#but let me pretend to be organized and productive okay

[theastrical]

Honeymoon with genshin men

honeymoon with genshin men! (their choices of destination, where do you guys stay at, and their action to showcase their love for you)

kaeya, diluc, zhongli, childe, alhaitham x reader

Kaeya’s Nobel Honeymoon

His plan is to make you feel like a royalty, as if you guys are indeed a heir to the crown or maybe the one holding the highest rank in the country. Well you two can only imagine right?

He bought a whole suite for you guys to stay in Airelles (Château De Versailles), France. The suite is called Suite Necker, It’s a beautiful suite, a magnificent one. The view is also wonderful, especially in spring.

He bought the suite for 4 nights, while he also makes sure both of you can have some fun times by participating in the palace tour or the dance in the royal ball.

Helps you whenever you need to fix your clothes, he also manage to fix any clothes malfunction, just incase it would embarrass you, he would fix it without you knowing; act of service is his passion.

Will take you out to some local choices restaurants, he pick the best one, not the one that are meant for tourist. He wants you to have the best food without thinking about the money you both spend over some tourist trap. (While eating, he would always prepare you and your food first, his? Later would be alright. He doesn’t eat his food when you haven’t start eating it)

Would photographed you across the city, the suites, the palace and everywhere you go. His excuse? “I just need to commemorate some beautiful things in here..”

Will buy some souvenirs you’re looking at, especially when you decide not to buy it. He would buy 3 kinds of it and pretend to also like it. Shows it to you (as a surprise) after you both get home from the honeymoon.

Diluc’s cottage dream

He rent a luxurious chalet, the name is chalet melilot. It’s Specifically placed near the mountainside of switzerland so you both can have morning stroll everyday in your honeymoon. Wants to be intact with mother nature since he thought it’ll be more private and sensational.

Thought it’ll be great if you guys also do some surveys around the country for housing if you both enjoyed the country environment.

He would hire a local chef to make you both three course meal for lunch and dinner, it’s all Switzerland’s traditional specialties. Specifically made using organic products and original recipe. He wants you to taste the best healthy and tasty meal, while savouring every each bite.

Every day when you guys walk around the mountain and feel even the slightest bit of cold, he would let you use his jacket, the scent is like firewood, so much like diluc.

At night, he would take you out to the city and even take shots of you using his polaroid. Every pictures he take is meant to be inside his small album of you and him (which he would present it, at the end of the joirney), he would pick the best pictures for his wallet. He seem to have everything in remembrance of you.

At the end of the honeymoon, he surprised you with a dog…a samoyed. It’s a cute thought, also an attentive one. “i know i wouldn’t always be at home and i’m sorry, this honeymoon make me realise that giving you my best is my priority and i will do so by giving you an accompany…this samoyed of our will be our forever accompany in this marriage okay…?”

Childe’s new home

Ajax didn’t like those romantic and sensational types diluc is into, he’s certainly into kaeya’s idea, but he wouldn’t want that either, it’s too cliché. He wants something traditional and refreshing to you. Something that he wants you to experience only with him, not exactly traditional, not exactly romantic, but certainly fresh. It’s not exactly the typical “honeymoon”, since his purpose is to make this trip unforgettable for both of you, and to learn everything about you both.

And that’s to travel around the world to search for a new home, he thought it’ll be better to stay in his hometown but for the sake of you, he wants to make a fresh new start. At your first stop, you guys explore Europe, especially around Sweden and Greece. The second stop is to explore around Asia, which is Mongolia and Vietnam. it’s such a fascinating trip for you both. The third stop is New Zealand, your once go-to-list. To live under these countries culture and to feel as one. You guys kept on trying to adapt to the new environment and it makes you both know each other’s habit easily.

You guys have stayed in numerous hotels and apartments. It’s not exactly romantic nor is it special, it’s both of your purpose to make this trip a whole get-away for newlyweds pressure and such. but makes it endearing is how you both eventually just fall asleep within each other embrace, just resting peacefully in ajax’s chest, while his arm delicately circled your waist. He’s a warm blanket and you’re his beloved plushies.

He would tie your shoes, help you with your bags or laundry, and over all, he’s the one helping you in any chores and in any given chance. He wants you to enjoy this trip without having the burden to do this and that. He just wants you to lay back and have your whole attention to him. Ajax only purpose is to see your smile at the end of the road.

When you both are just too exhausted to explore, you guys would order local take outs and eat it like a hungry fish would. He would laugh and you would teased him. It’s just a moment of laughter and satisfaction. No such a thing as workloads. Just you both having the time of your life together.

Zhongli’s relaxing party

This man’s honeymoon idea is exactly like how you imagine it. Boring but addictive at some way. you both would explore pretty gardens, lovely mountainsides, tea parties, and museum, at taiwan. It’s such a boring idea, but whatever make zhongli smile and whatever make you feel like at an old grandpa house is exactly what you called “the zhongli zone”. It’s comforting, being with zhongli, already feels like you’re being snuggled by a huge polar bear.

He’s such a sweetheart for always making the trip as…relaxing as possible, not wanting to pressure you with the family’s perspective of how newlyweds should act.

It’s not like you’re the one who’s pampering zhongli, he is also trying his best to be suitable enough as the one who court you first. He dips himself inside the hot spring while snuggling with you, he shops some random goods with you, and he also do tea testing by sharing the same cup as you. So relaxing…it makes you forget that you will continue to work again soon sigh.

“do you like this tea? I made this out of boredom and i saw you getting exhausted just by running through stores at the local shops…the goods are okay but i suggest you to keep your health the same, okay?”, this translates to “i’m worried about you, please don’t tire yourself. I want you to be as careful as you are with me when you take care of yourself.” Nonetheless, serves you the tea and even gives you a heartwarming kith on your cheeks.

he would buy you some keychains, handmade ones since he believes it’s more practical for it’s creativity and thoughts in it…also because he appreciates people’s handcraft. He still keeps your handmade bracelets even at your wedding day. he also picks you small pretty flowers when you both were strolling around the floral garden. Fresh and beautiful, just like you (he initially want to say this but he tries not to make it cheesy).

Silently serves you like a dutiful servant would. Makes you tea, cooks you meal, and makes sure you’re well rested. He always wants to pay back the things you did for him, he knows it’s not 100% the same, but he wants you to know that…this honeymoon is made especially for you. After covering you with the blanket and puts on some scented candles. He whispers at night when you were already asleep, “sorry i can’t be the best, but i’ll always be here when you need me. I love you.“

Alhaitham’s wonder of the world

You present him a ticket to travel Papua especially Raja Ampat for your honeymoon and he was so excited, he holds your hand with glimmering eyes…with a calm devoted look. He’s always been this way, hard to show his emotion, even when he’s screaming internally.

When you both arrived, he prepared everything for both of you so you don’t have to stressed out. He loves being the one in charge of itinerary, he loves to work on the schedules. You would see him humming with a straight face in his work office while he’s typing down the things you would do together as husband and wife.

he sets you both up to a diving session. He’s so excited he talks about it all night along. You can hear his yap even at the first day you got there. He loves nature, the sea, and everything inside that deep ocean. You were kind of scared of the ocean, you confessed that at first, and he looks at you with confusion before he say such a reassurance that makes you rethink if this is THE Alhaitham you’re thinking of. “if you’re scared, hold my hand and close your eyes..i promise, i’ll be there, beside you.”

That words he make instantly scarred your heart with love. You don’t even know how it makes you fall harder for him. But you did, you trusted him with your whole life, you hold his hands and he dive you into the sea-worlds. He giggles when he sees you all scared…he hugged you while you both dive so you won’t be scared or sink when you’re not in his watch. “don’t be coy now…trust me, i won’t let you out of my sight.”

When you got back home…you don’t even know how he made you so in love. Sigh…alhaitham, the man you are..

Taglist; @esthelily @indarius @n0tamused @sangoqueenkoko @voidlesslove @lyralibra @eroxotckv @rikasurl @dailypenpen @daydreaming-paradies

#zhongli x reader #childe x reader #kaeya x reader #diluc x reader #alhaitham x reader #genshin headcanons #genshin fanfic #genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin fluff #kaeya fluff #diluc fluff #zhongli fluff #childe fluff #alhaitham fluff

[ctitan98official]

Anonymous: OK OK HEAR ME OUT; What if in your most recent post of Alcina lost child Au, both Alcina and Miranda encounter Y/N again but... plot twist they where adopted by a corporation that experimented in childs to become them in the perfect soldier, completely loyal and emotionless, they are in the village for a mision to see if the residents in there are dangerous to the outside world and in case of so, they have the order to kill them all. Imagine the guility and heartbroken they might feel since their little child became just another weapon...

Alright, so this was requested a loooong time ago. I finally got around to it XD This was inspired by my Alcina’s long lost child AU.

You were taken and experimented on relentlessly by Umbrella as a baby. The corporation had found your file and knew your origin. The product of two powerful bioweapons… It was too good of an opportunity for them to pass up.

You didn’t even know who your parents were and yet… You hated them. It was their fault that you were being tortured. Your every waking moment for the first few years of your life was excruciating. Needles, imaging, testing. Was this truly all you were meant to be? Some… Lab rat?

You grew up with no affection. Just sterile and generic questions. “How have you felt since we did the last test? Any symptoms?”

You tried to reach out to other people. To talk to them and ask them questions. To build some semblance of a human connection… But it was useless.

Nobody gave a shit.

So… You started shutting down.

No tears, no smiles. What was the point? People didn’t care. You learned to shut off that part of yourself fairly quickly.

Thankfully, once it was clear that you did not possess the powers that your parents did (Or any, for that matter), The experiments began to lessen and eventually stopped.

Shortly before Umbrella began to crumble from the inside out, the B.S.A.A. liberated you and put you into protective custody within the confines of their organization. You knew a lot about the inner machinations of Umbrella and were a vital source of information for them.

While the people with B.S.A.A. were largely nicer than the scientists at Umbrella, it was soon clear that they also wanted to use you.

Thankfully, a kind agent decided to take you under his wing. His name was Chris Redfield. He was appalled at everything you had been through and made a silent vow to protect you from then on.

While you were still closely monitored by B.S.A.A., Chris raised you at his house alongside his little sister, Claire. She was a few years older than you, but she always tried to include you in whatever she was doing. She was sweet.

However… It was too late to save you from the psychological damage you sustained.

You have no compassion, no empathy. Your brain just doesn’t work like that anymore. It’s been programmed to survive that way.

You actually hate being around other people. They’re weak. Their self-centered and petty little lives are a joke. They pretend that their existence has some higher meaning. That they are worthy of respect, admiration… Love.

It’s ridiculous.

Other people may have been fed bullshit their entire lives, but not you. For as sucky as your childhood was, it opened your eyes to the truth. You understand firsthand that greed is how the world actually works. Everyone is in it for themselves.

Money. Power. Influence. That’s what people secretly desire. However, nobody seems to have the balls to come out and say it so plainly. They want to hide behind their beliefs and “Morals”.

That’s okay. You couldn’t give less of a shit. Let them delude themselves.

Your only true loyalty lies with Chris and Claire. Even though you are unable to form any real attachment to them, they are the only people you would even consider helping if they needed it. Chris got you out of the shitty situation you were living in and you would spend the rest of your life trying to repay that favor.

Chris knew that you wanted to do what he did for a living. He would have much preferred to protect you from the horrors of bioterrorism, but… Well, you’re pretty much the embodiment of it. So, he reluctantly agreed. If you wanted something this badly, then he was going to do his best to make it happen. He started training you in marksmanship.

You became skilled. Very skilled. You devoted all of your time to it. Only taking necessary breaks to eat or sleep. Then, it was back to training.

Chris pretty much molded you into the perfect agent… And now, here you are. On your first mission together.

You and Chris are being flown to a rural area in Romania. There is intel suggesting the possible presence of B.O.W.s and it’s on you to determine if they are a threat… Or might become one.

Hound Wolf Squad were flown in a few hours earlier and are currently in a holding position, waiting for you and Chris.

Chris, never one to bullshit you, sits down next to you on the helicopter. “Looks like there might be some big action, kid. Rolando’s been scoping out the area and… It’s pretty hot with B.O.W.s,” He says quietly. “I just want you to know that it’s… Okay to be worried, Y/N. Many experienced agents still have jitters before a mission.”

You’re currently cleaning one of your guns. “Obliterate the target or die trying. It’s all the same to me, Redfield,” You tell him, not even turning to look at him.

Chris breathes out a laugh at this. You’re truly one of a kind. He pats your arm before standing up again. “Good talk, Y/N,” He says.

It’s true, though. So what if you die? It can’t be much different than living. You finish up before the pilot announces that you’ve arrived.

The helicopter lands in an abandoned field and you and Chris hop out.

“Alright, you and me will head into the village and Hound Wolf Squad will be tailing us,” Chris instructs.

You nod silently at this.

“We want to be able to get information out of them, so we’ll try the, uh, non-violent path first,” He says. “Who knows… Maybe it’ll be as simple as sitting down and having some coffee with them?” He smiles.

You almost feel a small fondness tugging your heart at Chris’s statement. After all he’s been through, he always tries to see the good in people.

You two make the trek into the village and Chris is able to get in contact with Hound Wolf Squad. They’ll be here to offer backup if you need it. All seems to be going according to plan.

However… The closer you both get to the center of the village… The more you get this weird… Sensation. It’s like your very being is thrumming.

Something about this place… Is drawing you in. Wanting you to be here.

For the first time in years you feel… A stab of panic. What is happening to you? This isn’t normal.

But… You don’t say anything. Whatever this feeling is, it’s your problem to deal with. You’re not going to drag Chris down with you.

You two look around at the ramshackle buildings in town.

Chris whistles. “What a shit hole,” He murmurs.

You try to shake off the warm pulse that is flowing through you. “It looks completely deserted,” You remark.

Chris nods in agreement. “You’re right,” He says. He looks off in the distance and spots the castle. A gentle light is emanating from the windows and smoke is billowing out of its chimney. “I think that may be our best bet, kid. Let’s go check it out,” He says, pointing at the ornate building.

You nod silently and the two of you begin the journey up the side of the mountain. It’s rather uneventful, and that’s a welcome change. This place is kind of freaking you out, a feat you didn’t even know was possible.

But… What awaits you is about to change your life forever. You’re about to learn the story of where you came from.

Whether you want to or not.

Note: Cliffhanger! Let me know what you thought and thanks for reading!

Masterlist

#re8 #re8 village #alcina dimitrescu #lady dimitrescu #alcina dimitrescu x reader #alcina dimitrescu x y/n #lady dimitrescu x reader #lady dimitrescu x y/n #resident evil village #resident evil 8 #resident evil imagines #mother miranda #chris redfield #claire redfield

[stevesjockstrap]

Excerpt of Chapter 19 (!) just posted :) This section is pretty spoiler free with some Reefer Rick

“You want me to go on a drug run with you?”

Eddie chuckled at his signature disapproving face. He pulled him closer to him in bed where they were sprawled.

“It’s not as extreme as you’re making it seem, baby. I just need to pick stuff up and make two stops. All you’d have to do is sit in the van and look pretty,” he cradled his face in his hand and caressed his thumb across his jaw. “Just some quick errands. We can grab groceries too. Then come back and relax. Okay?” He stared into his eyes. Steve seemed more put together, more himself than he had in days. He hoped the surprise later didn’t send them backwards.

Steve acquiesced with a sigh and a nod. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”

He waited patiently as Steve used all of his products to get his hair perfectly styled, smirking to himself as he pulled one of Eddie’s flannels on over his own clothes.

After parking next to Reefer Rick’s boathouse, he reached over to pull Steve in for a deep kiss. “Stay here baby, I’ll be right back.” Steve hummed and nodded but when he pulled back, his face paled as he stared past him out the windshield.

Eddie turned around quickly and was immediately met with the wicked grin of Rick, a few feet away.

“Oh shit,” he breathed.

Before he could turn back to Steve, Rick was already pulling open his driver’s side door. He moved fast for an old hippie.

“Well well well,” Rick drawled as his gaze slid between the two of them. “Isn’t this a surprise?”

“Rick-“ Eddie started. He knew he was harmless and would probably only tease the shit out of them, but Steve didn’t. And he’d promised he wouldn’t have to interact with anyone.

“No no, now come inside, both of you. I insist, he held his hand out for Eddie, unnecessarily. Before Eddie could get a word out, he was pulled down off his seat.

