#but i like this one. a bit simpler but it gets the point across

[magicalgirlmascot]

Vakama in “Then the lizard takes another”

[ID: human!Vakama, an older man with long hair and a long braided beard, sits on a bench in front of a fire pit, elbows resting on his knees, one hand resting on the opposite wrist, gazing into the flames. The picture is rendered in browns, greens, and orange. End ID.]

I debated for a while about how to draw him but I'm happy with how he came out :) if it feels like there's less of the light greens it's because I used them in the fire effect lol

(Colour palette: "then the lizard takes another" from @color-palettes)

[Commissions open!]

#bionicle #as soon as i saw this one i knew i had to make his eyes orange #i went through a few ideas for composition for this one. originally i was going to do his toa version with the idea that it was a vision #and include the vahi. that would be orange and same with his eyes and nothing else #but i like this one. a bit simpler but it gets the point across #vakama #my art #still doing these btw!! send me a character and a palette and i will draw them bc this was FUN #human bionicle

[nahoney22]

Dirty Whispers***

All Bad Batch Boys X F!Reader

How the boys react to you talking dirty into their ears in a crowded room.

warnings: NSFW, 18+ only, implied sexual content, flirting, slightly cheesy, explicit language, dirty talk, female reader, with Hunters it’s insinuated that reader has tattoos, with Crosshairs he’s quite dom towards the end. established and non-established relationships. Brief mention of alcohol.

Authors notes: big thanks to @eyecandyeoz & @raevulsix who gave me inspiration for this work as I’ve been drawing blanks all week. 😵‍💫🩵

Echo

The mission unfolded smoothly, with everything going according to plan and the group right on schedule. However, a momentary standstill shifted the focus onto Echo. Amidst surveying the surroundings of the room you're trapped in, you, along with the rest of the team and the five rescued prisoners, identified an accessible circuit that could make or break the situation. Luckily, Echo just so happened to possess the exact tool required for the job.

He gets to work and after a few minutes you get bored of waiting around and found yourself feeling a little... naughty.

You had been flirting with Echo for a long while now and judging by how he acts around you, you're fairly certain he feels something for you aswell. Though his flirting is not particularly reciprocated back, his flushed expression, gentlemanly manners and shy stuttering was too cute to ignore.

You kneel down next to him, everyone else in their own conversations and smile softly at him. "Any luck?"

"This system is a bit intricate. Usually, plugging into terminals and computers isn't a challenge but this coding is new.," he responded with a sigh, his brows furrowing in deep concentration.

Humming softly, you took a daring step, leaning in until your lips brushed his ear, causing his scomp to momentarily pause. "I might have something simpler for you to plug into," you whispered, the hint of innuendo igniting a fire across his skin, his stomach fluttering and excitement stirring in his pants.

He pulled away, wide-eyed and taken aback by your flirtatious advance. Yet, as you tilted your head with a feigned innocence, his scomp spun to life again, generating sparks that held promise. The door hissed open successfully.

"I knew you could do it," you grinned, acting as though nothing provocative had been said, before joining the others in making your exit.

He stands back for a few moments, breathing heavily and wiping the sweat off his brow. "She's not wrong." He mutters to himself with a small smirk, knowing he had to get you alone tonight.

Hunter

When the time came to redecorate your armour, you were happy to design your gear anyway you wanted to. However one day, a certain design catches Hunters attention.

You’re all in the Marauder, going through gear inspections when Hunter came towards you and points to your chest plate. “Mind if I take a look?”

You nod simply, offering him a smile as you unclipped the armour from your body and passed it over. You grew curious however as he traced his finger over a particular drawing you implemented into the artwork. “See something you like?”

He chuckles but nods. “Didn’t take you for someone who likes to doodle.”

You shrug, “Only sometimes. All my armour pieces have different designs.”

“Oh yeah? Mind if you show me?” His eyes dance with mischief and your heart fluttered as you knew he was flirting with you which wasn’t uncommon recently.

Then, a lightbulb appears above your head. You take a step closer to him, glancing at the others who seems to be in their own mind before standing on the tips of your toes towards his ear, lips brushing against his lobe and breath fanning over his skin. “You know… all these customs aren’t just on my gear. I could show you more tonight?”

He inhales sharply and closes his eyes, easily imagining your nude skin etched in designs that you were clearly willing to show him. He looks to his brothers, none of them seeing the exchange between the two of you. “I really like that idea,” then, he leans down to you, his eyes dark with lust as he whispers, “perhaps I could show you some of mine as well, darling?”

Wrecker

Back on Coruscant, Wrecker's confidence was on full display in one of the training rooms, especially when around the Regs. His raw strength turned heads effortlessly. While his captivating personality was what made you fall for him, his powerful physique and his ability to lift ships as if they were mere trinkets only deepened your admiration.

After your own training session, you turned to find Wrecker in the midst of deadlifting an impressive 450kg, surrounded by a group of about 30 Clones. The way his muscles strained against his clothing ignited a sense of heat within you; you couldn't help but be captivated.

As he settled down, taking a swig from his canteen, you approached, your own workout completed, and boldly took a seat in his lap. The unexpected move caught him off guard, but a grin spread across his face as he recognized you. "Hey gorgeous girl, what ya up to?"

A mischievous smirk played on your lips. "Oh, I couldn't resist admiring your workout and felt the urge to come give you a kiss," you replied, leaning in to plant a lingering kiss on his lips. Your satisfaction grew as he emitted a soft moan.

"Babe, the regs are watching," he eventually pointed out, prompting you to open your eyes and glance toward the clones who were suddenly trying to appear nonchalant after having undoubtedly been ogling the scene of your public display of affection.

You shrugged, a devil-may-care attitude in your demeanor, your smirk growing wider. Leaning closer to him, you brushed your fingers along his cheek, your lips tantalisingly close to his ear as you whispered, “I dare you to carry me to the storage unit and fuck me. Hard.”

He laughs but as he sees the lust in your eyes, he knew that you were not just teasing him. “Really?”

“Really.”

Let’s just say the regs were swift to file out the gym when things got a little heated.

Tech

Sitting across the bar from Tech in the, surprisingly, lively atmosphere of Cid's parlour, you couldn't help stealing glances in his direction. His head was buried in his datapad, a not so unusual sight. Amusement welled up within you as you observed his growing agitation, patrons brushing against him, drinks spilling over the bartop and likely onto his clothes and boots. Feeling a desire to relieve his discomfort, you decided to take action.

With a subtle smirk, you retrieved your own datapad and sent him a message that read, 'why don't you come over here?' Watching closely, you noticed him squint as he read the message before his gaze scanned the room until it landed on you. A smile emits immediately on his lips, and without delay, he abandoned his stool and made his way toward you.

"Your message came just in time. I was starting to fear that another drink might find its way onto me and I may not have the patience to hold back," he admitted with a sigh, a quick glance revealing various splatters and stains on his clothes.

Raising your drink to your lips, a surge of boldness surged through you. "How about I help you get out of those clothes?" you proposed, your voice carrying a hint of suggestion.

He briefly shifted his gaze to his device, processing your words before his attention returned to you, focusing on your eyes that shined over the brim of your cup. He seemed to think before speaking, "I must admit, I'm not entirely sure if I'm interpreting this situation correctly. Are you genuinely offering help, or..." His words trailed off as a small group of people moved behind you both, resuming once they had passed. "Or are you implying something else?"

His innocence was endearing and as you take a swig of your drink, eliciting more liquid courage, you turn to him fully and lean forward until your lips brushed against his ear. You feel him shudder under your gentle touch. “I help you out of your clothes, you help me out of mine. And then you can do whatever you want to me.”

He inhaled a sharp breath. “Anything meaning…?”

You giggle, not being able to help yourself as you gently nibble on his earlobe, eliciting a gasp from him and his hand to instantly land on your thigh. “Yes. Anything.”

In a split second, Tech stands and you feared you may have took things too far but then he takes a hold of your hand before leading you out of the parlour and straight to the Marauder…

Crosshair

As you feel an object hitting the back of your head, you pivot to find a toothpick landing at your feet. Your expression tightens into a frown as you scan the surroundings, only to spot Crosshair lounging against the doorway, smoothly placing another toothpick between his teeth. Cockily.

"Real comedian," you quip with a sarcastic tone. However, as you begin to turn away, another toothpick whizzes towards you. A sigh escapes your lips as a small skirmish unfolds, involving toothpick projectiles flying between you and Crosshair.

The confines of the Marauder had kept all of you cooped up for too long, and the signs of boredom were evident. Little did you anticipate that it would be Crosshair who initiated a kind of entertainment, seemingly innocent yet playful, involving the tossing of items back and forth—much to Echo's apparent dismay who told you both to clean up after yourselves.

Later, as you find yourself in the cockpit, steering through hyperspace towards your next destination, Crosshair's foot brushes against yours from the chair opposite you. An involuntary response makes you kick back, and a realisation washes over you: this isn't just playful banter anymore, but a glimmer of flirtation. With a hint of a smile, you and Crosshair have unknowingly transitioned into a game of footsie. But boredom takes over again.

Sitting next to him, the two of you listening in on the bickering between Hunter, Wrecker, Echo, and Tech, you lightly tap your head against the wall repeatedly. His attention eventually turns to you, a hint of a smile gracing his lips. "Bored, pretty girl?" he remarks, causing a delightful flutter in your chest, even though you try to downplay it.

"Yeah, I'm bored," you reply with a sigh, your fingers idly strumming against your thighs.

He starts a sentence but then pauses, seemingly reconsidering his words. You give his shoulder a gentle nudge, encouraging him to continue after a brief silence. He inhales, then turns to face you, his closeness apparent, seemingly unbothered by his brothers' presence who don’t seem to notice you both. "So, how do you think we could change that?" he inquires, his tone laced with flirtation and desire.

Exhaling deeply, feeling your cheeks warm up, you decide to meet his tone. Leaning in toward his ear, your warm breath caresses his skin as you reply, “How about we go to the refresher and you fuck my ‘pretty’ face?”

Your bold and straight to the point answer makes his eyes briefly widen and his fists clench. You watched your eyes intensely, seeing if there was any sign of reluctance but there wasn’t.

He keeps his closeness and speaks, voice raspy and filthy. “Meet me in there in two minutes. You may as well speak to the others before you come in because you won’t be able to move your jaw after I’m done with you.”

Masterlist

If you feel like buying me a coffee 🤗

Tags: @andyoufollowyourheart @photogirl894 @fantasyproductions @littlefeatherr @kaitou2417 @captxin-rex x @jesseeka @ashotofspotchka a @oohyesplease @theroguesully @mustluvecho @ladykatakuri @jambolska-grozdova @arctrooper69 @padawancat97 @rain-on-kamino @either-madness-or-brilliance @staycalmandhugaclone @ko-neko-san @echos-girlfriend @fiveshelmet @dangraccoon @plushymiku-blog @chrissywakingup @kixs-husband @pb-jellybeans @nunanuggets @sleepycreativewriter @erellenora @zippingstars87 @erellenora @tech-aficionado @grizabellasolo @therealnekomari @tech-depression-inventory @brynhildrmimi @greaser-wolf @tinyreadersmur @seriowan @kaminocasey @marvel-starwars-nerd @ladytano420 @ladyzirkonia @imalovernotahater @whore4rex @imperialclaw801 @temple-elder @mysticalgalaxysalad

#the bad batch x reader #the bad batch x you #nahoney22 writes #tbb x you #tech bad batch #wrecker bad batch #Hunter bad batch #echo bad batch #crosshair bad batch #the bad batch

[bluewasthecolor]

A Roller Coaster Kind of Rush

Word Count: 1,897

Warnings: None!

A/N: Based off this request! Also, I had meant to get this out about three weeks ago, but life got in the way (as it tends to do). I'm going to try and write some ficlets soon as well. I can't say this is my favorite thing I've written, but as always, let me know if you like it! Also, let me know if you want a part two!

Now

She says everything I need to hear, and it's like

I couldn't ask for anything better

You hadn’t meant to keep your new relationship a secret. It’s just that you and Alexia only talk at training now and you’d really rather not break the news in front of the whole team. You’re waiting for the right time, or, at least, that’s what you tell yourself. As it turns out, the right time is a random Wednesday in April. You’re walking hand in hand when, out of the corner of your eye, you spot a familiar blonde head on the other side of the street. It’s enough to make you turn your head fully, just in time to make eye contact with the Spaniard. She looks away almost immediately but you know she’s seen you, know she’s clocked the woman holding your hand. Alexia’s eyes, the ones you know so well, the ones that are normally so full of passion, have gone cold and distant. She continues to walk down the street, not looking back or acknowledging you in the slightest. Your girlfriend either hasn’t noticed the woman on the other side of the street or simply decides not to comment on it because she squeezes your hand and points to the café the two of you are passing.

“I’m hungry, babe. Can we stop in here?” You smile and nod, but are unable to give her your full attention. Alexia has lodged herself at the forefront of your mind and refuses to leave.

Alexia thinks she’s moved on until she sees you from afar, hand in hand with someone new.  She’s gone on a few dates, dates that went well, but nothing’s stuck yet. Still, though, it has felt good to ‘get back on the horse’ as Mapi loves to say. It hits her like a freight train when she sees you (with her): she misses you. You’re walking on the other side of the street with some redhead who, in Alexia’s opinion, looks like the opposite of your type. She’s short, maybe 5’2”, and she’s definitely not a football player. She’s laughing at something you’ve said, resting her head on your shoulder, and presses a kiss to your collarbone. It’s so different from how you and Alexia were, so much softer, so much simpler. Just as Alexia is thinking this, as the jealousy is bubbling up inside her, you look across the street and make eye contact. You freeze, pausing for a moment, but then continue on as if you never even saw her. This is what hurts Alexia most. The fact that after everything you’ve been through, after every burning hour you spent together, you could be so cold.

