#why are you asking me if lemons and limes are the same thing

[mooseonahunt]

In my ~3 months of volunteering at a food drive, I have learned many things about food distribution and the general public. The thing that has stood out the most to me, however, is the fact that I vastly overestimated the average person’s familiarity with fruits and vegetables.

[kxsagi]

hellooo ^_^ can u do bllk characters x s/o who doesn't get jealous? like they would be getting flirted with by some random and she would be like "woah.. that was really cute" with rin, kaiser, isagi and karasu pleasee

“𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐢����𝐥 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥”

a/n: i made two separate scenarios for each guy because i just love how funny this idea is (i also have this urge to spoil you)

ft. itoshi rin, kaiser michael, isagi yoichi, karasu tabito

itoshi rin

SCENARIO #1

rin is used to girls flirting with him but not used to you being completely unfazed by it. 

you’re sitting next to him at a café when a girl leans over and says he’s cute and asks for his number. 

you sip your drink and go, “not gonna lie, she has good taste. if i didn’t get to you first, i probably would’ve hit on you too.” 

rin.exe has stopped working. 

“why are you saying that? she just flirted with me in front of you.” 

“and? you look hot. i get it.” 

he’s annoyed but his ears are red. like he doesn’t want you to get jealous, but he also doesn't know what to do with your casual approval. 

glares at the girl until she walks away. 

he’ll mumble a quiet “you’re the only one i want anyway” later, with his hand gripping yours tightly under the table.

SCENARIO #2

rin is not used to public affection or public flirting. 

so when a girl at the gym gives him a bottle of electrolyte water and goes “you’re really attractive,” he just stiffens up and stares at it like she handed him a live grenade. 

you, watching from the treadmill, go: “damn, that was smooth. she even picked the lemon-lime flavor. she’s good.” 

rin: blinking rapidly like an npc mid-dialogue load “why are you complimenting her?” 

“because if i were her, i’d be doing the same thing. look at you, hot and sweaty. peak romance anime moment.” 

he turns so red you almost feel bad. almost. 

“do you want me to be mad or something?” he asks.

“no. i want you to be hydrated and adored.” 

proceeds to drink the water angrily while looking at you like this is a trap. 

later, he corners you like, “you know i’m only interested in you, right?” 

you smirk and say, “i mean… she might’ve had a chance if i died tragically or something.” 

he walks away muttering “i hate you” but his ears are crimson.

kaiser michael

SCENARIO #1

oh he lives for jealousy so when you don’t give it to him? chaos. 

someone’s flirting with him after a match and you just nudge him with a grin like, “yo, she was cute. go get her number.” 

“... are you serious?” 

you nod. “what? it’d be a waste if no one appreciated your face.” 

“okay, but i want you to appreciate my face. where’s your rage? your heartbreak? the drama?” 

you raise a brow. “damn, you want me to cry over you? you’re so needy.” 

he pouts. actually pouts. and sulks. 

spends the whole day clinging to you like, “you’re supposed to be obsessed with me. why are you so chill. i don’t like this.” 

but he secretly loves how confident and secure you are. it drives him insane in the best way. 

still flirts harder with you just to win your attention back. 

SCENARIO #2

he thrives on attention, especially when it makes you a little jealous. 

but you? you are too powerful. 

some reporter touches his arm, giggles, and calls him charming. 

you, from the side: “honestly? that giggle was cute. i’d flirt with you too if i didn’t already have you locked down.” 

kaiser: 👁️👄👁️ “… pardon?” 

“like, she’s not even wrong. your jawline has range.” 

“okay but aren’t you supposed to threaten her with violence or something? like a normal girlfriend?” 

“nah, i’d probably ask for her skincare routine first. girl’s glowing.” 

he goes into a full existential crisis. 

next time a girl flirts, he interrupts her mid-sentence like, “i have a girlfriend and she will not fight you, but i will cry.” 

gets aggressively affectionate just to make you flustered. 

“if i start making out with you in front of people, will you finally get jealous?” 

“nah but go ahead. show 'em why i brag about you.” 

kaiser’s jaw drops. he’s never been so emotionally outplayed in his life.

isagi yoichi

SCENARIO #1

he’s too nice to brush people off harshly, so when someone flirts with him, he just laughs nervously. 

you catch the whole thing and casually say, “she’s not wrong though. your smile is unfair.” 

he turns bright red. 

“wait, you’re not mad?” 

“mad? i was admiring you too. you looked like a commercial boyfriend just now.”

he starts sweating. “what does that mean???”

the kind of guy who would start spiraling like “do i seem like i don’t care about you? do i not give you enough attention?”

you reassure him by throwing yourself on him dramatically like, “you’re my hot striker boyfriend. don’t worry.”

10/10 flustered, but now walks away from flirty girls faster because he wants compliments from you only.

SCENARIO #2

poor sweet isagi. he’s just trying to live his life. 

a girl at the grocery store compliments his biceps and he goes “haha… thank you…” in his polite baby deer voice. 

you peek over and go, “hey, i saw that. she’s brave. i respect it.” 

he turns so fast like “wait what? you’re not mad?” 

“no? did you see the way she looked at you? she was fighting for her life.” 

he gets so flustered and sad he drops the bag of apples he was holding. 

“do i… not give you enough attention? is that why you’re not mad? are you bored of me?”

now you’re confused like, “yoichi, it’s not that deep, you’re just hot.” 

starts overcompensating with compliments for the next 3 days straight. 

“you’re so beautiful. i love you. i only want you. you look so pretty today –” 

“love. it was just one girl. calm down.” 

“i just need you to know. i’m loyal like a golden retriever.” 

poor guy is suffering. you laugh every time someone flirts with him now just to see him spiral. 

karasu tabito

SCENARIO #1

he thinks you’re just joking at first. 

like some girl flirts with him and you go, “yo, she’s bold. i kinda ship it.”

karasu: 😐 “hello? i have a girlfriend?? that’s you???”

you shrug. “and i have eyes. you’re hot. can’t blame her.”

karasu is now trying to flirt with you just to get your attention back. 

“well, if you’re not jealous… maybe i’ll start flirting back.” 

“cool, i’ll rate it out of 10.”

“STOP???”

he’s so used to being the confident, teasing one but you flip the script so fast he short circuits. 

gets clingier every time someone flirts with him. won’t let you sit more than an inch away. 

tells people: “my girlfriend is too supportive, it’s terrifying.”

SCENARIO #2

thought it’d be funny when girls flirted with him in front of you. 

keyword: thought. 

some girl at the pool party gives him the old “if you ever get tired of her, call me.” 

you snort and go, “girl you’re bold. 10/10. i respect the hustle.” 

karasu, blinking: “HUH???” 

“i mean you are walking around shirtless. she shot her shot.” 

“do you want me to put a shirt on? you’re just gonna LET her say that?” 

“what do you want me to do, bite her? she’s not wrong.” 

man is spiraling. 

“okay but you like me, right? like, you think i’m cute?” 

“duh. i call you my sexy bird boy in my head all the time.” 

“… i– okay. okay yeah, that’s valid.” 

after that, whenever someone flirts, he just turns to you and waits for your reaction like “what’s the score? how’d she do?” 

one time you say “that was weak. i’d rate it a 6.” 

he gets so smug like, “damn right. only my girlfriend gets to flirt with me properly.”

© 𝐤𝐱𝐬𝐚𝐠𝐢

[inlovewithfionaapple]

something in the air

warnings: not proofread :/

wc: 1.4k

it started with how y/n would always sit next to emily, even if all the other seats were vacant.

to everyone else, it was probably just friendly. just two good friends sharing an apartment like they always had. but to emily, it was just something about the way y/n's knee somehow always brushed against hers—never quite accidentally, no—and it would linger for a second too long. it didn't help that y/n smelled like vanilla and lemons, or that she had a laugh that made emily forget where she was up to in a sentence halfway through.

it was subtle at first. a gaze lingered for a little too long. a joke was told that had y/n grinning ear to ear at emily, eyes soft. emily didn't want to dissect it, but it was getting harder and harder not to.

especially now, with y/n leaning over the back of her chair in the team lounge, scrolling through emily's phone screen as though she were perfectly entitled to.

"why do you let your texts stack up like that?" y/n asked, low and teasing. "see, you have eighty-three unread messages. that's criminal."

emily chuckled, "maybe i'm just mysterious."

"you're not. you're a mess."

"same difference."

y/n let out a soft, disbelieving snort. "you need someone to get your life together."

"you volunteering?”

"i might." y/n's voice dropped with that mocking rhythm she had when she was pretending. but the grin she gave emily as she shook herself loose and flopped down beside her on the couch was not so pure.

emily blinked. she wasn’t sure what to make of that. she wasn't one of those types who would get shy, but y/n had this way of phrasing things that would short-circuit her brain.

"don't get cocky," emily grumbled, thumbing mindlessly through her texts.

y/n sprawled out, with arms above her head, hoodie raised up to expose the gentle stripe of skin at her waist. "you say it like it's a bad thing."

emily gazed at the screen, but she wasn't reading anything.

the reality was, y/n had always been a bit of a risk to her. from the moment they'd met—y/n with her unwavering confidence, the type of charm that pulled people in like gravity—emily had been aware she was in trouble.

but they were friends. good friends. and emily wasn't going to jeopardize that.

with the exception. sometimes y/n would look at her like she was thinking the same thing. like she wanted to mess it up, too.

it only got worse—or better—when they went out together.

there was something about seeing y/n in low bar lighting that did what it needed to do to get emily off kilter. not literally, but emotionally. y/n didn’t look out of the ordinary. she wore a black top and little skirt, her hair appearing as if she hadn't bothered, sipping a glass of ginger ale with a slice of lime.

"you look like you own the place," emily remarked, sliding into the booth beside her instead of across from her.

y/n smiled. "that a compliment or an observation?"

"both."

"careful," y/n responded, voice light, fingers tracing the edge of her glass. "you keep talking like that and i'll start to think you're flirting."

emily raised an eyebrow. "maybe i am."

that gave y/n pause for a moment—just a moment. her smile didn't falter, but her eyes flickered down to emily's lips, and then back up.

"mighty forward of you," she whispered. "considering you haven't even gotten me a drink."

emily did not answer straight away. she did not need to. the atmosphere between them was thicker now, charged with that thrumming awareness that they both continued to pretend wasn't there.

"i can fix that," emily said at last, her voice a bit colder than she had intended. "but i didn't think you drank."

"i don't. doesn't mean i don't enjoy the admiration."

that was y/n in a nutshell—always flirting, always one up. but tonight, emily wasn't so sure she was the only one playing the game.

as they departed, emily held the door for her without even thinking, and y/n hesitated beneath the threshold. their eyes locked, and for an instant, the air shifted once more.

"thanks," y/n whispered, standing near enough to graze against her. "always such a gentleman."

emily swallowed hard, pulse racing. "only for you."

it wasn't always like that. there were days when they were normal. normal as in: goofing off in the gym, trash-talking on the court, eating tons of protein bars and watching reruns of new girl at y/n's place.

but even then, it was there. the undercurrent. the way y/n would toss a pillow at her mid-episode, only to curl her legs under emily’s the moment it landed. or how her head would gradually drift to emily’s shoulder as the night wore on, as if she didn’t even realize she was doing it.

