#how i start my handmade jewelry business

[newbusinessideas]

How to Start a Handmade Jewellery Business at Home

🎬 Ready to level up your jewelry-making game? 💎💼 Check out these simple steps on How to Start a Handmade Jewelry Business from Home! 💡✨ #handmadejewelry #handmadejewellery #handmadebusiness #homemadebusiness #businessopportunity #smallbusinessideas

Handmade jewellery commands high esteem from consumers for its unique and personal touch. Unlike mass-produced items, artisans craft handmade jewellery with great care and meticulous attention to detail, making each piece a work of art. In a culturally rich country like India, a widespread market exists for handmade jewellery, offering numerous opportunities to aspiring entrepreneurs. The demand…

[dfortrafalgar]

I'm Losing You... (But We're Filling The Cracks)

Having a family isn't always as easy as fairy tales make it seem.

Warnings: Read chapter 1 for warnings.

Taglist: @phsycochan | @mirillua | @augustanna | @chaixsherlock | @whore-of-many-hot-men

Chapter 19

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28 hours.

Those were Law’s least favorite shifts.  Where his bedroom was a temporary call room with a stiff twin-size mattress and a single flat pillow, and where his companion was his hospital pager and not the warmth of your body next to his.  Not like he got much sleep to begin with, not with his pager going off in the ungodly hours of the morning due to the sheer spontaneity of cardiac events.

After 28 long, grueling hours, the warmth of the summer sun finally graced the skin of his exhausted face as he stepped through the hospital’s entrance doors and walked through the parking lot to his car, placing his work bag in the passenger seat.  Normally, he’d head straight home to hold you in his arms and bury his face in the flesh of your belly where you were the most soft and warm, but today he had a different plan.  From the inside of his bag, he procured a small box, placing it securely in the empty cup holder below the center console before putting his car into gear and driving to his destination.

It didn’t take him too long to get across the city where he miraculously found street parking in front of his destination.  He placed the box safely inside the pocket of his slacks, reaching into his car’s ashtray to procure a few coins for the parking meter.  Stepping out of his car and onto the sidewalk, he gazed at the sign of the building in front of him.

SABAODY’S JEWELERS

A longtime, family owned business known for their exceptional craftsmanship of handmade jewelry, Law was very familiar with the owners.  After all, it was where he had your engagement ring made.  He palmed the box in his pocket as he took a deep breath and walked through the entrance.

A black-haired older woman sat behind the front counter, casually flipping through a newspaper as she moved an unlit cigarette around her lips.  Her sharp, analytical eyes darted upward at the sound of the bell on the door signaling Law’s entrance.  She smiled upon seeing the man, folding the newspaper and uncrossing her legs to stand from the stool she was perched on.

“Trafalgar Law, it’s been a minute!  How’ve you been?”  She excitedly leaned over the counter, her v-neck tank top revealing a bit more cleavage than Law was comfortable with, but he smiled fondly at her enthusiasm.

“I’ve been well, Shakky, thanks.  How’s Rayleigh?”  The man kept his hands in his pockets, fidgeting with the box.

“Oh you know, can’t get him to sit down.  Not even for a moment,” Shakky joked, removing the unlit cigarette from her lips and placing it on a small napkin behind the checkout register.  “How’s the wife?”

Law’s smile grew a bit wider at the mention of you.  “We could be better, that’s kind of what I came in here for.”

The older woman’s eyebrows quirked upward in confusion as she watched Law pull the small box from his pocket, opening it and placing it on the counter.  Inside was a tiny plastic bag filled about halfway with a dusty, gray powder.

“Are those…” she started.

“Ashes,” Law replied, finishing her sentence for her.  “We’ve… uhm… we’ve been having some fertility issues, to keep the story short.”

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” her voice was quiet and apologetic as she stared down at the tiny bag.  It seemed she picked up on what the ashes were from almost immediately, making Law relieved that he wouldn’t have to explain any further, not thrilled about reliving the sight of his dead baby in a bedpan.

“I was wondering if you would be able to make these into two pieces, I’m thinking of a ring and a necklace.  I don’t really know how jewelry works, but I figured you’d be able to come up with some ideas,” he offered, keeping his hand on the box as if to protect it.

Shakky’s eyes lit up at the prospect.  “Of course I could, I’ve done many cremation pieces before.  Do you mind if I take a look at them?”  She made a small motion towards the box, catching on to the way Law’s fingers remained positioned around the tiny bag to snatch it away for safekeeping.

He pushed it forward, wordlessly giving her permission.  Shakky’s long fingers gently picked up the bag from inside of the box.  It was astronomically tiny, the small amount of ashes barely being more than a teaspoon in size.  Her heart clenched at the sight.  She was always so fond of you and Law, owing the heart surgeon a great deal for assisting with treating her own husband’s atrial fibrillation.  To think that such a sweet couple have had to go through something so traumatic, it made her soul weep at the thought.

“I have a fantastic idea,” she piped up, looking at Law.  “Come with me to the back, I’ll show you what I’ve got.”

Law followed her as she rounded the counter and trekked through her small storefront, past display tables full of handmade bracelets, earrings, and necklaces.  She pushed open a metal door in the far back of the shop, entering what Law presumed to be her workshop, or at least a small part of it.  He watched as she placed the box with the ashes down onto the countertop before she approached a small plastic storage container and procured a tiny fabric drawstring bag.  She emptied it into the palm of her hand, revealing a small, simple gold ring band with a flat, circular pendant in the middle.

“This was an experiment I was doing with plant ashes, so it’s not for sale, but I’d be able to do something like this.  I melted down glass, mixed the ashes into the glass, and cooled and shaped it to fit into the face of this ring, similar to a gemstone.  I’m able to change the color of the glass depending on what you might want,” she explained, moving the ring around under the light so Law could get a good look at the details.  “Considering how there’s… well… not many ashes, I think this might be the best choice.”

The tiny piece of jewelry was indeed quite beautiful, even if it was just an artistic test.  The way the ashes were embedded into the colorful glass gave it a quartz-like appearance that glittered under the fluorescent lights of Shakky’s work room.

“What kind of colors can you do?” he asked, officially intrigued.

“All kinds, but I typically do white and blue for glass pieces,” she offered.  “The blue is a light, sky blue color, similar to an aquamarine.”

Law nodded, contemplating.  “Are you able to do one that’s more plain?”

“I’m able to do whatever your little heart wants,” she teased.

The black-haired man grinned.  “Can you do blue glass for the ring and white for the necklace?  The necklace is for me,” he asked, tracing his collarbone with the pads of his fingers.

Shakky smiled from ear to ear, clutching her test ring in her palm as she excitedly nodded.  “Law, dear, I’d be honored to do this for you and your wife.  If you want to hang around, I can have them done in about two hours.”

“That quick?” he asked, exasperated.  “I don’t want you to have to drop your current work just for me.”

“Boy, did you see me doing work when you walked in?  If you call doing the daily crossword ‘work’ then I’m concerned about what you do on your breaks!”  She tossed a joking smile at the man as she slipped her test ring back into its fabric bag, placing it back into the storage container it came from.

“I’ll meet you by the front to pay–” Law began before Shakky cut him off.

“Nope, on the house.”

“Shakky, this is work,” he argued.

“It might be, but this is special for you and your wife.  Consider this part of a gift from me for all you’ve done for myself and my family,” she said, her words laced with tenderness.  “If you really want to repay me so badly, bring me a six pack later tonight before I close.”

Law smirked.  “You got yourself a deal.”

Shakky sealed their arrangement with a hearty, friendly smack to his shoulder, making him wince slightly.  She was far stronger than her outward appearance let on.  “See you in two hours, kid.”

Law exited her back room, making his way past her various display tables and shelves to the front of the store before exiting out the front.  He pulled his phone from his pocket, navigating to your contact and calling your cell phone.

It rang about three times before the receiver clicked and your voice spoke through the speaker.

[Hi, baby!  Are you on your way home?]

Law thought you must have had some form of supernatural ability, the way your voice was able to consistently brighten his day every time he heard you.  “I’m actually downtown, are you free right now?”

Small shuffling sounds could be heard in the background.  [Once I’m done cleaning out the cabinets I will be!  Do you wanna meet somewhere?]

The man chuckled.  “Why are you cleaning out the cabinets?”

[I was bored and didn’t want to be alone with my own thoughts.]  You had a point.

“Well stop cleaning, meet me at Cafe Brook.  I want to see you,” he chided through the phone, his voice giving away the smile on his face as he spoke to you.

[Aye aye, captain!  I’ll see you in a bit, I love you!]

“Love you, too, baby,” he replied before the call was cut off.  He shoved his phone into his pocket and began the short walk to the agreed upon location.

—

Law was waiting outside the restaurant for you and grinned as you approached, a sundress adorning your body and your bag slung over your shoulder as you walked with a slight skip in your step.  While your husband wasn’t much for PDA, that didn’t stop you from taking his hands in yours and pressing a tender kiss to the corner of his lips.

“Hi,” you said with a small giggle.

“Hi,” he replied, wrapping his arm around your waist to guide you into the small cafe.

It was late in the morning nearing the end of the brunch hour, so many of the tables were empty leaving you and Law with a wonderful table in the corner by the sunlit window.  You hung your bag on the back of your chair before you took your seat, adjusting your dress under your legs while Law immediately took a sip of the complimentary tap water on the table.

“This was such a nice surprise!” you said, jovially.  “Why were you downtown?”

Your husband shrugged, keeping his smile content, trying to hold in what he was scheming.  “Just had to run some errands, that’s all.”

You rested your head in the palm of your hand on the table, your eyes gazing at him knowingly.  “You’re not trying to surprise me, are you?”

“I would never.  You don’t need surprises,” he replied, tossing a mischievous smirk at you.

You laughed, poking your tongue out at him.  “Well, whatever you were doing, I’m always happy to get brunch with you.  Especially after such a long shift… how was it, by the way?”  Your own hand clutched your cup of water, your fingers releasing some of the condensation and causing droplets of water to flow down the outside of the glass.

Law groaned as a response to your question, making you smile sympathetically.  “28 hours of pain,” he griped.  “Everyone always waits until three in the morning to have urgent health issues.”

You reached your hand across the table to pat his forearm.  He responded by adjusting his arm so his hand could hold yours.  “Well, now you have two days off!”

A waiter came by and passed out some small paper menus, but the two of you almost immediately decided on what to order.  A plate of curly fries to split, a hearty breakfast sampler for Law after having eaten very little in the last 28 hours, and a toasted blueberry muffin for you.  A comfortable silence fell over the two of you as you gazed around the interior of the restaurant.  The entire joint was trying to be old-school rock and roll themed, but it harshly clashed with the rustic wooden entryway and wall sidings.  The entire establishment was a strange cacophony of design choices, made even more humorous with the multiple posters and framed platinum records of the famed jazz musician Soul King Brook, who’s name was the inspiration for the establishment.  (No one actually knew if Brook had anything to do with the place, though.)

“Hey, remember how my friends came over last week and left that basket of stuff?” you asked, alerting Law’s worried attention from the frightening poster of the almost skeletonized pop star.

“Yeah, what about?” he asked, giving you his full regard.

“So I was actually texting Vivi again yesterday,” you stated.  “She gave me the names of a few counselors in the area who specialize with women’s health and pregnancy issues… and I think I’m going to try one of them out just to see what’s up.”

Law straightened his shoulders.  “That… sounds like a fantastic idea.”

“You think?” you asked, slightly nervous about his opinion.

“Of course, I think that’d be really good for you to help you adjust to everything that’s happened,” he clarified.

You smiled, feeling your chest flutter with his support.  “If my first appointment goes well, would you want to maybe come with me?” you asked.  “I mean… you know… you deserve support, too.”

Law felt his own chest clench at your words.  You were right, he was just as damaged as you were over the whole situation.  His mind flashed back to Shakky’s jewelry store, where the woman was most likely hunched over her work table shaping hot glass as they spoke.  He nodded slowly, albeit enthusiastically.  “I think that would help me a lot, if I went with you.”

“Even just to talk everything out with a professional,” you added, hoping to solidify his decision.

Your husband nodded once again.  “Exactly.”