When she sees you at training the next day, Alexia marches straight up to you. Her eyes are narrowed, her lips pursed, and you can tell what’s coming next. She has the same expression on her face as when she catches Mapi trying to prank her or when the training schedule gets changed without notice. If there’s one thing Alexia hates, it's surprises.

“You’ve got a new girl then?” The midfielder is standing in front of you now, hands on her hips. 

“Yep. Didn’t know I had to issue a press release though.” “Is it…good? Do you like her?” You sense a bit of jealousy in Alexia’s voice and smirk before answering. 

“It’s amazing. She’s perfect. She just…she gets me. We never fight, she’s always there when I need her. I hope you can find someone like that someday.”

Alexia is caught off guard by your comment but scrambles not to let it show through. She just nods and wanders off, leaving you more confused than ever. You hadn’t spoken that much about anything other than football in months–not since the break up. You’re both able to be civil on the pitch because it’s your job and you’re professionals (that and the fact that her injury has kept her out of training) but when it comes to anything other than work your relationship is nonexistent. It’s a stark contrast from the way your love felt and this is what both of you leave the conversation thinking about. 

Then

But I miss screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain

And it's 2 a.m. and I'm cursing your name

“I can’t believe you. I can’t believe that this is the hill you’re choosing to die on.” Alexia snapped bitterly, turning on her heel and stalking away from you. She headed straight for the door, slamming it on her way out but you were hot on her heels. 

“You can’t believe me?!” You asked incredulously, following her out into the street. It was pitch black and raining torrentially but neither of you cared or even seemed to notice. “I can’t believe you! We don’t get many days off and all I’m asking for is one fucking day that you aren’t consumed by your injury and that you can just be here with me. Is that too much to ask for?” 

“You know it’s not that simple, Y/N. You know that this injury is all I can think about and you know how much it hurts that I can’t play right now. I’m sorry that my being injured has been an inconvenience for you but there’s not a whole lot I can do about that. This is how it is.” 

“Don’t do that, Ale. Don’t pretend like I don’t understand exactly what you’re going through. I’ve been through this before, you know that. If you would just trust me I could—”

“You could what, Y/N? When you tore your ACL you were just starting out and it wasn’t just before a major international tournament, so I’m sorry if I don’t want to take your advice. I think our situations are just a little bit different.” 

“Wow. Alright. Suit yourself then.” Your voice had gone small and you turned around slowly to walk back inside. Alexia sighed and caught your wrist with her hand. “No, Ale. I don’t want your apology right now.”

Luckily for you, she hadn’t been planning on apologizing. Instead, she pulled you into her and pressed her lips to yours. The tears on both of your cheeks mixed with the rain that was still falling and made the kiss uncomfortably wet, but the passion was undeniable. You clutched at one another, conveying all the emotions you could in the kiss. Eventually, you had to break away. Alexia looked at you, a question in her eyes. She wanted to know if the two of you were okay. She knew the kiss didn’t solve anything, knew it didn’t erase the hurtful words you’d exchanged, but she also knew it meant that not all was lost. You didn’t give her a verbal response, but you slipped your hand into hers and led her inside, giving Alexia all the confirmation she needed.

Little did you know, this was the beginning of the end.

Now

She can't see the smile I'm faking

And my heart's not breaking

'Cause I'm not feeling anything at all

Your run-in with Alexia at training makes you question everything. For the next couple of weeks you feel like you’re going through the motions but not really experiencing your life. You go on dates with your new girlfriend, meet her parents and her friends, but none of it feels real. She doesn’t know you like Alexia did, can’t tell that your passiveness is out of character for you. Eventually, though, you begin to pull away. She notices that. She even tries to confront you about it once or twice, is so earnest that you begin to feel bad, but you can’t bring yourself to change your ways. This is when she breaks up with you. The fact that it doesn’t hurt–not even a little bit–tells you everything you need to know. You miss Alexia. You miss her more than you knew was possible, more than you’ve ever missed anyone or anything. 

A few days after the break up, you’re sitting at a café with Ingrid when you make a decision. She’s been rambling on about Mapi and just how special she is, and something about a trip back to Norway, when you realize that you don’t want to go another minute without Alexia being yours. “Do you know–” You start, interrupting Ingrid mid-sentence. She looks at you surprised. For the past month or so your weekly coffee dates have been mostly Ingrid talking, so she welcomes the interruption. “Has Mapi mentioned anything about Alexia lately? About anything she’s said?” “Oh, Y/N.” Ingrid’s eyes are soft, a bit apologetic. “Mapi and I promised one another when you two broke up that we wouldn’t get involved. We love you both dearly and we don’t want to interfere.” “Really, Ingrid? That’s all you’re gonna say?” “I’m sorry. But if you want to know anything you should talk to Alexia, not me.” The Norwegian taps your hand. You nod to yourself, and go back to your reminiscing as Ingrid launches back into her story about her girlfriend.

The Next Day

And I never knew I could feel that much

And that's the way I loved you

You pause outside Alexia’s door, willing yourself to knock. There are a number of factors that could go wrong here, you know this very well, but you’re willing to take that risk. Even if Alexia doesn’t want you back, even if she’s moved on, you need to know. Before you can muster up the courage, however, the door swings open. Alexia is clearly on her way out and she looks at you in surprise as she steps out the door.

“Y/N. What are you doing here?” “Are you–where are you going?” “I was just about to run some errands. I can wait if you need me to though. Is something wrong?” “No, no, nothing’s wrong but, um, if you could wait that would be good. I need to talk to you.” The Spaniard gestures wordlessly towards her flat and you follow her inside. It hasn’t changed since the last time you were there, since the night of the breakup. You wander to the couch and make yourself comfortable, while Alexia perches herself on the chair across from her. Her arms are folded and she looks at you expectantly.

“You said you needed to talk to me, so go ahead.” 

“Right, right, sorry. So I don’t know if Mapi told you this but I got dumped.” At this, Alexia’s eyebrows fly up in surprise. Apparently Mapi was also taking the whole not getting involved thing seriously. “And here’s the thing, Ale. The breakup didn’t hurt at all. Like, not even a little bit. If anything it was a relief. That’s not how it’s supposed to feel, I know that because when we broke up…when we broke up I fell apart. I can’t do this without you, I don’t know how. You're everything to me. I've never felt anything close to what I felt–what I feel for you. And I know last time we fucked up and I know things need to be different if we try this again, but I need to tell you this now. I’m still in love with you. I want to try again, if you’ll have me.”

Alexia doesn’t say anything for a moment, but when you look up she’s crying.

#woso imagine #woso x reader #alexia putellas #alexia putellas x reader #alexia putellas imagine #requests!!

[woodlaflababab]

So, I got heavily inspired by this art by shange0211/Yishu and wanted to write a quick fic

This is just a snippet of Aang teaching Zuko how to dance.

-<>-

“Okay!” Aang started, brushing his hands over his robe to dispel nonexistent dust, “now that you know some simple solo moves, I want to teach you how to dance with other people.”

Zuko, who had progressively been getting over his reservations about this whole thing, went right back to looking at Aang like he was crazy. “What?”

“You know, dancing with a partner. Like the dragon dance, but uh,” Aang rubbed at the back of his head, “less firebending lessons.”

Zuko blinked at him a few times before putting his hands up and turning around. “No, I'm done.”

Before Zuko could take more than three steps, Aang was by his side, clinging to an arm. “Zuko!” Aang practically whined. “Come on, you've come this far, and dancing with other people is even more fun than dancing solo.” He tugged on Zuko's arm. “At least give it a shot.”

Zuko, becoming very familiar with this particular weakness of his, sighed and let Aang drag him to the middle of the room again.

“Okay, before I teach you any Fire Nation dances, I actually think we should start with a basic Earth Kingdom one.”

Zuko wrinkled his nose in distaste. “Why?”

“Fire Nation dances, while not as complicated as Water Tribe or air dances,” as Aang spoke, he backed away from Zuko and slid one hand behind his back while holding the other up in front of him, “move around, a lot.” With that, Aang started some dance routine, quickly moving across the floor. 

As he went, working his way around the room in a large circle, Zuko felt like he could kind of see where Aang was completing half of a dance, watching him move as though there was some phantom he danced with that only he could see. Zuko decided not to examine his immediate dislike for this theoretical phantom too closely.

After a bit, Aang seemed to close up his dance, coming to stand before Zuko once again and holding his hands neatly behind his back before dropping them. “Earth kingdom dances, however, tend to be simpler and easier to learn. At least,” he shrugged, “the common ones. There are a lot of special dances they do in specific cities or areas but I don't know a whole lot of those.”

Zuko had to refrain from snorting. Imagine that, Aang not knowing something. The way he went on sometimes, one would think he'd seen everything there was to see.

Aang paused for a second to think before lighting up again. “Oh! I know which one we can start with. It's actually a nobleman's dance, the rich people do it at parties and stuff, and it's really simple, give me your hand.” He stuck his own hand out expectantly.

Zuko hesitated just to nonverbally make the point that he thought this was stupid, but placed his hand inside Aang's nonetheless. He was then immediately thrown off his game as Aang pulled him forward so his hand could go on Aang's waist while Aang's went to his shoulder. Before Zuko could really catch up, Aang already had his other hand and was holding it out to their sides.

“This is the basic stance. Sometimes you break apart for other moves, but for the most part, you get to just stay like this and it's all in the foot work.” 

Aang grinned up at Zuko like that was supposed to reassure him, but Zuko was still trying to process the current situation.

“There's two parts to this, the lead and the follow. You should start by learning to lead though, that's what you're doing.” He nodded his head toward the side where he had his hand on Zuko's shoulder and Zuko's hand on his waist like that was supposed to mean anything to Zuko. “Now, just follow my steps. It's a basic three moves, okay?”

Aang looked up at him expectantly, and Zuko figured it sounded simple enough. Then something else occurred to him. “Wait, if I'm ‘leading’ why are you,” he hesitated as he tried to figure out how to word it, “leading?” was the word he uselessly landed on.

Thankfully Aang understood what he meant and let out a light easy laugh that coaxed some of the gathering tension from Zuko's shoulders. “It's just the name for things. Dancing isn't something you think about, you just do it. It doesn't matter what words you use, just follow me.”

“Whatever you say.” Zuko muttered.

Aang nodded before slowly taking a step back. It, a bit embarrassingly, took Zuko a second to figure out how he was supposed to follow Aang, but when he stepped forward to match Aang's movement, the proud grin he got as a reward seemed so much more poignant that close up.

Aang moved his other leg back in a bit of a sweep and Zuko, expecting it this time, followed along easily enough, ended by them bringing their feet back together. “Great!” Aang praised. “Now it's the same thing but backward, so now you step back.”

As he obeyed and repeated the moves backward, he found it was strangely gratifying as Aang moved with him step for step.

“Now we just do that box again.” With that, Aang once again stepped back.

Zuko followed after him as they moved smoothly through the cycle. It felt almost as easy as breathing, moving and matching Aang step for step and despite how simple the repetitive moves were, he was captivated. The flow of it, the simple trust that each step would be matched, how close they could be together and yet never run into each other. 

He found himself staring at Aang as Aang watched their hands for some reason Zuko was sure he'd never really understand. The simple focus in Aang, the ease with which he did everything, as though there really was nothing to think about, just movements shared, it was all fascinating to Zuko.

So much so that it took Zuko a moment to realize he was probably staring too hard when Aang turned back to him and gave him a weird look. Then it was Zuko's turn to look at their hands, but even that caught his eye in such an unexpected way. Getting to see the blue arrow cradled in his own hand as they glided over the floor, never wavering, like it was meant to rest there, caused a confusing flux of emotion he couldn't quite name.

Not that he'd ever been particularly good at that to begin with, but he felt even more lost than usual, like there was something he was missing.

“Zuko?”

Zuko's focus snapped back to Aang who was looking at him with an amused confusion. “You look like you're thinking, and I'm pretty sure I just said no thinking.” He teased and thankfully didn't ask about the thinking. Zuko had no idea how he'd answer.

So instead he latched onto the familiar easiness of teasing. “Sorry, not all of us can magically turn off our brains whenever we want.”

Aang's wide amused grin was almost difficult to witness when he was standing that close. “It's really not that hard. Maybe I should teach you how to meditate next.”

Zuko scowled. “I know how to meditate.”

“But you're really bad at it.” Aang pointed out without mercy. “Besides, maybe if I'm there it'll be easier to not overthink things.”

Zuko, for some strange reason, highly doubted that.

#i headcanon that the dance he did with katara was actually a water tribe dance #not a fire nation one #i have a long list of headcanons specifically about atla dancing #and yes #i have them specifically because I love the idea of Aang teaching Zuko to dance #zukaang #atla #fic #woodlaflababab

[freesia-writes]

Kitchen Nostalgia with Tech

[Part 3 of Holiday Fluff with The Bad Batch] Dividers by @ve-ti-ver on this post here Word Count: 1.2k, LOL... Tech is always gonna get me goin. ;) SFW, just some warm and fuzzy stuff that will be a composite master post of Bad Batch sweetness. GN Reader.

“This is ridiculous,” Tech commented, unable to tear his eyes from the TV despite the array of baking materials laid out across the counter. The loud laugh track played over raucous clapping as Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra introduced the next number with playful banter, crew workers pushing fake storefronts and houses across a large sound stage behind them. “It’s entirely fabricated, without any attempt to conceal the fact…”

“They weren’t trying to make it seem real,” you giggled, wanting to squeeze him as he groaned at the sight of an incredibly gaudy Christmas tree, dripping with tinsel, being rolled out next. “It’s just… the aesthetic. It’s a variety show. Television was still new, so people were thrilled to see anything really.”

“This is reasonable, however in our current day and age–”

“It’s just nostalgic. Warm and fuzzy. I can’t explain it,” you interrupted, pulling his arm to invite him to finish rolling out the cookie dough. “It seemed like a simpler time… Pure and sweet somehow…”

“Mafia-affiliated crooners singing Euro-centric holiday songs does not strike me as either pure nor sweet,” Tech commented, 

Ladies and Gentlemen! Frank Sinatra Junior and Dean Martin Junior!

