#I think I may just make it into a conglomeration of all of the holidays and never take anything down just for peace of mind Xd

[hotcheetohatredwastaken]

what sort of games do you play

Minecraft, R6, Hollow Knight, Titanfall. Played some Slime Rancher and Barotrauma the other day. Still working on beating TOTK but I've already seen playthroughs of the entire thing so XD. Have played BOTW and Link's Awakening, as well as a *little* bit of Wind Waker and Ocarina of Time (as well as one of the Zelda games on the NES? I don't even remember which one it was, it's been so long).

[csuitebitches]

What do you think about consumerism in relation to the "hypergamous" lifestyle?

Great question. I'm going to be honest with you. There’s no point in sharing my opinion, I’d rather share my observation.

there is this perception that you have to spend crazy $$, wear designer, go on expensive holidays, be a part of exclusive member-only clubs in order to bag a wealthy guy. The thinking is, “if I look the part, I will fit right in.”

let me break it to you. If you’re Asian, Middle Eastern - you come from a culture that basically defines marriage as something between two families and not individuals - you could live the above lifestyle, live way beyond your means but your chances of bagging a wealthy guy are low. If you do not have the family background or education level to support your lifestyle to be with a rich guy, it’s going to be very difficult, not impossible. You could bag someone who is upper middle class, but definitely not the 0.01%.

While it’s true that the rich do spend like crazy - you have to understand that (especially in Asians) the level of spending is completely different. They can book a first class emirates flight without caring about rates, they have access to concierge services, the circles are small but tight. It is extremely difficult to break into these if you don’t have the money or are extremely good friends with someone who is in this circle. To keep up with this circle is another financial headache.

The consumerism is crazy, it is high yes, but often it’s for things you might not expect. “Silent luxury”, investing in jewellery, properties, experiences, hobbies, drivers, PAs, 24/7 staff to take care of your home, having personal managers at the banks that have your accounts, seeing the top CEOs, politicians, actors etc as regular people - keeping up is not easy. Even if we look at normal stuff, like shopping for clothes - they’re able to blow this thousands of $ on a simple Hermes tea cup set, break it, and buy another one very nonchalantly. Not to mention the constant social gatherings, the clothes (god forbid you repeat), your life’s experiences etc etc. Women here don’t work to maintain their lifestyle, they work to enjoy what they are doing. Even if they stop working tomorrow, they will be financially taken care of by their families or husbands.

hypergamy here is completely different and obstructed. Let’s take my own example. I date boys that my family picks out for me - boys whose families own massive conglomerates, who are cultured and sophisticated, etc etc. I ended things with my last boyfriend because of multiple things, but what mattered most was that my father felt that he wouldn’t be able to provide for me the way I was used to all my life. (Even tho my ex came from a wealthy background too). At every social gathering that my parents organise or take me to, I’ve got my parents friends asking my parents if I’m single, if I’m interested in meetings their sons, etc etc. Dating and marrying hypergamously in Asian and Middle Eastern cultures is very much a family affair. There is a lot of talk that happens in these circles - who married who, whose kids are dating who, did you hear that A’s son fell in love with some middle class girl he met in college - not to your face, but behind your back.

What I’m trying to say is - you could look the part but still not bag the guy. You could dress nice, you could wear expensive perfume and make up but in the end, backgrounds are vetted extremely carefully. Especially in today’s day and age where looking the part has become easier than ever. So now when you tie this to consumerism, you can see why it can be difficult to keep up with this level of consumerism and spending. And even if you can - that may not guarantee anything. Unfortunately life isn’t like kdramas and some rich guy isn’t going to take pity on you and transform your life when he could just be with someone who has a similar upbringing which is more comfortable.

I’m not sure if I answered your question correctly, but I assumed that you were basically asking me if looking the part can get you any points in the hypergamy scene.

[stevetonyweekly]

SteveTony Weekly - December 17th

Real life has been crazy as my kids went through finals week and I went through--helping them through finals week. There’s very little on this week’s list--but my holiday break is starts Wednesday so I expect the next few weeks list will make up for the brevity of today. And of course, y’all can look forward to holiday lists and my end of year round ups in the next few weeks. 

*

One More Dream by citsiurtlanu

Steve is an animator dreaming of breathing life back into a stagnant industry. Tony is a musician dreaming of introducing electric violin to rock. In December of 1981, they meet and come to realize what it means to follow said dreams.

Also known as the artist!Steve/musician!Tony La La Land AU no one ever asked for.

the perfect blend by downeylove, robertdowneyjjr

Tired of the stress and pressure that comes with being the CEO of a global tech conglomerate, Tony hands over control of Stark Industries to Pepper and decides to open a cafe in Brooklyn.

Then an exhausted high school teacher named Steve walks into his life looking for coffee and doesn’t make any effort to leave. Not that Tony’s complaining.

Blacksmith's Hands by Amuly 

Based in Marvel's 1872 Western Universe, where Tony is a blacksmith and Steve is the town Sheriff. Blacksmith Tony hears Sheriff Steve's birth date is coming up, and decides to give him the present he deserves.

darling I fancy you by complicationstoo 

Steve has had a plan for April fifteenth for months now. He’s finally back in New York tonight, officially done with the semester abroad in London that he and Natasha started in January. He loved England, but after months of conversations through text and brief phone calls alone, he just wants the taxi from the airport to drive faster to take him back home. Back to Tony, who Steve has been in love with for the better part of four years and is finally ready to tell how he feels.

cold coffee by complicationstoo 

In retrospect, Steve can admit that he overreacted to the entire situation. His only defense is that he was already stressed out by the bad grade he got on his art project. It’s weak, he recognizes, but he worked really hard on that project and Professor Hill called it “contrived” and “unnecessarily complex.” He was fuming by the time he walked out her office, having failed at arguing for a better grade, and getting freezing cold coffee spilled on him was really the icing on the top of the world’s worst cake. Can he really be blamed for blowing up on the guy?

(Yes, he’ll admit later, he can. But not now.)

Met You on a Monday by justanotherrollingstony (adoctoraday)

The Chitauri invade on a Monday, the same day that Steve meets Iron Man for the first time, and then Toni Stark--and then everything he thinks he knows about both of them goes right out the window.

Indulgence by FestiveFerret, One and Five Nines (Obani)

All it took was one word from Tony, and Steve fell to his knees, every time.

He wished he didn't need this so badly.

Before We Part (The Adventure's End Remix) by citsiurtlanu

Minutes away from incursion, Steve and Tony realize that this adventure will be their final one.

Size Doesn't Matter by izazov

An incident results in Steve reverting to his pre-serum body. It may be the worst thing that has happened to Tony Stark. Or the best.

Love of Inconvenience by AvengersNewB

Tony had a plan; bond with Steve to keep him from deportation until he could find Steve's childhood friend Mr. Barnes.

Temporary.

For convenience.

The plan did not entail falling for this perfect beautiful omega.

Tony Doesn't Love Drama (It Loves Him) by tonystarkssnipples

Steve carefully folded his fingers together and took a steadying breath. “With all due respect, sir, I do not think it would be a wise idea for me to be a part of this project.”

Steve seethed. His boss did this all the time; talked him into doing things they both knew were not good for Steve. In the end, Steve always went along with what his boss said because that’s how jobs worked.

-or-

Steve is a photographer hired to take pictures of Tony Stark and they end up falling into bed together.

Just Like This by BlossomsintheMist

“You are,” he murmured in Tony’s ear, “the sweetest, most generous, most wonderful boyfriend a man could ever have.”

Steve and Tony share Valentine's Day together, and Steve wants to make a point.

[itsany62]

SteveTony - Alternate Universe

Here are some Alternate Universe fics that I love. Don't forget to leave kudos and nice comments in every fic!

Food for the Heart, by LagLemon, 14 k >, Cooking, No Powers.

After being introduced to a gourmet food on a budget blog by Pepper (a gift for her elderly, cheapskate mother) Tony starts cooking again. The recipes are good, but the blog owner is even better. Still, Tony isn't so sure Captain America, the guy who runs the blog, can compete with Hot Bagboy, the gorgeous blond who works at the grocery store.

"Free to Good Home" by Captain_Panda, 7 k > words, Alternate Universe - Animals.

"Oliver and Company" AU.

There's a great big world outside the box.

But it's a dog-eat-dog world, and Tony's just one cat. Then a stray dog comes along, looking for a friend.

A Day In Principal Stark's Office, by nannersmelo, 10 k > words, Steve Single Parent, Director Tony.

Tony Stark has his hands full with not only Stark Industries, but also his beloved mother's life project: The Maria Stark Academy, and as he enters his office in order to deal with a ferocious mother whose son was apparently assaulted by one of his brightest students, he was sure this day would culminate in nothing but a heinous headache. Little did he know - he was in for one hell of a surprise.

I Am the Night by gottalovev, 6 k > words, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Vampire Tony Stark, Wizard Steve Rogers.

That's it. Tony is doomed. He rolls on his back, crosses his wings over his belly and closes his eyes. He'll await death here, misunderstood by the world to the bitter end.

C is for Calculus and Compromise, by heydoeydoey, 11 k>, Gifted AU, Post-Divorce, Angts with a Happy Ending.

Steve's just trying to give his prodigy daughter a normal childhood. Enter a meddling school administrator, Tony Stark, and too many lawyers.

tell you my love for you by jelliebean, 22 k > words, Alternate Universe - Normal High School, Based on Love Simon.

A guy at Shield High comes out on tumblr, anonymously. Tony thought he was the only gay guy on campus--not out, because of Howard--and sends him an email.

“Hey, Flying. Same here. I’ve got a secret too, and it’s like I’m hiding who I am, every day. From everyone. All the closest people to me. But I just can’t tell them. I’m gay, too. It feels like I’m putting on this mask, this shell of who I think they want me to be. Even though I don’t think my friends would judge me. I don’t know why. I just. I’ve got a secret. –Shell”

The guy seems great--amazing, even, and then Hammer has to step in and ruin it all.

Mergers & Acquisitions by Robin_tCJ, 33 k > words, Angst, sex as currency.

Steve Rogers is the CEO of the Rogers Corporation, which he built from the ground up. When he learns that Hydra International is making a bid for a hostile takeover of Stark Industries, he decides he has to do what he can to stop Hydra from overtaking the market and becoming an unstoppable, unethical conglomerate. Tony Stark asks for something Steve isn’t sure he should give, but he does it anyway – and it completely changes everything. But when Hydra keeps coming, Steve and Tony realize there’s more to this than they’d realized.

Meeting the Monsters by itsallAvengers, 23 k > words, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters.

Tony's at public school with kids his age for the first time in seventeen years, and he is determined that this year is gonna be his year. He's going to make friends. He's going to be popular. People will like him.

Unsurprisngly, none of that actually happens.

He does sort-of-maybe fall in love with a vampire in his class that everyone is terrified of, though. So... there's that.

(I Want You To See) The Darkest Side Of Me by ann2who, 45 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Post-World War II.

In Monte Carlo, Steve meets the wealthy widower Anthony Stark. It’s love at first sight—at least for Steve—and he can’t believe his luck when Tony asks him to live at Stark Mansion, his large estate in Malibu. Never in his life had Steve thought something like this was possible… never had he been this happy. However, soon Steve realizes that Tony is still deeply troubled by the death of his first wife and haunted by the many ghosts she left behind. The longer Steve lives in her shadow, the more he understands that… He can never be what Tony’s wife had once been for him. And Tony might never truly love him.

Gift With Purchase Remix by sabrecmc, 43 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, hooker Steve, Sugar Daddy.

Gift With Purchase Remix wherein Steve actually is a hooker. But for a Really Sympathetic Reason.

The Little Glass Screwdriver by ann2who, 19 k > words, Cinderella AU.

When Prince Steven is forced to find himself a bride, true love gets in the way. As the night of the grand ball unfolds, the prince meets a mysterious knight who might just change his entire life in a way he could have never imagined.

**Cinderella AU**

Covered in Lines by royal_chandler, 3 k > words, Alternate Universe - Student/Teacher, Alternate Universe - College/University, Age Difference.

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

half-wild and glimmering by deathsweetqueen , 15 k > words, Alternate Universe - Western, Prostitution.

“Give me a drink, Tasha,” Tony sighs as he lands in front of the bar. “I’ve had one hell of a day.”

Natasha raises an eyebrow. “Have you really?” she asks, loftily, sliding a tumbler of whiskey along the well-polished wood.

