#found this in my drafts and tidied it up a bit!

[m1d-45]

the scars, the wound

summary: heizou has two important skills: his intuition and his martial arts. he prefers not to use the latter when working on cases, but what happens when the first fails him?

word count: ~2k

-> warnings: mention/implication of violence near the end.. minor spoilers for heizou lore?

-> gn reader (you/yours)

-> if this looks familiar, it’s a rewrite of this. i didn’t think i posted that draft because it was in need of so much improvement when i recently re-found it, and didn’t realize until after already posting this… whoops.

taglist: @samarill || @thenyxsky || @valeriele3 || @shizunxie || @boba-is-a-soup || @yuus3n || @esthelily || @turningfrogsgay || @cupandtea24 || @genshin-impacts-me || @chaoticfivesworld || @raaawwwr

< masterlist >

heizou’s intuition is wrong, for once. it’s impossibly unlikely, something he can’t remember happening before, but it’s the only logical explanation.

he’s walking through ritou, taking a minor detour along the beach. why, he’s not certain, but some string in his stomach insisted he went. and so, following his intuition, he did.

at first, it’s sand. as all beaches are. he finds himself scanning the shore for anything strange, kicking at a few odd looking rocks. he even checks a few times with elemental sight, but all he gets are the faint wisps of hydro lingering on the sand. not that that meant much—his elemental affinity was never the highest, kazuha was far more reliable for this sort of thing—but normally he could at least gather a general idea of what his mind was trying to tell him… but not this time.

no, when he saw you sitting in the sand, it was the last thing he could have expected.

he stops, squinting a bit. the sky is darkening, approaching dusk, and he was meant to be going to a meeting with thoma. to bother a random civilian and make himself late wasn’t ideal, but to scare you off if you were a criminal could possibly be worse. so, he approaches quietly, noting the way you turned as he did.

and then he recognizes you, all at once. your face was reflected in the posters plastered all over the city, in word-of-mouth descriptions from other officers—you’re the one the whole world’s been looking for. your skin is dirty and your clothes could certainly use a few hours with a needle and thread, and paper doesn’t quite capture the blank look in your eyes as well.

still, he crouches down with a wave, crossing his arms on his knees. “hey there! detective heizou of the tenry-“

“i know you.”

your voice sends a chill down his spine. it pulls at something deep in his core, his soul screaming that you are friend, not foe. briefly, he wonders why he stopped here at all, and then shock hits him like a punch to the gut.

for the first time in a long time, his instincts were wrong.

wrong, because you’re a fugitive.

his smile turns strained, unable to shake the feeling that he’s doing something wrong despite knowing he’s within full legal right. his skin prickles, and he digs his nails into his arm guards to keep steady. “do you? gotta say, i can’t blame you. my name is flung around quite a lot.”

you’re tense but not running. you know him, you know who he is, so…

blank eyes peer at him from under the overgrown shags of your hair, half-lidded and tired. his mind constructs a metaphor without his asking, as if attempting to make sense of something far more complex than you; jewelry, rusted and ancient, luster long lost across the years.

he almost feels sympathetic, but he’s not sure why. he should hate you. you fly in the face of everything he stood for—truth, justice, his creator—but he can’t find the will to do anything to arrest you. he knows he could apprehend you in an instant, between his skill and your exhaustion, but he doesn’t. and he doesn’t know why.

it bothers him.

“so, what’re you doing on ritou? need any help getting a permit to the rest of the island?”

he tells himself he’s asking because doing that would force your hand, not because he wants to help. that’s ridiculous. when did he start thinking this way? has he caught a cold, by chance?

“no.”

“then surely there’s a more comfortable place to be than the beach?” what’s he doing? why does he care? who cared if sand plastered your skin, if you got sick from being outside? “tides get pretty high around here, it would do you good to find a place to rest.”

you look out to the sea, some of the tension leaving your body. it’s not relaxation, more like surrender. “i don’t have anywhere to go.”

his chest is beginning to feel oddly tight.

it’s like he’s seeing the stars themselves in your eyes despite the darkness and the fact that that’s not possible. there’s a small shimmer to them, the sun itself contained inside, a glow that shows when they flicker over him like you’re pulling out all of his secrets. he’s not sure why he wants to give them to you. “i’m sure you know that, though.”

he does, he knows, he was at the meeting with kujou sara and the rest of the police force. he was the one she pulled aside to personally ask he put his full attention on it—as if he hadn’t already the second she mentioned his god—and he’s heard of the stories from the mainland. he knows everything, he’s read over every single report he could get imported, and yet every word you say feels brand new. when you say ‘you’ it feels like you’re the first person to ever lay on him, and it’s scary that he doesn’t find that frightening. his mouth is dry, all of his normal quick retorts and easy replies falling out of his reach. he settles for a nod, and you look back to the sea.

you look dull, his mind says, pulling on all of his vocabulary to try and connect a sentence together that properly describes it. your entire form feels… fleeting? no, not that. impermanent, maybe, like fog. so dense from afar, yet vanishing once he gets close. you’re… everywhere, a mist lingering in the air, waiting for him to look away so you can take a solid form again.

are you a youkai looking for a bit of fun? perhaps he’s mistaken. maybe he’d guessed wrong, maybe you’d just stolen another’s face for a prank.

…that’s stupid. since when has that been one of his first explanations for something? no, something’s wrong- he has to get this- this spell off of him. now he remembers, the paper from the alchemist from mondstat, he remembers, he remembers-

he-

he remembers the soft smile on his father’s face, wiping the dirt from his knees. “you must be careful,” he says, careful not to irritate the scrapes with the cloth. “you have been blessed with this mind of yours, but you must be wise enough to use it properly.”

“i’m wise!” he insists, and his father laughs, reaching for the bandages at his side.

“you’re intuitive,” he corrects. “and every day i pray to our god that you to learn the difference.”

heizou tears his eyes away from you, pretending that the sand isn’t blurry.

you’re a fraud. he has to arrest you. you’re tricking the people, you’re impersonating the highest deity, the literal god of gods, youve fooled even his own mind, you have to be stopped. for the good of the world. for the good of the earth. for the hood of his god.

…so…

“why aren’t you trying to kill me yet?”

his heart both flares and breaks, hands twitching for both his cuffs and to hold you close. your voice is so rough, so cracked and tattered and filled with something similar enough to betrayal that it’s paralyzing.

he needs to arrest you.

(he needs to get you water.)

he has to bring you in so the shogun can kill you.

(he has to get you a room somewhere so you can rest. you look so tired.)

his mind is as blurred as his sight, confusion instead of tears muddling his thoughts.

what’s happening? why does his mind like (adore, want, need, worship) you so much, when he knows he has to take you in? he’s been given direct orders, he knows what he has to do, so why can’t he do it? when did he fall for such easy tricks? he’s shikanoin heizou, the most trusted detective of the tenryou commission, and he cannot be swayed by your words. he can’t afford to be.

(it’s not just your words. the air around you is so soft, so welcoming, inviting him to sit in the sand with you until it’s dawn again. he’s at ease in a way he hasn’t been in a long while, even despite the stress of the situation. he should, in reasonable circumstances, be stressed, but you’ve cleared his mind to a simple volley between two ideas: his loyalty to his god, and his newfound loyalty to you.)

he wants to tell you that he’d never want to hurt you. “i try to leave that to the higher-ups” is what he says instead.

you sign, running a shaking hand over your hair. it’s full of sand and salt and needs to be cut, badly. you take an equally unsteady breath, and when you speak you sound like you’re about to cry. “i don’t want to fight you, heizou.”

the way you say his name fills his chest with something hotter than fire and sweeter than honey, a supernova made into sugar and placed into the gap left by his heart.

the last of the sun shines off the water and outlines you in its glow, the only thought in his mind that of your beauty.

he licks his lips—they taste of salt—and forces words to come up. “i don’t want to fight you either.”

it’s the truth, and he hates that it is.

instead of saying anything else, you stand, and heizou scrambles to follow. he tells himself it’s because he needs to be ready to run after you. that’s it. that’s all. you take a step away and he is quick to match it, transfixed as you pick up a long wooden staff, akin to a walking stick. it’s taller than you are, and he’s not sure how he missed it laying beside you.

“you’ll lose your job if you don’t, detective.”

he might.

heizou blinks.

…he won’t.

no… he won’t.

facing you head on, the acceptance in your eyes is clearer, like you knew it would come to this. his hand drifts to his baton hesitantly, and sees your grip on the wood. it’s splintered, he notices, likely a piece of driftwood you found along the beach.

why is he waiting? why is he stalling?

he’s let this go on for too long already. he’s being ridiculous. this is wrong. it’s his job to take in criminals and he’s staring at one of the worst, so what is he hesitating for?

against his better judgement, he tightens his hands to fists. he’ll be gentle, he promises himself, but it doesn’t soothe the storm in his head. he‘ll be careful, but it doesn’t change the fact that he’s still likely to hurt you. maybe by the end of it, if he’s clever with the use of his vision, you’d barely have a bruise. did you even know how to fight properly? you don’t seem all that confident in your weapon. at least that’ll make his job easier, right?

he’s stalling again.

heizou takes a breath. against his intuition, he takes the first swing.

[wordbunch]

SFW Alphabet: Frodo

a/n: anon requested, this is for all the frodo girlies out there - y'all are one of the pillars of this fandom, truly! i feel like (and hope) this is very cute <3 enjoy and be kindly reminded that all feedback/reblogs are so appreciated xxx and my drafts are almost cleared out - stay tuned for new things!

A = AFFECTION (how affectionate are they and how do they show affection?) He needs a little bit of time to get completely comfortable with being openly affectionate to you, but once he does, there is affection galore! In many little ways - running to hug you after being apart, making you tea, reading to you, questioning you about your interests. And he likes to feel you close at all times, whether it’s just pinky fingers interlocked in a public setting, or an evening cuddle session.

B = BEST FRIEND (what would they be like as a best friend and how would the friendship start?) He would be a really nice best friend, you would be able to confide in him about anything, you’d lean onto each other during tough times, but it would also be balanced out with a good amount of jokes, little adventures, and of course trading books!

C = CUDDLES (do they like to cuddle & how?) He is a cuddly person through and through, he will initiate it relatively often, but if you want to make him extra happy, you be the one who suggests a cuddle session. He likes to read with you while you cuddle, so a common position would be your head leaning on his shoulder and one of his arms around you, while he holds a book in the other.

