#because I think no matter what it would be jarring to go from modern day nights around cities and towns

[waywardstation]

I booted up Pokemon Masters the other day and was greeted by Ingo and his "I wish I had your energy this early in the morning." dialogue and right next to him was Dawn complaining about mornings being a hassle... I smiled at that. both of these dorks are pretty similar.

I also like to think that one of Dawn's evening quotes, the one where she talks about walks in the moonlight, implies that she isn't too fond of the dark. she says it's less scary with a Pokemon around.

It would be cool if Akari has similar feelings about the dark and having Ingo and/or her Pokemon around (especially Ember) makes night surveys/travels much easier for her.

I love that pokemas implies Emmet is a morning person while Ingo is not. And haha I’ve never gotten that morning dialogue with Dawn before, but I have gotten the night walks dialogue!

I think that dialogue implying she’s scared of the dark is really funny, because in another line she will also explicitly say it’s exciting to have adventures in the dark. Like it scares her but she also thinks it’s fun haha.

If Dawn is scared of the dark, it would be very hard I think to adjust from living in well-lit and generally-populated areas after dark, going to Hisui where it is pitch black outside the settlements once the sun goes down. I have gone camping at the beach and in the mountains many times in my life, and the wilderness gets DARK once the sun goes down, and all you have is your tent.

Perhaps it’s good my Dawn/Akari picked Ember as her starter, and often hangs around Ingo haha. I can’t imagine night surveys would be easy if she deals with worries like that. Especially since she can’t really swim. She cannot afford to fall into a river just because she can’t see it!

[caelivir]

hidden lights | rayne ames

— synopsis. reading rayne ames is impossible. that's why you don't get why he offers to take you out on a date after you've been stood up again.

— pairing. rayne ames x fem!reader

— genres. modern au, you and rayne are roommates, fluff, you’re so oblivious it hurts, rayne's most likely ooc towards the end but we do it for plot,

— warnings. one kys thrown in at the end but it’s not in a serious manner

— word count. 3.2k

— notes. in honor of triple liner rayne being animated. i have quite literally been waiting to see it animated for years. also hi.

you can never tell what rayne ames is thinking. he wears the same cold, uninterested glare on his face at all times of the day. he never speaks unless spoken to, never lets you know when he leaves the apartment, never does anything to show that he actually has emotions.

you're asked on the daily how you survive rooming with him, and in all honesty, it's really not that bad. he does his half of the chores, and he doesn't leave his shit all over the apartment. really, the guy's only problem is his lack of emotion. it drives you up the wall.

finn says not to take it to personally during the one day he visited his brother. apparently, he's like that with everyone, but he's still a good guy. it just takes time.

you would like to believe that, but rayne makes that extremely difficult to believe when he looks like he wants to kill every person who so happens to exist in his direction.

so naturally, seeing him so angered after finding out that you've been stood up is surprising. it's an even bigger shock when he offers to take you out on a date instead.

you don't know what compels you to agree. even if you hadn't accepted his offer, something tells you that rayne would've found a way to get you to leave with him so there's no use in trying to deny him in this matter.

that's why you allow him to drive all the way to marchétte street, where a night market is being held in full swing. the road has all sorts of stalls lined up one after the other, ranging from foods to clothes. but because the marchétte night market is ridiculously popular, the place is packed to the brim with people.

rayne offers his hand once he notices that you're daunted by the crowds. you stare at him with surprise. when you don't make a move to accept this action, rayne huffs before grabbing your hand. he interlocks his fingers with yours and drags you into marchétte street's traffic.

the first thing you note is that rayne's hands are surprisingly warm and soft. for someone so incapable of talking, his touch is strangely reassuring.

he drags you to a vendor selling takoyaki. and even as he orders, rayne doesn’t let go of your hand.

“what do you want?” he says into your ear so that he doesn’t have to yell over all the noise. the feeling of his breath fanning over your skin sends shivers down your spin. it's maddening.

“oh. uh-” your eyes quickly scan over the menu, and you blurt out the first item that you read. out of habit you reach for your wallet, but rayne is quick to shut you down.

“absolutely not.” he grumbles, letting your hand drop to your side so he can pull out his cash. rayne hands the amount to the girl at the register, and she hands back his change that he drops into the tip jar.

“thanks.” you say quietly, still so flustered about the entire situation.

rayne only studies you before humming in acknowledgement. “come on.” he guides his hand to your upper back, moving you out the way so you can wait on the side for your orders.

it’s during this time you really look at rayne as if that would provide you with the answers you need to understand him. you try to wrap your head around it. you draft up every possible explanation, but none of them seem to make sense.

unless… it couldn’t be… does rayne like you? you shake your head, dismissing the thought as soon as it crosses your mind. no, that’s absurd, the furthest thing from logical. this is rayne ames we’re talking about. in the five months that you’ve been living together, you two have never had a solid conversation. how could he ever like someone he’s barely talked to?

you're about to confront rayne about his intentions until your number order is called, and all the courage you built up crumbles away as rayne leaves you to go pick up your takoyaki.

still, whatever his reasons for doing this may be, this is a rare opportunity to come by, and that means that maybe rayne doesn't have to continue being a stranger. maybe you can get under those layers and find that good guy finn said was there.

"i never knew marchétte had a night market." you say, breaking the silence as the two of you walk side by side through the market.

"i didn't either." rayne admits, poking his fork into one of the octopus balls, and shoving the whole thing into his mouth.

"what?" your face scrunches in disbelief. "then how'd you find out?"

"i asked finn as we were going down to the garage." your date shares nonchalantly.

you turn to look at rayne with the intent of questioning him further, but the sight of his cheeks bulging with food makes you burst out in a fit of giggles.

"what?" rayne asks, narrowing his eyes at you. you bite your lip to contain your laughter. your gaze falls on a mixture of crumbs and sauce that sits on the corner of his mouth, only causing you to smile wider.

"you got a little something there." you gesture at his lips. rayne fumbles for a moment, swiping his fingers around various sections of his mouth, somehow only cleaning half of the mess up.

you shake your head, still grinning up at him. he tenses when your thumb grazes the edges of his lips. you can feel his eyes staring deep into you, and you have to ignore the way it makes your stomach flip.

"all done." you whisper, wiping the remainders on the napkin in your hand.

rayne doesn't say anything regarding what occurred, only urging you to follow him further down marchétte street.

you swear that you see the tips of his ears go red, and something about that makes you all fuzzy inside.

as the night progresses, you and rayne abide your time by visiting stalls. well, it's more like you choose which ones interest you the most, and rayne follows behind. you comment on certain items that look nice; sometimes, you ask for your roommate's opinions to decide on whether something will be worth your money or not. to your surprise, rayne's advice is solid, and you end up listening to him.

at some point, you convinced him to buy a pair of absurdly looking mugs for the apartment. he fought you hard on it, saying that a mug shaped like a fish is extremely inconvenient, but in the end, you won with insistent begging.

when the two of you both got bored of the market, you decide to take rayne to one of your favorite spots in the city.

"the park? really?" rayne gives you a dead stare.

"hey, don't judge." you pout. "i love this place."

"why? no offense, but i don't think parks are all that special."

"i feel like i can take a step back here and just a catch a break from everything," you answer honestly. "sometimes, i sit down and watch people as they live their lives, and something about that is strangely comforting. it makes me want to keep going."

rayne doesn't follow up on your words, but you can tell that he's really considering them, and that brings a smile onto your face.

"plus, i feel like it's a good place for when you want to talk to someone." you grab onto your roommate's wrist. "come on let's go to the swings."

you practically drag rayne to the playground, which is completely deserted, but that's to be expected when it's already 10p.m. no parent would be dumb enough to bring their kid out this late.

you force rayne onto the the swing next to you, and all he does is sit there, unwilling to indulge himself in such a simple joy. annoyed with him, you hop off your own set, coming behind him.

"what are you doing?" rayne whips his head around as your hands plant themselves firmly on his back.

"oh live a little." you huff, mustering up enough strength to push him. the swing rocks forwards and comes back. even as rayne complains and threatens you, you continue to push him, watching as he goes higher and higher. he may be masking it, but you can tell that he's enjoying it.

you finally give up when your arms grow sore and a layer of sweat coats your face. slumping back into the swing beside rayne, you breathe heavily. "man, that was a workout."

"i told you to stop." your date reminds you, shooting you a look.

"you can be honest, rayne. i know you liked it."

"i did not."

"yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that." you wave him off, laughing.

for a minute, neither of you say anything. you're the one who said that the park is a place where you can talk openly with someone, yet there's not a single topic that you can think to bring up.

luckily, rayne swoops in to save it. "can i ask you something?" your half-blonde roommate asks, something more serious laced in his voice. it makes you swallow a lump in your throat. an anxious feeling creeps into your body.

"of course you can."

"why did you bother giving that guy a chance?"

it's easy to know exactly who he's referring to. you shrug. "he's nice and has good energy."

"but he had stood you up two times in the past though. clearly he isn't as nice as you make him out to be. you seriously can't be that dumb to have fallen for it three times."

that statement in itself should get you mad (even though he would be right), but there's something peculiar in what he said that had you ignoring the jab altogether. "how'd you know he stood me up twice before? i never told you that."

at that, rayne freezes, eyes blowing wide open. it's so obvious that he's trying to find an excuse right now, but you push further.

"who told you that, rayne?" you lean closer, watching as his ears turn beet red. you're not even angry with him. it's mostly curiosity making you push him. not to mention that seeing him in a flustered state is entertaining and quite cute.

"max did." your roommate finally admits albeit quietly.

you pull your head back. "max? as in max land? how the hell does he know?"

"your dates happened to be at the restaurant he works at."

"why would he bother telling you that though?" you wonder. "up until tonight, i don't think it concerned you."

"it did though." the half-blonde mumbles, thinking you wouldn't hear, but you do anyway.

"what?" you press.

"forget it." rayne shakes his head, growing irritated.

"no. fuck that.." you seethe, annoyed at his unwillingness to be honest with you. rayne bites his tongue to hold back. you see it. "don't act like this. just tell me, or i swear to god i'll text max right now-"

"it's because i knew that i could treat you better." the words rush out of rayne's mouth as he snaps his head toward you. the fire in his eyes die as he locks his gaze onto you. the harsh emotion written across his features softens. you can feel your own exasperation slipping away like that of a retreating ocean tide. he grimaces in regret, knowing that he didn't mean to let that slip out, but he did anyway. it's out in the open, and now you knew.

surely, you're hearing things wrong. perhaps you're misunderstanding what he just said. how could that be misinterpreted though? it's such a painfully straightforward statement, yet it still doesn't make any sense.

rayne sighs. it's like he can already hear your thoughts and your confusion. the least he can do is clear the air and dump everything onto you while he can. "i didn't expect to feel like this," he begins to explain. "when i moved in, i just assumed you'd be another person i wouldn't pay attention to. i'm sure you know how i am. i don't bother getting to know people, but a lot of people feel the need to force themselves into my life, and shit like that pisses me off. but you didn't do that. you introduced yourself, explained the ground rules of the apartment, and then left me alone."

"so... you like the fact that i leave you alone?" you tilt your head.

"shut up. let me finish."

"okay."

"but yeah, that's part of it. you keep your distance, but you still try to show that you care. you don't do anything groundbreaking. it's just that the small things you do for me got to me. it may sound dumb to you, but it meant a lot to me."

suddenly, you're hit like a train because you know exactly what rayne means. you recall all the times you ensured that there was dinner for him, the times you moved his laundry into the dryer when he forgot to do it himself, and the times you restocked his favorite snacks when they ran out. you hadn't realized that you did any of that. it just came naturally, no hidden meaning behind it.

"oh." you breathe out, blinking.

rayne nods, continuing. you're honestly floored over the fact that he still has more to say. "you don't notice it. at least, i don't think you do, but at some point, i tried doing the same for you. i started paying more attention to you and what you liked and how you liked things done. i did it mostly to pay back your kindness, but over time i continued just 'cause i liked seeing your smile."

you have to process that for a minute, piecing together how certain events lined up until it finally clicks into place. "s-so the island vase-"

"i replace the flowers because you like them fresh."

"the key holder?"

"you always forgot to bring your keys until i installed it."