He spun around to face Steve, who still looked unsure but had scooted across the seat towards him. He sent him a reassuring smile and reached for him. Steve wrapped a hand around his wrist and didn’t let go as he dropped onto the driveway beside them. Rick glanced shiftily into the woods around them and gestured for them to follow him into the house.

“So, introduce me to your friend, Eddie,” Rick said, wiggling his eyebrows.

“C’mon Rick, can you please pretend to be normal for like five fucking minutes?” He sighed. He waved his hand between them dramatically. “This is Steve, Steve this is Rick.”

Steve’s rich boy manners were so ingrained in him that he automatically stuck his hand out for a handshake. Eddie swallowed his snort.

Rick covered his surprise with a filthy grin as he yanked Steve closer by their clasped hands. “Impressive handshake. Are you looking for a job, Steve?”

Steve sputtered out a “No, sir,” and quickly dropped his hand.

Rick guffawed.

“Rick-“ he warned.

“Ease up, man. I’m not stealing him. But with a face like that, he could sell condoms to a nun.” Rick stepped back to give him a speculative once over. “You smoke, Steve?”

Steve shrugged, getting some bravado back. “Here and there.”

He smirked, continuing to lead them into a wide living room with windows overlooking the lake. “Well, how about here,” he gestured widely, “and there?” Rick pointed to an overstuffed loveseat.

Steve pulled Eddie down into the loveseat with him, still holding his wrist but seeming to gain some confidence. Eddie tried not to allow the resentment bubbling in his belly to show on his face at Steve following Rick’s orders.

Rick sat in the high backed chair closest to Steve, pulled the coffee table to him and rolled a joint. Silently, he lit it and passed it to Steve after taking a long hit. Rick watched him, while Eddie watched Rick. He knew this was a test, had seen him pull it on a handful of others before. But Steve had already been well versed in smoking before Eddie’s chaotic arrival in his life. Steve usually stuck to beer, but he was always fun high, more giggly and loose.

Steve puffed and passed beautifully and their circle continued. Rick sent Eddie a wink. Once he had approved of Steve, he finally left them with the last third and went to grab what they had come for. Steve stubbed out the end into the ashtray and they both stood when Rick arrived back in the room. Eddie slid the paper bag wrapped parcel under his jacket and with some goodbyes, Steve earning himself a chortle from Rick when he offered another handshake, they were out the door.

Steve let out a sigh when he was back in his seat in the van. “You could’ve warned me,” he huffed.

“Baby, I didn’t know. He never meets me in the fucking driveway. A lot of the time I have to beat on his doors and windows to wake him up. You handled it all incredibly, though, don’t worry. And Rick, as strange as he is, he’s cool. He’s about as good as family to me, saw through my dad’s lies back in the day and would try to send things my way. Toys, books, notebooks. Things kids need but aren’t usually high on the list when you’d rather buy drugs or steal cars. He’s the one who first convinced me to pick up a guitar.” He reached over to squeeze his thigh. “I’m sorry you had to get thrown into the boyfriend test or whatever that was. You okay?”

Steve nodded. “Yeah. I’m glad I met him. Wish it wasn’t quite as awkward, but when do you ever have normal social interactions?” He actually huffed a laugh and it reassured Eddie more than it should.

“You’ve got me there,” he grinned. “You ready for actual errands?” Steve grinned back and settled back in his seat, pulling Eddie’s hand back onto his thigh.

#deansdemondick #stranger things #stranger things fic #steddie #steve harrington/eddie munson #steve/eddie #mine #reefer Rick #ao3fic #ao3 link

[centrally-unplanned]

Okay, two bigger thoughts out of the way, lets dump some random one-off thoughts from reviewing the FLCL Early Production material:

The whole thing, but in particular Yoji Enokido's initial episode concepts, made the "Naota is a kid pretending to be an adult" theme hilariously transparent and on-the-nose, he was dropping "grow up!" style lines on the reg. Very happy that was toned down.

Originally the CIA was going to be directly involved in opposing Haruko; really seeing the Twin Peaks influence here that Amarou was already bringing to the table!

Mamimi and Haruko both were a good deal more grounded in the initial notes; hell, in the initial concept Mamimi was still regularly talking to Naota's brother over the phone and was just lonely!

In the draft scripts the 'consequences' of Mamimi 'overflowing' is that she tries to fuck Naota; I didn't see that coming! He's 12 Mamimi.

"'I'll have it, y'know,' Mamimi threatens. 'I'll have your kid.'" HE IS TWELVE Mamimi, yikes.

The initial episode 2 script has Naota being revealed to be the bullet Canti shoots immediately - this is the biggest change to the "revised" episode 2 script second draft. Extremely critical change, honestly not sure what the story would have been if that wasn't an Episode 5 reveal.

We know this from interviews, but Draft-Atomsk was a boy that Haruko seemed to be in love with; absolutely one of the best changes they made was dropping that. Kuzuhara would never, Tsurumaki knew.

Repeating myself from discord, but most of the way through the production Naota's absent mom was also from space, and ostensibly was part of the same organization Haruko had fled from - a bit of a Watsonian justification for his fluency with N.O. fields. I don't think this was ever 'dropped', there just was never time in the final scripts.

Mamimi's final crisis point was originally Naota's brother breaking up with her over the phone.

The draft episode 6 final moment had Naota in possession of Haruko's handcuff bracelet, quivering towards the sky after she had left; very cute, and preserved in the ghostly guitar string pluck that actually ends the show.

Obviously more interesting stuff in there, but these are the most fun ones that stuck out to me.

#flcl

[stargazer-sims]

Journal Entry #57 (part two)

Journal Entry #57 (part one) // STORY INDEX

Victor

Just in case anyone was getting the impression that mine and Yuri’s time apart has been completely consumed by thoughts of each other and of Yuri's therapy, let me fill you in on what else I've been doing since I've been back in Willow Creek.

To be fair, Yuri is on my mind a lot, and for the first few days I was here, I felt a little bit guilty whenever I was having fun with my friends or doing something new without him, but I'm feeling better about it now. I talked to Yuri and he said he felt the same way at first, but then he realized what a perfect opportunity he had to spend time bonding with his family.

Despite his initial misgivings about staying with his parents, he seems to be having a good time now, and he's obviously happy. I figured if it was okay for him to feel happy without me, it was also okay for me to feel happy without him. I missed him desperately though. No point in trying to hide that.

Anyway, once I got my head around my "temporary bachelor status", as my cousin Leo put it, I started to relax and really enjoy myself.

Speaking of bachelors, Uncle Stephen, Leo and I have been planning the most epic bachelor party of all time for Julian. We decided on an Italian theme because he and Mom are going to Tartosa for their honeymoon. There's going to be Italian food and music, and everyone's going to be encouraged to wear Italian beach club fashion. Uncle Stephen managed to reserve an event room at the Harbourside Haven with a view overlooking the water. It may be Newcrest, but we're gonna pretend it's a Tartosan beach scene.

At first, I thought it was kind of weird to have a theme, but Uncle Stephen said a lot of people have bachelor parties with themes. I deferred to him because what do I know? Nobody threw a bachelor party for Yuri and me, and this was my first time planning one for somebody else. Uncle Stephen has been involved in organizing at least three — his best friend Matthew's, Uncle JP’s, and my dad's — so that makes him an expert, as far as I'm concerned.

"By the time you get around to planning Leo's bachelor party, you'll be an expert too," he assured me.

Leo wants a superhero theme when his turn comes. Probably no surprise there.

Leo, Ellie and I have been spending as much time together as we can, which probably isn't going to be much of a surprise to anyone either. We've been getting up to our usual nonsense; playing soccer and racing bikes in the park, going to the pool and the arcade, and generally just hanging out, but we've been getting some productive stuff done as well.

I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but Julian moved in with Mom around the beginning of January, like maybe a week or two before my accident. He was originally planning to sell his house, but what ended up happening was that he transferred the title to Ellie instead. What that means is, Ellie gets to live in her childhood home and doesn't have to worry about paying a mortgage since Julian managed to fully pay it off a couple of years ago. At the end of April, Leo moved in there with her, and now they're wholly involved with renovating the place to make it exactly how they want.

They're actually not changing it significantly, but even cosmetic changes require a fair amount of work. They had to hire somebody to install their new kitchen cabinets and appliances, but Leo decided they could do the hardwood flooring in the living room themselves, as well as the painting and redecorating.

And that's where I came in. I might not be very good with electronics, but I definitely know my way around carpentry tools. My mom taught me a lot about home maintenance, so I can measure, saw and hammer with the best of them.

Almost as soon as I arrived, Leo enlisted both me and his sister Kiki to help with the flooring. Ellie and Kiki gleefully ripped out all the old carpet, and then they sanded and cleaned the subfloor. After that, Leo and I got down to business. We got the entire living room done over three days, and it looks fabulous, even if I say so myself.

We're all getting pretty good at painting too. Leo, Ellie, Kiki and I painted Ellie and Leo’s living room, kitchen and bedroom, and then I got them to come over to our new house and help me paint mine and Yuri's rooms, our living room and downstairs bathroom.

Robert and Kim did a bunch of renovations before they put the house on the market, so there’s really nothing much that needed to be changed except the colours of a few walls. The only thing I really want to do besides the painting is to install a jet tub in the upstairs bathroom. Yuri got used to having that at Uncle Kaz's place, and I think he should have one here. It’s very therapeutic for him.

You knew I'd inevitably come back to talking about Yuri, didn't you? Some of you are probably laughing over my inability to keep my mind off him. Go ahead. I don't mind. I'm hopelessly in love with him, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

As a matter of fact, Yuri is the whole reason why I was motivated to record this entry tonight, after kinda forgetting about our journal for almost three months. Now that I’ve gotten all the life updates out of the way, I can get to the really good part. It's the part I maybe should’ve led with, but I guess you’ve all figured out by now that I sometimes like to leave the best stuff till the end.

So, here’s the story. It actually started yesterday evening, when Yuri missed our regular seven o'clock FaceTime chat. By seven-fifteen, I decided I'd better call him. He didn't answer, but I wasn’t overly concerned right away because I thought there might just be something wrong with his iPad, so I texted him instead. I started getting scared when I received no reply to that either, and when I phoned him, I got a robotic-sounding error message that said the customer I was trying to reach had the phone turned off.

At that point, I systematically called everyone I could think of who might know what was going on, but Takahiro, Fox and Sakura had no clue, and the most that Mr. Okamoto's personal assistant Koichi could tell me was that Mr. Okamoto was away on important business for the next several days, which didn’t really help. When I tried to call Yuri's parents, I got the same error message I'd gotten when I attempted to call him.

I tossed and turned in bed all night, and every time I woke up, I sent another text to my husband. By seven o'clock this morning, when I still couldn't reach him, I started scrolling frantically through my phone to see if I had his grandparents' numbers. Somebody had to know something.

I didn't have a number for his grandmother or grandfather, but I did have contact information for his boss, Mr. Tanaka. It was a long shot, but I called him, which may not have been the wisest thing to do. Mr. Tanaka didn't have any idea where Yuri was or what might be happening, and I think I might've caused him to worry with my asking him about it.

Around ten o'clock, I was seriously considering getting online and trying to arrange an earlier flight back to Japan. I'm not even joking.

That was when my phone buzzed in my pocket.

I pulled it out and glanced at the screen. It was a message from Yuri.

You ever hear that phrase 'weak with relief'? I literally was, and I sank down the kitchen floor, nearly crying, with my phone still clutched in my hand.

As if he'd been reading my mind, the message said, «I love you and I'm okay.»

«Where are you?» I texted back with trembling fingers.

He sent, «I’m outside. Are you at home?»

Perplexed and still shaking, I replied, «Yeah. Why?»

«Look out the front window.»

Feeling thoroughly confused, I got to my feet, put my phone back in my pocket and made my way from the kitchen to the dining room so I could peer outside. Parked at the curb was a vehicle I didn't recognize. I took off my glasses so things further away would come into sharper focus, and I think i may have let out a small gasp when I realized who was behind the wheel of the unknown blue minivan.

It was Kenji Okamoto.

I was still forcing my mind to process that when the van's side door slid open and first Yuki and then Yuri climbed out. Mr. Okamoto got out of the driver's side to open the front passenger door for his wife, who was holding baby Kinai.

To say I was shocked would be putting it lightly. During all our daily conversations, Yuri hadn't mentioned anything about him and his family travelling. I could only assume they were here for the wedding, which is coming up in four days, but if they were here for the wedding, that would mean Mom and Julian both knew they were coming as well, and yet nobody had breathed a word about any of it to me.

I should've been upset about that, but I was way too excited over being unexpectedly reunited with Yuri to worry about having been kept in the dark. I mean, real talk here, the sound I made when I saw my husband was a lot louder than a gasp. A second later, I was flinging open the front door and flying down the steps, and he was hurrying to close the distance between us too, arms outstretched for an embrace.

I caught him and spun us both around in a circle right there on the walkway. "Yuri! I missed you!"

"Me too," he said, clinging tight as we completed our big, joyful circle. "I couldn't wait to get here. The last couple of hours, I was getting so impatient I could barely cope with it any more."

"This is why I couldn't reach you, isn't it? You were in a plane."

He was laughing. "Ah... surprise?"

"I was freaking out!" I exclaimed. "Like, I was literally just about to change my flight and everything! You should've known I'd panic when I couldn't reach you. Why didn't you tell me you were coming?"

"I'm sorry," he said, as I carefully set him down. "Don't be angry. It was so hard to keep the secret, and I almost let it slip out, but we really wanted to surprise you."

"I'm not angry," I said. "I'm relieved you're okay, and I'm thrilled you're here, but..."

"But what?"

"I thought you couldn't travel," I said. "What about your therapy?"

"We'll only be here for a week," Yuri said. "I'll miss my psychologist appointment this week, and one in-person session with my nutritionist, and a food intelligence class.”

“Can you afford to miss that stuff?”

“I think so,” he said. “The nutritionist scheduled a fifteen-minute video call so I can check in and show her my food diary and talk about any concerns, but she said I’m doing so well that she thinks I’ll be all right even if I miss a full session.”

"So, uh... I guess you're here for Mom and Julian's wedding?"

"Of course," Yuri said. "I promised them I'd play, didn't I? And I've brought my accompanist with me."

Mr. Okamoto laughed at that. "The things I let myself get talked into," he said. "Grace called Yuri about a week ago to ask if he was able to come, or if they should make different arrangements for their wedding music. When he told her he could, she asked if we'd all like to come, and then Julian got on the phone with her and said that if I was coming, I ought to help with the music as well."

"Nothing like being drafted into a project last-minute," I said, amazed that Julian had felt comfortable enough with Mr. Okamoto to even make a request like that. They'd become fast friends when Mom and Julian were in Mt. Komorebi just after my accident, but I didn't think they'd gotten that well-acquainted. I mean, practising a whole set of wedding music with only a couple weeks' advance notice was a huge ask. I'm not sure I'd even ask my best friend in the world to do something like that.

"I don't mind," said Mr. Okamoto, much to my astonishment.

"You don't?"

"Yuri and I hadn't played together in a very long time, and we've been rediscovering how much we like our violin and piano duets. The music isn't that difficult, and we're already familiar with each other's playing style, so I think it'll work out quite well."

"That's...impressive," I said.

"It's an honour for us to play for your parents' wedding."

"I'm grateful to you for agreeing to it," I said, and I totally meant it. One of Yuri's favourite memories that he always talks about is of playing duets with his dad, and I'm glad they've started doing that again. I'm also super happy that Mom and Julian didn't end up having to hire random music students from the local college or something.

I pulled Yuri in for another hug. "And you too, sweet boy. I'm super happy that you... hang on."

"What?" Yuri said.

It'd taken a moment for my brain to register the observation, but it seemed that Yuri felt more solid in my arms than I remembered. "Excuse the change of subject, but have you gained weight?"

I know... not a very smooth question, right? In any other context, it would probably seem rude, but for us it had the complete opposite meaning.

Yuri drew back a little so he could look up at me. His face practically radiated happiness, and his beautiful smile accentuated the new fullness in his cheeks. "You noticed."

I slid my hands down his sides. "I can barely feel your ribs."

"I gained four kilos since you last saw me in person," he told me.

"In three weeks? Really? That's like, more than a whole kilogram per week." I glanced over his shoulder at his parents. "What have you been feeding him?"

From beside her father, Yuki piped up, "Milkshakes!"

