so not like her - well, specifically the part where she's still here when there have been plenty of times to go home

Yera: realistically, Kiatcarmen. But she still sometimes feels like she's lost some of her verve

Hossan: Umedes is the big challenge here. They're just so indecisive

Gren: Kiatcarmen, but sometimes it's easier to focus on the fact that Marcus has an interstellar girlfriend that none of them have ever met and that's so frustrating

Pali: herself. There aren't enough hours in the day for everything, and she has to sleep ugh

Umedes: themself, because they were the one who said this would be a great idea for when Marcus comes back. Who 100% believed Pali and Minaya and her ferasca spouses that this would go great. And who also took one look at Yera & Hossan's baby and thought that maybe they were signing up for more than they realized

Kiatcarmen: Marcus. Always Marcus. But she also blames Minaya and Yera and Pali for his disappearance, and she needs Pirianus to just shut up. This would have been so much easier with Jimmy

Pirianus: Kiatcarmen because he put his eggs all in one basket. But he mostly blames himself

Caladea: Kiatcarmen, but she tries to focus on what she can do better, and how she's getting in her own way

Thade: he's beginning to suspect he's been in his own way this entire time but it can't be understated how much Pirianus is constantly hot and cold

Orvi: it changes frequently, but always some contingent of the court

21 - What is your character's relationship with their emotions?

Marcus: he can't control his bad emotions, so he suppresses them. This has never caused any problems

Heith: she's just as cynical about her emotions as she is about everything else, but sometimes she just can't not feel something completely unironically

Yera: she's gonna feel them whatever they are so [grits teeth] negative emotions are part of the fullness of experience (she will be screaming into this pillow later)

Hossan: left to his own devices, he would feel his emotions, and then let them cast away upon the wind. Being with Yera and Gren has made him learn how to interrogate them more

Gren: he feels everything. A lot. He also conceptualizes things in terms of feelings a lot

Pali: she would like to believe she doesn't have them, but then she lays awake at night deconstructing them

Umedes: they tend to put intense feelings away for later, but don't ever get to later unless later comes for them first

Kiatcarmen: her emotions are so rich and nuanced and nobody understands that, so all of her emotions collapse into some flavor of annoyance

Pirianus: don't like that feeling? Repress it! This will never result in it returning in continually more warped and incomprehensible forms

Caladea: being in the palace seems to have stunted her emotions - they're flatter, duller, and way more anxious no matter what they are

Thade: don't like that feeling? Deflect it! The more mirrors there are between you and your emotions the less you will ever know what they are and the less you can ever be responsible for them

Orvi: he has a mental Tupperware for emotions that allows him to keep control of himself. He is the only person on this list who will actually open that Tupperware on purpose later

22 - What regrets do they have, if any? (From any part of the story, not just exposition.)

Marcus: missing out on eight years of his "real" life, and especially not being there when Gren's grandmother died. If only he'd been stronger, he could have stayed

Heith: before finding out about Marcus, that she's kind of a flake to her band, but they don't seem to mind that much. After finding out about Marcus, that she ever thought there was some kind of "magic" between them and maybe she could feel naïve about love for two seconds

Yera: she regretted drifting away from her father and sister, so she's fixing that now

Hossan: most of his regrets are from the now-distant past and don't make much sense - even he will say so - but he always finds himself regretting that he can't seem to do more for people

Gren: not going home even more before his grandmother died, even though he was practically splitting his time between his home city and the palace. He also regrets letting Marcus leave, even though he had to, and there was no other real choice

Pali: after getting married, she got more distant from her professor mentor, and the regret hit her hard when they died

Umedes: most immediately, thinking that having a kid was a good idea (they are beginning to think that this is a pregnancy kink that got out of hand). But more than anything they regret not going with Marcus, even though they couldn't

