Tumgik
#when they actually kept his character very consistent
jjkamochoso · 4 hours
Text
Arts and Crafts with JJK Characters
Fluff
Warnings: none; scenarios can be seen as romantic or platonic!
Yuji: photography
He was known for having his phone out a lot of the time, capturing candid moments of the people he cared about and pretty landscapes, so you knew he would be excited when you suggested doing a photo scavenger hunt. As you two raced around the city, taking pictures and checking off boxes, smiles and laughter were bountiful. You had tons of fun discovering different buildings and paying more attention to your surroundings than usual as you tried to finish the scavenger hunt before Yuji. You ended the day with a picture of the delicious meal you shared and a selfie to commemorate the good time! He already had the next scavenger hunt theme decided--since you two were definitely doing this often!
Megumi: painting
He was apprehensive at first when you asked him to join you painting, but nevertheless he relented. When the follow along video started and you and Megumi put paint to paper, he started to relax a bit after realizing how fun it actually was. At the end of the session, you felt your jaw drop seeing Megumi’s artwork--it looked the exact same as the tutorial! When you complimented him, he averted his gaze as a blush became evident on his face. He would never say it out loud but he was hoping this could become a frequent activity for you guys.
Nobara: crochet
You and Nobara couldn't resist buying diy mini crochet animal kits, their precious faces causing the two of you to giggle in delight at the prospect of making your very own cute creature. When you got back to the dorms, you eagerly began your crochet adventure. You both tried your best at following the directions but the resulting products looked nothing like the picture on the front of the package. Rather than being discouraged, you decided you enjoyed the process more than the results, which was fine by the both of you--you'd just buy pre-made plushies the next time you went shopping!
Maki: needle felting
You wanted to spend time with Maki doing literally anything other than sparring. It was hard to get her to agree to that, but you figured she'd have a good time needle felting since it consisted of aggressively punching material together with a sharp object. She was pleasantly surprised at how much fun she was having and you liked seeing her work with a smile on her face as her felt animal took shape. When you were both finished, you proudly displayed your animal on a desk in your room while she scoffed at the idea of something so childish. Little did you know, she kept that first craft (and the ones she made on her own afterwards) in a box under her bed for her to admire when she was alone.
Inumaki: rock painting
You and Toge were walking together, watering the flowers, when an idea struck your mind. As a fellow enjoyer of the arts and beating boredom, Toge immediately agreed when you suggested you two paint rocks. You had a great time hunting down the perfect ones, making sure they weren't too round or odd shaped. When you got started, you found peace in the comfortable silence. All of a sudden, you felt a tug on your sleeve and saw that Toge had painted onigiri and other sushi ingredients on his, while you had painted some of the flowers you had watered earlier. You exchanged your rocks and kept them where you could be reminded of the fun you two shared.
Yuta: drawing
When you approached Yuta about drawing with you, he excitedly accepted. It reminded him of simpler times and he knew that his open mind with overactive imagination could lead to interesting artwork. You two sat outside under a big tree, basking in the warmth of the day as the only sound you heard was pencil on paper. It was good for you both to take that time to relax and not think about anything other than the task in front of you. When you were finished, you showed each other what you had drawn and made sure you planned this low-key activity regularly.
Noritoshi: embroidery
Though it was a bit too traditional for his taste, Noritoshi agreed to learn embroidery with you. You went online to find some helpful videos as you went to work on your samplers. You found yourselves getting the hang of it pretty easily and when your samplers were finished, Noritoshi's precisely executed, he shyly proposed that you two should continue the activity and move on to creating actual scenes. You were overjoyed that he liked embroidering with you and it turned into a shared weekly event. Noritoshi even made pieces on his own time as a way to destress!
Todo: jewelry making
Aoi was overjoyed when you asked him to make jewelry with you. You visited a bunch of craft stores to collect beads, charms, and other supplies before you started on your pieces. Of course he suggested making matching bracelets and you would never turn him down. After those were done, you created some necklaces as he made friendships bracelets for Yuji and Takada-Chan. You two laughed and had a great time together, listening to music as your hands were busy working. After that day, you were frequently treated to new jewelry handmade by Aoi that was lovingly dropped off to your room with a kind note attached explaining the design's inspiration.
Gojo: phone charm making
Satoru is always on his phone and you felt that it looked too abysmal compared to his fun personality so you planned a phone charm making day with the man. He, of course, was excited to be a part of it and bought a whole slew of beads and other sparkly pieces to add on. You two were on a roll, creating phone charms as quickly as inspiration hit you, until you were looking at 50 of them with only 2 phones between you. You passed out some of the extras to the students and faculty of the school and ended up doing custom ones for those who asked. You and Satoru loved doing this activity together and frequently made each other charms so you would always feel close to each other.
Geto: calligraphy
You had been practicing your calligraphy when Suguru found you. Intrigued by its beauty, he asked if you could teach him and you energetically said yes. He watched your movements and copied them to the best of his ability, trying to be as precise as possible. You were happy at how quick he was at learning and before long, you two were writing notes to each other in various styles, eager to show off your abilities. You both kept those notes and cherished them deeply, a sign of your bond made permanent with ink.
Nanami: macrame
When you went to Kento's apartment and saw the plants he had everywhere, you were struck by an idea. He wasn't so sure about creating macrame plant holders, but was touched by your devotion to sprucing up his living space so he finally agreed. You two learned the knots and were able to catch on the instructions pretty quickly. You both liked the fact that you were creating something on your own rather than buying it, which adds a sentimental touch. He wasn't a huge fan of the design at the end but since you helped him with it, it quickly became one of his favorite home decor pieces.
Choso: cross stitch
You were over the moon when Choso expressed his desire to partake in cross stitch with you. He had no experience with delicate things like arts and crafts and you were more than happy to show him what to do. He picked up on it quickly, finding solace in the quiet, repetitive motions. He smiled softly at his completed piece--a frilly, flower adorned "welcome" sign. You had finished your own work as well and both of you displayed your art proudly. Cross stitch nights became a frequent thing when life got too overwhelming and you needed an easy activity to keep your minds at bay.
26 notes · View notes
daisyssousa · 8 months
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
daniel sousa character development from agent carter ⇆ agents of shield
@lgbtqcreators creator bingo challenge - parallels
credit to @wandas-apologist for the one about him telling stories!
738 notes · View notes
staryuee · 1 month
Text
GIVING THEM A FRIENDSHIP BRACELET
Tumblr media
꒰warnings꒱ not proofread…:3
⠀꒲ ` synopsis . . . how would your significant other react when you give them a friendship bracelet made by your own kind hands?
⠀꒲ ` characters . . . diluc, kazuha, kokomi, scaramouche, heizou, itto, cyno, lyney, lynette, freminet, furina, neuvillette, navia, ga ming, chiori, arlecchino
⠀꒲ ` notes . . . this reminded of primary school days of making randomly coloured loom band bracelets…sniffles, the good ol’ days of giving your crush bundled up daisies that had bugs on them from the schools yard and then immediately running away (i am a lesbian i had no such experience in just talking for the sake of poetry ☆〜(ゝ。∂)
Tumblr media
R. DILUC — 迪卢克
“what’s this, my love?” he cautiously surveyed the tiny strings and charms with a shocked yet rather satisfied expression. so this is what you were so focused on for the last couple hours…? he can’t help but feel slightly relieved that instead of wasting away at work you were merely crafting a cutely childish gift for him.
“it’s a friendship bracelet! look, i even managed to find these cute strawberry charms for you.” you laughed and start fiddling with the short strands near his scalp, fiddling with them and folding them over to create a stem-like shape.
diluc softly exhaled in amusement, wrapping the small piece of jewellery around his already bedazzled wrist. it takes him a real good second to actually realise what you just said. awkwardly coughing into his hand, diluc catches your attention, “darling, you do realise we’re married?”
a smile possesses your face as you hook your arm with his. “of course i do! i just thought it’d be cute, you know?” he smiled in response.
diluc is no stranger to friendship bracelets. after all, him and kaeya used to make those for each other all the time. sometimes that young triplet consisting of a very dedicated jean, a shy kaeya and a mischievous diluc (sometimes a cutsey barbara who tried to eat the beads) would gather together to create and exchange such bracelets.
a tradition that diluc might’ve let go of but had never forgotten. when you go to sleep at night diluc immediately places your bracelet into a drawer where he kept all of the ones from his childhood.
K. KAZUHA — 枫原万叶
“is this a friendship bracelet? that’s very considerate of you, my love.” kazuha tilts your chin to press a feather-light kiss onto your lips, his touch so tender it was like being touched by sunlight itself. “but i thought we were passed our journey of friendship?” his hand travel down to your hips. squeezing them intently to bring you close to his flowery scent.
“or do i need to remind you that we’re lovers?” taking your hand in his, kazuha leaned his head down to press his lips against your knuckles, eyes peeking through his bangs as if to entice you. and, well, of course it did. kazuha knew just a simple glance at you paired with an affectionate grin was enough to lure you into loving his arms.
kazuha didn’t expect for a piece of handmade jewellery consisting of maple leaf charms with red string to become so sentimental to him, but it was only a matter of time till the bracelet helped become an engraved memory of you. he’d kiss it each time you were apart, hold it up against moonlight while stargazing, trying to illustrate your figure within a constellation.
wandering became more exciting. he’d get to slowly part from your lips, while still having a perpetual reminder of the love you shared with a few pieces of strings tied to his wrist alone.
kazuha, though content with this, always secretly craved to hear the sound of your voice as you called his name and reached out to him. however, within his life he’s learned one thing that has truly stood out; it’s the small things in life that mirror true beauty.
S. KOKOMI — 珊瑚宫心海
“your excellency? what is that on your wrist?” gorou tilted his head curiously, his ears twitching in tandem.
“hm? oh, this?” she shakes the coral coloured bracelet, making the beads and fish charms jingle excitedly as if they were jumping within sea waves. “haha, [name] gave it to me. it’s a friendship bracelet!” kokomi shows it off with pride, a flutter of flapping fins hit her ribcage in the form of her beating heart at the prospect of people seeing the deepness of your ocean-depth bond with just a few beads on a string.
burnout is utterly debilitating. as kokomi spends only a few minutes in her recluse corner within watatsumi, even the shimmering of pearls and the quiet sound of the shore isn’t enough to bring her fragmented energy to rest. nesting her head upon the bundled arms that laid carefully on her desk, she attempted to snooze. finding that she can just barely flutter her curled eyelashes close before an unbearable ache pinches her eyebrows into a knot.
feeling defeated, kokomi sits back up and taps her fingers absentmindedly on the wood, finding just a tiny bit of solace in the sound of clicking and clacking. wait…she quickly glanced at her wrist, noticing she completely forgot to take off her bracelet when preforming her duties. despite her fatigue, kokomi can’t help but exhale a smile. calloused fingers tweezing the bubbly fish charms in an attempt for stimuli that wasn’t so agonising.
she’s so glad she has you, even if that memory of you is withheld in something children share for an intended promise of foreverness.
SCARAMOUCHE — 斯卡拉姆齐
“are you twelve?“ scaramouche raises his eyebrows at you with a sneer, a look of either disgust or confusion on his face. “if i didn’t know any better, i’d say you were mocking me.”
“you’re short but not kid short!” you retorted to appease him, rolling your eyes at his annoying theatrics. did he really have to be so bitchy all the time? i guess when people say that short people tend to be the most angry because all that wrath is bottled into such a teeny body it’s very true…
the friendship bracelets (yes you made two!) were a representation of his journey from the malicious “balladeer” to the slightly less malicious and more so bittersweet wanderer. a contradicting colour palette yet his frosty and asshole attitude remained the same no matter what hue of the rainbow he was dipped in (should’ve been named skittle not scaramouche).
“if you don’t like it that much you don’t have to wear it, it’s not like i’m forcing you.” a pang of disappointed squeezed your chest heavily. it would’ve been fine if he just threw it away after a week or so. you would’ve been extremely hurt yes, but it’s better than having your own lover reject a handmade gift without even a thought for your feelings.
seeing your frown lines and the way your eyebrows scrunched together, scaramouche sighed and immediately snatched the bracelets back. quickly covering them over his wrist and crossing his arms over his chest defiantly. “i never said i wouldn’t wear it, stop being whiny.”
the slight embarrassment he felt was worth every stroke of blush on his cheeks if it meant he could see you smile brightly at something so childish.
S. HEIZOU — 鹿野院平藏
“it’s not our anniversary.” heizou stated simply.
“nope.”
“neither of our birthdays.”
“nope.”
“not a special achievement either.”
“nope.”
“alright, love, spill. what’s the occasion, hm? just in the mood to spoil me with your affections?” heizou threw his hands up in defeat. not being able to use his detective experience into deciphering why you decided to be so cute today and bless his otherwise uneventful day.
carefully, you wrapped the bracelet around his eager wrist. “no occasion~ just felt like giving you a friendship bracelet to show my love for you.” he raises an eyebrow. leaning to your eye level, heizou procures a look of confused distaste at your seemingly innocent admission. “friendship?” he looks away dejected, placing his hands on his hips. “and here i thought i was your very cool and sweet boyfriend.”
brushing away his dramatics and looping your arms around his neck to pull his pouty face in closer, you retaliate. “oh hush, you’re still my lovely dramatic boyfriend.” heizou smirked and leaned in impossibly close, his breath tickling your soft skin generously.
“then, could you show your love for me in another way too?” begrudgingly, you caved. moulding your lips with his while his hands gradually situated themselves on your hips. a chuckle escapes his occupied mouth, leaving a tingling feeling down your spine as you pull away, a bright smirk on his face. “thanks for the bracelet, baby~ i’ll be sure to wear it as my lucky charm during investigations!”
A. ITTO — 荒泷一斗
“well of course you’d want to bless the almighty arataki itto with such a gift! i humbly accept your offering~” itto sways a thumbs up, tongue rolling across his pointy teeth in an extravagant display of confident hubris. all in vain, of course. no amount of bravado could dull the charming blush on his cheeks; the way his grin hoisted into a genuine smile of gratitude or the way his eyes glistened with a familiar light; childlike wonder.
itto was never and has never been accustomed to such small things in life. honestly, he was lucky for a stranger to not throw insults, physical objects, hits, kicks, spit, and the like for his mere existence. a friendship bracelet was an event that was so far out of reach for the oni that the only thing he wanted to do right now was to kiss you stupid.
but, he couldn’t. he stood still, twiddling with the beads that nested against his wrist with a haze that was absentminded you felt like tapping him would cause a bubble to burst above his head for water to splash him awake.
the word “friend” doesn’t even register into his brain. he’s too content with the knowledge that your bond meant something to you. that he meant something to you.
you’ve never seen itto so quiet before. he’s usually this giant (literally) ball of energy that bounces around the place and shares an infectious attitude of confidence and joy with no restraint even to the most stoic, but right now, it was like he was that small vulnerable child again given a chance at redemption for simply living.
CYNO — 赛诺
cyno tilts his head to the side as he stares with pinched brows at the weaved threads of purple and yellow beads and charms that you held in front of you with a delicate hand. “what’s the bracelet for?”
“it’s a friendship bracelet!” taking the initiative, you wrap the bracelet around his relatively small wrist and watch in awe as it seems to match his palette perfectly. perhaps not his personality, but maybe if he wore this around regularly people wouldn’t be so frightened by his frozen features.
cyno went quiet for a moment, a look of confusion on his face. a look that made you shrink in shame. did he not like it? was something wrong with it? is it too childish for someone with such an esteemed status? all such baseless thoughts get immediately dispelled once cyno’s lips curl into a subtle grin, his eyes narrowing devilishly.
you’ve often seen this look when he’s about to score a rewarding win in a tcg tournament. but, he also had this look when…fuck. you sigh in defeat and simply let him say it. “why did the friendship bracelet break up with its partner?”
“…ha. why?”
“because it felt tied down.”
you know how in animes when someone says something very fucking stupid, it’s like the world echoes with silence to allow the person to truly feel the embarrassment from their words? you hoped that’s what cyno felt when you blank stared him with a thin line for your lips, hands clenching and unclenching as you fought the urge to squeeze his cheeks together.
“do you get it?” he asks, but before he can ramble about the absolutely articulate construction of his pun, you spring into action and press your lips passionately on his. of course, he replies eagerly. enjoying the clicking of the beads hitting together as his hand made it’s swift, instinctive movement to your waist.
LYNEY — 林尼
“mon ange…is this for me?” lyney smiles gently at you, sneaking the red bracelet onto his wrist. unable to take his away from the fine craftsmanship and the adorable details of hats, doves and some card charms. knowing you thought of him so directly and so in depth made his heart flutter the same way a dove’s wings expand after being liberated from a cooped cage.
“of course it is, it’s a friendship bracelet!” you clasp your hands behind your back, awaiting either his praise or his teasing — whatever he was in the mood for more. despite the happiness that surged through his heart like a bad game of throw the dart, believe me you shot him hard in the feels, lyney frowns.
“but, mon chéri…” he sighs in despair, a theatric hand over the very heart you had gripped tightly in your hand with a mere few beads of coloured wax. “i haven’t gotten a gift for you, i feel rather ashamed of myself.”
“don’t worry about that, this is just meant to be my good luck charm for you during your shows and…” your voice trailed off to him. not because he was uninterested but because he loved the buzzing sound of your melodic syllables each time your lips opened.
“ah, my dear,” lyney paused your affectionate rambles politely, “you’ve got something here…” you tilt your head to the side quizzically and await for him to point at it or take it out. he grins wildly. “well, isn’t that cute?” lyney chuckles softly and while leaning suuuper close to your ear, ‘magically’ pulls out a rainbow rose from seemingly no where.
“it seems we’re even now, hm?” he gestures, handing the rose over with a wink, leaving a cheeky kiss to your jawline in gratitude.
LYNETTE — 琳妮特
knowing lynette’s character and demeanour intricately, you’re aware that grand gestures aren’t at all her thing. she can barely handle a tea time conversation with someone if she’s forced to play an active role.
the bracelet sat enclosed within your palm as you rambled on about your day to lynette, feeling an unshakable amount of anxiety vomiting into your gut for no reason but overthinking. you’ve been avoiding giving her this bracelet for a week now in fear she’ll find very little value or use in something so minimal.
“you have something you want to give me.” a phrase intended as a question, but said more so as a statement.
“i…uh, how did you know?” you laugh and play with the strings of the bracelet cautiously as to not break it.
“your eyebrows are furrowed and you keep glancing away from me.” she analyses you like a real robot…i guess she’s really committed to that bit. either that or she just loves you too much that being unable to read your expressions would be a grievous sin on her part.
with a sigh of defeat, you slide over the bracelet to her with an awkward smile paling your usually joyous lips. “i made a friendship bracelet for you…thought it’d be cute.” lynette doesn’t understand people around her a majority of the time. truly, she doesn’t even want to, it’s not like she needs to either since she has her brother to leech on and others to fool with her robotic party trick and yet, she can’t help but wonder why it is you choose to defend yourself over something so sweet.
“thank you, it’s cute. i’ll wear it for my next show if i’m able to.” her lips curve upward in what to most would seem like a twenty degree uplift, but to you, it meant quite literally everything.
FREMINET — 菲米尼
nothing. no amount of experiences with his interactions with people could’ve prepared him for the absolute heart attack that was this gesture.
he loved it, too much. he wishes he could just dip back into the ocean depths. indulge in a meaningless conversation with the tidalga, or even express his feelings of adoration to you to pers. but currently, it was only you two sharing a humble moment together. no person he could lean in, no space he could rush the words he’d love to say to you in gratitude for the gift.
and you knew that. and that’s what he also loved about you. how willing you were to accept and love him even with him being less socially adept than a coral reef. feeling the cool and vibrant coloured bracelet tilt around his wrist and knot in place, he smiled wobbly.
between the silence, you knew that the quiet smile and nod meant more than his stammered and hushed words could ever express. leaning in to press a kiss to the side of his wrist and cheek, freminet manages to gulp a bit of courage and swallow his static and tingly anxiety, reaching to kiss your forehead. letting his lips linger momentarily before he backed away. “thank you…”
FURINA — 芙宁娜
heartbeat pounding in her ears. eyes narrowing into puffy circles. her bottom lip bitten brutally by her gnashing teeth. hands shaky, making her teacup tremble within her grip. why were you glaring at her so intensely?!
first the invitation for a tea party with only you two as the special guests. second the ominous letter claiming you two “need to talk.” and now, you were completely quiet and calmly snacking, drinking away several blends of tea without a word! it was absolutely ridiculous to think the one person she has entrusted her still mending heart with is ignoring all the clear signs of hesitance and vulnerabilities within the relationship despite them all being initiated by them!
