#kings fine woodworking

[kingsfinewoodworking]

Half Price

CHRISTMAS SALE 2022

We decided to keep prices the same, and offer the 1/2-price sale until we run out of material. Some of which are in short supply.

1/2 Price sale Mallets include

All Species:

Osage Orange, Wenge, Cocobolo, East Indian Rosewood, Bocote, Lignum Vitae, Padauk, Purpleheart, Redheart, Leopardwood, Walnut, Cherry, Maple, and White Oak.

Mix any head with any handle.

Discount code is this:

THOR2022

Use it during checkout.

It works for all FULL Size, MID Size, and MICRO Size.

https://kingsfinewoodworking.com/collections/thors-hammer-woodworking-mallets

#woodworking #kfw #wood #kingsfinewoodworking #diy #woodshop #woodworker #exoticwood #thorshammer #kings fine woodworking #thor #woodworkingmallet #handmade #thorragnarok #walnut

[abbysdruidess]

•._.••¯´´•.¸¸.•headcanons about married life with abby [w nsfw]•._.••¯´´•.¸¸.•

wc: 1.1k

tags: tooth rotting fluff, smut, dom!Abby, dom/sub dynamics mentioned

a/n: lmk what you guys think abt this one:)

this is kinda in the same universe along with the abby proposes to you and wedding hcs, so if you haven't you could check them out-though this one could also be read as a standalone<3

ꜱꜰᴡ ʜᴇᴀᴅᴄᴀɴᴏɴꜱ

❦ you guys put a lot of work into your little dreamhouse™️ and are extremely proud of it. As an out and about lesbian, Abby took up a woodworking project and built a library that fits right into the wall of your living room. Which you were extremely supporting of, because it gave you the lovely opportunity to ogle your wife in a tank top and work pants, huffing, red faced and wiping sweat from her forehead in your backyard. You set an alarm and every couple of hours you bring her some cool water or lemonade with fruit and brush some locks of hair out of her dewy face<3

❦ she's also one of these people that don't believe in bringing in a handyman to fix any faulty appliance in your household. She has a huge, neon yellow tool box stashed away somewhere(you still aren't sure exactly where) that magically reappears everytime your car won't start or the air-conditioner starts making a noise. And 90% of the time Abby gets the job done, running on pure willpower and spite alone. When she doesn't and you guys have to bring someone else to do it, she just goes "Pfft, I could have totally done that. I just didn't cause I thought I might break it.". "Of course honey", you reassure her with a kiss on the cheek. You don't have her saved in your phone with an image of Bob the Builder for nothing.

❦ you guys are over at her dad's place a lot. When you were looking for a house, you made sure to get a place near his so you could visit whenever. He has a photo of you two from the wedding in his mantlepiece making the goofiest faces imaginable and every single time you visit Abby pesters him to take it down while you shit yourself laughing in the background.

❦ also, when your step-siblings Yara and Lev join, it's absolute chaos. You guys probably end up having an impromptu food fight and flick celery sticks at each other.

❦ if you have any hobbies such as knitting/playing instruments/writing etc she's fullly behind them and will always ask you to show her your progress. She's pretty proud of it as well, and smiles a little excitedly like :D

❦ please sing to her. It doesn't matter if you haven't sang a day in your life and it sounds like tires screeching on asphalt, it calms her when her baby sings to her. Will think you have the voice of a choir of angels no matter what and it is the only thing that can effectively put her to sleep. Bonus points if you play the guitar as well.

❦ Abby is really into reading(probably why she got that library built in the first place) and has one permanently etched in her night stand. She strikes me as one of these people that is a fan of the classics and doesn't read anyone that came after Hemingway. Until for her 26th birthday someone gifts her books from like Stephen King or Alison Bechdel and initially she's hesitant but eventually they grow into her and are stationed into her Hall of Fame shelf.

❦ whenever either of you is sick, you insist to pamper and care for one another. During the winter months Abs has a cold or the flu every month or so, and you have to actually fight her to take the day off and rest.

-Baby, you burning up. If you go to work you'll just get worse.

-I'm *cough* fine. I honestly feels 10 years younger. I don't get what the big deal is.

❦ you two definitely exercise together. Either you always go to the gym together-although you're not there as often as she is. Abby exercises religiously 5 times a week and that exercise will take place with or without you, but she would be damned if she didn't love when you tagged along with her. Either you guys have set up a little home gym with some basic equipment like mats, a treadmill, these bouncy balls and a weight lifting bench. Of course, you spot her, because you will take up any offer to ogle at her putting those big, powerful guns she calls arms to work. She reciprocates by insisting to hold your thighs while you do sit ups. And she inevitably ends up squeezing them like balls of dough.

ɴꜱꜰᴡ ʜᴇᴀᴅᴄᴀɴᴏɴꜱ

❦ when you first met Abby in your early 20s, you though it was natural for a woman her age to have such a heightened libido. After all, she did get around a lot for someone that looked like her. And that instict to fuck you senseless never abandons her-Abby is in a constant state of Wanting to Fuck, and is game whenever you are.

❦ Your sexcapades have included(but are not limited to): empty libraries, locker room showers, back alleys of clubs and just about any sturdy furniture in your house.

❦ she is a total beast when it comes to lovemaking, and can go anywhere from 2 hours to all night long, although most sessions end when you tap out bc you know you'll be sore tomorrow.

❦ even though everyone knows you're Mrs and Mrs from the ring on your finger, Abby wants to reassure that, by marking you as hers. Hickies, bites, anything is game. And she loves the slight sting of the scratch marks you leave her when she hops in the shower the morning after. She calls them claw marks affectionately.

❦ Loooves strapping you to positions she can utilise her muscle strength, like flatiron or missionary with her arms propped up. When you're scissoring, she wants to be the one with her legs on top, grinding her pussy into yours like it's nothing.

❦ I think Abby has this very hard dom image, and while she wants to take over during sex and feel like the one in control, she also needs to be taken care of. She works hard from day to night, and her past partners haven't been exactly accommodating to her needs. So whenever she's particularly exhausted, crawl under the covers to give her some head. Or in the shower. Or in the couch. Or under the dining table. She definitely cums fast when you suck her clit, it gets extremely sensitive and swollen while you're in between her legs.

❦ Is an occasional squirter, and also loves to make you squirt. It happened once as you were riding her face, and she just. slurped it all up. You lowkey passed out on the spot as your knees almost gave up.

❦ cuddling with her afterwards. There's still some resounding bliss in the air, as you both treasure the moment, your limbs all tangled up. You leave small kisses all over her sternum as she tightens her grip around you. If you're too exhausted, you fall asleep immediately, if not you just glance at each other through heavy lids with lovestruck eyes. You sleep like a baby and wake up feeling as refreshed as ever.

send me an ask if you guys would like me to elaborate any of these<3

#abby anderson x reader #abby anderson x y/n #abby anderson x you #abby the last of us #abby tlou #abby x fem!reader #abby anderson x female reader

[crazyk-imagine]

Life from a New Perspective

Pairing: Edmund Pevensie x Fem!reader

Characters: Peter Pevensie, Susan Pevensie, Edmund Pevensie, Lucy Pevensie, Fem!reader, Reepicheep, Oreius

Warnings: Fluff, fighting, Narnia in another battle, this came out of nowhere, I don't know where this was really going but I went with it, stupid backstory for the storyline to make sense, Edmund needed to meet his match, this is oddly cute, I thought this was going to be cringey but I proved myself wrong lol, the title is 100% based on P!ATD song

Word Count: 784

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You stop, breathing hard with the prickling sensation of the people chasing you are getting closer. You spin around and see a familiar-

You furrow your brows, fighting stance barely weakening. "Reepicheep?

The brave mouse lowers his sword and calls out your name. "I thought you died?"

"When has anything ever taken me down?"

He nods, "I knew I chose you for a reason."

"You did no such thing."

"Uh- sorry but you two know each other?" You turn to the dark-haired man.

Your eye twitches. "Royalty?"

"He is the second king of old."

"The young man?"

"I prefer to be called by my name."

You close your eyes, not wanting to shout at someone with royal status. "What's your name?"

He furrows his brows, confused about how much yet so little you know about him. "You don't know?"

"I prefer not going into town."

He raises a brow, “that’s not concerning to hear.”

“People don’t like me.”

“I wonder why," he mumbles, not meaning for you to hear.

You scoff, “until next time, Reepicheep.” You jump over a log and tale off.

“Now, look what you’ve done,” says the mouse.

“Me? If anything, it was you.”

“I did nothing to run her off. I’m the reason she stayed but then you opened your big mouth.”

Edmund rolls his eyes, “whatever, let’s go.”

They take off, meeting with his siblings and a few of their warriors.

-

“What are we going to do now?” Susan asks.

“We can go to the river and see who will be willing to fight from there?” Peter offers, not entirely sure where else they can go to find more Narnians.

“We would have had a good swordsman had you not talked,” Reepicheep grumbles.

“What’d you say?” Lucy turns to him.

“His majesty ran off our only hope.”

“What’s he talking about?” Peter turns to Edmund and then the mouse. “What are you talking about?”

“The sarcastic decided to open his mouth and run off my apprentice.”

“Apprentice?” Lucy chimes in. “When did you have an apprentice?”

“Well-”

A group of bandits come up from behind the trees.

“Where did your apprentice go?” Peter shouts, kicking the bandit back.

“How am I supposed to-”

You jump the tree branch you were perched on and swing across the way, kicking the one sneaking up behind Edmund.

“There she is.”

You duck just in time, giving the mouse a bridge to climb and attack. “Looks like we meet again,” you nod to the third eldest Pevensie.

“Looks like we do.”

“Let’s see if you fight as good as you talk,” the corner of your lips twitch.

“Believe me, I’m good with a sword.”

“Care to make a wager?”

“Like?”

“If we make it out of here alive, we spar together?”

“You’ll lose.”

You shrug, “I’ve always wanted to be defeated by a king,” you wink and run to help Lucy.

“Look who’s decided to come out of the woodworks,” Oreius says.

“Guess who’s still in the woods,” you respond.

“You’re still not funny.”

“I disagree. I’m hilarious.”

“I think Edmund’s found his match,” Lucy whispers to his siblings.

“Were they flirting while we were fighting?” Peter asks, still baffled about it.

“They were,” Susan pats his arm. “Is everyone alright?”

“Well, if everyone’s fine. I’ll be off now,” you try to sneak away when your favorite mouse stops you.

“Hold on there.” He stands upon a rock. “You’re not leaving so fast. I haven’t seen you since that idiot got thrown out of town.”

“What?”

“Yeah, after you left, we found him stealing from everyone and threw him out.”

“No one believed me.”

“I did, that’s why he's gone.”

You smirk, “I knew there was a reason we met.”

That certainly quiets him down. “I believe there is someone else for you to meet.”

“I don’t like what you’re implying.”

He shrugs, giving the young king enough time to walk up to you. “You fought well.”

You slowly turn, “I didn’t need to save you nearly as times as I thought.”

“I didn’t need saving.”

“That’s what you say but who was the one to take down the bandit sneaking up behind you.”

“I had it handled.”

A smile dances across your lips, “I know. I just wanted to mess with you.”

He stares at the ground, trying to ignore the heat in his cheeks. “I- that was uncalled for.”

“Someone’s got to keep you on your toes.” You skip over to the other siblings and introduce yourself, throwing them off; on one hand, you can be deadly and fight and on the other, you can be as sweet as can be.

It intrigued Edmund a little too much for his comfort.

#the chronicles of narnia fanfic #the chronicles of narnia fanfiction #the chronicles of narnia imagines #the chronicles of narnia imagine #the chronicles of narnia #the chronicles of narnia x you #the chronicles of narnia x reader #edmund pevensie #edmund pevensie imagines #edmund pevensie imagine #edmund pevensie fanfic #edmund pevensie fanfiction #edmund pevensie x fem!reader #crazyk-imagine #edmund pevensie x you #edmund pevensie x reader

[shina913]

Stalemate, Part 1 | MYG

Stalemate (Mini-series)

Definition:  (1) Chess. a position of the pieces in which a player cannot move any piece except the king and cannot move the king without putting it in check. (2) any position or situation in which no action can be taken or progress made; deadlock

Pairing: Woodworker!Yoongi x Fem!Reader

Rating: M 🔞; NSFW

Genre: breakup!AU; toxic relationships; angst; fluff; smut; heavy drama

Summary: "The truth is, I'm not afraid to take that gamble anymore...in the off-chance that I get lucky again and feel the way I felt when I was with you. I'd happily make that bet over and over."

Word count: 8.9K+ words

Warnings (more written in individual chapters): problematic exes; relationship insecurities; alcohol consumption; cussing; miscommunication; past infidelity (reader had an affair with a married man but not detailed); vulnerable confessions; protected sex; oral sex (F-receiving); breast/nipple play; dirty talk; jealousy; multiple orgasms; verbal confrontation; a terrible joke about wood 😑

A/N: Phew! What a way to break my month-long writing drought/limbo...jumping from one unfinished WIP to another. As I mentioned on the series masterlist, this is a nonlinear story so you'll see multiple time jumps. I tried to map out the timeline using "Now" and "Then" headings so I hope that helps!

I was also going to straight-shot this but Part 2 is still missing a couple of scenes so I hope to post that in the next day or two. Until then, here's some smangsty-angst!

Now…

Yoongi pushes the button of his key fob to lock his car then walks across the street toward an alleyway. Over a decade ago, this area, at this time of night was always questionable at best. But the neighborhood was changing and old warehouses like these were being converted into some tech start-up office, a pop-up restaurant, or sometimes, the occasional modern art gallery.

“Yoongi!”

His friend, Namjoon’s voice boomed through the loud chatter and house music. He rushes to greet him by the entrance with a hug.

“Hey, glad you could come out tonight!”

Yoongi scans the surroundings and nods in approval. He gasps, “Wow–this looks great, Joon!”

“Thanks, man. Do you like how we styled all of the light fixtures?”

Both men look up at the ceiling and marvel at the decor. “I think I might run out of adjectives tonight,” Yoongi laughs. “I love what you did with them. They look awesome!”

“Great to be friends with the supplier, huh?” Namjoon grinned, elbowing Yoongi playfully.

“Yeah, yeah,” Yoongi answers wryly. “Only for you, Namjoonah.”

“Listen, I’d love to hang out and chat but there’s a lot of people here tonight. Lots of people to rub shoulders with, you know?”

“Aish, go ahead, man–it’s your night. I’ll be fine,” Yoongi smiles.

“Alright well, there’s an open bar set up in the patio and we’ve got people walking around with finger-foods. Just help yourself and have fun, yeah?”