"Not just milkshakes." Mr. Okamoto interjected hastily. He seemed to feel the need to be accountable to me, to prove they hadn't been so reckless as to let Yuri subsist on such a limited and arguably unhealthy diet. "He's been trying all sorts of new foods, haven't you, Yuri? But he does enjoy his strawberry milkshakes."

Of course I knew he'd been consuming more than milkshakes, but I acknowledged Mr. Okamoto's explanation with, "I'm glad you've been getting him to try new stuff." And then to Yuri, "Have you tried any other dairy products?"

"Real butter," he said. "And cream of broccoli soup. I didn't like that."

"Because of the broccoli, I guess. What about cheese?"

He made the most adorable face, scrunching up his cute button nose in distaste. "No. Cheese is disgusting."

"Unless it's in strawberry cheesecake," his father commented, looking entertained. "You should've seen him devouring that."

I raised an eyebrow. "Yuri, you ate cheesecake?"

"Mm-hmm, and cinnamon buns and dango. Oh, and ice cream!" Yuri said. "I can't believe I've been missing out on real ice cream this whole time."

“He’s been making up for it,” said Mr. Okamoto. "I've never seen anyone eat so many desserts."

"Well, I guess that explains the four kilos," I said.

Yuri offered up a grin that somehow managed to be simultaneously angelic and cheeky, "Aren't you proud of me, Victor?"

"Very," I said. "Four whole kilograms. That's awesome. You don't want to shoot past your goal, though. I hope you've been eating low-fibre vegetables and healthy proteins along with all your desserts."

"I don't like vegetables," he said.

"You like carrots and squash. I'll make you some carrot soup. That'll be the next thing for you to try, okay?"

"Okay." He leaned into me and nuzzled his cheek against my chest. "I'll eat it on one condition. You need to take me on a date to that ice cream place you're always talking about, with the forty flavours."

I laughed out loud and gave him an affectionate squeeze. I was beyond happy he'd discovered something new that he wanted to eat. "If you're not too tired from the trip, we can go this evening after dinner," I told him. "On one condition."

"Oh? What condition?"

"I know how much you love anything with strawberries, but The Frozen Cone has forty flavours. I really want you to try something other than strawberry."

"Peach?" he ventured.

"Good choice. They probably have that. They usually have orange-pineapple too, and cherry."

Yuri hummed softly, a little sound of satisfaction. "Let's try peach and cherry. I don't want to taste pineapple until we go to Sulani, okay? I want to save that experience for a really special occasion."

"Okay," I agreed.

"If we get a scoop of each kind in a bowl, we can share. Would that be all right?"

"That sounds perfect," I said.

"And you can feed me," he whispered, but evidently not quietly enough to prevent his father from overhearing.

Mr. Okamoto sounded torn between scolding and amusement. "Yuri—"

"One spoonful, because you're cute," I said. "But you'll be on your own for the rest of it. Rules are rules, you know."

"I tried," he said.

"Full marks for effort." I laughed, and kissed the top of his head. "Come on. Let's go inside. I can show you the paint job Leo and I did in your bedroom, and we can give your family the grand tour."

"Our family," he said.

"Our family," I repeated. I nodded to my in-laws. "Come on in."

Mr. and Mrs. Okamoto both thanked me and bowed respectfully, but I think Yuki forgot her manners in her excitement. She bounded forward and grabbed one of my hands. "Yuri said there's a ghost! Can I meet her?"

I smiled. "Well, that'll be up to Sachiko. I think if you call her Kobayashi-san and remember not to use her favourite mug, she'll come out and meet you. Don't be too surprised if she starts making small objects fly around the room, though."

Mrs. Okamoto frowned. "Are you saying the house really is haunted?"

"That's why the asking price was so low," I told her. "Don't worry, though. Sachiko isn't a bad ghost. She's just been here longer than we have, and she thinks it's her place, so her rules should apply."

"I... see," said my mother-in-law.

"What's this about the mug?" asked Mr. Okamoto.

"It's a red one," I said. "It's Sachiko's, and she's very possessive of it. No pun intended."

"Well," said my father-in-law. "A ghost with a mug, a wedding, and my son wanting to go to a forty-flavour ice cream shop. This should be an interesting week."

I couldn't resist a grin. "Family," I said. "Welcome to Willow Creek."

#writing #victorsworldadventures #victor nelson #yuri okamoto #tw chronic illness #stargazersims

[adultswim2021]

Aqua Teen Hunger Force #86: "Fry Legs" | May 17, 2009 - 11:45PM | S07E08

Does this episode have legs? Let’s find out, my tasty little swimmers.

In this episode: Frylock’s loneliness gets the best of him, so he invents a new pair of robotic limbs, adorned with pick-up-artist style dragon boots. He also took his fries out and replaced them with realistic human hair. His plan is to call a computer repair woman so he can seduce her with his fryish charms. It doesn’t work, and it’s very apparent that it’s never going to work. She is simply not interested in this unwanted attention. Since Frylock is so level-headed and smart, he gets the message very quickly and decides to leave her alone.

PSYCHE!! He doesn't do that at all. Later, Frylock shows up a restaurant where she and her partner, Ray, are having dinner. Ray tries to stand-up to Frylock, who ruthlessly murders him with his eye lasers. The computer lady is of course, completely traumatized. Frylock makes off with Ray’s remains so he can harvest his organs and whatnot for another horrible gambit at appearing attractive to her, by placing his (too large) brain in his sewn-together body and pretending to have come back from the dead. 

The first time I saw this, I remember thinking that perhaps they went a little far with making Frylock such an unrepentant monster in this episode. He’s usually the voice of reason and only resorts to using his eye lasers when he absolutely needs to, just like me. But his inability to meet women has been a running thing in this show, and there really aren’t a whole lot of female food products that can talk in this world. His only recourse seems to be convincing, or now straight-up tricking, human women into being with him. One scene has him admitting to stalking the woman by bugging her home. I still think they took his character too far in this direction, but I care less. I guess we all just need to face the facts that Frylock had that in him this whole time. 

This one has a great cameo from George Lowe playing himself playing a cop. George’s appearances are typically drawn to look like him, which is why I worded it confusingly. He’s funny here, even though he’s fairly leashed as far as Lowe goes. Speaking of casting: the computer woman is comedian Natasha Leggero and Ray is voiced by Matt Walsh, also from comedy. They are pretty good too, so that’s nice. Lotta pretty good stuff going on here as far as performances go. 

The end of the episode involves the woman revealing to Frylock that she’s a CHUD, like from the 1980s horror picture of the same name. It does undercut the darkness of the humor a tad; the idea that Frylock is just interfering in the lives of a normal couple would seem inexcusable, but then it turns out she’s a monster who violently eats Master Shakes, so she’s no stranger to being gruesome. I might actually prefer it if they just leaned into the awfulness of Frylock’s actions, which is mostly portrayed as being genuinely horrific. Shoulda ended with Frylock just going to prison and being shanked to death.

This one’s weird, but I don't hate it. I was sorta expecting to find that this episode was particularly hated by fans. It’s one I see that pops up in “worst episode” lists, but it has enough defenders that I wouldn’t single it out as the single most-hated episode. It’s up there, though. Or, down there, rather. Messy, but it’s got a couple laughs. Okay, that’s enough from me, BYE!!!

EPHEMERA CORNER:

#adult swim #adultswim2021 #aqua teen hunger force #Youtube

[stickthisbig]

This happening again so let me explain in the only way I know how:

When I lived in my previous apartment, I paid for a professional organizer to come in and redo my kitchen. She evaluated my setup, she rearranged everything, she told me how I could get my shit unfucked. It was well worth the cost, I paid her, that was the end of the transaction.

Sometimes when I tell this to people, they're like "I can't believe you got took like that, any idiot would know those things." Sometimes when I tell this to people, they want her number. I thought it was worth it and it was my money. I derived the stated value and was satisfied.

She didn't say she'd be there and not show up. She didn't represent herself as someone more famous. She didn't post pictures of my apartment or dox me. She didn't hit me up for more money. She didn't steal my bank details. She did what she said she'd do.

Why is this perfectly okay, but when suddenly the service is tarot or psychic readings, everybody loses their goddamn minds? You should care that people are getting ripped off by people pretending to be tarot readers, because you should care about consumer rights. If somebody promises me they'll do a three card reading in exchange for cash, I want to see the interpretation of three tarot cards. If I receive that, it's on me. If I don't receive that, it doesn't matter whether you think tarot is real, I will not have received a product I paid for. I don't think people should pay for psychic services because I think it's fake, but you should always get what you pay for. If someone impersonates a given person and takes money for services, that's ethically and morally wrong, and quite frankly, you're being an asshole if you insist it's not just because you don't think the service has value.

If your problem is you don't think people should pay for these things at all, you need to be on the front end with education and support so that they don't feel the need for them in the first place, not jeering from the stands. It doesn't fucking matter what your personal belief is. It matters that consumers should not be stolen from. If you think that's null and void because someone else has a different belief system than you, get your fucking shit together.

#sabine i hear you ask #what about cults and cult services and mlms #that's an excellent question #I would argue that they too didn't provide you with what you paid for #but frankly that's between you and LRH #s has opinions

[smartmoneywoman]

To-Do Lists: The Secret Weapon to Tackling Life's Chaos

Do you feel overwhelmed by the chaos of life? The answer may be simpler than you think. To-do lists can be the secret weapon to gaining control over all of your tasks and increasing your productivity and focus. By breaking down your goals into manageable chunks, you can begin to tackle the chaos of life one step at a time. In this blog post, we will explore the many ways that to-do lists can help you stay on top of tasks and take control of your life.

1. To-do lists: the boring-but-necessary tool for adulting

To-do lists. Just hearing those words can make your eyes glaze over and your mind wander off to a faraway land where responsibilities don't exist. I get it, I really do. To-do lists can seem like the ultimate buzzkill, the party pooper of productivity. But let me tell you something – they are also the unsung heroes of adulting. Picture this: You wake up on a Saturday morning, ready to take on the world. You have a million things swirling around in your head – laundry, grocery shopping, paying bills, calling your mom (because guilt is a powerful motivator). It's enough to make you want to crawl back into bed and pretend responsibilities don't exist. But fear not, my friend, for the to-do list is here to save the day. With its organized, bullet-pointed goodness, it can transform even the most daunting tasks into manageable little nuggets of accomplishment. Suddenly, the chaos of life doesn't seem so overwhelming. You have a roadmap to guide you through the madness. So, embrace the to-do list. Embrace the joy of checking off each item, feeling the sweet satisfaction of progress. Because let's face it – adulting can be hard, but a good to-do list? It's like a superhero cape for your productivity. So grab a pen, start writing, and conquer the chaos, one task at a time.

2. Benefits of using a to-do list

Do you ever feel like life is a never-ending game of whack-a-mole, where tasks and responsibilities keep popping up faster than you can handle them? Well, my friend, that's where the humble to-do list comes in. It may seem like a simple tool, but let me tell you, the benefits of using a to-do list are nothing short of life-changing (okay, maybe that's a bit dramatic, but you get the point). First and foremost, a to-do list brings a sense of order and organization to the chaos of daily life. Instead of keeping a mental inventory of all the things you need to get done, you can simply jot them down on paper (or type them out on your fancy digital device). This not only helps to clear your mind but also ensures that nothing slips through the cracks. It's like having a personal assistant without actually having to pay someone to follow you around all day (although, that does sound kind of nice). Another major benefit of using a to-do list is the sheer satisfaction that comes from checking off completed tasks. There's just something incredibly gratifying about physically crossing an item off your list or clicking that little checkbox on your phone. It's like a tiny victory every time you complete a task, and those little victories add up to a major sense of accomplishment. And let's not forget the mental benefits. By writing down your tasks, you are essentially externalizing them, freeing up mental space to focus on more important things (like figuring out what to have for dinner or finally watching that Netflix show everyone's been talking about). Plus, studies have shown that writing things down helps to improve memory and increase overall cognitive function. So, by using a to-do list, you're not only getting things done, but you're also boosting your brain power. Talk about a win-win! So, whether you're a master multitasker or a professional procrastinator, a to-do list can be your secret weapon for taking control of your life. It brings order to the chaos, boosts productivity, and provides a sense of accomplishment. So grab a pen (or open your favorite list-making app), and start harnessing the power of the to-do list. Your future self will thank you.

3. How to create a to-do list that works for you

Creating a to-do list may sound like a simple task, but trust me, my friend, it's an art form. It's not just about scribbling down a bunch of tasks and hoping for the best. No, no, no. To create a to-do list that truly works for you, you must approach it with a strategic mindset (cue epic music). First, start by brainstorming all the tasks that need to be accomplished. Let your creativity flow and write them all down, no matter how big or small. This is your chance to unleash your inner list-making genius. Next, it's time to prioritize. Take a good, hard look at your list and determine which tasks are most important and urgent. You know, the ones that will haunt your dreams if you don't tackle them head-on. Put those at the top of your list and bask in the glory of your strategic thinking. But wait, there's more! Break down your tasks into smaller, more manageable steps. It's like deconstructing a giant mountain into tiny molehills. By doing this, you'll avoid feeling overwhelmed and actually make progress (imagine that!). And here's a pro tip: consider categorizing your tasks. Maybe you have work-related tasks, personal errands, and self-care activities. This way, you can tackle each category separately and feel like a multitasking superhero. Finally, be flexible. Life happens, and plans change. Embrace the chaos, my friend, and adjust your to-do list accordingly. After all, a to-do list is not a set-in-stone contract; it's a tool to help you stay organized and focused. So go forth, my fellow list-maker, and create a to-do list that works for you. And remember, in the battle against chaos, a well-crafted to-do list is your greatest ally. May the list-making gods be with you!

4. Prioritization: the key to a successful to-do list

Alright, my fellow list-makers, it's time to talk about the magical art of prioritization. Sure, you can jot down all your tasks on a to-do list, but if you don't prioritize them, you're just playing a game of task roulette. And let's be honest, you're more likely to win the lottery than complete all your tasks in a day. So, how do you prioritize like a pro? Well, it's simple (kind of). Start by identifying the most important tasks – you know, the ones that will make your life implode if left undone. These are the tasks that will have your boss breathing down your neck or your spouse giving you the death stare. Trust me, you want to tackle these bad boys head-on. Next, look at the tasks that will give you the most bang for your buck. These are the tasks that will make a significant impact or bring you the most satisfaction. It's like finding the hidden gems in a pile of rocks – they're worth the effort. And finally, don't forget about those tasks that have a looming deadline. Procrastinating might be your middle name, but trust me, it's a lot less stressful to tackle these tasks sooner rather than later. Plus, you'll have more time to binge-watch that new show on Netflix guilt-free. So, my friend, embrace the power of prioritization. It's the key to conquering your to-do list and taking control of your life. Remember, you're the captain of your own ship, and with a well-prioritized to-do list, you'll navigate those stormy seas like a true badass. Now go forth and conquer!

5. Tackling the tough tasks on your to-do list

Alright, my friend, it's time to face the music – those tough tasks that have been haunting your to-do list for far too long. We all have them – the tasks we keep pushing to the bottom of the list because, let's be honest, they're about as appealing as a cold cup of coffee. But fear not, my fellow task conqueror, for I have some tips to help you tackle even the most daunting of tasks. First things first, break it down. Sometimes the reason a task seems so overwhelming is because we're looking at the big picture. So instead of trying to swallow the whole elephant in one bite, break it down into bite-sized pieces. Whether it's writing a report or cleaning out the garage, tackle one section at a time and watch that sense of accomplishment grow with each step. Next, find your motivation. Maybe it's blasting your favorite pump-up playlist or bribing yourself with a delicious treat once the task is complete. Whatever it takes, find something that will make the task a little more enjoyable (or at least bearable). And finally, embrace the power of procrastination. Yes, you heard me right. Sometimes our best work comes from that last-minute burst of energy and panic. So don't be afraid to put off that task until the very last minute – just make sure you still have enough time to complete it. So go forth, my task-tackling warrior, and conquer those tough tasks with a smile on your face (or at least a begrudging acceptance). Remember, even the toughest tasks can be conquered one step at a time. And when you finally cross that task off your to-do list, you'll feel like the superhero of productivity. Now go forth and conquer!

