#collective problems require collective solutions

[cryptovexillologist]

Disconnected Thoughts on Art Reproduction:

Hokusai's Great Wave fascinates me because, unlike almost every other artwork in that bracket of fame, it was never a bespoke piece that was only later reproduced. It was a commercial print right from the start, and while versions of it can be identified as belonging to different print runs, there is no meaningful 'original' aside from the long-since-discarded printing plates.

Even better, this state has been imposed on artworks that were once unique. In 2021, the art collective MSCHF bought an Andy Warhol sketch at auction for $20,000, made 999 meticulous forgeries of it, shuffled them to destroy any record of which was the original, and sold each piece for $250 as Possibly Real Copy of 'Fairies' by Andy Warhol, by MSCHF.

As with many smartass art collectives, MSCHF's projects range from eye-rolling to kinda clever to brilliant, but I think this is their magnum opus. It has exactly the kind of unwieldy literal title I adore. The original work has been arguably destroyed, but in a way that Warhol would applaud. It's the most pointed way to ask art buyers, do you care about the actual artistry of the work or just the bragging rights of owning the original?

---

Artistic domains where reproduction is trivial are often prone to the Superstar Problem: Why would I listen to the world's 50th-best cellist when I can stream all the Yo-Yo Ma I want just as easily? NFTs were pitched as a solution to this, marking the original or master copy of a natively-digital work to let it retain value. But even if the crypto market didn't have its own 2008 every few weeks, I don't want fine-art auction houses to be the future of digital art, especially when there are already plenty of existing ways to mitigate the problem. A fursona, a tabletop-game character, a niche Blorbo, etc. are all bespoke value-adds that enable a much greater range of artists to get commissions. But these require a culture of art fans who don't care about flipping it at Christie's, often overlapping with fannish cultures where plenty of artists operate at all experience levels.

I don't have any tidy conclusions for this, but I just want to say that an earlier version of this process - "paint me a biblical scene, and put me in it to flex my wealth and piety" - culminated in one of the funniest artworks I've ever seen, Francisco de Zurbarán's Christ Crucified (With Donor):

#it's media

[headspace-hotel]

Problems like climate change, where solving them requires millions of people to collectively work at hundreds of different solutions at once, are black holes for internal peacefulness because they give you a type of frustration where you alternately become bitter towards yourself or everyone around you. "If only I could work harder to fix the problem!" makes you exhausted, so you must become angry at others: "If only they cared about the problem!"

People who are already working on fixing climate change need to convince more people to work on it. And a popular thing is to share writings that describe how doomed we all are if climate change is not fixed, how terrible everything will be because of climate change, and how quickly all the treasures of our world are being lost.

There is a particular understanding of human behavior that is being accepted here without thinking about it hard enough. Popular news media shows headlines with terrible prophecies, written that way in hopes of getting the attention of otherwise disinterested people, who will then be "motivated" to fix climate change.

The trouble is that fear is no good for motivating thoughtful, patient, steady commitment to solving a problem. Fear is made to cause an organism to avoid things that might harm it. It creates a brief and explosive pulse of action where the organism's energy pours out as it instinctively, thoughtlessly reacts to escape the danger as fast as possible.

It's silly to blame people for avoiding thinking about climate change. The point of an organism responding to stressors is to avoid them. Oftentimes, the only tool people are presented with is personal choices about what products to buy, which inevitably is horribly frustrating and stressful, since a person will frequently be coerced by their situation into buying a certain product, and even if they don't they see others doing it all the time.

Relentless exposure to imminent threats that cannot be escaped causes Trauma, which severely impacts a person's ability to be resilient to stressors.

I think there is definitely a type of trauma associated with being constantly aware of the destruction of the environment and feeling helpless to do anything about it, especially since we as humans have a deep need for contact with other living things and aspects of the natural world, such as trees, water, flowers, and animals—a need that is often totally denied and treated as merely a Want or a hobby meant only for certain people who enjoy particular activities, like Hiking or Gardening.

We need to expand our minds on how this disconnection can hurt a human being. Imagine if a child's need to be loved by their caregivers, a person's need to be loved by their friends and family, was treated as a desire for indulgence or luxury, or a certain use of free time!

Yes, yes, one person has a condition that makes it hard to walk up hills, another doesn't like the bright sunshine, another is allergic to the grass or fungal components of the outdoor world, but WE ARE PART OF THE FAMILY OF ALL LIFE ON EARTH and WE EXIST IN SYMBIOSIS WITH THE ENVIRONMENT WHICH TAKES CARE OF US. Who showed you what beauty was, who taught you to feel peace and relief inside you in the form of a caressing breeze and rustle of leaves, who gave you awe and wonder at seeing the stars or the mountains? Where does every delicious food come from but the soil teeming with creatures? Isn't the most perfectly sweet berry grown from a plant, nurtured by the soil and pollinated by the bugs? Don't you feel delight at seeing a springy carpet of moss, a little mushroom, or a tiny bird? Think of all that the trees give us. Whose breath do you breathe? Whose body frames your home?

The writings of Indigenous writers such as the book by Mary Siisip Genuisz I am reading right now show me that the other life forms are our family. They take care of us and provide for us, and they would miss us if our species disappeared. Isn't that a powerful, healing fact? I think everybody is so enthusiastic about the book Braiding Sweetgrass because it is a worldview that those of us coming from the dominant colonizer culture are straight up ravenous, starving to death for.

Maybe, I think to myself, humans can experience a kind of trauma from being deprived a relationship with their Earth, just as they would experience trauma from being deprived relationships with other humans.

I really believe that it hurts us to be surrounded by concrete instead of soil, to see a majestic tree cut down on a whim without any justice possible, to see wild animals mostly in the form of mangled corpses on the roadside, to have poison sprayed everywhere to kill the insects that life depends on, to hear traffic and lawn mowers and weed whackers instead of birds and flowing water.

We KNOW that this is physically bad for our health, the stifling, polluted, and stressful environments of a civilization that doesn't know the ways of the plants, but I think it's a kind of moral injury too, right? To see a beautiful field turned into a housing development of ugly, big, expensive houses—no thought given to the butterflies and sparrows and quail of the field? To see a big old tree cut down, a pond full of frogs obliterated and turned into a drainage ditch beside a gas station? They aren't just things, they are lives, and while expansion and profit and progress are "necessary," a nice old field of wildflowers or a pond full of frogs are a different kind of necessary. I remember feeling this as a child without words for it—the sheer cruelty of a world that is totally without reverence for the other creatures.

"They own the property, they can cut down the tree" "They bought the land, they can do what they want with it" <but it can also be wrong, and many people know this on some level, even though our culture doesn't provide us with the framework.

Fear could never give people the motivation to fix climate change. Constant fear of what will happen in the future forces a person to protect themselves from the relentless stress by shutting it out entirely or developing apathy.

A fear based argument for fixing climate change either causes a worldview of nature with no bond of kinship at all, based on the physical and practical dependence on Nature as a "resource," or forces people to experience their kinship with Nature only through grief.

Fear tells us that we want to live—it does not tell us WHY to live. If a person tries to live on fear alone, they will eventually find the desire to live burdensome and painful in itself. I see this emerging on a society wide scale in the USA, feeding on influences from the Christian evangelicalism that sees the Earth as something already sullied and worthless, to be thrown away like a dirty tissue, and on the looming monolith of nuclear winter that gave our parents recurring nightmares as children.

If you go to r/collapse on Reddit (don't do that) you will see a whole community of people who cope with the threat of climate change by fantasizing about it, imagining it as a collective punishment for all humanity and a cathartic release from the present painful situation.

We cannot learn to live without seeing the reason for living. We cannot save the Earth without loving it. We cannot heal nature without caring for it. In order to collectively take action against climate change, we must be moved by something other than fear—and that something is love. Not just love of the outdoors as an activity, but love of the Earth as something that loves us.

The dominant Western culture cannot borrow Indigenous land stewardship techniques as though they are just one climate resilience strategy, without being also willing to change its dreadfully impoverished way of viewing human relationships with Nature.

What right have we to think, "Huh, maybe those guys were on to something with the multi-level polyculture systems and controlled burns" while still thinking humans are nothing but a disease on the Earth, and that Earth would be happy to be rid of us? The sustainable ways of using the land practiced traditionally by cultures who have lived in relationship with their ecosystems for many generations work because humans can exist in mutualistic symbiosis with the life forms around them. We care for them. They care for us.

I know for a fact that plants seek relationships with us, and I was taught by them to see how interconnected everything really is, and how I was made to be a caretaker of my ecosystem. I was, a few years ago, just as I describe above. Too scared and pessimistic about the future of nature to bother loving it, and because of this, I could not realize my niche in the ecosystem. It felt for many years like I could do nothing—i believed in climate change, but I felt hopeless, so I put it out of my mind. But when I began to cultivate a love and reverence for the sad, scraggly, beaten-down fragments of Nature around me, everything changed. So much became possible.

I am still learning and exploring, trying to open my mind to ideas totally different than the ones I knew growing up, paying close attention to every plant and learning its ways. And it stuns me to think—some people write about climate change without this process.

The author of the book "The Uninhabitable Earth" (a scary book about how doomed the Earth is because of climate change) says in the beginning of the book that he is not very much of a nature lover. You fool, love is our most powerful evolutionary adaptation!

#climate change #the ways of the plants #plants #nature #environment #symbiosis

[hua-fei-hua]

i think that if we could tag and search collections on ao3 the way we can works, the growing sitewide problem of overtagging every little thing in a fic might be eased a little

#however the caveat there is that it requires a person to create and maintain a collection thus restarting ye olde bnf-in-power structure #plus who's to say that people won't start abusing the collection tags as well? #i think ship communities running collections for their pairings is becoming a more common thing though which i do like!! #i think that if that becomes common culture on the site then my current problem w/that sort of thing #(i.e. you have to KNOW a collection for it exists in the first place before you can start using it) #would lessen bc then it might be the norm to go looking for a collection of what you're looking for rather than just the tag #although assuming collections don't become pluralized/fragmented even tag abuse might be more manageable #since now you're looking at. well. collections instead of individual works. swathes of content instead of individual bits #i *do* think a more granular tagging system would be nice on the site... major n minor tags like ingredients in a food #i think that's become smth of a problem on the site as it's grown; smth people did not forsee when creating the site #which is part of the reason why i'm very devotedly following the development of bobaboard which HAS that kind of thing #花話 #hmm yeah so i think that this 'collections solution' is more of a band-aid over a systemic problem

[fablepaint]

I don’t know if I’m allowed to ask anything here, but I wanted to know something. How is it like being a director of an animation? What’s your ideology when it comes to directing?

Messages anytime all the time

caffeinecaffeinecaffeine

body exhausted, enforces its own breaks

hard to go out, ever

STRESSSSS

MAAATHHH

wheredidmybraingo?

