#& if i keep them they go on the big shelf in their proper place

[yanderenightmare]

Gojo Satoru

TW: angst ig

gn reader

Gojo has loved you forever.

When the two of you were toddlers, he was never shy about kissing you and holding your hand. It was only when the two of you began school that he was taught that it wasn’t proper – a schooling that made him frown.

But his love for you never dimmed despite it. Growing up, he became nothing shy of a true bully pulling his crush’s pigtails. He’d flash his six-eyes and limitless techniques and tease you for your subpar cursed energy – often rescuing you like a faux knight in shining armor.

But despite acting like your older brother – he’s really been dreaming of you in carnal ways ever since he first found out what sex was.

Which is why he’d sling his arm around your shoulder when you were talking with other guys – having grown up so tall, he’d have to all but bow in order to level with the small fries – a sly smirk on his lips with his shades low on his nose.

“Ah – I didn’t know you had a boyfriend – I’m sorry.” They’d always stutter – feeling the chills of those icy blues pierce through to their bones.

“Ugh, Gojo – get off – you’re too heavy.” You’d argue in a familiar whine, shoving at his lanky shape – already fuming. “He’s not my boyfriend – he’s just a dumbass with no respect for personal space.”

“Oh – I’m more than that~” He’d insist. “Y’know, we got married on the playground when we were six.”

You’d roll your eyes at his attics. Huffing out a growl at him. But no amount of clenched fists and angry brows could hide the embarrassment. And ultimately, no guy really dared try their luck with you after being introduced to the white-haired childhood friend giving them death glares.

Which is why it’s baffling when he finds out about the wedding.

He’d seen you less and less over the years. He’d been busy as the newly awakened honored one – new missions almost every day. 

You’d capped out as a second-grade sorcerer and decided to become a teacher in Kyoto – sent out on missions every now and again, but mostly just to supervise students. 

He’d been glad you settled on something safe and not something you’d sooner end up being killed – like him. But he wasn’t overly fond that you’d chosen Kyoto over Tokyo where he could keep an eye on you.

But he supposes that’s exactly why you’d done it.

He knows he coddles you – knows you’ve always hated it – knows you hate it because you know he’s right to do it – knows you’d be dead if it weren’t for him.

How could you marry someone else? How could you choose anyone other than him?

He doesn’t respond to the invite. Doesn’t answer when you call. 

He’s gone for several months. 

You know through the assistant supervisors that he’s still accepting missions – out on the prowl, killing curses – doing little else.

You try to deny knowing why he’s upset. You love him like family, but he’s always been a child with too many toys – you, one of them. This is him throwing a fit over someone else taking what’s his.

But you know he’ll come to his senses after cooling off. You know he’ll be at the wedding – all smiles – if not happy, then pretending for your sake. 

In all his strange ways, you know that he loves you. And despite being childish, you know he’ll do the adult thing and let you go.

The two of you would never have worked. Which is why you’ve never given in to his googly eyes – that hand on your thigh when the two of you’d been drinking – that lingering stare resting on your lips – and those silver-toned words on his.

He’s with someone new every other week despite his unfair hold on you – keeping you for himself – placing you on a shelf among the other things he hopes he’ll one day grow into – like a pair of shoes bought a size too big.

But you know he’ll never get there. He’ll never mature enough to hold a relationship for any longer than a month or so – never mature enough to settle down somewhere and not hotel-hop from one five-star to the next – never mature enough to respect you the same way he respects himself – never mature enough to commit to anything but himself.

The two of you could never be a couple. You could never love each other in the ways you want to be loved. He would want you to stay at home and wait for him to come back – longingly as a sweet housewife would – and you’d want him to encourage you in your respectful career – happy for you like a supportive husband would. None of it matched.

You love him, but you would never be happy with him. You would never feel respected. 

So, that night when the two of you’d shared a kiss – you’d held him at arm's length and told him it was a mistake – that it would only serve to ruin your friendship. 

He’d taken it as you being flighty – just a cute road bump before you’d finally realize you were meant for him – before you’d come running to his arms with pretty tears dropping from your eyes while throwing yourself at him – all apologies and confessions and desperate kisses – telling him you couldn't live without him.

But there you are…

Walking down the aisle for someone else.

#yandere jjk #yandere jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu kaisen smut #jujustu kaisen #jujutsu gojo #jujutsu kaisen #gojo smut #satoru gojo smut #gojo satoru smut #gojou satoru x reader #satoru gojo #gojo satoru #gojo x reader #gojo saturo #jjk gojo #yandere gojo x reader #yandere gojo satoru #yandere gojo #yandere satoru gojo #jjk smut #jujustu kaisen headcanons #gojo headcanons

[butididntpourthewhiskeys]

The Morning After

Because we all need a little AM fluff sometimes lmao xx

A sharp sun ray hits his eyes, forcing him to squint before opening them again. He smiles. Everything hurts. Travis closes his eyes once more, exhaustion taking over his body and mind. There's a sharp contrast in the air: the cold breeze of the bedroom AC in this Vegas hotel, compared to the warm sun ray filtering through the curtains of the floor-to-ceiling windows. He hears a drawer opening and closing, a little spoon rustling. He realizes in that moment that he's alone in bed. The worst way to wake up today.

A strong and exhausted arm moves across the bed, almost as if reaching for the ghost of her. He sighs, having lost all sense of time and place. He won the Super Bowl. He did it. He did it all because of her.

Travis sighs again, feels himself get emotional again. Emotional, and.. drunk. He's forcing himself to pull the expensive blanket from his torso. Fully naked from the night before, he leaves the bedroom of the presidential suite. His entire body aches, yet the view before him makes him smile for the first time this morning. At the end of the room, he sees a tall blonde, wearing nothing but his shirt, fumbling with the coffee machine. She steps on her tiptoes for a second, reaching for one of the coffee pads from the shelf above the little coffee station. She's still not wearing any underwear, clearly having thrown his shirt over her body when she got up. He smiles and keeps on walking barefoot towards her, not hesitating for a moment before wrapping his big, strong arms around her.

She startles for a second, her cold hands and the little familiar giggle he loves so much in his ear. Travis sniffs into her neck, pressing his face as close as possible. Inaudible kisses reach her skin and a few strands of hair from her neck in between. This is where he always wants to be. Nuzzled into her skin.

"Oh my god, I literally didn’t hear you get up," she murmurs, both her hands now on his that are right on her stomach. She sounds tired and exhausted, just like he is. After a moment, Travis lets go of her neck, helping her turn around in his arms. The view makes him smile even more. Her eyes are puffy, puffier than she probably likes them to be in front of him, and her hair from last night is all over the place. But he adores seeing her like this. He adores climbing onto this next stage of their relationship together. She’s probably as hungover as he is. No question. This isn't the best version of herself. And he loves that he gets to experience it. He loves that he gets to love it, with every fiber of his being. Just the way she deserves.

"Good morning, sweetie." he murmurs, and she smiles tiredly, placing both her hands on his cheeks before giving him a proper good morning kiss on the lips. He pulls back and laughs quietly, his forehead meeting hers.

"Are you okay?" he asks gently, feeling clearly that she's exhausted, more than usual. This is a next-stage tired Taylor he hasn’t encountered yet. Her eyes small, her face is pale and her hands cold. She seems off to him, seems a little more quiet than she usually is.

"Yeah, great…" She mumbles with a hint of sarcasm in her voice that makes him smile. "Woke up with a sore throat and my head exploding. I think the jet lag and alcohol just got the best of me."

Travis nods, his lips immediately finding her forehead again. He kisses her right over her bangs, both his arms rubbing her bare arms, almost as if this could make her hangover go away.

"Last week was a lot, baby."

She nods, her hands now on his chest while he holds her securely in his arms. She doesn’t even notice that he's naked. It's all about being close to him.

"Advil?"

"Yeah, I just feel like I need to eat first. How are you feeling?" She asks, looking up at her tall boyfriend. His eyes are tiny and he's a lot paler than usual. But she's not really surprised. He really went hard last night.

"I’m okay. I feel great. Might still be a bit drunk actually, but…"

She laughs. He nuzzles his face into her neck again, almost embarrassed.

"I'm sorry if it was a lot last night. I mean… from my side."

"What do you mean?"

"I was… drunk. In another sphere."

Taylor looks at him and laughs, her hands now gently caressing his face.

"I know. Me too. Trav, you are on top of the world right now. You were allowed to have fun last night,"

Travis looks into her eyes and nods slowly. Sometimes he looks at her and can’t believe she's here, can't believe she's his, through and through.

"Hey, I love you."

She smiles slowly, her fingers on his cheek. The unspeakable things he makes her feel. Things she thought she could never feel again.

"I love you, babe."

He kisses her again. She sighs into the kiss this time. The little counter with the coffee machine still against her lower back. But she doesn’t care. His kisses just make her forget that what she needed so badly a few moments ago was coffee.

Just as they pull back, Taylor takes a good look at him, then giggles again.

"What?"

"I love you, but that beard has to go."

He grins.

"Okay, deal. But first, how about I get you some breakfast and a proper coffee, hmm? And some Advil."

She nods, cuddling herself into his arms again. She loves his smell, and she loves feeling so loved up by his big arms. It's been a while since home was a person. It's been a while since she's felt so safe and seen in someone’s presence.

"Please. I need a large coffee. A large, iced latte with almond milk and vanilla syrup. Please. And a breakfast burrito," she mumbles into his chest, making him laugh a little louder. His voice is still rusty from last night, and he knows why. There's been a lot of singing, screaming, and smoking involved.

"Okay, my love. Coming through. Go lay down for a bit now," he says gently and kisses her cheek a few times. She smiles, nods, then steals another kiss. He closes his eyes, pressing her a little closer. He doesn’t want this kiss to end. He doesn’t want to let go of her either. Her smell, her lips, her little hands on his cheeks. He loves this woman more than anything he's ever loved. It's scary, it's beautiful. It's life.

Taylor slowly lets go of him, smiling at him one last time before stepping back into bed. He looks after her, about to search for his phone in the hotel suite, when she turns around again.

"Hey, Trav."

"Mhm?"

"I’m so proud of you. Did I tell you that today already?"

Travis smiles slowly, a gentleness in his eyes he’s not used to himself.

"You did."

"Good," she answers, grabbing the sheets on the bed and letting herself fall into the soft mattress.

#taylor swift #taylor swift fanfiction #fanfic #travis kelce #travlor #tayvis #lmao #writing blurb #writing

[90skiyoomi]

bulls in the bronx

kenma x reader

angst

tw: mentions of suicide and depression. this fic can be extremely triggering as there's a strong mention of suicide and description of a suicide attempt so please skip this story if it triggers you easily

it felt like any other day.

getting off work and going home to kenma.

it has become a routine that you have been very fond of as you get to see the love of your life after a stressful day at work.

you'd never thought that tonight would end up like this. it all started because kenma didn't want to get off his games when it was supposed to be a pre planned date night.

you were supposed to takeaway some of his favorite food and have dinner together before having a movie marathon.

it took him almost 3 hours to get off his game when he said "5 more minutes"

at this point, you have already gotten sick of waiting and finished your portion of the food before placing the rest in the fridge for whenever he decides that he's hungry.

one thing led to another and here we are again, quarreling about how you didn't wait for him to finish up and how you were going to just go to bed when you said that you were going to have dinner with him.

you were exhausted.

this wasn't the first time this quarrel happened. you've lost counts on how many time you had to wait for him to finish his god damn games and have a proper meal with you. it felt like you were living with a man child that needed constant reminder to do basic necessities like eating and showering. it was draining.

work hasn't been good too as your boss has been putting more workload on you and not giving you the pay raise that you deserve. what's more frustrating is that the new comer that joined a month ago has already gotten a promotion because she has big tits and she sweet talked her way through it.

it seemed like everything is falling apart and you don't know how to spiral out of this dark hole.

you knew that the medications weren't working anymore so you've stopped taking them for months now. it just made you feel numb and you didn't want to have a pounding headache everytime you take it.

but life was not doing well. life was kenma and it seemed like he's halfway out the door too.

"please don't take this out on me"

cause you're the only thing that's keeping me alive

kenma just looked at you like he was bored.

