Sublimely Ecstatic

oikawa falls in love like a tsunami’s last breath. the first time he realises he loves you, he thinks the earth beneath his feet has fractured. terrified, he recedes from your life, pulls back from your outstretched hands, withdraws from your longing gaze, hoping that his feelings will, too. instead, they surge forward with a roar, swell to monstrous heights, foaming viciously at the crest. and soon, the colossal wave collapses against the shore, unable to fight any longer. when his words finally flood out, that roar of the tsunami arrives in the end as a whisper–– “i love you.” and everything is washed anew.

iwaizumi falls in love like a tree branch under snow. his feelings accumulate crystal by crystal: a touch here, a smile there, a picture at 2 am followed by “i saw this and thought of you” and a reply of “go to sleep, idiot” seconds later. you worm your way into his heart so slowly he doesn’t notice it at first, doesn’t notice the thick layer of snow on the caving wooden limb, doesn’t notice that one more fleeting brush against his fingers will tip the scale–– until the branch finally snaps. and when he opens his eyes to a world bedazzled by snow, the only face he can see is yours.

kuroo falls in love like honey on pancakes. with him, there’s no sudden realisation, no flashbulb moment of his adoration, because he’s been happily fixed in a golden state of mind ever since the day you met. every day, his name sounds sweeter out your mouth. every day, he wakes up with sugar on his lips. it’s slow, how his love for you grows, but it’s steady. and now, as you kiss every knuckle on his hand to pull him back down to earth, he can only let out a soft, amused exhale through his nose. his half-lidded gaze focuses on your decadent features. “i’m here,” he purrs. 

kenma falls in love like eyelids after dark. very rarely do the gears in his head stop spinning; he’s lived his entire life on alert, taking in and apart details to survive. but with you… there’s no need to take in and apart the way your lips feel against his, the scent of your hair in his nose, your shallow breath against his neck. it all feels so safe. with you, he’s home–– he can finally rest. so even when light drains out from the sky, even when the world is at its worst, at the feeling of your body curling up to his, the gears in his head grind to a halt. and he lets his heart beat instead.

bokuto falls in love like a fledgeling from its nest. he knows it’s reckless––  ridiculously reckless–– to have so much faith in wings not yet fully formed, but there’s something about you that makes him want to soar. maybe it’s that you remind him of a cloudless blue sky or a valley that stretches from both ends of the earth or an ocean that glitters beneath the sun. maybe it’s that your name is a call to adventure. and at that moment, he realises that birds don’t fly when they’re ready–– they fly when they’re called to. so he steps to the edge, spreads his arms out, and leaps, your name a prayer on his lips.

akaashi falls in love like silence between friends. it comes over him naturally, instinctively, right as he thinks that he could do nothing next to you forever and still be satisfied. the feeling wraps his shoulders like a blanket and, with a twitch of his lips, he pulls it closer around himself. his eyes dart over to your figure, wondering if you know–– if you’d known this whole time. and then when you catch his gaze, when you ask “like what you see?” with a smirk on your face, he feels the fabric stretch around his shoulders as if to fit a second body. his reply comes to him like second nature, like instinct. “no, i love it.”

atsumu falls in love like skydiving from a plane. he’s meticulous, guarded, the most untrusting of fate. so he fights to gain the upper hand: he picks his parachute, his pilot, the day with the best weather–– everything is in his control. and when you come in full view, he finally thinks the dropzone is perfect. only then does he throw all caution to the wind, diving head first, eyes closed all the way down. an awesome wave of euphoria washes over him, lasting even when he realises he’s landed right in your arms, hair mussed, cheeks flushed, pupils wild with excitement. he wants to freefall into you again. so he does.

osamu falls in love like night over the city. it’s as inevitable as the cycle of the sun and moon and when it happens, he’s still the same–– yet everything is different. beside you, he feels the air change and all else fade into the background. beside you, the hum of the world turns into a steady beat, a pulse awfully similar to the one in his chest. and he flickers to life, a mosaic of light, when you touch him. he doesn’t usually look like this, you think as you draw circles on the back of his hand, trying to pinpoint what about him has changed. smiling softly, he knows that you’ll figure it out soon. or… he could say it now.

