#using every possible tage

[crazedbluette]

Whisking Hearts: Prologue

A JayVik x Baker!Male Reader

1.8k Words.

TW: emotional distress, academic pressure, imposter syndrome, homophobia, classism, ableism, verbal abuse from authority figures, identity suppression, and moments of depressive ideation.

Author Notes at the end!

Not proof read.

FDNI!!!!!

Masterlist

Your Dreams Were Supposed to Rise Like Bread

Piltover University was supposed to be where your dreams took shape. It was where you thought you’d finally soar. Where you could make your parents proud.

The brochures had shown students with eyes full of fire and passion, creating groundbreaking, unique inventions with their blood, sweat, and tears. The buildings themselves were grand and luxurious with marble halls with walls that seemed to hum with the promise of creating outstanding members of society. Students climbed those steps with the weight of ambition on their shoulders, and you’d been one of them: nervous, hopeful, tightly clutching your satchel with a single item inside of it: a worn, leather-bound notebook.

But what they never tell you is that some dreams demand more than you’re able—or willing—to give.

Your first few weeks were a blur of pressure, panic, sweat, and stress. Lectures were relentless. Complex theories thrown at you like daggers trying to destroy you and find weakness within you. Endless equations written in chalk on towering, intimidating blackboards. Professors spoke fancy and excruciatingly long words, their minds and words three steps ahead of your comprehension. And the students, oh god, you couldn't even begin to explain how inferior you felt to them. They moved like they were born for this, this life of sweat and stress, like each cog and circuit was a familiar friend.

You tried. You tried so hard.

You stayed up late, eyes burning from studying and eyelids heavy from sleepless nights. You nodded along in lab groups, forcing yourself to understand the words people around you were saying, your tired brain couldn't keep up. You copied down everything, read beyond the syllabus, skipped meals, and skipped sleep. You asked questions at first, worried that if you didn't you would fall behind. But soon, your voice grew quieter, you didn't want to seem like a dumb himbo to the other great minds in your university. You learned quickly that passion without precision was a liability here.

And you had passion, but not for arcane equations or chemical bonds.

Your notebooks, while filled with blueprints like the others, also hid something else:

Drawings of éclairs and tart shells. Notes on dough ratios. Rough sketches of braided bread and sweet glazes. Ideas for new pastries, some flavored with the fruits your mother used to sneak home from the edge of the market in Zaun. The margins were dusted in the memories of a childhood defined by scarcity, made sweeter only by what your mother could make rise with her hands and heart.

You remembered the way she sung Zaunite songs while kneading dough. The way she always said that food—real food—could be magic if it came from the right place in your heart.

You’d brought those memories with you. You’d come to Piltover with the idea that maybe you could merge two worlds: the innovation of Piltover with the warmth of Zaun. Baking as science. Baking as invention. A different kind of magic from the kind of magic everyone around you had known.

But every time you tried to bring that part of yourself into the light, it felt like you were dragging something fragile into a storm.

One student from your innovation class had scoffed when he caught sight of your sketches of baked goods. A professor dismissed your baking analogies as “wasting your potential on a domestic hobby.” And once—just once—you overheard someone call you the little queer baker boy when they thought you weren’t around.

After that, you stopped sharing.

You closed your notebook.

You shrank.

You blended into the background.

That night, the professor said your focus was “disappointing,” that you “lacked the vision” that Piltover demanded. That maybe this wasn’t the place for you, that maybe you should go back to the "filthy place" you had come from. You despised him, you despised the words he had called the place where you had grown up, the place you called home. He had just insulted your family, your friends, and your home.

But you didn’t say anything.

You just nodded, gathered your notes, and walked away.

Your calm walking had erupted into erratic running, your eyes red from the tears that are trickling down your face.

The sky was already dark by the time you reached the rooftop—high above the university's grand halls and glowing lamps. The city below was stunning, its glittering skyline promising so much yet provided so little. Piltover looked like opportunity incarnate. But you… you felt like a ghost drifting through it.

The wind was sharp. You sat with your back against the cold stone wall, pulling your knees close to your chest. And then—almost without thinking— you wiped your eyes and you reached into your satchel and pulled out a small glass jar.

Vanilla bean paste.

A gift from your mother the day you were accepted. "For the first dessert you bake in your own kitchen," she’d said, her voice filled with emotion and her choked cries muffled by the handkerchief she had broughtup to the lower half of her face. You’d tucked it away, meaning to use it for a special day. But this wasn’t special. It was something else. Something breaking.

You opened it anyway.

The moment the scent hit your nose, your eyes burned again.

It smelled like home.

Like warmth and joy and safety.

Like everything you hadn’t felt in months.

And in that moment, something inside you snapped—not like a bone, but like a chain.

You didn’t belong here—not because you weren’t smart, but because you’d been trying to be someone you weren’t. You had been folding yourself into shapes that didn’t fit, hoping one day you’d feel whole again.

You didn’t want to make weapons, or machines that outpaced the heart.

You wanted to make something that healed.

Something that comforted.

Something that fed people—in every way that mattered.

The next morning, you rose before dawn.

You didn’t leave a dramatic letter. You didn’t try to explain it to anyone (not like you knew anyone that would have cared anyways). You simply packed your belongings, closed your notebook, and walked out of Piltover University without looking back.

You left behind the blueprints you had convinced yourself didnt matter. You left the biting comments, the sleepless nights, and most importantly; the silence. You left the version of yourself who had tried so hard to be accepted.

Ahead of you, the bakery waited.

You could almost see it when you closed your eyes: you imagined the countertop dusted in flour, the brass oven handles glowing in the morning light, the little bell above the door that always rang sharply whenever someone entered. You remembered the exact curve of the mixing bowls, the chipped corner of the old recipe book on the shelf.

And you remembered something else—something more important than any invention you'd ever sketched.

You remembered how it felt to pull a loaf of bread from the oven and watch someone’s face light up. How food could make love visible. How a tart, a bun, or a soft, cinnamon-swirled roll could do what machines and politics never could: bring people back to themselves.

You didn’t need a degree to do that.

You didn’t need Piltover’s approval.

You just needed your hands, your ingredients, your fire.

The bakery welcomed you like it was an old friend.

The first loaf you baked looked.... clumsy and interesting to say the least. The oven ran too hot, and the crust was tougher than it should’ve been. But when you bit into it—tears stinging your eyes—you knew that this was right. This was you.

You rose each morning with the sun, sometimes in the afternoon if you had spent all night baking and creating new recipes. You shaped dough with your gloved hands. You reclaimed your joy, one croissant, one cake, one steaming cup of Zaun styled tea at a time.

And one day—soon, but not yet—two men will walk through your door.

One brilliant and bold, with strong shoulders and a tired heart. One sharp and soft-spoken, with eyes that have seen too much and still search for wonder.

They’ll smell the bread. They’ll taste something that makes them pause. And you’ll meet eyes across the counter, unsure what this feeling is.

But it will rise—just like your dough.

Not all at once.

Not as perfect as you may want.

But slowly, warmly.

A/N: I hope you guys liked it! This is my first ever series and I'm so excited to write it! If this flops im jumping off. JKJK!!! I'll have chapter 1 ready in 2 and a half weeks! The jayvik graphics and coffee bean dividers can be found on the masterlist of this series. If there are ajy missing trigger warnings or any spelling/grammatical errors please tell me! English isn't my first language so im sorry about that.. Please comment and reblog, it helps keep me motivated!

[david-bearman]

WIP Word Game!

Rules: Tagger gives a word, then for each letter of that word, you share an excerpt from your WIPs that start with that letter.

I was tagged by @alpinelogy with the word disease and by @tyremanagementsupremacy with the word heat, so I shall in fact be doing both.

All excerpts from my wheelchair user osc/landoscar fic!!!

And uhhhh yeah leaving it up to whoever wants to do it but hasn't done it yet! Your word is fancy, please tage me when you do it I'd love to see!

D - Deeply irritated Oscar opened his eyes and rolled them when he saw Lando standing right in front of his path. Opting not to say anything, Oscar sighed and moved his joystick to the right, maneuvering a big circle around Lando so he could be on his way to the car.

Maybe it was not the best idea to annoy one of the team’s drivers on his literal first working day, something about the idea of team spirit and family or something. All Oscar wanted however, was to go home, heat up his dinner and waste away in a scorching hot bath as he called his best friend.

I - Instead of taking a fucking hint, Lando speed walked with him all the way, until Oscar ended up at his car. He ignored Lando as he dug around for his car key in the small pouch he kept underneath his seat, sighing in relief when he found it.

S - Shaken out of his texts Lando looked up, readily agreeing, “Yeah, show me the good outside spot.”

Oscar guided them through the back entrance, avoiding having to go through the massive canteen, to one of a few picnic tables that had been thoughtlessly scattered next to the parking lot. With a slight smile Oscar noticed one of his work friends was already waiting for him, they had been in the habit of eating outside, both agreeing it was way too busy inside.

E - Everybody in the team had certainly accepted him easily, if all of the stories he had heard when Lando started off as a mere intern were something to go off of.

“You know it’s fine to like Lando right?”

Oscar sighed at Logan’s question, remembering the whole talk they had when Oscar came out to his best friend, “Yes Logan, I have not forgotten that it is fine to like men.”

A - A bright flush of heat washed over Oscar, as he stared as his computer screen with an open mouth. He had never officially made a complaint of the lack of accessible toilets, by now so used to just factoring it in in his break times that he hardly ever thought about it. Deeply confused he tried to remember to who he could’ve possibly mentioned it, he never spoke to any of the higher ups and he had only once spoken to the building manager when he had just started out.

S - Suddenly all of their interactions that had come after that moment had a different meaning. Oscar could feel tears gather in his eyes, he blinked them away rapidly as he tried to focus on the time displayed on his computer screen. A perfect time to take a break he decided, nobody was going to care if he took a few minutes.

E - Even Logan hardly ever stayed so late, knowing Oscar preferred his evenings alone.

“I-,” he struggled to find an answer. “It’s fine, I have everything I need by my bed.”

Lando quirked up an eyebrow and Oscar pointed to the three tiered cart next to his bed, filled with all sorts of things he might need. Medicine, single use toothbrushes, instant heat and cold packs, a book, ear plugs, candy, literally everything.

“Huh, that’s kinda cool,” Lando looked at it with a curious eye.

---

H - His brain tried to come up with every adjective he knew, deciding if it was appropriate to describe Lando with it.

“Are you sure you okay?” Lando asked concerned.

Oscar swallowed, “Yeah, just- never had such a beautiful man in my bedroom before.”

E - Even though his bedside lamp was still on Oscar was on the edge of falling asleep, the deep pressure and sound of Lando’s breaths calming.

“Osc?” A small voice sounded in the silence.

Oscar took a deep breath and opened his eyes, looking down at the man on his chest, “Yeah, baby?”

Lando shifted slightly on his chest his hand searching for Oscar’s other hand, intertwining his fingers when he had found them. Oscar patiently waited as he continued playing with Lando’s hair, mesmerized by how soft his hair was.

A - As soon as he said the last thing Lando froze marginally, Oscar had clearly hit some sort of nerve about what had happened. He wasn’t sure if he should outright ask if something had happened, he didn’t want to push Lando if he didn’t want to share. But as Oscar milled, the minutes passed and Lando stayed quiet, no indication of him speaking up again.

“Did something happen this weekend?”

T - The man next to him nodded as he let his fingers trail down to Oscar’s neck, thumbing softly over more moles, “You make me really happy too.”

For the millionth time in so many days Oscar felt too small for all of his feelings, his heart growing in size as it was threatening to burst out of his chest. He took a long breath and let it out slowly, trying to focus on how Lando’s golden necklace fit in so well with his skin.

[shadow-laviko]

Hello I am curious anon :3 If you could change one (or more if u want) aspect of rain code, whether to tweak/delete/add some scenes or something about the character, what would it be?

WHERE DID YOU COME FROM!? HI!! Please don't stay anonymous, I like to be able to go check the accounts of people who ask things :sob:

SPOILER FOR THE ENTIRETY OF RAINCODE

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Ok, so, clearly, the game needs some kind of thing, whether unlocked post game or directly in the game, but we need something to better know the characters. Like, okay, we did have the gumshoe gabs (I like this name, it's funny and looks cyan blue and has the texture of a chewed chewhing-gum (don't worry, it makes sense to me)), but, the gumshoe gabs were not enough I think. Especially regarding, well, literally everyone who isn’t from the NDA. The detectives from the Amaterasu? Gone. Swank? Gone. Seth after chapter 1? Gone. Dominic and Guillaume after chapter 3? Gone. We don't know much of the Peacekeepers except for Yomi and Martina (although we do know more about Yomi than Martina), and that's a shame.

Same for Makoto, in the end, we don't know all that much about him.

Okay, well, even the NDA members, we don't know much about them...

So yeah, I think some sort of post-game content in a bonus section to get to know the characters better (everyone of them, all who were relevant to the game) would have been great.

Now, for more scenes... MORE YOMI CONT-

Ok, yeah, no, I guess we did have enough of him unfortunately...

Oh yeah, another content which could have been cool would have been some kind of audio library to listen to every osts of the game? Because Raincode osts are amazing... Especially during rain/storm, really. There was a storm yesterday and I played the osts while watching it... Well, let me tell you that Raincode osts + the sound of rain falling + watching thunder (given you are not epileptic) = falling asleep really quick.

Ok, this one will be mostly me (and other french people who might read this), but I wish the French translation wasn't rushed... like, man... Some things were bad, chapter 2 had a sentence in GERMAN in a FRENCH translation... Chapter 3 had apparently not explained the case very well, because a friend of mine didn't really get it, and I had to tell him what they said in the English version, and then only did it make sense for him.

Really guys, if you ever work in the video game industry and you want your game to be translated... Give time to the translators (because I think I heard the man didn’t have much time to translate the whole game?)

Uhh other than that... Well, I've heard people say the game/mysteries were too easy to solve, but I think that if they were harder, people would say 'Lol, that's not possible/That's far fetched' like they do for the Layton series. And like, Danganronpa could have sometimes 'far fetched' or 'hard to make happen'murders, because the students had 'powers', so it made more sense in a way?

