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perseusannabeth · 6 months

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Chapter 1

A/N: Hi everyone, and happy holidays! This is my contribution to the @acotargiftexchange for the lovely @talkfantasytome! I want to thank the organisers for this absolutely brilliant event. It's looking like this fic will be 3 chapters, so fingers crossed that the rest of the parts will come soon!

This has chef Cassian and writer Nesta, aka my favourite combo. I also have to warn you, as per usual, Cassian's Illyrian cooking is in fact how I cook as a south Asian person.

AO3 is currently down, so I won't be able to post this on there until later, but it will be added. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this!

Summary: Cassian is deeply concerned about the fact that his neighbour cannot cook at all. He decides to start cooking for her to save her from an early death, and it becomes so much more.

Cassian had lived in his current apartment for a long enough time to know most of the people in the building. It wasn't a massive building, so it wasn't hard to run into people. The only person he hadn't run into was his neighbour, who had moved in 3 months ago.

Thankfully, there were signs of life, like the post being checked, and he could hear the door opening and closing. The most concerning thing he noticed was that his new neighbour seemed friendly with the fast food delivery drivers. Cassian didn't like judging food choices because he knew that people around him already felt self-conscious when they talked about food. Being a chef meant people assumed he knew best, but he could easily teach people he was willing to learn. Still, his neighbour was concerning him a lot. They must be on their way to a heart attack with the amount of fast food they consumed, and from Cassian's observation, they sometimes got food at least once a day or more. But Cassian had never assumed his neighbour's eating habits would affect him.

"So, have you seen her around? It's been a few days, that's all, and I'm a little worried about her," said his delivery driver, Toby.

"I'm sorry, I'm so tired right now that my brain barely functions. Please, can you repeat yourself?"

"Nesta, your neighbour. She orders from us daily, but I've not had any deliveries for her for 3 days. I'm just a little worried about her, that's all," Toby said, blushing now. The poor guy couldn't be more than 20 years old. At 20 years old, Cassian can't imagine he would've had the guts to do what Toby was doing, so he had to hand it to the guy.

"I'm sorry, I haven't heard from her," Cassian replied, unwilling to admit he'd never seen her before and had just learned her name from Toby. "I'll check on her though, don't worry," Cassian said, to both reassure the man and to get him to leave because, god damn it, his food was getting cold!

"Thanks, man, I really appreciate it. She seems nice, and she tips really well." Toby smiled. Cassian just nodded awkwardly and then waited for Toby to finally (finally) move from his door.

Cassian practically inhaled his food because, yes, he had promised his delivery driver that he would check on his neighbour, but if he was going to check on a potentially dead person, he would not be doing it while he was hungry. Fuck that; he had been in the restaurant since 6am, and he had planned on eating and then collapsing in bed. Now he had to check on his potentially dead neighbour because the delivery boy liked her tips!

By the time he had finished his food, he had managed to work up some energy, mostly just the rage he had to check on his neighbour and delay his sleep. Still, before leaving his flat, he checked his attitude at the door because he didn't want to be rude. He was being neighbourly, even if he was tired.

When he knocked on the door and didn't hear any movement on the other side of the door, he was suddenly wide awake. He had horrific visions of breaking the door down and finding a corpse as he knocked again, trying to delay the rescue mission playing out in his head. When the door flew open, Cassian nearly jumped out of his skin.

The lady in front of him looked pretty annoyed at him, especially as he gawped at her like an idiot. Her hair was pulled up in something that might have once been a bun but was now just a tangled mess. She was in a long t-shirt that had seen better days; it was stained and faded, and underneath, she wore leggings that were in a similar state. But somehow, despite all this and the deep bags under her eyes, she still was the most beautiful woman Cassian had ever seen.

"Can I help you?" The woman said, giving him a quick once over.

That snapped Cassian out of his trance. "Sorry, erm, I'm looking for someone called Nesta?" Cassian asked awkwardly.

The woman had gone from droll to actively suppressing a laugh. "Oh my god, did Emerie actually do it? Are you a male stripper?"

Cassian's eyes widened as he quickly stepped back to distance himself from the beautiful, crazy woman. "Woah, I have no idea who Emerie is. I'm flattered you think I could pass for a stripper, but I'm no magic Mike. I'm Cassian, and I'm your neighbour." Cassian said, pointing at the open door to his apartment.

'Oh," the woman said, now also looking awkward.

"Look, I just need to know if you're Nesta and if you're alright. I ordered some food, and the delivery driver said he was worried because he hadn't heard from you in a few days," Cassian explained, not wanting to linger in awkward silence.

The woman's face went bright red at that, so Cassian assumed that this was, in fact, the mysterious Nesta who tipped really well and ordered food every single day. "Listen, I'm assuming you're Cassian, the chef Mrs Culpepper mentioned. I can only imagine what you think of me since Toby felt chatty today. I'm gonna be honest with you, I can't cook. My friend said not to burn down the building, so I've not tried. Really, my takeaway habit is saving everyone, and as my neighbour, you should be grateful, so don't judge me,"

Cassian held his hands up in surrender. "I'm not judging. Just because I enjoy cooking doesn't mean I assume everyone will. I am, however, slightly concerned. Is that all you eat? That can't be good for your health," Cassian said, frowning as he calculated how expensive that must be and the calories. He wasn't the best with numbers, so he couldn't be sure, but he was pretty sure that was a bad time.

"My friend said the same thing, so she batch-cooked me a few meals. I've got a deadline for work, so I've been even worse than usual, but that's why I haven't ordered any food. When it runs out, which will probably be tomorrow, I'll be back to ordering from Toby," she said with a shrug.

"Okay, I said I'm not judging, but that sounds horrific. I can't let you carry on like that. I don't think my conscience can take it," Cassian said, looking at her wide-eyed. The way this woman was going, she'd be dead of a heart attack in no time.

"I'll be fine; you don't need to take pity on me," Nesta said defensively.

"Listen, it's Nesta, right?" she nodded, eyeing him suspiciously now, which made him want to laugh. She hadn't been suspicious before, but now he was questioning her food intake; she was wary of him. "I get to take leftovers from my work. It's one of the perks, but there's sometimes a lot. I tend to bring them home and make myself something with whatever random stuff there is. It's way healthier than ordering out and helps me not waste food. It's a win-win situation for both of us, really."

"So, you're basically offering to be my personal chef?" Nesta said, trying to figure out what the catch was.

"Well, within reason. If there's anything you hate or won't eat, I'll consider it, and obviously, any allergies. And if you want something specific, I don't mind making that, too, as long as I have enough time to get the ingredients. And I don't really mind cooking; if I didn't love it, I wouldn't do it as my job."

A silence lingered, and Cassian wondered if he had gone in too hard on the sales pitch. He wouldn't be shocked if she said no; it was a weird request from your neighbour, whom you'd only met. But there was something about this woman that made Cassian want to offer to cook for her outside of work. His friends knew he never shared his food, not when he was outside of work. He made traditional Illyrian dishes when he was at home. It was a way for him to stay connected with his culture and mother despite his distance. These recipes had been handed down through generations of his mother's family, but there was something private and intimate about them. But he would share them with his neighbour.

"Are you even real?" Nesta said, staring at him in a bit of a daze. Then, she reached out and poked him in the cheek. "You feel real," she said as she continued poking his cheek.

"I- I think I'm real?" Cassian stuttered, really not sure how he should react. Cassian wasn't shy, but this woman was just something else.

Clearly, his talking pulled her out of whatever daze she was in. "I'm so sorry; I've been working non-stop for my next deadline, so I'm losing my grip on reality right now," Nesta said, shaking her head to get rid of whatever weird thoughts were in her head.

Cassian pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Add your number, and I'll text you so you have mine. Then, you can text me any allergies or anything you wouldn't eat. I'll probably just tell you some dishes I can make with the leftovers, and you can let me know what sounds good. Is that okay with you?" Cassian said.

Nesta nodded, handing his phone back with her number added. Cassian shot her a quick text and then put his phone away. "Thank you," Nesta said awkwardly. "You really don't need to do that, but I'm certainly not going to look a gift horse in the mouth," she said with a shrug and a quick smile.

Cassian smiled back, said his goodbyes and went back to his apartment. As he shut his door, he took his neighbour in, who was watching him walk away with a contemplative look on her face. He shook his head, shutting his door. Cassian was doing a good deed for his hot neighbour, but he hoped and prayed that his friends wouldn't find out about it.

With that, he quickly got ready for bed, practically collapsing into his bed. As he drifted off to sleep, he noticed that he was smiling and had been since he had said goodbye to his neighbour.

***

Cassian had forgotten entirely about the events of the night before when he woke up in the morning. It was so surreal; it felt like a dream. It wasn't until he was getting ready for his morning run that he realised it was true.

He had a strict no phones policy in the mornings, mainly because his doom-scrolling habit was an awful way to start the day. So until he was ready to leave the house, he wouldn't look at his phone. It had helped with his mental health a lot and made waking up for his job so much easier, too.

Since he had the day off, he slept till 9, which was late for someone who left the house at 4am every day for work. When he finally looked at his phone, he froze for a second, because there was a message from his neighbour.

Once he had processed that yesterday had, in fact, not been a dream, he quickly made a note of the things she didn't like (kale being called the devil's lettuce made him laugh way more than it should've); he had a quick glance in the fridge to see what he could make. He figured he would make a quick tuna and avocado sandwich for lunch, and then for dinner, he would make pasta. Both seemed reasonably safe first options for her meals. Then, he could also give her leftover pasta for lunch the next day.

As he finally left and started his run, he realised this could be the perfect opportunity to work on some new recipes for the restaurant. He wanted to update the menu and add more traditional recipes, but he had been nervous to test them out on anyone. By the time he got to the point he turned back, he had a massive grin on his face. He whipped his phone out and sent Nesta a text.

Cassian: I've just had an idea. How would you feel being my new taster for some experimental recipes?

Her reply was instant, which surprised him.

Nesta: you're doing me a favour so if i can help then i'm good with that. Although idk if i'm the best taste tester since my own culinary skills start and end at cereal

Cassian: All I need is your honest opinion, everyone else in my life is too biased.

Nesta: i'm not afraid of cutting a man down, so dw

Cassian laughed at her message, sending her a quick laughing emoji before he put his phone back to go back home. He was in a good mood and excited about cooking for someone new. Of course, he got to cook for new people at his job every day, but cooking for someone one-on-one was so different. He could get her reactions, and she would give him feedback. This wasn't just a faceless customer; it was his neighbour.

When he had assembled the sandwich, he put it into a Tupperware box and then cleaned up the kitchen. Once he was done, he finally gave Nesta her sandwich, trying to ignore the excitement and nerves bubbling in his stomach as he knocked on her door.

Nesta flung the door open with a massive smile on her face. "Well, hello there, neighbour," she said, wiggling her eyebrows at him. "What do you have for me?" Nesta said, looking at the box with excitement.

"I've got a tuna and avocado sandwich with red onion and some homemade sriracha mayo," Cassian said, presenting her the food with a flourish.

Nesta didn't hesitate to open the box to have a look. "Oh wow, this looks so good, like one of those fancy coffee shop sandwiches which is really over-priced. Did you make the bread, too?" she asked, tapping the sourdough.

"Oh nah, absolutely not; I'm not much of a bread maker; it's so faffy, but I love the smell of fresh bread. There's another chef in the restaurant who makes bread, but there's never any left, so this is just some supermarket bread."