"when you put on movies-"

"i check your letterboxd and hope that you'll sit and watch them with me."

"when i put on movies-"

"i sit with you because i want to be near you."

your jaw falls open. never in a million years could you have expected this. you thought that rayne could care less about your existence, but the reality was that that was far from the truth. cold, aloof rayne was always doing things for you. all this time, you've been so oblivious.

still, there's more to the story so you stay quiet, letting him get his feelings off of his chest. "to be honest, i was never going to say anything. max tried convincing me to confess on multiple occasions, but i was dead set on letting it pass. i didn't think you liked me in the same way anyway.

"but then you came home today and you told me about your date and i just got so... angry," rayne clenches his fist around the chains of the swing. the whole situation infuriates him every time he thinks about it. "it just wasn't fair. you spent so much time into looking your best just for that asshole to go and waste your effort. you're so beautiful, so kind and understanding, and i fucking hate the fact that he's been taking advantage of that.

"i really wasn't thinking clear when i proposed this date to you, but god after tonight, i'd do it all over again. i wanted you to know what it's like to be with someone who does care about you. i wanted to see you smile. i wanted to hear stories. i want you so badly it's all i can think about sometimes.

"i know this is a lot, and i'm freaking you out right now. i'm sorry but you-"

"rayne." you interrupt with a big smile on your face. he was unaware to the fact that you had got up.

"for fucks sake, can you let me finish? this is already weird enough for me to talk about as is." he rolls his eyes, narrowing his gaze at you, blush splashed across his cheeks. still, without any resistance, you pull him up from his swing by his wrists.

"then don't." you whisper as you pull him in.

and the moment you crash your lips onto rayne's, the world stops. he instantly melts into you, the palms of his hands finding the soft skin on your cheeks. your hands tangle themselves into his hair. his lips are incredibly soft. a faint taste of matcha and sugar syrup dances on his tongue from the boba he drank earlier. a noise of approval vibrates down his throat, and you can't help but smile against his lips.

rayne wraps an arm around your waist, pulling you impossibly closer as he deepens the kiss. you get what he was talking about earlier. this kiss is all it takes to prove it to you. you feel his affection and desire all at once. every single bone in your body is so aware of how much rayne ames cares about you.

when you finally pull away for air, it's like a smile is permanently tugged onto your lips. rayne trains his eyes onto you, engraining every detail of this moment into his head.

a comfortable silence falls as each of you take your time to catch your breaths. your stare finds its way up, admiring the night sky. there are barely any stars out tonight. no, that part isn't remotely true, not fully anyway, because light pollution drowns out stars and their lights. the reality is that there are billions of stars hanging high out of reach; they just go unseen.

rayne is kinda like that you realize. finn was right. his brother is a good guy. there's a hidden light within him behind all those aloof layers of his. you just have to squint and maybe put on some prescription glasses is order to see it. it's a shame it took you five months to to really acknowledge it. but now that you've finally found a glimpse of it, you'll continue to clear past the fog. you want to know every part of rayne and see his light just as he did with you. you want him to be able to shine at his full brightness with no fear. you'll take rayne ames for all that he is.

"come on," you coo, a lovestruck look in your eyes as you slip your hand into rayne's. "let's go home."

bonus:

rayne: finn, give me a date spot quick finn: are you actually going on a date? rayne: stop asking questions finn: there's a night market on marchétte street. finn: are you seriously going on a date though? finn: hello? finn: rayne. finn: stop leaving me on read. finn: is it (y/n)? finn: it is her, huh? finn: asshole.

delisaster: hey sorry delisaster: can we reschedule for next saturday? y/n: kys y/n: lol sorry that was my bf delisaster: bruh what? delisaster: did you have a bf this whole time? *this message could not be sent* delisaster: did you fucking block me? *this message could not be sent*

[davekat-sucks]

lute x adam is better than davekat and chaggie. they both sound killer singing together.

also just like wish's "villain", I find no fault in adam's reasoning, sinners such as rapists and pedos should be eradicated. i dont give a fuck about how apparently there are random kids in hell to emotionally manipulate the audience, for all we know that could be a grown ass man pretending to be a kid, and maybe that could have been more interesting: to see a hell's citizen take advantage of vaggie's kindness. it'd explain her trust issues & lute's bizarre reaction to actual mercy.

whats up with modern shows/films these days and their weird morals...

Adam x Lute is better than Davekat and Chaggie. Funny enough, Vivziepop confirmed that pedophiles, Nazis, and racists are already wiped out after they died. Like, human pedophiles/Nazis/racists who die, don't go to hell, limbo, purgatory, or heaven. They just get erased from existence. Angels have nothing to do with it. The Hazbin/Helluva universe already does its work. Of course, imps and hellborn creatures like hellhounds or the Sin ringleaders, can still be pedophiles, Nazis, and racists. But they are exempt from extermination. So the only sinners that do get sent to Hell to just do the same old shit would be murderers, con artists, human traffickers, rapists, and those who commit slavery, are still around. Which makes me question where does child murderers or those who lead child human trafficking and slavery fall in. Do they get wiped out from existence too if they didn't touch the child in that way? Do they get wiped out from existence for harming a young soul? Or do they get straight sent to Hell because murder is bad, regardless of age? Probably doesn't help that Heaven already admitted they don't know the requirements of people getting into Heaven, so it's a mystery on who is even checking since apparently at this point, even innocent souls who likely died of accident or bad circumstances, get sent to Hell regardless. It probably will be answered later on by some bullshit means, but it raises more questions on when in point did that become a thing. People pointed out that Angel Dust's sister, MOLLY, is there. What point in time Heaven allowed others to get in before it all changed with the extermination? Does even something small as when you were a kid stealing from the cookie jar, count as a major sin to be sent straight to Hell and that's why the child is sent in? Who the fuck knows. Maybe it will get answered in finale. Maybe they will hold it off for season 2 since it is confirmed and they are already recording the lines as we speak. I think the reason for these weird morals in recent modern media, just only goes for the straight black-white mortality, but hide it differently in these recent times as an act of justice that we won't make the same mistakes like we did in the past. Unfortunately, they are but are too ignorant to see it. Also in the case of how Hazbin Hotel is presenting with its rushed pacing, people, audiences and creators, would rather get to the heart of the matter fast and immediately than to build it up on how to get there. Why the fuck should we know about Camille and her backstory when all that matters is that she is a protective mother and that's it? No need to build up sustenance, all it matters is just the emotional factor to pull at your heartstrings for one moment like a quick sugar rush. No need to show the slow burn romance of why Vaggie likes Charlie. All it matters that she is now cute lesbians with her and its a good rep for LGBT. TL;DR of that is people are impatient.

[prettyboysdontlookatexplosions]

one thing that's been percolating in my mind about mina and her relationship to women's history this time through is that like... it can be tempting (for me too!) from a contemporary perspective to kind of think as "traditional" and "progressive" as opposite sides of a spectrum upon which women can be linearly placed in terms of their beliefs. but it's a little more complicated than that, obviously. mina i think can be a little jarring to the modern reader because she is as a person obviously so independent, bright, curious, and hard-working, but her vocational ambitions as expressed in the text are limited to supporting her future husband, and i think there can be a tendency to sort of slot her as like, "ok, well, she's a little bit progressive, but not that far along," or whatever, and there's, again, a lot we can do to unpack that, but for me there are two things that have been coming up for me revisiting the topic on my second time through (disclaimer: i'm an idiot with a blog who doesn't know anything about anything & if any actual experts want to weigh in please do! also if anyone has any accessible readings on the new woman please do @ me because that phrase is it turns out fucking ungoogleable):

(1) i think it's important to remember that for all human beings on earth ever, there's not a simple unidirectional relationship between internal beliefs and external action/reality, nor do beliefs come out of nowhere or out of some ether from which we pluck ideas out of pure abstraction. a lot of looking at women's history is looking at how women chose to navigate the options available to them, which both inform ideology and also make it frankly sometimes just not that important. a book that really powerfully shaped the way i think about this stuff is kathy peiss's cheap amusements: working women and leisure in turn of the century new york. the way she explores her source material for that space and time really brought home to me that it's very difficult as a woman who came of age (for example) in the US after second wave feminism to really understand just how beside the point the question of "what do i as an individual believe about women's role in society" was for (as just one example) many women in that location, class, and period. it just doesn't matter compared to things like being able to pay your rent, or being able to afford a night out once in a while - which might mean letting a guy pay your way not because you think it's "the man's job" but because you don't make enough to go out with your own money ever - so maybe you do think it's the man's job but it's not because of some like disembodied attachment to traditional gender roles, it's because the men are the ones with the fucking money!

anyway. different place, different class position, slightly later period, but the general principles from that book have really stayed with me and have been echoing thinking about mina. like: how much does an assistant schoolmistress in 1890s london make? i'm not an expert but willing to bet it's not a lot? she's an orphan, actively aware that she and jonathan have only what they can cobble together. if she remains in the professional world after her marriage, who does the labor of running a two-person household - something we here on tumblr complain in 2023 is difficult if everyone has a full-time job, and which was much more difficult with more than a century's progress in domestic technology still to go (and this isn't getting into childrearing). would their combined incomes be enough to afford a domestic servant? idk shit about the economic position of late victorian women so these are not questions i am presenting as having ostensibly "obvious" answers - i really don't know. but i think these are things that are worth considering when we think about mina, her ambitions, & her relationship to shifting cultural currents (which were really shifting quite quickly - the "new woman" was such a recent coinage at the book's publication that if you assume, for example, that the epilogue is meant to take place in its publication year, the events of the novel precede its first appearance in print), and i think it's just never really quite as simple as "well this is what she Believed." our world makes our beliefs at least as much as the other way around.

(2) the other thing that's been in my head is that in a more contemporary framework of how gender operates, it is easy to assume the dichotomy of technology/science/jobs/boy stuff vs. domesticity/home/housewife/girl stuff extends backwards throughout time forever. but, first off, domestic labor is labor and mina is still very much looking ahead at a life of working full time - just not at getting paid. but secondly, homemaking was one of many things getting brought under the umbrella of "science" in the late 19th century (along with, to name examples from the book, psychology and criminology). like a lot of things in my brain the "scientific housewife" is something i vaguely remember hearing about in some college class or book but don't have any ready cites for, but while googling last night i found this very cool recent article [linked below because the app will not fucking let me make a text link] that looks at the evolution of instruction in science, housework, and domestic science at two english day schools for girls in the late victorian/early edwardian (the kind of school i think mina may have attended and taught at, as i don't believe we're ever given much detail about her place of work), and which provides some background info on the idea of the "scientific housewife":

Scholars have since recognised that the middle-class home was “the locus of back-breaking toil” Domestic servants were not as prevalent as once thought, and in some cases it was common for mistresses to work alongside them. The average middle-class woman would likely have been at least partially a housewife, or, in other words, she would have undertaken some domestic labour herself. In contemporary culture, a link was also being forged between housework and science; historians have charted the ideology of “scientific housewifery” or “scientific motherhood”, which encouraged women to embrace science, medicine, and technology in the nineteenth century, to enhance domestic life and make it more efficient, more enjoyable, easier, and healthier for the family. Work by Judy Giles and Joanne Hollows has suggested that ideals of a modern, scientific housewife emerged in the first half of the twentieth century with the decline of domestic service. Given that many middle-class women would have been undertaking housework themselves in the nineteenth century, this article asserts that the cultural construction of the scientific housewife existed before the decline of domestic service. This article builds on the work of Nakagomi by considering the place of domestic subjects and science in schools as a window into a broader societal conceptualisation of housework and the housewife.

one interesting thing in this article is that the two schools profiled actually had strong differences in how they conceptualized and approached their domestic programming, which reminds us that big-picture ideals are always being navigated, redefined, and contested in practice. it also emphasizes that for at least some teachers and schools for girls, the teaching of science was considered an important part of the intellectual development of the students - a position, fascinatingly, NOT taken by comparable boys' schools of the period, which tended to marginalized science education in favor of the classics, which was a wonderful little reminder for me about just how incredibly fake gender is. but also i think this article (which identifies some shifts happenings in the 1890s, like really this novel came out at The fulcrum point of the culture) helps us consider that the seriousness with which mina takes her future home-making as a vocation can be read as part and parcel of the novel's fascination with modernity, technology, science, and progress - and indeed given the moral panic about lazy mothering the article mentions as arising in the press a few years later it even lets us consider that mina's status as a female victorian ideal and her temperament of someone deeply pro-science may not have appeared to be in as much tension as we might assume.

