#truthfully i /have/ been working on it on the side. it looks decent but the colors;;; i have always been pretty sht at color picking?

[kellystar321]

.

[loveharlow]

Omg I almost died reading She Can't Know! It was so good and I'm so excited to see more from you! Speaking of that I have a request. Ik it might take a bit but if you could can you make a smut or fluff alphabet with Ajax? If not I totally understand but if you do tag me!

ty, -Help

SMUT ALPHABET

PAIRING ‧₊˚ Ajax Petropolus x Fem!Reader

SYNOPSIS ‧₊˚ [1.7k] Basically headcanons on what it would be like to get down with Ajax.

WARNING(S) ‧₊˚ characters are of consenting/legal age! swearing, depictions of smut/sexual acts

A/N ‧₊˚ Just a small thanks to everyone showing love to the Ajax content, I've been busy and it helps to remind me and keep me motivated. I'm working on all of the requests so hold tight.

˗ˏˋ ajax masterlist ˎˊ˗

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

Ajax is caring but in a casual way if y’know what I mean? Like he’ll clean you up and toss you a shirt of his and kiss your forehead, toss you a bottle of water too, maybe. He’d probably ask to smoke a joint with you if you hadn’t already before having sex.

B = Body part (Their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

His own favorite body part would have to be his arms. He wears hoodies and jackets a lot of the time so no one really knows that he has a lot of muscle under there and it took you by surprise the first time you saw him in a regular t-shirt, you literally turned around were like ‘damn.’ and he just looked confused.

His favorite part of yours in general is your legs. He loves your thighs and loves to have his hands on them and loves it when you sit on his lap. He says it brings him comfort. But…he also may have admitted, under the influence and in front of like all your friends, that he loves your boobs.

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically… I’m a disgusting person)

So, he likes to cum inside you. But he loves to cum on your thighs, you don’t know why because he himself can’t explain it. He just says that they look pretty covered in it. It’s hell for you to clean up but it leaves your thighs oddly soft after.

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

He gets himself off when he’s on the phone with you. At first, you didn’t know, or didn’t care enough to notice. But at some point during your relationship, you heard him moan, so clearly, and just asked and he tried to cover it up but eventually gave up and admitted it. You’re under the impression he still does it but he’ll never fess up again.

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

He isn’t too experienced. Truthfully, Ajax is a bit aloof, so relationships and sex weren’t really on his mind until you two got together. He’s gotten to know you, personally, and what you like. So, when it comes to you? He’s decently experienced.

F = Favorite Position (This goes without saying. Will probably include a visual)

Cowgirl. That boy is pure filth when he wants to be. He likes to see you above him, he thinks you look like a goddess. And when you come down from your high and smile down at him, all out of breath, he just adores it.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

I feel like there’s an in between but definitely leaning more towards the humorous side. Like he has a dopey smile on his face, I don’t think it’s humorous or serious, he just wants to have fun in the moment. Experiment, make you laugh a few times, but still manage to make you feel good.

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

I don’t think he cares too much. He’ll probably trim it up because he has an irrational fear that if he lets it grow too long, it’ll grow snakes (which cannot happen, he's just ridiculously paranoid). But he doesn’t like to be bald down there because he says it feels weird and doesn’t look right.

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…)

Again, he wants to have fun but also feel good. He’s loving and gentle but still dominating in some aspects. He’ll let you have control if you really want it but he’s not overly rough. Demanding, less with words more through actions, but still gentle and caring.

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

He masturbates often. It’s typically when you’re not around and during the semester because you don’t see each other as often as you’d like. And it’s easy to get caught at Nevermore, so you can't be risky. 

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

I feel like he most definitely has a marking kink. Like seeing bite marks and hickeys (and bruises if you’re into that) after a wild night makes him proud in a way. He just loves everything about you and the marks are a way to show everyone that you're his without being overly confrontational or affectionate because Ajax has a very laid-back personality.

L = Location (Favorite places to do the do)

His dorm. He doesn’t like to do it in your dorm because the girls somehow always find out and tease the both of you non-stop. With the boys, they do the same to him but he’s used to their banter so he shrugs it off because he has no shame and you never have to endure their teasing because the majority of them are respectful towards you.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

He loves to see you in a skirt. It will get him riled up real quick. Seeing it sway as you walk, your legs out on display and glowing, it’s heaven for him. He also loves when you sit on his lap of your own accord. He knows PDA isn’t something that comes too naturally to you so the fact that you have no problem just placing yourself in his lap, no matter who's around, just gives him an overwhelming sense of pride and reassurance. Plus, you’re warm all the time so you're like his personal heater.

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Anything that would hurt you past the point of being pleasurable. Even if you tell him that it’s okay he won't do it.

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

He loves giving, don’t get me wrong. Like the act itself, being in between your thighs that he loves oh-so much and hearing the noises you make, seeing your hands grip the sheets to keep from grabbing his beanie, it’s all great and he could do it for hours. Seriously. But it's something about receiving that has his soul leaving his body. Like when you brush your thumb over his tip, the thing you do with your tongue and when you look up at him through teary eyes. It’s like an overload of emotions and feelings that he can’t get enough of.

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

I feel like he’s slow in the beginning, gradually speeding up the closer you get to your climaxes until he’s basically chanting your name under his breath and gripping the headboard as his eyes close shut. His thrusts are long and drawn out but when he’s going back in, it’s a hard solid thrust that has your mouth opening in a silent scream.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

They aren’t his favorite because he can’t chill with you after like he normally would like but if it’s his only option then he’s kind of like ‘fuck it’, y’know? You both get satisfaction and that’s all that matters, but he prefers proper sex. It makes him feel closer to you.

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

Depends on how far you plan on experimenting. He doesn’t do pure pain, like I said. But he’s up for trying new stuff. Putting his hand on your throat, spanking, hair pulling, anything you want as long as it’s pleasurable in some way.

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

I’d say 2-3 rounds on a good day. If he doesn’t have too much energy, max 2. 

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

Nah, he doesn’t. Getting some kinky shit into Nevermore is near impossible. The most y’all have got is a vibrator you managed to get in, by some force of nature, that he has used on you a handful of times. But if you want him to use it, he will.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Oh, he’s a big tease. He loves to see you get all needy and beg, one time he did it until tears started to form from how bad you were aching. He’ll always cave in and give you what you want, what he wants too.

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

He’s not loud but trust me, he is not quiet either. He’ll bury his head into your neck and groan and moan and it’s not loud but it's so close to your ear that you can hear it clearly and feel the sound vibrating down your neck and trail down your spine and it just makes you 10x hornier.

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

You’re the first person he had sex with face-to-face. He said he felt like it was too intimate, to see people’s faces and be that close, so anyone he slept with before it was always a position where they weren’t facing each other. Then you guys started talking and going out and he realized he was breaking his own rule when it was too late.

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words)

Thick. Hella thick, for sure. A little over average in length, though. I’d give him 6.5 hard, 4 soft. It’s real veiny, too. He’s got hair down there, no question. He’s cut, too. 

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

It’s a little more than average. He’s still pretty young in general so he got some stamina and pent up frustration from everyday life.

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Soon, but not immediately. He doesn’t mind falling asleep before you but he has to make sure you’re good before dozing off. He usually uses your boobs as pillows and wakes up on your stomach because if he slept on your chest all night, they’d hurt like a bitch in the morning.

feedback is appreciated! thanks for reading.

©loveharlow

[happy74827]

The Way You Kiss Me

[Travis "Trapper" Beasley x Female!Reader]

Synopsis: He’s called “Trapper” for a reason.

WC: 1443

Category: Fluff, Lime/Spice

I would say this is a fan service… but, truthfully, I couldn’t help myself. This is a service to myself LMFAO (enjoy the gif of Dan in The Guest since GxK is still fresh in theaters. I cannot wait for this movie to come out in hd quality 🤭)

『••✎••』

Trapper was a bit of a wildcard, in your opinion. You'd known him since your teenage years and had been the one to give him his name. He'd always been a bit of a recluse, even back then. The man was more comfortable around animals than he was with people. The compassion he had for the four-legged beasts was something you had always admired. It was his love of nature and the wild that had drawn you in; you'd never been able to pinpoint why.

That had been over ten years ago, but it felt like no time had passed. You had gone to school, became what you always dreamed of, and moved back to your hometown.

And, of course, it was only inevitable that Trapper would have trapped you.

It hadn't happened right away.

No, it had started slow, like a creeping fog. You didn't even notice it until you found yourself missing the smell of his cologne and his walkman that he still carried around everywhere.

“Yeah, luv, not everywhere's got Wi-Fi, you know?” He would always say, and the thick Australian accent would make your heart flutter.

He was kind, gentle, and a bit goofy. He could sing like a dream (not really, he was quite awful) and was the best vet in the whole world, or at least in your mind. He was utterly perfect on the inside.

And the outside? Well, a pure accident had gotten you two together.

You'd gone into his office, just like every other time, to borrow another of his rare records. Usually, he was there to let you in, but when he wasn't, you were thankful he kept a spare key under the mat.

The office had been quiet, and as you walked through the small space, you frowned, knowing that he never missed a day, even when he was sick.

Turns out your suspicion was right.

His water got cut off, so he swung by the office to shower, and well, you'd gotten to him before he'd managed to change. So, there you were, in your scrubs and lab coat, walking in on him fresh from a shower, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist.

It had been an awkward encounter, to say the least.

Trapper was not a big guy. Sure, he had broad shoulders and was decently strong, but his height was on the shorter side, and his muscles were more toned than they were bulky. He was handsome in his own way, and that was one thing you'd always liked. He didn't look like a bodybuilder or some sort of model. He looked like a normal man.

But the moment you saw him standing there, dripping wet and looking a bit shocked, it was like a switch flipped. Your knees felt weak, and the butterflies that had made their homes in your stomach started flapping their wings, making you feel all flustered and a bit embarrassed.

It made it worse when you realized he had his Walkman hanging around his neck. Dude couldn’t even make it a day without his favorite tunes.

And the fact that you had his favorite record clutched in your arms wasn’t helping.

You were the first to speak.

"S-Sorry, I didn't mean to barge in like this; I was just-."

He cut you off.

"Ah, yeah, forgot to call, didn't I? Water got shut off this morning, thought I'd shower here." He looked around. "Sorry 'bout the mess. Didn't know you were coming by today."

The towel was slipping. You could see his hip bones. You tried to look away, but you couldn't help it. He had such a nice body, and you'd never even noticed it until then.

You shook your head.

"It's fine. I, um, was just looking for one of your records; I didn't mean to."

He raised his hands.

“Settle down, sweetheart, don't get yourself worked up. No harm done."

It was only then that he seemed to realize what was happening. His eyes widened slightly.

"Oh. Sorry, I can just..."

"No, no, it's fine. Go ahead."

It was then that he noticed the album you had clutched to your chest. A smile spread across his face, and he gave you a knowing look.

"Fleetwood Mac… again? How many times is this now? Four?"

You flushed.

"I told you, they're my favorite."

He smiled and shook his head.

"You're lucky I don’t mind sharing. Come on, let's see which one it is."

As he took the album from you, his hand brushed yours, and you couldn't help the jolt that went up your arm.

He didn't seem to notice, thankfully, and instead flipped open the case.

"Ah, Rumours. My personal favorite."

Your heart was racing. You could hear your blood in your ears, and all you could think about was how good he looked in a towel.

He looked up and met your gaze. His lips twitched upwards.

"Welp,” He closed the case and handed it back to you. “Go ahead. It's all yours."

He stepped past you and walked to his office, leaving a trail of water behind him. You stood there, unable to move, just staring after him, the record still held tight to your chest.

"Hey, Traps?" You called.

He appeared in the doorway.

"Yeah?"

"What’re you listening to?"

He grinned and held up his Walkman.

“Toto. I was feeling a bit… nostalgic."

You couldn't help the laugh that came from your lips.

"Of course you are."

His grin was contagious, and he disappeared back into his office, leaving you standing there, feeling like a teenage girl with her first crush. Except the crush didn’t stay a crush for long.

You forget what happened initially, but one minute, you were holding the record out in the hallway; the next minute, you were on the couch in his office, the record discarded on the floor, and his lips were on yours.

You weren’t really sure who had kissed who first, but you had been surprised at his actions, and he had pulled away quickly.

The break was short-lived, and the next thing you knew, you were both making out, his freshly picked out plaid pullover discarded somewhere, and your hands buried in his hair, tugging at the ashy blonde locks as he peppered kisses all along your neck.

His skin was soft, and you could tell he put lotion on. His hair smelled like the shampoo he used, and his breath smelled like coffee and mint.

He had a bit of scruff on his cheeks, and you could feel the hairs brush against your skin. Ticklish, but in a good way.

He had strong hands, and they were running along your sides, pulling your hips against his, and the pressure was enough to make you moan into his mouth.

Nothing further had happened that day. It was his workplace, after all. It's one of the things he actually took seriously. But that didn’t stop you two from doing things in his office on the weekends.

Like now, for instance.

He had you pressed up against the door, his mouth working along your jaw and down your neck, his hands running over your back.

Your head was swimming. You couldn’t think straight. The only thing you could process was him: his touch, his smell, his voice.

You felt him push a leg between yours, and you ground yourself against him.

The groan that rumbled in his chest had you shivering, and you reached for him, fingers grabbing for purchase on his shirt.

He was a sight to behold. Hair mussed from your fingers, lips red and swollen, eyes darkened by lust.

His Walkman was never too far, and as his lips moved back up to meet yours, his hands were fiddling with the buttons. Honestly, it was a miracle he could still find the music while being preoccupied.

The sounds of the first few notes of the song had you smiling.

He pulled away and grinned, eyes sparkling with amusement.

"A fan of this one?"

You didn't answer.

Instead, you took his hand and twirled him, pulling him against you, chests pressed together.

His laughter rang in your ears, and the next thing you knew, you were swaying back and forth, cheek resting against his chest, his chin resting atop your head.

For a little while, you forgot about everything: no work, no big apes or lizards, no giant monsters or crazy scientists.

There was no need for them. Not now.

You were trapped in his arms, and you had no plans of breaking free.

[thmles]

| Self Love.

- He don't love himself, tryna love me.

[pairing: miguel o'hara x gwen stacy!reader]

[warnings: mention of death, sweet to angst, marriage, miguel being a player, barely proofread]

[a/n: so i was listening to self love from the across the spider-verse album/soundtrack and i kept on listening to it while playing ranked so i ended up writing this while playing and really ran with it! gwen's dialogue really pushed me to write this. it would've been longer if it were an actual fic but i hope you enjoy 🫶🏻]

Miguel considered himself a player back in college. Infamous for swooning over girls to try and get them in his bed. At least, that was the rumors. He targeted almost every girl in their major, from freshmen to graduating. His favorite target was you, Gwen Stacy.

You were an only child trying to keep up the appearance that your parents raised a perfect young lady. You rarely went out and only ever had one boyfriend. You were finishing your undergraduate degree in hopes of pursuing a PhD in Biology and to hopefully work for Alchemax, one of Nueva York’s biggest chemical corporations.