*smashed body part* thatll heal up finnnne. i dont have time for doctor!

ohgoddontfuckitup dontbeTHATguy ohfuckohshit

i love my partner i cant believe he puts up with this

hug every pet. theyre my emotional sponges.

manic creative spurts followed by sheepish anxiety.

PaPERWORK

hurry up and wait, times a thousand.

hope you like data sheets!

delegateDAMMIT

And thats when it's running smoothly!

otherwise my approach is to try and reflect the best examples of leadership and guidance IRL ive experienced. Mostly, from quality college professors Ive known. Tom Sito in particular exemplified a lot of what i strive to be. He was also formerly guild president and i think teaching your crew to view themselves as a collective that supports each other is vital to ensuring not just that they work together well, but also should anyone try to take advantage of them, they'll curbstomp them. I want them to be capable even in my absence, beyond the project, and able to run their own projects competently in the future.

i should be the one who guides and educates people into giving what's needed for the shot. Pain and blood are unwanted elements in that recipe. Theyre distractions and energysappers, red flags of a problem not a badge of honor.

Ideally, i barely have to do more than gently steer the work. And if ive communicated what im looking for effectively, theyre all plenty good at doing the work without me hovering over them.

if the work needs more guidance than that, then i roll up my sleeves and dive in as well. And figure out what the problem was, log it, and let that educate everyone else too (good documentation is essential).

i try to exhaust every option i have before blaming the person working on it for all the issues. Sometimes that is the problem, but even then i need to approach it neutrally and ask what human solution is required then. Do they need a break? was this not the right shot for them? is their way of processing the communication different than i expected? is there a translation problem?

in which case give people space to figure out some of that without judgement. Sometimes that means leaving for a bit, or permanently. But dont chase them. Just let them have their own life.

The only things i cant abide by are lack of communication that results in putting stress on the rest of the team. Consistent lying about availability and ball dropping despite constant outreach means someone has to pick up the slack without enough time or energy stocked up to take on the extra work. Anything that ends up exacerbating stress makes me upset.

But even then, it's still my job to spot the signs of this and make necessary adjustments before it becomes a problem. Including identifying where I made a miscalculation in hiring.

The buck always ALWAYS stops with me. I have the power to adjust the system to make it better, which means i gotta have a good grasp on that system.

#lackadaisy #life #question #answer

[midnightmah07]

Voice claim: Maomao - The Apothecary Diaries

Character info:

Damali Khepri is a sophomore student in Scarabia, she's twisted from the golden scarab beetle from Aladdin.

Damali's family is tasked with taking care of the Asim's treasure, and because a good part of their treasure was sent with Kalim to NRC, Damali was ordered by her parents and the Asims themselves to study there and to protect Kalim's fortune. Just like Jamil, Damali wishes for freedom to do what she wants and not just be a servant and protector to the Asim's treasures, but she's rather neutral at her job, not caring much about the Asim's themselves and just being nice for the sake of being nice.

Damali is calm, often being able to have a cool mind in dire situations, she's cunning and smart and often able to come up with solutions for difficult problems. She's also seen as a treasure herself, given how famous her own family is and how people see her as a key to getting to Kalim's fortune; people have tried to manipulate her too many times, she is able to identify when people are playing with her really easily... That and she also is very conscious of how people interact with her, she basically has trust issues.

She's canonically beautiful, having a lot of people fawning over her and wanting a bit of attention from her. She has an eccentric personality because of her interest in poisons and in insects, specifically the scarab beetles. She believes people won't like her for who she is — that being something her parents always told her, that she must be perfect and look perfect at all times for the Asim's reputation — so she often keeps this eccentric side of her to herself, in order for people to believe she's the wonderful, beautiful and collected Damali.

Fun facts: Damali is blind, not being able to see almost anything; she's known Jamil and Kalim for years, but they weren't as close until they got to NRC because her family's job (and by extension hers) doesn't require her to be near Kalim at all times; Damali often asks to taste test Kalim's food instead of Jamil, initially being simply because she wanted to taste the possibility of poison, but later because of she deeply cared for Jamil.

Basic info:

Age: 17

Height: 176cm

Nicknames: mademoiselle Scarabée (meaning beetle - by Rook), water beetle (by Floyd) and jasmine (flower meaning prosperity - by Perse)

Birthday: January 29th

Grade: sophomore (2nd grade)

Favorite food: grapes, chamomile tea

Best subject: potionology/poison making

Club: science club

Hobbies: studying and tasting different types of poisons/collecting insects

Homeland: Scalding Sands

Unique Magic: Diamond in the Rough - grants her the ability of determining and pointing out something that someone wishes the most at a certain moment (ex.: if she were to use this on, let's say, Jamil, she would figure out that what he wants the most is to be free to do what he wants and to be appreciated by his talents.); normally uses it when suspecting someone's going after the Asim's treasure; can only be used once per person.

Relationship dynamics:

Jamil Viper: Jamil and Damali have an interesting relationship. Damali sees Jamil as someone fun to play with, as different from most people he never fawns over her nor does he seem to care about her appearance. She's taken a habit of flirting with Jamil and teasing him frequently to see how he reacts (usually he makes a groaning noise and flinch in disgust, which makes her laugh); he's yet to get truly flustered by her advances and she made it her life mission to get to that point, but not because she loves him!! Or at least that's what she tells herself. Damali quickly understood that Jamil was manipulating Kalim, but since it didn't involve anything surrounding Kalim's fortune she stayed just observing the situation until an opening would come, so at first she just went along with it, pretending she didn't know that Jamil was doing something, but with Daisy (my Yuu) and the octatrio's arrival she quickly switched sides.

Kalim Al-Asim: despite being neutral about her job and not caring about what would happen to Kalim before the arrival of Daisy/the octatrio, seeing Kalim break down made her feel a lot of sympathy towards the boy, and seeing him cry woke her up to just how screwed up Jamil's plan affected Kalim. She grew fond of him after the events of book 4 and even more interested in Jamil as well.

Jeanne Hook: she hated Jeanne. Jeanne was going against Damali's job, and she did everything in her power to keep Jeanne away from Kalim's treasury and to ruin their date plans together with Jamil. Still, after realizing Jeanne's change of heart regarding her feelings for Kalim, she quickly calmed down, realizing the girl would not have the courage to steal from Kalim any longer — she also may or may not have used her UM on Jeanne and found out what she truly wanted was to be accepted for who she was, not treasure.

Jade Leech: Damali finds Jade's obsession with mushrooms and plant life delightful, and he often helps her figuring out stuff to experiment with more poisonous plants and fungi; they're both chaotic and weird together, but she tries to keep her act together because she knows Jade can and will use the information of her interest in poison to blackmail her.

Divus Crewel: her favorite teacher, he lets her play around with potions all the time but always when she's being supervised, he sees her as a mouthful because of her dangerous interests, but he's happy someone is so interested in his class.

Rook Hunt: little 👏🏻freaks.👏🏻 I am so certain Rook gave Damali a few flirting tactics to try and get Jamil flustered, and I am so certain that she had to stand there and go like "buddy I love you but I am not going to stalk him just to find out everything about him that's illegal". They are a menace in the science club, Trey is so concerned everytime they're together.

Trey Clover: Damali is always trying to push Trey over the edge and get him to participate in her and Rook's weird scientific experiments, he is almost always the voice of reason, making both Damali and Rook bummed out.

Character references:

Others:

Dorm room.

#💙! mah's art #💙! damali #twisted wonderland #twst #oc x canon #oc art #oc twst #scarabia #new oc just dropped!!! #this goes to that one anon ages ago who said they would like me to make an oc to ship with Jamil #your ask has been driving me insane

[ndpreservation]

Well-Meaning Interventions

Here are some frequently encountered DIY repairs that, while well-meaning, are, alas, misguided interventions that exacerbate damage and some alternative approaches that better promote ongoing usability.

While scotch tape is great for wrapping presents and many other tasks, when used on book pages and documents it typically creates problems. The adhesives in clear, pressure-sensitive adhesive tape tend to degrade and discolor over time, resulting in significant damage to the paper. A clear example of degraded tape damage is this 1862 letter from Confederate soldier M.A. Harvey to his wife, “My Dear Eva”.

While this letter would have been relatively straightforward to mend with kozo paper and paste, the tape caused permanent damage, and days of work were required to stabilize the letter so that it could be mended appropriately.

When the boards of a beloved volume become detached, simply applying duct tape to reattach them might seem like a swell solution.

Though duct tape can temporarily reattach book covers, it tends to create significant damage and shorten the book’s lifespan. Similarly, where the spine of a book has become loose or detached, at first glance it might seem that adhering a loose spine covering directly to its text block would be a simple fix.

However, the spines of most modern books are not actually glued to the spine of the text by functional design. Adhering the spine covering directly alters the book’s mechanical structure and impedes its functioning, resulting in stress points that create further damage as the book is used. 

In order to retain loose book covers or spines, consider tying the book with cotton twill tape, positioning the knot along the head, tail, or fore-edge of the book.

Even better, alkaline book boxes from a preservation supply vendor offer protection from further damage or loss while helping to moderate acidic degradation processes. The repair of books that one wishes to remain functional over time is best left to trained conservators or technicians. For further preservation resources, preservation supply vendors, and information on locating a conservator, see the Hesburgh Libraries Preserving Private Collections guide.

Applying leather dressings such as leather conditioner, neatsfoot oil, or shoe polish to leather books hampers their preservation. While one may enjoy the appearance of polished leather spines in a bookcase, in the short term, leather dressings may darken leather and over time tend to further dry out the skin as well as cause stickiness and/or significant discoloration to the leather, known as leather bloom. 

If a leather-bound book is exhibiting signs of leather decay such as red rot (crumbling leather that creates a dusty mess that can transfer to the book pages during use), consider ordering an archival alkaline box for the book or consulting a conservator for further advice on preservation and treatment options. 

Using books as a place to “preserve” newspaper clippings, flowers, etc.

Placing newspaper clippings or other items inside the protective pages of a book might seem like an ideal place to keep the item flat and secure. However, most newspapers are printed on poor-quality paper that quickly becomes highly acidic, and over time this acid will migrate into the pages of the book, chemically degrading and visually staining them. A more effective place to store treasured clippings is within alkaline folders that offer both chemical and physical protection.

#ndpreservation #NDLibraries #preservationweek #bookinterventions

[watatsumiis]

Reader With Anxiety (Part 1)

Reader is having anxiety. Characters comfort them in various in-character ways.

CW for general talk of anxiety and some of its symptoms. This is based on personal experience and can differ for others. Different techniques work for different people. This is a comfort fic, not an informational piece. A few mentions of certain characters having struggles of their own with anxiety.

Gender neutral reader, platonic relationships/fluff. 