[gabessquishytum]

Ok re Hob+food

Can we talk about the sheer abundance of the modern era compared to 1389

Like pepper! In Hob’s day kings would, and had, gone to war over his spice rack: jars of peppercorn, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon

an average supermarket has more fruit and veg and meat than an average peasant has seen outside of feast days. and the variety too, even out of season fruit. grown in glasshouses because thats a thing now

(this brings up Hob feeling alienated from the modern world because he can’t rely on the fruit in season and the nature around him as a natural calendar)

because I’m me, Hob having periods of disordered eating because everything tastes so different, or he keeps finishing everything on his plate even tho he’s full because he doesn’t want to waste food, or Hob getting that weird squirmy feeling at the supermarket knowing how much would be thrown away and he has to walk out before having a panic attack. basically portion control and survivor’s guilt issues. because why does Hob get to have all the world’s wonders right at the corner shop while his family never had enough to feel full?

This is a great point! Although Hob has had a long time to adapt to the changes that have come throughout his lifetime, I think that deep down, a bit of his mind is always still connected to the 14th century. When things get bad, no matter what the circumstances - a breakup, a bad period at work, just bad news in general - I feel like the food issue would become more prominent. He returns to this baseline of food insecurity, he only wants to eat really specific things and when he tries to make them they never taste right because of how much ingredients have changed. He either struggles to eat at all, or he panics and eats everything in his fridge in one go. These periods never last very long, but they are a part of his life now.

Of course there's another side to all of this, which is just... absolute wonder and joy. The 21st century is full of flavours and textures he never could have imagined. Food from other cultures, ingredients that were once rare now available so cheaply. Just think about vanilla! Once it was worth more than Hob’s life. Now it's a byword for boring and average. Isn't that incredible?

Hob would never pretend that it's easy to navigate his issues with food, but nor would he ever want to forget about how amazing it is to see the shelves stocked with colour and variety. He feels very lucky. And he's going to live his life to the fullest in honour of the people who never got that opportunity.

[polkadotsocks1993]

What Good Neighbors Do, Pt. 3.

Finals week for you means a celebration with your friends. However, once trouble occurs, the line of friendship with Osferth becomes blurred.

Warnings: violence, attempted assault, light smut

Notes: this story is brought to you by too much homemade wine and a winter storm 💀

thank you so much for your response to the first two, if you haven't read them, they're on my page!

Also, I write about the experiences of graduate school because I have experienced graduate school. I am trying to write Osferth and the Gang as OC as I can within modern parameters. Thank you guys for being understanding and supportive, I haven't written fic since 2016 so you guys are amazing.

It was the end of your first semester abroad.

Truthfully, it had been a rough school year for you. You had papers to grade as a teaching assistant, on top of final papers and your own work you needed to turn in. You'd elected to take a full load, thinking it would be no different than your undergraduate work. How wrong you had been.

The last two weeks had been nothing but grading, studying, more grading, and occasionally, sleep. Osferth had come over several times to find you slumped over a pile of term papers about Medieval England, none of which you'd graded yet. You were exhausted, to put it lightly, and you'd barely managed to look out for yourself.

"When does your term end?" Osferth asked, practically shoving a cup of coffee your way.

"In two days." You said, trying to remember what finals you had left. You only had three classes, but the history department had been understaffed and so you'd wound up teaching three classes. To say you were overwhelmed was an understatement.

"Then we're going out this weekend, after you get some sleep." Osferth said, "You need to have some fun."

"I won't say no." You replied, eyes already droopy from fatigue.

"Good. Finan already organized your first proper pub crawl." Osferth said, "I hope you're ready."

"No, I hope you're ready." You laughed, "I'm not a heavy drinker, so you'd better be prepared."

Osferth laughed tussling your hair like he always did before leaning down to whisper in your ear. "I'm looking forward to it, love."

As the term had progressed, you and Osferth's relationship had gotten even more tricky. You'd gone as his plus one to his half brother Edward's wedding; you'd met his sister and niece (who were actually nice and adored him), but also met his awful stepmother and after one too many shots of whiskey (thank goodness for open bars), you'd told her exactly what you'd thought. Then, you'd promptly gotten sick in the parking lot on the way to Osferth's car. You'd spent the rest of the night profusely apologizing in the chip shop Osferth had taken you to, only for Osferth to shrug and tell you, "I dunno, no one has ever stood up to Aelswith on my behalf, I might like to see it again."

The next two days were a blur for you; you had to be present for two finals (since you were the instructor) and you had to take two finals. You'd extended every last ounce of energy you had into trying to get decent grades, and barely made it on to the bus home. After tossing your keys on the table and taking a drink of water, you heard a knock on your door. Rubbing your eyes, you opened the door to see Osferth, holding a small bouquet of flowers and waving innocently.

"Your first semester done! How does it feel?" He asked. You blinked hard, trying to ignore the pounding in your head. You kicked off your shoes and took off your jacket.

"I'm tired. Get in here. I can't be held responsible for anything I do in the next few hours." You said, trying to get comfortable.

Osferth looked at you, raising an eyebrow, while you took off your socks and hoodie, tossing them on the sofa. Osferth made his way to your kitchen for a jar to put the flowers in.

"By the way," You said, theatrically rolling your wrist, "the flowers are appreciated. Thank you."

No matter how comfortable Osferth was with you, he was still painfully shy at times. He was confident, when he needed to be, but you could tell that his confidence faltered when dealing with you.

You took a step closer to him, observing his features. He was still in his paramedic uniform. For the last month, he had worked nights, and you could tell he hadn't slept yet, either.

"You haven't gone to bed yet, Osferth." You observed.

"I wanted to wait till you were home." He replied.

You squinted; you knew he was likely just as tired as you, and that he often put others' comfort before his own. You yanked him by the wrist, and drug him to your room.

"Where are we going?" Osferth asked.

"You're going to sleep with me." You answered.

"In your room?"

"Yes. In my room." You said, turning on the light and pulling back your covers.

"Um, I can just go back to my place, it's no bother." Osferth said.

"Absolutely not. You waited till I got home, you should have been asleep two hours ago." You scolded.

"I know, but I really wanted you to have something to look forward to today." Osferth explained. You hated his expression; he looked like a sad puppy and it was as endearing as it was frustrating.

"I am looking forward to something. I'm looking forward to a nice, long nap. And you're going to get one, too." You said. Osferth shifted around nervously, but didn't put up too much of an argument, his eyes giving away his exhaustion.

You took off your jeans and folded them on the end of your bed. Osferth's eyes widened, but he did the same. He had already changed his shirt before coming over, so he left everything on the floor next to your jeans. You snuggled in, under the covers, patting your hand on the mattress for him to join you. He climbed in and you scooted close to him, laying your head on his shoulder.

"Goodnight, Osferth." You whispered.

"Goodnight, Y/N." He replied.

Within minutes, both of you were asleep, and slept for hours. Neither one of you even moved much, until you finally awoke much later in the afternoon. Osferth didn't have to be at work that night, so the two of you enjoyed a little bit of freedom and swapped stories while you ate takeaway, the show Parks and Recreation coming from the TV.

"Wait, so Uhtred was the first person you had to do a field IV on?" You asked, trying hard not to spill your wine.

Osferth laughed, taking another bite of food. "Yes. He was so sick, I could barely find a vein, and here I am, some kid they'd thrown in there, and I had no idea what I was doing. Somehow managed to get the needle in, but that doesn't mean it was easy."

"I still can't believe Finan tries to ask you for IVs whenever he drinks too much." You said.

"Finan will ask for one this weekend. Sihtric will, too. Uhtred might, but honestly he handles alcohol better than all of us." Osferth replied.

"So, what's so special about this pub crawl Finan planned?" You asked.

"Finan plans pub crawls the way a bride plans a wedding." Osferth answered, "They're spectacular, honestly."

"I'm blaming you for the hangover I'll incur, then." You said, scooting closer ever so slightly.

Osferth's breath hitched, his smile faltering ever so slightly, before he leaned in close. Your spine straightened as you felt Osferth's lips near your ear.

"I quite like seeing you drunk."

You blinked, turning to him in surprise. "And why is that?" You asked.

"Because you're fiery, and I happen to like that in you." Osferth whispered. Your hair stood on your neck, and you leaned forward slightly, getting close enough to feel his body heat. You ran a hand up his thigh, feeling his gaze burn as your eyes met his.

"Well, then, I guess Friday is going to be fun."

Osferth grinned, pushing your hair behind your ear. "I look forward to it."

--------

That night, after he left, you laid on your bed, venting to your dog, Brownie, out of frustration.

"He didn't even kiss me, Brownie!" You huffed.

"Does he like me? Really? I am so confused."

Brownie just blinked; you wished you could talk to someone, since Osferth was the most confusing man you knew. He flirted with you, he did nice things for you, but he didn't seem to care to do anything more than that.

You grumbled. Your feelings were only getting more confusing, and you knew that it was bound to get worse. He was your best friend, but you wanted more. The question was: did he?

--------

As it turned out, Osferth's description of Finan's pub crawl plans was, in fact, pretty spot on. What the the boys were not prepared for, however, was how well you could keep up with them, despite never having done a pub crawl before.

"In honor of passing my finals, here is a round of shots, on me."

You handed the four men a shot of whiskey, and threw it back, the burn hitting your throat and you cheered.

"Look at you go!" Uhtred said, "You can keep up after all."

"Sometimes I can." You laughed. Finan had organized an "American Pub Crawl", in which the rules were that the only drinks that could be ordered were American. So far, you were on your third bar of the evening, and you'd taken the opportunity to buy a round of Jack Daniel's for everyone.

"Hey, Y/N, that man in the corner has been eyeing you all evening." Sihtric said, "He was at the last pub, too."

You'd noticed the man too, and you didn't necessarily like the idea. His eyes had been locked on you all evening, and it had made you stay close to Osferth.

"I hope he doesn't think he can follow me all night." You muttered, taking a sip of the beer you'd ordered.

"I've picked him up before, on shift. He likes to throw punches after one too many." Osferth said, taking a sip of his own beer. His arm had found a place around your shoulder and you gladly accepted it. You didn't like the way that man looked at you.

"Maybe he'll take the hint." You replied.

"If he doesn't, I'm sure we can persuade him." Uhtred said, "If he likes to fight, we can do that too."

"Wouldn't be a proper pub crawl without it!" Finan exclaimed.

Finishing your drinks, you went to the next pub, this time ordering whiskey and bringing out pickle juice to take pickle back shots.

Unfortunately, the man had followed and he was eyeing you still.

You tried to shake the uncomfortable feeling in your gut; you didn't want this man to ruin your night with your friends. Besides, you were resting your head on Osferth's shoulder, and he was flirting with you, and you didn't want to ruin that.

By the next bar, however, you'd shoved the nervous feeling down as you all drank Old Fashioneds, feeling a bit woozy as you stood up.

You placed a hand on Osferth's shoulder and leaned down. "I'm gonna go to the restroom. Watch my purse until I get back?"

"Sure, we'll be right here." Osferth said, giving you a smile. You walked back to the restroom and went in, trying to get out before anyone else noticed you were gone. You fixed you hair and adjusted your skirt, and walked out the door, only to bump into someone.

Your stomach dropped; it was the man who had been following you.

"I've been waiting to get you alone all night." He said. You could smell the liquor on him, he was incredibly drunk.

"Well, I'm going back to my friends." You said curtly, walking back toward the direction of your table. The man stopped you, and walked you backwards, your back hitting the wall.

"Where ya from, miss? I like that accent of yours." He said caging you in.

You looked around, suddenly feeling completely sober as the man entered your bubble.

"A place where we don't take kindly to unwanted attention." You replied.

The man growled, getting closer.

"Leave me alone, please." You pleaded.

"I don't think I'm going to do that. I've been watching you for hours now." The man replied. He stuck a hand on your torso, and began trying to move it up your shirt.

