#something something they're both big nerds something something

[welcometothejianghu]

Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 重啟之極海聽雷/Reunion: The Sound of the Providence/The Lost Tomb Reboot/this thing has too many names

Reunion (I'm just going to call it that) is a 2020 action drama about the most specialest little babygirl in the tomb-raiding world, his two husbands, and the cadre of assorted weirdos they pick up as they try to follow a set of directions left by a dead (?) man in the thunder.

Imagine if someone showed you the Mandalorian, and you were like, gee, that was a neat little sci-fi one-shot! because you'd never heard of Star Wars. That was basically my experience watching this show, having no idea that the Lost Tomb franchise (DMBJ) was even a thing. Turns out that not only is there a whole big continuity out there with these characters, but that Reunion takes place a few years after the main story's resolution. Don't worry, though -- Reunion doesn't spoil you for that resolution. It doesn't spoil you for much, period. Look, DMBJ has a weird relationship to endings, okay?

I have written a more thorough where-to-start guide for DMBJ as a whole, so if you want to consider other entry points, well, that information is there for your consideration. Yet it is my opinion that this is the best entry into the overall franchise, and a fun thing to watch just in general, and I'm here to make my case for both of those.

The rest of this rec will assume that you have no familiarity with the DMBJ series. That's okay; you don't need any. All you need is to trust my five reasons you should watch this.

1. Old Man Yaoi

As you begin this show, you are introduced to the Iron Triangle. That's them in the picture up there. Left to right, you have: Xiao Ge, magically tattooed immortal hottie who just got back from ten years in [scene missing]; Wu Xie, our protagonist, who's just a little guy and it's his birthday; and Wang Pangzi, the literal best.

(And yes, Wu Xie is in his 30s and Pangzi is in his 40s, which is not technically old man anything, but ... look, if you watch, you'll see why I think I'm justified in calling it that.)

They are extremely married. They are a disaster trio of disasters so disastrous that no one else should ever be subjected to their chaos. They're going to make sure lots of people are, though, don't you worry about it. Sometimes those people even deserve it.

However, because the show (tragically!!) decides that Xiao Ge has somewhere else to be like 95% of the runtime, most of the relationship you get to see is between Wu Xie and Pangzi.

I'm saying this now as an old gay nerd who just this year celebrated her 15th wedding anniversary: I have never, never felt so represented in media as I have watching Wu Xie and Pangzi interact. There's a little wake-up song they sing together near the end of the show, and it just ... it packs so much character development into thirty seconds. These boys have been living adjacent lives for so long that they've made up their own little shared songs about the mundanities of daily living. That is just what happens when you marry your best friend and then decide to get old and weird together. Ask me how I know.

Look, if you want to know whether this show is for you or not, watch to the end of the first episode, to the part where Pangzi flips over the table. If your heart is filled with joy (as it should be), keep going.

Love makes a tomb-raiding syndicate family.

2. A fun-filled action-packed romp of nonsense!

If you're familiar with Hellblazer canon, this will make sense to you: Reunion is Dangerous Habits. If you're not familiar with Hellblazer canon, try it like this: Reunion is a terrible place to start because it plays on your extant affection for a character who gains a terrible status effect almost immediately. It's a also great place to start because it throws you right in the action with measurably high stakes and gives you a reason to build that affection very quickly.

I'm also going to warn you right off the bat: The plot of this show got cut to ribbons by censors.

See, the DMBJ books, being books, are allowed to get away with supernatural shit! So you've got zombies and ghosts and curses and monsters and immortality and all your other standard ooky spooky semi-urban fantasy trappings. But the DMBJ adaptations, being live-action, are heavily regulated in their content. This is why, in the early Reunion episodes, our heroes are menaced by human-looking creatures that are actually ancient mannequins made of leather that are piloted, mecha-style, by evil clams. Because evil clams are more scientific than zombies. I guess.

So yeah, the plot of this book already had to get mangled into a more "science"-compliant shape even before it made it to filming. The real problem is that a whole lot more of it got cut after it was all filmed and put together. I have read an explanation of what the actual storyline was supposed to be, and yeah, if you know what you’re looking at, you can see (and hear) the scars where major elements got hacked out with a weed whacker.

Therefore: You cannot expect this plot to make sense.

But that's okay! You're not here for the plot to make sense! You're here to watch some characters you love run around through ridiculous and sometimes beautiful labyrinths, trying to solve puzzles you're never given enough information to understand, all in search of the resolution to a mystery that had half its guts torn out before you got to see it -- and you are here to love it. If you have ever laughed and cheered your way through a Mission: Impossible film without pausing to care too much about the plot holes it’s dodging left and right, you are in the correct frame of mind to appreciate this. Just believe that whatever engaging nonsense the show tells you is correct for the time being and go with it.

You cannot watch DMBJ and care about the laws of physics. You simply cannot.

Do not, however, let me give you the impression that the shoddy plotting is accompanied by equally shoddy performances. A major part of this show’s incredible watchability comes from how the cast is shockingly good. There are some serious heavy hitters among the actors. A major part of why this Wu Xie and Pangzi are my favorite together is the incredible chops both Zhu Yilong and Chen Minghao have, to say nothing of their real-life affection for one another. (See that scar on Wu Xie's neck? That scar is there because Zhu Yilong commits to the bit.) Effortlessly charming Mao Xiaotong turns potentially irritating wunderkind Bai Haotian into a perfect precious weirdo baby. Wu Erbai's entire second-season character arc could have been unintentionally comedic, but veteran of queer cinema Hu Jun sells even the undignified moments as relentlessly tragic. And of course Baron Chen absolutely kills it with...

3. This giant fucking loser

This is Hei Xiazi. That's not his name, but it's close enough. Allow me to do a dramatic reenactment of my watching his first scene:

[camera pans over to him]

me: Ugh, I recognize this kind of wannabe badass character design. I hate his type. He's self-important, hyper-masculine, and just a big jerk, and the show thinks he's soooo cool. Barf.

[thirty seconds later]

me: Oh no. I was so wrong. I love him forever now.

This is because he is (as indicated above) a giant fucking loser. Yes, he's a good fighter who knows lots of things. He's also a wet potato chip of a man. Sure, he can get you into a headlock, but he can also annoy you into submission, and that's honestly more fun for him. My wife has used the phrase “Vash the Stampede-coded” to describe him. My wife is not wrong.

And the kind of ridiculous thing is, being such a loser is what wraps back around to making him cool again. He's a loser because he just doesn't fucking care. His masculinity is the opposite of fragile. You tell him to wear a dress and makeup, he'll do it -- and sure, he'll complain, but only because he enjoys complaining. He has no dignity. He’s tits-out. He's gender. He's the worst and also the best.

Hei Xiazi is a major character in the other installations, to the point where he and his boyfriend (more on him later) even have their own movie. But of course, I did not know this on my first watch, so I kept expecting the show to explain his whole deal. It does not, but you don't really need it to. He sees better in the dark. He doesn't age. He's a thug for hire. There, that's all the bio you need.

One of the things that makes him great is that he is the least sexually threatening person ever. Across all the properties he's in, he spends a fair amount of time with women -- sometimes in very close quarters -- and they are perfectly safe around him. I actually wrote a whole post about it once upon a time (warning for tiny spoilers for a series that isn't this one) wherein I claim that not only Xiazi but Reunion in general is the television equivalent of the shirt that says I RESPECT WOMEN SO MUCH I DON'T HAVE SEX WITH THEM.

That said, this loser does get a sort-of romance plot here -- and honestly, I find it very cute! It's not even the only instance in this series of a bisexual guy in a long-term same-sex relationship getting a girlfriend, and I like that other one too! Look, the handle of my DMBJ sideblog is @katamaricule because I joked that Wu Xie treats polyamory like a katamari, and if you don't move fast enough, you're going to be rolled right up into his gay little cuddle puddle.

This is not a show for exclusive ships; this is a show for inclusive ships. The Jiumen Association is a polycule. You don't even have to know what the Jiumen Association is to know it's true.

4. The power of friendship

This show has a lot of characters.

I'd say the supporting cast is divided into three categories: characters who have been in previous installments, characters who have not been in previous installments, and characters who probably should have been in previous installments (or at least mentioned) but who were only created for Reunion so we have to pretend like we've known about them all along.

There is no way to tell which is which -- which is part of my argument that this series makes a good entry point to the franchise.

Take Huo Daofu. Huo Daofu is a brilliant doctor masquerading as a donut stand operator who treats Wu Xie with all the cold disdain of a man confronting the person who left him at the altar years ago. On the one hand, yes! We do know Huo Daofu from a previous series, and we've known he's both a doctor and a bitch. On the other hand, oh, we have no idea why he's like this about Wu Xie, and we probably never will. The show just treats it like it's for an excellent reason, and you know what, from what you know about Wu Xie, it probably is.

Consider also Jiang Zisuan. One of the show's principal antagonists, Jiang Zisuan turns out to be the brother of ... well, let's just say it's someone whose having a brother really should have come up before this. It has not come up. (And that's even before we get into the issue of his surname.) His stated identity as that person's brother is so bizarre that my favorite interpretation is that he isn't actually that person's brother -- all the flashbacks we see are just his delusions about a relationship he's completely invented. But there's no way you'd know how fucking weird this is on your first run.

Then there's our friendly little support himbo, Kanjian, who shows up to all occasions with two tickets to the gun show and not a thought in that beautiful head. (His name just means "vest," which is par for the course when it comes to the author's naming conventions.) He was a lot more menacing in the last series (where they kept putting sleeves on him, geez), where most of what we learned about him is that you can loan him out to other tomb-raiding families. Now he's a golden retriever with great aim and a slingshot. It's an upgrade.

The trick is, you cannot be surprised when someone shows up and the show treats them like you should know who they are, even when there's no possible way you could know who they are. I mean, for heaven's sake, Liu Sang arrives in the middle of an obvious beef with Pangzi, the origins of which are never satisfactorily explained, while also having a giant do-I-want-to-fuck-him-or-do-I-want-to-be-him crush on Xiao Ge, which is also never satisfactorily explained. Whatever, you just roll with it. He's got good hearing, a bad attitude, and questionable taste in idols. Now you're good to go.

(I should throw in a special note here that Liu Sang is many, many people's little meow meow, and not undeservedly. For a fuller explanation of why that is, please consult this other post I made.)

Part of the fun of this big cast is the adorable interactions you get. All the characters have appropriately big personalities, and the show loves letting people you wouldn’t expect bounce off one another. It’s not your typical action-hero show where nothing happens without the protagonist in the room. There are lots of exciting combinations and tons of charming dynamics! Unlikely friendships form all over the place! Enemies become allies! Allies become friends! Friends become friends with other friends! Some friends become enemies again! You'll need a scoreboard to keep up!

This is not to say the show treats all its characters perfectly or equally -- one of the precious few main female characters doesn't even get a real name, for heaven's sake, and the less said about the brownface racism, the better. It is, at its heart, a dude show for dudes made in China, with all the troubling decision-making that implies. Where it does deserve credit, though, is in understanding that its supporting characters are actual people with personalities apart from their function in Wu Xie's narrative. Sometimes the show just asks "what if [random character A] and [random character B] had to interact?" and has fun considering the answer! Which is almost always a delight to watch, and sometimes even breaks your heart.

5. Amazing rewatch value!

And by this I mean the experience of watching this show is remarkably different once you have any understanding of the rest of the DMBJ universe.

For instance, there's a point where two characters are scuba-diving past some submerged coffins, and one character tells the other whose coffins they are. Working only on information Reunion has given you, you're like, oh, that's where they buried the guy who built this creepy place, that's a little weird. Once you recognize that name from other series, though, your reaction is far more, excuse me, they did WHAT to WHOSE corpses?

Or another point where a character you've already met is on a train, and there's a handsome gentleman who just happens to be riding with her. He hands her his business card! Aw, that's sweet, he seems like a nice guy! Well, no, Xie Yuchen is not nice, but he is one of our allies, and he's Hei Xiazi's boyfriend, and a lot of what he's doing hits real different when you have a fuller grasp on why he's doing it and for whom. (Honestly, a major reason to watch Reunion first is so you're not fully and appropriately upset by how your black/pink gays merely have one teeny tiny scene together.)

From the way the series treats the persistent absence of Wu Sanxing, Wu Xie's third uncle, I absolutely, 100% assumed that he was a completely new character to this installment of the series, an extremely long-lost relative that we've somehow conveniently managed to never talk about before now. So imagine my gobsmacked surprise when I went to watch a different series, set much earlier in the timeline, where the opening scene prominently features Wu Sanxing as an actual character in the present-day narrative! ...Well, sorta. Look, there's a lot of fuckery with his identity in earlier parts of the story, and fortunately you need to know none of it to understand Reunion. But when you do, it suddenly makes a lot more sense why Wu Xie talks about someone who was a major part of Wu Xie's adult life like he died when Wu Xie was nine.

AND THE FLASHBACK SCENE WHERE A-NING GETS KILLED BY THE SNAKE, AND YOU'RE LIKE, OKAY, AND THEN YOU WATCH ULTIMATE NOTE AND IT WASN'T LIKE THAT AT ALL look, I know there are kinda reasons for this, different production companies and all, but seriously, what the fuck

All of which to say is that the experience of watching Reunion the first time is, hey, this self-contained romp is a lot of fun! The experience of rewatching it after watching any of the other DMBJ installments is a transcendently wonderful head-clutching avalanche of one moment of recognition right after another.

And here's the thing: You will watch more. Reunion is a gateway drug. If you are interested enough to make it through all 62 episodes, you're going to be interested in watching more. Which is great. The English-speaking fandom needs more people. Come down into the tombs. It's great down here. We've got snakes and arguably unintentional homoeroticism. Join us. Join usssssssss

Are you ready for an aventure?

There are a couple different ways to watch the first half, but there's (weirdly) only one way to watch the second, so for both of them, I'm going to send you straight to iQiyi: Season 1 (32 episodes) and Season 2 (30 episodes).

And just so you’re ready when Reunion is done, here’s how you find the rest of the DMBJ series, in the absolutely non-chronological order in which I, personally, think you should watch them:

The Lost Tomb 2 (AsianCrush, YouTube)

Ultimate Note (iQiyi)

The Mystic Nine (iQiyi, Viki)

Sand Sea/Tomb of the Sea (Viki, WeTV, YouTube, also YouTube)

Also, there's a lot of movies and side series and other pieces that are worth seeing, and even a couple of full series I've left off the list, and you can just slot them in wherever. And maybe we'll get Tibetan Sea Flower someday? Look, hope springs eternal.

They're so perfect. Perfect triangle. Perfect boys.

#dmbj #重启 #重启之极海听雷 #盗墓笔记 #Reunion: The Sound of the Providence #the lost tomb reboot #rec post #i made this

[anonymouspuzzler]

hello hello, I hope you're having a fine day and wondering if you have thoughts on the aquato family on this fine day

i like them alot :)

#anonymous puzzler answers #sewersewersewercouch #seriously though I love them a lot i love the way they're written i love this snippy imperfect loving family #i love what a good big brother raz is and how much they all clearly love each other even if they're fighting or don't understand something #i love how much augustus and donna love each other and their kids and what nerds they both are in their own ways #they're good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and that's not even getting into Spoiler Stuff!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAA!!!!!! #psychonauts

[mcdynamite]

Kissing has never done all that much for Steve, if he’s honest.