"i can't do this tonight, i'm going to kuroo's"

the door slammed shut as you were drowning in your own thoughts.

he just left.

what's the point in anything anymore?

your parents have already disowned you for god knows what reason. it seemed like you were going to get fired anyday now. and kenma just seemed so disinterested in you.

everything is falling apart.

at the corner of your eyes, you could see 2 full bottles of anti-depressants on the shelf.

the ones that were left untouched.

you stumbled your way there and grabbed the two bottles, and walked to the kitchen to grab the half bottle of vodka that you never touched for months.

i'm sorry but i made up my mind

you easily swallowed down a bottle of pills and downed it with vodka. you felt the burn from the alcohol going down your throat but nothing can hurt more than life itself.

you didn't expect it to hit you so quickly as you downed the rest of the pills that were left.

and seconds later the bottle of vodka seemed to have finished too.

everything felt like a blur. you were stumbling into the kitchen to get whatever alcohol you can lay hands on.

and then, there was the agonizing pain.

it felt like your stomach was ripping itself apart.

you couldn't stand properly and you were using all your strength to hold yourself up as you reached for that bottle of alcohol.

that's when you hear the doors opening.

and that's when everything went dark.

part two

#haikyuu hcs #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu x y/n #haikyuu au #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu scenarios #haikyuu hurt/comfort #kenma hcs #kenma scenario #kenma imagine #kenma drabble #kenma angst #kenma x female reader #kenma x gender neutral reader #kenma x you #kenma x male reader #kenma x y/n #kenma x reader

[kidstemplatte]

I know you must be so busy rn, but could we get some headcannons/ little fic about Terzo with his kids on Christmas

dad! terzo during the holidays headcanons🎁🎄

tysm for your request, anon! i hope this is close to what you wanted! please enjoy<3

◇ i like to imagine the clergy decorates for the holiday season, i’m not sure what exactly they’d celebrate since i’m no expert regarding theistic satanism (i need my art school anon to help me with this one 🤍) but i think they would do some of the christmas-esque stuff just for the fun of it

◇ i imagine their decor is a nice fun mix of spooky and sweet, or more of a witchy vibe.

◇ i headcanon that they’re in sweden, which means there’s snow outside!!! terzo doesn’t like the cold, since he’s from italy haha but his kids loooooove playing in the snow so he sticks it out for them!

◇ he gets all wrapped up in like 1000 layers because he’s a big old baby, definitely not dramatic at all.

◇ but also he makes his kids do the same, he’s very protective and wants to make sure his kids don’t freeze!

◇ honestly i think terzo’s the kind of dad who would make up an urban legend to scare his kids into wearing proper winter gear…💀 they’re SPRINTING to get inside after he tells them about the monster who eats little children who don’t wear their gloves…

◇ do not take terzo ice skating because his ass will fall down over and over and over again. but on second thought, it makes the kids laugh, so maybe do take him.

◇ terzo cannot wrap presents. he is so bad at it. he has to ask the ghouls or one of his brothers to do it. but this also means he really appreciates the artistry of gift-wrapping.

◇when he gets a gift of any kind he always wriggles his fingers and goes “for me?��� like you’ve just bestowed a treasure upon him.

◇ he will absolutely melt if his kids give him a gift of any kind, a homemade card or even just a cool rock one of them found. he will keep it forEVER.

◇ if there’s an elf on the shelf or some kind of satanic equivalent, terzo is leaving it in the funniest fucking places. then he sits around waiting for his kids’ reactions because he loves hearing them laugh.

◇ but it’s not just for the kids- it’s for his own amusement as well. you can bet that elf is going on nihil’s grave.

◇ every christmas eve eve (december 23rd muahaha) terzo watches nightmare before christmas with his kids.

◇ terzo’s favorite christmas movie is home alone, but he has to give the kids a disclaimer before they watch because they’re little troublemakers and they WILL get ideas from all the traps and shenanigans.

◇ i don’t know about anyone else, but i always had a hard time as a kid falling asleep on christmas eve because i was so excited. i imagine terzo’s kids are the same way haha, so he reads them stories until they fall asleep.

◇ terzo doesn’t care much about his kids believing in santa until they tell him they don't. because to terzo, that’s a challenge.

◇ initially, he wants to dress up as santa himself, but he knows the kids are smart enough to find out it’s him. so he has to outsource his work. (he makes omega dress up as santa and put the gifts terzo made him wrap under the tree. omega gets a raise.)

◇ the kids are getting whatever they ask for btw. it’s typically nothing too unreasonable because they’re raised well haha.

◇ if the kids want to leave food out for santa, terzo’s using it as an excuse to order a fancy ass hundred dollar meal and eat it at 3 am. santa’s getting steak made with wagyu beef and a nice glass of wine.

◇ i hc that terzo can cook but he can’t bake for shit, (i have a fic i’ve been wanting to finish for so long about that) so primo makes the kids gingerbread cookies (he has an extensive cookie cutter collection) and they’re all decorated super fun lol.

◇ also in my mind the clergy is a huge piece of property with a forest behind it, and in this forest there are deer! so before the sun sets on the night of christmas eve terzo takes the kids to leave food for the deer as fuel for their upcoming flight :,)

└─── °∘❉∘° ───┘

that’s it yall!!! happy holidays and tysm for your request anon!!! i rlly hope u liked it!! i have more stories coming soon i can’t wait to share!!

#the band ghost #ghost band #ghost #papa emeritus iii #terzo #papa emeritus #papa terzo #papa emeritus x reader #terzo x reader #papa emeritus iii x reader #dad! terzo

[aectpen]

STRAWBERRY ✯ 𝙕𝙃𝘼𝙉𝙂 𝙃𝘼𝙊!

m.list

synopsis: 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐝𝐨𝐥

pairing: Zhang Hao of ZB1 and fem!oc

status: ongoing

chapter 8: haemin

haemin. rina's right hand woman. she'd tell her everything that happens to her. whether it's tragic or as minor as a stranger giving her a dirty look on the train. why didn't she just tell her that she was seeing him, even if it was an innocent friendship at first? that's something she'd immediately tell her.

but something in the back of her mind urged her not to. she knows how much of a big fan she is. she would lie awake at night imagining the outcomes of of her finding out. the best case scenario is her interrogating you about it. the worst case scenario is her freaking out and telling people that she has a connection to her favorite boy group.

despite rina being her best friend, rina isn't her only friend. out of the two, haemin has always been the more social, more caring one. it was always haemin looking after rina and pushing her to do things. it has always been that way.

with rina finally getting close to hao; she didn't want to say it out loud but she wanted to finally have something, someone for herself. haemin had her own friends and relationships that didn't involve her, so why couldn't she just have this one thing for herself?

why can't i just keep this one secret?

rina glanced over at haemin.

they both heard that phone buzzing. there was no denying it.

rina watched as haemin walked to the shelf behind her. she can't stop her, that would be even worse.

"oh. my god." you would think she saw a ghost. "zhang hao. rina that is zhang hao. strawberry, z is zhang hao."

rina did not want to look back and see the scene unfold before her. but she had to. she looked at haemin's shocked face and couldn't imagine the one on hao's face.

"hi." his signature greeting alongside an awkward chuckle and smile in an awkward situation.

"haemin, zhang hao. zhang hao, haemin."

"when were you gonna tell me about this?" she seemed more calm than rina had prepared for. it seemed too good to be true, but rina was internally thanking the universe for this reaction.

"i was actually planning on it. very soon." truth was, she was planning on keeping it from her for far longer than this.

"well. are you guys dating or something now?" haemin crossed her arms.

"yes." - "no."

the two looked at each other confused.

"no." - "yes."

"i'm guessing you guys haven't thought this through yet."

"it's very new. we'll definitely have to discuss this." rina scratched the back of her neck "are you sure you're okay with all of this?"

"of course! why would this be a bad thing. i'm happy for you!" haemin engulfed her in a tight hug.

rina gave hao an i don't know look facing him in the hug. he only shrugged back at her.

"i'll leave you two to it." she smiled and left them alone.

"i have no clue what that was about." out of all the scenarios rina drafted, that one never came up.

"strawberry. wow, you really serious about that." hao found the entire thing amusing. everyday he was finding out something new about rina.

"i warned you we did talk about you quite a lot when you were a faceless stranger."

"at least i never have to worry about you liking me for my looks or status."

"okay, heartthrob." she rolled her eyes.

finally, she started to lock up the store. she would definitely have to tell her boss about the extra time she spent in the store after hours. someone could've easily robbed the place, but she didn't get paid enough to be worrying about that.

they were now standing outside of the closed store, his phone buzzing in his pocket again.

"yeah, i got caught up. relax. no, the store is closed. okay, whatever." he hung up "sorry, my members are so obsessed with me."

"it's kinda late, i'd be worried too. you can go home now. today drained me."

"i should introduce you to them. a proper introduction."

"i think i embarrassed myself enough." rina recalled the humiliating interaction with them from the bowling alley.

"them of all people are not immune to embarrassing themselves, trust me." he reassured her.

"we'll have to find out who is more embarrassing between us. i think i'm in the lead right now."

they shared a goodbye hug. it was tight, warm, and lasted so long that you'd think they were never going to see each other again.

as they slowly parted ways, they only had one thing in mind;

i should've kissed her

i should've kissed him

#zhang hao imagines #han yujin #kim gyuvin #kim jiwoong #park gunwook #kim taerae #sung hanbin #zhang hao #zerobaseone #zb1 #kpop #zb1 ricky #seok matthew #kpop imagines #kpop x reader #kpop x y/n #kpop x you #zhang hao x oc #zb1 x reader #zb1 imagines #zb1 scenarios #zb1 zhang hao #zhang hao x reader #zhang hao fluff #zb1 fluff #kpop x oc #idol #kpop idol #boys planet

[himbopunk]

quick rundown of different ways i've made patches

for @pescabianca cuz they asked lol

gonna start by saying i'm far from an expert on any of this, especially proper screenprinting and blockprinting. i'm just some guy that's been winging it for the past 3 years and it's just kind of what i do now? idk. here's the methods i've used for making patches

method 1: stencil and fabric paint

in which you're making a stencil and painting by hand. first time i made patches i hand carved out the letters on some cricut vinyl (i didn't have a cricut i just used a craft knife and taped it to my desk), put it down on top of a piece of fabric and sponged on some fabric paint. you can also use cardboard or cardstock you tape down for the stencil and tape down, whatever you got, i just find the vinyl was the easiest to make it not bleed as much. pretty simple, pretty accessible. the vinyl option is more for a single patch, smth like a cardboard stencil is better for multiple. make sure to use an iron to set in your paint once it dries

method 2: diy screen with mod podge

you can make a simple screenprint with mod podge, some kinda mesh fabric and an embroidery hoop. take voile or chiffon, pull the fabric taut on the embroidery hoop, and sketch on your design with a pencil (be careful as to not rip the mesh). remember that the flattest part goes down on your fabric, so make sure youre drawing inside the hoop.

paint on the mod podge in the negative space of your design, let dry. you can at this point use screen printing ink or continue with fabric paint, i think this was the time where i first bought screen ink. put your screen flat onto your fabric, some ink/paint at the top of the screen, then use an old gift card or id as a squeegee to do the actual printing part, dragging it down in a scraping motion. pull away and leave the patch to dry. you probably wanna iron it to set in the ink once you're done.

this is good esp if youre printing a bunch at once but doesnt wash very well so it can be kinda one and done sometimes? i used fabric mod podge so it lasted like 2 gos before getting all gross. but if you already have this kinda stuff laying around for other crafts, its pretty simple and introduces you to screeprinting somewhat without spending too much money

inspo/instruction link

method 3: screenprinting

getting/making an actual screen, you can just buy them online tbh, though it's not too hard to diy imo, especially if you're good with wood (haha) at all. i'm not, the way i diy'd it initially was finding some cheap wood picture frames from the dollar store or smth, pulling the screen mesh taut with a big embroidery hoop cuz i didn't have clamps and such, and using the staple gun to staple them onto the frame. it works just as well tbh, but i don't know how much i can speak on the longevity of dollar store frames or how well i attached the screen mesh, those are kinda skills in of themselves you gotta hone which is why this is all so much more involved

speaking of which, the next part is emulsion. i use jacquard emulsion fluid because it's cheap and i'm used to it. speedball is fine but i bought a bulk bottle once that was expired and i've never forgiven them for it. emulsion is a fluid thats mixed with a photosensitive fluid that causes it to cure and harden in uv light. you spread that across your screen, leave it in a dry, dark place to dry overnight (i used to use the bottom shelf of a bookshelf with a curtain over it, then the top drawer of a dresser. you can put it in your closet or something, depends on the space you have.) keep it in that dark place until you're ready to use it, otherwise you risk hardening it by accident.

once you've got a screen prepped, you want to have a transparency of your image in all black so light can get in everywhere but your design, and then expose it either to the sun or a lighting set up that you've bought/made. once you've cured it, you can then remove your transparency and you should be able to rinse out the emulsion fluid that was under it, leaving you with a screen to use!