So, so far, I think the difficulty level is correct. Besides, you can guess how a crime was commited, but I doubt you'd have it 100% figured out on the five/six cases.

Oh yeah, about added scenes... Well, it would have been nice to actually see what happens to Swank, Seth, (Martina?) Guillaume and Dominic after each chapter...

(We should also have had something telling us why/how Aide became so uhm... like that (you can't tell me he isn't obsessed) with Yomi...)

And I think that's all?

All that I can think about for now at least

I'll reblog this if I ever get new ideas

Thanks for the ask!

Now, how do I tag that... would it be right to tage the characters? I merely mentionned them... Would people angry if I added character names? But then I can take them down if needed... But again, people might get angry because this could count as click bait? Uhh, ok, I guess I will try and hope for the best...? Please don't kill me- wait, why are you stil reading? 🤨

[nation-of-bros]

What the hell was that just now?! Does Trump seriously believe we’re going to celebrate him as some kind of great hero, as a “peacemaker”?

Conclusion on Trump’s 12-Day War

Israel would have NEVER attacked Iran out of the blue if it hadn’t secretly been supplied in advance with the necessary military equipment and intelligence by the U.S. Without the Zionist support in the Pentagon and White House, Israel wouldn’t have had the resources for its illegal war of aggression against Iran, let alone for any of its other acts of aggression! That’s why it must be made clear: This so-called “12-Day War” – as Trump, like a proud parent, named it – is entirely the product of his administration. In order to avoid being blamed for launching a new, spiraling war, the MAGA president now seems visibly eager to maintain the fragile ceasefire. But is that just a staged show agreed upon with “Bibi” or some kind of twisted paternal care?

To top it off, Trump is making an utter fool of himself, since just days ago he was still demanding Iran’s “unconditional surrender” and threatening the harshest retaliation with his supposedly “superior American military technology”, which he brags about in practically every post. Now, however, he’s purring up to Iran like a cuddly kitten, after the Iranian leadership simply didn’t play along and instead carried out nothing more than a purely symbolic counterstrike — one they had even generously announced in advance. Trump then actually thanked them, as if he were a little boy with a guilty conscience, touched that he got away with just a harmless slap on the wrist instead of the proper beating he really deserved — and one that was looming from all directions, including domestically.

Make Iran Great Again

What does all of this tell us?! First of all, that Trump once again looks like a weakling who can’t do anything right — or even halfway right. Then, of all things, it’s the Iranian regime that appears more rational than Trump’s chaos administration. Moreover, the U.S. – together with Israel – has achieved absolutely nothing, except that Iran is now massively expanding its air defense systems and missile silos, all while continuing its nuclear program — even if Trump convinces himself otherwise. As Russian politician Medvedev stated, Russia and other nations stand firmly behind Iran and will support it militarily, including nuclear capability! At the same time, Putin condemned the American strike, which likely rattled Trump, given how much he wants to maintain a good relationship with the Kremlin in order to finally end the war in Ukraine. So what has Trump actually achieved? Exactly the opposite of what he wanted, and possibly even strengthened Iran’s theocratic regime in the process!

At best, Trump has NOW a chance to break Iran permanently. But he won’t take that step, because he realized that a second Iraq war wouldn’t just bring Russia and China into the picture — it would also destroy the US from within. After all, aside from unhinged Zion-worshipping Christians like Charlie Kirk and Ted Cruz, or that MAGA zombie horde of his, no one would follow Trump into a war for Israel. Therefore, he’s trying to use Iran’s leniency to save face and claw his way out of the situation. Of course, the propaganda channels manipulated by Trump and his PR team are working overtime, trying to spin this completely idiotic stunt against Iran as some sort of brilliant move. However, the truth is: aside from widespread destruction, several hundred deaths (including children!), and yet another devastating blow to America’s global image, the MAGA president has accomplished ABSOLUTELY NOTHING of substance!

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Was bitteschön war das denn eben?! Glaubt Trump wirklich, dass wir ihn jetzt als großen Helden, als „Friedensmacher“, feiern?!

Fazit zu Trumps 12-Tage-Krieg:

Israel hätte NIEMALS den Iran aus heiterem Himmel angegriffen, wenn es nicht insgeheim vorher mit der nötigen militärischen Ausrüstung und den Informationen durch die USA versorgt worden wäre. Ohne den zionistischen Support im Pentagon und Weißen Haus hätte Israel nicht die nötigen Ressourcen für seinen völkerrechtswidrigen Angriffskrieg gegen den Iran, geschweige denn für irgendeine seiner Aggressionen! Daher muss hervorgehoben werden: Dieser – wie Trump ihn gleich einem Elternteil taufte – „12-Tage-Krieg“ ist durch und durch das Ergebnis seiner Administration. Um ihm keinen neuen, ausufernden Krieg vorwerfen zu können, scheint sich der MAGA-Präsident sichtlich zu bemühen, den brüchigen Waffenstillstand aufrechtzuerhalten. Ist das nur ein mit „Bibi“ abgesprochenes Schauspiel oder echte elterliche Fürsorge?!

Zudem macht sich Trump gerade extrem lächerlich, wenn er vor ein paar Tagen noch die „bedingungslose Kapitulation“ des Irans forderte und mit härtesten Vergeltungsschlägen seiner ach so „überlegenen amerikanischen Militärtechnologie“ drohte, die er gefühlt in jedem seiner Postings erwähnt — nun aber wie ein Kätzchen den Iran verschmust anschnorrt, nachdem die iranische Führung einfach nicht so ganz mitgespielt und lediglich einen rein symbolischen Gegenschlag vorgenommen hat, der sogar großzügigerweise vorher angekündigt wurde. Entsprechend bedankte sich Trump herzlichst, als sei der kleine Junge mit einem schlechten Gewissen berührt, dass er nur mit einem harmlosen Klaps auf den Hintern davonkam und nicht mit einer Tracht Prügel, die ihm eigentlich zusteht, und die von allen Seiten drohte — auch innenpolitisch.

Make Iran Great Again

Was sagt uns das alles?! Als Erstes, dass Trump einmal mehr als Schwächling dasteht, der nichts richtig, nicht ganz macht. Dann zeigt sich ausgerechnet das iranische Regime vernünftiger als Trumps Chaos-Administration. Zudem haben die USA zusammen mit Israel rein gar nichts erreicht, außer dass der Iran jetzt massiv seine Flugabwehr und Raketensilos ausbauen wird, parallel zu einem fortgesetzten Atomprogramm — auch wenn Trump sich einbildet, dem sei nicht so. Wie der russische Regierungspolitiker Medwedew mitteilte, stehen Russland und weitere Nationen hinter dem Iran, den sie militärisch – sogar nuklear – unterstützen werden! Zeitgleich verurteilte Putin den amerikanischen Angriff, was Trump wohl besonders einschüchterte, da er schließlich ein gutes Verhältnis zum Kreml sucht, um den Ukraine-Krieg endlich zu beenden. Was hat Trump also erreicht? Genau das Gegenteil, und möglicherweise sogar noch das theokratische Regime Irans gestärkt!

Trump hat höchstens JETZT eine Chance, den Iran dauerhaft zu brechen; aber diesen Schritt wird er nicht gehen, weil er erkennen musste, dass ein zweiter Irak-Krieg nicht nur Russland und China auf den Plan riefe, sondern auch die USA innenpolitisch zerstören würde; denn abgesehen von durchgeknallten Zion-anbetenden Christen wie Charlie Kirk und Ted Cruz, oder jenem MAGA-Zombie-Fußvolk würde niemand Trump in einen Krieg für Israel folgen. Jetzt nutzt er die Milde Irans, um scheinbar gesichtswahrend aus der Sache herauszukommen. Natürlich laufen die von Trump und seinen PR-Leuten manipulierten Kanäle heiß, um dieses ganz und gar total idiotische Unterfangen gegen den Iran als irgendwie ziemlich genial darzustellen. Doch die Wahrheit ist, dass der MAGA-Präsident außer viel Zerstörung, mehreren Hundert Toten (unter denen sich auch Kinder befinden!) und einem weiteren verheerenden Imageschaden für die USA ABSOLUT NICHTS Substanzielles bewirkt hat!

[onceuponatown]

Portrait of fireman from the Perseverance Hose Company. Ca. 1850.

Philadelphia fire company mobile steam driven water pump. Ca. 1850-60.

Perseverance Hose Company No. 5, 316 Race Street, Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, PA. Ca. 1933.

Humane Engine House, Norristown, Pennsylvania. 1862. 

Fire protection in its earliest form was the responsibility of all citizens, who were expected to turn out at the sound of the alarm and man the bucket brig­ade. The minimal equipment at their disposal was stored in simple, utilitarian sheds at convenient public locations; none of these early firehouses are known to have survived in Pennsylva­nia. Because the protection offered through this early eighteenth-century system was rather unreliable, public­-minded and prominent citizens of the earliest cities organized societies or com­panies to provide mutual aid to fight the fires which frequently threatened their properties. Such a society, the Union Fire Company, was founded by Ben­jamin Franklin in Philadelphia in 1736. Into the early nineteenth century, these companies continued to store their equipment in sheds and held their meetings in taverns or private homes.

During the first several decades of the nineteenth century, however, significant changes in firefighting technology simultaneously occurred with changes in the role of these mutual aid societies. This eventually led to a new generation of firehouses. With the establishment of new municipal water systems, fire­men had access to reliable water sup­plies for the first time. To take advan­tage of the available water, new and more efficient pumps and hoses were developed and the use of large, wheel­-mounted pumpers became widespread. About the same time, what had up until then been seen as a secondary function of the early fire companies, that of pro­moting social activities, was rapidly growing in importance. For many, it was becoming the primary purpose of the association.

Starting around 1830, in recognition of the improved protection provided by these organized volunteer companies and in response to their changing equip­ment storage needs, more permanent buildings were constructed by commu­nities or the volunteers themselves. These buildings not only provided room for firefighting equipment but also a meeting place for the firefighters’ organization.

Concurrent with the increased public recognition of their services and their growing effectiveness, the fire com­panies began to assume the character­istics of exclusive clubs or fraternal organizations. Membership was often restricted to persons of certain social classes or ethnic groups. In many com­panies, a large number of prominent citizens and professionals were honor­ary members. This being the case, the actual firefighting was often left to a small contingent of active members who often competed with members of other companies for the honor (and frequent­ly the cash bonus) earned by reaching a fire first. Fire companies also extended their influence in their communities by sponsoring ceremonial and social func­tions such as parades and, of course, the Firemen’s Ball. As strong community organizations, the fire companies usual­ly developed considerable political in­fluence, often managing to gain large subsidies and numerous perks from the coffers of the local government.

With these extensions of their pro­grams, companies began to use the fire­house as a clubhouse. The second floor, originally intended as the site for regu­larly scheduled meetings, became a lounge for members to use between fires. Bunk rooms were added for fire­men who often spent the night. Firemen invested more money in the buildings and sought to make the houses not only more comfortable but also more elab­orate, thus reflecting pride in their com­pany. Competition, then, extended to the design of the firehouse, both inside and out, resulting in some of the most elaborate and individualistic buildings possible.

The emphasis on manliness and the importance of competition among the companies, combined with the com­panies’ conservatism, eventually led to a dramatic change in firefighting adminis­tration, particularly in the larger urban areas. Although steam pumps and the use of horse power to reach the fire scene were demonstrated possibilities by the 1820s, use of such contrivances was ridiculed by the volunteers as “un­manly.” The resulting inefficiency, coupled with the public’s deteriorating opinion (volunteer companies were in­creasingly perceived as rowdy gangs), prompted the establishment of the first professional fire department in Cincin­nati in 1851. During the decades follow­ing the Civil War, this concept was adopted by almost every large city in the country, and the new municipal depart­ments employed the most modern steam-powered and horse-drawn equip­ment available. However, because of the political strength and extent of the volunteer system, the municipal ap­proach was not incorporated in Phila­delphia until 1871.

[serararku]

Dancing in the Sand Finale

The top of Valhaas Barrow boasted one of the best views in all of Thanalan. The clouds had followed the sun to the west, leaving naught but a gorgeous desert sky. The wind was soft and chilly, but steady, flowing across the territory to scrub this place clean of heat. Even though the sun was long gone, the moon and its countless twinkling servants showered Thanalan with a soothing grey light. It was the perfect place and time to reflect on what was, and what will never be. But Era wasn’t up here to think about the what-ifs and have-nots, no -- she was up here to lay a man to rest; everything else could wait.

She cradled Tage’s urn in her hands. He was cremated last year when her heart was still heavy for him before she was close with Zevi, when all she wanted was revenge against the strangers who took him from her. Her numbing confusion had boiled into blistering hatred, but now it had come full circle again; she still wanted revenge, true, but what she wanted most was answers. Killing him just a few days before his rescue meant someone knew she was -- no. She wouldn't go back down that road again.

Era’s gaze fell to his grey ashes when she lifted off the lid. There were no words to be said that weren’t said a hundred times before. She raised the urn out in front of her and waited for the whistling wind to change direction, and then she tipped the ceramic jar over. Tage slipped free from his mortal remains and drifted through the night sky -- ushered to eternity by the wind. She felt nothing for this stranger now, as uncomfortable as that realization came; he was the catalyst for everything that had happened to her in the last half-decade, all starting with that fateful encounter when he defeated her father, and all ending right here. A part of her wished she hadn’t seen Denoh tainting his supper the day before his challenge… but then she would likely be raising his child, confined to a life of breeding; she wouldn’t have left the tribe in search for a defeated Nunh, which means she wouldn’t have rescued Thalen from the brink of death, learned how to use the katana, and meet Zevi. There was a ping of regret for all the suffering she’s both endured and caused… but in the end it was all worth it for nothing else but the Tia in her dreams. Once the urn was empty, Era swung her arm with it for three full rotations before launching it into the air. She was so far up high she didn’t hear it shatter in the desert below, but she didn’t care; Tage was gone for good, and she had shed her final tears for him moons ago.