"Oh, well, I thought you used leftovers," Nesta said with a frown.

"I do, but I like to jazz them up, so I use things I have at home, too. Don't worry about it, though."

"Nah, absolutely not. I need to pay you for this if you're using your money to feed me. That's not fair on you!" she exclaimed. "I'm not a charity case."

"I don't think you are!" Cassian said, alarmed. "You're going to help me, remember. Maybe I'll develop a new menu for the restaurant."

"I still want to contribute to this because you're saving me a lot of money. Let me pay half towards your groceries at least," Nesta said sternly.

"I- okay if you insist, but I feel bad taking your money," Cassian said awkwardly.

"Well, that's too bad. Text me your bank details, and I'll transfer you the money, and if you don't, I'll just have to hunt you down and hurt you," she threatened.

"You seem like a busy woman, so I'll try to avoid that happening," Cassian winced. Changing the subject, he asked, "So I never asked, but what do you do?"

"Oh, I'm a writer!" Nesta said excitedly.

"Oh wow, that's amazing! What kind of stuff do you write? I've not had time to read in a while, but maybe I should start that up again."

Nesta's eyes widened at that. "Do not read my books. You're not the target audience, and frankly, I would probably have to avoid you if I knew you'd read them."

Cassian frowned at her, and then it dawned on him. "Oh my god, you write porn books!" he exclaimed.

"They're romance books! Sometimes they might have some smut, but they're not porn!" she hissed.

"Right, of course! Well, I'm gonna get going since you've probably got some sex scene left to right or something," Cassian said with a shit-eating grin.

Nesta froze but then smirked. "Actually, I finished writing that last night after you left. You know, since you weren't the male stripper I was hoping for," she said before turning around and slamming the door in his face. He stood there gaping for a while before eventually shaking himself out of it. My god, that woman was something else.

***

"Cassian bheta! It's been too long since you called me," his mother said as she answered the phone. He had decided to ring her while he cooked because it was the best way to cook. He couldn't help but smile at his mother calling him son in their native language. He loved his Illyrian culture; the fact his mother had taught him so much of it gave him such pride.

"Mama, I called you 2 days ago, and I've been texting you too!" he protested with a smile as he diced onion.

"But you're my baby, my bacha, you don't understand. One day, when you have your own children, then you'll understand," she loved saying that line. It was one of his favourites. Now, he was nearing 30 and not even close to being married.

He ignored her comment, knowing no good could come from delving into that subject. "Mama, I'm making Illyrian-style pasta for my neighbour right now."

"Ohh, is your neighbour Illyrian too? Rhys's mum told me that the lady who used to live across the road from her has a daughter in the city! Her name is-"

"Mama! Velaris is a big city; you know I won't run into every Illyrian here, so stop trying to match-make! My neighbour isn't Illyrian, but she said she's happy to try different things. I'm cooking for her because she can't cook for herself."

"She can't cook?" his mother said, sounding scandalised.

"No, and let me tell you, how I met her was crazy."

He relayed the events of yesterday evening while he sauteed the onion in some ghee, diced up some bell peppers and drained the sweetcorn. After the onions started to go soft, he added the basaar, a mix of spices that Illyrians added to almost every dish.

"Well, it's a good thing you're here to look after this girl; the poor thing has been living off those takeaways; she's in desperate need of some good, home-cooked food!" his mother said the word takeaway like it was dirty. She had always been very strict about eating out when they were younger, telling him they could make it better at home. Only as he got older did he realise they probably couldn't afford to eat out for more than the occasional treat.

"That's why I offered mama."

"That's because you're my good bacha," she said fondly. "What's this neighbour's name anyway? And what does she do?" she asked.

Cassian smiled. Illyrian mothers could never resist fishing for gossip, even if it was people they didn't know. "Oh, her name is Nesta, and she said she's a romance writer."

His mother gasped, making him almost drop the pasta as he drained it. "Are you cooking for the famous writer, Nesta Archeron?" his mother asked, her excitement tangible.

"I don't actually know her surname. Why?" he asked, suspicious.

"Oh my god, Cassian!" her mother screamed, so excited that she didn't seem to mind busting her son's eardrums. "Cassian, that woman is my favourite author!"

His eyes widened at that. "Mama! I don't want to know if you read those books!" he said, taking deep breaths and trying to clear his mind of that information.

"Pfft, why? Those books are brilliant, and you're a grown man now, stop being a baby. There are no men in my life, but those fictional men are something else," his mother sounded breathless, which was just too disturbing to think about.

"Mama! Stop, I'll be sick if you carry on, and then how can I feed your favourite author?"

His mother was outraged at that. "Listen here, you! She's writing her next book, so you better feed her well because I've been waiting for this book for a year."

"Geez, mama, I promise I will; now I have to go. I'll give it to her now while it's warm." He said, sprinkling cheese on the pasta he had put in the two Tupperware boxes for Nesta. His mother said her goodbyes because he needed to feed Nesta, not because he said he needed to go. She made it clear her loyalties lie with Nesta, which was concerning.

He knocked on Nesta's door, and she came quickly this time. She eagerly handed him an empty box from lunch, which had been washed, and took the pasta.

"I'm not sure if you know this, but I can smell when you're cooking things, so I've been able to smell this for a while, and I'm starving right now. This smells absolutely amazing, so if this is what Illyrian food is like, keep it coming," Nesta said, not taking her eyes off the pasta.

"Well, this isn't Illyrian food; this is just pasta with an Illyrian twist on it, in all fairness, but I'll keep that in mind." Nesta nodded eagerly. "By the way, my mother wanted me to check. Are you the author, Nesta Archeron?"

Nesta looked up at that. "Yes, I am," she said slowly.

"Right, well, my mother is a big fan and said I need to feed you well so you can write your book because she's very excited. She's basically gonna disown me if I don't cook well for you," he laughed.

Nesta smiled at that. "She sounds sweet. Let her know that you're doing an excellent job."

Cassian smiled back and returned to his apartment, giving her instructions about how she needed to eat the 2nd box for lunch tomorrow because he would be at work. Nesta thanked him profusely, licking her lips as she eyed the pasta.

Cassian got out of there quickly after that because seeing Nesta lick her lips did something weird that he didn't want to think about. He had only met the woman yesterday, so whatever he felt, he would ignore it.

He got a text as he dug into his own pasta while watching a modern family rerun on TV.

Nesta: this might be the best pasta i've ever had omg you're a god!!!

Nesta: i would eat this for the rest of my life if i could

Cassian: It's not too spicy for you?

Nesta: nah, this is fine, the tomatoes calm it down. Idk if i'm strong enough to handle more than this tho, my tastebuds are probs dead with everything i eat

Cassian: Lolll, noted

Cassian cleared his dishes and got into bed since he'd have an early night the next day. Before putting his phone away, he quickly googled his neighbour, and lo and behold, a list of her books came up. She was popular, and he had to admit, he was impressed. Her fans were practically rabid for her next book. It looked like a series, so he ordered the first book before he could think about it too deeply.

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#nessian #cassian x nesta #nesta archeron #acotar #nesta x cassian

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copperbadge · 6 months

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ADHD anon here (by the way, i'm not that young, i'm just not in a position to leave). thank you very much for your very clear, very thought out response. i will try to follow your advice, although i think, for her sake, i'll still insist on her reading up on the subject. maybe she'll do it eventually? i think it would help her if she understood more about it than just "ADHD=bad" and "nothing can be done about my problems", which seems to be her idea.

i would just like to mention that she's never, like, forgotten meals or to cook for us or anything. outwardly she's always -seemed- very organised and put together (well. screaming at the drop of a hat aside), which is why it took until now, when it got worse, for her to be diagnosed, i think.

again, thank you very much. you gave me a lot to think about, and a useful-looking resource, too.

I mean, I certainly wish you luck of trying -- for one, I genuinely hope your mother is able to see that she's harming you and put a stop to it. If I were in your place and wanted to still try and effect change, I will say I would put emphasis on finding a doctor willing to try medication and giving it a shot (look for psychiatrists who specialize in medication management and adult ADHD). It really has been a life changer for me and other late-life diagnosis people I've spoken to.

I'm glad to hear your physical needs are met; one of the things I was concerned about was that impulsivity and lack of emotional regulation can make people do very risky things with their own lives and those around them as well. It's still very wrong of her to treat you as she does, but I don't discount the value of bare-minimum physical safety.

I hope you do take to heart that this isn't your fault and that even if you can't leave, there are buffers you can put into place. (Sorry about the assumption of youth -- I did wonder if I was going a little hard on that in the response.) I sympathize with not being able to leave.

In any case, I hope the diagnosis leads to only good things for both you and her! And clearly the readership here is pulling for you, so you have people wishing for a strong outcome.

Normally I might wait or queue the response but this is context people may wish to have if commenting on the earlier post, so I thought it best to get it out there sooner rather than later.

#toxic family #sam has adhd

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sailxrmxrs · 2 months

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hello i really love your writing! if you're taking requests, i've been thinking about the infinite blue boys in a typical office setting with the MC and what that would be like? thank you!!~

this has been sat in my inbox for SO LONG I AM SO SORRY TO THE PERSON WHO REQUESTED THIS SDKFDGS but!! better later than never right??? right?????? anyway now is the perfect time to finally get around to this bc my brain has been so occupied lately playing sympathy kiss so office based otome is right at the forefront of my mind hehe. it's like it was meant to be. ALSO thank u so much!! i don't think too much about what i write after it's been posted so i forget people actually look at it sometimes sksjfkf TY FOR REQUESTING THIS WAS LOVELY TO THINK ABOUT also incredibly funny looking at the last post of me being like 'i want to get back to writing more regularly!!' as if i didn't slink back into the shadows again for four months this was also the first thing i've written since getting my new keyboard which is really taking some getting used to especially with nails dsklfsg still, enjoy office time gamers o7

♡ leo ♡

Leo definitely seems like the type to bring the energy to his office department, especially on a Monday morning when everyone wants nothing more than to have had just one more day to spend at home before work started all over again for another week. He'd be the only one with a spring in his step as he went about his morning, filling his water bottle, getting situated at his desk. Speaking of his desk, Leo's workspace would be the definition or organised chaos. Post-it notes are scattered across the bottom of his monitor, there's a pile of loose sheets covered in haphazard notes scrawled across them, and there are definitely more than a few pens with no ink left strewn across the desk. They also happen to be mixed in with perfectly usable pens so Leo would have to scramble for a pen when someone from another department came to brief him on a project he was working on. Every time, without fail, he is grabbing pens and scribbling on a notepad until he finds one that works enough to make notes clear enough for him to reference later on. You ask each time why he doesn't just go through and throw away the empty pens to which Leo jokingly scoffs about how he finds the right pens first time every time. He does not.