D = DOMESTIC (do they want to settle down; how are they at cooking/cleaning?) Probably yes, he loves his home and he is comfortable there, but what would make it even better is if you stayed forever! Frodo is pretty neat and clean, maybe not the best cook, but at least he is tidy. If you like to cook, he will enthusiastically learn from you, or just hang around while you do it.

E = ENCHANTED (what was their first opinion/feeling about you when you just met?) He was eavesdropping on you a little bit as you talked to a friend of yours about something you were passionate about, and he found it so charming that he immediately decided he needed to build up the courage to go and talk to you, because you sounded so interesting. And he loves an interesting conversation!

F = FIANCE(E) (how do they feel about commitment; how quickly would they want to get married?) Commitment - yes, for sure! However he takes a bit of time to make up his mind about taking such an important step, and he wants to know as certainly as possible how you feel about it. He’d never want you to feel forced into anything or to regret such a big decision, maybe he even overthinks it a little bit.

G = GENTLE (how gentle are they, physically and emotionally?) Come on he is The Baby!!! He is so soft and loving towards you in all the possible love languages and he is absolutely the kindest little soul!!!

H = HUGS (do they like hugs, how often, what are they like?) Big fan of hugging, he will hug you at any given opportunity, he’ll literally run to you and hug you when he sees you after a few hours of being apart! His heart flutters when you do the same, especially if it’s in public, since his reputation isn’t exactly the most amazing - it means a lot to him when you show him off a bit.

I = I LOVE YOU (how fast they say the L-word) I think he falls in love pretty quickly but he would push the feeling aside, or try to, because at first he thought he doesn’t have much of a chance with you… wrong! Even after you begin to return some of his affections, he would put the “L-word” on hold, but eventually when he confessed it was super romantic - maybe a poem or a letter with rose petals inside of it while he waited anxiously somewhere behind a corner to see your reaction.

J = JEALOUSY (how jealous do they get and how they act then) Frodo is not jealous at all, he is literally too pure for that and he trusts you endlessly. In case someone is bothering you a bit too much, you can just give him a “save me” look and he will be there in an instant, more worried for you than jealous. Sometimes he will deem someone more suitable for you than himself, so he might grow a little quiet while pondering his insecurities, but if you kiss him on the lips in front of everyone, the negative feelings will dissipate rather quickly.

K = KISSES (what are their kisses like, where do they like to kiss you/be kissed?) He’s a little bit shy when it comes to kissing you and a little hesitant, so he appreciates it if you take charge when it comes to that, at first. Later on he will kiss you without a second thought, and he relishes in kissing you on the cheeks, you’re just so cute and precious (oops)!!! Maybe he won’t go for it in public, but if you kiss him on the lips in front of others he will blush FURIOUSLY but he will be unable to wipe the smile off of his face. Also he’s very respectful and will kiss you on the back of your hand a lot.

L = LOVE LANGUAGE (what is their love language and how they show you love) Acts of service and words of affirmation! I don’t think I need to explain the ‘acts of service’, but as for words of affirmation, he’s a nerd who reads a lot and has a wide vocabulary in more than one language - you’ll often find him lavishing you with compliments and sweet declarations of love. Maybe quality time as well.

M = MORNINGS (how are mornings spent with them) I think he could be a morning person! As much as he wants to cuddle with you a bit longer while you’re still asleep, he will most likely get up, open the windows, put some tea to brew so that you wake up to fresh tea. If he wakes up early enough, he will even go outside to pick you a few flowers to give you as soon as you open your eyes so that your day starts in the best possible ways. 

N = NICKNAMES (do they like to use cute nicknames for you/you for them?) Actually not so much, he likes to stick to the classics like ‘dear’ or ‘love’, and he likes it when you call him that as well.

O = OPEN (when would they start revealing things about themselves; everything at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?) Somewhere in between. You two build a solid friendship, and then a relationship, through a lot of talking about all things, and a lot of pretty good communication, and some things just pop up with time. He grows to trust you more than anyone and knows he can confide in you with basically anything, however big or small.

P = PATIENCE (how easily angered are they?) Literally never ever, especially not at you! He gets more annoyed than angry with things, and he will absolutely vent to you about anything. At some point he will stop himself and be like “sorry, did I burden you too much” but you think it’s kinda cute when he’s ranting about something.

Q = QUIZZES (how much would they remember about you – every little detail you mention in passing or do they kind of forget most things?) He remembers quite a lot and he likes to learn things about you, about things you like, things from your past, things you love. He will ask you to elaborate on anything and everything and then listen to you with a smile on his face.

R = REMEMBER (favorite moment in your relationship) When he first introduced you to his besties!!! He was and is SO proud to be with you, and he had a feeling they would love you but he was still a little bit anxious because that’s just how he is. But of course you hit it off immediately, and before you knew it you could turn to Sam for advice, or have inside jokes with Merry and Pippin, and all that makes Frodo so happy - he is close to them, and you’re his special person, so his heart triples in size when he sees you getting along.

S = SECURITY (how protective are they; how they'd like to be protected and how they protect you) A moderate amount - he has a lot of respect for you and your independence, but at the same time he can be a little anxious. If needed be, he will stand up for you, or get you out of a situation as soon as you give him The Look, but he won’t necessarily step in if you seem to have everything under control. Sometimes you can be a bit too defensive of him, which is especially understandable after the quest, so if you shut down any rude comments he will be relieved, but sometimes reassure you that you don’t need to expose yourself for his sake that much. 

T = TRY (how much effort do they put into dates, gifts, anniversaries, everyday stuff) Frodo is a very romantic soul, and he will try to create special moments with you as often as possible, but still manage to keep you on your toes. On some extra special days, like birthdays and anniversaries, you can expect really well-thought out gifts (gifts, plural), which show that he really knows you and really listens to what you say and what you want. On other regular days, he will get you flowers in the morning, get you your favorite book for no special reason, or ask Sam to help him prepare food for a romantic picnic on a hill at sunset.

U = UGLY (some bad habits of theirs) He can be in his head a lot and he can zone out relatively easily, especially when he’s bored (he hates being bored so he often turns to his imagination). It’s not necessarily that bad of a habit

V = VANITY (how concerned are they with their looks?) As long as he’s clean and has clean clothes on, he is good to go. He will most definitely ask you for your opinions, and if he notices that you particularly like when he wears this or that shirt, he will make sure to wear it more often. Maybe he even likes to match with you in subtle ways!

W = WISH (something that they really want to do/experience with you?) He would love love love to visit Rivendell with you once more, but this time without any burdens or threats. It’s such a magical and comforting place, and he would love nothing more but to enjoy it with you in peace, listen to elvish music, take long walks and appreciate all the stunning nature. 

X = XTRA (a random headcanon for them) Not the best of singers, but he’s very talented with words and writes quite decent poetry. At first he doesn’t want you to see it, maybe only for your birthday or anniversary he might write you a little something. Obviously, you love it, and that boosts his confidence and encourages him to show you more of his works.

Y = YUCK (what are some things they dislike generally or in a partner?) He despises violence, obviously even more after the quest!!! Boy just wants to live in peace!!!

Z = ZZZ (a sleep habit of theirs) He quietly mumbles nonsense in his sleep on the nights when he’s extremely tired, and sometimes it can be super funny! Also it’s a habit that he pulls you closer in his sleep if he doesn’t feel you nearby anymore… adorable!

-

taglist my beloved @starlady66 @queenmeriadoc @entishramblings @thesolarangel @silversword7000 @friendofthefellowshipsnerdblog @averys-place @valkyriepirate @emmaarenstarr @noldorin-painter @asianbutnotjapanese @adamgetawaydriver @fenharel-enaste @ironmandeficiency @starryeyedrogue @dinofromspac3 @wisheduponastar @lady-of-imladris @frodo-cinnamonroll @unethicallypleistocene @deadlymistletoe @suncran @high-sea-husbands @asianbutnoteastasian @aidansloth @moth-makay

@bubbleyukismile @kitexvi @herstudios

i hope i tagged everyone right cause my taglist is a mess oops-

[namorslutfanfiction]

Gen neutral reader that lives on a boat sailing around, Namor has already rescued them from drowning three times and when is close to hitting again tries to like intimidate them into going to coast and reader decides to flirt with him instead

Not sure if I really understand this one. But I will try my best. Gen Neutral is a little bit out of my realm but I hope this works out.

Summary: He found you amusing but also incredibly stubborn. But he would save you every time. And every time your teasing would make him almost regret it. Almost.

General, humor,

The waves were colossal with the force of this storm. For the first time in your travels you were actually worried that your little sail boat would actually capsize. You held on to the mast for dear life as your boat climbed the wave and hit the peak. You screamed as you were thrown into the ocean. You could not figure out which way was up or down as you flailed in the strong riptide. Oxygen escaped you quickly as you panicked, and soon darkness enveloped you.

When you came to you were sprawled spread eagle on the deck of your small boat. The sun was shining bright in the sky. Hurriedly you sat up and checked that you had all your limbs. The hardy laugh that escaped you spoke of your relief.

There was a scoff that came from behind you. You shifted to look at the bow of the ship and found a familiar tanned god tying your mast into place.

"Namor!" You yelled excitedly as you stood and lunged to give him a hug. He side stepped you and then pinched you by the ear, "Ow, ow, ow!"

"Idiota! I thought you would at least have the sense to anchor down at a port instead of attempting to weather the storm in this kayak you call a boat, but I guess I thought too highly of you," The Talokan King flicked you between the eyes then released you.

You rubbed your ear and your forehead as you addressed the king, "Come on, Namor. I made it didn't I?"

"With my help! If I hadn't suddenly thought to check on you with the storm hitting so hard, you and your boat would be at the bottom of the sea," Namor huffed as he continued his work repairing some of the ropes.

"It wasn't that bad, you're exaggerating," You had an amused tone to your voice that seemed to only anger the king.

"Three times this has happened! Three times where your life has only been spared out of the kindness of my heart. But I will not have this! You are to return to wherever you hail from and stay away from the sea. If I find out you have even poked a toe into the water I will throw you so far inland it will take you days to find a coast," Namor chastised you and steered the boat, catching a draft in the sails.