Characters: Al Haitham, Ayato, Childe, Diluc, Itto, Zhongli

Al Haitham’s approach borders on clinical. Though he’s experienced anxiety in the past (both his own and his roommate’s), he struggles to empathise with your struggles and doesn’t really know how to approach you. He takes a little while to pick up on your tenseness, then even longer to act on it - he may come off as brash or dismissive at first when you try to explain what’s ailing you, but in reality he’s working through it in his brain, approaching it from every possible angle as he works to try and solve the intricate equation in the most efficient way. He tends to quash down his own worries instead of facing them, but he doesn’t want that for you - he also figures that pulling all-nighters and drinking wine like his roommate might not be very healthy, either, so he does his own research and pulls up a list of grounding techniques for you to try, and will calmly walk you through each one and take careful note of which ones make the most significant differences for you. He’s very calm and level headed throughout the whole ordeal, even if you are not, so his unshakeable attitude can do wonders to help soothe you as well. Once all is said and done, he may (almost meekly) approach you and ask how he did, how he can do better in future, what worked and what didn’t. It’s almost like he’s collecting results from an experiment. 

Ayato will basically try to find and eliminate whatever he thinks is the source of your worry. He’s a very straightforward man in that respect - he sees a problem, that problem requires a solution. Half of his job is making solutions, he figures it’s not exactly hard. He always thought he was quite good at talking Ayaka down when she was younger and fretted even more than she does now. So, in some cases, you may find that certain problems of yours seem to just… quietly fade into the background. Mora woes? He’ll just throw piles of money at the issue until it’s gone. You hate your job? Huh, it seems that one of your superiors has been fired and you’re first in line for a promotion. Funny, that. If, for whatever reasons, that doesn’t (or can’t) work, he’ll sit you down and try to talk you through it. He encourages you to talk about your anxieties, what you think is causing them, what has helped in the past, all those sorts of things. He turns almost uncharacteristically quiet and genuine during these conversations, sitting across from you and listening carefully as you talk. He still tries to do things to fix these problems unless you directly ask him not to though.

Childe gets ‘zoomies’ when he’s anxious, he gets jittery and jumpy and all over the place, so he expects you to be the exact same. He may take some time, but eventually he will notice that you’re acting fidgety or quiet, and his solution is to pretty much pull you into a large, open area and walk you through various fighting techniques or exercises. It can be really overwhelming, and he will back off if it seems like you aren’t coping with it, but sometimes working out that anxious energy is the perfect way to help. He acts so bright and cheery that it helps distract you. Sometimes, if he’s feeling particularly soft, he might allow you to get a few extra hits in or even knock him over just to see the way you brighten up and begin to regain your confidence. Failing that, he’ll cook you a really nice hearty meal and tell you about how his mother taught him that it’s “basically impossible to be anxious while eating.”

Diluc will essentially evacuate you from the situation - his decorum goes out the window when he notices you’re acting distressed. The way he sweeps you out of the room as he drapes his heavy jacket over your shoulders is almost like he’s shielding you from attackers. He’s had his fair share of anxiety attacks in the past and just does for you what he wishes someone would’ve done for him in his adolescence. He’ll find somewhere quiet for you to sit, make you a warm drink and stay nearby as you cool off. He won’t address it directly or ask you any questions, which can be a blessing or a curse depending on your preferences, but he’s still open to talking about it if it seems like that’s what you need. If you’re up for it, he may also assign you some meaningless busywork around the winery, something to keep your hands and mind busy so you don’t have time to dwell on whatever it is that’s ailing you. It’s always something extremely low pressure, such as watering houseplants or sorting papers. 

Itto is as lighthearted about this as he is with many things. It takes him quite a long time to notice that you’re feeling off - it’s not that he ignores the people around him, sometimes he’s just a bit of an airhead who struggles to perceive anything out of the scope of his own boisterous, joyous aura. Even once he’s noticed and started to address it, you suspect that it may have been Shinobu’s prompting that caused him to finally pick up on it. He acts sort of clumsy around you at first, uncharacteristically worried that you might be upset at him for whatever reason, or that he’s just making things worse, but that clears up pretty quickly as he convinces himself that you absolutely need him to swoop in and save you as soon as possible. He won’t directly confront you, but instead he turns the silly metre up to full blast, pulling all the goofs and gaffs that he knows have cheered you up in the past. He’s acting like a complete and utter fool, just in an attempt to try and distract you from whatever thoughts have you all wrapped up inside your own head. 

Zhongli realises practically the same moment you start acting off. He can be block-headed sometimes, but distress is something he’s taught himself to notice over the years. He’ll calmly pull you aside, being careful not to raise any suspicion or draw any attention, and will take both your shaking hands in his to steady them and ask you what’s wrong, what he can do to help. If you’re not sure, he’ll run you through various grounding techniques. His favourites are getting you to describe various things around you, or passing you some kind of trinket to look over to distract you while he tells you about it (oftentimes it's a piece of his jewellery or an interesting rock). Another one is that he gets you to talk about five things you can see, four things you can hear, three things you can touch/feel, two things you can smell and one thing you can taste. He’s got a whole arsenal of soothing techniques up his sleeve and is great at keeping track of which ones work best for you. Sometimes, just hearing his calm, deep voice droning on about whatever subject he feels like sharing is more than enough to help distract and calm you down. 

Please don't repost, steal, copy or otherwise plagiarise my writing! I do not consent for my works to be translated and posted elsewhere, or used to teach bots!

#genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin imagines #genshin self insert #my writing #genshin headcanons #genshin fluff #platonic genshin x reader #zhongli #genshin zhongli #zhongli x reader #zhongli x you #itto #itto x reader #arataki itto #arataki itto x reader #genshin itto #diluc #diluc x reader #genshin diluc #diluc genshin #childe #childe x reader #ajax #ajax x reader #ayato #genshin ayato #ayato x reader #al haitham #al haitham x reader

[venusandsaturnsrings]

inceltaru is so genius. kisses ur forehead. i have so many thoughts.

grinding against each other while he sits in his gaming chair, walking in on him watching some weird hentai anime, finding the nsfw manga he keeps in his bedside table.

ESPECIALLY. him thirsting over a chubby reader because his brain is too rotten from all the hentai with chubby girls hes consumed. jsut thinking about if he could ever get you to agree to recreate those nasty things with him

KISSES U BACK!! i can’t claim the idea of inceltaru as a whole (i stumbled across smthn abt him on twt like a year ago) but i’ve very much tailored him to match my preferences and how i see his character better!! when i first started writing him, it was bc there was no other content like it out there and if you want a job done right, you’ve gotta do it yourself y’know?? modern problems require modern solutions etc etc… ANYWAYS you’re a genius here this is for you MWAH!! >///<

if you asked Ajax his favourite genre of manga, he’d tell you something unassuming like slice of life or romance; he may even name some titles if pressed. he’s also a big fat liar with shelves of various adult materials, primarily centred around chubby girls and breeding. his computer has numerous tabs and folders dedicated to his favourite sites and videos unabashedly visible on his desktop. it’s not hard to come across something related to his perverted interests unless he’s chosen to stash it all away; he does this when you’re coming over.

to set the scene, it’s well into the evening and you’ve spent the day lounging in his house playing various games and chatting about mostly nonsense but he was still hanging onto every syllable that left your mouth. after drinking what you think was his fourth energy drink of the day, he went to the bathroom and you decided to poke around at the things he never let you touch. your first objective was the small shelves hidden behind a door under his bedside table. as quietly as possible, you opened it up only to be faced with a basket of… toys… and various mangas with covers featuring plump girls covered in certain substances. you were slack jawed. you had known Ajax was a bit of an oddball immediately upon meeting him from the way others talked about him and warnings your friends had given you but he was just so sweet and had a certain pathetic charm about him that you couldn’t resist. you just hadn’t quite expected these sorts of things to be amongst his collection of knick knacks.

unbeknownst to you he had reentered the room. Ajax cleared his throat and you whipped around only to be faced with the ginger sporting a half hard-on and a generous blush across his pretty face. he shifted slightly from foot to foot without making eye contact before speaking, though his voice cracked slightly.

“snooping around huh? i hadn’t quite… planned for you to see this sorta stuff so soon,” he paused as if thinking, “it’s only appropriate that you apologize, yeah? but i’m not sure that’ll cut it…” Ajax walked closer to you and bent down to be level with your face, his pupils blown wide and drool practically spilling out his mouth. “i can forgive you if you let me try out some of that stuff with you?”

he was nothing short of handsy for the rest of the night, flipping you through various positions but his hands never left your full hips for longer than a handful of seconds. Ajax practically had hearts in his eyes every time he blew his load straight against your cervix and made you whimper from the depth and feeling of fullness. his nervousity never quite left, fingertips trembling and brows furrowed, but the unsure nature of his movements was endearing in an odd way. it was a passing thought you couldn’t dwell on with the small vibrator held firmly to your clit at all times.

#cw: incel #blinks at u #i hope this is satisfactory T^T #my brain was melting only taru up there #inceltaru #incel childe #childe x reader #tartaglia x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader #genshin smut #chit chats

[askmerriauthor]

I said the game demands microtransactions, not that it requires them. That's not just me being pedantic about wording, but rather a big indication of how the developers designed the game to work. Pokemon Sleep doesn't want you to play for free and is designed to make playing-without-paying a worse experience.

Like many free-to-play games out there, they operate on the idea of monetizing convenience and "fear of missing out" (FOMO). Such games will either create a problem in order to sell you a solution, or rely on a rotating/limited availability of enviable items to encourage impulse buying to avoid losing the chance to have the item. Pokemon Sleep does both of these.

Despite Pokemon Sleep being presented as a passive "something in the background while you sleep" kind of novelty, that's not the actual gameplay at all. The game actually wants you to be extremely active and paying a lot of attention to it non-stop, along with encouraging you to get others involved as well. Up to 500 potential invitations with a 50 individual approval list of contacts, specifically, and the system "helpfully" lets you link to your Google, Apple, or Facebook accounts in order to facilitate that and further scoop up lots of personal data for advertising.

The basic gameplay cycle of Pokemon Sleep is that you have a 7-day period in which you can power up your Snorlax as much as possible, with a higher power score equaling a greater variety of visiting Pokemon for you to catch. Visiting Pokemon will appear in a variety of sleeping types, of which there are at least 415 to collect (with individual Pokemon having multiple sleeping types). These Pokemon can also be "befriended" by giving them a sufficient number of items, which means they'll then join your team and help you boost Snorlax's power score over time. You can further boost Snorlax's score by feeding it, which the game encourages you to do three times per day within a given time window. Your Helper Pokemon will supply you with ingredients to make meals for Snorlax at different intervals, and the meals you make have different potencies based on the ingredients used.

So, to summarize, you have a limited period in which to get a number as big as it can be, with various randomized factors able to improve the rate of progression, before it all resets and you're back to square one.