“so, furina.” you clasp your hands together, an impish look transforming your usually peaceful face. her heartbeat stammers as her eyes meet yours in a tender glance. “uhm..yeah?” furina attempts to appear more courageous than she is, but truly, she’s shitting it (for lack of a better term).
the silence stretched on for too long before you giggled and pulled up a blue and white toned bracelet from your sleeves, shaking it with your fingertips with a kind smile. “i made you a friendship bracelet!”
a ghost wavered out of her frightened soul, the tea in her hand put down at this point so she can savour the comforting feeling of her head in her hands. being a gorgeous, shining star in the spotlight of fontaine’s grand stage, furina isn’t a secondhand stranger to gifts. whether they’ve been given to her personally, awkwardly, silently, with no words signed or a creepy letter attached expressing their reverence.
she wishes you’d sometimes go that route instead of matching her in these theatrics! begrudgingly, despite the little flutter in her heart, she slipped the bracelet onto her wrist and looked at you with a pout that you couldn’t help but lean in to kiss.
NEUVILLETTE — 那维莱特
neuvillette hums a tune along to the orchestra of the vinyl. an accompanying sound of his pen hastily itching onto the paper adding to the rhythm. his door opens and while he’d normally remain quietly focused on his piling paperwork, he recognised this particular patter of footsteps coming towards him. you.
smiling habitually and peering his head up, neuvillette greeted you lovingly. “hello, my love. what brings you here today? did you get in trouble?” he knew the reason you’d come ushering into his office was hardly with the intention of getting him to aid you with your troublesome quarrels, but rather, you just wanting his love and affection that he was more than willing to fulfil. if time allowed, of course.
“no, no. nothing like that, yet…” you grinned and neuvillette looked at you with a playful look of disappointment at the hesitance. “i made you a gift!” with a prideful aura that was less arrogance and more pure joy, you presented the bracelet to him. he wasted no time in stirring the small bundle of fabric and beads with his gloves. “look,” you pointed eagerly, “i even managed to commission some furina and melusine charms! you know how we always joke about them being like our children? i thought i’d be a cute addition!”
he exhaled a satisfactory laugh in agreement, interlocking your hand in his to press a kiss to your knuckles in thanks. “cute, indeed. thank you, mon chéri. you’re too sweet sometimes.” you sit on the edge of his desk, watching excitedly as he places the bracelet onto his wrist. “as a gift in return, after i’m done with work, how about we take a nice stroll together? i assure you, no rain will interrupt our serenity so long as you’re by my side.”
NAVIA — 娜维娅
immediately gushes at you as your palm opens to present the gold and blue hued bracelet to her, adorned with rose charms that you personally painted in gold and a greyish blue to accentuate her outfit if she decides to wear it. it was less a decision and more a necessity.
she delicately handled the bracelet onto her wrist and kissed both of your cheeks in gratitude, “thank you so much, sweetheart! this is so cute…but what’s the occasion? it’s not our anniversary or anything like that.” navia smiled at you, playing with some of the little roses and twirling them around in appreciation.
“it’s a friendship bracelet!”
her lips pucker into a pout as she starts to coddle you within her arms, occasionally swinging you around gently. “you’re so absolutely adorable!” she nips at your earlobe, kissing it as a form of apology. “but honey, you do know we aren’t just friends right?” navia captures your cheeks within her palms. “we’re lovers!” she presses several kisses across your face, ending her affectionate spillage with a press of her lips on yours.
“oops— haha, sorry i got lipstick all over you, darling.” navia chuckled and began wiping away all the lipstick smudges from your pretty face. yet her attempts bore no fruit. instead of wiping away anything, she only made it oh so much worse. “ah well, guess we both got presents from one another today?” she snickers, twirling her wrist to show off the bracelet with a wink.
GA MING — 嘉明
if you thought this man’s eyes couldn’t get any brighter, then you’re absolutely dead wrong. if you thought he could jump high while lion dancing, you’re also absolutely dead wrong!
he could outrun god right now. if you asked him to defeat a hoard of lined up mondstadt and liyue treasure hoarders, he’d do it in a heartbeat. what possessed you to be so cute?! do you seriously think he can take another heart attack like this after the one he had during lantern rite?
you aren’t able to say much or even explain your reasons for as to why you decided to make this nor what it even is or represents before ga ming smacks his lips messily all over your face. a mixture of your own gloss from kissing you earlier and his own saliva stick to your skin sloppily and you can’t help but feel both enamoured and grossly repulsed at the mixture of sticky wetness on your cheeks as well as the love that seemed to glow like fireworks.
“mmuah~! i love you so much…are you trying to make me cry?” he pouts, becoming a giggling mess as soon as you roll your eyes at his dramatics.
he keeps the bracelet on every day. sometimes he’ll be pouty all day if he’s unable to wear it in fear of it snapping and wasting away all your precious hard work due to either his negligence or the pains of manual labour…he’ll have to cope with simply glancing at the red imprints the beads had left intended onto his skin for satisfaction.
CHIORI — 千织
“what is this?” she jingles the vivid and strong orange coloured bracelet in front of her face, appreciating the tiny details of the cute sewing equipment charms and what looked to be handmade porcelain bows embedded onto some beads.
“it’s a friendship bracelet!” you gleam at her, pride evident in your face at your creation. she hums in agreement; it was certainly something alright.
“oh. cute.” that’s all the genuine feedback she could give you without mentioning how tacky it would look with her attire — it was an affectionate gesture, one which she didn’t want to undermine and therefore, with little complaint despite her own personal conflicts, she slipped the bracelet onto her wrist, extending her hand out and twirling it to admire the craftsmanship.
you won’t see her actively wearing it out in every day life, perhaps you’ll manage to sneak a glimpse of her playing with the beads while she’s going over some designs in her sketchbook but otherwise, her gloved hands contain nothing but the smell of perfume.
not that she’d admit it outright until you asked, but the real reason she refuses to wear your bracelet daily is for a simple reason; she doesn’t want it to break in order to have that constant reminder of you as she goes to bed and stares up at her ceiling with the bracelet being coddled between her fingertips.
ARLECCHINO — 阿蕾奇诺
“you’re so childish.” she muses, tracing her nails across the beads, eliciting a weird clacking sound as the charms and beads hit against each other. “but i suppose that’s also an alluring aspect to you.” she ushers the bracelet onto her wrist. despite it being completely covered, there was something even more intimate about her gift being a part of a hidden identity for her; your affection only intended for your gorgeous eyes and her narrowed ones.
tilting your head to her eye-level, you can smell her musky perfume. she leaned in for a kiss. her lips tasting like flavoured gloss consisting of all sorts of red berries, an accurate mirror to the rosey colour of her bright lips. a sneaky hand traced circles around your hips and waist as she attempted to take your breath away. a scythe is a befitting weapon for a woman who’s kiss was practically a notion for death.
she’s used to her children offering gifts and trinkets to her. rocks, random jewellery they crafted with glue, messy crayon drawings, sometimes even in the most macabre scenarios, blood itself. each of those, however, she cherished wholeheartedly. the same way she’d cherish the bond between you two that she’d never allow for anyone to break.
so long as she continuously receives silly gestures like this, she’s convinced she’ll be able to hold you within her embrace with very little effort.
Tumblr media
©STARYUEE do not copy, steal or repost ♡ ᴜsᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ɪʜᴇᴀʀᴛɢᴀɴʏᴜ
2K notes · View notes
sundrop-writes · 2 months
Text
Careful - Chapter Two
Tumblr media
(Dad)Spencer Reid x (Mom)Fem!Reader
Chapter Two: Liar
Why should I deny what's all at once, so crystal clear?
Summary:
Spencer is eager to talk to you - to find out if your son is actually his. But there are more important matters at hand, like the fact that you might be the next target of a serial killer who is actively stalking single mothers.
The two of you get locked in a battle of wills when you stubbornly refuse his protection and Spencer remains determined to keep you safe.
Dad!Spencer Reid x Mom!Fem!Reader. Exes to Lovers. Angst and Smut.
Word Count: 8,900
Criminal Minds Masterlist | AO3 Link | Series Masterlist
Detailed warnings and author's notes below the cut.
Warnings: again, general warnings for a Criminal Minds episode - mentions of killing/murder, mentions of the reader being a target for a killer; mentions of the reader buying and using a vibrator (does not take place during the fic, more so mentioned as the reality of the ‘sex life’ of a single mom); the reader and Spencer parted on very bad terms (but the details of the situation are not yet revealed); the reader is very angry towards Spencer; the reader and Spencer argue; the reader is in denial that she is the target of a killer; there is some mention of Sebastian having similar hair to Spencer - but I don’t want that to describe or exclude the reader’s race because in the next chapter, there is a mention of Sebastian having the reader’s skin tone; mention of the reader ‘shoving’ Spencer out of anger (not hard enough to cause harm); mention of the reader owning a gun (registered with gun training) as a form of self defense; mention of the reader character celebrating a birthday - but there is no mentions of specific dates or months when the fic is set, so you can easily imagine that this takes place around your birthday (aside from mentions of holidays or seasonal weather); mentions of JJ x Will; JJ talks about her trauma regarding dogs after being attacked in 2x15; this ends in another flashback, this time including flashback sex (smut); Spencer cuts off foreplay to give the reader a birthday present - mentions of heated kissing and some groping; Spencer calls the reader ‘Princess’ (not during sex - in the context of ‘I am here to serve you like royalty’); the smut basically consists of Spencer eating the reader out. And I think that’s it for this chapter. 
A/N: Okay so something I did not intend to happen - a lot of this chapter is from JJ's perspective. It just naturally started happening while I was writing it, and it was really interesting to me to write about Spencer and the reader's relationship through her eyes (especially to keep the conflict between them vague to the audience, because JJ doesn't know the details of what happened), and it's not something I did intentionally, but I really loved how it shaped the chapter, so I kept it in. Also, I really wanted to include a lot of JJ x Spencer friendship and comfort moments in the fic because (as a lot of people in the fandom have discussed) - the writers love to have the characters say that JJ and Spencer are best friends, but they don't often show it. They just show a lot of conflict between them. So I wanted to show the potential of their friendship. And I had a lot of fun exploring that. So - I hope you guys enjoy the second chapter, and definitely hope to see you come back for chapter three!!!
...
When you heard someone knock on your door, you thought it was a delivery. 
You had ordered Sebastian some new educational coloring books, and some new CDs with Mozart concertos to fall asleep to, because he was getting bored of his current ones. You often felt like you couldn’t keep up with him - Sebastian was so damn smart, and you always tried to provide him with the best resources to learn. Even if he was getting to a point where he was asking for high school level chemistry text books and actually seemed to understand the material in them and you were confused about how he could comprehend any of it. 
The package also could have been the new vibrator you had ordered. You weren’t sure if that package was small enough to be left in the mailbox or not. You had to roll your eyes when you thought about how pathetic your sex life had been since having Sebastian. But you couldn’t risk bringing random men through the house just for sex when you had Seb around. So battery power and smut novels, it was.
“Sorry!” 
You called out, hoping the delivery person would wait, as you raced to get to the door. You hoped they wouldn’t just slip one of those ‘failed to deliver’ notes into your door handle and force you to run an extra errand with a kid under your arm. You tripped over a toy truck and cursed yourself for procrastinating cleaning up (again). 
“Sorry, I almost didn’t hear you. I was-” 
‘I was in my office, in the back of the house.’ 
The sentence died off on your tongue when you finally fumbled the door open - your mouth going numb from shock when you saw him. 
Spencer Reid. 
The father of your child, the man you had once loved. 
Your heart raced inside your chest, your body so overwhelmed so quickly that you couldn’t even decide on an emotion. 
Happiness. Joy. Lust. Longing. Sadness. Relief. 
Shock. 
You lingered on shock for a while as you stared at him, your eyes locked on the sight of him - wondering what the hell he was doing standing on your porch. How did he know where you lived? Why was he here? 
Was he here because of Sebastian? Was he angry? He had to be angry that you hadn’t told him about Sebastian for all of these years. He had to be angry that you had given birth to his child and not told him about it. 
You flickered back to lust for a moment as your eyes traced over him. 
He looked good.
Somehow, he had grown up so much in just four years. He had gone from a gangly, boyish man to a full blown man. But he was somehow still so much the same. His hair had grown out a lot since you had last seen him - instead of the neatly combed, short cut you had last seen him with, it was downright wild. The chocolate brown locks were sprawling out into the thick curls that you had come to see sprouting from your own son’s head. It wasn’t a look that you were used to on Spencer, but it looked damn good on him. 
He was wearing his usual leather messenger bag - probably the exact same one from years ago. And he clearly had the same dress sense, but these clothes in particular made you want to jump his bones. A lavender cardigan that complimented his skin tone so well - and his usual button up shirt and tie, along with his usual gray slacks. 
You desperately wanted to blame the sting of attraction that you felt for him on the recent lack of male suitors in your life; the fact that you hadn’t gotten laid in a long time. But you knew it was something else, too. Your previous attraction to him - the fact that because you had slept with Spencer before, you could still feel the ghost of his hands and tongue on your body. 
How did he look so good? 
He made you feel like a slob in your casual ‘work from home on a random Tuesday’ Mom clothes. If it had been your choice, he definitely wouldn’t be seeing you for the first time in years while you were wearing jeans and a sweatshirt that you were sure had raspberry juice stained on it somewhere, and eyeliner that you had slopped in between traffic lights in the car that morning. 
(You hated it.) 
“Y/N,” 
He finally broke the silence, speaking your name in that honey-sweet way. 
Unfortunately, it brought you rocketing back to that night all those years ago. Your stomach dropped, and you felt like you were standing in that apartment all over again, tears in your eyes as you faced down the crashing reality that the best relationship you ever had in your life was over. 
This chased out that tiny splash of lust and brought on a whole new wave of confusing emotions. 
Anger. Rage. Sadness. Bitterness. More longing. Regret. 
Like your brain was a spin wheel, it whirled around for a few hectic moments, and then - you landed somewhere between anger and pure rage. 
And that was when you finally spoke. 
“Spencer Reid.” You hissed out his name like it was pure venom, your neck aching as the blood pumped hard through your aorta. 
Immediately, Spencer’s features fell from looking at you with nostalgic fondness, and fear took over his face. 
“What the hell are you doing here?” You asked fiercely, this question rocketing back to the forefront of your mind. 
Spencer opened his mouth, seemingly to answer this question, and the rage pumped harder in your system. You found that suddenly, you didn’t want to hear whatever it was that he had to say. 
You stepped through the door, easily stepping into his personal space as you came onto the porch. Without even thinking, you gave him a hard shove in the middle of his chest as you spoke your next words - much louder than you intended. 
“What the hell is wrong with you?” You screeched. 
You let your emotions carry your actions before any sense of logic or common decency could kick in. It was resentment and heartache that you had locked away four years ago - and apparently, it had been aging like wine, only becoming more potent with time. 
“You think that you can just magically show up in my life again after I specifically told you not to contact me?” You screamed. “Do you think that order has a fucking expiration date on it?” 
You gave him another hard shove. Perhaps expecting to prompt an answer out of him, or wanting to shove him off the porch entirely and get him out of your life once again. Which of those it was, even you weren’t sure. 
Spencer just looked at you with wide-eyed shock. Clearly, for once in his life, at a loss for words. 
“You better have a good fucking reason for showing up here!” You screeched, your voice becoming so loud that it wore out your throat. 
“Look, Y/N, I-” He stuttered out. 
“Don’t say my name.” You hissed, cutting him off. “Don’t say my name like we’re friends.” 
You glared at him, crossing your arms over your chest, and Spencer shoved his hands into his pockets, now finding himself utterly speechless. 
He definitely was not expecting this kind of reception. 
The two of you became locked in an icy staring contest, neither of you speaking. Spencer found his throat too dry, and for once, his head far too empty. You were simply too angry and too stubborn to speak in those moments. 
This stalemate was only broken up when JJ walked around the corner. 
“Spence, Hotch just told me that the first woman doesn’t even match the-” 
“JJ!” You cried out her name happily, your entire demeanor changing when you saw her. 
She grinned, completely forgetting whatever news she had to report to Reid as you practically flew off the porch and ran to meet her. JJ eagerly opened her arms to hug you, and you squeezed her with all the warmth and kindness of an old friend. 
Spencer felt a pang of jealousy that he wasn’t being greeted with as much affection. He knew that the last argument between the two of you had been bad, but he didn’t know it had left such a distinct impression on you. He didn’t know it had been enough to make you hate him. 
When you pulled away from JJ, you looked between her and Spencer, and then it suddenly struck you. 
If Spencer wasn’t here alone, that meant this wasn’t personal. He wasn’t just here to see you over some lost love, or - maybe he didn’t know about Sebastian at all. You felt a pang of guilt twist your gut because of that. 
“What - what are you guys doing here?” You asked, now entirely confused, directing the question toward JJ. 
JJ looked toward Spencer, and according to his ill-concealed frown, his reunion with you had not gone well. She doubted that you would take the news that you were possibly being hunted by a killer well on top of that. 
“Is it alright if we come inside?” JJ asked, her voice tentative and soft. It was the same voice she usually used with victims and their families. 
“Yeah.” You said, knowing there must be something big that you were missing, and hoping that you would be filled in soon enough. “I’ll put some coffee on.” 
You walked back up the few steps of the porch and breezed right past Reid. You didn’t even spare a glance in his direction as you went back in through the open front door, leaving it open for the two of them with the expectation that they would close it behind themselves. 
“So - I take it things didn’t go well?” JJ whispered to Spencer as she moved up onto the porch. 
“Not quite.” Spencer mumbled in return before moving into the house, waiting for her to follow. 
This made JJ even more curious about what had gone down between you and Spencer all those years ago. 
What could have possibly made you so cold and distant toward him? 
But she couldn’t just come out and ask. They had a job to do. They were there to ensure your safety against a man who had already killed five women and orphaned five children. 
JJ walked into the house and closed the door behind her. She wasn’t surprised that she nearly tripped over a plastic toy truck in the entryway. Even though your son didn’t seem to be here (it was far too quiet for a small boy to be around), this was definitely a house where a child lived. 
The first space that was visible to her eye - the living room, was clearly a space that belonged to a young child. There was a large, colorful play mat underneath the coffee table, and a few toys scattered over across the floor, showing that he clearly liked to have hands on play. In the corner, there was a child-sized desk with a small chair, which seemed to be surrounded by art supplies, and advanced textbooks? Some of them opened and were dotted with bright, colorful stickers. One glance told JJ that the reading material very advanced for his age clearly belonged to him. 
So he very likely was Spencer’s son. 
She wasn’t sure why, but that did bring a cluster of joy through her. Likely because she knew he would be so excited to have a child of his own. 
JJ couldn’t help but to notice that many of the toys were Paw Patrol themed - it was a favorite show of Henry’s, too. In the back of her mind, she wondered if your son and Henry might be friends. 
“Ugh, I’m so sorry.” You huffed, rushing around with your arms half full of toys now - distracted from getting the coffee, as you had mentioned. You were clearly rushing to pick up some of the mess now that you had realized how it appeared in the eyes of your ‘guests’. “All the - stuff.” 
You hesitated to say ‘toys’. Clearly, you didn’t want to bring up the subject of your son, even though the evidence of him was so visible all around. You didn’t want to give Spencer the smallest opening to start asking questions about him. It was something you wanted to avoid speaking about for as long as possible. 
Spencer looked at you with a mournful look on his face as you dodged around him, purposefully avoiding eye contact while you picked up a coloring book and a handful of crayons off the couch. You still refused to look his way at all as you rushed off to stash the items away somewhere. 
Clearly, he wanted to ask you more about your son, and simply ask that penultimate question: was he the father? 
But now wasn’t the right time. 
“It’s alright.” JJ assured you. “You can just come sit down. We really need to talk to you.” 
You heaved out a sigh, defeated in your effort to clean up, and then came back from one of the other rooms. (JJ could only assume you had stashed the toys in a playroom or a closet, because much like her own home, all areas had become a domain for toys and playtime). You motioned for them to sit on the couch, and you scooted over a rocking chair from the other side of the room to sit in front of them, blocking the shut-off TV on the other side. 
“So, what is it?” You asked, clearly eager and curious to know what they were doing in your home - why they had contacted you now after so many years apart. 
JJ and Spencer exchanged a look, and with a gentle nod from him, JJ took the lead. 
“Well, um… there’s no easy way to say this, but we believe that you might be in danger.” She told you, introducing the topic gently, while wanting to be honest and direct. “Perhaps you’ve seen it on the news? But if you haven’t… several single mothers have been killed in the area recently, and we have reason to believe that you might be the killer’s next target.” 
You looked at her, entirely observant, quietly taking in her words. Your face was still and expressionless, and JJ was unsure if you were going to take this calmly and logically - if you were going to panic after you had fully absorbed the news, if you were going to cry. 