"One, you can't just tell me what I can and cannot do. You're not my boss. Two, awe you were worried about me?" You gushed hugging yourself to the King's bare arm, squeezing it with affection to your chest. He gently but firmly extricated himself from your grip.

"These waters are mine to protect you just happen to almost die every time you enter them. Now, tell me where to take you and you may return to the land where you belong," Namor said with finality.

You sat down heavily on one of the benches and crossed your arms, "No. I will not be going anywhere."

"Your recklessness will get you killed," Namor sighed. "I am fond of you and that is why I do not want to hear from my people one day that they found your body floating away after a shipwreck."

You continued your silent treatment which was one of the few things that Namor hated in the world. He took a seat next to you and grabbed your chin, forcing you to look at him, "Why must you be so young and so stubborn? Can you not see how dangerous this is? Sailing the seas on your own like this?"

"It is the only thing I know. Not all of us were so lucky to come from such a pretty and loving kingdom as Talokan, Namor. Now just leave me alone. I need to get to Argentina before the next storm hits," You busied yourself with tidying up the boat and redirecting your sails.

Namor watched you. The few times you had met you had never revealed to him where you were from. You spoke many languages and were never in the exact same spot as the previous time. You were a mystery but all he cared about was how to convince you to be safer.

You turned when you heard him sigh again in exasperation, "Namor, I know you care but sometimes you can't win. And this argument is 100% gonna end with me doing whatever I want."

"You are insufferable."

"Damn right, and for some reason I'm charming enough for you to keep saving me," You joked as you finished tidying up what was left on the boat, thankfully everything else was inside and hopefully not too messy.

"You are not charming. I just don't want your blood on my hands," Namor stood up and stretched a bit. He was probably going to leave you soon and you weren't quite ready for that. It was nice having someone to talk to after spending weeks alone.

You looked him up and down. His undressed state was so appealing you had to admit. You had made jokes when you had first met him about how calling him a god was fitting because he looked like one. He did a particular hamstring stretch and you let out a long whistle, "Are you trying to seduce me because you might be succeeding?"

Namor turned swiftly to you and realized you were teasing him. His eyes narrowed, "Trust me when I say this. If I wanted to seduce you then you would have already been on your knees."

You smirked, it was so fun to tease him, "Oh really? I haven't heard anything about a lover or wife or husband so I think you don't have what it takes."

Namor took too long strides and was chest to chest with you. His sudden invasion of your space made your heart skip a beat but you still grinned at him indulgently. His face was close to yours, "I have no problem pleasing whoever I wish. No one has ever complained otherwise."

You took a small step back and eyed him, "Your skin in the sunlight really is like gold. And that broad chest and shoulders,"

You ran a finger down his chest, "I don't doubt you've had men and women alike swooning over you,"

Your eyes travelled downward and focused on his green shorts and stared. You stayed silent and kept your gaze on the short garments. Silence rained and you could see in your peripherals that Namor was flexing his fingers as he grew uncomfortable under your gaze. When his foot shifted the slightest to step back you broke the silence, "I bet you're a grower not a shower. I'm sure the cold water hides your true size."

Namor's jaw dropped, his hand instinctively trying to cover his crotch, "Stop looking at me!"

"What? Don't tell me you're shy now," You joked as you followed him around the small boat as he picked up his spear and checked for anything else he may forget.

"I'm leaving, chan maak. (little one) Before you drive me insane," Namor swung his legs over the side of the boat but still turned to you, pointing accusingly, "Don't you dare drown in my seas again or I will drown you myself."

"I'll see you soon then, oh K'uk'ulkan! Wear those shorts again and we will see who can seduce who first," You were in a full giggle fit at the look he gave you. He shook his head but still gave you a small amused smile before leaping back into the sea.

You leaned against the side of the boat as your laughs died down. The sun was higher in the sky now and you were on your way to your next destination. You hoped the next time you saw the Talokan King wasn't another dire situation either. Maybe, just maybe, he would visit you just because he wanted to.

...

I hope that works for you anon!

Thank you

[freeuselandonorris]

being shamelessly greedy and asking two in one. ✄: what’s your editing process? ☉: what do you do when you get stuck on a fic? 💕

hi bb greed is good 🫡

✄ what’s your editing process?

i used to not edit very heavily, i’d just kind of tidy things up a bit, and i really think my writing has evolved massively for forcing myself to do it.

one of the most helpful bits of writing advice i ever read was the idea of the “downdraft and updraft” from bird by bird by anne lamott, i.e. the first draft is for getting the ideas down and the second is for fixing it up. what this means is you don’t worry too much in your first draft about whether it’s any good, you just write the skeleton. (i’ve also seen it referred to as a draft zero, and telling yourself the story before you tell it to others).

SO my writing process looks like this: go into a fugue state and write quickly. i’ve found writing in the morning before work is best for me here, although i’ll have to find some other way of doing it when i’m in the office again soon. i don’t read it back, if i get stuck i just write some notes, i just get it down.

then when i edit, i tend to do two passes. first one is structural, and i look at whether the pacing works, move stuff around quite a lot (i have a habit of writing in flashbacks that i then tend to just move earlier in the story), cut out repetitive or waffly bits. then the second one is more sentence level. i take out all the overuse of adjectives, tidy up the sentences, if i’m writing with a particular tone in mind (i’ve mentioned this before that i often write sensorily — toto is sharp and reflective, landoscar is often liquids like slime and spit) i’ll tighten that up. i know i overuse certain words and phrases so i’ll ctrl-F for them, too.

☉ what do you do when you get stuck writing?

WRITE SOMETHING ELSE. i’m not being flippant with this advice. for years i’d try to force myself to write the same piece until it was finished and then i’d just end up giving up and not finishing anything at all for months.

last year i published about 150k words of fic because i just let myself write what i wanted. sometimes i’d have three or four pieces on the go, sometimes i’d take a break from writing monday to bang out a random pwp, sometimes i’d just do one thing but i’d write myself a note like [XXX LANDO DOES X HERE] and skip to the next section; the bit i was stuck on was often clearer once i knew what i was writing towards.

in short: i try not to stop writing, but i don’t force myself to write one story at a time in chronological order.

fic ask game!

[entropy-game-dev]

Here are a few random gifs/screenshot showing some new features/fixes that have accumulated since v0.08!

The first gif is showing proper attack missing behaviour and associated player feedback! I mentioned in the previous post’s patchnotes that missing an attack softlocked the game, and now not only does it not do that (yay) but it shows some “MISS” text too! If you’re wondering how this bug was not caught in 8 versions, it’s because all attacks by default have 100% accuracy, and a scarce few status effects can cause attacks to miss.

The second gif demonstrates players being shifted around by attacks. Before, only enemies were able to be moved around, but now player units can do so as well, which I find quite amusing. We found in v0.09a that the status effect icons don’t travel with the player panel, so that’s something that still needs to be fixed. But considering I just repurposed the code from the formation menu option, it turned out pretty well!

The third gif shows off some improved attack animation timing. Without going into too much detail, some visual effect sequences were mistimed a bit, due to my awful spaghetti code. I’ve tidied things up such that if an attack gets conducted or reflected, all the animations and damage numbers associated with it display properly, leading to better readability of attacks.

Speaking of readability, the next screenshot shows off some summary text after performing a routine, as suggested by another friend. Specifically, the 4th line is completely new (although I don’t think you guys have seen the 3rd line, indicating when a status effect has been applied either). The [ ROUTINE SUMMARY ] displays who got attacked, how much damage/healing they took, what element(s) they were, and what affinity they had to each of the elements. Keeping in mind that all those icons have mouse-over tooltips, I think it helps a bunch!

The second last screenshot shows a new room/corridor determining algorithm when generating dungeons (rooms in light green and corridors in dark green). Initially I had rooms/corridors marked as such when the rooms were being placed, but this didn’t work so well, when it came to actually representing the map after it had been roughed up etc. My friend suggested an algorithm where, after the map was generated, it’d scan through squares, and if a square had at least 6 or more tiles around it, all of them would be marked as a room. I added an extra condition to ensure that there had to be at least one 2x2 section in a room (otherwise you could have a capital I shaped room).

Finally, and possibly most excitingly, today and yesterday I’ve been drafting up a new routine selection interface, to replace the horridly ugly and extremely temporary one that has been a blight on the game for a few years now. It’s finally time to get all that player facing information presented nicely and clearly, and I think this does the trick! As you go up/down between moves, I’m also planning for the viewport to display the attack range and effectiveness of each move in real-time, much like how in SMT/Persona, choosing a target for a move will indicate whether that enemy is strong/weak to it if the weakness is known.

That’s it for now; thanks for reading and stay tuned for more patch notes soon!

[twoparrotprojects]

And with some rest, now I can write more in-depth posts.

First, the skins which I will break up into multiple posts due to the 30 image limit.

Part 1/11

First batch is Aphmau.

Starting with her Freshman skins that I've finished.

Ro'Meave Dinner: Pretty much the same save for some stockings (pantyhose) and some colour changes. Nothing too crazy like the pdh uniform overhaul.

Bake Sale: I changed up the entire maid outfit, plus made it slightly.. less provocative maybe? considering the inspiration and everything. The inspiration being the Shizuku-tan costume from My Dress Up Darling.

Prom Night: Save for the dress shape, shoe, and rose colour change, nothing much was changed.

Pajamas: Again, nothing much aside from colour changes and a sock being rolled down. Though it's attributed as a freshman skin, it's likely I'll tweak it a bit if I am able to make the pipe dream of a machinima production a reality at some point in the future.

Next, her Sophomore skins.

Casual: I took some inspiration from y2k fashion I found on google. Instead of.. Idk what she was wearing in the source material- instead of that, I gave her a tank top layered underneath a shirt, some jean shorts layered over a pair of black leggings, and some purple sneakers rather than her ratty red runners in her freshman year skins.

Pajamas: Save for her night shirt being baggier, the overlay details, and colour changes, not much was changed. Again, I might tweak this and every other skin that might need it if I'm able to do a machinima production of my reimagining.

Activewear: Nothing much changed again aside from her tanktop being changed into a shirt and some colour changed.

As for her sophomore uniform, it's functionally the same as her freshman uniform. The only thing different is her hair and shoes. Therefore it's kinda useless to show it here and list off what I've already said in this paragraph.

Next batch, Aaron.

First order of business is his senior outfits.