Tony lets his head hang, the sweat beading on the back of his neck. “You wouldn’t believe what I’ve had to put myself through today,” he sighs, wearily.

“I would not know. You will not let me work the rooms,” Natasha retorts, her voice a little strained, busying her hands in a dirty glass.

“I don’t let you work the rooms ‘cause you’re liable to kill anyone who touches ya the wrong way and we can’t lose that much of our business,” Tony reminds her, wryly amused, sipping at his whiskey. He shakes his head at the burn. “We peddle flesh, darling, not death.”

peers, fears and holiday cheers by jacobby, 24 k > words, Parent Tony Stark.

“He’s only two years older than you,” Tony finally says when the silence becomes too much to bear.

“Dad, Teddy is turning twenty-seven next year.”

“I am not dating your husband—”

“I’m not implying you are. I just want you to be...aware that he’s practically the same age as my husband.”

AKA

Tony Stark's new boyfriend is only two years older than his adult sons. Telling them is one thing, introducing them is another. What Tony doesn't expect is that the past always has a way of catching up to him, of biting him in the ass when he least expects it. Well, at least they're all together for the Holidays. What more can he ask for?

A Higher Form of War by sabrecmc, 292 k > words, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Historical Romance.

Tony is a King with a surprising number of people out to kill him. Steve and the rest of the Avengers are fighting for Pierce's rebellion and end up with Tony as their prisoner. Oops.

you can call me babe for the weekend by complicationstoo, 10 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, actor Tony Stark.

Tony left his small town for Los Angeles after high school, leaving behind everything to pursue his dream. Ten years later, he comes back for the first time and finds that some things are impossible to let go of.

Lord, What Fools These Mortals Be by iam93percentstardust, 72 k > words, Alternate Universe - Theatre.

Famed director Phil Coulson brings Shakespeare’s beloved play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, to Broadway. This production though comes with a twist: a brief but passionate love affair between the faerie king, Oberon, and his attendant, Puck. In the roles of the two star-crossed lovers, Coulson casts America’s darling Steve Rogers, fresh off his third Academy Award, and Broadway royalty, Tony Stark. Steve quickly finds himself falling for the quick-witted and sarcastic actor but Tony is dating the stage manager. Unwilling to come between the seemingly happy couple, Steve steps back but all isn’t right behind the scenes and Tony may need him when everything falls apart.

and so we rebuild by raeldaza, 26 k > words, Alternate Universe - Star Trek Fusion, Soulmates, Mutual Pining.

Sometimes, a voice whispers: you will never atone for your mistakes.

Tony believes that, believes it so strongly some days he drowns in it, but he still tries. Tries through Starfleet, tries through inventions, tries through missions. Then, one day, he meets his new Captain, and things change.

and teach this heart (how to beat with light), by starklystar, 40 k >, AU Hospital, Single parent Steve.

Eight years ago, at a funeral with a baby's cries ringing in his ears, Tony Stark decided to turn his life around. He's a genius, billionaire, philanthropist. What's so hard to adding 'doctor' to that list? And after that, it can't be that hard to add 'husband' and 'father' too, right? But the past has a way of haunting even the very best of us, and in any universe, Tony Stark and Steve Rogers have never had an easy love.

Featuring: drama, chaos, Peter's scheming, meddling friends, and doctors learning again that the heart can never be as simple as four chambers and four valves.

Catching Lightning in a Bottle by sabrecmc, 120 k > words, Alternate Universe - Sweet Home Alabama Fusion.

College student Tony meets janitor Steve at MIT and they fall blissfully in love, until Howard happens and things fall apart. One divorce paperwork snafu courtesy of the ever-helpful Jarvis, and ten years later, Tony has to get re-divorced from Steve.

This does not go as he imagines.

Or, the Sweet Home Alabama AU that no one--well, okay, a few of you--asked for.

The Night Shift by weethreequarter , 16 k > words, Alternate Universe - Hospital.

Welcome to the Emergency Department of San Antonio General where Dr. Tony Stark joins the team fresh from his most recent tour in Afghanistan and - much to the consternation of the other staff - strikes up an instant rapport with Nurse Steve Rogers. Meanwhile, new resident Bruce Banner refuses to give up on his patient, and Dr. Sharon Carter learns something from her own patients. Throw in a pissed off hospital administrator, Clint using the coffee pot as a mug again, and a major car crash and you have, well, just another night shift.

Cake It Till You Make It by ChocolateCapCookie, 10 k > words, Kid Fic, Alternate Universe - Bakery.

Steve Rogers and Tony Stark have a lot in common. They're single parents, they own rival bakeries at the center of town... and they both hate each other's guts.

When a mix-up at Peter and Morgan's school has both fathers scrambling to prove they're the better baker, they do the mature, adult thing and compete in a bake-off. Between the mixing and the creaming, the baking and the icing, Steve and Tony find that hate is actually not that far from love.

Looking for Heaven by foxxcub, 31 k > words, Alternate Universe - Regency, Marriage of Convenience.

When young Lord Anthony Stark learns Steven Rogers has enlisted in the army, he thinks he's seen the last of his tiny, headstrong, haughty stable boy. But four years later, Lord Stark gets an unexpected visit from Steve, whose mother has fallen gravely ill and into financial ruin. Even more unexpected, Steve agrees to a shocking proposal: they will marry, giving Steve the necessary funds to save his mother, and Tony the much-needed reprieve from harassing would-be suitors. It is a business arrangement, nothing more. But as time goes on and circumstances arise, Tony begins to learn that keeping his heart away from his husband is easier said than done.

just a guy, standing in front of another guy by theappleppielifestyle, 12 k > words.

“It’s not real,” Tony says, still smiling, jaw twitching with effort. “The fame. It’s - I’m just a guy."

(Or, Notting Hill AU, with a twist.)

Mother of Exiles (A Titanic AU) by BladeoftheNebula, 21 k > words, Alternate Universe - Titanic Fusion.

“You’ll never guess what just happened!” Steve said, taking a deep breath to try and calm his breathing. “I met someone. A guy from first class.”

Dublin 1912: Steve Rogers is barely making ends meet, living in the tenement slums of Dublin. But a stroke of good luck gives him and his best friend the chance to change their fortune. Two tickets to America on board the RMS Titanic.

The Devil You Know by shetlandowl, 17 k > words, Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Author/Novelist.

Best selling author Tony Stark revives the bodice ripper genre for a modern audience. From frisky gay cowboys to ravenous lesbian pirate queens, he consistently delivers riveting thrillers full of romance, drama, and the filthy, unapologetically kinky sex that has become his trademark specialty.

Tony has everything a man could dream of - horny, adoring fans, and boatloads of money. Or that's what he thought, until Detective Steve Rogers walks into his life and turns it all upside down.

Bears and Mountains and Lumberjacks Oh My! by justanotherrollingstony (adoctoraday), 24 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Lumberjack Steve Rogers.

It was supposed to be easy--go meet the reclusive artist and buy some art. And then came the broken down car. And the snowstorm. And the lumberjack with a face like a greek god. So yea, Tony is stuck in a cabin in the woods with a hot lumberjack till the storm clears. Could be worse.

Series: A Furious Vexation by Annie D (scaramouche), 18 k > words, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse.

A Steve/Tony post-apocalypse AU that exists pretty much just for the smut.

That Feline Beat by Tito11, 5 k > words, Alternate Universe - Animals.

Presenting Steve and Tony in the Aristocats!AU

Tony and his three kittens have been kidnapped from their fancy Upper East Side apartment while their owners are away and deposited on the mean streets of Harlem. Unsure of where they are or how to get back home, they'll have to rely on street cat Steve to guide them. Will they get home safely? Will Tony's fear of abandonment cause him to drive away the best tomcat he's ever known? Only time will tell.

do you fondue? by calciseptine, 16 k > words, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting.

Tony has done crazy things in the name of food, but falling in love with Steve Rogers really takes the cake.

a glimpse of heaven's love by parkrstark, 13 k> words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Terminal Illnesses.

The child begins to empty his pockets. He starts to count coins on the counter. Tony huffs a little impatiently as he realizes most of them are pennies.

The cashier actually humors the kid and counts along with him. They reach 3 dollars and 54 cents before he shakes his head sadly. "Sorry, kid. There's not enough here."

The kid sounds close to crying. "I need these paints for my Papa. It's Christmas Eve and these...he doesn't have any. The doctors said he doesn't have long. I want him to have these. In case he meets Jesus tonight, I want him to paint one more time. Please."

Tony takes a step forward, arms still full of toys he's buying just because. He can cover this child's gift for his dying father. Money. Money is what he's good for.

"I'll buy them."

--

Or, the Christmas Shoes AU no one but me asked for.

If you survive first impressions, you're good to go by itsallAvengers, 3 k > words, Parent Tony Stark, Alternate Universe - No Powers.

The first time Peter Parker-Stark sees Steve Rogers, he may or may not be standing in direct path of the man's motorcycle.

His daddy is really not going to be happy about that one.

A Rat-ional Conclusion by BladeoftheNebula, 6 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Veterinarians, Parent Tony Stark.

He had a strong flurry of patients throughout the morning and by the time it rolled around to noon, he was just about worn out.

He walked out into the reception, stretching until he felt a satisfying pop. “Are we done?”

Bucky checked the screen. “Just about. One more before lunch - a rat, singular.”

Steve breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully straight forward then. “Great, let me know when they-”

He was interrupted by the bell over the door and looked up to see a little girl cradling a small animal carrier, being shepherded through the door by easily one of the hottest men he’d ever seen in real life.

Oh wow.

Tidal Pull by sabrecmc, 97 k > words, Octopus Tony Stark, Alternate Universe - Shipwrecked.

After the American Civil War, Union soldier Steve Rogers takes a chance on an opportunity to sail with the Stark Trading Company down in the Caribbean. During a terrible storm, his ship is lost. To his surprise, he survives, and ends up stranded on an island that isn't quite as deserted as he first thinks.

Or, a reverse Little Mermaid tale where Steve has to fall for the fish-man.

Twelve Days by elysianprince, 22 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Ghosts.

In which Tony finds himself in a town that looks like it crawled out of a Hallmark Christmas movie, trying to sell an inn he didn't know he owned, all while dealing with Steve Rogers, the resident ghost who has returned to haunt the inn each December during the twelve days of Christmas for the past seventy years. Tony has only one logical solution that benefits them both: break the curse that binds him - but falling for a man almost a century old wasn't among his plans.

She kissed me by S_Horne, 1 k > words, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting.

“Your mom kissed me.”

Steve blinked awake and lifted his head from his pillow to look over at the silhouette in the doorway. “What?”

“Your mom,” Tony reiterated. “She kissed me.”

“Yeah,” Steve said simply, “she does that.”

[kojinnie]

AOT Characters’ Modern Jobs Headcanon; The Vets Edition!

The jobs that The Vets would have in modern!au, their workplace antics and their back story. There might be some inaccuracies when describing the job as obviously I don’t work at these industries to know its intricacies. Most of the jobs are office jobs. Enjoyyyy!

My Masterlist .::. Pt. II: Zeke Yeager’s Modern Jobs Headcanon   

Most recent work: Dream Me Home (Before Shiganshina) | reader x erwin smith

A/N: I really need to finish a presentation deck due tonight for an early morning meeting tomorrow but of course, this comes first hahaha 

erwin!

A/N: Basically lawyer!erwin is the way to go, innit?

He's in his 40s, so he may have a settled career

He came from a white-collar, middle-class family. So he wasn’t silverspoon-fed, but his parents had enough money to put him through good school

Got a scholarship to go to one of the nation’s finest law schools

Kept it lowkey in college’s social circle, graduated with summa cum laude, developed a strong academic relation with his professor, and got recommended for an internship at top law firm at the capital city

Starting his career as a corporate lawyer, but then built his expertise as white-collar crime attorney

In his early 30s, he represented a union suing against conglomerate corporation in a big case that had national coverage, from then on he began to know his calling

Expanding his portfolio and became well-known for defending workers, consumers and civilians against corporate fraud scheme

Currently doing a lot of pro-bono cases for deprived victims of big corporate fraud. You would see him frequently gracing your local newspaper we love us some socialist king

On the side, he often writes for law journal and fills in as guest professor at local universities for summer courses

Established his own law firm with some of his partners, specializing in white collar crime and labor & employment law

He’s damn accomplished, but never really had any time for self-indulgence. Even after he becomes a household name in the country, with tens of attorneys working under him, his employees would still see him working on New Year’s Eve

He was always attentive to his employees, though. Although he has a very strict, borderline no-life work ethics, he never forces his employees to follow his habit, in fact he despises when his employees works on holidays and can be seen blaming himself for it a bit of a hypocrite but thats ok

He still takes metro to work. He prefers a very lowkey, ordinary lifestyle because he fears if he shows any knack for indulgence, he will be susceptible to gratification from potential enemies or crooked politicians

Definitely a sight to see at the workplace, for he's tall and always oozes a sense of authority in the way he speaks and carries himself generally

His emotional intelligence is top-notch, you would never meet someone who is able to be very objective and calculating, while being kind and compassionate at the same time

His fellow attorneys put a lot for respect for him, and hundreds of applicants come to his considerably small firm every week, because a lot of aspiring attorney find him inspiring to work with

He wasn’t oblivious to his shiny reputation, but he’s trying his hardest to not let the compliments get to his head. Sometimes he doesn’t give himself enough credit for it

Was approached by one of the political party’s committee to run for local senate, but turned it down

basically he’s perfect if you like a man who’s never home for christmas

Hange!