kita falls in love like a seed into the ground. he doesn’t feel it when it’s sowed, nor when it takes root beneath the soil, but he sure feels when it sprouts. its stem crawls around his legs and up his trunk, keeping him safely fixed to earth. it grows with every “good morning” and “i’ll save you a seat”, it grows when you prance over with a joke on your lips and two coffees in your hands. it grows when he sees you with your eyes closed, head tilted towards the sky like a sunflower, and realises that you are all he’s ever wanted. your head turns. your eyes meet. and as spring does with the cherry trees, he blooms.

ushijima falls in love like a comet past the sun. as he hurtles by, your radiance melts his icy exterior into the glimmering cloud in his wake. every inch of his body is on fire. he feels the power in the pull of your orbit. feels you could utterly ruin him. feels he’d be okay with it, too. but you don’t. instead, he thinks himself made of anti-gravity as you trace constellations into his skin. he sees stars collide when you kiss. and when he remembers how a comet can spend thousands of years without passing the sun in its orbit, he looks at you asleep in his arms and holds you just a little tighter to his chest.

tendou falls in love like confetti on new year’s eve. this moment has spent all year in the making. ten, from the day you pummelled into his life. nine, the time that slowed when he saw you smile. eight, when you changed each other’s names in your phones. seven, that time he dragged you out to a party. six, how you retaliated by taking him to a play. five, your shoulders touch during said play. four, his fingers wrap around yours during the finale. three, you hold hands all the way home. two, he walks you to the door. one, you stop. zero, he leans in. and the world explodes in full colour.

kageyama falls in love like a fawn upright for the first time. it’s all new–– the butterflies in his stomach, the sluggishness of his tongue in his mouth, the short-circuiting of his brain when you’re around. he stumbles and trips and topples over navigating through the tingling in his body. “are you okay?” you ask, peering into his eyes. his cheeks burn as he nods, unable to form words. he thinks he’ll be fine, though, until you place a hand on his shoulder. the touch sends another flood of electricity through his nerves. “you sure? you look like you’re about to hurl.” and he resolves that he will do something about this.

tsukishima falls in love like a chest in resignation. he didn’t believe in softer emotions–– or at least, that’s what he told himself. and he held out for so long. but then you came along with your dumb sparkly eyes and your stupid smart mouth and infuriatingly sweet smile. even with the argument still fresh on his mind, he still adores you to death. especially right now, as he struggles to breathe knowing that he might lose you. fine, he thinks, no more running. he picks up his phone and sends the message that’s been sitting in his notes. and finally, he lets out a sigh. you win. he’s never been happier to lose.

oikawa tooru can’t imagine changing his routine to fit someone else in, lover or not. if they don’t fall into sync with him, they just aren’t meant to be. why should he change the time he goes to the gym – shouldn’t you just get up earlier if you want to eat breakfast with him? why should he alter the way his life is; why should he make room in his drawers for you, why should he come home earlier from practice – why should he change for you? you knew what you were getting into when you fell in love with him. 

akaashi keiji doesn’t get that not everyone can understand how someone feels with one look. he puts an extra sugar in his coffee and expects you to know that he wants to go out to a bakery, he clicks his red pens a few extra times and expects you to know that he needs refills – he says he has a lot of work tonight and expects you to make him midnight snacks. to him, that stuff is easy. why can’t you understand him? he does it for you – he shouldn’t have to say it out loud. you should already know what he’s thinking. if you don’t, maybe you don’t love him as much as he thought you did.

yamaguchi tadashi lacks confidence in himself and the relationship. you’re so much better than him – you could leave him for anyone. you’re so perfect and kind, he’s just a wimpy man. who wants that? do you even love him like he loves you? you don’t love him as much as he loves you – how could you? it feels like he doesn’t see you – how can he when he’s blinded by all his anxieties and worries? it’s not like he’ll ever talk about it either; he doesn’t think you love him enough to stay if he reveals all his insecurities. in his eyes, you’re too perfect to stay. you’ll leave him one day, he knows it. you’re too perfect to love someone like him. 