After a moment of silence - you burst out laughing. Your laughter was harsh and nervous, a sound that cut through the air like the rip of a chainsaw. Clearly, it was the stark opposite of someone taking the news with tears. 
“Oh my god.” You sighed, taking a breath from the non-humorous laughter. “You know that you didn’t have to make up some excuse just to come and see me, right?” 
Spencer’s face curled into a deep frown. He was upset that you weren’t taking this seriously. JJ found herself in shock. Usually when people found out they were potentially on the radar of a killer, they were paranoid, afraid, questioning why. 
But it was very rare to see denial. 
She did take notice of the fact that you didn’t immediately ask about what kind of evidence or reasoning they had to believe that you were the killer’s next target. Perhaps if your brain let you assess that reasoning for yourself and found it to be valid, then fear would take over. And you couldn’t let that happen. So this laughter, this posturing and not taking things seriously - it was an unconscious way to protect yourself from that fear. 
But JJ could only theorize about that. 
“I did miss you, JJ.” You said, very pointedly looking at her while you said it. “But you could have just sent me an email or something.” 
You continued avoiding Spencer’s harsh gaze as he bored holes into the side of your face with his intense, intrusive eyes. 
“Look, this is serious-” Spencer began, and you cut him off. 
“Okay.” You shrugged. “Let’s say for argument’s sake that there is someone trying to kill me,” 
You spoke of this lightly, the words entirely condescending on your lips, as though Spencer’s theory was entirely wild and imaginative to begin with. 
JJ saw the movement in his jaw as he grinded his teeth out of the corner of her eye, and she was surprised that he let you continue. 
“I have an alarm system that I set every night before I go to bed.” You informed them. “I am a proud gun owner. I have a registered revolver that I keep in a lock box beside my bed and I renew my gun training every single spring.” You told them, not seeming the least bit worried at the idea of a killer hunting you down. “If someone wants to kill me, let them try. I’m sure you guys have much better ways to spend your time than sitting around here, chatting with me when there are people out there, actually in danger. People who probably need your help.” 
You said this, trying to dismiss them. And then you moved to get up from your seat, looking to escape the conversation entirely. But once again, Spencer stopped you. 
“That’s it?” He fired back, entirely indignant, standing from his place on the couch. 
This caused you to roll your eyes and let out a hiss, your lungs deflating like an annoyed balloon as you paused in the middle of the room. 
“Yes, that’s it.” You groaned back. “Look, I know it’s your job to see problems everywhere, but-” 
“It’s my job to protect people.” Spencer replied, cutting you off. “And-” 
“Funny!” You scoffed, your voice escalating in volume. It had turned into a full-blown argument now - you were entirely uncaring that JJ was there to witness it; Spencer was locked in your sight like the crosshairs of a scope, and you were ready to fire. “You give a shit about ‘protecting’ me now, but what the fuck happened four years ago?”
You glared harshly at Spencer, and he locked his jaw, staring right back. It turned into a poisonous silence as neither of you spoke - he didn’t have a good answer for this question. And it made JJ all the more horribly curious about what had happened between the two of you. But she didn’t need to be a psychic to sense that the two of you needed some privacy. 
“Do… do you mind if I go get myself a glass of water?” She asked, tentatively standing up from her place on the couch. 
“I’ll get it.” You huffed out, moving to leave the room. 
“It’s okay.” JJ told you. “I can get it for myself. Just point me in the right direction.” 
You motioned toward the kitchen and JJ left, and she heard Spencer hiss out something about you being stubborn, which turned into another cluster of voices. The argument turned even more personal and sour now that the both of you didn’t have a witness. 
When JJ made her way into the kitchen, she was happy to see that your backyard was full of toys. A pair of sliding glass doors let her peek out to see a colorful swing set and a large playhouse, and a scattering of other toys meant that your son obviously spent a lot of time outside. She smiled to herself, trying to ignore the rising, angered sound of voices from the other room as she found a glass in one of the cabinets. When she moved to the refrigerator’s water dispenser, something along the way caught her eye. 
A vase of fresh flowers was sitting on the counter. 
White carnations. 
It made her stomach churn ominously. It felt too perfect to be a coincidence. 
She abandoned her half-full glass and grabbed the vase, walking back to the living room with it. 
“You just can’t accept help from anybody, can you? How can you not understand that your life is in danger here? This man is not going to stop until-” Spencer ranted on. 
He was still trying to convince you to take the threat seriously - but you were still boiling with rage over the past, blind to anything else. 
“I can’t accept anyone’s help?” You scoffed, crowding into his personal space to hiss the words closer to him. “That is so rich coming from someone who-” 
JJ cleared her throat loudly, cutting you off. 
“Spence.” She got his attention from the intense gaze he was keeping on you - anger hot in his eyes even though he was staring heavily at your lips. 
When Spencer looked over and saw the vase in JJ’s hands, his entire face shifted in a blink. His expression went from tight-knit anger and annoyance to ‘shit-your-pants’ worry. The danger went from being theoretical to being very real in that moment. 
“Where did these flowers come from?” Spencer asked. 
“What?” You gaped, so entirely confused. 
“Where did you get the flowers?” He asked, rephrasing the question, his tone more urgent and demanding now. 
“Why does that matter?” You replied, exasperated. You didn’t see how it was at all relevant. 
“All of the women who were killed received these exact same kind of flowers within days of their death.” JJ told you. “Do you have any idea who sent them?” 
“I thought my mother did.” You shrugged. “There was no name on the card. It just said ‘Happy Birthday’. She didn’t get to see me in person for my birthday, she’s traveling right now. She’s one of the only people who would send me flowers for my birthday.” 
“Yes, but your mother knows that your favorite flowers are lavender and baby’s breath. Why would she send these?” Spencer replied. 
Naturally, he remembered your favorite flowers. 
You couldn’t get stuck on that, though. Instead, you pondered the question he posed. 
Why would your mother send you white carnations without even signing the card? 
It wasn’t something you had thought about. At the time, you had just thought it was considerate, and sweet. When you had called her to thank her for the flowers, you had gotten her voicemail. You had left her a message thanking her. She was away on a singles cruise with shoddy reception and she hadn’t gotten back to you yet. 
“They’re just flowers.” You said, letting out another nervous chuckle - but your voice broke over this one. 
Obviously the reality of things was truly starting to set in with you. 
“We need to set up protective custody for you.” Spencer said, taking out his phone in order to get this done. 
“No!” You snapped. “I am not having some random cops follow me around because you think I might be in danger.” You hissed angrily. 
Spencer paused and stared you down, debating if he was going to go against your wishes or not, his phone still in hand. 
JJ hated the look in Spencer’s eyes. That deep, bitter fear. Whatever had happened between the two of you, there was still enough care lingering there that he would fight for you no matter what. He was terrified for you. He wasn’t going to let you meet the same fate as the other victims. She knew he wasn’t going to let this go. 
JJ put the vase down on the coffee table, and turned to you. 
“It doesn’t have to be random cops. We can stay with you, in order to-” She started to explain, only to be disrupted by the digital ringtone of your home phone echoing through the house. 
You rushed to grab the phone, and JJ heard some of the quiet conversation from you on one end. 
“Yeah, okay. Yeah, I’ll be there soon. It’s no problem. Thank you so much. Yeah, twenty minutes. Bye.” 
You hung up and then rushed back into the living room - and before either of them could speak further on the matter, you rushed past them. You went to the entryway, taking off your slippers to exchange them for sneakers. 
“Look, guys, I would love to stay and hang out, but I have somewhere important to be.” You huffed out. 
“Seriously?” Spencer replied, entirely frustrated with you. “This isn’t some tea party. We aren’t just hanging around here for fun. Call whoever that was and tell them that you’re gonna be late. Or call and cancel, or-” 
“No!” You yelled back, entirely frustrated with him. “Dammit, Spencer! People have responsibilities, you know! I have responsibilities. I am an adult, I’m not some child you can talk down to. Now get the fuck out of my house so I can lock up, and get to the important things that I have to do. Things that don’t involve wasting my time talking to you.” 
You said the last part so snidely, resenting that Spencer’s unexpected visit had been part of your day. 
He opened his mouth to argue against this, but JJ put a gentle hand on his shoulder, nudging him toward the door. He sighed and flexed to this movement. He angrily stormed past you to leave through the front door, which he left wide open like a toddler having a tantrum. 
You grabbed your keys and your purse from a side table near the door and JJ moved to leave as well. On her way along, she put a gentle hand on your shoulder, capturing your attention. 
“We’ll check back in with you later, okay?” She said, using her most gentle, non-confrontational voice. 
“Sure.” You easily agreed, unable to be angry with her. “But just call, or something. There’s no need to bang down my door over some stupid flowers. It’s nothing.” 
She stepped through the door and you followed. As you used your keys to lock up, you added on: 
“I would give you my number, but I’m sure Penelope can find it for you in five minutes flat.” 
JJ chuckled at this. 
“More like two and a half, I’d say.” She replied - it was a joking tone, but she did truly think this highly of Penelope’s skills. 
You smiled over your shoulder at her and she nodded before she began to walk back to the car, where Spencer was already sitting in the passenger’s seat, stewing in his anger. 
When she got in beside him, they watched you pull out of the driveway and drive off before either of them spoke. 
“What the hell happened between the two of you?” JJ asked, the question finally unleashing from her lips. 
“It’s complicated.” Spencer huffed out in reply, tired. 
In order to distract himself from all of it, he was staring down at some files in his lap - some of the case files of the other murders that he had pulled out of his bag. He needed something to do to keep his mind from churning more on the fact that you seemed to hate him. He wanted to find a way to protect you now, instead of focusing on the past. 
But JJ seemed hellbent on walking backward - getting him to look back on what happened between the two of you. 
“I can do complicated.” She said. “We’ve got plenty of time. We should just sit here and wait for her to come back.” 
“You should go check in with Hotch.” Spencer told her, dodging around the question once again. “I’ll come back after.” 
“After what?” JJ questioned, finding this wording particularly strange. 
JJ started the car and pulled away, hoping that you would be safe during the time they didn’t have eyes on you. The UnSub had a particular routine - he liked to stalk his victims for a few weeks before he broke into their homes and killed them. So she hoped that he wasn’t ready to make contact with you yet. She hoped that if he did, your gun and your alarm system would be enough to deter him. 
“I - I wanted to get her something nice.” He answered, sounding rather shy about this proclamation. “Like she mentioned, her birthday just passed. And, according to the preschool forms, her son’s birthday was a week ago. I want to get something for him too.” 
“They have the same birthday?” JJ asked. 
“Not exactly the same, but their birthdays are only five days apart.” Spencer replied. “I missed his birth.” He added on, a quiet sigh, entirely melancholic. “I missed the whole pregnancy. I - I missed everything.” 
“You still didn’t answer my question.” JJ reminded him. “What happened?” 
Spencer knew she was asking as a friend. He knew that of all people - she was the one to talk to about this. 
“It - it was right after Hankel.” He admitted quietly. “That was when Y/N and I broke up.” 
“Oh.” JJ said quietly. 
The air in the car became thick as the heaviness truly overtook her. 
So, it was complicated. 
But she definitely couldn’t understand your rage toward Spencer. 
“When I came back from Atlanta, she knew I wasn’t the same. And things - we - we fell apart.” He admitted this barely above a whisper, hesitant to even voice the words as a reality. “You knew what kind of person I was back then. I wasn’t good to her. I wasn’t good to anybody.” 
Spencer let out a harsh chuckle - a defense to all the hurt he was feeling about it. 
JJ spotted a sign for a shopping center, and pulled into the parking lot. She knew that Spencer likely had a good idea about buying into your good graces with a late birthday gift. Even if it wouldn’t instantly make up for everything that had happened all those years ago. 
“Yeah, but you’re sober now.” She reminded him. 
“She doesn’t know that.” Spencer replied. 
JJ ruminated in thought for a moment. 
“You know, I met Will afterwards, right?” She said. 
Out of the corner of her eye, Spencer nodded. 
“It was only a few weeks after everything happened, when we were working that case in New Orleans.” She explained. “And he looked at me like I was a hero. Because I helped him finish what his father couldn’t. He didn’t look at me like I was fragile or broken. He didn’t tip-toe around me. He didn’t see me as some ghost. And that is part of the reason why I fell for him. He always saw me as this goddess. Like Superwoman.” 
Spencer smiled at this. 
He wanted to be that person for you. He wanted to be your Superman. (But he feared that he couldn’t live up to that. That he would fail you when the time came.) 
JJ found a parking spot, and parked, but Spencer lingered - sensing there was more to the conversation. 
“You know… Henry wants a puppy.” JJ’s voice shook, her throat clenching up around these words. 
Spencer’s stomach shook. 
He hadn’t been there, but he had seen the scars on JJ’s arms. He had seen the footage of the other poor woman being torn apart by those dogs. 
“And I had to tell Will everything. How I was chased down, how I had to shoot two innocent animals - the stupid fact that I still feel guilty about it, even though they would have killed me if I hadn’t done it.” She said, her throat becoming more closed off with each word. She cleared it before she spoke again. “How I lost you, how it was all my fault.” 
“What happened to me wasn’t your fault.” Spencer felt the need to say this aloud, reaching over and putting a gentle hand on her knee. She nodded at him before she continued. 
“Just - it was all so overwhelming. The idea of having a dog in our house. But… I told him that I wanted to try, at least. For Henry.” JJ explained. “But when we went to the animal shelter - the sound of dogs barking… I couldn’t stop myself from flinching. And next thing I know, I’m sitting on the curb outside with my head between my knees and Will is putting a bottle of water to my lips.” 
“Henry seems more like a cat person anyway.” Spencer replied, hoping this slightly humorous comment would offer some comfort to his friend. 
JJ let out a tired laugh. 
“He’s three and a half, I think we’re still in the stage where a goldfish is more than enough for him.” She added on. 
“I - I never told Y/N.” Spencer said, suddenly shifting the conversation. JJ raised her brow, prompting further explanation of this. “I never told her what happened to me. What happened with Hankel.” 
JJ gave him a sad look. 
“Why not?” 
“I - I didn’t want her to view me as weak. I couldn’t fight him off. I accepted the drugs. At certain points, I…. I even pitied him.” Spencer replied. “I didn’t want things to change between us. Even though they did anyway.” 
“Do you still wanna be with her?” JJ asked. 
“What?” Spencer gaped, not expecting the question. 
“If the kid is yours, obviously you wanna be in his life. But co-parenting as separate, single people is one thing.” JJ explained herself. “Do you still want to be with Y/N? Do you still love her?” 
“Yes.” Spencer replied shyly. 
“Then you have to tell her everything.” JJ said firmly. “Being with someone for the long term isn’t about creating some fantasy. I fell in love with Will because he looked at me like I was Superwoman, but I stayed in love because he takes care of me when I’m powerless. You have to be weak in front of her and let her take care of you, so that you can be strong everywhere else.” 
Spencer sighed - letting this wisdom fully penetrate him. 
He knew that being a genius sometimes meant that he wasn’t the smartest person in the room. Apparently, this was one of those times. 
“You’re right.” 
Then, he reached for the car door’s handle, feeling like JJ had taught him a lot with that conversation and he needed some time to think alone. 
“You want me to come with you?” JJ asked. “You might need a woman’s opinion on what to get,” 
“No thanks, I know Y/N pretty well.” He replied. “At least I hope I still do.” He opened the door fully and stepped out. “And I wanted some alone time, to… think all of this over. To think about what I’m gonna say to Y/N. I’m gonna walk back afterwards, the house is only a few blocks away.” 
JJ nodded. 
“I should check back in with Hotch.” She noted. “See if they found anything with the other women on the list. Otherwise, all we’ve got is the flowers.” 
Just as he moved to close the door again, JJ spoke up one last time. 
“Rubble.” She said suddenly - which sounded very strange with no context. 
“What?” Spencer asked, ducking his head down to see inside the car to potentially hear her words better. 
“Rubble - it’s a character from the kids’ TV show, Paw Patrol.” She explained. “There was about five action figures of him sitting on the living room floor back there. So I would assume that he’s your son’s favorite character.” 
Spencer’s chest jumped at the way she said ‘your son’ - so casually. 
He could really have a child in his life. This could really be his future. 
If he played his cards right, this could be his future with you. 
“Thank you, JJ.” Spencer grinned at her. 
She smiled back and he stood up to his full height and closed the car door, walking off into the shopping center by himself. 
And of course, his thoughts drifted back to you. 
He thought back to the last time he had spent your birthday with you. Before Hankel, before all the madness. Before everything good in his life slipped through his fingers and he was left feeling so alone. 
… 
For someone with basically no serious relationships under his belt before you came along, Spencer was excellent when it came to romance. 
Perhaps it was because he spent his time reading the classics - he could recite Elizabethan poetry off by heart, he could whisper epic romantic ballads in your ear before kissing you with such intense passion that it left your head spinning. He had such a perfect picture of what romance should be, and it meant that he knew how to plan a date that left you feeling like a queen. 
Every single time he took you out, he made you feel like you were the only woman on earth - like he would move the seas and the sky just to show you how much he cared. 
And because he insisted that your birthday should be a day all about you - a day dedicated to celebrating you - then this was certainly no different. 
The night had been a whirlwind of perfection. 
After dinner at a gorgeous fine dining restaurant downtown, Spencer then drove the two of you to an art gallery to stroll around. He cited that he wanted you to have some down time for your food to settle before he gave you your present. From the spark in his eye, you had a feeling that you knew exactly what that present would be. The whole evening was so utterly beautiful and peaceful. And like everything with Spencer - it was a pleasant enrichment of the mind, looking at art while he told you things about the artists or the origins of the paintings. 
Before you got halfway through the gallery, he checked his watch and told you that it was ‘just about time’ for your present, and then he drove you back to his apartment. 
The two of you barely made it through the door before you had him pinned against it, your mouth enveloping his in a hot, desperate kiss. You were so utterly grateful to have such a romantic, thoughtful man in your life. 
The entire evening had been nothing but a reminder of that - the way he looked at you with love so pure in his eyes. Him opening doors for you, keeping his hand on your lower back to usher you gently around, speaking lowly to you as though his words were precious and only meant to be yours. 
You needed him. You needed to show him how much you appreciated all of it. You needed him to know how much of a treasure he was in your life. 
You reached for his belt and Spencer let out a choked off moan into your mouth. 
You were surprised when he reached for your wrist, gently pulling your touch back - stopping you from unfastening the belt as he pulled his now slightly swollen lips away from your kiss. 
“As - as much as I want to,” He huffed out against your mouth. “I - I still have to give you your present.” He noted, flashing you a smile. 
“I thought this was my present.” You replied, reaching down to grope Spencer’s half hard cock through his pants. 
He let out a groan; but then he reached for your wrist again, pulling your touch back. 
“I - I promise - later - afterwards? Later tonight.” He stuttered out, hard pressed to focus as more blood rushed to his cock. 
Spencer puzzled you. You had never known any other man to interrupt foreplay for something other than sex, unless it was life or death. But it made you very curious about what your present was and why he was so desperate to give it to you. 
And sex was still on the table, so that panging need between your legs would be taken care of eventually. 
You hummed in ascent and stepped back, releasing Spencer from where you had him pressed against the door. He gulped in a large breath of air before he moved across the room. 
You were surprised when he didn’t move to turn on any lights in the apartment, leaving the two of you settled in comfortable darkness. The only lights being the light from the bathroom that he had left on before leaving, shining down the hall, and the dim lighting coming in the windows - some street lights and the occasional passing car’s headlights. 
Spencer shrugged off his blazer and tossed it over the back of the couch on his way toward the window. He yanked up the blinds in front of the space where he had set up a very expensive, advanced, gorgeous telescope - one that had been there the last few times you had visited. Astronomy was one of his many hobbies, and he often invited you to view different stars or passing comets. It was just one of the many things you learned from him - knowledge you absorbed from being around him that made you feel infinitely smarter. 
You always indulged in the joy of feeling smarter just from being in his presence. You loved that Spencer was someone so gifted who loved to share his knowledge, rather than gatekeeping it or being snide toward others who weren’t as privileged as him. It was just another thing to love about him - the fact that he was so kind in sharing his big brain with others. 
You watched him with intrigue while you took your wrap off your shoulders and tossed your purse onto the couch. Enjoying the quiet and the peaceful darkness and watching him work, you moved to sit on the arm of the couch to begin unstrapping your heels. 
He checked his watch again, and then looked to a small side table he had near the telescope. He flipped open a notebook that he had there, and you supposed that the minimal light coming in through the window was enough for him to see whatever it was that he had written there. He adjusted the telescope slightly, then looked at the notebook again, then adjusted the telescope again. 
Then he said ‘aha, there you are’ under his breath, grinning widely to himself. 
The entire thing made your insides glow with curiosity. 
