#it took me months to come up with a decent design for him

[reqxxyt]

birthday cake

pairings: max v. x f!reader

warnings: none : ) (except for the constant change of 2nd to 1st pov)

masterlist requests open!

[unedited]

a/n: won't be updating for a while, last month of school is always hell

_________ ׂׂૢ་༘࿐

Max had been staring at the same recipe for the last 10 minutes, trying to decipher the instructions without making it to hard for him knowing already that he wasn’t the best when it came to baking always leaving it to you. You birthday had been today and he had told himself that he was going to make a birthday cake for you. 

He had felt terrible that you were meant to work on your special day and told you to leave it all to him. With a cautious look on your face the minute he told you, he was more determined to make this the perfect birthday, to prove that he would do just fine without needing your help. 

He now stood in the kitchen covered in flour, staring at the burnt cake he let bake for too long and glancing at the recipe wondering if he could save it or have to start over. With the minimal ingredients he had left, he decided to start over saving the burnt as a back up but knowing it was no longer edible. 

He gave himself words of encouragement, trying to keep his hopes up while now taking his time, double checking every measurement that went into the mixing bowl. The minute it went into the oven, he stared at it not letting his attention leave the cake that was meant to be perfect for you. But he didn’t expect you to be home so soon, having asked your coworker to cover for you. 

“What happened…” your gaze landed on the destroyed kitchen. Flour was covering the counter while some remaining mix was dripping to the floor, most ingredients left out as Max had been sitting on the floor covered in flour staring at the oven. 

Max turned to your shocked expression already feeling terrible just now realizing how much of a big mess he had made in the span of 2 hours. “I tried making a cake” his voice sounding so soft made your heart hurt, not wanting him to think you were annoyed. But yoru silent state only made him worry more as he stood back up ready to apoligize. 

You laughed instead, fluffing out his hair as flour remains flew off. “Thank you” you said with a soft smile and his own smile made your insides warm knowing how much he just wanted to make you happy, feeling appreciated from the person you’ve grown to love over the years. “Let me help you clean up” 

He was about to protest before he saw that you spotted the burnt cake from last time on the corner of the cake. 

“Just keep your eyes on the cake” you said and he just nodded, giving you a soft kiss on the cheek before sitting back down while you cleaned the counters and washed the dishes. After you were finished, you sat down with Max, reaching your hands to his, intertwinnign them as you two stared at the cake waiting for it to finish ensuring that it wont burn with the help of each other. 

After a long chat as we stared at the cake, we finally took it out right before it was starting to brown. Max took out the decorations and we both started, agreeing to do a side each, making up our own designs. We were finally finished and I sighed, tired from the day but relieved I got to spend the rest with Max. 

As you were about to turn, you felt icing drag on your nose and looked to the only one who couldve done it as he looked at you with a mischievous grin. You glared at him, debating whether to make more of a mess at the kitchen or be a decent person. You looked down at the cake in front of me and dragged a bit of icing. Max having an inkling on my plan made a run for it as I dashed to him, racing him to our room, and cornering him. 

“Nowhere to run Max” you said with a small smirk before attacking him, dragging my finger on both sides of his cheeks. He ran as our laughs echoed throughout the house. As he ran back to the kitchen, he swiped another piece of icing before coming back to attack me with more. I ran from him, giggles escaping as I entered the living room nearly tripping before Max caught me only to swipe the icing, dragging it across my lips near my bottom chin. 

Our laughs died down as we stayed still, admiring each other with soft smiles before leaning in exchanging a sweet kiss. We separated, he whispered a simple “happy birthday, schatje” 

“I want cake now” I whispered back making both of us chuckle before heading back to the kitchen splitting the cake and enjoying the rest of the night together. 

#max verstappen #f1 #f1 x you #f1 reader #f1 x reader #f1 x y/n #max verstappen x you #max verstappen x y/n #reader insert #formula 1 #max verstappen x reader #f1 fandom #f1 fanfic #max verstappen fanfic #max verstappen imagine

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

Mateless Mate (Part 2)

Summary: Three months after getting together, the reader experiences Dean’s rut for the first time and the reader gets an introduction to Dean’s family...

Part 1

Pairing: Alpha!Dean x human!reader

Word Count: 1,700ish

Warnings: language, smut, rut toy, little bit of angst

______

“Howdy there, Dean,” you said, letting yourself into his apartment after work one Thursday. You’d been dating for about three months and while it took some getting used to on your end that Dean knew you were the one for him, he very much wanted to go slow for you and let you decide what you wanted on your own. 

“Y/N,” said Dean, slowly coming out of his bedroom. “Can you uh, maybe, stay away the next few days?”

“Why?” you asked, Dean holding himself against the wall, taking a deep breath and licking his lips. “Is this you having a rut?”

“It’s the start of one,” he said. “I need...you need to go hang out in your apartment the next three days. Better yet, go stay over your parents or brother’s place. It’ll be easier that way.”

“Can I do anything to help?” you asked. He shook his head and you frowned. “Dean, you promised that I could help you with things an Omega normally would.”

“Yeah but I don’t want to hurt you. An Omega is designed to be able to take an Alpha’s rut and they still end up with a few bruises. You? You I might break a freaking bone and I’m not risking that. I won’t...I won’t be able to have as much control as when we have sex and I’m not hurting you. I’m just not.”

“I know, Dean,” you said, carefully walking over towards him. He stared but didn’t stop you as got close and rested your hands on his hips. “If I really am your true mate-”

“You are,” he said, closing his eyes.

“If I’m your true mate, don’t you think your mate is supposed to help you through your rut then?” you asked. He sighed and threw his head back. “How would you get through a rut when you were single?”

“Medicine. A rut toy. This one feels different though. I know it’s because my body feels claimed and if it knows you’re nearby, it’s gonna want you,” he said.

“Let’s give it what it wants then. Safely. Okay?”

“How-”

“Take your medicine and then go dig out that rut toy. I have an idea.”

“Fuck,” groaned Dean two hours later, sweat dripping off of him as his rut fully hit him. He rolled over to his side and you moved with him, Dean’s eyes shutting as he breathed hard.

“Rest Alpha,” you said, squeezing your thighs together. The toy nestled between them gripped Dean’s cock harder, a nice little sleeve that easily took his knot and let his body soak in the feelings it needed. 

“Not a bad thing to try,” he said, opening his eyes. He panted but you saw that look in his eyes still. 

“It helps but it’s not enough,” you said.

“I can manage this way,” he said.

“You’re pretty spent. Maybe...when this knot goes down we can try-”

“No.”

“You weren’t so keen on sex at first either but you were wrong about how gentle you could be. Maybe you’re wrong about this,” you said.

“It’s a rut. It’s different,” he said. “We’ll do this again, sweetheart. It’s fine.”

Ten minutes later you were in his bathroom, washing out the toy again, Dean sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for you. While you were drying it off, you looked in on him, Dean fisting your shirt in his hands. He needed you, not an imitation, even a pretty decent one. 

You left the toy on the counter and walked out, straddling Dean’s lap while he swallowed.

“If it’s too much, I’ll tell you,” you said, running your hand through his sweaty strands. “Take what you need Alpha.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. Let me do this for you.”

“Thank you,” he said, closing his eyes, pulling you closer. “I’ll do my best to take this easy.”

Two Days Later

You stretched as you got out of the shower and started to get ready for the day. You were meeting Dean’s family for the first time, at their yearly barbeque baseball game. He originally had planned on skipping because of his rut but he said it’d passed and if you were up for it, he’d happily have you join him.

With a hum you went to your closet and changed into some denim shorts and a flowy summer tank top. There were a few bruises on your hips from Dean’s rut but they were hidden from view. After having a quick snack and tugging on your sneakers, you left the apartment, Dean just exiting his with a tray of food in his hand and a cooler in the other.

“How you feeling?” you asked, Dean pecking a kiss on your cheek.

“I’m all good. Ready to head out?”

“Sure thing.”

You went downstairs together, getting in his car and driving for about twenty minutes before you got to a park that had been rented out for the day. He got the cooler while you handled the food, quite a few people already there.

“Where you been?” asked Sam as you both set down the items along with the rest of the food. 

“What do you mean? We’re early,” said Dean as you got a hug from Jess.

“You’re forty five minutes late dude,” laughed Sam.

“I thought mom said noon,” said Dean.

“Noon for the game. It doesn’t matter. It never starts on time anyways,” said Sam. “I thought you guys were ditching.”

“Rut wasn’t as long as normal,” said Dean.

“Being mated does that,” said Sam. “I see Y/N hasn’t wised up yet and run off on you so must have gone okay.”

“It took us a little bit to figure out what works best given our situation but I think we found a good solution for Dean,” you said. You noticed an older Alpha wander by, his nose wrinkling as he took out a beer from a nearby cooler. 

“Hey dad,” said Dean, the man standing up straight and turning towards the group of you. “I want to introduce you to somebody. This is my girlfriend, Y/N. Y/N, this is my dad.”

“Nice to meet you John,” you said. He looked you up and down, his nose twitching again.

“Nice to meet you too. Dean says you’re his true mate. Yet you don’t have a mark,” he said. “I would have expected that by now.”

“We’re gonna go figure out teams,” said Sam, he and Jess getting out of there. Dean stared at his dad, his father giving it right back.

“Obviously you know she’s human with the way your nose is going,” said Dean.

“You said true mate so I assumed Omega,” said John.

“She is my mate. Y/N doesn’t have a dynamic is all,” said Dean. You could see John wasn’t understanding and Dean was starting to get fed up. “Forget about it, dad. Come on, Y/N. Let’s go get on a team for the game.”

He grabbed your hand and started to walk away towards the field, glancing back over his shoulder once.

“I’m sorry about him,” said Dean. “I’ve told them before you’re human. I guess they just assumed.”

“It’s alright, Dean. I get it a lot,” you said, squeezing his hand. “Don’t let it bother you. I think he was surprised was all.”

“Yeah. I suppose. Hopefully my mom doesn’t react like that though.”

“Dean, it’s fine. Let’s enjoy the party, alright?”

“Okay. Besides, I’ve been dying to see how good at baseball you are.”

Four Hours Later

“Dean,” you said as he silently walked down the hall towards his apartment. “Dean.”

“I just...I can’t believe my mom would act like that. You’re not a different species. She was freaking the fuck out over nothing,” he said. He opened the door and stepped inside, you carefully following after. “Your family doesn’t act like that.”

“My dad knows a lot about dynamics and even he was surprised to find out about our bond. Give them a chance to come around to it,” you said. “It’s not a common situation. We’ve had to ease into it. Maybe we should ease them into it too.”

“If they’re gonna act weird, I don’t want you hanging around them. So what if I haven’t claimed you? I’m not gonna bite your neck. There’s no point to it. I know how I feel. I don’t need them to tell me what’s supposed to happen. I know what I’m supposed to do and that’s take care of my mate.”

There was a warm cozy feeling in your chest for a brief moment, Dean turning his head and staring at you.

“You’re feeling something, aren’t you,” he said. “I can tell.”

“Just...happy. Home I guess,” you said, Dean smiling softly. “What is that?”

“It’s what I felt when I met you. It’s our bond,” he said.

“Oh. It’s actually really nice,” you said, the feeling subsiding.

“It’s not an all the time thing but you know it’s there. You can feel it if you stop and think about it. I wasn’t sure if you actually could feel anything,” he said.

“I’m glad I can. I think something clicked for me, knowing that you’ll never care I’m not Omega,” you said.

“I don’t. I like you, strictly human and all,” he said.

“I like my Alpha too,” you said. He grinned and you gave him a kiss. “Don’t worry about your family. It’ll work out in the end, Dean. I promise.”

“I hope so too, sweetheart.”

_______

#spn #supernatural #dean x reader #alpha!dean x reader #abo #spn fanfiction #supernatural fanfiction #dean fanfiction #dean winchester #dean winchester x reader

[palmofafreezinghand]

suspenders: on ao3 here.