“The same names?” Tech nearly choked. “First their daughters are introduced as singers, now their sons too? I question the authenticity of the organic talent of the offspring versus the undeniable favoritism from production companies due to their parents’ status.”

“Tech,” you breathed, exasperated at his constant commentary, although you couldn’t really blame 

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like you to meet my daughter Deana,” the taller one said. You couldn’t help but start to giggle, hearing Tech’s words in your head before they even left his mouth, and as he spluttered like a fish out of water, the show continued, “And I’d like you to meet my daughter, Tina.”

“The rhyming is just patronizing at this point, and have these performers been evaluated for narcissistic personality disorder? His name is Dean, his son is Dean Junior, and his daughter is Deana?” Tech looked as though he was about to have a conniption, and you couldn’t take anymore. Leaning over him, you grabbed the remote from the counter and switched the screen off, laughing uncontrollably. 

“Okay, okay, it’s all ridiculous,” you confessed, a little indignant at his inability to move past all of the shortcomings. “I just like the old stuff sometimes, alright?” 

“I apologize if my thoughts are preventing you from enjoying your show,” Tech said, although you could tell he was just saying it because he knew he was supposed to. You stuffed down a little grumble and instead turned your thoughts to the task at hand.

“Let’s just finish the cookies,” you said, pulling out your favorite shapes of cookie cutters while he continued to flatten the dough across the counter. You snagged a small piece from the edge, popping it in your mouth and relishing the sweetness with a single, closed-eyed sigh. His face softened a bit, pushing aside the protests about salmonella risks with a reminder of their statistical occurrence. 

The rest of the baking went by with quiet conversation and little brushes against one another, and once the cookies were in the oven, the luscious smell filling the kitchen, it was time for the traditional “waiting drink” – an “adult egg nog”. As you mixed together two mugs and took a long drink from yours, you heard big band music, lifting your head to see Tech turning the television back on, an unmistakable and endearing cringe on his face. 

“You don’t have to–” you began, but he waved his hand, turning toward you with a surprising gentleness on his face. He came back over, accepting your mug and lifting his eyebrows after a cursory sip. 

“I believe I was overly hasty in my judgment,” he said, shocking you deeply at his uncharacteristic admission. Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra were cracking themselves up now, dancing in over-the-top silliness as they sang a medley of their most popular songs in perfect, playful harmony. You took another sip of your holiday drink, warmed to the core and pleasantly fuzzy. 

“It’s alright,” you answered, “It’s not for everyone.”

“But it is for you, and I care about you. Therefore, in a way, it is something I can appreciate as a facet of your personality and interests,” Tech said, taking a step closer. You loved the way he could arrive at wonderfully sweet and romantic conclusions through the process of cold, hard reason. You couldn’t have possibly anticipated his next words, however, as Frank Sinatra began to sing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”. Not usually one for physical touch, he lifted a hand to the outside of your arm, stroking it lightly with a look of resolution on his face as though he’d decided to try something. “Would you like to dance?”

“Dance?!” you blurted out, setting your mug down much harder than you intended. Tech looked concerned.

“It seemed fitting with the–” he explained.

“No, no… I’d love to!” you interrupted, heart warming at the flicker of relief on his typically unfazed face. “I just… didn’t think that was something you’d enjoy.”

“I concur,” he answered matter-of-factly, and you laughed again, a tingle washing over you as he slowly nestled one strong, steady arm beneath your own and rested his hand between your shoulder blades, scooping you into a very rigid and structurally perfect ballroom frame. He took your other hand in his, pulling you into the first step with an impressive blend of strength and grace, and began to step slowly in time to the music. 

From now on, our troubles will be miles away… Here we are, as in olden days… Happy golden days of yore…

Buoyed by the warmth of the egg nog and brandy, intoxicated by Tech’s closeness and quiet intimacy, you closed your eyes in utter bliss, guided by his firm leading as you swayed slowly around the kitchen. You didn’t know what had possessed him to try something so uncharacteristic, but you weren’t about to start asking questions. 

Through the years, we all will be together…If the fates allow…Hang a shining star upon the highest bough…

You didn’t think it could get any better, but as the song went on, his arm suddenly lowered, the rigid frame that kept you at bay replaced instead with a more snug embrace as he pulled you in against his chest, still clasping your hand in his own but resting it against his shoulder. You nuzzled in, savoring every touch and movement as he leaned his cheek against the top of your head. Holding him as closely as possible, your arm tucked lovingly around his waist, you inhaled deeply, his scent mingling with the baking cookies, and you thought you might burst with joy. 

“Thank you,” you whispered, and he pressed a kiss to your hair, deeply gratified by the overwhelming success of his endeavor. He was trying something new, channeling his focus to the senses. The feeling of your body fitted along his own, the slight chill in your fingertips, your steady breathing... He was surprised at the warmth it conjured.

Perhaps he would investigate further.

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#the bad batch #tbb #star wars fanfiction #bad batch #the bad batch fanfiction #star wars the bad batch #the bad batch fluff #the bad batch fic #the bad batch tech #tbb tech #tech fluff #tech x reader #tbb tech x reader #x reader #reader insert #x reader fluff #holiday fluff #christmas fluff #fluff #star wars fluff #tbb tech fluff #tech romance #tech #christmas tech #christmas fic #dancing fluff #romantic fluff

[tonaken]

A closer look_ ADRIAN “ALUCARD” ȚEPEȘ

FIA’S NOTE_ I’m back at it again writing longer pieces hehe. This was supposed to be a drabble/thirst, something with MAX 350-500 words, but I got carried away oops. I gave my baby boy what he deserved

CONTENT_ Thinking of Alucard being a bit…pervy <3

WARNINGS_ ALUCARD x fem!reader, no pronouns used but female anatomy mentioned, AU where Alucard is a famous lawyer (random ik) and your neighbour, voyeur!Alucard, dub-con (you are surprised, but you don’t mind him looking at you), male masturbation, Alucard is a sexually repressed man who is a perv for you <3

W_C_ 1.6k words

Alucard is a man of principle, one that acts with honor and grace. Delicate and poised, his aura is calm, refreshing. Even under the pressure of his job and status, he doesn’t crumble, he maintains his integrity.

The only battles he fights are in the simmering tension of the courtroom, the sword and shield of justice working for him. He struggles with a higher purpose in mind, far above mere victory, nothing short of world improvement.

He’s ambitious, there’s no denying it, and you can tell, especially after you, his neighbour, pointed it out while congratulating him for a recent important win under his belt. It was just a simple interaction and a casual meeting: he had parked in front of his building, you were going back to yours, and you recognized him from the news.

It was hard not to: long, golden locks that flow silkily and amber eyes that hold a warm determination. A soft polite smile when interviewed next to his innocent client, a perfect complexion that appeared like alabaster in the flesh. He was dashing.

He was a bit standoffish when he thanked you, fearing you were some kind of journalist, ready to squeeze him some more after the long day he had. But then you introduced yourself - y/n, he remembers - and he calmed down.

You never talked again after that, too immersed in your respective lives, heads low and buried in work, dragging feet on pavement in the late hours of the night. He always kept an eye on you though, a wandering glance that strayed from his lamp-illuminated cluttered desk. Whether willingly or otherwise he’s not sure.

He knows your routines, the time you get out in the morning, and the three-hour window you should be home by. He knows your weekend rituals and some of your hobbies. He does notice the way the plants on your balcony lose a bit of foliage to then flourish as if nothing happened. Pruning does wonders, it seems.

You’re a decent person, and as high his values and dreams are, he finds your simpler life fascinating. It attracts him, just like you do.

But, a man who knows he doesn’t have time for romance shouldn’t be doing this, he thinks. You seem to be only missing that special person in your life, he barely has time to clean his own house. Your lifestyles are incompatible, he counters; you have fixed work hours, he pulls all-nighters after a day in court. You wouldn’t like him, he argues; you have hanging plants all over your apartment, his body runs exclusively on caffeine.

He gives up even before starting, and as rare as that is for him, he renounces the fight. No, not one against some pesky criminal, or some astute lawyer. It happens to be one against himself, and that makes everything that much more difficult.

Legal quibbles are easy to dodge and unravel, but over the meanders of the heart no laws apply, and oddly enough, it’s within himself that he feels the most lost.

He doesn’t recognize himself when he finds himself fighting his own desires, desires that have become low, unlawful, unrighteous. His eyes drift away from the view before him, but his instincts pull him back again. How shameful of him.

Your curtains are missing, courtesy of spring and the cleaning it brings along with it. Your shadow dances across the windowpane, a stark light showing off a perfect outline. The glass has a frosty finish, and he remembers that it’s your bathroom he’s looking into. A perverted curiosity twists in his belly at all the possible outcomes, but when faced with the view of you undressing, his conscience tries to make an effort to peek through his desire-induced haze.

Your arms raise as you take off your top, but Alucard stays put, tuned in with the show. When you slightly bend over to take off what seem like bottoms, he sees in his mind’s eye the rough fabric that slips off your wonderfully soft skin. He imagines the tender, itchy dents the stitching left behind, and for a second, he would love to kiss them better.

Same goes for the bra he now so clearly sees hanging from your fingers. Your hands trace the patches of skin the straps dug in, and as you focus on massaging the discomfort away, he takes in the silhouette of your chest, nipples sticking out. He licks his lips.

You kneel down again and you're holding another piece of fabric, one with an indistinct shape. But then he notices how thin it looks and he understands. It’s your panties. He wonders how they look on you, what colour they are, and how they contrast with your skin tone. The way the elastic would sink into your flesh, if there is any skin that overflows from the rims, if there’s any fat that spills around your thighs, some he could bite into. His tongue runs over his teeth.

And then, his thoughts wander into much more dangerous territory. He recalls how you’ve just come back from work, twilight running away from the night. He ponders, is there a damp spot in your panties? One he can touch, lick, taste?

He envisions you walking around and adjusting them, maybe for riding too high and disturbing you. He feels hot at the mere thought of the gusset getting trapped in between your pussy lips, rubbing on your clit as you cross your legs during the day.

He’d lap at it to cure the irritation, if you’d let him. Or he could just stretch the material back into its rightful place, and just lick his fingers later. And oh, how good you'd smell. He can only rely on his mind’s imagination to come up with something. A heady, musky scent, but unique to you. He inhales deeply.

Unfortunately for him, you step into the bathtub, too low for him to see through the window. He exhales a breath he didn’t know he was holding and a cold sweat takes over him.

Maybe it’s guilt, maybe it’s disgust, maybe it’s disappointment. It’s twisted, dirty in soul and spirit. It shows in the clench of his tight fist, his palm rough and hot against his skin. It displays in the squeeze of his eyes, blown pupils losing focus. It unfolds in the splatter of his seed, webs of it breaking in between his lithe fingers.

The light of your bathroom is long gone by the time he gets into himself. A few stray droplets fall on the carpet beneath him as his hand dangles from his lap, stained, tarnished from his sin. He stares at his paperwork, half page annotated, whilst the rest sits bare, orderly, stern characters swimming in a sea of white. His mind wanders a bit and as his eyes travel along with it, they reach the other side of the street, once again.

Your bedroom windows sit open, but this time, his stomach doesn’t flip in anticipation, nor do his loins burn in need. You walk in lazily, your hands fumbling with light, airy fabric. You’re wearing a robe, one that wraps around your waist and falls softly on your chest. He admires you while you set your new curtains, arms raising and stretching with a gentle grace he’s learnt to appreciate in the last few months.

He tries to remain unmoved, even when your breast spills from its loose confinement, but then there he goes again. His breath hitches and his pulse quickens.

You’re slow in fixing your wardrobe malfunction, seemingly oblivious to how exposed you are. Your hand reaches for the fold hanging off your shoulder, to then put it back in place, fingers taking their time to take in the softness. Your relaxation seems almost intentional, showy, purposeful. It’s a doubt that settles in his mind, one’s which answer he doesn’t have to toil for, though.

He jumps in his chair when your eyes meet his, and, for a split second, he forgets his desk lamp is on. He launches himself in search of the switch, sheets upon sheets of paper now littering the floor, twirling in the air in an array of scribbled white. He quickly gives up, and in a desperate attempt, pulls the lamp’s plug from its socket. It’s a bit comical how he scurries once he’s caught, and you can’t avoid finding him, at the very least, endearing.

He faces you with his back, hand high on his forehead, deep in thinking. He envisions his tainted reputation and his ruined career; “Tepes the molester”, the newspapers speak clear. His mind races as he hides in the darkness, shame, mortification and anger plaguing his thoughts.

A masochistic pull tells him to witness your disappointment and disillusionment, a self destructive need to see the damage he’s done. Sheepish eyes met yours to then widen in confusion.

There is no scowl on your face, nor a cross expression, or any trace of disdain. It’s with a small smile that he's greeted with and he’s left speechless. With a small nod you have him jumping to his feet, running onto your shared street. He has to thank the heavens that there’s nobody around and that he can reach your floor, safe and sound.

You’re quick to reach the door, cracking it open for him to enter. Your robe stays the same, but the look in your eyes is different. It consumes him, yet gives him life. His chest burns and his head spins: lust overtook him again, and there’s a moment where he regrets it all. But then, you speak, and he doesn’t care, not anymore.

“You came for a closer look, didn’t you?”

Reblogs and comments are appreciated!

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© 2022 tonaken | do not repost, modify, copy or claim

#adrian tepes #alucard x reader #castlevania netflix #castlevania x reader #castlevania smut #alucard tepes #adrian tepes x reader #Adrian tepes smut #alucard x you #alucard castlevania x reader #castlevania imagine #castlevania x you

[hiso03]

Why does Hal have such a bad reputation?