After Namjoon walks away, Yoongi starts to walk deeper into the building and sees doors leading to an outdoor area to where a makeshift bar is set up. While he waits for the bartender to bring him his drink, he turns around to admire his friend’s place once more.

It had been a while since Yoongi had gone out on a weekend–by choice. He mostly preferred to stay in and be a recluse or occupy his time by working.

“Sir, your drink?”

Yoongi turns back toward the bar to take his beer. “Thanks,” he nods at the bartender, then drops a dollar in the tip jar.

As he starts to turn and walk away, he pauses while his vision lands on one corner, next to one of the multiple mobile sculptures installed in the space.

He watched from a distance as you carefully gazed at the exhibit, trying to find some deeper meaning or metaphor that it was trying to convey. Once you were ready to move onto another section of the gallery, your breath catches–and your eyes lock.

Then...

“Dude, where the hell are you? I’ve been waiting for over an hour,” Yoongi grumbled while he stood in a quiet corner to make a call. He’d been at the bar waiting for his friend, Namjoon to show up. It’s been a stressful week for him at work and he wanted to unwind and have a few drinks.

“Sorry, Yoongi. I sort of…ran into someone and now we’re talking about heading to her place–”

“Her?” Yoongi repeated, “Wha–you already hooked up with some chick?”

“I mean, I don’t know how it will turn out yet, Yoongi,” he chuckled on the other line. “We’re just talking. But if you want, I can still meet you? It’s just going to take me a little while,” Namjoon sputtered.

Yoongi groaned, knowing full well that once Namjoon had been roped in, it would be like trying to pull him out of quicksand. “You know what bro–just…don’t worry about it,” he concedes.

“A-are you sure? I could still–”

“It’s cool, Namjoonie. We’ll link up next time. Have a good night.” He signs off as sincerely as possible before hanging up.

Yoongi huffed, downed the rest of his beer then trudged back over to the bar. He motions to the bartender, who moved closer so he could place another drink order.

“Can I get a scotch, three fingers, no ice?”

******

It’s nearly 10:30 at night and you and your friend, Hyejin were still feeling the club’s vibe. It was a long weekend and you were intent on making a casual hookup or two.

“Anyway…we decided that things weren’t working out,” Hyejin shrugs. “We’re good though.”

You eyed her suspiciously. “Oh sure,” you say sarcastically, “Is that why you’re still fucking him?”

She giggled, clearly not planning on denying it. “I mean, he’s a nice guy and we started out as fuck-buddies…” she trailed off.

You rolled your eyes. “You need to start setting better boundaries, girl,” you say before taking a sip of your drink.

She shrugged, “I’m just living life. You should try it sometime!”

After you snort at her comment, she nudges your arm, bobbing her head toward the bar’s direction. “He looks yummy,” she remarks. You turn your head and made a quick assessment of the lonely patron she was gesturing at.

To your surprise, he turns his head in your direction. You met his gaze for a brief moment before he hastily turned away.

“He’s hot but a little too broody-looking,” you say dismissively even though you felt a flutter in the pit of your belly.

“So? You know what they say about those quiet, broody types…” Hyejin leans into your ear and whispers, “They’re freaks in the sheets!”

Your eyebrows knitted comically at her. “Who the hell said that?”

She clicked her teeth. “Me, duh!” She threw her head back in laughter, the music drowning out her drunken cackles. “Go get him–or I will,” she threatens.

Just then, he glances in your direction once more. But he’s unnerved by you and Hyejin staring straight at him so he turns away and looks down at his phone screen instead.

“I think he looked at me,” Hyejin said.

“Shut up, he looked at me!”

“You said he was too broody–”

“That didn’t mean that I was disinterested,” you cocked a warning eyebrow at her..

She laughed. “Well, what are you waiting for?” She dared.

You started to back away from her and grinned. “Slow your roll, babe…I’m going!”

You turned away from her and walked up to your target, his shoulders hunched over while he scrolled through his phone and alternately took a sip of his drink.

You ordered yourself a cocktail even though you technically already had one that you conveniently left behind where you previously stood.

You parked yourself on the seat next to him, pretending to scroll through your own phone while you gather up the courage. You see him from your peripheral view sneaking more glances at you.

When the bartender brings you your drink, the hottie to your left speaks out.

“Put her drink on my tab.”

The bartender’s eyebrow quirked. He looked at you then back at him. He gave him a small smile, nodded in acknowledgment, and walked away. You took it as your cue to finally start a conversation.

“Thanks, that’s nice of you,” you said, swiveling your seat in his direction, crossing your leg over the other.

“You’re welcome.”

The bartender serves your drink. As you pick it up, you raised your glass toward him. “Geonbae.”

“Geonbae,” he says as he raised his glass to tap it against yours. 

After you both take a sip, you ask him straight away, “Are you here with anybody?” You were not wasting any more precious time.

“Well, I was waiting for a friend but he ditched me so I’m on my own tonight.”

“Oh no,” you feigned regret. “I hope you don’t mind if I keep you company for a bit? It’s the least I can do to thank you for this drink.”

Your boldness made him smile. “I’m Yoongi.”

“Nice to meet you, Yoongi. I’m YN.” He reached out for a handshake but you gave him a hug instead. It takes him by surprise but it’s a welcome one.

******

“So, you build furniture?”

“Yep. I design them and I build them,” he explains while you scroll through his company’s social media page.

“By yourself?”

He laughed. “Sometimes, if I can’t find reliable help,” he remarks, his laugh growing louder. “I mean, I do the designs by myself but I usually have a team who helps me with the production and assembly. I have my own workshop.”

“Wow,” you marveled and continued to scroll through his feed. “Your work is really good–and unique!”

“Thank you. I work with a lot of local suppliers–small businesses as well, like mine. It’s a great community,” he explains. “And by the way, your work looks great, too,” he says while he scrolls through your own social media feed.

“Oh, gosh–most of my moodboards are from random Pinterest concepts,” you respond.

“Ehh…I think you’re being too modest.” He zeroes in on a recent contract–one that you were really proud of. It was for a local restaurant chain that used to have a bland color palette and aesthetic until they hired you to liven it up for their first location expansion. Three locations later, they’ve been one of your most lucrative clients.

“You have a great eye,” he says before handing your phone back to you. You smile at his compliment while you return his phone.

“If you think my work is good, we should get together sometime.”

His eyebrow quirks at your remark, but he holds back his response thinking you might have misspoken. You smile at him and after taking a sip of your drink you say, “You know, I’m always looking into connecting with new vendors to partner with.”

He chuckled. “You think we can be partners?”

“Why not? I see a lot of potential for us. I work in design and you are a potential supplier...what’s the worst that can happen?”

He narrowed his eyes at you. “Our visions might not line up,” he responds with a hint of doubt.

You shrug. “Ever heard of compromising?”

He chuckled softly. “My work tends to come off too old-fashioned to some. It takes a different kind of audience.”

“So? Sometimes all it takes is a dash of old-fashioned,” you smile, raising your glass containing the same drink.

“Really?”

You lift a shoulder. “You need a little bitterness to balance the sweetness out.” You giggle at the cheesiness of that line.

“Point taken,” he says with a gummy smile, holding back his laughter.

******

The last thing you remember was Yoongi asking if you wanted to go to his place or yours–before everything went dark.

Your eyes flicker up to the ceiling. 

As you adjust to the brightness of the room, you instinctively reach over by the nightstand to retrieve your phone to check for the time. It was a quarter past 8AM…and you were home…alone, as it seems when your head whips around to see the other side empty.

What happened?

You slowly pad your way into your living room. Maybe he was just trying to be polite and crashed on the couch.

Except, he wasn’t.

Did he just drop you off and leave? You clutch at your throbbing forehead. I’m getting too old for this shit, you thought to yourself. Still, you were worried about what happened to Yoongi.

You pull his number from your phone–at least, you think that you have his number.

“Aha,” you gasped when you find his name in your contacts list.

You realized it might still be too early but you thought you could just give him a call and leave him a voicemail just to make sure that he got home safely.

You open up your blinds to let get some more daylight in the room. By some twisted way, you found that it helped with your hangover.

While the other line trills, something catches your eye when you look out the window.

“Oh shit–” you say under your breath.

******

You approach his car and unsure whether to knock or let him be. He looked exhausted but you couldn’t just leave him out here.

You tapped your knuckles against the window and he immediately flinched.  He looks around, seemingly surprised at his surroundings until his eyes land on you.

You gesture to open his door. When he does, you ask him, “Good morning. Would you like to come in for some coffee?”

******

He declines at first but you managed to convince him to come in. After a few sips of coffee, he insisted on cooking you breakfast.

You hadn’t gone grocery shopping yet and didn’t have much in your fridge except for some eggs and cheese. You had a couple of slices of bread in the pantry so he makes the most out of it. He is appreciative of the effort and continues to tell you that you didn’t need to go out of your way.

“So, do you always make breakfast for girls you pick up from the club?” You joke.

“Not really,” he laughs. “I also don’t fall asleep in my car after I’ve dropped them off.”

“You know you were welcome to sleep on the bed or the couch,” you say casually. “I wouldn’t have minded.”

“Nah, you were passed out and I didn’t want you to think that I was taking advantage of the situation or anything like that,” he reasons.

You smiled at how respectful and thoughtful he was. “I appreciate that. And…thank you for bringing me home.”

“You’re welcome.”

******

Days later...

“Bro, are you sure you can meet the deadline?”

Yoongi glanced at Namjoon, then scratched the back of his neck to think before he gave him an answer. He was feeling stressed with this client because they were fussy about the design. It took at least a dozen iterations of the collection before they finally approved it.

The deadline was fast approaching and Yoongi had fallen behind with the work. He’d have to pay his guys overtime and maybe even work on some of the pieces himself in the evenings to cover more ground.

“Tell them not to worry. Besides, when have I ever missed a delivery date for them?” Yoongi walks away and back into the workshop to check on how the other projects were progressing.

Namjoon nodded at Yoongi’s logic. No matter how stressful it got for him, Yoongi always managed to deliver the goods, and clients were satisfied each and every time. ”Alright, I’ll let them know.” He types a text to the client and sends Yoongi’s response.

After sending it off, he turns his attention back to Yoongi. “Hey, so–how’d you make out last weekend? Are we cool?”

The question seems to take Yoongi by surprise. “Huh? Why wouldn’t we be?” 

Namjoon laughed. “Bro, this is me apologizing for abandoning you for a girl.”

“Oh.” Yoongi suddenly recalls the events leading up to how the night ended. “Uhm–nah, we’re cool. Besides, I did just fine,” he adds casually.

His friend’s mouth spread into a Cheshire cat grin. “Oof–you hooked up, didn’t you?”

Yoongi’s face scrunched in confusion. “Naaww…”

His laughter boomed from his chest. “Bro, I know you’re lying! Lemme see! Is she on social media?”

Yoongi clicked his teeth and groaned. “It wasn’t even like that.”

“So you did meet someone!”

He sighed, exasperated with his friend’s teasing. “Fine, I did. But nothing happened! We just hung out and I took her home.”

Unconvinced, Namjoon’s voice rose a few octaves. ”Whaaatt? Wait–so this the first girl you’ve hooked up with since–”

Yoongi waved his hand in mid-air to stop Namjoon from finishing his thought. “For the last time–she and I did not hook up,” he clarifies firmly. “We just had a nice conversation over a few drinks. Then I drove her back to her place…where I made her breakfast.”

Namjoon doubles over in laughter. “And you’re telling me that nothing happened?”

“Swear to god! After giving me her address, she fell asleep on the way there and I just carried her in. I slept in my car.”

“Wow…” Namjoon breathes out. “Look at you being all chivalrous!”

Yoong snorted at the comment.

“So–are you gonna see her again or what?”

Before he could answer, Namjoon’s phone buzzed with a text from their client. He reads the message to Yoongi. “She asked if you can squeeze in a prototype for barstools?”

“Aish,” Yoongi says under his breath. “I mean…that technically wasn’t even…” he stops short. Instead of arguing, he drags out a sigh and relents. “You know what, fine. Tell her I’ll include it and bill her later.”

Namjoon types up Yoongi’s response, to which the client replies almost instantaneously. “Is he absolutely sure?” He read the text out loud, a wry look on his face.

Yoongi looked up at his friend and let out a grunt of annoyance. “Just fucking tell her ‘yes’.”

Namjoon nods and sends the response again. “I don’t know why I need to be your middleman here–”

“Well, you brokered this deal. And from the jump, they preferred to communicate this way, so…” he trailed off. After ensuring some quality control on his employee’s work, Yoongi walks back into his living space and flops himself onto the sofa. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

Namjoon walks toward his friend and sits on the adjacent seat. “Is that really all there is to it?” His voice had a hint of concern and worry for his friend.

Yoongi turned his head and opened one eye to look at him.

“It’s been over a year. She’s moved on–”

“Clearly,” Yoongi deadpanned before closing his eye again.

Namjoon shifted uncomfortably and scratched the back of his neck. “Well…aren’t you back in the dating scene? Can’t we all be grownups here?”

He let out a deep sigh, then opened his eyes again to dig his phone out of his back pocket. He didn’t think Namjoon’s question required an answer so he just scrolls through his screen.

Talking about his past relationship was a sore subject…even for Yoongi, whom his other friends thought to be typically aloof about these kinds of things. But sometimes, whatever one showed on the outside actually ran much deeper on the inside.

Shrugging, Namjoon takes Yoongi’s reticence as his cue to leave.

When the door shuts, Yoongi pauses his scrolling through his social media feed as his vision lands on a particular post. Damn algorithms got him again. He clicks on the account’s page and follows it.

Next, he types up a message and then hits ‘send.’

******

After work, you head over to a pub close to your office. You offered to meet Yoongi halfway from wherever he was coming from but said that he was happy to head over closer to where you were at.

He was already at the bar when you walked in, looking more relaxed than when you first saw him over the weekend. You weren’t much for guys with long hair but something about his hair being pulled back in a half-up/half-down bun became a contributing factor that held your attention.

You greet him with a hug, which he reciprocates. He asks what you want to drink. You glance at his whisky and decide to order an old-fashioned.

“You know, when you texted me this afternoon, I was a little surprised.”

“And why’s that?” He asks you.

“I don’t know. I wasn’t sure if you thought our night ended kind of weird.” You sat on the stool next to him, your legs crossed in his direction while you turned your glass on the bar’s surface with your fingers.

He laughed. “I’ll admit, I don't remember having a night like that…ever, I think?” Your eyes drift to his fingers that dance over the rim of his glass of whisky. 

“Is that because you always score?”