"Get OFF of me!" You yelled. You slapped the man in the face, and he in turn slapped you back so hard your head hit the wall, and you saw stars. You tasted blood on your lip, and it only made rage bubble in your chest.

"Get the HELL AWAY FROM ME!" You screamed. The man lurched forward, grabbing you by the hair, and slammed your head back into the wall, pressing his body to yours. You kicked and began screaming, until you heard someone yelling from behind the man.

"GET OFF!" Screamed Osferth, grabbing the man by the shoulders and throwing him into the floor. The man stood up, taking a swing, and connecting with Osferth's face. That's when Sihtric and Uhtred grabbed the man, while Finan got Osferth to his feet.

The look on Osferth's face was one you'd only seen a handful of times before, from other people. He was seething.

Osferth swung again, knocking the man to the floor, and he began swinging. Blood was pouring from his nose, but he seemed completely oblivious to the pain.

"YOU. DO. NOT. TOUCH. HER." Every word was punctuated with a punch, until Uhtred finally pulled him off.

"Osferth, your nose is broken." Uhtred said. Osferth was still in a trance, and you were shaking and crying. Finan had moved over to check on you, tears spilling from your eyes as he grabbed your face.

"Hey, hey, look at me, Y/N. Look at me." He whispered. "You're okay now. Osferth took care of him, he isn't getting back up for a while."

Osferth stopped wriggling in Uhtred's grasp and turned to you, assessing the damage like he would any accident at work.

"What did he do? Where did he touch you?" He asked.

You were sobbing. Coughing and choking while the other three men stood behind Osferth, blocking anyone else from coming near.

"He--I was coming out and he pushed me back." You cried, "he tried to stick his hand under my shirt and I told him to leave me alone. Then he hit me and he slammed my head into the wall."

This time, Sihtric walked over and kicked the man in the stomach. Osferth took a pen light from his pocket and looked at your eyes.

"You have a concussion." He said, "But not a bad one."

"Osferth, your nose." You said.

"I don't care. This isn't the worst I've had. Come here." He said, pulling you into his chest. You sobbed into him, your whole body shaking.

"Osferth, you get her out of here. We'll deal with him. You two need to go to A & E and get checked out. Especially you." Finan said.

"He'll learn his lesson. We promise you that." Uhtred said, "Take her home. We'll go check on you later."

Osferth took your hand and guided you out near the main entrance, taking your purse from behind the bar. Your hands shook ferociously, your lip was already swollen. Outside of the bar, you waited for a cab, but you couldn't keep your knees from knocking together.

"I'm so, so sorry, Y/N. That shouldn't have happened." Osferth said, rubbing your back. You had to sit down; your vision was starting to go black and you felt like the walls were closing in.

"I want to go home." You cried.

"We're going home, love." Osferth replied.

"No, Osferth," Your voice was breaking now, "I want my mom."

Osferth picked you up, pulling you close to him and holding you as tightly as he could. "I'll call your mum, Y/N. It's going to be okay. Take a deep breath, he can't hurt you. I won't let anyone hurt you."

As the cab pulled up, Osferth put you gently inside. The cab driver obviously had questions, but all Osferth did was give him your address. You were thankful; you didn't want to go to A & E, you just wanted to go home.

------------

You had a first aid kit in your bathroom, it was the one thing you'd always done since you grew up on a farm in the middle of nowhere. You sat Osferth down on the edge of the bathtub and began to clean him up, taking off his shirt and wiping the blood off of his chest, his neck, and his face.

"You said that wasn't the worst you had, huh?" You asked. He chuckled lightly, pointing to a spot just below his ribs.

"Almost died from this one." He said, "took a knife to the lung. If I hadn't already been in a medic tent, I would have died."

"When was that?" You asked, tracing your fingers along the scar.

"My last deployment. I was assessing a civilian they brought in, and he stabbed me." Osferth said, "I got out after that."

"And what about this one, here?" You asked, pointing to the scar on his shoulder.

"This was another bar fight, believe it or not." Osferth laughed. His eyes were already bruising and a little swollen, so you'd brought a pack of frozen vegetables to put on his face.

"He should have never touched you." Osferth said.

"I'm just glad you were there." You replied.

Osferth put his hands on your hips, placing his forehead in your stomach. You felt your heart thump so loudly that you were afraid it'd burst.

"I'll always be there." Osferth said. You felt his fingers tighten around your hip bones and you couldn't take it any more.

"Osferth." You said, he looked up at you.

"What is it?" He asked.

"I--I don't want to be your friend." You replied. His entire face fell, and you stumbled to correct yourself.

"I'm sorry, that came out wrong. What I meant was, I can't just be your friend." You said, "I thought I could, but I think I've loved you since the day you unlocked my door, and seeing you like this, I can't... I can't just be your friend--"

You were cut off by Osferth's lips hitting yours. His hands tangled in your hair, his touch soft but wanting. You put your arms around his neck and pulled him closer, a moan escaping as he moved to kiss your neck.

"I can't do this anymore either." Osferth said, "I thought I could. I thought I could just be your friend, but I can't. I love you. I've loved you for a long time."

You took his face in your hands, placing a gentle kiss, then moved to loop your fingers in his jeans and pull him out of the bedroom. His hands roamed your back, your neck, your hips, taking care not to do anything too suddenly or without permission. You pulled him to your room, kicking off your shoes and taking off your tights, pulling him on to the bed with you.

He climbed in, laying next to you, cradling your head in his hand, his other hand trailing your waist. You sighed, smiling, and ran your fingers through his hair.

"Stay the night." You said. It was a plea, a wish.

"I'll do whatever you ask." He whispered.

He took off his jeans, and your eyes grew wide.

"I'm not expecting anything, they've just got blood on them." He said. You nodded, and then a rush of thoughts came flooding to your mind.

"Osferth?" You asked.

"Yes, love?" He said.

"I've... I've never done this before." You admitted. He furrowed his brows.

"Done what?" He asked.

"What we're doing. Or what we're about to do. I don't know how to explain it." You huffed. He stopped, understanding what you were trying to say, and then nodded.

"You know that's not what I'm after, right?" Osferth asked.

You kissed him, moaning as he moved a hand up your side.

"I know, but I need you to know. I spilled my guts, I needed to tell you in case you wanted an out." You said.

"No." Osferth said, taking your hand in his. Yours was comically small compared to his, and he kissed your forehead.

"I don't want an out. I've been thinking about you since you knocked on my door. I knew I loved you for sure at Edward's wedding. I love how your face lights up when you talk about what you're passionate about. I love how kind you are. I hated history, but when you tell it, I could listen for hours. I don't want a quick lay. If I wanted that I could go into town and get it. I want you, Y/N. Only you."

Your breath hitched, and you looked at Osferth. You were nervous, and you didn't exactly know the right words to say.

"What does this make us?" You asked.

"Whatever you want us to be, but I know I'd like for us to be together." Osferth answered.

You smiled, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. "I want that, too."

Osferth laughed, pressing a kiss to your forehead. He laid his head back down on the pillow, sighing.

"I'm actually glad you said something, because my nose does hurt a bit now." He admitted. You couldn't help but laugh as you pressed kisses to his temple.

"Then maybe we should sleep? After you've taken something for the pain." You suggested.

"That actually sounds nice." Osferth said, "We have plenty of time. I intend on sticking around, if that's alright with you."

"I'd like that, very much." You said.

That night you fell asleep with your head on his chest, his arm around you. Though both of you wound up with bruises for days, neither of you would have changed the events of that evening. And though your relationship had now evolved into something more, you were elated and excited.

With Osferth, you looked forward to many things. And you couldn't wait to explore.

-----------------

I will obviously be writing more parts, I'm obsessed with this story and I cannot put it down.

Also, the reason there wasn't full on smut is because I have NEVER written it before, so please bare with me as the next chapter will probably be lots of filth 🤣 thank you all for the feedback!

[dwreader]

Can I ask what has made you think the season isn’t Louis/armand/claudia centred? I know the fandom is annoying but I’ve yet to see anything to convince me that the actual show itself isn’t going to be completely centred around them. Daniel is just a part of their modern day narrative, he has to have some character exploration or there’s no point to him/ no vehicle for the interview to take place. Lestat is just a part of the past narrative, I think the flashbacks are mostly going to be about Armands past with the theatre which involves Lestat and Nicki, Armand needs to be fleshed out a bit as a character cause I doubt we’ll get to a TVA season. I just haven’t seen anything yet that makes me think it’s Daniel/Lestat’s story they’re just a part of the overall story. Idk I’m just hopeful I guess but I don’t see why we’re doom posting before we know what we’re actually gonna get, unless there’s something you’ve seen in particular?

I think the interview happening because of a daniel lost memories arc completely undercuts the story as being louis's no matter how much or little screentime they actually devote to it. I don't rly think there's going to be a lot of screentime on young daniel just based on how little the actor was there (even nicki's actor was on in prague way longer) but the central question of the season/second half of the book being what happened to claudia and does louis know turning into what's been erased from daniel's mind completely changes the show's centrality. It's not necessarily that daniel is suddenly going to be the main lead which he's obviously not but what the show deems an impactful reveal does affect how we view the importance of the characters and relationships. And to me throwing in a whole amnesia storyline about the white guy 100% takes away from the premise of the interview altogether. Its very very jarring when in the book daniel was entirely irrelevant to loumand but in the show suddenly he's the main figure in the room... very deliberate choice and kind of screams they have no confidence in loumand carrying the show on their own.

As for the Lestat/Nicki/Marius/etc flashbacks, I just think it's not relevant to the Louis + Claudia arc in the book at all? and you'd never in a million years see a Lestat-centric TVL season be shoehorned with random bits of Louis or Claudia backstory that occur w/o Lestat even there and have little to no relevance to the main plot. In fact, you probably could've dropped some TVL bits in s1 since it's clear Louis does know about Nicki already in NOLA but the show doesn't go there cause it doesn't feel the need to (as Lestat is already a co-lead in s1 and has a lot of screentime as is). But I think once they were given the OK to make the book into 2 seasons they realized the second half was going to be almost entirely louis-armand-claudia with only a brief lestat appearance at the end... and yeah. If they really have the confidence that the show would get multiple seasons then why try to cram so much later book stuff into this season? Supposedly AMC wants 10 seasons and like theoretically you'll have plenty of time for all this when Louis's main arc is over so why are you doing this now when he actually does have a story left to tell? Or do they think if they don't sprinkle this shit now, most of their book loyalists will bolt since they don't care about non-white characters without a white person tether.

[losersimonriley]

twenty questions for fic writers

Thank ya @femalefemur <333

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

31

2. what's your total ao3 word count?

98,041

3. what fandoms do you write for?

Just the modern warfare reboot at the moment, but I’ve got fics from a few different fandoms

4. top five fics by kudos

First Light (ghost/soap)

Keep going (ghost/soap)

Completely, Selfishly (connor/gavin)

Every way that matters (ghost/soap)

Headshot Holidays (ghost/soap)

5. do you respond to comments?

I try! I really, really appreciate anyone who takes the time to leave comments, especially with fanfic being treated more and more like ~ quick to consume content~ I try to respond to every comment because the least I can say is thank you <3 But I got way behind on replies so there are a lot just sitting in my inbox waiting right now 💀 Swear I’m gonna get to em eventually

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

How it’s supposed to be (connor/gavin) bc it’s just both of them fucking dying lmao

7. what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

This is a hard one bc I’m very much an angst with a happy ending writer, so most of my stories end on at least a hopeful note. I’ll say Every way that matters bc they are both just so sickly sweet in this one

8. do you get hate on fics?

Not bad enough that I remember. I used to have older works up before I regrettably purged them from existence that I remember getting rude comments on but wouldn’t necessarily categorise as hate

9. do you write smut?

Hellll yeahhh brotherrrr

10. craziest crossover:

I don’t have any crossovers per say but I’d really like to do a twister inspired tf 141 fic

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of 👀

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

No but I’m ok with it

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

No but I think it would be fun with someone I’m comfortable enough with! *looks at Camus with big sickly green eyes*

14. all time favorite ship?

Destiel owns me until I die, they were part of my life for so long and there is just so many years and so much between them. But god do I love ghoap

15. what's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I am going to finish all my wips even if they end up sucking ass

16. what are your writing strengths?

