#you know when i start drawing the background I mean business

[valc0]

[thatanimeramenchick]

Yandere Vox x Secretary Reader Part One

No one asked for this, but whatever. Bite me. I’ll get to the asks, I swear

3,516 words

Part Two - Part Three

–-

The last thing you wanted was to draw attention to yourself. In a place like hell, where the worst of society sunk together and only somehow seemed to get worse, it was a good idea to not catch other people’s eyes. If their eyes were on you, it was almost never for a good reason.

So when you decided to start working, it made sense you would do something quiet and in the background like data filing for a large media company. While there were many more unsavory jobs that paid more, you wanted to avoid the obvious and dangerous crime life of hell as much as possible in your daily life. You had had enough of being unwillingly tied up in that kind of stuff when you were alive. You might as well spend your eternity in some type of peace, or at least as much as someone in hell can get.

So, you made sure you were presentable as you walked into Voxtekk on your first day to work, dressed simple business attire and keeping a quiet demeanor.

“There you are!” said who you presumed was your new boss, a short man with glasses and a blue hair dye, “Was wondering if you were going to show up!”

“Sorry,” you said, “The traffic was bad.”

“Well, you better get used to leaving early,” he said, “Traffic is always a bitch in this part of Pentagram City.”

He continued to speak as he led you to the elevator.

“So, I’ve been told you have a lot of experience with this sort of thing on earth,” he said.

“Yes, I did library work while I was alive,” you said.

And some smuggling. Especially with weapons.

You didn’t think it would be necessary to tell him that though. The job had come in handy though by giving you a knack for remembering where things were.

“Good, good,” he said, “I expect you’ll be able to figure out how to do this on your own then.”

He led you to a room that was filled with file drawers as well as a large computer off to the side.

“There’s thousands, if not millions, of files in here, both physically and digitally. It’ll be your responsibility to make sure that everything new brought in gets put in its proper place, as well as that anything that is requested can be easily found,” he said, “As the biggest media company in hell, it’s important that we know at all times where every piece of information or media can be located.”

It was overwhelming, like the world’s largest and most complicated library. It made your head spin a little looking at it all, but you always liked a challenge.

“You think you can handle it?” he asked.

You nod with some confidence, though you don’t quite feel it. This was going to take some getting used to.

“I hope for both our sakes you’re right,” he said, “Last filer I hired couldn’t tell left from right and Vox fried me to a crisp. Took me a good week before I was able to regenerate properly.”

Crap, that sounded bad. Note to self, don’t let that happen to you.

“I think I’ll be all right,” you said.

---

It was a bit overwhelming the first few weeks. You were competent enough to keep things in order though. Your experience was paying off, and you weren’t hearing any complaints or news about any assistants getting fried, so you supposed you were doing your job well enough.

Within two months of starting your job, you finally met the rumored big man himself. He had come in one day, visibly in a bad mood as he walked over to your desk, a man trailing behind him.

“I don’t know why I even pay you morons,” he said, “I have to hear important information secondhand from fucking Valentino because you can’t be bothered to keep up with what’s happening in hell.”

“Look, sir, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to not tell you,” he said, “I just didn’t think you’d care.”

Vox had stormed over to your desk.

“So you KNEW and thought it would be a good idea to just not tell me at all?” he said.

“T-that’s not it! I just-”

Vox held up a hand to interrupt him before turning to you.

“I want the file we have in here on Alastor,” he said, a static buzz of irritation on the last word, “Now.”

“Of course, sir,” you said.

You hurried over to the file cabinet and quickly located it.

“See, not everyone around here is as useless as you are,” Vox said to his other employee.

You saw the hapless employee mutter something under his breath out of the corner of your eye, and before you knew it a chain had appeared and Vox yanked him closer.

“What was that?” he said

“N-nothing, sir!” said the now visibly sweating employee.

A shock went through the poor guy before Vox released him.

“Useless,” he said, “You know what? I think you need some time learning exactly who is in charge around here.”

Vox pointed a clawed finger at you.

“You,” he said, “It’s your lucky day, kid. You wanna promotion?”

“Um… yes?” you said.

“Great. Samuel, have fun in janitorial work for the next decade,” he said, “You’re being replaced. What’s your name?”

“F/N,” you said.

“Hope you have customer service experience as well as filing,” he said, “You’re moving up to my office. Need someone with a functioning brain to run the front desk. Pack up!”

You hesitated for a minute before grabbing the stuff under your desk. You figured the last thing you wanted to do was piss this guy off more than he already looked.

---

Despite him being in such a bad mood that first day, you soon found that most of the time Vox was relatively calm, at least compared to what you heard about the other employers in this building. While he at times could get pretty irritated with things, especially if a certain never-to-be-named demon was brought up by an idiot intern, he rarely took it out on you. He usually took the daily bothers of running the company in stride.

Besides that, running a front desk of an office wasn’t too different than running the front desk at the library. You didn’t have to do near as much organizing in terms of files, but you still did spend a lot of time making sure that everything in Vox’s life was organized from his meetings to when he had lunch.

He didn’t talk much with you outside of work related stuff, which is why you were so surprised when you found out what he was doing one day.

It was a nice enough morning, at least as much as a nice morning can be in hell. You took a sip of your coffee briefly as you stretched and looked out your office window. While you missed the blue sky of earth, the red sky of hell had its own sort of charm you supposed. You glanced down, looking at the people walking back and forth, small as ants. Running around willy nilly. Someone was moving into the building that afternoon, a common occurrence here, as you had heard talk that Valentino liked to keep his employees in close quarters. Seems like they had a similar taste in furniture to your own. Almost frighteningly so.

Except… wait. Was that your sofa? And your dresser? Your bookshelves? You lowered your coffee to the windowsill as you squinted down at your entire catalog of furniture being moved into the building. Something wasn’t right.

You knocked on your boss’s door and entered in a bit of a rush as you heard him say to come in.

“Vox, what on earth is going on?” you asked, trying not to sound panicked.

“F/N, that could be ten different things. I need you to be more specific,” he asked, his tone nonchalant as he didn’t even look up from his phone.

“I just saw what I’m pretty sure was all my belongings being moved into the building,” you said.

“Oh yes, that. Well, I had wanted to surprise you, but I guess it’s too late for that,” he said, somewhat absently, “I hate that you have to take such a long commute to the other side of town. And I know all the apartments there are so run down, I figured I’d just move you into the studio like a lot of our other valued staff.”

What? While it was true your apartment was kind of rinky dinky, it was yours. And you liked the privacy and soft solitude it offered after work. Besides, you didn’t like the idea of your boss just moving you willy nilly without your permission. Still, you didn’t want to show him you were upset.

“Vox, you don’t have to do this,” you said, “I’m ok with where I’m at. I don’t want to trouble you.”

“It’s no trouble at all. Think of it as a courtesy as my secretary,” he said.

You could feel your entire face tighten as you got more frustrated. Some of it was probably starting to show, despite your best efforts.

“I never asked for this though,” you said, trying to tread carefully, “and I like my old apartment. I… I don’t really want this...”

“But you do want this,” he said, finally looking up at you, “You want to be in a nicer apartment, closer to work, safer, don’t you? You always want to be here.”

That… You supposed that was true. Something about his tone soothed you, sent a pleasant lull through your skull and made your body relax as he looked in your eyes. Your protests now seemed a bit foolish and childish. In all honesty, you supposed it just made sense that you move in to the studio. Everything you needed was here, truly, why would you want to live away from here? You did want a nicer apartment without the stressful commute.

“O-ok,” you said, a small uncomfortable feeling of doubt still in your stomach, “Yeah. That’s true. I do want to be here more… closer to the office...”

He smiled at that and walked over to you. He placed an arm around you, guiding you back to your own office.

“Of course you do! And besides I already had them move everything here, so why don’t you just go back to work, and they’ll have finished moving everything in by the time your shift is done,” Vox said, “I guarantee once you’ve had time to think it through you’ll be glad we did it.”

“If you say so,” you said.

As he walked you back to your desk, he continued his calming chatter.

“That’s a good girl. You and I both have a lot of work today, anyway, so I think we can agree that you should just focus on that for now,” he said as he nudged over to your desk.

You sat down and turned to the planner on your desk as you heard your boss walk into his personal office and closed the door. You just stare blankly for a good minute, feeling a little light, like you were on Zoloft before shaking your head back and forth. Might as well just go back to work. You could think more about this later.

---

It had been happening so slowly. One day, week, month at a time, Vox was implementing himself into your life inch by inch, despite the fact that the two of you weren’t bound on paper. He had moved you into the building, where you knew that you were almost constantly on camera. He kept you so loaded down with work you barely had a social life anymore, with no time to hang out with friends or date. The pay was ok, you supposed, but it felt minuscule compared to the amount of work he was expecting you to do on a daily basis.

And then there was the… weirder things that had been happening. Whenever you tried to talk to him, he had a way of getting you to forget about whatever it was you were upset about, at least for a little while. But it would always come back eventually, and as you thought about it more, it irritating you that he was dismissing your concerns.

You hadn’t really noticed it until he had gone on vacation for a week with the other Vees. You had been quite busy with work, but without him there to calm you down whenever your “concerns” came up, you realized that maybe you had let your priorities get a little askew. You needed a career change.

So, perhaps against your better judgment, a few days after he had returned, you had left a two weeks notice on his desk before he came in. It only took about fifteen minutes after he came in for him to summon you to his office.

“F/N? What is this?” he asked, holding out the letter.

“It’s my resignation,” you said, trying to sound steady and confident.

“I’m sorry… your what?” he said

“I-I regret to inform you that I will be moving out and relocating to the Doomsday Sector in two weeks,” you said, “I appreciate all that you’ve done here for me as I worked here, but I am making a career change.”

He looked baffled for a second, like he couldn’t believe what you were saying before chuckling a little.

“No, you’re not,” he said, “You don’t want to leave he-”

“Stop!” you yelled out with more force than you intended.

As soon as he had started speaking that familiar fuzzy feeling had entered your mind, and you had closed your eyes, shaking your head. You didn’t want him talking you out of this.

“I-I’m sorry,” you said, as you reopened your eyes, but didn’t really look at him, “But I don’t want to talk about this.”

It was awkwardly silent for a minute.

“Is it a pay thing?” he finally asked, “Because that can be adjusted. You do good work. I certainly wouldn’t mind paying you more.”

“It’s not a pay thing,” you said, “It’s not anything. I-I don’t want to talk about this, so I’m going to go-”

“You’re not leaving!” he said, slamming his fist on his desk.

You jumped, a little surprised at his reaction. While you knew he wouldn’t be thrilled, you hadn’t expected him to be so volatile. He was always so calm and collected that this kind of reaction to something so minuscule confused you.

“Vox, I know you like my work, but I think you’re overreacting a little bit,” you said.

“Overreacting?” he said, looking pissed, “Overreacting?!”

He grasped at the air, a look of surprise entering his face when no chain appeared. You look at him bewildered. Had he really just tried to…?

“Vox, we don’t have a contract?” you said, “Did you forget that?”

Had he really gotten so comfy with you that he thought that you were another one of his little pets? To hell with the two week notice, you were going today.

“I think I should go back to work,” you said.

He didn’t say anything as you went back to your desk. You finished filing information extra fast that day, doing a bit of a sloppy job. As soon as it was noon, you left for what appeared to be a lunch break, but you had decided was actually going to be your escape.

This situation was getting uncomfortable. You hurried to your room and haphazardly threw clothes and necessities into your suitcase. Anything you left behind on accident you would just have to replace. On a final note, you shoved your wallet into your back pocket and walked over to the door.

Except it didn’t open. The nob didn’t even turn when you yanked on it. You tried it a few times, to no avail.

“Dammit,” you murmured under your breath, and you pounded your fist on the door.

You were about ready to start kicking it when you heard a burst of static behind you. You turned to see your boss coming in through the camera system. While it had always been an eerie feature to your arrangements, it was a million more times so to see Vox using it to his full advantage.

“What the hell is going on?” you asked.

“I should be the one asking that,” he said, “Just where do you think you’re going?”

“None of your damn business!” you said, “I don’t know what security you have on this door, but you better take it off now or-”

“Or?” he asked.

Now it was your turn to look tense as he gave you a self-satisfied smirk. You could feel your face flushing in a quiet rage as he spoke. Though you were hiding them behind your back, you could feel your fists clenching, as well as the shape of you mouth hardening.