"you’re so warm," y/n mumbled one night, eyes closed, face half-buried in emily’s hoodie.

emily tried to sound casual, even though her heart was racing.

"is that why you keep me around?" she breathed.

"that and so you can reach things on the top shelf."

"you're using me."

y/n cracked open one eye. "just a little."

they never talked about it. not the touches, the glances, the brewing of it all. but it built, in silence, like a pressure cooker without a safety valve.

it finally came to a head on a team night out.

they were in a hotel room in chicago, crowded into a double bed as always when double-teamed. emily had just finished the shower, hair wet, wearing sweats and a tank top. y/n was already lying on her side of the bed, browsing on her phone.

"move over," emily said, tossing her towel onto the chair.

y/n ran her hand over the seat beside her without looking up. "you're bossy."

"you love it."

"that's debatable."

she smiled as emily climbed in beside her, their skin colliding with the comforter. emily rested on one elbow, looking at her.

"what?"

"you have no idea what you do to people," emily whispered.

y/n blinked. "what's that supposed to mean?"

"it means…" emily hesitated. "you flirt like it's breathing. you touch, you tease, you look at me like—like you're waiting for something to happen.”

y/n gently set her phone on the bed. "maybe i am."

emily's breath was stuck. "then say it."

y/n turned to her fully, their noses inches apart now. "i like you," she said. "i've liked you for a while. i just didn't want to screw it up."

emily breathed softly, caught between relief and incredulity. "you think you're the only one who's been walking on eggshells?"

"i kept hoping i wasn't." y/n smiled, though this time it was guarded, revealed. "so… what do we do now?"

emily leaned in and traced her fingers down the side of y/n's face, brushing back a curl to rest in her ear. "now? i think we should stop pretending."

and then she kissed her.

it wasn't rushed or uncomfortable. it was soft, tentative at first, the kind of kiss that had been months in the making. y/n breathed into her mouth, one hand rising to emily's hoodie and wrapping around it like she'd been waiting for permission.

when they parted, y/n said, "took you long enough."

"you were flirting with me like it was your job."

"it sort of was," y/n teased, eyes glinting. "you just weren't paying attention."

emily laughed, low and husky. "i was paying attention. i just didn't know if i was supposed to do something about it."

"you are now."

the next morning, nothing was stiff.

y/n still swiped the rest of the hotel breakfast muffins. emily still made a show of complaining about y/n monopolizing the pillows. but their hands encountered each other more easily now, fingers stroking and lingering. glances were electric but no longer had to hide. it was all the same—just different.

later that night, at home, y/n curled up beside emily again like she always did. but this time, she rested her head on emily's chest instead of her shoulder. emily wrapped her arms around her without hesitation.

"are we, like… a thing now?" y/n murmured into her.

emily smiled into her hair. "i think we've been a thing for a while."

y/n hummed, happy. "good. i like being your thing."

emily kissed the crown of her head, the warm vanilla wrapping around her like a shawl. "yeah," she breathed. "me too."

[frenchfrey69]

A test from god

(Part 1/2)

☆ Pairing: Priest! Gerard way X fem!Reader

☆ Warnings: sex. Inaccurate description of how the church works (sorry)

☆ Word count: 1056

☆ Citrus scale: somewhere in between a lemon and a lime

☆ A/N: I got this idea from a c.ai bot. So if it sounds familiar that’s why. (Their c.ai user is @lilibsrxz )

Sure living in a big city is fun when you’re 22 and just having fun. But when you’re 29, almost 30, it’s really just stressful and exhausting. You decided to move to a small town in Jersey. Small enough to where nearly everyone knew each other. Small enough to where you were acquainted with the whole town within a month of living there. There was one man you met. He was a priest for the local church. Everyone in town knew them, and all the things about him.

He wasn’t a traditional priest. He smoked, he cursed, he got drunk, and he was surprisingly woke for a priest. He often spoke about his progressive ideas during his sermons. However he did stay true to his vows of celibacy. Which was just about the only traditional thing about him.

But with each passing day it felt harder and harder to for him to stay true to his vows. He had found himself falling for you despite having only met you a few times in the past month or so. He often found himself crying at the thought that he couldn’t have you. And he would beg and plead for forgiveness whenever his body would have reactions at the thought of you. It felt like god had sent you to him as a way to test him.

It was about three pm on a Saturday. You were bored and decided to give your little priest friend a visit. You enter the church to see Gerard at the very front of the church praying and muttering something while standing at the podium. After a minute or two he noticed you and smiled softly.

“Oh my! Y/n stepping into my church! What a world we live in!”

He spoke in a teasing tone as he stepped down from the podium.

“Well good afternoon to you too, Father Way. I just came to talk for a little.”

“You couldn’t just call or text me?”

“I was bored. I wanted to come see you.”

You were flirting. You knew you were. You weren’t sure if he had feelings for you. But the occasional flirting was a good way to test the waters. And it seemed to be going well, judging by his face which now had blush across his face.

“Y/n you’re playing with fire here.”

He said stepping very close to you, close enough to easily touch you. He wasn’t much taller, probably just a few Inches taller than you.

“Oh cmon Gerard! Don’t act all tough or dangerous. We both know you’re sweet under all that.”

“You know me too well, love..”

The little pet name slipped out by accident but you certainly didn’t take it like that.

“You love me?” You asked softly looking up at him. that teasing look you had melting away.

He looked at you, a little surprised that your expression had so quickly changed. He matched the same serious expression.

“Yeah…I do. I really love you…I don’t care if it’s blasphemous! I don’t feel bad or guilty for my blasphemous words.”

You stared up at him with wide eyes. You wanted to kiss him. But would that not be incredibly sinful? You don’t care you can’t hold it any longer, you kiss him without another word. He kissed back knowing it was wrong. Fully. But, it felt incredible. You pull away after a few moments.

“I know you’re supposed to be celibate….but I love you so much.”

“Don’t apologize…come with me into my office, I wouldn’t want anyone to see us.”

He took your hand and carefully walked you into his office. He shut the door behind the two of you, before pushing you against the wall gently. He then resumed kissing you, soaking up every second. He was getting very caught up in the moment with you. His hands going all over your body. His hands occasionally slip between your thighs. He was a mess, god he’s dreamed about this for so long. He parted the kiss as he started gently slipping his hands into your panties.

“You sure you want this, love?”

All you could do is nod and whine pathetically. Everything was perfect, the man of your dreams having you pinned up against the wall ready to take you. Break his celibacy just for You. You lean your head back ready for him to touch you, just to be interrupted by a knock on the door. Gerard pulled away, taking his hand out of your pants.

“Stay quiet, my love. Don’t make a sound, okay?”

You nodded and straightened out your clothes and fixed your hair as Gerard opened the door. The first thing Gerard saw was Father Anthony; he was essentially the head priest. And he seemed suspicious of Gerard.

“Father…” Gerard managed to choke out softly.

“Mr. Way I’ve been looking for you, care to tell me what you’re doing in here?”

Before Gerard could even think of an answer you spoke up, gently going into Father Anthony’s field of view.

“He was simply helping me with my prayers. I’m new to the church, and Father Way was helping me out.”

“With the door shut? Do you understand how inappropriate that sounds?”

“I’m sorry… we were just discussing private matters.”

“Private matters?”

“Yes Father Anthony. If you must know, we were talking about my late husband…Gerard was helping me pray for him.”

You were lying your ass off, and you and Gerard both knew it. However, Father Anthony seemed to believe all of it. He looked at you with a sad and sympathetic look

“Ah I see. I’m terribly sorry to hear that my dear child. May he stay safe in god's kingdom…”

“It’s alright father Anthony. He’s safe now. I greatly apologize if Gerard and I accidentally broke any rules of the church…”

“It’s alright. I understand the burden of grief can be a lot on one’s shoulders. You’re forgiven my child. Mr. Way, I'll leave you to it.”

Father Anthony nodded and left the room. Gerard then shut the door letting it click. You let out a sigh of relief.

“That was really scary.”

“Yeah…that was very close, I’m sorry my love it’s all my fault.”

“It’s alright baby…we probably just shouldn’t be doing that here anyway. Besides, I'd much rather take you in bed…”

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #522

Sometime after writing yesterday's letter, I went with Cy to Eggcellent. And I had an excellent time with her, talking about various things. She had never had bubble tea in this shop before, and you know? Watching her whole self bloom after trying something so wholesome as this place was one of the most beautiful things I've seen in a while.

Here, have some; this is a sakura matcha latte, and a lemon basque cheesecake:

…Before I really dive into today's shenanigans, though, I wanted to share with you a request that a friend of mine made of me today:

He's... going through a rough time right now. I am trying to be present through it in whatever small ways I'm able, given the distance. But... this. This happened. Thanks was expressed to you, for the fact that I am somehow still here.

...He wanted you to know. And I wanted you to know. So it is written. It is known.

...You are a good thing.

…

Today was... busy. I had expected to go into work from 9am until 1pm, and that was good. I got to hang out with Tr and bake a bunch of cookies!

...I also got to eat another fresh croissant. Because after setting an entire box to bake, there was precisely one leftover. I... can't say that I tried to get a picture. Because, still carrying the memory of the first time I ate the fresh croissant (which I did share with you!), I kinda... got so excited that I immediately shoved half of it into my mouth without even stopping to think about how I was going to chew it and swallow it. Undeterred, I promptly shoved the second half of the croissant into my mouth, with the same results. Tr proclaimed quite confidently (and with much amusement!) that I do a wonderful impression of a squirrel! I tried hard not to laugh and end up spraying partially-chewed bits of croissant everywhere. Happily, I was successful!

My only regret is that it happened so quickly that I didn't get to take a picture for you. I'm truly sorry about that. But... well. There will be more similar instances.

And if by some impossible circumstance you're here for them, then... we won't need pictures...

…

I was expecting to relax at home after work. But yesterday, Cy invited me to her house for a cookout. Her husband's little laddie, who we met when we helped Ma move (remember?), apparently took a bit of a shine to me, and asked Cy specifically to invite me. Cy told me he was so excited, and so... who am I to disappoint?

Cy asked me to bring StepMania again, for the laddie and all his friends. And so I did! But their general consensus was that they wanted to go play in the nearby park, which is fair. So that is what they did. I, meanwhile, hung out with Cy, her husband, and Ma as Cy cooked lovely noms for us:

I also made friends with Trigger again!

I still wanted to go to R's house today, though; he was having V over, and was gonna make snack plates for us! And so I had to inform a very disappointed laddie that I had to leave sooner than he expected. But... not before copying StepMania on Cy's laptop, and leaving my Frankenpad there, for them to use along with it.

...I don't use it at home anyhow. Might as well leave it where it can be enjoyed.

I went to R's house after that. He had a beautiful snack plate out. And he made us Shirley Temples! In my world, that's a drink made of lemon-lime-flavored soda and grenadine:

We had conversation for a long time. About you. About how lots of abuse survivors are portrayed in popular media (it's SUPER NOT GREAT...)... about stories similar to yours (there are MANY!), about... a variety of things.