for lighting setup, i use a flood lamp type thing that speedball sells that i bought years ago off of blick, i think? since the places i've lived have very specific times of day where you get direct sun to reliably use, at a certain point getting the lamp became worth it. depending on what you're using both in terms of your emulsion fluid and light source, the curing time can be very different, but this method allows for fine detail that can be difficult to attain by hand. stuff like screentones to create gradients, and the ability to make several screens for different color layers. it can be tricky to do sometimes but the ease of making more complex designs and having longer lasting screens can be worth it

also at this point you definitely want to be using actual screen printing ink, probably. you can buy a squeegee, i often still just use old credit cards and such, especially with my smaller designs, so it's up to you on that end. make sure you're using fabric ink, not acrylic ink, for your patches. just in general be aware of what type of ink you're getting, i use water-based inks that rinse out the screen easy with a spray bottle of water and some paper towels (you can also just rinse em in the sink but mine is too shallow lol).

i'll link to some tutorials i used when starting out, cuz this stuff is a lot easier with a visual aide and i don't think i explained it very well skdjf

youtube tutorial // tutorrial 2 // tutorial 3 // screens i used to get // emulsion fluid i use

method 3.5: screen filler

if you liked method 2, you can use the screen filler method to make screens, i've never done it but i understand it's similar in that you are basically panting on the negative space or something? again, i've never done it, i've just used emulsion after moving on from the mod podge method.

method 4: blockprinting

block printing is pretty straightforward, imo. basically you take a block of rubber or linoleum (or wood but i've. never done wood printing but it's fairly similar in basic method afaik) and trace or draw a design onto it. you then carve out the negative space of your design, leaving an impression of only the part you want to print. you then take a brayer/roller, roll it in ink until it's covered and then roll the ink out onto the raised part of the block that remains once you've carved it. take your fabric and press it flat onto the inked block, using something smooth like the back of a spoon to press it down and make sure your ink gets in there. i usually always make at least one more patch than i need with this method, since the first print often tends to be a bit rough/light and it improves over time. like your first pancake bein the worst one i guess. when you're done, you can wash the blocks with soap and water, maybe using an old toothbrush to get in all those crevices. but that's it, it's intense on focus, time, and physical effort, but pretty straightforward

note that when you blockprint something, the image will be reversed, so if you're drawing directly onto one keep this in mind. what i usually like to do is take some paper and put it over my original sketch, draw over it with a soft charcoal, then press it down onto the block to transfer the image. that way it makes sure your image is flipped, and it's a hell of a lot easier than any of the weird printer methods i've seen.

btw you can get a plate for rolling ink onto but i'll be honest? for about a year or two i just used like panes of glass i had from the picture frames i used for screens or i'd tape a piece of plastic or transparency down onto the table/desk. it's like, slightly easier now that i have an inking plate, but only just because it's a bit less waste, but it doesn't change much, imo. i even sometimes prefer using a gel printing plate, which is not really supposed to be used the way i'm using it! honestly, as long as your surface is flat and smooth it seems to be fine.

theoretically you don't even really need to use block printing ink, but i'd always struggled using other stuff? idk. if you're making patches, id suggest getting some fabric blockprinting ink. it'll take a day to dry, a bit longer than screenprinting ink, but it'd very sturdy. you can iron it to help secure it like the other stuff, but if you let it dry a couple days you might not even have to.

youtube tutorial/inspo // carving tools i use // some rubber blocks to start with // rubber brayers for rolling ink

note: if you can find any art supply exchanges, they're great for getting supplies for the latter methods on a budget. in chicago, there's a like, art supply thrift store of sorts called the waste shed where i got most of my early blockprinting supplies for pretty cheap, and if i didn't have those, i probably wouldn't have started making blockprints when i did.

note 2: this is all for printing on fabric, but you can also get acrylic screen printing ink or block printing ink for making prints on paper if you want!!

#daze.txt #sorry this is so long #and a bit scatterbrained #hopefully the links help if nothing else

[amethystina]

If The Gentle Light had continued, what, do you think, would Yo Han's immediate thoughts/feelings have been upon seeing Ga On again?

Well. I mean. I don't really think — I know. Because I'm sometimes forced to write down the Yo Han bits that just won't leave me the fuck alone. Usually just short snippets, often ones that aren't even connected, but yeah. If I don't, they'll keep looping inside my head, slowly driving me insane.

So anon can have some Yo Han POV, as a treat:

Yo Han took another sauntering step forward, gaze wandering over Kim Ga On's terrace. Pots, plants, and various tools littered the space, but it was by no means cluttered or disorganized. Everything had its proper place, either tucked away in practical plastic crates or arranged in neat little rows. Even the plants were positioned with great care, lining the otherwise empty space — enveloping it, turning it into something more than just a terrace.

Like a small oasis of life — delicate yet vibrant — right there in the heart of Seoul.

Yo Han shook his head and walked over to the shelf placed against one of the walls, plants of all shapes and sizes crowding together inside it.

How very like Ga On, to surround himself with so much life.

And to be so desperate for something to care for that he hoarded these frail little plants, showering them with the love and affection he couldn't find an outlet for elsewhere. It seemed that Kim Ga On might very well cease to exist if he wasn't allowed to care for and nurture the living and breathing things around him, the need going beyond instinct into outright compulsion.

That innocence and selflessness was a weakness — a big, blinking target, so easy to exploit — but, at the same time, so breathtakingly beautiful it only added to Ga On's radiance.

Yo Han was frustrated by how much he adored it.

He reached out and slowly ran his finger along the leaf of one of the nearby plants. Yo Han was no expert, but it looked paler than it probably should have — closer to yellow than green. He frowned, his gaze flicking between the plants in front of him.

Almost every single one of them looked the same.

Discolored, with drooping leaves, some even edged with dry, crusty browns.

A small flicker of discomfort — of dawning realization — was all the warning Yo Han got before his chest clenched. He had no time to brace himself, the bloom of concern fierce enough to almost knock the breath out of him.

The implication was all too clear.

Kim Ga On might be withering away faster than Yo Han had anticipated.

___

Though I guess that's technically BEFORE he sees Ga On? So here's the one when he actually turns around and sees him for the first time in months:

Yo Han had pictured the moment many times over. He'd wondered — maybe even fantasized — what it would be like to see Ga On again after so many months apart. But none of those scenarios, each studied and evaluated down to the smallest detail, could prepare Yo Han for what he actually found when he turned around.

Not even once, at any point during his musings, had Yo Han thought that the first thing he would feel was a sharp, painful pang of guilt.

The eyes meeting his — those soft doe-eyes, usually so bright and vibrant — were flat and empty. They looked too big on Ga On's face, too black and bottomless against the paleness of his skin. As if there was nothing but a gaping emptiness behind them.

There was no spark. No light.

Nothing.

The world seemed to shift, just a fraction, but still enough to make Yo Han's stomach drop. The curl of dread was paralyzing.

He'd always known he was fated to eventually smother that gentle, fragile light, but he hadn't expected it to happen like this.

Not this soon.

He wasn't ready for that loss yet. He honestly never would be.

And so, for once, Yo Han didn't know what to do — or even how to react. The longer he stood there, staring into those blank eyes, the more the guilt grew. He could feel it seeping into his veins, slowly taking hold.

It hurt to breathe.

A pain which didn't ease even when something finally did shift inside Ga On's eyes. Because what Yo Han saw wasn't life, excitement, or even hope, but the heart-wrenching hunger of a desperate, half-starved creature, so weak it was a miracle it could even function.

The emptiness in Ga On's eyes suddenly made sense.

He was empty. And Yo Han could see the hunger growing — the near-frantic need to fill that cold, hollow space. And he knew exactly what had caused it.

Exactly what Ga On needed in order to fill that void inside of him.

If Yo Han had wanted to make Ga On less dependent on him, he'd failed.

___

... I guess the short answer would be: "... oh fuck."?

Bear in mind that I currently have no plans (or time) to write another chapter from Yo Han's POV, but yeah. I hope you enjoy the snippets?

Also, to be entirely honest with you all, it fucking hurts to write Yo Han's POV, especially these emotional scenes x'D Like, I feel for Ga On when I write about him and his struggles, I definitely do. But Yo Han is too similar to me in how he deals with and processes emotions so I'm, like, in agony when I write stuff like this because I can relate to it too much.

So some of my stubbornness not to write his POV is honestly sheer self-preservation at this point x'D

#Amethystina Replies #Anonymous #Who Holds the Devil #The Gentle Light #The Devil Judge #Amethystina Writes #And it fucking hurts #Like #I cannot stress this enough #It might very well break me if I had to write certain scenes from Yo Han's POV #I COULD probably do it #But MAN #Would it hurt #Me most of all #But all of you as well #Though some of you are gluttons for punishment #So I know you probably won't be swayed by that argument xD

[ghostiiess]

[NSB HEADCANONS] - you celebrating your birthday with them

pov: this is what i think the boys would do to clelebrate your birthday

warnings: none that i can think of :)

type: wholesome

members: all of them in a big hc :)

reblogs and likes are very appreciated!

so.. i heard it was your birthday..?? 😏

well, if it is then happy birthday :)

and if not, then this is what i think the north star boys would do to celebrate and organize your special day!

(rest under the cut!!)

obviously, when the guys decided to organize you a birthday party, they wanted to have a proper plan

like in the movies where each characters has something to do lol

and i think that's what kane would do :)

i know it may sounds boring, but hey hear me out

kane is a perfectionnist

he is the best to do plans and stuff like that :)) so i'm sure he would be like "okay, seb you're doing that!" or like "ryan, you're going to distract y/n while we're organizing everything"

he would only create fun stuff such as activities

like the one where you have to place the tail of the donkey on the donkey (i forgot the name) without seeing anything

basically games to play before the big party happens :))

so i think it'll be perfect for him!!

ofc, like every good party, the place should be decorated!

and who wanted to do this job? ladies and gentleman, our favorite tallest boy.. sebastian moy

we know he's tall

he ate his vegetables when he was younger because this man is literally 6'4 🙄

since he's very tall, it'll be perfect to put stuff on high shelf or like put some posters or flag around the house to say "hey it's y/n's birthday!!" or smth like that

plus he didn't want to clean and organize the house

of course, it'll be boring if nobody was there.. so ofc someone needed to do the invitations!

and i think regie would do it!!

we know how good regie is for creating something with his hands or like do something related to art

like he's so creative

so like old times, he took pieces of papers and made invitations

he knew he could have just asked your friends by texts, but like isn't it more fun and cute to receive invitations by the post and to read "Y/N BIRTHDAY'S PARTY!!"

plus, it was a birthday surprise so..

and we know, regie..

he's the type of the guy to let his phone open, so no no no

he didnt want to take a risk

plus invitation cards are super cute

at least to me 😭

idk it's like nostalgic

of course, it'll be weird if you were going to be at your house while the boys was there to like organize your house, so that's why ryan would take you shopping!

i mean..

this boy had a job: keep you busy at target for like 3 hours so everything could be ready

and let's say it worked out pretty well!

weirdly, when ryan realized you were both done with shopping and there was only 1h left before letting you go back home, he decided to take the time to examine every controllers...

but hey, it was worth it because in the mean time, oliver did all the snacks on the table for the guest :)

he was super excited and although he's not the cook in nsb, this man can cook

he made all your favorites

he wanted your birthday to be something unforgetfull

darren, the cooker of nsb, did the cake

everybody in nsb (or at least know) can know basically a bit of everything, but to me, cooking cake screams darren

plus, we're talking about darren

he's a great cook!

he made your favorite flavored cake ;)

lastly, ofc we needed to have some music for your birthday..

we couldn't just celebrate a birthday with northstarboys without a single piece of music 🥳

so justin did the music playlists

he checked EVERY spotify (or any music app you have) playlist you had and searched in your "most played" song, just so he could put them in your spotify birthday playlist

like isn't he so cute??? :(

to me, justin is the one who have the most 'taste' in music

i mean, every boys in the groups have great music taste, but i think jp would be the one creating the playlist because he listen to basically every thing.

it could be rap, kpop, anime songs, hip-hop song, r&b.. he listen to basically everything, so this man know the goods songs

plus he feels like he would be the type to create music playlists for his closed ones

so that's it for your birthday hc!! hope you liked it <3

have an amazing birthday!

taglist (open! send an ask if you want to be in it!) : @nsb-rkive @kentisbaby @firebenderwolf @hyuneee0

#headcanons #nsb #northstarboys #north star boys #olivermoy #oliver moy #sebastian moy #sebastianmoy #ryan nguyen #rynguyen #azngami #justin phan #justinphan #kaneratan #kane ratan #darrenliang #darren liang #lildarbear #regie macalino #regiemacalino #headcanon #nsbheadcanons #it's your birthday #birthday #ghostiiess #nsb x female reader #nsb x reader #north star boys x reader #northstarboys x reader #northstarboys x female reader

[artificialinsanity]

Hunting the Missing Link

Story Summary: When a mysterious individual crash-lands in the sleepy town of Starlight Edge, four unassuming individuals begin on a journey to find its origins, kickstarting a chain of events that would alter thier lives forever.