He caught his lower lip with his teeth and inhaled. “I’ll tell you right now, if my best friend were here, he’d already fallen off his chair laughing.”

His comment made your eyebrows lift in surprise. You both took sips of your drinks. After you swallow, you ask, “On that note, how many serious relationships have you had?”

He nearly chokes on his drink, laughing awkwardly. “Oh, we’re at that level of comfort now?”

You lifted a shoulder. “Seemed like the conversation was headed there anyway. Might as well get there sooner!”

He laughs, then pauses to consider his answer. “I’ve had one.”

“One? That’s it?” You were incredulous. You found him attractive–and not in a novel way. He spoke calmly and even sagely at times. A good conversation these days was rare and often overlooked or easily forgotten. But he was someone you enjoyed talking to...and someone you hadn’t been able to get out of your mind in the last few days.

“Yeah. Just the one,” he replies. 

“Wow…”

“Yep. We were going to get married and everything. But,” he let out a sharp breath, “She changed her mind.” He sighed, picked up his glass, and swirled the liquid in it. “She broke it off the day before…told me she couldn’t go through with it.” 

You watched him throw his head back and polish off the rest of his drink. Your heart hurts for him and you didn’t have a smartass joke to say to lighten the mood.

“Anyway!” He sighed deeply, desperate for a subject change. “That was a long time ago. It’s all done and over with. She’s off doing her own thing, I’m doing mine. What about you? How many serious relationships have you been in?”

“Nine.”

His eyes widened. “Nine? Those were all serious?” He asks carefully.

“Yes,” you say confidently. “Why is that hard for you to believe?”

He scoffed. “I mean…you don’t look that old and you’ve been in nine serious relationships?”

“What does my age have to do with it?” You laughed.

“Well…usually, relationships span years–”

“That’s what you think,” you countered. “You think that in order for a relationship to be considered serious is the amount of time you’ve been with that person. I mean, couldn’t it just be the depth of connection with that person?” 

That stopped him in his tracks. He let that thought sink in, then nodded gently. Meanwhile, you’re watching his facial expressions–the wheels turning in his head.

“I can still feel you silently judging me,” you chuckle.

“I’m not,” he says simply. “I’m certainly in no place to judge. You’re an adult, free to make your own choices. Besides, we’ve only just met.”

You smiled. “Fair point.”

“Although…I’m curious, if you don’t mind me asking.”

You shook your head and prompted him to continue.

“Out of all of those relationships, which one was your worst heartbreak?”

“Damn!” You laughed. “And here you are questioning whether we’ve known each other long enough to discuss these things?”

You both laugh at the thought. When you calm down, he says, “Touché. I was just curious, that’s all. You don’t have to answer.”

“It’s fine, I’ll answer.” You downed the rest of your drink and turned your attention back to him. “The one that really did a number on me was my last relationship. We were together for about six months…” You paused to clear your throat, “until I found out that he was married.”

“Married? So you were someone’s mistress?”

“Unknowingly!” You contest. “Besides, I ended it as soon as I found out. I didn’t want to get tangled up in all that.” You winced at the memory. Not your finest moment but since then, you tried to be more vigilant about red flags.

“Well, like I said–it’s all in the past, right? The point is, we both got our hearts broken. End of story.”

You nodded in agreement before he switches gears. “Don’t you ever get scared?”

“Scared of what?”

“Repeating the whole process. You know, as someone who’s been in all of these relationships…don’t you ever get tired of starting from scratch every time? The whole getting to know each other, falling in love…then being faced with the possibility of things not working out.”

“I wonder about people who are afraid to put themselves out there again after getting hurt by love. I really don’t get that,” you say in jest.

He shrugs. “Who likes getting hurt? That’s not something rational people consciously wish for themselves.”

You sighed wistfully at the thought. “You know, I never understood why some people think of it that way. You know, trying to rationalize falling in love. Isn’t that counterintuitive? Love in itself is all about being spontaneous, irrational…reckless, even. The feeling of being completely wrapped up in the emotion and the moment–all because of one person. That includes all the fear, uncertainties…even the possibility of getting hurt. The experience of love isn’t complete without all that.”

He chuckled with his gummy grin. “Sounds like a huge gamble to me.”

“But if you never take that gamble, how will you ever experience the joy of winning big? How would you ever know what your heart is capable of taking if you’re always afraid of losing?”

He eyed you for a few seconds, letting your words sink in. “So you’re telling me that you’re willing to go through what could possibly be twice the amount of hurt–just to fall in love again?”

“Absolutely!” You declared with confidence.

You took another sip of your drink, then looked him straight in the eye. “I mean…you’re not thinking of hurting me, are you?” You ask him cheekily.

His eyebrow quirked in response. “Y-you’re asking me?” He chuckled nervously.

“Calm down! It’s just a rhetorical question,” you giggled.

You both laugh it off. Afterward, he pursed his lips and eyed you again. “But just so we’re clear…I don’t plan on it.”

His answer made your heart skip. You didn’t have any smart-ass quips to lob back at him.

After what seems to be an eternity of staring at each other in tense silence, he asks, “Do you wanna get out of here?”

******

He showed you around his modest place, where he had a full and, judging by the fresh sawdust on the tables, actively functional workshop. It was attached to a one-bedroom living space with a kitchen, a cozy living room, and a full bathroom. But by your assessment, it looked more like the living space was attached to the workshop.

“You sleep where you work?” You ask while looking at the work surface next to you.

He notices you looking at it so he leans over to swipe the sawdust off the table. “I didn’t see the point of going back and forth between places.”

“Yeah but it must be hard to live where you work and work where you live?”

He chuckles. “On the contrary, it’s more convenient for me. When I’m tired, I just lay on the couch. If I have trouble sleeping, I just come over here and tinker with stuff.”

You eyed him silently as he stood over the table, his hands spread wide while he supported his weight on them.

“I don’t know if I can do that. I need clear boundaries.”

“Don’t you bring work home from time to time?”

You shrugged. “Sometimes, if I’m on a tight schedule. But I try not to do it if I can help it. I prefer the idea of drawing that line where, once I walk out that door, that’s it. I’ll come back to it in the morning. Once I’m off work, I’m off work.”

He hummed. “That’s fair.”

You carefully move a small container of wood stain to the side then hop up on the table. After giving his studio another once-over, you turn your attention to him.

“What are you currently working on?”

He seems hesitant at first but decides to share a little bit. “I’m…trying to create a prototype for this light fixture,” he says vaguely.

“Really? Can I see?”

He chuckles, then paused to check if you were actually serious about looking at his designs. When your expression remained unchanged, he decides to reach past you to pull his sketchbook toward him. He flips through a few pages until he lands on a specific one.

The page has a rough sketch of a multi-tiered looking chandelier with what looked like wooden fringes, instead of what would typically be glass or crystal.

“So, I’m trying to focus on more natural materials like rattan, bamboo…I don’t know, maybe my friend, Namjoon, has been hanging around my studio too much,” he says in jest.

Your fingers brush the pencil lines on the page. His ideas were beautiful. They were modern yet had an old-world feel to them. His pieces didn’t look like something that was mass-produced. Each one had its own personality but all of them were crafted with artisanal care.

“You think you could work with these?” He asks quietly, his face an inch away from you.

“Oh, definitely,” you smiled. “My mind’s already buzzing with ideas.”

He looks down from your eyes to your mouth…then back up to your eyes again. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” you whisper then take in his scent. “You smell nice. What is that?”

“Uhm, I don’t know…pine?” He answers before you close the gap between you to kiss him. You taste faint traces of whisky and citrus flavors in his mouth. His lips were soft and melded into yours, making you sigh into him. His kiss was as calm and gentle as his usual demeanor.

He presses his body closer to yours, making you tilt backward on the work table, spilling the can of wood stain on you. You gasp, startled at the feel of it on the side of your leg, and hastily hop off the surface.

“Fuck…I’m so sorry,” he says.

“I-it’s okay,” you stammer, grabbing onto your dress to assess the damage.

“No, it’s not. I ruined your dress.”

“Yoongi, it’s okay,” you say nonchalantly. “I can take it to the cleaners…” You inspect the stain while he goes to grab a paper towel. Who were you kidding? This was varnish. The dress itself was cheap but it was beyond salvageable.

You looked up to see him hovering over you. “Or we could just take it off?” 

With his breath fanning your face, you fist at his shirt and pull him into you again. This time, his lips didn’t feel tentative–they were more ardent…hungrier. He lifts you off the worktable and you both stagger out of the workshop and toward his living space. The closest comfortable surface was couch so he lowers you both there. 

You reach back to lower the zipper of your dress while he pulls his shirt off. When he tosses it to the side, helps you undress the rest of the way through.

His fingers laced around the back of your neck urging you closer to him. He moved from your mouth down to your neck, gently sucking the skin on your collarbone.

You felt a gush of moisture soak through you…you let go of every ounce of control that you hung onto because were desperate for him now.

With one swift move, he unclasps your bra and moves his mouth to your chest while he lowered you further until your head hit the armrest.

Your breath hitches as he wraps his plush lips around an aching nipple. You swore right then that you’d orgasm from the feeling alone…but he was just getting started.

You reach between both of you and undo the button and zipper on his jeans, pushing them down.

He hooks his fingers onto your panties and you arch your back so he can slide them off. You were completely bare for him now, hypnotized by his desire for you at this moment.

You kept your eyes at him, unable to look away as pulls your legs apart and gave your inner thighs gentle kisses. He locked eyes with you and kept contact while you watched him sink his mouth onto your cleft.

You sucked in a harsh breath while he tongued you. You felt every lick and every suction of his mouth onto your moist, swollen lips.

Your walls clenched achingly at nothing while he continued to eat you out. Your breath began to stutter as you shamelessly bucked your hips against his mouth, desperate for a release.

You felt him dip two fingers into you…pulling them in and out lazily while his tongue fluttered over your clit.

Your body bowed when he alternated licking and sucking at your clit. It wasn’t long before your orgasm built up to a fever pitch. Your throat tightened, desperately trying to suck in air while your body tensed.

“Aaahh…gonna cum–fuck…”

You cried out hoarsely further as he got his last two licks in before you came down from your high. You were about to pass out from the pleasure when you saw him fish out a foil packet from his wallet.

You sat yourself up, meeting him halfway as he lined himself up between your thighs. You kissed him senselessly, your tongue fighting his for control.

Your mouth stilled as you felt him slowly enter you. You sucked in another breath while you felt that delicious stretch.

He urged you to lay back down while he pushed the rest of his length into you.

“Fuh…,” was all you managed to breathe out while your eyes rolled to the back of your head as shivers coursed through your body.

You looked back at him, a pained look on his face from how tight you were for him. You gave him a small nod of assurance to let him know that you were okay.

He started to move his hips slowly until he found a consistent rhythm.

He lowered himself further against your body and wrapped your leg around his waist. He thrusted in and out of you at a steady pace while your core tightened further around him along with another orgasm building up.

“Fuck, YN…feel so good,” he choked out in between breaths. He sealed his mouth onto yours, moaning in pleasure.

Your nails raked his back–from his shoulders and down to his hips that relentlessly railed into you.

“Fuck, don’t stop…don’t stop…” you gasped as you felt yourself edge closer to another orgasm.

Your muscles clenched around his cock while he repeatedly hit you deep into your core. You buck your hips into him, meeting him at every thrust while you both moan into each other’s mouths.

The next thing you knew, he had tipped you over the edge again.

His palms cup your ass, raising your hips to him. A few more thrusts and he was arching his back, pressing his forehead to yours as his own climax coursed through him.

The next morning, you wake up to the smell of coffee, that he brought to you, bedside. 

******

After that night, you spent many more going back and forth between his place and yours.

You went about both your days but talked all the time. You always made time to see each other–he’d work around your schedule and you’d work around his. Things were going so well and stress-free.

You didn’t feel the need to change the way you were around him and neither did he. Everything just came naturally to both of you.

Some days, you were unaware of how much time you spent together. Some weekends, you would just laze around and never leave the room. It was bliss.

“Jagiii!” You yell out from his bedroom, hoping he’d hear from the loud, grinding noise of his industrial sander.

He turns the machine off, flips his visor up, and pulls his earplugs out. “Yeah?” he bellowed from his workshop.

“Could I just have five minutes for a phone call?”

He gestures to his workshop assistant, telling him that he can take a break. “Alright, we’ll take five!” he says. 

“You’re the best! Love you!”

“You owe me,” he teases.

“Just put in on my tab, jagiya,” you tease back.

******

Weeks later, you finally signed a lease for your new condo. Yoongi was on hand to help you move and get settled. You’d gone back and forth your old place to pick up smaller things that you didn’t load up in the big truck. The most important things were your larger furniture anyway.

Yoongi was tinkering with the internet connection in the second bedroom while you stood quietly in the midst of the expansive space, surrounded by boxes. It was getting dark out but you hadn’t installed your blinds yet so the moonlight illuminated the room. You stared out the window and into the glittering city lights. 

“Why are you standing out here in the dark?” Yoongi flicks the light switch on.

“No, no–turn it back off.” He does so tentatively. “Is everything okay?” He approaches you carefully from behind, wrapping his arms around you. You lean your head back against him and sighed. “I’m perfectly fine, thank you. Just…trying to take it all in as everything calms down again.”

“Are you tired?” He nuzzled his nose into your hair.

“Mm-hmm,” you nod.

“Yeah, I can smell the dried sweat from your forehead,” he says before you poke him in his side, making him laugh out loud.

“I’m kidding,” he smiles, grabbing onto your waist and turning you around to face him. “Are you happy?”

“I am.” You plant a soft kiss on his lips. “Thank you for helping me today.”

“Of course. Even if you didn’t ask me to, I still would have done it.”

“I know but this is a huge deal for me. After all these years of hard work, I’m finally upgrading my home.”

“That’s great. I’m very proud of you for doing that. And you know,” he glances past your shoulder and jerks his chin at your windows. “I can totally make you some custom blinds, too. None of that plastic, vinyl shit. I can use bamboo so it’s cooling but also great for insulation. Very sustainable, too.”

You giggled and kissed the tip of his nose. “Mmm…keep talking eco-friendly to me, Mr. Min…” 

“Well…” he brushes his lips against yours, “If you like that, wait ‘til you hear about the reclaimed wood we’re using for this new commission.”

You threw your head back and moaned. “Ooh…yes…keep going.”

Chuckling, he dipped his head and leaves a trail of kisses down your exposed throat. “Why don’t we take this back in the bedroom and I can show you what else we can do with some wood.”

You start cackling at his comment and before you know it, he picks you up off your feet and you stumble into your room and stayed there until the sun came up.