...I wish you could be here for this stuff. This stuff, but... not the other stuff. I heard that the people where I live are gonna try to pass a law that says the president can postpone or even cancel elections, ignore court rulings, and fire people for even minor differences in political opinion. So... yeah. Unless some kind of miracle happens... the place where I live is going to stop being a democracy probably fairly soon. It's already well-known that the next steps are going to be widespread monitoring of the populace and criminalization of LGBTQ+ people... and potentially also autistic people; they're gonna try to gather us all up into a registry for “tracking”. I can only assume that the definition of “undesirables” will expand from there, and that the borders will be locked down so that nobody can get in or out.

The goal, I think, is to snatch up “undesirable” people as a source of exploitable labor. “Undesirables”, so that no one will care how we're treated behind the prison walls. How often we're beaten. How little we're fed. Whether or not we receive medical care. How many hours we're forced to work. How few hours we're allowed to sleep. That sort of thing. To maximize productivity and profit. If the patterns of history are to be believed, anyway. But I don't know for sure. For now, it's jut a hunch.

I... don't know what's gonna happen. Canada changed their immigration process such that having a job offer doesn't help you anymore, when it comes to the admission rankings, so... that idea is now moot. I said to M years ago, when Trump first got elected, that we needed to start making plans to get out. I saw this coming. He didn't listen, didn't think it would get this bad, didn't think it would come down to this, told me I was just being panicky and anxious...

...Well. Here we are. He copes by burying his head in the sand and avoiding the news. He gets cranky when I bring it up. So... if I don't get to see the third part of your story due to be being dead or being enslaved in some kind of prison or torture camp... I''m really sorry. Truly. But if this comes to pass and by some small miracle, I do make it to the other side... count on you being the very first one I return to.

Though... if you maybe feel like scooping me and mine up to someplace safe before that happens... I'd totally be down for that. As impossible as that is.

…

...Keep us in your thoughts, okay? In the meantime... I'm not sure what else to do besides breathe life into more wishes for you:

...I hope you're okay, wherever you are. For now, I'm kinda... drowning in uncertainty. But I'll be all right. Don't you worry too much about me, okay? You've got bigger things on your plate to worry about; my life is insignificant compared to yours, compared to what your story has the potential to do for literally every single abuse survivor in my world. You are in a unique position to be able to guide so many people out of the darkness, in a way that I couldn't possibly ever do, because... what's a voice like mine worth in a place like this?

...Please. I'm begging you. Don't squander this position.

I love you. Please do your best to stay safe out there, okay? Trying to emulate you is... kinda how I've been clinging to sanity, despite all this stuff going on. I don't know if I'll be able to withstand any of this if I don't have you to look towards.

I'll write again tomorrow.

Your friend, Lumine

[sufferthesea]

Flash Fiction Friday #12 (Bullet Train)

Word: Diesel 

Pairings: None

Warnings: Everyone's dead (almost), canon-compliant violence and death, blood mention, Purgatory

Tangerine woke up dead. 

That is, he woke up after dying and he was most certainly not on Earth. He wasn’t in Hell, he was pretty sure, and he knew there was no way he’d made it to Heaven. It must’ve been an in-between place. Purgatory. 

There were other people there. Some, he recognized. Some, he didn’t. All of them, he realized, had been on the same train as he when he died. 

Now that he noticed it, he was still on the train. Just a strange, sterile-white version of it, with windows looking out into blinding white nothing. 

“Where the — am I?” 

The sentence went strangely muffled in the center where Tangerine had used one of his favorite words. 

“Limbo,” said one of the others. He recognized him from years ago. People called him The Wolf. 

“Limbo? The — is Limbo? And why the — can’t I — curse?” 

“No cursing in Limbo, —,” said a Black woman. She was wearing a train uniform, but Tangerine knew she wasn’t an employee. Part of his job was recce and he knew for a fact, this woman was not serving snacks or drinks when he boarded. 

“What kinda — place doesn’t let you — curse?” Tangerine growled, more confused about this live censorship than by being maybe not dead. 

“This — place,” said the Wolf. He glared at Tangerine, but didn’t rise from his seat across from him. 

“How long have you all been here?” Tangerine asked. He looked from the Wolf to the Black woman, then to his side. Of course. White Death’s son. He was, after all, the first to die. 

Or, not die? 

Tangerine was still a little confused on what this place was. 

“Feels like forever,” said the Son. “But I think maybe only a few hours.” 

“I got here after him,” said the Wolf. 

“Last one here, until you, —,” said the woman. 

“I’m sorry darling, who are you?” 

She glowered at Tangerine and was probably very threatening in her other life – their other life – but now, she mostly looked like a half-drowned cat. Not that she was drenched in water or anything – everyone was oddly clean and orderly in this place. And they were wearing their own clothes, but now in various shades of white. Tangerine had never owned a white waistcoat or jacket, or even a pair of white pants. A white suit just seemed so … douchey. 

The woman’s expression looked like that of a half-dead animal. Enraged. Confused. Threatening, but only to things smaller and weaker than itself (which Tangerine was not). 

“You can call me Hornet, —,” she snapped. “But don’t expect any real names.” 

“El Lobo,” said the Wolf. “But I’m sure you all knew that.” 

Hornet glared at the Wolf. 

“You know my father,” said the Son. “That’s good enough.” 

Tangerine rolled his eyes. 

“And you?” asked Wolf. “Your name?” 

“Tangerine.” 

“Tangerine?” Hornet asked, amused. “What kinda name is that, —?” 

“Like the fruit?” Wolf interjected, looking confused. “Why would you choose that?” 

“I didn’t–” 

“Maybe his enemies are allergic to tangerines,” offered the Son sarcastically. 

“Who’s allergic to tangerines?” Hornet scoffed. “That’s a dumb name, —.” 

“I didn’t — choose it! My brother did.” 

“Your brother?” Wolf said. “Let me guess. Is his name Lime?” 

“Lemon, actually. And – hey. Where is my brother?” Tangerine looked around the seats but the only ones on the train were the four of them. 

“Unless it’s the one next to you,” said Wolf, “then he’s not here.” 

“Ain’t anyone else here, —.” 

“You sure you haven’t seen him? A little shorter than me, heavier, Black.” 

“Black?” Hornet said. “Black hair?” 

“Well, yeah, but he’s Black British.” 

“And he’s your brother?” 

“Twins, actually.” 

Wolf and Hornet exchanged looks. 

“He’s gotta be here somewhere. He died, too. Before me.” 

“No one here except us,” said Wolf. 

“And I was the first one here,” added the Son. “I would’ve remembered seeing your brother.” 

“No, he’s gotta be here, somewhere. That little — is the reason he’s dead. — diesels.” 

“Diesels? What are you talking about, —?” glowered Hornet. 

“That girl on the train. Acts like an innocent little victim, but she’s not. She’s running this whole thing.” 

The Son grunted and said, “She’d get along with my sister.” 

Suddenly, one of the doors slid open and a blinding white light flooded the compartment. A silhouette appeared in the door, and soon a train employee was standing beside them. She turned to the Son and gestured politely. He stood and followed her through the door into the light. The doors hissed close and the room fell silent. 

“Where’d he go?” Tangerine finally asked. 

“I don’t know, —,” said Hornet sharply. “I’ve never seen anyone leave before, —.” 

“Who took him? I never saw her on the train.” 

“Does it look like we know?” barked the Wolf. 

The door slid open again and a different train attendant appeared, haloed in white light. She stopped in front of their group and looked at the Wolf. The Wolf stood and squeezed past Hornet, who cursed at him silently – literally. The Wolf followed the attendant through the doors, which hissed close behind them. 

“No way they’re — going to Heaven,” said Tangerine. 

“Hell ain’t a blinding white light, —.” 

“How do you know? You ever been?” 

Hornet opened her mouth, floundered, and muttered, “---.” 

The door opened again, brighter than ever, and a third attendant came out. She stood and stared at Hornet. Hornet looked at Tangerine and said, “Guess it’s my turn. See you at the end of the line, —.” Then she got up and followed the attendant into the light. 

Tangerine was all alone. He sat and listened to the ghostly quiet of the train. He waited and waited and no others sat in the seats around him. No other Limbo-bound souls appeared. He was alone. 

Which was wrong. His brother should have been there. He wasn’t sure when these other people bit it, but he knew his brother should have been there. There was no way he was taken into the Great White Nothing before the others. 

Suddenly, the doors slid open and the light was so bright, it burned. Another new attendant stepped out and headed for Tangerine. He leapt out of his seat and took one step back. 

“Sorry, sweetheart, but I’m not — going with you.” 

The attendant said nothing but took a step toward Tangerine. 

“A bit deaf, are ya? I ain’t — going with ya.” 

There was a hissing sound behind him and Tangerine hazarded a look to see the doors behind him had slid open, darkness pouring out. Anyone else would’ve jumped headfirst into the light, but Tangerine knew better. Between blinding light and pitch dark, he’d choose the dark every time. If he wasn’t going to be able to see either way, he was going to make sure no one – and nothing – else could see him, either. 

He heard the heel click of the attendant’s shoes as she stepped closer to him. Without looking back at her, Tangerine sprinted for the dark. As he got closer, he saw it wasn’t really pitch black, it was just poorly illuminated. He could see another train car through the door, almost identical to the one he was in, save for the lack of blinding white light. He might have been running headfirst into Hell, but it wasn’t the worst he deserved. 

As he got closer still, he could see a person standing in the train car. He’d know the silhouette anywhere. 

“--- wake up!” the shape shouted. 

“Lemon?” 

“Wake up, — you!” 

“Lemon! I–” Tangerine crossed the threshold and felt as if a thousand volts had been delivered to his chest. The dark train car got darker, then faded away. 

Tangerine opened his eyes. He felt cool and stiff. He could feel the blood drying over his skin and clothes. He shifted his eyes and saw Lemon kneeling beside him, looking equal parts desperate and pissed. When Lemon caught sight of Tangerine’s open eyes, he heaved a sight of relief and collapsed back against the wall. 

Tangerine opened his mouth but Lemon shook his head. 

“Don’t talk. You got shot in the throat.” 

Tangerine made a face. 

“I know. I thought you were dead, too. But you musta learned something when we were in Kosovo. You managed to stick your thumb in the wound, stop the bleeding. I just finished packing it with gauze, but we gotta get you to a hospital.” 

Tangerine tried again to say something but Lemon stopped him. 

“It’s okay, brother. I know. I love you, too.” 

Tangerine rolled his eyes. Then he pointed toward the end of the train car, then used his hand to motion a distance from the ground – someone’s height. He mimed a gun, then pointed it at himself. 

“The girl? Short hair, pink outfit?” 

Tangerine nodded. 

“I know. I figured it out.” 

Tangerine struggled to point to his back, then makes a fist in the air and yanks down twice, imitating the motion of a train horn. 

“Wha–oh, the sticker? Figured I had to get a message to you someway. She the one that shot you?” 

Tangerine considered. In a roundabout way, she did. He nodded. 

“Don’t worry. I got her.” Lemon leaned in, face blood-speckled, eyes shining. “I told you that bitch was a Diesel.” 

[dr3ary11]

welcome to my page!