It was finals and truthfully, you were cramming almost everything. You had a paper due in a couple of hours and you had to review all of the syllabus word for word if you want to ace your exams. So here you were, in your quiet university library trying to finally finish your undergraduate degree when a certain someone decided to disturb you. You were looking at the screen of your laptop while taking notes with your tablet. A few strands of your hair managed to get itself on the side of your face. You raised your hand to tuck it back in when a hand beat you to it. You looked at your left to see the most annoying and smug face you have seen. Ever.

“Hey. Gwen Stacy, right? Daughter of Chief of Police, Chief George Stacy and Doctor Helen Stacy?” Miguel asked with a smirk. You raised an eyebrow at him before looking back at your laptop to continue reading the slideshow. He chuckled and sat on the long table beside your bag.

“Hard to get, Miss Stacy?” He asked again with another smirk. You looked at him and narrowed your eyes. “Very.”

Miguel let out a chuckle and ran a hand through his hair. “Care for a coffee date?” He asks again. You rolled your eyes in annoyance. What did this human turd want? You just wanted to finish university and get your PhD and start working. He’s just a bother. “No.” You answered sternly before going back to your notes.

“C’mon. It’ll be my treat.”

“...”

“Please?”

“...”

When Miguel realized you weren’t going to reply, he slammed your laptop shut. “Hey!” You exclaimed in annoyance. He laughed and crossed his arms. “Will you answer me now?”

“No.”

“Please with a cherry on top?” He asked again with hopeful eyes.

“Look, Miguel is it?” You stood up and looked at him. “I said no, already didn’t I? We all know about your very colorful affairs and I am not going to be one of them.” You were yelling by now and the rest of the students in the library were looking over at the pair of you. You glared at Miguel and you could see a hint of hurt in his eyes. You quickly stuffed your laptop and tablet in your bag, leaving him by himself as you left the library to study at your house.

-

The very next day, you were woken up by your dad knocking on your door. “Honey, someone wants to see you.” His voice muffled by the door. You groaned and sat up, rubbing your eyes as it adjusted to the lighting. “Who?” You asked tiredly, slipping on your fuzzy slippers your friend had gifted you. “A guy named Miguel.” As soon as you heard those words, it was as if cold water was poured over your head. “Uh, I’ll be right there, dad!” You replied and sauntered over to your bathroom to make yourself decent. No way were you letting that human turd see you as a mess.

After a while, you headed downstairs and saw your father and Miguel conversing in the dining room. A maid placed a plate for Miguel to which he accepted gratefully. Your dad seemed pleased with Miguel. “What exactly are you doing in my house on a Tuesday morning, O’hara?” You spat out rudely. Miguel smiled as you entered the room and sat across from him.

“Gwen.” Your dad warned you. You crossed your arms as the maid from earlier put a plate in front of you as well as a cup. She poured orange juice in the cup as you glared at the man across from you.

“Dad, Miguel and I aren’t even close. We aren’t even friends!” You exclaimed as you tried to decipher why your father decided to let him in. “Well, if you aren’t friends, why did he just ask me if he could court you?”

That morning was eventful. Miguel and your father had been bonding and had even approved of Miguel courting you. Hell, Miguel brought flowers for you and your mom. You don’t know how he even knew your favorite flowers when you never conversed before. You had to pull him aside and asked him what the hell was he doing to which he answered: “I’ve liked you for years, I just want to shoot my shot.”

Somehow, you don’t know how, you warmed up to him. He went with you to Alchemax and was very supportive of your choices. Miguel bought you your favorite chocolates every week, and surprised you with romantic dinners. A few months into him courting you, you made it abundantly clear that you wouldn’t sleep with him until after a year you started dating. He also became your boyfriend that day. Miguel respected your choice and made an effort to give you a secure relationship.

Even after years, when Miguel managed to get his DNA spliced with that of a spider’s, you stood by him. You left Alchemax to work for a pharmaceutical company as you could never forgive what happened with Miguel. You supported Miguel in being Nueva York’s ‘Spider-man.’ You gave him massages, left food for him to eat, waited for him to come home. He was very much grateful for you. He knew he wanted to marry you the moment he laid eyes on you at an orientation of a class you took together freshman year. Miguel only proposed one night after a brutal fight with the Vulture.

-

Miguel stumbled in through the unlocked window of your shared bedroom. He was badly bruised and his whole body ached. The commotion caught your attention from the kitchen and was quick to run in the room. Miguel tugged off his mask and threw it on the bed. When you saw Miguel’s bruised face, you let out a gasp and helped him sit on the bed.

“I told you to not get hurt, didn’t I?” You exclaimed as you ran to the kitchen to get a pack of frozen corn to help soothe Miguel’s swollen face. He let out a chuckle and only looked at you as you held the pack to his cheek. “Jesus, what am I going to do with you, hm?” You asked softly as your fingers brushed over his other swollen cheek. You sniffed as you felt yourself becoming teary-eyed at Miguel’s state. He was badly bruised and you knew he would do it all over again to keep the city safe. To keep you safe. “You should marry me.” Miguel replied softly with a smile. Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He shuffled to his nightstand and with a few grunts and groans he held out a small velvet box. You dropped the pack of frozen corn beside him and looked into his eyes.

“Marry me, Gwen Stacy. You’re the love of my life. I knew I loved you the moment I laid eyes on you in Professor Jacob’s class. You gave me a chance to love you. You stayed with me throughout everything that happened at Alchemax and sacrificed the career you built there for me. I can’t see myself with anyone else besides you. Will you marry me?”

Needless to say the wedding was grand. Almost the whole police department of Nueva York showed up to ensure that the wedding was secure. Your batch mates who were genuinely surprised at the pair you and Miguel had even showed up. And after a week long honeymoon in Switzerland, you were ecstatic. But good things come to an end, right?

-

When an anomaly from another dimension managed to severely injure you, Miguel was set on figuring out how to travel the multiverse. And when he did, he recruited every Spider-Men, Spider-Women, hell even a Spider-Car to ensure that anomalies are dealt with accordingly so they couldn’t do the damage they did to you.

As you were recovering from your injuries, Miguel was quick to discover that for every Spider-Man that had a Gwen Stacy, she always dies. It led him to spiral into keeping you safe and he almost always made sure that you call him when you leave the house and get home.

However, despite the best of his abilities, he was unable to save you as the Green Goblin threw you off a clock tower. Miguel managed to wrap his makeshift webs around you but it was too late. Your head hit the ground and you were gone.

Miguel tried his best to move on, focusing on his work and the Spider Society. As he looks at the picture of you in your wedding dress smiling at the camera, in Miles’ world, Gwen was looking at Miles as they sat upside down.

“In every other universe, Gwen Stacy falls for Spider-Man,” She paused to look into Miles’ eyes before gazing out at the city. “And in every other universe, it doesn’t end well.”

[maplleaf]

"Dear wanderer, forget me."

Kaedehara Kazuha x gn!god reader

< angst >

A/N: kazoo boy, my main, ily

You were a God, emphasis on "were"

Even before the Archon War, you've never had a large following. The only reason why you're alive is because of the original electro archon gave you mercy.

Makoto gave you and your followers a village to stay. Though unfortunately, the times where you would see your people live their lives and hear their laughter is long gone.

Over the decades, your followers left one by one. Leaving you with a desolated village and a single house to stay in. Going to Inazuma city is a choice, though you decide not to since the Raiden Shogun would possibly kill you; and the living expense of Inazuma city scaring you even more.

Truthfully, you were jealous of how the God of Eternity manage to become such a beloved archon. You wanted to have a life where those under your protection would be happy, a life where they can feel safe by your side.

Alas, now you're staring at a painting one of your followers made a thousand year ago. It took a lot of work just to keep it maintained, but looking at it brings you comfort.

A voice of someone outside caught your attention, "hello? Is someone here?"

The grip on your sword tighten instinctively. Recently treasure hoarders and Nobushi have been around the area, and you couldn't risk any of your belongings getting destroyed or taken.

The voice spoke again, "you see, I'm a wanderer. I heard that rain might come soon, therefore I was hoping that you could shelter me in your home until it stops," he explained. "Of course if you can't, it is fine."

You couldn't help but feel pity for the wanderer. Despite the lack of social interaction for a long time, you could feel the sincerity in his voice. Whilst holding your sword close, you opened the door cautiously.

The wanderer's hair is white with a visible red streak. His clothes are similair to what a respected samurai would wear, but calling himself a wanderer made you think he's no longer within the higher-status of Inazuma.

"Come in," you told him, making room for him to walk inside your abode. The wanderer stepped inside after giving you an appreciative smile.

"Sit down, I'll go get you a drink," the wanderer did as he's told as you walked to your kettle.

"I apologize for the cold tea, it's been sitting before you arrived," you explained before looking back to see him looking at you with a gentle smile.

"It's no matter. I may be a guest but my arrival was not expected," he pointed out. You placed his and your cup of tea before sitting down across him.

"So what's your name, wanderer?" you started. He slid the tea closer to him before answering.

"My name is Kaedehara Kazuha, it is a pleasure to meet you."

Your lips formed a smile, it's been a long time since you've had a decent conversation with someone, "I'm (y/n), it is a pleasure to meet you as well."

To your surprise, Kazuha asks about the painting, "if I may ask, who is that person in the potrait?"

Your grip on the teacup tightened. "It's a God that this village used to follow; the God of Dreams," you couldn't help but chuckle, "though they are long gone now. I'm only here to preserve my ancestors' memories."

Kazuha noticed your change in demeanor, but didn't want to point it out. "Must have been a kind God," he spoke, taking a sip of the tea.

It took a couple seconds for you to process his words. You were far from powerful; it's why none of your followers stayed. The only place where you have power is in dreams, where nothing there is going to become reality.

"What makes you think that?"

The wanderer laughed, "if someone like you stayed here for them, then they must be a kind God."

Your eyes widened for a moment, before a wave of laughter couldn't help but escape. "You're a smooth one, Wanderer."

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

The next morning, Kazuha returned to his life of a wanderer. You were saddened for a moment, though he promised to visit if he's nearby again.

As a God who have lived for thousands of years, you were surprised that he kept the promise. The wanderer sometimes dropped by for a cup of tea or to talk to you.

You both traded stories; Kazuha's tales coming from his adventures as a wanderer, whilst yours are about your people's experiences thousand of years ago.

You had a feeling that Kazuha had realized who you really are, but you don't feel the need to tell him yet. Your time as a deity have long passed, and you enjoy the life of a simple mortal much more now.

It should've been obvious that nothing is going to last forever.

It's been a few weeks since Kazuha last visited. You paid it no mind, seeing it as the wanderer going to other places. A barrier of storms around Inazuma had also formed. Even if you're living in a secluded area, you could see the purple clouds and sounds of thunder coming from the sea. Maybe you should ask Kazuha when he comes next time.

Since news of Inazuma city doesn't concern you, it took awhile for any kind news to reach you. Therefore seeing Kazuha being chased by multiple Inazuma guards caught you off-guard.

You didn't have the time to think about what's happening, using the little power you have you placed all of the guards to sleep. You grabbed Kazuha's hand and took him back to your home. The adrenaline rush made it hard for you to hear what Kazuha is saying as you guided him.

The two of you made it safely, albeit you felt like you just finished a 10-mile run.

Though you can't just ignore the elephant in the room, "mind explaining why you were chased by them?"

Kazuha lets out a sigh, "the vision hunt decree... It's the reason why I wasn't able to visit you for the past few weeks."

Any sorts of news regarding 'the vision hunt decree' never passed your ears. Though the name itself tells the story quite easily, and the blank and gray vision in Kazuha's hand tells another.

"My friend... he," Kazuha lets out. It's one of the few times where he's speechless, the internal pain he feels coming out.

You wrapped your arm around Kazuha as he returned the gesture, "it's okay. I understand." Kazuha's friend sometimes visited you as well. Whilst the two of you aren't close, it would be a lie to say that you didn't care about him.

The vision hunt decree is what's concerning you most. As a God you're not in any danger since you don't have a vision, Kazuha on the other hand.

He's currently wanted, and could possibly be killed when caught. Seeing as how the Inazuman guards from earlier could trace his steps into your home; this place isn't safe either.

"Kazuha," you called his name. You didn't want this ending, all you really want is a happy life where you could spend at least a few years with the samurai. "You should leave Inazuma.

Kazuha pulled back from you, his eyes wide; something that you rarely see from the calm and collected wanderer. "If I were to leave, what about you?"

You ruffled his white hair, giving him a painful, forced smile. "Isn't that what a wanderer does? Going to new lands far away," your point isn't wrong. Kazuha's safety is what matters, if he stays in Inazuma then there will always be a chance that he'll be executed.

You could see that Kazuha isn't going to falter. It's always been one of the things that made you admire the wanderer; his determinations and morals. Kazuha already connected that your home isn't safe anymore, and it's just a matter of time where you would be wanted as well. Whilst the samurai has placed past grievances in the past, he's not going to lose someone again.

It's rare that Kazuha felt inclined to stay because of someone. His love for nature and wandering the lands made it almost impossible for him to stay in one place. Yet, you're an anomaly. He doesn't want to leave you, nor does he want to lose you.

He knows you won't leave Inazuma, making it impossible for both of your desires to come true.

Out of the sudden, a choice came into your mind; one where both parties would benefit. Kazuha would get his safety, and you would spend your last few hours with him.

Holding him close, you pressed your forehead against him. 'This is the right decision,' you repeated multiple times in your head, but the hesitation to do it made it hard.

"Kaedehara Kazuha, you have been a wonderful companion; one that I never had for the past hundreds of years," Kazuha didn't have a good feeling of this, but listened to your words.

"I'm doing this for our own desires and needs," a golden aura began to form around you two.

You knew this is the end. You're weak, even placing those Inazuman guards to sleep took a toll on your energy. A God with no followers; your existence is an anomaly, especially after the Archon War.

"My dear Wanderer," your body began to dissapear, growing transparent by mere seconds. Before Kazuha could act you already spoke your last few words. Back when you were powerful, you were able to erase your followers' memories and create fake ones regarded as 'dreams.' You didn't know it would be useful once more.

"Please forget me."

---------

When Kazuha opened his eyes, he's met with a sword on the ground. He's familiar with the sorrounding that he's in, but could not recall a single memory relating to this place. The samurai looks at the sword once more. As a family of blacksmiths, he noticed the special engravings on the simple blade, along with how worn out the sword is.

When Kazuha touched the weapon, he's met with the feeling of calm and safety. Something he longs for, even as a wanderer. He felt like he should take the sword, as if the wind is telling him how important this blade is.

Kazuha's hearing made it possible for him to hear footsteps coming close to the house. The samurai remembered running in this house right after he was chased by multiple guards. Seeing how he would be caught in mere seconds if he doesn't act, Kazuha listened to the wind and took the abandoned sword before leaping out one of the windows.

As Kazuha ran far away, he felt the blade smiling at him.