Ok, I know that this is out of my usual uploads which are mostly headcanons and interpretations, but there is something that has been going around in my head the last few days and that I had tried to solve on my own, but I have not been able to and today surfing the internet I came across a comment that brought me back to a question.

Why does Hal have such a bad reputation?

Why is he seen as such a shitty character?

Well I'll give a little context so you understand my little crisis. A few days ago I was browsing tik tok and was looking for some Halbarry on the platform because I really love finding anything from the two of them. I was a couple of videos and cute and stuff like that, out of curiosity I started to get into the comments of these videos to see what was there, and as expected there was a little bit of everything; but there was a long constant one that caught my attention quite a bit.

Several users commented things like: "Barry deserves something or someone better". And other people were trying to argue about Hal being a good guy and being good enough to be next to Barry and the like, which led to a sort of debate as to why Hal wasn't someone good or worthy of Barry or even some of his other canon partners.

It really struck me that in several videos I watched of these two, many people commented that Hal wasn't good enough for Barry or was kind of a bad person. I thought about it a little bit, but I didn't take it so personally either, because well, it's tiktok, a lot of times I feel like the information there feels simpler or favors some side more, which I can understand. But curiosity led me to review some internet forums, pages, blogs, etc; and I realized that there really is a bad opinion of the character, and now my doubt arose.

Why?

I think I have some conclusions, but I would like to know other points of view about this answer, so if anyone has an idea or wants to give an opinion it is more than welcome and it would really help me too much to understand why so much hate or dislike towards the character.

(I don't mean to say that Hal hasn't been a jerk sometimes and that he doesn't have his flaws like other characters, but sometimes I don't understand the disproportionate hatred he has).

#hal jordan #barry allen #green lantern #halbarry #dc comics #Why don't they like Hal? #I am not trying to convince anyone #is a real and genuine doubt #I really like Hal and I don't understand why he is so hated on the internet.

[deoidesign]

Hello I stumbled across your profile and I just say I love your art style! I've gotta ask, how'd your develop it? And do you have any advice for someone who can't decide what they want their art to look like?

Thank you so much!

To be entirely honest, I don't feel like I truly "developed" my style. I feel a lot more like I finally let myself draw it! But I am incredibly deliberate with my work, and I do have clear tendencies and preferences... So I'll do my best to explain how I got to where I am now as an artist.

It's important to remember that "style" is something of a nebulous concept. It changes with you as you grow as a person, and most artists can work in and emulate many art styles! Art really is a form of communication with yourself, and your "style" is a reflection of the tendencies and preferences you have. My art does not look how it looked 5 years ago, and my art will look different 5 years from now too. I've changed, and my art reflects that!

(2012, 2018, 2023; two pieces I remember being incredibly proud of and considered my best work up til that point, and then my most recent piece)

What you need to do, as everyone will tell you, is study the fundamentals (anatomy, perspective, form and structure, lighting and shadow, color, and composition) so you have the proper tools to make the most informed decisions possible about your art, and so you can deliberately break or follow rules as you please for your desired effect. I know it sounds silly to learn rules if you're not gonna be following them anyways, but they help you be much more consistent and intentional! More knowledge is NEVER a bad thing to have!

However, I know it's a bit demoralizing to just be told to study fundamentals. Everyone knows you're supposed to do that, but it takes YEARS to learn, and people want their art to feel how they want it to now (which is very very very normal to want!)

So on that front, I have 2 follow up suggestions that I personally find helpful (of course, everyone is different, so it's not like this is the only way to learn! But, if it resonates with you, it might mean it will work for you too.)

1: Separate study from application

I believe this is beneficial for a few reasons:

If the goal of every piece is learning, it can become frustrating, overwhelming, and boring

It's harder to self critique when there are multiple variables to investigate. I like to study one fundamental at a time

Study (usually) works best with a large quantity of output, whereas application of knowledge (finished pieces) is often more satisfying and effective when you get to take your time

Deliberate practical application of what you've learned in a finished piece helps cement the learning in your mind, and also lets you get satisfying finished pieces with noticeable improvement after a good study session!

I've found that keeping these things separate helps me improve faster and more deliberately, and it takes a lot of the pressure off of both aspects! I'm not worried about my studies looking beautiful, they're just to learn! And I don't feel pressured to critique my finished pieces, cause they're just for fun and to make something pretty. I personally find this helps me have a much healthier relationship with my art.

When studying, copy! Copy things as best as you can, all the time. It gives you something to compare to for self critique (and of course, if you're copying someone else's work and you share the study, ALWAYS give credit, share the original, and say it was for study.) In application, don't copy: reference. Make it yours!

2: Let yourself do the things that feel "easy" or like "cheating"

This one is simpler: nothing in art is easy.

If something feels easy to you, most of the time it's not because it's actually any easier... It's because it's part of your natural tendencies and preferences! This took me forever to realize, but as long as you're actually doing some study, then you're learning. You don't need to learn All The Time. When you're doing the "application" portion, you should let yourself do whatever is actually the most fun and feels easiest! This is where your style will start to come through, and where you get to learn about yourself. Take the pressure off, and have fun!!!

The only cheating in art is theft. If you're not stealing, then it's allowed!

My whole life (and yes, still!) I'd get regular criticism about both my style and my subject matter. You will too. You'll see a thousand different styles, and a hundred different things to admire in each. Your heart will ache that you don't draw like others do.

But art is a form of communication with yourself. It's like your voice, or your accent; just something that's a part of you! It can be fun to mimic others', but when you sit to have a conversation you speak naturally. (I know some people want to and do change their voice, but this is a metaphor and metaphors aren't perfect)

Don't stress so much about what you want your art to look like, especially if you're not sure. There's a lot of value to be had in constant experimentation, I think it'd be rather boring to only draw one style the rest of my life. What I draw is what I want to see, right now, for who I am now! It's a part of me and comes naturally, if I let it!

I hope this helps!

#justbrowsing1124 #asks #art tips #drawing advice #drawing tips #art advice #long post here sorry #long post #I could have gone on so so so so so so much more but this took me like 2 hours to write #and I've gotta go to bed! haha #so if you feel like something wasn't properly explained you can send a follow up ask and I'd be happy to elaborate #I love answering questions like this #sorry if it sounds a bit condescending I wrote the post for like... what would have helped me to hear when I was just starting out #so I wrote it basically for how I think would help I guess a kid #sorry about that. the content is still all what I think though #also I realize that i didn't really talk about like... my journey... at all here lol. #I guess if you wanna know my personal journey I'd love to get into it! #but i focused a lot more on the second part #cause yknow #that's kinda what my journey was internally anyways #but yknow no fun progress of my art with notes about what I was doing and why #but fuck that sounds fun if someone did wanna know about that LOL #I am VERY deliberate with my art I could legit analyze every piece #pretentious? maybe. do I care? not at all. #why make it if I dont have a reason?

[eiirisworkshop]

I want to post something, but I don't have anything finished, so you get a sneak peak at the sequel to my Star Trek fic, Chiaroscuro. Enjoy!

~

Admiral Fitzgerald sighed and ran a hand over his face. “If I promise you you'll get another ship, will you take the damn promotion?”

Kirk crossed his arms. “If I can get that promise in writing from all the top brass, sure.”

“I'll see if I can swing that.” The Admiral pinched the bridge of his nose. “You're impossible, Kirk, I hope you know that. And you get away with more than you should, because, unfortunately, you really are that good.” He folded his hands on the desk. “What was it the two of you wanted to see me about, anyway?”

Kirk looked sidelong at Spock.

“We have a question, or rather a requirement, regarding our respective next assignments, for logistical reasons,” Spock said coolly.

“More demands,” Fitzgerald snorted. “What's this requirement of yours?”

“Nothing huge,” Kirk assured him. “It's just, wherever we're posted, if we're going to be there for four years or longer, we need to either be assigned together, or within a day or two's travel from one another.”

“Together would be preferable,” Spock added. “Simpler.”

“Uhhuh.” Fitzgerald looked unimpressed. “Why?”

“Well, um….” Kirk looked to Spock again.

Spock was staring fixedly at a book on the shelf behind the Admiral. “Certain circumstances arose over the course of our recent mission that resulted in the establishment of a particular kind of psyonic link between myself and the Captain. The phenomenon is extraordinarily common among Vulcans, but rare with members of other species. It was unavoidable, but it does now mean that the two of us must have at least periodic access to one another.”

“Or else what?”

“It would be fatal,” Spock said simply.

Fitzgerald nodded slowly and leaned on one elbow towards Kirk. “Does this, by any chance, have something to do with that detour you took the Enterprise to Vulcan a few years ago?”

“Short answer: yes,” Kirk said carefully.

“Well,” Fitzgerald leaned back in his chair, “I happen know that Commander Spock's next assignment is a four year teaching stint here at the Academy, and Captain, there's some fighting over you but it's looking like you'll be spending those four years behind a desk in one department or another, and unless Wyoming or Luna make particularly convincing cases for needing you before the ceremony Friday, it's looking like you'll be either here or in L.A. I figure that's easy enough travel.”

“Yes sir,” Kirk said along with Spock, biting back the urge to point out that the Admiral could have just told them they would be posted near each other anyway.

“If that's everything, I do believe you've already been given your accommodation assignments,” Fitzgerald said. “It's late, you've had a long day, and I know it can be rough to readjust to living by an actual day/night cycle again.”

“One more thing about that, actually,” Kirk said quickly.

“Captain,” Spock warned lowly.

“I was hoping one or both of us could be reassigned,” Kirk continued, ignoring the man who was no longer his First Officer. “So we're not on opposite ends of campus, at least. If there's not a good way to do that, I know the flats over at the north end of Academy housing are never full, that would work too.”

“Jim,” Spock warned again.

The Admiral looked back and forth between the two of them and tilted his head curiously. “Is this whole psyonic link business some kind of sex thing?”

“I do not believe that question is appropriate, Admiral,” Spock bit with a stern, cold evenness that almost came across as polite.

“Maybe not, but I think it's warranted. Kirk, you know those flats are family housing. They're for married couples and parents with kids. So unless the two of you are planning on getting hitched—”

“By Vulcan standards I'm pretty sure we already are!” Kirk exclaimed.

“Jim.”

“What? We are, aren't we?”

“Yes,” Spock confirmed, “but I do not appreciate your disclosing that without consulting me.”

“Well, hell,” Fitzgerald sighed. “Kirk, half the ladies in Starfleet are going to be heartbroken.”

“I don't think that comment was appropriate, either, Admiral,” Kirk said.

Fitzgerald shrugged. “You're the one who just told your boss you shacked up with your XO without clearing it with him first. Look, do you have some kind of documentation? A Vulcan marriage certificate, if there is such a thing?”

“There is, but we do not,” Spock said.

“Then there's nothing I can do for you. I couldn't get anything changed for you tonight, regardless. Go get some rest. You're both dismissed.”

Spock nodded once, turned on his heel, and strode out. Kirk followed with a tight “Yes, sir,” to the Admiral.

Despite the hour, there were still plenty of people coming and going in the halls—Starfleet never really slept—but Kirk and Spock did manage to get an elevator to themselves. Kirk punched the button for the lobby and the doors closed.

“You should have conferred with me,” Spock said to his reflection in the polished metal door.

“You're right, I should have, I'm sorry.” Kirk deflated against the elevator wall. He was exhausted. And starving.

“How and when to inform Starfleet of our relationship was not your call to make unilaterally.”

“They were going to find out sooner or later, and we were already halfway to telling Fitzgerald, but you're right, and I'm sorry.” He took a breath and shoved away from the wall as they neared their floor. “I'll grovel, I'll walk you through my thought process back there, whatever you want from me, but can we do it over food? I haven't eaten anything since the cheese and fruit and crackers at that third press conference.”

Spock's gaze slid over to him, carefully—ominously—blank. After a breath he dipped his head in acquiescence. The door dinged open and they stepped out.

“I recommend both,” Spock said as they walked through the lobby.

#eiiri made this #fanfic #star trek tos #star trek #sneak peek #spirk #k/s #james t kirk #s'chn t'gai spock

[ohbx]

Partnered Up

A JJ x Reader Slow Burn Fic

Author's notes:

This is pretty much PG (with a touch of PG-13, maybe some swearing, mentions of abuse as in the context of the show). No warnings, except it being over 4k words & unedited. I wrote in first person so I just made it a reader insert but I might give the character a name cause she definitely seems like a character. (Y/F/N= Your Friend's name) Also this is a treasure hunt free alternate universe.

Partnered Up

I had obviously noticed JJ and his friends at school. They almost always traveled in a pack. Loud, boisterous and looking like they just rolled up from the beach. Although that was more common than not because I went to public high school on the Outerbanks. Out of his crew, he and John B were especially notorious for leaving a trail of broken hearts throughout the island. Whether it be kooks, pogues, tourons or anyone in between any girl I met knew who they were, and had a crush on one of them at one point or another. While the girls reasoning differed, (Kooks were usually looking for a one night tryst with a bad boy to piss their ex boyfriend off or gain the attention of some kook guy.) the point remained, they were the sleepover talk of girls across the island - every girl secretly thought they would be the one to tie down one of the island boys who were a little rough around the edges. 

But now, John B was dating Sarah. A fact that only raised the desperation for JJ throughout the school halls. I could practically hear girls heads turning from their lockers as he made his way down the hall, clutching tattered papers, no backpack in sight. And sure, I understood the appeal. The piercing blue eyes, the charming, shameless flirtation. And of course I had read enough romance novels to understand the “i could fix him” urge for the girls who saw him show up year after year to school with no parents whoever came to end of the year barbecues, busted lips and black eyes monthly, and stoned more often than not. I understood it, I really did. But I didn’t have time to worry about boys. Especially not boys who would never give me a second look. I mean, I had been going to school with him for almost a decade and I doubted he even knew my name. It wasn’t self pity, but rather self awareness, to know a boy like him would never give me the time of day. And for that I never spent that much time worried about what the blonde boy thought of me- since I was pretty sure he didn’t think of me at all. It wasn’t self pity, just self awareness. And for that my self preservation kicked in anytime other girls at the lunch table gossiped about the blonde boy’s smile or dimples - I would have never admitted that I had given him a second glance. 