He's very much the epitome of a work best friend. Someone who will text you on the weekend like 'I know we spend every day sat next to each other but can we hang out together pls'. He enjoys your company okay!! You are very fun and he wants you to know that!! Will find himself getting into a bit of trouble for getting distracted talking about weekend plans with you but can you blame him? It's a Friday afternoon and his brain has logged off. Unfortunately for Leo, despite his brain having logged off, his computer is very much logged in so he has to force himself to keep going for that last stretch of hours between him and the weekend. Will whine and complain to you about how Fridays should be half days which, given Leo's usual demeanour at the start of the week, is an amusing shift in tone. Cut to a couple of hours later and Leo is shutting down his computer the second the clock ticks over to 5pm. He'll swing his chair around to face you, staring you down until you finally close everything down to get ready to leave. Think puppy watching and waiting for you to take them on a walk. Sometimes if you have plans for the Friday evening, he'll offer to pick you up on the way to work to save you the drive too. Also because it gives him an excuse for being late like oh no there was just so much traffic leaving their place I definitely did not stop for coffee on the way here not at all!! He absolutely did but don't worry he didn't forget to pick up your favourite order too~

I think Leo would be a really good motivator in the office too. If a day was going particularly bad, or if a really busy period struck he would be the perfect person to help keep your mood in balance. He's very encouraging for you to step away from your desk. Take a break, have a drink, maybe get a little snack to energise yourself. But he doesn't do it to distract you nor does he overstep any boundaries. He will offhandedly comment on how hard you've been working and make a gentle suggestion that a break is needed. He'd also offer to lend a hand if there was anything particularly pressing that was weighing you down. Try and say no. Try it. Never works. Leo's always happy to help because he knows you would do the same for him and have previously done so in the past when he was newer to the job and hadn't quite gotten his bearings yet. He makes the long days pass by quicker. Truly the best person to work with.

♡ milo ♡

Milo is absolutely that one coworker who keeps to himself a lot and develops this really cool and mysterious reputation. No one really knows what he does for work and no one ever asks him either because they're a little too intimidated to talk to him. It's not that he's had any particularly bad run-ins with anyone else in the office but more so that he no one really knows a whole lot about him. Any conversations about his weekend plans or what he did the evening prior are met with the most normal responses someone could muster. He's going grocery shopping, he's visiting family, he stayed in last night to watch tv. No one knows anything about his life outside of work and no one's bumped into him anywhere but in the office. The only reason people don't speculate that he lives there is because they see him drive in and park in the same spot at the same time each morning. Him keeping to himself isn't really an antisocial thing, but more so that he's there to work so would rather just get on with whatever he has to do with minimal distractions. He's an efficient man and doesn't like people stealing his attention away from any sort of deadline.

Then along comes this slight change in the office layout and suddenly your desk has been moved directly next to his. Surprise had left you stunned for a moment when Milo greeted you that first morning before sitting down and getting himself set up for the working day. He still never offered much conversation, just the usual 'good morning' and 'have a good evening' as you both left the office. It wasn't until you both stayed behind a little late one Friday evening to finish some paperwork before the weekend and he'd stricken up a conversation while walking back to your cars. It was mostly small talk, nothing of too much substance, but it was far more than he gave anyone else. If you ask, he simply answers that until the clock hits around 5pm, he's at work. Once he's left the office building, he's just normal Milo again. It's his way of separating work and his personal life. Honestly, his work/life balance is enviable.

Over time, as you grow closer, he'll start to chat more during office hours. Asking what you thought of a recent episode of a show, if you'd seen the news about an upcoming game. And your closeness wouldn't go unnoticed. You'll get coworkers whispering to you on your lunch break asking to share some information since they'd barely seen Milo speak with anyone else so openly before. You'd always politely decline, telling them he never really shared anything special and it was mostly just work related things—a white lie, of course, but what they didn't know didn't hurt them. Milo would appreciate it too, often voicing his complaints about the busybodies in the office not so subtly whispering about him. He didn't care too much about their speculations of him until they started dragging you into it too. Grumpy Milo grumbling into his coffee cup asking why they cared so much anyway. Who cares who he speaks to at work (He cares. But he won't tell you that).

♡ rory ♡

Rory at any given moment in time will take the opportunity to complain about something that has happened in the office that day. Whether it's someone not submitting documents on time or somebody emailing him with any extra set of tasks on top of his already stacked workload, he will be sending you a string of messages to blow off some steam. The first time it'd happened, you were sitting in the break room enjoying your lunch when Rory slumped into the chair next to you and signed so heavily you thought something terrible had happened and he was barely keeping himself together. As it had turned out, a new intern had done something without running it by anyone else first and caused a particularly big problem. One that Rory's manager decided would be his responsibility to resolve before the day's end. As well as meet his own deadlines for the same evening. To say he was stressed was an understatement. So Rory had taken solace in your quiet presence and let out his frustrations. Once he'd gotten it all out of his system, he apologised for the outburst and introduced himself, realising the two of you had never actually spoken before. He then offered to lend a listening ear for your own work annoyances, attentively taking it all in while you spoke. Once your lunch break came to an end, you exchanged contacts with the promise that you could be each other's dedicated work therapist whenever someone or something had pissed you off.

From that point on, you'd receive the odd message here and there throughout the day from Rory with the latest complaint. At first, it was just a way to get the annoyances off your chests but as time went on, conversations started to meander and before long you were becoming closer and closer. You didn't see each other much while working—only ever in passing if you needed to deliver a document to a different department or if there was a meeting you needed to attend. Your texts were your main point of contact with Rory until he suggested you start coordinating your lunch breaks so that you could actually hang out face-to-face rather than via text message. Coworkers would definitely start to speculate how and why these two individuals from completely different departments became friends or if there was something more to the relationship. Especially considering Rory, much like Milo, was more reserved and didn't really show much of an effort to become friends with the people he worked with. He was amicable enough but kept the colleague boundary up like a wall. Except with you, anyway.

I think Rory would want to extend your work friendship beyond office hours and would start wanting to text you later in the evening but is so nervous to come across as being too forward. He likes to act as though he's a very nonchalant person but he really isn't at all. Especially not where you are concerned. So you'd definitely need to be the one to nudge and initiate more of a friendship between you both. It wouldn't take much. All you'd need to do was text him one Saturday morning and mention how you were planning for a bookshop trip and as if he wanted to come along. He texts back almost instantly with a big 'YES' followed immediately by a 'glad you've finally recognised my superior taste in books' purely to save face for how eager he must have seemed. Would come into the office on the Monday with red cheeks once he saw you in the staff car park and try to sound as normal as possible commenting on how he had a good weekend. For his own sanity, just go along with it. He begs.

♡ alexei ♡

Alexei is the new starter who doesn't have a whole lot of office experience under his belt. He's bright eyed and eager to learn on the job but is also somewhat nervous to make mistakes or ask too many questions. It takes him a little while to settle in and feel fully comfortable with his surroundings but once he does, Alexei starts to really flourish. Once he knows you're happy to answer all of his questions and won't scold him for not understanding something straight way, he will come to you with an entire monologue of queries he wants to clarify. Literally rambles this long stream of consciousness before reaching the end of his list and looking at you all expectantly for your response. Listens so intently while he's perched on his desk chair, scribbling down notes as you run through everything he'd asked. Then turns back to his computer screen with a 'thank you' and then doesn't say another word for like two hours. He'll just be typing and clicking away with this intense focus until you have to tap on his shoulder and remind him to take a break from the screen for a few minutes. Will struggle to pull himself away for breaks because once he's in the zone he is IN. He only really likes stepping away from his desk when he has reached a good stopping point and he absolutely hates leaving a task partially finished.

I don't think Alexei would be a super social person at work. It wouldn't be for any particular reason other than the thought didn't really occur to him? He prefers to take his breaks at his desk because his chair is comfortable enough so the only people he really talks to on the regular are the people he works with directly. Being new, he hasn't had much of a reason to visit the other departments nor has he been brought on to any big projects that would have him meeting and working with anyone else around the office. Even after he's been there for a little while, he's reached a point where he feels awkward introducing himself because he's not exactly new anymore but he also doesn't know a lot of names. Whenever there's an office party or holiday event, Alexei will turn and whisper to you asking who that was or to remind him of a name. He could have had a good ten minute conversation with someone who and not had a single clue as to what their name was. It makes for some funny encounters, especially if it's someone not well liked within the office. They'd strike up a conversation just for Alexei to clearly not know who they are. We love to see it.

After Alexei has been working in the office for a few months and has gotten nicely settled in his job, I can see him being really welcoming to a new starter. In the same way you answered all his questions and helped him along with his training, Alexei would do the same for the new person. He might come across a little too excited with how forthcoming he is with explanations or offers to help out with anything they're struggling with but it's clear that he means well. He's just a little enthusiastic!! Would also start to add little decorations on his desk. He doesn't do anything too special, but he might have a tiny figurine of a jellyfish sat under his monitor and would have themed notepads and matching pens to go with them. If he's going to spend most of his day there, he wants it to feel like it's his personal little corner.

♡ brooklyn ♡

Brooklyn is the high ranking manager CEO businessman who is also one of the most likable people around the office. Despite him always being seen in his signature suits and ties with some sort of important document in hand at any given moment, he was genuinely pleased to speak with anyone working there. He has his moments of being the stern business type, particularly when in stressful meetings to discuss the company's performance for the quarter and their targets for the next quarter. Overall, however, he remains a generally calming presence. If you were his assistant, he'd try to alleviate as much of the pressure of the role as he could. He knew he was a painfully busy man and that you had no end of meetings to schedule, companies to contact for collaborations and partnerships. There was never really an end to your workload for which he felt a tad guilty. Anytime you entered his private office, reeling off the schedule for the afternoon or informing him of a visitor who had arrived to meet with him, Brooklyn is offering to make you a cup of tea or coffee no matter how many times you insist that that's your job, not his. He never listens.

I think he'd take a lot of interest in you as a person too, not wanting there to be this distinct barrier of boss and employee. He would much rather you both felt you stood on equal ground. That mindset had gotten him into some mild altercations in meetings when other company executives had made some sort of snide comment regarding your involvement in the discussions. Brooklyn wasn't going to stand for one of his most trusted and hardworking colleagues to be taken for granted. The strained tension never left the boardroom until a few minutes after the meeting ended and Brooklyn stormed out looking angrier than you'd ever seen him. Would be silent as he poured himself a cup of tea and then give you this serious talk about how if that were to ever happen without him around report it to him immediately. His expression was much sterner that you'd experienced from all your time working directly with Brooklyn, but it was evident that it came from a place of respect. And he explained as much as he leaned against his desk, pinching the spot between his brows as if the encounter had given him a headache.

There had never been any repeat instances following that afternoon, though you had overheard some whispers about the incident. Mostly from people surprised to hear that Brooklyn had raised his voice. Anytime you commented on it while presenting him with new paperwork, Brooklyn would adjust his tie awkwardly, face heating at the lack of composure he'd now exposed to the office. He took pride in coming across in a well-presented and calm manner so this one lapse of his self-restraint made him feel a touch embarrassed each time he was reminded of the event; in those moments he seemed less like the important business figure and more like a close friend you could playfully tease in passing moments between the busy hours. It was a comfortable and welcomed dynamic for the both of you.

♡ tobias ♡

Tobias is without a doubt the office socialite. He's always popping his head into the different departments with a request or to catch up after the weekend. He reminds me of someone I work with who is incredibly easy going and is friends with basically everyone in the office. Tobias can have a tendency to cause disruptions in that his voice will carry in an office room and he doesn't really realise how much of a distraction his presence can be sometimes. He doesn't mean to pull people away from anything important! But he also can't really help himself when it's the middle of the week and he's got all kinds of work adjacent stories to be shared. Will perch himself on your desk and start rambling away about something, not really noticing if you were paying him your full attention or not. It's only after he asks you a question and you noncommittally answer with a vague 'yes' that he'll start whining about how you're not listening to him. As much as we'd like to chat, some of us have work to do, Tobias. When you question him about his own work, Tobias will conveniently remember he needs to be somewhere else, dodging the question entirely and scampering away to a different department. There is usually a shaking of heads that follows after Tobias whenever he dashes off somewhere else—it's always from a place of endearing acceptance.