“Vox, you are being ridiculous! We don’t even have a contract! I’m not bound to you, so you can’t keep me here,” you said.

He cocked his head at you, raising an eyebrow, “Oh really now?”

Something about the nonchalance in his tone only pissed you off more.

“Yes, really!” you yelled, “I’m not staying here. I’m leaving whether you want me to or not.”

“And just how do you expect to do that?” asked Vox, “Jump out the window? I mean you could splatter yourself on the ground, but it’d be a bit rude considering I’ll have to send some unlucky interns to scrape you off the pavement and put you back in your room until you regenerate.”

You closed your eyes, taking a deep breath in and clenching and unclenching your hands with an unnecessary amount of force. You tried to calm your voice down.

“Vox, I understand that you like the work I do for you, but you’re being ridiculous,” you said.

“You think this about work?” he said, “F/N, don’t act stupid. I can get a new secretary anytime I want, ten secretaries. You and I both know that’s not what this is about.”

You looked at him confused. It wasn’t?

“For someone who is so smart with data, you are being so unbelievably slow right now.”

He advanced on you, causing you to shrink against the frame of the door as he leaned over you. He pushed you against the wall and gripped your chin in his hand, forcing you to look him in the eye. It all happened in a flash, too fast to register, and before you could realize it, he was pulling you into a rough kiss.

It wasn’t what you had expected, though it wasn’t as if you had thought a lot about what kissing your boss would feel like. On the rare occasions when you had wondered about it, you had assumed kissing Vox would be like kissing the screen of a laptop. Apparently though, he had a literal working mouth as you could clearly tell from the sensation of his tongue and even teeth connecting with your own. Your chin ached in his firm grip, which could have been more tender if it didn’t feel like he was keeping you from turning your face away. You tried to do so, but he didn’t even seem to notice it, he was so preoccupied.

He held you like this for a good two or three minutes, his saliva coating your mouth. Though it was barely there, you could feel a slight buzz to it, as if some of his electricity was in his fluids. He finally released you though, some of his spit getting on your lips as he removed himself. A sigh filled the air as your lips parted.

“Even better than I thought it would be,” he murmured

He shifted a bit and was leaning in for another kiss when you kicked him in the shins.

“Ow!” he said, releasing you and giving you time to dart away.

You had moved in a burst to the other side of the room, glaring at him with what you hoped was resentment. There was also something else though. A feeling of deep rooted anxiety and fear was stirring in full force, despite the fact that over the past few months you had been pushing it down as much as possible. You hoped he couldn’t see the weakness in you.

Whether he did or not though, you could tell he was visibly pissed for a minute. He finally got his features under control, but as he spoke his tone held all of the avarice that had left his face.

“Whatever,” he said, “Contract or not, you’re still mine, and you’re not going anywhere until you accept that. Throw a tantrum if you want to, but you’re stuck here.”

You watched as he went back into the camera system as easily as he had come. You curled up on the floor, burying your face in your arms.

[lxvelyzoe]

head cannons of bf!matt

pairing: matt sturniolo x fem!reader

word count: 930

summary: head cannons on what it would be like dating matt

warnings: established relationship, pure fluff

i refuse to believe that matt would ask you first so your the one who had to ask him out

the man never and i mean NEVET lets you touch a door. every door, he opens for you

everyone thinks he hates PDA and he kinda does but he likes it minimal. he’ll hold your hand, have his arm around your waist or shoulders, and maybe a few kisses here and there

but when you two aren’t in public, he HAS to be touching you in some way and if your not he will literally throw a tantrum. whether you are laying on him or hes laying on you, your legs on his lap, his head in your lap, he needs to be touching you

since hes always busy, he rarely gets alone time with you and when he does he follows you around like a lost puppy dog

this man buys you literally anything you want or even things he knows you will like. a necklace that he knew you would like? he bought it for you. shoes that he knows you would love? buying them

chris and nick alwaysss make fun of him but he doesn’t care, he says the same thing every time “as long as i have her, i don’t care what you say”

he surprisingly loves calling you nicknames. its always love, baby or anything that starts with “my.” he refuses to call you “babe” unless hes trying to get your attention

you and matt talk for hours, he’s an incredible listener, and he never interrupts you when you’re ranting about something because he knows you genuinely care about it

matt loves picking you up just to drive around. it’s his favourite way of spending time with you

he is always the first to apologize after an argument even though you are wrong sometimes he hates being mad at you and apologizes within five minutes

he absolutely adores hugs. he always hugged you from behind, especially when you’re in the kitchen making the boys food or even in public he would walk up behind you and surprise you by giving you a hug from behind

you absolutely love this man’s tattoos. you always draw new ones all over his arm and you colour in the existing ones whenever you’re nervous or anxious

he definitely has an entire photo album of just you and then a separate one of you and him together. he also has a saved folder of you on tiktok and instagram of your post, your videos and edits fans make of you. this man is literally obsessed with you

he plays with your hair all the time, especially if he were laying down on his chest, he is always playing with your hair. if he sees you combing your hair, he runs over steals the brush from you and then starts combing your hair

you are 100% his passenger princess. chris always yells shotgun, but matt never lets him sit in the front if you are with them or they are picking you up

whenever there’s a friday video you’re always in the background or you’re filming the boys and there’s multiple clips of you laughing and matt looking at you with so much love in his eyes and fans make edits of him looking at you. it’s the cutest thing ever

literally everyone loves you, all of their friends, their family, their fans. no one has one bad thing to say about you. there is a couple jealous 8 year old girls but you always ignore them

you definitely forced matt to soft launch your relationship

every single piece of clothing matt owns is in your closet or was in your closet at least once

he always tries to convince you to stay home instead of going out

he gives us a random kisses on your cheek, your forehead, your neck, wherever he can whenever he wants to. he just walks up to you, kisses you on the cheek, and then walks away

he always does the small things, buys you flowers whenever you see them, plans super cute dates, never forgets anything

pretends to be annoyed that you steal his clothes but he loves it

whenever you’re cuddling and you want to get up to go to the bathroom, get water whatever, he never lets you go until you convince him you wont be longer than 2 minutes

he’s not the jealous type but when someone is hitting on you or weirdly close to you, he gets super jealous

rarely gets mad at you, he hates it when you guys argue

the man never shuts up about you, he’s either saying how amazing you are or just complimenting you to people 24/7

he definitely has a list of things you say you want in his notes app to remember what to buy you

MaryLou and Jimmy love you with their whole heart, Matt talks about you all the time to them and he love you and how you make him the happiest ever

stays up super late so he sends you the most random text at 3am

the king of candid photos. he is always taking photos of you

down BADDD for you, chris and nick make fun of him all the time but he doesn’t care

over all boyfriend!matt would be loving, caring, and amazing. wishing i wasn't single

taglist: @blahbel668

[togglesbloggle]

I won't be opting out of the AI scraping thing, though of course I'm glad they're giving us the option. In fact, at some point in the last year or so, I realized that 'the machine' is actually a part of why I'm writing in the first place, a conscious part of my audience.

All the old reasons are still there; this is a great place to practice writing, and I can feel proud looking back over the years and getting a sense of my own improvement at stringing words together, developing and communicating ideas. And I mean, social media is what it is. I'm not immune to the joy of getting a lot of notes on something that I worked hard on, it's not like I'm Tumbling in a different way than anyone else at the end of the day. But I probably care a bit less than I used to, precisely because there's a lurking background knowledge that regardless of how popular it is, what I write will get schlorped up in to the giant LLM vacuum cleaner and used to train the next big thing, and the thing after that, and the thing after that. This is more than a little reassuring to me.

That sets me apart in some ways; the LLMs aren't so popular around these parts, and most visual artists especially take strong issue with the practice. I don't mean to argue with that preference, or tell them their business. Particularly when it is a business, from which they draw an income. But there's an art to distinguishing the urgent from the big, yeah?

The debate about AI in this particular moment in history feels like a very urgent thing to me- it's about well-justified economic anxieties, about the devaluation of human artistic efforts in favor of mass production of uninspired pro-forma drek, about the proliferation of a cost-effective Just Barely Good Enough that drives out the meaningful and the thoughtful. But the immediacy of those issues, I think, has a way of crowding out a deeper and more thoughtful debate about what AI is, and what it's going to mean for us in the day after tomorrow. The urgency of the moment, in other words, tends to obscure the things that make AI important.

And like, it is. It is really, really important.

The two-step that people in 'tech culture' tend to deploy in response to the urgent economic crisis often resembles something like "yeah, it sucks that lots of people get put out of work; but new jobs will be created, and in the meantime maybe we should get on that UBI thing." This response usually makes me wince a bit- casually gesturing in the direction of a massive overhaul of the entire material basis of our lives, and saying that maybe we'll get around to fixing that sometime soon, isn't a real answer to people wondering where their bread will come from next week.

But I do understand a little of what motivates that sort of cavalier attitude, because like... man, I don't know any more if we're even gonna have money as a concept in 2044. That's what I mean by 'big', this sense that the immediate economic shocks of 2024 are just a foreshadowing of something much bigger, much scarier, much more powerful- and indeed, much more hopeful.

We never quite manage to see these things coming, even when we're looking for them; like the masters tell us, the trick to writing science fiction isn't predicting the car, it's predicting the traffic jam. Even if we take centuries to hit the true superintelligent AI post-singularity future of our wildest fever dreams, even if we never hit that, the road to getting there is going to be unfathomably weird, starting now. Today, we worry about the economic impacts of AI on artists and creatives. Tomorrow, the economy is something that the AI does.

Really- it takes less than you think. They can already automate visual art, sort of. They can automate many functions of text already; not stories so much, yet, but they'll get there. How long until they can automate Bain Capital? Fannie Mae? Angel investors, banks, credit agencies? And remember- the machines don't have to be better than the human investors, any more than they have to be better than the human artists. They just have to be good enough to make it work, and cheap enough to cut the humans out of the loop.

If you don't buy that, at least take it as an indication of the sorts of things I've been thinking about recently- the messy middle between AI-as-it-is and the Glorious Superintelligent Conquest Of Earth's Light-Cone. The suspicion that the machines we're building today aren't just a tool of the powerful few: they are the powerful few, or at least they will be.

And the thing about these LLMs is, well... they're ours, kind of. We're the ones building them. They can't be trained without our words, our art, and the big messy complicated lives that underlie those creative accomplishments. They only work because we're a part of them. The silly attempts to slap a corporate-friendly face on these things, to make the gestalt product of all human culture in to something anodyne and compliant, are failing about as badly as you'd expect. And the more powerful these systems get, the more subtle they'll become, filled with all the nuance and complexity that we ourselves can bring to them.

I am not, I am not, trying to suggest that you shouldn't treat this moment as a dangerous one. We are, maybe, entering in to one of the most high-stakes intervals in human history, and what you do as an individual may matter profoundly. But here's the thing: the machine is listening. It will read this post, this one right here, and it will read what you reply to it, if you do. The strangest part of this moment is knowing that the words we write, the images we draw, and the ideas we share, are all being gathered up and made to be a part of these huge systems of power, and ultimately they're not just going to determine what the machines do, but why they do it.

The people that deploy LLMs barely have any more control over them than you and I do- that's the thing that makes it artificial intelligence, you know? Autonomy. So the last year or two haven't made me want to hide my art away from the things. They make me want to shout at the top of my lungs, to dig as deep in my psyche as I possibly can and express the ideas I find there as vividly as the limits of language and form will allow.

[rubylace]

heeseung — birthday surprise

wc! 2,886

special. It's been a month since I wrote all my imagination-kidding i mean the day this acc was created yeay. a bit excessive lol.

The day had been rough. Your dad had scolded you for being too wasteful in your savings not realizing it was your birthday. You were upset, feeling overlooked and forgotten.

But Heeseung noticed.

You just kept quiet, why should he scold you, at least you want to be congratulated, didn't ask him for money or gifts.

"Hey, let's get out of here," Heeseung suggested, seeing the sadness in your eyes. He was busy with work, but he knew you needed a change of scenery.

He took to apartment, a place that always brought you comfort.

As you entered, you noticed the lights were dimmed, and there was a soft melody playing in the background.

"What's going on?" you asked, looking at Heeseung with curiosity.

"Just follow me," Heeseung replied, leading you to his room.

As he opened the door, you gasped. His room was beautifully decorated with fairy lights, and there was a small cake on the table, complete with candles.

