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heniareth · 1 year

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OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH my brilliant friend you know what? First the notification that you liked the ask game came up and the jittering began BUT NOW YOU HAVE REBLOGGED!!!! PREPARE. TO BE. ASKED.!!!!! Ok now I'll ask a lot, because I'm curious about a lot, and you just pick whatever you want to answer yeah? Yeah! <3 <3 I'll put this under the cut as it's ended up quite long (you said you were on the road tmrw and I didn't know if you'd be on mobile to answer, so I wrote the prompts here so you didn't have to get out of this to go back to the list-- god help me if it turns out there's an easy way to do it and I don't know it :P) Hope you're having a grand time!!!!

NOW!!!!!! For Astala my beloved, as she is always on my mind, let me put forth requests FOR: 1 (what is their colour palette), 2 (what does their handwriting look like), 10 (what piece of moody poetry or novel quote best encompasses your character), and 22 (what is some advice or guidance they received that had a big impact on their lives or outlook? was it a positive or a negative impact)

For Ilanlas my bitey beloved, who spins in my head like he's been glued to a chair-o-plane seat, I'd like to enquire about 4 (if your OC likes art, talk about what they would like best), 8 (if your OC were to live in an alternate time period, which one would suit them best), 12 (what is their character theme song and why? if it has lyrics, pick which ones best suit them), and 24 (is mental, physical, or emotional wellbeing most important to them)

And for Marelas my brand spanking new beloved, who is shiny and taking shape so gorgeously in my head, may I ask 3 (what architectural or design aesthetic would suit them best), 9 (if your OC were to imagine their idyllic life, realistically or otherwise, what would it be like), 23 (what sort of rules, routines, and rituals do they set for themselves), and 26 (if they were to lose the person closest to them, how would they mourn them and how would they handle their grief)

Plant, lovely friend!!! I am so excited for this!!! I did end up having to drive the other day (this is why the asks are trickling out of my askbox rather than being answered all at once), but here we are!!! And such asks!!! Let's talk about the beloveds! A cut is required because this never is short (please take as long as you like with this because it’s. Really Long.)

I appreciate you putting the whole questions into the ask so much!!! It makes life easier (and asks long, but no long asks ever intimidated us, did they? XD)

Astala

1 (what is their colour palette)

Oh boy. Astala loves her colors. She usually goes for muted colors. You know, kinda something like a fall palette. Here are some examples:

When she’s at court as arlessa or as the Hero of Ferelden, however, she very deliberately wears brighter and more saturated (and thus more expensive) colors, and if there’s jewelry involved she’ll go for gold. She’s definitely flaunting her status here in front of all the shem. At the Landsmeet, she’s well known for her red dress; a callback to her first encounter with the most esteemed nobility of Ferelden (aka. Vaughan). If she’s somewhere in her capacity as Hero of Ferelden she’s restricted to blues and silvers, sadly, but she makes it work (and work very well indeed, as Zevran would add). Below are the same colors as above with higher brightness and saturation to give you an idea of what that might look like:

2 (what does their handwriting look like)

Astala, dearest Astala, started her career of doing paperwork while having a fancy title with nothing to prepare her for hours spent writing (she does know how to write, thank you very much). In the beginning, her handwriting suffers from it. She grips the pen with way to much strength and either ends up with a hole in the paper or a cramp in her hand (or both). But practice makes perfect, and after a bit of practice, her handwriting is even and orderly as can be. She tends to make her lowercase letters pretty tall and overall her writing leans to the right. If she's sending informal letters (like the one to Sten) she likes underlining the important words to accurately convey the meaning and intonation of her sentences. She's also one to use several instances of P.S. to tell the whole of what she wants to tell. Her letters are mostly always nice and structured; she's better at accounting than writing, and tables are amazing, so she makes liberal use of bullet points and the like to speed up and organize the flow of information.

10 (what piece of moody poetry or novel quote best encompasses your character)

We've got a couple different ones here, so I stitched them together!

"It is never too late to be what you might have been." —George Eliot

This quote spoke to me because Astala was supposed to be a troublemaker like her mother and live a quiet, unassuming life like her father, was supposed to get married and start a family and is now a Grey Warden.

"Nobody protects us. So we protect us." —Miriam in Dragon Age: Absolution

This one is pretty obvious. Astala is big on protecting and wholeheartedly believes in her community and the need to stick together.

"All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt." —Charles M. Schulz

This one just made me laugh XD XD Astala loves to enjoy things (regardless of whether they are luxuries or not), but she does yearn for close connections. And when she can't have them, having access to nice things is definitely a way she copes with a potential lack of close relationships

"But of course, your Excellence. A true commander takes responsability for the life and death of the men he sends into battle; it's only right and proper that he should be held accountable for them. At the first stolen chicken you may have my head." —Rankstrail in The Last Orc by Silvana de Mari (a bit of context: Rankstrail is sassing the local governor's military people bc they wanted to torture one of his soldiers over a stolen chicken. And the chicken wasn't even a fat one to begin with!)

This book series is a YA fantasy series that I stopped reading after some installments because the characters I loved the most kept dying or falling into depression with no visible way out, but it handles poverty, government incompetence and injustice beautifully. Incidentally, the government in question has a very futuristic style of architecture, and given the Italian name of the author I wonder if there are some intended parallels to a fascist government. Back to the book, Rankstrail is definitely one of my favorite characters and the whole series was very formative when I read it as a teen. I wanted to include a quote and this one stuck out to me because Astala has to navigate some authorities trying to pull one on her while sneering down on her as well. I think she and Rankstrail would find common ground in that (and in the book series the whole thing is amazing bc Rankstrail dances circles around these people but they always maintain the upper hand in the end because they have the power and the resources and he doesn't!)

22 (what is some advice or guidance they received that had a big impact on their lives or outlook? was it a positive or a negative impact?)

I've talked about how Astala has been impacted by her mother, for good and bad. Her father mostly taught her by word and by example how to look for work and keep it, as well as how to care for her family. I really should talk more about Cyrion, because obviously he had the bigger impact on her here, but I want to talk about Valendrian.

When Cyrion was still recovering emotionally from losing Adaia and physically from having spent a winter sick (half of it working), Valendrian often took the Tabris kids with him when he made his rounds around the Alienage. Other children in sinilar situations had other adult family members (aunts, uncles, grandparents, adult cousins) who could do the same; not the Tabrises, so the hahren had to step in. Working with Valendrian gave them something to do, connected them more with their people and allowed them to feel useful and capable in a situation that was very much beyond their control. He sent them to run errands for families who couldn't, to deliver medicine or food, to watch over kids, to help clean a house or a street or warehouse, or took them with him to visit people who were sick (and not contagious), alone or grieving. He also often took the scenic route to his destinations and tried to send two of them ahead or something to get time with the third one alone. With Astala he talked about her mother, about her father, about the weather, her future, Soris, Shianni, and, when she was fourteen and still helping him out, her crush on Alarith (that moment in the first chapter of her story when she offers Valendrian her help with Vaughan and Valendrian tells her to step back? That's a callback to those days, when she and her cousins used to help him all the time).

Basically, Valendrian tried to lend these three kids what support he could give them. He's Astala's reference for what leading a community looks like, and what a community is, how it works, and so forth. This comes in very handy during the Blight, but especially later, as arlessa. She is some steps further removed from her people than Valendrian was at that point, but the basic procedures stay the same.

Ilanlas

4 (if your OC likes art, talk about what they would like best)

Ilanlas is very much about statues and abstract art. I think he’d love the black and white paintings of Franz Kline. It's the kind of art where he feels like he can step into it; the feelingnis comparable to when he sees a grove of trees or a structure of rocks or a bend of the road in the distance and wants to go and check it out. These paintings form a kind of space for him where he can retreat into. It's very nice and calming.

He'd also love sculptures made out of driftwood, particularly those where the wood has been left to stay in its original shape. In his opinion, taking the raw material as it is and working with its shape instead of bending said shape to one's will is much more imaginative, creative, respectful.

And then, while snooping through the internet, I found this piece, Burning from Within by Christopher David White. It's ceramic, not wood, which is a feat in and of itself, but what Ilanlas would find amazing is the way the copper leaf on the inside really makes it look like it's wood being consumed by embers. He'd see it from the back and get all excited about it jntil he'd realize that the thibg is not a piece of a hollowed-out tree but. Y'know. The naked torso af a woman. That'd bother him a lot; the ubiquity of naked women in art in general would. Why does everything have to be about having the hots for random women? Wtf??? (He's very unimpressed by the countless Andraste statues everywhere as well. At least they're clothed.)

8 (if your OC were to live in an alternate time period, which one would suit them best)

I answered this one here! It’s kinda hard to find a time period that’d suit him. He’s so integrated in Thedas. But, now that I think of it, he would’ve had a blast in the 80s. He’d have his own painted van and everything. He and Tamlen would just take off and make a long, long roadtrip to wherever the road will take them. They'd set up camp in the middle of nowhere, stop in the desert and spend the whole night looking up at the stars, park the van in the curb of a steep mountain road to climb those extremely climbable rocks, watch the sunrise next to a gigantic waterfall that douses them from head to toe in fine spray water. Merrill comes along sometimes and has them stopping at tourist attractions, museums and canyons. Can you imagine Ilanlas with sunglasses and a bandana holding his long hair back? He’d have so much fun XD XD XD XD

That said, big aside: since the Dalish have ties to Native Americans, Roma and jewish people, all of the above might not've been possible. I don't have a lot of knowledge on the situation of these people in the 80s, in the USA and otherwise, but what little I know makes me think that Ilanlas would've been more preoccupied with travel restrictions, bad faith from the authorities and just the general population, poverty and all of its lovely companions. For his sake, I'd like that not to be so. On the other hand, erasing the past of other people is not good. I hope he does get to see at least one sunrise next to that waterfall tho

12 (what is their character theme song and why? if it has lyrics, pick which ones best suit them)

I have. Several songs I relate to this man, but here’s one. Sound the Bugle from the movie Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.

If you lose yourself

Your courage soon will follow

So be strong tonight

Remember who you are

I don't have a lot of smart things to say here, except that he's really going through it. Where Astala is doing her damnest to eke out a place for herself, no matter how small, where she can live her life as close as possible to what it used to be, Ilanlas has thrown himself wholesale into the Grey Wardens. The only thing he keeps for himself is the right to take vengeance for Tamlen, and since that means killing darkspawn, it's not really something that detracts from his role in the order (while Astala very much does try to put as much distance between herself and the order as she can). Losing Tamlen was like losing a huge chunk of himself for Ilanlas. When he finds Tamlen again, these verses will be significant.

24 (is mental, physical, or emotional wellbeing most important to them)

I think his emotional wellbeing is the most important to him because it's the most fragile. He has a very decent pain tolerance and doesn't mind getting sweaty or having his legs full of mud after trekking through the countryside for hours. He's also good at problem-solving and decision-making generally comes easy to him (even if they're not always the best decisions).

It's the emotions that get him; some things hurt him deeply and he doesn't know what to do with that. In other instances it's just him losing his cool or being brusque and not thinking much of it, only to then turn around and find that the other person is offended and blames him. There are many people that feel things more deeply than him, and he finds it hard to understand that because to him it's no big deal. It's a bit of a vicious circle, tbh. He seriously and unwillingly hurts somebody and then gets hurt back bc the other person reacts negatively for no reason, seemingly. Or even lashes out. Long story short, it's the emotional wellbeing that bugs him the most and that is thus most important to him.

Marelas

3 (what architectural or design aesthetic would suit them best)

I think Marelas would enjoy the Arts and Crafts Movement. It's beautiful (could do with a bit warmer and more vibrant colors though), practical and it puts great emphasis on the craft of the artisan. This man enjoys having beautifully made things around him, and that's one if the tenets of the Arts and Crafts Movement. You bet he had a say in Skyhold's furnishing, much to Vivienne's chagrin. Too Dalish for her taste.

He'd also have a field day in the Library at the National Palace of Mafra, Portugal. Baroque isn't his favorite (it's very Orlesian), but this building in particular is grand, but not gaudy, well illuminated, probably very cool in summer, and has tons of space in case he wants to strew his papers around to arrange them on the floor and look at them from a certain distance to get a look at the big picture of things. He likes mind maps. Also, the building apparently houses bats!! How cool is that?

9 (if your OC were to imagine their idyllic life, realistically or otherwise, what would it be like)

Here are some of the things Marelas would love to have in his life if you’d asked him right before the plot in Trespasser kicks off:

Study lore!! So much lore!! All the history and the magic, medicine, cultures, all of it!!

Peace for clan Lavellan.

A long life for Keeper Deshanna.

Many people around him he can trust and rely on.

Frequently meet the members of the Inquisition, see what work they have been doing, maybe even continue working with them to enrich the lives of the people of Thedas (and enrich is the keyword here. He’s no fighter when he can help it. He’d rather pursue social or cultural goals).

Be able to often visit Dorian, very often (the separation hit him hard, harder than he wants to admit. He thinks it commendable and a good thing that Dorian wants to better his homeland, but at the moment when Dorian told him he was leaving, Marelas did feel a bit abandoned in favor of more exciting pursuits. He and Dorian did have the chance to talk it through, however, and have settled on an arrangement that, so far, is satisfying to both. Still, he misses Dorian).

Not have any world-ending threats hanging above his head.

Foster more community between the city elves and the Dalish clans (I think somebody from his family came from the city, probably an uncle who married into his mother’s side of the family).

23 (what sort of rules, routines, and rituals do they set for themselves)

Back at his clan, his routine looked something like this:

Wake up, have a handful of something, pray alone.

Do some stretching, have some real breakfast, revise what has to be done that day with Keeper Deshanna and the clan’s Second, and start. He sometimes works alone, sometimes they all work together or in pairs. They have a well-honed system.

Part of his routine is taking a round of the premises (wherever he is) and see how everybody is doing. He tends to do that around mealtime, after getting some work in.

If somebody wants to converse with him, he will tend to schedule it in the afternoon, preferrably right after having eaten lunch and taken a bit of quiet time to himself, or when the sun is already lowering towards the horizon. He finds these are hours best spent quietly, and that they lend themselves more to thinking than to doing.

He will also pray alone in the evening, right after dinner if he can manage. He will go over the day, write up things that have to be done next (either the following day or at some point in the future), offer up the good and the bad, and enjoy the quiet as the sun sets and the stars start to shine.

Prayer is very important to him, and throughout the day there would be more opportunities, mostly with Keeper Deshanna and clan Lavellan’s Second. He tries his best to keep this routine after the explosion at the Conclave, although Keeper Deshanna and clan Lavellan’s Second are replaced by Cullen, Josephine and Leliana. He does miss the more relaxed rhythm of the life in his clan, but he makes do well. It is strange to him to be at the head of a group instead of the leader’s right hand. He takes responsability quite seriously and the biggest break in his routine is him doing paperwork until way later than he intended. Sometimes, it’s almost a relief when he can leave Skyhold to go roam around Thedas.

Another big interruption to his routine can be any sort of magical or historical study that catches his interest. He’s an academic at heart. In the Jaws of Hakkon DLC, he was happy as a clam at first, searching for Inquisitor Ameridan, and even in the Descent DLC he would rather have spent time studying the runes on the wall than investigating the earthquakes. The Emerald Graves were a treasure trove (albeit a bitter one). If there’s a piece of work that captures his interest, he will get his duties done, sure. But later you’ll find him writing deep into the night. Sometimes his room looks like a tornado came through and scattered complex diagrams and drawings throughout. This turns a bit unhealthy after he drinks of the Well of Sorrows. He now has direct access to knowledge from Arlathan, and he considers it one of his duties to record EVERYTHING the well tells him. He ends up with incoherent scribbles more often than not, but at other points he wrote down a poem, sketched a view from the temple of Sylaise, found a recipe to help with some kind of cough, found hints of an old technique to enrich iron, and so forth. It’s fascinating, but dangerous. More than once, somebody else had to take the pen out of his hand and send him to bed, or otherwise bring him back to reality.

26 (if they were to lose the person closest to them, how would they mourn them and how would they handle their grief)

Ooooh, this is a heavy one. Let's do it >:)

Okay, first of all, Marelas would nowadays have been diagnosed with some form of anxiety disorder (or maybe even PTSD, since the symptoms manifested after an accident in which he nearly drowned). As part of dealing with persistent worries, intense fears of danger and death, and with a generalized feeling of helplessness and loss of control, Keeper Deshanna encouraged him to seek special connection with Falon'Din. The reasoning was that if he died, Falon'Din would be there; he wouldn't be alone. Take away some of the fear that death inspired, and everything would be much easier to deal with; that was Deshanna's reasoning. After all of that and all the events in Inquisition, Marelas likes to think of himself as someone who is familiar with grief and who knows that a loss such as this one will take time to heal. He will do his best to be patient and lean on other loved ones for support, to give himself time, to cherish the memories while stepping out of himself to create new ones. And he does good! He tries his best! He is able to step away from the moment, take a deep breath and brace himself for the things that are to come and he is able to stay moderately aware of his own wellbeing during the period of intense turmoil that follows the death of a loved one.

The reality, however, is that he's a very sensitive man who feels things deeply and for a very long time. He might be patient, experienced and good at taking his own feelings at face value, but his emotions are stubborn buggers. He'll most likely spend a couple of days numb, think that it's going better than he anticipated, until reality catches up to him and everything comes crashing down. After that, he will cry, a lot, but try to keep some of it to himself. He does occupy a position of responsibility after all, and he has to keep doing his work.

In fact, although he knows that giving himself time to actively grieve is important, he definitely puts his role as First (or the Keeper if it's Keeper Deshanna who died), well... first. If Keeper Deshanna died, he would even officiate the funeral. Embodying the figure of the First/Keeper removes him from his pain by focusing on other people's pain, although that's not the only reason why he blends into his role in the clan. He does genuinely want to help. It is, however, part of the reason why he spends some days functioning well while emotionally numb. He's not entirely conscious that he does this, and there's no easy answer here because he does have a responsability for the well-being of the clan. He does best when he has somebody that will step past the whole "he is responsible for everybody" thing and makes him contemplate how he is doing as a person. Hold a mirror in front of him, so to say. So yeah, that's him if somebody close to him from his clan dies.

If Dorian died... well, that's a whole other thing. He doesn't have any official role to disappear behind here, although he definitely would find something to try and occupy himself with. He'd definitely be at the funeral, and he'd definitely ask if he could help with anything. But he's out of his depth in Tevinter, and he's Dorian's partner from down south. Despite his best efforts, he'll have everybody's attention and he'll be at an utter loss on what to do.

So he'd do his best to hold his tears in and cry when he's alone. He'd try to meet Dorian's friends and family and establish at least a bit of a positive relationship with them. And in the process, he'd probably have at least one moment where he'd crack under the pressure and either run away or cry somewhere totally inappropriate and end up mortified and with all the pain spilling out.

All of this, of course, if Dorian or Keeper Deshanna didn't get assassinated. In that case his new mission would be hunting those bastards down, and that's what he'd stand behind until the emotions one day suddenly catch up to him. And he’d go for it with a lot of zeal. He isn’t an easy one to anger, but when he is angry, it holds for a long time.