6. Staying motivated and accountable with a to-do list

We've all been there – staring at our never-ending to-do lists, wondering how on earth we're going to find the motivation to tackle them all. It's like trying to climb Mount Everest with only a pair of flip-flops and a granola bar. But fear not, my fellow list-makers, for I have some tips to help you stay motivated and accountable with your to-do list. First, set realistic goals. Don't expect to conquer the world in a day. Break your tasks down into manageable chunks and give yourself a pat on the back for each little victory. Celebrate the small wins, like finally changing that lightbulb that's been flickering for weeks or making it through a whole hour without checking social media (a true feat, my friend). Next, find an accountability buddy. Share your to-do list with a friend or family member who will hold you to it. Let them give you a gentle nudge (or a swift kick in the rear) when you start slacking off. And hey, if they're really motivated, maybe they'll even join you in your productivity quest. Finally, reward yourself. Treat yourself to something special once you've completed a big task or reached a major milestone. It could be a decadent piece of chocolate, a luxurious bubble bath, or even a guilt-free Netflix binge. Whatever floats your boat and keeps you motivated. So my friend, embrace the power of motivation and accountability. Let your to-do list be your guide, and let your inner productivity superhero shine. With a little determination and a lot of laughter, you can conquer any task that comes your way. Now go forth, my motivated and accountable friend, and let the chaos of life tremble in your presence.

7. Avoiding common pitfalls when using a to-do list

Ah, the to-do list. The beacon of hope in a sea of chaos. But as with any great power, there are always pitfalls to watch out for. So, my fellow list-makers, let's talk about the common mistakes we must avoid when using a to-do list. First, let's address the never-ending list. You know, the one that seems to multiply faster than rabbits in spring. It's important to remember that your to-do list is not a never-ending abyss of tasks. It's a tool to help you stay organized and focused. So, avoid the temptation to add every little thing that crosses your mind. Be selective, my friend, and keep your list manageable. Next, let's talk about the danger of unrealistic expectations. Yes, we all want to be super productive, but trying to cram a week's worth of tasks into a single day is a recipe for disaster. Be kind to yourself and set realistic goals. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither will your to-do list. And finally, beware the shiny distractions. We all know how tempting it is to check social media or dive into a Netflix marathon instead of tackling our tasks. But remember, my friend, the power of the to-do list lies in its ability to keep us focused. So, resist the allure of shiny distractions and stay true to your list. With these pitfalls in mind, my fellow list-makers, go forth and conquer the chaos of life. Embrace the power of the to-do list, and remember, you are the master of your own productivity. May the forces of focus and organization be with you! Related Topics Time Management: 15 Ways To Manage Your Time Effectively The Power Of Tracking Your Habits 10 Smart Ways To Invest In Yourself Read the full article

[chemmerson]

em em em i would love to hear more about ur naruto theater nerd headcanons if u are willing to share 🥺 i need to know who the leads are, who are the supporting ppl, who's running the lights, who's about to lose their mind with the costumes, literally anything u got i will eat up like a 5 star meal

WAIT NONNIE WHAAATTTT LMAO how do you remember this???? i think i literally talked about it ONCE but you just made my day by bringing it up againnnnnn!!! okay okay but are you ready for this lmao.

(hi this is em after i read everything that i wrote and im so sorry if you didn’t want this much nonnie??? i tend to get carried away so pls ignore if you’re like “wait why are you insane” anyway lol)

if we are talking like, community theater headcanons, there are definitely a few that get almost every role every time they try out for it. sakura kills the scene as the lead for a lot of productions because she's worked her ass off, and sasuke, though reluctantly, gets a lot of the leads (no matter how often he tries out for just ensemble) because he's really talented no matter how much he hates it. rock lee is also insanely talented, and he's your typical theater kid. enthusiastic to a fault, is constantly singing and knows every musical ever made. sasuke has beaten him out of some leads a few times, and he vows to improve himself as an actor and singer every time it happens.

naruto has gotten supporting roles a few times, and much to everyone's surprise, he's a damn good singer! but naruto has a habit of trying out for a role, actually getting the role, realizing how much work it is, and then trying to back out. after all, he would rather be doing prop crew because he just likes to mess around backstage. but iruka never lets him back out and he vows to never again try out (and then he does because he loves the attention from the crowd).

don’t ask me why…but sai loves being in the shows too. he says he it’s fun to pretend to be other people and pretend to feel different emotions. don’t tell him he’s a terrible singer though.

shikamaru and choji are our prop crew managers. you can most likely find them hanging out backstage (along with naruto when he should be rehearsing) and not really super enthusiastic about the theater scene. but they are organized and get the job done and are just glad when the show is finally over.

tenten is in charge of set. and when i tell you that this is her passion. she puts her heart and soul into every production. she's creative, driven, and a great leader. she wants every production to be all out (despite iruka telling her that "this is not in the budget ten!!") and she'll make sure it happens one way or another. ("what do you mean we can't have fireworks? explosions? what about just fire? i promise it will be safe!!!")

neji is our stage manager. he's level-headed and calm and keeps a very tight ship when it comes to the week leading up to the show. to be honest, when tech week comes around, he's a little grumpy and on edge, but the show always turns out fantastic thanks to his attention to detail. sometimes he has to tangle tenten in from her crazy visions, and tenten pushes neji to think outside the box. tenten and neji are the dream team, and iruka thanks them every day for their expertise and focus.

ino yamanaka. the best damn costume designer and seamstress you've ever seen. this girl whips up the most amazing costumes for the cast, and if you get a tear in your costume during the show, she's calm cool and collected when she patches it up in the blink of an eye ("stop freaking out sakura, i've got this."). she's got an incredibly creative eye and has a vision (and don't you dare question her vision iruka).

then we have the booth. kiba and shino. kiba on sound, shino on lights. shino has his shit figured out. he's actually an amazing light designer and wants to go to college for it. kiba on the other hand...is never on the ball like he should be. iruka always has notes for him and the end of rehearsals...("mic. mic. MIC KIBA!!!" "oh damn my bad!!!")

one day, neji brings his cousin hinata to check out their new production. she actually gets along with kiba and shino up in the booth, and then asks to be trained on lights and sound! she starts helping out with productions and eventually gets introduced to everyone. theater helps her come out of her shell, and she really loves helping out with the shows when they come around.

hinata is up in the booth one day going over lighting cues, and she's humming one of the songs from the show. thinking no one is around her, she sings a little louder and is just enjoying the space to sing. then she hears a "HEY!" and she turns around with a yelp, only to find naruto who is in the booth to get fitted for his mic. "hey you're really good! you should sing!" naruto gets in her face, only for her to blush. "why don't you sing in the shows? try out next time, you're amazing!" and then naruto tells everyone that she can sing and she's mortified lmao.

oh yeah and iruka is the director :)

anyway. there's my mess of headcanons!! my college theater headcanons are different where everyone is assigned different songs lmao.

BUT ANYWAY NONNIE I LOVE U AND I HOPE YOU LIKE IT <33333

#i cant believe u remembered <3 #i rambled tho so im SORRY LOL #asks #anon <3 #naruto theater headcanons

[monster-fricker]

Part 4: Lessons in Emojis and Twirling

Male Orc (He/Him pronouns) x Female Human Reader (She/Her pronouns) - SFW Chapter, but will eventually be NSFW

- Preparing for the party. Oluan is the most shy, sweet baby that has ever lived and I would protect him at all costs. -

The first event being Oluan's "girlfriend" was set to be Saturday night. He was picking you up, which you were grateful for, considering you relied on walking and public transportation for everything and you did not intend to be the only sweaty person at some fancy party.

It was a private event, thrown by Oluan's publisher, not as a celebration but to "network." Oluan had spit that word out as if it was a curse. The only thing that seemed to soothe him in regards to the party was that you would be there to save him. You hoped he would feel the same way at the night's end. You had not exactly been exposed to something this upscale. You grew up poor. You are poor. The closest you had ever been to "fancy" was prom and you didn't even attend.

He was more explicit about this dress code than he was with the "pretty casual" fiasco- when you mentioned it, he did not consider it to be much of a fiasco at all, but that was a moot point. Oluan sent you a few photos from an event for his last book. You were terrified. Everyone was either in suits or long, elegant cocktail dresses, flutes of champagne in their hands and diamonds on their wrists. You started kicking yourself for not doing that Great Gatsby costume idea you had a few Halloweens ago.

Oluan, of course, kept his end of the bargain. He sent you money for a new dress, shoes, accessories, and "whatever else you would like (: <3" You had been teaching him how to use emojis. It was going alright.

When you looked at the amount he sent you, you nearly dropped your phone. There had to be a mistake. An extra 0? You texted him immediately to tell him.

"No, that is the correct amount. Get yourself something nice. If you need more, let me know. $_$"

Okay, the emojis were... a work in progress.

The hunt for the perfect dress was difficult. Oluan had, per your request, given you a list of recommended shops. All of them smelled of lavender and wealth, with soft lighting and growing ferns and sofas made from velvet. You hated it. You searched the racks in a fog, self-conscious and cognizant of the fact that you simply did not belong, nor were you sure you wanted to. Dressing up? That part you loved. It was the loneliness of being somewhere with expectations that you could never live up to. You wished Oluan was with you, if not for a second opinion, then for the laughter.

You missed him.

Despite the disorientation, you succeeded in finding an ensemble, down to jewelry and heels. You hurried home with them, not wanting to spend more time in those hideous stores than you already had. But, alone in your apartment, you twirled around in front of the mirror, watching the way your new dress rippled and swayed, and you wondered if Oluan would like it.

Saturday came quickly. You and Oluan had barely been in touch all day- him tied up in organizing, you tied up with figuring out what the fuck to do with your hair. By the time you heard your phone buzz, it was Oluan saying he was on his way to get you. You were as excited to see him as you were nauseated.

After fussing with your hair and makeup to the point of hysterics, products strewn across the floor, you resigned yourself to sitting on the couch, waiting for Oluan to text you and tell you he was outside.

The buzzer to your apartment rang instead.

"Hello?"

It could not be him. He was not expecting to come up and meet you at the door. You examined your living room, a spectacle of empty take-out containers and discarded clothes and that dust you'd been meaning to get to. It could not be him.

"Hey, it's Oluan." It was him.

"Oh..."

"...Oh?"

You considered not buzzing him up, but pretending you did. It could be like a little game where no one is having fun. You decided against it.

"Here, come on up."

Of course he is meeting you at the door, you thought. The guy is a gentleman who won't even let you move a chair by yourself. For all you knew, he was going to carry you to the car so you didn't have to walk. You glanced at your heels. That didn't sound terrible.

Three knocks rattled your door and you cracked it open, only enough to peak your head through.

"Listen, I live like an animal and my place is a mess and-"

The words caught in your throat as your eyes focused on the orc before you. Oluan stared at you inquisitively, his hair pulled back into a loose bun, a few loose waves falling along his jawline. His suit was a classic black jacket over a white button-up and, like the rest of his clothes, fit just tightly enough to advertise every curvature, every brawny inch of him. He had completed the look with his reading glasses and a pale pink bow tie.

Your gaze still roaming his body, you gasped, "Oluan, you look gorgeous."

He put his arms around his back and looked at his shoes, that infamous blush painting his ears dark. "Thank you. I-," he stammered, "Sorry if I wasn't supposed to come up."

"No, not at all, it's fine. I just didn't want you to see how gross my place is." You swung the door open, decidedly too enamored with Oluan at the present to care what he thought of your place.

His eyes widened.

"That bad? I mean, I know there is a lot of food trash. In my defense, I-"

He wasn't looking at the apartment. He was looking at you, in that long crimson dress you had so carefully chosen. The way he looked at you made you feel beautiful. It made you want to twirl.

"Please let me kiss you," Oluan whispered.

You hesitated, but not nearly for as long as he expected you to. You leaned into him and tenderly brushed your lips against his before meeting them completely. You could feel him shaking as he snaked one arm around you, placing his large hand on the small of your back, and you deepened the kiss, sucking on his bottom lip, enjoying how easily out of breath he became. You pulled away from him, regretting the lost contact instantly.

"We should get going," you said, "We don't want you to be late for your own party."

"Yeah," Oluan laughed nervously, "That probably wouldn't be a good look for me." You shut the door behind you.

"We should also do that again, by the way," you added.

"Do what?" Oluan was still in a daze, voice a raspy whisper.

You giggled and kissed him, briefly, but with purpose.

"Don't make me faint tonight," he breathed. You took his hand and led him out of the building.

"No promises."

Previous Chapter

Next Chapter

#monster boyfriend #monster lover #terato #monster bf #monster x human #monster x reader #orc x human #orc boyfriend #orc x reader

[oksanapark]

i’ve been seeing a lot of confusion regarding the plot of 4x05, so i thought some people might appreciate a brief overview of everything that’s going on with The Twelve and how the themes relate to Villaneve. because truly we’re all just here to watch two women kiss and the plot is SO HARD TO FOLLOW FOR NO REASON 😭 ok lets do it

4x05 Recap: As we knew, carolyn's father was a spy during the cold war. following in his footsteps, a younger carolyn has just been hired to the UK’s intelligence service, and her first mission is to infiltrate an anarchist political group, presumably to keep tabs on the soviet union’s influence in europe. here, she meets Johan (who she pretends? to date) and a young Konstantine (who she’s instantly attracted to, moreso than you’d want a spy to be lol). Not long after they sleep together, carolyn finds her father dead. she investigates and realizes konstantine is a KGB agent who only got close with her to get info on her father. konstantine snapped photos of him kissing other men and used his sexuality to blackmail him. subsequently, carolyn’s father commits suicide.

instead of just killing konstantine, in classic carolyn style she tries to make a deal with him, likely to find out who was targeting her father and get justice for him. but before she can, a jealous Johan interrupts. They end up killing him (or so they think). in reality Johan survives and goes on to help found The Twelve--which we finally understand is an organization dedicated to the political philosophy of anarchy. Based on Vlad’s behavior throughout the show, I think It’s possible that the Russian government is in bed with The Twelve, so we might hear more about that soon.. but anyways!

i know there has always been this theory that carolyn was a member of the twelve, but i never bought into that for various reasons and i think 4x05 makes it pretty clear now that she wasn’t. she was just spying on a group of people where the first ripples of the idea developed.

Post-4x05: These events set carolyn and konstantine down opposite paths-- konstantine becomes enmeshed with the twelve, while carolyn throws herself into MI6 work, seeking revenge but also probably out of guilt for making mistakes that lead to her father’s death. yet at the center of this mess is the strange love/hate relationship that carolyn and konstantine never seem able to let go of... from what i can tell they stay in contact for a while afterward, exchanging love letters as well as government secrets (at least long enough for them to frame Vlad as Carolyn’s source). The show hasn’t explained when or why they lose contact.

(disclaimer: it looks like the crew screwed up the timeline because 4x05 is the first time carolyn and konstantine meet and it uses the title card “1979,” but in 1x07 kenny finds letters between carolyn and konstantine that were dated “1977-1978″ ... so i’m working with what i have here ldkjfd sorry)  

okay, fast forward to season 1 episode 1.

carolyn hires eve to investigate a series of assassinations that she secretly suspects is the work of The Twelve..... which means that, decades later, it appears she only has a loose grasp on what the organization might have grown to be or who exactly is involved. though she is unsurprised to hear their name when Frank implicates them in 1x05.

In 1x06 however, carolyn appears VERY shocked when none other than konstantine vasiliev joins her, eve, and vlad at dinner. this is the scene that gave me the impression that the two of them haven't spoken in many years.

whew okay that’s pretty much it!! hopefully the overall thread of the story is making sense now... the question is ???? why tf should anyone care about this? lmao. personally i think it’s interesting to look at how carolyn x konstantine work as a contrast to villaneve.