The smile you gave to the man made his face flush with heat.  Your beaming grin, a sight he seemed to have missed more often since your second miscarriage, the smile that bore the heat of one thousand suns and yet filled his entire soul with the fuzzy comfort that only you could provide.  He fell in love with you more and more each time he saw that brilliant smile.

Your food came out from the kitchen and was passed toward you, Law’s mouth instantly beginning to salivate at the sight of the greasy bacon and eggs spread out on the porcelain, next to a generous helping of homefries and whole wheat toast.  He watched with a small smile as you took a delighted bite out of your blueberry muffin that was cut in half down the middle and slathered with a smear of butter on each side.

—

“Law, why are we at Sabaody’s?” you asked, your voice riddled with skepticism as your husband led you by your hand the few blocks it took to get from the restaurant to the jeweler’s.  Law had received a text during your meal that made him appear jumpy, and he remained that way until you had finished eating and paid the bill.

“No reason,” he replied, the weakest excuse known to man as he pushed open the door to the storefront, beckoning you inside.

Shakky rounded the corner out of her work room, smiling upon seeing you.  She held two boxes in her hands, but quickly placed them safely in a small brown paper bag which she promptly handed to Law.  

“Oh, dear, it’s so good to see you!” she called, making you smile as she dipped down for a friendly hug.

“You too, Shakky!  How’s your husband?” you asked, figuring the same question must have been asked by your own man.

“Constantly running at 100% capacity,” she responded with a sarcastic eye roll.  She turned her attention back to Law and tossed him a wink.  “All set!”

“Thank you so much, Shakky, I really appreciate it,” he answered, reaching over the checkout counter to shake her hand.  

You watched their interaction with profound confusion.  “What are you two scheming without me?”

“Nothing,” the older woman responded, a coy grin on her face as she waved the two of you out of the storefront.  

Law kept the bag clenched in his hand as he walked, his opposite hand holding you as he led you back to his car.

“Law, I parked down the road,” you indicated, but he quickly opened his passenger side door and ushered you inside.

“I know, but this is important,” he uttered.  His words sounded rushed, almost panicky, making worry begin to sprout in your mind.  What in the world had he done?

You watched as he rounded the front of his car and plopped himself into his driver's seat, closing and locking the doors around you with the switch below the handle.  He nervously fumbled with the bag, pulling out the two boxes that had been handed to him by the older woman.

“So… I… uhm…” he was frantically tripping over his words, a far cry from the man you had met for brunch almost three hours prior.  “I might have gone behind your back and done something.”

You stared at him with concern.  “... Okay…?”

Law’s hands were slightly trembling as he opened the smaller box, revealing a brilliant silver banded ring with a small blue glass pendant in the middle.  It glittered in the sunlight, the tiny but stunning faux gem casting blue hues reflected from the sun on the top lid of the box.  He passed it over to you, watching as you gently took it in your hands and gazed with wide eyes at the subtle piece of jewelry.

“Law…?”  You looked over at him as he opened the second box, revealing a similar small pendant necklace on a thick, sturdy silver chain.  The stone on the necklace was a simple white stone that looked similar to an opal.

“At the hospital, after you fell asleep and before we went home that night, I tracked down the nurse that took our baby and asked her to bring me to the mortuary to have someone cremate him,” he explained.  “His ashes are in the jewelry.”

Your eyes were wide as you took in his words, gazing back at the bright blue glass pendant on the ring.  Your voice was trembling as you struggled for words.  “You… it…”

Law reached his shaking hands over to you, pulling the ring out of the box and taking your right hand in his.  He slipped the ring over your right-hand ring finger, feeling inwardly satisfied as it fit perfectly on your digit.  He laced his hand with yours, your eyes never tearing away from the pendant on the ring.

“I got the ring for you, and the necklace for me,” he whispered, leaning closer to you over the center console.

Your eyes darted upward to meet his own, tears brimming in the corners as you bit your wobbling lip.  With a blubbery laugh, you gave him a small, playful shove on his shoulder.  “You need to stop making me cry!”

Law chuckled himself, pulling you in for an uncomfortable hug over the center compartment in his car.  You eagerly wrapped your arms around his shoulders, burying your head into the junction of his neck.  He could feel your smile on his skin as you sniffled into his shirt.

“Law…” you mumbled, pulling away from him to gaze at the ring.  “I can’t… I can’t believe it…”

Your husband was smiling, a content grin that held the same amount of sadness that you still felt in your heart after losing your unborn 12-week-old.  His attention was torn from your soft face as you reached over for the other box in his lap, pulling out the necklace and unlatching the clasp.  Your hands trailed around his neck to link the chain around him, watching with fondness as the white pendant sat perfectly in between his collarbones.

“Looks good on you…” you sighed, your hands tracing the tan skin around the pendant, the feeling making goosebumps rise on Law’s skin.  “Our baby…”

“Now he’ll still be with us wherever we go,” he whispered.

You wiped away your tears with the collar of your dress.  “When did you get so sappy?” you asked, jokingly.

Law grinned.  “Well, admittedly, one of my nurses gave me the idea.  She told me her sister lost a pregnancy, and they had the remains cremated and made into little rocks that they spread through their favorite hiking trail.”

“That’s so beautiful,” you cooed, your tears slowing down.  The new ring on your finger brought you a strange sense of comfort you had yet to feel, something almost akin to closure.  It was a small patch in the cracks that made up your broken heart, cracks that your husband was slowly learning to rebuild, and that you were doing to his own.

“God,” you sighed, leaning back in your seat.  “What did I do to deserve you?”

Law’s hand brushed over your cheek.  “I should be asking the same thing.”

You stared blankly out the front windshield before asking, “Can we just have Shachi or Penguin pick up my car?  I don’t want to leave you.”

Your sudden question made Law snort out a laugh as he pulled out his phone.  “I’d be more than happy to ask, my love.”

[bekkathyst]

I’m starting to worry that joining that handmade market this weekend was a mistake bc the electroforming just hasn’t been going well and I’m going to show up with a half-empty table 🥲 a woman I’m sort of friends with started working at town hall and tried really hard to get me into that market (bc they always reject me otherwise) and they did reject me at first. It’s just at the very last minute, someone else dropped out so she told me I should take the spot. I didn’t want to disappoint her bc she was sooo excited and now I’m worried that I’m going to show up with almost no jewelry. Because of how electroforming is, I literally can’t do anything to make it faster or to make more. I just have to sit and wait for it to finish plating. It’s so frustrating 😭

Also tomorrow is the crystal sale here on tumblr (something that is vital to my income) and I just want to focus on that, but now I need to print some business cards and get my stuff ready. Oh man. Well, even if I don’t have a lot of jewelry, hopefully it will at least direct people to my website and just put my name out there. I think if I reframe it as just introducing myself to the local people, it makes it feel a little better 😅

[intriq]

dc universe characters but your their ex, and they want you back

could be hurt/comfort, maybe fluff. angst? idk, unsure about how to label this one chief

if you want to see any other characters in here, lmk via comment or send me an ask! [they are always open for requests n stuff, so feel free to send them] and i'll make sure to get them in here!

Also, big thanks to my beta readers: Lilac, Void, My bestie, and bat brat apollo! they helped make sure these didn't fall too out of character.

‎‎‎‎‎ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ‎‎‎ㅤ╔⏤⏤⏤╝❀╚⏤⏤⏤╗

‎‎‎‎‎ㅤㅤBruce...

...at first, didn't realize just how miserable he'd feel after you guys broke up. Well, after he broke up with you.

He thought that you being possibly tied in to his life as Batman would make things oh so dangerous, and that maybe you'd be better off without him. And that just maybe he'd be better off without you.

But boy was he wrong.

After day one, he missed your presence.

After day three, he started missing your touch. Hugs, kisses, cuddles, the works.

After one week he missed seeing you whenever he came back to Wayne manor after patrol or whenever he'd had a long day being out and about Gotham, whether as just his regular self or patrolling the streets, fighting crime as Batman.

By week two, not even focusing on patrolling could keep you off his thoughts. It didn't exactly help that he knew your schedule. Actually, not even just knew. He had it memorized.

So he'd find himself particularly drawn to patrolling the area around where you lived more often, sometimes even doubling back to the area. Sometimes even three times.

Of course, it took a full month [and seeing you going on your first date since the break-up] for him to take action. He'd started sending gifts at first. Small things that you liked, whether it be books or lots and lots of flowers.

Then the gifts just got more and more expensive, more grandeur. After all, he is a billionaire, so it wouldn't hurt his bank account. Plus, it was a gift for you. So why wouldn't he?

If you still didn't take him back then, he starts sending you texts. Just cute little things such as "i miss you" and whatnot.

And then the in-person confessions, gift giving, and what-not started after. He'd drop by [after making sure no one was around to see at least three times] your apartment while he was in his full Batman getup, bringing you some smaller, easier to hide away things like bracelets and necklaces.

And during the day, he'd be where ever he'd knew you'd be. Whether it was your apartment, your job, anywhere, he'd personally come deliver you yet another gift.

Takeout from your favorite place? He's brought it to you for lunch.

He saw you post about something [whether it be a stuffed animal, jewelry, etc] on social media because it's cool or cute? It's been hand delivered to you by him.

"I saw you talking about how much you wanted these, so I got them for you. Why..? Because I miss you."

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ➶ ｡˚ 　　°

‎‎‎‎‎ㅤㅤTim...

...was devastated when you broke up with him. He didn't realize that all this work being a vigilante that made him miss out on oh so many dates had taken as big of a toll on your relationship as it did.

And by the time he'd realized, the cracks had already formed, and you'd broken up with him. You wanted a partner who could meet you half-way, even if he was a little busy at times.

But that didn't stop him from immediately trying to win you back. Gifts? You've got it. Whether they were bought or handmade, it didn't really matter. He'd get you something.

Not to mention the texts, phone calls, voicemails, everything. He's going the full nine yards to show you just how sorry he is, and just how badly he wants you back.

"I know I've said I was sorry so many times, but I really am! I promise I'll do everything in my power to be there for our date nights, so please take me back.."

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ➶ ｡˚ 　　°

‎‎‎‎‎ㅤㅤDick...

...definitely wasn't expecting for you to break up with him. Sure, he's been in plenty of relationships before, but he'd never expected you to get the courage to tell him you wanted to break up.

He didn't even realize he missed you as much as he did until one night while patrolling, a month or two after your break-up, he saw you walking along the streets of Gotham.

And damn were you still as pretty as the first time he saw you. In fact, scratch that, as pretty as the last time he saw you. Which was when you broke up with him.

So from then on, when Gotham is just a little less quiet and he can afford to do a little slacking off, he walks with you. You had this weird routine of walking for an hour at night, anyway.

At first he made small-talk. Asked you how your day was, why you were taking a walk [he already knew why. he just wanted to hear that pretty voice of yours more!], how you'd been since the break-up, if you were seeing anyone [this was extremely important and he'd express why after a bit of prompting], as one does.

Then it ramps up to him telling you how much he missed you, how pretty and attractive you were still, the works. He then ramps up to just blatant flirting, maybe even making sure he was touching you in some way, like an arm around your shoulder. Or maybe even subtly holding your hand under the premise of him wanting to show you something that you didn't know the way to.

And after that, if you still didn't miss him enough to take him back? He's just obvious. Asking you on dates, showing up to your home with gifts, everything. He'll go the whole nine yards for you, just so you'll take him back.

"Aww, c'mon! Just one date, sweetheart. Please? I promise that if you don't want me back after just one date I won't bother you again."

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ➶ ｡˚ 　　°

‎‎‎‎‎ㅤㅤJason...

...definitely didn't want to admit he wanted you back until it's been nearly six months since you broke up, and words going around that your starting to date again.

This pisses him off, for reasons he wasn't sure about.

So before you know it, he's popping up just about everywhere. Getting him to admit he missed you and regretted the breakup is no easy feat, and you'll likely not ever get him to admit it out loud.

I can't really see Jason making any grand or large gestures, just small little ones that maybe have some sort of sentimental value.

He'd probably drop by your home every now and then. If he's hurt in some way, you bet your ass he's right there on your fire escape, knocking on your window to let him in.