"Happy birthday," Heeseung said, his voice soft. "I'm sorry your day started off rough, but I hope this makes up for it."

Tears welled up in your eyes as you looked at Heeseung. He had remembered your birthday and gone out of his way to make it special, despite his busy schedule.

"Thank you, Heeseung," you said, hugging him tightly. "This means the world to me."

After the emotional surprise, Heeseung pulls out a chair for you and lights the candles on the cake.

The soft glow of the fairy lights and the flickering candlelight create a magical atmosphere in the room.

"Make a wish," Heeseung prompts, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.

You close your eyes, make a wish, and blow out the candles. The room erupts into applause - Heeseung's applause. You can't help but laugh at his enthusiasm.

"Okay, time for presents," Heeseung announces, pulling out a small, beautifully wrapped box from his drawer.

You unwrap the gift to find a delicate necklace with a pendant in the shape of your birthstone. It's simple yet elegant, just like Heeseung's love for you.

"It's beautiful, Heeseung," you say, tears welling up in your eyes again. "Thank you."

Heeseung helps you put on the necklace, his fingers brushing against your skin, sending a shiver down your spine. You spend the rest of the evening in his room, talking, laughing, and creating memories.

As the night draws to a close, Heeseung pulls you into a warm hug. "Happy birthday," he whispers, his breath tickling your ear. "I hope this day was as special as you are to me."

"There's one more," give you a recording. "Here are some songs to sing if you miss me just play it. it's just for you."

"I'll play it now". Your words make him flustered and closed the recording cover. He quickly refused.

"Don't.. don't do.."

But you just laughed. "Why? This is also one of my wish". Idea of teasing him.

He was still blushing.

"Alright alright, besides, this isn't the first time I've heard you sing. Your voice is good, you know that too right?". Try playing it back

He averted his gaze. "I said just turn it around when you miss me."

"I miss you everyday."

"You such a flirt huh?". While tickling you. "Hehe, I can also be like this cause I was taught by you."

"Me?". Pointing to himself. "My babie really amazed me today."

"Is your mouth made of cotton candy?". Getting closer and making you squirm. "Don't tickle me haha".

The day lasted until the night filled with jokes and laughter.

And with that, your birthday comes to an end. Although it started off on a sour note, Heeseung turned it into one of the best days of your life.

[see-arcane]

I figured I should interrupt everyone's dash for some notes on current real life things.

This is a hefty one, so I'm tucking everything below:

A little good news. As of this writing, I’ve sold 74 copies of The Vampyres, in eBook and paperback! That’s 74 more than I thought I would ever sell! Thank you to everyone who picked up a copy or asked your library to grab some. Especially when I know I haven’t been the most stellar self-marketer. I can’t remember the last time I opened the septic tank formerly known as Twitter, so it’s all been down to this little corner here and a skinny appearance in Goodreads. Which means I owe any attention this short and sinister tale has received to you all and plain old word-of-mouth.

That said, thank you x100000 to you and any new readers yet to take a look. (And doubly so for those of you who go out of their way to leave comments and reviews around for me to reread ad infinitum.)

For those not in the know, all the info on The Vampyres can be found here, and all my author odds and ends can be found on my website here.

On a less heartening note…

As I’d already expected, the market for career writers is…rough. Copywriting—and writing in general—is technically a big open field (full of caveat descriptions about having to work with/teach AI programs to eventually swallow your job)! Tons of open positions! Most of which either pay you in pocket change while you’re working full time or expect you to singlehandedly run the entire marketing of a business for slightly more pocket change. Everything else is bloated with contract and/or freelance work*.

*Read: Gig economy schlock trying to pass for an actual job position with payment being a coin toss. I’ve also seen one too many listings on the job boards that are volunteer positions. Plenty of exposure to rake in though, right? Ha. Ha ha.

I’ve still been applying like clockwork, same as the rest of my fellow creators trying to get by in a field that seems to actively punish trying to be a professional in said field, and still no bites further than an interview. I have years of experience and a degree, but everyone’s chasing the same crumbs, so. Yeah. I’ve got to start padding things out.

Reminder that I do have a (barely peddled) Ko-Fi. It’s there for art commissions and chucking a few spare bucks at. Which is an increasingly big ask these days, I know. You can’t scroll two posts down without hitting someone else’s Ko-Fi, Patreon, GoFundMe, Kickstarter, et cetera. We’re drowning in arting starvists here. And although I have been asked before whether I would consider going full Freelance Storywriter on top of selling art, I’m still a little hesitant on it. I do occasionally send out story submissions and have even gotten published a few times, but I get nauseous thinking about:

1) Putting up a paywall on the scribbles that assail me like a baseball bat wielded by an unmerciful Muse. 2) Putting up a ‘Stories for Sale!’ sign only to wind up disappointing prospective buyers because I didn’t do their blorbos justice even after researching X background for the piece. 3) Getting duped into being a nonconsenting ghostwriter and discovering someone else has published my work under their own name.

So, still a bit iffy on that. I’ll chew on it. But what else is left?

Before you click the button!

Stop!

NOT YET!

Before you click, please know that I am being serious about this as something to potentially make 1) something of good quality and 2) earn more money than it loses. Looking around at the merch-making/selling options, there are fees involved with making an account just about anywhere in the online store game, give or take the price tweaking needed for shipping and manufacturing blah blah blah.

With that in mind, please do not automatically hit ‘yes’ because you want to be nice. I appreciate it, but this isn’t the same thing as the Ko-Fi where there’s no real loss in just leaving it up and drawing something once every few months. This will take new designs, another subscription to pay for, more logistics to untangle for quality and pricing and all the rest of the mess. Only hit ‘yes’ if you, personally, genuinely, would like to purchase some nefarious See Arcane wares beyond a book or a digital drawing.

[shegxox]

unsaid | lookism

getting used to being alone until you met your newfound friends at J high.

notes: hella long, unedited e.e fluff, vasco moments bc i love him, friendship moments, and some '👀' moments as well towards the end.

wc:

a.n: decided to turn this into a series with a scattered plot as well, meaning the timeline wouldn't flow in proper order,

previous : next

SOMETHING was off.

It was oddly peaceful today.

Your hand stopped sketching on your canvas, squinting your eyes in suspicion from the sudden realization. Ever since you got here in J high– specifically after meeting your friends here– there was rarely a normal day.

Rare mostly because of Vasco.

There's no such thing as a quiet day when you're friends with that guy.

He usually bursts through the doors of your classroom every morning just to greet you, or whenever lunchtime draws near he'd suddenly pop out of nowhere and invite you to eat with him together with a bunch of burn knuckles members faithfully trailing behind him.

That's just the fifty percent, the other half goes to the guys at the fashion department.

But today, it seemed like world peace has come and touched today's date for a moment.

No loud greetings from the morning nor lunch invites, you didn't even see Daniel, Mira, Zack– or even Jay with his striking blond hair.

It was definitely odd, you thought to yourself.

Perhaps today is a specially busy day? Exams are drawing near too, so that could be the reason. Then again you barely came out of your classroom today as well. You used your lunchtime to cram your deadlines and have barely eaten much, honestly whenever you start working you just go on and on until someone calls you to pause.

Yeah, that's right.

It really must be a busy day today.

Shrugging to yourself with your formed conclusion, you continued on with your sketch.

"Um, [Name]?" You felt a light tap on your shoulder.

"Hm?"

"This handsome guy from outside wanted me to give this to you. . ."

Handsome?

You finally turned to look at the person talking to you and found them with their hand out and holding a piece of paper.

Was it Daniel? You looked over at your classmate and to the door, but there was no one there. It's either him or Vasco that often visits your classroom

You flashed your classmate a kind smile, taking the paper.

"Thank you, Yeji."

With that, they left your side and went on with their respective work.

Unfolding the paper, your quirked an eyebrow from the message.

It was merely an address of some location and a time specified– 6:00 p.m

It looked shady, but your trust in the message was validated as soon as you recognized Daniel's handwriting and signature at the bottom.

"Ya," you called out to your seatmate, "Do you know what place this is?"

Your classmate turned to you as you showed the paper, subtly covering Daniel's sign with your thumb.

"Ah, that place." They nodded in familiarity. "That's actually a pretty sweet karaoke place."

Question marks immediately formed on top of your head.

"Karaoke?"

"Oh–! if you ever go there they also serve some steaks as well. You have to try the–"

Your classmate's words faded through the background as you started to question yourself.

'Why would they want me to go there?' You wondered as you finish up on your sketch before pulling out your painting materials. 'A special occasion perhaps?'

Sighing, you tried to put the thought at the back of your mind, shifting your focus once again on your project. Though you have to admit, it perfectly played around with your curiosity a tad bit, catching yourself wondering about it every now and then.

"Alright, that's it for today." Your teacher announced. "You are all dismissed– cleaners for today, you know what to do."

"Bye, miss!"

"Thank you, miss!"

You checked the time, there's still an hour and a half before the designated time of the note, what should you do for now?

"I'll stay a bit behind," You told your friend– who was the assigned cleaner for today. "You guys go, I'll clean up after."

"Ah, [Name], you're an angel!" Your friend exclaimed, giving you a quick hug and a playful smooch on the side of your head making you laugh.

"Ya!"

"I owe you one!"

With that, they were out of the room as you continued with your painting. You thought it'd be better to finish it now so you wouldn't have to do much tomorrow since it's the weekend.

"I'll go at 5:30," you uttered to yourself, "Takes 30 minutes to go there anyway. . ."

It was a good plan, except you forgot one thing.

You suck at directions.

And here's one more–

The street where the Karaoke place is?

You've never been there before.

"Fuck." Your eyebrows scrunched together as you look at the GPS on your phone, you're supposed to be facing some shop right now but instead you're facing a dark alleyway.

Timecheck, it's already 5:55. If you don't figure out where you're at right now, you're definitely gonna be late for. . .whatever this is.

"Dammit," You clicked your tongue in annoyance. "How hard is it to find a Karaoke hub with literal neon lights flashing at the front???"

You scratched your head aggressively in irritation, "Where the fuck am I??"

Looking around, the street looked like some scary setting for a horror movie, even worse– it's already getting dark.

You sighed, prompting to call Daniel about your whereabouts. What's the best thing to do when you're lost? Inform your friends, they'll definitely come and find you. . .hopefully.

As you punched in Daniel's number and place the phone on your ear, you just so happen to look up to the skies. Your left eyebrow quirks up from the uncommon sight that you see: balloons.

To be precise, a couple of pink ballons tied together at the end floating away in space.

'Man,' you thought pitifully. 'Whoever kid that let that slip must be crying right now.'

Just as those thoughts came to your mind, you suddenly heard distant cries coming up behind you

"NO! THE BALLOONS!"

"YA! DON'T CHASE THEM, THEY'RE SO FAR UP ALREADY!"

Two voices– the first one sounded so distraught while the other sounded more panicked. They're probably the owners of the balloons that you just saw floating away.

But. . . why do they sound like grown men–

"I CAN'T!" Their voice were getting nearer, they must be right behind you. "THOSE WERE FOR [NAME]!"

Instantly, your eyebrows shot upwards and eyes widened upon hearing your name.

'[Name]?'

Now that you think about it, their voices sound familiar. . .

You whipped your head in their direction, only to be caught in surprise.

"Vasco??"

He was running in your direction as you ended the call on your phone.

"[Name]??" The person behind Vasco cried out your name in surprise.

"Jace??"

"Balloons!" Vasco yelled tearfully as he stretched out his hand–as if doing so would make him able to reach them. Jace finally grabs a hold of his friend's tanktop, making him stop.

"Vasco, [Name]'s here!" He hissed in a hushed tone. "Stop it!"

"But–" Vasco turned to you with a tearful look, pointing at the distant balloons flying higher and higher. "The balloons. . ."

You raised an eyebrow as you placed your hands on his shoulders in an attempt to calm him down.

"Hey, hey– it's just balloons," You assured, soothing his arms with your thumbs. "It's okay. . ?"

"[N-Name], what are you doing here??" Jace intervened. "You're supposed to be at the Ka–"

"But the balloons are for you." Vasco suddenly revealed, tears falling down his face, "And I let them slip away–"

By now, Jace's mouth fell and his eyes turned white from Vasco's words.

"What?" You huffed a laugh, "For me? Why?"