Dialogue maybe? I’ve been told I have good dialogue

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

Aghhh descriptions. I hate describing things. I just want the things to Happen. And pacing lmao. This is one reason why I’ve always struggled with long fics

18. thoughts on dialogue in another language?

I know a lot of people find it unnecessary and jarring but I love it. Especially because it can encourage people to become interested in a new language

19. first fandom you wrote in?

I can’t remember if it was doctor who or my chemical romance but I’m pretty sure it was one of the two?

20. favorite fic you've written?

Oh it’s definitely gonna be Sundowning when I finish it. But so far my fav posted one is probably headshot holidays (ghost/soap) or music of the night (newt/hermann)

I’ll tag uhhhh @solivagantingrebel @lokibus @tumbleweedtech @forestshadow-wolf and anyone else who wants to do it! (sorry if y’all have already been tagged in this, I haven’t been very active on here the past few days so 🫡)

[boringbones]

I've always supported creators financially, who give us the choice. I would rather donate to someone who is going to release their content for free, regardless, but I can still send them a little something as a thank you. They aren't FORCING me to cough out my hard earned money for a zip file. Patreon in this sense, is the modern tip jar. For just $1-$5 a month, I can say thank you. Not many people are using paypal, and cashapp is a bit too personal for me. Patreon is a secure process. $1-$5 isn't breaking my bank, and if I don't like the content or see you're not as active anymore I can easily cancel my subscription. This is a safety net for both the creator and the consumer. Not only that, but we as the consumer can report creators who aren't following EA guidelines, or stealing meshes and ideas, that person gets their IP banned, and wouldn't be able to make money on Patreon again. Of course, if the creator refutes the claims with Patreon and shows proof of their work or their deadlines, they can get their account back. So again, creator and consumer have equal power in this scenario. I very much love your content, and your positivity, keep going, we are rooting for you from the bleachers.

It's fair, I also feel more comfortable with Patreon because it has these benefits than with Ko-Fi, but mainly because of the practicality. Despite having a ko-fi account I never stopped to sit down and fully understand how it works (I should xD)

As you mentioned, Patreon is safe, flexible and adaptable. As someone who has already supported and supports other creators, I love knowing that I can maintain or withdraw my support at any time, whether it's related to the creator's content or my personal commitments this month, without embarrassment on either side.

As you mentioned, 1 to 5 dollars for most people (especially those who spend in dollars) is a tip, however, for creators, this amount often pays for the internet, the electricity bill, in some cases it helps with half the rent. Sitting down and creating has a cost, no matter how much we may say "Ah, but I don't spend anything".

In reality, we all spend, the difference is that these amounts are diluted in our daily lives so we almost never pay attention to them. In short, support makes all the difference and I have no doubt that a creator who is receiving a single support in recognition of their work is a much more inspired creator than the opposite.

Of course there is commitment when there is support, but this exists in all professions and is part of human life in society. I like to think that support is what makes me commit to my audience to keep working even when I have no energy or my hands are hurt. It involves honoring the investment of the person on the other side who chose to believe in your work

Thank you very much by the way!! I'm happy to have the support of all of you, and for being received with such kind words throughout the day today!!

[themuseandantarctica]

* 𝒒𝒖𝒐𝒕𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒑𝒕. 32

change however necessary.

“No man ever will unfold the capacities of his own intellect who does not at least checker his life with solitude.”

“One can acquire everything in solitude except character.”

“Solitude is a dangerous to reason, without being favorable to virtue.”

“The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready.”

“It is foolish to tear one’s hear in grief, as though sorrow would be made less with baldness.”

“Grief is the agony of an instant; the indulgence of grief the blunder of a lifetime.”

“Sadness is almost never anything but a form of fatigue.”

“There are few sorrows, however poignant, in which a good income is of no avail.”

“I can’t think of any sorrow in the world that a hot bath wouldn’t help, just a little bit.”

“Sorrow happens, hardship happens, the hell with it, who never knew the price of happiness, will not be happy.”

“You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair.”

“Most people live dejectedly in worldly joys or sorrows.  They sit on the sidelines and do not join in the dance.”

“The soul is the mirror of an indestructible universe.”

“When we can drain the Ocean into mill-ponds, and bottle up the Force of Gravity, to be sold by retail, in gas jars; then may we hope to comprehend the infinitudes of man’s soul.”

“The soul is the wife of the body.  They do not have the same kind of pleasure or, at least, they seldom enjoy it at the same time.”

“The pagan soul is like a bird fluttering about in the gloom, beating against the windows when all the time the doors are open to the air and sun.”

“Frisbeetarianism is the belief that when you die, your soul goes up on the roof and gets stuck.”

“Isn’t it interesting how the sounds are the same for an awful nightmare and great sex?”

“The temple bell stops but I still hear the sound coming out of the flowers.”

“Six specks of dust inside Waterloo Station represent—or rather overrepresent—the extent to which space is crowded with stars.”

“What is it that haunts space where matter is found?”

“Interestingly, according to the modern astronomers, space is finite.  This is a very comforting thought—particularly for people who cannot remember where they left things.”

“Space isn’t remote at all.  It’s only an hour’s drive away if your car could go straight upward.”

“It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood.”

“The voice of the dolphin in the air is like that of the human in that they can pronounce vowels and combinations of vowels, but have difficulties with the consonants.”

“People have to talk about something just to keep their voice boxes in working order so they’ll have a good voice boxes in case there’s ever anything really meaningful to say.”

“If everybody thought before they spoke, the silence would be deafening.”

“A thing is not necessarily true because badly uttered, nor false because spoken magnificently.”

“An artist cannot talk about his art any more than a plant can discuss horticulture.”

“Many a time I have wanted to stop talking and find out what I really believed.”

“The trouble with talking too fast is you may say something you haven’t thought of yet.”

“Never speak more clearly than you can think.”

“Be sincere; be brief; be seated.”

“I will be brief.  Not nearly so brief as Salvador Dali, who gave the world’s shortest speech.  He said, ‘I will be so brief I have already finished’ and sat down.”

“The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending, then having the two as close together as possible.”

“If I am to speak ten minutes, I need a week for preparation; if fifteen minutes, three days; if half an hour, two days; if an hour, I am ready now.”

“There is more to life than increasing its speed.”

“Have you ever noticed?  Anybody going slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a moron.”

“Speed, which becomes a virtue when it is found in a horse, by itself has no advantages.”

“Don’t look for speed in a cheap horse: be content if it neighs.”

“Haste is good only for catching flies.”

“People forget how fast you did a job, but they remember how well you did it.”

“Be not afraid of going slowly but only afraid of standing still.”

“Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly.”

“A circle is the reflection of eternity.  It has no beginning and it has no end—and if you put several circles over each other, then you get a spiral.”

“The human mind always makes progress, but it is progress in spirals.”

“Growth is a spiral process, doubling back on itself, reassessing and regrouping.”

“The desires of the heart are as crooked as corkscrews.”

“There are only three real sports: bullfighting, car racing, and mountain climbing.  All the others are mere games.”

“No one who has been brought up on the works of Beatrice Potter can understand, much less appreciate, a bullfight.”

“All I know most surely about morality and obligations, I owe to football.”

“Baseball is like church.  Many attend, few understand.”

“It is impossible to imagine Goethe or Beethoven being good at billiards or golf.”

“There are six million shots in the game of pool.”

“I thought tennis had had enough of matters.”

“It always pays to get your retaliation in first.”

“Deerstalking would be a very fine sport if only the deer had guns.”

“Football combines the worst features of American life.  It is violence punctuated by committee meetings.”

“Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play.  It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules, and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence: in other words it is war minus the shooting.”

“A Chicago alderman once confessed he needed physical exercise but didn’t like jogging, because in that sport you couldn’t hit anyone.”

“It’s not the winning that counts, nor the taking part; it’s making fun of the little fat kid who always comes in last.”

“The stars are majestic laboratories, gigantic crucibles, such as no chemist could dream.”

“It may be that the stars of heaven appear fair and pure simply because they are so far away from us, and we know nothing of their private life.”

“Set your course by the stars, not by the lights of every passing ship.”

“When it is darkest, men see the stars.”

“A tale, fictitious or otherwise, illuminates truth.”

“Everything is held together with stories.  That is all that is holding us together, stories and compassion.”

“The universe is made of stories, not of atoms.”

“It’s precisely the disappointing stories, which have no proper ending and therefore no proper meaning, that sound true to life.”

“I know that queer things happen in this world.  It’s one of the few things I’ve really learned in my life.”

“Though a good deal is too strange to be believed, nothing is too strange to have happened.”

“Congratulate yourselves if you have done something strange and extravagant and broken the monotony of a decorous age.”

“I am not strange, I am just not normal.”

“I abhor averages.  I like the individual case.  A man may have six meals one day and none the next, making an average of three meals per day, but that is not a good way to live.”

“I always find that statistics are hard to swallow and impossible to digest.  The only one I can ever remember is that if all the people who go to sleep in church were laid end to end they would be a lot more comfortable.”

“Statistics are like bikinis.  What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital.”

“Statistics are like prisoners under torture: with the proper tweaking you can get them to confess to anything.”

“Before the curse of statistics fell upon mankind we lived a happy, innocent life, full of merriment and go and informed by fairly good judgment.”

“I could prove God statistically.  Take the human body alone—the chances that all the functions of an individual would just happen is a statistical monstrosity.”

“Do not put your faith in what statistics say until you have carefully considered what they do not say.”

“The two most abundant things in the universe are hydrogen and stupidity.”

“There is more stupidity than hydrogen in the universe, and it has a longer shelf life.”

“The fine flower of stupidity blossoms in the attempt to appear less stupid.”

“There is no idea so stupid that you can’t get some professor to believe it.”

“Only two things are infinite—the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the universe.”

“We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.”

“The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes.”

“He may look like an idiot and talk like an idiot but don’t let that fool you.  He really is an idiot.”

“Style that shows is only decorating.”

“Style is a natural thing and has nothing to do with taste.”

“Many intelligent people, when about to write books, force on their minds a certain notion about style, just as they screw up their faces when they sit for their portraits.”

[martianbugsbunny]

Live-Action Herc

This movie will most likely be a disaster. There, I said it, that out of the way. Also, I will be throwing a little extra shade in this post, because this is my way of playing worst-case scenario.

MEG

I don’t trust modern writers to pull of Meg in any good way. These days it seems nobody can understand the difference between sardonic wit and unkindness, so Meg will probably be insulting people left and right for no reason, which of course we’re supposed to laud her for, bc she’s just a salty queen, right? Yeah no. I want a nuanced Meg, like I had in the original. I want Meg with a dry wit and a hopeless situation but a good, if hardened, heart. Actually, getting Meg who is indebted to Hades and yes, needs help, needs saving, is going to be dubious enough. Because heaven forbid a woman is anything but completely in control *sarcastic*

HADES

He’s an icon. I love him. I also don’t know if I’m going to like any new version of him that I’m given. If he’s skinny, I riot. There’s a preoccupation in movies these days (although people would die rather than admit it) in having every character be a very specific kind of attractive--which for guys, often ends up placing them smack-dab between slim and BUILT. I think a Hades who looks more like the cartoon version, who’s fat and has a sharp nose and grey skin would be attractive. (*certain exclusions may apply, as even with these traits I may not find the specific actor attractive* *good characterization may balance out physical attractiveness in this event as well*) Also, I love his loud personality, because a lot of Disney villains are threatening in a more subtle way. Hades knows he’s powerful and he’s very obvious about knowing it.

HERCULES

Hercules is BUILT. That’s kinda the point of Hercules. But he’s still a pretty gentle man, and I fear what modern writers might do to him. Gentle women are written poorly enough; gentle men haven’t been written well since Aragorn. *for legal purposes, I am kidding* But he’s not all quippy and sarcastic, like so many male superheroes are, and I love him for it. A gentle man wins my heart much more quickly than a guy who makes obnoxious jokes at every chance he gets. Also, his love is what defines him. His love for Meg is what saves them both. His willingness to risk his life in the impossible hope that he can save her life saves both of them. A man like that is a rare find in modern cinema.

Also, if they make the romantic plot something about Herc being a real player until he meets Meg, at which point he decides to mend his ways, I will scream. That trope is so played out it’s not even interesting anymore.