2011. 

A wolf whistle stopped Carlisle mid-step as he walked down the second-floor hallway. 

“Someone’s getting lucky,” Emmett sang, his signature heavy footsteps coming up quickly behind Carlisle. 

“That is the hope,” Carlisle said quietly, eyes fixed on his freshly shined shoes, mindlessly twisting his wedding band. 

“I’d fuck you,” Emmett chuckled, his strong hand briefly landing on Carlisle’s shoulder as he used the leverage to push himself forward. 

Carlisle’s brows furrowed as he looked over at the young man. “If you were a woman and my wife, of course?” 

“Don’t be weird. I’d do it as me,” Emmett frowned as if Carlisle was broaching the confines of their relationship with his suggestion. 

“Oh, thank you?” 

“Anytime, Buddy,” Emmett elbowed Carlisle’s arm as the two began to resume their walk down the hall. “She’s been gone what, a month right?” 

“Two months, three weeks, and six days,” Carlisle responded a second too quickly to seem normal. 

His wife had been offered the opportunity of a lifetime, lead designer and contractor of a historic restoration project. The original architect had been one she had admired for nearly a century, and the chance to fully restore his work had been one she under no circumstances could refuse, even if the project required her to live on-site. 

“Not that you’ve been counting,” Emmett chuckled. 

“Of course not. I support my wife in all her endeavors, even the ones that require her to live in a different country for two months, three weeks, six days, and seventeen hours.” “That was almost believable,” Emmet said as they reached the staircase. 

“Good, I’ve been practicing.” 

“Have fun,” Emmett grinned, punching Carlisle’s arm one last time, before jumping over the railing onto the first floor — an act he was strictly prohibited from doing while Esme was home — and bounding out the front door. 

Carlisle made his way down the stairs in a dignified manner, futzing with the drape of his sweater as he walked. He stopped in the first-floor foyer, examining his reflection in the entryway mirror. He ran his fingers through his hair once, twice, a third time. The lock at the front of his hair refused to stay gelled back, stubbornly falling on his forehead. His wife once remarked it made him look like ‘Clark Kent’s’ alter ego, he thought it made him look like a bum. 

“Someone’s dressed up,” Rosalie said from the living room. 

“Do I look alright?” Carlisle asked, turning to face her, holding his arms out at either side. 

“Better than you usually do, but that’s not saying much,” she said from her spot on the couch. A disassembled speaker lay on the coffee table in front of her. A soldering iron in her hand as she pieced two parts back together. 

“You know some people do find me half-decent looking.” 

“I am painfully aware. You forget Esme and I are friends,” she sighed, turning her attention back to her project. 

Carlisle took the move as a sign the conversation was over and turned back to the entryway mirror. His focus was fixed on his tie this time. It was light blue floral silk. Esme had bought it on one of their first trips to Paris, remarking it complimented his eyes. 

“Speaking of Esme,” Rosalie said, dropping her voice so the rest of the house could not hear her unless listening intently, “did you know she enjoys a high-waisted pant?” 

“Does she? I feel as if most of her pants have a reasonable - Oh, you are referring to my trousers.” 

“I did not say that,” Rosalie said but he could see in the mirror she was nodding her head. “I did not say she thinks a pant like you used to wear in the thirties are becoming or quote accentuates your hips.” 

“Good to know,” Carlisle said, turning to walk back up the stairs, appearing to be nonchalant. “On other news, I believe I forgot something upstairs.” 

He was halfway down the hall when Rosalie quietly called after him, “Suspenders.” 

“Suspenders?” 

“Yes, but wear something over them.” 

“Thank you,” Carlisle said, resuming his walk toward his bedroom. 

“I didn’t tell you that.” 

“Of course not.” 

Once in his bedroom he fetched a pair of dark brown high-waisted wool trousers from the very back of his closet and tried them on. He examined himself in the floor-length mirror, turning and posing. He supposed they did accentuate his hips. Was that a good thing? He clipped on a pair of suspenders and slipped a slate blue sweater over the ensemble. With one more glance in the mirror, he admitted he did look better. 

He switched the pants he had previously neatly tucked in his duffel bag for two pairs of high-waisted trousers that he had not worn since 1974 when Alice broke the news they were dreadfully out of style. Another set of suspenders was thrown in the bag, just in case. 

Truthfully he did not need to primp as if he was courting her again. His wife would surely arrive at the private airpark smelling of construction crews and latex-based paint, in a pair of dusty stained coveralls. Yet, there was something exhilarating about the preparation, a giddiness similar to the first time he asked her to accompany him on a hunt. As close to a date as they could manage back in those days. Hopefully she still found him as charming. 

Two at a time he made his way back down the stairs. He looked over to the entryway mirror one last time, running his hands through his hair, brushing the lock of hair back, it promptly fell when he removed his hand. With a sigh, he turned away from his reflection. 

 Before leaving he popped his head into the living room doorway, Rosalie had been joined by Edward, Renesmee, Alice, and Bella. Bella and Edward were tucked into an armchair reading from the same book. Alice was scrolling on her laptop. Renesmee sitting on the couch next to Rosalie, picking up a piece of the speaker turning it over in her hands, and then putting them back in the wrong place on the table. 

“I’m off to the airport,” Carlisle said. “We will be back soon. Do not burn down the house, please.” 

“Can I go with you?” Renesmee pleaded in a manner that was not age-appropriate, but he suspected was a result of being raised by nine adults she had wrapped around her finger. 

“Yet again, no you may not,” Carlisle said.  

“Why not?” 

“Because I said so.” 

“Ugh,” Ness groaned, slumping in her seat. “I haven’t seen Grandma in months. I have so much to tell her.” 

“I assure you she will want to hear every detail when we’re back in a week.” 

“A whole week?” Edward asked quietly, looking up from the book he and Bella were reading. 

’You have absolutely no room to talk. How many times I have served as a babysitter?’ Carlisle thought with a raised brow. 

Edward nodded in concession, pressing his lips together as he returned his attention to the book in his wife’s hands. 

“This outfit of yours is awful,” Alice complained. “Why do you never wear anything I buy you?” 

“Your last purchase was a lobster-patterned three-piece suit,” Carlisle said. 

“It was nautical.” 

“I think he looks fine,” Rosalie said, glancing up briefly. 

“That’s quite a compliment, coming from her,” Edward teased. 

“Thank you, Rosalie,” Carlisle said, picking his keys up from the entryway rack, and opening the front door. “Goodbye, don’t cause any chaos, please. And if you do… I am begging you, don’t call.” 

#carlisle cullen #emmett cullen #emmett mccarty #rosalie hale #the cullens #my stories

[a-fantasy-lover-surfing-the-net]

Till the end of the moon review

I recently rewatched the drama and felt like reviewing the first Cdrama I ever watched. After watching some cdramas in the past 7 months since I first watched the drama, I now trust myself to write a decent enough review after somewhat familiarizing myself with the genre and overall cdrama space.

Rating: 9.5/10 (1000 bonus points for searing itself in my mind and staying there even after 7 months)

Acting: 10/10

Story: 9/10

Chemistry: 100000000/10

OST: 10/10

Costumes: 10/10

Hair & Makeup: 9.5/10

Production/Set Design: 10/10

Visual Effects/CGI: 10/10

Rewatch Value: 10/10

Li Susu, an immortal time travels 500 years into the past to prevent the ascension of the Devil god, who goes on to destroy the world in the future. It's a story of love and hate, good and evil, redemption and damnation. The characters are very well conceptualized and depicted beautifully by talented actors, stunning costumes, really good hair and makeup, and great cinematography. The amazing production and set design along with impressive visual effects and CGI really immerse the audience in the world of TTEOTM. This was a high budget drama and it shows... each and every frame of the drama, it feels lavish. If you are even a little bit interested go watch the first episode and l promise you'll be hooked and end up finishing the drama.

Now unto my spoiler filled thoughts:

I find it interesting that the typical backstory themes and some character arcs of the male lead and the female lead have been swapped here. The FL usually has a dead parent or abusive household or terrible luck and so on. The ML usually comes to the FL's rescue or stands up for her and so on. We all know that Tantai Jin is Disney Princess coded given his dead mother, abusive and neglectful upbringing and his animal telepathy powers. LSS both as Ye Xiwu and LSS repeatedly saves TTJ and stands for him. While TTJ also saves her many times, he does not get a chance to stand up for her because she usually takes care of herself and she is not suspected or wrongfully accused where she would need someone to support her. Also, TTJ basically became a part of LSS's family as her uncle took him under his wing and he promised to stay in Hengyang Sect with her in ep 35 before all hell breaks loose. And who can forget that LSS marks TTJ with her Phoenix mark, typical ML behavior.

Their romance is my ultimate enemies to lovers pairing. It has just the right amount of fighting, messiness, animosity and angst for me. I feel that other pairings don't have enough of it for me to consider them as an enemies-to-lovers couple. Their visuals, their chemistry, their acting and the story everything was so great. Who else has three epic weddings in one drama? I am still not able to move on from this couple and drama.

While the misunderstandings were obviously supposed to lead to a turning point in the story, I feel like it was in character for them to jump to conclusions and assume the worst without fully thinking things through and which then led to them acting rashly. I mean both TTJ and LSS had bad history between them so in the early stages of their relationship where their trust in each other was shaky, it's understandable that they were prone to misunderstandings. Also, they're both not good at communicating with each other. In the mortal arc, LSS was never fully honest with TTJ and they never addressed their past misdeeds properly (like OG Ye Xiwu was very cruel to TTJ and he never talked to her about it and just brushed it off). In the immortal arc, TTJ deceived LSS when he became the Devil God.

For the most part the story was gripping, progressed at a good pace and conveyed many themes that become apparent on rewatches. Though it was obvious that the last 5 episodes and the ending were rushed because the censorship rules changed as they went into production. This was one of those dramas that needed at least 5-10 more episodes to properly flesh out the story. It was a missed opportunity that we didn't get to see LSS ruling the Demon realm and Ami's antics.

Another victim of the decreased episode count is the arc of the second leads. Tbh, I wish that Pian Ran and Ye Qingyu were the SLs but I think I would have enjoyed seeing the complete character arc of Xiao Lin/Gongye Jiwu and Ye Bingchang/Mo Nv and the resolution between them. That said it was appalling that they didn't bring back Pian Ran and Ye Qingyu in the immortal arc. I really missed their dynamic with each other and with the main leads. It is disappointing that they didn't even get an open/ambiguous ending to give us some closure and satisfaction.

The actress did a phenomenal job in making us hate her as Ye Bingchang and Tian Huan. Those characters as villians really worked as they were in a way the ones who had the markings of the female lead (these characters at the start of their stories could easily be heroines in any other story) but they turn into villians. Tantai Minglang was a good, serviceable villian and the actor did a lot with how little he was given. Di Mian was selfish and manipulative traitor who was almost scarily competent. I mean he did achieve what he wanted by becoming the Devil God and opening the Tongbei formation. The point of Devil God as a villian is not his character and his motivations but rather he represents our inner demons and how each of us has the power to overcome them.

Out of all the dramas I've watched, only TTEOTM's entire OST is on my regular playlist to listen to. Every time I listen to "Let's be like this for 10,000 years", I feel the love and tragedy of Sang Jui and Ming Ye's story all over again. It's impressive that a song can make you relive those feelings and the story every time you listen to it. All the songs fit wonderfully in the scenes they're played over and also make us feel those emotions again when listening to them separately.

On my first watch, the dream arc felt a little out of place and jarring, which, in hindsight, was probably due to the fact that it was my first cdrama. Upon rewatch I've come to appreciate that it gives a look into the age of Gods and it shows that the Devil God was so powerful that to stop him the Gods had to sacrifice themselves and only Ming Ye was able to survive. The action sequences here are just magnificent to watch and they definitely seem movie level. It also serves as a warning to the audience, LSS and TTJ that they could also have a tragic end if they don't learn the lessons from it. Unfortunately, in the mortal arc they did have a tragic end. However, in the immortal arc, TTJ is able to learn from his experience as Ming Ye and succeeds in defeating the OG Devil God and becoming the Devil God himself with control over his own destiny.