Overall: Aside from making his hair tinted red, I kept everything mostly the same. Sticking to the hair guide I drafted up a while back.

Uniform: The first instance I've shown where the uniform differs slightly. When I made the uniform templates, I made three main variants for both 4px and 3px skins. The one Aphmau, Travis, and Zane sport is the tidy variant, whereas the one Aaron's sporting is the sleeves-rolled up variant. Well, one of the variants with the sleeves rolled up. The variants I made at the time were the one Aaron's wearing, the tidy variant, and the "untidy" variant, which 2 of the characters currently finished wear.

Casual: Again, I didn't change much from the source material on this one, just a few colour changes.

Prom: And once again, nothing much changed. The suit I made myself, but the rose and colour choices (namely red-tinted-black) were kept the same.

Next, his freshman university skins.

Casual: Exactly the same as his senior year casual, however, I ripped his jeans, frayed the rips slightly, added a bit more weathering, fixed his shirt, and rolled his sleeves down one pixel.

Uniform: The same aside from his were wolf ears and tail.

[storiesofsvu]

A Redemption Earned Ch 22

Heather Dunbar x reader Warnings: it's the final plot twist besties. well. the beginning of it. and don't yell at me because it was definitely foreshadowed. And congrats to @ms-calhoun for figuring it out. round of applause and a cookie for you.

January seemed to absolutely fly by, it was at an end before you even realized it. February was well into swing already, school going steady and Heather had spent a good chunk of her time occupied with Becca and Sarah as they house hunted, making sure they weren’t getting screwed over or spending too much money (or too little). They found a place in Upper Chevy Chase that they both really liked and knew would have enough space for them, Heather deemed it more than acceptable. It was a nice four bedroom place, hardwood flooring throughout, a finished and completely separate basement they could rent out if they wanted. Lots of light, and enough space for them to have a guest room, a home office and whatever they wanted to do with the rest of it.

She ended up helping the girls a little bit more than she’d originally planned, but they’d asked for her thoughts on a couple of trickier situations that the lawyer side of her was more than able to walk them through. Not that either of them had any doubts about their relationship, but buying a house together was a big step, so she drafted up a couple pages of how things could be split up between them if something happened. Both about the house itself and everything inside of it. It honestly gave Heather a little peace of mind, she knew Sarah came from a good family, and obviously loved Becca and wasn’t trying to get anything out of it, but if they did break up, she wanted to make sure Becca’s wouldn’t end up taken advantage of.  

Things were sorted relatively quickly after they put the offer in and as of today they officially took possession of the keys. Heather sent you a rather cute snap of the two of them on the stoop of the house with the keys in hand, Sarah kissing Becca’s cheek.

‘Little homeowners’ She captioned it and you smiled.

‘Looks like someone’s a very proud momma today.’

‘I’m taking them to Macon for dinner if you’d like to join?’

‘I’d love to. What time? My car’s still in the shop.’

‘Made the reservation for six, I can swing by and pick you up?’

‘From work?’

‘Yes, unless that’s too late for you?’

‘No, I’ve got grading to get done anyways.’

‘I’ll see you around 5:30?’

‘Perfect.’

A smile on your lips you closed your phone, turning back to your lunch before you got swept up in a conversation with a couple of your friends. The lunch hour was over relatively soon after that and you headed back to your classroom, wading your way through third grade science including a test, and rounding out your day with a little bit of creative time. You didn’t really care what the kids did, some drew, some painted, some wrote, as long as they followed the prompts you gave them and were using the creative side of their brain, that’s all that mattered.

When the bell rang you helped them pack up their bags, making sure lunch boxes were all packed up to be taken home so there was no rotting food left in the classroom. You fell in step with the other third grade class on your way out to the pick up zone, some going off to busses, others to their parents cars or car services. Once everyone had been accounted for, you retreated back to your classroom, tidying up a bit and wiping the board clean before sitting down at your desk to start marking the science tests.

You couldn’t help but find yourself distracted with your phone multiple times throughout the process. Considering this lesson plan had been on your brain for the past about two weeks you weren’t exactly keen on reading it over and over again right now. Social media helped you distract yourself, another teacher popping into your room to have a brief chat on their way out of work before you finally refocussed.

It wasn’t long after that there was a small knock on the door jam and you glanced up expecting another teacher visit but found Heather standing there. You couldn’t help but smile, thinking back to the very first day you’d met, in this exact same spot.

“I believe I’m here to pick up from detention?” She teased with a smirk and you let out an offended scoff.

“Rude.” You replied with a laugh as she chuckled, crossing the room and ducking to kiss you. “And you’re early!”

“Turns out there’s not a lot to do at a law firm when you have no open cases.” She let out a soft sigh, leaning against one of the smaller desks, “I’m more than willing to wait if you need a few minutes.”

“I’ll just finish this test up, mark the rest at home later.” You suggested and Heather nodded, leaving you to it as she slipped out of her coat, folding it over her arms to not overheat inside. She noticed the way your eyes followed her as she meandered through the room, her hips swaying in a perhaps too form fitting skirt.

“Eyes on your paper missy.” She teased and you tossed an eraser in her general direction that she laughed at, returning it to your desk with a smirk.

She crossed the room over to the wall you’d decorated and done up with the collages and mini bios made by the kids. Her lips curved into a smile as she looked at the drawings, the family portraits, especially compared to the actual class photos of the kids. She found herself chuckling at some of the bios, kids really did say the darndest things. She made a mental note to go through the other box she’d found in the basement, find out what other memories of her own kids she had stashed down there. Her mind drifted a bit and she thought that maybe there were even some crafts down there that might be able to spark an idea with you to bring into class you hadn’t thought of yet. She was about to say something to you about it when her eyes landed on a picture of a little blonde boy in a SpongeBob shirt, smiling brightly toward the camera and her heart nearly stopped.

She felt tears prick into her eyes, and then a sudden burst of anger as she reached out toward the picture. Why the fuck would you have taken a picture of Jordan from one of those boxes to put up in here, especially without discussing it with her first. Luckily she came to her senses before she let rage take control of the situation, realizing that the building the boy was standing in front of was built just last year. That it was a very modern photo, and the kid was not Jordan.

“That’s Cody!” You popped up beside her so quickly that she jumped, shaking herself out of her trance as you kissed at the side of her neck, “kid that transferred in after Christmas, isn’t he adorable?”

“Yeah…” she replied, barely able to tear her eyes away from the photo. She glanced toward the rest of his little square, a self drawn portrait of him and his mom in crayon under the title ‘my family’ scrawled in messy writing.

“You ready?” You asked, pecking her cheek before crossing back through the room to stash the unmarked papers in your bag, collecting the other things you needed as you slipped into your coat. Heather remained unmoved, still staring at the cork board, “Heat?” You asked softly and she finally whipped around,

“Yeah, sorry.” She shook out of it, moving through the room to pick up her coat, sliding it on, “uh…third grade, right?”

“Yup.”

“How…old are kids in third grade?”

“Seven to nine, depending.” Buttoning your coat you reached for her hand, linking it in yours as you lead her toward the door. Her head swiveled back to the wall of collages, a near wistful expression in her eyes as she stared at it for another moment as you flicked the light off.

“How well do you know the parents of your students?”

“Depends.” You shrugged, “some of them I only see on parent teacher day, others daily at pick up.”

“Have you met Cody’s?”

“Once?” Your face scrunched, “I can’t remember her name, cute little blonde thing, probably not much older than Becca if I had to guess?”

Heather’s breath caught in her throat and she wasn’t sure if it was what you’d said or the cold February air hitting her lungs as the two of you stepped outside. She felt her pulse pick up, her mind whirring faster than she could try to control it. Instead, she dropped the subject, clamming up about it, figuring it was better to keep it to herself.

The ride over to Macon was relatively silent. You could tell something was bothering Heather, but weren’t about to pry, she’d let you in when she was ready. You’d been sifting through all the old family videos and albums since the night she found them, making sure things were labelled correctly and putting things into the proper chronological order. You assumed it was something linking between that and the collage wall she’d been inspecting, perhaps just having another melancholy mom moment as you’d dubbed them, one where she realized she’d never met any of her kids teachers or something.

You squeezed at her hand, pressing a kiss to her cheek when you arrived at the restaurant, pulling her out of her daze and she followed you inside. You saw Becca and Sarah tucked away at a table in the corner by the window and made your way over to them, exchanging greets and congratulating them on the house. There was a little bit of small talk as everyone settled in, a bottle of champagne ordered on Heather’s request since you were celebrating, and appetizers soon made their way to the table to be shared.

You weren’t the only one that noticed the way Heather picked at her food, barely touching any of the starters, only having a few bites of salad before topping up her champagne. She was present in the conversation, but it was as if she was behind some kind of veil, not really there. The chicken on her plate only had a very small chunk cut out of it, basically untouched as she just ate a couple of carrots and sprouts instead. In an attempt to at least gain her full attention Becca decided to be brash, she knew how much Heather hated sharing food off the same plate, that if you were to want something, you ask and it would be placed on a side plate to share. Her arm darted across the table and scooped up a forkful of mashed potato, winching as a piece of it dropped onto the tablecloth, (that part unintentional) before it ended up in her mouth.

“Mmm… this is fucking delicious.” She groaned, distracted by the delectable taste.

“Hmm?” Heather glanced her way, her eyes moving from Becca to the dollop of potato on the table and then her plate, “oh…. yeah.”

“Mom are you okay?” Becca asked outright and the older woman glanced across at her.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“You’re deflecting.” She challenged, “what’s going on?”

“Nothing.” She shrugged, fork coming to play with her food once again, rolling a sprout across her plate.

“Babe…” you started, your hand squeezing at her thigh softly, “she’s right… you’ve been strange since we left the school…”

“Not here…” her voice was clipped, her gaze directly in front of her before it darted over to you lightning fast as her voice lowered, “I’ll tell you once we’re home, I just can’t right now.”

“Okay…” your voice softened, squeezing at her leg once again and you decided to leave her alone, turning back to your food, asking Sarah about the house.

A moment later Heather gave your arm a little squeeze before she vanished from the table toward the restroom and Becca turned to you.

“What’s going on with her?”

“I’m not sure.” You sighed, glancing towards where she’d disappeared, “we’ve been going through a bunch of old photos and like, family videos recently. I know she’s been struggling with the realization of how much of your lives she missed out on, how much of an absent mother she was. She was really upset about the whole ballet thing with you.” Becca’s cheeks instantly flushed at the mention and Sarah turned to her with a curious look on her face,

“I didn’t know you danced.”