Yes, you absolutely can play this game without spending any money. But the game itself is designed in a way that urges you to spend money at every turn. Every element of gameplay is improved if you spend money, and will actively degrade in effectiveness and quality if you don't. Remember how you can befriend Pokemon to help you out with getting Snorlax's score up? That's faster and easier if you spend money. Those same Helpers who gather ingredients for you? They lose Energy (an arbitrary limit put in place by the game system) the longer they're around, and become worse at gathering ingredients the less Energy they have. But, good for you! You can just buy more Energy for them! Rather, you have to make two purchases - the Energy-restoring item only gives back 50% of their Energy, so you need to buy two in order to max them out again. And you can just buy a box of random ingredients too! How convenient! And if you really want to get the most out of sleeping, you can buy the monthly auto-renewing (until you manually cancel it through Google or Apple, not the game app itself) Premium Membership! Which literally makes your sleep more valuable than the same - or even higher quality - sleep of people who aren't Premium members! But you better buy fast, because all of these items for sale are on a rotating schedule and will swap out of the shop at different 15 or 30-day intervals. You wouldn't want to miss your chance, would you?

A core facet of microtransaction pricing is that it's intentionally and carefully designed to never be enough. You'll always be in a position where you need to buy just a little more than the minimum, and it always comes out at odd numbers that never fit exactly where they need to in order to maximize your purchase, and are priced in unorthodox values specifically to trick the buyer's brain into thinking it's a better deal than it is. With that in mind, it pays to look at the minimum and maximum amounts the game wants to try and charge you since that gives a good idea of their intended range of interaction with your wallet, and how far a given amount of paid microtransactions will take you. Because, remember, such games are built around the idea of NEVER giving you enough. They ALWAYS want you to be in a state of wanting a little more and being tempted to dish over some more cash for it.

In Pokemon Sleep's case? The minimum buy-in for "Diamonds" - their premium microtransaction currency - is 60 Diamonds for $1.19. Their maximum? 7000 Diamonds for $97.99. So what this says outright is that the game is designed in such a way that it expects 7000 Diamonds to NOT BE ENOUGH to maintain a player's best experience. Because, again, such games will NEVER give you a value sufficient enough to deter the need for further purchases. This is a game that wants players to spend $100 multiple times over throughout the lifespan of their interest in the game. Will the majority of players do this? No. There's absolutely going to be a number of whales who will, especially among influencers and content creators on social media who make their own career off these sort of things. But what Pokemon Sleep is relying on is that there will be a far greater abundance of players who think "Oh, it's just a dollar..." or 'Oh, this item is going away... it's not even $5, so why not?" on a very regular basis.

And I haven't even touched on the overt security/privacy issues and the personal info scraping the app has potential for as well. So, yeah, I'm just going to go ahead and sleep on Pokemon Sleep.

#pokemon sleep #pokemon #game development #game design #microtransactions

[malamira]

QUIET LOVE, OH HOW IT SCREAMS

synopsis: "i'd never let anything happen to you, if i could help it."

a/n: GOD, i love doctor!au inukag. i did a lot of editing and revising for this, so it's a different beast from what it was when smutmas version came out. i'm not 100% happy with the ending, but i mean. if i did any more i had a feeling i would just ruin it instead of help it.

— 💓 —

“You’re going to love me,” Sango sing-songed, sliding into the seat next to Kagome’s.

Kagome grunted, massaging her temple. The bar wasn't too crowded, thankfully, but the noise level was high enough that she had to speak up to be heard. “Why? Did you kill the hospital director yet?”

“No,” Sango said primly; Onigumo Industries owned the hospital Kagome was a surgeon at, and Sango's father was vice president of one of the subsidiaries. “But,” she said, grasping her friend’s arm, “I kind of have a solution to your extended shift problem.”

“You mean the hospital is hiring another surgeon?” Kagome mumbled grumpily, knocking back her watered down whisky. The moisture that collected outside the glass splattered unto the bar when she slammed it down. 

“No! A guy!”

Kagome stared at her best friend, first blankly, then sourly. “Sango, I love you and I know you only have my best interests at heart, but seriously? I barely have time to bathe Buyo. I don’t have time for a guy.”

“No, I mean like to fuck!” her friend said encouragingly. “It’s been rough the past few weeks. Maybe a good orgasm will fix you right up!"

Kagome's cheeks colored. "I don't—"

Sango wasn't having any of it. "Aw, come on! It's just some harmless fun. He’s right over there, by the booth—”

“Now?” Kagome said incredulously. “I’m in my scrubs. I have a stain on my shirt!”

“So? Is it a shit stain?” 

“I’m not even going to correct you on how many hospital protocols I would’ve broken if it were a shit stain.”

“Lighten up, Kagome!” Sango insisted, jumping up from her chair and tugging at her friend's arm. “It’s Friday and you deserve to get laid. Come on.”

“It is a testament to our ten-year friendship that I am choosing to trust you,” Kagome said flatly, throwing a few bills on the counter to cover her drink. She called over the bartender before letting Sango pull her away.

“Hello, gentlemen,” Sango said brightly, then brandished her friend from behind her. “As promised, my lady doctor friend.”

“Hi,” the guy at the edge of the booth said, dark hair and bright, blue eyes. He was cute, Kagome could admit, if a little too... pedestrian, for her tastes. He extended a hand to shake. “I’m Kōga.”

“Kagome,” she introduced herself, taking his hand for a brief shake. He scooted over and motioned for her to sit next to him. 

Sango had already settled into the side of a guy who had a short ponytail and earrings. “I’m Miroku,” that guy said. 

She only just managed to land her butt on the leather seat of the booth, she felt a familiar vibration pattern in her pocket. Her emergency pattern.

Before Kōga—or Sango, for that matter—could utter a word, she’d straightened and fished out her phone. “Hospital. Gotta go.” 

Without so much as a look back, she bolted.

—

“I’m here,” Kagome panted, running into the ER. "I'm here!"

“Doc!” Jinenji, one of the nurses on shift, called out, timidly holding a clipboard to his chest as he approached from the nurses' station. “I know you just got out—”

“It’s fine.” She waved away his concern. “What do you need?”

“We did a test for Nazuna, the one who had the appendectomy earlier today, and the results required a change in dosage,” he informed her, then turned sheepish when he continued, “I’m really sorry; her mother was getting… irate, and I couldn't get another physician—”

Kagome shook her head and let out a breath. “It’s okay, Jinenji; it's not your fault. Good thing I was nearby.” A bar two blocks away wasn't necessarily nearby, but Jinenji didn’t have to know that. She took the clipboard. "Nazuna... the one with anemia, right? Can we check if she needs a transfusion? Her RBC's looking pretty low..."

“Dr. Higurashi!” another nurse cried as soon as Jinenji took off with her advice. “Thank God you're here; I need you!”

Kagome sighed and got to work.

—

A few hours later, she yawned as she pushed back against the desk in the middle of the doctor's lounge, her chair screeching against the floor. "Oh my God," she groaned, exhausted.

“I hear Higurashi,” a gruff voice called a few hours later, and a light-haired head popped into the admin room doorway. Gold eyes peered at her with interest. “Hey. Isn’t your shift over? Why are you still here?”

Kagome stretched in her chair and rubbed her eye with the back of her hand. She smiled tiredly at Inuyasha, who regarded her with curious eyes. “Had to do something. You haven’t left yet?”

He strode into the room, hands in his pockets. He’d forgone his lab coat and scrubs, changing into jeans and a button-up shirt. “About to, yeah. Where'd you come from? Your house?”

She shook her head. “No, I was at the bar two blocks down. You know Shikon?”

Inuyasha smirked and jerked his head. “Come on. I’ll drive you back. Unless you wanna walk…?”

“Nah, you’re good,” she said, collecting her things and leaving the room. She fell into step next to him. “And excuse you, I had one drink.”

He opened the door to the stairwell and let her pass; the elevator to the parking was under repair. “Shikon’s for kids anyway. Why not head to, I don’t know, Totosai’s, or something?”

“I didn’t pick the place,” Kagome mumbled. Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she fumbled for it, shoes echoing as they made their way down the cement steps.

“Oh? Were you out with friends, then?”

"Yeah." Kagome groaned, pausing in the middle of the stairwell, "And she’s fucking pissed at me.”

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, curious. He hopped back up a few steps to get back to her level and peered at her phone, eyes widening at the slew of texts she'd apparently ignored.

Sango 23:44 Is everything ok?

Sango 00:22 Kagome we’re still at the bar in case u wanna come back, I’m telling Koga ur coming back

Sango 00:28 Can u reply so i can give an update

Sango 01:18 Kagome PLS!! Trying to call u, pls answer

Sango 01:31 Koga left. He’s kinda pissed and I’m super embarrassed

Sango 01:56 Leaving too, it’s been 2 hours

Sango 02:03 Call me in the morning when I’m more important than your job

He whistled lowly. “She’s really mad, huh?”

“No, really? What gave that away?” Kagome said blankly, furiously typing back. Sorry, stuff at the hospital got hectic. Will make it up to you tomorrow. She sent the message and pocketed her phone, pressing a hand to her forehead. She took a deep breath before turning to climb back up the stairs.

“What’s up?”

“You go on ahead,” she said.

“What?" She could hear Inuyasha climb up after her. "Why?”

“I’m heading home,” she said, looking back at him. She lived on the other side of town, opposite the direction of Shikon.

Inuyasha put his hands in his pockets and looked at her like she was crazy. “Are you crazy? It’s two in the morning, Higurashi. I’ll drive you home."

She gaped. “Are you crazy? I live an hour away!”

“Traffic won’t be too bad,” he said with a shrug, not looking at her. “I don’t mind. Seriously.”

“But—”

He sighed and climbed further up the stairs until they were a step apart, his eyes meeting hers with barely a tilt of his head. “Kagome, seriously. You work too hard and give too much."

She rolled her eyes, "I'm fine—"

"Oh, come on," Inuyasha said, clearly exasperated. "Don’t think I hadn’t heard of you being wheeled out of the operating room after that cystectomy last week.”

She flushed at that. “I—How’d you know about that?”

“Jinenji’s very easy to manipulate.” 

She gaped and lightly smacked his arm. “That’s mean! You know he’s scared of you.”

“He’s scared of a lot of things,” Inuyasha shot back. “And I would’ve known anyway.”

“How?”

“Kagome,” he said, one of his hands slipping out of his pocket to gently grasp her wrist. He raised it so it hovered in between their faces. “You’re shaking.”

Her hand twitched before her eyes, and she bit her lip. “I'm fine, I'm just tired—"

"Tired? But you're consistently taking 24-hour shifts?" He lowered her hand, but didn't let go of her wrist. "Come on, Kagome. Admit it; you're overworking yourself."

She sniffed. "I didn’t know you watched me so closely.” It was meant to corner him, but it came out feeble and shy.

He sighed and lowered their clasped hands. “Seriously, Kagome,” he mumbled as he, to her surprise, rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. “You need to take care of yourself more.”

She looked down at his hand, watching as his thumb dragged tenderly over her skin.

Her relationship with Inuyasha was both surprisingly simple and terrifyingly complicated. They had met in medical school, when she was a sophomore and he was in his last year. They'd gone to different schools—rival schools—but they had a mutual friend who introduced them, thinking they’d be perfect for each other.

It couldn’t have gone more wrong.