As all high school teachers do, my biology teacher had a penchant for making her class as socially draining as possible. Which meant today when we were being assigned our physiology project for the final 6 weeks of the semester - she announced that she would be assigning us partners instead of letting us pick our own. I glanced longingly at my best friend sitting next to me and slowly rolled my eyes. It would be a lot simpler and more fun if the two of us could just work together. The teacher read out all the pairs and announced my name next to the infamous bad boy himself. JJ Maybank. As the teacher wrapped up her pairings, she projected the topics that each group was assigned to on the board. I slowly and nervously bent over to grab my text book from under my desk. But when I looked up, JJ was already leaning on the desk next to me. 

“Hey Y/N - looks like we’re partners,” he said with a sheepish smile. 

“Yea!” I replied maybe a bit too enthusiastically.

I offered him my phone number as class was ending for the day and then had to rush to swim practice after school. I told him to just text me before class tomorrow so you could get a jump on planning your project. 

After swim practice, as I toweled off at your locker, I picked up my phone to several text notifications from JJ

JJ: Hey y/n it’s JJ Maybank

JJ: Sorry you’re stuck with me as a partner

JJ: Just text me whenever you’re done with swim and we can start a plan 

I  felt a pit in my stomach. JJ wasn’t known for being the smartest or most studious kid in school but I immediately felt bad that he was apologizing before the project even began. Secondly I was shocked he even knew I  was on the swim team. 

I quickly crafted a response telling him I was happy to work with him. Trying to keep it casual. Admittedly, that had never been my strong suit when it came to cute boys.

I then texted him that I would do some googling and take some notes about the  assigned topic tonight, and we both could chat about it tomorrow. 

He replied shockingly fast that he would do the same. 

After swim practice the next morning I found myself taking more care in the shower to not smell like chlorine all day and taking a little bit longer on my makeup and hair before I returned to school for first period. I wouldn’t let myself admit that it was because I would be in close proximity to JJ later that day- but deep down that definitely played a factor. 

When I  got to class that day after saying hi to my best friend, I sat farther towards the back where JJ was already slumped in his chair. He perked up a bit when I sat down next to him. The teacher had given us a free period to discuss and plan our projects , so after a quick hello I took out my notes, and so did JJ. 

I offered him my notes to look over while he handed me his but then he cleared his throat promptly. 

“I uhhh…” he began sheepishly and then paused.

“I can’t read cursive” he spit out all at once and then half laughed. 

I tried to keep my face neutral, and not laugh, as he was clearly looking nervous, but I was confused. 

“I uh, I have dyslexia” he quietly offered by way of explanation as he rubbed the back of his neck- not making eye contact.

“Oh!” I tried not to sound surprised or show it on my face. “Here pass me back my notes and we can just discuss what we both learned and then what direction we want to research and create our presentation on.” 

JJ just nodded and said “thanks” as he handed we traded notes back. 

We spent the next hour or so nerding out and actually having great, very insightful conversation about our disease we were researching, and I scribbled quick messy notes with promises to type them up when we were done so we could both see them on Google docs. 

At the end of class everyone rushed out the door at the bell, and I turned quickly with a quick see ya! to JJ on the way out the door. 

“Hey Y/n wait” JJ said quickly as he called after me. I spun around to face him. 

“Uhh thanks for being so nice and helping me out today. I know you probably wish you had a partner that wasn’t such an idiot"

"You don't need to thank me, you're my partner, we both deserve to be able to work in a way that works for us. Otherwise I wouldn't really be a partner and I'd be a bitch" I said, and I meant it.

JJ had offered some of the best insight you had heard in this class all year. I was confident that he was going to be a good partner for the project despite my initial internal reservations due to his reputation. 

JJ just shrugged back at me sheepishly. 

"Well, I mean it, thanks. You'd be surprised how few people feel that way. Usually teachers or my group hear that and just decide they'll fail me or do all the work themselves."

"Seriously, you don't have to thank me, I am happy you're my partner, I think things will go well with this project. Sorry - I really gotta go to swim practice. Coach will kill me if I'm late" 

He just nodded and offered a brief see ya as I turned and headed down the hall. 

It went on this way for a few weeks. We worked tirelessly during class, had a few brief moments of small talk, and then I would rush off to practice. I was secretly thinking about him during the evenings, but I didn't usually hear from him until class the next day. 

So imagine my surprise when I powered my phone back on after practice to another two texts from JJ. 

JJ: Hey - hope your practice went well! 

JJ: I got sidetracked after class

JJ: but I wanted to no if you wanted to come to a party tonite that my friends r having at the boneyard. I know your not a big partier but since its not yet  summer it will be pretty low key, you can bring Y/F/N or whoever if you have a bf or something 

I found myself smiling slightly to myself with my head in my locker. Y/F/N laughed and asked who was making me blush. I coyly avoided the question... for about 14 seconds until I asked her if she wanted to go to the boneyard tonight. 

"Oh so JJ" she joked. "C'mon you cannot be falling for him that is such a bad idea" 

"I am NOT falling for him" I rolled my eyes. "We are just becoming friends. Plus I feel like we could use some Friday socialization that doesn't involve chlorine or studying in my living room"

 It was late May, and Y/F/N sat on my bed as I deliberated about what I wanted to wear to the party. After a lot of back and forth, I landed on birkenstocks, jean shorts and a tank top. Boring, I know, but it felt the most me, and the most appropriate for the weather. 

We decided to walk, as it was only half a mile away, and then we could have a few beers and then walk home after. It's not like my mom was home anyway.

I had texted JJ for the details on when to arrive, but I hadn't expected us to be the first ones there beyond his direct friend group. They quickly ushered us into their circle and we joined in the drinking games they were playing around the bonfire. 

Y/F/N was flirting with Pope, and while I didn't think it would go anywhere tonight, I could definitely see them being a cute and nerdy match.

As the party picked up, I was definitely feeling a bit of a buzz from a handful of hard seltzers and beers.

Y/F/N was occupied chatting with Pope and Kiara about who knows what, something scientific that I was too drunk for, so I made my way across the party in search of someone else to chat with.

JJ intercepted me, steadying himself on my arm after we almost collided.

"Wanna walk down the beach?"

I wasn't a big partier, but I definitely knew the insinuation there, and this many drinks in, I couldn't think that far in advance, I think I was just flattered by the invitation.

We broke away from the big group of high schoolers and reached a quieter part of the beach.

"So you're a fast swimmer right?"

"Compared to girls in this county, sure"

"Dont try to be humble, Kiara told me how you're ranked like #3 in all of North Carolina or something"

"#2" I mumbled sheepishly, never good at bragging about myself.

"Damn, so like good?"

"Let's hope so, I am gonna need it to pay for my college"

JJ nodded, thinking something over. A mischevious glint flickered across his eyes.

"Ok let's see it then. Race you out to that swim buoy!?" He challenged, stripping off his shirt and kicking his shoes off already.

As he dove into the calm surf, I peeled off my jean shorts and kicked off your birks. Diving in in just my tank top and thong. I took off swimming messily, but still passed JJ fairly quickly.

I didn't beat him by much, just enough to be standing looking bored when his head popped up at the buoy.

"Damn" he laughed "You got me."

His eyes flitted down to my thick, but definitely more revealing when wet tank top. He took a step closer to me.

For the first time in our friendship, it was silent. He kept a strong eye contact with me as he reached his hands out placing them on my waist, now covered in goosebumps. He pulled himself closer to me or me closer to him, I wasn't even sure my brain was forming coherent thoughts over the sound of my heart fluttering.

And then he kissed me. He kissed me in the way that the world around me went silent and all I could think about was him, and us. I didn't think about the fact I was practically naked about 10 feet from my first party, nor the fact that we were in the ocean at night. Nothing. Just him and us. Not that I had a lot to compare it to, but I knew it was a good kiss.

We continued to make out hands roaming up and down each others upper bodies, until our teeth were chattering and we made our way out of the water.

JJ shook his hair off like a dog before sliding his tee shirt over his head. I shook off suddenly self conscius about my lack of clothes, and slid into my jean shorts. Luckily it was a nice night, so we started to dry off pretty quickly.

Jj snaked his hand through my belt loop and pulled me closer to him. Catching my jaw with his other hand and pulling me into kiss me. I got the vague sense that he had done this before, but not even in a way that I could be jealous, because of how special this moment was making me feel. Well until it wasn't.

"Look Y/n. I like you a lot."

My heart skipped a beat.

"I uh, like you too"

"Do you wanna come back home, er uh, to John B's with me?"

And the other shoe drops. He doesn't actually like me, he just wants me to come hook up with him in his friends guest bedroom. I knew if I did that I would end up feeling temporarily validated, only to be more heartbroken when he inevitably didn't like me at all.

"I cant, I uh, have to walk home with Y/F/N" I said quickly as I started walking back to the party. Tears pricking the corners of my eyes. He followed behind, murmuring his agreement or understanding or something.

I left soon the party after, giving JJ a hasty goodbye hug, before shedding drunk tears on the way home about how he didn't really like me.

The next day I woke up with a pounding headache. I was asleep on the floor of my room and Y/F/N was asleep in my bed. I climbed into it, jostling her awake but I was in need of girl talk. 

"So now what?" she asked 

" I just like, don't know what to do. He clearly just saw me as another girl, when I had thought we were getting along so well so I guess I will just wait and see if he says anything." 

"You could just ask him" 

"No way" 

My mom was still gone the rest of the weekend, so it was spent going to the beach, and hanging out at home with Y/F/N. I was dreading going back to school on Monday, and I hadn't received a single text from JJ, and knew I had blown my chance. 

I arrived in my last period on Monday and slinked my way to the back of the classroom next to JJ. He looked like he hadn't slept since I saw him on Friday. When I sat down he grunted a hello. We pretended that there was nothing we cared about more than our current science project. But we still got almost nothing done. We couldn't agree on which way to go forward, what to dive deeper on, what should be the main focus of our presentation, everything was an argument. 

I left the class for practice without saying another thing, barely even a goodbye. I had never swum so fast or hard in my life. Blowing off steam, I buried my head and swam faster splits than I usually swam at meets. I kicked my legs until I couldn't feel the pain in my chest any longer. 

I got out of the pool and grabbed my phone out of my locker. I felt my stomach bubble in anticipation of a text but I didn't actually expect one. 

The next four days JJ didn't show up to school. Our project was still due in just over a week, so I worked a lot on it in class by myself. 

On Friday I finally built up the courage to shoot him a text in the morning when I see he's not there. A few hours went by without a reply. I figure I knew Kie well enough by now, so I asked her if he was ok.

She gave a concerned looking shrug. 

"We've heard from him, but he does this sometimes, just kinda drops off the face of the earth and no one can get him to hang out or go to school. Are you worried about your project?" 

"He told you about that?" 

"Yea he won't shut up about it" Kie laughed " It was all we had heard about for like the past 4 weeks" 

TYou exchanged numbers with Kie, and she told me to just text her if I was worried about him or hadnt heard from him by the end of the day and she would try and do a wellness check. 

As soon as you sat down for 6th to begin though, JJ had texted me back. 

JJ: Sorry I'm not in class. I couldn't. 

No further explanation? I wondered to myself

me: Are you ok? 

The typing bubbles repeatedly showed up and then disappeared at least 3 times before he responded, completely ignoring your question. 

JJ: Can we meet up to talk about the project today? I feel bad I haven't pulled my weight. 

Sure I quickly replied.

Me: My place or yours? 

he shot back: Cant do mine. 

me: that's fine

Then I just texted him my address and the time I would be home from swim practice.  

I grabbed a pizza on my way home from swimming. I figured if this was going to be the most awkward friday of my life at least we could have a snack while studying. 

I got home, quickly showered, and tried to make myself look semi-presentable in a flannel and jeans, even though I knew that ship had pretty much sailed.

I put the pizza in the oven to stay warm and grabbed a few cokes out of the garage to put on the kitchen island. 

By the time I was done, I heard a soft knock on the door. 

I opened it to JJ, looking like he had been hit by a car. Probably not today, his clothes were clean, and his hair looks more purposeful than usual, but he had deep, purple bruises across his face, and a dark scab drifting from his eye down his cheek. I let out a slight involuntary gasp and stuttered a little bit. 

"what happened? are you ok?" 

"Can we please not talk about it" he looked as if he might burst into tears or run off at any moment. 

I nodded, not trusting my words. 

I just held out my arms and offered him a hug which he wordlessly accepted, melting into my embrace. He wasn't much taller than me, but he slumped down, head on my shoulder he let out a heavy sigh before letting go. 

"Thanks, I guess I needed that" he said his words attempting to convey lightness but getting stuck in the back of his throat.

"I figured" I shrugged, helplessly. Lost at what to do as I led him into the kitchen where my books were spread on the island. 

I saw him taking stock of my kitchen which had small pads on all of the corners as well as small braille labels on the cupboards. 

"Is this like babyproofing?" he asked. 

"No" I laughed "My little brother is blind, its for safety but also theoretically so he can find stuff on his own" 

"I didn't know you had a little brother" JJ looked shocked as he tried to process that information. 

"He lives off the island about 11.5 months a year. He's almost 8 and my favorite person in the whole world. He goes to a boarding school for blind kids." 

JJ just nodded. 

"That's why my mom's not here. She tries to spend a few weeks a quarter there, whenever she's not running our family business on the island. She feels really guilty about sending him away, even though the only place she can make money is on the island and the only place he can learn is off. So she has a tiny shoe box apartment out in Raleigh where his school is." 

"And your dad stays here with you?" Jj asked innocently. 

I just shrugged "He's not really in the picture these days"

"I'm sorry," JJ offered. 

"It's alright. We get by ok. I've had to grow up pretty fast these past few years since my brother started school, but it's worth it." 