A/N: Ok ok, I really wanna see Paleontologist!Hange because it has always been my fave dream job, but I want Hange to be out and about with people so here it is

Hange is the type to be incredibly good at one thing, that she will dedicate her whole life for that pursuit, but will be awfully oblivious to a whole lot of things (not intentional of course, they just have a very limited attention span) (they wouldn’t know who kanye west is or what tiktok is)

Like Erwin, they came from a middle-class family. While Erwin’s parents might have been teachers, accountants or other common profession, Hange came from a family of academician and researchers

Hange studied Human Geography at uni, but later found passion specifically in its relation to industrialization and urban development

Hange aims to advocate for a better living condition for workforce, and nearby inhabitants of industrialized city detroit would be a beautiful city if only they let hange designed it

Hange is a professor at university, where they also led a non-profit research think-thank that also serves as pressure group for better government policy.

The university that Hange teaches in, is also the uni where Erwin teaches in summer. They’re close-knitted colleagues as they share similar passion. Erwin relies on Hange a lot for some intellectual insights to help his cases  

Hange is relentless in their cause, you may find Hange everywhere! From street protest to a hearing in the government court. They are passionate and will do anything for the cause they believe in

Hange was once hired by the government as an independent consultant for a new housing project, but left because they grew to be frustrated by the government’s bureaucracy and their outward reluctance to follow Hange's recommendation

Hange spends a lot of time overseas, consulting and advocating development in newly industrialized countries

On Hange’s birthday, her fellow researchers surprised them with a ‘pampering day’ where they took them to an optometrist because Hange had been complaining about their eyesight for a YEAR that gave them a lot of migraines, but was always either too busy or too lazy to go

Hange never really considers themselves as working, because they enjoy their job very much. Hange likes to spend months observing a community, talking to people for hours, and trying their best in understanding their problem

Out of so many great qualities that Hange has as a researcher that meets different set of people everyday, prejudice or preconceived judgment is completely absent in Hange’s demeanor and perspective

Hange doesn’t get a lot of free-time, even if they do, they’d wander around the city to do a little observation. But when the weather’s bad and they’re stuck at home with their pet lizard, they would logged into Quora to answer random internet questions

They’re an avid writer for National Geographic, and one time Hange won a pitch to make a documentary about an industrial city project they were working on

After the docu-series got broadcasted, Hange gained a small but passionate and loyal fans on the internet. You could even find a subreddit dedicated for Hange’s works

for real I want to be Hange. I want to have that kind of passion in life

levi!

A/N: I spent a lot of times thinking about Levi’s job in modern!au. Because here’s the thing, either we adopt his unfortunate childhood into its modern!au equivalent, or let’s just recreate his whole upbringing. But I think his personality stems from a specific things he experienced during childhood, so let’s not dismiss that.

Levi came from a struggling working class family. I reckon his parents might have had worked multiple jobs to sustain their living expense. Unfortunately they both passed away when Levi was very little, and left little to no inheritance

Levi’s parents were not close to their extended family, so when they died, Levi was admitted to the system and had to brace several foster families who didn’t really pay attention to him

Little Levi had come to realize that life’s all about survival and so he had been able to fend on for himself since very young age, he never asked for things

His uncle, Kenny, finally won custody over Levi when he was in elementary. Kenny made money from small-scale racketeering here and there. Levi never asked what he did for living, as long as he got food to eat and tuition paid off

Kenny was emotionally absent, but he loved spending time with the oddly quiet little child, teaching him a lot of crafts, from carpentering to how to flay pig’s skin

Levi didn’t really care about getting into college, and thought that he’d probably end up working for his uncle, so he put his bare minimum throughout school, although he was really good with numbers, especially in math, accounting and finance

One time in high school, Levi’s teacher asked him to sign up for the olympiad team, Levi turned it down because he thought that was a rich kid thing

He didn’t even apply for college, and worked odd jobs after high school. Probably working as cashiers or assistant to retail shop’s owner for couple of years, enough for him to afford a cheap studio apartment on his own

One of his bosses came to acknowledge Levi’s talent, and trusted him to handle the company’s accounting

By sheer luck, the company hit it big, and Levi found himself running the day-to-day accounting of mid-sized business with over 300 employees

He made good money already without a college degree, but with a new-found confidence Levi applied for uni, where he chose to study accounting (of course)

Although he was confident with his skills, he understood he needed to widen his horizon and network -- thus uni

Levi was one of the oldest members of his cohort in uni, but graduated with highest distinction

After graduating, with his skills and experience, it wasn’t hard for Levi to score a job at top accounting firm

There, he discovered an interest for forensic accounting, where through audits, analysis and investigation, he basically finds out if a company is doing fraud and embezzlement or not

This is where he came to know and get acquainted with Erwin and Hange (yippie they’re together again)

The firm he works for was assigned to investigate the finances of a troublesome company that had been sued by its workers for a jeopardizing working condition. Erwin was on the case, and Levi helped him with evidences for legal proceeding.

By chance, Erwin introduced Levi to Hange. At first, Levi would find Hange annoying and overtly energized, but after learning the things they have done, Levi grew to appreciate Hange’s passion (and secretly wants to have more of his positive outlook)

Levi is fucking good his job. In short amount of time, he could get a really ideal position in the office. He was almost foolproof, finding even the tiniest bit of discrepancy in his audit. He’d get assigned to the big league case/project.

Although really good at his job, he’s not a social person, especially in his office. He couldn’t understand the lavish lifestyle that finance and banking people often lead. He will only show up to office party if it is really necessary for him to show up (usually to receive some kind of informal awards for, again, being so fucking good) 

He leads a no-bullshit attitude at the office, largely because of his background. He is a self-made man, and is not easy to impress by some young executives from posh school that talk bigger than they can chew

His cold, seemingly dismissive attitude gained him a reputation of being scary, when actually he is very considerate

One of the things he enjoys doing is to actually teach, he really likes when a new kid at the office come to him with none of that pretentious, big talk, and really asks for his guidance. He would love to teach you a thing or two

He would frequently check on his mentee, just to keep up with their development

And he doesn’t take credit too. When his mentee makes a milestone, he believes it’s 100% your work

If you’re his mentee, he probably doesn’t give a crap about your personal life, so don’t expect him to make small talk about that (and don’t ask him about his personal life either). But he really cares about your skill and career development

Same with Erwin, he leads a very ordinary lifestyle. He doesn’t go out often and would rather reading detective novel with his cat on the couch

He likes to spend Sunday at Uncle Kenny’s house, because he finds himself worried about the old man very often. They became close as Levi grew

Overall, Levi is a really kind and caring person if you know how not to push his button

[britishassistant]

The Villainous Paranoiac Plots to Topple a Conglomerate

Some extra images that I couldn’t fit into “The Villainous Paranoiac Just Wants An Uneventful Holiday”, so I decided to drop them here!

Yuu is immediately on guard around Jamil at the start of Chapter 4. Partly because he and the other Scarabia students are there when everyone’s supposed have gone home for the holidays. Partly because he begins trying to butter the Prefect and Grim up after Grim boasts about how Crowley gave them chores.

Yuu hasn’t forgotten the lessons reinforced by Ace, Cater, Jade and Azul— when someone’s being this nice within seconds of meeting you, it means they want something. The nicer they are, the more troublesome the favor will be.

The Prefect feels unhappily vindicated once Jamil’s plot is revealed.

The funny thing is, when Jamil and Yuu swore to each other, both of them meant what they said...just not in the way each knew the other was going to interpret it. Jamil wasn’t going to let Yuu get hurt like that again, because he was going to remove Kalim from power entirely. Yuu wasn’t going to let Jamil get hurt by the overblot, because the Prefect was going to steal his magic pen and keep it from ever happening.

And then they both broke those promises. Funny how things work out, isn’t it?

Kalim is too bright. Yuu is an introvert who relies on high energy friends to help with social interactions, the Prefect has a hard time dealing with this sunshine child without someone else there to soak up some of Kalim’s attention. Grim is the unwitting sacrifice here.

Yuu was also sus of Kalim initially. Who is this nice to the magicless student and the monster cat who burned him at the entrance ceremony? Must be a cover up for something...

The revelation of his “tyrant” side at first appeared to justify these suspicions, until his behavior began making less sense given what his stated goals were, which lead Yuu to believe something else was going on underneath the surface.

Probably the only nice things Yuu ISN’T instantly suspicious of are the fairies.

The Paranoiac is enchanted by them, and was quite looking forward to bringing the fire fairies their wood during Winter Break.

Which makes Yuu even more irritated that Jamil decided to kidnap the Prefect and Grim to carry out his little scheme for basically all of the break.

If he had caused the two of them to miss their first proper family holiday feast with the ghosts, it’s unlikely Yuu would have ever forgiven him.

...Though that isn’t to say the Paranoiac is exactly pleased with Jamil’s poor excuse of a plan in the first place.

This is an opinion that Yuu is not shy about expressing once the antitoxin has flushed enough venom from the Paranoiac’s system. Normal cobra venom takes fifteen minutes to shut down the respiratory system and kill someone. The venom from Jamil’s blot snakes cuts that time in half, leading to a frantic dash to beat the overblot and get the antidote after the Prefect was bitten.

Azul now understands why Yuu is so desperate to try and prevent overblots before they happen. With every one, it seems like the Prefect’s brushes with death are just getting closer and closer...

Though he’s not entirely sure if that justifies the Paranoiac launching into a tirade about how Jamil isn’t clever, he’s just a very intelligent moron who doesn’t think through the most basic repercussions in his planning, which is infuriating. Like, what was Jamil going to do if he did get rid of Kalim anyway? Kalim has younger siblings, too many of them to count, so all that would happen is Jamil would be shuttled along to the new heir and have to do the whole servant rigmarole all over again with an even younger master! And all because of the Dorm Head title which has no power outside of Night Raven College anyway!

If you’re plotting to free yourself from an entity like the Asim family, you don’t go after the powerless figurehead (no offense Kalim) who’s more innocently annoying than actively malicious. You go after the family’s power structures and cripple them so that when you do take your freedom, they’re completely incapable of standing in your way or inflicting any repercussions! In fact, if Kalim lists out all the industries and royal courts his family is involved in, Yuu could probably come up with a much more effective plan than Jamil’s in thirty minutes, an hour tops!

Meanwhile, poor Kalim over here is listening to all this in a mess of tears. He’s already pretty weepy from the guilt of everything he did under Snake Whisper, Jamil overblotting and showing his true feelings for the first time, and Yuu getting poisoned by the overblot, but now the Paranoiac’s actively plotting the downfall of his family?? The family he loves even if he does admit they need to change the way they run things?? Kalim knows the Prefect may not mean it to come off as harsh as it sounds, but could you maybe not?? Please??

Grim pats his shoulder and consoles him that it’s not his fault the Prefect gets scary sometimes.

Jade and Floyd are very interested in the idea of bringing down such an influential and powerful group of people— it certainly wouldn’t be boring, that’s for sure. Azul has to work very hard to convince them that the whole thing would be more trouble than it’s worth, as they’re just high-school students who don’t have access to the necessary funds or connections needed to pull off such a scheme yet.

And as for Jamil?

Well he’s just. He’s infuriated, isn’t he?

All that trouble come to naught, and then the Prefect has the nerve to go and criticize his method? And begin plotting how to improve on his failure? Well that’s. That’s just rude, isn’t it?

It’s rude. And insensitive. Insulting, even. Kicking him while he’s down.