After having digested the heap of emotions, he does his best to celebrate the person he's lost. He's quite meticulous about marking death-days, and consciously makes space on those days to remember and honor the deceased. He might put up an altar with things that remind him of them and spend a good chunk of the day reminiscing and talking to them (without receiving an answer of course. He might be a mage, but communion with the dead is rare). And he would honor them by trying to help along whatever efforts they pursued in life, if the chance presents itself. Falon'Din is still a god he holds in high regard, even if after Trespasser the elven gods as a whole are unstable ground to him, and honoring the dead is very important to him.

---

And that’s a wrap on these three! I hope the wait was worth it, and if you’ve read the whole thing, kudos to you! This was a very nice brain exercise XD XD XD It was really cool to get to know Ilanlas’s taste in art, tbh. I had a vague idea, but now I really want to sit down with him and talk about modern art. There’s a lot to go into there (starting with what the devil IS art??) and it’d be so interesting to hear what he likes and doesn’t like. Thank you so so so much for these wonderful questions!!!! I hope you are having an absolutely splendid few days!

#astala tabris #marelas lavellan #ilanlas mahariel #dai #dao #dragon age #ask game #for fun

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lupi-usque-ad-finem · 2 years

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ask game: 🌺 and 🍂

ily thank u for asking!

🌺: I found out I was otherkin/wolfkin at a very young age before I even had the language to describe it. I always preferred walking and running on all fours or my toes, growling, biting, hissing, barking, whining, and chirping felt more comfortable than talking most of the time plus my family never demented or made fun of me for it and even encouraged it, I was and still am the designated “guard dog” of my family, and have always had a fascination with wolves. I found some undeniable sense of comfort and almost a familial bond with them. any wolf movies, books, or media I could consume I did (shout out alpha and omega this is all ur fault <3), then one day around age 11 I was perusing through YouTube and found this video, and immediately wanted to cry out of sheer joy. for reasons I couldn’t explain at the time, it felt so empowering and overwhelmingly comforting to see others who dressed and acted like me especially since they were teenagers and I was still a pup, much less seeing packmates! packmates!!! that meant I could form my own pack too! it wasn’t just me who felt this way! soon after I discovered ‘otherkin’ here on tumblr and YouTube and just nose dived into it all :)

🍂: some of my favorite activities are designed by the weather, as for spring it’s all about those early morning howls, exploring the nearby woods, and hunting (going to the grocery store in a sneaky way), summer it’s gotta be swimming, hiking, and stickin my head out the window of the car, fall is for lounging by the fire in a wolf pile and eating s’mores, and winter it’s snow time babey! gotta eat all the snow and dig dig dig!!! MAKE A SNOW DEN DIGGY DIGGY

for activities outside of weather is definitely making and remaking my den/nest cause dogs gotta sleep, collecting sticks and rocks, adding more foresty items to my den, candle and purfume searching for woodsy scents, experimenting with clothes and accessories to feel more comfortable in my kintype, watching and rewatching my favorite canid centered movies, biting my sibling to show affection, wearing my canine fangs until I can save up and get them permanently pointed, hanging out with my packmates and marking them with face rubs and gentle arm bites, wearing the prized possession that is my tail on every outfit, practicing my vocalizations like barking, growling, snarling, and howling, taking care of my claws and teeth, collecting necklaces and collars my beloved, improving facial control (nose/snout movements, lip curls, ear movement, the works), improving mobility (I’m very tall so walking/running on all fours for long periods of time is a bit more difficult now), connecting deeper with my kintype mentally/spiritually, and going to my family’s cabin upstate! there’s dogs and wolves on the mountain who answer when I howl to them :)

I love getting asks hehe thank you sm! <3

#ruff ruff #wolfkin #otherkin #therian #theriankin #therianthropy #werewolfkin #asks #therian asks

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beautiful-02-08-18 · 6 months

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💜HALLOWEEN REPOST🖤

James 1:19-20 (KJV)

19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

I should start by saying that, personally as a Christian, I don’t see anything wrong with celebrating Halloween just as long as it's in a healthy boundary. I know the origins of the holiday are creepy, but nobody really thinks of pagan practices, people usually think of costumes and cavities. Furthermore, I don’t see anything wrong in dressing up as a vampire, as they are not real. Ghosts are questionable, but if it's about the whole “spirit of dead people” concept, then I’m fine with it. I can understand how it's uncomfortable for some Christians though, and I’ll respect that. My opinion might change but this is what it is now.

I wanted to do holiday art and then I realized it's Halloween so I created this kind of ship fan art piece for Running Man Animation (again) featuring my OC dancing with an official character. While I prefer to portray their relationship as friends (because they need some), I like to ship these two together, especially since they are the only living members of their tribe. The song they are dancing to would be Rodent’s Eleanor Forte cover of Pathological Facade by GHOST. I like the song and I like having my characters have some sort of “theme song” for them I thought this fit Dazzling Diaspore, especially since she's associated with medicine.

Charming Gold is dressed up as Dracula, while Dazzling Diaspore is dressed up as a Gwishin or Cheonyeo Gwishin. The design for Charming Gold is a Halloween skin in their mobile game Running Man: Heroes which had been shut down. I actually saw it a long time ago but I just assumed it was fan-made until a video of the gameplay popped up on YouTube. Since I really like the skin and vampires in general I wanted to draw it.

REFERENCES:

https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/jas/1/19-20/s_1147019 Bible Verse picture came from the YouVersion Bible app Desiring God Bible Questions Answered | GotQuestions.org Running Man Animation was created by LINE Friends Corporation and SBS 런닝맨 히어로즈 - 나무위키 https://youtu.be/7rqz8C26Ukg?si=lgKeKr-8ADXCcDfh https://youtu.be/inRXBlYgMGI?si=ePXTlrzMeobrUXXz https://youtu.be/HiphVZq-e2k?si=NF8e-1YJ-sr8T0iq

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kirumod · 3 years

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May I please have headcanon/Drabble of Kokichi protecting his SO from a killer during the killing game? Also maybe taking care of each other injured? I’m on mobile so I can’t see your rules but if it is against your rules please ignore this. Thank you 😊

of course!

i hope this satisfies your request. i did it in the form of a second-person drabble. if you would prefer a specific character to be his s/o or for it to be in third person instead, please repeat the request and i will fix it!

sidenote; i apologize for disappearing for a while. i will explain this in another post. i hope this isn’t too late.

Kokichi didn't find you by coincidence. He was looking for you — well, following you around, but that's not something he'd ever admit. Along the way, he noticed another silhouette often appearing in his sight of vision, just in the corner of his eyes.. to the point where it became a bit suspicious.

Soon, he realized that someone else may have been following you as well. He fell far behind and hid, attempting to see who else might be following you. He also wanted to know why. Of course, that was hypocritical of him, but he's your partner. It was different; he's looking out for you and making sure you don't get hurt. This person was probably looking to hurt you. At least, that's what he told himself.

Pushing his excuses aside, he followed you down to the library, trailing behind the unknown person who did the same. He kept himself hidden until the very last moment. Maybe out of fear, maybe to surprise them. No one could really tell what he was thinking.

He remained still, crouched behind one of the bookcases situated in the middle of the library. Every sound startled him as he listened with his breathes held. Shuffled books, turned papers, quiet footsteps, a piercing scream —

Your scream.

With heavy, labored breathes and nauseating panic, he reached for the knife he'd packed with him, and revealed himself to the bloodied you and the assailant. You saw him before your attacker did, and you knew better than to call out and get him in danger.

Thanks to your caution, Kokichi had the opportunity to fight back. With a swift sprint towards the aggressor and trembling hands, his knife punctured their side, drilling through their external oblique and into their internal. The scream of pain that soon followed attracted many who were passing by, and soon, all remaining students had gathered.

His tight grip on the weapon relaxed with the reassurance that both of you — no, that you were safe. Some of the braver students came in between him and the attacker. Unable to tell which is which, accusations went around unchallenged.

Everyone quieted when you spoke up, revealing the attacker. Silence fell over the room in shock; no one had expected Kokichi Ouma out of everyone to protect you, or anyone for the matter. Some muttered meaningless apologies his way, while others rushed to apprehend the culprit.

Wait... where's the culprit? The realization of the culprit's runaway soon struck everyone, and immediately after, they rushed out to look for them. You were left alone with Kokichi.

"You– You’re so lucky, S/O! I mean, lucky that I just happened to be around," Kokichi attempt at teasing you dissolved quickly, and his awkward laugh sounded strangled and pained rather than one of joy. You could hear panic and fear in his shaking voice.

"I guess I am," you resorted, giving him a weak smile. As the words left your mouth, you doubled over in pain, gripping your bleeding arm. Kokichi grimaced as he heard your wounded whimper. He reached for a few books, tearing their cloth cover with his knife all the while trying to ignore the blood that muddied his reflection.

Before you could recover from the searing pain that shot through your nerves, you felt a quivering hand holding your arm, tightening a cloth above your wound, followed by another that he gently wrapped around the injury. "S– Sorry," he managed to say, and though he tried to opened his mouth to continue, his voice was incomprehensible. He continued trying to salvage his make-shift tourniquet and wound dressing.

You stared at him, unsure of whether or not anything you say would comfort him or make him more nervous. In the end, you whispered, "Kokichi... Thank you," you closed your eyes, as if to signify your trust to him. His hands shivered just a little less at your gesture.

Before long, his hands stopped moving, and he seemed unsure whether to keep holding onto your arm or to let go. You moved your unharmed arm and pulled him closer to you, soon engulfing him in what you hoped to be an embrace. "I'm lucky," you continued, "to be able to call you my beloved." You took a moment to stabilize your weak breath, "I'm lucky, if just to have you here."

Kokichi buried his head into your shoulders. He prayed that you didn't notice the tears falling on your clothes, his discomfort soon fading once he felt yours trailing down your cheek. The others would come back to provide proper care to your injuries in time, but for now, the two of you clung onto each other. No one could tear you apart; both holding one another with brittleness and desperation, looking for shelter from a cruel world in the other's warmth. Kokichi couldn't change the nature of this world, and neither could you. But you didn't have to.

Amidst torment and despair, the two of you had found hope. You didn't need anything more.

#kokichi ouma #danganronpa #drv3 #ndrv3 #kokichi ouma x reader #kokichi x reader #ouma x reader #danganronpa writing #ndrv3 writing #drv3 writing

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four-loose-screws · 3 years

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FE8 Novelization Translation - Chapter 17, Section 2

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations

If you are interested in donating to support my work, please check out my Ko-fi here. Thank you!

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I call this a “section” because it is not a separate part of the chapter in the book, but divided from the rest of the chapter by a scene break.

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Chapter 17 - The Demon King's Shadow (con’t)

Frelia's pegasus knight unit was continuing to desperately defend against an overwhelmingly large enemy army.

Their entire unit had already been nearly wiped out, and the remaining soldiers were putting all of their strength into defending the bridges. If they fell here, then the enemy could invade in one fell swoop, and the people of Narube would likely be massacred without resistance.

"Those who can move, take the citizens south!" Syrene, the leader of the pegasus knight unit, shouted as loudly as she could while swinging around her lance and fending off the enemy's onslaughts.

However, she hardly had any knights left that could follow that order. Even if the knights managed to get the children atop the pegasi, their wings were damaged, and they couldn’t fly. Even the citizens who had panicked and cried at first had already lost the energy to do that any longer, and exhaustedly slipped into utter silence.

They’d made a major miscalculation. The Grado Army had lost the capital, yet still had a large number of soldiers left.

If the knights thought only about themselves, then they had the possibility to take advantage of their pegasi’s mobility and retreat, but they couldn’t abandon the people of Narube just to escape.

“We’re at our limit, Lady Syrene! We’ll buy you some time! Please do whatever it takes to get out of here!” A knight wearing armor covered in blood yelled at her.

But Syrene shook her head.

She had no intention of running away until the very end. The bodies of the Frelian soldiers who’d exhausted all of their strength lay around her. She was ready to die here in battle herself as well.

Her only regret was that she couldn’t live up to Prince Innes’ hopes for her. She remembered the day that she’d officially become the leader of the pegasus knights as if it was yesterday. The prince had personally given her a beautiful whip and said that the pegasus knight unit was the pride and joy of Frelia, and he wanted them to fight for their homeland so long as they drew breath.

His words filled her chest with deep emotions. She swore to herself that she would devote herself to Frelia… and Prince Innes and Princess Tana.

The plan was to unite her forces with the prince’s at Narube River and fight together at full strength under his orders. However, before that could happen, she would probably see her end. Regret burned in her heart.

Her younger sister was together with the prince. That was her only consolation. If her sister could protect the prince when she couldn’t… then that was all she could ask for.

“Lady Syrene, that’s…!” One of the knights shouted.

Was it more enemy reinforcements? Just how much leftover strength could the Grado Army have at this point?

The moment Syrene was about to succumb to her despair, she looked at where her soldier was pointing, and instinctively breathed a sigh of belief.

A large army was nearing from the south. They were still a considerable distance away, so she couldn't clearly make out who they were, but the color of their armor was different from that of the Grado Army.

"Is that… the Renais Army…?" The moment Syrene whispered, a single pegasus knight appeared from the oncoming crowd, and flew straight in her direction.

Syrene knew who it was before her eyes could even confirm the rider’s face, as she could distinguish the slight but distinct strong wing movements and neck shaking of individual pegasi.

She smiled without even thinking about it, and felt a weight be lifted off her shoulders that had been with her since the beginning of the war.

“Commander Syrene, are you alright?!” The knight riding the pegasus shouted, and swiftly threw a javelin at a Grado soldier coming at her while avoiding his own attack.

She effortlessly hit her target, showing her strength. ‘She’s gotten so much stronger in such a short amount of time.’ Syrene thought.

“Vanessa, you’re here! Meaning…”

“Yes, Prince Innes and Princess Tana are with me! They are safe as well!”

“Thank goodness…” Relief warmed her heart.

Vanessa continued in a commanding tone, “Please stand down, Commander! We’ll take it from here.”

“No, I...”

‘...am not severely injured,’ she started to say, but thought twice about it.

Both her and her unit were already at the limits of their stamina. Even if she continued to be stubborn and fight on the front line, she would do the exact opposite of help, and get in her allies’ way. It was wiser for her to retreat for the moment, recuperate, and then pick up her weapon again.

“Understood! I will stand down for now, and let your commander take over from here. Please tell them I said so.”

“Yes Ma’am!”

“And Vanessa.”

Vanessa tried to guide her pegasus higher into the sky, but Syrene called out to her again.

Vanessa turned back around and no longer had her previous tense expression on her face, perhaps because she had finally relaxed.

Syrene responded in a casual tone, “It looks like you’ve been playing a very big role as a soldier of Princess Eirika’s guard. I was really worried when I heard that you’d been betrayed in Carcino, but… I finally feel at ease.”

“Thank you Ma’am…!”

"Your spearmanship has improved greatly since we parted as well. And you've become a bit more beautiful too."

Vanessa’s eyes widened at suddenly being teased, and her cheeks turned red. “S-Sister…!”

No matter how good their relationship was as sisters, on the battlefield, they were commander and subordinate. To Vanessa, who was so serious it made her formal and strict, keeping that distinction was of vital importance. But right now, even she had forgotten herself.

Syrene laughed out loud and guided her pegasus to softly spread her wings.

Her pegasus had taken an enemy attack, which seriously injured her wing. She wanted her beloved pegasus to be healed as quickly as possible. To a pegasus knight, her pegasus was more than just a simple mount. They were invaluable partners whose fates were linked to each other.

“I’ll see you again later, Vanessa.” Syrene parted ways with her sister for the time being, and her pegasus flew off, leading her exhausted unit.

The Renais Army had crossed the bridge and was coming closer. Syrene stopped her pegasus and landed on the ground.

Everyone was injured and bleeding. Their uniforms had been beautiful and stunning when they left home, but now, they looked like they never could have been such dazzling garments. However, each and every one of their faces were lit up like the sun.

Syrene knelt down on one knee before Eirika and bowed her head. “Reporting, Princess Eirika of Renais! The Frelian Army was surprise attacked by the Grado Army, and we regrettably lost most of our soldiers. But only a few of the people of Narube have been killed since the beginning of the attack, and the rest are safe.”

“Good work. All of you please take whatever time you need to recuperate.”

Eirika’s voice was soft and kind. Just her words alone healed Syrene of her exhaustion.

“Are you alright, Syrene?”

She recognized Prince Innes’ voice, and looked up.

He was standing next to Eirika. Among his dirt-covered army, he stood out as the one refined person. He of course should be tired since he had traveled on a long journey together with the soldiers, but he didn’t show it in the slightest. His clothing looked as if a tailor had just dressed him.

“Lord Innes… I am sorry. The Frelian Army is unable to merge with Renais’ Army. We’ve suffered too much damage, and…”

"Never mind that. None of you have anything you need to worry about. We’ll take it from here.”

His words were reassuring. ‘It appears that Vanessa is not the only one who’s grown up while we were apart.’ She felt that Prince Innes had also become even stronger since the last time they’d seen each other.

‘Perhaps…’ Syrene thought. ‘Vanessa has become more beautiful because of Prince Innes?’ It was difficult for her to imagine Vanessa falling in love with any ordinary man. If he wasn’t a partner that she could respect with all of her heart, then he likely wouldn’t be able to steal it. And If there was any man that Vanessa could respect, it was of course...

“Syrene, do you know any information about the enemy commander?”

Innes asked her in a harsh tone.

Syrene shook her head. “There is a fort on the other side of the river. The enemy commander is using it as a base. I heard that it appears to be Prince Lyon leading the army. I have not been able to confirm that myself, but that is what my subordinates reported.”

“Hmm… Do you know anything about Prince Lyon? ...No wait, nevermind.” In a move that was entirely unlike him, Innes hesitated and changed his words. “Asking won’t change anything. For now, Syrene, please get healed, and return quickly to the battlefront. We still need your power.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

He seemed worried about Prince Lyon for some reason, but knowing that she and her soldiers were living up to the prince’s expectations made Syrene happy. The pegasus knights had survived their long, grueling fight, retreated for the time being, and were healed by Natasha and the other healers.

“Leave the front line to us. We’ll defend the northern bridge.” Ephraim said and charged his horse straight north.

His loyal knights Forde and Kyle led his other soldiers and followed after him.

Eirika went with Seth and the others to save the citizens. The group totaled a few dozen men and women huddling together and shaking. Eirika talked to each of them individually to encourage them, helped the injured atop her horse, and led them to a safe place.

Eirika worked as hard as she could, trying not to think about anything she did not need to. But every so often, she would remember that wicked voice. Whenever she thought about Lyon and the pain the Demon King had caused him, she couldn’t stand the feeling she felt.

‘I ate his heart.’ Or so the Demon King said. If she accepted his words literally, then Lyon’s heart was already gone, and his body entirely controlled by the Demon King. She did not want to believe that such a terrifying thing could be reality.

It had been for only just a moment, but she'd heard Lyon scream. “Run away…” He’d pleaded with all his might. “I’ll destroy you…” There was no way that could have been the Demon King’s voice.

Lyon’s heart had yet to be completely consumed. He'd nearly suppressed the Demon King’s consciousness, and was continuing to just barely manage to fight. He was struggling as hard as he could to remain in control. And that was why they had to press forward. They had to defeat the Demon King and restore his heart.

But on the other hand of that thought, the Demon King's last words weighed heavily on her heart. Ephraim told her not to worry about them, yet she couldn't help but think about them.