Hai!! my name is Jay (you can also call me Jax or Dreary if you'd like. I use he/him pronouns and I AM A MINOR. If that makes you uncomfortable then just ignore me ? (idk, do what makes you comfy)

This account will be dedicated mostly to writing fanfic and other writing drabbles. I've loved writing for many years, and I have just recently got the courage to write fanfic and I'm very excited to possibly share this part of me online in a place where other people are maybe in the same (or a similar) boat that I am.

That in mind, my writing has a lot to improve on still, and even as I work on it, it will not be perfect. don't expect it to be. I'm young and still figuring out myself and the way I write. My grammar wont be perfect, and I might punctuate incorrectly. Mistakes happen, try to bear with me.

I also should warn you that I deal with pretty bad depression, and sometimes in just hits me really hard randomly. As much as I enjoy writing, motivation to do so can be hard to find. I'll do my best to be consistent with posting, but if I'm not, that's why. (I'm also chronically ill, which interferes with my writing a lot too)

time for the fun part!

these are the fandoms I'm in/ will write for :)

(i totally could have forgot some, you can also just ask if its not on here)

Genshin Imact

Obey Me

Percy Jackson

Butterly Soup

some *not all* musicals (personal favs are Pippin, rtc and patsc)

all Alice Osemen books

Bungo Stray Dogs

Death Note

Omori

pjsk

Undead Unluck

ddlc

Madoka Magica

now for important stuff

the stuff I write varies often. I have a Genshin x reader smau in the works, but i also have an only written fic in the works too. Honestly I'm a big fan of just little slice of life things, or angst focused on someone being their own biggest enemy, but I like writing anything really. Typically i write more in a third person perspective, but recently I've been really warming up to first and second person.

Okay. I'm down to write any genre, any rating, y'know. However, I'm a little reluctant to write smut because I have not done that yet, and i fear I'm not very confident int that area. Suggestive themes are fine though. In the simplest terms, I like writing limes, but lemons are off the table for now.

yayyy we're done ! I'm really really sorry for how long this is, but I just felt like I needed to lay everything out before yk, getting started. After I get some stuff out I'll redo this shitty welcome post. Hope you like my blog! baiii!!!

[tewwor]

oh no wait, i feel like i need to throw another disclaimer out there ( i'll slap em in my pinned too! )

i do not always trim posts, but i will always comb through my blog to trim them when i'm back on my pc! sometimes i get too excited with a thread and reply back, other times i just forget to log in and trim everything so i can reply the next day.

i tend to hop around with threads and timelines! i'm always down to plot out pre-established things, and i'm perfectly a-okay with going in blind! i just tend to think about random things in an unorderly fashion — and i really do not want to make my writing partners overwhelmed!

again, now that i'm getting back into more nsfw threads — i will not put explicitly sexual headcanons or threads under a readmore, but i will always tag it with * & lemon.. limes.. spices.. etc . if you'd like to blacklist it!

i don't exactly consider myself shy, just really really anxious. i will reach out, i'll usually send asks, and post a million interaction calls to start something! that being said, i do have a very short attention span and work scrambles my head a lot, so i'm sorry ahead of time if i forget some things!

please hardblock me if you want to break mutuals. i'll never ask about why someone unfollows ( you do you!! ), but again — i have the memory of a pea and i really don't trust tunglr. so if you softblock me and i happen to notice, there's a good chance i'll refollow.

as of right now, i do not practice exclusivity. i know not everyone feels the same ( and i do understand the reason behind it! ), but i genuinely enjoy interacting with everyone's interpretation of the same canon muse. they're all different!!!! we'll have different nuances and interactions and bonds compared to someone else with the same muse!! i don't value one characterization more over another ( that's not far at all ) and truly do cherish everyone's interpretation <3

[leesolbeesol]

Over The Moon

(Part 1: Chicken Scratch) (Part 2: Call On Silent) (Part 3: Easy Talking) (Part 5: No Messing Up) (Part 6: Can We Talk?) (Part 7: Goldilocks)

genre: fluff, college!au

pairing: student!mark x student!m/c ft. haechan

summary: you confer with your friends after your date

wc: ~700

note: your friends still aren't real people. i had a lot of fun writing this one, her friends remind me of mine in some instances which is fun to write. the flowers thing where he asks is also something my bf did which was cute to include

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I think I bombed my final, guys." Yunseul announces to your group of three.

“Seriously, what even was the final question? Prof. Park did not prepare us for that at all.” Euna says. You’re lucky, your final was three weeks ago—but the English Department’s was this week, hence why this was your first real hangout in over a month. ‘Ugh, I really can’t think about this right now.” Euna draws you back to reality. You’re on a snack run, walking to the closest convenience store on the brick-paved sidewalk. 

The chiming above the door issues your entrance. “On other things…” Euna drags out her words and you feel the soft cotton of her sleeve knock into your arm as she leans into you. She looks expectant, and so does Yunseul.

You already know what they want, “Nothing crazy happened.” You giggle. God, that was so lame, you think. You giggled. You know in the back of your mind that you’re going to tell them every detail as soon as you get back to your dorm.

“Come on, you can't tell us anything?” Yunseul pouts.

“I’ll tell you as soon as we get home, okay?” You can't stop the smile from spreading on your face. You’ve learned your lesson of gossiping in public.

“But it’s Mark! Obviously, we have to know. You can say something here if it’s not too crazy.” Euna adds. She’s dating Haechan, who’s friends with Mark. Since they’re on the same dance team, Euna figures that Haechan would know something and, because it is considered her best friend, would get told.

“It’s not that big a deal! We went on one date.” You cave, you’ve been seeking an opportunity to pour your heart out to them—and there’s almost no one in the convenience store, certainly no one your age. The soles of your shoes stick to the floor of the store as you walk.

“But he brought you flowers! That’s kind of a big deal. Do you think he knew tulips are your favorite?” Yunseul asks. These are all of the same questions you are asking. Something catches your eye in the store: the flower arrangements. Something about them makes you think about your date and it makes you giddy.

“Actually…” Euna pipes up to your right, “He asked me what flowers she likes.”

“And you didn’t tell us?!” Yunseul exclaims as she grabs a lemon-lime soda from the wall of big metal fridges.

“What?!” You and her are shocked in tandem.

“He did his research, I guess?” Euna says as if it doesn’t make your heart race that he cared enough, even before knowing you. You’re impressed.

“I’m jealous,” Yunseul complains and grabs a stack of Reeses—her favorite. As you approach the register you take stock of your purchase: junk food and some strawberries. The middle-aged cashier rings you up.

—

“Okay. Now, tell us everything. No skipping details.” Yunseul is propped up on Euna’s bed, kicking her feet in her pink flowered slippers absentmindedly. Euna is on the desk chair, her hand stuck in a can of sour cream-flavored Pringles.

“He was just easy to talk to, you know? I was like, staring off into the distance and he caught me, but it wasn’t awkward at all. I still can’t believe he called me! Oh, I didn’t tell you guys this, did I?” You ramble, and they’re looking at you expectantly. “He called me during Prof. Im’s class. I faked going to the bathroom to listen to the voicemail, and that’s how he asked me out.” 

Ding, ding, ding ding ding. You’re interrupted by Euna’s phone steadily pinging. “It’s Haechan. Oh my gosh, Sora.” She puts a hand to her mouth in surprise. Her eyes slowly meet with yours and you see her smile. She puts the screen of her pink-cased phone in your face and scrolls through a series of texts, going too fast for you to read anything. “It’s Haechan! He’s telling me that Mark is over the moon about your date.” 

“Seriously?” You feel the bubble of happiness swelling in your chest.

“Yeah, he was at practice telling Haechan about it, he’s nervous to text you.” Euna’s beaming at you, urging you to say something.

“I’ll text him when he’s done with practice. When is that, by the way?” You figured Euna would know because of Haechan and Mark’s shared schedule.

“17:00.”

[paradise-in-k4]

Kirisame Print Shop Journal - The Ten Elixir Tavern, Scene A

Continuing from here

Marisa - The guy with the hood by that grill, you say? He looks like their main cook, but maybe he’s multi-tasking just like how Mystia does it, ze. Wonder what he uses such a huge axe for anyway…

As you look again towards the hooded figure in front of the grill, you notice the double-sided axe he was using to chop firewood for the furnace before going back to work. He looks like he’s having a good time cooking food for the place.

Alice - You know it’s rude to make assumptions like that.

Aya - Pipe down, he’s noticed us! Act natural, but not naturally stupid.

Nitori - Why not?

Ran - Listen to the tengu. One wrong move could land us all on the local paper, and that could possibly jeopardize our whole investigation.

Head Cook - A large party comin’ in, eh? Get yourselves settled in at a table and I’ll be right over to take your orders!

Following the head chef’s instructions, you and the rest of your group find a large table to get seated. About 15 minutes passed since then, giving everyone time to figure out what to order. True to his word, he eventually came around to your table.

Head Cook - Sorry ‘bout the wait. *Ahem* Welcome to the Ten Elixir Tavern. My name’s Jackson and I’ll be your server and chef tonight. Can I start you off with some drinks?

Reimu - Green tea with a slice of lemon.

Marisa - I’ll take a round of that Legendary Elixir Special.

Alice - I’ll have some black tea with lemon and sugar cubes.

Youmu - I will have the same thing.

Rei - I’d like the lime soda.

Nitori - Can I get some water with cucumbers?

Aya - I’ll take the Multi Inferno Tower, extra sake.

Daiyousei - Just ice water for me. Can I also have a lemon slice with it please?

Renko - I’ll order the Lumberjack’s Smoothie.

Maribel - Make that two!

Ran - Lemonade, not too much ice.

The server and chef stares towards you.

[ryuzakemo128]

Dieter Bravo x Italian! Gothic! UFC Fighter! Female Reader! Headcanons

Content Warnings: Drug addiction, alchol mentioned, chronic levels of fluff, female reader is an absolute angel, cute couple tooth rottingly cute levels. Family tradtions around christmas mentioned to a small degree. Estabished relationship.

Note: If you want more of this pairing let me know and I'll write up some more headcanons. NSFW included maybe??

Note 2: I got a nice clickity cl;ackity keyboard so I am having way more fun writing with it than I imagined I would have.

Divider template provided by the wonderful @cafekitsune

Word count for those who would like to know: 2235

Link to other things you might like that are also written by me are: HERE

Despite your Italian heritage, Dieter finds your gothic aesthetic rather alluring and intimidating at the same time. The layers of black on black makes you rather intimidating and harder to approach. You would show off your walk-in closet of ink, abyssal darkness and watch how he reacts to the sea of black clothes. Organised by brand, style, material type, length.

One half, the left-hand side, is things you have bought brand new from luxury brands, styles and materials. The right-hand side are things that are thrifted and altered. Things that are custom made to fit you and your body type. Along with things you made for yourself which are scandalous, shocking, wicked, sexy, erotic, erogenous. While still sticking within the theme of black.

2.      Your taste in cocktails are both eccentric, odd, and sometimes just too strong for him to handle. Much like the taste of alcohol in general. The only things you don’t like are beer, wine and stouts. Your signature cocktail called ‘Death’s Memory’, a concoction of two shots of black vodka, two shots of clear rum, a shot of absinthe, lime & lemon extract, blackberries, black edible glitter and blackberry juice. The cocktail glasses being in the silhouette of appealing shapes of a woman’s figure. The cocktail glasses themselves, adding an extra portion to the cocktail experience.