She looked too much like his ex, he said, while she claimed that he was too big of an asshole. While they were both planning to eventually become surgeons, it seemed like the similarities stopped there. Whenever they managed to come across each other it was like they wanted to bite each other’s head off for the smallest of things—like breathing too loud, or walking too slow—until they discovered that they’d work together in the same hospital, in the same operating team.

They'd learned to deal with each other. At least until the day Kagome’s brother had been wheeled in into the ER.

Sōta had been shot.

Kagome had nearly lost her mind with worry, snapping at anyone who denied her access to her brother, until Inuyasha had to practically manhandle her to sit down on the couch in the physician’s lounge. He had talked her down, told her that he was handling the operation, he'd be the one to take care of her brother, but she needed to calm the fuck down, okay? 

She'd grabbed his hand and made him promise to do everything—everything—he could.

He'd kissed her forehead, unbidden, and left the room. The shock of it was like the icing on the proverbial cake, rendering her speechless. It was too much all at once, and she ended up sleeping on the lounge couch. A few hours later, Inuyasha woke Kagome up and she bolted to see her brother.

Sōta had made it, albeit looking a little worse for wear. Her mother had screamed at the police on the phone, the angriest Kagome had ever seen her. Turned out Sōta had been shot by an unknown assailant after being mugged, and the man was still on the loose. 

The police had found him eventually, Kagome had told Inuyasha when he asked, and she hadn't known anything beyond that. The other surgeon nodded, looking pensive. Kagome had realized she hadn’t thanked him yet, for all he’d done. She had suggested that she pick up his shifts in return.

He'd declined (surprisingly politely). Instead, he'd offered to pick up her shifts while she took a break. When she'd asked what for, all he said was, "To take care of your brother," and left it at that.

She'd thought he'd take one or two shifts, but he'd crossed her name out of the shift sheet for a total of three weeks, declaring that hanyōs didn't really need sleep, and therefore could take on more work. ("I'm the ideal ER doctor, if you think about it," he'd said.)

"Inuyasha," she said.

His thumb resumed its motions. "Hm?"

"Why are you being so nice to me?" she asked him.

That seemed to snap him out of whatever stupor he'd landed himself in, and he let go. She kind of missed it.

With a blush on his face, he scoffed and looked away. "I—You know, I pick up your shifts when you're out, you know? I—You shouldn't take—If you get sick, I'll have to take more shifts."

Awkward silence settled over them, and Kagome stepped down to stand closer to him. They were practically nose to nose, and Inuyasha's gold gaze met hers with an intensity that made her want to shiver.

"You're lying," she challenged boldly, and that made him scoff again, sounding completely offended this time around.

"Why would I lie?" he said with a roll of his eyes, turning away and stepping down.

Kagome was growing frustrated. She couldn't put into words what she wanted to tell him.

"You're always—" She shook her head. She was ready to yell, but she wasn't angry. Once upon a time, she would have snapped, called him a coward, and stomped past him. But gone was the pure loathing that defined the early stages of their relationship. So where did that leave them?

Where did that leave her?

He turned and looked back up at her. "Look. I can drive you home, and I—" He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "Just get some rest, okay? You've had a long day. I can take your shift tomorrow, just... just get some rest."

The next thing she knew, she was watching his back as he climbed down the stairs, and that's when it dawned on her.

Her brother, her job, her wellbeing—why hadn't she realized sooner that—

"Inuyasha."

He paused and sighed, turning back to face her. "Kagome, just—"

Maybe it was the exhaustion, but the way he looked at her made her eyes prick with heat. She bounded towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shirt collar. "Thank you."

He was clearly taken aback, but managed to keep both of them upright. "Wh—For what—"

"For taking care of me," she mumbled. "That's what you're doing, right?"

She felt his body go rigid before relaxing. His arms slowly came around her middle. "Stupid girl," he murmured with so much affection it made her heart skip, "Only because you're doing a terrible job at it."

She sobbed. "I'm sorry for worrying you."

"It's okay."

"And I'm sorry for not noticing sooner," she sniffled. "I'm sorry for being a workaholic, and for being exhausted, and for crying."

His arms tightened just a bit. "It's okay."

"I'm sorry for being annoying about it."

His low laughter rumbled in his chest. "It's okay."

She hugged him tighter. "And I'm sorry I never thanked you for Sōta."

He lets out a breath and turn his head. "You don't have to apologize or thank me for that, Kagome," he told her gently. Pressing a soft kiss to the shell of her ear, he continued, "Your family is important to you. I'd never let anything happen to them." Then, softer yet louder at the same time, "I'd never let anything happen to you, if I could help it."

That made her gut wrench and heart swell and it made her cry harder.

He held her close as she did.

#inukag #inukag fluff #inukag fanfic #inuyasha fic #inuyasha fanfiction #inuyasha x kagome #💞.writing

[sweetercalypso]

Around the Tree || Joel Miller

Word Count: 1.4k

Summary: For their first winter in Jackson, Joel plans to surprise Ellie with a Christmas tree. When he runs into a problem with his decorations, he turns to you for help

Notes: no warnings! mutual pining, Hallmark level fluff, kissing, no reader pronouns

Winter in Jackson is like a scene from a movie.   

The mountains surrounding the small Wyoming town are topped with fresh, white snow, embracing the settlement in a picturesque seclusion that lasts until spring breaks through the frozen landscape sometime in March.

The streets are lit with decorative lights and displays that take weeks to set up, and the townspeople are eager to spend the last days of the year outside despite the bitter cold and the icy conditions that should keep them indoors.

Their dedication to the holidays is an admirable feat in a world that has largely forgotten about tradition.

Shortly after settling down in Jackson, Joel realizes that Ellie has never experienced the joys of the holiday season, and he’s determined to show her what she’s missing. For his first gift to her, he brings home a Christmas tree.

Born and raised in the heat of the South, Joel hadn’t had much experience with snow until after the world had already fallen apart. By then, the winter season was a dreadful grievance rather than something to be celebrated.

He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d seen a Christmas tree, but the one in the center of town was clearly cherished by the community, and it inspired him to celebrate the holidays for the first time since he’d left Texas.

Finding the tree was easy enough, and getting it back to his house had only required a bit of goodwill from Tommy and the help of some neighbors he’d yet to learn the names of. They’d been more than happy to lend a hand, brushing off Joel’s offer to pay them back. Maybe there’s still some good left in the world after all.

The fresh-cut tree gets placed in the corner of living room, tall enough that it skims the ceiling, still smelling of fir and camphor from the thick, Wyoming forest. Joel scratches the growing scruff on his cheeks as he stands back to admire it’s grandeur.

Beyond the beauty of the bare Christmas tree, Joel’s house is decidedly lacking in holiday spirit. He’d scrounged up a handful of trinkets from the previous homeowners’ belongings, but there were surprisingly few ornaments left behind, making him wonder how many houses they’d cleared out to supply the festivities in the center of town.

This is a problem he hadn’t expected to face.

He’d found a stand for the tree and cleared a spot before bringing it home, and he’d even sought out a collection of comic books to wrap and give to Ellie on Christmas morning. But without any ornaments to decorate it’s many branches, the tree looked too rustic, too ordinary to fit the Christmas scene he’d envisioned.

With his jacket bundled around his broad frame and his pair of snow boots laced up tightly, Joel sets out to find the one person who might have a solution to his problem – you.

As their next-door neighbor, you’d been the first person to welcome Joel and Ellie after Tommy and Maria brought them to town. There weren’t many people who were willing to look past Joel’s initial gruff demeanor, but you’d never once doubted his slow and hesitant acclimation to life in Jackson.

Joel struggled to balance your friendly relationship and the growing interest he felt towards you, fearing that it’d snowball into something that he wasn’t ready for after twenty years of grief and persistent bad luck. Instead, he’d kept you at a distance, swallowing the feelings he had for you.

He finds himself checking his appearance in the reflection of your front room windows after he knocks, an anxious string of thoughts running through his mind. What if you have company over? What if you’re not home? What if you think this idea is dumb? What if-

“Joel?”

The scent of cinnamon and a nostalgic warmth greets him along with your voice, soft and cheery against the sound of winter wind.

“What’re you doing out here? It’s too cold to be outside- you’ll freeze.”

He shrugs and offers a sheepish smile, trying his best to look unbothered by the brisk temperature. Boston winters were brutal and grey, nothing like the crystalline scenery that graces Wyoming. Even still, the idyllic frost has been known to turn deadly.

“I, uh- I need your help with something.”

“Oh,” you reply, shifting to lean against the door. “What’d you need?”

He explains the situation in full detail and you grow more interested with each word, practically beaming by the time he finishes his story.

“I have just the thing,” you tell him. “I’ll be over in five.”

As if by some miracle, you’d found an entire box of Christmas ornaments when you were pulling out your winter storage earlier in the season, but you didn’t have a tree to display your newfound treasures. This seemed like the perfect way to solve both your problems.  

You’re standing on Joel’s porch five minutes later, just as you’d promised, holding as many boxes as you could carry. Joel’s eyes widen when he opens the door, and he ushers you inside with a quite huff of laughter.

“What is all this?” he asks, taking his share of the boxes and guiding you towards the living room.

“I brought everything you need for your first Christmas in Jackson,” you reply, admiring his choice of tree with a nod of approval. “Ornaments, tinsel, wrapping paper – it’s all here.”

He breathes a sigh of relief and rubs a hand over the back of his neck. “I can’t thank you enough for this.”

You tug your bottom lip between your teeth as Joel turns his attention to the boxes strewn out in front of him. Maybe it’s the serenity of the holiday season, but it feels like you’re meant to be celebrating together rather than spending Christmas apart. Before you can make a move to leave, Joel surprises you by grabbing your hand in his.

“I really appreciate this,” he says earnestly, thumb rubbing across your knuckles. There’s a bright glimmer in his eyes that you’ve never seen before, one that you silently hope you get to see again. “Would you want to… stay?”

The burning apples of Joel’s cheeks betray his nonchalant demeanor, and you’re sure you look just as flustered by his unexpected offer. A warmth settles in your chest when you think about spending the holidays with the older Miller brother.

“Yeah,” you reply, lips curling into a smile. “I’d like that.”

An hour later, you’re both covered in glitter and tiny strings of tinsel, laughing about the state of Joel’s Christmas tree.

A constellation of lights and shiny garland decorate the many branches, twisting around the tree in an awkward spiral that you’d given up on keeping straight halfway down. It looks better this way you tell yourself. More personal.

“Careful with this one, looks like it’s seen better days.”

Joel hands you a frosted glass bulb with snowflakes printed on it, one of the many ornaments pulled from the supplies you’d brought over. You find a place for it between a faded plastic reindeer and an angel dusted with glitter.

All of the ornaments seem to have a story behind them, each a sentimental piece of someone’s lost traditions. You hope you can add your own meaning to their cherished forms.

Joel hands you the last ornament and takes a step back to observe the whole scene, nodding to himself with one hand tucked in the pocket of his jeans. When you’re finally satisfied with the tree’s arrangement, you join him in admiring your handywork.