Why this stuff matters: Eve and villanelle are the products of carolyn and konstantine respectively right. they’re like a fucked up family. carolyn originally saw eve as a pawn to help her achieve her personal goals, and of course konstantine groomed villanelle to be a weapon for the twelve.

what we're seeing play out in eve and villanelle's relationship is actually like... a breaking free of the older generation's war. carolyn and konstantine were star-crossed lovers in the truest sense, on opposite sides of a sociopolitical conflict, as well as (not completely) opposite sides of the moral spectrum. yes they cared for each other, but their relationship was built on distrust and hatred really. in 1x06 when eve asks "is konstantine an old friend?" carolyn simply answers  "no" with a smile. because whatever love they shared, it was never enough to overcome their differences.

eve and villanelle stand in stark contrast to that. neither are loyal to a certain party or cause--in fact they were both morally lost at the beginning of the show--but they found something worth being loyal for in each other. they are willing to change for each other, with villanelle becoming more like eve and eve becoming more like villanelle, and both working to find common ground, common humanity between them. carolyn and konstantine were little more than puppets of two corrupt governments, but with eve and villanelle it’s not british agent vs. russian agent. they’ve felt the corruption on both sides and their love exists outside the bounds of society altogether.

it’s a love that crosses cultural lines, nationality, political ideology, differences in morality, and importantly, sexuality norms. the fact that eve and villanelle are both women, the dangers of which were powerfully highlighted by the blackmailing of carolyn’s father in this episode.

and actually, carolyn’s whole character arc follows this homophobia-related thread. her mistakes in the ‘70s inadvertently led to the outing and death of a gay man, which has been at the heart of everything she does. now in the modern day, carolyn has watched and in some ways oddly encouraged the development of a romance between eve and villanelle, two women on opposing sides of a war. it’s almost like a combination of carolyn’s issues with her father and konstantine... and perhaps a resolution of them. i think she empathizes with eve and villanelle. even roots for them a little. its been delightful to watch because carolyn underestimated eve when she first recruited her and she didn’t expect to have her life so profoundly changed by her friendship.

something similar could be said for konstantine, as he was the one who orchestrated the blackmail. he was always far less enthusiastic than carolyn about eve and villanelle’s relationship, but i think being witness to their love has deeply affected him as well.

back to what i was saying though about villaneve existing outside the bounds of society... killing eve is a stunning love story because nearly every force in the world is working to keep them apart, yet they have this unexplainable, unbreakable bond that transcends it all. and again, konstantine and carolyn are important because they work as a contrast to this-- two people who DID let their differences get in the way of their love. carolyn reflects on this briefly in 4x05 and man this scene brought tears to my eyes:

Carolyn: “Do you ever think what might’ve happened if we hadn’t [killed Johan]? Do you think we might’ve had nice, normal existences? Kept our children? Maybe you and I... [trails off].”

Konstantine: “I don’t know.”

Carolyn: “No, you’re right. People like us aren’t made for happy lives with happy endings.”

But maybe eve and villanelle could be... if they learn from their mentors.

anyways thats it i guess! oof this was longer than i expected haha but yeah these are just my thoughts after watching 4x05, thanks for reading if anyone made it this far <3

#i bet we'll get an interesting conversation with carolyn and johan next episode about #the values of the 12 and who the villains of the world really are.. until then x #killing eve #suicide tw

[jdrizzle15]

Her Second Return

Just like all of you, and especially my fellow Penny fans, I am absolutely devastated by the Volume 8 finale. I had been in quite a state these last few days, utterly heartbroken, and actually nauseous at times. It feels strange to me to be legitimately grieving a fictional character, but it’s not a bad thing to feel this way. To me, this just shows that CRWBY loves her just as much as us to have written her so well that we connect so completely with her, that it feels like we lost an actual piece of ourselves when she’s gone.

But as you can probably tell by the title, this mega post isn’t gonna be about accepting this end, not in the slightest! Today I want to share canon evidence that can point towards another return of our beloved quirky red headed cinnamon bun! I’m here to spread this hope that I and others in the Nuts & Dolts dolts Discord server have!

I have this separated into many different sections to keep these thoughts organized. With that said, here goes…

A Father’s Words:

In Episode 7 of Volume 7, ‘Worst Case Scenario’ we learn the origins of Penny’s aura, and thus her soul. We also learn that it takes more aura each time she’s brought back. This leaves open an option that could be used at a later point.

Many people theorized that Pietro could indeed revive Penny one more time, which he would absolutely do. But there also lies the possibility that someone else could donate some of theirs, I’m not sure about this as I feel like it’s akin to blood donation where compatibility matters or there's a high risk of altering her, but the possibility is definitely there.

Now, the conversation in Chapter 5 of Volume 8, ‘Amity’ that Pietro and Penny have is an important moment for both Father and Daughter. It was there to show how her death in PvP all that time ago really did have a heavy impact on him and is still affecting him to this day.

Instead of continuing to pretend that everything is A-okay, like he had done for most of Volume 7, he finally lets his true feelings about how it come out to Penny for what is quite likely the first time. Even going so far as to say "Are you asking me to go through that again?" when she offers to take the risk of trying to lift Amity with her power. He wants Penny to be able to live her life.

This entire scene with Pietro established “this is what will likely happen” even if circumstances are much different now, it doesn’t negate the fact that this is a key part of Penny’s story. Scenes like these have a purpose beyond simply making an eventual death all the more heart wrenching. Her never actually getting to live her life makes those scenes basically moot. It makes them effectively pointless from narrative point of view. Unless there's more to it.

Building Relationship:

The build up between Ruby and Penny the last two volumes has been absolutely phenomenal with a definite destination in mind, and this doesn’t feel like that destination. So much of the arc of this season was to help Penny. This girl that our main protagonist absolutely adores and treasures, it would just be awful to throw all of that out for what amounts to an avoidable end. Why use so much of their precious and very limited runtime on deliberately building up this relationship only to end it abruptly, and permanently, when they’re separated?

In my opinion, RT is definitely smarter now than to intentionally set up what was really looking like a budding gay relationship only to kill one of them for good. If N&D wasn't actually going in a romantic direction, why would they leave in all of the romance-adjacent stuff that they got, that's not how ‘just friends’ act. And that is not something you use such valuable time building up for absolutely no pay off whatsoever...

Representation of Hope:

At its core, RWBY has always been about hope. It’s not at the forefront the whole time, but there's been an underlying theme of hopefulness that has persisted since it began. Some describe the show as a Hopepunk, I personally find this to describe RWBY really well. This genre of storytelling is about caring for things deeply and the courage and strength it takes to do so. It’s about never submitting or accepting the way things are. Fighting for what you believe in and standing up for others. RWBY fits all of this extremely well. How does this relate to Penny? She has been shown to be a sign of hope for everyone, but especially for Ruby, the main main protagonist. A prerequisite for a Hopepunk story is the hope.

Her first death in V3 was something that fundamentally changed Ruby. For the first time in the series, we see our main character all but broken by this event. With the loss of Penny, immediately afterwards, Ruby’s hope followed. She made up for it through determination and force of will. We see it affect her multiple times throughout the journey to Volume 7. But upon her return in V7, Hope reached a high point for everyone, the sheer relief on Ruby’s face is plain to see!

In V8 chapter 5 ‘Amity’, Penny literally raises hope by lifting the arena into the sky so Ruby could spread her message. And when she falls, and Amity with her, the connection is lost and hope plummets again. From there things take a very negative turn with the hack begins to take Penny’s agency.

In chapter 11 ’Risk’ is the point in the arc where everyone is reunited for the moment, so two separate hero stories are no longer a thing at that point in time. For the time being focus seemed to be shifted to care about the characters and how they’re going to solve the current problems. This is also where Ruby reaches her lowest emotional point in the season.

It’s not huge, but it’s interesting how connected this is. Before Ruby and Yang share a good cry over learning the possible fate of Summer, Yang brings up restoring optimism and hope to Ruby after the younger sister storms out of the room in frustration. This is where Penny’s scenes take up the rest of the episode. Getting Penny back in control of her own body and safe again is what makes the ending of the episode much brighter, when just 5 minutes before Ruby had been distraught and scared. This then spills over into the group coming up with the plan to use the staff, putting the main group in a much better mood. Of all the things to go right, it’s interesting that it’s Penny.

Things go wrong with the plan in the end and Penny dies. I find it interesting that once again, Penny got them hopeful in their chances of doing something right. Given said plan succeeded but at the cost of Penny of all people, Penny is shown to be the beginning and end of hope for them

The highest and lowest points for hope seem to directly correlate to when Penny’s around. When she comes back again, hope will return too, just like it had before. And because she’ll likely be back for good this time, the second return will probably be close to when Ruby is nearing the complete abandonment of hope. This would be pretty par for the course of the show honestly.

A little aside, but in a sense, Penny also represents Unity. The CCT in Vale fell after her first death, knocking out global communications and the unifying connection it gave. When it was restored for the briefest moment, she was there. Her body connected so she could allow for its launch, her soul lighting the night to hold up Amity with every ounce of her strength. So of course when the Hack succeeds and she falls, she takes global comms down again with her. At a smaller scale - even at the Hack's second last attempt to control her, she draws everyone in the Schnee Manor together. At the start of the volume, Yang states the one thing that they all agree on is not surrendering Penny.

Unity seems appropriate for one whose first song and wish was for but one friend, who would go on to find so many more in the process, and permit for a moment the possibility of all Remnant becoming friends once more. Where she first died, the name of the episode devoted to her story - Amity, "friendship", from the Latin root amicus, "friend" - she almost lives and dies with the very possibility of a united Remnant. It's no wonder she's a priority target for Salem, the great divider, and it seems natural that her next restoration may very well allow the next bid to bring the world together.

The Void Screams:

Moments after Penny's death, we hear a weird scream in the void space. It was a guttural, pained, angry scream, almost like the void space itself was crying out. All the portals shuddered and flickered when it happened.

Some think that this scream was Salem returning, but that happens earlier than Penny’s death, her return is signaled with cinder's arm acting up. We know this because after the arm finished flailing uncontrollably, Cinder said triumphantly "she's back." If it were Salem screaming, it would have happened after she fixed herself, but it didn't.

And I doubt Cinder would have been surprised or unsettled by it considering she was happy Salem returned not long before it. And why would a Salem scream affect the portals anyway, she has no connection to the staff or it's magic.

Another thing to consider is the fact sound is not transmitted through the portals. Otherwise, they would've heard Oscar and the rest calling for them, or the screams of the citizens of Mantle and Atlas. This lowers the possibility of that scream being from Salem even further.

The sound really seems to be coming from something else entirely within the void, and that something is not at all happy. There’s also the fact that Penny was the only person who died in the void space, everyone else was just thrown out of it like Ruby and Co. The only logical cause to me is Penny. Her body was a product (or byproduct) of the same creation magic that made the void space, her blood seems to have been a trigger.

Now I can't be sure about it, but this makes me feel like Penny is almost a part of creation itself? For whatever this thing is to be so angry, that is the only explanation I can think of currently. But all of this could possibly relate to the Narnia allusion of 'the willing victim killed in a traitor's stead' that others have brought up, which will be covered next.

Narnia Parallels:

Atlas has several parallels and references to fictional places (putting aside real world ones like the United States). One of those is that of Narnia, both on the surface and on a deeper level. It is a land of winter year round, where people struggle to survive and there is a present divide between those loyal to the current Monarch and those who are not. James is a parallel to Jadis, the White Witch, a ruler whose thoughts and cares aren’t exactly centered around the actual well being of the people. The hologram table in Ironwood’s office is designed to look like stone, like the Stone Table which features prominently in the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. He has a handpicked cadre of special agents/secret police, like how Maugrim and his wolves served Jadis. Another key parallel is how Jadis’s winter sets in to oppress and kill everyone in Narnia, but the Witch provides aid and protection to her loyal followers. She has all the power to spare harm to others, and uses it only for the loyal. As soon as Mantle splits from James and Atlas, no care is taken to protect them from the cold of Solitas even though he has every ability to turn the heating grid back on. His protection is only for the loyal.

Now that the parallel is established, let's look into the details. Starting with how James plays the role of Jadis.

"I had forgotten that you are only a common boy. How should you understand reasons of State? You must learn, child, that what would be wrong for you or for any of the common people is not wrong in a great Queen such as I. The weight of the world is on our shoulders. We must be freed from all rules. Ours is a high and lonely destiny." These are the words Jadis says in the Magician’s Nephew to justify the blood civil war she and her sister had waged for rulership of Charn, before she came to Narnia. She won that war, technically, but only after the last battle had been lost and her sister had marched right up to her so that they were face to face. Jadis’s troops were dead, her followers had surrendered, and the capital was under full control of her sister. But, she still had one card, one ultimate play to win and prove the throne of Charn was rightfully her. The Deplorable Word, a piece of old magic that killed everyone and everything except for her on Charn. It was monstrous, senseless, cruel beyond measure. But it got her that hollow victory. This mindset, the disregard for the people except as tools for her own will, the ultimate ‘aoe’ destructive move that no one had even considered her using, the unwillingness to stop even when by all practical measures the war is over, is a shocking parallel to James. In many ways, he is Jadis in mindset and deed.

Then there is the shared desire for A Thing that both James and Jadis have. For James it’s the Winter Maiden and control over her. For Jadis it’s the Silver Apples from the Tree of Youth. And funnily enough, the Maiden Powers parallel the Apples quiet well. These apples grant power and a life of eternal beauty, but should not be taken or eaten on one’s own initiative. They must be given, a gift granted by another, or only suffering will come from obtaining them. "For the fruit always works — it must work — but it does not work happily for any who pluck it at their own will. If any Narnian, unbidden, had stolen an apple and planted it here to protect Narnia, it would have protected Narnia. But it would have done so by making Narnia into another strong and cruel empire like Charn, not the kindly land I mean it to be.” Jadis’s immortality, and some of her power, come from the fact that she ate an Apple of her own will after stealing her way into the garden where the Tree of Youth had been planted. She gained the eternal life she had wanted and the power along with it, but she did so by taking it and was cursed because of it. Her skin turned pale and her lips blackened as if she were a frozen corpse given life. She will be trapped in a life of misery and hate according to Aslan- oh hey Cinder, how’s having stolen the Power you always wanted working out for you? Cinder had the power she wanted, but she only got hungrier, eager to claim more and increase her might. But in her pursuit she was defeated and humiliated by Raven, had to steal her way out of Mistral, and then suffered defeat after defeat while in Atlas. Only in the end, when she didn’t keep pursuing the Maiden Power, did she get any kind of victory.

The reason these parallels to Narnia are so important is one of the most famous events of the series. The cracking of the Stone Table and the rebirth of Aslan after his death. ‘When a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor's stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backward.’ Well, the ‘Stone Table’ in James’s office has cracked, and Penny strikes me as a pretty willing victim. She has never actually committed any actual treachery or harm, as she was the Protector of Mantle, and fought for its and Atlas’s people until the very end. And because of her death, the actual traitor, Winter, who loyally served James until he had gone too far, was saved. Through Penny’s self sacrifice, Winter was saved. So now Death itself will start working backward.

(Major props to my friend @catontheweb for writing this section, I was getting nowhere with it, if they weren't there this part wouldn't exist!)

Norse Mythology:

The tree we see in the post credit scene gives off some serious Yggdrasil vibes. Also called the World Tree, it is essentially all of creation in Norse Mythology. It connects all nine realms, including the God realms of Asgard, the human realm of Midgard, and the underworld of Hel.

Humans are born from the branches of Yggdrasil. The web of Wyrd is woven for every person once they're born, and their path is set from there regardless of how many times the souls cycle over. But at the end, they're destined to end up in one of the worlds, for a myriad of reasons.

I believe Penny landed closest to this giant tree. She was on the center platform in the void space, so if that space is directly above the island(?) the tree is on, it makes sense for her to fall by the center nearest to the tree. This would not only open up all kinds of possibilities for the volume in general, but it would also create options for Penny.

The whole of Yggdrasil’s representations fit well into Penny’s story. Birth, growth, death and rebirth. We can count Penny’s appearance in V7 as birth for now, her growth is all her development in leaving =the military and becoming a Maiden, her death just happened, and her rebirth would be her revival. And this is a cycle she’s gone through before.

The Norse god Odin and Yggdrasil have quite a connection. In one story, Odin cut out one of his own eyes to gain knowledge from a pool underneath Yggdrasil. The only one that fell whose eyes alone are incredibly significant to the story was Ruby. So, they could choose to have her allude to Odin by having Ruby make some kind of deal with whatever entity likely rules over this magical place. An eye for Penny’s life.

There’s another story about Odin, Yggdrasil and the pursuit of knowledge. Odin so loved knowledge, that he sacrificed himself in a quest to learn the deeper magic of runes. It was believed one could only learn the magic spells from runes in death. So, Odin hung himself on Yggdrasil for nine days as an offering, and teetered between life and death. After he mastered the last spell on the ninth night, he ritually died and all light was extinguished from the world. Odin’s death lasted until midnight, when he was reborn and light returned to the world.

This story doesn’t fit Penny perfectly, but allusions often don’t. So If she really did land near the tree, she could be another loose representation of Odin’s story here. What she did wasn’t for knowledge, but to save her friends and keep Cinder from getting the Winter Maiden power. She believed it necessary that she sacrifice herself to achieve this end. As we established, Penny represents Hope, so her death means the loss of hope. This parallels Odin’s story of his death meaning the loss of light itself. So if this theory holds up, it would make this death temporary, until her rebirth and the return of Hope with her once again.