It was a mess in Valhaas Barrow. Bottles were emptied out and strewn all over the place, with the strong aroma of soap and mint filling every chamber and tunnel. Era descended the great labyrinth to find Mizuna asleep in the corner, her horns adorned in bone jewelry, her face covered in drawings, and halfway buried in a pile of purring kittens. Even in a deep slumber the woman was all smiles -- her fingers occasionally stroking the soft ears of children nuzzling against her palms. Era wanted to wake her up so they could get out of here, eager to reunite with Zevi to hear how his conversation with her mother went, but she couldn’t bring herself to stir Mizuna from her blissful sleep; she would simply have to wait until she woke up on her own.

Then it slowly dawned on her. "Where is Thalen…?" He was supposed to keep watch and help translate for her while she cured the kittens, but he wasn't here. Era briskly walked through the quiet barrow in search of him, but all she found were drowsy tribewives and empty chambers; a twinge of panic bit the back of her neck when her mind raced with the possibilities. "Oh no… did Vahli-?!"

She stumbled into his chambers to find him and her sister Umi entangled beneath their blankets, with a handful of candles clinging to life as they were reduced to puddles along the window. Given the scene and scents in this chamber, it was obvious they enjoyed their fateful evening; but Thalen wasn't here, so away she went.

"Wait." Vahli whispered, moving to pull himself away from his exhausted tribewife. Era froze mid-step and watched him approach, but she kept her eyes above his waist. “I wanted to thank you for doing so much for our tribe. I’ve talked with a few of my wives, and… they seem content with the scaleborn woman's medicines. Without your help… saving our children would be up to Azeyma -- and Azeyma alone. Thank you.”

Era gave him a gentle smile. “I told you I won’t abandon my family. Our tribe is suffering. I know how much you don’t trust outsiders… but if we don’t start trading with foreigners, we’re going to starve to death. You shouldn’t thank me for saving our kittens… and the scaleborn woman has a name. Mizuna Kusakari.”

He thought about trying to pronounce that mouthful of a name, but decided against it. “You’re right. I think with some time I can warm up to the idea of strangers on our lands. Maybe.” He took in a deep breath before glancing back at Umi, who was still sound asleep. “You have been teaching her how to be a better mate. Why?”

“Why?” Era repeated without thinking. “She wants to be the Favored Wife.”

He stared at her for a long moment before he reached up to caress her chin. “You are my favorite.” Era flattened her ears out of reflex and stiffened from his touch, provoking a frown to flash across his lips as he regarded her. “You disapprove?”

“I’ve grown a taste for violence.” She whispered, briefly looking away from him. “I don’t have the temperament to sit around and raise a child all day. The thrill of combat… that rush when I carve my enemies into pieces… it’s the warrior’s way. My place is in battle, not in bed.”

Vahli pursed his lips as he let his hand drop from her. “That’s why you’re so alluring. A wife who can slaughter my enemies by day and pleasure me by night sounds too good to be true.” Slowly he pushed her against the wall, as his hands began to wander. “To fight side by side with a woman like you would be… amazing.”

Era clenched her jaw as she stared at his chest. “We had a deal…” Slapping his hands away from her body would be a terrible idea, but she had nowhere to go; he had her trapped in the corner of his chamber. “You agreed not to touch me…”

A hunger flashed in his gaze when he lifted her chin with one hand. “I agreed not to get you pregnant…” Era closed her eyes when their lips met, her tail twitching rapidly behind her back when he pressed himself against her figure; despite his escapades with Umi he was hardening at an alarming rate -- she had to think of a good enough excuse to leave, but her mind was addled and she ran out of time a while ago. “Come on…” He whispered after breaking their kiss, gently placing his hands on her shoulders to ease her to her knees. “Do that thing I like with your mouth…”

“Stop it…!” Era held her breath and vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving Vahli coughing and confused.

He took a step back and blinked at the evanescent cloud. "Era…? What trickery is this…?" He reached out to touch her again, but all he felt was warm air and the stone wall. "An illusion…? Or a dream?" Defeatedly he turned to stir Umi awake to take care of him, but she was already sitting up, with a grim scowl plastered across her face. As soon as they made eye contact she shot up to her feet and stormed toward the exit without a single word.

"Wait! It's not like that-!" He called out, reaching for her arm; with a low hiss she ripped away from his grasp, and through her tears she briefly turned to glare hurtfully at Vahli before disappearing around the corner. He was alone now, with only his thoughts and ruminations keeping him company.

Era was panting by the time she ran to the mouth of the barrow. The last thing she wanted to do was use anything that could be labeled 'magick' to her people, but what choice did she have? She hurt Zevi once by laying with her Nunh, she wasn't about to hurt him again. Not if she could help it. Now all she wanted to do was grab Thalen and Mizuna and put some distance between her and Vahli. "He's still in heat, which means Thalen isn't laying face up in the sand somewhere…" Era thought to herself, looking around for any trace of him. "He's not in the barrow… so he's not risking his life with a tribewife, and he's not dead. That means he has to be with…?"

Phalo narrowed his eyes when he saw a stranger limping up the path. The boys were fast asleep and sore from today's drills, so he was free to leave them here in his domain if he chose to. He was in no condition to defend the Tia, but he grasped his spear anyway, and descended down the rope ladder to stop this outsider from getting any closer. "What do you want?!" He shouted, hobbling over to stand between the stranger and his clowder of boys.

Thalen noticed a flat boulder nearby and promptly approached it. "To talk. Sit with me, will you? And go easy with the yelling… my head feels ready to burst."

"I have no business with you, outsider!" Phalo snarled, bristling to make himself appear as big as he could; but the aging Miqo'te was a shell of his former self, which wasn't that impressive to begin with.

"Outsider?" Thalen repeated, wincing when he slowly descended onto the rock. "All Tia are outsiders in their tribe's eyes. I'll make you a deal, old man." He lifted his hand to reveal that Black Galleon whiskey -- or what was left of it. "Humor me for a few minutes of your time, and I'll let you finish this off. I promise this stuff is leagues better than the rotting milk you normally drink."

His eyes fixated on that bottle, and he licked his dry lips; he couldn't handle fermented milk like he used to. Every time he wanted to get drunk to take the edge off, it meant his stomach would punish him for days by turning his feces into liquid. It had been ages since he was able to get his hands on alcohol from beyond the borders without the warriors, huntresses, or Nunh taking it all for themselves. Unable to resist the allure of a foreigner's poison, Phalo cautiously sat down beside the stranger. "What do you want…?"

Thalen passed the bottle to him and gazed up at the stars above. "Answers. I've never seen a fellow Miqo'te as old as you. Well, not a male, I mean. How have you lived so long without your Nunh killing you over the years?"

Phalo popped off the weathered cork and took the first swig of many; the potion burned like fire down his throat, and filled him with that old familiar warmth. Yet it was almost as smooth as spring water, and easily the best drink he's ever had -- it certainly loosened him up and put him in the mood for conversation. "I was born with a twisted leg. My mother begged my father to spare my life… told him I could serve the tribe well. I could never become a Nunh myself… everyone knew that." His ears pinned to his head and his gaze fell to the sand. "There are ways to rid oneself of… temptation. Between that and a low death in the wilderness, it was an easy choice."

"Fuck…" Thalen took the bottle from him and took a small swig of his own. This man was dealt a terrible hand right out of the gate, but he played with the cards all the same. It was admirable, of course, to devote a lifetime doing his best to make sure all the Tia that came after him had the best chance they could get at survival, but if Thalen was given the same choice -- he wouldn't even hesitate; without his vices he wouldn't make it.

"The Tia deserve better than short lives filled with fear and misery. I can’t give them much… but a little is still better than nothing." Phalo winced when he took another gulp, the black liquor running down his silver beard. "Is that all you wanted?"

Thalen shifted uncomfortably on the rock, wishing he had a soft warm bed to help cope with this tingling ache. "I'm from the Hipparion Tribe. We uh… don't have someone like you looking out for the boys. No Tia Keeper at all, actually. When we get a new Nunh, all the Tia from the previous one are kicked out into the wilderness. Some are still infants… left to die alone and afraid." Slowly he turned to meet the old man's gaze. "I was in my sixth summer when my father was slain. If it weren't for my older brother taking me under his wing, I wouldn't have lasted till morning."

"Tia are forbidden from working together…" Phalo noted, hardening his gaze.

"All these years sending kids out into the desert wastes and you still don't know much about us, huh?" Thalen couldn't hide his smile; this old man didn't know a damn thing about the world beyond his tribe's territory. "There's strength in numbers. Tia know it's wrong but they don’t care -- they just want to live. Like you. Like us." He didn't know what to say. He simply twisted in his seat to glance up at the makeshift hut that housed seven sleeping Tia. "My brother's name was Nolas. Bravest bastard I've ever known, with a heart as grand as the sun. He… Rarku butchered him right in front of me, in the sands not too far from here. Twenty summers past."

"I'm sorry." Phalo flattened his ragged ears as he stared at him, the bottle now with only a few more gulps left. "He was… cruel.”

“I came here with Era to retrieve his bones and weapons.” The younger man admitted. “I’m told you would have them.”

"Your brother’s bones are gone. I’ve been cremating the remains of fallen Tia for sixty summers so their souls can return to Azeyma. He is with the Warden if he challenged Rarku.” explained Phalo. Thalen wasn't exactly on speaking terms with the Goddess, and hadn't been for many summers; he survived this long without her guidance and favor, what's a few more decades? “But I may have his weapons. What did he carry in his final moments?"

"He used a simple iron sword he found when we were still in the Shroud. It had a red bandana wrapped around the hilt. And a wooden shield, split down the center from that glaive." Just talking about it made Thalen feel nauseous -- one of his only regrets was not returning to this terrible place to kill Rarku himself.

The old Miqo'te rose from the boulder and turned toward his hut. "Wait here." He commanded, hobbling back to his domain to leave Thalen alone with his thoughts.

Only anger and regret swam in circles in his head. Yet the man who took the only family he had left from him was long dead. His only reprieve was knowing that sadistic monster was powerless to stop him when he bent his beloved daughter over every piece of furniture in his apartment, and now he had a taste of his Favored Wife too. "Hope you enjoyed the show, asshole." If only Tage was still alive -- he would buy that man a drink any day of the week for putting the Black Butcher into the ground. Even still, Thalen wished he was the one to finish him for good; he must have spent a few hundred bells replaying that scenario in his head to practice what he would tell Rarku. Before he filled him with holes, of course.

Thalen perked up at the sound of approaching footsteps from behind. His heart skipped a beat when his gaze fell upon his brother's old weapons. The blade was so worn down it would be a wonder if it could even cut butter, and the once crimson bandana had faded to pink from too much exposure to the sun. The shield was smaller than he remembered, but then again, it was a practice shield designed for Hyuran squires; the cleave halfway down the middle had been patched together with some spare lumber and nails, but the integrity of the shield remained compromised. "I used these to train Tia over the years… I hope you don't mind."

"Wasn't planning on using them to fight." He tried to hide it, but his flat ears and trembling voice gave it away; he missed his brother more than anything else in this world.

"You can cry here." Phalo assured him as he offered the shield and sword. "I won’t judge you."

Through sheer willpower alone Thalen managed to swallow back down his sorrow. "I'll cry when I'm dead." He slowly draped the shield over his back and tucked the sword into the leather sheath he brought along with him. "Thank you for keeping his things. I'm K’thalen, by the way."

"S'phalo." The old man bowed as gracefully as he could. "Find peace and happiness. Any Tia that survives as long as you have deserves nothing less."

"I know you're not supposed to do this, but…" Thalen paused before turning his back to the Tia Keeper. "If you want any of the boys to survive long enough to experience true happiness, send them my way. It goes against Her laws, and yaddah yaddah, but you know what awaits them once they're sent out into the wilderness." He didn't bother waiting for a retort -- he already knew what the old man would say. "Keep the bottle. I need to get rid of the evidence anyway." With a slight wave the Tia descended down the path, half-expecting Vahli to be waiting there to cleave him in half for touching one of his wives. Yet when he reached the barrow, neither the brute nor the harlot was around. "Seems a tribewife really can keep her word."

"There you are!" A familiar voice from a familiar woman barked at him. "Where have you… wha-? What happened to you?!"

"Damn you're loud, darlin'." Thalen retorted in Eorzean, and just like that, his thick drawl and accent returned. "Can a feller drink in peace without all this shoutin'?"

Era ushered a half-awake Mizuna onto the wagon and handed her the reins, but she turned back around to judge him. Loudly. "You look like you were attacked. Did you wander too close to the zu nests?"

Thalen ignored her at first to climb up alongside Mizuna. "Decided to spar with a few Tia." He lied as easily as he breathed. "Last time I go easy on some kids… knocked me on my ass, they did."

Satisfied with that answer, she climbed up to sit down beside him. "Did… did you talk to my brothers? How are they doing…?"

"Better than I was at their age." He rubbed the back of his neck before stretching out to drape his arms around their shoulders. Once everyone was settled in, Mizuna flicked the reins and the wagon began its slow return to Ul'dah -- but for the two Miqo'te, 'as soon as possible' would still not be soon enough. "How're your nights goin'? Good I hope?"

"I released S'tage's ashes, argued with Vahli for a few bells because you stepped up to him…" Era looked up at him with a disapproving side glance. "You could have been killed. You know that, right?"

"What was I supposed to do? Tuck my tail between my legs and grovel?" He scoffed, shrugging. "If that big bastard wants to dance, I say we play some music and get this party started."

"Ugh… if I bring you back, that just might happen…"

"Imagine it… S'thalen Nunh." He chortled. "Then you'd be answerin' to me, lass." The thought of sitting around in that sandbox all day was shockingly amusing, or maybe it was from the Black Galleon Whiskey in his system; when he glanced over to see her roll her eyes at him, she was instead staring at him intensely.