VISUAL EFFECTS

They gotta pay their artists well for this one, and give them reasonable deadlines, because there will end up being a lot of visual effects. Cerberus, the Hydra, Hades’ hair--these are all things that cannot be created without at least some computer input. And if the movie is not aesthetically pleasing, or if it looks jarring or fake, I’m not going to enjoy it no matter how good the plot is. If it makes my eyeballs and my brain want to crawl out of my skull and die, the plot cannot save it. In short, I don’t want it to look as lackluster as She-Hulk did. I want it to be a cinematic masterpiece. Maybe use some practical effects, because those are underused and underrated in modern Hollywood as well. This movie should be pretty, because it’s a fantasy-type story about heroes and gods and great deeds and for Pete’s sake such high subject matter should be beautiful! AND FINALLY, THE APPARENT TIKTOK VIBE

If the dialogue is as such that the characters say things like ‘yeet’ or ‘bestie’ in normal conversation, I’m done. That’s not how people talk in actual conversations with each other. There is a legitimate difference between online dialect and in-person dialect and if the makers of this movie fail to grasp that, it’s going to be the kind of cringe that gives me secondhand embarrassment just from watching. And believe me, that makes me so uncomfortable I will not go back to watch the movie ever again. The characters should talk like regular fricking people.

Also, if there is an excess of TikTok dancing, I may cry.

Basically, TikTok provides short videos. They are meant to be short videos and short videos alone. These are not designed to provide an enduring experience like a two-hour-long movie. They are designed to grab you for the brief amount of time before your attention span fails and you move on. Trying to extend TikTok energy into a whole movie? Not gonna work, because that goes against the fundamental principles of what TikTok was made to do.

[ooffies]

ᴋᴀᴇʏᴀ, ᴄʜɪʟᴅᴇ, ᴠᴇɴᴛɪ, xɪᴀᴏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀʟʙᴇᴅᴏ ᴀꜱ ᴘᴀʀᴇɴᴛꜱ (ᴀɴᴅ ᴘᴀʀᴛɴᴇʀꜱ)

characters x gn!reader, modern AU

a/n: this wasn’t edited/proof read so I apologize if there are any errors

warnings: none

requested by no one

tagging @genshin-obsessed (heyyy pocket lmao- 🍷❤)

Tip jar

Kaeya  → the cool dad

He’s a very chill parent (pun intended)

Has rules but is very loose with them

Just cause he’s the cool parent doesn’t mean he’s not strict at times (he can be very strict if needed)

He’s a very affectionate and doting parent, always showering the kids with love and hugs

Spoils both you and the kids, he can’t help it cause he just loves you guys so much

All of your kid’s friends call him dad and constantly say they wish they had a cool dad like Kaeya

Always willing to drive the kids somewhere or take them out for a day if you need a break

He still makes sure you two get alone time together and takes you on dates frequently

Sneaks kisses whenever he can. A peck on your cheek or your lips, he also loves seeing your reaction to his surprise kiss

Family game night is a tradition for your family and Kaeya is the king of losing on purpose to make is kids smile

He absolutely loved playing with kids when they were younger and you still often find them playing fighting in the backyard when they come to visit

 He really tries to be the best father he can and sometimes puts way to much pressure on himself

Loves styling the kid’s hair and will let them play with his hair. Sometimes you'll walk downstairs and be greeted by Kaeya with a head full of bows, hair clips and mini ponytails.

Whenever the kids would have nightmares he’d go into their room and fight the “nightmare” monster. He’d come out of the room 3 minutes later and tell the kids he beat it with his super awesome sword skills 

Childe  → the tries too hard to be hip and trendy with kids dad

First off he is a very doting dad, he loves his children so much and calls them his precious babies and often says he cannot live without them

He’s very much a *ahem* malewife *AHEM* (don’t try to change my mind, it will not change no matter what you say). Even though he’s hella rich he wants to spend all the time he can with his kids.

He cooks, cleans, packs the kid’s lunches in the morning and makes sure to give you a kiss whenever you return home from work and say “How was your day at work babe?”

He really, and I mean really, tries to be cool with kids. Spends time looking into “the latest and hip’ trends that all the kids are hopping on. They thought he was the coolest when they were younger but now they call him cringe and say he’s trying too hard and that he’s cool just the way he is. 

It broke his old man's heart when they said it to him the first time and he cried for 30 minutes straight, you made them apologize to him even though you know they meant no ill intentions. Now calling him cringe is a family joke :)

Encourages the kids to learn something that will “help them wins fights and emerge victorious from all the battles they fight” 

You put a quick stop to that and told the kids that they can do any activities they want

He’s still very supportive of what they choose to do and will always be their number one supporter 

He’s a big cuddler and often initiates family cuddle piles. 

Venti → wine dad

Chill dad #2. He wants his kids to be free and be who they are. You still set some basic ground rules for them.

Very doting and affectionate and will always give you and the kids all his love 

Stopped drinking as much when they kids were born/adopted 

He acts like a wine aunt (hence wine dad)

LOVES reading the kids bedtime stories but this also became a family activity since you’d always accompany him. He’ll also sing them lullabies and he’ll sing you lullabies every night too

Even when your kids are older he’ll still read them stories and sing to them.

Doesn’t really like to do household chores but he’ll do them for you (He will complain though)

He does enjoy cook though and likes to help make dinner for special occasions/holidays

He will teach his kids how to play instruments and sing. He won’t force them into it but wants them to at least try it

Get’s pouty if the kids get taller him and will tell them to stop growing or he’s gonna steal their height 

Another family tradition you guys have is weekend picnics. Venti usually chooses the location because he somehow finds all the prettiest places in town. He would tell the kids it was his magic talent when they were younger.

Encourages the kids to go to summer camp so they can “build unforgettable memories and be closer to nature. (But really he just wants to have some alone time with you) 

Xiao → the emo dad

On the outside he seems cold and very un-affectionate but oh boy he’s quite the opposite

He’s willing to do anything for you and the kids because you guys are the most important things in the world to him

He’s also somewhat of a malewife too but it was completely his choice. He just wanted to take care of his family.

He doesn’t like it when you come home from work and start doing chores. He’ll force you to sit down and relax. He’ll say that he’s got everything under control and there no need for you to stress yourself over chores

The main way he shows you and the kids affection is through acts of service. 

Like I said before he’ll do the majority of the household chores, the kids also have their few assigned chores (and you help out with chores if he lets you)

He’ll help the kids with their homework, make them lunch, read them bedtime stories, brush their hair for them, take care of them when they’re sick, ect.

 Only shows a limited amount of affection in public. He’ll hold your hand and carry the kids but that’s about it

In private however he is willing to accept all the affection you and the kids give him

He often struggles helping his kids out when it comes to emotional problems/issues but he always does his best. He’s always there to a lend an ear

He’s not vocal about it or always showing it but he’s your guy’s number one supporter.

Evening walks after dinner is a family tradition you guys have had ever since the kids started walking. 

When they were young he’d let them sit on shoulders and would give them piggyback rides

He can be very strict and overprotective sometimes but that’s just cause he wants the best for his kids

Albedo →  the art dad

He may not be the best at giving affection but he is a very supportive and doting dad

He likes draws pictures for the kids, even when their older he still does because he said seeing their smile when he give his art to them is a very special and happy feeling that he never wants to go away

Helps out with household chores but absolutely despises mopping.

He’s always there to listen to the kids talk about their latest obsessions/interests 

He’s not very good at comforting but he really does try too

Makes you guys take family photos every so he can paint them later

Teaches the kids about art and alchemy if they show interest in either

When they were young he used to make kid safe experiments for them

Road trips are a family tradition. Albedo enjoys them cause he gets to draw the pretty scenery and thinks it’s one of the best to to spend quality time with family

 He wakes up like a mom so whenever the kids would wake him when they’d have a nightmare he’d get startled and almost launch himself out of bed with a high pitched screech 

Encourages the kids to have playdates with their friends often (he actually just wants more alone time with you)

He’s also the type of parent that draws on the walls with the kids when he finds them doing it. And yes he doesn’t care if they’re using sharpie he’ll still join in. Yes you’ve scolded all them multiple times and no they never learn their lesson, Albedo too. He always promises that he’ll “clean” it up which results in most of the wall in the house being murals cause his “cleaning up” is just him painting over it.

[illusionsofdreaming]

How about a Cale proposing/asking out Reader for marriage/date?? I love your fics and this is just a thought that I often imagine (It's usually people asking him out but this might be a nice change!? I think...)

Ft: Cale

Tap tap tap tap tap-

It was the soothing rhythmic sound of not getting anything done. Concentration having long since fled the premises as he stared blankly at the notes on the table, watched as the blue nib danced up and down and up and down again.

The notes were important he supposed but his heart wasn’t into it, mind occupied and consistently distracted by a particular receipt on his table.

It’s been several days and he has yet to hear a reply.

He’s not quite sure what to make of it. Certain social rules of this world clashed with his modern-day knowledge of social cues. One would think he’d have an advantage as one who transmigrated into a novel he’d read, but The Birth of a Hero never properly introduced the social decorum of the world in detail. 

Perhaps the only reason he made it thus far with his half baked knowledge of etiquette was thanks to Cale’s trashy reputation which, ironically enough, made people more accepting of his faux pas. Alas, if it weren’t for Hans’ persistent nagging that he should handle this important matter ‘the proper way’, he really wouldn’t have bothered. Now he’s stuck between a rock and a hard place. Would it mean anything if he were to send a follow up letter? Or perhaps he should go there himself-

A knock on his door distracted him from his thoughts and he glanced up to see the origin of his headaches, Hans, peek in. 

“Young master, you have guests from the _________ household and-“

Cale was out the doors before Hans finished.

⚛》》》》》◆《《《《《⚛

Despite having your back to him it was almost embarrassing how quickly he was able to pick you out amidst the crowd of people.

“__________.” He greeted, snow crunching beneath his boots as he neared your side, he hoped his breathing wasn’t too quick as he’d rushed over as soon as he’d learn of your visit. The burning question rested on the tip of his tongue, the cure-all to his worries as he reached for your hand. “I have been wait-“

“Cale! Just the person I wanted to see!” You turned, smile brightening your features as you pulled him closer, close enough that he could see how the cold had already kissed your cheeks pink. 

“Did you receive-“

“Yes, that’s why I’m here!” 

A flutter of nerves was set alight in his chest that made him weirdly jittery. How unusual. He’d always been so assured of the results of his plans (and he’s confident in his prediction of your response) yet he couldn’t help but feel flustered. He understood nothing of this world’s customs and Hans did mention a response would’ve usually been sent by letter. Does you coming here in person symbolise something he’s not getting again?

Something was pressed into his hand and his heartrate spiked uncomfortably as he glanced down to receive the scroll you passed to him.

He hesitated, frowning at the brown parchment. Noting the ugly frayed edges and wondering, why couldn’t you have just told him what’s written within since you’ve travelled all the way here anyways.

“Take a look.” you urged him and he sighed.

“Can’t you-“ his words faltered off abruptly as he unfurled the paper to reveal a mess of lines and sketches, his mind blanked as he stared uncomprehending at the contents. “W.. what is this..”

“Isn’t it exciting?” you glanced at the paper, delight and unadulterated joy shone through your eyes. “The designs for the waterways are finally complete! We can finally move onto the next phase, I’ve even gathered the others to discuss this! It shouldn’t take long, we just need to iron out the logistics and-“

He’d tuned out as he stared at prototype on the page, his mind struggled sluggishly to make sense of what’s happening. Cale’s expression remained carefully blank as he lifted his head up to look at you and finally noticed the circle of vassals awkwardly standing around them. 

Huh? 

⚛》》》》》◆《《《《《⚛

“..implementation of the new waterways will greatly improve the situation in the slums and if we...” 

If looks could set things on fire, the conference table would’ve long turned to ashes with how hard Cale’s been glaring. He had rested his two elbows on the oak table, fingers weaved together to create a net that supported his chin. To others, the firstborn son of the Henituse household may seemed to be in a contemplative mood, in truth, Cale had zoned out since the very beginning.

Perhaps there’s been a mistake. Maybe you did not receive it or perhaps he’d missed another social cue. Did he unknowingly commit another taboo?