Chapter Summary: When Emily gets a new car, she takes them for a road trip to all thier favorite places, as a start to the most interesting day in the rest of thier lives.

[Next]

Story under the cut.

Just a few hours drive west from Empire City lies a small, sleepy town by the name of Starlight Edge, with a population in the low ten-thousands. Though small, the town is quite a hotspot for tourism due to the Starlight’s Edge of which the town is named after - a massive 100-foot cliff overlooking a series of 16 waterfalls flowing into a deep lake, known by the residents as Lake Selene.

A few miles away from Starlight Edge, on a street leading in from the town, lie 4 houses in a cul-de-sac, though only one has a vehicle parked outside - a yellow sports bike. Inside this house, a young hyena woman is tinkering with something while the 8am news plays in the background.

“In global news, Sonic the Hedgehog appears to have stopped the evil Doctor Robotnik yet again in the outskirts of Metropolis Zone,” reports the newscaster. “Sources say the Doctor, quote, ‘Didn't put up much of a fight.’”

“Why does this idiot keep trying these stunts!?” shouts the hyena to an audience of none. “By this point he should KNOW it’s not gonna work!”

Dressed in black with the proper safety equipment, the hyena is hard at work; soldering electronics together with a tutorial on her phone. Electronics lay all over her “garage”, from busted CD players, to old computer motherboards, to failed projects, parts and tools litter the place like they’re a rare commodity. Outside her work space, her living space isn’t much better, with clothes scattered all across her furniture, mainly centered around a single chair in the back corner.

Next to her TV is a slew of various SEGA video game consoles - Genesis, Saturn, and even Dreamcast - and next to those is a shelf full of video games, all of them about Sonic the Hedgehog. From the first one on Genesis to the last one on Dreamcast, she has them all. She even has the ones released after that, but those are on her PC, which lay just next to the shelf of video games.

With one final solder, the hyena raises her safety goggles to her forehead, eager to test out her contraption, when she hears a knock at the door. Steadily, she removes her safety gear, attaches her contraption to her wrists, and begins preparing herself.

This perky young hyena girl has big dreams, big ambitions, and a surprisingly ample bosom. Her fur is a creamy tan, like a warm latte, contrasting well with her clothes dark as night, much like the markings dotting her fur. She wore a light, yet tight black tank top with a cute yellow star adorned on its front, a black-and-purple tartan skirt with a purple waistband, some tight black sport shorts, purple combat boots that go up to her knees, and a crop top leather jacket with pins of some of her favorite musical acts - Neck Deep, State Champs, and All Time Low. Her eyes were a much darker shade of brown than her fur, much more akin to the trunk of an old and world weary oak tree. The contraptions she placed around her wrists were gold ring bracelets. Upon her hands, she also wore fingerless gloves, revealing the black tips of her fingers; and also had small purple glasses, which she wore on her nose. As for the girl’s name? It was-

“Stella!” barked a deep female voice from beyond the door. “You ready yet? I got something to show you!”

“Just a minute, Emily!” Stella yelled in response. Quickly turning off the TV, she rushed out the front door, eagerly awaiting what the day may bring.

“There you are, slowpoke!” said Emily. “What took you so long?”

“Sorry! I was fixing up my Light Bracelets.” Stella replied. “Why’d you call me out, exactly?”

“Come on! I got something to show you!” exclaimed Emily, clearly excited; which was rare for the porcupine, as she mostly stayed to herself. Her quills were a deep maroon, like autumn leaves, with her pupils a fiery red. She wore indigo boots with white stripes on them, jean shorts, and a pink tube tank top, with an indigo vest overtop. She was also one of the few members of this group to wear eyeshadow, hers being a striking lavender in color. She also had white gloves with spikes on them, as well as spiked bracelets around her wrists.

Emily took Stella two houses down, where a rounded object covered in abstract haphazard D.I.Y. canvas rest just out front, where it didn't just an hour ago.

"What's this?" questioned Stella, knowing full well what might be under the sheet, but feigning ignorance for pleasantries.

“Can’t say right now,” replied Emily. “Gotta wait for Lyla and Vicki first.”

Emily looked around.

“...Hey, where are Lyla and Vicki?”

Just then they noticed two figures racing down the street, one of them hovering just above the ground. As the figures got closer, Stella and Emily noticed it as a cheetah and a crow, rapidly approaching. As they got even closer, the cheetah slid to a stop just in front of the others, while the crow flew face first into a telephone pole. Everyone winced.

"Ooh, you okay, Vicki?" asked a concerned Stella.

"I- I'm fine!" said the timid crow, holding her head, dizzy. "Just a small bump, is all."

"I'll trust you on that, Victoria." Stella then replied.

Victoria is a shy, mild-mannered crow. Shorter than the rest, she wore a pristine white dress overtop her black feathers, though now its formerly spotless appearance has taken on dirt, grime, and a small bit of snow from the wintery ground. She doesn't seem to notice, or care, though. She's spacey - appropriately keeping her head in the clouds and rarely focusing on the situations at hand. Her hair feathers are always frazzled, despite her keeping them in a ponytail, and her boots are as black as her feathers, making them almost invisible unless you're focused on them. She also wore, on a chain around her neck, a small yellow heart-shaped gemstone, burning with a small flame to match, kept inside a small iron cage. Supposedly, in the time she’s owned it, Vicki has never seen the flame go out. 

"Probably shoulda warned ya about the pole, Vic. Sorry!" Said the cheetah in an oddly chipper tone.

"Yeah, maybe you should have, Lyla. She could have gotten seriously hurt!" Stella yelled

"Don't yell at her, Stella! I'm fine!" said Vicki in response.

Lyla is an upbeat, chipper cheetah with a heart of gold and balls of steel, despite being a girl. She will charge into any situation and will not stop until she either saves the day, or gets so hurt she has to retreat. She's impulsive, sporty, and VERY friendly, but has a fear of heights. She's also somewhat inattentive, often not realizing the true gravity of a situation. She wears a navy blue sports bra and sport shorts, as well as sneakers in the same color. Her short, manic hair is a rich, creamy brown, that falls overtop the rest of her bright yellow fur, and her eyes are a deep, rich blue that almost pierces into your very soul. She smiled, rubbing the back of her head in a bashful manner.

"You know I worry about you, Vicki," Stella said. "I just don't want you to-"

"I get it, mom. You don't have to lecture me, I'm fine," replied Vicki in response.

"Now's not the time for arguing, you three!" exclaimed Emily. "We can worry about this later - I have something to show you all."

"I take it it's underneath that car-shaped cloth?" Stella pointed.

"I told you not to peek, you jerk," Emily teased.

"Oh yeah, sure, I'll just NOT look at the biggest thing on the street right now. Sure. That sounds reasonable." Stella jokingly replied.

"Alright, I get it!" Emily jeered. "You've made your point."

"Alright, so what's under the cloth? Better be something good," Stella asked. "If I find out you bought a damn mom car, I'm going to be most displeased-"

"Don't worry, princess," Emily teased, "I know your taste in cars is very exquisite."

"It's a symbol of EXPRESSION!" Stella yelled.

"So you've told me a thousand times," Emily responded, rolling her eyes so hard they could drive down the mile street to Starlight Edge and back. "Don't worry - I picked out my favorite. And it should be one you'd enjoy."

Emily grabbed the cloth, said "I present to you:", and yanked it off with force, revealing a red Mitsubishi Eclipse sedan, with a vanity plate reading "VELS"

"VELS?" questioned Stella.

"It's our initials," responded Emily. "Vicki, Emily, Lyla, Stella. V, E, L, S."

"Chaos, why didn't I pick a name with a better initial?" joshed Stella, snickering. "Like Andromeda, or Aurora?"

"Oh yeah, because 'VEAL' is SO much better-" Emily teased.

"At least it's a real word!" yelled Stella in response.

"Whatever," brushed Emily. "So, you guys wanna go to the shops, and take this puppy for a spin?" She said, twirling a keychain on her index finger.

"YEAH!" Lyla, Stella, and Vicki all cheered in unison.

"Great! Let's go!" Emily exclaimed, excited.

Emily hit a button on her keychain revealing possibly the coolest thing about her new car - It was a convertible.

Everyone's eyes lit up brighter than the moon.

"Wait," Stella puzzled, "would putting the top down really be a good idea? It's January."

"Well, it's not snowing right now, is it?" Emily responded.

"Hmm, fair enough."

They all jumped into seats - Emily took the driver's side, as she's the only one legally allowed to drive; Stella took the passenger's side; Lyla sat behind Emily; and Vicki sat behind Stella. With everyone seated, Emily put the key in the ignition, turned it, and sped off down Parker Street into Starlight Edge.

It was a cold January day in Starlight Edge - the town had just been hit with 6 inches of snow just a few days before, and the town itself lit up brighter than ever before with the reflective snow on the ground. The small town adores its winters, having wonderful celebrations with each one. Just in from Parker St. is the shopping district, starting with Saturn Blvd., the biggest street in shopping in Starlight Edge by far, with stores, fast food restaurants, and even the Hogpine Mall, still kicking despite the decline in malls all over the world. Stella likes dropping in from time to time to pick up a CD or 2. After the shopping district is the residential district, where the citizens of Starlight Edge, well, reside. There's a few small shops in here - small mom and pop shops, convenience stores, bars, and some more fast food joints, but most of the space is taken up by housing. And just beyond the residential district is where the tourism takes charge - on the far East edge of town lies a renowned observatory, public pools, springs, parks, forms of entertainment like sporting fields, amusement parks and arcades, and beyond even ALL OF THAT lies the ever famous Starlight's Edge. Though that's MILES away from the town for the safety of its citizens, of course.

As the red Mitsubishi Eclipse pulls into town, the question arises among its passengers: Where to first?

"First things first, I should REALLY pick up Vimu," Stella said first. "I wanna have him with me, and make sure he's okay!"

"Then I wanna go to the bar!" Vicki yelled.

"Are you even old enough to drink?" Lyla asked, half joking.

"Oh, I'm not interested in alcohol!" Vicki responded. "I wanna swindle some suckers at darts and billiards! It'll be fun!"

"After that I wanna go to RCS Field on the East End," said Lyla. "My 1200 meter record is 25:58, and I wanna see if I can beat it!"

"Good luck with that!" scoffed Emily. "The only person who can run 1200 meters faster than 25 seconds is Sonic himself!"

"You don't know that!" yelled Lyla in response.

"Okay, but before you do that, I wanna buy CDs at the Hogpine Mall!" Stella butted in. "RCS Field is on the other side of town! It'd be a long drive there and back!"

"Stella, it'd be far quicker to get your CDs on the way back," Emily said. "If we're going to the far side of town anyways, better to get it out of the way as early as possible."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Stella said. "After, then."

"And then after all that we can get some fast food and go home," said Emily. "Sound good to you guys?

The car said "Yeah!" in unison.

"Great, then that's our day. Hope you're all ready!"

"I know I am!" said Stella.

"In it to win it!" said Lyla.

"I'm ready!" Vicki chimed in.

And with that, thier day had truly begun.

- - -

Thier first destination was Clysedale Care Clinic on Stellar St., the street Stella got her name from. The clinic takes care of all manner of creatures, from Chao, to Wisp. They're very trustworthy, with plenty of glowing reviews, which is why Stella has enlisted thier services for a while now.

Emily pulls the Eclipse up front, and Stella gets out.

"Wait here, guys," Stella said. "I'll go in alone."

She walked in the door, and the bell rang to signal her presence. Upon walking up to the counter, she was greeted by one of the Clysedale siblings - Ezrieal.

"Welcome to Clysedale Care Clinic!" They say in that customer service tone. "What can I do for you today?"

"Hi, Ez!" says Stella. "Is Theo in today? I'm here to pick up Vimu."

"Ah, of course! Let me call them out!" Ez says, before disappearing into the back. After a few seconds of muffled shouting Stella couldn't understand, a tall figure emerged from the back. They had glasses and brown hair, and just kind of looked tired all the time. His eyes quickly looked to Stella, seeming to know exactly what she was thinking.

"You're here to pick up your Chao, yes?" They said in a sleepy tone.

"Y- Yes, sir." Stella stammered, slightly intimidated. Dr. Theo always gave her a weird feeling.

"Let me get him for you then," He replied, disappearing into the back.