"That… would solve a lot of my problems…" Era hummed, drumming her fingers on the guard railing. "With you as my Nunh, I'd be able to come and go as I please…"

Thalen loudly cleared his throat before turning to glance down at Mizuna. "Anyroad… how were the kittens, Doc? Cute?"

"Cute?" She repeated, blinking slowly. "They were so soft, and warm, and cuddly." The brightest smile she's worn in over twenty six summers lit up her face, almost as if she was as tipsy as the Tia. "We sang songs for bells. I got them to dance with me. Then I told them some stories once everyone was tired… they didn't understand a word I said, but I think they just liked watching me talk. Cute? Yes, K'thalen… yes they were very cute."

"Well… glad two of us had a good time." He smiled, kicking his feet up. "Just a few more bells and we can rent some rooms in Lil'Ala Mhigo before we get ba-"

"When are you and R'zevi going to have a child of your own?" Mizuna asked, leaning forward so she could look at her. "You're both young and in love. What is taking so long?"

"D-doctor Kusakari! Nooo…!" Era began turning strawberry red while Thalen threw his head back and belly laughed.

---

Mentions: @rzevi-tia-ffxiv​

[eternal-bangtan]

remaking ur first gif tag

i was taged by @monojoons​ and @beomgyutie​ and @jeonify​ from @bangtanger​  (im checking if notifications r working this is not a self promofdjkf) thank u so much 🥺 its such a fun tag 

this is one of the first ones i posted here in april 2018 tbh i had 0 knowledge and this one in particular is literally just cropped in ps and saved as web CAN U IMAGINE I DIDNT EVEN TRY HAHAHAHAH i didnt think i will start making them so i didnt google shit and as u see @monojoons there is like nothing special dfkjg

there were few phases of making gifs 1 is this one 2 @softjeon​ helped me to discover topaz denoise and that was literally all i used 3 i stopped using topaz and was only using smart sharpining and thought it looked absolutely sexy and somehow i didnt notice noise 4 @minsapphic​ showed me the world of avisynth maybe topaz clean and i think explained some more basic knowledge 5 i found a pic with nice clean settings and since that time i use pretty much same action

the whole process now is: i crop moments of mp4 vids i need in sony vergas and save them then i do the whole avisynth stuff then i use my action with topaz clean topaz denoise and smart sharpeing and use my psd when its possible so this is it im v grateful for every person who helped personally and who ever described their processes of gif making that i read and learned 

i wanna tag (oh btw sorry if u were tagged or made this already i just really wanna see ur stuff :c) @hopekidoki @itseokjins @jinie​ @ohjiminn​ @cyphertaehyungie​ @softjeon​ @jjeons​ @guksdimple​ @taeyungie​ @tearuntold​ @jiminfilter​ @chaylani​ @introshadows​ @yoonseok​ @sugawithluv​ @vjimin​ @yoonmochiiii​ @jjkguk​ @jung-koook​ @jinare​ @lucid-jjin​ @yoongishadow​ @yoonqiful​ @eternalbulletproof​ @joonie​ @jinies​ @jhlovebot @hobsgguk​ @holy-jinsus​ or literally every content maker i follow but idk if we r mutuals fduhdlfig

[vikinglanguage]

Kraftedme! – Swearing in Danish

[Image description: A gif of Sarah Paulson in character as Billie from American Horror Story saying the word “Shit!”. Billie is a white woman with frizzy blond hair. She is wearing heavy black eye makeup and red lipstick and is holding a lit cigarette between her teeth. End image description.]

This one has been requested by multiple people for a long time, because really we are all a bit immature and always want to learn the bad words when learning a new language!

In case you didn’t figure already, this post features a lot of very strong, possibly offensive language (ie. cancer is mentioned) and religious terms being flung about (ie. G-d). So if that bothers you, I strongly suggest you skip this post.

Without further ado, let’s get started. Bold is Danish, italics is the literal translation, normal is an explanation/example

Danish words

for satan (exclamation) / satans (adj.) – by Satan · Satan’s “Jeg hader den satans bil!” (I hate that fucking car!) “For satan, hvor er det ulækkert” (Damn, that is disgusting)

for fanden (exclamation) / fandens (adj.) – by the devil · the devil’s “Han er en fandens karl” (He’s a devilish guy) Otherwise, for fanden and fandens are used more or less exactly like for satan and satans.

for helvede (exclamation) / helvedes (adj.) – by hell · hell’s Like for satan and satans.

for pokker (exclamation) · pokkers (adj.) – by pox/rash/syphilis · pox’/rash’s/syphilis’ I know it sounds wild, but this is actually one of the less strong swearwords. Again, like for satan and satans.

pis (exclamation) – piss An exclamation like shit/crap.

lort (exclamation or noun, itk.) – shit · crap ”Det er noget værre lort” (It’s some darned shit) Otherwise used as an exclamation, like you would in English

fordømt (adj.) – damned (or just damn) “De fordømte myg!” (Those damned mosquitoes!)

kraftedme (adv. or exclamation) – cancer eat me “Det var kraftedme dumt” (That’s was really stupid) Kraftedme, while a very “strong” word, is used only to emphasise the word that it precedes. It is very occasionally used as an exclamation.

fandme (adv. or exclamation) – the devil [...] me A contraction of a sentence that I will explain further on. Used to emphasise the following word, like kraftedme.

pisse (adv.) – pissing "Han er pisse fuld” (He’s really drunk– He’s piss drunk) Like kraftedme and fandme, it’s used to emphasise the following word, but is closer to just meaning “really”, despite it’s vulgar nature.

skide (adv.) – shitting Used to emphasise, like pisse.

knep (exclamation or noun, itk.) – fuck Used as an exclamation. Admittedly, this is one of the more creative ones that I think only my dad actually uses. Alternatively: “Det er noget knep” (It’s some fuck)

English words adopted into the language

All of these words are used more or less like they would be in English, though there are exceptions

fuck (exclamation, noun, fk., or verb) · fucking (adv.) “Jeg giver ikke en fuck” (I don’t give a fuck) “Fuck dig” (Fuck you) “Den er fucking grim” (It’s fucking ugly)

shit (exclamation)

damn (exclamation)

Full expressions

det var (lige godt) fandens/satans/helvedes/pokkers – that was the devil’s etc. “Well, I’ll be damned”

vorherre til hest – our Lord on a horse ”God help me” or “Lord have mercy” in a not very religious sense at all.

pis mig i øret – piss me in the ear ”Fuck me”

gudfader i skuret – God, our father, in the shed “Jesus H Christ”

fanden tage mig · fanden gale mig – may the devil take me · may the devil hex me These two are usually shortened to fandme, though fanden gale mig can also be shortened to fandengaleme. I believe the original use is an actual swear that if what you’re saying isn’t true, you wish for the devil to take/hex you. I have however not been able to find any reliable sources on this.

fanden tage dig – may the devil take you ”Fuck you”

gid fanden havde [object] – (I wish) the devil had [objekt] “Fuck [object]”

rend mig i røven · kys mig i røven – run me in the arse · kiss me in the arse ”Kiss my arse”

helvede og patter – hell and tits “Well, damn!” This from an adult julekalender*, Andersens julehemmelighed, and not super commonly used, but it’s funny to say and we use it quite a lot in my family. *tv-series of 24 episodes broadcast every day in December

[hwanuels]

n.jm: where were you?

summary: y/n does not know what the fuck is going on half of the time. 

pairing: highschool!fboi!jaemin x fem!reader

warning: a lot of cursing, drug usage reference, crackheadness, maybe a lot of grammer error. this is my first bullet-scenario au so yeah. also! this a collab with the lovely @huangsren in out nct dreamies alternate universe teehee. she has a lovely, fluffy renjun one up so go read it!

part two!

you okay let’s get this collab with @huangsren 

so at NCT High if you don't know Na Jaemin who the hell are you? like everyone knows this kid from lunch ladies to the freaking janitors 

its not a surprise since the dude is literally dead drop gorgeous and has a shit ton of social skills. like the boy deadass can swindle his way out of detention (which he did) with just a wink 

typical fboi but instead of it being a huge turn-off, girls still throw themselves on him even when he WARNS them beforehand that he isn't looking for a serious thing

still, they get attached and heartbroken when he tells them “this isn’t working out” 

his friends (aka art-hoe!renjun and student-athlete!jeno) always rolls their eyes when jaemin rolls up into the lunchroom with his arms wrapped around a new girl’s shoulder

“bet she’s not going to last two weeks”- renjun slapping down a 10$ 

“knowing him, this isn’t going to last more than a week”- jeno said but still sliding over a 10$ bill 

AND SUPRISE it doesn’t 

both renjun and jeno don’t approve of his philandering, but they stick w jaemin cause he’s still their best bud cause bros before hoes ya know what i mean?

this is especially true with jeno cause they’ve been bffl since they were like five but that doesn’t mean that jaemin is anything like jeno. 

nah man they both are the complete opposite of each other

like jeno is a quiet reserved student-athlete boi but jaemin out here acting like a little thotty 

nomin is like a package deal, no one can separate them

here where out little y/n comes in

surprisingly you’re childhood friends w nomin 

both u and jeno are neighbors and your families have been friends since before you were even conceived 

your moms’ have weekly tea times where they’d gossip about everything and anything while your dads would be watching the weekly soccer/football games drinking a cold one 

you and jeno would be playing with some legos or barbies 

jeno had a minor (major) barbie obsession which was probably induced by you

don’t tell anyone but jeno still binge-watches barbie movies;;;his favorite really be the princess charm school one 

like i said nomin is a package deal so expect jaemin to be taging along to yours and jeno’s weekly playdate

imagine you being the princess while jaemin pretended to be the prince and jeno was the dragon,,,yeah man it was so lit 

this isn’t a jeno fic btw keep in mind its still jaemin 

all of that stuff before was when the three of you were like kids

once highschool came around all three of you found ur niches: jeno was the student-athlete, jaemin was well that guy that was wanted by all the girls

and you were just a regular mundane student ya know,,,you weren’t extremely talented nor smart you just floated around 

u still hung around jeno tho but your friendship was really lowkey 

like both of y'all would wait until the other one was completely alone or do some ridiculous actions to deliver the simplest messages 

jeno would look both ways before slipping you a note in class that said “can your mom drive me home today?” and you would make sure no one was looking before nodding secretly 

or the two of you would hide behind bushes to say that y'all parents wanted to have dinner together tonight 

tbh yall could just text each other but where’s the fUN in that? 

jaemin, on the other hand, was someone you haven’t a solid conversation with since sophomore year bc of an incident 

basically, you had helped one of your friends into a relationship with jaemin that lasted for about two months,,, which was considerably a long time considering that it was jaemin.the two of them were a fat power couple 

ur friend, let’s call her ella, was probably one of the more popular girls at school. she was well-known for being the prettiest, kindest girl that everyone LOVES

anyways, things didn’t end so well bc he stood her up at hoco even though he was gonna be crowned homecoming king and her queen. 

no one knows why jaemin just ditched but he did. 

didn’t stick well with your friend tho cause she stopped talking to you as well not really giving you an explanation

and this led to everyone in your friend group to kinda put all the blame onto you 

this is also when jaemin picked up his heartbreaker reputation and began living up to that title

at first ur were hella mad and sad, but you got over it cause being outcasted and kicked out of that friend group led you to befriend the local stoner boi!haechan

honestly, you got over it but after ignoring and avoiding jaemin for a whole year it just stuck. 

yall never talked again 

here comes SENIOR YEARS BITS 

u were so done w school at this point, you had suffered and labored through junior year,,, SAT and ACT were the biggest bitches you ever faced in your lifetime and this is coming from someone who was friends with the resident shithead lee haechan 

so it’s lunchtime and you’re listening to haechan’s wild story about some shenanigan that he and his weed dealer/ older college friend mark had gotten up to the past weekend 

“so like we were just hitting a blunt this weekend in mark’s car and this cop pulls up next to us.mark rolls down the window and all of the smoke just hits the cops in the face” 

“you're a fucking idiot, haechan” 

“listen bitch, i’m not done” 

“so the cop is doing the regular illegal drugs bullshit and asked mark a question. understand at this point that mark is high as fuck so i kid you not the crackhead says quack. nothing else just quack. honestly, i still don’t know how we got out of that but we did and lee haechan is still in school.” 

you want to slap your friend with a big smh at this point 

but it so ridiculous and so haechan that you can’t say anything else 

and you don’t have too! bc someone taps ur shoulder pulling you out of your convo and boom it’s ella 

“hey, y/n” she starts out sweetly and you could feel haechan’s bitch face directed towards the girl, who seemed to just ignore the boy 

“what’s up, ella?” you were hella fucking slightly irritated and highkey suspicious bc like this was the first time that she talked to you in like two years

“this out of the blue, but you know how prom is coming up soon? we need extra hands on the planning community,” ella explained with a bright smile  “we need another person to work on making the centerpieces for each table, but we only have one person on that” 

“okay, so what does this have to do with her?” haechan’s bitchy tone soaked in each word 

ella’s smile faltered slightly at his words, but it was so subtle that only people with keen eyes could notice

“i hope that i’m not imposing anything on to you.” ella trying to reassure  “but Mr. Moon told me that you still need some community service hours for our graduation requirement so I just assumed that this would be a good opportunity for you.” 

oh shit 

you completely forgot about that and you still needed like another 10 hours to complete

“ummmm” 

“i wouldn’t ask you this but my workload is completely swamped” ella added “it would be a big help if you can help. haechan, you can help too!” 

haechan let out a loud gag that seemed to baffle her 

“oh hell no, i already got my community service hours done like freshmen year.” 

you gave haechan the most incredulous face you could make cause like this druggie who gets high every other week and vapes in the bathroom really finished his community service hours before you????how?? 

“don’t look at me like that.” haechan kicked you underneath the table “it was before i learned how to roll a blunt” 

“drugs aren’t good for you, haechan,” ella chided 

haechan made a mocking face,,you know the one he does like that one,,”not all of us can be little miss goodie-two-shoes like you” 

oKAy time to do some damage control before your shithead friend gets himself into more shit 

“i’ll do it. just text me the details.” 