Alternatively, Ruby has the potential of loosely representing Odin in this story as well. Odin later uses the knowledge of the runes to do many things, but the most relevant one right now is awakening the dead. Both of these stories are about making a personal sacrifice to gain something that is desired. Ruby would absolutely make such sacrifices if it meant saving Penny.

It is said that Odin lived “according to his highest will unconditionally, accepting whatever hardships arise from that pursuit, and allowing nothing, not even death, to stand between him and the attainment of his goals." This sounds like Penny's arc of accepting the WM powers. This is more just a general connection between Penny and Odin, but I found it interesting.

Side Note: I encourage anyone who’s interested to look into RWBY connections to Norse Myth, there’s a surprising amount of things that feel eerily similar to the show. Likely just coincidental, but it’s fun to think about!

(If I got any of this wrong, I sincerely apologize by the way. I researched as best I could, but I admit it could have been lacking.)

Ambrosius and the Staff:

Ruby told Ambrosius "we kinda wanna keep her around longer than that" as part of her very specific instructions. Then Penny died about ten to fifteen minutes, at the absolute most thirty minutes later in-universe. I don’t know about you, but to me that seems very short to be considered ‘longer than that’. Technically it is, but when writing a story and a character says something like that, you typically don’t just kill the character they were referring to basically right away. It makes sense for a week-by-week watch, but in a volume binge, which many viewers do, it becomes ironic how fast Penny dies after being removed from her robotic body.

The first time we see the staff of creation being used, it's to save Penny. Using the staff of creation to help Penny is a sign of how incredibly important she is.

They’ve even got this entire transformation sequence for her, so it wouldn’t make sense for them to throw all that away two episodes later. In a meta context, it’s a massive waste of time and budget considering the asset creation for Penny.

Penny is a character who has already hopped bodies two times. And now we're supposed to just believe that this time it really is a final death? Just two episodes after we were explicitly told her body isn't what matters, that "Her soul is who she is" and that "the mechanical parts are just extra"? From a writing perspective, it feels strange, like your breaking a promise right after making it. And frankly, CRWBY is better than that, which makes me think this is not the actual end for her.

A possible connection between Penny, Ruby, and the Staff (thus Creation) can be seen in the intro. As Ruby is falling and being dragged down into the darkness, she is shown reaching for the staff. In the void space, Penny is the one with the relic. So with Penny having this strong connection to Creation, and the lyrics “fight for every life” playing as Ruby reaches for the staff, it’s a safe assumption to make, with the knowledge we now have, that the Staff of Creation represents Penny in this particular moment. Which could mean that V9 will be about, at least partially, fighting for Penny’s life.

Musical Hints:

In terms of music, Friend, as a song for Penny, is very dissonant from the episode itself. The song is oddly cheerful for Penny’s recent untimely death, and it overall highlights the wrong parts of death. It’s simply too happy to be a song about losing one of the most, if not the most joyous characters in the entire show. The song also abruptly ends. There’s no outro, and while this could symbolize the fact that Penny died young, it could be that the song itself is unfinished in a story sense.

What do we hear just before the song finishes, though? A progression of notes that sounds eerily similar to the last line of the opening of Volume 8. The notes for “Fight for ev’ry life” and “Who fin’lly felt alive'' share a similar melodic structure, they aren’t perfect clones of each other, but they are incredibly similar, to the point where it seems intentional. Penny may very well be the life that the opening song is fighting for. It is also worth noting that the line “Fight for every life” comes just after “Sometimes it’s worth it all to risk the fall,” which is the exact wording used for the description in the Volume 8 finale. Team RWBY risked the fall, yet, strangely the opposite of fighting for every life happened with Penny’s sacrifice. Perhaps the time to fight for every life has yet to happen, and we will see it come Volume 9.

For another thing, the lyrics for Friend are entirely centered on Penny’s feelings for Ruby, to the point where they read very much like a bittersweet love song. The music itself is incredibly cheerful, as mentioned previously, creating a mood whiplash with the end of the volume. Why would we hear a song about Penny’s feelings for Ruby, sounding like a love song, if her death is supposed to be a tragic sacrifice akin to Pyrrha’s? The song may very well be giving a clue into its future use in the show proper.

If this was meant to be a good bye song, why make it so cheerful and romantic sounding? There's only one part about her dying and even then, it's just too accepting and goes right back into cheerfulness. The song is also pretty hopeful, telling Penny's story in a fairly chronological order. And the part where she talks about sacrifice is quite pointedly followed up by one about feeling alive. It also ends with the super cheerful chorus, the word "alive" being the last... (Remember the episode title: The Final Word)

(I want to thank my friend @shadow-0f-x for writing the majority of this section! I was struggling to choose how to tackle it as I am not well versed in music theory.)

What We Didn’t See:

It is likely that Penny understood Jaune's semblance better than him and figured something out about it’s abilities in the same way that she understood Ruby's semblance better than her. She had plenty of time to observe his semblance up close as he boosted her aura to stave off the virus. Because of that intentionally timed cutaway in the finale, we don’t get to hear her explain herself after her strained “Trust me.” All of that seems really suspicious to me.

Pyrrha Parallel:

Pyrrha and Penny both sacrificed themselves to stop or stall Cinder. Jaune tried to convince the both of them to stop. With Pyrrha, he failed, while with Penny he actively helped her sacrifice herself. Doesn’t make sense for the guy who was determined not to let anyone else do what Pyrrha did, unless of course Penny assured him she’d be alright.

The Moment:

RT including the suicide hotline in the description shows that they're aware that Penny basically committed assisted suicide, seeing it as a noble sacrifice worth doing to save her friends. They're aware, and I believe they're smart enough to condemn that decision to hell and back.

The best way to do that in my opinion is to pull her back into the land of the living and let her witness first hand the consequences of throwing her life away so freely. This would show Penny how her actions affected others so maybe she could learn to truly value herself. To not think herself expendable. It would be bold and unwise to portray this choice as something good, unless it was going to be called upon later and be pointed out for how horrible it really is.

On top of this, Penny was way too content with her death, happy even. There's no way team RWBY is letting her stay content with it. It’s almost as though we're supposed to join Ruby and Co. in calling bullshit on what Penny is saying and doing because no, Penny, this is not how things are meant to work. It's as if Penny was basically saying "I want to die for my friends" because most of the volume had been about everyone else making sure she didn't die. She knows it will hurt them. She knows.

At the peak of it all, a choice like this will totally destroy Ruby. It may very well be her breaking point for Volume 9. Curiously, the moment itself is written like it’s the first choice Penny’s ever made, yet the entire Volume shows this isn’t the case. However, this is the first choice that Penny’s made solely independently and it’s rather pertinent that the choice she makes is a mistake. Outside of giving Winter the Maiden gift and saving the day temporarily, this sacrifice will not have any lasting positive effects. Jaune will be saddled with the grief of killing Penny. Ruby will have to live with losing her best friend and not being able to protect her a second time, and Winter now has the burden of the Winter Maiden abilities, making her a target of Cinder. This is a bad thing, and Penny needs to see the long term consequences.

Transfer of Power:

As we all know, colors in RWBY are really important and get a lot of focus in the show. That means the yellow we see as Penny gives Winter the Maiden Powers was intentional and likely important, no matter how insignificant it may seem. It’s possible that the transfer effect being yellow could have something to do with Jaune’s semblance. When Fria gave the power to Penny, the effect was very much blue, so this transfer should have been green since she was the one giving it this time. The weirdness of this transfer and the focus on color in RWBY really makes it look like something’s up with how that went down.

A little off topic, but Penny saying "I won't be gone, I'll be part of you." makes me think... Winter is smart, so when she gets time to think about what Penny said, maybe she'll arrive at the same question many in the audience came to; if she's literally part of Winter, can they be separated again? If Winter starts questioning that, the possibility of Penny coming back just skyrockets.

Fria actually tells Penny "I'll be gone" before giving her powers up, which is an interesting contrast to Penny telling Winter "I won't be gone". She may have gotten that line from Winter be all philosophical in V7, saying Fria was now a part of Penny, but it hits differently coming from an actual Maiden. S5o it’s possible that Maidens usually actually will be gone, but Jaune's semblance did something to change that.

This could go well with the theory that they won't need to find an aura transfer machine, or build another one, because Jaune will have a semblance evolution allowing him to do the transfer instead. It might actually be that this evolution already happened and the golden light we saw was Jaune transferring penny's aura to Winter in some way?

An observation that I find interesting is when Penny gives winter the powers, not only is the aura yellow but penny completely glows yellow too, and she obviously starts to disappear, but she doesn’t seem to fully disappear, she just glows.

It's possibly a fading out effect and she does fully fade but animation makes bright light easier, and so we don't actually see her disappear because she's dead and not gone. But it does once again emphasize the color yellow here!

And the color is coming from Penny, it does go up Winter's arm a bit, but Penny is clearly the source. This transfer is so weird and I’m not really sure how to interpret it. There's just actually no reason that we are aware of to make the effect yellow here is the thing. Unless it has something to do with either Jaune or Ambrosius, or potentially a combination of both...

Jaune’s Aura:

The way we see Jaune's aura break in the finale is strange. His aura shouldn't be breaking here. It had been long enough since he was boosting Penny, he's had time to recharge, and it didn't look like it was a strain on him at all. Plus, we know he has a lot of aura, so there probably wasn't too much to recharge in the first place.

He has a massive amount of aura, it has never broken before as far as I remember. Even if it has though, that doesn’t make this occurrence any less odd. It should absolutely never be a one-hit KO. We didn't see anything that would've drained it, that should not have been enough to break his aura. Unless he did something - something that would require a huge amount of aura - that we just didn't see. That amount of aura drain is far more than just an attempt at healing would do, Jaune absolutely did something with his semblance that took up almost all of his aura.

Pinocchio Allusion:

As any Penny fan knows, her character allusion is Pinocchio, the puppet who became a real boy. Penny deviates from the allusion by having always been a real girl, as Ruby is quick to point out, but she shares many story beats with her original story including multiple deaths. In the original story, Pinocchio dies from being hung by his own strings due to his poor decision making and he dies. Sounds a little familiar, does it not? This is where his tale originally ended. Readers were unsatisfied with this ending however, so the author decided to change the story by reviving Pinocchio and teaching him to be more careful.

Unlike Pinocchio making all the wrong decisions, Penny often makes the right ones, or ones she thinks is right, when concerning others. While usually a good thing, this has meant Penny almost giving herself up multiple times during V8, her last attempt being successful. This is where Penny and Pinocchio begin to share similarities again. They are both very reckless when it concerns themselves. This carelessness comes from different places, but it ends with the same result of them endangering their lives and even sometimes losing them.

In the Disney movie, Pinocchio dies by drowning after going to rescue Geppetto and washes up on the shore (like the beach in V8’s post credit scene). His father is devastated and takes him home to grieve, but as a reward for his selflessness in rescuing his father, the Blue Fairy returns and brings him back to life, as well as granting him humanity. Penny sacrificed her life as well, and it stands to reason that she should be rewarded for it, much like her allusion was.

Penny got her maiden powers from someone with blue aura and then gave her powers to someone with blue aura. So it could be that not only Ambrosius, but Fria and Winter as well represent the Blue Fairy. It could be set up for Winter helping to bring Penny back to life once more. It’s an out there theory I admit, but it’s not outright impossible either. The Blue Fairy in Pinocchio saved him three times that I know of, so RWBY having three representations does make sense.

Geppetto wished for him to live as a real boy, but it depended on what path Pinocchio took. This is very reminiscent of Penny and Pietro. Pietro wants to see her live her life, and surely with him absent in V8C14 that didn't work, despite Penny choosing. Her father did not see her happy enough to live her life, and will only be able to learn her death through others. But Pinocchio's themes were life and being alive. So the likelihood that this is not her end yet is quite high!

A Girl That Fell Through the World:

Penny could be the girl who fell through the world. The girl in the story fled the consequences of a choice. The only person who chose her ultimate fate was Penny. The others were pushed into the void, but she chose to die. The consequence of her choice is Ruby’s grief first and foremost, which Penny won’t see. The girl who fell through the world does come back though, and the world will be changed severely with Penny’s absence. Alternatively, it could also be Penny coming back to Wonderland or wherever they currently are, as long as it’s unrecognizable to her.

What Returning Brings:

Others might say another return would have no story relevant purpose, but I wholeheartedly disagree. Penny gives a profoundly youthful, joyous, and wondrous outlook on the world and story that we hadn't seen since Ruby in Volumes 1-3(not the end), Penny returning would bring a much needed levity back in after the despair they will undoubtedly be going through. While not necessarily a huge thing in most other shows, for RWBY, a show largely about keeping up hope, an ounce of such relief is a necessity.

As much as I hate saying it, Penny’s death does actually make some narrative sense because she had to pass on the Maiden powers. (They could have done this in a number of ways, and I personally think they chose rather poorly, but I digress.) Throughout this whole volume, we can see Penny seemingly being set up to join the main cast, but would have been too strong with the powers. This also accomplishes ridding her of the burden of responsibility that comes with being a Maiden and lets her obtain the freedom that’s so important to her character.

Once she returns, seeing this grief that her actions caused, particularly to Ruby, will get her to realize more that her actions can have serious repercussions. She made a choice, but that choice hurt the people she loves. She must have known that it would but I’m not sure she ever realized just how much.

I didn’t want this post to be heavy in the shipping department, so I largely left it out, but I am going to say this one thing that could have an impact. If Nuts & Dolts is on its way to being canon, which this volume makes it feel highly likely, this could be a catalyst.

It could prompt an arc for the both of them in which Penny learns to live her life fighting for her loved ones, rather than sacrificing it for them. A relationship could potentially start from there. And Ruby seeing Penny learn these things may also help her to stop doing the occasional but very dangerous and reckless things she does. Ruby witnessing Penny coming to terms with what she did to the people that care about her would actually make her stop to think “wait, is this how everyone else would feel if I got myself killed?” That would be a very important moment of character growth for her.

I’m certain there are other significant things that Penny returning can bring to the show. And there are definitely more sections I could add to this. At this point though, assuming anyone even made it this far, I think I’ve been going long enough already. So let’s just roll into the outro!

As painful and hopeless as it seems, I'm choosing to trust them with this because there is absolutely no way they didn't see backlash coming. The way this finale went makes me think that they calculated for backlash and aren’t jumping into something they don’t have a plan to recover from. Whether this trust is unfounded or not remains to be seen, but I don’t think it is currently. I do think, however, that the cause of this backlash was a major misstep. Now that it has happened though, they have a chance to do something good with it.

I know for a lot of you, trust in CRWBY has been damaged, some even irreparably so. And for those that feel this way, I don’t blame you. My trust in them took a hit too, but isn’t broken completely yet. There are many ways that they can bring her back that would make sense with the narrative, they have the ability to make it right, and after going over all of the hints and general weirdness of things many times, I think they will.

I'm feeling pretty confident now and I really didn't expect that to happen at all to be honest. But discussing and theorizing with the discord server seriously helped get my hopes back up surprisingly fast! It’s actually thanks to all of them that this gigantic post even happened! So thanks a ton my fellow Dolts! And a special thanks to!!

@arcana-amicus

@catontheweb

@cosmokyrin

@gaydontmesswithme224

@jammatown919

@shadow-0f-x

They really helped get this thing across the finish line!

And thank YOU for reading all~ of this! I sincerely wish it gave you some of the hope and confidence that I now have!

#RWBY #rwby vol8 #rwby v8 #rwby spoilers #Penny Polendina #nuts and dolts #mechanical rose #a little #Essay #more like dissertation #I haven't written this much in #probably ever actually #Have HOPE people!

[green-socks]

Endless Nights

Pairing: Benny Miller x gn!reader (no descriptions or pronouns)

Summary: You and Benny can't seem to get enough of each other's company. Could tonight be the night you find the courage to do something about that crush?

Words: 2,101

Warnings: Nudity but not the sexual kind, food/eating. Almost zero editing and a tired writer.

Notes: I don't always participate in Writer Wednesday, but when I do I take one look at the picture, get an idea and then go completely off the rails. Sorry. So the pic doesn't really have a lot to do with the rest of the fic but I hope that's okay. For this week's @autumnleaves1991-blog Writer Wednesday, thanks for organizing it every week!

I had the idea for midnight shopping at the supermarket with Benny and then realized I didn't want the night to end there... So it didn't. I actually like this piece, even if it probably suffered a lot from my fast writing and non-existent editing. Reader is mentioned having shorter legs than Benny but other than that I think there are no descriptions or pronouns used of reader, lmk if I'm wrong.