Even if it's just something so incredibly minor he could take care of himself, he's using it as an excuse to see you again.

While he's not totally experienced with being overly romantic, he's got his moments of being just a little bit sappy.

"Why go through the hard work and trouble of finding someone else if I'm right here?"

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ➶ ｡˚ 　　°

‎‎‎‎‎ㅤㅤBabs...

...wasn't expecting to miss you after you two broke things off. She figured she'd be fine on her own, but she was quickly proven wrong.

I can see her giving gifts, but she'd be more-so trying to spend as much time as she could with you. Texts, both early morning and late night phone calls, voicemails about how much she regrets breaking up, and probably more.

Lot's of "I miss you" and "I still like/love you" texts, maybe some "Can we please get back together?" texts mixed as well.

She'll make how much she misses you known.

"Please come back, I miss our little movie date nights."

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ➶ ｡˚ 　　°

‎‎‎‎‎ㅤㅤStephanie...

...is just like Jason in a way, when it comes to realizing she misses having you around.

But she does come to terms with the fact that she misses you. She'll be a little hesitant to admit it in words, but she'll make it known in small gestures.

The breakup was definitely amicable, so you two are kind of just awkwardly still friends. But any time you two hangout, it borderlines being a date.

Movies? Only if it's something that will remind you of stuff you two liked to watch together when you were dating.

Going for a walk? She'll make sure you two just so happen to pass by a spot you guys went to for your first date.

She'll even still pretend to "accidentally" call you by the nicknames she had for you whilst you were dating.

But if even that doesn't work, she'll just start making you two "hangout" at places you've gone to for dates before.

"Wow, this place hasn't changed a bit since the last time we were here, huh? Brings back memories."

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ➶ ｡˚ 　　°

‎‎‎‎‎ㅤㅤCassandra...

...of course, isn't really sure what to do when she notices she's missing you. You were probably one of her first relationships, which just only adds onto her confusion of what to do.

She'd probably go seek Babs and Stephanie out for advice, asking them what they think she should do. Just what she should do.

After getting advice from the two, she thinks it over for a little bit before she starts anything. She probably also tries to feel you out to check if you feel the same way she does.

And if you do, or if she finds out your unsure, she starts giving you small gifts. And I mean small. Just mostly little trinkets and knickknacks that she finds while out and about.

Buttons? Pins? Small figurines, no bigger than the palm of your hand? She's getting them for you.

Of course, this is to help her just get a little confidence before she drops the question about getting back together.

And when she does drop the question, she tries to make it sound like she's being genuine. She probably brought another small little gift, maybe one of your favorite snacks.

"I know you said you liked these when we were together, right? I know you may think I wasn't really.. paying attention, but most of the time, but I promise I was. And I'm sorry I didn't do that great of a job of showing you that I cared about you. Please take me back?"

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ➶ ｡˚ 　　°

‎‎‎‎‎ㅤㅤKate Kane..

...is both similar to Stephanie and Jason. While she'll think she's better off without you, there's almost a constant reminder of you somewhere in her world.

And it just draws her back to you.

It's very much a push and pull sort of thing with her, as some days she's fully willing to admit just how much she misses you and wants you back, while others she'd never admit to even a word of it.

She'll also bring you sentimental gifts sometimes. Mostly just leaves them somewhere she knows only you will find them with a little note attached.

Though the contents of the little notes will greatly vary from "I miss you", "I know you like these so I got them for you", to just her name sometimes.

Saw these and thought of you. -K

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ➶ ｡˚ 　　°

‎‎‎‎‎ㅤㅤDinah Lance...

...is most definitely bold and maybe even a little bit flirty. When she realized that she definitely wasn't ready to move on from you quite yet, she put all her effort into wooing you back.

She'd probably try to play off the fact you two are suddenly running into each other at things you like, it's really just so she can see you again. Making you unintentionally [but kind of purposefully] think of her again whenever you thought about the things you like.

After a bit of this, though, she just downright starts asking you out to dates. If she knows certain places hold sentimental value because they were your favorite date spots with her, she'll ask you on a date to there again.

"Oh? Didn't know you were coming here today. Maybe it's a sign you should just let me take you on a date today."

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ➶ ｡˚ 　　°

‎‎‎‎‎ㅤㅤHelena Bertinelli...

...wasn't usually the type to dwell on her exes. But you? You were all that was on her mind after the breakup.

While she spends many a night deleting text after text, trying to come up with the right set of sentences to tell you just how much she misses you and wants you back, she does eventually send something.

And from there she just gets a little bolder.

Lingering touches, like her hand grazing against yours if you are handing her something. Staring at you for just a few seconds longer than needed, all that stuff.

It does take her a bit of time to get the confidence to just straight up asking you out on another date, though when she does, she's already got it all planned out.

"Do you still like that one restaurant we went to for our anniversary? .... Why? Oh, well, I wanted to make sure I didn't need to cancel the reservation I made."

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ➶ ｡˚ 　　°

‎‎‎‎‎ㅤㅤDiana

...didn't have thoughts of missing you. At first.

She did start thinking of you again when you two were assigned on a mission together. And all it did was really get you stuck in her head.

The way you looked, whether it was the way you fight or just generally how you look in your vigilante costume? It just kept replaying in her head over and over again.

So now anytime your out and about doing your own thing, under your vigilante guise? She's found an excuse to be joining you.

Whether that excuse is "you looked like you needed help", or "my patrols been pretty quiet, so I thought I'd join you", she's always got some excuse you can't argue back about.

Eventually she starts dropping hints about wanting to get back together with you. But whether she's good at dropping these hints or not is entirely up to how oblivious you could be.

Eventually she just tires out of dropping hints and just makes you look at her when she just drops the question. Think of the classic "grabbing your chin and turning your head to look at them" kind of deal.

"How about we go out this Sunday, hmm? ... Yes, on a date. What, did you think I was going to ask you to patrol with me or something?"

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ➶ ｡˚ 　　°

‎‎‎‎‎ㅤㅤDamian...

...most definitely is stubborn when it comes to your break-up. He doesn't even want to entertain the thought that the reason he might be so grouchy whenever he sees you talking to someone else, or hears about how you may be crushing on someone else, is because he misses you. And is jealous, of course.

Even the sheer mention of your name around him, whether it be from his older brothers [mainly Dick because he is most certainly the teasing older brother type], he get's all grouchy and almost pouty.

He does try to help you out around school, though. He may act all mean and cold towards you, he'll act like he's "reluctantly" helping you out.

"you can't be trusted to carry this stuff," he'll try and say as he takes that stack of chairs, books, whatever it is in your hands away to do it himself. His hidden little agenda is that he's hoping you'll miss him because of him helping you out.

His "compliments" aren't always easily understood as such, though. "You didn't do terrible, for once" he might say as he hands you your graded test.

In order for him to get the courage to ask you out again, though, will definitely take some coaxing. [And maybe some teasing from Dick, too]

But when he does, it's a 50/50 chance of him saying it in a sweet way, or in his usual cold and almost brat-like demeanor.

"If I take you out on a date, will that get you to shut up for at least five minutes?"

‎‎‎‎‎ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ‎‎‎ㅤ╚⏤⏤⏤╗❀╔⏤⏤⏤╝

[heli-writes]

A marriage of convenience, part 5: firsts.

Pairing: Yoriichi x you

Summary: Yoriichi's friends think that Yoriichi is too lonely and needs a wife and family to take care of him. They propose a marriage of convenience to a woman who's in need of a husband. The arrangement of the marriage is simple: both parties live their lives as before, y/n takes care of Yoriichi as a wife and Yoriichi keeps unwanted men (and demons) away. Love is not required, friendship is appreciated. However, how detached can one be when living so close to each other?

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9

Series Masterlist

It's warm. That's what Yoriichi notices first. There's something plush but spiky beneath him. A sweet smell fills the air. He sits up groggily like he's waking up from a bad dream. When he opens his eyes, everything is too bright. He sits in a field of colorful flowers. He can't see the end of the field, it's so bright like he is staring right into the sun. He squints his eyes. When he finally widens them again a little, he notices a figure standing a few meters in front of him. He gets up to get a closer look at the person, maybe ask them where they are. "Excuse me?", he yells but his voice sounds as if he's miles away from his own body. The figure becomes clearer. It's a woman. She's wearing a yellow kimono and a hairband. Uta!, Yoriichi thinks. His heart starts racing and he involuntarily picks up speed. There is so much I still need to tell you, he wants to say as he reaches for her. He grabs her should and she turns around facing him. (Y/N) smiles and says: "There you are, Yoriichi. I was waiting for you."

A sharp pain rips him out of the dream he was having. Instinctively he reaches for his arm, the source of the pain. He sits up disoriented. When his eyes adjust to the brightness of the room, he realizes he's at the guest house. "Are you okay?", (y/n) asks, "Seems like you were having I nightmare, so I pinched you really hard.". "That explains the excruciating pain in my arm.", Yoriichi replies. Also, how can she pinch this hard, he asks himself silently. "A demon? Sometimes bad things of our past haunt us in our sleep.", (y/n) says compassionately. Yoriichi looks at her for a moment. "Something like that.", he sighs.

After a good breakfast and a walk alongside the nearby creek, the couple finds their way to the market square. (Y/n) squeaks in joy at the sight of the market. The whole place changed overnight. Chains of lights and decorative banners were strung over the market square. Rows of stalls fill the space. "Are you looking for something in particular?", Yoriichi asks. (Y/n) shrugs. "Not really, but it's just nice looking at things, I guess.", she replies. Together, they stroll over the market. (Y/n) stops at every stall and looks at the work displayed. Sometimes she even chats with the vendors. "You know, even if you're not buying something, one should acknowledge the hard work the artists and craftsmen put into their pieces.", (y/n) explains when they leave a stand with particular ugly clay pots. Eventually, they pass a stand with handmade jewelry. (Y/n) oogles the necklaces and hair pins in awe. "Hello, young lady! Are you looking at anything in particular?", the woman working at the stall asks (y/n). "Oh, nothing particular! I am just admiring your pieces! Do you make them all on your own?", (y/n) asks her. "Yes", the woman replies, "I am self-taught. My parents never had the money for buying jewelry so I started early making my own. I believe every woman, even the poorest, deserves to feel pretty.", (Y/n) gives her a bright smile, "That's such a kind business philosophy! I try to follow a similar with my business.". "Oh, you're a self-employed woman, too? What do you do?", the saleswoman asks. "I make and sell medicine, something everybody should have access to.", (y/n) announces proudly. "Seems like we're sisters in spirit!", the woman exclaims, "Why don't I look for something that might suit you?" (Y/n) chuckles embarrassed. "Oh no, it's fine. We're just here to look.", (y/n) tries to explain. "It's alright.", Yoriichi intervenes, "I'd appreciate it if you have something nice for my wife." (Y/n) blushes at Yoriichi's words. It's the first time he called her his wife.

While the saleswoman starts rummaging through some boxes behind the counter, (y/n) turns to Yoriichi. "Yoriichi, you really don't have to buy me anything.", she says. Yoriichi shrugs. "Why not? You wanted to come to this market, why not buy something?", he says. "Still...", (y/n) tries to insist. Suddenly the saleswoman appears in front of the two again. "Considering you work with your hands, a ring or bracelet would be unfitting. So, what do you think of this hairpin? It can keep your hair out of your face while working.", the woman says as she presents (y/n) with a copper hairpin. (Y/n) gasps as she takes the hairpin in her hands. The design is quite simple. The hairpin is made out of one slim stick. At one end of the stick, a decorative sun is attached. The middle of the sun is made from a burgundy-colored stone. Two delicate chains are attached to the back of the sun and two tear-shaped stones in the same color dangle from the two chains. (Y/n) strokes over the sun's stone with her thumb. "It's... like the color of your eyes, don't you think so?", (y/n) asks Yoriichi. "Hm... I guess. I suppose something in a different color would be better then.", he proposes. (Y/n) looks up to him almost offendedly. "Why that? It's such a pretty color.", she argues. "I actually really like your eyes.", she mumbles to herself but Yoriichi catches it. "In that case, we take it.", he decides. While Yoriichi rummages through his pockets for the money, the saleswoman helps (y/n) to put the hairpin into her hair and hands her a small mirror. After Yoriichi hands the woman the money, (y/n) looks up from the mirror and asks with a beaming smile on her face: "What do you think? Does this suit me?". Yoriichi stops in his tracks for a second. It's the first time he sees her with her hair in an updo. (Y/n) usually wears her hair down, even when she works or cooks. With her hair up like this and the pale blue kimono she's wearing, (y/n) looks like one of the fine ladies from the city, Yoriichi thinks. He notices that he's staring. Quickly, he clears his throat. "It suits you.", he tells her. "Really?", (y/n) asks excitedly as she takes another look in the mirror. "Really.", Yoriichi smiles kindly, "You're very beautiful, (y/n)." (Y/n) looks up to him slightly shocked and her face becomes red immediately. "T-thank you...", she stammers. The saleswoman lets out a hearty laugh. "Oh, to be young and in love. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day!", she bids the two goodbye.