Now…

In a panic, Yoongi heads to one corner of the gallery to search for his friend. “Namjoonah!”

Namjoon’s head whips around to see Yoongi headed for him. He excuses himself from the current conversation he was having. “Hey, Yoongi–”

Immediately, Yoongi pulls Namjoon right by the bathrooms to scold him. “Bro, that’s not cool. I wish you told me that YN was going to be here.”

 “If I had told you, would you have come out tonight?”

Yoongi scoffed, “Of course, I still would have,” his voice went up a higher register, making Namjoon snicker. “I just…I wish you would have given me a warning so I could have been, I don’t know, better prepared!”

“Prepared for what? You guys have been broken up for years. Besides, you’ve always known that she and Hyejin are friends. You should have at least expected her to be here so I don’t know why you’re all bothered. Unless of course you not over her yet?”

Yoongi remains adamant. “Dude, of course, I’m over her! I just got caught off-guard, that’s all.” 

“Are you sure you’re not still thinking about her?”

“Fuck no! Are you kidding? You know I can’t stand her! She’s too loud, a terrible cook…not to mention that she has way too much drama in her life.”

Namjoon snorted. “And you didn’t?”

Yoongi shakes his head dismissively. “Whatever, dude–I’m just not all about that. My new motto in life is to stay drama-free, you know?”

He gives Yoongi a skeptical smile. Just then, the bathroom door opens behind them.

The color from Yoongi’s face drains as he gets the shock of his life when he sees you emerge.

You stood there smirking while Namjoon and Yoongi exchanged looks.

“Uh, sorry, guys–I think I need to use the bathroom.” Namjoon says, stifling a laugh while he cuts in between you two and shuts the door.

Yoongi remained standing in awkward silence, trying to will the ground to open up and swallow him whole.

“I thought you liked it when I was loud for you?” With that, you walk past him and disappear into the crowd.

Then…

“I can’t hear you, baby…come on…let me hear how good I make you feel.”

“Ahhh…f-fuck…” You cried out loudly, body stiffening, with your fingers grasping Yoongi’s hair at the roots while his tongue teases the last pulses of your orgasm.

“There you go…good girl.”

You and Yoongi were planning to have a quiet night in but Hyejin invites you out at the last minute, saying that you haven’t had a proper girls’ night in a while. Thinking about it now, it’s been over a month since you met up with her. Most of your nights were preoccupied with Yoongi these days.

When Yoongi couldn’t convince you to stay in, he asked if you needed a ride there and you decline, saying that Hyejin offered to pick you up.

When you stepped out of the room and he sees you in your outfit, a dark cloud overcomes him. He grabs you by the waist, lifts you onto the kitchen counter, and moving your panties aside, dives right in.

He helps you off the counter and you smooth your dress. You glance downwards and see the bulge in his pants.

“Hey, let me take care of that.” You reach out to cup him but he catches your hand and lifts it up to his lips to kiss it.

You’re suddenly torn between walking out the door and wanting to stay to suck him off…deep. The latter option sounded more appealing as you felt your mouth water at the thought of him fucking your mouth. 

He pulls you in close and presses his hard-on against you. You let out a small whine of protest. His tongue grazed his lower lip before sinking his teeth into it.

He tutted. “Come home to me later and I’ll give you what you want.” His voice made it sound like a warning…a warning that you were tempted to ignore just to find out what he would do to you for ignoring it. The idea excited you so much that you felt heat pooling between your legs again.

“Are you sure? I still have a few minutes before I’m supposed to meet Hyejin,” you smile sweetly, your lips brushing against his jawline.

“I’m sure. Now go before I change my mind,” he says in jest.

“Okay,” you acquiesce.

Right before you walk away, he takes your mouth and kisses you hard. You couldn’t help but lick traces of your arousal from his lips.

When he pulls away, you are breathless and weak in the knees–more so after that orgasm that he gave you minutes ago.

******

You hadn’t noticed that Hyejin stopped mid-sentence to eye you as you giggled at your phone screen while you exchanged spicy texts with Yoongi. You finally look up and meet her gaze.

“What?”

“What do you mean ‘what’,” she says in a mocking tone. “I’ve been blabbing up a storm here and you’re all heart-eyes, drooling over your phone there.” She tilts her chin up to get a look at your text screen and you immediately pull it close to your chest.

She scoffed then laughed. “Oh my gooood…you are so whipped for him!”

You roll your eyes at her. “I am not!” 

She laughed even louder at your response. “Oh come on, YN! How long have we been friends? I can tell whether you’re just feeling a buzz between your legs or if you’re really into someone. And right now, I know that you are so down bad for him,” she declares.

You feel your cheeks ignite. It wasn’t because of the alcohol but because you knew she was right.

You sighed in defeat. “Okay, fine! So we’re a little obsessed with each other, big deal.”

You started to gush over your relationship. “I just love how much he cares. He checks in, asking whether I’ve eaten yet. He cooks for me…then, he tells me when he misses me. It’s nice. It feels nice to feel needed, you know?”

Hyejin nods. “Well, that’s all because you guys are still in that honeymoon phase!”

You scoff, dipping your fingers into your glass and flicking droplets of cold water at her. “Bitch! You’re so negative!”

She throws her head back in laughter. “I’m kidding, babe! You know me. Seriously, I’m happy for you. Now…” she cleared her throat. “Does he have a single hot friend that you know of?”

******

The following weekend, you convince Yoongi to come with you on a walking tour of a museum exhibiting gothic renaissance art. You were looking for some inspiration for your next project. You saw an ad online and decided it couldn't hurt to go exploring for a bit. It was also a nice excuse to pull him away from his workshop.

“Uhh…” Yoongi croaks tentatively. “I don’t know exactly what it is we’re looking at,” he laughs while cocking his head from one side to the other, trying to decipher the exhibit in front of you.

“Neither do I, jagi,” you giggled, glancing at the museum brochure. “I don’t know, I’m just trying to get some inspiration for this restaurant revamp. They currently have this old western theme…which is strange because they serve pizza and pasta.”

Yoongi laughs. “That concept doesn’t even make sense!”

“I know! But the owner’s daughter is a bit more modern and she’s totally up for a theme change.” You’ve talked to Yoongi about this new contract for weeks now and it’s finally happening. He was excited to bounce ideas off you to the point where you pulled him in as a supplier for the rebrand.

Even though the daughter was pushing for a more modern twist, her father, the restaurant’s current owner, wants to keep some traces of that classic feel to it.

“So, no saloon doors?” Yoongi says sarcastically.

You threw your head back in laughter. “Definitely not! The daughter would fire me. I was thinking we can bring in your natural concepts with that wooden fringe chandelier sketch that you were working on.”

His hand linked with yours, bringing it up to his lips to kiss it, making you grin like a lovestruck teenage girl. “Sounds good to me.”

You walk out of the museum and stood on the sidewalk, intending to walk a block over to a theater, not to see a show but to look at the architecture. The theater had a classic art deco design that would come in handy for your moodboard. You convinced Yoongi to make it part of your chill date before heading back to your place for dinner.

As you approach the end of the block, you are nearly run over by a man pushing a stroller that rounded the corner.

“Hey, watch it,” Yoongi exclaims protectively.

“Oh, I’m sor–YN?”

You suck in a breath. “Soonyoung, h-hi.”

“Hey! Wow…it’s been a while. Uh…h-how’ve you been?” He asks.

“Uhm…g-good,” you stammer. “You?” Then your eyes flick nervously over to the stroller that had a sleeping baby in it. “Congratulations!”

“Thanks,” he smiled. “Uh–so–”

“Yeobo!”

You whip your head around to see a woman come out of the restaurant that you were standing in front of. She walked towards Soonyoung and the stroller.

“Hi,” she greets you and Yoongi, then turns to Soonyoung waiting for him to introduce her.

“This is my wife, Naeyeon. Yeobo, this is YN. She’s an old friend.” She smiles at you then her eyes shift to Yoongi.

Somehow, your brain lurches forward. “This is Yoongi,” you say to both of them while you stood across from them. “My boyfriend.”

“So great to meet you both!” She says with a warm smile.

“Anyway, we should go before we miss our reservation, Nae. It’s good to see you again, YN,” Soonyoung says in a hurry before he and his family walk around you and into the restaurant.

******

Since that awkward run-in with Soonyoung, Yoongi has been uncharacteristically short with you for the rest of the day.

When you get back to your place, he sets the grocery bags on the kitchen counter. Afterward, he picks up the to-go bags that contained your dinner.

You watched him quietly lay out the containers on your dining table, along with the disposable utensils, setting place settings for you and him.

He sits down and pulls his chopsticks apart. “We should eat before the food gets cold,” he says without looking up at you.

You wordlessly take the seat adjacent to him. He immediately puts a dumpling on your plate before he serves himself.

He pauses as if remembering something. He rose from his chair and moved toward the kitchen.

“Do you want a beer?”

“Just water is fine,” you answer blandly while staring at the lone dumpling on your plate.

He returns to the table, setting a glass of water next to you, and immediately takes a long swig of his drink after he sits back down.

He grabs so more food and puts it on his plate, pausing to offer you some but you decline. All this time, he still hasn’t made eye contact with you.

Unable to withstand it anymore, you push your plate aside to finally ask, “Something the matter?”

He doesn’t answer and instead continues to chew his food quietly.

You let out a frustrated sigh. “You’ve been acting weird all afternoon.”

He swallowed his food only to say, “Not now, YN.” He takes another bite.

You pursed your lips and gently press him again. “Look, if we have a problem here, we need to talk about it. We’re both adults here–”

“YN, I said, not now,” he says more sternly. Catching himself, he leans against the back of the chair, throwing his head back and rubbing his eyes. He regrets snapping at you. With a heavy sigh, he finally meets your gaze. “I’m sorry I…” he hesitates but finally gives into that nagging feeling in him. “Was that him?”

You give a small nod. “Yeah.”

“Fuck,” he says under his breath. “You should have introduced me as your boyfriend sooner!”

You scrunch your face in surprise. “Why does the timing even matter? The point was that I introduced you, right?”

His voice grew louder. “If you introduced me sooner, he'd take it as a sign not to make stupid small-talk or-or...even think about trying to start shit with you again!”

“Geez, Yoongi. Why would you even think like that? Clearly, the man was right there with his wife and kid. It was a short, very random run-in that will probably never happen again.” You maintained a calm tone.

“That’s what you think.”

“Excuse me?” You started to grow irate at how unreasonable he was starting to sound. “Yoongi–I’m with you, not him. I love you, not him. I don’t understand why we’re making a huge deal out of this!”

He stood there silently, his hands on his waist, nostrils flaring with every breath he took. The seconds tick by and before you try to reason with him, he huffs and walks into the bedroom, the door slamming.

*****

After you store the takeout containers in the fridge, you enter the bedroom to find him lying on the bed with his back toward you. He doesn’t turn to face you or say anything so instead, you shower and get changed. When you get under the covers, you turn on your side so you faced the opposite direction.

A few minutes of silence and staring at your nightstand, you hear him let out a deep sigh before speaking. “I’m sorry for acting the way I did earlier.”

His apology pinches your chest but you keep your back toward him. “You know, just because I hooked up with a married man before doesn’t mean that I’m itching to do it again. So I froze when I saw Soonyoung, but that’s only because I hadn’t seen him since I broke it off and to add to that, his wife was right there. What did you expect me to do?”

“I know, I’m sorry. I got jealous and–I don’t know, I wasn’t thinking.”

It was then that you rolled over to face him.

“Look…I made a stupid mistake a while ago but as soon as I was aware of it, I walked away and I grew from that. I thought that my being completely honest with you from the very beginning was a way to build trust between us…and that I had nothing to hide. But…” Your voice started to waver, “If you’re only going to use that against me, then I don’t think–”

“No, no–” He engulfs you in his arms immediately. As the warmth emanating from his body coursed through you, you couldn’t help but cry into his chest.

“Aw, baby…I’m sorry. I love you. I won’t question that again. And I do appreciate your honesty.”

You lifted your head and tilted your chin up to him. “I love you, too, Yoongi.” 

There was nothing you could do to change the past but as he rocked you to sleep, you wondered if you were right to be open and honest with him from the beginning …or was it a careless mistake? Should you have put your best foot forward first and pretended to be perfect instead?

At your age, you learned that being up-front with your relationship expectations prevented less hurt if things went south. If either party decides that any of those expectations was a dealbreaker, you moved on, and no harm was done.

You only hoped that Yoongi felt the same.

Tags: @internetjunkdrawer @itdoesntmatterwhy @yoongukie-ff @deepseavibez @miksancheese @shesoldbutcute @yu-justme @joonschocochip

Part 2 ◥ | Main Fic Masterlist

Thank you for reading! If you loved it and/or curious to learn more, please comment, reblog, or send me feedback! 📩. I love hearing from readers! If you didn't like it so much, I would still like to hear about it 💜

#bts fanfiction #yoongi #yoongi x reader #min yoongi #yoongi angst #yoongi smut #bts smut #bts angst #bts min yoongi #bts yoongi #myg angst #myg smut #stalemate x myg

[bunchashapes]

any music recs?

i could have made this very short or entirely too long. i opted for the latter:

HAVE YOU LOOKED FOR SOME NEW MUSIC TO LISTEN TO? LOOK NO FURTHER, FOR HERE IS

I know. There's a lot of music out there. Well have no fear, because I've selected, organized AND categorized a fine number of music selections, just for you! I tried to keep it to just stuff you probably haven't heard of before, but I make no promises. Hopefully you'll find at least one new thing you can take with you into 2023.

MAKE YOUR SELECTION:

1 - MIKE, I'M LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO GROOVE TO. SOMETHING I CAN GET DOWN AND VIBE WITH OR PERHAPS LISTEN TO WHILE I WORK:

Sounds good! Let's start with a few of those:

Vulfpeck - Okay you may already know about Vulfpeck. Sorry. If you HAVEN'T, they're a wonderful group of dudes from Michigan that are all insanely talented. They have a wide-range of styles they cover and pretty much every member has gone on to do other solo stuff, which may also suit your interests. They also have a spin-off band called The Fearless Flyers that I'll cover a little further down.

Jacob Mann (As well as his Big Band) - Jacob's solo stuff has a nice laid-back feel to it, while his big band stuff is slightly more bombastic, but all of it is fun and groovy. Great example of a musician effectively switching between different toolsets, whether its a whole group of talented musicians at his disposal or just a bunch of nice Roland presets.

EMEFE - They haven't been very active lately but EMEFE is an incredible ensemble with plenty of amazing music for you to listen to. Their live album from 2017 makes me wish i could go back in time and watch it live.