“It’s perfect,” you say, glancing over at Joel with a sincere smile. He turns to meet your gaze and he’s suddenly aware of how much he appreciates your presence. There’s always been an unspoken affinity between the two of you, but this day has made Joel realize that he wants more.

In a pleasant surprise to you both, Joel dips down and molds his mouth to yours, gently cupping the back of your neck to pull you closer. When you part, you’re too stunned to speak, opting instead to press another kiss to the corner of his mouth.

He hums lowly and wraps an arm around your waist, content to stand here as long as you’ll stay with him.

This is exactly how the holidays are meant to be spent; not flaunted with flashy celebrations or spent alone in a QZ apartment, but rather by creating cherished moments with the people you care about.

Joel might’ve brought home a Christmas tree for Ellie’s sake, but he’s the one who needed it the most.

#joel miller #the last of us #joel miller x reader #joel miller fluff #joel miller x y/n #joel miller x you #joel miller fic #the last of us x reader #the last of us fluff #tlou #tlou x reader #tlou fluff #tlou x you #christmas fic #christmas fluff

[destieltaggedfic]

Hello! Could you please tell me Cas and Dean body swap fics? Much appreciated.

Fics where Sam and Dean or Cas and Sam swap bodies are also really fun for the awkwardness, but there is a special something about the underused bodyswap.

Waiting for More – perilously  Ao3

Set S11.  A destiel-shipping demon hits the boys with a spell to increase their desire for each other.  He accidentally made them bodyswap after the fact as well.  How are they going to swap back?  Well they should probably try more sex, right?

Word Count: 15k                              Graphic Sexual Acts

Default Settings - through_shadows_falling   Ao3

Set S10. The immediate problems are Dean still has the MoC and Cas is dying from his stolen grace, so everyone is trying to find a solution either in the books or in the collection of magical artifacts housed in the bunker.  When Dean finds a strange coin and both he and Cas touch it, they wake up swapped bodies and their original problem has been solved but now they have to find some way to switch back.

Word Count: 13k                              No Sex

Body and Soul – Cadignan   Ao3

Set S9 AU.  Cataloguing a store room in the bunker has left Dean & Cas body swapped and requiring constant contact.  No great hardship, however the mental link is new and definitely adds an edge to sex.

Word Count: 7k                                 Graphic Sexual Acts

Go F*** Yourself - victorian_sexstache   Ao3

Nonspecific timeframe.  A magical artifact has Dean and Cas swapped bodies for a day.  Cas immediately wants to see what sex is like when they are reversed.

Word Count: 2k                                 PWP

honey you're familiar (like my mirror...) – skiesaregray   Ao3

Set S10.  Waking up in Cas’ body is disorienting for sure.  Cas thinks it may be a way to keep the MoC contained for a while.  There will be a few revelations when their bodies are still reacting to each other the way they would if the original inhabitants were there.

Word Count: 11k                              Graphic Sexual Acts

#destiel #rec asks #bodyswap #Benefits of me being on holiday is more time to do posts!

[sailorrhansol]

One in the Grave | 00

❀ Pairing: Vampire!Vernon x Dhampir!Reader (f) 

❀ Summary: Immortal problems require immortal solutions, but you never expected the unlikely help from a vampire lord and the destruction that might come with it. 

❀ Word Count: 1,366

❀ Genre: Supernatural, Dystopian,

❀ Type: Unlikely allies to lovers, slow burn, angst, eventual smut

❀ Rating: 18+ Minors are strictly prohibited from engaging in and reading this content. It contains explicit content and any minors discovered reading or engaging with this work will be blocked immediately.

❀ Chapter Warnings: Descriptions of a viral pandemic and global shutdown, depictions of sickness, death and disease, brief mentions of grief and general destruction of the world, mentions of murder and fear, a note that implies suicidal intent, collection of items that are somewhat nonsensical and not necessarily supposed to make sense

❀ A/N: I got the idea for a collection of items that show a little of the world before we dive into it, though a lot of it won't make sense until one reads further. I liked the idea of showing different sides of the event that takes place before this story with the articles, discovered notes and lab sheets, and then at the very end you see some notes to our characters that you'll find in the story later :) IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW I'M NOT A SCIENTIST AND SO MUCH OF THIS IS NOT ACCURATE LMAO. I know little about biology or viruses but I did try to look stuff up to be... somewhat believable.

❀ A/N 2: Huge thank you to @daechwitatamic and @eoieopda for beta reading for me and letting me plague them with this unhinged project. I love you both and I really enjoy when we three way smooch in the comments of the doc okay bye

❀ Disclaimer: Disclaimer: All members of Seventeen are faces and name claims for stories. Any scenarios or representations of the people and places mentioned in works are not representative of real-life scenarios. Moreover, none of my works accurately reflect, represent or take a stance on the nuances of Korean culture, cities, people etc. Seventeen members are not Seventeen culturally, intellectually, physically, or representationally in my stories, and should be considered name and face stand-ins for made up characters.

❀ Disclaimer 2: The names and emails in this specific chapter are not real and for the fictional purposes of this story!

❀ Series Masterlist ❀ Main Masterlist ❀ Tag List Request Form ❀ Ask ❀ Playlist ❀ Next Chapter ❀

Excerpt from the New York Times

Global Shutdown Imminent as WHO Declares VAHS a Global Pandemic

Thursday, October 1, 2063

…In a historic announcement today, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the outbreak of Vampiric Acute Hemorrhagic Syndrome (VAHS) a global pandemic. This declaration has sent shockwaves across the globe, prompting governments and health organizations to initiate unprecedented measures in an attempt to contain the spread of the deadly virus. VAHS, a highly contagious and fatal disease, has been rapidly spreading across multiple continents, causing widespread panic and overwhelming healthcare systems. The WHO has warned that without immediate and decisive action, the virus could result in catastrophic consequences. In response to the WHO's declaration, governments around the world have announced plans for a global shutdown in an effort to curb the spread of VAHS. This shutdown will entail stringent measures aimed at reducing social interactions and limiting the movement of people in order to minimize the risk of transmission. Public gatherings including… 

Excerpts from emails at the Center for Disease Control

From: Jelena Suarez <[email protected]> To: Alison.Murphy <[email protected]> Date: September 1 2063, 2:12 PM Subject: [SECURE] Report 09-01-2063-11 Mailed-by: CDC.org

Alison,

Please find the attached report as requested. Confirm receipt upon review. 

Regards,

Jelena Suarez Lead Biologist, Team 6 Center for Disease Control [email protected]

[IMAGE] Previous Report Subject 990 shows signs of degradation in cognitive condition. Lateral views of the brain demonstrate lesions in the frontal lobe. Subject shows signs of hydrophobia and increased hemorrhaging. Internal temperature remains stable at 110 Fahrenheit. Fever continues to degrade.  [IMAGE] Current Report Subject 990 experienced a spike in fever and internal organ failure. Lateral views of the brain demonstrate further decay in the frontal lobe. Subject died at 0200 and reanimated at approximately 0523, showing signs of clinical vampirism unrelated to Renfield’s syndrome.

Excerpts from the journal of Nathalie Wharton

October 20, 2063

… This isn’t like those old-school movies Mom and I used to watch when I was little. These vampires are real, and they don’t sparkle in the sunlight. Tara says that the older ones, the real vampires, don’t go crazy like the new ones do. I say they’re all the same. We’re leaving to go to the cabin tomorrow. Mom is worried that we’ll get stopped at the checkpoint and sent back because we’re technically in a quarantine zone, but Tara said the checkpoint south of the city fell last week.  There’s not much news. We’re the only family on the street now, and Tara’s radio doesn’t always work.  I’ll miss home, but maybe the woods would be nice… 

October 25, 2063

… Tara was right, there was no one at the quarantine fence south of the city. The roads remind me of those zombie movies with abandoned cars on the side, full of stuff people left. Thankfully the National Guard cleared the road on the way up north. No one has driven this way since it looks like.  Dad keeps looking for Carriers but we haven’t seen any. It’s like humans don’t even exist out here anymore. Mom says it's because all of those infected have gone to the big cities where the human population is higher.  She said Memphis collapsed last week, with no radio signal going in or out but the screams can be heard for miles.  It’s hot all the time now. The air outside makes me feel breathless like that one time we went to Florida and it makes me tired. I’m going to miss Tara but the radio said there was a breakthrough on a vaccine.  I’m so tired… 

October 26, 2063

… I had nightmares last night and could barely sleep. It is so hot in the car that it feels like my skin is on fire. Dad is making us ration our water and food. All I want is a cold shower to wash the sweat off and to not be starving. It’s just water. I just want to cool off.  We have two days until we get to the cabin…

October 27, 2063

… I hate this trip. I want to go home. It’s too hot down south and I’m hungry all the fucking time. Mom and Dad look at me like I’m crazy, but I just want to not be hungry. They won’t give me any more food.  I can’t sleep. It’s too hot. I’m too hot. Why is it so hot… 

October 28, 2063

It’s too hot to write. I just want to go home. I’m hungry. I just want more food. 

October 29, 2063

It’s so hot and I hate my fucking parents. They won’t let me eat more. I’m starving. I’m hot. It’s too hot. 

October 30, 2063

I didn’t mean to kill them.

Bloodied note in abandoned warehouse, Columbus, Georgia 

To whoever finds this note, Are humans still alive? I hope they are. If they’re not, I understand. They didn’t tell us that this would happen. They told us that it would be okay. It isn’t okay. It was never okay. They told us to stay inside and wash our hands as if that could ever stop the virus from spreading.  I’m alone now. Mom died in the first wave of the virus. Dad died a few weeks later after Mr. Johnson attacked and tore out his throat. Daniel and I made it to the quarantine center in Albany with his friends from high school, but a week after Atlanta fell the Rabids showed up and tore through the quarantine. Those older vampires - the ones not infected - they didn’t even help us. They just keep fighting each other in the big cities. Daniel died yesterday. He wasn’t even a Carrier. He just starved. I don’t have anything to bury him with, so I’m going to leave him here and hide him the best I can. The vampires won’t bother with dead blood. It’s the Rabids who will eat him but there aren’t so many away from the big cities.  I hope that Daniel forgives me for not giving him a proper grave.  I don’t want to starve like Daniel. I don’t want to keep walking either. My shoes are busted from running when we left the quarantine. I know we passed a canyon on the way here. I thought it might be a nice place to die. I’m going to go right before sunset so I can watch it one last time before I jump. I’m not afraid to-

Crumbled lab sheet in Buenos Aires, Argentina

[ORIGIN]: Bloodline, turned [NAME]: Leanna Cordova [DOMAIN]: Eukarya [KINGDOM]: Animalia [PHYLUM]: Chordata [CLASS]: Lamiae [ORDER]: Carnivora [FAMILY]: Hominidae [GENUS]: Inmortui [SPECIES]: Vampiris

[ORIGIN]: Natural, birthed [NAME]: Manuel Onzari [DOMAIN]: Eukarya [KINGDOM]: Animalia [PHYLUM]: Chordata [CLASS]: Mammalia [ORDER]: Primate [FAMILY]: Hominidae [GENUS]: Inmortui [SPECIES]: Dhampiris 

[ORIGIN]: Fever, turned [NAME]: Leandro Trejo [DOMAIN]: Eukarya [KINGDOM]: Animalia [PHYLUM]: Chordata [CLASS]: Lamiae [ORDER]: Carnivora [FAMILY]: Hominidae [GENUS]: Inmortui [SPECIES]: Rabidus

[ORIGIN]: Unknown, turned [NAME]: Unknown [DOMAIN]: Eukarya [KINGDOM]: Animalia [PHYLUM]: Chordata [CLASS]: Lamiae [ORDER]: Carnivora [FAMILY]: Canidae [GENUS]: Inmortui [SPECIES]: Canis familiaris

Ripped sheet of paper, abandoned home, Yunnan Province, China

Weaknesses:  Sunlight Stakes Holy water Beheading Batrachotoxin* Fire Chest damage  ripping out heart Carrier blood *Temporary paralysis that only affects vamplings and Dhampirs. Older Bloodline vampires seem to have higher resistance to paralysis. 