Embarrassed, Yoriichi and (y/n) continue their way over the market. (Y/n) keeps her eyes fixed on the ground, still taken aback by Yoriichi's sudden compliment. Meanwhile, Yoriichi couldn't help himself but glance at the side of (y/n)'s face. (Y/n) can feel Yoriichi's glances and they make her face burn even more. When she looks up to propose to find a snack to eat, she stumbles over her own feet. However, she never makes an impact on the ground, since Yoriichi reacts promptly, grabs her arm with one hand and pulls her up. Underestimating his own strength, he pulls her up a bit too strongly and her face hits his chest. Trying to prevent her from falling backward again, he quickly puts his other hand on her waist, steadying her balance. Before (y/n) knows what's happening to her, she is caged by Yoriichi's arms and awfully close to him. "Are you okay?", Yoriichi asks breathlessly. "Uhm... yeah...", (y/n) whispers. Yoriichi's looking straight into her eyes and she can't look away even though she feels terribly embarrassed. He's so close. His grip is firm but soft. (Y/n) can even smell him from the position she's in. For a moment, Yoriichi seems unable to look away either. Eventually, he lets go of her taking a deep breath. Both of them need a moment to collect themselves. "So," (y/n) says in a meek voice, "Would you like to grab some food somewhere? It's getting late." Yoriichi feels relieved about the topic change. "Yes, sure. How about some udon? Mrs. Nakamura mentioned a shop a bit outside the village.", he proposes. "Great idea! That sounds amazing. I could use some fresh air away from all this trouble.", (y/n) agrees. She's not sure if she means the market or what just happened.

The two walk to the udon shop in silence. Since the village is located on a mountain, the udon shop is a bit further up the mountain. When the two arrive, the sun has already started to set. When the two hold their bowls, they take a seat at a bench the furthest away from the other guests. They sit next to each other in an attempt to not have to look each other in the eyes. Instead, they are presented with the sunset that slowly settles over the valley. (Y/n) almost forgets her food over the natural spectacle. After they both finished their food, they continue sitting on the bench and staring at the setting sun. The sun colors the entire valley in red and orange hues. It looks as if the villages and the surrounding trees are on fire. (Y/n) sighs deeply. Yoriichi takes a look at her face. The orange of the sun sparkles in her eyes. Noticing Yoriichi's stare, she looks up to him and gives him a smile. "What are you thinking about, Yoriichi?", she asks him. I'm thinking about earlier. How soft you felt when I held you, he thinks but feels embarrassed and guilty the moment the thought crosses his mind. Instead, he simply shrugs. "You can't see the sunset from the cottage. The sun disappears behind the trees way before it starts having this color.", she points out. "Would you prefer to live on a mountain then?", Yoriichi asks her. "God no," (y/n) laughs, "Imagine having to pull that cart up a mountain every time I come back from a market. No, thank you." Yoriichi turns away from her and takes another look at the sunset. "You know, I could pull it up for you every time.", he says. (Y/n) looks at him surprised. "Oh, that's sweet of you. Does that mean you want to live on a mountain?", she asks him. Yoriichi shrugs again. This silences (y/n) for a moment. His apathy sometimes stuns her. How can he not know what he wants from life? Sometimes it seems as if the only thing he ever cares about is doing his duty as a demon slayer. "You know, (y/f/n), my fiancée always wanted to live on a mountain. He grew up on one and wanted the same for our children." Yoriichi is taken aback by this a bit. It's the first time she mentions his name and shares information about him. This must be the not forgetting part of the day, he thinks.

"Uta was pregnant when she died", he suddenly blurts out. He doesn't know where that came from. "Oh." is all (y/n) can come up with. This is new information to her. "I'm really sorry, Yoriichi.", she says quietly. After a while, she adds hesitantly: "I've been pregnant before." It's not something she wanted to share with him before, but it feels right in this moment. "I-i... Please don't think less of me now...", she rambles on. "What happened?", Yoriichi asks. (Y/n) turns away from him. "I don't know. It didn't stick. Lost it in the second trimester.", she answers. Her shoulders drop. "You know, the baby was the reason why we decided to get married. (Y/f/n) was so excited. He took the miscarriage a lot calmer than me. Promised me that we'd try again after the wedding.", (y/n) explains quietly. Slowly, Yoriichi puts his arm around her and squeezes her arm. For a moment (y/n) tenses up. Then, she relaxes and leans her head against his shoulder. "Seems like we both lost our future.", he concludes. (Y/n) thinks about this for a moment. "A future.", she corrects him, "We've lost a possible future. We're not dead yet. So... there's still a future. Just a different one." Yoriichi hums in agreement. "One worth living for?", he asks. Shocked, (y/n) sits up. "Of course. I mean... with (y/s/n) and you... that's quite a good future, I'd say.", she exclaims. Yoriichi gives her a soft smile. "I'm glad that you think our future is good.", he says. (Y/n) blinks at him dumbfoundedly. Our future, she thinks. "And you?", she asks carefully, "Do you think it's a good future?". She feels him squeezing her arm. "Yes, I do."

They stay at the bench until the sun's down and the workers at the udon shop start lighting lanterns. "We should head back to the guest house.", Yoriichi points out. He doesn't like being outside after dark. He didn't bring his sword since he didn't assume they would be out this late. (Y/n) nods and hops up from the bench. The walk back into the village becomes a real challenge for (y/n). With the sun down, the only light that lightens their path is the slim crescent moon. Due to his work, Yoriichi has no problem navigating in the dark, but (y/n) is unsteady in her steps and stumbles over every twig in her way. "I'm really sorry, Yoriichi. I must seem like a bull in a china shop to you.", she apologizes to him. "Don't worry about it. Let me help you. Here, take my hand.", Yoriichi offers. Hesitantly, (y/n) reaches out for his hand. It's warm but itchy and hard in hers. His sword training left him with plenty of callus on the inside of his hands. (Y/n) is still unsteady on her feet but Yoriichi calmly leads her down the path. (Y/n) is glad that she needs to focus on her steps and barely has any time to focus on Yoriichi's hands. Eventually, they make it back into the village where lanterns light their path. Nevertheless, Yoriichi doesn't let go of (y/n)'s hand. I wonder if he forgot, (y/n) thinks. It's not like she wants to let go. She likes holding hands with someone. She already dreads the day when (y/s/n) gets too old and doesn't want to hold hers anymore. She never thought she would anybody's hand again after that. She notices how the distance between her and Yoriichi gets thinner as they walk beside each other. Their arms brush against each other from time to time. (Y/n)'s heart starts to speed up and blood rushes into her face. Great, now I have to think about it, she thinks. I hope my hand isn't getting sweaty, she worries. Before (y/n) can worry any longer about sweaty palms, they arrive at the guest house.

Mrs. Nakamura greets them as they enter the house. "Ah, look who's back so late. Did you two have a great time?", she asks them. (Y/n) gives her a polite smile. "Yes, we were at the market.", she tells Mrs. Nakamura. "Ah, and did your lovely husband get you something nice?", she inquires. (Y/n) turns red a bit again. "Uhm... yes, he did.", she stutters. Mrs. Nakamura laughs wholeheartedly at that. "See, young man? I knew you got this.", she tells Yoriichi who embarrassedly rubs the back of his head. When they walk back to their room, (y/n) asks what Mrs. Nakamura was talking about. "Just a misunderstanding that came up when I asked for a second futon.", he tries to brush it off. "Oh, did she think we had a fight?", (y/n) asks dumbfounded. "Uhm, no that's not it...", Yoriichi replies. His discomfort grows with every word. (Y/n) broods on this while they enter their room. "Oh, I've got it. She thought I didn't want to have sex with you!", she announces proudly. Yoriichi looks at her flabbergasted. He definitely didn't expect (y/n) to be this blunt. (Y/n) bursts out laughing at the sight of Yoriichi's facial expression. "Am I right?", she says wiping a tear from the side of her face. All Yoriichi can do is nod. "That must've hit your ego hard.", she notes as she falls onto the futon. "Why that?", Yoriichi asks as he sits on his own futon cross-legged. (Y/n) props her head onto her arm. "Well, men tend to get offended when women tell them they don't want them in that way. And when other people get to know about that, men feel humiliated and get very angry.", she points out. "Did that happen to you before?", he asks her. "Just enough to make me marry a total stranger.", (y/n) shrugs. "Was it really that bad?", he wonders. (Y/n) sits up. "You're a kind man, Yoriichi. But not every man is like that. Some men think they have a right to take whatever they want.", she replies calmly. When she sees the worried wrinkles on Yoriichi's forehead, she quickly adds: "But it's stupid to try to get on with a woman who knows which plant can kill you slowly but painfully." Yoriichi rises his eyebrow in suspicion. "Not like I've ever killed anybody. I don't have it in me, really!", she quickly defends herself. Yoriichi chuckles at that. "No, you don't.", he concludes.

"Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean?", (y/n) pouts. Yoriichi has to chuckle again. "You're too nice for that. Also, I doubt you can take down a man as tall as me.", he points out. "Hey!", (y/n) exclaims, "Is that a challenge? Cause I'll fight you". She quickly stands up and takes on a fighting stance. Yoriichi has to suppress a grin. With that stance, she's knocked off her feet in seconds, he thinks to himself. "I'm not going to fight you.", he notes. "Why?", (y/n) flashes him a grin, "You think you'll lose?" This time Yoriichi bursts out laughing. (Y/n) never heard him laughing that honestly. It's infectious, she thinks. "I don't want to sound too presumptuously, but I'm pretty sure your chances are slim.", he teases her. "Oh, right, because you're the strongest demon slayer alive.", (y/n) says, "I'm not that strong.", Yoriichi says quietly. "Ah, but then you are scared to lose against a girl!" (y/n) mocks. Yoriichi slowly gets up. (Y/n) swallows. She didn't think he would actually take on the challenge. Maybe she teased him too much. Or he felt comfortable enough to boast a little. With Yoriichi's neutral face, there is no way to tell. "You sure about this?", Yoriichi asks. No going back now, (y/n) thinks. "Absolutely.", she says trying to sound confident. What happens next, is a mystery to (y/n). Suddenly, she's laying on her back with Yoriichi standing above her. Damn him, I'm not going down without a fight, she thinks. Quickly, she pushes her legs together in between which Yoriichi stands. Not having expected (y/n)'s move, she manages to destabilize Yoriichi's stance. Having nothing to hold onto, Yoriichi falls forward but manages to soften the blow by falling onto his elbows.

When he opens his eyes again he's confronted with (y/n)'s surprised face. Only then, he notices the position they are in. (Y/n) is under him and at least half of his body is pressed up to hers. Their faces are only centimeters apart. He could count the freckles on her face if he wanted to. He notices how he slightly dips forward. His long hair tickles the side of her face. She blinks and just like that the moment's over. Yoriichi breaks eye contact and quickly removes himself from her. Carefully, (y/n) sits up. "Oh my," she chuckles uncertainly, "There's a lot of falling today. I'm sorry I'm so clumsy." Yoriichi catches his breath. "Yeah, I guess that's enough falling for today. Let's go to bed.", he replies. (Y/n) sighs relieved. "Yes! Totally! I go to the bathroom and change real quick.", she says and quickly hurries out of the door. Yoriichi leans against the wall, trying to calm his heartbeat. No more fighting, he decides for himself. He's not sure he would survive another moment like this.