Kill Prince Ephraim, and claim Princess Eirika. The Demon King said that was Lyon's desire. A kind man like Lyon shouldn't have such a twisted and ambitious desire… or so she wanted to think, but her heart was no longer sure.

As Lyon was a sickly person, Ephraim had always been the object of his admiration. In situations like when Ephraim was praised by Duessel, or he won a match against a senior knight, Lyon would cheerfully say "You really are amazing, Ephraim!" Those were words of wonder and amazement.

At the time, Eirika didn't think much of it, and just took his words at face value. ...There hadn’t been any warped feelings hiding underneath that adoration, right? He thought Ephraim was amazing… and wanted to be Ephraim… but he couldn’t. Those feelings of inferiority hadn’t turned into jealousy, had they?

“Lady Eirika, we have finished leading the people to safety.” Seth reported.

The pegasus knights had also finished receiving their treatment, and were awaiting Eirika’s orders. Now was not the time to be guessing what was within Lyon’s heart. She had orders to give as her army’s commander.

“Let’s go! We will take the fort across the river and capture Prince Lyon!” Eirika hesitated for a moment, then added, “You must not kill him! We still have a lot of questions for him.”

Syrene and her pegasus knights immediately accepted the order and all flew up into the sky at once. The pegasi had all been healed alongside their riders, and their energy was restored. They flapped their white wings at full strength.

Seth looked up at the pegasus knights and said, “Lady Eirika, I understand how you feel, but Prince Lyon is already…”

“...I know.” She cut off the rest of his sentence, not wanting to hear it.

He looked straight at her. "Our enemy introduced himself as the Demon King. We still do not know whether he truly is or not, but if he is, then this is very serious. Even if we fight him at full strength, we still might not win.”

“...You're right.”

“It’s a shame that his heart is in chaos on the outside, but…”

“I know. I’ll be fine, Seth. I’m prepared to fight him.” Eirika nodded with conviction.

She couldn’t make Seth worry, and so she spoke those words to him immediately. In truth, she still didn’t know. Would she be able to turn her sword against him?

Eirika maneuvered her horse to the front line, where Ephraim's group was fighting. She shook off her hesitation and gradually picked up speed.

A harsh battle was unfolding on the northern bridge. Grado dragon knights attacked from the sky, making the fight difficult for Ephraim and his soldiers, but the pegasus knight unit rushed to their side, and started to change their situation bit by bit.

Pegasi were of a smaller build than dragons, but were utterly fearless. They flew bravely at the enemies' chests, and threw them into confusion. Once the dragon unit's movements had broken out into a panic, Innes and Neimi shot arrows straight at them. The arrows flew through the dragon's wings. Their cries pierced the sky, and their riders lost their balance and fell into the river.

Once Eirika's army finally captured the bridge, they used that momentum to continue moving east. They could now see the fort the enemy was using as their base.

"He's in there, right?!" Ephraim asked when Eirika rode up next to him.

Eirika noticed that her brother refused to refer to Lyon by name.

Perhaps Ephraim felt just as lost as Eirika, and that was why he was purposely avoiding referring to Lyon by name. If he said it aloud, it might dull his resolve to fight, no matter what else he did.

The enemy was waiting for them outside of the fort. Eirika's army shifted into a fan formation and surrounded the Demon King.

He had a cruel smile on his face, and waited calmly for them. He no longer seemed to have any interest in pretending to be human. His facial features were clearly Lyon's, but his expressions did not feel human at all.

'That's not Lyon… such a wicked, cold stare could never be Lyon's.' Eirika told herself. But she still could not rid herself of her hesitation, rather, she tried to find if Lyon was left anywhere in his face.

"...So you intend to challenge me?" The Demon King asked.

The chilling sound of his voice made Eirika's horse tremble so hard she could not calm her.

"You are all so lucky to not yet know my true terror…”

"Get out of Lyon's body!!" Ephraim roared.

Eirika jumped. His voice was filled with an intense anger that she had never once heard come from him in her entire life.

Ephraim did not fear the Demon King, although perhaps it was more accurate to say that he was so infuriated by someone hurting Lyon that he forgot how afraid he was.

Ephraim's powerful voice boosted the morale of Eirika's army, but the Demon King met Ephraim's anger by laughing at him.

"It's not healthy to make your blood boil, prince of Renais. Don't you get it? Prince Lyon and everything about him is no more. I ate him. This body is no longer his.”

"Damn you…!" Ephraim raised his lance, and his soldiers each readied their own weapons. The archers and mages behind them also prepared themselves to support them.

But the Demon King’s spell was faster. Its waves rippled through the air, and a split second after, a horse collapsed.

Eirika looked over at them and felt fear send a chill down her spine. The neck of the fallen horse was turning in unnatural directions as if a huge, invisible hand was twisting it.

“Nosferatu…?!” Lute gasped. As someone so confident, it was entirely unlike her, but even she was panicking. “Please be careful! That is an extremely powerful dark magic. If you take a direct hit, then…!”

The army’s movements fell into chaos. The terrified horses burst out into a full gallop and tried to shake off their riders. Only Seth, Forde, and a few others managed to keep control of their horses, while the other knights all clung desperately to their horses’ necks.

The Demon King cast another spell. Another horse fell down.

The army was in a panic trying to rush outside of the spell’s range, but among them, Eirika was doing the opposite, and pushing ahead.

Seth and Ephraim noticed her and rushed over to her, flustered. They stood behind her, ready to protect her, as she faced the Demon King.

His expression changed, sharp eyes narrowing in satisfaction.

Eirika tightened her grip around her horse's reins. Her horse stopped shaking, the strength of her resolve seeming to communicate with her mount.

"Can you hear me, Lyon?" Eirika said and stared straight into the Demon King's eyes.

"It's useless!!" Ephraim shouted and tried to stop her, but she paid him no mind and continued.

"You're in there, aren't you, Lyon? Please do not abandon hope. We will defeat the Demon King and save you… so please, don't give in…"

The Demon King's expression shook ever so slightly. He furrowed his brow and glared at Eirika. "Pitiful girl… You still believe that there is any of Lyon's heart within this body? How fascinating. Then come here. I will tear you apart limb from limb with these very hands…"

"Get away from him, Eirika!" Ephraim shouted and kicked his horse's side. Seth followed after him a second later.

Ephraim thrust his lance with a sharp battle cry. The Demon King narrowly dodged a fatal blow, but blood sprayed out from his shoulder. Seth followed up without a moment's delay, thrusting his own lance.

The Demon King flailed his arm around wildly, but there was no power in his movements.

"Support Ephraim! Archers, step forward!" Innes ordered, and swiftly shot an arrow of his own.

His silver arrow pierced deep into the Demon King's chest.

'Stop!' Eirika tried to scream. 'If you kill him, then Lyon's heart will die, too!!'

The Demon King staggered, but his eyes did not lose the intensity within them. "This little is too much…? The human body is so frail." He muttered in annoyance and pulled the arrow out of his chest. Blood flowed from the wound.

He glared at Eirika with eyes burning like a blazing fire. "I have learned the extent of your power. In this case… I will hasten my resurrection. I will abandon this frail body and return to my true flesh. That is the day when this continent will once again be shrouded in darkness. There is no longer a single place any of you can run to!” He said in a tone not unlike that of one giving a curse, and disappeared.

Ephraim yelled at him, “You’re running away?! Do you really think I’ll let you desecrate Lyon’s body ever again…?!”

Ephraim ordered the soldiers to search the area and turned back towards Eirika. “Are you alright, Eirika?”

“Yes…”

"Don't do anything reckless. You know he's not Lyon. The Lyon we were friends with is already…"

"Brother, I want to believe him. The Demon King says what he does, but Lyon's heart is still alive… he's suffering and waiting for us to save him. I can feel it." Ephraim furrowed his brow. His blue eyes clouded over with hesitation.

He was still suffering, too. Just like she was.

He sighed deeply. "...I understand. Right now, finding him comes first. Eirika, you rest for a bit."

"No, I'm going to search too…"

"Your face is terribly pale. You've pushed yourself past your limit. L'Arachel, could you please take care of her?"

L'Arachel was standing near him, so he called her over.

Eirika went into a tent with L'Arachel, deciding that she would take a short rest.

ー

#fire emblem #fe #fe8 #sacred stones #eirika #game boy advance #gba #japan #japanese #translation #novel #light novel #fe8 novelization translation

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sonicasura · 3 years

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Balan Wonderworld Review: Favorite Costumes Part 2

Before we get started, I like to say something. I ABSOLUTELY DESPISE TIM TRAPS. If you don't know, there is a specific plant that tends to appear in certain levels called Tim Traps. A carnivorous orange flower that's favorite meal is TIMS. If you kick the plants, you can free your Trapped Tim or prevent one from getting trapped for a short period of time. Problem is if the Tim is trapped for too long, your baby is gone for good. Chapter 3 and Chapter 5's Act 3 are loaded with these annoying plants. To the point if I can't find the trapped Tims, I exit out of the game just to save my poor fluffballs. Ain't sacrificing my little birds for Drops and Trophies! Mini rant over.

Rules are the same as before. I'd be ranking both a Common Costume and Rare Costume. Common Costumes are easily to find whether it be in multiple levels and Rare Costumes are those that rarely appear or are difficult to get.

I'll be doing my favorite Secret Costume after playing all Act 3s for each chapter. Now let's begin.

Chapter 7

Common Costume- Floaty Flower

The Flower Fairy and greatest glider found in the main story. Floaty Flower is a costume that can be found in the Act 1, 2 and the Boss Act, it offers a slower descent but faster movement than the hover for Soaring Sheep.

I love this costume not for its aesthetic but a cute Easter Egg I found in Chapter 7 Act 1. On rare occasions, this costume is an NPC that actually flirts with you! Some NPCs in certain chapters act differently from their standard counterpart. They often try to disguise themselves or runaway. Catching them grants you a free costume of the one you caught.

Floaty Flower will appear and follow you, similar to a shy school girl with a crush. If you go to her, she will run which is a similar action to any shy person getting approached by their crush. Also... I think there is some lore hidden in this one that might be quite sad if it's directly linked to Cal, the human whose heart created this particular world. If so then... OOF.

Rare Costume - Paladin Puncher

A knight fights with his fists than a sword. This costume can be found in Act 2 and is a stronger version of the Pumpkin Puncher that can break iron or ice blocks. He's a bit slower than his Chapter 6 counterpart but perfect breaking the more blocks and defeating spiky enemies.

I also love the fact this costume goes against the traditional tools of a knight. Knights often fight using swords, shields, lances and rare occasions bows or axes. If you give me one who PUNCHES or straight uses martial arts to fight then you got my vote in seconds.

Chapter 8

Common Costume - Snow Fairy

Elegant dancer of ice and snow. The Snow Fairy costume allows the wearer to walk on air for a short period of time and can in found in Act 1 and Act 2. This costume does have a shorter usage time than Air Cat but makes up for it with the added elevation.

I absolutely adore how elegant and beautiful this particular costume is. You can compare the Snow Fairy to myths often related to fae or hidden in the freezing mountains. An otherworldly beauty that makes any hardship worth seeing just a being before your eyes. Being a reindeer type Faun just adds to the mystique and creating snowflakes to walk on is a perfect extra touch.

Rare Costume - Amadeus

Sophisticated pianist. A costume that can only be found in Act 1 and is a performing costume. Now I am a big fan of piano covers, whether it be covers of game osts or actual songs, there is rarely any piano music I don't like.

I love the fact he's wearing piano keys as a collar and even has a tutu made out of those very keys. A very creative take to a normally grounded instrument. And the big white wig is a nice touch since it's often portrayed with pianists in various media.

Chapter 9

Common Costume- Iron Panda

Adorable crusher. Iron Panda is a costume found in Act 1 and Act 2 with the ability to break iron blocks using both its jump and weight. This costume is surprisingly fast for a rather large and heavy form, perfect for fast stomps on enemies or quick getaways if you have rare costumes you don't want to lose.

This costume reminds of a rolling Russian Doll with a panda theme. Very adorable, the bluish purple color suits the white very nicely and I love that sleepy look on its face. The large blue dots on its sides are actually the arms too, they mimic panels! Only thing that unnerves me is when the costume turns their head by a 90 degree angle. Super creepy when using it.

Rare Costume- Merry Ghost

Cute and Spooky! The Merry Ghost is a costume that can be found in Act 2 and gives the ability to constantly float. It's main purpose is to avoid ground hazards like poison swamps and has a larger slightly floaty jump. The only downside is that you can't harm enemies with this, it's only for quick mobility.

Very adorable especially with the stitched rag cloak covering the body. It has this Mimikyu sort of vibe but also a Casper the Friendly Ghost aura too. Friendly spirits are often tossed aside for more vicious or antagonistic ones in a lot of media. Getting an adorable friendly one just adds points in my book and a good pal for Casper.

Chapter 10

Common Costume - Inky Blaster

Yuji Naka's take on a squid kid. This costume can be found in Act 1, Act 2 and the Boss Act. She allows the wearer to throw fast globs of rainbow paint at opponents or targets and is decently agile.

Love that her hands are paintbrushes and is based on the octopus. Tentacles mimicking the frills of a dress and used for hair and feet? A very creative take and splattering rainbow paint on the annoying types of Negati (looking at you ya divebomb happy Pelican and destroyer of most of my good costumes) is very therapeutic.

Rare Costume- Air Unicorn

The first unicorn I like?! This costume can only be found in Act 1 and allows the user to walk on air farther than Air Cat. The practical godfather of mobility, and recovery. You won't believe how many times this costume has gotten me to very difficult areas and saved me from death via falling into the abyss.

It is a very tricky costume to find but if you turn around, there's a large paintbrush on the wall. You need the Double Jumper to get on top but you'll be able to see a hidden mirror. That is where the Air Unicorn is located.

I won't lie that unicorns are not my preferred mythological creature. I live in America where unicorns tend to be oversaturated to oblivion and don't get me started on My Little Pony. The show isn't my cup of tea but I do have some followers and friends who are fans. People have their own opinions and it's rude to question them about it.

I honestly love the elegant but cute design, the purple, pale pink and cyan just fit well with the white, I also love that the mane mimics a paintbrush tip and the large light purple collar of fur is a perfect touch to this fine design.

Chapter 11

Common Costume - Bulldozer

A man's punny best friend! This costume can be in Act 1, Act 2 (?), and the Boss Act. It lets you push special construction blocks and you can boost the push speed by button mashing.

They definitely took a lot of creative for costumes in Chapter 11 amongst the other ones in my opinion. Fire Stations tend to have some animal companions with dogs being the most common but instead of a Dalmatian for the design they used a Bulldog! 😍

Like the aforementioned machine, this good boy is bulky, has the appropriate color scheme and even the hands turn into bulldozer's shovel when using the ability! I love the fact his tail is wagging when you push a block and it wags faster if ya button mash!

Also the name is a pun!

Rare Costume - Fiery Blaster

Pyromancer of Lions. The Fiery Blaster costume can only be found in Act 2. It gives the wearer that ability to throw large fireballs alongside fire and lava immunity. If you hate lava levels or have difficulty with this Chapter's boss then I recommend getting this Costume.

First thing I like to say about this particular design is how they use the colors. Looking at the mane, you can see how the red and darker red are patterned in a way to mimic flames. The dark red fur on the feet are even in fire like a pattern. The outfit such as the yellow and brownish kilt alongside the gloves spewing fire around the wrists just reminds me of a fire dancer.

I can see this fella wielding one of the torches a fire dancer uses and just put on a spectacular show.

Chapter 12

Another loveable version of a beloved icon. The Invisible Man costume can be found in Act 1, Act 2 and the Boss Act. It has the power to turn the wearer invisible for a period of time and become undetected to enemies that aren't bosses.

Agile and perfect to deal with enemies who are very annoying or are difficult snipers. You don't know how satisfying it is to give the more aggravating Negati an invisible middle finger by sneak attacking them. I have lost many costumes whenever enemies got the drop on me so it's fair to dish out payback.

I love how this design takes aspect from the popular icon but also have it relate to their human counterpart. Bandages were used by the original Invisible Man to cover skin his normal clothing couldn't cover in public and made it easier for him to disappear when needed.

The shoes and arms being covered in bandages and some of the bandages being used as bangs for the hair is a nice touch.

Rare Costume - Jolt Tiger

Immovable Taser. This costume can only be found in Act 2. It grants electricity immunity and create a barrier when you stand still. One of the better costumes for baiting particular enemies. You do have to be careful because a single itch will stop the barrier.

If you don't know, the Tiger is my Chinese Zodiac and electricity is one of my favorite elements. Love the yellow lightning bolt flairs and even the black stripes mimic lightning too! I also like the will o' wisp pattern on the stomach and the large tuft of grayish fur around the chest. The design puts it above the Sun Walker.

And that is it! The next thing I will cover is the level design and it's music. The bosses will be done last since it's good to save the best for last!

Until next time folks, see you back in Wonderworld.

#balan company #balan wonderworld #fuck square enix #balan company's innocent #sonicasura #mun sonicasura #game review #my personal opinion #fucksquareenix #balan wonderland #balan wonderworld costumes #favorite costumes #personal favorites

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princeasimdiya12 · 3 years

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So thanks to @tornrose24, I decided to come up with more expulsion themed ideas for the Captain Underpants Dangan Ronpa AU. You can check out the first batch here if you’re interested in reading them. And just as a reminder, none of the characters involved in these expulsions are killed or seriously harmed like in the video game series. Each kid is still alive and is kicked out of the school.

So these are the ideas in mind for the other kids.

Reap What You Sow: The expulsion begins with Stanley who’s tied to a metal pole with a spinning top underneath his feet. The lights turn on revealing to be a barren wasteland. The boy begins to sweat intensely when MonoKrupp shows up and spins the top under him. The top begins to spin the boy around while spreading his sweat on the ground below him. The top begins to move all around the wasteland like a mobile sprinkler which causes the ground to sprout little by little. Eventually the top gives out and Stanley is freed from his restraints but is severely dizzy. When he starts to focus his vision, he finds that his sweat grew carnivorous plants that completely entangle the boy in their tentacle vines. But before the plants eat him, MonoKrupp charges in with a weed eater and destroys the plants. And he picks up the boy now wrapped heavily in vines and bats him out of the field, like a baseball, and into the outside world.

La Fille De Fleurs: Dressy is shown seated criss cross on the floor and is as calm as can be. Suddenly, hippies of all kinds begin to encircle her while holding different types of flowers. MonoKrupp is there, dressed as a hippie, and taps onto his bongos instructing the hippies to begin. As they sing and dance to a melodic beat, they toss the flowers they were carrying onto Dressy. Soon more dancers join the circle and toss their flowers her way. As they do, Dressy finds herself being lifted higher and higher as the flowers continue to be tossed her direction creating a mountain of petals and colors. This continues on until they reach more than 20 stories high and the hippies immediately stop. Then MonoKrupp pounds heavily onto his bongos and the flowers immediately drop. To Dressy’s surprise, the flowers reveal a cannon underneath with her inside of it. She’s quickly given a helmet before the robotic bear presses a secret button that blasts Dressy out of the school.