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

[strawberriesinbloom]

Winning Plushies

Zayne/Gender-Neutral Reader

Summary: Zayne tries to win a plushie for you. Unfortunately, you are your own worst enemy.

Word Count: 791

This is a tickle fic btw!

~🍓~

You pressed your nose up to the glass of the claw machine, squinting thoughtfully at the plushies inside. Truthfully, you wanted them all. Alas, you were down to your last few tokens, so you really had to make them count.

“I want that one,” you said, pointing at the little Cone Crab plushie in the corner.

Zayne raised his eyebrows. “Really? It’s a little…”

You glared at him.

“…interesting looking,” he finished.

“Well, I still want it.”

“Fine,” Zayne said, inserting a token into the coin slot. “I’ll get it for you.” He moved the joystick to the right, as he carefully watched the claw move.

You two had been at the arcade all afternoon. While you had won a decent amount of plushies for yourself, you felt bad that Zayne didn’t have much of a chance to play. Although he seemed less than eager to have his turn, he finally relented after a little bit of back and forth.

You patted him on the shoulder. “You can do it, Zayne! You got this.”

“Is this your way of encouraging me?” He flicked the joystick a little to the left.

“Yes. Is it working?”

“Not particularly.”

He pressed the button. The claw lowered down and grabbed the Cone Crab, only for it to immediately slip out of its grasp. Zayne sucked his teeth and inserted another token.

You huffed. Zayne always had to be difficult. “Alright, then. How about this?” You hooked your arm around his waist. “Is this working?”

Zayne glanced at you momentarily before returning his attention to the claw machine. “You’re much too bold,” he said, a little color appearing on his cheeks.

You laughed a little, giving Zayne’s side a playful squeeze. You faltered when he jumped. “Zayne?”

“It was just a reflex. I’m not ticklish.” He said, a little too focused on positioning the claw correctly. If he wasn’t quick enough, the timer would reach zero, and he would miss his turn.

You smiled. “Really, you’re not? That’s disappointing.” You sneakily spidered your fingers up to his ribs, delighting in the way his entire body flinched.

“Stohop that!” he hissed through gritted teeth. “I’m trying to c-cohoncentrate.” Zayne was trying to keep his voice low to not disturb the other patrons, and perhaps to also keep his own dignity afloat.

“Stop what? I’m not tickling you, am I?” You asked, using your other hand to poke at his stomach.

Zayne buckled forward. “I’m tehelling you to stop this instant!” His ears had turned red, along with the rest of his face. Before you could respond, the claw machine beeped. You looked over, and, sure enough, the timer had reached zero. The claw automatically lowered, grabbed at nothing, and returned to its starting position. “Now, look at what you did,” he said, “You made me waste a token.”

“It’s not my fault that you’re so ti—“ One look at Zayne’s sneer made you stop in your tracks. “…jumpy. It’s not my fault you're so jumpy.”

“You’re much too touchy-feely with me. Just promise you won’t do it again.”

You held up your right hand. “I promise,” you said, closing your eyes for good measure.

Zayne waited for you to open your eyes before rolling his own. “Whatever.” He picked up one more token and slipped it into the coin slot. He started playing again, this time sneaking a couple of glances your way to ensure that you were keeping still.

Unfortunately, for Zayne, you weren’t particularly good at keeping promises. The moment his eyes left yours, you reached over and slowly dragged your index finger down the small of his back.

Zayne went rigid and let out a sharp gasp. He hit the button much too early, and, once again, the claw lowered down to grasp at nothing. He crossed his arms and glared at you over his sunglasses. You cackled.

“Sorry, sorry! I just couldn’t resist!” You covered your mouth with your sleeve to muffle yourself. His stern look was unwavering, which you only found more amusing. “Okay, okay, I’m really sorry. I promise not to mess with you, again. For real, this time.” You turned to face the claw machine. “I still want that Cone Crab.”

“Too bad.” Zayne shook his head. “That was our last token.”

“Really?” you said, searching your pockets. To your dismay, he was right. You didn’t have any more tokens left. “Wait.” You knelt down to search your tote bag, which was holding all of your plushies. “But, the Cone Crab’s the only plushie that I don’t have, yet. We need to win this one.”

The corners of Zayne’s lips shot up briefly. “Perhaps you should have thought of that before giving into your childish antics.”

Yeah…perhaps you should have.

[softpine]

behind the scenes 🎬 - compilation

[read the post] + answered questions: [elaine’s trauma] // [elaine’s flaws]

this is one of the first major instances we’ve seen of elaine choosing to keep the peace by not bringing up something that upset her (stevie lying). she’s unsure who is right or wrong, so she’d rather just smooth it over and stop talking about it. we’ll see elaine do this again with austin immediately after this, so it’s becoming a pattern for her.

i wanted this scene to have a melancholy, sleepy, small town feeling, so i thought a church would be a great backdrop. i spent literally hours decorating the church (i gave it a whole kids playground in the back, and a corn field on the other side), but then you only ended up seeing it for one picture lmao. i even had to change the lot size so i could put her car on the road more easily. anyway, there’s this sign out front:

i chose this quote because, to me, it’s a very unhelpful way to look at life: to disregard your own problems because someone has had it worse. like... no, maybe you’re not suffering as much as jesus, but that doesn’t mean you’re not suffering at all. we can see that elaine is choosing to hide her emotions because everyone around her is going through “worse” shit.

tiny thing, but when elaine is about to cry as stevie is walking away, there’s a poster right behind her that says “Don’t let depression keep you down” :)

[read the post] + answered questions: [xena’s dad?] // [why did coco get so mad?]

i learned how to use premiere for this one! it was really simple once i learned the basics. all i had to do was turn the TV into a green screen and then the rest of the editing was fun color grading stuff.

the clip from Xena: Warrior Princess is meant to apply to coco specifically. but i can’t tell you why yet!

“See how calm the surface of the water is? That was me once. And then... [throws rock] The water ripples and churns. That’s what I became.” // “But if we sit here long enough, it’d go back to being still again. It’d go back to being calm.” // “But the stone’s still under there. It’s now part of the lake. It might look as it did before, but it’s forever changed.”

since i had to rewrite some things and i don’t think it will come up later, i’ll just tell you why coco thought she could trust tom in the first place: she takes a business class with him and she thinks the answers he gives during lectures are insightful. she knew tom recognized her from porn, but he never acted like a dick about it, so this was actually a bonus for her. she thought she could use it to her advantage – who wouldn’t want to do a favor for their favorite porn star? lol. she's also noticed him at the sports bar she works at, and he's never caused any problems. he even tends to keep his friends in check when they’re getting too rowdy over a game. overall, she thought he was a pretty decent guy, but unfortunately he ruined that :/

casper has a pill bottle on his desk. you can’t see the label, but it’s xanax. he takes it when he’s actively having a panic attack. that’s pretty much the only thing he’s doing for his mental health at the moment.

[read the post] + answered questions: [was austin’s mom home?] // [suicide tw]

when the scene opens, elaine is rehearsing her apology to austin in the mirror. you could interpret this many ways, but my intention was to show that it doesn’t matter how elaine truly feels about the situation or who was right / wrong, she just wants the fight to be over. in contrast, austin has been giving it deep thought.

truthfully, elaine didn’t want to have a heart-to-heart about her feelings. she’s flattered that austin opened up to her like that, but she doesn’t actually respond to anything he wrote in his letter – she doesn’t talk about marriage or kids or the future, she just kisses him and talks about the immediate future (the dance tomorrow). the interesting thing is that even though austin talking about his feelings is like pulling teeth, he opens up to elaine far more often than she expects him to. he thinks this is what she wants from him, but she’s never actually said that.

okay, so, the gun! it’s the second time we’ve seen it now, the first time being when austin’s grandpa pointed it at elaine’s head in a state of confusion. i wouldn’t blame elaine for being scared of it, even though austin told her it’s fake, but instead elaine has no fear in picking it up and looking at it more closely. she only gets scared when she hears austin coming home. all i can really say in addition is that the gun's placement on the dresser was deliberate, as was the polaroid of austin & elaine being underneath it (in fact, that wasn’t in-game at all, i added it in photoshop).

[read the post] + answered questions: [how many times has jada predicted her mom’s death?] // [sylvia?] // [past/present comparisons]

something i find heartbreaking is that jada has completely warped her memory of her mom due to time, trauma, and guilt. she hardly ever remembers happy memories unrelated to aileen’s death. but instead of feeling any negative emotions for her mom (even if they would be warranted) she directs them all inward. we’ve seen this in her nightmares, where she imagines aileen to be a cruel representation of her own guilt. in this flashback, we see that aileen is concerned, but doesn’t believe that jada’s visions are real, and she even calls her claims “ridiculous” after knowing that at least one of them has come true. jada wanted to lighten her guilt by sharing this knowledge with someone else, but it only made her feel worse when she wasn’t believed. years later, jada still puts none of the blame on her mom and all of the blame on herself.

we have no way of knowing how much aileen really knew. she may have dismissed jada’s claims out loud in an attempt to protect her, while secretly believing her (or at least partially believing her). you can tell that something has shifted in her perception after she hears how the ride operator died, but she tries to use logic to assuage jada’s guilt – and perhaps, her own guilt as well. we know that in death, aileen will repeat “I don’t feel good! Will you take me to the hospital?” – something jada originally said, not aileen. it’s a too-late warning, a constant reminder that she didn’t listen to her daughter and it cost her her life. if jada got her tendency to worry from her dad, she got her guilt from her mom.

[read the post] + answered questions: [who did jada condemn?] // [alisa’s abilities]

i’ve said almost everything i wanted to say about this one, but i do want to expand on why alisa reacted so strongly in this situation. at first, it seems that she’s deeply offended by the insinuation that she would give someone bad advice just to cause chaos. however, it becomes clear that alisa is more offended by jada’s hypocrisy. sure, alisa herself will admit that she does unethical things with her abilities, but jada has killed people with her abilities. except... does alisa actually judge her for this? or does she simply know it will get under jada’s skin? she finishes their conversation by saying “Don’t, for one second, think you’re better than me.” but she doesn’t argue that SHE is the better person. instead, she says, “We’re no different, you and I.”

but i’m not going to tell you how alisa feels, whether she’s being genuine, or if she really does care about jada – i want you to draw your own conclusions :P

[separatist-apologist]

Still A Sunbeam

Summary: As a child, Elain Archeron is pushed into a pond by the heir to the Day Courts throne, Lucien Spell-Cleaver, and vows she'll never forgive him for it. But as an adult, Elain finds that if she wants out of an arranged marriage to a Spring Court prince, she will need Day Court's help. More is at stake than a decades-old rivalry, and when their home is threatened, Elain and Lucien will have to set aside old differences and work together

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Read on AO3

Elain had been home all of a day and was on her way to meet with Lucien when Arina came crashing down a hall. Green eyes found her own, big and wide and filled not quite with fear…maybe mischief. 

“What happened?”

“The Autumn Court,” Arina hissed, looping her arm through Elain’s. “They’ve sent their best emissary for the week to discuss some squabble over sugarcane.”

“What’s wrong with—”

“Eris Vanserra is their best emissary…and also their general…and probably a dozen other roles he’s assigned himself simply to annoy me!” Arina declared. 

“Maybe he is their best emissary,” Elain said charitably. “And maybe he’s here to annoy Lucien.”

“Who’s side are you on, anyway?”

Truthfully, Elain thought the whole thing with Eris and Arina was terribly romantic. Sure, he’d been unkind about it the last time they spoke, but Elain knew Eris wasn’t a heartless monster. He’d saved her life when letting her drown was just as easy. And, had he truly hated his brother, letting her die and pinning the blame on Lucien would have ruined Lucien’s chances of ever becoming High Lord. 

The Spring High Lord and Lady were mates, and terribly in love, besides. Why wouldn’t Arina and Eris be, too? Other than how stubborn Arina was and, given Eris was her mate, Elain assumed he was, too. They just needed a little shove toward the other. 

“Yours, of course,” Elain assured her, smiling sweetly. “You’re too good for Eris.”

Arina narrowed her eyes. “You’re mocking me.”

Elain sighed with exasperation. “I think you’re overreacting a little. If you want to avoid Eris, that’s easy enough to do. That is what you want, isn’t it?” 

The gleam in Arina’s eye told Elain that was not what she wanted. “Is it wrong I just want to know what he’s like. Just once?”

“Why not sleep with his brother?” Elain asked flippantly, surprised by how jealous she felt. It was just, had they slept together? And if they had, why had it ended?

And if they hadn’t, why not?

Why did she care at all? Elain couldn’t put her finger on on it, but the morning in winter when she’d found Lucien shirtless in bed with his hair wild around his face, she’d felt something. A spark, a tug that she hadn’t been able to escape, though she was doing a decent job ignoring Lucien. 

Arina’s bright laughter pulled Elain from the strange tumult of her thoughts. “Sleep with Lucien? No, I think I’d prefer his older brother. That’s funny, though.”

“So you never—”

“Cauldron boil me alive, no,” Arina admitted, whipping her head around to look at Elain. “He’s like a disgusting brother. Why are you asking, anyway? Did something happen in Winter?”

“No,” Elain said hastily, thinking again of that auburn hair spilling over strong, broad, muscular—stop it right now. 

A sly smile spread over Arina’s face. “Are you dreaming of our handsome prince again? No, Luicen, don’t stop—”

“All you have to do is ask,” came the male himself. Lucien rounded the corner, a frown on his handsome, arrogant face. “Though I thought you never would.”

Arina’s own expression dropped into a scowl. She wouldn’t betray Elain, though, which meant she was forced to endure his smug presence while Elain swallowed her own jealousy. While Lucien surveyed Arina, draped in bright red, with slow appreciation, his russet eyes merely flicked to her briefly. It was as if she was beneath his notice or attention. That frustrated her beyond measure, though it shouldn’t. Elain wasn’t supposed to want his attention or to notice anything interesting about him at all.

“I suppose this is why you’re late. Again,” Lucien said dryly, crossing his arms over his mostly bare, muscular chest. 

Touch him, taste him, smell him— something in her gut was rising with interest, pulling her closer. Elain remained utterly rigid, grateful when Arina answered. “Your foul brother has descended on our court—again—and I am taking Elain to the pool.”

Lucien’s expression flattened. “The pool?”

“Yes, Lucien. She can’t work all day, every day—”

“She barely works at all,” he snapped, holding himself just as rigid as she was. Lucien seemed to vibrate with anger, now entirely focused solely on her. Just like she’d wanted, though, maybe not like this. Which was worse, she wondered? Being pinned down by his fury or his desire? Each seemed equally terrifying, like playing with fire. 

“One day won’t matter,” Elain murmured, hating the way he cocked his head like some sort of predator. 

Don’t look at me like that. Don’t look at me at all. I can’t explain to my mother I wrecked an engagement on the prince of Day. 

Lucien wasn’t her savior. He’d take what he wanted and leave, and Elain wanted more from her first time. Though Arina suggested she just get it over with, Elain wanted a little romance. Something that was special, even if it wasn’t forever. That didn’t seem unreasonable to her. No matter how Lucien fascinated her, he wasn’t that kind of male. 

