#this is inspired by somebodys bio so if the person finds this then hi

[nyxfleuret]

Ross Humboldt x F!Reader

|18+| MINORS AND THOSE WITHOUT AGE IN BIO, PLEASE DNI!

Author's Note: I really got inspired on this one, I put so much effort...I hope you all like it! I had to change some things but it is actually the movie's plot. (Patrick Wilson is so hot on that movie, not only in that movie lol.)

Word count: 4.5k

Warnings: smut with plot, breeding kink, gore, violence, swearing, voyeurism? (Idk rlly), deaths, movie spoilers, oral receiving (female and male), giant rock lol, reader has stretch marks.

•SPOILERS AHEAD!

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"Shit." It was the only word that managed to come out of your mouth as you supported yourself on your slightly bent knees, trying to catch your breath.

You didn't know how long you had been in that place...In that damn field of tall grass.

You only knew that when you entered, it was still morning and that the reason for all this was because you had heard a boy named Tobin screaming for help, claiming that he was lost in the field.

"Okay, now me, this Tobin and God knows who else, we're trapped in this field." You comment to yourself, placing both hands on your waist, staring at the floor as you tried to think, but no ideas came to mind. "We're all screwed..."

You return to walking, looking at the sky that was now night and cloudy, threatening to dump heavy rain on the area as you adjust your tank top and pants.

"Great, and now it's about to rain...Can it get any worse?" Well, it seems like you asked this question at the wrong time.

You hear someone moving in the grass behind you and reluctantly, you look back, trying to see what or who it was.

"Look, I really don't have time to play hide and seek, there's something really wrong here so...Just show up." You sigh, breathing heavily, having no weapon to defend yourself.

Ross's figure appears, brushing away the grass with his hands as he smiles slightly at you, sweat covering his face and chest, which could be seen as the top of his pink shirt was unbuttoned.

"Hi...I heard your voice and managed to track you." Ross looks at you, breathing heavily as he places his hands on his waist.

"W-Who are you?" You move away from him, taking a few steps back.

"My name is Ross, I'm looking for my wife Natalie and my son Tobin, they are also lost in this field." Ross sighs, looking around. "I don't even know how long I've been here... If that dog hadn't come in...

"The dog?" You thought and looked at the floor. A few minutes ago, you had seen the body of a dog in an advanced state of decomposition, indicating that a lot of time had passed. "So you're Tobin's father..."

"Have you seen my son?" He raises an eyebrow, looking at you waiting for a positive response.

"No...But I heard his cries for help. The moment I entered in this field, I didn't hear him anymore." You sigh, scratching the back of your neck as you look away from him.

Ross looks down for a moment and then looks back at you.

"We can get together and try to find my family, then we get out of here, what do you think? Ross smiles at you, trying to cheer you up.

You nod, still reluctant but to tell the truth, you had no alternative but to unite with the only person you met in this place.

Ross leads the way, pushing aside the plantation with his strong hands, clearing the path for the two of you.

"Fuck..." You curse as you realize you've sunk your sneakers into the mud, earning a small laugh from Ross. " That's not funny!" You scoff, pulling your dirty shoes out of the mud.

"Somebody help me, please!" Tobin's voice echoes through the leaves, the same voice that is the reason you are here.

"Tobin!" Ross starts running, leaving you behind, trying to follow his son's voice.

You try to follow him but it was too late, the field had already changed your position.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" You stamp your foot on the floor, clenching your hands as you try to control the anger inside you. "When this kid and I get out of here, I'm going to beat the shit out of him...With all due respect, of course."

The rain starts to fall, increasing in intensity as you walk through the grass, trying to find Ross and Tobin.

"If I hadn't taken a vacation, everything would be fine..." You mutter, trying to look up, but the rain only made it difficult for you to see.

You decide to sit on the wet grass, hiding your head between your legs, hugging them in an attempt to keep warm and protect yourself from the rain.

Falling asleep without realizing it, you look up at the sky, noticing the rain had stopped and it was dawning.

"And here we go." You get up with a slight pain in your back, stretching yourself trying to alleviate it. "Besides feeling alone, I feel like an old woman..."

Starting to walk again, you look around, hoping to find something or someone to help you.

Your vision is tired of seeing only grass and daylight, the scorching sun slowly burning your skin, sweat sliding down your forehead and neck, your body warning you of dehydration.

Suddenly, you hear Tobin's voice and two other people, a man and a woman, who you hadn't heard before.

"Hey, can someone help me? I'm lost here!" You look up, your ears focusing on the screams of others.

"That's nothing new since we're all stuck here!" Cal sighs and rolls his eyes.

"Guys, my dog ​​is dead..." Tobin says in a crying voice, not knowing what to do.

"I have an idea! Tobin, keep talking loud so we can all reach you!" You start running in the direction of Tobin's voice, everyone running in the same direction.

You meet Tobin, who was looking at his dead dog in a state of decomposition, Cal and Becky, who appeared to be brothers and who were also lost there and then another man appears, Travis.

"Thank God." Becky smiles, feeling relieved in a way, as she looks at the rest of the group.

"Who are you?" You raise an eyebrow, breathing heavily as you recover from the run you had just done.

"I'm Becky, this is my brother Cal." The woman points to her brother, who was looking at you with a suspicious look. "And this one is Travis...my...ex."

You noticed the change in tone in her voice as you discreetly looked at her pregnant belly, the pieces of the puzzle quickly falling into place inside your mind.

"And you?" Becky looks at the blonde boy while rubbing her belly.

"I'm Tobin..." The boy looks at Becky, Cal and Travis, then turns to you. "I heard your voice, you were with my father, weren't you?

You nod, looking at him. "I thought your father found you." Frowning, you cross your arms.

"I had heard his voice approaching me but suddenly, he disappeared and I remained alone." The boy's loneliness was like a stab in your heart, no one deserves to be alone, especially at his age.

"I'm very sorry." You sigh, lowering yourself to his level as you rub his shoulders in a comforting, almost maternal way. "We're going to find him and when we do, we'll all get out of here."

The tension in the young boy's muscles eases as you comfort him. "Thanks." He waves and smiles.

"Okay, which way?" Cal looks around, looking for a way out.

"I have an idea...Tobin, get on my shoulders." Travis bends down, giving Tobin access to his shoulders. The boy sits on them and slowly, Travis stands up. "Okay, now...Do you see anything?"

Tobin looks in all directions until his gaze finds the church which was on the other side of the road, in front of the field.

"The church! I see it!" Tobin points in its direction and Travis starts walking, followed by the others. "Don't separate from us, not even for a minute."

You nod and the others do the same, following Travis and Tobin as they think about why this strange field exists.

Your mind browsed through your memories, more precisely in the brief moments you had shared with Ross.

Damn, the man was married and already had a son, but oh...He was so handsome. It was as if he were a Greek God...That shirt he was wearing, open on the upper part of his chest, giving access to his curious gazes, those lips that were just the right amount of flesh and his penetrating blue gaze, which seemed to drown out all your thoughts everytime you looked at him. (Aquaman reference, got it? Because Patrick Wilson is Orm and...Yeah, you got it AHEM.)

Your thoughts were interrupted by a loud thump behind you, making you jump and quickly turn around to see what had happened.

Becky had passed out, being surrounded by the group while Cal tried to save her, pressing both hands together on her chest repeatedly.

"What happened?" You ask, not moving closer to give her brother and ex space as they both tried to save her.

"She just fainted, fell..." Travis' chest was breathing heavily as he felt sick.

You looked at her belly, worried about the safety of the baby and the mother.

Suddenly, Ross appears in the tall grass, bending down and trying to save her, successfully.

Becky takes a deep breath and coughs, sitting up and looking at the man in surprise.

"Dad!" Tobin runs into Ross' open arms, who catches him and holds him in a tight hug.

"My son...Are you okay?" Ross looks at the smiling boy, stroking his blonde hair.

The boy nods and looks at the others. "They helped me."

Ross smiles and looks at everyone, his gaze meeting yours, a moment that seemed to pass much slower than usual. "You...Thank you for taking care of my son."

Nodding, you look away as a blush takes over your cheeks. CONCENTRATE!

"I ended up getting to the road but I wasn't going to leave my wife and son here." Ross smiles, hugging Tobin.

"How?" Travis raises an eyebrow, sighing.

"I can only say that it's not a straight line. Where were you all going?" Ross looks at the group, directing his gaze once again to you.

"In the direction of the building." You smile at Tobin's father earning a smile in return.

"Building?"

"We were close..." Cal helps Becky to her feet, looking around.

"Come up again, Tobin." Travis kneels, allowing the blonde to sit on his shoulders again.

He rotates 360°, unable to find the building.

"It disappeared." Tobin continues searching, without success.

"That's how it works around here, but I have a lucky ticket for anyone who wants it." Ross opens his arms, smiling widely at the others.

"You had the chance to get out of here, why didn't you do it?" Travis narrows his eyes, crossing his arms.

"I wasn't going to leave my wife and son here, considering that now, I have you all to save too." He laughs lightly, shaking his head. "Come on, I'll show you the way..."

Ross begins to lead the way, being followed by the others.

Something didn't feel right...The fact that Ross knew how to get out of that place was very strange, but there was nothing you could do but to follow him.

You continued to follow Ross, watching the sky darken quickly, the orange color of the afternoon turning into the dark blue of the night.

Humboldt began to sing, his voice resembling the song of sirens, drawing you more and more with a dangerous melody.

"You have a beautiful voice." You look at Ross, who turns to you, nodding.

"Thanks, I used to be in a band when I was young." Ross smiles and returns to lead the way.

Suddenly, you come across a large black rock in the center of the field, with several drawings contained on it, as if they were describing a ritual.

"We're here." Ross smiles, but this time differently...A mischievous smile.

"What is that?" You ask, pointing to the rock.

"This...It's the stone of redemption...Touch it and you will know everything." Ross moves closer to you, his breath hitting against your cheek. "Touch it."

You swallow hard, approaching the stone, reaching out your hand until...

"STOP!!! DON'T TOUCH THE ROCK!" Natalie shouts, appearing in the center of the field.

"Mom!" Tobin runs towards her, hugging her.

"I don't know what he told you, but it's a lie!" The mother looks at Ross, narrowing her eyes.

"Honey? What happened?" Humboldt tries to get closer.

"DON'T COME CLOSER!" Natalie places Tobin behind her, taking steps back as her gaze shifts to Becky. "You..."

Becky raises her eyebrows in surprise, not recognizing Natalie.

"I saw...I saw...She was...She was..." She breathes heavily, holding back the tears that were about to fall from her eyes.

"She was...She was what? Just say it." Ross's smile gets wider and wider as he looks at his wife.

"She wasn't alive." Natalie turns away, hiding her face with her right hand. "And you were going to hurt me..."

"Hurt you?" Ross frowns. "How can you think something like that? I would never do that, we're together...We're a family, aren't we Travis?" Ross opens his arms and turns to the man.

Becky suddenly begins to feel severe pains in her stomach, squirming as Cal and Travis rub her back.

An image comes to her mind, Ross was in the middle of the grass, his eyes were completely white as if there was no soul there, as if he was being controlled by the field, a wide smile spread across his face as he lowered his head.

Becky comes back to reality, looking at Ross.

"Let's go." Her gaze becomes serious, taking steps back. "Now."

You frown, looking at everyone there. Certainly, something wasn't right there and the only thing you wanted at that moment was to get out of there.

"Want to come with us?" Travis looks at Natalie and Tobin, who nod but don't move when they see Ross has positioned himself in front of them.

"No...You don't understand...You have to touch the stone!" Ross smiles, trying to mislead them. "But I just don't understand one thing...How did you find us? Why are you here?" Ross narrows his eyes, frowning as he points at Natalie. "The field wouldn't let you find us...Unless..." The pieces fit together in Ross's mind. "This isn't about you..." He opens his eyes wide in realization. "It's about me."

He turns to the stone, his breathing increasing more and more.

"You want the hard sell? Sure, that's fine with me." He shrugs and is then surprised by Travis, who jumps on him, punching him in the face.

"Run!!!" Travis screams as he continues to punch him.

Tobin runs ahead of Natalie, managing to get away from his father, but it was too late for his mother.

Ross elbows Travis in the face, making him fall and then grabs Natalie, who screams as she tries to escape her husband's hands.

"MOM!!!" Tobin tries to go back to her, but is held back by Becky.

You stand there, motionless next to Cal, looking at Ross in shock.

Ross begins squeezing both sides of Natalie's head, causing her to bleed as she looks at her son.

"No...Son, don't worry...It's just grass and all flesh is grass." Ross increases the strength in his hands, crushing Natalie's head, causing blood to spray everywhere.

Ross's face was covered in blood, as were his clothes, mixing with the mud and sweat present on his body.

"RUN!" Travis manages to get up and starts running, Becky; Cal and Tobin leading the way.

You look at Ross, your gaze focused on the blood present on his face. Humboldt noticed your gaze and smiled at you, licking his lips, savoring the taste of iron and then, winking at you.

"Let's go!" Travis pulls your arm, making you follow him as you all ran away from Ross, not knowing where to go.

"You have nowhere to run!" Ross shouts, still standing in the center of the field, not even bothering to follow you all.

You find an abandoned store and decide to enter it, trying to hide from Ross, but deep down you knew there was no way out.

Tobin hugs Becky, looking at the ground. "He's right, we're all grass."

You look at the boy, thinking about what you could do to help them.

"If we stay here, he'll find us and it'll be worse." Travis sighs, placing his hands on his waist.

"And what do we do?" Becky looks at her ex, waiting for an answer.

Freddy, Tobin's dog, passes through an isolated patch of tall grass, then disappears.

"What? Where did he go?" Cal asks, still looking out the window.

Seconds later, Freddy appears on the road, heading towards the church.

"There's a gap there, like a wormhole. That's where we have to go, let's go!" Travis smiles, feeling a twinge of hope in his chest.

You had stopped paying attention to others a long time ago, as your mind was focused on something else: Ross.

That moment when he licked his lips and winked at you flirtatiously kept replaying in your head. The way he breathed, the way he spoke, the way he smiled... Oh, how extremely delicious he was.

And the blood giving a final touch to that man's personality, an aggressive but erotic touch at the same time, how could that be possible? You thought.

Is this unhealthy? You questioned yourself. The fact that you were attracted to a person who had just killed your partner in front of you and everyone but who smiled and winked at you, especially you...Was it a bad thing?

You stopped and thought, wondering if it was the field that was making you think these things.

You snapped out of your trance when you noticed everyone leaving the store, heading towards the "gap."

"Hey, wait for m-" You froze as you felt a strong hand grab your shoulder, forcing you to turn around.

"Do you know what your mistake is?" Ross looks at you with a calculating look, his breath hitting your lips. "It's the simple fact that you all think that one day you will leave this place." He smiles menacingly, stroking your cheek.

You start to run as fast as you can, pushing through the tall grass with your hands, reluctantly looking back and realizing that this time, Ross was running after you.

You try to speed up your steps, running tirelessly, the dose of adrenaline increasing within your blood.

You look back again, Ross was no longer there. When you turn around, you are surprised by him, who jumps on top of you, pinning you to the ground with his weight while holding both your hands together above your head.

You squirm, not noticing that your movements caused Ross's erection to grow inside his brown pants.

"I'm impressed." Ross smiles widely, referring to the race. The moonlight hitting your skin, highlighting every detail of your bodies.

You can't focus on anything other than Ross's bloodied face, which was very close to yours.

"I noticed the way you look at me, you're attracted to me, aren't you sweetie?" Ross kisses your neck, making you sigh and close your eyes for a brief second.

"The grass knows everything, and it told me that you want to feel me inside you." He licks a stripe that starts on your neck and ends on your cheek, leaving a trail of saliva mixed with blood. "You want to be mine, don't you?"

You swallow hard, your chest going down and up repeatedly in a short period of time.

Ross's gaze goes lower and lower, stopping at your breasts, noticing your hard nipples from the contact between your two bodies.

Ross continues to trap your hands with his left hand and with his right, he lifts your tank top, causing your breasts to pop out.

"Round and perfect." He caresses your belly, his hand exploring the small stretch marks on your waist, then going higher, caressing your breasts and feeling the stretch marks also present there and squeezing your nipples, playing with them, making you moan and arch your back.

Your mind becomes empty, being once again filled entirely by him.

Humboldt lowers his face, licking the place under your belly button, moving up while his tongue tastes your soft skin until he reaches your breasts, taking one nipple in his mouth, caressing the other with his free hand.

You moan louder, arching your back and grinding against him, yearning for more.

He separates his face from your breasts, looking back at you.

"So beautiful." He kisses you fervently, as if he’s needy.

Your tongues mingle, a strange feeling in your stomach area taking over you as you feel his erection get bigger and harder.

He kisses your neck again, giving small bites there, intensifying the pleasure.

You could swear he would make you come right there, without even penetrating you.

He kneels down next to you, stopping his grip on your hands to see if you would react, but you didn't.

You did absolutely nothing, just stood there...Waiting for him to continue.

Ross seeing this, took off your pants, looking at your panties, completely wet. He smiled and positioned himself in front of her face, unbuttoning his pants, releasing his cock wet with pre-cum.

"Be a good girl and help me with this." Ross began to masturbate in front of her face, placing the tip of his penis between her lips.

You took his penis in your hands and started licking the tip, eliciting a loud moan from Ross, who looked at you while stroking your hair.

Your tongue began to work at the base, sucking the man's balls and caressing the hair on top, tracing a path over the veins that ran from the beginning to the end of his dick.

Oh, and his dick was huge. It was full of veins, with some hair at its base, it was...perfect.

Your mouth opened and you sheltered him in your heat and wetness, the sensation sending shivers down Ross's spine as yet another moan escaped the man's lips.

You knelt as you worked on his pleasure, the head of his cock hitting the back of your throat, making tears run down your cheeks as you tried not to choke.

Ross wiped one of her tears with his thumb, taking it to his mouth and sucking it, feeling the salty taste.

"Mmhm, keep going baby...I'm about to come." He throws his head back, his hips start to move at the same time as he fucks your throat.

You stay like that for a few more seconds until he comes and spills his hot seed inside your mouth.

Before you could do anything, he lifts your chin with his fingers and smiles.

“Swallow~” He licks his lips, waiting for you to do as he asked.

You swallow, closing your eyes and opening your mouth, sticking your tongue out, showing that you've swallowed.

"Good girl." He kisses your cheek, feeling proud.

He pushes you to the ground again, your back meeting the muddy grass as he takes off your panties and drops his mouth onto your wet pussy.

You moan at the contact of his tongue with your pussy, sinking your hand into the mud that surrounded you.

"Mmhm, how delicious." Ross opens your pussy with his index and middle fingers making a "V" shape, penetrating you with his tongue.

Your back arches unconsciously as your loud moans echo over the plantation.

You hear the strong wind blow over the tall grass, which was moving calmly, hearing voices that seem to whisper in your ear phrases like:

"You belong here."

"You are his now and his alone."

"You are grass, all flesh is grass."

Ross lifts your legs, making your lower back rise as well, giving access to your ass.

He licks and bites one of your cheeks before sinking his lips to your other hole, his eyes focused on your face.

You close your hand in the man's brown hair, moaning and moving your hips to match Humboldt's actions.

After a few minutes, you end up squirting into his mouth, making him laugh lightly and swallow your juices.

He pulls away from you, breathing heavily.

"This way, you'll finish me off." He smiles and gets up, putting his dick inside his pants then picking you up in his arms and carrying you to the rock.

You rest your head on his chest, closing your eyes as you try to recover.

"I'm not done yet, honey." He kisses your cheek as he continues to carry you.

You return to the center of the field, the grass stops moving.

He gently puts you on your feet and holds your hands, bringing you to the stone.

"Touch her, baby." He whispers in your ear. "And we will be one, forever." He nibbles on your earlobe, playing with it with his teeth.

You move closer to the stone, extending your hands until they meet the cold surface of the rock.

The sky turns crimson, as if there were an eclipse, you feel the grass embrace your arms, slowly consuming you.

Ross hugs you from behind, one hand goes down, passing over your breasts, feeling your belly and reaching your pussy.

You moan again, rubbing your bare ass against his clothed cock.

Ross's skilled fingers begin to work on your intimacy, providing you pleasure at the same time that your hands remain connected to the stone. After a few seconds, he takes his dick out of his pants, pulling them down.

He turns you around, lifting your legs, resting them on his forearms while his hands find the stone behind you, each on the side of your shoulders, making your pussy exposed as your back meets the surface. ice cold from the stone.

He gives you a long kiss, your tongues battling for territory, mixing blood and saliva as he begins to penetrate you with strong thrusts.

The sudden entrance made you scream and close your eyes tightly, resting your hands on his shoulders, the sky was completely red and the grass was laughing, witnessing the intimate moment shared between you.

He continues to give strong thrusts inside your pussy, your ass slapping against his hips, making wet and erotic sounds, feeling you close around him while your moans mix in the air.

"I will fill you with my semen, you will have my child and we will be a happy family." He whispers in your ear as he continues to penetrate you.

You caress both of his cheeks as you nod, closing your eyes as you both reach your peak.

"Oh my..." You roll your eyes back, feeling his warm seed fill your insides, the promise of a new life being made.

He takes a deep breath, resting his forehead against yours as he smiles.

"My dear..." He kisses your forehead, leaving another trail of blood on your face.

"Now you are mine."

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Thanks for reading!

#ross humboldt x reader #ross humboldt #in the tall grass #canon x reader #patrick wilson #patrick wilson characters #this movie is so good #OH NO HES HOT #Me? simping for fictional characters? Yes...

[lumilasi]

Update: Added her full bio to this, including couple of examples of her alternate outfits.

Bio below:

Name: Due to Mantis fairies traditions when it comes to marrying a being who is not a fellow fae, she has two names;

Avane Faydream: her "Official" name used for any legal matters: the surname is essentially a reference combination of her parents' being types (A fairy & Dream eater) This is how Official names for fae mixbloods are typically formed.

Ava Mantis: Her "Personal" name she uses in her day-to-day life.

Age: 26

Nicknames: Ava (most people) Fairy-san (Hitomi) little Magpie/Magpie (Her dad), Doll, boss (Roman)

Family: father Lawrence (Dream-eater) Mother Evena (Mantis fairy), Uncle Alois(Dream-eater)

Friends: Taiga Delune (A kitsune) Caelan Araknos (Sea serpent) Claude & Hayden Faylune (Moth fae & Sleep paralysis demon), Aimi (her father's right hand woman) Marci Raye (A weaponsmith warlock that used to work for her dad)

Love interest: Roman Bosco (A grimmhound)

A tattooist working in Jurou Araknos' tattoo parlor

Abilities:

Mantis Fairy skills: Her kind are largely known from being very fast and stealthy, good with long-range weaponry due to how insanely accurate they are, and were often utilized as spies or assassins in the past. While these jobs aren't that common anymore, Ava still has all these abilities as they are essentially "in her blood."

Basic fairy powers: She can summon and hide her wings and fly, as well as converse/seek guidance with nature itself. This is something all fairy folk can do regardless of their type.

Dream Eater power: She has some abilities from her dad, mainly the ability to read into people's dreams as they sleep, and influence the dream a little bit.

Shapeshifting Wings: her special wings are made of dream-eater essence rather than fae magic, so she can shapeshift them beyond just wings of different sizes. She can turn them into giant arms, animal shapes, clones of herself, etc. She can also detach these creations from herself, not needing them to be attached to her (except when they are just wings of course)

Artistic ability: She is a talented artist, which is why she works where she does.

Weaknesses:

Ava is bad with kids, and tends to easily intimidate them. This sometimes leads to awkward situations given her BF is naturally good with kids, which is actually somewhat surprising given most people would find his kind scary.

When her wings are "detached" from her, she cannot fly until reattaching them. Light magic also can render her unable to fly given what her wings are made of.

Personality:

Avane is pretty calm and collected, and often comes off as very serious to most. She just warms up to people slowly, and with how chaotic most of her friends are, she tends to naturally fall into the role of being the responsible one among them, given she tends to be the one with most common sense/emotional maturity in a situation.

Despite her seemingly serious nature, she does have a sense of humor and doesn't mind teasing her loved ones or having friendly banter with her friends. She's just heavily introverted and often prefers her own company or having a chat with someone at a cafe or at cuddling with her BF home over going out and partying. She absolutely has her own childish, petty side to her, that tends to come out the most when she's very tired, either physically or mentally. (Basically when her typical ability to regulate her emotions extremely well is compromised)

She tends to not have much tolerance for shitty behavior, and sometimes does utilize her natural spookiness to others to her advantage to deal with assholes. She tends to generally come off as somebody difficult to approach, but once you get past her crack, she is quite the good and trustworthy friend.