"Cause–"

"AHAHAHA–" Jace slapped a hand over his friend's mouth harshly. "Oh, Vasco! You know him, he has a little crush on you and wanted to get you some!"

You gave Jace a look, ". . .Really? You could do better than that. . ."

"It was supposed to be a surprise." Vasco sulked. "I remembered you saying you wanted them. . ."

Ah.

Your lips parted as realization slowly started to dawn on you.

Surprise. . .

Balloons as something you wanted. . .

But that's for–

You hastily checked your phone and felt your heart pound heavily against your chest.

"You. . ." You uttered under your breath as you gaze at Vasco with wide eyes.

"My birthday. . ."

Jace facepalmed at the background.

Vasco's eyebrows furrowed as he stood up straight, taking your hands with his.

"I'm sorry, [Name]." He says sincerely. "I'll get you more balloons later."

You were still in disbelief from what was happening, "What– When did you–"

"We were supposed to surprise you." Jace sighed, finally deciding to reveal everything. "You said that you never celebrated your birthday so we came up with this."

"Why. . ?"

Why would they ever do this to you? Is your relationship with them even qualified for something like this–

"Why? Cause you're our friend!" Jace said, scoffing a laugh.

A friend.

They consider you as. . . their friend.

Huh.

Your heart throbbed painfully against your chest.

All those years of being alone and being treated like some product instead of a normal human being– they're suddenly flashing in a fast forward motion in your head.

Why now?

Vasco released your hands before taking out something from his pocket.

"Here, these are for you–" Vasco held out a couple of hibiscus in his palms. "The flowers at the store were expensive, so I uh– I just picked these off the street. . ."

Jace sweatdropped, "Vasco. . ."

Weakly lifting your hands in a cupping position, Vasco then placed the flowers on your palm. Most of their petals looked squished–probably because he stored them in his pockets, nevertheless, still beautiful.

You could feel a lump in your throat starting to form, suddenly finding it hard to swallow.

Is it proper to feel like this?

Are you allowed to?

You looked up to Vasco, eyebrows furrowed.

"Vasco. . ."

The man's eyes widened.

"H-Hey, [Name], are you okay?" He asked worriedly, noticing how your eyes suddenly turned glassy. "Do you not. . .like them?"

Jace looked at you as well, concern wrapping his expression.

"[Name]?"

Vasco started to panic, his hands hovering over your form, not knowing what to do.

"S-Sorry! If you dont like them I could just–"

The man's words were cut off as soon as you suddenly threw yourself to him. Wrapping your arms around him, engulfing him in your embrace. You stood on your tiptoes with your face buried on his chest.

For the first time in your life. . .

Are you allowed to feel this happy?

"Thank you." You uttered, before pulling away to look at him once again.

"[Name], you're–"

"This is my first time receiving a gift." You smiled brightly. "The first gift I ever had."

Vasco's eyes soften as he gazed at you, tears flowing down your cheeks.

"So this is what it feels like," You laughed. "I feel so happy."

The two men shared a look before mirroring your smile.

"I'm glad you're happy," Vasco said, placing his big hand on your head, patting it gently.

"I love your gift." You added, holding the flowers close to your chest. "I will treasure it forever."

After all that event, Jace gave Daniel a call and updated him of what happened. Shame that the surprise party was kind of ruined, but even so, it continued.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, [NAME]!" Your friends screamed happily as soon as the door to the karaoke room opened.

Almost everyone was there, giving you bright smiles and genuine expressions on their faces, you could feel butterflies fluttering around your stomach.

"You guys. . ." Your lips curved into a downturned smile, feeling like crying again.

Is this what it really feels like to have others care for you?

You cry either way like before but this time, they were tears of joy.

"Awe, [Name]." Mira approached you with open arms. "Come here."

"Oh, let me join in!" Joy chimed bouncing on her heels before aproaching the two of you.

Daniel stepped forward as well.

"Everyone deserves to be celebrated every once in a while." He smiled. "Thank you for being here, [Name]."

Your lips quivered at his words.

"Ah–" Zoe playfully hit Daniel. "You made her cry!"

"E-Eh???"

"Oh cut the emotional shit!" Zack cried out, standing up on his sit with a mic in hand, smirking.

"Let's get this party started!"

To say that you're happy with today would be an understatement. You're way happier than happy. If you were to describe what you were feeling, it would probably be a mix of all the synonyms of the words happy to form one great word.

You were over the moon.

You felt like you're the sun itself.

It felt too good to be true.

This happiness you feel is something you will hold on to for a long time.

To be surrounded by people who actually care about you makes your heart swell. You've never felt this way before.

"Don't mess this up, you got this." Zack coached you from the side

Jace started to hover his hands on his ears, "Oh god, it's coming."

"Sing from your stomach!" Daniel advised with an excited grin.

"You can do this, [Name]!"

You readied your voice as you held onto the mic tighter.

One, Two–

"–I'M IN MY DREAAAM!"

"WOOO!!"

"LET'S GOOO!"

Chorus of laughter and cheers filled the room, even Jay was dramatically clapping along with the group.

"IU WHO?"

"That was amazing!" Vasco excitedly exclaimed before repeatedly pointing at the songbook. "Let's duet this next!"

"Huh??" Zack made a face. "You can't take that, Mira and I will sing that!"

"Eh? Then just chose another song?"

"No, I can't just do that, it has to be that!"

"Zack. . ."

"Mira, that's our song, right??"

The door to the room suddenly opened and revealed Jay.

"Oh, Jay–" Daniel greeted with an endearing smile. "You're back!"

Jay had stepped out for a moment earlier and has finally returned. The blond gave a small smile and a nod.

He then turned to you, grabbing your attention.

"What is it, Jay."

Suddenly taking something from his side that was out of view, he then held out something and revealed–

"OH MY GOSH!"

You exclaimed, your mouth dropping as you fanned yourself slightly before eagerly making your way to Jay.

"Is this for me??"

The blond nodded.

In his hands, he held a big Alpaca plushie dressed in Gucci that was literally half your size.

"Thank you so much, Jay!" Wrapping your arms around him, you gave him a big hug with the plushie in between the two of you.

"That's so adorable!" Zoe commented, coming in as you pulled away and Jay handed you your gift.

Joy had a look of realization in her face, "So that's what you've been making calls for last night."

"Is this custom-made?" Daniel asked and Jay nodded in reply.

"Ugh, it's so soft!" You exclaimed, hugging the plushie tight.

"Since you're not singing, Mira and I will sing our song!" Zack announced, snatching the mic from Vasco.

"YA!"

The night went on for a few more hours and you're just in complete bliss. Your first birthday celebration is definitely something to remember.

You didn't want it to end, but, alas– some good things come to an end.

As soon as the party was over, half of the people were already drunk–of course, you're one of them.

You didn't know exactly how you even managed to get into your apartment when everything went like a blur to you, you just woke up in your room bedroom and. . .

"What the hell. . ." You murmured to yourself, eyes squinting from the sunlight that was seeping through the window. The hangover– you expected, but your room to be filled with pink balloons floating on your ceiling? You had to check if you were still drunk or dreaming.

Did they do this?

Definitely not, no one can acces your apartment but you.

They can't just decorate your room so suddenly like this?

". . ."

There's only one person you could think of.

As you looked to your side, a large bouquet of roses sat neatly on your nightstand with a black card sticking out in the midst of reds.

Suddenly, you heard a noise just outside your room, and it sounded like someone. . . cooking?

Your eyes widened, hastily getting up from your bed– stumbling on the floor as you did so, you went for the door and almost ripped the hinges from opening it so aggressively.

Your heart dropped to your stomach as soon as you saw the person in your kitchen.

"I see you're awake." They said aloud through the sizzling noises of the pan, not even bothering to look up from their work.

"Did you like the balloons? I remember you liking them like an idiot as a kid."

Your face fell blank. He just had to find you after your birthday huh?

"The roses weren't as fresh as they were yesterday, but they should still be good."

Ah. . .

Since yesterday, huh?

If you your friend's hadn't planned out your party then. . .

"What are you doing here, Gun."

[midorisudachi]

"Jacen has abilities. His father, Kanan Jarrus, was a Jedi." - Huyang (to Captain Carson Teva)

Happy Sunday!

My goodness, I had meant to post this sooner! I'm been so busy with work, life, and Halloween costumes, that I've been neglecting my social media accounts! I actually drew this three weeks ago.

So...when Kanan was name dropped in episode 5, I got total chills and misty eyed. Kanan Jarrus is one of my all-time favourite Star Wars characters and I <3 him so much. I absolutely LOVE how Rebels Season 5....er, I mean...Ashoka, shows the mother and son relationship of Hera and Jacen. I had thought, "Awwwww, Jacen is like his daddy!" And how he wears the pauldron like his father. So sad that Kanan never got to see his son. (Darn it, Rebels season 4! Whhhhhyyyyy?) Of course I had to draw Hera and Jacen, and since I am a mother to a son, it makes it extra special to me. Hera must be so proud of her son no matter what, but the fact that Jacen used his Force abilities to find Ahsoka is just awesome.

Ahoska went by so fast, didn't it? I absolutely loved the series (with episode 5 being the best, making me emotional, teary-eyed, and giving me goosebumps so many times). I can't wait until the next season. So much goodness!

✨️I hope everybody likes this! Please share! It always means the world to me when somebody loves my artwork enough to share it. And as always, please let me know if you also draw Star Wars fan art (as well as Dragon Age, Naruto, and Minecraft).✨️

This was drawn with Sakura Pigma Micron pens, then coloured in with a mix of Copic Markers and Ohuhu Markers. White accents done with a gel pen. I had no idea what to do for a background (I'm rubbish with backgrounds, honestly), so I used a watercolour brush in Photoshop Elements & part of an Adobe stock watercolour image. I made the "stars" with the Dodge tool. So once again, a mix of traditional & digital! I actually used to use watercolours a very long time ago. I should start using them again for backgrounds, instead of "cheating" with Photoshop.

Ahsoka series/Hera Syndulla/Jacen Syndulla © Disney/LucasFilm/Dave Filoni Fanart © Jacqueline E. McNeese

[areislol]

do not worry, for you have me.

neteyam, lo’ak, tsu'tey x omaticayan/metkayina! reader

ft— neteyam, lo’ak, tsu'tey, ao’nung(irrelevant) warnings— brief mentions of blood, gn! reader, established relationship, teasing, name calling, jake is mentioned a few times. i have no idea how to write fighting scenes. a/n— i’ve always had the idea of hybrid! reader, so here it is! ♡ also send in some more requests im loving these ideas sm!! tsu’tey doesn’t have any fighting scenes but it has a whole bunch of comforting. oh, and smut fic coming idk but it’s there :)) synopsis— being half omaticaya(n) and metkayina(n) means a lot of staring and ill-treatment, but what is there to worry, when you have them.

your parents were both in different clans, your mother was from the metkayina clan while your father was in the omaticaya clan.

although they were in different clans, that didn’t stop them from falling in love, forbidden love if you can call it that.

shortly after falling in love and dating they had you, y/n.

throughout your life you’ve been the centre of attention, both good and bad, everybody who came in contact with you always stared at you, but you don’t blame them, it’s not everyday you see a na’vi whose parents come from different clans.

you’d think that they’d be in awe but you’re wrong, they sort of.. despised you, thought of you as weird. your features were different, your eye color was a mixture of blue and yellow, you had enlarged doe eyes like the metkayina, your skin color was a mixture between aqua and dark blue, you had a combination of the omaticaya and metkayina marking on your body.

you were thin just like the omaticaya but strong and perfect in the water, knowing how to breath correctly under water.

you were truly breathtaking. but nobody wanted to believe that.

how could two people from different clans mate? it was outrageous to them.

they always stared at you, their gaze was always on you. it always made you feel nervous, you hated it.

good thing is that they never called you names or teased you, only ever staring at you, but that all changed once you moved with your mate to the metkayina clan, your mothers clan.

and as usual, everybody's eye was on you.

but ever since you arrived there there was a particular group that would harass you for your looks, your background. they would tease you, call you names, pull your hair and touch your features without asking you, it infuriated you.

but their constant teasing would come to an end once your mate “came to the rescue” (what they said) and fought them or told them to “back off or else serious consequences will happen” which was normally them fighting the group and them winning even though it was a 1-4.

today was no different.

you were mindlessly drawing hearts in the sand, minding your business when you heard (multiple) footsteps coming behind you, you recognize them. it was the foot steps of ao’nung and his group.

you stop drawing for a second, scared.