“You want to see Eris that badly?” Lucien asked, his question a taunt. 

Is this the game you want to play? Elain swore golden light flared in those russet eyes, rising to the challenge. “He is rather handsome,” Elain replied, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. Arina didn’t move, didn’t react at all. It was only after Elain said it that she remembered Eris was Arina’s mate.

And Arina was her friend. 

Still, Lucien took the bait. “Oh I bet he is.”

“Glad we agree,” Elain replied lightly.

“What is happening?” Arina whispered, ignored by both of them as they flounced off in opposite directions. Arina chased down Elain who began to feel foolish the further from Lucien she got.

“What was that?”

“I’m sorry,” Elain immediately began babbling. “He just—he’s so irritating and I—”

She swallowed hard. And she what? Elain didn’t know how to explain the effect he was having on her. Elain blinked, feeling so stupid. 

“He’s aggravating,” Arina agreed, her pretty face rich with sympathy. “And stupid. I love the Lady of Day, but surely it can’t be a coincidence all her sons are such idiots. If you want to punish Lucien, I know just the way, though.”

“With a knife?”

Arina chuckled. “How very Spring Court of you. No, not with a knife. Not yet, anyway. There is a party tonight. Let me dress you. Let him watch you walk around, wishing he could have you and knowing he can’t.”

“That’s the last thing Lucien feels for me,” Elain said, embarrassment threatening to choke her. 

Arina laughed again. “Oh, Elain. Trust me. Lucien was burning with jealousy back there. All you have to do is touch another male and he’s likely to combust.”

“You’re wrong. He hates me.”

“Lucien is too stupid to know what he feels,” she disagreed, eyes sparkling. “Trust me, Elain. And come with me, if only to keep Eris away.”

“You think he’d brave a Day Court party just to bother you?” Elain couldn’t imagine tightly wound, iron-spined Eris Vanserra at the same sort of party that saw Lucien ducking beneath someone's skirts. 

“Everyone wants to know if the rumors are true,” she shrugged, leading Elain toward her bedroom. Elain wanted to know that. The last party she’d attended had seemed rather tame—a little drinking, a little dancing. Calanmai put it to shame.

“Are they?”

Arina’s grin was practically feline. “Yes.”

LUCIEN:

Fingers drumming on the arm of the throne he was currently reclined in, Lucien thought this was the most boring evening he’d witnessed yet. No Eris, no Arina—no Elain. He uncrossed his legs only to cross them again. Who fucking cared? Who cared when Larissa was running her hands over Ayla’s stomach and in an hour, no one in the room would be wearing clothes? If Elain was there, she’d turn it into a book club or something equally chaste and polite. Besides, Ajax was there, already bare chested and Lucien didn’t want to watch her fall over herself for him.

Larissa crept closer to the dais Lucien was still sitting on. With his spread legs, he was sure if she positioned herself a little to the left on that gleaming marble floor, she’d see right beneath his clothes. There was nothing worth looking at given how soft and uninterested he was, but maybe her clever mouth would change that.

Or maybe not. Lucien laid his head back against the cool gold, trying to remember what he’d even liked about Larissa. He’d been with her just often enough to know what buttons to push to make her come. He knew what she tasted like, knew what little noises she made when she came but did he know anything else?

Did she know anything else about him? Or was he merely decoration, too? A prince she might marry so she would one day be Lady of Day. Yearning slammed into him, rough and fierce. He wanted what his parents had.

Cauldron damn him, but he wanted it so badly. This was, perhaps, the worst place to have that sort of realization and yet Lucien still stood. He was going to bed, he decided. He’d sleep off his bad mood and try again in the morning.

Fuck, maybe he’d finally let his mom pick out some of the ladies to court. Why not? Maybe knowing they were all still young and had centuries and centuries of time would settle him for another decade. Or, maybe lurking somewhere in his court was his actual mate, and he’d find her and—

Lucien didn’t finish that thought as Elain Archeron strolled into the room. What had Arina done? Lucien couldn’t take his eyes off her, a sunbeam made manifest in the tight, yet flowing gold dress all but painted on her stunning body. Lucien stumbled down a step, and then another, drawn to her hair flowing over her shoulders in loose curls and her pink mouth that seemed to glitter beneath the fae lights overhead.

No part of her was on display and yet somehow, it was still the most obscene thing he’d ever seen. He needed to touch her.

He needed to taste her. 

A hand slammed against his chest, preventing him from taking another step. The finger of his eldest brother pressed beneath his chin, closing the mouth he hadn’t realized was open. “You’re drooling,” Eris said with a relish, those amber eyes dancing with amusement. “It’s unbecoming for a Day Court prince.”

“What would you know about that?” Lucien sneered, forgetting Elain for a moment so he could face off with Eris Vanserrra. Overdressed, like always, in a buttoned up coat that was likely stifling, his black trousers neatly tucked into equally shining boots. Not a drop of sweat on him, which seemed like the real magic, given how hot it was. Even with his fathers magic cooling the palace, Lucien was overheated. 

Eris shrugged. “After listening to mother lamenting what a disappointment her youngest son is, I might be positioned to know more than you think. Are you that spoiled you’d punish Elain Archeron for something that is my fault?” he asked.

Lucien’s stomach dropped. “She said no such thing.”

“Then how do I know you’re tormenting her? And why did mother beg me to talk with you if not because she’s disappointed with how poor a male you’ve turned out to be. Harassing innocent females, brooding, hurting mother—”

Lucien’s fingers curled to fists, and might have connected with Eris’s jaw had his brother not raised his own hand in warning. “I will burn this palace to the ground,” Eris whispered, taking a step toward Lucien. “Hit me. I dare you. Give me a fucking reason to turn this whole city to ash.”

“I’ll bet you’d love that. Kill father and I, drag mother back—”

“What’s going on here?” 

Both Lucien and Eris looked up, breathing heavily, to find Arina wedged between the two of them. “Are you two going to dance?” she asked, looking at them both like they were little more than candy stuck to the sole of her sandal. “Surely you’re not about to fight.”

Eris took a step backwards likely because the mating bond forced him to please her. He still looked murderous, his words ringing in Lucien’s ears. He’d never heard Eris lose control like that, or admit that he hated Day Court. Of course he’d assumed, but smirking Eris had never said anything to confirm that. 

What had mother said to him truly, Lucien wondered? It was easy to get caught up in Eris’s words, which was exactly what his brother wanted. Creep under his skin, tangle him up in knots. Just like he’d always done. Lucien forced himself to take a breath.

“No fighting,” he said, hoping his smile seemed relaxed instead of forced. “Eris was complementing our city—”

“Don’t lie to me,” she snapped, rolling her eyes. For Eris’s part, he was silent, watching Arina like she might erupt at any moment. This was what Eris deserved, Lucien decided. For the rest of his life, no matter what he said, he’d want Arina. And she’d never let him touch her. It seemed a fitting punishment, knowing your mate was smart and beautiful and powerful and being doomed to watching her from afar.

He wished Arina would reject it and get the whole thing over with. He’d have a little celebration in the city, toasting to Eris’s demise. Finally, his eldest brother wasn’t getting something he wanted. 

Lucien only shrugged. “Mind your own business, Arina.”

Eris’s lips curled over his teeth, his eyes flashing with pure, undiluted hatred. Arina didn’t need Eris’s intervention, stepping closer to Lucien. Did she know the look on her face was a match for the male behind her? That they both looked so ready to hit him it was almost funny. 

“Destroying the palace is my business,” she whispered, nearly pressed chest to chest with him. And despite how Lucien still towered over her, taller than the already tall Arina, he felt like dirt again. She had that way about her when she straightened her spine and looked at him with…with disappointment. 

Cauldron boil him a-fucking-live. “Congrats, Arina. You managed it. I can’t wait to see what you do next—”

She hit him. Right across the cheek, a ringing slap that made his teeth ache. He’d taken it too far and for his part, felt immediately guilty.

Behind Arina, Eris stood with his arms crossed over his chest and a smile on his face. Asshole, those amber eyes said. 

“Do you feel better, Lucien?” Arina asked him, shaking out her hand. Unaware of the silent threats her mate was making behind her. 

“Not at all,” he retorted, turning his back to them both. He needed to get out, to leave before he did anything else someone might hate him for. Lucien left them both, weaving through the crowd for the open archways…and Elain Archeron, pinned against a wall by Ajax.

No.

The thought slammed into him unbidden, filling him with a fury he didn’t know what to make of. All he knew was he couldn’t stand this, another insult on top of Eris’s indictment that he was a disappointment and Arina’s slap.

If he was going to bed, so was Elain. And she sure as hell wasn’t going to fuck Ajax, or any other member of his court.

Because you want to fuck her, came a traitorous voice in the back of his mind. 

That only enraged him more. Lucien strode toward them, ignoring Arina in the distance demanding he mind his own business. Maybe she should mind hers and get Eris the fuck out of Rhodes. Every minute she dragged this out was another Eris would be around, harassing them all while he waited for her answer.

This was her fault, then. Arina’s fault when Lucien demanded Ajax move and Arina’s when Lucien hauled Elain over his shoulder, screaming at him to put her to the ground.

And Arina’s when he strolled right out of the ballroom, leaving the noise and music and people behind. 

“What are you doing?!” Elain demanded, her fists beating pathetically at his back. 

“Doing what you should have done the minute Arina offered to paint you like—” Gods, he nearly called her a whore. He didn’t think she’d forgive him if he said that. 

“Like what, Lucien?” she hissed, guessing all the same. 

Well aware he was already fucked, he plowed ahead. “When I dragged your fiancé—”

“We’re not engaged!” she screeched, slapping him hard enough it stung. He hissed, though he didn’t release her. 

“You will be,” he said, unable to admit the thought made him angrier than anything else. Just the thought of spending this year with her—of how unforgivable it was that he liked her the way that he did—only to know she would consent to the marriage and spend the rest of her immortal existence planning tea parties and smiling at that bastard filled Lucien with fury he couldn’t contain. It was seeping out of him in the form of hot, golden light. 

He hadn’t been so close to erupting since he was a boy. 

“No, I won’t,” Elain panted, bracing her palms against his lower back. “That’s why I’m here. And when this is all over, I’m going to vanish into another court—Summer or maybe Night—somewhere they don’t force females to get married.”

“Not here, though?” he demanded, pushing open her bedroom door when he reached it. “We don’t require that.”

“Why would I stay and work for a High Lord who hates me?” Elain demanded as Lucien dumped her on her neatly made bed. The scent of her slammed into his chest, heating his blood and Lucien was so, so fucked. He felt insane, wild and out of his depth. Elain scrambled up on her knees, throwing out a hand like she expected him to grab her again.

Lucien knew if he came any closer he’d do something he’d really have to apologize for. 

“I don’t hate you,” he said truthfully. 

Elain raised her eyebrows, looking around. “This doesn’t feel like the friendship you offered, Lucien.”

A growl slipped when she spoke his name like that. Too intimate, it was too much. He backed away. “I don’t know…” Gods, he didn’t know what was wrong with him. “I’m sorry, I—”

“It’s okay,” she said earnestly, slipping from the bed to come toward him. He watched, staring down his nose at her while forcing the rest of him to remain still. “You don’t know how to be friends after hating me for so long.”

No, that wasn’t it. He didn’t know how to be her friend when standing in her presence was pulling such an extreme reaction. But maybe it was better to let her think the opposite. After all, friends didn’t want to do the things he wanted to do to her. And if Lucien ever got the chance, he had a feeling it would start a conflict in Spring.

“You can stay here,” he said, heart pounding. “When this is all over, I mean. I don’t hate you. Don’t leave on my account, I—”

Fuck. I want to taste you so bad it’s making it hard to think. 

Elain blinked those wide, fawn brown eyes up at him. They seemed bigger, brighter beneath the gold dusted over them. Her mouth, too, was pinker, her cheekbones glittering beneath the light. What the fuck had Arina done to her? 

“Just admit you like me, Lucien.”

“Haven’t I done that already?” he grumbled, fisting his hands at his sides. She was going to scent him if he stayed much longer and their whole talk of friendship would be wrecked over the arousal rolling off him in waves. “Of course I like you. You’re coming to Summer with me, aren’t you?”

My legs are trembling, don’t you see that?

“Then no more outbursts like this?” she asked, too forgiving for her own good. “Maybe next time you should hit Eris.”

“I’d like to,” he admitted.

“Do it. Please,” she added, seeing perhaps how he meant to argue. “Instead of taking your anger out of me, take it out on Eris. It might do you both some good—I don’t think anyone has ever put him in his place.”

“I thought you liked him.”

“I do,” she mused, though her eyes seemed to say, I like you more. And though she didn’t explicitly say those words, just the thought was enough to ease some of the tension in his chest.

“He’s clearly trying to get a rise out of you, Lucien.”

“He wants to know how powerful I am,” Lucien said, the words all coming out in a rush. Eris had been baiting him into exploding for years and tonight he’d nearly succeeded. Lucien took a breath, settling himself enough to stand in front of her without being a threat. “He wants to know if I’ll be a threat to him someday.”

Elain cocked her head, spilling those thick curls over her shoulder. “Did it ever occur to you that maybe Eris is just jealous of you?”

Lucien rubbed at his jaw. “No. Why…why would he be?”

“Why wouldn’t he be?” she asked with a pretty laugh. Elain tried to turn, but Lucien caught her wrist. Not because he wanted to hear more, but because he wanted her to stay right in front of him, close enough he could still smell her. Elain glanced down and Lucien released her, letting her think what she wanted.

She shrugged. “You were raised here with your mother, in a place that clearly adores you and a father who hopes you one day take his place. And Eris, I think, would have liked that, too. I think he would have left with his mother if he’d been given the chance.”

“He loves power,” Lucien disagreed. She shrugged again.

“Maybe that’s the only thing left to love. Now. Get out of my bedroom, Lucien. I want to fix my hair and I don’t need you breathing down my neck.”

“Fine,” he grumbled, stalking for the door. He paused, though, looking back. “You could do better, you know.”

He didn’t stick around to hear a response—didn’t want to see her face as his words registered. If she guessed what he actually meant.

You could have me. 

[attollogame]

OC Kiss Week 1—Forehead

Pariah—Forehead Kiss (No NSFW for this one; 1.2k)

Because who doesn't like metal detecting with a vigilante?

When you woke up this morning, standing in rubber boots in what has to be the most disgusting field you’ve ever seen was definitely not anywhere on your ‘to-do’ list, until Pariah personally penned it so. Even now as mud squelches beneath your soles and you try to smother out the smell of manure from totally ruining your senses, you’re not entirely sure why you were brought here to begin with. 

“You look impressed.” Pariah’s dry remark causes you to glance over your shoulder with the best unimpressed look you can muster, earning you a chuckle in response. “I promise I didn’t just drag you out here to get you close to nature.”