One of the most prominent themes of the drama is redemption and that love and compassion are powerful enough to change a person's fate. The themes of Taoism and Buddhism are evoked throughout the drama. There are also many other minor themes like the food is used as a guesture kindness (when LSS first gives TTJ a proper meal), affection/care (when TTJ gave LSS the goose themed meal), love (when LSS gives badly cooked meals to TTJ), betrayal and trickery (the poisoned porridge) and comraderie, friendship, brotherhood and familial love (when TTJ shares meals with his sect brothers and master). Both TTJ and LSS have dead moms, terrible fathers and great adoptive dads (Zhao You and Qu Xuan Zi), these are just some observations I made.

I may not love the ending but I don't hate it either as it was obvious to me that they reunite once again and live happily as a family (the audio ending really makes it clear). Even though I'm irritated we don't get to see it, I'm still satisfied that we get a hopeful ending rather than a tragic one.

Until now I've mostly been lurking in fandom spaces by liking and very rarely commenting and reblogging but never posting my own original post. The fact that my first ever post is on TTEOTM shows how much I love it. I'll probably be posting more TTEOTM analysis stuff so be on the look out for that if you're interested. Also, I welcome your recommendations as I'm still a newbie to cdramas and kdramas.

You can also check out my costumed cdrama rankings here.

#till the end of the moon #tantai jin #ye xiwu #luo yunxi #bai lu #cdrama #cdrama review #tteotm

[stevetonyweekly]

SteveTony Weekly - March 5th

I’m going to be incredibly busy over the next few weeks so how many stories I read will be less than normal--hopefully it’ll even out some in April. In the meantime, enjoy this week’s recs and be sure to give a comment/kudos for your fic authors! 

~*~

***Covered in Lines by royal_chandler

He can’t lose sight of pale, deft hands that gesture on transitive verbs, an ink-stained thumb edging underneath Tony’s ribcage with an affection that can only be called dangerous.

The Sea is Calling by justanotherrollingstony (adoctoraday)

The storm took everything from Steve and left him empty and alone.

Tony has been swept away on the rough tides, taken from everything and everyone he loves.

The sea takes and takes and takes and gives nothing back.

adjustment period by mistymountainking

Tony and Steve have been together for a while now. They love each other a truly sickening amount. Unfortunately, Tony's issues have issues.

only a kiss by mistymountainking

Tony wouldn’t be the first to admit it—he wouldn’t be the third or the fifth or the fiftieth, even—but he’s a very physically affectionate person. For a man who doesn’t like being handed things, he loves using his hands to show his fondness for others. He has his little touches, arm pats, shoulder squeezes, handshakes; hugs are almost exclusively reserved for Rhodey and Pepper (Happy, Steve’s learned, isn’t a hugger), but no one is exempt from being kissed when the mood strikes Tony Stark.

No one except Steve, apparently.

a moment in the sun by mistymountainking

“—I mean it’s crazy right? It’s crazy, Tony Stark, Tony Stark calls us up out of the blue one day and says ‘You’ll be waiting six months to a year for a decent repair job, let alone a complete replacement, and I owe you guys, come on by Avengers Tower—”

***

a prompt fill for an anon on tumblr, who asked for Steve/Tony + Tony designing prosthetics for wounded vets

breathe with me by mistymountainking

“If footage from my sweet sixteen made it into this lineup, we’re watching all three Die Hards."

It’s Wednesday, and Wednesday means movie night at the mansion.

***

a prompt fill for lovingcookiemonsterblog on tumblr, who asked for Steve/Tony + "You're not worth it."

we'll hold each other (soon) by mistymountainking

Moments after the bright blue light of Tony’s arc reactor goes dark, Steve knows what he has to do.

 ***

written as a prompt fill for anon on tumblr, who asked for Steve/Tony post-Endgame fix-it fic.

tomorrow can wait (come whatever) by mistymountainking

The picture isn’t damning, Steve reminds himself. They aren’t engaged. They aren’t dating. They’re just friends. The pose is damning enough, but he’d be an idiot if he didn’t admit, at least to himself, that it’s his face that sells it. His face is why The Picture™ has been the #1 trending thing on Twitter for going on twelve hours, and why Clint whistled Wagner’s bridal chorus at him when they walked back into the tower last night.

He looks like he’s in love. Which is fair, because he is. With Tony.

His fiancé.

***

Steve and Tony are photographed mid-battle, which is par for the course. By the time they get home, the whole world thinks they're engaged, which is...not. But it's not a big deal—they'll figure things out eventually.

Excuses, excuses by S_Horne

“It was just that last lecture, the one on Wednesday,” Steve started, plucking his notebook off the top of his book pile and flicking through it. “I left feeling a little confused. I understood it all, but it wasn’t my favourite one. Do we have to write the paper on that topic, or can I focus on something else?”

Tony laughed as he pushed his chair backwards and stood. “That,” he said as he rounded the desk, “has got to be the worst excuse you’ve come up with yet. And I’m including the time that you came to tell me that the lights had been left on in my classroom.”

***a rose by any other name by meidui

“Just Steve,” he says quickly, softly, and his voice is music to Tony’s ears. “Please call me Steve.”

Tony can’t help but stare as it occurs to him that he should have prepared a proper greeting. What on earth is someone so young and pretty doing in an engagement like this?

-

There are a lot of things about Steve that make this arrangement easier than Tony thought it would be, but then there are a lot of things about him that complicate it, too.

flight risk by meidui

Tony is discharged from the hospital on his birthday, a beautiful May afternoon. The kind of sunshine that warms you up forever.

Mine by tinystark616

Steve doesn't have a problem with the fact that Tony likes to have one-night stands. It's none of his business. That is, until he has to witness Tony making out with Thor right in front of him.

tony's stickers of love by ArabellaAM

When Tony prints a couple of "Tony Stark Approved" stickers as a joke, the last thing he expects is to end up covering Steve's heart with them.

What if I Were To by blue_jack

“I know I said you could pick my next PA, but this is ridiculous.”

I Hear the Winter's Leave by thistlethorns

The thing is, Tony genuinely didn't know he had a soulmate.

time cannot replace by SailorChibi

When Steve is told that he has amnesia and has forgotten the past three years, naturally the first thing he does is call his boyfriend, Tony.

A Common Guttersnipe by betheflame 

When Steve Rogers walks down the runway, Tony Stark stops breathing. He must have this man as a client - he can make him the biggest movie star the world has ever known.

And then they meet, and Steve opens his mouth, and that accent nearly kills Tony. He makes Steve a bet - in six months, he can make even Anna Wintour think that Steve graduated from Phillips Exeter, and in return, Steve will let Tony sign him as a client.

Steve takes the bet, thinking he has nothing to loose.

And then he learns that the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain, that he could have danced all night, and that the world will still run without Tony Stark, but goddamn if he wants it to.

The Space Stone by TheDrow

Steve returns to put the Tesseract back… except its not as easy as he originally thought. And there’s someone in the past that he’s actively trying to avoid…

#stevetony weekly #stevetony #stony #stony fic rec #stevetony fic rec #fic rec #rec list #fanfiction #stony fan fic #steve rogers #tony stark #captain america #iron man

[danielle-dna]

19 - Great Expectations

Despite barely scraping enough UCAS points to get me to university and having the honor of being the first person in my family to go to university, I still felt like an absolute faliure.

It dawned on me that I will never be a doctor. I will never be anything I wanted as a kid. A rock star, fashion designer, actress... all of those were young girls wishes. Sometimes life happens and things don't go according to plan. Sometimes we lose people close to us but sometimes we meet people who change us for the better.

Still, I couldn't help but notice that my inner child often cried and mourned the person I could've been. If only I had both parents. Maybe then my mum wouldn't be so overworked and she could actually afford to send me to guitar lessons when I was younger. If only I had more money and an easier job. Maybe then I could afford to spend more time studying and actually get to the prestige course I wanted. If only I was pretty. Maybe then I wouldn't get bullied as a kid and I wouldn't carry all this emotional baggage with me.

This was hard for me to process. But I knew I couldn't share any of this with Simon. The man has seen horrors and death. What do I have that is worth mentioning?

My mum and I finally moved to our new, smaller and cheaper flat. It was modern and fairly spacious, but nonetheless it was a studio, meaning I wouldn't have my own room anymore. And I would have to share the bed with my mum. Again.

After unpacking what seemed like a bloody warehouse, I finally, FINALLY managed to decently organise everything. Despite knowing that mum WILL re organise everything when she returns from her two week placement, I was satisfied with my progress.

I looked at some of my empty sketchbooks and art supplies that I haven't touched in months, maybe over a year. Why did I stop?

I guess I got too exhausted and depressed about everything, that way didn't have any inspiration, let alone willpower to draw anything. Looking at the empty room that has become my habitat, I picked up my phone and invited Simon to a little "housewarming party".

-

An hour and a half later, Simon and I were already doing my favourite kind of yoga position: masked man bridge pose. Well, I was doing the bridge, he was doing the rest. Honestly, I had no idea how could he still have so much stamina.

"Simon, fucks sake, take it easy, this is a new bed." Replying with nothing but a smirk, he grabbed my butt and picked up the pace.

This went on for another hour, during which, I also took the lead sometimes and demonstrated what kind of fanfictions I have been reading as a teen.

After we were both kind of tired, we just laid on the bed, naked, embracing each other. Simon was kissing my cheeks and caressing my back. "You hungry, love?"

I couldn't help but smile at him. "A little, maybe. Just had the dessert." Giving me another kiss, he stood up, butt naked, and started going through my fridge. "Bloody hell, you ever have any food?"

"Sometimes, check the freezer, there may be a frozen pizza."

Thank fuck there was, or else we would have to go out and actually TALK to people.

It is my firm belief that frozen food, especially pizza is humanity's greatest achievement. After dinner, we both laid in the bed, touching each other and talking about our lives. Simon even told me a few funny stories from deployment. I was happy to see both sides of him. He was so much more than just a stoic lieutenant.

And then his very large friend demanded attention again. I was more than happy to give it. Whilst I was in the middle of a very passionate blowjob, I head EDM bass coming from the upstairs flat. I was surprised, since most of my neighbours were very quiet, reserved and peaceful. "You are so good at this, love. You wanna keep going?"

I nodded with my very full mouth and kept going. Then I had enough and pushed Simon back to the bed, took his mask and put it on me. This seemed to turn him on even more. Throwing him a condom, I waited patiently so he could put it on. When he was finished, I pounced on him and rode him like it was a competition.

But there was just one...tiny...tiny...problem. The fucking music wouldn't let me concentrate. In sheer frustration I took off his mask, got off of his hips and silently yelled in the pillow.

"I'm sorry, Simon, I can't focus. I fucking can't." With that he stood up and banged on the ceiling a few times. Nothing.

"You can report them to the landlord tomorrow. Wanna keep going'?"

With a facefull of sheer annoyance I nodded and spread my legs.

#call of duty mw2 #cod mw2 #ghost smut #simon riley smut #ghost mw2 #simon ghost riley #ghost cod x oc

[hongrizoon]

Empty promises...empty dreams

Empty promises..empty dreams - [ angst ]

spotify playlist - masterlist

-- summary: In a cruel and unfair world, two best friends are trying to survive together, not knowing what might happen along the way. Sadly, one doesn't notice the struggles of the other, turning a blind eye to her struggles.

-- genre: angst

-- word count: 1,081

content warnings: angst

mars notes. i honestly thought of this mid-coding class, it's based on a few things that have happened in my life (just the separation of me and my best friend the rest is complete fiction!!). this took me a few hours to make so i hope you enjoy it, i haven't written something in so long so i apologize if it's not to liking. i hope you enjoy this <3

There wasn't anything that could've possibly gone wrong in their lives. Well, at least that's what they thought. And they were wrong. Very wrong.