Kiatcarmen: Ashmalo was a liability, but she still regrets that he died (despite her image she does not think that assassination is the right way to deal with most problems, including Ashmalo). Conversely, she regrets that she couldn't save Jimmy, even though medical science itself could not have saved Jimmy. She also regrets letting Minaya slip out from under her thumb, because if she hadn't, she wouldn't be stuck looking for her runaway son

Pirianus: that he can't seem to permanently extract himself from Thade. If he stops and thinks about it (read: gets drunk and sad) he regrets spending so many years of his life trying to get through to a woman who would just as soon throw him to the dogs

Caladea: that she couldn't do more for Marcus or Minaya or Ashmalo, and that she still can't. And that being stuck in the palace has left her struggling to try and pick up the pieces of her creativity and her passion even though it should have given her unlimited resources to pursue them

Thade: things he's said to people. Most of them used to be seared in his brain because he thought they were funny, and eventually he figured out that oh, maybe they weren't. But some of them seemed bad from the moment they came out of his mouth (not before that, unfortunately, because he wasn't thinking about it) and he wishes he could take them back for real, especially the things he's said to Pirianus

Orvi: that he's still here. He had one thing to accomplish, and even though it was complex, it's taking SO. LONG. He knew that marrying into the royal family meant that he probably wasn't going to permanently go home again, but the longer this drags on the less he even wants to show his face there, and he wonders if it was worth it at all

[krissielee]

Hey! How did you get access to watch the March RW&RB screener? I want to sign up for that, if I can. :)

I got lucky--a friend of mine down in LA got the offer and immediately sent it to me. She didn't/doesn't care about it, but she knows I'm obsessed and had made sure to let all my Hollywood-connected friends know that if they saw anything come up, let me know IMMEDIATELY because I needed it like air to breathe.

But there are a lot of websites to sign up for early screeners (or even just "barely before opening but it's free and free things are awesome so yay" screeners)--note that these are in no particular order; just whatever ones I happened to think of first:

Preview Free Movies is the one I got RWRB through, as well as tickets for Rocketman way back in the day. These are ostensibly the hardest to get into because they're usually only held in very specific movie-centric places and often tickets are handed out literally in person at local malls. It takes luck to get a location you can get to, but if you can ... totally worth it. They do sometimes do early online screeners, too: I saw Spinning Gold back in 2020, unfinished, and it was awesome. Found out later that a friend's cousin wrote the movie about their uncle! Small world, there. Also, I now can't listen to Love to Love You Baby without wanting to kill myself, but they changed that for the final release lol. Everyone in that early screener was like PLEASE DON'T PLAY THAT FOR TEN MINUTES EVER AGAIN.

Gofobo does a lot of early ones as well, but those are more like press screenings just before wide release, not in production ones.

1iota sometimes has screeners, even though they usually do tickets to talk shows (I have seen Taron Egerton at a bunch of those, though, including for Jimmy Kimmel where my [clothed!!!] boobs are on display for an awkward amount of time because Jimmy was talking to the people sitting directly in front of me lol)

Advance Screenings offers a lot of press screenings, but also sometimes contests to see special movie screenings. I "won" passes to a special Hunger Games screening through this site.

Amazon Screenings is really neat because it also does a lot of early virtual screenings. I've seen so many movies sitting at home in my jammies this way. And often they'll have special things to go along with it, like talks with the cast and crew, or for their Halloween set a few years back, virtual dance parties with DJs. Jason Blum was in the chat with all of us and it was kind of epic.

Searchlight Screenings is for Fox films. Same as the others; you sign up and hope to get lucky with a screening in your area.

Lionsgate Screenings are for, well. Lionsgate films.

WB also does screenings sometimes.

iScreeningRoom is great for online indie films. I've seen some really great movies that I can't wait for them to get wide releases. Some of them are weird as hell, as expected from indie films, but I've never hated anything I've seen. I know Nomad is pushing for a release soon, and I can't wait to watch that one again.

Many of these are US-centric, for anyone who comes across this post. I don't know much about other countries 'cause, you know. 'Murica, or whatever.