“I didn’t even know Attollo was so… agriculturally inclined.” You pry your boot free from the mud again as the faint call of a cow sounds from somewhere in a neighbouring field. There’s a sloshing as Pariah comes to stand next to you, their hands on their hips and their sunglasses-adorned face (an item you think is really unnecessary for this town) tilted towards the unseen sun. 

“Only in this district. The soils too fucked to grow properly anywhere else—but that isn’t why I dragged you out here.” They twist to point back, and when you turn to look again, you see what appears to be two sets of metal detectors lying on the ground. At some point, Pariah dragged them from the pickup truck they hauled your ass into to where you are now. “There’s a piece of Hypnos technology out here somewhere, and we’ve been recruited to get it. If we do, we get a nice reward.” 

“Are we splitting it fifty-fifty?”

“Ha! More like twenty-five across you, me, Helios, and Deadlock. Hypnos will cover reimbursement to the owner of the land.” 

Your eyebrow raises dubiously at their comment, which they respond too with a grimace, before you huff a sigh and trudge to where the detectors are. It takes a few minutes of fidgeting to get the detector to work, but once you do, you begin the gradual sweep back and forth as you (slowly) move down the length of the field. The only other sounds accompanying you are the cows from yonder, the beeping of Pariah’s machine, and the slosh as you un-stick yourself from the mud. 

It’s… peaceful. Which is saying a lot for a place like Attollo. 

“Do you usually go out doing things like this?” You glance over to where Pariah is a few feet away. They pause in their own sweeping motion to push up their sunglasses as they look towards you. 

“No, not really, unless we need the extra money on the side. The Triumvirate has a relatively decent relationship with Hypnos, though, and they do pay a pretty penny to make up for their fuck-ups, so.” They shrug and pull their sunglasses down again. “Just think of this as a cute date or something.” 

“A cute date? Stomping through manure-ridden fields looking for something a company lost?” You chuckle and begin sweeping again. “Sure, I’ll put this down in my top ten.” 

Truthfully, it was nice to spend some time with Pariah without the pending risk of death hanging over your heads. They’re often busy running after some criminal in the city somewhere, and you’re often busy with matters of your own concern, leaving you both with very little time to actually be in each other's company. 

“I also figured you might appreciate a change of scenery.” You look back towards Pariah again at the sound of their words, and although they aren’t facing towards you, you can tell by the way their shoulders are hunching up that this is an embarrassing admission on their behalf. “At least out here you actually have a chance to breathe, without having to pull out the radiation counters every day.” 

Ah, the radiation counters. You personally haven’t used any of them yet, but you’ve seen Pariah and the others pull them out from time to time. They look like Geiger counters but more compact—every citizen in Attollo is required to carry one, according to Pariah.

You take in the scenery around you once more. The smog is significantly less dense in this area, and the grass that outlines the field you’re in is a rich green colour. You even see wildflowers blooming between the strands—a feat that’s impressive, considering how barely any sun reaches Attollo. Pariah brought you here not just to help get the device for Hypnos, but to spend time with you in a place that you can actually relax in. 

A shrill beeping noise causes you to look away and towards Pariah’s metal detector, which they keep hovering over a certain patch of mud. You set your own detector down to (slowly) approach the spot it’s indicating. When you kneel down to clear out some of the mud, it reveals a metal tube with the familiar eye symbol carved on its side. Pariah moves the detector aside to kneel down beside you, a smile playing on their lips. 

“I didn’t expect to find it so quickly,” they hum, reaching out to pick up the tube. They hold it up at eye level and turn it slowly, allowing the sparse light to reflect on its surface, creating a prism-like effect on the mud below. “I told Helios and Deadlock that we’d be gone for at least a couple of hours, considering how large the field is.”

“I consider this a sign that we’re just a super effective team, and that you should take me out more often.” You offer them a grin as they pocket the Hypnos device. They then give you an expression akin to bemusement before leaning in and pressing a light kiss to your forehead. You close your eyes in surprise at the sensation; the kiss itself only lasts for a few moments, but the feeling of the gesture, along with the emotions of care that it seems to carry, makes you feel warm inside. When you open your eyes again, Pariah is already getting back to their feet. 

“Careful, or I’ll be making you come along every time I go out.” They hoist the detector up over their shoulder before grabbing yours and pausing to look out at the horizon. With their white t-shirt and sweater tied at the waist, they give the impression of a farmer who just laboured for hours in their crops—a thought that causes you to snicker as you rise alongside them. “Well. If we have time to kill, do you wanna tour around these fields a bit longer?” 

Your eyebrow rises with your own amusement as you walk over to stand by their side. You can see a fleck of dirt on their cheek, and without a second thought, you reach out to wipe it away. “And do what? Give a running commentary on which cow I think is the best out of the herd?” 

They roll their eyes at your comment before holding a hand out for you to take. “Come on, then—you can tell me about how every livestock we have in The Green District looks exactly like the ones you have where you’re from.” 

A more genuine smile touches your lips as you take their hand in yours, enjoying the feeling of warmth that it brings, before you both begin trekking back to the truck you arrived in.

[sunlightbabe]

Hi Emily 💕

Congrats on the 1000 followers, you deserve every one of them.

I won't annoy you with my terrible taste in music ... But I love the idea <3

And I'm torn between please make me laugh and break my heart .... So ....

List 1, number 15 and with Thomas. Please and thank you 🥺💕

hi foxy 💛 this is super late but i've always promised to write all the things i have asks for hehe. i hope you enjoy the angst <3

⊱ ────── {⋅. ♪ .⋅} ────── ⊰

It's quieter out here on the back porch. Behind you, back inside the house, you can only faintly hear the ongoing party- the din of people talking, people laughing, music blasting on the speakers, too faint to know what song but loud enough that you can still hear the bass through the glass sliding door separating you from all the noise. The view out here isn't so bad, you suppose. The grass is a little overgrown and it looks like the flower beds could use a watering, but from here you get a decent view of the night sky. The stars are nearly twinkling and there's a story-book-esque wispy cloud drifting in front of the full moon. It's relaxing. You're grateful that you're alone-

But as soon as the thought enters your head, you hear the door slide open behind you and the relative quietness of the moment is ruined as the noises from inside filter out and disturb your peace.

Sitting on the steps of the back porch, you close your eyes and inhale slowly. Maybe it's just someone out here for a quick smoke. Maybe soon you'll be alone again-

"Got a light?"

Who knew three simply words would jolt down your spine like an electric shock, stomach dropping. You would recognize that voice anywhere. You've spent enough nights falling asleep to it's late night ramblings, a familiar warmth pressed along your back, a wandering hand trailing lightly down your side and easing you into sleep.

Ignoring the sudden ache in your chest, you turn to look over your shoulder. Thomas is standing there in the moonlight, his slightly too large shirt slipping a little off one shoulder, his fingers nervously tapping against his thigh where his arm hangs loosely by his side. His back is to the door and so it's hard to see his face, to see what he looks like. Maybe it's better this way.

"No, sorry." You can feel the weight of your lighter in your pocket.

You turn your head and focus back on the yard, on the wilting flowers around the porch, on the scattering of trees and bushes at the end of the yard. A moment passes. You don't hear the door open again.

You do hear the creak of wood as Thomas walks towards you and sits beside you- a respectable distance away, as if you were strangers. As if you didn't know how nasally his voice got when he was sick, as if you didn't know his comfort foods or how engrossed in his work he could get, as if you didn't know he was so laughably bad at directions but it didn't matter because no matter where you went, there was always fun to be had, always an adventure waiting for you, always something new and exciting and-

You stop your rambling brain. There's no point in treading such familiar paths, not when you know what lays at the end.

You sit on the steps. Thomas sits on the steps. No one makes a move until-

Until.

".. how have you been?" he asks, voice a little quiet, a little unsure. As if he maybe shouldn't be asking you this. You wish he wouldn't, truthfully, but just hearing him against makes you shift a little more towards him. There's always been something within you pulling you to him and you fucking hate it.

"I'm alright," you lie. "You?"

A moment of hesitation. You refuse to look at him but from the corner of your eye, you see Thomas slump a little, elbows against his knees. You want to reach out and smooth your hand against his back, maybe scratch a little at the back of his neck and into his hairline just like you know he likes.

Your hands clench in your lap instead.

"I'm... busy," he says with a shallow chuckle. "Feels like I can't catch my breath, you know?"

You do and you don't. You haven't been in his place, but you've traveled alongside him. You remember the jetlag and visiting places you can't actually see before heading off somewhere else. You remember the late nights and early mornings and all the work between them both.

Thomas continues.

"I'm grateful, of course. For the chance to... to live out my dreams. I can't imagine me doing anything else- can you?" he asks with a little scoff. He fiddles with the rings on his fingers and you watch him. "It can just be a lot, at times. It's thrilling and I never want it to end but..."

He trails off. He doesn't finish the thought, but he doesn't have to.

It's stressful. You remember the nights where he couldn't sleep, working too hard, putting himself so fully into the music. The closer the deadline, the more stressed he would get. You remember arguments, harsh little comments thrown at each other- Thomas stressed about the music, you stressed about juggling your own life while juggling his, making sure you went to work on time and called your mother and paid your bills while making sure Thomas ate and got enough sleep and-

In the end, it hadn't felt much like a relationship. You had become a burden to each other and resentment had blossomed between you. Neither of you addressed it, not until it was too late, and you wondered how things would have turned out if you had. If you had taken a moment to talk about your feelings, taken a chance to hear each other out, to listen and grow.

There's a cricket somewhere in the backyard, chirping quietly. The song inside changes and you ca hear the party whoop excitedly at whatever song is now playing.

The silence between you grows.

"I shouldn't be here," Thomas says after a moment. "I should be sleeping. We're flying out first thing tomorrow, so..." He shrugs a little and you fight the urge to shift closer, to rest your head on his shoulder.

Things had fallen apart at the end but looking at him still hurts. Being so close to him makes your chest ache and you remember all the laughter and smiles, all the kisses and touches, all the joy between you two.

You bite the inside of your cheek.

"Just another thing to regret, yeah?" he asks with a sad little laugh.

You bite your cheek harder. What else do you regret? Do you regret letting us end? Do you regret letting me go?

So many things you wish you had said, when you could have said them. But that was months ago and you should know better than to dig up the past.

Thomas looks at you, and you look at him. He's waiting for you to say something, you know it. It almost looks like he's desperate for it, desperate for you to actually talk to him, to hear your voice, for you to open yourself up to him, even if it's just small talk at someone's party.

You look away and stand up, wiping your sweaty palms against your thighs.

"... go home, Thomas," you say, fighting the urge to look at him. "Go home, get some sleep."

He says your name, hardly louder than a whisper, and you can feel his fingers brush against yours. You take a step back, then another, distancing yourself from him.

"Leave. Leave before you have something else to add to your list of regrets."

The noise he makes, small and wounded, follows after you as you head back inside. Even the music blasting from inside isn't enough to drown out the way it echoes in your head.

[sullysticktogether]

Body and Soul pt. 2

 Waking up was no easy task, you had barely gotten any sleep the night before, how could you when you were so excited for what lies ahead? You had almost slept in before realizing that today was the day you could link with your avatar, you had waiting years for this. Quickly, you changed out of your pajamas and threw on some decent clothes, determined that nothing was going to get in your way today. It had been too long of a wait for you to finally get what you trained for, what felt like half your life's work was finally becoming real, obtainable, within a few hours reach. As soon as you were completely freshened up, you were out the door, not totally paying attention as Norm and appeared what seemed instantaneously beside you. 

 “Oh shit, hey guys.” A smile present on your face as the three of you moved down the halls. Norm looked just as refreshed and awake as you while Jake seemed disinterested in everything, though you couldn’t really read past this stoic, poker face. Then again maybe he just wasn’t a morning person. 

 “Morning Y/N!” Norm piped up. “I could barely sleep last night, today’s the day.” He shared your excitement, it was nice to feel like you were the only one in your group that had such pleasant feelings. You notice Jake began to open his mouth on the stop when you were greeted by Grace and Max, with a hint of a smile Grace greeted you.

 “Good morning you three, the avatars are decanted and almost done being prepped for the initial link.” Max had stated, guiding the group through the link room. 

 “So Y/N, how much link time have you logged?” Grace asked, leading you to the pod’s. 

“Around 600 hours.” You answered, “I’ve been really eager for this.” You told her truthfully with an airy chuckle as she mimicked you with a soft smirk. 

 “That’s great, Norm?”

 “About 520 hours.” She nodded in approval, approaching the pods. You could almost die in this moment, you thought, finally all those years and it was literally 3 feet away from you.

 “Norm, you’re in this one, Y/N, you’re in here, and uh, Jake, you in here.” She guided Jake over, you hearing her ask about his link training before your attention was grabbed away by a resident, pressing buttons on the control panel, ready to set you up for your link. You happily sat down in the open pod, swiveling your body to lay in the molded form with your arms by your side.

 “Don’t be nervous, I remember I was for my first time.” The resident offered a sweet smile as she finished with the controls, her hands going to your body to adjust you quickly, making sure nothing was in the way as she closed the metal cage. “Alright, so just fully relax and let your mind go blank, think of it as just trying to take a nap.” She nodded one last time before fully closing the pod. Taking one last deep breath in, you closed your eyes, feeling what could only be described as a call to sleep. 

 Bright lights and echoing were the first things you noticed when you woke up. 

 “She’s in.” A nurse quickly snapped next to your ears, causing you to stir awake even more. You were then met with a flashlight shining into your eyes. “Can you hear me Y/N?”

 “Oh my god.” You finally spoke, you smiled the biggest smile you could as you looked at the two doctors in front of you. They had both offered you a laugh as the greeted you to your new body. 

 “Alright, we’re going to take this nice and slow while you get used to your body, so if you could start by wiggling your toes that’d be great” The next few minutes went by in a flash, you had excelled in their test, allowing you to sit up while they continued with the basics. You heard Norm in the bed next to you running through the same tests, your concentration broken by Jake, he had finally linked and was already starting trouble. He was fully standing and knocking things over with his tail, obviously not used to his avatar. 

 “Come on man, they’re gonna put you out.” Norm warned, looking quickly over at you for a response as you shrugged. 

“This is dangerous-” 

 “This is great.” Jake laughed and with that he was out of the room, stumbling over his legs as he quickly walked down the halls. 

This dumbass, You thought with a sigh before standing up and taking your leads off. “It’s fine, I’ll get him.” Much to the protest of the doctors and Norm, you did your best to sprint after him, Norm not far behind, warning the two of you that you weren’t supposed to be running. Why you chased after him, you will never know. 

 “Jake, c’mon man, we aren’t ready for this yet!” You called after him, damn was he hard to keep up with. You could only watch as he almost ran into like three people, you nearly doing the same. You were grateful for a break, noticing he had stopped, his toes digging in the dirt. It hit you, he was walking, running, running, you hadn’t spoken much to Jake yet but you understood a little bit now. How he must feel to finally be able to walk again, how great it must feel to run. Slowing down, you approached him. “Damn, you’re going to give me a heart attack.” You joked, a soft chuckle coming from him as well. 