Unaddressed note smeared in blood, Seungcheol’s Blockhouse, Southwest of Black Harbor, Red Republic 

Find me, motherfucker. You owe me. -GR

Neatly folded note, Vernon’s office, The Tower, Black Harbor, Red Republic

Lord Chwe, Your request for documents regarding the sect of Grim in the Undercity has been denied by Master Archivist Ilsa per security clearance IA-45-KL7. My recommendation is to seek a writ of clearance from your Lord Father or any member of the High Council. Alternatively, I suggest seeking an audience with Lord Hong, who has extensive experience with the Grim that pre-dates the existence of the Undercity.  Yours in loyalty and service, Lead Archivist Jeon

Crumbled note, Chan’s pocket, The Tower, Black Harbor, Red Republic

I need you to steal something from the archives for me. Meet me in the Shadow Grove one minute after midnight.  -V P.S. Don’t bring Mingyu 

TAG LIST:

@hipsdofangirl

#vernon x reader #hansol x reader #vernon smut #hansol smut #vernon fic #hansol fic #svt smut #svt fic #vernon angst #svt x reader #svt fanfic #seventeen smut #seventeen fanfic #svt imagines #chwe hansol x reader #chwe vernon x reader #svt #seventeen #minors dni #minors do not interact

[thatdiabolicalfeminist]

To create a sustainable climate, we cannot keep using the same types and amounts of air conditioning.

Central ACs especially accelerate the climate crisis both overall and locally, raising the temperature in air conditioned cities by as much as 10 degrees, not to mention the overall greenhouse gas effect.

Me being extremely heat sensitive due to physical disability doesn't change that reality.

Ignoring it just because I personally am worried about staying cool would be short sighted. As the climate crisis worsens, ACs won't be able to keep up anyways! As price gouging capitalism gets worse, it's possible poor people (huge overlap with disabled people—I'm both!) will have even less access to AC anyways!! Power grid blackouts mean you can't use your AC even if you have it!!

Not to mention how bad it is for people stuck outdoors where ACs are cooking the city even hotter!!

I might get sick or die from overheating if everything stays the same!! We need other options!!

There are ways of cooling that aren't AC.

Individually, most of us probably don't have much choice about implementing many of them.

For instance, houses in the US are built mostly to retain heat, even in hot places, because European settlers wanted familiar house types and when ACs became available those same settlers moved en masse to even hotter places, and even more European-style homes were built there, with AC built in to many of them.

Now we're here, most of us can't afford to build or remodel a whole house. Changing architecture to be cooling IS possible though—it just requires more than individual choices.

Also, public green spaces and waterways are known to reduce heat. Asphalt makes cities hotter, green spaces and open water cool the area.

Cars are another obvious source of local heat. A robust public transit system reducing the number of cars on the road would make us all need less AC.

The conversation isn't about asking disabled people to turn off our ACs and just die.

We need to engage in collective action to make other types of cooling possible.

We need to be creative and collaborative and not just throw up our hands and say the only options are to keep burning up the earth with ACs, or giving them up with no alternative.

People telling you about a problem are giving you an opportunity to be part of brainstorming solutions.

When someone points out that something you need to survive is not sustainable, don't just jump to "they want me to die then". Maybe it just means we need to work together to figure out how to meet all our needs in a sustainable way!!

And yeah, if you can safely turn the AC a degree or two warmer or leave it off some days, that would be great! Every little bit helps!! But we need to be focused on big, systemic solutions and work together to make them happen.

#climate crisis #the amount of people calling people eugenicist for pointing out AC isn't sustainable... come ON #thatdiabolicalfeminist

[crowhyun]

How I Met Your Father (Pt. 1)

Yeonjun x Reader

Words: 2.3k

Part One Genre: light hearted fluff

You were already running late for work. You didn't look or feel so good, and you were going to call out sick if it weren't for your nearly empty refrigerator.

Looking up at the digital signs at the metro station, you squinted your eyes to read the moving letters. You sighed upon finding out that there was maintenance scheduled at a stop right before your own. You'd either have to take a bus the rest of the way or walk to work from there, and with the dark impending clouds of doom, you didn't think that walking was much of an option.

Shuffling around in your bag, you failed to find your umbrella, remembering exactly where you had left it and groaning internally.

The next train was due to come around in around 5 minutes, so you stood there, shivering a bit at the cold. You tried to remain positive, the day not really starting off well for you. Despite having a rather uneventful desk job to look forward to later in the day, you found solace in the fact that you'd be able to stay seated in a warm building.

Feeling a but bored and awkward, you pulled out your phone from your jacket pocket, accidentally pulling out your keys, noticed by the sound it made when it dropped to the ground a foot away from you. Sucking your teeth in annoyance, you bent down to pick them up, only for a stranger to unknowingly step over them, moving them a bit further from you.

"Hey-" You frowned, and they turned back, apologizing before continuing on their way. You shook your head and bent down to pick them up again, only now noticing that they were a bit too close to the tracks. One of your biggest fears were falling onto the train tracks and getting stuck there, so you always managed a far distance, but getting your keys would require you to be a bit too close to the train that was coming now in one minute. "Oh..." You said to yourself. You wouldn't fall. Just a quick snatch of your keys, and all would be fine.

It was a rational solution for an itsy-bitsy problem, but were you still scared? Of course.

Someone must've noticed your hesitation, their hand swooping down to collect your keys for you. Before you could yelp in alarm at you being possibly robbed, you looked up to see the person banding your keys to your with a smile.

Damn.

He was a looker. Black shiny hair, a foxy smile, sparkling eyes, and a put together appearance. Not too often you'd see a person this good looking.

Sheepishly smiling back, you took your keys from him, mumbling a thank you.

"You're welcome." What a smooth voice. That was all of the interaction before he went back to his own business, but now you were painfully aware of his existence just a few feet behind you. Was he looking at you? Did he think you were weird?

The train finally appeared from the darkness of the tunnel, and you were glad, remembering how you had to get to work, and quickly.

Once the train stopped, you waiting for a crowd to get off before you stepped on, noticing that all the seats were taken. Just your luck. The train car was filling up fast, and you grabbed a pole, keeping your bag close in front of you. You guessed that a lot of people had to get to work at this time as the car crowded up, forcing you to be shoulder to shoulder with others.

Despite your very visible discomfort, someone decided to place themselves face to face with you, and you looked up to see none other than the handsome man who helped you with your keys. You made eye contact and he awkwardly smiled before you quickly looked down, eyes widening for a split second.

How did you get in this position, and why was it starting to get hot underneath your coat?

The train started moving with a jolt, and you were already embarrassed as you bumped into him, quickly mumbling an apology.

This day must've been cursed. You knew the ride was going to be bumpy and you had only hoped that he wasn't going to the same stop that you were going to.

Holding on to the pole for dear life with your leg muscles stinging from trying not to bump into him, you kept your head down, looking at your feet. There wasn't one moment that you were chill, and there wasn't going to be one the more the guy was standing in front of you.

Not expecting the particularly rough start after a stop, you fell onto him, releasing both hands from the pole you were holding to somehow catch yourself. He quickly wrapped his arm around you, both your hands flat against his chest.

Quickly noticing your position, you scrambled yourself back up, an apologetic look on your face, worried that you might have hurt him.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, are you okay?" You asked him, and he chuckled.

"Don't be, it's alright." He said. "Are you okay? The rides a bit more rough than usual."

"I'm fine. Sorry, I keep bumping into you."

"I don't mind it." He said with a smile just as foxy as the first time you saw him. A little embarrassed you said nothing more, instead over thinking about how he said he "didn't mind it". He doesn't mind you bumping into him, or he just wants to reassure you? I mean you didn't really mind bumping into him either, but you were sure he didn't mind in the way you didn't mind.

He smelled of citrus and mahogany, a calm and refreshing scent that made you want to plunge onto his chest again and maybe stay there for a bit. These thoughts were not safe to think while he was in such close proximity and your stop wasn't for another 10 minutes, but did you have anything else to do?

You found yourself looking down at his shoes. They were black and shiny, probably expensive as well. He seemed to work a professional job, as seen by the peak of the grey suit underneath his long black peacoat.

You looked up from his suit to his neatly tied tie, every edge and fold of his suit neat and ironed. There was not a wrinkle in sight and there wasn't a hair out of place.

You hadn't noticed that he was watching you damn near examine him until you looked at his face and saw him looking directly at you with a smirk.

"I take it you like the suit?" He asked, and you awkwardly laughed.

"Sorry." You looked back down.

Shit! That was embarrassing. You were only two more stops away from where you had to get off, and you didnt even know if you could manage it.

"Don't be sorry. I have to dress to impress today, so it's nice to know that someone likes it." He shrugged.

"Ah..." You nodded your head. You wanted to inquire more about it, like what he had to do today, if today was important for him, was he going to make it on time due to the upcoming maintenance. But...you didn't want to seem nosy, so you just shut your mouth. Small talk wasn't your forte, and you'd only embarrass yourself. Again.

With the train pulling up to a station about 25 minutes from your workplace, you hopped off happily. Going up the subway stairs, your happiness was quickly dampened once you felt heavy raindrops fall upon your heard.

"Shit!" You grumbled to yourself, looking for cover. You had hoped that it wouldn't rain, but alas, here you are. Looking around, you noticed a bus stop on the corner, the last of a crowd hopping onto the bus. You widened your eyes once you noticed that that was the bus you were supposed to take. "Wait!" You yelled out for the bus driver, running to the stop. Did he see you? Did he care?

Apparently not, because the bus doors closed promptly, and with an annoying screech, the bus started on its way, right before you could get to the stop.