Fun Facts

While her mother has no human world heritage whatsoever, their village and family has Japanese-like culture, hence Ava wears outfits sometimes that seem inspired by the culture.

While she doesn't like the Overshadower Council much for multitude of reasons (such as their dismissal of her mum's side of her heritage) she loves her dad very much and knows her dad dislikes their arrogant attitude as well

She is a bit closer with her dad than mum, but does get along with both well. Her dad's just a bit better at understanding her than her mother.

Her tattoo style is more monochrome or uses minimal colors when compared to her boss, and she tends to prefer floral/tribal patterns.

The lightning tattoo on her left arm was actually designed by her boyfriend as he wanted her to have something he came up with too (with her consent of course) and it was made by her boss. Her moon and stars tattoo on her other arm was also made by him based on her design.

Ava speaks Japanese alongside the Fae language and the universal language in Mirror World, due to her father being born from a Japanese man's trauma (Dreameaters are born from people's nightmares and mental/emotional suffering)

She does also speak Italian somewhat thanks to her boyfriend, who was part of an Italian mob before he was essentially rescued by her.

Having quite elaborate hairdos is pretty common for Mantis fairies; in fact there is an old tradition they have where once they turn 20, each fairy designs a specific hairstyle for themselves that they'll wear the most. After the first time designing it by hand, they use magic to easily recreate or undo this trademark hairdo. Ava's flower bud look is her special design.

She is demiromantic/demisexual, and thought she was essentially aro-ace until she met Roman and developed a strong emotional bond with him, while helping him set up his new life in Mirror world.

Her eyes are that way due to her dad; her mum has normal human-like white sclera.

#artists on tumblr #oc redesign #oc illustration #digital art #fairy #lumi’s art scribbles #lumi’s chaotic creations #lumi's art scribbles #lumi's chaotic creations #Avane Faydream #Ava Mantis #Night City Parlor

[akwardlyuncool]

Class Favorites: Online Content Creators "TikTok" Edition

These folks can be found on many different parts of the World Wide Web, but I primarily watch them on TikTok. If you find you also like these humans after checking them out, I'm sure you can find them on Instagram or Twitter (X) or other online spaces they reside. Hopefully there's something for a lot of y'all.

BIG NOTE: I personally don't agree with all of their takes and opinions, however these folks are just human. If y'all vibe, don't vibe or you vibe too much, that's okay and valid, but ALWAYS BE RESPECTFUL!

___________________________________________________________________

*In no particular order, I'm just dropping @'s with their bios and a little personal note. Sorry if the formatting is not right, I promise it pretty in the editor.

@alina.gene - Gene Lee (He/They/She/Xe)

(Unpacking Intersectionality)

They speak to me and I attempt to learn a lot, definitely makes me think and explore my ish.

@saint.stereo1 & @saint.stereo - Saint (They/Them)

(No One Doesn't Deserve Food and Housing)

Do you want to know about communist theory?

@AllInTheMusic - Keona (She/Her/Hers)

(Punk Rock Princess and Marketing Manager for CenterStageAtl)

I love hearing people talk about pop punk music, among other genres in the scene and just music in general. The bonus is getting it from other Black Women. I especially love her artist album rankings. Inspiration for future stuff I do with this blog.

@sicilyjoy - Sicily Joy (Fae/Faer/They/Theirs)

(41yo Gender Fairy - Black, Disabled, Trans, Bi, 18+, Slow Talker)

First I apologize if I translated their emoji bio wrong, will correct if need be. Second fae just be giving me somebody to relate to in this world and that will always be important to me.

@th.readings - Ismatu Gwendolyn (They/Them/Theirs)

(Where Ismatu Gwendolyn, budding abolitionist, reads their work.)

If you want to feel like someone cares about you personally and humanity in general, Ismatu will give you that every time. They are constantly finding new ways for me to say "man that's what radical care and love looks like." They gon ask you to do some work, but it's all rooted in love.

@the_giv3er - Tee - Tee's Way INC.

(#Type 1 Diabetes)

Tee's mission is to feed the homeless population and y'all know that is some of my favorite content to watch. He just be handing people food and shoes and other things straight from his car and every time I see it, I'm closer to figuring out how to do that my damn self, but I don't drive lol. We should naturally want to take care of other people and when I watch Tee it feels like it comes naturally. Anybody who gives without requiring anything is who I'm gonna give the points to, all day every day! If you make a person, who is already struggling dance before you help them, you wrong for that and I don't like you.

PS: I don't know when this happened but they officially became a non-profit, so if you're so inclined, drop them a couple somethins, somethins.

@thatclarafied - Clara

(Screenwriter, comedian, TV, Pop Culture, Queer)

This is really just a moment shout out Clara, cause she's one of the primary people that I watched for news and updates on the Writers Strike and as well as a few other strikes that took place this last year and I wanted to highlight that.

#Class Favorites 2023 #AKWARD CLASS FAVORITES #Online Content Creators #TikTok #alina.gene #Gene Lee #Saint.Stereo #Saint #AllInTheMusic #Sicily Joy #Ismatu Gwendolyn #Tee's Way INC #ThatClarafied

[sankyeom]

picture perfect | k.m

pairings: kevin moon x reader genre: art student au, strangers to lovers, art!student kevin, actor!reader, another secret admirer situation (yes i know we already did that in my sangyeon fit but it’s cute so idc) summary: in which you find a sketchbook filled with drawings of you, and go on a mission to find the owner word count: 8.5k (these just get longer and longer wow) series: sankyeom’s 2k followers celebration

masterlist

Your psychology professor always spoke a mile a minute, and it made taking notes unnecessarily difficult. Usually when she lectured, your wrist cramped from writing so fast, and your classmates couldn’t wait to get out of the room. On one particular autumn afternoon, you stared into nothingness as your professor gave a lecture on Milgram’s experiments, running lines in your head instead of taking notes like you usually did.

When you were cast as one of the lead roles (who didn’t even have that many lines to begin with) in your University’s winter play of An Ideal Husband, you were ecstatic to be given a new challenge. You had never been involved in acting or theatre before University, and you always felt like you were behind your peers. Your excitement soon morphed into something less productive: fear.

You were so afraid to mess up and disappoint your peers that you frequently did poorly in rehearsals and were the source of your cast’s frustrations. Perhaps it was your lack of experience, or perhaps it was because you didn’t really have any faith in yourself. Either way, it was all you could think about.

As your classmates started packing up to leave, you realised that the lecture was over and that you had just been in your own head for over an hour without learning anything from your class. Scrambling to pack up, you put away your notebooks and pencils as your phone chimed. Checking the text, you saw a message from your friend Sunwoo asking if you wanted to get lunch with him.

Getting to your feet, you texted Sunwoo that you were down for lunch as you exited the now empty lecture hall. As you left, you felt your shoe come in contact with a solid object in the doorway; a notebook that somebody must have dropped on the way out. Knowing that you would want your notes back if someone found them – especially in this class, where your professor spoke way too fast – you opened the notebook to see who it belonged to.

Your breath caught in your throat.

It wasn’t a notebook, it was a sketchbook. With a drawing of you on the first page.

At first, you scolded yourself for assuming that the person in the drawing was you. It was presumptuous of you, wasn’t it? But the texture, colour, and length of the person’s hair perfectly matched yours. The person in the picture had your eyes, skin, clothes, and smile.

Perhaps it wasn’t so arrogant of you to presume that you were being depicted in the drawing.

“That’s a lovely drawing,” Professor Shin, who was on her way out, complimented. “You’re an excellent artist.”

You glanced up from the page, feeling a little dizzy. “It’s not mine,” you admitted, head spinning at the idea of somebody drawing you. Plain, simple, me? You couldn’t believe it. “I just found it here on the floor.”

“Looks like somebody admires you,” your Professor mused, smiling before bidding you farewell, leaving you standing in an empty lecture hall, clutching the sketchbook in your hands.

You tried to find a name on the other side of the cover, but there was no number or form of identification anywhere. The only thing that alluded to an identity was the small signature at the bottom right corner of the drawing.

Moon scribbles.

The first time Kevin saw you, he was seated three rows behind you in one of his Cultural Anthropology classes last semester. You were jotting notes as quickly as possible, brows furrowed together in concentration as you gripped your pen hard enough for your knuckles to turn white.

Kevin didn’t take any notes that day.

All the could do was watch you, appreciating the way your expressions changed as you understood the content, and the hesitance on your face when you volunteered an answer during class.

He didn’t mean to start drawing you. You had simply inspired him to pick up his pencil and start sketching, the soft strokes of the lead slowly but surely forming shapes that resembled your eyes, nose, lips…  

Kevin didn’t think that you’d be all he could draw from that moment onwards. Even during his art classes; if the assignment was to study the scenery surrounding the University and draw a landscape, Kevin couldn’t get the image out of your face out of his head. Whether he used paint, charcoal, ink, or lead, it was your profile that emerged from his efforts.

Today was no different; Kevin was supposed to be studying the Psychology slides from class that day – which he hadn’t taken notes on because he was too busy sketching you – and yet he only had the urge to add the finishing touches to his drawing instead of facilitating his studying. Dragging his messenger bag over to his desk, Kevin rifled through it in search of his sketchbook. He had filled many, many pages with your face at that point, and it had become a habit for him to bring it everywhere with him in case he had the urge to draw.

Kevin furrowed his brows when he couldn’t find it. His heart pounded suddenly, the idea of him having lost his sketchbook in a place you might find it seeming terrifying and disastrous. After a final sweep of his bag – which included emptying it inside-out to make sure he didn’t miss anything – Kevin could only hope and pray that he’d find it before you did.

“You found what?” Sunwoo asked through a mouthful of noodles, his eyes comically large and rounded in surprise.

“A sketchbook full of drawings of me,” you replied in a monotone voice, knowing fully well that Sunwoo had heard and understood you the first time. This was the fourth time you had explained the situation, and it was starting to get a little old.

Eric narrowed his eyes, judging Sunwoo’s eating habits, before turning to face you. “Are the drawings cute?” he wondered.

“I wouldn’t say they’re cute,” you said absentmindedly, thinking back to the drawings you saw. After succumbing to your own curiosity, you had looked through the notebook to see what other drawings there were. You knew this was an invasion of privacy but you couldn’t help yourself. Surely enough, they were all of you.

“They were beautiful. Drawn in such detail that I couldn’t even believe it when I first saw them… And I look genuinely gorgeous in them,” you paused when Sunwoo scoffed at your words. “I’m not saying that to be vain,” you defended. “Trust me, I look much better in the sketches than in real life. Whoever drew them just… sees me differently than I see myself. I look beautiful in the pictures.”

“Your Professor’s right, it does sound like you’ve got yourself an admirer,” Eric teased you, pleased that somebody other than your close friends was starting to see how great you were. He wasn’t your best friend like Juyeon or Sunwoo, but he knew you well enough. “Did you get a name or anything?” he asked excitedly.

“Nothing,” you sulked. “I can take an educated guess that this person is probably in my Psych class since it’s the only class I have in that room, but who knows? It could be anyone that’s seen me before.”

“Maybe it’s one of your fans from the drama department,” Sunwoo poked fun at your cast members, not liking how they were treating you in rehearsals.

“Very funny,” you rolled your eyes, finally picking at your rice and starting to eat. “I just want to know who’s drawing me in such an amazing way. It’s so detailed that I assume it might be someone will a lot of skill, maybe an art major? But a lot of people draw as a hobby who aren’t art majors as well. Maybe-”

Eric interrupted you. “You’re thinking too much,” he said, trying to clam you down. “Just… slow down a little. Maybe they’ll come looking for it next time you have Psych? There’s no name or information so you can’t do anything to find them, anyways,” he rationalised, something that was usually your role in your friendships.

Your eyes lit up. “Moon scribbles,” you exclaimed.

Sunwoo gave you an unimpressed look. “Bless you.”

You ignored his cheek, taking out your phone and going onto Instagram. “The artist signed all of their drawings with a signature that says Moon scribbles,” you explained.

“You know it’s rude to go onto your phone during mealtimes,” Sunwoo replied.

You laughed. “I’ll be sure to remember that for the next time you do the same, Kim Sunwoo.”

After typing moonscribbles into the search bar, you saw an art page by the same name pop up. You couldn’t tell who it belonged to, as the bio vaguely gave information about the artist going to your University, studying art and being a pisces. Since the account was private, you decided to risk it and request to follow them, no matter how strange that might be if they weren’t the person you were looking for.

“I should have invited Juyeon out for lunch instead,” Sunwoo decided, picking at your rice dish in between bites of his noodles.

“Juyeon would rather hang out with Eric than you anyway,” you teased your friend back, knowing that Juyeon and Eric had a deeper friendship despite Sunwoo and Eric being the same age. Eric grinned, amused that the was the topic of discussion and not chiming in to deny anything. “And excuse me, I paid for lunch, you rascal! Now stop complaining, I’m done anyway.”

“Alright, fine. Did anything come up?” Sunwoo wondered, slapping your wrist when you tried to take some of his noodles. You rolled your eyes. Typical Sunwoo: always taking your food but never willing to share his with you.

“I don’t know yet,” you admitted. “Guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

A few days passed without any response from moonscribbles on Instagram. You checked a few times a day to see if they ever accepted your request to follow them, but nothing ever came back. They didn’t deny your request, nor did they let you follow them either. It was frustrating, but it fell to the back of your mind after a week due to your schedule.

You had started doing full rehearsals with your cast members on stage for the play. At first, you thought that the setting might help you remember your lines and act without feeling awkward, but you were wrong. Most of your cast mates thought you got one of the lead roles for an alternate reason; perhaps you were related to someone on the University’s board and the director put you in because they wanted to keep their job. None of that was true, of course, but it didn’t help you make any friends.

The only friend you made was Younghoon, who played the lead opposite you, and with whom you frequently got together to go over lines and practice. He was one of those actors who was a completely different person from his role; he could keep be totally in character while doing his lines and the second the scene was over, he was back to his smiley self.

It didn’t help your confidence that he was an absolute pro. It only made you seem less competent in comparison, and you scolded yourself for even thinking that. Of course you knew it wasn’t Younghoon’s fault that he was simply much better at acting than you, but it definitely hurt your pride even more.

After another disastrous rehearsal, your cast mates had left to go backstage so you could have a word with the director. Younghoon sent you an encouraging smile and a pat on the shoulder before he followed your cast mates backstage, going over his lines in a faint whisper.

“Y/n,” your director began gently. “I don’t mean to hurt your feelings, but what’s up with you?” You said nothing, prompting her to keep talking. “Your audition was really great. I knew I wanted you to play a lead role the second you were done auditioning. But you’ve been doing pretty poorly in rehearsals.”

“I know,” you admitted. “I’m really sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

Your director sighed. “Look Y/n, I still want you to play your role. I like your chemistry with Younghoon and I think you guys could be really great leads. But if things don’t improve, I’m going to have to replace you with your understudy for the sake of this production.”

Even though you knew it was the obvious thing to do, it still hurt to hear. “I understand,” you whispered, nodding as you glanced at the floor.

“I really hope you can figure this out,” your director said, gently placing a hand on your shoulder. “Let me know if I can help in any way, okay?” You nodded, and your director excused herself, leaving you standing at the edge of the stage by yourself.

You groaned once you were alone, taking a seat at the edge of the stage and letting your legs dangle over the edge. Welcoming the silence in the theatre as most of the cast had left for the day, you allowed yourself to lay back and close your eyes.

Why couldn’t you get this right?

Maybe I should just quit the play, you thought to yourself. It’s probably for the best.

When you heard the gentle patter of footsteps leading onto the stage, you spoke without opening your eyes. “Let me guess, you came to tell me how terrible I am too?” you uttered, not even caring who it was anymore.

The footsteps paused. “Um, actually, I’m just here to paint the sets…” a soft male voice spoke, causing you to open your eyes and sit up.

A familiar face stood a few metres away from you, paintbrushes and paints in hand. He had black hair that slightly covered his eyes, cat-like eyes and small lips that were pursed at the awkward interaction the two of you had just had.

“Sorry,” you apologised, getting to your feet. “It’s been a rough day,” you paused. “You’re Kevin, right?”

He looked surprised that you knew who he was. “Oh. Yes, actually.”

“I’m close with Juyeon,” you explained, realising how strange it might seem that you knew his name and recognised him. “I suppose I should probably have led with that.”

Kevin smiled. “No worries. I know you as well, you’re Y/n. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“Likewise,” you replied, bending down to collect your script and other belongings, pushing them into your tote bag as quickly as possible. “I’ll get out of your hair, then,” you smiled at him, implying it as your farewell.

“For the record, I don’t think you’re terrible,” Kevin confessed, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt and starting to mix paints. You glanced at him. “Are you in your head a little? Maybe. But you’re far from terrible,” he assured you, his brown eyes brimming with kindness.

“That’s very nice of you to say,” you replied. “Thanks. Although, you seem more like an artist than an actor,” you added, teasing him just a little. You couldn’t help yourself, he was pretty cute.

Kevin laughed. “Fair enough,” he allowed. “If you want me to brag about being the lead in Aladdin in middle school, then I will.”

You placed your tote bag on your shoulder, holding your hands up in surrender. “I take it back,” you said immediately. “You have more experience than I do on stage.” The two of you shared grins.

“You’ll get the hang of it,” Kevin assured you. “If I can do it then you certainly can.”

He seemed really sincere, and you appreciated it. “Thanks, Kevin,” you said, feeling much lighter and in a far better mood than before Kevin had come on stage. “I’ll see you around,” you bid your farewells before exiting the stage.

You’d have to ask Juyeon more about his friend Kevin.

The next time you and Kevin bumped into each other was after one of your rehearsals a few weeks later.

You had improved in your rehearsal times, with a lot of help from Younghoon – who practiced with you in between classes – and Sunwoo – who you ran lines with anytime the two of you were together. When you were done rehearsing, your director had expressed how happy she was that you were starting to warm up to the stage and really get into the character the way she was hoping you would. Younghoon earned himself two week’s worth of free coffee from you, and your cast finally stopped glaring at you whenever you came to rehearsals.

“Oh, hey,” you greeted Kevin, who started coming onstage to work on the sets with other people who were involved in the production process. “Good to see you again,” you told him.

“You too,” Kevin beamed, his hair falling over his eyes just slightly. You had the urge to brush it out of the way so you could see him better, but you resisted the urge and scolded yourself for being so forward. “You guys are looking pretty good out there,” he complimented, waving at Younghoon as he left the theatre. His older friend gave him a knowing look, making big eyes at him and puckering his lips to tease Kevin about his crush on you.

“Thank you,” you smiled back at him, entirely clueless to Kevin cursing Younghoon with his eyes right in front of you. “The sets are really coming along too,” you commend him, gesturing around you. “It’s certainly adding some more colour to our rehearsals.”

“Glad to hear it,” Kevin replied. “Set painting isn’t exactly my vocation or anything, but it’s a fun way to help out with my skillset.”

“Skillset?” you echoed, tilting his head in curiosity.

“Ah,” Kevin cleared his throat awkwardly. “Um, I’m a fine arts major. So set painting is a little less refined than what I usually do. Not that I’m bragging,” he added quickly.

“Not at all,” you agreed, your eyes widening in realisation. “Fine arts, that’s a really cool major. You must be pretty talented to get into fine arts here, it’s such a competitive major,” your eyes widened in sudden realisation. “I’d love to see something of yours that doesn’t involve painting sets,” you motioned to the stage around you.

Kevin almost blushed. “Really?” he asked, his heart beat hammering in his chest at the idea of you seeing his art.

“Yeah,” you nodded your head eagerly. Partly because you were really curious about his art, but mostly because Kevin was pretty damn cute. “For sure! I mean, if you come to opening night of the play, I’d love to go see your art some time.”

“How’s this Saturday?” Kevin asked, his words almost slurring together at the speed he was talking. “The art department’s putting on an exhibition and a few of my drawings are going to be in it.”

“That sounds great,” you agreed. “Do you think I could bring some friends?”

Kevin nodded, his deep brown eyes brightening at the idea. “For sure! I already invited Juyeon but you can bring Sunwoo along as well.”

“Then I’ll be there,” you promised.

“Oh my god, are you touching the art?” you heard Kevin exclaim semi-loudly. You froze from your place, pointing at the water fountain from which you were filling up a cup of water to drink.

“What?” you asked dumbly, your eyes widening as Kevin smirked, hiding his laughter.

It was the Saturday of Kevin’s exhibition and you were doing your best to blend in with all the artistically-minded people in the room; admiring the paintings, motioning at the sculptures and pondering over the meanings behind the light exhibitions.

“I thought this was just a regular water fountain,” you tried to defend yourself.

“It is, I’m just messing with you,” Kevin shrugged, causing you to exhale in relief and slap Kevin’s arm.

“That was awful of you,” you scolded, unable to hide the large grin making its way onto your face. “You suck.”

“So I’ve heard,” Kevin retorted easily. “Hi. Thanks for coming.”

“Thanks for inviting me,” you replied. “So, when am I going to see your pieces?” you asked, motioning around the room. It was filled to the brim and people were bustling around the room to get a good look at every piece.

“Right now if you’re up for it,” Kevin suggested, waving as Juyeon and Sunwoo made their way over to the pair of you. You had excused yourself to get some water when Kevin spotted you and came over. “Hey guys. Sunwoo, good to see you again.”

“You too,” Sunwoo replied courteously, which was unlike him. Sunwoo knew Kevin vaguely through Juyeon, who was the same age as Kevin and had a lot of classes with him, and Eric, who Kevin often hung out with because they both spoke English. “Any of these yours?”

“A few,” Kevin said modestly.

Sunwoo nodded, looking around. “Are they good or are they more… conceptual?” he asked, his own way of asking whether or not Kevin’s art was a piece of crap or not.

You rolled your eyes. “Your eloquence astounds me, Sunwoo,” you said sarcastically.

“Well I might as well get to the point,” Sunwoo chided, glancing back at Kevin. “So?”

Kevin, who was observing you and Sunwoo with the same amused smile that Juyeon was, motioned the three of you over as he led you in the direction of his drawings. “I’m not so sure if they’re good, or conceptual, but I suppose you could judge that for yourself,” he told Sunwoo, coming to a halt in front of a display of drawings.

The drawings were lively and bright; colours in the form of pastels and charcoal bringing richness and warmth to the image. Most of his drawings depicted a faceless person. There were multiple drawings where the person was being portrayed from the back, and ones that were head-on didn’t have any facial features.

“These are amazing,” you breathed out, enchanted by the creativity of the drawings, as well as the immense detail that went into them.

“I like them,” Sunwoo decided, causing Juyeon to nod in agreement.

“They’re really good,” Juyeon complimented his friend, patting him on the shoulder. “I’m really glad you decided to put something on display this year.” Juyeon knew all about the artistic slump Kevin was in last year, so he didn’t have any art on display.

Kevin thanked Juyeon quietly, still studying your expression. “Can I ask why they’re faceless?” you asked, tilting your head as you studied the drawings further.

“Ah, that,” Kevin began, an uncharacteristic shyness appearing in his tone. “Well, I’ve been inspired by somebody for a few months now,” he explained. “I suppose I made my drawings faceless because I don’t want people to know who my muse is. I’m not ready to face how I feel when I draw them yet, and I think it’s too personal to put in an exhibition.”

You nodded your head, understanding where he was coming from. “That’s really great. I hope that one day I’ll get to see their face,” you said kindly, genuinely enjoying his art. Your eyes widened as you realised something. “Hey, do you know the other students in your major well?” you asked him.

Kevin raised an eyebrow at your sudden change of topic. “Yeah, I think so. We’re a small major and I have all of my 300-level classes with all the same people. Why do you ask?”

“Would you be able to recognise one of your peer’s work?” you inquired, the sketchbook in your dorm room burning a hole in your mind. He might be able to solve my curiosity.

“Maybe,” Kevin drawled slowly. “Why?” he found your sudden change of pace surprising. “What’s up?”

“Well, I found someone’s sketchbook in one of my classes and I was wondering who it belonged to,” you began, hesitating before bringing up the sketchbook you found in your Psychology class. “But they didn’t put their name on it so I can’t return it to the owner. It was really detailed and skilled work, so I thought they might be a fine arts major.”

Kevin’s heart plummeted into his stomach.