[melancholysway]

Hi babe! If you’re doing requests at the moment, I have a cool idea that I think you’d write perfectly! If not just ignore this lolz But I was wondering if you could do like a short-shot headcanon of each of the Bayverse turtles with an S/O that gives them like a hand-made gift she made for them? Maybe a piece of jewelry or a blanket or something and how they’d react to it :) Thank you <3

Hii!! <3 & YES, I LOVE- I also did this with Christmas in mind :)

I hope you enjoy this!

TMNT Bayverse Headcanons: Gift-Giving (Fem!Reader)

Leonardo

You use Raph to your advantage with your gift to Leo

Because you want to make him something that he’ll enjoy and something that’s very unique 

You really wanna make him something, but you aren’t sure where to start

You sulk around the Lair for a bit, until Raph comments on how your face looks like you're constipated, when in reality, you’re thinking hard of a gift for your boyfriend

“I wanna make him something,”

Raph just sits there minding his business as usual, until you get an idea

A rug for his room! It’s so painfully obvious 

You have approximately 25 days until christmas arrives, and if you work really hard, it’ll be done by then! 

After watching Raph (who later says you’re making him uncomfortable for staring too long,) you decide its best to knit it. It shouldn’t be that hard, right?

 Wrong, kind of 

It’s not difficult, it’s just very time consuming. 

You want it to have this cool kanji symbol in the middle that you think he’ll like, and you run it by Splinter to make sure it means what you think it means

And once it’s cleared, you spend so much time to make it.

I mean, A LOT of time. Something like this would be very sentimental for Leo!

And when it’s time to give it to him, you sit there with the baby blue box with a royal blue ribbon, excited to see his reaction

Leo isn’t as expressive as Mikey, so you don’t expect him to be jumping off the walls 

But as he starts unraveling it, talking about how “you didn’t have to get me anything,” he’s absolutely shocked when he opens it

It’s the neatly folded rug, with the large kanji symbol face front for him to see as soon as he takes the white tissue paper off of it

“Love”

It was a VERY hard symbol to knit, with all the different directions the stroke marks go in, but it came out amazing.

“I ddin’t get you it, I made you it,” you reply. His blue eyes look back at the symbol, and then at you, back at the symbol, then at you

It’s pretty funny

“What’s wrong? Did I mess up the kanji or-” “no.”

“It’s perfect. I love it.” 

HE LOVES IT!

He flashes you a genuine smile, bringing you into a hug and then breaking it off to kiss you, with a slew of ‘thank you’s’ that followed. Leo really appreciates this gift, but honestly, he appreciates little things. After all, he wasn’t grown up like a normal kid, things were scarce, and Master Splinter did what they could. Things were often handmade for him and his brothers, so this means a lot to him.

The fact that you made it yourself? And oh, it probably took so much time, too

He seriously cannot be more grateful. It’s a great christmas gift, especially coming from his S/O.

Raphael

Bayverse Raph is most definitely not materialistic. He genuinely enjoys time with you

He seriously doesn’t ask for much

Like at all

You had seen something that reminded you of him in a store that you seriously had to get for him

It happens to be something useful to him yet also very sweet

It’s a knitting loom!

They’re very easy to use and can make a seemingly difficult project become easy!

While Raph does like a challenge, sometimes he just wants to unwind and knit as his leisure, not wanting something hard to do- just vibes

But then, you think about it for a moment. You put it back on the shelf and just think. 

What if you made him his gift instead? 

As you leave the arts and crafts store and get back home, you create a “List of Things I can make my Boyfriend who’s a Mutant Turtle” list and get to it. You brainstorm ideas and some are decent. You want them to be good for his hobbies, but you can’t MAKE a bench press or make yarn come out your as-

You get the point

But then it hits you

He loves music, it’s something he’s always listening to while he’s working out or lounging around or 

Seriously anything this man does

So why not make him a playlist!

You already know what kind of music he likes, and spotify is his go to

You make him a playlist and when it’s done you just

Sit and wait for the 25th

December obviously

And when that day hits, you’re excited, you managed to get the Spotify code printed on a small pillow for him, so that when he scans it with his T-phone on spotify it’ll bring up the playlist!

It’s a unique gift, and when it’s time to exchange them with the guys in the Lair, you save Raph’s for last

You give him this little pillow to put off to the side as bedroom decor and he just

He’s so happy

He scrolls through after scanning it and he’s happy

You know him so well, you’ve gotten to know him so well. It’s perfect. 

“I’m usin’ it afta this,” Its HOURS long, a load of songs that he likes. A lot of workout songs, and a bunch for leisure activities. It’s something unique to him that you made, and the title of it followed by red as the photo cover of it made him equally as ecstatic 

Made with Love, Y/n.

Once everything gets cleaned up from all the gift unwrapping, he just kisses you hard ending it with a soft “Thank you, baby,”

Because, well, nobody has made him a fucking playlist before! It’s the coolest thing to him. That you know his music tastes to a T.

Not only that, but you had to have paid extra attention during conversations. He doesn’t outwardly reveal what he loves and hates like his other brothers, but you can pick up on it in conversation and his actions

How he always makes this face of disgust when he passes by Donnie’s lab and hears classical coming from the other side

Yeah, he has his likes and dislikes for certain genres

So it makes this present so much more meaningful to him- you’ve been listening, and picking up on the  little things ever since you two have started dating.

He loves it so much

And he loves you, too

Donatello

 Donnie is probably the hardest to get a gift for

He has…everything

And if he doesn’t, he can make it

Broken phone? Okay, give him a few and he’ll invent one thats 100x better than the standard Iphone

You wind up just observing your boyfriend for awhile, wondering what he’s wanting to have

You try and ask around- asking Raph mainly, since they were always the closer pair

“Ya got me, ion know what I’d even get ‘em.” Raph replies after you ask what you should get Donnie

But, you think about making something instead

After pondering about it (for a long time, might I add)

You watch Donnie one day, and you notice that he folds his pages in anything he’s reading instead of putting a bookmark

Now, some people prefer to fold it, but a lot of the time, having a bookmark is a cool thing!

So, you have your idea.

Throughout the month of December, you take photos of you and Donnie together, turning down his questions as to why-

“I can’t take pictures with my hot boyfriend?”

He doesn’t ask after you say that, he’s now too shy 

Once you pick out photos that you like, you decide to make A LOT of them, a big bundle of bookmarks!

You laminate them yourself, just in case a coffee spill occurs while he’s reading, and it looks much better!

It also lasts longer btw

Anyhoozle, once christmas comes around, you give him this envelope with purple hearts on it, and he notices it’s more bulky than the standard christmas card

And once he opens it, he looks in and picks out a random bookmark to examine it

It’s a photo of you and him cuddling together on a lavender bookmark.

After looking at that one, he begins to take them all out, laying them on his lab table, looking at the different pictures you guys took together. Not only that, but the bookmarks are all different shades of purple.

“There has to be…50 here-” He says, “I…these are pictures of us! Hold on,” Donnie then examines each and every one, talking about how he remembered when each one was taken

“You made these all for me?” 

Yes, yes you did

He’s already bringing down books and notes that are in dire need of an unfolding page and to be replaced with one of your homemade photo bookmarks instead, and once he puts the first one in one of his favorite books, he admires it for a few

“They look incredible” He smiles down at you, leaning to reach your lips. 

“Thank you, dove,” He gives you another kiss while also giving a warm hug,  “I always felt guilty folding my pages.” 

Save the trees, ya know?

Michelangelo

Making something for Mikey may appear to be difficult,

Because, well, he loves a little bit of everything

He doesn’t really hate much, and honestly, he’s open to any and everything as a gift

He would prefer something like a new comic or new cookware he can use in the lair, so along with getting those items for him, you bake him brownies-

But special brownies

No not weed brownies

Homemade brownies! Not from a box, no, you’re starting from scratch

You buy some semi sweet and dark chocolate morsels, molasses instead of regular sugar, to really make them delectable and rich!

But, also sweet as well. Not too sweet, we don’t wanna give poor Mikey a stomachache now

But just the right balance between rich and sweet. 

He’s completely unaware of this by the way

When Christmas comes around and you give him the newest comic he’s been wanting and a new kitchen utensil set he can use while making food, you present the brownies in an orange box with a tinfoil top, and when he opens it, you could visibly see fireworks shooting out and his eyes becoming starry

“Guys! My Angelcakes made me…angelcakes!” He’s so happy and the hug given right after was as tight as can be

“Kind of. Brownies, from scratch.” You smile as he’s already picking one out- the corner piece- to eat

a/n: THE CORNER PIECE OF A BATCH  OF BROWNIES IS THE BEST PART AND NOBODY CAN CHANGE MY MIND

Anyway, he takes a bite and he just

Freezes

He looks at you and gives you a chocolatey kiss on the cheek

“Angelcakes, this is like, the best gift!”

He’s already taking another bite soon after, munching in the gooey goodness

Once he’s done with the first piece, he’s already onto the second

“Thefe ar sho….gwud, thanf you!” He says in between bites

Also, he wants to bake with you now. Because this tasted amazing, what other recipes do you have up your sleeve? 

He loves it because he’s usually the one cooking for his family and only knows his cooking and April’s 

He’s not really into April’s…she’s a healthy gal, the kind that would sneak spinach or avocado into baked goods  *shudder*

Plus, he doesn’t really bake anyway, he’s a cooking guy, breakfast food is his specialty

But, now is a great time to take a couple weeks to learn everything you know about baking! Testing out new combinations and food items to use!

//

Taglist

@bee-1n-space

Masterlist

[calendae-creations]

Hello. Do you have any tips on getting started selling your handmade goods? I am disabled too and sometimes the only thing keeping my sane is knitting. Right now I'm knitting things for myself and friends. I think I may get to a point where I want to sell things I have knit instead of just gifting them and I was curious how you go about doing it and if you have any tips for getting started.

I'm not like, wildly successful at this by any means, so if anyone else has any tips, omfg please share your wisdom.

That said, first of all fuuuuuuuuck etsy. Not only do they have shitty policies in a number of ways (you can google it if you want; i don't feel like getting into that series of rants), I never really made many sales there in the decade or so I tried. And tbh most of the knitted things up for sale there are so disgustingly underpriced, it might be hard to get enough money from a sale to even cover the materials cost, let alone labor time.

Once I had given up on etsy, I was selling on twitter for a while? But we all know how twitter's going, so I don't even remember my login info to delete the account, lol. I did make way better money than I ever did on etsy tho! Like, twice the sales in one year than I got on etsy in ~10. Not even exaggerating. I made decent sales on facebook from a page for my business, but stopped trying after the third time they changed the interface in less than 6 months. If you can figure out how it works though, go for it!

I'm trying to build a proper website of my own for Calendae Creations, but html is hard and so is the rest of my life, so that's on the back burner for now. I'm really not sure how successful it'll be if I ever get it up and running.

Currently this is my only sales presence online, and I haven't tabled at an in-person event since 2018. I've been pleasantly surprised at being able to generate any income at all on the website famous for not making money, lol. I do really want to get into more in-person sales, but I really can't speak much to how well knitting sells at different kinds of events, because when I used to do ren faires and flea markets I was mostly selling pottery, jewelry, and live plants. I'm pretty hopeful about trying to get a table at Staunton Pride next fall though?

Tbh, as much as I love my job, I really would not recommend this as a full time primary source of income to anyone who has literally any other options. I'm just too disabled to do anything else anymore.

Related, does anyone know how to file USA income tax for this kind of thing??? I am so lost trying to figure it out.

[oftlunarialmoon]

Starting and Building Your Kawaii Wardrobe – Where to Shop, DIY's, and more!

Originally posted to www.onlyfunthings.org on January 04, 2019

Ciao lovelies! In the spirit of the New Year, I know some of you may have a New Year’s resolution to “Try new things” or “dress in cute fashion”, or something like it! Maybe your New Year’s Resolution is to try out dressing in kawaii inspired fashion! Maybe you already dress in kawaii fashion but are always looking to expand your wardrobe! Well, today’s post can help, because today we are talking about how to start and build a kawaii wardrobe! I’m going to be giving my shopping tips, links to plenty of DIYs, and more that can help you in your kawaii fashion journey! Let’s go!