3.      You are infatuated with slow cookers and continuously have at least four working continuously at once with either a flavoursome dish or a really sweet dessert for that evening. You love to pamper him with feasts & spreads end up tasting wonderfully.

4.      Your taste in expensive cheeses like Parmesan Reggiano cheese wheels, brie cheese and other cheeses like it. He gets treated with inside your cooking and inside the light snacks you make him in the afternoon. Sometimes even cheese fondue.

5.      You create a Calander to mark of the amount of days he spent sober. On tally mark represents a month. With the month Calander below, it is to show each day. You don’t just verbally support his drug addiction recovery, but you help in keeping track. When he slips up and relapses sometimes. You don’t demean or insult him. You just sit down beside him silently. If he’s crying because of it. You just embrace him and remain silent, knowing sometimes words aren’t always enough to soothe the ‘savage beast within’.

6.      You hold his hair when he asks you to without a word. It didn’t matter that he didn’t have long hair to hold. But you understood why he wanted it. Thus. You did it regardless of how odd it sounded to someone else. “It’s not weird to want someone to care about you. And a hangover is normal. I’ve had plenty, too.”.

7.      On Valentine's Day, you get him gourmet chocolate with a hundred crimson blood-red roses. You would playfully tease, “Who says men cannot receive roses as well, hmm? I thought Mr. Bravo is an eccentric actor, flamboyant to the core.”

8.      You have four black cats named: Mayhem, Shadow, Bullet and Morbid. Each with their own colour coded collar, food bowl and litter box. Red for Mayhem, Blue for Shadow, Purple for Morbid and Green for Bullet. Their cat tree in the living room looks like a fuzzy replica of a cherry blossom tree from Japan.

9.      You have a large, extensive range of dark, moody gothic makeup from brands you love and loved since your teens. The extravagant vanity your uncle made for your 21st. The black vanity with the warm yellow lights around the mirror. You like explaining what each use product had and what style you liked the most.

Some make up products look like a quill pen, others come in oddly shaped packaging which you show off the same day you receive it in the mail.

10.    When Dieter is sick, you make sure there is at least two large bottles of water in the bedroom, bathroom, living room and kitchen. Hydration, hydration, hydration. You make him soup with toast. Along with light snacks like water crackers and fruit toast. Leaving the remote for the TV and the air conditioner on his bedside table in case he got too warm or too cold. Along with some kind of entertainment like romantic shows, which you noticed that he watched sometimes. “Do you prefer orange or apple juice?” is the question you’d ask whenever you made him breakfast.

You own a juicer in your kitchen after the third time he gets sick just make sure there is always steady supply of fresh juice in the fridge. You excuse it by saying ‘fresh is better than store bought’. Not telling him he is the main reason you bought it in the first place.

11.    You love giving him bear hugs when he’s upset and whenever he gets home. It doesn’t matter what happened. Bear hugs were a big thing for you. Despite your intimidating presence. You could be smelling like sweat and BO from a training or sparring session. But you would still give him a bear hug anyway.

12.    You would ask whether he would prefer to adopt or have his first child biologically. Mainly out of pure curiosity to begin with. Before it grows into a much deeper discussion. You would also pepper in the assurance that there wasn’t any kind of rush to decide whether he wanted children or not regardless.

13.    Italian hot chocolate, you made it once for Christmas when he said he didn’t want to celebrate loudly. This thicker version of hot chocolate was the one your father made you growing up. “My father would wait till my mother would go on ‘girl’s night’s out’. We would stay up until one in the morning watching a movie and drinking several cups of hot chocolate.” Though, the experimental eggnog with brandy or rum gives you both a hangover the next day.

14.    Willing to paint his toenails whatever colour he wanted and however he wanted. Regardless of whether it’s a pedicure by a professional or you. You also make sure to use the foot bath and the lavender incense to provide a relaxing scent. You pay for spa days on his birthday, easter and valentine’s day.

15.    When you get sick, you often show it by sleeping in another hour or having a sore back, sore enough to not be able to move out of bed. Mainly because the muscles in your back would lock up and require a deep massage or warm heating to ease up. You don’t reject his help because, one its nice to receive it and two, his massages help quite a bit. The herbal teas like honey, lemon & lime juice in hot water, hibiscus tea, green tea with ginger. Any and all attempts to cook is met with fond responses. Always encouraging him, he’s doing what he can and if he wanted, they can always have something delivered if he burns something. “Cara mia, you did not fail, failure means you didn’t bother trying. You made an honest to god attempt.” You wouldn’t coddle with that kind of remark. But you wouldn’t say that you didn’t appreciate the effort he made, either.

You often find recipes that are easy for him to make to start with and if he ever decides to surprise you with something Italian related you get really excited no matter the outcome of it. “Cara, it’s wonderful.”

16.    You call him Mio Tesoro (My Treasure), Cara Mia (My Beloved), Cuore mio (My heart), Mio tutto (My Everything), Mio Stella (My Star), Mio Carissina (My Dearest), Caro (Dear).  Amongst many other Italian terms of endearment you love to throw his way to show him how much you care about him.

17.    The plates, bowls, mugs, etc. They are all made in the pottery classes you went to in your spare time and no two are the same as each other, making each piece as unique as the one sitting above it. Some are pink, blue and other bright colours after you started dating Dieter because his vibrant personality inspired those pieces at the time. The special one you made for him is a pink one with a 3D white cloud on the front with ‘Dieter’s Mug’ written in cursive underneath like they were rain drops from the cloud. You have a shed in the backyard dedicated to it being her pottery area, which you go to make more plates or to fix any broken ones using the kintsugi method with either gold or silver lacquer.

“If you want to try it out, go for it, I’ll even take you to some of the pottery classes with me too. It’ll be a fun date thing.” You’d tell him if he showed interest in it too.

You also make good luck charms for keyrings that are far cuter than your over-all aesthetic displayed. Things like clouds, frogs, penguins, polar bears, sharks, penguins, kittens, puppies made into key rings, mini figurines, pen holders, etc.

18. Sometimes you ask him whether a vintage piece is worth adding to your wardrobe because you believe in quality over quantity with everything you own clothing, make-up and décor wise. Thrifting them isn’t off the table either.

Upcycling some clothes that don’t fit your aesthetic to resell later in your studio in the city for between $5-$10. Mostly because its more of a hobby rather than a full-time job.

19. The human sized dog bed is pulled out for movie nights in the living room. You own two in case he wanted to sleep on his own one for the extra space. One of them is charcoal grey and the other is a deep brown. Getting special goose and duck feather pillows for them specifically. Even though each one can fit two people you thought if he wanted to have one to himself, he’d have the extra space to get extra comfortable.

20. You have a home gym designed specifically for MMA, Gymnastics, Deadlifting, and Callisthenics. Which was a routine for you even before you started dating Dieter. It was part of your pottery shed. The second room of the same shed dedicated to just that and that alone.

You have posters of strongwomen, female powerlifters and other female athletes around the gym signed by each one too. Along with framed tickets of any possible match or event you went to see it in person. Just as a reminder that this is what she loves and UFC is the career she chose out of a passion rather than any possible hope of leaving any form of ‘legacy’ behind.

“I started gymnastics when I was three, I started MMA and Callisthenics when I was 8 and I started deadlifting at 14.” You explain to him. “Though if you want to get healthy, I suggest Callisthenics, yoga, and only lifting once you start learning how to do it with a personal trainer.”

You end up getting a treadmill in there in case he wanted to ever just do a light jog while still spending time with you. Even if he’s not deadlifting heavy weights like you are or practicing your punches on a punching bag. It was nice to be in the same area and being able to see you in your natural ‘element’.

21. You make crocheted shark themed things whenever you watch sad things because otherwise you’re crying along with Dieter and you have no idea what do with your hands whenever it happens either if you’re not snacking either. So you crochet shark themed things to help whenever Dieter gets upset or overstimulated by something/ Movie related or not. Sometimes even booking chairs away from Cinema aisles because you know for a fact he doesn’t like people getting into his person space even if its for a few seconds.

You don’t care if he thinks its ‘extra hassle’ for you its peace of mind and you prefer to keep him happy. If that means sitting in the two reclining chairs next to the wall? Then so be it. Peace of mind is peace of mind. No matter how strange it looked.

22. You memorize his favourite treats, desserts and what he reaches for when his mood is sour to make a homemade version. Sometimes even just making it while he’s taking a nap so he can open the fridge later to find it there. Another small thing you like doing for him.

23. You look through fashion catwalk videos with him to see what outfit he likes the most. “What about that one?” you’d ask as a daring outfit is shown. Even the more odd ones were looked at, along with the more artistic leaning fashion shows were looked at too.

“What about that one?” You’d ask showing a clip of outfits worn by actors that played villain roles. Which were also your personal favourite. “What about that one too? Can’t go wrong with a suit or a three piece one for that matter. Perhaps even a crimson turtleneck and blazer combo?”

“How do you feel about the capelet over the long sleeved turtleneck dress?” is one example of questions you’d ask him. Though the large fur coats you love always seem to get him to react differently depending what fashion line you both watch or rewatch together.

[alopecoiddaydream]

WAIT OMG I JUST SCROLLED DOWN ON THE ARTICLE AND THESE ONES ARE WAY BETTER!

11 Do you consider yourself a lemon or a lime? Why?

12 What is your DJ name?

13 What is your superpower?

14 What three things would you do if you were invisible?

15 What is the best prank you’ve experienced or planned?

16 Tell us a weird fact you happen to know for no reason.

17 If you could take one prop from any movie set, what would it be?

18 Tell us your favorite joke.

19 If your pet could talk, what would they say?

20 If your life was captured in the “expectation vs. reality” meme, what would the two pictures be?

really hard to decide and it absolutely flip-flops but right now lemon simply bc i have anger issues 🪅

uhhhhhh DJ autism IDK???? 😭😭😭😭

like what superpower would i like to have bc its absolutely healing or flying

steal all three of the items i mentioned in the last ask

I got two of my friends who don't really know each other but we all go to the same school to join a roblox game. The thing is one of them didn't know that the other one was from school and they had an argument over roblox that lasted like 30 minutes. And then a few days later the person who DID know went up to the other guy and subtly referenced the argument until he realized (jk i had to explain it to him)

Egg in windings is up left left (i actually know this for deltarune reasons but shhhhh)

I've literally stolen clothing stuff from theatre plays before I can see a jacket I stole like 2 years ago in my closet RIGHT NOW

I don't really have a favorite joke but there's one i recently said where it was like "Doesn't the Greek root di mean two? Is that why I wanna die on tuesdays?" (it's very dependent on how words sound rather than text. It's also very i hate mondays-esque bc this is a joke i told to my family)

my dog would just say "woa" a bunch of times and my cat would be screaming at me 24/7 (mostly to either let her into my room or let her out)

Expectation would be having a functioning body and brain that is easy to work with and reality is me.

[lumine-no-hikari]

Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #358

So remember how at the end of yesterday's letter, I said that today's would be taco-flavored?

Well!!! Here it is!!! Ta-daaaaaaaaa...!!!!!!

Oh. Uh. It occurs to me... maybe you aren't exactly familiar with tacos. Tacos come from a country called Mexico, which is a place that is south of my country! Actually, Mexico has all kinds of awesome foods, awesome music, awesome festivals and holidays, and...