His worst nightmare had come true: you had found his sketchbook. His sketchbook that was filled with his heart-felt drawings of you. And here you were, asking him if he knew who it belonged to. Somehow, it was equal parts thrilling and mortifying.

Sunwoo, having heard about your secret admirer decided to check out a different part of the exhibition, but Juyeon – who was hearing this for the first time – stayed out of curiosity. “You found someone’s sketchbook?” he repeated. “What was in it?”

You laughed awkwardly. “Oh. Well, here’s the thing… There’s some drawings of me in it,” you admitted, feeling shy about divulging everything about the sketchbook to Kevin. “I just… I guess I want to meet the person that made me feel so vibrant and beautiful when looking at the drawings.”

“You have an admirer,” Juyeon realised, beaming at you; eyes squinting into little crescents. “That’s adorable. Does it say anything inside?”

“Yeah it does, actually,” you told him, giving him a smile before meeting Kevin’s eyes again. “All of the drawings are signed with the handle Moon scribbles,” you recalled. “No name or phone number, though.”

Juyeon’s brows furrowed together. “Kev, isn’t Moon scribbles-“

“A really interesting name?” Kevin cut Juyeon off, sending him the clear message that he wasn’t ready to tell you about the fact that you were his muse and he couldn’t stop thinking about you.

Getting the message, Juyeon eagerly agreed, thanking Kevin for finishing his train of thought. “Um, I don’t think I’ve heard of it before. But if you show me the drawings, maybe I could recognise the style?” Kevin suggested, coming up with a solution for you to find the owner of the sketchbook.

“That would be really great, actually,” you acknowledged. “I could bring it by the next time we hang out,” you suggested, excited to figure out who you should thank for their hard work.

“Next time?” Kevin echoed, excitement filling his stomach. “Are you really so eager to solve your mystery?” he teased you.

“Well, you’re not such a bad addition,” you added with a wink.

Kevin’s heart soared.

You met up with Kevin in the library a few days later to show him your sketchbook. It was good timing because you definitely needed to study for your Psychology class after zoning out in your last few lectures, so the library was the perfect setting to meet.

“Hey,” you greeted Kevin, taking the seat next to him on one of the sofas in the more secluded area of the library.

“Hi,” Kevin mumbled in return, his voice sounding quieter and more hoarse than usual. At first, you thought it might be the fact that he had to whisper that made him sound more quiet. Then, you spotted the dark circles under his eyes and the fact that he was wearing glasses, which he didn’t normally do.

“You okay?” you asked him, seeing him stretch out and yawn in his seat.

“Me?” Kevin murmured, meeting your gaze with tired, glazed-over eyes. “Yeah, I’m good.”

“Not to sound like an asshole who’s telling you that you look terrible, which I’m not, but you look really tired,” you had to tell Kevin. “Are you sure you’re up for this? You look like you could use some sleep.”

“Sleep,” Kevin said the word like it’s funny. “Sleep and I… we aren’t friends.”

You smiled sympathetically at your new friend. “Up all night studying?” you wondered.

“Insomnia,” Kevin corrected you.

“Ah,” you nodded in understanding. “So sleep is… a distant acquaintance?” you played off his previous joke.

“Something like that,” he allowed, moving his glasses up onto his forehead to rub his eyes. “I’m good, though. I look like this most days, don’t worry about it.”

“If you say so,” you trail off, your concern still not being calmed by Kevin’s explanation. “We can do this anther time if it helps, though. I wouldn’t want you to be unwell because of me.”

Kevin grinned, adjusting the beanie on his head. “But I couldn’t possibly be unwell if I’m around you,” he said, pointing his finger in the air as if he had made an excellent realisation. “Now, show me the sketchbook.”

You pulled the sketchbook out of your tote bag and handed it over to him.

Seeing it right in front of him, Kevin could confirm that it was definitely his sketch book that you had found. Although the chances of another person on campus being entirely smitten by you to the point where you became their artistic muse was slim, it wasn’t zero.

“Can I,” he motioned to the sketchbook, asking for permission to open it. It was incredibly ironic, but Kevin was too embarrassed to come clean about the sketchbook being his.

“Go ahead,” you nodded, telling him to flip through the pages.

Kevin did so, pretending he was seeing all the drawings for the first time. He paused on every page, looking over the details in the sketches and the way they realistically depicted your features. Even though he was the one who drew them, Kevin could admit that the drawings were really great. They were great because he appreciated the subject and was inspired by you. That much was clear to anybody.

“Wow,” Kevin said when he was done looking at all the drawings, holding the sketchbook on his lap. “That’s… you,” he observed, as if he didn’t already know.

“So I’m not crazy?” you asked immediately, biting your lip. “That’s me?” you glanced down at the open page in front of Kevin, seeing the resemblance between you and the person in the drawing.

“Oh it’s definitely you,” Kevin confirmed. “Unless you have an identical twin somewhere out there, there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s you.”

You let out a relieved sigh, leaning back onto the sofa. “Okay, good. I thought I was being really shallow and presumptuous at first but it’s good that you agree,” you told him, feeling a weight being lifted off your chest. “So, does it look familiar?”

“I’m not sure,” Kevin replied vaguely, wondering how he was going to get himself out of this one. “Do you think I could keep this? Maybe look over it a few more times when I’m not about to pass out,” he added.

“Sure,” you allowed. You trusted Kevin enough that he wouldn’t lose the sketchbook, since all of your mutual friends spoke very highly of him. Besides, you were becoming more impressed by him every time the two of you met. “I hope something comes up. I looked moonscribbles up on Instagram but their account is private and they haven’t responded to my follow request yet.”

Kevin had completely forgotten about his private art Instagram account. Before he was inspired by you to draw, he was in a serious slump and had been spiralling downwards. In this time, he made his Instagram account private in an effort to not think about it too much. Kevin scolded himself for not realising that you would look him up on social media to find him.

“That’s too bad,” he said sympathetically. “Maybe they’ll respond soon?”

“I hope so,” you mumbled, sighing. “I just… I want to meet them.”

“Just out of curiosity, why do you want to meet them so badly?” Kevin wondered. “Because they drew pretty pictures of you?”

“Kind of?” you replied unsurely. “That’s definitely part of it. I guess I wanted to meet somebody who thought I was vibrant and colourful and beautiful,” you shrugged, glancing down at your lap. “Because I don’t think that about myself at all. It’s why I suck at acting, and it’s why my cast mates hate me. I just thought that if somebody out there really thought I was special, maybe I would have a reason to believe it, too.”

Kevin felt butterflies rising in his stomach again, but not in a fluttery, nervous way. He was anxious about what was going to happen. “I’ll do my best to help out,” he said gently. “And Y/n?” you looked back up at Kevin. “I think you’re special,” he admitted. “A lot of people do. Juyeon, Sunwoo, Eric, Younghoon… You don’t need Moon scribbles to be special, you’re already special to us.”

A grateful, shy smile spread across your lips at his words. “Thanks, Kev. For your help, and for saying that. I really appreciate it,” you acknowledged afterwards, realising that Kevin was going out of his way to figure out your mystery while he was dead tired.

Noticing the shift in atmosphere, you cleared your throat and changed the subject, heart hammering. “I’m going to stay here and study for my Psychology class, so you don’t have to stay if you’d rather get some sleep.”

“Psychology?” Kevin echoed. “Are you taking it with Professor Shin?”

“Yes,” you groaned. “She talks so fast that my hand feels like it’s going to fall off after her lectures,” you complained.

Kevin laughed. “I can relate,” he commented. “I didn’t think you were in my class. I’m in section fifteen, what about you?”

“Section twenty-two,” you said, shrugging. “Although I’m glad to hear that it’s not just my class that she’s driving crazy.”

“Ditto,” Kevin agreed. “I actually have to get some studying done for that class too. You mind if I stay?”

“Not at all,” you promised. “It always helps to study with a friend,” you added, pulling out your notes and laptop from your tote bag.

After setting up all of your work, you quickly got to studying, cross-referencing terms from your notes to the textbook to make sure you didn’t write down anything wrong in your hurry. Kevin was silent and still beside you, which you took no notice of because you were so focused. In your distraction, he soon drifted off to sleep with his pencil still in hand, head lulling back to rest on the sofa as his eyes shut by their own accord.

Forty minutes later, you had finished both of the units on Social Psychology and furrowed your brows at an unfamiliar name. “Hey Kev, did you guys talk about-“ you paused after turning to face your new friend, seeing that he was peacefully sleeping, his head now leaning to the side to face you.

The sight of him sleeping peacefully warmed your heart, especially after he had talked about his insomnia earlier. Smiling, you pulled your headphones out of your tote bag so you could listen to the recorded lectures in favour of waking up Kevin to ask him for help. As carefully as you could, you slid the pencil out of his palm and placed it to the side so he could get some rest.

You spent the next half an hour studying in silence, until you noticed Eric, Sunwoo and Jacob walking up to you and Kevin. “Hey,” Sunwoo greeted you, earning a wave from you.

“Hi guys,” you whispered back. “What’s up?”

“Are you and Kevin dating?” Eric interrupted whatever Sunwoo was about to say, an excited glint in his eyes. “You guys are in the make-out section of the library!”

You made a face. “That’s why nobody’s here?” you realised, looking around and frowning. “No, Eric. We’re just studying together.”

Jacob grinned. “Looks like Kevin’s making really great progress on that front,” he teased. “I’m Jacob, by the way,” he added, since the two of you hadn’t properly been introduced yet.

“I’m Y/n,” you replied. “Nice to finally meet you! These rascals have told me all about you,” you motioned to Sunwoo and Eric, who beamed proudly.

“I’ve heard a lot about you as well,” Jacob replied. “And I’ve come to collect Kevin. If he doesn’t wake up soon, he’s going to miss his Ceramics class,” he explained.

“Aw,” you pouted, glancing over at Kevin. “He looks so peaceful when he’s sleeping, though. And he said he was struggling to sleep.”

“Yeah,” Jacob agreed. “I hate waking him. Believe me, I’m his roommate so I see it all first-hand. But attendance is graded in this class, so…” he trailed off with a small shrug before leaning over and waking Kevin up.

Kevin awoke, eyes blinking drowsily as he took in the image of four people staring at him. “What did I do?” he asked, wondering what prompted all the attention.

You grinned, finding the sight rather cute. “Your wake-up service is here to tell you it’s ceramics time,” you explained.

“I fell asleep,” Kevin realised. “I’m sorry,” he apologised, feeling bad that you were studying in silence when you were supposed to be helping each other out.

“Don’t be, I’m glad you got some shut-eye,” you assured him. “Go get ready for your class.”

Kevin gathered all of his things into his bag and waved his goodbyes, trudging out of the library with Jacob. “So,” Jacob began, a wide grin gracing his features. “That’s Y/n?” he teased.

“Yes, that’s Y/n,” Kevin replied quietly.

“The famous Y/n?”

“Oh my god please tell me you didn’t say anything to Y/n.”

“What should I have said? Oh so you’re the Y/n that Kevin has been in love with all semester! The famous muse! Nice to meet you, I’m the guy that has to listen to him gush about you.”

“Don’t make me hide your guitar.”

moonscribbles accepted your follow request!

You sat up from where you were lying down on your bed, startled at the notification you had just received. Racing to open your Instagram app, you looked at moonscribbles’s account. None of the drawings on their account were of you, so you couldn’t decide if they were the right person. But they simply had to be. They went to your school, they studied art…

Braving it, you decided to send them a private message.

Hi! I think I found your sketchbook in Professor Shin’s lecture hall. How do you want me to return it to you?

You waited for a response, which came within a minute.

You can keep it.

You were pouting over your cereal in the dining hall when Juyeon joined you, his plate stacked high with all kinds of delicious breakfast foods. “Hey pouty,” he teased you, giving your shoulder a gentle nudge when he took the seat next to yours. His smile never failed to cheer you up, which is why your frown caused concern to grow in your best friend. “Why the long face?”

“I’m never going to meet moonscribbles,” you told him, your eyes uncharacteristically sad and shiny when they met Juyeon’s.

He startled at how upset you were. “What? Why would you say that?”

“They accepted my follow request on Instagram,” you explained. “And they told me I could keep the sketchbook. Then they went offline,” you recalled. “I guess I was wrong about them.”

“I’m sorry. Whoever they are, they clearly have no idea what they’re missing.” Juyeon frowned, sympathetic of your situation and confused about what Kevin thought he was doing.

“What who’s missing?” Jacob and Eric took the seats opposite you and Juyeon, their plates equally filled with breakfast foods.

“Moon scribbles,” you said vaguely, not wanting to get into it with anyone other than Juyeon and Sunwoo. While you were starting to get to know Jacob better, you didn’t feel comfortable enough around them to discuss the matter with them. And of course you loved Eric, and he knew your situation, but you hadn’t anticipated feeling so upset about Moon scribbles’s response.

“Kevin?” Jacob asked innocently, picking up his fork and elbowing Eric so he wouldn’t steal his food. “What did he do?”

Your eyes snapped over to Jacob. “What did you just say?” you asked. Juyeon’s eyes widened, mouth slightly open as Jacob revealed Kevin’s secret to you without even realising it.

“I was asking what Kevin did,” Jacob repeated. “You said Moon scribbles, didn’t you? Kevin’s artist handle?”

“That’s clever,” Eric chimed in, innocently eating his food. “Since his last name is Moon, and all.” Then his eyes widened and he realised the situation, his gaze snapping over at you to see how you were handling the reveal.

In that moment, you’d never felt like more of an idiot.

“Kevin is Moon scribbles,” you echoed, dropping your fork onto your tray.

“Oh,” Jacob paused, reading the room as he saw the way Juyeon was staring at him. “Did you… not know that?”

“No,” you told him, having lost your already minimal appetite. “He didn’t say a thing.”

“Oh boy,” Jacob said awkwardly. “I feel like I definitely just messed up.”

“No, no,” you denied, waving your hand in Jacob’s direction. “Not at all. I’m just glad that I know who it is,” you tried to convince him, as well as yourself. “Did you know?” you asked Juyeon. “That day at the exhibition… You were trying to tell me that you knew it was Kevin, weren’t you?”

“Yes, I knew,” Juyeon replied slowly, confirming your suspicions.

For a moment, a dull pain ached in your chest. “Why didn’t you tell me?” you asked, hurt that your best friend had lied to you.

“Because I figured Kevin wanted to tell you in his own time,” he explained. “I wasn’t trying to keep anything from you, I just thought he’d do the right thing and explain it to you himself. It felt like it wasn’t my news to tell.”

“Okay,” you nodded. “I understand,” you got to your feet, grabbing your tray after putting your bag on your shoulder.

Juyeon stood up with you. “Are you upset with me?” he asked. “Because I understand if you are.”

You did your best to smile, not caring if it looked real or not. “I’m not upset with you,” you assured him. “I’m upset, but not at you. I have to get to the last dress rehearsal before opening night, so,” you glanced over at Jacob and Eric, who both looked mortified. “Enjoy your breakfast,” you told them before putting your tray away and walking to the theatre as quickly as you could.

“Hey!” your director greeted you when you came in, beaming. “You’re like a half hour early,” she observed.

“Oh, I’ve just come to go over lines and talk to some friends,” you lied, smiling at her before stepping backstage. The set design volunteers were adding last-minute touched to their sets, and you knew that was where you’d find Kevin.

“Hey,” he greeted you when you arrived in front of him. “What’s up?”

“Moon scribbles doesn’t want their sketchbook back,” you told him, as if you didn’t know that he was Moon scribbles. “So you don’t have to keep looking for them,” you added.

“Oh, okay,” Kevin nodded as if he didn’t already know this. “Did you want the sketchbook back?”

“You can keep it,” you declined, crossing your arms over your chest. “It’s rightfully yours anyway.”

Kevin paused his painting. “It is?” he asked, voice squeaking just slightly in surprise.

“Yeah, Moon scribbles,” you narrowed your eyes at him. “Besides, it’s the only way you’ll get to see me ever again, anyway,” you added, frowning as you turned around to go. “Bye, Kevin.”

“Wait,” Kevin put his fine paintbrush down to stop you from leaving.

“What?” you asked him, facing him with a raised eyebrow. “You know what, I actually really want to hear this. What exactly is it that you’re going to say to save this situation?” you wondered.

Kevin sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I didn’t mean for it to go on this long,” he began.

“That’s a joke,” you accused. “You knew how much this meant to me! Just admit that you were never going to tell me that you’re Moon scribbles.”

“How could I tell you?” Kevin exclaimed, startling you with his sudden increase in volume. “How could I just come forward and tell you that it was me? What would you have thought of me?”

“I’d have thought more of you than I do now,” you retorted. “Look, I get it now. I read the situation all wrong. You don’t think I’m special or vibrant or any of those things. You just drew me because I was there, I suppose,” you decided, feeling your heart dropping in your chest at your own words.

“That is not true,” Kevin denied, shaking his head. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”

“I suppose you might have though I was pretty if you drew me,” you allowed. “But clearly, I was putting too much onto this whole Moon scribbles thing, and it didn’t mean anything to you at all. Which is fine, it doesn’t have to mean anything. It just sucks that you couldn’t just tell me that to my face,” you confessed wholeheartedly. “But it’s fine. You can just go back to drawing your faceless muse now, I’m over it,” you lied.

“That’s not why I didn’t want to tell you that I’m Moon scribbles,” Kevin insisted. “I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want you to think I drew you just because you’re beautiful.”

“That worked out well,” you muttered.

Kevin sighed. “I don’t care about your looks, as ironic as that sounds. When I first saw you… You exuded an aura. I know that sounds cheesy and not everyone believes in vibes or energy, or whatever, but it’s true. You inspired me to draw and be creative,” he explained. “But I liked you when I met you. When I saw you in class and when I saw you around Sunwoo and Juyeon. You don’t get it. You are my faceless muse. You have been ever since our Cultural Anthropology class last semester.”

That stopped your train of thought. “You were in that class?” you repeated, confused.

“Yes I was. The first time I saw you… I swear, I haven’t drawn anything other than you since that day,” Kevin’s tone was uncharacteristically serious, and you felt inclined to believe him. “No matter how hard I tried. Flowers turned into your eyes, landscapes became your hair; I was a man possessed. I still am.”

“Then why not tell me all of this?” you wondered, frustrated with the situation.

“I thought that if you found out I was Moon scribbles, you’d just think I was shallow,” he paused. “Or worse.”

You rose an eyebrow. “Worse?”

Now it was Kevin’s turn to sound frustrated. “I mean, I’m not so great and special. I figured you’d be disappointed that it’s me.”

Your heart clenched for him. “How could I be disappointed that it’s you?” you asked him. “You’re great. It’s me who’s awful.”

“You aren’t awful,” he denied. “You’re so much greater than you can see. Don’t you get it? You inspired me to create after the most awful year I’ve ever had artistically. I drew you instead of studying, I drew you instead of leaving my dorm, hell, I drew you instead of sleeping. You didn’t misunderstand anything. I do think that you’re special, and vibrant.”

You buried your face in your hands. “Okay,” you spoke quietly, your mind spinning in circles. “I believe you.”

Kevin nodded. “Good.”

You nodded back at him, unsure of how to continue. “So… You have a sketchbook full of drawings of me,” you decided to tease him, just to bring some of the usual lightheartedness you felt around Kevin back.

Kevin visibly reddened at your words. “I mean… I’d be lying if I said it was just one,” he confessed.

You brightened at his words. “You have multiple sketchbooks full of drawings of me?” you exclaimed.

“I made drawings of you for the art exhibition,” he reminded you. “I haven’t been able to draw anything else for seven months. And I draw a lot, so the sketchbooks just started piling up. Plus my iPad,” catching the delighted glint in your eyes, Kevin cut himself off. “You know what, we don’t have to talk about my iPad.”

You smiled, flattered that Kevin had been so inspired by you. “Well, thank you. For filling sketchbooks and iPads and whatever other mediums with drawings of me. You made me feel seen for the first time in a really long time, and I appreciate it,” you acknowledged his efforts. “Is this why everyone acts so weird when we’re together?” you put the pieces together.

“What are you talking about?” Kevin asked, dreading your answer.

“Eric practically skips over to me whenever he sees me now, asking about you and all kinds of other things. Jacob is a lot more subtle, but he looks at me like a proud dad sometimes,” you explained.

Kevin rested his palm against his forehead. “Why are they so obvious?”

“The real question is: Why was Juyeon the least obvious,” you retorted.

“I think he just wanted us both to figure things out in our own time,” Kevin mused, earning a hum and a nod in agreement from you.

“Hey Y/n,” Younghoon poked his head around the corner. “We’re getting ready for rehearsals. Are you going to be done in time to change?” he asked, eyes flitting between you and Kevin.

“Yeah, I’m good to start getting ready. Thanks Younghoon,” you agreed, grateful that your friend wasn’t making a big deal out of what he might have overheard. Younghoon nodded, disappearing with a wink to get himself ready. “Well, that’s my cue,” you trailed off, motioning to the backstage area where you had to get changed for your last dress rehearsal.

Kevin nodded, slightly upset that your conversation didn’t come to a closure yet. “Okay,” he replied. “I guess I’ll see you around?”

You agreed with him, grabbing your bag from where you dropped it on the floor and making your way to the changing rooms. Before you opened the door, you turned back to face Kevin, who had been watching you leave. “I came to your exhibition, so you have to come to opening night,” you reminded him of the agreement the two of you made.

“I’ll be there,” Kevin assured you, taking it as a sign that the two of you could still – at the very least – be friends.

“Good,” you smiled. “And after opening night, we have a few days off so I would definitely be available, say, Wednesday?” you informed him, hoping he’d get the idea.

Kevin brightened up, his posture straightening suddenly. “Oh?” he stammered. “Would you maybe want to get dinner on Wednesday?” he offered. “Like, a date?”

You grinned, your eye dropping into a wink. “What an excellent idea,” you told him. “By the way, don’t bother asking the boys about what I like, they’re completely clueless. My favourite flowers are peonies.”

“Peonies,” Kevin repeated, accompanied by a nod. “Any preferred colour?” he asked, giddy with excitement at the outcome your confrontation had.

You shrugged. “Surprise me.”

note: okay i know you guys waited forever for this so thank you so much for your patience!! i hope you guys enjoyed it xx

#the boyz #the boyz imagines #kevin #kevin imagines #kevin x reader #the boyz x reader #the boyz scenarios #the boyz drabbles #the boyz fanfic #deobiwritersnet #tbznetwork #kevin moon #2k celebration

[tundrainafrica]

Title: Lovebug (3/10)

Summary:  

“It might be a bug.”

“A bug?”

“Sometimes the developers of this application make mistakes. This is our first time meeting I’m sure so…Isn’t it a bit weird that we just met for the first time and it rings like this? And for two strangers to coincidentally ring each other’s alarms?“

Levi is the developer of the Love Alarm App and Hange is married to Zeke.

Link to cross-postings: AO3

Other Chapters: 1 2 4 5

Notes: So I was really planning on my posting the next chapter tonight and wahhhh right on time @renrampant posted this beautiful piece of art inspired by lovebug. I hope this chapter satisfies <3. I hope the zekehan kiss which will be coming in a chapter or two does justice to the art too.

Levi was a man of his word and he always had been. The night he created his tinder profile, such a penchant had turned out to be more than just an inconvenient truth.

Something so ideally simple as to create a tinder profile, shouldn’t have taken him more than a few hours. Yet, Levi found himself searching, grappling for the right words to say, finding some way to make himself more attractive than he actually was. It turned out with his own meagre attributes, drawing the right person was an altogether daunting task.

Maybe he was overthinking that night. Overthinking had been enough though to leave him exhausted, retiring for the night even before he even noticed he had forgotten to place the phone by his bedside.

When he came into his senses again, sunlight was streaming through the room, turning even the dimmest corners a little less black and a little more gray. The phone was a warm heavy weight vibrating on his chest.

He had to leave for the office soon.

His sleeping schedule only provided him a generous hour and a half to shower and to commute. Frustration at not being able to complete his bio the night before had him sluggish. It had him unwillingly reaching towards the back of his mind as he showered, as he shaved and pulled his light sweater on.

He considered extirpating that nagging thought. All you have to do is put a bio right? Levi thought to himself as he made his way to the subway station. He memorized the way to work like the back of his hand, all the way until the train platform He took the risk of walking straight ahead, eyes completely glued to the screen in front of him.

How it had taken him so much focus to decide on a bio. How it had taken him so much energy and thought. He didn’t know.

Levi though was a man of his word and thus, he had ended up clicking save after typing only a few simple straightforward words.