These two have always been inseparable, their bond is forged in the fires of adversity. They grew up together in a bleak neighborhood, a place where hope was a distant dream, a place where they always clung to each other for support, for comfort, as they slowly navigated through the treacherous "waters" of poverty and despair hand in hand. As they grew older, life became increasingly merciless. The weight of responsibilities pressed down on their shoulders, threatening to crush their spirits. But they always fought to survive, scraping by on a meager wages and shattered dreams.

Chiyo, with his cheerful spirit, always refused to succumb to the darkness. He worked tirelessly, using his determination as a beacon of hope in their bleak existence. Yet, with every step forward, it seemed like the world pushed him two steps back. Bills piled up like an insurmountable mountain, and the weight of his burdens threatened to suffocate him.

On the other hand...Akari seemed to glide through life effortlessly. Blessed with good looks and charm, opportunities seemed to fall right into her hands like ripe fruit from a tree. But beneath all that radiant facade, Akari harbored her own demons, who were invisible to the outside world.

As the days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, a growing chasm began to form between these two friends.... Where once there had been laughter and camaraderie, now lay a silent divide, obscured by unspoken resentments and unacknowledged pain.

current time: 5:43 pm - location: Chiyo's apartment

A knock on the door. Chiyo sighs, setting the pen down and walks over to open it. Akari stands there, her hair styled flawlessly, a designer purse slung over her shoulder.

"Hey..you busy?" Akari spoke softly, waiting for his reply.

Chiyo steps aside to let her in, Akari scanning the room, a flicker of discomfort crossing her face.

"Just paperwork. Im trying to untangle this mess of late fees." Chiyo sighed and closed the door behind Akari.

Akari avoided his gaze.

"Ugh, tell me about it. My cable bill went up again. Ridiculous, right?" Akari scoffed, and Chiyo forced a smile.

"Yeah, real pain. So, what brings you by?" Chiyo cleared his throat. Akari hesitates, but then reaches into her purse and pulls out two tickets. "I got us tickets to that new rooftop bar everyone's been buzzing about. Remember how we used to dream of these places? Thought it'd be fun to go, catch up." Akari smiled a bit, not noticing how Chiyo's smile faded as he stared at the tickets. "That's....really nice of you, Akari. But i can't afford something like that right now." He gestures at the pile of bills on the table, and Akari's smile falters. "Oh come on, Chiyo. Don't worry about the money. Consider this my treat!" She tried to lighten up the mood, but Chiyo just shakes his head. "It's not just the money, im swamped with extra shifts all weekend--"

Akari throws her hands up in frustration. "Always with the work! When was the last time you let yourself relax? We haven't had a decent night out in forever!"

"Maybe that's because things are different now, Akari. Life doesn't stop throwing punches just because we want a break." Chiyo groaned and sat on the couch, silence hung heavy in the air. Akari looks around the room again, her eyes are filled with a complicated mix of emotions. "I...I miss how things used to be. We used to face everything together. Remember when we'd pool our last few bucks for a single slice of pizza, and it felt like a feast?"

Chiyo's face softens. "Yeah, we were good at that. Back then, it felt like we could overcome anything, as long as we had each other."

"So why does it feel so different now?" Akari frowns.

"Maybe life took us down different paths. You seem to be doing well by yourself, Akari. I'm happy for you. Truly." Chiyo sighs, looking down at his hands.

Akari steps closer to him, her eyes searching his face. "But what about you, Chiyo? Are you happy?"

A long beat. Chiyo forces another smile. "Hey, i'm still standing, right? That's gotta count for something. Besides, you know me. Always gotta keep chasing that little flicker of hope!"

Akari nods slowly, forcing a smile. "Maybe we just need to find our way back to each other. Like we used to."

Chiyo looked up, noticing tears on Akari's face. "Or.. maybe it's better of if we go our separate ways.."

"S-separate ways? After everything?" Akari's voice trembled.

Chiyo avoided her gaze, focusing on the worn texture of the couch. "Maybe that's what life does, Akari. It stretches us thin and tears us apart at the seams. Sometimes, letting go is the only way to keep from being ripped in half. " His voice was raspy, his words laced with a quiet despair that mirrored the bleakness of the room. Akari took a step back, her designer purse suddenly feeling like a burden.

"But... we used to be a team! Remember? We promised to face everything together, no matter how bad it got!" She reached out, her hand hovering in the space between them, but Chiyo didn't reach back.

"Promises are easy when your bellies are full and your dreams are bright. But reality, Akari... reality has a way of dimming that light." A single tear escaped his eye, tracing a path down his cheek. Akari's hand dropped to her side, her smile replaced with a grimace of defeat.

"So... this is it then? This is goodbye?!" Akari snapped.

Chiyo closed his eyes, a single, choked sob escaping his lips. "Maybe for now. Maybe forever" His voice sounded barely like a whisper.

Akari turned away, her shoulders slumped. Without another word, she walked towards the door, leaving behind the echoes of their broken promises in the silent apartment. Chiyo remained on the couch, the weight of their fractured bond settling heavily upon him, a stark reminder that even the strongest friendships can crumble under the relentless pressure of life.

The once vibrant rooftop bar tickets lay forgotten on the table, a cruel reminder of a future that would never be. All that remained was the cold comfort of a flickering hope, now dimmer than ever, struggling to survive in the desolate landscape of their shattered dreams.

this was focused on Chiyo's part, if you want to see Akari's part don't be afraid to tell me <3

do ya'll want me to make more stories/one-shots/wtv? i can write them with idols if you wish as well, idk :/

#hongrizoon #light angst #original character #i need a life #what am i going to do #angsty content #im bored #help me

[mysecretwindowuniverse]

Absolutely obsessed w the idea of endgame nygmobblepot where Jerome and Oswald dated but instead of it being some fucked up thing, they had a pretty decent relationship and ended up having a mutual breakup bc they just want different things from life.

Ed takes their relationship as a sign that Oswald was doing badly and clearly trying to rebound from his and Ed’s falling out like “I can’t believe you were with that maniac, you must’ve really been doing terribly without me, I’m sure he was horrible to you- how’d you manage to get out?” Oswald’s told him several times that they were fine and the breakup was mutual but Ed doesn’t get it.

@lllillithhill I love this!

Oswald and Jerome are on great terms, which Ed simply can't comprehend, he's convinced Oswald is suffering from some sort of Stockholm Syndrome, despite numerous attempts by Oswald to correct the record.

Jerome and Oswald got together while in Arkham, and it lasted a few months post-breakout, but the pair knew that their relationship had an expiration date, they just didn't know when. And once their relationship had run its course, they parted on amicable terms, and kept in touch (they text with decent frequency). Yet even after going over everything in near-excruciating detail to Ed (minus their . . . very healthy sex life, for obvious reasons), he refuses to get it, much to Oswald's eternal exasperation.

And once Jerome and Ed actually met? Things only got worse. Oil and water get along better than the ex and the endgame, to put it mildly.

Things aren't helped by the fact that Jerome's first words to Oswald were: 'Who's the stiff?' in a wholly unimpressed tone while looking at Ed. Following the initial meeting, Jerome has made it clear on several occasions that he finds Ed to be 'lame', and 'boring', and that Oswald can do way better. He's conveyed this sentiment through text, in person chats, singing telegram and with a complex riddle (that, once solved, conveyed a message that was specifically designed to piss off Ed. It succeeded. Oswald had never before seen Ed's face turn that particular shade of red). Oswald brushes off the comments with ease, but they irk Ed to no end.

Compounding Ed's ire is how Jerome abjectly refuses to call him by his name, choosing instead to favor such monikers as: Jolly Green, Green Bean, Poindexter, Four-eyes, pompous asshole, the list goes on.

Exasperating the situation further is how, when Oswald is out of earshot, Jerome has both insinuated and flat out stated that

He's better in bed than Ed, and there's no way Oswald is satisfied.

That he could saunter in, sweep Oswald off of his feet and steal him away from Ed at any time, anywhere, and there's nothing he could do about it.

This of course results in Ed becoming jealous and loosing his cool, made worse by Jerome playing dumb - save for a sly quirk of the lip - when Oswald comes to investigate the issue, and that enrages Edward further. He ends up spewing all this nonsense about Jerome being abusive to Oswald, how he took advantage of his vulnerability while in Arkham, how Oswald wouldn't have touched him if of sound of mind, etc., and this outburst makes Jerome cackle to the point of tears. While Oswald has chastised Jerome for antagonizing Ed, he also thinks Ed needs to calm down, offering less than helpful advice.

"You know there's nothing between us, and Jerome knows that too - we're strictly platonic. I've told you a thousand times, there was no abuse, no coercion, it was fulfilling for the time but we wanted different things. Our relationship ran its course, and we split amicably! Jerome's only saying these things to get a rise out of you, if you didn't react to his teasing, he wouldn't do it."

In short:

Part 2

#Gotham #asksecretwindow #nygmobblepot #jeromewald #i may have lost the plot in this response #apologies if i did! #sorry for the late response #October is my craziest month #but even by October standards this year has been insane #thanks for sending in the ask! #hopefully next time I'll be able to reply faster #listening to MCR's The World is Ugly on repeat may have influence what I wrote #whoops

[creonininkwell]

Hey, I just saw your Burning Dahlias AU (the one where the princess lives), and I love it! Allow me to pitch a few ideas.

-Han-gyeol had originally planned to pass on, when her mothers spirit appeared before her (having busted out of the pearly gates because no one can stop this mother from helping her daughter when she needs it most) and told her to follow her heart, and that she'd always be with her daughter no matter where she went.

-As a wedding present, Devil gave Han-gyeol the Spoon that came with his pitchfork, which he modified to be a shovel (what is a shovel if not a spoon for dirt?) Han-gyeol uses it for gardening.

-Chalices deal with Devil goes a little differently in this case. Instead of owing him a favor, she becomes Han-gyeols assistant/friend. She can often be found entertaining the living flowers in the garden.

-The couples daughter is named Babebibobu (after the devils daughter in a short story I once read) She's a tomboy, and loves messing around on earth, leading to her becoming friends with the Cups.

Hey I'm glad you enjoy Burning Dahlias: She Lives AU. Sadly I don't think I'll be exploring as much with Burning Dahlias for a while. Currently really busy with local festival prep for this month and winter. So I won't be as active on these blogs for much.

As for some of your suggestions and ideas, well funny that you mention these specific events

Han-gyeol was on death's door, and losing strength fast. However in this AU, she managed to muster up some strength to open her eyes. She saw her beloved Devil weeping in despair and saw how heartbroken her death was causing him. She realized that dear Luci would be alone. At that moment she decided that for once she was going to be selfish. With whatever remaining breath she had, she asked to make a deal, to be his eternal bride. Devil was more than relieved to make that deal. So no, her mother was unable to bust out of Heaven to intervene. All it took was for Hang-Gyeol to open her eyes and see who she would be leaving behind.

The Spoon as a wedding present? Now that's actually something I hadn't thought of. But it would be fitting and perfect for her. The spoon could shrink and enlarge to whatever sized needed. It would make a good garden shovel. But it also never gets dirty. So she can use that spoon for gardening or when she's making tea. She'd use that spoon to also ride it like a witch's broom.