Spencer then turned back to you, still grinning widely. When he noticed your shoe half-hanging off your foot, he stepped over to you and softly grabbed your ankle, sliding your shoe off the entire way before gently rubbing the sole of your foot. 
“Let me help you with that, Princess.” He said quietly, before moving to take the shoe off your other foot. 
Again, your insides tingled as he made you feel like you were the most important woman on earth. 
“Thank you.” You replied, almost speechless at the action. 
“If you’ll step right this way, I can show you your present.” He said, motioning toward the telescope with a dramatic flare. 
You let out a giggle as you stepped over your abandoned shoes and moved to look into the telescope. 
You wondered if he had written some poem and taped it onto the other end of the lens or something like that (it was Spencer, it must have been something epically romantic). But as you bent down and closed one eye to get a good look, it was entirely ordinary. 
The telescope was focused on a single, tiny star. 
It was beautiful, but it was very… plain. And more than anything, it was confusing. 
Your present was… a star? 
“Spencer, I don’t really get it?” You sighed, standing up to your full height once again. 
“I got you a star.” He said proudly, grinning even wider now. 
When you stared at him with more intense confusion, Spencer reached over to the notebook and pulled something out. After he handed it to you, you leaned into the light of the window and studied it carefully. 
It was a certificate stating that Spencer had paid to name the star after you. 
He had literally changed the night sky for you. 
“Oh my god.” You gasped quietly. 
You felt so overwhelmed. 
If he had made you feel like the most important woman in the world before, then now - you felt like the most important woman in the galaxy. 
“Spencer, this is - this is too much.” You said, your throat clenching up slightly due to the intensity of the emotions. 
“No, it’s not.” He said firmly, reaching out and putting a hand on your jaw, tilting your face up from looking at the certificate to look at him. 
There it was again, all of it spelled out in his eyes - the adoration, the pure, overwhelming affection that he felt for you. It bloomed nothing but those same feelings in return from you. It was almost so overwhelming that you felt like you could have exploded from how much love you felt for this man, all of it swelling inside of you so quickly that you felt like your body couldn’t contain it. Like it was a sickness that was going to overrun your body if you weren’t careful. 
“Spencer.” 
His name swelled in your throat like that throbbing love, and you couldn’t help yourself from reaching out and grabbing him by the front of his shirt, pulling him into another kiss. Because of course, words weren’t enough. You smothered him with your mouth, trying desperately to communicate every ounce of passion and gratefulness you were feeling with the heat of that kiss. 
Spencer held you, engulfing both your cheeks with his large, warm hands, kissing you back with just as much intensity. 
Both of you lingered there for a few moments, savoring each other’s lips, mingling in each other’s breath. 
You were disappointed when Spencer pulled away. 
“There is something else.” He told you, a bit of glee edging on his voice. 
“What?” You gaped, shocked by this. 
“There’s something else I have to give you. Another part of your present.” He clarified, pulling back completely - likely in order to fetch this thing. 
You let out a breath. You weren’t sure how this magnificent man could possibly do more. 
You placed the certificate for the star down on the table where Spencer had kept it. Later, you would take it home and have it framed, wanting to display it proudly. You could imagine yourself putting it up in the front of your home when you eventually moved in with Spencer. You could put it next to your marriage certificate; eventually, put next to wedding photos when the two of you eventually got married. (And sometime later, it would be hanging alongside photos of you and Spencer with your kids. You tingled, realizing that this was the first time you had ever thought of having kids with him, but it fit so well. It seemed right.) 
The thought made you tingle. 
You could truly imagine yourself having a life with Spencer. Standing proudly because this was just the beginning of it. He truly felt like ‘the one’ you had always been waiting for. 
“Here.” 
Spencer’s voice pulled you from your plethora of dreamy thoughts, and you turned to see him holding a velvet box. Your heart skipped a beat at the passing thought that it might be the box - but no. Now wasn’t the time. The two of you had only been dating for a year and a half. And while you were so deeply in love, you knew that it was a bit haste to assume that he was ready for marriage when you were his first serious girlfriend. You were still both so young. 
He opened the lid and you let out a small gasp when you saw it. 
It was a simple, elegant silver necklace. The pendant was a four pointed star, with a small, dainty stone in the middle. You easily recognized it as your birthstone, meant to represent the fact that he had given it to you on your birthday. And obviously the star pendant as a whole represented that he had also gifted you a literal star in the sky on that same day. 
“Spencer, it’s so beautiful.” You said, utterly breathless. 
“Traditionally, the four pointed star is believed to represent the designation of a goal. It marks one’s great endeavors, because it seems to point to the four cardinal directions. This star is meant to guide someone, like a map - the way that sailors used the stars to guide their path.” 
Spencer explained, knowledgeable as he always was. 
“I - I chose this for you because… well, because when I met you, I felt as though I had accomplished great things in all areas of my life, except for one. Academically, I was satisfied. In my career, I was happy. But when it came to matters of the heart… I was utterly clueless. And when I found you… it felt like you were my guiding star. Like you were the person I had been waiting for to finally show me - show me the meaning of love.” 
“Oh, Spencer.” Your voice cracked around these words, barely able to form them. “Oh, honey. I love you so much. Thank you.” 
It was all your mind could gather at the moment. It wasn’t the first time you had said it to him, but it was certainly one of the most intense. 
“I love you too.” He replied. Through the dimness, you could almost see tears forming in his eyes. “You truly make me so happy.” 
Spencer then cleared his throat harshly, wanting to clear away his intensely emotional tears. 
“Can - can I put it on you?” He asked shyly, motioning with the necklace in its box. 
“Of course.” You grinned. “I’d love that.” 
You turned around and Spencer took it out of the box, fiddling with the dainty clasp for a moment before he put it around your neck and then did it up for you. It felt so right around your neck. It felt like his love was being carried with you. You had a feeling that you wouldn’t want to take it off anytime soon. You could easily imagine yourself feeling so proud to answer whenever random strangers or your co-workers asked where it was from. 
When it was secured around your neck, Spencer leaned in and laid a gentle, open-mouthed kiss against the chain. This simple act reminded you of that needy throb between your thighs; of what you had been wanting so badly the moment you had come in the door. 
“So…” He whispered against your neck. “What else does the birthday girl want?” 
“I can think of a few things.” 
That was how you ended up with your back pressed against the softness of the couch - too impatient to even make it to the bed - with your dress pushed up around your waist, your panties tossed somewhere in the middle of the living room rug. Spencer’s glasses were pressed up onto his forehead while his knees dug into that same rug, his fingers splayed across your thighs, holding you open to makeway for his tongue. 
He ate you out with all of the intensity and passion that he had kissed you with - moaning into your pussy as though he was singing directly to the gods. 
“Fuck, Spence.” You moaned, raking your hands through his hair, holding him close - not that he would want to pull away for even a second. 
He loved your taste more than anything in the world, and he savored every second that he got the privilege of being on his knees for you. He moaned into your pussy, loudly, almost pathetically - hot echoes coming from his lungs as though he was the one being pleasured. He laved his tongue across you with an open jaw, drinking in as much of you as possible while your thighs quaked around his head. Your nails dug into his scalp and he only moaned harder, loving the sound of your needy whines and your gasping breaths as your clit throbbed under his tongue. 
Spencer hummed in delight while he bounced your clit on his tongue, loving the feeling of that sweet little bead throbbing against him; loving your taste, loving your echoing moans. Loving how much he could bring you pleasure. 
“Fuck, Spence, so close!” 
He put his lips around you and sucked then, holding you gently against him by the hips. He couldn’t help but to enjoy the feeling of your body quaking against his face while your orgasm overtook you. It was overwhelming and beautiful and warmed your whole body - just like the love you felt for him. 
He pulled away after a moment, when he was sure that he had seen you through to the satisfying end, and he grinned against the mound of your pussy. 
“Happy birthday, pretty girl.” 
… 
After the break-up, Spencer often looked up to the sky and thought about you. 
On the nights when your star was in place overhead, he felt a particular pang in his chest. He wondered where you were and what you were doing. He wondered if you were safe. He spent many nights staring out his telescope, wondering if you were happy, blanketed under that inky sky. 
You thought about the star sometimes, too. 
You thought it was a lot like your relationship with Spencer. Placing all of your hopes and dreams onto something already dead - something where the light had died out long ago.
...
Continue reading: Chapter Three - Turn It Off
1K notes · View notes
meaningofaeons · 11 months
Text
Tumblr media
-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈ emotionally unavailable p.2
⊹ character(s) - gepard landau, jing yuan, sampo koski ⊹ word count - 5.6k ⊹ notes - gn!reader (gepard, sampo), fem!reader (jing yuan, reader is referred to as 'lady'), emotionally constipated/stoic reader (but you're warming up a bit ;), confessions, fluff, love, mushy stuff! ⊹ part 1 here!
sorry this took so long !! (=´ᆺ`=) really thought I'd have it out sooner, but I wanted to make sure it was planned and edited this time. hope you all like! and please do point out any mistakes, I know sometimes I mix up the gn pronouns with she/her so lemme know if there's any of that (ฅ^・ﻌ・^)ฅ
Tumblr media
⊹ Gepard Landau
Ever since you and Gepard spoke that day, Serval had been seeing more of you around the workshop.
Rather than lounging as per your nick-namesake, however, you were frequently speaking with Gepard when he was around.
That, or you were at her desk asking when he'd be around.
It was a far cry from your former indifference for sure.
Sure, you weren't overly enthused or anything at the prospect of seeing him, but...
Serval could definitely see the gleam in your eye when you questioned about her brother.
You weren't alone in your affection, either.
The eldest Landau hadn't failed to notice the consistently at which Gepard asked about you, too.
Even though there were reports of Fragmentum corrosion being on the rise and more monsters to keep at bay, things that usually stressed the Captain out, he was in shockingly high spirits
It seems your presence was beneficial to his stress and mood.
Over time, you mellowed out a bit from your usual stoicism as well
You were more inclined to joke and be more open with Serval and Gepard both, though you still retained a bit of your standoffish nature.
This didn't mean you magically became an extrovert—Aeons knows you still treated other people just as coldly.
But to the Landaus at least, things were turning up.
You weren't running into their arms with warm salutations ready for an embrace, but at the very least, you spoke more.
Not to mention, you'd taken on a new hobby—teasing poor Gepard.
It wasn't really your fault, in your defense. He was just too easy, and his blushing cheeks were admittedly cute amusing to see.
Gepard, in spite of your embarrassing new pastime, would often count the hours, minutes, down to the seconds until he could head to the workshop and see if you were around
On the days you weren't (increasingly rare nowadays), it was quite obvious how he'd deflate. But he'd still wait around a little while longer for you
And when you were there? He'd light up immediately.
It's as if you could see the tail wagging behind him—he's like a giant golden retriever.
Eventually, it got to the point where he figured it was about time he confessed how he actually felt about you.
Serval, of course, encouraged and offered to wing-woman for him as she had done before, but he adamantly refused
As much as Gepard appreciated his sister, he wanted to do this himself.
He would find himself practicing singing, drawing, anything artistic he could do to show his affections for you.
It was an earnest, honest-to-good effort, but let's be honest—he's not the best at most artistic pursuits.
Eventually, he settled for a poem (the farthest he could get artistically without completely flubbing it) and a bouquet of the flowers that brought you two together in the first place—Ball Peonies.
He put it off for a few days out of nervousness.
Okay, no, a few weeks. Let's not kid ourselves, he had to buy a few bouquets since they kept withering (thankfully, that Silvermane Guard Captain salary is good!)
Finally, the day came.
Gepard shifted from one foot to the other, a habit of his when anxious. In battle, one always had to be on their toes. Though the matter ahead of him was far from a fight to the death on the front lines, it was a struggle nonetheless.
The brain's fight-or-flight response unfortunately didn't care to discriminate between a war with monsters and a nerve-wracking confession.
Maybe you weren't coming today.
No, no. Serval mentioned you had to swing by. You had an appliance giving you trouble, and she'd fixed it up and prepared it for delivery today.
His sister provided this opportunity for him. He couldn't back down!
However, as soon as sky blue eyes spotted your approaching figure, Gepard had to physically grab hold of his own arm to ground himself and prevent himself from running away.
He settled his anxiety as much as he could by hiding the flowers behind his back instead.
"Gepard?"
No going back now! You'd seen him!
His brain was in overdrive, and he found himself fending off trembles, face already going red. Aeons, he hadn't even gotten a single word out yet!
"That's me."
Okay, good, he'd gotten the first words out no problem.
"I thought you had patrol today. It's good to see you."
"G-Good to see you too!"
And there it was. A stutter, followed by a voice crack on the last word. The poor blonde man could've easily sank into a hole and withered away at that moment, but you only raised a brow, oblivious to his internal misery.
"Well, are you coming inside? I need to pick something up, and then I'm off. Sorry I can't stick around, especially since you're off duty for once."
"Y-Yeah, I'm coming. And it's okay!"
Gepard was far too caught up in his own gut-wrenching anxiety to notice the way you had rushed through your normally-casual sentences. Though your tone was the same, the slightest, most imperceptible tremble flitted after your every word.
When you entered, Serval was nowhere to be seen. You assumed she was in the back, and thus went to pop in and check, but as you did that, said woman snuck past and headed for the door, mouthing at her brother.
'Don't! Back! Down! Now!'
He swallowed thickly as she vanished, ducking outside to hide and await Gepard's long-overdue confession to you.
"Hm. Doesn't seem she's here. Maybe an errand..."
"Y/N!"
You raised a brow, leaning on the counter. "I'm right here, Gepard. No need to shout."
"Right! Right... Um! I just wanted to... I just... Err..."
"You alright? You're burning up, and I haven't even prodded at your singing or drawing today."
Those words only made the flare-up of his cheeks worse.
"I'm fine!" His voice had only increased in volume, and you winced. Your eyes flitted to the clock, and you sighed, taking a deep, shaky inhale.
Shift starts in a few minutes. I can always get the heater later, but... this is now or never.
Before Gepard could continue his train of thought, you interrupted, pulling out a small tin canister and slid it towards him on the counter. His ramblings cut short, he could do little more than stare down at it, calming down amidst his confusion.
"...This is?"
"Well..." you trailed off, glancing away and crossing your arms. Though Gepard was sure your expression was the same, pensive and uninterested, you adamantly hid it from him. "I didn't really know what else to get you."
...Huh?
"I could've gone for flowers, sure, but I guess they didn't seem very appropriate for you. You'd have no use for them."
Oh, but he would place them in the nicest vase money could buy, and stare at them for hours on end every day, thinking about the fact that it was you who brought them to him. No use? What nonsense.
"Then I thought chocolates, or maybe some other sweet, but I didn't know if you liked that sort of thing. I'm sorry I never asked."
What did you have to be sorry for? He'd eat anything you offered up, even if it were burnt or poisoned. And he'd accept it with the biggest smile, content in the fact that you had carefully worked on it for him.
"So, well, this seemed the most practical. Armor polish... for you. Keep up that 'Captain of the Silvermane Guards'-grade armor, and everything..."
Were he any less trained as a soldier for battle, Gepard could've shed a tear. Closed off, stoic, standoffish, yet you still remained the most considerate person he'd ever met.
He took the canister in one hand delicately, as if it were the most precious thing he'd ever touched, and then glanced up at you. A million words of gratitude and devotion were ready to spill from his lips all at once, but his brain fizzed out and he could manage but one.
"Why?"
You sighed deeply, the grip you had on your arm tightening.
"...ike you."
"...Huh?"
"I..." your voice increased in octave, but it fizzled out again at the end. "...eally... you."
"Y/N—"
"I really like you. There." With how loud you projected the words, anyone would assume you were confident and calm with their delivery, but your voice again contained the slightest timbre of anxiety beneath it. Still, with those firm eyes, you turned to look at him, confessing the thing he had taken weeks to even consider bringing up.
Perhaps, though, it had taken you weeks as well.
Gepard was silent, stunned into complete rigidity at your words. You knew he could be awkward, but the reaction he held only furthered your uncertainty, and you eventually turned to leave, somewhat dejected.
Before you could take even one step, though, a gloved hand took your arm as gently as possible, and Gepard was red and sweltering as if he'd just ran a marathon in full uniform to catch you.
"Wait! Wait!"
"Gepard, it's fine if you don't—"
"No, no! I like you, too!" Your confidence gave the Captain the boost he needed to finally blurt out the words, shoving the Ball Peony bouquet towards you. "I swear! That's, um... That's why Serval had me come by today."
It was your turn to be shocked—so shocked, in fact, that you didn't even bother to curse Serval out for setting you up like this.
Still, as Gepard slid his hand down to clasp your own, you couldn't bring yourself to feel too much enmity towards her.
"Um... If it's okay, do you want to go to dinner tomorrow night, then...?"
You tried to hide your delight as best you could.
"...Tomorrow night sounds nice."
Gepard, however, could not hide his.
Tumblr media
⊹ Jing Yuan
It only took that one night of trickery, that one moment of Jing Yuan catching you hook, line, and sinker, for a routine to develop.
The General immediately took advantage of your acceptance and took you to the nicest restaurant the Xianzhou Luofu had to offer (and the most expensive, of course, much to your dismay).
As promised, he got his paperwork done on time.
But it wasn't more than a few days before he began slipping again.
Napping around his office, playing chess with Yanqing instead of working...
As soon as you got on his case again, you could see in the way his brow quirked that his mind was quick at work to justify himself.
Then, a wry smile had appeared—one you were both begrudgingly fond of and vehemently annoyed by.
"Well, Lady Y/N, go out to dinner with me again tonight and I promise to have my work done."
And so developed an unlikely routine—as long as you went to dinner after working hours, Jing Yuan would have his paperwork complete.
Of course, there were a few times when he slipped.
But whenever this happened, you vanished from the Seat of Divine Foresight before he could even awaken, and he found that the absence of your presence was punishment enough.
So now, him skimping his work was a rare occurrence. Even Yanqing was surprised.
"General, you've been a lot... busier, lately."
"Only as busy as I'm meant to be, my boy."
Golden eyes were immensely suspicious, and those same eyes watched the General in your presence carefully.
"...It's Lady Y/N, isn't it?"
Jing Yuan choked.
Even still, you'd be lying if you said you weren't enjoying the routine as well.
It was a win on both counts—you get a nice, expensive meal, and Jing Yuan also stops skipping important work!
Surely, it wasn't also a win to spend more time with the General. Surely...
He was still as cheeky as ever, though, especially now that you'd caved to his whims and spent more time with him.
Sometimes, he'd try to pass you alcohol and convince you to drink with him.
Of course, this was with the sly intention of getting you to open up and drop that stoic façade.
It never really worked.
Either you refused, citing work, didn't get drunk enough to become loose-lipped...
Or, in one instance, actually drank the General of the Luofu himself under the table.
Needless to say, you never did that again. Not only did you gain nothing but a raging hangover, the people of the Luofu who were present in the bar wouldn't shut up about it for weeks.
The rumors were even more ridiculous!
Though, you did gain something to tease Jing Yuan about, for once.
Dinner eventually turned into dinner along with a small walk together afterwards.
It took a lot of convincing and taking on extra work for Jing Yuan to get you to agree to the latter.
It was nice, though. Not only were you out in the fresh air, but you were free of the somewhat guilty burden of having the General paying for all your meals out of pocket.
Still, one day... he seemed different.
"General—"
"Lady Y/N—"
You both paused mid-sentence, cutting each other off. However, it was you who ultimately remained silent, gesturing for the man to continue.
Jing Yuan seemed... uncharacteristically nervous today. Was nervous even the right word for it? Perhaps it was, seeing as how his one visible eye darted back and forth.
Strange.
He cleared his throat loudly, reaching out a hand.
"I was only going to ask if you were ready to head to our usual dinner arrangement. I've made reservations."
Well, that was even more strange.
"General, you've never asked me before. You've just dragged me along. Are you feeling well?"
Despite your concern, you still accepted his hand just as naturally as always, allowing him to move your hand into position so that you were holding onto his arm. The first time he'd done this, you had recoiled, embarrassed at the proximity, but now, it was just as routine as your near-nightly dinner dates.
Dates? Were they dates? You pushed the thought as far away from your head as you could to avoid any red flush potentially springing to your cheeks.
"Of course I'm well." Jing Yuan only chuckled mildly, not meeting your gaze. "Shall we be off?"
You eyed him, but nodded slowly. On the way to the reserved seats, you began cautiously.
"...If you slacked off on your work and are trying to hide it from me..."
Honey-gold eyes met yours with a slight measure of surprise, and before you knew it, the General was laughing. A low, rumbling, and comforting sound that emanated from deep within his chest. It caused the dam you held to keep your cheeks from going red to burst.
"W-What did I say?!"
"Nothing, my dear... Absolutely nothing," he chuckled, wiping an imaginary tear. As much as the sight irked you, it also caused you to breathe a small sigh of relief.