"Wait. This is why you were so good at helping me and dictating everything you wrote isn't it. JJ asked. 

"I don't even think I thought about it like that, I just have spent a lot of time with my brother who also learns differently so it came easily to me" I answered genuinely. 

"That was the nicest way anyone has ever called me illiterate" JJ joked, perking back up to his normal self. 

I just rolled my eyes at that comment. We worked for a few hours only breaking for pizza and soda until about 10 pm. Until we decided we were caught up enough to call it a night. JJ promised to work more over the rest of the weekend to make up his share, even though I told him that wasn't necessary. 

Normally on Friday nights, I watched a movie after homework, studying and pizza with Y/F/N, but she left right after swim practice to go to her grandparents on the mainland. So I just offered JJ to stay. He accepted, quickly shooting a text to his friends to let them know his whereabouts. 

"Kie made it seem like they did a pretty good job of checking up on you" I noted. 

"They do, they mean well" he said. Now that I had seen him, I better understood why. They probably knew something that he wasn't ready to let me in on yet, even though I was desperately curious and felt unceasingly bad for him. 

As we watched the movie he slid closer to me on the couch. I was  keenly aware of his body’s proximity to mine , and not as much so to the plot of the movie. 

I was aware that i was a bit nervous and jumpy, after all I had never had a boy at my house alone before. But he put his hand on my thigh, and as much as I had wanted to not be nervous I moved away from him and put my back to the arm rest of the couch, hugging my knees into my chest.

“Oh fuck I’m sorry i knew i misread the vibe I’m an idiot” JJ quickly spat out 

“No it’s not…” I struggled to find my words which was rare for me 

“I just , I like you, but I felt like I gave you the wrong idea last weekend. I don’t want to have a one night stand, and then I felt like you didn’t speak to me all week or say anything after. I get that that’s what you’re looking for but it’s just not me” I word vomited

“I’m so stupid I’m sorry i should have known you’re too smart to think of me as more than a friend. Can we just pretend I didn’t do that”

“I do like you like that I just. I know you just do hook ups and I don’t know I know i sound like a prude but I don’t think i can do that.”

“Wait. You do like me like that?”

“Obviously. We have so much fun together.” I replied honestly. 

“I spent all of last weekend and all week convincing myself that I fucked up by kissing you. And convincing myself that you like every one else just wanted to brag about having some drunken escapade with JJ and never see him again.”

“And I thought you were mad I didn’t sleep with you because you didn’t text me. “  I admitted.  

“I’m sorry.” He looked heart broken. “It honestly wasn’t that. No one has ever wanted me in anyway other than for my body. So i assumed if you didn’t want to come home with me you were probably offended I even made a move at all and certainly couldn't like me back.” 

My heart hurt hearing his genuinely vulnerable comment. 

“I obviously always thought you looked good, but only have developed a crush on you now that I know you for you” you admitted. “But i assumed since you have your pick of gorgeous girls that you wouldn’t want me.”  My voice quivered. I had never once admitted to someone how insecure I was about how I looked. It always seemed like there were more important things than appearances, quite literally speaking in my life. But that didn’t make being a high school girl any easier. 

JJ scooted back closer to me and pulled me in a big hug. 

“I think you’re absolutely beautiful. I always have. Why else do you think the teacher put everyone else together with their normal partners except us and John B and Y/F/N. Because she noticed me staring at you up front all of class.”

“Is that true?”

“I’m pretty sure. Everyone else I know in that class has their normal partner.”

I let out a little laugh. 

“I must not have noticed because I was too preoccupied by your insights about our project   And your, well everything.”

I pulled away from JJ’s hug. 

“Do girls really not talk to you except to get you to hook up with them?”

He shrugged. 

“Usually people only think I’m interesting or want to talk to me at a party. That and my dad spent all weekend and Monday night reminding me how worthless and stupid he thinks i am.”

"Did he do this?"

He just nodded. His chin quivered. 

“You are actually one of the smartest people I’ve ever been paired with at our school. You are funny and interesting and genuinely a good friend to me day in and day out. “

At this point, my limbs were so entangled that i was sitting in his lap on the couch, your legs basically straddling him. His strong arms were snaked around my back, while mine rested on his shoulders. I leaned back so I could make eye contact with him. 

“Maybe we’re an ever better more messed up pair than I thought” he joked. 

This time it was my turn to make the first move. I leaned in slowly. Meeting his lips gently as his face was all bruised. He sighed happily. I deepened the kiss. His hands slowly unwrapped from my back and made their way onto my backside, slowly rocking me in his lap. 

I hated that I pulled away. 

“I thought you didn’t want me to use you for your body.”

“On second thought, please do” he joked, voice husky. 

“I wouldn’t want you to think I don’t like you for your brain.” I  said as I climbed off of his lap. 

Without even having to explain again though, he understood I was only ready to move so fast. By the time we had rehashed all of our misunderstandings and made out through the second half of the movie, I was exhausted, as I had been up since morning practice. Something told me, and it wasn’t just the bags under his eyes, that JJ also hadn’t been sleeping very well. 

“Wanna stay the night uh. I mean. Like just actually sleep here?” I asked. 

He nodded happily before getting up to follow me upstairs. I quickly changed into pajamas in the bathroom and emerged to JJ, shirtless and littered in even more bruises, a pair of my baggy swim sweatpants sitting low on his waist. 

I climbed into my bed at the same time as he did, and he pulled me in close to him.  My head rested on his shoulder. 

“Can I ask you something ?”

He asked softly.

“Would you wanna be my girlfriend?”

I nodded softly.

“I would love to”

He kissed the top of my head

-Two weeks later-

I entered John B's house, through the screen door on the porch, and came into the kitchen to meet the already gathered pogues. I was joining them in celebrating the last day of school.

Pope immediately asked me when Y/F/N was arriving, so I reassured him that she would be there for the real full party. I walked over to JJ who wrapped his hands around me from behind and placed his head on my shoulder contently.

"Want a beer?" John be asked.

I nodded, and as he pushed open the fridge, I saw magneted to it our final graded report from our Biology final, with an A+ scribbled in red ink on the top corner.

"Aww our project" you involunatarily remarked. JJ stepped over trying to remove it from the fridge out of embarrassment, but John B intercepted him with both arms pulling the other boy close in a half wrestle, half hug.

"We're very proud of him, always" John B smiled ruffling a hand through JJ's hair and laughing while JJ groaned.

You were thankful for this found family when yours was away, but even more so for the love they provided JJ each and every day.

#jj maybank #jj maybank imagine #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank angst #jj maybank fluff #dating jj maybank #jj maybank x oc #ohbx writing #jj maybank fic #jj maybank fanfiction #obx fanfiction #jj fic #jj fluff #jj angst #outer banks #outerbanks imagine #outer banks imagine #outer banks fic #outerbanks fic #john b

[armoricaroyalty]

some dialogue tips

Okay, I expanded a bit on my thoughts from earlier and wrote...like 800 words? Here’s a collection of largely-unrelated thoughts about writing dialogue. I’m not an expert wordsmith by any means, but I’ve been doing simblr stories for about 2.5 years and writing creatively for much longer, so I hope some of this is helpful!

Read your dialogue out loud. In my opinion, the most important quality in dialogue is flow. Does the back-and-forth feel natural? Is the conversation stilted, or does it feel like something people might actually say? When you’re reading words on paper, it can be difficult to identify the rough patches. Your eyes are a different instrument than your ears and your brain processes speech and written text in different ways. If you’re stuck, read your dialogue out loud. The clunky phrases will jump out and be much easier to correct than if you left it on the page.

Different people talk differently. Dialogue is a tremendous vehicle for characterization, and I feel like I don’t see people discuss that point very often! What a character chooses to say and how they say it can tell us a lot about who a character is, where they come from, and what they value. You don’t need to strain yourself to come up with a completely unique voice for every single character, but if you remove dialogue tags and can’t tell whether a given line belongs to the 19-year-old stoner or their 65-year-old grandparent, you’ve missed an opportunity to imbue your characters with a lot of flavor and personality. Consider your characters’ personalities and ask yourself whether they’d use slang and profanity, whether they ramble or get straight to the point, whether they use complicated professional jargon or simpler and more accessible language, whether they hold back in conversation or say everything that pops into their head…

Most utterances are pretty short. In real life, it’s very rude to monologue or dominate a conversation without giving the other person a chance to reply. If one “line” of dialogue is more than one or two sentences long, the character will probably come across as if they’re delivering a monologue, not having a conversation. Break up longer lines of dialogue and include a bit of back-and-forth to keep the conversation flowing.

If a character is talking for a long time, spread the dialogue up across multiple screenshots. This is a personal preference thing, but if I’ve got a character who is talking for an extended period of time, I like to break the dialogue up across multiple screenshots. A screenshot with 4 lines of text is visually cluttered and makes it seem like the character is saying the whole thing in one breath. The same four lines of text distributed across 2-3 screenshots is visually neater and has a greater sense of pacing and rhythm.

Real speech is unpolished… There’s a joke among journalists that you can make anyone seem stupid by quoting them verbatim. In ordinary conversation, people often pause for thought, use filler words, and talk over one another. In my writing, I make heavy use of ellipses and em-dashes to try to give a sense of how the character is speaking, in addition to what they’re saying (perhaps I overuse them…) If you’re trying to represent ordinary conversations between ordinary people, including those kinds of verbal errors can bring a lot of life to your dialogue.

…but don’t strive for realism (strive for verisimilitude instead). Actual, real-life conversations are almost unlistenable (said the guy currently listening to a podcast). In real life, people often repeat themselves, interrupt one another, say the same things over and over, go on tangents, and say the same things multiple times in a redundant fashion. If you include too many of those kinds of markers in your written dialogue, your story can quickly become unreadable, even if it reflects a “realistic” manner of speech. In general, your dialogue doesn’t need to be realistic, it needs to feel real. (Verisimilitude basically means a sense of truthfulness [as opposed to realism] in fiction.)

People rarely address each other by name... This might be a unique-to-me issue, but when I reread my old writing, something that jumps out to me is how often I have characters use one another’s names in casual conversation. In real life, people very rarely use titles and names except in greetings and introductions. In general, if you have characters heavily using names mid-conversation, you should go back and eliminate a few.

...with some exceptions! In formal and workplace settings, using someone’s name or title is a verbal marker of respect. Characters in settings with formal hierarchies (militarizes, royal families) will be likelier to use titles and honorifics. Using a person’s name can also be a way to emphasize your point or express sincerity. You might also need to incorporate an occasional name or title in a heavy-handed way in order to deliver exposition or remind readers of the relationship between two characters. For example, I’ve got an upcoming scene where I have a character address their cousin as ‘Cousin’ in a very stilted way. I hate that it’s clunky, but I decided it was necessary because I thought readers would need the reminder that those two characters are related.

Conversations should build to something. In a back-and-forth, each new line of dialogue should move the conversation forward. Imagine this back-and-forth:    A: How are you doing?    B: Terrible! my car broke down.    A: It broke down? But you just took it to the shop!    B: I know, the mechanic lied to me about the repairs! The last line in that conversation has nothing to do with the first line in that conversation. If B had responded to A’s greeting by saying “the mechanic lied to me!” they’d seem slightly unhinged -- it’s an abrupt change of topic, but just two additional lines give it context and make it flow. When you’re writing these kinds of exchanges, you want to make sure that one character’s line makes sense as a response. If A had said “It’s good to see you!” instead of “How are you doing?” B’s reply would feel jarring, and you’d need to find a different way for them to introduce the subject of the broken-down car into the conversation.

I love to write guides. I should do that more, lmao.

#armorica tips

[drunkewok]

Tiger Inside Chapter One

Stray Kids Mafia (Ongoing)

Masterlist

Likes, reblogs and feedback always greatly appreciated

WC: 2.6k

Pairing: Lee Know x reader

Genre: Series, Enemies to lovers, non-idol AU, Mafia AU

Warnings: 18+, Minors DNI, drinking, swearing, violence, weapons

Please do not copy or repost my work

Remember when we were kids and the teacher would instruct us to draw whatever we wanted to be when we grew up? Boy, were all of mine wrong.

Instead of being the doctor,

the firefighter,

the astronaut,

the vet,

I’m traversing a crowded upscale lounge, delivering drinks to plastered patrons clad in designer suits as they discuss their next business merger. Something I wouldn’t highly suggest digesting beside a bottle of drained soju, but who am I to decide that.

Rather, my drawings should have been that of a scandalously dressed cocktail waitress, the click of heels echoing off of stained mahogany, eyes shallow in the shadows from nights of little sleep, and the forced smile in lieu of a groan at another poor excuse of a drunken pickup line.

My body sat propped up by my elbows on the cold surface of the bar, my eyes pointed, but unfocused, on the bottles of liquor adorning the shelf. The music and voices behind me failed to make it past my ears, a simple white noise drowned out by the mindless black screen that sat behind my eyes.

“Earth to Siu, any lights on in there?” I blinked sharply as my attention is pulled to the gentleman standing across the bar with snapping fingers, a tray littered with expertly assembled drinks placed in front of me.

“Shit, thank you” Quickly snapped back to my reality, I slipped the tray forward onto my hand and raised it to my shoulder, before finally looking up to the bartender’s eyes watching me, carefully painted with worry. “I’m good Seongho, just zoned out for a second.” I flashed him my best attempt of a smile before retreating back into the sea of patrons.

Blossom sat tucked away in a back alley, door unlisted, in the dark corners of the Gangnam Business District. Those in attendance only knowing of the location by word of mouth. It made for a simpler atmosphere in terms of customer service. Our patrons were always regulars, creating a social environment, and causing loose lips of the inebriated businessmen made far too comfortable sharing details of their personal lives beyond the front door of the establishment.