Chalice's encounter with the Devil would be different. Didn't think about her becoming Han-gyeol's gardening assistant. Because the Devil was going to assign her to be his daughter's friend. Demon children can age differently, and his daughter has been aching for some decent companionship for a while. While Chalice would be a bit intimideated (Devil threatened the worst torture imaginable if she ever made his baby girl cry), she does eventually get along well with the Devil's

For their first child? I really didn't think far about their daughter. She was definitely special. I was really dead set on her design being inspired by the lamb from "Cult of the Lamb." The one you mention is a bit of a mouthful. Now you gone and made me look up names haha. It took a long time for Devil and Han-gyeol to come up with a name they both liked. For now I'm torn between these: Amari - Hebrew for "eternal" Lilith Hadiyya Cadeau - French origin meaning "Gift" Roxanna - Persian for "little star" Capella - Latin for "little she goat" Marley Amaryllis - Greek for "to sparkle" and it's a nice flower name. Ivy Sidra

#asks and replies #creon in inkwell #cuphead show #cuphead devil #burning dahlias #han gyeol

[diamond-punk0963]

🤡🃏 🅃🄷🄴 🅉🄾🄽🄴’🅂 🄵🄰🅅🄾🅁🄸🅃🄴 🄿🄰🄸🅁 🄾🄵 🄲🄸🅁🄲🅄🅂 🄵🅁🄴🄰🄺🅂! 🃏🤡

𝒜 𝒫𝒶𝓇𝓉𝓎 𝒫𝑜𝒾𝓈𝑜𝓃 & 𝒦𝑜𝒷𝓇𝒶 𝒦𝒾𝒹 𝒞𝓁𝑜𝓌𝓃𝒸𝑜𝓇𝑒 𝐻𝑒𝒶𝒹𝒸𝒶𝓃𝑜𝓃 𝒫𝑜𝓈𝓉 !

(Inspired by art request from @sunlight-never-dies )

~Head-canons~

It’s pretty rare to find killjoys within the zones that had a whole clown theme.

To the ones that are within the zones, they’re the most wildest ones out there.

They spread color to all that they touch with spray cans and they bathe themselves with makeup and color powder.

They fight like it’s a party and hold nothing back, jumping for the thrill and giving zero f***s.

The clown-joys is what people usually call them by, spreading chaos and color to whatever they encounter.

Party has admired them for the longest time and the group have been the inspiration behind his killjoy mask.

It was quiet day in the diner. With Ghoul and Jet heading out to do errands and the girl being occupied with her own things, Party couldn’t be any more bored.

After he remembered the last few clown-joy encounters as he was gazing into the diner window, that’s when received the big idea

"KOBRA, YOU FREE RIGHT NOW?!"

Party’s sibling, Kobra was . . . Conflicted and confused when Party explained to them of their big idea to pass the time.

"Let me get this straight. You want us to become a clown joy duo?"

"Yeah! With those shiny, bright colors, it’ll be fun!"

"The last time you said that something said would be fun, Ghoul nearly got ghosted."

"It isn’t my fault that idiot went too close to the fireworks!"

Kobra was reluctant about Party’s idea at first but seeing that he was intrigued by the experience, (and wanted to make sure that Party didn’t end up ghosting themselves) he agreed to join Party.

The first thing they talked about for their clown joy duo was their duo name.

"What about 'Circus Freaks?', Kobes?"

"I’m pretty sure that a lot of ‘joys use that phrase for their group names, Party."

It wasn’t easy at first, the two had to look around and try to develop a name that WASN’T something that was already.

It took a long trial and error to find a duo name that felt like it would fit them.

It took them about a month until they found a decent name that fit themselves and it was something that a joy hasn’t thought up of.

"Look out, ‘joys! The circus is coming to town and they’re coming to blow up your world! Get ready for the 'Killer Jesters'!"

It was a combination of some potential ideas that the two have thought for in the past, mixing the wildness within the killjoys and adding some clown-joy touch to it.

The next step upon their path of becoming clown-joys was the outfits aka Party’s favorite part of the transformation.

Party has been keeping sketches of ideas of how they could have their makeup look like.

They . . . Got carried away with it but they came up with some pretty good designs.

Kobra wasn’t much into makeup, not wanting to put on a lot but Party went straight in with the makeup, covering every inch of their face to the point where their neck was painted white.

"Hey Kobra, how does this look?"

"Party, that’s the twelfth time you changed your makeup style today."

"I wanna make sure I look shiny in this!"

Kobra only wore light makeup, creating the usual clown look but without making his face pale as snow. It was easier to take it off that way.

After numerous trial and errors, Party managed to find a style that he felt like he could fit in.

"Don’t I look crazy, kid?!"

"By crazy, you mean painting your face for three week straight then yeah. You are.”

After makeup was done, it was time for the outfits. Took them a few months to find some decent clothing within the zones. Isn’t easy to find what you like from how scarce clothing could get.

Kobra found his sibling fighting another ‘joy for a pair of striped overalls. Not that he was surprised, seeing party deck someone for a bottle of hair dye in the past.

As for him, Kobra used what he could find on his own time and added some of his own touches into the look. (Nothing to flashy; unlike party’s)

When the looks were fit and the makeup was ready, the two suited up and went out into the zones as the jesters they planned to be.

Kobra had to make sure Party didn’t get himself ghosted for the 12th time this week after joining a firework squad.

Attended parties and events as guests as their clown ‘joy personas and had one hell of a fun time.

You can’t tell me that Party radiated so much chaotic energy.

Kobra just chilled at the side, making sure that his sibling doesn’t do anything dumb to get himself killed.

Long story short, he kept getting himself almost killed within that week.

#mcr #danger days #party poison #kobra kid #mcr killjoys #danger days headcanons #killjoys headcanons #killjoys #gerard way #mikey way #my chemical romance

[lindsaywesker]

Good morning! I hope you slept well and feel rested? Currently sitting at my desk, in my study, attired only in my blue towelling robe, enjoying my first cuppa of the day. Welcome to the working week although, for those of you in the NHS, welcome to just another day!

Another brilliant weekend, if I say so myself, just the way I designed it! Having worked her arse off at a very emotional funeral all day on Thursday, The Trouble needed the night off. So, Friday: we took it easy! Always lovely to have The Mighty Josiah buzzing around the house. It’s a shame we don’t get to see our other grandchildren. (Don’t ask!) Maybe that will change this year?

After the radio show on Saturday, we got on the M25 and we were in Reigate by 5.00. Our beautiful friends are spread far and wide. After many, many months, we finally caught up with our gorgeous friend, Dolly a.k.a. Tash Tillyard. There is only one person we know that is as sarcastic as me: Dolly! That tongue is merciless (and not in a good way!)

In fact, we talked about friendships quite a bit. I try, to the best of my ability, to spend quality time with those I care about but, as you know, it is time consuming! Yes, maintaining friendships is hard work! Meeting people means organising dates and times and places but, even if I have to drive to Reigate, it’s definitely worth it! And we have another dinner with very beautiful people this Thursday.

While walking away from the restaurant, we passed a branch of Richer Sounds! A blast from the past! A shop selling hi-fi equipment to the people of Reigate. “I feel like buying one of those and getting all my vinyl out!” said Dolly. Well, that is exactly what people are doing! On my Twitter feed, I subscribe to someone called The Record Deck. The blurb reads, “A floating record shop. Find our narrowboat full of selected second hand and new vinyl travelling on the canals of England.” Love it! I always retweet his posts. And, on my Instagram feed, I keep seeing this advert for this dude that will send you quality vinyl albums to help you start and build your first vinyl record collection. Love it! This movement is growing back again. People want the sound of that crackle, they want to feel the bass, they want the cover artwork and the sleeve notes, they want to feel that thing between their hands! They want to hear and touch and be consumed by the music! Something real! And who can blame them?

The boat people thing upsets me greatly. These poor people don’t ask for much. Just the opportunity to live a decent life and raise their families. Much attention is focused on them. Our government are Zen masters at wasting public money, so they are not being processed in Essex or Kent, nor in Wales or Scotland, they are being flown to Rwanda, which is a horrendous waste of our money. And what of the evil people that sold them a ticket to paradise? There are these heartless, godless smugglers that sweet-talk these battered and bruised ‘refugees’, and promise them that the streets of the UK are paved with gold. Understandably, these people are so desperate to escape violence, harassment, persecution and possible death, that they pay these smugglers big money to endure the most dangerous journey of their life. Some make it, some don’t. Why are governments not pursuing these smugglers? These are the real criminals.

Many thanks to everyone that listened to the show on Saturday afternoon, and many thanks to those that will listen to any part of it on Mixcloud. Gayle Dumont did a great job, didn’t she? This coming Saturday is The Letter L (Pt. 4). Executive Producer: one of my oldest friends, known him 45 years, Stephen Conway.

Have a marvellous and momentous Monday. I love you all.

#mixcloud #mi soul #dj #music #new blog #lockdown #coronavirus #books #weekend #democracy #brexit #cronyism #election #radio

[jadelynlace]

i’ve been blowing up your page with requests, i apologize if it’s too much! just ignore if you don’t want to answer, but i would love to see some baby shower hc’s? mainly with just the family and floki, what the gifts are, who got them, the whole 9 yards if you’re willing!

This took some thought because I never really thought of the baby shower in too much detail. At least not as much as I did for the gender reveal. And it got long.

I have thought about the first birthday party and gifts—because you know Ivar plans this thing like it’s your wedding. And as much as you love this man, you’re slightly peeved because you can’t believe it’s been a whole year since you welcomed your baby. But I digress, a post for another time. 

For the baby shower, I do think it’s small. Close family and friends. But, Ivar has a decent size clientele, who all know how much this man wants to be a father, so there’s no shortage of things sent to the house. The fire department gets funny—sending the raunchiest baby onesies they can find (slightly tipped off by your husband), and Ivar really looks forward to getting the mail each day. Your chief takes a step back and delivers a present for you and Ivar himself, and for some reason to be given a sketch book by a man who is basically in the same relationship as what Floki is to him—it just makes Ivar tear up a bit and feel very seen and appreciated. He’s more excited than he thought he’d be to put the plastic firefighter hat on his baby.

We already know Ragnar writes a check. In a card that’s bought and just signed. Ivar has to set it down and walk outside so he doesn’t have a full on meltdown, and you find him sitting by the garden and you come and sit on his lap.

“He’s never going to understand,” Ivar says softly.

“Then don’t let him,” You say back, purposely moving Ivar’s hands to rest on your bump. “His loss, not yours,” And that makes Ivar sigh slightly.

Ivar deposits the check and plans to use it on the first vacation he can take as a family of three. Where he fully intends to come back as a soon to be family of four. He keeps that a secret, though.

Aslaug gets clothes. Oh, every day she asks Ivar what he thinks about “this outfit”. Especially if this baby is the first Lothbrok baby girl. They’re set until the baby starts school with how many clothes Aslaug gets.

Now, one thing about Thora is that she’s really into interior design. It’s her saving grace as a nurse and working the long hours she does. Hvitserk likes to watch the cooking channels, Thora likes the design ones. It’s a constant battle. And after you and Ivar pick out the furniture you both want—and after Floki builds something to match a piece (more on that shortly)—Thora starts shopping for things to pull the whole room together. And anything organizational; having things neatly set up makes Ivar pitch a tent.

Hvitserk’s present is food. Hear me out: he makes a month worth of things to freeze, and reheat for the first weeks you’re home with the baby. Ivar does take his time to make things he knows you’re going to want to eat—both to replenish and to help you feel better during the fourth trimester. And he does a crazy amount of research (shocking, I know) on foods that help with milk production. This is also his excuse to make an ungodly amount of oatmeal cookies. And on top of food, Hvitserk gets a whole bunch of canning jars so you can make baby food when they’re older. And by that, he means he can make baby food when they’re older.

Ubbe has three children of his own. He planned to give hand-me-downs until Torvi threatened him. His initial plan then was to get a few toys that sing, make music, the whole nine yards. But that’s basically writing his own death certificate, so he lets Torvi take full control of this. And he’s glad he did because she makes a sweet little gift basket, full of postpartum stuff for you and the baby. Ubbe feels very proud to have just signed his name on the fucking card.

Sigurd may be a dick 99% of the time, but he knows how much Ivar’s wanted this. And, he couldn’t find it in himself to be a jerk. So, he sets his sights on things the baby will be able to use when they’re a bit older, and gets a lot of separate craft supplies for Ivar and his kiddo to use. Along with things Ivar can use to make art surrounding the baby; like for the footprints to turn into keepsakes. It’s likely one of the most thoughtful gifts Sigurd has gotten him, and tells him to not get used to it.