So what if Yuu’s throwing out some ideas that are beginning to sound somewhat feasible about bringing down the Asim’s monopoly, and trying to convince Kalim his family can handle a little bankruptcy? It’s only a response to Jamil’s situation. Just words. It doesn’t mean they’ll actually work. It isn’t like the Prefect knows what it feels like to be at the mercy of a group like the Asims.

Jamil’s just irritated. Peeved. Getting a little angry with the upstart Paranoiac, if he’s being honest with himself, judging by the way it feels like his stomach is tying itself in knots.

There are no other feelings there. None. Do you hear him? None.

He takes great delight in making the Prefect march to the oasis again the next day.

[bitchesgetriches]

Noble citizens of the aspirationally decadent Conglomerated Nation of Bitches Get Riches: let’s have a lil’ chat, shall we? It’s been a while since we chatted about our favorite topic: ourselves!

We hope you’ve enjoyed season two of the Bitches Get Riches podcast. Recording it was a bright spot for us during this dumpster fire of a year, so thank you all for listening.

As we wrap up another season, we had a few notes to share with you. Including some more personal reflections about how we’re doing, where we’re at, and what the future holds.

Let’s get into it!

Merch is back online

If you visited our Etsy shop in the last few months, you might’ve noticed the physical merch—tee shirts and coffee mugs and tote bags and such—wasn’t listed anymore. Basically, when lockdowns started, it caused a lot of disruption and delays on orders. Not wanting people to be stuck waiting for stuff, we decided to take it all offline, and only offer digital merch.

As of today, we’ve reactivated everything! But please keep in mind that there may still be delays, depending on what’s happening in the world! We appreciate your patience, if patience is indeed called for.

Visit Our Etsy Shop

Season one transcripts

Next, we wanted to let you guys know that we now have transcripts available for season one of the Bitches Get Riches podcast!

We’re committed to making BGR as accessible as we possibly can. We know that some people can’t hear, or struggle to absorb information aurally, so transcripts were something we’ve always wanted to offer.

… But, you know, at the end of the day, we’re just two people! Transcribing and editing audio is time- and labor-intensive work, and there just aren’t enough hours in the day for us to do it along with the fifteen million other things we have to do.

We were able to offer season one transcripts thanks entirely to A Purple Life, a peerlessly talented and wonderful fellow blogger who selflessly made it happen. (If you don’t already read her stuff, you’ve already disobeyed us, as we commanded you to in 10 Rad Black Money Experts to Follow Right the Hell Now. And for that, we’re strongly considering smiting you.)

We’re incredibly thankful to Purple for her hard work on this. But we also feel strongly that this DESERVES to be paid work! So the release of season two transcripts is dependent on getting more Patreon donors to offset funding it.

Season 1, Episode 1: “Should I Tell My Boss I’m Looking for Another Job?”

Season 1, Episode 2: “How Should I Behave on My First Day at Work?”

Season 1, Episode 3: “My Parents Have Bad Credit. Should I Help by Co-signing Their Mortgage?”

Season 1, Episode 4: “Capitalism Is Working for Me. So How Could I Hate It?”

Season 1, Episode 5: “I Don’t Love My Job, but It Pays Well. Should I Quit—or Tough It Out?”

Season 1, Episode 6: “I Lent My Boyfriend Money. He Took It to a Casino.”

Season 1, Episode 7: “I’m Terrible at Budgeting. Do I Suck It Up—Or Is There Another Way?”

Season 1, Episode 8: “My Mother Demands Information About My One-Night Stands.”

Season 1, Episode 9: “I’ve Given up on My Dream Career. Where Do I Go From Here?”

Season 1, Episode 10: “I Want a Pedigreed Dog. She Wants a Rescue Mutt. It Turned into a Fight… and the Fight Got Ugly.”

Season 1, Episode 11: “I Feel Cornered by a Friend Who Keeps Asking to Borrow Money.”

Season 1, Episode 12: “Should I Believe the Fear-Mongering about Another Recession?”

Bonus Episode: Merry Bitchmas! The 2019 Star-Studded Holiday Spectacular

For transcripts, scroll to the bottom of each episode and click “episode transcript.” Or read them directly in the podcast player of your choice!

Podcast reviews

We also super wanted to thank all the people who’ve etched their names in blood upon the dusty pages of our dark grimoire written reviews for the show on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, and other places!

We are beyond flattered by the kind things you guys have said about us. Like MoonPetalLily, who described us as “the snarky older sisters [they] wish [they] had.”

FunshineKelly said our “advice helped [them] land a $20k raise and a signing bonus without crying even a little bit.” GOOD! We don’t support tears in the workplace! Not even in the sanctity of your car parked way in the corner of the parking lot. Keep it together!

And God bless MelHubbs, who said, and I quote:

They’re prepared, and still relaxed; informative, and still light-hearted; comforting, and still sexual. It’s everything you could ever want in a podcast, in an internet personality, in your sisters-in-arms against the terrible war between capitalism and what humans actually need to survive & thrive. One of my favorite things about them is that they don’t have any corporate sponsors or ads, so you know what they’re saying is what they mean, not what their advertisers want them to say. If you’re able, support them on Patreon! If you’re not, listen to their podcast, take their advice to heart, reflect on your options, make your moves, then, with your newfound financial independence, become a patreon!

MelHubbs, you joyful sonnet!

Your review is so good that it reads suspiciously like something we paid you to write! But we’re too cheap for that—IT REAL!

Bitches Get Riches at the crossroads

All right. Time to level with you guys.

In keeping with 2020’s overarching theme (“everything is pure shit”), this year has become a real “shit or get off the pot” moment for the two of us.

Although I’m comfortable and doing fine, Piggy is still unemployed. And last week she received the last unemployment check she’s entitled to. It sucks. And it’s scary.

Being a partnership is awesome in almost every way. But one way that it sucks is that we have to earn double the amount of money to be truly profitable! (And no, before you ask, it’s not possible for us to only pay Piggy. Believe me, that was our original plan—but it turns out that’s not allowed in a 50/50 legal partnership. We must pay ourselves equally, or Uncle Sam will spank us. And he doesn’t do it in the sexy way—only the traumatic way!)

Piggy is doing okay for now. She has freelancing work, and an intact emergency fund. But understandably, anxiety and worry take their toll. She’s pushing through it, but it’s hard. Creativity and passion can’t thrive for long without some measure of safety and stability.

During these scary times, our Patreon community has been a lifeline. As more and more of you have joined us, it’s slowly crept up from grocery money to grocery and utility bill money! So thank you, thank you, from the bottom of our hearts thank you to those who’ve stepped up and joined.

But we’re kind of at a crossroads. Because of Piggy’s situation, we really need it to become “paying the mortgage” money. And it’s gotta get there pretty fast. Otherwise, it’s just not fair to ask Piggy to invest so much of her time in Bitches Get Riches, when she could be taking on higher paying freelancing work to keep herself afloat.

And trust me, you do not want a BGR that’s too Kitty-heavy. I am longwinded af, slowly losing my abilities to think and spell, and take every possible detour to inject disgusting sexual comments wherever they are least germane (although idk maybe you’re here for that).

Our new goal for ourselves, and you

With all of that in mind, we have a new goal: to produce season three of our podcast, we need 500 total Patreon donors.

Today we have… 294. So that’s, uhhhhh… a really ambitious goal!

It’s probably too ambitious. We’re probably gonna fail. Who cares, it’s 2020! The planet is on fire and god is already dead, so we have no reason not to give it our all!

We are leaving this in your hands. We—Piggy and I—believe that the world would be a better place if people could hear reliable, relatable financial wisdom funded by regular people, untainted by corporate sponsors with deep pockets who want us to push their capitalist crap upon you. And 294 of you have already demonstrated that you believe that too. Thank you, thank you, infinity thank yous to all of you who are already a part of our Patreon community. You are shining stars that smell faintly of vanilla.

For the rest of you: if you like what we do and you want us to keep doing it, please show us that you believe in it too. You can do that by joining us at the Bitches Get Riches Patreon.

We hope to be back soon for a third season. Until then, stay safe, stay sane, wear your masks, triple-check that you’re registered to vote, and save room for dessert. (What’s for dessert? So glad you asked—it’s the rich!)

For now, Bitches OUUUTTTTT!

Join the Bitches on Patreon

Join the Bitches on Patreon

[more-than-a-princess]

@truethes​ asked:  ∗ 87﹕ sender shows receiver evidence of a lie they told . - byakuya!!

100 Non-Verbal prompts - Still Accepting!

"I think, in this case, you may be creating more of a scene than is truly warranted, Togami-san," Sonia stood beside him, beaming. Unlike her usual cheerful smile, this one held a smidgen of satisfaction. Like she was a cat who had finally outsmarted, and then caught, the fattest mouse in the castle, or at least had played upon Byakuya Togami's particular values in order to entice him into a situation that, the Ultimate Princess was confident, would be good for him. Sonia knew many people just like Byakuya Togami: old or new money, it didn't matter. In the twenty-first century, they all possessed a similar air of superiority. That their breeding, their opportunities, their taste, and most importantly their money, put them in a class all their own and deemed them above the rest of the world. A pedestal they hadn't hesitated to clamor upon (or rather, or their families encouraged it) and glower at the world below them: everyone worked for them, was a pawn in the grand game that was their lives and that as long as they remained affluent and passed on their superior genes, they'd have lived as successfully as needed. Oh, and if they managed to invent or create something, all the better!

That sort of greed didn't make someone inherently bad, of course. Plenty of the wealthy and powerful did eagerly give back to society, particularly in ways that made the others in their social circles take notice. Charity was both a vehicle of helping the needy and establishing one's place in the upper echelons of society. The same could be said for business deals: helping those in need of a little startup money while being seen as charitable, and getting in on a profitable business from the ground up and therefore turning a profit when the company inevitably went public. The latter was what Sonia had massaged, metaphorically at least, into Byakuya's brain with her invitation: to mingle with those looking to make a significant impact on the world. The movers and bouncers...that was it, yes?

"It wasn't exactly a lie," She nodded over the empty plastic cup in her hand as he showed her the evidence: the text message he'd sent when she'd invited him to a networking event. "They will, of course, shape the course of the world one day. As will we! You are the one who presumed I was introducing you to young CEOs and royalty looking to collaborate on business deals. Instead, I, on behalf of classes 77 and 78, simply wished to include you in our school's social soiree!"

When the representatives from both classes had sought assistance from their respective homeroom teachers in order to make their Main Course student party a success, it had been Yukizome-sensei's idea for Sonia to be the one to connect with Byakuya. The Ultimate Affluent Progeny had very high standards and very little in the way of patience, something that was known to everyone but constantly reiterated to a few people in particular, namely Toko and Yasuhiro, who seemed to irritate him most. But the Ultimate Princess, with her blue blood, massive amount of personal wealth (though he was richer, something her mother did not let her forget when she visited home for various holidays and was subjected to yet another lecture of the right sort of Hope's Peak pupil Princess Sonia of Novoselic should be associating with), and unflappable sense of optimism and kindness was the perfect candidate. For all the values that Byakuya Togami seemed to hold, he could not outright dismiss Sonia Nevermind: she dined at the best restaurants, was outfitted from the finest shops, and attended all of the same parties and social events that conglomerate moguls deemed important. Simply put: she could weave her way in and out of Byakuya Togami's life with the most amount of ease if she wanted. If she was asked to.

This time, she'd been asked to pull him back into a normal high school setting, with normal high school activities with normal students, despite the fact that compared to pretty much any other school in Japan (much less the world), Hope's Peak was an oddity unlike any other. Something Sonia didn't mind as she watched Leon and Ibuki shout into a karaoke microphone and Akane challenge Sakura to a martial arts fight as Aoi looked on. Other members of both of their classes found their own ways to intermingle, even if it was watching Celestia Ludenberg verbally destroy Nagito Komaeda and the other looking terribly grateful for it.

"Come on, it shouldn't be terrible at all," She encouraged him, nodding towards the beverage refreshment table. "There's even coffee and patisserie imported from France, though that was at my request. Hanamura-san looked terribly distraught when I insisted we order them instead, but I miss the nuanced flavors of desserts from France, Italy, and Novoselic. Won't you join me in sampling them?"

[ofcloudsandstars]

Samhain celebration advice?

Ahhh!! So much to do!!!!