“thank you so much y/n!” ella said before bouncing off 

“i hate her” haechan stated

“you hate everyone” 

CUE aFTerschool when you follow ella’s text to go to the art building where everyone was gathered 

the minute you walked in you realized that you should have just said no and done some other community service activity cause jaemin was present standing in the corner and other people who you once called your close friends that turned out to be fat snakes

now you gotta deal with them again (aww shit here we go again) 

ella is motioning you to come into the classroom which you obliged cause you figured that you possibly could survive w ur rbf on as you made your way to the other unoccupied corner

there was some whispering in the background but you ignored it cUASE like hyuk always says: “you just gotta get high and block out all the haters” 

well, he was right about the second half, not so much the first. 

“alright everyone! thank you so much for volunteering to help set up for our senior prom! we only have about three weeks so we have to get all of the decorations done as soon as possible!” ella said in a chirpy tone

a lot of people looked motived by the girl’s bubby short speech on how everyone needs to put in 100% of their effort. you zoned that out as you caught the sleeping figure at the teacher's desk 

“goddamn you mr.moon forcing me to be here” you grumbled in your head almost missing your assigned duty, 

“y/n!” your head snapped in the direction that your name was called 

you saw ella standing with jaemin and the sirens go off in your head 

FUCK THIS

you let out a loud sigh before trotting over to the two 

ella gave you a piece of paper that had the centerpieces’ picture on them along with a long list of decorations “all you guys have to do is make about 300. all the directions are on the sheet and the supplies are in the other room. it’s really simple, just have it done by next friday.” 

you nearly popped a blood vessel 

300 by next friday? today was wednesday so that meant you only had ten days to finish all 300 of them

so you and jaemin are walking to the classroom next door to get the supplies y’all needed,,, in your head, you were just cursing everything in existence for putting you into this position especially mr. moon 

“so how did she rope you into this?” you heard jaemin say from beside you as you both carried boxes out to the parking lot. 

you two came to the good conclusion to split the load so that he would do half and you would do half 

150 it’s not that bad 

15 a day

hell yeah

it was so strange and foreign talking to him since it’s been about two whole years.  

he had a nice voice tho ngl maybe that’s why he got out of that detention that one time 

“she somehow found out that i still needed to complete my community service hours before graduation” you murmured, praying that haechan remembered you telling him to wait for you after school 

he probably ditched you to get high or hang out with one girl he liked

all jaemin said was “oh” and the rest of the walk to the school’s parking lot was quiet 

the tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife and the knife would break

“hey can i ask you a question?” jaemin asked when the two of you were about to go your separate ways 

you could see mark’s old beat-down car meaning that haechan, in fact, did ditch you but had the decency to call up mark to pick you up 

“yeah, go ahead” 

“how come you still talk to jeno, but not me?” 

i shit you not this was the quietest and deepest voice that you ever heard jaemin project 

you didn’t know how to reply so you looked down at the large box in your hand, mumbling some incoherent excuse

“can you repeat that?” 

“ i said, we don’t really have any other reasons to be friend's unlike me and jeno” 

“is that all?” jaemin asked, probably catching onto your bullshit

you were probably delusional but you could’ve sworn you heard some sadness in the tone he used

you nodded quickly trying to get to mark’s car hoping to avoid further conversation 

but boy was jaemin stubborn 

“that wasn’t a good explanation,y/n! ” jaemin called out after you. 

this time he sounded more lighthearted than before

you turn around to face jaemin who had a fatass smile on his face 

damn was he good looking smiling like that 

“give me a better reason tomorrow or else i’m taking you on a date!” his dazzling smile nearly blinding you as he made his way to his own car

inside your head little y/n is going whattheactualfuck? 

“what’s with that shook face?” mark ask as you climbed into the passenger seat 

“what the fuck?” you say 

“huh?”

you look at mark “what the ACTUAL fuck?” 

poor mark is like wtf is wrong with her,,,did haechan get her on some type of crack? 

that night while you were making the little centerpieces you were still going over what jaemin said 

you looked at the last centerpiece you finish making 

was he flirting with me? or was he serious?

he sounded sad when i said that tho? 

at the same, this was jaemin, a boy who is well-known for having flings left and right. 

he’s probably just flirting

until next day! jaemin pops up next to you as while you get your shit from your locker for your first class 

“did you come up with a good explanation yet? 

his sudden appearance startled you causing you to subconsciously let out a yelp 

“cute” he said, and you forced down the blush that was about to show 

“i thought i told you already?” causing jaemin to shake his head like a cute little puppy 

“i don’t accept it.i want a better one,” he said sounding like a spoiled toddler 

you gave him the “wtf do you mean look” and he was about to reply until you saw haechan walking through the school doors with a pair of sunglasses on which can only mean one thing

that little shit head came to school high again

you pushed passed jaemin and stormed towards haechan pulling him to some vacant hallway to lecture him

leaving jaemin standing there staring at your backs as the two of you left 

jaemin’s smile dropping significantly as he nearly glared over at the two of you leaving, specifically at the back of haechan’s head 

“dude, why do you look like you’re going to murder someone?” jeno asked as jaemin sat next to him at their lab station 

you weren’t in this chemistry class but haechan was,,,and it was his naptime

“how is y/n friends with him?” jaemin stared directly at a sleeping haechan 

jeno follows his line of sight, letting out a sigh once he notices it was haehcan

“she never really told me, but i assume it was because she stopped being friends with ella and that group” jeno said honestly. he raised an eyebrow in question at his bffl “why do you need to know” 

jaemin didn’t answer him, continuing to glaring at the sleeping male 

jeno rolled his eyes at his friend's antics 

but in a serious tone, he warns to his friend, “don’t pull your games with y/n.” 

except jaemin’s head wasn’t registering this warning,,he was solely focused on how lee fucking haechan the biggest stoner of NCT High managed to take a girl’s attention from him, na jaemin....it was simply ridiculous 

maybe he really was an attention seeker bc he made a beeline for your table during lunch instead of his regular one once he saw just how loud you were laughing at haechan’s joke 

“what’s so funny?” jaemin asked sliding into the seat next to you 

now both of you and our boy hyuk is like wtf 

immediately you’re on defense, “what are you doing here?” 

“you never gave me a good explanation!” jaemin pouted, giving you fat puppy eyes 

those aLMost worked 

“uhhhhhh” you try to find a good excuse but jaemin quickly cuts you off 

“it’s okay if you don’t have a good explanation,” jaemin reaches over and steals a fry from haechan’s tray eliciting a hissing sound from the boy “you just have to go on a date with me” 

then he winks 

and he's gone

“what in the holy fuck just happened?” 

the amount of time that y/n has said wtf is unbelievable 

haechan’s sunglasses slip down the bridge of nose and you could see his red eyes giving you a look of disappointment, “and you say i have issues” 

“stfu before i slit your throat” 

the rest of the day wasn’t any easier on you tbh. you learned that jaemin was really really stubborn and very very clingy 

the boy deadass scanned the whole hallway to find your face so he could tag along with you to your next class even though you could have sworn that his class was one the other side of the school 

he kept on bombarding you with questions on what you wanted to get after school and if you like roller skating 

by some means, you were able to hide in the library for the rest of the study hall period which meant that you could probably avoid jaemin until school ended 

you spotted a familiar boy huddled in the corner reading a book that made you squint your eyes. 

marching over to jeno, your eyes just say “explain” 

jeno looked at you with like those wide eyes he does when he’s shookth bc the two of you never interacting in school so puBlicly

“what the hell is na jaemin trying to pull?” you whispered-yelled plopping down in the wooden seat next to the athlete 

jeno is all like????wydm 

and you explain your whole situation to him and he just lets out the biggest sigh 

“he doesn’t like being left on read” 

“what do you mean?” 

“i mean, that’s what you basically did to him sophomore year. he was kinda depresso about how you just stopped talking to him out of nowhere. by the way, why did you do that?” 

tbh you really didn’t know at first you were mad at him

was it bc his actions caused all your friends to blame you for his inability to commit to a relationship,,, but it’s been two years since that incident

you got over it, so why were you still avoiding jaemin? 

“i dunno after him and ella broke up, i didn’t have a reason to talk to him.” 

jeno looked at you like “really? is that your answer?” 

“think about that question again because i’m sure that that's, not the whole answer.” 

now you’re more confused but also very mad about how both of them weren’t accepting your reason as valid! 

so as you were furiously making the stupid centerpieces that ella forced you into volunteering to do

angry y/n really got through a solid 50 of them 

you pondered on jeno’s words and you thought back to sophomore year 

you remembered still joking around lightheartedly w jaemin until he started dating ella 

he actually spent a lot of time and effort even ditching jeno sometimes for her which was okay cause jeno would chill w renjun or even you (mostly bc he could watch barbie movies w no shame) 

everything was alright until homecoming came around and jaemin flaked on ella leading them to breakup the next day 

and ella to stop talking to you which made everyone mad you or think that you were the one that caused the breakup 

WHICH YOU DIDN”T 

you were the one that hooked the two of them up too! so it was really unfair! 

it's like 2 am and you don’t know what came over to text jeno but you did 

y/n: why didn’t jaemin go to hoco sophomore year? 

you felt instant regret after sending that text bc like it probably made it seem like you were interested in jaemin,,,, which you were totally not!

seconds later jeno slaps you with the ”ask him yourself”  

fattest facepalm 

so that’s how you spent the entire night finishing all of your centerpieces that you were assigned to make cuz of your frustration

wow we love a productive y/n 

alrighty this is where shit goes down 

now that you were done with all of your centerpieces you took them to the art room the next day before school where ella was there doing her stoof 

she looked up with a giant smile when you came in with a giant box 

“you finished all of it?” 

“nah just 150. jaemins finishing the other half” you set the box down 

“oh okie,” ella nodded returning to whatever she was doing beforehand 

since it was just the two of you in the classroom and you’ve been dying to know the answer since sophomore year 

so fuck it 

“hey ella, can i ask you a question?” 

the said girl looked up with that same friendly smile that she gave everyone “of course!” 

“why didn’t jaemin show up to hoco sophomore year?” you blurted out 

in an instant, ella’s smile dropped and there was a sudden cold look in her eyes 

“you already know the answer to that, y/n, you don’t need me to answer you. now if you excuse me, i have things i have to do” ella said in a very unlike-ella-way 

her answer made you even more confused than ever bc how were you supposed to know the answer to THAT 

confused!y/n is even more confused 

however, all your questions were about to be answered, not really tho 

you’re on your way to the third period with the same burning question in your head: why the hell did jaemin not show up to sophomore year hoco??? someone help?  

tbh you didn’t even notice someone yanking you into the janitor’s closet until you were surrounded in darkness and someone's hands were clasp over your mouth 

“it’s me, jaemin” his soft whisper sent tings down your spine 

he let go of your mouth to switch on the light 

“are you fucking insane?” 

“yes, but it’s only cause i’m madly in love with you” 

you rolled your eyes “cut the bullshit, jaemin, what do you want?” 

“our date. you never gave me a solid explanation, so i want a date” 

you were about to reject him but then an idea formed in your head 

“fine” 

and with that one-word jaemin’s eyes glowed 10x brighter with his smile almost blinding you 

cheesy i know. 

“let’s go now!” 

the boy was really about to skip class just to go on this stupid date w you 

is he that bored? did he really run out of girls to date? 

but then again you really don’t want to go to math bc you’re pretty sure there's a test today that you haven’t studied for yet 

so that’s how you found yourself with jaemin at the local ice cream parlor 

jaemin INSISTED that y'all share a sundae, which he also fought you to pay for 

there a silence that falls upon you for a little bit 

jaemin breaks it though like he breaks heart (okay minnie that’s kinda mean) 

“ella told me that you finished your half of the centerpieces in two days. that’s pretty impressive,” he comments 

you nodded staring at the ice cream drowned in chocolate syrup 

“to be honest, i haven’t gotten much done yet,” he admitted, continuing to ramble on “it’ll get done. i might even pay renjun to do it, but i’m pretty sure he’s too preoccupied with this girl that he’s been pining over for a while” 

“speaking of which, are you seeing anyone right now?” jaemin asks out of nowhere. 

“lol i could be doing other things with my time.” 

jaemin observes your face closely taking in the faint blush on your cheeks from his direct gaze, “so what about that haechan dude?” 

“what about him?” 

“are the two of you a thing?” 

you nearly gagged 

“there no way in hell i’d ever get with haechan. besides, he’s having some of his own girl problems right now. he was being a little bitch about it too” 

“good” jaemin says really contently. 

“why didn’t you go to hoco sophomore year?” you finally asked

taken back slightly, jaemin softly smiles down at the half-eaten sundae

instead of answering you, he asked another question “why did you stop talking to me?” 

you gulp, but eventually, you had to tell him the truth even though it was kinda dumb and immature

“because ella was mad at me after the two of you broke up.” 

he shifted his gaze up to your own eyes 

“do you know why she was mad at you?” 

you shook your head

jaemin smiled again 

this time it kinda looked sad :( 

“because she knew that i was in love with you”  

[slut4barzy]

xmas with the lindmarks | owen lindmark

✰ day 4 of slutty’s twelve days of christmas.

when owen invited you to the lindmark’s annual christmas eve eve party he tried to warn you about everything and everybody in his family before he sent you out to the wolves. the nosey aunts and their invading questions, the drunk uncles, the rowdiness of it all. but one thing he did fail to mention, was the three, eight year old demons that he called his cousins.

the minute you entered his aunt’s house, his mother was already making a b-line towards the two of you, “i’m so sorry.” owen whispers into your ear, before pushing your coat off your body. monica’s arms were already up in the air ready to engulf you two into her bear hugs, “look who finally decided to show up!”

“hi mom,” owen presses a kiss on her cheek before wrapping his arms around her body. “what took you guys so long? nana seemed like she was going to have a heart attack if she didn’t see you.” owen looks over at you with a smirk making your face heat up, “traffic.” the both of you say in unison. there was no traffic on the way here.