He didn't seem as anxious any more.
"I was just a bit surprised."
"Well, I wouldn't be..." you grumbled. "Wouldn't be the first time."
Jing Yuan's smile turned crooked. "Come, now. I think I've been doing rather well at holding up my end of the deal. How long has it been since I last shirked my duties?"
"One week."
Your unimpressed response had his laugh turn nervous, but not in the same way as before. He glanced away at your dagger-like stare, murmuring some sort of excuse before giving up at the squeeze you gave his arm.
"I would say I've been doing well overall, though."
You acquiesced with a sigh. "That you have, General. Better than before, at least."
"Well, that is high praise. Coming from my poker-faced Lady Y/N, I'd have thought it'd take ten decades of work to satisfy your standards and achieve a compliment such as that."
You only grumbled in response, eliciting another laugh from your General.
So caught up in the conversation were you that it took you being seated in a private room to realize where you were.
"...This is where you first took me."
"Correct," Jing Yuan smiled, a hint of unease in his features as he fiddled with something beneath the table. "I thought it'd be appropriate."
"For...?" you trailed off, trying to recall if there was anything special happening today. "Did I forget a holiday?"
"No, no. I'll tell you later, Lady Y/N."
"Very well, General," you sighed, making your choice and setting your menu down. Surprisingly, a comforting silence filled the air until the attendant came to collect both of your orders, and even after that. Minutes passed, and the silence was now... less comforting.
Something was definitely off. By now, the General would be talking your ear off about something—whether informing you about his latest trickery with his and Yanqing's games of chess or teasing you for your uptightness in the latest meeting, he'd have something to say.
But Jing Yuan just sat there, smiling down at his hands, still fiddling. You eventually had enough, clearing your throat.
"...So, are you going to tell me why today is significant for this restaurant?"
The man jumped—did he jump? Did the famous General Jing Yuan just jump over a mere question from his advisor?—and paused, clearing his throat again. You had noticed he was doing that quite a lot this evening.
"Well, I should get it out of the way, shouldn't I? No use dwelling on it any longer, haha..." Finally, he extracted the item he had been messing with, sliding a small velvet box across to your folded hands. "Here you go, Lady Y/N."
"And just what is this?" you eyed it, then raised a brow. A small trinket from one of his expeditions, perhaps? But you weren't much of a collector or anything...
"Just open it."
"Very well." You paused momentarily, but slowly pulled the box towards yourself, pushing up the little hinged lid. In an instant, your hands clapped it back shut, your face turning thousands of shades of red.
Jing Yuan, while still anxious, found himself chuckling as he fiddled with the hem of his sleeve.
"General," you whispered harshly. "Is this some kind of joke?!"
"Well, I'd hope not, considering that little trinket cost me a fair chunk of my prior paycheck."
"General Jing Yuan, I'm being serious!" You were sweating bullets, trying to reign in your flustered state. "Explain yourself!"
The man cleared his throat again, and finally began to lay out his reasoning.
"You see, Yanqing was just getting so terribly tired of hearing me talk about you. In his words, 'You need to do something about it before I go insane, General.'" Jing Yuan was rambling. "So I went to a local jeweler and tried to find something nice, but none of them quite suit you the way I wanted. Then, I figured I should commission something, and—"
His rambling speech had given you time to process just slightly, just enough to cut him off and pose your own question.
"Are you proposing to me?"
Jing Yuan coughed.
"Well, I figured since we'd been to dinner together so many times—"
"—as General and his advisor!—"
"—but if you'd like to start with the label of dating, I'm perfectly fine with slowing it down to that. We do have nothing but time, after all."
You were about to shout some more, say anything, but the sight of Jing Yuan's somewhat flushed cheeks had you reeling, stunned into silence.
He was serious.
The General glanced up at you through his bangs.
"You don't have to give me your answer right now. But I'd be delighted to see you at least try the ring." And oh, when he beseeched you with those pleading eyes, how could you even think to say no?
You hesitantly opened the box, unable to fathom what was happening. In your state, you hadn't noticed Jing Yuan move to your side, taking your hand gently in one hand and the ring in his other.
"Allow me."
Tenderly, carefully, Jing Yuan slid the ring onto you. It fit like a glove, and you couldn't even think to wonder how he got your ring size down to a T. He gazed into your eyes with such adoration that you felt your brain going to mush.
"...It's lovely," you stammered. The General smiled.
"You're lovely."
Surely, the situation was about to escalate into something more.
An embrace? Possibly... a kiss? Just as you felt the very distinct possibility of your eyes fluttering shut in anticipation, the door to your private dining hall was slid open.
"I have the orders for one General Jing Yuan and one Lady Y/N—"
The waitress stopped short, eyes wide at the proximity between you and the General. Then, her eyes fell to your hands, the ring—
"Wait—"
"Ma'am, it's not—"
"Please forgive me! I'll leave you be!"
Without giving either of you even a moment to explain, the now beet-faced woman dashed away, shocked out of her poor mind. You exhaled shakily, and then whipped your head around as Jing Yuan laughed boisterously.
"General! The rumors!"
"Oh, they always spread some rumor or another. It's happened since we first started this little routine, and it won't cease now. But if you aren't interested, I will always happily have them dispelled."
You huffed another sigh, glancing away.
"...Who said anything about me not being interested?"
It was Jing Yuan's turn to be stunned, but he recovered annoyingly quick, immediately wrapping his arm around your shoulder and pulling you into him.
"Really now? Well, I'll take that as your acceptance of my proposal. I will be stuck to your side from here on out."
"I'm accepting the dating proposal, not marriage, General!"
"For now."
"General!"
Tumblr media
⊹ Sampo Koski
The man who formerly avoided Natasha's clinic like the plague out of intense fear for Wildfire's motherly leader now found himself frequenting the joint more than the Fight Club.
Who would've guessed?
Well, you might've.
Ever since your run-in with the infamous Sampo Koski only a few weeks prior, it seems he'd made it his personal mission to only appear when you were working.
Of course, you only really worked night shifts, and Sampo was quite the night owl himself, but who's counting?
He still annoyed you to Hell and back.
The only edge you really had over him was when Natasha was in, helping you with the patients.
Sampo would stare at you from outside the window like a puppy left out in the rain—you could practically hear the whines and see the sad droop of metaphorical ears.
Natasha always knew he was by, and she'd always tease you about it, so in a way, you were both now avoiding her.
"Y/N... Your ol' buddy Sampo Koski got himself a booboo! Won't you fix me up?"
"Get lost."
"But it really hurts!"
"That's a flesh wound. Here's some ointment. Scram."
"Ouch! You're as cold as ever... Your words sting more than this egregious injury..."
A small, tiny voice inside your head was always thankful that he was never really as injured as he exaggerated, but he still found ways to negate even that tiny bit of mercy you held for him with his antics.
Usually, he'd just swing by to hop around you and ask for attention.
Really, he didn't want anything more than a few words from you or a few minutes of your time, but you didn't have much of either to spare with your work.
To catch your eye, he'd try to ham up his pain, but it never really worked.
A bandage there, an ointment there.
Sampo never failed to notice how you would always entertain those requests at least, giving him what he needed to care for himself.
Though he did long for your tender loving care again. Even if it meant being on the receiving end of your unimpressed stares.
Then, there was the time he asked for you to kiss his wound better.
That earned him a harsh clobbering to the head.
While you hated the distraction Sampo brought while you were actively trying to cure real patients, he wasn't all bad if he came at a good time.
Not that you'd ever admit it, though.
You'd given him enough ground with your little "For me" comment last time, and he'd never let you forget it as long as you lived.
When you were packing up your supplies and getting ready to trade shifts with Natasha, it was kind of... nice to see him around.
He'd bring you small doohickeys and trinkets from his latest scams expeditions, or talk your ear off about his adventures.
Scratch the dog analogy.
Sampo was more like a crow, squawking your ear off and delivering small, seemingly-insignificant, shiny treasures.
Somehow, his unending positivity and boisterous attitude was a nice contrast to the dreary place you were stuck in.
You were begrudgingly—with harsh emphasis on that word—becoming fond of Sampo Koski.
You weren't sure if this was a good thing.
"Y/N!"
You heaved a sigh, stretching out your weary limbs as Sampo came barreling into the clinic, thankfully uninjured. You kind of wanted to hit yourself for thinking of that first, rather than how obnoxiously loud he was being, but you digressed.
It seemed as though ever since your little run-in with him while he was badly wounded, he had taken your demand to stay out of harm's way to heart. Now, he rarely got anything more than a small bleeding cut or a sizeable bruise.
"How many times do I have to remind you to be quiet in the presence of my other patients? They're sleeping, Koski."
"Some things never change! Just like your painfully frostbite-y words, Y/N~"
You only grunted at that, collecting your tools and cleaning off your table. You always did like to leave Natasha with a neat workspace when she arrived.
"Sooo, I was thinking..."
"Sampo Koski, thinking? The Overworld must be crashing down on our heads as we speak."
"Yeesh, uncalled for..." the man grumbled, his energy bouncing back fast, though. "Let me take you somewhere nice. Think of it as a reward for working so hard and helping me out so many times, yeah?"
You raised a brow at that, and the conman clasped his hands together, that familiar grin sneaking onto his lips.
"After all, Sampo Koski always repays his debts! Never leaves a friend hanging!"
"You know the clinic's services for mild cases are free, right?"
"That generous heart of yours just makes me swoon, Y/N! But I can't possibly let you do me all this kindness without doing something in return!"
You sighed raggedly. "If this is you roping me into one of your scams..."
Sampo slapped a hand over his heart and clasped his chest as though mortally wounded. "You wound my poor soul, my heart, Y/N! Would 'lil old Sampo really do that to you?"
Your utterly deadpan glance sent him into nervous chuckles as he amped up his attempts to get you to come along.
"Come now, Y/N! You can trust me! Just this once, and if I wrong ya, you can toss me to the automatons! Honest to goodness!"
You were already yanking on your coat to follow when he crossed his finger over his heart as if to swear his undying allegiance to getting you back in one piece, sweeping past him out the door and grumbling something about being in your right mind to toss him to the robots anyways. The Sampo Koski looked a bit stunned at that, staring at you from within the clinic with wide emerald eyes.
"Well? Are you going to lead me there or no?"
"Ah, yes! Of course!"
Shockingly, it didn't take long to get to where the conman wanted to go. You had to duck past a few bots and avoid a few Fragmentum monsters, but really, that was every day in a place like the Underworld.
Yet, the bright glow of the huge Geomarrow vein caught your eye at once, sending you into awed silence.
Sampo smiled at that, dragging you along by the arm to a better vantage point. You stared up, admiring the rare beauty in a place as dreary as the Underworld.
As a doctor, especially an assistant to the only other doctor in the whole of the Underworld, you didn't really get the opportunity to go out and explore much beyond Boulder Town. Sure, there'd be patients you had to go to that couldn't make the distance to the clinic, but they were rarely beyond the walls of town.
The sight before you was truly something magnificent. Something you had never seen before.
"Well, like it?" Sampo nudged your arm, snapping you out of your trance as he grinned at you. "Told you it was cool! Thought you could use some time out of that stuffy clinic."
"It's..." You didn't quite know what to say. Words escaped you as you glanced between Sampo and the marvel of mineral. "It's really something. You weren't lying."
Even though you were too awed to realize you had admitted to his truth, the man beside you still hooted with laughter at his 'victory'.
Only when his joyful whoops calmed down did you manage to fully tear your eyes away from the sight, looking over to see Sampo trying to fiddle with something in his pocket.
"Sampo?"
The man jumped, and if you were any more alert to his antics, you would've assumed he was plotting something. However, he only hid his hands behind his back, beaming.
"What's up?"
"...Thank you."
The words were quiet, begrudging, but you managed them anyways. You expected immediate feedback from your so-called friend, only to be met with thick silence. You once again called his name, and he once again jumped.
"What's the matter with you? You've not got something criminal planned, do you?"
"Nope, Sampo Koski is always loyal to his word!" His chuckles were nervous, contradicting his statement. Just as you raised a brow and were about to speak up, however, he handed you a small chain.
"Haha, almost forgot!" Lie. "I had this for ya, too."
The item was placed in your hand before you could even protest, and you nearly leapt in shock when you realized what it was, were it not for your ability to keep on your stoic disposition.
A beautifully crafted, decorative Geomarrow wrist cuff sat in your palm, a nice rustic design to it that would compliment your outfit, surely. It looked more expensive than everything you owned combined.
"...Sampo—"
"See, an old buddy of mine owed me a favor from way back when. He's a jeweler nowadays, not super useful here, but I got my hands on a chunk of Geomarrow and he worked his magic! Cool, huh?"
"Sampo—"
"And that chunk isn't stolen, no siree bob! Got it completely legitimate this time! Paid out of pocket!"
"Sampo, are y—"
"It wasn't easy, but—"
"Sampo!"
The man finally stopped rambling, pausing to glance down at you with wide eyes.
"Haha, erm, yes, my dear Y/N?"
You would've felt your face flush—in fact, you were still actively staving off the heat to your cheeks—but you had to get one question out of the way first, a hardened expression on your face.
"You stole this, didn't you?"
"No!" Sampo's insistence was so adamant that it sent you aback. "Didn't you hear what I said? Honest, I didn't steal! Not a single part of the process was made with thievery or swindling! 'Cause you don't like it, and I wasn't about to confess in a way you don't like—"
"Confess?"
The conman stopped short, scratching his cheek and whistling inconspicuously, glancing anywhere but you. You weren't having much better luck with maintaining eye contact.
You glanced down at the cuff again, reluctantly sliding it on, but unable to deny how much you were taken by it. It was also the only way to distract yourself from the shock you felt, from the warmth now prominently displayed in your cheeks.
"So... yeah. Um. I did this all. For you. To confess, 'I love you' style and all of that, if that's how ya want to put it..."
"That's how you put it."
"Can you have some mercy on my poor heart?! Sampo's trying his best here!"
At that, you snorted. Then, you giggled. Eventually, you devolved into shaky, small laughter, chuckles that couldn't be hidden even by your typically impassive countenance.
For the first time in his life, Sampo found himself utterly dumbstruck. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe, in a trance as he listened to your laughter, as sweet as the chime of a bell.
To Hell with confessions and acceptance, the man was fairly certain he could die happy just hearing such a sound and seeing such a look on your face. Even if you were laughing at the notion of him being in love with you, Sampo was confident he couldn't care less.
And then, for the second time that evening, the conman was struck speechless.
"Well... fine. I suppose I can graciously accept your feelings and your heart, Sampo Koski."
His eyes lit up like the Overworld sun.
"But only if you stop getting hurt. Period."
It wasn't enough to extinguish the light in his eyes, but it was enough to get him to droop, slinking over and hanging off your shoulder pathetically with a pout.
"Aw, then how am I going to see you?! Sampo Koski needs his Y/N time, or he'll be lost! I'm lost without you!"
It took everything you had not to clobber him—but this time, you were sure that twinge of annoyance was strong-armed aside by pure fondness.
2K notes · View notes
taintedtort · 5 months
Text
" NO NUT NOVEMBER! "
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
summary. how long they last during NNN
characters. toji, gojo, sukuna
warnings. gn!reader, no nut november, suggestive
a/n. this prompt pt3 but with jjk. also new post layout thing
Tumblr media Tumblr media
TOJI
☆ he rolled his eyes when you told him about the challenge. he loves sex and wants to be able to relieve himself whenever he wants, so why should he deny himself? he makes you beg for him to participate, finding it funny when you actually did and laughed in your face. he’s a man of his word though, and ended up attempting to last the entire month. got about a week in before you were the one begging him to touch you. he endlessly teased you, of course, taunting and mocking about how you were the one who wanted him to not fuck you. he gave you want you wanted eventually, but he definitely edged you for a while first.
"if you really want me to do that stupid challenge, then beg."
"you want me to fuck you? god, you’re pathetic. you’re the one who suggested this, remember?"
GOJO
☆ you egged him on, telling him there’s no way he would be able to beat NNN. he wanted to prove you wrong, so he very confidently accepted the challenge. it ended up being a game of teasing, you walking around the house half naked to work him up, and him trailing his hand down your body before pulling away with a teasing grin. he lasted a bit longer than you thought, finally having enough about two and a half weeks in. you two were making out, and when he made a move to tug his hard cock out of his pants, you tried to stop him and reminded him of the challenge. he pouted at you, promising to not cum and that he just missed feeling you around him, and you folded. he came, of course, and honestly couldn’t care less.
"i won’t cum, don’t worry. just wanna feel you squeezin' my cock."
SUKUNA
☆ similar to toji, he also had no interest in participating in NNN. he scowled at you in confusion and annoyance when you kept bugging him about it, and eventually gave in just to shut you up. he made a rule where you couldn’t touch yourself though, forcing you to partake as well. he didn’t understand the concept at all. not only was he denying himself pleasure, it was also denying you release as well, so he wasn’t sure why you insisted. he has self restraint and was able to go three weeks without much trouble. though, he did punish you consistently throughout those weeks. just because neither of you could cum doesn’t mean he couldn’t still have some fun with you. he spent hours edging and teasing you, tying you up and forcing you to endure his punishments, so those three weeks were torture for you. obviously ended with you begging him to let you cum, pleading for his cock and telling him to forget the challenge. you babbled apologies for making him participate and promised to never do it again. seeing your teary eyes and hearing your pleas got him more worked up than he’d like to admit, so he fucked you stupid and filled you up.
"aw, you can’t take it? you wanna cum?"
417 notes · View notes
beescake · 2 months
Note
PLEASE PLEASE MEGADUMP THE ARASOL!!! PLEAAASEE MR BEESCAKE I AM ON MY KNEES BEGGING YOU
HFHGHD GLADLY aaa i’ve been adding notes to it here and there for months but just hesitant to post it bcs im 🧍‍♂️🧍‍♂️🧍‍♂️🧍‍♂
also this is just my own takeaway of the events, it doesn’t necessarily comply to the Ultimate Truth of Canon-Alignment or represent the actual facts of what hussie intended! v sentimental smh but hopefully its still interesting to read
Tumblr media
i love when characters inform each other by proximity, it's one of my fave things to see in media :') it feels even more significant when two characters deliberately choose to stick together, so that when one operates, you can tell the other is similarly aligned in associative solidarity.
sollux is a keystone of this trope — whoever he aligns with is a wordless statement, a nod of approval. this stood out to me bcs the main four humans were alr friends by default, but once you reach hivebent you realize the trolls can actively choose who they want to hang out with.
and as we all know, after assessing every troll's biases/loyalties, sollux is the only one who maintains his selective preference for innately Good 👍 people.
Tumblr media
aradia is such a beautiful character honestly, she evokes such incredible feelings in me. she might not have been consistently written with care but the best parts of her character are truly stunning. i think it's easy to remember sollux as the self-sacrificing one bc he's so open about it (and his friends frequently react to his Moments) but when you compare him to aradia, it's always struck me
how much more. raw it is
to be so alone as an agent of time, having to orchestrate immeasurably harrowing events nobody understands or gives a fuck about
with your role painted in the story as one who must tend to the needs of the narrative, responsible to match every next note
because when you're given the capabilities, it becomes your duty to carry it out.
Tumblr media
it becomes expected of you to keep experimenting and arranging the machinations to work for everyone, dusting off hundreds of necessary failures to keep going
and having to be so unwavering in your drive knowing miserably that there's no one who can help you but yourself.
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
or alternatively: to make things fun! so other people won't think twice about letting you go off on your own.
sure she's had some very good buds, notably thanks to Team Charge v Team Scourge antics.
and yet, at the end of the day, the one friend that kept choosing her time and time again was the friend with the highest standards.
Tumblr media
i can see why people like to define arasol as moirails/matesprits but surprisingly i find the nondescript, unlabeled aspect of their relationship more straightforward to understand.
there's no shortage of people who would accommodate sollux. most of the surviving trolls are his oldest friends bcs he’d chosen them well. his transparency with his feelings had built him strong friendships that won’t falter or break, regardless of how much of a dick he can be. they’ve already seen and accepted him at his worst, and they still like him for who he is.
contrast that with aradia, who'd been so approachable, friendly and reliable in her exchanges it was super fun to talk to her. but the moment she became depressed, all her connections broke down.
her friends became hesitant to interact with her (until she became god tier, “happy” and amicable again) because her gloom and resignation didn’t serve them. she dealt with it alone.
there’s def something of note here abt the disparity between the way male & female characters are written+perceived in homestuck (esp parallel arasol with davejade) but i won’t go into that lmaoo
with this in mind i like to think of sollux as a gift to her, a loyal companion given to complement and commend her resolve. she's capable of doing so much alone but hussie took the time to build her and sollux's relationship as one of a unit; a set.
the ambiguity of their status does complicate things, but i do believe it makes sense with their characters. aradia's relationship with romance is a rocky one, the dubious stringalong equius had with her is a pointed reminder that her feelings of attraction are ultimately controlled by the author writing her.
unlike the other trolls who can openly address and own up to their crushes, aradia had romantic emotions forced upon her (especially when hussie implies 'she kissed equius back on her own volition'). and it seems like her character is so intrinsically neutral abt attraction that even when forced by the almighty powers above, she's unable to retain it wholly.
however, looking back to pre-game when she could actually "choose" her own feelings, she did have a crush on sollux.
their soft spots for each other were so obvious to the point where other people could see it.