It's just not really something he's ever given much thought to before - the way someone kisses - despite the fact that he's locked lips with plenty of people. For him, kissing has always been something nice, but not particularly special. It's never been earth-shattering. Never taken his breath away, the way people talk about in movies and books. It's just a way to be closer to someone, and it's nice, but it's never anything more than that.

Then, Steve kisses Eddie for the first time, and suddenly he gets it.

They're high when it happens, laying side by side in Eddie's unmade bed while the weed sinks into their bones. Steve loves the way it seems to slow down the world around them - makes everything syrupy and sweet, so he feels every brush of Eddie's fingers against his own in every inch of his body as they pass the joint back and forth.

The casual contact makes him long for more, and when he's high, Steve just...gives into the longing. He lets himself drift closer until they're pressed together so closely that Eddie can hide his face in Steve's uncharacteristically messy hair when he's trying to cover up a snort of laughter in response to Steve's deranged weed-induced musings.

Tonight, they meander their way through a directionless conversation - as they so often do when they get high together - until the joint is so small it nearly singes their fingertips. When Eddie finally sits up to stamp it out in the ashtray on the bedside table, Steve tries not to miss the feeling of Eddie's body against his own too much, knowing it'll be back soon enough.

"I'm thinking of handing over the DM throne to Will for the next oneshot, after we finish this campaign," Eddie says, speech slow and thoughtful as he puts out the blunt. "Think he'll be good at it."

Steve just hums, eyes heavy-lidded, gaze fixed on the curls he wants so badly to run his fingers through, just to know what it feels like. He's high enough to not care about the consequences when he decides fuck it, and reaches out to feel the soft ringlets beneath his fingertips.

"You're good at it," he muses - a delayed response to Eddie's comment. If Eddie is bothered by the way Steve is carefully petting his hair, he doesn't show it. Instead, he turns back to look down at Steve with a soft smile that makes Steve's insides feel all gooey.

"Yeah?" Eddie asks, a hint of a smirk overtaking the softness. "You ready to admit that you like watching me play my little nerd game, Harrington?"

Steve blames the quiet whine that escapes his throat on the weed, along with the way he honest-to-God pouts in response to Eddie's words. He tugs on a lock of Eddie's hair petulantly. "Don't like it when you call me that."

Eddie's face does something strange then, and Steve can't quite parse out what it means with the weed making his brain all foggy. He looks...surprised? Fond? Maybe both?

"Sorry, Stevie," he replies, teasing but somehow genuine at the same time. Steve smiles dopily, an expression that Eddie returns. "That better?"

Satisfied, Steve nods. Hums in affirmation. "Yeah. I like that one."

And it's true. Steve loves when Eddie calls him Stevie, because Eddie always sounds so fond when he does, and it makes Steve's heart feel too big for his chest.

"Oh, yeah?" Eddie asks, still grinning as he leans down until he's propped up on one elbow, hovering just over Steve on the bed. "What else do you want me to call you, hm? Stevie? Steve? M'lord?"

The last one makes Steve laugh and close his eyes, happy to bask in the sound of Eddie's voice as he floats along with their conversation.

"Sir Steven? Sweetheart?" Eddie continues, and Steve's heart jumps just a bit at the second one. Then, Eddie murmurs, "Baby?" 

And Steve's eyes fly open.

Steve stares at his friend with wide eyes - lips parted as a soft, punched-out oh escapes him - and it's weird, is the thing. Because Steve has been called baby before, lovingly by his grandmother when he was still a little boy causing mischief while his parents weren't watching, meanly by boys on the playground when he cried over something silly like a scraped knee…and when he got older, teasingly by the girls he took on dates.

It's not a new name for him, but it feels groundbreaking nonetheless.

Because the word sounds so much better coming from Eddie's mouth than anyone else's. It's soft, and fond, and knowing, and...

It's longing.

"Yeah,” Steve croaks. "Yeah."

"Which one? Sir Steven?" Eddie asks playfully, cocking his head to the side like a puppy. He grins maniacally when Steve huffs and shakes his head in disappointment. "No? Which one was it, then, that you liked the most?"

"Eddieeee," Steve complains, burying his flushed face into the pillow and avoiding his friend's gaze. "You know which one."

Eddie shakes his head in an almost scolding manner and Steve is convinced he must've moved closer, because Steve can feel Eddie's breath against his skin, and the air in the room feels about a hundred degrees hotter.

"Nuh-uh, Stevie," Eddie says, poking him playfully in the ribs. "You gotta tell me which one."

Steve hesitates, feeling more and more self-conscious by the second. He sort of wants to hide, but he also really wants Eddie to call him that again. It's probably thanks to his intoxicated brain that he allows himself to answer truthfully. "Baby," he murmurs, uncharacteristically shy.

"Yeah?" Eddie says, voice and smile softening in tandem. "You like when I call you baby, Stevie?"

Steve stares up at him with wide eyes, hardly able to believe this is really happening, and nods. "Yeah. That one."

Eddie is so close, now, that Steve can feel the warmth that emanates from his skin; can see the flecks of gold in his eyes amongst the molten chocolate brown. He's got freckles - Steve realizes. Tiny little dots across the bridge of his nose and the apples of his cheeks that form constellations on his skin. Steve thinks, maybe a bit deliriously, that he would be perfectly happy spending hours tracing them, the way astronomers of old once traced the stars.

"Eddie..." he breathes, heart pounding as he begins to feel more and more desperate for...for something. Anything to let him know that he's not the only one succumbing to the gravitational pull between them.

Eddie blinks slowly, and his eyes widen as though he's just realized something important. Steve watches his throat bob nervously before Eddie finally whispers, "Yeah, baby?"

Steve inhales sharply through parted lips - a soft, plaintive gasp that draws Eddie's eyes to his lips, and-

Oh.

That's what Steve wants, isn't it?

"I-" Steve tries, helpless to stop his own gaze from falling on Eddie's lips - pink and parted and just a little bit chapped, and so, so close.

"Baby," Eddie says again, and this time it's different. Unintentional. Like Eddie said it without meaning to. And maybe it's just the weed, but Steve swears he can feel the word burrowing its way into his chest and settling around his heart like a blanket. It makes his whole body feel warm - something only made worse by the hot coal of desire that begins smoldering low in his gut.

He's so lost in it all that he can't even bring himself to feel embarrassed when he whispers, "Please."

Steve waits with bated breath until finally, any remaining nervousness retreats from Eddie's eyes, and Eddie smiles in that way that makes Steve's stomach flutter. It's such a pretty smile. Steve can only watch as it grows closer, going cross-eyed for the briefest moment in his quest to to stare at Eddie's lips until suddenly his eyes are fluttering shut, because...because...

Because Eddie kisses him with lips still curled into a smile, and Steve thinks - utterly nonsensically - that feeling Eddie's lips against his own is so much better than just looking at them. The thought makes him giggle, just a bit, and he finds himself grinning into the kiss, too.

They part for a moment so Steve can let out another quiet giggle, and Eddie seems to pause for a moment, smiling down at Steve with poorly concealed affection. "Baby," he murmurs reverently, and then he's leaning down to capture Steve's lips in another kiss.

This time, Steve is ready for it, but it draws a muffled whimper out of him nonetheless. His nose fills with the scent of weed and cigarettes and cheap cologne - the smell of Eddie - and it's so overwhelmingly good. He lets his lips fall open on a gasp...doesn't close them when Eddie tentatively brushes his tongue against Steve's own. He shuts his eyes, because the press of Eddie's hand to his cheek and Eddie's chest to his own feel like so much more like that.

Eddie breaks the kiss to gasp in a breath, and inexplicably, that's what really sends every last bit of restraint in Steve's brain packing. It's so simple, so ordinary - the soft, quick sip of air Eddie takes in. It's a breathy little sound that Steve has heard from countless others before, but maybe that's why it puts him in this unfamiliar chokehold of wanting.

This isn't just anyone.

This is Eddie.

And Eddie is making those quiet, lovely little sounds because he's kissing Steve, and Steve is very rapidly realizing that he is utterly incapable of being normal about any of this.

He feels his cheeks go hot as he forces his heavy limbs to move so he can tangle his fingers in Eddie's curls, holding him close (because Steve thinks he might die if Eddie stops kissing him, now). And it's bliss. It's addictive. It's ruinously tender, and Steve feels himself unraveling from within. Feels the knots in his heart - left behind by absent parents, cruel friends, and distant girlfriends - turn to dust at the gentlest brush of Eddie's lips.

He whimpers into Eddie's mouth and clings to him even tighter, feeling his throat grow strangely tight as his eyes sting at the corners, and when Eddie pulls away he's got a small furrow in his brow, just under his bangs. 

"Stevie?" Eddie murmurs. His eyes dart to Steve's cheeks, and when he brushes his thumb along the skin just under Steve's eye, it drags a bit of wetness with it. Only then does Steve realize...he's crying.

And Eddie is wiping away his tears.

"I..." Steve croaks, eyes wide and spilling more tears with every blink. He drags his hands down from Eddie's hair to rest on his chest, beginning to curl into himself as the embarrassment sinks in.

Christ, he's crying. And all they've done is kiss.

Eddie's frown deepens, but he doesn't pull away completely. Instead, he lets their noses brush and breathes, "Baby..."

Steve's breath hitches.

"You're shaking, sweetheart," Eddie continues, still brushing Steve's tears away with gentle fingers. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Steve gasps hurriedly, because as far as he understands, it's the truth. "Nothing's wrong, I just..." He closes his eyes. Swallows the lump in his throat and admits with a trembling voice, "I didn't know it could be like this."

He opens his eyes and sees Eddie's expression soften, but the concern remains. "What do you mean?"

"I just..." Steve tries, sniffling and letting out a quiet, distressed laugh. He slams his eyes shut again and rubs them roughly with his palms, trying to force the tears back into his body. "Jesus, this is fucking embarrassing, man."

"Steve..." Eddie murmurs. He sounds sad. Conflicted. Like he's not sure what to do or how to help - if he should stay or go - and that just won't do, because Steve is certain he'll drift away on the breeze without Eddie to ground him. He's got to try to explain, even with his thoughts still feeling syrupy slow from the weed.

He wants to tell Eddie that he's kissed dozens of people before, but kissing them never felt like this. He wants to explain that he's used to taking the lead, and that it's nice having someone else set the pace, for once. He wants to tell Eddie about the way most people he's kissed have done so - frantically...lustfully. Kissing has always been a simple means to an end. And it's never made Steve feel like this.

What he actually manages to say is slightly different, though.

"No one's ever kissed me like they love me, before."

His eyes are still covered by his own hands, so he can't see what is surely a stunned expression on Eddie's face, but he can hear the way Eddie gasps in response to Steve's words.

It’s too much, he thinks. He's said too much, fast-forwarded too far into the movie. It's too early to be talking about love. Steve knows this. It's just...

His stupid, floaty little brain can't envision a world where someone kisses the way Eddie does without being hopelessly, irrevocably in love.

"Shit," Steve breathes after several minutes of silence. Or maybe it's several seconds. He really doesn't know. Time feels funny, when he's high. "I know that's, like, way too much. I'm too much. I don't know why I-"

"Steve," Eddie interrupts, and Steve snaps his mouth shut. He feels Eddie's hands wrap carefully around his wrists to pull them from his eyes. Eddie is being so careful with him...like he can't see that his tenderness is exactly the thing that’s ripping Steve apart at the seams.

Steve wants to scream. He wants to cry. He wants to drag Eddie back down and kiss him until he can't breathe. Until Eddie's sweetness becomes warm and comforting instead of feeling like the scalding heat of jumping into a hot tub after a dip in the cold waters of the pool.

"Baby, look at me," Eddie says softly.

Steve is helpless but to obey.

Eddie's gaze is sad but kind when Steve finally meets it with his own. He's got the barest hint of a smile on his pretty lips - the same ones Steve so desperately wants to feel against his own, again - and Steve feels his stomach swirl with something he can't quite describe.

"It's not too much," Eddie continues, voice steady. "And neither are you, okay? You, Steve Harrington, are never too much. Not to me."

The words settle over Steve like a blanket, and he can't decide whether it's comforting or suffocating. He just wants to stop talking about things so they can move on. He just wants Eddie.

"Eds..." he rasps desperately. "I don't- I just want-" He cuts himself off with the hitching breath of what may be a sob. He's not really sure, at this point.

"What can I do, honey?" Eddie says, and he really needs to stop with the pet names, or Steve might genuinely fracture into pieces. "What do you want?"

Steve is sunk too deep into the syrupy slow feeling of the weed - too desperate to feel Eddie pressed against him again - to do anything but tell the truth.

"Just want you," he says.

Eddie smiles - eyes crinkling at the corners - and Steve breathes the sight in like oxygen. "You have me, baby," Eddie murmurs. He's rubbing small, comforting circle into the sensitive skin of Steve's wrists now, and it's perfect. It's wonderfully, disgustingly perfect.

"I do?" Steve asks dumbly. His brain feels fifteen seconds behind everything, but he thinks that's probably okay. Eddie seems to be just fine waiting for him to catch up.

"Yeah, Stevie," Eddie chuckles quietly. "Had me for a long time, now. Just wasn't sure if you would want me the way I wanted you."

"You want me," Steve says breathlessly, more to himself than to Eddie. "You wanna kiss me."

Eddie's resulting laugh is a bit louder, a bit brighter, this time. "I do," he says. The sadness is fading from his eyes, giving way to something that looks an awful lot like elation. Steve remains still and watches, entranced, as Eddie carefully hauls himself up until he can swing a leg over Steve's to straddle him.

Still smiling broadly, Eddie leans down until their faces are mere inches apart, studying Steve with those big, brown eyes. "You gonna let me?" he asks Steve, a teasing lilt to his voice.

Steve nods, lips parted in surprise he can't quite seem to shake, and Eddie's expression softens.

"Gonna let me kiss you like I love you, Stevie?" Eddie whispers.

Steve's not sure when, exactly, his tears had begun to dry up, but he knows they must have at some point, because they're returning with a vengeance, now. "Please," he breathes.

Eddie shifts, and Steve expects Eddie to go right back to kissing him, but that's not what he does.

Instead, Eddie releases one of Steve's wrists and cups his cheek tenderly. This time, the feeling of his thumb brushing the tears away is a familiar one, and it makes Steve smile dopily.

"You know the reason I kiss you like I love you?" Eddie asks. Steve shakes his head and tracks Eddie's gaze as it drifts towards the place where his fingers are still wrapped around Steve's wrist. His lips quirk into a smile as he uses his grip to pin Steve's hand to the mattress, right beside Steve's head, and laces their fingers together.

Their noses are brushing, now, and Eddie's hips are resting on Steve's, and Eddie's hair has fallen around them like a curtain to keep the rest of the world out, and it's so much. Eddie is everywhere, and he's everything, and Steve is completely, unquestioningly in love with him - probably has been in love with him for ages, now, and just never let himself think too hard about it.

"I kiss you like I love you, Steve Harrington," Eddie breathes, and their lips brush as he speaks. "Because I love you."