The other thing to remember is, for any of these screenings that are in person, you have to get there early. Like, stupid early. Multiple hours early. They always overbook the theatre. Yeah, you have a ticket? So do 500 other people for that 100 seat theatre. There are no guarantees for early screenings. I was almost the last person in for RWRB, and about the only people in after me were Matthew Lopez and some other people in his group. I only got a good seat because @machtaholic got there earlier than I did and saved one for me, which, had I not made it in, would have gone to someone else. The workers were going to try to sneak me in regardless because I was freaking out about having driven 8 hours only for the movie and if I'd missed it I was gonna cry, lol. Also, the hotel next to the theatre is where the munchkins from the Wizard of Oz were housed during film, so. Learned something while there, ha.

But also, there was no notice on it. Like, I found out on Tuesday that the screener was on Wednesday and I had to get myself to LA immediately if I had any hope of making it. For the really early ones, if you don't live in the city it's held in, you have to be ready to get up and go. Immediately. Do not pass go, do not collect $200, and hope your boss is really cool with you just not coming in.

Caveat: a lot of those super early ones, they won't even advertise those films to you as you're "out of market" for their research purposes. If it hadn't been for my friend living in the proper market, I'd have never known. It's the same way I was invited to a crazy early screening of Argylle (but from a different friend), even though I couldn't make it to that one because the timing just didn't work. So if you live in Boise and the movie's screening in Seattle, you're not going to even know about it.

Also also, there are age and gender limits on some of these. The woman and her daughter behind me in line, mom couldn't get into RWRB because she was one year past the age cutoff. Conversely, some movies you need to have children of a certain age. Keep that in mind when signing up for the really early ones. The press screeners are rarely that picky, though they did actually ID check for Kingsman (no others, not even other R rated films).

The more you sign up for, the more you redeem, the more you get invited to others. There have been many times where I have to choose which screening I feel like seeing because I've got offers for two or three films on the same night. Conversely, there have been times where I'm a greedy brat and go see the same movie across multiple screeners, but that's only happened like ... twice, because it was Eddie the Eagle, and three of my friends wanted to go but never on the same night, so I took them different times lol, and then the other was for The Wedding Ringer, which was never full so it didn't matter.

And I know there are other sites out there, but these are the ones I'm signed up on that I can recall. I get a lot of emails from these ones, and thus more chances to see films early.

Also sorry if my links are broken. I'm pretty sure I did them right but who even knows anymore lol.

[prettyboykatsuki]

When Todoroki had realized he loved you, the first time - it had been in passing.

An unimportant, uninteresting sort of discovery. At the time, he thought it was the nature of his personality. He's not exactly the type to cry with joy. Any heart thumping butterflies you gave him were fluttery like their namesake, and gone before he could catch hold of them.

The first time it happened was simply on a train ride. Public transit at 7am, the two of you had two stops before he had to get off. It was a shared bit of morning time, also how you'd met. Even though he was a popular-ish pro, you didn't recognize him. You were chatty and polite. Todoroki had enjoyed listening to you talk on the phone.

The rest is like anything. One conversation became many, and many become togethernesss. It's nothing especially special aside from the fact that it's you. But that's it.

It was probably early, when he thinks about it deeply. After dating just over 4 months, it became clear what everyone had always meant. On a train passing though a mid-sized Japanese prefecture, under the winter sun - there was love. You were talking to him just like you always had, cramped to his chest with a scarf wrapped around your face. Sniffling, you looked up at him for a while to talk. The sun had cast light on your face, a pale yellow glow all over your face. You were smiling of course, and somewhere suspended in time - he thought just once, that he loved you.

Saying the words out loud proved different from feeling it. If it had only been on feelings, then Todoroki must've loved you 100 times over.

Seeing you cry your heart out, or wearing the wrong shoes out of the house, or eating something delicious. Love had always been simple, small breaches across your humanity to his - the cupping hand whenever he came home from a mission. Love was not complicated. Love wasn't even messy.