“…Cale?”

He shouldn’t have listened to Hans’ ridiculous suggestions when he knew he had no patience for the roundabout and overly complex ways people liked to handle things here. He ran a tired hand past his face. Right, next thing he’s going to change in this world would be the removal of all redundant and confusing social constructs. First, he’ll start with the books on courtroom etiquette-

“Cale.”

A hand landing on his shoulder jolted him from his thoughts and he looked up to meet your frustrated gaze. He gaped, caught off guard by your ire.

Your long sigh pricked at his conscience but you interrupted him before he could explain himself. “I sent the others out for a break.” You sat on the edge of the table facing him, although clearly annoyed, there was concern in the slight dip of your brows.

“You’ve been distracted the entire meeting Cale.” 

He rubbed the back of his neck, pressing against the tension building there. “Sorry.” He admitted softly. 

“Is something on your mind?”

You. 

“It’s nothing.” To admit that his thoughts were in shambles all because of an unanswered letter would’ve been far too pathetic. Gods, when have he fallen so low. “I need a drink.” he decided abruptly and would’ve gotten up and escaped, but you knew him too well. With a subtle shift of your weight that looked all too natural, you leaned forward and your two hands rested against his armrests to support yourself in a comfortable lean, effortlessly and efficiently caging him in. 

“Cale.” Your tone broke no argument. It was clear he was not going anywhere until he cleared this matter up.

He sighed, slumping against the chair in defeat as he dragged his gaze slowly upwards with the reluctance of a child who’d just been caught with their hands in the cookie jar and was now forced to admit their wrongdoings. He hesitated when he caught a glimmer of something on your shirt. 

Somewhere along the meeting, as the room got warmer you must’ve taken off your thinner overcoat, it would’ve explained why he hadn’t noticed such an obvious accessory from the beginning. But now that he had laid eyes on it, Cale can’t seem to look away. His hand reached out cautiously, brushing over delicate work, the building tension within him eased away as he reminiscences at the nostalgic sight. 

It had only been several weeks ago when he’d went out to find the best jeweller in the Kingdom to have a specific brooch made. A bright golden shield with the Henituse’s family mascot emblazoned on, two magnificent rubies inlaid as eyes. 

With the solid feeling of the brooch under his fingers, his previous worries melted off like sleet to be replaced with an indescribable warmth in his chest.

“It suits you.” he finally says. It really does. 

Cale never liked things made in his honor, but something about you wearing his symbol made him feel a lot of things. 

Your rumble of laughter made him look up and you brushed a hand through his locks, amusement in your eyes. “Is that it? That’s what’s been bothering you all morning?” you mused.

He snorted and slumped forward, resting his face on your lap. “You wouldn’t reject it.”

“Confident, aren’t we?” you laughed and carded your fingers through his hair.

It was the truth which you both knew. He had never been a stickler for rules. The relationship between you happened as a gradual process, you two clicked and it just eased into your daily routine and became the norm. There was never any need or desire to announce it officially. But as someone who transmigrated into this world, who also decided to continue living in it, he wanted to do it your way. Because in the end, even if it was bothersome, annoying and baffled his 21st century mind, the gesture would mean something to you.

Now that he’s solved the mystery, satisfied he didn’t botch up some weird etiquette, he had time to analyse the day’s events and realised one thing. He lifted his head from your lap, “You orchestrated this. The waterways weren’t that urgent.” he deadpanned, stuck between feeling awe that you took all the effort to tease him and indignation that you’d dare.

“It’s not often one gets the chance to fluster you.” you admitted, not at all feeling guilty when you got the chance to witness his bewilderment first hand.

“Aigoo..” he clicked his tongue and in one swift movement, stood from his seat, forcing you to lean back as his arms landed by your sides, effectively reversing your positions. “You’d bother the vassals for this, how bold.”

You blinked innocently up at him. “I bothered no one actually, they all volunteered to help.”

He frowned. Traitors. The whole lot of them. He could actually hear them cheering outside the room. He’s going to have to tell Basen to talk to them about their loyalties soon. Well. Not that it would matter much. He glanced down at the gleaming brooch on your chest and his lips twitched into a satisfied smile despite himself. 

Perhaps there’s a reason behind such silly traditions after all.

Notes: So I combined these two asks because they’re pretty similar and to answer your questions: I believe Cale’s not one for grand gestures and formal things but he’ll occasionally abide by certain traditions if it has special meanings and especially if it’d mean something to you. 

[titanicsimp]

Here I am with my request.

Could you bless us with a nsfw fic about Connie or Jean (I don’t see very many stories with them and yes I am looking at myself in the mirror shaking my head about Jean) about them cooking with their girlfriend and they make a mess then they take a shower together? 🥺👀

Thank you for the request ♥️

Oh my, such a tough choice between those two but I’ll pick Jean this time because I’m a sucker for his long hair and lil beard 🥵

Warnings: Modern AU!, Smut/lemon🌶

Finally, you and Jean had been given the gift of having a day off at the same time! The past year your schedules had made it borderline impossible to spend a full day together, so now the two of you had the chance, you intended to make the best of it.

You hadn’t filled the day with anything too crazy. Just a stroll in the park and a visit to the mall, activities in which you had plenty of time to talk to your fiancé.

Jean had wanted to cook with you for a while now. He has two left hands when it comes to cooking, but he was sure that with your help the kitchen would remain intact. So when you got some garlic bread from the pizza place at the mall, he got the bright idea to make a pizza yourselves when you got home. He even claimed it would have less calories, which you doubted but let slide since he seemed so adorably confident about it.

“You’re molesting it!” You squeal with laughter as Jean kneads the ball of dough slowly, doing way too much gentle squeezing.

The kitchen already looks far messier than you had intended. Bowls, jars and utensils are spread over the counter, having left smears and a dusting of flour on the granite.

He flushes red as he turns his head sideways to face you. “Isn’t this how you do it?!”

You giggle at his frustrated expression. “You have to put more force, the dough won’t get soft enough like this.”

Jean frowns and pauses, assessing the ball of dough. From the look on his face you would think he’s making a bomb, not dinner.

You almost pass out from laughter as he suddenly starts squeezing the living shit out of the dough instead. It spills out violently from between his fingers, splitting open at all sides.

“Oh my god Jean! You just went from assault to battery charges!”

He grumbles at you as he abandons his task, leaving the dough for dead.

A smirk appears on his face as he takes the spoon out of the jar of tomato sauce. Your laughter prevents you from noticing his actions, only realizing when it’s too late and a dab of sauce lands on your cheek.

You look at Jean with a gasp. “You did not just do that.”

“Oh, I believe it did.” His smirk has turned into a wide grin, mischief glinting in his light brown eyes.

Without hesitation, you grab a handful of flower and throw it his way. Jean laughs and coughs at the same time as the flower hits him right on the chin. His beard and top of his neck are coated in the white powder now.

You look each other in the eye, the challenge of who will dare to do what next heavy in the air. Both of you wait on the other. You wiggle your eyebrows at him, if he wants a Mexican standoff, he’ll get one.

Jean moves, and before you can throw something, he grabs you and pulls you close. Your combined laughter and squealing as you settle for smearing random stuff on each other sounds like a pack of hyenas has been set loose in the house, both having too much fun to stop.

“Okay! Okay! I propose a truce.” Jean finally says, his voice still cracking up with laughter as he throws his hands up.

You pant from your struggle, smearing off your hands on a nearby towel. “I think I might take you up for that.”

No matter how fun it is, it’s still exhausting to battle that stubborn man.

Jean smiles brightly before he leans in and kisses you. You return his affection, moving your soft lips against his.

He pulls away slightly. “You taste like... a lot.”

You snort and give a playful push against his shoulders. “I wonder who’s fault that is.”

“Let me make it up to you?” He proposes, taking your hand in his.

“Hhmm, fine, but after we are finishing this and YOU are cleaning up.” You say teasingly.

“Yeah, yeah. Now let’s clean us up first.” He tells you and leads you towards the bathroom.

Stripping out of your dirty clothes quickly, you join Jean, who has already weaseled his way under the warm shower.

“Scoot.” You tell him with a smile, standing close to his naked form. Your shower isn’t the biggest, and the water only sprays so far.

His hands move to your hips, stroking them lovingly as he shakes his head. “No way, this is my repayment.”

You giggle at his response and reach out to rub the flower off of his beard. The hair feels coarse and nice at the same time.

After you’ve repeated the process with his hair, he moves his hands away from your hips to clean your face.

You laugh as Jean rubs and squeezes your cheeks playfully, and he makes sure to do so gently. When his thumb brushes over your bottom lip, his soft gaze turns lustful.

“You’re so beautiful.”

You try to hide your bashfulness with a joke, but Jean silences you with a kiss. This one’s more passionate than the one you shared before. He keeps your face cupped in his hands, his lips parting so his tongue can ask for entrance. As soon as you part your lips his tongue starts exploring your mouth. You excitedly join in, rubbing your tongue against his.

As the two of you make out, you automatically move in closer. Neither of you even notice that you’re doing it until Jean’s cock presses against your belly. He sighs into your mouth when he feels the warmth of your skin.

You move a hand down to stroke him, but he pulls away as soon as you do.

“If you don’t mind, I would first like to get a piece of what I was really craving all day.”

His comment makes your abdomen clench up in anticipation and you give a nod to go ahead.

Jean backs you up against the wall of the shower and drops to his knees in front of you. He takes your right leg and lays it over his shoulder, giving him direct access to your core.

You mewl softly as he rubs two fingers through your folds, spreading you open for him. With a cocky glance up at you, he brings his tongue to your cunt. He licks down from your clit to your entrance, and up again. Every time he passes the sensitive nub he twirls his tongue over it before he continues.

You grip onto Jean’s hair. “Ah! More!”

He happily complies, closing the remaining distance and sucking on your clit. You moan loudly for him as he switches between licking and sucking, and start to feel your orgasm build.

Jean’s eyes remain glued to your face as he works your clit.

“Jean! I’m so close!” You tell him, panting.

At your warning he pulls away, instead sliding his tongue past your entrance and stroking your clit with his fingers. Your grip on his hair tightens as he fucks you on his tongue, pleasure overwhelming you.

It doesn’t take long before you shake and cum, Jean eagerly licking up your juices afterwards.

He pulls back from your cunt with a smirk. “You taste amazing, maybe we should forget the pizza altogether.”

You laugh breathily and tug at his shoulders to make him stand up. “Well, if you want to complete our little recipe, we’ll need filling.”

“Filling huh?” Jean questions teasingly.

You nod your head, trying to look serious but failing as your face is already flushed with lust.

You yelp as he picks you up, pressing your back against the cold wall and wrapping your legs around his waist as he holds you up by your ass.

“I can do that.” He says with a smirk, thrusting his hips so his cock slides against your wet cunt.

With a moan and a nudge of your legs, you encourage Jean to go on. He leans forward to kiss you again as he enters you. You moan into his mouth as he slides his cock into you slowly, letting you feel every inch.

He stills when he bottoms out and pulls away from the kiss. His eyes lock onto yours and he pulls out almost completely before slamming himself back into you, the sound of skin slapping together resonating throughout the bathroom.

His name leaves your mouth like a chant as Jean starts fucking you. You keep one hand firmly on his shoulder and let the other run through his hair.

“God, you feel so good.” He groans, his grip on your ass tightening.

His pace is slow but hard, every thrust hitting as deep as it can. Your walls pulse around him, still sensitive from your orgasm and enjoying the intrusion thoroughly.

Jean leans forward again, this time pampering your neck with kisses. You breathily moan his name when he picks a spot at your nape to plant a hickey. All of it feels so good, his cock filling you up, his lips on your neck, you just know you won’t last long this time either.

When Jean pulls back after completing his hickey, he shifts his angle just slightly.

Your nails dig into the skin of his shoulders at the sudden shift. “Keep going like that, please!”

You whimper against him as his cock slams into your sweet spot over and over again at this angle.

“Fuck, I’m so close.” Jean says, his voice sounding strained.

“M-me too.” You answer, giving him a little smile inbetween your moans.

He fucks into your faster, tearing a scream of pleasure from your throat. “I want to cum together with you.”