And the thing is…Steve has spent his entire life wondering what it would feel like to know, without a shadow of a doubt, that he was loved. It's something that's eluded him for twenty years.

So it's all the more miraculous when Eddie kisses him again, and suddenly, Steve knows. He knows that Eddie Munson loves him. He feels it in the way Eddie kisses him slowly and deliberately, like it would never have crossed Eddie's mind not to. He feels it in their linked hands, in the way Eddie squeezes his hand when Steve makes a desperate, wanton sound into his mouth.

He feels it when Eddie brushes the hair out of his eyes and smiles before kissing Steve's forehead, then his nose, and then his lips again.

Feels it when Eddie's lips begin to wander down his neck.

When Eddie sucks a mark into the thin skin above his collar bone, just because Steve begs him too.

When Eddie pulls Steve's shirt over his head with careful hands, then lets Steve do the same, because Steve needs the intimacy of skin on skin.

He feels it when Eddie stops Steve's wandering hands from venturing too far south with a firm grip and apologetic eyes, because Eddie wants him - of course he does - but not when they've been smoking. Not when there's even the slightest chance that Steve might wake up and regret it in the morning.

And he hears it, too, later that night when they're laying in Eddie's bed exchanging soft, sleepy kisses, unwilling to drift off and let the night end, just yet.

Their legs are woven together - bare, aside from their boxers - and Steve has lost track of how long they've been tangled up in each other like this. He doesn't particularly care, though. He's pretty sure he could happily spend the rest of his life exactly like this.

"Love you, Stevie," Eddie whispers against his lips. They both smile into the next kiss, and Steve's heart is full to bursting, because he believes it. He knows, now, what it feels like to be loved...to be adored.

"I love you," he murmurs in reply, relishing in Eddie's sharp intake of breath. He giggles a bit, for no reason other than the pure joy that's been coursing through his body all night. "God," he laughs. "I fucking love you, Eddie Munson.

Eddie is quiet for a moment before his face splits into a grin that could rival Steve's own, and he's so goddamn beautiful that Steve almost feels like crying again.

He doesn't cry, though. He just watches adoringly as Eddie smiles and nudges Steve's nose with his own. "Yeah, baby?" Eddie teases.

"Yeah, Eds," he answers simply.

And he's pretty sure Eddie knows - is pretty sure Eddie can feel it - because Steve kisses him for the umpteenth time that night, and he pours every ounce of his heart into it. 

Steve kisses Eddie like he loves him, because he does. God, help him, he does.

And Eddie?

Eddie kisses Steve like he loves him back, and Steve gets it now, because it’s more than just a kiss.

It’s perfect.

It’s earth-shattering.

It’s everything.

--

Shout-out to @lyphyshard for the beta!

For more of my Steddie blurbs and one-shots, check out my masterlist!

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #soft steddie #steddie fluff #steddie fic #steddie ficlet #first kiss #cw: weed #stranger things #i'm so normal about them

[thehaberdasheress]

Valentine's Day for embroidery nerds

Something I love about historical embroidery is how much the present and the past are stitched together. Valentine's Day is one of those things that's centuries old, but still a little new and fresh every time it rolls around. It is what we put into it, as well as what it used to be.

I print patterns onto interfacing that sticks to the fabric while you stitch. Then when you're done, you just dunk it in water to wash the pattern off!

So here are my new festive offerings:

Visible mending patches: Hearts I and Hearts II

I couldn't decide on one, so why not both? These are great if you want an easy way to embroider little wee hearts on things! They really shine when they're used for visible mending. You can use them to attach new patches to holes in old clothes, and look good doing it.

Embroidery Border: Lovebirds High

I wanted something big and fun, so I designed this one myself. Its figurative grandparents are Renaissance blackwork and Scandinavian Rosemaling. I liked being able to combine an existing embroidery border into a bigger pattern. 7.5 cm (3") wide and 16" (40cm) long.

Embroidery Border: Lovebirds Low

Another original design! I've been making a lot of birds lately. To me these feel like office-worker sparrows that have stopped to kvetch together on a window ledge during their seed break. Love... is on the staff meeting agenda. 1 ¼" (3.5 cm) wide and 40 cm (16") long

And finally...

The apple of my eye, the jewel of my crown, Renaissance Hearts

God bless Bartolomeo Veneto (active 1502-1531), who was incredibly good at painting clothing. Because this one, I could make literally the same pattern. I could just go...

The pattern is 3.5 cm (1 ¼") wide and 16" (40 cm) long.

My Etsy Store has even more designs, as well as some fashion accessories. Shipping is free on orders $40 CAD and above.

And as always, I remain deeply grateful for your attention, energy, enthusiasm, and patronage. I am so lucky to have this business; it's changed my life. Thank you!

#costuming #haberdashery #embroidery #needlework #textile art #historical fashion

[kneelingshadowsalome]

Genuinely so obsessed with the ask you answered about reader being associated with König’s childhood bullies and coming back years later to try and make amends……. I need the angst, the drama, the nasty disgusting degrading sex, the absolute turmoil on both of their parts 😭 I am starving for this, the way you portray König especially there is exactly how I’ve always envisioned him in my mind!!!!!! And then with reader desperately trying to make him happy now out of guilt and her crush that’s grown 10x since she saw him in school, delusionally hoping and believing there’s a *relationship* between them and she can fix what she thinks she allowed to happen back then 10 years after the fact, while König is constantly fighting himself to not fall for reader despite his own buried crush resurfacing, and convincing himself he’s only using her to release stress and tension after assignment while simultaneously holding so much resentment for her and her sheer proximity to the people that tormented him back then, I am foaming at the mouth for the toxic dynamics to be found there !!!!!!!!! The old him begging to fulfill some childish need to have her, while this new monstrous version of himself only wants to watch her suffer to repent for how he had to suffer !!!!!!!!!!!!

I know right?! I’m obsessed with this too!

I’m so here for the toxic relationship dynamic (sue me), also me and @bucca2/@wordstome had a whole conversation about this yesterday because König would bend over backwards to self sabotage this shit.

(The following is mainly a summary from our brainstorm session from last night + I have bucca to thank for the precious meme at the end, it’s König in a nutshell with his high school crush lol)

First of all our girl is sooo in love. She was in love when they were young, but now? She’s a goner, König is out of this world. He's so handsome, so confident, the epitome of cool if there ever was one... and God, would you look at those muscles?

Now she can finally drool all over him but back then, what was she to do? As the shy one of the clique, she always tried to avoid attention; she could never have endured what König did. Perhaps it was cowardly of her, but she really was just scared. She could only dream about him from afar, and in her dreams, they would both change schools due to their parents moving or something... Ending up in the same area, finally getting to be together like it was a miracle, Deus ex Machina.

Her silly dreams never came true, but it looks like they're coming to fruition now. And this time, she's going to make everything better! Now that they're both grown up and free from their tormentors she can finally admit that she has feelings for him, feelings that are only sparked fast aflame when she sees the man he has become.

And König can’t stand it.

Where was she when he was odd and scrawny? Where was she when he cried himself to sleep over her?? Of course she wants him now that he’s big, independent and menacing, an odd nerd who discovered guns and gym... He thought she was better than this.

Deep inside, he’s still like this:

...but we just need to forget about it because König is NOT going to fold for this girl.

He’s not.

And the sex is so NASTY. Bordering on degrading, König wants to be a gentleman when it comes to ladies, but this one? This one he wants to fuck like he paid for her. She brings out the beast in him, and he finds himself asking her to get on her knees and blow his cock on some filthy cruise... Fucks her like he doesn’t love her, and she’s absolutely lovestruck, when did König become so mean? (God, that she loves him)

Trying not to fall in love with her (as if he ever fell out), König is so incredibly mad at this girl – is this what she wanted this whole time? A buff jerk who fucks her doggystyle until her knees bleed, who gives her the bare minimum, who barely even calls her when he’s away? (He has to physically restrain himself from doing that because of course he’d like to hear her pick up the phone with pure hope in her voice)

While changing his tactics and devising a plot to make her pay, König doesn’t even understand that he’s falling fast for her again while becoming now (seemingly) the best version of himself. It's only to dump her later, of course. He's just being nice so that she'll cry over losing him later. He brings her flowers, eats her out for hours, getting sick satisfaction from the way she cries about how it’s the best sex she’s ever had. He’s going to bring her to her knees, in more ways than just one... She’s going to remember him for the rest of his life when he rearranges her guts, ruining her for any other man.

König is becoming the thing he hates the most while she’s learned her lesson, now wearing her heart on her sleeve. No more shame and secrets, she’s not afraid to tell him how she feels! How she always had a small crush on him… And not even that small… How she loved to hear his presentations, no matter what silly subject they were about because he had actually done his research. How she could’ve swooned when his voice changed. After a short breaking period, he started to talk lower than anyone else in the class, earning himself more of that bullying because he sounded so manly at such a young age.

König is about to burst a blood vessel when hearing all this: she had a crush on him back then? What the actual fuck??

And then come the cuddles, the slow mornings, the coffee and toast, the showering together… She leaves her toothbrush in his place, and it stares at him accusingly from the side of the sink. She wears his t-shirts and looks absolutely gorgeous, mouth-watering and sweet in them. His sexy little minx, the one who didn’t get away…

Wait, what? No. No. No!

And when his high school sweetheart confesses her love for him for the first time, she's so open and vulnerable and sweet about it. Like she has been from the start, his sweet, sweet girl, exactly the kind of woman he always wanted to bring home to see his mom. König is about to lose his mind when she tugs at his shirt, almost cries when she says how much she loves him and couldn’t bear to live without him… She would cry herself to the grave if anything ever happened to him…

(König is like:)

#könig angst #könig fluff #mmm this is so nasty and delicious #they're practically soulmates #collaborating with other writers #könig x highschool sweetheart

[enapoe]

ᨳ hypocrite

synopsis - y/n's brother is a star soccer player — which is why she refuses to date athletes. (like she dates anyone). But when she's put in charge of the sports section in the school newspaper, she coincidentally makes the star player fall for her.

genre - soccerplayer!hoon × nerdy/writer!reader. FLUFF what is angst? we don't know her. hoon's a rich boy, yn has a famous big bro 🙄 cliché nerd catches athletes eye whatever, whatever

warnings - kiss kiss (duh) lmk if I missed any o(^o^)o

word count - 434

A/N - this story is a lot of my imagination, but after some digging I think @/eeunoia has jungwon fic (Attention Please! Mini series) similar in the sense that both female leads write about the sports team. So before people say I'm not crediting them or stealing their work here I am saying that both our stories have this one thing in common. (Also also, they're a very amazing writer and their stories are adorable and heart fluttering)

PART 2 here !

The library was your favorite place in the entire city.

Something about the smell of books and coffee that ligures through the book shelves is both comforting and slightly concerning. The library has seen better days but a fair amount of students still come in everyday to study. Sometimes — if you're lucky — people come in for dates, you love people watching, but watching two young people fall in love is S tier. Romance is your favorite genre; books, movies, anything that makes you red in the face and butterflies appear in your stomach.

Even after many failed relationships back in middle school, (don't ask, it was mainly teenage boys filled with uncontrolled hormones) you haven't given dating a second chance. Romance and love was like biting into a creme filled donut—or even better, homemade soup on a cold winter day—it wasn't what your brother said romance is at all.

He's the best brother you could ever ask for, yet his dating life is one of pure nightmares. It seems like everyday Dispatch has a new article about him. He's never brought a girl home, which means he's never been with a girl for longer than one night.

Since his love life consists of picking up a girl and dropping them the next day, you've always told yourself: you will never date an athlete. Yes, in fear they'll use you, but also because you're scared they'd only like you if they find out about your brother.

Whilst in your internal monologue, you didn't notice someone walking up to you.

“Um, excuse me? Do you work here?” you turned and were met with someone's chest. Damn. You looked up and saw the eyes of the one and only star player of the soccer (football) team.

“Oh! Yes, I work here. Can I help you with anything?” Sunghoon found your appearance cute. Not like the ‘I'd date you’ cute but maybe like a newborn puppy type. You wore a baggy beige crew neck and a pair of acid wash jeans, with your hair down and straightened. “I need this book called ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, do you guys have it here?” After a second of silence, you nodded and led him to the mature reading section of the library.

“Thanks for the help…” you think he's asking for your name. “Y/n, Go Y/n” you giggle like a middle schooler and hate youself for it after. “I'll see you around Go Y/n.” He puts the book in his bag and stops before turning back towards you.

“I'm supposed to check this out, aren't I?”

#ᨳ reborn ! #enhypen imagines #enha fluff #enhypen fanfic #sunghoon #park sunghoon #sunghoon x reader #sunghoon imagines #sunghoon fluff #enhypen x reader #park sunghoon imagines

[gallusrostromegalus]

How does trash pickup, Recycling centers, &/or Hazardous Material Disposal work for Soul Society in AEIWAM? Is there a Kido-based ritual to break things down into Reishi? Are there Tech Repair Shops?

Sewage in Soul Society works really well but very dangerously because those fucking idiots built the city directly on top of an active supervolcano.

Let me back up:

There isn't a good consensus on how big the Seireitei is (Yoruichi says it takes 10 days to walk 1/4th of the way around the circumference, but whether that's her speed, the average person's or how long a patrol group takes is unclear), Or any real maps of the place, but it's generally agreed that

the city is LARGE. Yoruichi says it would take her and the kids ten days to walk to the next gate 1/4th of the way around the city. Maybe that's 8 hours average human walking speed minus 'trying to herd a bunch of teenagers' but that's still a long trip!

Even before the Seki-Seki stone wall was put up, the city was pretty much circular.

Unlike pretty much every real city, there's no river running through it. Where are they getting their water?

There is a Small but substantial and TOTALLY ISOLATED mountain in the middle of the city made of apparently hard-to-mine rock. A Lonely Mountain, one might even say.

The only visible natural sources of water I've seen evidence of are hot springs in both the Yoruichi/Urahara Super Secret Training Ground/Love Nest and the first division grounds.

Soul Society is run by jackasses and if there's a stupid way to do things, that's the way they're doing them.

In fact, the Soul Society as a whole is almost suspiciously Amestris-shaped, but instead of nefarious alchemy, it's negligent civil engineering

...all this leads me to believe that Seireitei is built DIRECTLY ON TOP OF the caldera of an enormous supervolcano. The city gets it's water from the aquifer of rainwater that's collected in the underground cracks and fissures of the Caldera, and the seki-seki stone wall is set up around the really convenient geographic barrier made by the rim of the caldera.

"Hey!" I hear some of you nerds objecting "Aren't calderas usually concave? Seireitei is convex, if anything!"

You're right! Most Calderas are concave! But they will absolutely fill in with sand and dirt over the true floor of the caldera over time and develop Mounts like the thing at the central part of the city and start to rise WHEN THEY'RE ON THE VERGE OF A CATASTROPHIC ERUPTION.

So yeah! The Gotei-13 has an almost infinite supply of hot water, and probably less than a century to figure out what to do before The Big Kaboom.

Anyway, back at sewage:

There's been a city where the Seireitei is since time immemorial, and even though it's done the istanbul-not-constantinopple shuffle a few times, very little of the actual infrastructure has changed. Empires rise and fall but the desire paths stay the same.