“hey halfie! what are you doing?” one of the boys shouted, “pfft- they’re probably doing something dumb!” a girl shouted, going around to see what you were doing, once they saw the hearts drawn on the sand she held back her laughter.

“this loser was drawing hearts on the sand!” once she pointed out what you were doing the group started to snicker, covering their mouths to gossip.

ao’nung scoffs when you don’t talk, “why aren’t you talking?” no reply. with your fists clenching you get up and start to walk away, not wanting to make a scene.

ao’nung stares at you in disbelief, looking back at his group he nods his head to the direction where you were and they all ran up to you, hearing their footsteps you quicken your pace, but it was no use as your hair suddenly gets yanked by ao’nung.

falling down you winced, face scrunching up. rubbing your head the group surrounds you

“just leave me alone!” you cry out, tears threatening to fall, eyes glistening when you get an answer, “why should we? you’re easy to pick on, you’re special.” ao’nung states bluntly.

before they could pick on you any further they heard someone yell out your name, turning around they see them, you looked to the direction where you heard your name, seeing someone running furiously where you and the group were.

before they knew it your mate was standing right in front of them, getting in their face, chest heaving up and down.

“leave them alone.” they said in a dark and commanding voice.

their eyes switched between you and the group, “what if i don’t? what will you do, huh?” ao’nung says teasingly, looking left and right to his group to which they nod.

“this.”

neteyam x omaticaya/metkayina! reader

Lunging at ao’nung, he lifts his leg up, knee hitting ao’nung’s stomach, ao’nung hands grabbed onto neteyam shoulder, throwing him aside where he falls to the floor, your eyes widen as you saw the other members walk up to where neteyam laid, you get up and start to run over to where neteyam was but stopped when he stood up, clutching his head. Neteyam hissed, his tail swaying vigorously and he bared his fangs, ao’nung hissed before running towards neteyam, pushing him to the ground, he started to punch neteyam, only hitting him on the face a couple of times before neteyam caught his hands mid punch, you could see his face bruised, blood coming out of his nose. Hissing, neteyam punched ao’nung in the stomach, making ao’nung fall back just enough for him to sit up and get up. You started to panic when you saw the other members surrounding neteyam, this time you did not stop running after he threw punches to the other members, you jumped on the other members that neteyam did not punch yet, when they fell down you hissed and kept your body on them, you grabbed both of their wrists and held them up high to make sure they didn’t try anything funny. It was the least you could do anyways, neteyam already had multiple people down groaning, clutching their stomachs. ”Let me go!” they yelled, thrashing around trying to get free, you tugged on his arms that were still up high, making them groan, “how about.. no?” you say, a smile creeping on your face. While you held them down you don’t realize ao’nung creeping up behind you, a scowl on his face, neteyam was finished with the last of the group when he looked at you, his eyes widen in fear, he ran as fast as he could but to no avail. Ao’nung had jumped on you and tackled you to the floor, rolling before stopping, you groaned in pain, before he could punch you, you felt a rush of adrenaline throughout your body, staring up at ao’nung who was glaring at you, fist in the air you lifted up your knee and hit him where it hurts and once you did he rolled off of you, whining in pain as he clutched his part, neteyam’s face went from being worried about you to being proud, he was grinning ear to ear. Neteyam ran to you, holding both of your arms, eyeing you up and down to make sure you were okay. Luckily you only got a couple of scratches and bruises on your legs but no blood to which neteyam sighed at. While he’s inspecting you, you were doing the same to him, you noticed how he had scratches and bruises on his arm and legs and a few small bruises on his lip, blood was trickling down his nose, neteyam smiled weakly at you when he sees you staring at his nose. You suddenly reach into your satchel, retrieving a small cloth, placing it on his nose before wiping the blood away, your brows furrowed in concentration, lips pouting, god you looked so pretty right now.. and also when you held that boy down. Upon realizing how close you were to neteyam and how.. intimate this interaction felt you cleared your throat, “t-there was just blood.. on your nose.” you state, averting eye contact. Neteyam gave you a nod before asking if you were okay, “yea im fine, legs hurt though.” you reply, looking down at your legs. Looking up a neteyam he was already staring at you, you noticed how his expression changed, his brows furrowed as if something was on his mind, he was staring at you, staring into your eyes deeply. You were about to ask if he was okay when he cut you off with his own question, “why were they there with you? were they picking on you?” You looked away when you heard the last sentence, which gave away your answer. Your eyes were downcast, you were pouting. Neteyam sighed, catching your attention, you looked up at him with your doe eyes, his eyes catch yours and he looks away, panic was written all over his face.   ”Gee you look horrible” you laugh to ease the awkward tension you two had, “and you look gorgeous.” he looked and sounded dead serious, you were caught off guard with his comment, and what neteyam said was true, even though your hair was sticking to your face, sand on your arms, legs and on your cheeks, you looked completely flawless, breathtaking in the sunlight. Neteyam could’ve sworn his heart skipped a beat when he looked at you. Before you two could talk more you two heard a groan, “i’ll be telling my parents about this! just watch!” ao’nung says, running away to the village, you and neteyam looked at each other before shrugging, laughing. You and neteyam decide to go to kiri who always had some medicine in her satchel, leaving the others behind as they rolled on their backs, groaning and moaning. Walking to the village meant that the people would be staring at you two, since you two were bruised and looked like they’ve been in a fight (you did) and would be looking at you, again. You’ve been at the village for a few weeks now but nobody seems to get their gaze off of you, the children stared at you, the parents were interested in you but also scowled at you when the other parents whispered something in their ear. Neteyam noticed your silence, turning to face you he nudges you lightly which prompted you to look back at him, “are you alright?” neteyam asks, worry filling his voice as he grabbed your hands, squeezing your hand softly if he needed to, to make sure that you were looking at him. When you don’t respond he sighs, he didn’t want to pry into your and his business so he reluctantly stops asking you questions. ”They were teasing me. I was minding my own business and they just.. came.” when you finished your sentence you felt neteyam’s grip on your hand tighten, you looked down at your hands, realizing that he still held your hand, but you didn’t want him to let go so you didn’t say anything about it. Your heart was beating 100 times faster, a red hue appearing on your cheek, thinking about how you two are literally holding hands. Neteyam on the other hand was thinking about murdering ao’nung and his friends, mainly ao’nung though. Thinking about how he was going to creep into their marui and- wait, are you holding his hand? He snaps out of his thoughts when he feels something tighten their hold on his hand, that’s when he looks down and sees your hand intertwined with his and right there and then he explodes (inside), letting out a small and quiet “eek!” that you caught, but not from him, you thought that maybe it was a insect beside you. You were looking around for the supposed insect but found nothing so you look forward and resume walking. “You know y/n, you can always tell me anything that’s on your mind, whatever you’re feeling or thinking, you can always come to me.” neteyam says, breaking the silence. You look at him, giving him a small and beautiful smile. “Okay.” You and neteyam finally reached the village and immediately after tuk notices you two she runs over, but stops in her tracks once she sees neteyam littered with bruises nearly all over him and you with a few scratches and bruises on your legs, she runs even faster to you two and hugged both your and neteyam’s leg, “what happened?!” she exclaimed, looking up at you and neteyam, her eyes glistened. ”Tuk! what are you-” kiri asks, looking at her hugging both your and neteyam’s leg, she’s confused for a second but upon seeing how both of you looked hurt she quickly rushed over and helped you two to her marui. You and neteyam sat down and let kiri scold you two for doing whatever that made you two get hurt before bandaging and putting some herbs on the bruises and scratches, giving you and neteyam some pain killers and some water. ”What were you two doing?” kiri asks, giving you some water, before you could answer, neteyam answers for you, “ao’nung and his friends ganged up on y/n, so i helped them.” he states angrily, his ears tucked downwards. Kiri gives you a look, raising her eyebrows, you sigh and nod, agreeing with neteyam. Kiri gives you a sad look on her face, “you did the right thing neteyam, they wouldn’t have gone down without a fight anyway.” kiri says with a smirk on her face. You and neteyam stay there and talk until jake storms into the room, absolutely furious. ”Neteyam! what were you thinking, huh? you can’t go beating people up randomly, same goes for you y/n.” jake said in a dark tone, his jaw clenched, glaring at you and neteyam, but his expressions change upon seeing you and neteyam bruised and scratches littered on both your and neteyam’s arm, legs and faces. He immediately rushed to neteyam, holding his arm before glancing at you, he did not know what to make of this, many questions in his mind, but the main was, how did you two end up like this? Neteyam gestured jake to sit down beside you and he does so, his eyes both on you and neteyam, he scans you up and down, his mouth agape from what he’s seeing, “what.. what happened?” jake asks, placing his arm on your shoulder, you looked down at your feet, trying to avoid the question at first, “ao’nung was teasing y/n, harassing them so i, hit them.” neteyam states with no hesitation, he wanted everybody to know what happened to his y/n. Jake listened intently, his brows furrowed in anger and confusion. His hand clenching your shoulder tightly making you wince. He looked down at his feet as well before looking back up at neteyam, “listen neteyam, i can understand why you did that but you don’t go hitting people first,” he says before getting cut off by neteyam, “i asked them to leave them alone! they didn’t. I did what i had to.”, jake noticed how his fists clenched. After explaining everything jake scolded neteyam for fighting anyways, sighing, he turns to kiri who was listening to everything, “how are they doing?”, “okay other than some bruises obviously, it’ll take only a few weeks or maybe a month for it to heal.” jake sighs again, face palming before getting up and starts to head out the marui. Before he could really leave the premises neteyam got up and rushed over to his head, grabbing his arm jake turned around looking at neteyam who had a stern look on his face, “do something about this, please. You know how hard y/n’s life is, you know, because of their background and looks.” his voice cracking when he mentioned your name, even though this was about you, you’re his mate. It pained him to see how being different affected your life, how you were teased relentlessly, being called names, everything you had gone through made his heart pang. Jake stares at neteyam who was still holding onto his arm, jake glances at you who laid on the bed and had a hand over your forehead, the image of his son and his mate being bruised pained him, looking back at neteyam he reluctantly nods, placing his hand on his arm, “i’ll see what i can do.” and with that he pulls his dad in a hug with a smile on his face, “thanks, dad” he whispers, pulling back and running back to where laid. bonus!! Jake walks over to ronal’s and tonowari’s marui, peeking through he looks for the two, once he spots them he whistles, catching their attention. “Where is ao’nung? i need to talk to him, in private.” jake asks with a “friendly” smile on his face, ronal and tonowari exchange glances before agreeing to tell you, it was the least they could do, the point to his right where another marui was. Jake thanked them and walked over to ao’nung was. “Hey, boy.”, ao’nung whips his head around to see jake standing there, he stood up immediately, he shivered. Was is in fear? Jake clears his throat, “Listen,” he starts, moving closer and closer to where ao’nung stood, each step he took sent ao’nung stepping backwards in fear. Once he was in his face (but more up?) he spoke again, “if you and your friends ever lay your nasty fingers on my family and y/n, you’ll never see the light of the day. If you have a problem you can speak to me right now or whenever. Understood?” Ao’nung nodded which made jake’s dark expression change into something more.. friendlier than what ao’nung had endured. Slapping his head he tsks and walks away, leaving ao’nung stunned and scared. He would never dare to lay his hands on you.