Louis Cole - Louis Cole's also pretty popular, but maybe you haven't heard of him! Originally hailing from Knower, he's collaborated with a ton of musicians (including Vulfpeck AND Jacob Mann Big Band, mentioned above) as well as produced an impressive array of solo music. I can't understate how much I love this guy.

Thundercat - Know who else he's collaborated with? Thundercat. Have you listened to Thundercat? You should really do yourself a favor and listen to Thundercat.

Sammy Rae and The Friends - Only learned about Sammy Rae very recently but The Feeling (linked) was an earworm that lodged itself in my brain for months. Infectiously positive vibes, a great ensemble and really brilliant singing.

Silk Sonic - Okay they played at the Grammys so it definitely doesn't count as a deep cut but listen to Silk Sonic anyway okay? Okay.

2- MIKE I NEED SOMETHING THAT WHIPS ASS. SOMETHING TO COMPLETELY KNOCK MY SOCKS OFF.

Can do. Your metric of kickass may vary but at least one of these should work for you:

King Gizzard and The Wizard Lizard - King Gizz has put out such an unbelievable volume of music that it's hard to just recommend ONE thing from them. I've linked Nonagon Infinity, a great little album with the fun gimmick of seamlessly looping front to back. They really haven't put out a single bad album, so just go wild.

Royal Blood - Royal blood's bassist plays through an octave pedal, giving their stuff this fuckin' beefy sound that's well-rounded enough you'd never guess the band is just a bassist and a dummer. Their style has gotten poppier lately but it's still all worth listening to.

Tricot - Tricot's been around for around 10 years now and their stuff has only gotten better over time. I feel like Math Rock is kind of an obtuse genre for most people but their recent stuff is absolutely worth checking out even if that's not your usual sort of thing. Makkuro (真っ黒) is my favorite album of theirs by far.

Thank You Scientist - Stranger Heads Prevail is probably one of my favorite prog albums ever and you'll probably like it too. Insanely good ensemble (the amazing triple threat of sax/trumpet/violin is such an integral part of their sound) and really fun vocals.

Nova Collective - Another incredible prog group. As far as I know they've only put out one album but it whips ass.

Ask My Bull - These guys popped out of the woodwork a few years ago and I've been obsessed with them ever since, I can't wait to see what they do next. If you're a horn-loving freak like me you absolutely need to listen to them.

Fearless Flyers - The previously aforementioned Vulfpeck spin-off band, guest starring Mark Lettieri of Snarky Puppy and the incredible Nate Smith on drums. Their album Tailwinds is easily one of my favorite albums ever, the addition of a sax trio takes their stuff from incredible to legendary.

Daikaiju - Kaiju-themed surf rock. That's really all that needs saying.

3 - MIKE I NEED SOMETHING THAT'LL MAKE ME SAY "DAMN THAT'S COOL"

Well you're in luck! A wide range of things fit the bill:

Snarky Puppy - A powerhouse jazz/funk/rock ensemble full of insanely talented musicians. Just give this song a listen, you won't regret it.

The Dear Hunter - Dear Hunter (not Deerhunter. Different band) has remained my favorite band since high school. The band has a number of different projects, A collection of EPs for each color of the rainbow, a 5-part rock opera/narrative concept album (with a 6th part that may be a movie??) and other more straightforward albums that still cover a broad range of genres and styles. I think they're great and hopefully you will too.

Hiromi Uehara - Hiromi's probably my favorite pianist ever. Just watch that video. She's ridiculous. She also plays in an incredible trio and guest stars on my favorite Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra song! Preposterously talented and insanely fun to watch. I love her.

The Bad Plus - Speaking of great trios, you can't go wrong with The Bad Plus! Really vibrant arrangements and generally incredible musicianship throughout their work.

Esperanza Spalding - Obscenely talented bassist AND singer AND songwriter. As someone who sings and plays bass (not at the same time, of course) watching her do effortlessly do both at the same time is mesmerizing. I love her.

Chon - Chon's also pretty big now but I want you to imagine you're me at a Dear Hunter (see above) concert back in 2015 and one of the opening bands walks onstage and you're like "well okay what's these guys' deal" and then they start playing these fucking insane picking solos in perfect unison. I literally couldn't believe what I was seeing. I wish everyone could experience Chon through those eyes.

4 - MIKE THOSE ARE COOL AND ALL BUT WHAT I'M REALLY LOOKING FOR IS SOME MUSIC TO GET BUNDLED UP AND GO TO SLEEP TO

You need ambient? I got your ambient right here.

Hiroshi Yoshimura - I was first exposed to the wide, wide world of Japanese ambient music back in college and in all my years since then, few things have been able to beat Yoshimura's atmospheric soundscapes. If you need music to shut your brain off (and who doesn't, from time to time), look no further.

Chihei Hatakeyama - Another Japanese ambient powerhouse, Hatakeyama's got a huge discography of music and all of it will knock your lights out (very pleasantly).

Green-House - Very much inspired by Japanese ambient, Green-house is described as "music for plants". I only wish there was more of it.

Joep Beving - Not exactly an ambient artist but a masterful practitioner of minimal, atmospheric piano. His style is understated but filled with emotion, a great mix of more classical elements with a modern cinematic flair. Great to work to!

5- MIKE EVERYONE'S TALKING ABOUT JAPANESE CITY POP, JAZZ FUSION AND EARLY ELECTRONIC MUSIC BUT I DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START. GET ME ON THE GROUND FLOOR HERE

You got it boss:

Yellow Magic Orchestra - You've probably heard of these guys by now. I've only known about them for 6-ish years after they had a moderate burst of fame here but I think it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say these guys were one of the principle pieces of genetic memory that coalesced into the DNA of modern electronic music. All three of the principle members, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi (rest in peace) have all had really prolific solo careers in a ton of styles of music that are all worth your time.

T Square - An absolute titan of Japanese jazz fusion, their album Adventures is a veritable Rosetta Stone of video game music, directly inspiring a good number of video game songs including the dang mario brothers theme! Their stuff is an absolute joy to listen to.

Tatsuro Yamashita - Yamashita is often called the king of city pop and is (according to wikipedia) credited for pioneering Japanese "soft rock". Having grown up on the pacific coast, there's some ineffable truth in his schmaltzy surf music that touches me deep in my soul. You may not have the same experiences as I do, but I hope listening to him will allow you to tap into that divine spark and enjoy it for yourself.

Masayoshi Takanaka - Perhaps not quite as famous as Yamashita, Takanaka is a brilliant guitarist and musician known for that same schmaltzy pacific rock (just look at that damn guitar. I love him) as well as a number of other styles of rock and jazz fusion. He's got a huge discography and it's all incredible.

Casiopea - I would be remiss if I didn't mention Casiopea. I'm not an expert in Japanese music obviously, but I think it'd be fair to say they and T-Square are the two titans holding the glory of late 70's-early 80's jazz fusion like Atlas shouldering the world. Do yourself a favor and listen to Mint Jams.

Himiko Kikuchi - Truthfully I don't know much of Kikuchi's discography other than Flying Beagle (linked) but she absolutely killed it. Do yourself a favor and listen to that too.

6 - WELL MIKE THAT'S ALL WELL AND GOOD BUT WHAT IF I WANT SOMETHING WEIRD THAT DOESN'T FIT IN ANY OF THOSE CATEGORIES

I'm always happy to recommend unconventional stuff. Here's a few albums that I love to close us out:

Tom Waits - Alice - First of all, you should listen to Tom Waits. I know you know him as the Funny Voice Guy but he's had such an incredible musical career that starts great and only gets more and more amazing over time. Anyway, in the 90's, Tom and his wife (and writing partner since the 80's) Kathleen Brennan were scoring weird experimental musicals in Germany, namely The Black Rider (also worth listening to) and Alice. The musical is a strange extrapolation of Alice in Wonderland, namely inspired by Charles Dodgson's (Lewis Carroll) relationship with Alice Liddell, generally accepted as the real-life inspiration for Alice. Though the actual specifics of their relationship are uncertain, the age discrepancy and Charles' general fixation with Alice leads many to assume....the worst about their relationship, an interpretation the musical runs with. The actual musical is hard to find evidence of (there's some documentary footage from the 90's and I've found the script) but Tom rearranged his music for the show and released it in 2002, which in my eyes is the definitive version of the music. The album is unbelievably melancholic, heart-wrenching, at times deeply uncomfortable, and absolutely filled with beauty. Lost in the Harbor is maybe one of my favorite songs of all time. If ANY of this sounds even slightly interesting to you, I implore you to check it out. It also has Colin Stetson on saxophone and clarinet, which segues quite nicely to the next album.....

Colin Stetson - New History Warfare Vol. 2 - You may have actually heard Colin's music before, he's scored films like Hereditary, Color Out Of Space and the newest Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie. New History Warfare is one of his experimental solo projects, most characterized by Stetson recording basically everything in a huge room filled with microphones, creating this incredible impression of scale. It's filled with some of the craziest shit I've ever heard someone do on a saxophone; long, galloping phrases with no pauses for air thanks to circular breathing, mixing in the sound of the valves opening and closing, and an incredible unnatural-sounding delay all achieved with live recording. The Righteous Wrath of An Honorable Man is one of the coolest things I've ever heard in my life (you've probably already heard it before) but the whole album is absolutely captivating.

Caroline Shaw - Partita for 8 Voices - Caroline Shaw is an amazing musician, singer and composer. All of her stuff is really beautiful and worth listening to, but few things stand out as much as this composition, written for and performed by a cappella group Roomful of Teeth (which is probably the sickest possible name for a choral group). I feel like a cappella music has a woefully bland perception among most people (thanks in no small part to Pitch Perfect); all lavish arrangements of pop music with absolutely no soul. If this is what you think all a cappella music is, I urge you to listen to this album. It's a masterful blend of speech, song and energy, filled with a vibrancy and passion I have a difficult time putting into words. You really just have to listen to it.

#music reccomendations #this one got long.....

[earenwen-leafwhisper]

The tarvern girl

 

Pairing: Aegon Targaryen x fem chubby reader   Summary: Aegon II meets a simple chubby girl who works in a tavern Trigger Warning: English is not my mother tongue, so sorry if there are mistakes that are going through my correction. And it's the first time i write for him.

In the middle of King’s Landing there was the tavern where you worked, said tavern, consisting of two floors as well as a cellar, on the ground floor, of pillars of oaks delimited spaces in the large room that counted the floor. The stone walls were covered with ochre cloth, woodwork was placed there both to help support the walls but also as decoration, on several walls, there were receptacles for the torches, there was on the wall to the left of the entrance, several pictorial posters. (King’s Landing population being mostly illiterate, they were used primarily to prevent a large event or when looking for a criminal.) On the other walls were ornaments of dried flowers, an old shield dating back if you were to believe the tavern, before the conquest of Westeros. The ground was composed of a large grey stone slab, on which were placed several tables, to which were added wooden chairs. Several torches illuminated the room, giving warm colors to the place. A counter made of large stones and a large plate of oak wood advocated at the back of the room, the tavernier, who was a large man a little round with a trimming beard, served customers who drank near him. A wooden door separated the counter from the kitchen, although it seemed modest at first glance, did not prevent the cooks from preparing small or large dishes for the guests. 

On the first floor, there were the guest rooms, there were 4 of them as well as a bathroom where guests could request the preparation of a bath. The rooms, like the kitchen, were modest, they all looked alike, with a double bed, a wardrobe, a carpet and a window to which fine curtains could be cut from the outside.     The second floor was that of the owner and also served as an attic, the owner lived there with his family, the employees living a few hundred meters from the tavern, he was not obliged to house them too.         Musicians played lively music, this evening was good, more than twenty customers were consuming, talking and dancing. There were a lot of men coming back from work or travelling. A smell of fire, meat and grilled vegetables was floating in the air. As a waitress, you went from table to table, being more chubby than other employees was not a disadvantage, all that was important either that you do a good job, or polite with the customers but firm with the most difficult and smiling, The rest wasn’t important. Customers paying rather well, especially merchants returning from long journeys, They used to get used to it as the old tanner gave tips according to their refinement with their waiters and spent several hours talking about their new orders and their fabrications or talking about their families. That’s how you learned that the blacksmith’s daughter had just become engaged to the shoemaker’s son, or that the baker’s wife had asked him not to spend the money in the tavern. They were merchants close to the tavern, they became members of the family there. 

All were silent when the door opened with a little more force than usual, and the cool wind of the evening came in, flickering the flames of the torches. The customers and the tavern-keeper looked at the people who had just entered, there were five of them, two wore a dark hood on their heads and all set out towards the counter, the customer who was at your side began to speak to you.     "Although these people are suspicious, I’d like my beer."     "Oh yes forgive me."     You gave the client his drink before you continued to serve it to your colleague. You looked from the corner of your eye, the group of newcomers, all along their drinks. the hoods had not left their heads, the tavern had received several comments from customers suspecting that his people could be criminals on the run, but your boss answered them each time, that it was not very likely, the criminals more often combine in the lower quarters, the guards spanking their rounds and the last catch of the criminals by the golden capes had marked the memories, although this had happened before your birth, by the prince Daemon, and he was no longer commander of the King’s Landing watch, events had marked more than a generation. 

As the night progressed, clients began to leave, some more sober than others. The small group asked for a free room for one of their comrades who were much more drunk than the others. Your colleague had just finished her schedule and it was to you that your boss asked to prepare a room, the two remaining guests were not going to cause her any problem.         The room was quickly prepared, checking that the sheets were clean, closing the window that was open to ventilate the room and lighting a fire in the walk to warm and light the room. You walked out of the room to look for an extra blanket to help the client not get too cold by the time the room gets hot. At the same time, two of the people in the group dropped off the very drunk client, asking you when you returned that no one would enter the room before their return in the early afternoon, while their drinking companion sobered up. You agreed, it was not uncommon for some guests not to be disturbed, they even pay a small surcharge at the end of their stay.     Part of you would have at the time preferred that the unknown be a criminal, for to the vision of short and silvery hair a chill due to the surprise taken you. You’ve never seen Targaryen or Velaryon. It was true that rumours roamed the city, about Prince Aegon, spending several nights in some places of King’s Landing and not the most beautiful. You doubted whether he was the prince or not, you didn’t want any trouble and considered him one of your clients, hoping that you wouldn’t have any trouble with anyone, if this young man was indeed someone important.     "Here’s a blanket to keep you warm, do you need anything else?" You watched the young man lying on the edge of the bed while keeping a soft voice.     "Wine... more wine..." 