This is especially true in Seireitei, because unlike very nearly every major IRL Municipality, it doesn't have a river running through it, something that usually necessitates Sewer updates By Force. But compared to a river which is constantly moving around in it's bed, a volcanic aquifer doesn't move much until it moves a whole fucking lot real fast, so the undercity of the Seireitei has really had time to... Develop isn't quite the right word.

"Ferment" is closer.

Above-ground waste management is the provenance of the actual local city government- yes, there is a Mayor of the Seireitei that the Gotei-13 has to pay property taxes to. Yamamoto maintains a lot of goodwill with the Mayor by dint of sentencing ill-behaved shinigami to shore up the municipal labor pool, and by knowing the mayor's family for the last millennium. So you'll see Shinigami doing things like trash collection and street-sweeping, but they're just there on probation.

-But nobody wanted to deal with the undercity. It's got a soul of it's own. Washington DC, which is less than 500 years old as a city and on top of a swamp, has an undercity that goes down over half a mile. Imagine how deep the sunken buildings, abandoned secret tunnels, and sewer system of a city that's millenia old, not sitting on actual mud and constantly subjected to high levels of magical background radiation might develop.

An Appetite, for one thing.

The 11th likes to talk a big game, but the reason the 4th is in charge of sewer maintenance is because the only people with the guts for it were people who got degrees rummaging in the guts of living people. Sewer maintenance really is a lot like abdominal surgery, if you were able to walk around inside the patient.

It was Retsu Unohana's idea, actually. Chigiri was a battle medic and aged rapidly for a shinigami. She was old when the court guard finally went from "Yamamoto and his gang of assholes" to "A for-real governing body". Her successor, Kirinji was more interested in traumatic injury recovery than preventative medicine, for obvious reasons- his triage was constantly full of combat casualties and early kido experiment victims Blood Loss was still his #1 Killer.

But Retsu had been reincarnated in and spent her youth in South 80, in the utterly undeveloped conditions there, and held deep, personal grudges with Dysentery and Cholera. For all his talk of healing waters, Kirinji had no sense of the importance of water sanitation, and it was a continuous point of contention between them for her apprenticeship.

"FINE!" He shouted one day after a particularly nasty row. "IF IT'S SO GODDAMN IMPORTANT TO YOU, YOU HANDLE IT! FORM NOW ON, YOU'RE IN CHARGE OF SEWAGE, SLUDGE QUEEN!"

She made her first descent the next morning.

She did not return for six weeks, and Kirinji almost thought he'd resloved that particular problem when she reappeared from the depths, a changed woman. That long in the darkness, alongside the buried secrets and skeletons of the city, with the horrors that did not dare brave the sunlight- it would change anyone, and most would come up looking at least mildly haunted.

Retsu Unohana is not most.

She looks radiant, almost like The Kenpachi again, covered in the horrors of the underground as she used to be covered in blood. She thrives on a challenge, and excels at the art of purification, and now, she has been given the single greatest challenge of purification in history. There is something beautiful and terrible in her eyes as she explains that it does down at least five miles, look at this, she thinks it's from the neolithic era, and there are incredible boneyards of thousands of skeletons, and fungi the likes of which she's never seen before- She is ecstatic- a creature kept in captivity, finally released into it's natural habitat.

It's hardly a surprise, if you consider Minazuki. Stingrays are benthic creatures, right at the bottom of the river, deep in the muck and decay.

It's been a little over eight hundred years into her tenure as a medic, and she has tamed much of the beast. The upper levels are well-mapped and have been made clean and well-lit, enough that even the civilian sanitation forces of the city can regularly enter and work in them without any particular unease. Infant and preventable disease mortality has dropped astronomically. Nobody's had cholera since the 1800's . While they have other jobs, all members of the 4th division are required to take at least one tour in the depths of the undercity.

Horrors still lurk in the depths.

They're pretty sure they lost Tokagero Kenpachi chasing one of those, shortly before Unohana became captain, and she's been reluctant to let other divisions assist since then. The Fourth Division's Fourth Seat, rumored to be the unluckiest post in the entire Gotei-13, is permanently stationed underground, and she loves it that way.

It's only recently that the 11th has been allowed to come along on descents, after Zaraki vanished for two days and then emerged victorious from a manhole in the 5th division with a tentacled horror she'd been tracking for decades that lived at least three miles down. He apologized- he had meant to come up in the 4th to present it's corpse to her directly, but well, you know what his sense of direction is like. Anyway, I saw it scuttling around in the rain aquifers and we don't need it tracking literal shit into the water supply so I went after is and d'ya think maybe I can take the lads down sometime? They' get lazy between deployments and you have a triage up here to manage.

Charmed, she agreed.

---

Hm. I just re-read that ask and it's actually about dry waste managment.

Sorry. I got very excited about the sewers.

I am now about to get worse about trash.

I don't think they have plastic in soul society- given how bug-themed the 12th division is, I'm pretty sure the casing on Rukia's soul pager is made of Chitin, and if you break it, it bleeds. Also it makes people with shellfish allergies break out in hives.

Since pretty much all the waste in Soul Society is either recyclable or organic matter, I think those trash pits Yumichika and Ganju were fooling around with are really more like Kido-enhanced composting centers. All waste goes into them and the bottom of the pit is pulled out in a tray, like with a vermiculture tower, if the worms were eighteen and a half feet long and hungry enough to swallow anything that falls in the pit, because Mayuri is incapable of making anything that is not at least slightly awful.

The compost is then shaken out for any spare glass or metal that made it into the compost and that's sent off to the 12th division forges to be recycled. it's baked to kill any dangerous pathogens and Giant Garbage Worm Eggs so they don't breach containment, and measured for nitrogen, phosphorus and other important plant nutrient content. Based on it's composition, it's then shipped out to farmers in the upper districts of the rukongai because "Free, A+ grade fertilizer if y'all don't start revolutions, pay your taxes and give us first dibs on crops" is an amazing incentive for rural farmers to not start backing the local warlords.

It was 12th division founder Uhin Zenjohji who came up wth the scheme- he remembered the lengths upper-district farmers were willing to go through to make sure their land remained fertile, what kind of demand Nitrogen was in, and the ravages of phosphorous runnoff, so he could kill two birds with one clod of shit by supplying farmers with 'free' fertilizer that kept them loyal to the court and was tailored to that area's nutritional needs and watershed capacity.

The fact that it kept a lot of swamp and waterway areas pristine so he could indulge his birdwatching hobby was a nice benefit too :).

NORMALLY, those pits are covered, clearly marked, and usually the site of a major traffic jam because that's the local collection point, but when Ichigo and friends arrived, Aizen had whipped everyone into believing they were being invaded by an elite force of super-assassins and not like. 4 high schoolers and a furry. All the street signs and markings came down, civilians shuttered themselves inside, and generally made the Seireitei as difficult to navigate as possible.

I wonder how much Zaraki's rotten sense of direction was exacerbated by that.

ANYWAY! That's my thoughts on trash! Deep undercity horrors and giant compost worms over an active volcano!

#AEIWAM #an elephant is warm and mushy #bleach #bleach fanfic #Retsu Unohana #zaraki kenpachi #tenjiro kirinji

[absolutebl]

These Weeks in BL - This Is Very Late, Or Right on Time depending on where you sit on the temporal debate team

Sorry I got distracted by work. In my defense: I was paid.

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

March 2024 Wk 1 & 2

Ongoing Series - Thai

Cherry Magic (Sat YouTube grey) ep 12 fin - Unfortunately, there was singing. But what can we do?

A soft charming warm hug of a show about crushes and mind reading and self worth, with no-fuss execution from a consummate team and an OG lead pair proving why they remain eternal and deserve to grow up. Look, here’s the thing, Cherry Magic is a great Thai BL in its own right not comparing it to any other iteration. But even when I do compare (and I've seen all the Cherries and read the manga) it still stands. This is a great show, a solid adaptation, and a pleasing take on the original yaoi. I personally like it better than the Japanese live action, but I think that’s because I just really like Thai BL and I LOVE TayNew. I doubted them for this and I shouldn’t have. They did a great job, as did the sides. I will say all the kissing was both present and better than any other iteration. As it should be. Definitely one for the rewatch rotation. 9/10 

Deep Night (Thurs iQiyi) ep 1 of 8 (10?) - Damn it, I love it. And I don't want to. It’s more classic BL than I thought it would be, and far less Only Friends or Playboyy. (Thank fuck.) We got a big cast and a lot of tropes going down out the gate, including SMITTEN popular hot guy versus nerd with secret identity. (Incidentally, Khem did drop into rude / informal when arguing with his Aunt and defending his ma. Bratty boy.) The leads have good chemistry (First always does), and everyone is very pretty. The main boy reminds me of J-Min's role (and look) in Love Class 2. I am entertained. (And faintly wonder why this isn't a MosBank vehicle.)

To Be Continued (Thai C3 Thailand grey) eps 1-3 of 8- High school sweethearts who had a bad break up reunite a decade later when both of them have full time jobs (celebrity & doctor). Dr Ji is a familiar face (hi Dream it's been a LONG time) and everyone is way too old for high school, but I guess I prefer this to child actors?

I'm enjoying it, actually, the cast may be older but they're solid as a result and the chemistry is on point for a pulp. Whether our celebrity is on the DL or cheating or something else remains to be seen but he sure is smitten. The way he LOOKS at Ji = hawt.

Frankly? Celebrity/doctor is a good pairing and this is a solid Thai BL. I hope we have a nice angsty reason for the break-up and we're not in another Promise situation. I like the sides too. Carry on, little show, I'm disposed to be pleased with you.

City of Stars (Fri iQIYI) eps 5-6 of 12 - I am enjoying it, actually. It’s incredibly silly. But I don’t really mind. STOP SINGING. 

1000 Years Old eps 3-4 of 12 - I love that these kids basically adopted a vampire pet. And one of them accidentally got a vampire boyfriend. This suddenly turned from a PNR into a family drama about domestic gays opening a food stall and I'm not mad about it. Nothing makes sense and I don't care because... rainbow umbrella!

A Secretly Love (Thai WeTV grey) eps 1 of 10 - I don’t love it. I make no bones about the fact that a pining uke rarely works for me, especially if he’s younger (cute supportive besties not withstanding), the power dynamic isn’t good. I always like Kimmon, he’s a stiff actor but v pretty. (I shallow af.) Still it’s time he started acting his age… literally. Having to watch ads again as well… for this? Ooof. I'm not sure I'm strong enough.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Perfect Propose (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 6 fin - It was very cute. I liked that there was uke instigated kisses. However I have some reservations on this one, much as I enjoyed it.

Adapted from Mayo Tsurakame’s manga, production team included Tadaaki Horai (My Love Mix-Up!) and Takeshi Miyamoto (Old Fashion Cupcake). Essentially Perfect Propose was about finding hope in a person when all other hope is gone. This show focuses on apathy, and perforce is somewhat apathetic and un-engaging especially as the pacing was off (and with only 6 episodes? now) However, this is countered by great visuals, good archetypes, and a clean story of childhood sweethearts reuniting after loosing their way in life. I landed on 8/10 mostly for a demanding younger seme and some great kisses. 

Unknown (Taiwan Tues Youku YouTube) eps 2-3 of 11 - Oh it’s great. I love it. I’m still worried by how gritty and "Taiwanese short-esk" it feels, but wow does this hit all my favorite taboo tropes and buttons. I also adore the little found fam, they the cutest gay older bros ever. The younger one who wants so bad to grow up and take care of the older one and pushes himself because into self sacrifice that’s the only model of love he has. ARGH. BOYS. Why so much pain, just smooch already! Sheesh. It's on YouTube for some of us, here's the schedule.

AntiReset (Taiwan Fri Viki/Gaga) eps 6-7 of 10 - They remain questionably cute, and that is probably going to be my ultimate review of this show. Awe cameo! (Hi babies, hope the ghosts are leaving you alone.) The irony does not escape me that the person in the relationship with the most emotional acumen is, in fact, the robot and not the human. I'm sure that's meant to be deep.

Love is Better the Second Time Around AKA Koi wo Suru nara Nidome ga Joto (Japan Gaga) ep 1 of 6 - A tortured second chance romance featuring a reported and a successful celebrity(?) academic. The kid actors look nothing like their adult counterparts, but they do look much younger. So, okay. Ah the utter embarrassment of first love. Oh I like it a lot, so very messy Japanese emo. Sigh. Here we go again.

Although I Love You and You AKA Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka (Japan Thurs Gaga) eps 8-9 of 10 - They are a cute couple. They both trying so hard and so confused and awkward and polite in trying to understand each other but TERRIBLE at communication. 

My Strawberry Film (Japan Thurs Gaga) eps 3-4 of 8 - I don’t know how I feel about this. But I do know it’s not my thing because it’s not BL. I’ll finish it because it’s short but… meh. 

It's done, ready to binge, but I have no time

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - will binge when I have any spare time. 2024 is crazy busy for me so far.

The Servant and the Young Master (Vietnam YouTube) - I will try when I have a window of time.

Began Beginning (Myanmar YouTube) - A Burmese BL? @heretherebedork vouched for it, so I will watch eventually.

It's airing but...

Dead Friend Forever (Thai iQIYI) - finished it's run and I won't be watching it. It's horror with BL elements and the ending, well, let's just say that's a "no thank you" from me.

Ossans Love Season 2 (Japan Gaga) - 5 years later, will anything have changed? This is Japan so… no. I'm not watching this. I dislike this franchise.

Time the series (Tue Gaga/YT) 10 eps - dropped it at ep 4.

Takumi-kun (2023) movie version AKA Takumi-kun Series 6: Nagai Nagai Monogatari no Hajimari no Asa released on FOD 3/5/2024. The original project was a 6 ep series. Having seen all the previous iterations and read the (terrible) yaoi I admit to being intrigued. If anyone finds eng subbed please let me know with a link in comments or in a DM? For those intersted in this show, probably the world's first true BL franchise I chat all about it here.

Gossip

James Supamongkon has withdrawn from the series Love Upon A Time and the NetJames pair is no more. Net Siraphop will continue with the historical BL project alongside a new partner. Can I interest you in Tod Techit... almost as pretty, legs for days...

The Complete Chronology of the Assault Case Against GMMTV Actor Win Pawin

I'm merely directing your attention to these articles, I do not wish for discussion of this content on this blog. Please don't ask for further info, I don't know the answer, follow the link that's why it's there.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Still Coming

3/21 Two Worlds (Thai IQIYI) 10 eps - announced here. One of those "he's dead Jim so time travel" thingames staring MaxNat. I'm over them but Asia flipping loves this trope and I do adore MaxNat. Phupha (Gun) and Khram (Nat) love each other but Phupha is murdered. Then Khram is pulled to a parallel world where, 12 years ago, Khram and Tai (Max) were in love. However, Khram was killed by Thai’s dad. Now Tai finds alter-Khram apparently alive. But then there is ALSO an alter-Phupha (played by Gun Thanawat who is Khom the repressed butler bodyguard from Unforgotten Night).

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

How flipping adorable is this vampire with his big gay umbrella? SUCH A DORK and we got more vampire dorks coming.

Thailand has found its vampire line and it's awkward and geeky and quite cheerful. 'Bout what we expected, to be fair. It's a good look for them.

And vampires.