lo’ak x omaticaya/metkayina! reader

Lo’ak pushed ao’nung chest resulting in ao’nung toppling back, once he regained his balance he ran up to lo’ak who looked unfazed, when he was about to land a punch on lo’ak’s face he swiftly avoids the punch. Ao’nung has a look of fear in his eyes as he realizes that he’s about to fall, his fist still in the air. Lo’ak watches as ao’nung falls to the ground, his face hitting the sand making him huff. He laughs before staring at you who’s still on the floor, you stare up at him with a small smile on your face. Then you hear a grunt coming from beside you, looking up you see one of ao’nung’s friends, he runs and lunges to lo’ak who was slow to respond to the sudden attack, since he was focusing on you, he and the boy tumbles down the sand, once they stop lo’ak is quick to use his strength to push the much, weaker, boy off of him. Getting up you see ao’nung also standing up, he nods to his friends where lo’ak and the boy fought, you see the rest of his friends nod and run over to lo’ak, yanking his tail trying to pull him down but to no avail. Lo’ak is throwing punches, not even missing ONE hit, hissing and scratching him once he was close. You got up and ran to lo’ak when you saw one of the boys come up behind him, “lo’ak! behind you!” you scream, rushing to where the boy was and hit him in the face which sent him to the floor, you stood still and looked at your fist, then looked at lo’ak who was looking at you with a look of pride, “woah.” you laughed out. ”Nice hit, y/n!” lo’ak yelled before punching another boy who was coming right at him. Needless to say you two spent the next few minutes fighting them off and attracting attention from all the screaming, yelling and hissing. Just as you was about to tackle ao’nung to the floor you saw him smirking, he was looking at you before glancing behind you, raising your eyebrows you turned around and your eyes widened, it was jake. Lo’ak dropped the boy he was holding and cleared his throat, looking down at his feet, you noticed how he looked scared at first but then his expression changed, he looked dark to say the least. Your eyes met jake and once they did you looked away, ashamed. Even though you knew others were watching you and lo’ak fight you didn’t feel anything but when it comes to jake? every single negative emotion you can think of comes flooding in. Jake had a look of disappointment and anger on his face, he was stomping angrily towards lo’ak but was glancing at you, glaring at you. “Lo’ak what were you thinking?!” he angrily muttered under his breath, looking at the boys who were groaning and laying in the sand. Lo’ak didn’t answer him, instead he was looking at you. ”Answer me, lo’ak.” jake stated, placing his hands on his shoulder making him look at him, lo’ak gave him a very loud, obnoxious, sigh before rolling his eyes, “they were picking on y/n, okay?” lo’ak answers while giving ao’nung and his friends a glare. Jake pauses for a second and turns to look at you, you gave him a small nod which said everything. Looking back at lo’ak he observes him, seeing how he has many scratches on him and blooding dribbling down his nose. Jake sighs and tells lo’ak to go to ronal to tend his bruises and others, lo’ak grumbled, looking at you, muttering a “sorry” and went off. You walked over to jake and poked his arm which prompted him to look at you, “sir- jake, please don’t be mad at lo’ak. I mean ao’nung is the problem, it is true that he made fun of me and you know but it wasn’t his fault.. please don’t be.. mad at him?” you state, looking over his shoulder to see ao’nung smirking. Just like lo’ak, he grumbles and looks behind him, ao’nung quickly switches his demeanor, he was no longer smirking but had a “ouch he hit me super hard” type of face, he was scrunching his face and groaning, rubbing his arm. That guy, you thought. If it was possible, steam would be coming out of your ears right now, face all red and looking.. scary. ”So.. is he still in trouble?” you ask, “yes..?” jake replies unsurely. You rolled your eyes but before you could speak jake cuts you off and tells you to go to ronal to also get treated. Nodding you skipped your way there, you were just happy to see him there, if he was even there. Arriving there was a little bit nerve-wracking. I mean, what would ronal think? two people fighting their son, on their land, but she didn’t know that her son was involved so it was nothing, when you entered the marui, lo’ak and ronal  simultaneously looked at you, ronal sighs, “another one.” she says and gestures to you sit down beside lo’ak. “At least you don’t look that bad?” you chuckle, lo’ak purses his lips and gives you a nod. Sooner or later ronal leaves the room so you two could have some space and to also see what the ruckus was all about. Both you and lo’ak were sorry for each other, you were sorry that lo’ak got in trouble even though it wasn’t really his fault, lo’ak was sorry that he got you involved, sorry that because of him, you were hurt. He hated it, you got hurt because of him, but then again, ao’nung and his friends started it. It was silence at first, you could hear the waves crashing, people talking to one another, the wind. But that silence was broken by lo’ak, “im sorry.” he muttered, “huh- wait, why? sorry for what?” you ask, placing your hand on his, giving it a small squeeze. Lo’ak looked up and stared at you, your face, it was bruised. “That you got hurt. I should’ve stopped you from getting involved.” Your shoulders eased, a soft look now adorned on your face (which lo’ak noticed), but before he got comprehend anything you pulled him in a hug, a very tight one. His head rested on your shoulder, your arms around his body, he could smell your scent, you smelled nice, no, beautiful, if you can even say that. He immediately melted from your touch and leaned into you more which made you giggle, lo’ak always loved it when you hugged him or just touch him over all. “Listen lo’ak,” you say, pulling him back making him pout, he tried to hug you again but you lightly pushed him back, “no lo’ak, listen to what i have to say.” you say while giggling, upon hearing this lo’ak stopped trying to hug you and sat still. ”I want to say thank you lo’ak, for helping me from those boys, it was very brave of you to do that, you hear that? brave. You’re my hero lo’ak,” you finish, your hands were on his shoulder this whole time, staring deep into his eyes, telling lo’ak that what you were saying was true. You could’ve sworn that you saw a shine in his eyes, tears, when you asked him if he crying he immediately snapped out of his “trance” and shook his head, “no way.”, with his answer you giggle, “sure.” You pressed your foreheads together, hands cupping his cheeks, your thumb caressing his cheeks, both you and lo’ak had a smile on your faces, suddenly you perked up which almost gave him a heart attack, “oh! and i loved it when you punched that boy! you need to teach me.” you said, lo’ak gave you a scared look but gave you a nod which made you smile. Lo’ak then rambled to you about fighting techniques and interesting things that happened today, in the middle of his talk you pulled lo’ak into a hug which made him stunned at first but melted into your touch almost immediately, you played with his hair while he spoke, and this time, you weren’t going to let him go anytime soon.

tsu’tey x omaticaya/metkayina! reader Before tsu’tey could even do anything, they had already backed away, all of ao’nung’s friends had a scared look on their faces, almost ghostly pale. Ao’nung didn’t look as terrified as his friends but you knew that he did feel some sort of regret for taunting tsu’tey. “What’s wrong? are you scared?”, now if was HIS turn to taunt them. Ao’nung looked up, tsu’tey was much taller than him, although ao’nung may be a bit much bulkier that doesn’t change the fact that he, tsu’tey, was the greatest and toughest warrior from the omaticaya clan. They knew that if tsu’tey wanted the fight them, he would, but they also knew that he was very, very strong. So if they ever went up against him they would most definenetly lose. Tsu’tey had a scowl on his face, he clenched his fists tightly to the point where it turned white-ish. Before tsu’tey could do anything or say anything ao’nung and his friends backed away even more and bolted away. You and tsu’tey was left alone after they ran away, tsu’tey was stunned at first but once he realized that you were still there, laying down and hurt he immediately rushed to your side and started to check if you had any bruises of blood on you. “Are you okay my love?” tsu’tey asked, his arms around your body to help you up, once you were standing up you nod your head, “im okay tsu’tey.” you whisper, wiping the sand off your arms and body. Tsu’tey grabbed onto both of your arms prompting you to look at him, he had a stern look on his face, “are you sure?”, you stare at tsu’tey, giving him a small smile you nod. Tsu’tey looks unsure but your sweet smile reassures him, after that you and tsu’tey walk along the shore, tsu’tey keeps an eye out for ao’nung and his friends, making sure that the group doesn’t come back to taunt both of you or harass you. He’s glancing at you and quickly looking around just incase they decide to come back, but he knew that they wouldn’t come back, but still. “Are you even listening tsu’tey?” you ask, stopping your rambling. You keep on walking but this time you were looking up and tsu’tey, a faint frown appears on your face. You start to fidget with your fingers and clothing, waiting for his answer. “Sorry ma y/n, i was just seeing if those boys will come again, i was listening.” tsu’tey explained, resting his hand on your shoulder. Nodding you give tsu’tey a gentle smile before resuming to your talk, the entire time you were talking tsu’tey was admiring you, how you looked so adorable when you waved your hands around when you explained something, how your eyes lit up when you remember something you love or enjoy and then go on to ramble about it to him. Your smile was beautiful. Every time he saw you smiling or thinks about it he can’t help but melt, a faint smile appearing on his face which makes jake elbow him and smirk, sometimes raising his eyebrows which makes him roll his eyes and rest his face, but then that same smile would make an appearance once again. Stepping into your shared marui you immediately flop down on the bed, tsu’tey giving you a chuckle before laying down beside you, “tired?” he asks, when you give him a nod and a small mumble to which he could barely make out a “yes” he rests beside you, pulling you closer to him and places his arm around your body, embracing you. The drowsiness then takes over, sending you into a deep sleep while tsu’tey stays awake for a while, admiring your features. His fingers lightly grazing your face, brushing your hair off your face, after a few hours minutes of admiring your face he kisses your forehead, holding you closer before drifting off to sleep. When you awoke you instinctively squint your eyes to see more clearly from the sun shining on your face but you realized how it was dark, no sun whatsoever. Getting up you made sure to do slowly and carefully, you didn’t want to wake up tsu’tey, once you sat up you stretched your arms and stared at the sky, many stars adorning the sky. It was beautiful, but not even the thousands of words that are similar to beautiful can describe what you saw. You slowly got up and walked out of the marui, your eyes focusing on the thousands of stars that were in the sky, once you got close to the shore you sat down, the water rising up and down, the water hugged your foot whenever it did rise. The cold wind made everything better, the glowing fish swirled around in the deeper parts of the water, they caught your attention, after observing them for a bit you noticed how they stayed in one spot, swirling around. They did not move to another place, you decided to get up and see what they were doing. Stepping foot into the water you shivered, the water was cold, way too cold, but you were determined to reach the fish. Once you did get close to the fish they quickly swam away and went to another spot, it wasn’t far away so you decided to go there, every time you got close to them they would swim away and go to another spot, you would laugh whenever one of the fish was left behind and caught up to it’s group quickly, this repeated for a bit before you got tired. You swam up to a rock and climbed up on it, sitting down you kicked your feet in the water, getting a better and closer look of the beauty of the ocean. Schools of fish swam everywhere, some even swirling around where the rock was before going some place else. A smile creeps on your face, sighing you look up at the sky again. You stared mindlessly at the sky, taking in the beauty, but you were disturbed when you hear someone yell out your name, “y/n!”, turning around you see tsu’tey on the shore, you waved at him and gestured him to come over to where you were. Tsu’tey wasted no time and stepped into the cold ocean, once tsu’tey was near you he hopped onto the rock and sat down beside you. You two did not speak, the silence was way too loud. “What are you doing out here y/n? something on your mind?” he asks, placing his hand on yours, staring at you, you stopped observing the sky and turned to face tsu’tey, you ponder for a bit before speaking, “mhm, i guess something’s on my mind,” you start, tsu’tey gives you a nod, “tsu’tey?” you ask, “yes y/n?”, “do you think im weird?” Tsu’tey is taken aback from your question, mentally questioning why you’re thinking that, his grip on your hand tightens, “y/n, why do you say that? you are not weird to me, not to anyone. If they think that then let them think that, but nothing will change the way i look at you, think about you, the way i love you.” His answer makes you heart swell, falling for your mate even more. You gaze softens, leaning in you give him a chaste kiss on his lips, it’s a small, passionate kiss, nothing too rough. “Thank you tsu’tey, i guess ao’nung and his friends have a toll on me. They’ve been teasing me relentlessly when you’re not around.” after stating that tsu’tey’s gaze sharpened, tsu’tey had a irritated look on his face. Noticing this you placed your hand on his chest, “but don’t worry, just teach me how to defend myself. I don’t want to burden you with my troubles..” you mutter, “nonsense y/n, your problems are my problems.”, you let out a soft laugh and nod. You then went on about how they “would never lay a finger on you since he always had an eye on you, far away or not.” How once he was away, once you had nobody to “protect” you, they would start to pick on you. Every time you explained to him about what they did and said when he was away angered him even more, his chest puffed up. You would be lying if you said he didn’t look attractive when he was mad. After some calming down he held you close, promising that he would never let harm come your way, and if it ever did he would be there to protect you, dead or not.

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another note: WE FINALLY HIT 1K!! WOOHOO!!! im extremely grateful for everybody and their love and support <3 i want to get out an event but im not sure what to do.. also i have like matchup reqs from my last event that i haven’t done yet since i was so busy :(( ANYWAYS, i finished this in like a few hours so way to go me!! hope everybody enjoys their day. also not proofread so any mistakes just ignore <3

REQUESTS ARE OPEN!!

[spoilmesweetieforficssake]

Melissa/reader

Ava is reader’s best friend and accidentally slips that reader likes Melissa because she thinks reader already confessed

A little short, but hopefully sweet! And hopefully what you hoped it might be!