You slowly bowed your head before leaving the room, you closed the door behind you, going down the steps you saw that there was no more customer. Your boss watched you come back, he realized that something was wrong when you whispered the wine order.       "Y/ ?"   "It’s nothing, the customer asks for wine."   "Hmm... is that all he wants?"   "Yes. "       The tavern boy looked at you for a few seconds before giving you a cup and a pitcher of red wine. You also told him which room was occupied, before going back upstairs. The sooner you ended up with the unknown and the sooner the tavern could close the few hours before the arrival of the day’s employees, these coming mainly to clean the premises, go to walk for some of the provisions and accommodate the wagons filled with wine barrels and beer barrels.     You walked to the door of the stranger’s room. You knocked twice and waited for the other person to answer you or open the door, you thought that in his condition, if he could get up you would be surprised, more than one client in this condition ended the evening or the night having to be helped or to walk on all fours or even to sleep on the surface on which they are. There was no noise, indicating an answer or a movement, you decided to wait another minute or two before entering and put the wine and the cup in the room. If the client was asleep, it might as well wait for him to wake up.     You were out of your thoughts when you heard a loud noise coming from the room, you jumped out of it and hurriedly opened the door, ready to scream your boss’s name in case the unknown had been mysteriously assaulted. But the vision that greeted you no longer made you want to yell at your boss. 

The stranger was a few centimeters from the bed, on the ground rolling in blankets, fighting with the forces he had left. You put the cup and the jug on the ground before you left to shake it off.       "Calm down, I’ll help you." You stayed calm, although the situation might have been funny.   "Hmmm... let me... "   "I’d love to, but I can’t let you get tangled up like that, you’re gonna hurt yourself."       The young stranger looked at you for a few seconds, his look of a dark purple was lined with red veins. He seemed to mist in alcohol, more than reason, he seemed to hesitate to accept your help before he stopped struggling. You helped him and discovered that he had with difficulty half undressed, leaving himself with pants and boots. He did not thank you, getting up with difficulty and sitting on the bed, you put the blankets on the bed, letting him fend for himself as much as he could under them. In the meantime you made the few meters that separated you from the door to look for the wine and the cup, to place them close to him.       "If you feel sick, there’s a pot under your bed. Rest well."       He did not answer you, preferring to lie down and turn his back on you. You get out of the room, lock the door behind you, walk down the stairs, pull the knot off your apron that you put in the employees' shed, pick up some of your stuff from there and get the key to your house and get started. You closed the door of the tavern and in the night you took the way of your house, crossing some knights whom you quietly saluted, do not think about the next day and the future events. No, all you cared about was your bed.    

The days and weeks that followed were almost identical to the work. The same group came several nights in a row to the tavern and each time the same stranger ended his night at the tavern. Although at first it was Maria, your colleague, who served them, the tavern-keeper asked you to replace her, you were already taking care of the unknown when he spent the night in the tavern, as much as you take care of them throughout their consumption so as not to have future account problems at the time of payment. You accepted, knowing that your purse will grow by several gold coins. Of the group, you spoke only with the unknown, it was first of all more small courteous exchanges than real conversation, until ending in small discussion, although he knows your name, he had not told you his, he remained in your mind, your "beautiful unknown".         The more the weeks passed, the more you began to wait for the visit of the group, which in time became smaller, until the moment when only the unknown and a man were left. The man did not seem to be any older than his drinking companion, he seemed to you to care more, no doubt he was of noble birth or simply richer than the rest of the clients. Their visits were synonymous with many things, first a good pay but also that you could see the unknown without his hood later in the evening. Lately, he drank no more than reason, keeping some of his mind for your conversations, to the point of slowly developing a relationship of friendship or at least what was approaching it. 

The evening was calm, only the regulars were present, some musicians played their instruments, the gentle warmth of the room contrasted with the colder wind blowing outside, the hours coming, the wind doubled in power, the tavern saw the climate change, had Maria come back, she lived further into King’s Landing and he didn’t want anything to happen to her if the wind carried things away. You insisted on staying, alone, the tavern would have had trouble serving the customers and his children were too young to be able to help him in his task. The blacksmith had begun to complain of the east wind that he passed the threshold of the door, he had to stop forging earlier than expected because the fire supplying his forge failed to extinguish or to send fire residues on the nearby buildings.     The wind was blowing louder and louder, the instruments played by the musicians barely becoming audible, they stopped playing and got their pay before returning home. In a few minutes, torrents of rain broke over King’s Landing. The few people present left after paying. Leaving a damp and violent wind every time the door opened, the people even having trouble to close it, the breath was strong.    

  The end of your service arrived faster than expected, the tavern had asked you if you wanted to stay at the tavern until the storm that was unfolding outside calmed down, you politely refused, insisting that you wanted to check that there was no damage to your house. It is a little ball in your stomach that you came out of the tavern, the cloak on your shoulders was missing every second to fly away if you did not hold it with your two hands, the rain fell in a storm, in a few seconds you were soaked, the weight of your clothes seemed to slow you down in your fight against the wind, the noise of the breath prevented you from clearly between what was happening around you, the sky was so cloudy that the light of the moon did not pass. The torches of the streets were all extinguished only the few lights emanating from the buildings of the street allowed you somehow to spot yourself. There were only very few people on the street, mostly knights who were trying to shelter themselves from the wind. Several fabrics and flags hung high between the buildings had come loose, more than a string of flags had almost carried you away. The streets had become muddy and slippery, becoming dangerous.     It was in this chaos that you felt a hand placed on your shoulder, you shouted a cry, which was muffled by the surrounding noise, the wind having even taken your breath. Turning you could see that it was your stranger, his short hair curled in the rain, and their colors had slightly darkened.         "But... what are you doing in the street?" You had to scream to try to get your John Doe to hear you, doubting otherwise he would understand what you were saying.     "I should ask you! You’re close to Red Kepp!"     "What do you mean? You must be wrong!" 

A gust of wind made the rain fly in the direction shown by the young man, you could feverishly glimpse red purple colors in the distance. Surprise, you looked behind you, how did you manage to party in the wrong streets? You were sure of yourself that you had turned right when you left the inn and the first left and then... Then... You don’t know if you turned in the right direction. The young man, with his eyes almost closing by the power of the wind trying to look at you, had his hand on your shoulder.     "Come on!"     Still puzzled and trying to understand how you managed to find yourself in front of the ramparts of the castle, the young man took your arm and dragged you along the ramparts, until reaching a small recess, this recess led you to steps embedded in the stone that constituted the castle, they climbed on several levels and allowed you to shelter from rain and wind.     To say that you were surprised would have been an understatement, the sighs you were wearing against your stranger were starting to rise and prove true. You were wondering what the odds were that you could walk through dark passages of the castle without getting caught by a guard or anyone, no doubt they turned out to be nil. The corridors seemed as long as some of the streets you walked through the city, you began to shiver with cold and felt the tips of your nose and fingers numb.    

The maids were cleaning Prince Aegon’s room when he entered, startling at the force of the door opening. One of her moaned when she saw the prince dripping with rainwater, she hurried to approach but was restrained when the prince entered taking you inside, this was not the first time he had taken a young woman to the castle, but it was more rare to see him return in such conditions. The eldest maid caught her spirits as quickly as she could, she walked towards her to place a log there and make the fire resume, telling others to help the prince dry out and to find dry clothes for both of you.       "Don’t tell Mother."   "Well, my prince."       The maids were quick, in no time you warmed up by the fire, watching it as the maids helped the young prince to get rid of his wet clothes. You were thinking about information about the unknown, so he was a prince and definitely Targaryen. But you did not understand why the prince would go so often to the tavern in which you worked, you certainly loved him, but rumors wanted the prince to have a preference for the more infamous and obscure places of the city, you suspected that it was Aegon and not Prince Aemond because he was known to be one-eyed, the other princes not living at the Red Keep, it left you little choice on the person.         "I should have told you earlier."       You turned your head towards the voice, noticing that you were now alone in the room. 

  "Why?"   "Hm?" He looked at you and seemed surprised by your question.   "Why didn’t you say anything about your status?"   "I did not choose to be born into this family, you did not treat me as a member of the royal family, for once I was considered normal and not as Prince Aegon." He said his title in an almost mocking way.         You spent several hours talking to each other, warming yourself by the fire, you let him speak, because for the first time Aegon felt himself listening. For a person of nobility, he explained to you that he did not appreciate this status, although it allows him several privileges, but he was not master of his destiny because of it, whether for marriage, for dating, everything had been dictated to him, since he was born. He wanted to be free of all this, alcohol allowing him to feel for a free time.         This discussion lasted all evening and part of the night, the wind was still blowing outside, shaking the frames of the windows. The next morning, when you left the prince’s room, you promised him not to tell the tavern, it would stay between you two.     It was the first night of a long line of encounters, whether at the tavern or in the castle, through your home. Your complicity only strengthened over time. This complicity slowly began to turn into something else, first you believed in a simple friendship and then a deeper friendship, until you thought of him during the day, from a few seconds to a good part of the day, until you dreamed of your meetings. It slowly morphed into attraction, which was mutual, it is nervous that one night you confessed to him, a weight on Aegon’s shoulders disappeared while listening to you, he himself felt feelings strong enough for you. 

Your meetings did not remain secret for long, as the guards had crossed you in the streets of the city, they had warned Aegon’s grandfather, Otto Higtower, who was frustrated by the prince’s adventures. He sent spies, kept Aegon healthy and above all, kept a hand on Aegon. Alicent, on the other hand, was warned by one of the young maids, who went to find you one morning in the prince’s room, and had warned the queen, lest she have trouble seeing you. Alicent was not happy at all, Aegon was her first son and he was the most complicated, more than once she had yelled at him to stop all his nonsense, to become responsible, to think about the family. But how do you think about your family when you feel rejected by them.         The more the king’s health deteriorated, the more Aegon remained in the city, avoiding as much as he could the castle, the atmosphere in the Red Keep was increasingly gloomy and he found comfort in your arms, your words and incidentally in the wine of the tavern. Aegon put himself in his moments there imagining a life outside of King’s Landing, a life without the responsibility of his rank, a life by your side and the more his images seemed possible to him, the harder life at the Red Keep was, his mother, Queen Alicent, wanted Aegon to finally step into his position as a prince and stop seeing you. This had resulted in a terrible dispute between mother and son. 

“Be responsible for once!”  

“I’ve done everything you ask me and it’s never enough!”  

"You wouldn’t be so drunk and hanging out with that slut!"  

“She’s the only person who thinks of me normally! I don’t want to be a prince!”  

"It’s not up to you. You won’t dream it anymore, you understand me?"  

"Otherwise what?"  

Aegon had no response from Alicent, but a chill came over him. That night, he had left the castle and it was again to take refuge in the city, the idea of your escape becoming more and more precise, even if you left on the back of Sunfyre, you will leave King’s Landing, he was certain. 

#aegon ii x reader #Aegon II Targaryen x reader #Aegon x reader #Aegon targaryen x reader #chubby reader #house of the dragon fanfiction

[bigsloth101]

Making a record of my first game in dwarf fortress to reach over two years played. Screenshots may turn out terribly.

This is Ubbulisan, which means "Vaultstilled". It was settled in the early spring of the year 250. It is currently the 19th of Limestone, early autumn, in the year 255. The fort has recently become the capital of our civilization, Zan Kon, or "The artifact of masters".

The location of Vaultstilled is circled in black. It is located on a volcano (that I've forgotten the name of) on the edge of a forest. To the north there are elven and human civilizations, to the south there is a goblin civilization as well as more humans. Most of the wooden items in Vaultstilled were bought from the elves in order to not anger them by chopping too many trees.

Layer 1: The entrance, public tavern, trading hall, barracks, archery range, and wood furnaces.

The entrance to Vaultstilled is protected by a ditch and drawbridge, and walls. This ensures no attackers can enter, apart from those that can fly, which is why there is a second drawbridge deeper into the entrance. The entrance also features a public tavern, where any traveler can stay and sample some dwarven ale. Beyond the second drawbridge is the trading hall, floored with microcline and cobaltite. There are also barracks and an archery range. The above-ground army is stationed in these areas during an attack, as the last line of defense if the drawbridges do not pull up in time. The wood furnaces are here because there wasn't a place on the lower level I wanted to put them.

Layer 2: Levers, Farming, woodworking, kitchen, fortress tavern, clothes production, leatherworking, bedrooms, tombs, guildhalls, lower nobles' and administrators' offices and dining areas, hospital, and soap production?

This layer is really big as I decided I wanted all my plant and animal workshops on the same floor. I did not understand the scale when I decided that. Future fortresses will probably move either the sleeping, dining, and office spaces to another level, or they will have storage on another level. This set-up worked fine but I'd like to spread the fortress over more levels in the future. I started working on figuring out soap production on the far right of the image, just above the large sandy area, but it's not something I fully grasp yet. Very unhygienic. I found so much gold in this fortress, I decided to make lots of gold statues, so I think all the guildhalls are max level. I don't know how this screenshot will turn out so I apologise if it's difficult to figure out what a certain room is. All the levers for the bridges are on this level around the main staircase as it is the most well-trafficked area.

Layer 3: More rooms, gem cutting and setting, stoneworking, and dungeons.

There are 50 rooms to a floor, in future fortresses I may try to fit more rooms to a floor, but I don't know the population cap so I don't know if it's worth it. Vaultstilled is currently at 197 dwarfs. I didn't know where to put the dungeons so I put them where I had space. I really enjoy the gem cutting and setting in this game, it feels really good when a dwarf masterfully improves a masterfully built item. However, there was a lot of trouble initially as I did not understand how the process of encrusting really worked so Vaultstilled is the proud owner of many gem-encrusted cups and an extremely well-decorated door that later went to the duchess to improve her room.

Layer 4: Even more rooms, the king's room, the outpost liaison's room, the duchess's room, the king's and outpost liaison's dining area, offices, and tombs, the forge, metalworking, the temples, and a library.

I chose a volcano to get easy access to magma, I know there is supposed to be lots of it far underground but then I would either have to use pumps (haven't figured it out yet) or put the forges way underground and use something called burrows? so people don't have to walk an eternity on staircases. I have so many metal bars. Every bin I build is instantly taken by the evergrowing metal bar stockpile. Most of it is copper. There are 3 major religions in Vaultstilled, from smallest to largest, the competitive communion, the communion of cover, and the faith of tops. Only the faith of tops has a high priest, with a total of 27 worshippers. However, all the religions have temple complexes due to all the gold statues I built. The temples are located in the circle areas in the top right, while the big square room hosts general worship of any god. I built a lower area into the general area cause I thought it might look cool. I think now a raised area might've looked better. I bought a load of books and scrolls so I made a library I don't really know what it's for. The bigger rooms on the far left top corner are the outpost liaison, king, and duchess rooms.