So I have made a Samhain Solitary Celebration Post but it needs some updating and the fact that we are in a year where you can’t do shit lol it needs some revision so let me just make a newish post here:

Wow this took me a while to type up and it’s a lot of info so I am going to first post this with a Read More talking about a brief background of the Holiday and how I celebrate the Sabbat for context and insight for my suggestions. Then I will reblog with the suggestions haha

To get into the origins, meanings and very glossed over history of Samhain, it's a celebration from Ireland celebrating the end of the year, the descent into darkness (they observe this time as the beginning of winter or transition into winter) and celebrating ancestors and passed away loved ones as they felt the spirit world was more tangible in the darker times.

The thinning veil thing actually comes from the victorian era. Old irish people did not believe in the spirit world as another dimension separated by a veil, like they thought you can access the spirit realm in nature like in hills or forests. It’s also why they were like don’t step into anything nature makes into a ring like mushrooms or trees or else you’d fall into the faerie realm which was more like a spirit realm. There's a lot here to unpack so I am going to leave it at that. Also though Ireland has it's wisefolk and definitely has fairies, the spoopy witches up to shenanigans on the night comes from other traditions like settler American folklore that bought Halloween over.

Obviously Samhain morphed and evolved and even got a little warped from it's original source. Bringing in Neopaganism here and the wheel of the year after having invaders bringing Christianity and then apathetic atheism kind of wipe out the traditions of people from the land in England and have all of their roots and spiritual connection to the land lost, some people modern day put together a cycle of celebrations based on the agrarian cycles and a collection of Celtic festivities (mostly Irish) surrounding  growth/fertility/harvest/death that many witches, wiccans and neopagans celebrate. I felt like when I was living in the US of A this distinction wasn't really important cause we were already neck-deep in American capitalism bastardized halloween lol but now I live over here with a handful of Irish people, neopagan/witchy samhain isn't the same as Irish Samhain since the reconstructed Samhain feels a bit like a conglomeration of the western Day of the Dead celebrations that people are trying to reconnect with after generations of people were stripped away from the roots of their culture. (Of course other Celtic people have their day of the dead autumn-turning-to-winter celebrations but I am just clarifying that Samhain is still a thing in Ireland where as the wheel of the year took all of these various celebrations together and smashed them in one). This is when I say I call these festivities their Celtic names as point of reference for other witches that want to celebrate the Earth's cycles and their connection but really it's more like a westernly universalish day of the dead celebrating the height of autumn (the season of dying) the return to darkness and the shadowy realm, reconnecting with our shadow selves (most people get depressed this time of year but it's good to do some internal work to make peace or find harmony then dread it), celebrating the season with delicious in-theme food and making peace with death as it's apart of nature and celebrating passed away loved ones.

Not that most Irish people may care, but to this sad day I realize that England is still doing the most harassing everyone from neighboring countries and denying them rights to celebrate or keep their culture in tact (like denying people the right to keep their languages alive and stuff like that) and already some Irish people living here expressed sadness that people don't take Halloween seriously cause they think it's some American thing when really it's a time they get together with their families and I am like yeah that's fucking wack how people here forgot that history and they pass it off as unimportant. I think sometimes context matters and knowing where and how to tread so maybe if you're in the USA it's not too much of a big deal but I try to be mindful here about it. Not saying that you can't call it Samhain, more saying that you should be mindful and know when to express the distinction in case someone asks in order to respect it's origins and respect Irish people still trying to keep the original traditions intact. (Sometimes I refer to it as the Autumn Crossquarter to make it sound more universal). Also not saying that the neopagan reconstructed Samhain is less important or less valid, more that sometimes distinctions are important in order to be respectful when the original holiday is still in practice by people discouraged to hang on to their roots. 

I do have some Celtic and English ancestry but not heritage. To me heritage means that my parents or even grandparents passed it down to me DIRECT, and my dad passed down his French culture and my mom passed down some Haitian culture and so I say I am french and Haitian. Yes there was some Irish guy in my family back in the day and apparently I am 30% English which messed with my head when I found out through those DNA tests lol (like some fraudulent shit was happening on my French side apparently?!?! How do you get 30% english??) but culturally nor heritage-wise I am not English or Celtic because it wasn't passed down. Like maybe if I had kids here they would have some English ancestry and be culturally english for being born here but just cause I live here doesn't make me this.

Anyway I am clarifying this because when I celebrate the wheel to me it's a spiritual, animist and agrarian cycle where I celebrate the beginning of seasons and the middle-to-transition of each season and their parallel to our life cycle and the moon phases as well. They all overlap and I made a post about it. If you look at the wheel from this perspective it makes the experiences more universal and easier to understand spiritually and why I find all 8 holidays as equally important. I don't worship any Celtic gods or make any art or crafts dedicated to goddess etc. The only "deity" being worshipped is the earth in an animist way and the spirits coming from there. The only thing that doesn't make this as universal as possible is that they relate to 4 seasonal temperate land so if you live in the tropics or the deserts you have to come up with your own wheel but I am planning to make a guide on that cause it's not as challenging as it seems.

Anyway this is quite the large nutshell but tossing in the incredibly glossed over history, the heart of it's meaning and relation to nature (and we are obviously apart of nature so how it relates to ourselves individually), and how I and many others observe and celebrate it from a multicultural view that is all-inclusive as our middle ground is the earth underneath our feet yet also being aware of it's true origins to make the distinction when it matters, can help you understand my recommendations below!

[hellishhin]

Hello! Day 28 is for the church: how did it start? How did it get as large as it is in present day? Have humans always been aware of gods? When and why did the gods interact with them? What are some specific rites? Some taboos, some beliefs?

Oh boy this is a deep dive let's do this. My DM is out for the weekend so I'm going to answer some of those questions a little generally since I am not sure of a couple but I can make some educated guesses.

Have humans always been aware of gods? I believe humans have always looked for explanations of every day things which probably started their belief. Beyond that I imagine the gods were quite involved when humans were initially created (probably in order to prevent another Malgartesh from happening). This would make me assume that humans have been aware of the gods for a while but once they started growing, the gods stopped interfering as much and thus it became more faith-based.

When and why did the gods interact with them? Perhaps in the beginning the gods might have appeared in order to teach the humans their tenant or perhaps when the humans discovered their tenant. So when the humans discovered war, Arhan the Crimson Conqueror would have either shown himself or blessed one side of the conflict which might have been obvious to the humans.

How did it start? The church would have started kind of as religions normally do. The humans would see that the gods were these powerful beings who were involved in different aspects of their lives and if they made them happy, then the gods would do good things for them. So it would have conglomerated into a building that was used for worship which then would have grown into people being in charge of that worship. It would have been an integral part of the society to make sure the gods were happy.

How did it get as large as it is in present day? This definitely happened because as priests and priestesses became more important to how the church was run, they would start to say that they spoke for the gods and the gods spoke through them. Whether this was true or not remains to fully be seen. Probably true in some circumstances and not true in others. So the fact that they would say that they intimately knew the law of the gods obviously made people think that the law of the gods is how the world should be run. People would naturally follow the lead of the church including a lot of political leaders.

What are some specific rites? As for rites there are four week-long holidays throughout the year (there are 12 months each with 28 days then four week long holidays that are not technically part of any month) Needfest is the new year holiday where they have a feast of food that has been saved up over winter and have a good meal. This helps to stave off Moltag the Eternal Hunger god of famine. Then there's Growfest the spring holiday week where they start planting the next crops. They sing and dance around a may-pole and celebrate Gielah the Spring Matron. After that comes Richfest and the Mid-Summer Solistice. Fun fact! Sadie picked this day as her birthday since she doesn't know her actual birthday (most people don't unless they are nobles). She loves the heat of the summer. During this festival there is lots of games out in the sun to give honor to Skeormr the Summer Duke. Finally there's Brewfest for the autumnal equinox. This is the harvest and is also the biggest drunken week across town all year. They worship Elfrard the Autumn Lord and Svaldi the Merrymaker. They also try to make offerings and make peace with Inyeris the Winter Queen so their winter is not harsh. (Sorry I can't remember any specific rites or rituals! I'll remember to put them into the story as I find them!)

Some taboos, some beliefs? Honestly it is a little taboo to say the true name of the gods. It's not completely bad but usually people just pray to their title. Only if someone is really desperate they might pray to Ridga instead of The Mother for mercy but I doubt a lot of people even know the true names of most of the gods. An interesting belief is that technically there are several planes that are considered 'heaven'. For example, there's Arcadia for the more lawful good people where the sun always rises and sets at exact times, rivers flow in straight lines, and it is extremely ordered. Arborea is a more chaotic good plane with lots of untamed beautiful wilderness but also some towns and such. People think there's just one heaven but there are a lot of other places people can go when they die depending on the kind of life they lived.

@taerandcalentavar when you read this please message me if I need to correct anything lol

[solarclaw]

Lore Reversal AU: Desperation Ch. 1

Aaaand here’s what I’ve written for this AU. Further groundwork I think. I wrote an entire one-shot but then it evolved and beat me up until I broke it into chapters / parts. Whichever.  In fact this whole thing was in a single post, so the beginning might not seem coherent. Whoops? Not completely finished so there may be some wait between them.

More info of this AU can be found in a previous post, tho the basis is Bergen invasion before Tribal separation.

A few warnings:

  Kinda dark with death being a thing, but that’s what happens when you have predators to deal with, the kind that eat prey. And those prey are trolls. Also maybe mention of PTSD; I’m honestly not sure? I’m not a psychologist...But bad flashbacks.

  For the most part, I left a lot of things up to interpretation. Especially gender identifications. Even sexual ones. I’d like for people to build off of this since this is just supposed to be a sort of base, or supporting foundation for the AU, which is dealing with the after-effects from all of this.

  No actual dialogue even since that’s not really my strong suit. Even if I practice lines by talking to myself. I just can’t seem to get spoken words right w/out being heavy in sarcasm, “meh” & lots of muttering. And rambling. Basically my general tone of voice; which probably shouldn’t be the default to every character here...

  OC Warning in case you’re not a big fan of them. I know there are people that aren’t a fan of OCs & can be rather hyper-critical of ‘em. But honestly? Kinda inevitable since this takes place in the far past before Peppy, Branch’s Grandma, etc. In canon, this is around the time the Bergens 1st appeared, after the Tribes separated. Honestly unsure of good they are....hopefully not too Sue-ish?

  I’m sorry for any grammer, spelling, incohesion etc mistakes. Most of this was written late at night, fueled by aggressive exhaustion. There may or may not be a severe case of purple prose? I still need a beta reader or even just a soundboard to help me with that

Anyways, let’s start this conglomerate of bad decisions, bias, & systemic genocide!

    A favorite....flavor, of troll is Pop. To the Bergens, eating one granted just that little bit more happiness than the others. These especially colourful trolls were soon in high demand every Trollstice. Despite all the other tribes’ efforts, some even throwing themselves in the way of cruelly reaching hands, Pop’s numbers were dwindling quicker than the other tribes. Things were getting desperate.

   Being rather forced to live so close together, and without the strings, the different tribes became both used to & intolerant of each other. Soon they grew isolationist, as much as they could in limited cage space. They’ve heard rumors from passing Bergens that their strings weren’t destroyed, just locked away. It would explain why the trolls were still able to make some music; though they had to be soft or the Bergens, in their daily unhappiness whenever it wasn’t Trollstice, would get further upset. Very angry and annoyed Bergens tended to not only scare the Trolls willy-nilly, but they had the option to special-order a troll to be eaten, even if it was VERY pricey and needed to be Royal-approved. Eventually, a certain generation of the leaders was hatched. The heir of Pop grew a bit resentful of the other tribes, how relaxed they were and even seemed relieved just because it wasn’t their friends, their family, that was being taken away to be eaten. They wanted better for their Pop trolls.

    Their only friend was the heir of Rock, the only one of the other heirs & most of the other trolls to not look at Pop in pity. In history lessons, the Rock heir especially learned of the loud power of Hard Rock, loud enough to sometimes literally blow the audience away. They also learned that in the beginning years of being trapped, Rock trolls resisted and fought back the longest, even if it did mean that a lot of them were special-ordered to be eaten in retaliation. These 2 friends, Wes of Pop and Mara “Marred” of Rock, also overheard the exact location of the lyre, the Strings.

    They began to plan.

    It was Marred’s idea to intentionally get themselves captured by one of the members of the Royal family. Or, at least, by the Royal chef or one of the Royal guards. They were confident that they could tear through the old cloth bags the Bergens were still using to collect trolls; they were beginning to look worn down & Wes had been trying to find a way to improve the cutting power of a whittled stick. Especially since they recently found a small broken piece of an abandoned shaving razor.