I can see Tobias being involved in the marketing side of a business. Definitely the one to organise big events and staff parties. He needs someone to rein him in though because some of his ideas aren't quite workplace or coworker friendly. He hears office party and thinks hell yeah time to go wild go crazy but no Tobias please the last time that happened you broke multiple office chairs we can't afford to keep replacing them every time. Would enlist you for help too because you're his favourite person to bother at work. Whether you humour him and play along or tell him to, light heartedly, leave you alone, Tobias will find his way to your desk for some quality catchup time. What do you mean it's Monday and you're busy? He needs to tell you about this movie he saw on Saturday that he thinks should be the theme of the next work event. He's also the type to bring food to your desk too. Will sometimes just buy lunch for you and pry your hands away from your keyboard so that he can slide a salad or pot of pasta into your grasp. Tobias takes lunch breaks very seriously. He'll also get treats for people in the office too! Buys little cakes or chocolates just because. This is part of the reason why everyone likes him so much; can't say no to a man who keeps you well fed.

Despite poking fun at Tobias being a bit more lax around the office, I think he genuinely would be full of solid ideas and he does feel pretty passionate about certain aspects of the job too. His work/life balance isn't perfect in that he tends to prioritise life a little more than he should sometimes but there's little harm in it. He's a very good person to be around if you're the type to get a bit too wrapped up in working. Tobias is NOT letting you overwork yourself. Not on his watch!! He's a surprisingly perceptive person and can very easily tell when you're stressed or not getting as much sleep as you should. Will take it upon himself to text you at the weekend to hang out and have a movie night with him. That way he can make sure you're relaxing and not spending your limited time off working your brain. Will steal your phone directly from your hands if you're staring too hard, eyebrows furrowed, and will replace it with a snack and gently remind you that it's the weekend time not work time. He has his uses sometimes.

#infinite blue x reader #infinite blue #infinite blue leo #infinite blue brooklyn #infinite blue milo #infinite blue rory #infinite blue tobias #infinite blue alexei #hello again how are we doing it's only been *checks wrist* four months #I FEEL BAD I MISS WRITING BUT IM SO DEEP IN OTOME HELL SPENDING MY EVENINGS KICKING MY FEET TWIRLING MY HAIR OVER SILLY OFFICE ROMANCE GAME #anyway play sympathy kiss teehee it is very good #also v open to requests i promise i will try not to leave them stewing for months #but also no guarantees on that one oops #anna writes

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venetianwindow · 1 year

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5 lessons from my first year of university

Introduction

Recently I've been reflecting on my first year of university while mentoring younger students at my institution. Speaking with them got me thinking about what valuable lessons I took away from that crucial time. I decided to make a post about it! These are generalised advice that I hope will apply regardless of your area of study. I'm considering an architecture/design school-specific post for the future -- let me know if there is interest in that. :)

🪴 1: Know all your deadlines.

Staying on top of your assignments is vital, especially during the most hectic exam/submission periods. I suggest having a calendar to keep track of all your upcoming deadlines. Either physical or digital will work fine; I personally use a combination of both. It's also worth finding out about your deadlines as soon as possible. Your modules may provide you with a termly overview early on - if you receive this or something similar, make good use of it to plan ahead.

🪴 2: Ask questions.

There is nothing embarrassing about asking your professors/tutors when you don’t understand something! It saves you from worrying about the knowledge gap in future study sessions. Don't wait for anyone to ask -- often someone else will have the same question, but if both of you think the same and neither step up, neither of you will get an answer. Be brave, it's worth it.

🪴 3: Use all the resources at your disposal.

There are a lot of advantages to being a university student -- namely, you have a plethora of academic resources available. For one thing, make the most of your libraries as much as you can. If you're looking for a text, your university library catalogue should be your first port of call; very likely you will find it there. Similarly, get ahold of any online journals that your university account can access. Academic papers are brilliant research resources. Outside of campus, see what your university ID can get you -- apart from student discounts, it can also give you easy access to some external institutions that may hold useful resources for your studies. Find out what's available and make note of them, you never know what might come in handy!

🪴 4: Find some comradeship.

Here I am specifically speaking of making friends within your programme/course. Depending on your cohort size, this may be easier or harder. There will be times when everything piles onto you and you're busy to no end. In those moments, having comrades to continue onwards together is crucial for the basic needs of staying sane. Mutual support goes a long way, so try to build some relationships with others studying the same subject as you. As people in the same boat, they will understand your academic struggles and worries. Some may even be able to help you out and/or offer useful advice to alleviate your stress. (That being said, having friends outside of your subject can be useful when you need to destress and get away from your daily toil. A healthy mix of both is the best solution.)

🪴 5: Engage with your studies proactively.

The university experience is highly autonomous; you get as much out of it as you put in. Not only is it the first taste of independent living for many people, but it is also a time when you are fully responsible for your academic pursuits. Go out there and explore! Engage in activities outside your classes that speak to your interests in your field. Read outside your prescribed reading list. Volunteer for a charity that organises events to your tastes. If you don't know what you're most interested in yet, that's fine -- use this time to try new things and find out what that is! Being in university is a stage of life brimming with opportunities. Seek and you shall find.

Thanks for reading! 🌟

☞ studygram

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chaithetics · 11 months

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Porcelain and the Shark: Sweet Jonathan

Pairing: Stewy Hosseini x f (Roy) reader

(reader has anxiety, no use of y/n, physical descriptions or other names but does have the nickname Porcelain/Porce - due to family viewing her that way not because of complexion)

Word count: 4.6K

Prompts: "at the birth of jonathan, and even though she’s been doing therapy after she has him she really just breaks down crying because she loves him sooooo much, already and he’s only been alive for minutes. And it’s kind of her letting go of feeling like it was her fault Caroline didn’t love her. like rationally she knows she couldn’t have done anything wrong that quick but now she kinda understands something was broken in her mother to discard her so quickly. also realizes how Logan must have contributed to that bc Stewy's support was incredibly important to her labourand she knows how logan is. And she quietly loves Jonathan and has Stewy embrace her and thank her for making their family grow." + "If possible, I wanted to know a little more about when Jonathan was born, I imagine that the new parents were so in love with their baby , but how was the reaction of the rest of the family to the new and highly desired baby?"

Chapter/content warning: 18+ MINORS DNI, established relationship, anxious reader, pregnancy, scenes post-childbirth (labour/delivery is not depicted), the feels, canonical Roy chaos and pain (lmk if I've missed any!)

Authors note: Thank you so much to these 2 Nonnies for sending these prompts in! I really appreciate it and adore you both so much! They're both such great prompts, I hope you like this piece, please do let me know! Also, I haven't gone through childbirth or anything like that so I tried to keep everything pretty vague. This hasn't been proofread and post 2K I really started to dislike this and worry that it's not good 😭 Please let me know your thoughts, comments, reblogs and asks are appreciated! I love hearing from you all. Also can you tell I absolutely HATE naming things?!

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

You were on the floor in the nursery that was almost completely ready, it was just waiting for the future Hosseini to arrive. There was a bookshelf in here that was really just for aesthetics at this stage, you knew it would be impractical because it wasn’t realistic that an infant would be doing a lot of reading, there was also the chance of this being a hazard for the bundle of joy that would soon be the centre of the household. The bookshelf had been bolted into the wall though and the home itself had been ‘baby-proofed’ already.

But it was still nice you thought to have a bookshelf with all of the adorable children’s books you’d spent hours finding, reading about and then also rambling to Stewy about. You were now looking over the books again, organising them in the important system (one which you would never use for work) but what would be the highest priority to read and your favourites.

Stewy came into the nursery. He looked around the nursery again for a second, he did it each time he came in. Genuinely amazed at what his life had become over the last few years. You heard his footsteps, you pause mid-book organising to look up at him as he walks over and leans against the changing table, watching you turn your attention back to the shelf, he thinks about it and enjoys that there are great conversations and banter but also places for comfortable silence in your relationship. Something you do as well. He revels in that for a moment before asking. “Do you need a hand?”

“No, thank you.” Your response is quick, amusingly too quick to him.

“Are you sure baby?” He drags the syllables out as he smiles at you, finding the quickness of your response equally amusing and intriguing.

“Yes, honey. I have a system.” You respond and then you turn around and smirk at him seeing his grin widen more. “One that I can’t teach.”

“Oh?” He questions somewhat teasingly but still intrigued as he raises his eyebrows at you. You hum in response. “What? Dewey? Library of Congress?” Stewy asks with a teasing smile.

“No. But if I tell you it can’t get out.” You hum and his smile widens as he raises his eyebrows at you, waiting for you to continue. “”hat will be my favourites to read to them.” You confidently answer with your own growing smile.

“What a scandalous system.” Stewy laughs and nods, not too surprised at the revelation. His eyes scan around and he looks at the changing table and then finds a tub of something there piquing his interest.

“What’s this again?” He asks holding it out for you as you turn around to look at it.

“Diaper change cream.” You quickly answer smiling at your husband. “Think baby powder alternative for that area.”

“Right… And remind me again why we need an alternative to baby powder?” He questions as he studies it.

“Babies shouldn’t breathe in the powder particles and there are medical concerns and debate over talc.” You and Stewy had both done a lot of research and prep for this but it was stuff like this that you had read more on than him.

“Talc?” Stewy raises an eyebrow as he looks at the bottle of cream.

“Some research says it's carcinogenic. Talc’s the big player in baby powder ingredients, the culprit ingredient in those Johnson and Johnson lawsuits.” You finish off, knowing that that will ring a bell for him and it does as he quickly nods.

“It’s kind of sickening how good I’ll be at diaper changes.” He says in a deadly serious tone, you look over at him and can’t help but laugh. You’re in awe and humoured by the confidence of the handsome, cocky dork you married.

“Well with that confidence, I’m happy to leave that to you at 3 AM.” You quip back with a smirk, completely abandoning the books as you look at him.

“Shit at that time of morning, just a Saturday morning before my reformed domesticated ways.” He smirks at you and winks.

“Sure Stewy, sure. What was it that Roman said about your lifestyle…?” His eyebrows raise as he exhales, shaking his head but your grin just grows.

“Roman misquoted me-”

“Uh-huh. Of course, he did, you certainly didn’t happen to make the mistake of not just talking about but talking to my siblings about the-.” You smugly say before he cuts you off.

“Well even though he’s a loose cannon, you know it means you don’t ever need to worry about Roman’s career prospects. The narc will always have the pathway option of a police informant.” Stewy retorts, somewhat proud of himself for thinking of that on the spot despite the fact he’d thought it about a dozen times since that conversation with Roman and Kendall had gotten back to you.

“You were down bad, years before becoming a reformed married, soon-to-be family man.” You quickly respond.

It’s true and you both know it. He was bad for it and you imagine if things hadn’t been so complicated with your family you’d have been married a lot earlier than what had happened in this universe. You wondered what that would’ve been like.

“What is baby powder meant to do anyways? Is it like powdered baby cologne?” He quickly questions. It might sound like an intentional conversation change to the ears of others but his short attention span prompts it and you know that.