'Currently software testing. If interested, please swipe right.’

***

“So Levi, you’re a software tester?”

Levi found himself stifling a surprise snort at that question. The sound had come out as something he managed to disguise as a clearing of his throat. Hopefully it worked.

They had just settled on one of the corner seats of a chain coffee shop, a conservative choice for a first date. That is, if he were planning on impressing her. The date felt more like an obligation than an actual passion project. And obligations always had Levi’s mind running on overdrive, even with things as simple as ice breakers.

He didn’t expect that to have been the first line of conversation. He didn’t even know how to pronounce her name yet. The woman was looking expectantly though, bending a little forward. Whether she had been feigning interest or whether she had been genuinely interested, Levi couldn’t really tell.

Technically he tested software for a living and he didn’t need to really expose himself as the head engineer of the software so he settled for a nod.

“Oh, what kind of software do you test?” The woman in front of him pressed.

Levi snuck a glance at his phone under the table. Lynn. But was it pronounced ‘lint?’ Or was it pronounced ‘line?’

He was overthinking again. But when the woman had pronounced his own name correctly, it seemed almost criminal to have to mispronounce her name. Maybe he could table that question for a while.

Or never go on a date with her again. Levi thought to himself as he looked back up at her with the most casual face he could muster. “I test biology related software,” he answered. He purposely kept it vague. He had to note she was also a love alarm user. She had mentioned that part in her bio. Bringing it up in a conversation though was another issue altogether. If he brought it up, she might ask. If the conversation continued, she might ask more.

Did he want to expose then that he was the one who had designed the actual application?

“Biology sounds very interesting,” she commented. She didn’t seem interested in Biology though.

Not as interested as Hange. That quick comparison came like an uninvited visitor and Levi found himself just slapping the phone on top of the table on impulse. The clack of the phone on the table, the metal on hardwood rattled him enough to drive those thoughts away.

Lynn jumped in surprise. “Are you okay?” she asked.

Levi felt the blood rush to his face. When he was thinking longingly about someone married, and comparing her to Lynn, his date for the day, blushing seemed like an almost welcome sensation. “I heard you use the love alarm,” Levi started. When he was already making a fool of himself, might as well go straight to the point.

“You would like to check if we’re attracted to each other huh?” She asked. “But I don’t think we’d find out by the first date…”

“I said on my profile, I wanted to test a software so that’s why I’m here now actually.” Those words forced themselves out of Levi and they came out as a disturbed flow, as guttural sounds that burned in his throat. In the end, the honest man inside him prevailed.

“Test?” Lynn had been nice enough at least to mirror him and put her phone on the table. “You wanna test the love alarm now?”

Levi nodded as he fixed his eyes on the screen in front of him. He was familiar enough with the banner in the front of the screen to know with just a quick glance. The love alarm was active.

He didn’t have to open the application or pull down the banner to know the result. He was all too familiar with how the application would work even when placed on silent mode. The banner should at least appear, with the words ‘Someone nearby is in love with you.’

If there were at least two people around them then, if somebody else rang it, Levi would have been compelled to check. Both applications were void of hearts though. Levi closed the application and pocketed his phone. “It looks like we aren’t attracted to each other.” He only realized as those words escaped from his lips, how awkward or maybe how rude of a comment it came out as.

Lynn’s eyes were wide for a second before she furrowed her brows, framing those brown eyes. “Of course, we just met. I think attraction is something that can be built over time right?” Lynn answered.

“You’re not wrong,” Levi said. Really, he didn’t even believe he could be someone who could rattle off facts about love. Hange had said it herself, he was a little inexperienced.

He wanted to be right about it though. He wanted to believe attraction could be built over time. By extension, he wanted to hold on to the possibility that attraction could also dissipate into apathy. After all, all those emotions should have been in the same ballpark.

“So what do you think?” Lynn asked. She had said some words before that but maybe Levi had reflected too deeply to have processed anything more than the face of the woman before him.

If he blinked and squinted a little afterward, he could pretend that same wavy brown hair was Hange’s. Hange’s hair though was a little shorter and a little messier and when bright light shone at it from certain angles, it came off as a little red. Hange’s eyes were a little bigger and her face was a little rounder.

Lynn was just too different from Hange to ever be Hange.

When Levi let his vision blur though, let it focus on her features slowly then all at once, he could play pretend. When looking from his peripherals, settling for blurs instead of clear pictures, he could pretend the brown hair was Hange’s, the waves that fell on her shoulders as just another layer.

He didn’t even notice it, even after they had split the bill and when she turned down his half hearted offer to take her home. That was until her last greeting came out as they parted ways along the main street that led up to the train station.

Her last greeting was a long way off from a conventional goodbye but it had done its job to get Levi’s attention.

“By the way Levi, my name isn’t Hange.” She unmatched him on tinder after that.

***

Levi decided to put a small note under his name.

Software Engineer. Currently testing software. If interested please swipe right.

It turned out though, there were people who never read bios. “So, what do you do for a living?” The woman in front of him asked. His case in point.

Hange likes reading. An invasive thought tore through him then and Levi wondered how that could have ever been related to the situation at hand.

When he questioned himself, he found out why he even reflected on it in the first place. Right, since Hange likes reading, she wouldn’t have overlooked my bio if she found me on tinder.

Of course, she wouldn’t have tinder. Levi took a deep breath then, reminding himself for the nth time that he was going to have to settle for people who weren’t married to billionaire business tycoons.

He was going to have to settle for people who weren’t Hange.

But he didn’t have to settle for her either. She was underwhelmed yet underwhelming at the same time and Levi was starting to miss Lynn already as the more desirable option.

He quickly shook his head. You don’t have to see any of these people again. All you have to do is turn the love alarm on and watch it ring. But he was feeling so underwhelmed, so disappointed with the turn out of the date in front of him just minutes into meeting her. He had entertained just the thought of cancelling their food there, the only thing stopping him being the wasted food and the poor waitress who would have to clean the mess. So he decided he could at least stay long enough to at least try.

“So, have you heard of the love alarm Nanaba?” Levi asked. He may have put just a little more emphasis in her name. After all, he didn’t want the Lynn-Hange incident happening again.

“Of course, who hasn’t learned about the love alarm app? Actually I have it with me right now.” Nanaba pulled out her phone and dropped it in front of him.

Ten years of hard and stressful work made Levi immune to even the slightest compliments. “You wanna do some testing?” He asked. “Don’t you want to see if we’re compatible?”

Compatible. That was a complex word and Levi started to doubt the applicability of that application in determining compatibility. It was a love alarm, not a compatibility alarm.

Nanaba grinned. “Sure but I have to tell you, I don’t think it actually works.”

Levi raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. He hoped it seemed genuine though. “Really?” When he momentarily thought back to the numerous support tickets logged just within the past two weeks thought, his expression may have turned just a little genuine. It was a mess of an application after all.

“I’ve been using it for a few months already... And it hasn’t rung, not even once. .”

Maybe nobody likes you. Levi had some ironclad rules about testing, always start with user errors, not with application errors and that had him instinctively blaming her but he had to note, most people had one to two matches, Nanaba didn’t look particularly unlikeable either. Just with the thought of statistics, it should have at least rung once if she kept it on regularly.

Levi quickly switched from his engineering hat to his much more empathetic yet still very shitty customer service persona. “Maybe you just haven’t found the one who could ring it for you?” The words tasted so sweet they almost instantly clabbered into sour milk in his mouth. He felt like he was in some sappy Korean drama.

“Well, it rang with my friend Mike once but we don’t see each other that way…”

“Oh, really? Then why did you say it’s broken?”

“Because it rang with my best friend and that doesn’t count...” Nanaba wanted to say more. It was all over her face and her tone.

Levi was in no mood though to play love counselor. But he wasn’t an asshole enough to cancel the food and ditch a seemingly sad woman either. The food came at the right time when Levi was entertaining the prospect of just leaving.

Nanaba looked very much in the mood to speak, speak about something a little more emotional, a little more serious than hobbies and Levi found himself hesitant to force the conversation elsewhere.

Levi came out of that date with no second date, no results. Nanaba on the other hand came out of that date with new found confidence to confess her feelings to her long time best friend.

By the time they had exited the shop, Levi was already swiping again, grumbling obscenities about how testing wasn’t supposed to be that hard.

***

“Rico Brzenska,” Levi said. There were only too many ways to mispronounce ‘Rico.’ Still, two failed dates had him careful about names already. “So what do you do for a living?” And careful about other things as well.

“I’m a student.”

Levi almost spit his tea out at that. He should have been more careful. He had read her bio, she had mentioned something about a love alarm app and that had him swiping right already. He was sure if he had seen any indication of a minor, he would have swiped left. “Really? What kind of student?” He asked, having gone subtly for his phone and pushing it further under the table.

“A graduate student taking business and commerce.”

Levi only had to take a quick glance at his settings to be sure, there were no chances of him dating a minor, as long as nobody was lying about their age on tinder. Being an honest man though, Levi had a harder time looking through white lies.

Such awareness had him studying her round face, her large blue eyes for a little longer. She could have been a minor. Or he could just be paranoid.

But when dating a minor could actually mean jail time, Levi didn’t want to take any chances. “Do you have any ID on you?”

“ID?” Rico frowned. “Why would you need an ID?”

“You said in your bio you wanted to test the love alarm right?”

Rico nodded. “Yes, I just wanna make sure before I start dating someone, we already have the initial attraction. I don’t wanna waste my time with people who aren’t attracted to me or I’m not attracted to, if you get what I mean?”

In response, Levi hummed in understanding. He did get what she meant. The last thing he wanted to do though was inadvertently ring the love alarm of someone a good many years younger than him and risk jail time. He probably wouldn’t ring it anyway.

But just in case. Levi put his phone out on the table, leaving one hand outstretched as if to wait for an ID.

No ID. No Love Alarm. He was sure that was the sign he was giving.

"Wait you don't think I'm off age do you? You think I'm lying on my profile?"

"No, I don't think you are," Levi said. Maybe his expression betrayed his words.

Rico eventually let go of an ID, a school ID from a familiar university logo Levi was sure he had seen a few times. And her face then had been one of pure irritation and maybe a hint of fury.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "There? Legal enough for you?"

Still a student, still too young to be engaging in anything with an older man, at least by Levi's standards. Still, he found himself almost obligated to just test the alarm in front of her.

Rico didn't look happy at all to be heavily scrutinized, or doubted. When she activated her application, Levi saw it as a cue to activate his own.

All you have to do is press the button. Levi told himself. He knew it wouldn't ring. He felt no attraction to her but paranoia had his brain going in all sorts of directions at once. Maybe the blood that rushed through his cheeks then was love. Maybe his hands shaking then were nervousness and excitement at meeting one's destined partner.

Also Rico wore glasses. For some reason, that had him thinking back to someone else with glasses, he wondered for a second if her eyes were much larger without those on. And he wondered if it was similar for Hange.

How such a long train of thought could have occupied him in such a short frame of time, interrupted by a quick sleight of hand, Levi didn't know.

But it had ended so abruptly, almost violently with the familiar cacophony of two love alarms ringing at once.

For a second, Levi sat frozen on the table as his mind went ahead, racing over theories and potential testing methods to deduce the root behind the outcome.

Do I have a glasses kink? That had been Levi's first thought. He looked down at his own phone to see the one heart and the bright message on top.

One person nearby is in love with you.

His second thought had been a little more objective. It's a bug. He told himself. I'll just have to do further testing.

Rico’s eyes were wide in shock. For a few seconds or so, she struggled to move and he couldn’t blame her. After all, the ringing of multiple love alarms in such a silent place like a cafe on a weekday morning was a scene that definitely had the potential to catch some people’s attention.

Levi couldn’t be too sure. He didn’t want to survey his surroundings either so he narrowed his view to just his own love alarm and back at Rico. The latter went for her phone.

From his own angle, Levi couldn’t see her interface but he was familiar with the way she had swiped it, to know she had turned it off. The two love alarms continued to ring in the silence. Even with the tension and awkwardness so thick that made it difficult to slog through, his brain was still moving.

He was blessed with at least enough deduction skills to quickly figure it out for himself.

He was in love with someone else in the room. But who? He surveyed his surroundings, keeping his view closed to only one person at a time. That gave him enough time to brush away the rest of the stares that surfaced from having made such a scene with the harsh ring of the love alarm.

Only after scanning for a second longer did his spatial awareness catch up to him. The other ringing was coming from behind. Levi turned behind him, quickly enough to catch the mop of chestnut brown hair. Fortunately, he had been slow and careful enough to pull away at the last second, missing her forehead by a hair’s breadth.

“Watch where you’re fucking going!” That had been Levi’s first instinct. After all, he was still seeing red, just imagining their heads slamming into each other in the middle of a very silent cafe.

The brunette in front of him, put one finger to her masked mouth, pointing at one of the old fashioned signs just above her seat.

In silence, there is eloquence. It read.

Hange was a very eloquent person. Levi had read enough messages from her and stalked enough of her works to know that much. Any other day, maybe any other minute, he would have been happy to listen, learn a thing or two from the master of diplomacy.

But Hange had virtually come out of nowhere. In the middle of a date.

Giving her a onceover though, noting her masked face. The only two things that made her recognizable then was her mop of brown hair tied in a ponytail and her masked mouth. Still, that had been more than enough for Levi to have seen through it.

She had settled on the seat behind him. The way she looked back at him and the way she had seemed a little too relaxed with a half finished cup of coffee just in front of her, Levi was sure she had been there for a while.

How much did she hear? Levi couldn’t ask just yet. The alarms were still ringing and as soon as Levi turned it off on his end, it stopped. Yet people continued to stare. More importantly, Rico was still staring from behind him.

“Do you two know each other?” She asked.

The answer didn’t come as quickly for Levi as he would have wanted it too. They knew each other, they’ve met at least twice. They’ve eaten out together once. But technically, did it count as ‘knew?’ Did Hange feel the same way?”

“We’re colleagues, working on the same project,” Hange answered for him.

Levi almost instantly realized he liked that answer. Colleagues. It was definitely more intimate than ‘knew each other.’ While at the same time, it held more respect in one’s skills and talent than the word ‘friends.’ And it implied in its own little way that Hange cared about the project just as much as he did.

It had been difficult to muster a straight face then. Still, he pushed forward, nodding when he struggled to stifle the motions of his mouth and the blood that rushed to his face then.

“But the… the love alarm… it…” Rico continued to speak. She shifted her eyes quickly between both Levi and Hange. “And you…” Her eyes fixed on Hange then.

Levi followed her eyes instinctively. Did Rico recognize Hange? He couldn’t confirm it for himself. Soon after that, Rico didn’t say anything in response. Instead she blinked back surprise. She started to clean out her things and place them into her bag.

“Wait, you’re leaving?” Levi wanted to pull her back. For a split second, he had reached out his hand, grasping his hand before pulling quickly back. He didn’t mind losing the chance at a second date. Just the thought of putting someone in such a tight and uncomfortable position had his stomach turning. He couldn’t for the life of him tell what she was thinking but he at least felt the tension.

Rico didn't have the most eloquent response either. “Sorry about this… I guess on my end it just feels wrong meddling in somebody else’s relationship… I don’t wanna be the one who’d stop people from getting together.”

Levi was quick to understand though. His thoughts flew back to Nanaba just a date ago and the long one sided counseling session which consisted of Nanaba’s long drawn monologues and Levi’s own grunts of understanding. The date which eventually ended with Nanaba finally figuring out for herself the best course of action.

You know, you’re right, Both of our love alarms rang. And that’s the whole point of this app right? If they both ring, it’s a sign, we should act on it.

And that was the whole point of the love alarm. How many times had he reviewed marketing material, love story commercials which ended with that same message?

Levi opened his mouth ready to speak up. By then, Rico was already out the door, any evidence of her presence just a second ago disappearing within seconds of her leaving. The chimes by the store entrance gradually slowed to a weak dance, the people who watched her leave eventually fell back to whatever they were doing beforehand, and Levi’s own protests had deadened into a light whisper.

It’s a bug. Besides, she’s married. The words had settled in his tongue like a familiar friend and he was sure if given the chance, he would have managed to say it loud and clear.

Levi looked back in his phone to see Rico had unmatched him, just a little too quickly.

“I think we should get that bug fixed soon,” Hange whispered. She sounded like she was stifling a laugh.

"For someone who's worried about the bug, you looked like you had a swell time ringing our alarms just a while ago," Levi said bitterly.

"Zeke's on a business trip and I'm bored and lonely."

“Well, don't take it out on me.” Levi took out his wallet and dropped the cash by the side of his drink, counting enough to pay for Rico’s drink too. He didn’t think too much about the receipt or the change.

The murmurs around him were more than enough to have him hurrying out of the cafe. Did they recognize Hange?

He thought it an appropriate time to satisfy his curiosity when they were both a good distance from the shop. “Do you think people recognize you as Zeke Jaeger’s partner?”

Hange put one finger to her mask. “I saw you outside the shop and when I thought of ringing your love alarm, I did what I could to prepare." Her eyes were still smiling though and Levi was sure there was a laugh behind that mask. "Besides, even though most people recognize Zeke, I don't think they'd notice me. I don’t join the interviews or events as much as he does,” Hange said.

Levi noticed though that Hange was the type to just get lost in her surroundings. Ort hat was at least what Levi had picked up on her the first few times they have gone together. She quickly relaxed after that short and quick question and answer, and in the way that she navigated through the crowds a little too clumsily yet a little too playfully, Levi found evidence backing up his mini theory.

Even if anybody did recognize her, she probably wouldn’t have noticed. And that little realization had made it much harder for Levi to stomach what just happened in the cafe. They needed to get the bug fixed fast. “Let’s go back to the office, maybe do some more testing.”

“Isn’t that why we’re here now?” Hange asked, pointing towards the general direction of their building. “I visited your office this morning because I didn't have much to doand I thought I could be helpful. You weren’t there so I asked around and one of the people from the support team told me you were out. She said probably in your favorite tea shop.”

“You met Petra?” Levi asked. “Redhead? Short?” He soon added, noting her confused expression.

Hange snapped her fingers. “Yes, that’s her name.”

“Yeah, she knows my favorite tea shop. Gets me my favorite mix of tea leaves every year for Christmas,” Levi said, more to fill the air with at least some conversation on the way back.

It took Levi a while to notice Hange had peeked at his face even as he averted his gaze, looking elsewhere.

She spoke up. “Say… Have you ever tried testing your love alarm on her?”

***

Petra was one of the newer employees, a little shy but particularly mature for her age. She was notably competent and had a particularly better handle of her emotions than most of the other colleagues. Her most important asset had been her level headedness even under the pressure of scrutiny. Petra was the type of person to know when she was attracted to someone and she was the type of person to admit it for the sake of a smoother testing process.

Thus, she was one of Levi's favorite volunteers when testing the love alarm.

And Levi was sure, to some degree she could have liked him. If he were to consider her words as truth, and the hearts at the bottom of the screen as some indication.

When they were testing every release on fifty employees over a one week period, putting results side by side with checklists and biometrics tests, they were as thorough as it could be. It was always the case that when it was the two of them testing with each other, Levi’s love alarm always rang, Petra’s didn’t. Every single time, Petra would tag that instance as ‘QA passed.’

It could have been a placebo effect or it could have also been just an admittance to get the testing process done just a little faster but Petra never seemed like the type, breezing through the awkward scenes that came with testing a love application like they were part of a job. If it ever bothered her, she never showed it.  

Levi’s alarm never rang in any of the tests he had ever taken anyway. When he double checked though, lining up the results side by side with checklists of what to look out for when one was in love, he found that it never had been a big deal. He had never been attracted to anyone in particular anyway.

“So, I’m the only one your love alarm rang with huh?” Hange asked.

Except maybe Hange.“Yeah, when doing QA work, I’ve had to test with the other employees and it never rang with any of them,” Levi admitted.

“How does QA work?”

“We test with employees, users… All on a volunteer basis if I may clarify.” Levi added that last part for just a touch of professionalism. “We have acceptable ranges for biometrics, checklists and we have a certain number of results which need to fit there to consider a release viable.”

“Why don’t we test using the QA procedure?”

“Because the QA process is a logistical nightmare. We plan a venue. We plan a schedule and we have to get a certain number of people to show up.”

“No, I meant… What if we try it, just the two of us. We answer the checklists, we take each other's biometrics and see if that falls in the exact range for ‘love'?” Hange suggested and her excitable tone only made it seem like she was suggesting something almost revolutionary.

Levi sighed. “I’d rather we use QA testing as a last resort.”

Hange’s face fell. “Why?”

“Because.”

“Because?”

“Because…” Levi would have liked to leave it at that. As he looked at Hange who had leaned on the wall, crossing her arms and staring back at him expectantly, he remembered, it was a professional relationship. If the partner of their very important investor demanded answers, she would get answers so he settled for something seemingly acceptable yet very pathetic in the grand scheme of things. “We’re going to have to answer standardized psychology quizzes and take some physical tests.”

“And I’m sure you’d have a few samples lying around. Let’s see what information we can get,” Hange said.

There were other reasons Levi had been hesitant to suggest such an exam in the first place. It had been difficult to grasp for the exact reasons until they arrived in the conference room Levi had reserved.

The room was a vacuum that had the special power of just drowning out voices, footsteps from just outside the hallway. The tables were empty, the white board put away towards the side of the room. It was clean, empty, void of any presence or even trace of it. It made Levi just a little more painfully aware of his heartbeat, his moist palms and his wild uncoordinated breathing.

He might just fail the physical exam. More specifically, he might just fail if he took it then, at the exact moment.

Grasping for some win, or at the least some comfort in that situation, he had half the mind to run through the ‘Am I in love?’ checklist or at least what he remembered from it. If he were a little honest, there might have been some things he would have checked.

But it didn’t mean he would fail it right?

“What do you think?” Hange pressed. She had settled for one of the chairs in the room.

Levi had answers, but he couldn’t share it just yet. Inviting her to take that meant that he was entertaining the prospect that they might just be in love with her---a cursed prospect.

“Or do you have any other ideas?” Hange asked. She cocked her head to one side in thought.

“If you give me a little more time to come up with something…” Levi said.

“Petra told me you have a week or two before they release the next fix. You’ve done most of the coding work. You just need to fix this bug right?” Hange was very talkative. It turned out Petra had been just a little talkative too with the right prodding by Hange. “Why don’t you wanna just test it now?” Hange's face darkened then to something almost threatening.

And maybe Levi was a little intimidated. He quickly turned away, unable to control whatever expression would force itself out of him then.

“Levi?” Her voice was grating. The echoing in the room didn’t do much to help alleviate it. “Come on, please? I want this investment as much as you do.”

If the partner of their very important investor demanded answers, she would get answers.

But it didn’t have to be the correct answers. “Fine,” Levi said. “You know, maybe the way we test this application… the way we test for love might actually be flawed so maybe some feedback from a researcher like you could be useful.”

Hange grinned from ear to ear, the ominous face of a while ago just a memory Levi could probably forget. “So where do we start?”

***

Testing for the biological numbers was quick with the right tools.

Heart rate. Hormone levels. Stress Levels. Pain Sensitivity. They had all the right test kits on hand with a document detailing the acceptable range.

All reasonable levels, albeit a little too far from the midpoint that Levi held on to the possibility that maybe they could log it all in as some coincidence. The checklists were just a little more difficult and maybe Levi was just thinking a little too far off that he had started to have a mini identity crisis.

I think about my partner a few times a day.

Partner: Referring to the person one tests the application with. Levi was aware of that much having tested the application long before. Yet for some reason, he had to loudly remind himself of that, even within the confines of his mind.

He entertained hypotheses. If Hange were his partner, that would be polyamory and that could even start the scandal of the year, or even the decade. He didn’t want to be part of that.

So he ticked ‘never’ because technically Hange wasn’t his partner anyway.

I want to be with my partner everyday.

Hange was Zeke's partner. Just the idea of getting in between a married couple had Levi's stomach turning and it had been easy to tick never right next to it.

My partner trusts me.

It was too early to tell, or so that was what Levi told himself then.

The word ‘partner’ had been a convenient term. Zeke had been a convenient presence in his mind. And that had him ticking all the 'nevers' towards the edge of the page just a little more confidently.

Technically, Hange wasn’t his partner. Technically they just met, so words like trust, amicability, happiness, charisma, compatibility and charm, didn’t have to apply to them just yet. A few minutes later, he had checked enough ‘nevers’ to have armed himself with the confidence to look her in the eye.