This made it that much more surprising when a glance to the door let me observe two unfamiliar faces strolling in and making their way to a booth in the back corner, much younger than the usual, older crowd. My gaze follows the two across the room, once distinctly taller than the other and both in expertly tailored suits. The tray perched upon my hand is now tucked under my arm after placement of the last drink, making my way towards the newcomers now settled in their booth. In my approach I can notice they haven’t spoken to each other at all since sitting, instead they sat silently observing those around them. A tension sat in the air as I neared their table, an uneasy feeling quickly settling into my stomach as I leaned against the end of their booth, giving my best go at a genuine smile in an attempt to slice the thick air as I spoke.

“Been a while since we’ve seen some new faces here, welcome to Blossom.” My eyes flicked between the two, trying to give them a grin, the feeling in my stomach starting to make permanent residence “My name is Siu, what can I get you two to drink tonight?” The moment Siu left my lips the two exchanged a glance before the taller of the two grabs my attention with a clearing of the throat. His hair is a crisp blonde, perfectly swept back with what looked to be enough hairspray to commit arson at just the thought of a spark. His eyes avoid mine, still glued to the peer in front of him. The second male had equally bleached hair, although shorter and much more tousled than the first’s. His cheeks were peppered with freckles, a bit of boyish charm to his appearance. I held my arms across the tray pressed to my stomach, finding at least some solace in closing in my body language just slightly through the tension.

“Two whiskeys, neat.” The first’s voice was sharp, quick and to the point. I pursed my lips with a subtle nod, clearly they weren’t going to be the talking type.

“Alrighty then, I’ll be back shortly with those.” Tucking the tray back under my arm, I settled firmly back on both feet before turning my way back towards the bar.

“Could I possibly get a water with that too? Please and thank you!” The second’s voice caught me off guard, much deeper than I initially would have expected coming from that face, especially paired with the grin that quickly adorned his cheeks. At least one of them seemed friendly. With a smile and a nod I turned back on my heels. “You don’t have to be so cold to her, Hyung.” ever so quietly I could hear him mutter to the first as I walked away. I let a quiet giggle leave my lips, go figure the younger was the more polite one, but even taking to scolding his older was going to be entertaining to me.

“New blood?” Seongho nodded to the two in the corner before glancing back to me with a raised brow.

“Yeah, interesting characters for sure. Not the usual crowd.” I set the tray to the counter, glancing back over my shoulder and catching the eye of the older of the two burning into my skin. I quickly swiveled back to Seongho, with wide eyes. “Alrighty then, we got a watcher, add that to the list.” Our exchanged laughter at the two muffled by the start of a new vocals from the stage where the live artist settled in front of the mic with a fresh trot song. “They want two whiskeys, neat. Oh, and a water too” Seongho made haste pulling a bottle from the shelf behind him, filling two rocks glasses and placing them onto the tray with a grin and a wink.

“Good luck out there, don’t let ‘em eat you alive.” He quickly added a water bottle before shooing me off into the crowd once more, the rest of the night falling into the same monotonous pattern as always.

The two started to frequent the lounge every night, and each night turned into weeks, then quickly months. Slowly but surely I was able to chip away at the icy exterior of the older. He finally began to speak to me in full sentences, and dare I say I’ve gotten some laughter out of him on a couple occasions. I definitely spent more time focusing on him, determined to get him out of his hard shell. Eventually they shared their names, finally getting to put Hyunjin and Felix to their faces. Without fail they always showed up in their crisp suits, never a thread out of place and ties never loosened, their order always two whiskey neats and a water for Felix. Seongho insisted that they never showed up when I wasn’t working, but I kept assuring him that they were probably just sneaking in under the radar as usual and being assisted back in the corner unnoticed.

The night already wasn’t playing out smoothly for me, missing my bus adding time to my already long commute and surely setting me up for a late clock in. I made my way quickly out to the floor, finding Seongho behind the bar as I let out a sigh of relief.

“I’m so glad you’re working tonight, everything has been going wrong and it’s nice to see your face here.” I began to grab a tray and prepare it in front of me as Seongho immediately set two whiskeys and a water onto it.

“Your boys are already here, been waiting for you in the usual booth.” I glanced over my shoulder to see Felix sitting facing the bar, the spot usually occupied by Hyunjin, as he gave me a small wave and soft smile. I turned back to Seongho, with a sigh. “Yeongja tried greeting them and asking their order, but they just told her they’ll happily wait for you to get here.” With a groan I started to lift the tray onto my hand.

“So I’m the only one allowed to serve them? They’re choosing favorites now?”

“Siu, you’re always the only one serving them.” Seongho leaned against his hands on the bar and glanced back to the booth. “This is just the first time they explicitly mentioned you. Maybe one of ‘em has a little crush you never know.” He quickly clapped his hands together with a mischievous grin. “Oh my god, maybe you can finally get a date.” I swear my eyes rolled back so fast that if they had any more force behind it they would’ve popped directly out of my skull.

“You’re very funny, Seongho.” Balancing the tray upon my hand I maneuvered through the crowd to the back corner where Hyunjin and Felix sat, in a tense silence just like the first day they came. Setting the glasses down, I grinned at the two.

“My apologies for my late arrival tonight, one of our other waitresses would have been glad to serve you so you two weren’t waiting on me” My smile wasn’t reciprocated from either of the boys, that original unsettling feeling back in my stomach. This felt like a weird case of deja vu.

“You had us worried there for a second.” Hyunjin took a sip from his glass, staring forward at the table, his cold demeanor clearly back. “We thought you weren’t going to show tonight.”

“Oh no I’ll always be here, just ran into some hiccups that made me a bit late.” My forced smile was surely becoming more evidently fake as I tried to keep the conversation going. Even Felix has a bit of chill to him tonight, the two exchanged a glance before Felix finally looks up to me with a strained smile.

“Well don’t let us keep you, we know you’re probably behind schedule now and have a lot on your plate.” With a smile and slight bow I thanked the younger before continuing to make my rounds around the floor, a full house of patrons making use of their Friday night.

Thankfully the night seemed to progress fast and smoothly, at least my shift was going on without a hitch. Although I realized time had escaped me and I hadn’t had the chance to check in with Hyunjin and Felix for a while, but as I glanced over to their booth I found it empty. A twinge of disappointment settled in my chest at not being able to bid them goodbye, but I knew they’d be back during my next shift and I could once again apologize to them for letting time get the best of me.

Seongho and I slipped our coats on, the night finally coming to an end. He flicked the lights off behind us as we exited into the late night air before turning around and securely locking the door behind us and making our way down the alley to the main street.

“Are you in tomorrow?” Seongho’s voice finally broke the silence as we reached the sidewalk before parting ways.

“No, thankfully I can rest tomorrow, I’m exhausted.” I stretched my arms back, feeling the pull in my muscles before glancing back to Seongho. “Get home safe, alright?”

“You too, Siu. Text me when you get home so I know you’re safe.” Seongho patted my arm before making his way up the street as I turned the opposite way and started my own trek home.

I’ll be first to say that I know walking home at such an hour alone is never my best choice, but it had a calming nature to it within the empty streets. Only the occasional passing car and very few other pedestrians littering the streets. It provided me with the much needed calm down period after my shifts, and I wouldn’t trade those walks for the world.

Yet tonight proved itself different, a looming anxiety was firm in my bones that my walk wasn’t as lonely as usual, but could never pinpoint the reasoning for the feeling. No one was in sight, and each time I turned around to check, no one was behind me. I contemplated trying to catch a bus for the remainder of my commute, but instead of feeling like a sitting duck at a bus station I opted for adding a bit of pep to my step and speeding up my steps.

A wave of relief washed over me as I finally reached the doors of my apartment building, slipping in as fast as I could and ensuring the door was firmly shut behind me before making my way towards the elevators. The building was quiet as ever at these hours, not a voice or peep to be heard. There was nothing I was looking forward to more than removing my makeup and crawling into bed under my warm covers and allowing myself to drift into slumber. A warm shower was in the plan as well, my muscles felt stiff and needed some form of relaxation.

Finally settled into pajamas, wet hair, and tea in hand I slipped under the blankets, immediate comfort taking over me as the hot liquid made its way through my chest like the roots of a tree. I flicked on the tv, searching for a documentary to put on for a quiet lull of a voice to assist in my sleep before settling my head onto the pillow and letting my eyelids grow heavy.

The morning sun was the first thing to wake me up, the absence of a screaming alarm giving some comfort to my warm morning. Sitting up, I attempted to blink the sleep away from my eyes, the morning fog starting to clear from my head with a yawn.

My slippers dragged across the floor as I shuffled into the kitchen, in dire need of a cup of morning coffee. After prepping the coffee maker, I leaned against the counter and crossed my robe tighter across my body in an attempt to hold in any warmth before the heater could finally kick on and warm the apartment.

The ding of a complete coffee cycle alerted me to my prepared drink. Sipping from my mug, I leaned against the counter again, waiting for the caffeine to make its way into my veins. I scanned the apartment from my spot, making a mental note of my to-do list needing to be completed throughout my day. My eyes fell on my front door next, more specifically a white envelope on the floor sitting in front of it.

“What the fuck…” I set down my mug and made my way towards it. Surely this wasn’t there when I got home last night, I would have noticed it when I took my shoes off. Its positioning looking like it had been slipped under my door in the night. Bending down to pick it up, I slowly broke the seal of it and began to unfold the paper sitting inside, the name on the sheet quickly making my stomach drop and all source of breath leave my body.

Y/n.

We need to have a talk.

East bank of the Tancheon bridge, 9pm.

- Felix.

Next Chapter

#stray kids mafia #stray kids #skz mafia #skz #lee know x reader #lee know enemies to lovers #bang chan #lee know #changbin #hyunjin #han #felix #seungmin #jeongin #fanfiction #stray kids freeze #drunkewok

[st4rstudent]

tips on how to draw cogs?

truth be told, I haven't drawn many cogs (mainly just one or two), but I will try to answer this as generally as I can!

This is a long post so I'll post this under the cut.

my biggest tip, as well as for anything, is to break down the shapes. If you try to look at everything at once it becomes really easy to overwhelm yourself. Examples will be drawn sketchy, but hopefully the point gets across.

Our first test subject is mouthpiece which I've never actually drawn before [marketable plushies post doesnt count]. as you can see, I tried to break down a lot of the shapes into much more simpler ones. A lot of cogs seem to share some very obvious shapes, probably because a lot of them are object-related (normal cogs included- first that comes to mind are pencil pushers).

You can do this with really ANY character. Here's our second test subject DOPA for another example.

now these are mainly references from the pictures themselves, which are great as a starting point. my other big tip is just to practice. you don't have to do big full pieces every day, but even just little doodles will help you. i think its very rare for anyone do to super good their first time and this goes with anything, even if you're a highly skilled artist.

you've probably also noticed but I've left out details in my examples, such as the little dots on mouthpiece's eye borders. If you feel that adding all the small details would overcrowd your drawing or just not help it, then I think it's fine to leave them out (of course there are always exceptions to this but as a general rule, its ok).

along with removing details, i think adding details also cannot hurt [to an extent]. if there's something you think would look nice then add it. who cares its your drawing have fun. As an example I'll use prethinker. I always add the little line in the middle, which his model doesn't have. But this is also based off of the 1.3 promotional art as well. Another example could be that when I draw misty, I add a line that connects their eyebrows to their eye. idk just feels more robotic to me and i like it

and again as you notice, my drawings are not model accurate. your style is most likely not going to be exactly like the game and that's completely fine. adjust to your liking, interpret as you will. enjoy the process of creation.

And finally, I'll add my little tip for metal coloring. One thing about metal is that usually the lightest highlight is next to the darkest shadow

The gif goes as base -> shadow 1 -> shadow 2 -> highlight 1 -> highlight 2 -> cleanup + extra

I like to add a few light marks to indicate scratches. although if you wanted more depth, you'd take the darkest shadow and lightest highlight and put them together like this

often the metallic parts are not the focus of my works so I leave it without. As for the random black marks on the lineart, that just also gives it more depth.

And finally, look at other peoples art. Look at the way they draw and pick out bits and pieces of what you like and try to interpret that in your own style.

ok I think that's all. Hopefully this helped!

#clemask #long post #sorry #these are kind of vague overall art tips rather than specific ones but i think its because a lot of my processes follow the same general ar #tips that i follow #but yeah my general rule is just to practice and observe. there will be things that you change and thats fine #sorry if you wanted a specific cog. if you did you can resend an ask and specify but either way i hope this helps you! or anyone else

[gunilslaugh]

Hiii, first time asker hehe

I was wondering if you could do Seungmin when he likes someone a few years older than him.

I feel like he would have more audacity and he more cheeky than usual.

Like she tells him she’s not interested in younger guys and he’s like “a challenge how fun” kind of vibe? Idk if this makes sense haha

Thank you for your content🥰

Hello, welcome first time asker lol. I hope you like your request!

Oh Seungmin

Summary: You weren’t interested in younger guys, however Seungmin was determined to prove himself to be an exception. (non-idol au) (office au)

WC:~1.7k

Warning:none

photo not mine credits to owner.

Your office had just received a new hire and of course your boss had to assign you as the one to train them. It’s not like you hate the new hire, you haven’t even met them yet, but you don’t particularly like that you have to train somebody new on top of getting your work for the current project you’re working on done. A part of you wanted to suggest (argue) with your boss that the head of your department would be better suited for training the new hire. Alas the head of your department was actually on a business trip to do field research. Now why your boss picked you out of all the other employees in your department you aren’t quite sure. What you did know was that you unfortunately can’t get out of it. 

You arrived at work a bit earlier than usual to settle your things before the new hire would arrive. You were busy editing a document when the new hire arrived. 

“Y/n this is the new hire you will be training. I’m sure you’ll treat him well.” One of the other employees of the office informed you. You stood up from your chair, dusting off the imaginary dirt from your pants. 

“Nice to meet you. I’m Seungmin.” The new hire introduced himself with a smile. 