“hi yn!” you were next, before you knew it monica’s arms were already around you, her perfume filling up your space, “you look gorgeous!” you pick at your flowly pink and green dress that was obviously meant for the summer, but when you saw it online you couldn’t pass up on it.

“hi mrs. monica, thank you!”she feels the dress, gushing over the material. “you should let me borrow this for the summer family barbecue.” she says, “will give me something to workout for.” you nod, “sure thing.” she smiles placing a hand on your shoulder, “now you two go on, i got some pies in the oven that are a minute away from burning.”

you watch as his mother speed walked back to the kitchen, laughing at her energy, “i love how no matter what day it is your mom always seems as if shes crushed five red bulls before she starts the day.” he takes your coat that he had in his hand and hung it up in the closet that was already bursting with coats. “at this point is there any other explanation.”

the triplets came running in, blayke who was the ringleader of them all of ran headfirst into owen’s stomach. “oof!” owen exclaims ruffing up his baby cousin’s sandy blonde hair.

“owen!”

“hey guys! i was wondering where you were.” you watched with a smile as the boys all trampled their big cousin with things that have happened since the last time they have seen each other. it just makes you smile seeing how good he is with children because it shows just what the future would hold when you have little ones of your own.

“owen! owen! owen!” colin prods bouncing on his feet, owen laughs, “what is it colin?”

“last game scored five goals. basically carried the team on my back.” the ‘baby’ of the triplets, ziggy — who was just a baby owen in glasses, turned to his brother offended by his statement, “did not!”

“did too!”

ziggy pushes colin’s chest, “did not!” colin does the same but his push sends ziggy to the ground landing right at your feet. “are you okay?” you ask reaching your hand out to help him up. ziggy looks at your hand, then looks at you, then back at your hand. at the sound of your voice owen and the triplets were out of their little bubble and registered that there was someone else in the room.

“thank you,” he says softly his little hand holding on to yours as you help pull him up. he walks over back over to his siblings. you smile nervously as they watched you, as if they’ve never seen a girl before. “are you not going to introduce me?” you ask owen.

the three of them turn backed to owen, “oh yeah. boys this is my girlfriend, yn. yn, this is blayke, colin, and ziggy, my mini-me’s.” you wave at them even though all you got back were stares. “hi, it’s very nice to meet you.” silence.

owen nudges blayke prompting them to say something, “it’s not really nice to stare.” still they wouldn’t budge, you look at owen who only gives you a shrug, “usually they’re not like this. i don’t know why they’re acting shy.” he says playfully poking colin in his sides who beings to laugh, “huh, mr. big shot.” monica pops her head out of the kitchen calling for her son, “owen come and say hi to your nana!”

he walks over to you, placing a kiss on your cheek, “duty calls. why don’t you go over to the couch and i’ll get you when i’m done.” when owen leaves you try and see if you could start a conversation with the triplets, maybe try and warm up to them a bit but when you turned around they were gone. sighing you give up and make way for family room where you go and wait for owen.

as you waited you made some small talk with his family as they were watching a game on television. you laughed at how invested his uncles were screaming at the screen, their big yells at the goals, reminded you of your family.

as you talked to his cousin, vanessa, who you have also met a couple months prior at one of owen’s games you notice from the corner of your eye that colin and ziggy have both slid in the seat next to you watching you intently as you talked to vanessa.

they sat like that, for ten minutes, watching you as you talked. every couple of minutes you would turn to see if you were wrong but nope, they were there watching you with their big blue eyes creeping you the fuck out.

“are these boneheads bothering you yn?” you weren’t the only that the two’s stares were bothering. vanessa gives them a look trying to scare them off, “leave her alone!” you shake your head, “it’s okay, they’re fine vanessa.”

she nods getting up and taking a big stretch, “okay i’ll be right back. i have a call to make.”

“i’ll be here,” you say. she looks over at colin and ziggy giving them both a smack on the head, “leave her alone. i mean it.” the two whine in protest, “we’re not even doing anything!” ziggy says, “yeah, we’re just watching the game!” colin backs up.

it wasn’t till a bit after vanessa left that you decided to say something. you turn towards their direction putting your hands in your lap trying to come across as nice as possible, “hi! do you wan-”

“how did you meet my cousin?” colin was the first to speak cutting you off. okay, starting off nice and easy. it’s obvious that the boys love their cousin very much, and of course with some strange girl taging along they are going to ask questions. so you are going to sit there and endure them all if it means acceptance.

“we met at school. we go to the same college.” the two look at each other, ziggy goes to whisper in his brother’s ear, eyes not leaving yours. “you’re not one of those girls, are you?”

you furrowed your eyebrows in pretend confusion, “what girls?” “those girls.” you knew what he what he was talking about you just wanted to mess with him. “what girls?”

“that wasn’t even the question colin!” ziggy huffs pushing his circle glasses up, “do you like lizards?”

your eyes lit up you loved any chance to blab about your pet. “oh my god, i love them! i have a baby one his name is rico.” you watched as his face lit up, “you do! i have three!”

as you continued to talk about your lizards and all you felt a an object hit the back of your head, “what the fuck,” you whisper you feel the back of your head turning to see who the culprit was. no one was behind the you but all you could hear is giggles. looking at the boys you ask, “did you see anyone?” ziggy shrugs, colin shaking his head.

you ignore it shaking it off, “anyways, i have a lepord gecko and he’s yellow and orange. i have to show you a picture, he’s so cute.” as go to pull out your phone from your dress pocket, again, another object hits your head. this time your turn your head quickly to make sure you catch the person, and there with his little nerf gun stood blayke laughing as if what he was doing was hilarious. “hey blayke, could you please not do that?” he looks at you with a stupid smirk, “or what?”

“or.. i don’t know. maybe just don’t do it.” he looks at you, raises up his gun and shoot a bullet right in the middle of your forehead.

that’s it, before you knew it you were up and ready to fight an eight year old. you felt colin and ziggy’s hands around your arms and waist and even though they are little people you were struggling to get out there hold. you point a finger at blayke, “i swear you little fuck if i wasn’t being held back by your brothers i would wrangle you right now!”

blayke drops the gun mouth wide open ready to scream “auntie monica! yn is saying very bad words!” monica who was passing through shakes her head, “please yn watch your mouth around the children.” your face heats up, “sorry, mrs. lindmark.”

you look back at him mouthing a you’re dead causing him to squeal in delight running away. you take a deep breath trying to calm yourself down from the events, ziggy tugs on your arm, “hey yn, do you want to come see my lizard collection?” you see owen exit the kitchen after finally saying his hellos, “hey guys, she’s my date! can i have her back.”

ziggy uses your arm to point to the direction of the stairs “i was just going to show her my lizards!” fake hurt crosses owen’s face, “its one thing that you’re talking to her the whole time. but c’mon dude, you’re taking her up to your room?! have some respect!”

“who cares, she’s hot.” you laugh throwing your head back. “thanks,” you say to colin.

you sit back on the couch owen following suit. ziggy tugs on your arm. “are you staying the night yn.” you shake your head, “i have to get over to my family’s house tonight.” he pouts, “no! it’s tradition you have to stay the night.”

you could see his eyes watering up, “oh my god ziggy! don’t cry.” tears start dropping from his eyes ziggy drops his head on your lap. “ziggy if i could i would but my mother would kill me if she knew that i was staying the night at my boyfriends, especially on christmas.”

you brush your fingers through his hair, “hey, next time okay. i’ll bring rico and he can play with your lizards.” he raises his head his face glistening with tears, “really?”

“mhm.”

“haha ziggy is a pussy. look at him crying!” ziggy stands up ready to tear colin to shreads, “i’m not a pussy!” you watched as the two scream chasing each other around.

“is this how they always are?” you ask snuggling into owen’s side. he wraps his arm around your shoulder slowly running his fingers up and down your arm. “you’re lucky they went easy on you. they showed the others no mercy.” your eyes widen, “the others?!” owen laughs, “i’m kidding babe you know you’re the only one.” you roll your eyes, “mhm, sure, totally.”

“but seriously though, they really like you.” you smile, “i’m glad they do, because i like them too.”

ziggy and colin make another round before ziggy jumps on colins back turning the chase into an all out war. you found it funny how the whole family doesn’t even blink an eye at the boys antics, as if this was an everyday occurrence.

blayke comes back around plopping himself next to owen, “hey owen when you’re finished with her, can i have her?” owen shrugs, “i don’t know man i kinda want to marry her, so that won’t happen anytime soon.”

you smile, pressing yourself closer into him. if those were his plans after all then you wouldn’t mind marrying into a family like this.

[whatmakesyoulove]

Welcome the 2021 (7th) Cate Blanchett Birthday Project!

Every year, for the past 7 years I’m trying to collaborate Cate Blanchett fans together in order to make something special for her birthday. And I am super excited to say that we have made 6 successful birthday projects together which has ALL arrived to Cate.

Cate Blanchett has influenced me and many more people through the years and this project is my way to say: Thank You. This year the project will surround CELEBRATING OURSELVES. 

Cate is a huge inspiration for all of us. She believes in celebrating ourselves as WHO WE ARE. If it’s as a woman, as a man, as a queer, as whoever we want to be, and this project is about that. It’s about being ourselves and celebrating us as who we are, because that’s where our true power lies. 

This year we will create a fan cover for the ultimate Cate song “You Don’t Own Me” This is how it will work:

The amazing Maya has created an amazing piano cover for us. It is right here.

I want you to listen to the cover and sing the song! If you’re not sure, you can listen to Erich’s great intro here.

Then videotape yourself covering the song. You can create two different videos of Audio & a video OR make it in one. It doesn’t really matter

The most important thing here is that the Audio needs to be AS CLEAN AS POSSIBLE. Meaning: I want to hear your singing voice only! The playback will be in your headphones but not for me to hear it.  

If you are a dancer or a performer this section is to you: You can dance/ perform to the piano cover and I will add that to our clip.

Some things to get out of the way:

I’m not singer and I’m not expecting you to be ones. It’s just you making something fun for Cate! :)

The song is not very difficult, so if there are certain parts you feel you are better at, feel free to sing only them. Anyways, I promise I’ll edit it the way we will hear your BEST parts

This is also the first time I’m doing something like that, so be supportive and have fun!

How does it work?

Send an email with your Name, Age & Country

Mention in the email if you joined any of the past projects and if yes mention the year

Send your Audio & video as one / two files

Make sure we hear only your singing voice in the recording (and not the piano cover. A great way to do that is to put headphones on and listen to the piano over there)

Rules:

Keep an appropriate language

Letting you know the project will be released ONLINE

Deadline

All projects should arrive until APRIL 15TH, 2021. Send them all to the following address: CBFbirthday2015@gmail.com (the same one from past years) If you have any questions you can ask me here on the  ask box / twitter / email .

Taking part in the project this year + special thanks: Cate Blanchett Daily, Queen Cate, Cate Blanchett Fan, Erich, Abbey and Maya.

FAQs

Who can participate the project? - Everyone who wants to.

Can I send a picture of myself with a happy birthday poster? You can include that. but it can’t be instead of the project itself.

Can you guarantee Cate will receive the book? - sadly not, but we will try our best to make this work.

Our work at the past years:

2015 – A birthday video by fans - 24 participants 2016 – A birthday book – 138 participants 2017 – A birthday collage – 43 participants 2018 - The art as we see it -  40 participants 2019 – The big 50: A fan video – 61 participants 2020 - A motivation book - 42 participants

Please reblog this post so more people will be aware of our project The project Twitter/Tumblr tages: CBBP / CBBP21

[vampire207343]

Diana Grace

What if.... Davis Motomiya is born a girl by the name Diana and she has a big secret that she kept from her friends she’s a ..... Demigod the Daughter of Apollo.

          Diana left Odaiba after the defeat of MaloMyotismon for good since she has been drifting away from the rest of the Digidestin even from her mortal bestfriend Ken Ichijouji, since he has been spending more time to his new girlfriend Yolie Inue. Which I didn’t mine, but it feels like were not even friends anymore.

While I was in the park with Veemon an old clock sales man aproach me and given me a chance to be a different type of Digidestin and I accepted his proposal to become different time of Digidestin, I become a General every since then.

                 When I arrived at Digi-Quortz which are similar to the Digital world except the whole place look like a digital version of the human world.

 The Digimon that join my army are:

Apollomon

Dianamon

Leppamon

Raze Greymon

Sakuyamon

Mermaimon

Mihiramon

Cutemon

Guilmon

Rosemom

Floramon

Stingmon

Falcomon

Agunimon

Lobomon

Kazemon

Beetlemon

Loweemon

Swanmon

Lucemon

Seadramon

Justicemon

Junomon

I am the General of Miracles and after all the Generals defeated Quortzmon we return to the real world, but we all stayed in contact with one another even if we aren’t in the same town or country beside some of the Digimon Generals are Demigod like myself for example:

Mikey Kudo the demigod son of Hermes 

Jeremy Tsurgi the demigod son of Hermes

Angie Hinomoto the demigod daughter of Ares

So all the general knows about Demigod, but they still accept them. So after I return home their seem to be no time past which I didn’t mind beside All the Child Digidestin wouldn’t miss me one bit since their all to busy with their own life so they wouldn’t even know that I’m leaving Odaiba and moving to New York.

Diana being a daughter of Apollo, she’s great music and healing like all her brothers and sister.

              5 months later...

 The Digidestin finally notice the absent of Diana’s prescent so they went ro visit her at her house.

                                                      Ding.....Dong....

And Jun open the apartment door.

“ Oh... it’s you guys, what do you want? ” Jun ask.

“ Can we see Diana ” Kari said.

“ She’s not here ” Jun replied.

“ When is she going to get home? ” Ken ask.

“ You guys don’t know do you? ” Jun aak after look at them all in the eyes.

“ We don’t know what ? ” Cody ask.

“ My sister moved ” Jun replied.

“ Moved?....Where did she moved away? ” T.K. ask shock.

“ She moved to New Yorkbto be closer with her father and other siblings” Jun said.

“ Ah... this might be little personal but don’t you and Diana shared the same father? ” Yolie ask.