...I guess I feel really lucky to live in a world that has so many different places and ways of being. The humans of my world are endlessly creative, and they always seem to find ways to get by wherever they're at, with whatever foods are available to them in their region.

...Seriously, the sheer vastness of things that humans are able to eat is probably one of the main reasons why we're so astonishingly adaptable.

In any case!!! I dunno if there are regions in your world that have anything similar to tacos. Maybe Costa Del Sol has them? You'll have to tell me about it sometime.

Anyway!! Even if you're not familiar with tacos, that's okay. This guy wasn't familiar with them at first, either. He's got a funny story about that; maybe it'll make you laugh:

...Goodness, but I'd give just about anything to hear the sound of your joyful, wholesome laughter...

…

Anyhoot! So I made tacos today!! I'll show you how in a bit!! But before I made tacos, I went out to Eggcellent to meet Br, the dandelion-haired man. I was a little disappointed that he didn't bring his wife with him; it means I didn't get a chance to talk to her about the $300 he randomly gave to me yesterday.

...Sigh.

Well. I got my usual thing. A rose matcha latte with tea jelly, sago, and cream cheese foam. I wasn't really feeling barley bits today. I also got a crème brûlée:

Today, the crème brûlée came in a heart-shaped purple tin, and I thought it was very cute!

Br and I talked about various things for a long time. J didn't come with me because he went to the little airport to do a little more maintenance on his little airplane. But then, after a while, he was done, and unexpectedly, he visited Eggcellent while I was still there!!! And I was so happy!!! J and Br and I talked together for a long time. I had planned to get a bell pepper for today's fresh salsa, and to fill the car with gas, but we talked for so long that, between the rain and the hour, it was dim enough outside that the astigmatism was gonna make the headlights, streetlights, and stoplights a bit of a problem for me. So I didn't go get a bell pepper or the gas; I just followed J home, and that was super duper helpful.

When I got home, I began taco preparations pretty much right away, because R was supposed to visit today, and he had asked for tacos! I began by melting some leftover bacon/pancetta fat in my handy-dandy wok:

...Seriously, a wok is the dyspraxic cook's best friend; mine's got a nice big bottom, and the deep sides make it really easy for me to scootle stuff around without spilling anything. It's good stuff!!!

Anyhoot, so I had these chicken breasts thawing on the counter:

...I dunno if you remember the slicing technique I showed you in the last letter I wrote about making gyros, but... I used that same slicing technique to cut the chicken into tiny cubes:

From there, I put it in the wok to cook:

I used the time to zest a lemon and a lime. When we zest a citrus fruit, basically we use a special tool to get all the color off its peel:

...In the end, you're left with a citrus fruit that's easier to peel or to cut in half, and a bowl full of flavorful zest that you can use in other things!

...Yum!!

So, once the chicken cooked, I drained out the juices into a separate bowl for later use in making refried beans!

From there, I decided to make homemade adobo. You can get it store-bought, and that's good, too, but I didn't have any premade adobo, and I had all the stuff in my spice cabinet to make it at home:

This is... salt, garlic powder, onion powder, mixed and white peppercorns, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, ground coriander, turmeric, and just a bit of sweet dark chili powder to give it a little “kick”...!

(...but not too much kick, because my body really doesn't like capsaicin, and too much will make me cry, hahaha...)

...Anyway, I seasoned the chicken with some combination of the above spices (just taste it as you go along; your body will tell you what you need more of or less of – it's totally fine!). I also used half of the lemon-lime zest. But I guess I forgot to get a picture. But that's fine; you'll see it later!

Anyway, so I put the seasoned chicken into a bowl and began making the refried beans! Normally, I work with dried black beans that come in bags, but I was pressed for time and energy, so I used canned black beans instead. I just dumped the whole can in there without draining it; it's fine, I promise. The extra liquid will evaporate a little bit, and leave the resulting beans with a creamy and delicious texture.

I began by warming up the chicken juices and some more bacon/pancetta fat in the wok:

...Then I added the beans and let them simmer for a bit:

Once they simmered for a while, I got out my handy-dandy masher and started mashing them up!

...Once they're mashed, their starches incorporate the fluids they simmered in quite nicely. I seasoned them with a bit of cumin, a bit of salt, and quite a bit of garlic:

Ohhh, that's so good. Sephiroth, I wish you could smell this picture.

Anyhoot, after that, it was time to prepare the salsa. I asked J to cut up some tomatoes and the bell pepper that I asked R to fetch on his way here. But I only got a picture of the sliced red bell pepper for some reason:

...J did such a nice job!!!!!!! Oh my goodness!!!!!!

Anyways, I put the tomatoes and some pre-diced onions into my rice cooker bowl (because sometimes you just need bowls). I chopped some cilantro and threw it in there; fortunately, no one in my house today has that gene that makes cilantro taste like soap:

...Say, Sephiroth, does cilantro taste like soap to you? It's a genetic quirk by which a person is able to taste the aldehydes in the leaves. Thankfully, I don't have that particular quirk. I wonder if you do. If you have that quirk, then you should avoid using cilantro when you make fresh salsa! You can maybe use parsley or some other herb instead; there are lots of great choices!!

Anyway, from there, I added a chopped scallion:

...And then I squeezed in the juice of half a lemon! I also added the other half of the lemon-lime zest!

Here's the finished salsa!

...Oh, and! We don't have to let the spent lemon half go to waste! You can stick it in water for a while like this, and let the flavors infuse:

...As for the lime, I peeled it and pulled apart the sections; I didn't slice it because I don't like when citrus juices leak out and get everywhere. And besides, why slice it when the fruit basically already comes pre-sliced, if only you're willing to take a minute or two to peel it properly?

...I did fail to take a picture. But that's okay; you'll see one of the slices in a bit!

I didn't fail to picture some other taco essentials, though! Here, we have guacamole, cheese, and sour cream!

...Normally, I might make my own guacamole, but... I was already pressed for time and energy. It's made of avocados, mashed with citrus juice and other seasonings. It's good stuff!!! Great on a variety of things!!!

So now comes the part where we put together the taco! We start with a warmed tortilla! And then we spread some refried beans on it!

...We add the chicken! The refried beans keep it kinda glued to the tortilla:

It's all golden brown because of our lovely adobo mixture, yay!!

Anyhoot! Next, we add the sour cream!

...Then the salsa! The sour cream will help it to stay on!

...Cheese after that. It'll fall into all the nooks, crannies, and crevices in the salsa!

Then we add the guacamole!

...And finally, we add the cute little lime slice on top!

From there, we roll it up and enjoy!

...Want some...?

...And no, I promise that if you do it right, you definitely won't need a “napkin” of any kind, hahaha!! Just make sure your chicken is cooked through, make sure you don't overfill your tortilla, and make sure you wrap the contents properly! It'll maybe take practice, but... you're a super smart guy!!! You can do it, I'm sure!!!

R seemed to enjoy the tacos that were made. And he left us, too, with a jar full of vanilla sugar that he made, and several different kinds of cookie dough that he made at home, too!! I can't wait to put them in the oven! Maybe I'll do that tomorrow!!

Well. I suppose that's it for today. Suppose I'm over here wishing you could eat tacos with us and chill out and watch something cool on the TV with us, or play some silly game.

...Or... better yet... I wish I could teach you how to make tacos in person... I think you'd have a lot of fun with it...

…

Sephiroth... I love you. And I want you to be safe and happy. I know you said that you've seen hell before and you don't fear death, but... please... show me a man who rises up from the bowels of hell, triumphant and full of love. Show me a man who refuses to bow down as a slave to his conditioning. Show me a man who refuses to allow the pain in his heart to warp his tenderness into hatred.

I believe in you. I know you can do it. No matter how many tries it takes. Just like with Hades and my quest to get a victory on the first run on a fresh save, you can fall lots of times, but you only need to succeed once. Like Dead Cells, like Salt and Sanctuary, you can fall so many times, but you only need to succeed once. All you have to do is get back up and try again. All you have to do is refuse to remain defeated. All you have to do is improve your skills, learn to relax, and learn how to dance merrily around those who would wish you harm. I'm over here, getting better and better at all of these things in a wide variety of respects – not just in the video games I play, but in my life generally. We can defy the conditioning that tells us that ordinary, natural things are wrong, weak, or bad. We can do it together.

...Sephiroth. Come on. Take my hand; you don't gotta do it alone, and you don't gotta do it on an empty belly, a dehydrated body, or an unslept brain. Come on; my house has tea and snacks and safe places to sleep where no one will bother you. Come on; we can fill the days with me showing you how to make tasty snacks of various kinds. Come on; I can teach you a little bit of the history of the foodways of my world along the way – something tells me you'd be into that sort of thing. Come on; you can become someone who loves yourself enough to create your own delicious homecooked meals. Come on; the dreams you had as a boy don't have to remain dreams – you can weave them into reality with your own two hands, I promise! Come on; I'll show you how, because it's not too hard; it just takes a bit of time, effort, and practice. And you're worth that time. You're worth that effort. You're worth that practice. And you're worth the patience, dedication, and determination that it will take, too.

...I know you can't answer me. But... just think about it, okay? Think about becoming a person who is strong in the real way.

I'll write again tomorrow. Please stay safe out there.

Your friend, Lumine

[lilydepp]

The Ultimate Guide to Pillow Talk Vape Flavors

When it comes to vaping, finding the perfect flavor is like discovering a new favorite song—it sticks with you and makes the experience so much better. That’s exactly how I feel about Pillow Talk Vape and their exceptional lineup of Pillow Talk Vape Flavors. Every puff is an adventure, and I can’t wait to share my journey with you.

In this guest post, I’ll dive into what makes Pillow Talk Vape so special, explore their diverse flavor options, and share tips for finding your ideal match.

Why Pillow Talk Vape Deserves Your Attention

If you’ve been searching for a vape brand that combines quality, creativity, and consistency, look no further than Pillow Talk Vape. Here’s why they’ve quickly become my top choice:

Premium Ingredients: Every flavor is crafted with high-quality ingredients to deliver a smooth and satisfying experience.

Unique Flavor Profiles: They offer a wide range of innovative flavors that cater to all tastes, from fruity to indulgent.

Consistency You Can Trust: Each puff delivers the same vibrant flavor, ensuring a reliable and enjoyable experience.

Exploring the Pillow Talk Vape Flavor Collection

One of the things I love most about Pillow Talk Vape Flavors is the variety. Whether you’re in the mood for something refreshing, sweet, or exotic, there’s a flavor for every occasion. Here are a few standout options:

1. Citrus Sunrise

This zesty blend of oranges, lemons, and a hint of lime is perfect for starting your day with a burst of energy. It’s refreshing, tangy, and downright delicious.

2. Vanilla Cloud

For those who crave something smooth and creamy, Vanilla Cloud is a must-try. It’s like enjoying a luxurious dessert with every puff.

3. Berry Fusion

A delightful mix of strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, this flavor is a berry lover’s dream. It’s sweet, tangy, and incredibly satisfying.

4. Minty Breeze

When I’m in the mood for something crisp and cooling, Minty Breeze hits the spot. It’s invigorating and leaves a refreshing aftertaste.