"Shit, shit-" You brushed your wet hair back with your hand in frustration, breathing heavy from the running you just did. You didn't know when the next bus would come, and you had to clock into work within the next ten minutes. You would have to walk.

"Ah, did I miss the bus?" You heard a familiar voice and a black umbrella hover over your head. Turning around, you noticed the man from the train. Was he following you? There's no way you could coincidently bump into him three times, already.

"Oh, uh, yeah." You sighed. "Do you know when the next bus might come?"

"Usually, the busses are about 20 minutes apart." He said, also seemingly a bit frustrated.

Furrowing your eyebrows and looking at your watch, you looked on the direction you'd have to walk, mentally preparing yourself for the way you'd get drenched in seconds.

"Are you, by chance, uh, walking to your destination?" He asked.

"Yeah," You shrugged. "I don't have much of a choice, anyways, I've got to get to work, and it's not too long of a walk."

"Surely, you don't plan on getting drenched in this cold rain," He frowned. "I'll walk with you. We're going in the same direction, anyways."

"O-oh, you don't have to worry about that, I'll be fine-"

"No, no, I insist." He said, a genuine look in his eyes. You paused for a second then sighed, chucking breathlessly.

"You've come to my rescue more than once today. Big thanks." You said, suddenly turning hot again. Big thanks...? Could you possibly get any more awkward?

"Only doing what feels right." He smiled. "Let's go," He said, nudging his head towards the direction.

The walk started off pretty silent. It felt like you were trying your hardest not to bump into him with every step you took, keeping your hands neatly folded in front of you, and staring straight ahead.

"So, if you don't mind me asking," He started to speak, slightly startling you. "What do you do? You said you had to get to work, I'm hoping they're not too strict." He laughed.

"Oh, I just work in sales." You shrugged. "My management isn't too strict with us, they'd understand my tardines. I just wish I would've been able to catch the bus."

"Ah, sales..." He nodded. "That's one thing we have in common."

"Really?" You smiled, looking up at him for a split second. "It's not the most awesome job, but I get by...oh, and thank you so much. I didn't realize exactly how much I'd appreciate an umbrella right now."

"So, you were really planning on walking to work in this rain? You're stronger than me, I could never." He laughed.

You shrugged. "Walking in the rain wouldn't make my day any worse than it actually is." You regretted saying that the moment it flew out of your mouth. Now he probably thinks you're about to trauma dump on him like no other.

"One of those days, huh?" He sighed, slightly tilting his umbrella more towards you, effecting blocking the rain from hitting your shoulder.

"I-I mean, it's alright." You chuckled nervously. "Your help surely makes it better so far."

"Good to hear." He said, smiling dorkishly. Cute.

The rest of the walk was quiet again, yet this time it was a bit more comfortable. You hadn't noticed how wet he was getting until you approached your building, feeling apologetic, as if it was your fault.

"This is me." You said, facing the tall, glass building you guys approached. "Once again, thank you so much, I really appreciate your help today."

"No problem." He smiled, closing his umbrella. "Also," He handed you the umbrella, and you just looked at him, confused. "You can keep this."

"Oh, no, that's okay, I couldn't-"

He gently placed it in your hands, anyway. "Don't worry about it." He laughed. "Maybe we can both use it again when we finish work today, hm? How about dinner? I know a great place down by the river."

You raised your brows, surprised by his forwardness.

"A-are you asking me out to dinner? With you?" You asked, just to make sure.

"Well...hopefully with me." You could tell he was starting to get a bit sheepish.

"Sure!" You said with a smile, still taken aback but pleasantly so. "I, uh, I get off at around 6 today, so I'm free after that."

"Okay, awesome!" He said. "I'll wait for you down here once you get off, then. See ya, pretty." With a curt wave of his hand, he turned around and went inside the building, you following him unknowingly before you stopped in your tracks, eyebrows furrowed as you watched him walk towards the elevators.

Then it dawned on you. "Oh...OH!" You exclaimed and you heard him laugh, back still turned as he went on about his way. He worked here! How did you not know that?

Eyes still wide as you stood there in the middle of the floor, you quickly brought out your phone, no longer caring about how late you were. Bringing up your best friend's contact, you furiously texted her about every single thing that happened this morning.

Your heart beat at a thousand miles, the smile never leaving your face as you made your way to the office, thumbs still gapping away at your phone.

What you thought was going to be a horrible day swiftly turned into a day you'd never forget, with the promise of what you only hoped to be, a good date around the corner.

‐-------

AN: OMG YAY GUYS! I finally finished something! I did it while I was working lol, but I wanted something a little light hearted and cute, and I'm surprised I managed to finish it. I think it's a good step to getting out of my writers block! I hope you guys enjoyed this, and let me know if you want a part two. I already have an idea for what part two can be and it's not as cute and lighthearted bcs Yeonjun makes me feel NSFW things and I like writing abt them lolol.

#yeonjun fluff #yeonjun x reader #txt fluff #txt x reader #crowhyun

[bi-bard]

Regret My Touch So Much That You Curse Your Baptism - Kaz Brekker Imagine [Shadow & Bone]

Title: Regret My Touch So Much That You Curse Your Baptism

Pairing: Kaz Brekker X Reader

Word Count: 1,292 words

Warning(s): touch aversion, author trying to be dramatic

Summary: [Inspired by "salvation" by Christabelle Marbun] Kaz finds himself faced with a problem. His attempt to solve the problem seems to have consequences that he had not anticipated.

Author's Note: I... love this song so much.

I know that I haven't written for this show in ages, but since the second season came out, I decided to give it a shot again.

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

Kaz asking to meet with you was never necessarily a good thing.

It was usually a sign of something very important happening and I have found that something so important was rarely good.

I had known Kaz for a fair number of years. Even then, I never truly felt like I completely understood him. There were so many different parts of himself that he kept locked away, each with a wildly different key. I had been trying for ages to get him to open up to me. It had yet to happen.

Kaz was silent when I met with him that day.

I had greeted him, but he merely nodded as a way to acknowledge my existence. I could have laughed. I could have sworn that the two of us were much closer than what warranted his behavior.

"Can I ask what this meeting is about," I asked, taking a moment to scan the room.

"You," he stood firm in his spot across the room from me.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "I might need more detail."

He looked away from me, pretending to be more focused on something nearby. I watched his cane spin a bit under his hand.

"Kaz-"

"You have gotten in my way," he stopped me.

I scoffed. "Pardon? In what way?"

"I have found myself unable to pull my thoughts from you," he explained. "It has gotten in the way of my work."

"Do you want me to apologize," I found myself chuckling as the question escaped me. "I'm sorry that I'm memorable?"

"I didn't ask you here to insult me."

"I would be happy to hear why you wanted to meet with me over this."

"In the hopes that confessing it will be enough for it to end," he sounded... exhausted. As if he had truly tried every other solution that he could think of but could not find one to bring him peace.

Like a man confessing his sins in the hopes of being forgiven.

"I see," I nodded. "Well, please feel free to tell me how well this works for you-"

"You don't understand," he cut me off.

I almost scoffed again, but he didn't give me the chance.

"You have become all-consuming," he almost sounded angry. "All-consuming and distracting. You have blocked all other thoughts that I could have. I would give anything to focus on something outside of you, but I can't."

I was stunned for a moment. Not just because of his word, but because of his voice. It was as if he were blaming me for being such a "distraction" to him.

"Is that why you asked me to meet you," I asked. "To rant about me being some 'distraction' as if I was doing it on purpose?"

He didn't have a response to the question.

I wondered if he had practiced this moment in his head. If he had considered what words he should say to get his point across. If he had considered every potential response that he could get when those words were spoken.

I wondered if my particular collection of words had never crossed his mind and that was why no response seemed to form.

"Do something about it," I said.

"Excuse me?"

I stepped forward. "You heard me perfectly well."

Kaz raised an eyebrow at me.

I walked even closer to him, careful to keep enough distance between us that he could back away at any point.

He didn't. Instead, he stepped forward after me. Still not touching but teetering on the edge of the cliff. I felt like if I breathed too heavily, then my chest would brush his.

I had to force myself to keep eye contact with him.

Kaz was always intense. His life required the ability to be intimidating when he needed to be. So much so that it must have become second nature to him at some point. Even in this moment, his eyes were enough to make me want to back down from my moment of bravery.

But I don't think he wanted me to.

He didn't want to tell me all of this just so I'd run. That would be... foolish.

"I want to know why you chose now," my voice was soft due to the proximity, not due to fear. "What corner of your mind did I finally haunt that forced you to confess this to me?"

His silence spoke as a false warning.

"I can't force you to tell me anything or do anything," I continued. "But if I hold so much power over you and your thoughts... I would like to know the extent of my reach. I would hate to abuse such a gift. How much of your days and nights are consumed by this... 'all-consuming' thought of me?"

I felt my heart rate spike when the leather on his free hand brushed against mine. He didn't grab my hand or intertwine our fingers. He merely placed them against each other. Testing how much pressure my skin placed on the leather. How much of my touch could he truly feel through the barrier?

"I see," I whispered. "The great Kaz Brekker... never a truly open book."

I dragged my index finger along the length of his. I quite enjoyed the idea of being wanted. It was a new feeling, but it was one that I could picture becoming addicted to.

"You have found your way into my thoughts too," I explained. "Right in the back of my mind... just waiting. I would never call you a distraction, but I suppose I could overlook that."

The only sign of him being anything other than perfectly in control was his eyes. They were jumping around my face too much for me to be convinced that he had full control of the situation. I decided that whatever suffering I had put him through had been enough.

"All I need is for you to say that you want me in the same way that I want you," I said. At some point, forcing myself hold his gaze had become second nature. I didn't need to fight the nerves sitting in my chest any longer. If anything, those same nerves now held my chin in place. "Say it and I'm yours, Kaz."

I watched Kaz take a long breath. Calming his own nerves. I never thought about how Kaz would calm his nerves. He always seemed so in control of them that the idea felt... wrong. Pointless.

Seeing him do it now felt like something close to intimate.

"I want you to be mine," he managed to whisper out. "Please..."

The idea of someone's shell cracking made perfect sense to me. I watched pieces of Kaz's cold armor flake off like pieces of a wall chipping away over time. It felt impolite, but I was now desperate to know what hid away under that chipped paint. I knew better than to rush that process, but curiosity was a powerful motivator.

Finally, his hand properly grabbed mine. Kaz's thumb dug into my palm slightly. Grounding himself or holding me in place, I would never know.

"I want that too," I mumbled to him.

I watched his face relax slightly. I let a small grin form on my lips at the sight.

Kaz moved forward slightly. I didn't think it was possible.

There was still a safe space between us. Close but not touching. I had no desire to push anything in that moment.

I leaned back first.

Kaz leaned forward in an attempt to keep the space between us to a minimum. I had to fight the urge to smirk a little at him.

That feeling of being wanted was one that I could certainly get used to.

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Author's Note: I would like everyone to know that I spent about 15 minutes sitting in front of this screen, debating whether or not a kiss would fit here.

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