The Pink Piper of Hamelin: The scene opens in a medieval village with Gooch in a pink, fairy tale themed costume. But out in the distance, where the castle gates reside, MonoKrupp opens the gates unleashing a swarm of rats who ravage through everything they come across. Panicked by his impending doom, Gooch takes out his trusted pipes and begins to play. But he notices that the rats aren’t slowing down so he plays harder, even getting some notes wrong. And just when they’re about to reach the piper, the rats immediately stop and swarm to different directions. Gooch thinks that he did it. Until he turns out and finds a group of ferocious beasts behind him and ready to attack. Gooch screams in panic and barges through the academy walls as the large animals chase after him.

Final Curtain: Billy finds himself in the middle of a stage with a crowd watching over him. Suddenly, the curtains open up and the floor and stage begin to transform into an elaborate obstacle course. Billy’s platform ends up in the highest level and below him lie a variety of platforms with traps and puppet like monsters based on classical theater plays. Without thinking, the boy traverses the complex obstacle course while evading Greek marionettes with swords, fire breathing dragon heads moved by strings, and hip hop historical figures. He notices that the safest platform is the one closest to the stage. But when he jumps on it, the entire scene collapses behind him and cause the final platform to act like a springboard which catapults him through the roof itself. The audience can be heard clapping wildly until the debris from the crashed roof falls down on him. The house has been brought down.

Battle of the Bands: The room is dark as two spotlights shine down on two individuals. The first MonoKrupp dressed as a musical conductor. The second is Lisa, wearing an elegant dress and carrying her violin. The lights turn on all around them revealing musicians wearing MonoKrupp helmets and armed with their own instruments. MonoKrupp waves his paw in the air and points directly at Lisa. The first group featuring violinists fire their bows at the girl as she barely moves out of the way. When she tries to run to a different part of the room, the bear instructs the next section to fire their instruments at her. Not wanting to lose so easily, Lisa has no choice but to use her own violin as a shield against the instruments her enemies throw at her. This continues on with each section attacking the girl as she dodges for her life while her beloved instrument becomes whittled from the ongoing attacks. At last, each section has been exhausted but Lisa’s violin is nothing more then a chunk of battered wood. MonoKrupp appears defeated, until he pulls out an electric guitar and unleashes a powerful sound wave directly at Lisa that flings her out of the walls and into the outside.

And those are my ideas for the kids. Feel free to tell me what you think of these okay?

#captain underpants #the epic tales of captain underpants #cu dr au #stanley peet #dressy killman #gooch #steve gooch yamaguchi #lisa beard #lisa bobeesa #billy hutchins #billy doanbee ahiro

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hattercatsparadise · 3 years

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Mirror, mirror on the wall … Guide souls to us!

@in-that-deep-blue-sea:

Pronouns She/Her and I'm Bisexual

Appearance : I'm a 5'3 female with shoulder length black hair and light brown eyes . I have a slightly more weight tho. I like to tuck one side of hair behind my ears and let the other side fall out, or just tie it all. I wear a black glasses and has a blue flower earrings. And I have a mole on my left cheek. My eyes make me look like I'm a sleepy or bored person.

Personality : I'm a Leo and INFP, I have somehow a very high standard and try to push myself until I reach my goal or sometimes got injured in progress. I don't want to strive to be number one but still expects myself highly. But I'm still carefree and puny to people, trying to lighten the mood in every way possible. Even if I'm sad I'll still try to put on a happy front so I don't drag my friends down with me. And I have some tendency to take care and help people in need as a motherly one in my friend group. But when I'm out in public I'm still shy and has social anxiety so I like to not interact with people before they talk to me. I'm very insecure about a lot of things such as my appearance, my skills, my personality, and even my way of talking. And I'm very sympathic and could connect to people's mood easily. I'm kinda strong due to 3 years of exercising but I tend to hold most back because it'll not make me look lady-like.

Interests : I like watching movies and analysing the characters personality and think about more possible route the story may go. And read novels, Especially classic fantasy and Norse myths. I like books and movies about time and space, since I love watching the sky. I tend to spend 60% or more invested in video games and mobile games too, I play games such as RE, Or Assassin's creed, Identity V, TWST. I like to sing and listen to music( Pop, electro, EDM and whatever Memories - David Guetta is) too, I could sing well but never really had a chance to go to my school's audition. And I love watching Anime and cosplay too, I'm one year into cosplay but my cosplay is okay, I guess? And this month I just started to play Volleyball, I'm still practicing a lot because I also play golf too. I always dress like Dark academia but my aesthetic is something like Vaporwave (when I'm feeling edgy) and Skycore (when I'm feeling happy)

You have a typical mediator mentality and in Ignihyde there are several similar personalities which create feelings of mutual understanding and comfort between you and your roommates. None of them judge you on your sexual preference or orientation as they understand the fear of not being understood. Your habits of neglecting your feelings so as not to cause problems for others create an empathy between you and some of your friends in Ignihyde who may have a similar habit, eventually you bond so that you can trust your negative thoughts and let off steam. You are the mother of the group and this becomes the haven of your dorm friends who also bring the comfort of being understood because of the similarities but still differences that make each of you unique and special in your own ways. Many in this dorm are also shy and have their insecurities, but once nominated with like-minded people or interests a new world opens up for you and Idia has probably become your best friend leaving Ortho very happy that his beloved older brother has a friend like you. Seriously, you can spend hours playing and destroying enemies in various types of games and becoming a fearsome pair. Inside Ignihyde has been created several small clubs and internal forums to discuss anime, games and fiction books where you also analyze character personality and parallel plots with your friends. It's crazy that no Ignihyde student has benefited from being so happy or so talkative at the small community meetings you created. Cosplay? Please, this dorm will be turned upside down for the joy it will become! You've never enjoyed being comfortable with being able to show your passion and still have fun with your friends by creating an album with all the cosplays along with the entire dorm. Because of your musical style, it became you to create AMVs about your cosplay or about anime characters on the private blog created just for Ignihyde students. Sometimes when you feel bold there are animeke nights and this dorm gets livelier like Heartslabyul's Unbirthday parties. Your Vaporwave style makes your friends go crazy because you look terribly cute, but always remember your habit of wearing this style of clothing when you are edgy and the Skycore style when happy. They watch out for this to make sure you're emotionally okay (as an incompetent crow isn't much help). Some may feel insecure about sports because they don't want to be the center of attention, but they respect you and your sports hobbies. Maybe if you guys create a virtual reality game they'll play a little bit. There is a guarantee that you will always feel welcome and very well loved and understood by your Ignihyde dormmates.

#Mirror Revelation

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jakeperalta · 3 years

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tag games! i’ve been tagged in a few recently so i’m putting them together on this post, there’s a lot of overlap between questions so i’ve combined a few variations within part 2 :)

part 1 - tagged by @jonmercer & @daenersys & @ithinkheknowss 💕💕💕

Why did you choose your url? i was offered it by a lovely mutual who knew how much i love jake!!

Any side blogs? @cosystudy (although i only ever reblog on there now) & @photoshopresource which is just a place to collect editing resources/tutorials etc

How long have you been on tumblr? since summer 2012 👵

Do you have a queue tag? it’s “queue and me forevermore” (as in the lyric from new years day by tswift) but i’m not very consistent at using it on mobile!

Why did you start your blog in the first place? back when i was in the 1d twitter fandom we used to sometimes go on omegle with the “directioner” tag and people used to ask if i had tumblr and i had no idea what it was but decided to get it for the 1d fandom lmao

Why did you choose your icon/pfp? folklore album of the year!!! staying up and watching her grammy performance and then seeing her win aoty was such a fun night, also her dress is very pretty

Why did you choose your header? rory and logan my beloveds ❤

What’s your post with the most notes? i believe it’s my text post about celebrities’ private lives that got hijacked by a weird l*rry shipper 🥴

How many mutuals do you have? I actually have no idea, I guess just a slightly smaller number than the number of blogs I follow??

How many followers do you have? over 11k

How many people do you follow? 1502

Have you ever made a shit post? like half my blog is random thoughts no one asked for so yes absolutely

How often do you use tumblr a day? i’m usually on and off it for a few minutes at a time on mobile all day, then i might spend a longer time on desktop in the evenings

Did you ever have a fight/argument with another blog? not really, i usually block people before it can become an argument lol

How do you feel about the ‘you need to reblog’ posts? most of the time it makes me want to reblog less

Do you like tag games? yes! i like getting to know people

Do you like ask games? also yes!

Which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous? idk who i’d pick specifically but there’s lots of very cool people who seem pretty big within their respective fandoms

Do you have a crush on a mutual? no lol

part 2 - catch up meme: tagged by @jonmercer / @benwvatt / @nicolemkidman 💖💖💖

favorite color: purple

last song: take me to church - hozier

last album: amidst the chaos - sara bareilles

last movie: pretty woman

currently reading: the living sea of waking dreams by richard flanagan, also listening to the audiobook of someday someday maybe by lauren graham

currently watching: one tree hill

currently craving: could really go for some chocolate cake right now

coffee or tea: coffee

sweet, spicy, or savory: sweet!

currently working on: my masters dissertation 😭😭

relationship status: in a relationship 🥰

three favorite foods: macaroni cheese, any other kind of pasta, tofu katsu curry

song stuck in my head: high horse - kacey musgraves

last thing i googled: "apple music replay 2021″

time: 23:54

dream trip: australia, especially tasmania

anything i really need right now: a holiday and a break from dissertation hell lmao

tagging - anyone who tagged me in one if they haven’t done the other! also @cardigantaylor13 @reputayswift @gwen-stace @alisonsmouth @fukyouforever @its-tortle @dress if you guys want to!! 💗

#tag games

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dontasktheradiodemon · 4 years

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Livestream Chat Log: Hello, Dolly!

Chat log from a couple of weeks ago: Valera casually jailbreaks Alastor and Sir Pentious out of Hell to take them to Broadway in the living world.

Alastor

((Somebody Patiently Preparing Tiny Food is the exact sort of bullshit on alastor's secret Kinds Of ASMR That I Watch list))

Valera

[[ good because that's what their pre-game theatre experience. everyone has to sit on val's bed and watch videos

Alastor

well if the pregame show is videos of tiny food cooking then Alastor is gonna just. Sit on Val's bed. and 100% zone out over these tiny food videos

he is Extremely Vulnerable to asmr

Sir Pentious

If they're all on the bed, then they're all getting wrapped up in Pentious. That's the rule.

Valera

Well damn, if she's getting wrapped in Pentious then Pentious is getting wrapped in HER. Not Alastor though, that would be invasive.

Sir Pentious

"ISss IT A HOUSE OF GIANTS OR IS EVERYTHING SMALL? WHAT IS THIS ASMR's STORY?"

Valera

"It's tiny food cooking ASMR. You just watch people make tiny edible things."

Alastor

"He's cooking for a doll house." He's gonna. Like. Pull Sir Pent's tail onto his lap.

ASMR means Alastor is 90% hypnotized but not too hypnotized to claim The Tail

Sir Pentious

The eyes are gonna look at you Alastor. He is looking. Sir Pentious tilts his head to the side, "BUT WHY??? THE DOLLsss CANNOT HAVE IT, AND CERTAINLY, EATING IT WOULD TAKE SSUCH A SHORT TIME."

Alastor

Gonna take him a minute to process the question. "... Pleasure of making it, I think."

Sir Pentious

Penny turns his head like. Upsidedown backwards to look at Alastor. He's long he can do this, "OH, SSSSO, THIS IS MORE OF AN ENDEAVOR OF 'THEY SAID I COULDN'T AND SO I DID IT'???" He rights himself, "IN THAT CASE, I CAN TOTALLY GET BEHIND IT! ONE MORE!!"

Valera

"Alright."

"Just say when you see one you like."

Alastor

Video's over, Alastor's blinking like he just came out of a trance. "More or less, yes!" Blink. "... When did you get here?"

Sir Pentious

" "

Valera

"He.. He wrapped around you."

Sir Pentious

Sir Pentious blinks at him, "I-- IS THAT A MINIATURE RESTAURANT"

Valera

"Yes."

Alastor

"... So he did!"

Valera

"That is the weirdest pepper shaker. Lets find a better one."

Sir Pentious

"OH, I SSUPPOSE THIS ISN'T REALLY ASMR ANYMORE. THE MUSIC IS NOT OFF PUTTING, AT ANY RATE."

Alastor

Regards this mini KFC video SUSPICIOUSLY. "Oh, fast food."

"The sound design wasn't very good in that one, anyway."

Sir Pentious

Sir Pentious moves himself so that he's leaning on his elbow and looking at Alastor. Hi.

Valera

"The pancakes will do, this channel doesn't put obnoxious music over their videos."

Alastor

Too late, new video has started with Good Sound, he's once again lost to the world.

Valera

Val can move herself out of the way if need be?

Sir Pentious

NO!!!

Valera

She's gonna wriggle to get out of the way. She is giving them room. It's happening.

Sir Pentious

Pentious looks vaguely alarmed!!!! "WHERE ARE YOU GOING???"

Nothing like Pentious Volume during ASMR videos.

Valera

"Out of the way? You're moving around, I figured you needed some room."

"Ah, another or should we go?"

Alastor

Alastor's ears twitch a little at Pentious Volume but they also twitch at every single little click and scrape sound in the video so that's not saying a lot re: his alertness to his environment

Sir Pentious

Pentious looks at Alastor, then slithers off the bed, "I AM READY WHENEVER YOU ARE, MY DEAR."

Alastor

Oh he's awake again. "Whenever everybody else is ready to go! I suppose with time travel there's no urgency to arrive on time, is there?"

Valera

"There certainly isn't. This was all a con, I tricked you both into sitting around quietly." Well. Relatively quietly.

Sir Pentious

Sir Pentious stands... well. Poises. He is ready to be off, though he suspects that they were going to be transformed in some way, his hands are placed neatly behind him as he waits, "I HAVE NEVER BEEN TRANSFORMED BEFORE, OUTSIDE OF MY ARRIVAL IN HELL. LET'S SEE WHAT YOU HAVE FOR ME, VALERA."

Alastor

"Oh, are you going to be handling disguises, then?" Alastor had been prepared to handle his own, but he's kind of curious what Valera can do—is it going to end up being how he looked in life or is she just going to make something up?

Valera

"I am! Pentious and I can hardly show up looking like we do, and.. Well. You'd have an easier time blending in, but I think people would stare." A chuckle, and Val hops off the bed to come stand before Pentious. Her hands reach up to grab his shoulders, and.. In a sort of rippling, like the air got hot around them, he suddenly changes into Pentious ala Life, being supported by a fish holding his tiny human frame up.

Sir Pentious

Much alike to the conversation shared by Alastor and Pentious before, it would be easier to describe a Cobra first, and then say what was different. Pale as death, with bags under his eyes and quite the skinny frame--he's no longer towering over Valera, but at a neat and tidy 6'1". Long black hair that hangs down his mid-back, a grey and black pinstripe suit--the eye on his chest now replaced by a pendant. He was still wearing the bowtie he was given by Alastor. His eyes seemed to retain their eerie Hellish hue, but it looked more bloodshot than demonlike--even his hat was disguised! He wants to admire himself, but instead he's met with a /groan/, and finds himself slumping against Valera's much taller body, his legs totally giving out under him. Oh, this was very alarming.

Alastor

He automatically steps forward, reaching out to try to support Sir Pentious but stopping short of touching him. "You all right?" Oh, now that's a full transformation! And based on Sir Pentious's reaction, it seems to be material, not just an illusion pasted on top. (Either that, or it's just very uncomfortable.) Alastor's going to have to learn that trick.

Valera

Valera purrs, running her claws through Pentious' hair in comforting strokes. Second time this week her chest has become a cushion for a black haired human! A further conjuring, and she carefully lowers Penny into a wheelchair, blanket tucked over his lower half. And now, to approach Alastor with magic intent...

Sir Pentious

It is an incredibly strange thing to not have any feeling in one's lower body, but especially so when one used to have a different limb there ENTIRELY. He jerks his body to the left, and then remembers he actually has hips. Oh, NO! This is MUCH WORSE than he'd considered,... Sir Pentious is just going to sit in this wheelchair with a distant look in his eyes, considering the fact he is heavily vulnerable. Around people he likes, around people he likes, around people he likes... He's alright, Alastor, just shaken by the change. He hasn't had a human body, or even a humanoid body, in almost a century and a half.

Alastor

Alastor watches Sir Pentious for a moment, concerned—he seems sort of out of it—but maybe that's just the whole "no longer has a tail" thing. Alastor will let him be for a moment.

He turns to Valera, flicks a hand over one ear like he's brushing down his hair, and jokes "Just a little off the top, barber."

Valera

She snorts. "Do you want a shave with that? No no, let me surprise you. I know just the style." One hand reaches out, hesitantly, and with an abundance of signalling, to take Alastor's digits in her own cool, smooth grasp. Her other hand comes to lay on top. A gentle squeeze, another rippling, and Alastor is replaced by.. Well. Whatever he was in life, allegedly. It's a glamour based off memory.

Alastor

Oh he's being surprised. Eesh. Oh he's being touched now? EESH.

From his perspective, nothing has changed. Looking at his hands—well, same gloves, same sleeves. It takes him a moment to realize the world sounds a little different with his ears now on the side of his head—oh he hates that—and another moment longer to discover with his tongue that he's got molars again. Huh. He summons up his microphone cane. "Well, how do I look?"

It glances him up and down. "Like a geek."

"Thanks."

Sir Pentious

Sir Pentious is still in his own world--but it isn't until Alastor speaks and he DOESN'T SOUND LIKE A RADIO, does the Inventor turn his head to look--he has to mind his neck, it's no longer able to turn backwards. .... Oh, and he can't help the smile on his face, "WHY LOOK AT YOU! I'D ALMOST RESPECT YOU!" GEE, SUCH AFFECTION! But the tone of his voice is currently in banter... Penny has to steer his wheelchair so that he can face Alastor properly.

Valera

She drops his hand as quickly as possible, stepping back to admire her work. Yeah, that's a geek. Oh! Yes, her turn now. She changes herself in a fancy little twirl, no dramatic ripples needed. Valera? A giant fish? Nonsense, she's an endearing little 5'4" wavy haired platinum blonde with sweet brown eyes. A Very Nice Young Lady by All Accounts, modestly dressed for a showing of a new stage production. The same look she'd use for meeting someone's mother. Now back to fussing over Pentious. "How's the wheelchair? Do I need to make adjustments?"

Alastor

Alastor's a lot more mobile at the moment, he repositions himself so Sir Pentious doesn't have to do as much moving around to face him. "Only almost? Glad we haven't gone TOO far, then." He smirks down at Sir Pentious. "And look at YOU. Why, if I didn't know you, I wouldn't immediately notice you're the embodiment of evil itself."

Well, look at the three of them. Alastor has gone from the shortest to the tallest and that's even with losing—he uses his cane to guesstimate—nearly a foot and a half of height.

Sir Pentious

He can't help but laugh at that--no offense taken. Sir Pentious leans on his gloved palm, chuckling as he pats the blanket covering his legs. ... Legs. Very weird to think about, "YES, WELL, IT IS ALWAYS THE ONES YOU DON'T EXPECT, ISN'T IT?" He's still very loud. That might just be a Him thing. He turns his head to face his beloved, and look at how his pupils widen, just a touch. Oh, he is Looking at her. "Valera???" OH!! MY! GOD! He's taken, indeed. And then immediately he's looking away, clearing his throat, "It is satisfactory, I do not feel uncomfortable, mind you I can barely tell I have anything below my waist, it is entirely new sensations."