Floki, as you read, hand builds a crib. And he doesn’t tell Ivar he’s putting it together until after they have furniture delivered. And there’s no crib to be found. Not on the receipt, or on the charge to his card. Ivar lets that slip in a conversation and Floki goes “Give it a week” (since the baby shower is in two days) and then adds: “Sometimes things get lost and show up a few days later.” Ivar reluctantly believes him and is glad he did. But still has no clue how Floki fucked with the order. This starts the chapter of Floki building things for Ivar’s children. 

Helga (and she’s the only one who gets away with this), does gift two shirts that both Phoenix and Apollo wore as babies. And she asks Ivar if he recognizes them (since Ivar is their God Father and was the regular babysitter), and Ivar has to take a moment after he goes “Stoooooop” because it’s a trip down memory lane and now he gets to carry that on with his baby.

Phoenix and Apollo both make crafts that Ivar proudly hangs in the nursery.

Bjorn also writes a check. But he actually has the decency to show up with it at the shower. He was invited, and Ivar didn’t really think he’d show up. Not only did he show up, he brought his two boys (who everyone has only barely seen through photos) and their mother. He claimed they’re trying to “work things out”. The other four brothers secretly started a bet to see how long that would last. Bjorn oldest boy who is just shy of thirteen, reminds you of Ivar. He’s sweet and gentle and doesn’t care to play with the other kids. He asks you a lot of questions about the baby, and how the baby feels. And then asks you a lot of questions about your job. Ever so shyly he asks if the baby kicks, and you let him feel it on your abdomen and the little man smiles so widely. And then he asks his Uncle Ivar if he can show him some of his drawings. And you know right then and there that this kid is walking the same path Ivar did as a child. Ivar sends him home with one of his blank sketchbooks and a very strong message of “Don’t let anyone take that hobby away from you.”

Aiden. Oh, Aiden. Aiden and his scared-of-commitment-and-even-more-scared-of-babies-because-they’re-fragile-like-glass. He knows Ivar is just over the moon for this, and he’s pretty capable of getting hyped up too. I think Aiden’s best offer is moral support; not in the means of child care but more like “I’ll grocery shop for you” kind-of way. He’s put in charge of Ink Drinker while Ivar’s on paternity leave, and that peace of mind is more than enough for Ivar (who is kind of a control freak now that he owns the business). Aiden does buy a few things off of the registry; and starts to bring both you and Ivar coffee on his way to the shop. And it has nothing to do with the fact that he lives on the same street as a coffee shop, and you two live on the same block as Ink Drinker. And he can walk. It also has nothing to with the fact that he likes to see how Ivar looks post-baby. With sideburns and tired (but happy) eyes, and a dad bod. Especially the dad bod. Bonus points if Ivar answers the door shirtless. Aiden’s crush on that man will never wither.  

God, now I’m back on my Dad!Ivar shit. 

#vikings #vikings au #modern vikings #modern vikings au #ivar #ivar au #modern ivar au #modern ivar #vikings ivar #hvitserk #hvitserk au #modern hvitserk #modern hvitserk au #ubbe #ubbe au #modern ubbe #modern ubbe au #sigurd #sigurd au #modern sigurd #modern sigurd au #bjorn #bjorn au #modern bjorn #modern bjorn au #floki #floki au #modern floki #modern floki au #floki the boat builder

[monstersfear]

clownfishing around // ari & emilio

TIMING: friday, june 3rd (aka before the saturday of doom) PARTIES: @letsbenditlikebennett & @monstersfear SUMMARY: emilio and ari take their sea monster frustrations out on some aquarium creatures (and, by extension, some aquarium visitors). CONTENT: just lots of yelling at fish

With Teagan getting her cure so soon, Ari figured Emilio deserved a nice day before Levi started making his life a living hell again. She wasn’t sure what to make of the fact that she’d happily rip the demon to pieces if she knew it wouldn’t also kill Emilio. Right and wrong used to seem so simple, but every day in this town showed Ari that nothing was simple. Today could be though so she’d hold on to that. She had grabbed a couple of coffees, with the intention of making Emilio try cold brew, and pastries before picking her boss up. She figured a day at the aquarium saying ‘fuck you’ to all the fish would be a good time for them. 

“So,” Ari said with a smirk as she got out of the car, “How do you like it? And before you coffee is supposed to be hot me, I’ll have you know lavender cold brew with oat milk is like a bi staple. The internet says so.” Really, TikTok said so, but that sounded like explaining a lot more than she felt like at the moment. He was still convinced it had something to do with clocks anyway. 

Ari had the foresight to buy tickets in advance to avoid any lines, so she led Emilio into the aquarium with a pep in her step. She took a sip of her own coffee before she turned to ask, “Okay, so which of these fuckers do we hate the most?” 

Every good thing had to come to an end eventually, and Levi’s recent bind was no different. While a part of Emilio had selfishly hoped the demon would fail to find the necessary components for Teagan’s cure, he could recognize that there were some good things about the promise being fulfilled. Teagan was all right; she deserved another shot at living. And she hated Levi enough to offer him an ally in future endeavours against the demon, even if those endeavours would go back to being empty threats and furious half-measures now that it had more time to focus on making Emilio’s life miserable again. Part of him was nervous about how the demon might retaliate for just how smug he’d been about the whole ordeal, but he tried to push the thoughts to the side. Levi had never had a particularly long attention span. It’d find some new reason to torture Emilio, to be sure, but it probably wouldn’t stir up old ones.

And besides, he had something else to focus on today. He hadn’t known what Ari had in mind when she’d told him they were going out, but he’d figured it’d be something designed to cheer him up because that was the sort of thing Ari did. And despite his characteristic grumpiness, Emilio appreciated it. Even if it was… weird, sometimes. He’d been a little uncertain when she’d handed him a cold coffee drink upon her arrival, but he had to admit it wasn’t bad. Weird, maybe, but not bad. “I’ve been bi for longer than you’ve been alive, and this is the first I’ve heard of a… lavender cold brew with oat milk,” he told her dryly, but his cup was nearly empty and he couldn’t exactly pretend he’d drained it as quickly as he had because he hadn’t liked it, so he said, “It’s all right, I guess. Still like hot coffee better.” 

Climbing out of the car, he looked up at the aquarium with a quiet huff of laughter and followed her inside. “Anything with tentacles,” he said, thinking of Marina and her octopedes. She would’ve tied him up into the bind even if he hadn’t told her how indifferent to them he was, he was sure, but the fact that she leaned on it as an excuse made the idea of telling a few squids to fuck off a particularly decent one.

“Yeah, because cold brew and oat milk didn’t even exist back then, old man,” Ari joked as she finished off her own drink before tossing it in the trash can, “It’s a modern day staple and it’s Pride Month so it was basically mandatory. I’m keeping you up to speed with the times like I always do. How else would you know to fuck about and figure it out?” There was a satisfied grin on her face when Emilio admitted that the coffee drink was “all right’ which was pretty high praise coming from him. If she saw him too enthused over it, she’d be afraid his brain got zapped by a goddess again. She shook her head. “It’s like a million degrees outside right now, how could you want to drink something hot?”

Walking through the place and being surrounded by tanks, Ari wasn’t sure she understood the appeal. Something about it made her feel like she was in way too enclosed a space, but today wasn’t about enjoying the fish, it was about sending a big old middle finger to the fae that had Emilio bond to fuckface Levi. “Alright, so a big fuck you to Squidward then. He is an asshole anyway,” she said in an amused tone knowing that the reference would be lost on Emilio, “Much more of a Patrick Star girl myself. Or Sandy. Definitely Sandy actually. We love a Texas gal.” She watched for the inevitable confused face her boss was going to make and wasn’t at all disappointed. “But tentacle, we can find those.” She pointed toward a tank a few feet ahead that had some cuttlefish swimming about. “There we go,” she exclaimed as she shot the fish a middle finger, “Fuck you guys!” 

“Funny,” Emilio said dryly, rolling his eyes. In spite of the motion, his tone was fond, and he finished up the last of his drink before tossing the cup into the trash behind hers. “It’s… what?” Sometimes he swore Ari made shit up just to fuck with him. “Yeah, yeah, you’re helping me catch up. And with no ulterior motive, I’m sure.” Shrugging, he put his now-empty hands into his jean pockets, fiddling with the fabric. “I’m from Mexico,” he reminded her. “Maine’s version of hot doesn’t really match up with mine.” 

The inside of the aquarium was… claustrophobic. Emilio found himself mapping out the exits, eyes darting around the crowd. He’d been bad with large groups of people like this since Etla, but having Ari around helped ease the tension in his shoulders. And it did help that they were there to relieve a little stress. He might not be able to tell Levi or Marina to fuck off without wasting his breath (and potentially facing the damn consequences), but he could curse at the fish in the tanks without worry. He tuned back in as Ari spoke, brow furrowing as her words began to process. “I don’t know who any of those people are,” he said, though something told him she’d probably known that already. Following her motion to the tank full of some kind of tentacled creatures, he nodded. “Cosas feas,” he commented, squinting at them. “The fuck are those?” He moved closer to the tank for a closer look, tapping at the glass and, following Ari’s lead, shooting a middle finger. A nearby woman made an offended sound, leading her kid away. Emilio paid her little mind. 

“Pride month,” Ari responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, “It’s a thing. Every June it’s like a national celebration of being proud to be LGBTQ+... which is lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, etc. It’s Pride because, like, we used to be discriminated against and I guess some people are still assholes like that. Mostly it’s just corporations marketing to the gays, but hey, there are drink specials at Flamin’ Mo’s all month.” That mention gave Ari a brilliant idea. She quickly added, “Which we’ll hit up after this.” It didn’t really surprise her that Emilio was stuck on his hot coffee. He was nothing if not stubborn as fuck, which she could relate to well enough. It was why she rarely listened. Still, she planned on sneaking some of her fancy coffee stuff into the office anyway. “Yeah, and I used to live in the actual desert and summer is still too hot for hot coffee.” 

This wasn’t a place she would normally visit, but Ari found flipping off fish to be amusing enough, especially if the fuck you was really directed at the fae who was making Emilio’s life hell. She did laugh at Emilio not knowing the Spongebob characters, as was expected. She feigned shock, making a hand motion that imitated the movement of clutching her pearls, “You don’t know one Spongebob Squarepants?” The question was immediately followed by a fit of giggles that not even a pissed off parent could stop as she kept her middle finger up at the cuttlefish. In the next tank over, she noticed some squid and exclaimed, “And fuck you too, Squidwards!” 

Emilio only raised a brow when Ari repeated the words, waiting until she went on to explain what it meant. Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t something he’d learned about growing up. His family had been far more focused on making sure he knew how to use a knife than ensuring he was familiar with capitalist celebrations. But… It was kind of nice to think about, anyway. Especially since Ari seemed to enjoy it. So he shrugged, nodding his head at the mention of drink specials. “All right,” he agreed. Flamin’ Mo’s wasn’t one of his usual spots, but he’d go anywhere with drinks. The fact that there was no unpaid tab already waiting for him there was something of a bonus. “Maybe I’m just better at handling the heat than you are,” he deadpanned, crossing his arms over his chest. 

Unexpectedly, Emilio felt the tips of his ears grow hot. “No. I — I know who Spongebob Squarepants is.” He stumbled over the unfamiliar name with his accent, making a face at the way it didn’t fit quite right in his mouth. He didn’t know who Spongebob Squarepants was, and Ari definitely knew as much, but he’d argue anyway. “I just didn’t hear you. I was distracted by these… fishy pendejos.” He glared into the tank, as if the cuttlefish might retaliate the insult. They didn’t. He flipped them off again anyway, just for good measure. Glancing over at the squids, he let out a quiet laugh. “Fuck you, assholes,” he agreed, turning to flip off that tank, too. “There an octopus here? I wanna call it a shitstain.” 