“I don’t.” She huffed, “Mom didn’t seem to care about it and I only wanted to do it because she used to dance.”

“You should look up an adult class.” Sarah suggested, “go together.”

“That’s a really good idea.” You commented and Becca glanced up to you.

“You think so?”

“I do.” You nodded, “I mean it might take some convincing on her part, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she said yes.”

“Really?” Becca’s nose scrunched and you let out a little laugh,

“Yeah. I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I think she’s wanting to make up for lost time. She wants to try to be the mom she should have been back then but can’t quite figure out how to do that since you’re all grown up now and she’s sure a lot of her suggestions would be considered lame to you.”

“I…honestly… that would be amazing. Like, Dad and I still try to find time to fish, I’d like something to do with Mom that isn’t just dinner dates.”

“Then it doesn’t hurt to ask.” You smiled, taking another sip of your champagne before you returned to your dinner.

“And… you guys are okay, right?” Becca asked, glancing up at you and you laughed.

“We are okay, better than okay.” You smiled, “amazing. We’ve got everything out in the open as usual, I went to a couple of sessions with her, we love each other and that’s really all that matters at this point.”

Becca’s eyes widened every so quickly before she nearly beamed across at you, unaware that the two of you had taken that step in your relationship a couple of months back. You simply smiled warmly back at her, tucking into your dinner as the conversation began to flow across the table again. A few moments later Heather returned to the table, sliding into her seat and you turned to her,

“You okay? Migraine? Stomach ache? I can get you a ginger ale?” You offered her the out, knowing that she wanted to head home, and that Becca would understand.

“Mom, if you’re sick you don’t have to feel bad about ditching, just go. Let y/n take care of you.”

“I have lost my appetite.” She finally admitted with a soft sigh, “you’ll let me take care of the cheque though, right? You two did just buy a house.”

“Absolutely.” Becca and Sarah agreed with a small laugh as you flagged your server down, asking for to go boxes and the bill. Heather settled it as promised, swiftly calling the car as you packed up the food, Becca and Sarah making the decision to stick around at least until the champagne was finished.

You said your goodnights, congratulating the girls on their new adventure together as they said their well wishes that Heather feel better soon. The car ride home, much like the car ride to dinner was silent, your hand on Heather’s thigh, thumb rubbing reassuringly as you made your short way through the streets of D.C. You wordlessly made your way through your house, changing into pyjamas and wiping off make up from the day, washing faces and getting comfortable. It wasn’t late enough for bed yet, so you wandered back downstairs to crack a bottle of wine, wondering whether Heather would follow you or feign sick. You got your answer a few minutes later when she turned up in the doorway of your kitchen, a timid smile on her face,

“You have a spare glass of that?” She asked and you smiled.

“Always.”

You pulled down a second glass, filling it and passing it to her before you kissed her cheek and wandered into the living room, dropping onto the couch. She hesitated behind you, leant against the archway into the living room before she began to pace slowly.

“You wanna talk about it now or later?” You asked softly, taking a sip of wine.

“I can’t stop thinking about that kid.” She murmured.

“Cody?” You asked, your brow furrowing.

“Yes. He looks exactly like Jordan did at that age, it’s uncanny, a carbon copy.”

“Are you sure you’re not just spiraling because we’ve been going through the old videos?”

“I wish that was it.” Heather admitted with a shaky breath, “I didn’t want to get into it at dinner because I knew I wouldn’t be able to not cry.”

“Heat…”

“Jordan was always a momma’s boy…. he came to me for everything no matter how old he was or how much of a degenerate he was.” She took a hefty swig of wine, “about nine years ago he came to me… said a girl he’d slept with was pregnant and he needed to fix things.” She let out a heavy breath and you let her continue without interrupting, “from what I know it was a one night stand, they’d met that night. She’d told Jordan she wanted to get rid of it, and I didn’t exactly like the idea of him being a father, so I handed over a wad of cash and figured it was taken care of.”

“Did you ever talk to Jordan about it later?” You asked gently, “I mean, if she knew who you were… maybe she just wanted money.”

“It didn’t strike me as that.” She took another sip, “he said that he didn’t even remember her name until she called him. She’d had to get in touch through a mutual friend who’d been at the party that night.”

“Jesus.” You muttered over the rim of your glass.

“Yeah.” She finally collapsed onto the sofa beside you, “her name was Lily. They never spoke again. That’s all I know.” She risked a glance up at you, “no one else knows about this, but I swear to fucking god, that kid in your class is his.”

“Heather…” you squeezed at her hand, “I can’t say anything to either of them, it’s a major legal issue.”

“I know!” She scoffed, swatting in your direction, “I am a lawyer, remember?” You chuckled, “I just… I have my second chance with Becca, but I don’t get one with Jordan because he’s gone…. It’s like this is the world’s way of letting me prove I can do this.” Her hand linked with yours and she looked up at you, tears in her eyes, “can you at least tell me what her name is when you find out?”

“Of course.” You leant in to kiss her softly, “if you have a grandkid out there, you deserve to know.”

“Do you think I’m crazy?” She asked, her voice nearly cracking and you laughed softly, cupping her cheeks in your hands.

“No.” You pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose, “absolutely not. Cody does look a lot like Jordan did. And I’ve never heard him talk about his dad, he’s in the right age range… we’ll figure this out.”

“Thank you.” Heather replied, her eyes misty as she gazed across at you.

“I’d do anything for you.” You shrugged, “I love you.”

“I love you more than you could ever imagine.” She murmured back before kissing you and burying into your shoulder, eyes directed towards the television that you flicked on to distract the both of you the most it could right now.

_____________ @ms-calhoun @naturalxselection @yesterdaysgone @hbkpop @giftedchildturns40 @anya-casablanca @svulife-rl  @swimmingstudentchaos8911 @alexusonfire @jamiethetrans @natasha-danvers @oliviaswifey @mysticfalls01 @cmmndrwidw @bumblebear30 @svushots @yourtaletotell @cerberus-spectre @emskisworld @ex-uallyactive @addictedtodinosaurs @imaginaryoperagloves @multifandomlesbianic @annegilletteslostwh0r3 @bookpillows @drduckthief @whimsicallymad @mmmmokdok @ladysc @momlifebehard @mmemalwa @holycrapraewth @poisonedcrownss @wannabe-fic-reader @when-wolves-howl @dead-of-niight @fighterkimburgess @lannister-slings-and-arrowss @borg-queer @godard-muse  @itisdoctortoyousir @brooklynmhm @nobody-important1212 @emilyprentiss4life

[inkvoices]

2023 Fic Year in Review

Please feel free to join in if you'd like. I love to see what other people have written, and often spot fic I'd love to read that I missed!

So, every year I aim to publish more words on AO3 than the year before, just as a nudge. (The great thing about a low word count year is that publishing more the following year is easier!) This year I published about 21,600 words compared to 13,190 words in 2022! I say about, because unusually for me I had to do a bit of maths on a group project and a multi-chapter fic...

In January I contributed to the 31 Days of Winter project, organised by @cassiesinsanity in honour of the lovely and missed @crazy4orcas First time I've taken part in any kind of large collaboration for a long time and Cassie made it all run smooth. I wrote one happy chapter, one somewhat less happy with deaf!Clint, and enjoyed cheerleading on a few others.

In May I posted a second chapter to the only live WIP I have: these are the days. (Because of this fic I now can't make myself start posting any WIPs until the draft is actually complete.) I found the second chapter mostly written on my laptop, tidied it up, and went for it. Amazingly what you can do when procrastinating on other fics, ha.

I wrote two short and sad/angsty fics for the @be-compromised summer promptathon: A Different Call and this a very old story

And finished the year with Windows to the Soul for the @be-compromised Secret Santa. (I meant to meant the minimum word count for this, but @lostemotion's prompts grabbed me and I ended up with over 8k. Oops?)

Unsurprisingly all Clint Barton/Natasha Romanoff or Clint Barton & Natasha Romanoff and all AUs I think, unless one or two could be classed as missing scenes in canon. And overall a bit darker in tone than last year it seems.

Behind the scenes, WIPs I actually worked on in 2023 (as opposed to added notes to or stared at in hope) were:

a festive fic for @cloud--atlas that ended up being published in 2024 instead

a space AU that will be the longest thing I have ever written if I actually get around to finishing the thing (currently at 24k)

a PWP currently at 10k that is maybe nearly done?

a sequel to The Kindly Ones, currently at 6,800 and fighting me ever step of the way

Let's see what I can get inspired to finish this year...

[cece-ta]

Caught in the Rain (With You)

G | BNHA | Words - 1.5K | Todomomo | Bookstore/University AU

AO3

Summary: After the bookstore closes for the day, Yaoyorozu ends up stuck under the canopy outside while waiting out a storm. She finds herself in the company of a young man who happens to get stuck with her.

“Excuse me, miss. We’re closing in five minutes.”

Yaoyorozu startled and bowed in apology. She carefully placed the book in her hand back onto the shelf, making sure to slot it in the same place she had taken it from.

After making sure the shelf looked tidy, Yaoyorozu went to the counter with the two books she had chosen.

Plus Ultra bookstore was a quaint little place filled with shelves upon shelves of literature of varying genres. Yaoyorozu often found something to her liking whenever she visited, though she wished that could be more often. University classes and studying ate up a lot of her time, so she was thankful it only took a few minutes to walk to the store from campus.

As she neatly tucked the two books into her backpack, making sure to say a quick thank you to the owner, Yaoyorozu noticed a young man who looked to be her age waiting behind her. His hair was parted evenly down the middle, one side a deep crimson and the other as white as snow. Heterochromatic eyes stared back as Yaoyorozu smiled out of politeness, the left one surrounded by an angry-looking burn scar. All in all, the young man was objectively very handsome.

Yaoyorozu shook her head. What would her mother say if she caught her ogling a boy so openly?

With that thought in mind, she hurried out of the store.

Only to find it was raining. Hard. Droplets came down in a heavy downpour, collecting into puddles that rapidly expanded in size and splashing off the ground. Yaoyorozu was only kept dry by the awning displaying the store’s name above her head but the pavement below her feet was already getting damp. A clap of thunder sounded in the distance as thick, dark clouds rolled by above.