 “Hey marine!” A voice called over to him, making your eyes snap up to the blue figure approaching the two of you. It took a second before the both realized. 

 “Grace?” Jake questioned with a laugh. Damn, she’s hot, Your eyes widened at her with a disbelieving grin. 

 “Well, who’d you expect numbnuts?” She seemed happier in this state, you thought as you watched her grab a native fruit tossing it to him. “Think fast.” You watched as he bit into the fruit, causing him to let out a groan of approval, turning to offer you a bite. You eagerly took it from him, sinking your teeth into the juice exploding into your mouth. 

 “Goddamn that’s good,” Your eyes widened, handing the bitten fruit back to him as you turned to look at Grace again, grinning almost obnoxiously at the pair as Norm had skidded up to the three of you. 

 “Check it out!” He stroke a pose, “I am a living god.” The three of you let out a laugh together before Grace fully walked up to you. 

 “Alright kiddies, let’s get you into some real clothes and go over some rules.” She was already acting like a mother, but one you were happy to be under the guidance of. 

 After you three were given proper clothes and a stern talking to, you were left to your own devices until nightfall. You had already been laying in your cot as Grace did her final check through, noticing Jake playing with his queue, she made a comment before locking up. You did your best to fall asleep, though it was hard with all the excitement you experienced. With one last sigh, you closed your eyes only to open them and see the inside of the pod. You quickly got out, taking a minute before fully standing up, noticing that Jake and Norm were already out as well. 

 “You wanna catch some dinner together?” You asked as you walked up to them, hands twiddling together behind your back. 

 “Yeah, I’ll come with you.” Jake had accepted your offer, wheeling himself closer to you as Norm decided that he wanted to look around at the things the lab had to offer. You and Jake had walked side by side to the cafeteria, making small talk as you had gotten in the line. 

 “Oh here, I can hold your tray for you if it’ll be easier.” You had given him a kind smile while he just kind of brushed you off.

 “Nah, I got this. Thanks though.” The tension felt so awkward, you honestly didn’t really know what to say, though you had always felt like that. You were very introverted, never really having friends or going out a lot. One of the reasons you had looked up to Grace is because you could really see yourself in her. Like her, you preferred plants to people, you would much rather be in your room studying or listening to music than being surrounded by crowds of people, judging you for even the smallest mishap. Thankfully though, Jake had made an attempt of an ice breaker. “So, why Pandora? What made you wanna come all the way out here?” He had seemed genuinely curious, which you guessed was nice since most guys with his vibe didn’t seem the type to be even mildly interested. 

 “Oh well you know, fresh start, new world. Figured I couldn’t really mess anything up back home if I was all the way out here. Plus seeing actual plants is nice.” You fumbled over your words, not really sure what to say as you had taken your seat at one of the less crowded tables. He hummed in response, already picking through the rice with his fork. “You? Why would you want to come all the way out here? You don’t seem interested in anything the science program has to offer.” It was your turn to question him and his intentions.

 “Ah, I could use the money, especially in this economy. And it beats bar diving and sitting at home all day.” You let a small laugh out, obviously a marine is gonna be a marine. 

 “I guess that’s true.” The two of you finished your meals with little conversation, both not truly knowing what to say to one another. Pushing yourself away from the table, you stood up with your plate. “It was nice having someone to eat with, see you tomorrow?” You gave him one last look before you made your way to leave, seeing him nod his head. 

 Today was your first real day out with your avatar, you were going out on a field trip with Grace and Norm, Jake was coming along too but not as a scientist but more so for protection. You had already linked and were ready to go as you approached Grace and Norm early that morning, getting some extra gear that you might need as well as some more food into your avatar’s bodies. The flight out was thrilling as you hadn’t seen all the flora and fauna that Pandora had to offer as well as seeing just some of its wildlife. You had been next to the door, strapped in at the waist, Norm stuck in the middle of you and Grace as you peered behind Jake’s figure, taking all of it in as Jake let out a few whoops next to you.  

 “It’s so beautiful out there, oh my god.” You were almost in disbelief that this was your life for the next 6 years, you get to see this almost everyday. Trudy had began landing the Scorpion, allowing the three of you in the middle to unstrap yourselves and start collecting your things. Jake had jumped out of the ship, pointing his gun towards the sky as he scanned the area. God as much as you respected him, his gun maneuvering did scare you. Grace had Wainfleet stay with the ship as the group of your avatars started off on your adventure. Walking through the forest of Pandora really had lit up your entire morning, you were so lost in taking it all in. The only thing snapping you out of it was Grace’s voice saying that you had gotten to your destination. Kneeling down to the root, you had taken out the supplies that were required. After Grace had gotten the needle ready, she made sure both you and Norm were looking at the screen, reading to take the scans. 

 “And here I go.” She stated as she put the needle in the root to which Norm confirmed that it was scanning. 

 “Woah! It’s that fast?” Both you and Norm were obviously impressed with the speed of the scan, Grace laughing at your faces. 

 “Amazing, isn’t it? So, that is signal transduction from this root to the root of the tree next to it. So, we should take a sample.” You had already been digging in your pack, looking for the sample plate, not noticing Jake had begun to wonder off. 

 “You know, it’s probably electrical based on the speed of the reaction.” Norm’s mouth had the sample in it, causing yet another laugh to come from you as Grace began to chastise him for contaminating the sample with his salvia. 

 “Here, have mine.” You handed your sample plate over to him, looking up to see blue and khaki slowly walk away from the group. “Do you mind if I take a minute? It won’t be long.” You had asked Grace, almost pleading as you stood up. She nodded as she paid close attention to Norm, making sure he didn’t screw this sample up. 

 You had moved past the duo, quickly walking to where you had last seen Jake, watching him as he came across a small heliocoradian field. Seeing him, press his thumb to one and watching it shrink down, you let out a chuckle. 

 “I believe that’s a defense mechanism.” Jake had spun on his feet, surprised to see you as you walked up to the plant, touching your own hand to it as it shrunk down, another laugh coming out between the two of you. He reached out touching another one, though this one caused a chain reaction as the rest of the plant also came down, revealing a large animal that had let out a trumpeting sound. You felt your ears move down in fear, tail swinging anxiously at the unwanted surprise. Jake immediately cocking his gun and aiming it at the beast, though this had no impact as it started to stomp its feet, gearing up to charge while it let out around sound. 

 Grace and Norm quickly appeared, though they both hid behind the treeline, carefully observing. 

 “Don’t shoot. Don’t shoot, you’ll piss him off.” She warned, very sternly through the coms. You felt frozen, like you couldn’t move. This damn fight or flight response you had was very useless when it really came down to it. The almost elephant-like creature began to smash its hammerhead in between two trees as Jake had tried to signal for you to move behind him, though you still felt frozen, legs shaking in paralyzing fear. 

 “It’s already pissed off.” Jake had been careful not to take his eyes off of it for more than a second as he kept a careful hand on his gun. 

 “Jake, that armor is too thick. Trust me.” Grace felt so close yet so far away from you. Why did I have to follow him? You thought, trying to will yourself to follow Grace’s instructions as you so desperately wanted to gain control over your feet. Jake had pulled his gun back, signaling to Grace that he understood not to shoot, though it still didn’t appease the giant as it slammed against more trees. “It’s a territorial threat display. Do not run or he’ll charge.” She explained. So much for getting the feelings back in your shaky legs. 

 “What do you want me to do then? Dance with it?” Jake questioned, his eyes quickly scanning over to Grace and then you. God, you were so scared. This was not how you wanted to die. 

 “Just hold your ground.” Grace replied calmly, you didn’t see how she could remain so calm at a time like this. You felt yourself able to look into her and Norm’s direction very quickly, a silent plea for whatever help they could give you. The bull began to charge, immediately making your head snap to it as Jake ran towards it screaming right back. He laughed nervously, unsure of what to do as it stopped, flaring its feathers. 

 “Yeah, cmon! What you got? Oh, yeah. Who’s nad? That’s right.” Jake had raised his voice, defending his ‘territory’, you too were in disbelief that it had worked, finally finding strength in your legs to move further away from the animal and behind Jake, after all he did have a gun. “Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about, bitch.” He stated confidently, his hand grabbing out for yours as he escorted you fully behind him, an act you were almost, almost grateful for until you noticed it. Another wave of fear and panic washed over you, your hand grabbing the back of Jake’s shirt, though he had yet noticed it. “Get your punk ass back to mommy.” 

 “Jake.” You tried to get his attention but it didn’t matter anyway, a thanator quickly taking the bulls place with a jump and a roar. His gun immediately went back in place, aiming at another giant creature for the second time within mere minutes.  

 “So what about this one? Run? Don’t run? What?” His voice was not nearly as confident as before as Grace yelled for the two of you to run. With that said, you were glad your feet got into gear as Jake pulled you forward, pushing you to run ahead of him, though it didn’t matter as he was faster than you anyway. You weren’t trained for this kind of terrain so you were very grateful that he had done his best to keep you in front of him as the two of you ran through the foliage. The thanator kept trying to sneak bites at you, miraculously you were just out of reach each time. Your lungs felt like they were on fire as you ran, sliding under the roots of a tree as the thanator snapped at you, Jake’s gun shooting at it through the openings while it screeched. You tried to catch your breath while you could but you knew you were going to have to move soon since it kept breaking the roots and actually had discarded Jake’s gun. Feeling him push your upper legs, you quickly dug out of the roots, trying your best to sprint and jump over the terrain.  You only looked back once, noticing Jake wasn’t behind you but in the air as the alien slung him around by his pack. 

 “Jake!” You screamed, watching as he was able to slide it off though it caught his hand flinging him further from you. He made use of the time to run towards you as it was distracted by chewing up the contents in his backpack, only to hiss when it realized it hadn’t caught you. He had caught up to you, continuing the dash forward, the thanator hot on your trail. You had run up to the waterfall, realizing your only chance of surviving was the jump, you said a small prayer in your mind as you and Jake had made the jump, you doing your best to hold your breath and you fell. You did your best to brace for impact, eyes shut tightly as you felt the water rush up to your ears and cover your face. Quickly swimming to the top of the fast river, you bobbed your head looking for Jake as he called out for you, holding onto a tree branch. 

 “You alright?” He was out of breath, pulling you towards him and up to the solid ground. His grip keeping you from falling back into the water. 

 “Yeah, I-I think I’m good.” You replied shakily, hands on your knees once you were stable. Hunched over, trying to catch your breath. “I think you’re bleeding though.” 

 This was not how you wanted to die.

[highwaytothedangerzone502]

Foxtrot Alpha Alpha - Chapter 24

Pairing: Hangman x Female OC

Word Count: 2169

Warnings: Death

Summary: Hangman learned his lesson a long time ago to never show his true feelings when someone's words or actions hurt him. To do so showed weakness that could be exploited, and Seresin men couldn't show weakness. Of course, there was an exception to every rule, and Jake's always came in the form of women, three in particular: his mom, Juliette Kazansky, and the girl whose name he could no longer bring himself to speak. She was the girl that got away; she was his biggest 'what if' and his biggest regret; she would forever be the ghost that haunted his dreams. Jake believed that's where she'd stay, for he would surely never see her again after what he did.

Or so he thought.

Notes: This is the sequel to India Lima Yankee; I'm using the same callsign for the Female OC as in Ghost Story because I just really like it, but they are different characters; chapters in italics are flashbacks.

Chapter Songs: If You Go Down Muscle Memory Valentine

****

Hangman

Tossing his keys onto his counter, the only thing to greet Hangman was the ever-present silence of his little condo. He could change that whenever he wanted; Hangman could have a woman to return home to if he decided to settle down, but the only women he'd ever truly been interested in, in that manner, never returned the sentiment. One deeply loved another man, and the other had only just now decided to allow him to work on mending the friendship he'd broken. Besides, even if Hangman did want to settle down, Seresin men had a shitty track record with long-term relationships. The only one who seemed to have a solid marriage was Matt; but looking at Michael Seresin's miserable relationship with his wife, Nick's inability to maintain a long-term relationship, the divorce between his grandparents on his dad's side, the brutal divorce his dad's brother went through, Hangman figured he would end up like them. He had a tendency to hurt those he loved, intentionally or not.

Returning home from the Hard Deck after a long day of dogfight football and hanging out at the bar afterward with the Daggers, Ghost, and Wolfie's bachelor party gang, Hangman found himself wishing he had someone to return to, someone that he could turn to no matter what. He used to have that in Ghost, but he'd lost it due to his stupidity, and she had Wolfie now. Hangman hadn't been able to place his dislike of Leo Wolfe initially, but by the end of the day, it was clear: Wolfie had the relationship with Ghost that Hangman used to have with her. That Hangman wanted to have again. 

Jake's heart constricted every time she and Wolfie interacted: when he put his arm around Ghost's shoulders, when they lingered a little too long after one tackled the other, or when she continuously glanced at him when she sang 'If You Go Down' by Kelsea Ballerini as a duet with Juliette and received a standing ovation for it.

Hangman pretended it didn't bother him, plastering on his confident smile and choosing to direct his attention to any woman who paid attention to him, which happened to be every single one he passed. Only a handful received an actual conversation, but Hangman discovered most couldn't hold a decent one. He'd then return to Coyote, notice Ghost and Wolfie, try again with another woman, and end up in a viciously repeating cycle. 

This is how the next few nights went, only ending when Wolfie left. Jake thought it'd be better after that, and for a couple of weeks, it was, but then Wolfie visited again.

And again.

And again.

Hangman tried to avoid being around him and Ghost whenever possible, which is how he ended up at home before 10 p.m. on a Friday. He'd left with an inebriated girl, probably giving the Daggers an idea of why he was going, but truthfully, he dropped the girl off at a friend's house, ensured she would be well taken care of, and then headed home. Hangman showered and slipped into some grey sweatpants, then collapsed on his bed to scroll through Instagram. He only followed a handful of accounts: each of the Daggers, Juliette, the Texas Longhorns, the US Navy, the Blue Angels, George Strait, a few music artists, and Ghost. That meant his feed was usually pretty short. Naturally, the first post that popped up was a selfie of Ghost and Wolfie at the Hard Deck. The caption simply read: Seen you more in the past two months than I have in the past ten years, but I'm not complaining.

Still, Ghost rarely posted, so if she posted a picture of her and Wolfie, it meant something. Hangman made a grunt of dislike and switched over to his reels, scrolling mindlessly through. Fighter jets, football, and guitar covers occupied most of his feed. He only followed one cover artist: a girl with the voice of an angel and the guitar skills to match. He had no idea what she looked like; she blurred the entire video and even sat in a way that only her blurry torso and legs showed. Her face remained a mystery. Hangman smiled at the song choice: Muscle Memory by Kelsea Ballerini. It made him automatically think of Ghost: one, for the fact they had fallen back into so many old routines being around each other again after forming the truce and, two, because she herself had recently sung a Kelsea Ballerini song. A small part of him wondered if the account might belong to Ghost, but she had always declared herself too shy to post anything, no matter the steps to anonymize herself. 