Tumblr media
taunting aside, when vriska comments on their unit as bf/gf it actually informs the audience that arasol's relationship is romantic in nature despite not aligning with the quadrant system.
even while dead, aradia could still describe her care for sollux, expressing that she would like to see him happy. if they had more time to explore their relationship on alternia, it's possible they could've settled in a quadrant once they grew older.
but going back to the lack of labels, their dynamic was affected once more when aradia became god tier.
to me, her ascension was both the perfect culmination and possible closure of her character. it's the light at the end of her journey toiling through countless of timelines where she had to actively assess and participate. that's why it's cool to see her being silly and having fun giving guidance, passively exploring and watching other people do their parts.
Tumblr media
and yet the joy of her freedom makes it hard to explore further introspection. if we take her by her word, she'd already come to terms with the hurt she's been through and forgiven those involved.
i can't help feeling attuned to how impersonal and detached it can be, to devote and meld your identity so completely with your designated position as Maid of Time until you've become hard for your old friends (and even some readers!) to personally connect to.
idk post-canon but i assume there’s some degree of similarity to be bridged here with aradia's god tier and how the hs2 humans' Ultimate forms was described as a consolidation of all their possibilities. since aradia's classpect is inherently of service to Time, going god-tier may have elevated her beyond personhood with the "game construct" possessing her entirely. sollux doesn't realize the extent of it bcs he's still mortal, but a part of him may have subconsciously understood this.
i think there is a core aspect to aradia that was lost to the dehumanizing glory of god tier — a core aspect that may have contained an element of why sollux enjoyed talking to her in the first place.
to him, aradia hadn't just been a nice girl, she was a cool girl. despite not having much in common, he's still willing to chill next to her so she's not alone while she does what needs to get done.
back on alternia, they held a mutual and equal-level regard for each other that could've definitely settled into something permanent. but now, he's placed himself in a position where he can be kept around or left behind at will. the parameters of the relationship are largely in aradia's court, so any label she suggests to identify their relationship with he's likely to accept.
but that's why it's so difficult to label it. because god tier aradia may not necessarily Want quadrants or relationship labels. rather than the initial romantic attachment, their commitment to each other had evolved into one fundamentally of companionship.
no label? ok fine. no matter what, he still thinks she's a good soul worth latching on to. the best, actually. aradia > everyone else.
even if it gets stilted at times. there's an unexpected struggle to connect when sollux's go-to default for talking points is his feelings about things, and aradia may not want to talk about emotions all the time.
not to mention god tier aradia became an observer, especially of chaos. but sollux's avoidance of involvement comes partially from his innate pressure to get involved if something goes wrong. and he can't always tell when something goes wrong, because aradia doesn't mind if things go wrong anymore.
it's a non-negotiable preference that causes them to take the occasional time apart, a new boundary that wouldn't have existed before the game and aradia's god tier.
but just like how his friends tolerated his moods, sollux accepts aradia as she is. with no quadrants, their connection doesn't break down because there's no implicit romantic expectations to be disappointed by or resentful over.
Tumblr media
sometimes when i see hs content that deliberately distances sollux from aradia, i assume this is the dissonance people might have felt. people might find it "easier" to be cynical about them bcs of this strange tension.
but idc lmao. grab that shit by the neck
lack of easy resolutions and cleanly tied ribbons is pretty standard of homestuck and imo it doesn't make arasol's dynamic any less incredible. with the right affection and consideration, there's still so much potential to develop the nuance of their relationship outside of the popular quadrant-based depictions.
hs has a lot of really great character compatibilities but the way aradia and sollux are in their own special orbit is why i can write this much about them in the first place. it's that frail innocence between first loves that makes it so sweet to me, two kids who grew up too fast playing guesswork without being clear where they're going.
ultimately i do think you're meant to feel a little tragedy for just how much they care for each other, even if they can't quite establish it in simple terms.
maybe they keep taking breaks to progress their own paths. maybe they remain as anchor partners while seeing other people. but even if you decide to separate them, they're still (awkwardly) texting each other updates all the while. and when they reunite it feels like coming home.
and well. more than anything, i like to believe that they do want to be exclusive.
they're just afraid. after all, they're still learning how to love, beyond the projections of the foursquare quadrant system they had inadvertently distanced themselves from since young.
they might not have everything figured out, but they'll get there eventually if you just hold them together and write them there.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
optional post-canon segment:
one of the limitations of main hs is that (monogamous) relationships are often written as the go-to solution to wrap up character growth; it's an easy "patch" to imagine characters getting their happy ending because they have a partner, and those who don't end up with someone don't get that closure (most notably jade).
hs2 reaffirms this by suggesting that aradia's character cannot progress without letting sollux go, because happily settling in a relationship automatically locks your potential.
that pathetic panel of sollux staring emptily into the sky is still my fave hs2 spoiler ngl i find the impact of their parting so emotionally provoking precisely bcs they were written in original hs to be each other's forever, coming back together again and again
but now, they're subject to the decisions of the post-canon authors who might choose to deviate from that.
it's not new for them to part, but now there's an underlying worry that her dropping him off this time might be the last time. while i think the prospect of shattering their stability to make them grow separately sounds fun on paper, no amount of me desperately hoping for a good execution is gonna guarantee it
idk. i guess prediction-wise im expecting sollux in classic dramatic-hs2 fashion to tell dave to back off aradia LMAO. otherwise it's just gon be sollux and karkat pathetically watching aradia and dave from a distance swimming in their unresolved feelings for narratively-powerful time players smh obvs it sounds corny as hell but who knows its still plausible
srsly tho i hope they take the opportunity to develop arasol's relationship in a fresh direction that doesn't hurt me too badly...... and i hope they force sollux out of his comfort zone. i like watching him struggle :-)
Tumblr media
398 notes · View notes
mysillyside · 6 months
Text
Analysis of Ice King's Mental Health and consistent Self-Sabotage
(a needlessly long analysis of an episode I really didn't like as a kid but grew to respect a lot upon rewatch as an adult)
I wanted to rewatch some Ice King episodes I haven't seen in awhile, and the season 6 episode "Friends Forever" really reminded me how Ice King is such a good portrayal of a mentally ill person who unconsciously self-sabotages himself and his relationships.
Tumblr media
Summary: The premise of the episode is Ice King inviting Life Giving Magus over for a hangout, when in actuality he is planning to trick him into bringing his furniture to life so they can be his friends.
The setup is obviously comedic: "Haha silly Ice King, you don't need to bring furniture to life so they'd be your friends, when Life Giving Magus is right there offering you friendship!"
Coincidentally, that's the tragedy of the episode and Ice King's character in general.
He already painted a convoluted picture in his head of what he thinks he needs in order to be happy, so when other possible (even easier) routes of achieving said happiness present themselves to him, he shuts them down completely. It has to be his way or no way!
Content warning: While I don't go into anything too intense, this is an analysis of self-sabotaging behavior and how it pertains to people struggling with mental health issues, and I even briefly go into my own experiences surrounding this topic. Keep that in mind if you decide to read!
I'll leave the rest of the analysis below, because it's a bit wordy. But I hope you enjoy!
Throughout the episode, we are continuously shown the same scenario. Ice King is presented with an alternate (usually more achievable) solution to a problem he's dealing with and proceeding to ignore it, as he already decided how he wants to solve it as other avenues appear too challenging. He wants simple, fast solutions, despite the fact mental health improvement is a slow journey.
Abracadaniel
Early in the episode, we find out that Ice King ended his friendship with Abracadaniel, because "he kept trying to analyze him" From previous episodes we know that this friendship made Ice King really happy, so it might be suprising of first glance to see it break off so suddenly.
But of course, it makes sense. The reason Ice King liked the friendship in the first place is because it was fun. It's nice to have friends who are able to distract you from your own saddness.
In the episode where he first befriends Abracadaniel in the season 5 episode "Play Date", Ice King explicitly states he likes spending time with Finn and Jake because it distracts him from his thoughts, hence why the duo introduces him to Abracadaniel.
And that's what the friendship probably was for awhile, the two of them having fun! But considering the fact Abracadaniel seems like a relatively normal guy (at least for a wizard), it makes sense that eventually he would pick up on the fact that something is very wrong with Ice King, and that he's dealing with some pretty intense mental health issues.
This leads him to start analyzing his behavir, which leads to Ice King getting irritatated and upset.
He wants to have fun when he's with Abracadaniel, not think about things that upset him. (Knowing Ice King, he probably thought Abracadaniel was criticizing or even attacking him.)
Life Giving Magus
This is a shorter section but still important to mention. The main irony of this episode is the fact that Life Giving Magus clearly wants befriend Ice King, but because that's not how Ice King invisioned his "get friends" plan, he ignores this way more practical/achievable solution in favor of a fantasy where everything works out just how he imagined it. Things will work out surely. The stars just gotta align. Fast and easy solutions only. What do you mean these things take time and effort?
The Furniture
So the furniture comes to life and Ice King is ecstatic. That is, until he realizes that the furniture doesn't act like how he imagined it. The once inanimate objects appear to be intellectuals that like discussing complicated smart people things and using big words Ice King doesn't understand.
After Ice King continually tries and fails to fit in, leading to him becoming frustrated and sad, the Lamp suggests an alternative solution.
Maybe Ice King can be the cool quiet guy who listens to the other people in the room and occassionally adds his input, instead of forcing himself to talk about things that are clearly beyond his scope and knowledge
Ice King of course, completely ignores this and gets upset.
He doesn't want to adapt to this situation or even compromise, this isn't what he wanted, this isn't how things were supposed to go!
So he'd rather end the whole thing.
And so the episode ends with him turning all the furniture inanimate again. Maybe its better things just stay the way they were.
Ignore the fact Life Giving Magus is once again offering him his friendship, despite everything Ice King put him through in that episode. But Ice King declines it, as he would still rather stick to what he's used to if he can't achieve his convoluted solutions to obtain happiness, than try new things. Who cares if it's practical, it's way too uncertain and challenging!
Conclusion
I think Ice King characterization is very reminiscent of a mentally ill person who clearly wants to be happy, but only in this very specific "let's not uncover the root of the issue" way.
He likes chasing manic highs of in-the-moment happiness, which leads to selfish, destructive behavior which eventually starts crashing down, culminating into long depressive episodes.
Ice King doesn't like being sad don't get me wrong, but he'd rather wallow in his own misery for weeks if it meant not having to utilize those brief occassional moments of stablity and happiness, to adress his issues and figure out how to get better in the longrun. He doesn't want to sacrifice them!
(If you want a clear real life parallel to this, have you ever had those moments where you're like: "Wow I've been feeling so much better lately, maybe I don't need to go to therapy this week!" and then you end up spiralling right back to square one when you inevitably get sad and depressed again, because you ignored your mental health in favour of not utilizing those happy stable moments to get better overall. I've been there. So yeah, Ice King is suprisingly relatable.)
---
And not only that, but even when he is trying to make an effort and find ways to become happier, he's doing it in such a surface level way.
This whole episode is a great example of that, but this goes even further back. Just think about his princess kidnapping tendencies. Kidnapping a princess is a quick and easy solution to stop his saddness and loneliness. He wants to be loved, so surely has can force it. We never really see Ice King actually achieve his goal of marrying a princess, but let's say hypothetically he did. Than what?
He wanted friends for a long while too, so when he got them he was happy... until even the slightest cracks started showing.
If he managed to marry a princess, sooner or later he'd realize it doesn't make him truly happy. In the episode where he comes closest to achieving his goal (Princess Monster Wife), it still ends with him alone and sad at the end, because you can't cheat your way to happiness.
---
For him to truly be happy, he'd need to start addressing the core of where his issues come from. But he doesn't want that! So when other people start digging deeper, wanting him to self-reflect, he gets angry.
"How dare you make me think about why I'm sad!" "I'm gonna achieve happiness in this specific impractical way or no way at all!"
As someone who deals with this type of mentality, yeah. It hits! The last time I watched this episode was actually when it first aired, and since I was still a preteen back then, so a lot of this stuff flew over my head!
But now I get it now and am able to appreciate this episode a lot more. To be honest, I used to hate it! I find later seasons of AT a bit humorless and awkward to watch, especially season 6 . While these opinions haven't really changed., I think I can finally appriciate the thematic and emotional meaning of this episode now. Preteen Kat might have been a bit of a hater.
Final conclusion: I don't know how an episode about Ice King's furniture coming to life ended up being such a good exploration of mental illness, but that's Adventure Time I guess!
316 notes · View notes
beatcroc · 2 months
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
a year!!! as of today i have now been drawing these funny little pizza freaks, to the exclusion of almost everything else, for!!! an entire year!!! i wanted to do a nice group shot/lineup of everybody to compare to when i first started trying to draw them because oh boy were they bad. i never even posted most of them anywhere because they were so bad. but im posting them here, now, to see how everything's changed/evolved.
this is probably the hardest time i've ever had trying to figure out how to work with a style, but we got there eventually; i'm pretty happy with the handle i've got on everybody now...dont let ur memes be dreams. lots of unimportant journaling and idle thoughts abt it below.
older pics
the first one is the VERY first time i drew them, before i thought i was going to actually have any interest in drawing them [lmao]; it was just the one isolated image, for my friendserver, to illustrate the funney message, so there was no attempt to make it Good or actually understand anything going on w/ the designs or style.
second is the original run of practices sketches to start trying to figure them out for real; done after i started having ideas for the comics and such and realized oh god maybe i am actually gonna draw fanart for this. [again, lol, and lmao.]
third one is the first pt art thing i posted on here. there were a couple weeks of sprite studies between this one and the previous image. the one on the top right wasn't part of that post i just threw it on as space filler; i'd intended to shift to doing Sprite Redraws But Stylized to explore tings more, but that was the only one i did. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
individual characters
peppino: by far the hardest dear god. bro what ARE your shapes how DOES your face work. jesus christ. everything i have trouble with this style for, peppino has it in excess. i draw in polygons! i need consistency! and that is the last thing this kind of style is concerned with. they are made of squarshy clay and i do not understand how to mold them. i was really hoping trying to learn this game's style would GIVE me that kind of flexibility for fun exaggerated facial expression but i don't think much came of it in the end 😔. anyway on the bright side all this means once i got peppino figured out a little bit everybody else clicked way easier.
fake peppino: honestly i never did anything with him on purpose except for how his eyes work + the perma-smile thing. i figured ok hes supposed to look weird and off model so whatever happens with him happens. and it did. and it kept happening. it is still, in fact, happening.
noise/ette: somehow, for every bit that peppino was the least natural thing i've ever tried, these two worked pretty much right off the bat. i still don't understand it, seeing as pretty much all the things at play for peppino are also at work for them. i think the new sketches are actually a little worse than older ones but not enough that i care.
gustavo: really funny bc i drew him on model twice and just went 'okay, cool nice, easy, um. he doesn't have any fucking legs?' fortunately he was the only one i had a strong idea for how to stylize him [square] and it worked exactly as i was hoping so wahoo.
brick: is an animal and therefore 5000x easier and more natural for me to draw/stylize than anything else in the cast. that is Just a rat bro. i can draw a rat.
gerome: i think the funniest one here. the most drastic and least necessary change imo. i was gonna have him be really small at first, like smaller than the noises, but then i just... didn't. he's just peppino-sized now. also i gave him like. actual human facial structure, which is funny bc in most cases i'd do anything to avoid, but it works well for his being A Rock to give him some angles and definition like that+ to differentiate his vibe from the rest of the cast who are all very squishy. also since he is essentially Just A Head it's good to emphasize that too ig.
john: i only drew john a couple times but he gets to be here because i like him. and because most of the stuff i applied to gerome was readily applicable to john, though i did try to keep him a little more uncanny because he is a Huge And Lanky Freak. i hate that he is barefoot btw but idk how to make his color balance look right with shoes.
pizzahead: i did not want to put him on here honestly but i Have drawn him a handful of times and more importantly i didn't know what i was gonna do with john's pose if i didn't have him there to be glared at. the only thing that's different with him is giving him wider-bottomed pants, which i got from when i tried to draw these guys in clone high style [i never posted that one either][i will eventually]
snick: he gets to be here because 1. he's like 6 lines 2. i like him and 3. ive scribbled him a few times offhand and it went pretty well
misc
there are some guys missing because those are guys i didn't draw enough [or at all] to have gotten comfortable with them. sorry
i would have Liked to shade these but for the time being i have accepted that my grasp of light/shadow has decayed to the point im not going to be happy with anything i try there, so For Now i am working on my presentation with flats i guess. gerome has a shadow only because he's shaded like that ingame and looks naked without it
anyway if you are still reading [hi?] i get to shamelessly plug now. i'm over the hill of my pizza run now, and while i still have plenty of things i want to make here, most of the bigger more in-depth ones have passed. pizza tower was the first thing in THREE YEARS to get me out of my oc groove to doing fanart, and once i am done with my ideas here i will be going right back to it. if you like my art or how i write characters/interactions you should check out my oc/webcomic blog @jamverse . i can't promise people who like pizza stuff will be terribly into my designs, but i can guarantee i treat my guys with the exact same sort of tone i handle the pt guys with. and hell, i've mentioned it a few times before, but like 70% of my characterization for fake pep is just copied off one of my characters, so if u are going to miss him... he will still be there in spirit >;p
and if you dont care about any of that and are still reading thank you anyway. actually making these comics + seeing how shockingly well-received they've been has done a lot for my confidence, and for seeing that my kind of stuff IS something people enjoy :')
175 notes · View notes
Group H, Round 1, Poll 9:
Tumblr media
Propaganda under the cut
Ianthe Tridentarius
She is trying so hard to be the main character by lying and manipulating her sister, her cavalier, her mentor, her ?love interests? (Spoiler???) And also god. Not sure how it's working out for her but she does love to lie and manipulate
Worstie Ianthe is the DEFINITION of gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss. She is one of a set of necromancer twins that are the heirs to their houses rule. Except wait, only she is a necromancer and she has spent their entire lives doing necromancy for the both of them. She is constantly mean to their cavalier, Naberius, who she occasionally nibbles on like a chew toy, before eventually killing and eating him to ascend to sainthood. She goes to gods spaceship with another woman who ascended to sainthood who she has a crush on, this other woman is like…. Both incredibly mentally unwell and also haunted by at least 211 ghosts. Ianthes method of flirting with her? Gaslighting her about the corpse that keeps moving around and hiding under her bed. For no real reason tbh. She is clearly plotting to overthrow god, and at the moment that consists of her manipulating him while he’s too sad about his long term partners betraying him and subsequently exploding to really care. She dresses in terrible outfits and makes soup by burning onions to the bottom of a pot, putting meat in and some vegetables and then it doesn’t taste like anything so she puts in a few teaspoons of salt so it tastes like a few teaspoons of salt. She had her crush amputate her arm and regrow her a new one out of bone and it’s one of the horniest things I’ve read in my life.
"Gaslight = told her lobotomized (she helped), schizophrenic girlobsession that there was no corpse under their bed, even tho there totally was. Gatekeep = girl did NOT share the secret to god-like ascension. She kept that shit to herself until it was time to eat her boytoy, and by then everyone knew already. Girlboss = she has a non-necromancer twin sister, and literally Everyone thinks they r both necromancers because Ianthe is so good at it. She reverse engineered ascending to the aforementioned ascension without even completing any of the supplementary tasks. She held her own in a fight against a 10k year old lyctor. She becomes the figurehead of her entire empire. "
She uses a man as a chewtoy in the first book, literally gaslights the protagonist of the second book about a corpse, and elder-abuses God when he gets depressed in the third book. Nobody is doing it like her.
Dives headfirst with no regrets while basically laughing and covered in blood into murdering her cavalier once she realizes what the gothic locked room mystery/competition leads to while everyone else is questioning it, helps perform lobotomy on harrow so she doesn't remember the person she loves, manipulates everyone to get to the top
idk just everything about her
her relationship with her sister is incredibly Bad, she fosters codependency and views Corona(the sister) as an extension of herself. This does not stop her from keeping up the con that Corona actually has magic (She doesn't, it was always just Ianthe) for 22ish years and every single person who interacts with them falls for it. She killed a man against his will (most dying for this purpose specifically go willingly) and she consumed him and she will be burning his soul for eternity. She's completely repulsive and still somehow incredibly hot.
she takes advantage of the fact that the main character is prone to hallucinations. at one point she gaslights the mc into believing that the corpse under her bed isn't real just because she can. she reverse engineered a set of very complex trials on her own without anyone realizing she had the skills to complete them normally. she's also babysat god through his drunk and pathetic era.