Hange though wasn’t reciprocating, looking deep in thought with whatever question she had been answering. She bit her lip.

Hange eventually met his gaze. Instead of being just a little more satisfied, Levi was a little disappointed, more in himself than in anyone else. For that few seconds that Hange bit her lower lip in thought, her cheekbones had seemed fuller, her hazel eyes held an almost imperceptible yet still very enthralling glimmer, and regretfully, he didn’t take the time to relish it when it was right in front of him.

“How’s the test?” Levi asked.

“It’s fine,” Hange said.

Levi slid his own answers towards her. “We just have to calculate the number of ‘always,’ the number of 'sometimes,' the number of ‘nevers’ and just match it on the document over here.” He turned his laptop towards her.

“I can do it,” Hange said, pulling the laptop towards herself. The next few minutes passed in silence. Levi stared at the ceiling, trying to keep his heartbeat in time with the clack of the keyboard. Hange typed fast and chaotically but in a way, there was rhythm and order and that had helped him get into a position where he could just drop his shoulders and fall back on the chair behind him.

“You don’t think I trust you?” Hange asked.

“It’s too early to tell right?” Levi said. That answer had been scripted and it slipped out of his mouth easily.

Hange’s let out a light sound, a cross between with a hum and a chuckle. “Well, to tell you the truth, I put here that I didn’t trust you either.”

“Well that makes both of us, I guess,” Levi said.

Hange continued to type, filling the room with some predictable rhythm, a predictable rhythm his own wild heartbeat failed to provide. Eventually, it stopped, with one loud clack on the ‘enter’ button or at least, Levi guessed it was the enter button.

Soon after, Hange leaned back on the backrest of her own chair. “Biometrics all fall in the acceptable range. Test results all fall in the unacceptable range,” she said, her tone unreadable. Too professional but Levi surmised it could be her usual ‘research’ tone. He hadn’t known her long enough to be certain.

“Maybe we should get to know each other first and try to answer again?” Hange suggested. “We just met so I can’t fully trust you yet but I think, we could get along with the right…”

Environment? Amount of time? Mutual Processing? Levi couldn’t be too sure of the answer. She had said something else after the word ‘right’ or maybe she didn’t. Still, there was a problem that needed to be solved, there was an issue that needed to be addressed that extended beyond the need to resolve the feelings between two strangers.

Or two colleagues. Levi decided he liked the word colleagues better. “So what do you suggest Hange?” Levi asked.

“I wanna do further research with this application. We can tweak whatever processes you’re using now to QA, whatever processes you’re using to determine whether people are in love. Maybe we just have to fix that a bit.”

“This application took years to develop. It’s gonna be difficult to overturn a lot of the processes.”

“Without the right funding…” Hange said. She wagged her finger and gave Levi a knowing look.

Levi narrowed his eyes accusingly at Hange. “So how’s convincing Zeke been going?”

“That’s the caveat,” Hange said. “He’s not a very techy guy. He’s an investor and scientist more than anything and sometimes, even with the right proposition, he’ll stick to some really weird reasons why he wouldn’t invest in something. I don’t blame him though since millions of dollars are usually on the line with each investment.”

" So, I’m guessing you tried to convince him?”

Hange nodded. “I did. And it looks like he won’t budge unless you fix that ‘bug.’”

“The bug which caused his love alarm to not ring around you?” And the bug which is causing our love alarms to ring. Levi added silently to himself. “Can you explain to him that we need the money to continue improving the system?”

“I’ve been with him for years, Levi. I know how he is.”

“So what do you suggest we do?”

Hange hummed. “I don’t know how programming works but...Maybe you can program the application to make it work just the way that Zeke likes it... For the time being?”

***

No. Just no.

Those were the words written all over Petra’s expression. Levi only had to look at the other faces around him to be very much sure, everyone agreed with Petra

For posterity’s sake, he repeated those words. “I understand that the regression test is done but unless I am able to get to the bottom of this bug, we won’t be able to release the fixes,” Levi said. He kept his words soft, yet still loud enough to echo through the conference room. He said it slowly and clearly. Just in case it was a bit harder to hear through shock and surprise.

“Sir, a lot of the fixes in this release have been promised for months,” Petra argued. The professionalism in her voice was still admirably apparent.

“Erwin’s orders. I’m just repeating them now,” Levi said.

“Is there anything we can do to help?” Gunther asked. “Have you found the reason behind it? I’m guessing if you do… we might have to make some changes to the code and go through regression testing again.”

“If ever that happens, I’ll handle the testing on my end,” Levi said. “It wouldn't be too hard, it’s just a blip in the code.”

“So you’ve found the cause?” Eld asked.

“Yes.” If Levi didn’t open his mouth to speak then, he was sure no one would have for the next few minutes. There was something festering in the silence, some common sentiment that he sensed among them, among those doubtful faces tinged with irritation and confusion.

He had always told them before. Always assume a user error first. And there was an apparent user error which he was sure everyone was entertaining.

What if Hange just didn’t love Zeke? A prospect that was ambrosia to Levi’s lips but at the same time a piece of ambrosia that he was sure was laced with poison. He couldn’t chew it, he couldn’t swallow for fear of just letting go for a few seconds longer, letting a smile curl up his lips during the most inopportune times.

Levi turned to Oluo in particular who he guessed would have been the one most likely to bring it up. The latter remained begrudgingly silent. It looked like no one else wanted to bring it up either. After all, Zeke was a huge opportunity for company growth, a huge opportunity for investment.

Eld spoke up.“If there’s anything we can do, just please ask. It might be too difficult of an investigation to do for one person.”

Levi shook his head. “I think this is an investigation I’d rather do alone.” There were parts of the investigation he hadn’t admitted to the team yet. All they had gotten in the report from Erwin was that Zeke’s alarm didn’t ring with Hange there but the scandal of their alarms ringing together was something he didn’t want circulating around the building.

And more importantly, there was another plan he and Hange have been entertaining, an almost unscrupulous scheme and he didn’t want anyone else involved.

***

It felt like he had run a marathon and he had been doing that slow jog for at least three days already. Or maybe it felt like he was trudging through a dessert and had been trapped there for the past three days.

He couldn’t tell for sure but his throat was constantly dry, his heart was constantly beating fast and any notification from Hange was either a water break or an oasis.

Three days ago, Zeke came back from his business trip. Four days ago, Levi sent the apk file to Hange.

“It’s a test build,” Levi said as soon as she confirmed she received it. “A test build I hard coded just for Zeke’s use.”

“Meaning…”

“Just say it’s a test build. Say I’ve fixed the code.”

“Meaning…”

“I hardcoded his data and the expected result. If he opens the alarm around you, his phone will ring," Levi explained. "It’s just a quick fix for now.”

Just a quick fix. Levi told himself multiple times. He had changed the code drastically enough though that the love alarm wouldn’t work as an expected love alarm, having customized it just to fit Zeke’s desires. For just long enough to get the money and long enough to find the actual cause of the bug.

“And tell him we’re asking for feedback before we release it,” Levi had added then.

The last time he had met her was three days ago when he dropped her the file, explained its use and when she had promised to download the apk file to Zeke’s phone.

She sent intermittent updates over the four day period. He liked it. He was enjoying it. He had confidence in the application.

Levi had to ruefully note though that the conversation never strayed too much from work. As expected from colleagues, as expected from business partners working towards the same goal.

Maybe a few times he had asked some vague questions just to get a hint of her daily life.

How’s Zeke? How are you guys?

Still, the answers always went back to updates on the application. When he was trudging to the desert or while running through some dirt track in his mind, even when the water tasted too artificially like plastic---too professional for his taste---he settled for it.

That was the only water he had after all.

Hange limited herself to ten messages a day, mentioning something about being bad at replying, apologizing for late replies. Levi had to admit though when he was working, he was guilty of a similar thing. Yet he found himself just a little irritable, a little desolate at such an outcome.

A week after he had last seen Hange, he decided to start reading the books about love again.

Love is a choice. Overused.

To love others, one must love themselves. He got that already.

Levi dropped his reader by the side of his bed and stared at the blank ceiling above him. The books on love were biased. They created for themselves an assumption, an assumption that she was his and whatever he had to deal with was some inner turmoil inside him, an inability to love. But what if he was willing to love? What if it was just a matter of circumstances just not letting him indulge in such an emotion.

He had entertained that for just a second before brushing away the nagging thought and the annoyingly sticky guilt that clung to it. Maybe there was merit in just turning off his emotions then, just discarding the overall idea of love. He deleted the books Hange had sent him from his ebook reader.

If the company got the funds, if Hange got the greenlight on her research, he would see her again, he would be forced to read those books and they would be forced to work together.

Then and there, he didn’t need to think about it just yet. He didn’t have to put himself through the pain of analyzing circumstances and emotions that left a heavy weight and an ache in his chest.

He could forget Hange until then. He could ignore her messages and maybe focus on something else like an action movie or a video game. He had streaming service subscriptions, he had game emulators on his laptop. Soon he discovered, with the right combination of focus, willpower just getting through slow starts, it was easy to immerse himself in something as mundane as a city building game.

He was halfway through building one of his farms and was already attached to the regular city goers of the small city he created for himself when his phone rang. That abrupt and grating sound had been enough of a reminder, Levi still wasn’t completely over being sad. He quickly reached for the phone on the side of his bench in an ungraceful and seemingly desperate chain of motions that had him almost ashamed of himself.

His laptop had been one of the victims, toppling over to the side of the bed but by god’s grace it had only skimmed the edges before laying flat on its side.

Levi muttered a soft curse. This message better be worth it. And the only message he decided would be worth it, would be a message from Hange which didn’t involve that stupid application.

Leviiiiiii are you free? :))))))))))

Free when? Levi was quick to reply. Now? Tomorrow? Next week? Really, he was always free, it was just a matter of asking for a leave and opening his schedule. He didn’t want to seem so pathetic as to tell her that though

Long weekend this weekend so Zeke offered to take us south to one of our country clubs.

Us?

Erwin is coming too. Levi didn't’ know whether to feel relieved or disappointed at that exposition. Before he could reply though, the messages kept coming.

Think of it as a thank you for the app ;)

And a start to a great partnership ;)

Hange had too many smileys, too many winky faces but recently, she had started to pepper her messages with just a little too much. They were colleagues, very friendly colleagues. For a second, he wondered how many smileys Hange used when messaging Zeke.

Still, Levi saw some glimmer of hope and optimism in the fact that they were creating a special bond in their own way.

And who would he be to turn down a special invite from a special colleague. I’ll see you there then :) He added his own smiley in the end, trying to forget the fact that he had wasted a good few seconds vacillating between the winking smiley face and the normal one.

Hange’s reply came quickly and maybe a little more enthusiastically. Okay! We’ll pick you up Friday night at the office :D

Levi was grateful at least he had something to look forward to.

#levihan #levihan fanfiction #zekehan

[justforbooks]

‘I couldn’t be with someone who liked Jack Reacher’: can our taste in books help us find love?

Readers are in demand on dating sites, with one focused entirely on bringing book-lovers together. But is our taste in literature truly a good indication of compatibility?

“He mentioned in his bio that he liked Virginia Woolf and I was like, ‘Ah! The dream boy,” says Francesca, 34, who met her boyfriend Andy on Tinder. They spent two years as friends, exchanging books and chatting about Mrs Dalloway, until one day Francesca had a revelation during lockdown: “I was like, I miss you so much – I think I love you,” she says.

Andy gave her an illustrated collection of love letters between Woolf and her lover Vita Sackville-West: “If there’s anything that inspired our relationship it would be a lesbian love story from the 1930s,” she says. Last year, they went to Hampton Court for “a Vita and Virginia date,” she says. “We joke we’ll get some fish named after them, too.”

Readers are in demand on dating apps. In 2017 eHarmony found that women who expressed an interest in books on their profiles received 3% more messages than the average, while men saw a massive 19% jump. (Literary men are extremely desirable, as the 1.3m followers of the Hot Dudes Reading Instagram account can attest.) Book Lovers, a site founded in 2010 for readers looking for romance with other readers, now has 3,000 members.

But, unlike most dating apps, there’s no algorithm on Book Lovers to match brooding Byron fans or wistful Woolf enthusiasts. “We prefer to leave it to serendipity,” says Book Lovers co-founder David Unwin. “It gives people an easy conversation starter – ‘Who are your favourite authors?’, ‘What are you reading at the moment?’ It’s a slower approach than some sites, such as Tinder, but we think it’s a more human one and will lead to longer-lasting relationships.”

But Hayley Quinn, dating coach at Match.com who has amassed more than 100,000 YouTube subscribers thanks to her frank relationship advice, is sceptical of a love based on literature. “Shared interests can be a bit of a red herring,” she says. “The big compatibility things are how you communicate with each other and what ideas you have around commitment. If you absolutely despise your date’s favourite author, it could lead to a really fun and heated conversation and send sparks flying – but it wouldn’t necessarily set up for long-term compatibility.”

Beth, a 25-year-old book blogger from Berkshire, has tried to find love both with and without literature. “I’ve had two long-term relationships in my life and one of them has been with a reader and one of them hasn’t,” she says. “I think there’s something beautiful for me in sitting down with someone that you care about and picking up a book and enjoying that together, rather than one of you scrolling through their phone. There’s a level of intellect that’s untapped. When you both read, it just allows for discussion and debate that can go on for hours. It’s fascinating.”

Like anyone looking for love, readers have their own dating red flags. Some are running jokes online – male readers who profess to love David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest are widely suspected to be chauvinists or show-offs looking to impress – but other put-offs are more personal. “I’d have a problem being with someone who really liked Jack Reacher,” says James, a 63-year-old Book Lovers user in Canterbury. “They’re competent novels but I like DH Lawrence and Joseph Conrad. When I was at university, liking DH Lawrence would make you kind of trendy. Although, I did leave Oxford a virgin … so it didn’t really work.”

Without an app, many bibliophiles discover the horror lurking in their suitor’s shelves only when they make it as far as the bedroom. “I fell head over heels for a guy who worked with my friend,” says 25-year-old Emma from London. “On the third date he invited me over to cook dinner for me. I walked in and knew it would never work. His shelves were filled with science fiction cartoon books. That was it. And they were alphabetised.”

Meanwhile, Katie, 25, who coupled up on a night out, was put off by her date’s judgment of her own reading tastes. “He was beautiful, brown-eyed, knew how to use apostrophes – husband material,” she says. “One evening we went back to mine and he was looking at my bookshelf. I had The Secret History by Donna Tartt and Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh. He said, ‘I’m a big bookworm but some of these are a bit cliche,’ in a really standoffish manner, which I couldn’t tell if I found sexy or not. I asked, ‘Well, what else do you like reading,’ and he goes, ‘I really like this thing called Lord of the Rings’. He’d literally only read those three books.”

Far from empty snobbery, research suggests judging someone on their literary tastes can provide a telling insight into their personality. A 2016 scientific study involving more than 3,000 students at the University of Texas concluded that romance readers are warm and understanding, poetry lovers are calm and introspective, erotic novel enthusiasts are outgoing and incautious, while non-fiction lovers are well organised and self-assured.

Quinn acknowledges that reading has certain compatibility indicators. “Books,” she says, “could be one way to see if someone has a similar world view to us. If you like the same sort of books, there’s an argument you could have a similar education or background.”

On the hunt for love, a dating service catering to readers may not replace the magic of a chance encounter. “If you have this coincidental, Notting Hill meeting with someone, that creates a better platform to lend more significance to them in your mind,” says Quinn. “When we look at lots of dating profiles, we get banner blind that there are actual humans behind them. It’s not that there are better quality people at a bookshop, but we really associate things like coincidence and serendipity with sparks flying and romance.”

Luckily for bookworms, touching hands with a stranger when reaching for the same copy of Wuthering Heights may not be as rare as it sounds. Daunt Books manager Brett Croft says many couples have locked eyes in the long oak galleries and quiet corners of their Edwardian Marylebone store in London. “People often ask if they can propose or get married here because that’s where they met,” he says. “People hide rings in the book that sparked their original conversation. And all they said was, ‘That’s a fantastic book, you should read it.’”

But whether a love for books really helps in the search for romance, for some singletons it’s non-negotiable, no matter what the science says. “I feel like I owe it to myself to be able to find somebody that has this one thing in common with me,” says Beth. “There’s something in books – the sheer wonder of being able to jump in and explore a complete other world. I want to be with somebody who understands that.”

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

#JUST FOR BOOKS

[cloveroctobers]

• JENIFER “JEN” MARLOWE •

IG Info/bio: @/justjenw1n | 220k followers | Fashion | just a LUVer who owns a lovely blog that you’re more than welcome to check out here... astoldbyjenmarlowe.co.uk 🪞🛍🪄

22 (24) (25 in 2021) years of age

From London, England

Her family has French origins

Tends to visit once a year mainly with her family

For her 18th bday, her parents also sent her to Paris with her bf that she’s been dating since she was 14

they broke up since he wanted to stay in Paris to pursue his dreams and she felt like she needed to be back home...which she felt Paris was not

Extremely close to her parents, some may say a little TOO close...

See, I feel like jen comes from a family that spoils her where her parents did everything and took care of everything for her. She had the privilege and didn’t have to work too hard to get things she wanted so that made her a little bit different than a few of her friends, hell—even her bf

Didn’t have to work until she reached her twenties

She also didn’t have too many friends because her parents felt like her cousins and/or her sibs were really only allowed to hold that title

However her parents had some sort of a soft spot for her when they allowed her to date her bf at 14 since he came from a nice background...

And to have at least 1-2 best friends...

I can’t decide if I see her having 3 other sibs with her being the second eldest, or her being the eldest with a younger sister? I can also see her being a only child too? Idk y’all can decide

Because her family is a tight knit one, she values everything they say and do...which is canon/evident

She got her thigh tattoo in Paris and even thought about asking her parents permission but her bf talked her out of it

she later showed them that night while he was in the shower. Her mother openly disapproved saying it was, “unladylike or unclean” while her father was more lenient towards it 

Her mother even scheduled her for laser appointments but this was one of the things jen was sure of, she loved her tattoo and she didn’t want to erase it from her body which led to her mother not speaking to her for about a month—even tho they live in the same household

I feel like she looks more like her dad with her mom’s hair and smile

Got into fashion due to her maternal grandmother who seemed to live a extravagant life as a old time actress, she always had and owned the finest of things

Jen loved having sleepovers there, it felt like she had her own personal Liz Taylor inside of her nan...but better!

Definitely found inspiration through Liz Taylor, Kate Moss, Victoria Beckham, and Naomi Campbell

she had no clue what she wanted to do in life (she never had to think too hard about it until now, it’s true what they say about your twenties) and she made the choice not to continue thru with uni & I’m not going to make her out to be the stereotypical “dumb blonde” I think she did well in school—so she kinda just chilled after it was all over

Her first job at 20 was probably working in retail where she learned all about the bs you put up with but she loved clothes! That never changed

So she decided 6 months into her job that she was going to make a fashion blog

she made one separate from her tumblr but kept it under construction since she needed to brain storm what exactly this blog would entail

It didn’t take too long to her to figure it out by how she wanted the blog to look then discussing pieces from celebs/models then slowly discussing her own wardrobe + advice

She didn’t immediately gain success for it —altho she did have a good 1k people follow her thru her tumblr where she also provided the link to her separate blog... but she worked/works hard at it, hoping one day it’ll get her somewhere and that maybe she can get paid for it too?

Retail fucking sucks and people are horrible twats so when she was approaching 21 she deff quit with her parents still hammering...more so her dad on what she needs to do with her life but she found happiness in her blog and no one was going to take that away from her —not even her parents

‘What’s the use of working if it doesn’t make you happy?’ She thinks but again! she has the privilege of living under her parents roof and not having to pay bills so she didn’t have to worry too much rn she knows they’d never kick her out right?

she has two bunnies named “bugsy” and “Lola”—u know the reference right?

I feel like she values the flinstones & jetsons because it was something her dad loved watching as a kid and still does , probably has the dvds showcased in her room that she watches when she feels sad

Seems like a smiley person but when she’s sad? It kinda sucks to see cause she turns into a whole different person and she always seems happy with a smile so wide that turns her eyes squinty

If she disagrees with something, she’s 100% giving her opinion whether you like it or not? Wrong is wrong. But when the shoe is on the other foot? She hates being wrong LOL or doesn’t view herself being wrong. Doesn’t take accountability well...at all!

She’s also showed her ass by being a gossiper and fake as hell with Allegra about mc with the whole, “let’s pretend like we’re there for her” if you’re not fucking with somebody just say that or SHOW it sis cause that snakey shit will come back to bite you in the ass (I forgot about this lol as I’m replaying)

she’s all “mega resting bitch face” until she breaks out into a large smile

Libra sun? + Virgo moon? + Gemini rising?

I feel like she only knows what she wants when it comes to relationships but not with the rest of life?

Lol she was very determined with levi in the beginning, explored shit with jake, (I can’t remember if that was after you/mc showed a interest in him or not in that route? I’m doing a talia/Rohan route rn But that’s kinda foul if she’s smiling in ur face and then boom goes and does what she wants but hey that’s the game right? Fck that tho) and then stood by Tim after only some time?

She wasn’t feeling him in the beginning either cause he thought she was too posh for him and snakey which he’s right to some degree but she’s also right if she finds him too immature for her liking

To you jim? Ten? Stans— Idk what their ship name is but it probably wouldn’t have worked out in the long run either because I don’t see both of them wanting to change themselves completely to satisfy the other. (Tim tried) Sure if you’re showing unhealthy behaviors and are open to diminishing that for yourself then trying to work on your relationship then that’s great! But they already started from the jump not liking each other’s personalities/characteristics....

And hey! Ofc I know people grow to like things they might have disliked about you in the beginning but you can also find yourself not fully accepting it in a relationship and that doesn’t mean you didn’t try

+ it’s been hinted at that they’re not endgame & if you love yourself some Tim not platonically then this works in ur favor. if not? Then you can keep them endgame by all means! For me? That endgame shit is a no! For those that don’t gaf about either of them that’s fine too lmao

YES I feel like they were both hurt over the breakup and it probably happened right around the holidays or either a couple of months after Christmas/New Years 2019

Jen is probably the type to keep checking up on her ex, not necessarily talking to them but finding out who they’re with now

and if it’s Tim with mc she’s definitely gossiping about the shit with erikah and Allegra or making shady tweets or posts on IG for sure

“5 outfits to wear when you run into your ex” type posts on her blog looool

She hopes if she runs into Tim, she’s looking her best and she would 80% go up to him & mc/his new girl if not mc and be all huggy with him and holding conversation before she even thinks to acknowledge mc/new girl and when she does it’s a shady convo with fake smiles

Absolutely loves watching housewives so she was prepared for that moment if it ever does come

Her parents openly didn’t like Tim which made him feel like shit since it seemed like jen never defended him in front of them but again, she values her parents opinion and always wants their stamp of approval that’s just the way the girl is/ was brought up

She owes them everything but deep down knows that in her relationship with Tim she could have been a little more understanding of his needs like he was with her love for her parents...but she’ll never admit that

Doesn’t get over breakups as easily as it may seem like her exes do in her opinion.

It sure didn’t take long with Tim to date mc/new girl months after they broke up! Which was like a slap in the face

The ex bf she spent time w in Paris who looks like Matthew Noszka is now engaged, lives in AMERICA—& of all places??? California to be exact, and just released his debut album!! She knows which songs are probably about her, it’s a nice album she screamed about it for hours into her pillow and cried for what felt like weeks

Lost her voice over that breakdown too

Her mother even went as far as sending a nasty letter to this ex bf’s new address...since ya know? jen’s dad is a private investigator & all!!! but dad had no knowledge of this being done

She’s still fond of Levi and jake but not like in love with them? Like she thought/felt she was with Tim but she still considers them her mates

Maybe in 2021 she’ll be open to dating again and hopes erikah and Allegra will be her wingwomen when the time comes BUT she’s focusing on her blog rn and it’s the best it’s ever been!

She had the show to thank for that now that she has a manager and is getting paid for running her blog now! That’s right this girl is officially employed!

“At least one good thing came from the show ;) 🧽🥐🥂” type of tweets

There’s never not a moment where she’s not connecting her posts whether thru ig or Twitter to her blog: astoldbyjenmarlowe.co.uk!!!