In other news...

That's your random moment of thirst, Lim Jimin shirtless AKA my Just B bias (I mean, I could talk about how good his extensions are and how I love a husky voice in Kpop but really, just LOOK at him). I'm very very very shallow, remember? Full vid is here.

Why am I mentioning Lim Jimin (aside from the obvious)? If Just B doesn't break soon, I could some of them transitioning to BL. Jimin in particular would be a win for us, obvs.

Also, can we talk about Bain (my bias wrecker) KILLING it on Build Up? I had no idea he was that good. Anygay, this has been your Kpop end note.

Seriously tho, is ANYONE else watching Build-Up?

(Last week - well, 2 weeks ago)

Streaming services are listed how I'm (usually watching) which is with a USA based IP

The tag bragade: @doorajar

If ya wanna be tagged each week leave a comment and I will. Easy peesy.

#thai bl #cherry magic th #cherry magic thailand #cherry magic #cherry magic review #taynew #live action yaoi #thai adaptation #to be continued the series #city of stars #thai bl pulp #japanese bl #perfect propose #perfect propose review #AntiReset #taiwanese bl #unknown the series #Although I Love You and You #Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka #just b #kpop #Lim Jimin #1000 Years Old #To Be Continued

[psychelis-new]

pick a pile: "Loving words from your person"

take a breath and choose the photo or number that calls you the most to find a message meant to reach you at this time. The message may come from your future spouse/destined person/long time partner or even closest friend for some of you (you may still have to meet them).

don’t take the reading too seriously. only take what resonates with you and leave the rest. if you're not called by any pile, let this reading slid as it may not hold messages for you. if you're called by more than one pile, there may be messages in each of those piles. remember that is a general reading and some things may not resonate with you. energies can change and readings are based on present ones (as you read); you're always in charge of your life.

(photos found on unsplash)

- ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ -

1 2 3

- ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ -

pile 1

Things are getting rocky at the moment, right? Yeah I know it. Try to not let this excessive amount of emotions sweep you away. Try to ground, try to stay present and in you. It's hard work indeed, ofc, I'm not saying it's easy but... please, even if it feels so difficult ans scary, do not give up. Do not let all this take the best of you. Stay in touch, stay in control... touch the ground and the grass, stay present, keep yourself rooted physically. A good news is coming in soon, maybe a new endeavour you know, just do not let this stress you even more than you are. Right now you need to find your inner focus, your center, and to meditate. Until we meet, until I will be able to help you, take good care of you. Or let someone else help you.

[romantic partner for many of you but not everyone; very big on physical affection/hugs in particular -gives very good safe hugs-; good big heart; you may be feeling lonely/feeling down/needing a bit more of love or affection these days or you will need: they'll offer you loads of that with a bright smile; sweet young kinda feminine/nurturing energy; the "excessive amount of emotion" mentioned in the reading may relate to something you're healing atm: I just heard "keep healing patiently"]

song: stay ready (what a life) | jhené aiko, kendrick lamar

- ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ -

pile 2

HEllo hello my sweetheart! Things are changing as times and leaves, and so your emotions need to adapt to all this. We totally need to stop letting them block us and be more real, shouldn't we? It is indeed time to make a new start, to level up. So take it slow but leave this pain behind. Okay, okay, the choice is yours but you know... it's better to make mistakes and really live even for just one day than to just hide behind a wall and observe others having the time of their life and then feeling so unworthy of everything, right? Go out of the shell and try to feel as worthy as them. Try to be your real self (I know who you are inside, don't play with me, you cannot hide :)). Go slowly, go at your pace, but try. Little by little. One "hello" at time. I am waiting for you to try and say hi first. I am here waiting just for you, not going anywhere.

[romantic partner or friend, or both; funny positive accepting wise person: "it's okay to make mistakes, they're cute" when I wrote the first hello with the E and didn't want me to correct it "it's so me"; prolly clumsy but in a cute way; very pensive/thoughtful; may know many words/has a way with words or is a book lover/nerd; may wear glasses and touch them often; may sit weird; loves to write/journaling; thinks before speaking but writes on a whim and makes typos maybe also in messages to you -some are fun; you may laugh a lot together-; only for some: they may already "be in your life" as you may "see" them around often -eg. school, jobplace, subway, fav pub/place, park...- or they may be your crush/someone you find interesting, as in the song's mv]

song: you don't know my name | alicia keys

- ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ - ’ -

pile 3

It's time to take a pause and wait. Things not always go as we plan them or as we'd like them to, but it's not always that bad. It's often a matter of realigning, of realizing that maybe something wasn't supposed for us, and it's better this way. It's maybe a matter of taking a break, grieving our desire in the way we planned it to be, and then go back on track and working for a new different way to get it. It's often a matter of having to wait a little longer, of having to be a little more experienced and prepared. Maybe it's the same for us, don't you think? Maybe we thought we had met but it wasn't us. Maybe we're just meant to work on ourself first a little more, on our feelings and how we see them and perceive them, on our strenghts and self confidence, before we can really shine and meet. Before we can really be able to be seen by the right people: me by you and you by me. And trust me, it's gonna happen. We'll make it happen.

[older or wiser romantic partner or friend; feels like has had many life's experiences; very grounded; masculine energy for the most; very concrete and has an intriguing mind; may have lot of air in their chart or be Mercury dominant, still has a lot of control on their thoughts and is very determined; may inspire you and guide you through a lot and help you grow or heal; will probably need you to help them let go a bit of control cause maybe sometimes -at least for some- they may tend to be a bit more serious and go deep within and get lost in their mind; may show a bright smile on the outside but may feel hurt inside, give them time or talk with them, help them feel safe in communicating their real thoughts if you can: they just don't want to cause pain to others but forget that generally people feels good when being of help to a lover/friend and not burdened; you may share some traits or have mirror energy]

song: island in the sun | weezer

#pick a pile #pac #pick a card reading #pick a card #pick a photo #pick a card tarot #pick a picture #free tarot reading #tarot readings #intuitive readings #psychic readings #clairs readings #divination #fs #tarotblr

[borathae]

↳ Index [Snippet #46 - Affection]

"When Jungkook wants some affection."

Genre: married life!AU, domestic Fluff, a hint of suggestive themes

Warnings: they're in love, snuggles & cuddles in bed, kisses, they also talk about alien dick at one point lmaaoaao, and how Kook would use it on her hahha listen they're both nerds <3, Kookie wants to be praised and kissed!!!, they are the one true couple <3

Wordcount: 2.1k

a/n: they're so important to me :( i love them so fucking much istfg :(

You and Jungkook have a to-do list on your fridge. On there, you write all the things needing to be done this day, which aren’t part of the usual schedule. During the colder months, the list could include things like “make the greenhouse storm proof” while in the warmer months, things like “mow the lawn” finds its way onto the list. You even have the list separated in two sections. One for you and one for Jungkook. Because you hate doing some tasks, while Jungkook loves them and instead he hates other tasks you love. So some tasks will always find their way onto Jungkook’s side while others will be cozy on your side. The list works wonderfully and saved yourselves from many sleepless nights when the sudden realization set in that “oh shoot, you had to do something today but forgot”. It is also a perfect tool to prevent useless bickering about “who does it”, because once it’s on the determined side, it is clear to both who will be responsible for it. 

The day is almost over and you are on your way to the shower when you decide to check the list just one last time. Just in case. Your brain has been awfully scattered throughout the day because of a bad night's sleep, so just to be sure, you want to make sure that the list has actually been worked through. 

You and Jungkook have a pen each to write your lists. Jungkook’s side is written in black ink and his handwriting, while your side is written in blue ink and your handwriting. He had swipe the driveway, clean the bike gear closet on his side today. Both tasks are crossed off. You had water the upstairs plants and wash the upstairs curtains, kiss husband and tell him you are proud of him on your list. Both tasks are crossed off. Your eyes do a double take. 

“Kiss husband and tell him you are proud of him?” you read out loud. You didn’t write that. Your eyes flit down to yet another task you didn’t fulfill, “Pin husband by the wrists and tell him he is yours? I’m sorry? I didn’t write any of this.” 

Wait a minute. This is written in black ink. And it is Jungkook’s handwriting.

“Oh my god, Kook”, you gasp, having to laugh, “you genius doofus.” 

This is such a Jungkook thing to do. It is silly, clever and exactly the kind of flirting that gets your heart racing. You married such a goofy sweetheart.

You abandon the list so you can take the quickest shower in wife history. You have tasks to fulfill, husbands to kiss. You slip into a cute two piece pyjama set once clean and hurry to his room. 

The door is closed and so you knock. 

“Come in”, he answers after the third knock.

You slide into the room, closing the door behind you. In typical Jungkook fashion, he has the big lights off and only his colourful LEDs on. The room is hued into a mixture of red and pink. 

Your husband is sitting by his computer with his knees pulled to his chest. He is dressed in loose boxers and a white oversized shirt. His short hair is silky and on top of his nose, a pair of black framed glasses is perched. He started wearing prescription glasses. Well, in yet another typical Jungkook fashion, he only wears them occasionally because he either forgets or can’t be bothered. Whenever he does wear them however, he looks so handsome in them that it gets hard to function. 

“Hey sweetie”, he greets you, studying you from head to toe, “this is such a cute set. It fits you so well.” 

“Thank you. It’s satin. Touch it”, you hurry to him.

Jungkook touches your upper waist, sliding his hand down to your hip softly. His eyes follow his touch.

“Wow, so soft and silky.”

“Right? It’s so comfy. And? Check this out”, you say and grab the pants at the crotch part to drag it into his vision. You have to do a little bend for it. 

“What are you doing?” Jungkook asks, having to chuckle at your silly antics.

“No middle seam”, you say, fixing your pants again, “which means no pussy and ass crack discomfort.”

“Ah that’s what you tried to show me. It looks so comfy. Yay to no crack discomfort.” 

“I know. I’m so happy”, you say and turn to look at his screen. 

He has a character creation window open. It seems like a sci-fi shooter game. 

“Am I disturbing you?” 

“No, it’s okay. I’m creating a character for the next round. I wanna be an alien this time.”

“I see. That seems cool”, you say and suddenly you feel so guilty for coming here. This is Jungkook’s recharge time, you shouldn’t ruin this for him. Maybe you can fulfill your tasks later. Once he’s in bed with you.

“What brings you here, sweetie? Fashion show or something else?” Jungkook asks, caressing your lower back as he talks.

“Yeah, no. Fashion show”, you turn to him, giving him a little sway of your shoulders, “I wanted to show you my new set.”

“I love it. You are beautiful in it”, he praises and smiles.

“Thankies”, you murmur shyly and wiggle your shoulders, “do you want any snacks? I’m making tea so I can drink some as I read in bed.” 

“No, thank you. I have my beer and my crisps”, he says and gives your buttock a little squeeze, “you’re my favorite snack anyways.”

You nudge his cheek, “sweet talker.”

He chuckles, shifting his eyes to the screen again. Yes, you will definitely do your tasks later in bed. They will hit so much better this way.

“Okay, I’m in bed then”, you say, leaving his room again.

“Yeah okay. Have fun reading.”

“I will, heh. Have fun being an alien.” 

Jungkook laughs, “I will.”

You already finished the chapters when Jungkook comes to bed. You are on your phone, watching a video, when he enters the bedroom. You pause the video and lock your phone, following your husband with your eyes.

He is walking to his bedside table so he can put his glasses there for the night. He massages the bridge of his nose afterwards, taking on a path to the bathroom.

“It was your turn to put Bam to sleep, right?” he asks.

“It was, yeah. He’s been sleeping for two hours.”

“That’s good. Our son”, he says, disappearing in the bathroom afterwards. Moments later, you can hear him pee.

You shake your head in disbelief, chuckling to yourself. He couldn’t even close the door for that. 

The toilet flushes and moments later, you hear him brush his teeth. He even manages to make himself gag once as he scrapes his tongue, following it up with a “made myself gag” to which you answer him with a chuckled “poor man”.   

Afterwards he finally appears, grinning at you.

“Wah baby, I just pissed so hard”, he says.

“I know. I heard. Couldn’t you have closed the door?”

“I could have. I was lazy”, he says and plops down on bed.

“You’re so weird sometimes.”

“You love me for it.”

“Mhm, yeah I guess I do. I hope you sat down.”

“Wah baby, who do you think I am? A heathen? Of course I sat down.”

You chuckle, “good boy.”

He snuggles into his pillow until he is cozied up on his side and with his big eyes gazing at you. “I was an alien”, he says, reaching out to intertwine his fingers with yours. He caresses your knuckles mindlessly.

“You were?”

“Mhm. It was fun. Hey babe, would you still love me if I was an alien?” 

You laugh, lifting your brow at him in question. He flutters his lashes at you, expecting your answer.

“Obviously”, you say, “I’d call you my little alien and we could go on dates in your UFO.”

“Yeah that sounds romantic. Also, alien dick. Hello? Would you prefer tentacles, an egg laying one or a double trouble deluxe one?” 

“I love that we instantly went from cute UFO dates to alien dick” you say with a chuckle on your lips.

“That’s important miss ma’am, I need to know your preferences.”

“Fine okay”, you give in, “tentacles? Fill me in.”

“Okay so. I would have no dick, you know, like Ken. But then I could grow tentacles and these tentacles produce their own lube so I can fuck you with them. And there’s lots of them so I can fill out whatever you want me to.”

“Alright”, you snort in amusement, “egg laying? What’s that about?”

“I don’t know, I saw it somewhere.”

“You mean porn?”

“Yeah.”

You laugh, “so it’s like a normal dick that lays eggs inside me?”

“Yeah basically, but it’s purple and is thicker at the tip and it also produces its own lube so I can be really wet and nasty with it. And, oh my god, I want it to glow as well so I can see it inside you. Yeah.”

“I feel like that’s your favourite.”

“Maybe, I want a glowing dick”, he says and pouts, making you laugh.

“Yeah it sounds fun. But I gotta carry your eggs inside afterwards?”

“I mean…yeah. You do that normally too, they’re just smaller.”

“You’re gross.”

He grins. You give him a roll of your eyes affectionately, nudging his cheek.

“And the last one? Is the double deluxe one your dick but just twice?” you ask him.

“Yeah, basically. Yup, my dick but twice”, he decides, nodding his head way too proudly. 

“Then I’ll take this one. I like your dick. Having it twice sounds like fun.”

Jungkook scrunches his nose in a cute bunny smile. He looks way too giddy for the nature of the conversation. 

“Do you really like it?” he asks.

“More than anything.”

“Is it perfect?” 

“The most perfect ever.”

Jungkook giggles, kicking his feet. 

“Thanks, yeah”, he clears his throat to make his voice appear deeper, “thanks babe.”

You laugh because you know he is being goofy again. Your little goofball. You roll onto your tummy and push him to his back. He lets you, looking at your face with sparkly eyes. 

You take his wrists and pin them above his head. The sparkles in his eyes grow, his breathing speeds up just a little.

“You’re a goofball”, you speak softly, gazing at his pretty face.

Jungkook wiggles, grinning goofily. 

“But you’re my goofball. All mine”, you say, giving him a knowing smile, “and I’m proud of you.”