“All right,” Ari said, raising her hands up in front of her chest, “Looks like we got a badass over here.” She knew Emilio wouldn’t get the meme it was from, but he could at least appreciate the sarcasm. It was one of those universal sayings, that if delivered properly, got the point across without additional context needed. When the hunter said he knew who Spongebob was, she looked at him with a tilted head and a raised brow. “No, you don’t,” she responded with a mischievous grin, “But that’s okay, it’s a kids show that aired after you were a kid. I was just fucking with you to be annoying.” 

Ari shook her head and kept her middle finger up. “You hear that,” she questioned the occupants of the tanks, “You’re just a bunch of fishy pendejos.” A giggle she couldn’t contain escaped as she watched Emilio glare at the fish like he was ready to throw hands in the middle of an aquarium. “Come on,” she directed, pointing toward a tank toward the end of the walkway, “Looks like they’re over there. We’ll tell them to go fuck themselves.” 

Huffing a laugh, Emilio nodded. “Uh huh. Don’t forget it.” He wasn’t sure if it was a reference to something, but it didn’t seem like one that needed context if that was the case. Less context, in any case, than Spongebob Squarepants, which was apparently a show of some kind or another. It was nice of Ari, he thought, not to point out the fact that even if the show had aired when Emilio was in the right age group to watch it, he likely wouldn’t have seen it. 

Hearing Ari repeat his phrasing brought a grin to his face, and he nodded as if to really sell the point. The cuttlefish and squids both looked entirely unbothered by the display. Less unbothered, it seemed, were the other human occupants of the aquarium. Already, Emilio could pick up a few whispers wondering if they were drunk, and a few more urging someone to call for security. He ignored them, following Ari to the end of the walkway. Knowing they were probably going to get kicked out anyway, he made no effort to lower his voice as he called out a, “Hey, assholes!” towards the tank as they approached it.

There was a skip in her step as they approached the tank with the octopuses. Ari gave them her best glare before she burst into a fit of laughter when Emilio had loudly called them assholes. That warranted a few more glares from the other patrons, but she didn’t care. This was the happiest she’d seen Emilio since they’d fought a giant lizard. “Hey, fuckers,” she exclaimed before peering into the glass. There were only a couple of them in there and they seemed totally unfazed as she flicked them off. “Wow, you assholes aren’t even interesting,” she scoffed. 

As Emilio was giving the octopuses his “fuck off” speech, Ari heard heavy footsteps approaching. She turned to see a very pissed off security guard and did her best to muster an innocent smile as she nudged Emilio. “Hey, boss, can we help you,” she asked. The look on the guard’s face said he wasn’t going to be falling for any of her shit today. It had been worth a try. 

“You tell me,” he answered, “I’ve gotten several complaints about people using inappropriate language and hand gestures around other patrons with children. Know anything about that?” 

“They never listen,” Emilio scoffed, leaning a hand against the glass. In spite of the statement, he launched into a speech, half in English, half in Spanish, and mostly curses. It was full of plenty of things that weren’t entirely fair to say to an octopus — things he wanted to say to Levi and Marina, but couldn’t without risking one of them getting tired of his shit and putting an end to him once and for all. It felt pretty damn good, all things considered. Good enough to get him out of his head, good enough to make him feel a little lighter than he had since the day the demon and the fae broke his damn door down. 

And, okay, it was a little loud, too. He could definitely feel people staring at him now, could hear the horrified whispers of people who’d apparently never heard a guy curse out a tank full of tentacles before. What a bunch of fucking pricks.

He glanced up as Ari nudged him, eyes landing on the security guard. Looking the man up and down for a moment, Emilio hummed. “No,” he replied, “we don’t know anything about that. Hey, we’ll keep an eye out, though. Keep you posted.”

The security guard wasn’t buying any of it, given Emilio had just been swearing loudly at the tank of octopuses when he walked up. Ari gave him a nervous smile and shrug which only seemed to deepen the glare leveled in their direction. “Right,” Tom said sarcastically, “You two need to leave. I heard him as I was walking up. And you’re not welcome back.” 

Ari didn’t even bother to hide the laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of being banned from an aquarium. In the spirit of already being banned, she gave the octopuses the middle finger again. “Well, goodbye then,” she retorted between giggles, “And fuck you fishy pendejos!” 

Naturally, the claim didn’t work, and Emilio hadn’t expected it to. After all, the guard had been well within earshot of his impassioned ‘fuck you, octopus’ speech, and even the bits not in English were pretty easily decipherable. Still, he tilted his head at the security guard, reaching out and putting a hand on Ari’s shoulder to keep her from walking away. “We want to go to the gift shop first,” he announced, tilting his chin up and giving poor Tom a look that dared the man to challenge him. Emilio, of course, had no real desire to go to an aquarium gift shop, but he also had no desire to be banned from the aquarium without causing at least a little more of a scene than he already had.

When a hand on her shoulder stopped Ari from heading toward the exit, she looked back with a puzzled look on her face. Why it surprised her, Ari had no idea. Emilio taking one final chance to be petty was hardly out of the ordinary. She looked at the hunter with an amused smirk and back to Tom who looked less than pleased with the development, but hesitant to test Emilio. His brows furrowed as he answered, “You have five minutes, if you cause any more trouble, I’m getting my colleague and your time will be cut short.”

Ari couldn’t refrain from rolling her eyes as he gave them directions. They made their way into the gift shop and Tom stood by the entrance with a close eye on them. “What did you want in here anyway,” she asked Emilio, figuring it was nothing that would make Tom happy. 

The stipulation was hardly unexpected, and Emilio accepted it with a firm nod. A few of the aquarium’s visitors eyed them as they headed towards the gift shop, one mother clutching her kid like Emilio and Ari might just take a swing at him or something. The kid, for his part, was grinning, clearly having been more amused by the display than by the tank of goldfish his mother had him standing in front of. Emilio flashed him a grin as they walked by, drawing an offended sound from the mother, who turned him away.

In the gift shop, Emilio looked around at the shelves, eyes narrowed. Everything was priced at far more than it was worth, and nothing looked particularly appealing. The t-shirts were all bright colors and cartoon fish, nothing like anything he’d ever wear on purpose. He turned at Ari’s question, shrugging a shoulder. “Just wanted to piss him off,” he admitted. “Can’t imagine actually buying any of this…” He trailed off, eye catching something on a nearby shelf. A large, stuffed octopus, bright purple. He pointed to it suddenly. “I’m gonna buy that,” he announced, “and stab it with a knife.” 

It had been a long while since Ari had found herself laughing quite this much. She appreciated the way it made everything seem so normal. Things were still in a dire state outside the walls of this aquarium, but they both deserved some time to just exist without any of that weighing them down. She giggled as Emilio flashed a smile to the kid who was watching them in awe. The pissed off look on the mother’s face reminded her much of the one Emilio usually wore, but she thought she preferred this face on him. An easy smile that wasn’t weighed down by everything they were all going through. She threw a wink the kid’s way to further make the kid’s day. 

Ari looked through the shelves and found most of the stuff to be tacky. There was a beanie with a little seal on it though that she found kinda cute. She turned to Emilio and asked, “Hey, what color is this… and what color am I wearing right now? Both look kinda blue and brown, but I don’t know.” She shook her head at Emilio’s answer to her first question. “Of course you did,” she laughed, “All of it is a little tacky, but I like the beanie. Fits my vibe… and memory of the day and all.” When she saw Emilio pick up an octopus stuffed animal, she smirked. The idea of stabbing it did sound fun. She grabbed it from his hands and took both items to the register. “My treat,” she beamed, “I won’t even ask to take a stab.” 

The aquarium really had been a nice distraction. Ari had a way of knowing what Emilio needed better than Emilio himself, sometimes. He huffed a small laugh as she picked up a beanie, which did fit her general style. “It’s blue,” he told her. “And so’s what you’re wearing. Uh, different shades, I think, but it looks fine together.” He wasn’t the best person to ask this sort of thing; he never paid much attention to his own clothes, and he’d never been good at knowing what colors clashed with one another. But the hat and her outfit looked fine together, at least to him. 

“Most of this stuff is shit,” he agreed, nodding to a hat next to the beanie with some kind of shark fin sticking out the top of it. Even the octopus he was clutching was an ugly, tacky thing, but it wasn’t like he was buying it to keep. He let Ari take it from him and followed her to the register, nodding his head. “You can take a stab if you want to.” She deserved a little stress relief too, after all.

With confirmation that beanie matched her outfit, Ari removed the tag for the cashier to scan and placed the beanie on her head. She could feel the glare of the security guard as she huffed, “Chill out, bro, I’m paying for it.” Her glance turned back to Emilio and softened, “Fits perfectly too. Looks like we’ve both got our souvenirs.” There was a small laugh as she walked up to the register to pay for their items. The cashier must have been warned about them, because the older woman grimaced as they approached. Given Emilio had just mentioned stabbing the stuffed animal which would come across crazy to normal people. She was glad they weren’t normal, though. 

Ari paid the cashier and made her way toward the exit with Emilio. “Alright, I’ll get one stab in, as a treat.” The plushy was kinda cute, but if it reminded Emilio of the fucking fae who had him bound to a demon, Ari was all for stabbing it. The security guard was still watching them as they walked out of the building. “We’ll do the stabbing in the alley behind Mo’s so uptight security dude doesn’t call the actual cops.” She tossed Emilio the stuffed octopus as they made their way toward the van and for the first time in a long time, she felt happy. 

#letsbenditlikebennett #ari: clownfishing around

[oroontheheels]

So I finished DMMD and here are some of my thoughts.

Spoilers!

My thought about Ren route are neutral, my thoughts about Virus and Trip are negative, so skip if you feel like I might hurt your feelings. ❤️

Ok so I despise the idea of “one true ending” in any dating sim/visual novel. It ruins illusion of creating your own story for me. And I don’t like “wholesome” “healthy” “uuwuuu” romance in fiction (I like it only irl). Because i find it VERY boring. So Ren’s route was very boring for me. He’s ok character but just not my cup of tea. And him being “OTP” of the story makes me SALTY. The same way I felt salty when I finished Gakuen Heaven anime. Imho Noiz or Kojaku would’ve been better “OTP”.

Also I don’t mind selfcest. I would probably marry myself if I could because nobody else would ever want me hahaha

But the fact that now Ren lives in Sei’s body… 🤢

No, just no. It’s bad. It was a somewhat ok route until that final plot twist.

I also hate that this is the only ending where we learn whole story so every other romance route feels unfinished. :/

I seen a lot of vicious fighting around Virus and Trip. So my opinion is that they suck?? They might have somewhat decent design (love the color scheme). But they literally have 0 personality and their motivation is shit. They radiate rich incel vibes. I dunno how else to describe it. They pretend to be intellectual but in reality they just fuckboys.

Also it took them 3 months to come up with the idea to put 2 dicks in 1 hole? What they were doing before? Tortured poor Aoba with missionary position? 🤣

All bark no bite. Such shallow creatures. 0/10

I liked all the other routes though. My top in regard to OTP:

1. Mink

2. Noiz

3. Clear

4. Kojaku

In regards to writing is:

1. Noiz

2. Clear

3. Mink

4. Kojaku

#dmmd #dramatical murder #dmmd spoilers

[dailybeastarsthings]

Chapter 58 – Collegial Confrontation

Even working a full-time job with a somewhat decent salary, Legoshi was still pretty short on money. He didn’t want to go back to helping Gouhin during the night and he didn’t want to ask for a loan from Gosha either, however, he still wished to have some more on his account. Plus, after two months living in the Hidden Condo, a few new pieces of furniture would’ve made a huge change to his otherwise empty apartment. To give himself a chance, he started looking for a second job, thinking that he would do night shifts at the noodle shop and do his secondary job during the day. With a few work options to choose from, Legoshi headed over to Seven to ask for some help and motivation. He gently knocked on her door.