MASTERLIST

You and Benny have been driving around aimlessly for a couple of hours already, taking turns in picking the music, and talking about this and that while sometimes falling into a companionable silence. It still amazes you how easy and comfortable everything is with him. You have never felt like this with a crush before, used to the feeling of always obsessing over what you felt like you could and couldn’t say or do, or spending a lot of time and energy into trying to figure out what the other thought.

No, with Benny you don’t have to pretend anything or force yourself to keep the conversation running in fear of those horrid awkward silences, because both of you know that you can talk for hours on end when the mood strikes. You met through mutual friends only a few weeks ago, but the connection was clearly there. As was the obvious mutual attraction.

Strictly speaking, though, you and Benny are just friends. Nothing has ever really happened to indicate otherwise in any case. But friends don’t usually try this hard to find any excuse just to hang out, nor do you stay up late every night talking to your other friends. And when you hang out in a group you always seem to gravitate towards one another. What’s more, somehow it always seems to be just the two of you left at the end of the night, often not even noticing the others leave.

Your interactions always border on the line of obvious flirting with your touches and already formed inside jokes, but neither of you ever dare do anything that couldn’t be brushed off as innocent behavior between friends. You guess you’re both just kind of scared to take the leap - you have been burned before, and so has he.

It’s not that you doubt your own feelings for Benny, or indeed his feelings for you. Even you have to admit that he does seem pretty interested in you, but you still wave away your friends’ squeals of “he’s totally in love with you!”, mainly not wanting to get your hopes up too much.

Because a small part of you still finds it a little hard to believe; someone so handsome and funny and kind wanting to be with you? What if he likes you, but just not as much as you like him? What if you were just a second choice for someone you really like until something better comes along - again? That scares you, both of you.

Tonight has been like many other nights lately; you had been to the movies with some of your friends, but after the movie ended you had been grasping at straws to come up with a way to continue the night so they (Benny) wouldn’t go home just yet. Benny had helpfully suggested just driving around and seeing if any ideas came to mind.

Santiago in turn had rolled his eyes at you two knowingly (making both you and Benny fluster and try to fake complete nonchalance) before saying good night and leaving with the others, who apparently didn’t feel the compulsive need to continue spending time together.

--------

The sun has gone down already but you two are still enjoying each other’s company too much to go home yet.

You end up in the 24/7 supermarket parking lot, craving a midnight snack. You are reminded of your teenage years, when you used to hang around different parking lots, popping into the store to buy a soda or a candy bar, spending all day outside with friends.

The only other customers doing their midnight shopping are tired people just off their shifts or young people staying up late just for the hell of it, much like you and Benny are, in fact. You wander around the huge store together, pointing out different products you’d like to try and reviewing stuff one of you already has tried.

Before long you realize that you have already spent almost forty minutes idly wandering around the supermarket, collecting new soda or chip flavors to test. Neither of you thought to grab a basket at the entrance, so your arms are starting to get a bit full.

“Benny, do you think this might be enough?” you ask while struggling to maintain your hold on the different bags of chips.

Benny looks back at you from where he is pondering over whether to get some ice cream. “Huh, I guess. I do still wanna get a sandwich, though!” he exclaims and promptly takes off in the direction of the deli counter where they sell sandwiches and salads left over from the day.

You try to keep up with his long strides, certain that you must look a bit comical half-running after a man with your hands full of treats. Oh, well. Benny often complains about how much focus it requires of him to “modify his steps” to fit your much shorter legs, and he always forgets about it when he gets excited.

When you catch up with him, he has already picked a sandwich for himself and one for you. “I got you salmon, that’s your favorite, right?”

“Yeah, thanks!” you say a little breathlessly after your speed-walk, taken that he remembers.

As you finally get to the cash register and start loading your stuff in your bag you see Benny sneak one more candy bar among the rest of your purchases. For someone in such good physical shape he sure does like his candy.

“Where to next?” Benny inquires as you get back to the car.

“Hmm, how about this one waterfront type swimming spot? It’s pretty secluded, has a pier, and there’s a nice view to the sea. I sometimes like to sit there on the cliffs to watch the sun go down,” you suggest, and offer him directions to the place.

It’s a short drive and you show Benny where to park his car. Even though it’s somewhere around 1 a.m. and the sun went down hours ago, the night is still light enough that you can easily see where you’re going and it doesn’t feel like you’re just sitting in the dark.

You settle down on the small pier with your sandwiches and sodas and chips and munch away happily.

Benny hands you the candy bar you saw him grab earlier at the cash register “for dessert”. It has a cheesy text on the packaging about giving this to someone special. He grins and shrugs, “I know you love these”.

It’s such a simple gesture but you can’t help feeling really flattered and even more smitten with him than you already were. You don’t read too much into the text on the packaging, but even the fact that he would buy you a candy bar he knows you love - just because - warms your heart.

(What you don’t know is that the candy bars have lots of different texts to choose from, and that Benny specifically picked “give this to someone special” instead of “give this to a friend”. There was also “give this to someone you love”, but Benny worried that might scare you off.)

--------

After you’re both done with snacking you try to think of what to do next, still reluctant to pronounce this night to be over, you get an idea.

“You know what I would really like to do right now?” you ask Benny, looking out over the water that looks so tempting. “Go swim,” you announce, turning to look at him.

“You don’t have a swimsuit with you, do you?” Benny asks, turning to look at you too.

“No… But there’s no one here,” you point out with your eyebrows raised in challenge.

Benny looks at you for a few beats with a blank expression on his face, before shrugging “Alright,” and throwing off his hoodie and t-shirt, jeans following next. “What are you waiting for?” he shouts over his shoulder as he jumps from the pier into the water.

You’re left sitting there with your mouth open, blinking rapidly as you try to catch up with the fast turn of events. Shaking your head, you stand up and shrug off your clothes before quickly running after Benny and getting into the refreshing water.

The night is still warm, and the water feels wonderful. You swim to catch up with Benny.

“You know, it’s pretty dark here but I’ve basically seen you naked now,” he remarks, waggling his eyebrows, and you snort with laughter.

“Benny, you’re not allowed to make me laugh in the water or I’ll drown,” you try to say sternly.

“Oh sweetheart, I wouldn’t let you drown,” he answers in a surprisingly serious voice.

Suddenly the energy between you is full of.. something. Something new and buzzing, sort of scary but also exciting. Something you can’t quite explain. You’re swimming around each other, looking at each other intently, but not daring to say anything that would break the moment and burst the bubble.

Someone else does that for you.

A couple of teenage girls, you’d guess around 18 years old, stumble on to the pier and immediately notice you two in the water. The other girl lets out a shriek and tightens her hold on the towel around her, and before you can even try to reassure them that everything is fine, they run off giggling and shrieking some more. Evidently, they had had the same idea for a nighttime swim but found the place already occupied.

“Yeahhhh, maybe we should put some clothes on before someone calls the police,” Benny suggests dryly.

You two climb out of the water giggling and grinning broadly. You don’t have any towels with you since you didn’t exactly plan this impromptu skinny-dipping session, but Benny gives you his hoodie to help keep you warm.

Sitting back down next to Benny you’re even closer together now than earlier, ever so slowly inching closer and closer to each other. Both of you think you could pass it off as huddling for warmth if the other were to question it, but somehow you know that won’t be an issue.

Soon enough you’re snuggling together on the waterfront overlooking the sea. You stay quietly like that for some time, maybe fifteen minutes, maybe more. It’s hard to tell when the world is so still and quiet around you.

Suddenly you think that this is it, this is the moment you’ve been waiting for. In all honesty you sort of enjoy the pining stage of new relationships, but right now you feel like you might burst if you keep these feelings inside you any longer.

You turn and burrow your head into the crook of his neck and decide that you will have to take the leap now. You start pressing gentle kisses on his neck and hear Benny’s breath hitch at the first contact of your lips on his skin. He goes still as a statue, but you can feel more than hear his unsteady breathing at your actions. You’re practically vibrating with nervous excitement as you work your way up to his jaw and towards his lips.

Taking one final deep breath you close your eyes, not daring to look at Benny in the eye right now, as you bring your lips to meet his.

The kiss is sweet and unhurried, and yet your head is swimming and your whole body is buzzing with it as you melt into each other. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever felt, which just proves that everything really is different - better - with Benny. You pull away when you find yourself quickly out of breath just from feeling so much.

You finally dare to open your eyes to find Benny gazing at you with a dazed expression that surely mirrors your own and you slowly beam at each other, not feeling the need for words just now. Maybe you couldn’t even find them if you tried.

You settle back against his chest and the two of you stay like that for the rest of the night, sometimes spending long moments just kissing each other, sometimes talking quietly, sometimes just enjoying each other’s presence.

--------

Around five in the morning, when the sun is already getting up, you finally start to really feel the need for sleep. But this time it doesn’t feel wrong to leave and go home, since you’ll be going home together.

Later that day you wake up to a good morning, sweetheart in Benny’s arms where you fell asleep on his couch, tired but happier than you’ve ever felt in your life.

#benny miller fanfiction #benny miller x reader #benny miller x gn!reader #benny miller x you #triple frontier fanfiction #i still don't know what i'm doing #i accidentally wrote something #writer wednesday #garrett hedlund fanfiction

[tundrainafrica]

Title: Do you love daddy?

Summary:  

“Do you love daddy?” Luke repeated. His eyes were wide, he was probably reading into her soul.

Hange didn’t want to give him too easy of a time mind reading. “Of course I do,” she said.

“How come you never tell him you love him?”

Luke asks Hange a question and Hange reflects on it.

Written for Levihan Week 2021, Day 2: Confessions

Link: AO3

Notes:

Levihan Week Day 2 Prompt: Confessions, organized by @levihanweek.

I edited this half asleep to meet my own internal deadline for day 2. I hope it still suffices. Feedback is very much appreciated!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

There was a small forest near their house. In fact, Hange had decided on their permanent home mainly for its proximity from the park.

In the middle of the park was a small, small forest. But to Hange, it was ginormous. Or at least, what you would consider ginormous in an urban setting. It held adventure. It held mystery. It held some breathtaking liberation, something withheld from her during her years as a commander.

That particular weekend was a lazy weekend. It was just her and her son. For some parent-child bonding, Hange was ready to get lost in the forest. Before she could even dive deeper though, reality rammed into her in such an abrupt, yet such gentle and adorable manner. “Do you love daddy?” Luke asked.

With those words alone, Hange could almost hear the curiosity burning inside him. She kept her eyes trained ahead, focusing on the forest. The woods were small, the forest was only large enough for a few small kids to play some hybrid between tag and hide-and-seek. The trees were of a safe size, some convenient shape that framed their surroundings.

It was a beautiful view, something she didn’t see often, especially when cooped up in the office forty hours a week. She decided to enjoy it and let whatever answer to that question come organically.

Do I love Levi?

The forest held more than adventure. It held something silent and invisible. Along the way, she had suddenly become aware of the breathing of her son, the rustle of the leaves. He was only inches away from her. In surprise, she turned back to her son while attempting to conceal the discomfort. She willed herself to keep her chin up, her eyes a reasonable size and her breathing very much even.

“Do you love daddy?” The kid repeated, his eyes wide. He could probably read into her soul and she didn’t want to give him too easy of a time mind reading.

“Of course I do,” Hange said.

“How come you never tell him you love him?”

“I do.”

“Corbin says his parents tell each other they love each other everyday,” Luke said.

Corbin… Was that a friend at school? It was nothing more than a passing thought. If it demanded to be something else, Hange didn’t notice, her thoughts had embedded themselves into something a little more pressing. “Luke, you don’t think I love daddy?” she challenged.

The young boy cocked his head to one side and shrugged. “You don’t tell daddy you love him…”

Hange could have sworn she did. She found herself racking her memories for some hint to an answer, some hint to reassurance that would suffice for her son.

When Hange indulged that nostalgia, the trees blurred for a second, the greens extended beyond the frames of her view. The sky that wiggled themselves through the canopy as streams of light disappeared for just a second.

Why don’t we just live here together? They echoed inside her and with it, they sent a rush of confidence through her. “I love him.” She had enough confidence to introduce it as if it were a well thought out proposition. She turned to his son.

Luke narrowed his eyes. Through the years, he was starting to look more and more like his father. If Luke expressed emotions anything like his father, Hange could be certain, it was doubt written all over his face.

Luke didn’t believe her? Hange was in no mood though for a lecture. She was in no mood for a moment of introspection, especially when there were still lichens and moss around her she wanted to identify. “Let’s talk about that when we get home.”

The conversation was over. Hange walked ahead then into the forest and tabled that problem for later.

***

Children never forget.

Hange scolded herself for underestimating the boy and to add insult to injury, overestimating herself. She wasn’t at all ready for the talk, especially not in front of Levi. She had just indulged that bad habit of hers, that tendency to assume that a five year old would forget what the hell they had just said.

“Do you love each other?” Luke had asked. It came too out of nowhere, over half finished plates of homemade pasta and untouched bowls of soup.

Levi coughed violently then dropped his spoon. One hand flew to his mouth. “What the fuck.” It came out like a mumble, a second later, concealed by one smooth deep breath.

Hange was frozen, too frozen to even tell what had been her first reaction.

Levi composed himself quickly. “Why are you asking that?”

Hange had known him long enough to know though that he was raring to insert some curse into that query. “Of course we do” Her response was automatic. Still she found herself, flashing Levi a look.

He returned it with something unreadable, seemingly uninterested but with a sliver of surprise.

“How come you never tell each other ‘I love you?’” Luke asked.

“We do,” Levi said.

For a second, Hange was relieved. At least they were still in the same wavelength.

“When?” Luke asked.

“Sometimes… when you’re asleep,” Hange said. Once again, those words had been automatic, impulsive. They were a product of Hange's inability to process such complex emotions, especially with a five year old of all things.

It was a mistake, an utterly stupid mistake. How the hell Hange hadn’t seen through it, it was a mystery. Really though, five year olds were very unpredictable creatures.

Luke wasn’t sleeping that night and he was doing a shitty job pretending he was asleep. Their apartment wasn’t too small but the walls were thin enough that everything just went bump, sometimes the doors went creak.

Overcompensating maybe for her stupid move, Hange decided to just perk her ears up. listen closely and attempt to make sense of the sounds. A few reiterations later, Hange figured it out. Luke was walking back and forth from the bed to the door and he wasn’t doing such a good job. He bumped, he creaked, sometimes he whispered.

Eventually, Hange would have to come in and put him to bed herself.

Still, that could wait. “Levi. You wanna go back to bed?” Hange said, just loud enough for the sound to travel to the open kitchen. Levi was once again reorganizing the cupboard.

Levi looked back at her, his eyes sleepy and his expression just a little dumb. It was late at night and she couldn’t really blame him for his utter obliviousness and his apathy over the whole fiasco. He shifted his eyes towards the partially open bedroom door for a second, then he met Hange’s gaze. He made his way the few feet to the sofa. “Do you plan on doing anything about… that?” He settled himself on the sofa next to Hange and looked at her expectantly.

“He’s gonna fall asleep eventually.”

“I know the kid. If you don’t talk to him about this, he’s not gonna sleep,” Levi said.

“Talk to him about…” Hange was feigning obliviousness.

It didn’t seem to work with Levi though. “That love thing, whatever that is. I don’t know what even happened between the two of you.” Levi leaned back on the sofa. “But I want my son to get a good night’s sleep.

Hange sighed. “While we were playing in the park, he asked if I loved ‘daddy.’”

Levi turned to her, a deadpan expression on his face. “Do you love me then?”

Comically Deadpan. Hange couldn’t even make sense of it herself, the question, the reaction had come so abruptly, so unexpectedly that Hange had to look away for some space and peace, enough at least for her to come up with some sorry excuse of a response.

“Why? What’s so funny?” Levi pressed.

The more he asked, the harder it would be to answer. And Hange didn’t want to make a big deal of it too late at night. The wry grin on her face was all she could muster. “Sorry, it just came out of nowhere--- What the hell, why are you asking it like this, all of a sudden.”

“Because Luke was asking?” Levi answered matter-of-factly. Hange was starting to wonder, was she making a big deal out of those three simple words?

“There must have been a reason right? A reason we never really said those words...”

“Why don’t you?” Levi asked.

“It feels….” I love you. She echoed it then she moved her lips slightly, just enough to feel for herself how it should have felt to say it out loud. “Excessive?”