The question’s been triggered by his attention going back to the cream in his hands, you watch his eyes scan over the label curiously for any and all information. He then looks up from the product and his doe eyes that you’re in love with bore into yours. He looks so handsome like this, the softer night lighting just illuminates it. You’re so in love with him. You smirk to yourself briefly before responding as his smile grows.

“It’s meant to scare away the boogeyman.” You reply nonchalantly.

“Babe, your dad doesn’t live here. I think we’re good.” He says it with his eyebrows raised and a signature Stewy Hosseini teasing smile on his face.

You chuckle at that and roll your eyes as he places the cream down and walks over to kiss you as you then feel a small popping sensation.

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

You felt warm, covered in sweat which plastered your hair to your face and neck. You’d had a firm grip on Stewy’s hand for hours now. Stewy was stroking your arm softly with his free hand as he pressed a delicate kiss to the top of your head as you both watched the nurse bring Jonathan over.

He’d fortunately been declared a healthy baby boy by the doctor and you smiled at that, your hand was still in Stewy’s but your grip relaxed a little as the worry in your body left at that, you’d been somewhat anxious as Jonathan was 2 weeks early but the doctors and nurses had assured you that was normal, you knew it was right but even with therapy, an anxious brain still doesn’t always accept logic.

“What a good set of lungs he has.” The nurse says with a smile as she places the still crying infant into your slightly shaky arms.

Your body shakes a little for a couple more seconds, you suppose that it’s a combination of the exhaustion from labour and the nerves of that whole process and now meeting your sweet boy. You feel your nerves stabilise after a few seconds, as you watch him, it must be part of that maternal instinct. He’s pressed into you and he’s so small and delicate in your arms, you can’t help but smile largely as you watch him.

“Hey, hey, hello sweetie, you’re so perfect.” You coo at him as you smile widely, he then finishes crying and you giggle a little at that.

“He really is.” Stewy says with a small chuckle as he looks down at the sweet little baby you created together and he then presses a gentle kiss to the top of your forehead.

Jonathan’s eyes open at the sound of his parents voices above him and he looks up at you. You can’t help but feel stunned and in awe of how your sweet little boy is looking at you with the same big brown eyes as Stewy and he appears to have the same dark locks as his father as well. He looks at you and returns the smile you’re directing at him which makes both yours and Stewy’s hearts explode. The love and awe you’re in over Jonathan is so encompassing, that nothing else matters and nothing could take away or ruin the joy of Jonathan’s existence.

Jonathan’s large, curious brown eyes flicker around the surroundings and its clear that his gaze is happier when it focuses on you and Stewy, especially when hearing your voices as you gently coo at him. It’s only a couple of minutes of the three of you being in this bubble, pretty oblivious to everything going on outside until Jonathan’s fallen into a peaceful slumber.

You bring him up slightly to kiss his head softly and quietly chuckle at how peaceful he looks. You’re amazed at him. Stewy wipes his eyes, being equally filled with adoration as he moves his hand from your arm for a moment to perch himself on the side of the bed next to you and press another kiss to your forehead as he stroke’s Jonathan’s little cheek.

In Jonathan’s slumber his hand raises a little and Stewy moves his hand towards it and Jonathan’s small fingers instinctively wrap around one of Stewy’s fingers. It’s such a beautiful sight and it’s amazing how small Jonathan is and how his hand doesn’t even cover all of just one of Stewy’s fingers.

It’s a pure domestic sight.

Love is coursing through each fibre of your being for your husband next to you and your newborn son in your arms. It’s such a sweet moment, the whole experience had been honestly. You tilt your head to look at Stewy for a moment, one hand of his gently placed on your arm and the other still there and while Jonathan has his fingers wrapped around Stewy you know that Stewy’s the one wrapped around his finger already.

Nobody could understand your parents. You never understood your parents. A confusing phenomenon as you’d gotten older but you really don’t get them right now, in this moment. Jonathan’s only minutes old and you’re so in love, he’s perfect, he’s done nothing wrong and even if he had done something wrong- he’s just a child, deserving of love.

You and your siblings had always been made to believe that there was something wrong with you, raised to be poisoned instead of loved so that as adults you’d believe dysfunction was where you thrived. Caroline and Logan had set you all up to fail from the start. You’d always felt like that it was your fault that Caroline had never loved you, maybe she did in a twisted, absent way you supposed but she’d never loved you how a mother was supposed to love and protect their child. You wondered how she could feel that way about you and your siblings when you felt nothing but love for your child. How she felt was on her, it had nothing to do with you. You were a child and a child that deserved better.

Tears start to burn your eyes and you try to blink them away quickly, willing yourself not to cry. This realisation and the tenderness and love that Stewy already had and had no problem showing for the baby you shared was starting to hit pretty hard. You knew he was a better man than your father, you’d promised yourself you would never marry anyone who reminded you of Logan Roy, let alone continue that cycle. But it was such a stark contrast seeing Stewy this way, so in love with Jonathan and so supportive to you compared to how your father had been with you or any of your siblings and the relationship he had with Caroline.

The tears stream down your cheeks and you begin to cry, it’s all a lot to process and you know the environment, medications and hormones are probably heightening everything. You try to hold back on it but you end up choking on your sobs until it all comes out. You’re still securely holding onto Jonathan as your body shakes with your crying, you can feel the warm tears plastering themselves onto your cheeks like cement.

“Hey, hey baby. What’s wrong?” Stewy asks as he wraps his arms around you, pressing you against him while making sure you and Jonathan are both secure and physically comfortable. His voice is gentle but laced with concern and you can feel that in his comforting body.

“He’s just so perfect-” You say in between sobs, trying to regulate your breathing but it’s not doing much. “I just love him so much already and- and well, I just don’t get it. How a mother couldn’t…” You say as you continue to cry.

Stewy knows exactly what you mean, ever since he first befriended Kendall Roy he’s known that there was something extremely wrong with Logan Roy and Caroline Collingwood. He knew you weren’t like them and he was glad that you were able to accept that your childhood and those relationships weren’t your fault. For your love of your son to prove that.

He continued to hold you while you cried, placing gentle kisses all over your head and whispering to you. “I love you so much, you’re already an incredible mom. You are good. You didn’t deserve any of that. Him and I both love you so much already.” He lifts one hand up to stroke your cheek as he looks down at Jonathan who is still sleeping then looks back into your eyes. “He was so happy when he saw your face and heard your voice.” He laughs a little at that with a sweet, soft expression on his face. You nod a little, biting your lip as a small laugh comes out as your tears slow down.

“I love you.” You say to Stewy softly as your breathing evens out a bit more now.

“I love you more.” Stewy says softly, he presses a gentle kiss to your lips. “Thank you. You’ve made our family grow, literally. You’re perfect, and he’s perfect just like you.” Stewy says pressing a kiss to your forehead. You’ve stopped crying now and you lean a little more into Stewy as you both watch Jonathan sleep until a nurse eventually puts him into the nearby cot, insisting that you and Stewy both need your sleep.

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

“Hey, hey baby…” Connor says softly as he walks in to your room with a gentle smile. He has a small gift bag of something in one of his hands and a large bouquet of flowers in the other.

“Con?”

“Hey. I hope it’s not too early, I just needed to see how you were ASAP.” He says and chuckles anxiously a little. You can’t help but smile in return at him, it was early but you couldn’t be upset about it Connor was easy to be around and a gift of a sibling. But you knew that if it was a regular hospital he would’ve been escorted away for it not being visiting hours yet.

“It’s fine… I’m glad you’re here Con.” You say tiredly, his smile grows a little at that and his shoulders relax. You’d never been to him but he had been worried about intruding, he’d spent his whole life feeling like an intrusion to a private conversation at a party that he wasn’t invited to but everybody else was.

“How are you doing?” He asks.

“I’m okay… tired.” You respond with a smile and a small tired laugh looking over briefly at your husband who is still somewhat peacefully sleeping. As peacefully as you can in a hospital with a literal newborn.

“Yeah, I can only imagine…” Connor says as he comes over. “Wow, so that’s the little fella?”

You nod with a large smile as you look over at Jonathan sleeping. Connor’s face lightens up even more as he looks at Jonathan. He quietly coos at the little boy and that melts your heart a bit more. Connor had always been more of a father to you than Logan had ever been. It made sense that he’d be the first of your family to visit, unsurprisingly but unknown to you Connor had essentially been camping out to visit as soon as Stewy had texted him that your water had broken.

“Do you want to hold him?” You asked. Connor looked over at you somewhat surprised.

“Are you sure?” You chuckled a little at that.

“Of course. You had plenty of experience with all of us. An experienced natural.” He smiled at that and carefully lifted Jonathan up into his arms, supporting his small body as he swayed a little with him.

“He’s adorable.” Connor said softly, he was speaking to you but his gaze was focused on Jonathan. He was absolutely smitten by his nephew and he knew he’d spend the rest of his life doting on the little boy. “Still Jonathan?” He asked.

“Yeah, we decided to stick with it. He’s barely a day old but I think it suits.” You answer with a content hum. Connor nods at that smiling widely.

It’s not long after that that another visitor waltzs in, lacking any sense of noise control and quickly waking up Stewy from his slumber next to you.

“What up motherfuckers! I hear the newest edition has arrived?” Roman says with a smirk as he comes into the room. Connor shushes him, and Stewy’s eyes open and he shoots Roman a glare.

“Roman!” You say quietly but pointedly, as Jonathan stirs in Connor’s arms. Connor starts to sway again and coo at Jonathan but Stewy quickly puts his arms out to hold his son. Connor gently places Jonathan in Stewy’s arms and that settles him a little bit.

Roman’s eyes have widened at the scene of seeing his nephew. He quickly walks over closer to the bed to look down at Jonathan as Connor takes a seat. Roman’s expression screws up for a moment and you look up at him confused.

“Oh shit Porce…” Roman says and your head instantly snaps to look at Jonathan, his colour hasn’t changed, he doesn’t look like he’s in discomfort or anything but Roman’s ominous statement has unnerved you.

“What is it Rome…?” You ask desperately.

“When the fuck did you have the affair?” Roman boldly questions.

“What?!” You question in shock as Stewy tiredly rolls his eyes at Roman’s dramatics.

“I thought- I thought he was mine?! He looks NOTHING like me! He looks like him!” Roman says as he points at Stewy.

“Oh my God, Rome. Stop!” You say with a sigh not being in the mood for this.

“Jesus Christ, yeah, I know of people in the Bible too! But well, I think after a few years I might be able to love him like he’s my own anyway.” Roman says. Stewy’s gaze lands on Roman and Roman giggles a little as Stewy is visibly unimpressed.

“Didn’t we have the conversation about how problematic and inappropriate that is a multitude of times during the pregnancy Rome?” Stewy asks.

“Yeah but that was the pregnancy. Porce isn’t pregnant currently.” Roman retorts and you scoff at that. He comes over to give you a somewhat awkward side hug, he treats you like you’re a human made of the porcelain of your infamous moniker as he’s weary of the pain and state your body would be in after labour. He gives your cheek a quick kiss and you squeeze his hand as he steps back.

Roman’s face softens a little as he looks at Jonathan, he’ll admit that the baby is cutte. He kind of wants to hold him but he’s a bit scared to do that right now with how tiny he looks. Currently Jonathan looks more fragile to him than what you do.

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

Roman hadn’t stayed for much longer, hospitals unnerved him a little and that room had quickly felt a bit too claustrophobic for him with the lack of dysfunction. Connor stayed for a while but to give you all a nap and another try at feeding. He promised to stop by again and constantly reiterated that he was just a phone call or text away.