The look on his face tells you how bad he wants it. He needs to feel you squeezing around him and screaming his name.

You nod and moan in agreement. If you could pull him even closer you would, but you both want to see each other’s faces when you cum.

When you see that familiar look on Jean’s face, his eyebrows knit together and mouth open from gasping, it pushes you over the edge of your second orgasm. Your walls clench around his cock, making him groan out and follow behind you with his own climax. You pant and mewl as you feel his cum filling you, some already starting to drip down from where your bodies are joined.

Jean leans his forehead against yours, both of you catching your breath and shaking from your orgasms.

“Maybe we should move the wedding to next week.” He finally says.

You giggle and shake your head. Not that you are opposed to tying him to you sooner.

He kisses your forehead before he slowly pulls out of you, his cum making a mess of your legs and the shower floor.

Jean sets you down carefully, one hand never leaving your hip as he guides you back under the warm water of the shower.

You urge him to stand close to you again, rubbing your hand over his chest. “I love you, Jean.”

You can feel his heart beat faster under your hand, and the long locks of hair that the water makes stick to his face do nothing to hide his blush.

“I love you too.” He tells you with a smile so sweet it makes your heart rate match his.

After the exchange you help each other clean up. Washing off the little ‘recipe’ that you guys created so you can get back to the real one waiting in the kitchen.

[bunnimew]

TheJackestFrost is Live Ch 3

Rating: T Fandom: Rise of the Guardians Relationship: Jack Frost/Pitch Black Tags: Twitch Streamer au, Youtuber AU, Modern AU, They play video games and flirt, Humor, Fluff Summary: For @rotg-hope-week​ : Day 3 Jelly Beans

Jack and Pitch are video game streamers who know of each other, but never had a reason to cross paths...

Until now.

On AO3 here.

“Ah, shite,” Pitch cursed as his health ran out and he died. 

His chat immediately filled with messages alerting him to the fact that he had, once again, cursed on camera. Well. Fuck. 

Pitch shook his head. “Alright, alright, yes, I know. Here we go.” Pitch looked at the innocuous pile of sugar pills and picked out a bright pink one. Here goes nothing. 

Pitch chewed thoughtfully. It was fruity. Overly sweet. Not at all to his tastes, but it didn’t make him want to spit it out, so that was a relief. 

Jack had sent him a “care package” full of American jelly beans. That was bad enough. But Jack had also included rare and ridiculous flavor sets, including absolutely unpalatable ones, intentionally unpalatable ones, just to see Pitch squirm. 

And then Pitch, in a brilliant moment of idiocy, had decided to pour them all in a jar, mix them up, and force himself to eat one as punishment for cursing. While playing a video game. With a live audience. 

The only good things about this were that his fans were clearly enjoying themselves and Jack was taking time out of his day to be there and participate in Pitch’s misery. 

His character respawned, unfortunately nowhere near where he’d died, and Pitch went back to playing. He was just warming back up into his usual dry commentary when a message from Jack flashed up on the screen. 

TheJackestFrost: Ooooh. Say that again, but slower. 

Pitch choked. “Fuck—” he just barely caught himself before saying Jack’s name where his entire stream could hear him, but he wasn’t sure that it would matter, anyway. After Jack’s little stunt, it sometimes seemed like the entire internet knew about them. 

Not that there was really anything to know. Jack liked to flirt, but they hadn’t had anything remotely resembling a serious conversation about dating. Tell that to the masses on the internet, though. Pitch had seen enough comments in his own chat along the lines of, “I ship them,” that he finally had to urban dictionary the term and spent the rest of the night blushing, but flattered. 

Pitch, resigned, reached for the jar of jelly beans while his chat filled with reminders that he’d said fuck in front of them. Pitch couldn’t help but think Jack meant for that to happen. It was a Jack kind of thing to do. 

Oh hell, this one was terrible. Pitch cringed and squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed so he wouldn’t have to taste it anymore. “Augh, Jack, why would anyone make a jelly bean that tastes so bad? What is the purpose?” 

He reached for his water, all the while wishing it were tea or coffee or anything that might actually wash the taste down. 

TheJackestFrost: Getting to see the adorable faces you make when you eat them, obviously. 

Pitch nearly snorted his water, but at least he didn’t curse again. He coughed to clear his throat and attempted to get back to playing. He ignored the many laughing emoji in his scrolling chat and glared with pathetically little heat at his camera. “I know what you’re doing, Frost.”

TheJackestFrost: Oh, it’s Frost now, huh? Guess that means I’ve been bad. 

Pitch shook his head and tried to ignore him. He had a game to play, and that one was really too obvious to merit a response. Jack could do better if he wanted to fluster Pitch. 

Although the chat was doing a good job of it for him. There were many accusations of flirting and teasing and although Pitch tried not to take it too seriously, it was difficult when this was technically his professional life. 

Also because he did, secretly, wish that Jack meant it. 

He had no idea how to go about finding out, however. It never seemed to be a good time in their conversation to ask whether Jack was just playing around or actually serious. Regardless, in the middle of a public, live stream was the least appropriate time to find that out, so Pitch would just have to sit here and take it. 

TheJackestFrost: This is getting pretty intense. You may want to take your shirt off.

Pitch snorted and kept his eyes on the screen. Believe it or not, Jack was not the first person to send a message like that during a stream. Although he was the first Pitch kind of wanted to do it for. 

TheJackestFrost: Here, I'll do it with you.

Pitch sputtered and forcefully shoved that image from his mind. Jack was playing dirty and honestly, Pitch would love it if he weren't on camera right now. 

He needed to focus on the game anyway. An ambush sat right around the corner and Pitch needed to be ready. All the vocal cues and the sheer number of health items the game had given him indicated trouble ahead. It would be very unfortunate if Jack’s antics got him killed. 

Luckily, no messages followed and Pitch was able to keep his mind on what his hands were doing. Enemy after enemy spawned and charged him, and Pitch was able to handle quite a few before he had to use his first health restore. 

Just as the number of enemies was dwindling and Pitch saw the light at the end of the tunnel, another message appeared. 

TheJackestFrost: God I wish I was your controller right now. 

"Fuck." Pitch lost his mind and scrambled to maintain any semblance of composure as he dealt with inconvenient sexual attraction in the midst of a hoard of pixelated enemies. It was an absolute miracle that he didn't slip up and die right there at the end. 

Just as the last target went down, Pitch paused the game and glared at his camera and the scrolling chat full of chanting for another jelly bean. 

"Alright, alright…" Jack had made him curse after all. He plucked a bean from the jar just as another message arrived.

TheJackestFrost: Eat a jelly bean if you want to date me.

Pitch paused with the bean literally at his lips.

And did it again.

“Fuck.”

His chat erupted with laughing emoji and caps lock call outs that he had just cursed again. Pitch really didn’t need the reminders. He knew he lost the plot. 

He also knew what message it was going to send when he slowly, intentionally, pressed the bean past his lips and ate it. 

Grape. Not great. Not terrible. Pitch didn’t even care.

"For that, Jack," Pitch said in a sudden burst of confidence he didn't completely feel, "I'll eat two."

And so Pitch reached into the jar and grabbed two beans at a time, prayed they would be compatible flavors, and popped them into his mouth. 

His viewers were beside themselves with curiosity about just what that meant, but Pitch wasn’t going to tell them. And it seemed Jack wasn't going to, either. His next message was as private as the rest had been.

TheJackestFrost: Glad we're on the same page, Boyfriend. 

[commander-kirschtein]

warrior modern!au quirk headcanons

some random headcanons of our favourite warriors and what i think they’d be like in a modern!au (includes zeke, porco, pieck, colt, falco and gabi - reiner, annie and bertholdt are included in the 104th version which you can read here) hope you enjoy - mac

masterlist

zeke jaeger:

such a dick when it comes to driving - will pull out on people, refuses to give way, if he thinks you’re driving too slow he’ll tailgate behind you. and god forbid you’re a passenger in his car - at times you’ll be holding on for dear life because zeke decides the speed limit for himself. also don’t you dare eat or leave rubbish in his car unless you want him to kick you out on the side of the road.

does a lot of travelling - probably has a bucket list to visit so many countries in the world and visit all the heritage site. and you best believe he brings it up in every conversation.

when he’s busy doing something, he will mumble his internal monologue under his breath.

he is a ‘don’t talk to me until i’ve had my morning coffee’ kinda person.

has the most ineligible handwriting - like a doctor’s note/russian cursive kind of handwriting (so does grisha - it runs in the family.)

porco galliard:

definitely has a thing for tattoos - mainly in places where they’re not too noticeable - maybe one on his chest, one on his ankle, another near his hipbone (although i can also see him with a sleeve and it would look amazing.)

doesn’t smoke but he’s always carrying a lighter - he likes to play with it (which he thinks makes him look really intimating - it doesn’t, especially when he fumbles and struggles to get it to light properly.)

had an obsession with dinosaurs as a kid. literally his whole room was dinosaur themed and had a dinosaur birthday party for three years in a row (he pretends it didn’t happen but marcel would bring it up all the time.)

if he ever gets a slight pain in his body he goes straight to google - looks up all his symptoms and convinces himself that he’s dying.

porco has terrible eyesight. but he refuses to wear glasses in front of people so is always wearing contacts. but just imagine one day he realises he’s out of contacts and has to wear glasses for the whole day - his world would come crashing and it would take some major convincing for him to even get anything done that day.

pieck finger:

pieck is like a magpie - if she sees pretty things she will collect them. this will be anything from jewellery to loose buttons, cool looking coins, shells from the beach - she’ll put them all in a jar together.

she definitely had an emo phase. i can see her with black eyeliner, probably had a myspace page, definitely cried when my chemical romance broke up.

likes to doodle on things. when writing notes for a class, her page will be half notes and half little drawings of random things that have nothing to do with what she’s making notes about. especially likes to draw flowers and little sketches of things she can see out the window - and following from this, she probably spends a lot of time daydreaming.

has very vivid dreams and writes everything down in a dream journal - is able to lucid dream too. if she has a dream about you, no matter how weird, she will tell you with no shame.

very eco conscious - would probably buy a lot of clothes thrifted, would use shampoo/conditioner bars, would go to refill stores instead of buying brand new.

colt grice:

super sensible with money - like if he has the intention to save money he would actually do it and wouldn’t spend any of it.

owns several houseplants and would actually manage to keep them alive for longer than 2 months.

would always write people thank you cards if they gave him a present for his birthday or christmas - a text would not be sufficient, it would have to be a handwritten card.

when he was younger, he did a paper round and would walk people’s dogs for pocket money. he loves dogs and would definitely get one once he gets his own place.

but he also likes cats!! if he saw a cute cat on the road he would stop to pet and fuss it (would get super pouty if he did a pspsps and the cat ignored him and ran off.)

falco grice:

doesn’t like things to touch when he eats - also a very picky eater. one of those kids that will just have a diet of chicken nuggets and pizza (refuses to eat vegetables - colt would have to pay him $10 before he’d even consider putting a piece of broccoli in his mouth.)

would ask you if you have games on your phone.

never bothers unlacing his shoes and forces his feet into them - colt tells him off for it but he still does it (and consequently goes through too many pairs of shoes.)

does fornite dances in public. and definitely plays minecraft and watches minecraft/fornite youtubers - plays it at a really loud volume much to the annoyance of colt.

is that kid who’s broken every bone in his body - literally gets taken to the emergency department every 6 months for an injury he got while doing something stupid.

gabi braun:

threatens to fight everything - people, animals, inanimate objects - she wants to fight it (never actually would though, she just wants to seem tough.)

super snarky and sarcastic towards adults - if you’ve ever played the ‘last of us,’ i feel like gabi would be very similar to ellie in the fact that she’s got a retort back to everything. and despite being a kid has such a habit of swearing, like where did you learn all of those words child??

has an obsession with insects and creepy crawlies. when everyone is screaming because there’s a spider, gabi is screaming too but out of excitement. she’d pick it up and chase people with it (mainly falco who tries to run but gabi catches up too quick and shoves it in his face.)

despite being ‘tough’ she still sleeps with a night light and her stuffed animal she’s had since she was a baby.

halloween is her favourite time of the year. she loves everything about it - candy, dressing up, scaring the living daylights out of people - it’s her kinda holiday.