kageyama tobio can’t even try to show interest in what his lover likes. he can’t help it – he just doesn’t care. you should understand that, you shouldn’t pressure him into trying to like something he doesn’t. no, he can’t go to your event on saturday, he has practice. wait – why aren’t you coming to his game on thursday? you should support him. no – it’s not the same as your event, his game is more important. you should get that. why are you getting so mad? why’re you so sensitive – it’s not his fault that he doesn’t like what you do. suck it up. if you really loved him, you’d understand how important volleyball is to him.

kuroo tetsurou won’t let you in to his heart. he knows everything about you, from your darkest secrets to your most hopeful dreams. he reads you like an open book, he’s met your parents, your friends love him – but you know nothing about him. he refuses to tell you about his parents, let alone meet them, he steers you clear of his friends, he won’t even tell you his sister’s name. he refuses any talk about his emotions, and keeps you at a distance, barely holding on; like he could let go of you any time. you don’t need to know everything about him to love him, so stop prying. 

hinata shoyo didn’t know that relationships come with problems. his ability to commit falters when you both hit a rough spot; it’s just so much easier to go and play beach volleyball with his friends than deal with the issues at hand. in his mind things should go smoothly – there’s no need to fight to grow. you’re not kageyama, and love isn’t volleyball – there should’t be problems. love should be easy, simple, mindless. the fact that you two are even going through issues…maybe you two aren’t made for each other like he originally thought. 

bokuto kotaro doesn’t understand the concept of space. there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be able to be with you every hour of every day. you love him, right? why are you pushing him away? do you think he’s…annoying? his mood swings don’t help – the second you push away his affection he gets upset and whines about how he doesn’t understand. just – explain it to him. but no matter how many times you do, to him, it just seems like you don’t love him anymore. what else could you rejecting his love mean? you must not love him anymore if you want to be apart from him. 

tsukishima kei can’t express his emotions, and doesn’t see why he has to. you know he loves you, unless you’re stupid. there’s nothing wrong with the way he acts. he doesn’t want to cry at the sad movie, so he ignores it. he doesn’t want to talk about his fears, so he brushes away your questions. he doesn’t want to show his jealousy of your friendship with other guys – so he ignores you in school. but, why aren’t you texting him? where was the goodnight text? why did you ignore him after school? to him, there’s no connection between his nonchalant treatment of you and your avoidance of him. why can’t you see that he loves you? are you that dumb? or do you just not love him back? 

iwaizumi hajime refuses to show vulnerability. it just doesn’t sit right with him – he wants to be manly for you. he wants you to rely on him. he doesn’t want to cry when you’re near, he doesn’t want to show any weak spots he might have. but why are you so closed-off lately? why aren’t you talking to him as much, you know you can tell him anything, right? he doesn’t see that relationships are give and take. his lack of will to give translates to a weak and frayed relationship. it scares him, it does, because you must not love him, that’s the only reason he can think of – but he won’t show his fear of that possibility. 

kozume kenma doesn’t realize the care and delicacy relationships take. he’s rough with his words, and sparse with his attention. no, he doesn’t want to go out, can you please stop asking. you’re being annoying – why are you crawling into his lap? get off, you’re making him uncomfortable. he won’t compromise, he won’t be more attentive to you, he doesn’t want to be; that’s too much work. you just don’t get it – you probably just want to change him. your unwllingness to accept and understand who he is only proves to him that you two aren’t meant for each other. 

—–

*dies in a bullshit way*

My brain: don’t you fucking dare

My hand: whoops lol

(Another fine example to put into a dictionary, this time next to “ Why oh god why”. There are no fun times ahead, guys.)

“Your name’s not James, is it?”

|James Kidd| Assassin & Pirate Aye

inspired by the amazing xddmlgb‘s gorgeous layout artworks of Assassin’s Creed. I got to practice some more animation. Since i haven’t animated for quite, i guess i got to do something about it. 

Commission of JAmes Kidd/Mary Read from Assassin’s Creed Black Flag