You were so in love with and in absolute awe of your little boy. It was so encompassing. You were’t even anxious about your father visiting. You hadn’t thought of your father yet but there was nothing that Logan could say or do that would take away or ruin the joy of the existence of Jonathan.

Kendall had sent a congratulatory text to Stewy, along with that Rava, Sophie and Iverson were looking forward to meeting him and that Rava had already organised flowers and a gift basket which had arrived not much longer after the text had been sent. Kendall hadn’t wanted to bombard you, which was something that Rava had highlighted, you and Stewy both knew that was a sentiment that came more from Rava and the truth was that Kendall rarely made the time of day for his own children, so he wouldn’t do that for your own child.

You weren’t too bothered by that, you didn’t imagine much could bother you when there was so much joy because of your little family. It was thoughtful of Rava and at least thoughtful in words from Kendall, you knew that Kendall loved you in his own unique way. He just had difficulty functioning outside of being the perfect cog in his father’s machine.

You were yet to hear anything from Shiv yet, but again, that didn’t completely surprise you.

“Hey honey, Marcia just texted that they’re coming.” Stewy says breaking you out of your thoughts. You nod and place a kiss to his temple and he yawns as he sits back up, placing his phone back into his pocket as he rubs his face tiredly. You snuggle up into his side, trying to get comfortable as you watch Jonathan sleep in the hospital cot. You still feel tired even after your nap but you can’t help but smile when looking at that small human.

Stewy kisses the top of your head and then gets up to gently pick Jonathan up from the cot. Stewy’s often gentle with you but it’s so different seeing him that way with a tiny human, the tiny human that’s yours and his. Stewy supports his small body and smiles while looking down at Jonathan, his smile grows as Jonathan still seems at peace while in his father’s literal supportive arms.

You smile warmly at the sight, feeling warm and cosy inside. You’re in such awe with Jonathan that you don’t even feel anxious about your father coming because frankly there isn’t anything he could say or do to take away from the perfect bundle of joy snuggled into your husbands arms.

After about half an hour your father walks in with Marcia by his side as usual, you give them both a small smile as your gaze briefly flickers away from Jonathan in Stewy’s arms. Marcia comes over and quickly asks how you are, giving you a kiss on the cheek and warmly squeezing your hand.

“So?” Your father quickly asks looking at the infant and Marcia gives him a pointed look.

“This is Jonathan Hosseini.” Stewy says softly, as he rocks Jonathan gently not looking at either Marcia or Logan. Marcia smiles at that slightly.

“Can I hold him?” Logan asks quickly. You feel Stewy tense a little at that, such a contrast to the ridiculously relaxed in stressful situations type of person that Stewy normally is. You look up at your father, his expression appears genuine but it takes you aback. You didn’t recall your father actually making an appearance like this to the hospital at Iverson’s birth let alone having an interest in either of his grandchildren from Kendall.

“Do you want to sit down to do that? You can better support him that way.” You say rather meekly, he rolls his eyes a little at that but complies. Sitting down and Stewy carefully places Jonathan in his arms, staying nearby and Marcia smiles at the scene.

“He looks a lot like like Stewy.” Logan says while holding the small boy.

He had his father’s eyes, hair, face shape and nose. The shape of his mouth was the same as yours though, something Stewy had immediately pointed out not long into Jonathan’s existence. It was really the only physical feature of yours that you could see in your son, it genuinely amazed you how Jonathan was barely out of the womb but was already a spitting image of his father.

“Yeah, we were kind of hoping for that.” You say quietly while looking at your precious bundle of joy. Your father looks up at you with confusion etched onto his face as he looks at you waiting for clarification on why you’d want something he finds to be so dreadful. You clear your throat and continue, trying to suppress a small laugh at the mild disgust on his face.“Roman had been telling people it was his.”

Your father sighs at that, visibly unimpressed and the mild disgust turns to a glimpse of disappointed horror. It almost hurts to see him looking like that while holding your newborn son but you know that it’s aimed at your non-present brother and not at you.

“He needs help…” Logan says as he looks down at Jonatah. “Jonathan has your mouth though Porce.” He says and that seems to bring a small smile to his face. “Well he’s blood so that’s good.” You don’t say anything to that, you’re not sure how to respond but it certainly throws you off and Stewy senses that.

It’s not long before Marcia has a turn holding Jonathan, you feel more comfortable with him in her arms than your fathers. But your father has his gaze locked on Jonathan the whole time and an interest in him that he never seemed to have in you or your siblings which surprises and unnerves you a little.

You’re not sure how long as time moves so bizarrely in hospital but after at least a few more minutes of this, Marcia places Jonathan into your arms, they decide it’s now best to leave as Jonathan is in need of a feeding.

“You did good, Porce.” Your father says somewhat softly, maybe the softest you’ve ever heard him speak as he comes over to press a kiss to the top of your head.

“Thanks dad.” You speak the words hesitantly, unsure of the hidden meaning behind the odd praise from your father.

“Thank you Porce.” He says and again, the not so hidden meaning in those words unnerves you a bit.

You watch him as him and Marcia leave. Then your attention swiftly turns back to your sweet little boy.

“He’s so precious.” You say to Stewy as you hold him. Stewy laughs a little and nods, giving you a sweet kiss on the lips.

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littlefanficprincess · 3 months

Text

I want to see your pretty face

Oneshot

Pair: Tord (post end) x reader

Song: One woman Army (Porcelain Black)