Jungkook squeaks out a little snicker, smiling so brightly his eyes turn into crescent moons. You make it grow with one smooch to his lips and another one to the left side of his neck. He leans into the kisses, wiggling his toes because he is so, so happy to finally receive your affection.

Afterwards you lift your head, raising your right hand to draw invisible checkmarks in the air.

“Check and check”, you say, placing your hand back on his wrist.

Jungkook wiggles his feet. His pulse is racing under your palms. He is so giddy. 

“I was already scared that you didn’t even see it”, he confesses.

“I did. I was so confused at first because I didn’t remember writing it, but then I saw it was in your handwriting and I knew.”

“Heh”, he snickers, scrunching his nose, “it was clever, wasn’t it?” 

“Mhm so clever”, you praise and kiss his lips, “I married a genius.” 

“You really did”, he says and uses his strength to wiggle out of your hold just so he can wrap you in his arms and hug you against him, “my honeyyy.”

You squeak a giggle, accepting your sweet fate gladly. So now you and he are rolling around the sheets as Jungkook cuddles you aggressively. Limbs tangle, sheets get messy and distances erased. It is truly such a delight. He also regularly smooches whatever part of your face he can reach, mumbling giddy words against your skin.

“Wah baby, you saying that you’re proud of me really made me so happy. It felt so good to hear.” 

“I am, you know? I actually meant it, I’m really proud of you.” 

“Thank you, my love”, he nuzzles his face into your neck, giving you little kisses whenever he can, “I’m proud of you too, my love. Wah baby I wanna melt with you, you’re so cute.” 

You smile, closing your eyes to really enjoy his affection.

“You’re cute too”, you mumble into him, pulling him closer.

#jungkook romance #jungkook fanfic #jungkook fanfiction #jungkook scenario #jungkook x reader #jungkook x you #bts romance #bts fanfic #bts fanfiction #bts scenario #bts x reader #bts x you #bangtan romance #bangtan fanfic #bangtan fanfiction #bangtan x reader #bangtan x you #fanfic: ogc

[snowsinterlude]

🪻 - violet roses and bleeding hearts.

(incel coriolanus snow x reader)

summary: no one knew how sweet your boyfriend could be. even if he was a raging misogynistic incel.

based on this ask !

c.w: incel coriolanus, mentions to misoginy, fluff, short fic, coryo being a sweetheart (most parts), couple content, some slight mentions to sex, slight punching

whilst everyone asked you why you were with coriolanus snow, the biggest incel of the academy and also one of the smartest and prettiest nerds, you knew you had him on the palm of your hand.

he was a terrible person towards woman, of course. he always had something to say towards others but never towards you. no, no.

you were his muse. his goddess. it is safe to say that he adored you, loved you so much it was a joke. it seemed fun to you that you both started talking because of an argument about clothes and the way femininity should be performed.

of course, it didn't end very well, you punched him in the face after he said something about traditional woman and that punch was enough for him to be head over heels to you. acting like a puppy with you and an angry pitbull towards others. he never thought much abbout others, but you? ma'am, ever since that punch, you had him on your bare feet.

he was a virgin mess before you met him, and he still is a mess but a more controled one- at least with you.

he knows his way with words. and acts! he loves giving you roses and huge bouquets of his grandma'am white roses, however, when he thought it was too much white, he turned to the one thing he knew you loved:

violet roses and bleeding hearts.

"y/n," he called you, voice a bit hitched from his excitement. it's been days since he wanted to see you, and he looked like a lost puppy without you around. however, he looked at your clothes up and down, the big hoodie and the sweatpants calling his attention as he frowned a bit and gulped down.

you noticed that, anyway. "what is it, coryo? is there something wrong with my clothes?" you asked.

obviously, he was ready to answer that question. he was always ready to make a really sweet comment or a really rude one. you knew him. always getting into people's weardrobe as if he has a full one.

"aren't those clothes a bit masculine, my love?" he asked, brows still knitted together. very cute for him.

"i don't think so, they're so comfortable." you said, comforting yourself into the hoodie and smelling it's perfume.

"okay, you're right, love. as always" he said, praying internally that this wouldn't be the outfit you were going to use for you both to go out.

it was worse. but at least it was something a girl would use.

your dress was quite short. white, above the knee, tight, hugging every curve you had while your hair was turned in a bun, high on your neck. pretty. somehow, erotic.

"th...that's..." he stared at you, up and down and down and up all over.

"yes? what is it now?" you asked, hand on your waist as you waited for whatever he had to say.

your sweet boyfriend, who always had something to say about women's clothing, was staring at your body the hole time. he was a bit jealous, he didn’t want to let anyone see you.

"babe, what if we stay here?" he asked, hands on your waist. you weren't against that idea, but you were ready now and didn't had the means, needs or will to go back. "i'll be a good boy, please. let's just stay home."

god he was so cute calling himself a good boy- needless to say he wasn't a good boy.

he was already there, bouquet in front of his body.

"bleeding hearts," you beamed, smiling. "my favorite ones."

"yes, yes. brought them yesterday" he said, kissing your temple. "now, can we j-just.. stay at home?"

"why?"

"you're too pretty. i don't want others to see you dressed like that."

"like that..?"

"like that, yeah. like... i don't know?" he seemed to think for a long time, but he still didn’t had anything to say "like a..."

"like a slut?"

"yeah- wait, no. stop." you laughed, letting him frown and hugging him. "we'll talk about it later, babe. let's stay at home ok?"

"okay" he was more than happy to obey, kissing your lips and laying his head on your lap.

he was yours, in a way that nobody knew. nobody suspected that this boy was so weak for you, especially with the atrocities he spoke. still, he was yours. entirely yours.

#young coriolanus snow #coriolanus snow x reader #the hunger games the ballad of songbirds & snakes #young president snow #coriolanus snow fanfiction #coriolanus snow imagine #coriolanus x reader #coriolanus x you #x reader

[todostiddies]

Modern Eren Boyfriend HC

Modern AU headcannons of Eren Jaeger (my beloved) and GNReader pt2

*** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** **** ***

Eren likes to stargaze with you. He really enjoys finding all the different constellations or making out shapes of your own with you

The first time he took you on a stargazing date was on the hood of his car, somewhere far from the city lights. He tried to impress you with his knowledge of myths behind constellations (the whole big friend group takes camping tips and Historia and Armin nerd out about the Greek myths behind certain constellations) BUT he ended up forgetting or messing the stories up because he was nervous and so he just made some up that starred a beautiful heroine/hero that was suspiciously a lot like you, and a beautiful, mysterious savior that was a lot like him

Now every time yall stargaze he makes a new story up to add to the saga

As mentioned above, camping trips with the whole gang are SO much fun!!

Connie and Eren try and see who can make the most smores the quickest and then eventually switch to who can eat the most the fastest. This usually ends with both parties cheating as Connie hands Sasha some smores behind his back and Eren starts handing you some as well, and both don't even know they're doing the same thing because they're both too focused on winning AND not getting caught.

Eren will cure your resulting tummy ache with a kiss and a lil belly rub, then lift his shirt and pout for you to do the same and honestly who would say no

He sometimes gets lost in his head or overthinks about your relationship or maybe a shift in your mood, so anytime he gets that way or he knows he messed up, he will call his mom for advice and then Mikasa afterwards, which always ends up on a group call with Armin

He has taken your mom or guardian figure on a "date" at least once, and he pulled out all the stops and was so nervous be could have barfed, but on the surface he turned his charm all the way up and they loved him

He wanted to take them^ on a date after he realized he wanted to be with you for the rest of his life and wanted your family to like him

Babies like him but toddlers are sometimes scared of him??

It's a height thing, he just looks so intimidating and he has a resting RBF for fucking sure. Like to the extreme.

But after one conversation they do that cute kid thing where they pick a person and follow them around whole heartedly copying them and trying to impress them, and it's always going to be Eren.

He gets super into it too and makes sure to lead the kids on cool little adventures and hang out with them and give them some "life advice" which really isn't that deep lol but sometimes it's pretty good but it's always cheesy

He deffo screams like a girl when gaming but if he remembers you are in the room he will clear his throat with a blush and sober up quickly lmao

Bear with me on this one, maybe unpopular opinion but... he reads a book a month

Sometimes two, but never goes a month without at least one book. During high school he had some anxiety and anger issues he had a hard time first getting used to even having, and then managing as time went on with personnel stuff and high school things, so he REALLY hated having time alone where he did nothing

The worst was before bed where he just laid awake and could not sleep :( but then Armin kept going on about this book he was reading, so Eren pirated it online and read it every night before bed. And reading really helped give him something to do in those moments and actually helped him a lot when it came to accepting therapy

So I think he does enjoy reading and even has some reading glasses and likes to read with a warm drink, like hot chocolate or some decaf coffee he made, and likes to read cuddled up in the rain

Will talk to you about his book and his theories, and if an ending pisses him off or was just straight up bad?? You will never hear the end of it, it will literally sour his mood for the rest of the day and every time he thinks about it. And if you're a reader too, then you two have dates where you fill up dinner table conversations just talking about books and go on little book dates once a month too and will often read the same books (like a mini book club, fun!!)

He has annotated a book for you at least once

Going back to the therapy thing, I know a lot of modern headcanons show Eren as super termpental and with a lot of mental health issues too, and though I 100% agree that he was that way in canon, I think Modern Eren would be a lot more happy and chill and even easy-going because he didn't have to deal with all that canon trauma. That being said, I do think high school was hard for him because (in my modern AU at least) that would be when he found out about Zeke and his dads other family, which even his mom didn't know about...

His dad had a past marriage and son that didn't work out and he had an opportunity to leave for work and so he just did. It is his greatest shame and regret so though he sent money to them every year, he never wanted Eren or Carla to find out. But eventually Carla tracked the money and they found out. So in his high school years, Eren hated his father and even hated the other family like it was their fault too for all the drama in his. His parents verged divorce and he felt him and Mikasa growing apart as she crushed on Jean (they still were SUPER close and once he told them about everything going on the three of them grew even closer) and Armin was super academically busy and didn't have a lot of free time either. So because of all of this, I feel like Eren did struggle with some anger issues, depression, anxiety, and overall teenage angst during this time.

But, eventually him and his family went to therapy and they met with the other family and they eventually moved closer and Eren and Zeke ended up becoming good brothers yay

Speaking of, he gushes to Zeke about you ALL of the time

He has a strained relationship with his Dad, but he is A MAMAS BOY of course

He is very open with you about his past and his family situation and everything he felt and went through. It is easy for him to let you in on things that he has already processed and been through, but sometimes harder to fully open up about more recent things

He gets all the tea on everybody from specifically Armin, Mikasa, Sasha , Connie and Historia (the gossiping queens). Every time the gang gets together they are dishing out everyone's dirty laundry and tea and Eren brings it back to you boiling hot and he makes you both a cup of something warm while you sit on the counter nodding along with your mouth open

He loves getting your reactions so much, and you two always end up gossiping just as much and laughing, and since he loves your reactions so much he sometimes plays out his reaction to the particularly juicy parts for you too I don't condone gossiping but I also recognize it as fun and socially bonding lmao but be nice about it okay

He gives you a bite of everything he eats no matter how large or small the portion and even before you ask. He will also give you a sip of whatever he is drinking too, and if you like it more than him or are more thirty or hungry he always ends up either giving it to you or splitting it

He went through a phase where a got a slushi every single day, didn't matter what time (though he usually liked them best after school or the gym or super late at night like 3am when he can't sleep) He still likes to have them a couple times a month now

Will go on late night drives with you, driving slow with the windows down, crickets from outside and the radio playing, it's just so nice and always makes you both smile. He watches you more than the road but is a VERY safe driver, especially with you

That being said, he will also speed up to very illegal speeds at least once (on completely deserted and safe roads) just to hear you squeal and laugh

Likes when you fall asleep in the car. He will drive on the wrong side of the road or in the other line to avoid any kind of speed bumps or risks to your slumber, skips songs that are too noisy or shocking, avoids potholes at all costs, and will take the longer route home. He also gets a little distracted every time you snore or just from admiring you because you look too cute asleep like the lil passenger princess you are

Has done donuts in the car with you a couple times late at night in an empty parking lot and he LOVES the way you laugh and howl into the night while the engine nearly drowns out everything else

That's all for now, but I have more to say soon!

Thank you for taking the time to read this, I hope you enjoyed it!!

pt2

#want him badly #this isnt funny anymore #thinking of him always after the aot ending #which I still haven't recovered from #AOT fic #eren yeager #eren jaeger #eren x reader #eren x y/n #eren x you #modern au #eren modern au #attack on titan headcanons #eren headcanons #eren yaeger x reader #eren yaeger imagine #eren jaeger x reader

[buckets-and-trees]

Hehe I’m here with a dare 😏

So I’m such a sucker for angst but with a happy ending - I’d love to hear how you would go about writing a forced proximity meets the one that got away fic, from what I’ve read of your writing I feel like you’d really do those tropes justice

Alright, Em... let me stretch my fingers and get ready for this one...

I THOUGHT about this.

Ari Levinson

Modern AU - college and then mid-to-late-30s Ari

We're going to call this... er... maybe an "imagine-novella"? It kind of ended up being a 2500-word plot exploration. No content warnings, only some language.

You meet Ari in college. He’s tall and toned and tanned, always in a baseball cap unless forced otherwise, and he’s already sporting a full beard and looking good with it. He’s a couple of years older because he worked out of high school before for a couple of years - long enough to put enough away to pay for tuition without being a burden on his parents. When you meet him, it's when there's the huge club rush out on the quad your junior year. It's in the middle of campus in the first weeks of the semester so everyone does wander through by the nature of when and where it is. You see the table for the radio station on campus. Truthfully you don't even notice him at first. You're standing twenty feet away looking at the sign and thinking about whether or not it's worth it, maybe shake things up, you love music - you're that friend always making the playlists, discovering new songs and bands, dying to go to big music festivals, etc, and your campus has a radio station...

Someone else was talking to him as he's running that table, and they leave and then he sees you standing there, and, "Hey! You!"

It jolts you out of your thoughts and you're caught off guard for just a half a second, and go, "Me?"

He grins, "Yeah, you."

Your feet move before you even really think about it because ... that's just what you do when people call you over. It’s an instant crush for you but you try and reign it in, because he's excited that you're actually interested in the station, and you genuinely are excited about it. He's a Journalism and Communications major and the station manager, and so he gives you the pitch to come to an info meeting they're going to have, he'd love to see you there.

And you do go. Because... it doesn't matter that he's cute. The more you keep thinking about it, you decide it would actually be fun. You get a show, you make a lot of new friends with the other station people - some of them are total nerds, but they're all fun or nice or a little bit irreverent, and so station meetings once a month are fun. You're a good DJ. You have fun with your shows. Ari takes note - he appreciates it. The station is his baby. He puts everything into it. He's not outgoing, even though he's charismatic, but he can't help but gravitate to the people who really fucking love it like him. You don't get to know him super well that first year, but when it's time for him to appoint new directors to run the station the next year, he pulls you aside and says he loves what you've done with your show and wants you to think about applying for a director position.

You do. It's going to be your last year of college, the DJ gig hasn't been work, it's just been fun, and ... you love being part of the team, love to work on exciting projects, dig your hands into the dirt and make something great, so yeah. You throw your hat in the ring, because why not? And it could be an extra thing to go on your grad school applications.