“I’m y/n. Let me show you around the office.” You stepped outside of your cubicle area. You began to walk around the office with Seungmin, showing him around the different departments, where the copying room was, the breakroom, storage, bathrooms. 

“Now this room is ‘top secret’. This is the room where we come to when we’re hiding from our work.” You opened the door to reveal a shabby looking room. There was literally nothing in it. You supposed it was supposed to be another storage room, but never ended up being used as one. Instead it sits empty with flickering lights and white walls that are painting themselves beige. “It may not look like much, but when you’re having a hard day you’ll find that it feels like a sanctuary,” you told. 

“Duly noted,” Seungmin said. He looked around the empty room. His eyes stopped on you, taking a nice look. You noticed, but didn’t say anything. Seungmin had actually been taking glances at you the entire tour. He couldn’t help it. You looked so beautiful. The way you showed him around. You had a professional nature, but at the same time there was this hint that you didn’t particularly care to be doing what you’re doing right now. You spoke articulately about your office and how it runs, but you half-hazardly pointed things out. Like your words said one thing, but your body language said another. It successfully piqued Seungmin’s interest in you. 

You ended the tour by coming full circle back to your department. You showed Seungmin where his cubicle was, which happened to be across from yours on the left side. You started to get him set up with some simpler work. Seungmin tried his best to pay attention to what you were telling him. It was proving to be difficult though with the way you unintentionally leaned closer to him to show him what to do with the documents on his screen. 

“Alright, that should do it. If you have any questions, my cubicle is right over there.” you pointed across the way to your cubicle.

“Great, thanks,” Seungmin states. Seungmin watches you walk the short couple of steps back over to your cubicle. Seungmin couldn’t help but steal glances at you throughout the rest of the work day. 

At the end of the day you traveled the short distance over to Seungmin’s cubicle to check on his work. Again Seungmin couldn’t help but admire you as your eyes scanned over the documents on his computer screen. 

“There are a couple of errors that need to be fixed, but this isn’t bad for a new hire. Good job,” you told Seungmin, straightening up from peering over at his computer screen. 

“Do I get a reward for that?” Seungmin asked cheekily. A bit of a suggestive manner in his eyes. 

“You’re paycheck,” you answered blankly. Then you proceeded to walk back over to your desk to pack up for the day. Seungmin didn’t expect you to be so cold to him, however it only made him more interested in you. Igniting a bit of a spark in him. 

Seungmin fully intended on acting on the newly lit spark in him. Any time at work he would take the chance to flirt with you. It didn’t even matter if others were around. He had no shame about his flirting with you. You typically would brush off Seungmin’s flirting, which unfortunately for you only encourages him more. After a couple of weeks of his flirting you finally confronted him about it. 

“Seriously Seungmin what is your deal?” You cornered him in the break room when nobody else was there. 

“Can I not flirt with the girl I like?” he returned. 

“Well the girl you like isn’t interested in guys younger than her. Sorry,” you rejected him. That wasn’t going to stop Seungmin though. 

“C’mon I’m only three years younger than you. I can be an exception,” he stated. 

“I’m really not interested in you Seungmin.” You reject him for a second time and begin to walk towards the exit of the breakroom. 

“You just want me to chase after you for a while don’t you? That’s ok I can do that. I like a challenge,” Seungmin calls out after you as you leave the breakroom. 

Seungmin meant it when he said he could chase after you. That’s exactly what he did. He would get you coffee and leave little notes on your cups. Saying stuff like: “Your smile makes me happy :)”, “You’re working hard”, “The only way you could be more perfect would be if you were mine”, “I know these notes make you happy, so why not let me make you happy?”. He would pull your chair out for you when your department had your weekly meetings. He would run and be your errand boy whenever you needed copying done, something from storage or another department. 

Despite all of Seungmin’s chasing you still wouldn’t let him into your heart. You did open up to him more and even started to treat him as a friend. Seungmin wanted to be more than your friend though. He just wanted you to be his. He wanted to look out for you, remind you to take breaks when you got hyper fixated on a project, have meals with you, send you good morning and goodnight texts with random text throughout the day simply because he was thinking about you. He wanted to cuddle you in his arms. His intentions were pure even if was a bit cheeky with his flirting. At the end of the day he really did just want to love you. 

Seungmin notices that it has been quite some time since you stepped out of your cubicle. He was pretty sure you didn’t have any meeting to attend to, so he wondered what was taking you so long. He couldn’t really focus on his work cause he could think about where you possibly disappeared off to. That’s when he remembers what you said about the “top secret” room. That it could feel like a sanctuary when you’re having a hard day. Seungmin honestly hopes that he’s wrong as he stands up from his chair and begins to head in the direction of the “top secret” room. He gently knocks on the door before opening it. Sure enough he finds you sitting in the corner of the poorly lit room with your knees tucked up to your chest. He closes the door behind him and carefully walks over to you, taking a seat right beside you. 

“Are you alright?” he softly asks you. Instead of answering him verbally you shake your head. Seungmin places a comforting hand on your knee. 

“I’m sure whatever it is, it'll be ok. It’s probably really stressful right now, but you always figure it out,” he comforts you. 

“What if I don’t?” Your voice sounds so dejected, it pains Seungmin’s heart. 

“Then I’ll figure it out for you,” he declares. 

“Huh? You don’t even know what’s bothering me,” you say. 

“True, but I really just want to take care of you y/n. I know my flirting style is kinda cheeky and maybe you don’t take it seriously because of that, but I really care about you y/n. I want to make you happy, help you with any problems you encounter, make sure you eat your meals, take you out on silly little dates, be the person you think about before you fall asleep or,” he lets out a bit of a chuckle.  “Be the person who you fall asleep beside. I want to hold you in my arms.” Seungmin very carefully and slowly wraps one of his arms around your shoulders, giving you plenty of time to shove him away. “I want to love you y/n if you’ll let me.” Seungmin silently waits for you to respond. The silence is killing him though.

“I meant it when I said I was interested in younger guys,” you finally spoke. Even though you rejected Seungmin again and again month after month. He never let it deter him from liking you. This time however your words actually hurt him a bit. Seungmin opened his mouth, but before he could say anything you kept talking. “You might be able to be an exception though,” you continued. Now Seungmin’s heart is filled with hope. 

“You’re giving me a chance?” He had to make sure. 

“Mhm, you better not waste it,” you threatened him. 

“I would never.” He wraps his other arm around you pulling you towards him. You let him, resting your head on his shoulder. “As much as I like this we should probably get back to work,” Seungmin states after a few moments. 

“In a few minutes. Let’s stay like this for a few more minutes.” You snuggled your head further onto his shoulder. Seungmin definitely wasn’t going to tell you no. He pulls you impossibly closer to him, resting his head on top of yours. 

#xdinary heroes #xdh #xdh imagines #xdh x reader #xdinary heroes imagines #xdinary heroes x reader #xh o.de #xh ode #xh seungmin #xdh fluff #xdinary heroes fluff #xdh o.de #xdh seungmin #seungmin x reader #oh seungmin x reader #o.de x reader #oh seungmin #seungmin #o.de

[girakacheezer]

Marlowe Devblog #10

I came across an issue in the game where if a box is flush against the wall, I can stand on the floor beneath the box as long as I’m walking into it.

This issue also occurs sometimes in stacks of boxes, but normally because there’s a very small ledge/difference in position that’s less than 1 pixel and thus not visible to the human eye.

Since this is similar to the issue I faced in Marlowe Devblog #3, I thought maybe a similar solution would work, where I could just simulate collision in different orders to find the correct outcome.  But with throwing entities into the mix, this would double the number of simulated collision runs in a single entity check, if not increase them further, so this strategy is becoming less appealing.

I looked online to see if anyone else has faced similar issues with tiles or whatnot, and one solution I saw people mention was to “change the player’s collider to a circle”.  In this engine I’m making, collision isn’t really built to the point where it can work with arbitrary geometrical shapes, just rectangles (it makes calculations a lot simpler), but I can still use the idea of a “rounded hitbox” to fix this.

The issue right now is that as a perfectly rectangular object, when we try to fall down and into the right into this “wall”, the corner of our hitbox hits the hidden corner of the wall below the box and end up getting pushed up as well as to the left outside the wall and box.

Using a circular hitbox though, the corner of the player’s hitbox wouldn’t get snagged on the hidden corner in the wall anymore, allowing us to “slide” past it.  However I don’t have circular collision programmed into the engine, so instead I’ve opted for a slightly different solution.

The idea is instead to use a hitbox that behaves more like this, with “rounded” corners to help us slide past things when we’re against a mostly flat surface.

In practice how I achieved this was by snipping the ends of the collision lines for map collision, so that there was a bit of room to avoid hitting the corner/edge of the line inside the “wall”.  I chose to snip the map lines instead of the player box since in general map lines are bigger than entity hitboxes, and rounding the corners of a very small hitbox could lead to weird interactions.

However this had an issue where if I jumped into a corner just barely, I could clip the player’s corner into the line and get OOB, since map line collision is permissive in that if you were behind a line the frame before, you’re allowed to be behind the line until you’re in front of it again.

So I updated the collision such that for the map lines, there was a tiny space behind the line that if the corner/edge of the hit box was in, it would snap the player to the line edge, even if it was on the inside of the line before.  This prevented the issue where the player could clip OOB via corners in geometry.

This update to line collision also meant it fixed the issue I previously had in devblog 3 without the need for multiple collision simulations, so I was able to remove that code from the map collision which will increase the perf of collision code in general.

This also lets you slide around corners if you bonk into them just barely, which is a nice feature to have to make jumps/collision feel more fair.

I also applied a slightly modified version of this corner forgiveness to entities, and it works well here too.  It also solves a previous issue I had where you could get snagged on a corner if sliding against a solid flat wall of boxes, which previously I had a solution in place that sorted entities by distance from the target before running collision checks, which was a rather expensive solution performance wise.  I’m able to remove that sort() call now, thanks to this.

#marlowe devblog #gamedev #indie dev #devlog

[catchyhuh]

Sometimes what people wear as pajamas is a weird indicator of personality so... What’s your opinion on their pajamas?

it took less than a second for me to go “how do pjs indicate personaliOhhh wait yeah that does make sense” as I realized I was folding up multiple adult size cartoon character onesies for my own pajama drawer. let’s get into it BUT UH DISCLAIMER i mostly talk about patterns in canon i’ve noticed with just… tiny personal thoughts in here. less headcanons more breakdown. NOW let’s get into it

lupin:

two modes-- soft, fuzzy button up set, or just his underwear. somewhat depending on weather, DEFINITELY depending on mood. i mean you don't wanna get COLD and he got those nice purple heart pajamas with an actual, legal purchase, so it'd be stupid to waste them ALL the time!

there could be a joke here about how he’d probably just sleep naked if the gang weren’t constantly groaning in annoyance, throwing pillows at him begging him to put on some damn pants, but the reality is… he can’t really sleep like that. it’s uncomfy :( he tried :) but it’s uncomfy :(

jigen:

you aren't ready for this. or you are. you likely are, given i had to choose between like 3 different pictures i have of him in fits like this

and i’m dead serious. big ass ankle length nightgown with matching cap. no, really. these are his actual pajamas. they’re comfy to him. i can’t fathom why, maybe the fabric is just equal parts breathable and warm, maybe he did this once for the bit and realized it was the best sleep he ever had, WHATEVER, these are his pajamas, and no amount of teasing by now will stop him from changing into these before going to bed

i have to respect them for committing to this bit, because you think, oh, he’s the coolest. he wouldn’t have lame pajamas. no he does. very lame. hilariously so. arose such a clatter type shit. nighty night scrooge

fujiko:

now, she would LIKE to say big, fluffy, fancy nightgown… but the texture feels bad scrubbing against your skin all night, so she usually just opts for a simpler nightgown. or, like lupin, just her underwear. obvious fanservice aside she’s clearly comfy bundled up like that so you show em how its done fujiko

no matter how cold it gets, she can never really sleep in pajama pants. shorts, maybe, but anything that reaches past her knees feels restrictive, hence why she normally just goes for the nightgown. she doesn’t even kick in her sleep idk why it’s such a big deal!

goemon:

i had to look through a bunch of stuff because i was like. wtf. what DOES he wear to bed. he can’t just be wearing his usual clothes all day and night, it would be uncomfortable. so i’ve come to the conclusion that these virtually identical clothes here are just made of a softer material, designated as goemon’s jammies

or he just. sleeps in his underwear. it really is comfsorry the mental image of the camera panning across three beds where they’re sleeping in their underwear vs jigen still rocking the victorian fit is killing me a bit

zenigata:

have you noticed he sleeps with his hat on more than jigen does. isn’t that fucked. jigen has a special sleeping hat but the alleged NON-hat-obsessed guy is the one sleeping in it. due to his… hectic routine, he never really has a default type of pjs. either he just sleeps in what he was already wearing (c’mon, man) or he’s packed like, some pajama pants, or (take another shot because this series loves this gag) just hits the hay in the heart print boxers. jigen really is a scientific outlier.

USUALLY if he’s bothering to actually change, it’s just the undershirt he’s already got on and some comfy pants, the kind you can get at like walmart for five bucks, so if he’s forgotten to bring them it’s no biggie. damn anon was right this IS a personality indicator!

BONUS YATA!:

as we have oft discussed, yata is a man we have all met at one point in our lives. so, yata has the basic boring man pajamas. t-shirt that’s too big for him but he forgot to return it, and seasonal pajama pants. the pants always seem to mismatch the season, he wore the snowflake ones during summer, and now he’s wearing the halloween ones in winter?

the shirt itself is also mundanely mysterious. nobody can really place the logo on it, and he doesn’t really remember where he got it from either. it doesn’t bother him too much until it’s pointed out to him

#there's talk of nudity but it's like. a two second nonsexual joke. idk if that warrants a WARNING but i will tell you here. its lupin. #lupin iii #lupin the third #lupin #jigen #fujiko #goemon #zenigata #yata