After a few seconds, they re-emerged with a white robotic chao with a screen for a face.

"Vimu!" Stella shouted, and gave him a big hug. "Oh, I'm glad to see you're okay!" Vimu made a cute little chime in response.

"Your Chao was a tad bit… unorthodox for us," Dr. Theo said, "But he appears to be perfectly healthy. No slowdown, no clutter, no viruses. One of the healthiest we've ever seen."

"Thank you for your services, Dr. Theo!" Stella exclaimed. "How much do I owe you?"

"The standard fee, my dear," Dr. Theo replied. "30 Rings an hour."

She paid the fee - 2,160 Rings. The price was steep, but it was her own fault for not coming to get her Chao sooner.

Theo did some counting, gave a satisfactory nod, and put the rings in the register on the front desk. "Once again, it has been a pleasure doing business with you, Miss Stella."

"I'm just glad the work you do here is so sublime!" Stella said. "Thank you!"

"Any time, my dear. Do come back if you require our services again."

"Of course! You guys are the best in town! Have a good day!"

"You too, Miss Stella."

With Vimu in hand, Stella walked out of the clinic, and got back into the car. Lyla and Vicki immediately greeted Vimu with pets and treats.

"Weird group of folks, those guys," Emily made an off-handed remark.

"Yeah, but they do good work, though," Stella replied. "They're not hurting anyone, so I don't judge."

"They've got some odd vibes about them, though," Emily said.

"Oh, I'm sure it's nothing, Emily," Stella assured as Emily pulled out from the clinic and got back on the road. "Where to next?"

"Mighty Bar & Grill," Emily said. "Vicki's request."

Vicki pumped her fist in response.

That would take a trip to the residential district, which, like most things in this town, was relatively uneventful. After arriving at Mighty Bar & Grill, on the corner of Calmac St. and Griffith Rd., the band of four went in. Lyla, Stella, and Emily sat at the bar - Vicki had other plans.

"Don't you think it's a bit early to get sloshed, ladies?" the barkeep, a British mouse with the nametag Carrie queried.

"We're not here for alcohol," Emily responded. "These 2 are underage, and I'm driving these idiots."

"What? I'm 21!" Stella interjected. "I just personally abstain."

"Fair enough," replied Carrie, pulling out a glass. "What'll it be?"

"You got any sports drinks?" said Lyla.

"I'll take a sparkling water," said Stella.

"Orange juice for me," said Emily.

"Very well," Carrie responded. "It should be ready in a few minutes. In the meantime, have some fun!"

Which is what Vicki was already in the process of doing. She was haggling as many patrons as you could ask for at 10 in the morning to play her at various games, claiming she could beat them with her eyes closed. She'd even take bets - sometimes up to 500 Rings! Her strategy was foolproof - deliberately missing the first few shots, but then cleaning house after turn 3 or so. Darts was easy - with a steady aim, and enough precision, she could hit the bullseye or triple 20 every time. Pool was a bit more difficult, requiring a bit more skill to be able to handily win without sight. But Vicki's been at this for years - she's studied the slight variances in every pool ball, being able to pinpoint each ball without even knowing what color they are. Sure, for every 5 wins at pool, she had at least one loss. But that was the thrill of the game to her.

After getting thier drinks, Stella, Lyla, and Emily all went off to do thier own separate things. Stella perused the various arcade games at the bar, playing Sega classics like Hang-On, and House of the Dead with Lyla joining in. And when she wasn't playing with Stella, Lyla was indulging in some of the other games at the bar, namely the basketball hoop. She missed nearly all her shots, but she had fun at least. Emily, however, just sat at the bar, drinking her orange juice and scrolling social media on her phone. She didn't want to get too involved into anything, because she had to drive these dorks across town when this was over.

By noon, Stella and Lyla had gotten bored of the activities, and Vicki was finishing up her escapades, beating some poor sucker at Darts 501 for the fifth time in a row. He wasn't even drunk.

"Come ON!" he said, agitated. "There's no WAY this is legit! You HAVE to be cheating!"

"Maybe it's just a skill issue, Charles," Vicki said to the patron, spinning a dart on her finger. "I'll be taking those 50 Rings you wagered now."

"NOT till I have proof you ain't cheatin'!" Charles yelled in response.

"Forget it, man!" another patron yelled from across the bar. "She's legit. Just give her the money."

Charles, reluctantly, reached into his pockets and gave Vicki 50 Rings.

"Thanks for being such a good sport, Charlie," Vicki said smugly. Charles just glared in response.

"Yo, Vic!" Lyla said to her. "You almost finished yet? We've been here almost 2 hours now!"

"Yeah, I'm done," replied Vicki. "Let's go, then! Don't keep me waiting, slowpokes!"

As they went to leave the bar and reenter the car, they had a small conversation.

"What's got you so cocky?" Stella asked.

"Feeling like I'm on top of the world with all those victories!" Vicki responded.

Vicki accidentally walked into the door on her way out, causing the rest of the group to wince, though Stella winced the hardest.

As they got out of the bar, Stella asked Vicki "You okay?"

"I'm fine!" Vicki retorted. "That was all part of my scheme, anyways…"

"So how much did you make out with this time?" Emily inquisited.

"Meh, only around 850," Vicki responded, disappointed. "We gotta come back here after 8pm when everyone's sloshed - I'll make out with plenty for sure!"

Vicki giggled to herself, and everyone else smiled and joined in, laughing and giggling all the way to the car, where they then headed to RCS Field on the East side of town.

RCS Field was a hybrid football and track field, where the local football teams regularly practiced. While physically large, the field itself drew few visitors, namely due to the small size of the town, and the fact that the only games that really took place here were local anyways.

Lyla didn't really care much about the local football team - she was banned for being too violent as a kid anyways. What she cared most about was the track.

Olympic sized at 400 total meters around, Lyla practices her speed here many times a month to ensure she's in top shape, still trying to beat her best time - A little over 25 seconds for 3 laps around. She's tied it 3 times since she set it, but never passed it. She's hoping today she can break it wide open, though at this point, even a millisecond faster would be enough for her.

The track was in pretty good shape, as the architects had the foresight to put a glass roof overtop the field, so that the players would be unaffected by the weather, though Lyla did have to brush a small bit of snow off the track, as it had started snowing by this point in the day..

Lyla lined up at the starting area, with Stella on stopwatch duty, and Emily and Vicki on the sidelines for moral support. Stella was just glad she wasn't the one running.

"What are you gonna do when you beat it?" asked Stella. "You'd need some kind of a celebration."

"Think I might load up on lasagna and pig out for a bit." Lyla replied. "But that's IF it's possible."

"Alrighty then," Stella said. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

"GO!" Stella shouted as she started the timer. And with that, Lyla was off to the races, literally. She had a bit of a rough start, as she typically does, but after a few minutes, she put her arms at her sides with her fists in front, and ran as fast as she could, completing 3 laps in 31 seconds.

Lyla was a bit upset, but she didn’t let it get to her - her first run wasn’t going to beat her record anyways. So she lined back up at the start, and ran the track again, and again, and again, over and over, slowly but surely closing the gap. 30 seconds. Then 29. 28 seconds. 27…

While Lyla was running, Stella began shivering. It was the middle of winter, and the thickest jacket she packed was a leather jacket that didn’t even fully cover her torso.

“Brrr! Is anyone else feeling a bit chilly?” She said to the rest of the group. Vimu huddled up next to her to try and warm her up.

“Maybe you should have packed for the weather, then,” Emily said, pulling out a puffy jacket.

“I don’t feel cold!” shouted Vicki.

“Here, take this then.” Emily threw a wool blanket at Stella. Stella nodded as thanks.

Lyla kept running, over and over running 3 laps around the track, closing the gap ever further, down to a 26:01, then 25:98.

“Just a little bit more!” Lyla exclaimed. “I think I can do this!”

Lyla lined back up at the start, determined to run as fast as she ever had. Stella yelled “Go!”, and Lyla was off, running at speeds she hadn't reached before. However, halfway through her second lap, she tripped on her feet, falling to the ground. However, making a miraculous recovery, she rolled into a ball, got back up, and finished the rest of her laps, finishing with a final time of…

“25:5…9.” Stella read off the stopwatch.

“59!?” yelled Lyla. “I tripped and fell, and was able to miss my record by a single millisecond!?”

“Well, this rounds up to 2 places, and milliseconds are counted in thousandths,” replied Stella, “So it could be anywhere from 1 to 10 milliseconds.”

“So? I missed my record by 10 milliseconds! By tripping and falling!” Lyla screamed. “Can I get a redo on that? Please?”

“Sorry,” Emily butted in. “You’re out of time for today. It’s 3 pm - The sun’s almost setting.”

“Damn it!” Lyla yelled. “But I’m coming back to tackle this tomorrow! I know I can do it!”

“Yeah, but we have other things to do today,” Emily replied. “Sorry.”

Everyone slowly walked back to the car, Lyla upset, but regaining her composure shortly after. Getting back in the car, they realized it was snowing harder than before. Not snowstorm levels, but definitely more than the light sprinkle of earlier in the day.

Emily drove the car back to the west side of town, but stopped at a grocery store instead of the Hogpine Mall.

“You didn’t clear this destination by us beforehand,” Stella said. “We cleared our destinations with you.”

“I know,” said Emily. “I just need to pick up a few things real quick. I’ll only be a second, I promise.”

And with that, she got out of the car and went inside. Stella, Lyla, and Vicki were left in the car to do whatever they wanted, though for some reason, Emily left the top down on the car. After 20 minutes, Emily still wasn’t back yet, so everyone was just doing their own thing. Lyla was playing a Game Boy Advance, Vicki was reading a book, and Stella was listening to music. Suddenly though, something caught Stella’s eye - someone shivering in a back alley. With the snow, Stella knew they wouldn’t last long out here, and considering the person was shivering in an alley, they likely didn’t have any place to go. Stella looked around for some way she could help, and noticed a taco truck on the other side of the street. After quickly instructing Vimu to stay put, Stella began to hop over the car door, when Lyla took notice of her.

“Where are you going?” she questioned.

“I’m just going to do something real quick,” Stella responded. “I’ll be right back.”

And with that, she hopped out of the car, and ran to the taco truck.

“Ahh, if it isn’t my favorite customer!” the truck owner said to her. “How many will it be, Stella?”

“Five, please, Donnie!” Stella replied.

“And I take it 3 more for your friends?” Donnie joked.

“No, just 5,” Stella said with a giggle.

“Coming right up!” Donnie said. “They’ll be done in just a minute, so don’t go anywhere!”

“OK!” Stella responded. In the wait she was able to get a longer look at the stranger in the alleyway - They appeared to be a female wolf with black, matted fur. She was covered in dirt and snow, and shivering from the cold. Her clothes; a red flannel, black jean shorts and combat boots, and white fingerless gloves, were tattered and torn, not nearly in enough shape to survive the winter. She had a gray muzzle and yellow eyes, and looked clearly distraught, almost on the verge of tears. Stella felt really bad for this woman.

“OK, kiddo!” Donnie said, startling Stella. “Here’s your tacos!”

“I’m, uh, still 21 years old, but thank you!” she said in response.

“Just because you’re 21 doesn’t mean you’re not a ‘kiddo’, kiddo,” responded Donnie. “25 rings please!”

Stella paid the 25 rings, and proceeded to move to the other side of the street, slowly. Lyla caught a glimpse of Stella, and noticed her going into the alleyway.

What are you doing, Stella? Lyla thought to herself.

Stella approached the mystery girl slowly, so as not to startle her. She was whimpering, rubbing her hands together next to a small fire for warmth. As Stella got close enough to the girl, she began to take notice of her, at which point Stella outstretched her hand and offered a taco.

“Here,” Stella said. “Take this.”

The girl did not. Instead she growled, bit Stella’s hand, and sprinted away on all fours, behind the store and out of sight of Stella.

Weird girl, Stella thought to herself, as she walked back to the car.

“So what happened?” Lyla asked Stella as she hopped back into the Eclipse.

“Not much,” Stella lied. “I bought tacos though!”

“Sick!” Lyla responded.

“Your hand!” Vicki pointed out, noticing the bite mark. “What happened?”

“I saw a homeless girl in the alley, and offered her a taco, but she bit me and ran away,” Stella answered.

“You gotta be more careful around strange girls, Stella,” Emily responded, exiting the store. “Is it infected? Do I need to take you to the hospital?”

“I’ll probably be fine,” Stella responded. “Just gotta wash it and bandage it.”

“Nuh-uh. Not good enough for me,” Emily responded. “I’m taking you to the hospital.”

“Alright, fine,” Stella responded. “I bought you a taco!”