Valera

What a reaction! Watch it, Pentious, you've got her blushing. In retaliation, she dips down to plant a kiss on his cheek, giggling in place of her usual purr. "Glad to hear it! Now, I already set the box up for us ahead of time, so unless anyone has objections, I can take us straight there!"

Alastor

"It's always the ones with the most innocent-looking smiles, isn't it?" Speaking of, he probably shouldn't be SMILING, should he? That'll look weird in New York. (It looks weird in Hell too, but like, it's kind of his thing.) He'll have to... consider that.

He steps back to give the two of them their moment until Valera addresses them. "Ready whenever you are!"

Sir Pentious

"YES, THAT SOUNDS ALRIGHT TO ME." He clears his throat again, trying to dab any potential lipstick off of his cheek with a handkerchief. He is so pale that bright red or really any color would be all too noticeable. "LET US BE OFF, THEN."

Valera

Don't worry, Pentious. Valera waited until AFTER planting one on you to put her lipstick on. A moment while she checks her makeup.... Okay. "Alright! Lets be off then. One last thing. Both of you still have your physical strength and powers, just to be on the safe side. New York City can be a nasty place." Alright. Warnings done, now she takes Pentious by the hand, Alastor by the cuff of his sleeve (apologetically), and shunts the lot of them off to their prebooked box.

Alastor

He still has his WHAT? In the MORTAL realm? He's pretty sure the mortal realm cancels those abilities out—or maybe it was just having a mortal body, he hasn't exactly had a chance to experiment. Hopefully he won't need to find out.

Well, he's immediately leaning over their box's railing to see what New York City Of The 1960s looks like. From his current vantage point... New York City looks rather like the inside of a theater. Imagine that.

Sir Pentious

Pentious is never, EVER going to get used to that sudden teleportation. It makes him dizzy--as most things do. Good to know that he'd still have his strength, although most of that was in his tail. Now he's wondering if he has a mysterious ghost appendage. Hmm. His seat in the box is nonexistent, meaning it would be perfect for a wheelchair. How accomodating. Penny moves a little closer to the railing so he can peer down as well, a wide smile on his face. "AFTER THIS PERFORMANCE, I SHOULD LIKE TO SEE THE WORLD OUTSIDE--I'VE NEVER BEEN TO NEW YORK MYSELF."

Valera

She moves further into the box, taking a peek into the theatre. Yes, JUST the right view. It was worth shelling out all the money for this. Though while she's here... Pentious having hair is such a novel concept. She is going to Touch It. "Oh of course my love! This is the Earth you hail from, you know! You should see what's changed since you've last been around!" Ohoho, she thinks she's SO funny.

Alastor

Alastor beams at Sir Pentious. "I haven't been here in, oh... well, based on the current time, probably about forty years, give or take!" God, his voice sounds so WEIRD. "I oughta take you two to all the hottest spots and find out whether they're still hot!" As well as find out whether they were wheelchair accessible. Not a concern he'd had last time he was in town.

Sir Pentious

Look at all of these smilers. He flinches when he can feel his hair touched--it doesn't FLOOMP like a hood anymore, just moves as hair should. Long and shiny, beautiful hair. So well kept, he must have brushed it very often. And he did. For hours, if necessary. Sir Pent leaned back against his seat, finding it tiring to try to use his upperbody for leaning forward alone! "MY EARTH, BUT YOUR HOT SPOTS? NYA HA HA!" He still says that, "IT SHOULD BE A TREAT. I LOOK FORWARD TO IT! PERHAPS I'LL ENJOY A 'JAZZ LOUNGE'?"

Valera

Well, let it not be said that this isn't Pentious, weird laughter and all. Valera takes a seat, adjusting her dress as she readies herself. "By all means, Alastor. Wow us! Show us your old haunts. And yes, a jazz lounge. I want to see Pentious listen to jazz music."

Alastor

Oh he kinda wants to touch Sir Pentious's hair too. He'll just. watch.

He tried to remember when they'd started being called "lounges" instead of "clubs," couldn't, and decided the difference wasn't that important. "Sure—if I can figure out where they're hiding jazz these days!" And if he could figure out where all three of them could sit together without anyone stirring up a brouhaha at the sight. What was segregation in the 60s in NYC like? Probably better than the 20s, but he hadn't kept up with mortal realm politics after death. "Maybe we can pick up a secondhand trumpet somewhere and I can squeeze onto the stage, show you two what I can REALLY do."

Sir Pentious

He's probably not okay with being touched by Alastor just yet, but, give him time to settle down. He's reached for his fiance's hand, lacing fingers with her as he waits for the show to begin, "HA HA HA! YOU WOULD INTERRUPT THE SHOW HERE? OF COURSE YOU WOULD."

"OH, I WAS DEAD. HA!"

Alastor

"I meant at a jazz club! They tend to take that sort of thing more lightly than Broadway."

Valera

"Dead and.. what's the phrase? Raising Hell, my love."

Sir Pentious

"MmmmHmmmm."

Alastor

Sits by Sir Pentious. "But only a couple years dead! It's practically contemporary to you!"

Sir Pentious

"OH IT IS."

Alastor

Oh even the characters walking around are being being musical about it, Alastor's already charmed. :)

Valera

"I bet they'd let Alastor on the stage for this production as an extra."

Sir Pentious

"YOU KNOW, THEY JUST M--" Oh singing!

Valera

"I like her outfit."

Alastor

"And here's our star!" 8)

Valera

"She's pretty! Wish my matchmaker had been so charming."

Sir Pentious

He's trying to speak quietly, but he's still Pentious, "OH! She is really in your style, Valera."

Alastor

"... You met through a matchmaker?"

Sir Pentious

"HM??? OH, NO, NOT VALERA AND I."

"A woman like HER was rare in London. Perhaps in Paris."

Alastor

Well that raises more questions about why Valera was getting matchmade elsewhere.

Valera

"I was briefly engaged to a childhood friend! All Veci of fine breeding see a matchmaker when they reach adulthood."

"I was too busy for marriage though, so I just hired him to work for me instead."

Sir Pentious

Pentious is just idly nodding. This sound about right for himself, too. Well, except that part. HA!

"THIS MUSIC feels very much like your STYLE, Alastor!"

Alastor

"Really! Lucky I'm not Veci then. Although I doubt I would have been considered 'of fine breeding' anyway."

Sir Pentious

Snort.

Alastor

The brightest smile. "You know, it IS my style."

Valera

Snrk

"It's jaunty! But I'm sure your breeding was perfectly fine, my good fellow."

"This guy sucks."

Alastor

Snorts at "impractical seven-foot-tall nincompoop." He's gonna remember that the next time he needs to drag himself.

Valera

PRACTICALLY UNINTENTIONAL... Pffffffffff

Sir Pentious

Sir Pentious is GIGGLING!

Alastor

"I wouldn't mind tossing out a great-grandparent or two, but aside from that I think it isn't bad."

Oh good they're having a good time already. Alastor just... llleans a little closer toward Sir Pentious's seat.

Sir Pentious

"IT'S TRUE. NYA HA HA!!"

Valera

"Oh, what a lofty title!"

Alastor

"Those two remind me of your eggs. They've got that air of... golly-gee-whiz about them."

Sir Pentious

The closer one leans to him, the more noticeable it is the little sounds he makes idly. Humming, but spotty. Audible swallowing, the like.

Valera

Nudges Penny with an elbow

Sir Pentious

"YOU KNOW, I WAS JUST THINKING THE SAME THING. HE REMINDS ME OF ME A LITTLE!"

Valera

"I was thinking the same!"

Sir Pentious

He's so glad his eggs aren't here.

Valera

"Though you ask me to do that nonsense and I'm liable to flip you like a pancake."

Alastor

"If I remember correctly, there's a rather sly reprise of this one later."

Valera

"Pentious. Saying it now, you're in charge of the plumbing."

Sir Pentious

"OH, EXCELLENT! And Valera, if I should get a stable, I'll let you know, HEE HEE HEE!"

Alastor

Right now Alastor's identifying with that long-suffering horse in the middle patiently enduring all these men singing about heterosexuality.

Sir Pentious

HE'S LAUGHING, COVERING HIS FACE. Why does this remind him of himself and Valera.

Valera

Snrk snrk.. "Alastor, was there a reason you suggested this show?"

"She's even less subtle than I am!"

Alastor

"Because the two of you like The Mikado! All the matchmaking comedy, dancing around arbitrary social rules to try to hook up a bunch of little pairs—I thought you'd appreciate this plot too."

Sir Pentious

He turns and smiles at Alastor! "Well chosen, I am having a good time, Alastor! You know me too well."

Alastor

He's beaming just about wide enough to split his face in half. "I try."

Is Alastor leaning a little bit closer? He is.

Valera

Hum... A tap at her chin as she squints at the actress. "I may have to steal this look. The lace is impeccable."

Sir Pentious

"You really Ought to, but you'd never catch me in a Bowler."

Alastor

"The costumes here are even better than the production I saw."

Sir Pentious

"IN HER UNDER--WAHA HAHA!!!"

Valera

"A card for every occasion!"

Alastor

Glances thoughtfully at Sir Pentious's hat. "... Can your hat still shapeshift like this? Or is it locked into one shape while we're disguised?"

Sir Pentious

He leans on his hand, smiling at Alastor. And he gestures up at his hat. The eye opens up, looking down at Alastor and shining a light on him, before it returns to being a normal hat!

Alastor

Oho! Alastor winks at the hat.

Sir Pentious

"OH, THAT'S GOING TO CATCH--"

Valera

"My goodness!"

Sir Pentious

"YES, my eggs indeed."

Valera

"Best not to let them near the matches, then."

Alastor

"Do you think they'd blow up your ship for a day off? I've always thought them more... slavishly devoted than that."

Sir Pentious

"THEY WOULDN'T BLOW IT UP FOR A DAY OFF. THEY WOULD JUST BLOW IT UP, BY ACCIDENT."

"I MADE THEIR LIMBS SHORT ON PURPOSE."

Alastor

"I could see THAT."

Tapping a foot to the music. Tap tap tap.

Valera

Hmmmhmhmm~ There go her fingers, wiggling to the jaunty tune.

Sir Pentious

"AHAHA!"

Alastor

It's a good thing they have a box, because they would be the most obnoxious people in the theater.

Valera

"You know, I've never actually ridden a train come to think of it."

Sir Pentious

They would be, and they'd have fun with it.

"How colorful! If this were set in London, it would be raining all the time."

SNORT,

Valera

Valera hums a few bars from Johanna....

Alastor

"I'm sure she's got a little card in her purse saying 'Clouds dispersed and rain dispelled.'"

Sir Pentious

"Look at her SLEEVES!"

Alastor

ALASTOR BITES HIS LIP valera PLEASE

Sir Pentious

Sir Pentious DOES NOT CATCH ON.

Valera

"Quite the abundance of ruffles!"

Sir Pentious

Prrrr. Well he would. So instead he just drums his own throat.

Valera

She reaches... To take Pentious' hand again. Give.

Sir Pentious

And take it she does. Lacing fingers.

Alastor

Alastor is suddenly seized with a desire to wear an absurdly large floofy hat.

Valera

"The hat doesn't seem THAT provocative?"

Sir Pentious

He gestures to Alastor and Valera, and whispers, "You know, I am so glad that we do not have to worry about any 'oh but they BARELY know each other' drivel. That was unbearable before."

Alastor

Glances at. "Hm?"

Valera

"Psh, quite agreed my love."

Sir Pentious

"Oh--a picture show we watched. There was someone who kept going on and on about how everyone in the movie barely knew one another. That was the only comment they made!"

Alastor

"Sounds painfully dull."

Sir Pentious

He covers his face with his hand! Snort.

Valera

"And they hadn't even been in a relationship! Or at least nothing recent. Speaking from a truly outside perspective."

Alastor

This is an absurdly embarrassing example of flirting and it's DELIGHTFULLY amusing.

And that's when the afternoon went from good to great.

Sir Pentious

Pentious POINTS!!! "Look at that dress, Valera!"

Valera

"I'm looking!"

Sir Pentious

"Unshelled."

Valera

"Wow, suspicious!"

"The NAUGHTIEST man in New York City."

Sir Pentious

He puts his face against Alastor's shoulder, SNICKERING.

Alastor

Leans against Sir Pentious.

Sir Pentious

He squeezes Valera's hand!!! "This AWKWARDNESSsss!!!" He's not even a snake anymore, but he's still dragging his S's."

Valera

"She's quite good at playing both sides of the field."

Alastor

Chokes back a giggle. Oh, the shenanigans are mounting.

Valera

"Oh no! The expensive peanuts!"

Alastor

"The unshelled ones, no less."

Sir Pentious

"HA!!!"

Alastor

"She choreographs them wonderfully, doesn't she?"

Sir Pentious

"I can guess why you wanted this show even more, Alastor."

"Oh! Are they going to fall on the floor with their enthusiasm--There it is!"

Valera

Snrk!!

"Well! They certainly handled it more gracefully than we did."

Sir Pentious

"CERTAINLY."

"Well, /I/ Was fine!"

Valera

"Were you? You wound up on the floor as often as I did!"

Alastor

... Straightens up a bit as he listens to this. Clearly the two of them are having a moment. Shouldn't lean in.

Sir Pentious

"GRACEFULLY!"

Valera

"So you say, my love!"

"Alastor, you really must try dancing with Pentious. His version of the waltz is ingenious, but damnably difficult to pick up."

Sir Pentious

He leans on his hands, grinning.

"YES, OF COURSE. TRY NOT TO TRIP YOURSELF UP, ALASTOR."

Valera

She's going to plant a peck on the corner of Penny's mouth. Then hand him her handkerchief. For the lipstick.

Alastor

"Why, Sir Pentious, I was told just a few days ago that you DON'T dance. I'd thought at the time it couldn't be true, but who was I to question it?"

Sir Pentious

He puts a few fingers to his pendent, looking offended, "What! Did you hear that from me? I simply CANNOT recall."

Alastor

"Not from you, no." Pointed glance past Sir Pentious toward Valera. What misinformation you've been feeding him.

Sir Pentious

He is dabbing his cheek with his handkerchief.

Valera

She grins! "Well

I'd

never danced with him at that point, I didn't know if he could!"

Sir Pentious

He's closing his eyes, listening.

Valera

"Dear Penny wont be doing any somersaults on stage, certainly."

Sir Pentious

A fool among fools, or a fool alone. He's gonna remember that.

Alastor

Mumble mumble "Hm, if I'd known you didn't know I could've said."

Valera

"Hm? What was that, dear fellow?"

Alastor

... Oh mumbling, he forgot that was a thing he used to be able to do. He's got a volume dial again! He can say things under his breath! Wow!

Sir Pentious

Penny looks RIGHT AT ALASTOR, "SSPEAK UP, ALASTOR, DID YOU SAY SOMETHING?"

Alastor

Ah, he's being paid attention to. "I'd thought the dancing was a difference between universes! That's all."

It's Angel Dust.

Valera

"Did your own Pentious dance?"

Alastor

"He did! Still does, I presume."

Sir Pentious

He's Listening, But He's Also Not Saying Much!

Applause! Applause!

Valera

"Marvelous! Marvelous!"

Alastor

"She has a presence, doesn't she?"

Valera

"She certainly does!"

~~~

INTERMISSION

~~~

Alastor

((i choose to believe that during intermission valera pulled out a phone to watch ASMR on and if they weren't in a box somebody would be leaning over staring at her cell phone like "what scifi star trek bullshit is this))

Valera

[[ LMAO yes

[[ it was watch ASMR on her phone or give in to the urge to sit on Pentious and start brushing his hair more

Sir Pentious

(( HE'D BE GOOGLY EYED

(( just smacking her, "GET OFF OF ME WOMAN WE ARE IN A THEATRE!!"

Valera

[[ SHE'S BEING GOOD!!!

[[ BESIDES THEY'RE IN A BOX SIR

[[ time to let the intermission music play out while everyone gets sorted

Sir Pentious

Sir Pentious stretches his arms out.

Valera

Val, hastily putting her phone away.

Alastor

Gets comfortable. "Comfortable" means "already leaning toward Sir Pentious's seat like a paperclip drifting toward a magnet."

Sir Pentious

"Yeees."

Valera

"If I went through life kissing all the time I'd have a MUCH higher body count."

Alastor

"Somehow I managed to make it through my life only doing it twice!"

"And it was two times too many."

Valera

"My condolences!"

Alastor

Oh this is one of Alastor's favorite gags in the show, he hopes this production pulls it off well.

Sir Pentious

He looks over at Alastor and snickers, "DO YOU THINK SHARP TEETH MAKE IT WORSE OR BETTER? NYA HA HA."

Not that any had sharp teeth right now, but he was having a laugh.

Alastor

"Better." ZERO HESITATION.

Sir Pentious

He claps his hands. This is a great song.

Alastor

... Oh, this production left the gag out. What a pity.

Valera

Valera leans back in her seat. "She's certainly fond of earth tones."

Alastor

Leans over! "In the production I saw, they finished the song, danced off stage, and then came back on stage at the restaurant exhausted from the long walk and still trying to breathlessly sing about elegance."

Valera

"Ah, I suppose they decided to skip it. A shame!"

Alastor

And he's disappointed enough they left that out that he's GOTTA TELL THEM BOTH ABOUT THE JOKE

"It is!"

Sir Pentious

"That IS a good joke."

"HA!"

"Is that you, Alastor?"

Alastor

Side-eye. "Which one?"

Valera

Snrk

Sir Pentious

Penny doesn't say much at all, he's grinning from ear to ear.

Alastor

Props his chin in his hand. "I'd love to be in on the joke, but I don't know which character you're accusing me of being."

Valera

"That's how people talk about me in all the fine restaurants. Mostly the appetite though."

"Oh, the pig lady."

Sir Pentious

"She said DON'T TOUCH ME or something."

"It was very funny."

SNORT

Valera

"Now THAT'S service."

Alastor

LEANS AGAINST SIR PENTIOUS'S SHOULDER. "Oh, because I'm not very touchy?"

LAUGHS at the duck being shot mid-restaurant.

Sir Pentious

Sir Pentious bumps his shoulder right back, grinning like the snake you know him to be! "YES, EXACTLY THAT REASON!"

Valera

"I don't know, he seems pretty touchy to me." Vaguely confused squint???

Alastor

Exaggeratedly leans his head on Sir Pentious's shoulder. "Oh, you know me! Hate being touched. Can't stand it."

Sir Pentious

"Oh, me neither." He waves a hand, bouncing his shoulder and the deer's head atop it, "Dreadful! Can you imagine? Being TOUCHED." He's still got a hand laced with Valera's. Little squeeze.

Alastor

Bounce. He's gonna lean harder.

He's loving the waiters' dancing. The choreography looks even more complicated sideways.

Valera

This.. Might just be a bit she isn't getting? Best not to question it. She's just going to withdraw her hands back to fold neatly in her lap and focus on the show.

Sir Pentious

He notices that and. Turns to look at her. ??? What happened? Why did she pull away? He's not focused on the show now, just watching Valera.