Yaoyorozu bit her lip. If she were to walk back to campus in this weather, she would get thoroughly soaked. There was also the possibility of hypothermia to consider, not to mention the written draft of her research paper would be in ruins. It was a risk Yaoyorozu found herself unwilling to take. But what was she to do to solve this dilemma?

The store owner rushed past her and got into a car parked a few metres down the road, slamming the door behind him.

There!

Yaoyorozu opened her mouth, but just as she was about to call out and ask for a ride (she’s been a regular customer for a few months now. A small favour shouldn’t be too much to ask for) he drove away. She sighed, body slumping forward ever so slightly.

Maybe she should risk it. The research paper wasn’t due for a few weeks. But her backpack wasn’t waterproof, so everything in it would end up damaged if not destroyed.

She would just have to wait it out! She could be patient.

“Are you okay?”

Yaoyorozu jumped, letting out a rather unladylike squeak as her hand shot up to cover her mouth. The boy from inside the store stood to her right, his head tilted inquisitively.

“Pardon me,” she said, clearing her throat. “I hadn’t realised you were there.”

His brows furrowed. “Sorry I startled you.”

“No, it’s okay. I get lost in my thoughts sometimes.” Yaoyorozu said reassuringly. All the boy did in return was nod.

Not much of a talker, was he?

Yaoyorozu fiddled with her thumbs, watching the rain splatter from the ground and onto her knee-length boots. It showed no signs of easing up any time soon. She glanced to her right. The young man hadn’t moved. He flicked his hand up, checking the watch on his wrist.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why were you at the bookstore?” She asked in an attempt to pass the time. He blinked back at her as if not expecting the conversation to continue. His brows furrowed, eyes narrowing.

“To buy a book,” he said, glancing down at the one in his hand.

Yaoyorozu giggled but that only seemed to further his confusion. “No, no. That’s not what I meant,” she said with a smile and a shake of her head. “I meant to ask why you’re buying a book.”

The boy whispered a very quiet “oh,” before holding the book up closer to his chest with the front facing toward her. The cover showed an illustration of a young couple, their foreheads resting together and their eyes closed. The couple’s hands were held together against their chests. The title was printed at the bottom, the words in a beautiful, swirling cursive.

Yaoyorozu raised a brow. A romance novel? A peculiar choice for a young man, but some people like things you wouldn’t expect, she supposed.

(Her roommate Jirou, for example, also enjoyed the romance genre, though Yaoyorozu was sworn to secrecy.)

“It’s for my older sister,” he explained. “It’s her birthday soon, and this is the newest novel from her favourite author.”

“How sweet of you,” she whispered, smiling softly. She didn’t have any siblings of her own but the idea of one buying a book for her birthday made her heart sing with joy. This boy clearly cared for his sister, going as far as to pay attention to her favourites.

“What about you? I saw you bought two,” he said.

“One is for a research paper I’m working on and the other is from a book series I’ve been enjoying lately,” she replied, excitement laced into her voice.

“What series is it?”

When she relayed the name to him, his eyebrows darted up ever so slightly. Yaoyorozu supposed it was equivalent to the average, more expressional person gasping.

“I’m also a fan,” he said, lips curling into a barely-noticeable smile. Her eyes widened. “Which book are you up to?”

“The seventh.”

“Me too.”

“What a funny coincidence! You can borrow it from me when I’ve completed it,” she kindly offered. It was the store’s only copy, so she knew he would have to go out of his way to order one from somewhere else otherwise. The local library likely wouldn’t have it in stock yet since it was a small place and the book only released the previous week.

He nodded. “I’d like that. Thank you.”

Yaoyorozu involuntarily clapped her hands together—a habitual way of showing her excitement. As she began to gush about her love for the series, he listened intently, chiming in occasionally. Yaoyorozu couldn’t be any more delighted to have finally found someone to talk about it with.

As their conversation continued, she learnt also they both had the same taste in literature. Yaoyorozu herself had always loved to read. It was a great passion of hers, one of life’s many joys. In fact, it was the very reason she chose to pursue literature and education degrees. It was her goal to pass down that great love for reading to the next generation. In turn, he informed her he was studying at the same university, though a medical degree, not literature or education. To save people’s lives, he said, and to follow in his older brothers’ footsteps. Yaoyorozu thought it was very admirable.

A key difference between them, though, was that he didn’t live on campus. His siblings’ shared apartment wasn’t too far away, so he lived with them instead of at the dorms like most other first years.

Noticing the sound of the rain had gotten quieter, Yaoyorozu held out a hand. It was thinner now, almost a drizzle. Much more preferable for walking in.

“I should be able to get back to campus without getting drenched now,” she said, readjusting the straps of her backpack and making sure it was shut properly. “It was a pleasure to meet you.”

Just as Yaoyorozu took a step forward, he called out to her.

“Wait,” he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, the simple white case slightly battered at the corners. “We should exchange numbers.”

“Oh, you’re absolutely right,” she said, smacking her forehead. How could she be so careless?

Yaoyorozu stepped back under the cover of the awning and took off her backpack, tucking some loose strands of hair behind her ears as she reached into the back pocket. Pressing a finger to her phone, she unlocked it with her fingerprint and opened it to the contacts page.

As Yaoyorozu exchanged it for his and quickly typed her name and number, she realised something. They’d been so caught up in their conversation, they skipped the introduction step entirely. She didn’t even know the boy’s name, yet it already felt like they’d known each other for a long time.

She took her phone back, quickly glancing down at the screen.

Shouto Todoroki.

Yaoyorozu hummed happily. Looking up, she saw an identical expression adorning his face. She hadn’t noticed it before, but when Todoroki smiled there were cute dimples on his cheeks.

“I’ll be sure to contact you when I’ve finished reading the book,” she promised, a blush rising to her cheeks.

As Yaoyorozu waved to him and set off back to the dorms, Todoroki smiled softly and nodded. “I look forward to it.”

[whetstonefires]

8 & 9 for the ask game!

8. What kind of document do you use to you write? Microsoft Word? Google Docs? Straight in the AO3 text box?

I have been using an expired copy of Microsoft Word 2010 this whole time--we bought it as a two-disc bundle in actual 2010 and then 6 years later the second copy was still there when I got a new laptop, and now it's 6 years after that. And they stopped supporting the software when it was 11 years old. Eesh. Time.

The fact that it kept nagging me about not being supported didn't worry me too much, since I don't think even a widely utilized word processor is a major hacking target, and Microsoft having pivoted to a subscription model had every reason to be a bitch about using an obsolete version.

But its autosave feature was getting less and less useful, so after losing a lot of work a month and a half ago in a computer crash I finally got around to switching to the open-source LibreOffice, which autosaves restoration data of your current workstate every ten minutes, and also has this nice little floppy disc icon at the bottom of the page that turns red when you've modified the doc since your last formal save, and you can click it to fix that so it turns soothingly black again. Which is nice! Working great for me so far!

So now it's LibreOffice.

I also have Scrivener, but so far I'm exclusively using it to draft one single novel very slowly. All my fic so far is done in a basic word processor.

I can't handle Googledocs ideologically lmao, I don't like trusting Google with my data and I don't like not having backup copies of past drafts Just In Case and I don't like trusting Google to not lose my data and I really don't like needing to have internet to access and alter my files.

And the fact that it strips formatting when you copy-paste is extra motive to not rely on it for fic, because having to either use a special import widget or manually re-enter all my italics would drive me to drink. No google docs.

I tried drafting a chapter straight into AO3 textbox once to see if it helped overcome writer's block. It did not.

9. What’s your favorite line(s) or scene(s) that you have written?

I...this is definitely a moving target? Can people normally answer this? I think if I knew what my favorite thing I've ever done is for sure it'd be really depressing because everything else would naturally be measured relative to it. My personal Mount Fuji.

Also I'm going to be real there's like a 90% chance whatever it is has never seen the light of day because it's good enough I can't bring the surrounding narrative architecture up to par so it's Unfinished Work.

I have over a million words on AO3 how am I supposed to????? I can't.

...also my current focus project is this hilariously long E-rated smut fic on my shiny new nsfw alt, where I'm systematically figuring out what you can do narratively with a sex scene, now that I've challenged myself to figure out how to write them and succeeded. So even if I determined the current answer at this moment, there's a non-zero chance it would turn out to be a really tidy piece of porn choreography.

Currently the technical challenge of describing the relative positions of bodies in space both accurately and engagingly is still entertaining me, though the fun is wearing off so I will probably have finished my erotica phase by autumn lmao.

Let's see. A fave, chosen at semi-random. Recently I was rereading Top Guide to try to get that updating again and found I still get a weird amount of joy out of the bit where Tifa throws tea in Genesis' face and books it, after determining through conversation that his morals are hella janky and they cannot be friends.

That whole sequence with the weird tea party wasn't a huge technical achievement or Perfect in any way really, but the experience of writing it was nice; it just came together really smoothly and I didn't second-guess myself or have to stop and seriously rework it or anything. I could feel the benefit of experience working for me as I put it together and it was nice.

I also liked it for the character because she didn't make a huge production of it but it's such a dramatic thing to do.