Both erikah and Allegra talk a little shit about that together...WHEN they DO talk, the pair only really socialize when jen initiates it but if one pisses the other off?? they’re going to gossip about it with the other forsure

She doesn’t look that tall to me? Taller than erikah? 5’2-5’5 the 5 is pushing it for me? Maybe? lol I’m still deciding between her and Allegra far as height and I’m too lazy to go back and see what I put for her

Hates straightening her hair, that pin straight look is not cute to her. She loves having waves and body to her hair

Get her eyebrows micro bladed since she doesn’t have much hair up there to begin with

Adores French cuisine, always has since she was a little girl. Bisque used to be her fav back then and all that she would eat

Loves spring season especially pastel colors when it comes to her wardrobe

The type to say one thing and do the complete opposite

I feel like she probably has a little bit of lisp and it’s not really noticeable until she says some words, she’s insecure about it and thought it had something to do with the structure of her teeth and begged her parents to get them fixed but it literally had nothing to do with them

Yet she still got colorful braces in middle school even tho her teeth were pretty straight. She didn’t have to wear them for a whole year, thank goodness

Went to speech therapy to help

Has stacks of fashion magazines even from the early 90s all over her room: her night stand, her vanity, her closet, underneath her bed etc...

Adores the Hadid sisters, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, & Georgia May Jagger

Makes the best white chocolate chip (that’s right, white not just regular chocolate) banana bread but cooking/baking? Isn’t really her thing

Early riser

Loves yellow: yellow phone case, yellow laptop, yellow room, yellow tulips, yellow shades, etc...

Getting Prada shades was probably one of the best things that happened to her, s/o to her nan for granting her this wish

Words of affirmation is her love lanaguage, this girl is a talker and a bit of a thinker too I mean duh? She runs a blog

Likes bright colors on her toes but nude and clear polish on her hands?

Loves a good mascara but she also loves magnetic lashes but is trying her best to grow her lashes out rn! Thanks to erikah for sending her some good ol’ coconut oil!

Smokey eyes? Set her up

Gets a belly ring, and two more tatts one in between her boobs and the last on her ankle & that one she shed a tear over!

Maybe she’ll start changing her physical attributes more so than the way she carries her life at first? (Or ever) She’ll cut her hair below her collarbone to the top of her chest, and maybe she’ll try a light light LIGHT brunette (she loves being a natural blonde) with blonde highlights? Who knows

loves espadrilles and wedge sandals

Loves going wine tasting and visiting vineyards, if she’s vacationing? You can bet ur ass she’s looking for a vineyard to visit

Deff a lightweight

Here’s her unpopular opinions on s2: Thought Felix was a wannabe Tim and hates the fact that he follows her, thought graham was unattractive and said so to Allegra who snickered, thought marisol’s clothing choices were rather boring,

didn’t feel 100% bad for Hannah but disagrees with the way Gary and noah spoke about her + the way Gary tried to slide back over to Hannah on her comeback episode

but doesn’t feel like Lottie is wrong for choosing Gary after Hannah left

isn’t a fan of priya but is glad she’s doing fashion since jen strongly believes in if something isn’t making u happy then u need to let it go

Thinks Hope should have won and cannot tolerate Bobby. Feels he’s WORSE than Felix,

would be open to dating Ibrahim or Carl from that szn

has spoken to Harry from s3 due to his drunkenness and actually made a friend out of him? But low key wants to get to know seb? Take that info as u will 👀

Her anthem: Michelle — SUNRISE

#litg #litg jen #litg tim #litg mc #litg oc #litg erikah #litg Allegra #litg Levi #litg jake #litg headcanons #litg headcanon #litg moodboard #happy new year lol I I’m back at it? #personally didn’t hate her but also wasn’t crazy about her after she said that shit cause it’s like? I can’t trust anything u say #yet Idk why I feel like Allegra will try to regrow herself first over jen #jen just seems like she’s stuck in her ways idk #litg2 #litg s2 #litg3 #Litg harry #litg seb

[starcrossedyanderes]

(Rygel Reboot) Day 5: Three Wise Men

You guys clearly did not like Rygel and so I listened. He has been completely and utterly rebooted but admittedly still has a few of the same personality traits. Other than that, a complete rebrand. His looks are different as well considering I have another OC with white hair now as well. I’ve been waiting for a while and decided there isn’t a better time. 

This piece is heavily inspired on many alien tropes but specifically the cult classic cartoon “Invader Zim” and some inspiration comes from the hit indie game “Among Us”. Also I was inspired by one character that was important in like one episode of “Batman Beyond” if you know, you know.

Also Rygel may or may not have darker skin..

(Please keep in mind Rygel is literally alien. This is not to say anythting about people who skin are of the similar color. I just honestly thought with the character design implements I was changing that darker skin would fit better with his hair color. Also I figured it was about time I brought in some diversity.)

Summer glow ups were a somewhat common thing in high school but main did it make people jealous.

Some of the shortest people in the world leave school 3 months and all of the sudden they’re towering over Lebron James.

It happens.

But you had never seen a case as extreme as Rygel’s.

Rygel was a regular run of the mill student. He was smart you guess. He had a relatively okay voice and seemed to be of Caribbean descent with a slight darker skin tone than most Caucasians.

He got bullied a bit you supposed. He had braces for a tiny bit but pretty much went unnoticed, off the radar.

He was a regular, run of the mill kid. The most interesting thing about him is his name you supposed. It was apparently of Filipino descent based off the internet so your guess was that he was from one of the more island or polynesian based countries.

You knew him okay enough. You would pass by and say hi and that’s pretty much it.

But then Summer was over and he came back.

He used to be of average height but now he’s more so towering of a good bit of people. He seems even taller now that he walks with more confidence and with larger strides.

It seemed with puberty his body has produced more melanin which has caused his skin to darken more along with probably the sun he got over summer vacation.

His voice deepened a bit and had a slight bit more of an accent that somewhat reminded you of British although it didn’t exactly sound like any singular accent.

He seemed to have gained a lot more knowledge and his hair also seemed to grow a good bit along with his body becoming much more lean. His face lost fat and he seems to now have been born naturally with a highlight on his cheekbones.

His eyes that were once a basic brown sort of hazel color have now seemed to liquify into that of gold.

But the weirdest part of all is hair is now a deep purple color instead of the basic brown he had before. 

As you could imagine his popularity intensely spiked along with his grades. 

He also seemed to be a lot more prudish and generally stuck up. He could commonly be seen scoffing as a response. He also just seemed overall much more charming and a lot more sociable than previously which is quite the leap and bound.

You honestly couldn’t care in the least as you just wanted to finish with your last years of high school but some of your acquaintances did not want the same.

Whenever a nobody suddenly becomes a somebody people can become rather jealous and determined to bring a person down or find out the ‘secret’. And some of your acquantinces wanted just that.

The 3 main culprits could simply not believe that a nobody like Rygel over the course of less than 3 months become so different. And their main piece of evidence was his hair.

“He can’t be natural! It is physically impossible for any human to naturally get purple hair!”

You took a break from your sloppy joe.

“Why does it matter?”

Your friend, Mel, gaped like a fish as his mouth constantly kept opening and closing.

“Why does it matter? Why does it matter? Why wouldn’t it matter!? Something isn’t right here (Y/n).”

Mel’s other 2 members in the self dubbed Rygel Conspiracy Club, and friends, Caspar and Bal (it’s a nickname) spoke up as well.

“Look, I was looking over the evidence and some pictures of him during the Summer and notice that throughtout these pictures he just didn’t suddenly have completely purple hair. You can see it starting at the roots and slowly growing a stronger color and slowly spreading downwards! Who dies their roots first? That has to mean his hair is actually growing that color!”

Bal spoke up this time,

“Also there’s rumors about some shady events involving him. Cathy told me she saw a book by him move on its own. But it moved on the table towards him where he nonchalantly picked it up,”

You just gave them the “really” stare.

“There’s plenty of reasons why I guy would dye their roots first. My dad did because he started graying at a really early age. That could be the case for Rygel. Also if he is graying a lot of older women with grey or white hair commonly dye their hair fun colors. He might have been wanting to dye his hair for a while but never wanted to bleach it so he took it in stride. 

Also he might have just made the book slide or asked someone to slide it over to him. You guys are just jealous and need something to complain about cause one of your insane conspiracies got busted.”

You then  got up to dispose of your lunch scraps but held onto your empty little box of milk to wash out in the sink. As you walked back for your bag and headed towards bio you decided to ignore Rygel’s golden eyes watching you.

And I think that’s it for this episode of Dragonball Z. At least enough for the reboot at the latest. Hopefully you will all be inclined to request for him more. Also I haven’t gotten any ideas from you guys from the Christmas Prompts with N/A so when I get to one where I don’t have an idea it will simply be scrapped. Thank you and I hope I did all of you good.

#rygel #rygel reboot #alien #yandere #yandere romance #original character #reboot #poc character #12 days of christmas #imposter #yandere male #starcrossedyanderes

[courtlandmcintosh]

[Hafsanur Sancaktutan, cisfemale, she/her] who’s that? oh it’s [Courtland McIntosh]. i hear they’re [19] and are known as [The Wallflower] around [Ohio]. they’re also a [Freshman] at [OSU], and are part of [OSU’s art club & McIntosh Orchards]. they’re known to be [caring & thoughtful] and [prying & an overthinker]. some people say they remind them of [the soft glow of fairy lights, bundling up on a cold winter’s morning, journaling & the first stroke of paint on a new canvas]. only one way to find out! [Bee, 21, GMT]

BASICS

Full Name: Courtland Ariane McIntosh

Nickname: Courtland, Court

Birthday: May 27th

Age: 18

Zodiac Sign: Gemini

Hometown: Manhattan, NY.

Sexuality: Bisexual? (Still questioning)

Grade: Freshman

School: OSU

Occupation: Managing the family orchard

Activities: Art club

LIKES/DISLIKES

LIKES: Wildlife, sunrise, art in all its forms, journalling

DISLIKES: Being alone in a crowd, bullies, being underestimated, overheating

TL;DR BIO

Courtland McIntosh took a long time to grow into herself, and her family’s legacy. Between her solitary hobbies and general shyness, she was always reluctant to stretch herself beyond the social reach of her twin. However, after a sudden life-change on her sister’s part, she realised she couldn’t hide in her shadow forever. Now, Courtland is studying at OSU and running her family’s new orchard, determined to prove that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

FULL BIO

Courtland’s life has undeniably been one of privilege. Being descended from the self-proclaimed “reigning emperor of apples” himself comes with a swathe of perks, both nutritionally and financially. Along with her twin sister Braeburn, Courtland grew up in the lap of luxury and the heart of Manhattan. In every sense aside from literal, the two were always attached at the hip as kids. Their dynamic shone through even in their early years; Braeburn

Out of the pair, Courtland was always the most introverted. She held no active disdain for other people outside of her family, but she struggled with approaching others socially. Whenever the choice was provided, she would opt to stay at home and work on her hobbies rather than going out to play. She established an early interest in art, especially painting. Her parents had very polarised reactions to this; while her father was mostly indifferent and concerned for their furniture, her mother was all-in, to an off-putting extent. While in her own mind she was providing unwavering support and motivation, to a young Courtland, she was offering up unsolicited criticism and pressure to improve even her most whimsical finger paintings, constantly. While she couldn’t know it at the time, these attitudes from her parents would prevail as she grew up, no matter what the pursuit was. Cello, her studies, writing - it was all or nothing from either side. She internalised both of these responses, but art would remain as her escape for years to come.

Braeburn was the one who made sure of that. No matter where they went or what they did, Braeburn was the driving force behind what little confidence Courtland had. Outside of arts and crafts, a young Courtland could credit each and every new venture in her life to her twin; her dependence wove itself into existence early on. Because she was quieter, Courtland saw herself as weaker, and during her childhood that didn’t present itself as much as a problem. It was a fact she was willing to accept. She didn’t need to be popular in her own right at school - Braeburn was extroverted and charismatic enough to attract a healthy crowd to their elementary school lunch table, and she was content to linger quietly in the corner. That isn’t to say she offered nothing to her sister - she was perceptive, and observant. From her slightly removed perspective, Courtland was happy to offer her sister a fond ear and often pertinent advice. Beneath their contrasting surfaces, their bond was always one of give and take.

Their coexistence held strong all the way through middle school, and the early beginnings of high school as well. Courtland had a few people she met through Braeburn that she would call friends, but none of them were close. Braeburn remained her idol, and the centre of her world, and so when her sister began to shut her out, she knew something was seriously wrong. Courtland couldn’t understand it. Looking back, she cringes at the way she made her sister’s struggle about herself over those months, but until her sister eventually came out she had herself convinced that she had done something wrong. For a while, nothing could get through to her. Not the hushed knocks and whispers from outside of her bedroom door, nor the drawings softly worded letters slipped beneath her door.

For a while, the world became a faded version of itself. Her art lost its spirit, and in turn so did Courtland; she had no idea how to be herself without her twin. This, combined with the already messy maelstrom of feelings that came along with puberty, made for a difficult time in Courtland’s life. When Braeburn was finally ready to come out, the relief was incomparable. She had her twin back, and her twin had herself back. It was all Courtland could ever ask for - and a wake-up call, all at once. She had to be stronger, and more independent. Of course she would always be there for Braeburn, and she would still count on her in the same way, but she wanted to be able to stand on her own two feet.

It took a little while, but between helping her sister run lines for Little Shop Of Horrors and helping here and there with the set design, she realised it was time to branch out. The school had a small, but open art club, and with encouragement from Braeburn she eventually plucked up the nerve to sign up. She loved it. School was no longer just a place to accrue accomplishments - the was a small part of it that became a second home. She made friends there, ones all of her own, and although it took her a little while to open up she took her new, individual social life in stride. Braeburn was still her best friend, but for the first time she could confidently say she had friends she wasn’t related to. For once, other people were looking up to her - the other members of the art club respected her, they valued her contributions, and by the end of her junior year she took over as its president. As it turned out, she liked being a leader.

This, in turn, fed into a growing interest in the family business. Braeburn had started college prep in her junior year, with a range of schools in mind - some Ivy League, some not, but all fitting into schools her father referred to as ‘The Apple League,’ AKA any school he personally approved of. At the same time, her confidence grew. She was a smart girl. She held her own in several AP classes, and from her time in art club she realised she had ideas. Here and there, she began to pitch some ideas to her father over the dinner table when he brought up business concerns. For several months, he either brushed or laughed these off - but Courtland had changed. For once, she didn’t want to shy away from confrontation. She took her time, compiled her ideas, and worked them all into a presentation she was rather proud of. After several run-throughs with Braeburn there to offer pointers, she sat their father down, and finally asserted herself. To her surprise, he was enthused. So much so that, when her college acceptance letters eventually came in, he encouraged her to head to OSU so that she could oversee the launch of their newest orchard while she studied.

Going to college so far from home and so far from Braeburn would be her biggest challenge yet, but Courtland was ready for it. She packed her bags, and with a steadfast promise to facetime her sister as often as possible, she set off for Ohio to kickstart a new chapter of her life.

HEADCANONS

As young children, the twins developed in very different ways. While Braeburn’s speech came to her rather quickly, Courtland dawdled far behind in that area. She didn’t speak until shortly after their third birthday. Instead of talking, as soon as she could grasp on to a crayon for more than a few seconds, she started to draw. It made her so visibly happy that her parents provided her with all the art supplies a toddler could dream of. Her mother encouraged this as much as possible, hoping for a child prodigy, while her father was a little more wary of the mess. He did, however, have a couple of her first paintings of apples framed for his office. Her love for art only grew exponentially from there.

Throughout Courtland’s childhood, her sister was her idol. Her hero. She was always more reserved, keeping to herself and her hobbies unless somebody actively invited her to participate in social activities. More often than not, that invitation came from Braeburn. This pattern never really faded, and during the brief period before her sister came out where she withdrew into herself, Courtland became more aware than ever of how dependent she had let herself become. Even when Braeburn came out and their bond gew stronger than ever, she remained cognisant of her growing need to branch out as her own person.

When Braeburn first came out to her, Courtland wanted to offer up the best possible advice to her sister. To prepare herself for this, she bulk-bought as many contemporary fashion magazines as she could get her hands on. After holing herself up in her room for several days with those after school, she found herself hooked, and still enjoys flicking through these magazines on occasion, even though she rarely goes for the products advertised in them. They provide a range of pose references and jolts of inspiration every now and then for her art.

Throughout high school, Courtland began to feel a need for a little independence, although she wasn’t sure how to establish herself. She wasn’t bullied, but she was rarely included - sometimes she felt like an afterthought, hanging off the edge of Braeburn’s social circle. Eventually, with enough support from her sister, she finally joined the school’s art club towards the end of her sophomore year. For the first time she made her own friends, completely of her own merit, and the club became her passion. Before too long she was its secretary, and then its treasurer, and finally its president by the end of her junior year.

Courtland was always fascinated with the family business. While Braeburn was always expected to eventually take on their father’s legacy, Courtland was the only one who actively wanted to enter the world of apple farming at all. Her pitches for their orchards were rarely taken seriously, until around her senior year of high school. When Biff let the family know he was planning on opening a new orchard in Ohio, she saw an opportunity. With her gradually bolstering confidence she put together a presentation complete with elaborate slides, detailed infographics, and a laser pointer. She rehearsed the speech for weeks on end, mostly with her sister as the sole audience member, until she eventually cornered their father in his office and delivered the whole thing. By the end, he was impressed enough to request that she oversaw the project during her time at college, running that small branch of the business under his remote supervision.

#crhq:intro

[beclynn-herondale]

Since there is a lot of tension in the fandom right now,it’s time to take a step back and go back to the beginning.Share your own tsc story.Regardless of where you are with the fandom,remember why and where you started.When and why did you start reading it?Who was your favorite character?What’s your favorite scene?What made you want to hug the book close to your chest?How did it help you?You can share this with everyone if you wish and I promise you'll feel good!The fandom needs this!Thank you!!

Hi Anon,

First of all I know this is long but please if you want to know a little about why I love TSC so much read it. 🧡💛

Jace my golden boy how he saved me.

I have never actually been extremely open entirely about it and this is extremely personal but I will say, I found these books in a time in my life when I was at an end, I didn't know who I was, who i wanted to be, i didn't really see myself in any fictional characters and I had just come back from an incident that made my family and friends and even people who didn't know me look at me differently. I was dealing with totally strangers commenting on my scars and saying things that are still with me to this day, and I was ashamed of myself and I felt like a total fuck up and let down to my family and it is why the incident happened in the first place.

I remember after said incident I asked my mom if we could go to the book store it was originally to get the other two Hunger Games books and I remember my mom saw City of Bones and was 'you know your big sister read these books.' And I was like okay I'll get it it won't hurt. And we came back home that day and I showed my big sis and she was like 'omg! You are going to love it! And you'll relate to Clary a lot, she reminds me of you actually, and she is like you, she looks delicate like a doll but she's not and she's strong and tough like you.' I remember being like I'll have to read this then and so I picked City of Bones up eventually and after the first couple chapters I went to my mom and was like 'hey listen i need you to order me the rest of these books cause i need these.' And she did and i remember i related to Clary and lot but i related so much to the character my sis didn't think I would, I related to Jace Herondale, I had and still have always been afraid of love, cause of how it can destroy you, and I remember dealing with all my mental issues and see him deal with his and his he held it all in and pretended he was fine and acted tough and strong and like things didn't hurt him and I saw myself in him. I remember later on relating to his issues with his parents more so in these recent months with my mother and the way she has been treating me.

But I remember reading about how he was told how his sensitivity was a weakness, how his gentleness was a weakness, how his empathy was a weakness, how his softness was a weakness and I saw the many times I was told you are gentle and the world breaks and crushes gentle things, so you need to toughen up. And I remember trying to bury that part of myself like Jace tried to do. I remember so many saying how beautiful I was and how my mom needs to keep an eye on me, and then reading the quote "the world breaks beautiful things." And suddenly it all hit differently. I remember how he was with things like his pain and how I saw in him how he didn't want to bother people with it or be pitied for it and how I was the same way. I remember growing up seeing blondes portrayed as just ditzy and the dumb one, and I remember growing up hating my hair cause of that, cause everyone will think I am just a ditz, in fact it's why I dyed it dark. And then I read about Jace and how yes he has his dumb moments but he is also smart, he is strong, he is so much more then just a blonde, and he made me want to go back to my natural hair color and own myself. I remember being so insecure in my looks and hating my looks so much but reading about Jace gave me so much confidence and he has been a big part of where my confidence has come from, I look in the mirror and I see beautiful now. I remember what it was like to see the character who has so much trauma and mental issues to win, to win against his abuser, to win against the people who constantly made comments, to win against his battles, to win against his demons and find love and acceptance, to see Jace happy and in love with Clary gave me the hope that maybe I could actually find love and happiness myself, maybe my story doesn't have to stay a tragedy *cliche of me to say I know*, seeing him win against his abuser was honestly an eye opener and watching him blame himself for the abuse is something i did for a long time, I always listened when they said 'we are talking to you like this' or 'we are doing this' cause they wanted me to be tough enough for the world. Jace made me realize that my abuser was in fact abusing me and manipulating me and using me.

I dealt with hearing said abuser say things like 'she's a life destroyer' through my walls every night and I remember thinking i deserved it and that i really was one.

I remember when I first read Jace say no to Valentine and I was like you can say no to your parent??? And I realized how I wasn't allowed to have an opinion in my parent's house and how nothing I ever said was validated or important, in fact I was told to do as I was told and be obedient. I remember how when he talked about plants he reminded me of the love I have for plants and it brought back childhood memories of me talking to plants and telling them they are beautiful. I remember reading about him talking to church and how I used to have conversations with my cat and share all the tea with him and how much of a comfort he was to me.

I remember first reading about how Jace played the Piano and how the Piano has Always interested me and how I always wished I knew how to play it. I remember Jace saying he read a bunch of books as a kid and how I used to read books as a kid, I remember when I was first able to read on my own and how proud I was of myself and how I would sit and just read, it was my escape from my parents constantly screaming they hate each at each other and how they could just leave and not come back. I remember first reading about how Valentine being gone affected Jace and how when I first lost my bio dad how even though I was extremely hurt by him in ways how he was gone and how in a way I was abandoned which is something I am extremely afraid of. I remember how I saw a broken teenager and saw myself in him. I have never looked at myself as anything but a broken girl really and I remember how numb I was, how hard i had tried to shut my feelings off, and I remember reading about Jace brought back my feelings and how he made me want to own my brokenness, he made me want to own my gentleness, he made me want to own my sensitive side. I remember seeing him with kids and I saw myself, I have always had a passion for kids and how beautiful and innocent their spirits are and how I have always wanted to protect them from what the adults are going to tell them. I remember how Jace made me want to be happy and how he truly brought my feelings back. I remember how my feelings just came back and things started hurting me more often again but in a way it was a reminder that hey you are back. I read about how fragile he is and how I am the same way, you can break me so easily, and I remember his quote about god and how I said something very similar.

Now onto Clary since I have already made this post long.

Clary Clary Clary where do I start you beautiful red haired girl, she showed me that the small short girl can be the hero, as a 5'2 girl myself, I look up to her and she inspired me, she encouraged me and she just showed me so much bravery and projected that bravery onto me. She showed me size doesn't matter at all. *I have always been teased about my height* she taught me that forgiveness is important and that giving another chance is important but that they need to change. She taught me kindness and cheerfulness, I remember reading about how she loved this anime called Bleach and I was like hey that's my favorite anime, I remember reading about she read Manga and I was like hey I read Manga, I remember reading about her curly hair and how I had curly hair, I grew up hating my curly hair cause it wasn't like all these other girls hair and now I absolutely love it and would never give it up, and Clary played a part in it, I know to some the hair stuff may not seem like a big deal but I used to hate my hair with a passion and these two characters made me love it. I remember what it was like seeing the girl save the guy instead of the other way and how strong and brave Clary is.

Recently Clary's bravery saved me, I went through something that totally shook up my world and changed my life completely but if i hadn't thought about Clary's bravery and something similar that happened to her it would have been much worse and I am so thankful for her, and i remember reading about the way Clary sees the world and how i see it in similar ways. I see the Beauty and the Horror, and I see it in a gray way. I remember seeing her fight for her loved ones and how I fight for mine. And Goodness there is so much more, I remember how so many see Clary as delicate and fragile but how she is actually extremely tough and how that's how I am, somebody pushes me and expects me to go into the ground but I don't. I remember how she is kinda nerdy and how I am too.

I remember what Clace did for me and showed me you can be happy and you can find love. They taught me so freaking much and have built me into who I am today.