Alastor

At this point Alastor is leaned over so far that his elbow is now on the wheelchair armrest instead of his own.

Valera

Val is VERY DELIBERATELY focused on the show, Pentious could do a somersault next to her and she wouldn't notice.

Sir Pentious

....... Aaand he handles this gracefully. Just kidding. He's Sir Pentious. So he shrugs Alastor off and sits back, arms folded as he scowls at the stage.

Alastor

Aw. Okay, got it, he took advantage of the bit a moment too long. He'll slouch in his own seat.

Sir Pentious

"HA, LOOK AT THAT. SHE OWNS EVERYONE THERE! WHAT A PRESENCE."

Alastor

"WHAT?!"

He's ON HIS FEET and LEANING OVER THE RAILING

Sir Pentious

Sir Pentious looks wide eyed at Alastor, "WHAT?"

Alastor

He's doing a very bad job of trying to regulate his volume. "Nobody told me Louis was in this show!"

Valera

"Oh. Is that a problem?"

Alastor

"A PROB—?! He's the GREATEST— He's—!"

Alastor flops back into his seat, gleefully grinning, the happiest fanboy in the theater.

Valera

"One of the most influential figures in Jazz? I know."

"Thought you might like that."

Sir Pentious

He doesn't know, so he doesn't say much, but he is still looking sour faced, even if he is feeling Called Out By Mr Vandergelder.

Alastor

"Well you were RIGHT."

She's talking circles around him, what a performance.

Sir Pentious

Sir Pentious has a HEADACHE!

Valera

"You were right to suggest this show, Alastor. I always forget what a force Dolly is."

Alastor

"Isn't she, though!"

Valera

"She's quite a gal! Just the sort I'd either be or want to be friends with!"

Alastor

"You might like Rosie. This musical has always reminded me of her."

Valera

"Oh?"

Alastor

... It is beginning to dawn on Alastor that things are not all going well at the next seat over.

Sir Pentious

Oh, just an old man feeling insulted for one reason or another, reading too much into things!

Alastor

Alastor would rather he be enjoying himself during a comedy musical.

Valera

Snrk

Sir Pentious

"HA."

Alastor

Ah, good, he's recovering. Alastor doesn't need to intervene. Turns back to the show.

Valera

Grumble grumble. "Thank the gods I don't have to hear someone bitching that they barely know each other..."

Alastor

... This is a sappy song, Alastor's going to lean over the balcony again and see if he can see Louis in the orchestral pit from this angle.

Sir Pentious

This is probably the kind of song where he should hold Valera's hand, but the thought of it makes him feel frustrated at the moment because he's PRETTY SURE he did something to upset her in the first place, but he doesn't know what.

He wants to hold HANDS but it's not like they can TALK ABOUT IT.

Valera

The TINIEST sigh

Alastor

Okay, he's done trying to see Louis, he's getting back in his seat.

Valera

Snrk

Sir Pentious

"SHE IS THE MOST DIRECTLY INDIRECT WOMAN THERE IS!"

Valera

"She certainly is."

A low whistle! "Damn, get it girl."

Sir Pentious

"RIGHT ON THE STREET!"

You have no room to speak, Mr Picnic.

Valera

"Picnic, my dear."

Alastor

Slow side-eye.

Picnic???

Sir Pentious

HE IS IGNORING YOU!!!

Alastor

"... Well, this is very different from the production I saw."

Valera

"I like her outfit."

Sir Pentious

"COULD BUY A LOT BACK THEN."

Alastor

"They all got arrested after the brawl at the restaurant."

"I think I like that version better."

Sir Pentious

"HA! ARRESTED? THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER!"

Valera

"I can't tell if she's a gold digger or just a socialist."

Sir Pentious

"OH, HAHA!" He wants to cross his legs, and bounce his leg, but ALAS. No response.

Alastor

"They had Dolly staying at her seat at the restaurant while the brawl went on, switched out the set for a court room, but left Dolly at her table with her dinner—there was an extended gag where she noisily ate her dinner while everyone in the court stared at her, waiting for her to finish so they could start the next scene."

Sir Pentious

He SNICKERS, "OH, I'D RATHER LIKE TO SEE THAT."

Valera

"We'll have to see a production that takes itself less seriously, at some point."

Oh! Wiggly fingers.

Sir Pentious

He is glancing at her fingers.

Alastor

"Maybe only the production company in Hell thought up the gags this show didn't have. We can certainly find out!"

Valera

"Hah! Yes, I'd love to see Hell's take on this."

Alastor

Subtly watches this hand drama going on to his side. Nice thing about looking human: no glowing eyes to give away where he's looking when it's dark.

Valera

She glances over at Pentious, then down at her own hand, and back, cocking an eyebrow.

Sir Pentious

He is looking at that wedding outfit with big eyes.

Valera

Offers? Hand?

Alastor

Considers elbowing Sir Pentious and telling him to take it. That'll probably just annoy him.

Considers reaching across Sir Pentious and taking it himself. That'll DEFINITELY annoy him.

Sir Pentious

He unfortunately is distracted by the APPLAUSE!

ROARING APPLAUSE!

Alastor

THAT'S FAIR, so is Alastor. He's leaning over the balcony to see when the spotlights highlight the band in the orchestra for their turn at the applause.

Valera

SIGH! But it's hard to be miffed, the show was more than good enough to warrant such an uproar

Yes yes, applause for the fine musicians.

Sir Pentious

He's so used to his hood floomping out when he's startled, it's weird that it doesn't right now. Hair. He is clapping along.

Alastor

"Well that was a delight! What a show!" Flops back in his seat.

Valera

"A truly excellent performance. I greatly enjoyed myself."

Sir Pentious

"IT WAS BETTER THAN I'D ANTICIPATED, GREATLY."

Valera

"Alastor, why don't you get yourself an autograph from Louis? I know he's signing them tonight."

Alastor

"I'm delighted it met with both of your approval!" Smirks at Sir Pentious. "I think that's approval, anyway."

Starts. "Is he??"

Valera

"Yes! I checked before I brought you here."

Alastor

Hand over heart. "Well, aren't you the most thoughtful alien I've ever met!"

Valera

"Depends! How many aliens have you met, my dear fellow?"

Sir Pentious

"YOU BETTER ACT FAST-- IT ALMOST SOUNDS LIKE THEY'RE GOING TO EAT THE FOOLS DOWN THERE WITH ALL THIS EXCITEMENT."

Alastor

"One. So I guess that makes you the most inconsiderate, too!"

"Oh, you're right. Do pardon me! If I don't find you back here, I'll meet you out on the sidewalk." A farewell nod, and he melts into the shadows.

Valera

Oh good, he's gone. Now she can start staring Pentious down.

Sir Pentious

Sir Pent had about the same idea! He turns to face her, squinting with irritation, "DO YOU MIND TELLING ME WHAT

THAT

WAS ALL ABOUT???"

Valera

"I could ask you the same! What had you so grouchy?"

Sir Pentious

"YOU PULLED YOUR HAND AWAY WHILE I WAS HOLDING IT! AND YOU WOULD NOT LOOK AT ME AFTER!" He scowls, "DO I LOOK DISGUSTING TO YOU OR SOMETHING?"

Valera

"I--" She stops. Squints. "Wait. You think you look disgusting?"

Sir Pentious

His eyes widen, and he GLARES, turning his head away, "DO NOT TRY TO CHANGE THE SUBJECT! WE ARE TALKING ABOUT YOU! AND NO, I AM NOT DISGUSTING! BUT CLEARLY, YOU DID NOT WANT TO

TOUCH

ME, SO YOU HAVE SOME SORT OF PROBLEM WITH MY PRESENCE!"

Valera

"I do not want to stop touching you, Pentious. I can't believe that's a thing I have to say to my fiance. I withdrew because I didn't know how to proceed with the.. bit? You and Alastor were having. It wasn't disgust."

Sir Pentious

Penny's arms fold tighter, and his shoulders raise as he continues to frown. His tail would be flicking irritably, had it been present. "THAT IS NO REASON TO PULL AWAY, AND TO IGNORE ME. I AM NOT

STUPID

, VALERA. I SAW YOU REFUSING TO LOOK AT ME."

Valera

"I promised that I wouldn't ignore you, remember? I was focusing on the show. You know. The stage production we came to see. Did you try to get my attention?"

Sir Pentious

He realizes that she's trying to put the onus on him! When he CLEARLY did nothing wrong--Sir Pentious takes in a deep, GRUMPY breath, exhaling just as grumpy! "PUTTING IT ALL ON ME? SO WHAT IF TWO MEN HAVE A BIT OF A JOKE TOGETHER. IT WAS NOT THAT 'DEEP', YOU COULD HAVE SIMPLY ASKED ME WHAT WAS GOING ON!"

Valera

An irritated little huff!!! "Pentious. I am not angry about you and Alastor having a joke. I want you two to get along. Why did you immediately go straight to that as the source of the problem?"

Sir Pentious

"BECAUSE HE WAS UPON MY ARM, AND YOU LET GO OF ME. I DO NOT KNOW HOW YOU THINK! IT SEEMED THE MOST LIKE CAUSE AND EFFECT!"

Valera

"Then ask? Don't just assume and get mad at me over it?"

Sir Pentious

"/YOU/ COULD HAVE ASKED, TOO!" Eye twitch. "BUT NOW WE ARE HERE, HAVING THIS RIDICULOUS ARGUMENT OVER A NONSENSICAL SITUATION THAT DOES NOT MATTER AT ALL, AND I FEEL AS THOUGH I AM ONCE AGAIN THE SOURCE OF ALL OF YOUR AGONY." Oh, that's some insecurity right there. He shifts, grabbing at the blanket to squeeze the fabric between his fingers.

Valera

Ah. Okay. Alright. Well that wont do. She's just going to bend down to put her face RIGHT in his and put one of her hands over his. "Pentious. If I were in agony as you put it, I'd have said something. Minor anxiety over not understanding a joke is hardly grounds for interrupting an otherwise good time. I moved my hand away because I was distressed, I don't know what else you read into it. But I will be clear. You are my fiance, I love you, and I'm still attracted to you no matter what form you take."

Sir Pentious

He is not Looking. Eye contact is not happening at this moment, but he is listening. At least, his face is inclined towards hers. Pentious is at the very least looking down at her hand, placed on one of his. There's that constant drumming to FIGHT inside of his mind, it makes his throat dry and his heart race with fury. But what sort of fight would this be? Uneven, unsatisfying, and not a very happy day at all. So he just nods his head, though his expression is still strained.

Valera

She glances around, making sure Alastor didn't meander his way back while they were distracted, and she leans in, nose bumping affectionately against Pentious' cheek. "Penny. We both could have asked, neither of us did. I offered my hand again at the end when I finally saw you looking, but you were distracted staring at the wedding. Now hold my hand before Alastor gets back and you clamp up tighter than a rusted hinge."

Sir Pentious

Penny's breath catches in his throat, and now his heart is pounding for a different reason. He's so pale and thin that Valera can likely hear, if not feel, his pulse. Red eyes look towards her, and he rigidly takes her hand, squeezing it tight, a deep breath filling his lungs.

Valera

"Good. Now remember. You're my fiance. I love you. I want to be with you." She pauses, nuzzling his face

. "This whole show I've wanted to sit in your lap and play with your hair. Terrible, I know. But I've behaved!"

Sir Pentious

OH. He swallows HARD, staring up at her. "I..." Would not be opposed. NO, YOU DEFINITELY WOULD BE, PENTIOUS. STRAIGHTEN UP, MAN. He coughs, clearing his throat and correcting his posture,, "WELL, THANK YOU FOR REMAINING BEHAVED. YOU'D TRAUMATIZE THAT OLD FOOL WITH BEHAVIOR LIKE THAT."

Valera

"Old fool? Dear, you're older than him by a fair bit, unless my ability to gauge human ages is way off base."

Sir Pentious

LET HIM HAVE THIS, VALERA

Valera

Never.

Alastor

Speaking of the old fool, guess who melts out of the shadows right then! "You know, I didn't actually expect you to wait for me!"

Oh, they're holding hands again. good to know whatever THAT was has been resolved.

Sir Pentious

Pentious' head whips around to look at Alastor, and he PULLS HIS HAND AWAY, as if the sight of them holding each other would allow the Radio Demon to see the EXTREMELY IMPURE THOUGHTS running through Pentious' mind. Also he hurt his neck turning that fast, and is now cradling it.

Valera

Val is all prepared to greet Alastor with a friendly hello, but then Pentious acts like Alastor caught them in bed together and she just. Stares at her beau with the most BAFFLED expression. "Wh..??" Ahem. "Welcome back, Alastor. Did you get your autograph?"

Alastor

... Huh. Oh. HE'S the problem.

"I certainly did!" He waves a record of the song Louis sang with an autograph on the record sleeve; and then offers over a SECOND one. "I thought you two might like a souvenir as well."

Sir Pentious

DON'T LOOK AT HIM, HE CANNOT ESCAPE!!! He cannot hide in his hood like before!!! So he just sits there, red faced. It's so very noticeable with how pale he is.

Alastor

"But don't let me"—make things awkward with his very presence, as per the Radio Demon's usual modus operandi?—"interrupt your conversation! I can wait outside the theater."

Valera

Val gives Pentious a little pat on the shoulder, and stands upright. "No, we were done. Penny's just embarrassed because I'm being terrible and improper. It's my fault. Don't worry about it. And thank you for thinking of us, you're so sweet." Pent is out of commission, so she'll take the record.

Sir Pentious

Don't mind him, he's just screaming inside of his head. Valera may also have to wheel him out of there, since all of his thoughts are on trying to think of aNYTHING ELSE. He's biting on the cuff of his leather glove. Everything is fine, he'll be fine. Having some air would be grand!

Alastor

And Sir Pentious isn't even talking to Alastor now. Yep. Should have waited outside. Duly noted.

Nothing he can do about it now, though. He pulls the curtain of their box open. "Then shall we?"

Valera

So! They! Shall!!!

#chat log #hissandvinegar #autokrates

12 notes · View notes

svnthxsense · 5 years

Text

Genre/Rating: Fluff/smut ; M

Warnings: Fem reader, cursing, light choking, slight corruption (?), slight praise, oral, tiny bit of slow burn

Word Count: 9.8k i’m sorry

Author’s Note: I got very carried away... Anyways, Happy Mark Day! This oneshot is a standalone in my Neo Tech High School series and is loosely based off of the first verse & chorus of Shot Clock by Ella Mai. Please send in any feedback! Also, my apologies if the Keep Reading function doesn’t work on mobile but I can’t do much about it T-T

It was mid-March when news broke in your school that a tier-1 athlete had transferred in. Everyone was swarming with curiosity all for a certain Mark Lee. Most of the gossip came from the guys, who bantered about his stats as a starting point-guard and argued about whether or not he’d make a good addition to the school’s beloved team. The girls, of course, were looking forward to a fresh face on campus. You couldn’t help but be curious, too.

After a week of anticipation, people were stunned to see the actual image of the mysterious basketball player. He was attractive at the absolute least. Then there was something that neither you nor your peers expected: he was the shyest, most awkward boy you had met in a while. How was it that the star basketball player who was always in the spotlight happened to be socially awkward?

You were surprised to discover that you two had a lot of classes together, and you’d be lying if you said you never stared. It didn’t help that he always came into math class with basketball shorts and a tank top on, his skin lightly glistening with sweat even after his brief post-gym shower. His hair was tousled, yet he managed to make it work like no other. It was a sight that made your mouth water and your mind fill with less-than decent thoughts.

It was only halfway through his first week of school when Mark had gotten called into the principal's office in the middle of third period. And then you were called in- not even five minutes after.

“Good morning, Principal Yoon,” You greeted her politely, taking the only other seat left in the room right next to Mark. You felt his eyes on you but decided against looking back at the nerve-wracked boy. Every time you saw him, you seemed to have a new fantasy about things you’d love to do to him. Was it wrong to fantasize about what his hands could do other than dribble a basketball?

“Good morning, Y/N.” She sat down in her leather office chair, scooting along until she found a comfortable position. Her tone was firm yet extremely polite. Most principals were intimidating and loathed by students, while Principal Yoon was approachable and kind. The students of Neo Tech adored her and her methods of running the school.

“Good morning, Mark. I’m sure you’re both wondering why I called you in, and I can assure you that it’s nothing of concern.” She held a manila colored folder in one hand before opening it and examining the paper in front of her. The both of you sat a bit uneasily, wondering what could’ve possibly landed you in this predicament.

“Mr. Lee, your basketball skills are outstanding.” Immediately, Mark began rambling about his appreciation for her comment until her voice interrupted him. “Yes, well, the reason I called you both in has to do with that actually… You see, Mark, your last school was a bit behind in comparison to our curriculum here, and without the proper grades you won’t be able to be an active team member.”

Mark could’ve sworn he heard his heart drop. The whole reason he transferred to your school was that his tier-1 team was becoming mediocre at best. In order to stay on track with his plan of obtaining an athletic scholarship, he needed to choose the best of the best. And that’s what led him to your school, which currently holds the number one spot in the nation amongst all the tier-1 teams.

“That’s why I’ve brought Y/N in as well. It was brought to my attention that you two share more than half your classes together, and I’m well aware of how advanced she is in all subjects. So, to put it frankly, I’m going to suggest that you two become acquaintances. Of course, the final decision would be up to Y/N, but I’m hoping that both of you might benefit from this opportunity.”

Mark couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed about how Principal Yoon pressed the issue. It was bad enough that his old school had a less advanced curriculum; and to make matters worse, his tutor just had to be the prettiest girl he’s seen. The way you dressed, especially, drove him crazy. Your sheer black tights underneath your plaid skirt, with your skin-tight, off-the-shoulder top that exposed your collarbones. He gulped at the very thought of what was underneath those clothes. How was he supposed to focus when he wanted to study his tutor more than the material?

“I would be happy to help,” You answered, mindlessly sneaking a glance at the boy next to you. His gaze seemed to be set on the ground, looking at anything but you. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to add ‘tutor’ to my resume.”

Principal Yoon smiled in response, setting the folder down on her desk before gently lifting her glasses off her face. She was pretty young to be a principal, couldn’t be a day over thirty. It was one of the things that made her so approachable, she seemed to sympathize with the lives of students because she was in their place not too long ago.

“Well, then it’s settled.”

You strained yourself trying to hide the smirk forming on your face, finally allowing yourself to steal a look at the golden boy once again. He seemed flustered, as per usual, and still didn’t dare to look you in the eye. He seemed so innocent, yet so ready to be corrupted. The excitement bubbled deep within your stomach at the thought of how much time you’d really need to spend with him in order to get him caught up. And boy did you hope you had extra time for other activities.

Without a word, you rose from your seat to offer a ‘goodbye’ to your principal and sauntered out of her office. Mark fumbled to get up, hurriedly saying goodbye to Principal Yoon before he rushed after you. At the sound of his footsteps, you couldn’t help but grin to yourself. This will be fun.

“Hey, Y/N?”

You hummed in response, then turned on your heel to face him. He was breathing a little raggedly, but you knew it was from nerves because there was no way someone as athletic as him would be out-of-breath from a short jog.

“I- I was wondering when you’d be available…” He scratched the back of his head awkwardly, trying his hardest to sound anything but stupid. You waited for him to go on as he stared back at you but quickly caught himself. “Y’know, for the tutoring.”