Artist:@starcanist
Remy the Rat
Gaslight- 'hmm? Me? Steal papers? I'm just an innocent little ratty rat.' Gatekeep- I would debate he's gatekeeping food and taste from the other rats because they just don't GET it. Ugh! Girlboss- doesn't he own a rat restaurant at the end?
384 notes · View notes
particular-one · 9 months
Text
my ivy grows — and now i’m covered in you.
synopsis. you just opened your humble floral shop in the neighborhood and it has quickly become your biggest pride and joy. what you hadn’t anticipated was garnering the affection of a customer that had caught your eye. [modern au] characters. march 7th, dan heng, gepard, jing yuan, blade, luocha x gn!reader (separate) author’s note. two posts from carlyle in less than 24 hrs??? and a fluff post at that??? i’m finally back with my laptop 💖 this idea was prompted cz i stumbled across way too many flower shops/stalls during my trip and now i’m daydreaming about receiving one someday too :’) enjoy!
Tumblr media Tumblr media
march 7th had been looking for inspiration for her photography hobby when she stumbled across your shop. she was fascinated with how you decorated your shop, but moreso of you. she had observed you work inside the shop, sometimes going inside to buy something and chat with you, until she had a big idea. the following day, she actually summoned the courage to ask you to be the subject of her photographs in exchange for professional photos of your shop. the both of you went around the neighborhood and march kept taking candid pictures of you wherever you were for the rest of the day. you ended the day with march promising to take the photos of your flowers for you, and you were very happy with the results. you joked how the day felt like a date more than a favor, just as when march actually held up a flower she had swiped from your basket since the morning and handed it to you, asking if you had wanted to do this again but like, an official date this time.
dan heng entered your shop one fateful day, and you just fell for him way harder than you imagined. maybe it was because it was a hot day, maybe it was because he entered your shop when you had just tended to romantic couple after couple. you made lots of arrangements in the past, but preparing his was utterly nerve-wracking — especially when you could feel his eyes on you that it had made you really, really self-conscious. he thanked you, but before he left, you gave him a small carnation flower, hoping he wouldn’t ask for its meaning, and before he could ask even further, you moved on to the next customer. somehow, dan heng continuously came back to request and pick up orders, becoming one of your most loyal customers, and you never failed to give him a small carnation. though, you hadn’t anticipated that one rainy day, he was soaked wet but rushed into your flower shop. he looked incredibly red with something big that he hid behind him. unbeknownst to you, he kept every single carnation you gave him and preserved it in his journal, before he had the bright idea to search what it meant — before you could come up with an excuse, dan heng held up the bouquet of carnations that he painstakingly arranged himself for you.
gepard actually entered your shop looking for flowers to give to his sister for her first sold out concert. yours just happened to be near where she was performing, but upon seeing you, he was definitely whipped and oh-so-infatuated with you. it was a struggle for him to not constantly blush when he tried talking to you, but he earnestly listened when you gave suggestions on what flowers to give his sister. you prepared him a special bouquet to hand to your sister, and off he went. days passed, before a blonde haired lady asked for you. she introduced herself as serval, who you remembered as gepard’s sister. she liked your flowers a lot that she went back to pick up another one, but she also mentioned how much gepard wouldn’t stop talking about you— just as gepard went inside to try and stop her. you were really flustered about that, but gepard even more. he apologized consistently for his sister’s brazenness, but you told him that it was all good — and that you enjoyed that he enjoyed listening to you ramble. from then, gepard consistently visited your shop, sometimes to pick up flowers for his sister but most, if not all the time, he was there to see you and build that courage to ask you out.
jing yuan didn’t really go around your neighborhood frequently, nor did he take leisure walks that often. he was a really busy man engaged in a lot of corporate work, but an accidental free day drove him to stumble across your flower shop, which he could smell from a mile away. you had eagerly engaged with him when he asked you about your humble stall, you rambling about how much this whole shop meant to you. he watched as you transacted with customers, and though you were a little unnerved that he was simply watching you, you just allowed it. jing yuan found your charm quite endearing, that he lost track of time and in no time, the day was spent and you were about to close up. as jing yuan helped you move the remaining empty boxes, when he suddenly asked you what your favorite flower was. confused, you answered his question, to which he replied if he could make a special request for a bouquet of your favorite flowers. you quickly made his order and handed it to him but before that, jing yuan asked if you could write a note on the bouquet — “would you like to go out sometime, y/n?”
blade was someone you saw pop up inside your flower shop but each time you tried to interact with him, he left almost immediately. you were pretty much determined to find out what he wanted, that you carefully planned out and observed how he was inside your shop. when you finally were able to ambush talk to him, that was when you recognised him. he was your childhood friend back in high school that you had lost contact with when he moved away all of a sudden. you were surprised that he still remembered you, but he instead looked really bashful about it — he never exactly forgot you — a sight you never thought you’d ever correlate to the blade you knew. he had initially simply wanted to observe you from afar, thinking that he had no right to barge into your life after he disappeared without a warning, but you were easy to dismiss this and how much you missed him. you gave him the key to your shop and offered to stay around for the time being if he had nothing to do. at first, blade was hesitant in accepting your offer reciprocating to your warm gestures, but getting to spend all that lost time with you was enough to thaw that cold heart of his from icing you out like he did in the past. one day, you were surprised to see a paper flower folded neatly on top of the counter when you first opened the store in the morning, but there was probably only one person who would have the key and be responsible for this.
luocha was actually one of the more… interesting customers you had. one day, you just found him mumbling some incoherent gibberish that honestly scared you. you may have contemplated on calling for help, but instead, you asked if he needed any help. luocha smiled at you, before shaking his head. you went back to work, but moments later, he called for your help — he requested if you can point at your flowers and he’d mention it’s scientific name. gathering from your obviously puzzled expression, luocha just laughed and said that he was studying botany, but more on the scientific side — so that was the gibberish he was speaking. clearly you never listened in biology. it became a funny side activity that you did with luocha whenever he came by. one time, he came by with a red rose in his hand. he asked if you knew what this meant, and you had initially answered him it’s scientific name, which made him laugh. as you were about to go on, he cut you short by answering that it actually just meant his affection for you.
Tumblr media
written by carlyle (@particular-one) copyright: all content belongs to particular-one on tumblr (2023)
570 notes · View notes
annabelle--cane · 3 months
Note
People getting mad at Melanie for not being all goody-goody with Jon is so funny to me considering that out of all the main characters, including Georgie and Martin, she is the one who trusts him the most? The reason she keeps coming back to the Institute even though she always leaves there unsatisfied during S1-S3 is that even though Jon is horrible he at least listens (her own words) and she at no point in the show tries to stop or refuses to collaborate with Jon's plans out of pure tantrum. She has very strong comments about his leadership but she never stopped helping him when he needed it and vice versa. The only time she nope out of It was when she had just blinded herself and left the Institute, which is more than reasonable and neither parties holds any grudges about it.
YEAH this is actually such an interesting thing, cause there's a lot in tma about when a person consciously chooses to trust others and stay in consistent communication with them, and melanie almost never shuts that down with people. she's not really a secret keeper about anything big, it was a major deal when she didn't tell jon about her time in india because that isn't what she's usually like. she and jon are very similar people, but this is one of their major points of contrast: jon always has to slowly talk himself into trusting people, and even when he decides to there's often still major holes in the relationship, but melanie can really hate someone and still fundamentally be on their side and believe in their cause. she's the one who kept re-initiating their contact until jon knew she was reliable enough to serve as his spy in the archives, she really wanted to kill elias but trusted martin enough to back down when asked, and she was the one convincing georgie to help jon and martin get up the panopticon. ms king I am FREE on fridays.
171 notes · View notes
tobi-smp · 5 months
Text
[looks left, looks right]
I've been holding this one back until people got cool with a lot of things very quickly but I think nows the time
lets have a quick examination of c!allium off the top of my head
1: ranboo joins the server and is immediately heckled by dream
2: that same day he meets tommy and they have the famous exchange where tommy asks ranboo if he likes flowers (to rib him) and ranboo accidentally punches him trying to give it to him. this is cute on its own, but of course we Know that tommy loves flowers, that he covered his house in them, that he sung to the plants in l'manberg
3: and importantly, that he took the flower
4: tommy immediately taking ranboo under his wing and running off to Do A Prank with him. this is really important because this is tommy trying to go back to the way that things were Before. the way that he'd had fun with his family and what he did when he felt safe and secure. this is tommy being silly with a new person he might consider a friend, but it's Also him trying to reconnect with that happy Free feeling he'd had before
5: they'd made a bunker specifically to plan out their prank, and he'd put the allium that ranboo gave him into a chest hidden for safe keeping. And That Allium Survived. he kept it and it survived
6: when they're caught not because what they did was Actually out of line (griefing was an every day occurrence, even and Especially between l'manberg and dream's territory), tommy Deliberately Did Not Throw Ranboo Under The Bus.
he didn't take it seriously, he made fun of everyone because the situation was ridiculous, but he Never implicated ranboo. and in fact, he only started Admitting to the crime When Ranboo Was Being Implicated. he Deliberately Took The Fall For Him.
(and it's worth noting that the evidence that was used to tie to tommy to the crime in the first place were signs that Ranboo wrote).
7: and in return Ranboo Stood Up For Tommy. ranboo is a character defined by his conflict avoidance and lack of spine, But He Stood Up For Him. he admitted to being a part of it, and he pointed Out that tommy was taking the fall to try to protect him, and he did so Specifically to counter tommy being called selfish.
8: then in between the trial and exile day tommy opened up to ranboo, both about being afraid of his relationship with tubbo falling apart AND with his relationship with wilbur. admitting to having nightmares and admitting that this fear of losing tubbo is tied to having lost wilbur. this is something he'd never said out loud to anybody at this point, and it'd be Many Many more months until he'd open up about it to anybody else.
9: while there Were people who visited tommy in exile multiple times, ranboo was undeniably the most consistent (outside of ghostbur, until well. dream tried to kill him)
he visited him in person And he wrote to him regularly. dream saw this as a threat so explicitly that he tried to sabotage their writing, to which ranboo circumvented it.
he'd regularly talk to tommy and try to help him while he was breaking down. he's on the of the only people on the entire server to have a full picture of what happened and it ate at him.
10: he was Also the first person after techno to find out that tommy was still Alive.
11: ranboo's "dream is the reason" being intrinsically tied to how he's Seen dream hurt tommy and rip him apart from his friends.
12: His Speech At The Green Festival. "why can't you guys just choose PEOPLE" not direct at tommy but to Defend Him. why didn't they defend him because he was their Friend? why did the politics Matter when they all knew what was happening was wrong? (of course, we know the answer to that. but ranboo wasn't there to see it. he didn't know)
13: ranboo being there at doomsday, despite everything he was there. I Think About It
14: Ranboo Being There At The Disc War Finale, Finally Putting Himself Between Tommy And Dream. Dream Specifically Looking At Him In A Crowd Of People. I Think About It I Think About It.
15: Tommy's Death, My Fucking God Tommy's Death. him finding the allium and realizing that tommy had kept it. him openly furious at the way the server treated him, how nobody saved him and how all of this could've been prevented if people had just Acted, if they'd Cared. everyone including himself.
chewing out sam for leaving him, sam talking to him bluntly about exile, I Think About It I Think About It I Think About It
16: ranboo and tubbo shadowing tommy after his revival. killing mobs for him, putting blocks under him while he's walking, watching to make sure that he's okay. Trying To Help Him Be Okay. doing therapy with him, talking with him. so afraid that he'll just disappear. "does he make you happy?" I think about it
17: tommy having a place in the mansion, even if he'd never moved in, he was supposed to be there
18: a major part of ranboo's struggle with his enderwalking not Just being about the fear of it happening at all, But The Realization That He Might've Hurt Tommy and how it absolutely Ate Him Up Inside
In Conclusion: if beeduo marriage hadn't happened I fully believe people would've started shipping c!ranboo and c!tommy and all of the discourse about rpf would've happened about them instead, and then years later tommy would've dropped his own actual rpf featuring his real self. this alternate timeline is way funnier
217 notes · View notes
the-wintry-mizzenmast · 7 months
Text
When a dao isn't just a dao 笛飞声的刀不只是刀
A quick and dirty analysis of Di Feisheng's dao
Following up from my previous post speculating about Di Feisheng's dao 刀, I think the configuration of Di Feisheng's dao is quite clever and consistent with his character, despite looking like nonsense at first glance. I know more taiji and kung-fu 刀 dao forms than I do 劍 jian forms, and this is what I choose to do with my knowledge and time, I guess.
Before I launch into his dao in particular, I think it's important that you understand what a dao is, and how you are supposed to attack and defend with one.
When you say 刀 dao (in English, it's also been called a Chinese saber or broadsword), this is what it's supposed to look like (I've annotated the image below from the Wikipedia entry on dao). They are by definition single-edged, and the majority are slightly curved (though there are some variants such as the Nandao 南刀 which are straight). A dao should have a point, a sharp edge (in red), and a blunt edge (in blue). The blunt edge (short edge, or inner edge, since the thing is curved) is usually quite thick.
Tumblr media
One of the main ways that a dao does damage is through slashing/chopping motions, either down, sideways, or upwards (which my sifu always called uppercuts). All upwards slashes with the dao require that you turn your wrist so that the sharp edge, which usually faces down, faces upward instead.
The other way that a dao does damage is via forward thrusts, where the point of the dao is supposed to pierce enemy flesh. The basic attacks I've mentioned above are in the beginning of this clip, and I've added text to the original video below to highlight what's what and what they're supposed to look like.
(n.b. I was just randomly searching for videos to show what I'm trying to describe, no endorsement intended).
One of the things you'll notice from the above video as well is that the master is putting his hand on the blunt edge. This helps stabilize and give more power to the dao through its various motions, and is a basic part of how dao forms are supposed to work.
The blunt edge is also important because it helps in defense. One of the cardinal rules of a dao is that when you are defending, the dao should be kept close to your body, with the blunt edge facing your body. This is what a basic block looks like:
Tumblr media
Should you get hit, you can brace the blunt edge of the blade using a shoulder or upper arm. In certain positions you can also use your hand as a brace on the blunt edge to stop (or execute) a particularly strong attack.
These are the dao basics. Now you have enough background to know what makes Di Feisheng's dao so unusual: it is double-edged, and it has a blunt tip.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
These two things must follow if you have a dao that has two edges and is blunt at the tip:
You are limited to slash and chop attacks as your main blade damage. Thrust attacks won't penetrate flesh unless you have a serious amount of qi behind it.
Your defense is limited, because you can't use your dao to defend in the usual way.
But wait, does Di Feisheng's dao really have two full edges?
If you're a details guy like me, and completely obsessed over Di Feisheng (guilty as charged), you'll notice that one the edges of his dao doesn't actually extend the full length of the blade:
Tumblr media
From the way that light reflects off the edges of his dao, you can see a bit on the short (inner) edge of the dao where the blade seems to transition from sharp to blunt:
Tumblr media
And this shot, it's confirmed that there is a short blunt area on the inner edge of his dao:
Tumblr media
In this memorable scene, Di Feisheng uses his hand against the very short blunt part of his dao to press his attack into Li Xiangyi's cheek:
Tumblr media
One of the upsides of his unusual dao is also that he can use the inner edge for attacking as well. Upward sweeps using the inner edge aren't possible with usual daos (because they are blunt), but are possible with Di Feisheng's dao. I think we see an example of that here in the way you see his arm sweeping upward. (He has also added a substantial amount of qi to this sweeping strike, most of us plebs don't have enough qi to do anything like this.)
Tumblr media
You can see how he gains some flexibility to his attacking capabilities, when he flips his blade mid-block into an attack:
Tumblr media
While a double-edge gives him more adaptability in terms of attack on along the slashing and chopping edges of his dao, what he is losing out on because of the blunt end is thrust. You almost never see Di Feisheng thrust his dao forward because his sword just doesn't work like that.
In this final scene in the episode one fight when they are charging at each other, Li Xiangyi thrusts the Shaoshi Jian forward, but Di Feisheng, due to the design of the dao, has to slash:
Tumblr media Tumblr media
However, most of the power of a dao is in its slashing and chopping motions. This is where the weight of the blade and its curved design (plus gravity and force) result in the most damage. Unlike the jian, the dao's thrusts do less damage. My conclusion about this is that it's a purposeful trade-off that Di Feisheng has made. He would rather maximize his offensive capabilities where they are strongest.
In terms of blocking, the design of Di Feisheng's dao means he's at a defensive disadvantage, since there's no blunt area to brace his body against for blocking (he can use his hand on the bit that is blunt, but because he has an edge along the rest of it, he can't use a shoulder or upper arm). This is a key feature of the standard dao that Di Feisheng's dao is missing.
In this move in the Battle of the Eastern Sea in episode 1, we see Di Feisheng execute a block, but he's got both of his hands along the hilt instead:
Tumblr media
At this point, it should be noted that the standard dao is typically a one-handed weapon. The hilt is slightly curved, so you can get a good downwards chop with your wrist. There are other daos that have straight hilts and can be two-handed like the Miaodao 苗刀 (which is more similar to the Japanese katana 刀 than most Chinese folks like to admit). Di Feisheng's dao being straight-hilted and two-handed isn't that unusual because it's a feature that can be present on certain types of dao (it's way less unusual than the two edges!), but I thought it was worth pointing out in case any eagle-eyed readers noticed the difference between the Wikipedia image and what Di Feisheng has.
I could wax on about Di Feisheng's dao and his fighting style forever, but I think this thread has gone on for long enough.
I believe that the design of Di Feisheng's dao is very clever. At first glance, it seems utterly silly (what kind of dao has two edges?), but on deeper inspection of his style and how he uses it, it is consistent with his character.
He is always playing on Hard Mode because he is trading defense for more flexibility in his offense. And he is maximizing his offense where it is strongest (slashes and chops), and choosing to forego the offensive capabilities where it is weaker (thrusts).
...And that really is Di Feisheng's martial arts style in a nutshell, isn't it?
270 notes · View notes
chloedrewitt · 2 years
Text
𝘉𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘋𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘰𝘯 - 𝘈𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘳𝘺𝘦𝘯 𝘹 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 [𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵 2]
summary: The day of your arranged wedding has come, and a new alliance is forged. Despite what you know about your new husband, his presence alone is enough to make your heeks flush and your hands shake. But would it be so bad to give in to these things you are feeling? Aemond, for one, seems to have made his mind up about you. Though the royal succession is a strong wind to withstand, and the future is never clear.
pairing: Aemond Targaryen x reader
word count: 4k
warnings: making out, strangers trying to take the reader’s clothes off as part of a wedding tradition, no smut; fade to black
a/n: I can’t wait to see adult Aemond in a few weeks!
Part 1
Request status: temporarily closed [info]
Taglist:
@amethystwonders11 @khaleesihavilliard @nura300 @ateliefloresdaprimavera @aestmilky​ @rainazinha​ @cullenswife​ 
If you wish to be added to or removed from the character taglist, please comment underneath this post​.
Masterlist - Ko-fi
Tumblr media
All eyes were on you as you stepped into the throne room. On the right side, you spotted your mother and siblings surrounded by guards, as your stepfather Daemon Targaryen took his spot next to you in your late father’s stead. Your siblings looked worried, but when you met your mother’s eyes, she offered you a reassuring smile. She knew you were making a huge sacrifice, and she was proud of you for that. 
Music started playing as you put one foot forward and took hold of your stepfather’s arm, your gaze glued to the stone floor beneath you. The beautiful, cream colored dress you wore squeezed your waist so that you feared you would faint then and there, since the chest piece consisted of a corset partially made out of metal. The sleeves were of the same material, resting upon your shoulders and shaped like relaxed dragon wings, hidden underneath your maiden’s cloak which bore the colors of House Targaryen and House Velaryon. 
You raised your gaze only for it to land on the iron throne behind the altar, partially hidden by ornaments and decorations. The throne was not at the center of today’s festivity, and yet, it was the reason that the civil war broke out in the first place, and the reason why you had to marry a man you barely knew. When you were little, before your mother brought you to Dragonstone, you played with Queen Alicent’s children, but the memories of it had faded long ago, leaving only blurred images and memories of feelings.
“Your mother would want me to say that you are doing the right thing,” whispered Daemon when you looked to the left, where the groom's mother and her other children stood. It pained you to see Helaena, since you had spent a lot of time together when you were younger. They all had grown so much, you would have never recognized them on the street. 