“Sick” Emily said as she took it, and began the drive to the hospital.

- - -

“See, Em? I’m fine!” Stella said as they left the hospital on the east side of the residential district It was just about sunset now after everything that had happened throughout the day.

“Better to know for sure than to assume,” Emily retorted.

“But I’m going to be fine,” Stella said, pointing finger guns at Emily with her newly bandaged hand.

“Be more careful next time,” Emily scolded with a sigh.

“Whatever,” Stella says in response. Vimu made a happy noise.

Emily looked up into the sky. “It’s getting late,” She said.

“Maybe we should be heading home?” Vicki added.

“Good idea! My legs could use a break from all this walking!” Lyla chimed in, stretching.

“Were we out all day?” Stella questioned. “Maybe we should make tomorrow a bit more low-key.”

“Good idea, ladies,” Emily chimed, pulling her car keys from her pocket, pleasant with how the day went on. “Get in. Let’s go home.”

The drive home was less talkative and less chaotic than the rest of the day had been. Everyone was mostly just talking about some of the things that happened today, and new interests of thiers - but softly so as not to disturb Vicki, who had fallen asleep in the back seat. Suddenly, the topic turned to sports, and Stella tuned out, looking out the side of the convertible car that still had its top down. She began looking at her bandaged up hand in the fading sunlight, and for a brief second thought she caught a faint glimpse of the mystery girl again, but when she turned to look again, the girl was gone, almost as if she was never there.

“You okay, Stel’?” Emily asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Stella sheepishly said in response. “Must be a bit tired, is all.”

“I feel you there,” said Emily.

By the time they had arrived home, the sun had fully set. Checking her phone, Stella noticed it was 5pm, which made sense, as it was late January. Everyone had gotten out of the car, and was about to head inside and turn in for the night, when Stella looked up and noticed something.

A meteor shower! Here! The Starlight’s Edge would probably be a better place to view it, but nobody wanted to miss a single second. Light shows like this were a rare occurrence, especially meteor showers and shooting stars! Everyone began “ooh”ing and “ahh”ing at the pretty lights and colors, and quickly began pointing out pretty stars. Stella even pulled out her telescope, The Constellation as she called it, to get a better view.

“I like that one!” Lyla said, pointing to a star that was shooting especially fast.

“That one’s very pretty!” Stella said, pointing at one of the brighter stars in the sky.

“I think that one’s pretty cool,” Emily said pointing at a large star.

“That one’s not even moving!” Stella responded.

“Should we wake Vicki up?” Lyla inquired.

“No, let her sleep,” Stella replied.

“Uh, guys?” Emily asked, slightly concerned and pointing at a particularly large star.

“Yeah, we get it, Em. You like the large one,” retorted Lyla.

“No, I think she’s onto something,” Stella said, now worried. “Is it getting bigger?”

“Hit the deck!” Emily yelled, causing everyone to scatter into different directions. Which was a good call, as the “star” crash landed in front of the Eclipse, tearing open the pavement and waking Vicki with the noise.

“What’s going on?” Vicki slurred, bleary eyed.

“We don’t know!” Stella yelled.

“Stay calm, Stella!” Emily commanded.

“Looks like… a person?” Lyla noticed.

To which she appeared to be right - as what has just crashed into the pavement is no ordinary debris or meteor. Sure, it LOOKED almost otherworldly, as it sparked on its way down, but what remained in the crash site looked far too…

…Mobian…

To Be Continued...

#hunting the missing link #act 1 #prologue #the cold boot-up #mainline story

[blairsanne]

Stay Out of Trouble

For the Deano Bingo 2022 event!

Prompts: Iolaus - "Who did this?" Young Hercules - Iolaus x OC 1536 words

Summary: Iolaus goes looking for Althea and finds her dealing with a problem she didn't cause. He struggles to find a way to tell her how he feels.

CW: Fluffy fluff.

Iolaus was wandering the Academy halls after their evening meal, looking for Althea. 

She had disappeared sometime during the chaos of everyone going off to their own free-time activities, but he’d been hoping to ask her out for a walk before it got too dark out.

He’d liked her ever since she’d come to the Academy, but there had been some misunderstandings and other people in the way at various points. Now they’d been friends for a while, and he didn’t know if trying to tell her he liked her would ruin that.

Friends could go on walks alone, right? No big deal.

He finally found her alone in the dean’s office of all places, sorting through scrolls that were all over the floor. She was frowning softly to herself as she scanned them, moving them about in some pattern he couldn’t discern.

He watched her push some of her long brown hair from her face, thinking how nice it looked when it was down like that, instead of tied back into a braid.

“If you’re looking for the answers to next week’s tests,” Iolaus quipped, leaning in the doorway. “Fiducius doesn’t keep them just lying around.”

Althea looked up, the sight of Iolaus’s carefree grin making her even more stressed somehow. “No, everything fell off the shelf and now I have to try to get it all back in order.”

Iolaus chuckled and joined her, starting to sort through the scrolls she hadn’t gotten to. “You’re just as clumsy as I can be.” “I’m not the one who-” She stopped herself short and sighed, then shook her head. “Nevermind.”

He frowned, putting a few scrolls back in what was probably not the right place. “What do you mean?” “Oh, it doesn’t matter.” “You’re not the one who what? Made this mess?” “I-” She sighed. “I wasn’t, but I was the one Cheiron saw when he heard the commotion. The others hid, so Cheiron scolded me to clean it up, and… I am.”

Iolaus crossed his arms, nostrils flaring. “What about the others?” She shrugged. “They laughed and left?” “Who?” “Don’t worry about it.”

He flashed a charming smile and tapped her shoulder with the back of his hand. “C’mon, tell me.”

“Nah, it doesn’t matter. Look, we’re basically done.” Althea shoved the rest of the scrolls back onto the shelf, mostly sure they were in their proper places.

“No, it does matter.” He searched her eyes, as though he’d be able to read her mind. “Who did this?” “Don’t worry about-” “They need to be held accountable-” “I’m not going to tell you!”

Iolaus cocked his head, his face contorting in hurt and confusion at her frustrated tone. “Why not?” “Because I don’t want you making a big deal out of it.” “But whoever made this mess should be the one cleaning it up. And they should know not to let other cadets take the blame for their mistakes!” “Well- yes- but, still.”

He took a step forward and placed his hands on her shoulders, staring her down.

“Tell me.” “No. If I tell you, then you’ll go get into a fight with them.”

“Oh, you don’t think I can handle them?” His offense swiftly faded and he shrugged, pulling his hands back as he faked confidence. “I’ll bring Herc and Jason, then.”

“Iolaus, I don’t want you getting in trouble.” “I don’t care if I get in trouble. They should know-” “But if you get in trouble, you might get expelled, and then I won’t get to see you anymore.”

Iolaus blinked, confused that Althea was worried about that sort of thing. Was it really that important to her that he was around? The transgressions of the other cadets were forgotten as he watched her cheeks flush.

She looked away, trying to play it off. “I-I mean, if you get expelled, then you’ll go to jail, right?”

His shoulders slumped slightly and he nodded, looking down. “Yeah,” he agreed quietly, voice laced with shame. “Iolaus the screw up.”

She reached out, instinctively touching his arm to console him. “No, don’t say that. That’s not how I think of you.”

Head still tilted down, he looked up at her through his blonde lashes. “How do you think of me?”

She swallowed, heart in her throat as his gaze seemed to pin her in place.

“I think… you’re quite heroic.” “Really?”

“Sure. You’re always showing up when I’m all alone and need help. Like… the day we met.”

He let out a small huff, remembering how he’d saved her from a bandit on the road the day in question.

“Just doing what anyone would do.” “No.” She shook her head. “Not just anyone. In fact, most wouldn’t. But that’s what makes you… Iolaus.”

“Me,” he repeated self-deprecatingly. “Yes, you. Someone who doesn’t think anything of helping someone. A hero.”

“I’m not so great, really. Just- The idea of bad things happening to you-” He shook his head, making his blond curls fall into his face. “I don’t like it.”

She reached up to tuck some of the long tresses behind one of his ears. He shivered at the featherlight touch that lit up the nerve endings in his scalp.

“Well… thank you.” She licked her lips when he met her soft gaze with one that was hard to read. She hugged herself. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

He tried to temper his smile, but it only ended up crooked, his cheek dimpling as he stepped even closer. “I’m really glad you came to the Academy.”

“Me too.” She could barely breathe as she stared up at him. It wasn’t as though he’d never stood so close to her before, but the look he was giving her reminded her of all the times she’d watched him hit on girls at Kora’s Inn. “So don’t get in trouble, okay?” “Okay,” he agreed, laughing under his breath. He leaned forward, and she felt frozen in place.

They were interrupted by a sudden voice in the doorway. “Ah! I see you’re done cleaning up the mess,” Cheiron praised, voice just a bit louder than it needed to be.

Iolaus took a step back, away from Althea, as he rubbed his hands on his thighs.

“And with Iolaus’s help.” “Er- yes.” Althea nodded. “He took pity on me.”

Cheiron nodded in approval. “Well done, cadet.”

“Oh- well- you know-” Iolaus let out a nervous laugh. “Faster working together.” Cheiron nodded, then looked between the two of them. “Best move along if your business is done. Students shouldn’t be socializing in the dean’s office.” “Right! Uh- right.” “We’ll go,” Althea agreed.

Iolaus rubbed his hands on his pants again as Cheiron left them alone, then gestured with his thumbs toward the door.

“Actually, I was gonna go for a walk. Would you wanna come?” “I’d love to.”

He met her sweet smile with a bright grin. “Great!”

He led her out, trying to think of how to tell her how he felt. Just now he’d worked up the courage to try to kiss her before their interruption, but with the moment gone he was suddenly at a loss.

Fidgety and distracted, Iolaus was unusually quiet as they made their way out of the building. Althea took a deep breath, enjoying the cool air as the sun slowly set.

“Iolaus?” “Mm?” He turned to face her as they walked through the gate to wander the perimeter of the grounds as they sometimes did.

She reached out and took one of his hands in hers, and he watched with confusion as she manipulated it until they were holding hands, fingers interlaced. 

“Thanks for before,” she said, continuing to walk at his side. “I don’t want to be here without you.”

He squeezed her hand in reply. “Ah, it’s nothing.”

He glanced her way as they continued, wondering how she could be so relaxed after taking his hand like that. Was it just a friendly gesture?

He slowed to a stop. “Say, Allie?”

She raised a brow at the nickname as she turned to face him. “Yoley?”

He let out a small laugh. “Hey, only my uncle calls me that.”

She hummed in amusement. “Well, only you call me Allie.”

His eyes flickered from hers to her lips and back, and he took a step closer. “Let’s keep it that way.” “Sure.” She nodded, then closed her eyes as he placed his free hand on her shoulder, leaning in.

His kiss was tentative, soft and slow on her lips until she kissed back. She felt his lips curling up as he broke it, and she opened her eyes to see him smiling back at her.

“And we’ll come up with a better nickname for you to call me,” he added.

She laughed in surprise. He let out a humming laugh as well, feeling a sort of lightness to have had his advances well received.

“Sure,” she agreed, looking up into his baby blues. “Just stay out of trouble, okay?”

He winked at her and started walking again. “I don’t get into trouble.”

“Oh?” “Trouble finds me,” he started, making his case to her as they continued on. “Totally different.”

---

A/N: I have a whole Google doc of chapter ideas for this OC/pairing but I haven't gotten to write much for it. I thought it would be fun to use Althea for this challenge but I don't consider this interaction canon to that story (which I may or may not even write).

Tags: Everything - @the-poldarkian @i-did-not-mean-to @the-butterfly-blues Dean - @feeweeeee @ichoosechoasandbeingqueer @laurfilijames

As always please let me know if you'd like to be added or removed to any tags. ♥

#deanobingo2022 #iolaus #young iolaus #iolaus x oc #young hercules #dean o'gorman #dean o’gorman

[emotionalcadaver]

WIP Whenever

Thank you for the tag @eclecticwildflowers!

Tagging @areyenotfondofmelobster @scaryscarecrows @roofgeese @confidentandgood @emilynightshade89 @shelbydelrey @moral-terpitude and anyone else interested!

Until Time Stops Chapter 2: Keep Time

(Raymond Leon x OC)

“Ray. They’ve got something.”

He jumped lightly as her fingers curled around his shoulder, head snapping up from where he’d been sitting with his hands clasped in front of him, pressed to his lips in contemplation as he stared at his computer screen. In a flash he was locking his computer and standing, following her over to where Kors and Jaeger were.

“This was tonight.”

They crowded around the monitor, watching the video of a car, the features of the driver clear and familiar.