Today I’ll be talking about general “Kawaii-Inspired” fashion, not one specific style of Kawaii fashion.

Finding Kawaii Inspired Clothing!

-          If you’re on a budget, my recommendation is to shop in Thrift Stores! You can find really cute pastel sweaters at thrift stores, you can find really cute skirts and dresses, and sometimes even really nice handbags! I have found lots of items that work for a general “kawaii-alternative” fashion look in thrift stores! You really never know what you could find there. I’ve found dresses, skirts, sweaters, bags, and blouses all for really good prices, and all worked for kawaii fashion. You can even find cute home décor and sometimes even cute jewelry! Unsure where to start when it comes to thrifting or just want some tips? Check out our top 5 tips for Thrift Shopping!

-          Another great place to look for “kawaii-inspired” clothing is Hot Topic or Forever 21! You can find cute overalls/overall dresses, t-shirts, skirts, skater dresses, knee and thigh high socks, and other cute clothing! The only problem with these stores is that they can be somewhat expensive.

-          Another option for getting kawaii clothing is to make it yourself! Fabric stores like JoAnn even have patterns you can use if you don’t like drafting your own. And there are plenty of good clothing tutorials online, Yumi King’s channel has many if you search far back in her videos (a good way to do this is to order the videos from “Oldest First”). 

-          If making clothes from scratch isn’t your thing, you can always modify clothing to suit your needs! We actually have some clothing modification tutorials, and I will be trying to make more this summer. Our Clothing-Mod tutorials include: Adding Cat Ears to a Hoodie, Shoe Upgrade, DIY Cutsew from a T-shirt, and DIY T-shirt into Tank Top.

Finding Kawaii Inspired Accessories!

-          You can always find kawaii looking accessories in certain shops, you just have to know where to look! Some good stores to look for kawaii accessories in are: Claires, Icing, and Hot Topic! My best advice is to always look through their clearance section! You can find really cute stuff on sale often there.

-          Another place to find cute accessories is in the kid’s section of stores. This might seem weird at first, but kid’s necklaces can be altered into cute bracelets, and you can use charms and such from kid’s jewelry to make into earrings, rings, and brooches. 

-          Another great place to find cute accessories is Etsy! There are lots of stores on Etsy that sell cute handmade accessories! Same with Storenvy. The only downside to searching these places for cute handmade jewelry is the higher prices, but you are supporting small businesses, so I say it’s worth it!

-          Lastly, you can also make your own kawaii jewelry! Kawaii charms and other jewelry findings can be bought rather cheaply in lots from Etsy or Aliexpress, and you can make yourself a whole collection of cute accessories! We also have some accessories DIY’s including: How to makeyour own Choker, Chokers level 2, How to make a bag from a dishtowel, …  (To see all our DIY’s, check out our DIY tag!)

Starting and building a kawaii themed wardrobe isn’t hard and doesn’t have to cost a lot if you just know where to look and use a little ingenuity! Happy New Year, and I wish you the best of luck in all your kawaii clothing endeavors this year!

Thank you for reading, remember to love yourself, stay awesome, and I'll see you in our next post!

Remember to Stay Awesome and Love Yourself!

[motherphoebe]

The Parting Glass

Annie Cresta's time as a career tribute in the 70th Hunger Games. Canon compliant, as of right now this fic will be mostly head cannon as we know so little until the original trilogy. I wanted to add so much more to this, but I dont think I would've ever posted if I kept editing it lmao. I also posted this on my ao3 account, same username as here! enjoy and please leave feedback ngl i need to be hyped up!

Chapter 1:

next chapter

The first thing I do is throw the quilt off of my legs.

The open window does little to aid in cooling down the room, the relentless summer heat did not cool throughout the night and now the opened curtains also let in the blinding morning sun. It takes a moment to get past my drowsiness, but eventually I reluctantly move my sweaty body from the small bed, hanging my legs off the side and holding my head in my hands.

I wish the sweltering heat were the reason for my restless night. Today is reaping day, and the salty air somehow doesn’t feel as peaceful as usual and does little to calm my nerves. My chest tightens and I quickly try to calm myself. I reach for my tying rope and think about last night, my time at the beach, swimming with a large group of friends, the peaceful waves, the moon, and surprisingly I find my breathing subtly calm. I wish today weren't reaping day, I wish they’d cancel the games all together, I wish a lot of things. I tie and untie my rope, and slowly accept that wishing won’t change the events of today and what is expected of me as an eighteen year old living in Panem.

Every year, the Capitol hosts a Hunger Games, and the first step is a reaping ceremony in which each of the 12 districts have to produce a male and female tribute. It’s to keep us scared and unwilling of rebellion, the fate of children 12 to 18, in the hands of the Capitol to be escorted into an arena to fight to the death. My thoughts are interrupted when I hear my older siblings greeting my parents in the other room, and suddenly my sisters bursting into the bedroom we used to share.

“Annie!” I take in her ecstatic demeanor and can't help but smile. I gasp and make a teasingly shocked face, while examining the gifts she came bearing: A new dress, and cherries.

“Muriel, you’re planning on sharing those right?”

My mouth waters at the sight of the cherries, and I wonder how she was able to afford them, along with the dress. It’s not like we have a surplus of money, and cherries are usually outrageously expensive when sold at the market. Her and I, and our older brother, Skipper, picked up jobs as soon as we could to help our parents, but now that she’s married, maybe she can afford such luxuries. Muriel makes beautiful tapestries using the flowers and plants that line the shores, and they've always seemed to sell quite well at the market, along with her handmade jewelry. My brother, Skipper, started repairing boats with my father once they were back from their shifts out at sea. The pair's services are relatively cheap and extremely effective, the people of 4 with boats need them functioning to be able to live so there’s always business.

Muriel exaggerates the shaking of her head, acting like she’s keeping the gifts to herself, then instantly breaks character, smiling and handing the fruit to me, carefully hanging the light blue dress off the chair. I can see the worry she’s trying to hide in her eyes.

“And is this dress new? Muriel these gifts are so nice they must have cost you a fortune, please let me pay you back-”

“I got them for you.” She cuts me off, putting my head in her hands “Plus, you wouldn’t be able to pay me back anyway.”

She’s joking but she’s not wrong; while she and Skipper found real jobs, I found peacefulness, and a very small income compared to the two of them. I started helping our neighbor, Mrs. Ahearn, by teaching some of her swimming lessons. It doesn’t pay well and I probably couldn’t save enough to buy even some grain at the market after a month of work, but there’s something about teaching the younger children of my district that makes it worth it. Still so innocent, too young to be put into the training academy, their parents still shielding their eyes when the games are playing, the worst things that could happen to them so far away. Plus, it’s a great way to meet the people in town, most of the kids are the younger siblings of friends i’ve known for years, and honestly, it’s better than being at home. The house feels empty now that both my siblings have left.

Muriel moves her hands and pulls me into a hug, our heads resting on each other's shoulders. “You still being in the reaping makes me feel worse than when I was. I know you’ll be fine Annie, but the sooner we’re all done with this the better. Better for mom and dad too, you know it scares them to death. Can I help you get ready?”

I nod my head in agreement, and soon my mouth is full of cherry pits. The reaping scares all of us, my father says that’s the point and it’s been obvious to me that our parents have had enough stress from the reapings in their lives. The second Skipper was ten, he was the first of us to enter the training academy after school, and once we were all old enough to be reaped, it seemed everything tied back to being a lesson on how we could win the Hunger Games, fishing, strength, knowledge. After surviving his own childhood possibility of being reaped, putting us in the training academy was my fathers small way of finding comfort in the uncontrollable, it gave him the peace of mind many other parents found refuge in; that if the odds hadn’t been in their families favor, their child could at least have a chance.

Muriel starts with my hair, stating something about my ‘messy cherry hands’ staining the pastel blue of the linen dress, and to keep them far away. Her hands are calloused, reflecting those of someone who’s worked a majority of their life, weaving and unweaving nets, creating her tapestries and intricate jewelry. She’s so precise in the way she does my hair, something I'm so grateful for. Choosing specific strands, tying them under or over, I’ve never been able to replicate these styles for her though, no matter how hard I try.

The thought of being reaped is horrifying, but there’s no comfort in the children I’ve known forever being reaped instead, it sends a shudder down my spine, and I feel the panic slowly seeping into my chest. The most recent victor we’ve had in District 4 is Finnick Odair. Although he’s a year older than me and a grade above, I remember him fondly from our short time together in the academy, but even more strongly I remember my fear when he was reaped at fourteen. His capability of winning so young makes me feel weak, and honestly dumb for being so horrified at age eighteen. It seemed all everyone was obsessing over during his games were his looks, but all I could think about was how kind he’d been to me, and how quickly he’d turned into a killer to survive. Somehow I found comfort in that thought. If he’d gone through only four years of the training I’ve had and won, I should be confident in my skills after eight.

I hadn’t realized my foot was tapping aggressively until Muriel placed her hand on my knee and I immediately stopped while she leaned her head down to my face.

“It’s okay to be nervous, Annie, I’m nervous too, probably safe to say all the Cresta’s are nervous. But, we will all be fine tonight, for our celebratory dinner and beach swim, right?” She has tears building in her eyes, “You’ll have to be fine Annie, this is your last year! Only one more and we will all be okay.”

The tears begin to roll down her cheeks in small lines that rush over her blushed face, while she tries to convince both of us.

Muriel has always been free to be overtly emotional, her strength is not relied on to keep others strong. If I ever cried or showed my weakness like this to any of my family, i’m afraid it would shatter them into a million little pieces— Annie Cresta, the baby of the family, so scared and so weak and completely unsaveable by any of them— so I put on a strong face, and push back the tears.

“You know i’ll be just fine Muriel, my name is only in there seven times. The odds have been in our favor the past ten years since Skippers first reaping, I have no doubt of our family's luck.”

I can’t help but wipe my cherry stained hands on my old sleeping shirt I’m sure was hers before reaching up and wiping her tears, just before pulling her into a tight hug. I take whatever doubt I have in my own statement and shove it deep within me, refusing to let my worries get to me, especially now.

My words slightly comfort Muriel, but when my mother walks in, a whole new feeling of serenity washes over us, whether it's forced or not.

“Hello, oh! My sweet Poppy!” she enters the room with a weary face, and once seeing her two daughters in a sorrowful hug, she rushes over to press a gentle kiss to my cheek. My mother and Muriel are so similar, not just in their looks, with beautiful big brown eyes and dark blonde hair, but in attitude as well. Of course, my mother and sister are strong, our whole family is strong, but they are not afraid to let their softer sides show. Whether it’s Muriel’s tears or my mother’s tender affection, it works for them, it makes them stronger to be so emotionally available, but it doesn’t seem to come as easily to the rest of us. While Skipper seems to be a somewhat perfect mix of my mother and father in looks and personality, I look into the mirror now and see my father in every way. Dark brown some what curly hair, sea foam green eyes and tan skin, the need to be strong for the people around us.

“You look beautiful, as always.” She says simply, bringing her palm to her own face to stub her tears. She walks around to the back of my head where Muriel’s progress with my hair had come to a brief pause. She turns me towards the dirty mirror, and I can see the beautiful intricate half braid my sister has done on the top layers of my hair, leaving the rest long and freely curling naturally. Muriel adds a starfish and pearl necklace she made for me years ago on my 12th birthday, and my mother adds a beautiful poppy orange bow that stands out beautifully in my dark brown hair. “It reminded me of you, Ula’s mother was selling them yesterday. It’s almost time to leave, make sure you’re dressed soon.”

She places another soft kiss on the top of my head and then leaves the room. She has called me her Poppy for as long as I can remember, saying I'm just as bright as the beautiful orange flower that grows all over District 4. Muriel follows her out, adjusting the necklace around my neck, “It gets worse each year, but I believe in you, Annie.” I want to comfort her, tell her I’ll be fine, but I can’t trust the stability in voice to make it convincing. Instead I acknowledge her sentiment by simply nodding.