Your smile almost made his breath hitch but he ignored the pounding on his chest and found the courage to keep eye contact with you. He regretted it as soon as it happened because he damn-near whimpered at the beauty in front of him. Your lips, a faint rose color, were glossy and plump. He imagined how they’d feel pressed against his, and against other body parts alike.

“How about we do an evaluation of sorts at the library this afternoon? This way I can see how behind you are and how much time I’d need to get you in shape. I wouldn’t want you missing the opening game.” You winked, and Mark found himself gulping down nothing in another attempt to calm himself.

“Y-Yeah, that sounds good,” He replied and waited for you two walk away first because he couldn’t quite will his feet to move.

The end of the day seemed to have come much too quickly for Mark’s liking. Of course, he was itching at the chance to get to know you, but even he knew his nervous habits. The last thing he wanted to do was embarrass himself in the midst of his first impression.

Mark made his way to the library like you had told him to, and he easily found you at one of the tables towards the back of the room. You had books laid out in front of you, with worksheets accompanying them.

“Hey, so I was thinking we could start by evaluating your trig skills and then get into some science. Does that sound good?” It felt like an eternity before you finally looked up to find him sitting directly across from you at the table. He nodded softly as you pushed over the first worksheet. While he diligently started scribbling across the paper, you had nothing to do other than watch him. You picked up on a few things in a short amount of time: math seemed to frustrate him. When faced with a particularly difficult problem, he would huff in annoyance. Nonetheless, he would complete it before moving onto the next one with a scrunched-up nose. It was incredibly cute and you couldn’t help the smile that found its way to your lips.

“Okay, I think I’m done.” He pushed the paper back to you before bringing his hands down into his lap, nervously toying with his fingers. He then brought his bottom lip in between his teeth, chewing delicately. You tried not to react, instead turning your attention to analyze his answers. Did he know what he was doing to you? After looking through all the questions, you tsked.

“Your trig teacher must’ve sucked.” You adjusted your sitting position so that the paper would be visible to the both of you. “For number four, you need to use the quadratic formula- which is X equals negative B plus or minus the square root of B squared minus 4 times A times C. Then you divide the whole thing by 2 times A.”

Mark tried to keep up with you as you explained, but his mind was way too focused on how good you looked while concentrating. On top of that, math was never his strong suit. He had always struggled since the moment variables were introduced into his lessons. Memorizing the quadratic formula was all too difficult when the explanation was coming from that pretty mouth of yours, he thought.

“B…? Wait where is the X comin-”

“Mark.” You interrupted, trying to the best of your ability to keep the smile creeping up on you at bay. The way his name rolled off your tongue so naturally enticed him. “I can already tell that you’re about two months behind with the trig curriculum. That alone will take me at least two weeks to catch you up on, and that’s if we meet practically every day.”

“I-I’m sorry,” Mark answers weakly, his eyes retreating down to the desk below him. Immediately, your demeanor softens at his vulnerability. “I know this probably isn’t how you’d like to spend your free time. I’ll find another way to catch up, I’m sure-”

“Hey. I said it would be a lot of work, I didn’t say I don’t want to tutor you. Luckily for you, I’m pretty much free this semester anyway. Now, the issue is if you are willing to put in the work.”

Oh, was he willing.

[two days later]

“So, after school at the cafe?” You ask, grabbing your books from your locker and securing them in one arm. The tutoring sessions would have to be extremely consistent to make any noticeable progress before the school’s opening games. They were a big deal within Neo Tech’s school community, and the pressure was on to see how the new point guard would compare to all the hype.

“Yeah, if that’s fine with you,” He murmurs before eyeing the small stack of books and papers cradled in your arm. Naturally, he feels the need to take that burden off your hands. After all, you would be the reason he even gets to play this season. Without you, it’s unlikely he would’ve caught up in time to make a good impression on Neo Tech and other schools alike. “Let me carry your books for you.”

“You don’t have to,” You insist, moving slightly so the books are a bit more out of reach. Mark pouts in response, leaning forward again in another attempt to grab the materials. He succeeds this time, his hand slipping around the stack and drawing them away from you. “Persistent, huh?”

“Guess you could say that.” He chuckles, wrapping the books in his arm just as you had done. This is the only plan he thought of to spend time with you outside of a studying environment, but he hopes you don’t notice these intentions. “We have class together anyway.”

“And where are your books?” You raise on eyebrow questioningly, beginning to walk with him beside you. History was never your favorite class, but you stayed on top of the work anyway. It was easier, you realized very early on, to get the work out of the way so you’d have more time for studying and other extracurricular activities.

“I leave them in my desk.” He shrugs, looking over to see you smiling widely. The baby pink color that takes over the apples of his cheeks is extremely obvious, but you don’t comment on it. Seeing Mark flustered is cute, you determined as soon as you had met him.

As the two of you walk through the large doorway of your history classroom, bubbly conversation fills the air. Your teacher, Miss Han, sits perched on her desk patiently. She was a nice lady, but it didn’t change the universal distaste for history among your class.

“Well, uh- I guess I’ll see you at the cafe.” Mark sets your books down on your usual desk quickly, scurrying to find his seat among some of the other basketball players that had this period with him. You recognize one of them as Hendery, a friendly acquaintance due to all the classes you two shared last year.

“I see you, Mark.” Hendery’s eyebrows raise in a teasing matter, shoulder bumping the boy next to him. Mark stares back at him, confused as to what he meant. “You carrying Y/N’s books.”

The explanation causes Mark’s blush to reappear, the heat becoming warmer and warmer upon his flesh. Hendery is one of the only guys on the team that he’s fairly close with, yet he still didn’t feel ready to tell him about his little crush.

“It was nothing, really. She’s tutoring me and I thought- why not?” He tries desperately to make his response seem nonchalant, but the act he puts on is no match for his flushed cheeks. Hendery, with one brow raised, eyes Mark’s cheeks. “Okay, maybe I think she’s kinda cute.”

“Bullshit! You like her!” He accuses in a whisper-shout type of voice. Mark groans in response, softly hitting his shoulder with a closed fist. A cackle leaves Hendery’s lips, his hand coming up to muffle the sound. “Dude, just ask her out! You’d be a very lucky guy.”

“I can’t just ask her out!” It comes out as a high-pitched shriek. “It’s not that simple. I mean, it is that simple. But what if she says no? Then I’ll have to deal with rejection and seeing her every day for our study sessions and-”

“Mark, you’re way too worried. Do you want me to talk to her? Find out some dirt? We had a few classes together last year-”

“N-No! That’s too obvious!” His voice sounds so exasperated by now, Hendery is afraid he’ll pass out. Talking with his hands is a nervous habit that happens when he’s rambling, and right now is no exception. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do, dude.”

“Better hurry before someone else beats you to it.” At this, Mark’s head snaps in Hendery’s direction. Before he can even formulate a proper response, Miss Han clears her throat and silence falls upon the whole classroom. Throughout the lesson, though, Hendery’s words echo in Mark’s head. What did he mean by that?

“One iced americano and one green tea please.” Mark pulls out his wallet before you have time to protest, and by the time your mouth opens to say something, his receipt is already printed. You didn’t expect him to order for you when he asked what you liked from this shop. Oblivious, he turns to you and stops in his tracks when he sees your surprised expression. “Huh?”

“You didn’t have to pay for me.” Your voice is firm but you’re grinning over at him, ignoring the way your whole body feels warm because of his display of generosity. Buying drinks shouldn’t be such a big deal, you remind yourself. “I owe you a lot now- carrying my books and now coffee.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He shrugs, before examining the shop to find the best seats. He decides on the small table in the corner, shuffling towards the spot silently. Your brows furrow at his response, hoping for something a bit more engaging in terms of conversation but realizing that Mark wasn’t quite good at conversing in general. At least, around you, he didn’t seem to be.

The cafe became a regular stop before your tutoring sessions, the two of you eventually decide that the library was a better spot for studying. So, almost every day after school, you two would rush over there to pick up your usual orders before racing back to the library. Most of the private rooms filled up after dismissal, so you two always made it a point to manage your time efficiently. Coffee runs and then studying- that was your routine.

You had hoped to test the waters with some flirting, but your efforts seemed to go unnoticed. And when they didn’t, Mark would be a nervous wreck in response. You wondered if you should try your luck outside of your study sessions, but you didn’t have many opportunities since he sat nowhere near you during your shared classes. Study sessions and coffee runs seemed to be your only options.

On numerous occasion, Mark would slip his wallet out and pay for your coffee without a second thought. These events would result in a whole lot of whining on your part, always arguing that you should treat him once in a while too. He liked the idea of spoiling you, he wanted to say, though the invisible filter that was stuck in his throat never allowed him such a luxury.

Plus, the look on your face was equally as cute as your whines. Although you tried to be angry, the lopsided grin that always appeared made Mark’s stomach do flips. How was it possible to be that effortlessly pretty? It would take the nation’s top philosopher, Mark thought, to figure that one out.

“Mark!” You call, jogging over to his locker where he stands, putting his books away. He focuses on not being a clumsy mess then looks over at you, spending extra time admiring your all-black outfit: leggings and a v-neck. He forces his eyes not to travel south of your face, instead putting on a small smile. “I was wondering where you think we should study? The library is gonna be closed for a staff meeting today.”

Without thinking anything through, Mark immediately answers with, “Actually, my parents are out of town this week. We can study at mine if you want.”

Fuck. His eyes widen at his own words as soon as they come out. You can’t help but be surprised too, but your shock quickly turns into something much less decent. At this point, you’re dying to get your hands on him. You know that if you two have your study-session today, you’ll jump his bones the minute his hand so much as grazes yours.

“Oh, okay. Cool. So I’ll meet you after 8th,” You conclude with your voice sounding like pure honey to Mark. As you turn and walk away, Mark is unsurprisingly staring at your figure in those damn leggings. He wonders how much thought you put into your outfit, if you’re wearing it on purpose to torture him. He shakes the thoughts out of his head when he feels excitement course through his veins and towards the southern region of his body. No way is he going to get a boner now. Demanding his attention elsewhere, he rips his eyes away from you and tries to think of anything but how good your ass looks.

P.E. was always Mark’s favorite class. For most of his life, his Phys. Ed teachers had consistently been carefree and maybe a bit lazy. Their go-to lesson plan comprised of a few laps around the gym and then free-choice sports. Most of the girls opted for volleyball and badminton while almost every single boy could be found on the basketball court in the midst of a friendly scrimmage. Today is no different from the rest of those times.

Mark enjoys the friendly competition but easily leads his team to a win. He has gym with some of the other guys on Neo Tech’s basketball team, and it was easy to see how well he’d fit in with the pace of the other guys. At his old school, it always felt like he was being held back. He had to slow down his plays and examine the court thoroughly before he was able to make a proper judgment of his next move. With the Neo boys, everything seemed to come naturally.

He was able to gauge each player’s strengths and weaknesses fairly quickly too. For example, Hendery was a great shooter under pressure. When he gets boxed in by other defenders, that’s when his shooting is the most precise. So with that in mind, Mark always looks for Hendery when he notices that the opposing team’s defense is particularly aggressive that day. His judgments haven’t failed him thus far, with today’s scrimmage resulting in another win that should go down in the books.

Basketball was something that came easily to Mark his whole life. Talking to girls though? Not as much. He excelled on the court, took the lead and kept a risky attitude with unexpected plays and passes. He fits in well with Neo Tech’s strategy and game style. Plus, the guys on the Neo Tech basketball team were quick to befriend him and make him feel right at home. That is, of course, until he overhears one of his teammates, Lucas, talking to another teammate in the locker room as he begins to pack up his stuff after their particularly long scrimmage.

“Bro, are you really gonna shoot your shot with Y/N?” The other one- Xiaojun, he thinks- asks the taller boy. Lucas shrugs a little, folding his gym clothes neatly before placing the pile back in his locker. He’s not wearing a shirt, and Mark can’t hide the feeling of insecurity that seeps into his veins. Mark’s never been as built as that, but he never thought much of it until now.

“I mean, probably. She usually comes to our games, right?” He looks back at Xiaojun, eyebrows raised. The boy nods back slowly, a look of uncertainty on his face. “She’s so hot, especially in that one skirt she always wears.”

Mark’s jaw tenses and his whole body becomes rigid before he can calm himself down. He knows, in his mind, that he doesn’t technically have a right to feel possessive. He hasn’t made a move, so who was he to stop Lucas’s plans? This thought doesn’t stop him, however, from feeling the sudden urge to punch Lucas in his pretty face. It annoys him that all Lucas has to say about you is ‘She’s hot.’ To Mark, you were so much more.

He loves the way you insist on helping him and accept nothing less than 100% effort on work. He loves how you smile proudly at him when he finishes his worksheets with no errors, how you blush every time he pays for your coffee before a study session, how you always find a way to get something done if you commit to it, how you genuinely care about how his day went when no one else seems to ask. You’re more to him than a nice body in a short skirt. Much, much more.

Hendery notices his tense shoulders and pensive facial expression, quickly grabbing the shirt that was draped over his shoulder and sending a soft wack to Mark’s back. This seems to do the trick, his face softening when he realizes it was Hendery who hit him.

“Ignore them,” Hendery orders, folding the shirt in his hands and placing it back in his locker. He’s friends with both Lucas and Mark, but he can tell how much Mark likes you. Lucas’s crush would pass with time, it was a never-ending cycle with that one. “Lucas isn’t her type, trust me. And if you’re so worried, make your move.”

This time, Mark realizes that Hendery is all too right. He needs to do something-anything, before it’s too late.

Yet again, the end of the day comes too quickly for Mark to process. He blankly shuffles out of the lab room and is taken by surprise when he sees you leaning against the wall opposite the doorway. You push yourself off the wall when you spot him, and take into account how good he looks when he’s out of it. It makes you wonder how he’ll look when he’s all fucked out and-

“Ready?” Mark interrupts your thoughts. Instead of saying anything, because you don’t trust your voice at this point, you simply nod and begin pacing your walk so you’ll be shoulder-to-shoulder. Your shoulder brushes against his occasionally, but neither of you shows any sign of being bothered by it.

The car ride is full of thick tension and utter silence aside from the soft hum of the radio. Mark’s grip on the wheel is tighter than he’s used to but he can’t help it. He can feel your eyes on him, his skin beginning to warm underneath his usual basketball shorts and a loose tee. You study him shamelessly: the veins of his arms that bulge occasionally when he shifts the wheel one way and the other, his habit of biting his lower lip when the car in front of him drives too slow, and the simple things like the contour of his jawline.

He pulls into a driveway and you aren’t surprised by how lavish his house is. His mother and father are both high-ups in some big company, as Mark had put it. They take business trips often but still find time for their beloved son, while his older brother is away at the number one university in the country. One might ask why Mark needs an athletic scholarship if his parents have so much money. He thinks of it more as a pride thing. His father, before becoming a businessman, was also on an athletic scholarship for soccer. His older brother has one for baseball while he studies Marketing and International Finance. Sports scholarships were almost like a family heirloom for the Lee’s, along with a business degree.

He jumps out of his seat, closing the door behind him before rushing to the passenger side to open the door for you. Under normal circumstances, you might’ve blushed. But with Mark, you know you have to be the confident one between the both of you. No matter how flustered his smiles make you and how weak in the knees his deep voice makes you, you force yourself to put on a bold front.

“Welcome to my humble abode,” Mark snorts as he leads you through the foyer to the carpet-clad staircase. Humble was one way to put it. The whole interior has a simple, all-white color scheme. Upholstered leather loveseats were positioned neatly down the halls, with minimalistic tables to match. You let yourself take in your surroundings as both of you walk through the maze of his house towards what you presume will be his bedroom. Your guess is right; he stops in front of a white-painted wooden door and opens it just a bit to peek inside and make sure nothing was out of place. He breathes a sigh of relief that he decided to move anything remotely embarrassing to his walk-in closet as soon as he started his new school. Opening the door wider so that you could enter, you step in hesitantly and watch a little too intently at Mark closing the door firmly behind him.

His room is somehow exactly how you pictured it; a light blue color paints the walls. His full-sized bed leans against one wall, with posters of his favorite movies hovering above the headboard.

“Shit, I just realized that my desk-” You glance behind you, seeing his computer which took up most of the space that the desk had to offer and the somewhat large gaming chair that was tucked comfortably underneath said desk. Almost thanking fate for throwing this curveball in your favor, you just smile reassuringly at him.

“It’s fine, Mark. We can study on your bed.” Mark’s eyes widen suddenly and you realize that you probably gave him too much to process at once. “Or the floor, that’s fine too.”

“N-No! I mean- whatever’s more comfortable,” He manages to stutter out. Mentally, Mark would have said something spicy just to see you blush. However, in reality, Mark just couldn’t muster up the courage to openly flirt like that. His lack of confidence had posed many obstacles for him over the years. It seemed the one place he was truly confident was on the court.

“Well, it’s your room so I’ll sit wherever you sit.”

He nods once before setting his backpack at the foot of the bed and jumping back onto the soft mattress. Scooting up towards the headboard, he waits for you to do the same. You ignore the excitement that bubbles knowing his eyes are on you, and take a seat next to him with your bag still in hand.

“So uh- what are we gonna start with today?” Mark tries so hard not to seem phased by having a girl like you in his bed, but his patience is wearing thin and he can only blame himself. Maybe if he just made a move…

“We always start with trig.” You furrow your brows in confusion because it’s become a set routine already. Trig was always first because that was the subject he was most behind in. English was obviously not a problem for him and in terms of science, he was just behind with lab work that he could complete in school. “Then, we brush up on some science. I don’t really think you need it, though. You’re almost caught up with your lab work.”

“Oh, yeah. Right, of course.” He has to physically focus on not rambling or he’d be a mess all over. Of course, you know this by now. And while his shy and awkward demeanor is definitely adorable, it also makes you hesitate to try anything with him. After all, what are the chances of the shy boy in front of you gripping you up only to have his way with you?

Mark begins working on the sheets you give him almost as soon as you hand them over, eager to complete the work and somehow finesse his way into spending more time with you. He was being dumb, Hendery would continuously tell him. He should just go for it, because with a tutor ‘as hot as Y/N,’ why wouldn’t he? His lack of confidence makes him want to pull his hair from the roots, but he resists the urge and silently completes the worksheets. He double-checks all of his work carefully so that no time will be wasted in going over stupid mistakes. With a sigh of relief, Mark hands the papers over to you and looks up at you nervously. You always look so stoic when analyzing his answers, it intimidates him yet also lights a spark of excitement at the same time.

“Well done. There were no errors, just make sure you remember to show your work because the question requires-”

“Y/N?” Your name slips out of his mouth before he realizes it. You fall silent, eyes lifting to meet his dark brown ones. “Um… Can we maybe t-take the day off? I think I’d rather be doing almost anything other than trig right now.”

You don’t expect this question, because he’s never asked for a break. It was always about him being up to date with the curriculum so he’d be able to be part of the starting five. What you also don’t expect is for his eyes to flicker, very briefly, to the exposed skin of your upper body. There’s only a bit of cleavage showing, and a peek of your collarbones visible from certain angles. Suddenly, you realize that the time for making a move is now. And you can’t pass up the opportunity.