Layer 5: Magma chamber, lower general temple, more rooms

This level was really only supposed to be for the magma but I needed more rooms and space for the big temple. I dug out the magma chamber first, sealed it off, then channeled out the wall from above in the forge room.

Layer 6: The underground barracks, well, hospital corridor, and the entrance of the mine.

The well goes all the way down to the caverns to collect water. Many people have died from thirst as I did not realise sick dwarfs need water. The hospital wasn't built close to the main staircase so I just dug down to the same level as the well and built the hospital corridor, on the leftmost side. The main space is the underground army barracks, formed to take on any threat from the caverns. The drawbridge is there to buy time for the army to arrive.

Marble mine

I found marble and I think building stuff out of marble is cool so I dug a huge area of it out. Then I realised you can use marble to make steel and dug more. I think most of this level is marble so now it's the marble mine level.

The caverns

Spooky area, full of water and bad things. No one has been in there yet as I'm trying to figure out how to get down to the floor. This is where Vaultstilled's water comes from. There's some fish there too so that's also cool. I've read there are 3 cavern layers I hope all of them are not full of water. I got a notification once my king was happy about going deeper for some special metal so that's probably my next goal.

So yeah that's Vaultstilled, the first fortress I would consider successful, if anyone has read this far hope you enjoyed this summary although this was really just to make a record of what I've done so far. It's been a long and confusing few months since I bought this game but I am completely obsessed and excited to see what gets added in the future as I understand the game is still not finished.

#dwarf fortress #fortress mode

[stickers-on-a-laptop]

Kiva, 'Family'.

Thank you.

Here's Good News: Friends Are The Family You Can Choose

Wataru had always known he would never fit the definition of someone in a “normal” family. After all, with him being half-Fangire (something most people had never heard of), his father dead, and his mother only coming into his life when he was in his twenties, it would be hard to. 

But currently, he was holding a baby boy, one he knew he’d have but still couldn’t believe was in his arms, and trying to sing him to sleep, but Masao was fussy at the moment. 

“Here, let me try,” Shizuka said, who had come after her university classes. Sometimes it was hard to believe that the middle schooler who had barged into his life without warning was indeed grown up now. 

Wataru gratefully handed him over, pulling out a violin that had been recently fixed. 

After a few notes, Kengo came out of the kitchen, grinning as he wiped his hands on his apron. 

“Trying to make Masao fall asleep?” he asked in the quietest voice Wataru had heard from the ex-rocker. 

“He’s starting to get sleepy,” Shizuka said fondly. “He likes his aunt Shizuka.” Indeed, Masao was starting to settle. 

“You’re good with him,” Kivat agreed, Tatsulot peering at the baby who was making half-hearted grabs at him.

“Is he still crying when Nago holds him?” Shizuka asked as she half danced around the room, swaying Misao as Wataru played a simple lullaby. 

“Not as much,” Kengo said, chuckling. “He likes Megumi-chan, though. We’re going to meet them for dinner at mald’amour tonight, actually. That’s why he needs his nap!” 

“Did you want to come?” Wataru asked. “You could bring your girlfriend, if you wanted.” 

“Mmm…better not. We need to study. Thanks for the invitation though!” 

“Masao’s asleep,” Kivat announced. Wataru knew at some point he’d have a son too, which was a very bizarre thought. 

“I’ll take him,” Maya said, having come into the room with no one noticing. 

“Here, go to grandma,” Shizuka said, carefully handing the sleeping Masao over. 

“Taiga is on his way,” Maya informed the group. “He just called.” 

Wataru nodded, hoping that the King duties wouldn’t be too taxing today. It was a lot to balance with a baby in the house now. 

Maya left the room, leaving Shizuka to tell Wataru and Kengo about her classes. The three of them discussed music theory, Shizuka explaining that one of her next assignments was to create a short piece and play it, using the violin that Wataru had to write a bit, Kengo proclaiming all of it “rocking”, to Wataru’s amusement. 

When she got a text from her girlfriend, though, she decided to leave, telling the two of them she’d come again in a few days. 

“Oh, hey, shhh, Masao’s asleep,” Wataru heard as he was putting the violin away, which announced Taiga’s arrival. “Bye, everyone~!” 

Wataru stepped out of the woodworking room, finding Taiga taking a second to look at the sleeping Masao, his gloved hand on the baby’s head. 

“He’s going to look just like your father, isn’t he?” Taiga said. “Even now, you can see it.” 

“Mm,” Wataru agreed. “How’s everything going?” 

“Well…” 

---

By the time Taiga left, Wataru’s head was spinning with the latest information. He considered cancelling with Megumi and Nago, but he also knew he had to get out of the house sometimes. Plus, Master had yet to see the baby, although he knew about him. It wouldn’t be fair to cancel this late, as well.

A babble of baby words meant that Masao had woken up, so Wataru went to check on him. He found Kengo singing a tuneless song as he changed Masao’s diaper, Kivat looking on in approval. He wasn’t giving Kengo advice like he gave Wataru, he noticed. But that was okay, since Wataru was getting better. 

“Hey, look, it’s your Papa,” Kengo said once Masao was all changed. “You ready to go to a restaurant, hmm?” 

Masao looked over, giving his father a smile once he saw him. 

“You okay to go, Wataru?” Kengo asked, looking Wataru over. 

“Yes, I’ll be fine,” Wataru replied. “I know Master wants to see Masao, since Jirou won’t stop talking about him.”  

“Just let me know if you want to leave early, then,” Kengo said cheerfully. “Masao’s all dressed, so you ready?” 

Wataru nodded, grabbing a jacket before putting Wataru in his stroller. 

---

As predicted, Master fussed over Masao while Wataru and Kengo got settled at a table with Megumi and Nago.

“How’s the baby been?” Megumi asked excitedly. 

“He’s a cheerful little man!” Kengo answered. “Loves Wataru’s music.” 

Nago frowned at Master cooing over the baby. “Is Master going to let the dogs be with the baby?” 

Wataru, who knew all three of the Golden Retrievers were the friendliest dogs on the planet, wasn’t too concerned. He was going to try to raise his son to not be as afraid as everything as he had been, and that meant letting friendly dogs be with a baby sometimes. However, with Nago still being fairly uptight and having ideas on how to raise Masao, it made things a little difficult sometimes. 

“Oh, relax! Masao will be fine, look, he likes them!” Megumi said as Master carefully introduced Masao to one dog at a time. The baby was giggling as he grabbed at their fur, the dogs all patiently tolerating it. 

“We’re never going to get dinner at this point,” Nago muttered. 

He was wrong, though, Master getting out a baby chair and placing Masao in it a few minutes later, sitting him next to Nago. Even Nago wasn’t immune to Masao being so cheerful, although he’d try to look stern.

“He’s so grumpy, except with Masao,” Megumi stage-whispered across the table, making Kengo laugh and Wataru smile. 

“Here, four omurice,” Master said, handing out the plates. 

“Thank you, Master!” four voices chorused, three cheerful and one grumpy. There was a pause and then some gurgles in the same tone, making everyone laugh. 

“He’s going to be a good kid,” Master declared. 

“With these two as his parents and us? Yeah he is,” Megumi agreed. 

As Wataru listened to Megumi’s stories, knowing that in a few days he and Masao would go see Jirou and the others, he had to agree that Masao was going to be just fine. 

#fanfic #kamen rider kiva

[strangeauthor]

Chaos Talk: The World (or Za Waurdo)

this part i will need a lot and i mean A LOT of feedback and help because i have never, EVER done this before. i usually base my settings in the real world south but i wanted to have more freedom. again thank u to my beautiful gf @annie-manga for the help with the names and locations! ok here we go

The world the story takes place is in is called Terrapin. The main city is called Diamondback. There are lots of regions but here are the main four (more to be added as the story goes on):

Ignistaur (Ignis + Star): Primary aspects of their economy/society are technology, metals(Starians), smithing(including gunsmithing) & engraving, sports(mainly boxing) and the arts. Heavily based on Atlanta and some parts of the Bahamas. Capital is King City, where Nick lives.

Tide Dale: Primary aspects of their economy/society are lumber(fine paper & woodworking-including furniture), wool, fine meats, knowledge & secrets.  Based on California and Scotland. Captial is Zaffre, where Adam (used to) live

Nacre: Primary aspects of their economy/society are agriculture(corn, wheat), bread, textiles, furs, dyes, and the arts. Based on Alabama and Brazil. Capital is Orquídea Soleada, where Maria lives.

Dusk Strike: Primary aspects of their economy are stonemasonry, salt & other minerals. They mostly trade with other nations and are on good terms with them. Based on Britain and Ghana. Capital is Golden Strike, where Jackson (used to) live.

Utona: ????????????????????????

I have a more detailed google doc is anyone is interested but this is the main summary of them! i hope i did a good job lol

#chaos talk #chaos stuff #oc stuff #worldbuilding #pls give me feedback pls pls pls lol

[tired-sky-lian]

Hero of Stories, Lynk

Lynk starts off as a young apprentice in the Royal Catle’s Library to an elderly librarian who’s getting too old to keep up with the work. He’s 16, getting an opportunity to learn to write without any tutors since he’s always been a quick study, and he’s doing fine. During the apprenticeship, he learns to become a stenographer for the royal court, writing down all the reports given to the Royal Family from soldiers to farmhands on the edge of the kingdom. After hearing distressing reports of strange monsters on the edge of the kingdom, he tells the librarian he’ll be out for a few weeks, takes a sword and a horse, and goes to investigate on what’s going on. It’s just a few monsters, which he has more than a little trouble dispatching, and heads back to the castle to where he’s supposed to be, but not before catching sight of someone, some hylian, running from the scene. He assumes that it’s just someone who got caught in the attack, but if that was true, then wouldn’t they call for help? Or something? He ignores it and heads back to the castle. This occurs several more times before he eventually catches wind of something called The Cult Of Gannon, and sweet Hilia he’s going to lose his mind.

Every few weeks Lynk goes out on another expedition to get rid of another monster camp that pops up, kills another subsection of the Cult of Gannon that apparently wants The Hero dead or whatever, and attempting to bring back a long dead ancient pig beast or something. He doesn’t really care, he just wants his home to be somewhere safe to be. Lynk ends up in some funny places and begins racking up his own collection of magic items and the like. He’s got whole travel journals filled to the brim with all of his excursions.

After a few years of this, the Librarian dies and he has to take over the library full time which puts a major halt on all the Cult of Gannon progress he’s been making. Lynk takes most of his investigations to the Royal Guard and they’re shocked on how much it all is. He leaves all of it with them for a few months and hopes they can get some progress made on it, or even whip out the cult altogether.

The Princess herself comes down to chew him out on not beginning all this information to the Guard in the first place, as a matter of security for the entire kingdom. He says the Guard had all the information he had, but they didn’t act on it, they didn’t do anything with it. Maybe they’d have the same information he has now, that he just gave them, if they looked into it sooner. But hey, that’s just his idea. After a while the guards start coming back battered with no new information, or they don’t come back at all. It eventually turns into a case of the utmost importance to the royal family with how many soldiers they’re losing to the Cult and how many more monster camps are spawning out of the woodworks.

As a preemptive measure, because he’s sure he knows what's coming next, he hires an apprentice who looks at him with stars in his eyes for the entire time they work together. Lynk doesn’t really know what that’s about, but whatever he doesn’t really have the time to figure out what the fuck is going on with this kid. Soon enough, The Princess Zelleda herself comes down with a small battalion to recruit him into the Royal Guard as a Knight with the highest regard because they need his help with his own case.

Hilia above, fine, sure, whatever.

He dumps everything on the new kid and takes up the mantle as Head of the Royal Guard. He needs to manage all these fuckers. He ends up finding the location of where the Cult is trying to resurrect the Demon King, Gannon and brings down a battalion on their ass. They’ve almost done it when a mage or sorcerer or something actually knicks his chin, and even with the smallest drip of his blood, and the Princess’ beside him who is a hundred times more inexperienced than he is, the few remaining members of the cult, who barely look Hylian, manage to revive the Demon King. Zelleda takes one of his bows, and using her on hereditary magic, makes Light arrows and they both keep striking at the revived beast until it’s dead.

It takes fucking forever, but they manage it with the help of the last of the guard and one of Lynks magic swords he got a couple years ago that he only took because it was in the middle of the forest and looked pretty cool, okay. They go back to the castle. They’re victorious.

#unchained #snows art tag #Hero of a Thousand Stories #snows linkverse

[oceanmonsters]

so I haven’t seen anyone on here unpack the whole Andrea Riseborough oscar controversy yet so fine, I’ll do it myself. bear in mind that I’m not an expert in ANY way this is just what I’ve picked up from a few days of reading so if anyone knows more pls feel free to chime in.

so, the thing about the Academy Award nomination & awards process is that it’s not as simple as the best actress or movie gets the award — it involves campaigning on the part of the studios/actors/etc. that’s just how it is and all of the best actress nominees had campaigns going on. but there was some weird things going on with Riseborough’s campaign (for her starring role in extremely low budget indie To Leslie). for one, how so many famous people seemingly randomly started caping for her, as reported in the Hollywood reporter:

Jennifer Aniston, Charlize Theron, Sarah Paulson and Edward Norton have hosted screenings, with more recent showings booked by Gwyneth Paltrow and Courteney Cox. After Paltrow’s screening, attended by the likes of Demi Moore along with Morris and Riseborough in attendance, the Goop founder called it a “masterpiece of a film” and went so far as to say that the title star should win “every award there is and all the ones that haven’t been invented yet.”

Many more have also posted about it on social media including Aniston (“Beautiful”), Susan Sarandon (“beautiful, lil gem of a film”), Helen Hunt (“If you’re out there voting for performances, don’t do it till you see Andrea Riseborough”), Zooey Deschanel (“amazing movie”), Melanie Lynskey (“even for her this is next level”), Mira Sorvino (“absolutely stunning, wrenching and beautiful”), Constance Zimmer (“you’ll never forget this performance”), Rosie O’Donnell (“devastatingly beautiful film”), Minnie Driver (“run don’t walk”), Alan Cumming (“an insanely raw and beautiful performance”) Daphne Zuniga (“incredible performance”), Tan France, Jenny McCarthy and many more. Frances Fisher, Rosanna Arquette, Debra Winger, Patricia Clarkson and Howard Stern are also part of the chorus of supporters.

even weirder, there were quite a few tweets that used the exact same wording, calling it a “small film with a giant heart”, providing pretty clear evidence that this was all part of a campaign.

now, as mentioned, campaigning IS fine and normal. but the fact that this campaign came so suddenly and so quickly in the run up to the nominations (as opposed to others who had been campaigning and had their names in the running for months before) raised a few eyebrows. another thing that raised a few eyebrows was the number of people (mostly famous white woman) who came out of the woodwork gushing about this movie and performance, treating Riseborough as the underdog contender that they just had to vocally support because she would never get as much attention as the others otherwise. (many are calling it a grassroots campaign — which seems like a weird way to refer to a bunch of millionaires deciding to throw their support behind something).

quote from sarah paulson:

Movies like this, made for little money, that are this powerful and true, should be given the same attention and consideration as those that have huge studios and therefore budgets behind them. Anything I could do to help bring eyes to it would mean I was doing something for all of us as actors and moviegoers.

cate blanchett literally used her speech after winning the critic’s choice awards to shout out Riseborough and call her “overlooked”.