    Cautious and a little doubtful, Wes proposed a backup plan that if the Strings’ power wasn’t able to fight off the Bergens, then they at least memorize & map the layout from the kitchen to their exit. That way, for trolls captured in the future, all the trolls would know of where to escape & how. They could even try to find a way to escape Bergen Town itself.

    The plan was put to action dangerously close to the next Trollstice; the Queen wanted a good look at her potential next happy meal. She wanted these 2 loud and unruly upstarts to be served to her that very day, an appetizer of the joyous holiday feast that was to come. Knife cut through cloth before they were carried into the kitchen, unnoticed by the staff & guards around. They quietly, but quickly, traversed the halls, following a servant that was delivering a fine drink to the Royals in their chambers.

    They found the lyre, the Strings. It sat there on a shelving amongst many other trophies and even picture frames, one of the most colourful of all. It wasn’t glowing as brightly as their history records described.

   They snuck passed both Royal rulers and servant, the latter of which was getting yelled at by an irritably impatient Queen for bringing in the wrong drink with the King demanding for another servant to bring in the correct order.

    No one noticed the colourful lyre disappearing from the shelves. Nor did they see a slight glow coming from the basket of another servant collecting laundry. But the Royal chef & kitchen staff did notice the empty bag.

    As soon as the alarms were raised, the pair hurried in their escape, hopping from panicking servant to panicking servant towards the exit. Windows were being shut and doors closed as soon as someone entered the room. The clicking of locks echoed in the halls.

    No one was going to leave.

    Wes and Marred were going to escape.

    There was a garbage chute ahead, doors shut and a lever next to it. The servant they were currently hitchhiking was running towards a nearby door, blocked only by an abandoned mop bucket and wet floors. The Strings’ glow, though dulled, was still rather noticeable. Even if they did weaponize the music, the vengeance wrought from not only a pair of escaped trolls, but the theft of a prized possession (even if the trolls were taking back what was always theirs) would be catastrophic. A new plan formulated. And only one troll knew it.

    The harp was shoved in a surprised & confused Wes’ hair, which was thicker & bigger than Marred’s. The glowing Strings could barely be seen. Wes was shoved into the bow of the servants smock, tangling in the tie. Confusion changed to terror and the shock intensified as Wes watched Marred actually attack the servant, using their improvised knife. The servant stumbled, arms flailing, and Marred took the opportunity to throw the same knife at the servant’s foot, managing to cut into flesh, however shallow. A shout of pain, a short hop off the injured foot & onto, into, soapy water. Dirty mop water made the cut(s) burn as the servant was sent spinning on the bucket’s wheels, falling onto the chute’s doors.

    Marred finally leapt from the servant’s head landing squarely on the lever’s handle, momentum pulling it down. Those doors opened & both servant and unknown passenger fell through. The 2 friends locked eyes. Marred raised both arms, hands curled into Rock’s iconic horns, grinning; wild, triumphant, hopeful, sorrowful, accepting. I’m sorry. Goodbye.

    Angry shouts echoed against the chute’s walls, louder and closer. A large, sharp hand reached out for the Rock troll and the doors snapped shut.

    It was thought impossible, but the garbage dump was even more disgusting than the Bergens. Despite the bruises & scrapes from the fall, the Pop heir managed to untangle themselves and left the unconscious servant to the trash. The rainbow glow of the Strings stood out vividly against the dullness of the evening. Wes tucked the lyre deeper into their newly dark locks. Quietly, quickly, despondently, they made their way back to their cage.

[hitmewheretheheartis]

what do you think reminds people you’ve cut off/slowly drifted away from of you? i sometimes wonder if people smell my perfume (i’ve always had a thing for scents so i always wear a specific combo of perfumes on, DRENCHED ahaha) or if they order this one specific oreo ice cream from the ice cream trucks and they suddenly remember me

oh wow this is such an interesting question, thanks for sending!!! and makes me emotional because now i’m thinking about all the old friends i’ve lost contact with 🥺 this is hard because friends from different periods of my life remember me differently because i share unique experiences and parts of myself with them!! but this is just a random conglomeration of things that i love that different friends may associate w me: weird coffee mugs, roman holiday (the hepburn movie), homemade banana pancakes, cheesecake, knit scarves, vintage dresses, winnie the pooh, christmas music, eminem (lol don’t ask), succulents, hair scrunchies, oversized sweaters, anne of green gables, sarah kay poetry, sunny side up eggs with EXTRA runny yolk, “brisk” autumnal weather, art museums, and coffeeshops/bookstores 💭🍂🌱💌🥞🍳☕️🧣📚🎶✨

[t100ficrecsblog]

an interview with sapphictomaz (they/them) what are you working on right now? Right now I’m working on finishing a fic called “toward eternity,” a canon divergence fic that features an immortal Murphy. There’s only one more chapter that I need to write and post, which feels weird, since I’ve been working on this one fic for the past three months or so. It’s been a long process consisting of obsessing over immortality lore and reading old wiki pages to refresh my memory of plotlines from seasons ago, but it’s also been really fun to completely immerse myself in one project. In that sense, I almost don’t want it to end - once the full fic is out there, and it’s all finished, it’s going to be hard to let it go. I’m going to miss it, but I’m also excited for people to read it in all its glory.

what’s something you’d like to write one day? This is tough - I don’t have a well of ideas to draw on. When I get a good idea for a fic, I generally plan and write it right away, rather than dwell on it. I tend to obsess over my ideas, too, so while I’m writing one fic it’s very difficult to think of a plot for another one. Still, I have been toying with the bare bones outline of a mythology au fic, where Murphy would be an exiled & fallen god and Bellamy is an unsuspecting mortal that gets dragged along on his quest to save the universe. This may or may not ever get written, but the idea and universe that goes along with it makes me smile.

what is the fanwork you’re most proud of? Definitely a fic I wrote called “i’d still choose you.” It’s a mythology au where a mortal Bellamy goes on a quest to save his best friend from the Underworld, only to fall in love with cursed demigod named Murphy and save several people’s lives along the way, mostly by accident. I normally write from Murphy’s perspective, but for this fic I wrote from Bellamy’s point of view, which was challenging because I feel less in touch with his character, but I’m really proud of the way he, and the whole universe, turned out. Greek mythology has been something I've loved for years, so it was a lot of fun melding the world of those myths with the world of t100. At the time, it had also been my longest fic I’d ever written, and I got really great feedback on it, so it’s something that makes me smile whenever I think about it.

why did you first start writing fic? Honestly, I think because I daydream a lot. I started writing fic back in 2012 or so, originally for a book series I was reading at the time called “House of Night.” A character was killed off in the series, and I wanted to ‘fix’ that plotline. I originally imagined lots of scenarios in which that character could have lived, and then one day, I sat down and just wrote out one of these scenarios. Literally the definition of “if the author isn’t going to do it right, then I will.” Only after writing that first fic did I realize that this was something other people did, too, and after I read a lot more fic, it gave me the courage and inspiration to post my own. Luckily for me, I’ve gotten a lot of good comments over the years, which makes it easier to keep going.

what frustrates you most about fic writing? I think the expectations around it. I love feedback and interaction with readers, of course, but there have been times when I feel pressured to update and post in a certain time frame, or if updates aren't long enough I feel bad about that, too. That's my own fault, more than anything. I have to remind myself that fic writing is done for free, and the only expectations I have to rise to are my own. If I'm happy, then it works - but often this is easy to forget.

what are your top five songs right now?     Capable - the Wild Reeds

Famy - Ava

There’s Still a Light in the House - Valley

Give Yourself a Try - the 1975

First - Cold War Kids

what are your inspirations (books, songs, other fic)? Songs are definitely my biggest inspirations for fics. Almost every single fic I write has its own soundtrack that I listen to while writing. Poetry is also a big inspiration for me. I think a lot of the time, a mixture of both song lyrics and poetry lines inspire me the most. For instance, in my current project "toward eternity," I was heavily inspired by the song "When The Angels Sing," by Social Distortion. I also was heavily inspired by Emily Dickinson's poem "Because I Could Not Stop For Death." The very last line of that poem ("I first surmised the Horses' Heads / Were toward Eternity") inspired the title and general themes. So, it's a combination of listening to songs and reading poems at the same time.

what attracts you to Murphamy? what first attracted you? I think I was attracted to Murphamy because I love Murphy, and I think a lot of Murphamy fans would feel similarly. Murphy's been my favourite character throughout the entire series. When looking at his character arc and journey throughout the show, it's impossible to study it without seeing the impact Bellamy has had on him. Especially during earlier seasons, they've had such a fascinating push-pull dynamic with each other that I love to explore in fic. It was during the cliff scene in 2x04 that I really noticed this - that scene is so ripe with symbolism that I still watch it to get inspired. And, I mean, who doesn't like a good, well-developed enemies-to-lovers?

Besides Murphamy, what’s your favorite ship in t100? Clexa, for sure. I loved Lexa even before Clexa happened, and then when it did, I was so invested in their relationship and dynamic that, five years later, I'm still obsessed with them. Since I mostly write Murphamy, I do my best to include at least a crumb of Clexa in all my fics because I love them so much. Another t100 ship I really love that I wish got more attention is Remori! I think they're really fun together and bring out the best in each other, and most of all, they support and encourage each other to be better. They're a really interesting pair I wish we saw interact more.

how did you first decide you wanted to write for the Chopped challenge? My friend Elle (hopskipaway) introduced me to it, actually! She'd been an active participant before I had ever heard of it, so I started following it through her. I first wrote for the Holiday Exchange challenge, which was really cool. I'd been in fic exchanges before, but I liked that the Chopped element made it so the fics were specifically tailored to what the participants wanted to see. The environment was really encouraging and supportive, which influenced me to sign up for the Chopped March Madness, too, which was lots of fun!

what’s your Chopped! process like? or is it different every round? This is going to sound weird, but honestly, my Chopped process is...not having a process. I read the list of tropes & ships that have to be included, and then I leave it completely alone for at least a day. Generally I form a base idea just looking at the trope list, but even if I don't, I let them ruminate in my head and then after a while, a plot idea comes to me. I think taking a step back from the pressures of a challenge like that allows me to be fully creative, which in the end, results in a better end product.

what are some things you’d like to recommend? There are so many lovely other fic authors out there I couldn't name them all if I tried. Still, some of my all time favourite authors on ao3 are: blueparacosm, hopskipaway, oogaboogu, sadie18, & maunwocha. They've all got lots of lovely writing that I thoroughly enjoy, and I've had the pleasure to get to know them all, and they're lovely people, too. They all deserve the most love and support possible.

as always, I am delighted to interview another member of the popular Murphy-centric fic-writing conglomerate. they all have such different styles and are so excellent in their own way! “toward eternity” is on my weekend reading list to re-read and comment on every chapter, but “you can bloom again” was the first sapphictomaz fic I ever read and remains my favorite. It’s Harper/Clarke and was written for Chopped!, and at the risk of sounding cliched, it’s a very fresh take on both of these characters. Also, a road trip at the end of the world. you can find them on Twitter here, or find them here on Tumblr @lexasheart. 

[1dfangirls35]

Voir Dire- N.H.

A fake dating OU about contracts, soulmates, and risking it all for love.

Story Masterlist // Talk to me

ten 

A/N: Just a reminder that while this fic takes place in the original universe, the events may not necessarily line up with Niall's current promo and schedule! Enjoy this little holiday chapter :)

Starting over may have been exactly what Niall and Kelsey needed, but that didn't mean that suddenly all of their problems were solved. Past transgressions didn't magically disappear and thoughts that Niall might be keeping secrets from her still lingered in Kelsey's mind.

She had tried her best to move past it. Treating this as a fresh new relationship, instead of a salvaged one. She was enjoying her time with Niall. Getting to know him this time instead of letting their overwhelming attraction take control. But her history of betrayal still ran deep under the surface, seeping into her mind whenever her confidence wavered. 

Niall noticed it too. The way that Kelsey would suddenly grow distant at the mention of past relationships. Or the face of terror that grew across her face when Niall mentioned his parents, and Kelsey meeting them. For Niall, there wasn't a question in his mind that Kelsey was someone special to him. And if he had his way, she was going to be a part of his life for a very long time. But after the fiasco with Krystal, he couldn't help but notice that any progress that they had seemed to make with Kelsey opening up had disappeared. Her guard was up, and Niall wasn't sure what, if anything, he could do to lower it back down again. 