As we walk to the ceremony, I try to stay present in my family's conversation, but my mind keeps drifting away. Every child I see my age has a target on their back, even myself, and none of us know who will be hit. I don’t let this show in my face, keeping a steady smile and waving to my fellow peers, who I've grown so close to. The reaping ceremony is already awful, but when you’re so acquainted in such a tightly knit community, there is no getting out unscathed, It’s always someone I know.

Once we arrive at the square in front of the justice building, my chest tightens and I’m forced now to strictly focus on my breathing. Being the only one in the family eligible to be reaped, I’m forced to part from as they continue towards the viewing area. Our separation is short and sweet, just a simple discussion of where we will meet once the ceremony concludes. I search almost desperately for someone to stand with while waiting to check in. Of course there’s a surplus of children my age, most I know quite well, but I’m not sure who to start a conversation with. I see Ula and decide her normally timid personality would be perfect.

We shuffle into the eighteen year old group, and quickly get pushed through the line to the standing area right before the stage. I thank her for the bow even though her mother made it, and that’s about all we say to each other. Even though I’m surrounded by friends from school or the training academy, I refrain from saying much more. There's not much to say, in a perfect world it would be none of us, maybe the games would be canceled, but the worlds not perfect and “hope it's you not me” isn't really the most comforting sentiment.

The mayor takes the stage, starting with his usual speech and directing us to watch the screens positioned above us, and I prepare myself to doze off. I know nothing important happens until the escort, Prisca Luminara, takes the stage, then I’ll be forced to pay attention, but for now I can stare at the screens and pretend to watch. The usual video plays about the Dark Days, a time of war and rebellion, and why we must participate in the Hunger Games. It’s not until I see Prisca walk up to the microphone, her silver tied up hair immediately catching my attention, that I tune in. First she introduces District 4’s previous victors , we actually have quite a few, but there’s been no one new since Finnick Odair won 5 years ago.

I find myself looking at Finnick, the way the sun reflects off his bronze hair, and realize the girls at school aren’t wrong, he’s beautiful. Honestly I’d never realized, the last conversations we had were so friendly. Both of us were so young, joking about mermaids and seaweed, I’ve preferred thinking of him that way since, not as the man he’s supposedly become.

I accidentally think about him for far too long, and don't fully tune in until Prisca announces that it’s time to pick the tributes.

“As always, ladies first! Remember, volunteering must wait until both tributes have been reaped!”

Her posh accent ringing through my ears while she steps towards the glass ball holding the female tribute's names. Six of those slips hold the name ‘Annie Cresta’, carefully folded and thrown in with the rest. Prisca pulls the tributes name and I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. I follow the actions of my peers as they slowly make a circle, it must have been someone from my age group.

“Annie Cresta! Don’t be shy, dear come up!”

Suddenly I realize what’s going on, I gather myself the best I can and somehow begin walking down the main aisle towards the stage. It takes all my strength to keep my head up, a kind smile holding my face together to hide my absolute shock. Eventually I reach the stage, smiling to Prisca as she takes my hand to lead me to my place, I even tell her thanks. The humid heat is even more unbearable up here, and I do everything in my power to avoid the faces of my peers below me, knowing how easily it could break this smile and fall into a puddle of tears.

“Perfect! Now for the boys!” Her heels are louder now that I'm onstage, and I can see her jewel encrusted nails searching in the bowl for the next tribute.

“Bodie Cormoran”

Now it seriously takes everything in me to not collapse to the floor. When I hear his name, avoiding eye contact with the crowd is not my biggest worry; I know him, I know him far too well. I immediately see the eighteen year old boy's fluffy auburn hair, making his way to the stage. His usual tall and stocky build seems only half as sturdy as it normally is, although the small defeat in his shoulders is probably only noticeable to those who know him closely. Soon, he’s being led by Prisca to the spot next to me as she chatters about her excitement. As soon as I make eye contact with him, I give him a reassuring look. I receive one in return, a small smile and nod, but his eyes show me how horrified he is. It’s because we will be going in together, if one of us lives, it ensures the other one’s death.

“Now do we have any volunteers? Remember folks, you cannot volunteer for someone who has already volunteered!”

She seems to be expecting a lot more action, but the time to volunteer comes and goes, and the only sound that fills the square is the waves from the far off sea. I hide my disappointment behind my small smile while staring forward towards the cameras. I need to play this exactly the way I’ve been trained, and for now I have to seem relentlessly strong, a true career tribute from District 4.

But when they ask for the tributes to shake hands, I can’t help but hug Bodie instead.

[fatuismooches]

🎈 anon here im going to keep going on about pantalone with his darling who makes him handmade gifts (same thing not a request if i have a request I'll probably specify because im v worried u have too many and i dont wanna add to the pile :< so if i dont specify treat it like me approaching you in the middle of the night going absolutely insane about the silly little criminals in my computer, like grabbing u by the shoulders shaking you and everything) i had to put the brainrot in my notes app to finish because the Tumblr app is held together by glitter glue /affectionate

OK SO BACK ON MY INSANITY we're doing bracelets for this one too because im a silly little self insert enjoyer. so i was thinking about how u said he'd keep them in a little box and i just, went insane because it was so cute in my head.. Imagining him keeping them especially safe compared to his other jewelry, and while it's on display and he'd be a bit upset if they were taken by a disgruntled agent, he could just buy another one. Although if one of his darling's handmade pieces of jewelry were stolen he'd feel so bad for not only letting it get stolen, but knowing that you worked so hard on it for him but it got stolen so quickly :( He'd hire or personally look for it until the ends of the earth and if his darling found out and was like "i could've just made you another one he would be like, gothic bold font "no" and i find that really cute!! lonnie is such a cutie patootie i need to squish him!!!! Anyway i keep imagining him being so proud of seeing his darling improve as he keeps getting these cute gifts handmade from them.. ok but also what if his darling made a bunch at once and told him to close his eyes no peeking (how would that work actually his eyes are always closed uhh power of brainrot ig) and they put them all on him at once and he's like ":0" and he's super excited and and and (starts sobbing violently /pos) ALSO IMAGINE IMAGINE LIKE.. WHAT IF HIS DARLING GETS HIM INTO THEIR CRAFT TOO.... AND THEY WORK ON IT TOGETHER..... PLEASE I AM MELTING I AM GOING CRAZY anyway i love pantalone 10/10 would chew on him again also will update u if more thoughts infuriate my brain you are not safe from my brainrots they will haunt you forever <3

i know i specified earlier that im 🎈 anon but i feel weird without doing the little dash thingy so - 🎈

IM GRABBING YOUR SHOULDERS SHAKING U AFFECTIONATELY AS WELL 🎈 ANON...

You're so right nonnie, bro's the type of guy to not bat an eye at his jewelry worth millions of Mora being stolen but then internally start panicking when he realizes something you gave him is gone. His brain is working overtime even more than usual trying to figure out how he's going to get it back. (And if he orders the regular Fatui to look for it, he gives them a look to not question him whatsoever on why he is so concerned about a not expensive at all handmade piece of jewelry as compared to literal gold <3) (From then on he's keeping your creations under severe lock and key, he's never letting that happen again, feels secretly guilty about that even though you weren't even mad 😭)

Reader: hey, don't feel bad about it! i can just make you a new one love-

Pantalone: 𝖓𝖔

And omg Loonie? For Pantalone? That's such a cute nickname I'm stealing that now 😭 Okay but consider: I think Pantalone kind of has like a business brain, meaning he's always thinking of lucrative opportunities and such. So for a split second he thinks hey... this is kind of a sweet business. But then immediately he perishes the thought because the idea of anyone else receiving your cute little handmade jewelry makes him unreasonably upset. Only he shall ever receive these from you and it will stay this way.

And omg yes he gets so happy seeing you improve 🥺 He kind of sees himself in you. Because he had to work hard to improve his own craft. And seeing you so happy while working on your stuff makes him so happy to <3 I hc him to be really good with his hands, so he'd actually be real eager to join you with your bracelet making (he makes one for you too and you refuse to take it off)

[scrollsfromarebornrealm]

wip-- truce

Dewlala leaned back in her chair.  Her fingers itched to snatch up the spell-foci in front of her—a gift, all but handmade by the Warrior of Light herself, all but peerless among the realms for her spellcrafting--  Instead, the high priestess of Nald’thal throttled her greed, and eyed Riven closely.  She could refuse of course, and demand that Riven leave her presence.  After all, nigh on a decade to settle grudges?  She was well within her rights, and so Riven knew this too.  But then the sultana and others would possibly get involved.  Especially since Nanamo had made no secret of her inviting Riven to a private tea.  The grapevine was in overdrive, had the sultana been able to settle the mighty resentment the Warrior of Light held towards the Monetarists?  Although it was very entertaining to watch Lolorito bend over backwards to appease the brunette’s wrath…

Godbert said he’d been able to talk to her.  And of Riven, Godbert had nothing but the highest praise.  And if this was her way of settling the business from that accursed night…  The lalafell sighed.

“You had every right to be angry.”  She admitted.  Riven’s eyes widened in shock.  “In that, you were correct.  Ultimately one of your friends died as a result of that night.  I would have had a hard time choking down my anger in that situation, even for it being for the good of the realm.  But you understand why, do you not?”

“I didn’t fully at the time, but I do now.”  Riven replied.  “I would ask your forgiveness and understanding, I was wrapped up in my own…naivete as well.”  Dewlala chucked.  She leaned forward to pick up the spell-foci, repressing the urge to squeal in delight.  The stone felt happy beneath her fingers, and oh the intricacy of the metalwork upon it, waiting for fresh spells to be laid into it—

“We were all young at some point.”  She said.  “Young and naïve.”  With the gift of hindsight, Dewlala could only shake her head at the idealistic young woman she’d once been.  It had only been wits and good advice that had kept her from making many bad mistakes at the start of her political career within the city.  And Riven…well.  Teledji and Lolorito’s machinations had drawn first blood and broken her, but Ishgard had reforged her.  A predator sat in the seat facing Dewlala, one who knew now how the upper echelons of society—any society worked—and used that knowledge to her advantage.   With a wry smile, Dewlala eyed Riven’s clothing.  The Warrior was dressed in a very modest set of robes, richly embroidered and dyed in the metallic sky blue that many were beginning to consider her signature color.  Dewlala recognized that it was the work of an up-and-coming seamstress in the U’ldan fashion world. Riven’s hair was still cut short, but it was tastefully arrayed with jeweled hairclips.  Tasteful gold drops in the shape of roses were in her ears, and the rings on her fingers were small and understated.  All possibly made in the city, and given Riven’s tendency to promote those who made her clothing and accessories…

Perhaps a little thick, but then it’s been ten years.  Better for a little overkill than none at all.  And given the situation, perhaps the whole thing was fitting.  Not only was Riven apologizing to Dewlala, but she was making a restitution to Nald’thal.  The crafters who made her garments and jewelry were more than likely staggering now under the weight of the orders that were being flung at them—and in turn, they would come to Nald’thal’s temple to give thanks and make offerings.

Dewlala had to admit, she was impressed.

[digitallifeblend]

🌟 Ideas won’t work unless you do! 🌟

Ever had a brilliant idea? Maybe you dreamed of starting your own business, becoming an influencer, or creating a groundbreaking app. But here's the kicker—an idea is just that, an idea. It won't magically turn into reality unless you roll up your sleeves and start working on it.

The Dreamer Who Never Starts

Take my friend Alex, for example. Alex is full of amazing ideas. He often talks about his dream of starting a business that will revolutionize the way we live. He has grand plans and even details down to the product design and marketing strategies. Sounds promising, right? But there's a catch—Alex has been talking about this dream for years without taking a single step towards making it happen. Why? Because talking about an idea is easy; taking action is hard. Without that crucial first step, Alex's amazing business idea remains just a pipe dream. This story isn't unique; it serves as a reminder that dreams only turn into reality when you put in the effort to make them happen.