And all of that is like… weird, but fine, I guess? Until you consider the fact that this was looking to be a historically diverse batch of nominees. Not only was Michelle Yeoh the first Asian nominees, Viola David and Danielle Deadwyler were both considered by many to be lock-in nominees for their movies The Woman King and Till. The fact that an army of white women came out in their droves to talk about how overlooked low budget indie movies are and to claim that this one specific white actress was the best one ever on the exact year that three women of colour looked like they might be getting nominated looks questionable, at best. Sure, some people did probably just praise the movie because they thought it was good and there was a lot of sudden hype around it. But some of the excess praise seems coupled with the constant framing of Riseborough as the underdog feels suspicious.

and now, the Academy is investigating Riseborough’s campaign because there’s suspicion their laws may have been broken as part of her campaign (which would result in her nom being rescinded). One seemingly obvious case of rules being broken would be Frances Fisher’s instagram post:

which goes against the rule that you are NOT allowed to mention any competitor while campaigning. if there is evidence that this post was part of Riseborough’s campaign (i.e. that she was in communication with Riseborough or her team about promoting the movie), that could be pretty damming.

but yet she is STILL being treated as the underdog victim in this — despite having a horde of rich and powerful Hollywood connections caping for her. see: comment from christina ricci:

it remains to be seen what will come of this all, but unfortunately, even if Riseborough’s nomination IS rescinded, it seems that they will not replace her with another nominee and there will instead only be four for that category.

#oscars

[nanlanmoarchived]

@heartxshaped-bruises​ said :  ❝  did you just wince?  where are you hurt?  ❞  [ jess // tal ]

Men were cruel things, this was something Jessica had learned long ago. Her trip to her father’s home was somewhat impromptu. A letter from her sister had set the elder on the road. She’d been too cryptic, and it’d concerned the woman enough to have her leaving for town. What she’d walked in on at first seemed nothing out of the usual, but the way the others in the house looked her as she made her way to her sister’s room, the distrust in their gaze as she turned her back on them made her skin crawl. She’d been Tal’s wife for long enough, this trip not her first time back amongst those who’d sung her praises at their wedding for her strength, their eyes snagging on her or looking away wasn’t as bothersome anymore. But this felt different. The air was filled with crackling energy, as if a storm loomed on the horizon. 

The voices of men murmuring with one another caught her attention and stalled her steps outside the closed doors to the dining room. “They can’t truly think a half wild groom is payment enough for the lands they keep from us.” A rumble of agreement, “It’s only time before they decide the same thing about the half wild bride you sold them, Jordan.” Another rumble of agreement sprinkled with gruff laughter. Anger had her cheeks flushing red, fingers curling around the pommel of the blade her half wild groom had taught her to use to protect herself. How dare they speak of them like this? “We must strike before they realize how weak of an agreement they settled upon.”

It was there, crouched peering through the keyhole of the doors that she was found by one of the men who must’ve been late for this little gathering. Thick palm wrenched the girl’s arm back causing her to yelp, the man’s other hand shoving hard against her chest to pin her against the ornate woodwork of the wall, sharp design eagerly biting into her spine. “Looks like someone has strayed too far from home.” The doors swung open and her father’s angry face loomed in the opening, gaze piercing. “Leave us.” The command is given like the King her father always thought he would be and she’s dropped at his feet. Ruddied features lowered to sneer, “Come here unannounced again, and you will not return to the home you stole from me.” He rose, the toe of his boot digging into her side with a sharp kick. “Leave. And if you have any loyalty to the people who raised you, you will not share anything you might’ve seen or heard here today.” 

The entire ride home she’d been practically numb, the words she’d overheard buzzing in her mind and keeping her distracted from the aching bruises that were surely developing along her ribs. “We have to go to court.” Was all she greeted Tal with, making for the stairs to change. Out of habit she reached for the bannister at the top of the stair with the arm that’d been wrenched out of place as she turned the corner, only to grimace as her shoulder protested the weight. Taliesin’s question stalled her only a little as she looked over her shoulder, holding the arm to her chest as her head shook softly, “I’ll be fine.” The corners of her mouth lifted in a small smile, his concern catching her a little off guard, though his care smoothed some of the ragged edges of the emotional wounds torn open by her father’s cruelty. God why was she cursed with a man like him for a father? “I overheard conversations I wasn’t supposed to hear. He would’ve done worse if I were anyone else.”

#v; tell me that i'm the chosen one #heartxshaped-bruises #otp; you saw the truth of me { Taliesin } #// this got so long lmaooo #i'm so sorry!

[bookoformon]

Ether 10, Part 6. "The Quorum of Decorations."

The Prophet says we have to pound on our captors, the Republicans and get rid of them, paving the way for a future that is free of oppression and superstitions. The law is on our side there are no excuses for further tolerance of them and their ridiculous candidates.

An unopened jar of peanut butter could do a better job at running the country.

The scripture goes on to say if we make war against the forces of evil in our nation, follow the law and develop good habits, nothing bad will happen.

Starting with Levi, "complete person" who reigned in captivity, meaning it is going to take some commitment, we are to move on to Corom and Lib, "the Quorum of the Heart and the Mind". The Prophet says Kish will take over "the people will take the bait" and finally there will be Hearthom, the Harness:

16 And after he had obtained unto himself the kingdom he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord; and the people did prosper in the land; and he did live to a good old age, and begat sons and daughters; and he also begat Corom, whom he anointed king in his stead.

17 And it came to pass that Corom did that which was good in the sight of the Lord all his days; and he begat many sons and daughters; and after he had seen many days he did pass away, even like unto the rest of the earth; and Kish reigned in his stead.

18 And it came to pass that Kish passed away also, and Lib reigned in his stead.

19 And it came to pass that Lib also did that which was good in the sight of the Lord. And in the days of Lib the poisonous serpents were destroyed. Wherefore they did go into the land southward, to hunt food for the people of the land, for the land was covered with animals of the forest. And Lib also himself became a great hunter.

20 And they built a great city by the narrow neck of land, by the place where the sea divides the land.

21 And they did preserve the land southward for a wilderness, to get game. And the whole face of the land northward was covered with inhabitants.

22 And they were exceedingly industrious, and they did buy and sell and traffic one with another, that they might get gain.

The verses are fairly obvious in their contents, the people got along fine, and the did amazing things together. They became fine characters, and everyone lived a long time and they were happy.

We cannot seem to manage this. It is always something with us isn't it? We were doing all right until Barbara and David Green along with Senator Josh Hawley and Tony Perkins cheated Donald Trump into the White House by stealing data from Blue State Digital.

In case anyone is interested, the kweer that answered the door when the FBI visited Josh Hawley's house? Tony Perkins, Karl Rove, and Dick Cheney kidnapped him, chained him up and let little kids fuchk the shit out of him...on live cam for all to see. Probably because he like me was trying to expose the mooks for trying to throw the 2016 election. It didn't work. The Trump Campaign was and is little more than organized crime with a political motivation- the complete freedom to break the law:

Then came the conspiracy to put Pro-Life judges everywhere, now there are teen pregnancies coming out of the woodwork and there have been many deaths due to complications in adult women.

Now we think we want more of the same. Except more of the same cannot be a part of our future. Fifty percent of Americans can't possibly be that nuts. But just in case they are, Donald Trump needs to get the death penalty as payback for his bullshit as do the Supreme Court Justices he sniggered with to get RVW overturned.

While this won't restore the currents of goodness and fortune in our country, they will pound the pavement flat and provide us with a clear and lawful way to get them started.

The Values in Gematria are:

v. 16: He did that which was right in the sight of the Lord; and the people did prosper in the land; and he did live to a good old age. = " "He became competent."

The Value in Gematria is 7016, זאֶפֶסאו‎ ‎ ‎, zepesau, "the time is now."

v. 17: He did that which was good in the sight of the Lord all his days; and he begat many sons and daughters. The Value in Gematria is 10297, יבטז‎ ‎, an aspect of yabtez, "look at how things are."

v. 18: And it came to pass that Kish passed away also, and Lib reigned in his stead. The Value in Gematria is 3205, גבאֶפֶסה, gapapesa, "the moment is in phase."

v. 19: And it came to pass that Lib, the heart also did that which was good in the sight of the Lord. The Value in Gematria is 11713, אאז‎‎‎אג‎, "And so on, introduce the present."

v. 20: And they built a great city by the narrow neck of land, by the place where the sea divides the land. The Narrow Neck is the belief you have nothing, but in fact have what you know is right. When Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt through the Red Sea, this happened because they were right and the Pharaoh was evil.

The Value in Gematria is 6250, ו‎ב‎האֶפֶס, "at zero."

Now Moses went North because there had never been a free people like the Jews before. We are not they. We know the difference, so we must go South where intelligent and learned people manage their affairs. The scripture says the land was full of game, meaning plenty of laws and opportunities to employ oneself in the pursuit of justice:

v. 21: And they did preserve the land southward for a wilderness, to get game. And the whole face of the land northward was covered with inhabitants. The Value in Gematria is 10804, י‎ח‎אֶפֶסד "Start with all Ten Decrees."

v. 22: And they were exceedingly industrious, and they did buy and sell and traffic one with another, that they might get gain.

Does this sound like hatchet faced politicians should urge people to fight with each other? Or turn strangers in need of the refuge of the Inn away? Or worry all day long over other people's snatch uteruses? Or if a boy is going to apply a coat of lipstick before he heads off to the big game? Or if a bunch of assfucks should throw a costume party in front of Universities and interfere with their commencement ceremonies?

Not to me it doesn't. The Value in Gematria is 7266, ז‎ב‎ו‎ו‎, zev and v, "Decorate yourselves in gold, in God's Grace."

[buzz-london]

Teasers!!! I've started investing in stocks: beef, vegetable, chicken. One day I hope to be a bouillianaire. I accidentally rubbed ketchup in my eyes. Now I have Heinzsight. Scientifically, a raven has 17 primary wing feathers, the big ones at the end of the wing are called pinion feathers. A crow has 16. So, the difference between a raven and a crow is only a matter of a pinion. I was walking in the jungle and saw a lizard on his hind legs telling jokes. I turned to a local tribal leader and said, "That lizard is really funny!" The leader replied, "That's not just any old lizard ... he's a stand-up chameleon." I tried to come up with a carpentry pun that woodwork. I thought I nailed it but nobody saw it. Singing in the shower is fine until you get soap in your mouth. Then it's a soap opera. The Black-Eyed Peas can sing us a song but the chick peas can only hummus one. Then there was the time Fruit of the Loom took Hanes to court - it was a brief case. How much does a chimney cost? Nothing, it's on the house. My friend said she wouldn't eat a cow's tongue because it came out of a cow's mouth. I gave her an egg. Once upon a time there was a King who was only 12 inches tall. He was a terrible King but he made a great ruler. My friend Jack says he can communicate with vegetables. That's right ... Jack and the beans talk. I want to tell you about a girl who only eats plants. You probably have not heard of herbivore. I was struggling to understand how lightning works and then it struck me. Six cows were smoking joints and playing poker. That's right. The steaks were pretty high.

#lol

[bdbdhdjdhdh]

My King

"There was once a monkey who loved to eat peanuts. It stole from all the houses in the village, until the villagers were tired of it stealing its food. So they set up a trap for him- a metal bottle with a narrow mouth, and put peanuts in it. When the greedy monkey saw the food, it immediately stuffed its hands in- only to find that it couldn't take it back out."

"My King, welcome to our little village!"

"Oh, my King, can I interest you in some flowers or chocolates?"

"My King! Please, come, try out the new dish on our recipe! It's delicious!"

"My king! It is simply wonderful to have you here to inspect our latest technology, we've just started using wheelbarrows to transport our food!"

-------------

"My king, please try our newly added flavour, mint chocolate ice cream!"

"Oh, my King, grace us with your presence!"

"My King, we've added a new feature to our woodworks!"

"My King, once again, the latest technology is all here for you yo inspect, we've started being able to use these things called light bulbs to light up rooms when it's dark, and the telephones to call relatives from afar!"

--------------------

"My King, dear me, did you hear about the new drink? It's been quite the craze lately!"

"My King, you should try the new drink! It can really bring you back to the past!"

"My King, I'm sure you have heard about the effects of human blood on us Harevailers. May I interest you in a bottle?"

-------------

"Ohhhoh My King, I've seen the dinosaurs!"

"My King, I've reunited with my late husband!"

"My King!"

"My King!"

"My King!"

-----------

"Hahahah, My King, I want more!"

"More! More! More!"

"More!"

"More!"

----------

"The effects of the addiction of human blood has really done it for them,"

"...It's because I was a terrible leader, it's because I was too caught up in the past, the time-travel hallucination the blood brings,"

---------

"Arghhhh! No!"

"Oh no, this poor rabbit, it's injured now,"

"What? This hideous monstrosity, it's caring.. for the rabbit?"

"Fine then, I'll pardon you,"

--------

"Hahhha, I never knew there were other survivors! A toast to all!"

'A toast to all!"

"A toast to all!"

(fic for Boss Rabbit, the Chingay 2023 Embrace Tomorrow googleable)

[lightgaswaterelectricityrent]

Look I'm not affected by the monarchy politically so whatever the will of the people is in terms of its future is fine. That being said I am I guess... judging? that so many people (not all! I know anti-monarchy has always been a thing) were like waiting until the death of the monarch they liked to suddenly come out of the woodwork and have a brutal opinion basically because the King is married to someone who isn't as hot as his old wife who died before she had the chance to fall in public opinion. Like you don't actually dislike the system or the traditions you just think you like Princess Diana because every piece of media about her since 1997 has been overwhelming sympathetic to her. And people on this website have some of the absolute worst literacy I've seen about the royal family both in terms of their personal lives and backstories and in terms of how the government actually interacts with them