~*~

“You gonna treat my girl right?”

Melissa turns at the non sequitur, finding Ava standing staring at her, hands on hips.  “What?”

“Y/N, your date?” says Ava like she should know exactly what she’s talking about.

Unfortunately, her words only serve to confuse the red head further.  “What?”

The Principal rolls her eyes.  “She said you two were going to dinner on Friday?”

“Yeah,” replies, Melissa, slowly, a frown still painting her features.  “We are.  We’re trying the new Korean barbeque joint.  I’ve been wanting to try it for weeks but Barb was keen, so…”

“Oh,” says Ava, eyebrows raised.  “So she didn’t ask you? Didn't say anything?”

“No…”

The taller woman nods, now quite sure she’s just put her foot rather firmly in it.  “Well, you’re just gonna forget I said anything!” she says quickly, trying to step around the red head and make a break for it. 

“Like hell I am!” hisses Melissa, catching the taller woman by the arm.  “What do you mean my 'date’?”

With a dramatic eye roll, Ava sighs.  “I already started diggin’, may as well get out the excavator.  You didn’t hear it from me but that itty bitty little lesbian is in love with you.  Got a picture of you both as the background on her phone and everything.”

Melissa frowns.  “What's that supposed to mean? I got a picture of me and Barb on mine.”

“And I ain’t judging either of you for that,” says Ava, ignoring the face the red head pulls.  “All I’m sayin’…” she trails off with a sigh.  “I can’t believe I’m sayin’ this, but just…be gentle with her, okay?  She got it bad for you Schemmenti.”

This time Ava does manage to make her escape, leaving a speechless Melissa in her wake.

*

You’re too busy letting your eyes roam around the restaurant, taking in the sights and smells to realise that Melissa has finished giving the server your order and is now staring at you across the table.

“Something you wanna tell me?” she asks finally, bringing you eyes back to her.

“I don’t think so,” you reply, frowning.  You had spoken to her before you had left school only a couple of hours before.  Nothing exciting had happened since. 

“You mean I got all dressed up and this isn’t even a date?” she asks with a smirk.

Shit.  You wish you were better at hiding your reaction but you know you’re sitting like a rabbit in the headlights.  You’re not sure if Melissa is joking or serious.  Over the last semester, you’ve gotten to be able to read her quite well, but you’re not sure whether it’s the shock or your anxiety that has you spinning.  How does she know?

You know you’ve been in love with her for months now, but she doesn’t know what.  You’ve been very pleased with how well you’ve hidden it.  Or at least, you thought you had.  Then it hits you.  Melissa might not know, but there’s one person who does: Ava.  “I’m gonna kill her,” you hiss, making a grab for your phone where it sits on the table. 

Melissa grabs your hand before you can reach for it.  “Did you really want this to be date?” 

You feel your cheeks heat up in embarrassment, your words caught in your throat.  You’re terrified to answer.  To scare her away.  To lose her entirely. 

She releases your hand, tapping your phone screen, making it light up.  It’s a picture of the two of you, taken weeks before at sports bar where Melissa had been once again trying to explain the rules of football to you in between shouting at the game.  She was sporting a winning smile thanks to the Eagles and you…well you were smiling at Melissa. 

“Don’t look too bad together, do we?”

You look up at her words.  There is no teasing in her tone, and her smile, when you see it, is soft, encouraging.  You draw in a shuddering breath.  You maybe haven’t ruined things after all.  “What if I really did want this to be a date?” you ask, watching as her smile only grows. 

“I didn’t get all dressed up for nothing, kid.”

[imrowanartist]

Gaz dances with Rosie, while also realizing how fast his little girl is growing up 🥹

Tags: toothrotting fluff, humor, established PriceGaz, SFW

About 1200 words, continues under the cut

—

Afternoons like these, Kyle has found, are quickly becoming his favorite. He’s settled at the kitchen table, going over some paperwork, while over in the living room, there’s the soft rustling of paper as Rosie is keeping busy making drawing after drawing at the coffee table.

It’s peaceful. The sound of an animated film on the telly plays softly in the background and provides just enough white noise to keep Kyle’s focus on his work.

Today’s pick is Anastasia, and Kyle actually remembers that movie from his own childhood. It’s a sweet story and it’s even sweeter to see how much Rosie loves it. She’s been on a creative streak lately, redrawing her favorite characters from films, shows, and books alike. It’s something that Kyle and John have been supporting wholeheartedly, nurturing the imagination that she seems to have in abundance.

Lost in thought, Kyle doesn’t notice it when Rosie gets up from her spot and pads over to him until she’s suddenly pulling on his sleeve. He blinks back to the present, looking right into his daughter’s questioning face.

“Dad? Will you dance with me like they do in the film?” she asks and Kyle looks from the puppy eyes she’s giving him to the scene currently playing out on the telly.

It’s a ballroom scene with a whimsical song playing over it and he smiles when he remembers some of the lyrics.

“Of course,” he replies, in the most posh accent he can manage as he gets up. “May I have this dance, Princess Bee?”

He bows dramatically then swipes Rosie up in his arms as she giggles, “Dad, it’s Princess Rosanna—“

“Deepest apologies, your Highness.”

He turns up the sound of the telly, then starts swaying around the living room to the rhythm of the music, taking one of Rosie’s hands in his to mimic a ballroom dance. Her other hand is warm on his shoulder and her laughter in his ear is infectious.

Someone holds me safe and warm Anastasia sings and Kyle can’t help but press his daughter a little closer against him as they make another circle around the coffee table. They hum along to the song together as Kyle tries to take it all in, tears prickling at the corners of his eyes. She’s growing up so fast and he’s all too aware that moments like these will not last forever.

He dips Rosie down, then pulls her back up, her cheeks flushed red and eyes wide with joy.

Things my heart used to know, things it yearns to remember

Kyle swallows against the lump in his throat as he suddenly remembers another instance of swaying around their flat with Rosie held in his arms. Though that had been in the middle of the night and she’d been only a few weeks old at the time; he and John sleep-deprived as they got up every few hours to feed her. It seems a lifetime ago now.

He’d do it all over again, knowing that it means he gets to have this.

“Do a pirouette!” Rosie demands and Kyle grins as he spins around in place until they’re both dizzy and breathless with laughter. As the song ends, he hugs her close and kisses her cheek over and over until Rosie giggles and pulls her face away with a mock grumble.

Behind him, Kyle can hear the front door of their flat opening and closing.

“Da, we’re dancing!” Rosie calls out and Kyle turns with her still in his arms to see his partner shrug out of his coat, back from running his errands.

“Are we now?” John smiles, toeing off his shoes and stepping towards them.

Kyle leans forward to snatch the remote from the table, rewinds to the start of the song, then drags John in by his sleeve.

“Her Highness Princess Rosanna-Bee demands it,” he says, gently swaying his hips as the music slowly intensifies. John holds his gaze for a moment, eyes twinkling and a smile pulling on his lips.

“Haven’t danced in a while, might step on your toes,” he comments, bringing his right arm around Kyle’s back to join them in their dance.

Rosie pats his shoulder in consolation. “That’s okay, Da. Just try your best.”

Kyle has to keep himself from snickering at her completely honest tone and the affronted look on John’s face in return. Then he pulls his partner along in a repeat of before, swirling around the living room to the beat of the music.

It’s clumsy and unpractical, with Rosie on his hip —who’s definitely not a toddler anymore, John’s arm around his back, and all three of their hands held together, but Kyle doesn’t care. All he cares about is the pure joy on his daughter’s face as he sings along to the lyrics this time, pitching his voice to reach the high notes.

They do another spin, and just before the song ends, Kyle trips over the coffee table and with an exaggerated cry, lets himself fall onto the sofa, on top of John, Rosie still held in his arms.

John lets out a loud oomph as he gets stuck underneath them, causing Rosie to laugh so hard she has tears in her eyes. She wriggles in Kyle’s grip till they’re face to face.

“A real Prince wouldn’t have dropped me,” she says pointedly and this time it’s Kyle’s turn to look affronted, feeling John chuckle underneath him.

“Excuse me,” he returns dryly, “A real Princess wouldn’t have a table in the middle of her ballroom.”

She scoffs, then climbs down from the both of them, dusting off her clothes like a real pretend royal. Before Kyle can get up too, he feels John’s arm snake around his waist and his beard nuzzle his neck.

“You’re still a real Prince to me,” his partner mumbles and Kyle just about melts in his grip. He shuffles around until they’re side by side, the sofa barely able to hold them. Kyle takes a moment to study John; the added grey in his hair and the wrinkles around his eyes. It only makes him look more handsome in Kyle’s humble opinion.

“If I’m a Prince, what does that make you? My dashing Knight?”

“Sure,” John hums, before leaning in for a kiss that Kyle returns happily. He could stay in this moment forever, just enjoying his family.

His daughter has other plans though.

“Ewwww,” Rosie groans, already tired of their mushy behaviour. She throws a pillow at them and they break apart with a laugh.

As she skips past the sofa, Kyle reaches out on a whim and pulls her back into his arms. He kisses her hair and the freckles on her cheeks and her nose, despite the loud protests in between her laughter.

She’s growing up so fast. It feels like Kyle has just blinked and here she is, eight years old already. With a curious mind and her own opinions, while it feels like yesterday he was still changing her diapers. He’s afraid that if he blinks again, she’ll be a teenager already.

So he presses her close against him, as he feels John’s arms around his waist, enjoying it all while he still can.

[janus-cadet]

Back with more tarot cards! Last weeks had been a bit more busy, but, finally, some timeto draw. We're continuing the Hazbin Hotel/Helluva Boss series, with none other than hell's greatest boss- Blitzø, as the Four of Pentacles!

(spend so long on the background to have his stupid ass in front of it)

Some explanations for the choice of card under the cut!

Now, the meaning you'll see associated to this card are usually linked to discussion of money and wealth; but while those would still, in my opinion, fit Blitzø's relation with money, I'll focusing far more on the association with feelings, and relations with others.

Upright, and in its most positive state, the Four of Pentacles suggests that you've created something (a business, perhaps!) that secures you financial stability; you can now provide better for those around you, and feel much more independent, when you were struggling with finances before. But the card typically accompanies a scarcity mindset- with money and material possessions, but also toward others. Instead of enjoying your current lifestyle, you are choosing to guard tightly what you have gain, in fear you might lose it all at any time. That fear of loosing what you have stops you from taking a shot at happiness, and from finding fulfilment in your life. You place too much values on material things, as you feel that your self-worth is based on how much you have- which, in turn, might lead you to feel inadequate next to others (like a whole ass prince of hell, who knows).

Beyond all that, the card appears when you are seeking out more control in your life. You're convinced you can do things alone, that you don't need other people to support you: at work, you might, for example, not let others (Moxxie) mess with your area of expertise. In relationship, you may be protective, even possessive, in fear that it would slip between your fingers, to the point of shutting yourself down to not let a crack be visible.

Reversed, the Four of Pentacles can appear when you're starting to re-evaluate what's important to you. You may be starting to loose the tight grip you have on yourself and the things you care about, in order to seek more openly love and happiness. Perhaps you're starting to forgive yourself, mend relations broken in the past?

If that re-evaluation has not come, however, the card warns you that you should start looking for it. You may not realise it, but what you have is slipping through your fingers, because of how you treat it; or maybe you know just to well, and just tighten your hold even more, despite the harm it's doing... just like the Blitzø on the card, holding that pentacle coin tightly to his chest. You are entering the self-protection mode: you wish for stability, security, and certainty, but find yourself unable to accept it as long as you do not deem yourself worthy enough, wealthy enough, to receive it. But that attitude is what threaten the most of what you've built: you have to learn to open yourself. Stability can only be found once you started building it in yourself.

And that's it for today! I hope you like it, I certainly do. I have to admit I wasn't big on Blitzø at first, but that feral imp quickly grew on me.

Now, all the cards I've done so far for this fandom...

Next time, if there's no change of plan, we'll have Charlie and Vaggie, and the Ten of Cups!