“He’s only an hour ahead of us,” Raymond took off at nearly a jog towards the front doors, with Rose, Jaeger, and Kors trailing behind him.

“Follow us,” she ordered a few other Timekeepers, and they rose swiftly from their desks, all of them headed out to the parking lot to their cars. Taking her usual seat in the passenger side, she fiddled with her braid.

“You okay?” Raymond asked, throwing the car into drive and turning onto the road to New Greenwich.

“Hm? Oh. Yeah. I just hate going to those big houses that the rich people own, yanno? Makes me feel…” she searched for the correct word. “...Icky.”

Raymond hummed in agreement. “I’ll do the talking, don’t worry. We’ll be in and out. All we’ve got to do is grab Salas and get him back to base.”

“I hope that he doesn’t resist. Rich people get so pissy when their dumb fancy vases get broken.”   

He huffed out a laugh. “We’ve got backup.”

“Ah yes. Jaeger and Kors can shield the vases while the rest of us chase Salas around the house. Perfect plan.”

“Actually I was thinking that we’d just blame any damaged property on Kors.”

She almost choked on her gum with her laugh. “I like your plan better.”

He chuckled, reaching one hand across, carefully entwining her fingers with his.

A Remedy for Sorrow Chapter 1: Guilt

Shivering Soldier x OC

The ladder creaked precariously under Daisy’s feet as she pulled herself up it, one hand gripping firmly to the wood while the other firmly clutched a stack of books to her chest. Getting to the top of the ladder, she ran her fingers along the spines of the books lining the shelf, carefully sliding each book she was holding into its proper place. Clamoring back down slowly, she scrubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand, fighting off the weary heaviness that pulled at them.

She hadn’t slept well the night before. Hadn’t been sleeping well at all, as a matter of fact. No since Dunkirk.

Whenever she closed her eyes, it was to dream of planes diving down towards her from the sky, or the flash of fire as oil in the water caught ablaze. The screams of men burning alive all around her. 

Heaving exhaustedly, she shook her head, wandering back to the front desk to collect another stack of books that needed to be returned to their proper place in the stacks. 

“Daisy,” mumbled old Beryl Wilkins, standing at the front desk, her purse clutched in her hands and coat already half shrugged on. “Are you sure that you’re alright closing on your own, dear?” the older woman asked, blinking at her from behind a pair of thick, round glasses.

“Yes, Mrs. Wilkins, I’m sure,” Daisy said kindly.

“You have your keys?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And you’ll remember to shut off all the lights?”

“Of course,” honestly. It wasn’t like she’d never closed before. Though it had admittedly been a little while. But still. She would have thought she’d been working at the library long enough for her to be trusted enough to not burn the place down.  

“And you’re sure that you’ll be alright, here all on your own? Oh, goodness…maybe I should just stay…”

“No, no,  ma’am, please, it’s fine. I’ll be alright. It’s just for another hour, and you know that almost no one comes in here at this time of day anyway. Go enjoy your evening.”

Beryl eyed her for a minute before nodding. “Yes, yes. Alright. Just be careful dear. Are you sure that you don’t want me to have one of the local boys walk you home?”

“I think that I can manage, Mrs. Wilkins,” Daisy said gently. “Have a good dinner with your husband.”

The little old lady looked down, suddenly bashful. Almost giddy. “Oh, I will. It’s our anniversary, you know.”

“Yes, ma’am, I remember,” she began to steer Beryl towards the door.

“Why aren’t you married yet, dear? Such a pretty young woman as you are?”

Oh, not this again. Daisy forced a smile onto her lips. “Just haven’t found the right guy, I suppose.”

“It’s too bad that you never got to meet my Harold,” Beryl said mournfully, shaking her head back and forth. “You two would have hit it off right away, I think.”

“I’m sure we would have,” Daisy said kindly, patting Beryl’s shoulder. Harold had died a few weeks into the war. She remembered. Beryl had been out for over a month, too distraught with grief to even be able to get out of bed. “You go have fun, now, okay?”

“Good-night, dear.”

“Good-night, ma’am,” she blew out a breath of quiet relief as the old woman finally hobbled out the door. She tried her best not to be too put off by Beryl’s insistent mothering. She knew that it came from a place of concern. But still, it was hard to get fully comfortable under it, having grown up with a woman who had been quite the opposite in her demeanor towards her children. Daisy prided herself on her independence and self sufficiency, and any challenges towards that just put her on edge.

Not to mention that the old woman was insistent on playing matchmaker to her younger, unmarried librarians. It had been lucky for her that Beryl had been so busy trying to find suitable matches for Ruth and Cora that she’d left her relatively alone during the time she’d been working at the library.

Apparently not anymore. Great. She would have to nip that one in the bud before it could get too far. The last thing she was interested in at the moment was Beryl shoving every last available man in town–which wasn’t actually that many anymore–at her. 

It didn’t help that she was still a bit raw from Henry having never turned up.

Really, she shouldn’t have been all that surprised. The circumstances that they’d met under hadn’t exactly been the best, and it wasn’t like he owed her anything. But still, it stung.

#wip whenever #my ocs

[nature-writes29]

Care | Kundavai x Vallavarayan Vanthyathevan

      "Kundavai! " Azlvarkkadian called out. Chendan Amudhan was carrying Devan. There were well inside the palace. After Azlvarkkadian had forced Poonkuzlali and Amudhan to take devan into the palace for more proper medication. Vanathi had seen them when they entered and had guided them through the most deserted palace seeing Vanthiyathewan's health.

      "Vani, Poonkuzlali, Amudhan, Azlvarkkadian? What are all of you doing here? " Kundavai said looking at them. Then she saw the figure which was covered in a cloth and was drowsed in blood. She raised her hand and slowly started to unravel the face.

      To her shock, it was the person she had held prison in her heart, the love of her life, Vallavarayan Vanthiyathewan. She just looked at him, dumbfounded. There was no smile, no playful look in his eyes. His whole body was still, sometimes churning because of the pain. She quickly kept two of her fingers understand his nose to see if he was still alive. She was able to make out the brief hot fumes coming from his nose. Tears brimmed her eyes as she took a sigh of relief. 'He is still Alive' she assured herself.

      "Akka? Akka? " Vanathi called out to her. Kundavai looked at Vanathi with fear in her eyes. "How- how did this happen" She questioned them. "He saved Chendan from being killed devi! " Poonkuzlali said. Kundavai took on look at her Devan as told them to follow her.

      "We must find a place where no one will enter...... " Kundavai started.    "Hmm what about your chamber? No one dares to go in there." Vanathi added.    "Yes we could do this.... But...... There will be many people visiting me in my chamber.... we can take him to my secret chamber... Which was to ise in an emergency.....No one will disturb him, no one will suspect, and the place is quite well hidden.... What do you all say" Kundavai said    Azlvarkkadian looked at others and said "I think this is the best option we have... Lead us there princess. "

      Kundavai hurried down different corridors, passageways with everyone on her tail. At last she opened a small door between two pillars. They entered her room, and she instructed them to keep him on the bed. Azlvarkkadian and Amudhan gently placed Devan on her bed.

      "Tell me from the start" Kundavai said as she rushed towards one of the cabinets.    "I and Amudhan were discussing about our future when we heard a blood curtelling scream from out side. When we went outside, we saw Devan laying on the ground surrounded by a pool of blood, with a dragger imbedded in his chest." Poonkuzlali said. As she said this, the muscles on Kundavai's face tightened. She looked as if she was on the verge of tears.    "Then? " Kundavai asked taking the ayurvedic ointments and medicines from one of the shelfs.    "We took him in and started to tend to him the best we can.. " Poonkuzlali began    "He said that he took the dragger to save me " Amudhan started..    "He said? " Kundavai asked    "Yes, he had gained consciousness for some time.. " As Amudhan said this Devan groaned out loud because of his pain.    "I just don't know how will I ever pay him back for this. " Amudhan said looking at Devan.

      "Ok... We will talk about this later... Vanathi escort them out of the palace.. If anyone find out that they were in.. It won't end well. I will let you all know about him and thanks a lot for bringing him here." Kundavai said with a weak smile as she sat beside Devan with the ayurvedic medicines.    "And you, Vanathi, come back later"

      She stared at them leaving the place. As she saw the door lock, she let herself loose a little. A few tears left her eyes but she quickly got herself together. 'I must patch him up first' she thought to herself.

      She slowly started to remove his armor. His inner shirt was drenched in blood. She was trained to do basic healing. She gently removed his shirt. There was a big ghash on his chest. She took one look at him and started to tend to it.

      He was wiggling a lot, along with whimpering a lot because of pain.    "Shhh" Kundavai said running her hands through his hair. She didn't like seeing him in this much pain. She felt like someone was twisting her heart as she saw him wince in pain. He then slowly opened his eyes.

      He felt like he was in heaven. One moment all he could feel was pain in his chest and the next moment, after he opened his eyes, there was a beautiful women in front of him. It was Kundavai. His head started to feel dizzy. Many questions surrounded him. 'Where was he? What is the princess doing here? What happened?' He tried to get up but she gently pushed him back.

      He looked at her with broad eyes. It looked like he had many questions to ask her. Just then he started to get up.    "Shh.... Don't get up. You are still unwell." Kundavai said as she kept her hands on his shoulders and gently pushed him back to his place.    "Where am I? " Devan asked flabbergasted by the princess's touch.    "You are in one of the secret chambers of mine. We had to bring to up here so no one would catch you... You are going to stay here for a while. " Kundavai said in a caring tone.

      He just stared at her. After sometime he said.    "But princess I kept your promise, I promised you that I will come back and I did. Didn't I? "    "Well yes, you had to come back right? You are still a prisoner in my heart right?" Kundavai said with a mischievous smile.    "Haan, how can even forget that? That's the reason when your Anna asked me to marry Maninelalai, I told him that-" Vanthyathevan looked at her, she looked sad at the mention of her Anna, but she quickly composed herself and said "That?" With a smile.    "After I have seen a full radiant full moon, how can I find a glow worm attractive?"    "And who would the moon be? "    "That's the same question your Anna asked me... And I- I told him your name." Devan answered, blushing a bit. Kundavai was still mending him as he said it.    "And what did my Anna had to say on this? "    "He called me a rascal and told me that there were many people who would die for your hand -"    "But there's only one person's hand that i would die for" Kundavai said giving Devan a side glance. Devan smiled broadly at this statement.

      He started to say something but instead started coughing out loud.    "Your throat must be dry.. I must have kept water with me... Wait a second" Kundavai said getting up but Devan suddenly grabbed her wrist.    "Please dont leave my side priye... " Devan said loosing his conciousness.          Kundavai just looked at him, dumbstruck. She knew that he was in pain and he wasn't in his right mind to think what he was saying or doing but - in a second he had grabbed her hand and had called her his priye.

      She sat again and started to run her hands through his hair. She bent near his face and said "Don't worry, I will never leave your side"

•••••~•••••~•••••~•••••~•••••~••••• ( A/N )

I hope that you guys liked this oneshot. I have had this idea in my mind for a long time. If you want to read more of my work, visit my Wattpad page. It has more stories there related to PS

Any suggestions and feedback appreciated.

∆ Requests Accepted ∆

_ All work is original. Do not copy _

Do not reuse without the author's permission.

#Vallavarayan Vanthyathevan #Kundavai #vanthiyathevan #arulmozhi varman #poonkuzhali #Vanathi #Nambi #Chendan Amudhan #Love #Hurt #Ps #Ps2 #VanthyathevanKundavai #Care #Wattpad #Original #Ayurveda #Stab #Wound

[graveycrd]

💚 GREEN HEART - what things make them feel comforted? hugs, kisses, food? 🔥 FIRE - do they have any self destructive tendencies? what habits do they have that hinder them from becoming their best self? 🌙 MOON - what is their greatest wish? how far are they willing to go for it?

GREEN HEART: touch is nice but not wholly necessary. it's kind of a luxury for him so if you DO use touch affectionately he is very easily pleased and calmed, with some minor exceptions*

food is always a solid way but if you cook it in front of him it's even better. doing something very small such as sharing your last of something without hesitation is a BIG DEAL and he will remember forever.

reminders of what old mentors might advise are comforting, especially if whoever is doing the reminding is making a good argument on said mentors behalf. like "what would silas say?" and then saying something he WOULD say is nice tbh.