Thanks for asking! :D

[cesium-sheep]

on friday I slept poorly, woke up smol, checked referral status, refilled prescriptions, brushed my teeth, shopped for fun, finalized wishlist for dad, fussed, checked craft stock, drew kirby, drew images for kirb2k listings, finalized kirb2k listings, scooped cat litter, finalized wishlist for mom, sent scheduled message, and gave jackie greenies.

on saturday I slept poorly, woke up late, took prednisone, brushed my teeth, went to park, finished christmas shopping, photographed pieces, looked up auction options, tidied kirbs, talked to arin, checked image dimensions, drew kirby, fussed, and gave jackie greenies.

on sunday I slept poorly, woke up fussy, brushed my teeth, went to daiso, went to barnes and noble, went to fred meyer, got Very Tired, finalized stocking layout, assembled meds, took a nap, fussed, talked to mom, drew kirby, scooped cat litter, gave jackie greenies, and brushed my teeth again.

on monday I slept poorly, sent scheduled messages, took prednisone, showered, brushed my teeth, scheduled appt, updated financial spreadsheets, finished cross stitch instructions, formatted cross stitch chart, uploaded file, sanded shelf some, did a ton of resin work, hung out with taran a bit, took extra meds, got achytired, cleaned cat puke, drew kirby, and gave jackie greenies.

on tuesday I slept poorly, woke up fussy, brushed my teeth, made price formulas, priced items, fussed, tidied kirbs, cleaned cat puke, attempted arranging kirbs, sanded shelf some, carved stamp, scooped cat litter, drew kirby, got achy, brushed my teeth again, and gave jackie greenies.

on wednesday I slept poorly, woke up fussy, verified appointment, judged dresses, checked status of other referrals, cleared out tabs, took prednisone, brushed my teeth, tried to contact immunology, found correct number, spoke with immunology, drafted artist introduction, messaged clinic, finished sanding shelf, felt icky, pestered arin, tidied kirbs, drafted auction posts, drafted merch ads, drafted retrospectives, sawed down pegboard, felt even ickier, set out stands to visualize, drew kirby, sent scheduled messages, gave jackie greenies, and brushed my teeth again.

on thursday I slept poorly, finalized other stocking layout, brushed my teeth, scooped cat litter, painted shelf pieces, dealt with maintenance, took out trash, checked mail, tidied kirbs, talked to matt, reassembled shelf, gathered trash, brainstormed christmas solutions, gathered supplies, made a bracelet, got very fussy, drew kirby, and gave jackie greenies.

[todaysthinks]

White Runtz Strain pt. 2. (The TLDR)

The first-time user review of White Runtz from 3 weeks ago can be found

here

TL;DR

It is important to have an intention for this strain, and to not plan to go anywhere. If you are especially susceptible to paranoia, I'd *really* consider how bad you want the creative and motivated effects that come afterward. It's GREAT for thinking or tasks that require focus. To me, the benefits FAR outweigh the first 1/3 of the high.

The Sequence of Events

First thing, I get a head rush, and then again whenever I stand up, and then a dull headache/headiness (hard to decipher) for about two hours. Half the time I've had to pop an ibuprofen before bed.

I panic about having a panic attack, and as a result start thinking about all the terrible tragedy scenarios that could befall me and my family and *cause* a panic attack. I've reconciled that with this strain, good stuff comes after but I have to suffer through 30 minutes of this stuff first.

My body turns nummy from the chest outward and I remind myself I am definitely *not* having a heart attack.

Whoa! Suddenly I have to do something creative. My face is warm and tingly, eyelids heavy, gentle swaying back and forth but for some reason I switch to belly breathing instead of chest breathing and I thank myself for it later after I've been sitting for three hours.

I put on a youtube video and challenge myself to set up my keyboard, computer, guitar, pedals, computer, etc. before the video ends. I feel "play".

Two nights ago, I wrote a 4:40-minute song in about 3 hours, and it's *awesome*. Yesterday, I tidied up two separate songs, wrote a blog post, and spent a couple hours practicing different ways to use glitter. It's massively thinky. White Runtz is worth all the panic because of this part.

The Overall Wrap-up:

Try to do something that doesn't require a lot of moving. A concert would suck, sports would suck, walking a lot sucks. The head rushes happen when blood pressure is low. Possibly doing any of these would alleviate the headrush problem after some time, but I'm not willing to try it. (Like maybe stretching or some low-intensity movement would be nice with this strain?)

For music, I was pumped full of ideas, and more importantly, motivation to finish the project! I usually get stuck at 90% on everything I do, usually I have the rough draft recorded and I need to re-record the entire thing and send it to a collaborator or Soundcloud. But I never get around to that part. This strain leads me effortlessly to the final 10% and the "a-ha" moments. I go to bed proud, not sick of my song, and pleased with whatever weird-sounding shit I just came up with. That finishing off does WONDERS for my self-esteem and also creates another instance of owning whatever my strange brain just created and not caring a CENT whether or not people like it, it's gonna be released.

With art, It provokes experimentation. I had a moment yesterday where I tried out something super weird with a piece of work, LOVED it, said, "you know what? I'm just gonna wipe it and see what happens," LOVED IT... and then got overzealous and ruined it. But then! I did about 7 glitter experiments and I'm confident I'll find a way to cover up my shameful spot. It was a lesson in constraint. I don't have to have constraint with music because I can delete and re-record a hundred times if I want. But with art I gotta learn when to stop! Eventually I will edit this spot to include a hyperlink to Society6 when my picture is completed, scanned, tidied up.

It's a nice strain for gardening or pulling weeds, or doing gentle outside stuff. Playing with dogs is hysterical. My vision is normal, I sway back and forth a little bit, I breathe properly, sit up straight. My thinking is clear, I get more "into" whatever I'm doing, I have breakthroughs about insecurities, profound ideology shifts, or finding out-of-the-box solutions for problems.

Taking the opportunity to insert this bit of wisdom: I will never EVER drive high, and half the time won't be a passenger, either. I don't ever want to be in an emergency situation and not have total control of myself, so I use cannabis *only* after all my driving is done for the night. Some of you need to please chill out on that. People don't care on the road, more and more it seems, and your likelihood of having to use your reflexes are increasing daily because of -other people that may not be you- and you don't know what your motor skills and response time are like until you have to use them. Don't be high. If you've ever had a tiny voice in your mind that says, "Dude you know you don't need to be high to drive home," heed it.

This being said, being a passenger is kind of freaky if a person overdoes it on the WR. You gotta just be glad someone else is driving because you would NOT have seen that car if you were the driver right now. But if you're with someone you trust, enjoy your pretty surroundings and take a good look at them!! You'll notice new details and feel a fresh sense of excitement about your cool city.

After about two hours, I pass the heck out. So I have to time it right. I can't watch baseball or anything low-movement because I'll fall asleep, and I can't be in the heat gardening for too long because... I'll fall asleep. If I have steady focus, like an art project, outside thing, playing with pets, or a blog idea, I'll procrastinate taking a nap and get a second wind when it wears off.

Controversial thought for moms and dads, but I would use this if I were still in college doing homework. I'm currently writing all of this under its influence. However, it might make a difference to me whether or not I like the material. It's a strain that can coax you into getting "sucked in" but you have to care about it. If you don't care about it, you'll get distracted often. I would NOT use it in public. This needs to be after you worked on something all day, took a break for dinner and decompressing, and need to nail the final stretch of your thing for the night. You've got about 2 hours of deep focus until a "spread" creeps across your face and makes your eyelids heavy.

I also credit this strain with the a-ha moment that made me realize I should write this kind of content and create art with it, and perhaps growers or dispensaries would pay me for an in-depth break-down, videos, and custom artsy stuff.

[s3raph1c]

today:

-clean bathroom and laundry room (getting back into my weekly cleaning schedule this week)

-do laundry, wash cloth for baptismal robe

-work on cleaning up those shoes to be sold

-try drafting a few designs for the robe

-perhaps practice a bit of embroidery

of course assuming my son allows me to. i'm excited to try making his baptismal robe. i've been wanting to try out more sewing and to get into embroidery, and this is the perfect project to start on. his baptism is this saturday, so i have a decent amount of time to work on it. i also fell out of the habit of deep-cleaning each room weekly, but i feel settled into things enough again now to get back to it. things have stayed pretty clean with just my daily tidying and basic cleaning, but it's starting to show that the house hasn't been properly deep-cleaned in a month and half or so. there's the urge to just do it all today, but i know that it'll be better to take it day by day and make a routine of it. i've kept up with dishes, sweeping/mopping, limiting clutter, wiping obvious dirt off of surfaces, and laundry, but i'm starting to feel the insistence of the things that need a proper deep clean -- the shower, counters, etc.

i've found that i feel immensely better when i keep things in order. routine and order are way more important to me than i ever thought they'd be. when my husband and i were first living together, i was TERRIBLE at keeping anything clean or orderly and things got disgusting quite a few times because i just couldn't keep up with it. now our house is almost always company-ready, i don't let the dishes get yucky, i don't let food sit out, i keep my clothes off the floor and hang them up at the end of the day, the bathroom is never gross, and even the bedroom (which has always been my biggest point of neglect) is kept nice. thinking back to our old apartment, i'm appalled at the state i let it get to. now i can hardly relax at night if i've left a mess on the table or something. it took me a couple years to learn to appreciate the payoff of those chores, but i truly enjoy keeping the house nice. it's a big load off my shoulders, and my husband's as well.

anyways, my son is asleep so i'll try to get started on some tasks. i should work harder on being productive beyond simply keeping the house presentable, especially since it's become a matter of habit now and i can devote more attention to other things. staying at home has left me with a lot of free time that i haven't figured out how to spend profitably yet.

[faggot-friday]

director's cut for the aro keefe keefitz fic. please. on my knees begging. ramble ramble ramble

it ended up being a lot longer than i thought it would so um. deets under the cut 💜

okay so i don’t really do directors cuts… for shorter fics like that i tend to put out whatever’s in my brain and tidy it up a small amount later. but i did stop working on ginasfs for about a month or two or maybe three right smack bang in the middle of it so a lot changed with what was in my brain during then

obligatory mention that it was originally gonna end up being sokeefe. not cause i shipped it amazingly or anything but specifically because of the “trade baby blues for wide-eyes browns” lyric i was like Oh Fuck Yeah This Fits So Well and that didn’t end up happening because idk i grew and changed as a person? doesn’t matter

so. anyways. there wasn’t meant to be ANY dialogue originally right? you know how there’s the italicised dialogue? yeah i felt weird doing quotation marks cause it didn’t fit with what i had but that was the direction i’d gone in and i wasn’t changing it. so i just italicised it. but yeah originally i was just gonna have them never meet on-page. it was just the separate crises that happen in the first bits. but then i got to the “i sleep in your old shirts” lyric and i had fitz outside keefe’s house and i was like oh? how did you get there boy. what are you going to do there boy. let’s find out shall we

i’m infamous* for making up lore as i go along. so jewish keefe was something i added (also in the “i sleep in your old shirts” section) and the fitz top fan was also added in that section. it was originally gonna be fob merch but then i went mmm i can’t do that it’s a fob songfic. what about another band pete wentz (songwriter) was in. all of them were failed bands (only a few songs and 0 merch) so unless fitz made his own shirt he wouldn’t have one and if fitz put in all the effort to make his own merch he’s sure as hell not letting his ex steal that one. i forgot the name of the band tho umm. i thiiink it had yellow in the name but i honestly don’t remember. ah well. tbh i could have used smth from the other members but that was before i knew who they were (simpler times) and i only knew of pete wentz because i went down a sort of rpf (real person fiction) rabbithole. i relayed all the information i found out into the notes of the draft but i took too long to write and post the fic so the draft deleted and along with it the only record of my rpf knowledge at the time. it was probably for the better i’m ngl there wasn’t a satisfying conclusion to the research