Which is why Niall didn't ask questions when Kelsey told him that she was planning on staying in LA for Christmas. He knew her mother's affair had something to do with it, but the details of what all had transpired and the way it had affected Kelsey were still mostly unknown. So he didn't bring it up, instead suggesting they have a small Christmas gathering at his house.

Niall didn't realize how much Kelsey loved Christmas until she arrived at his place on Christmas Eve with a trunk full of decorations, baking ingredients, Christmas movies and gifts. Likewise, Kelsey didn't realize how overboard she had went with burying her feelings of not being home for Christmas until she'd loaded her trunk with all the things she'd thought necessary for her and Niall to have the perfect holiday celebration.

"So what do we have here?" Niall asked after setting the last box from Kelsey's very own 'sleigh' onto his dining room table.

"Oooh," Kelsey squealed in excitement grabbing a green wrapped box with a bright red bow on top. "This is an important item for tonight's festivities." She shoved it into Niall's hands as he laughed.

"Should I stick it under my tree?" he asked, gesturing to the neatly decorated pine in the corner of his living room. That too, had been Kelsey's doing, as Niall had never stayed in Los Angeles over the holidays before, and had never had one. 

Although Niall had insisted that his plans to not go home for the holidays had nothing to do with Kelsey and everything to do with the fact that he didn't want to travel more after being on the road with Jingle Ball over the past few weeks, Kelsey was still sure that she played at least somewhat of a role. Although she wasn't ready to admit it out loud, she was thankful that she had someone to spend the holidays with to keep her mind off of all the family traditions that wouldn't be taking place this year.

"No, no, you need this now," Kelsey gestured at Niall, as he began to rip the neatly wrapped paper.

She watched as his lips turn into a smile when he sees the obnoxious red and green Christmas sweater with Santa holding a pint of Guinness printed on the front. "I love it, but where's your ugly Christmas sweater?" he asked.

"Right over here," Kelsey said, reaching into another bag and pulling out an equally obnoxious Christmas colored sweater.

"That's more like it!" Niall exclaimed with a wink that sent Kelsey's heart pounding.

Once fully-decked in their Christmas gear, the two begin the first activity on their agenda for the evening: holiday baking. Kelsey set Niall to work mixing up the sugar cookie batter, while she began to work on the frosting.

"Niall, you're making a mess," she laughed when she looked over and saw the trail of flour leading to and surrounding the bowl.

"Not much of a baker, darlin'," he responded with a smile. "But why are we doing this in my kitchen again? This flour is gonna drive me mad the rest of the week."

"You'd rather be in my kitchen the size of a small closet?" Kelsey raised an eyebrow.

"Oh that's supposed to be a kitchen?" Niall joked, which elicited a small eye roll from Kelsey.

With the dough prepped Kelsey brought out her bag of cookie cutters. She began meticulously cutting little snowmen, stars and Christmas trees. Niall does the same, although his cut-outs aren't quite as smooth.

He observed Kelsey as she worked, her lips humming to the Christmas music playing on the speakers in the background. She seemed to be genuinely enjoying herself, and he was glad that in at least some way he was here to make her holidays better. He knew that she was trying her best to exude Christmas cheer, but he'd already noticed the way her face fell when she ignored two calls from her mother since she had been at his place. 

He wanted to ask her about it. He wanted her to be able to feel like she could tell him how she was feeling this Christmas. This first Christmas without her family. But he didn't want to push her. Not when they had just moved past the whole fake relationship thing. 

When the cookies are finally cut and stuck into the oven. Kelsey noticed Niall laughing at his phone. "What's so funny?" she asked, coming to peak her head around his shoulder. 

"Just a snapchat from Willie. It's twelve pubs of Christmas tonight. A little holiday tradition the lads and I have been doing for ages." 

Kelsey observed Niall's face for any signs that he felt like he was missing out. But if he felt like he was, his face didn't show any ounce of it. "Are you sad you aren't there this year?" she asked.

"I mean, I love getting together with my mates and all, but there's more to Christmas then getting plastered at a pub. Plus..." Niall began, his face turning into a smile. "Then I wouldn't be getting to spend my Christmas with you."

When the cookies are done in the oven, they began to work on frosting. Kelsey learned that while Niall may have been creatively inclined on the music side of things. His artistic ability or cookie-decorating skills were mediocre at best. She laughed at each cookie he held up, many a conglomeration of colors and sprinkles. 

"Hey, they don't have to look pretty they just have to taste good," he'd joked as he held up a rather sorry looking Santa cookie. 

Niall never knew that he would enjoy decorating cookies so much. He actually couldn't remember the last time he'd done so, which probably was reflected in his frosting skills that resembled that of a kindergartner. But there was something about being in the kitchen with the Christmas music in the background and the smell of freshly baked goods through the air, that felt like being at home. In fact, it was the most like home that his place in LA had felt in a long time.

"You've got a little..." Niall trailed off, noticing a dab of green frosting on the tip of Kelsey's nose. He took a step towards her, her back pressed against the kitchen counter, reaching his finger up to wipe the piece from tip of her nose. Their bodies were so close together now, Kelsey could feel the heat radiating from Niall onto her. 

Kelsey's eyes locked with Niall's, and she knew that if he kept staring at her like that the cookies would never be finished and they would end up wrapped in Niall's sheets for the rest of the day. Niall leaned towards her, his mouth gently meeting Kelsey's. She wondered how someone could be so intoxicating, his every touch leaving her longing for more. 

Niall's hands ran down Kelsey's sides, settling on top of her hips. His touch setting fire to Kelsey's body. She wanted this, she wanted this more than anything. But she'd vowed to herself that this time, this time they were taking things slow. And if that meant pulling away and resuming their baking even though ever fiber of Kelsey's being was begging to have Niall take her to his bedroom, she had to oblige. 

She pulled away, offering Niall a small smile. "We've got to finish these cookies Niall." ****************************

With stomachs full of sugar cookies and eggnog, Kelsey and Niall settled onto his island of a couch to watch complete the next item on Kelsey's list of Christmas festivities. Niall voted to start with Christmas Vacation, which resulted in him letting out a deep, guttural laughter every five minutes. His laughter brought a smile to his face, and Kelsey temporarily forgot about her dad making a similar noise during their annual viewing of the movie.

As they moved on to movie number two, Elf, Kelsey and Niall's bodies drew closer together, sitting shoulder to shoulder.

"I haven't really missed winter. But the one thing you don't get in California is a white Christmas," Kelsey mused.

"Oh you're one of those people," Niall teased.

Kelsey looked over at him, wondering what exactly he was implying.

"The I only like snow if it's Christmas kind."

"I don't HATE snow on days other than Christmas. I just am not a fan of the mess it makes on the roads," Kelsey protested, crossing her arms in front of her and feigning a pout. "And what Mr. Horan you love snow? That's why you spend all your time in Cali?"

Niall laughed. "Okay you got me there. But when I was just wee little lad, I loved snow. I'd spend hours out in the stuff. Drove my mother nuts 'cause I never seemed to get cold."

Kelsey smiled thinking of a young little Niall, frolicking around snowy fields in Ireland. She wondered if that little boy could ever have imagined the life he lived now. 

"I  bet you were always a troublemaker, Horan."

"Still am," Niall said with a wink. "But as for snow, not quite as enchanting as it was when I was younger." 

"My dad used to say that Christmas without snow was like a birthday cake without candles, it might not change the holiday, but it sure changed the feeling of it," Kelsey looked off into space. Her mind flashing to memories of her dad on Christmas, with his obnoxious Santa hat and egg nog in hand. "I hope he's having an okay Christmas."

Niall looked at Kelsey. It's the first that she'd mentioned of her family this Christmas and he wasn't sure if he should press her for more. "I'm sure he's doing just fine."

"I know..." Kelsey trailed off. "He's with my aunts and his mom but I just feel a little guilty you know? But I just couldn't do it. I couldn't go back there and act like it was a normal Christmas. It's never going to be a normal Christmas again."

Niall set his hand on Kelsey's thigh, a warm touch of encouragement. "He wanted her to come to Christmas you know. Like he's forgiven her or something." Niall sensed the disgust in Kelsey's voice. He could tell she's still hurting, and there's still so much anger buried under the surface. 

"Sorry, didn't mean to ruin the mood," Kelsey apologized. 

"You didn't ruin the mood. I'm always here you know, when you want to talk. Don't ever pretend that everything's okay if it's not, Kels. Okay?" Niall wrapped his arm around Kelsey, bringing her closer to her chest.

"Okay," she whispered quietly, before shifting her attention back to the movie. 

As they pressed play on their third movie of the night, Kelsey felt her eyes begin to grow heavy. And with her head pressed against the warmth of Niall's chest, she slowly drifted off to sleep.

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

Kelsey woke up in the morning still on Niall's couch. The faint smell of coffee wafted into the living room and she sat up, wiping the sleep from her eyes.

"Merry Christmas Kels," Niall exclaimed, startling Kelsey as he walked into the living room with a steaming cup of coffee in each hand. His hair was a bit discheviled and he still had his obnoxious Christmas sweater on from the night before.

"Merry Christmas," Kelsey replied, taking the warm mug from Niall's hand and indulging in a nice big gulp of caffeine. The steaming liquid warms her insides, and reminds her of Christmas mornings past where the family would sit sipping their coffee and watching the Winter Wonderland outside.

"Come here," Niall said suddenly, offering a hand to Kelsey and helping her stand from the couch. "I've got something to show you."

Niall can hardly keep a straight face as he leads Kelsey towards the back door. He'd been up nearly all night trying to get this figured out, and he only hoped that his lack of sleep was worth it for her reaction.

"What?!" Kelsey's jaw dropped when she looks out into Niall's backyard. What had just yesterday been covered in green grass was now a snowy lawn. Snowflakes fell from somewhere above the roof, dancing and swirling towards the ground.

Niall offered out his hand and Kelsey takes it, as he pulls her onto the patio. "Thought Mother Nature wasn't gonna bring us a California white Christmas, I'd bring a little of that Michigan snow to you," he smiled.

Kelsey looked at Niall, jaw still agape. "But how did you..."

"I made a few calls last night. You'd be amazed what a few connections in the entertainment industry can do for you," he pointed up to the spot on the roof, where a snow machine blows the "snow" onto them. 

"It's amazing," Kelsey said aloud, taking in the wintery mix surrounding them. It was exactly the piece of home she needed, being this far away. 

Kelsey turned to Niall, wrapping her arms around him in a warm embrace. 

"Thank you," Kelsey whispered, her head buried in the crook of Niall's neck.

"For what?" Niall asked.

"For turning what would have a been a  really shitty Christmas into one of the best ones."

Tag List:

@awomanindeniall​ @ihearthemcallingforyou @niall-is-my-dream​

[ofcloudsandstars]

Re: “Litha” vs “Beltane” and whether it is a “flower” or “fairy” festival A lot of this depends on what cultures, if any, are being referenced. If we are strictly talking Celtic (Beltane) and Anglo Saxon (“Litha”), Beltane is centered around a fire, while “Litha” is mostly a conglomerate of a few cultural concepts and holidays. That being said midsummer in England DOES have ties to the fae. Midsummer has more variety in traditions than Beltane, since cross quarters are pretty Celtic exclusive

This is super well put thank you. 

I remember like two years back I would strictly say I was celebrating either the equinox/solstice/pinnacles (pinnacles was what I would refer to the celebrations that were similar to crossquarters but instead of saying midautumn, midspring etc etc to not get confused with the celtic year, I’d say summer’s pinnacle, spring’s pinnacle etc etc.) However after moving to the UK and in general having a lot of witch friends with Celtic heritage I’ve started using the Celtic sabbat names again just as a point of reference. I think because I was raised in a very slightly different climate (our seasons were like 4 distinct seasons in New Jersey, where as here there are 4 seasons but they kind of blend into light flowery half and dark rainy half of the year) I kind of adjusted the sabbats to fit where I lived, and a lot of the local festivities reflected the nature too. 

I haven’t really heard of Beltane being a fire festival until I moved here but it makes more sense in the context of the Celtic wheel. I just did some research last night and Beltane is when they believed Summer begun so it was like their own fiery summer festival where as I celebrate the fiery summer festival on summer solstice. I mean May here does get extremely sunny I think us being higher north makes the sunlight distribution with seasons more pronounced, but it doesn’t feel like summer yet. Then again my perception of summer may be different cause NJ/NYC summertime is broiling hot and humid where as here it gets really warm, sometimes hot and sunny but it just feels like spring on steroids for four months.