MALEC TIME

And one last mention Alec Lightwood-Bane and Magnus Lightwood-Bane, they were the first Queer couple that said hey you're valid! To me and they represented me in a way I didn't think I could be, they mean so much and are so very dear to me. Reading about them has truly also shaped me into who I am. I remember first reading about them and wanting to cry because they were Queer characters that weren't just comical relief or there to be killed off, and they got a happy ending, *for now* I remember it like and pat on the head saying babie you are valid and you are beautiful and you will find someone who will cherish and love you like Alec Lightwood-Bane loves Magnus Lightwood-Bane, I remember seeing Magnus own his bisexuality and not being ashamed or take shit about how he wasn't valid cause damnit Bisexuals are valid.

Again there is so much more but hey this is extremely long and it's almost 3 am and It's that time of night where everything just pours out of me and i may regret saying all this later.

If you would like to hear more just ask.

Anyway Anon have a good day and thank you for this.

And I want you all to know this is not very much like me but with everything that's going on I want you to know, what TSC has done for me.

#ask #asks #anon #tsc #the shadowhuter chronicles #jace herondale #clary fairchild #clace #alec lightwood #alec lightwood bane #magnus bane #magnus lightwood bane #malec #bec rambled way to much

[lumilasi]

Caelan's info sheet, decided to keep his lil siblings in a separate one. This does not include his full sea serpent form, only the in-between Merman like one.

Bio below:

Age: 25

True serpent name: Kael' ynn (pronounced kai-lynn)

Nicknames: Kei-nii (Ichirou, Hitomi) Cal (Claude) Kai (Laurent)

Family: Cousin Laurent, adoptive father Jurou, little (non-blood related) siblings Ichirou and Hitomi

Friends: Cecil Fortis (his bf's brother), Taiga Delune (his cousin's gf) Alois McCormac (Taiga's boss/salon owner) Avane/Ava (a tattooist working for Jurou)

Love interest: Claude

A student in Chrysalis City's biggest university, History major. Also helps his adoptive father with the parlor accounting

Personality:

Caelan is a very pleasant and polite young man that majority of people who meet him tend to like. He's very kind and patient, and despite being busy with his studies makes sure to make time for his friends and little siblings. He's a caring big brother who'll try and help his little siblings with anything they may need, and if he doesn't know how to help, he tries to ask somebody who does.

He has a playful side too, mostly coming out around his boyfriend Claude who gets flustered by his flirting easily.

While he seems like a mostly stable individual, due to his past trauma Caelan can be quite protective over his new family, to the point of getting fiercely vicious when protecting them, sometimes at the expense of his own well-being. He also has a special level of hatred and despise towards ocean polluters, and might risk exposing himself as a Sea Serpent when confronting anyone doing so in human realm. (Jurou often thinks twice before taking Caelan with him if they go somewhere on the seaside)

Fun Facts

Caelan is musical like rest of his family, and plays a violin. He's also teaching Ichirou how to play it

He's typically called "Kei-nii" by his siblings, from the first half of how his name is pronounced. "Kai" comes from his "true" Sea serpent name.

He uses both of his surnames, depending on the situation. He mostly goes by "Araknos," but there are special times where his sea serpent bloodline name is more necessary, such as when dealing with the Dragonic council.

While he is not a tattooist and does not have any (his markings are natural) Caelan has designed tattoos for clients as he is also artistic and does some comission work on the side of his studies. Typically paintings, tattoo designs and so on.

While he and Laurent don't see each other much anymore, they are very close still, and Laurent tends to be the first to show up and help him if he's in danger (outside Jurou of course)

Hitomi finds Caelan the prettiest person she knows, which to be fair, he always has fabulous, smooth silky hair.

His water elemental powers work a bit differently depending on what form he is in; in human form it works like any elemental magic where he summons water and commands it at will. In Sea Serpent form, he is typically submerged so what he actually controls are water currents. he can also use a sonic roar, and this works in his human form too.

His style is largely boho inspired, though he does dabble in goth sometimes given rest of his family are goths

#my ocs #oc intro #digital art #fantasy #artist on tumblr #lumi’s art scribbles #lumi’s chaotic creations #Night City Parlor #Caelan Delune #manga #anime

[roxywashere]

Glasses

Nova and Thalia grieve for their lost friend, together.

AKA: My first actual fanwork contribution to the high rollers fandom

(Also on AO3)

Thalia Whisperwind sat, motionless, noiseless, in the pilot’s seat of her ship, the Twin Star Longbow. She stared at the little pair of glasses that sat among her collection of useless trinkets on her console. 

Usually there would be somebody talking. Usually, Bym would be rattling Thalia’s ear off about some potential upgrades he read about in some engineering magazine. Telling her about something weird the engine did the day before that kept him up all Astral night as he problem solved it. Reminding her about how low they were running on spare parts.

But now the cockpit was silent, except for the distant hum of the engines. Not even Big Cat dared make a sound as he lay, licking his wounds, curled up around her seat.

Meanwhile, Nova V’ger sat, motionless, noiseless, in the engine room of the Twin Star Longbow.

She stared at the arcane machinery that was now her sole responsibility to keep running. She had a pile of notebooks in her lap, all scrawled in a pidgin mix of Infernal and Common that she could only barely decipher. She had been so excited to learn how to maintain an astral engine, and now she could barely summon the energy to read. She had found a kindred spirit, another arcane technologist who she could work with and speak with on equal footing. That had only lasted, what, a day, maybe two. Keeping track of time was getting hard now that the brainfog that accompanied Nova’s most depressive episodes had set in. 

Since Nova had stepped aboard the ship, the engine room had been alight with discussion and excitement as Bym had started walking her through each system and subsystem and how they connected and synergised and interfered with one another, the whole time promising so often to eventually explain every system that interacted with everything. Occasionally Nova managed to surprise Bym by offering an insight from her time maintaining the Storm Chaser’s engines, teaching him something even as he taught her so much. The sound of the engines had mixed with their lively back and forth, filling the air with frenetic energy and inspiring Nova to learn more and more. 

But now the hum of the engines felt oppressive, intruding. Goading her to come solve a mystery that she was in no way capable to handle yet.

Everybody else on the ship, occupying some space between Thalia and Nova simply by virtue of those two occupying the extreme ends of the ship, could feel the shroud of grief that stretched between them. 

Kyrie sat in her turret, her face buried in some manga in the hope it would provide an escape. Aila sat in the other turret, gazing out at the wall of the Styx, wondering why this life felt so natural to her. Lucius and Qillek talked quietly about home, sitting across from each other at the table in the lounge, both in the back of their minds wondering what they could have done to change things. Sentry, being no stranger to losing allies in battle, focused on providing her friends some comfort food.

A small light indicating some alarm went off on Thalia’s dashboard. Something with the engine, no doubt some damage from the fight that had only just finally caught up to it. She instinctively turned to Bym’s little booster seat and opened her mouth to tell him to get his ass to the engine room, before reality slapped her in the face. Thalia intercommed the engine room. “Nerva, dear, do you have this under control?” Her call was met with silence. “Nerv- Nova?” She turned to look through the ship to see if she could spot where Nova was from the cockpit. “Nova? Where is that girl...” Thalia double checked that she had engaged the autopilot and marched through the ship to find Nova. Her long legs carried her swiftly through the lounge, and the gangway, and as she entered the engine room, she found Nova sitting against the wall, her head in her hands, crying and hyperventilating.

Thalia wasn’t very good with people. She was a criminal, with a curse that drove people away and an alcohol addiction. People didn’t like her, and she didn’t like them back. Kyrie had been able to see past that for long enough to see the potential for making money working with her. 

But Bym, Bym was an imp. A little devil, though a mild one, but one nonetheless. Life of crime? “Love it.” Curses? “I know tons of perfectly nice people with curses.” Alcoholism? “What’s a little vice between friends, eh?” 

Bym was... Well, if Thalia ever had a friend, it was Bym.

All of this was a long-winded way of saying that Thalia had absolutely no idea how to deal with somebody having a panic attack. Bym never had any, and Kyrie’s method of calming herself down was to run to her turret and listen to some Shansara.

Qill barged past Thalia, or at least as much as a 90-pound ball of feathers could. Sentry following closely after managed it much better. 

“Excuse us, captain,” the hulking bio-magitechnical golem politely said as she pushed Thalia out of her way. 

“What’s up?” Qill asked softly, kneeling in front of Nova. “Can you tell me what’s got you stressed out?”

“H- h- he was supposed to be here teaching me... I don’t know what I’m doing I don’t know how to fix this I’m not smart enough..."

"Nova, you are literally, literally, the smartest person I know."

"I screw up so much, though..."

"Who was it that got us all off of Aegis V alive?"

"By making a deal with the ILS. Who I took home and then detonated like a bomb on the Storm Chaser."

"I'm pretty sure it was Aila who did that last bit, but..." Qill checked over his shoulder to make sure Aila hadn't heard him pinning the blame for that on her. "Okay, who was it that fixed the Maiden's forge and revived Sentry?" Qill assumed that was what happened. He was somewhere else at the time.

"After getting her killed because I was too weak to protect myself."

"Oh, for H'esper's sake..." Qill muttered.

“Nova,” Sentry said, kneeling next to Qill, “You are such an important part of this team. We wouldn’t have gotten half as far without you, and we won’t get halfway to the end if you give up now.”

Lucius entered the engine room and joined the other three. “Nova, you get so much excitement from working with this stuff, and your enjoyment of learning about magic is infectious and makes me and Qill excited about magic too.”

Unknown to Thalia, Tiangong joined in, as best they could, sending thoughts of safety and comfort through their bond. 

"Really?" Nova responded, starting to calm down. "It does?"

"It does," Qill confirmed.

Thalia watched the scene in front of her. They really love that girl, don't they, she thought to herself. 

Once Nova had calmed to the point of taking in the rest of her surroundings, she saw Thalia standing in the doorway, seperate from the crowd gathered to triage her episode. "Sorry, captain."

"No, no, it's quite alright..." Thalia responded. "I... I miss him too." She pondered a brief moment. "It's funny, he and Kyrie only ever interacted when the turret malfunctioned, and you'd only been here a day, so I thought I was sitting up there mourning him all on my own." Thalia pushed her way through the throng of Nova's friends, and sat down next to her. "I'd quite enjoy talking with you, about him, if you would like." 

Nova's friends went back to their previous activities. As Thalia started telling Nova the sordid story of how she and Bym had first met, Big Cat came and laid down at their feet. Thalia quickly lost track of the time, telling Nova story after story of Bym’s escapades, and Nova telling Thalia of her own misadventures as a member of the ragtag group officially unofficially known as the Storm Chasers. Thalia even caught herself smiling a few times. 

She realized she had a feeling of warmth in her chest, sitting here with the girl she had so brazenly flirted with multiple times. Thalia realized she still had at least one friend. But as she listened to Nova’s voice regale her with tales of titans and demigods and flying cities, as even her hair snakes began to become enraptured by Nova’s surprising charisma, Thalia pondered the warmth in her chest. She wondered, if, maybe, they could be closer than just friends. Maybe. 

All the while, Bym’s glasses sat on Thalia’s console, keeping vigilant watch over the ship, and watching the two people he had been closest with become closer together.

#High Rollers #RollOnSunday #Aerois #Nova V'ger #Captain Thalia #Thalia Whisperwind #Writing

[ciarawritesmarvel]

first impressions - steve rogers x reader

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Word Count: 2.2k

Warnings: The reader in this universe just does swear a lot and she doesn't apologise for it (but I do a little bit), some arguing but it only serves the sexual tension ;)

A/N: Yes, this is another oneshot belonging to the Number Five Universe, which now has its own post with all the oneshots I’ve planned in chronological order. That does not mean that is the order I’ll post them. You can VERY EASILY read this on its own. but this is the meeting of the Y/N and Steve we know and love. I love you all, and thank you for all the participation in my 3.5k celebration - more to come on that in 12 followers time! :)

masterlist is in my bio, tags are in a reblog... please drop an ask to be tagged in steve/number five/all works! <3

---

“Adjustment Officer? Really Fury? You even have a name for it?” you said exasperatedly as you spun in his chair. Every time he thought you had stopped, you pushed off with your toes against his desk again, spinning more furiously than before and eventually he grabbed the armrest and stopped you dead in your tracks with a sigh.

“Could I have my chair back please, Agent?”

“You can have your chair back if I can have my real job back,” you retorted and when there was no answer you carefully kicked his hand away from the chair and resumed your spinning.

“Stop being a damn child, Y/N,” he said, leaning against his own desk and folding his arms across his chest, “I need somebody that I trust to do this. You know that list isn’t very long.”

“What about Maria?”

“She’s busy.”

“So am I, Nick!” you threw your arms up in the air, still spinning but with most of your momentum lost, “I’m fucking busy too! I do not have the time - or the patience - to babysit your latest pet project.”

You finally stood from his chair and crossed the floor to stand beside the floor to ceiling windows that lined one of the walls. You looked out across the city. Steven Grant Rogers, Captain America himself, born in 1918, was out there somewhere, defrosting as you spoke and you were supposed to be looking after him? Showing him the ropes of the 21st century? Teaching him how to use a computer mouse and taking him for ice cream on a Friday evening for being such a good boy. Not happening.

“I’m not asking you, Agent. You know that.”

And yet apparently, it was happening.

All too soon, you found yourself walking into a room with a certain supersoldier - not that you’d ever be caught calling him that - opposite you and sat at a table that he seemed to be handcuffed to.

“Who did that?” you nodded to his trapped hands and he looked up at you warily, regarding you with an apprehension which could only have come from so many SHIELD agents sedating you and taking you to a strange room that you weren’t allowed to leave in a time seventy years after your own. It was a strain to remember this man had lived through WWII.

“They did,” he eventually answered, glancing to the two guards posted at the doorway, guns in hand, eyes staring straight ahead without a falter. You rolled your eyes.

You took a pin from your hair and straightened it with your teeth, smiling apologetically at him as you picked the lock of his handcuffs and let them clatter down onto the tabletop.

“Ma’am? We’re under orders-”

“New orders,” you interrupted, turning to them with hands firmly planted on your hips, “Go to Starbucks and get yourselves something fancy. I’ve got this.”

“Ma’am-”

“I’ve got this,” you assured them, a twinkle in your eye that went hand in hand with the steely glare and was just enough to get them to nod at your demand and make their way out of the room, leaving just you and the Captain in the empty room.

“Was that a tactic to get me on side?” he asked when you’d sat down opposite him and leaned over the table, elbows resting on either side of you, face studying him lightly. Taking him in.

“No,” you shrugged, leaning back and placing your feet on the table, one after another, ankles crossed and posture completely relaxed, “I just find them annoying. And I’m almost positive I don’t need protection from Captain America.”

“Almost?”

“Well, we don’t know what seventy years under ice has done to you yet, do we?” you joked but his face fell and you inwardly cursed yourself. Bad timing.

“It’s Steve,” he said suddenly, tone harsh and you looked at him quizzically, “Not Captain America. Just Steve.”

“Okay ‘Just Steve’,” you addressed him, finally seeing just the hint of a smile twitching at the right corner of his mouth, “You understand what’s happened now? I believe somebody came and filled you in?”

“Vaguely.”

“Okay. Well, I’ve been assigned as your-” you shuddered, “-Adjustment Officer. My sole job is to help you in your transition, answer any and all questions you might have and to eventually ensure that you become one of our best assets.”

“What did you do wrong to get this job?” Steve asked, a dark and hollow chuckle escaping him and you frowned.

“More like what did I do right. This is an important job, Cap- Steve. Our director needed somebody he could trust.”

“Great. That’s just great,” Steve retorted, his eyes flashing with an anger that you’d never seen on the numerous posters of him you’d seen, “I’ve been assigned a glorified babysitter but at least it’s someone trustworthy according to the guy with the eyepatch.”

You took a deep breath.

“I know this must be a difficult adjustment for you. That’s why I’m-”

“No, Agent, the reason you’re here is because you have to be. You don’t want to be, or you wouldn’t have physically shuddered when you talked about it just now. You’d rather be in the field, with a reason to use that gun you’ve got hidden in your boot, but instead you’ve been stuck with the old man and his retirement plan,” his voice was getting louder and louder until eventually he was leaning over the table, palms pressed into the metal as he dropped his voice low and hissed, “Well sorry sweetheart, but I don’t want a babysitter and I certainly don’t want you.”

You stayed in your position. Unfazed. Steve wasn’t a threat to you. But your jaw was clenched and your body rigid. Because it was now clear that he was going to be annoying as all hell.

“You listen here, sweetheart,” you spat out the word as if it tasted bad on your tongue as you stood from your chair to gain the height advantage, “You’re damn right. I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to have to look after you. You’re a burden. You’re too emotional. You’re a liability. But I’ve been given an assignment. So we are stuck with each other and unless you get your head out of your ass and decide to play along, being stuck with me will be worse than being frozen in time. Do we understand each other, ‘Just Steve’?”

He gaped up at you, jaw slackened and eyes slightly wider. Then he shifted uncomfortably in his seat and dropped his eye contact.

“We do,” he muttered and then, with a renewed fire, “Just don’t expect me to like it.”

You scoffed.

“You and me both, old man.”

---

You were sat on a park bench. Steve Rogers was sat beside you.

Well beside you wasn’t quite the right term. He was actually sat well away from you, in a position that could only be described as hunched. It was quiet. Peaceful, even. Until-

“So these phones…” Steve was glancing from person to person around them, watching them tapping away at tiny screens, “They’re all connected.”

“In a way,” you replied, “They’re all on a network which connects them which is how they communicate with each other. Electromagnetic waves and stuff such as that.”

Steve nodded. Took it in. In all fairness, he was a very quick learner.

A lot of that came from the fact that he actually listened to you.

“Thank you.”

He always said it. Meant it. You could tell. You knew liars, hundreds upon thousands of liars. Rogers wasn’t one. He told the truth, even if sometimes you wished he didn’t.

Three weeks into this arrangement and you felt like sharing some truth of your own.

“Hey Steve,” you said calmly and he turned to face you, “I never said - I really admire you. Everything you did. It was a big inspiration, you know, when I was training.”

He looked utterly taken aback. As if that was the absolute last thing he expected to come out of your mouth at that moment. You tried not to be too offended at the fact that he thought you incapable of giving him a compliment.

“Thank you, Y/N,” he smiled, his small little genuine smile you’d only seem twice so far. You resolved to see it more often, “I appreciate that. You have a lot of…”

He paused. You got antsy.

“A lot of…?”

“Definitely not patience,” he joked and you huffed and turned away from him, prompting him to answer seriously, “A lot of heart. You’re impatient and you swear too much and you’re generally quite insufferable. But you have a lot of heart.”

When you glanced back at him in surprise, he was back at his people watching, refusing to meet your eye. Despite everything, you felt your heart grow a tinge warmer along with the back of your neck.

“Yeah well you’re stubborn and far too serious and generally intolerable but you have a lot of heart too, Spangles.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” you affirmed softly and then, as an afterthought, “But in case it wasn’t clear enough -  you’re still an ass.”

He laughed, shaking his head and stuffing his hands in his pockets to keep out the chill in the air. You folded yours into your armpits. Tapped your toes against the grass.

“And you’re still a glorified babysitter so who’s the real loser here?” he asked smugly, sitting back into the bench in a rare moment of comfort. You leaned back too and enjoyed the brief relaxation.

“The grown man who needs the babysitter - duh.”

He grumbled a little at that and the sound made you smile despite yourself. That, and the fact you had a lot of heart was still replaying in your quickly fraying mind.

“Anyway, nanny, I believe I was promised ice cream?”

“It’s freezing,” you deadpanned, blinking at him but he simply pulled himself from his seat and looked at you expectantly.

“And?”

You muttered expletives to yourself as you swatted the hand he’d held out to help you up away and pulled yourself up on your own instead.

“Come on then, you child.”

Steve followed behind you with little complaint.

---

Six weeks into the arrangement. Things were not smooth sailing, but there were never going to be. There was still this same understanding though, one that just managed to keep things at a simmering tension, just stopped things from boiling over.

Most of the time.

“Honestly, if you don’t get out of my apartment right now I swear I will call Fury and tell him to find me a new babysitter,” you gaped at Steve as he spoke, eyes wide but he merely shrugged, “I’m not kidding.”

“Steve, I am not having chinese again. That is final.”

“And that is why I’m telling you to get out.”

Admittedly, things ‘boiling over’ no longer meant biting matches where you’d try your best to truly cut into each other and instead had changed into what could only be described as ‘comfortable bickering’. Your life had been many things, but you couldn’t remember for the life of you a time when any aspect of it could be called comfortable.

“Fine, we can have chinese. But four times in one week isn’t healthy, Spangles.”

“I’m a super soldier, I eat what I want to.”

“And what about me?” you ask and when he shrugs in response you mumble, “Fuckin’ bastard.”

“That’s 36 minutes. A new record.”

“What?”

“36 minutes without swearing. That’s the longest ever!” Steve says, sarcastically proud of you in just the worst way and you sink into the couch cushions in response, folding your arms.

“Why do you always have to be so fu-“

Your phone rang and interrupted you. You answer. Maria is on the other end, tone clinical, explaining a situation that was all too familiar. A threatened terrorist attack, many people in danger. You were needed. You gave her a rough ETA and hung up.

“I’m coming,” Steve was already up off the sofa and you knew he’d heard your phone call. You sighed as you stood too, brushing down your jeans and pocketing your phone.

“We’ve been over this Steve, you’ve not been cleared for-“

“I’m coming.”

He was persistent. You took the silent opportunity to glance at him and saw the man that you’d always seen on the posters. The determination. The steel. The...concern? Well that was new.

“I can handle myself, Steve.”

“Oh I’m well aware,” he said, with just the slightest shiver as he remembered the time you’d punched him in the gut for one of his comments in the first week, “But I’m coming. You and I? We protect people. Let me do what I do best.”

There was an unspoken extra word, please, that you didn’t even need to hear to have your pulse pick up by four beats per minute. But only four, which wasn’t too bad, you reasoned. And in your mind, there wasn’t a choice.

Because you did protect people. And so did he. So who were you to stop him?

“Okay.”

You readied yourselves and stepped out of the door, taking the stairs down two at a time and you hopped into the driver’s seat without a second thought. He didn’t question it.

You seemed to understand yours and Steve’s understanding more and more every day.  