Ari not only picks you for the team, he actually ends up picking you to be the director of programming, his number two, the one who oversees the DJs and putting together the roster for shows each semester. And that's what launches everything to a new level.

You lock down DJs that you want to come back the next fall, you both go away for the summer, but now you're texting somewhat regularly about ideas for the next year, things you'll work on, and the real working friendship develops. When fall semester starts and it's full speed on the ground, you and the team of directors really work to make the station great, but it's A LOT of you and Ari.

And to say he becomes one of your best friends senior year? Maybe. You tread that line because there's still that part of your heart that crushes on him, but the part that loves doing everything station and music and working on this big beast together? That's big. You let that be the focus. Because it's fun. And he's fun. And he's brilliant (like you, which is why he likes you) and ambitious (like you) and he's got this great, rich laugh that you get to hear a lot. And a lot of your other friends are busy with their senior years, too, and so are you, and so you don't mind any of the time you spend working on the station with Ari and the other directors and the DJs who are just this pack of a couple dozen people who come and go. But a lot of you and Ari.

And he doesn't date anyone. Not the entire time you know him. You heard/thought maybe there were some hook ups he indulged in during your junior year, but not that year before you both graduate. He clearly doesn't have time for a girlfriend and doesn't love anything more than the station, but you do think - just a little bit - just in the back of your head sometimes - that maybe you don't hear about him with anyone this year because... he's not going to date you - that would be unprofessional for you two and the station - but maybe it's because you are close. And maybe as you get closer to the end of the year... maybe he's going to make a move. He's always said he's already a confirmed old bachelor, but the way he smiles at you, the way he values your opinion, how often he says how amazing you are and how he appreciates you... you're going to be the girl who finally gets him.

But time is running out. And even though you both pour your hearts into the station together, there are never any late nights (those are given to studying, passing classes, etc). The last month, he says stuff like he's never going to see any of you again. Jokingly. You all laugh as directors because how could he mean it? He's made you all a family.

He makes more comments like that in the last weeks and days, and when he says he's going to shut down all of his social media, because he only had it to run and promote the station, you call him on his bullshit. And he says no. He's serious. He's going to go into journalistic photography, and he's going to create the network he needs where he needs it, but he's not playing the PR games to do it - the dream is wild nature photography, work in remote locations, never talk to humans again if he can help it. And it's so stupid. You tell Ari he's being ridiculous. He can't want to live so far off the grid.

"I'm sorry," he says, kindly but matter-of-factly. "But when we graduate, I'm never talking to any of you ever again."

You scoff. But this conversation is now just you and him in the station on a Saturday afternoon. But then you look at him for a half a second and really see his face. And you think he means it. "Ari, I did not give my fucking heart and soul into this station for the last year as your friend for you to never talk to me again. You at least owe me a lunch five years from now."

He smiles. "Okay. Maybe in five years. You find me in five years and I promise I'll take you to lunch."

And you graduate a week later, and he says goodbye, and you're not sad about it. Maybe just a bit wistful for what might have been. But after that specific "five years" conversation, you realize it was only you who was maybe a bit foolishly hopeful. He'd really never led you on. You never told him you had a crush (you had tried to keep it professional, because you did genuinely love the friendship) and he'd never given you or anyone else any illusion that he was there for anything other than working on the station and that bonding and camaraderie. If he had led you on, if there had been late nights, maybe you would've been hurt. But aside from being secretly hopeful, there really wasn't much harm done by your pining. But maybe in five years, you'll look him up for that lunch he agreed to.

He does fall off the gridl You take a busy summer job and then a paid internship in the fall, and you try and track him a bit, but you do just… get busy and move forward. You think of Ari a lot, but less and less as the time goes on. You know the name of the newspaper he was going to start off with right after graduation, and although he got rid of social media, he did have a beautiful website he set up for his photography. And you check that once in a while, but less and less. You get a fulltime job after the internship, and your life becomes even more full with the things that aren’t Ari, and sometimes you think about him, but most times you don’t.

When that five years rolls around, you start to think of him more again.

But you let it come and go.

You didn’t necessarily feel like you were living your best life, and if you were going to get one lunch to win over the one who got away and make him realize you were the love of his life… maybe you’d feel a little better – a little more accomplished, go to the gym more, be really something – in ten years.

Fleeting thought in ten years. Though you do think of him when you realize it’s that ten year mark. And you just kind of smile because ten years ago you was so wildly for him, and five years ago you was still a touch foolishly hopeful, and wouldn’t it be something if you did look him up now? But you really don’t need to anymore.

Then a couple of years later, you move to a new place, and without ever even trying, who else should somehow be living two doors down from you but Ari fucking Levinson?

And he sees you first. He’s just gotten home, opened the door from the garage into the house to be reunited with his good girl – a beautiful golden retriever who’s waited for him all day, walked with her trotting along at his side out to his mailbox, and looks down the street to see who’s just sending off the movers out of curiosity for who’s moving into the neighborhood, and he does a fucking double take because it’s you.

His god damn jaw drops and he laughs and then calls out your name.

You turn, hardly believing it but knowing that voice anywhere, and you laugh and shake your head. “Ari Levinson?”

You push the messy hair from the long day’s work of moving out of your face and are glad you’re not besotted for this man anymore, even if he does look like even more of an Adonis now, because you do know you look a mess, but you don’t even care. Having moved out of state for this dream job, you couldn’t be any more happy just to have someone from your past right at your new home base.

“’Of all the gin joints in all the towns in the world!’”

He meets you halfway, and he pauses a beat away from you because he’s not a hugger, but somehow there’s just this draw to hug you, and so he does. Only surprising to you for a second, but you’re so tired and it’s been a good day but a long day, and you were excited for this move, but you can’t deny a familiar face just feels good, so you melt into him just for the comfort of it for a moment. It’s just nice.

And when you pull back, the obedient but attentive dog draws your attention, lighting your face up with a beautiful grin. “Can I pet your dog?!”

But the two of you are already drawn to each other and bonding before he gets the, “Sure, of course,” out of his mouth.

He doesn’t wear those old baseball caps every day anymore, so he pushes his hand through his hair, and that move has practically made women drop their panties for him over the years, but you don’t even notice, too busy showering affection on his sweet golden girl while the two of you exchange the kind of words two of the oldest friends do when they haven’t seen each other in ages. Why is his chest so tight and warm all at once. Why does he have the thought cross his mind that you showing up here feels like home? Why are you falling in love with his dog and not with him? Wait, why did he think that?

This feels like a slippery slope.

But maybe he doesn’t fucking care.

When he is back inside his house, starting to pull something from the fridge to heat up for dinner, he remembers that he promised you a dinner.

It’s later than you two made the deal for, but… he’ll start there.

Just old friends who are new neighbors.

That night when he’s plugging his phone in to charge before bed, he remembers that he never did get rid of your contact in his phone. You might have the same number.

What he doesn’t know is that when he left the harbor, sure, you waited with that boat hopefully for a bit, but then you finally took your ship and sailed – everywhere really – and you may be eager to fall happily in love with his dog and genuinely grateful to know you’ll have someone in your corner on this new adventure, but you want nothing more than that good friendship in your life. He was one of your greatest friends all those years ago. But you finally got over that pining crush, and here’s no way you’ll be foolish enough to fall for him again, nor do you want to. You couldn’t ask for more than to have your old friend as your new neighbor, with his gorgeous golden retriever.

Ari does text you that night… just a welcome to the neighborhood again, and that he thinks he owes you a dinner, if he remembers correctly (he does, he’s just being casually clever), so he’s gotta take you out tomorrow night.

And it is still the same number, but you fell into the blissful rest of your bed, exhausted after move in day, so you don’t even see it that night. It will wait until you get to it in the morning.

Just like Ari will have to wait for what he wants. And work to try to even bring you around again.

Will he have waited too long and you’ll be the one who got away?

#ari levinson x reader #ari levinson imagine #aspen's extended anniversary sleepover #em/writing for marvel #sleepover dare

[owladaptive]

Unrelated to literally anything else I'm doing but I'm thinking hard about Trolls 3 - that infamous boyband medley scene with Branch and JD and Bruce and the *significance* threaded throughout it, hidden in the musicality.

Like hello, the big brothers pull in their baby adult brother Branch and he's dancing and they're singing but he's begrudging and not into it at first. But when he actually starts getting into it the lyrics start sounding a Little Bit like there's something between the lines to read; "you got the right stuff, Baby" starts sounding like they're words actually meant at least a LITTLE BIT for Branch, not only because they're trying to coax him into singing with them like they used to ie 'you got the right stuff' but also "Baby sounds a LITTLE BIT like they're addressing him specifically because they call him "Baby Branch" already like that's all they remember of him after 20 years.

And then they look literally right at him hands on their hearts and point to him and the words to the song here are "you're the reason why I sing this song" and yeah that's just lyrics whatever but that coincidentally is also the EXACT thing that Branch actually wants (NEEDS) to hear the most from the brothers who lost sight of what it meant to be a family group all those years ago and abandoned him. And so immediately after those words he's so uplifted and starts singing with them in earnest and he sings "you're all i ever wanted, you're all i ever needed" and it sounds come on at least a LITTLE BIT like he's addressing them back because literally all he wanted for a very very long time was for them to come back to him before he lost all hope they are the REASON he spent years building an underground bunker. At least a PART of him was WAITING for them all that time like COME ON.

AND THEN it's like "so tell me what to do now" which at least a LITTLE BIT refers to how he's unsure of where they stand and, indeed, what to do. Because just like he was hesitant to join them on stage for this medley he's also hesitant to trust that things can go back to how they used to be. And THEN when they sing "because I WANT. YOU. BACK" he's literally pointing and looking at each of his brothers specifically (but for their part they gesture elsewhere not at either of their brothers on stage). And then they go dumdumdumDAADAA but I don't see ANYBODY reference enough that JD and Bruce are literally supporting Branch through this part like both of his big brothers' hands are on his back, guiding him as they harmonize with him and it probably feels so so good and so affirming and then and ONLY then do the lyrics go "BROZONE'S BACK ALRIGHT" and the music and dancing picks up and Idk man I'm just THINKING ABOUT IT REAL HARD

I'm a theatre nerd nothing happens for no reason there's so much to read between the lines here man COME ON

#somebody talk about it other than me please #i want to watch the whole movie at once please someone give me a vpn for free #trolls #trolls 3 #brozone #trolls branch #john dory #trolls bruce

[peterman-spideyparker]

Just One Wish (Matt Murdock x fem!Reader)

Author’s Note: Hey everyone! I'm very slowly chipping away at the fic in my idea notebook I put up in those two polls maybe about a month and a half ago, but I keep adding fics, which is good and bad - good because it's proof my idea gremlin isn't retreating, but bad because it's so many ideas and not enough righting time. But, I digress. POV does switch halfway from Reader to Matt, but remains in second person. Enjoy :)

Summary: Matt pulls out all of the stops for your birthday to make it special and memorable for you. But neither you or Matt are prepared for the consequences of a sweet, genuine birthday wish that is granted by a magical candle.

Warnings: Fluff (Matt being the sweetest and most endearing boyfriend who has so much love for the reader. They're both just so love struck for one another, talk about big nerd idiots in love being all kissy and cute - seriously, I noticed while proofing I made them kiss a lot), angst (fear/trauma, unexpected blindness)

Other Characters: Foggy Nelson

Word Count: 3,498

“Matt!” you giggle as he guides you down the hallway to your apartment, his hands over your eyes. “I appreciate the effort, but, I’m gonna have to be the one to unlock my front door.”

“Just trust me on this, angel,” Matt laughs, leaning forward and kissing the crown of your head as you come to a stop at your door. Moving the position of one of his hands so it covers both of your eyes, he opens the barrier and guides you in. Resting the hand that he opened the door with on your waist, he pulls the other from your face and turns on the light.

“Surprise!” he hums, wrapping his arms around you and holding you close. You gasp in delight as you see the lovely dinner for two that’s set up in your kitchen. “I hope you don’t mind that I set this all up here. I wanted to make you this new recipe I read about, but I didn’t have some of the equipment I needed at my place.”

“Matty,” you grin, twisting in his grasp and draping your arms around his neck. “You can come over here and use any of my equipment any time you need.”

“Oh?” he smirks.

“Mmm,” you hum, leaning into his body for a sweet kiss. “I can’t wait to give it a taste.”

“Well, it’s lucky for you that the next thing on my plan for the evening was enjoying this meal for you.”

“I think you’re forgetting something, though.”

“Am I?”

You nod with a smile knowing he can feel your head move as you lean in for a deep kiss, feeling how his arms hold you flush to his body, even as you move your kisses down his neck to suck a little mark into his skin. “There we go,” you grin in delight. “A fitting appetizer.”

Matt chuckles, kissing you sweetly once more before guiding you over to your table and pulling out your seat before you clink your wine glasses together and dig in and talk about your days.

“This has been an amazing night,” you smile, taking Matt’s hand in yours as we sit as the table. “I can’t thank you enough.”

“I wish I could’ve done more,” he hums, his thumb brushing back and forth over your knuckles.

“Matt, you left me a sweet voicemail to wake up to, surprised me with coffee on the sidewalk, sent me gorgeous flowers at work, and made a fabulous dinner for me. This has been the best birthday of mine to date.”

“I’m glad I could make you happy. That’s all I could ever want.” He lifts your hand and presses a long kiss to the digits. “I do have another surprise for you.”

“Matt—.”

“Just sit tight.”

With another kiss to the back of your hand, he gets up from the table, grabbing a small gift bag and two plates, each with a slice of the moistest chocolate cake you could ever imagine—one with a candle in it.

“Happy birthday, angel,” he smiles as he puts the plate and gift down in front of you, kissing you long and slow.

“Thank you,” you murmur against his lips, kissing him again before he sits down next to you.

“Make a wish.”

“Matt, I have everything I could have ever want, and I have never been happier.” I just wish you could see just how happy you make me. You blow out the candle and lean back in for another kiss. “I love you.”

“Love you more. Now, open your gift.”

With a chuckle, you grab the bag, pulling out the tissue paper and revealing a small little jewelry box.

“Matt,” you start.

“Don’t say I didn’t have to,” he counters. “It’s your birthday, I love you, and you deserve it.”

With a little sigh, you open the box and let out a little sigh, revealing a beautiful bar necklace.

“On one side, it has the time we met in braille, and the other side has the coordinates of where we met engraved in it,” he explains. “The way that the clasp is on the necklace, it can be worn either way, and you’ll always have a little piece of me, a little piece of us wherever you go.”

“Matt, this . . . You didn’t have to. This is the sweetest, most thoughtful gift I’ve ever received.”

“I’d bring you the stars if I could.”

You lean forward again and kiss him once more. 

“I love you,” I smile.

Matt kisses you a few more times before taking the necklace out of the box, securing it on your neck before taking some frosting from your cake and dolloping it on your nose.

“Hey!” you laugh.

“You just look cute enough to eat,” he grins. 

“So do you.” You do the same, swiping some chocolate frosting on his nose before you fork some cake into your mouth. “Oh wow, this is delicious.”

“The secret ingredient is pudding,” he smirks. “Vanilla, not chocolate.”

“Really? It’s amazing.”