Hangman scrolled through Instagram until he could no longer keep his eyes open. With nothing to do the next day, he chose not to set an alarm and planned to sleep in. Someone else had other plans. He woke up to his phone ringing loudly next to his ear. Grunting in annoyance, he glanced at the screen, fully intending to ignore whoever was on the other line unless it was Ghost or Juliette. However, while neither girl's name showed up, a familiar one did, and since they rarely called him anymore, he knew he needed to answer.

"Hi, Mrs. Blackwood. Is everything okay?" Hangman said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"Hi, honey; did I wake you?" Charlie Blackwood's trembling voice took him aback enough that he felt compelled to lie to her for the first time in his life.

"No, ma'am," he responded, mustering up as much alertness as he could to sound like he'd actually been awake at 6:37 a.m. on a Saturday. "You sound upset. Is everything okay?"

"No, no, I'm sorry to have called you, but you're the only other friend whose number I have who lives near Ghost-"

"Is she okay?" Hangman asked, tensing.

"Yes and no. I just called her to break the news that, uh, her dad-" Charlie's voice hitched- "her dad just passed."

Hangman's heart sank. "I'm-I'm so sorry, Mrs. Blackwood. What can I do to help?"

Charlie sniffled on the other end. "Thank you, honey. I hate to ask this of you because I know you and Ghost have just started making amends, but I'd feel better if someone was with her right now, and you and Juliette are the only ones whose numbers I have, and Juliette's pregnancy complications-"

"I'll head over to Ghost's now," Hangman assured, standing up and grabbing a shirt and pair of jeans. Whatever else I can do, please let me know."

"Checking on Ghost is all I need. Thank you, Jake. I realize this is asking a lot of you after what happened between you two-"

"It's never too much when it comes to y'all. I'll talk to you soon, Mrs. Blackwood."

"Thank you, Jake. And please, no matter what's happened, it's always Charlie to you," she replied kindly. Bidding her goodbye, Hangman threw on his clean clothes and hurried out the door, driving uncharacteristically fast for him. He arrived at Ghost's doorstep in less than ten minutes and lifted his hand to knock. His hand hovered mid-air as he wondered if he should've called Rooster and Juliette for this. Sure, the latter was pregnant, but Ghost would surely rather see her or Rooster than Hangman.

No, I'm already here, and I made a promise to Charlie. Here goes nothing. Hangman knocked hesitantly on the door. Shuffling could be heard from inside, and he waited patiently for Ghost to answer. When she did, Hangman could see the surprise flicker in her bloodshot eyes. Before she could speak, he simply said, "I heard about your dad. I came to check on you."

Ghost broke down, and Hangman instinctively moved forward to embrace her. She returned it willingly, clinging to him as if his presence was the only thing tethering her to reality. 

Hangman whispered gentle apologies, unwilling to let Ghost go until she was ready. She seemed perfectly content in his arms though as quiet sobs wracked her body. When she did finally pull away, she croaked out, "Thank you for checking on me."

"Of course. Do you want me to stay with you for a bit?"

Ghost nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that."

She moved aside and allowed him entry. Her residence, unsurprisingly, was in perfect shape. Only the kitchen had the slightest mess, with some unwashed dishes stacked in the sink. The place itself smelled of lavender and vanilla, and her guitar collection adorned the wall above her couch in the living room. Hangman zeroed in on one in particular- a blue guitar he recognized all too well. Now was not the time to bring it up, but he needed to ask her at some point because he couldn't fathom why she still had it, the guitar he'd given her for Christmas all those years ago. She'd cut him out of her life completely; why would she have hung onto something so sentimental?

Hangman followed Ghost to her bedroom, where an empty suitcase sat on the ottoman at the foot of her bed. He stood awkwardly next to it, unsure of what to do, while Ghost shuffled to her closet.

"Can I do anything to help?" Hangman queried, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"No, no, just being here is nice," Ghost answered, returning to her suitcase with an armful of clothes. "I have so much to do and no idea where to start. I need to pack, I need to book a flight down to Texas as soon as possible, I need to tell Juliette that I need to cancel our dinner plans this week, I need-"

"Why don't I book your flights while you pack? I can call Juliette too and let her know if you're not up to it."

"I don't want to make you do things. You came here to comfort me, not-" Ghost motioned at her suitcase- "help me be an adult."

"You lost your dad, Annie. It's okay to ask for help when you're struggling. You shouldn't carry the burden of grief alone. Let me help."

Ghost hesitated, fiddling with her clothes. Then, she nodded. "Let me log into my airline account, and I'll let you book the flights. I don't care about the times for them. Whatever's quickest and cheapest. My credit card information should all be saved in there, but if you need the number for whatever reason, let me know."

"You got it." Hangman watched her pull out her laptop and log in. She pushed it toward him afterward and went back to her closet. He sat down and started scrolling through flights. There were quite a few to the Dallas/Fort Worth area, but they were expensive being at the last minute. As he scanned them, looking for the best deal, an idea formed in his head. Not giving himself a chance to chicken out, he said, "Why don't I fly down with you?"

Ghost, who stood at her suitcase packing, snapped her head up, shock evident in her hazel eyes. "What?"

"Why don't I fly down with you?" Hangman repeated, suddenly feeling foolish for making such a request when they'd only started mending their friendship a couple of months before. "You were there for me when my mom passed. I would like to be there for you. If you'll allow me to..."

"I can't- that's too much to ask-"

"It's not asking if I'm offering."

"Y-you'd really do that for me?"

"Without hesitation," he confirmed. 

Tears filled her eyes, but Ghost hastily blinked them away. "Then yes. I'd like that. Seeing you would probably brighten up my mom's day, too. It'll be a nice surprise for her during all this."

"Then I'll book a ticket, too." Hangman returned his attention to the screen and continued searching for flights. It took some digging, but he found a decent time with a decent price. Without saying a word, Jake selected two tickets, discreetly removed her credit card information, entered his instead, and bought both. He wanted to alleviate as many burdens of hers as possible, and he had plenty of money saved up to afford this, so he took the opportunity. If she noticed her card never got charged for the flight, he'd tell her. If not, no harm done. Hangman wasn't looking for recognition. He only wanted to help Ghost in whatever way he could.

"All right, I booked us flights that leave at noon, and we'll get into Dallas around three. When you're done packing, we can head to my place, I'll pack my things, and then we can head directly to the airport. That sound like a plan?"

"Yes. Thank you, Jake. You have no idea how much I appreciate you doing this. It means more than I can say."

"No matter what's happened between us, I have your back."

Ghost smiled gratefully at him, a hint of joy and hope in her eyes. "Forever?"

Hangman nodded. "And always."

****

Tags: @lgg5989 @shanimallina87 @polikszena @summ3rlotus @icemansgirl1999 @supernaturaldawning @thedarkinmansfield @lyannaforpresident @lapilark @getmyprettynameoutofyourmouth @simpofthecentury @shadeops21 @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy @double-j @bradshawsandbridgetons @catsandgeekyandnerd @peachiicherries @multifandomcnova @fandomsstolemylife00 @bookloverhorses @mak-32 @midnightmagpiemama @luckyladycreator2 @ellamae021 @kmc1989

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[animehouse-moe]

Yet Another JP Art Book Haul

Yes, I've got quite a bit again. But hey, these purchases have been spread out across a month-ish and weren't that expensive (all things considered). So I'll break it down.

Return To Avalon Fate Art Works

Originally, I wasn't planning on buying this art book. It was an additional piece of another auction I was bidding on for all the Heaven's Feel production materials, but the auction ended up skyrocketing to around 400 dollars which I really wasn't looking to cough up for some art books. Instead, after the auction ended I found this art book by itself for around $25 which is a pretty decent steal when you consider it's a whopping 12 inches high and 8.6 inches wide.

It's just full of full color artwork and illustrations from all over the place, and it has a full timeline of the art works featured in the book at the end. It's a super cool look at the history of Fate (and Type-Moon) that I'd definitely recommend to fans of the series. Just don't get suckered into the eBay listings that can cost well over double and even into triple of that $25 price tag.

(Side Note: The art book is available in English, though at the very steep price tag of about 73CAD)

Heaven's Feel: Presage Flower and Lost Butterfly Key Animations

Let me just say, Spring Song Key Animations is a pain to get. Nobody sells it, and those that do charge an arm and a leg. Despite that I'd still love to own it one day (alongside all the materials for Heaven's Feel). Regardless of wants and desires though, these books are pretty, very pretty. Getting to see under the hood of Ufotable's stunning work is just amazing. Also, a quick side note (and one I really should have taken pictures of), all the pages have an outline in the color of their cover so the edges of the pages appear the same as the cover. Also, the covers get lighter with each volume. They're very well thought out and beautiful books.

(Image borrowed from this incredible blog-meets-archive site for art books)

Record of Lodoss War Anime Guide & Art Books

It's still crazy to me just how old these books are. The OVA for Lodoss came out in 1990. Now I don't think I'm that young, but it came out before I was born. And here I have these books that look like they haven't aged a day, it's crazy.

Now truthfully, there's not a huge amount of real art to these books. They're very much guide books before they're art books, but what it does include in terms of explicit art is incredibly interesting and appealing.

Dagashi Kashi Key Animation

I am a big Kotoyama fan, I love both of their works and really hope that the Dagashi Kashi manga can make it here. So of course I'd jump on a Dagashi Kashi art book. It was interesting though, it's incredibly difficult to find listings for this art book anywhere on the internet. Just one of those items that hardly seems to exist, but it wasn't even that expensive. I was at the mercy of a single seller, but I got this for around $55 which isn't the end of the world.

It really is cool though, it reignites hope in me for LidenFilms to drop an art book for Call of The Night. But until then I'll happily enjoy my Dagashi Kashi art book. (Also, cool enough they include both the OP and ED in this art book, and it reads left to right. Weird, right?)

Now for the big guns

Bakemonogatari Production Note & Key Animation Note Vol. 1

This was a bit of a shock, to say the least. The Bakemonogatari Key Animation Notes typically go for around $100, so getting it and the Production Note for half of that was wild. Of course, I'm fighting an uphill battle with the latter volumes of the Key Animation Note almost exclusively going for that $100+ price tag.

Anyways, really impressive work as expected, and one of my favorite approaches for a Key Animation collection as it adds a small screenshot of the finished product at the bottom corner of each page. Also, the sheer volume of these production notes is wild. There's 3 whole books in the first one with over 1100 pages total. Crazy stuff.

(First image is Production Note, Second is Key Animation)

The Garden of Sinners Storyboard Collection

This was a big find. I'm a massive sucker for storyboard collections (have even more bought/ordered), so finding the 7 volume run for Garden of Sinners is awesome. For first time buyers though, it might seem a little odd. The books are oddly small. Like a regular JP manga volume kind of small, in contrast to the massive scale of various art books.

Regardless of size though, these things are really amazing to see the differences between the staff of each movie. How they approach the essence of storyboards and how direction is reflected in it, and plenty of other things. It's just so incredibly fascinating to me.

[thewizardmus]

PLEASE TELL ME MORE ABOUT YOUR MORGAN FIRE EMBLEM AND LILITH FIRE EMBLEM SHIP

You know how to butter me up my friend

So first things first the in-universe ship often is either Grimaspawn!Morgan(no mother involved) or Tiki!Morgan for Dragon Reasons but absolutely works without Morgan being a dragon(when in doubt make Morgan related to one of the Awakening Trio, never fails)

There's a lot of Fire Emblem Dragon headcanons involved too this is very much a "there wasn't enough Canon here so I made the rest myself" thing going on. Sue me I'm ace I like dragons.

One of my favorite dynamics with them is Morgan practically watching her own past through Lilith and trying to make it as easy on our beloved fish-sister as possible, even if it means a little bit of either tough love or making Morgan look like a monster(because she is rawr)

Lilith: I don't deserve Corrin, after all I'm the reason our father is dead

Morgan: What would have happened if you said no at any point prior to meeting Corrin? If you had hypothetically learned your lesson before killing him? I'll tell you. You would have been killed because *he* never cared about you, you were a weapon to be used until you were useless or a threat. Then you'd be desposed of, tossed aside and he would have made a second, worse, Lilith.

Honestly from the first conversation with Lilith I think Morgan was ride or die for her, but I think falling in love happens much later and more importantly, without her realizing. She'll teasingly flirt because Lilith is cute when she's embarrassed but it's not like she has a crush... unless? Truthfully she didn't realize she was in Love Love until she was already cuddling whenever they happen to sit next to each

As for Lilith she's still punishing herself for killing Anankos Soul so I think that she would realize she loves Morgan much faster and immediately try and reject it cuz she's not allowed to be happy(she said like a liar). It takes a while before she realizes she doesn't need to make herself miserable in order to atone for something that no one blames her for.

As for how they actually show their affections:

Morgan is extremely affectionate, she loves to just be right next to Lilith, cuddling while reading, she's the smallest big spoon known to man, and LIVES for scratching. She also infodumps. A lot. Her ideal date in a Modern AU would be watching anime at home, lazy day with bae.

Lilith's Love Language is absolutely service. There's nothing that quite makes her happier than seeing something she did make someone she cares about life better. Her ideal date is going out and doing something, from an aquarium to a hiking trail to a sports game, just something out and about.

Of course you really can't have a cross game ship without talking about how they'd interact with each other's friends and loved ones.

Lilith + Awakening characters

Lucina- listen Lucina is either Morgan's (former?)nemesis or best friend and there's no in-between and either way Lucina has threatened Lilith. Once that's out of the way they get along decently, Lilith stays on the other side of her from Falchion though.

Noire- Noire and Lilith are besties and Lilith might be more willing to kill for her than for Corrin. Their friendship started just trading recipes because Nohrian and Plegian cuisine are so different and expanded from there.

Nah- the two of them get along great, Nah is the newest member of the Norther Fortress Book Club and that's an exclusive club. Also Nah is free to run around guilt free in the Astral Plane when she gets the Dragon Zoomies.

Yarne- Lilith is half shark half koi and she smells blood in the water with this poor boy. He's safe from Morgan's pulling but can never escape the most accurate and effective teasing known to man.

Gerome- Gerome would have tolerated anyone Morgan brought home, she's one of the few that he interacts with willingly. However once Minerva got her talons on Lilith, Gerome knew she was a keeper. The two of them get along like peanut butter and jelly and will rip INTO anyone who disrespects wyverns. Don't get them started on the alpha theory.

Cynthia- Canon didn't put Cynthia in fates because they knew they'd be too powerful of best friends. The perfect support for the brightest hero around who also knows to keep her grounded. Honestly a second crack ship I just haven't thought of plots for it.

Inigo- I know they're already friends but let's be honest Lilith has nothing in Fates so I have to set up something. Inigo has never intentionally flirted with Lilith and is a open shoulder at any point in time. Lilith has just pulled him away from Xander and dared him to do anything about it. He's also one of the most ardent supporters of Corrin's music and Lilith often helps in writing lyrics, but never singing you couldn't possibly get her onsta- hey how'd that crowd get there.