 I guess it’s like how nature, climates and seasons are all relative and does not have to do directly with the solstice/equinox points which is just an astrological system of measurement and witches or animists should take that into account when they want to honor the earth. Maybe living here I should consider adjusting the way I celebrate but also I should be careful about using Celtic names and stick to the seasonal terms since I don’t really celebrate those traditions but it’s complicated cause I was somewhat raised in a revival culture of it and often I get invited to their gatherings through friends here so it just feels like sometimes I have to make a reference to it, but constantly have to say that my style is different. 

[jcmorrigan]

Epithet Half-Baked!

I saw through @selfshipimagines that @nougatships is having a Yuletide F/O event...and I know I’m kind of a flighty, shadowy entity in this community, but I do like to write, and thought, what the hey, this’ll be fun. So here I come out of nowhere to contribute a thing.

The F/O? Giovanni Potage from Epithet Erased. The S/I? Rachel Scribere - mundie, writer of much fanfiction, independent contractor supervillainous minion who has also given up on adulting. (Most of those things apply to me IRL!) I decided to go with something a little on-the-nose for the “catering” theme and write about the two of us trying to arrange party food - expect much food talk and many headcanons (e.g. I see Gio as ace, even though that may not end up being Word of God). For optimal results, please listen to the Mariah Carey/MCR mashup “Welcome to the Christmas Parade” while reading this. Not to mention that song will change your life anyway. (Freeman DNI unless you’re going to get the name of the band CORRECT) 

***

I wouldn’t say Christmas was my favorite holiday, because it really wasn’t. Nor would Giovanni ever say Christmas was his favorite holiday, because he wanted to look like a cool guy who didn’t care about Christmas. That said, when our invitation arrived in the mail, neither of us needed to do much cajoling to get the other to agree to attend as a plus-one. Almost immediately, we’d begun work on what we were going to wear to the occasion.

           Well, to be fair, Giovanni was doing most of the work in that department. I’m still trying to figure out how a needle and thread even works for something besides a dangerous impromptu sushi fork. I did play a role in the design of my formal wear, however – a full-skirted red-and-green gown that served the purpose of making me look like the princess of Christmas and thereby able to pass laws banning the repeated playing of “Jingle Bell Rock” more than three times per night. As for Giovanni, he was dead set on creating the World’s Ugliest Christmas Sweater, and boy, did it ever deserve that capitalization. I don’t have the words to you to describe properly the conglomeration of non-coordinating colors and mismatched winter-holiday symbolism that went into that monstrosity. Which basically meant we were going to be the two best-dressed people in attendance.

           However, that still left the important factor: the catering aspect. This was essentially a potluck, and as much as we would have loved to skim off everyone else’s hors d’ouevres and pretend we “dropped” ours on the way there, eventually, our need to show off our cooking skills combined with my compulsion to contribute to community activities won out over the dark side of our consciences.

           My first mistake was going into that kitchen with no idea what Giovanni was planning on making. Me? I was set on a hot-chocolate-and-marshmallow cake. Festive and full of my two favorite flavors! Not to mention I’d baked in the past as a hobby, though it had, admittedly, been a while. I was actually rather looking forward to this.

           “So, Composer,” Giovanni asked as I set up my laptop, “can we expect any musical entertainment?”

           “Damn right,” I said as I clicked through playlists.

           “Just please tell me you’re not gonna stick us with three hours of Christmas music bullshit.”

           “Oh, trust me. We are going to get enough of that at this party.” I set off a rather jaunty emo-pop number with guitars that were just obnoxious enough.

           “Oh, yeah,” Giovanni cried, “this is PERFECT! Totally captures our debonair yet badass essence. THIS is why I let you pick the car music.”

           I gave him a playful bow. “Okay. Let’s do this thing.”

           I began rounding up my ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa powder, et cetera, et cetera…

           “Done.”

           Wait…”What?”

           I had only just gotten my ingredients lined up on the counter, yet Giovanni was leaning over the other edge of the island, elbows on the countertop and head in his hands to give me a playfully innocent look, as an enormous pot of something steaming, golden, and tantalizingly scented sat before him.

           I peered into the vessel, making note of the contents. “Is this…butternut squash soup?”

           “You know it.”

           “…You made soup.”

           “Is there a…problem with that?”

           “Your Epithet is literally soup.”

           “Aaaaaand…?”

           I marched around to shake my index finger at him on every word: “You. Fucking. CHEATED.”

           He rose, pointing right back at me: “I’m. The. BAD GUY. So I don’t care!”

           I gave my eyes a sufficiently dramatic roll. “You realize this is gonna take me like two hours.”

           “I’ll watch.”

           “You could at least help. You’re good with this stuff, you know.”

           “Hmm…” Giovanni pretended to think it over. “No, don’t think I will.”

           “I hate you.”

           “That’s too bad, because I love you a lot, Composer.”

           I blushed, then muttering “IloveyoutooandIdon’thateyouandIwasjustkidding.” Quickly followed up with “Okay, I’m gonna start doing this shit BY MYSELF, then.”

           Baking an entire cake with your boyfriend just smugly staring at you is…an experience. Not a bad experience. But an experience. Still, I thought I was on a good track so far. Until it came to the electric mixer.

           As a disclaimer, I stated, “It’s been a while. I’m a little rusty.”

           “It’s just an electric mixer.” He shrugged. “Even I couldn’t screw up – I mean even SOME LOSER LIKE SYLVIE couldn’t screw up using it.”

           Well, now the pressure was on. I flicked the appliance to life, dipping it into a pool of eggs suspended in buttermilk, and immediately plunged into chaos. The thing about electric mixers is that they are an extreme balancing act. Too far down into the bowl, and the blades will make a horrible grinding noise against the bowl bottom, making a catastrophizer like me worry about glass shards ending up baked into the dough. However, it is very important that if this happens to you, you do not do what I did and overcompensate by yanking the still-spinning blades out of the bowl, thereby splattering eggs and buttermilk all over yourself.

           As I was attempting to figure out damage control, I became acutely aware of Giovanni trying to hide an absolute fit of giggles. “You know,” I growled, “this wouldn’t HAPPEN if you would HELP me.”

           I absolutely did not want him to help me. See, I have an inferiority complex the size of the sun, and even that feels weird to say, since it’s admitting I actually possess a large quantity of anything. I wanted to make this monster cake my goddamn self, and I wanted him to be fucking impressed. Still, I was pretty sure if I didn’t ask for his help, I would just end up with some kind of inedible toxic waste.

           I wasn’t sure if he was just playing coy or if he knew me all too well when he said “No. Don’t feel like it.”

           “Come on!”

           “Composer, this is YOUR time to shine! I’m not getting in the way of YOUR masterpiece blowing away the competition?”

           “…Gio, it’s not a com – “

           “OF COURSE IT’S A COMPETITION! EVERY POTLUCK IS A COMPETITION! WHY ELSE HAVE EVERYONE BRING DISHES OF VARYING QUALITY IF NOT TO DETERMINE THE SUPREME CHEF AT THE PARTY?”

           Well, if it meant somebody might think of me as supreme chef, I sure wasn’t going to argue. Unhealthy as that might be for my ego.

           So I let Giovanni actively not help me. Even when I tried to crack another egg and it rather exploded from my overuse of momentum. But thankfully, the rest of it seemed to be coming together well. As it baked, I decided to use that time to put together the icing. The recipe, of course, called for cream cheese icing, but that is not real icing (don’t @ me) and I absolutely refuse to sully any of my confections with it, ever. I was making the real stuff – just butter, chocolate, milk, and way too much sugar.

           However, that meant a rematch with my archnemesis: the electric mixer. I gave it a very sour glare as I picked it up again.

           “Ooh, someone’s mad,” Giovanni teased.

           “Damn right I’m mad,” I told him. “This thing fucking hates me.”

           “No…I think you’re just bad with it.”

           “WHAT THE – “

           He was at my side then, using one hand to guide my face upward to meet his gaze: “Because no one and nothing could ever hate you, my beautiful, beautiful Composer. And anyone who does can EAT SOUL-SLUGGER DOOM-BAT.”

           Well. Now I was a flustered mess. I gently leaned forward to rest my forehead temporarily on his collarbone. “No, you,” I teased. “I mean it. People who hate you don’t have souls. End of discourse.”

           “And this is why we GO TOGETHER!”

           “Damn straight.”

           It would have been a beautiful moment if I hadn’t been thwarted, yet again, by the mixer. The grinding of the glass, the startled removal of the blades, a chocolate splatter –

           Except this time, it missed me. No, the stuff made a direct hit on the tall, pink-haired, and handsome card-carrying villain standing next to me.

           I gaped at him momentarily, unsure what to say. Then it all came rushing out: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry – “

           “Sorry?” he repeated, and at first, I thought he actually was angry. “You’re SORRY? Oh, it’s too late to be sorry, Composer.”

           When he picked up the quarter-full bottle of vanilla extract from the counter beside us, I realized his game. “This means war,” he growled in a not-very-growly-at-all way.

           Our eyes locked. His way of asking permission. I gave the slightest of nods; “I guess I deserve it. But you know I’m not going down without a fight.”

           The vanilla sloshed onto me. I smashed an egg onto his shirt. He dumped about a half-gallon of soup down the back of mine.

           Now, what you must understand about a food fight that takes place in the Potage-Scribere kitchen is that anything, and I mean absolutely anything, becomes a weapon. Even things that weren’t part of the dishes we were cooking. The refrigerator was raided, the cupboards stripped bare for the ensuing battle. Whatever we could hit each other with, we did. Smashing tomatoes against each other. Sneaking ice cubes into each other’s clothes to try and get a shriek. Several different flavors of soup flying through the air, of course. Retaliation in the form of grabbing the sprayer from the sink and brandishing it like a Banzai Blaster standard-issue pea-shooter.

           Then my timer let out a “ding” to inform me that the cake was done baking. Giovanni froze, standing perfectly still as I transferred the cake to the fridge to let it cool down.

           Then we picked up right where we left off.

           It came to a head when Giovanni had ended up with two cans of aerosol whipped cream, dual-wielding them at me. I had an ice cream scoop in a tub of whipped cream, ready to lob it like a snowball.

           Wait -            “Gio, why do we have three things of whipped cream?”

           “Well, I picked these up when you texted me our respective assignments for grocery day last weekend.”

           “I told you to get toilet paper. I was gonna get the whipped cream.”

           “No, you said YOU were getting the toilet paper, and I should pick up whipped cream.”

           “DID EITHER OF US GET TOILET PAPER?”

           “…I’m thinking no,” Giovanni mused.

           “Okay, emergency store run after this for toilet paper,” I declared. “Resume.”

           Instead of turning the cans on me, Giovanni spun to kick an apple off the counter so that it would hit me in the sternum. I recoiled, but only slightly. “The fuck was that?”

           “That? Oh, THAT was…well, Composer, have you been keeping track of how many hits I’ve landed on you?”

           My eyes widened. “SON OF A BITCH.”

           “THAT’S RIGHT!” Giovanni crowed. “TWELVE! WHICH MEANS WHEN I LET THESE CANS LOOSE ON YOU, IT’S GONNA BE CRITICAL!”

           I let go of the ice cream scoop; it clanged to the floor. “Okay, okay!” I put up that hand in a gesture of surrender. “I give!”

           “…Seriously? But it’s no fun if you – “

           “I am NOT in the mood to get blasted by critical whipped cream, Gio.”

           Giovanni shrugged, not letting go of either can. “All right. Then it stops here.”

           I pouted. “I really am sorry I started it. Can we just…you know…kiss and make up?”

           “Absolutely.”

           I had counted on this. I let him shut his eyes, pucker his lips slightly, lean forward. I advanced.

           And then, screaming “WORTH IT!”, smashed the tub of whipped cream directly at his face.

           The resulting blast of the aerosol whip was like getting hit with the blast of twenty-six cans of aerosol whip – which, really, isn’t that harmful at all. Just a lot messier and with some added momentum; I ended up skidding across the kitchen floor. “Okay!” I laughed. “I really do give in now! I promise!”

           Giovanni was already scooping the cream off his face and shoveling it into his mouth (and this is the part where I want to remind you that as ripe of a picking as this seems for innuendo, neither of our sex-repulsed minds would have it). He then slumped down onto the tile next to me, leaning onto me.

           “Well played, minion,” he said with a grin. “We’ll make a bona fide villain out of you yet.”

           “Bold of you to assume I’m not already there.”

           We actually did kiss then, tasting all the sweeter for being covered in sugar.