The 18-Year-Old Entrepreneur

Now, let's flip the coin and look at someone who took that vital leap. Meet Taylor, an 18-year-old who decided to start a small online store selling handmade jewelry. With a simple idea and a lot of determination, Taylor dedicated just a few hours each day to her project. She researched suppliers, learned about marketing, created a website, and started promoting her products on social media. Within months, Taylor's online store was buzzing with activity. Customers loved her unique pieces, and word began to spread. What started as a small idea transformed into a thriving business—all because Taylor took action. This story illustrates that consistent effort, no matter how small, can turn an idea into reality.

My Journey of Overcoming Fear

I remember my own struggle with taking the first step towards a passion project. For a few years, I wanted to start a blog about my love food culture and cooking. But the fear of failure held me back. What if no one reads it? What if people don't like my writing? And then, I did not have much free time to research and write.

One day, I decided to ignore the what-ifs and just start. I wrote my first post, hit publish, and shared it with a few friends. The response was very positive, which fueled my passion even more. Over time, my writing gained traction, and I found myself connecting with food enthusiasts from all over the world. The key takeaway? Progress only happens when you start doing. Conclusion

Ideas

Ideas are like seeds. They have the potential to grow into something magnificent, but they require nurturing, effort, and dedication to flourish. Simply put, ideas will not work unless you do. Whether it's starting a business, launching a creative project, or pursuing a passion, the first step is always the hardest, but it's also the most crucial. Don't be like Alex, stuck in the realm of dreams. Be like Taylor, who took consistent steps towards her goal. And remember, overcoming fear is part of the process—it's only by doing that you'll see your ideas come to life. Now, isn't it time you turned that brilliant idea of yours into reality?

Take your dreams out of your head and into action! 💪✨Success starts NOW 👍➕👣

[enterprisewired]

A Little Extra’s Quirky Shark Tank Experience

Source – SHI CLOTHING

Everyone loves a little quirkiness and fun in their lives, but have you ever heard of quirky jewelry? Maybe you have. How about quirky and vibrant jewelry that connects with your emotions and personality? Now that’s a little new. 

That’s what ‘A Little Extra’ is. A women-led quirky and handmade jewelry brand that makes accessories based on mood, personality, elements, and occasions. Their jewelry adds ‘a little extra’ to your personality with their unique and fun earrings like fire, cool, chili, and many more having quotes or memes. They also have hand and hair accessories that are elegant as well as bold and vibrant.

Overview of the Brand & How It Started

Founder – Diksha Singhi

Founded In – 2020

Headquarters – Delhi

Current Instagram followers – 240K

Website – https://alittleextra.co.in/

Diksha Singhi, the founder of A Little Extra was born and raised in Guwahati, Assam then moved to Delhi in 2013 for higher studies. She has always been a fun-loving, chill person who loves adding something extra to her life. Being a plus-size woman, who struggled to find clothes for herself, she tried to complete her looks with earrings and accessories. That’s how her love for jewelry grew.

When the pandemic hit and she went back to her hometown, contemplating what to do next, starting a jewelry business came to her mind, and ‘A Little Extra’ started in August 2020 with an initial investment of INR 5,000. 

The brand started by selling terracotta earrings in 2020 on Instagram and now has reached over 240k followers with a good online presence and a few offline presence as well. While giving an interview to The Better India, she said, 

“Most of the jewelry made at ‘A Little Extra’ has a ‘distinctive element’ to it. If you buy conventional jewelry, they’re either stone-based or they have a certain design or aesthetic. We wanted to make jewelry specific for an occasion, emotion, or lifestyle. 

For example, if it’s Navratri, what better than to wear our ‘Durga earrings’ that are colorful, bright, and have the chunkiest elements of shell, mirror, beads, etc? If you want to watch a football match in a stadium, cheering for your favorite team, why just wear those regular earrings? Why not wear earrings shaped and designed like a football?”

90% of A Little Extra’s jewelry is handmade and is available at an affordable price. With the hope of making her brand’s presence stronger online and offline and expanding the business, she went to Shark Tank in 2024.

A Little Extra’s Shark Tank Pitch

Before appearing on Shark Tank, they had a viral presence on Instagram with over 100k followers. The founder, Diksha Singhi asked for INR 48 Lakhs for 6% equity. Here’s how the whole pitch went.

The pitch started with Diksha telling about her story and how her brand got established in 2020. She shared her life details, how she was always extra, and what led to starting this unique jewelry line. She said in her pitch, “My extra size, my extra personality is my X factor. With my X Factor, I started A Little Extra!” 

Following were the questions sharks asked her.

Namita Thapar asked her about what extra her jewelry brings to the table and why someone would choose her brand over other competitors.

Diksha said that through her jewelry people aren’t just choosing something quirky but a piece that connects with their emotions. Like the ‘cool’ earring she was wearing because she was feeling cool and confident. Similarly, there are many pieces of jewelry, like Durga earrings for Navratri, fire, fruits shaped, quoted ones like dog mom, mom to be, and so on. 

Aman Gupta asked about her career background and how she got into this business. He also asked her about the pricing model, how she sells and what is the user journey.

She answered that she is the main person behind the brand despite her husband being a Chartered Accountant. She further explained her journey and then talked about her brand. She said that all her jewelry is budget-friendly. They have sold 80,000 products at an average price of Rs. 450 and their customer repeat rate is around 17-18%.

Vineeta Singh asked her how many unique designs they have that no other brand is doing.

Diksha said that around 75% of their designs are unique and handcrafted and showed them all the quoted and unique jewelry that the Sharks loved.

Anupam Mittal asked her about their unit economics and other business details.

She shared all the revenue and numbers of her business and her future plans for ‘A Little Extra’. She told the sharks that by far, she has a limited presence on Instagram, her website, and a few stores and wants to expand it on big platforms like Amazon, Mynta, and more offline stores. 

The sharks were really impressed with the products and her pitch. Aman Gupta even joked with her, quoting,  “I don’t like your products (pause), I love your products.” Following were the offers sharks made.

Deeksha Singhi went with Anupam and Vineeta’s revised offer of 60 lakhs for 7.5% equity at the valuation of Rs. 8 crores.

Diksha Singhi’s Future Plans for the Brand

After acquiring the deal with Anupam and Vineeta, she plans to scale the brand at a threshold of 100 crores in revenue and slightly increase the price while making sure they are still affordable to their customers. Further, she wants to expand the product range, strengthen the online presence, have a bigger team, and explore offline retail options. 

[starsbegantofall]

diy handmade wardrobe

You may remember, or not, it was a while ago, that I mentioned I don't really wear a lot of the clothes I've sewed for myself. Excepting the cosplay garments which are not everyday wearable pieces unless they were closet cosplay pieces with no or minor alterations, I really only wear my pajama pants and altered t-shirts multiple times.

I have worn a few handmade lolita dresses once or twice after the first time I wore them, but definitely not frequently like pajama pants and t-shirts. Firstly, I don't really wear dresses or skirts on an every day basis in my entire adult life, not even much as a kid. While I do commute to the office once in a while and could wear lolita there since I have a desk job, I mostly wear business casual with jeans/slacks and the occasional j-fashion blouse or cardigan (skirts have to be midi-length or longer and those are not very convenient for a short person to wear). I rarely go out on the weekends due to pandemic and lazy, so I would just run errands and dresses are not conducive to errands. So even if I did sew the cutest, most comfortable casual j-fashion dress, I would wear it maybe a few times in my entire lifetime. In the end, it's not worth the time and money invested into making it.

Read more about my plans here

The next obvious pivot would be to recreate the pieces that I do wear often, buuuuuutttt those are impossible for a home sewist to recreate. How do I sew jeans on my Hello Kitty sewing machine? I can't, the machine is much too small and weak to handle denim or even regular bottom-weight fabric. I don't have a serger so sewing knits like tops or casual athleisure would be a pain and look sloppy and would fall apart in the wash.

Okay, so the next obvious pivot after that is buy an industrial strength machine to sew denim and pants and a serger to work with knits. That would cost about... $2000 for medium quality machines. Maybe more with inflation. So I would have to make $2000 worth of clothes, or 100 hours of sewing (generously) just to break even. I'd have to sew every weekend for 6 months. Not counting the cost of fabric.

Which is the next issue. You can't really buy comfortable cottons or semi-natural fashion fabrics at the craft store chains anymore, it's mostly quilting cottons and synthetics and canvas. I am lucky to live near a big city with a fashion district so I could go there if I really want to for a variety of wearable fabrics that my skin would not reject the feeling of. That would not be cheap (well, idk, I haven't been to the fashion district in decades but judging from online prices, the stuff on clearance is on clearance for a reason) and I doubt I'll get the exact prints or colors I want even at full price. Thrifting bed sheets (aka the most comfortable cotton you can get cheaply) is.... probably not what I want to sell to others...

With all of these barriers, I have not been able to accomplish my goal in 2022/2023 of sewing handmade j-fashion inspired pieces for both myself or my etsy shop which was named "atelier" but doesn't sell clothes, and used to only have jewelry. My day-job also prevents me working on stuff lol, but as one of my goals was to retire early, I kinda want a head start on my atelier just in case I need to. I hopefully will have saved enough money to retire that I don't need to desperately work on a side hustle, but I like having back up plans. And also, I feel guilty not having any clothes in an "atelier" lol.

Because I'm lazy and don't want to do real business which is the downfall of society, my ideal plan would be to sew a few big/medium pieces, then a handful of coordinating or thematic small pieces, including doll clothes, and also some artwork or whatever, then release 2 or 3 times a year like how actual fashion companies do for the seasons. But with the resources I have, I just can't think of anything I can sew that would be good/sturdy enough to sell for price that equals the amount of time I put into sewing, and that anyone else would buy when they can get it cheaper elsewhere.

So my final idea is to either create very trendy items that I am fairly taobao companies will not make very well, or that American patrons would prefer to buy from a small artist in their country instead, or make fandom inspired items but fashionable like Super Groupies style. I think this is the way to go for me, tbh, that way I know I have made something unique and that I will enjoy making even if it never sells, so I would wear it myself lol. I did make jewelry in this style 2 years ago and jotted several notes of what to sew/craft for my shop in the meantime, but as mentioned before, the few items I made was not to the level of quality to be sellable (even though I personally love them and they're sturdy enough for my use of course) and I doubt I could do much better. But I have to work on leveling up my skills now or I will be too arthritic and blind later, so I have no choice but figure out something asap.

If anyone else has ideas other than buying new machines which probably I need to do anyway, let me know! Again, I'm not interested in making a profit, I'm not a capitalist nor scum of the earth, I am already a doctor, but I do want to be compensated fairly as an artist yet make good quality value-priced items attainable for everyone in these tough economic times. That's not easy, but I still want to try this year.

Anyway... back to more pajama pants for me.

[shokorohandmade]

New Blog Post: Discover Unique Treasures and Support Small Businesses at Etsy: All About Succulents

Today, I am goin to share my wonderful experience at Etsy. VIsit to read this article at

Website: Shokoro Handmade (Dainty Jewelry Brand Canada)

Etsy Store: Shokoro Design

Etsy Genuine Natural Gemstone Jewelry Store: From Earth by Shokoro

Shoko’s Blog: Subscribe to receive shokoro's blog  Enter your email address at bottom of this page

( topic: Gemstone. Jewelry, Fashion, Life Style, Chakra stone, Angel Number…)

shokoro_ca 

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[malinabeadwork]

OMG, I haven't been here for three years or so 😳 And haven't posted anything for five years! 🙈

How's that possible? I absolutely forgot about tumblr for the last few years. Well, I was busy 😅

As you can guess from my last post, I got married 👰🏻‍♀️ in 2018 😅 (it's 2023 now). And I made a child 😂 My lovely boy ❤️ (he is 4)

And now I don't make beaded jewelry. Now I weav. Does it writes like this? My English is still not that good as I think it is( sad(

Handmade baskets, yep. Made of papertubes. Yes. PAPER. And they are not afraid of water. You can clean them, if you need to.

I also started a YouTube channel this year. But its not in English, but everyone interested can just turn on subtitles. My videos are about basket weaving, free tutorials, how to make papertubes, how to make them elastic, etc.

If you are interested, there's a link to my channel 👇🏻

So, I'm back) What to tell you about? I'm definitely gonna show you my 2-year-basket-portfolio 😅 So be prepared!)