Owain- first harmed by Lilith and first to forgive Owain Emmet Darache is a heartfelt protector of the beaten and broken and maybe Lilith's first crush(not that she'd ever admit it). Owain's storytelling never gets old and several nights in the Fortress were spent listening to him talk about the tales behind the constellations both in Nohr and back home.

Severa: Severa took one look at Lilith and said "is anybody going to get her out of her comfort zone so she can grow" and then didn't wait for an answer. Severa is the one who told Corrin Lilith was related to them because Lilith was clearly never gonna. Severa very much took Lilith under her wing and made it everyone else problem.

Robin- Listen I think most of Robin and Lilith's first interaction was Lilith crying because Robin has perfected the "comforting a traumatized teenager who doesn't realize it" routine at this point. Their second interaction was Lilith yelling at him for being the cause of most of Morgan's bad habits.

Morgan + Fates characters

Corrin- Morgan LIKES Corrin, and is honestly one of the most consistently reliable parts of Corrin's very inconsistent and confusing life. The two are kinda close knit like that, Corrin provides the ultimate source of entertainment and enrichment for Morgan's enclosure and Morgan is, while not a mentor figure, absolutely going to tell Corrin where they're wrong and how. I can absolutely see Morgan going "I'm never going to directly lie to you. But I may withhold the full truth depending on the circumstances. About serious things I will lie to you if it's funny" and immediately getting Corrins seal of approval for being willing to tell them how their life got to this point. Honestly Corrin and Morgan is an entirely separate headcanon filled explanation of their dynamics. My first idea for a Fates AU was specifically Morgan as Corrins retainer and while I don't think Morgan works well in an official role like that she remains the perfect stray cat that keeps coming back. I also totally see Corrin as being one of the only members of royalty/nobility Morgan respects(our girl is a princess because her grandfather was the leader of a death cult, of all characters to see that the royalty is a sham it'd be her). Is this two of my blorbos slapped together and saying they'd be best friends? Yes. Am I wrong? No.

Laslow- More so explaining a headcanon that adds to their existing relationship. Inigo gets Morgan to stop working for a pot of tea at 2:00 on the dot every day. It's break time, tea time with Inigo to the point that Morgan can only drink tea made by Inigo, he just gets what she likes. It's also one of the only things that actually gets Morgan to take a break, no tea time? No break. No Inigo? No tea time. It's part of Morgan's System(tm) and very important.

Jakob- Lilith and Corrin are the only reasonz that Jakob still lives. He's difficult to get along with even IF he likes you and unfortunately he and Morgan are completely incompatible. It's kinda like Morgan and Laurent's relationship without the underlying respect for each others intelligence, or the shared interest in deepening their studies. He can't even make a cup of tea to save his life. Morgan would be down to hang out with Dwyer though. He's chill.

Flora- After a bit of a chilly reception originally Flora warmed up quite a bit to Lilith and will put any threat to her happiness on ice. I hc that Flora is the only person that Lilith told that she's related to Corrin, on accident when complaining about Camilla. Flora immediately understood and felt a kinship between the two of them because they both want to protect their younger siblings from King Garon's ruthlessness. Also HC this slip up is why Flora canonically was mean to Corrin and then was kind to them. In terms of Morgan, Flora approaches her with concerns about leading the Ice Tribe when the time comes and Morgan's advice isn't as useful as the livelihood of an isolated Tribe is very different than a country.

Felicia- Morgan used the spell to temporarily rewind time in order(from the Henry Sumia support) to save a few papers Felicia spilled ink all over and Felicia begged her for how to use it until Morgan taught it to Flora. Morgan also teaches her some tactics from time to time given her skill as a commandee.

Gunter- a couple fics I have in mind start with Morgan meeting Gunter instead of being called by the Awakening Trio or something. There's something about him that Morgan just respects. He can take snark and hits and he's a knight without a stick up his butt and he's actually nice?? Somethings wrong here. Gunter already is collecting teenagers and this one is entertaining.

Nyx- Being 4'8.5"(did not check that number) for the lengthy foreseeable future Morgan is one of the only people who treats Nyx like an adult on the first try. She's also an amazing study-buddy, if Owain doesn't know something about Nohrian spellscript, Nyx is a safe bet. The two of them try and teach each other as much as they can and Morgan really wants to show Nyx the College of Khadein where Plegia's best mages trade research freely.

Camilla- Lilith and Morgan both hate Camilla for different reasons, Lilith because she effectively flaunts her being Corrin's big sister right in her face(not that she'd tell him) and also doesn't know how to care for anyone without holding them so tight that they can't escape her because she's a broken woman(Lilith recognizes that should make her pity Camilla but she's too busy being mad) and that directly affects 3 of the people closest to her, including Beruka. Morgan hates Camilla because she gets in Morgan's bubble and when she hugs she picks Morgan up.

Stories I have in mind for the pairing:

A pokemon AU where Morgan is a Professor involved in a Pokè abuse case where a large amount of Aron where starved so they vould be released in the city. Lilith a Nurse who's called in to give check ups on the Aron. After the case the two get closer and end up calling upon each other for more of their expertise in their fields. More of a pokemon headcanon fic than a serious plot one. Morgan specializes in Steel Types and Lilith specializes in Psychic types.

Morgan gets called to/tricked to go to Izumo by Moro to be either his upcoming replacement or the replacement for Grima. On her way she meets Lilith post-father killing and pre-Corrin meeting and talks with her. Morgan ends up being the second person to ever actually show care for her and Lilith crushes hard. When Lilith works at the fortress she often takes trips to Izumo to visit Morgan(everyone assumes she's just very religious) on these trips she is being escorted through Hoshido because they noticed the Nohrian traveling to Izumo 6 times a year. It doesn't take long before Reina starts escorting her personally and letting Mikoto know of her old war buddy Gunter's new maid. A lot of the plot ends up being Mikoto trying to find out what Lilith knows about Corrin, Lilith trying to keep her girlfriend being the real reason for her travel secret from Nohr, and Corrin trying to figure out why some of the souvenirs Lilith brings back give him Deja vu.

Immediately after going Revelations path(it didn't go well) Corrin ends up traveling to Ylisse looking for 1) someone to fix Lilith and 2) someone to teach him how to use magic to make music like his Good Friend Odin told him about. More so an Awakening fic with Corrin and Lilith slapped in but hey they fit so well with the Awakening cast. A Corrin/Lucina slow burn with Morgan/Lilith in the background. Corrin is honestly peak sopping mess here.

Corrin's tabletop group swings by his and Lilith's house just after dinner and Lilith fully intends on hiding in her room until Morgan shows up early with a cavalcade of plushies to use as minis. Corrin poker fun at her for obviously only playing because she has a crush for the full night and Morgan is blissfully oblivious because she has a murder mystery to set up.

I'm gonna have to stop Because I've been working on this ask on and off since I got it last night and it's probably incomprehensible I just love these two so hecking much.

[lgcxmina]

open event 3 word count: 522 personal diary entry

i never even wanted to be here. i only joined because mom wouldn't get off my back about it. she wouldn't stop talking about how well minhyuk was doing. she's always been so proud of him, and honestly me too. i just have a harder time expressing those feelings.

anyway…the schedules and training are hard. i feel like i don't belong here at all. everyone around me are so talented. you can definitely tell some of them have been professionally trained before coming here me? i only know how to dance…barely. i am self taught. watching videos of my favorite idols and mimicking their dance moves…i'm really not nervous about my dancing. i know i'm decent enough to pass any evaluation when it comes to that….it's all my other skills i'm worried about.

i can't sing, i can't rap, i don't have any other skills that would really have me stand out. and worst of all..i hate being in front of people.

i tend to stick out like a sore thumb during practices. standing to the side and staying to myself. unfortunately, one of the coaches noticed. i was taken to the hallway to talk about it. "mina, why are you even here if you aren't going to give it your all?" their words kind of threw me for a loop.

how could i answer that truthfully and still he able to come back? i couldn't very well tell them i only joined to prove to my mom that i could be just as good as my younger brother and that i would rather be home reading a book or working on a new cross stitch pattern that i just bought. so i lied.

"i am sorry, i am feeling a bit homesick and a little lost with the music. especially the singing." the coach looked at me and smiled. the reached out and gave me a pat on the shoulder. the one my mom always did when she really wanted to say 'you poor thing'. it wasn't long after that that i was being dragged into a private practice room. "i see a lot of potential with you." they said to me. "and if you want, for the last 30 minutes or so of practices we can come in and have some one on one. that way you can start feeling a bit more comfortable. vocals are hard, especially when you have to bop around along with it. but i would be willing to work with you on that if you are willing to work on it as well."

i'm not even going to lie. i was shocked when they told me they saw potential in me. where did they see it? i couldn't even see it myself. i hadn't even realized, but i had started crying. i quickly wiped the tears away as i nodded my head quickly.

i guess i really do want to be here. i hadn't even realized just how much until i was given the opportunity to truly work on myself. if it wasn't for that coach, i'd probably be packed and on my way home.

[aceontheline]

Helluva Good Time (Maybe) (Pt. 2)

I didn't even really have to wait until Blitz sent me a text message because when I woke up the next morning, he called me. I was mildly panicking when I saw his number pop up across my screen. He told me that he was on his way and told me to wear something casual and cute. Done and done. We hang up shortly after that and I go throw on some ripped jeans and a decent t-shirt with flannel over it. I just barely put on makeup, then got some water & a light snack before I left my house. Right as I step out, there's Blitz, waiting in his van and blaring music. Clearly enjoying himself too, as I see him headbanging and giving the "devil horns" gesture with his hand. I giggle at the sight of it, knocking on the passenger side window. Sort of humiliated, Blitz asked me if I saw anything. I lied in order to humble him. He wiped the sweat from his brow and told me to get in his van. I asked where we were going.

"We're gonna stop over by that HUGE mall here in the Gluttony ring and just enjoy ourselves. Then maybe back to Imp City?" Blitz asked.

"Oh sure! I haven't been to that mall in forever! Can we invite some of my friends?" I follow up.

"Who was that girl in the coffee shop? Caitlyn? Maybe her" Blitz replies, sounding a bit huffy.

I called Caitlyn and asked if she wanted to come to the mall with Blitz and I. She said that as much as she wanted to, she couldn't today. She had a rough day at work during her night shift and needed the day to decompress. "So sorry! Hope you feel better" I said in my usual positive tone, to which she thanked me and hung up. Blitz smiled. "Looks like it's just you and me. Cool, let's go" he said happily, driving away from my house in a heartbeat.

Truly though, we did enjoy the time we spent together. Buying new clothes, seeing different stores and finally getting a moment to just sit down in a more one on one conversation. Based on his body language, I could tell that he was trying to get closer and closer to me. Blitz talked more about his job because I asked him about I.M.P and how it all worked. Then he asked me about myself. My hobbies and interests, all that good stuff. "Are you really interested?" I ask. Blitz nods firmly. I told him that since I was younger, I really enjoyed cooking. When I was back up on the surface, I even opened a side business where I sold decorated cookies and cupcakes.

I also told him that, even though I wasn't very good at it, I liked to sing. Blitz smiled and assured me that I couldn't be THAT terrible, considering all the trash he's heard on the radio. A soft smile crept up on my face, as I felt my face get warm. Was... Was I blushing? Blitz chuckled at the sight, brushing some hair out of my face. Presumably so he could see my blushing face. He gazed at me for a moment, then quickly pulled his hand away, as if he knew he messed something up. I asked him if he was okay, to which he nodded.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Just thought I saw something in your hair" Blitz replied sternly.

"Probably just loose strands. Tis the consequence of having long hair" I reply, twirling a chunk of my hair.

Blitz nods and keeps talking about cooking related mishaps he's endured, like nearly setting his kitchen on fire while trying to make eggs. "I had to get better at cooking. After all, I got Loona" he insisted, looking at a picture of her. I ask if that's his adopted daughter he mentioned before. Blitz nods in response, showing me a picture of her. She looked vaguely familiar but I couldn't place her. I shrugged this off as coincidence for now and just asked him about work again. He was talking business for a long while, before he asked me about my job and what it is I do.

Truthfully, my job wasn't as exciting as ever. I was in charge of coordinating parties and events for people. It was a lot of work, but I got a lot of money in return for it so it didn't matter. Plus, I do enjoy the feeling of organizing things, especially if they go well. Blitz asked if I helped out with anything major recently. "Yeah, Beezlebub's party actually. She was really chill through the whole thing and paid me well" I reply, showing him pictures of the venue. He looked shocked, saying that he was actually at that party, asking me why I didn't go.

I said it was because the party was on a random night in the middle of the week. I needed to work the next day, which was true. Blitz then asked me if I'd want to go to a party with him sometime. He knew my kryptonite... I agreed to go with him to one that was happening next weekend in his ring. He already looked excited, telling me all the details I needed to know. It was a bit of a larger party, but I could manage it. After talking all of this out, Blitz and I continued on then left after a while. We went back to his place in Imp City and watched some movies until...

I woke up a little while later, my head in Blitz's lap. He was looking down at me, asking me in a sarcastic manner if I was "comfy down there". I laughed in his face, hitting him lightly with the couch cushion. He and I were laughing, not realizing that we were... Also "play fighting". Blitz and I were still giggling, until he looked down over me. Both of us were blushing a bit, and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest a bit. Shit... This would've been a real movie moment if he were to-

It was happening. I felt it. He smiled at me in such a way. It was... Warm. Soft. I could feel his heartbeat somehow. It was fast and chaotic. He apologized for pinning me like that and got up quickly after, hoisting me up.

"It's okay. I do dumb shit like that with my friends a lot. That was fun though" I say, returning the look he gave to me. Blitz blushed a bit.

"Heh, yeah. It was nice-" Blitz replied, placing a hand on my shoulder. "It's getting late though. I should get you home" he finished his thought.

I nodded, putting my shoes back on and waiting for him at the front door. He and I left shortly, rushing to his van. Blitz put on some music for us to listen to on the ride back to my place. For some reason or another, he decided to get bold with me. He placed a hand on my thigh, occasionally stealing glances at me. Once we got back to my place, Blitz said he needed to ask me something. He took a deep breath and then gazed into my eyes softly. He mentioned how he knew that we met not too long ago and that we were mainly talking over texts and "Facetime", but he wanted to ask this for some time now. Blitz sighed and then asked me if I wanted to actually be his date to that party he mentioned earlier.

I suggested that we at least go out on a trial date first. Maybe a simple dinner date on a weeknight. Blitz agreed, saying that he knew a decent place in Imp City, telling me to dress somewhat decent. I agreed and hugged him before stepping out of the van. I felt him hug me in return... It was nice. Then we pulled away from each other and went our separate ways for now. When Blitz got home, we hammered out the details over text. It would be a Wednesday night, as the party was on Saturday night. It would give him and I at least a few days to see if this push in the relationship is what we actually wanted.

Knowing me though... It's exactly what I wanted. I had to become even more desirable to him, so I asked around for advice before heading to bed, having absorbed a bunch of information. I was already counting down the days until Wednesday, which seemed odd. It didn't matter. I had a little sliver of a hope for happiness.

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