5. Tropical Paradise

Escape to the islands with this exotic blend of pineapple, mango, and coconut. It’s the ultimate flavor for a summertime vibe.

How to Choose Your Perfect Flavor

With so many options, picking the right flavor might feel overwhelming. Here are a few tips that have helped me discover my favorites:

Start With Your Preferences: Think about the flavors you enjoy in food or drinks. If you love tropical smoothies, try something like Tropical Paradise.

Experiment With Variety: Don’t be afraid to try new profiles. You might be surprised by what you end up loving.

Consider Your Mood: Different flavors suit different occasions. A fruity blend might be great for daytime, while a creamy option works well for relaxing evenings.

Get Recommendations: Reading reviews or asking friends can help you discover hidden gems.

My Daily Vaping Routine

One of the things I love about Pillow Talk Vape is how easily their flavors fit into my day. Here’s a glimpse into how I use their flavors to complement my routine:

Morning: Citrus Sunrise gives me an energetic start to the day.

Afternoon: Berry Fusion keeps things fun and fruity during my mid-day breaks.

Evening: Vanilla Cloud helps me unwind and relax after a long day.

Why Pillow Talk Vape Stands Out

It’s not just the flavors that make Pillow Talk Vape special. Their commitment to quality and innovation sets them apart. Here are a few reasons why I keep coming back:

Smooth Vapor Production: Their devices and flavors are designed to work together seamlessly, providing a rich and smooth vaping experience.

Stylish Design: Pillow Talk Vape products are as sleek and modern as they are functional.

Focus on Flavor: They prioritize creating bold and vibrant flavors that leave a lasting impression.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking to take your vaping experience to the next level, Pillow Talk Vape Flavors are a fantastic choice. With their diverse range of options, high-quality ingredients, and consistent performance, they offer something for everyone.

Whether you’re new to vaping or a seasoned enthusiast, Pillow Talk Vape has the flavors and quality to impress. I can’t wait to hear about your favorite flavors—let’s share our experiences and explore this flavorful world together!

[sabugabr]

Interestingly, Amazon's Rings of Power issues can actually be summarized into its costumes

OR: Why Númenor cannot really look like Rome

Hello again, I YET LIVE! 💃

Soo, I haven't been able to write in ages cause since my graduation I've been in full monday to saturday 9AM-7PM proletarian mode, and I am a brazilian living in Brazil during one of the biggest attacks on democracy that we as a nation have experienced since the end of the military dictatorship 37 years ago aka Bolsonaro which is as nice as a kick in the nose, BUT FOR THIS SPECIFIC CASE, I, like palpatine, HAVE RETURNED.

but I'll make this one quick tho I swear (kkkkkkk)

I'm gonna talk about fictional characters' clothes.

And before I start, a brief disclaimer, I HAVE NOT FULLY WATCHED RINGS OF POWER YET. In fact, I've only watched the first three episodes. First because I didn't have the time, and second because honestly if they wanted to keep my attention longer they should've tried harder to make me care about any character other than my little boy Arondir, which they didn't so here we are.

But seriously, I'd like to make something very clear, I have absolutely no rights to tell you if Rings of Power is good or not, because I haven't watched it in its entirety, simple as that. That's not my point here, so if you liked this show, if you were moved by it, if it brought you back to a happy and safe place in Middle Earth, I'm glad, because that's great. We are living in very difficult times worldwide, and I will be the last person to condemn someone for consuming media that makes them happy and comforted. My issues here with it lies in a much simpler department, and that's what I'll be going on about.

✨ CHEAP COSTUMING ✨

And seriously, as I've said before, haven't watched the show, so I'm not even going to get into the merits of addressing good costuming in the narrative field, or the character development field, or anything like that – and you can easily find A LOT of videos and articles by much more qualified people than me covering these topics in detail. I'd just like to point out the problems with these costumes in the most basic way possible: they're the laziest thing I've ever seen since the end of the Night King in that 8th season.

And honestly that's embarrassing.

So look, I wouldn't be so picky if this were literally any other fantasy production.

While I fully understand and agree that any work must be able to stand on its own, and be amenable to analysis and criticism as a unit short of "necessary" contextualization, I also believe that in certain cases this separation is not, and should not be, possible – and in this scenario, this is the case of the construction of an universe. When you transfer this to the media field, it translates into the construction of the imagery of a universe, and for me, in my opinion, in these situations you cannot analyze each work of a same universe separately.

They need to dialogue with each other, and in the case of imagery, they need to have visual connections.

And one of the most powerful ways to convey to an audience that yes, this work takes place in this particular universe, is through costuming and characterization.

It is as if someone asked you to go to the market to buy lemons, and then showed you what a lemon is, so that when you arrive at the market, you can identify the lemons, and differentiate them from, for example, an orange, or a lime, or a tangerine. Right?

Rings of Power did not understand that.

Pray tell me, can you differentiate the lemons from the limes here?

Really, can you?

If you didn't already know these series, would you really be able to point out for sure which is which? Or, more importantly, which universe are they a part of? And, even more importantly, if you didn't already know, could you point out to me which of these are Lord of the Rings?

I couldn't.

And actually, there's inherently no problem for you to have a fantasy series with generic fantasy costumes (I, myself, particularly prefer it when the costumes aren't generic, but there are a number of shows or movies where the costumes might not be the most distinguishable thing in the world, but work really well in that context and are overall great costumes. That's absolutely fine). But in this specific series, it is very much a problem.

Because Lord of the Rings is not generic.

Even if they were creating the first ever visual adaptation of Tolkien works, I would already have rave reviews. But worse than that, they're putting themselves in a universe with imagery that not only already exists but is METICULARLY well established by the Peter Jackson films.

And what's interesting to me isn't even the fact that they're different from the costumes in the Peter Jackson movies. Depending on how it was done, I could at least respect the decision to create a completely fresh identity (provided it could dialogue with the previously established one, and with the worldbuilding created by Tolkien in the source material). What I find interesting is that in pretty much every costume, I can see where they got their inspiration from. And they are all the laziest possible.

Take Númenor for example. It's as if they looked at a summary of what Númenor is in Tolkien's writings and thought "a colonizing nation and mighty empire that existed before a society that years in the future would be represented as medieval inspired = Roman Empire". And/or Macedonian/Byzantine, for I can see a mixture of elements of those in many of the costumes and settings.

Even in the setting of the scenes: Compare the throne room of Númenor with that of Gondor, the latter with rounded columns and elliptical arches and a direction that always showed the room diagonally – from the corners, or behind the throne, to create an effect of disharmony, emptiness and decay (in almost every scene, the columns seem to be a little slanting). In contrast, the hall of Númenor is presented in the most squared and geometric way possible: the columns are straight, the scene is perfectly framed in the center, perfectly mirrored, and all the lines are either parallel or perpendicular, indicating straightness, balance and patterning – very Hellenic.

The association seems to be very obvious at first glance. The Hellenic empires are by far the best-known and most perpetuated example of empire in the mediatic imaginary of our Western culture, so it's a very easy way to convey to us, the audience, that these guys are your standart big "advanced" and colonizing civilization that see themselves as "closer to the gods" or something. And ok, fine.

I don't think the concept of being aesthetically inspired by the Romans would be anywhere near bad, were that any case other than Tolkien's universe.

For example, within the imagery created by Tolkien I would much rather see a Celtic inspiration for Númenor than a Roman/Macedonian one (since we're talking about great cultures that preceded Christian kingdoms in Europe), simply because this Roman aesthetic, while efficient in giving us the most basic impression possible about these people as lazily quickly and efficiently as possible, inevitably ends up pulling us by the throat out of the immersion of Middle Earth. It simply breaks it.

Like, really tho, would you bait an eye on this an call it Middle Earth??

And ok, fine, I know the Celts aren't the first association we make with "great nation" (and actually they were colonized and genocidated by the Romans so there's that lovely layer) BUT THE THING IS THAT MIDDLE-EARTH IS NOT THE REAL WORLD. And yes, I know that Gondor can easily be associated, yes, with Rome and the Byzantine Empire, and that Númenor is very much Atlantis. But one thing is contextual and narrative inspiration, another is aesthetic inspiration. And it's aesthetics I'm talking about here. If the two always went hand in hand, then in House of the Dragon we would have to see the Targaryens walking around 24/7 in full roman attire.

That's what I mean when I call the costuming lazy. Because it's much easier for you to make a visual association than to actually build one through writing and narrative construction. And that's why I say that for me this is a reflection of the whole series. They seem more focused on making checklists in a basic formula than showing us, you know, Tolkien.

"Oh but Númenor is clearly based on Atlantis, you said so yourself", technically, yes (and Tolkien wrote of Númenor as Atlantis in several of his letters), but primarily, Númenor is simply a big island that was swallowed by the sea, and this mythology is by no means unique to the Greeks. In adaptation, Númenor could be based for example on the Cornish "Lyonesse", or on the Breton "Ys", or even the Gaelic "Hy Breasail". Atlantis is just the most well-known version of this myth (to put it simply), and therefore the one that would be most quickly recognized, and therefore the easiest to pull off.

In fact, if one were to delve deeper into the meaning of the fall of Númenor (and there one can even extend to the greater meaning of all these mythologies entering 100% in the field of the collective unconscious and Ginzburg-ish tracks), to which the Tolkien refers to as the second fall of man, with "its central theme is (inevitably, I think, in a story of Men) a Ban, or Prohibition" [x]. The Numenoreans desired immortality, and for their pride they were banished, forbidden from entering the Undying Lands of Aman – which, essentially, comes very close to the idea of the Fall embodied by Christianity.

Satan's Fall From Heaven, illustration by Gustav Dore for John Milton's Paradise Lost

As Tolkien himself said in his 1951 letter to Milton Waldman:

"I dislike Allegory – the conscious and intentional allegory – yet any attempt to explain the purport of myth or fairytale must use allegorical language. (And, of course, the more 'life' a story has the more readily will it be susceptible of allegorical interpretations: while the better a deliberate allegory is made the more nearly will it be acceptable just as a story.) Anyway all this stuff is mainly concerned with Fall, Mortality, and the Machine. With Fall inevitably, and that motive occurs in several modes." [...] "This desire is at once wedded to a passionate love of the real primary world, and hence filled with the sense of mortality, and yet unsatisfied by it. It has various opportunities of 'Fall'. It may become possessive, clinging to the things made as 'its own', the sub-creator wishes to be the Lord and God of his private creation. He will rebel against the laws of the Creator – especially against mortality." Letter to Milton Waldman, 1951, p. 2 – you can read it here

And directly about Númenor, (if you wanna go full nerdy here), he stated that

"The Downfall of Númenor, the Second Fall of Man (or Man rehabilitated but still mortal), brings on the catastrophic end, not only of the Second Age, but of the Old World, the primeval world of legend." [...] "Their reward is their undoing – or the means of their temptation. Their long life aids their achievements in an and wisdom, but breeds a possessive attitude to these things, and desire awakes for more time for their enjoyment. Foreseeing this in pan, the gods laid a Ban on the Númenóreans from the beginning: they must never sail to Eressëa, nor westward out of sight of their own land. In all other directions they could go as they would. They must not set foot on 'immortal' lands, and so become enamoured of an immortality (within the world), which was against their law, the special doom or gift of Ilúvatar (God), and which their nature could not in fact endure." "There are three phases in their fall from grace. First acquiescence, obedience that is free and willing, though without complete understanding. Then for long they obey unwillingly, murmuring more and more openly. Finally they rebel – and a rift appears between the King's men and rebels, and the small minority of persecuted Faithful." Letter to Milton Waldman, 1951, p. 7 - 8

So like, I think there was a lot of room to go around here. There was absolutely no need to deviate from the already existing aesthetic (from the movies) in order to evoke a counterpart in the real world – to me, this just impoverish interpretations, discussions and overall the whole work. A great example of this is the Numenorean symbol.