“Does it?”

“Well… People say it all the time but then they cheat on each other, they abandon each other, they fight and it just seems like… something people say to be dramatic.”

“Unless you mean it right?” Levi suggested.

“What if--- I just wanna prove it. I wanna earn and support the family. I wanna spend time with you and Luke and I wanna just commit to making the relationship work. I don’t wanna add any unnecessary verbosities to it.”

“Would it hurt to say it?” Levi asked.

“It feels tacky,” Hange admitted.

“Even for your son?”

Hange sensed the slyness, the amusement in Levi’s voice. The war freak in her wanted some retribution. Her mouth went faster. “Do you love me?”

Levi turned a beet red, a rare scene particularly since they had started living together. And before Hange could even confirm that it hadn’t been some trick of the light, he looked away.

Hange craned her neck, ready to take one peek.

Levi couldn’t look away forever. “Do I really have to answer that?”

“Why? What are you so scared of?” Hange didn’t bother to stifle the smile. She snuck it into her words instead as a soft chuckle. “You okay?”

Levi spun around, his head bent down. “You’re right. It sounds tacky.” He put his hand out, balled it into a fist and pressed it to her chest. “Other words just sound better.”

The hand was warm, familiar and with one gesture, Hange felt secure. “Dedicate your heart? So you said that because you love me?”

“I thought I was going to lose you.”

“I thought I was going to lose you too,” Hange admitted. “That’s why I invited you to live in the forest with me.”

“Back then, did you…” Levi raised his brows expectantly.

Love me? Hange took the risk. “Of course.”

“Then why did you stop yourself from saying it?” Levi averted his gaze. He hung his head back and stared up at the ceiling.

“It’s excessive, melodramatic,” Hange admitted. “Why put ourselves to that drama in the middle of the war?”

“But you still invited me to live with you in the forest.”

“Other words just sound better,” Hange said. She mirrored Levi’s tone of a while ago. She hovered her hand over his, and propped it.

Levi looked up once again. Their eyes met and once again, they connected. Like every other time before and Hange was looking back at those other words again.

“Other words just sounded better then.” Right, circumstances were different then. There were words that had just been off limits, too melodramatic, especially in the middle of the war.

The war was over. They were in their own house. They were basking in the peace of post war Paradis.

It could have been a force of habit that the words kept themselves in, even when Hange had opened her mouth to speak. “I love you,” she whispered. The words were heavy, they were looming and somehow when she let them free, some other tension she dind’t even know existed had broken free from inside her. She let out a laugh, too loud for too late at night. “I love you,” she said again, much louder that time.

“Me too,” Levi said. “I love you too.” His response was smooth, natural and not at all hesitant and Hange wondered how long he had kept it in or if he had ever even rehearsed it.

She grinned, gripped his hand harder and let out a long exhale. They were silent for a few seconds and in the silence, the thumps, the thuds were deafeningly loud. Hange studied Levi’s expression, the subtle smile that climbed up his lips.

There was another thud, a few more bumps and suddenly it was silent. On the way to their bedroom, Hange snuck a glance at the partially open door, looking at the lump under the bed, the movements even, the breathing peaceful.

Luke had fallen asleep. For Levi or Luke, or even for herself, Hange made one last gesture. “I love you.” She bent forward, planting a kiss on Levi’s forehead. “Sorry if it’s five years late.”

#levihan #levihan fanfiction #lhw2021 #levihanweek2021

[tamagochiie]

hq boys as your tutor (subjects specified)

genre: short fluffs

characters: chikara ennoshita, tsukishima kei, tetsurou kuroo 

synopsis: you're not doing so well in a certain subject, and the boys help you out.

a/n: henlo! i'm fairly new to writing fanfics here, so please be kind! this was inspired from a routine conversation i had with my friends after watching the third ep of the new season muehehe i dedicate this first post to those two uwa!

warnings: none 

—Tsukishima Kei | math, probably

during the first few tutoring sessions, tsukki holds a serious disposition. he's there as your tutor and nothing more; he won't come earlier than expected and won't stay any longer than he needs to you unless you need him to.

but after your many attempts to lighten him up, he'll begin to ease around you, but not enough to become as a distraction. he'll ask you how your day went before you start the session, and he'll ask you how you're feeling after it.

you're fully aware how unapologetically mean tsukki can be, but unlike when he's tutoring kageyama and hinata, he’s tad nicer to you. because he's not entirely close with you, he holds back. he knows full well it'll only hurt yourself esteem if he comments on your inability to get the answer right away.

to your surprise, when you get something wrong after a few tries, he won't groan in frustration or visibly show his irritation. he'll keep it to himself because he knows it'll only make you feel small. so, instead, he'll swallow his urge to comment and patiently explains once more.

he won't praise you when you finally get an answer right, but he'll say things like "good job" or "well, that was better than last time."

bonus: when you pass a test or at the very least, get past your own personal best, he’ll buy you bread and milk from the near by bakery as a reward. 

"I'm sorry," You sigh, dropping your pencil to the side before burying your head into your hands. Its your fifth attempt at the equation, and Tsukki's sixth attempt to explain it to you.

You swallow thickly, bracing for the impact of Tsukki's string of cruel words he's probably been preparing for this exact moment. But to your surprise, you feel a light tug on the cuff of your jacket and you raise your head to find Tsukki as still as the air around you.

"You don't need to be sorry," He assures, shifting in his spot on the floor beside you to move a little closer. "You needed a tutor for a reason." With the right tone, it would've probably sounded condescending. Though his expression’s blank, you can clearly hear the sincerity in his voice.

"I'm probably the dumbest one you've taught by far." You joke, laughing at yourself as you ruffle your hair in frustration. 

"Oh, trust me," He Tsukki says, smirking as he rolls his eyes, "there's a couple of idiots I know who'd wish you were the dumbest one I've taught."

You squint your eyes, puzzled because you didn't quite catch what he said. You aren't sure if it was an indirect pass to mock you or if it was a failed try at a compliment.

—Chikara Ennoshita | idk but i imagine english

to no surprise, he's extremely patient and would cheer you up every time you got frustrated trying to pronounce the words properly. he'd encourage you to take as much time as you need; and for every apology, he'd simply smile and tell you not to be.

though, he'd give you a displeased look every time you'd call yourself dumb or say you want to give up because you can't pick it up fast enough.

he has really pretty, organized notes, so its easier for you to read it as a reference from time to time.

when he notices you feeling a bit off before a session, he'll give you day off and try to do something fun instead. to him, mental health is more important than academics.

You sink deep into your thoughts as you are in your seat.

Heavy is your head that holds the most thoughts.

You take a breath, trying to ease yourself before Ennoshita arrives, but if anything, you feel like crying.

Today had been trying every last inch of your kindness and patience. From your parents' early morning nagging about your grades to a petty, miscalculated fight with your best friend. In hind sight, it probably wasn't much to cry over, but you were overworked and ready to collapse.

You're even too tired to notice Ennoshita sitting on the edge of the table, waving his hand over your face to get your attention. You offer him a small, faltering smile that he doesn't buy.

"You know what," Ennoshita pushes himself off the table before kneeling beside you. You and your thoughts finally gravitate back to earth; and shift from your lazed posture to look down at the bubbling boy before you, "How about we cancel today's tutoring session and do something else?"

You tilt your head, knitting your brows. "I don't follow..."

Ennoshita clears his throat and moves a little closer to you, “I think it’ll only be counter productive if your thoughts are else where...How can I possible teach you if you’re not entire here?” 

“I’m sorry,” You apologize, sighing. The weight of your own body growing heavier than your heart and your mind the longer the conversation continues on. “I’ll be more present.” 

He raises his hand, shaking his head. When he says your name in a whisper, you feel a release of tension on your chest, “We’re not studying today,” He clarifies, “Let’s going somewhere--do something fun. And if you want, you can tell me what’s bringing you down.”

"But I need to study."

"But if you do study, it'll only be disappointing for you because you won't be able to retain a single thing." He lightly taps your forehead, making you flinch. "So, will you do me the honor of taking my hand and trust me?"

You’re hesitant, but excitement twinges in your chest at the thought of doing something in the spur of the moment causes you take his hand anyway. “My mental health is in your hands, Ennoshita-san.” 

—Tetsuro Kuroo | science (of course)

it'll amaze you how great he is at teaching. he uses layman terms to help you understand in a way that'll make you forget you're even learning. he’s laid back and he'll treat you like you're close even when you're not just to get you comfortable around him.

he's attentive, so he keeps a mental note of what works for you and what doesn't when he first begins tutoring you. he'll adjust to you and your pace, making sure never to push you too far.

he'll crack jokes in the middle of teaching you a formula just to ease the tension. sometimes he'll even play some music in the background. (to be funny, he'll even play the periodic table song.)

when he realizes the silence of the library doesn't help you focus, he changes the next meeting place. he'll try different places; the cafe, the nearby ramen house, and even at the park. but he'll eventually come to the decision to bring you to his house. there's barely any noise, but it isn't silent enough to have you bouncing your leg.

bonus: he'll become your personal cheerleader whether if its just the two of you studying, or when you're about to take a test. 

"Can you dumb it down for me?" You ask, laughing at your inability to become a sponge, throwing your head back. "Maybe we can skip this par—"

"Ohh no," Kuroo protests, shaking his head, "I believe in you! I'll explain it one more time, and if you don't get it, then we'll take a brain break. How's that sound?"

You grimace, not too keen on the idea. "We can take a brain break now."

"No." He deadpans. "Take a deep breath—" Kuroo inhales, raising his arms towards the ceiling before bring it down to the floor and letting go of all the air in his lungs, "and then exhale."

"Your breath smells bad." You joke, crinkling your nose as you pretend to wave off the fake stench of his breath.

He looks at you in shock, hurt faintly etched in the outlines of his face. He brings his hand close to his mouth, checking his breath and you laugh, earning a glare from him.

"If you have time to crack a joke, you have time review."

You frown, but eventually give into him. "Fine, fine."

He claps his hands before rubbing them together. "Okay, lemme explain it again." 

#kuroo x reader #tsukishima x reader #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu #ennoshita chikara #tetsuro kuroo #tsukishima kei #hq!! #kuroo imagines #tuskishima imagines #tsukki #kuroo #ennoshita #haikyuu imagines #ennoshita imagines #mine #my work

[lovenona]

I just haad to say thank you for the free serotonin that you have provided me with through the last artist sukuna post

it's just... ✨beautifull✨ we are slowly building up this au

BUT CAN YOU IMAGINE HIM GETTING MORE AND MORE FRUSTRATED WITH THE LACK OF ATTENTION WERE HE'S KIND OF POUTING

and then there need to be a project done in which you have the option to work in groups and NO MATTER WHAT this proud cherry haired idiot WILL work alone but geto won't he came to y/n and they really need to work in a group if they want to get this done so of course y/n is happily gonna agree to the offer of geto to work together they do be viben after all which ultimately leads to the fact that y/n is gonna give sukuna even less attention (it probably doesn't even get on his nerves that much that y/n works with geto its just the lack of attention and ultimately time spending with you that result from it)

ah i am sorry I was rambling again😂

anyways hope you have a nice day and don't stress yourself too much with answering always happy to see you post❤️

babe let me just say ur brain is massive and i thank u from the bottom of my heart – anyway here’s the original post for everyone about to embark on this godforsaken journey with art student sukuna and our new friend pretentious fuck geto suguru 

if you thought you were pitiful at drawing, your sculptural skills are on another level of true and utter shit. you cannot, for the life of you, create things out of clay. you despise carving anything into wood. your pottery faithfully collapses on you whenever you try. you hate working with glass. you would have dropped the class, honest, if you didn’t desperately need it in order to fulfill your major requirements and graduate on time. 

all in all, it’s an awful class created solely to tank your gpa – you don’t understand what you’re doing, you don’t understand what anything is supposed to look like, and you sure as fuck don’t understand how anyone else seems to have their shit together all the time. when you glance around the room, no one, not even the famous ryomen sukuna, has trouble making their materials turn into something recognizable.

(and, in true sukuna fashion, he loves to make sure you know how fucking untalented you are.) 

so when anthropology-and-ceramics king geto suguru asks if you want to be partners for the next big art project, you agree without a second thought. you’ve been talking to him recently, small talk before class, and for all his pretentious faults, you think he’s delightfully hot as fuck with a smooth voice to match. he wears those crisp, expensive button-downs that he bought at overpriced local craft markets. he always smells like cedar and eucalyptus; he brings a different tote bag to every class, his favorite being one he got as a gift for subscribing to the new yorker. he shops organic only and throws around the words “fair trade” and “bourgeoisie” and “means of production” with the ease that sukuna throws around the words “fuck” and “shit.” 

you think geto is fascinating. and maybe he talks down to you when explaining his anthropology knowledge, he absolutely does, but when he gazes at you with those warm eyes and offers to help you learn how to sculpt and raise your grades, you can’t help but agree with a pair of big pathetic doe eyes. 

why wouldn’t you? you’re just here for a good time, after all.

so when you giggle as geto places his sinfully smooth, manicured hands over yours while teaching you how to use the pottery wheel, you don’t think much of it. you think he’s cute and warm. you’d be a fool to notice the dark annoyance radiating from the other corner of the room.

ryomen sukuna always works alone. but what he didn’t count on was that you wouldn’t be working alone with him. 

it’s not that you’re working with geto, he swears. it’s that you’re not working with him. his ears feel strangely empty without your argumentative quips, without the way you tell him he’s infuriating and annoying every time he tells you something lewd just to fluster you. it’s strangely empty without you both arguing about the difference between great artists and sell-outs – were you here, in his corner of the room, maybe sukuna would have tried to tell you michelangelo was a loser just to see what you would say. 

but you’re not with him. you’re listening to geto tell you about the time he went to study abroad in germany and how he took a trip to morocco where he tried some amazing food you’ve never heard of. he’s telling you about the time he helped make tampons in botswana after his senior year of high school and all of the other deliciously precocious things he has done for the sake of human rights and anti-capitalism. 

(you’re killing the environment, you know, geto often admonishes you when you stumble into class with your cup of coffee. that cup is going to end up in a landfill. he always taks a sip from his hydroflask for emphasis. it’s sleek and black with an oxfam sticker on it.

and sure, you know that your cup is going to become trash. geto doesn’t have to be an annoying fuck and tell you when it’s only eleven in the morning and he drove a literal moped to campus. but still, with that silky man-bun, everything he does is okay.) 

but understand that sukuna doesn’t hate geto. sukuna craves attention, and he absolutely cannot stand being ignored. he’ll pout without realizing it, pursing his lips and wondering what kind of circus act he needs to perform to win back your presence. should he get another tattoo? cuss out the professor? offer to fuck you senseless in the third-floor bathroom? he’s not sure – he’s never not been seen before. ryomen sukuna doesn’t know what it’s like to come in second. 

so he intercepts you after class; in a manner that is both sukuna-and-not-sukuna, he’ll casually throw one of his heavy arms over your shoulders, subtly pulling you away from geto’s aura, wrapping you in his scent of earth and leather and sex appeal. “come on, puppy,” he says, sultry and annoying and condescending all wrapped in one, tapping his ring-clad fingers against your arm. “you’re supposed to help me write my paper, aren’t you?” it’s not a question, it’s a demand, one you know deep down that you would rather die than shy away from. 

you might not like sukuna, you tell yourself, but there’s something about him, the way he talks and moves and exists in the world, that makes you unable to shy away. there’s something about him that always makes you want more without you quite knowing why. 

(he kissed you, once. sometimes you wonder if you would like it to happen again.) 

and you’re still nestled under sukuna’s arm, trapped in his orbit and following him to his favorite empty classrooms, when geto calls back to you, wondering if you’re still interested in going to the avant-garde poetry reading with him tomorrow night. 

he’s going to present a poem he wrote on the terrors inflicted on south america by the united states, geto had explained earlier when his hands were on yours. it was going to be some real, hard-hitting poetry, none of that “rupi kaur bullshit.” he thought it might enlighten you to join him, perhaps in more ways than one.

you pretend you don’t notice the way sukuna’s arm tightens around your shoulders when you tell geto with a flirtatious smile that you can’t wait. 

#welcome to my blog where we just thirst all day long #geto and sukuna fighting over me? it's more likely than u think #pretentious fuck geto is my favorite thing ever #sukuna #sukuna x reader #geto #geto suguru #geto x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #adele writes #artist!jjk #letters to adele #geto.seguru #ryomen.sukuna