Love had just been a morning. A sunrise through train windows. A bath tub with warm water and soapy skin and deep sighs. A world in which it was only you two, some kind of greed. Being in love breeds that on it's own he thinks. How could Todoroki want anything other than all of you? Than everything?

Saying it was a different beast. It wasn't like he was scared, but he was sure there would be a right time. He was always waiting for the right time, always on the tip of his tongue. Even after loving dates and couples trips - it still didn't feel like it was the right time.

The right time, he should've known, was just like everything else. Just like every moment before - distinctly uninteresting. He wonders what his mom would say if he told her.

In the middle of the produce section, while you look at summer fruits. Seasonally, all of your favorites have returned, and half-way through your conversation you've started to ramble aimlessly about navel oranges.

"I think I heard somewhere that they're sweeter? I could be wrong but I don't think we should risk it-"

He feels a little sorry for cutting you off.

"Hey."

You turn your head to look at him, your eyes following you. You're crouched on the floor, bent over your knees. You have to look up to see him. Tilting your head, you give him a curious look.

"Yeah, baby?'

He smiles.

"I love you,"

He helps you as you scramble to you feet, nearly falling in the process. A laugh leaves his lips as he steadies you, your hands on the lapel of his coat - eyes wide and curious.

"Did you just say I love you?"

He nods and then says it again, slower. Happier.

"I love you. More than anything."

And you kiss him, in the middle of the produce section. Between apples and oranges, hard and desperate. Smiling when you pull away.

"I love you too. This is a super lame confession though."

He hums.

"I know."

[eucalyptusace]

First impressions after finishing rebirth

I honestly loved it. I loved the character interactions, the banter and chemistry of the main cast was off the charts good. I feel like the devs really do love the cast as much as I do. Not a single person fell flat, and the stand outs to me were yuffie, barret, and CLOUD especially. My God the way they wrote Cloud made me so happy. It was perfect. This extends to the VAs who seemed to have broken the SE curse of stilted dialogue and anime grunting. However something about Tifa and Aeriths voices seemed weaker in this game compared to Remake.

Red XIII to nanaki voice change was weird as hell and didn’t seem well-justified in the story or his character. It just kind of happens and is really jarring.

I have accepted chadley. He’s essentially a computer so it’s not like he’s really in your way.

Even though the graphics have been complained about ever since the first demo, I haven’t seen many people mention how much more expression has gone into the character models, especially their faces. I went back to watch some cutscenes from the first game and was shocked by how static the faces are. The way scenes are scripted includes so much expressive body language, it really helps to nail the emotion 100%.

Why was everyone passing around the black materia and the clear materia and holy, like sephiroth already HAD it and then gave it to Cloud who gave it back? I don’t really care…. Kind of a weak story beat. But loved watching Cloud lose his shit in the endgame.

I braced myself for a bad ending. I was fully prepared to not take the last chapter seriously. So that’s what I will do. I’m not sure how I feel about the death. My favorite theory is from discord: Cloud killed Aerith and blanked it out. Maybe a long shot but would make for a really satisfying third act reveal. I mean, nobody else saw her die.

I didn’t HATE the zack stuff…. But it definitely killed the pacing for what was basically no story. Like…. I don’t remember anything really happening in those scenes? It was just weird fanfic interludes. Kind of cute though.

It’s kind of funny how 90% of these games are a loyal-but-expanded version of the OG, yet there is that weird little 10% that feels like a tacked on side story involving zack and other timelines that just sort of…. Exists.

I loved the dream date at the end between Cloud and aerith. You’re not sure at first if they’re AU until you realize that was them at their happiest selves. The camera poses. It was kind of beautiful and actually made me really emotional. Honestly their dynamic at the end was crazy, the chasing scene was peak. Plus the way everyone is just ignoring Cloud being psycho and dangerous? Like get him tf out the party bro! He feels so much scarier in this version compared to his little block model.