“Yeah. You are.”

The way he’s staring at you makes you blush, and you dip your gaze down to the cake as you continue to feel the heat rise up to your ears. He takes your hand in his and holds onto it lovingly as you eat, talking about everything and noting at all. When you finish your slices, Matt insists that you sit on the couch as he cleans up and does the dishes, to which you happily open your dishwasher and tell him to load it up. He chuckles, shaking his head and muttering something about “only because it’s your birthday” and “because you're so cute”. When you close the appliance, you take his hand and pull him toward you, holding him close and kissing him, growing weak in the knees when he wraps one arm around your waist as the other slides up to hold the back of your head, guiding you down on your couch cushions for a comfier make out spot.

“Hey,” you whisper, smiling as you pull back and bite your lip, feeling warm and fuzzy from his embrace.

“Hey,” he parrots, trying to lean back in for another kiss, but you put your finger to his lips.

“I, um, I think you should head out for the night,” you whisper. 

“I’m not done celebrating with you, angel. In fact, there was one more thing that I had in store for us that could take up quite a bit of time.”

“I’d love nothing more for that, honestly. But you need to be at the courthouse by 8 a.m. tomorrow.”

“I know. But I can still spend the night with my girlfriend on her birthday and make it there no problem.”

“Not if we did what I had in store for tonight. We start with that thing we did at New Years, and, well . . . I’d like to keep some things a surprise for you.”

Matt’s eyebrows shoot up, his mouth slightly agape as his cheeks burn a bright pink you’ve only ever seen once before. “Happy birthday to you,” he chuckles nervously.

“Mm, very much. Which is exactly why I’m asking for a raincheck for tonight.”

“Okay,” he breathes. “A few more kisses, though?”

“I’m not gonna want you to leave if I have a few more kisses.”

“That’s my hope.”

You moan in frustration and attraction as you lean into him. “Sneaky devil.”

“Can you blame me for trying?”

“No. But I can blame you for it almost working how you want.”

He gives me a little pout and a shrug. “Worth it.”

Pulling him back in, you kiss him long and slow.

“Want any of the leftovers from your kick-ass dinner?” you hum as you run your fingers through his hair.

“It’s all yours, sweetheart,” he whispers with another peck to your lips. “Besides, I think I’ll find myself over here tomorrow one way or another.”

You chuckle and nod, leaning in for a few more kisses before you bring yourselves to your entryway. “Text me when you get home.”

“Okay,” he hums, tucking some hair behind your ear. “I love you.”

“I love you more.”

With one final lingering kiss, Matt slides on his glasses and unfolds his cane, slipping out of your door and into the night.

The piano tones of your phone gently nudge you awake, much to your annoyance. Matt was quick to text you when he got home, at which point you started your nighttime routine, but it just didn’t feel like you got enough sleep. Well, I guess it’s nothing a cup of coffee can’t fix. With a reluctant huff, you roll over and press at your phone to turn off your alarm, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of your eyes. You're beyond confused when you open your lids and find a blackness around you rather than your bedroom.

What?

You rub your eyes a few times. You didn’t think it was your allergy season just yet—why would your eyes be swollen shut? You open your eyes again, even making sure that they’re open with your fingers, and quickly grow terrified when you still see nothing but darkness. No matter how hard you blink, it’s the same, over and over. Pure nothingness.

“H-Hey Siri?” you stutter, doing your best to steady your breath. “Call Leslie.”

“Calling Leslie - mobile,” your phone says, immediately beginning to ring.

“Hey (Y/N),” she greets.

“Hey, Leslie,” you say as calmly as possible. “I’m gonna have to take today off. Matt cooked me a new dish for my birthday, and I don’t think it sat right with me.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Just feel better, okay? It’s no fun being sick around the time of your birthday. Rest up, and stay hydrated.”

“Will do. Thanks, Les.”

When you hang up the phone, you burst into tears.

How did this happen? What should you do? How to you tell Matt?

“Oh Matty,” you weep, your fingers brushing against the necklace he gave you. “I wish you were here. I wish I didn’t ask you to go last night.”

“Matty,” your voice stirs him from his sleep. He hears it over and over, but it grows more distant as he is pulled from his sleep. Rolling over in bed, he feels around and smacks at his alarm clock.

7:14 a.m.

Fuck. He’s gonna be late if he doesn’t get moving right now. Grumbling, he rubs his eyes and opens them, screaming when he doesn’t see the usual black that he’s been accustomed to for over two decades. It’s bright, distinct, clear . . . He can see. Covering his eyes, he pulls his hands back and gently tries to open them, adjusting to the clouded light shining through the windows of his loft.

This . . . This can’t be happening. What’s going on?

Matt holds out his hands in front of them, seeing the digits he uses to feel his surroundings, to decipher little bumps in paper to read, his tools of justice at night, what he uses to hold on to you.

You. His girlfriend. The person that he loves most in this entire world. 

A happy, breathy chuckle escapes his lips as he shoots out of bed. Although he can maneuver his apartment without any trouble, having a perfect mind map of the floorpan, he’s like a deer just learning how to walk now that he can see, having little control over his legs as he approaches his bathroom to find a mirror. Stunned, Matt sees himself staring back—brown hair disheveled from sleep, a steady stubble on his face, old, faded scars from fights long ago, some fresher bruises on his arms, and the small love bite you worked into his neck last night. 

It’s . . . It’s odd to see himself. Last time he had any semblance of what he looked like, he was a nine year old kid, scrawny and scraggly with pretty prominent freckles and a round baby face. As he leans in closer to the mirror, he can see what while he still has freckles, they’re far more faded, his jaw is much more prominent, and he realizes the description of his eyes that you give every now and then are pretty accurate.

You’ll be so thrilled. He has to go see you right now and tell you.

Foggy. Foggy. Foggy.

With trembling hands and a jittery heart, Matt darts from his bathroom back to his bedroom, trying to rely on his hearing for the location of his phone rather than his newfound sight.

“Good morning, sunshine,” he hears his friend say.

“Hey, Fog,” he says, his voice trembling.

“You good, man?”

“Um, yeah,” he lies. “Pre case jitters, I guess.”

“You getting pre case jitters? You never get those.”

“I, um, I don’t think I slept well last night, that’s all.”

“I’ll get you coffee from that place you like on the way to the courthouse, because you’re already late, and I’ve already gotten you the coffee. Haul your ninja ass down here. I’ll see you soon.”

“Y-Yeah. See you soon, Fog.”

Matt rubs his eyes after he hangs up, just to make sure that he’s not dreaming. He can see. Everything feels quiet. Things feel comfortable, but after so many years of heightened sensitivity, it all feels wrong. 

But he can see. He’ll go outside and get to see the sky, he’ll be able to see his apartment, his workspace, his friends, and when the day is done, he’ll finally be able to see you. He’ll finally be able to see just how bright your smile actually is, how your eyes will twinkle when he tells you that he loves you.

But right now, he needs to get to the courthouse.

“(Y/N)?” Matt calls out into the apartment, using his key to undo the lock. “Angel, it’s me. I’ve got some good news.”

He strains his ears, but your place is quieter than usual. When he listens harder, he can hear your soft sobs gently echoing in the apartment. Moving through carefully, his heart racing, he tries to locate the source, seeing how pictures of the two of you, your family, and friends decorate your home, the little things here and there that are wonderful splashes of your personality all around. But your cries are what prevent him from lingering. Whenever he hears you cry, it makes him want to die, but to hear sobs like this the day after your birthday? There’s nothing he wouldn’t give to make that pain and hurt and sadness go away. 

“(Y/N)?” he calls gently in your bedroom doorway. 

You sniffle, looking up at him with a red and puffy tear-streaked face. “Matt?” you croak. 

“I’m right here, sweetheart.” Moving in the dark, he squats down and sits by your side, immediately wrapping his arms around you and holding you close. “It’s okay, angel. What’s going on?”

“I-I can’t see.” Your voice cracks as your body trembles, holding back your tears. 

“What?” he breathes. You were fine last night. You were absolutely okay—buzzing with happiness. 

“I woke up and I couldn’t see. Everything was so loud, there were these awful smells, and my pajamas felt like sandpaper. It’s like everything was dialed up. Everything is just so dark, Matty. I-I-I’ve never felt so alone.”

“How—you didn’t go to work, did you? Why didn’t you call me?” Why didn’t I come to you sooner? Matt’s never been more mad at himself. 

“No, I called out sick. I was scared, and shocked, and . . . I don’t know. You deal with this every day, Matty. You have for years. Me calling to complain seemed . . . wrong.”

“Angel—.”

“It’s stupid, but, I didn’t know what to do! I woke up to darkness and everything was overloaded. It was too much.”

You start to weep freely, and Matt holds you even closer, stroking your hair and positioning you so your ear is right over his heart. He knows that whenever it all becomes too much for him, your heartbeat is the only thing that can effectively soothe him, and Matt prays that it’ll do the same for you. 

“I’m so sorry, angel,” he breathes. “We’ll figure this out. We’ll get you help.”

“I’m going to be right here for you, every step of the way. Whatever you need, whenever you need it.”

You sit in his arms like a wounded bird for a little longer, the tears still coming, only quieter now. 

“I’m scared,” you finally say.

“Look at me, angel,” he whispers, wiping your tears away off of the apples of your cheeks. “There we go.” God, you’re beautiful. He already knew a prayer was answered when you came into his life, but getting to see you makes his heart grow so much. “Whatever is going on, we’ll figure it out. We’ll get through it. I promise.”

You nuzzle your face into his hand, and he feels like he could jump over the moon seeing how tender you look as you kiss the heel of his hands. 

“You said you had some good news where you came in,” you say, your voice hoarse. 

“Y-Yeah,” he nods, clearing his throat. “I, um, I got a new record. That James Taylor one you like.”

“Really?” you say, your eyebrows lifting. 

“Mm,” he smiles tenderly through his lie. “I figured I’m always hearing you sing in the shower, it’ll be nice to hear it on nights where we don’t see one another, cuz I’ll hear it and think of you.” He gets an idea, smirking mischievously. “What’s the one you always sing? Whenever I see your smiling face, I have to smile myself, because I love you, yes I do. And when you give me that pretty little pout, it turns me inside out. There’s something about you baby, I don’t know.” His singing gets you to smile and giggle. That’s my girl. The way you look now, even though it’s after a torrent of tears, it’s an image he wish he could freeze in time. If you look this beautiful and happy coming out of fear and grief, he can only imagine how beautiful you look when you wake up, how beautiful when you’re excited, how beautiful when he can feel you staring at him like he’s the center of your universe. Your face is something that he’ll never forget for as long as he lives. “Isn’t it amazing a man like me can feel this way? Tell me how much longer, it can grow stronger every day.”

You smile endearingly at him, one of you hands loosely cradling the side of his face as you pull him in for a kiss, his body leaning over you like a warm cage. 

“I love you so much, Matt,” you breathe. “So, so much.”

“I know,” he whispers, stroking your cheeks with his thumbs. “I love you more than I could ever describe. You’re my light in the dark, and I’ll forever be thankful for you.”

Matt caresses your face some more before pulling you in for another kiss, full of love and tenderness. You two sit, holding one another for he doesn’t know how long, but long enough to know that you’re calm, past your violent wave of fear. He presses a long kiss to your temple, growing confused and more alert as things become louder, smells stronger, texture tougher, his world darker. 

“Hey,” he says, adjusting so his body twists toward you, facing you head on to get a good look at you as his vision grows weaker and darker at the edges. 

“Yeah?” you hum.

“I just want to remember you. Just how you are right now. How much I love you. How much I’ll always love you.”

“Sap,” you grin, the smirk quickly growing into your big, bright smile. He’s never been more in love. “I love you so much, Matty. Never forget that.”

“I never will,” he breathes just as the last specks of color and light fade from his view, bringing him back to a reality he’s known for almost all of his life. 

“Matt?”

“Yeah, angel?”

“I-I can see again,” you stutter. 

“You can?”

“Yeah. I don’t know how—.”

Matt leans forward, pressing his lips to your forehead for a long, lingering kiss. “It’s okay, sweetheart. As long as you’re feeling back to normal, that you’re okay, that’s all I could ask for.” He tucks some of your hair behind your ear before kissing you once more. “How about we go to bed? It’s been a long day for the both of us. Tomorrow is Saturday, and we can sleep in a little. Just take it easy. Be with one another.”

“I’d like that,” you hum, kissing his cheek before you both get up. “Want me to throw your favorite blanket in the dryer? Extra cozy snuggles for the night?”

“I just need you, angel. I just need you.”

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[wordsarelife]

DAY 10: WINTER WONDERLAND

pairing: mattheo riddle x fem!reader

summary: you drag mattheo outside to build a snowman with you

warnings: none

note: domestic mattheo who would’ve thought?

"do you see that?" mattheo perked up at the sudden sound of your voice and turned his head to look at you.

"since when are you sitting here?" he asked in confusion

you ignored the question and instead pointed to the window across from the both of you. "snow!" you announced loudly

mattheo followed the direction your finger was pointed at. "and?"

"that means" you said as a matter of fact "we have to go outside as soon as possible, of course"

"of course" mattheo exclaimed sarcastically "can't you just keep looking at it from here?"

"what's the fun in that?"

"um, i don't know, maybe you aren't freezing and completely soaked when you go back inside?"

"okay, i get your point" you nodded understandingly "but how are we supposed to build the snow family?"

"snow family?" mattheo repeated "what happened to the good old snowman?"

"nothing" you shrugged "but he tends to get lonely, don't you think?"

mattheo laughed at your seriousness. "fine" he gave in "but we're only building him a snow woman, thats it and after that we get back inside"

"deal" you smiled, kissing him. "that'll be like a snow version of us!" you giggled and before mattheo could get in another word, you were already running out of the hall, probably on your way to fetch both of your snow clothes.

"which body part exactly are you building right now?" mattheo watched you were crawling through the snow, while you were forming a ball between your hands.

"the tummy of course"

"my tummy isn't that big" mattheo argued and you shrugged, showing him exactly how much you cared. he put out his foot to stop your from rolling even more layers "thats enough, sweetheart"

as mattheo sat up the tummys and 'legs' you had already finished, you continued rolling the heads.

"did you bring the carrots?"

"yes" mattheo held up the two carrots "i even brought stones and scarfs"

you smiled at that. "i'm finished" you held the heads in his direction and he stabilized them on each body. after you had also added the carrots, scarfs and stones, you were looking at your work proudly.

"they're so cute" you gushed and mattheo smiled at your excitement, before he remembered something. he loosened his hold on you and his hand went into his coat to grab something.

that something turned out to be an exact replica of the glasses you'd wear to read sometimes. "if my snowman has such a big tummy, yours has to wear your ridiculous looking nerd glasses"

you shrugged "i'm fine with that"

mattheo rolled his eyes, annoyed that he wasn't able to get a rise out of you.

you looked around the both of you. "there is no one here, matty" you said "so you can admit that i look incredibly hot in them"

"of course you do" mattheo bend you down and you closed your eyes, expecting him to kiss you, but instead he let go of you and you fell down in a big pile of snow.

"mattheo riddle!" you bellowed loudly and he giggled, quickly turning on his heels and rushing inside the castle. you, of course, following close behind him.

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