#steve rogers x reader #steve rogers #captain america x reader #captain america #steve rogers imagine #steve rogers fluff #steve rogers oneshot #captain america imagine #captain america fluff #captain america oneshot #marvel #marvel x reader #marvel oneshot #marvel fanfiction #first impressions #univer5e

[ffsluke]

hi wonderful lovelies !! i’m lola and this is my dumpster fire, luke ! he’s pretty new, so forgive any kinks or development i’m working out ! i couldn’t be happier to be joining this group and look forward to getting to know and your amazing muses !!

chicago’s very own luke holebrook has been spotted on madison avenue driving an aston martin one-77, welcome ! your resemblance to alex fitzalan is unreal . according to tmz , you just had your twenty second birthday bash  . your chance of surviving new york is uncertain because you’re hotheaded, but being inspiring might help you . i think being an aries explains that .  3 things that would paint a  better picture of you would be_ a worn leather jacket, punk rock blaring from the newest air pods, a smirk with a bloody lip_ . ( his mom was involved in a hit and run but it was covered up ) & ( cismale + he/him ) 

luke’s a bit of a shit but !! let’s get into it !

background/bio:

born in chicago to an up-and-coming senator and a housewife who came from old money, luke basically was allowed to do whatever the fuck he wanted as a kid. he didn’t have to face many consequences for his actions, as long as he kept his ways out of the papers and away from unwanted attention that could hurt his father’s career.

left to his own devices, he was raised mostly by nannies and au pairs who quit often and quickly, given how much of a pain in the ass he was as a kid. 

he did drugs, slept around, and drank excessively. he loved to stir up shit and got into no small amount of fights. granted, he still does, finding it exhilarating and seeking out more and more ‘danger’ as a means of feeling alive for once. 

when he was fifteen, his dad was caught in a scandal: he was having an affair with his chief of staff, a younger man. he mom took off with luke and all of her money, leaving his dad practically ruined.

they moved to new york when he was seventeen, and he was enrolled in one of the elite private schools there. not that it did him much good. he was rebellious and got kicked out of yet another school. he went through a total of four before he finally graduated by no minor miracle. mostly, it was due to his family name and mother’s money. 

not long after they moved to nyc, his mom broke down and confessed she hit someone with her car one night while driving drunk. she told him her father had covered things up, but that she had killed at 16 year old kid driving home from a baby-sitting gig. luke hasn’t told anyone about it, but has dreams that haunt him of a dead girl. 

he was enrolled into nyu but dropped out after only one semester. now, he lives off his family’s money and spends most of his time getting into shit or just doing whatever he wants, whenever he wants.

boredom often overtakes him and so he’s begun to play around with music. he always played instruments as a kid, first piano, and then guitar. he’s even written a couple of songs, but his motivation often loses out to his need for immediate gratification and moves towards the impulsive. 

has only shown his music to one other person, and really, he kind of regrets it, not wanting anyone to really know his darkest or most private thoughts.

though he has yet to truly confide in anyone about it, he’s gone through depressive episodes since he was 15, though he would never actually acknowledge that that is what they are. 

instead, he insists on drowning out the pain and feelings of being unable to get out of bed or try with alcohol or sex or whatever vice he can get his hands on. 

had one great love, but dismisses it as a mistake now, unable to cope with the pain and heartbreak the relationship put him through. 

sleeps around these days and does his best to not get too serious about anyone, but at his core, he’s sort of hopeless for people and can’t help but maybe fall for one...in the future.

reckless little shit and usually drags others into his drama or schemes. 

lit rall garbage but w/e pls plot w/ us i beg

possible wanted connections: 

enemies: he’s definitely got them, being pretty much trash. he incites fights on purpose, just for the thrill, even if he doesn’t always win. hell, it isn’t even about the winning, but rather, the fact that part of him thinks he kind of deserves getting the crap beaten out of him. (open)

a person he confides in: they’re probably an unlikely duo, maybe even not friends exactly, but they’re someone he can trust. someone he spills his guts to, whether or not this person even asked him to. (open)

the one he fucked with too much: the person he involved in his ways, and they got hurt in the process. maybe luke did his best to help bail them out of it, but they’ve could’ve still had to deal with the consequences. things are tense between them, but luke’s never been the best at making amends. (open)

fwb: a casual hook-up he knows he can turn to because there’s not much between them besides sex, and maybe a bit of partying or other shenanigans. things are simple between them, and he likes it that way, thinking he can avoid getting hurt or feeling anything too deeply. (open)

best friend(s): the ones he knows he can count on, even when he fucks up, even when everything goes to hell and there doesn’t seem to be a way out. luke may not deserve them, and some part of him knows this, but he sure as hell needs them. after all, everyone needs somebody sometimes. (open)

fellow musician/music appreciator: someone who understands his love for music, and maybe even makes their own. they are the only person luke has shown his music to, and he intends to keep it that way. (open)

first love: probably the one person he genuinely loved from his relationships. maybe she broke his heart. maybe he broke hers. maybe they just destroyed one another because they couldn’t deal with their own individual problems. whatever happened between them, it left him bitter, with not believing he was meant for love. (open)

#wealthyhq:intro #drugs tw #depression tw #untreated mental illness tw #hit and run tw #murder tw #affair tw

[psychefm]

talk to the hand [ TIMOTHEE CHALAMET ], [ REED ‘NEWT’ NEWTON ] is the new kid on the block around here. at [ TWENTY ], the [ CIS BOY] works at [ BABBAGE’S ] in the mall and, like, [ HE ] totally reminds us of [ CHANDLER BING ]. oh snap! what? their favorite movie is [ HOME ALONE ]???? so is mine!

ABOUT THE MUN.  i used to lie to y’all, my mom didn’t say no, i did

i hate this site man. and that’s it, that’s all you gotta know about me. 

BIO. good news!!!! i’ve successfully replaced all my emotions with jokes !!!! tw bullying

reed newton was born in london england to sylvia anne bixby and cornelius otis newton and honestly, he’s regretted it ever since.

newt was an accident. he was the product of one of his mother and father’s first ever lustful encounters, and their subsequent shotgun wedding so honestly they both spent most of newt’s formative years in the honeymoon period. some of newt’s earlier memories are of him walking in on his parents doing the devil’s tango in the broom closet and his nanny rushing to cover his eyes. good times. 

honestly newt walked in on his parents doing the do more times than any kid should have before the age of nine. and then he walked in on a parent doing the do with a non parent. in other words newt got an eyeful of his father and the pool boy and it wasn’t long after that that his parents went through a long and messy divorce. once again, good times. 

his mother decided to pack up their things and move herself and her nine year old very impressionable son to nebraska, because fuck that kid amiright. newt was quickly designated as the skinny weird nerdy kid with glasses and a funny little accent, and so as you can guess he was pretty mercilessly bullied from age nine to eighteen. he really never stood a chance.

i feel like this is a good time to mention that newt’s mother was a sex therapist, which is not the same as a regular therapist but still, therapist is in the name. he should have been able to talk to his parent in this time of strife and get some level of support right? nope. sylvia bixby is well known for writing a men are from mars, women are from venus like book on communication and dating and all that, so his mom was generally on book tour after book tour. but maybe she would have been supportive if she was ever actually around, right? again, nope. 

unbeknownst to newt whenever his mother was around she was not only just casually psycho analyzing her only child for shits and giggles, no, she as also writing about it. newt’s mother wrote an entire book about raising a highly repressed teenage son with newt as the star, and you can only guess what that did for newt’s stellar high social status in high school. nothing great. 

did newt ask her not to publish it once he realized she had wrote it? yes. did she still publish it? also yes. so newt and his mother no longer have the greatest relationship. holidays are awkward.

things were not better on his fathers end, but it wasn’t because his father particularly did anything nearly as tone deaf as his mother. yes, his father was a famous erotica novelist and yes that made newt’s life a living hell, but newt luckily wasn’t the subject of those books. neil transitioned from writing fabio like novels to writing some lgbt fiction which, great for representation, horrible for your teenage son who is now known around school for having a dad who writes porn. to top it off, neil ended up starting a long term relationship with the pool boy and gaining a pseudo step son from it. benjamin caley was not only more athletic than newt, not only more attractive than newt, but also better than newt in every single way imaginable which was a real self esteem booster. his father actively prefers benji and every time newt visits him in england over the summers he comes home hating himself a bit more.

which works out because after the book being published, most people kind of hated newt too so at the very least he was on trend. there was a lot of classic nineties bullying you know, wedgies, swirlies, shoving newt into lockers. all very cliche. newt would tell his bullies as much, but it never really went over that well. 

but then finally newt graduated. he was free from the hell that was the public education system and his childhood household. he graduated with honours, moved out of his mother’s house, and got himself his own apartment with a roommate near the mall where he got his first real job. 

goes to university for software engineering. has an internship at apple that he’s absolutely terrified to mess up. has an old beat up car that was like the first big purchase he ever made with his own money, so he loves it to death even though it’s a piece of shit. 

PERSONALITY.  do you fear me? don’t feel so special now. i have social anxiety. i fear everybody.

this is my first time playing newt so all of this is subject to change BUT

INSECURE. newt is a weird mix of cripplingly insecure and weirdly confident and there is no in between ever.

WITTY.  humour is and always will be the only defense newt has against anything, so he makes a lot of jokes especially when he feels uncomfortable.

EMPATHETIC. newt is a big push over when it comes to emotions like he would never do anything to hurt someone unless it was by accident or he was provoked or you’re his step brother benji or either of his parents in which case he will run you over with his car on sight. but no really, if newt is in a position where he has to hurt somebody he will do absolutely everything in his power to either not or avoid the situation completely. 

AWKWARD. sometimes honestly, although it depends on the day. v clumsy though. usually he can try to make his awkwardness funny but does he always succeed? the answer is no. 

HEADCANNONS.  actually all of my systems are nervous.

has to drink like six cups of coffee or tea a day. very serious about his tea because english. also has vegemite on his toast. 

can actually cook pretty well even though he prefers to eat takeout. cooks because it’s cheaper and he’s a broke ass student yk. won’t take money from his parents ever, and will straight up give it away if it’s forced upon him. 

writes star trek fanfic for fun and has a kind of weird relationship with writing because of his parents honestly?? but he enjoys it so, maybe the apple in fact does not fall from the tree. 

has commitment issues because of his parents divorce but don’t we all. 

developed a stutter after all the divorce drama because he thought it was his fault. he later had to see a speech therapist. his mother later had a fwb relationship with this same speech therapist. newt wanted to die. 

traded his glasses for contacts and you will literally only see newt in glasses if he rips or loses his contacts or if he’s at home. 

in love with all things sci fi, will rent and see every sci movie ever made if he can 

accidentally knocks down at least one display in babbages per day so there’s that.

speaking of newt runs a small side gig out of babbages where he fixes up tech because paying for university, rent, and car insurance out of pocket gets up there. so if you need someone to fix your desktop newt is your guy. 

is actually a pretty good flirt when he’s drunk or feels comfortable. is constantly teetering between painfully insecure and confident. 

is very bi and very hesitant about it because of his father and all his feelings towards that, but he will eventually stop fighting it so much soon hopefully. has probably had a few drunken hookups with guys but tries to convince himself that is just a drunk thing yk. 

is allergic to bees so death has a kiss just for him i guess. 

loves video games but that goes without saying

has anxiety and takes medication for it, one of the few healthy things his mother has ever done for him. 

speaking of his mother if newt ever sees her book about him in a book display he will spend as much time as needed taking each book and hiding them in obscure places so that no one will ever be able to find them and buy them. he read the whole thing because he had to know and yep he absolutely hates it. 

goes by newt and only newt so that no one can make the connection between him and his mother or his father upon first meeting him or hopefully ever. a lot of the kids he went to high school with still know though and with the accent and everything, he’s not fooling anyone who has at least heard a rumour 

idk what else y’all imma fite tumblr for making me write this twice

WANTED CONNECTIONS.  actually wait, i take that self deprecation back, i’m great.

ROOMMATE. because newt can’t afford his place on his own between all his expenses. please. think of the shenanigans. 

ON AGAIN OFF AGAIN THING. kind of inspired by chandler and janice tbh. these two are pretty incompatible and whenever they’re together all they talk about is breaking up with each other but whenever they’re broken up and they see each other they somehow always find themselves waking up in bed together the next morning. it’s a mess.

NERD SQUAD. give me newt’s friends from high school please and thanks. just a crew of absolutely dweebs and misfits. 

FWB/EWB. self explanatory considering newt’s big commitment issues but i just imagine like making out in the back room and like hooking up in the break room and someone leaving like a damning article of clothing in there and the two of them scrambling to get it before anyone notices. just fun. 

EX. self explanatory but yes, an ex gf or bf, an ex fwb or ewb, give me all the exes please. 

REPEAT CUSTOMER. this person is always paying newt to come fix their computer and other tech and newt just doesn’t understand how they mess it up so badly. like he doesn’t get how or why technology hates them as much as it does, but he’ll take the money.

HATESHIP. just good old fashion animosity. could be hate from school or the fresh hate upon working in the mall together or they can just be newt’s least favourite customer and he can hate them for that. 

CRUSH. maybe newt had a crush on them in school. maybe they had a crush on newt in school. maybe newt has a crush on them now. maybe they have a crush on newt now. 

and anything else tbh. i’d love a smoking buddy for newt, a friend who he can never get any work done around like when they’re together they’re just like !!!, someone who used to be one of the popular kids who he is now getting along with or still holding a grudge against, his big gay awakening in school maybe like the first masc person he had a crush on, someone who tries to get newt to party and come out of his shell, someone who idk steals from babbages skjsdj idk man i am open to anything at all so just like this and we can brain storm if anything!

#vhsintro #r.n. | intro. #using this gif of timmy surfing cause when else am i gonna get the chance #but oof finally done

[tomboyjessie13-artblog]

Neashi Tamiki, regarded as The Fifth Pierrot, was an Islander who once lived in the Destiny Islands. Awakening in Twilight Town in the wake of the Heartless Attack, the girl was reborn as a Nobody with no memory of her past life. She later became involved in numerous incidents and conflicts regarding Organization XIII's Project; "[Project: Pere Noel]". After graduation, she later entered the Organization as their 15th Member, Shenxai, the Capricious Artist.

~Information Bio~ Name(English Translation): Neashi Tamiki Hiragana: なし=たみき Romaji: Nashi=Tamiki Other Names: Princess/Oujo-Chan(Xigbar's pet name), The Fifth Pierrot(Pere Noel's code name), Number XV(Rank), Shenxai(Nobody name), The Capricious Artist(Organization title). Age: 16(KH1 to Early-358/2 Days), 17(Mid-358/2 Days to KH3), 18(Post KH3) Gender: Female Sexual Orientation: Heteroflexible Race: Islander(Asian decent) Hair Color: Green Eye Color: Dark Teal Weapon: Halberd(Naginata, later Guandao) Element: Paint Lesser Nobodies: Pictomancer Occupation: Human(Formerly/Post-KH2), Nobody/Vessel(Slain in KH2) Affiliations: Destiny Islands(homeworld; formerly/Post-KH2), Twilight Town(Formally), The World that Never Was(Slain in KH2)*The Pere Noel Project(Graduated), Organization XIII(Slain in KH2). Alignment: True Neutral Inspiration: Me, Elluka Clockworker and Chirclatia, Platonic, Lemy Abelard, and Seong Mi-na ~Neashi's Theme~  Sunday Afternoon at Tamagawa River by Guitar ~Headcanon voices~ Japanese Seiyuu: Nana Mizuki Voice Actress: Caitlin Glass ============================================================== ~Personality and Traits~ "I can't believe I'm doing this again, "They" will pay for this humiliation." -Neashi's vendetta against "First Santa Clause" Neashi was a hardworking and creative individual and a thief, determined to become a well-known artist. Coinciding with her artistic lifestyle, she acts as a critic, particularly for anything related to art such as painting and catering, having such great taste within the creative world, though is still practicing to become better in her skills. Neashi is often relaxed and confident, but a little childish, occasionally teasing her peers to provoke them. In Addition, she had a tendency to mood swing. Xigbar often instigates her and she usually vented her anger toward him by attacking the Nobody. When faced with stressful situations, she'll try to escape if not fight back. She would also delay her heists or her missions' completion should her life be at risk. Although confident in her abilities as a Thief and a Fighter, she was against killing and refused to murder anyone; especially Sorcerers and stronger Organization members, knowing the crime would risk her being hunted down and executed, occasionally, however, she would threaten to end Xigbar's life if given the choice to cripple the Organization or to finally get him off her back, making her a hypocrite. Neashi also has a personal grudge against "Mr. Pere Noel", the founder of the "Pere Noel Project", vowing to get her hands on them for using her to do their dirty work. Neashi isn't very open with showing affection, often acting apathetic and sarcastic, even berating Demyx for his laziness, this was mostly due to her Trauma and [Mr. Pere Noel]'s manipulation, causing her to have some difficulties in forming relationships. Despite this and the fact she's a Nobody, she has a soft side, caring for the children of Twilight Town, including her youngest partner Nemu, and the friends she does trust to ease their misfortune as best she can, even going as far as to dedicate her thievery into making money to help them or bring back rare items. Having a liking for boyish things like combat and swordplay, Neashi fully embraced her Tomboyish lifestyle. Despite this, she does have a small liking for feminine things such as dresses, though doesn't do them very often. She does, however, make a few exceptions during certain occasions such as light makeup and accessories. She also acts stern at times, such as when she is doing house work or her missions for the Organization. Despite that, she does have fun and enjoys relaxing. Unbeknownst to most of her peers, she has a fear of thunder and lightning as a result of her PTSD(Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). Having witnessed her parents's death in a thunderstorm two months prior to the islands being destroyed by the Heartless. Becoming depressed, withdrawn, broken, and amnesic. Having lost her memories of her friends, relatives, and deceased family as a result of it, even after becoming a Nobody, her trauma is still caked into her mind, and any lightning based triggers such as a simple thunder spell will cause her the to suffer from an attack of PTSD before fainting, then waking up with no recollection of the attack. As Neashi begins to remember most of her past life, the more self aware she became, and as a result she became slightly depressed due to the pain in her past life, although still retains most of her outward personality as an attempt to hide it. The only ones who know of this was Demyx, Roxas, Xion, Nemu, Dimitri, and later Xigbar. When working for the Organization as Shenxai, she began to present herself as intimidating to her foes and the denizens of light outside the Castle That Never Was so no one would take advantage of her. When off the clock however, she's actually pretty chill and whimsical, albeit apathetic due to her depression. Thereby was more excepting about her demise because of it. Eventually before said demise, she began to realize the true horrors the Organization is causing regarding Kingdom Hearts and Sora and Kairi, as such she rejected her previous desire for revenge against [Mr. Pere Noel] and embraced her newfound desire for freedom and safety for herself, her young comrade Nemu, and her childhood friends. After becoming a Somebody again, she regains all her memories of her childhood and teen years prior to her trauma, in addition to finally regaining a heart and all of her human emotions. But while she was at first genuinely happy upon gaining a heart and her freedom, she became even more emotionally temperamental and visibly stressed due to her experience in both Pere Noel and Organization XIII, thus became very paranoid and anxious around any mentions of either groups and it's former members, in addition to becoming suspicious as to why the Organization had became Somebodies without the use of Kingdom Hearts. But at the same time she had became more worrisome about her friends, having to chase after Braig to "save him" from Master Xehanort and apologizing to Kairi for leaving her behind, meaning that she now acknowledges her friend's well-being or frustrations. ============================================================== Skills and Talents Despite coming from the life of a simple Islander, Neashi was able to have some success as a thief and fit well into the lifestyle and work required in Twilight Town. Although working alone, Neashi's connections to Pere Noel and the Organization allowed her to be well informed on her targets and more easily break into homes and avoid their inhabitants. Due to being a Nobody, Neashi was also resistant to being attacked by both powerful and lesser Nobodies by smell, also given the ability to control her own Dusks. In spite of that, she herself is also rendered helpless to the Darkness if not wearing the clothes made from the same material that makes up the Organization's standard attire. When fighting, she shows great skill with the naginata in both athleticism and grace. However, there are times where she does mess up and ends up either stabbing herself or stabbing someone important. Given the power of paint and thinner, she'll manipulate them in hopes of killing and/or trapping Heartless with them. She's weak against fire and lightning magic but can withstand ice. Outside of weaponry, she is skilled in martial arts such as physical combat, which can only be used in self defense. She also trains herself in Parkour to make her escapes from the police during her heists easier, in addition to making herself healthy. Neashi is shown to have a skill in drawing in any forms of media from sketching to painting. She can also cook for herself, be it microwavable to home cooked delicacies. Despite that, she does have trouble making homemade Sea-Salt Ice Cream, for she usually makes it either way too Salty than it's attended amount and/or give it an inappropriate color scheme. Naturally, as a Nobody and later a Organization member, Neashi can command the lesser Nobodies and use Dark Corridors at will. ============================================================== Character Connections Braig: An apprentice guard from Radiant Garden and Neashi's first friend, the memories of him were tragically forgotten when she grew older and became a Nobody. She met this capricious man at a young age after being transported from her world to his, he didn't think much of her at first but later grown fond of the child and vice versa, but they were later forced to part ways by Master Xehanort to avoid confusion from the public and to prevent the girl from foiling his plans, this resulted in her having trust issues. Like his Nobody, he's shown to act as a father-figure to Neashi in place of her birth parents. She was later horrified to learn that he and Xigbar are the same person and is working for the 13 Seekers of Darkness. Xigbar/Fourth Shadow: Neashi's Mentor from the Pere Noel Project, "Adopted Parent", and later her partner, she first met him in a Nobody territory under "Mr. Pere Noel's" last order. Though completely unaware of the Freeshooter being Braig's Nobody, her resurrecting memories allowed her to recognize his Somebody's scent thus earning his trust, though not fully. Despite that, they always get into fights both verbal and physical even threatening death on each other albeit, for naught, she is also often annoyed by his constant teasing, joking, and pranking, and is very aggravated with him making her do his errands such as buying him alcohol. Like his Somebody, he's shown to act as a father-figure to Neashi in place of her birth parents. He soon finds out that Neashi is starting to grow depressed, thus ruling her out as a potential vessel. She was later horrified to learn that he and Braig are the same person and is working for the 13 Seekers of Darkness. Dimitri: One of her former employers during her previous heists and later partner for the Pere Noel Project, she was first hired by this man due to her multiple thefts, and ever so often she would get ripped off and blackmailed by him, often getting half of the profit than she wanted. They were both surprised when they discovered that both of them are in the Project together, both being monitored by Xigbar as Second Dealer and Fifth Pierrot, and even worse being relocated to her apartment as a way to keep an eye on him. She is often disgusted with his greed and philandering with multiple lovers and wishes that she doesn't become one of his women. He's one of the few individuals who is aware of Neashi's growing depression and the first person to discover she had PTSD. Nemu: Her young neighbor and later partner for the Pere Noel Project, she was quite surprised to learn that someone their age was part of the Project as its Third Sleep Bringer, also being monitored by Xigbar. She also expressed both amazement when she saw how intelligent they were, hence satisfying her wonder as to why they're in the Project, though is often disturbed by their lack of communication, leading her to wonder if they had Mutism, regardless, she was able to bond with the young Nobody, even acting like a older sister to them. They lived in a studio apartment a few floors underneath Neashi's two bedroom one. They're one of the few individuals who is aware of Neashi's growing depression. Even though she became aware of Nemu's past life, she exonerated the child of their misdeeds due to their past abuse and manipulation. Sora: An Islander from the Destiny Islands and Neashi's childhood friend, he's also the reason she became a Nobody due to his influence. She first met the young boy after Master Xehanort sent her home, She was resistant at first but later developed a close bond with the boy, even becoming a sister-figure to him. She gives both him and Riku a few pointers in fighting growing up. Sadly, the memories of him were tragically forgotten after witnessing her parents' death 2 months prior to the Islands being destroyed. When she met him again, she only sees him as a ploy to the Organization, but feels like she knows him due to his resurging memories, thereby doesn't really show herself as a threat to him in particular. Riku: An Islander from the Destiny Islands and Neashi's childhood friend. She first met him after meeting Sora, she gives both him and Sora a few pointers in fighting growing up, she sees potential and trust in Riku thus becoming good friends. However, the memories of him were tragically forgotten after witnessing her parents' death 2 months prior to the Islands being destroyed. She eventually met with him again as a Nobody, under the impression that he was an Organization Impostor, she was taken aback when she saw his face however, feeling like she saw him before. Kairi: An Islander from the Destiny Islands and Neashi's childhood friend. Though never first met at Radiant Garden, she later meets her on the Islands and developed a close bond with her. However, the memories of her were tragically forgotten after witnessing her parents' death 2 months prior to the Islands being destroyed. When she was visiting the Islands one day, she accidentally ran into Kairi, but eventually became good friends(again) despite being a Nobody. Neashi was surprised to learn that she was one of the Seven Princesses of Heart and became genuinely horrified when Saix kidnapped her just to use her to anger Sora. ???/Mr. Pere Noel: Her Employer from the Pere Noel Project and later her target of Vengeance. She was first hacked by the mysterious person one day and was forced into the Project as "The Fifth Pierrot." She eventually grew to despise them after receiving many heists that almost got her killed and/or caught, she willingly stayed in Pere Noel in hopes to one day meet and punish them. She was though certain that the Organization's Leader is him due to Pere Noel being a funded Project by Organization XIII. Eventually she gave up on seeking revenge against him in place of wanting to escape due to discovering the horrors the Organization is creating. Demyx: A member of Organization XIII and later her friend and partner. She first met the young Nocturne after confronting Xigbar sometime afterward, at first she thought of him as an idiot and berating him for his laziness, even during their first mission together in the Organization, but later grows fond of the Nobody's company, even allowing him to hide in her apartment from Saix and stating that he's more tolerable to be with than Xigbar, although she doesn't show it and is quite irritated with his cowardice behavior. They also express their same interests for Music and Games, and he's one of the few individuals who is aware of Neashi's growing depression, proving his belief that Nobodies do have hearts. Eventually due to their closeness, they ended up having a secret relationship with him, but it was mostly on and off due to the Organization's rules, despite this however, she was genuinely regretful of his demise. Character Trivia ~ She's the only character known for having green hair. ~ She currently has 6 piercings on her face and ears. 4 thick rings(2 on her bottom lip and 1 on each ear lobe). And 2 thin rings on the helix part of her right ear. ~ Her Naginata fighting style is similar to that of Seong Mi-na from Soul Caliber. ~ Pere Noel is French for "Father Christmas" or "Santa Clause", the program is based on the fictional criminal organization under the same name from the Evillious Chronicles during the Sloth/Pierrot and Greed/Wrath arcs.

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