[nomadicbeard]

types of marvel shippers

stony: the OG. Was probably around at the dawn of time. Lives for angst, soulmate clichés and parallels. Needs string to keep track of all the different universes. Trump card in any argument is Earth-3490. You ask for receipts they just start crying and unroll a list that spans seven blocks. "I prefer the comics."

stucky: knows (rightfully so) that the winter soldier is one of the best marvel movies to date. Likes angst but as long as it has a happy ending. Bucky Barnes did no wrong. Period freaks. You ask them if they're getting off the bus, they turn to you with tears and reply "I’m with you 'til the end of the line, pal."

brucethor: a clusterfuck. Crack shipped until Thor: Ragnarok. It's still a crack ship but now it's a crack ship with fic! Probably space or fantasy nerds.

ironstrange: were stony but jumped ship after it became too angsty. Enemies to lovers aesthetics. Tony stans. Still not quite sure about Benadryl Cumbersnatch's american accent

buckynat: comics nerds. Has that scene in civil war replaying over and over again. probably Russian.

clintasha: pretends that age of ultron never happened. Loves Domestic Avengers circa 2012. Budapest.

romanogers: agrees that the winter soldier is one of the best marvel movies. would like to remind that Nat and Steve have been on the run together for the past two years. Power couple. “Sharon Carter is just a knock-off Nat”

sambucky: absolute crackshipper. Loves Steve Rogers. Hates Steve Rogers. very excited for the future. “I hate you” is the most romantic thing you can say

samsteve: is in total agreement with the stucky and romanogers shippers about the winter soldier, but would like to kindly point out the power couple dynamics. genuinely just chill people

pepperony: instant canon trump card. Loves Pepper, hates Gwenyth Paltrow.  Iron Man 3 is the best MCU movie. Absolute Team Tony Stark.

[scarletwinterxx]

I think I'm fallin' in you - taeyong imagine

hi!! this has been in my drafts for a while now, and I only finished now😅 finally. I hope you like it! As always tysm for the love and support💛

For my other works you can check them out here, and for my other story series’ you can check them out here.

All works are copyrighted ©scarletwinterxx 2022 . Do not repost, re-write without the permission of author.

Looking at the two kids sitting across from him, Taeyong can’t help but feel this overwhelming sense of pride, joy and love. The two kids are like splitting images of you and him, like all the best parts of you were passed down to them. 

“Appa, will you come and buy us ice cream again next time?” the little girl asked, she has your eyes that’s probably why he could never say no to the little girl.

“Ofcourse, just tell appa when you want some ice cream and we’ll go buy some” he said with a warm smile, leaning across the table to wipe some ice cream on the side of her face. 

Meanwhile the little boy sitting beside her was quietly enjoying his ice cream, anyone can tell he’s Taeyong’s son the moment they see him. His eyes were exactly like his father’s. “How about you, Minhyuck? do you like your ice cream?” 

It was an odd choice for a kid to pick, chocolate chip mint ice cream. His sister making a face when they told their father which flavor they would like to get, 

“Ew, who likes that flavor” Minseo said, “But it’s tasty, I like it” Minhyuck answered with a pout, The scene before Taeyong making his heart melt. 

“Appa likes it too” he told the little boy making him smile up at him, “Eomma hates it, she says it tastes like toothpaste” Minseo said making the older one laugh. You told him that too. 

“Eomma won’t let us have ice cream” Minseo said, “Said we’ll get sick if we eat too much” she added

“Well, Eomma’s right” Taeyong said, making a mental note to slow down on giving his kids sweets if he didn’t want to get in trouble with you. Again. 

“Eomma’s a doctor so she knows” Minhyuck told his sister, as if to defend you. You stopped practicing the year you got pregnant with your twins, You and Taeyong weren’t actively trying but also wouldn’t mind having a kid, it was just a big surprise when you found out you were having twins. It was safer for you and the two babies if you stayed at home most of your pregnancy and be away from any stress. 

Of course Taeyong stepped up and promised he would provide for your family, in your relationship it has always been equal when it comes to everything. For the first time in years, you’re fully dependent on your husband but you trust him. You know you’re in this together.

Fastforward 5 years to now, the twins now go to school while you mostly stay at home to take care of them. It’s better that way, you wanted to be there for them all the time in case they needed you. But of course there are days when it gets too much. 

So for today, Taeyong requested for a day off and took his kids out to let you have the day all for your self.  

“But appa let us have some” the girl argued, bringing Taeyong back to reality. Listening to his kids have their usual banter, 

“I’ll buy you ice cream again but only if you promise you’ll be good to your mom, okay?” he told his kids, the two younger ones nodding in agreement. 

When the three of them finished with their treats, they finally headed back to home. 

Taeyong took this time to tidy the place a bit. It wasn’t messy by any means but he can’t help himself. He’s the neatfreak in this relationship

He just finished putting away the dishes when you entered the door, 

“What are you doing?” you asked the man standing in the middle of your kitchen, 

“Cleaning” Taeyong answered with an unsure smile, “You don’t have to do that, Yong” you said with a smile but thanking him nonetheless

“It’s fine, you know me” he mumbled as we watched you work around the kitchen, already preparing dinner

“Did you have fun today?” he asks, feeling a pair of arms hug him for behind. You bury your face on his back, the answer to his question was yes you did enjoy today. But if you’re being full honest you would’ve rather stayed at him with him and the kids,

“Yes, while I was at the mall I kept looking at stuff the twins might like. While I was eating, I was thinking if they ate already or if they would like food there. I was out all day but my mind was still with those two” you mumble

“You miss them” Taeyong chuckles, wipping his hand on the apron before turning to give you a proper hug

“I missed you too, wish we could’ve just spent the day together”

Even though it does get very tiring at times, there’s nothing more in this world you love more than being a mother to Taeyong’s kids and Taeyong loves you endlessly for that. He can’t believe he’s lucky enough to have a wife like you. 

“We can spend the day together, tomorrow. Where do you want to go?”

“You’re staying home?” picking your head up to look at him, Taeyong smiling down at you before giving you a quick kiss “I took the whole weekend off”

You smile at him, giving him another kiss 

“The twins want to go to this zoo out of town, we can also stay there for the night. I think they’ll like it, we can make a campfire and roast some marshmallows” 

“Sounds good, how about you? What do you want to do?” he asks you

“Mmmh, just want to be here. With you”

“Okay Mrs. Lee, your wish is my command. I’m not going anywhere today but stick by your side” you laugh at his statement, feeling giddy and excited with your weekend plans

“Eomma, are you here?” Minhyuck shouted from the hallway as he run towards the kitchen

“No running, be careful” you reprimanded him but you were already smiling

“Eomma!” the little boy said as he rushed to where you were, hugging your legs

“Hey, buddy. How was your time with your dad?”

“I had fun, Appa taught me how to play the guitar and we went out for some ice cream” at the mention of ice cream you looked over Taeyong with a questioning look

“That was supposed to be our secret” he smiled sheepishly at you, looking down at your son with the exact same look on his face it’s like you’re looking at two Taeyong but from different times

“Okay, well as long as you had fun. Where’s your sister?”

“In her room, she said she’s busy coloring” he mumbled while still clinging on your legs. 

It was obvious who the twins favor, Minhyuck even though being the older one of the who have always been the more soft spoken one. Always the quiet one, sitting on the side and letting his sister have the limelight but always keeping an eye on her to make sure she’s okay. He’s smart and a fast learner, when he wants to do something he’ll make sure to do it well. Even as a baby, he liked staying by your side, always a hand clutching on you as if he’s keeping you from floating away from him. 

Minseo, on the other hand, is the more independent one. She likes learning things on her own, she’s more outgoing and ready to speak her mind and make sure she’s being heard. The little girl have always looked up to her dad, it was obvious he’s her favorite. She even said it once. 

“What’s for dinner?” Minhyuck asked while putting his hands up so his father can carry him to take a peak at what’s on the stove cooking

“Pasta” you feel his head peak from behind you, giggling at your ear

“I have a surprise to tell you and your sister, but first we eat dinner”

As promised, you told your kids about the trip after dinner. They were both very happy and excited, they immediately started to list all the animals they wanted to see. Something those two have in common is how they took after Taeyong with their love for animals and even insects. 

“They really are your children” you tell Taeyong after you put the twins down for the night. Crawling over to cuddle Taeyong’s side, meanwhile your husband chuckles at your words. Pulling you closer to his side, 

“I’m surprised you got them to bed”

“I told them we weren’t going if they don’t sleep early, you know Minhyuck will fall asleep the moment his head hits the pillow. Minseo stayed for a bit to read a book but then she fell asleep”

He smiles while listening to you, his heart swelling with love both for you and his kids. When you first started dating, he thought he couldn’t love you more but after you gave birth he just fell in love with you more. To this day, whenever he sees you with the twins, he’s reminded of just how much you’ve done for your family and he just falls in love some more. 

“I love you” he tells you, kissing your temple. You tilt your head to look at him, “I love you, too”

“You know, spending the day with the two kiddos made me think just how much I love them. Like I already knew that, but whenever I see them and hear them converse with each other I still can’t believe their ours. I do miss the times when they were tiny though, remember that” 

“Oh gosh, yes. Don’t make me cry please” he lets out a laugh at your statement, “They’re growing up too fast, they’re not babies anymore”

“We can always have more. I mean only if you want, I know you already do so much around here plus it’s not an easy task to add another one and you’re going to go through a lot...”

“I do, I do want another one” you cut your husband off, looking at him with loving eyes. Already imagining a little baby, once again with Taeyong’s eyes, maybe his nose too and his lips. You won’t mind if it’s a girl or a boy, you just wanted another one. 

“Are you sure?” he asks you

“More that sure, you’re the best dad to Minhyuck and Minseo there’s no doubt you can be the best dad to our one”

“What if it’s twins again?”

“Oh god, well we won’t know unless we do it right” he lets out another laugh before turning over to tower over you, kissing you repeatedly all over your face.