“And what do you want to say?” You asked, your voice sounding the most emotionless it had been in years. You heard people whisper as you slowly passed them, and the name ‘Strong’ rang in your ear, but you squeezed your eyes shut and tried to focus on walking. 
“That you should run if you want to.” His voice was even quieter now, and for a moment it seemed like you actually contemplated the idea, but then you looked at Daemon and offered him a weak smile. 
“I will be okay,” you said, which ended the conversation. 
The wedding altar had been placed before the iron throne was made of dark stone, and you almost felt a hint of remorse for those who had been tasked with bringing it here. Usually, weddings took place in a sept, but since this was very likely to be the most important wedding of the century, Aegon had allowed to use the throne room for it. 
The septon who would officiate the wedding smiled at you as you took your place next to Aemond, who was wearing an own version of the wedding cloak, only his was kept solely in the colors of House Targaryen. Underneath, you saw a black vest and parts of the Targaryen sigil. You looked up at your fiance, taking in the eye patch and scar that appeared from underneath it, while the septon gestured for you both to take each other's hands.
Aemond’s skin felt warm on yours, and you only noticed that your hands shook when he gently squeezed them, making you raise your gaze to meet his eyes once more. The entire throne room was looking at you both, while the septon spoke about a holy union, but looking into Aemond’s eye, the moment felt surprisingly private and intimate. He offered you a faint smile, most likely in an effort to reassure you further, and you smiled back, which made him visibly relax.
You were so caught up in your silent communication that you tensed when Daemon placed his hands on your shoulders, ready to take off your maiden’s cloak. You nodded at your stepfather when he joined your mother and siblings, your cloak in his hands. It was an old tradition for the father to take the bride’s cloak when the time came, and even though you always got along well with Daemon, a part of you wished it was your real father standing next to your mother now. 
For the first time, the gathered could marvel at your dress and the beautiful handiwork. You even saw Aemond admire the way the material hugged your body, and the dragon wing shaped sleeves that made you look like you were the embodiment of dragon flame. 
“Princess.” You turned your head towards the septon when he addressed you, and you quickly realized it was your sign to proceed with the ceremony, so you let go of Aemond’s hands and turned your back towards him. Without his hands or eyes to anchor you, a brief wave of panic overcame you and you cursed yourself for how pathetic that sounded. You told yourself that you would be brave. It was the responsibility you carried as heir. 
You felt Aemond’s presence behind you when he stepped forward to place his cloak on your shoulders, the soft fabric warming your naked arms. His hands lingered on your shoulders, and gently brushed down your arms when he lowered them again, something that caused some of the spectators to whisper. You drew in a breath, reminded of the time you spent together on Zaelix, when he’d held your waist and you’d felt free for the first time in years.
You turned to face him again, taking your hands in his, and waited for the septon to allow you both to speak before proceeding. 
“With this kiss,” Aemond and you began in unison, “I pledge my love, and take you for my-”
“-lady and wife.”
“-lord and husband.”
Your eyes dropped to Aemond’s lips as the words left yours, and you caught yourself wondering if they were as soft as they looked. He was so close that you could smell him; an earthy note with a hint of leather. 
“With the power given to me, I declare you man and wife. From today on, you are one flesh, one heart, and one soul. Now, and forever. You may kiss.” The septon lowered his head in respect, taking a small step back to offer you two some space. 
Your lips parted as Aemond placed his hand on the back of your head, gently guiding you to meet his lips. Applause erupted from all around you, and all the tension you had felt in your body before eased when Aemond placed his other hand on your cheek and pulled away slowly. 
The tingling in your stomach made you open your eyes, realizing that you wanted to kiss him again, but it would not be appropriate and you had enough self-control to behave like the princess you were raised to be. Still, you were reminded yet again of when Aemond took you to your dragon and went against his brother, the king he swore to serve, by letting you go for a ride. 
The feast that followed was mostly uneventful, except for the numbers of men who got drunk on the finest wine House Targaryen could afford. Loud chatter swallowed any attempt at conversation that you tried to make with Aemond, especially when the food was served and the clinking of forks on plates increased the volume even more.
Your new mother-in-law gave you disapproving looks all evening, but you noticed Aegon trying to ease her repeatedly, until he must have given her the order to behave, because at some point she stopped even looking at you. It helped that she was seated on the other side of the banquet table, out of your sight. But it did not help with the loss of appetite you experienced as you pushed a piece of meat around with a fork. 
Then, Aegon stood, his goblet raised towards the ceiling and silenced the room with a single word. All eyes were on him, despite some people being barely able to stand. The part you had dreaded the entire night came, you knew it the moment Aegon’s eyes fell onto you and your new husband. “It is time for the bedding,” he declared, clearly having had his fair share of liquor himself. 
You clenched your teeth, hating how every man in the room turned to look at you with hunger in their eyes. Some women were eyeing Aemond in a similar way, but you could only drop your gaze to the half-eaten plate before you and try to ignore the burning in your cheeks. 
Next to you, your mother put her hand on yours and leaned in to say something, but loud singing interrupted her before she could even speak.
Two men you had never seen before walked around the table, as they threw their drinks on the ground as if the throne room was a simple tavern smallfolk would visit. But your disgust turned to horror when they grabbed your arms and dragged you from your seat, tearing at the fabric of your dress. The tradition was old and respected by most, but nothing could have prepared you for the feeling of being undressed by strange men. 
Your mother  told them to stop, but the men were too drunk to think straight, so they continued singing their sea shanty instead, about the daughter of a captain and the untamable waves of the sea. It made you sick. 
Just as a woman reached for Aemond, he stood from his seat and wrapped an arm around your waist gently. “Traditions are all good and well,” he said, loud enough for the gathered to hear. “But you’ve all clearly had too much to drink.” The booing almost made you roll your eyes and even move a bit closer towards Aemond, which he must have registered without looking at you, since he tightened his arm around your waist. 
“The bedding will take place!” Exclaimed Aegon before falling back into his chair laughing. 
“That is quite enough,” intervened your mother as she gestured for you and Aemond to leave, just as Queen Alicent made a snarky remark you were too exhausted to pay attention to.
You felt relieved when Aemond started guiding you out of the throne room, followed only by a handful of servants who had probably been assigned to show you to the quarters. You noticed that you were clinging to Aemond’s robes when you entered a corridor, letting the door fall shut behind you. The sudden silence was deafening as you let go of Aemond’s clothes to rub the palms of your hands together nervously. 
You could not look up at him, too big was the unease about what was going to happen. Would he force you to do things you did not want to do? Would he claim you as property, despite it being against the agreement between Queen Alicent and your mother? He could do what he wanted behind closed doors, after all.
Suddenly, the servants stopped in front of a door and lowered their heads. You looked around, trying to figure out which wing you were in, since you had been too busy thinking about the possible outcomes of the night. It was easy to get lost in thought when Aemond helped you navigate the castle, but as you both came to a halt, he removed his arm from your waist. 
“Thank you,” he said to the maids, and they bowed their heads again, before leaving you both alone. 
Aemond did not seem keen on letting the silence between you become uncomfortable, since he immediately moved to open the door and let you inside. The room was large, with a king sized bed on the right side and a red velvet carped on the stone floor. You heard the door close behind you, but you did not turn as you looked around, taking in the paintings that hung on the walls and the chandelier above your head, until your gaze landed on the bed. 
You swallowed, before finally turning to face Aemond. He looked at you softly, his black clothes seemingly blending in with his surroundings. A sudden shiver came over you, and you missed the cloak he had put around your shoulders during the ceremony. 
“I will not force you to do anything tonight, Lady (y/n),” he said genuinely, but you took your time to answer. There were no chairs in the room, so you were forced to sit on the bed to relieve your aching feet, watching as he leaned against the bed frame first, but you moved over a little to make space and gestured for him to take a seat. You’d have to sleep in the same bed tonight anyway, refusing to sit next to him would have been ridiculous.
“I appreciate it,” you replied and Aemond nodded at you as he sat down, eye wandering around the room in thought. You looked at him silently. It was the first time you two were so alone in such an intimate environment. Yes, the dragon ride had been more physical, but now you could properly look at him for the first time. At his scars, and the way they disappeared underneath his eye patch. You raised a hand to touch his face but stopped when he tensed. 
“I remember when that happened.” Your voice was quiet, your hand still lingering in the air. “I don’t remember much from when we were younger, but… I do remember that. There was blood everywhere when my brother took your eye.” 
Aemond pressed his lips together, and you saw him reaching for the eye patch, but his hand dropped before he could do it, so you decided to touch the leather, watching as Aemond closed his eye in response. “Why do you wear that?” You whispered, tracing the leather band wrapped around his head. 
“I do not wish to scare the ladies at court.” Your heart ached when his words reached your ears, and you could see on his face that it must have bothered him a lot.
You cupped his cheek, continuing to stroke the leather with your thumb. His lips parted, gaze jumping between your eyes and mouth. 
“Do you think you scare me?” You asked, but he didn’t answer. “I am not a mere lady at court. I have been born into war and bloodshed, my earliest memory is of it. I have seen bodies rot and men die. So, no. You do not scare me, Aemond. And you do not have to hide in front of me.” A pause followed, as you searched for the right words to say.
“We are wed now. And, as you said, we should make the most of it. Neither of us should feel caged or unseen.”
You pulled at the string a little to see whether he would resist, but he only closed his eye and allowed you to gently pull off the eye patch, revealing the scarring underneath. You traced the soft skin with your finger, and brushed over his lid softly, before he opened his eyes again, revealing a sapphire crystal which the scarring framed, just big enough to substitute his actual eye. 
It was glistening softly when he tilted his head to look at you better, and you let your hand drop, caressing his bottom lip with your thumb. “It’s beautiful,” you breathed, gaze flickering between his eyes. You noticed how the blue of the sapphire made his iris seem brighter in color, as well. 
“Do you really think so?” He asked, doubt in his voice but you nodded, and shifted a little closer towards him. 
“I’m sorry my brother did this to you,” you said genuinely, “but scars are proof that we survived something. I have my fair share of them, too. At first I hated them, especially the ones caused by my own folly. Then I realized that they are a constant reminder of how fragile we are, and that makes life worth living. Knowing that there will be an end one day, that it could be tomorrow, lets you cherish and live it to the fullest, and gives you courage to do the things you want to do.”
His gaze dropped to your lips again, where it lingered even as he replied, “And what do you want to do, Princess?”
You closed some more of the distance between you slowly, giving him time to retreat if he wanted to, but he placed a hand on your back and pulled you even closer towards him. The sudden movement made you gasp, as you placed your hands on either of his shoulders. Your bodies were so close now that your torsos touched each time you inhaled. 
“Do you remember when we were younger, we used to play together sometimes. Before your mother brought you to Dragonstone.” You felt his breath on your skin as he spoke, and his muscles underneath your hands tense. But all you could do in response was shake your head, since you did not remember much from your childhood, one some core memories. “You wanted to train with the swords like us boys, but Ser Criston Cole did not allow it.” That, you did remember. A smile appeared on your lips as you thought about how let one of Helaena’s bugs crawl into his armor when he hadn’t been paying attention. 
“Each night,” Aemond continued, “you’d sneak out of your quarters to secretly train.” 
“How do you know that?” You asked curiously, since you had been sure no one had noticed back then. 
“Because I did the same. Only I did not train, but used the peace of the night to spend it in solitude. Back then, you thought no one saw you. But I did. I saw you how you wielded that sword, getting better each time you picked it up. And when I look at you now, I still see that fierce warrior you trained yourself to be.”
You could only look at him, mouth agape. He clenched his teeth, and you saw that he started regretting saying anything, but you placed your hand on his. “I truly thought no one had even noticed. But… why did you not say that you not mention our past when we saw each other first in that dungeon?”
“I did not know how much you remembered.” 
You smiled, as the tingling sensation returned, and you twirled a strand of his long, white hair between your fingers, nose brushing his. “Earlier, you asked me what I wanted to do,” you whispered, before pressing your lips to his softly. “This,” you added when you pulled away. “I want to do this.”
Aemond searched your eyes for a moment, seeming surprised and uncertain. The muscles of his arms flexed, but whatever internal battle he was fighting, it seemed to be over the moment he placed his arm on your back, hooking the other under your knees. His mouth ghosted over yours, before uniting again. You remained in this position while you wrapped your arms around his shoulders and melted into the kiss. It was more passionate and fierce than the previous one, a fire that the kiss which sealed your marriage had ignited and could now finally burn. 
Aemond bit down on your bottom lip softly, and you moaned just as he finally lifted you up a little, only to lay you on your back, letting you sink into the soft mattress. He climbed on top of you, his long hair tingling your cheeks, which made you giggle against your will. 
You weren’t sure about your feelings yet, and this marriage had just begun after all, but something about the way his hand felt on your skin, and the way he looked at you when he thought you weren’t paying attention made you believe this might not have been the worst thing to happen to you. 
In fact, you were sure that the entire castle could hear the euphoria he made you feel that night, and you did not mind even the slightest bit.
---
Eight Years Later
You were gently swaying the crib from side to side when Aemond entered the candle lit room, your six year old son, Aerydor, behind him. He giggled happily when he spotted you, and you wrapped your arms around him the moment he ran up to you. 
“How is the council?” You asked Aemond as you ruffled your son’s white hair. 
“Unbearable in your absence, my love,” he replied with an exhausted sigh, but a smile soon followed. 
He came to a halt next to you, placing his hands on your shoulders, which he slowly started to massage. You exhaled deeply when he kneaded your tense muscles, looking down at the peacefully sleeping baby in the crib. “As it is when you are looking after her,” you replied, turning to offer your husband a tired smile. 
“At least she grows up with her parents taking care of her, not maids.” Aemond dropped his hands from your shoulders and walked to the side of the crib, to pull the baby’s blanket higher a little. 
Six years ago, Aegon and his children had died, leaving you and Aemond to inherit the throne. Since then, you had both attended council meetings and reigned as equals. Though your luck couldn’t be greater, you had a feeling that your family had had something to do with Aegon’s death, but you chose not to investigate further. None of the plotting and family wars of the past concerned you anymore, since you had found your luck and happiness.
“She seems to get bigger with each day that passes,” Aemond said, smiling brightly. You hadn’t seen him this happy since your son was born, and it warmed your heart. 
“Mommy, I’m tired.” 
Aemond and you both looked down at the little prince, who was now rubbing his eyes and looking very grumpy. You laughed and lifted him up to sit him on the bed behind you. “How lucky that you are already wearing your sleeping clothes, then.” You kissed his forehead and watched as he crawled underneath the blanket, hearing the sound of Aemond extinguishing the candles one by one. 
You both changed into your nightgowns and soon joined your son in the bed, where he was already sound asleep between you two. Although he had his own room, he was scared of the dark so you and Aemond let him sleep in your bed from time to time. Though Aerydor had most likely already decided that this bed, which was four times the size of the one standing in his room, actually belonged to him. 
“When Elaena grows up,” you whispered to Aemond, whom you were facing on the bed, “I want her to train just like Aerydor does.” 
“So she wouldn’t have to sneak out at night and do it herself?” Aemond teased, but you only rolled your eyes with a smile. 
“Yes, precisely.”
“Do not worry.” He reached over Aerydor to caress your cheek with his fingers, eye flickering between yours, as his sapphire glistened faintly. “I will see to it personally that Elaena will be as skilled with a sword as she will be at court.” 
You smiled, eyes jumping between Aerydor and Aemond, as you marveled at your small family. Briefly, you wished your mother could have been here to see how well your life had turned out and that you had ascended the Iron Throne at last. Not as consort, but as Queen. It was the first time in history that Westeros had two reigning monarchs, and it was a change you were keen on keeping. 
Aemond closed his eyes, exhaling deeply as he wrapped his arm around you and Aerydor, and soon you drifted off to sleep, dreaming of a princess and a dragon, who brought even the strongest of knights to their knees.
3K notes · View notes
errihaienx · 1 year
Text
HQ CAPTAINS : best things in your relationship ♡
(pre-timeskip , aged up characters)
quick disclaimer: these scenarios don't affect the original plot of the series. any information or events that contradict the original plot are purely fictional. (i do not own any of the characters) Please read the a/n at the end! <3<3
ꜰᴇᴀᴛᴜʀɪɴɢ: ʙᴏᴋᴜᴛᴏ, ᴜꜱʜɪᴊɪᴍᴀ, ᴋᴜʀᴏᴏ, ᴏɪᴋᴀᴡᴀ, ᴋɪᴛᴀ, ᴅᴀɪᴄʜɪ, & ᴛᴇʀᴜꜱʜɪᴍᴀ (ɪɴ ᴏʀᴅᴇʀ)
ꜱɪᴛᴜᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜱ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ʙᴇꜱᴛ ᴛʀᴀɪᴛꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ʙᴇʜᴀᴠɪᴏʀ ɪɴ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʀᴇʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱʜɪᴘ
Tumblr media Tumblr media
He is very honest and open, he'll say everything when you ask him.
Satisfies your needs when it comes to affection, LOTS of cuddles and forehead kisses.
No Emo-mode Bokuto when it comes to serious discussions. He doesn't talk back to you and tries his best to understand you. He's a bit jealous though..
Respects your parents and grandparents so much! He often ask you to visit them.
"Babyyy can we meet Obachan? I loved the soup she made, oh my gosh let's get married now Y/n!!"
Tumblr media
A relationship with patience and privacy
He's very patient, he's not the controlling type. He wants to make sure that he's not suffocating you.
He's also understanding, you often meet up with your friends and you end up going home late he understands it and fetches you to make sure you're safe.
Very consistent, when he was still courting you he gives you flowers and even now as couples he's still doing it!
"I kept on receiving flowers I don't know who gave them..... I just want you to know.."
"I sent them.."
Tumblr media
A relationship built with trust, attachment, and intimacy
He's very touchy and wants you to himself 24/7
Very Faithful. he may look like some womanizer shit, but he's not, he's into you, only you.
He will always ask for your opinion about everything he does, and will make it as his guide. He trust you about everything
"Love I don't know if I'll still pursue volleyball, but I love the game itself.."
" You don't want to be a professional athlete?"
"I'm confused, I don't know. But I also feel like i don't want to abandon it.."
"You don't need to play the sport itself, you can work from behind the scenes."
"Damn, such a wifey material.."
Tumblr media
A very open relationship, there are  circumstances that you will complain about his actions or doings and he will openly listen.
If he's really at fault he will adjust, if you don't want him to do this or that he will not do it.
Tries his best to understand you in everything.
Very appreciative, you know that volleyball is his passion and you give him time and space. He appreciates it a lot.
"I'm sorry I couldn't put all my attention to you, but please don't leave me.."
"Career over love, choose your passion and I'll choose mine."
"Baby are you breaking up with me again?!"
"You are my passion"
Tumblr media
A very perceptive man
Misunderstandings don't stand a chance on breaking your relationship, even if you accidentally said something that is very different from what are you pointing out he will immediately figure out what you really mean
He's also polite, caring, and loyal.
He often help you with your studies, affirms you and is very respectful of you
"Please don't hesitate to ask for my assistance about everything, i don't want to see you struggling"
"I just don't want to bother you, you're already stacked up. i just want you to enjoy your extra time and be happy"
"I am the happiest when you rely on me."
TO MAKE IT SHORT,, HE'S PERFECT
Tumblr media
Responsible and you actually sees him as the literal 'Husband Material' yes, more than just a bf material. Seriously, having him was the real deal!
Respects your boundaries
He's very attentive when it comes to you. He knows it when you're not feeling well, annoyed, happy, everything!
He often helps you with your studies
"Love, were you the one who prepared my presentation?"
"That was me. I wasn't sure if you were gonna be okay with me helping you, but... I wanted to help you anyway."
Tumblr media
Study dates!
Very touchy even in public, and he can't hold himself back. he loves the feeling of being close to you
When arguing he's probably a bit headstrong but he doesn't talk back, he may be defensive at times but he makes it up to you. Whenever you two argue, he's all frowny not because he's annoyed that you're nagging him but because he's annoyed that he was being a 'burden' to you.
YOU. ARE. THE. PRIORITY.
He's famous at school and has his group of friends that he always hangs up with, he's such a party boy too. but when it comes to you, there's no hesitation. he'll decline any meeting with the boys and will probably say: "Bro I need to see my gf so bad, gotta go. I hope ya find your love life."
Bro is smitten
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Hiiii! my lineup for what i'll post was piling up, and I plan to post drafts first(this was a draft a week ago!) before my requests. I'll be working on 4 requests! please once again, bare with me. i'll start writing the request in few days, and post it immediately after finishing them. for the anons who requested, i hope you'll wait until then. thank you very much! I finished writing the 'stuff' that i've been writing for a long time, and i'll post it soon! thank you so much for the support<3<3 i hope you all the best health!
582 notes · View notes