Part 2

(A/n): Tord doesn't appear yet, but I want to first bridge the gap between meetings.

~~~~~~~~

How long has it been since I've seen Tord? 2...3 years, maybe 4?

It doesn't really matter to me, I just hope that he is alright. To keep my mind off things, I began to work out. Run around the block a few times every morning, do some yoga and going to the gym atleast twice a week.

I never got the answer on why Tord was on that wanted poster, there were more wanted posters everyday. Makes me wonder what he did to be wanted for that much money.

It was currently morning, I was on my morning run when I noticed a flyer on the ground. I grab it from the concrete floor and let me gaze glide across it. It seemed old, it had small tears and faded colors.

Red Army

+47 12345678

'Red Army? I don't think I've ever heard of it. It wouldn't hurt giving it a call, I'm kinda curious' I fold the flyer and stuff it into my pocket.

Once I had finished my jog, I enter my house and sits down on the couch. I pull put my phone and the flyer. I carefully type in the number into my phone.

Ring...Ring..."Hello, this is Senna Akuna from the Red Army. How may I help you?" A woman voice was on the other side, she sound like she was in her mid-thirties.

"My name is (Y/n) (L/n). I found a flyer on the street about the red army, I was curious on what the Red Army is" I chimes, fiddling with end of my shirt.

The woman on the other side lets a groan "Paul said he got rid of them all. Well the Red Army is an organisation which has the goal to change the world. It has existed for many years"

"Is there anyway to join it?"

"There is indeed ons, I could set up an appointment to see if you're fit. It's alright if you refuse. I will warn you that if you leak this information, you will be assassinated" She informs.

"Well, isn't that just comforting. I am intrested in joining"

"Ofcourse. I have a spot for you on Monday the 27th at 2:30, Is that a good time for you?"

"Yes, where should I go?"

"Go to the abandoned walnut factory outside town, there you will be picked up by a car. Which will bring you the base, you will be escorted to my office. I will see you then, have a nice day"

"You too" I press on the hang up button, and let out a huff. The idea of being in an army sounds thrilling and also exciting. I'd say I'm pretty fit and thanks to all those times where me and Tord went to the shooting range. Even if I was rusty, I still knew how to use a gun.

┏━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┓

Timeskip

┗━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┛

(Y/n) taps her foot against the concrete. She has been waiting for a few minutes, feeling the breeze blow past her.

A car pulls up, the windows were too dark to see inside. The window of it slightly lowers, just enough to hear what is going on inside, but not see inside.

"(Y/n) (L/n)?" A voice inside questions.

"That's me" (Y/n) answers, nodding.The back door opens, inviting her in. She enters the car, sitting down on the seat. She closes the door as the car takes off.

┏━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┓

Timeskip

┗━°⌜ 赤い糸 ⌟°━┛

She was dropped off at a big building, it was black and red. She carefully the approaches the enterance, noticing a red button next to the door.

Reaching out, she presses it. A click could heard and the door opens. (Y/n) enters, cautiously, looking around.

"You must be (Y/n)" A voice says. Making (Y/n) turn towards the source finding a man. He was wearing a red sweater, with a blue overcoat over it. He had brown hair with split bangs.

"The one and only" The girl responds. She eyes the name tag on his uniform 'Patryck'.

"Follow me" Patryck turns his back, using his hand to motion for the girl to follow. He leads her to an office, it was a silent between them. Patryck found the girl familiar but couldn't place his finger on where he saw her. He knocks on the door.

"Who is it?" (Y/n) hears the same voice she spoke to on the phone.

"It's Patryck, I have (Y/n) (L/n) with me" Patryck speaks."Right, Patryck, you can leave. (L/n), please enter"

Patryck gives a small wave, before walking off to somewhere. (Y/n) turns to the door, opening it and walking through it.

There was a desk with a woman sitting behind it. She had dark colored hair and a suit with a red tie. She motions for the girl to take a seat infront of the desk, which she does.

"I have looked at your portfolio, I'm quite impressed. I heard that you often visited a shooting ranch, is that correct?" Senna explains, looking at the person on the other side of the desk.

"Oh yeah, like...6 years I think. It was mostly with my friend Tord, I haven't seen him in a long time, so I stopped visiting" (Y/n) replies, scratching her cheek.

Senna hums "interesting" she writes something on a paper next to, she puts the pen down "Your future will be discussed, I'll give you a call next week"

#fanfic #x reader #eddsworld #eddsworld x reader #tord x reader #ew tord #red leader #oneshot #ew patryck

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aziraphales-library · 9 months

Note

Hello, mods! I'm not looking for recommendations, just asking a question if you have the time to answer it: how do you keep track of all the fics you've read? There is a truly impressive and garguntuan amount of recs on this blog, and they are all tailored to each individual's ask. What is your process of recording and retrieving the information about each fic?---How do you know which fics to note down, and what do you note down about them? -Thank you for reading

Hi! I posted here about how i organise my extensive AO3 bookmarks to help me find and filter for fics I have already read.

Of course, not all the fics recommended on the blog are fics the mods will have personally read. When searching for fics outside of my usual reading range or things I just hadn't thought to search for the process is a bit different.

It always starts with tags. You can throw in a bunch of tags to filter on, but the more tags the fewer results. So sometimes I use only one or two tags, or swap around the tags I'm looking for. Excluding tags, too, if I'm looking for one thing and not another.

Depending on what's being requested it is often more useful to use the "search within results" function towards the bottom of the filter options. If it's something without a specific tag, or to search more broadly and not limit the search to the tags.

If the request is a very specific one or centred on a small detailed rather than a broader concept, it will often involve opening a fic and either giving it a skim read or ctrl+F to search the entire work for key words to discover if it includes the kind of scene I'm looking for.

Whether a fic is "good" or not is subjective, so I won't rule anything out if, for example, I personally don't like it. If I find an abundance of fics I will try to judge which ones fit the request more or which ones appeal to me the most--which ones I would want to read. (This is how my "to read" bookmarks are continuously growing and feels like a super perk of the job, honestly.)

And this is why it can sometimes take quite a long f*cking time to compile a list of fics for an ask. But I enjoy it, which is why I'm still doing it. I've re-watched series two about seven times now, just having it playing in the background while I'm searching for fics.

I've been so efficient recently, in fact, that the queue is looking very healthy. So we're going to up the number of posts published a day to two. There's still over 400 asks in the inbox, though, so it's still a wait of months for any asks to be published!

- Mod D

#not fic #ask #ao3 #fic search #mod d

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cablestwisted · 6 months

Text

The 2023 Fireworks - Ministry of Joy Retrospective

So this is a fun one... Aaand a good two months overdue, my apologies! I've been super caught up with life and it's taken over my ability to create, but I hope to be making more things in the new year.

The 2023 Fireworks were fascinating in many regards and I do hope to make a post hoping to cover some of the theories surrounding its lore, as while it wasn't as lore heavy as other years the implications and reinforcement of existing theories and lore points has me really intrigued. More and more I've been focusing on the lore of the entire park and I really should write more about it but for now this is just about the X-Sector segment of the 2023 fireworks!

Some Backstory

The Ministry of Joy truly had their claws in the 2023 season, because the 2023 fireworks had some truly fascinating lore tidbits about them that were a continuation from the Smiler Takeover event earlier in the season. The shadowy organisation, formerly lurking in the wings, has let themselves be a little more at the forefront in The Smiler's tenth year of operation.

I do adore the new lore additions despite being quiet on them. Far from being too gaudy as I initially feared, it really showed the sinister side of the Ministry while still keeping it quite lighthearted. But my opinion isn't what we're here for!

Wait, was that not The Smiler?

"Welcome advocates to the laughter laboratory! It's time to receive your daily dose of Ministry of Joy approved happiness. A whizzing, spinning, topsy turvy, rib-tickling test drive of your funny bone to make your senses soar!"

The 2023 Fireworks' X-Sector segment was run by the Ministry of Joy, rather than The Smiler! It's something we've seen before to an extent - with the 2022 Festival of Thrills Fireworks' Smiler segment being presented by the Ministry despite using The Smiler's music taste, but this year the music was hugely associated with the different facets of the MoJ.

It seems we're in a bit of a Thrills arc at the moment. Festival of Thrills has been going on for the past 2 years as a continuation of the Powers of the Towers arc that's currently ongoing, and over the course of the events we've seen a lot of new lore implementations and confirmations of fanon. It's certainly an interesting direction and I love the new emphasis on the groups of the park. If we're doing group things, Towers.. Can we bring Galactica as a whole and specifically the Galactanauts back? Rita's racing team maybe?

It's all Festival of Thrills, All the Way Down

The three segments of the X-Sector section of the Fireworks for 2023 was likely based on the three shows of Festival of Thrills.

youtube

Celebration of Happiness

youtube

The Fear Lab

youtube

and Meet The Ministry!

Overall the songs of the sections fit this theory very well. From celebratory and maybe a bit cheesy, straight into thrilling and dark, and finally to mysterious and a bit wacky. It encompasses the themes and motifs of the Ministry of Joy coherently, but also touches on the three shows specifically very nicely!

But it's not just that, there is.. Even more to this rabbit hole of a segment and I won't be able to commentate on all of it today so I'll leave it at just a few more points. This is a far cry from where we were even just four years ago, sitting on lore that hadn't been explored for far too long, and now we're even deeper into the veritable warren of untouched lore potential.

So.. About That Narrator.

This is a bit of a weird one and I'll admit that immediately. He speaks.. Strangely. It's as though he's upturning the ends of every word, creating an almost "uncanny valley" way of speaking, that speaks [no pun intended] to the nature of the Ministry of Joy. It's compelling, a jarring contrast to the narrator of the Katanga Canyon segment that came before it.

It sounds like this person is the voice of a Ministry of Joy announcement, maybe a start of day announcement, or something done intermittently within the facility to remind Advocates to Smile. Always. Certainly it's not the first evidence we'd have of this, looking back at Festival of Thrills.

It's nice to have some more information about life within the Ministry of Joy's main facility. I talked more about it in a post about Festival of Thrills in general, but I do need to talk even more about it because the entire event is again just.. Such a rabbit hole and I'm honoured to have been able to go so many times. Sidenote, I apologise for linking so many of my videos, but I did a lot of lore documentation work during the event that I'm super proud of and it's all on my youtube channel and some of it is very compelling, like the whole spider thing. I will write about that soon I promise.

All Good Things Must Come To An End..

This likely won't be the last post about the 2023 Fireworks nor indeed about the Ministry of Joy lore from the past year or so. There's a lot to cover, and while I've been covering a lot of it in my videos I definitely need to put more stock into writing down what I'm thinking and amending previous theories with current knowledge. Maintaining the Masterpost is a lot of work and it takes me many many hours every time I alter anything within it or even just add a new post. That said.. Happy holidays. I hope you have a good one, and I wish you all the best possible time.

Also.. There might be a meme video before the end of the year. Or several. You've been warned.

#alton towers #the smiler #the ministry of joy #another one for the masterpost #Youtube

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mogoce-nocoj · 6 months

Text

München, 04.12.23

okay! now that I've actually managed to arrive home from Munich and had the day to calm down for a bit, I'm just gonna link xia's munich report here (because it includes most of the important bits) and add some of the stuff that I keep thinking about

Watching the Khäärijä OF videos during queueing was so funny because everyone was caught between feeling slightly embarrassed and really interested

I arrived later but apparently Kris and Jan (I think) walked through the wrong door and the queue had to show them where to go into the venue

the queue system worked perfectly and I can't thank all the people responsible for it enough for implementing it

I know people have been talking about how Nace has this energy when he's right in front of you and I get it now. I do. When he was close I had my own "oh." moment about him. like, wow.

Bojan was in such a good mood, joking around and telling stories and really looking like he was enjoying the concert and being close to the crowd

Bojan during plastika holding a pride flag “don't be plastic, be fantastic”

During queueing I jokingly suggested that I was gonna clap the rhythm to vem da greš which they did during the nordic tour but stopped doing afterwards; what I didn't consider was that I was so close to the stage that Bojan actually noticed me doing it and proceeded to give me the softest smile. I can't tell you what having his full attention does to a person because, phew. don't think I'll ever recover

When Bojan caught the bracelets people were admiring him for it and he very loftily said “so does anyone want to throw a baseball?” before being bombarded by other gifts. his face really changed from being suave to slight panic in only a few seconds, that was a really funny thing to experience (it wasn't a bad panicked face, no worries)

there were a bunch of Slovenian people in the crowd and Bojan really enjoyed bantering with them

I think someone said it already but I want to stress how funny it was that they only made it to Munich because the organiser booked their flight to Memmingen. like why would you do that. it did save them though

Okay, just a bit of bokris stuff (because they are always in my heart after all, even if they decide to bully me whenever I'm in the crowd)

yes kris didn't sing ngvot (that's my curse, apparently) but in contrast to wrocław there was an actual conversation going on where Kris told Bojan to sing it which was cute

Bojan caressed Kris's chest at some point and I'm so sad I didn't get that on video because it was really soft

I think after Vienna Bojan's convinced that “Zugabe” is a literal translation of “one more” because he kept repeating it so often lol

after the encore Bojan apparently took the wrong exit and had to bolt across the stage to the other door making everyone turn around in confusion

I know this report is very Bojan focused but he really just draws you in, in particular in the middle. like you just have to give him your attention and while I also enjoy being at the back, being at the front and having no choice but to be focused on him is also really an experience

(I can't thank xia enough for buying the jo sweater for me because for one second i forgot that I was in Germany and could only pay in cash and nearly had a breakdown thinking I couldn't get it. I'm living in that sweater now, btw.)

the crew were really trying to get us to leave after the show like repeating “what are you standing around here, the band is gone” and while I get it, it was very funny considering that we weren't actively waiting for them and just got caught up in conversation (and Bojan and Nace posting the Hojan shirt)

... this might've turned out longer than I expected, I think Turku will always be my favourite because it was my first Joker Out gig but this one is getting pretty pretty close. thanks to all the people I met and got to talk to and who made this gig such a wonderful experience ❤️

#joker out #joker out munich #München gig

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dreamtuna · 6 months

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Levi, my beloved, happy birthday.

I'm a little late in writing this but I already posted birthday wishes a bunch. I wanted to write something, but I had trouble organising my thoughts.

I have such endless love for Levi. He was a character I first met in 2014, and he stayed in the back of my mind quietly waiting for his moment ever since. He waited until I was ready as a person to accept everything he is. The person I was back then was not someone who would understand what he represents, but the person I am now in 2023 is a very different person.