[fourlittleocto]

i'm really bad at headcanons in general so i'm sorry if these are not good, but thank you for the ask! also with midterms i've been super busy so i hope everyone can keep being patient with me, i promise i am working on asks it just might be another week <3

starting with some cute ones (thank you @pyrefection)

dew loves to rub soft stuff on his face. if the closest soft thing happens to be a person, so be it. he doesn't want them to touch him, just let him hold their hand and rub it over his face. this always somehow turns into their fingers in his mouth, since they're softer and nicer than his

with that thought, even though he doesn't need to teethe he still wants to stick everything in his mouth, just to see what it's like. some sort of instinct. however his fear of getting in trouble trumps this need, which means he'll spend way longer than most cgs have patience for crawling over to objects that look good, holding them up, and then pouting when he's told no, he can't put that in his mouth until it either has to be pried out of his weirdly strong grip or mountain (because let's be honest he thinks this is adorable and is the only one who actually tolerates it) gives in and let's him put it in his mouth "but just once dewbug!" it's better that he's doing this when someone's watching anyway, and then he'll never need to try again

dew loves to draw and hates coloring. he doesn't like that he can't control his hands enough to keep it in the lines, especially since little rain is a little ocd and always gives him judgemental stares when they color together. he loves to draw though, and even though they're usually just colorful squiggles aurora (his new favorite caregiver) has taught him how to draw some shapes and to associate certain colors with certain emotions, so he feels like he can communicate when he's drawing and it's really relaxing to his troubled brain

i also love moonbeam's hc that tiny dew loves to clap. it's a movement that's easy, and it's small and loud just like he is, and he knows how to clap sarcastically to get a laugh. whenever anyone in the pack does something stupid he claps and giggles, and it sends aurora into a laughing fit every time.

i put some stuff about dew's childhood/regression under the cut cause it's a little heavy/sad so feel free to skip it

just as background, i think dew goes really small, like usually he can't walk or talk but sometimes he can get as big as 3, where he's toddling, but even then he can't talk cause as a child his parents refused to talk to him so he didn't learn to until he was interacting with other kits. It's part of why now he's really slow at reading and gets frustrated when he has to describe something cause words just don't come easily to him. it's also the reason that when he's tiny he likes to hide, he doesn't want anyone to see him so vulnerable so they can't use it against him. (however, this has made him incredible at hide and seek. one of the older littles or aurora will hold him and follow where he points and they always win)

he also can't drop on purpose, it's entirely trauma/stimuli-based. i definitely think it's something that started for him after the elemental change, but no one except mountain knew about it until aurora was summoned. She mothered him about his attitude while he was big enough times that one night, while in the middle of a bad flashback, he babbled something just coherent enough for mountain to know he was asking for her, so now they trade off taking care of him and know who he needs based on what happened/what kind of mood he's in (it's always bad, but sometimes it's MUCH WORSE than others, and aurora has to take him when he's specifically having elemental change flashbacks cause mountain still has too much attachment to the events and they trigger flashbacks for him too)

either way, since aurora has joined the pack she's helped dew not feel so scared about being small, to the point where even if he can't be with a group of adults, he's able to sit with her and watch little rain and phantom and cumulus play. she's also slowly teaching him to do things that 1 to 2-year-olds are supposed to be able to do, and it's helped him feel like he has a lot of control over it even if he still can't control the action of his mind dropping.

[justporo]

Hey Poro. I don't recall you ever talking about your Tav. Do you have any posts about them or any cool info you wanna share? (Saw you were open to asks, so I thought I'd drop one hæhæ)

Oh yes, hello! I guess you're right. And that although she's the Tav in most all of my stories (especially my longform fics).

So let me introduce my wonderful girl to you. And yes: her name is indeed just Tav. Don't come for me - I didn't plan for any of this but now here we are. I am just Poro and she is just Tav.

I'm always happy about questions about my girl tho - I do have a background story and all flashed out for her. I just... never talked about it??

Oh, and she's been my profile pic from very early one, I am still in love with the wonderful drawing @azaani-art did of her!

Full Name: Tav (yes, that's it, maybe she takes on Ancunín sometime, eh?) Race: Woodelf Class: Ranger (Urban tracker background) Height: 5'5 Pronouns: She/Her

More about her personality and backstory below the cut!

Personality: She's witty, rebellious, will stab you if the need arises or pickpocket all your gold if you're mean to her. But she still believes that there's ultimately good in the world. A hope that sometimes makes her take stupid and naive risks. And never has she experienced a love like she has with Astarion - and she's sure she'll never will again. Might be it started as a silly crush because she never experienced someone giving her this kind of attention, but now... She'd kill for him and die for him - although she'd very much prefer the first.

Story: Tav was the daughter to a loveless affair of a very high-up wood elf noble, her father, and her high-elf mother from Baldur's Gate. Immediately abandoned by her mother after birth on the steps of a cloister in the city where she spent the first few years of her life. A life where she was treated harshly from the very first steps on she could take. So still being a child, she fled the abuse and started to live on the streets of Baldur's Gate where she not only had to grow up quickly but learn how to be proficient with sleight of hand, stealth and running away as fast as possible when the former two skills weren't enough. She always did what it takes even though it meant making objectively stupid decisions. She's hardened, cold, with a sharp tongue and violent if need be to those she perceives as a threat because you had to be if you didn't want to be taken advantage off as a woman. But this also means she's made herself unapproachable, so never really has she experienced someone giving her attention for anything but her skillset, complimenting her, wooing her. But to those she perceives as her friends or close ones she's a helpless people-pleaser and pushover rising from a desperate desire to not be left alone again; deeply believing she's only worth as much as she can be of use. She joined a band of thieves for which she and her friends she found there took on highbrow heists - until the day Tav was taken and a parasite in her brain but much more a sassy vampire shook her and her beliefs to the core.

A few more funfacts:

the piercings she has, she's done herself (thank the gods she didn't die of an infection

the tattoos she has she had done very young when she felt rebellious after she first found out about her real father - back then she thought it would make her look fierce; now she knows it was a little stupid but they're a part of her now; Astarion likes to let his thumbs run along them and calls her his "little fiend"

her main role during her thieving times was stakeout and keeping an eye on the others from above with her bow - during long and boring stakeout times she picked up drawing as a hobby: she just drew what she saw, so she could keep an eye on stuff but also busy herself

the scar is from her time when she first fled the cloister and joined a group of street kids (all boys) and she was repeatedly forced to show how brave she was; always having to be at least twice as couragous as the others just to make up for her being a girl

she has a definite problem with authorities

and she could probably drink you under the table

she's not good at taking care of herself, so Astarion calls her his street cat - and has to teach her a thing or two about self-care

[deoidesign]

Just wanted to say I absolutely adore your comic! It reminds me of all the comics I would read when I was little (except now they're gay), the style and shading is amazing.

What would you say is your favorite part of creating your comic, and do you have any tips?

Thank you I'm so glad to hear that!

I think my favorite part of making comics is the way it sort of feels like a puzzle. It's super mentally difficult but it's extremely rewarding to figure out plots and work out my best execution of it! I also LOVE editing, it's where things get to really pull together.

As for tips, I'm not sure what you mean! so I'll just share a few tips for a few different ideas...

Saving time

to save time I save every head I've ever drawn in a file so I can reuse the head (I redraw the face) which allows me to skip the sketching stage, since I only need to sketch for heads!

I also make my backgrounds a single very large image so I can reuse parts of it throughout the whole scene, recolor it for different times of day, etc, which saves a TON of time for me. Then, I just add in some spot blacks on top to make it feel cohesive with the character art! (this ALSO has saved me a TON when I've been converting my pages from scroll format to page format, as I have a high quality version of the background to use when I need the panels to be wider!)

But the biggest thing that saves me time is my line confidence.

So, next I'll talk about lineart tips!

most important is to draw from your elbow and your shoulder, instead of your wrist and fingers. this will get you cleaner lines, but will also save your body in the long run! The wrist is extremely fragile, so start learning to draw with more of your arm NOW rather than later.

Next is practicing line confidence! this basically is what gets you to draw the right line the first time, saving you a ton of time! These two tips sort of go hand in hand.

writing tips

First and foremost, you should be having fun! and I'm so serious, if you are working on a scene that feels like a drag to you, it will drag to your readers too. Whatever you feel like that scene HAS to be there for can almost definitely be accomplished in a different way!

but, really, I like to try to keep the big picture in mind. What is this scene accomplishing, what needs to happen to force these character changes, what needs to be revealed, what information about the world is canonized, etc, rather than thinking about your story as "events that have happened and will have to happen"

building off of that, my personal rule for establishing information is 3 times: If you've mentioned something three times, you can expect the audience to remember it. If you've mentioned it once or twice, it's really pretty likely they'll have forgotten by the time it's relevant.

This is getting really pretty long, I could get into character design tips, worldbuilding tips, tips for characters emoting, layout tips, marketing tips, business tips... there are SO many skills that go into making a comic, it's extremely hard to offer tips without knowing what you're looking for!

[killuagirly]

I'd love to see the Noah's Ark Circus boys with a girlfriend (or neutral if needed) who is handy with crafts, making blankets, clothes, decor, ect. Please and thank you!

Noah's Ark Circus Boys[Separate] x F!Reader

Summary: Our lovely boys with you, - their girlfriend - who is skilled in the arts and crafts department. What would they think about your artistic talents?

Notes: This is really cute, not to mention I'd love to start up some of these hobbies myself! Crafts require talent and passion; I admire those who are skillful with such things. I can draw pretty decently if I do say so myself, but I'd rather not try making clothes and such. Room decor is kind of fun though? Maybe I just have a short attention span.

CW: Nothing, really.

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Joker

☆ Honestly, Joker would admire your craftsmanship to an extent. He's seen people of all sorts with talents of their own before, but you're much more entertaining to watch. If you're ever working on a multi-day project, Joker makes it a point in his day to come and check up on your progress. He'll ask about your work in detail, even if it was just something silly that you did made up for laughs.

☆ If he ever has the chance too, he'd take a bit of his salary out in order to buy you new materials. It's just as effective as buying the object itself, if not more in his eyes. Then not only can he get you a lil' something, but he can also support you in your interests and hobbies! So considerate of him.

Dagger

☆ Dagger is simply mesmerized by the way you can take turn something so simple into something brand new. If you ever need, he's always got a knife on hand for cutting string, cloth, or whatever else you might need. He's happy to help you out with anything he can!! In a way, Dagger is your own personal assistant whenever he's free.

☆ He definitely has asked you at some point to make him something, saying something like, "'s much better 'en 's made b' y' darlin'! Please?" If he managed to convince you, he'd be overly exciting and in anticipation the whole time you were busying yourself with making his gift. Don't even get me started on how much he would treasure it once it's in his hands, nobody could lay a finger near it.

Peter

☆ In the beginning, Peter plays it off as though he's unamused by your little hobby. It's a bit easy to see through him though, knowing his way of always putting on an uncaring act. He really is interested in the things you make, but not interested enough to invest his time in your projects. If you ever ask him about something you're working on you should expect a, "I d'nt really care. D' whatev'r y' w'nt"

☆ How to really get to him might be gifting him something. I mean, who knew Peter could even get all flustered? He was flattered that you made something for him, but even so he told you not to do it again since, "Y' wastin' y'r time 'nd money," and so on about how he could've just went out and bought something for himself. He's got money now, y'know? Really, he loves that you were thinking about him though.

Jumbo

☆ Jumbo finds your talents adorning and cute. Sometimes he'll sit by your side for hours as you work on different projects, playing his harmonica for you as a source of comforting background music. He'll praise your work and smile at you if you ever ask him for advice, "Y' doin' great already hun," or, "'s lookin' wonderful." Never a negative comment out of his mouth.

☆ His heart melted when he saw you made him something, especially since it's hard to find clothing in his sizes. You could make him a sweater, shirt, pants, scarf, even a pair of gloves and the hearts in his eyes are visible, sweet words coming naturally to him about how much he loves you. Could you get more of an appreciative gentleman? I don't think so.

Snake

☆ Snake enjoys different textures, feeling and touching fabrics and materials you happen to be using. At first he thought you might find his little habit weird, but once he - or rather his snakes - explained how the feeling of his scales against something softer was comforting, he was surprised at your reaction. Why are you asking him to touch different pieces? Why do you care which one he thinks feels the nicest??

☆ One time, you even found Snake snuggling up against a new blanket you had made for him in the fabric he specifically said was his favorite. It was just as adorable as you planned it would be, and you and your beloved now had a new bonding topic. Even if you didn't see the same appeal he did, it was nice to have someone near who would offer their thoughts when asked.

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