FIRE: ooh uhhhhhh. he is very careless with his own life. he doesn't treat death the way normal living people should, with a proper measure of fear. you know how some people say they aren't afraid of death and it's like, sure, okay, and later it proves wrong when they face something crazy dangerous?

that isn't bod. he faces that danger and is reckless and it's highly likely people who love him have to shout at him and would be very angry that he is so selfish as to not think of them outside of himself. he's just too used to the idea of being dead only being the next chapter, given how he was raised.

as a kid this was often something silas had to remind bod of.. that he had a lot of living to do and to not take it for granted.

on a less serious note but still harmful in ways: he is messy. not in a gross way, like he doesn't have dishes piling up but then that's because he eats take out and hardly cooks and has a trash can full of empty take out boxes lol.

he struggles with hoarding to a small degree and collects lots of things that he sells in his shops eventually or says he will and then forgets about it because it's on some shelf in some house he forgot he got.

he tries not to be careless with money but has to be reminded that not everyone is as lucky as him when it comes to his businesses and what he has been given by others... so sometimes he needs A Talking To about not being a wasteful person and using his money for more than just buying old shit that might be haunted lol.

MOON: i think he just wants to feel like he did everything. like he truly LIVED his life. this is probably the only thing that can keep him grounded when it comes to his tendency to not fear death. i think he's also gotten to a place now where he craves others in his life and knows it means being mindful of what they want and need because if you love someone you want them to flourish.

like he wants to PLEASE the people he loves but he also wants to feel like he never wasted his life, especially considering how much silas and others pushed for him to be safe and happy as a kid. like what kind of jerk would he be to spit in the face of that effort and kindness by being lazy or too shy or scared to live life?

#headcanon #idk hm

[umgeorge]

If all f1 contracts were to end tomorrow and you could build a new grid where money wasn’t an object and there are no constraints on which drivers could go to each team (alpha tauri isn’t junior Red Bull, teams with Ferrari engines don’t need a Ferrari driver etc), what would your grid look like?

oh! hmm, that's a loaded one to think about, i suppose, but thank you for asking! needless to say, lewis and george would stay at merc. i would get rid of rbr and both of their drivers entirely, to be replaced by audi (as opposed to them taking over alfa), with mick and... hm, i guess i'll say bottas. i'm not vb's biggest fan, but i think he'd be a great teammate to mick who could teach him a lot. i would bring seb out of retirement to reap the rewards of his hard work at aston (very loud sobbing) and pair him with piastri. i think oscar deserves that mentorship and, while it's tempting to have smick as teammates, i wouldn't want competition to ruin their friendship y'know? plus i can just picture a slightly bemused seb taking a shine to the walking Mood that is oscar "the piastri" piastri as his teammate. i would promote ayumu iwasa and pair him with yuki at andretti motorsports, in place of alpha tauri. ayumu has extraordinary natural ability but not much experience in the feeder series yet, so while he'd need a teacher, maybe not someone with like a decade of experience in a top car who just can't relate to the stage he's at in his career right now anymore. but yuki could still teach him so much! charles can stay at ferrari, but paired with alonso. it pains me to leave fernando on the grid, but charles needs further mentoring, including on keeping his chin up when the rug is repeatedly ripped out from under him. and, frankly, alonso wouldn't take any shit from that team and might actually piss them off enough to actually try again. guanyu can stay at alfa romeo, i think he could really build something there with a little time, but let's pair him with magnussen. those seem like two complementary personalities and, while not in top shelf cars, magnussen does have years of experience. i'm pulling in callum ilott and liam lawson for alpine. big gamble to pair two rookies, but alpine need to try something new. and they're both a bit of firecrackers who could probably spur each other on through alternating rage and friendship. alex albon is off to mclaren, who now have a proper team principal named cyril and a distinct lack of zak brown. and ricciardo's back. reunite the dream team, add in alex's input and raw natural ability. can't get worse, right? let's try out fred vesti and esteban ocon at williams. love my freddy boy <3 and este and he could be goofy goobers together! and, of course, este would have so much to teach, with his experience. last and frankly least, but not the drivers! i say give jack doohan his shot at haas but, since the car is absolute garbage, he needs a very strong mentor. you can take your pick of a recently un-retired, "wow, nascar was a letdown" kimi raikkonen or jenson button. this was actually super fun!! obviously i'm biased toward my f2 faves, but i also genuinely believe they all deserve their shot, if not now, then someday :)

#thanks again for asking! #lovely people being lovely <3 #ask #answered #personal

[victorluvsalice]

We have reached the second Building Interlude this week -- and this time, it’s actually relevant to what’s been happening in the main Chill Valicer save, as it’s a small makeover of the Valicer farmhouse! A makeover that was inspired by the following things:

1. My desire to clean out the household inventory so I didn’t have to go scrolling through all their various holiday decorations and whatnot whenever I wanted them to recycle a trash pile

2. My desire to also clean out their PERSONAL inventories -- particularly Victor’s, as he’s always carrying around loads of fruit and flowers and whatnot from the greenhouse to have on-hand for juicing and whatnot

3. “My Sims have over $100K in the bank? Time to jazz the place up a little!”

So yes, with all that in mind, I went ahead and, well, jazzed the place up a little. XD Here’s a list of all the most major changes:

Kitchen: I decided it was a little too brown in there and changed out the counters to ones with at least slightly more colorful tops (the Realm of Magic counters, if I recall correctly!), darkening up the wood-tones of the cabinets to match. I also replaced the fridge and the stove with Schmapple-brand ones to match their coffee maker and microwave (like I said, they have money now!), recoloring them all to the red swatch as I liked that best. After that, I got a longer side table to store both the VIP bucket and the picnic basket --

And then moved the entire dining table in slightly, because ta-da, we have an archway into the kitchen now! Yeah, I took another look at that wall and realized that the door kind of looked weird next to the arches into the front foyer and the study, so I put another archway to match. Now the downstairs feels more cohesive!

Study: Just one quick change in here -- I changed the wallpaper color to the blue with green trim swatch, as I decided I wanted a little more color in the room. I think it looks nice, and fits well with the rugs!

Front Foyer: A little rearranging FINALLY allowed me to put the coat-and-hat pegs that I had on a side wall beside the door, where they could actually be SEEN. Naturally, the shoe rack went underneath them, and the umbrella stand got moved to the far corner. Looks good! (I -- am reasonably certain the clock was there before, as part of an earlier upgrade, but if not, look, colorful clock.)

Living Room: As you can see, I went heavy on the Movie Hangout Stuff furniture in here -- replacing the downstairs couch with this nice wooden seat that has a nice colorful cushion AND matches the bookcases, and the side tables with these brightly painted variations. :) The coffee table also got a more colorful upgrade (pretty sure that’s the Paranormal Stuff one) -- but, of course, the biggest upgrade was to the TV, with me selling off the old Fallout 4 CC one to get a proper big screen for them to enjoy, along with a cute yellow trunk TV table for it to sit on. They may not watch TV often, but they might as well enjoy a proper-sized screen. The bizarre idol Smiler got recently watches over it all in her own little house shelf above said TV. :)

Crafting/Party Barn: The whole thing is ever so slightly bigger now, and that is to accommodate something new in Smiler’s party space -- namely, I have traded out the bubble blower (which none of Smiler’s guests seemed to like the one time I had them give it a spin) for their ping-pong table! Technically it fit in the smaller version of the barn, but I felt like it blocked the radio a bit too much, so I expanded things out to keep the “dance floor.” I also took the opportunity to rearrange the downstairs a bit -- adding some extra columns to “support” the party level, then moving the more technical crafting stuff (Smiler’s robotics bench and the Fabricator) to the front while the more low-tech crafty stuff (the woodworking bench and the candle maker) went in the back, with Victor’s alchemy cauldron in the middle. :) I even got to put the cool magical stone circle in there -- sized down slightly, of course. :p

(Oh, and outside, you may notice that the chicken coop pen is now flush with the corner of the barn, and that I’ve gotten rid of the large livestock barn. The gang seems to have enough to do with just remembering to take care of the chickens -- I don’t think they’re gonna get a cow or llama anytime soon!)

Greenhouse: Victor’s greenhouse actually got moved back slightly on the lot -- a somewhat fiddly process that involved enlarging the roof before adjusting the walls so that the plants stayed under cover the whole time. I also added a new shelf from Cottage Living beside the door to go with his other tools, and put his selfie with his first oversized pumpkin on it. :)  The biggest change, though, was to the crafting side of the greenhouse -- namely, there’s now STORAGE! The flower-arranging bench can already have flowers stored in it, so that wasn’t a big deal, but now there is an Eco Lifestyle cardboard storage box next to the cauldron grill for Victor’s herbalism plants, and a Discover University mini-fridge so he can store and access his fruits and veggies for juicing next to the juice fizzer! Which makes life so much easier -- his inventory isn’t PERFECT yet, but it’s looking a hell of a lot better, let me tell you!

#sims 4 #the lazy save #builds #yeah Victor Alice and Smiler have got The Dosh #to be fair Alice has a very well-paying job #has published a few good books #and regularly sells excellent and masterpiece-quality paintings #while Smiler makes decent cash at their part-time job #and has started making more serious dough from their SimsTube videos #Victor is the only one in the family who isn't an active money maker #and even he can get a good payout from his greenhouse when he wants #so yeah funding some house upgrades #big focus on adding even more color to the house here #Smiler loves color and I think it's rubbed off on me #it really does make the house nicer when everything is cheery and bright :) #and I think Victor and Alice feel the same way :) #queued

[caffeine-n-words]

On Goldfish

Let's talk about goldfish. It's a popular first-time pet for people with toddlers--they think they can get a couple, put them in a tiny tank, drop in some flakes, so it's considered easy to care for. The toddler can look at it without worrying about the kid chasing around a cat or dog, which might hurt them if said-child does something foolish, like pull on a cat's tail. If it dies after a few months, oh well! It's just a goldfish. And if it gets too big and the owners don't want it anymore, it's often illegally released into a local stream or lake.

There are many, many problems with this entire mentality.

This is going to be an extremely brief overview of goldfish care. If you're considering getting one, please do your research before buying, because I guarantee it's more complicated than you think it is. Do not rely on pet store employees to know everything--they may be new, they may be filling in from another section, they may have zero interest in fish and only spit out the company line, they may still be learning and make mistakes.

Goldfish are a species of carp from China. If you get tired of your fish, please rehome it or donate it to an aquatic life rescue. Do not release it; it's invasive and will destroy the local ecosystem. We already have too many to deal with as it is.

Likewise, this fish shouldn't die after after a few months. With proper care, they can live 10+ years.

So then, what constitutes "proper care"?

Let's start with the tank. Do not place your goldfish in a dinky, 1-gallon bowl. Those things are incapable of supporting a filter or air pump, and getting the water balance correct is extremely difficult. Most people do this, and their fish dies within months. An experienced hobbyist could probably keep it alive for a few years--5 max.

For smaller species meant to live in a tank, they should be provided 10-20 gallons per fish.

Read that again.

PER

FISH.

They are not necessarily schooling fish. They're fine either alone or in a group. That's a big tank to deal with, so if you're just starting out and are determined to get a goldfish, get a smaller species and a 10 gallon tank. They even sell kits. If properly kept, these guys can live up to 10 years.

Then there are larger species. These ones can get up to 18 inches and should live in ponds. The goldfish you see at fairs? The feeder fish you see in pet stores? These are the ones that get enormous. If they're kept in a properly maintenanced pond, they can live 15-20 years, and there have been reports of longer--the oldest recorded was 43, according to Guinness.

Whichever method you decide to use, make sure to regularly test your water so you can keep on top of any problems that might develop. Keep an eye on the temperature, because they're cool water fish--you don't want it getting too much higher than maybe 70F. And they prefer slower currents.

So what do goldfish eat?

Goldfish are omnivores. If you're keeping a tank variety and want something shelf-stable, then goldfish pellets are often preferable to flakes; flakes don't sink, and a goldfish that takes in too much air can develop a swim bladder disorder.

You can supplement the fish food with other things, like live or frozen brine shrimp, or vegetables. An adult fish can be fed once per day, but the fish you see in pet shops or have delivered from a private breeder are not adults--they're babies, and they need to be fed several times a day so they can grow properly. The feeding instructions given on fish food often assume you're feeding an adult.

Is your head spinning yet?

I'm not one of those people who insist there are "good" and "bad" starter pets. You should start with whatever fascinates you the most. That fascination will get you through all the research and care requirements.

But goldfish are definitely a challenging starter pet. Again, I urge potential owners to do their research. Make sure you're willing to do everything that's required. Familiarize yourself with potential problems.

And if you decide to do it anyway? I wish you the best of luck and many happy years with your new fish!

#goldfish #fish tank #new fish owner #fish care #they need more than you think #we have been brainwashed by goldfish being prizes at fairs #brief overview #not in-depth #written to help me learn about goldfish #and also warn potential goldfish owners #caffy short essay #pet owners