In the books, the main symbols of Númenor (if I'm not mistaken) are the tree of Númenor, the eagle and especially the five-pointed star.

The island (or continent) on which Númenor was located was in the shape of a five-pointed star, and they were a nation that relied largely on astrocartographies for their navigations.

So you would assume that we would see these symbols on the series, right? Five-pointed stars and trees and stuff like that, right?

Wrong

They gave us this:

The golden Sun

Nowhere in Tolkien's writings (to my knowledge) does he compare Númenor with the sun. I know that technically the sun is a star, but these are completely different archetypal symbols. Tolkien's greatest association with the sun is in relation to Anar, and the Two Trees (and perhaps one could even make an association about how in Middle-Earth the sunlight is "inferior" to the original light of the Two Trees as a metaphor for like the Numenoreans try to persue immortality and emulate the elves, but honestly it's a very long stretch).

(being fair, they did try to play with some celtic sun symbols there, but it ended up just looking out of place)

The main association with the golden sun in our western culture (excluding indigenous cultures, Mesoamerica and South America, we have our own relationships with the figure of the sun that does not enter here at all) is with the Panhellenic symbol of the Macedonian Sun, or Vergina Sun.

You can see the resemblance very clearly, especially in that golden banner in the first image

And there is, again, no problem with you drinking from real world inspired sources to build a fantasy world (every fantasy world is an analogy to the real world and etc etc). But if you're going to make direct visual associations with real-world elements, those associations must be very well thought out and very well planned. Otherwise, as happened (in my opinion) with the golden sun of Númenor, you end up breaking the immersion of a visual universe that, if it drink from some source, is not the one you used.

Famously, the great inspirations for Tolkien's work were Germanic, Celtic, Finnish, Slavic, Greek and Norse language, folklore and mythology, especially the Icelandic sagas and ultimately the basic christian structures. [little sources 1, 2 and 3 if you wanna know more, or you can go to the first page of Tolkien's letter to hear it from the man himself]. You even have this whole diagrams going on about it:

This is the foundation of the universe, this is the fountain you will want to drink from. And that's the source that Ngila Dickson drank from to make the costumes for the Lord of the Rings movies.

Compare for example Elendil's costumes from the The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), and then from Rings of Power (2022).

Can you see where I'm coming from?

Ngila Dickson's take on Elendil not only fits perfectly into the setting of this world being presented to us, but it also manages to create a unique and recognizable aesthetic for the character (and therefore, for his people).

When, in the third film, we see Aragorn'scoronation, it is not difficult to recognize if not the armor, but at least Elendil's royal crown.

Dickson plays not only with historical inspirations but mainly with associations within the visual universe of the films: in the crown alone, you can see inspirations taken from the architecture of Gondor itself: the crown aesthetically resembles the city. She's not referencing the real world, she's referencing Middle Earth.

In Rings of Power, Elendil only looks Byzantine.

And that's just lazy.

Also, for some reason I didn't get, the elves also wear roman elements? Like, what's the point of that? Are the Numenoreans then trying to copy the elves in some way, or…? Idk???

What's with the laurels? Did I miss something or...????:???^::??

And honestly I could go on and on and on on the elves ALONE, but a lot of people already covered that and this is already getting long enought so for my point here I'd only like to point out one detail that dialogues with my lazyness critique here, and it regards Galadriel.

Now, once again, I COULD GO ON AN ON ABOUT HER PORTRAYL (and I'll sure be doing a post addressing female archetypes so I won't extend myself here) but not my point here, I'd only like to talk about this particular dress:

The blue dress

To be quite blunt, the thing with this dress is that it is literally a copy of Éowyn's maiden dress.

Literally.

It's so ridiculously blatant.

The impression it gives me is that they, once again, instead of even trying to show through writing or narrative construction a certain element, they simply copied and pasted the most obvious thing possible. They wanted to say "look at how Galadriel is a strong warrior woman" so they just made her look like the other "woman with a sword" in the franchise.

It was a big "she's the new Éowyn pls like her" move.

Instead of giving her... you know... her own construction? Some individuality? Any at all?

And that, in addition to being extremely lazy YET AGAIN, is a big shot in the foot (Brazilian saying, don't know if it makes sense in english sorry), because it only makes us compare the two directly. And even if you liked Rings of Power, I think we can all collectively agree that the Galadriel we were introduced to is definitely no Éowym.

So why did they do it??? because they're lazy that's it that's the point

It's the same with the thought of putting on a Wooden Elf with armor that looks like WOOD, or taking the concept of "people connected with nature" and translating that into purely shoving, idk, a bird's nest on people's heads and making them dirty with earth. Very connected with nature and stuff. It's just LAZYYYYY

Yes, it's very cute, but.... Costuming-wise, it's just dumb?? You know?

And what screams the most is also the difference in quality between the costumes. The difference in the cut of the dresses, in the quality of the fabrics, in everything. IT SCREAMS. I won't get into that because, again, lot of people already covered that BUT REALLY, I'M SORRY, BUT THIS IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE MEDIA PRODUCTION OF IDK, EVER???? THIS FIRST SEASON ALONE COST NEAR THE BUDGET FOR THE WHOLE 3 LOTR MOVIES AND AND

THE PRINTED FABRICS I CAN'T EVEN-

Like, we had this:

And they thought we'd settle for THIS?????

I could forgive this so easily if this was the standart fantasy production. I really could. But this is the most expensive production in history, produced by a billionaire mega corporation that exploits millions of people and literally kills our planet daily, about one of the most well-established universes in the fantastic imagination of our western culture. The least they could do was give us something with a minimum of effort.

I can't talk about their effort on other story elements because I haven't watched the entire series. But, I'm sorry, from the level of care and attention I've seen in these costumes… They literally just did the MINIMUM, and that honestly doesn't really get me excited for the rest of the production.

Like, because they said this character is Galadriel, should we immediately love her just because they said she's Galadriel? To me it fells like they took a LOT of things for granted, and unfortunately it shows.

AND JUST A SMALL ADDENDUM THAT I THINK I SHOULD MAKE

I know that in the big picture, the dwarf costumes are the least worst of this series, and I agree.

ALTHOUGH, YET, HOWEVER

I really think it's extremely complicated for you to represent dwarves as, again, "dirty" and "stubby" people who live in "rustic" caves and are "rustic" and "quarrelsome" and "drunkish". I… I just think it's bad.

Especially with the accent they effectively chose to use for pretty much ALL the dwarves, and seeing them interacting with posh Enrold with his perfect posh British accent… It's just bad.

And I loved Durin's personality and character, but in terms of costumes...

This:

Will never be this:

My personal feelings regarding The Hobbit movies aside, THIS is what a dwarf prince looks like for me. Simply as that. Just look at the condition of the fur in both costumes. C'mon.

Anyway, thank you once again for reading!!! This is just my opinion, as always, feel free to desagree with my at any point! ✨

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: The “Main” Crewmates

Debut: Among Us (merchandising)

Today’s subject may need some explaining, but you will see! I have posted about Carrot before as an “Among Us character”, but that is essentially all fanon. These, however, are, to me, the true, “official” Among Us characters!

Most of the many, many official pieces of Among Us merchandise, whether they are figures or plushes, have the Crewmates with various hats, and these are largely consistent even across types of toys. There are some instances where certain colors are depicted with different hats, but the ones I will discuss here are those that are most consistently depicted, one of each of the original colors. So here I go, using the series 1 Mini Figures for consistency!

First, we have Black, with the plague doctor mask! Normally, I’d be a little upset about the iconic visor being blocked, but I must admit a plague doctor mask and hat are always so striking and cool. Next is Orange, who wears cheese! I think the cheese hat in game is more orange than yellow, like the real thing, but I like it like this, it stands out more. Next, Pink wears a flower! Theoretically, the most aesthetically Girl one of all, but what kind of person is assigning genders to amoungs? Certainly not me! And then there is White, who has no hat, and that’s okay. A default Crewmate is a great design, and if I could only have one Among Us toy, it would be one with no hat! It has so much more potential.

You may have noticed earlier that there is, in some sets, another figure of White, where they are Dead. I think it is great that there is a popular brand where the dead body of one of its lovable characters is iconic and marketable enough to be made into a toy. I want it.

Cyan is my favorite of the whole bunch! My favorite color, and a great hat too! I always use the banana peel hat, but an egg is close enough in vibe. Now I wonder if they could make toys of the Banana color wearing the banana peel... anyway, next is Green in a red beanie, and I love how they remind me of French Narrator like this. They feel a bit older and wiser than the others. Yellow is the one with the honor of the Sprout hat, bestowing upon them the idea of Lemon! I think I’m okay with this, actually. It makes Carrot feel even more special. Not just one of the regular crew. And this one is still incredibly cute! Ending this round is Blue in a fedora, which I think is funny in how regular of a hat it is compared to most others. You may have seen people in real life dressed like this amongus! They could have been cosplaying for all you know!

I would have thought Red would be the one to have no hat if any, being the “mascot” color, but they actually wear the devil horns, which are of course their same color! It certainly saves paint, and I think looks good, like they could be a real Among Demon, who is not actually evil as long as they are not the Impostor. Brown... I’m so sorry, Brown. You have the worst hat. I do not like the ninja mask one bit! Like the plague doctor mask, it covers your beautiful face, but isn’t visually interesting enough to justify it. I’m sorry, Brown, like I said, I know you’re flawless under there. Why hide it? At least we end strong, with Purple wearing a Brainslug! Another of my favorites, it’s like two funny creatures in one figure! The best value!

“But wait... where’s Lime?” ask the Lime fans. Well...

I’m sorry, Lime Fans. Lime is Dead. It seems this Impostor targets those without hats, because Lime and White are both the ones with Dead merchandise, with White’s corpse and Lime’s ghost appearing as figures! But who would do this...?

Purple was The Impostor! Yes, in merchandise, Purple is the go-to color to be an Impostor. I guess it morbidly kind of makes sense in this scenario, since Purple had the Brainslug, arguably the most fashionable hat of all. They take extreme pride in headwear, and hated the hatless Crewmates above all others! Maybe the Brainslug can even be a sort of villainous sidekick to confide in...

So there you have it! What I believe to be the main, “canon” cast of Among Us, with even a “canon” Impostor! Maybe we’ll see these characters beyond merchandise someday, maybe in animated shorts or even an Among Us movie... or maybe nothing! And maybe we’ll see established characters for the more recently added colors like Banana, too! And dare they even implement Fortegreen...? The future of Among Us is truly exciting!

You probably followed us for Mario analysis, and now here you are reading an Among Us toy review!