And even in the nearly 9 months since we reunited, I think I've grown as a person. I think it's partly been thanks to his character, the beautifully perfectly imperfect person he is, the example of empathy and compassion that shines through the harshness of his outer shell.

A lot of what Levi stands for is what I've long tried to live my life reaching for. He makes me want to keep moving forward towards this goal. I have healed things I previously thought were unhealable, and I will use this newfound freedom in my heart. I will keep moving forward.

The person I am now is someone I can feel very proud of. Someone who I can learn to love.

While Levi is by no means the only factor in this growth, he has been a huge part. I wish I could shower him in love every day to thank him for not just what he's done for me, but for all of you. I see your love for him and it fills me with so much happiness. He deserves every bit of it.

Levi, thank you for reminding me every day that compassion is what made you humanity's strongest, and it's what allows us all to be our strongest too.

#i'm sorry i'm very emotional rn #he means the world to me and seeing all the love for him has made me melt it's been so warm and beautiful today #levi ackerman #attack on titan #aot

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aspiringwarriorlibrarian · 8 months

Note

Hello,

Ive been following you for years and I love your blog. In all my years on this website I have never posted, sent an ask or a message, commented or interacted with anyone on this website in any way. However seeing your recent posts about Palestine made me feel like I had to say something.

Just because you support the “weaker” side, it doesn’t make you immune to lies and propaganda.

Please educate yourself before you spread misinformation and/or misleading info.

I am a citizen of Israel. This conflict started when Hamas brutally murdered hundreds of innocent civilians, including elderly and children. They kidnapped over a hundred more. They are known for being a terrorist organisation whose stated goal is to murder jews.

I am terrified. My people are forever scarred. I and everyone I know have lost loved ones in this war. And the fact that people like you in these terrible times choose to focus solely on the suffering of the Palestinians, ignoring and justifying our suffering, speaks volumes.

The bombings you speak of, are a retaliation for the slaughter of October 7th. Israel warns citizens in advance, in order to prevent as many casualties as possible. But we cant just ignore the murder, kidnapping, rape and harm to our people like you do. We have no choice but to defend ourselves.

We have no interest nor desire to commit genocide against the Palestinian people. If we did, we would have already done so. Instead we financially support Palestine, despite the fact they use this money not to better their lives, but to instead attack our civilians.

Beware of misinformation like the accusations against Israel for bombing the hospital in Gaza. That is a straight up lie that was proven false, and the Hamas spread it along with lies about how many people got hurt, in order to convince people like you that they are justified. And its working.

Before you accuse others, maybe check your own biases and think to yourself why a Palestinian life is worth something to you and an Israeli one isn’t.

Can you even imagine what it feels like to go online after such a tragedy for a little relief, only to see people like you calling for my death?

And yes, that is what you’re doing by supporting and encouraging the actions of Hamas. An organisation that cares more about killing innocent civilians like me than protecting its own people.

I hope that if you can’t take the time to properly understand this complicated situation, you will at least stop talking about something that you clearly don’t understand.

You know, I put all of this in a private post initially. I've been largely focused on spreading charity posts, actual concrete things that can be done to save the innocent people caught in the crossfire. But clearly, my message has been mixed, so I'll define it right here.

This is just something that seeps into my bones and I had to say it somewhere: the sheer refusal by both sides to admit what they're doing. Oh, we thought that music festival was soldiers....wait no we didn't, it was random Gazan civilians who did it instead, not us, hurt them instead. Oh we are going to wage all out war....no those innocent civilian casaulties weren't us, it was them! (No, the cause of the explosion has not been independently proven. It has, however, been proven that Israel shelled the place three days earlier as a "warning" then called ordering an evacuation shortly before.) Put down an evacuation order so short and so sudden the UN protests that civilians can't possibly get out in time, then bomb one of the convoys. Tell your countrymen the evacuation order was fake so you get more human shields. More rockets! More airstrikes! More "accidents" to the tune of hundreds of civilians dead, and you never have to carry the burden or the blame for any of it. Shoot from far enough away, target enough civilians, makes it easy, makes it fun. The glory of war with none of the guilt and none of the risk! Ain't that a wonderful thing. Ain't that a fucking joke.

I grieve for the innocent Israeli citizens slaughtered because Hamas cowards wanted to kill the defenseless. I grieve for the people in Gaza getting slaughtered because neither side cares if they live or die. The difference between the two is not that one life is worth more than the others. That is morally repugnant and fundamentally absurd. The difference is that Israel is getting aid from many nations, while other nations only give aid to Hamas, not the people of Gaza. They need humanitarian aid, they need someone to speak for them and beg for restraint, which is why I'm primarily reblogging posts that call for humanitarian aid to them and for a ceasefire so they can, at the very least, have the evacuation time they should have been allowed. It is not because their lives are worth more, but because to far too many, their lives are worth less.

I understand your pain and fear, and I am deeply sorry for your loss. I too find those rooting for Hamas or declaring that the victims deserved it for being settlers repugnant. But the people of Gaza did not do this, and if it's a choice between them living and Hamas dying, I will choose their lives every time. I will always choose life. And I refuse to apologize for that. Violence like this is a cycle, revenge and revenge and revenge again because you cannot kill an idea with bombs, only keep destroying until nothing is left to fight over. You cannot stop a cycle by continuing to spin.

#israel palestine conflict

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claireelizabeth85 · 6 months

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Project Life

So I have never posted my WIPs here, I have mainly read and reposted. That said, I have been wanting to write more and more over the last few months and also conquer my fear of posting online. That said - here is the first part of my current WIP - Project Life.

The timeline for this WIP is the intervening years between CA: CW and A: IW.

Summary: A young girl is found in cryostasis in an old but still active HYDRA bunker. Who is she? Where did she come from and what do the US Military and HYDRA want her?

TW: (this is the first time that I've had to write TW, so please bear with me - if I miss any, please let me know) - explosions, gunfire, gunshots, minor!character death.

You do not have permission to copy or repost my work to any other sites.

AN: I would just like to thank @ellemj for giving me the boost in confidence to actually post this.

AN 2 - The Russian is Google translated. I do apologise if I am butchering the language and it doesn't make sense.

Eastern Europe/Russian Border – 1974

“Professor, we've got to move—fast! They're coming!" Sergi Morozov, the project's junior scientist, pleaded urgently, as he hastily crammed notebooks into his bag and secured microscope slides in their protective cases. Chosen for the project straight out of his second year at Moscow University, he had initially seen it as an opportunity to contribute to his country beyond military service, fuelled by aspirations that went above the confines of a uniform. Little did he know that joining the project would throw him into a race for survival, his academic pursuits now taking a backseat to the urgent need to escape impending danger.

“Я не оставлю свое исследование. Я не был членом организации 28 лет назад, поэтому мне не удалось проникнуть и увидеть первое и единственное успешное применение сыворотки. Ко мне даже не обратились, когда создавали Солдата. Это мой шанс сделать что-то для дела, так что нет, я не брошу свои исследования сейчас, не когда я буду так близок. Пусть они приходят.”

“I will not leave my research. I was not a member of the organisation 28 years ago, so I was unable to infiltrate and see the first and only successful use of the serum. I wasn't even approached when they created the Soldier. This is my chance to do something for the cause, so no, I won't give up my research now, not when I'm this close. Let them come.”

Levi Kuznetsov, the project’s senior genetic scientist, continued to huddle over his desk.

“Professor, they are coming!!” Morozov pleaded, “If they find us, they will put us on trial like they did with everyone else 30 years ago. They might not hang us for this but I do not want to spend the rest of my life in prison!” Kuznetsov sighed, rubbing his temples. Footsteps and gunfire could be heard echoing down the hallway.

“PROFESSOR! We have to go! We can put her on ice like they do with the Soldat and come back and get her once the Americans have left. We have all the information that we need. We will succeed in this. I promise!!”

Sergi Morozov and Professor Kuznetsov did not make it out of the lab alive. They perished in an airstrike, a devastating attempt to erase the very research facilities they once occupied. Despite the meticulous ground reconnaissance and the relentless pursuit of SHIELD agents scouring the rubble for survivors, the after-action reports submitted to the Director made no mention of discovering anyone in cryostasis. And so the young woman stayed there, trapped in her icy cocoon, frozen in time, waiting until someone found her and brought her home.

42 years later - Eastern Europe

Nick Fury rubbed his gloved hands together to try and get some feeling into his fingers. After his faked death in DC two years ago, he had taken on the task of hunting down and destroying HYDRA cells. Slowly working his way from one pocket of infection to another. Each cell was dismantled from the inside out. He now stood in the wrong part of some Eastern European city, hoping that the person he was waiting for was going to deliver the information he needed and not another bullet wound.

“Too god-damn cold” Fury grumbled to himself as he waited. A young man walked towards Fury, his steps echoing on the quiet street. He kept his head down, trying to appear inconspicuous. He had pulled the black woollen hat further down over his ears trying to keep the bitter wind chill out

“You’re late.” Fury wasn’t in the mood to play nice. He wanted to rip HYDRA to pieces for what they had done over the last 70 years. Infiltrating his organisation, infecting everything that he had worked hard to protect. The idea that he had no idea, that Alexander Pierce had been part of HYDRA for as long as he had known him right underneath his nose made his blood boil. The betrayal ate away at him and made him question whether he knew what was going on at all.

“I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t followed. I know what awaits me when all this comes out in the wash, but I wanted to at least do something right.” The man handed Fury a brown envelope.

“She’s in the underground bunker. The building on top was destroyed years ago. The shift change is at 9pm, and if you want to get her out of there, you’re going to need help. There’s a few of us that are…that have realised we were fighting for the wrong side who will help you. It won’t be easy. Some of the fanatics have doubled down on their “beliefs”.

Fury took the envelope, pulling out the file. Flicking through the various photographs and experiment results, he couldn’t believe what he was reading. His Russian was rusty but he got the jist. Looking at the informant, he narrowed his eyes.

“How long have you known about her?” He asked accusingly. “How long have you guys had her on ice?” The informant held his hands up in surrender. “Hey man, I know as much as you do. Just remember that she was originally your pet project - not HYDRA’s. They just stole her from you.”

Fury shook his head. If what the file was saying was true, then the US military had a lot of things to answer for, and a lot of important people, people he called friends, would want answers.

Shoving the file into his jacket, Fury rubbed his hands together again to try and preserve what little heat he had in his hands. He needed to get out of here. They were too exposed out in the open. “Have your friends ready for tomorrow night. I’m taking her home..”

24 hours later

The mission was a success in the grand scheme of things. Fury’s informant had been true to his word and several members of HYDRA personnel helped him retrieve the cryostasis pod. And just like all the other cells that Fury destroyed, it ended with a hail of bullets and well-placed explosives.

The young man, whose name Fury did not want to know, yelled at him to leave with the rest of the whistleblowers. He had been shot and knew that his time was up. Grabbing hold of Fury’s jacket and pulling him down to his eye level, making sure that the master spy took in what he was saying.

“I know who and what she is, so I know that she’s important to you and America. But you need…” His whole body was wracked with heavy coughing, blood starting to collect at the corner of his lips, “but you need to know . She’s important…” another wheezing cough ripped through his chest “...to HYDRA.” The man spat blood on the floor both as a protest to the name in his mouth and to allow him to speak.

“I read her file,” he coughed, his breathing ragged and laboured. “She’s the only one left. There’s no one else like her. The boys didn’t make it. Now they know she’s been found, they will try and come for her. She is more important to them than the Winter Soldier ever was.” The dying man rested his head against the wall, his grip on Fury’s jack faltering.

“Потомки нашего противника будут стоять рядом с нашим солдатом, воспитывая нашу армию, как если бы они были собственными потомками.”

"The progeny of our adversary will stand beside our Soldier, nurturing our army as if they were their own offspring."

Fury glared at the man, as though he had whispered indecent thoughts.

“You have to read the file. What I gave you yesterday...” his voice quiet and laboured. “...you have to understand what they wanted to do with her. You have to protect her.” The man dropped his hand from Fury’s coat. His last breath hung in the air between them.

Fury sprinted across the barren, icy terrain, his heavy breathing visible in the freezing air. Every muscle in his body was tense with the knowledge that time was running out. He could feel the ground shaking beneath him as the C4 that had been hidden during the rescue started a daisy chain of explosions within the bunker.

Finally, he reached the designated rendezvous point, his hands shaking with adrenaline. Pulling out his satellite phone, he knew that everything hinged on the next two calls he was about to make. The fate of the woman inside the pod depended on their success. With a deep breath, he dialed the numbers, his eyes never leaving the horizon, scanning for any sign of danger.

“Dr Cho, Nick Fury. I need your help. I’m going to send you some coordinates - do you think you could be there in 12 hours? Can you do that? Yes. It’s important. I understand. Thank you.” Watching as the stasis pod was lifted into the back of an SUV. Fury checked his watch. It would be early hours in New York. Dialling a secure line, he wanted for the second call to connect.

“Stark, it’s Fury. You know me, I’m like a damn cat - too many lives to enjoy. Listen, I need you to get the team together. I’ve found something that you’re all going to want to see.” Fury waited as Tony explained that the team was no more, that Steve and his band of traitors had left after the fight in Germany and Siberia, and that they would be arrested if they came back.

“Tony, I know what happened between you and Rogers,” Fury might have been out of the loop, but he still had his ways of knowing what was going on. “But this…situation... is bigger than the both of you and trust me, you’re going to want to be involved. If you have a way of contacting him - then do it. I’ll send you the coordinates shortly.”

Nick Fury was not a religious or overly superstitious man but in a moment of reverence, he raised his eyes to the sky. “I found her. I found her and as I promised, I am bringing her home.

Continued in Chapter 2

I would love to hear your feedback, the good and the bad (but be gentle with me, please!). If you really liked it, a share or a repost would be fantastic.

If you would like to be tagged in any future chapters, please let me know.

#tony stark #nick fury #marvel mcu #mcu fanfiction #avengers fanfiction #bucky barnes fanfiction #captain america fanfiction #tony stark fanfiction #black widow #natasha romanoff #bucky barnes fics #bucky #marvel fanfiction #wanda maximoff #vision

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