‘Oh, hi, Legoshi’ Seven said with a wide smile on her face after opening the door.

‘Hello, Seven’ Legoshi said nervously. ‘Sorry to bother you… I was just wondering if you could help me with something?’

‘Sure, what is it?’

‘Well, there’s a chance that I might be called for a job interview in the future and I’m not entirely sure what to wear for one. I was thinking you could help me pick an outfit if you’re okay with that?’

Seven looked at Legoshi in confusion before saying ‘I thought you already have a job. What happened?’

‘Well, I’d like to finally start to furnish my place. I just don’t have the funds for it yet…’

Without saying anything, Seven agreed to help his neighbor out. She knew that if he really wanted a second – and somewhat better than a waiter position in a noodle shop – he would’ve had to put his best foot forward. The two walked over to Legoshi’s apartment. It was a bit of a mess with Legoshi’s clothes still being in cardboard boxes and suitcases. Legoshi took them out one by one and laid them on the mattress he slept on. He then took his shoe options out of a box and placed them in front of the clothing options.

Seven took a careful look at each and every option. There were burgundy cardigans, worn-out sneakers, a pair of jeans, which was desperate for washing and a few decent short-sleeved shirts.

‘My Rex, you have nothing to wear for such an occasion’ she said.

‘What?’ Legoshi yelled in nervousness. ‘Oh no, I’ll never get another job!’ he buried his face in his palms.

‘Oh, come now, don’t worry’ Seven tried to calm him down. ‘I’ll help you with that, okay? Let’s go shopping.’ Legoshi started wagging his tail in excitement. He was really thankful for his neighbor, wanting to hug her, but he was still afraid of making physical contact with an herbivore.

15 minutes later, the two were already on a train to the city center. After getting off, they headed directly to a Metal Mouse store, the brand where Seven was working at. After all, employees had a 50% discount on all goods and she knew, they would definitely find a pair of kicks for Legoshi – something suitable for both an interview and for everyday use.

‘So, what’s your shoe size?’ Seven asked after entering.

’33.5 centimeters’ Legoshi said after the initial shock of the vast collection presented on the walls of the store. There were colorful, plain, even high-heels, which, while sound like an interesting choice to wear for workout, still existed for some reason. ‘My insteps are also pretty big, so I always have to wear shoes with shoelaces…’ Legoshi continued while looking around. ‘Like this one right here’ he pointed on a plain beige pair on the top shelf.

‘Those plain, manufactured shoes!?’ Seven asked in confusion. ‘A teenager like you should have way more options to choose from!’

‘Well, actually, large-breed attire tends to be simple, especially for carnivores.’

‘Aren’t you just speaking for yourself?’ Seven raised her eyebrows. ‘Because the company’s development team has already rolled out some new designs, which appeal to the adolescent carnivores. Like that one up there!’ she pointed at a more colorful shoe.

‘No, I don’t think I like it, sorry’ Legoshi said.

‘Oh, you’re not really into fashion, are you?’ Seven chuckled.

Legoshi looked at her in confusion. Sure, he wasn’t the most fashionably dressed animal in the city, but he enjoyed looking for and trying out new designs… sometimes… like once every 5 years… okay maybe 6.

‘No, it’s just that I think less carnivore students are restricting themselves to only hanging out with other carnivores’ he said as he took the first pair off the shelves and sat down to try it on. It almost felt like that that pair was designed specifically for him. Walking around in them felt like walking on air. His steps weren’t as heavy in them either, making them less loud, too. Legoshi was satisfied with his choice, but he wanted to try on some other shoes, as well. His socks, however, got stuck in the shoes as he took them off, revealing the sharp claws on his feet.

‘Oh, my Rex, they look like they could kill!’ Seven thought.

‘Sorry you had to see that’ Legoshi said after seeing Seven’s shocked expression. ‘Anyway, my point is that most carnivores have savage-looking feet, as you could see, so a carnivore with a pair of flashy shoes would give the impression that they don’t want to be around herbivores.’

‘So, there are less carnivore students like that?’ Seven asked.

‘Yeah, since pretty much all the students in my school want to get along with each other, regardless of species’ Legoshi smiled. ‘I suppose it’s the same for adults, as well.’

‘No, it’s not’ Seven mumbled, looking down on the ground in front of her.

Legoshi tilted his head in confusion.

‘Oh! Never mind… I really appreciate your insight, thank you’ Seven said nervously.

‘Alright… Hey, do you mind if I step away for a moment? I need to use the restroom.’ Seven didn’t say anything, just nodded. With Legoshi gone, she started to look around for a moment, taking in the store’s atmosphere with its vast choice of goods.

‘MS. LAMB!!!’ Seven heard from the store entrance. It was her coworkers, a panther, a fox and an alligator.

‘Oh, dear Rex, no…’ she sighed.

The three colleagues of Seven walked up to her, initiating some small talk about how she got transferred to a new department, yet how ambitious she was if she was checking out a shoe store on a Sunday. All the trauma and bullying she went through flooded Seven all at once. So much so, she could bare respond to his colleagues. Suddenly, she felt someone else on her right. It was Legoshi, towering over all of them.

‘The stalls are all full’ he said bluntly.

‘Why don’t you wait by the door then?’ Seven asked almost scoldingly. She couldn’t believe Legoshi couldn’t just be more patient and wait.

‘I don’t see the point’ he said before turning to Seven’s colleagues. ‘Oh, hello. I’m Seven’s neighbor.’

‘Oh, what a surprise!’ the fox said uncomfortably, drooping his ears.

‘I thought you were Ms. Lamb’s boyfriend and that maybe she’s going through a wild streak or something’ the panther laughed nervously.

‘Ms. Lamb?’ Legoshi asked in confusion, yet with a scolding tone. ‘Her name is Seven. Not Lamb’ he continued before turning to his neighbor. ‘Is that a nickname or something?’

‘Yes, of course it is’ Seven said nervously, feeling the weight of the situation on her back. ‘This is how adults banter with each other. They’re just joking! Right guys!?’

Seven turned to his colleagues, only to see them standing with their tails between their legs, looking at the floor like three children waiting for a scolding from their parents.

‘Yes, it is… We didn’t mean any harm’ the alligator said.

‘What’s gotten into you guys?’ Seven asked.

‘I know her real name is Seven, but…’ the panther said.

‘If you really think about it, it’s really tasteless to call her Lamb. Who started this anyway?’ the fox added.

‘The boss…’ the alligator said.

‘Hey… umm… We’re sorry to interrupt your Sunday. See you at work, Seven!’ the fox said before he and the others left the store.

There was a moment of silence, Seven reflecting on all the bullying she had to endure at the company. Was it finally over. Could she finally hope for better treatment?

‘Are you okay?’ Legoshi bounced her back to reality. ‘Sorry if I interrupted anything. I thought you were in trouble.’

‘So you came to my rescue, is that what you’re saying!?’ Seven asked, her blood boiling. She felt revolted that her neighbor looked down on her. Without saying anything, she stormed out of the store, not looking back.

‘What? Seven, wait’ Legoshi said as he walked after her. ‘Did I do something to make you mad?’ he continued as he chased his neighbor down the street. ‘Is it because they thought I was your boyfriend? I can write a letter to make things clear if you’d like…’

He’s just a kid… he’s just a kid… And he’s just a damn brat! Seven thought before she turned around to face Legoshi.

‘Why does a kid like you have more privilege to speak than I do!?’ she yelled. ‘You’re a social outcast, 12 years younger than me! Yet, you shut them up with just a few words! Not even a fake smile either! All because you’re a big carnivore!’ Seven took a deep breath before she continued ‘In the end, the career I worked hard for and endured so much for… is nothing but a sham…’

‘Seven…’ Legoshi reached out to his neighbor. ‘Sorry, I really thought that they were just being nice because I was a stranger and all…’

‘No! Their ears were drooping! It’s a sign of submission!’

Without saying anything more, Seven stormed into a grocery store. Legoshi followed, trying to apologize but Seven didn’t pay him any attention. It almost felt like the first days when he was talking to Louis after he had done something he didn’t like.

Seven walked up to a fridge, taking out a can of beer, then she walked up to the cashier, grabbing a bottle of orange soda on her way.

‘Thank you very much’ she said passive aggressively when the cashier gave her the drinks in a plastic bag.

After leaving the store, Seven headed back to the Hidden Condo, still not talking to Legoshi, who was still trying his hardest to understand what was going on in Seven’s mind and apologizing all the way there. When entering the Condo, Seven headed for the rooftop where she immediately cracked her beer open.

‘What!? Why are you following me!? I want to drink alone!’ she yelled at her neighbor.

‘Sorry, I just want to talk to you’ Legoshi drooped his ears. I’m sorry I wasn’t thinking about how you felt back there…’

‘Don’t apologize when I’m the one at fault. You’re making me feel miserable’ Seven said, as she took a sip of her beer, looking into the distance.

‘Oh, okay… then what do you want me to do?’

‘I… want you to shut up… and drink this juice with me’ Seven said as she handed the bag to Legoshi. He opened the bottle and took a sip of the orange-colored liquid. It tasted a bit weird, but it was nothing carbonated drinks didn’t offer.

‘You’ve done nothing wrong, of course’ Seven said as she rested her head on the railing.

‘Do you still want me to shut up?’ Legoshi asked.

‘You’re such a stick in the mud’ Seven chuckled.

Suddenly, the door to the rooftop flung open and Sagwan stepped out.

‘Oh, I knew it was you, Legoshi. Hello!’ he said.

‘It’s great to see you, Sagwan’ Legoshi replied politely. ‘I’m glad you have your clothes on’ he continued before turning to Seven to introduce the seal. ‘Seven, this is Sagwan. Sagwan, this is Seven.’

‘Hello, I’m the spotted seal from 302’ Sagwan offered his hand.

‘Oh, Rex, I’m sorry you have to see me like this, I’m such a mess’ Seven chuckled before shaking the seal’s hand. ‘It’s really nice to meet you.

Legoshi went to grab a drink for Sagwan, too. The three of them spent a good few hours chatting on the rooftop after that before Seven suggested having dinner together. The neighbors had a blast and what could’ve been the worst Sunday turned out to be one of the best for not only Seven, but Legoshi, too.

#beastars #beastars overhaul

[golfinjapan]

One Way GC - 6000 yards of Misery

Score: 94 (43-51) Handicap: 15.9

It wasn’t a good sign when I dropped my scorecard on hole 1 and then my putter cover on hole 2. Especially because it was raining. The conditions weren’t great, but this short-ish Pete Dye design wasn’t exactly easy in the first place.

Considering how poor my driving is, a shorter course should benefit me by allowing iron and 3W off the tee. But still, I shot 94...

The Round

Again, this was months ago so I don’t remember every shot. But looking at the score...I fell apart. The good news was that this was “through play,” so no mandatory break after 9 holes. Also there wasn’t anyone out there due to the rain, so it was quite nice.

The Company

Just the Boss and his assistant. He played poorly and I started my run of dominance in our head-to-head matches. In fact, after the round he went right to the range to get some work in; it was rough for him.

3 Best shots

1st shot, hole 7, Driver

Since my driver is sickeningly bad, par 5s have become a nightmare since essentially there’s no way I’m in any position to attack the green in 3 (obviously not in 2 either). So when I hit a 250 yard drive down the middle, I think everyone was surprised to see me in A1 position. Even though I didn’t hit any other good shots, I was able to pull out a comfortable par here.

1st shot, hole 9, 3W

With a decent front 9 coming to a close, I took 3W even though there was water in play short and right. My 220 yard shot found fairway and even gave me an ideal angle to the flag. I hit a good 9i on but missed the putt, settling for a comfortable par. Which we do not complain about under any circumstances.

1st shot, hole 13, 6i

The back 9 was horrendous, but I hit a nice 6i on the par 3 13th from 173 yards, finding the green and setting up a two-putt par. 6i is maybe the club I think about the least, so it’s nice to pull it out and hit a good shot with it.