“What did you have in mind?” Your voice dripping like honey in the air. Slowly, you push the papers and books away from you and they hit the carpeted floor with a light thud. Mark gulps, finding his mouth dry when his mind goes blank with what to say next. Come on, Mark. Keep it together.

Instead of saying anything that might ruin the moment, he simply mimics you and pushes the books off his lap and onto the floor. When he turns back to face you, he’s met with your challenging gaze and he can’t help himself as he leans towards you without any doubt in his mind.

Your noses brush against each other, his face so close that you could feel every minty breath he lets out. You know what’s about to happen, and you no longer have the patience to delay it any further. Mark’s hesitant ways, while sweet and gentlemanly, drive you to the brink of insanity. And so, with a deep breath, your hand lifts to pull his face to yours. Your lips softly press to his, letting him process the fact that you’re actually kissing him before you grow impatient. Feverishly, you move your mouth against his. Mark swears he’s in heaven when he slowly opens his mouth a bit wider and your tongue automatically swipes against his. He’s been waiting for this moment- to feel your lips against his, to taste you in more ways than one. He needs it all, right now.

“Y/N,” He separates from you to breathe out your name. You practically bite back a moan, humming in response while his hands grab your waist. You expect him to say something, but he just kisses you again with more confidence than before. As he slowly leans back against the headboard, you follow him absentmindedly, simply chasing the heat of his lips against yours. You’re straddling him now, his hands moving to grip your ass cheeks with greed. The force makes you roll your hips in response, grinding down onto him unintentionally which makes Mark’s breath hitch.

You experiment, repeating the movement and pulling away from him only to see his reaction. His eyes are focused on the movements of your hips above his, concentration straining his face. After flipping your hair to one side, you continue your slow torture and lean down to kiss the spot below his ear. With his hands firmly clasping around your hips, you suck at his supple skin and lick over the spot when you’re done. By now, his breathing is a little heavy and uneven as his erection pressed against your clothed core. You feel him against you, his basketball shorts doing little to conceal his excitement.

“You’re driving me crazy,” He whispers as he drops his head to the crook of your neck, his breath tickling you slightly. You relish in knowing that the feeling is mutual. With every huffed-out breath, every soft kiss on your skin, you only become more reassured that you want this- and it makes it all the more worth it knowing that he wants this too.

You break the kiss to rid yourself of your t-shirt, the material on your warm body frustrating you a bit more than you’d like to admit. As you meet his eyes again- they’re filled with a hunger that causes your stomach to clench and arousal to pool within the confines of your panties- you can’t help the absolute urgency you feel to make him putty in your hands. So instead of kissing him again, you play with the hem of his loose tee, letting your hands graze over the skin of his abdomen. He hesitates, remembering the locker room fiasco with Lucas and suddenly he feels that insecurity itching at his skin again. He isn’t extremely built, his athletic body on the more slender side, but you don’t mind at all.

From his demeanor, you can already deduce what’s bothering him. You press a sweet kiss to his lips, almost silently telling him that you liked him just as he is. A kilowatt smile lights up his face, and your cool hands against his heated skin make him grab at the material to discard it himself. He stares up at you, waiting for your next move because quite frankly, he likes you in control.

“These too,” You order, pointing at his basketball shorts. Mark is quick to shimmy them off of his body, leaving only his boxers to conceal the length of his cock from your eyesight, though the bulge is very much prominent. You debate whether or not to fuck him then and there, but decide that having him writhing from your mouth alone would satisfy you more.

With a quick motion, you bring your lips down to the skin above the waistband of his boxers. He twitches slightly at the contact, and then feels your nails gently rake against his sides. He’s much too sensitive to your touch, and it almost scares him. How could you have so much power over him? Maybe it’s the way your plump lips push against his skin so confidently, how your eyes find his without a second thought. He envies your confidence, but he also finds it unbelievably addicting to have such control taken away from him.

Mark isn’t a virgin. But he also isn’t very experienced. His past sexual encounters were vanilla, with him hesitantly taking control because his girlfriends always expected such. His first time was awkward at best, his hips didn’t quite know how to fluidly move nor did his tongue know how to expertly flick against hers. He did get a bit better as time went on, or so he likes to think. But he feels so foreign to sex with you.

It might be because you seem so opposite of him- in terms of how easily everything comes to you. However, he doesn’t find it in him to assume anything about your sex life, because he doesn’t particularly care. He ignores any thoughts of how many guys you’ve been with or if they’d be better than him, because as your hands slowly pull his boxers down, he’s content with knowing all you’re thinking about is him, at this moment.

You hum pleasantly at the sight of his length free from its confines, a small bead of precum ready to drip from the head. Much to your surprise, your mouth salivates on its own at the sight. You stroke him twice in your small hand, before your spit comes down on the side of his dick. He watches you in awe as you slide him into your mouth without hesitation, your tongue running along the underside of his length. A guttural groan emits from the awestruck boy before he can stop himself, much to his dismay. It would make you grin if your mouth wasn’t preoccupied.

You begin to slowly, tentatively bob your head up and down on him as your hand twists up to meet your mouth. You look at him expectantly for his response, and it doesn’t disappoint. His hands fly to your head, fingertips smoothing over your scalp while he sucks in a harsh breath. His mouth drops open soon after, the warm and slick tunnel of your mouth proving to be quite the pleaser.

He feels nervous under your stare once again, but he certainly can’t look away from the sight before him. With your plump, infamously glossy lips wrapped around the tip of his dick and your tongue sliding obscenely over the slit. He wants to memorize every detail of the picture painted for him, so he stares at you and forces himself not to look away. He sees everything: the way you blink slowly as you take him further into your mouth, the way you search his face for reassurance that you’re making him feel good, the way you twist your wrist in an almost tortuous way that feels so, so good.

“Fuck, I need to feel you.” He gently, regretfully pulls your head away from his crotch. Your mouth detaches from his cock with a quiet popping sound, a string of spit connecting his dick to your bottom lip. Your mouth is tinted red and a little swollen, a bit of spit still left on the side of your mouth. Even so, Mark still thinks you’re the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen.

He decides that, eventually, he’ll ask you out. The turn of events today is unexpected and definitely not what he had in mind, but he’s in too deep to put a stop to it now. He wonders if he fucked up his chances by going along with this, if you’d reject him because of the irony of him asking you out after he’s had his way with you. He swallows the nervous feeling that is rooted deep in his chest and stems out to the entirety of his body, pushes it aside to deal with later.

You undress quicker than Mark can process his thoughts, and for the first time since you’ve met him, your confidence wavers. Confidence was always something that came and went for you- the brave front you had put on didn’t quite prepare you for feeling Mark’s hungry eyes all over every inch of your body.

“Y/N- you’re so beautiful.” He motions you to get on top of him again, and you comply shyly. He kisses your lips once, then your cheek, then your neck, then your shoulder. All until you’re smiling so wide that you feel a pinch of pain in your cheeks. Mark Lee definitely owns your heart, no point in denial any more.

“W-Would you want to uh- ride me?” He stutters out clumsily, his hands finding purchase at his sides. This is why he likes that you take control. For one, it’s sexy as hell. For another, it gives him less room to be the nervous mess that he usually is.

At his question, your demeanor changes from a slightly nervous girl feeling so bare underneath his gaze to something even you didn’t know you had in you. You can feel your arousal as you slowly move closer to him, your thighs on either side of his. His boxers are still hanging just below his knees and he hurriedly kicks them off all the way.

“Condom?” You ask, eyes searching around his bedside but to no avail. Mark fumbles a bit, keeping one hand around your waist securely while the other rummages through the bottom drawer of his nightstand. After finally locating the box of condoms his mom insisted on giving him during freshman year, he pulls the foil packaging into sight. It’s almost embarrassing how quickly his hands make work to slide it securely over his length, but his desire is clouding his judgment more than he expected.

“You’re sure you’re okay with this?” His voice is a bit breathless as he carefully tucks some of your hair behind your ear. The action makes your face warm and quite possibly your heart. But you don’t admit that. Instead, you nod curtly before pressing a reassuring kiss to his lips. Without skipping a beat, you take hold of his cock and align it at your entrance. You run the head back and forth between your folds, but realize you’re only putting yourself through further cruelty with every second that passes with no relief to the throbbing of your core.

So without warning, you sink down on him at a painfully slow pace. Your slick folds welcome the stretch of his girth, the very feeling of him making you shiver with sensitivity. Mark looks down to where his dick is being swallowed by your core, finding it harder and harder to hold on to his sanity as you sink further down on him. You let out a soft, delicate moan when you feel him fill you up completely, and Mark swears he could cum just from hearing those angelic sounds. He then decides, if you two do this again, he’ll fuck you into his mattress until you’re crumbling at the seams because of him.

“Shit,” He mutters under his breath when you start bouncing on top of him. The sound of skin slapping against skin proves to be quite the soundtrack as you desperately grip his shoulders. You bite your lip in an attempt to muffle the screams of pleasure just aching to come out. Your moans come out in whimpers when Mark uses his thumb to draw figure 8’s on your clit. He’s biting his bottom lip, his facial muscles strained between a fucked-out state and a concentrated one.

“Such a good boy,” You muse lightly without even thinking. Your voice mumbling such praise causes Mark to gulp, and he’s strangely even more turned on. Then again, you’d been awakening emotions and sensations that Mark hasn’t quite felt before, didn’t even know were possible. On your side, you’ve never tried much dirty talk during sex, but for Mark, you were willing to try. You can tell he likes it by the way his grip on your hips tightens and his breathing becomes heavier. And so, as he pants and groans softly next to your ear, your pace turns merciless. You bounce on him with an unrelenting pace and he knows you won’t stop until he cums, hard.

“Oh fuck. Oh shit.” Profanities spill from his mouth, his eyes screwing shut intently at how good the friction between your folds was. He forces himself to continue rubbing circles into your clit, albeit a bit sloppy, but circles nonetheless. You’re only more motivated by his lewd sounds, feeling your walls clench even tighter around his throbbing cock. The sensation causes an idea to form in your head, and you decide that his reaction will be the most satisfying part.

“Feels so good. Are you close?” Innocence laces your voice as you grab his hand and guide it to one of your breasts. Watching as he instinctively grabs it greedily in his palm, you notice how hot his fingers look wrapped around your flesh which only fuels your idea. Mark nods eagerly at your question, his breathy pants coming out shorter, more frequent, and sinful enough to make your head spin.

Abruptly, you begin rolling your hips against him rather than bouncing, causing him to look up at you. Then, you grab his hand again and bring it to your throat, making him wrap his fingers around the width of your neck slowly. Mark’s mouth drops open a second time this afternoon, feeling his hand tenderly squeeze around your neck. Your breathing becomes a bit restricted, but not enough to cause any discomfort. The force only makes your eyes roll back, while Mark turns to putty underneath you. After a few seconds, he releases his hold and brings his hand down to knead your ass, whispering something about how good you feel. Despite his seeming increase of confidence, all that Mark is thinking about is the power trip he got from choking you. Holy fuck, did that really happen?

“Gonna cum now, baby?” You force the question out when you feel him begin to pulse inside of you, leaning down to suck on the skin where his shoulder and neck meet and then licking your way up to just below his ear. Gently and carefully, you take his earlobe between your teeth and pull away slowly. Mark, by now, is a writhing mess underneath you. He can no longer contain his sounds nor his desperation to climax, bucking his hips up to meet yours. The combination of his thumb running over your clit repeatedly and his dick hitting just the right spot has a white-hot pleasure burning through your entire body. “Mmph- Mark!”

“Fuck! I’m g- gonna cum,” He yelps when he hears you moan his name, his thumb’s movement over your clit becoming rougher, sloppier by the second. He gives up on trying to thrust up into you, instead letting you ride him with an almost animalistic nature. His face scrunches up, a choked groan falling from his open mouth as he feels his climax course through his entire body. His seed fills up the condom, the sensation of release so utterly euphoric that Mark isn’t sure if he’s ever felt this good. Your pace on his dick slows before coming to a complete stop, breathing heavily and feeling so out of it even without an orgasm.

“Lay down, beautiful,” He rasps out, moving from his position and running his hand along your thigh delicately. His half-lidded eyes meet yours before you obey his command, positioning yourself in the middle of the bed with your head resting comfortably on one of the pillows. Mark hovers over you, pressing affectionate kisses all over your upper body before traveling lower.

“I’ve never done this before,” Mark admits shyly, sucking on the skin of your inner thigh before repeating the action to the other one. As he licks a stripe up from your dripping core to your clit, you feel a shiver run all the way up your body. Noticing your reaction, he sucks your clit into his mouth and rolls his tongue over the sensitive bud. Your drawn out moan tells him he’s doing something right, so he continues to flick his tongue over the bundle of nerves while he looks up to see your face.

“Shit! More, p- please.” Your pleads leave his ears red and his mouth watering, his tongue moving to slide between your folds with a soft moan. The vibration combined with his tongue darting in and out of you languidly makes you see stars at this point. “Oh my god- are you sure you haven’t done this before?”

He chuckles lightly, seeing your brows furrow in concentration as he forces his tongue to fuck your core faster and faster. One of his hands comes down to rub over your clit, your juices creating a squelching noise every time his tongue moved inside of you. Mark swears he’s never felt more proud when your hand comes down to grip at his hair, pushing his face further into you just as your thighs clench around his head.

“You’re so wet,” Mark praises before going back to thrusting his tongue between your folds. The taste makes him hum, vibration spreading through your lower region and making you whimper in satisfaction. Mark’s a quick learner, you see, when he continues to hum and groan into your pussy as his finger circles your clit consistently. “Cum, baby.”

You give in to his command, letting yourself fall apart at the seams underneath his mouth. Your pussy throbs around his tongue as you ride out your orgasm, a moan caught in your throat as your mouth hangs open in an ‘O.’ Mark happily laps up your juices, diligently downing every last drop before collapsing on the mattress next to you.

“Wow,” He remarks in awe, peering at you through the corner of his eyes. You’re still trying to catch your breath, but you laugh lightheartedly anyway as you turn your body to face him. A few pieces of hair cling to your forehead, and he delicately pushes them away from your face before caressing the curve of your jaw.

“The game’s coming up,” You comment, your hand toying with the one that wasn’t touching your face. The game was so important to him, you couldn’t think of anything else you’d rather talk about in this moment. “Aren’t you excited?”

“Well, yeah of course. A little anxious, but I think that’s normal before a big game.” Basketball might be the one thing he could talk about without a nervous bone in his body. No stuttering, no confusion, just speaking his mind. “Do you like basketball?”

You nod in response, giggling at the face he makes that’s somewhere between surprised and overjoyed. Basketball was something you enjoyed watching and analyzing, especially since it was such a big thing for the students of Neo Tech. Most schools prided themselves on their football team, but not Neo. Basketball had always been like gold.

“What do you think of our starting five? Maybe you can tell me something I haven’t picked up on.”

“Hmm,” You start, fully prepared for the rant that’s about to happen. “Xiaojun is a pretty amazing shooting guard, he almost always knocks down shots whether he’s open or not. Ten can’t be matched when it comes to being a small forward. He’s quick as hell, and I see him use that to his advantage a lot when he’s trying to get open. Hendery- where do I even start? He’s so versatile when it comes to shooting, perimeter shots and jump shots- it doesn’t matter, he can make them all. And his defense skills are crazy, he’s fearless even up against bigger guys. I mean, I guess that’s normal among power forwards but-”

Mark zones out a bit as he prepares for you to talk about Lucas. What were you going to say? Would your eyes light up when talking about him? Would you gush about how good he was? He hopes not, especially not after what just happened.

“Lucas is a good choice for center. He’s tall, so it makes sense that he’s the best at rebounds. His shooting ability is fairly decent, but he needs work on his passing in my opinion.” He’s surprised to see that you keep your comments completely analytical, not even blinking an eye as you continue your commentary. If Mark liked you a lot before, hearing you talk about basketball has him on the verge of calling out for cupid.

“And you-” Mark’s ears twitch, his attention completely and utterly focused on you. Had you seen videos of him playing at his old school? He dreads the thought, knowing that he wasn’t playing to his full potential back then. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to see this Friday.”

“Is it too early to say ‘marry me?’“ He jokes, and both of you laugh. Secretly, though, you wish he had been more direct from the beginning. Seeing him with his newfound confidence is even more attractive than seeing him flustered. You wonder what today will bring of your relationship, but decide to wait and bring it up after his big game. He needs a clear head, and so do you if you want to see him perform to the best of his abilities on game night.

[game night]

You aren’t disappointed in the least bit, savoring every minute of the game and concentrating on how good Mark is. His position was always point guard, and now you understand why. He has a certain talent, it’s not technical. Sure, he’s a great shooter and he’s ruthless with defense. But more importantly, he facilitates the team in a way that makes all of the players better. He plays using their strengths, knowing exactly who to look for in any given situation rather than making himself the star.

He leads the team flawlessly, and you’re sure everyone feels it too. The momentum the five boys build up in the first half is too strong for the other team to compete with. By the time half-time is up, it’s clear that Neo Tech will come out on top. There’s a certain feeling lingering in the air as the coach switches out Ten and Hendery for Yangyang and Jungwoo. No matter what the coach does, who switches out, the outcome is secured.

Despite how certain victory is, it doesn’t stop everyone holding their breath as the shot clock winds down to its final seconds and Mark steps back to launch the ball into the air. Everyone is still as the ball seems to move in slow motion, a loud swoosh sound echoing throughout the gym seconds before the final buzzer blares, indicating the end of the game. The crowd is immediately on their feet and cheering, high-fiving and fist-bumping all around.

You’re sitting in the first few rows, so it’s easy to run out onto the court. The school’s sports reporters, Chenle and Jisung, are already holding the microphone towards Mark to record a post-game interview for tomorrow’s newsreel. They only get to ask a few questions, though, before Mark’s eyes are on you.

A bright, proud smile graces your face and Mark is sure he wants to see that same smile every day of his life. You’re standing a few feet away, facing him and the rest of the boys on the team. This reminds him of Lucas’s conversation in the locker room, and he knows that now is no time to be shy.

So, he answers one final question before brushing off the two boys and turning towards you. His walk is confident now, as if he’s done this millions of times before. Now, he stands with you toe-to-toe and he lets his arms wrap around your waist slowly.

If it’s even humanly possible, you push your body closer to his and drape your forearm over his shoulder. His eyes stare directly into yours, the shy boy long gone and replaced with the same courageous Mark that was on the court tonight.

“How’d I do?” He whispers as he leans his forehead against yours, his breath tickling your nose. Everyone on the team is watching, but it doesn’t bother either of you. Instead of answering, you grasp his jaw and press your lips against his. It doesn’t take long for him to respond, his mouth moving against yours slowly and affectionately. You pull away after a few moments, still beaming up at him.

“I guess you finally got together, huh?” Hendery smirks from his spot on the bench beside the two of you, and Mark laughs quietly. Though, Hendery’s statement reminds him that he never did ask you out. His brow quirks upwards when he meets your eyes, the silent question spelled out right in front of you.

“Yeah, we did.” Your answer is what he’s been dying to hear since the moment you walked into Principal Yoon’s office, and it feels even better knowing that he isn’t daydreaming this time. This is real, you returning his feelings- it’s all real. And Mark couldn’t be happier.

“I told you she liked Mark!” Xiaojun throws a victorious, high pitched scream at Lucas as they walk towards the locker room.

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