“ No.... Diana is my younger half sister.... well if that’s all goodbye ” Jun said Before closing the aparment door to their face.

 Before all the Digidestin left the Motomiya home and meet up with the older digidestin and told them what Jun said to them.

“ Did you guys even know she move at all ” Matt ask.

“ No ” Yolie said.

“ But, where still pick up the signal of her D-3 in Japan ” T.K. said.

“ It’s quite possible that when she left Japan. Diana left her D-3 behind ” Izzy said.

“ I suppost ” Ken said.

“ But I still can’t believed that Diana moved ” Yolie said.

“ Yeah ” Kari said.

“ I guess we are to bussy with our own lives that we didn’t notice that Diana left Japan ” Cody said.

“ I guess your right.... we been slowly drifting away from one another since the the defeat of MaloMyotismon ” T.K. said.

3 years later...

   The war with Gaia and her giant are finally over the 7 Demigods are:

Percy Jackson the son of Poseidon

Annabeth Chase the daughter of Athena

Frank Zhang the son of Mars

Hazel Lavender the daughter of Pluto

Piper Mclean the daughterbof Aphrodite

Leo Valdez the son of Hepheatus

Diana Motomiya the Daughter of Apollo

Jason Grace the son of Jupiter

Diana and Jason are now offically a couple, and their friends Piper Mclean has her heart broken since she also has a crush on Jason. But the relationship that Jason and Piper had at the beging was the creation if the Mist it wasn’t real but she did fall in love with Jason for real but Jason fellnin love with the beautiful daughter of Apollo, Diana Motomiya.

   One of Diana’s friends Jeremy Tsurgi the sin of Hermes was their for Piper to comfort her broken heart and help. Jason Grace, Piper Mclean and Leo Valdez become a General aswell.

Jason Grace’s army consist of :

Jupitermon

Leppamon

Seadramon

Hawkmon

Ravenmon

Angemon

Beetlemon

Huckmon

Sorcermon

Veedramon

War Greymon

Kazemon

Justicemon

Garurumon

Cutemon

Apollomon

Gallantmon

Monochromon

Kudamon

Lobomon

Angewomon

Leo Valdez’s army consist of:

Vulcanusmon

Datamon

Clockmon

Mihiramon

Marine Angemon

Leomon

Armadillomon

Tentomon

Kyubimon

Impmon

Agunimon

Metal Greymon

Magnamon

Labramon

Metal Seadramon

Biyomon

Terriermon

Wormon

Gaomon

Hawkmon

Piper Mclean's army consist of:

Venusmon

Lilymon

Yokomon

Terriermon

Metal Seadramon

Biyomon

Impmon

Leomon

Gatomon

Gabumon

Strikemon

Floramon

That summer they all went to Japan to meet the rest of the Generals by thrn Piper began dating Jeremy Tsurgi, after getting over her feelings for Jason. Piper Mclean, Leo Valdez and Jason Grace get along eith the rest of the General.

       5 years later...

All the Generals are now 21 years old and finally graduate College even those who are demigods. Jason Grace recently propose to Diana they been together for 6 years now.

 And they had a huge wedding at the Plazza in New York that their mortal friends could also attend and the Gods  made sure that no monster can ruwin their wedding and Queen Hera/Juno also gaved them her blessing which they thank her for.

           A month after tgey gotten married they find out from Apollo that Diana is already pregnant with twin Daughters their names are Serenity and Minako Grace  born in June 30, 1978.

               5 years later....

My mortal sister Jun Motomiya invited my family to her wedding to Jim Kido the older brother of Joe Kido the child of Reliability and I haven’t  seen the child Digidestins for almost 13 years since I left Odaiba. I know that Jun would most likely invited them all their yo her wedding since she’s marrying Joe Kido’s older brother.

Mikey and Angie are also invited since their son Duo Kudo is the Ring Bearer like my youngest daughter Minako is the flower girl for the wedding.

We flyto Japan using my family’s private Jet and Jeremy and his wife Piper tag along since it’s also the Digidestin Genersls Reunion so Leo and his wife Airu Suzaki

Would be taging along with their 4 years old son Xavier Valdez.

Jeremy & Piper Tsurgi, Leo & Airu Valdez and their family went a head to where they were meeting with the rest of the Generals, While Mikey and his wife Angie Kudo, Jason and Diana Grace and their family attented Jun’s wedding

2 Hours Later....

   The wedding Ceremony are finish and now all the guest are taking a seat to eat.

“ Congrasulation Jun ” Diana said giving her sister a hug.

“ Diana you made it in time ” Jun said.

“ I got my scudel clear for your wedding and you made my youngest daughter your flower girl and beside our friends are having a 10 years reunion later ” Diana said.

“ Congrasulation Jun ” Jason said.

“Oh.., thanks Jason. And it’s nice to see you again”  Jun said.

“ You too ” Jason said.

“ Congrasulation, Aunt Jun "Serenity and Minako Grace said.

“ Oh thank you girls " Jun said.

“ Well we will leave you to talk to your other guest ” Diana said, before joing Mikey, Angie and their two sons Heero and Dup Kudo.

“ Alright ” Jun said. 

Unknown to Diana that Joe spotted her.

“Guy...Guys... you would gelieve who I just saw ” Joe kido said.

“ Who is it that your out of breath” Natt ask.

“ I saw Diana again with her family, and it turn out the flower girl Minako Grace is Diana’s youngest daughter ” Joe said.

“ What? ” Tai ask shock.

“ Dosen’t that mean she’s married ” Yolie said.

“ From the look of things, yeah ” Joe said.

“ She has longer hair now and her once pure brown hair turn to golden brown hair ” Joe said.

“ Really she use to have a boyish haircut" T.K. said

“Yeah” she right their point at Diana.

“ I suppost 13 years can change a person’s view on things ” Sora said.

“ I guess your right ” Yolie said.

“ So what dose Diana do now a days? ” Kari ask.

“ To tell you guys the truth I still don’t know that part ” Joe said.

After the wedding the Kudo and the Grace family left and went to Shinohome to meet up with the rest of the Generals.

“ Hey, Jun what is Diana doing now a days? ” Tai ask.

“ Well Diana is a famous Actress and Singer, but she also own a Resturant Businesss that she runs. She also went to Medical School like her brothers and Sister, but she never went to be a Doctor but she dose have a degree for it. And her husband Jason Grace is an Actor and he also own Grace Airline. ” Jun said.

“ What?! Diana’s an actress and Singer ” Yolie ask shock.

“ That’s right. Well this is wehere we leave you ” Jun said before She and Jim left for their Honeymoon.

  Nene Amano end up marrying Christopher Aonuma. And she work as a Zologu expert while Christopher becoje a Marshal Art Instructor and they have one daughter together Lita Aonuma who’s the same age as Minako and Serenity.

Mikey Kudo become a Gym Teacher in New York city and Angie open up her own resturant that could rivals that of Diana’s. Mikey and Angie has two children and they are Heero and Duo Kudo.

8 years later...

Serenity & Minako  Grace, Lita Aonuma, Heero and Duo Kudo are now 14 years old and their family are currently living in Japan and all their memories of their pass life has return to them a month ago, so they have discretly collected all the 7 Rainbow crystal before making it one and Serenity hiding it from her body.

Minako Grace was the reborn princesss of Venus and she was also the captain of Inner Senshi of Princess Serenity. She was Sailor Venus the Senshi of Love and Beauty. She already at Princess Sailor Venus while she is in active that dosen’t mean they don’t trainn well those who remember their true memory of their past life not the one Queen Serenity want them to believe.

Lita Anomua is the reborn eelf of the princess of Jupiter, she also happen to be the secound in command of the inner sendhi of Princess Serenity. She is the senshi of Bravery and Protection, Sailor Jupitor, and Like Minako she has trained hard to reach the level of princess Sailor Jupitor.

 Duo Kudo was the reborn self of the Prince of Saturn and the half-brother of Princess Serenity and Sailor Saturn, he is the secound in command of the Planetry Knights.

Then their’s Heeero Kudo was the reborn self of the Prince of Jupitor and the half-brother of princess Lita of Jupitor and the capatain of the Planetry Knights.

Then Finally their is Serenity Grace vthe reborn self of Princess Serenity of the Moon. She is tge crown princess of the white moon kingdom and the true misstress of the Sliver Crystal which she currently hiding inside her own body. While her mother  Queen Serenity didn’t want her to be train as a senshi dhe sneak out to train as one without her mother knowladge. She also reach the same level as Venus and Jupitor, she now Princess Sailor Moon.

Serenity POV

 I have cut  any bond that I may have with PrincevEndymione XII since they may have been enganged to marry one another in their first life, but they did not love one another their Engangement was only to stop War from breaking out between the Moon and Earth Kingdoms, hut instead their Engagement cause the destruction of the moon Kingdom. Because of Endymione’s ex-girlfriend who he had to leave because if their Engangement. Beryl who is a Noble daughter from Earth, broke the Ancient Seal that contain one of the most Evilnbeing on Earth Metalicana which  my mother Queen Serenity sealed away long ago. And now  Metalicana possesed Beryl and she had rallied an Army and attack the Moon kingdom the lead to it’s destruction.

   At that time I was not awared that my younger half sister Princess Selena of the moon.

Have been visiting Earth many times that she end up meeting Endymione and fall in love with him even though she know the moment she heard his name that he is the Fiancee of her older half sister, but she didn’t care, but her rendezvous stop after the annocment of Serenity and Endymione’s wedding. For our mother would have her head if she didn’t.

I’m not awared who Selena’s father is in our last life and I’m 100% sure that she was not the daughter of of King Hades of Saturn, no one really know who her father is.

   Recently Sailor Mars and Sailor Mercury are awaken most likely by Luna and Pluto awaken Sailor Neptune and Sailor Uranus earlier with the other inner scouts no where to be found. After the battle with Queen Beryl, Minako Grace finally found Artemis again but by then we were to Japan to go back to San Fransico.

          And we arrived home, we meet tye reborn self of Sailor Saturn who happen be my younger half sister in our last life, she is a legacy like us being the daughter of Koichi Kimura the son of Ares and Legacy of Pluto. He happenb to be a different Digidestin, he is a Warrior Digidestin.

We become friends with her. Serenity & Minako Grace both dream of become a famous Actress and Singer like their mother Diana Grace. Since they have godly blood in this life they inhearte their frandfather’s power as a legacy of Jupitor and Apollo.

[dieaprikose]

LESEN AUF DEUTSCH | books to read in German

If you are bored of Duolingo (which I personally dont’t find that useful, but it is just my personal opinion, if you like it, if you gain knowledge by using it, then it is awesome) and other learning apps and if you want to find other ways to encounter your target language, you should READ! It may seem hard at first, it may puzzle you or give you a headache, but I swear it is one the most useful methods when it comes to language learning.

WHY READING IS ESSENTIAL

I know it is because this is how I got my English knowledge on a more advanced level. I actually remember moments when the language have started to make sense in my head, when I started to develop a deeper and wider passive vocabulary. I remember when I was sitting in an English class in school, and I remembered words from my readings. If you read in your target language, you become familiar with phrases, idioms; it will give you an image of the correct usage of language: it is essential when it comes to different registers. Maybe you learn a phrase or a word in a learning app, but reading them in a book makes you understand that in what kind of situations you can use them, to whom you can tell them. In short: read.

(personally, I remember that in 2013, I started to read 5SOS fanfics on wattpad because there were no Hungarian fanfics that time, and it was truly a breaking point in my studies. So even if it is fanfictions, read them. They help).

WHAT TO READ IN GERMAN | BÜCHER AUF DEUTSCH

There are some pretty good possibilities for beginners/lower-intermediate (A2) language learners.  Here are some suggestions:

1. André Klein - Learn German with Stories - Dino lernt Deutsch (A2) The Dino lernt Deutsch  series is a wonderful and extremely useful book series for language learners. It follows the life of a young guy called Dino, who moves to Germany to find a job. The problem is that he has to learn German because he is a beginner-level. So the book basically introduces Germany, the German language and culture from the point of view of an outsider. The series has 8 part, all of them take place in different cities from Berlin to Zürich. I have only read the first two (Café in Berlin and Ferien in Frankfurt) but I can tell you that they are kinda mandatory for your language studies. All the parts have 10 short stories, and at the end of each story, there is a vocabulary with the most important/mostly unknown words and phrases and then a little exercise which tests your understanding of the text. If you have a Kindle or another e-book reader with a built-in dictionary, I advise you to buy an ebook version as you can check other unknown words immediately. WEBSITE

Café in Berlin

Ferien in Frankfurt

Karneval in Köln

Momente in München

Ahoi aus Hamburg

Plötzlich in Palermo

Walzer in Wien

Zurück in Zürich

2. Language Learning University - German Short Stories (9 Simple and Captivating Stories for Effective German Learning for Beginners) (A1-A2) I haven’t read this book yet, however, I plan to do so after finishing the Dino lernt Deutsch series. As the title already suggests, it includes 9 short stories in German. After every chapter, there is a short summary in English and a short, but useful list of unknown words in English; and then there is an exercise just like in the Dino series. 

3. Roald Dahl - Charlie und die Schokoladenfabrik (A2-B1) Everyone knows the story of the little boy who gets a golden ticket to the Chocolate factory. The German translation of the book is surprisingly easy, maybe I wouldn’t recommend it to complete beginners, but if you are around an A2 level, you can try to read this book. I again suggest an ebook version because of the built-in dictionaries. I have started to read this book, however, I couldn’t finish it yet, but I have no problem with understanding. it. A short quote from the book just the examplify how easy it is:

“Das Haus war viel zu klein für so viele Leute, und so war das Leben darin für alle miteinander äußerst unbequem. Es gab nur zwei Zimmer und nur ein einziges Bett. In dem Bett durften die vier alten Großelten schlafen, weil sie so alt und müde waren” (Roald Dahl).

I don’t think I have to go into details, the quoted part is about how small the house Charlie’s family live in. To be honest, there was only one unknown word for me in that section (äußer). 

4. Mark Haddon - Supergute Tage oder Die sonderbare Welt des Christopher Boone (A2-B1) (rather B1) It is again a translated, originally English book, however, not hard to read for German learners. I have found out about it in a youtube video (just like about Charlie und die Schokoladenfabrik), and it is indeed seems to be a good choice. I haven’t started it yet, but it seems not hard to understand. Maybe it is a bit challenging text than the Roald Dahl’s book, but at least you can learn more words.

5. J. K. Rowling - Harry Potter (B1) This list wouldn’t be complete without Harry Potter. Years ago, my sister found the first part (Harry Potter und der Stein der Weisen) in German in a thrift shop,  but I only started to read it this year. Not gonna lie, it is hard, I think, it is the hardest one in the list. I read the first chapter for at least a half an hour, then I got a pretty heavy headache, but I understood (!!!). It was the very first book I have ever read in English, I remember that the first time (summer of 2011 or 2012, not sure), I tried to check every single unknown word for like 100 page. Then I read it again in around 2013, and I loved how easier it became. Now, that I’m reading it in German, what makes it ‘easier”, and why I still recommend it is that all of us know the story. If you read the books a lot, you maybe even know what is coming in the text. I remember scenes, even sentences which makes it easier to comprehend it in German. A pretty lame example is coming:

“Mr und Mrs Dursley im Ligusterweg Nummer 4 waren stolz darauf, ganz und gar normal zu sein, sehr stolz sogar”

I don’t even have to say which sentence it is (the very first, obviously), but yeey, it made me understand phrases and words:  stolz sein auf - to be proud of ganz und gar normal - perfectly normal And I haven’t even had the need to check these words, partly because I already knew the first sentence, and partly because I have a basic knowledge of words and grammar in German. Let’s see another example, just because I love Harry Potter sooo much.

“Fast zehn Jahre waren vergangen, seit die Dursleys eines Morgens die Haustür geöffnet, und auf der Schwelle ihren Neffen gefunden hatten, doch der Ligusterweg hatte sich kaum verändert” (Chapter 2)

That is a bit harder sentence, but if you pay attention, it is not that problematic. I already knew some words from this sentence, but again, there were some which were new or at least I haven’t seen them in these forms yet. waren vergangen - have passed (I only know the word “Vergangenheit (past) from the series Dark).  die Schwelle - doorstep (! in the sentence it is used with der, but it is because of the auf, and the Dativ form of die is der).  sich verändern - to change

Oookay, that last part about Harry Potter was a bit long, but I just wanted to prove you that reading challenging texts can be fun and useful as well. You just pay extra attention if you are not on that level, but you can do that. 

If you have any German book recommendation, feel free to suggest me (and others) some. I love to read and I could only find these so far in German. 

Bis bald,

[mcrmadness]

10-15 please ♥️

Thanks!!! ♥ The ask game: song asks that get progressively more specific.

10. A song you’d want to dance with your partner to ( or future partner ) Well, this is bit funny because a) I’m aroace and most likely won’t be getting any kind of partner ever and b) I never dance XD I just stand still like I was paralyzed and I barely even know how to walk when music is playing. Social anxiety makes me be afraid that if I even accidentally walk “to the rhythm”, everyone will think I’m doing that on purpose. (I do have some sense of rhythm tho which is probably why it makes the social anxiety even worse because it’d be possible for me to walk to the rhythm accidentally.) So there really is no song for this question, sorry :D

11. A song to stomp around and pout to Usually all my angry songs are on Farin’s Am Ende der Sonne. That’s what I go for everytime I’m really angry about something and especially Dusche is what I just loooove to listen to on very high volume then. Endlich Urlaub! also has at least OK on it which has the mood as well. (And I’m talking about the music overall here because I’m still not too familiar with the German lyrics.) Mitä kuuluu from Apulanta is also full of aggression, in a way it actually reminds me of Farin’s OK even tho there’s like... 5 years between the release of these songs, and the songwriters both have been at very, very different ages during the writing/release. The song’s title means “How are you?” and it’s about not being understood by others, and I even got a shirt with parts of its lyrics printed on it. It’s a great one for meeting a therapist :D (It says in Finnish: “Hey hey how are you? You ask and everything is ok; well it’s easy for you to say because you don’t know how I feel.”)

12. A song to listen to whilst you lie in a meadow I don’t know if I’d be able to actually _lie in a meadow. I mean, that would get pretty boring pretty soon? But it must be something I associate with summer because summers are so short in Finland and, idk, my ultimate summer (and happiness!!!) song is always 3-Tage-Bart by dä :D (Link because I love the music video too <3 THE COLOURS!!1!!!1) Even tho, that’s more of a song to blast from the speakers while driving your car in summer but maybe it would work with a meadow too XD

13. A song that reflects your views on love I’ve yet to find a song that would be an aroace anthem but some days I feel like dä’s song Allein is that song for me... But overall it bugs me that almost every song about being alone is either a song about a broken heart and crave for a new relationship but I don’t know if I’ve ever found a song that would be like “I’m alone and actually I like it too” AND a song that I would also like. And Allein is kinda sad even but it’s also very neutral in that sense. (One of the rare songs I know the lyrics to too.)

14. A song to sing to the sun Here I just want to say Sonne by FU but somehow I feel like it’d be inappropriate even tho I don’t even know the lyrics? I only know one phrase from them I guess XD But everyone keeps saying it’s super sad song and I’ve always been like “wtf this song kills :o” and then everyone else is crying their eyes out and I’m like I’m on a different planet. Language barriers </3 No but... idk. And well, of course there’s Sonne by Rammstein (even tho I’m really really tired of this song already). I totally forget about the fact there’s plenty of songs with same names from different artists, somehow I see these song names but they don’t feel the same because the songs themselves are so, so different from each other that they even make the names look and sound different. Oh and: I also never sing so it’d not be me singing to the sun either :DDD

15. A song you like that sounds like its on the soundtrack to an indie coming of age film Uh I really don’t know, all I can think of is American pop punk bands and their music has probably been used in films like these more than needed. Somehow my mind just insist I need to mention Teenagers by MCR here, so so be it. Fun fact: as a teen, I used to almost have panic attacks when the teens started running around the band members in this music video because I have social anxiety and so does/did Gerard, he has spoken about it a lot back in the day.

[dearlazerbunny]

Not to be,, That Person, but about that asks-for-writers thing you reblogged...... Every 6th interval or whatever it's called? So 6, 12, 18, 24, 30? I wanted to know basically all of them, so I was hoping this would be a good compromise 😅 -irrelevantbutembarrassing

Oh my god you’re so cute XD I love you, and I’m def vain enough I’d deadass answer every single one lmao

6. Favorite character name you’ve come up with?

I literally just remembered this because you made me reread Sister of Mine when I was going through your comments on it, but I quite liked Adelaide as a paired name to Armitage, and then them using Della and Tage as nicknames for each other. All my fics are usually Y/N so I don’t often get to think up names!

12. Favorite book/piece you’ve written?

Oof, that’s hard. I intensely love bits and pieces of several things I’ve written, but Pas De Deux line-for-line is probably the piece I’ve consistently loved the most since I wrote it.

18. Multiple point of views or just one?

Multiple points of view is hard as heckkk. Which is possibly why I like Pas De Deux so much, because I think that’s the one time I pulled it off well. I’d like to try my hand at it more simply to stretch my skills, but woof. It makes my brain hurt.

24. Writing one piece at a time, or multiple?

Six months ago I would have adamantly said only one at a time, but now I’m seeing the benefit of jumping around- especially with one longer piece and then doing one-shots or requests concurrently. That way if I feel stuck in a rut, I can completely change fandoms and try to shake it off (that’s how Ignite resurfaced!) and come back later with a fresh eye.

30. Sad or happy endings?

Gah. Depends on my mood. A lot of times I’m reading fanfic as a pick me up, so if not blatantly happy I want the ending to at least be somewhat hopeful- but that generally goes for any media I’m consuming. So I’m going to vote C) bittersweet.

I LOVE YOU BUNCHES I REALLY DO 💜💜💜 hearing from you always brightens my day!

[juttabluehberger]

Der "liebe" Asphalt

Das ist so eine Sache mit dem Asphalt. Laut Reiseführer ist der Asphaltanteil der meisten Etappen über 60%. Das ist nicht so toll. Denn es ist der Asphalt in Kombination mit dem Gewicht des Rucksacks, der meine Schmerzen auf den Sohlen verursacht. Eben das was man Sohlenbrand nennt.

Am Vormittag macht mir der Asphalt oft weniger Mühe, aber spätestens am Nachmittag suche ich so oft wie möglich nicht auf sondern neben dem harten Asphalt zu gehen. Da nutze ich jede noch so kurze Strecke mit weicherer Unterlage wie Kies, Erde oder Wiese am Straßenrand, die meine schmerzenden Füße schonen.

Glücklicherweise führt der Jakobsweg wenn immer möglich über einen Weg, der nicht direkt an der Hauptstraße verläuft. Immer wieder geht es durch den Wald. Die Strecken durch den Wald sind aber meistens mit viel Steigung verbunden. Zuerst bergauf, dann begab. Dann muss ich entsprechend langsamer gehen. Aber das lohnt sich.

Am Samstag gab es zwei Steigungen die es wirklich in sich hatten. Die erste hinten dem Haus vom Bergdoktor (DEM Bergdoktor) ging noch und der Weg führte über eine Weide.

Die zweite hatte ich zuerst verpasst und musste zurückgehen. Sie begann hinter der Talstation der Seilbahn und führte dann im Zickzack eine fast senkrechte Böschung hinauf. Das hatte es in sich! Aber danach verlief sie wieder durch eine wunderschöne Gegend abseits vom Straßenlärm.

Natürlich brauchen diese Strecken abseits auch mehr Zeit und Kilometer als wenn man neben der Hauptstraße geht. Das vergesse ich manchmal, wenn ich versuche die noch benötigte Zeit zu berechnen.

Aber es gibt auch Situationen, wo mir der Asphalt lieber wäre:

Seit Ende letzter Woche wurde immer für den nächsten Tag Regen angesagt. Der jedoch dann meist ausblieb. Darüber war ich natürlich nicht böse. So konnte ich die ersten fünf Tage bis auf ein wenig Nieseln im Trockenen wandern.

Für Sonntag schien es unausweichlich, dass es den ganzen Tag regnen wird. Als ich aufwache schien aber die Sonne. Der Vormittag blieb großteils sonnig. Als ich zu Mittag vor einem Restaurant stehen blieb, fielen die ersten Regentropfen. Für mich ein Zeichen, dass ich ins Restaurant gehen soll. Während ich drin war schüttete es aus allen Kübeln. Als es Zeit war, wieder aufzubrechen, schien es fast nicht mehr zu regnen. Es war dann doch gerade so viel, dass ich den Poncho brauchte. Wieder einmal fühlte ich mich von Gott beschenkt und umsorgt.

An dem Nachmittag verlief die Strecke fast nur durch den Wald und mehrmals sehr steil bergauf und bergab. Wie rutschig nasse Nadeln, Laub und Baumwurzeln sein können, habe ich bereits ausprobiert. Und so war ich extrem vorsichtig unterwegs. Da wo der Weg weniger steil verlief, bestand er oft aus schlammigen Lacken, die dann auch sehr rutschig sein können und einen ziemlichen Balanceakt erforderten. In dieser Situation wäre mir der Asphalt ausnahmsweise lieber gewesen.

Trotzdem kam ich am Abend gut im Quartier an. Unbeabsichtigt habe ich an dem Tag die dreißig Kilometer Marke geknackt, da die Strecke am Vormittag 18 km war und die einzige Vermieterin, die abhob als ich anrief, weitere 12 km entfernt war.

***

The "dear" asphalt.

The asphalt is one of those things. According to the guidebook, the asphalt portion of most stages is over 60%. That's not so great. Because it is the asphalt in combination with the weight of the backpack that causes my pain on the soles. Which is called sole burn.

In the morning the asphalt often gives me less trouble, but at the latest in the afternoon I try to walk as often as possible not on but next to the hard asphalt. There I use every ever so short distance with softer underground like gravel, earth or meadow at the roadside, which spare my aching feet.

Fortunately, the Way of St. James leads whenever possible on a path that does not run directly on the main road. Again and again it goes through the forest. The routes through the forest, however, are usually associated with a lot of slope. First uphill, then downhill. Then I have to walk accordingly slower. But it is worth it.

On Saturday there were two climbs that were really hard. The first hill behind the house of the Bergdoktor (THE mountain doctor from TV) was still okay and the path led over a pasture.

The second I had missed at first and had to go back. It started behind the valley station of the cable car and then zigzagged up an almost vertical slope. That was quite a challenge! But after that it ran again through a beautiful area away from the noise of the roads.

Of course, these routes off the beaten path also take more time and miles than walking next to the main road. I sometimes forget that when I try to calculate the time still needed.

But there are also situations where I would prefer the asphalt: Starting at the end of last week, rain was always forecast for the next day. Which, however, then mostly failed to materialize. Of course I was not upset about that. Thus I could hike the first five days except for a little drizzle in the dry.

For Sunday it seemed inevitable that it will rain the whole day. When I woke up, however, the sun was shining. Most of the morning remained sunny. When I stopped in front of a restaurant at noon, the first raindrops fell. For me a sign that I should go into the restaurant. While I was inside, it poured cats and dogs. When it was time to leave again, it seemed to have almost stopped raining. It was then just enough that I needed the poncho. Once again I felt blessed and cared for by God.

That afternoon the route was almost exclusively through the forest and several times very steep uphill and downhill. How slippery wet needles, leaves and tree roots can be, I have already tried. And so I was extremely careful on the way. Where the path was less steep, it often consisted of muddy puddles, which can also be very slippery and require quite a balancing act. In this situation, I would have preferred the asphalt for once.

Nevertheless, I arrived well in the evening in the quarters. Unintentionally, I cracked the thirty-kilometer mark that day, since the route in the morning was 18 km and the only landlady who picked up when I called was another 12 km away.